Two Weeks Old!

I can't believe it!!

She has changed so quickly in the past two weeks! Her looks, mannerisms, alert times, sleep patterns- everything. It is bittersweet to watch. I am ecstatic that she is growing and learning, but my mommy heart is sad that she is doing it so quickly. I never truly understood it when my parents said I grew up too fast until now!

Anyway- she keeps us laughing with her silly expressions, keeps me on my toes with her routine changes, and blesses our lives with every breath she takes. She's one awesome baby if I do say so myself!

Now... how can I slow down time?!



Sophia's First Outing

We took Sophia on her first outing yesterday! We couldn't think of a more perfect first outing than to take her to church with us. It was so awesome to worship with my family! I cannot describe how powerful it was to experience God's word with Andrew and Sophia yesterday. This is just the beginning of our journey to teach her the love of God through our words and our actions.

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."

-Proverbs 22:6



Sophia's First Bath

Our daughter is 11 days old, and we just gave her her first bath at home today! They say not to bathe them too often as their skin needs the natural oils they give off. Fair enough, but she was starting to get stinky... well, as stinky as an 11 day old baby can get. She did NOT know what to think about the bath. First of all, it's pure torture to be naked, and secondly, why does that need to be coupled with water that only adds to the frigid temperatures. That being said, she actually enjoyed looking around and learning about a new part of the house. The kitchen counter has some pretty fun things to look at!

"Mom & Dad, WHAT are you doing to me?!"

"Maybe this won't be so bad."

"This is AWFUL!!"

"I'm being tortured!"

Oh- this face! Too sweet, huh?

"Now, that's what I'm talking about!"

Snuggles from Mommy make it better.

Kisses from Daddy can always calm her down.

"Whew! That wasn't so bad."

It was fun to give her her first bath. All in all, I would say it was a success! She's clean, she smells good, and her skin is mega soft. She's even more kissable than before... and believe me, that's A LOT!



Thank You, Thank You, THANK YOU!!

I had every intention on replying to all of our well-wishers on Facebook individually. Unfortunately, that fell by the wayside. I have been enjoying my little girl far too much to spend that much time on Facebook. BUT- there has not been a single comment that has gone unnoticed. So...

Thank you for all of the prayers! They are the most important & mean the most to us.

Thank you for all of the well-wishes (good luck, tips, etc) you've sent!

Thank you for all of the compliments on our sweet Sophia!

Thank you for the offers of support.

Thank you for taking the time to ask how we are doing.

Thank you for EVERYTHING!!

Our support system means so much to us. We truly appreciate everything that has been posted in the last 10 days. We love you all SO much!

So, from us to you... THANK YOU!



Welcome to the World, Sophia Claire!

Sophia Claire was welcomed into our lives on January 17, 2012 at 5:06 in the evening. She weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces and was 20 inches long.

She is a bundle of absolute perfection!

My labor experience was absolutely wonderful, and there is not one thing that I would change about it. On Monday, January 16th, after being seen by my doctor, she scheduled and induction because I was already dilated to a 5. That night, I was kept awake by strong contractions. We got up at 5:00 on the morning of the 17th to go to the hospital. Once we were there, they gave me a dosage of antibiotics, and then at 10:30, they broke my water and started the pitocin.

Shortly after 1:00, I was dilated to a 7, and I asked for an epidural. I had planned not to use and epidural, but I started to panic and did not feel like myself. Normally, I am very calm and "go with the flow", and I did not like feeling out of control. The epidural was an excellent decision.

I labored for a few more hours, and the doctor came in to check me. We were expecting me to be at a 9 or so, and we were very surprised when she said it was time to push! I pushed for about 45 minutes to an hour before we were able to meet our precious daughter!

It went so smoothly- and was such an amazing experience! I did NOT want to be induced, and my doctor said that I would have had her on the 17th anyway based on my contractions the night before. My body just needed the extra push of the pitocin. The doctor said that it's very rare for such a low dosage to get labor going.

I cannot even begin to describe the emotions I felt when they handed her to me for the first time. Andrew and I cried together, laughed together, and shared the most amazing moment together. Meeting our daughter for the first time was incredible. The love we have for each other and her is indescribable. We are so blessed by our sweet little family. I get so much joy out of watching the two of them together. Being a wife and mother to my two favorite people makes my heart swell with pride.

God has blessed us beyond measure... and we cannot begin to thank Him enough!



Pregnancy Update

Many people have been asking me for an update on Sophia's upcoming arrival. I have only been sharing details with a handful of people because I have been so frustrated with the process. I know it's not fair to keep family and close friends in suspense, so I decided to go ahead and share what's been going on.

Two trips to labor and delivery. Lame.

Consistent contractions.

Irritable uterus (bottom graph)... meaning that when it's not contracting, it's still acting up.

Let me explain further. Two weeks ago, my doctor checked me, and I was 3 cm dilated, 80% effaced, and Sophia was at station 0. A weeks worth of contractions later, and a trip to labor and delivery to be monitored per doctor's request, I had made no progress. Then, yesterday, at my appointment, I was 4 cm dilated, a thinning 80% effaced, and Sophia is still engaged. Good news, right?

I wish so.

After we got home last night, I began having more intense contractions that were every 5 minutes apart. We timed them for almost three hours. In that time, I changed positions and activity level, drank 20 ounces of water, and even took a hot shower. Nothing made them go away, so we called our doctor again. She wanted me to come back to L&D so she could check to see if I have dilated more. So, we made the late night trek into the hospital only to turn around and come home (surprise, surprise) because they weren't changing my cervix quickly enough to keep me. Last night, the monitors were measuring strong contractions anywhere from 2-5 minutes apart. They told us that the frequency and duration are right on target, but now we need the intensity to step it up a notch. At this point, since Sophia and I are doing great physically, they do not want to induce me. Induction increases the chance of c-sections for first-time moms significantly. If my body can do this on its own (slowly, but surely), then they don't want to intervene. I totally get that. It still doesn't make it easy.

Basically, I'm contracting every five minutes with what feels like no progress. They call this prodromal labor. Yay for me! They also told me that it's become more of a mental battle for now rather than a physical. They say that most of the women who go through a prodromal labor begin to feel frustrated, upset, etc. No joke!! This isn't a walk in the park. I definitely had a meltdown last night- it was pretty pathetic actually.

It's also hard to maintain a positive attitude toward well-wishers who only mean the best. Hearing things such as "she will come when she's ready", "you won't be pregnant forever", "you're almost there", "she should wait until ______ date", "are you miserable", "oh, those last two weeks are the hardest", "you're STILL pregnant" and so forth doesn't really help anything out. My favorite so far, though, is one I heard at work yesterday... "you will probably be one of those women who has to be induced." Seriously?! Was that necessary? I would rather NOT be induced.

All in all, I am still so thankful for our Sophia. Every time I am hooked up to a monitor, they brag about how healthy she is. That's the most important thing! Also, size-wise, I'm not miserable at all. I've still got a small basketball of a belly, and that's been nice. I've also been able to continue working full-time (although I took today off after last night's L&D trip), and I am very grateful for that energy. My only "complaint" is the consistent contractions that have led to sore abs and back.

Ok- my little pity party is now over. I'm off to enjoy my day at home!



Happy 2012!

Well, we didn't ring in the New Year at the hospital, but we did have a very quiet and relaxing evening together at our home. It was wonderful!

Andrew hung out in his recliner while I bounced on my fitness ball. Those things are amazing! It has helped my back out tremendously.

We played Yahtzee (I won't tell you who won all three games- he might not be happy about that), Life (which Andrew won), and Scrabble. It was a lot of fun... probably because I'm not the competitive one. We also watched a movie. Ironically, we did NOT see the ball drop. We do not have TV channels, and we couldn't pull it up online when it was time for it to drop. We did watch it on YouTube the next morning.

2011 was very, very good to us. We overcame living 1,000 miles apart, we were re-united, we conceived our sweet child, we moved three times, we were homeless, we've met some great people, we bought a house, and so much more! We couldn't have done it without God and each other. This year made us so much stronger and brought us even closer together.

We look forward to what 2012 has in store for us! We can't think of a better way to kick off the year than to welcome our Sophia into our home! At 3 cm dilated, 80% effaced, and Sophia fully engaged, her arrival may not be far off!! We look forward to introducing you to our little one!

Spiedies: It's What's for Dinner

We had a Secret Santa Christmas exchange at work on Friday. My friend, Kyla, had my name for the exchange. I guess I talk about food A LOT, because she got me a basket packed full of delicious foods. Truthfully, she knows how much Andrew and I like to cook together.

One of the things she got is something I had never heard of before- State Fair Spiedie Sauce. This marinade is authentic to New York, and everyone at work swore that I would become addicted to it as soon as I tried it. When I brought it home, Andrew immediately started planning what he wanted to do with it. We were going to have it for Christmas dinner, but we were entirely too stuffed from Miranda's family Christmas that we couldn't even entertain the idea of a big dinner.

So, we had it tonight!

Don't these look delicious?! Andrew did an amazing job with them. He put yellow squash, onion, red pepper, pineapple, and marinated chicken together to create a tasty feast. We decided that for the next batch, we will add mushroom, tomatoes, and maybe a green pepper for color.

I must admit, I am now a fan of this Spiedie sauce. It is not an overwhelming flavor, and mixed with these fresh veggies, it is a meal worth drooling over! Kudos to Andrew for a job well done!!

Mom... we plan to make these for you when you come to New York!



Merry, Merry Christmas!!

Andrew and I have had a wonderful Christmas. Although we are away from our family today, it was still a blessed day. We attended both the Christmas Eve and Christmas morning service at our church. They were both incredible, and it was so nice to focus on what this day is REALLY about. In fact, being here with just the two of us, we have really been able to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. It's been very nice!

Last night, a sweet friend that we met through church invited us to join her and her husband at her family's house for Christmas lunch. We readily agreed, and we are so thankful that we did! She has such a friendly family, and it was so good to spend more time getting to know them. Jason and Miranda have a 6 month-old son named Owen, and he is absolutely adorable! It's nice to know another couple in the same phase of life that we are. We look forward to having lunch with them next Sunday after church... if Sophia cooperates, that is!

We also exchanged Christmas gifts. We had so much fun keeping these a secret from each other. He got several items, but I think he was the most excited about his helicopter. I got all of the seasons of Reba on DVD. We are currently watching them! I really, really, really like this show!!

We also decorated a gingerbread house! I have always wanted to decorate one, but have just never done it. Andrew surprised me one day by bringing one home from the store. We decided that neither of us should be cake decorators... and that we need a few more years of practice to get the hang of this. It was still lots of fun & it turned out pretty cute!

I love our quiet life here together. We can make any situation fun and memorable. That's the best part about being married to your best friend!!

On a side note...

I am slightly terrified of Andrew's new toy. I have decided it's slightly evil. It destroyed the shamrock... twice. It also attacked my feet... and then continued to seek me out to torture me. It has a mind of its own, and this is a dangerous thing.



Before & After: Nursery Edition

It is an exciting day!! The nursery is FINALLY complete! After a long, long ordeal with flooding, mold, ant infestation, etc., we have finished it! Andrew worked SO hard on Sophia's room. It is so beautiful, and it's a far cry from what it was just a few months ago.

These walls were a hideous Easter green and dingy. I had forgotten how truly terrible they were until I went back to August's album of pictures. Yuck.

The nursery doesn't even look the same anymore!

Her room looks so peaceful and clean. I absolutely love it! I wanted it to be simple, light, and welcoming. It turned out exactly as I had planned. I love everything about it.

Now, we are really anxious to welcome our little one into our home! It is so nice to have a place prepared for her. Her room is our favorite room in the house. We have put a lot of work into it, and we take a lot of pride in it. After all, this sweet little girl is worth EVERYTHING we put into it... and then some!