Baby Jane!

Here are some more pictures of baby Jane that we took yesterday - when she was four days old! She's already five days old! That's so crazy. We are doing well and somewhat falling into a routine. This little one is truly the light of my life and I love her so much. Okay, I can't go on (even though I could) because I will sit here and weep for joy rather than type (and typing time is limited)!

Since we left the hospital after 24 hours, we took her to the pediatrician the next day and everything checked out just fine! She is lovely and alert with those big blue eyes at times and she sleeps wonderfully sound at others. I am so grateful that my mom is here helping out. She is taking care of so much around the house while I rest and feed Jane, and Doug is of course wonderful with her. That won't come as a surprise to anyone that has seen him around children. He is already a great father - he got a good start by first being one on Father's Day! Best Father's Day gift ever!

This one is my favorite of the ones we took (thanks for the dress, Lyndsey!):

So tiny! And yes, there's an audience watching in the background. I think the dogs are getting used to her. Cosmo is indifferent, Sherman tried to lick her and can sit right next to her without a problem, and Maggie is, well, curious. Very curious. They have officially been demoted to "pets" in my mind and not babies.

Jane

Here she is. 6 lbs 2 oz and 20.5" long. Jane Afton Falke!!! Way to go mom!!

Jane Afton Falke

Gross, but here she is in all her glory!

Proud parents. Mom didn't use any drugs!!

itty bitty feet

deep blue eyes
6 lbs 2 oz 20.5 inches long

Sherman's dance

So, maybe this will work. It always takes so stinkin' long to upload videos, and it's never worked before. Obviously the last test didn't work. Let's try again. This is, hopefully, a video of Sherman "dancing." Pretty darn cute!

just a test

This is a test...will this post as a video? Is Emily smart enough to figure this out? We shall see...

Baby Showers!

I had a couple wonderful showers over the last couple months! These pictures are from a shower given by Tera, Jen, and Noel here in Leander. We played some really fun games - Noel put certain foods in diapers that resemble what I might soon find in Jane's diapers, and then we had to guess the food! It was disgusting and hilarious at the same time. I'm sure everyone would dislike me putting pictures of them on the blog, and you definitely don't need a million of me, so I will stick with the wonderful decorations! :)

Beautiful - and useful - diaper wreath made by Tera

Noel has an undiscovered talent - look at this gorgeous cake!

I ate a TON! And then I was glad that Jen took most the leftovers, because I went to her house the next day and ate more of it for lunch!

Happenings

Okay people. So I haven't blogged in, like, a month and a half. Sorry about that to those few who follow the blog to see how we are doing. It's been crazy! A snapshot of where we are now: I have 3 and a half more weeks of school (16 days to be exact) and around 5 and a half more weeks of being pregnant (this is week 34). I am moving, sometimes merely dragging, along. Doug is busy building Live Oak Chiropractic and has picked up some extra work for one of Lowe's vendors. Together we have been talking, budgeting, planning, going to Bradley method classes, encouraging, and showing love to each other. He has been the most wonderful support throughout this entire pregnancy.

The last couple weeks have been especially rough. On Friday, May 1 my school closed for a week due to a possible swine flu occurance. That would have been REALLY nice, except that Friday night we went to the hospital because I was having kidney stone pain. (For those who don't know, I've passed three before; I know what it is when I feel it.) However, the tests came back negative, so I was sent home thinking maybe I had passed it already.

Nope. Saturday and Sunday gave me a lot of pain. I had difficulty keeping fluids down. Sunday night I was back with more pain. This time the tests showed that I was having kidney trouble and that my right kidney was completely blocked. The doctors didn't know if it was the baby or stones because we couldn't do a CAT scan, and we waited most of Monday until we could talk to a urologist who believed (like me) that it was a stone. He suggested surgery to remove it and put a stent in place for a week to help everything heal. That was a much better option than the nephrostomy tube (catheter from kidney, out through my back, to a bag I have to wear to collect my pee for two months), and I had the surgery done. Two stones were completely blocking my kidney.

After that was done, my mom and brother got into town to help out. I was so happy to see them. A huge thanks also to my friend Jen Parker who, let's see, cleaned the guest bedroom out, cleaned the kitchen, washed towels and sheets, and did who knows what else! I spent Monday night in the hospital and came home late Tuesday morning. Because I had my mom and brother, Doug could see his patients and that was a good thing. Tuesday was very laid back, and then Wednesday morning my mom helped me clean the house so it's more prepared for the baby. Yay! I am so grateful for all her help! They went home Wednesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, I learned that we would be going back to school on Thursday. I was not up to that, but I did go on Friday. Yesterday I had the stent removed, and I feel like a new woman! Random week-long school closures and hospital trips are two things that are definitely NOT convenient, but I am truly grateful that they happened for me at the same time.

The other thing on my mind is how grateful I am that the Lord blessed the baby to be healthy through this. Being in severe abdominal/back pain at eight months had me more than a little scared that labor and an early birth could be involved in all this - with absolutely nothing ready at home for such a thing to happen. I was also so sorry that after months of trying to do everything right so we are prepared for a natural birth, here I was putting her through strong pain medicine/morphine, x-rays, general anesthesia, hours of fetal monitoring, etc. However, then I realized that if my goal is healthy mom/healthy baby, I did the things I needed to do to help that happen. If I was weak from pain and vomiting or allowed my kidney to be damaged from NOT doing those things, the two of us would be in much worse circumstances.

So that's THAT. I will soon put up pictures from my lovely baby shower here in Leander, the dogs, etc.

Sewing projects

I have been having fun with different sewing projects to get ready for Jane's arrival. These were all done with my fabulous mom's help! Below is a "hooter hider"/nursing cover that we made from a pattern we found online. Here is the website with the instructions if you are interested: http://photojulia.com/2008/02/how-to-make-a-nursing-cover.

I have been working on a quilt from fabric that I bought in Boise over Christmas, and we finally got it tied and finished this week as well. It's just a quilt to lay on the ground for the baby to play on. I really loved the fabric. I realized this week that one thing I truly enjoy is picking out fabric for different sewing projects - quilts especially. I'm not so good at sewing them yet, but I'll get there.

My mom had to make the sling because I was too scared to make a mistake and have something come loose with the baby in it. Again, we found a free pattern with instructions online. Here is the website for that one: http://www.handmade-adelaide-baby.com/baby-sling-patterns.html. The sling is brown twill reversible with the beautiful floral fabric below (we wanted to see if it actually worked so we stuck Maggie in it).

And here's me at 26 weeks!

Hair cut for Sherman

Our little Sherman is a long-haired dachshund. He has only been groomed once, and his hair was getting pretty long (especially the hair around his bum; he was bound to start getting dingleberries soon). He is always tracking around pieces of grass and leaves in his hair. Plus, it's going to get warm soon, and he'll be really hot. And, I wanted to see if he was really fat or if he was just poofy. So, I finally convinced Doug that he needed a hair cut. Doug tried to trim him with his clippers, and they quickly died. However, we got some animal clippers (which Doug will now use to cut his hair), and gave him a hair cut. Here is a "before" picture:



And here is an "after" picture. No, not the prettiest hair cut, and not what I was expecting. But it gets the job done! I don't know why Doug trimmed the hair on his back legs and not the hair on his front legs. He still needs some trimming. But he's still very soft and looks much smaller than he used to.
And here is the hair in the bath tub where Sherman patiently sat for his hair cut.

Update: 23 weeks

Here I am at 23 weeks. I'm getting bigger and a little more achy. Need to exercise more. Plus, I'm quickly running out of pants - thanks to Mom and Grandma to the maternity clothes rescue! :)

We're going to have a....

GIRL! Hah! I made you open the screen, all you Google Reader Blog followers.Yes, last Friday I had my 20-week appointment, and we found out in the sonogram that we are definitely having a girl. This was no surprise to either of us - I *knew* this baby was a girl, and I already know her name. Jane Afton Falke. I have strongly felt like being named for my maternal grandmother and Doug's paternal grandmother would be a blessing for this little girl. It was a very exciting appointment to say the least. Here are a couple of the sonogram pictures...
Okay, I know that sonogram pictures are pretty freaky and a lot of people would rather just think about the baby that will come out rather than how it looks right now. I'm one of those people too. But the lady doing the sonogram SWEARS the baby was "smiling", and I'll believe it.

And of course, Doug was very happy to see a nice, healthy spine. :)

Baby bump

Pregnancy update: I am now 18 weeks and feeling great! (Well, today I am sick, but that is enabling me to be at home posting on the blog!) Plus, I am even showing! Here is a picture of the baby "bump" from over the weekend.We will find out what we are having on February 6 - and I am definitely finding out! For now, I am spending time scouting websites, reading my pregnancy book, and slowly but surely working on a baby quilt with fabric that I got in Idaho over the break. And eating! Yay for not being nauseous all the time!

The infamous BBQ building

Who is that scary man with the blowtorch? That's Todd Parker, our wonderful friend of three blocks away. We are at their house at least three times a week I would say. He and Doug got the, how can I put this lightly, interesting idea of *building* their own BBQs out of scrap metal. Even though they have grills and smokers, now they will each have a half-ton monster of a wood smoking grill. Much time has been spent welding in Todd's backyard, and here are a few pictures of the progress. However much Jen (Todd's wife) and I rib and question them about this, I'm sure you will all be jealous one day of their fabulous bar-b-q creations.

Just to embarrass you!

This is my lovely mother. We were trying to get a picture that she would approve for her facebook profile. Of course, my mother has no idea how lovely she is, and thus she spurned all attempts. But, I have to showcase her nonetheless. Mom, I am so grateful for all your loving encouragement recently! It really brightens my day to talk to you, and I wish I could see you more often!

Family pictures (in the freezing cold)

The Falkes took on the task of family pictures over Christmas break. Smiles gleaming, cameras flashing, Doug poking everyone around him (the pest of an oldest child that he is)...it was definitely an adventure. But, we got some good ones.

(Becca! Why did you close your eyes?!)

Christmas in Idaho

We spent Christmas in Boise with Doug's mom's parents. The whole fam-dam-ily was there and it was a lot of fun! Well, except for the traveling. Austin to Dallas, Dallas to Houston, Houston to SLC (flying), SLC to Provo, Provo to Pocatello, Pocatello to Boise...and then basically backwards coming home. I was ready to be in my own house and out of all that yucky SNOW! However, it was beautiful to look out the window Christmas morning and the softly-falling snow and admire the beauty of the God's world. Until I had to go outside.

Here is wonderful Hannah with Cindy, Doug's grandpa's 12-year-old pomeranian that bit me. I stopped trying to pet her after that.

I love my in-laws. Dorothy and Matt Falke are amazing people who have raised (and are still raising) an amazing family. I appreciate all their love and support through our time together!

Here I am with Becca, Russ, and Amy. It was fun to see Russell now that he is home from his mission to Australia! He's as crazy as ever. ;) And Becca, wonderful Becca, is now engaged to Rob Somers! Congratulations!!!!!

And Doug will continue to perfect the sweet potatoe-pecan pie. I have yet to try any of the three that he has made, I believe. Maybe next time.

Sonogram

Okay, so this might not look very exciting, but it is the picture we got after my first sonogram was taken at week 7. The baby is the thing between the two stars at the bottom. It was soooooooo exciting to hear the heartbeat then, and to hear it at my last appointment as well. And it was just reassuring to see that I was really pregnant. As if all the morning sickness wasn't enough proof or something. :)

Of course things are really different in there now, but I won't have another sonogram until the beginning of February. Probably the most common question I've been asked is, "Are you going to find out the gender?" YES, definitely. I couldn't stand not knowing when I could; I don't know how other people do it. For now, I can rest assured that everything is as normal as we can tell.

Yep, that's positive!

There it is people, the positive pregnancy test! Pretty crazy, huh? So after two years of trying to get pregnant, we finally gave up and decided to adopt. Lo and behold...I got pregnant! Yes, I've been told about that "relaxing and letting go" thing a million times, but I guess it really works! Now I am 13 weeks a long and due June 26!

Fuzzy animals

We stayed at a lovely bed and breakfast in NF, and they had a silky chicken in the backyard that was quite tame and used to attention.

I hadn't seen a fuzzy caterpiller for years! Finally, a bug that isn't scary (yes people, even butterflies have their scary moments)!