Parenthood

Bath time is the best :)

Tucker hated bath time at first. Now he is warming up to it. He peed on us the first time in the bath. 

Tummy time is another story.

Tummy time=torture.

Tucker hates it. He screams and cries and makes me feel like I'm part of the Spanish Inquisition. But now he has learned to be sneaky. Now he either just lays there and looks at us. Or he smirks at me and then just rolls over. And when he does that, I'm proud of him and I pick him up. I'm a pushover. 

Nighttime is still a bit of an adventure. Tucker goes down so well at first. He sleeps from about 9:30 to 1:30. I feed him and he usually is back asleep around 2:15. But then 3:45 am rolls around and it's a whole different story. Tucker wakes up, eats and then decides it is time to take on the day... 

We are trying to figure out a solution for the problem but so far nothing has really worked. 

But at the end of the day, we have such an amazing son. He is happy and smiley and makes my heart melt whenever I hold him. He's my best little friend and I just adore spending my time with him. He literally will be totally perfect once he gets his sleep schedule down :)

A Family of Three

Well I have learned a valuable lesson from blogger... I learned that if you are writing a post on a phone or tablet you have to save it before leaving the app otherwise your post disappears... This is my fourth time writing this post because I just figured this out. 

Well here we go for this big update!

James Tucker Coles was born on July 25th at 2:38 AM. Our little stud muffin was a healthy baby of 8 lbs 4 oz and came in at 21 inches long. I adore this little man. 

Now for the obligatory birth story. Feel free to skip ahead, I don't judge.

Well my due date was July 23rd and nothing happened. So we moved on from that. However on the morning of the 24th, after a night full of contractions, I was determined to get this little man out into the world! So I woke up and went to the gym with Ryan. Thankfully it was a day off from work (thank you pioneers) and I had all day to achieve my goal. So I walked a couple miles, did a little stair master and was thoroughly done. So I waited for Ryan to finish his workout and then we went home. Nothing happened. 

So then we decided to take a walk over to the Pioneer Day festivities across the street and talked with the missionaries that were there for about an hour. I was baked from the heat and finally told Ryan I needed to go home since I was tired and parched. So we came home and got some cold water and a Popsicle. Something happened. 

My contractions started coming along quite nicely. So Ryan and I turned on a movie and decided we were going to wait this one out on the couch. Ryan started timing my contractions to see how frequent they were becoming. It didnt take long for them to be 5 minutes apart. But I still felt fine. I could breathe through them, walk around, talk. So I kept waiting. Then around 6:30 pm some of our neighbors brought over some cookies for us. Perfect timing. As they were standing in our doorway I had a big contraction, followed by a pop, which brought about a huge gush of warm water... All over the couch. 

Well Ryan quickly shoved the girls out the door (sorry) and began to throw everything in the car. I waddled upstairs to clean up and change. And it was then that my brain caught up with reality. I was going to have a baby. Like now! Insane. So after I changed I sat on the bed and tried to convince myself that I didn't need to go to the hospital. I know, weird. But I can't control what my brain in labor thinks. 

So my sweet husband came upstairs and told me it was time to go. I looked at him and told him it wasn't time and that I didn't need to go. He gave me a look of, 'you're beyond retarded but you're in labor so I will listen.' Needless to say we were in the car about 5 minutes later. 

We got to the hospital and they confirmed that my water had broken. So they admitted me and got me in my delivery room. 

Ryan and I turned on the tv and they actually had some excellent movie choices. We got settled and talked with my nurse. She was AMAZING. Totally supportive of me and wanting to go natural. She checked me and told me I was at a 3. That was at around 7:45ish. Then I started having those contractions that make you tell your husband that you will never have another child. The nurse came in again to check me around 9. I was a 5. Moving along nicely. And then the exhaustion hit. I hadn't slept for the past 2 nights and now I was dealing with these contractions that were speeding me along. I was so tired and I knew that I would be up all night again having this baby. So I talked to Ryan and asked him (like he would care) if he would judge me if I got an epidural. I was terrified of the epidural. Not because I hate needles or I was worried about not experiencing birth. I just hate being numb! That's it! 

So I talked with my nurse and told her my worries and thoughts and she told me that ultimately it was my choice but that she thought I would be okay with the numbness since they can give me a low dose. So I said yes and about 30 minutes later the anesthesiologist came in and made me very happy indeed. It was perfect. I couldn't feel pain but I could move my legs around still. I wasn't an invalid. It was perfect for me. After that I was finally able to relax and just enjoy being with Ryan for those last few hours. 

Well about 3 cups of piña colada ice chips later (90 minutes) my nurse came back in right when Skyfall was ending to check me and was shocked when she found out I was a 10! That's right, a 5 to a 10 in 90 minutes. So glad I couldn't feel those monstrous contractions. Well I was in even more shock than her when she said, 'Well are you ready to have a baby?' I thought she was joking. But she wasn't. So she went and called my doctor who was still at home since he thought I wouldn't be ready until about 5 or 6 in the morning. He said to have me start pushing  in about a half hour so that baby would be in a good position when he got there and could just come on out. 

It was such a surreal experience. It was just me and Ryan and our nurse in the room. They got me set up to start pushing and it was very quiet and intimate. Of course, none of us thought to turn off Avengers which was playing right in front of me. I felt like the Hulk when I was pushing. I will never see that movie the same way again. 

Ryan was absolutely the greatest man in those hours at the hospital. When I was pushing he was coaching me along. I'm sure I looked like a buffoon and considering how water logged I was at the time (think hippo/water buffalo) he still told me I was beautiful and that he loved me. This is also after he witnessed me puke all over myself since the epidural made me a bit nauseous. That was quite a funny moment looking back on it all.

Well I pushed for about 20 minutes sporadically with the nurse and Ryan. Then my OB got to the hospital and then it was time for the big show. The room filled up with nurses and gear and doctors. Ryan held my hand because he knew I was nervous. And Dr. Thorpe told me it was time once he was all ready to go.It didn't take long. About 10 more minutes of pushing and Tucker was out! It was so fast and so 'easy' that I still am having a hard time believing it. I keep telling myself that I must just be blocking some horrible memories or something. But, knock on wood, I am really hoping the rest of our kids come along as easily.

Well I can't even describe how incredible the whole experience was for us. We are so happy and blessed to have our son in our lives. 

And now, what you really want to see, the pictures. I don't have many from the hospital. But I have many more from home. So look forward to another post later today or tomorrow! :)

Little man in his cute hat

My big baby that I still can't believe weighed that much

I hate this picture of me. But it is the first time I got to hold him so I guess the magic of the moment makes up for the lack of prettiness. 

Sleepy baby boy at 12 hours old :)

Learning Curve

Well I know that my son is now three weeks old and I am finally getting around to putting up things on the blog. But I couldn't help it.

It has been a madhouse! We had family in town right off the bat once Tucker was born. That was great! However, being the OCD weirdo that I am I felt the need to cook and clean and show everyone that I could do it all. This is on top of just getting out of the hospital and recovering and not sleeping and all that typical post birth jazz. I know, I am bizarre. 

So yes, it was crazy hectic and Tucker didn't get too much of a break either. We had Ryan's family in town first. It was great to have my mother in law here to help me with the baby when I would concede that I needed help. She was very loving and patient with my stubborn self. 

Tucker had a traumatic experience of getting circumcised at the doctor's office. It was so sad to send him into that forbidding room. Luckily Ryan was there though to be with him. Along with his uncle and grandpa. It was a big family affair. But we couldn't have asked for a healthier baby boy and I am so grateful for that.

My parents got into town a week later and they were so overjoyed to meet their first little grandson. They too were a big help while they were in town. They stocked our kitchen to the brim and took care of Tucker so I could do little things like shower or sleep. 

It was awesome to have everyone in town for Tucker's blessing. We had to do it pretty much right away because it is so hard to coordinate trips where families from two coasts have to come into town.  But it worked out perfectly. Tucker wore his little gallibea that Ryan got him in Cairo and we had all our family and friends come to the church for the blessing. Ryan gave him such a powerful blessing that I was just blown away. I really have such an amazing husband. 

Well after that, Ryan's family headed back home to Cali and my family stayed for another week. Like I said, we had people here non-stop. Ryan also had to head out because he had to go to Montana for a quick research trip for work. He went and partied on the Cheyenne Indian reservation there for a few days. It was so cute to FaceTime with him at night and see how much he missed us. Needless to say, I am not looking forward to him going to Italy at the end of the month. 

But other than that, I think Ryan and I are adjusting to this parenthood thing pretty well. My physical recovery has been so fast and easy. I feel great and I am just excited to be able to go to the gym again and get back into shape. I have this odd flap of skin where my abdominals should be that needs to secede from the union. 

Tucker nurses like a champ. He caught on so fast. He doesn't fuss unless there is something wrong. And he makes the cutest noises and faces that his dad and I just adore. We are all getting better at sleeping. Tucker for a while was only waking up once at night which was amazing. Now he is a little bit confused still about the purpose of nighttime but we are working on it. I am learning how to be at home full-time. It is awesome and wonderful, I just know that once Tucker and I have a routine, it will be a lot easier. It is hot though. Which means I don't like taking Tucker out in his stroller for walks during the day because of the heat. I usually have to wait til nighttime to do that when it's cooler. 

I do know though that there is nothing greater than being a mom. I absolutely love being with my son and taking care of him. And even though sometimes I feel like an idiot because I can't seem to calm him down or get him to sleep when I need to take care of things, I can't help but love the fact that he loves being with me. He loves being held and falling asleep on me. I know this won't last forever. He is almost a month old already for goodness sake. And that's why, in those moments, I have learned to forget about folding the laundry or doing the dishes. He is so much more special and important than any of those things. I utterly adore him and I know Ryan does too. Our little family feels so much bigger and yet closer now that he is here with us. 

Impending Baby-ness

This child is as elusive as the Loch Ness Monster. I know this because when I was at that legendary loch the first time, the monster eluded me there, even though I knew in my heart that he was real. 

I also took about 500 hundred pictures of a floating stick off shore while I was there. And this was in the time BEFORE digital cameras... So needless to say, paying to develop those masterpieces was well worth it. I should find some and post some for your viewing pleasure one day. But not today.

I am also probably just as water-logged as that poor mythical beast. I am like a modern-day plesiosaur by the end of the day and even regular sandals can't handle these puffer fish that have become my feet.

Regardless, this baby is going to be here soon! And though I have more definitive proof than I had or ever will have of Nessie, AKA an actual human inside me, to show for my belief in that statement, it still does not seem real. I know he HAS to come at some point. But that is still so vague that it's still kind of imaginary to me. 

I would also like to petition for a new time frame of a 4th trimester to be instituted into the pregnancy mantra. Because my 3rd trimester has flown by. No problem at all. Loved it. However, these last 2 weeks of pregnancy are basically taking 3 months in my mind, hence the naming of the 4th trimester. Just so women are prepared mentally to go through this mind-numbing period.

In other useless news, I have started getting the, "You're still here?" questions at work and church and such. Yes I am still here. Though every time that you ask me that, I get slightly closer to answering in the negative or saying that I have had my baby already and that I just love work so much that I chose not to take any time off. Oh and that I am just fat too. Thanks for pointing it out. That would probably go over really well. 

So I guess what this post has shown and hopefully made clear, is that I really have nothing useful to say right now until Tucker gets here. But do prepare yourselves for baby overload once he finally makes his appearance. Just know that I am healthy and so is our son and we couldn't ask for anything more than a happy, healthy baby to come into our lives :)

Until then, au revoir!

Babe's Birthday

So my gorgeous husband had a birthday this last week!

He is now 26 good-looking years old and I cannot get enough of him.

It was quite the week for us in celebrating his birth! We started out by seeing Man of Steel on Monday night for FHE. Soooo good and a million times better than Iron Man 3.

Then Wednesday on his actual birthday I made him some delicous burgers for dinner (his current pregnancy craving) and went and got ice cream at Farr's. It was the perfect relaxing night together.

Then Friday we went to the Salt Lake Temple with a couple young men from our stake to do baptisms and came home to some wonderful pad thai and spent time with the elders serving in our ward.

However, Saturday was the day of the birthday cake. And it was an epic one. I told Ryan I was having breakfast with one of my friends, Amy Salmon and so I snuck out of the house with all my cake supplies, which is not easy when Ryan had decided to do work downstairs on his laptop instead of his office.

Amy and I made a spectacular Batman cake. It was a really good yellow cake with chocolate custard filling and the fondant on top was a site to behold as you can see in the pictures. Then of course we had to have sparklers as the candles and we sang to Ryan once a bunch of our friends came over for some cake and ice cream. I think I got an A+ for planning out a great bday week for him.

So, here's to my amazing and hard working and super studly husband! I would be remiss to go a day without telling you how much you mena to me and how grateful I am to you for all your hard work! I cannot wait til Tucker gets here and he can learn first hand what an amazing man he is blessed to have as his Father.

I have the best husband in the world and I couldn't be happier :) Love you babe!

San Francisco Wedding Weekend!

So my dear brother-in-law got married last weekend to the most amazing woman. We are so happy for them and just love them to pieces.

So the wedding was in San Francisco which meant another fun trip for Ryan and I to go up for it with the family! Let me just say, flying at 35 weeks makes your feet swell. And Tucker hated flying. He would not stop squirming the entire time and I felt bad about it. But the only other alternative would have been to drive about 14 hours to get there.... And that would never happen in this life. So we flew.

And what an adventure the weekend was. I think we had every airline mishap happen that was possible. They all worked out in the end but it was still kinda funny to look back and see all the problems. First my father-in-law missed his flight because he forgot his wallet at home and had to go get it. Then my luggage got lost for a while and I was without clothing or anything for the first day we were there. And we all know how easy it is to share clothing with non-pregnant people when you are almost full-term. Then my sister-in-laws flight got delayed for about 3 hours for no good reason and she made it barely in time for the rehearsal dinner. It was a bit of a fiasco. But in the end everyone got there and Southwest got me my luggage back and gave me a voucher towards another flight :) Thursday night at the hotel was also quite the adventure when we realized that my mother-in-law had forgotten to book another room for that night. So 8 of us slept in one hotel room on a mixture of 2 queen beds, a cot-type bed of unknown size, and 2 air mattresses (one of which wouldn't hold air and my nephew was not happy). It was definitely an interesting and fun night to be all crammed together.

Our first night there we had a great time over at Madeline's (the new sis-in-law) house and had some bbq and got to meet a lot of her extended family. Then Evan took Ryan and I to a great lookout point over San Francisco called Indian Rock. It's really quite beautiful. It was dark though so I didn't get any pictures of that. But you should definitely check it out if you are in the area ever.

Friday was a fun day where we got to go to the stables where the reception was going to be held and got to do some last minute set up and prep work. These stables are just gorgeous. I love them and it really made me miss my horseback riding days. I hope someday I can get back into it.We finished the nametags which were adorable. They were caramel apples and they were wrapped in celophane and then had a parchment scroll on there with the guest's names on them and then a ribbon that signified your dinner order. Super cute. Then we went back to the hotel and got some lunch with Ryan's parents and waited patiently for the airline to deliver my luggage so I could finally get ready and have on clean clothes. It finally came however and we got all ready for the rehearsal dinner.

The rehearsal dinner was at a lovely country club around Walnut Creek and it was a beautiful setup with delicious food. We had a great time meeting with family and friends from both sides and then the toasts and comments were of course emotional.

Afterwards, all the boys went out for the bachelor party. Ryan arranged for a limo to pick them up and they went to an improv show. They had a great time there, Ryan got picked from the audience to give material for them to do skits on. He was so proud. And then they had an adventure when their limo's tire blew out and they had to wait around for a different one to get them. They played harmonicas with homeless men, saw someone get pepper sprayed, you know, the usual. And then they went and got midnight sushi and finally went to bed around 3:30.

Well the next morning we girls had fun getting ready for the wedding. We got to the Oakland Temple and got to enjoy a beautiful and emotional sealing ceremony. It was just a wonderful way to see this couple begin their life together. Then it was time for pictures outside the temple and the usual hunger strikes to set it. Thankfully the pictures didn't go too long and we went and had a fun lunch with everyone before the reception.

Onto the reception. A word to describe it? Gorgeous. It was one of the most elegant and classy weddings I have ever been to. And of course, I didn't take too many pictures so you can't see all the awesomeness of it. But there were beautiful flowers everywhere and candles and lace. Just lovely. They had a cocktail hour with delicious lemonades and food trays. Then we had dinner with filet mignon and salmon. Then dancing and toasts and a wonderful hot chocolate bar with different desserts and wedding cake. Needless to say I think Tucker was confused as to what the heck was going on while we were dancing for hours. By the end of the night my poor feet were so swollen and sore that I think they still haven't recovered.

Either way, we were so happy to be there and share in the new couple's day with them. Maddie and Evan were both just so beautiful and we are so excited for them.

Well on our last day in San Fran Ryan and I were some of the only ones left since most eveyrone else had morning flights. So we went around the city with Ryan's aunts and some cousins. It was so fun. We went to Union Square, CHinatown, Little Italy, Lombard Street, and Fisherman's Wharf. It was a lot of walking again but it was worth it. It was a gorgeous day and we had so much fun seeing everything and eating some delicious food.

Then it was time to head back home. When we finally landed in SLC it was almost midnight and I don't think I have been that tired in years. But, like I said, it was a weekend that we definitely needed and had a blast with family and friends :)
This is not a comprehensive look at all the photos because I don't have all of them yet. But I might update it again if I can remember to later on. Either way, enjoy!

Might be a tad grainy but you can see how beautiful her dress is! :)

Walking around Walnut Creek

My beautiful siblings-in-law

Yes that is the speed limit at the Oakland Temple.

All the boys with their Mother on the dance floor.

Ryan and his beautiful cousin Rashea

Waiting outside the temple for the newlyweds to come out

I love that they are holding hands :)

Limo ride back to the train to head on home. My feet were way too swollen to walk.

My husband is back and we're having a baby soon

Ryan is back.

No more grumpy posts full of downer metaphors about produce.
I know that this post is only about 2 weeks post his return but still. Better late than never.

My sweet joy of a husband has returned from the Holy Land and it was the best moment to finally be with him again at the airport.

Once I got up to Salt Lake for my conference, I was literally counting minutes until he got home. I HATE being apart from him. Anyways, the first couple days of my conference were long and full so they passed easily enough. But then it was the glorious day of Wednesday which meant he was coming home! He had been texting me from Paris (thank you iPhone) and it was so nice to know he was getting closer by the minute. Well then, it was the last layover in Minneapolis that was the real kicker. I got to have a legit phone call from him without losing signal or internet! Best feeling ever! Well I wanted to head to the airport then. I was done waiting. So I got all dolled up and headed off to the airport and waited.

Torture.

There were 4 or 5 missionaries coming home that day and all their families were there with signs and balloons and petting zoos to welcome home their sons. I was crying when those elders came down the stairs for goodness sake and I have no clue who they are. Then a guy proposed to his gf in front of me and of course I cried then too since I am a basketcase.

And then, the joyour moment when my bearded man from the Middle East came down the stairs :)

It was so wonderful.

I can't give you a better description because there aren't words for that moment. But I think you can imagine. 

Well then it was time to get the baggage and get some food and head back to the conference in Salt Lake. 

Ryan was saddled down with lots of gifts and everything from our friends in Jordan and Egypt. But he, being the most amazing man on the planet, got me the most wonderful gift I could have asked for. He got me a replica mosaic of the Via Dolorosa map from the Church of St. George in Madaba.(http://www.seetheholyland.net/madaba/) if you want more info on that. But it is beautiful. The perfect combination of a map and art. I absolutely love it and I still can't believe that I now have it. I have loved this map for years and now it's part of my home. 

My beautiful new mosaic!! :)

My bearded hubs :)

Anyway, we have cute little baby clothes for Tucker and the cutest little blessing outfit you could imagine. Needless to say we are excited to have our son with us. But I won't post a picture of the outfit since you can all just see it when it is inhabited by my adorable son :)

But we got caught up on everything, shared our stories with each other that Skype wouldn't allow us to tell one another. And just enjoyed being in Salt Lake and hanging out with each other.

We had a lovely dinner and meeting with our friend Mazen from Jordan and it looks like he and Ryan will be going into business with one another in the future. 

We had a great time with Ryan's family who came up for a really fast little trip and got to go to my future sister-in-laws bridal shower. 

We sat by the pool, got tickets for a play next month, got our bikes ready for summer, listened to a lot of Bruce Springsteen and Journey and bought a grill. We are officially cool people now. 

Memorial Day was great, we had 4 missionaries over for dinner and grilled up a ton of meat and some pineapple and veggies. 

Enjoy the pictures of the nursery finally!
I still freak out sometimes when I think that I am having a baby soon. I have contractions all the time. Not the painful ones but just the extreme tightening that make my tummy look deformed. Everything is ready for the baby's room. It's kind of just the final countdown now. All I need to do is get a box of wipes and a pack of diapers and he is free to come into the world. Ryan and I are beyond excited for this little man to come. We want him to stay in for as long as he needs but we are definitely excited to meet his sweet little self. 

That's right ladies and gentlemen, we are having a baby soon :)