Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Happy 1 Week Jake!

Last night, Jake slept in his big boy crib in his room. He did so good! We didn't figure that he would last the entire night in the crib, but he did! And I only got up 50 times to make sure that he was okay.

The saying above his crib says it all



Playing with his puppy dog while wearing puppy pj's. (Robbie just shakes his head as I set up this photo-op!)


After a hard day of sleeping, he needed to take a nap


Good-bye 2008

On this last day of 2008, I'm a little sad to see it come to an end. It has been the best and most exciting year of my life. But, it just makes me excited & look forward to enjoying 2009 with all of the blessings that 2008 gave me. We celebrated the year with the birth of many our friend's children. We welcomed in the beginning of the year Rowen, Henry & Gabe. In April, Robbie & I were married. At the time, I thought that would be the biggest day in my life that year. I look at marriage as a journey. There are good times and bad, hard times & happy times. But no matter what, you go through them together. I couldn't imagine marrying a better man for me to walk beside me through this journey. I just didn't realize our journey was going to get so exciting so quickly! Finding out we were pregnant was an absolute shock. Finding out that my best friend was also pregnant, and in fact due 2 days after us was an even bigger shock. I will never forget the day Stephanie & I telling each. It has been wonderful going through the pregnancy with my best friend. We share our fears, excitement & anticipation with each other weekly. I am now on pins & needles waiting for Grant to arrive! Stephanie & Jonathan are an amazing couple, amazing friends & are going to make amazing parents. During the spring & summer we welcomed new baby friends Tucker & Anna James. We celebrated my sister's wedding and welcome Brooks to our family. In the fall we welcomed my new niece Marrell and celebrated Robbie's 30th birthday. In the winter, we welcome new baby friends Mary Tyler & Connor and I celebrated my own 30th birthday. And then finally, we end 2008 with the birth of our own son, Jake. He was a surprise when we found out about him and he wanted to make sure that his arrival was a surprise as well! He is the greatest Christmas present I've ever received. So good-bye 2008. Thank you for all that you brought us!!

Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me; O LORD, be my help. You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever. Psalm 30:10-12

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Pictures

Happy Birthday Jake! With some very important people in his life.

Granddad (Robbie's Dad)

Mimi (Robbie's Mom)

Aunt Andrea & Uncle Johnathan (Robbie's sister & brother-in-law)

Aunt Lindsey (My sister). I did NOT put that hat on him, the nurses did.

Nana (My mom)

Gran (My Dad) making faces at Jake

Granddad Jake (Robbie's Grandfather) & Cousin Jackson (Robbie's nephew)

Tiny little baby!

Such a sweet face (ha-ha!)

Ready to go home

At Home
Not sure about these people

Waving to his friends reading this blog

4 Generations of Bush's
The 2 men Jake is named after: Granddad Jake & My Father

Jackson holding his new cousin
Mimi & Jackson
Sweet little baby sleeping

Surprise Christmas Present-Story

This will certainly be a Christmas we will never forget. It all started Christmas Eve. The Bush's were in town for Christmas and we had all gone to the Christmas Eve Service and to see a movie. Robbie and I had gotten home and then around 9:30 I was preparing a sandwich. I'll save the details, but basically I started bleeding. I called my sister-in-law who is a labor-and-delivery nurse to ask her if I should go to the hospital. (I did not want to seem paranoid.) By the end of our conversation (which ended with her telling me to go to the hospital right away) I knew that I was bleeding enough that it was serious. So off to the hospital we went. Thankfully, it is a short drive, and being 10:00 Christmas Eve night, there was little traffic on the road. Our hospital is a women's hospital, so it was basically empty and they sent me right up. We didn't call our parents because we figured that they would just give me some medicine & send us home. The nurses were checking me out and felt like the situation was serious as well, but were confused since I kept telling them that I wasn't in pain. I could feel Jake moving the whole time, and that was all I was focused on. I asked them to please not call the doctor unless it was absolutely necessary, since I knew it was late on Christmas Eve & he was probably at home putting his kids toys together! (I don't think that the nurses listened!) My doctor was out of town on vacation, so his group's on-call doctor came in (I kept apologizing to him). He took a look at the bleeding and said that we had to do an emergency c-section due to the large amount of blood I was losing. I was also having contractions. (Which I never felt. How are you supposed to know you are having contractions if you can't feel them?!?!) Before we had time to get nervous from the urgency in the doctor's voice, everything began happening so fast. Robbie went to call our parents while they prepped me for surgery. In 30 minutes, they were telling us that we had a healthy baby boy. Jacob William Bush "Jake" was born on December 24 at 11:24 PM. He weighed 5 lbs & 14 ozs and was 19 3/4 inches long. He was born at 36 weeks, so he was a little early, but is doing very well! It turns out that I had a placenta abruption. Fixing a sandwich certainly doesn't cause a placenta abruption, so they are not sure what caused it. We are just thankful that we caught it so early, were able to get to the hospital so quickly and had such a wonderful team of doctors & nurses. The situation could have been much worse. Thankfully, everything turned out okay. Since the Bush's were in town, they were able to make it to the hospital right away. My sister & her husband made it up from Atlanta around 1:00 Christmas morning and my parents made it from Prattville around 3:00 in the morning. We celebrated Christmas day in the hospital with the best little gift that God could have ever given us. Since it is a women's hospital and it was Christmas, there were very few people in the hospital. Therefore, Jake was very spoiled by all the nurses. His blonde hair made him a mini-celebrity! Because we were doing so well, they let us go early and we were able to be home on Friday in time for dinner! Jake continues to do well. He is feeding very well and did great on all his baby tests. We went to the doctor this morning and he is already back at his birth weight! I am doing good, too. It has been hard since he was 4 weeks early, since there was so much stuff I wanted to get done before his arrival. (We had not even washed any of his clothes, blankets, bedding, etc...!) I never even got around to packing a bag for the hospital. Oh well, we will get it finished eventually. I could not thank our families & friends enough for all of their help. They have been amazing. We are now settling into a routine and are just so thankful for such a happy outcome. Thank you to everyone who has sent such sweet well wishes. We cannot wait for everyone to meet Jake! We hope that everyone had a great Christmas and have a happy & safe New Year's!

Friday, December 26, 2008

Surprise Christmas Present-Pictures

Story to come later, but I know that pictures are what people really want to see. It's been a pretty crazy last 48 hours, but Robbie, Jake & I are home & doing good.


Welcome to the world Jacob William Bush "Jake". Born December 24 at 11:24 PM. Weight: 5 lbs. 14 ozs. Height: 19 3/4 inches.

Much better!

He has crazy blond hair
Merry Christmas from the hospital!

He was so early, I had not gotten him a going home outfit yet. I described what I wanted & my mom ran out & bought it a few hours before we went home. I don't think he liked it! We only live 5 minutes from the hospital & he pooped through his diaper onto the outfit before we could get home.

When we went to the hospital on Wednesday, we never imagined that we would be leaving 48 hours later with our son.
At home :)



Thursday, December 18, 2008

Hollon Family Christmas

My family went ahead & celebrated Christmas early so that Robbie & I could celebrate with them. We had such a wonderful time! Of course the kids were the hit of the day. They are so entertaining!
Marrell
My nieces - Maddox (4) & Marrell (3 months)
Maddox opening her big gift from my parents - a princess dressing table
She loves anything princess
Isabella & Maddox playing makeover
Posing after their makeover
Marrell enjoying her big gift from my parents
Gran chasing Isabella & Maddox in his new wizard outfit

Monday, December 8, 2008

Baby & Nursery Update

I am 34 weeks along & we are so excited & ready for Jake to come. He still does not cooperate for the ultrasounds. He has 1 more chance at my 37th week appointment. The problem is not getting him to move, but getting him to move where we can get good views of him & there is nothing in the way. We were at least able to finally get a profile shot. His cheeks are very chubby. Neither Robbie nor I were tiny babies, so I have a feeling we have a cannonball on our hands. He is head down with his legs crossed & tucked in. In all the ultrasounds, his hands are reaching for something & usually get in the way of the ultrasound. His favorite past time is hiccuping. He has them 4-5 times a day. (Thankfully the doctor said that it was a good sign & nothing to worry about.) Sometimes they are tiny hiccups & other times they shake my whole stomach.
Jake's nursery is coming along good. All we have left is to hang wall decor, curtains & refinish the chair side table. The bedding is finished and on the bed. We absolutely love it. I had some pictures from catalogs & ideas in my mind of what I wanted the bedding to look like, but could not find the one I really wanted for Jake. My sweet Aunt Deborah went all over Montgomery & Birmingham gathering fabric samples for me to choose from. Then she & my 2 cousins April & Tiffany gave me the bedding as our baby gift. Aunt Deborah made & put everything together. It looks better than I could have even pictured it. I just wish that these pictures did it more justice! I am so excited for Jake to fall asleep each night on bedding that was specially made just for him & with so much love. I cannot thank Aunt Deborah enough and it means so much to me.

Our chair & ottoman came in Friday. We were so excited to finally get it. I tested so many gliders and always came back to this one. It is unbelievably comfortable & the fabric is so soft. I cannot wait to rock Jake to sleep in it (& probably fall asleep in it myself). My parents gave us the chair & ottoman as a baby gift. We cannot thank them enough. It is something that we will use for so many years to come. I cannot wait for my mom to come & read to Jake (her specialty) in the chair. We have so many wonderful memories to look forward to.

Birthday Weekend

Robbie & I spent the weekend in Atlanta to celebrate my birthday/Christmas shop/enjoy one last weekend away together before the baby comes. We had a great time. We shopped on Friday & then had dinner with my sister Lindsey & her husband Brooks. We had such a great time hanging out with them & seeing their new place. On Saturday we did some more shopping until it was time to watch the AL/FL game. Even though Bama did not win, it was a great game to watch & I was so proud of the way they played. That night, Robbie & I enjoyed a nice dinner just the 2 of us. On Sunday (my actual 30th birthday) we headed back to Chattanooga. We had our hospital tour that afternoon and then dinner with friends at my favorite restaurant. It was such a wonderful weekend. Many people have asked me how I felt about turning 30. I've never been one to dread birthdays. My 20's were great. I feel like I lived them to the fullest & I'm just glad that I made it out of them in one piece! I am actually looking forward to the next phase of my life. I feel so blessed to be married to my best friend & the most wonderful man I know. I cannot wait for us to meet our son next month & I am surrounded by such amazing friends & family. I don't know how I made it these 30 years to be so lucky, but I cherish it & look forward to what all the future holds.

Well, we got the house decorated for Christmas. Ha-ha! We actually came across this house in Buckhead while shopping in Atlanta. They had between 50-75 of the huge inflatables covering their front yard. Tacky & over-the-top... but very interesting!

Monday, December 1, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a busy, but great Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for & feel blessed to celebrate with both of our families. On Wednesday evening we drove down to Prattville to see my family. Maddox (my niece) & Isabella (my cousin's daughter) were our Thanksgiving entertainment Thursday.
Maddox & Isabella playing the piano & singing Christmas carols
The fashion show
Dancing during their fashion show

On Friday we headed up to Birmingham to spend time with Robbie's parents. Then on Saturday we drove over to Tuscaloosa for the Alabama/Auburn game. (*See game commentary on blog entry below.)
Robbie with fellow Auburn friends Brian & Richard

Julie & I

Robbie & I (33 weeks... only 7 more to go!)

On Sunday we headed back to Chattanooga. We have 2 more weekends of travel before we have to call it quits for a while. (We would travel up until our delivery date, but the doctor said no way.) We hope that everyone had a safe & great Thanksgiving.