[Fun] Family vacation!

We spent a few days of Spring Break traveling through California's beautiful central coast. After visiting my college alma mater last summer, Wes commented that he'd love to go back to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to visit (he went there for two years before transferring). A girl friend recommended a darling B&B in SLO, and my parents recommended a great inn in Cambria. Trip booked! We hit a few wineries during the trip, enjoyed some amazing restaurants, played tourist in a few spots, and got some great relaxation time (with a five week old... can you even imagine?!). Whitney was a total champ the entire time - we see many more road trips in her future!

A few photo highlights from the trip:

Our darling B&B in SLO - Petit Soleil

Our view during lunch at Cass Winery

Whitney's first bottle!

Elephant seals everywhere!

Linn's ollalieberry pie a la mode

View from our hotel room in Cambria

New additions to our wine collection

Got to spend 4 days with these 2

[Wordless Wednesday] Vacation is exhausting!

[Fun] Happy Easter!

Whitney's first Easter was quite the fun celebration! We spent Saturday with my family and went to lunch and church. Whitney got all dressed up in her darling yellow dress:

We got to church and things got started, and she started crying so I dashed outside with her. Wes and I stayed out there the entire time (they show the service on big screen TVs) while she fussed - at least it was a beautiful day to be outside! :)

On Sunday we took off for Central California for our first family vacation! Thanks to my friend Gina's cute hand me down, Whitney was dressed in the Easter spirit:

[Whitney] One month old!

Our little girl is one month old today! It seriously feels like it's been DAYS. It really is true that time flies when you're having fun! Or is it that it flies when you're sleep deprived? Whatever, same difference. :)

Whitney and I started the day by having a little photo shoot to capture her at one month old! I plan to take similar pictures each month for the first year of her life. My friend Gina's darling son just turned one, and I was inspired for one of the shoots by what she did for Lil C:

So I took Whitney's photo sitting on the glider in her room with a cute elephant stuffed animal! Here's my favorite:

Then we also have a darling frame we're using that has windows for a picture from each month. Here's her one month shot:

And I bought those cute little stickers that you can use on a plain onesie, too, so here's one of her with her one month sticker:

She rounded out her day by meeting her Great Great Aunt Whit! My mom brought Whit over and we all had lunch. It was so much fun!

 

[Wordless Wednesday] Smiles!

[Whitney] Dreams come true

Our friend Lindsay of Lindsay Chavez Photo captured some newborn photos for us, and we got to see a sneak peek earlier today. Gosh, I love this little girl! I can't believe she'll be one month tomorrow! As I look back over the past month, tears fill my eyes. Our dream finally came true! While I'm in a bit of a sleep-deprived fog, I wouldn't trade this for the world.

[Whitney] Weighing in

We went back to the breastfeeding workshop today, and Whitney is now up to 8 lbs., 14 oz.! She is growing right on track, and eating just as she should be. That's our girl!

[Faust House] New fence

Our front yard is much bigger than our backyard, so we've always talked about putting up a fence so dogs and kids could play... now that Whitney is here, this has become more of a priority for us. Thanks to Uncle Sam this year, we were able to put in a new fence! 

It was a beautiful day today, so we were able to get outside with Whitney and let the dogs check out the new space. We all loved it! We're talking about turning part of the planter to the left of the door into a patio area for seating and to put our fire pit out. I look forward to spending many evenings watching Whitney play with the dogs out here!

 

[Whitney] Meeting the Easter Bunny

Went to the mall today with Alicia and her two kids to have pictures taken with the Easter Bunny! Whitney got all dressed up in a cute outfit, and then the Bunny put his big paw over her, and you couldn't even see it. So I'll blog it for posterity! :)

[Whitney] Weighing in

St. Jude offers a breastfeeding workshop every Monday, and I took Whitney for the first time today. They weigh the baby with nothing on, and then have you feed on each side, and weigh in between. They take the weight in grams, so they're able to convert it and tell you exactly how many ounces she's taking in. It's very cool! There were 8 or so other moms there - some with their own mom, some on their own - and it's a great environment to get support, ask questions, and be with other people experiencing similar things! The main nurse in charge is someone who went to our church growing up, and her daughter was a year older than me in high school. Small world! 

Whitney's weight went down as low as 7 lbs, 10 oz. in the hospital, and she was up to 7 lbs., 12 oz. last Monday when we went for our "well baby and mommy" visit. Today she's up to 8 lbs., 7 oz. So she's above birthweight! Hooray!

Now that she's two weeks old, she also had her first pediatrician appointment. She looks great, and was a champ! They measured her, but they did it with a yard stick and her knee was bent... so they showed that she SHRUNK. I'm not buying it. :) So we'll wait for her to get measured again another time.

[Pups] Stumped!

This post is a little gross, but a lot funny... you've been warned! :)

Whitney's healing umbilical cord stump has been looking like it was ready to fall off any day... earlier this afternoon she was wearing a nightgown that is elasticized and open on the bottom, and when I went to change her diaper, I noticed the stump was GONE! Now I'm not one that wants to save the stump for posterity, but I did want to know when it came off, and what happened to it. I had visions of dogs getting a little mid-day snack of it, and it totally grossed me out.

We looked everywhere for the stump with no luck. Gag!

As we sat watching TV later on, Latte seemed very interested in something under the ottoman... we moved it to the side, and sure enough: the stump! Thankfully we saved it from being a delectable treat for the doggies, and its made its rightful way into the trash. But we had to have a picture first. Good dog, Latte!

[Fun] Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hanging out with my lucky charm today! xo

=

[Whitney] Firsts

We've been getting a bit of cabin fever, so Whitney got to experience a few firsts in the past week!

First walk around the neighborhood with the doggies - March 10th:

First birthday party (for Alicia's daughter, Layla) - March 11th:

First trip to the dog park - March 16th:

We can't wait for many more firsts with her!

[Whitney] She's here!

Whitney made her arrival Sunday, March 4th, 2012 at 9:39 p.m. She was 22 inches long, and weighed 8 pounds, 5 ounces. To say we're in love with her would be an understatement! After 24 hours of labor things weren't progressing at all, and because I was so far past my due date, I ended up having a C Section.

Our first photo as a family of three!

We're so thankful for a healthy and beautiful baby, and for the incredible nursing staff and our doctors who cared for us - we had a wonderful experience at St. Jude. We're getting more and more settled at home, and Wes will be off work for one more week. Thank you for the calls, texts, FB comments and visits - Whitney is so lucky to be loved by so many!

[Nursery] All we need is a baby!

Our crib bedding finally arrived earlier this week, and I couldn't love it more! We had quite the debacle with getting it ordered and finished, but I finally found a great vendor on Etsy, thanks to the referral of a sorority sister. Her work is impeccable, and it is exactly what we were hoping for. Here are some updated photos with everything... all we need now is the baby! :)

They can't wait to meet their sister! <3

[Pregnancy] Gender reveal party!

Just getting things ready to take to the hospital, and realized I never uploaded the video from finding out we were having a girl! My Great Aunt Whit hosted a family get together, and we had taken a sealed envelope from the doctor's office to a bakery to have a cake made either pink or blue inside, pending the ultrasound results that even Wes and I didn't know. It was so much fun to be surprised while surrounded by our loved ones!

[Pregnancy] Three options...

We saw Dr. H this morning, and I'm still not dilated at all, and seem to be stuck at 80% effaced. The doctor is a little concerned about Whitney's movement, so he's ordered additional testing later today, and an ultrasound. Pending results, I'll go back in for more testing on Friday, and another appointment with him. At this point, I see there being three options for how things will go:

Option 1

Whitney is already Daddy's Little Girl, and she'll give him his wish of a Leap Year baby tomorrow!

Option 2

Whitney is already a Justin Bieber fan, and she's holding out to share his birthday on March 1st!

Option 3

Whitney knows the doctor knows best, and is following his "worst case scenario" that there's no baby by Saturday, and we get induced. If that happens, we'd check in Saturday night to the hospital, and induction would be on Sunday. In which case, there's a good possibility Whitney could share her birthday with her Cousin Noah on March 5th!

While I was hoping to avoid being induced, it is nice to know there's an end in sight! All I want is what is best for the baby. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers - we're so thankful for the support from everyone! <3

[Whitney] Easter fun!

My mom escorted me to a doctor appointment earlier today, and we made an afternoon of it by going to lunch and doing a little shopping (walking is supposed to be good to bring on labor, and what better place to walk on a rainy day than the mall?!). We ventured into Baby Gap together, which we should've known was going to cause some damage. I had gift cards burning a hole in my pocket, and we immediately shopped the darling Easter collection they have out. I've already decided that I am not allowed in Baby Gap unattended, as I will buy every last thing they have... so thankfully I was appropriately chaperoned, but my chaperone was easily swayed today, too!

Whitney will be sporting this darling ruffled dress for her first Easter:

And because we never know what the weather will be like, she got a darling white sweater to go along with it. And what outfit is complete without some shoes? Sparkly gold ballet flats go perfectly with the dress, sweater and some white tights, don't you think? :)

And then Grandma couldn't resist pink bunny pajamas, and a darling knitted bunny hat. I can't find photos of it online, but promise to take some of Whitney in it in just a few weeks!

Thanks, Mom, for a fun day (even though they didn't send us straight from the doctor's office to the hospital to give birth... you know, since I'll be pregnant FOREVER.)!

[Pregnancy] Forever and a day...

It appears as though I'll be pregnant forever... okay, I know that's impossible, but we're just excited to meet this little baby, and she's keeping us waiting and guessing! Figures she'd be fashionably late - she is her mother's daughter, right? :)

Thank you for all of the good thoughts, prayers, texts, emails, calls, and Facebook posts to check in... our standard response to the two questions we're hearing most ("How are  you?" and "How's Wendy?") these days is: "Still pregnant."

Wes says his co-workers comment every morning he's at work... "no baby yet?" I told him he should tell them I had the baby, but it wasn't that big of a deal, so he came to work. ;) 

We're now seeing our OB fairly often to keep an eye on things, so at this point, here are the highlights of where we are:

• As of last Wednesday, I was 80% effaced, and wasn't dilated at all
• We're trying most safe labor induction techniques out there, with no luck! I've had three cycles of acupuncture even, and nothing!
• Well, maybe not nothing... on Saturday afternoon I did start having contractions that grew fairly strong and consistent. I was up most of the night because of them, and thought, "This is it!" I finally fell asleep about 5 a.m., and woke up to absolutely NOTHING. I've had minor, mild contractions since, but nothing noteworthy or regular
• I had a Non-Stress Test (NST) this afternoon, and there couldn't have been less activity... Whitney's heartbeat is strong and clear, but there were no signs of contractions
• We see the doctor tomorrow morning, and I hope I'm at least dilated...!

I have a feeling she's already "Daddy's Girl," and Wes will get his wish of a Leap Year baby! We've already decided if she is born February 29th, we'll tell her that her birthday is the last day of February so she isn't sad or confused when she doesn't see her birth date on the calendar!

The doctor will let us go as much as two weeks past my due date as long as everything looks good and is safe for her... but I'm starting to think I will go NUTS if I have to wait until March 10th! You can still enter a guess in our arrival pool if you'd like! :)

And last, but not least... here's a recent photo of me at 40 weeks, 2 days pregnant:

Hee, okay, maybe not THAT bad, but Wes does like to imitate my waddling every now and again. And while I do feel like the photo above most of the time, it's not that I'm done, it's just that I cannot wait to meet this precious little girl!

[Whitney] I have an addiction

I have an addiction... to baby shoes. They're just so cute! As you may have seen, we got a darling pair of pink, sparkly shoes as a gift from my friend Alicia, and I just can't get enough of them! In fact, they were front and center for our maternity photo shoot:

 

Aren't they just the cutest?! I have had them sitting out in Whitney's room for months, and secretly wishing I could find a matching pair in my size (just kidding... kind of). Anyway, last week I was moving things around and getting organized, and the shoes were sitting on the floor. Unbeknownst to me, Jager got a hold of one and took it outside. She's been known to be grabbing baby things, but hadn't destroyed anything, just run around with baby socks or toys in her mouth.

She came back in the room and I had clothespins sitting out that I was using, and she grabbed one and ran out... I followed to get it back from her, and that's when I came upon the Destruction of the Pink Sparkly Shoe:

My pregnancy hormones got the best of me, and I started bawling. The dogs got to the shoe before I did, and proceeded to play tug-o-war with it while I chased them around the backyard crying. It was a pretty pitiful sight.

Alicia has been checking stores to try and find another pair for me, and today it dawned on me to try Googling "pink sequin baby shoes." SUCCESS! I found the exact same pair, and discovered that they come in other colors... so now, instead of crying, I'm very thankful to the Desctructo Doggy for getting Wes to take pity on me and allowing me to use one of our gift cards to buy FIVE PAIRS OF SPARKLY SHOES!

It's the best day EVER! Okay, maybe not, but shoes make everything better, don't they? :) Whitney will be sporting sparkly shoes in various colors and sizes, and I CANNOT WAIT!

[Whitney] Guess her arrival!

Click on the image to log your guess on Whitney's arrival date & time, length and weight! Everyone should guess her gender correctly...! :)

[Pregnancy] Wordless Wednesday

[Fun] Birthday weekend... and not BIRTH DAY weekend!

We had a relaxing and fun weekend, and celebrated my birthday... Saturday night we had a lovely dinner at the Anaheim White House. They surprised us with free champagne (ginger ale for me!) and a lovely dessert plate. The food was fantastic, and it was a lovely way to celebrate!

My actual birthday was Super Bowl Sunday... wasn't it nice of Madonna to perform for me? :) My birthday is also Jager's birthday, so we started the day with brunch at the Lazy Dog Cafe. She and Latte split a bowl of rice, and relaxed in the sun. Happy 2nd birthday, Jagey!

That afternoon we headed to join the Glazes for Charlotte's annual Super Bowl party. It was fun to hang out with friends and watch everyone's kids run around - we can't wait to add one more kid to the mix next year! We had fun visiting with a darling 3 month old who was at the party - Wes can't wait to introduce his daughter to football next season! :) We ended the day by winning the Super Bowl pool, so we walked away $80 richer! Happy birthday to me!


While I would've loved to share a birthday with Whitney, she stayed put, and will get her own special day in the next few weeks. We can't wait to meet her!

[Pregnancy] Diary of working from home

We had an appointment with our OB last Friday, and it was decided to put me on modified bedrest until February 17th, when I'll be off work entirely (unless, of course, Whitney has other ideas and comes sooner!). We had another ultrasound, and there wasn't any change in the levels of my amniotic fluid from the previous week (actually, it was slightly lower), so Dr. H still wants to keep an eye on things. Bedrest should help, and I'll have another ultrasound this Friday to check. I noticed a major difference in my swelling from taking it easy for the past few days, so that's good!

Yesterday I had a snoring Jager curled up on my left, and today I have Latte on my left (not snoring), and Sophie on my right (snoring louder than Jager). It's pretty funny. Even the dogs are perplexed by the noise coming from her! They have another thing coming when there's a baby in my arms in the near future!

[Pregnancy] Wordless Wednesday