A Great Saturday

Today Jeremy, Chloe and I had the priviledge of going over to Issaquah for the afternoon, along with Jeremy's mom to see Jennifer, who is celebrating her 30th birthday tomorrow. It was a great afternoon of fun, food, cake and laughter. We started off the afternoon by getting pedicures while the boys watched the babies for us (thanks again husbands!) Then we went back and had some family time, had lunch and cake and sang "Happy Birthday" to Jen. Chloe had a great time playing with her cousin Tessa, and seeing baby Jayda for the first time! We ended the night by having our friends, Brynn and Justin and their daughter Madisyn over to watch the UFC fights. This has pretty much been a tradition with us, to get together, almost every time the fights are on.

Grandma Connie reading a story to Tessa and Chloe

Chloe and Madisyn watching "Spongebob" while the adults watch the UFC fights :)

Father's Day

For Father's Day we were blessed with being able to spend time with my dad up in Chelan. My brother, Brett and I, along with our families joined my Dad and step mom, Mary in a day of sun, beach and dinner! I have been so blessed with an amazing father who has always been there for me, unconditionally. I'm glad to say the same thing about Chloe. She has truely been blessed with a father who would give his life and sacrifice anything for his little girl. I'm so thankful for the husband and father that Jeremy has become. Chloe's first time playing in the sand! Playing with Daddy :)

Jayda Faith Bryan

Yesterday on June 7th, we were blessed with a beautiful new addition to our family. Jayda Faith was born here in Wenatchee. We were lucky to be a part of this birth since we didn't get to visit Tessa right away when she was born, since she was born in Seattle. She is absolutely beautiful and we're so excited to have more babies around! Congrats Tim and Jen!! Jayda Faith Bryan Our niece, Tessa waiting for her little sister to arrive! As you can tell she was very excited!!

I haven't posted on this in over a year . . . but boy what a year it's been. Chloe is now a 20 month old toddler! Man how the time flies. My baby is not a baby anymore. It's amazing how much they grow in what seems to be a short amount of time. I am going to really try this time, to keep this blog updated so that everyone can follow along! Not everyone has a Facebook, and this way we can keep in contact!

Gone. . .But not forgotten. . .

Yesterday, January 3rd, I experienced one of the worst days of my life. My beloved grandpa passed away. He had an aortic aneurysm. I got the call from my mom on New Year's Day that he was in the hospital and only time would tell. So I ended up having the worst birthday I've ever had. All I could think of was my grandpa and praying over and over again that he would make it through. Unfortunately his kidneys were failing and the doctors didn't see him making it. Then at 6am I got the call from my cousin that he was gone. . .

I've never had anyone in my family die before this and I must say. . . I've never experienced a pain quite like this. He leaves behind my grandma, the love he'd been married to for 52 years. He was also two months shy of his 80th birthday. He was my only grandpa. . . There is a certain rocking chair in my grandparent's house that ONLY my grandpa sat in. Now all I can do is try to picture my grandpa never sitting in that chair again. He was the funniest man I'd ever met. If you were having a bad day, my grandpa would be the best person to brighten it for you. My favorite joke that he used to always say was, "I only lie when I'm alone or with somebody". I'm going to miss playing cards with him. I'll miss being at their house and "grandpa taking a snooze on the davenport". My grandfather. . . Stanley Darwood . . .will forever be in my heart. RIP Grandpa - May you be in Heaven walking with the angels.



My grandpa and my mom on my wedding day



My amazing grandparents with us on our wedding day

Christmas 2010

This Christmas was unlike any other. We had our own little bundle of joy to celebrate it with us. God has sure brought us to a beautiful place in our lives. Even though she wasn't old enough to open presents or anything like that, it was so fun having Chloe's first Christmas.Unfortunately for her first Christmas, Chloe ended up having a bit of a cold, but that didn't stop us from making the most out of the special day.
We spent Christmas Eve at my mother in law's house where we carried on our tradition of having a birthday cake for Jesus (This year we had a yummy birthday pie instead) and singing "Happy Birthday" to our Lord and Saviour. We each got to open a present which of course were our new snuggy PJ's.
Then we spent the early morning of Christmas still at my mother in law's opening presents and having our traditional delicious breakfast. We then headed over to my brother Brett's house to celebrate with his family along with my mom and step dad. My brother cooked a very yummy turkey! We then had fun playing a new card game that my brother taught us called Dalmoody. I highly suggest playing this hilarious game!
So many presents! :o)

My mom and I spent alot of time in the kitchen baking cookies!

Chloe with all her presents from Grandma Connie's house. What a spoiled girl!

Chloe with auntie Steffy

Chloe with Nona and Papa

newborn pictures

My friend Brandee does photography and she took some AMAZING newborn photos of Chloe for us! Here are just a few that she took :)

She's here!!!!

Our beautiful baby has finally made her appearance into this world! Chloe Grace Calkins was born on October 13, 2010 at 3:01pm. She weighed 7lbs 8oz and was 20 1/4 inches long. We definitely had a long week. We had our doctor's appointment on Monday morning. After no progression, my doctor decided to start my induction that afternoon. They started me on Cervidil to make me dilate, but after three rounds of that it was still unsuccessful. I was not dilating or progressing at all. Then they did Pitocen and found that the contractions I was getting from the Pitocen was actually making Chloe's heart rate drop. They then did an ultrasound and found that Chloe had no amniotic fluid surrounding her. So we had a couple of options: We could either do another round of Pitocen or we could do a C-Section and get her out. If I were to do another round of Pitocen, they said I would AT LEAST be another 20 hours of hard labor. (Considering by this time we had already been in the hospital for two days!!) Of course we opted for a C-Section. I was not about to continue to put my child through that. After they delivered her, the doctor's found a mass on my small intestine that they removed. They still don't know what it is, but it looked almost like another appendix. The surgeon said that it did not look cancerous at all, and that it was probably something I was born with that I've always had. God obviously had a reason for us to opt for a C-Section and with that, I am so thankful. After 5 long days in the hospital, we were finally able to bring our family home. Chloe is doing beautifully (and Mommy's doing great too)!

Reaching the end . . .

I can't believe my due date is 2 1/2 weeks away. . . Seems like just yesterday we were finding out we were pregnant. The past few days I have been having contractions on and off, but nothing major. I wasn't feeling the greatest this morning so we decided to stay home from church. I ended up listening to a sermon online by the pastor at our church. It really hit home for me as I'm getting so close to becoming a mom. Naturally, there are times when I have doubted myself of "not being able to do this" or "being scared about the delivery process" and his main message really struck a nerve, in a good way. The main scripture he focused on was Philippians 4:13 - "I can do all things through God who gives me strength". It is a great reminder to just put all my faith in God and know that he will get me through anything, especially the birth of our daughter.

Ultrasound

Today we went and had an ultrasound done because at my last dr. appt, our dr. said that I was measuring a little bigger and she wanted to check the size of the baby and measure her fluids. Everything turned out great! The fluid count was a 16, and the Tech said anything between a 5-20 is not too high or not too low. We were able to see so much because she was looking directly at us! Her face looked like a little alien, but she was still adorable :o) She kept sticking her tongue out and putting her fingers in her mouth. The ultrasound tech even said that he could see she's got some hair! (Which makes me feel good because I was bald and looked like a boy when I was born!) :o) She was practicing her breathing which he said was a great sign right now. She was measuring in at 5 lbs. 1 ounce. It makes me feel very anxious/excited because I am so ready to meet my little girl. I want nothing more than to just hold her in my arms and give her the biggest kiss! October couldn't come any faster!

My Baby Shower

Today my sisters in law put together a beautiful baby shower for me. Everything was great! The decorations, the food, the cupcake cake . . . It was beautiful! It's so weird to think that in just two months our little Chloe is going to be here. It's so exciting to think that we're going to be parents in just a short time.




My mother in law Connie and sisters in law (Amy, Jennifer, Stephanie and Bekah)


My aunt Melinda, me, my mom and my grandma :o)

It's official . . . IT'S A GIRL!

Yesterday, Jeremy and I went and had a gender test ultrasound done and found out that we are having a little girl! We couldn't be happier and it just makes it even more real that we're going to be parents soon!

Ready for our newest ultrasound. . .

Last week my mother in law, who is an OB nurse at the hospital, was able to take us up there and give us an ultrasound to see our little one. . .



I'm getting very ansy because next Thursday, the 13th we will be going down to find out what we're having! I'm so anxious to be able to buy something either blue or pink! Jeremy insists that we're having a boy (of course) but we'll see! Considering the fact that I have now had 3 dreams that it was a boy, I'm kind of leading that way too. :)

Baby's first picture!!

Well today we went in for our first ultrasound! Everything is right on track where we thought. . . 9 weeks and 5 days pregnant. The heart was beating at 176 beats per minute. She said that's fast, but perfectly normal for how far along I am. It was amazing seeing the little heart flutter on the screen! It makes it completely official now. Even though I've taken tests...seen the doctor...Just seeing the amazing being on screen right before your eyes is so surreal.

First OB appointment!

Well this afternoon, Jeremy and I went to our first Dr.'s appointment. She did a TON of blood work, asked us a TON of questions and did an internal exam. She said that everything looked great and that I'm right on schedule at almost 10 weeks! (Due October 8th, 2010)
I'm so excited because tomorrow I get to have my first ultrasound!

Valentine's Day

This morning Jeremy decided to get up and make me a wonderful breakfast for Valentine's Day. He made me the only thing that sounded good at the time . . . a waffle with peanut butter and butter (with no syrup!), while he enjoyed some hashbrowns, toast and bacon. (Even though the bacon smell is really starting to get to me right now). hehe
There was a beautiful bouquet of pink roses waiting for me on the table as well. I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband who is going to be an even more amazing daddy.
We didn't do much today as I was up all night last night not feeling well. So we just decided to have a nice quiet day at home watching movies and being with each other! :)

I'm Pregnant!!!!!

Well it's official . . . I'm preggo! I can't believe it. The first official month that we start trying and here we are! We feel so truly blessed by God's grace. I think it's going to take a little while for it to kick in that I'm going to be a Mom! Wow . . . It'll click one day! :)

We took our first test yesterday and got a very faint line, so I went and got a blood test. They said after 5 minutes of testing it was negative, but after 6 minutes it was positive. So they wanted to re-test me in a few days. Well sure enough I did my own at home tests (2 tests, both different brands and they both came back positive!)

I will be four weeks tomorrow and I'm already feeling the symptoms. . . awful nausea, frequent urination . . . you know, all the fun stuff! But I just look at it as "This is going to be so worth it!"

Family Time

This weekend my brother, sister-in-law and nephew from North Dakota came out. We hadn't seen them since last Christmas.My mom also flew up from Arizona to see us. We were so excited to have them here! It was so nice to have this little family gathering. With them living so far away, we really don't get to see them very often. We are also very excited because my brother Josh and sister in law Katie are expecting their second child, a boy! At least we won't have to wait very long for them to come back out, because they will be coming again in June after the baby is born!

My 24th Birthday

I'm not quite sure what was so funny while I was doing this! :)


Me and my best friend Brynn


Yesterday I celebrated my 24th birthday. I don't really feel old until Jeremy decides to point out that I'm now 24 and he is still 22! :)
I had an absolutely amazing day. It was very eventful but also low-key, and I couldn't ask for anything more. My day started out with Jeremy getting up and making me breakfast (waffles and bacon), then my mother-in-law whisked me away to go get myself a manicure with Jeremy's sisters. (I also have the privilege of sharing my birthday with Jeremy's sister Stephanie who turned the big 2 1!)
Then we went with six of our closest friends out to dinner at my favorite local restaurant, McGlinns. Then we came home, played board games, had a few jello shots and played with our new Wii! I couldn't ask for a better husband and friends for making my birthday a very special day that I will never forget!

Christmas

Tessa "flying" with Uncle Jeremy


Jeremy's sister Jennifer and Husband Tim


This year Jeremy and I had the privilege of spending our 4th Christmas together. I love growing accustomed to his family's traditions. Every Christmas Eve, we have a cake and sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus. One tradition I would love to pass down to our children. We were thankful that Jeremy's sister Jennifer and her husband Tim and daughter Tessa were able to come over from Issaquah and spend Christmas with us. It was nice to have all of Jeremy's siblings home!