Newborn PIctures

My good friend Angie Gurney took pictures of my sweet, sweet girl as a baby present. These are at 5 days old and they turned out so beautiful!! I wish I could put all of them on here. Allie is wearing my blessing dress in some of them. Regan and Sophie had pictures taken in it as well. I love it!

Introducing...... Allie Rose Joy!!!

The blessed event finally happened! I was beginning to think she would never come out. Dr. said he would induce me Monday the 28th if I hadn't had her by then, but luckily she came before that. So Saturday at about 5:15 am, I started having some minor contractions. They were pretty steady and I was peeing every 15 minutes. It was all the peeing that made me suspicious. With Sophie I peed every 10 minutes until my water broke. So at 7am I finally turned on the light in the bathroom, dry heaved like crazy, and realized that I was spotting. I thought, "Hooray!! Today is the day!" No one was up yet, but I couldn't lay down anymore because I was antsy and hurting so I did what any normal, in the middle of labor, type of woman would do......I took a shower. I looked hideous with Sophie in after pictures and didn't want that again so my hair was going to look nice by golly! Plus the hot water on my back was excellent pain relief:)
I got out of the shower and found Regan in with my mom on the couch. I told my mom that today was the day. She just smiled and said that the first thing Regan said when she got upstairs was, "I think my mom is going to have her baby today." My mom didn't know what was going on with me and Regan had never really talked about when she thought I would have the baby, just prayed that it would be soon, but she said, "Oh really...why do you think that?" "I don't know, I just do." So funny:)
I woke Jason up and told him today was the day. Contractions were pretty steady, about every 3-8 minutes. It was such a different experience from Sophie. With Sophie I was miserable and having irregular contractions all day til my water broke in the afternoon, then they were non-stop and I was howling. These contractions were painful, but not crazy Sophie contractions so I was wondering if I should wait at home for a while until my water broke or just head up to the hospital. I didn't want to get up there and have them send me home. I tested GBS positive a few weeks before, so I reasoned that I should play it safe and head up to the hospital since it is 20+ minutes away.

Getting in the van to go.

We took Regan and Sophie to a friend in the university housing. Thank you Amy! Jason's sister, Patty was in Lindon for the holiday and came and got them a couple hours later. We had Thanksgiving with Patty and her in-laws on Thursday and Patty was actually going to leave that day to go home, but since I was having the baby she delayed her going to the next day. She had been up for 2 weekends before that, eager to hold a brand new baby and had left disappointed both times, so she didn't want to miss it this time:) We were glad she was here and could help with the girls.

My mom came on November 16th to help out. She unpacked boxes, got the babies room ready, sewed some last minute things, cooked, cleaned, took care of the girls and me. In the picture above she is finishing my hair since I didn't finish it at home. She has been such a great help and I am so grateful for my wonderful mother!!

On Tuesday when I saw my dr. I was 80% effaced and dilated to 2cm. We got to the hospital about 9:15am and when they checked me at the hospital I was fully effaced and dilated to 5cm! They weren't going to send me home.....hooray!! Things just went so smoothly. Steady contractions, but not crazy. I got an epidural and that was awesome. I did have to stay on my right side though, because everytime I laid on my left side, my blood pressure would drop. At one point it was 71/33. They came in around noon and was at 7cm. I needed two doses of antibiotics for the GBS before they would break my water. At 2:30 they broke my water and there was some meconium in it. They never gave me any pitocin, which I didn't mind. I did have 4 bags of i.v. fluid and was pretty dehydrated because I only peed out a little over one bag worth. I got very swollen. So much for nice pictures afterward. I was at 10cm around 4:45pm and started pushing around 5pm. This pushing process was lots easier than Sophie too. With Sophie I couldn't feel anything and they had to tell me when to push. This time I could feel some pressure and they let me lead on when to push. It was hard to breath through it all because of my sinus infection, but it was a great experience and lasted about 40 minutes.

Here's Allie's stats:

Born at 5:42pm

7lb 14 oz

19.5 inches

13.5 head circumference
She was so alert after birth. She just kept looking around and studying everybody. She definitely knows her mommy! She quiets down to my voice and looks so knowingly at me. I am smitten with her! I am in deep smit over this sweet, sweet girl.

Patty brought Regan and Sophie up and they were pretty sweet with her. They sang her songs and took turns holding her.

Regan is particularly taken with Allie. I asked her if she would rather have a baby brother or baby Allie, and she said definately baby Allie. "She is the sweetest and cutest baby in the whole world!!" For an hour, one morning, she sang her all the soft, quiet songs she could think of. She worries about her safety constantly.

We came home Monday afternoon from the hospital. I had recovered our car seat (a process which I will not be repeating) and i think it turned out pretty cute. I also made that beanie that's on her head. She is eating so well. She had an appointment on Wednesday with the pediatrician and had started gaining back some of the weight she had lost. She is probably back up to her birth weight by now.

Allie has brought such a sweet spirit into our home. She is so sweet, special and precious. The way she looks at me sometimes I swear she is trying to smile, but can't quite get it yet. I am so pleased with how Regan and Sophie are handling everything. I have three sweet girls...seriously so blessed:)

Finally got some internet access so I can update a little. So on Halloween I started having major contractions for a few hours and was ready to go to the hospital, but I wanted the girls to go trick-or-treating since they look forward to Halloween more than Christmas. They ask me the day after when Halloween will be here again. After they got back the contractions had slowed so I just waited it out. Off and on that night and the next day. Then nothing. Saturday the 5th was the big move. It snowed, I had back labor all day, and Sophie had been having 104 degree fevers for 2 days. Then on moving day she complained that her ears were hurting so I took her to insta-care and she had a double ear infection.

We had so many people help us move. We couldn't have done it without them! Jason's family was up here and helped. His parents were here for a few days and did so much for us. The elders quorum helped us move stuff all day. Relief society ladies came in days before and helped me pack boxes, and then came in and cleaned the whole place a couple days after we moved. They even had some ladies come over to our new house and help me unpack a bunch of boxes. We were so blessed. I am going to miss living in cell block 722......well, not the cinder block walls, but I will miss the people, ward, and community we had. All these pregnancy hormones have not been good for me during this. But I'm glad we moved before the baby and not after. The hormone rush after the baby would have put me over the edge and made me have a melt down.

We went to our new ward on Sunday and just like anything else new and different....it will take some getting used to. Our bishop is really nice and there seems to be a good mix of old and young there. We were talking to the bishop and Regan said, "Bishop, let me tell you something." Oh dear, I knew what was coming, but couldn't stop her in time. "Our old bishop gave us candy in his office after church every Sunday!" We had tried to tell/prepare the girls for the fact that our new bishop was likely not going to pass out candy every Sunday like our old one. He said, "Well this bishop doesn't. I only pass out candy on Halloween." Oh my goodness, that mouth of hers. She invites people over for dinner without telling me, tries giving away some of our stuff, and even invited people over to the neighbors for some of their gum.

I have been taking the girls to their same schools and that is wearing me out. I wanted to do it till the Christmas break, but after a week of it, I'm done. They will start at the new schools after Thanksgiving. I visited the school we are in the boundaries for and didn't get a good vibe so I am trying to find an alternative.....pronto, before baby comes and before she needs to start. Seriously. So. Stressfull!!!

I had my membranes stripped on Tuesday.....nothing, except for a head cold. Sophie got over being sick, but now Jason and Regan are sick as well. Lots of sleepless night around here lately with coughing. Not an ideal place to bring a new baby :( My mom drove and got here on Wednesday. She has been a big help. My dad wanted to come, but he got sick with a cold right before and didn't feel good enough to come. Kandra is there with her two boys taking care of him so my mom could be up here with me. It was Kandra's birthday on the 17th so she sacrificed that the help. Thank you Kandra!! Thank you mom!!

Now it's just the waiting game. I thought the babe would be here sooner, but she is hunkered down keeping us all in eager anticipation. Perhaps she is stubborn, just like her sisters, and mother, and grandmother :) She needs to come soon though, cause my mom can't stay here forever as much as I'd like her too. She gets nervous being away from my dad for very long, even if Kandra is doing a great job babysitting. So let's keep our fingers crossed that it will happen tonight :) Next post: baby central!

Changing Times

Once Jason graduated we had a few things on our minds. Where is Jason going to get a job? Architecture is not a great field to find a job in at the moment. How are we going to start paying off student loans? Where are we going to live, especially if he doesn't find a job by the time we have to be out of student housing? Will I get to keep my doctor (because I will probably cry if I don't)? Can we find a good van in our price range? Umm....stress weighed down my life. Prayers ascended to heaven at a steady pace. Pretty sure, Heavenly Father's inbox was full just from me. I kept thinking, "Well, the Lord led us down this school path, and led us to this point where we are about to have a baby. He can't let us fail now, right? I mean, maybe my pregnancy hasn't been a hard enough trial. Maybe I need bankruptcy and homelessness to really make things hard."

So after a couple weeks of sending out resumes, calling, visiting firms, and emailing, Jason found a job temping at an architecture firm here in SLC. What a great blessing! It was supposed to last at most 2 weeks. They couldn't hire full time. So week after week they keep telling him to come back the next week (which was excellent) and he kept looking around for permanent work.

The week after I got back from AZ, the Lord took pity on my poor soul. Jason's dad called us on a Monday and said he found a van that was really a pretty good deal, really clean, and seemed to run well. We trusted his judgement and had him buy it for us. Hooray!

Then on Tuesday, Jason got a call from a firm that really wanted him and made him an offer after only 1 of usually 3 interviews they do. So Wednesday he tells the firm he's temping for that he was made an offer and would be finishing out the week with them then going over to the other firm. Well, I guess they saw how valuable Jason's experience is and they didn't want to lose him either, so they said they would match the other firm's offer! After some quick praying, Jason felt that he should stay with the firm he's been with. He really likes the atmosphere and the people he works with. Insert a big hosanna shout!!

So now that we know we are going to be in SLC for at least a few years, I started looking for places to move.....that Tuesday night. I figure that it will be a little easier to move a couple weeks before the baby comes rather than a couple weeks after. I made appointments to view a couple places on Thursday night. We really liked and felt good about the first place we saw. I kept thinking about it Friday and Saturday while we were in SG getting our van. So Saturday I called and said that we wanted it.

So in the same week we found a van, got a permanent job, and found a place to live. Words cannot express the gratitude I feel to Heavenly Father for opening the windows of heaven and pouring out His blessing on us.

We can start moving into our duplex/house tomorrow, but have to be out of our current place by Nov.12. We'll start moving boxes and small stuff over, and then on Nov. 5th we'll do all the big stuff. And by we, I mean anybody else but me:) I can pack boxes, but I can't move them. (Insert evil, sadistic laugh here.....jk......but not really;)

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I was hoping that this baby would stay put until after the 12th, but I'm getting more and more uncomfortable and miserable. I'm sick of being sick, and not being able to breathe, and feeling 100 years old every time I get off the couch, and not being able to do much of anything without feeling like I just ran a marathon. In other words, I'm ready if she is. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to sound like a complainer. I'm incredibly thankful to be pregnant and know that a lot of women would trade places with me any time. I've been in their shoes. I just want to document what I'm feeling and going through at this point.

I had Sophie the day I turned 36 weeks and she was nearly 7 pounds.......a month early!! She would have been huge if I went to 40 weeks. I wonder what this one will do. Makes me nervous. Dr. has been saying that I'm measuring just right though. (I get to keep my same doctor. I'm so happy, you don't even know) She moves so much! She also stomps on my bladder a lot, and gets the hiccups constantly:) I can tell she is sideways because my left side gets the hiccups and the right side gets pokey foot jabs. So I wonder when she is going to head south for the winter and drop. It's a crazy, weird, amazing thing to watch my stomach rolling all over the place. For a long time now, every time I think about her I just feel so much sweetness from her spirit. I can't wait to meet her!

Sophie's favorite shirt. She calls it her exercise shirt.

She is pretty picky about her hair and I finally found a new way to do it that she actually likes.

27 wks

32 wks

I took the girls down to AZ a few weeks ago to spend some time with my parents. My moms yard was gorgeous as usual.....even after Regan and her decimating crew went through and ripped off all the flowers on my mom's plants. Sorry about that mom. Kandra was there with her two boys. Brett is so stinkin' cute and gave me lots more kisses than he even gave Kandra. Gavin is a little ball of energy and is starting to show some attitude.

Since Kandra didn't share this story about sweet Gavin, I feel the need to share. It is pretty dang funny actually. It was almost dinner time and we had set the table. Sophie took a seat at the table and Gavin wasn't happy about the seat she chose. So he took a fork and poked her in the face. Well he got in trouble and went to time out. Kandra made him come out and apologize to Sophie and if you've heard him talk you know he talks about a mile a minute and it can be a little hard to understand.
"I-I-I- sowwy Sophie, (insert mumbling you can't understand), I-I sowwy, (more mumbling), but you jus-pissa-me-off, (more mumbling)."
I look at Kandra, "Did he just say what I think he said?" Her eyes are wide. My mom's eyes are wide. Big confirmation, YES he did! "Hhhhmmmm, I wonder where he learned that Kandra!"
We laughed about that for days. Still makes me laugh.

On Sunday, I was getting ready to leave and it started violently hailing and raining. It was sooo crazy!! The side walks had 2 inches of rain with hail floating on top of it. Looks like a snow storm hit. I couldn't leave for about a half hour because it was so violent out there.
It was a long drive and hard to do with a big belly that doesn't like to sit up for long. But the Lord really blessed me to be able to make it safely, with little fatigue and nausea, and fairly good girls. I couldn't make that trip now. I went to St. George the very next weekend to get our mini van and it was a hard trip. Lots of contractions and I was miserably uncomfortable. Jason is going down with the girls next weekend and I will not be going. I'm done traveling for this pregnancy.

Our pretty princess

Regan is what you would call a tom boy. Her two favorite books are about bugs and snakes. On a particularly rough Sunday morning she yelled, "I hate dresses! I hate pink! And I hate princesses!!!" Have you seen that Tide commercial about that mom with the girl who likes only cargo shorts and hoodies? That commercial cracks me up cause I can kinda relate. I have these beautiful dresses that collect dust in her closet because she won't wear them. The plainer, the better. She has even turned my prissy, froo-froo luvin' Sophie against them. It vexes me greatly :<

So imagine my surprise/shock/bewilderment when Regan comes up to me and asks me to help her become a pretty princess. She wanted the make-up, the crown, the dress, and the shoes.
So I had to take some pictures to memorialize the event. Who knows when it may happen again.

She has been wearing pink a little more too. Crazy, I know!

Sophie has to do whatever Regan does, so she made her own crown too and put on a dress-up dress.

My pretty princesses

Back to School....

.....to prove to teacher that I'm not a fool:) Yes, I'm still trying to play catch up before all hell brakes loose around here. Regan started kindergarten this year and is doing so well. She is smart and soaks up everything she's learning.

First day of school. (Sophie had to be in the pictures too.)

After she got on the bus we headed over to the school with another mom to watch them get off. We waited for a few minutes and Sophie and her friend, Jessica, had fun picking "flowers"(weeds), and posing for pictures.

Finally made it.

A few weeks ago, Regan came home and was telling me about her bff, Rowan.

Regan: Mom we are name twins because we both start with R and we are color twins because we both love blue.
Me: Oh, so do you sit by her in class?
Regan: Rowan is a boy, not a girl.....and we love each other SOOOOOOO much!!!

So it begins. She wants a play date with him and we just haven't been able to work it out yet. We went to St. George one weekend to pick up a mini van that we bought, and Regan was hysterical that we were not going to have a play date with Rowan. Even the lure of Grandma Joy was not enough to settle her. That's pretty amazing since G-ma Joy is Regan's most fav-o-rite person in the whole world. This must be true love:)
Regan's hair grows so fast. Just a year before she had chopped it and had a boy cut for a while. It got long again and she whined every time I did it so I had it cut the day before. So much easier!
Miss Mary is her teacher and I love her!! She has been so good for Regan and Regan adores her. I feel so sad that we are moving and she will go to a new school.

Sophie is doing Headstart preschool again this year and has the same teachers as last year. She loves it and is a little social butterfly. I asked her to pose for me and this is what she came up with. What a dork.

So I had to start telling her some jokes to get some smiles....

Much better:)

Sophie's teachers told me a story about her and one of her many bff's, Ella. They were going outside after getting a drink and Ella asked Sophie if she wanted to open the door. Sophie said, "Why don't we do teamwork to open it?" Haha, what a girl.

Both girls go to school in the afternoon and it has been really nice to have my afternoons free. I've been able to take a few naps, pack boxes, and run errands. So nice!