First Christmas, First Steps!

Merry Christmas everyone!! This years Christmas was great! Liam got so many toys. And we got a lot of things too! We are so grateful for family! This year we spent the night at the Johnson's. Ainsleigh and Lottie decorated cookies!Then we opened up a present on Christmas Eve. Liam, Lottie, Kelsey and Ainsleigh got PJ's. I got a prelude to my new Diaper Bag custom made by Colleen! Patrick got the Harry Potter movie.

Christmas was great we woke up and opened presents about 11:30. Liam had fun with the paper. Grandma Gloria got made him a taggie ball! SOOO CUTE! Aunt Steph got him a toy Moose that he just latched on to. He got two outfits, way cute. He also got some cars, a rocking moose, counting cups (they stack, he loves them), a sippy cup (from us), two books, a tooth brush, bath toys and a beautiful Santa Clause. He got a lot! Me and Patrick got a lot too! We got a camera bag! WAHOO! We also got a 1.5 Terabyte External Hardrive! I mean... holy cow! We also got Snow White and a game called Slam (Which I can't wait to play!). Patrick got a shirt as well. Thank you to everyone!!! It was a great Christmas at the Johnson's!


After hanging with the Johnson's we went over to G.Grandma Doris' house. Liam got a scooter and a book. We got a egg cooker. We used it today, it was perfect! Liam is starting to walk... ish. He will start to push things so he can walk across the floor. Here is a video with his walker at GGrandma Doris' house.

We had a great Christmas I hope that you all had a great Christmas too!

3 Milestones in One Day

This morning I went in to go and feed Liam at his 4:00 am feeding and he was standing in his crib! It sorta scared me I wasn't expecting him to be standing.. This means Patrick needs to move the crib down again. This will be the 2nd time in 2 weeks. He is growing so big!

So today we hung out with Grandma and Grandpa. I got a picture of his tooth!! He started actually crawling!!! And I finally caught him on video standing up! I have such a fantastic baby! Enjoy the videos!!

One Smart Cookie!

Liam fell asleep at Thanksgiving So cute!

So Liam had his 6 month check up today. It was bitter sweet. He had to have his shots today... :( I almost cried! But as Christi was asking me what he does now. She was thoroughly impressed.

1. Crawling (ish... he pushes himself like a seal but he gets across the room so fast!)
   
2. Sitting up on his own
3. Going from crawling to sitting
4. He can say "Hi" and "Dadadada"
5. Pulling himself up on objects.

While we were at the doctors office I told her that Liam occasionally says "Hi" She looked at me like she didn't believe me. Just after I said "Hi" Liam copied me right there. She was very surprised.

He is a super baby! LOL. So he is practically at 9 months developmentally. This too is bitter sweet I don't want him to grow up to fast. This was one of my fears when I was pregnant. I was worried that life would start to fly by. And it has, that makes me sad because I want to enjoy every millisecond! I'm not saying that I'm not I just don't want it to go to fast. But Liam is doing great, he is such and active baby! And he is a blast!

Happy Early Birthday MOM!!!

Mom said that for her birthday she would like to see a funny video of Liam... So here it is. I have to say the reason why he is laughing... its because I was dancing... how sad is that!

Liam vs Carrots

Liam has been doing so well! He is getting very easily across our family room. Now what he is doing is learning to sit up on his own. He will crawl so his fee are next to push him self up to sit. He is so wonderful! He has found comfort in certain toys he likes. So far he really like our remote for the TV (we took the batteries out), a volleyball the Steph gave him and any book. Liam likes to flip the pages. Also another favorite is his pacifier, he thinks is funny every time we give it to him when he isn't tired he grabs it and shakes it and starts laughing. He is getting really ticklish too, especially his back. Speaking of his back, he is completely recovered. His scar is still bright pink but I assume that will go down with time. Patrick is still working at UFirst, thankfully! Both of Patrick's brothers were laid off as well as me. So we decided to try carrots for this weeks flavor.. You be the judge!

I think he liked it! :) Any way have a nice day!!

It's a start...

It's not quite crawling but, hey, it's getting there.

Bath time with Grandma!

So since tonight is the last night that we are here, Mom (aka Grandma) wanted to give Liam a bath. So I decided to take pictures. Liam is finally starting to enjoy bath time. I do have a video that i will post at a later date. But these were pretty darn cute! Hooray for Liam!

Liam Tries Rice Cereal!

So a couple nights ago Liam woke up three times and ate six oz everytime he woke up.. So we decided to try him on Rice Cereal. Needless to say he really liked it, you can tell by this video. My baby is growing up so big!! Both of the videos are pretty much the same but I thought that I would post both of them, because he is adorable! Enjoy!

Liam and Uncle Blake

Liam gets his giggle on.....

Its Official

Here are some things that have been made official this past week.

Its official
1. I have the cutest baby in the whole wide world!
2. Liam has a new baby cousin (adorable!)
3. Liam likes tummy time
4. Liam has had his first cold
5. Liam's recovery is going great. (One more appointment Oct. 7th)
6. Liam is starting to sleep through the night.. (hallelujah!!!)
7. Liam's tummy is ticklish! I will post a video when we can catch it.
8. I have the cutest baby int the whole wide world!

Liam Rolled Over

So here is the video proof of our claim just before Liam's surgery that he could roll over.

Liam's Recovery

Liam's recovery has been rather remarkable so far. His doctors and nurses are astounded by his scar healing, his food intake (although its not quite up to what it was before we came in) and his mood. He is a pretty happy boy still. I took this video just a little while ago, and by the way he hasn't had pain medication since 2:00 pm. He is kicking, wiggling, waving his arms and just talking away. He even manages to pull of his chest monitors from time to time.

We have had some great nurses I have been very pleased with how we have been treated. I hope that they treat every patient and patient's family the way that they have treated us. I feel as though I am the only one in the hospital and Liam is the only child that they have to look after. Its a great feeling.

One of the nurses gave us a mirror to put in his crib. He has found that his is quite a handsome little boy! He just keeps staring at himself and talking to himself. Its rather cute!! It makes me so happy that he is happy, he is the joy of my life and its hard to see him hurt. But he is doing so much better and is going to get even better. Any way enjoy the video and thank you to every one who has been keeping up with him.

Liam's Surgery

Liam is doing good. He is still in a lot of pain but he is doing well. Last night he tried to eat about 3 ounces but spit it all up. This morning when the doctors came into his room they looked at his incision and they were astounded at how well it looked. So his bandages were removed at about 9. The liquids in his system are draining perfectly and he does have some awake time which is good because of how heavily medicated he is. So all in all he is doing good.

Liam Talking

So here is Liam talking with me. Liam is now rolling over and its funny, he laughs when he gets on his belly. When I turned the camera on to catch him rolling, he fell asleep. Cute...

Liam's surgery is scheduled for 6:30 am on Monday morning. He will be in surgery for 4-5 hours then he will be in hospital for about 5 days. On Sunday we have to go into the hospital to get his blood work done. Also on Sunday Patrick has a family reunion, those are usually a lot of fun so it will be good to take my mind off his surgery for a bit.

Enjoy the video!

Bouncy!

This little video is adorable. Liam loves to be held and bounced on our exercise ball. We discovered if you say the word "Bouncy" it makes him giggle. By the time I got the camera his laughs weren't as big but its still adorable.

For any one that reads our blog I am going to ask a favor. This Sunday, if you would like to fast for Liam for a good surgery and quick recovery. That would be fantastic, thank you! Enjoy the video.

A Cut Above the Rest

Here is Liam holding his own bottle! He is so advanced! ;D

Poor little Liam had his circumcision on Tuesday. He had a rough day but now he is all better, and still laughing enjoy the video!

Doctors Appointment

So we just got back from the doctors office. Liam's surgery is scheduled for August 17th (a day before Pat's birthday). Here is more about a Dermal Sinus Tract. This is copied directly from Primary Children's Website.

Dermal sinus tract is a small dimple-like opening in the midline of the spine that may connect deep into the spinal cord. The majority of dermal sinus tracts are located at the level of the sacrum or the lumbar region. The drawing on the right illustrates such a condition. Since these tracts may be openings that communicate with the contents of the spinal canal there is the possibility of meningitis developing. The dermal sinus attaches to the end of the spinal cord, causing tethering. The surgery is to remove any portions of the sinus tract that go into the spinal canal and to disconnect the sinus tract from the spinal cord, thus untethering it.

We did find out that there is no hole in the skin, allowing air and other contaminates getting into the spinal cord. This is good news, as it means that there is a VERY low risk for Meningitis.

The surgery will take 4-5 hours and he will be in the hospital for around 5 days after the surgery. Once he has the surgery he will not need another surgery ever. He will be perfectly fine. Let me know if you have any questions. Thank you for prayers and concern!!

Unvailing of Events

I don't know where to start. First I would like to say thank you to every one that has shown support and has sent us their prayers. I guess the next thing is to say is that I was laid off from my job recently. Next is that Liam has whats called Dermal Sinus Tract, he will have to have surgery soon. We will have more information as to when the surgery is going to be. I took this video today, Liam is one smart cookie!!!!


Again thank you for all of your love and support.

An Update

Well we are 3 days away from his MRI. We are a little nervous but, I think the hardest part is going to watch them put him under. Since he is so little they have to put him under so that he doesn't move. On a little bit of a happier note, Harry Potter comes out tonight! YAAY! We are hoping that we will make it to a showing on Friday after Liam's MRI. It depends on how long it is going to take. Anyway, we will have the MRI on Friday and have more information on the following Tuesday. Here are two cute pictures.

Happy 4th of July!

So we made it up to Seattle! YAAY! Liam did really good. But by the end he was so ready to be out of his car seat. The ride from SLC to Bosie was very short. Liam slept the whole way there and we had fun talking. We arrived at Aunt Cheryl's house right at 9:00 we chatted for a while with Grandma D and Aunt Cheryl. Liam didn't sleep very good. He kept waking up. Finally when he woke up around 4 we decided that we could head out. The leg of the trip was extremely long! Liam wasn't as tired and kept fussing. But I would be to if I was forced to sit in a confined area for a long time. We arrived home at 3. We actually got to go see a movie last night. Liam's first movie. It was Transformers 2. It was pretty good. I think that all the movie was about was explosions. I would say the story line was a little weak. But the explosions were fantastic I have to say. Any way we took this picture this morning. He is such a fantastic baby!

Liam's Doctors Appointment

Not everyone knows but Liam has a dimple on his back that may be a form of Spina Bifida. We decided not to tell anyone but family until this point because we hadn't talked to the doctors yet. We have finally been to the specialist. The doctors think that he may have Spina Bifida Occulta. There are 15% of people in this world that have Spina Bifida Occulta and either never know it or have no side effects. The doctor believes that Liam is within this 15%. He said that he is 99% sure that Liam with have no ramifications from his "cigarette burn" (Yes, that is the technical term because that's is what it looks like). But just to be on the safe side he has still ordered an MRI. It will be on July 17th and the results on the 22nd. The doctor is concerned for two things. That there may be a pin prick hole in the dimple that would give direct access to his spine. This could result in Meningitis. Bad bad bad! The other concern is that when he was a fetus his spinal cord developed around cartilage. Which could cause pressure and stretch his spine. These are the things he is going to be checking for. We are all very hopeful, with the knowledge that he is a good doctor and he will take care of Liam no matter what the diagnoses is. This can be taken care of surgically no matter which it is. But we are hopefull that he falls within the 15% of people world wide with no side effects. Keep Liam in your prayers. Thanks!

10 Things I have learned

Here are 10 things I have learned about Liam:

1. He likes to have his feet rubbed
2. He loves his pacifier
   
3. He is getting better about changing his clothes and diapers
4. He loves it when you brush his hair
5. He loves to cuddle with Me Patrick or Grandma
6. He coo's in his sleep (I have mistaken this for being fussy at night)
7. He LOVES kisses!
8. His back is very ticklish
   
9. He likes to have his hands by his face
10. He loves to be swaddled

Introducing Liam to the world!

On Tuesday, I thought my water had broken it turned out to be a plug that holds the sack of water. This was good news. I was hoping that they would bump up my Non-Stress Test (NST) to that day. But the doctor decided that one more day wouldn't hurt. Which is fine. Mom was driving down from Seattle and wouldn't be there until Wednesday. Mom got into town on Wednesday just in time to take me to my NST. An NST is where they do an ultrasound to measure how much amniotic fluid you have left available for the baby. The normal amount for an overdue baby at 41 weeks is 7-12oz. I had 1.8oz available. Needless to say they admitted me that hour.

So Wednesday they started me on what’s called Prostaglandin Gel to attain a higher effacement value. Because I was dilated still to a 1 and at 50% effaced. They gave me two doses of the gel each one being six hours apart. So I took the first one at 7:00 pm and the second at 1:00am. They checked me and I was dilated to a 2 and 80% effaced. The gel worked! Then at 7:00 am Thursday morning is when they started me on the Pitocin. I was having contractions before, but they were hurting sooo bad. I didn't quite want the epidural yet mostly because I have heard it can increase the duration of your labor. No thank you. They gave me Fentanyl to take the edge off of the contractions. It worked quite well mostly because I was seeing stars and felt like I was sitting on the Scrambler at Lagoon.

I did this for about an hour, with the spinning feeling and slight pain. The nurse said that Fentanyl only last an hour, once that hour was up I was in excruciating pain again. I was just about to ask for another Fentanyl, then Dr. Gourley (pronounced like Girly), Dr. Glenn's Replacement, came to talk with me about how I was doing and talk about what is going to be happening within the next couple of hours. He could tell that I was in pain and he suggested that I get the epidural. But he wanted to break my water first. He switched the fetal and contraction monitors to and internal monitoring system, and broke my water. Then all hell broke loose. Since I didn't start out with enough fluid in me, breaking my water began to suffocate Liam. His heart rate dropped so low that I was rushed to the OR for an emergency C-Section. Liam was delivered at 9:24 am on 5/21/2009 he weighed 7lbs 8oz and is 20.5in long. I was in and out of the OR within 9 minutes. I really have to thank the staff of doctors and nurses I had. They were absolutely amazing. There wasn't a lot of time to explain to me what was going on, and I was kinda freaking out. Since there wasn't enough time for an epidural when I woke up from the C-Section and had no pain medication in me. I was in the most unbearable pain I have ever experienced in my entire life! They gave me Morphine as soon as they could. Meanwhile, Patrick was with Liam as they were doing different tests and cleaning him up in the nursery.

After the delivery they moved me down to the Mother and Baby floor. I finally got to see Liam for the first time! He is so beautiful! I feel extremely lucky to have such a healthy child! The rest of the day was a breeze. We were with Liam and our family throughout the day. It was nice to have their company. I do have to admit I was severely drugged so I wasn't as attentive as I would have like to have been but like I said, I was drugged. Me and Liam also started the adventures of feeding. During the C-Section Liam had swallowed a lot of blood. So he wasn't terribly hungry. He actually kept spitting it up. Poor baby! We talked with a lactation consultant and she got us started on the right track. The hardest part about that day was the nurses making me get up and walk. Even though I was still pretty drugged by that time it took all my concentration and pain management to be able to walk 5 feet. But mission accomplished.

Friday was our relax day. We got feeding down, nap time figured out and I finally got solid food and not just Chicken Broth. I don't care if its good for the soul, I like a good solid sandwich. :D I started walking around a lot, mostly because I was told the sooner you walk the quicker your recovery. With Percocet and Motrin, my new friends, I was able to start walking quite well. So well in fact I was impressing the nurses. Friday was a great day!

Saturday was even better. We were released two days early because we were doing so fantastic! Now we are home and just getting adjusted to life at home. Second day in and I think we are doing quite well. I do have to say having my mom here with me makes it 10 times easier than it would have been otherwise. Thanks Mom! And thank you to everyone who as provided and offered their support to us it means so much. We are so grateful to have such a wonderful group of family and friends around us. Thank you!

No more advice...

So we have tried everything every one has told us and, no go. Today we did have a little excitement thinking today might be the day. But, it turned out to be a false alarm. We did find out some new information, this false alarm is a good false alarm. This means that my body is getting ready. I'm crossing my fingers that it will happen within the next couple days. So after the hospital Pat thought we would try the advice of driving down a bumpy road. Yeah, never want to do that again. At least when I am 40 weeks pregnant. We did get to see some pretty cool camping sites that we might have to try. Also I took this picture up by the reservoir. Any way, I will keep you all posted.

Patrick's First Home Made Movie!

Here is Patrick's first attempt at video editing. I just love the dramatic music for such a simple task. Enjoy!

Flying with Angels and Conquring Demons

Yesterday we had our doctors appointment. Unfortunately since the doc is on vacation I couldn't get an exam so I have no new information. I was disappointed mostly because my doc doesn't tell me anything. I went in thinking I would be able to find out some new information. But he didn't tell me that his P.A isn't trained on doing exams. So, I have no idea if my body is any closer to being prepared for labor or not. I have been having contractions. They don't hurt (yet) and they are very infrequent. Sometimes they are a half an hour apart or they are 15 min apart. After leaving the doctor's office I was a little upset. Mostly because of the poor communication between the doctors office and the patients. I do have a Non-Stress test scheduled for Wednesday the 20th. I'm hoping to have him before then. If not then I will do the test and get more information then.

Seeing as yesterday was the 15th of May and a particular movie was coming out on the 15th of May, we went and saw it. Angels and Demons was pretty good. Now if you are a purist (meaning you will be upset if it doesn't follow the book exactly) then there are some parts that are going to make you upset. Mostly because they cut out a big roll from the book. And the fact that Angels and Demons came first not DaVinci Code. But I thought it was a very good screen adaptation of the book. It still had all the mystery and intrigue that you encounter when you read any of Dan Brown's books. I look forward to Dan Brown's new book The Lost Symbol coming out September 15th 2009.


Also yesterday we got more of Liam's room finished. Steph suggested the idea of putting his name in vinyl lettering in frames. I thought that was an adorable idea! Here are the pictures.


Eventually we will have a collage of pictures of him and us around his name. Thanks for the idea Steph.

Movie Quote:
-Maybe I don't want anything between me and the open road.
-You will if your head falls on it.

New Toy

So we got a new toy courtesy of Mom, she got us a camcorder!! Here is us playing with it. Yes, I do look bloated... I am 40 weeks pregnant. I can't wait to record Liam's firsts.

Still going and going and going and going.....

So I had my doctors appointment on Thursday, I got some news. Its not bad news its just frustrating news. I'm still dilated to a 1 and 20% effaced. My doctor is now anticipating on me going two weeks over due. When I thought that he wouldn't let me go over 41 weeks. Apparently I was misinformed. Liam is currently posterior (face up), but he is doing fine. Also my doctor decided that now would be a good time to go on vacation until the 23rd. Its okay I'm not a big fan of him any way. I have a non-stress test scheduled for the 20th. They are going to be testing amniotic fluid and things like that to see if they need to take the baby now or if he can bake a little longer. From what he said is that most people don't pass or don't make it to the test. I don't know how far they will let me go if I pass. My next appointment is on the 15th one day after his due date. I do have to admit I wasn't anticipating on him coming next week at all. But I thought that I would be induced the following week, this is not the case. So, I have the non-stress test to see if I should be induced. I really hope that I don't have to wait until June to have my baby, I think I would go insane. The doctor said that Liam really isn't as big has he had expected, so he isn't a large baby. But if you looked at me you could have sworn that he was 10lbs now.

Patrick has been doing really good about loosing weight he has currently lost 27 lbs since January. I am so proud of him!

Yesterday all of the girls were treated by Mom Gloria to Tea at the Grand America. YAAY! It was a blast! Thanks!

Movie Quote:
-Oh, look. A golden-throated small-winged warbler. Just one more for exotic bird bingo. I am loving this.

Anticipation

I had my latest doctors appointment. It went well. I am still dilated to a 1, he still hasn't dropped but I am 20% effaced. So I'm crossing my fingers by my next appointment I will be 30% effaced and dilated to a 3. Unless my water breaks... (yeah right). I have had so many people tell me that the last month is the longest. And its sooooo true! I think its an accumulation of different things.

1. Anticipation
2. I have the room (mostly) done, but no baby...
3. His clothes are all washed, but no baby...
4. His diaper bag is all packed, but no baby...
5. His car seat is in our car, but no baby...
6. My hospital bag is all packed and ready
7. Our house is completely remodeled and clean, but no baby...
8. I'm only dilated to a 1 with 13 days to go...
9. I have dreams that I have him in my arms and it frustrates me because he isn't...
10 .Procrastination: I have procrastinated on somethings (ie finding a pediatrician)
11. Scared (will I be a good mother, will I know what to do when I need to do it, labor (enough said) will I be able to handle the rough mornings, plus more?)
12.Feeling prepared and not prepared at all
13. Also not knowing how else to prepare when I feel like I'm not prepared
14. I get scared when he doesn't move for a while
15. Any thing I eat I am nervous that it might harm the baby (my popcorn incident yesterday)

I'm sure I could go on. I don't know if every woman feels this way before they give birth but man, I'm going crazy and feeling like I'm going 5 directions at once. Thanks for listening to me vent, I'm sure that once he is here I will have a whole ton of new fears and wants and these will be just a memory.

Here is a picture of the nursery so far. My friend Ann did the adorable bear pictures! Now I have to do the vinyl lettering and put up a moon light. It will be cute!

Movie Quote:
-One person couldn't feel all that, they would explode.
-Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon.

20 Things I miss..

I decided to compile a list of things I miss about my pre-pregnancy life. Now that its almost coming to a close I thought I would reflect back and look at 20 things that I miss, and that I would be getting back (well at least some of them). They are in no particular order, just randomness.

1. My wedding ring
2. Being able to wear any of my shoes and not just one pair of them
3. A normal body temperature
4. Walking like an up-right bipedal human, and not waddling
5. Belts
6. Normal Jeans
7. My legs not cramping every night
8. Being able to get out of bed / being able to roll freely in bed
9. Sleeping through the night (Wont get this one right away, but gradually)
10. Being able to put my socks on
11. Being able to bend down and pick up something with out having to have to do a prep dance
12. Laying on my stomach
13. Ibuprofen and Cold medicine
14. Garments fitting better
15. Turn corners without bumping into things
16. Getting through my shower door
17. Looking down and seeing my feet
18. I miss not knowing what my sciatic nerve was
19. Being able to bend my toes because they wont be so swollen
20. Not getting sick every other month

So there you have it 20 things I will be getting back once Liam is born.

I also had my appointment today. Just as expected, he is doing great. He has not engaged into the birth canal. I am not effaced in the slightest, but I'm dilated to a 1. Wahoo, only 9 more to go! I am measuring 38 cm and Liam weighs 6lbs so he is just right on the average. Liam is now a full term baby! So he could literally come any day that he decides. I have told him its okay if he comes a little early (next week), I think he is taking it under concideration.

Also my random Movie Quote:
"That would be harsher punishments for paroll violaters, Stan... And, World Peace."

Two words... WICK--ED

There are many things in my life that I am privy to. I get to enjoy a wonderful condo for cheap, I have a fantastic husband whom treats me like a Queen, I have family members all around me and I get tickets to plays when said family members aren't feeling so good. Two nights ago was one of those phenomenal nights. I had the chance to see Wicked due to an illness in the family. And I gotta say, Everett, I'm sorry you were sick but I am so happy I got to go! Wicked was amazing! I loved the lyrics, sets, actors and story. Even Liam was getting in to it! He must have been dancing in there or something because he was moving so much. I wish I had brought my camera, what was I thinking! (I have one job....) Ahh any way. I had so much fun!!! And if I ever get the chance to go again. I will! My only reservation about last night were those awfully small seats! The location was fantastic, but my butt didn't fit in those darn seats. Although, didn't take away from the awesomeness of Wicked!



Katie (the Ka is silent)

Carpet Completion

Well we have all of our carpet and laminate flooring done! Now we have the task of putting our house back together. Daunting as it may sound it is actually going to be quite beneficial. The so called tradition of "Spring Cleaning" has a whole new meaning. Not only with a baby on the way do we need to clean every nook and cranny of this apartment, but this gives us a chance to go through all of the things we have accumulated the past two and a half years. Plus the things that we have brought into our marriage (ie stuffed animals, old photo albums things of that nature). Here are the before and after pictures. I do warn you, the pictures from the living room make my skin crawl thinking that I was actually living with that. Mostly because Patrick had begun tearing up the carpet before I could take pictures and you can see the padding underneath... you will see.

So here you can see what I was taking about. The first row is of our living room. The second row is of our dining room. It was a mess before and now its still a mess.

Here is Liam's room, you still can't see the green'ish tint but oh well.

And here is our bedroom, probably the best transformation!

Thank you to all that helped!!! It is finally done and we can now officially get ready for Liam. While I am writing this blog Patrick is taking a well deserved, hard earned nap. I think I will join him for the next 15 min or so. Happy Easter and Happy Spring Cleaning to everyone!

Remodel!!!

Whewww! It took only one day, one long day. But we got almost all the painting done. There are very few touch ups that we have to do. Plus when they tear up carpet we are going to have to repaint the baseboards. The colors that we picked are Behr Paint: Raffia Cream and Brown Teepee. Then from Ralph Lauren: Zen Green. Raffia Cream went literally everywhere. Brown Teepee is our accent wall in the Master Bedroom. Zen Green is in Liam's Nursery. Here are some before and after pictures:

The first set is of Liam's room. You can't tell from the second picture but its a light light green.
If you ever get the chance to go in then you will be able to tell. The second set is of our Hallway.

This one is of our master bedroom and of the living area. Our master originally had a
blue floral wallpaper with a blue chair rail but we took it down before I took pictures.



My wonderful sister-in-law, Steph, was in charge of doing Liam's nursery. She instigated
the tradition for naming each Trimester of an expectant child in our family. She painted
each name on the wall before we went over with the roller brush. I really wish you could
see the color. Its so cute!

We will have cooler before and after pictures once the carpet and the laminate flooring comes in! I want to say thank you to our family! They came and helped us out so much, with out them it would have taken much much longer. They came in right before the Saturday session and finished just after the second session. So one allergic reaction, 4 frozen pizza's and one ear infection (sorry Lottie) later we have a brand new painted condo. Thank you Mom, Dad, Steph, Colleen, Lottie, Debbie, Barry and Ainsleigh.

Food for thought.....

I have a couple little anecdotes that I had learned these past weeks:

--Cats do not like bagpipe music

--When you see Movie Stars pregnant and they say "Oh its easy".... They lie....

--6:00 O'clock in the morning is early no matter how much sleep you get

--Waking up ever hour to pee isn't conducive to a 6am-3pm shift

--It doesn't take a structured diet to loose weight (just ask Patrick!)

--Praying for patients helps (especially when your company just released a product that sorta works)

--My mom is a fantastic photographer!!!

--Writing a letter to an unborn child is really really really hard!

So, that's about it. We have had a couple stressful weeks with the new launch but we are getting through it. We were making a list of music for a mix for a future road trip (that wont happen for some time) and Patrick had some Bagpipe music mixed with Rock. Well Maddox was not a big fan and was freaked out by it. It was kinda cute actually. Patrick has lost 15lbs so far on our non-structured diet. The key.... you ready... eat less... It works I swear! This last weekend my Mom went to a Photography Convention and she got the Grand Prize for just being herself!!! Congrats!!! I got the chance to write a letter to Liam. It was really hard, but the end result is a heart-filled letter that I hope that he will enjoy reading some day.

I also had a doctors appointment, everything is good. Liam is a very healthy baby. He weighs about 5.5lbs and around 19 inches. He also kicks like David Beckham. He likes to take his elbow, knee or foot and hold it in my side. So I get to play with it and push it back. That's what I do most of the day at work just play with whatever he kicks out. :)

An update.

Well, we have had a couple strange weeks. I have been sick... for what feels like a life time. Then Patrick got sick. But worse then me, his turned into an ear infection which resulted in a hospital visit at 10:00 pm. Then Patrick got better, now I'm sick again!. Man, we need a break.

Anyway, we had our latest doctors appointment. Everything is great. Liam is fantastic! I had my Glucose Test, I do not have Gestational Diabetes. Which is nice because I have a feeling that he is going to be a big baby just on his own. I am not anemic, YAAY! That was another thing I was worried about. I wouldn't want to be any more tired than I already am. His position is neither Breech or Head Down. He is sideways for the time being, silly boy. He has learned where my ribs are, so that's nice... The cats have found my belly to be quite comfortable place to sit, although Liam isn't a big fan when they sit on me.

I had my first baby shower! This is shower was a work shower. Both me and my boss, Jenn are due 1 day apart. I am due on May 14th she is due May 15th. She is having a girl and I am having a boy! Crazy crazy! Liam got a boat load of clothes, diapers, toys, blankets and little trinkets. A lot of really really cute stuff! Thank you to every one!

I also had my Maternity Session. My mom's friend Tina Miera is a photograper here in SLC. She took amazing pictures!!! You can see them on my facebook or myspace. She made me look thin with a 4lbs baby inside me ;D Its all about the lighting my friends!

So, I have 9 more weeks until my due date. Both me and Patrick have a count down in our cubicles! He is supposed to gain a half a pound every week! A "on time" delivery is between weeks 38-41. I am currently 31 weeks. WAHOO!! So close! My doctor says that he wont let me go over 41 weeks so thats a very comforting! We can tour the hospital whenever we would like we just need to make an appointment. I will let ya'll know when we do that!

To many things for one title...

First:

I know I have promised to post pictures of our new cars.



Patrick's car is on the right Hyundai Sonata, my car is on the Mercury Mountaineer. YAAY!



Second:

We had our doctors appointment on Feb. 10th. Everything went really well Liam is just doing fantastic!! Next Tuesday I have to have my blood drawn and I have to have the Glucose test. Wahoo! Then my next appointment is on March 3rd. After that we start going every two weeks. We are down to 13 weeks until Liam is born!!!! Our next big project is Liam's Nursery, we are going to clean it out (since its currently our storage room).


Third:

Our washer and our water heater went out....Luckily, we have family that helps us out. Grandma fixed the water heater. Mom helped us with that washer. We are getting it this Thursday! Grandma and Gloria has been helping us by letting us use their washer to wash our clothes.


Fourth:

Patrick's Mom on Friday the 13th announced that she is now in remission. YAAY! So to celebrate we all went out to Olive Garden. Seeing as she hasn't had salad in 3 months, the Olive Garden Salad is one of the best salads to celebrate with.




Fifth:

Valentines was a lot of fun this year. We don't have a lot of money so we decided to take it easy. This year we made bought the Sugar Cookies in a bag and made each other huge sugar cookies with little love messages on them. It was fun.

A bad week, good weekend

So this last week didn't go over so well. Tuesday was our appointment everything went really well, but sometimes I wish that he would talk to us more. I wish he would tell us whats going on, what I need to do better etc. Anyway, later that night we are woken up at 11:30 to our neighbors down stairs playing a video game that literally shook our walls. Patrick went down pounded on the door and rang the doorbell. Their game was so loud they didn't hear either of his attempts. We had to call the cops, again. This is the second time that we have had to call the cops on them because of they play their music so loud. Well I'm not sure if the cops came this time but they didn't stop playing until 2 am. I was awake the whole time! I have to get up for work about 5ish, so that left me 3 hours of sleep. Well the next day at work, I was extremely exhausted to the point that I had to go home and sleep. Then Thursday night I was flossing my teeth and a filling fell out it. So I knew that I would have to see the dentist. So the next morning I was brushing my teeth and I started spitting out a lot of blood! I was in a lot of pain! So I went into work just because the dentist offices don't ever open until 8. I found a dentist that was open and made an appointment for 9. I left and I went to the dentist and I had to have two cavities filled, the one that fell out and another one that was close to it. Then the bad news comes, I have to have two more cavities filled. And I have to have my wisdom teeth taken out. So I am going to have the other two cavities filled on February 10th. I will have my wisdom teeth taken out after the William is born. So that was my week. The weekend was much better. That day I decided to cash in on my birthday present, prenatal massage. It was absolutely amazing! So relaxing and just perfect. Then on Saturday me at Patrick register at Babies R Us, and went out to dinner and a movie. Registering was a lot of fun! It took a lot longer than I thought it would we were there for 2 and a half hours! Our registry number is 48086426. Take a look at it if you would like. We are going to register at at least one more place, possibly two, Target and Baby Depot (Burlington Coat Factory). We have yet to decide. For our date, we went out to eat (Mayan Express) and and saw Paul Blart: Mall Cop. The movie was very funny! Any way the week was bad not just for me, a lot of my friends haven't had the best week as well. I want all my friends that read this just to know today starts a new week and to treat it as such. We all have our moments, and to quote Lord of the Rings "What matters is what we do with the time that is given to us."

Doctors appointment and so much more...

We had a Doctors appointment on Tuesday, it went great. Every thing is growing at a normal rate. Liam is healthy, I am healthy its like I'm winning the LOTTO! I have noticed a lot of things since I have been pregnant. Although my body is burning twice as many calories just sitting, getting healthy really isn't that hard. Its the determination and willingness to change that's hard. Becoming pregnant has been our catalyst to start a healthier life for me, Patrick and Liam. We have been really strict about what we eat and how we work out. Since portioning our food, and working out on a regular schedule Patrick has lost 7lbs! Now, its not really fair since I can't loose any weight, but I haven't really gained any weight since I have been pregnant. And my pregnancy book says that the normal weight gain for this point is 10-15lbs. So essentially I have lost on average 12lbs, but not really because I haven't lost any weight its just gone towards Liam. :D I feel 10 times healthier and happier. Another thing we have been working on is going out to eat. We only allow ourselves to go out to eat once a week. Seeing as we used to go out to eat twice a day. . . Our finances have doubled LOL, not really they just don't deplete as fast. :D Another thing is Tithing, now that we have encorperated ourselves and now we are determined to watch our money we want to be better at paying Tithing. Very important! As a Christmas present our company gave us their program. Its called the MMA (Money Merge Account). This program is a debt reduction program that cost $3500, that our Company (United First Financial) gave to us as a Christmas bonus! We are using it to pay off all of our debt and it told us that we could be debt free in 2.6 years! Quite amazing! Anyway, I think I have rambled enough! Hope you all have a great day!

Belly Picture!!!

So I have been camera shy since I have been pregnant... Mostly because I felt like a cow every time I looked in the mirror. But I have been feeling pretty good and I thought that I would finally take a belly picture. Any way here it is ;D I am starting to get pretty big, although I know I will just be getting bigger. I am currently 23 Weeks pregnant which roughly translates to 6 months! I can't believe its gone by this fast. It only feels like yesterday when I couldn't wait until I at 10 weeks pregnant to go the Doctors... I have been so blessed with my health! I was dreading being pregnant thinking it was going to be the most horrible experience of my life. But it has be so wonderful. I have a very supportive husband that rubs my feet almost every night and wakes up with me when my calf gets a cramps up. He also just pushes through my cranky times... because oh they happen. I just want to publicly thank him for all that he is doing to help me and our new family to be!

Something else that happened, we traded in our Dodge Charger. Shocking, I know but we got two cars that we are going to pay of in the same amount of time as the Charger. But with a combined lower monthly payment. I will be posting pictures of our new cars soon.

Latest info on Liam

We had an ultrasound appointment today and it went fantastic!!! Liam is a healthy baby! He is growing at the right pace. Right now he is currently breach, that means that his head is pointing upward. The wrong way. ;D Oh well, what are ya going to do. Here he is. I have a feeling the quality wont get any better as the pregnancy progresses, but he is still cute!

Face: Note his mouth is open

Arm: Note his elbow is bentProfile

PS. He had the hiccups this morning... how cute!