Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS



FROM MINE TO YOURS.......



WISHING YOU HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR!

Blessing Day

This Sunday, Dec 5, Brad had the great privilage in giving Channing his baby blessing. We were supposed to do it a few weeks earlier but that was when I was in the hospital. So as you can see his little outfit was a little small for him( in the legs) but he still looked dang cute if you ask me. It was such a great sacrement meeting as our friends, the Larsen's, also blessed there two little guys. The difference in size between Channing and the twins is crazy and they are only 20 days younger. The spirit was so strong as these innocent little guys received their blessings. As I sat in the presence of these perfect little beings my heart just melted and thanked the lord for such a great miracle. I feel so blessed to have started my little family and have a worthy husband to bless our son. It is still so surreal that Channing is here with us and and is ours! He has such a sweet spirit.

After the blessing we had family and friends over to our place for lunch. A big thanks to Kim for pretty much bringing everything! What a great help! All of Brad's family was here, except for Dave, his cousin, Kristen and family, my parents and Nan, and Kevyn and Ed. It was fun to all be together as everyone ewwed and awwed over my baby. Family is so great, I just wish we all lived closer.

What a special day for my little guy! His cousins sure do love him. They wouldn't let him down (they were actually fighting over him). So precious.. They are going to be great babysitters soon enough!

Even Joey was caught on camera holding baby Channing!

Thank you to all that came out and supported us on this very special day for our little Channing. It really meant allot to have everyone there.

The last 2 months!!

WOW, where to even begin! It has been a very crazy 2 months for me. First of all Channing is doing so good. He is such a great little baby. Sleeping and eating so well. He is only getting up once through the night at 2:30 and then stays sleeping usually until about 7 or 8. I feel very lucky that way. I don't know how some moms do it getting up more than that. I feel sleep deprived but know I am pretty lucky! Channing is growing so fast, he doesn't look anything like a little 2 month old, more like a 3 or 4 month old if you ask me. At his one month check up he weighed in at 11 lbs and was 22 inches and 3/4.
He's gonna be a big boy like his Daddy!

It has been so wonderful to have this little guy in our lives. Honestly I could just hold him and cuddle him all day long, sometimes I find my self doing that and the day is gone.
Only to treasure these moments...

Channing is really starting to smile now and he has just the sweetest smile ever. He loves to be naked but at the same time has to be swaddled and held tight to go to sleep. He's kinda spoiled, I really need to do some tough love with this little guy or I think I will be rocking him to bed until he's 2 or 3. He pretty much has a pretty good schedule, waking up at around 9:00 and then eating, has a bit of wake time and then goes to sleep for a good 3 hours and then repeated a few more times through out the day. My favorite thing right now at this stage is certainly getting him to smile, it just melts my heart. He is truly a gift from God! He is just a strong and healthy little guy and I couldn't ask for more.

On the other hand I have kind of been going through a bit of a rough patch. Just after things started to feel normal again after giving birth, I was struck with a gall bladder attack that kept me in the hospital for a good week. It was back on Wednesday, Nov 10 when I first started to feel the pain. It was around 7:00 at night and Brad was at work so I was alone with Channing. I started to feel sharp pains under my right shoulder blade, I had experienced these pain before but just thought they were after pains. I laid down and tried to relax and take deep breathes. The pain started to move through my body into my abdomen and into my chest. I actually thought I was dying from a heart attack! I called Brad and told him what was happening. I was faint and dizzy and lying down just made it worse. Brad told me to drive to the urgent care here in Airdrie, if I felt that I could. I prayed that I would make it, as I had Channing and needed to buckle him up and take care of him. I was so weak and out of it but somehow made it there. As I got there Channing was screaming but I was in so much pain I couldn't find it in myself to bend over and pick him up. I could hardly talk to the nurses and they were asking me so many questions. I was stressing out cuz Channing was screaming and thank fully a nice lady came over from the lobby and said she would help me if it was OK with me. I was so thankful for her that day, she has no idea how much she really helped me. They got me to the back and hooked me up to an IV and told me I was experiencing a gall bladder attack. They couldn't really do anything for me but give me some pain meds, T3's, and wait for it to subside. I was the worst feeling I had ever had to go through, no lie but worse then labour. Maybe I say that because I knew I was going to get a baby out of the labour pains but with this there was nothing but suffering. After about 4 hours the pain subsided and they sent me home. They told me if it were to happen again to go to emergency. So we went home and the next few days I experienced a bit of shoulder back pain but nothing major. Sunday morning at 5:00 AM I woke to the same attack, but much more intense. Brad drove me to the hospital and I again was hooked up to an IV and told the same thing, another gall bladder attack. Well I had had it, I was not willing to go through this again so they took some x-rays and ultrasounds and told me I had gall bladder pancreitas, where gallstones were being caught in the tubes and blocking the gall bladder and pancreas. They said it was very important that we remove the gall bladder, as it was filled with more gallstones, so this pain would not return. Monday morning they came in and took me in for an endoscopic ultrasound, where they put a tube with a camera at the end of it down my throat and get a better picture as to what is happening with the gall bladder. I had a sore throat for the next few days. I had Channing stay with me in the hospital but was slowly losing milk because I was hooked up at an IV the whole time and they starved me everyday so they could do all there tests. Kim, Brad's sister came to help me on Monday with Channing and it was such a blessing to have her there. Tuesday they told me I was on call to have surgery to remove the gall bladder. I needed someone there everyday just in case they called me in for surgery, to take care of Channing. Kevyn came in that day and again no surgery. Brad stayed with me on Wednesday.. NOTHING.. and Then Thursday Donella came in and the surgery finally happened. Thanks to all that came and helped out with such short noticed, it really meant allot to us. I was so scared going into surgery, I had never had anything like this happen before. The anesthetic is what scared me the most, I kinda thought I wouldn't wake back up. But I'm still here and it all went well. All I remember is them putting an oxygen mask over my mouth and me saying I can't breathe, at that moment I thought I was dead, then I was out and woke up in the recovery room. I was pretty sore and starving but eating was the last thing I really wanted to do. They took me back up to my room and now I just had to wait until they let me go home. I went home on Saturday and thanks to Shannan she had the house nice and clean I was just happy to be home. It was quite the dramatic experience for me and am so glad it is over with. Now I just have to wait until I recover from this. Sometimes I wonder, Will I ever be back to normal?? I hope this is the end of it.

On another note, Shannan and her 2 little babies came up for a visit for the last 3 weeks. The first week she was stuck at my house, we were gonna hang out that whole week , but I was in the hospital. Once I came home though she was here for me to take care of me. She was so awesome.. I know that it was probably not the way she wanted to spend here trip to Canada, but I was kinda glad it happened when it did. She really stepped it up and helped me with everything even though she had her little ones to watch over. She was making dinner, doing laundry, cleaning the house, holding Channing, doing pretty much anything and everything that she could. She was a blessing to have around and I enjoyed her company so much. I wish so much that she lived closer so we could just get together whenever we wanted to and just hang out. She is such a great sister and am so thankful for her service that she gave to me and my family these past couple weeks. We also got to do a little photo shoot with her kids, she did most of them as I was pretty sore, she got some dang cute ones, even if James was all over the place.. She even got the first ever family picture with our newest addition.

Thanks again Shannan for all your love and support at this time.

BEST COUSINS(only 2 months apart)

So with life being a bit crazy from me recovering, starting a new business( and something always going wrong), having a new baby, and trying to get all my photo shoots done, I can honestly say I am so thankful for family and friends who are there for you whenever you need them, I just hope I can be that someone that can be there for another like those who have helped us out so much. I feel so blessed to have our first little baby and so thankful that he is so strong and healthy, that is all I ever prayed for and that is what I have. This is true happiness!! Even in rough times, I can always go back to FAMILY. They will always be there and I hope I can always be there for them.
Thanks again to all..

Channing Michael

Within the first week of Channing being here I really wanted to get a lot of photos of him but it was pretty difficult as I was so sore. With the help of Brad and my sister, Lindsey, we were able to get a few cute ones of our little guy. He is under a week old in these photos and honestly he has already changed so much. In need to start taking more photos!

Everyday there is something new I learn about him and just love him more and more each day. I can't believe he has been here for 3 weeks already, it's crazy, so surreal, but to awesome. I wouldn't change it for the world. We just love our little man!

He's Here!

So let's start out by saying our baby boy has arrived and he is healthy and strong. So here is the birth story...
On Oct 6, 2010 we needed to get our tires changed on our little car as one of the tires had a whole in it and could not be fixed so we decided to just put the winter tires on. Well Brad was at work so I thought it would be ok for me to lift them into the car myself, so I did. Once the tires were on I headed back home and had a burst of energy so I decided to clean the entire house and organize everything in the babies room, this only took a good 5 hours. That evening Brad and I took Skeeter on a walk to the dog park and that is when I think I felt my first contraction. It was nothing horrible and was bairable but I just knew that it was different. Well we finished our walk and decided to go to bed early that night, 10:00! I was feeling good and fell straight to sleep. I woke up at 12:45 AM to go to the bathroom and went to pull my pants up when a little gush of fluid hit the ground. I wasn't quite sure if it was my water breaking so I didn't know if I should wake Brad up. I walked around for a while and then checked to see if there was anymore fluid and there was so this is when I decided to wake up Brad. He said it had to be my water so I called the Health Link to see if I needed to go in, as I was not having contractions. She said to go in within the next 5 hours. So i got my bag and myself ready and then tried to get some more sleep. By around 2:00 I started to feel some contractions every 8-10 mins lasting about 30 seconds. I couldn't get to sleep as I was nervous and excited all at the same time. So I continued to time my contractions and by 3:00 they were coming every 5 minutes and lasting about a minute long. For about an hour this went on so I decided to wake Brad again and head to the hospital. This is it I thought! So I called my Doula and told her we were on our way! She told us to keep her updated and call her once we were admitted. So we got to the hospital at about 5:00AM. We were the only ones in triage and they wanted to check to see if my water had broken. So at 6:00 AM they checked and said I was 2-3 CM and that they weren't quite sure if it was amniotic fluid or not. So they told us to go for a walk to see if this would open my cervix up. We went outside and Jen ( our Doula) was waiting for us. So she got me started on the stairs, we did this for about 2 hours and then went back to check if I had opened up at all and to check my amniotic fluid. At 8:00 AM I was now as 3 CM and they said that my water had broken and sent me to get admitted. I then came back to triage and they told me to continue walking around. We continued to do stairs and walk outside to get me more dilated. I am still laughing when I think of all the strange looks I received when I would have to stop for a contraction. Hello I am in a hospital, I swear no one had ever seen a pregnant person walking around before. I even had a guy kinda glare and shake his head at me!!!
I think I did stairs for a good 5 hours, wow what was I thinking!! By around 11:00 they took me into the delivery room, I was now 5 CM. So we worked on a few different positions, squatting, the ball, leaning against the bed, etc. I think squatting was my favorite! Once I had reached 6-7 CM they told me that they would need to brake my water more, as it had broke at the top and was just leaking out, to get things to speed up. They said that the contractions would be more intense but it would speed everything up. So I agreed and believe me they weren't kidding about the intesity. This was such horrible pain but I continued to just breath through it. I went in the shower to see if it would help with the back labour, as he was turned the wrong way. That shower was the worst thing I had ever experienced. I was so uncomfortable and just wanted out. I tried a few different positions, kneeling down, sitting and squatting but that was it. I need to get out of there. So I went back to my favorite postion of leaning over the back side of the bed. At 3:30 I was dilated to an 8, I was getting close I thought just a little while more!! HA well that's what I thought!! I was at 8 CM for 2 hours when I had a strong urge to push, almost unbariable, they told me to jsut breathe through it and that they would check to see where I was at. 8 CM they said. So I continued to breathe through it just wanting to be done with this.They said they would check me in and hour or so. That seemed like a life time, I just wanted to scream but I held it together and said to my self, "jsut one more hour until I get to hold my little guy in my arms." Well an hour went by and still 8 CM. Are you kidding me, here I was with major back labour, the urge to push and I still had 2 more CM to go. I didn't know if I would make it. They starting asking me if I wanted the epidural but I didn't want to slow anything down so I declined. Brad and even my doula were almost wanting to tell me to take it. But I had made it this far and I really thought in the back of my mind if I had got it I probably would have had a c-section. So after another 2 hours of 8 CM, they decide to move me to the bathroom to squat over the toilet to see if moving postions would get me dilated. Well it worked and within the next 20 mins I was ready to push. As soon as I heard the words "push" come out of the docotors mouth I was ready. They got me the squatting bar and i started. They told me it would probably be about 2 hours of pushing, I had had it! After about 10 pushes I started to feel his head and I told the doctor, who was across the room. She took her sweet time to get to me, probably thinking I was crazy and took a look and yes I was about to have this baby. She continued to tell me to push and within 15 minutes our baby boy had entered the world.
Channing Michael Holt was born on Oct 7, 2010 at 8:52 PM at a very healthy weight of
9lbs 4 oz and was 22inches long.
As they passed him to me to hold, I started to cry. I couldn't believe I had my baby boy in my arms. I have been waiting for this day for 3 years and it was here. He was mine, all mine and of course Brads too. They pain was gone and it was worth it. Brad came to my bedside and said, "that was the most grotes but most beautiful thing I have ever seen!" I held him Channing for a while and then Brad took him as I got stitched up.
I experienced a 4th degree tear, from his shoulders and it took about an hour to stitch me all up.
My family was waiting in the waiting room for us when we were being transferred to the postpartum unit, so they got to see him for the first time. They couldn't stay because it was past 11:00 so I felt bad that they had waited so long kinda for nothing. I stayed in postpartum until Saturday afternoon and then finally got to take little Channing home.

I seriously feel so blessed to have him in our lives. There is no happiness like having a child. He just brings such joy and happiness to Brad and I and really feel like he is a true miracle. I am so excited to be a Mom and watch our little guy grow up. I love watching Brad with him, he is such a good Dad and I know that they will be best friends when he is older. I also just want to thank everyone for all of there support as we have gone through this journey. I want to thank my parents for coming and helping out as I have had to rest for the past couple weeks, for cleaning, dinners, and just taking him when I need to sleep. Thank you to my mother in law for coming a cleaning , the many dinners, and always calling to see how I am doing. Thank you to my sister Lindsey for coming and helping and staying with me for a few days. Thanks to my sisters, Stacy and Shannan, who are far away for just being there to talk to and for there many calls! Thanks to my sister in law, Kim for the awesome frozen meals you supplied us with, delicious!! Also to my visiting teachers for there meals. My friends for coming and visiting with us. A big Thank you to our amazing Doula, Jen, for her support and advice through labour and delivery. I honestly don't think we could of done it without her. And another thank you to my amazing husband for believing in me and supporting me through pregnancy, labour and delivery. I was not always the happiest pregnant women and I am so glad Brad was so patient with me. Brad stood by me this whole time and encouraged me to be brave and I did it. I know because of him. I love you and thank you for all you do! Last but not least I want to thank my Father in Heaven. I know he has created this little miracle and made it possible to have him in our lives. He is why my baby is here today. Thank you all for everything.

The Anticipation!!

31 weeks
Tomorrow I will be at 39 weeks and I can't imagine waiting another week for this baby! It's crazy how you last a whole nine months and then as soon as you know your just weeks away you just want him here now. Not only is it that I can't wait to see him and hold him in my arms and see who he looks like and of course start to raise him but I really just need a little relief from this big guy. I would do anything just to bend over again. So two weeks ago at my 37 week check up they measured me and I was measuring way over( supposed to be measuring at 37 but was measuring at 41 instead) so that was great. I'm gonna have a huge baby!! Well they sent me in to get another ultrasound to see how the baby was measuring and check the amniotic fluid. Everything came back great! Then they sent me to get another 2 Hour Glucose Tolerance Test which also came back good. So at my 38 week appointment I was measuring at a hefty 43 inches so they came down to the conclusion that he's just gonna be big, around the 97% isle. Sounds fun!! I sure hope they are wrong on this one. I just want him to come early so he doesn't continue to grow! I have been getting really excited about this baby coming and I think I have everything ready! I just need to clear out his crib from all the gifts that I received from my awesome shower my Mom threw for me awhile ago.

Speaking of the shower I never made a post about it! It was awesome she came early Friday morning with my sister Lindsey and started decorating, cooking and getting everything ready. It looked awesome and the food was great! She had planned some fun games and we had a great turn out! I don't think I have had so many people in my home. I didn't even get a picture of everyone here. Here are a few of the decorations!!



It was a fun night of laughter and fun. Thanks again Mom for being the best and throwing a great party and thank to all that came and for the wonderful gifts. This guys is gonna be one spoiled little man.

So now I just play the waiting game as to when I will have this little guy all to myself!! AHHHH I am so excited but scared all at the same time. I can just hope all goes smoothly and there are no complications. Brad and I have been working with a doula and she has been so great! I really think she will play a big part in making us feel comfortable and relaxed. She has really helped us learn what to expect and different options that are available to us. Some of the stuff I honestly had no clue about. I am happy to have hired her but of course and still a little sad my Mom can't be there with me as well. Wish me luck!!!

Here I am at 38 weeks and 5 days( can't believe how big he's getting, or how big I am, kinda killing me really!!)

I am just throwing this picture in cuz she's so cute!!

Pregnancy Update!

Wow, it has been way too long! I have just been super busy with work and getting ready for this baby. I can't believe I only have 5 weeks left, I hope he comes faster. All I can say is I have loved this experience, I have loved having the baby bump and feeling his kicks and just knowing that he will be with us soon, but I am ready to have him out and into our lives. I have been a bit of a complainer to my husband mostly, about the aches and pains that carrying this little guy has brought, but that's aloud right! Now I get to vent to all of you! About 2 months ago I started experiencing horrible pain right in my ribs (like someone had taken a bat to them and broke them), well this has yet to go away and there is not a moment I feel comfortable. My work, sitting at a computer all day photo shopping, does not seem to help either! I have talked to the doctor about it and all she can tell me is the baby has pushed on my ribs and separated them, so I have to just wait it out until baby arrives. On top of that I am also experiencing restless leg syndrome at night. As soon as I hit the bed my legs begin to tingle and just feel like they have to move. I have tried elevating them and massaging them but nothing works. This makes it so hard to sleep. It usually takes me about 2 hours to fall asleep. Which sucks cuz I am trying to get as much sleep in as I can before our baby arrives. It is hard getting in and out of bed every night, like 3 or 4 times to go to the bathroom, and I don't think it helps that our bed is a good 3 feet off the ground!! I should just start sleeping in the spare bedroom, Brad is pretty much off the bed anyways, with all the pillows in between us. But Brad has been awesome and so supportive. Well there is my ranting about how horrible it has been, but really I couldn't thank the Lord enough for all he has blessed us with. If I knew how different pregnancy would be, from what I expected, I would for sure do it again and again. We will see once I actually deliver, but I think I will be just fine. I am just so happy to finally be starting our family and being able to have our own little guy!



Last week we went to Utah to visit my sister, Shannan, and family and see her newest addition, Rachel. She is such a doll and just such a good baby. Honestly she like slept the entire time I was there. It was fun to take a few pictures of her and the family.

I also got Shannan to take a few pictures of Brad and I, as we don't have any of ourselves. She did awesome! Thanks again Shannan for the pics and letting us crash at your house for a while. It was so much fun! Just Move Closer ALREADY!!!




Well there is my update! Until next time....

BC trip

Last weekend Brad and I went out to Comox BC to photograph a wedding for Brad's cousin. We were there for a few extra days so Brad decided he would go on a guys fishing trip. I kinda wanted to go but wasn't too sure about the bumps and roughness of the ocean so I stayed back. Brad has really wanted to do this for quite some time now so it was a perfect oppurtunity.

I kept bugging him that he probably wouldn't catch anything but he proved me wrong by bringing this home.

That's a 15 pound salmon!! I'm pretty surprised, cuz everytime we try fishing I get too frustrated and end up with nothing. I guess it was a perfect season out there for fishing though! He still wanted to catch a halibut, But I gotta say this is pretty good size!

The ocean was beautiful and I loved just sitting outside and watching the waves crash. It wasn't the warmest weather so there was no sun bathing! But I just enjoy the sound of the ocean and the smell. It's always good to get away once in awhile!

Every night Brad would have to drink his herbal tea on the porch and watch the ocean!! HEHE what a little nerd.

Pregnancy So Far!

24 1/2 weeks
26 1/2 weeks
So my pregnancy is moving along and I continue to grow everyday. I swear I don't know how much more stretching I can take. He is sure tight in there and I am usually alway pretty uncomfortable. I must admit though I am glad the morning sickness is gone and I can continue on with my life. I actually really have enjoyed being pregnant. I know alot of women hate there bellies growing so much but I kinda like it. To know that I am carrying a little guy inside me, is an absolute miracle. I love watching and feeling his kicks and I love watching Brad bond with our little guy as well. I can honestly sit there for hours and just hold my hand on my belly and feel his little flutters. I know that we are truly blessed to have this little guy and I thank the lord every single day! Other than being tired and having major back aches, mostly after too much photo shoots, I am feeling really great. I do have a little discomfort when I try to sleep but I guess that what comes along with pregnancy. I have had so much fun shopping for our little guy, maybe a little too much, baby clothes are just too cute to pass up sometimes. I am also starting to think of ideas for the nursery, I just need to get Brad motivated to repaint the room. I am thinking the color of the walls will be a light blue and I have bought a white bed set and black furniture so I will do a lot of accenting with blue. I am so excited to start setting it up, it all comes down to finding the time to do so. I can't believe I have 3 more months to go, these last few months have flown by. I hope the next few do as well. I just want to meet our little guy, I love him already!

Surprise!!

So my awesome friends threw me a surprise baby shower a few weeks ago and it was a total blast. So they had invited me over for a brunch with some girls and they tried to schedule a few different dates but none of them seemed to work. Finally I found a weekend that I actually had available so they switched the dates for me. I had no idea it was an actual party for me, I felt bad I kept making them change the date. Anyways it all worked out and I arrived "LATE" of course, like I always am. I walked through the door and there were all my friends yelling out SURPRISE!! So unexpected. They had the place to cutely decorated with pictures and a big sign that said " BABY BOY" , a cute little cake and great good! CREPES, one of my favs!

So we ate and visited and then played a pretty embarrassing game where you would write down a few memories of me. Well let's just say there were lots of laughs and a few funny looks my way!! HAHA it was pretty funny. Then we opened presents and I go a bunch of awesome things from books, toys, clothes,booties, peepee teepees and even a massage( I will definetly be using that soon!) Thanks to all my great friends that pulled this together and for all of you that came. You're the best and it was so good to see all of you! And Thank you Arianne for the great pictures!