Perry

9 Months Old

2015-03-22T15:30:00.000-07:00

Well, I think I'm getting the hang of this now. It is so much easier to put pictures of Lila together now! I'm only one day late this time!

Not much more to say other than she is just adorable!! I think that these pictures capture that pretty well! :-)

Months 7 & 8

2015-03-19T09:56:00.001-07:00

Now that 8 months is coming to an end it is probably a good time to get months 7 and 8 up on the blog. I have had them ready for awhile now and I feel bad it has taken me so long to get them up.

My oldest brother (a graphic designer) helped me out when he was passing through as they moved closer to family for a better job. I was amazed at how quickly he was able to do things on photoshop and illustrator. I am totally jealous and would love to have a quarter of his knowledge. But he did help me out a lot and teach me a few things so in the future I am hoping that it will be easier and faster for me to post updates of Lila. Meaning hopefully I'm not so late in the future......

So without further ado....

She is growing up so fast. She is incredibly smart and independent. She has an amazing memory and is just the cutest little baby in the world. She is happy and mellow and super easy to take care of. She loves food and she hardly cries. I don't know how we got so lucky with this one, but she is just an amazing gift from God. She blesses our lives in so many wonderful ways we had no idea she would! I love my little girl so much and would do anything for her! She is going to be 9 Months old on Saturday! I can't believe it and I will hopefully have another post to share!!

A Much Needed Lila Update!

2015-03-08T21:29:00.001-07:00

I can hardly believe that so long as passed without me posting on the blog! Time flies when you have a baby. So, here is a update on the past few months!! I still have to get up moths 7 & 8. I just can't believe that 8 months have already gone by!! She is getting so big and it just isn't fair!

So that is her monthly pictures, but I also have been taking pictures of her for every holiday.

Halloween- The Three Bears

Thanksgiving

She's my little pumpkin

She really loved spending time with Santa.

He made a special early visit for her First Christmas.

Valentines Day 2015! She is really just such a cutie!

There is still so much I haven't shared on the blog yet, but I know that I will get to it eventually. I have been really good about making her baby book. I am rather proud of it and hope that I can continue to work on through her first birthday. Speaking of which. I have already started planning it. I am so excited, and at the same time, I don't want to admit that she is going to be one! It's just crazy how fast time can go by!!

2 Months Old!

2014-08-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe that 2 months has already gone by. Lila is growing and learning everyday. It is so much fun to watch her learn how to do new things. She is getting so strong and big. This month at her appointment she weighed ..... and was ..... tall.

She has began to sleep through the night better. We can count on getting a solid 4 hour stretch, feed and then another 4 hours. Sometimes we get lucky though and she sleeps for 7 hours straight!! She loves laying on her mat and kicking her feet. She also still enjoys her swing. She loves music and especially loves when daddy plays the piano. We are so happy to have our little Lila!

I just love that smiley little chubby face!!! She is such a sweet happy baby. I love her to death!! Also, she makes me want to have more cute little babies like her! I am enjoying every minute with her, but I'm also looking forward to having more little ones!

6 weeks old!!

2014-08-04T18:34:00.001-07:00

I can hardly believe that six weeks has gone by already! I love Lila more everyday. She is beginning to follow us with her eyes and respond to our noises. Also she loves to fall asleep to country music. She loves to smile and is such a joy to have around.

I made my first outfit for her and I am so happy with how it turned out! It has been awhile since I have sewn and so I really enjoyed making it. We are going to Parma at the end of this month and going to the lake one day. I don't have a bathing suit for her, and she isn't going to go into the water because it will be too cold and she is still pretty young. So I made this cute little sun outfit with a matching hat.

I just love the ruffle bum!!!!

So, while I had the camera out I decided to snap a few more pictures and it turned out great because she was actually in a happy mood! I got some pretty cute smiles!!

1 Month Old

2014-07-19T08:37:00.003-07:00

Lila is a month old already! I can't believe that a month has gone by already. She is growing up wayyyy too fast.

She is holding her head up so well. She loves tummy time and laying on our chests. She is getting better at sleeping through the night. The magic was in the pacifier. Her nickname is Squirt and we love her more everyday!!!!

Two Weeks Old

2014-07-09T14:47:00.001-07:00

They all say that time goes by so fast and they grow up way too fast. Well guess what! They are right, I can't believe that my little angel is already two weeks old!!!!

Stats: 9lbs 13oz, 21.5" long, head 36cm

She now smiles and is beginning to start to laugh. She recognizes Chris and my voice. She is starting to hold her head up and loves to rest laying on our chests.

Grandparents Come to Visit

2014-07-09T14:38:00.003-07:00

Grandparents are the best!

I'm not sure exactly how I feel about not having my mother with me from the very beginning of labor and through delivery. I had wanted to have her there, but in the end I think that things worked out great.

My family was in SLC for my cousins wedding and to pick up Colin from the airport, he was in Costa Rica the week before I delivered. My parents weren't able to make the drive up to Cheyenne until Monday afternoon.

That being said Chris, Lila and I had been at home for one night already and were starting to get settled in at home. By the time that my parents arrived on Monday night we felt comfortable being at home and happy to have them there.

My parents stayed until Thursday and while the trip was short it was so nice to have them visit us. My mom was really helpful and sewed a few things for Lila and my dad installed a garbage disposal and helped to fix out tub with Chris. I wish that we lived closer to them and could see them more often, but Cheyenne isn't forever and hopefully we will end up being closer to them eventually.

A week later Chris's parents drive out from Idaho to come and see us. We had a really great time with them.

We went to the train museum here in town.

Then we went to the park to see this huge steam engine.

We got together with some friends for the Fourth of July and had a BBQ at out house. Then we went to watch the fireworks just up the street from us at Lions Park.

The fireworks show was pretty awesome. I didn't take any pictures of it though because I was holding a screaming baby who eventually fell asleep in my arms.

Grandpa did hold Lila, but it was while I was sleeping and so I only have a picture of grandma holding her.

So, both of our parents were able to make it to see Lila, which I'm really happy about. I just can't wait for the rest of our families to see her. Especially my brothers because they are now uncles for the first time and that is pretty cool. :-)

Lila's Birth Story

2014-07-05T19:46:00.003-07:00

It's been exactly two weeks since I was blessed with a beautiful little girl and I think it is time that I share our story.

It was on Friday night at 6:20 when I went to the bathroom and got a little extra surprise. My water broke!! I was a little unsure at first if my water actually broke, but it kept coming and I had no control over it. It wasn't the big gush that they portray in movies. It was a trickle that kept coming for hours.

We were going to have a movie night with some friends, but those plans changed quickly. We called them up and asked them to still come over so we could show them how to take care of our dog Winston while we were in the hospital.

We had an hour until they came over so I spent the time making sure that things were ready. Chris finished cooking his dinner and I kept changing bottoms because the pads I had weren't thick enough I guess.

At 7:30 our friends came over we showed them the ropes and then the contractions came. They weren't too bad at first, but I felt that we needed to hurry up and get to the hospital.

We got checked in and I got hooked up by about 8:30 p.m. We were put into the triage room first so that the doctor could confirm that indeed my water did break. Sure enough it really was broken and I was at 2cm. As soon as they finished cleaning up and getting the labor and delivery room ready we moved in.

(Turns out that they were really busy with all the babies that were going to be delivered in the next 24 hours.)

Once we got into the labor and delivery room they hooked me up to an IV and started me on fluids. The contractions were now coming every 3-5 minutes apart and getting more intense. Thankfully I was able to get up and walk around and didn't have to stay hooked up to all of the monitors.

Chris was really great and helped relieve some of the pressure on my back and making sure that I was as comfortable as possible. I couldn't have gone so long without pain medication without him. I dealt with the contractions until 12 a.m. and I was only 3cm. I was shocked, overwhelmed, and exhausted. I didn't know how I was going to make it without any pain medication. I then accepted phentonol and before the nurse even left the room I was out of it. My eyes got heavy and I felt like I couldn't speak, I felt like I was being rude to the nurse because I couldn't respond to her, but it felt so good to feel my body relax. It was short lived. The medication didn't last long and when the nurse came back she wanted me to have some juice to try and get babies heart rate back up. I drank some orange juice. A very VERY bad idea. It didn't really help to wake up the baby and it made me throw up three times throughout the rest of labor.

When they came back to check on me I decided that it was time to get the epidural and Chris totally supported me, which made me feel better about the decision to get it. I originally wanted to try and make it without and go all natural, but I wasn't progressing very fast and I was exhausted.

At 1:30 a.m. the epidural was administered and I was feeling better. Now, the epidural certainly helped and the procedure wasn't painful at all, but it didn't take away all of the pain. I had back labor that just felt like a lot of pressure on my back. Since the orange juice didn't raise Lila's heart rate they had me roll onto my side. It worked, but it was the most uncomfortable position for me to be in. I struggled through the pain for two hours trying to rest between contractions. Chris slept. I knew there was nothing Chris could do to take the pain away.

At 3:30 a.m. they checked me again and I was complete. The nurse called the resident in to check me and confirmed that I was complete. The nurse then called the doctor to come and deliver. Everyone was preparing the room and at 4 the doctor arrived and I started pushing. I pushed for twenty minutes and had a baby girl at 4:20 a.m.

Pushing was an amazing experience and surprisingly relaxed. In between pushes the doctors and nurses were cracking jokes and the whole atmosphere felt calm. I was thankful that I couldn't feel anything and I just started to push when I had contractions. I did ask for a mirror so I could see what I was doing. Birth is quite miraculous.

Daddy gets to hold his baby girl.

Lila May Perry born at 8 pounds 13 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long.

Lila's first diaper done by daddy.

Daddy talking to family and letting them know we had a perfect little girl while cuddling with her.

Because the hospital was so busy with deliveries we got to stay in the labor and delivery room undisturbed for a while, which was really nice. I held Lila skin-to-skin for almost two hours before anyone else, even dad. It ended up being that Lila was the first baby born of 6 on Saturday.

Our first family picture! :-)

We entered the hospital on Friday night, had a baby girl Saturday morning, and then headed home by Sunday afternoon. All day Saturday was spent admiring our little baby girl and having shots and tests and everything checked out to make sure that mom and baby were healthy and doing well. I made sure that I had as much help as possible with nursing. That part wasn't easy, but eventually we got it and I felt comfortable doing it myself. Everything was perfect and so we were able to go home on Sunday afternoon.

Saturday night was the first time I was able to get some sleep and I got a good two hour stretch. I was surprised by how much those 2 hours really helped me. I felt totally refreshed after and ready to take care of my little girl. The nurses did come in a few times to check my blood pressure and during the night they checked Lila's weight and hearing. She lost a few ounces, but that is totally normal.

All strapped in and ready to go home!

Loaded up and headed home!

Baby Pictures!!

Lila's first outfit!

Lila's many faces.

Winston saying hi to his new best friend

Already smiling in her sleep. She is such a cutie!

Winston protecting his baby!

Such a good girl, sleeping is her favorite thing to do, besides eating.

Cuddling at home with mommy in bed. I love my little princess!!

Such pretty dark blue eyes. I'm excited to watch them change.

Lila at two weeks old! Sleeping away in her car seat.

She can be pretty serious when she is awake.

Baby's First Bath

And there you have it. That is my little angel. She was so worth the wait and I'm so happy that she is so strong and healthy. She is eating great and she slept for 6 hours last night. Lets hope that this is going to become a pattern. Oh I just love my Precious!!

38 Weeks

2014-06-10T17:09:00.001-07:00

Late again.... oh well.

At 38 weeks we took some maternity pictures with Tyra Caraballo. She was amazing!! I am so happy with how all of the pictures turned out! She was nice, but bossy and I liked it. You can sometimes feel so weird posing for pictures and you can't see if you look ridiculous, but she did a great job of making us, well I think, cute!

I'm so excited to share these pictures with all of you!

There you go! I hope you enjoyed them! I sure do and I can't wait to have cute pictures of Lila to post. This is such a special time and I'm so happy that I was able to find a photographer here in Cheyenne! Thank you Makala for helping us find Tyra, and thank you Tyra for taking such awesome pictures!! We truly love them!!

As for 38 weeks, there is nothing new to share really. I'm feeling good and just waiting for this little girl to make her way out. I'm getting very impatient though. I really hope that she comes on time, because I don't know if I'll be able to make it if she is late. At my appointment this week it looks like she is going to be coming sometime around her due date, but certainly not early.... kinda a bummer because I really just want to hold her!!!!!!!!!!!!

37 Weeks

2014-06-02T13:40:00.002-07:00

Another week down!!

This week we went to the hospital and preregistered and went over the birth plan. We are getting very excited and ready to have this little girl come into the world. I'm trying to wait patiently, but it is really hard. I'm a few days late on posting 37 weeks, so as of today we have 2 weeks and 3 days until her due date. It is to be determined if she is going to make an appearance sooner, later, or right one time. No matter when she comes, we are feeling pretty ready!!

Memorial Weekend

2014-05-28T09:54:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was so great! Chris got a 4.5 day weekend because we spent Thursday afternoon in the hospital. It was so much fun to have so much time to spend with Chris. We have really tired to spend some good quality time together before Miss Lila makes her grand entrance into the world.

On Friday night we went and saw X-Men Days of Future Past. Such a good movie. We love all of the X-Men movies though. If you haven't seen it you should check out the trailer (i've pasted it to the link) and then go see the movie.

On Saturday Chris worked in the yard a little bit and then we cleaned the house together. We had some friends from our prenatal class come over for a BBQ. It was so nice to hang out with them and the food turned out really great. I'll be honest, my husband may not be very good in the kitchen, but he sure knows his way around a grill. We had some grilled pork loin on Friday night and it was sooo good. He is really loving his early Father's Day present, his grill.

Sunday we actually went to all three hours of church because I was feeling well enough. Sitting for three hours is just really hard for me. As Lila gets bigger it is really hard to sit like a lady in a dress too. All I want to do is sit back and spread my legs open. haha. Chris played the organ in sacrament and he did a great job, of course! Everyone complimented him and was surprised that he played. We came back home and just relaxed for the evening, I believe that we watched Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief.

On Memorial Day Chris took me out to breakfast at the Egg & I. It is a local breakfast joint here in downtown Cheyenne. Then we took a drive up the Fort Laramie.

Winston was so excited to go for a drive.

It was so beautiful on the way up. I just couldn't help but keep taking pictures. It is amazing how beautiful Wyoming is when it isn't all covered in snow. I kinda like it. :-)

Winston wanted to come up to the front so bad. I would usually let him for a little, but with my belly there is just no way that it was going to work out. He tried everything to get up in the front though.

Once we got there Winston got a drink and then we headed out to check out the sights.

Winston kept wanting to eat the grass and weeds so Chris had to hold his face up.... silly dog.

Isn't he just so cute! I love him so much!!

Now, don't I just look huge!! haha.

One of the places where the soldiers would eat.

Standing in front of some ruins.

The Parade Field. It was so pretty there. We got lucky to come on such a beautiful day.

There was a lot to walk around and see. We were there for about 2 hours, but I started to get tired so we headed back to the car. I had my first sarsaparilla, and it was actually really good. Different from root beer.... I think I might like root beer more.

By the end of the trip Winston was wore out! We took a nap on the way back while dad drove us home.

Later that night Chris and I went to go see Blended. Another good movie. We laughed so hard and it was a great way to end such a wonderful long weekend. Again, check out the trailer and go see this one. Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore are hilarious together. It's like 50 Firsts Dates, but better.

Now, we couldn't forget what Memorial weekend is all about. It isn't just a long weekend for everyone to just relax and BBQ. It is a time to remember and honor those who have fought and served to keep our country free. I am so thankful for all those who have served and especially those who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom, their lives. Being apart of the Air Force now gives me a greater understanding of what it truly takes to keep this land free. I am blessed to be in this country and grateful for the service of those in the armed forces. I love my husband very much and I can't imagine losing him, but if he was deployed and didn't return home I would know that he died for a just cause. Freedom isn't free, a price is paid, and I am grateful to those willing to pay it for their loved ones.

36 Weeks

2014-05-27T15:17:00.001-07:00

So, it shouldn't be much of a surprise, but I've realized that I'm really bad at posting all about our lives on social media. I mean, I do my best to keep friends and family updated on the important things, but today I was going through pictures on my phone and I realized that there are some things that I am forgetting to share. So, I'm gonna try to be better.

My Mother's Day present this year was a raised garden. Sadly on Mother's Day is snowed 15 inches and I had to wait until the following weekend for Chris to build it. Now I started all of the plants inside first and I'm hoping that they will survive in the garden. It doesn't help that I am in a new place where I know nothing about the weather, or what the growing seasons are like. But I'm learning and so far what I've planted has germed (is that a word?) and so I'm very pleased!

Chris was finally able to build the raised garden last weekend and on Monday we finished putting in the dirt. It is so pretty and I love it so much. I really hope that it actually bears some fruits and veggies for us!

So owning a house has been really great. Chris has loved working on things and fixing stuff and I have really loved designing the interior. Now that it is nice enough outside, I've really gotten into gardening and planting flowers, thus the raised garden. So far I've learned that I know nothing..... sadly a few plants haven't survived, but I blame that on Cheyenne's crazy weather. Having flowers outside just makes me so happy!! I'm so glad that it is FINALLY spring!

I wanted to share another little tid-bit of information that I've learned from trying to find my green thumb.... You can chop off the celery tops and then put it in water and it will grow back!! And it grows back so fast!! I took this picture one day after putting the celery in water!! I've also heard of doing it with romaine lettuce. I'm going to try that out next!

Now, I just had to post this picture, because as I was taking other pictures around the house, Winston would follow me everywhere I went. Finally he got fed up with me going back and forth so he just found a good spot to curl up that would be close.... He just made the guest bed his own. He's just so cute!!

I owe a huge thank you to my father in-law for making me this "L" for Lila. I've seen so many cute ones on Pinterest, but I really wanted a cursive "L" and I knew I wasn't going to be able to find one at Michaels that I could decorate. I showed him what I wanted and then he cute it out for me! It is so perfect and I love it so much!!

Now, I wasn't totally sure what I was going to do to decorate it at first. I had a few ideas... wrap it in ribbon, paint it, glue some flowers on it etc.... But I didn't totally love any of the ideas. Then, I realized that I had all of the left over scrapbook paper from the blocks we did at the Baby Shower. So I traced the "L" and cute it out with an xacto knife. I couldn't be happier with how it turned out! Then I put some felt pads on the back so that it wouldn't bang on her wood door.

Once, I started working with all of the scrapbook paper I realized that I totally had enough to make Lila a baby book. I've looked at a whole bunch in the stores, but I just can't bring myself to pay for them. I had all the supplies I needed at home though and so I got started. I spent a few hours on the computer getting some pages ready and then the fun part.... scrapbooking!

Now, it is certainly not complete yet, but here are a few of my favorite pages to start with.... On the top picture of the book, the three squares are going to have pictures in them, once I get a chance to take them.

I'm really in love with how it is turning out so far, and I know that as I get more time and pictures to go inside it it will be even cuter!!

Next up, week 36! Just one more month to go and she is welcome to come any time she wants.... once we get to 37 weeks, then we will be full term. Sometimes I feel like she is more active than babies are supposed to be. I feel like everything I read says that they are awake for 20-30 minutes at a time and are active then. Well, Little Miss Lila is up for like an hour straight or more and she moves like crazy. She is getting bigger and stronger too. As she pushes and kicks against my insides it is getting to be more painful. She is a stubborn little girl too. She has her favorite spot to jam her foot and she just won't be satisfied with anything else. Oh, but I love her! Feeling her kicks, as painful as some may be, makes me smile. It lets me know that she is still doing okay in there.

This week we had a little trip to the hospital. I knew I wasn't in labor, but I didn't feel right. I was just so much more exhausted than usual, and I was dizzy, which I haven't been at all. I just felt like I wanted to be on the safe side to make sure that everything was okay with me and with Lila. I was hooked up to the monitors for 3 hours and it was so nice to hear Lila's heartbeat during that time.

They ran all kinds of tests to make sure I was okay and it turns out that I was just low on sodium and having some minor contractions. Some of the contractions I could feel, but for the most part they just showed up on the monitor. As you can see Chris was a big help..... no really it was pretty boring because I was just hooked up and they would come in every few minutes to check on things, but I wasn't in any pain, which was nice.

Well, there is 36 weeks. Now we continue the waiting game. Update to come at 37 weeks!! :-)

35 Weeks

2014-05-18T18:30:00.000-07:00

Week by week we keep making progress. Our little girl is kicking and moving and growing everyday. We are very excited, of course! I'm ready to get her out of my belly, but ready to carry her for a few more weeks.

This week was pretty exciting too, because we finished the guest bedroom. I am so happy with how it turned out. I just feel like I got so lucky with how everything came together!!

Before

After

I wish I had more to share, but this is all I've got this week. Until next time!!

Happy Mother's Day from Cheyenne

2014-05-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

So, it is Mother's Day and here in Cheyenne apparently that means it's time for a blizzard?!?

Who knew that you could get so much snow in May? I certainly didn't. (It's predicted to get 15 inches and snow all day tomorrow as well!!)

Our church meetings were actually cancelled and since we didn't want to stay inside allllllll day we took Winston out to play at the dog park. It wasn't the easiest task getting a pregnant lady ready for the snow. I ended up wearing Chris's bibs, insulated overalls, and his Carhart coat. I looked and felt like, a giant black marshmallow. That being said, that is why I am in none of these pictures.

I think that the best part of being a mom is being able to see your kids happy. While it was cold and the snow was blowing in my face I was still so happy to see Winston outside loving the snow. I would do anything for Winston to make him happy and he is my dog. I know I would go to the ends of the world for my children and I cannot wait for Lila to get here. Becoming a mother really helps you appreciate so much more all the things that your own mother has done for you.

I love my mother more than the world. She was always there for me, helping me do my best, learn and grow. She was a great example of what a mother should be. She sacrificed for the good of her children and is always willing to give more. I am so lucky and so grateful for the wonderful mother that I have! Happy Mother's Day!!!!

Lastly, I wanted to share a little bit of beauty that I was able to find in the snow today. Sadly, all of our plants have been covered with snow and I'm praying they survive, but there is something really beautiful about the snow in spring. Everything isn't just white. You get color and the snow together and I think that it is something very special.

This is a tree in front of our house....I don't know what it is, but it is gorgeous covered in snow.

Again, Happy Mother's Day!!

34 Weeks

2014-05-10T18:45:00.000-07:00

We just keep making it through week by week and I'm getting really excited!! Actually, we are all getting really excited!! I love seeing Chris so happy and thrilled to be having a little girl. He keeps telling me to hurry up and get here, but I can't cook her any faster. :-)

The other day I kinda went crazy with getting everything ready for her. We went to the store and bought a few more things that we need. I washed blankets, set up a little changing station in our bedroom, took tags off of things, packed her diaper bag, packed my hospital bag, and I felt like I had so much energy. Chris says that the nesting bug has finally hit me. And I'll be honest, it feels great! I'm feeling so ready for her.... that being said I know it isn't going to be easy, but I'm feeling ready, and I think that is a great sign!!

So here is a look at a little bit of what I did. Here is here little area in our bedroom with a night time changing area on my dresser.

A close up at what we have in her little box. Lotion, A&D cream, powder, diapers and wipes and two outfits to change her into if we need to.

It certainly isn't much to look at, but I think that it will work out well. Just a few of the basics for night time.

I think I forgot to mention that we moved the cradle downstairs because we finally got a crib upstairs! I'm so excited and happy to have it! A huge thank you to the in-laws! They are the best!

Also a huge thank you to my Aunt Cathy for the sweet bedding she gave us! It was her little girls and it works so perfectly in Lila's room!!

At the baby shower my Aunt Karen gave me this cute banner with clothes on it. I decided to hang her little bonnets and beanies from it.

Also, at the baby shower everyone wrote on a piece of paper and I have pasted them on all the sides of these cubes that have her name on them! It turned out so cute!

Chris and I just had to get this cute bouncer for Lila. We found it at Target and I just remember my mom putting my brothers in theirs all the time. I'm very excited to have one of my own now!

Lastly, the diaper bag! Now this was probably the hardest thing for me to purchase so far. Let me explain.... I wanted to get something that was cute with personality, but not too girly because I want to be able to use if for multiple kids, and Chris wouldn't want to carry it. I found this one at Target, showed it to Chris and then it was ours. I'm so happy with it. It has so many pockets and it zips shut, which was important to me. Hardest to find, but well worth the wait!!

So, the time is drawing closer to when Little Miss Lila is going to join us in the world. I have moments where I am worried about labor and delivery, but overall, I think that I can handle it and as long as I end up with a precious little girl at the end I will be happy. Chris and I have talked a lot about going natural or epidural and we are planning on going natural. We will see how that works out, but I'm really hoping that I'll be able to make it.
I also have moments where I just want to take her out and see her little face and be done carrying her inside my tummy. I'm getting very excited and hoping that the last few weeks go by fast!
I keep having dreams about having her and in all of the dreams there is no pain. I'm a little curious as to what that means, maybe it is a good sign.

Onto a baby update! I am feeling her move everyday and I can feel her getting stronger too! Her kicks are more powerful and I am beginning to get really sore from them. She has her favorite spot too, on the right side just at the top of my belly. I'm pretty sure that it is bruised because of how sore it is. The doctor said that her heart beat is great and I'm measuring well at this weeks appointment.

I am having some minor back pain in certain areas and sleeping isn't the most fun. I am also quit congested, which isn't fun. I thought it was allergies because it started when I got back to Cheyenne, but allergy medicine didn't help. :-( My blood pressure is good and I haven't had much of any swelling at all. Only when I work outside in the yard and my body gets warm will my wedding ring get a little tight. It is getting harder and harder to get comfortable at night, but the good news is it won't last forever and once she is here I'll be able to sleep on my stomach again!!! YAHOOOO.

So, not only is getting bigger making life a little more difficult, but my wonderful, and helpful husband had to go a bruise his ribs at PT on Thursday!! We are both trying to help each other out as much as we can, but for the time being we are pretty pathetic! The good news is while I get bigger, his pain will get less and hopefully he is all healed by the time labor beings. I am going to really need him to be in tip-top shape.

Lots to fit in, but I think I have finally finished! I'm hoping to be able to post weekly until she is born, but we will see how that goes. It is really hard to get a picture of myself for some reason.... don't worry it will be a lot easier to get pictures of Lila, you will probably get sick of them! :-)

Baby Shower

2014-04-26T16:33:00.002-07:00

I am the luckiest mom-to-be in the world. I don't know how I was blessed with such an amazing family, but I am so grateful and I love them so much!

I was able to spend a little over a week with my family and it was so great! It was certainly busy, but I wouldn't have had it any other way!! I was able to spend the days with my brothers and dad and the nights working with my mom on costumes for the middle school play. We had some really late nights, but we got something done every night and if I may say so myself they all turned out pretty awesome! Of course I didn't take pictures of everything like I should have, but they were pretty sweet.

The week was so much fun, but the real fun started on the weekend. Saturday was, of course the Baby Shower, and it was also my amazing cousin Claire's birthday. Then Sunday was Easter and we celebrated by having the whole family over to my parents house for dinner! It was such a great weekend.

I couldn't have pictured a cuter or better Baby Shower! My aunts are the BEST!!! Everything was so cute and the food was delicious.

The Price is Right Game

The Party Favors

The cutest napkins ever!! Thank you Aunt Karen!!

Blocks for Lila!

Yummy bunt cakes!

Henry, the only boy aloud, because he is so cute!!

Yogurt parfaits, quiche, and juice.

Aunt Jodi won Point in Your Purse, she had everything and more!

Cute baby girl clothes!

The sweetest blanket from Madelyn!! Thank you so much!!! I LOVE IT!!!

A cute outfit with matching booties!!

A tummy time bear!! I don't know if I will be able to keep Winston off, but I will sure try!!

My mom saved all my little dresses when I was a baby and gave them to Lila! So Sweet!!

This is a soft pink blanket that my mom made and it is so intricate and beautiful!! I always wanted to get the pink one!! :-)

FAMILY!!!

Thank you so much to all of my family and everyone who came to the Baby Shower! It was so much fun, and I am so excited to dress Lila! She is going to be the cutest little baby ever because of all the cute things you got her!! Thank you!!!

30 Weeks

2014-04-10T17:30:00.001-07:00

This is just going to be a quick update. I will have much more to share after next week because I am going home for my younger brothers' spring break, my baby shower, and Easter! I'm super excited to be going home for a couple of days. (Don't worry flying home is no biggie. My doctor said I have nothing to worry about!) I've missed everyone, and I've really missed the weather. You just can't beat Palm Springs in the spring time! Well.... at least I know that it is better than being in Cheyenne in the spring, because we are still getting snow every now and then!!

So, here we are at 30 weeks! Just 10 more weeks to go until baby's due date! She is going to come when she is good and ready though, so that due date might not be the day she comes.

I have been feeling great and honestly I have moments where I forget that I'm pregnant. Is that weird... I'm sure it is. I just feel so great. I don't have any pain or sickness and so I sometimes forget. Then she will move or I will try to reach my toes and I am quickly reminded that I am. And I am so happy that I am!! I can't wait for this little girl to come into this world. I can't wait to bond with her and love her and hug her and so much more!!!

Well, until next time. Hopefully, I will have lots of fun things to share!

28 Weeks

2014-03-30T17:38:00.001-07:00

We have officially made it to the THIRD TRIMESTER!! Now, now, let's not get too excited, there are still 3 more months to carry this little girl. She needs to get a lot bigger and stronger before she comes into the world! I'm thrilled to be on the downhill slide part of pregnancy now though!

Technically, yesterday was 28 weeks, but I wanted to wait to post after my doctor appointment today!

Good news is that our little angel is just kicking away inside and as healthy as can be! Her HR was 134, which is just where it should be and I am doing well too! Symptoms are still very mild. However, I have added some rather annoying ones to the mix. Restless legs and occasional headaches. Nothing too serious and I am certainly still counting my blessings for not throwing up yet. I'm pretty sure I have escaped that one and I am feeling very lucky!

So, in other news, it is still cold in Cheyenne!! And if it is a beautiful day with no snow and plenty of sunshine the wind is sure to blow and make what looks like a wonderful day, not so wonderful. I'm counting down the days to my trip home. I'm very excited to feel the sunshine on my skin again in two weeks. Hopefully the sun will shine without the wind soon in Cheyenne. I'm hoping that by May it is nice enough to go outside with just a sweater on!

Things around the house are progressing. We have painted the baby's room and put what furniture we have already inside. The cradle will be going downstairs once we get a crib. She will be sleeping right close to me so I can take care of her for the first few months.

Today the rug I ordered came and I was so excited because not only did it come early, but it is absolutely perfect!! I'm in love with it and I am hoping to finally be able to finish up her room. I'm trying to bring in some other colors so it isn't just PINK! I want something soft and sweet. We will see how this all works out though. I will post more pictures as I get things done, but here is what we have for now!

Right now I have only completed one of the curtains. I wanted to get it up and see what it looks like before I did the next one to see if I wanted to make any changes. I really like it so I'm going to go ahead and make the next one this week. :-)

Her changing table still needs the pad, but my wonderful mom is making a new cover for me. So, until I get it the changing table is a clothes holder. Fun little sentimental fact.... The wooden boy and girl carvings on top of the dresser my mom made for my nursery. I have always loved them and I'm so happy to have them to put in my little girls room! :-)

This rug is just amazing!! Again, my wonderful mother had a part in it. She helped me find it online at Joss&Main. It was an amazing deal and it is just what I want. I'm so in love with it because it is sweet enough for her room now, but she can also grow up with it too!

This corner is pretty boring. I'm got another great deal on the picture frames though. Those pictures were also in my nursery. Love them too! I clearly need more books to put in the book rack. I'm sure that will come with time though.

The closet is nothing too amazing, but I had to show off the shelves that Chris made for my baskets. There is another set of shelves on the other side with more baskets. Chris did such a great job with them and really fixed up her closet well. I love her cute little dresses too. I can't wait to get more!

Well, that's all I got for now. Until next time my belly will continue to grow and hopefully things around the house will continue to get done.

26 Weeks

2014-03-12T17:41:00.003-07:00

Time has gone by so fast!! I can hardly believe that I am already 26 weeks pregnant and feeling this little girl ALL the time! It is so much fun, and I'm so excited for her to get here! I am so close to being done with the second trimester and that means there is only one more left!! I'm getting very excited and I've already started buying clothes that I find too adorable to pass up. Here are a few of my favorites!!

I love these little shoes so much! I died when I saw them and just had to have them. I got them at none other than the base exchange here in Cheyenne!

So, one day I go into TJ Max thinking, I'm going to look at lamps for our bedroom and I come out with these four little cuties! I just love how sweet they look and the elephant is stinking cute!!

I don't know what it is, but I just love onesies!! They are so cute and I love that they snap at the bottom so the shirt doesn't ride up on the baby. I'm a huge fan of Lucky brand clothes. For whatever reason, I can think something is cute and look at the tag and it will be Lucky.... or when it comes to babies, it is usually Carter's.

Rompers are adorable, and I had to get this little jump suit for Chris, just because it wasn't pink!

Front

Back

Close up on the back..... Those are just the cutest little bum pockets ever!!

I love it when they put cute little bows or something unique on babies clothes. It gives it personality and makes it even cuter! I mean, poka dot pants are cute, but those little pockets just made them irresistible!!!

Sorry, I know that was a lot of baby clothes, but I just love them. They are so cute and tiny and I'm finally going to have a little girl to dress up... Colin & Gavin, your services are no longer needed!! Thanks for the good times when you were toddlers though! :-) (My poor brothers....)

Now onto 26 weeks pregnant!!! Please excuse the no makeup on my face.... just look at that growing belly, it is much cuter!!

I'm growing everyday, feeling her kicks and punches everyday, and overall feeling pretty great!!

Here's to just 14 weeks left! :-)

We Bought A House!

2014-03-12T09:01:00.001-07:00

That's right!! We bought a house! We have actually been in it for 3 weeks now and we love it so much! There are lots of little & big projects that we want to tackle to make it our own! Since we have been in we have mostly just painted things, but as time goes on and more projects are finished I will be sure to show you pictures.

So, let's start with all the before pictures.

This is the living room and dining room right as you enter from the sun room.

Next we have the two bedrooms off of the dining room. First is the guest bedroom which has a view of the front yard. Then, Baby's room and she has a view of the neighbors house. Not very exciting, but she won't be spending much time in there in the beginning anyways.

In between the two rooms is the bathroom. Thankfully, with this place both bathrooms had just been remodeled and so they looked pretty nice and we won't have to do much work in them.

Off the dining room is the kitchen and I only have one really bad picture, which doesn't even show the whole kitchen. We are hoping to be able to remodel the whole kitchen, but that will come in time.

Downstairs is the basement, obviously, which has been made into a master suite of kinds.

There is a nice big room for our furniture...

A good sized walk-in closet with plenty of space for storage and all of my shoes! :-)

Then there is this really cool room with lots of storage space. It will be my office/craft room.

The bathroom is nothing exciting, but it is finished and it looks pretty nice. We like it...maybe one day we will repaint the walls though.

And there you have it! That is our little house.

Now, on to the fun part! Making it our own!

The first room that we went ahead and painted was the master bedroom. I don't know if you noticed in the previous pictures, but it was pink! Like a bright orange, salmon, PINK!

It kinda clashed with our bedding and so we painted it a nice soft blue. (Yes, blue is my favorite color as you will soon find out if you look at any of the other things I post from our house. Not sure there is a room without blue in it.)

We chose the one on the left. It is hard to see in the picture, but it is blue, primer, and then a softer more lavender color on the right. Chris wasn't down with lavender. :-)

I'm really in love with how it turned out, which is good considering all of the time that I spend down here. It is relaxing and peaceful, and warm. I feel safe and comfortable...not to mention Chris has acquired a couple of guns as a very late birthday present and his newest one is sitting on his side of the bed. Overall I think it turned out great! Over time I'm sure we will put more pictures on the wall... sorry you can't see the ones that are on the walls, they're nothing special though. I would love to have pictures of our baby down here... well actually everywhere! :-)

So, that's our house and our first project finished. We have finished a couple more, but I'll post those on a later date when the rooms are actually clean enough to take a picture of them. :-) Moving in takes time and it can be so stressful. It is also slow when you are pregnant and can't do as much as you usually would. But, I have really loved making this little house our own.

22 Weeks

2014-02-20T12:49:00.001-08:00

Chris and I have been so busy this past month! I finally have a minute or 30 to spare and finally sit down and share all of the exciting news!

First, we have made it to 22 weeks and couldn't be happier! I can feel her move quit often and Chris finally was able to feel her move too! We were both very excited, and I think that it is helping to make it seem more real to Chris. Before his only proof was a stick I peed on and my growing belly, but actually feeling her kick makes it all the more real!

Second, we made it to Cheyenne! It was a very long, cold, icy, slow drive from Rexburg to Cheyenne, but we made it. Our adventure began on Saturday Feb. 1. Chris made the drive over to my house and we packed up the "little" trailer and after some rest we took off towards our first destination.

We made it to Fallon, NV at about 1:30am and were happy to get some rest in an actually bed. We were up and headed for Parma, ID at 7:30 and made it there just in time to skype with some family and watch the Superbowl.

Now, I'm not much of a football follower. I can watch a game, but I certainly don't know many teams and don't really care who wins, but I think that was the saddest game I have ever seen. Poor Broncos didn't even seem to be trying. The Seahawks were totally on there game though. I must say I loved the half time show! Bruno Mars did a great job and he sounded so good.

It was nice to get to Parma because we were able to stay there for two nights and spend some time with the in-laws. They are so great, and I love spending time with them. It will be fun to visit after our little girl makes it here. I'm sure she will love the horses, just like mom.

Parma was also great for Winston, because he got to run around and play in the snow/mud with the other dogs.

After saying our good-byes on Tuesday morning we made it to Rexburg just 5 hours later. Rexburg was by far the most stressful day. We had to unload the trailer and load up the big truck with all of our stuff from the storage unit and then our windshield wiper fluid froze and so we had to go get it blown out and then it seemed like it was just the longest day ever! We left later than planned and we ended up making our way through the Teton Pass in the dark. It was not fun, ad Jackson was freezing!

We made it there safely though, got some rest, and first thing in the morning we were up again and on the road headed for Cheyenne. Probably to coldest part of the whole drive. It got down to -20 along the way. Thankfully I was all bundled up with a blanket in a warm car. After 8 hours we made it to Cheyenne!

Third, Finding a place to live!!

After Chris went to work he talked to a couple of guys, we spent some time online searching and we decided to buy a house. It turned out to be easier, cheaper and better all around for us.

We found a house on Saturday. Spent the night thinking about it, went back to it on Sunday, after looking at some other houses and decided that it was the one!

We put in an offer, got shut down, countered, got accepted, and began the process of becoming homeowners! Two weeks later we are closing on the house and we will get the keys tomorrow! All very fast, but it was meant to be and we are very excited about it! I have already began to sketch out some ideas for the kitchen. It is the one room that we want to remodel. It will probably wait until next year, but it is fun to get down my ideas! Of course we are going to make it our own with paint and such and as we do I will post before and after pictures! First up is the babies room and hopefully that will be done next week.

All very exciting, and very busy! We have enjoyed being in Cheyenne, expect for the wind! Holy cow, I mean I was told about it wind, but it is worse that I expected. It is always blowing and it is always more than 20 mph! Not so good for the hair!

Finally, I hope to post again soon, as I am a week behind on the pregnancy pictures!

Boy or Girl???

2014-01-10T11:10:00.003-08:00

So, I think we can skip past the part where I'm a terrible blogger and I have been MIA for way too long.

Let's go back a few days to when I was 16 weeks and 5 days pregnant....

You'll need a little background, but I'll keep it short. On Christmas day I got sick with a little sore throat. I didn't think much of it until I started to get worse everyday!! The sore throat was gone, but I was coughing so much my head would hurt and I couldn't breath through my nose. I couldn't sleep and I was so tired!! Everyone else in my family got the same thing, but they aren't pregnant and so they can over the counter cough medicine. Finally I had had enough and went to my doctor. She checked me out sent me off with some antibiotics and set me up an appointment with an OB. I was thinking/hoping I could just make it till we get to Wyoming to see an OB, but after being sick plans changed.
A few days later I go to the OB office and the doctor checks me and the baby out. Heart beat is great, and I'm healthy.... besides having a cough. Then I go in for an ultrasound and the technician asks if I know what I'm having and if I would like to know. After about 15 minutes of her taking measurements and making sure baby is okay she starts to look and find out what we are having. Baby's legs were closed tight, so she had me roll around on the table while she tried to get the right angel. Finally baby's legs open up and she can see.... it's a.... (Are you all ready for this, because I was holing my breath at this point.) It's a GIRL!!!!
Once I found out I couldn't tell anyone until I told Chris, because he couldn't be there. sadly. and he needed to be the first I told. I was so excited!! I AM so excited!! We are having a little GIRL!!!

Trip to Ventura & Week 9

2013-11-19T18:32:00.001-08:00

I was very lucky and I got to spend Veterans' weekend with my wonderful husband! He had to work all day Saturday, which kinda sucked, but we got to spend all day together on Sunday and most of Monday.

On Saturday I went out to see Ventura and it was actually a pretty good day. I walked downtown on main street and window shopped and ate. There were so many places to eat, it was a little ridiculous.

Then I went back to the hotel to take a nap. When I woke up it was about sunset so I decided to walk down to the beach. Our hotel was so close! All I had to do was walk across the freeway bridge and then beach! I took lots of pictures of the sunset, it was so pretty. Then I took some pictures of the people of Ventura. Seriously, I'm glad that it wasn't dark because there were some pretty interesting characters around.

I took a whole bunch more, but I don't think that you want to look at a million sunsets. We all know that a sunset is pretty and here is enough proof!

The worst part about the whole day was when I went to go get dinner. I went to this place called Beach House Tacos.... well they took 40 minutes to make me one fish taco!!!!!!!!! I was not that happy and by the time I got my food I was so starving it wasn't even close enough to fill me so I stopped at a Taco truck and got a quesadilla.Then I went to the hotel to wait for Chris to come back.

On Sunday we went car shopping and it was fun. We found a pickup that we really liked, but they were asking too much and wouldn't come down and then when we drove it it had some issues.

On Monday we went to the movies and saw Thor, yes it was very good, and got Chris some new dress clothes for the church and the holidays coming up. I left at 4 and got home at 7:30pm. It was really hard to leave because I just felt like we didn't get to spend enough time together. This was the first time that we were able to spend time together while we knew that I am pregnant and so it was just really sweet.

Speaking of being pregnant!
I'm really bad because I totally missed week 8. Let's just say that I was really tired and too busy to take a picture for week 8. But I did get in week 9!

I've been feeling really great and I'm very happy with my progress. I just really hate how much pain my back is in. I'm seeing a physical therapist now and so hopefully it will get better.
I also had my second ultra sound and it was pretty awesome! I got to hear the heart beat and see the little hand and legs that are forming. It is so cute!!! I'm in love already!!!

Week 5-7

2013-11-04T09:59:00.000-08:00

So, I want to take a picture every week to track my progress and growth. I have already started, even though no one really knew that I was pregnant. Here is week 5-7.

So, during my fifth week I still felt really good. I didn't really feel pregnant yet and before I went in for my ultra sound I actually took two more pregnancy tests to make sure that I really was pregnant. I also really loved seeing the pregnant on the test!

I would also highly recommend clearblue to anyone who is testing. They are just so easy to read!!

During my sixth week I started to feel really tired all of the time. I slept a lot. I felt really good in the morning, but come about 12-2 if I didn't get a nap I would be out at 5pm. I also started to have some cravings. The most memorable one was Mexican food. But not just any Mexican food. It had to be two chicken enchiladas from El Gallito. Oh it was heavenly. I also really love cottage cheese!!

There are still a few days to go until week 7 is actually over, but I have already started to not feel like eating. Nothing sounds good. And so sorry about the TMI, but I feel like there is constantly a bubble in my stomach. It is so uncomfortable, gas really sucks. My smell has started to get better already and my back has started to hurt more. I have always had a dull ache in my back, but now it is so painful. Sometimes I can't even bend over. I'm planning on going to the chiropractor.

Well, I'm going to do my best to keep up my streak of not throwing up and I'll update you guys in a week!