Halloween

Elise loungin with her boyfriend, Bennett- the monkey!

Spiderman and his little tiger!

Happy Halloween :)

This was our first Halloween with Elise and BRAYDON, so we were so excited! Elise enjoyed her first Halloween as a baby tiger. I figured it would be perfectly warm and snuggly for a cold evening. Braydon went as the notorious SPIDERMAN! He was originally planning on being Batman, but when we took him costume shopping he just couldn't pass up the Spiderman costume. We bought it about 4-5 weeks prior to Halloween-- I'm thinkin it was a bit too soon because as he squeezed into it before trick-or-treating he tore it a bit. Lifting too many weights, I'm sure. :)

Braydon had asked me a few weeks before Halloween if he could go trick-or-treating like the big kids do. (This means from door to door in a neighborhood). He has been with his mom the last couple years and she has taken him downtown Cedar Falls to the businesses as he just wasn't quite old enough to really enjoy trick-or-treating "like the big kids." So you can imagine how excited he was to go trick-or-treating. We left Elise at our neighbors house to play with her boyfriend, Bennett, who is 5 months old and we headed out with Braydon's girlfriend Jessye (who was a ref) and her brother Grant (who was a Vikings football player). Braydon has since then decided he loves the Vikings.

We made it out for about an hour and by then we were all a little cold. Braydon had filled his bucket and was ready to go inside and play with friends and get sugared up for the ONE time during the year Adam will allow him to eat that much candy! ;) When he got home from Jessye's house he called his mom and told her about each individual piece of candy he got and who it was for (he was sharing with his Dad, me, and his mom)---and was excited because Ironman came to her door trick-or-treating! :) Oh, to be a kid again!

8 week Baby

Elise had her 8 week check up this last Wednesday. She weighed in at 9 lbs 12 oz and 22 in long. She has gained 3.7 lbs since leaving the hospital, and I believe it. She has filled out so much in the last few weeks. Her little cheeks are getting chubbier, so much more fun to smooch :)

The doctor told us she is just tall and slender. I told her she better not get used to it, her genes are against her :). She is in the 25th percentile for weight and 50th percentile for height. The doctor said she needs to start showing some rolls on her arms. I pointed out to him she was showing them on her legs and he said, "Well we really like to see her calves fill out a little more, too." She is a peanut, what's wrong w/ that??? :)

Because it was her 8 week check up, Elise received her vaccinations. 2 on her left leg, 1 on her right. As the nurse got her tools ready, Adam held her legs down and I stood next to her head as she smiled and cooed at me-- up until she felt the needle-- then her poor little face just dropped. She was instantly screaming and in tears. It was the saddest thing I've experienced; I had to shed a few tears with her. Poor baby girl. The nurse was nice enough to give her a Barbie band-aid though, so her owies looked cute covered up. She slept the entire rest of the day- owies can sure wear a baby out.

Elise Claire and the last 7 months!

I can hardly believe it's been 7 months since I posted last. The good news is, the all day sickness is gone and we have a beautiful little baby girl- Elise Claire. After 24 hours of labor and 2 1/2 hours of pushing, she was welcomed into the world! Whew! She is absolutely the most precious gift we have ever received.

Her 1st outfit at the hospital

Holding her after she was cleaned up! Falling in love!

Notice her cone head? :P That's what happens when you're stuck for over 2 hours. <3>

She is now 7 weeks old (tomorrow). I feel like we have really gotten to know each other quite well the last several weeks. She has been such a good baby. Loves to sleep, LOVES to eat, and absolutely LOOOOOOOVES to snuggle (it's sooo sweet). The best way to get her to sleep is to lie down with her and snuggle her face into your chest and she is out :). AHHHH, LOOOOVE!!!!!

I have been nursing her for the last several weeks, but have also introduced formula to her as of a week ago. I just wasn't producing enough for her- and couldn't keep up with her growing little body. She is also really sensitive to nearly everything I eat ;(. That makes a big challenge. The great thing- she doesn't care what she eats as long as it fills her tummy, and it is because she is growing like a weed! She weighed 6 lbs 5 oz when she left he hospital and 7 lbs 5 oz at her 2 week check up- I would guess she weighs at LEAST 8 pounds by now. AND she's finally fitting into her newborn clothes :P

I haven't been shy about taking her out and about. Adam went back to work barely a week after she was born (nobody gets a free ride)- and the last thing I could do was stay in the house with the beautiful weather. We enjoy visiting Adam at the gym, going to Target, driving to Waterloo/CF for many doctor appointments and to pick up the big brother. I've also went in to work out with Tyson a couple of times at the gym in CF. He was lucky enough to feed her while we were there one day while I worked out. She was so good for him- he didn't even get spit up on--true love, I guess ;)

We found a babysitter for Elise, too. That was stressful. Randomly, a member at Adam's gym asked him if he had found a sitter a week after she was born (we hadn't)- so she offered to watch Elise until we find someone (until May). She is the sweetest lady, ever. She is exactly what I was looking for- someone who will love her as much as we do and where Elise will enjoy going. She watches 2 little boys- Jackson is 18 mo and Logan is 7 mo. Elise will have 2 boyfriends to help take care of her! :). Anyway, we are currently on a waiting list at Hiawatha Day School- right next door to Adam's gym- unfortunately it's a LOOOOONG waiting list, but it's worth the wait- it's a beautiful school and it's convenient.

Updates on Elise- she's eating 4 ounces almost every 2 hours. At night time she will go atleast 4 hours. Whoo hoo! She takes cat naps during the day, but atleast one long nap of about 3-5 hours. I am sooo lucky. I have been smart enough to nap with her so I'm not so exhausted all day long. She enjoys taking baths and playing on her mat- and looking at herself in the mirror on her mat. That's where she has the best conversations with herself and her little lion :). She has been talking and cooing so much, it's so cute. Guess she will be like her momma as a kid, could never keep her mouth shut :). She also has little fat rolls on her legs-- it's soo cute. She's been so scronny, it's nice to see some meat on her bones! She loves her changing pad in her room- she would hang out on there all day long if we let her! She also loves sleeping on our pillow top mattress- who wouldn't! We let her nap on there some days, and she takes waaaay longer naps in there than in her bassinet. We are going to try her in her crib tonight for the 1st time- she napped for a solid 3 hours in there today. Mommy and Daddy are very proud!

I could go on for hours, but I'll stop. Thanks to Rachel Burton, I'm inspired to keep up on this more often. I'm vowing to blog atleast once a week- we'll see how it goes :)

4 Months!

Hello All!

I can't believe it's been over a month since I resumed my 'therapy' sessions!

GREAT NEWS- I went back to school last week! Last Tuesday was a very cruddy day, but I knew that day I could NOT take another day of staring at the T.V. So, off I went Wednesday- and I have felt like a rockstar ever since. (For the most part- all things considered). I still have cruddy moments, but as I learned yesterday those will be normal until about "week 20." Anyway, I have been with preschoolers since last Wednesday-the same class. I didn't think I could cut the act with preschoolers, but they leave at 1:00 and surprisingly, they aren't too bad of a class.

We visited the doctor yesterday for our 16 week appointment! I AM 4 MONTHS ALONG TODAY! It's hard to believe in a few weeks I'll be half way done with this pregnancy. It really hasn't seemed like 4 months already. We received good news- baby's heartbeat was 153 (healthy), and a tad bit down from the last time we visited (172). I've gained 4 pounds (YIKES!). I know weight gain is obvious and necessary in pregnancy, but it always feels different when you're the one stepping on the scale and it's teetering over your ideal weight. As my brother in law would say, "It's the fried chicken." However, I tend to disagree. I asked my nurse AND my doctor "Is this normal? Am I right on track?" Rest assured, I am going to be okay, and YES- I am right on track. What a relief! Also, we took Braydon along to listen to the heart beat- it wasn't quite as exciting since it wasn't a visual ultrasound- and I couldn't see his face to see his reaction. I still need to ask Adam what he said/did- I was too focused on hearing that the little brat was still kickin :)

The first day (3/3) I went back to school I told the other teachers in my room that I was 15 weeks pregnant and they said, "What?!!?!?!?!?!?!? Where!?!?!?!" My good friend Rachel was also in the building that day, and when I saw her she mentioned, "Where is that baby bump?" It wasn't there, that's for sure. AND THEN CAME FRIDAY, MARCH 5TH. I was lying in bed that morning and I was feeling my tummy- I said to Adam- "I have not been this fat- this has not been there." So.......... I take a shower, get dressed and yes, there is definitely a BABY BUMP!!!! Whooooo hooooooooooooo! It felt soooooooooooo good to finally be able to see that I was pregnant. The bad thing is, no one else but me can tell I'm pregnant- I just look like I have "a little bit of a weight problem!" :) Ohhh well, more good news- the baby's ability to hear starts developing this week- so when Adam talks to my tummy and tells the baby to get a job, he/she can now hear him :) Poor thing!!

April 7th we will find out if Braydon will be brothering "Curious George" or "Sally." Those are the names he has picked out for his brother/sister. Like I told Adam, I'll be doing this labor thing on my own- I can't trust those guys with a birth certificate in sight ;). We will tell everyone when we find out.

Love all of you!
xoxoxoxo

Surprise-Our First Baby! (together) :)

Ever since I read my first blog, I've loved the idea of it. I've just never had a reason to write one, until now. This way all of my family/friends can keep updated on our busy lives and "keep in touch," kind of! And most importantly, learn all the fun details of my first pregnancy. (I hear that blogging is kind of therapy- and as a first time pregnant woman, boy do I need therapy!- Just ask my husband!)



Anyway, most of our family friends received our baby annoucements this week. YAY! (Keeping my pregnancy a secret for almost 2 months was a killer). Baby Foster is due August 25, 2010!



Christmas morning brought us this little, nice surprise. I woke up at 6:00 A.M. that morning just not feeling right. Soooo. . . I took a pregnancy test and it had "two lines"=positive. "No way," I thought. So I immediately took another one- SAME STORY! Hmm, I was actually pregnant. I wasn't excited, anxious, nervous, sad, anything. . . I just couldn't believe it. After waiting for Adam to wake up, I finally woke him @ 7:30- he was as confused as all can be. Luckily, he was excited. . it made it more real to me! Although, two days later I still wasn't positive about it. I mean, all I had read was "two lines"- yes it means positive, but I had to see the words PREGNANT! My sister, fav. brother in law, mom, and Adam headed to Target that day. Adam and I snuck off to get a digital pregnancy test. First thing I did when I got home was try it out. And fortunately, PREGNANT. There, that was all I needed. Some real words telling me the deal was sealed, not just some lines!



I watched my nephew Cash the whole entire next week until his parents showed up to rescue him. He was the only person who knew :S Yes, I trusted my deepest secret with an 18 month old! It worked out ;) Adam and I decided at dinner on New Year's Eve we would drop the bomb to Theresa/Geoff. We got home from dinner, I chickened out. (Don't ask me why). So the next morning, I was going to tell them. Again, I chickened out. (Don't ask me why). It was a weird thing to have come out of my mouth, and I just wasn't ready. Finally on my sister's birthday I couldn't take it any longer- I called her and told her. She was ecstatic. This was a relief on my part- it was nice to be able to share this with someone- helped get me more excited!



I visited my doctor's office during my 6th week to pick up some paper work for subbing. I bravely told her, "Yeah, I feel great!" She responded with, "Yeah morning sickness will peak around week 8!" FIRST OF ALL, whoever named this "morning sickness," was a LIAR! How about "ALL DAY" sickness?! I have been sick- and I mean, down and out since about week 8! It's been unreal. Not only do I HATE the smell of 95% of foods, I can't stand the smell of my husband, laundry detergent, our bedding, the outdoors, etc. You name it, it makes me sick! I'm also not the best person to live with either. I'm lazy and not always friendly! :) Bless my husband's (and Braydon's) HUGE heart! He has been such a blessing and savior for me. Most days, I don't know what I'd do without him. [And others, I'm glad he's gone because I don't have to worry about his smell :)] I am a lucky girl!



Today I hit a milestone-13 weeks! I am almost totally in the "safe zone," and I am supposed to be feeling GREAT. However, another morning of vomiting doesn't rate great in my books. I just keep counting down the days to freedom. FREEDOM from "morning sickness."



Anyway, I love you all. Hope this is as fun for all of you as it is for me!

*P.S. Adam and I heard the baby's heart beat for the 1st time on 2/11. It had a strong beat of 172! "High strung like his father," as Adam would say. Sadly, I can't disagree! :)