First Foods

Sweet potatoes. It's a tradition. Then I gave her banana. She doesn't eat out of a jar. I only give her freshly mashed food. I'm thing of avocado next.

Birth Story

I've always thought that the busier you are the more you have to blog about. But you are too busy to blog then. My baby girl is six months old and I still haven't told you the birth story yet. So I guess I'll tell you the short version. My bag of waters broke on November 1st around bedtime. I wasn't ready for the baby. The house was a mess. There were still lots of boxes stacked up that needed to be unpacked. We ran around trying to put everything into some sort of order and put fresh sheets on the bed. Then Brandon moved the birthing tub into the house and got it ready. We went to bed really excited. I went into the midwife the next morning and she made sure my bag of waters did break and I was in labor. I spent the day walking around and then resting as labor progressed some. Labor tapered off in the evening so we went to bed another night all excited thinking that our baby would be born the next day. I had to get my labor going the next morning or I would not be able to have her at home. So our midwife put me on a schedule of walks, squats, etc. My labor got really intense and then slowed and then intense again the afternoon. I reached a point where I thought I was great. The contractions were not hurting much even though they were strong. Then they got painful. I mean like really bad. I was discouraged and got in the birthing tub to relax. I thought to myself that it was worse in the tub and I needed to get out. The tub was too hot as well and I was overheating. I remember feeling so wiped out that I could barely get on my bed. I was totally done with it. I didn't want to labor anymore. The midwife said that I would have to walk around more to keep labor going. I was crying that I didn't want to walk. Then I felt like pushing. The midwife was really surprised and found I was ready when she checked. I did a lot of pushing. I wasn't paying attention to the time so I have no idea how long I pushed but I think it was at least three hours. Finally I pushed her head out and she was looking around and then I pushed the rest of her out. I was so done with the pushing that I had to be convinced to push out the placenta. Finally, I was done. She was so little and perfect. Baby girl weighed 5 pounds 14 ounces and was 19 1/4 inches long. I felt so sore and weak after the birth. I was thankful to be able to go to bed and sleep that night with her. Brandon was the best father. He took care of her and changed her diapers the first few nights. I only had to nurse her. It was a beautiful experience. So much has happened since then. Baby girl has grown up so much. She got sick when she was a week old but she hasn't been sick since then. She smiled around three weeks and laughed around six weeks. She enjoyed pushing up on her legs and could support her body weight really early. She can stand now while I hold her hands. She started sitting all by herself a few weeks ago. I still nurse her whenever she wants to. She tasted her first sweet potato yesterday. Baby girl likes to play with her toys, loves being read to and carried around everywhere. She went to the Nutcracker when she was a few weeks old and slept through the whole thing. She traveled to church, toy store, pet store, the bank, grocery store and a college gradation. She goes to the chiropractor and the library every week. Every month she goes to La Leche League. She loves her Uncles and is starting to appreciate her grandparents (she went through a phase of not wanting to be held by anyone.) I love being a mother.

Our Baby Girl

A lot has happened since I last wrote. A little girl did a lot of growing and then came out and had still been growing. We are enjoying getting to know her. I'll be telling you the birth story later.

Our Little Papaya

I'm now 24 weeks along in my pregnancy. Our baby has been really active in the past few weeks. It's really exciting to be pregnant now. I've been over morning sickness for a couple of months. The thing I miss most is being able to lay comfortably on my stomach.

Our Little Prune

We had our second prenatal visit this past week. We heard our baby's heartbeat. It was amazing. I can't wait until I start showing a little more and people will be able to actually tell that I'm pregnant.

Our Little Blueberry

We have a little one on the way! I'm so excited for our little baby. I'm seven weeks pregnant and that makes the baby around the size of a blueberry. Being pregnant has been interesting so far. I've noticed that I'm more emotional, tired and really thirsty all the time. I've been drinking a lot of water. I noticed that if I keep eating throughout the day I don't get nauseous. And I noticed that driving or riding in the car makes the morning sickness worse. I had to loosen my belt at work earlier this week and I feel like my belly is just slightly bigger. Maybe it is just all the food I'm eating or maybe I'm starting to get a little baby bump.

It's interesting that the people who are most excited are mothers. I guess only they know the true joys that a little one brings. Some people think we got pregnant way too soon but I know that it was in God's timing. Brandon and I both wanted to have kids for years. I'm so glad that we are living this dream together. I love him so much and am so glad to have this baby with him.

I can't wait to hear our baby's heart beat in three weeks.

Just Married!

The wedding was amazing! We got everything set up the evening before and then we had the rehearsal. I was tired of going through it, I wanted to say "I do" for real. We had the rehearsal dinner at my parents. Brandon and his mother cooked pasta for everyone. I hardly slept that night. I was so excited and it was the first night in our new apartment. I had a few friends stay with me.

We woke up early and got ready on the big day. Most of my bridesmaids got ready at the apartment. Once we were all dressed we headed over to the church. We had decided to take our pictures before the ceremony in order to save time. Brandon and I saw each other for the first time that day in the sanctuary. He looked so handsome in his tux. I was excited to see him. The one thing that no one prepared me for is that we had very little time together during the days leading up to the wedding. I missed him so much and just wanted to be with him. That moment was really special.

Our wedding went smoothly. We had quite a few guests come and it was exciting to see everyone. I was so impatient that I put the ring on Brandon's finger way before I was supposed to. I really liked taking communion with our parents. I think it was the most meaningful communion that I have ever taken.

The reception was fun but we didn't have that much time. And we forgot to do the slideshow and the bouquet toss.

We spent our honeymoon in Sedona. It was a really long drive but worth it. Waking up to the beautiful scenery every morning was amazing. We enjoyed horseback riding, driving to sunset views, visiting Jerome, the Chapel of the Holy Cross and trying out different restaurants.

We had a great time but were glad to come home to our apartment and start to set things up. The first month of marriage has been amazing. We love shopping for groceries and cooking together. We have gotten most of our apartment together. We got a good deal on furniture from a local thrift store. We have been blessed with lots of gifts from friends and family.

I started working for my father. Having a job, karate and sorting through my stuff and finding places for everything takes up most of my time. But we still have time to do fun things like walk on the beach and watch Monk. We are hoping to get Netflix soon so we have access to more movies and TV. We started going to a chiropractor this week. Brandon is really excited about karate and getting his next belt. We got a Vitamix. It is a really good blender that will last for years. We have been enjoying smoothies this past week.

I'm really looking forward to the rest of my life with Brandon.