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!

A burnt blessing

When I was a kid, occasionally my mom would overcook something and tell us not to complain because it was simply a burnt blessing. Well I have been cooking this baby in my oven for my 40 weeks due time and now she has become a "burnt blessing." She has stayed in the oven a few days too long! However she is still a very special blessing in our lives. We are so excited to see her and hold her and just tell her how much we love her. I think of how long we had to wait to have her already so what is a few more days! I have to admit that I have had an overall good pregnancy. Its been long, and not always easy but I am sure it will be well worth it. The wait is almost over! Anyhow, I am really ready for our little "burnt blessing" to get here! I already love her so much and I dont even know what she looks like! AHHHHH....I cant wait!

The debate

So recently I have debated deleting my facebook account. I read on a blog that a friend of mine did it because she was constantly on it. I unfortunately have the same addiction. I find myself checking it from my phone multiple times a day as well as on the lap top. I love facebook for the simple fact that I can be nosy without anyone knowing that I am being nosy! I love that I can stay updated on the lives of old friends, new friends, and people I dont even know very well. Also its a great way to stay in touch with my family, they are not great about checking my blog but they all check their facebook as well! Especially with the new arrival approaching and the family and friends being so far away, facebook is a great way for me to post pictures and update everyone on our progress as a family.
Now, the downside to facebook. First of all, it is an addiction. There is no other way to put it, I have an addiction to facebook. I check it when I am bored, I check it when I am tired, I check it every time I open the computer...its pathetic! Also I have been having a slight problem with getting offended with comments...this could be the out of control hormones that I am experiencing right now, or the simple fact that you are not able to sense sarcasm with words only. Anyone that knows me, knows that I am a very sarcastic person so while may be sarcastically venting on one of my status updates, some people my think that I am seriously upset or stressing out. This is turn leads to comments that I dont always like. I had an incident the other day where I made a sarcastic comment, where I was trying to be funny about the baby being late (I guess I am not a good comedian) and ended up getting my feelings hurt by a comment (dont worry, it wasnt anyone that checks out my blog). After being upset about this and venting to my husband about it, I realized that it was most likely a combination of hormones and miscommunication on both ends.
Justin and I have realized that facebook, while having so many great aspects to it also has many downfalls as well. I wish I could say that I could just knock my addiction without getting rid of it all together but in reality I doubt it. We are considering both deleting our accounts and just sticking to a blog. Opinions on this matter would be great!

First trip to the hospital

So yesterday I was feeling a little weird all day. I had a sudden burst of energy and just wanted to deep clean our apartment. So, I turned on the Ipod and started dancing and cleaning (the dancing was my idea of trying to be active to induce labor) :). Anyhow, so Justin came home that night and I was feeling some slight contractions but I wasn't sure if they were Braxton Hicks or if they were the real deal so I didn't think much of them. At about 9:20 at night I decided to start timing them. They were pretty subtle so I wasn't sure if they were just pains or real contractions...eventually they started getting harder and harder so I was sure they were contractions. I told Justin to get some sleep (I knew I wouldnt be able to) so he went to bed around 10:30. I stayed up and kept timing them finally at about 1:00 in the morning I woke him up and told him that it was time to go. When we left for the hospital my contractions were about 3-4 minutes apart. To make this story a little more interesting I will let you know that we hadnt filled up our tank in the Jeep and were running on fumes and of course there were no gas stations opened at 1:00 in the morning. I guess we are not in Missouri anymore! So we said a prayer before we left that we would be able to find a gas station and sure enough we found one on the way to the hospital. I know that the Lord helped us in finding one because if we hadnt found one we probably wouldnt have made it (yes it was that empty)! Anyhow, we made it to the hospital and checked in the Triage. My contractions were getting worse and I was really nervous so my blood pressure was a little high. They check me to see if I was dilated and of course I wasn't. The most pain that I had felt was when the doctor checked me. I have been checked by my doctor before and it never really hurt that bad, but when this doctor checked me I thought she stuck it up there so far that I was going to be able to choke on it. It was miserable. Anyhow since I wasn't dilated she told me to go walk around for a bit and they would check me again. As I walked around my contractions were getting stronger and stronger and coming about every two minutes. However, at about 3:30 she came in to check me again and nothing. I am probably only dilated to a one. So they told me to go home. I wasn't sure how I was going to be able to go home and relax with the contractions that I was having so they gave me some pills to take the edge off and put me to sleep. They worked, but I think they that slowed down my contractions. Because I woke up this morning and am back to were I can barely feel them now. I am pretty bummed about it but I guess that she will come when she is ready. I just hope that she decides she is ready pretty soon...I know we are ready for her to be here!