Thanks and Congrats

Happy Thanksgiving to all our family and friends. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such great love.

I am especially thankful for Shelbie as I trust her everyday with what I hold most valuable, Elijah, and she never disappoints.

Congratulations to you, Jay and Desi for new baby Shave on the way!

I've got my nose

We've past the one year milestone and here we are, two weeks later, I am just starting to recover from it. Elijah has, in the meantime, gone on to learn more and more new things. Just wanted to share a moment that brought a smile to my face...

Yesterday, while eating lunch, he had a piece of chicken stuck to his nose. When I said to him, "Elijah, you have chicken on your nose" he pointed to his nose. Genius :0)

Elijah's 1st Haircut and other Cuteness

Took Elijah to get his first hair cut today! Nothing big, just trimmed to get it out of his eyes and off his ears and neck. He was so good and got a 1st haircut certificate and his first lollypop.

Before

After

Elijah's 1!

We took Elijah to Busch Gardens to celebrate his first birthday (because the party just wasn't enough!). We knew he'd enjoy seeing the big "cats".

Trying to pick up the stepping stone

Big Boy sitting on the rock

Waiting to get on the merry-go-round

Playing in the kids area

There was a monkey in a hammock under the glass

Eating his frist french fry

With Daddy

Loved the hyenas

Little scared of the hippo

Cake

Presents!

Grandparents' Birthday Wishes

Elijah's wonderful grandparents were there with birthday wishes for our sweet boy.

Birthday Pictures Pt 2

The kids drinking (and swapping) drinks

Aiden, Elijah and Emmy

Having a ball at the party

Trying to push the ball pit with Desi in it

They thought it was hilarious :)

The big kids watching football

Elijah's Birthday Pictures Pt 1

Elijah's birthday party was so fantastic. I couldn't have dreamed of anything better. The day was beautiful (although a little windy - we did have to put the MM tent away). I have so many wonderful pictures I want to share but never enough time so I'll share some of my favorites at a time.

Elijah and Daddy

Aiden and Elijah sharing the football

Aiden showing Elijah how to play in the ball pit

Aiden rearranging the party decorations

Happy Birthday Little One

After hours and hours of labor, two unsuccessful epidurals, and no progression, the Dr decided it was time to delivery Elijah via C-section. I remember very little from the night. Various friends and family members coming to visit. I remember Karlie being there as I got sick (thanks for loving me through it :)). I remember being so hot and looking at Adam curled up on the chair beside me trying to stay warm. After it all, my precious, perfect baby was born. I vaguely remember seeing him when he was born, and didn't get to see him again for almost a day due to medication I was on. When I did, it was pure heaven. Nothing else in the world mattered. He was brand new to the world but I already knew him so well. Loved him so much. Over the past year I have loved him more each day. He is so wonderful in every way. Today we celebrate his very first birthday and reflect on the year behind us. All we've learned, grown and loved.

Happy Birthday Elijah. You are more loved than you will ever know. I hope you will look back at the pictures from today and feel a glimpse of the happiness you bring to all around you.

You are so special to us all.

One Year Ago Today, pt 2

Adam woke up and went to work. I had been up all night with contractions. Like the night before, they were sporadic. Unlike the night before, they hurt like heck. So bad they were making me yak. We had a Dr appt in the morning. Adam came home to get me and his grandmother came over to wait for the plumber. When we got to the Dr, they asked the regular questions including "Baby moving and grooving?". He was, but not as much as he usually did. Since I was having contractions they wanted to hook me up to a monitor to make sure E was handling them ok. They made me drink 100 gallons of orange juice (ok, perhaps 100 gallons is a slight exaggeration) but Elijah still wasn't moving too much. They decided to have an ultra sound done just to be sure. I had my regular exam, dialated 3 cm, and then the ultra sound. He was fine. The technician showed him moving around and breathing fine. When we got out they told me I had developed pre-clampsia (high blood pressure) over the past week. I'd been in labor for 32 hours, of course my blood pressure was high! Dr. Snow sent me straight to the hospital to induce me into labor. This was it. It was time. As we left the receptionist said "Congratulations!" and that was all it took to send me into emotional crazy town. It hit me at that moment what the last 9 months were all about. I was about to have my baby. We went to the hospital, called everyone we knew, and tried to prepare ourselves mentally for what was about to happen....

One Year Ago Today... the beginning

One year ago today, November 5, 2008.

My car had been in the shop. It had shut down two days prior as I pulled out of the driveway to go to work. After weeks of wanting to see my baby, I prayed frantically that he would not show up now when we had no way to get him home. We picked it up the night before, all fixed (except for breaking the window motor on the way home). What a relief. The same day we picked the car up was election day. Obama won. That night I woke up around 2:30 with contractions. I lay there for a while assessing the situation. They weren't very strong and were very sporadic. I got up and went to watch some tv in the living room. Sleep was definitely out of the question. When it came time for work I decided I couldn't sit around the house all day timing contractions. I called a friend at the office and made sure she could drive me home around lunch time so I could come in a tie up a few loose ends. Call me crazy but they would have been on the mind until I returned. I went into work, still with contractions, but nothing like they had been the night before. They were lessening. Odd, I thought, there are suppose to get worse as labor progresses. I went home at lunch time planning on relaxing by taking a bath. You know, enjoy my last few hours of rest. Ha. Once I got my bath ready, a truck drove by the house. The dog went nuts and never stopped barking. To top it off my bathtub seemed to be loosing my bath water. Forget it. Who needs relaxing? I probably wouldn't be going to the hospital anytime soon anyway. When Adam came home from work he went to put his clothes in the hamper in the garage. That's when he noticed the garage was flooded. Something had happened to a pipe in the bathroom and all that bath water I knew was disappearing was actually dumping into my garage. Adam called his dad and their plumber friend to come by in the morning and fix the pipes. Only having one bathroom, getting this fixed was definitely an immediate concern. As we had a Dr's appt in the morning, we called Adam's grandmother and asked her to come by while we were gone to let the plumber in. After that fiasco, we settled down for the night....