Shower #1

The amazing and delicious food and beautiful display thanks to Kelly

The yummy cupcakes thanks to Jennie

The guest of honor Colbie, she slept through the entire shower

I am behind on posting, life with a newborn does not allow much time for blogging or even checking e-mail, going to the restroom, eating, sleeping or anything else for that matter but I wouldn't trade a minute of it. I have a lot to catch up on but decided I needed to go back several weeks to some very special events. My dear friend Kelly asked to give me a baby shower when she first found out I was pregnant, she had been planning the big event and then surprise Colbie made her arrival 10 days early. We decided to go ahead with the shower and I would bring 5 day old Colbie with me to the shower. Everyone was very kind and understanding when I requested that no one hold her, I really appreciated there understanding. The shower was of course amazing, the food was delicious, the decor was beautiful, the sweets were sweet, the guests were very kind and generous and helped us welcome Colbie to the world. I really appreciate Kelly, Holly, Jennie, Paige, Heather and Elizabeth K. and any others that helped make this such a special event for our family. We feel blessed every day when we look at our beautiful girl and we are so happy to share our joy with wonderful friends.

Hannah's First Day of 10th Grade

August 24th was Hannah's first day of 10th grade, where has the time gone. It seems like just yesterday she was Colbie's size and now she is a Sophomore in High School and learning to drive. She was supposed to get her permit on her birthday but we were in the hospital following Colbie's birth, she patiently waited until the next week and her Dad took her to get it. She has been driving every chance she gets since that day, all in all she is a pretty good driver. Dad has more courage than Mom and does most of the driving with her, thank goodness. Hannah loves learning and we look forward to where her learning will take her and all the opportunities that lie ahead for her.

Houston's First Day of 4th Grade

August 24th was Houston's first day of 4th grade, he was not exactly looking forward to summer ending and going back to school but now that school is in full swing he is happy to be back. He loves his new teacher Mr. Ciernia, this is the first time he has had a male teacher. He said that the boy teachers are nicer than the girl teachers, interesting observation considering he has had amazing''girl' teachers all the years he has been in school. It is hard to believe he is already in 4th grade, maybe it is having a new born at home that makes him seem like such a big boy, or maybe he is growing up before my eyes, or both. We love Houston so much and look forward to seeing what he will learn and how we will grow this year.

Houston and his friend Will

Houston's first Male Teacher Mr. Ciernia

Colbie's Arrival and other Happenings!

It seemed faster to post a slideshow than individual pictures. I hope you enjoy seeing pictures of Colbie's arrival to the world, Hannah's small birthday celebration (I still ower her a real celebration), the baby shower and some current pictures of Colbie.

SURPRISE!! Colbie Makes Her Appearance 10 Days Early

Imagine my surprise when on my way to work Thursday morning I had several contractions that seemed stronger than the standard Braxton Hicks I had felt previously. I tried to ignore them and pretend that they werel no big deal. After eating my lunch at work in my office I stood up and felt a gush of fluid, my immediate thought was either I had wet my pants or my water broke. As I headed to the restroom it became apparent that my water broke, this was 10 days earlier than I had planned which was a big surprise. I told my boss what had occurred and told him I would be leaving, he was nervous about me driving home, I assured him I would be fine knowing that it could take a while before anything would happen but he insisted on at least following me home which he did and I am grateful for that. The girls and I hurried and packed my bag for the hospital, I had not done that yet in hopes that it in some way would prevent her from coming early, I know crazy. We dropped Houston off at my friend and lifesaver Heather's and headed to my Doctors office where Chad met us.

The Doctor confirmed it was indeed my water that broke and sent us next door to the hospital to check in. We arrived at the hospital around 3:00pm, they hooked me up to the monitors and within 30 minutes I began having consistent transactions. I had high hopes that my labor would be similar to Hannah's and Houston's around 4-6 hours, no such luck it ended up being 8 1/2 hours of labor. At one point my contractions started to spread further apart and lessen in strength so the doctor gave me a very small amount of Pitocin. This really kicked things into gear and pushed me to the point that I almost gave up on my plan of labor without an epidural, fortunately I had Chad, Jessica and Hannah and a wonderful nurse coaching me along and encouraging me. Within 40 minutes she made her arrival, fortunately I only had to push 4-5 times. She was born at 11:39pm, she weighs 7 pounds 10 ounces and is 21 inches long. She is beautiful (I am biased of course), she had a coupled of bruises on her cheeks from the birthing process but other than that she is doing great. While it was a huge surprise and something I was not quite ready for I am very glad that she is finally here and that she is healthy. I hope you enjoy some of her first photos below.

38 Weeks and Happy 20th Anniversary

We finally reached 38 weeks, hopefully only tow more weeks to go YEAH! I am making some progress according to the Doctor I am dilated to almost 3, but he is officially saying 2 1/2 so that I will not be overly optimistic. She is very, very low which makes for a great deal of discomfort. I hope I can endure the next few weeks, I have told the Doctor I do not want to be induced unless i have to be but I can not guarantee that at some point next week I may give in. We will have to wait and see, I hope to not go into labor any sooner than the 21st, anything after that would be great.

Today also marks another milestone Chad and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. It is a surreal experience to be celebrating 20 years of marriage and be 9 months pregnant. If you had asked me 20 years ago if I thought that would happen I would have thought you were crazy, but now that I am in that situation I believe it is meant to be.

Chad and I went to dinner at Texas Land and Cattle and enjoyed a peaceful dinner just the two of us. Of course Chad took the opportunity to point out that it may be our last meal at a restaurant without a newborn. I think he is forgetting what great helpers we have at home that can watch the baby while we go out for a meal. I am grateful to be celebrating our 20th anniversary, we have had so many experiences over the last 20 years all of which have contributed to who we are today. I am so grateful to be married to a worthy priesthood holder who is hard working and does so much to provide for his family. He is a wonderful example to our family and all those he comes in contact with. I am grateful that he is patient and puts up with me, despite my imperfections and expectations. I feel very lucky to have the 3 beautiful and amazing kids we have and look forward to meeting our baby girl soon. There have been so many experiences we have had that have enriched our lives, I am grateful to have experienced them together. While things have not always been easy, they have definitely been worth it. I feel blessed to be his wife and look forward to all of the adventures that lie ahead.

Happy Anniversary, I LOVE YOU

37 Weeks

Do not let the look of discomfort confuse you, I promise I am happy.

I am a week late in posting the 37 week picture things have been pretty busy around here, I will be posting the 38 week pictures soon as well. So far all is going well, I am going to the Doctor weekly now, while I am making progress there is no reason to think I will deliver early. If only we had a crystal ball and could predict when the day will be it would make planning a whole lot easier. Although I am getting very uncomfortable and sleeping is almost next to impossible I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet. School starts in two weeks and we have a lot to do to get the kids ready for the big day. I am hopeful that the baby will wait to make her appearance until after we are done with all the preparation. Stay tuned for 38 week pictures and an update, my next appointment is on Tuesday.

36 Weeks and Dance Through the Decades

We have reached 36 weeks, YEAH! It is a relief to know that there are only 4 weeks left but at the same time it is a little scary to think that her arrival could be anytime between now and the next 4 weeks. My only hope is that she will wait to make her appearance until after August 7th because Jessica will not be home until then. We are getting very anxious, nervous and excited to meet our sweet baby girl.

Anxious Big Sister and Big Brother

Hannah and her friends went to a Stake Dance on Saturday, it was a decade dance. They could choose to dress in the decade of their choice, Hannah and her friends decided to dress in the decade of the 70's. Below is a picture of a few of Hannah's friends, the others met at the dance, oh to be young again.

Easton, Allie, Hannah and Olivia

35 Weeks

This week marks week 35, it is nice to know that we are getting close to meeting our baby girl. Even though there are days that I feel pretty uncomfortable and the heat in Austin makes it more miserable I am still hopeful that she will wait until her due date of August 23rd. Last week was a very busy week getting the house ready, we had a lot of help from my Mom and Dad who were in town helping with Houston while Hannah was at Girls Camp. We couldn't have done it without them and we really appreciated there help. Keep an eye on our Blog for before and after pictures of the baby's room and our Master Bedroom, two of the rooms that we worked on.

SEE POST BELOW FOR PICTURES OF THE ROOM MAKEOVERS, I COULD NOT FIGURE OUT HOW TO CHANGE THE ORDER OF THE POSTS

Let the Nesting Begin

Chad and my parents spent last week, and in particular last weekend humoring my need to nest. Huge thank yous to my amazing parents for all of their help in getting our house ready for the arrival of their granddaughter.

The nesting began last Saturday when Chad and Hannah (thank you Hannah Bear) painted the baby's room, we were looking forward to moving furniture in but wanted to wait until the carpets were cleaned. The following Saturday we had the carpets cleaned, a process that started us on a path to a very busy weekend. I mentioned to Chad that it would be nice to paint our bedroom while everything was out of it, he did not hesitate and said OK let's go pick paint. This was followed by me saying "I sure would like a different color furniture in our bedroom", our old furniture is almost 16 years old and was a country green pine. While at Home Depot we also purchased black furniture paint and began our journey to redecorating our bedroom. This is something that we could not have accomplished if my Mom and Dad had not been here encouraging us and helping us move furniture, clean and organize. Despite the exhaustion we felt at the end of the weekend we accomplished a lot and fulfilled my need to feel prepared for our new arrival. I only wish I had before and after pictures of the bedroom, it looks like we bought all new furniture. I am loving the baby's room and can not wait to have it completely finished. Thank you Chad, Dad, Mom & Hannah for all of your hard work and putting up with me.

The baby's room after painting, yes it is very pink


Our Master Bedroom after our last minute decision to paint

The finished room

The baby's room almost finished, we still need to hang pictures & the valance

A closer look at the bedding
There will be a dark brown cover on the changing table pad soon
The chair is light pink and cream stripes does not match exactly but will be comfortable