I'm on the MOVE! Watch out! ;)

Well, I'm 54 weeks old now, but who's counting. Within this past week, I've really felt how powerful my body and brain have become! I've started to truly explore more of my world around me. (Which keeps Mommy on her toes!) Mommy has been talking about how much she loves watching me play alone with toys (something I have not been interested in doing, until now!) I love to take balls out of my ball-pit and roll them all over the house (I prefer the kitchen, where they roll the furthest!) Balls are so fun! But really, anything that rolls is just mind-bending!
(Looking for my ball that I lost under there hours before)

(Rolling the ball with my pups!)

(Rolling a tractor at the Children's Discovery Museum. I was there for my cousin Edyn's 6th birthday party!)

I'm walking around everything that I can hold onto! I'm not scared to walk, I just can't keep my balance for very long. My best performance comes when I am trying to walk to Daddy. (I want to show him that I am his big boy.) I've walked all the way across the room to him... 9 steps!

(At my friend Inez's 1st birthday party! It was puppy themed... hence my super cool Doberman ears!)

(Trying to walk)

(I prefer a stable object to hold onto...)

I've gotten to try my hand at crawling up some stairs! I first tried out Allison's (Mommy's friend) STEEP steps. Mommy was right there to help, so I wasn't too scared, but when I was 3/4 of the way up I looked back and decided that was where my adventure would end.

Saturday, Mommy let me try out our steps coming up from the basement. Actually, I started going up on my own when Mommy was putting Laundry in.... she immediately saw me (I can't get out of her view for long...) but she let me finish my climb! Climbing the stairs is a lot of fun!

Yesterday, I grabbed the remote off the coffee table and pushed the right bottom! The TV turned right on... just how I like it. ON! Mommy hopes it was just a coincidence... I guess she will just have to wait and see... :)

I'm really looking forward to Halloween! I'm being a puppy dog! Mommy and Daddy are going to take me to the Uptown Normal Trick or Treating if the weather isn't too cold.... or to Eastland Mall, if it is too cold outside! Either way I hear I will get lots of candy for being so cute! I've never had candy before... I do get to eat it right?!?

I LOVE TO EAT! Mommy and Daddy are amazed at how much I'm able to put down, now that I have more teeth! I will eat anything! There is nothing Mommy or Daddy has given me that I haven't devoured. They have been sharing their meals with me now that I am one, but I feel bad because Mommy has to ration her portions, because, as I mentioned, I can put away the food! For example, the other day for breakfast I had a 6 oz bottle of milk, ate my big bowl of oatmeal, followed by two helpings of cheerios, and some of Mommy's freshly baked cinnamon roll! Then, Daddy came upstairs and grabbed a cinnamon roll... I saw it and just HAD TO HAVE SOME! (I've noticed that if someone is eating in front of me... whether I'm hungry or not... I will beg for some, too!) Last week, Mommy and Daddy made two very large boneless-skinless chicken breasts. Mama shared hers with me. I ate 3/4 of it. Sorry Mommy and Daddy... I think you might just have to start making meals big enough for THREE!

Oh yeah, and my favorite word is still DADA! Ok... so it's basically my only word that I can say, but it's still my favorite! I love my DADADADADA! :)

Here's a great family picture... it makes me laugh because Mommy and Daddy both look ridiculous! You can see from my expression I could tell the picture was going to look like this...

I'm ONE!!

My 1st birthday party was SO MUCH FUN! It took place on Nana and Papa's back porch and it was decorated with all things DR. SEUSS! Mommy did a great job planning it, but she had help! Aunt Erica and Jamie made cake pops that looked like Truffula Trees, Thing 1 cupcakes, and a One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish book cake! Nana made the Schlopp with a cherry on top (from the book Oh the Thinks You Can Think!) which EVERYONE loved!, Grandma made Go Hot Dogs, little hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls, and Great-Grandma Sandy made the green eggs and ham (deviled egg form). Papa and Nana did most of the decorating for Mommy.... it took awhile because it was really windy and nothing wanted to stay where it was put! Mommy was frusterated with the wind, but when the party started no one cared that some of the streamers were blowing off the railing or that some of the balloon were flying away.... they were all too busy looking at me!! ;)
I was dressed as thing 1! I had a Thing 1 shirt with Cat in the Hat flair on my jeans. Nana bought me Dr. Seuss Converse shoes, but they are just a little too big and were falling off. I had a birthday hat that Mommy glued a light blue boa to, so it looked like I had Thing 1 hair! I was looking good! I had red velvet cake to stuff in my mouth! It was decorated with The Fish in his bowl... HE was yummy! I opened tons of awesome toys and gifts! Some of my friends were there to help me celebrate, too! We got our pictures taken together. I cannot wait to see how they turned out!



My party was a success! Thanks Mama! I'm ONE!!

Jude's BIRTH-day!!

So, when Dr. Thornton finally arrived around 1:00am, I was ready to push! She first had to get everything prepped. But, when she said I could push... I did! She said I was doing a great job! After 2 good pushes she told me that I would have Jude on the next push! I couldn't believe it! The moment I had waited 37 weeks for (Well actually since I was 5 years old!) was finally going to happen! When the contraction came I pushed as hard as I could... almost... one more solid push and his head was out! She told me to stop so she could suction out his mouth and nose. Then I pushed once more and he was free!!! I was in utter shock when I saw him! They laid him on my chest and I remember saying OMG, OMG, OMG, over and over. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing! I got to breastfeed right away, which was so wonderful! I didn't know who or what was going on around me... all I saw was Jude (and Bryan occasionally lol). Nothing else mattered... and I was slightly delusional due to my lack of sleep and exhaustion. After awhile they took him over to get weighed... he was 6 lbs even and 18.5 inches long (his cone head was probably an inch of that!) Even with a cone head he was truly the most beautiful baby I had ever laid eyes on!

Since it was the middle of the night, we were encouraged to get some rest, but I had one heck of a time trying to fall asleep! Since I had heard Jude's heart beat over the ultrasound machine for the last two full days I could not get that sound out of my head! It was ringing in my ears as I was having some really scary, crazy visions... like I was racing through a fun house of clowns and scary things... I can't even explain what I was seeing, but I only got MAYBE 2 hours of sleep that night!! I was riding on Adrenalin all day!!

I absolutely loved my night time nurse! Her name was Amanda and she was so stinkin' cute and sweet! She had a nice soft voice, which I needed after all that I had just been through! Sadly she had to leave at 7am, and my morning nurse was NOT my cup of tea! She was loud and talked really fast... I was way too drowsy to keep up with her at 8 in the morning after sleeping a totally of MAYBE 6 hours in 2 days!

Jude had to endure more tests and such that morning, and since he was premature he had to have a car seat test for a half an hour to make sure his neck was strong enough to support his head at that angle. (Which he passed! :) He passed all of his tests which made Mommy and Daddy proud!) Bryan and I enjoyed ordering breakfast in bed, while he was away. The food really wasn't as bad as I've heard people say! And boy, did we have a lot of it!

I'm going to write what happened the next 3 days, because, yes, we were in the hospital until noon on SATURDAY!! Because Jude was premature, they had mentioned that he could develop jaundice. I was hoping not, but Thursday, October 7th, his bilirubin number was elevated to indicate he was jaundice. We asked for the light source machine to be brought to our room, so we could watch over him while he stayed under the lights most of the day. We could only remove him so he could nurse, then we had to put him back. :( It was hard not being able to snuggle with him like we had hoped, but we wanted to kick the jaundice as fast as we could so we could go home with him. We were hoping Friday that his bilirubin number had dropped so we could take him home.... it had, but not enough where the doctor felt it was safe, so we had to stay a-WHOLE -nother day!

We finally got to take him home Saturday, October 9th! It was so fun loading him into his car seat... he looked SOOO ITTY-BITTY in there! Bryan drove the car up to the front of the building and a nurse wheeled me out. Bryan loaded Jude in and I got in the back of course to keep my eyes on Jude's little bobble head... we drove away thinking HE IS REALLY OURS TO TAKE! We would say to each other for the first month how we couldn't believe Jude was OURS! (We were waiting for someone to come take him away or something.)

It was kind of depressing living in a hospital for practically a week... but after a couple weeks of being home we started to miss the attention we had in the hospital and all of the nice staff! I still miss it to this day! Even though it was a long process I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT WAIT TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN!!!! :D

First family photo!

He was so swollen... but SOOO CUTE!!

October 5th, 2010!

One year ago, today, I had made it through the night (slept maybe a couple of hours) in the hospital. Dr. Thornton had come to check me again before she went to her office. She said I was still at 3cm dilated. UGH! I knew this was probably going to be a long day! She reassured me that Jude would be here today. She just told me to keep walking the halls... so that's what we did. My contractions didn't seem nearly as intense as they were the day before, so I was getting worried I would be sent home or something (Even though Dr. Thornton said that wouldn't happen). It was a long day for the family, but to me it went somewhat quickly. I was really focused on what I was doing rather than looking at the clock. When Bryan told me later we walked the halls for an hour at a time, I thought NO WAY! It felt like 15 minutes to me!

Again, around lunch time, Dr. Thornton came to check on me. I was at a "loose" 3cms dilated. I was bummed because I really wanted her to start the pitocin... but again, I had to wait until 4cms. There was more walking, walking, walking. I tried bouncing on the big labor ball.... I did all I could to get things moving!

When Dr. Thornton came to check on me before she left for home somewhere around 5:15pm (I think she could tell I was totally tired and discouraged...she was also probably tired of how slow I was progressing) she HELPED me along to 4cm so that she could start pitocin. I was so happy when she said things would go much faster now and Jude would have to come some time in the next 12 hours! She said I could have an epidural now if I wanted, but since my contractions weren't painful anymore, I said I would wait until I was in pain. Well, about a half hour later I was having INTENSE contractions where I had to break out my Lamaze breathing techniques! I was yelling at Bryan to tell me when the contraction was coming, peaking and going back down. I should mention he was watching TV while I was laying there breathing like I was going to die! (TV is OFF LIMITS NEXT TIME!!) The contractions were only minutes apart so I didn't have time myself to call to the nurse to get me the epidural, so I had Bryan call in for it.

It took another half an hour for the anesthesiologist to get to my room! I was so happy to see him! Bryan stepped out because he heard what it looks like and thought he might be sick if he watched. I felt SOOOOOOOO MUCH BETTER once the epidural was in! There was a small problem though, I was numb everywhere but a very small spot near my left hip... it felt like I was being continually stabbed in that one tiny spot. So I told the nurse and she had me turn to my left side for a minute and as soon as I did... the spot went NUMB! Now I felt PERFECT! I was so ready for Jude!!

The nurse said I should try to get some zzzs because I will need my energy for pushing. So I did. I was so comfortable i fell right to sleep. Bryan was asleep, too. The nurse came in to check on me around 10:30pm. She said I was completely dilated and she was going to call Dr. Thornton to see what she wanted to do. I was SHOCKED! The whole dilating process had taken FOREVER.... there was no way it was finally happening! When the nurse left to call the Doctor, I told Bryan. He just stayed laying there on his cot like this wasn't a SERIOUS matter! I was like, "BRYAN! Get up and call my Mom and everyone else. I'm going to be pushing when Dr. Thornton gets here!"

When my mom and sister got to the room (I let them stay to watch) the nurse came in around 11:15pm to check me again and she had me practice pushing. Well... apparently I'm a pro because she said, "Wow, most first time Mom's don't know how to push like that!" LOL! I pushed 4 or 5 times and she told me to stop. She said she could see his hair! I was so happy to hear he had DARK HAIR! Bryan was able to see it first, and as creepy as this sounds, he took a picture so that I could see it. (There wasn't a mirror around.) It was the craziest, coolest, most amazing thing I had ever SEEN!! My mom then went and showed the whole waiting-room of family my crotch... as if I said that was OK! ANY WHO... I didn't care at that point because there is just something so incredible about giving birth! I wanted to keep pushing, but unfortunately I had to wait for Dr. Thornton to get there! I was hoping he would be born that night because Bryan's youngest sister's birthday is the 6th and we both would have rather they had separate birthdays.... but sadly, there was nothing EITHER of us could do about it!

(Bryan feeding me ice chips while we waited for Dr. Thornton.)

He is almost here!! Stay tuned for the big arrival!

October 4th, 2010!

Mommy here!

This morning, one year ago, I was having painful contractions just minutes apart. I told Bryan I was going to call the doctor when they opened at 9am, so I could have her check me. He was sure I was not in labor (he says he is sorry now, and will know next time) so he went off to work in Peoria. I called the doctor at 9am on the dot. I told them what I was feeling and they wanted to see me as soon as I could get there. I called my sister, Erica, who luckily was able to get off work right away and come pick me up. (The contractions were too intense to drive.) While I was waiting on Erica I was in the bathroom trying to put make-up on as I was shoving Pop-tart in my mouth; I knew that could very well be the last thing I would eat before Jude's arrival!

We got to the hospital around 9:30am. I was hooked up to the ultrasound machine while I waited for Dr. Thornton to free up to see me. The nurse said I was defiantly in labor due to my contractions being around 2 to 4 minutes apart. She could also tell I was uncomfortable! When Dr. Thornton got around to seeing me she stripped my membranes, which felt wonderful (NOT!) She said I was at 1cm dilated and 90% effaced. She said she was going to admit me into the hospital because I was positive Beta Strep and she wanted to get the fluids started! I couldn't believe I was actually staying until I would get to bring home JUDE! YAY!

I called Bryan and he had just gotten to work... so he got to get back in his car and come all the way back! (Maybe he will listen to his pregnant WIFE next time!)

Sadly, I was on my own after being admitted. They couldn't give me anything to help me progress... I was just told to walk the halls and try to get things moving. So... that's what I did. When Bryan got there, he walked the halls with me ALL DAY! Dr. Thornton came to check me at lunch and said I was at a tight 2cm dilated. She said when I got to 4cm she would give me pitocin to speed things up. Well, 4cm took FOREVER, which you will find out later. She said she would come back before she left for the day. When she came back she again did something extremely painful and said she just MADE me a tight 3cm. (OUCH... well thanks I guess!) She then broke my water and said I should try to get some rest because she was sure I would have Jude tomorrow (October 5, 2010). We were so excited to hear that we would have a baby to hold tomorrow!!

Stay tuned...

Festive filled Fall fun!

Saturday was so much fun! We went to the Farmer's Market in the morning. It was chilly, but I loved seeing all of the people! Mommy and Daddy enjoyed some yummy samples and bought a Chocolate Croissant and a Turtle Brownie that they enjoyed. (Is it my BIRTHDAY YET?! I want some CAKE!) After the Farmer's Market we went home for a nap. In the afternoon we went to Rader Farms! It was so much fun! I saw some goats, sheep, pigs, and chickens... I liked the goats and sheep best! They licked my hands like Miley and Cheech!




We then went to the Corn Bin to play in a big pile of corn kernels! At first I wasn't sure about the way they felt, but I got used to them and really wanted to put them in my mouth.... but Mommy and Daddy wouldn't let me! :(


When we were done with that, Mommy and Daddy let me roam around in the soft, thick grass! I was walking (As much as I can at this point... I think I got a straight 5 steps in!) and crawling around... I got to see lots of people, too! Then Mommy took me on this big bouncy pad! It was soooo fun! We got bounced all over the place! I loved how it made my tummy do flips!
Mommy and Daddy took lots of pictures and videos during all of the fun! (I love how they are always documenting my life... they tell me I will LOVE to see all of the videos and pictures when I am older!)
We also went on a Hay rack ride around the farm, which was nice! Then, Mommy strolled through the pumpkin patch to find a pumpkin... she ended up picking one out from the ones they had already picked, but it was still festive filled Fall fun!!



Only 3 more days until my birthday! Mommy would like to post each day what she was experiencing the days leading up to my arrival, so here she goes...
Last year at this time, I was INCREDIBLY miserable! On October 1st I was having painful contractions only minutes apart. I tried taking a warm bath, which relieved some of my INTENSE lower back pain, but I was still having the contractions and I thought for sure my water had broke, so I had Bryan take me to the hospital around 10:45pm. I was positive Beta Strep, so I was also worried about getting the fluids started for that, in case he was on his way out. They put me in a room and hooked me up to watch my contractions which were indeed happening!! However, since I was more than 3 weeks from my due date, they could not help me progress. They wanted to try to stop my contractions, so they gave me some medicine for that and watched me over-night. In the morning of October 2nd, the pain was starting to subside and I was feeling really drugged up and totally delirious. They released me to go home and be on bed-rest. I slept like a beached whale on the couch for most of that Saturday. On Sunday, October 3rd (One year ago, today), I was starting to feel my contractions again, and once again my lower back was KILLING ME! I knew something had to be done! I couldn't take the pain, but Bryan kept telling me that I had to wait because the nurses said there was nothing they could do. However, when Sunday afternoon came, I KNEW I was calling my doctor as soon as Monday morning (October 4th) came around! I had to go see her!
Stay tuned for more, tomorrow...