Millie Singing

This is a little video that I made of Millie screaming (singing). I'm testing out my new little camera that Santa brought me for Christmas. I am not sure if she is a dragon, cat, or singer. No doubt she has a good voice, though.

-Paul

A Little Tweet-Heart

Our fall trip to Briley's Farm. I turn heads everywhere I go.

Ok, so I don't like laying on a hay bail. I do like cuddling my mommy though!

After the photo shoot we went on a hay ride to pick out my first pumpkin.

Dad carried me while Mom carried the GIANT pumpkin. I think Dad got the sweet end of that deal.

With pumpkin in hand and lungs filled with tractor exhaust, we headed for home. Maybe next year I will like looking at all the farm animals and playing in the giant sandpile.

One Cutie Pie, Coming Up!

Who can resist this adorable face? I spend way too much time just staring at her.

In the future I will try to take pictures of more than just Amelia so she won't think she grew up an orphan. She's just so dang CUTE!

Our Family

Photos by Annelise White Photography

www.annelisewhitephotography.blogspot.com

(Annelise just left North Carolina to attend BYU if you are a Utahan looking for a photographer)

Olive Green

Instructions on how to create the color olive green:

1. Mow the lawn while it is still damp from morning dew.

2. Leave clippings on said lawn.

3. Release white dog onto lawn.

4. Wait 2 minutes.

5. Enjoy!

Millie-Bird Flies the Coop

Monday, July 19th.... 3 am:

Paul is working nights in the medical ICU and I am home alone. I wake up to roll over in bed, which is no easy feat at 37 weeks pregnant. As I roll, I hear a POP! It is immediately evident that my water has broken. My first thought, "Of course this would happen in the middle of the night when I am home alone!" I can't get Paul to answer his phone, so I call my sis-in-law, Kara, and have her page him. He calls back. Here is the conversation:

Paul: This is Dr. Thayn, I was paged.

Me: It's your wife.

Paul: Oh... Hi?

Me: My water just broke.

Paul: It did? Are you sure?

Me: If hearing a pop and having lots of water go everywhere isn't sure, I don't know what is.

Paul: Oh wow, ok. I will try to get off work.

Paul comes home and we spend the next couple of hours timing contractions.

At around 6 a.m. I am ready to go to the hospital.

They check me in and when the midwife shows up she tells me I am 4 centimeters dilated. She has a funny look on her face and feels the position of the baby in my stomach. "The baby is head up."

Paul and I look at each other in shock. "What?"

"She's breech. It looks like you will be having an emergency c-section."

Needless to say, this is not how we envisioned things to go.

I am laboring hard now and a swarm of people rush around. They ask me questions over and over, poke me with needles, and keep telling me I am going to have a baby within the hour. It's all a blur, and all I can think about is the contractions.

They rush me off to the operating room and Paul is left behind to change into a sterile paper jumpsuit.

When he is with me again they get started and a few minutes later I see Paul smiling. "There's her butt! She's out, Bel!" She is born at 8:24 a.m.

He goes to cut the cord and comes back with a little bundle. "It's a girl."

I give her a kiss. "Hi, baby."

I first hold her in recovery. She is beautiful and I can't believe she is here. I wasn't expecting her for a couple more weeks. But she IS here, and she is wonderful. We name her Amelia Caroline.

Mom and Dad fly across the country to see their granddaughter on her actual birthday. They make it just before midnight.

We soak in the events as we spend the next couple of days in the hospital. Apparently emergency c-sections don't get the royal treatment afterwards. The room is tiny, the bed screeches when I try to sit it up or lay it down, the chair in the room doesn't lay fully flat, and there is no shower in the bathroom. After 2 nights all we want to do is take our darling girl and go home. So we do.

After a week, I am still shocked that I have a baby.

At the same time, I can't believe I lived without her. We love you Millie!

Rocky and Bullwinkle Title: 8 Months Already? or The Case of the Lop-Sided Bump

35 Weeks Pregnant

Paul mentioned the other day that my belly reminds him of the pregnant goats we used to encounter when we lived on the island of St. Eustatius. At first you may think, "How rude! What a terrible thing to say to your wife!" But it may be true. You see, I have a very lumpy, lop-sided baby bump. Every body part can be felt, and all of my baby's limbs are bunched on the left side, above my hip. You be the judge.

Here is a photo to prove how lop-sided I am:

And here are a couple photos of pregnant goats:

Beating the Heat

Expletives uttered upon leaving the air-conditioned house over the past few weeks:

"Holy Crap!"

"Aye Yi Yi!"

"Uuuuugghhh..."

"Hot Hot Hot!"

"I think I'm gonna die."

There are not many ways to cool down in this town. In fact, unless you live in an apartment complex or have a gym membership, you would be hard pressed to find a pool. After suffering through the heat this month, and having the A/C break in my house, I was desperate for a pool!

Leave it to the lady who is 7 months pregnant to suggest we all go to a water park!

It was quickly agreed upon and we took off to West Water Park in Kinston, NC. Not that this water park was anything spectacular. It had 2 slides, which both shot straight down. Paul and David got their money's worth on them though! Many of the more experienced sliders could skim across the water for several seconds after leaving the slide. When asked how to perform such a feat one teen said, "There are 3 tricks that will guarantee a good skim at the bottom. 1-Tighten your trunks around your legs. 2- Wet the bar. 3- Hit the sides as you go down." Paul and David quickly concluded that the real trick is not to be over the age of 17.

Even Jack tried out the slide (I so wish I had a picture of his face!!). He came out of the water with a smile on his face and reveled in shower of praise and high fives. However, in an interview afterward the shocked 4-year-old commented, "I didn't like it. It was SCARY! I don't want to do it again."

It was hard to resist going down the slides and swinging from the trapeze, but Kara and I decided our babies wouldn't appreciate the trauma. We spent our time floating around in the regular pools and squirting each other with squirt guns.

We all agreed that it was a great way to cool off!!

30 Weeks

Frisbee Golf...EXCUSE me...Disc Golf

You know you've definitely passed the newly wed stage when your husband gives you a Christmas gift that is actually for him. This was the case last December when I opened one of my gifts on Christmas morning to find a set of frisbee golf discs and a nice carrying case. "WOW! I didn't even know I wanted to play frisbee golf."

This spring, Paul happily broke out the discs and began watching tutorial videos online. Come to find out, it is rather hard to land a frisbee in a goal 300 yards away. He's learned things like the hammer throw, skipping, rolling, and the difference between a putter and a distance driver. I tag along to the disc golf course and make futile attempts at hurling discs down range. Things are only complicated by the fact that I am now 7 months pregnant. Let's just say in a sport dominated by college boys who haven't showered or shaved in 3 weeks, I stand out.

In all honesty though, it is great to go out and spend time with my busy husband. In a couple of months it will be much harder for us to go out and do whatever we want. Every moment we can find to spend together should be treasured, and for me that means getting sideways glances as my belly and I launch discs across a park.

Paul and the trusty hound ready for some disc golf:

Olive loves to retrieve the disc after it has been thrown. This is good if you want a "do-over," but not so good if the throw was awesome. However, you can't complain about a dog who wants to retrieve things for you and drop them at your feet.

Ohh the concentration!

This is blurry, but it's the only example me throwing. Seems Paul and I both suck in our lips. Whatever helps, right?