Friday the 13th

From now on, I will no longer see Friday the 13th as a weird, over-emphasized day. Instead, I will forever remember that my daughter was born on Friday the 13th. Here's the story.

Joseph and I had tons of plans for Friday. He had the day off so he had two doctor appointments scheduled, one of which was to get the whooping cough vaccine for the baby. Then we had an appointment to sign our will. Lastly, we planned to meet with a realtor and discuss building a house. We had the entire day planned out. Then Saturday, we planned to go to the beach so I could dig a hole in the sand and lay on my stomach. Instead, we spent Friday and Saturday in a hospital holding our daughter, a child of God.

Thursday evening, Joseph got home from work and we decided to go out to Texas Roadhouse for date night. We had a delicious dinner and came home and went for a long walk. We went to bed and at 10:30pm, I got up to run to the bathroom as my water was breaking. Joseph was still awake as I am running and telling him we are going to the hospital. Fortunately, I had just finished packing our bags that morning as I was 37 weeks and thought she'd come late! We called the hospital and they told us to come in right away so we did. Around 11pm, we got to the hospital and they checked me. I was 1cm and had a LONG way to go. Our baby was doing well so the nurses said get some sleep and we'll see what happens by the morning.

Throughout the night, the contractions picked up in intensity and pain, which means Joseph got sleep but I did not. Some of my contractions were ten minutes long, which caused our baby's heart rate to drop. I had to wear oxygen and lay on the left side to keep her happy. My doctor arrived at 7am and started pitocin since my body wasn't dilating quickly enough. By 9am, the contractions were three minutes apart so I could finally get my epidural. It was AMAZING! However, the anesthesiologist made me nervous because he had a difficult time getting the epidural placed and had to redo it. I was worried he was going to tell me that I couldn't get one. Joseph went off to his doctor appointment because I was only 5 cm at that point.

At 11am the nurses came to check me and said, "She's right there!" It was time to push! The nurses got the room ready and out came our baby girl at 12:42pm after about 14 hours of labor.

The doctor held her up when she came out and she was perfect. She cried a little bit and was given 9s for her APGAR scores. Joseph stood by her as the nurse washed her skin and warmed her up. Then I was able to hold her and I fell in love with her! It still amazes me that God could bless with such a choice daughter of His.

We came home Saturday afternoon and life has been great. She is still sleeping a lot, which I'm grateful for. Joseph and I thank God every day for giving us such a gift. Ashton has reminded us that we are an eternal family and she is sent to this earth with purpose. We love her so much and could not imagine life without her.

Here are some pictures of the experience so far.

Right after being born.

We all thought she'd be a little preemie baby but nope.

Holding his baby girl.

So, she arrived in September (point for me). However, she weighed less than 7 lbs 8 oz  (point for Joseph). However, I guessed less than 19 inches and Joseph guessed over 20 and Ashton was 19.5 inches. So we rounded up and Joseph won the bet.

Her sleeping position once we got home from the hospital.

Wearing an outfit from her great-grandma and a hat that was knitted for her.

Ashton falls asleep super fast for Joseph. He's also the best at swaddling her.

Craftiness

This summer, I've worked on several projects for the baby coming to our family. Here are some pictures of things I've done.

A nursing cover. I followed the tutorial online but failed to remember that I am shorter and smaller than most women. So it's on the big side but that's alright. That just means I don't have to worry about modesty as much.

Wipes case and diaper holder for the diaper bag. I made the diaper holder a little smaller than I intended so only small sizes fit in it. I'll have to make another one as our baby grows.

We got some white frames for free a few years ago so I painted them orange and did some duck artwork in them for the nursery.

Sprucing up burp cloths!

Adding some flair to onesies. My favorite is the football one. That's her Halloween costume.

The cover to our carseat.

The inside of the cover. It's made with the minky fleece, which I discovered is NOT easy to sew with.

Joseph and I have also made a little bet about our baby's arrival. The winner of the bet gets to choose the going home outfit from the hospital (even though we know she'll wear the outfit just long enough to make it home and then she'll spit up on it and need to be changed. But, it's still fun.). So, here's our guesses. The winner is the one who is correct on at least two of the three areas.

I'm hopeful she'll come early. But I also think she'll be a chubby baby. After all, look at my height. Also, Joseph was over ten pounds and I was over nine at birth.

Joseph is more realistic with the October birthday but is hopeful she'll play basketball one day. He's cheering for a tall, lean baby.

My going home outfit if I win the bet.

Joseph's going home outfit if he wins. We love baby hoodies!

Now if the ultrasound was wrong and we end up having a boy, I don't know what we'll do. He'll come home in a white onesie or something pink. We're not worried about gender identity.

Labor Day

This Labor Day took on a new definition. Every time our nephew prayed for Labor Day, my mind instantly thought, "but it's not labor day... I'm not in labor." Even though our child decided not to make an early appearance this weekend, we still had lots of fun.

Joseph had the day off on Friday so we met up with our realtor and looked at some homes. It was fun but overwhelming at the same time. Later in the day, we went to a high school football team. Joseph works with the young men in our ward and some of them play in the band. We went to support them and watch some good football. The game wasn't quite like D.C. Everest but that's alright. The high schools here have cheerleaders, a dance team, and baton throwing girls so it was very busy with girls running around.

On Saturday, we drove over to Austin and had a blast visiting Joseph's brother and his family. Our nephew is now eight months old and we can't believe how fast he is growing up! We played lots of Dominion (one of my new favorite games) and went swimming and on fun walks. Joseph tried to face his fears of diving off a diving board. It's a work in progress. Let's just say our kids probably won't become professional high divers in the future. We also listened to the BYU game and was disappointed with their loss. Hopefully this week will be better! We play UT-Austin, which is a huge deal here in Texas! I definitely think we'll be a minority cheering for BYU.

Here's our way of cheering for the Cougars!

Pregnancy update: I'm 36 weeks along! One more until I can be considered full-term by my doctor. Our little baby loves moving around, especially when Joseph and I are home together and talking. Doctor said I am measuring small but am growing consistently so there are no concerns with the baby. But I'm hoping that since she's small, that doesn't mean she's going to come late. I won't be surprised if she decides to postpone her arrival until a week after my due date. I had a doctor appointment this morning and she's head down (which I figured) so that is a good thing. Doctor says everything still looks good.

35 weeks. Baby is the size of a honeydew melon in case the sign is too small.

I hate the shirt I'm wearing. I feel like a tent but at least it fits and is comfortable. Baby is the size of a head of romaine lettuce this week, which I think is dumb. She clearly weighs more than that!

Shop Till You Drop

Over the past summer, Joseph and I have done a lot of shopping for various items. We've learned a lot from our recent purchases.

In May, we started to look for a second car. We've been a one car family since we met and it has worked for us. However, with Joseph gone at work all day and me at home, we felt it was time to look for another car. At first, we were set on buying a used car. Then, we started looking around our area and Lake Jackson doesn't have as many used cars as places such as Provo/Orem. So our market was limited. We talked to a few dealerships and ended up buying a BRAND NEW car! The deal was too hard to pass up and the price we paid was very close to the going rate of a slightly used car. We bought a 2013 Hyundai Elantra. I drive it mostly and I love it. It gets about 35 mpg, which is much better than our Ford Taurus! Also, the car came with Bluetooth connection to our phone, which seems over the top to me but I guess it's nice. So far, it has been a wonderful addition to our car family. With this purchase, I learned that Joseph is a much better haggler than I am and I let him handle all of that.

This isn't our car but it looks the same.

This is the color of our car.

We've also done some shopping for the new addition joining our family this fall. Babies don't require a ton of stuff but they still need the basics like clothes, a bed, and a car seat. I've been fortunate to find really good garage sales and consignment stores in the area. Lake Jackson has a consignment store that frequently holds sales such as 20% or even 40% off the entire store! While I know our baby will go through clothes quickly, I am happy buying clothes when they only cost a dollar or two. When I go to Target, I am appalled at the prices! The best find at the consignment store has been the baby swing. We didn't want to spend tons of money on some fancy schmancy swing, especially if our baby ends up hating it. So the store had a Graco swing that is normally 80-100 dollars on sale for 35 and it was never used! The last big thing we need to get is a glider/rocker and I am against paying full price for that. So the hunt is on for a nice quality rocker. I've learned that baby items are cute but definitely not worth paying the market value. Babies are expensive to begin with and store prices don't help one bit.

Here's our swing. I don't get the point of the stars because they're so high the baby will never reach them. Even if she gets Joseph's height gene. But I guess she can stare at them.

 Here are some other random pictures from the last week or so.

Joseph finds it funny that my stomach now acts as a table. I like it. The picture isn't the best representation of how I look all the time. I do try to look nicer. Also, I don't always eat so healthy (strawberries). If you notice, the little Tupperware I'm holding in my hand is sugar to dip my strawberries into.

This is the finished dresser in our second bedroom! So proud of Joseph!

Joseph and I at the Houston Temple. The little girl was running to her dad right as the picture went off.

Texas History

On a recent date, Joseph and I went to the George Ranch Historical Park in Richmond, Texas. It is similar to Nauvoo in that the people interact in costumes and place themselves in a certain time period. The park includes four homes that the family had while they lived on the ranch. The ranch was passed down for four generations so each home highlights a different generation/era. It was fun to learn some more about Texas history. However, only two buildings were air conditioned so it was hot in the other homes and we went in the middle of the afternoon.

The newest home from the early 1900s. Had a cool lighthouse feature.

A fun patio/deck that was built for entertaining around an oak tree.

The first generation's barn

A dining room from the late 1800's.

Pantry from the late 1800's

Then we went to the beach near our house the next day with a family from our church. I didn't take any pictures so just use your imagination. We did not see any sharks, despite the recent shark attack that happened there. We had fun trying out our new beach equipment like our beach tent and chairs.

We've also been busy re-staining a dresser. We received a crib from my parents and I want a dresser that matches. It is one thing I really care about. I also want a nice hardwood dresser as opposed to the store bought ones that are made of MDF boards and cheaply made. So this meant we either spend hundreds of dollars buying a brand new all-wood dresser or I scour garage sales until I found one. Luckily, I found one at a garage sale that came with a matching nightstand. However, the wood is mahogany so not quite the dark stain to match our crib. Joseph nicely volunteered (meaning I used my big brown eyes and begged him) to re-stain the dresser. Here are some pictures of the project so far. The drawers and nightstand are done and now he's working on the dresser. I am unable to help with it due to the fumes of the stain so he really has been spending a lot of time on it. We'll show pictures of the completed project hopefully this weekend.

The beginning of the drawers before staining. Joseph hadn't sanded them yet either

Picture of a drawer that is done. We had a difficult time drilling new holes for the drawer pulls but we figured it out.

Joseph busy sanding in Houston summer.

Visiting the Badger State

One of the conditions of our move to Texas was that I was able to visit my family once a year. We made this compromise as I am used to being in the same city as my entire family. I took my trip to Wisconsin this month. We also planned to have our baby shower while I was there.

During my first weekend in Wisconsin, we went up north to my family's cottage. We enjoyed sitting by the lake, soaking up the sun. Molly, my parent's dog, loved chasing the waves and trying to eat  flies. My aunt, uncles, and sister were able to come as well. While up north, we went to the Minocqua Water Ski Show. We also went shopping in Minocqua and test drove a boat.

Four bare-footers (I think) behind a boat.

Dog waterskiing too!

A pyramid. And to think I once was the top of a pyramid.

Molly protecting her toys

During the week in Wausau, we celebrated my mom's birthday by going to Texas Roadhouse. Then my brother and his fiance came to town. We enjoyed walking downtown and visiting the 400 Block. Our grandma came to lunch with us too. Lots of time was spent visiting relatives.

Saturday, we had our baby shower. My mom and sister did so much work planning it. It was a wonderful time to see family and friends. Here are some pictures.

The cup tower my brother and sister designed.

Cupcakes done by a family friend. If you want to know who, email me! They were delicious!

My grandma, siblings, and myself.

Then, we just hung out around the house with family. My sister came up for the weekend so we spent some quality time reminiscing about our childhood. We ate lots of yummy food and enjoyed the weather.

The biggest accomplishment I made during the trip was not having to use an airplane bathroom. I have never used an airplane bathroom; not due to fear but rather just never needed to. Well, being pregnant on a 3 hour flight is tricky but I made it!

And for the baby update, I'm 30 weeks along now. Just ten more to go (unless our baby arrives late). She's kicking much, MUCH more lately! I had to take the gestational diabetes test this week and for that, you drink a very sugary drink. Well, she loved it because she would not stop moving for hours after the test. Here's a picture of me at 30 weeks. I feel like I grew a lot bigger over the past two weeks but I haven't gained weight so not sure what's going on.

4th of July Celebrations

For the 4th of July, we drove to Austin to visit Joseph's family. His brother and sister-in-law from Utah came to visit as well. We went to the neighborhood 4th of July parade and later went to the fireworks show. We also went bowling (Joseph beat me pretty good) and swimming. We spent lots of time eating great food and playing games. The weather was perfect in Austin. It wasn't too hot or too humid. Here are some highlights:

Cupcakes I made for the celebration

Made red, white, and blue ones!

Joseph and I waiting for the fireworks to start

And because I realized I never showed a picture from Joseph's graduation back in April, here you go. He graduated with honors and I am so proud of him. His parents came up for the graduation and we got to meet many of his professors.

Joseph with some of his Chemical Engineering friends

Walking across the stage. We've been waiting for this moment for many years!

After the ceremony.

Lastly, we're officially in the last trimester of the pregnancy! Baby is doing well and kicking a lot. I had a doctor's appointment this afternoon and all looked good. We're working on getting ready for her arrival. We couldn't be more excited to welcome a little one into our family!

Here I am at 28 weeks.