Two Years and Counting

Happy late anniversary to this guy

While we were in California, we celebrated our two year anniversary! I use the word "celebrate" loosely, because we really didn't do anything. Now that we are back in Utah, we will actually go out and do something. I have to plan it this year, so who knows when it will happen!

I can't believe it has been two years already! Time has flown by so quickly! It seems like only a few days ago that we were here

These past two years have been the best of my life. I feel so lucky to be married to a man who is wonderful in so many ways. He is smart, loving, kind, attentive, hard-working, exciting, funny, an amazing father, a wonderful husband, handsome, charismatic, spiritual, and so many other things.

Over the past few months I have developed a new appreciation for Chance's work ethic. He goes to work basically every day for 10 hours, and comes home happy and still has energy to play with Blair, and help me around the house. He works so hard to provide for us. He is truly amazing.

Chance is so attentive to my needs and makes sure I could have every thing I could ever want. He is so loyal, and I never have to worry that he might be saying things about me behind my back, as some husbands do (you know, to be funny).

I feel so grateful to be sealed to this man for eternity! I am a lucky girl! It also helps that he gave me this girl

Happy Anniversary Baby! I love you!

The last three months

Wow. These past three months have gone by so. fast. Way too fast. I told Chance I want to have another baby, because Blair is growing up so fast. Totally kidding though.

Some quick 3 and 1/2 month updates:

Blair started smiling around 6 weeks, and now she is a very happy smiley girl!!

She has reflux, so she has to take medicine morning and night. I think it is getting better though, and I am going to start weaning her off the meds.

She just started giggling the other day (7/24) and it is hard to get a giggle out of her, but so worth it!

She sleeps anywhere from 8-11 hours a night (!!!) I cannot tell you how happy this makes me. I am a girl who needs her sleep. I'm sure with the next kid I won't be so lucky.

At her two month appointment, she was in the 35% for weight, and 75% for height.

She loves her play gym, and smiles and talks to the octopus that is on it.

Loves to talk. To everyone and everything.

She HATES tummy time. With a passion. She screams and spits up the second I put her on her stomach.

She loves her binkies.

She is just the happiest thing! We love her to death

Some pictures in no particular order.

Not feeling so hot after getting her shots. Poor girl :(

Father's Day! Check out the difference from Mother's Day till now.

Fourth of July!

Kirra loves Blair! She calls her Baby Bear :) I love it!

We used to have to sit in the bathroom under the fan with her to calm her down

Her first bath. She was not a happy camper at first. Now she loves baths

Her and Spike are getting along well

She has totally plumped out! Look at the difference between this pic and the first bath!

I love being a mom. It is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Life right now is perfect!!

Jennifer Blair!*

*Written 4/29/11

Jennifer Blair turned 2 weeks yesterday, so I figured I would post about her birth, and the last two weeks!

So the week before she was born, I was getting very ready to have her. I was exhausted, huge, and very uncomfortable. At my 38 week appointment, the doctor said I was dilated almost 2 cm, and 80% effaced, and he said it looked like I would go into labor very soon. He didn't think I would make it another week. This got my hopes up, and I was expecting to go into labor at anytime. I even had a scare one night where my contractions got pretty close together, but no baby came.

At my 39 week appointment, the doctor said I was still 2 cm dilated, so I had made very little progress. I was so bummed! I thought for sure I would be closer. The doctor offered to strip my membranes, which I took him up on. It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would, but I was really crampy all night.

I decided to stop expecting to go into labor, because I was still a week away, and the anticipation was just making the days go slower. I went to bed that night a little disappointed and resigned.

The next morning, I woke up early feeling crampy, and I started to time the cramps, and they were about 10 minutes apart. I got something to drink, and just waited for a little bit, and the contractions started coming about 7 minutes apart, and they were getting painful. I woke Chance up, and told him that I thought I was starting labor.

I knew I would be in labor for a long time, so I decided to take a shower, and Chance started to study a little bit so he could get it done with before we had to go into the hospital.

While I was in the shower, the contractions started coming harder and faster, and they started to really hurt! I got out, timed them, and they were 3-4 minutes apart.

I told Chance that it was time to go, and he started to panic! He jumped in the shower really fast, and then started to run around the house getting everything ready and packed ( I was calmly drying my hair and putting make-up on). Finally we jumped in the car and drove to the hospital.

Chance was speeding to get there, which made the contractions hurt worse, so I made him slow down. I called my mom (who freaked out), and then called our neighbor to meet us at the hospital to give me a blessing.

Once we got to the hospital, they had me change into a gown, and checked my cervix. I was still only 2 cm dilated, which is not enough to be admitted. This totally stressed me out, because the contractions were really killing me, and I did not want to be in false labor, and have to be sent home!

After about an hour, they checked me again, and there was not a lot of progress. They gave me some Percocet, and said that if it helped the contractions, I was in false labor, and could go home. If I was in real labor, the meds would have no effect. 45 minutes later, I was still in a ton of pain, so the nurse decided to call my doctor to see what to do.

Contractions are seriously the worst pain I have ever felt. Chance had me squeeze his hand during each one, and I'm pretty sure I almost broke his hand. My contractions were coming two minutes apart for most of the time I was waiting to be admitted, and I wanted to die. I told Chance that I was never going to have another baby.

Finally, my doctor said I could be admitted! I was so relieved, especially because this meant I could have the epidural.

The anesthesiologist came in, and it took FOREVER to get the epidural in. Apparently, I have some kind of blockage in there, and it took him a long time and numerous needle pokes to get around it. I was so nervous that I wouldn't be able to get the epidural. Luckily, he finally got it in, and I felt the relief immediately. It was the best feeling ever, and the anesthesiologist was my new hero. Right after they gave me the epidural, my blood pressure dropped real fast, so they had to give me some Efrin to get it back up.

Not long after they gave me the epidural, a nurse cam in to check me, and while she was, my water broke. Chance was watching the nurse, and saw it squirt out. He started to gag, which made me laugh. My water breaking sped things up a lot.

After that, it was just a waiting game. My aunt and cousin came to visit, and we just talked for a few hours.

Around 7:30, the nurse checked my cervix, and I was about 7-8 cm dilated. Half an hour later, I was 10 cm dilated, and feeling a lot of pressure to push. The nurse had me start pushing, and Chance got very nervous because the doctor wasn't there yet. The nurse assured him that I could be pushing for a few hours, so the doctor would not come until I was closer. After about 20 minutes of pushing, the nurse told another nurse "to call the doctor to get here now". She had me stop pushing (I think she was worried I would have the baby without the doctor there).

Chance could see her head, and the first thing I asked was if she had hair, which she did! For some reason I was really nervous that she wouldn't have hair.

The doctor came in, and I pushed two times, and out she came! It was the weirdest feeling! The cord was around her neck, but it was really loose, and didn't hurt her at all. She was screaming and moving as soon as she came out, and the first thing the doctor said was that she is going to be a handful as a teenager!

They tested her, and she scored a 9/9 on the AAPGAR test, and she weighed 6 lbs 12 oz, and was 18.5 inches long. She calmed down immediately, I got to hold her after they had cleaned her off. She was beautiful! It was so surreal to think that she had been inside me for the past nine months, and now I was holding her.

The doctor had to stitch me up a little, because I tore moderately bad. He said it was a stage 2 tear.

They moved me to a new room, and we basically hung out for the next two days. We got discharged on saturday, and brought our baby home!

My mom flew out to help out, which was so amazing. I don't know what we would have done without her. My mom took the baby every night, and brought her in to nurse whenever she was hungry. It let me get a lot more sleep than I would have by myself.

My mom helped us clean the house and organize the baby's room during the week, and we basically just relaxed. The rest of my family came in on Friday, and we all went up to my Grandparents' cabin for the weekend.

My family left on monday, and I cried for pretty much the whole day. Most of it was the hormones, but I felt totally overwhelmed with my mom leaving. I still miss her a ton!

This week has gone pretty well, I have been getting more sleep than I thought I would (Even though she wakes up every three hours to eat).

Hello blog, its nice to see you again

Its been a while

Too much has been happening around here, and I have not had the energy nor desire to blog.

I am 38 weeks along, and counting down the days!

I have been sick for the past week or so, and it has not been fun. Super pregnant + some kind of viral infection= hell.

My doctor doesn't want me to take antibiotics because it could give me a rash, so I have been trying to get rid of it old school style, with lots of cough drops, robitussin, and kleenex. It has not been fun.

Luckily I am starting to get better, and just have a lingering cough and stuffy nose.

In other news, we just finished our prenatal classes this weekend. The highlight for Chance was definitely seeing numerous crowning vajayjays and lactating nipples. Just kidding, I think he gagged his way through most of the videos.

Life has been really hectic around here. Our baby room is not set up at all, we were waiting for the changing table to get here so we could organize all our stuff, but when it got here, it was all smashed. UPS is lame sometimes. The replacement part got here today, so Chance is gonna start setting it up.

I ordered a stroller part for baby carrier, and it turns out it was the wrong one. Also lame. I ordered the right part, which also got here today. So we have to set that up as well.

I feel like our house is a mess, and nothing is ready to go. I really hope this baby decided to wait till her due date to come, otherwise her parents are not going to be ready!

We have been dealing with our insurance, and it is way too stressful for me. We don't even know what hospital we are supposed to deliver at yet! If she comes in the next few days, we are just going to pick one and cross our fingers that our insurance will cover it!

Some good news: Chance got an amazing job! He is working at Fidelity Investments, and he is absolutely loving it. It is the perfect job for him! It is so nice having a husband that loves his job. I am so proud of him and the work that he is doing to provide for our family. He is amazing :)

Spike is preparing for the baby by being extra clingy. He has to be around me 24-7, and he likes to sleep right next to us. And by next to us, I mean right on top of us. It is not uncommon for me to wake up in the morning with Spike sleeping on my stomach or legs.

Me during General Conference (don't judge). Spike cuddled with me the whole time

So basically, life is stressful but good right now. Half of me wants to have this baby right now, and the other half wants her to wait a few more weeks. Either way we will be happy to have her with us! I kind of want her to wait a little longer so that she can get nice and fat in there. I love chubby babies!

Me at 38 weeks

You can tell that I'm sick by my swollen nose and pale face (although that could just be because its winter here still)

I have been having contractions all night, but they are really irregular and don't hurt, so we will see if she decides to come soon!

26 Weeks

I need help.

I have been researching baby supplies, and I am completely overwhelmed.

Why are there 400 types of bottles? Is one of them really that much better than the others?

Do I want a bathtub with a hammock?

What kind of breast pump should I get? Do I even need one? Does the automatic one work better than the manual?

What kind of swing works the best?

Does my baby really need a stuffed animal that makes noises like the womb?

How many pacifiers do I need?

What kind of diaper works the best?

Formula? Do I need it?

I am so lost. There are way too many options, and every time I look online, I start to panic a little. I don't want to end up drowning my baby because the bath tub didn't fit right, or poisoning her with BPA. Okay, those probably won't happen, but you know what I mean.

I need advice.

Anything will help.

What should I get or not get?

Tell me what was helpful for you.

Anyway, we picked out a stroller and a crib the other day! Thank you to my mom and dad for getting us the crib for Christmas, and to my uncle Matt and Aunt Natalie for the stroller!

We are very excited about both. Chance set up the crib right after we got it so we could "show it off".

I will post a picture of our crib as soon as we get the bedding for it- It is a slightly odd color, and it looks yellow or green without the bedding in it. It is awesome though, and we got a very good deal on it. We got it at Babinski's in Salt Lake, which is such a cute store! A little pricy, but when things go on sale it is amazing!

We decided to copy Noah and Twink and get the Baby Jogger City Select Stroller. I am so excited for it! Thank you to Twink and Brittany for your help while we were deciding! They are on sale right now, so we got one at Babinski's, and we have it set up downstairs. I roll it around every once in a while just to practice. We still have to get the second seat for it, so I have been looking online for good deals.

Anyway, only 3 1/2 months until baby shows her face. I am getting anxious for her to get here, but I am trying to be patient.

The only symptoms I can complain about right now are an aching back, having to pee all the time, being starving all the time, and having a hard time sleeping. Plus it does not feel great when she kicks me in the bladder.

The sleeping thing has gotten WAYYY better since I got Chance some Breathe Right Strips. Recently he has been snoring a ton, and I would wake up all the time because of it. The strips are seriously amazing, I would definitely become their new spokesperson.

Here is our baby girl at 19 weeks! We got this ultrasound in California during Thanksgiving.

I know I said in the last post that I was hoping for a boy, but a girl just feels right!

I am serious about the advice, anything would be helpful!

My New Project

This is going to be my new project for the new few months

I think this is adorable!

It doesn't look too hard to make, just cut out a giraffe shape in felt and add the black spots and details

I think I'm gonna cut out a bunch of animal shapes and make a bunch of felt pictures for the baby's room.

Maybe some of these shapes?

I think the frames would be easy to find and make, just get a few old frames and sand them a little or scratch them up.

Anyone want to make them with me?

My Eggo is Preggo

Surprise…. I'm pregnant!!!! Just kidding, I'm pretty sure everybody already knew that.

Today I am a little over 15 weeks along, which would make my due date April 19th! I am praying that the little bugger decides to come a few days late, otherwise I might have him/her during finals…not fun.

The symptoms I've had so far:

Nausea (like all day, every day)

Vomiting

Exhaustion (for the first few months, I slept like 18 hours a day)

Runny nose

Sneezing (It's called Pregnancy Rhinitis, apparently)

Cramping

Having to pee every 10 seconds

Cravings (In-N-Out fries animal style and red meat pretty much every day)

Gas (sorry its TMI, but its true. This is Chance's favorite symptom haha)

Bloating

Sore back

Sore boobs

Break outs all over my face, back, and chest

My hair growing way faster

Mood swings (I cry about everything- we having been watching the old seasons of Grey's Anatomy, and I cry every. single. episode.)

Forgetfulness (Just ask Chance, I forget everything)

Pretty much every other symptom you can think of, I've had it.

The first trimester was super hard. I had no idea pregnancy was gonna be like this. Luckily I can already start to feel my body changing and I have more energy. I'm still not showing really at all, which is pretty lame. I'm just hoping that it means I won't pop out too much later on, which means less stretch marks. I hope.

Everything looked good at our first ultrasound at 9 weeks. It looks like there is only one baby in there (there better be only one).

Here is our little blob

Me getting the ultrasound! I'm putting my hands like that because the sheet was see-through

Me at 8 weeks

Me at 15 weeks

Yeah, there isn't much difference

We will find out the sex at the beginning of December (21 weeks) Secretly I am hoping its a boy, but a girl would be great too.

Funny story- The other night, Chance and I were going to go shopping, and I was starving. Being starving at the grocery store while pregnant= serious nausea, so I decided to open a can of pears before we left. I wasn't paying attention (since I forget everything nowadays), and I sliced my finger open on the top of the can. After some phone calls to Bill and my mom, we decided to head to the ER. After three hours there, we finally went home. I got three stitches and a numbed finger. It was not a fun experience.

Here's me with my bandaged finger

You may have noticed that I am wearing the same outfit that I am in the ultrasound picture. That's cause it happened on the same day. Two hospital visits in one day!

Anyway, we are super excited for this baby and can't wait till April!!

New York

Chance surprised me for our anniversary with a trip to New York

It was amazing

Chance in front of an NYPD car

We ate hot dogs from a street vendor

Looking across the pier

If you look closely, you can see the Statue of Liberty in the back

This creepy guy was running around downtown

Chance's favorite part of the trip, Wall Street

Statue on Wall Street

Chance got a little crazy about this picture. There were people climbing all over the Bull, and it was almost impossible to get a picture without anyone in it.

The Frick Museum

New York was so fun!

Central Park

Central Park

My aunt and uncle bought us tickets to Wicked. It was so great! Thanks Matt and Natalie! My feet were killing me, so we got a ride back to our hotel from one of those crazy bike riders. It was so scary. I thought we were going to die

The guy who was pulling us got so close to the taxis, and cut off people. These pictures don't convey how scared I was.

M&M Factory

The World's largest Reese's

The Empire State Building

One of my favorite parts of the trip, Serendipity III. The frozen hot chocolate was SO GOOD! The food wasn't too bad either

Waiting for our table (1 1/2 hour wait)

The coolest candy store ever!

Bathtub of gum balls

New York was so amazing! Thanks babe for the trip. I can't wait to go again and try everything we didn't get a chance to this time.

P.S. I am about 2 weeks pregnant here, which might explain why I look and felt so tired this entire trip.