Trip to Sacramento

Anthony, Ashlynn, and I went to Sacramento, California for a friend's wedding last week. We left on Tuesday night to outrun a snow storm. The original plan was to leave on Thursday,so it was a hassle to leave last minute but I'm glad we did. It gave us more "vacation time." Ashlynn hated being in her car seat so much and did a lot of screaming. It was stressful for us to listen to her sadness, but we all lived through it. We drove down with Anthony's parents because they have a jeep and we have a chevy cobalt (not a snow car). Made for two very squished 16 hour drives! Besides the wedding and reception, we also went to the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield and Fisherman's Wharf in San Fransisco.




Ashlynn's first road trip. She definitely needed the warm coat Nana gave her for Christmas. And she certainly appears to have joined the gnome club!




This is one of the tricks we tried to help Ashlynn stay asleep longer during the drive. Her head would bounce around and she'd wake up. So, we used her coat to keep the bobble head movement to a minimum. It worked pretty well!




This is Anthony in front of one of the Jelly Belly motor homes at the Jelly Belly Factory. That would be a sweet ride! Heehee.




Ashlynn and me in the Jelly Belly tour hats. They made us wear them for the whole tour! That factory was really cool. And it's free! If you're ever in the area make sure you go. So much more goes into the making of a gourmet jelly bean than I ever suspected! After the tour, we went to the food court they had there and shared a large jelly bean shaped Canadian bacon and pineapple pizza for lunch! Yum!




Our cute little family at Fishermans' Wharf. We were walking along and saw the sign that said it was a photo spot. So, we took a picture! I love how Ashlynn looks like a mummy in the little pack we bought, while we were down there, for her to ride around in. She loves it! Well...if her daddy is doing the carrying. She just snuggled her lil face into his chest and slept the whole time!





This is another photo spot. Anthony's mom, Kaye, joined us for this picture. You can't really see it, but that is Alcatraz behind us in the water. :) Looks like a nice place.



It was a fun trip and we enjoyed the nice Marriott we stayed at, but I'm glad to be home. The drive home was the worst! The roads were covered with snow starting in Salem, Oregon to all the way home! The weather we're having here in the Seattle area is out of control! But, we're enjoying it while it lasts. We had a small reprieve and were able to go out today and finish all our shopping for Christmas! Yay!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Santa Pictures

During our church Christmas party, Ashlynn got to sit on Santa's lap and get her picture taken. St. Nick was a leetle bit nervous about being handed such a teeny baby, but he did fine. She slept through the whole thing. She didn't even ask him to bring anything for her! Now, my dilemma. Which picture is best? I need y'alls input. Of the four taken, which picture is the cutest?

Split Personality?

I can't figure out this little person! *laugh* On Tuesday, nothing could make Ashlynn happy and she spent most of her day yelling at the top of her lungs. Yesterday, she seriusly spent ALL day sleeping (even falling asleep in the middle of eating) and I took her temp cuz I started to worry she might be sick. She was fine. Today, she's happy as long as I'm dancing around with her to Christmas music. If I stop, I get an earful. Though food, of course, works to keep her quiet too. How come the trick that worked one day, doesn't always work the next???

Sleeping Beauty

I couldn't resist taking a few snap shots when I actually woke up before Ashlynn (usually she gets me up). It's just so smile invoking to roll over and see such sweetness laying in the bed next to you!

Babies 1st Christmas

This is the first Christmas for both Ashlynn and Kissa. Ashlynn likes to look at the lights on the tree. Kissa likes to eat the tree.

If it isn't one baby, it's another!

This is Kissa.


This is what Kissa did last night.


This is what my downstairs bathroom looks like now.


This is Kissa enjoying her handiwork. She's really been very naughty and obnoxious ever since we brought the baby home.

First Bath

I don't know how such a little person can make such a big mess, but when Ashlynn and finally decided to get up this morning, I unrolled her from her blanket and discovered she'd been busy! Poop all the way up to her armpit! She was pretty soaked! I decided that instead of making her scream by trying to clean her up with cold wipes, I'd just give her a bath. Here she is showing off her messy clothes.



Her she is sucking her finger. It has nothing to do ith her bath, but I think it's cute and she's getting better at it.



Here's a close-up of the mess. Yeah, thought y'all would like to see that! :)



She was pretty chill about being in the bath seat. Maybe because she had her binky?It wasn't until I started using that wash cloth to clean her that she decided she really didn't care for this new experience!



This is how she was feeling by the time I got her out and dried her off. And she wouldn't be comforted until I fed her. But she got me back pretty good by peeing on my bed before I could get a diaper on her!



All's well that ends well! Don't you just love that adorable snub nose?

Welcome to Parenthood

Just thought you'd all like to see the face that Ashlynn (currently) makes the most. Even at this moment, I'm typing one handed and using the other to bounce her around and keep her happy. She's a very opinionated little creature and usually her opinion is that the service around here stinks! *laugh* She hates getting dressed and/or undressed, she hates having her diaper changed and she hates waiting for food. She also gets very unhappy when her binky falls out of her mouth and, of course, she isn't capable of putting it back in on her own. Despite her healthy and very loud lungs, we LOVE our baby! She's so cute! Even when she's screaming her head off! :)

Ashlynn is here!!!!!

Name: Ashlynn Elizabeth Brady
Date Born: November 15, 2008
Time: 12:59 am
Weight: 7 pounds and 10 Ounces
Lenght: 20.5 inches
Head: 14 inches
Where: Bellevue, Washington

Halloween Party at my parents' house

First picture is of Dad with all the carameled apples he made. They were VERY yummy! Mom wouldn't be happy to know that I posted this pic of her, but I like it and her friend, Pam is in it too. Tony took it while they were standing at the top of the stairs. My handsome husband went as Clark Kent. Studly, no? I hate the picture taken of me, but it was the only one (thank heaven!). I went as a very swollen-faced spider. Black shirt and pants with a nice red hourglass taped to my huge belly. Heehee! It was a good party. Mom and Dad invited a couple different families, but I just wanted to get the family on here.

Jacob, Daniel, Kaitlyn, Molly, Sam, & Rachel - Halloween

Jacob dressed up as a viking and had a great wig and beard (that kinda made him look more like Jesus or John the Baptist), but this was the only shot taken of him. Next time I won't give Tony the assignment to take the pics. Daniel was some Roman dude - can't remember which one. Aren't Kate and Molly just growing up to be beauties? Kaitlyn was Alexander the Great's wife - Roxanne. Molly was a character from Eragon (the book). Sam went as Isaac Newton. All I can say is, wow. Rachel dressed as Arwen from Lord of the Rings. We tried to put extensions in her hair. It didn't work out too well. But she looked cute anyway!

Alex, Lizzy, Noah, Sophie, and Isabella - Halloween

Well, here we have pictures of the 5 youngest of my siblings. Alex was some fighter character, also from the Eragon book. Lizzy was a pink Tinker Bell. Noah was supposed to be a scarecrow but he wouldn't leave his red nose or hat on. He's got Jacob's spear in this picture. I think he finally succeeded in breaking it. Isabella and Sophie were fairies.

My current best friend is.....

OATMEAL!!! I can't get enough of this stuff. I crave it all the time. I eat it for almost every snack. Weird craving, but at least it's totally safe and healthy to ingest! Oh, and I don't want it cooked. I eat it straight out of the box. Plain, unflavored, dry, and oh so delicious to me!!! I keep telling my baby, "Your mama's getting more and more bizarre, you'd better hurry up and come out soon!" *laugh* But, like I've said in earlier blogs, there are worse things to crave and I don't have to worry about my fiber intake, right?

Kissa-wissa My Precious Naughty Brady

These are pictures of my baby. Her name is Kissa. She's a bit bigger now since these pics are a month old. She eats real good and is growing like a weed! But, like I said, she's my baby and has helped me not be all upset about wanting the baby inside of me to hurry up and come out. Kissa's name means "cat" in Finnish. It's a family tradition to name your cat "cat" in other languages. It fits her. She's such a cutie. She's currently recuperating from major surgery. She got declawed and spayed a couple days ago and isn't her usual rambunctious self. That's ok though. She's just being cute and sleepy and all drugged up.

Quick update for yesterday

I went to the doctor and I do NOT have preeclampsia. No protein in the urine. Nothing. I'm grateful for that. But this pregnancy is starting to rack up on the false alarms! At least all's well that ends well, right?

Blah!

I am having "one of those days." When I went to the doctor on Tuesday they found that I have some protein in my urine, so now they are worried that I am developing preeclampsia. Urg. My blood pressure was the same as always though and I haven't had any headaches. I've got major swelling going on. Especially in my poor legs and feet. So, now I have to go back in for more tests on Friday, even though I've already got a scheduled appointment early next week. *sigh* Ashlynn, can't you just come out already?

I decided a couple days ago that my house is definitely NOT in order and that I had to get it into ship shape before the arrival of this child. I'm not supposed to be on my feet much, but yesterday I totally ignored that and I'm glad. My house looks incredible! I'm not completely done with the upstairs, but it's good enough that I'd be fine going into labor right now. Actually, I'd really like that.

I don't wanna wait anymore! *whine, whine*

So, anyways, hope I don't have preeclampsia. It's just all bothersome and worrysome stuff and there is nothing you can do about it anyways except have the baby. So, why do they want me to lay around when being active could help get labor started. I'm measuring 38. Big enough, right?

Oh, and an update on the beloved husband since, so far, all I ever talk about is myself. *laugh* Anthony is busy with the political season at work, and he's almost going full time at school too. But, he's juggling it all very skillfully and I'm very impressed. He still finds time to help me out and never complains when I ask him to get something for me because I just don't want to climb the stairs. He's excited to be a dad and asks me several times a day how I'm doing and if I've had any contractions. I'm not the only one ready for the grand finale! :) He's also losing weight because he got all healthy and started running and eating better this past summer. He's looking GOOD!

That's all for now. Time for a nap.

Pregnancy....is not alwayz pretty. :)

People have asked me (a lot) if I've had any weird or particular cravings. When I first got pregnant (before the nasty sickness set in) I wanted meat. LOTS of meat! I became a carnivore! Then I got sick and nothing was my friend except Jamba Juice. Once I got into my 2nd trimester I didn't have anything that felt like a craving. I just simply had to have cereal and fruit everyday to be happy. I still do. Especially the fruit part. I ate a lot of salad too. Now I just like to eat everything! Though, I have no idea where my stomach is at this point, but it's not feeling too roomy anymore!

I remember hearing about women who craved stuff like ice (not bad), clay, dirt, grass, crayons, and other weird things. And they'd eat it too!! That's the strangest part. I never thought that would ever happen to me. But all of a sudden in the last month the two things that smell so good, they are almost (note I did say almost) tempting are: cat food and dish detergant. I know! Bizarre! So, since my brain says, "no, you are absolutely NOT going to ingest those substances," I just enjoy feeding the cat and loading the dish washer a lot more because the smells are so pleasant. The whole heightened sense of smell thing has been a trial for me though. Everything smells stronger, and for the most part, BAD. Poor Anthony. :) I can't wait until I get my normal sense of smell back. Oh, and hamburgers are disgusting right now. *laugh*

Buttrest is BORING!!!

So, I decided that just because I'm confused with all the options and steps involved with this whole blog thing, doesn't mean I can't update the written part. At least I know how to do that! And it's not like I've got any recent pics to post anyways. I really need to get some preggo pictures snapped before it's too late and the baby is here already!

Anyways, the reason for my title: Two weekends ago I had contractions all day. Nothing serious or really painful, but more than six in an hour sometimes. My doctor wasn't on call. Another one was and she suggested I take it easy, drink lots of water and if that didn't change anything I should go to the hospital and get checked. I wasn't the best listener because I had sooooo many errands to run that day. And of course, silly girl that I am, I decided at 11:30 pm that it was better to be safe than sorry and go to the hospital. After all, this was the first time I'd ever felt a contraction! So, Anthony drove me over there and we were there for HOURS!!!!

They did a lot of tests and sure enough I was having many contractions (but not even close to hard). They didn't want to let me go until the contractions were stopped because I was only (supposedly) 34 weeks along. They gave me a whole bunch of trebutaline (NASTY STUFF) and that did the trick. The contractions stopped completely. Tony and I didn't get home till almost 5 am. Not doing that again! One thing I learned, it hurts more than anything to get your cervix checked! YOWZERS!!!

I saw MY doctor two days after that and he said, just keep the baby in for two more weeks and then it's all good. So, I'm basically on buttrest. Not bedrest, but I just have to be a blob. Pretty easy for me. No, actually it isn't. Being lazy is only fun for half the day. Then I get bored. :)

Doctor Zimmer gave a me a little list of stuff to do and not do and told me that I didn't need to go into the hospital until the contractions were actually stop-you-in-your-tracks painful or if my water broke. At least I know now. Wish I could've just talked to him on that Saturday! Would've saved me a trip to the hospital. He's so cool, laid back, and down to earth. Plus, he was my mom's ob-gyn and delivered several of my siblings, so he's been doing this whole baby thing for a while now! :)

My sister-in-law is throwing me a shower this weekend. I just have to make it to that or she'll kill me! And if you are reading this and wondering where your invite is, just ask me for the details because you're totally invited. It's in Bonney Lake at 3pm. :)

Am I forgetting anything? I'm totally nervous about labor and having to go through all the pain. But, at the same time, I really want to get this over with. I feel like my body is being rented by this little creature and it's about time for her to move out!

Oh! I think they've got my due date all wrong. Dr. Zimmer said she's been measuring two weeks bigger than where she's supposedly at for a while now. That means that I'm actually 37 weeks, not 35. That's good! I just want her lungs to be all ready to use when she comes out. I'm not hoping for a huge baby. I think it'd be easier to squeeze out something smallish and then fatten her up once she's out.

And just in case y'all didn't know, her name is Ashlynn Elizabeth Brady. Unless she gets here and really doesn't look like an Ashlynn. Then we'll be back at square one. And I'm really hoping it's truly a girl like they said. If not, he'll be wearing a LOT of pink!!!

In the beginning....

Once upon a time there was a guy named Tony and a girl named Jamie and they grew up most of their lives in the Seattle area not knowing each other even existed. To make a long-ish story shorter, they both ended up on the same flights to Seattle from Houston (which is where they each had served missions)on March 13, 2007. They were assigned seats next to each other and Tony talked Jamie's ear off the whole time. But she didn't mind. When they arrived at the Sea-tac Airport Tony told Jamie that they should get together and do something sometime. She was in agreement. A month after that they began spending their Saturdays together, which quickly became weekends, and then several times a week. Tony decided that he couldn't live without Jamie and over Memorial Day weekend he proposed. On June 20th they were married; sealed for time and eternity in the Seattle Temple. In July they honeymooned for a week in Washington DC, which was very fun but very humid. On August 25th they finally got around to having a reception/party. They lived happily ever after. The End.