7th Anniversary

I was up early this morning to feed our baby boy and it struck me how much has changed in 7 years.  On this day, 7 years ago, I was up early because the butterflies in my stomach wouldn't allow me to sleep.  I was headed to Kaki's house for breakfast, a day of primping and then on to be a bride.  I had no idea what was in store and couldn't have dreamed of a more beautiful life.  5 moves, 2 kids and several jobs later I wouldn't change a thing.  The highs and lows have deepened our faith, grown us together and shaped who we are as a couple.  Blandford, I love you like crazy and look forward to all the years ahead!


And because I have no pictures from our wedding on our computer, here's one from the night we got engaged.  Oh how I love this man!

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Induction Day!

Bennett decided he didn't want to come before the induction so we picked my dad up from the airport Thursday night.  We had our last meal as 3 at Portillos.  I could barely sleep Thursday night knowing that Friday would truly be a life altering day.  We were at the hospital by 6:45 am and greeted by a sweet friend that is a nurse here.  Tracy is a friend of one of my family's closest friends.  She was there when Blythe was born and we were thrilled she got to be with us again!  We ended up having the same doctor that delivered Blythe and another nurse who was with us with Blythe as well. 

The entire experience was different.  When we got to the hospital, since I wasn't in active labor, everything was much more laid back.  With Blythe, I immediately got an epidural so I was bed bound all day.  This time I was able to be more mobile which I loved!  Once the medicine started, I began having more contractions.  Currey and I got to watch tv, walk the unit and talk for several hours.  It was almost relaxing!  Around 3, I got my epidural and they broke my water.  We had been warned that since this was our second baby, everything could happen very fast.  Currey and I didn't take these words very seriously as my labor with Blythe had been challenging and I had pushed for 3 hours.

Around 5 pm, my nurse came to check on me.  I told her I was feeling strong pressure so she checked me.  We were surprised and skeptical when she told us we'd have a baby 5:30!  My doctor immediately came to the room and we started pushing.  To our surprise, after 4 pushes we had our little man.







It took him several seconds to cry and I'm convinced those are some of the longest moments of my life. His cord was around his neck  but not causing harm (Our doctor told us this happens in 30% of deliveries).  We were relieved when we heard his first cry and thrilled that he was indeed a boy! 

We got to spend a couple of hours with him in labor and delivery and it was fantastic to have that quiet time alone, just the 3 of us.  It's safe to say that we were instantly in love!  There is no more special moment than being handed your little bundle for the first time.




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My Last Doctor's Appointment

As I sit to write this post, it's hard for me to imagine back to when we were just a family of 3!  Before I forget all the details, I wanted to write out Bennett's birth story.  Here's the first part of the story!

I went to my doctor's appointment on March 19th hoping for news that I was progressing towards a baby.    I also had a phone that was at 10% battery but I figured I would be in and out and back home.  I was SHOCKED when my doctor talked to me about being induced.  I was a week until my due date on Friday the 23rd and with my gestational diabetes, they wanted to make sure I wasn't going to be delivering a huge baby!  Currey had wanted to come to the appointment but Blythe needed a nap and I had continued to assure him that it would be a quick visit.  So with limited battery on my phone I was trying to figure out the logistics, get Currey's thoughts and process this news all while chatting with my doctor.  Although the thought of induction scared me a little, my dad had a planned trip to Chicago and would be with us until Monday.  Being induced on Friday meant Blythe could stay at our house with my dad all weekend which seemed like the best plan.  I then anxiously sat through a 30 minute stress test (just to make sure baby and I were doing fine) before I could get to my car phone charger and talk to Currey.  Now clearly at 38 weeks you know that your baby can be born at any time but the fact that I now knew for sure I'd be holding my little man on the 23rd was CRAZY!!!


We spent the rest of the week loving on Blythe and spending precious time as a family of 3.  I spent extra time holding her, reading with her and going on special outings.  We talked and talked about baby but we knew that Blythe did not really understand how her little world was about to be rocked!  We enjoyed our time as a family and joyously anticipated becoming a family of 4. 




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Just a little behind...

Has it really been 3 1/2 months since my last post?  Wow!!!

Hoping to catch up with a few things this week.  So here we go....

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Valentine's Day And An Update on 29 Before 29

2/17/12


We had a great Valentine's Day! Our small group had dinner together (we meet on Tuesday evenings) and it was a great evening of fellowship. We enjoyed a taco bar and dark chocolate fondue.

Currey gave me a mani/pedi for Valentines which is always a sweet treat for a pregnant momma! Looking forward to being pampered very soon. Currey and I enjoyed an evening out on Wednesday. We had a fantastic dinner of tapas at Meson Sabika. Such a great evening together! Great food, relaxing evening and several hours of uninterrupted conversation with Currey. We are trying to squeeze in as many dates as we can before Little Man's arrival!

But it got me thinking...when Currey suggested Meson Sabika for dinner he didn't realize that it was on my list of 29 before 29. And it made me realize that I have not updated my list since July. So, here's a little update:


1. Take a sewing class

2. Read a book a month (I've read Bossy Pants and Pioneer Woman's Black Heels to Tractor Wheels. I've got several others on my Kindle and I'm always open for suggestions!)

3. Write a recipe a month (I've written a couple. Hopefully I'll post them soon!)

4. Host a swap party

5. Have a new friend or a family over once a month for dinner (We've been doing well with this. Hopefully we will keep it up!)

6. Send one piece of “snail mail” a month (This may be one of my favorite tasks. Oh how I love stationary!!!)

7. Plant a garden

8. Make a bow board for all of Blythe’s hair bows

9. Take Blythe to the Zoo - Check!

10. Go away for an entire weekend with just Currey (and Youth Retreats Don’t Count!)

11. Take a cooking class with Currey

12. Update my blog weekly (Hummmm...not so much!)

13. Have dinner at Meson Sebeka - Check thanks to a thoughtful husband!

14. Take cookies to a neighbor - I'm going to say Check! We delivered hot chocolate and marshmallows to most of our neighbors at Christmas

15. Purge my cookbook collection

16. Put pictures in the frame that I got for all of Blythe’s first year photo sessions

17. Cook a recipe out of every cookbook I own (Moving in the right direction on this one! Hopefully once it's purged I'll have less to cook from. :)

18. Take Blythe to pick fruit/vegetables at a farm

19. See a concert in Chicago - Check! Matisyahu in July

20. Make cloth napkins

21. Cook a meal for friend just because

22. Go to the Kane County Flea Market

23. Make Tiramisu

24. Take Blythe to the Children’s Museum

25. Spend a Girls afternoon in Downtown Geneva

26. Learn to Grill

27. Use my ice cream maker at least 6 times (We've made 1 great batch and 1 one horrible, inedible batch.)

28. Spend intentional time with 1 life giving friend monthly (OK...this is actually my favorite one. I have been so blessed with fantastic friends!)

29. Upload all of our pictures to a storage site/organize our pictures



Clearly, I've got lots to do! I am again inspired to work on this list. Only 4 months to get this list tackled and I'm sure having a new baby soon will make it an easier task! :)


Hope you had a great Valentine's Day with the one you love!!!



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Happy 2nd Birthday Blythe!!!

2/24/12

It's really hard to believe that Blythe is 2! Where oh where has the time gone?!?!? Here's what our precious little one is up to these days:

She has recently started ballet. To say that she loves it is an understatement! We thought it would be a goofy little adventure but we have been amazed at the teaching. She is actually learning skills and loves interacting with other kids.


Blythe is my "mini-me" and I love it! It's amazing to me how she's all girl. She loves shoes, purses and necklaces. When I get ready in the morning, she sits in the bathroom with me. She has her own make up brush that she uses to put on "make-up". She asks for "lips" every morning. That's what she calls chap stick. She pulls it out of the bathroom drawer and has me put it on.


She also loves shoes!!! We've stopped making a big deal about her clothing choices (she's been wearing rain boots for 3 weeks) and she is developing her own sense of style. Blythe loves wearing Currey and I's shoes around the house and has an opinion about her clothing most days.


Blythe loves to read and sing. She loves Elmo and coloring. Blythe is very meticulous and loves to clean up while singing the "Clean-up" Song. We are seeing her desire for independence. She loves to do everything for herself and gets very irritated if anyone tries to assist her.


She loves to talk and her vocabulary has exploded since Christmas. She loves to use her manners! She says Please (peas) and thank you (tu-tu) without being prompted. She has lots of funny sayings too.


She's still a good eater. Currently, she loves to eat everything with a spoon. EVERYTHING. She has a funny sign for spoon where she rolls her hands together and she does it repeatedly until a spoon is provided. She also prefers to eat out of a bowl. We love her little personality quirks. She keeps us entertained to say the least!

When she gets up from nap she goes looking for Daddy. She always says "daddy, where are you?" and runs around looking for him. She's a Daddy's girl to the core and loves for Currey to chase her.



Precious Peanut,
We love you more than you will ever know. You bring us much joy!!! We love spending our days watching you grow and learn. You have taught us lots about life and love. Our lives will never be the same. We look forward to celebrating all your milestones big and small! You are a bigger blessing than we could have ever imagined. We love being your Mommy and Daddy!

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What Will Baby Bee?

12/31/11

Since we live several states away we have never been able to tell our families in person that we are expecting. My sister-in-law Caley suggested that we have a gender reveal party when we were in Texas and we decided it would be a great way to include our family in this exciting season.

Caley and John visited a couple of weeks before we went to Amarillo for Thanksgiving. I am not crafty but I was so inspired by pinterest! We decided on the theme, What Will Baby Bee?, based on lots of cute pictures of other gender reveal parties. Caley and I created most of the decor for the party. I was impressed with our work and it was a fun adventure for us to work on together.



We actually had our sonogram the day Caley and John came into town, so we knew we couldn't find out baby's gender and not spill the beans while they were there. The tech wrote the gender on a card that we tucked away once we got home. (We did end up peaking before the party. We wanted to celebrate together before we celebrated with everyone else. We were very impressed that we never let baby's gender slip, even while spending the entire weekend with my family for Jeffrey's wedding.)

Now on to the pictures...

The Banner that we made. LOVED it!!!






Our table.

The theme was pregnancy cravings so we had sweet, salty, sour and crunchy treats.

Our drink station.



The adorable cake!


The Big Sister to Be! She's so cute!


The Boy Votes


The Girl Votes



The votes. We had everyone write their name suggestion under their vote.
Very Entertaining!



We wanted Caley to cut the cake since she was so instrumental in helping me plan and execute all the party details.


The cake is BLUE!!!!!


We are thrilled to announce that Bennett Edwin Blandford will be joining our little family in March. We are so excited to be having a little boy and can not wait to meet him! Only three months from today! The time is flying by!

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