Dan and Ashley Gould

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Brooks' Baby Blessing

Brooks was blessed and given a name on June 18th, 2013. Since my dad was only going to be in town for a couple of days, none of which were on a Sunday, we got special permission to have his blessing at home during the week. It was a special opportunity for Brooks to have both of his Grandfather's there to participate in his blessing. Dan gave him a beautiful blessing, one I will always remember. It was nice to have it at home and it was a great experience.

Baby Boy slept through his whole blessing and photo shoot

4 Generations! Great Grandma Wheeler, Grandma Carol, Daddy, and Brooks!

with Aunt Caroline and Gramma

Bringing Home Baby

We got to bring Brooks home on Saturday, June 25th. Even with all of the help we have here at Dan's parent's house, it was nerve wracking to leave the hospital. They should seriously create some sort of manual for new parents.

Although nerve wracking, we were thrilled to bring our baby home. My mom was still in town and it was great having her here. We really just settled in and spent time with our baby. As a matter of fact, that's what we are still doing. We have a couple more weeks here in AZ before the big move to NYC so we are really loving our time together as a family.

Friday, June 7, 2013

Brooks Daniel Gould

Our boy is here!

Brooks Daniel Gould was born on Thursday, May 23rd at 5:45 pm. He was definitely a little guy at 5 lbs 13 oz and 19 inches long. To say we love him is an understatement. The moment he was born was absolutely incredible. Dan and I fell in love instantly and are absolutely over the moon with him. We hold those first few moments we spent together as a family of three very special in our hearts.

Brooks was born exactly one week before his due date. At my 38 week doctor appointment I had extremely high blood pressure. After some blood testing we found out I was in the very beginning stages of pre-eclampsia. I spent the next week taking it easy and monitoring my blood pressure several times a day. I also went in for fetal monitoring and Brooks was looking great. At my 39 week appointment my blood pressure was still high, so the doctor threw a curve ball my way and said he wanted to induce me Wednesday night! He said my bp would not get any better and we were better safe than sorry. This was on a Monday so I was in shock. I immediately called Dan and then my mom. My mom instantly booked a flight the next day so she could be here for the main event.

We checked in to the hospital Wednesday night. We started some meds that night but the following morning I had barely made any progress. At around 8:30 am the doctor came and broke my water. We then started Pitocin and ten minutes later labor hit me like a ton of bricks.

Around 4:45 pm they checked my progress and I was only at about 7 cm. We were ready to settle in for a few more hours of labor. About 20 minutes later I started really feeling the urge to push. Luckily the doctor came in at that moment and checked me and I was at 10 cm and he could already see the baby's head! We quickly got prepared for pushing. After about only 20 minutes of pushing, Brooks was born!

Brooks has been an absolute joy in our lives. He is small but extremely strong. He can lift his head and look at you from any angle. He has big bright eyes that will melt your heart every time. He definitely knows his mom and dad and feels most comfortable in our arms. He eats like a champ and gained a whole pound between his first and second doctor appointments. He is getting more and more alert and we are thrilled when he is awake and wants to play. I can't believe my little boy is already 2 weeks old. It's time to freeze time so he will stop growing!

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

10 Weeks to Go!

There are times I feel as if I have been pregnant all my life, seriously, what does it feel like to NOT be preggers? I can't really remember. However, I just realized that I only have 10 weeks to go until our little guy comes into our world. That just seems like crazy town. It seems like yesterday I was on the elliptical at Gold's Gym in Provo when I just knew....I was pregnant. I jumped off and went straight to the grocery store to buy a pregnancy test. The teenage boy cashier probably thought I was a nut as I purchased it with shaky hands, sweaty as can be (some from the gym but mostly from being super nervous). I went home and spent a solid 45 minutes reading the instructions. I finally took the test ready to wait the solid 3 minutes it tells you it takes to see results, but waiting was not necessary. That test was positive within a half a second. So 2 more tests later I was convinced.

I had an hour until Dan came home from class and it was just me and baby, our little secret for the next 60 minutes. He was only the size of a sesame seed at that point but it was all over for me. I was in love with my child. In that moment I thought about the argument the world is having over when life begins. There is no doubt in my mind that life begins the moment the Lord decides to bless you with a child. The sesame seed in my stomach was very much alive and very much mine.

Telling Dan when he got home was so much fun. I made him come in to the bathroom and he was so confused as I didn't tell him I had taken a test, and he had never seen a test before so at first he had no idea what I was showing him. The joy I saw in his eyes at that moment made me the happiest girl in the world. I love Dan and I am so thrilled that we are starting our family. Dan is so full of life and will such an amazing Daddy.

Well now here we are, months later, ten weeks away from meeting our little man. Dan has graduated and starts his job in New York in July. In the mean time we are staying with his parents in Arizona. I am working from home and Dan is substitute teaching and golfing like a mad man. We are loving every second of our time together. Soon our world will be turned upside down with a new baby and a new job, all good things and we couldn't be more thrilled.

I have been having fun finding deals on baby gear. I get into all the latest baby trends and all that nonsense, I can't help it. However, I hate spending full price on anything. There is something so much more satisfying when you get a deal. So I've been doing some serious baby deal hunting. I went to a super fun baby consignment sale that was HUGE and got a whole bunch of stuff for SO MUCH LESS than I would have spent otherwise. I mean it's all washable and I didn't get a car seat or anything so don't go thinking I'm a bad mom before my baby is already born.

One of my finds is currently sitting in Nick and Kendall's bedroom (Thanks for the storage space guys!) and I keep catching myself standing in the doorway staring at it, imaging my baby in it.

I don't know how such a simple item can melt my heart so much. But it does, hormones maybe? Oh well it just makes me so excited to meet my baby!

Some more of my steal of a deals. Please notice my diaper bag as I am the most proud of this bad boy. Got it brand new for half off. Thanks to craigslist stalking and a negotiator husband.

Well that's our little update for now. I figured I would throw in some baby bump pictures for posterity. They are all horrible cell phone pics and even one....gasp!....selfie, but hey it's better than nothing.

26 weeks!

28 weeks!

30 weeks!

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Showering Kelly!

This post is about...OH...five months behind. Oops, my bad.

Back on October 14th, no judgement please, Stephanie and I had the pleasure of throwing our best friend Kelly, a bridal shower. We stuck with the color scheme of her wedding, yellow and gray, and had a lovely outdoor shower for our bestie. It was a beautiful day on the rooftop and I loved every second of it.

Let me let you in on a little secret. I was about 8 or 9 weeks pregnant at this time and had told absolutely NO ONE. I may or may not have been a bit nauseous and on edge wanting to spew my news to my family and best friends. It was interesting, but oh so much fun!

Kelly is so amazing and her wedding a few weeks later was absolutely perfect. I have had the privilege of calling Kelly my bestie since the first grade and love experiencing every milestone of life side by side. There is nothing she can't do and she has such a bright future ahead of her.

Now on to the pictures!

The Bride with the Mother of the Bride!

Place Settings

The hosts with our Bride!

Bridesmaids minus Heather!

All the ladies!

Besties

Intense game playing!

Baby Shower Time!

Let me start by saying I absolutely love throwing a shower. I am so into the decorating, food and all that jazz. It's RIGHT up my alley. I've had the opportunity to throw a few and I always have a blast doing it. I have to say that it is a whole new ball game when the roles are reversed and the shower is thrown for you. It's just as fabulous, I can't lie.

Before I left South Carolina for Arizona, my fabulous best friends threw me a great baby shower. They really outdid themselves and it was amazing. There were beautiful decorations, delicious food, and a house FULL of people from all different parts of my life. Throughout the shower, I just kept getting struck with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Gratitude to Kelly, Kristin, Stephanie, and Jackie for throwing the shower, gratitude for Mr. Steve and Mrs. Janice Amell for opening their home to me once again for this wonderful shower, gratitude for all of the people in attendance who have played such an important role in my life, gratitude for my family for all of their support, gratitude for being completely spoiled with gifts, and gratitude for the upcoming role of Momma I will soon play. It was a perfect afternoon and it was so fun to get prepared for our little baby boy.