It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like

Yes Christmas is approaching and our family photos are no where to be found mainly because we haven't taken them yet :/ Every time we...I mean I plan to take them something comes up. For example a black eye, rain, the distance between Utah and California, to name just a few things. The answer is alway "next wknd", but that was three weeks ago! It will happen eventually!

Anyway, all is well on the little Waldram family front.  Parker is the apple of our eyes. He got his first tooth last week, it's like a little dagger in there. He also got a gnarly rash that was not fun for him or us. Such a cute little tush should never have to be so sore! He's recovering tho :) He sits all on his own now too, and rolls over on occasion. No signs of crawling but I don't mind, he can't grow up all at once. He loves banana, but I have to trick him into eating veggies, the little stinker!! He's a cutie tho, he makes me smile first thing in the morning and laugh all throughout the day. Such a joy. 

Jeff is in Utah now, attending his nephew, Skyler's, farewell. Parker and I are home.... all alone... just trying not to get kidnapped. Jk we are doing fine. Little Parker will protect me in Jeff's absence. 

I went to an Aspiring Midwives meeting today. All of the student midwives in the area have been getting together for a few months now to glean information and support from each other. It has been really nice to meet with women on such a similar path as mine, dealing with the similar trials and equally sharing in the same passion that I have for birth. 

All in all, we're doing great :) Heading to Tehachapi, the San Mateo, then Tahoe over Christmas. I can't wait to hit the slopes for the first time in a while! In the fall I live for snowboarding and in the spring I live for sailing. One thing that brigs a smile to my face everyday in Decmber are Christmas carols. There is a station in slo that plays all Christmas all day. What a genius idea. Silver Bells....silver bells.....

Well, cross your fingers no ninjas come invade my apartment while Jeff is gone and that we get our pictures taken before the next black eye comes our way! 

Love you all. 

Merry Christmas

Smooth Sailin'

Parker is amazing!! I honestly forget he is a little baby sometimes because he is just so good. Most of the time I feel like he is just a part of me that does what I do and goes where I go! Lately he sleeps through the night, hardly cries, is a cuddle bug, has a smile from heaven and melts us with his laugh. I feel so lucky to be his mom and to take care of him. He brightens up my life, reminding me of the simplicity of things.  

Parker is now four and a half months. He still has yet to roll over consistently, but he succeeds here and there. He really wants to sit up but is still pretty wobbly.  He absolutely loves food tho! It is the funniest thing to watch him stare at us while we eat. He even chomps his little gums, mimicking us chewing! We give him little tastes every now and then but tell him he has to wait til his teeth come in to eat for real. 

We swim as often as we can these days and Parker loves it! Ms. Melanie, our landlord and swim teacher, taught me how to dunk Parker under the water and teach him to hold his breath. Now he kicks and wiggles when he is under! He will be a great swimmer some day!

Although I didn't think it would be, it has been fun to be able to dress him up :) I was really bummed to put away all the dresses and frills and bows but Parker has cute collared shirts, overalls, mini jeans, bow ties, preppy jackets  and fluffy bear suits. I'm working on making him some church ties so he can match his daddy on Sundays. 

Jeff and I have been doing pretty  well lately too. I created a "Date night in a jar" from Pinterest so that has been keeping us busy, reminding us of the need for alone  and romantic time together. My newest venture is to bring Parker to the movies with us.... I'm pretty hesitant for obvious reasons but so many people have told me they've done it before. If anyone has advice, plz I would love to hear it. 

Our latest news is we are moving in November! We have absolutely loved living here but are plainly outgrowing this space. We're moving to a 2 bdrm  not far from where we are now and are so excited! I've been fantasizing about having room to have a table in our house and storage space other than our closet! Haha.

Other than all that... Life is good. God is so good to us. He hears Jeff and I every night as we plead for his protection over the three of us. What more could we ask for.

Until next time, enjoy the pictures:

The first few months--real life

I can hardly believe Parker is already almost four months old!! I swear I fall in love with him again and again very single day. I'm not going to sugarcoat the truth and say that having a baby is easy and all rainbows all the time, because its not. What I'm going to do is share reality:

  Parker poops...a lot. Just today we were about to go swimming and he pooped in his swim diaper. Not cool. It's the reusable cloth kind so I couldn't just cut it off him I had to pull it down like a pull-up diaper and as you can probably visualize, as I pulled it down poop covered his legs and feet... Yay. 20 wipes, a bunch of toilet a paper (yup there was that much poop) and a few tears (mine not his) later we were again ready to swim. Oh and whoever made up the rumor that babies poop doesn't stink until they start solids needs to come smell Parker's. 

  Much less "me-time". Of course babies need lots of attention we all know that, but it didn't really hit me until I had my first experience peeing with him in my arms! Honestly, I love having him with me all the time but I feel this new sense of freedom when he is asleep sometimes! They say sleep when they sleep, definitely do this when they're really little, but now I just do everything I don't get done when he is awake and everything I can't do with only one arm or a baby strapped to my front! 

  Different " us-time"....in a good way. When Jeff gets home I say hi as sweet as I can possibly manage and hand off the little poop machine :. It is such a relief to have Jeff home in the evening and on the weekend. He provides a sense of stability and support during the cries (Parker's and mine), blow-outs (not mine...) and all other teeth clenching moments that come my way. Having a baby has helped Jeff and I respect and appreciate each other in so many new ways. Me for staying home with Parker during the week and him for working so hard all day and then coming home, cleaning up, doing bed time, offering love and support and all he can to help. We've realized that we both work hard during the day and have stopped trying to decide who works harder or deserves to rest more at the end of the day. A woman I met in some of my midwifery training gave me some marriage advice, she told me that from the start of her marriage she went on "walks and talks" several times a week. Doing this has not only given Parker and I the crucial fresh air we need sometimes but also it's an opportunity for Jeff and I to hold hands and just talk openly and freely. 

  One thing my mom shared with Jeff and I that we are trying to live is to not revolve our lives around Parker but to have his life revolve around ours. We bring him everywhere we go (although alone time is essential of course), he is like another appendage of mine. The cutest appendage ever :)

What an Amazing Ride

As many of you have already learned, our sweet baby has finally come to join us on the outside of his momma's tummy! 

He was due May 20th, well actually Riley was due but she is still waiting in heaven and Parker decided to come and surprise us instead ;) I tried to be patient all week, waiting for our baby to come when he was ready but after a week decided that a little black cohosh just might do the trick. With the permission of my midwife, I took some cohosh on Sunday afternoon and by 2:30pm I was having regular contractions. By 10pm they had slowed down quite a bit and we suspected we were just having a false start. My parents had shown up by then but then went to sleep at Melissa and Jared's so we could get some rest. At 11:30pm labor had definitely started with contractions about 5 minutes apart. 

With Jeff as the best labor coach I could have ever asked for, we pushed forward through each contraction one by one. The shower, yoga ball and ultimately the birth tub were my saving graces through the intensity and pain of my contractions. 

Finally at 5am Monday morning Jeff asked Tiffany, my midwife, mentor and friend, to come and check on us. She showed up and I was 6cm dilated. I knew there was still a lot of work to be done so back the the birth tub I went. An hour later I needed to push!! My instincts carried me to the toilet to try to push and my water broke immediately. At that point  I knew things were happening fast. Jeff called my mom and Tiffany called Megan to come assist her, neither of them made it in time! Parker was born 7 minutes and 4 pushes later, without a scratch and without a peep! 

He was such a peaceful baby and indeed, he was a HE! We were all in shock that his parts were male, but so excited he was safe and healthy and here.

My parents and Megan came in a minute too late and joined in the shock of the fast birth and little boy that had filled Riley's spot. Jeff proved to be a wonderful birth assistant when Tiffany had no other choice but to ask him for the help she needed.

All in all, our Father in heaven was definitely looking down on us with protection and love. Without Him I would have not made it through labor. He definitely has many things He is teaching Jeff and I right now, luckily we have each other to look to for strength and support.

Parker is thriving and doing well, back up to birth weight, 7lb12oz, eating, pooping and sleeping so perfectly. No complaints here. Its hard work and there are sleepless hours but I wouldn't trade them for all the chocolate, kittens, beach days or ice cream in the world.

The End is Near.. Really Just the Beginning

Today I have been pregnant for 39 weeks and 1 day! Fate will have it that I will continue to be in such a situation  for a couple more weeks... I can only hope she comes soon! I really do love being pregnant, but the sore, sollen feet and ever stretching belly (and thighs, butt, etc) are kinda making me crave the end!

We are ALL so anxious to meet this little bundle, see what she looks like, hear her first cry, give her her first kiss, snuggle with her, cuddle her, and just squeeze her! But patience is key... I am definitely learning patience.
For months we took birth class and prepared for the big day that she would come but it feels like that day is forever avoiding us. I know when it comes it will probably hit us both like a ton of bricks and out reality will change in a matter of hours but right now, in this anxious moment, birth does not feel at all imminent. And I'm not even over due yet! I will survive ( I will survive, ya ya).
Oh well. Like my childbirth Ed teacher, Terri, repeated often "No one stays pregnant for a year".

We got bored tonight so Jeff decided it would be fun to paint my belly; it was while it lasted, but how long do I keep this on here? I can probably only stand it for a few more hours, its a little weird, like a drying face mask gets all tight and itchy.

Any who, we will keep you all posted on little Riley's arrival. We know your anxious, but try to keep texts and calls to the minimun so we can stay focused and more importantly REST once she is here. ( I hear babies are a lot of work! ;)

Until then...

A Bit More Belly

Riley is definitely growing! I really do love being a part of her growth and the beginning of her life as a little person. It is so much fun feeling her kick and squirm all day long. Other than little aches here and there I really don't have much to complain about at all. Jeff and I are counting down the weeks for her to make her appearance, we are getting pretty anxious! 

Birth class is done, so we're now "certified" to have a baby, haha. We are glad we took the class together, it was a great way to put ourselves in the shoes of the mom and dad to be, rather than the observer that I am used to being.

We took a trip to Tehachapi last weekend. We got to meet adorable little Mikayla while we were there and practice having a new baby for a few minutes at a time.  Jeff is definitely going to be a great dad, I can hardly wait to see him with little Riley.

We got the huge king water bed from Jeff's old room into our tiny place successfully and have loved every night of it! It is quite a difference from our tiny little full size.
Jeff is getting promoted soon! As Michael (Melissa's brother) heads to law school down south, Jeff will be a full time case manager at the law firm! We are super excited for that and know that the Lord is looking out for this little family!

All in all we are doing well. Planning to have a couple baby showers soon, hopefully Riley will get spoiled, and then the big day awaits!

Til then...

Trip to Reno

Early March we ventured up to Reno to visit Sarah, Spencer and the kids. On the way we stopped by my parent's house and had dinner for my brother Richard's bday. Yum!

We had a great time visiting with Sarah, Spencer, Gemma and Braxton. Jeff was sick a majority of the time and missed out on sledding but we still had a great trip.

Jeff and Braxton were buddies the whole time!

 And Gemma loved touching Riley :)

The New Year So Far

Just a little update with a load of pics. 

We went to visit my parents early in Feb and spent the day in San Francisco. 

This is my belly at about 22 weeks. Just looked kinda funny so we thought we'd document it.

Then for Valentine's Day Jeff surprised me with a little weekend trip down to Oxnard. We had beautiful weather and a wonderful time relaxing together. We also had a photo shoot on the beach... ;)

Jeff striking a pose. Enough said.

 

Otherwise all is well. Riley is growing and moving all the time. Baby showers are being planned for April :) yay!

That's all for now.