Flashback: Babymoon

Steve and I decided that we wanted to take a nice vacation before the baby came.  With work schedules, Thanksgiving week worked best, then we'd only have to take 3 days off work rather than a full week.  I looked all over the internet for a great deal on a fun vacation, and realized our timing was quite poor.  Thanksgiving week is a very expensive traveling week, so air travel was out.

Enter our California road trip!

We visited San Francisco, Discovery Bay, and Carmel with a stop at the Salt Flats on the way out there.  

Carmel was amazing, easily my favorite stop on the trip.  It was sooo dog friendly.  One day we'll make it back out there with Henry and Penny.  Carmel was such a quaint little town, it's made up of such cute little shops.

Our adorable Inn in Carmel

Henry James Howe: The Birth

Wow time flies when you have a newborn.  He's already 3 weeks old! It feels like just yesterday I was sitting in the hospital waiting to meet him.

I had a few health problems during my pregnancy, nothing too major, but my doctor felt it would be best to induce at 39 weeks and I was more than okay with that. I was surprised I made it that long, to be honest.  I had been contracting a lot for about a week and a half leading up to it.  Stephen and I went into the hospital Tuesday, February 24th around 9 pm.  We got settled into a room to spend the night and my nurse gave me some medicine that was supposed to help my cervix soften and spread.  She came back in a few hours later to check me and decided to give me another dose for safe measure.  Around 4;30 I started contracting pretty regularly.  At 7 they gave me pitocin and decided to break my water and attach a monitor directly to the baby's head and to my uterus since the monitor I was hooked up to kept losing his heart rate and wasn't picking up my contractions. 

The OB came in to break my water and was surprised at how easily it broke, he didn't have to use any tools.  Things got moving pretty quickly once my water broke.  Suddenly my contractions became pretty intense and moved from the front to my back.  They lasted about 90 seconds each and were only 60-90 seconds apart.  Let me tell you, back labor is no walk in the park.  Side story, before we went in I had told Steve that I wanted to wait a while before getting an epidural because I wanted to experience labor and see how tough I was... Long story short, I was not tough.  After about 10 minutes of back labor I was close to tears and was more than ready for an epidural.  The anesthesiologist came in quickly and got me all set up.  Bless you, you wonderful, wonderful man.  After I was all numbed up, things were pretty easy (aside from some pretty intense nausea).  My nurse came in and turned off my pitocin because my contractions were too strong and too close together (she should have done that before the epidural... maybe I could have lasted longer). Around 2 pm the nurse came to check me and found that I was a 10 and was ready to push!  We decided to do something called "rest and descend" and it's exactly what it sounds like, I rest, the baby descends.  It's supposed to make for an easier delivery.  Pushing isnt supposed to take as long.  The nurse came back in around 2:30ish and we started pushing around 2:40.   There was a clock right in front of me and I just watched it... soon it was 3, then 3:30, then 4...  My nurse gave me a little break to "rest and descend" and we came back to pushing.  4:30 came and went and I wasn't getting closer.  My doctor had a class she had to attend at 5 and was hoping the baby would be here before that, after coming and checking my progress, she said she'd let them know what was happening and she'd leave at any time to come back if she needed to.  5 came and went, then 5:30.  At this point I was feeling extremely tired and discouraged.  I'd never heard of anyone pushing for more than 2 or 2.5 hours and not end up needing a C-section.  Up until this point I'd tried to stay focused and positive.  Steve and my nurse, Gina, had been amazing at being so supportive and encouraging.  But I started to doubt my ability to push this baby out of me, my epidural was wearing off, and I was exhausted.  I started to cry.  We decided to rest for a bit more.  My doctor came back around 6ish and I thought we were going to start talking about using a vacuum/forceps or a C-section.  But she came in and was just the thing I needed.  We had talked about my birth plan before hand and she knew I didn't want to use a vacuum or forceps and she knew I wanted to do all we possibly could to avoid a C-section.  She walked into my room and told me that his heart rate was just as steady as could be and he wasn't showing any signs of distress.  He was coming vaginally.  She was just what I needed to find more strength and energy to keep pushing.  So that's what we did... we kept pushing.  For a little over an hour.  By the time he FINALLY came, my epidural was pretty worn off.  I felt like I could feel everything.  I have never felt pain like that before.  Side note: I don't know how women go natural.  Kudos to you, ladies.

Finally at 7:09, after screaming "I want him out of me!!!" he came out face up.  That little stinker was facing the wrong way, no wonder he was so hard to get out.  I was completely overwhelmed when they placed him on my chest.  All I could think about was the fact that he was finally here, I was able to push him out and he was finally here!  Poor little guy came out with the worst cone head I'd ever seen, but he was (and still is) so perfect.  We've loved every single second of Henry, he truly is the best baby.  I never understood how people always said their children were their greatest joys (don't get me wrong, I've always wanted/loved kids, my mind just couldn't comprehend it), or when people told me I'd be so overwhelmed with love, but I get it now.  This really is bliss.

P.S.  My friend Chelsea Homer did a birth video for us.  She did such an amazing job and I'll never be able to properly thank her for capturing this moment for us.  I will always cherish this video.  If you need/want a videographer, hit her up. Click here to go check out her blog.  Not only does she do amazing work, she's one of the kindest souls I've ever met. You won't regret it.

Click here for the birth video.

Dear 2014

Dear 2014, you were friggin' crazy.

January started with a back surgery followed by some of the worst physical pain I'd ever felt.  January ended with the death of our sweet dog Maggee and we were heartbroken.  

February was fairly mellow.  We go a good deal at a hotel in Vegas and decided a vacation was just what we needed.

March was my birthday.  The best one I've had yet.  My husband wrote me the absolute sweetest letter and I told him he'd never be able to top that birthday (I have a feeling he'll never be able to top this next birthday, seeing as we'll {hopefully} have a brand new baby at home by then).  March was also the time when we hit a crossroads.  We up and changed all of our future plans, prayed and pondered, and got the answer that law school wasn't for us, and instead should buy a house and start a family.  We found the perfect house for us within a few days, put in an offer, and got it accepted.  It was a whirlwind of a week.

April was spent packing and going through the process of actually buying the house.

In May we moved into said house, planted a garden, started home projects, and began making the house our home.

In June we both felt ready for a puppy.  We looked and looked and came across a pure bred Golden Retriever (we'd both always wanted one).  She was the last one in her litter who hadn't been sold.  We both fell in love with her and brought her home immediately.  A week later I found out I was pregnant and I sobbed with joy over all the images in my head of a puppy and a baby playing together.

July  was Steve's birthday.  He turned the big ol' dirty 30! July was also when the sickness hit.  It hit hard, and it stayed.  I won't go on and on with complaining, but I've never known sickness like that.  I've never been so completely wiped out and forced to run in survival mode.  And it's not something you get used to, ever.  

In August we announced we were pregnant.  It was earlier than I was planning, but I couldn't hide it anymore.  Everyone at work knew and most everyone I came into contact with figured it out pretty quick.  My brother Casey got married and my brother Jeff announced he had eloped at the end of July (so sneaky).

In September we celebrated 3 years of marriage and found out we were having a baby boy.  All in the same day!

In October we had our 20 week scan and found out everything was healthy and developing how it should.

In November we took a road trip to Cali and partied it up in San Fran and Carmel. (Carmel was amazing and so dog friendly.  We're definitely taking the baby and Penny there sometime within the next year.)

In December I started to feel like a normal person again!  The migraines finally seemed to stop and I started to feel less like a shell of my old self!!! (Merry Christmas to me!!!!!!)  December also brought my very first car accident (and easily the most terrifying moment of my life) which seemed to set off the migraines again... but now I just don't care.  I'm just so grateful we were all okay. December also brought the very first Christmas in our new house and we were able to host my family Christmas Eve and Steve's family Christmas Day and celebrate with them.

New Years Eve left me in awe.  Is 2014 already over?  It was such a whirlwind.  I feel like everything around me was changing and moving and spinning and I was just trying my hardest to keep up and not lose my footing.

I'm excited for everything that 2015 has to offer.  I have a feeling this year is going to be just as amazing as last year.  This is the year I get to meet my little baby and watch my family grow.

Flashback: October

October was a good month.  I started to feel a bit better.  The migraines and puking had slowed down.  Not stopped, but significantly slowed. 

In October Penny had her first play date.  She didn't like it.  We've come to realize she's a sissy around other dogs.  We went to Sugarhouse Park and at one point, she ran and jumped into the little duck pond there in an attempt to escape another dog's attempt to hump/play with her.  

Mid-October I took a girl's trip down to Cedar City to hang out with my bestie at her Grandma's house!  It was a much needed vacation for the both of us.

We did some shopping, and some eating, and some theraputic shooting.

I shot my very first handgun ever!

Yes, I'm in a dress with nice shoes.  That's how real women shoot guns ;)

It was really nice to go visit my Amy and enjoy a little mini-vacation.

October is also the month I started to look more and more pregnant.

I dressed up like a pumpkin smuggler for Halloween and we had a little party with my family.

I always harass Steve for not dressing up on Halloween.  On the day of, I came home to find him like this:

Oh man, I still laugh about it every time I think about it.  My favorite part of this picture is his glasses. He put them on on top of the suit.  I also love the casualness of Penny's demeanor, like this is something that happens regularly.

October was a really fun month.

Flashback: September

September was such an exciting month!

Steve and I celebrated 3 years of marriage and we found out the gender of our baby!

And lucky for us, we got to do both those things on the same day!  It was pretty awesome.

On September 16th we drove down to my doctor's appointment and finally got a good look at our baby!  Even though we'd had an ultrasound every time we went, the ultrasound was never very clear.  I felt like Rachel from F.R.I.E.N.D.S. I could never see the baby very well.

The baby cooperated pretty well and we got a good shot of the little bitty bum and legs.

Prior to this visit, I was convinced we were having a girl.  Steve was too.

Looking at the screen I would think, "I think I just saw a little something..." and then he'd move.

After a few minutes the doctor said, "I'm about 90% sure it's a boy.  The only thing keeping me from saying I'm 100% sure is the fact that we didn't get a longer glance.  He just wiggled so much.

Steve and I left feeling a little dazed.  I so strongly felt like this baby was a girl that I had him convinced it was a girl too. haha.

We're absolutely thrilled it's a boy!  I honestly didn't care either way.  I want both eventually, I didn't care what order they came in.

We were just shocked. 

We didn't tell our coworkers right away.  We wanted to wait to tell our families first.

Originally we were going to do a little gender reveal photo shoot, print the pictures, and mail them to our family... but after several mini fits thrown by family members, we decided we'd text them the picture.  Here's the picture:

For our anniversary we usually go somewhere nice to eat for dinner.

Since we have Penny, we didn't want to go to work, then the ultrasound, and then out to dinner and leave her in the crate all day long so instead, we left work about an hour earlier than needed and went to the cheesecake factory before our ultrasound!  It was delicious!  September 16th was a pretty good day!

Flashback: Steve's Birthday

Steve turned the big dirty thirty this last July!

His birthday happened to be at the beginning of my first trimester and I felt like complete crap.  

Steve, being the huge sweetie that he is, said all he wanted to do on his birthday was stay home, watch a movie, and eat some take-out. 

So that's what we did.  Bless his sweet soul.

I did manage to put together a mini party for him.

We had some of his friends over, ate pizza, and just chatted.  I want to say we played some games, but I honestly don't remember if that's true or not (that's what happens when you decide to blog almost 6 months after the actual event).

We had a joint birthday dinner for him and his 2 brothers at his mom's house and my sister-in-law Claire made a pretty awesome cake.

All in all, it wasn't a terrible birthday.

Flashback: Horman Weddings

Wow, 2014 is pretty much over and I've let a lot of things go unblogged, so I'll be doing a series of "Flashback" blog posts. Let's flashback to August real quick.  I got 2 new sister-in-laws within a few weeks!  There was a whole lotta love flying around the Horman family.

August 10th my brother, Casey, got married to a wonderful little lady, Sydney.  It was beautiful.  Me, my sister-in-law, and my aunt were brides maids. Casey and Syd work with me and met at work (just like me and Steve).  It was such a beautiful day and I'm so happy for them.

My other brother, Jeff, texted everyone back in July and told us to keep August 16th available.  He had been dating someone for a few months and we thought he might be proposing to her that day.  Or announcing a wedding.  We were wrong.  He sent us an address of where to go and when we got there we realized it was a ceremony.  We thought he was doing a surprise wedding!  Again, wrong.  Turns out him and Holly had eloped on July 22nd and kept it a secret from everyone (even their kids!).  They wanted to wait until after Casey's wedding to do a ceremony for their kids.  In this ceremony they read letters they had written to the other person's kids.  They pledged as a family to be committed to each other and to love and support each other.  It was really really cool.  I cried a lot.  I hadn't properly prepared my emotions.  But even if I had, I still would have cried.  It's really hard to accurately explain it because it's such a unique thing.