Here is a few pictures from Kennedy's photo shoot! I'll post the rest when I get them !

Here she is!

Kennedy Ann Neva Born Friday May 25th at 11:47 a.m. 6 lbs 12 oz 19 1/2 inches I went for my weekly doctor appointment on Thursday and everything looked really good. I was dilated to a 4 and 90% effaced. He tried to stimulate everything the best he could so I would hopefully go into labor soon. If I started having contractions he told me to go to the hospital. I fell asleep really early that night and woke up the next morning at 4:30 having contractions with some pretty good pain. I could tell that these contractions were very different than any I had felt before so I knew that this could be it. I began timing them to see how far apart they were and if they were constant and regular. They were all about 5 minutes apart so I decided to get up, shower, and get ready just in case I needed to go the hospital. At 5:30 Kyle woke up and I told him that I think we needed to go the hospital. We got to the hospital at 6:30 and I was dilated to a 5 and 100% effaced. A few hours later the doctor came and broke my water. I struggled all morning with the decision to get the epidural or not, but when the contractions started getting harder I decided I just wanted to enjoy the process and not have to deal with the pain. I wish I could've sucked it up and toughed it out, but it was nice being able to talk and be with everyone that was in the delivery room. After my water broke and I had my epidural it was a waiting game. My contractions were not very consistent and the strength varied. The baby's heart beat also started to get a little low so they kept having me move around to see if the baby's heart beat would increase. I told Kyle that I felt like I was going to throw up so he needed to go ask the nurse for a bag in case I did. Apparently since I felt like I was going to throw up that meant I was ready to deliver the baby. My contractions were pretty far apart so we had to wait awhile until I could push. I pushed through three contractions and then they realized the cord was wrapped around her neck. The nurse told me they were going to call the NICU. I wasn't really worried and didn't really know what was going on. Kyle's sister told me everything was fine so I stayed pretty calm. Since my contractions were so far apart and her heartbeat was dropping the doctor had to cut me open and suck her out with the vacuum. I was really glad I had the epidural then because I would have really been in pain. Apparently she was pretty blue in color when she came out and it took her a few seconds before she started to cry. Everything turned out great though and everyone couldn't be happier. This first week having her home has been a whirlwind of emotions for me. For the first few days everything was fun and exciting. She slept quite a bit and the nights were pretty easy. I was loving being a mom and taking care of my baby. Since the novelty has started to wear off and the nights aren't that easy anymore I have began to realize that my life really has been changed forever. I am still loving being a mom and am so grateful that I get this opportunity. I know all these emotions are mostly just my hormones being out of sync and things will soon be back to normal. I know it won't always be easy being a mom but it will be worth it.

30 Weeks

I've been really bad at taking pictures of this whole pregnancy process. It's probably due to the fact that I don't really enjoy how I look so I'm not to excited to take any pictures. Everyone keeps telling me how small I am, but I don't believe them. I have gained 30 pounds! Yikes! I don't really throw up anymore, which I am so grateful for. My body is mostly just really tired and achy after teaching all day. The kids are really cute and like to pat my belly and tell the baby hi. It's fun to feel her move all the time and watch my belly move into weird shapes. The time seems to be going by pretty fast, but I wish it would go faster. At my last appointment I had to fast for 12 hours so they could do a glucose test on me to check and make sure I didn't have gestational diabetes. I think your supposed to be under 120 or 140 (I can't remember) and I was at 170. The doctor was really surprised that I didn't pass the test because everything has been going pretty well. Since I failed that first test I had to do a longer test which takes 3 hours and I had to fast for 12 hours before taking it. I decided to do it the next day to get it over with because I was starting to freak out about possibly having diabetes. I fasted that night and went to the doctor's office the next morning to start the testing. I passed! The fast ended up being 17 hours, but I was glad that I didn't have the diabetes.

It's a....

I went for my first ultrasound today to hopefully find out what the sex of the baby was going to be. They told me I had to drink 32-40 oz. of water and keep it in my bladder for an 1 1/2 before my appointment. Worst experience of my life! By the time I got to my appointment I thought my bladder was going to explode it hurt so bad. When they called me back the nurse let me go to the bathroom. Apparently that rule is only for women who are less than twelve weeks along. Thanks for telling me! At first the baby was curled up into a ball with it's legs above it's head so we couldn't see anything. The nurse had a wait about ten minutes to see if the baby would stretch out. When the nurse came back the baby had moved just enough to get a clear shot. It's a...GIRL!! I knew it was going to be!

Tis' the season of frames

Here are just a few pictures of some frames I made for some friends and for Kyle's brother and sister in law for Christmas. I am pretty much addicted to making these frames.

Telling Families

I got pregnant in September, but I wanted to wait until Christmas to tell everyone so it could be their "Christmas present." We made some frames and were going to put an ultrasound picture in the frame with a poem that i've had forever. We didn't get the ultrasound picture in time though so I just put the poem inside the frames. It actually worked a lot better than my original plan. Here are the frames and the poem.



I do not have a face to see,
or put inside a frame

I do not have soft cheeks to kiss;
I don’t yet have a name.

You can’t hold my tiny hands,
nor whisper in my ear.
It’s still too soon to sing a song,
or cuddle me so near.

But all will change come May 30th
when they say I’m due.
I’m your new grandson or granddaughter;
I can’t wait till I meet you.

All I ask between now and then
is your patience while I grow.
I promise I’ll be worth the wait,
because of all the love we’ll know.

So as your waiting patiently,
please pray lots of prayers for me.
I cannot wait to be a part
of this wonderful family.

Here is a picture of the frame with the poem inside.

Baby Time!!

We just told our families for Christmas that we are expecting a baby around May 30th. Everyone was really excited and mad at us that we kept it a secret for almost 4 months. I am now at 17 1/2 weeks and I feel so huge already! I've been really sick for most of the time. The nausea hardly ever goes away. We should be able to find out what we are having in a couple of weeks when I go for my ultrasound.