Prudent Advice

This book was written by Jaime Morrison Curtis who blogs at Prudent Baby.  She is also Bryan's boss' daughter-in-law and that is how I obtained a signed copy (there's something magical about having a book signed by the author is there not?)  Jaime compiled 500 pieces of advice for her baby daughter Scarlet Jane.

Here are some of my favorites:

#24 Don't lie, except to comfort people.

#82 Anytime you are debating whether to shower or not, take the shower.

#157 If you want to leave a party and you don't have a good excuse, spill something on yourself

#213 Create a sense of family wherever you are.
Find people to love and love them unconditionally.

#241 Your future together is not a great subject to discuss on a first date.

#484 Know that I am proud of you.
Every halting gesture bursting from your inexperienced limbs, every novel expression crossing your upturned face, every syllable escaping your throat- every moment of every day I swell with joy at the very idea of you.  And I always will.

There was something very tender about reading this while cuddling my own baby daughter.  It made me think of all the hopes and dreams I have for little Jillian.  There are so many things I want to teach her and share with her.  There is so much ahead of her and I can't wait to see what she does with her precious life.

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful time celebrating Thanksgiving with Bryan's family.  I was nervous to travel with Jillian but she did very well.  It was a little startling to see how much stuff such a tiny girl required for just 3 nights away from home!

I braved Jo-Anns for 50% off fabric (yea for finally having curtains!),
Bryan went on a bike ride with his brothers, 

Jillian met her Uncle Trevor and Aunt Kristen.

We all ate some delicious turkey.

But mostly we just sat around talking about how much we love this girl.

Jilly's first Thanksgiving

Grateful

We have much to be thankful for around here:

Our wonderfully supportive family

Bryan's job

Health/Doctors/Insurance

No snow (sorry Utahns)

Our new home

Being able to eat cookie dough again

Our faith

Good Books

Mountain biking trails 

And, most of all, for this tiny girl for making our little family complete

Happy Thanksgiving!

Success!

I'm writing this primarily so we can remember the details of Jilly's entrance to life.  But, my second reason is to provide hope for all who are nervous about labor.  I was blessed with what I think was the easiest labor and delivery known to womankind.  I don't know why I got so lucky because in case you haven't noticed I also got lucky enough to have the most darling baby (but I may be a little biased.)

On Friday night we went to Skipolini's for the Prego Pizza.  I really wasn't expecting much, just a fun way to end what had been a long and depressing day.  The pizza was intense- every topping you could imagine and more garlic than I normally eat in a year- but it was pretty good.  Before going to bed at 11 I told Bryan I was disappointed that I felt great, no labor signs at all.  

At midnight I woke up with contractions and I was surprised to find that they were coming 2 minutes apart.  This was not what I had expected at all so I waited a while to make sure it was real.  At 1:00 I woke up Bryan, who immediately sprung into action throwing things into the car while I saw to the more important details like putting on makeup and finding some earrings to wear (and hunching over in pain every 2 minutes.)  Bryan gave me a much needed blessing of comfort then we headed off to the hospital.  

By 2:30 we were at the hospital and I was hooked up to a variety of monitors.  The nurse said the beautiful words, "You're dilated 5 cm, we're having a baby today!"  At 4:00 I got my epidural and after that it was smooth sailing, I couldn't feel a thing.  They turned out all the lights in the room and brought us warm blankets.  We both dozed from 4-7 as nurses came in and out checking on things.  

(looks comfortable, right?)

At 7am they told me it was time to push.  This was a little difficult and interesting since I could still feel absolutely nothing.  But everyone coached me and at 7:32 my little Jillian Kate arrived. She was absolutely perfect in every way.

Jillian Kate

Born November 13, 2010 at 7:32 am

7 pounds 11 ounces, 19 inches

We could not possibly be any happier.

Happy Due Date!

It looks as though this little girl has much to learn about punctuality (one of the traits I value most.)  But that's okay, we still like her.

Tonight we're taking on the Prego Pizza at Skipolini's.  Here's the Legend:

"In the spring of 1981, a woman desperate to give birth after a trying pregnancy, wandered into Skipolini's Pizza in downtown Clayton. Jokingly, the woman demanded that the manager give her a pizza that would make her have the baby soon. Seeing her desperation, the manager concocted a pizza with just about every known topping in the restaurant.

The masterpiece had thirteen different toppings including extra onions and extra garlic. The pizza was loaded with fresh vegetables and six types of meat. The creation weighed over four pounds and could have cured the hunger of several small countries. The results were amazing. The woman left the restaurant after eating the "Prego" pizza and went into labor that same evening. So began the amazing history of the first ever, the original, "Prego" pizza."

While the description of the pizza makes me cringe, Bryan's mouth has been watering all week.  I think he was secretly hoping that the baby wouldn't come so we could try it out.  There are Success Stories from 37 women on the website, hopefully I'll be number 38!  Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Dear Veterans,

(most especially my Grandpa Anderson)

Thank you for your service to our country.  Today we recognize and remember you.

Dear Baby,
Don't you think 11/11 would be a cool birthday?  Just an idea.

Love, Rachel/Mom

Boycott

Once upon a time I was obsessed with Glee.  But this season it has been bleh and I've decided I'm done.  I feel kind of dumb because I promoted it so much and told so many people that they had to watch it.  But, guess what, you don't have to watch it, and I'm not going to anymore either.  For now I'm going to stick to listening to the CDs in the car at full blast and singing along, helping my daughter learn to appreciate good music from the beginning.

la suite de bébé

I love that we have a basket of books all ready for her

Yes, that is a big empty wall.  My mom is bringing my old pointe shoes to hang (training my ballerina early!)

The pink picture frame will one day hold a family picture

Having her room all ready makes me even more excited for her to come.  My doctor says things are progressing well, and he predicts we'll have a baby by next weekend- hooray!

Happy Birthday

to him:

This picture is obviously from last year.  A. This year's cake is definitely not made yet and B. Remember when I looked like that?  Will I ever look like that again?

The world has been lucky enough to have this guy around for 27 years.  Happy Birthday Bryan!

{not gonna lie- I was kind of hoping that the post title would throw some people off.  No baby, she's letting her dad have his own day}

Got my Sticker

Until today, I had never voted in person, I'd only voted by mail.  I've always been very jealous of everyone with their "I Voted" Stickers.   But today I am proudly wearing my very own sticker, and may just wear it for the next week.

In case you needed proof- yes it's blurry but I promise it is legit.

November 1

We made it to November!  It's lovely to say that this baby will be here sometime in this month.  Bryan and I are trying really hard to not get our hearts set on the 12th, we've been warned about late first babies.  But I can't help but hope she'll be here around then!

I'm trying to find lots of things to keep me busy so I don't just sit and stare at the clock willing it to move faster.  Here is our list of Things To Do To Keep From Going Crazy Before Baby Comes:

- I'm working on some crafts for the baby's room, but I had a minor setback when my hot glue gun caught on fire- very scary experience.  Pictures will come soon Suzie, I promise!
- Christmas presents!  I am almost done with all my Christmas shopping since I figured it would be much easier to do now than in a month.  Christmas shopping isn't complete without Christmas music, and since I am a tad bit large, uncomfortable, and ornery these days Bryan hasn't dared to tell me it's too early for Christmas music.  I'm thinking about being pregnant every November (haha...)
- I go for a long walk almost every day.  Turns out walking is quite a bit slower and more boring than running, but running is quite impossible right now.  I have loved listening to lots of books while walking.
- Our new bishop decided I needed something to keep me busy and called me to be the first counselor in our Relief Society presidency.  This has been extremely overwhelming considering the average age of our Relief Society is 72 (no joke), I still only know a handful of people, and I'm about to have a baby!  But, it's good to have a challenge, and they've been so sweet about not giving me too much responsibility since I'll be out of commission for a couple weeks.
- We're celebrating Bryan's Birthday Week the coupon way.  Sometimes I wonder how I lived before I met Janssen, I've gotten so many great ideas from her.  I followed her advice and signed Bryan up for every single birthday coupon I could find.  We've enjoyed free Coldstone and free Dairy Queen, and have a pile of coupons still to use (no, they aren't all ice cream, but we wouldn't mind if they were!)

If you have any other suggestions, we'll take them.  It could be a long few weeks around here!