Happy Birthday Everly!

Everly Sandra Larkins was born on Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at 11:29 a.m. She weighed 7 lbs. 9 oz. and was 21 1/4 inches long. We brought our little girl home yesterday afternoon and are doing well. I want to thank everyone who visited us in the hospital and helped us out with our animals at home. It was so nice to not have to worry about that.  I will be writing a more detailed post later about the entire birth story but until then here are a couple of pics!

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39 weeks!

walking the dogs this morning

Today I am 39 weeks pregnant and I don't plan on making it to 40 weeks. I have another appointment on Monday afternoon but we are scheduled to be induced on Tuesday morning.  I am nervous but really excited at the same time.
If Everly is born on Tuesday she will share a birthday with my Grandma Bette (my mom's mom). My grandma passed away when I was in high school but was a very large part of my life. I definitely took it as a good sign that they were scheduling the induction for that day. I remember when my grandma passed away and I was talking to my siblings and cousins about her and that I could have sworn I was her favorite grandchild (she had 14). That's just the way she made me feel. It turns out that my siblings and cousins felt the exact same way. We all thought we were her favorite. She was exactly the kind of grandmother every kid should have. She spoiled us and she always had a huge bag of smarties in her kitchen cabinet for us. I am sad that Everly will only have one grandmother, but at the same time I am pretty sure GB passed on her magic to my mom, because I have already seen how she is with my nephew Cameron. She is going to be one spoiled little girl. I will definitely be missing my Grandma on Tuesday but hoping we are rewarded with our little girl that day!

Me with Grandma Bette (GB) on the day of my first communion. 

Kitty Love Friday (Prepping for baby Edition)

It looks like I will be having this little girl next week which I will post more about in detail later. In the meantime, Oscar has been getting ready for her. He tested out both the bassinet and the crib. I know we really shouldn't encourage it, but he is so darn cute!

Why it is cool to Blog!

I know that a lot of people think that it is weird that I read blogs and that I have my own blog but there are a lot of reasons I like it. First of all, when our daughter grows up she will have a record of all of the preparations we did before she came and what our life was like when she arrived. I also have family all over the country and not everyone is on Facebook so this is another way to share our lives with them. Just by reading other blogs I have gotten a lot of insight and helpful suggestions on what to expect as a new mother. I have also gotten a lot of creative ideas on decorating, fashion, and new recipes. I really enjoy being a part of the blog world and this morning added one more reason why. I won a giveaway on another awesome baby blog, Living on Love. I won this Frog Pod by Boon for Everly's tub...

I was so excited when I read the email this morning that I won that I totally woke up my husband and shined my bright iphone in his face so he could read the email. He didn't like that so much. We actually registered for a bath toy carrier and never got it so it is super exciting. Can't wait for her to be here so we can put it into use!

Kitty Love Friday

I have never had a cat besides Oscar so I don't always know what is "normal" for cat's and what is not. Our guy is a licker. Every night when he gets into bed he crawls on Justin's chest and licks his chin. Just the other night I was awaken to him licking the bottom of my foot. I don't like it! His tongue feels like sandpaper. It doesn't even feel wet. It is totally weird. He is totally weird. Speaking of weird, here is a video from over a year ago where we caught him with that sandpaper tongue sticking out. It still makes me crack up every time I watch it. p.s. Sorry for the shaky camera...I was just scrambling to catch it on video! 

Pregnancy Updates

So yesterday I had a doctor's appointment at 37 1/2 weeks pregnant and I must say it was pretty annoying! First of all, I must start with the fact that I am pretty much over the whole pregnancy thing. I want our little girl to be here! I am uncomfortable and large and I'm just ready. So, it did not help yesterday that I had to wait for an hour to get into my appointment because the doctor was running behind. I get that he delivers babies and that they don't exactly come on schedule, but the office staff should have given me a heads up instead of letting me sit in the lobby fuming. So, I shouldn't really be surprised that my blood pressure was slightly higher once I got back into the exam room. Because of that, I now have to go in for another checkup on Monday. I am not too worried about my blood pressure, because I think that it was just high because I was mad for having to wait for so long, but we will see how it goes on Monday. As far as my labor progress is going...well, there really isn't much progess. She has not dropped yet, and I am barely 1cm dilated. I'm trying not to get too bummed about that though, because I know that it can change from one day to the next.
This Saturday I will be 38 weeks pregnant and the goal is to make sure our hospital bags are packed (probably should already have been done). We are also switching hospitals from where we originally planned on delivering at so we are going to tour the new hospital this weekend (also probably should already have been done). We are changing for a few reasons. The main reason is that the old hospital (Scottsdale Shea)won't induce me until 41 weeks pregnant and I just can't wait that long! Also, the new hospital (Paradise Valley) is a good 15-20 minutes closer to our house. It is also right next to my doctor's office. Last, if our daughter is born at Paradise Valley Hospital, her birth certificate will say Phoenix, AZ instead of Scottsdale, AZ and we like that better too! We probably should have just picked that hospital first, but better late than never!

Photo Book

I don't usually print a lot of pictures but I do like to make photo books often. I just finished making this photo book on Shutterfly.com from our Maternity Pictures taken by Julie from Riddle Road Photography.  I really like the books I have gotten from shutterfly.com and they are constantly emailing me coupons so it is a win-win situation. 

                                         Click here to view this photo book larger

                                                 

37 weeks!

I am now 37 weeks pregnant and counting down the days until my due date. I am becoming more and more uncomfortable and ready for our little girl to arrive. It really makes me think that having a child really must be amazing because why else would anyone put themselves through this? I am also really excited to have some time off from work. I have been saving up my leave time for quite a while now and I am ready to put it into use! I think that we are as prepared as we will ever be for Everly's arrival. Her room is ready, her clothes are clean, and as of today I am now considered full-term! Here is a pic of my big belly this morning on a walk with the hounds...

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Kitty Love Friday

Justin and I have noticed that Oscar's habits and routines have changed. There are things that he used to do all of the time that he never does anymore and there are things that he does now that he never did before. It is really funny. One of the things he used to do is jump on top of our kitchen cabinets. He did this in our apartment before we bought our house and then he did it in the house too. It would be funny because we would get home and we couldn't find him and it was because he was on top of the cabinets. He doesn't do it anymore and we think it is because he is getting older and he doesn't jump as much anymore. It could just be laziness too! Anyways, here is a video of him doing it from over a year ago. You also get a glimpse of a younger version of our beagle Roi who just doesn't understand how the cat got up there!

p.s.

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Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Stephanie McHugh on winning the KatieBug Creativity giveaway. I hope you love your prize as much as I have love the bedding I have from them. It is truly one of a kind. If you are in the market for new baby bedding and you haven't checked out their shop yet you must!!!

Kitty Love Friday!

 Before I started working at the Governor's office I used to work as an auditor for the AZ Department of Gaming. I traveled in that position to casinos all over the state of Arizona and that was the reason I had to find a new position once I became pregnant. I miss a lot of things about that job and some awesome people I worked with...but I do not miss traveling. I do not pack lightly and hated having to load and unload my suitcase. Plus, we weren't exactly going to exciting places, either. Some of the casino locations included Globe and Parker, AZ :( One thing I was recently reminded of though was Oscar's love for suitcases! This is an old pic of him after one of my work trips...

These are after our recent trip to New York. He just loves being on top of and inside our luggage! Wish we could have taken him with us!