comparing baby pics

Its that time again. We have welcomed a new member to the family and we are thrilled! However I feel like as the mother of these children, I am losing out. Yet again, another child that does not look much like me. However, as Rylee has gotten older she looks more like her mommy so maybe Jaxson will do the same. Its probably a good thing that my husband is so attractive because that means that since our kids look so much like him, they will be attractive too! If you are wondering why I havent posted any pictures of myself as a baby to compare its because my mother has somehow "lost" my baby pictures. She says "lost" and I say "never taken" but either way the earliest pictures she has of me are from when I am like 4-5 months old. I know, kinda sad. LOL! So here are newborn pics of Justin, Rylee, and Jaxson. The pics are mixed up. At first I didnt think that Jaxson and Rylee looked too much alike however after loading the pics side by side, I would say they could be twins!
 

Mothers day!

So today was mothers day. I must say, I am so grateful to be a mother. I am also grateful that I had a wonderful mother who taught me how to be a wonderful mother, even if sometimes I only qualify under the decent category. This Mothers Day, Rylee and Justin took me to the Salon to get my hair cut and colored. This may seem like an insignificant gift to some but to me it meant everything! I am sure that I am not the only person with this issue, but I have always been one to care what other people think about me and one to care about how I look. If I feel pretty, I have more confidence which makes me a happier person. When I am pregnant, I have a hard time feeling pretty. I think pregnancy is a beautiful thing, however I do not feel like it makes me look beautiful. I have been wanting to get my hair done for a while but have a hard time dropping that much money on myself to do it. However my dear husband who knows me all to well, decided that I did not have an choice in the matter and forced me to do it. Thank you Justin and Rylee, I LOVE IT! I already feel so much better about myself. Its amazing what a new cut and color can do for you! Also, my dear sweet husband took Rylee during Relief Society so that I could actually pay attention! Again, another small and seemingly insignificant gift that meant so much to me! It has been a long time since I have been able to hear a lesson from start to finish and until today I didnt even realize how much I missed it! I was able to come home from church and take a nap and after that we went over to Josh and Jamie's for a big taco dinner. After dinner we played a game with them and came home. AND MY FAVORITE gift of the day was when Justin willingly changed a poopy diaper! Oh the little things that make this day so special! Here is the picture that I had Justin take of me and Rylee for mothers day, I definitely dont take enough pictures of me and her together. I just LOVE being this little girls mommy! So blessed!

The Update

So clearly I am a little behind on this thing so I will briefly cover the things that have happened in the last 5 months. In December we celebrated Rylee's first Christmas which was awesome. She had no idea what was going on but it was certainly fun for me to decorate and try to make it as special as possible! In January we found out that we would be expecting our 2nd child! My due date is September 12th and we couldnt be more excited/scared/happy/nervous and pretty much all of the above! Its amazing how after one pregnancy you forget how much you hated being pregnant so easily that you decide to do it again. However this pregnancy has been pretty easy. I only got a little nauseous during the first trimester and have been fine ever since. I also have not gotten as big wit this pregnancy so I feel a little better about myself. While I am grateful that my body has excepted this pregnancy and that I have the ability to become pregnant, lets face it, there really isnt anything "fun" about being pregnant. Also in December/January Rylee started walking. She would walk short distances in December and by January she was a professional! In February we celebrated Rylee's first birthday which was great. She actually got 3 different birthday parties, one in Oakland at the park, one with her grandma and grandpa Schmidt, and one with the Harris side of the family! Lucky girl! In March we headed home from Oakland (FINALLY) but our home stay was short lived and within a week and a half we were on the road again to Dallas. Dallas has been awesome.
We love it here in Dallas and could honestly see ourselves moving here someday....maybe. But that is a big maybe and its WAY down the road. Dallas has been so much fun. We go play sand volley ball every Monday and Friday with the rest of the crew and we pretty much hang out/go out together all the time! The the VERY end of April they finally opened the pool and we pretty much spend time out there every day. Thankfully Rylee has great skin for the sun, she has no problem with burning and has basically the kind of dark complexion that will one day make the other girls jealous! Rylee has adapted well to all of the changes and I am pretty sure she was as grateful as I was to leave Oakland! When we got to Dallas I decided to give potty training a try and Rylee has done amazing with it! I cant say that I am technically potty training her but I do stick her on the toilet a few times a day and she always goes for me. As a matter of fact, she has gotten to the point where every time I put her on there she goes immediately and we go about our business. Now she just needs a mom who will dedicate a few day to making this potty training thing official. I think she is ready, but I am not sure if I am ready for it! Also while here in Dallas we have been able to spend time with my cousin Keith and his wife Laura. They have a 4 yr old daughter and a son that is Rylee's age. The kids play really well together and it has been nice having family here! While here in Dallas we have also learned that we will be having a baby boy! This is such exciting news to me. I will admit, I was kind of hoping for another girl for Rylee to play with (and because I already have so many girl things) but when I found out it was a boy I was thrilled! I feel like I am living the worlds dream of having one of each, however the typical world would probably stop having kids after having one of each but not this crazy mommy! I am sure there will be plenty more after this one even though I dislike pregnancy so much! I think thats all the important stuff that has happened and if I did leave out something important, then I will just blame it on this pregnancy brain stuff and will post about it later. We are heading back home to Missouri and should be there for about 1 1/2 months before we leave again. While I am sad to be leaving Dallas, I cant hardly wait to get back to our HOME!!!! I will have an appreciation for the things that I typically complain about, like laundry and cleaning just because I will be cleaning MY HOUSE and washing clothes in MY washer and dryer (for free) and I will be sleeping in MY very comfortable bed! Let's not forget the best part, we will be home so that Rylee can see her grandparents and they can see her! I hate taking her away from them and them away from her. Cant wait!

Time in Oakland

So as your know, we are currently living in Oakland. Oakland has been interesting to say the least! In the short time we have been here, we have had some crazy and some great experiences. This has definitely been the hardest place for me to live thus far. Oakland really isn't that friendly of a place and somewhat scary at times. Here is a short recap of our experiences so far. On black Friday there was man shot in the Walmart parking lot that I was shopping at (I actually saw his body laying on the ground), a random lady walked up to us and gave us a $100 bill for Christmas, and I left my purse on the floor of McDonald's (which had the $100 from the lady). However, even though there have been some crazy things, I am still very thankful to be here. Minus the shooting, the other two events that happened were good. The lady that gave us the money taught me and awesome lesson (see previous post) and the fact that my purse was in tact and everything was still there after carelessly leaving on the floor of McDonald's has restored my trust in humanity. It has also given me the assurance that not EVERYONE in Oakland is bad and scary.

I have decided that I need to have a better attitude about this place. So here are so positives of being here. #1 its warm! I hate the cold weather and this job is basically going to insure that we completely miss the Missouri winter. Who can complain about that? #2 My husband is working and making money to provide for our family (this should probably be #1). I am so grateful that he is such a hard worker and even though I dont get to see him near as much as I would like because he works long hours, I am so grateful that he has a job and that it pays well enough for me to be a stay at home mom to raise Rylee. #3 I am SO grateful that we are able to travel with Justin. I cant imagine what life would be like if he had to leave us for months at a time to work so the fact that we are able to travel with him is a blessing. #4 I am consider the other wives that we travel with to be my good friends. I enjoy their company and their children! I love watching the kids play while us women get our girl talk time. #5 there are some great places to shop here. Never thought I would say this, but I am OBSESSED with the $1 store. Who would have thought???? But there are tons of shopping places which keep me entertained during the day (however thats not always a good thing). #6 there are parks and walking trails that I actually feel safe going to around here! #7 there is a gym for me to work out! I dont have an excuse to not work out anymore so guess what...I am doing it! #8 We have a temple that is less then a 20 minute drive (its only like 10 miles away but takes longer to get there). #9 Did I mention the weather? :) Seriously I LOVE the weather. I hate the snow and cold and I am not sad to not have it! #10 No matter where I go, I still have the most important things to me. I have my family, the Gospel, and facebook...(ha ha). But in all honesty, I am grateful for facebook and my blog because I can use it to keep in touch with my family back at home. I am able to post pictures of Rylee and tell about all of our exciting adventures.
I will post some pictures of our time here so far!

Why don't I do this more often???

Tonight really got me thinking...how come I dont work out more often? Why is it so hard for me to get dressed and just do it? I was thinking about all of the benefits to working out, and guess what, there are tons! So I decided to write them down that way when a day comes that I dont feel like doing it, I can read this and hopefully it will inspire me. So here is my future motivation...hopefully!

Reasons I love to work out:
1. It's healthy, plain and simple.
2. Once I start doing it, I actually enjoy it
3. I feel good after I do it. Not only do I feel a sense of pride, I also feel a sense of accomplishment.
4. It gives me bragging rights, I feel like a "cooler" person when I can say "yeah, I work out" (I know that one is kinda silly but hey, this is for me...right??) :)
5. It gives me a chance to burn off some stress. Even though my life isn't full of stress, I am still human and trust me, I am a much happier person when I am not stressed out.
6. It's one thing that I can do that I do just for me. It's not a mommy thing, or a wife thing, its a me thing.
7. My body looks a lot better which means I have more confidence in the way I look.
8. Because I have more confidence, I am more likely to get dressed up and put on makeup and try to look nice for my husband.
9. I have more energy
10. When I am actually working out, I don't get down on myself because I am not, not working out...if that makes sense! When I am not working out I get a lower self esteem because I know it's something that I should be doing and it is a heavy weight on my shoulders.
11. I tend to pay better attention to what and how much I am eating because I know whatever I eat, I have to burn off in the gym. Its takes me about an hour to burn about 400 calories. It takes me about 30 seconds to eat 400 calories, I definitely pay more attention!
12. My husband finds me more attractive. I know my husband will love me no matter what but he isn't blind. I want him to love me AND be attracted to me.
13. Let's face, I married a skinny guy who happens to be a bottomless pit. However, he is skinny none the less. I DO NOT want to be that fat girl with the skinny husband.
14. I married into a skinny family. No matter what I do I will always be bigger than my inlaws, I am just built bigger. However, I have control over how much bigger I will be!
15. I love compliments. I love people to tell me I am pretty or that I look great or whatever. I especially love it when people notice a change in me and it motivates me when someone notices that I have lost weight.
16. I am less lazy and more productive
17. I am just a happier person all around. When I am happy, my family is happy. This stems from the confidence thing and it affects every aspect of my life. If I set goals with my workouts it motivates me to set goals with other things in my life. It seems like when I start getting into a habit of working out, I also get into a habit of reading my scriptures and saying my prayers. I know that sounds weird but for me, the two things are connected somehow.

I know there are many many more benefits to it. I hope that this post will help me when I start slacking again. I know that time will come when I get tired of it, or burnt out but hopefully this will help me remember why I really do love doing it!

Christmas Ornaments

Rylee's First Christmas

Justin's Ornament

Family Ornament

Family

Another Family

The ornament I made for Justin

All of the ornaments (minus one)

The year before last, I went to a Christmas party and they made these ornaments. They are cheap, simple, and fun to make! Today I invited the kids over to make them with me and we had tons of fun! I didn't pictures of the ones that the kids made, but I did take pictures of the ones that I made (and the ONE that I convinced Justin to make.) Here is how you make them:
You buy clear small plastic cups (I bought the Great Value Brand 5 oz. cups). You color them with permanent markers however you want. Then you put them on a cookie sheet (I put a piece of foil down just to protect my cookie sheet) and put them in the oven at 300 degrees. They are only in the oven for about 1 1/2 minutes or less. Watch them because they melt fast and if they melt too much then they curl up. Let them cool for a few minutes and then take a hot glue gun and melt a hole in the top and stick a ribbon through. Simple as that and this is the final result...so fun!

The only words that come to mind are Thank You!

So today I had probably one of the most humbling experiences ever. I can hardly come up with the words to explain what this means to me, but I will try. This is definitely an experience I hope I will NEVER forget.

Tonight Justin, Rylee, and I took a trip to Walmart. This was just a normal food trip to the store. We were walking up and down each isle trying to remember what was on my list (I have a bad tendency to make a list and then forget it when we leave). Walking down one of the isles we passed a lady. I politely gave her a little smile as we passed her and apparently Justin did the same. Neither of us thought anything about it until we started down the next isle and I get a gentle tap on my shoulder. I noticed it was the lady from the isle before my first thought was "oh crap, did we do something to offend her?" So she proceeds to say this "I do not have any grandchildren near and I couldn't help but notice your beautiful daughter and I want you to have this. Please make sure to get her something nice with it." I was totally confused and looked at Justin and he had the same confused look on his face. I said to her "Thank you but I can't"....she cut me off and said "yes you can" as she slipped the $100 bill in my hand. I looked at her with tears rolling down my face and said "Thank you so much, can I at least give you a hug?" She said of course and we hugged. She walked away and I was just standing there frozen with tears running down my face. How could a woman who doesn't even know us be so kind towards us?

My Thoughts: This woman has taught me such a valuable lesson, whether its money or whatever, we should always be willing to help our neighbors. This woman didnt know me, she didn't know Justin, she has no clue if we will actually use that money to buy Rylee something nice but that didn't stop her from giving it to us. I will never get the chance to repay her or send her a thank your note, I probably wont ever see this woman again, but she has inspired me. The thoughts keep storming through my head "why us?" There were so many other people there with children, why did she pick us? Then it hit me, she was prompted by the spirit to be give us that money and she followed those promptings. Maybe its not for the money aspect of it (although that helps) but maybe it was to soften my heart. Now I feel it is my responsibility to pass on that random act of kindness. Her generosity towards me and my family makes me want to share that same generosity with someone else. Just think, if I pass on this act of kindness to someone, then they pass it on to someone else and so forth, how many lives will be affected by this one woman? The $100 is awesome, but the lesson she taught me of kindness and the pure love of Christ is way more valuable and for that I am forever grateful to this woman...whoever she is!

I'm Back!!!!

So we are one the road again which means...I will BLOG AGAIN!!!! Its so much easier to blog when we are on the road because I actually have my own computer and internet! So here is a little of what has happened in the last 4 weeks. Rylee is constantly standing up on things, she LOVES standing so much. I really think that she will be walking very soon and thankfully because I am tired of her pants being worn on the knees! She has a few words already. I think she is going to be a talker like her mommy! She really likes to imitate noises and sounds. Her first word was Sadi. It sounds more like day-di but its definitely Sadi. She starts saying it over and over again as soon as Sadi walks in the room. She also says Mama, Dada, and kitty. I know this is going to sound unbelievable but I have also heard her say Lindsey (as in her aunt Lindsey). I have witnesses that heard it to! I asked her were Lindsey was and she said it almost clear as day. Of course she wont say it again but she did say it once! She also has an obsession with a certain DVD that we bought her and its a singing DVD. They sing do-re-me-fa-so-la-te-do and when they sing the last "do" she starts saying "do, do, do, do" its very funny!

Before we left for California we had a chance to go up and see my family. While we were there, my mom had an early Christmas for Rylee and us. It was fun watching her open the presents. Since I know my mom never checks my blog, I can post this because I am very excited about it! We are surprising my mom with pictures of her kids and grandkids! I am so excited because Justin and I were able to get some family pictures done in the process! The kids were crazy while taking pictures but thankfully Hilary (the photographer) was able to get some good ones! I am so excited about them! This is the first time I have actually let loose of some money to have a professional take pictures for us!

Also, We were able to take a "mini vacation" to California. While there we were able to visit the city where Justin grew up. It was a great little get-away before Justin has to start working hard on this Hotel job. We had such a great time! I was able to see his old house, the schools that he went to, and able to meet some of his friends from high school. It was a great trip but I am glad to be done traveling for a while.

Now we are in Oakland, CA. So far so good. We are living in an extended stay hotel which is basically a hotel room with a small kitchen and sitting area. Its in a really nice area close to the airport and the place is actually pretty nice...small, but nice! Rylee is adjusting to sleeping in her pack N play which is always loads of fun...not!!! Its hard to just let her cry herself to sleep because I try to keep her quiet because there are other people staying here. When we are at home she is really good at letting me put her in her crib and then she just falls asleep but its definitely not that easy with her pack N play! Thats really about all for now! I have some pictures to post but I am going to do it in another post. I find that easier then trying to post them as I write!

Birthday

Rylee standing up for the first time

My pillow case wrapping

Blowing out my birthday match!

The very handsome love of my life!

ice cream cake

Matthew at dinner

Jacob at dinner

my beautiful family

my favorite little girl showing off her teeth!

So the other day was my birthday. I must admit, getting older does not get me too excited! However, even though the day is not my favorite day, it was still a great day for me.
The day started off with going out to eat for lunch at Fiesta Fresh which is an awesome Mexican restaurant here in Hilton Head. It was really good and of course we went there with Josh and Jamie which is always a good time. After that, the boys went back to work and Jamie and I headed to the mall to let the kids play at the play place. The kids loved it! Later that day for dinner we went to Wild Wings, again with Josh and Jamie. We had a great time there and the food was really good!After Wild Wings, Justin and I went off island to get the traditional ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. Josh and Jamie came over and had some cake with us and it was awesome! After eating ice cream cake Rylee surprised us all by pulling herself into the standing position while holding onto the couch. It was an awesome birthday present. Speaking of birthday presents, Justin got me a compact set of scriptures. Justin's mom is making me a church bag because I get tired of carrying around three bags at church and wanted something that I could just pick up every Sunday that strictly has church stuff in there. i am so excited about this gift and cant wait to start using it! The scriptures go right along with the gift. I will post pictures as soon as I get the bag from Lynn! Such an awesome birthday! So grateful that Josh and Jamie were here to help celebrate!

Hilton Head with Rylee

Amanda's Wedding

My water baby

Rylee LOVED riding the Slip N Slide with daddy

Another Hilton Head picture

Easter with My family

Christmas In June with Justin's side of the family

Rylee's Blessing day!

6 month photo shoot with mommy!

Still 6 months!

Blessing day with daddy

About dang time!

So if anyone actually reads my blog, you know that it has been a LONG time since I have posted anything. I do have an excuse, maybe not a good one but at least its an excuse! It it tons easier for me to update my blog when we are on the road because we typically have internet where we go but at home we do not. If I want to use the internet I have to go over to my inlaws house which ends up being a hassle because I have to find something to do with Rylee and then I have to use their computer. I am much more comfortable doing it from my own computer and its a lot fast because I know how to use mine! So here is a brief update on life!

So much has happend since New York. We came home on April 1st when Rylee was 6 weeks old. The first big thing that happened is that Rylee slept through the night the FIRST night we were home and she has been doing it every night since! I really think that all she wanted was to be in her own room and own crib. As far as Justin and I go, he went back to working at the lake house a lot and being away a lot with that. It was hard on both Rylee and me not having him home as much, however I am so THANKFUL that I have a husband who works so hard to support his family and gives me the opportunity to stay at home and raise our daughter. However, it was still hard having him away, but thankfully I was blessed with a pretty well natured baby so I didnt go too crazy doing the single mom thing. I was VERY grateful when the lake house job was over and I was able to have my husband back.

Rylee has grown so much and so fast. I cant seem to get over how fast this has all went. It seems like yesterday I delivered her and looked into her beautiful blue eyes for the first time and thought "well I guess there is no turning back now." My life has changed so much just because of her. I love everything about her...well almost everything, she does seem to have an attitude. Justin says she gets it from me but I dont agree with him. At exactly 4 months and 2 days she started rolling and from then on she rolls everywhere (including off my bed!) Somewhere after she hit 5 months she was sitting up. I dont have an exact date on this because I was so nervous about her falling over that I was constantly surrounding her with pillows. She was pretty unsteady at first but now she is a sitting pro. On October ninth she had the biggest day of her life so far. She started playing patty cake, and she signed the word "more" and "all done" and she pulled herself into the standing position for the first time. I think I have a very smart child but it was like she woke up one day and she was a little smarter :) Oh yeah, she crawls now too. She knows how to crawl the standard crawl however she prefers to army crawl everywhere and she is getting faster and faster at doing it. And she has also started recently going from laying, to sitting, back to laying and so forth. She is becoming so interactive and I just love it!

As for other things, we havent done anything too special. In August we were blessed with an opportunity to go out to Utah and see our best friends Joe and Jess. We had a blast there however the drive was LONG! It didnt help that a highway was closed for flooding so we had to detour which seemed to add hours onto the trip. However the 24 hours in the car was so worth it! We had such a great time just hanging out with them. Of course Rylee was able to meet her future husband Lincoln. But dont worry, the two were supervised the whole time. There was no hanky panky going on! :) It was so fun getting to see Lincoln again and introduce the Scott family to Rylee. We were there for Joey's birthday which seems to be a pattern for our vacations with them. Every time we plan a vacation it seems to be either mine or Joey's birthday. Also it seems like either me or Jess are pregnant at the time. One day, neither of us will be pregnant and Jess and I are going to leave the kids with their daddy's and we are going to go ride roller coasters or something that we cant do when we are pregnant, maybe even go to a "club" and get a groove on...maybe one day! On the way back from Utah we had the opportunity to stop through Maryville and see my dear friends Scott and Kelli. I was so thrilled to be able to stop through and introduce Rylee to them and to, well, just see them again! We tried to make it there a little earlier so we could go to church and see all my other Maryville friends but the drive took too long and we missed church by like 5 minutes! Oh well, gives us an excuse to go back up there for another visit!

Another fun thing that we did this summer was take Rylee to the lake for the first time. She first went when she was about 4 months old. It was so much fun and that is where we found out that she is a total water baby! This little girl is just like her momma. I have a DEEP love for the water and so does she! I hope she stays like that forever! We have taken her a few times since and the last time she went, Justin was able to go with us and the three of us road the tube together. It was a blast and she loved it!

Here are a few other things that are definitely worth mentioning. One of my best friends, Linsey, got married in August. I had the opportunity to be in the wedding with her and to share that special day with her. It was great to see and spend time with my friends from high school. That was also the first time EVER that I spent the night away from my baby. She went to stay with my mom while I did the wedding stuff. It was hard for me but it was good for me to get away for a bit! I also had the chance to go to Worlds of Fun with my husband, siblings, and cousin Shawn. It was so much fun. We had a blast there even though it rained for a few hours. And the best part is the tickets were free and we were even able to ride the rip cord for free. Thanks, Sara for knowing someone who has the authority to get us free tickets!

In June, Justin's sister came out with her family to visit for a week. It was so great getting to see my nieces and having them so close. I wish they could live closer so we could see them more! We had Christmas in June and the girls thought that was the coolest thing so I think this will be a tradition. While they were there we also had the opportunity to bless our little girl. I have always dreamed of the day when my husband would be able to bless our baby. To have a husband who is worthy to hold the priesthood to be able to perform this blessing meant the world to me. It was awesome to be surrounded by family and have so much family and friends there to witness this special day. In August, we took a trip to the river with Justin's parents and we took the dogs with us. Sadi is a GREAT camper. She did so good and Rylee did pretty good too! However the trip home would end up being one of the worst trips home EVER! We were about two hours away from home and Justin's truck break down. The rear end went out which happens to be a very expensive fix! He was without a truck for a little over a month which meant he had to drive my Jeep until we got the money to fix it. I am so happy that it is fixed now and he has his vehicle back and I have mine back!

Oh yeah, last thing and then I swear I am done. So in June, Justin challenged me to a bet. I am a VERY competitive person so naturally I took him up on her challenge. The challenge was that I had to work out everyday for the next six weeks and my goal was to lose 16 pounds. Justin's end was that he had to bulk up and get ripped. Whoever won was able to spend $300 on whatever they wanted to. So I worked my butt off the whole time and lost a total of 10 pounds. Not my goal of 16 but I would take 10 any day! Justin quit about half way through so even though I didnt hit my 16 he still says I won...I am not going to argue! So this is how I spent my money. First, I decided that I wanted to feel pretty again so I went and got my hair done. This is the first time I have cut my hair short since Justin and I have been married so I was a little nervous but LOVE the results! I also got highlights put in it. Next, I went and threw away all of my makeup (most of it I had from when Justin and I got married which I know is NO GOOD) I replaced it with brand new makeup that I LOVE! then I went and bought some new jeans to go with my new hair, new make up, and new body! Thank you Justin for knowing how to get me to start something and stick with it, just wave a bet in my face and some money and I will stick to anything! I have an awesome husband for so many reason but I really love him for motivating to make changes that make me feel so much better about myself. I am still working on the rest of the 16 pounds. Slowly but surely I am getting there!
I will post pictures soon!

Daddy's little girl

So I have come to the conclusion that Rylee is going to be a daddy's girl. However, on top of that she looks just like him. Its really not fair. I carried her for 9 months, gave birth to her, am her main source of food supply and yet I get NO say in what she looks like. Its just not fair. She should at least get my eyes or my mouth or SOMETHING! I have a feeling that the only thing this little girl is going to get from me is my attitude. However, that is the one thing I was really hoping she would get from her daddy (I was a brat!) I had Justin's mom send me some pictures from when he was a baby and here they are to compare to Rylee. Like I said....its just not fair!

Rylee

Justin

Being MOMMY and DADDY!

I have to say, I LOVE being a mommy. This has been the most amazing experience so far and its only beginning. I always thought that I understood what it meant to be a mother. As you are growing up you hear about how you will never know the true feeling and meaning of love until you have a child of your own. I never understood what exactly that meant but now I do. I hold this little girl in my arms and I cant even begin to explain the amount of love that I have for her. She is so perfect in every way, I dont know how we lived without her. Being a mother is not easy by any means but it is definitely worth every minute of it. Nursing has been a bit of a struggle, however I am completely dedicated to making it work so I will just keep going. I love being able to nurse her. I love that it is something that only I can give her. Its our mommy daughter time and lucky for us we get to do it a lot!
I spent a lot of time preparing for the birth however I did not even think about what to expect afterwards. I had no clue what the body had to go through to repair itself after delivery. However I have not had to luxury of sitting around and just letting myself heal. The DAY AFTER they released me, they had me bring my 3 day old baby back to the pediatrician office to have her jaundice checked out. She barely has jaundice but they still want to check her. So on top of the lack of sleep I am trying to get my newborn baby and my sore self ready for a doctors appointment. Then the next day we had to go out to get some stuff and then on day 5 I was stuck taking my baby BACK again for another check up. Today is the first day that I have been able to sleep and relax. Its been a stressful week and I am pretty sure I have been the crabbiest person ever but finally I feel like I got a little bit of sleep. Now I just need to get over this soreness! Regardless I would do this all over again to have her. I just cant get over how much I love this little girl. My life is so blessed and I cant even begin to explain the feelings of gratitude that I have for this amazing blessing. I catch myself tearing up just from looking at her. I am just so overwhelmed with love. I also have to say how grateful I am to have the support of the members of the church and our extended family. We have been blessed to have dinners brought to us and I cant even explain how grateful I am for that. It is so nice to not have to think about what to make or going shopping for the groceries to make it! Especially since I cant drive for 2 weeks I am VERY grateful! So thanks to all who have helped! Here are so pics from home. I must say that I LOVE being able to dress this little girl up...its so much fun!

Our beautiful baby!

So last Thursday I had my typical weekly doctors appointment (well I say typical but I was 4 days over due by this time so I didnt expect to still be having appointments!) So when I got to the doctors they did the normal listen to the babies heart rate and check to see if I was dilated. I of course was not dilated more than a 1 which was devastating because I have been having consistent contractions for a week and a half. So they doctor listened to the babies heart rate and it had lowered, it was not low enough to be extremely concerned but still lower. The previous night I had a little freak our moment because I hadnt felt her move for a quite a while so Justin and I both tried poking and pushing on my stomach to try to get her to move, I tried flipping to each side and was getting nothing. This lasted for about 15 minutes. Finally I asked Justin to say a prayer that we would know what to do. Within seconds of finishing the prayer I felt her move again. I was relieved and knew that things were ok. However I mentioned this to the doctor so she started feeling around on my stomach and determined that my fluids felt low so she immediately sent me to have another ultrasound. (I think that brings my total up to 6 ultrasounds throughout this pregnancy!) After having the ultrasound they said that I would need to go over to the hospital to be induced because my fluid levels were below where she would like. Since I was already overdue there was no need to monitor me any further.

I called Justin and told him to meet me at the hospital (made sure I stopped to get my last meal for a while too) So when I got to the hospital they made me start off in triage...I pretty much hate triage. I was waiting there for what felt like forever! I guess they were running low on birthing rooms and I overheard my nurse fighting for me to be the one that got the next available. I was really concerned about not getting a birthing room. One of the things that I like most about this hospital is that each patient gets their own room and they actually have the baby in that room. So I was glad she was standing up for me and it worked because I got the next one!

So we moved into the birthing room, however even though I was still having contractions I was not dilated. So the first part of induction is to insert a pill to soften the cervix. For some people this puts them into labor naturally and for others they have to do the IV medicine. I was really hoping for the pill to work because I really wanted to be able to do the whirl pool while having contractions just to see if I like it and because I have heard so many wonderful things about them. So they put the first pill in and I only dilated to about a two. So they put another one in (after 4 pills they start the IV) This one must have worked because my contractions got stronger and I was dilating. When I was dilated to about a 5-6 and they knew I wasnt going to need the IV they finally let me go into the whirl pool tub. I LOVED this. It was awesome and really helped me relax. They also gave me some Nuvane which didnt help at all with the pain, however it did put me to sleep between the contractions. When I got out of the tub I was dilated to almost an 8. So they asked me one last time if I wanted an epidural. I told them that since I had made it this far without one I was going to turn it down...again (they asked me like 20 times if I wanted one.)
However once I hit an 8 I was beginning to regret my decision. This is the point where I lost the "mind over matter" I was starting to freak out and wanted to cry. However lucky for me I went from an 8 to a 10 pretty quickly and was ready to start pushing. Pushing was so hard and they told me to try to get 3 good pushes within each contraction. I told them I wanted to get 4 in every time because I wanted this baby out! So every time I would have a contraction I would get 4 good pushes in. They asked if I wanted a mirror and I am glad that I had one to see but I wish they would have put it up right before the baby came out. The whole 2 steps forward and 1 step back part of labor was hard for me to see. I would start to see progress and then as the contraction ended she would slide right back up.
Eventually she did come! It was such an amazing feeling when they put her on my stomach (and the pushing was finally over) I looked over at Justin and he was tearing up, I was crying too. Well I was trying to cry but my body was too exhausted to push out any tears...it was pretty pathetic! I am very happy that I did it naturally, however I have learned that you do not get a reward for suffering through all the pain of a natural labor. They do not put your name on a plaque or anything like that. I would have gotten the same results if I would have had an epidural but not all the pain! I have to say, I loved the fact that I could get up and walk around within minutes of having her. I was able to sit up to see her get her measurements and weight. If I would have had an epidural I would not have been able to do that. I think next time I will be getting the epidural. I have done the natural thing and now I can say that I have done it. Who knows, I might prefer natural but I will definitely give it something to compare to! It was an amazing experience none the less!