Friday, December 26, 2008

"FRA-GI-LE... must be Italian!"

Gretel's First Christmas!!!




My beloved leg lamp is still one of my fave things! I got it for Christmas about 5 years ago from my parents and I just love it....so does our little Christmas Elf!

Thanks, Mimi for sending such a festive hair accessory early-she's been wearing her glittering poinsettia headband to all her little Christmas parties!


We stayed in "Sac Town" for Christmas this year, and although we really missed our families, we had a fun and relaxing time spending the holiday here.




On Christmas Eve, a very fun family in our ward, the Gillespies, invited us over for dinner. It was so delish, and after dinner they always do a Nativity with their little kids; Gretel was baby Jesus which was very cute. They have a little girl that's just a month older than Gretel, who played a sheep, and their other daughter was Mary. Their two boys did various roles-they are such a darling family. We really had a great time!





On Christmas morning, Johnny woke me up and wanted us all to go and open presents-he's such a little boy! I call him my "manchild." I love Christmas, but he gets even more excited than I do. He's been memorizing "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and lately he's been talking about how he can't wait to dress up as Santa for future family parties because he says, "Santa is the jolliest man in the whole world." I have a very cute hubby!

We had a lot of fun opening our gifts to each other. But it felt so strange to us to open what our families got us without them-we really miss everyone!

Gretel was spoiled by her very sweet and generous grandparents (as were we!) Our parents are very good to us. She got some way fun books, toys, fab clothes, movies, and a little swing.



She's happy in her swing as long as her little mobile above her is moving. Since this particular swing doesn't have a mobile that moves on its own, Johnny and I were constantly jiggling it for her. Then, I had a brilliant idea-I tied some string from the mobile to the sides of the swing, so as she rocks back and forth, it makes her little friends above her move, too! She loves watching them now!






A couple of weeks ago, I took Gretel on a little shopping spree with me so we could get her first Christmas ornament! I saw in Anthropologie's catalog that they had these "milkmaid" ornaments! It was meant to be, because that's what Johnny calls her. So here she is-one little milkmaid posing with another!


Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Gretel Gumdrops Was Blessed!


We blessed the little cupcake on November 30, and it was a great day! She looked so precious in her little gown...I felt so nervous for Johnny that morning. He didn't feel nervous, but I just kept thinking that I'm so happy I'm not a boy, because this would be so terrifying! But he did a wonderful job! My parents, Teal, and John's parents all came to town for the blessing, and it was great to see everyone.







I know Thanksgiving is old news now, but here is what we did. My fam arrived Wednesday night, so it made Thanksgiving really memorable to have them there! We cooked in my little kitchen Thanksgiving Day- We had a blast, hanging out and playing with the Wii Fit!



Johnny's parents arrived on Friday. We went to the movies... all but Johnny (he stayed home to study for finals, so that was sad) We thought it would be fun for the guys to see the new James Bond and the girls could see Twilight!! That's right, Gretel Girlfriend went to her first movie-what a great chick flick to start her off! She woke up partway through, and was loving it. Her eyes were open so wide-she looked fascinated! She must have a little crush on Edward, too!

It was so nice to see our families-thanks everyone for traveling to see us... or I guess to see Gretel, really! Now that we have a baby it's fun to have more visits from you all!

A few more pics we took that weekend....












Johnny bathing her; I love how she's looking up at him. What a little lamb!






My mom giving her a bath; she says all the time, "Gretel really loves me-she thinks I'm all that!"






Gretel has been very smiley and she coos a lot!! Her little voice is so fun to hear!



Sunday, November 30, 2008

Fall Post - Things We've Done Since October

Gretel's First Halloween!



For Halloween Gretel was such a fashionista wearing her preemie (still baggy)onesie and her festive black tutu!
Gwen looks a little humiliated in her "Happy Hallowiener" costume!



Gretel's First Spa Mani/Pedi



It was so fun clipping and filing her tiny little nails! Her hands are so miniature and cute-Her nails are so thin and fragile, I had to bust out the hot pink buffer to use it as a file, because it's much more gentle and she had some rough edges from the clippers. I just loved her first appointment with me! I think she likes me taking care of her and making her feel like a lady! I put her right to sleep...so relaxed just like a true woman at the spa!




...those were a couple of our fave highlights of last month.

Now here are some choice pics of our little "milkmaid!" Johnny named her this, and it's become my favorite nickname!






She loves her "bling" binky-thanks, Betsy!

Thanks to Auntie Hab for the fab headband! (it feels like real rose petals!)



Tummy time! She's always had the strongest neck, and has been able to hold it up since day 1...


Our little "Mad-Hatter" - she gets mad every time we put this hat on her...



She's a natural at impersonations - this is her Dr. Evil from Austin Powers - she wanted to shave her head bald for the full effect but mommy wouldn't let her.



Our Posh Princess is ready to be chauffeured around town



She Loves bath time - maybe she just likes hanging out in the buff like her old man.




Sweet dreams Gretel Emeline

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

MY (UNMEDICATED) LABOR!


I know it's been almost 3 weeks since Gretel was born, but time has really flown! I can't believe it's taken me so long to give a little more info of how it all happened....


So on Sunday, October 12 I woke up at 3:14 am with what I thought were just awful cramps. It went away, and I went back to sleep. Twelve minutes later, the same feeling, but a little worse. I didn't think these were contractions, because my stomach never felt super tight, like it had with the Braxton Hicks contractions. I woke up Johnny, and was whining to him, and he suggested that I sit on my exercise ball to see if it would help. This helped a lot because when I was sitting up I could feel my stomach tightening with each contraction. I had another one ten minutes later, then the next was seven minutes later. From then on, they were consistently five minutes apart. The contractions slowly grew more intense, and I felt like getting in the shower. I couldn't believe how much better the hot water made me feel, and made the contractions a little more tolerable! While showering, Johnny called the hospital (that's what they told us to do in the classes) and they said it sounded like I was in early labor, and to just stay home for as long as possible and to come in if my water broke.


So that's what I did. John suggested we get back in bed and try to sleep. I got a little snippy at him, because I knew I wasn't going to be able to fall asleep, and I soon discovered it hurt a lot worse to lay down. Thank heaven for my exercise ball and for my hubby for remembering all the different labor positions from class! When I'd feel another one coming on, I'd kneel on the floor and slump over my ball. I totally felt like one of those women in the natural childbirth videos with their birthing balls!


John was also supposed to teach a lesson in church that day, and he was concerned about what he'd do about that! I remember saying, "Well maybe you can go, but I definitely can't see myself sitting through church being in pain every five minutes!" Neither of us realized how quickly things were progressing for me!


Soon I threw up from the next contraction, but still wasn't sure when to leave for the hospital since everyone had told me it's best to labor at home for as long as you can. Otherwise, we'd heard we'd either be sent home, or we'd be hanging out at the hospital all day. Although my contractions weren't getting closer together, they were becoming more painful. So John got in the shower and made me some food, and we decided to leave for the hospital anyway.


We got there at 8 am. After giving them a bunch of my information, they finally got me into a room, but due to a shift change, they wouldn't be able to have someone check me for another 30 minutes! I almost died at that thought! When they asked me to rate my pain on a scale from 1 to 10, I told the girl a 5 or 6 because I didn't want to be a total boob and figured I had a long way to go, so I wanted to leave a little room for myself on the pain scale!


When the doctor came in she told me I was dilated to an 8! I was in shock-I was not expecting that! They told me if I had wanted an epidural, I wouldn't be able to get it for another 30 to 60 minutes. I had a feeling things would go too quickly for that! (I was right!)


They got me into my delivery room, and I threw up again because my contractions were suddenly a lot worse and without breaks in between. (Thanks hubby, for holding out a barf bag for me!) The nurse asked if I wanted to shower, and I did. At this point, I was at a 9, and my water still hadn't broken. They told me it might break in the shower, which it did. After it broke, I had a really horrific contraction. I felt weak and shaky, and Johnny dried me off with a towel and got me back in my gown. As I laid down on the bed, I had another horrid contraction, then suddenly felt the urge to push. (Through all of this, John was a very good birthing partner, and very patient with me, because I couldn't talk or have anyone talk to me during my contractions-but he did remind me to focus on breathing slowly through them, which made a huge difference!)

The nurse got the doctor in there-not my regular doctor, but I got lucky because I loved her! She was the same lady that had checked me-she said she rarely gets to deliver those she checks, because normally her shift is over by the time they're ready to push.


It took 3 or 4 contractions to push her out, and although it felt like 5 minutes, they said I pushed for 15.


I still cannot believe I had a baby without my precious epidural! I was definitely not planning on that happening! I am really proud of myself though, I must say! I am so happy with the way it all went; really fast just like my mom's labors, and it felt like everything went very smoothly! Gretel was born at 10:43 am.


I got to watch the whole thing in a mirror, and it was so motivating to see her little head! Also, I got to touch her head while she was crowning, and after she popped out, they gave her a quick wipe down and laid her on my chest so we'd have the "skin to skin" time that's so good for the baby. She slept on me for the next couple of hours, and it was heaven!




She's such a little doll- a very good little baby; very easy to take care of! I only wish for more sleep, like all the other moms out there!




She is so cute; she has olive skin and tons of really dark hair! She loves her little "day at the spa" which is what I call her bath time-she especially loves getting her hair washed! She's my sweet little muffin!

Friday, October 17, 2008

Bright Eyed and Bushy Tailed

I thought it might be fun to get a little video posted for family that won't be able to see her for a bit.

we are loving every minute we spend with our blue eyed, black haired girly girl. And I'm hoping that any day now my body will learn to run on 5 hours of interrupted sleep.

more to come so stay tuned!!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

My Baby Girl - Gretel Emeline Thackeray

I don't have much time...

here are some of the basics.

she was born 10-12-2008 at 10:43 a.m.

she was 6 pounds 10 ounces and 18 inches long

she is my favorite thing in the whole world.




Gretel Emeline Thackeray


Wednesday, October 8, 2008

No Turning Back Now!!

So I really can't believe there's only a week and a half left until my due date! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it, but every now and then I have a sudden feeling of fear flooding over me. I think, wow! I really have to actually face labor and the scariness of pushing a baby out of me! There's no going back; I have no choice. But I figure if everyone else can do it, so can I. Wish me luck! Also, it's funny how much I feel like "Newman" from Seinfeld lately. I'm so round and large! I like to sing a song to Johnny-it's to the tune of the Mickey Mouse song, but instead of singing, M-I-C-K-E-Y.....I sing, "B-I-G-G-I-E- B-U-N-S" and I even have a little biggie buns dance that I do to go along with! It makes me laugh so hard, I probably entertain myself more than hubby!

I never thought I'd have my first baby while living out of state. Every time I call my mom lately, she thinks I'm calling to tell her I'm in labor! It definitely makes things a little more suspenseful-She'll have to grab her bags and hop on the plane as soon as the action starts!

Johnny and I really are ecstatic and can't believe how little time there is left! YAY!

Friday, September 26, 2008

"The Women" aka the worst movie I've ever seen....

The other night I went to see the movie "The Women" with some girls in my ward, and it was atrocious! We all thought it would be a fun ladies night out movie to go to without the hubbies. Boy were we wrong! Do not go and see this; you'll hate it (unless you're a masochist) It really was beyond bad. I know it looked kind of lame from the previews, but I wanted to run, not walk out of there! I've never cared less about how a movie ended.
Anyway, I just wanted to let you know so you don't waste your time or money (thankfully we all used coupons so we got in for the matinee price; otherwise I'd be even more disgusted)
If you've already seen it, and somehow liked it, I'm sorry if I've offended! Just wanted to let you all know how torturous the evening was!

- Chelsea

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Happy Birthday Chonny!

It was my birthday on Monday September 22 and Johnny's was (yesterday) the 23rd! We look forward to our back-to-back birthday celebrations each year!
We did a little pre-date last Saturday afternoon by going to Dream Dinners and doing a session together! It sounds silly, but I've always wanted to do that as a little date! We had even more fun than expected!
For my birthday, Johnny made me my favorite orange pancakes for breakfast.






Thanks to everyone who called to sing/wish me a happy birthday! Everyone was so thoughtful! And thanks Amanda for baking such yummy cupcakes for me!
One of the fabulous gifts I received was a gift certificate to a very fun store/website. It's called darlybird.com if you want to check it out. The woman who owns it is in my stake, and sells everything out of her home. So I spent my afternoon choosing some spoils for me and my upcoming bundle! It was a fabulous day!





Since Johnny had school on both our b-days, we're going to go on a date to celebrate this weekend!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

We're having a baby (nursery and preg pics included)!!

and she is coming soon!!! Chelsea's due date is October 19th and I have a feeling that these last 4 weeks are going to lsat FOREVER! (i meant last - i knew that test would have everlasting consequences on my psyche.) We are both really excited for the big day.


This summer I spent a few weeks getting the nursery ready. I had a vision and it turned out better than I could have hoped.






So on to my beautiful wife. I have some pics of her pregnant progression.



Above: March and May Below: June and July
Below: August
Chelsea found out she was pregnant on Valentines day (2008). I think the last 8 months have been a lot of fun between doctors visits, preparing the nursery, and trips to various baby stores.