She Makes Her Appearance!

Being so uncomfortable in my bed, I spent the last week of pregnancy sleeping on the couch downstairs.  I woke up at 2am and visited the restroom, a typical occurrence.  I was wide awake and knew I couldn't get back to sleep so I turned on the t.v. and got something to eat.  While eating I starting to feel some cramping.  I waited until there were a few so that I could make sure it was real and time them.  Seemed like they were coming five minutes apart so I went upstairs and woke up Mark.  At this point it was about 3am.  We both took showers, packed a few things, got Collin out of bed and jumped in the car.  We dropped Collin off at a friend's house at about 4:15am and Mark drove like crazy to the hospital while I threatened to have the baby in the car.  We got to the ER and into the delivery room just after 5am.  They finally checked me and I was dilated to 9 centimeters.  The room was buzzing with all kinds of activity, they were taking my blood, putting in my IV, monitoring the baby, asking me a million questions, etc.  They soon broke my water which was bulging and minutes later I was dilated to a 10 and I was feeling the urge to push.  Three contractions later Mary Celeste was laying on my chest (picture below).  Notice the phone above my head.  In keeping with tradition, Beatles music was playing through the whole ordeal.

10 lbs 8 ozs          20 1/2" long           5:51am

The on-call doctor that delivered Celeste.

Shortly after grandma, grandpa and aunt Misty were the first to come in to meet Mary Celeste.

My doctor, Misti Bartel, came by on her lunch break to see how I was doing.  She couldn't believe how big Celeste was.  Said if she had known, she probably would have pressured me to have a C-Section.  She said 9 out of 10 women can't deliver a baby that big.  I would have said no to surgery so I'm glad I didn't have to fight her on it.

As the day went on, we welcomed more visitors and we were happy to show off our new bundle of joy.  Aunt Julie and aunt Cindi couldn't get enough of her chubby cheeks.

 

Our friends, the Leybas family took Collin in the middle of the night and then brought him by the hospital.  We were so glad we had made night time arrangements because we needed it!

Collin meets his sister for the first time.

More visitors....aunt Cheryl and grandpa John (came from California!).

Oh my goodness, those cheeks!

Collin gives his sister a gift, a Minnie Mouse.

Daddy/daughter time

Yes, we are as tired as we look.

Day two visitor, my friend Sandy.

 Collin returns with grandma to get to know sister better.

Paradise Valley Hospital provides a celebration dinner for new parents.  Yum!

Beautiful flowers given by aunt Misty and grandma (left) and by grandpa John (right).

We get to go home on July 4th.  Aunt Misty bought Celeste this cute outfit to wear home for the holiday.  They also brought her other adorable clothes and accessories, thanks guys!

Missing 3 cousins who are living in Chili, all other 17 grand kids got together for a family photo.

9 Months Pregnant

 

What's New With Collin

Collin has enjoyed several Dbacks games this year.  Many of them being just a daddy/son date.  He loves to get excited about going to meet Baxter the Bobcat or say hi to the "big head" players but then when he gets close to them he gets scared.  Mom and dad always get a good laugh from it.

 

One of Collin's favorite things to do is get into the fridge and freezer.  He snacks all day long!

Each month Lowes and The Home Depot have classes that Mark takes Collin to and they make little wood crafts, etc.  Collin enjoys it.  On the left we are filling up the bird feeder he made with seed.  On the right we are planting flower seeds in the pots he made a wood container to hold them in. 

Collin participated in a music class called Sound Beginnings through the spring.  Here are pictures of us in the class and Collin at the recital in May.

 

 

 

 

Collin loves to organize his toys, here is one example where he put all his animals into rows.

He also LOVES Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  He could watch it all day if we let him.

Some pictures from his play dates at "Pump It Up".

 

 Would you believe he climbed up this thing?  Was a bit nervous to come down the slide though.

At a friends birthday party.

 

Taking swim lessons at the city pool.

 

 After each class his teacher takes him down the water slide (above) and then he enjoys watching the big boys play basketball (below).

Our little boy is growing up doing so many new and fun things.  We love watching him progress in his talents, speech, etc.  Being a parent is so wonderful!