Incomplete- #34 Lose additional 5lbs by X-mas

BOOO!! Why in the world would I try to lose weight before X-mas?? That's insane! Nonetheless I failed miserably at this one :(

So I am "editing" this goal and re-trying. I want to lose 8lbs by Jan 15.

Merry Christmas everyone!

I know I'm a little late in the day, but with our little munchkin it's been a busy one! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and I will post pics and an update tomorrow... I hope :O)

#5 and #9- IN PROGRESS

Yesterday we took E to take his Christmas pics, and our family portraits! They turned out pretty good but I was so mad that the lady took all these great pics of him alone, just to find out she wasn't hooked to the computer!! GRRR! By the time she realized it he was starting to fuss :( I also am not 100% done with his X-mas pics yet- we still have two more special pics to take :)

Here are some of my favorite shots:

I fell in love all over again...

...when I saw/took this picture.



Chris' 27th birthday was on Friday and Ethan had "bought" him a special daddy's love frame that has a beautiful poem with a picture slot in it. I searched for the perfect picture but couldn't find one that stood out that was the right size. So before our family birthday lunch we stepped outside and took some shots.

I must say I have two handsome men in my life! Totally melted my heart when I was editing them.

Trip #2 to Santa

I'll explain Trip #1 at another time... I seem to be working backwards these days!

Today chris, me, and grandpa N went to take the little man to see Santa...dressed as a reindeer :) Too cute I must say! But as always he refused to smile while they were taking pics! Oh well, he still looks adorable to me!

The Christmas/ Birthday shopping continues....

December in this household is like a toliet. The money just goes in circles down the drain. To give you an idea of what I am talking about here's a little list...

Birthday:
Chris' Dad- 4th
Chris' Sister in Law- 15th
Chris-18th
Chris' older brother- 18th
Chris' oldest sister- 19th .....(yes their parent's were obviously very busy during one month each year!)
My Dad-25th
My Dad's twin-25th....(REALLY sucks to be my dad!)

Christmas:
Me
Chris
Ethan
My Mom
My Dad
C Dad
C Mom
C Brother
C SIL
C Niece
C Nephew
C Nephew
C Nephew
C Sister
C Little Sister
C Grandma
C Uncle
Makayla
Baby- to- be Blake
Uncle Jack

Thats a total of 27 presents plus we adopted a little boy to buy presents for as well! And we only have one income right now...sucky huh? Thankfully everyone know's we don't have much to give right now and we just do our best to get what we can. I am SO happy Ethan is too little to remember this x-mas cause he's getting PJ's and like 2 or 3 toys from us and "Santa". Not really what I imagined by kid's first Christmas to be like but he's loved more than anything in the world and that's all that really matters.

#64 Complete-Inspire someone to make a 101 on 1001 list

My lovely friend Christian decided to join on the bandwagon and do a list of her own!

Can't wait to see yours dear, and if you'd like post a link to your list as well :)

#44 Complete- Join MOMS club on South Hill

This one I completed a while ago but AGAIN never got around to posting. Man, I am such a slacker these days!!

About a month after we moved to WA I started getting very depressed and bitter about being here "alone" and having to leave my friends. I knew Chris was getting fed up with my attitude and I knew for myself I needed to make an attempt and liking the place. I looked into MOMS club and after chatting with their "MVP" I joined immediately! The ladies in the group are fantastic and sooo sweet! I couldn't have asked for a better group of MOMS. They all welcomed me with open arms and made me feel very comfortable at the gatherings.

I was going quite often before E got sick and then our trip to AZ so now that we're back and settled I am hoping to catch up with them all. For any mommies out there that are reading this I strongly suggest joining a group if you can!

#33 complete- Lose 5lbs before Thanksgiving

Well...this one didn't go as planned :/ BUT it did end with great results.

I never lost the 5 lbs BEFORE turkey day so I extended my due date til Dec.8th when I returned from AZ and uped it to 8lbs (just never got around to posting that one...whoops!).

And....I DID IT!! Woo hoo!! And even lost an additional pound!

So now I am down 9 lbs, and will continue on with my goal of an additional 5 before X-mas!

#10 Complete- Transition Ethan into his own crib

This was a tricky one- also one I thought would happen much later this year :( But after his sleeping got worse and worse I was desperate and was willing to give it a shot, despite how hard it was for me. But on Oct 27th, 2009 my little man slept all by himself in his own room...and LOVED it! He slept 6 hours straight too :) However I was a wreck the night and the SIDS monitor went off which freaked me out as well. However, Chris was actually more upset than I was that we moved him into his room sooner than planned. He was all mopey and missing his baby- too cute!

Of course I had to sneak in there and take a pic of him sleeping like a lamb :)

I'm still here....

I have been such a slacker lately with my posts!! We have just been so busy with everything! Ethan is going through this phase where he wants to be held all the time- normal I know but not like him!- and then there's been the holidays and I've been finishing up a project for banner. So needless to say I barely have time to breath.

I've got lots of updates and am promising I will catch up by this weekend!

Master List

Here's my updated list in a nice and neat order! I will post a link to this page on the sidebar so you can see what progress has been made!

Memory Stuff:
1-Finish pregnancy scrapebook
2-Start/Finish baby scrapbook
3-Send out birth announcements
4-Make appointment/Take Halloween Pictures (1/2)
5-Make appointment/Take Christmas Pictures (1/2)
6-Take pictures on the 4th of each month for the 1st year (7/12)
7-Do the 365 Photo Challange starting Jan. 2011
8-Finish wedding scrapbook
9-Book holiday family portraits session (1/2)

Ethan Stuff:
10-Transition Ethan into his crib in his own room :(
11-Work out details for Baptism (book church, plan party, ask Godparents)/ Baptize Ethan
12-Send thank-you cards from birth gifts (REALLY late on this!)
13-Nurse Ethan at least 5 times a day until he no longer nurses
14-Organize/Re-do the nursery
15-Take Ethan to storytime at the library at least once a month (0/12)
16-Enroll in a mommy and me class
17-Write Ethan a letter on his birthday (1/2)
18-Go on a walk with Ethan at least 1x week until it gets too cold or snows
19-Throw Ethan a 1st birthday party
20-Throw Ethan a 2nd birthday party
21-Send out paperwork for Ethan's birth certificate
22-Put money in Ethan's piggy bank every month (amt to be decided)
23-Teach Ethan sign language
24-Start speaking and teaching Ethan Spanish
25-Enroll Ethan into daycare part-time

Me time:
26-Work on Photography (sign up for classes or research techniques, start taking more pics)
27-Sign up for Nursing School for RN
28-Take Nursing Assistant Classes to become PCT and take WA State Board Exam
29-Take NET exam
30-Read 10 new books (6/10)
31-Get a new car
32-Reach goal weight (for me know and you to possibly find out ;P)
33-Lose 5 lbs by thanksgiving 2009
34-Lose additional 5lbs by xmas 2009
35-Lose 10lbs by valentine’s day 2010
36-Lose 15lbs by my birthday- May 10,2010
37-Lose 20lbs by Ethan’s 1st birthday- Sept 4,2010
38-Lose 15lbs by Xmas 2010
39-Do a mini-makeover on myself after losing 30lbs
40-Re-connect with an old friend
41-Send out x-mas cards (1/2)
42-Finish my "book"
43-Find a way to forgive
44-Join MOMS club on South Hill
45-Re-fresh on Spanish
46-Learn to knit

Health and Fitness:
47-No soda for a week
48-No junk food for a week
49-Go to the gym at least 3x week for one month
50-Do sit-ups every day (start with 25 and increase by 25 every week) for 2 months
51-Do a half-marathon
52-No Fast Food for 21 days straight
53-Go to the farmers market and buy produce
54-Enroll in a dance class for fun
55-Take a pole dancing workout class

Vacations:
56-Take a trip with my sisters
57-Take Ethan to Sedona, AZ and hike
58-Go to the Grand Canyon...FINALLY
59-Take a vacation that is just me and Chris
60-Take Ethan to Chicago
61-Take a vacation to Seaside
62-Take Ethan to Disneyland

Blogging:
63-Blog about each goal completed (7/101)
64-Inspire someone to make a 101 on 1001 list
65-Get more followers for my blog (Start #- 3- Goal=20)
66-Do at LEAST one blog post a week (not goal list related) for 3 months

Food:
67-Make a new treat for the family and blog about it x12
68-Go to downtown Seattle fish market and buy something to make for dinner
69-Put together a recipe book of family and friends favorite recipes
70-Cook dinner for EVERYONE once a week for 6 months (6/24)

Family time:
71-Have a family game night once a month (with EVERYONE) for 3 months (0/3)
72-Take nephews in WA ice skating or sledding
73-Webchat with my mom and sister at least once a month (0/12)
74-Attend church with in-laws every week until Ethan's baptism

Our little family (Chris, Ethan and Me)
75-Move into our own place again
76-Re-decorate (or decorate) our bedroom
77-Do a family outing (just me,Chris,and Ethan) at least once a month (2/12)
78-Hike Mount Rainer with Chris and Ethan(maybe)
79-Do a snow day with Ethan and Chris, and make snowmen and go on a sled
80-Watch all episodes of George Lopez with Chris (me and Chris' favorite show)
81-Take a trip to the Space Needle in Seattle (fear of heights)

Money and Important Stuff:
82-Make a budget
83-Sign up for new medical insurance for me and Chris (2/2)
84-Buy a lotto ticket every week for a month (1/4)
85-Get passports for me and Chris
86-Get a part-time job
87-Back-up all computers onto a external hard-drive (3/3)
88-Set up a interest savings account and/or Roth IRA
89-Get a WA license for me and Chris (0/2)
90-Put $1000/month in savings for 12 months (0/12)
91-Sign up for Life Insurance for me and Chris
92-Make a will for me and Chris
93-Start trying for baby #2 in Early Late 2011
94-Clip coupons for places other than BRU

Good for the soul:
95-Collect xmas present for the kids in the hospital or orphanage
96-Go through storage unit and donate what we do not need
97-Choose a charity and start volunteer work

Misc:
98-Buy a new bed
99-Sign up Izzy (black lab) for training class
100-Buy a DSLR Camera
101-Start a new list!

I CAN do it!

In hopes of completing my weight goals I have purchased the Wii Fit Plus! I tried it out for the first time last night and man it kicked my butt. Or maybe I'm just really THAT out of shape lol. I set a goal on it to lose 22 lbs in 3 months- although I will be sticking to my goals on my master list. Hopefully it will work out cause I think I've finally hit that point where I am disgusted when I look in the mirror. I know I just had a baby 2 months ago and it took 9 months to put on the weight why not give myself 9 to lose it. It's just so hard to see myself at this point again. But I'm motivated and think I can really do it this time! Wish me luck ;)

5 question Friday

Stealing another one from Jenni.... :P



1. What is your dream job?

Being an RN. I dropped out of the program a few years ago when I got pregnant the 1st time and thought I couldn't handle the speciality I chose, and have regretted it ever since. Now I will be going back in January and deciding if I want to do L&D or Peds!

2. What song could you play over and over?
Rascal Flatts- God bless the broken road...LOVE that song!!

3. Do you prefer to talk on the phone or text (or email)?
I'm a texter 100%!

4. What is your must have beauty product?
Lip gloss....even if I have no make-up on I will def be wearing lip gloss.

5. What is your favorite Michael Jackson song?
This is a toughie...I was never a big M.J. fan (I know I know) but I'd prob say the one with the video of him in egypt (???? blanking on the name)...sorry!

101 goals in 1001 days! - My list is complete FINALLY

I am jumping on the bandwagon and starting my own 101 goals in 1001 days list! I will keep you updated, and blog about each item that is crossed off the list. Italics are for entries in progress, and if an item has been crossed off it has been completed. I will post a link to this post in my side bar so you can see how I'm doing!

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days? Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Here's My List:

1-Finish pregnancy scrapebook
2-Start baby scrapebook
3-Send out birth announcements
4-Send out thank-you cards from birth gifts (REALLY late on this!)
5-Work out details for Baptism (book church, plan party, ask Godparents)/ Baptize Ethan
6-Make appointment/Take Halloween Pictures (1/2)
7-Make appointment/Take Christmas Pictures (0/2)
8-Take pictures on the 4th of each month for the 1st year (1/12)
9-Transition Ethan into his crib in his own room :(
10-Nurse Ethan at least 5 times a day until he no longer nurses
11-Organize/Re-do the nursery
12-Go to storytime at the library at least once a month (0/12)
13-Enroll in a mommy and me class
14-Reach goal weight (for me know and you to possibly find out ;P)
15-Work on Photography (sign up for classes or research techniques, start taking more pics)
16-Sign up for Nursing School for RN
17-Take Nursing Assistant Classes to become PCT and take WA State Board Exam
18-Take NET exam
19-Read 10 new books
20-Get a new car
21-Start trying for baby #2 in Early 2011
22-Make a new treat for the family and blog about it x12
23-No soda for a week
24-No junk food for a week
25-Go to the gym at least 3x week for one month
26-Learn to knit
27-Re-fresh on Spanish
28-Join MOMS club on South Hill
29-Do situps every day (start with 25 and increase by 25 every week) for 2 months
30-Find a way to forgive my SIL
31-Choose a charity and start volunteer work
32-Finish my "book"
33-Write Ethan a letter on his birthday (0/2)
34-Re-decorate our bedroom
35-Take a trip to the Space Needle in Seattle (fear of heights)
36-Do a half-marathon
37-Do a family outing (just me,Chris,and Ethan) at least once a month (0/12)
38-Move into our own place again
39-Hike Mount Rainer with Chris and Ethan(maybe)
40-Go on a walk with Ethan at least 1x week until it gets too cold or snows
41-Take a vaction to Seaside
42-Take Ethan to Disneyland
43-Throw Ethan a 1st birthday party
44-Throw Ethan a 2nd birthday party
45-Take Ethan to Chicago
46-No Fast Food for 21 days straight
47-Do a snow day with Ethan and Chris, and make snowmen and go on a sled
48-Attend church every week until Ethan's baptism
49-Take a vacation that is just me and Chris
50-Buy a new bed
51-Take Ethan to Sedona, AZ and hike
52-Go to the Grand Canyon...FINALLY
53-Webchat with my mom and sister at least once a month (0/12)
54-Go to the farmers market and buy produce
55-Go to downtown Seattle fish market and buy something to make for dinner
56-Sign up Izzy (black lab) for training class
57-Put $1000/month in savings for 12 months
58-Sign up for Life Insurance for me and Chris
59-Make a will for me and Chris
60-Clip coupons for places other than BRU
61-Send out paperwork for Ethan's birth certificate
62-Set up a interest savings account and/or Roth IRA
63-Get a WA license for me and Chris (0/2)
64-Back-up all computers onto a external hard-drive (0/3)
65-Go through storage unit and donate what we do not need
66-Do at LEAST one blog post a week (not goal list related) for 3 months
67-Book holiday family portriats session (0/2)
69-Send out x-mas cards (0/2)
70-Enroll in a dance class for fun
71-Lose 5 lbs by thanksgiving 2009
72-Lose additional 5lbs by xmas 2009
73-Lose 10lbs by valentines day 2010
74-Lose 15lbs by my birthday- May 10,2010
75-Lose 20lbs by Ethans 1st birthday- Sept 4,2010
76-Lose 15lbs by Xmas 2010
77-Re-connect with an old friend
78-Take nephews in WA ice skating or sleding
79-Finish wedding scarpebook
80-Take a pole dancing workout class
81-Put money in Ethan's piggy bank every month (amt to be decided)
82-Collect xmas present for the kids in the hospital or orphanage
83-Teach ethan sign language
84-Start speaking and teaching Ethan spanish
85-Get more followers for my blog (Current #- 3)
86-Watch all episodes of George Lopez (me and Chris' favorite show)
87-Inspire someone to make a 101 on 1001 list
88-Get a part-time job
89-Get passports for me and Chris
90-Take a trip with my sisters
91-Put together a recipe book of family and freinds favorite recipes
92-Buy a lotto ticket every week for a month (0/4)
93-Blog about each goal completed (0/101)
94-Do a mini-makeover on myself after losing 30lbs
95-Cook dinner for EVERYONE once a week for 6 months (2/24)
96-Make a budget
97-Have a family game night once a month (with EVERYONE) for 3 months (0/3)
98-Do the 365 Photo Challange starting Jan. 2010
99-Enroll Ethan into daycare part-time
100-Sign up for new medical insurance for me and Chris (0/2)
101-Start a new list!

Thank you to the ladies who's goals I "borrowed"!! Good luck to all :)

Halloween Pics

I know i'm a bit late on posting this but it's been a crazy few days and I feel like there isn't enough hours in the day!

Since baby E is so little we didn't really get to take him trick or treating but we did dress him up and he got to "play" with his cousins for a little bit.

We also seriously slacked on the pumpkin carving this year and ended up just making it match his t-shirt...GHETTO haha! Oh well, next year we will make up for it!

A love like this

I know it sounds corny but I am amazed at how much I love my son.

He's been nothing short of a fussy pain in the rear the past three days. I haven't slept very well at all and am so frustrated that I can't figure out what's wrong with him. Like tonight, I tried keeping him up, feeding him a little extra and he still cried for an hour and a half for no apparent reason. It's midnight and he just now stopped crying! But after he stopped crying I hopped onto my computer to look at pics and browsed my delivery photos. Then I started crying!! Going back to the day he was born brought back all these wonderful and happy feelings.

He's the best thing to ever happen to me, and I am so thankful to have him in my life. After the loss of our two angel babies looking at what a miracle he is makes me melt inside. It takes ever scream and temper tantrum he throws so worth every single minute. I wouldn't change a thing, he could scream for days on end and I'd still be on cloud nine...granted I hoped he doesn't!!!!

The sleep god's answered my prayers!

After hearing all my girlfriends talk about how their newborns- babies basically the same age as E- and how they are sleeping 4+ hours a night, I started questioning what was wrong with my little guy. I know that every baby is different but his sleep was actually starting to get WORSE! We were up every 2-3 hours still and he was over 6 weeks old. Finally I told Chris we needed to put him back in bed with us cause that was when he slept best- when he slept in his little snuggle nest next to me.

Low and behold it worked like a charm! Last night he slept 7 hours straight- after screaming for 3 hours prior but that's another story, and the night before that was almost 6 hours! I know we're gonna pay the price for this when it comes time to move him to his own crib in a few weeks but for now I'll take the risk in exchange of a few extra hours of sleep :P

Time to make a change...

With all these new things happening in my life I have decided I want to make some changes to help better myself and my family. With that I am doing the 101 goals in 1001 days challenge. I have a rough list in my head but look for the complete list later this week :D

Halloween Pics and doctor update

I am so excited that I finally scheduled Ethan's Halloween picture session! Our little lion is gonna be so darn cute :)

We went BACK to the doc today for E's cough and they said his lungs were looking good and that it probably was just a little cold, so no need to wory. Phew- mommy was starting to get really worried. They did weigh him and drum roll please...our chunkier is weighing in at 11 lbs 4 oz!!! He gained almost a whole pound in a week...yikes!

What a big guy we have!

I know all mom's think their kid is amazing and more advanced than others but I SWEAR E is doing so much more than the doc's said he should be doing at this point. For the most part, he can really hold his head up without anyone helping him.

He no longer likes to be away from us at dinner time- usually he's content being in his swing or bouncer- and his high chair thingy is still being ordered so I bought his "Bumbo" a little early and he seems to like it!



He seems like such a big boy in his little seat! It feels like yesterday he was born and just so tiny when I held him. I can't get over how fast he's growing :(

Birth Story

For those that didn't get the play by play but want it- here it goes....

Baby's Name: Ethan Nicholas

Due Date: 09-18-09

Birth Date: 09-04-09 (38 weeks)

Length: 20 in

Weight: 6lbs 7ozB

Birth Story: Early AM on Sept 2nd I started getting a really bad bachache that would come and go. We walked around and sometimes it would intensify, sometimes it wouldnt so I didn't think much of it. By that night I started thinking it was backlabor cause the pain was getting pretty bad. I didn't want to call the on-call OB cause I wasn't sure so I basically grinned and bared it all night. After taking 5 showers to help ease the pain at 6:30am I called and they said to head to L&D. I woke Chris and said I needed to take another shower to help get me through the pain and they we needed to go. Of course there was rush hour traffic and after an hour we arrived at the hospital.

We get in, they checked me and there was NO progress at all. I started bawling my eyes out cause I couldn't believe after all that nothing was happening. They hooked me up and saw I was having minor contractions but though that it was just early labor. My backache started getting worse and my OB wanted me to walk the halls in hopes of getting things going. I got up and made it just out the door before I started screaming for something to vomit in. The pain for some reason got so intense that I was vomitting and almost passed out. Needless to say walking was out of the question. They sent me to do an ultrasound to check his weight and were thinking they were going to have to send me home cause nothing was happening. They did a weight check and said Ethan was weighing appox 6lbs. 15 oz. ! They were just about to release me at 12pm when she checked me again and I was now 3cm, and almost 90% effaced! She looked at me and said it looks like we are delivering a baby today! Within 30 minutes of her saying that my contractions went from sporatic to every 2 min and VERY painful. At 1pm they had me admitted and sent me to my room and were getting my epi ready cause I was crying hysterically the backlabor hurt so bad.

They came in to do my epi and I was terrified! Chris stayed and watched- which i did not like at all. I couldn't stop sweating and shaking while they were getting it ready. Long story short- it took them 5 frickin tries to get it in! He even said I was the hardest epi he's done in almost his whole career. Apparently I have a very deep groove or something?? Once everything was in I felt good! Around 4:45 my OB came in to break my water. I was only at 4cm at that point and still 90%. At 6:45 I was at 6cm, then all of a suddent at around 8pm I was at 9cm and almost 100%. I started feeling a lot of pain in my pelvic region as well as having the urge to push. At 9:45pm I was complete but they had me hold off on pushing for a while. My pain got MUCH worse- to the point where they had to give me another round of the epi directly into the injection site. The nurse had tried to give me two dosages via the push button and it had NO EFFECT at all. At 10:30pm I was begging to push cause the pain was so bad. I did 45min of pushing with no relief. Ethan started going into distress and they called my OB and she said I needed to stop pushing and they put an internal monitor on his head since his heart rate started to drop greatly. They had an OR prepped for a c/s for me cause it really looked as if we were heading that way. By this time my epi was not working at all and I was in so much pain I couldn't stand it. They flipped me side to side for 45 min while they waited for my OB to come. By 11:30pm I was hysterical saying I couldn't do it any longer and begging for a c/s! When she got there she checked me real quick and said baby had flipped right side down finally and was much very close. She really thought I could get him out pretty quickly and wanted me to keep trying. Despite not having slept for about 36 hrs at this point I got a second wind and agreed. After an additional 45 min of pushing Ethan Nicholas FINALLY came out!

Cord was wrapped around his neck and he swallowed fluid so they had to take him to the NICU for 2 days. That was probably the hardest thing about the whole labor. Seeing my little man with a CPAP and wires everywhere made me so sad. When I first saw him I was in hysterics cause I felt so bad for him- I couldn't even stay very long cause I couldnt calm down. He was just so tiny and helpless. They finally let us go home on Sunday the 6th. I am just amazed at how much I love him and couldn't imagine my life without him!

Ethan's first trip to Build-a-bear

Chris had some leftover build-a-bear bucks after making me a wedding bear- cute I know- so we took E today to "make" his own.

It seems like all this child has is puppy dogs or turtles so we decided to change it up a bit and get him a polar bear! Seems appropriate since we moved him to freezing cold, right?


I can't say it enough, but I've got one cute kid huh? AND he's already learned how to pose for the camera. Who ever said that boys can't be trained just didn't start early enough :D

I have the cutest lion...EVER!

Our little man is going to be a Lion for his 1st Halloween- of course he will be wearing his special onsie Auntie Keri gave him underneath though :)

Is he not the cutest thing you've ever seen?!?! I'm not biased at all though ;P

We're here!

The move to WA is complete!

It was a hard and long move but we are finally here and mostly settled. I don't think I have ever been so stressed in my life and am so glad that things are finally over. I do however miss AZ, and everyone there, like crazy. I am hoping that we can come home for Thanksgiving though!

Chris and Ethan both are sick- Chris with bronchitis, Ethan with a minor cold (nothing the doc is worried about thankfully!) so I have had my hands full beyond belief. My only ray of light through this ordeal is that I have been forced to stay at the house for the most part which has been nice since we were so on the go before we left AZ.

I've taken LOTS of cute pics of E so I will get to posting them soon :)

Ethan Smiling (it's a VIDEO)

Our little man has learned how to smile! Too cute!!

Baby Ethan is finally here!

After 16 LONG hours of hard labor at the hospital our little bundle of joy arrived on Sept. 4th, 2009 at 12:13am. Ethan weighed 6lbs 7oz and was 20 inches long.

He had some difficulty breathing at first so spent two days in NICU- which nearly killed me and chris! All is well now and we are very much in love with our new little man.

More details to follow :)

I'm pretty sure this kid will never come out!

So here I am at 37.5 weeks- a point where even the doctor didn't think I'd make it to. Why oh why does this child feel the need to stay inside me? Is it really THAT comfy in there that he doesn't want to come out and play??

I've spent the last two weeks in pure misery and pain. Sleepless night, exhausting days and I'm not even working!! I have no clue how women work until the day they deliver. Now trust me we need the money more than ever and I get that sometimes that just what you have to do but I couldn't even try if I had the employment to do so! Heck, I can't even drive anymore cause my belly won't allow me to turn the steering wheel.

Don't get me wrong- I'm glad he's safe and sound, and now full term (woo hoo!) but really kid you need to get out...like NOW!

So to my beloved son, please evict my belly in the next 24 hours before mommy dearest loses her mind.

Here's a lovely "bump" shot to give you all a chuckle:

Happy Anniversary to my one true love!

I can't believe that it has already been a year since me and Chris got married! Time has flown by so fast, and I just can't seem to grasp the reality of it yet. It didn't hit me until mid-day that a year ago today we became husband and wife. I guess a lot of people lost a lot of bets ;P. No one really thought we'd make it this far and yet we did. We beat the odds and came out on top. We're happy, in love, and in a matter of days will be the proud parents of a beautiful baby boy!

Now if we could just win that million dollars we'd be golden...

Movin' on up...

As many of you know, things have not been easy on me and Chris the past few months. The economy has really hit us hard- with Chris not working much and me having to slow down cause of the pregnancy-so once I was put on bedrest at 29 weeks, it all just went BOOM! The months of trying to float by, the scrimping and saving, just couldn't continue on anymore.

With our son coming into the world any moment now, we needed to have a better plan. "Getting by" wasn't going to cut it when it came to our baby. He deserves the best. He deserves to be safe. He deserves parents who are not at their wits end wondering if they will be able to provide for him. He didn't ask to be brought into this world, and there is no way we were going to allow him to have a life anything less than AMAZING.

So with that, on September 26th, 2009 Chris will be moving our belongings to Washington State, while me and Ethan continue on our wait to the 6 week mark and then fly up to meet him. After months of discussing this option we finally came to the decision that the move was the only way for us to get back on our feet.

While it is by no means an ideal situation, it is what is best for us and for our son. Leaving AZ and everyone here will be unbearably hard but we will make frequent visits and you better believe we will be back as soon as we have things where they should be.

This opportunity is for me to finish my degree and Chris to get back to working. I hope that everyone around us understands what we are doing and supports us in this decision, for it has not been an easy one to make.

Time flies...

...when your confined to your house...NOT!

Let me go back to a month ago when all the "fun" stuff started...

On July 7th I had been working all day and although I felt funny I chalked it up to the pregnancy. I was 29 weeks and HUGE so I didn't think much of it. A little after noon I started realizing that the pressure I had been feeling all weekend was getting worse and I was also experiencing some tightening all over my belly. I knew that my OB was in surgery cause she was working on my boss! I waiting until about 4pm to give them a call cause I knew I was going to be going home any minute and sure enough the nurse said head to Labor and Delivery ASAP. Once there, they hooked me up to a monitor and sure enough I was having contractions every 3 minutes! Not only was I contracting but I was dilated a fingertip. The immediately gave me Terbutaline, and everything calmed down. I was sent home and told to be on bedrest. JUST PEACHY!

The following day was supposed to be our follow-up 3-D ultrasound and the nurse gave me the go ahead to still go as long as I went straight there and back. Which we did. Later that night I started feeling contractions again and started timing them but this time they were every 6 minutes. That was enough to send me back into L&D though. After two attempts of the Terbutaline, contractions slowed down and now I was given the oral medication to take at home as well.

That Saturday, July 11th, Chris left to do some errands for his boss while I stayed home to rest. I had been having a really hard time on the medication and just didn't feel right. He called me around 11am and I couldn't even put a sentence together and got very frustrated and started sobbing. Then when I would try to get up my legs would go stiff as a tree trunk and lock up to the point where I would almost fall over. Chris insisted I call my OB, and she sent me back to L&D. This time I was still having minor contraction, but nothing in comparison to the days prior. They switched my meds and all was calm again.

This time around I felt like a million bucks by the next day! I was still on bedrest but as long as I was taking it easy I could get up every once and a while and do an errand. Chris was a huge help and started taking over some of my clients since he wasn't working much. The kids ended up liking him more than me! SHOCKER :P!

As much as I wanted our little guy out, when I look back at things I am so relieved to know we made it another 5+ weeks. He has been able to grow so much in that time and each week he stays put means less time he would have to spend in NICU. Even though he is such a big baby (at my 33.5 week appointment he measured 37 weeks!!), we're not sure where his lungs are at this point and since I have such bad asthma problems, it's a big concern that he will have breathing issues as well.

So here's to hoping that our little butterball will back just a little bit more....

More 3-D Pics...

By the time this child is born he will probably come out posing for a picture since he has had so many shots taken of him already ;P

What can I say....i'm a proud mama!!

Here are the photos from our follow up 3-D Ultrasound:

I'm still amazed how big he is! I think he totally looks like Chris with a hint of me in there somewhere. I just can't wait to meet my new little man!!!

I failed :(

My OB office called yesterday and apparently I have failed the 1-hour Glucose Tolerance test :(
They like to see levels at 140 or less and mine came back at 170. I even fasted for it so that we wouldn't have this issue!! I'm quite disappointed in myself right now and very scared for the next round of testing. I have to go back in sometime this week to do the 3-hour glucose test and if I fail that one as well they will consider me High Risk again and categorize me as having Gestational Diabetes.

I know there is nothing I can do about it now, and really this is just something I have to deal with but I'm still very stressed and sad about the whole ordeal. I've been put on a semi-strict diet before I take the test again to see if that helps and then they will re-evaluate the situation after they receive my next round of results.

Prayers are appreciated :)

Baby Shower- June 20th

One of my best girlfriends- Sonja Mandalfino- threw me a baby shower on June 20th!

It was a wonderful event and I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful friend. Although none of mine or Chris' family could be there, obviously, it was great having such close friends of mine being there for me on my special day. We played games, snacked on food, and had some yummy cake! We can't forget the great gifts that everyone bought for Ethan- he is one lucky little man!!

Here are some pics from the day:

The sign that was outside

Me and My lovely host- Sonja

Sheena, Me and Sonja

Me with all the wonderful gifts everyone gave us

Please excuse how I look in these- I got very nervous for some reason and started getting hot flashes pretty bad! Haha! It was such a great day and I thank everyone who came from the bottom of my heart!

Nursery Pics

We are not even close to being ready for this little guy but I was very excited that Chris put together the crib and the stroller/car seat system the other day!

We still haven't been able to purchase the new bedding yet so I just put in the old one since it looked so naked haha. Everything looks GREAT and it finally feels like things are starting to come together.

Time is flying by so quickly and it's hard to believe he could be here in a little over 2 months (depending on how long he decides to stay in there!!!) !

27 week Doctor Appointment

All went well yesterday at the OB. We have a few concerns but of course they are dealing with me-not him! BP was 142/72 so slightly elevated like in the beginning, and I gained 7.5 lbs in 3 weeks! YIKES! I know for a fact about 6 of those pounds came from the last week and the doctor is sure that is it water weight not calories. Kind of comforting but not really. She wants me to start just sitting in the pool a few times a week and see if that helps eliminate the swelling. So off to the pool I shall go!

Here's for the funny part. Each visit they measure my belly to make sure his growth is on track. The # of centimeters it is should be equal to the # of weeks I am in the pregnancy. Even when they do an ultrasound and show he's measuring big on there he is ALWAYS on track for the belly measurement. Not this week....He decided to grow a whole 2 centimeters bigger this time!! They said he's now measuring for 29 weeks!!! I think we've got a big boy on our hands....

26 Week Pic

As always here's a nice pic of my big ole belly. He's def growing in there!!

26 weeks

3D Ultrasound Pics

I must say we have the cutest baby out there ;) At least that's my opinion haha. Today we had our fun 3D ultrasound and me being the bright person that I am thought it would be a good idea to get him all hyper since he usually isn't very active during the day. WRONG! About two days ago he flipped over so he wasn't breech anymore and I've been able to feel him move a lot more than usual. But I still wanted to be safe than sorry since this ultrasound was supposed to be a one shot deal and ate a full breakfast, drank apple juice on my way to the appointment then took a few sips of a coffee right before they started. Needless to say my little man was compeltely cracked out during our session and would not sit still the whole 30 minutes we were there!!!

As soon as we started the lady said he was in a great position and moving around, then two seconds later he turned over and gave us his bottom!! She couldn't catch him for the life of her. He was rolling over, playing with his feet and hands AND cord- which by the way scared mommy half to death! Then half way through he did a nice big flip and went breech. It was basically downhill from there cause although he was slowing his movement down a bit more they couldn't get very many good shots.

The lady was super nice though and said I could come back at 30 weeks and do another session for FREE. Woo hoo! Sounds good to me ;)

So here are some pics of our crazy little guy:

We got good news!

We had our 24 week appointment on thursday and everything went GREAT! I was really nervous that my uterine abnormality would be worse then it was, and that something could be wrong with our lil man but nope, everything looked PERFECT! The bi-cornuate isn't visable anymore- so that means although it's still there it is no longer big enough to pose a threat to us, and they got all the shots they needed of him and he's doing great. Weighing in at 1lb 9oz, he's starting to slow down his growth and is measuring exactly what he should be. So the good news is he may actually make it to September now! They still don't think he'll make it to my due date but that's just fine with me!!

Dr. Langer said I was doing well too- no signs of diabetes yet but I still have to take the test in 3 weeks, my swelling is pretty up there but she doesn't think it looks to out of the oridnary, and although I was very unhappy with my weight gain she said I'm doing just fine and believes the increase is due to fluids not caloric intake. So all in all I was very happy when I left there- that is until I had to pay the bill...YIKES! I must admit that although I LOVE my OB and the office, my only downside with them is paying out of pocket- NO FUN!

On to the good stuff.....

Side Profile- 24 weeks

He's already got my lips and chris' nose!!

And he's got REALLY big feet!!

23 weeks

The past few weeks have brought some interesting symptoms for me. My morning sickness is back but definatly not as bad as it was the first trimester, and I have now been having pretty frequent braxton hicks contractions, which despite what others have told me DO hurt!

We're looking forward to a follow-up ultrasound this thursday to see how much room our little man has. Personally, I am intriqued to see how much our little chubbers weighs already :)

Here's some pics of my ever growing baby belly:

23 Weeks, 1 Day

Top view of my belly!