Newborn Pictures

My cousin took Taytum's newborn pictures and I absolutely love them. She does a great job. (Amy Herrick Photography) sorry there are a lot, I couldn't leave any out:)

Taytum's Story

Wowza these last few weeks have been crazy. I have never felt so blessed, loved, cared for and emotional in my entire life and I loved every minute of it. We are pleased to announce the arrival of our beautiful baby girl, Taytum. She was born on February 11th @ 12:03 am. She missed her due date by 3 min.
I had an apt on the 9th and I was told I was about 3cm dilated and 75% effaced, same as the week before. I had been feeling contractions a little bit on the 10th but nothing crazy. I was told to go and get foot zoned to see if that would get labor going at all. I have never been into that and just kind of thought it was weird. Although, I decided to go and try (couldn't hurt right?). I went to my dads cousin's wife, Laura McFarland and she did what she does:) After I left I was definitely feeling contractions but I was able to fall to sleep and they didn't really continue. Friday morning I got up and felt pretty good, Jon and I was sitting on the couch and I felt a very small gush of water and ran to the bathroom. It was def water but it wasn't very much and didn't continue. I called the dr and they said to come in just in case. I showered up and out of nowhere Laura called and asked if anything was happening, I told her what was going on and she said to come by and she would zone a couple spots again to help labor get going. I got to the hospital around 1:30 and the nurse said she doesn't think my water broke, could be a small leak but she wasn't sending me home because my blood pressure was a bit high. We were having that baby for sure, scary:) I was having very mild contractions but steady.
Dr. B was passing through after just delivering a baby and asked about my BP. He said he would just break my water while he was there:-0 That was the weirdest feeling. Shortly after contractions starting getting stronger and I was getting nervous. They got me to my room and I said yep get me that epidural:) pure bliss after that. The nurse was right, that anesthesiologist was my best friend. Jon was my hero that day even more so than he already is. My sister brought some of her oils and he was putting the calming oils on my feet all through labor and massaging my feet. Oh how I love that man. The nurse checked me around 630 and I was a 5. They started a little pitocin and bam @ 820 I was a 9 and getting close. Her head was kind of high still so they had me wait to start pushing. I starting pushing with the nurse at 11:00, Dr B showed up at 11:58 and little Taytum was here at 12:03. That moment was the best moment of my life. My little family of 3 soaking up the love. I had a blood vessel burst and so the dr was there trying to get it to stop. Apparently I was bleeding pretty bad for about 45 min. Finally my legs were taken out of that awful position and I was able to really enjoy my baby:) I hope this post isn't too all over the place and long. Mostly for my record.

Right before we left for the Hospital. 40 weeks

Gotta love the waiting game

Jon at work:)

Stopped crying right when Daddy held her hand

7 lbs 1 oz

Love<3

First bath, and she loved it

Family (Awkward picture)

35 wks and the crazy holidays

WHAAAAAAAT???? 35 weeks, I can't believe it. This little squirt is going to be here so soon and we couldn't be more thrilled to meet her. This third trimester I have definitely found myself slowing down again and being exhausted. My back kills and so do my hips:/ She is all over the place, it is so fun to feel her. I could honestly sit all day long with my hand on my stomach and just try and guess what it is that I am feeling. Her feet are right up in my ribs and I think she might take after her mother and be a soccer player;) (I hope) I went to the dr yesterday and he said everything looks perfect, she is on track for her due date and weighs in around 5 lbs. He was trying to get a good picture for me but he said the computer couldn't keep up with her. I asked if she was just wiggling a lot and he laughed and said "no she is actually flailing and arching her neck," he also said "I wonder if she was out in the world if she would be doing that and crying." He said "you don't see that very often." I really hope she isn't throwing tantrums already:)
As for being ready for our bundle of joy, I can't say that I am. We have definitely gotten a lot of the necessities like, travel system, breast pump, diapers and wipes. We have also been so lucky to have people give us A LOT of cute clothes already. I feel like I have a bowling ball inside me and pretty sure I look like it as well. I have been slacking with blogging so the next time you hear from me, we will probably have a little one:) Here's a not so cute picture but it's all I got because I wear sweats and big clothes everyday:)

This was from my 33 wk appt

The month of December has been crazy for us. It started out with a fun trip to Wisconsin. Jon and I went with his dad and younger sister.  We visited Jon's grandparents and also went to a Green Bay Packers game. It was cold but we had a ton of fun. We actually found tickets for the front row, 10 yd line so we were right in on the action.  I can't wait to go again. I thought it was going to be interesting being 7 months pregnant but it wasn't so bad.

After we got home it was coming down to the wire with Christmas and we hadn't done any shopping. We got right on that and finished in one day. This year we had a lot of fun. Jon's entire family was in town, which rarely happens and his brother was even able to come into town for a week. We had a blast with everyone and of course we had so much fun with all the traditions that we have with my family. 

New Years was really low key, we went to my aunts house and played games. We then went to some friends house to bring in the New Year. We are so excited for 2012 and all of the things in store for us. 

Happy Birthday to my Dear Husband

Jon's birthday was the 3rd of January, he turned 29. We are getting so old:) I hope he had a great day. He had to work but I was able to pick him up a bit early  and then we went to his parent's house where he wanted to keep things low key and order pizza so he could watch the football game:) Silly boys. We did go to Chillis the next night though. Jon never reads my blog but I hope he knows how much I love and appreciate him. He works so hard to provide for our family and would do anything to make and keep me happy. I love him with all my heart and can't wait for the future. 

28 Weeks

Wow this pregnancy is starting to fly by. I can't believe I am coming into my 3rd trimester, scary! The next couple months are jam packed with holidays and birthday celebrations. February 10th is going to be here in the blink of an eye, and Jon and I couldn't be more thrilled. I love how excited Jon is. He is always saying "I can't wait until that little kid gets here, I am going to kiss her face all the time." He also says "I am going to have to take care of that little kid all the time." He is going to be such a great daddy.
I was able to really start feeling this little girl move around week 23. I was so mad cause I wasn't feeling anything for the longest time. At my target ultra sound the ultra sound tech said my placenta was lying right in the front and it is really thick. I guess thats why I wasn't feeling much. It's amazing to feel her moving and kicking, I am still amazed at what is really going on in there. I love this little girl SOOOO much already.
I have been feeling really good. The 2nd trimester was a breeze like I was told it usually is. Now that I am coming into the 3rd I am starting to feel those aches and pains of being BIG. My hips are hurting and I think my sciatic nerve is being messed with on the right side, I have a constant hamstring and calf cramp along with a very sore spot on my lower back/butt area:) It is strange experiencing all of these weird things my body is going through. I know that it will all be so worth it when I get my first glance at this little angel. I am also starting to feel tired again, and i just wanna sleep. Oh I also am a little worried about the weight that I am gaining. Everyone says its fine and that I don't even look big. But, I am the one that sees the scale. I have never cared what the number on the scale is but its hard to see the number jumping every time you step on. We'll see what the dr has to say about it, I have an appt today.
Here is a lovely picture at 28 weeks. I have to take them myself, Jon is working. Thats why I just cut my head off, I look retarded.

I also want to express how thankful I am for the things I have in my life. Things that I am thankful for:
-My loving, handsom husband
-The opportunity to be carrying this little angel
-The health that I have been blessed with through out my life and through out this pregnancy
-My family (they are AMAZING)
-My older sister. I don't get a chance to tell her just how much I look up to her and love her
-Jon's family
-The place that we have to live
-Modern medicine (without it I don't know how we would maintain Jon's diabetes)
-My testimony
-This beautiful time of year that we get to spend with those we love sooo much
- This free country that we live in
-Mine and Jon's job
-Food that we get to enjoy (and I think we take it for granite sometimes)

There are so many other things that I am thankful for. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas if I don't get another blog in before then. I have been a slacker with my blogging, and we haven't been doing anything exciting for the last month or so.

Cruizin

We just got back from the BEST trip ever!!! Jon had his 10 year high school reunion this year so him and a few friends decided to go on a cruise. We went on a 7 day cruise out of Long Beach. Initially there were three ports that we would stop at. That turned into two shortly after we booked the cruise, due to danger in Mazatlan. So the two stops we had were Cabo (twice) and Puerta Vallarta. There were ten of us that went.
We were able to enjoy the cruise ship as well as the ports that we stopped at. I was worried that I might get sick due to being pregnant but I felt great the whole time.

A few things we did on the cruise ship:
-Enjoyed the sun and pools
-Gambled (just a little bit, only some entertainment)
-Food, food and food (my favorite were the french fries and pizza at all ours of the day and night)
-The comedy shows
-Being able to watch the Dallas Cowboys game on the huge screen tv
-The dance club. haha Kind of had to be there I guess, it was hilarious with us oldies dancing around
-Jon loved his unlimited soda pass
-We were able to see some whales and dolphins in the middle of the ocean. So cool
-So many nice people that were there whenever we needed them (waiters, room service, maids, information help)

Things that we enjoyed in Cabo
-Massages. We found a spot for an hour massage for $20. It was AWESOME!! We did this both days we were there. I will say those ladies aren't afraid of making you a bit uncomfortable. They are going to massage pretty much every inch of the body:/ Guess that's the culture. Haha
-Great lunch. It's always fun to find a real authentic mexican joint.
-We were able to go swimming. The boys went snorkeling. We visited lovers beach and had a blast in the clear blue warm water.
-Of course it's always interesting walking down the streets and hearing the people trying to sell you their junk. Gets kind of annoying. "I will buy your crap if I want it":) It is sad when there are little kids that are barefoot trying to sell chicklets.

Puerta Vallarta (my favorite)
-Visited the mall (surprisingly really nice)
-enjoyed a coffee free Frappacino at Starbucks.
-Cramming 6 people in a taxi. Crazy driver, wasn't sure if we were gonna make it.
-Went to the jungle where The Predator was filmed and there was the coolest waterfall. We weren't really prepared for swimming so just the boys got down to their skivvies and took a dip:)

I am so glad we were able to go on this trip. I swear cruises are the only way to travel. You really don't have to worry about anything and they are reasonably priced as well. I can't wait for our next one. Although we will have an extra little girl with us, so we might have to make it more kid friendly:) Thanks to all of our great friends and the fun we had. Here are a some random pictures. Sorry there are kind of a lot.

Pregnant?

I thought I better record a little bit about this pregnancy to compare with my others in the future. I heard so many horror stories before I became pregnant. I am sooo lucky!! I haven't even felt pregnant. Through the first trimester I was a little bit nauseous but have not thrown up once. As long as I ate something every couple hours I felt great. I will admit to being extra tired and exhausted but that is honestly it. Oh and I have gained some weight and become kinda squishy;) I keep thinking maybe it's a bad thing because I would rather have a rough pregnancy first then get easier ones. Maybe I will be one of the lucky ones that always has easy pregnancies, or it is easy now and my baby will be out of control when she comes:) Either way I am just excited to have the opportunity to have children. Here is a picture of me at 4 months, not flattering but I hate pictures of myself.

GIRLS.....GIRLS.....GIRLS!!!!

We went to the Dr's on August 25th and we were told we would be finding out the gender of our sweet baby. We were soo excited and Jon was coming to this appt. This was the first one he has been able to come to. We got in and started the ultra sound. Perfect heart beat, perfect size and a perfect healthy baby. Jon had a big smile on his face. It hasn't seemed all that real quite yet and now that he actually saw our baby and heard the heart beat, it was real:) Doc starts looking to find the "part." "This little one is being modest he says." He was poking around so much and the little one wouldn't budge. He kept trying and after 7 minutes he said "well at least we know it's a healthy baby." I was so disappointed, I had it all planned out to announce to our families that night. At the last second he said, well I would say you can start buying PINK!! It was kind of weird cause he seemed unsure then the next second he kept saying she and told us it's a girl. Yay! I think Jon got tears in his eyes, it was so fun to be able to see our little girl.
I still keep wondering if it's going to change next appt. I guess the doc is a pro so he should know:)
I had a cake made that had a filling inside, half was pink and half blue.(I had to have it made before we knew). It was Jon's mom's birthday so I told them I would bring the cake. I took the cake out in the family room and starting cutting, my brother-in-law said "it's a boy!" Crap I cut the wrong side. haha. I said wait, I turned it around and cut the other side. Everyone was so excited for us:) Here are a few pictures of my beautiful nieces that our little girl will become best friends with. Just a side note. I am from a family with 3 girls and no boys, my older sister just had her 4th girl and looks like we aren't going to break that curse quite yet:) Sorry this post is soo long, it's mostly just a journal for me to remember these special moments in life.

Brinlee

Paiton

Bentley

Kendyll

I sure hope we can continue the trend of beautiful girls. I can't get over how stinkin adorable they all are:)