The Gables 1 + 2 = 3

5 Months

2008-10-26T01:05:00.000-07:00

Most of our five month pictures were in the last blog and took place in Tulsa, however here are a few. We started cereal the last week before she turned 6 months. It was very funny and she loves it now.

We started a sippy cup the same time we started the cereal. She took to it really well also and now loves drinking water out of her sippy.

This is her doll (whom she LOVES) that we have named "Dollie Jean" after my grandma.

Snuggling with Dollie Jean.

"Dear God, make me a bird, so I can fly far, far far away...." (Please ignore the boogies).

This huge laugh was the result of Daddy tickling Addie's face with Dollie Jean's hair.

Stiff as a board. I love me some Addie kisses.

Daddy and his girl.

She's a cool girl.

I have more pics that I will post soon. I'm working on gathering up those photos. I promise it won't take me as long to post this time. Thanks for visiting our blog!!!

Visit to Oklahoma!!!

2008-10-26T00:26:00.000-07:00

Adalynn and I were able to come home again and it was very fun. We were able to surprise my great friend Brooke while she was at the hospital giving birth to her second son Cash Grayson. We got to see some family and have some good times. I love going back home to visit but I am starting to like Vancouver more cause when I'm gone, I miss it. We had a few "firsts" while in Tulsa... first time to swing and first time to the zoo!

Here is Addie with cousin Lindsey.

Cousin Hailey and Adalynny.

Cousins!!! From Left: Lindsey, Adalynn, Hailey and Aiden.

My nephew Austin and Adalynn.

My brother Jeremy and Addie.

This is our pastor's daughter, Zoe and Addie.

Adalynn Taite.

Check out those bunny slippers from Poppi. He bought them for her before she was even born!

Adalynn and Holland. Hugs!

They own the same dress so we made them twinkies this day.

We took this picture for Daddy and emailed it to him cause we missed him very much.

Brooke and Cash Grayson hours after he arrived.

Brooke, Cash and big brother Aidan!

Adalynn striking a pose in Brooke's surgery cap!

Aidan is such a good big brother... to both Addie and Cash!

Seth, Brooke and Cash.

Addie and Cash taking a snooze together on the couch. She looks so big next to him! It's crazy to think she was that size just 5 months before.

Mommy and Addie... photo my Aidan Breck Smith :)

Addie's first time to swing. We took her to the park and tried the huge "cage" swing first...

Then we moved down to the baby swings and she was NOT sure about it at first. I couldn't tell if she was pooping or scared lol.

Still not too sure about it...

But then started smiling and laughing!!!

She loves the swings now and we go often! We live right by a park.

Addie's first trip to the zoo.

She paid attention very well and looked at the animals.

And then she pooped out in the buggy.

This picture is actually from when we were in Tulsa the month before but I forgot to post it last time. This is Adalynn with Kai and Kaden. They are Stacey's boys.

Long Time, No Type...

2008-10-25T23:38:00.000-07:00

Wow. It has been way way too long since I last posted. There have been a couple reasons but the main two are that most of these pictures were all on my mom's laptop in Oklahoma and I didn't have access to them and the other is that our computer is not working and won't be for another week.
So much has changed and Adalynn is getting so big!
I will start with a few pictures from 3 Months and 4 Months.

Story time with Mommy.

Addie sucking her thumb after book time.

We make each other smile.

I love kissing those cheeks!

Adalynn putting on her lipstick with her lipstick rattle.

Playing her on playmat.

Addie playing with her musical garden that her G bought her.

Pretty girl.

Addie wearing Mama's shoes from when I was a little girl.

Always full of laughs.

Where's the baby?!

If you look closely, she had just spit up on her foot and then gave me that "oops" look. That is also about the same time she learned to sit up on my lap alone.

This was her first time in her Jumperoo exersaucer and she LOVED it. Her favorite part is the frog.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh I have such long beautiful hair!!!!" Adalynn with her dress on her head.

Awww so sad but oh so cute!

Kisses for her bunny!

Bath Time!!!

She loves bath time.

Naked baby, naked baby!

Kiss Kiss!

My beautiful baby girl who has changed my life forever!

Adalynn Rolled Over!!!!!!!!!!

2008-07-25T18:10:00.000-07:00

I am probably way more excited than I should be about this, but I don't care! I'm proud of my baby girl! She's been working hard all week and finally did it. She rolled from her tummy to back, here are three step by step pictures...

Yay Adalynn!!!

Pics Since We've Been Home

2008-07-25T17:34:00.000-07:00

Here are some random pics we've taken since we got back from Oklahoma. Enjoy!

Sitting in her bumbo seat like a big girl!

Beautiful girl.

Cute little feet.

Adalynn trying to roll over, practice makes perfect!

I set the book (Who Loves Baby?) down in front of Addie and opened it to the picture of my parents and then I walked into the other room to get something.

I could hear her talking and I wondered if she was talking to them, I walked back into the room and she was reaching for them! She did it for the longest time, moving her hand all around trying to get to them, it was so sweet.

Adalynn's friend Henry came over to play.

Addie must have had a secret to tell Henry... "Listen closely..."

They kept holding hands, so cute!

Tummy Time!

Yummmm spit bubbles!

Big girl holding herself up well on her belly!

"Mom, you're so funny!"

Smiles for the camera!

Look how big I'm getting!

Family Reunion in Seattle

2008-07-25T16:59:00.000-07:00

When Addie and I flew into Seattle, coming back from Oklahoma, we met up with his family for a family get together. It was fun. I got to meet a lot of Duane's family who I had never met before and they all were meeting Adalynn for the first time.

Here is a couple group pics of his family...

This is Duane's Aunt Sue holding Adalynn.

This is Duane, Addie, Jeannie and Sarah. Sarah is just a few months older than Adalynn. Jeannie and Duane are cousins, so I think Sarah and Addie are second cousins?

Aunt Sue introducing Adalynn to Sarah...

Addie didnt see her Daddy for 3 weeks, she missed him so much!

And of course he missed her too.

Addie was getting sleepy out on the deck. It was so nice and cool out there.

This is a smile Adalynn was giving to her Daddy at our hotel in Seattle.

Duane took Addie and I to his all time favorite place to eat in Seattle... Skippers!

She was ready to leave Skippers.

We had a great time and I really enjoyed meeting Duane's family. I hope we can see them more often while we are living here in Vancouver, cause soon we will be too far away!

Our Trip Home to Oklahoma!

2008-07-24T22:05:00.000-07:00

Adalynn and I took our first plane ride together to Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was SO NERVOUS about the flight and how Addie would react, but she did amazingly well! She slept through both plane rides on the way to Tulsa and on the way back to Vancouver she was either asleep or awake and happy and talking very loudly! Adalynn got to meet all of our friends and family and it was so much fun. She also got to spend lots of time with her grandparents in Tulsa! Here are some pics of our trip:

I took this picture before we left Vancouver, she sat in her bouncy seat and "helped me pack".

Awww Addie missed her Daddy while we were gone :(

This is the fun pink car seat that G Mama got her for when she visits Tulsa.

"Are we there yet mom???"

Addie talking and laughing at her bird that she LOVES!

Poppi loves to put her to sleep on his chest.

Smiling at G Mama while they take a bath.

Addie in a fun bouncy seat we found on Tulsa Craigslist.

This is Austin, my nephew and Addie's cousin. He liked her a lot and she liked him too!

Then we headed to Oklahoma City and stayed there a few nights with our friends Brandon and Melissa Risenhoover. This is their daughter, Holland, she is 2.5 weeks older than Addie.

They happened to have the same onesie, so we made them wear them at the same time so we could get a matching picture :)

This is Brooke and her son Aidan loving on Addie.

Aidan is very special to me so it was really neat to see him interact with Addie. He LOVED her and she smiled so much at him and it was obvious she liked him too!

So cute, maybe one day they will get married HAHA!

Brooke holding Addie, on top of her baby bump!

Aidan aimed that at us and said, "Put your hands up or I'll shoot!"

We made our way to Dallas to visit family. Addie had her first swimming experience...

Addie lookin cool in her shades!

This is cousin Taylor holding Addie and doing a very good job!

He also got down and played with her on the floor.

Cousin Emma and cousin Ethan pose with Addie.

Ethan was a good help and gave Addie a bottle while his brother Evan watched.

Hannah was able to put Addie to sleep! She's got the touch.

Emma holding Baby Addie.

Addie and Mom watching the fireworks. She stared at them with huge eyes, she liked them.

Emma taking a dip in the pool.

Our little angel.... the front of her gown says "Grandma's Angel"

Grinnin for the camera at Panera Bread. Picture taken by an IPhone!

Addie giving Baby Cash kisses through Brooke's tummy.

This is Addie and Malia, Khari's daughter. Malia is 3 months older than Addie.

That concludes our visit. I dont have all my pictures with me, some are still on my mom's laptop and I need to get them from her, when I get more I will add more.
Addie has changed so much, she is growing so fast. She is 3 months old now! She "talks" and smiles non stop and is just amazing. We have a doctors appointment Monday, I will give an update after that.

Trip to Langley

2008-06-23T14:27:00.000-07:00

We headed to Langley yesterday for a belated Father's Day with Duane's dad. For those of you in the states, Langley is about an hour drive from us. We also stopped by our friends Doug and Toni's house to say hello.

Sharing some laughs with Grandpa.

Play patty cake with Grandma!

Grandma showed Addie a dancing singing rabbit and Addie was amused.

See the look of amusement lol.

Doug got to share a deep conversation with Adalynn.

And Toni gave me a break and put Addie to sleep.

Duane playing at Blenz

2008-06-23T14:14:00.000-07:00

Duane played at a coffee shop that our friends (Wayne and Kyung Yae) own on Friday and he will be doing it every Friday now! We had lots of fun.

Here is Addie with Wayne and Kyung Yae.

Addie flashin the peace sign hahaha.

The end of the night...

Some more 9 week old pictures...

2008-06-23T13:56:00.000-07:00

Father's Day!!

2008-06-23T13:40:00.000-07:00

We had a really fun Father's Day. It was filled with family time, a few fun gifts and lots of love!

This is a sweet poem and Addie's hand and foot prints for Daddy!

And we framed one of our favorite pictures of Adalynn and Duane.

Daddy and his girl.

We decided to take a walk and this was the first day Addie got to sit in the carrier facing out! She did great and had awesome control of her head.

And here she is pooped out when we got back from the walk. I love how her hands are lol.

Nine Weeks Already?!

2008-06-14T15:26:00.000-07:00

Just hangin out with Dad. She LOVES her daddy, as you can see by her smiles...

Addie's friend, Henry came over for a play date.

A Picnic

2008-06-14T15:20:00.003-07:00

One evening we decided to have a picnic in our backyard. It was really fun. Adalynn loves to be outside, especially with mom and dad!

HAHAHAHA

2008-06-14T15:12:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you a little story...
Every night part of Adalynn's bedtime routine is a bath. I usually just get in the bath with her and its a fun little bonding experience. Well on this particular Saturday Duane took a bath with her for the first time. He got in the tub and I was undressing Addie getting ready to hand her to Duane. He laid down the rules right upfront and told her "Here are the rules, no pooping, peeing or spitting up while in the tub with Daddy". So he's holding her in the water gazing at her lovingly and talking to her when all of a sudden bubbles start rising in the tub. Duane eyes grow HUGE as he looks over at me (I'm sitting in there watching them) and I said "Oh, thats normal, she farts the whole time we are in the tub". So he says "Oh ok" and looks a little relived. Then we hear a really loud grunt from Adalynn and her face is bright red and I said "Oh, now thats pooping!" and he holds her up in the air to see a piece of poop in the bottom of the tub. Luckily it didn't touch him. So he starts screaming "take her take her!" and I grab her and poop is still coming out so I don't have time to make it to the changing table so we let her finish her business on the toilet. Here are some pictures... sorry if the poop is too much but we just couldn't resist sharing!

Random Eight Week Pictures

2008-06-14T14:58:00.000-07:00

Hangin with the kitties.

Listening and watching Dad play the guitar

Ready for an adventure!

Seven Weeks is a Time for Toys!!!

2008-06-14T14:32:00.001-07:00

We introduced a lot of new things at seven weeks. A baby Einstein video, toys and a play mat! Here are some pictures, enjoy!

This is Addie watching Baby Mozart for the first time, she LOVES it.

Here is Addie playing on her floor play mat for the first time. You can tell she really enjoys it, she talks and smiles looking at all the toys above her.

This is a toy mirror that she can play with and look at on the floor. She liked this as well. We captured a couple of cool shots with it!

Adalynn is playing on the quilt that my mom made for her.

This bird was the first toy we showed her. It tweets and that would make her laugh. Here the bird is about to give her a kiss!

KISS!!!

We now play with this bird A LOT cause it gets lots of smiles!

Now it's time for a nap! Stretttttttttttttch!

And asleep...

Adalynn's First Trip to the Beach

2008-06-14T14:13:00.000-07:00

We decided on a Saturday to take Addie to the beach. Here are some pictures of our adventure!

These are some pictures that Duane took through the rear view mirror of our car. Addie and I were in the backseat (parked of course) getting ready to breastfeed.

It was a fun trip for mom and dad, but this is mainly what Adalynn did the whole time... SLEEP!

And here she is sleeping some more in the car on the way home.

OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!

2008-05-30T17:41:00.000-07:00

You will never believe this... Taiter slept through the night last night! EIGHT HOURS straight!!! It's a miracle! I'm a whole new woman, and so is she! Lol.
I have to say... a lot of people frown upon the ferber method. I was skeptical of it, but let me tell you our story. Adalynn would cry, for HOURS. I'm talking seven hours straight one night, from 2am - 9am. Then the colic started to get better, but she got used to be picking her up when she'd scream. Now, of course I'm going to pick her up when she's screaming out of pain, like I did with the colic. But the colic went away and then it would just be whimpering fussy crying and I could tell a huge difference between the two. At first, no matter what I did I couldn't make it better. I'd attempt to breast feed her, then try burping her, changing her, nothing worked. Well its because she was EXHAUSTED and just needed sleep, but I kept rushing in there to pick her up at every little peep. Then she started smiling and wanting to play when I'd come pick her up. It became a game. So one night when I was out of ideas and really starting to lose my mind from sleep deprivation, I looked up the ferber method. It has such a bad rep but its been very misunderstood (that is word for word what I read). The point of it is that the baby is used to you putting her to sleep as you did in the womb by walking her around all the time. Babies don't know how to fall asleep by themselves, you have to teach them. It tells you the first night, to let the baby cry for five minutes then go in and tell her she's okay and that you love her and rub her chest, tummy, back, whatever... but DON'T pick her up. Then the next time she cries wait 10 min then go in and do the same, then the next time wait 15 minutes and then let 15 minutes be how long you wait the remainder of the night before going in. Well I decided I could only handle 5 minutes. So, the first night we tried this, she cried 5 minutes, I went in after 5 and did what it said, she stopped crying, listened to me, took her binky and was comforted by my words and touch. I left (you're only supposed to stay and comfort 2 minutes). About 15 min later she started crying again, I let her cry for 5 min again, then went in and consoled her. I did this one more time and then she finally was able to put herself to sleep. That night she slept 4 hours and went 5 hours btwn feeds. This was big progress for us.
The second night (the very next night) we tried this, and it was MUCH harder. She cried lots and much harder. I made sure she she didn't need to burp and was dry and clean and all that. She was just very tired. So I waited 5 min and did the same thing as I did the night before. I had to go in probably 5 or 6 times that night, it was very hard for us both to hear her cry. Then she finally went to sleep. This night she slept 6 hours and went 5 hours btwn feeds. We kept seeing more and more progress.
So the next night (last night) we put her down and she didn't make a peep! Within 5 min she was asleep and she slept EIGHT HOURS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Going nine hours between feeds.
I finally felt like I had control again. I felt like the mom and that I was in charge, not her. So I highly recommend this. We are both so much happier, as you can see in her pictures shes smiling so much and seems like a completely different baby. It's like she has come alive now.
Here are a few pictures we've taken in the last couple of days:

Addie hangin out in Dad's guitar case!

Lookin at Gracie

To infinity and beyonnnnnnnnnnnnd

What a happy baby!!! Not a screaming baby anymore lol. I'm so glad she isn't sad anymore.

Yay!!

2008-05-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

Yay! I think the colic is finally gone!! Since the last post, I do have to say it got worse before it got better. I really believe what did it was the chiropractic care and the probiotics we were giving her. The biggest change started right after we started giving her Natren Life Start for infants. She is doing so much better and she is so much happier. She is starting to smile and coo at us. We love it! She is starting to sleep better too! Here are some pictures from week six of Adalynn Taite's life.

Here's a funny little series of pics we did of Taiter:

No mom, I dont wanna go to sleep!

I will just rest my head up here on my arms, but I WONT go to sleep!

There, thats better, this is actually kinda comfy!

Uh oh... maybe a little toooooooo comfy.

Sooooooooooo comfy... hmmmmm.

Aw shucks! Mom did it again! Got me to sleep when I didnt want to.

These are what I like to call "Sumo Wrestler Baby" pics:

Here is Addie's first bubble bath with Mommy!

Adalynn at Five Weeks

2008-05-22T23:01:00.001-07:00

I think we finally had a break through tonight... but before I get too excited we will see how the night goes. Adalynn has slept SO WELL today, not been fussy at all, and seems so much happier. The colic got really bad and she screamed for pretty much two days straight and seemed to be in so much pain. The chiropractic seems to be helping and we also tried something called Natren Life Start for infants. Its a probiotic that helps their immune system and tummy problems. We started that yesterday and already see a huge difference. She is really starting to have a lot of expressions and make cute cooing sounds. Last night in her sleep she giggled, it was the cutest thing I ever heard. Tomorrow she will be six weeks old!!! Yikes.
We will be coming home June 28th and we will be there for three weeks. I cant wait to introduce her to all our friends and family!

I wanted to start out with this hilarious picture. Its not cute at all, lol, but thats okay, we know how cute she is.. we can have an ugly funny picture every once in a while.

Here are some great pictures Daddy took.

And some great pictures Mommy took :) These were taken while Addie had some play time in her crib. We tried out her mobile for the first time also, and she loved it!

Here are some pictures of Addie and Duane "talking" to each other.

Here is the great sling we got. Addie loves it. She always clutches on to it like this.

Here is Addie with her great great Aunt Anne.

Addie with Grandpa John.

Here is an awesome picture of Duane with his mom, Debi.

Four Week Pictures

2008-05-22T22:38:00.000-07:00

Addie can bet you that her dad is stronger than your dad!!!

She is even flexing her muscles here to scare you!! Haha.

Please God, make the colic go away, PLEASE!!!

We took these pictures for Papi

Awww Daddy holding Addie in the baby bjorn.

Family Photos

2008-05-14T21:04:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos we took on Mother's Day. I had a wonderful Mother's Day with my new baby girl and my mom!

Colic

2008-05-08T00:02:00.000-07:00

Well, we found out yesterday that Addie has colic. We took her to the dr and she was diagnosed there. We are hoping this soon passes. We are trying a few different things. Here are some pictures I took while Addie and I were up late... thankfully she had fallen asleep... for a short time. As you can see by the first picture... Im exhausted and a bit of a zombie!

Bath with Mommy.

2008-05-06T21:44:00.000-07:00

Addie and I took a bath together the other night. She LOVED it. She had a serious face at first, trying to figure out what was going on, as you can see in the first picture. She soon looked so happy and I heard her first cooing sounds while we were in the tub together. It was so special and amazing. I think we might have to do this more often.

Three Weeks!

2008-05-03T17:37:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of Adalynn. I can't believe she is already 3 weeks old! She is having trouble sleeping at night and is pretty fussy at night, we hope its a phase :) There are a couple pictures of her here in her first dress, its a bit too big, but it works. Also a couple of funny pictures of her getting gripe water... she makes funny sour faces.

That's our girl!!! We cant get enough of her!

Our Baby Girl

2008-04-26T23:47:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures we've taken since being home from the hospital. We are loving being parents and enjoy learning all about Adalynn. She is a very good baby. Hope you enjoy!

Thanks for looking, feel free to leave comments :) Our comments section is bare lol.

My Birth Story

2008-04-20T21:56:00.000-07:00

I'm finally finding a free moment to sit down and write my birth story. It has taken me 5 different times to sit down, write it and complete it... ahhhh the beauty of motherhood :) Here it is:

We arrived at the hospital Thursday, April 10th, around 7:30pm to be induced. My dr was worried because I was starting to show signs of pre eclampsia. They checked to see how far I was dilated. The week before I had been dilated to almost a 2, but this night I was back down to a 1. They started me on oxytocin through an IV around 11:45pm and there was a lot of waiting after that. I could not really tell much difference except that I was starting to get some cramping down low, but nothing I couldnt handle. I tried getting some sleep, since it was the middle of the night and I had a big feat ahead of me, but it was impossible to sleep. Too excited and too many people coming in and out of my room. They kept coming in to check me and I was slowly dilating more, at 3:00am they checked and I was dilated to a 3. The dr on call decided to go ahead and break my water. He sat down on the bed next to me, while he did it, and a HUGE gush came when he broke it, causing him to fly off my bed... it was very funny. We all couldnt believe how much fluid I had in there. That was why I was measuring so big! Immediately after they broke my water, VERY HARD contractions started and they were 2 min apart or less. Each contraction that came was ten times stronger than the previous. Soon after they broke my water I was dilated to a 5. Then just a few hours later I was already a 9. It came so fast and so hard because of the induction. I ended up BEGGING for the epidural and was so thankful I got it. That was the worst pain I have ever experienced. I tried the laughing gas first, but it made me feel like I was going to throw up.

When they were checking for dilation they realized that the baby was in posterior position. Her back was facing my back... sunny side up as some would say :) The doctor tried turning the baby with her hands and that didnt work. She said a lot of times the baby will turn on her own while you push. I pushed for 3 hours and she didnt turn. The dr kept trying to turn her and it was the worst pain ever. Eventually they said we had two options. #1 we could do a c section or #2 we could try to turn her with forceps and then if that didnt work we'd have to do a c section. The dr left and said she would give us a min to think about it. So Duane and I talked about it, and I wanted to try the forceps so I could have a vaginal deliver, but I didnt know if I had it in me to push her out anymore. I started crying telling Duane I didnt want them to hurt her with the forceps, cause it can be a very dangerous task. He said he loved that I was concerned for her like that but that he knew it would all be okay. Right about then I threw up all over Duane, HAHA. Oops. So we decided to try the forceps. I kept praying it would all work out and I'd be able to have the vaginal birth that I really wanted. My mom and Duane had been with me the whole time, the dr said that you were only allowed to have one person in the OR but that they would let my mom come in as well as Duane. So Duane and my mom went off to change into scrubs and they took me into the OR to prep me. As I was in there I found out my mom would not be allowed to come in there and I started crying. I really wanted her in there with me and needed both her and Duane's support. She been there all along, for all those hours and she was going to miss out on the big part, the birth. I felt so bad.

They gave me the pain meds where I couldnt feel anything and then they started trying to turn her with the forceps. They finally said "Okay, shes in the right position, you can push now" and I felt so overwhelmed with relief and joy. I couldnt even feel myself push, so I did what I thought was pushing, hoping it was working, and everyone was so encouraging saying she was coming out and I was pushing so well. I only pushed about 3 or 4 times (long pushes) withing one contraction, and she was out. They had said as long as she came out screaming, because that was a good sign, that they would place her directly on my chest, skin on skin. I was really looking forward to that part. But she didnt come out screaming so they took her to the corner of the same room to check her over and they told "dad" (Duane) to come over with her. I was freaking out cause I didnt get to see her before they whisked her off. I started crying so hard when I heard her cry cause I knew she was okay, and it was the cutest, quietest cry I ever heard. People (there were so many freakin nurses and doctors and whoever else in there!) were giving me updates though, saying she had blonde hair and was beautiful and told me her weight and stuff. The anesthesiologist said "awww she looks like a smurf!" and in my head Im like "what?!?! a smurf??? what does that mean???". That was NOT the thing to say to a women who just had a baby and hasnt even seen the baby yet lol. So eventually they brought baby over to me and put her on my chest and it was so wonderful. She was the most beautiful thing I ever saw. Duane and I sat there, sharing the moment, looking at our beautiful baby girl. My life was changed forever right at that moment.

She weighed 7lbs 6oz and was 20.5 inches long. She scored a 9 on her apgar test.

Here are some pictures of the labor and birth:

Before the induction began.

Right after birth, before I even got to see her!

Proud mommy and daddy... both of our first looks at Adalynn Taite.

Mommy and Daddy falling in love.

Grandma Debi and Grandpa John.

Adalynn's "G Mama"

Three generations. Tired and sick Dad.

Adalynn's first bath given by a nurse. She didn't like it so much.

Uncle Wayne came for a visit. Wayne and Duane changed Addie's diaper.

Our precious baby girl. Our lives are changed forever... for the good.

Snuggling on Mom's chest. Sweet little foot.

Hanging with Dad.

Dad syringe feeding Addie. He is such a good daddy.

Adalynn's take home outfit.

All ready to go home!

Pre Eclampsia

2008-04-08T23:39:00.000-07:00

I went to the dr today for another check up. I do not know if I'm dilated anymore than a 2. I had +1 protein in my urine and BP was 130/95. They sent me off for blood work and depending on the blood work results and how my BP and urine is Thursday, they might want to induce sooner than the 20th. I will write another update when I know more.

Live Broadcast at Hospital

2008-04-03T18:01:00.000-07:00

If any of you are interested, we will be trying to do a live broadcast from the hospital so people back home can see Adalynn. It will most likely be the day after shes born. If you would like the sign in info and be able to log on at a certain time and see her and us please let us know. It will be so fun and exciting!!

Baby is coming soon

2008-04-03T17:49:00.000-07:00

I just got home from the doctor and I finally got some answers. As I was laying there on the table she felt me having a contraction and she decided to check for dilation and effacing. She said I am almost 2 cm dilated and that my cervix is about 2 cm long and has begun to thin out. She thinks I should have the baby sometime this week but I guess you never know with these little boogars :) I should be going into real active labor soon. These "fake" contractions are annoying and very tiring. I will try to keep everyone posted.
My mom was planning on flying out here with my dad on the 19th but I think she is going to come Saturday instead. We want her here for the labor and birth and dont want to stress about her making it in time.
Yay!!!!!!!
Please keep us in your prayers.

April Fools!

2008-04-01T14:38:00.000-07:00

I have 2 weeks and 5 days left. Well I just got back from my non stress test. They monitor the baby and my contractions. Baby looks good and I am having contractions about 5 minutes apart. I def feel them and can tell when they are happening, but they are not painful yet (thank the lord). She said theres a chance I could be in early labor and I'm supposed to go about my day today normally and if they get stronger or more uncomfortable, call the hospital.
When I got home from my appointment I called Duane saying I was having the baby and he needed to meet me at the hospital. It was a nice April Fools joke. LOL. He thought it was funny, but also threatened to hurt me when he gets home tonight from work. Haha.
I can tell the baby is dropping farther and farther and Ive had some of my mucus plug come out. I'm having MAJOR period cramping and strong tightenings up high in my abdomen. It's okay if Addie comes early, just as long as my parents can get here in time. That makes me nervous and stresses me out a bit!
Keep us in your prayers!

Beautiful Vancouver

2008-03-29T20:33:00.000-07:00

My lovely friend Brooke came to visit last month and we took some pictures of the beach while she was here. It was great fun. I thought I would post some here so you people back home could see how pretty it is here. :)

Update

2008-03-28T18:28:00.000-07:00

I've been back to the dr several times and my blood pressure is staying normal, so that's very good. I have a stress test done today and Addie's heart and movements sounded really good. At one point I told the nurse "Oh ouch, shes pushing up and out really hard on my belly" and I took my hand and pushed back on her lightly and the nurse said "no dear, you are having a pretty strong contraction right now" I said "oh" and felt pretty silly. Ive been having those feelings a lot, didnt know they were contractions! She could tell on the monitor that I was having one, and how strong it was.
I hope Adalynn comes sooner than later!
23 days or less and we will be having a baby!

Long day...

2008-03-25T23:17:00.000-07:00

Well I went to that appointment I was talking about, at 9:15 this morning and ended up being admitted to the hospital because my BP was high and there was a trace of protein in my urine and I had excessive swelling. They did some tests and everything came back normal. I am going back again in the morning. We will see what they say then. May have this baby sooner than I thought! I was having steady small contractions (that I could barely feel) and the baby's head has moved down into the pelvis.
More as soon as I find out...

3 weeks and 5 days left and counting!

2008-03-24T22:23:00.000-07:00

Well here is the latest...
Im now 35 weeks and 6 days. The last time I was at the doctor she said I will need to be induced on April 20th if the baby does not come on her own before then. The reason is because I have gestational diabetes and am on insulin.
Here are two recent belly pics... try to ignore the nasty stretchies lol
So, I have diabetes appointment tomorrow and a doctors appointment Wednesday. We will see how it all goes then. Tata for now!

What the tree branch did...

2008-03-24T22:12:00.001-07:00

One night at midnight, Duane went out to the car to see that a tree branch had fallen, from a massive tree and broken our windshield. Here are the wonderful pictures:
The stick next to the car is the one that did it, can you believe that????

My mom, the photographer

2008-03-24T21:54:00.001-07:00

My mom came to visit us one last time before Addie is here. We had her take some pictures of Duane and I and I think they turned out really well. Here are some of my favorites (try to ignore the nasty stretch marks haha):

While my mom was here she also helped me get the nursery ready. Its almost finished, but here is a sneak peak:

Adalynn Taite at 29 weeks

2008-03-24T21:41:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I have posted anything so I will have to back track. Here are Addie's last 3d ultrasound pics:

Here is her beautiful ear hehe
Her foot... looks like it is not attached, kinda scary!
Awwww a frown
Here her mouth is open
Here is a little smile for mommy and daddy
She looks so sleepy and a bit shy
And to end with a cute little smile

Update

2008-02-01T18:38:00.000-08:00

The gestational diabetes isn't fun by any means, but it's manageable and I'm able to keep my sugar level by my strict diet. I'm getting the hang of it and it's getting easier.
I can't believe it's February, I can't wait until its April! We are doing pretty good on baby items. There are still some of the bigger things we need. I've been watching craigs list to see if I can find some stuff on there that we need. I'm also trying not to go overboard and only get things we need. We don't really have room to go overboard :)
Last night when I got into bed, G Baby (thats what we call her for now) starting kicking and moving like crazy. She was moving so much it felt like she was having a seizure or something, it was kinda scary! She did this for about ten minutes. It was really cool. Duane was already asleep, so he missed out. He likes to put his hand on my belly and feel her moving.
We have our next and last 4D ultrasound a week from tomorrow. I can't wait to see our little girl. Maybe this weekend I can talk Duane into putting a post on "our" blog :)
That's all for now!

Cute Daddy

2008-02-01T18:29:00.001-08:00

Duane played guitar for the baby and I just had to post a picture of it. He's going to be a great daddy.

Our First Attempt at Maternity Pictures

2008-02-01T17:46:00.000-08:00

Duane tried taking some maternity pictures of me the other day. He took like a couple hundred but these are the only ones we thought turned out half decent. We def need some practice. We couldnt figure out the whole wrapping of the sheet thing they always do lol. I ended up looking like a messy mummy. We are going to try again this weekend. Enjoy!

Ultrasound and belly pics

2008-01-18T16:17:00.000-08:00

Here are all the ultrasound and belly pics we've done so far. I wanted to recap since we started the blog a bit late.

This was our first ultrasound at 6wks:

First belly pic at 8wks:

This picture was taken when I was about 15wks:

Here are her 19wk ultrasound pics:

And here are our 3D ultrasound pics at 19wks:

Belly pic at 20wks:

Me at 23wks:

Gestational Diabetes

2008-01-18T16:10:00.000-08:00

Well, I got the news yesterday that I have gestational diabetes. The three hour glucose test came back high, I failed two of the four tests. I had a feeling I might fail because of the symptoms I was having. I was avoiding learning too much about GD before I knew I actually had it, but now I need to start doing some more research. Now that I know I have it, all I'm concerned about is the baby. I don't care if I have to take my blood 20 times a day and eat poop, I will do it if it means she will be okay. Thats a bit extreme, but you know what I mean :)
From what I read, the things I worry about the most are:

passing the diabetes down to her
Her being a really big baby
diabetes showing up for me later in life
having to induce labor because of GD

I found out today that these are the next steps:

Thursday Jan. 24 @ 9:00 - teaching with dietician - 1 hour

Thursday Jan. 24 @ 10:00 - teaching with clinician - 1 hour

Tuesday Jan. 29 @ 8:15 - consult with Dr. Kong

Tuesday Jan. 29 @ 9:00 - Diabetes physiotherapist

I wonder if we will be paying cash for all these appointments since my medical hasnt been accepted yet? Probably.

Fun, fun. I will keep you all posted.

Worried

2008-01-10T23:01:00.000-08:00

I've been having this weird feeling like an horrible empty scraping feeling in my stomach. No matter how much or what I eat it doesn't go away and I get no satisfaction. I called my midwife cause it was starting to worry me. She wants me to go in the morning for a glucose test to test for gestational diabetes and she sounded worried. I really hope I don't have it and I'm really worried about it. I don't want to have to log what I eat and take my blood four times a day! I crave sweets so bad I don't know how I could just totally cut them out! If you're reading this, please pray!

New Beginnings

2008-01-09T21:28:00.000-08:00

Hello there. This is our first post and we are kinda excited about it :) There is a lot going on in our lives right now and we are very far away from everyone, so we figured this would be a good way to keep everyone updated and keep in touch.

We had a great time back in the states over Christmas. It was really hard to leave and come back to Vancouver. Now that we are back home things are going pretty smoothly. I'm off work and I'm enjoying being a "house wife" and keeping the place clean and having dinner ready for Duane when he gets home from work. I'm also enjoying getting some rest and keeping my feet up. My feet and ankles are starting to swell and its not fun!

Here are a couple pictures from our trip home:

Not sure what Kaitlin is doing with her neck right there, lol.

Hannah and Duane playing a game.

Duane loves books, books and more books!

Krista got my mom and dad grandma and grandpa bibs :)

Brooke and I at my baby shower.

Duane is currently working at his old home staging job, but hes actively looking for something else. They cannot guarantee him 40 hours and we need to be able to rely on that. He has the day off tomorrow and is going to spend some more time looking for a job.

We are still waiting and praying that my medical comes in time for the birth. Please help us pray for this. We've turned in everything and we just have to hope they accept us in time. Right now we are paying cash for all my appointments and ultrasounds and everything else.
The baby is doing great. She is moving a lot more and I can now see her move when I look at my stomach, so my new hobby is just sitting and staring at my stomach. I love seeing and feeling her move. She woke me up this morning with her kicks for the first time. It was mad non stop kicking for about ten minutes but then she stopped and I was able to go back to sleep. I hear that soon she will be keeping me up all hours of the night. We shall see. I just completed my sixth month of pregnancy and I'm starting my seventh month. I cant believe women are actually pregnant TEN months, not nine!

Here are some ultrasound pics of our baby girl:

This is a side profile of her face with her fists up by her forehead.

This is her cute little back and bum!

She sucked her thumb most of the ultrasound.

Those pictures were taken at our last 4D ultrasound when I was 19 weeks pregnant. I will close with one more picture. Duane and I were bored one night and wondered if Jet would let us put him in the baby bjorn. So we tried and and he LOVED it, he just hung there not even trying to get away. We were both laughing hysterically while we took this picture...