Month 2 Stats, Stories, and Pictures

Dear Lexi,
Your second month on Earth was very eventful. You finally started to smile when you recognized faces. You would smile when somebody smiled at you and you would smile in response to us talking to you. You always had such a beautiful smile.



You also started to recognize that your actions have reactions. You would hit the dangly things on your bouncy seat and be amazed that they moved and rattled. You weren't very fond of your bouncy seat, but you did enjoy hitting the toys.

You loved laying on your back and looking up at things. Which is part of the reason you you loved your changing table. You were so interested in looking around and seeing new things. We bought you an activity mat that you loved. You loved looking up and seeing all of the animals. We would lay you on your back and talk to you and you would smile and coo.


You also liked being on your tummy, but only if you were wide awake and happy. Otherwise you hated it. We were constantly encouraging you to try and roll over. You didn't really care about trying to roll over, but you did like pushing yourself up. you also really liked scooting. I would put my hands behind your feet and you would kick off and move a little. You loved being able to move. You would coo and try to do it again.



You loved when we put you over our head so you could see all around. You were always so curious. You would look around and try to see everything around you. You only liked it for a few minutes at a time, but it was fun for you while it lasted.



I bought us all cute clothes for Fourth of July. You slept through all of the fireworks, but daddy and I had a great time watching them. Everyone loved your little dress. You got so many comments about it that day at Church.




I bought you a bouncy activity center. You loved it. It was a 3-5 month center, but you loved being able to stand up so we bought it for you. You loved being able to sit in it bounce around.




You went in for your two month appointment today. You weighed 14 pounds 8 ounces. Your weight was in the 97th percentile. You are so chunky and cute!! Your height and head circumference were in the 50th percentile. You got your first round of vaccines. You HATED them. You screamed and screamed and screamed. The worst was the one you have to take orally. You threw it up, but they didn't make you take it again. After that you were mad, but they still had to give you the shots. You screamed like crazy. Once they were done I cuddled you, but you were still mad. The minute I put you in your car seat you stopped crying. It was like you knew we were getting out of there.

Right now you are playing on the floor with daddy. It is almost ten o'clock, but you have been staying up really late the last week. You decided sleep was overrated. You would much rather play and interact with those around you.

I love you baby girl. Mommy has to get ready to put you to bed....again. : )
Love,
Mommy

Month One Stats and Stories

Dear Lexi, From the beginning you were a strong little baby. You could hold your head up from day one. You loved sleeping and the first few months you would only wake up to eat. you loved cuddling with daddy and mommy. Your favorite things were your swing, mobile, and changing table. You loved taking showers and playing outside. If you were fussy all I had to do was take you outside and you were immediately happy. You also loved showering it relaxed you and got you ready for bed. We couldn't give you a bath before bed because you got way too excited. You would laugh and kick like crazy. We learned bathtime was only for the mornings or nights when we weren't too concerned with you going to bed. You were about three weeks old when you started to giggle in your sleep. You wouldn't giggle when you were awake, but you must of had some pretty silly dreams because you would giggle for 2-3 minutes. I wish I could have got it on video. You ould smile when you were gassy. You had such a beautiful smile! You weren't to fond of your bouncy seat. You would tolerate it for a little while. If your bouncy seat was playing music you would tolerate it, but you did not like the vibrations. We left you with grammy alone during your first month. Daddy and I went to the temple and grammy watched you. You were great with her, but you missed your mommy! About the time we were heading home from the temple you woke up and started fussing. Sandra wrapped you in my nursing cover and you snuggled into it and fell asleep. I loved that you knew my smell. You went swimming for the first time during your first month. You loved being in the water. You have loved swimming ever since. We take you swimming about once or twice a week and you always enjoy it. Sandra and I took you and the boys to a little water park. I was holding you in the water and the whole time you were sleeping so soundly. When we got out you woke up and had this expression on your face that said, "why in the world would you take me out of the water??" This is the only place where you fell asleep in the water. Other than that you are alert and awake during swim time. You had a pretty eventful first month. You gained weight beautifully. When you were born you weighed 8 pounds 14 ounces. The next day you weighed 8 pounds 9 ounces. At your two week appointment you weighed nine pounds eleven ounces. And by the end of the first month you weighed almost 12 pounds. You are my cute little chunky baby. I love you Love, Mommy

Highlights from Month One

Dear Lexi,
Here are some highlights from your first month!

This is you cuddling with Daddy on your second day home. You always loved being with daddy and cuddling. He was great at putting you to sleep when you were fussy and mommy needed a break.


This is the first and only time you got to wear this outfit. Grammy bought it for you, but it only fit for a short time. You grew super fast.



This was your first time in a pool. You loved the water. We didn't have a swimsuit for you yet, so you went in a onsie. When we took you out of the pool you started to cry. It made us sad. You have been a water bug since you were born.

This is your first time watching tv. I'm not really a fan of Spongebob, but it had bright colors and kept you entertained for a few minutes.


These last two pictures were just for fun. You were always kicking and twirling in my belly so we figured you would be a gret ballerina. And you look like a cute little bug in mommy's sunglasses.
I love you,
Love mommy

The pain you experienced

Dear Lexi,
The day after you were born we took you back to the birthing center so they could check on you. They did a hearing test, weighed you, and then did a heel prick. The heel prick was awful for both of us. She poked your heel and then squeezed a lot of blood out. They had to fill up five dime size circles with blood. You were screaming and crying and your little chin was quivering. It absolutely broke Mommy's and daddy's hearts.You cried on the way home from the doctor that day. Two weeks later I took you to get another heel prick. This time I nursed you while you got your heel prick. You were still mad, but eating made it a little better. Mommy was sad that she had to make you go through all of that pain. Besides the heel pricks, your first month on Earth was pretty relaxed and pain free.
Love,
Mommy

Coming home

Dear Lexi,
We were released from the birthing center at around three o'clock. After taking some pictures with the wonderful ladies who deliverd you, we were off to start building our relationship with each other.
When we got home you and me were exhausted. Daddy wasn't exhausted because Aunt Sandra bought him an energy drink :). We showed you around the house and then put you straight to bed. We slept for almost the rest of the day. I woke up when the Gourleys brought us pizza for dinner, but you slept through that. That night the rest of the grown ups in the family came to visit. You got to meet grandma, Wendy, Grant, Brooke, and you got to know Sandra a little bit more. When we left the birthing center we were told to wake you up at 10 if you hadn't woken up by yourself. At ten o'clock I told your grammy that it was almost time to wake you up to eat, a few seconds later you woke up. It was cute. They all left at about 10 pm so that I could feed you. I fed you and we both went to bed. I was so nervous about taking care of you all night. I set an alarm on my phone for every two hours so that I could make sure you were eating enough. My alarm never got the chance to go off. You were like clockwork. You woke up about 15 minutes before each alarm. You would fall asleep in my arms while I was nursing you and then wake up before I put you in your bed. If you has the choice you would have only slept in mine or daddy's arms for months. But we had to put you down. Our first day together was amazing.
Love,
Mommy

Labor and Birth Story

Dear Lexi,

After the semester got out I was ready for you to join our family. Every night I went to bed hoping that tonight would be the night. Every morning I would be discouraged because I still didn't feel any labor pains. I got home from work on May 25 and felt absolutely awful. I thought for sure today would be the day that you were born. I wasn't feeling good at all. I was having major contractions, they weren't regular, but they were intense. I ended up going for a walk with your daddy. During the walk all of the contractions disappeared. I was incredibly upset because I wanted you here with us so badly, but you weren't ready to come yet. Daddy and I went home and went to bed. After daddy fell asleep the contractions returned. I was up until five in the morning. The whole time I was thinking about work. I worked in the Kroger Deli Department. The last few weeks at work had been really tough for my department. Our manager wasn't showing up consistently and we were short staffed. May 26 was going to be a busy day for my department. We had several party trays that needed to be done and a big shot boss that was supposed to come in. I didn't want to leave my coworkers without any help, so I think that I guilted myself out of being in labor. I fell asleep and five a.m and had to be at work at 8 a.m. I went to work, made all of the party trays, and then asked to be allowed to go home.

Once I got home I tried to take a nap, but I was in too much pain. I waited until daddy got home at nine and then we went for another walk. After our walk daddy decided to take a nap. He fell asleep on the couch and I tried to sleep in our bedroom. That didn't work. The contractions were too difficult. I ended up taking a shower which made me feel a ton better. However, it only lasted until I was out of the water. I was stubborn and refused to believe that I was in labor. I thought that this night would end up just like the night before, with me getting no sleep and waking up in the morning discouraged because I still didn't have a baby. Anyways, I believe that Heavenly Father knew I needed a heavy push to get me out the door. So He gave me 5 minutes of intense contractions, right on top of each other. I finally decided to wake up daddy.

Since my contractions weren't regular, I didn't think that we were far enough along to go to the Birthing Center, but daddy called the midwives anyways. They told us to come in so they could check me out. The drive to Denton was miserable. I had several contractions and it was painful having to sit through them. When we got to the Birthing Center, Betty checked me and I was dilated to a 5. They told me I was in labor and got me set up in a birthing room. That was at about 1:30 in the morning on May 27.

Since you were still sunny side up, I had a lot of back labor. Every contraction was like a thousand knives stabbing into my back. Daddy was amazing during everything. During contractions he massaged my back and rubbed my shoulders. In between contractions he would make sure I was staying hydrated and comfortable. I took a shower and the whole time daddy rubbed and massaged my back. After several hours of labor we got into the birthing tub. That helped a lot. I relaxed with my head on the side of the tub while daddy sprayed water on my back during contractions. Aunt Sandra got there at about seven or eight in the morning. At that time I was sleeping between the contractions. Aunt Sandra kept daddy company while I slept. Betty had me get out of the water so she could check me. I was only dilated to a 6. They gave me a little pain medicine and broke my water. Contractions started to come a lot more frequently and harder. I mainly stayed in the birthing tub, but occasionally I was daring enough to get out and bounce on the yoga ball. I would almost run back to the tub when a contraction came. I slept through most of the morning. Aunt Wendy came to visit after they broke my water. She stayed until about 11:00 before she had to go to work. After Wendy left they had me get out of the tub to check how far along I was. They said I was dilated to a 10 and it was time to start pushing.

Daddy and Aunt Sandra helped encourage me while I was pushing. It was a difficult time. I was absolutely exhausted from not having very much sleep and I was done with being in pain. I pushed for 47 minutes before you were born. Daddy could see your little head the whole time and was constantly encouraging me to push so I could see you to. When you finally arrived daddy immediately put you on my chest. Your fathers one request during the whole pregnancy was that he be able to catch you when you were born. I fell in love with you immediately. While daddy was cutting the cord, I was just staring at you. You were an amazing little baby. When daddy got to hold you he was so emotional. Everyone could see that he was so in love with this little life we had created. Aunt Sandra got to hold you for a little while before she had to go to work. You were born at 12:34 p.m. You weighed 8 pounds 14 ounces and was 20 inches long. You had a 9/10 apgar score. You were a beautiful pink color and was so curious looking around. It was an amazing day.

I love you,

Love mommy

The nine months I carried you

Dear Lexi,
I first found out I was pregnant on September 25, 2009. We had been trying the last month. I took a pregnancy test and it was barely positive. Your dad didn't see anything. He thought that I was seeing things. I took the test first thing in the morning, but we had to go to school so I couldn't take another test to prove it. That night when we got home I took another test and it said PREGNANT!


We were both so excited. It was an amazing day for us. I was still scared that I might lose you. I researched way to much and stressed myself out. We made an appointment with Innana Birhting Center. It was a beautiful facility. We had our first appointment when I was 11 weeks pregnant. When we went we got to hear your heartbeat. It was the most amazing sound. I was so happy that you were a healthy little bean. I knew from that first heartbeat that you were a girl. Daddy didn't believe me, but I felt that you were going to be a girl. When I was about 19 weeks pregnant we went in for our first ultrasound. You were beautiful. The u/s tech said that you had my nose and lips. I was so in love with you. You were a perfect little baby. When she said girl I was so happy. We had already picked out the name Lexi! It was a great moment. I was so happy to have my little girl.

The next few months went by fast. I was tired a lot, but still really excited for the semester to end so I could meet my beautiful baby. We had Wendy take some maternity pictures. The picture in this post is one of my favorites!




The whole pregnancy was really uneventful. I had some pretty bad morning sickness my first trimester, but that went away at about week 14. The last few weeks went by incredibly slow. We were both so ansios to meet you. I felt like you were going to stay in my belly forever. We tried everything to get you out. I danced, swam, jumped, ate spicy foods, and did whatever else came to mind. But you were stubborn and came when you were ready. Not when we were ready!
Love,
Mommy!

How Two Decided to Become Three

Spending time with the Hess family. Part of the reason we decided to become Parents.

Dear Lexi,

It was a hard decision daddy and I had to make when the topic of children came up. Originally we planned to wait until we were both out of school to start having kids, but I was a little anxious. Starting in Febuary 2009, I started to think about having a baby. I knew deep down in my heart that there was a little baby waiting for us. Well, daddy wasn't so convinced. He thought that we wouldn't be able to afford everything while going to school. We crunched some numbers, had a lot of serious heart to heart chats, and decided that we should wait. I still felt like there was a little soul waiting for us to have a baby. Which means that the topic of having a baby was never settled. I decided to give daddy a compromise. I told him that we could have a baby or he could get me a bunny. Daddy chose a bunny! That summer, Ryan and I went to Brandon and Amanda's. Brandon had started working for an alarm sales company that sold alarms over the phone rather than door to door. We were in Utah for a total 3 weeks. Which is all it took to convince daddy that having a baby was the right thing to do. I convinced daddy to seriously pray about our decision. So we prayed. And we played with Taryn and Kaden. By the time we left Brandon and Amanda's house, we had decided to try and get pregnant. Which meant that I didn't get my bunny when we got back to Texas. Which is ok. I would much rather have a baby!

We made some promises to each other. First; I needed to continue my schooling, regardless of becoming a mom. Second; I needed to work from home so we could have enough money and not have to pay for daycare. Third; we had to be on board with all decisions.

We decided that we had three months to try to get pregnant. We didn't want to have a baby during the school year. I didn't want to miss school and daddy couldn't miss any school. So we could either have a baby the end of May, June, July, or the beginning of August. Needless to say we got pregnant the first time. Which is why you were born in May.

Having a baby was not an easy decision for us to make, but after a lot of prayer, compromise, and heart to heart conversations we decided that having a baby was a blessing.

And that is the story of how we decided to get pregnant!

Love,

Mommy

When ME changed to WE

Before We got married!

One of our Engagement Pictures!

At the temple on our wedding day!

Dear Lexi,

We will start from the beginning...

When I was in high school my best friend was a girl named Misty Rice. We were the best of friends. When we graduated and went off to seperate colleges we both kept in touch. Misty went to BYU-Idaho for a year and then moved to Utah. She met a boy named Devin while in Idaho and together they moved to Utah. Well, Devins older brother, Brandon, convinced Misty and Devin to be summer sales representatives for Platinum Security in Atlanta, Georgia. Misty wanted us to be able to spend the summer together so she convinced me to join her. I arrived a few weeks after everyone else because my school got out later. There were quite a few boys in the office and only a few girls. I had no desire to get involved with any of them, but plans change. Ryan was one of those boys in the office.

As you will eventually come to know, Ryan is Brandons brother in law. Brandon also recruited Ryan to join him in Atlanta.

FYI-Ryan and Devin were roommates in Atlanta and Misty and I were roommates.

Ryan and I met when one of my sales started to go south. I had convinced a guy to buy the alarm system, but he was having second thoughts. Ryan was hanging out with Devin (who was a technician not a sales rep) and Devin was the tech involved in setting up the alarm. Eventually Ryan ended up convincing the guy to continue getting the alarm system. Misty ended up going over to Devins to hang out and I tagged along. I didn't get much of a chance to talk to Ryan that night, but he impressed me with his Guitar Hero skills.

Over the next few weeks your dad and I got to know each other a lot better. Since his sister Amanda (Brandons wife) and his sister Wendy (travelling nurse) were already in Georgia I got to know them a lot better to. We had some pretty good times. We would watch movies together, ditch work and hang out at the park, cook dinner, and just enjoy each others company.

After knowing each other for about a month, Ryan proposed. I of course said yes. I knew it was the right thing to do. I had been praying about where our relationship would take us and I knew that your dad and I were meant to be together.

Anyways we got tired of summer sales and decided to leave. We were going to go to Utah. I could get into University of Utah or BYU and we would be happy. However, plans changed. We ended up stopping in Texas to visit the rest of the family. We were going to work for the rest of the summer, save some money, and then continue on our way to Utah. That never happened. After living in Texas for a few weeks we realized that this is where we were meant to be. So we stayed. We both enrolled in school and started our lives in Texas.

A few months later we were married for eternity in the Dallas Temple. It was a beautiful day. We were surrounded by family and loved ones. We had a simple ceremony because we didn't have all that much money. We were poor college students anxious to start our lives together.

And that is the story of how two people became husband and wife!

Love,

Mommy