a new trick

Today Champ learned a new skill. He found his left thumb and likes the way it tastes. Immediately after birth I noticed him sucking on the knuckle of his left thumb. The thought crossed my mind that he might find that thumb and so he has.



Each day is a new adventure and we are just enjoying the ride.

anna

here i am. don't you love me?

Well, here are some long awaited Champ pictures. Hope you enjoy!

My first day and my first up close, asleep in maw maw's arms.

The flash bulbs continue; the ladies all adore me.

The new addition to the family...with some of the proudest parents in the world.


Now, I'm stylin'. Mom and I have passed all the tests and it is time to go home. The hospital clothes come off and I am dressed to go.


I'm on my way out. The wheel chair ride was fun, and I understand I have many adventures to look forward to in my new jogging stroller.

Getting all buckled in for my first car trip.

We are finally home, healthy and happy.

my favorite pic

Jeff is currently attending to a fussing Champ so I get the privalage of posting the first picture. Jeff took this in the hospital Saturday morning. It is not the best show off of Champ, but I love the shot. Jeff can pick his favorites, but of his first 3 days, this is mine. enjoy!

anna

asleep again

Well, the little prince is fed, changed and sleeping. The Courville house is once again quiet. I am will try and finish my previous post with some additional information. Champ is named for his great-grandfather, Atwell "Champ" Champion as well as his father and grandfather who are both Jeffery John. The irony to the whole situation is that although his expected arrival was in August, he was born just one day past what would have been his great-grandfather's 91st birthday.

In the past 3-days, Champ has lived up to his name. He is eating well and sleeping wonderfully. To all who know Jeff the ability to sleep anywhere under any situation definitely got transferred with the genes. He is an amazing infant and we are looking forward to seeing him grow.

The grandparents all came to visit this past weekend and Beau and Jenny just happened to have excellent timing. Thanks to all of you Jeff and I stayed well fed and rested. Jenny brought the little guy some new clothes and both grandma's helped with needed errands for both Champ and myself.

Jeff, Champ and I are trying to settle into our new life together. Today we not only juggled the little guy and his needs but accomplished the small battle of getting the house straitened out. I got in a shower, the hair and make-up didn't happen. For now I have not left the house so as long as the Courville men don't mind, simple things like that will wait. Mostly I like to keep myself together for me. Since I am still on the mend, running and working out will have to wait so the simple things like drying my hair become so valuable.

We will continue with each day as it comes, with the new challenges and adventures. Again Jeff will soon upload more pictures.

anna

champ is here!

Well this is the first post after Champ's arrival. Just to catch up everyone, I gave birth to Champion John Courville July 27, 2007 at 3:53 pm. He weighed 7lbs 2oz and was 20" in length. The day went fantastic. My doctor was wonderful, my doula (birth coach and lactation consultant), the staff at Memorial Hermann and Jeff couldn't have done any better. It was truly one of the most spiritual events in my life and I will forever be greatful to God for it.

Both Jeff and I have been a bit secrative over the last couple of weeks, but my track record continues...nothing happens normally. At 36 weeks, I was quite dialated, but Champ was not ready to come. Over my next couple of appointments, I continued to dialate, but his head proved to be hard from pre-birth and he did not want to come out. At my 38 week appointment, my doctor said she had never seen a woman in my situation. For a first pregnancy this should not happen. She prepared me for a c-section saying some children just don't want to come and we don't know why. She sent me home reluctantly as there were risks to Champ's life because of the situation. She wanted to induce and so we did Friday.

I was a bit of a nervous wreck from my appointment wednesday thru thursday evening and did a whole bunch of praying. Didn't sleep much thursday night, but woke-up friday with the greatest sence of peace.

We arrived at the hospital, got a room and my ob broke my water. The first hurdle was cleared when Champ's head engaged. Labor set on fast and hard. It was extremely painful and not very productive as he was sideways. After 4 hours of active labor, the nurse checked. He was not lined up and still had a long way to come. I caved into the drugs. I feared a seizure if the labor wore me out too much. The epidural is a great marvel of modern medicine. As the epidural set in my ob said we will give pitocin a try and see what progress would come and if he would, this would be a long labor. The tone of her voice was not promising.

I tried to relax for the time and save my energy for whatever may come. About 3 hours later, she came again and checked. She was astonished. His head was alligned, his body was in place and she asked if I were ready to start pushing. (again drugs are wonderful!) I said sure. In less than 30 minutes Champ made his grand entrance. Lots of training lead to a suprisingly easy delivery. (Thank you Randy!)

So the long and short...the doula was right and is always right. She said all along to not worry. His head would desend and we would be fine. I asked my doctor on Saturday what chances would she have given me that I would avoid a c-section at that time, she said maybe 25%. God is wonderful. Lots of prayers made it possible.

Champ is definitely Jeff's son. With future pictures you will see his head full of hair, an olive complexion that is darker than mine at birth and a dimple in each cheek.

I will post more later, but Champ is waking up, I must go.

Thanks again for all of the thoughts and prayers.

Anna

mixed feelings

I was first introduced to cycling through my love for mountain biking. I initially enjoyed cruising through the woods, but the pain and suffering of road cycling was not something I appreciated.

A few years ago, Anna and I completely fell in love with cycling. I have learned to appreciate the "sweet pain" of riding, and you actually begin to crave the necessary effort of a nice long ride. We found watching the pro rider's competitive spirit amazing. I remember seeing Armstrong crash after a spectator hooked his handlebars with a bag, and some of the lead riders actually held up for him. Cycling is such a pure competition that most of the riders would rather not win because of a crash or mechanical problem. They would prefer to have a true battle of ability, strategy, and the will to tolerate all of the punishment the other riders can dish out. This is the nature of the cycling that we love.

So in the wake Vino, Rasmussen, and the Cofidis squad getting booted from the Tour, I am disappointed and happy at the same time. I was fooled into complimenting Vino's heart and desire along with Rasmussen's amazing climbing ability, but they stink as professionals and as people. There is no room in cycling for someone with such a lack of moral fiber and lack of heart. I think to truly clean up the sport, all of the teams will have to adopt the Slipstream model of policing your own athletes. All in all, we are happy to see a few more cheaters out of the sport. I have held back on posting a more lengthy rant, and I intend to leave it at this. We look forward to cycling enduring this tough time and rising back to a sport we can trust as fans.

Anna is doing quite well, and we continue to anxiously await the arrival of our son.

-jeff

still waiting (but not too patiently)

Jeff and I went to my doctor's appointment this morning. Everything is going well and the little guy is cleared for arrival. We are still 10 days from my original due date, so no telling when he will decide to arrive. I think the hardest thing at the end of pregnacy is managing expectations. Since this is my first, I am not sure what to expect. We will keep everyone informed as soon as we have any news to share. In the mean time. please keep Jeff, the little guy and me in your prayers. We appreciate all of the support we have received so far.

-anna

he's ready to start riding...

Even though he isn't born yet, our son has cooler cycling gloves than Anna or myself (Thanks Dr. Wittle). He doesn't have a bike yet, but Carrie and Taylor hooked him up with a bad*@% rocking horse. He'll soon be big pimpin on his furry ride.

So the little guy has been quite active in the evenings kicking like crazy in Anna's tummy. I think it's been his reaction to our watching the Tour. He gets a bit of French in him from both sides, so he's bound to become another crazy cycling fan. The stages have been pretty exciting to follow and today delivered the climbing showdown I had hoped for. The wiley little Spainard was too much for the mighty chicken to handle. Johann is an absolute genious using the talents of the Disco boys flawlessly. Levi (nice and steady), George and Popo (workhorses of the bunch), and Contador is the little maniac attacker of Rasmussen in the steep grades of the Pyrenees. Wow, I hope the Tour continues to deliver such drama.

Anna's been doing great; we are praying that the delivery goes as well as the pregnancy has so far. Her doc is back in town this week so the little guy has the green light to arrive. I am sure the workout with lots of jumping jacks will ensue along with any other efforts to coax him out. (Again, under Doctor's approval for all you grandparents who may be reading!) Keep us in your prayers, and we'll continue to keep everyone updated. -jeff

Holy Kazzak Kaboom Batman!

Wow. Alexandre Vinokourov had an amazing day in the Tour. He literally rode himself almost completely back into the race. I think he said it best that today is a new Tour for him. I had hoped Levi would look stronger for the Disco boys, but Contador seemed to have a bit more heart today. I am looking forward to a possible Contador vs. Rasmussen showdown in the Pyrenees.

Anna and I are doing well. We finished our last bit of errands today. Although we have lots of baby related equipment, I am sure there are things we will realize are necessary when he gets here. In any case, the basics (eating, sleeping, and pooping) seem to be covered.

Last week I had a bike fitting, so I went for a nice ride today. I am starting to get used to the new position, but I plan to take it easy for a while to let things settle in right. Well time for bed... -jeff

quiet weekend

Since beginning the blog, we have already been challenged that keeping posts current will be difficult. I am sure depending on what life throws at us, that may be quite true, but both Jeff and I will try to keep the important things communicated.

This weekend was nice and quiet. We watched the Tour de France climb through the Alps. The athletic ability of professional cyclists is amazing to spectate. I won't bore all the non cycling fans, but the strategies are interesting to watch unfold as are the wrecks very painfull to see. I ask my son everyday if he is going to arrive early enough to see the ride into Paris on July 29. We will all just have to wait and see what his answer is.

Another important milestone of the weekend...Anna now owns a digital camera. I love black and white photography and will continue my use of film and darkrooms, however in today's world the need for digital photographs is growing. Jeff bought me (as an early baby present) the digital Cannon to match my film one so all of my lenses will be interchangeable. The main purpose of the new camera will be the ease in uploading pictures to the blog. One thing I have learned about photography is that it is a money-pit of a hobby. The new camera puts a 1.5 multiplier on all of my lenses...now I "need" some wider angle lenses. I think Cannon purposefully changed things enough so that people would keep buying equipment...corporate America.

I also dragged Jeff to the gym this weekend. I have to admit that 3 weeks from my due date and I am still keeping up or doing better than some men that join in our workout sessions (Jeff not included). Some have commented that they can't believe I am still working out, but mentally I really enjoy doing something. At this point, I am most looking forward to the challenge of getting back into shape. Our trainer has already said the little guy will be welcome to join Jeff and I in our future workouts. We will have to see how that works. (Note for the concerned parents: Jeff did ask the doctor at my last visit if working out was still permissable. She said at this point the worst that could happen would be labor. I am at full term today so the little man is cleared for arrival.)

We continue preparations arround the house for the arrival and are starting to pack bags for the hospital and such. Keep us in your prayers and we will let everyone know as things develop.

Anna

getting ready for the little guy...

Well, this is the first post. Still trying to figure out lots of things about the blog, so you will have to bear with us a bit. We figured we would try to keep up with technology and use the blog to help our out of town family keep up with us. This should also be a great way for everyone to get pictures of our first child on the way as well. I know the pics will be the main reason why lots of you check out the blog, and I'm hoping it distracts from my lack of writing talent.

Anna has been doing well, but we are both ready to meet our new addition on the way. We did a pretty good job of timing the pregnancy to allow for plenty of lying on the sofa watching the Tour De France. The Tour has definitely delivered interesting results so far. From super human performances of Cancellara and McEwen to totally sketchy bike handling by Zabel wiping out half of the Peleton.

Of course most of our time has been spent trying to get ready, so I have added some pics of the crib bedding that came in recently (mostly for the grandmas).


Yes, that is a fish mobile... It is never too early to train him right!

I will keep adding some posts to keep you up with the progress of things. -Jeff