Georgia's Birth

I am not really down with sharing my whole birth story on my blog.  Sorry if you were hoping for all the details.  I just don't like knowing a stranger could find it and read all about the most special day of our lives.  Instead, I am just going to share a few highlights...

*I was scheduled for an induction at 10pm on Saturday, February 25th meaning I'd probably deliver on Sunday, February 26th.  Instead, my water broke on its own at 12:30am on Saturday, February 25th.  After which my contractions came on strong and fast and I went to the hospital to have our little girl.

*The baby was in some distress and her heart rate would drop when I would contract so the nurses and doctor did a few medical techniques to help baby out.  Once they did, she was fine.  However, when it came time to push, baby's heart rate would drop again with each push. 

*After an exam, it was discovered Georgia wasn't going to be able to make it out on her own and I would have to deliver by C-Section.  Within 10 minutes, I was prepped and in the OR for surgery. 

*Georgia was delivered at 11:55am and after she was cleaned off a bit, I got to meet her for the first time.

*Then she went with her Daddy to the nursery to be bathed, weighed and measured.

{I don't think she liked this part very much}

*Once I was out of recovery and we were settled in our room, Georgia finally got to come and be with us.  That was probably the worst part of having a C-Section is how long it took to be reunited with our baby.  I was so happy when she was finally in my arms!

*Georgia also got to hang out with her Dad

 *And meet both of her Grandma's, who both made it from Utah to be in time for her delivery.

{Grandma Brenda}

{Grammy Jeri}

* I specifically didn't have a birth plan because I knew once I got to labor and delivery, anything could happen.  Even though Georgia's birth didn't go as I expected due to the C-Section, I am so grateful for the team of Dr.'s and Nurses who knew what to do to get my baby here safe.  I am also grateful for the nurses who took such great care of us while we recovered in the hospital for four days.  The care and help was amazing.

*We are so happy to be home now and for the loving care we are getting from my Mom, Dad and Sister.  Our whole family has just been wonderful in helping us welcome this little one. 

*Our home is already a better place because Georgia is in it!

Georgia May

Our Sweet Baby made her debut

Saturday, February 25, 2012

at 11:55AM

 

Georgia May

7lbs. 2oz.

20.5 inches long

Strawberry Blonde Hair and Fair Skin

Long Fingers, Toes and Feet

And she's successfully stolen the heart of her Mom and Dad, who fall more and more in love with her everyday!

38 Weeks, 6 Days

Ever wondered what I look like at 38 Weeks and 6 Days pregnant?  Well, here you go my friends:

(Gotta love iPhone photo's)

I am now 39 Weeks and trying to finish up all these little loose ends before baby gets here.  Nesting Mama's will understand what I mean by "loose ends." Garrett did not understand that last night as he is ready for baby to come like yesterday or the day before that.  

In the meantime, we wait, and enjoy our time together, while giving the dogs some extra snuggles.  Thor knows something's coming.  He's not sure what but he looks at me curious and sad throughout the day.  Bless his heart. 

I still feel pretty good.  I can't complain.  Last night was maybe only the second or third night I've had trouble sleeping, but I am getting a cold so that didn't help.  Baby feels like she has officially reached capacity in there and sometimes she feels really heavy.  But, Doctor thinks she is average size (yay!). 

Stay tuned... Maybe my next post will be THE POST!

Today, I Blog Again

2012 has been an interesting year so far... 

It's been busy and hectic and a wee bit sad at times.

But, I think its going to be on the up and up because I am now 38 weeks along and expecting this beautiful baby to come any day now. 

First of all, some happy news:

Here I am at 33 almost 34 weeks along.  

My cousin took a few maternity type pictures while I was in Utah for some baby showers.  We have been so busy, I haven't really taken any pictures since these!  I am still feeling pretty good.  Other than some minor swelling in my feet, hands and face, I'm not too uncomfortable yet, but definitely feeling bigger each day.  I've been nesting.  The last couple of days especially, I am quite content to stay in and get the house ready for this little lady. 

I have been so fortunate to have multiple baby showers!  I had two in Utah.  One last Saturday in California and I am having another one tonight hosted by my ward.  It's such a blessing!

These are pictures from my family shower.  

My cousin made the most adorable (and delicious) cake.  

All the details were perfect!

 

It was so much fun spending the week with my family and doing all kinds of baby things with my Mom.  We shopped a lot!  And I finally found the perfect fabric for the baby's bedding.  It took hours and hours, but I finally found it!  It hasn't arrived yet, but I can't wait to see what it looks like completed.  

Hop on over to Erinn's blog to see some cute pictures from my shower this past Saturday hosted by Cami.  It was a small shower and so much fun!  I can't wait to see what tonight's shower brings!

And finally, I can't catch up my blog without mentioning that 2012 has been a year a loss.  Death has laid his hand upon us as we have seen three loved ones leave this life for the next.  

 

Last Friday, Garrett's cousin's daughter passed away from childhood leukemia.  Sweet Lexi was only 3 years old and about the spunkiest little girl you've ever seen.  She fought so hard and her family never gave up hope. 

Lexi was preceded in death by Granny, Garrett's 101 year old Great Grandmother who passed away at the end of January.  We were able to visit with Granny at her 100th birthday party in the summer of 2010.  I am sure she was there to welcome Lexi to other side of the veil. 

Finally, on the morning of January 4th, just before sunrise, I got a call that my Grampa Roger had passed away surrounded by his children and my sweet Gramma.  We had a beautiful, private service at my Gramma's home to honor his life.  I loved hearing stories from each of his kids about their Dad and how he helped shaped their life.  The one thing I know for sure about my Grampa is that he loved his family.  His last few years were so tender and I'll be forever grateful his life was extended after he almost passed away from heart surgery in 2006.  He was an amazing man who did some amazing things and I am so thankful to have been his Granddaughter.  I hope he is helping his Great Granddaughter get ready for her journey here on Earth.  It was such an awesome experience to be in Utah and in the same week celebrate one man's legacy and one girl's legacy yet to come.

Well, I think that's about it.  Happy Belated Valentine's Day!  I got tulips and Entemann's Buttermilk Donuts!  Hope you had a wonderful heart day as well!

Happy New Year!

Erinn and Andrew celebrated Christmas by welcoming their new little bundle of joy into world. 

We celebrated New Year's by going to meet him.

 

Our little Benson Michael joined the family December 22.  He is so tiny.  I kept unswaddling him to see his skinny little arms and legs.  

It made me extra excited to meet our little lady!  And the countdown is on... Only 8 Weeks to go.

One Christmas Picture

We've had a camera problem as of late. 

We pretty much only use Garrett's iPhone for picture taking these days.  Because of this we got only one Christmas picture this year. 

And we have scary eyes, which red eye refuses to fix.  But, at least we have one photo to commemorate this pregnant Christmas!

We spent Christmas with our dear friends the Crump's and the Salvesen's.  Very fun company and delicious food equals a Merry Christmas indeed!

And if I do say so, Garrett got me some fabulous gifts including the diaper bag I wanted.  (Can't wait to fill it with baby goodies!)

From us to you, we hope your Christmas was Merry and Joyful and that your New Year will be Wonderful!  Happy Holidays Everyone!

Santa Baby

 

29 Weeks

  Little Baby Face at 30 Weeks

30 Weeks

At 30 Weeks, I am still feeling great!

Sleep is the most difficult thing.

Minor aches and pains in my back and tailbone.

New cravings surfacing daily, 

but things that have stayed consistent:

Apples, Chips and Salsa and ANYTHING sweet!

Dr. Says baby looks great

and just look at that mug,

don't you agree with her?

Let It Snow

We decided to get an unconventional tree this year....  It's white.  Really white, like a newly fallen snow that is reflecting a bright noon sun.

I LOVE IT!  It makes me feel like it snowed in my living room.  And in Southern California, it's the closest I'm gonna get.

Comments we've gotten so far:
"Your tree looks like it's blessed from Heaven"
"Is your tree on fire?"

I can't believe the joyful holiday is almost here!  It's come so fast this year.  I've felt totally distracted by a new baby coming shortly after that I don't think I've enjoyed the season as much as I usually do.  This week will be filled with lots of festive things though: shopping, gift wrapping, treat making, and sneaking in those last few Christmas movies I haven't watched yet.

Have a Happy Monday and have fun putting the final details on your Christmas!

Babies

Have you seen Babies?

I just did and absolutely loved it.  It is a must see for Mom's.  I feel way less stressed about what I need to get before my little one comes.  All a baby really needs is love and milk and maybe a blanket depending on where you live.

I especially loved this little lady, Ponijao, from Namibia

She was adorable and her mother was inspiring.  They have so little yet you could feel how much she loved her daughter.

If you have ever loved a baby... You need to see this movie!

A Day with Eliot

With Baby Smith coming any day now, Garrett and I offered to go to LA to watch Eliot so his parents could get away for the night.

 

Watching Tangled with Uncle Garrett

We ate breakfast with the newest Giants fan

 

We took little E to the zoo.  I think he may have been more interested in the trash cans, but there were a few animals he seemed amused by like the tigers, meerkats and the pelican.  

 

What do you do when you don't have a bib?  Eat with your shirt off of course!  We figured we were at the zoo so Eliot was becoming one with nature.

 Watching Mama Tiger roar.  She just had new cubs and was making sure everyone knew to stay away.

  More tiger watching

We had so much fun with this little dude.  He and Garrett have a special relationship.  He prefers Garrett over me all day long, but I don't mind because it is so cute to watch them together!  I'm so glad we got to spend some 1 on 1 time with him before his new baby gets here and our new baby gets here!  We love you Eliot!

Baby Things

I have been trying to find baby bedding all afternoon!  I'm mostly feeling frustrated because I cannot find anything I like!  Anyone else have this problem?  But I did manage to find some other baby items I just find adorable:

etsy.com

Love These!  Since Baby Girl is getting named after a state, she definitely needs one of these!

auntbucky.com

Loving this color scheme, just having a hard time finding it!

I think this pillow is adorable though!

Baby's First Book

This weekend, Garrett and I were out and about looking for a Christmas tree and Garrett wanted to take me to see Ojai, a little town not far from here.  (Have you seen Easy A?  They filmed it in Ojai.)  We went to a second hand book store while we were there and bought Lil' G her first book...

Garrett liked Corduroy as a youngster so we are excited to read this to the baby next holiday season.  Maybe I'll even read it to her now.  Don't they say that makes her smarter or something, getting read to in the womb?  

Happy Thursday!

Thanksgiving

We had a beautiful Thanksgiving filled with good food, fun and most of all great company!  We were joined by Erinn, Andrew, Eliot and Cameron.  We had a great time hanging out, eating, watching Tangled (twice I think) and topped off the night with Home Alone. 

Erinn made some delicious pies and I pretty much conquered everything else.  I am still in disbelief that all of the dishes came out of the stove at pretty much the same time, warm and ready to serve!  Our menu was traditional to say the least: Ham, Turkey, Mama May's Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Green Bean Cassarole, and Rolls.

*The Table*

*Boys on a soda run*

*Family Mustaches*

**Happy Movember!**

Gratitude

I love Thanksgiving.  It makes me sad that it gets totally overlooked now-a-days by Christmas decorations going up directly after Halloween.  Isn't it cool we have a holiday dedicated to gratitude?  Well, this year I have a lot to be grateful for...

Of course, this handsome fella:

Who works so hard everyday!  He's had a good year- graduating from law school, passing the Bar and is going to be such a cute Dad come 2012.  

Then there's these two:

Who have really kept me company these last few years.  Through several moves and having a husband who was very, very busy studying, they were a good cure for a few lonely days!

And all of these wonderful people:

Especially, that brother of mine who is sacrificing his time and talents to serve his Mission.  Oh, and those sweet nieces and nephews who give me all kinds of good laughs.  

But, most of all, I am thankful for this little one:

She actually is a lot bigger than this now, but I have limited digital photo's of her at this time.  (Give me a few months though and you'll get pictures galore!)  I am grateful things with this pregnancy have gone well and that our little lady is growing and developing according to plan.  I can't wait to meet her!

I hope you and yours have a very

Happy Thanksgiving!

Product Review: O-Cel-O Dishwand

I've mentioned on my blog before just how much I hate sponges.  My mom rarely used them when we were growing up.  We had a few sponges and brill-o pads lying around for when we really had a stuck on mess.  We were a dishrag family.

Well, I still prefer dishrags, but I have totally found a sponge I can get behind:

The O-Cel-O dishwand is AWESOME, because food does not stick to it!  Even cheese and eggs, which I find to be the worst culprits of ruining a sponge.  And my biggest beef with sponges is how food particles get stuck and you can't seem to get them off.  I don't have this problem with dishrags and now I don't have this problem with my O-Cel-O dishwand! 

It's seriously the best and makes dish doing so much easier... especially for us since we don't have a dishwasher.

I got mine at Ralph's for under $3 and you can buy refills (2 for less than $3).   Make sure you get the one that states "Even cheese and eggs won't stick".  I've seen some that don't say this and they just aren't as awesome! 

Hope your dish doing just got a little easier!