*****: Summer Vacation 2010

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Summer Vacation 2010

Kiegan started off our vacation by going to Utah for two weeks. He was spoiled rotten by the Birch's and Steel's. We all missed him terribly at home. We made the long trek down to Utah and were so glad to see him. It was a long 14 hrs..... The dvd player stopped working after 1 1/2 movies. Which meant Belle pretty much screamed the last 12 hours of the ride. She was not happy. Once we got to Utah we had so much fun with all the cousins. My kids thought they were in heaven. It's really to bad we have to live so far away from all the cousins. Speaking of cousins.........We had a lovely BBQ and got to see a few people we hadn't seen for way to many years. Thanks Megan and Jessie for making time for us. I can't tell you how great it was to see you both and your handsome escorts. It was so so nice to catch up with them. I only wish it could have been longer, next time right? We had lots of fun with the Birch's and the Steel's. We goofed off, played night games, went swimming, and ate lots of really good food. Belle learned how to go down the stairs and is slowly overcoming her fear of dogs. (I think she thinks Pepper is a muppet or something since she is the only dog she isn't afraid of) This is the first trip in a long time that no one got sick. I was so HAPPY!!! I was even happier that they have AC there. I realized that I have been spoiled up here in the Great Northwest where the weather for the most part is so lovely. It has been in the 70's since we got home and I am not missing the dry, hot, desert at all. The people yes but not the heat. Belle is loving her cooler climate also.....she does not like to be hot one bit. While in Utah I got to see two dear friends, Jenny my bff from high school and Laura my old roommate and her beautiful new baby. It was so nice to see them to.

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Belle's Story

We initially had decided that we were done having kids after Tate. But four years later it all changed.......
From the minute we found out I was pregnant I was so so sick all day everyday. It was definitely different from my other pregnancies. When I went in for my first appointment Dr . G mentioned to me that because I would be 30 a bit after the baby was born she was going to put me in the next age bracket and have all the testing that goes along with that. She told me about the down syndrome testing and how I could just have a blood test done or I could have the blood test and an ultrasound. I of course quickly chose the second option initially out of wanting to see my baby so early. Before the appointment was done though I had thought about it and I hate surprises and definitely wanted to know what to plan for. We went to Idaho for Thanksgiving and convinced my Aunt Linda to come back with us. Tony left for a week long business trip the day after we got back and that day Linda and I went in for the ultrasound. We were so excited to see such a little bug at 13 weeks. She was absolutely adorable. She was this little wiggle worm waving and flipping everywhere. They did what they needed to and then the ultrasound tech told me she was going to go talk to the doctor and that the doctor would be in to talk to me in a minute. By this time my 20 min. appointment had turned into 45 min. and I was starting to get nervous about making it home to get the boys off the bus. I thought it strange she would leave me all lubed up, but everything with this pregnancy was so different than before. After 10 min. of waiting my stomach became nervous and I had just leaned over to Linda and said "I think something is wrong," when the doctor came in. She advised me that from what they saw minus the blood test that my beautiful babies chance of having downs was 1 out of 2. I should note that with my age bracket it normally is 1 out of 1000 something. Dr K. told us if we wanted to find out for sure then we could either wait for 3 weeks and then have an amnio or we could do a CVS right now and know within 48 hours. I chose the second knowing that there was no way I would be able to get through 3 wks. of wondering. My 20 min. appointment had turned into a 3 hr. appointment but we were finally on our way home. I was in shock but had this comforting feeling that everything was ok no matter the outcome. It was so hard to tell Tony knowing that he had to deal with it all alone. I am so thankful that Linda was here with me. This experience was definitely a testimony builder. I know that my Heavenly Father knows me personally and knows what I can handle and can't. I know with all my heart that he loves me and my little family and believes in us. He knows our full potential. Those 48 hours were the longest and hardest hours of my life. The second day I woke up early that morning and just knew that my baby had downs but that everything was going to be ok. It was a very comforting feeling. When the call came in that night it was confirmed and we also found out that we were having the little girl we longed for. Throughout the pregnancy baby and I were both monitored very closely. There were a few scares, the threat of bed rest, placenta problems, non-stress tests not being passed, and the constant worry about her little heart. But in the end we made it through. Finding out so early made for a really long pregnancy but by the time she came we felt like we had learned as much as we could and we were very comfortable with what the future of our family looked like. The night before her last NST Jonah said that he hoped that Belle wouldn't pass the test so that she could come out. The next morning he kept telling her not to pass the tests because he wanted to hold her. Sure enough she didn't pass and after almost 6 hours at the dr's office and the hospital they told us they would start me the next day. The delivery went smoothly and within five hours we had our long awaited, beautiful baby girl, with her one extra chromosome in our arms. She was 2 1/2 weeks early and weighed in at 6lbs. 3 oz. She stayed a few nights in the NICU but soon was home with us. She is a very healthy happy baby girl. Her heart is healthy and we couldn't ask for anything better. She is amazing. She is truely our little angel. We feel so blessed to have her in our family and can't imagine life without her. We are so grateful for our family and all of our friends and their support and love. We are thankful for this opportunity that our family has to go on this little journey that we probably wouldn't have had without Belle. We are all completely smitten with Belle. She is as beautiful as the day is long. Thank you for joining our journey.