He's Here!!!

So I'm almost 3 weeks late in getting to this but let's be honest...I've been slightly preoccupied with cuter and more important things. :) We finally had our baby on August 4th at 1:30am. His name is Cohen Crowley Hennrich. He was 8lbs 7oz, 20 inches tall. I won't bore you with all the details but here is a quick run-down: We went into the hospital at 6:15am on August 3rd to be induced. I was already dilated to a 4 but the pitocin did absolutely nothing. I couldn't even feel the contractions, even though they were steady and really close together. I finally went into active labor sometime around 2:00pm, didn't dilate all the way until about 10:30pm, and pushed for 3 hours. I was so exhausted! He came out looking perfect...not all wrinkly and bruised and battered like a lot of newborns...even though they had to use a vacuum to get him out. He was adorable and we were instantly in love!

The last couple of weeks have been quite the adjustment. I knew it would be hard but I don't think I realized how difficult it would be. It gets a little easier every day though, especially now that we are getting past those first couple of weeks. It helps that I have an absolutely amazing husband who is so supportive and involved and selfless. I definitely couldn't do this without him! I think Cohen is going to be a daddy's boy for sure. He and Preston are inseparable and Preston loves every minute of it. He is such a proud dad!

Cohen is beautiful and sweet and we are so anxious to start seeing more of his little personality come out. He is already so alert and curious. I have a feeling he is going to be smart like his dad, and have a similar demeanor. I admit my days have been somewhat monotonous. I struggle with not having structure in my life and I often feel like I belong in a dairy barn...but I know that it's totally worth it! I look forward to the next few weeks when he starts getting into more of a routine and I can have structure again.

We have so many cute pictures I couldn't pick just a few so there are a lot on here but oh well!



















I'm sure there will be much more to come but I wanted to at least announce his arrival before he turns five! Apparently even ten minute tasks are difficult for me to get around to these days (aka, he doesn't sleep much...and when he is awake, he doesn't sit quietly by himself for very long). Hopefully that part gets better because I am terribly unproductive lately!

Birthday Fun

I turned 29 on Friday. I think in and of itself, 29 wouldn't be so bad. It's that my husband is only 25 that suddenly makes 29 feel ancient. (Yes, I was a cradle robber, but I'm ok with that). Anyways, thanks to Preston I had a great birthday and I just wanted to post a few pictures. We got to eat breakfast together, he came home for lunch, and later he had beautiful flowers delivered to me at the house. I forgot to take pictures of the flowers but they were really pretty. That night he took me to dinner at PF Changs. I guess he really was listening all those times that I casually mentioned I was craving it. :) As mentioned before we are trying not to spend a lot of money on unnecessary things with the baby coming so soon, so I wasn't really sure what he would get me for my birthday. To my surprise at dinner he handed me a box from a jewelry store. Inside was a beautiful diamond pendant necklace. I don't actually own any nice jewelry so it was a pleasant surprise. When we were dating Preston got me a heart-shaped cubic zirconium necklace from walmart. I actually really hate heart-shaped stuff but I wore it every day for almost 3 years because I love him and it was the thought that counted. ;) It was super sweet of him to get me a new one, especially right now, and I love it.
I probably could have gotten a better shot if I had taken it off first, but freckles add such a nice touch, right?

Physically I'm not good for much these days so we didn't do anything super exciting after dinner. We went to Barnes & Noble to buy some books for our coming little one and then we went home and watched a movie. It was a perfect day and I love just getting to spend time with my husband. I think I cherish it more lately because I know that soon we won't get that opportunity quite as often. Thanks for a great birthday, babe!

This one is just because I realized we hadn't taken a picture together in a long time.

I am at 37 weeks now! It is so crazy to think that this kid could literally come at any time. I'm still nervous and terrified but slowly starting to feel more ready. It's funny how when it's you, it is such a huge deal. People go through this every day and you see them a few days later and all you see is a cute baby and smiling parents like it was nothing. It almost makes me feel dumb for making such a huge deal about it but it's such a huge life-changing event! I went in for my first weekly checkup last week (which by the way, is one of the most uncomfortable things I've ever experienced.) As of last Thursday I was dilated 1.5 cm and 50% effaced and he is head down. He hasn't dropped yet though. Hopefully when I go back in a couple of days there will have been some progress. Here are a couple of pictures of me at 37 weeks.

Until next time...

Summer Fun

Well, I'm almost 37 weeks now and I've kind of gotten to that point where I can't do a whole lot, but we are trying to have at least a little bit of fun before this baby comes. I love camping. LOVE it. I start getting itchy every year around February for summer to come just so I can go camping. We knew I would be super pregnant this summer but decided we wanted to try to go at least once anyway. An entire summer without camping just wouldn't be right. So we planned a two-day camping trip, packed up the tent, the food, and of course the dog, and headed up into the mountains. We went to a place called Tinney Flat, not even an hour away from our house, and it was beautiful. To me, camping is best when there are pine trees, aspen trees, and some water...and this had it all. The sad truth is that I am huge and uncomfortable, I can't walk for more than 10 minutes without getting horrible pains in my belly, my feet are swollen like crazy, and I get tired super fast. This means hiking, and well, pretty much every other typical camping activity were out of the question for me. So we mostly just sat around the fire looking at stars, eating roasted marshmallows, and breathing that beautifully fresh mountain air. It was so relaxing and refreshing just being up in the mountains! We live 2 minutes away from the mountains but for some reason we don't make it up there very often. Two deer even walked right into our campsite and got pretty close to us. Then Tank realized they were there and that was the end of that.

So anyways, I felt fine all night, no sickness, no nausea, nothing...then we went to bed. I laid down and literally 2 minutes later I randomly felt like I was going to hurl. Which I did. Repeatedly-for the next couple of hours. Normally this would not be so terrible but when you feel it coming you are kind of in a hurry-so trying to get out of my sleeping bag, finding my flip flops, rolling off the air mattress, unzipping the tent door, trying to squeeze my hugeness out of it, and getting far enough away from the tent in the pitch black before losing it-became quite the ordeal. At about 1am my wonderful, amazing husband decided I shouldn't have to do that anymore so he struck camp and took me home. I was so sad about it because I really REALLY wanted to be camping, but I was secretly grateful to be home because I ended up being really sick all night and it would have been pretty miserable if we had stayed. I know he wasn't thrilled about it either but it's just one more thing that shows how much he loves me and I really appreciated it.

Later the next day I felt better so we took Tank back up to the lake so we could teach him how to swim and be a real mountain dog. At first Preston would go in the water and gently pull his leash but Tank would grab the leash in his mouth and try to pull Preston back to shore instead. it was kind of cute.

The first time we got him to actually go in, he was so scared he clawed the heck out of Preston.
But finally we got him to do it. I think he even enjoyed it a little. This picture made me laugh.
In other exciting news...drum roll please....I FINALLY finished the nursery. I don't know why but it took forever for the "nesting" thing to kick in for me, and then when it did I went crazy. I'm not really the cutesy, theme type person so the nursery isn't super cute and exciting but it's done. Mostly. It still needs some stuff on the walls so it's not so boring. We had extra furniture in the garage that I decided I would refinish, rather than spending a million dollars buying matching stuff. Unfortunately, I never quite got ambitious enough to do it, so the furniture doesn't match. Oh well, it still works and the kid will never know, right? So even though it's not perfect yet, here are some pics of the nursery.

P.S. I made the stencils for this myself. We didn't want to spend money ordering vinyl lettering, or buying 4 different types of stencils from the store (to get all the different fonts and sizes I wanted) so I made them myself. It took me a couple of days but I'm pretty proud of how it turned out!

This side of the room isn't as exciting or pretty but it works.

It is such a relief to finally have things organized and know that we have all of the basic stuff we will need. I feel so much more at ease now. I'm probably jinxing us by saying this but both Preston and I kind of feel like this little guy might just come a little early. I guess we will see. Now I just need to pack a hospital bag and we will be set!

Surprising Myself

...And everyone else, I'm sure. So all of my big ambitions and intentions I had of being crafty and becoming a better housewife came to a screeching halt with my 3rd trimester. I almost never make dinner anymore. Cooking is the last thing in the world that I want to do everyday. By the time evening rolls around I'm exhausted, have no appetite, and my house is 1,000 degrees (we have no AC.) I'm so grateful for a husband who, a) knows how to cook, b) likes doing it, c) is good at it, and d) does it without complaint. He really is so good to me. Not to be all mushy or cheesy but I really do have an amazing husband and I am so lucky every day. Preston, if you read this...thanks for everything!

Regardless of my recent lack of ambition, I have managed to accomplish a couple of things. For starters, I made my very first made-from-scratch pie ever. (I've only ever attempted pie like twice in my life and both times I used store bought crust. I'm lazy like that.) But this time I even made my own crust so I was proud of myself. So here is a picture of my strawberry-rhubarb pie. It doesn't look that pretty but it turned out pretty good!

The next thing I did was decide to become a "coupon user". Preston and I are tightwads and already live super frugally but with a baby coming we wanted to find other ways we could cut back on our budget. We decided we could possibly cut our food spending down if I start learning how to use coupons the right way. I was a little hesitant at first because I was afraid I would have to be obsessive in order for it to make a difference. I am pleased to announce, however, that in spending maybe half an hour of my time each week, I have been able to save us almost $200 just in the last month. I'm pretty proud of myself, I'm not gonna lie. I love saving money. I've felt really bad since losing my job so this is a way I can still feel like I'm kind of contributing, if that makes any sense.

The other thing I finally accomplished was clearing out the room we want to use for the nursery and painting it. We went through 3 different bedding sets and 3 different paint colors before I was finally satisfied. (Did I mention I have a really patient husband? I love you Preston!) I don't have pictures of it yet because I still need to paint a couple more things and then arrange furniture and organize stuff. It's taken me awhile but I think I'm finally nesting. It's driving me nuts that it isn't perfect yet! Not to mention the fact that I have only 5 weeks til the due date. If this kid decides to come early I will probably have a panic attack because of my lack of readiness! Anyways, moral of the story is that I will get my butt in gear, finish the nursery, and THEN post some pictures.

Our garden and flowers are all doing well this year. I feel like it is such a blessing to have a house with a yard that we can take care of and grow things in. It's something we both really enjoy and that we can do together. My handy little husband built some nice looking fences to keep our ginormous dog from digging in the garden and flowers. It turned out really nice, as things usually do when made by Preston.

I love Columbines

P.S. I know most people don't really care about all this stuff but I'm bored so I'm putting it on here anyway. :) Also, our dog isn't nearly as interesting to you as he is to us but until we have an actual kid to post pictures of, I feel somewhat entitled to post pictures of our dog. We think he is pretty funny. For some reason completely unknown to us, he is terrified of the hose. Yes, our 110 lb dog is scared of water. If we get the hose out to water our plants he runs and hides either behind the grill, under a chair, or in the house.

One of the reasons we got a dog like Tank was because we want a cool dog we can take camping who will romp around in the mountains with us and jump in the lake. We can't have a dog afraid of water! Plus we need to be able to bathe him. So we went and bought a little kiddie pool (as much for me as for the dog...I am a walking furnace these days!), and have been trying to slowly get him over his fear. It took us 45 minutes to get him to even step in it. Once he was in all he would do is paw at the water, creating bubbles, and then try to bite at the bubbles. He refused to lay down or sit in the water, but at least he was playing in it right? I tried to post a video of Tank in the pool but I couldn't get it to work so here is just a boring picture.


And just because I think these are funny too, here are some pics of how our random dog chooses to sleep. He's so weird but we love him.



Okay, now that you've vowed never to read our blog again, I will finally end. Since I only blog every few weeks anyway, maybe next time it will be about our kid!

Where Does The Time Go?

Is it just me or is time flying by lately? I guess summer usually does that, unfortunately. In a way I guess it's good that time is not dragging by now that I'm this close to having a baby, but part of me isn't ready yet so it's freaking me out a little. So far everything is continuing to go well with the pregnancy. I'm definitely starting to get more uncomfortable but it hasn't become intolerable yet. I seriously am getting bigger every day though. I noticed yesterday that if I'm standing straight at the sink I have a hard time reaching the handles to turn the water on. I have to turn sideways so my belly doesn't make me so far away. Preston used to mock me and say that when I attempt to roll over in bed at night, it's like I have to make a 4 point turn. The last week or two it's become more of a 6 point turn. Preston has to help me out of the couch. A couple of weeks ago I could still go outside and pull weeds but not so much anymore. I have completely lost my appetite (so sad, since we all know how much I love food) and I NEVER feel like cooking anymore. Poor Preston. Anyways, here are some recent pictures, then I will stop complaining and move on to other things. Oh and P.S. thank you so much to all of you who commented on my last post. It honestly was a huge help and gave me a lot of good information!

So this was me only 3 weeks ago at 30 Weeks:

The next two are pics of me just yesterday at 33 weeks. I am so much bigger! If I keep growing at this rate I'm not going to be able to move by the time I hit 40 weeks!

I'm getting more and more nervous that I'm going to have a ginormous baby. (I was a pretty big baby myself so my fears are legitimate). I guess we will see soon!

So onto other things that probably aren't very exciting to anyone but us...Preston's cute little brother, Holton, got baptized last weekend and asked Preston to confirm him, so we took a little trip up to Rexburg for the baptism. It was fun to get away from Provo, even if just for a couple of days, and it was good to see his family. Holton is a hilarious kid so we always enjoy spending time with him. Here are some pics from that trip.




So when Preston and I first got married we traveled all the time. Literally it averaged out to like one trip a month. I think even now, having been married for just over 2 years, we have been on like 20 trips together. I love it. Sadly, the last year has been much busier than usual, and especially with the pregnancy and me losing my job, we just haven't had a chance to do any cool stuff. I wanted so badly to have one last little getaway with just Preston before this baby comes but it just wasn't going to happen. Sometimes I get so itchy to get out of Provo for a bit. Can you blame me? Anyways, Preston knew I was bummed about this so on our way home from Rexburg we stopped and stayed the night at a B&B in Lava Hot Springs so we could have one more night away from Provo and spend a little time together with no responsibilities or projects, etc. We didn't do anything grand or exciting but it was so nice to just be able to talk and relax and be somewhere else. I honestly had such a great time with him. Bless my wonderful husband! I love him so much. ( I just realized we didn't take a single picture of our getaway. Sad.)

Okay, so I have just one more thing. Preston and I have been terrible at trying to come up with a name for this baby. Boy names are hard for some reason! We really want something that is unique enough that he won't have the same name as half the kids in his class, but not so unique that he gets made fun of for the rest of his life. There have been names that I have liked but none that I have totally loved. Anyways, there are 2 names that we have been considering but we can't seem to agree on how we would spell them. I would like some opinions on that. Here are the 2 names and their various spellings:

a. Brayden
b. Braydon
c. Braeden
d. Braedon
e. Braden
(also, is this name more popular than I realize? I keep hearing it more and more.)

a. Trevin
b. Treven
c. Trevon
d. Trevan

Anyways, I'd love to hear your thoughts. And if any of you have any other grand ideas for unique but still cool baby boy names, I'd love to hear those too!

Feedback

Ok, so I am the first person to admit that I have never been a great decision maker. Not in the sense that I don't have the ability to make good decisions. More in the sense that I over analyze every little detail of every decision until it becomes much more complicated than it ever needed to be, then becoming a ridiculous and completely unnecessary source of stress in my life. Why do I do this to myself? No one really knows. The sad thing is that I think it has gotten worse since I have been pregnant. I keep stressing myself out about these stupid little details that don't matter at all. I'm pretty sure poor Preston thinks I have gone off the deep end. I watch him try really hard not to smile too big or break out in laughter when I relate these "issues" to him. I'm lucky to be with such a nice boy who will not only put up with my quirks, but makes the effort to not make me feel bad about them. :) I'll be honest though, sometimes my worries are so ridiculous he can't help but look at me with the "ok, you've officially lost it" look on his face. Can you blame him?

So I'm slowly becoming more aware of the fact that I am having this baby in like 10 weeks and I have done nothing to prepare. Well, that's not entirely true. I finally ordered a crib and Preston bought me this cute bedding I really wanted for our Anniversary last weekend. But that's it. No shopping done. No names picked out. Finally decided on a date for the baby shower but haven't registered yet, nor decided where I even want to register. Babies R Us is so expensive and overpriced but it has such a better selection. Decisions, decisions. It's a miracle that I'm even letting someone throw me a baby shower. If you know me at all you know that bridal and baby showers are the bane of my existence. If I have shown up to a shower for you (or missed it with a legitimate excuse), know that you are very loved and should feel incredibly special.

Anyways...one of the reasons that I have put off shopping is that, well, I'm a tightwad. Losing my job has made it even worse. The thought of spending money, especially as much money as baby stuff costs, makes me cringe. I do need to suck it up and start getting ready though, so I thought I would ask for some help from all you experienced mothers out there.

First thing I want to know is...what things do you really actually use and love and are glad you have vs. things that just end up sitting in a closet somewhere? I don't want to buy more stuff than is necessary. For example, a lot of people say don't bother with a changing table because you end up just changing them on the floor or bed or wherever you are anyway. Makes sense. Some people say don't bother with a little bathtub thing. I want to hear what you all have to say about what you can't live without, and what has been a waste for you.

Second, as I begin my shopping/registering, I want to get some advice on which products you like best. Obviously we want to keep things inexpensive but we are also not willing to sacrifice on safety, durability or sturdiness. If there are certain brands that are cheap and flimsy that we should avoid, feel free to tell me!

I want to start stocking up on diapers. Most women I talk to prefer Huggies hands down, a couple have said Pampers, and one or two have said the Target brand. Which have worked best for you?

Strollers. I think I am leaning towards a jogging stroller. Any thoughts on regular vs jogging or which brand seems to be the best value? Is it worth it to get a whole travel system, or just get a stroller that is compatible with a carseat if you want to use it like that?

Carseats. Safety is obviously my first priority and I've researched this one a lot. Other than safety I've wondered which handle type is most convenient. The regular bowed handle, the bowed handle with a vertical bar down the middle, or the new triangle shaped handle?

Rocking Chair/Glider. How much does it really get used?

Pack N' Play/Playard things-Worth it to have around? We travel a lot because all of our family live out of state. Seems like it would be nice but....just one more thing to buy. Is it gross to buy one of these used?

Breast pump. I've heard the dual electronic ones are best. There are just so many options out there and some are so expensive! Any recommendations on ones you've loved/hated?

Bottles. Does it really make a difference what kind you get? Do the curved neck ones really reduce gas and stuff like they claim? I've heard people talk about the different nipples being better on some than others. Any preferences?

Diaper Genie/Diaper Champ type things. Yes, no? I hate walking into a house that perpetually smells like diapers. I know myself well enough to know that I'm not going to take each dirty diaper out to the outside trash all the time. Do these really hide the smell? What other solutions do people use?

We have been given a swing but I've also heard that some babies love those little vibrating chair things. (I have no idea what they are called). Is one of those worth getting?

On-Body Carrier things. Baby Bjorns, backpack thingies, Moby Wraps...what do you find works best or is safest for the baby?

P.S. after years of hearing the word "bumbo chair" I finally got up the guts to tell my friends I had no idea what they were talking about and asked what it was. Hahaha, I feel so much better not having to pretend anymore!

I have also suddenly spawned a million questions like, "how the heck do you get poo stains out of clothes and sheets?" I can barely get food stains out of my own clothes (which happens at pretty much every meal now, by the way). Also, I am currently reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child because it has been highly recommended by a lot of people. Any other book suggestions that have been helpful to you?

I can't think of any other specific questions right now but feel free to offer any advice you have! As you can see, I know nothing. Now, logically I realize that all kids are different and what works for one may not work for another. I also realize that all the things I don't know now are things that I will learn as I go, and that if I'm lucky, might even kick in instinctively when I become a mother. However, all logic aside, I am a semi-panicked pregnant woman so please humor me. :)

Thanks all! If you don't want to post your comments on here you can email me your thoughts at crowley.amber@gmail.com.

Ah, to be domestic....

I wonder what that would be like. I have to confess, there is a small, secret part of me that wishes I could be one of those amazing women who knows how to do all things crafty and then accomplish it like it required no effort whatsoever. Don't act modest, you all know who you are. I guess the good news is that even though it may be small, at least I'm starting to have a desire right? I mean, if you've known me at all throughout my life, you know that's progress. I guess it also helps that I have nothing to do all day, not to mention the fact that I'm finally starting to get the nesting bug. Preston suggested I make a quilt for our baby. Ha. Cute boy. Does he not know me at all? So precious. :) The last time I made a quilt was my senior year of high school and they had to tear it apart and start over because I messed it up so bad.

Anyways, the point of this rambling is that in my last post I proclaimed that I was going to use this time off work, pre-baby, to at least attempt learning to like things like baking and being crafty. I am pleased to report that while I didn't do much, I did make the effort.

Yep, living proof that I actually baked something. It is such a rare occasion around here, Preston felt he had to document it. :)
The finished product. Sadly, this is probably the easiest cake in the world to make but hey, I made it right!? And Preston loved it so that's all that matters!

Next was a project I've been wanting to do almost since we got married. When we went to Europe last year we specifically took pictures of all the letters found in HENNRICH from hotels, street signs, etc. I found an old shelf in the garage, cut it down, sanded and painted it, drilled holes and added knobs. (Let's face it, if you want to motivate me to do a "craft" include things like drills and saws). Too bad it took me a year to get around to finally putting it all together but here is the finished product!

P.S. It's about time I put some wedding pictures up too. Sheesh, I suck. And the middle picture is an oil painting of the Prague skyline that we bought there and I love it! I am so happy to finally have it up.

This is a random side note and totally unrelated to anything but we have been taking Tank to obedience classes and last week we had him weighed. 108 lbs. Yep, that's right...we have a dog that weighs 108 lbs! We knew he was a big dog but my goodness! He is such a gentle giant though. He seriously is the sweetest, friendliest, people loving dog (almost too much sometimes) and he loves to cuddle. I joke not when I say he still tries to sit on my lap. He is so pretty and we always get so many compliments on him.
In other recent news, Aspen, Preston's sister who has been living with us, just graduated from college. The whole family came into town and we threw her a graduation party. Here are some family pictures from the weekend.

Here are most of the siblings with the graduate.

Us with all of Preston's siblings, our brother-in-law Eddie and our nephew Aceson.

All of Preston's family, well, mostly his mom's side, at the graduation party.

Well, that's the extent of the excitement around here these days. My pregnancy is going well so far. I have actually been fairly comfortable and feeling really well the last little while. Preston still has to help me tie my shoes sometimes and I feel like a beached whale when I try to roll over in bed at night but other than that I'm good! My first glucose test came back borderline so they made me come back in for a 3 hour test to see if I had gestational diabetes. I am pleased to report that the test came back negative, thank goodness. One less thing to worry about. I did however have a panic attack the other day when I realized that I'm having a baby. I mean, I've known all along that I'm having one, obviously, but the reality of it suddenly hit me. Not to mention I'm in my third trimester now and time is flying by. I have less than three months to prepare myself to be a parent and to have my life change FOREVER. Yeah, panic. I am so incredibly excited and yet so incredibly nervous at the same time! Anyways, here are a couple of recent belly pics. Actually they were from almost a month ago so I'm quite a big bigger now but we don't have any updated pics. Sorry!