Christmas

I had to break our Christmas into several different entries. It was a tad bit eventful for us!! So, while Colby and I were frantically driving to Cedar to welcome our best Christmas present ever into our lives, Hayden got to stay at Grandma Nikki's and Grandpa Russ's. She pretty much stayed awake from 3 o'clock in the morning until just before all of her cousins came out to the house. Nikki said that she just played and played with all of her new toys from Santa. Then she got to spend a while with her cousins who she loves so much.

 

 

Meanwhile, we were settling into our room over on the recovery side of Labor and Delivery. I felt IMMEDIATELY better once Hanna was born. I had gotten so incredibly miserable towards the end. I waddled, I couldn't pick stuff up off the floor and I was so so tired at all times!

 

 

Hanna was the first baby born at Valley View on Christmas. Our delivery nurse was fabulous and she decked her out in this cute red bow and gave us a little swag bag for being the first one of the day!

 

 

Although we were thuroughly enjoying our day with our new little one, we could not wait for her big sister to come and meet her! Russ and Nikki brought her down that afternoon. Millie was so excited to meet her sister.

 

 

 

After the big introduction, Russ, Nikki, and my parents stayed and chatted and snuggled for a while then my mom and dad took the big sister back to Delta to spend a couple nights while Colby and I spent a night in the hospital and got adjusted at home.

Because our first kid had been under bili lights, they decided to do an early check on Hanna and I'm so glad they did because it was already in the high risk zone. So we were able to quickly get her on lights. These bed lights and the masks are so much better now then they were even a few years ago. So she spent her first night and most of the next day on the lights and we did a recheck and her levels were coming down.

 

 

 

Taking a break from the lights with dad!

 

 

 

We got discharge approval later in the afternoon that day after Christmas. We were so excited to take her home. We spent the next few days going into the lab to do bili checks but got cleared that next Monday.

 

 

She then got to meet the other member of our family, the furry one!

 

 

My mom brought Hayden back down on the 27th and we were so excited to reunite the sisters. Grandma Cyn was able to stay with us for a few days and then Grandma Nikki came for a couple as well. We are so very fortunate to have such great family that is willing to help when we need them.  

 

 

And the big sister finally got to open her Christmas presents from mom and dad!! Although Christmas was a little chaotic this year, the party got extended and it seemed she was opening presents for DAYS!

 

 

She was so excited to get her "bowling stuff" and played with them constantly.

 

Hanna Joyce- her birth story.

Christmas Eve night I said my prayers and asked that I not go into labor for 24 hour- thats it!! If I could just make it those 24 hours, I wouldn't feel so bad for the birthday my little one was going to have! Well Heavenly Father had different plans for my little one. At 3 o'clock in the morning, I suddenly woke up and then felt something change. Then my water broke. I woke up Colby and told him. Both of our thoughts were, "You have got to be kidding me!" We heard some bustling in the kitchen and it turned out that Nikki was up doing some baking! So Colby told her- Hayden also woke up during all of the commotion so we decided to tell her that Santa had visited and we took her in to see what she had gotten. I snapped a couple pictures. Russ and Nikki were busy getting blankets and towels gathered up for our drive and Russ also so kindly went out and started our car. I'm glad I had thought to get a full tank of gas just the day before- just in case! By 3:20 we were on the road.

 

 

 

 

I called my parents as we were heading out of Hinckley and my dad said he saw a white car go buzzing past just a few moments later- Ha ha!

My contractions during the drive were only about every 6 minutes apart. Colby drove pretty dang fast. We were very fortunate that there weren't any cows on the road and the fog lifted just a few miles outside of Deseret. It was a pretty clear night. Just before we got into Milford I told Colby to turn on his hazard lights just in case we passed a cop. Sure enough, in between Milford and Minorsville those blue and red lights started flashing behind us. Colby said, "Pretend you're having a contraction!" In return I said, "I don't have to pretend!!!" When the cop came to the drivers side window he asked what was wrong and Colby told him that I was in labor. He asked where we were headed and we told him that we were headed to Cedar and he told us to "go on- get out of here!" and as he started to back away he hollered, "Oh watch for deer!!" He followed us for maybe a mile and then turned around.

We got to the hospital about 4:40 (which is our record time for that drive- he he). When I got there, I was already dilated to 7 cm and my contractions were definitely getting stronger. The nurses tried telling me that they thought I could do it without an epidural at this point. I told them that I still wanted to try and get one!!!

 

 

I was, in fact, able to get my epidural. It was a great one! I could move, feel my contractions, and could tell when I needed to push. In the end I am so glad that I got it because Hanna was positioned face-up making it harder for her to descend. I think it would have been very very painful had I not gotten it because Dr. Gatherum tried multiple times to turn her but she wouldn't. Just before 7:00 they decided to let me start pushing to see if that would help her descend. I pushed for a little over an hour. Once she started coming- she had the cord around her neck twice- once that was removed she started turning herself. Dr. Gatherum and the nurse even thought it was pretty cool. At 0809- we got to welcome our beautiful little girl into this world! She pinked up quickly and was perfect from the get-go.

 

While pregnant, I thought that for sure she was going to be over 8 lbs. But in fact, I had a TON of fluid and the placenta was huge! I was super grateful that she was in the 7 lb range!!

 

It was love at first sight- we couldn't have been more blessed. We are so grateful that we get to have her in our family. She brings such a sweet spirit into our lives.

The rest of fall.......and into winter.

Our fall was fast and furious!! Aside from working full-time at Dixie, I was working one day a week at Cedar Valley Medical Clinic as an NP. It was a great opportunity to get my feet wet in my new field. The staff there is amazing and so gracious to me! In November, Colby went up to the University of Utah to interview for their PA program. We were surprised that he even got an interview their because they are the #2 PA school in the nation. Just like the other interviews, he made the best of a grueling process and let his personality shine. Just two days later, we found out that he had been ACCEPTED there as well!!!!! Then it was decision time......he had been accepted to all three schools that he had interviewed at and decided to not attend another interview because these three schools were very impressive. So........... after contemplating the pros and cons of each of the schools. We decided that the University of Utah would be the best place all-around for our family! One of the big reasons is how close we would be to our families if we get in a bind. I was going to feel awful if our girls only rarely got to see their grandparents and cousins. Also, our move is going to be so much easier than moving to another state, let alone across the country!! Besides the family stuff, Colby will have the opportunity to learn at an amazing program.

 

The first part of December, we made our annual trip up the mountain to fetch our Christmas tree! Colby was a trooper and found the tree for us and then only had us walk a little ways to get it seeing how I was 36 weeks pregnant! Millie was super excited to get her Christmas tree!

 

On December 10th, we had this cutie's very first dance recital!! Grandma Cyn and Grandpa Rick were coming through town so they were able to come watch. We were a little nervous cause she tends to get a little shy. Taking her backstage was a little dicey- she did not want to stay there with them. But finally she agreed to go play games. When the big moment finally came and her class walked onto stage, both Colby and I were holding our breath. But she walked right up there and danced away! She looked so stinking cute and we were so proud of her for doing it!

 

Here I am at 37 weeks pregnant. I was pretty miserable. My hips and pelvis felt as if they were splitting in two. If I didn't keep up on taking my zofran, I would start puking again. My feet looked like tree stumps and there were only a few pairs of shoes I was able to wear. It was a little weird because my left foot would swell A LOT worse than my right. At my 37 week appointment, I was measuring 40 weeks. I thought, for sure, we were going to have a chunker of a gal. My belly was huge. It took us clear until December to settle on a name for our little one. We decided on the name Hanna Joyce. I like the name Hanna because it is a very classic name that I feel could span generations; however, we dropped the H at the end- I hope I don't regret that later. The name Joyce is after my grandmother who has always been such a great example to me. We love our girls' middle names- they remind us of our grandmothers who represent such strength and kindness.

 

 

After contemplating whether or not we should travel to Delta for Christmas, we decided to just chance it. After all, I didn't got into labor until the day before my due date with Hayden. So I thought at 38 weeks, I should be okay even though I was measuring big! We went up Sunday after church and stayed at the Moody house the first two nights and then the Bliss house for Christmas Eve. It was so nice to go up a little before to be able to relax and spend time with family. I even was able to get my hair colored and trimmed for the first time in a very long time!

For Christmas Eve, we did the usual bounce back and forth between the two families. We started out in Hinckley that evening because Santa was coming over to visit. Hayden did so good and was so brave being the first one to jump up and sit on Santa's lap. She asked for a, "Purple princess dress a repunzel one." That is exactly how she worded it. After that though, she lost all confidence and had a little meltdown when all the grandkids were supposed to go take a picture with him.

 

 

I said to Nikki as I asked her to take a family picture of us, "This may very well be the last family picture with just the three of us!"

 

 

 

After Santa's visit, we went into my grandma Joyce's for her annual dinner. It is always so good to see how packed it gets in her house with all of our family! Then we headed back out to Hinckley for the night.

 

Happy Halloween!!!

Last week we went out to Paragonah to visit a pumpkin patch in true October fashion! We should have gone much earlier in the month because most of the pumpkins were either rotting, broken, or small........but because of that.....they were FREE!! Who cares though......we still found a few little ones and had a good time.

And here's big mama........29 weeks in this picture.........that belly.........I mean really???? 

Cruella DeVille.....Cruella DeVille.....if she doesn't scare you.....no evil thing will!! Someone wanted to be a princess for Halloween this year- I simply reminded her that she is a princess every other day of the year so we should do something FUN for Halloween............

Me: "How 'bout a cat?"

Her: "No."

Me: "A witch?"

Her: "No."

Me: "How 'bout Cruella?"

Her: "She's mean!!"

Me "What if we put spots on Charlie and make her look like Perdy?"

Her: "OKAY!!"

YYYYEEEESSSSS!!! I love a win-win!

She made such a cute Cruella and loved wearing her costume.........but note to self...........don't procrastinate buying black and white hair spray paint to two days before Halloween.......it is simply ALL GONE by that point!! Thank goodness for some improv and help from friends:-) I, unfortunately, had to work that night so I got her all ready, snapped some pics, and hopped in my ride's car to head to the hospital. I hate that part of working in healthcare. Luckily, she has a good dad that will take her trick-or-treating by himself and then dealt with the aftermath of THAT HAIR!! 

Fall Happenings!

There is some exciting things happening around these parts............ over a month ago, Colby and I drove down to Phoenix for him to interview at Northern Arizona University's PA program. It was a quick trip; we drove down after Colby's lab class on a Tuesday and got there way late then he had to be up early for the interview which lasted until 2ish. He had a tour of the school and a group interview and a one-on-one interview. I just drove around and found some outlet malls to shop at while he was there. Then we drove back that night and got home way late. We were all pretty exhausted. Hayden stayed at Misha's house while we went so we picked her up on our way back through. Colby was pretty nervous  but I'm sure he did great!

Then earlier this month the two of us flew out to Boston and drove up to Portland Maine for him to interview at the University of New England. 

When we flew out there, we got to Boston about midnight on a Thursday and the line at the rental car place was SSSOOOO long and they had NO ONE helping the customers. All of the other companies had people at their desks EXCEPT for Budget. After standing in line for about 45 minutes a couple of guys from another company were able to starting helping our line and we waited another 45 minutes until we finally were helped. They upgraded our rental from an economy car to a mid-sized one and when we went out to the parking lot there was no car in the space it was supposed to be. So Colby went back in and the guy felt bad so he said, "You guys are getting a red Mustang." Ha ha.......this totally had huge pregnant mom written all over it right?!!

We went to a "social" with the 1st year students out there the next night and got to chat with them and ask them questions....I was even invited to go.......but I'm pretty sure I was the only spouse there. The next morning was his interview. It lasted until about one. So yet again, I just drove around. I stumbled upon this cemetery which was right next to the school. It was HUGE!! I drove around in it for quite a while. It has grave-sites dating back into the 1700's. It was pretty majestic looking. Seriously, the pics do not do it justice. The colors of the changing leaves everywhere in Maine were remarkable.

We are used to Utah, so when the whole drive is lined with trees and you can't even see the towns and cities you are passing through it is pretty crazy!! Yet again, the pic does not do the colors justice. 

We found out just a week after the interview in Maine that he had been ACCEPTED!!! This program starts in June. We only had two weeks to pay a $1000 dollar deposit to secure his spot which was quite the feet to scrounge up but we figured it was worth the gamble because at least we were going somewhere!! The funny thing is, the night we paid the deposit, Phoenix called to tell him that he had been accepted there!!!!! This one wouldn't start until August. We are pretty excited to have a couple options on the table.......We have a lot of praying and discussion ahead of us to figure out which one will be the right fit for our family in the long run. I am very proud of Colby and can tell that he is super relieved to be in somewhere. He decided not to attend an interview that he was invited to out in Illinois because he likes these schools better and he interviews up at the University of Utah next month.

This little chick-a-dee started dance last month......it was a rough start. She was excited before she got there because her little friend Lainey is in her class but then she clammed up and got shy and didn't want to stay in there the whole time. She has improved a little every week and I think this will be good for her.

She likes trying on her dad's goggles from his Chem and micro labs. She makes a cute little mad scientist.

Also we got to start having Layne and Tayte over on Tuesdays again. She looks forward to them coming all week. I have been trying to go through letters with these two once Tayte goes to school. I have only made it to the letter D and I'm just not sure how much they are absorbing but they sure love to color the pictures!!

It's crazy to think that this one isn't going to be my baby for very much longer!! I am trying to soak up as much snuggle time as possible before our little one gets here. It's easier said than done though with working full-time.

Last weekend she was able to go spend some time with grandparents and cousins while Colby went on his last hunting extravaganza for two years and I had to work (surprise- surprise). But she always has a good time while she is in Delta- it makes me sad to think we won't be as close to home in just a few short months. I think family time is incredibly precious. 

Here is a 26 week bump shot from the first of this month. I will be 30 weeks on Monday which is CRAZY!! It is certainly creeping but flying by!! Anyone who has ever been pregnant understands this contrast of time analysis regarding each pregnancy. I am feeling okay just tired and sore. I am anemic and supposed to be taking iron (which would help with the fatigue) but they make me sick to my stomach. It's definitely a catch 22. We still need to nail down a name for this little nugget....it's driving me insane not to have one figured out.