Soaking It Up

It's been hard to take it easy since I am feeling so well. I tell you what, I'd give birth any day over being sick for the first 4-5 months. As predicted, our little 'Lanie has tons of hair. It is jet black and so incredibly soft. (I think Hudson has as much fun dolling her up as I do. He brought her headband to me this morning and wanted to help put it on her.) I still cannot get over how tiny and perfect she is. She is a very good baby.
Yesterday we decided to put her in the sun, activate the vitamin D, and hopefully avoid a bad case of jaundice. Mom, Brent, and I all thought should would have a fit lying on the bed without a blanket or clothing as security. Much to our surprise, she loved it.

She's Here

We dropped Hudson off at Nikkala's and headed to the hospital bright and early Friday morning to have our baby. Once admitted, they proceeded to induce me. It was an uneventful morning, just laying around and waiting for the medication to take effect. By noon I was beginning to make progress dialating, so they ruptured my membrane and started pit. I kept holding out on getting my epidural until I was a 6 and my contractions were becoming severely uncomfortable. We anticipated a few more hours of laboring until I would be fully dialated, so I decided to get an epidural. The anesthesiologist administered my epidural immediately and was just cleaning up when the nurse checked me again. I was fully dialated and ready to push. (This all happened within about a half hour.) We had to wait for the nurses to finish the final preparations before I could begin pushing. Three pushes later and our beautiful baby girl was here at 3:44 pm. Dalanie weighed in at 6 pounds 11 ounces and was 20 inches long.
Everything happened so quickly that my epidural never had time to take effect. It was nice to be able to get up and use the bathroom without having to wait for my legs to wake up. I was numb during delivery though from medication they administer to fill the gap until the epidural begins working. That was a good thing.

All in all, it went very well and I am feeling great. Maybe too good in fact, my mom keeps threatening me.
We feel very blessed to have our baby here, safe and sound. Birth is such a miracle.

Mini Me

Today I've been trying to get everything in order since we're scheduled to have our baby tomorrow. Hudson has been a great helper. We've mowed the lawn, he's mopped while I've cleaned bathrooms. I'm taking a break to get my monthly pages posted for Adornit. While they upload I decided to make a blog entry.
It's funny, the closer I get to having this baby- I start wondering more and more what this little person is going to be like. Will she be anything like Hudson? Or will I have to learn a new way of mothering? I also wonder what she'll look like. Odds are that she'll have hair (since I've had heartburn) and that she'll chunk right up with me nursing her.
I ran across a picture of me when I was little. Is there any question who Hudson looks like? Brent asked me why I have to have such dominant genes. Who knows, maybe our little girl will be a mini-Brent.

Pregnant Lady Ramblings

I have officially lost my mind. They say it happens when you're pregnant, never to be totally regained. I have my own theory on the matter. I think it's a necessary part of pregnancy. Your mind just goes numb and you're out to lunch during the last weeks of your pregnancy. Otherwise, how would you deal with the anxiety of labor/delivery, the misery and discomfort caused by your expectant little one, and lack of motivation to do anything? Add to that your whacked out hormones and emotions and you've got a serious case on your hands. I am officially zoned out.
Just waiting.
Waiting for our baby to come.

Lessons From Grandpa

During one of our visits to Grandpa's this summer, he taught Hudson how to share grapes. He would put one in his mouth and hold it with his lips. Hudson would have to "kiss" Grandpa in order to retrieve it. Well, we were spending the day at Ross Park Aquatic Center on Saturday with Stephens', Mom, Jacie, Kolby, and Mason. Hudson was eating his Swedish fish that Grandma gave him. Before we knew it, he had a fish dangling out of his mouth and he was proceeding to share it with Grandma.
Before you knew it, Grandma and all of the kids had cheese puffs, gummy worms, and fish hanging out of their mouths and it was a kissing frenzy.

Dad can sure be proud of the valuable lessons that he teaches his grandkids.

Watch My Corn Pop Up In Rows

Here are a few pictures from awhile back. By now the corn is over your head. It grows crazy fast this time of year. Hudson loves to help Dad. When we're driving and he sees corn he always asks if it's Dad's. If I say no, he questions "Pappa?" Little does this kid realize that there's a lot more corn being grown throughout the world than just in Bingham County.

Backseat DJ

I didn't know that 2 yr. olds could have an opinion when it come to music, turns out they can. We were on our way home from Burley and I was listening to the radio to try to keep myself awake. Pretty soon I hear Hudson say "Tis" (the name he has affectionately given to his Uncle Chris.) It just turns out that Chris is an aspiring singer/song writer and we have a few of his cd's. (Go check out the 4 chord song- I quite enjoy it.) I put a cd in and Hudson was completely content. He actually sang along, lalalala.
Fast forward to this morning.
We were in the car on the way to my Dr. appointment and Hudson puts in his request for Tis. As soon as it was playing he kept saying "Tis!" "Tis!" He had a smile from ear to ear. Thanks for saving the day Uncle Chris. I'm just wondering when your going to produce a kid cd with toddler hits? I don't think he needs to be inundated with all of your lost love and breakups quite yet. ;)

Burley or Bust

Hudson and I sent Brent off to youth conference bright and early Friday morning. Shortly after, we got in the car and set out for a weekend in Burley. Despite the heat, we had a lot of fun filled with of water, ice cream, and crazy Grandpa.

That afternoon we ran some errands in town and took Hudson to the kiddie pool in Burley. It was all fun and games until someone pooped in the pool and they shut it down. Friday night Grandpa set up his slip and slide and took Hudson down it. It was quite entertaining to say the least. Tameka hosted a movie night, showing Little Rascals with our projector. Too bad us oldies were too tired to enjoy the show.

Hudson loved helping Grandpa feed the horses apples and gather eggs. He taught him how to use his shirt as a basket. It was okay as long as someone was helping Hudson fill it, otherwise he tried to put the apples under the shirt.

Saturday morning Mom and I took in a few garage sales. Nothing too impressive, but Mom got 3 very versatile pairs of shorts. The funnest was trying to find homes for them. We also checked out the farmers market at Gossners and I had my first icrecream of the day at 9:00 am.

Once home, Mom made the finishing touches on the baby's blessing dress. We hung out and tried to beat the heat. It took a few more icecream cones and popsicles to get the job done. Nik and Chod came and the boys enjoyed playing in buckets of water. All in all it was a good trip.

Free Kids Movies

At the play group today, I found out that Edwards Cinema in Idaho Falls offers free kids movies every Tuesday and Wednesday during the summer at 10:00 am. Here's the schedule for rest of the summer. Oh yeah, and they said to get there 30 minutes early because it fills up so fast. Enjoy!

July 17/18
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Rated G)
&
Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (Rated PG)

July 24/25
Charlotte’s Web (Rated G)
&
Monster House (Rated PG)

July 31/Aug 1
Everyone’s Hero (Rated G)
&
Barnyard (Rated PG)

Aug 7/8
Jonah: A Veggie Tale Movie (Rated G)
&
Open Season (Rated PG)

Aug 7/8
Curious George (Rated G)
&
Flushed Away (Rated PG)

Christmas in July

After I dressed Hudson in some shorts and a t-shirt, he brought me his jacket and wanted help putting it on. Next he proceeded to get his cowboy boots. I kept telling him that he would be too hot outside, but he didn't seem to listen. I walked him to the door so he could go outside and he ran back to the mud room and pointed to his gloves. Once again I assured him that he wouldn't need them and that he would be too hot, but he persisted. As I was putting them on he got excited and exclaimed, "Snow!"

Poor kid, that makes two of us wishing for a little relief from this summer heat.

Skinny Jeans

Ever since we got home from our little vacation, Brent has been complaining about his pants being tight. Yesterday he asked, "Be honest, have I really gotten fat?" to which I laughed very unsympathetically. C'mon, lets ask an 8 1/2 month pregnant woman about clothes not fitting. I can't imagine him putting on too much weight this time of year, but he's convinced he has. Maybe I managed to shrink his pants, I don't know. Nevertheless, he is still wearing the same size of pants he did in high school. Does he think that I'm still wearing the same size of pants as I did in high school? One of these days he might have to break down and wear a bigger size.

Get Away

Brent and I decided that if we were going to have any sort of a vacation this summer, this past week was the time. We loaded up and headed out on Tuesday. You should have seen our Red Neck Toy Hauler. We had a camper on the front and Rhino on the back of the 4 place snowmobile trailer. (I was determined that if we were going camping, I was going to have a "real" bed to sleep in. It took much persisting to convince Brent that the camper would be better than a tent.) Much to my dismay, I left my memory stick in the computer at home. I was sick to my stomach, but then I realized that you can still have fun even if there isn't a camera to document the fun.

We headed to Emigration campground by way of Lava and Preston. We were just about to the campground when we noticed a truck off the side of the road with it's hood open. Brent stopped to see if they needed help, it's a good thing we did. One of the men had some medical conditions and he was suffering from heat stroke. We turned around and took them to Preston. By this time we decided to bag the idea of going to Logan for their fireworks show, so we picked up some groceries and headed back to camp.

Hudson was so excited the entire trip. He called the camper his "house" and enjoyed his first camping experience very much. He especially liked washing his hands in a little sink we borrowed from Grandma and Grandpa Hillman. It wouldn't have been such a big deal, but the generator was broken at the campground which meant that there was no water. We made sure to keep close tabs on the water situation and conserve but what two year old is conservative when it comes to playing in water?

On the 4th, we went 4-wheeling and got completely filthy. We tried cleaning up at a creek where we had our lunch, but little good that did. While we were eating lunch, a deer came bouncing down the road and then up the mountain when he saw us. From then on, Hudson would hop like the deer. Once we got back to camp it was stinking hot. We decided to go to Bear Lake to clean up and cool down. It was pretty busy, but we managed to find ourselves a spot on the North Shore beach. Brent had never been to Bear Lake in the summer and he was quite impressed with all the people and how fun it was. (Hint: He's looking for some people that would like to share our boat for a day or two on the lake. RSVP in the comment section.) We also scouted out some closer camping spots for our future excursion. Our Bear Lake experience was rounded out with dinner and shakes from LaBeau's. No fireworks for us, we were all too tired after our busy day.

On Thursday, we got camped packed up and headed back Preston way to Riverdale Resort. Hudson couldn't wait to get in the water. He floated in his tube and went down the big waterslide over and over with Brent. After swimming we headed to Logan where we dropped Hudson off so Brent and I could go out to eat at Cafe Sabor. After a leisurely dinner, we picked Hudson up and went to the Cache Valley Cruise-In. It was the first night of the event and hadn't officially started. There were still enough cars to look at, but the best part was the Sock Hop Dance they had going on. We watched and participated, Hudson likes music and to dance.

The last day of our adventure was pretty well spent on "business errands" to Ogden and Salt Lake. We were all ready to get home. Hudson was sure missing his Makita. He kept asking for her and we told him that Grandma was taking care of her. That only led to more home sickness, "Mamma, Kita?" All in all it was a good get away, a little hot, but we survived.

Not Stopping

There are a few things that my pregnancy have put a damper on such as: waterskiing, painting my toenails, and jumping on the trampoline. But I refuse to let it ruin all of my fun. I am still able to sleep on my stomach (don't ask my how, never could with Hudson,) pull weeds and have a garden, and ride my bike. I'm not saying that I do any of the above well, but I manage to get it done. After a 4 mile bike ride a week or two ago, my hips hurt the next day. I thought it might be the end to my bike riding, but after a week they still hurt. I decided that the hip discomfort is just part of the pregnancy package and really didn't have a lot to do with the fact that I was riding my bike. Hudson and I both really enjoy bike rides, so I'm determined not to let my pregnancy stop me. I'm afraid that delivering the baby might put a screeching halt to it though. I remember trying to ride my bike a month after I had Hudson. Not too pleasant, still a little tender.

I'm It

Four Jobs I’ve held;
1. Petiole Puller @ Rod Lake Ag
2. Grounds Crew member at Utah State University
3. Mailroom specialist as International Sports Specialists
4. CEO of Brent Hillman Farms

Movies I can watch over and over:
Not a big movie buff. I prefer sleeping through them instead of watching them.

Places I’ve lived:
1. Burley, ID
2. Logan, UT
3. Shelley, ID- parent's travel trailer for 2 months prior to our trailer house
4. Current home

T.V. Shows I enjoy:
1. Food Network Star
2. Curious George
3. HGTV shows

Places I have been on vacations to:
1. Deutschland/ Germany
2. Russia- Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novo Sinkovo
3. Back East (DC, NYC, Maine, Connecticut)
4. Western Carribean- Jamaica, Cozumel, Grand Cayman
5. Santiago, Chile

Favorite foods:
1. Icecream
2. Fajitas
3. Pizookies
4. New peas and Potatoes

Websites I visit:
1. gmail.com
2. family blogs
3. key.com
4. ebay

Places I’d rather be right now:
1. Maine
2. Glacier National Park
3. Chile, except it's winter there now
4. A Labor and Delivery Room

Consider yourself tagged
1. Nikki
2. Julia
3. Emily Gerratt