Meeting Great Grandma and Grandpa Hales

Friday night we made our way downstairs to see Grandma and Grandpa Hales. Grandma was so excited to meet baby Ruby. She was all smiles and said to Grandpa, "Look what I'm doing, I'm holding the baby." I am so glad that Olivia and Ruby have the chance to visit and get to know their great grandparents.

4 Generations

Thursday morning my Mom, Grandma Andrus, and Aunt Lisa came to visit and meet Ruby. 

4 generation picture with my Mom, Grandma Jayne, and Ruby.

Ruby Marie {A Baby Story}

I woke up at 2:30 and because of my pregnancy insomnia I didn't go back to sleep until 4:30. My alarm went off at 5:30 and I quickly showered and got ready. I had been super nervous and anxious about having this baby up until getting a blessing the night before. This morning I was slightly nervous but mostly excited. I called the hospital at 6:10 to double check that they wanted me at 6:45 and waited for Bob to finish getting ready. Olivia had slept over at my sister's house the night before so we were able to jump in the car at 6:15 and off we went.

Last bump picture at 39 weeks.

They were serving free breakfast at Chick Fil A that morning, so we stopped and grabbed a sandwich and water before checking into the hospital. I remember being so hungry when I was induced with Olivia so I downed both my sandwich and water before getting to the hospital. Bob on the other hand is not a breakfast person and he saved his for later. There was a couple checking in when we arrived and we took a seat in the waiting room. While waiting for our turn 3 other couples came in. It was a busy morning for babies!

A little blurry, but I didn't want to ask the girl to take it again. I was anxious to get to the hospital.

We did all of our paper work and were put in room 17. I got hooked up to the monitors and met my nurses. I had 2 because one had just transferred to L&D. I loved the girl who was training her, and it was fun to hear her explain everything to the nurse in training. They checked me and I was a 2.5, which was progress from my last appointment. I was started on pitocin, Dr. Nance came and broke my water. The contractions were coming, and let's be honest I am a baby. I remembered all of the ladies checking in with me, and decided to ask for my epidural so I didn't have to wait forever. When I asked they let me know that the anesthesiologist was with a patient having a c-section so it would be about 45 minutes. I was happy to hear I was first on the list.

When he came in, I was ready for him. He asked if anyone had explained to me that my platelets were low. I obviously had no idea, and he then started explaining the risks of getting a epidural with low platelets. All I caught was that I could be paralyzed because of it. I started to panic a bit. My nurse told me she looked up my past history and saw that I was within 5 points of where I was today with Olivia's birth. And that she had had the same thing when she was pregnant. Some women when pregnant lose platelets during pregnancy. I looked at Bob and asked him what he thought, he told me he felt fine and we should go ahead. In my mind I decided it was Bob's decision because he was the one who would have to take care of a paralyzed wife and 2 kids. Luckily all went well and I was fine. But I will see a doctor to find out what is up - especially before our next kid. I don't want to show up to give birth and find out last minute I can't have an epidural.

My parents arrived soon after. I wasn't progressing too quick so my Dad decided to go to work for a few hours and we would call him when I was close. Bob took a nap, and my mom stepped in as my 3rd nurse. She loved reading the babies monitor and my contraction monitor. They upped my pitocin level a few times and I continued making slow progress. At 1:00 Dr. Nance came in to check me and let me know he had another woman in labor and she was at a 7. I figured she would deliver before me at that point since I was only a 5. We started watching Brooke Walker's show and I hoped for progress by the time they came back to check me again. During that time I could tell when the contractions were more intense and I could feel a bit of pressure. This was totally new to me since with Olivia my epidural hadn't worked and they had given me another drug to numb me and I was SUPER numb.  At 2 they checked me and I was an 8. We called my Dad and Janae who was coming to take pictures. Within the next 20 minutes I went to a 10 and complete and Dr. Nance came in to get things going. He said that his other patient wasn't ready so he would deliver me first. My favorite nurse got called away on life flight right as I was about to start pushing.

My mom was on one side and Bob was on the other. Dr. Nance informed me that when he checked me the baby was in a posterior position and he would have to flip her. I pushed through a set of contractions and then during the second set he started to turn her. But she flipped back to posterior right as she came out. I couldn't believe that she came out so quickly, especially being posterior. My mom cut the cord and they put Ruby up on my chest and cleaned her off. Janae walked in right after she was born and was able to take some pictures for us. She was 6 pounds 15 ounces and 19 inches long, and I believe she was born at 2:28.

Night before baby

Tonight we dropped Olivia off at Andrea and Brent's house. Dr. Nance said that the hospital would call between 5 and 7 AM to let me know what time to come in. I didn't want to stress about getting her up and driving her over, so she is having her first sleep over. She loves playing with Jensen and didn't notice as we slipped out. Before we left we had Andrea take a few pictures of our family of 3 for the last time.

Halloween Party

Tonight we went to Andrea and Brent's ward Halloween party. Andrea's young women were in charge of some of the activities and we were happy to participate. Olivia was so excited to get dressed up in her Minnie Mouse costume. She was equally excited to see Jensen and to hang out with him for the evening.

One of her favorite parts of the night was decorating a bag with stickers. 

She struggled during the face painting, and Hello Kitty got a little messy.

She also decorated a sugar cookie.

We took a few turns on the cake walk, but came home empty handed. 

I wore this shirt to school on Halloween when I was pregnant with Olivia. I was 38 weeks then and 38 weeks tonight.

A little flashback to Halloween when I was pregnant with Olivia.

Jaker's Pumpkin Patch

We made our way to Jaker's Pumpkin Patch in Springville with my family. Olivia and I (Bob had to work) met Andrea, Brent, Jensen, and my parents there. We started out in the corn pit, which Olivia hated. It freaked her out since she sunk when she walked. Jensen was all about the corn and Olivia was ok if she sat on my Mom's lap. 

Then we went and saw the animals. This was by far Olivia's most favorite part. She loved seeing the pigs, goats, llamas, and the kangaroo. 

Last we went and picked pumpkins in the field. 

23 Months

I can't believe my little girl is almost 2 years old. Next month we will be celebrating her 2nd birthday with a new family member and I can't wait.

Olivia has turned into quite the singer this month. Her favorite songs are ABC's, I am a Child of God, Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam, Go Cougars, Patty Cake, 5 Little Monkeys, & A Ball for Baby. She can be heard singing them throughout the day, and making requests as we put her to bed each night.

Her favorite foods are sausage, pumpkin pancakes, macaroni, carrots, broccoli, apples, grapes, pizza, yogurt, pb&j's, and anything sweet. She has been asking for chocolate a lot lately. She still doesn't eat a ton, but she eats enough to have a crazy amount of energy each day. We went out to eat the other night with my family and she ate a good portion of Bob's side salad. It was the first time in a long time that we were able to enjoy our dinner out and not wrestle our toddler.

One of her favorite activities of the day is to go downstairs and visit Mama Vonne, Papa Hales, and BoBo. We have been visiting them for an hour or so around 4-6 each afternoon while we wait for Dad to get home from work. While we are there she likes to play with the tractor, put the babies down for naps, tease the dog, sing songs, run laps around the coffee table, give kisses, and get drinks of water. She definitely entertains all 3 of us adults as we sit and watch her.

She is sleeping great in her bed, and continues to impress us by sleeping 8:30 - 8 or so each morning. There were a couple nights this month that she woke up crying saying she was hungry. Since then we have been trying to get her to eat more before she goes to bed. Every once in a while she will get busy playing in her room and then fall asleep on the floor, but as long as she is napping I don't care.

Potty training is on the back burner for now. I wish I could say she did great and is a pro, but it was really hard on both of us. She definitely uses potty language, which can be embarrassing when she does it so loudly in public. But I am glad she knows when she needs to go, so when we try again it will be a bit easier. Bob's parents visited this week and while walking around BYU campus Olivia kept telling Lowell that she needed to "poop in the potty."It had been since May that we last saw Bob's parents and we have been working on her learning their names. She was great at saying Mama Shannon, but Papa Lowell turned into Papa Hole. L's are really hard for her to say right now. She loved spending time with them, even though the visit was so short. (And 9 month pregnant me couldn't remember to take one single picture.)

Before her bath the other day she weighed in at 20.4 pounds on our scale. She is still wearing size 3 diapers and anywhere from 18-24 month clothes. Her size 3 shoes are actually getting a little snug so we are moving up to size 4's. I bought her a pair of boots, but couldn't get a 4 knowing she might outgrow them before the season is over. So I got a 5, and she definitely needs thick socks to keep them on. She has been so used to sandals and moccasins that when she first tried walking in the boots she looked like she was just learning to walk.

Her favorite toys right now are her stuffed kangaroo, giraffe, baby doll, farm & animals, and all of her books. She can't go to bed unless she has Roo and her baby along with her giraffe blanket or her bird blanket. Her bedtime routine has been working great. We brush teeth, read the Book of Mormon (picture edition, usually looking at animals and talking about Jesus), prayers, and then songs in bed.

She absolutely loves nursery and playing there with her friends. I am not sure how much she actually plays with them, more like by them. She loves to try and sing the songs they sang that day, and tell us that they had a yummy treat. She loves her teachers and was so cute to say goodbye using their names last week.

This month she has been playing a lot with the quiet book pages that I have made and gotten from friends. Hopefully sometime soon they will all be put together in a book for her. Her favorite pages right now are the barn with animal finger puppets and Minnie Mouse bow changing page.

She has been telling us a lot lately that she is scared of ______. I am sure she picked it up from TV or a movie. Because we haven't really talked about what being scared means. I know she doesn't know what it really means because she will say it about my mom, or BoBo, or a toy. She can count from 1-12. And her vocabulary is increasing each and everyday. She still loves to parrot whatever she hears. The only word that I haven't been loving lately is 'mine!" Everything is mine to Olivia at this point in her life. After watching Frozen, she started telling me that she was going to run away like Elsa. It's crazy how much she picks up from shows.

My old cell phone and camera are always fun for her to play with. She takes pretend pictures of everyone and pretend calls people to say hello. Lately she has been calling Uncle Brad to tell him hi. One day we were driving to Sunday dinner and she was taking pictures in her carseat. She said, "Cheese Ayrika!" When I emailed my sister on her mission, she was so happy to hear that Olivia knew her name.

On Monday's we go to our friends house for girls day and Olivia runs wild playing with her friends while I catch up and have adult conversation. Tuesday's and Wednesday's we go to the Springville Library. We attend story time and singing class. Olivia loves both as long as they include some sort of animal puppet. Thursday and Friday mornings are open to whatever. We eat lunch around 12:30 and Olivia goes down for her nap around 1:00 - 1:30. Naps usually last 1.5 - 2.5 hours long. Then we play, have snacks, run errands & get the mail, visit Grandma and Grandpa downstairs, and then make & eat dinner. Around 7:15- 7:30 Bob gets home and I seriously love seeing Olivia run to the stairs after hearing him come in. She is always so excited to greet him and spend the next hour with him before bedtime.



     

Bow Party

When I was pregnant with Olivia, some of our friends that we met in our Orem ward were also pregnant and due around the same time. Brooke, Liesl, and Jacqueline all had boys a few months before and after Olivia. I was excited to find out that Liesl and Jacqueline were pregnant again and both expecting girls. Baby Ruby is going to have some good friends in a few months. To celebrate their new baby girls I threw a bow making party and lunch. We had soup, salad, fruit, rolls, and a pumpkin dessert. It was so fun to catch up and craft together. I didn't take a picture of the actual bows or crafting station, but the bows we made were darling. I can't wait to see them on their babies. 

Brooke, Andrea, Jacqueline, Laura & baby Ollie, me, & Liesl

Alyse - October, Liesl - November Jacqueline - March

We had to take a picture of the pregnant mamas, so we can recreate the picture below. 

Sorry about the poor qualit, it was just a screen shot. The top picture is hard for me to look at. Sometimes you just have to embrace a bad photo to show how far you have come. 

36 Weeks

Not the best picture, but out of all that I took this was the most flattering one of me! 

This month I have been feeling huge and slightly uncomfortable, but other than that I can't complain. Those are all parts of pregnancy and we are so close to the end. I forgot to mention how tired I am… but I mention that every month and I have just decided that is part of Mom life. I have been taking full advantage of Olivia's awesome sleeping habits and I sleep in until she wakes up between 8 and 9 each morning. I have recently been having a bit of insomnia at night if I wake up. This week Bob is on call for work and he has had 2 calls in the middle of the night. Following both of those calls I was wide awake for hours. {We have been at this job for over a year and he has never had calls past midnight, so crazy that he had two this week.} He usually is on call every 6 weeks but traded with someone so he is on call again in 2 weeks. Hopefully no more middle of the night calls!

I would like to dedicate this month to nesting. I have used my sewing machine more this month than I have in the last year. Since our house is so small, I leave the sewing machine and my crafting supplies out on the kitchen table until I finish my projects. Bob asked me how long that would last and I told him until I have the baby, and then he can put everything away. Ha! I love that with the nesting feeling you just go go go and get things done that you have procrastinated for a long time.

One of my friends decided to start a quiet book group. We each make one page and then send it out to each other. Probably three or four years ago or so, I started a quiet book with my friend Amber (when we both were waiting for our miracle babies) but I never completed the book. So I decided to join the group in hopes of finishing the book and having something new for Olivia when baby comes. I wanted to make a fun page, but I also know how time consuming each page can be. I found a page online of a pizza that you matched the number of pepperoni's to that number. I made a sample page which turned out ok, but I figured out a few ways to tweak it, and then over the next week I made 12 more pages. There are 11 in our group and I made one extra just in case. I mailed my pages out today and can't wait to start getting the other pages in the mail. Hopefully I can stay motivated and put the book together before baby comes.

I finally finished up the leggings I wanted to make for Olivia and baby girl. I made two matching pairs and I can't wait to see them on my girls. I finished the Christmas ones first and the waist was huge on Olivia, but they will still work. (And if I get ambitious I can fix them… ya right.) I made some tweaks to the second pair and hope they look a little bit better on. I still need to sew the headbands, and hope to get those finished this weekend.

I am sure you already know, but I love to document each month of my baby's life. (I will probably only do years with Olivia once she turns two.) With Olivia I cut out the numbers each month as they came, which was fine… but I decided to get all of the numbers cut out and make matching bows before this baby comes. Some of the material is the same from Olivia's first year and some of it is new. I used material that coordinates with the month, so this baby better come in October or I will have to cut my numbers out again. Ha! These bows were pretty easy to make and are my new favorite. I used this tutorial. The other week I went to a smallshop roundup and bought a few bows in the exact same style for $3 each (which compared to other bows was a steal.)  I am so glad I can make my own now for a lot cheaper.

I have been seeing the most darling swaddling blankets everywhere and admit that I have bought a few. But most of them are pretty thin and I will be having a fall/winter baby. So I ended up making her one blanket with minky on one side. When I went to the quilt shop to pick out the fabric I had a few different pieces in mind and went to find matching ricrac. I found this ricrac that was velvety and fell in love. There was light pink, dark pink, and gold. I put my material away since it didn't match and my new goal was to find material that I liked that also matched the ricrac. I am so pleased with the blanket, although I wanted to saw a few bad words as I sewed the minky and cotton together. I hate sewing minky!