3 weeks old, 40 man roster, big league invite!

What a crazy week for us! Ella turned 3 weeks old on Monday; time is flying by waaay too fast! Anyone know how to freeze these moments?!?! She is so strong already. She can lift her head from side to side during tummy time, she can kick her legs in and out from under her belly & she loves to look at her giraffe and rattle monkey; always makes her happy :)

Yesterday we got such great news for Steven! This year he will not only be protected on the 40 man roster, but he will be joining the big league team for spring! Needless to say, ella and I will have to go shopping for some gear! ;) We are so excited and so proud of him!!! Gods timing is always perfect and we will continue to trust in his plan for Steven & our family. He has blessed us with so much this year; we have so much to be thankful for!! Gooo Sox!!!

Yesterday we also got some saddening news. Stevens mentor, and our dear friend, Frank Pastore was in a motorcycle accident where he was hit and thrown off his bike. He is in a medically induced coma & we would greatly appreciate your prayers for him & his family. We know The Lord is there & He is the ultimate healer! We are so thankful that Frank is in His hands. Thank you for joining us in prayer :)

Ella Grace is 2 weeks old!

The time passes waaay too fast!! I keep telling this munchkin to slow down! ;) She has already gained all her weight back and grew a 1/2 inch! This week she had her first play date at the moms group & a wonderful breakfast with Bex and Liz :)

Finally! Ella grace :)

Wow! Those of you who blog while having a newborn, I need your tips! ;) I feel like we only have time for sleeping, eating and changing diapers... But it's all worth it!
Ok, the story:

My water broke on Sunday oct 28th after the giants won the World Series... My sister thinks Ella was just too excited about them wining she busted through lol... I checked into the hospital about 10:05 and thanks to pre-registration I was takin back within minutes. After I got to my room and got my lovely hospital attire on, I called Steven as calmly as possible to tell him to get his bum on a plane ASAP!
After talking to his gm only moments before my call, he could now not get a hold of anyone. He called for 2hrs before calling a friend to help him book his flight! Thank you TGCW!!!
I made it through the night with only minor contractions and after 18 hours they were telling me I needed to let my body have those contractions or they would have to give me pitocin. I kept telling them they had to wait till Steven landed! By 5pm Monday night, I was finally talked into getting hooked up so I could get my contractions going. In my head I knew Steven would be there soon and I could let my body start doing its thing. Before 1/2 of the first dose kicked in, I was having heavy contractions that were getting closer together. They checked to see where I was at and I was still only 3cm (after being 3cm for 3 weeks already). This is when I was talked into trying a different position. Since walking in the hall was not what I wanted to do I jumped in the shower and stayed there for the next 30 min. This time I knew I was making progress. After getting out and making my way back to bed I heard Stevens voice. From this point on I was relaxed and ready to go. I went from 3-8 cm in 30 min and the baby was out an hour later! Thank you Lord that Steven made it!!

I think we were all so excited that Steven was there that we forgot to check out if our peanut was a boy or girl... With a few moments everyone yelled, "wait! Is it a boy? Or girl?!?!" And there was miss Ella Grace :) we fell completely in love in a matter of seconds!

A lot to catch up on!

A hubby home, turning 30, a baby shower, hubby off to Dominican Republic and baby updates!!

Well, I am not doing a very good job keeping y'all up to date so I am going to try my best to catch everyone up to speed!

Although it was for less than 2 weeks, it sure was great having the hubby home!  Best part was he was able to be here for the 36 week ultrasound & both of us were amazed at the growth of this lil peanut (who is now the size of a water mellon!)  The 20 week ultrasound you were able to see all the lil parts, at 36 weeks the baby is so big you just get bits and pieces at a time (still incredibly amazing!)...

Steven has been in Dominican for 2 1/2 weeks now, but it feels like its been much longer!  He is currently waiting out the rest of the storm, although the hurricane is far past them at this point; they are still receiving lots of wind and rain and have missed playing a few games & most likely another game today.  He sure is glad to have his playstation ;)

As for the 30th birthday, it was a lot better than I had anticipated... It actually wasn't all that bad; thanks to the spoiling and pampering of my wonderful hubby, awesome parents and amazing friends!!  Best part:  Having my hubby home of course!! ;)  I guess 30 will be ok after all (haha).

We had our baby shower Oct 6th and it was a huge success!!  We have never felt so incredibly blessed!!!  We received so many gifts and gift cards that we were able to get pretty much everything we needed and wanted for the baby (with some left over)... this is one spoiled peanut!  We also had the blessing of so many friends who traveled far to get here (from Hawai'i to Az & gifts and love from the East Coast!).... My lovely friend Annie came from Hawai'i & blessed us with help, comfort, gifts and most incredibly: being our personal photographer!  She even took time out of her site seeing to do our maternity photos; which are absolutely amazing!!!!  We are so very thankful to all of you who helped to make it such a special and blessed weekend :)

Finally, BABY!!
We are begging this lil one to stay in a few more weeks!  Who would have thought that I would be wanting to go the full amount of time and be wishing for a somewhat long labor haha... our only hope of Steven making it for the birth!  My Doc is wonderful and she has been so great in keeping us up to date as much as possible with understanding where my body is at and how to tell signs of labor are just around the corner!  No one thinks I will make it to my due date at this point for I am already 3cm dilated, over 75% effaced, station 0, and a soft and forward cervix... all signs that point to the baby coming soon :) My next appt is on Tues so we will see if there has been any changes :)

Here is the link to our maternity photos :) http://s1295.photobucket.com/albums/AnnWaid/Shannons%20Maternity%20Photos?evt=email_share

 Wonderful GF & regular sandwiches made by Alisha :)

 The goodies, minus the amazing quiches made by mom

 Lemon & mint water made by my lovely sister :)

 A fraction of our gifts, including a picture that our wonderful wedding photographer & his lovely wife gave us for the baby room!

 Sister love :)

 Love these ladies and their babes beyond words!

 The wonderful men who were gracious enough to spend their whole afternoon being valet for all the guests!  They were amazing!!

 My other family!  Love them much!! & my lovely momma who did an incredible job hosting the shower

Great friends (who are like family) who traveled far!

A picture my lovely cousin took of me reflecting on the beautiful day :)

 Amazing flowers from my wonderfully amazing hubby!!

 I have the greatest parents!  This lil peanut is so lucky to have them!!

 The birthday Menu at Cafe Cruz; with a table full of surprise guests :)

A long drive & a little pre-shower peek

Well, Steven just arrived to Az after driving through 12 states in 2.5 days! So glad that the bulk of the trip is over. Thank you everyone who kept him in your prayers; God definitely took care of him! :)

I have spent the last week preparing for the baby shower making decorations and putting final touches to the plan. Now the only thing left to do is a cupcake practice round! ;) yum yum!!

The next few weeks will be quite busy. Steven will spend a few days in Az resting and gathering things from storage. He will then make his way to MoVal (Moreno Valley) to see his parents and friends, and then continue the drive to Santa Cruz just in time for my "29 + 1 year experience" birthday ;). I'm still trying to somewhat "like" the idea of... 30... Ugh!

Newborn diapers... I can't believe they are so small!  Here is a preview of my diaper cake... well the base of it ;)

My Honey Stix for favors, and the peanut onesie I got in the mail this week :)

And what would one of my blog updates be without a few pics of my favorite lil buddy!  I get to take care of him a few days a week, and they are a pure delight!!

Our morning stroll that turned into an 1.5 hour walk because I didn't want to wake him lol

I love you ocean!!

A Post from the beach...

Well, it has been a long time since I have posted!

I feel like time is flying and I am running out of time till this lil peanut comes!  Only 8 weeks (give or take) left!!

We have been extremely blessed by so many friends and family on the wonderful hand-me-downs :)  This lil one is spoiled already!

Well, to catch you all up to speed:

The Baby is 32 weeks this week :)  I have now named the baby Hiccup due to the fact that the baby has hiccups all the time now ;)  I have also been experiencing Braxton Hicks which are sometimes very unpleasant, but as you know, very necessary in preparing for the actual labor process :)

I have been in Santa Cruz for almost a month already and time has been flying by.  I have spent days at the beach, by the pool, unpacking our things, planning for the baby shower, and hanging out with my beautiful friend/sister Alisha and her amazingly wonderful lil man Van.  We just got to celebrate her birthday this past week and I was the lucky one that got to spend a whole evening with Van... what a fun and easy lil man; always so happy!

Steven is still at season.  The Pawsox (aka Pawtucket Red Sox) just won the IL Championships and are now one game, and a parade away from coming home!  I cannot wait to finally have him here :) Poor guy will be driving, starting next thursday, from Rhode Island to Santa Cruz with a pit stop at our storage unit in Arizona.  So please keep him in your prayers as he is on this journey :)

I have posted below some pics to help update all that has been going on :)

My buddy Van :)

29 Weeks and counting

A gift from Auntie Liz and baby Beckett 

Running out of room at 30 weeks 

More Van time... his first apple :)  just love him!!

My "raisonetts" at their big performance... absolute superstars!!

Auntie Jill and Mom... Jill was there when I was born ;)

One of my new addictions :)

Emma is obviously taking over the joint lol... she is becoming one of the dogs haha

Mealtime with Van

My wonderful birth class instructor & Mom!  Absolute best!!

Practicing breathing through contractions and eating string cheese at the same time lol... if only I could really eat during contractions... I'd be set! haha