4 months ago

I can't believe it has been 4 months since Gretal was born. It seems like just yesterday I was changing diapers, and feeding at least 12 times a day. I remember thinking I don't know if I can handle much more of this, and that's about the time she started sleeping 6 hours at a time...and oh man that was a relief.
I love when she reaches for her toes and actually grabs them. I love that when she sees me she smiles so big that her whole face lights up. I love her big cheeks, big blue eyes and roley poley thighs. I love when she rubs her face in my neck when she's tired. I love that I know her tired cry, her hungry cry and her whiney cry...finally. She is starting to giggle now, except not at me, only at John and the puggles, and my dad...little turd :) I love when John comes home she gets really excited and starts kicking her legs and waving her hands for him to hold her. I love that she is a great baby.

2010 Wahoo!!

Last year was filled with so many adventures... it's going to be hard for 2010 to top it.
This year we have many things planned...who knows if we will get through them all but ya never know. Here's a list of goals/resolutions we have:
Go to Germany- we are planning a trip to Germany in September to visit Megan, Ivan and Anton. The kids will be one so we are hoping that will make it even more fun...hopefully :)
Pay off our Jeep- we have been meaning to pay it off for a few months now but something always seems to come up so we never do...
Build a deck- The deck on our house right now is about ready to fall down, plus it's kind of small, so we want to build one that goes along the whole back of our house. So if anyone feels like helping let us know :)
Explore Utah- This will be easy since Utah has so many fun things to do. For sure we are going to Arches National Park for Easter and Bear Lake in the summer...
Save money- This will be hard to do since we have so many things planned but we need to save money in order to do them...right :)
Get in Shape- Ok so having a baby really took the shape right out of me...and John :) We are looking into a hiking carrier for Gretal and maybe a pull behind trailer for our bikes so that will help.
Eat healthier- Since we moved to Utah we have been eating a lot of crap. So we are going to get back into the swing of things and eat healthier. We are also going to try new recipes. Once a week we will pick something out of a cookbook or online and make it...we will probably be ordering out a lot too then :)
Have friends come visit- Everyone is welcome!!

This year will be awesome...I just know it!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Merry Christmas everyone!! We are going to be in Spokane so if anyone wants to see us give us a call :)

I love Christmas...in fact after my birthday it's my favorite holiday. I love everything about Christmas...
Holiday light displays
Fun decorations
Christmas carolers
Christmas music on the radio
Goodies from neighbors and friends
The giving attitude everyone has
Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel (especially this year since I cry during the commercials...I officially have turned into my mother)
Watching White Christmas (I usually watch it with my sister but not this year...)
Hot cocoa and cider
My mom's pumpkin rolls and caramels
Making goodies for friends and neighbors (although I didn't this year)
Holiday parties
Gift exchanges
(a little bleep real quick...Gretal is sitting on my lap talking like she's telling me what to type)
Christmas pictures
and much more...but most of all I enjoy spending time with family and friends. It is so amazing to know that you are loved and cared for by so many people. We are so grateful for everyone of you and we want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Ok so now for the real reason you look at my blog :)

Thanksgiving

This year we have a lot to be thankful for. A lot has happened this year. We found out we were pregnant, John got laid off, we moved to a whole new place, we had to sell our house, Megan and Ivan moved to Germany and that they were also going to have a baby, my mom and I went to Germany to take Megan's cat's to her, we bought a house and had an amazing beautiful baby girl both within two weeks. We are thankful that John found a job that he really enjoys and that he can support us so I can stay home with Gretal. We are thankful for our families for helping us through the crazy and tough times of moving, having a baby and so on. We are thankful for our friends who have supported us in our decision to move and told us that they will come visit :) We are thankful for each other because without the support and love from each other we would not have been able to do everything we have done and be happy about it.
I love the holidays and I am excited to experience them differently this year. We are staying here in SLC for Thanksgiving and spending that time with Janene and her family and Grandma and Grandpa Vance are coming too. For Christmas we are going to drive to Spokane for a week and celebrate with both of our families.
I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Pictures from our Spokane trip

We are home now. We had a lot of fun hanging out with friends and family.

Spokane

Being a mom is the most wonderful feeling in the world (except at night) :)
Here are some pictures of our Spokane trip so far...

I will be in Spokane for 3 more weeks! So look for more pictures. ( I actually have time to post stuff since grandmas and grandpas are holding Gretal).

September 10th, 2009

Bridgey's a little busy right now because we have a girl that is very hungry so she asked me to step in!

It all started on Thursday morning when Bridgette woke up at about 2:30am with some irregular contractions. At first she wasn't sure if they were real or just false labor, so she went out to the living room with a watch and began timing them. At about 5:00 am they started becoming more regular and a bit more intense, so she woke me up.

Since they were still pretty far apart we decided I would go into work and she would go to the doctor as soon as they opened (about 9:00am) to see if she was in false labor or if this was the real deal. As a result I went to work and wasn't able to focus on anything until I received a call from Bridgette at about 9:15 saying that her doctor sent her down to the hospital and that she thought it was the real thing. Then she called her mom and told her that if she wanted to see the birth of her first granddaughter she better get on the next plane to Salt Lake City. So Jackie got to the airport all lickity split and moved her flight from 9/16 to 1:00pm on 9/10.

In the mean time I drove far too fast to the hospital and found Bridgette to see how things were going. Because she didn't think she was really in labor she did not take along our hospital bag and Gretal items so once again I hopped in the truck and drove very fast to the house and back. By this time it was about 11:00 and her contractions were starting to get intense and she was dialated to a 4+.

Over the next couple of hours we tried to eat when we could, relax whenever possible, and just let the contractions get closer and closer together. We paced up and down the halls, bounced on the pilates ball, and rocked in the rocking chair to see what positions were most comfy. During this time Aunt Janene, and cousin Emily also came to help support her. Jackie ran into the hospital room at about 5:00pm and was very grateful that Gretal hadn't come out to meet everyone yet.

At this point Bridgette was in a lot of pain and my hand hurt a bit as well. Her contractions were coming at about 2 minutes apart and lasted 45-60 seconds. She was dialated to a 6 now and was starting to hate life :). Her nurse Katy though was very supportive and encouraged Bridgette to stay calm and keep breathing through the contractions because she was doing so fantabuluous!

Another hour passed and contractions started to fall one right after another and Bridgette started to scare the people in the neighboring birthing rooms :). At this point the nurse said she was at about a 7+ and we would still likely have another 3 hours before Bridgette could start pushing. Bridgette and I decided to go with an epidural at this point because we both wanted to be able to enjoy the birth expereience, not have nightmares about it. After the y put in the epidural it was like hitting a light switch and the pain began to go away.

After about another hour the nurse said Bridgette was at a 9+ because she got to relax and process sped up signficantly. At this point because we were about ready for pushing the doctor, Dr. Loewen, wanted to check the position of Gretal to make sure she was ready to go. Come to find out during the labor process Gretal rotated around so that Bridgette was in back labor, which apparently is pretty painful. If you'd like more details on the pain I'm sure Bridgette would be willing to elaborate :). Because it was back labor, the nurse and doctor were pretty impressed that Bridgette made it all the way to 7 without any medication.

After the epidural the labor went fairly quick. Bridgette was able to relax enough to have the energy to push. When pushing time came Gretal's heart rate fell everytime Bridgette would push so the doctor thought that maybe the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck. Bridgette would push through one contraction and then wait for a few to give Gretal a break and thankfully it helped. Finally at 10:30 pm Gretal made her way into the world at 6lbs 9 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long. The cord was wrapped around her neck but because the doctor knew that it was they cut it right away and she was fine. I was happy too because I got to cut the cord after the doctor.

We are so proud, happy, excited and a little tired :) I love being a dad and I know Bridgette loves being a mom, this is what she always wanted to do.