Newborn Pictures

Here are some of Anna May's newborn pictures.  They were done by our friend Whitney Hardie and you can check out her website here.

These were taken when she was one week old!  She is growing so quickly and already looks really big compared to herself in these pictures.  

Enjoy!

So Cute

That's what our baby is going to think her name is because that's all she ever hears: "You're so cute!" "You're so cute!" You're SO CUTE!!"

But really her name is Anna May.  We just can't get over how cute and adorable she is.

Anyway, the last two weeks have been so wonderful!  Even after all the books we read to prepare for parenthood, we still feel pretty clueless sometimes.  But we are slowly learning.   We are really enjoying this new miracle in our lives.

It took a lot to bring our little baby into the world--18 hours of labor followed by an emergency Caesarean section.  The why and how is a story that I will save for another day.  But I will say that my recovery has been going GREAT and other than a little lack of sleep, I feel like a million bucks.  Anna May however has a moderately scary case of thrush which has been much harder for me to deal with than the c-section.  But she is on the mend now and we are so grateful!  There were a few days last week when she had a terrible time eating because her mouth and throat were so sore from the thrush.  Emotionally it was really hard on me but we made it through and now she is almost back to normal.  Whew!!

Anyway, thanks to everyone who has visited, called, and video chatted with us.  We love being loved and we love showing our baby off.  We have had so many delicious meals from members of our ward and this last weekend Josh and Mattie (John's brother and sister-in-law) came, made food for us, and deep cleaned our kitchen!  We cannot thank them enough.  This coming weekend my parents and brother are coming and we are excited to see them.  I hope the apartment isn't too messy when they get here.  :)

Baby Anna's first picture

Our first family picture

Hanging out in our hospital room

Look how big John's hand is compared to hers!

Taking a nap with daddy

So CUTE!!

Our first outing--to the Pediatrician's office

Sometimes she rolls into this position in her sleep.  She looks like she's praying!  (John thinks it's so funny but it scares me so I always roll her back onto her back.)

Ok, enough pictures for now?  Don't worry, I'm sure there will be more!

No Baby Yet

BUT...

I did eat a hamburger yesterday!  (First time in 7 1/2 years!)

A friend of ours took us to Bobby Flay's Burger Palace yesterday for dinner.  We drove all the way across the bridge to New Jersey to get there.  I wouldn't have done it, but Bobby Flay (you know, from the Food Network) has the best burgers anywhere and I decided that if I am ever going to eat a hamburger, now is the time.  Plus John told me that he would give me 5 massages if I ate one!  So I did.

And in the end, I mostly regretted it.  It wasn't that good.  I was able to eat it without gagging though, which surprised me.

Next time I will order the grilled cheese sandwich, which is what I had last time (the best grilled cheese I have EVER had, by the way).


Anyway, we are anxiously waiting for our baby to come.  My due date is in two days, but I am ready NOW!!  I keep telling her, "I'm ready whenever you're ready!"  I don't know what I'll do if I go a week over.  Probably deep clean the entire apartment again.  :)

By the way, we are taking name suggestions.  We have yet to come up with a name that we really like.  So feel free to help me out.

  

Some Gifts

Here are a few of my favorite gifts that we've received from family members.  I can't wait for our little girl to be able to use these things.  

First of all, my cousin Jody and Aunt Clea came to visit me a few weeks ago.  Wow.  That was a great gift.  It was probably my last great adventure before the baby comes.  We packed everything we could into the five days they were here.  Including Wicked, which was the highlight (other than getting to spend time together.)  But anyway, they also brought gifts with them from my family in Utah.  

My cousin Sam (and Jody) made this cute car seat canopy:

And Aunt Beverly made this absolutely beautiful, soft, cozy, afgan and booties!!!

And I am SO blessed that Aunt Beverly also sent a blanket that Grandma Bowen had started years ago, but never was able to finish before she passed away.  Aunt Bev finished it for her and now our little baby girl gets to have something from her Great-Grandmother:

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Aunt Clea and Jody also bought me a cool "mom-bag" while they were here.  All the ladies in New York carry these huge purse/bags around with them (maybe in other places too, I don't know).  I never thought I would do that but... they talked me into it because I will need the extra purse space with the baby.  (And guess what--I've already started using it and the baby isn't even here yet!!)

 And, just the other day I got a great gift in the mail from Mattie, my sister-in-law:  a homemade nursing cover!  So cute!

And finally, a gift from me.  And my mom, actually.  My mom made a baby quilt for me while she was pregnant and I wanted to do the same.  She brought some cute fabric with her when she came out to visit back in April.  And with the help of a really nice lady in our ward, I made it into a quilt.  My first one!  It is so soft and snuggly, I hope she likes it.  

37 Weeks!

Well, I can't believe I've made it this far.  I've been told that 37 weeks is full-term and I could have the baby at any time.  Wow.  It is starting to sink in that my life is about to change completely.  I hope I can handle it.

This was at 35 weeks

Taken today, 37 weeks

We almost have everything we need for the baby.  People in New York don't like to hang on to stuff they're not using any more because of space issues so we have received so many hand-me-downs.  We have an Arms Reach Co-Sleeper that we are borrowing for the first few months.  We have a car seat, a dresser packed full of clothes (plus more that I still need to wash).  I even have a one or two-week supply of diapers. (How many diapers does a newborn go through in a day?  I don't know, we'll see how long they last.)  We also have a swing, a stroller, a crib (a new one actually--thanks Mom and Dad), and three different baby carriers: an Ergo, Baby Bjorn, and a Maya Wrap.  

We have also received some really really neat homemade gifts which I have taken pictures of and will post here soon!

There are only a few more things we need  but I am resisting the temptation to go shopping because I have a baby shower tomorrow!  I never expected that anyone would throw me a baby shower out here because we don't have any family in New York.  So I was surprised when John's co-workers organized one (this last Monday) and some friends in my ward are also putting one together (tomorrow).  Can you believe that?  Two showers.  We are so lucky.  

Anyway, as far as being pregnant, I feel great.  I almost have nothing to complain about.  (Ok, I guess I shouldn't be complaining about anything--I'm having a BABY!  It's the best thing that could ever happen!) It is just REALLY hot here.  It's not as hot as Georgia, and definitely not as hot as Vietnam.  But hot.  Last weekend I survived (barely) a major heat wave.  This week it hasn't been as bad but we don't have central AC in our apt. (hardly anyone does in NY) because the building was built in 1920.  We do have window coolers which are OK.  I've discovered that the best thing to do is 1. don't go outside for more than 15 minutes at a time, unless I'm swimming.  2. Go to places that have industrial AC.  For example: Target, Borders, Babies R Us, the library, etc.  It really helps to go to those places and cool off for a few hours during the heat of the day.  The only problem is keeping myself from buying things...

The only other thing is that I have such a hard time sleeping at night!  It's hard to find comfortable positions to sleep in.  Oh well, I am doing my best and I do usually get 7 or 8 hours a night. 

But ANYWAY, those things aside I am doing so well.  As long as I keep myself cool during the day I can do lots of things.  My feet have even stopped hurting so much.  The baby has been moving and squirming more than ever.  It's really fun.  One of the BEST things I've done lately is joined a prenatal water aerobics class.  I never thought it would feel so great to be in the water.  I'm so light, I can just float.  And it feels sooooo good to be in the cool water.

I'm not babysitting anymore so I have had lots of time to get ready for the baby.  I have been cleaning, cooking, shopping, and reading books.  I even made a baby quilt that I am really proud of.  My mom picked the fabric out and brought it when she came out to visit in April.  It's not perfect, but I hope the baby likes it anyway.  :)

Here's to three more weeks (maybe less, maybe more)!

Two Blissful Years (and a pregnancy update)

Yesterday was our two year anniversary!  We both almost forgot about it.  Neither one of us had time to plan anything or even buy any presents, so we just enjoyed dinner at home together and rode the scooter up to Target for some ice cream.

 On the scooter

I know I probably shouldn't be riding the scooter while pregnant but the traffic moves very slowly here so it's not scary at all to me.  We saw so many pregnant ladies in Asia riding motorbikes that it seems normal to us.  The only thing that bothered me was going over the bumpy parts of the road... it felt like the baby was bouncing up and down on my bladder... very uncomfortable.  So I may be done riding the scooter for now!

My latest tummy picture, 29 weeks (I'm going on 31 now!!)

There aren't really any updates about the pregnancy except that everything is going GREAT.  No gestational diabetes, thyroid is normal, blood pressure is great, etc.  I've been getting lots of exercise and eating my vegetables.  My feet always need a massage at the end of the day and thanks to John I always get one.  Getting enough sleep at night has been the biggest struggle but now that I have figured out how to get comfortable (thanks to a body pillow!) my sleep has been much better.  John is already such a great dad and the baby hasn't even been born yet.  We are excited for our baby!!   

Birthday Haircut

Before

After

This year I wanted to keep my birthday a secret.  Mostly because John had a HUGE birthday party two weeks ago and it WORE ME OUT.  So I didn't tell anyone here that it was my b-day and I just took the day off from babysitting and relaxed and enjoyed my birthday secret just between John and I!  It was wonderful.  My one birthday wish this year was to get a haircut.  I honestly could not live with my long hair a minute longer.  I saved it in a ziplock bag to donate.  Even though I am so happy to have it off my head, I have had a hard time parting with that dead ponytail.  It is 12 inches long!  I need to hurry and send it in the mail before it's too late.  Anyway, John thinks I look like a different person and keeps thinking that there is a stranger in his house!!  Hopefully he will get used to it.  I love my new hair.  It was by far the most I'd ever paid for a haircut and so far it has been worth it.  

He also brought home a peach pie for me (my favorite!) and tickets to Billy Elliot (a Broadway musical we've been wanting to see) for later this month.  I'm so blessed to have such a great man in my life!  

My man, looking handsome in the park