Thaknkful, thankful, thankful

I have so much to be thankful for that I am overwhelmed sometimes...

4 months!!!

Aiden is 4 months today. It's incredibly hard to believe!!

He went from this.....




To this.....




He has changed so much in that past few weeks as well. Constantly smiling, cooing and recently started laughing. He is grabbing everything and trying to put it in his mouth. I think he is getting his first cold. :( He has his 4 month check-up on Tuesday! I am guessing that he weights AT LEAST 18 lbs!!

He is asleep in my arms right now and typing with one hand is never fun so I will post more later!

Uncle Larry!!

Yesterday while having "sister day" like every Friday, my sister and I were hanging out at my parents. After making breakfast we were all sitting around talking. Sarah and I were watching a video and Larry was making faces at Aiden, all of a sudden he started CRACKING up!! I have never heard Aiden laugh this hard and all my brother was doing was laughing back.

We got it on video!! (Don't mind my sister and I's annoying voices!!)



It was pretty much the cutest thing ever! Apparently Aiden discovered his Uncle Larry and LOVED him! :)

One year ago...

One year ago today we found out just how much our lives were about to be changed...and blessed. I remember that I had been feeling "off" for a few weeks. Really moody, tired and sore. I had began a new workout schedule and had already lost about 10 pounds when it suddenly stopped. I figured it was just my body being stubborn and not used to the changes. Then I realized that my period was late. I have always had a VERY irregular period so a few days off wasn't really out of the ordinary but according to the application on my phone, I was almost a week late and didn't even have the normal before period signs.

I finally decided that it was time to stop putting off taking the test. I made sure I got the test that reads "yes/no." None of this plus sign stuff! I took it, left it in the bathroom and went in my room. I remember sitting there wishing I hadn't decided to take it alone and had waited for Jake to get home.



"YES" those three little letters that forever changed my life. I honestly don't remember what I thought about the minute I saw that, I just picked up my phone, texted my friend and called another. I was scared to tell Jake, even though he should have been the first to know I was scared he was going to be mad. He was the COMPLETE opposite. Now looking back it was exactly what I should have been expecting. When I told him I used the good old "We need to talk." He joking said, "What are you pregnant?" I didn't say anything, he looked at my stomach, up at me and just smiled. He picked me up and spun me around like in one of those cheesy movies.

One year and a million emotions later I could not be happier. Aiden has not only changed our lives but made it so much better. I can't imagine my life without him. I realize that he has a ton of growing up to do but I try to enjoy everyday with him because I already see how fast it's going.

So today I think about that day a year ago when I had no idea how much my life was about to change and become so much better!

We love you little guy!

Daddy love

My boy LOVES his Daddy! I am pretty sure he is now aware that Daddy is only home a little bit of the day and he soaks up every minute. When Jake walks in the house Aiden will watch him like a hawk. He adores him and it doesn't take much for him to give his dad a HUGE grin. To be totally honest, Jake was the one who got him to giggle first. Mommy got the first smile out of him but Daddy struck up his first laugh. I love watching them together and I am so thankful that Jake is such an amazing Dad.

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Aiden is becoming more and more interactive. We recently bought him a Sofie.....



As you can see from this picture it was an awesome investment! She is a teething toy but for some reason he adores her. He chews on her like there is no tomorrow and she is easy for his to hold onto. Another toy that has been an awesome investment...


...the frog!! We picked this up at Target to keep him more entertained on those car rides. Well when you push the frogs eyes he starts singing and Aiden recently figured that out. We were sitting in a restaurant and it went off. I looked over and he was smiling and oh so proud of himself for figuring it out!!

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We have been doing more and more tummy time recently. He hates it less and less everyday but still gets frustrated after about 10 minutes because he can't see everything!




On other updates:
~We are taking our first trip to the Zoo tomorrow and I think I am more excited than he is!
~Aiden has his 4 month check up next week and I am not looking forward to his next round of shots. He did so awesome last time and I was more upset than he was! haha
~Aiden is getting pictures done on Monday by our friend who is a photographer. I am not even going to try and hide this, I am in love with pictures of my kid. If you came over to your house it would be obvious as well. Our walls are covered in Aiden pictures.

Well that is all for now, I will be posting pictures that I take tomorrow at the zoo!! We get to see the Koala bears!

Halloween 2010!

AAARRRGGGGG!! Aiden was a pirate and a cute one at that! :) We didn't really take him anywhere because he is so young but we have a lot of years of trick or treating ahead of us! Here are some pictures of the little man!

A million updates in one post!

I am awful at posting on here! The past month has been totally crazy for us! Aiden turned 3 months (CRAZY!!) Halloween came and went and it is now November 1st. Scary to think that a year ago I was pregnant and didn't know it yet! I am thrilled that this year I will be able to enjoy all the festivities. Last year my morning sickness started ON Thanksgiving and stayed around FAR too long!

Our little man was a pirate for Halloween. I went out to a party and down mill with friends and poor Daddy volunteered to stay home with the little man. Jake is always telling me that I need to go out and do stuff because I am with Aiden ALL THE TIME. It still feels weird going out without him though.

I have been trying to figure out what to get Aiden for Christmas. It's hard to decide what a (will be) 5 month old is going to enjoy. I think we are more excited for him! I really want to get him a play center and have been checking them out for a few weeks now! My Aunt and Uncle were talking about getting him a train as well. I have no idea where we are going to fit all this stuff but we'll figure something out!

Aiden is getting so big! He is crazy strong too! If we hold his hands and give him a little help he will pull himself up onto his feet. He also tries to sit up all the time. The other day he almost rolled off my lap because he was trying to sit up by himself. He ADORES his Daddy and gets the biggest smile when Jake walks in the room. He is also one of the only people that can get Aiden to crack up! I love watching them together.

My Cousin came in from Michigan. She took the train, something that I have always wanted to do! We decided to take a day trip up to Sedona with my mom, sister and her. On the way we stopped at Montezuma castle. It was amazing!! The ride was nice and Aiden did fantastic considering he was in his car seat the majority of the time! He only really got fussy the last 30 minutes when we were stuck in nasty traffic. Auntie Sarah and I managed to keep him pretty calm though.

School is going well but I'm trying not to get distracted with the upcoming holidays. I am so excited that I am busy thinking about the next couple of months I have really had to get on myself to get my homework done. I also need to get back on the my workout plan. I am ready to lose this baby weight! People always told me that "if you breastfeed it will FLY off you" well I lost all by baby weight in the first 2 weeks. However, I gained about 6 of it back. My Dr said that some women have the body type that stores more fat because it knows that a lot of its nutrients are going to the baby. Lucky me being one of those women!! Oh well!!

Anyways, here are some pictures from this month, I will post more later when I upload the million I have on my camera.

3 months!!

Well, our little (BIG) boy is three months today! He is such a happy baby! It's so heartbreaking to think about how fast he is growing up. I know he's only 3 months and I sound crazy but those three months went by FAST!!

Well updates on Aiden, his reflux has gotten so much better. His pedi thinks that it rarely effects him because I am breastfeeding him and it's much easier on this belly. He's sleeping awesome..knock on wood. He only wakes up one time at night and once again, his pedi says that the only reason he wakes up is because he is such a big boy that he gets hungry. When we start him on solids that shouldn't happen anymore. Since Jake and I loved our photographer who took Aiden's newborn pictures we are talking to her about getting "progression" pictures done. We would have them at 3,6,9 and 12 months!

Mommy updates: Jake and I have stared going on walks every night now that it is cooling off. We go for at least 45 minutes. I am determined to get this baby weight OFF!! That and Aiden LOVES being outside. I'm almost done with this semester at MCC and I already applied to NAU, now I am just waiting on a response! I'm sure I got in but it's still scary! I won't actually start NAU until Fall 2011 and I am using their distance program. It really sucks that I don't get to experience going up there but at least I am finishing my degree! ( FINALLY!! ) p.s...Jaime, if you are reading this, I want to thank you! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't know that I wanted to be a special education teacher!! I learned so much from you!

The morning after...

Well it's the morning after Aiden's big dose of shots and this mamma was worried! I was expecting a cranky baby but he's as happy as can be! I woke up this morning to a huge smile and I knew it was going to be a good day. We went for a walk and he was babbling the whole time.

He was such a champ yesterday, cried on the 3rd shot and I was able to calm him down. Then he fell asleep. He had a slight fever this morning but was smiling away like nothing was wrong!

We ordered Aiden's Halloween costume last week and I am excited for it to get here! In other news, I got a new phone. Well got as in "ordered and it will be here next week." It's a brand new phone that won't even be released until next Wednesday but the lady at the t-mobile store convinced me. It's my Christmas present...early! I have been wanting a new phone since forever and Jake gave in! :)

Anyways, like is good! I'll post pictures soon. :)

Fantastic Friday!

It's going to be one...Aiden SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!! I know I totally just jinxed it and now he won't do it again but we LOVED it. We were on his normal nighttime routine. Bath, snuggle and feed. He crashed out around 10 and didn't wake up until 5:15!!! He fussed ONE time I gave him his binky and he was back out like a light.

Now, I just fed him and he is sleeping again. He's just like his mommy, loves his sleep!

Tomorrow should be interesting. We are leaving Aiden for the first time. My Uncle is getting married and my friend Britt is going to babysit. I am so nervous, not because of who is watching him, but because I have never left him for longer than an hour. It will probably be a good thing for Jake and I to "get away" but we both know where our minds are gonna be the whole time!! :)

Happy Friday everyone!

9 days old

Aiden Jacob is here!!

All about Aiden:

Sadly he is a month old now before I finally have the chance to post this! Life has been fast moving as expected!! Aiden is the most amazing baby and we are totally crazy about him!! As we speak he is on my lap staring around the room with his big beautiful blue eyes! (which I am hoping stay!)We had our one month check-up yesterday. He now weighs 10 lbs 13 ounces and is 23 1/2 inches!! My boy is gonna be tttaaaalllll like his daddy! He is on a night time routine, at least Jake and I like to think so. He takes a bath with daddy about 8:30-9pm, then we snuggle and I feed him. After that I rock him till he is asleep and we put him down. Recently he has been sleeping till about 2-2:30, getting up and eating and then back down till around 6. Not too shabby if you ask me and I am hoping this is a sign that he is on his way to sleeping through the night soon! Maybe I just totally jinxed it though!

Mommy update:

All things considered I am doing awesome! I was really bummed for a while that I ended up having to have an emergency c-section but all that matters is that he is here safety. According to my Dr I had an "abnormally fast recovery" because the day after I was up walking around. Don't get me wrong I was still in an insane amount of pain but I knew that if I sat around my recovery would take that much longer. At my two week check-up she was shocked how good I had healed. To be totally honest, the scar is kind of cool. It's amazing that they got Aiden out of there because the incision is pretty small. Breastfeeding is nothing like I thought it would be. I don't know what I was expecting but I really enjoy it. Aiden is much more calm and relaxed after I breastfeed him rather then giving him a bottle.

Aiden's birth story:

I went in on July 20th at 9 am for my induction. We finally got situated and a little after 10am they placed the cytotec to soften my cervix. They then told me they would check me in a few hours. I was hooked up to the monitors and I starting having contractions. I couldn’t really feel them just tightening. Aiden was dealing with them really well at this point. They came and checked me sometime after 1pm and I didn’t have much change but since my contractions were happening so close and so frequently they decided that they would not give me another round of cytotec. At this point they decided to just monitor me and see if I made any progression. That’s when Aiden started hating labor. His heart rate was fluctuating but nothing too major when I was on my back so they told me to make sure I lie on my side. At this point I was still only 2 cm dilated. Aiden’s heart rate kept acting funky and fluctuating between 150-88 and it was scaring me. The nurses hooked me up to an IV and had me wear and oxygen mask. I knew that he was having trouble and they just told me that he did not like the contractions or the labor. At 6pm my Dr came on call and broke my water. After this the contractions got REALLY intense and because I was not in actual labor at the time I was having them every 30-45 seconds and they were not letting up AT ALL. I was in so much pain. I would have been fine if they would have been coming every few minutes but I was not getting a break between them and they were intense. Finally the nurses asked me if I wanted an epi because they knew I had to be in pain just from watching my screen. The epi was AMAZING and I truly did want to kiss my anesthesiologist. I kept hearing the nurses say that my labor was “problematic” and my dr was “very aware of the situation.” I knew something was going on and asked them about his heart rate. She finally told me that if he didn’t start to regulate that they might have to do a c-section. Finally my Dr. came in and talked to us. What we feared was going to happen, had to. She gave me the option of starting pitocen to see if it would kick start my labor BUT if Aiden’s heart rate kept up the same they would have to do a section. She gave me the options and told me to talk to Jake about it and decide. She also told us that it was her gut feeling that we should get him out soon because the pitocen can be hard on babies and if he was already not reacting well she was worried how he would react to the pitocen. After talking it over, we decided that his health is our number one priority and we should go ahead with the section. I was terrified, I always pictured having a normal delivery and now everything had changed. However, as I was lying there watching Aiden’s heart rate jump up and down I knew we had made the right decision. I didn’t want something bad to happen just because I wanted a different delivery. About an hour later they came in and wheeled me off to surgery. I was so scared but everyone was so awesome and Jake was right there with me. It didn’t take them long and before I realized what had happened I heard the most amazing sound in the world. I instantly broke into tears and told Jake to go make sure he was okay! Okay he was, 9 lbs even and 22 ½ inches long with a head full of beautiful hair. I could not have been more in love....

Final day of pregnancy!

Well, I am being induced tomorrow morning at 9am. The little guy is just stubborn and not wanting to make his appearance. We were all SO sure that he was going to come early, guess he had other plans! It's really scary to think that by sometimes tomorrow I am going to be a mother. (providing he isn't TOO stubborn) Jake decided that it would be better to take the whole day off. He was going to go to work but we both decided that this is not something he should miss regardless of the fact that we are probably just going to be sitting there ALL day.

I am actually really sad. I know that might sound crazy and I am SO excited to meet our little man but it's really bittersweet to think that my first pregnancy is over. No more feeling the little guy squirm around, no more rubbing my belly and no more excuses to not suck in my stomach! ;)

That is something that I am NOT looking forward to. My post-pregnancy body. I am terrified of what I am going to look like and I think I am going to be counting the days until my Dr gives me medical release to start working out again. I am determined!!

Anyways, this pregnancy has gone pretty smooth. Aside from the MONTHS of morning sickness (week 6-20ish) and the oh so lovable stretch marks, I have loved being pregnant!! Here are a few progression pictures, it's really amazing to see how much I am grown in these 9 months! Wish me luck! The next time I post, I will hopefully be updating on a healthy and awesome delivery! *fingers crossed*

18 weeks

28 weeks

40 weeks