We Can't Get Enough Of Our New Girl....!!!

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind.....all in a very good way, of course! Alyssa is a great baby. She fusses when she is hungry or needs a diaper change. I had forgotten how quickly a newborn goes through diapers. Unreal!

I currently spend most of my day protecting the baby from being overly loved by Jaxson and Austin. They want to touch her and hold her ALL OF THE TIME! It was cute for the first week; now it's WORK! :) Austin calls her "my baby." Jaxson calls her, "my girl." Taylor calls her, "my sister."

My mother stayed with us for the first 10 days. One morning, I awoke to a quiet home. I had heard mom getting Taylor off to school around 7:30am so I didn't bother to arise. So at 9:00am, I wondered why our home was so quiet. I walked into each room and couldn't mom nor the boys. It was snowing like crazy so I glanced out the dining room window. There was mom and the boys, building snowmen on our driveway! The boys gave out long before mom did. She loves this type of stuff-

On our first Sundayhome from the hospital, Mom made ribs and wanted to invite Dale and Barbara (Dave's parents) over to eat with us. We were extra excited to have Cindy and Carson come with them! Here is Carson checking out his new baby cousin:

VALENTINE'S DAY: Here are some pictures of the kids.

BEST GRANDMAS IN THE WORLD!

Grandma Barbie with Alyssa

Grandma Rae Rae

(This picture was taken as she was leaving. She cried and cried...and I did the rest of the day)

We love our Grandma!

Justin and his family came by as well. Here is Jana and the girls with Alyssa!

She's Here! Alyssa Jean Lindsay

On the morning of Monday, February 2nd, the phone rang at 6:00am. It was the maternity ward letting me know that I was going to be induced at 7:30. Since I had hardly slept a wink through the night, I decided to relax in the jetted tub for a bit. Mom made us some toast, eggs and juice before we left for the hospital.

When we arrived, they got me all hooked up, broke my water and told me to relax and watch TV. After about 2 hours, I was checked and was only dilated to a 3 1/2. Dave called his mom and told her we were going to be there for a while and not to rush. One hour later, they check me again and I was at a 4 1/2. The nurse predicted I would have the baby by 2:00pm.

Since it was about noon, Dave decided to go have a burger at the hospital cafeteria. While he was gone, I started getting the shakes and wondered if I was progressing more quickly. When Dave returned, they checked me again. It has been about 45 minutes and I was dilated to an 8. Dr Saunders said, "Let's get set up and ready to go." Dave quickly called my parents (who had just ordered their hamburgers) and told them they might ought to hurry. Ten minutes later, I was at a 9 and we were wondering if Grandma Barbie was going to make it! She did! About 15 minutes later...............our baby girl was born! She is the biggest yet: 9 lbs 3 oz, 21 1/2 inches long! Tons of dark hair too!

When Dave got back from watching her get cleaned up, he exclaimed, "Jode, she even has back fat!" We love every little layer of baby fat already; her cheeks are just the best! Mom and Dad brought the kids over to see the baby with some flowers and a balloon for me! They were so excited to see their new sister!The next day, my dad hurried over to the hospital because I needed somebody to help me walk around. It was so fun to have some one-on-one time with him.!Poppie and Grandma Barbie came to visit us in the evening. It was a nice, quiet evening and I just loved it!On Wednesday afternoon, when we pulled up to our home, this is what we found- the kids there to greet us with a sign put up by our neighbor, Dana!Yes, our newborn smiles! We were eating dinner tonight and Alyssa had some gas and kept making these cute faces. I caught the perfect look!

Oh, how we LOVE this baby!

Dave and Austin giving the baby some kisses!


Dave LOVES pictures of him with his kids! Can you believe we are a family of 6?

Austin and Alyssa

Taylor and her baby sister!

Jaxson and his girl!

We can't get over how much Alyssa resembles Taylor! Check this out!

Our little heartbeat.....

The first night home was a joke! Everytime Alyssa would let out a peep, both Jaxson and Austin would FLY out of their beds to see what was going on. Austin finally settled down around 2:30am. Jaxson was still so excited and in love with his new baby that he was wired until 4:00am, when mom took over so I could get some sleep!

On Thursday, our 1st full day home, I took a nap and awoke feeling a bit strange. The next 12 hours I spent in the bathroom with a flu bug that was horrible! Thank goodness Dave took the kids and I had my mom to help hold Alyssa because I was a mess! Today, Friday, has been great! I got up early and made breakfast for Taylor before school and then mom sent me back to bed for a few hours. I actually showered today and have been able to spent time with my boys.

I want to wrap this post up with a quick thanks to all of you for your encouragement, kind words and prayers for our family. These past months have certainly held challenges and trials for us but we feel that heaven's blessing have been poured out on our little family!

We're Almost There!

Almost.

There WILL be an end to this pregnancy! I will be 39 weeks tomorrow, on Saturday, but since my doctor is off for the weekend, we decided to wait until Monday so he can deliver the final child. He told me this baby is going to be big. Great. Since my last baby was a petite 9 lbs 2 oz and over 22 inches long! She has a great heartbeat and appears to be doing really well so we're happy about that!

Dave is still a mess. He has gotten progressively worse this week so we took him back to the doctor for a follow-up visit. He had to have more CAT scans and we learned this morning he has a bruised kidney and lung from the accident. He is still in a ton of pain and mostly sleeps through the day. His mom, Barbara, has been so helpful to take him to his appointments since it is hard for me to get around. We actually just got back from the ped's office---Jaxson and Austin both have sinus infections. They gave us some powerful medication in hope that they will be well by Monday or at least when the baby comes home. I tell you-----it doesn't seem to stop, does it? Even though this is tough on me to go a few days over when I could be induced, maybe it is for the best: if Dave will be further along in his healing process, the boys over their colds/infections and Taylor still healthy, the whole transtition of bringing home a baby will be better!

Last, still no name......!!!! AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Our 1st 2009 Hospital Visit....but not for Jody!

My mother-in-law called this morning to see if the boys wanted to go over to her home for a few hours so I could rest. I'm not stupid, so I said "YES--that would be great!" After she left, I fell asleep while Taylor watched a movie for an hour or so.

About an hour later, my in-laws, Cheri and Dale came in and told me that Dave had been in a car accident and had been at the hospital for several hours getting CAT scans on his neck and back. I was in shock, trying to wake up and simply wondering how bad Dave was! Cheri drove Taylor and I to the hospital where Dave had just come out of his second CAT scan. Our little Taylor got really emotional and was trying not to cry when she saw Dave. Luckily he was able to talk to her a little bit so that helped calm her down.

Thankfully, we are home with Dave tonight. No broken bones, no wounds, some scratches but he'll be so sore over the next multiple days. The gal who hit him was tailgating him for a mile and when he went to slow down for a stop light, she plowed into the back of him, hitting him hard enough that it sent his truck into the vehicle in front of his! Apparently she told the police that she wasn't used to driving stick shift and couldn't stop. I've got a few neighbors on call tonight to help us out if I go into labor because Dave won't be able to drive me (he is so doped up).

Can you believe the timing of this?

Again, I am just so thankful that Dave was watched over today. Another blessing in our lives....

Final Countdown!

So, friends and family, we're almost there! Today I had my 38 week appointment and as of tomorrow, I am officially "full term." When my doctor began my exam, I told him I'd give him 100 bucks if he would move up my due date by a few days. After checking my chart, he said if he didn't have so many dates circled, he just might do it! :) He could induce me on Sat, Jan 31st, but he has the weekend off so since I really want him to deliver me, I told him I'll try to make it to Mon, Feb 2nd.

He gave me some last minute IDEAS to try to put me into labor so we'll try those out and hopefully, they won't cause me too much more pain! I can barely walk! I'm not kidding! Just this morning, as I was walking down to the faculty lounge to get my daily fill-up of ice and water, there were kids who full on stopped walking and talking to STARE at me waddling in pain like an 89 year old lady! It was the first time I've felt embarrassed about my condition. On the bright side, I'm probably the best birth control these jr high kids will ever have.....

As for my to-do list from last week, we have multiple things to cross out! Dave got the crib set up, I got some of Taylor's old stuff washed and put away, I've had some chocolate chip cookies and I got a pedicure (not that I can see it, but it's there and Dave says it looks nice). Still to do----NAME THIS CHILD!

Dave has veto-ed my top three names: Tasia, Jaden and Nicole. I just have to get excited about some other names! I'm anxious to know what we're going to name this child. So I'm going to sign off and hit the baby name sites!

I bought this cute bedding for the crib to match Taylor's bedspread!

Back in the fall, I painted the room a soft pink and then did the one wall with stripes of brown and white to match. Notice: still need to put up pictures and decorations.

Girl's Room! Taylor is so excited to have the baby crib in her room!

Jody's To Do List ASAP

So we've known since the end of May that we are having a baby in January/February. Here we are- 9 MONTHS LATER- and the following things have yet to get done:

1. Get Dave to get crib set up
2. Purchase diapers
3. Find, Sort and Wash Taylor's baby clothes
4. Remember what I need to buy for a newborn
5. Eat some chocolate (cause after this kid comes, it's all salmon and salad for the next 3 months!)
6. Start packing a bag with things for the hospital (thanks mom again for the bathrobe- I'll look so hot in red!)
7. Buy memory card for video camera
8. Wash bedding from downstairs in storage
9. Try to fit in a pedicure on my swollen feet
10. DECIDE ON A NAME FOR THIS KID!

On the bright side, my student teacher is awesome. She is a few years older than me but her kids are significantly older than mine (15, 18,19) so she has a maturity and experience about her that most BYU students in their early 20's lack. She and I have been co-teaching this week and will continue to do so until I have this nameless child.

I have my 37 week appointment tomorrow. I'm scheduled to be induced by week 39 if I don't go on my own. We're almost there! Hope I can mentally make it!

Christmas Memories 2008

Christmas Eve at Grandma Barbie and Poppie's House

We enjoyed Christmas Eve at Dave's parent's home with his sisters Cindy and Cheri. It was the perfect lead-in to Christmas Day. Here are my top 5 memories!

Top 5 Memories

5. Opening presents from the Lindsay side!

4. Delicious Ham Dinner with Barbara's yummy pineapple/walnut stuffing.

3. Discussing at dinner for the 2nd time what we should name our soon-to-be-born daughter!

2. Watching our children and Carson attempt to reverently act out the story of the birth of Jesus.

1. Learning that my father-in-law, Dale, had been in a LA gang as a young man......

WE LOVE IT AT GRANDMA BARBIE'S HOUSE!

Dave and Taylor on Christmas EveJaxson, acting the part of JosephAustin as the WisemanTaylor as MaryKids ready to come down the hall for everybody!Listening to Poppie read in the book of LukeAustin, trying to be reverantPRESENT TIME!!!!!

After leaving our grandparent's home, we came back to our house to get ready for bed! The kids were so excited! They wrote their "lists" for Santa, put out the cookies and milk and quickly hit the sack!

Jaxson (4), Taylor (7), Carson (8) and Austin (2)

Christmas Eve 08

Christmas Morning!

At 4 am, I heard voices coming from the room where the kids were sleeping. I went in to tell them to be quiet and go back to sleep since we weren't getting up until 7:00am. They were so hyped since they had seen the trail of reindeer drops (hershey kisses) leading to the living room so they knew that Santa had come! For the next 1 1/2 hours, I went in every 10-15 mintues to tell them to be quiet and go back to sleep! It reminded me of the days of yore when all of my siblings and I used to sleep in the same attic room and my brothers would wake up in the middle of the night and yell down the vents, "Merry Christmas! Can we come down now?" It always provoked the Christmas morning argument.....

Time to run in the living room to see what Santa brought!

Taylor and Jaxson got roller skates from Santa! They were so excited! The boys received new bedspreads for their new bunkbeds from mom and dad

Austin and Aunt Cindy!

Carson was thrilled to add to his Lego collection

LAST FAMILY PICTURES

I HATE pictures of myself when pregnant! My face is huge, my 8 chins just hang there, my neck and arms can make any NFL football player jealous and then my belly...... it is so huge, it practically blocks the sun if I'm in front of you!

Having said that, here is the last picture any of you will see of me until the birth of our little sweetie! :)

Dale

Barbara

Merry Christmas 2008! We had a wonderful Christmas season and feel very blessed to have good health, a baby coming soon, jobs and the gospel in our lives! Love to all!