Gearing Up

We are getting ready to head up to Northern California for the Christmas holiday. If you don't know, that is a seven-hour drive (on a good day, let's not forget that a state of emergency was just declared Southern California due to excessive rainfall) from our house in Southern California to my parents house. This marks E's first road trip to Chico. And yes, we must be crazy because we're bringing the dogs too.

On beautiful Southern California Saturday just before Thanksgiving, we headed up to Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara is a scenic 45 minute drive from our house. I packed for this trip like we were going into unknown territory. It was E's first full day trip and I was trying to be prepared for ANYTHING.

Those planning skills have reared their ugly head in preparation for this trip as well. I have to pack for E, J and I, and the dogs. Plus make sure that we have all the necessary accoutrement for week-long stay in home that doesn't boast every baby gadget known to man. That means we have to be ready for any situation, like it's some kind of a survival test. We're taking the Pack n' Play, a vibrating chair, a travel swing, a playmat, and the list goes on. Thank goodness she isn't eating baby food yet or else we would be taking another whole truck load of stuff. I am trying to simplify things, and I also keep telling myself that we are not going to the end of the earth, if I forget something a Babies R Us and Target are within easy reach.

Besides all of the work that is going into prepping for this trip, I could not be more excited. I know that E won't know or care where she is as long as she has something to eat, somewhere to sleep and someone to hold her, but I hope that she can learn to love my hometown and the town where her Dad and I met as much as we do. Maybe eventually she will be able to call it home too.

2 Sweet Months

Two months ago, J and I welcomed a sweet-natured 6 pound, 2 ounce Baby E at 9:50 a.m. after six and a half hours of labor.

My water broke at 3:30 a.m. on October 11, exactly two weeks before my due date. I waited until 3:45 to wake up J because I wanted to be sure since it was more of a trickle instead of a gush. He called my parents around 4 to let them know that my Dad would be sharing his birthday with his first granddaughter! I labored at home until 5:30 before making the quick five minute drive to the hospital. I was feeling calm and relaxed and the mood at the hospital just solidified that. It was still dark out, there were no other patients in the ER waiting room, and there were almost no patients on the labor and delivery floor. I was finally checked by a nurse at 6:30 a.m. and was already 5 cm dilated. Once I was checked and comfortable, J went down to the car to get the rest of our stuff. We definitely looked like we were moving in. Birthing ball, pillows, fan, iPod stereo and numerous bags. We actually ended up using most of the stuff we brought.

I walked the labor and delivery floor, rocked on the ball, and got comfortable in our huge L&D suite. It was so freeing not to be tethered to machines or IVs. The contractions were uncomfortable, but definitely bearable.

My girlfriend A stopped by to bring J coffee at some point in the morning. While she was there, my contractions intensified. I started feeling nauseous, my body temperature was constantly fluctuating and I was shaking. All of that time spent in our natural child birth class paid off -- TRANSITION! I knew what was happening, even though it wasn't fun. When the nurse came in to check my blood pressure, J asked her to check my progress. I was 10 cm dilated and could not resist the urge to start pushing. While she was checking me, I made eye contact with J and I knew that he understood that I would seriously consider asking for something to take the edge off if I wasn't close, thank goodness we didn't have to make that decision. The nurse quickly called the delivering doctor (whom I had never met, my OB was conveniently on vacation!) and got the bed ready. I have no idea what time it was when all this was happening, but three hard pushes and Baby E was born!! What an amazing experience! I could not have done it without J! He was so strong and supportive the entire labor. I am sure that he worked just as hard as me, maybe harder. I know this labor was taxing on his body because he was willing to be anywhere and do anything to keep me comfortable and focused.

Originally, we had planned to be alone in the delivery room. Because things happened so quickly, A stayed in the room. Looking back, I wouldn't have had it any other way. It was such a blessing to have her there. J couldn't have squeezed my hand and gotten me a cold wash cloth at the same time and she generously took on those extra tasks. She even managed time to snap some fabulous pictures that I will treasure forever.

 

I would encourage every woman to consider natural child birth. I know that things don't always go as planned, but women's bodies were made for this! I felt like I could do anything after I climbed that mountain!

And now, I sit here looking at the video monitor watching Baby E sleep off a rough day of her first immunizations. There was a time in my life when I would tell anyone that asked that I maybe I didn't want to have kids, I could just be a really wonerful aunt. At this moment, I can't imagine being anywhere else. Being a parent is the hardest job I have ever had, but I learn something new about myself, Baby E and my amazing husband every day. We are conquering this new chapter together one day at a time.

Baby E, at 2 months you....

• You weigh 9 lbs. 8 oz., which is pretty petite, only 17th percentile for weight.
• What you lack in weight, you make up for in height. You are 21 and 3/4 inches long, almost 3 inches longer than birth.
• You still fit in newborn size clothes, unless they have feet because you are too long.
• You are smiling a lot. You wake up happy and you have recently started smiling in response to things. It is especially fun to see you smile in response to something your Daddy or I do.
• You love being in your swing or on your playmat. Just recently, you have started paying attention to the mobile and toys that hang from these.
• You are sleeping about five hours at a time at night.
• You have been sleeping in your crib for almost two weeks.
• You are really vocal, you always have something to say!

First and Last

It's been about a month since my twenty-eighth birthday. I celebrated the milestone with a very relaxing weekend with J and some friends..Exactly what I asked for this year.

After the celebration, I couldn't help but reflect on this monumental birthday, and what kind of milestones it brings. Mostly some firsts and lasts in my life.

FIRST BIRTHDAY:
As a wife
As an expectant Mom
As a homeowner

LAST BIRTHDAY:
Without a baby

I don't really feel happy nor sad about the passing lasts and firsts as J and I have so much to look forward to in the coming months that will just be the start of a new chapter of our life together. I anticipate there will be other birthdays that I am pregnant. With only 10 weeks until the highly-anticipated arrival of Baby, I have started to think of other events in this way. Just recently, I took my last plane ride before Baby. And in a few short weeks, J and I will be taking our last trip without Baby to Chico to attend the wedding of one of my best friends. Maybe I will miss sharing some of these things alone with the husband I am so blessed to wake up with everyday, but maybe my life will feel more amazing and fulfilled to be sharing these kind of things with Baby.

We've Signed our Life Away...We're Homeowners!!

The last time that I reported on the challenges of entering homeowner territory was at the end of March when J and I had entered escow. After tirelesss packing and cleaning, and some drive-by stalking, we signed the papers to close the sale of our first home on May 13th.

To our amazement, the previous homeowners had done very little packing during the escrow period. When J stopped by about a week before the close with our window contractor, he was fuming that no progress had been made. This type of disorganization and laziness set the tone for the last few days of escrow, and the first day of moving. The first day of homeownership was quite chaotic, as our contractors began work at 7 a.m., and the previous homeowners continued to pack and move their things out around them. J could not have been more relieved when they finally left the house with the last of their things at 6 p.m.

J took about two weeks off work to act as a project manager for all of the contractors. They all did an amazing job under his direction and I was saved the task of doing any major work. The house is amazing and we couldn't feel more at home. It will be amazing to bring our first child home to this house and create so many amazing memories here.

Here are some pictures of the finished product, we still have a lot of decorating to do.

Guest Bedroom

Guest Bath

Entry

Formal Living Room

Dining

Kitchen

Family Room

Master Bath

Master Bedroom

One of the last major projects we tackled was to overhaul the outside of the house. Here are the BEFORE and AFTER pictures:

You might have noticed that one of the bedrooms is missing from this preview...the baby's! We have the walls painted and friends have started to fill up her closet, but we have done little else. I will be sure to update you on our progress as we get the room ready.

Please let us know if you are ever in Southern California, we would love to see you!

Chico Visit...and a Little Surprise!

Two weeks after Easter, J and I headed up to Chico for a long weekend with my family. My mom's birthday was in late March, so we planned to get everyone together that Saturday night to celebrate.

J and I left Southern California after I got off work on Friday afternoon, so we had a loooonnng drive home. We did pretty well, except for that last 45 minutes, when everything and nothing was hilarious and 70 mph felt like 30 mph. We finally made it to my parents' house just before 1 a.m. We were exhausted but decided to hand over our present right then anyway.

As my mom unwrapped the picture frame, she exclaimed that she didn't have any of our wedding pictures yet! (Apparently, she had forgotten that she had the discs of the wedding pictures since Thanksgiving). When she flipped the frame over, she found this instead:

If you haven't already heard, J and I are expecting our first baby in late October! We are absolutely thrilled and have been enjoying (almost) every minute of this pregnancy. I know this seems like a very delayed post, but we wanted to make sure that all of our closest family and friends were informed in person or over the phone, instead of just stumbling across a shocking Facebook status update. Oh, and there's the whole moving and renovating thing that's been going. Plus a bit of pure laziness.

We received our first baby gift a Farmer's Market the next day.

We let my mom decide how to tell the guests of her Saturday night dinner party that she is going to be a Grandma. She decided to take the strip of three ultrasound pictures we received at our first visit and put them in small red frames in random places throughout the house and wait until the guests found them one-by-one. It was pretty fun to watch each person's reaction, and I was surprised that our news didn't travel through the room at lightning speed. Most people kept the news to themselves until the whole group brought into the fold.

We are looking forward to experiencing this major change in our lives. And have appreciated all of the love and support that we receive everyday from people watching over us and this growing baby.

Easter Camping in the Desert

J and I packed up the toy hauler and loaded up the pups for a weekend in the Mojave Desert for Easter this year. 2010 marks the second year that we have gone camping for Easter, and it is become a nice tradition for our family. We had been looking forward to the time away with some great friends for quite a while. This trip was especially exciting because it was the first trip with baby J, who was born to our friends P and A in late January. But minus the desert winds and chilly evenings, I think baby J had a great time.

We made some great dinners, the guys made some great fires, and we really enjoyed each others company. The winds were bad enough each night, that even though the trailer was stabilized, felt like we were being rocked to sleep on a cruise ship. I always wonder if the dogs stay up all night wondering what is going on outside.

We woke up to light rain on Monday morning, so the J and P were generous to pack everything up with A and I got everything secured and ready in the trailers. As the rain lifted, the desert gave us this parting gift as we pulled onto the road home.

Back in Action

Well, I'm back! Sorry for the lengthy absence, but a lot has been going on around here the past couple of months, and plenty that I want to share. I am going to start from where I left off in late March, not to be a bore, but because that is how I planned it in my head since April when I started falling behind. I hope you enjoy the latest and greatest!