Happy Birthday Auntie Cheryl!!!

Well, I guess it's time! The hospital called at 6:00 am and asked if we were ready to have a baby today. So we are in the process of getting everyone packed up and out the door to be there by 7:30 am. I can't even explain the emotions that are running through us right now. Here are the last of the belly pics to keep you all satified until we have baby pics, hopefully later today or tomorrow! Thanks for all the well wishes! We love you all!

On the way to the hospital

Last but not least, HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNTIE CHERYL!!! She says this is the best present.

Eggs, Appointments, Shower and Growing Belly Pictures

For Easter, Heath and I stayed home and decorated some awesome Easter eggs. You've got to love SpongeBob!! I had to mention it because they turned out so great, that and I love posting pictures of my super handsome husband.

Last week we went to our doctor's appointment and for once it unfortunately didn't go as we had planned. We had gotten so used to our uneventful appointments that this one caused us a little shock and forced us to wake up and realize that this little guy is coming sooner rather than later. My blood pressure was high (120/98), it's been 120/80 every single appointment and I'm measuring bigger than I should be at this point. Dr. Rogers told us that we needed to immediately go to the hospital and get admitted for monitoring and she scheduled us for an ultrasound on Monday to check and see what little dude was up to in there. So after 2 hours of monitoring at the hospital, the on-call doctor decided that we need to go in for monitoring twice weekly until Baby Hilton decides to grace us with his presence. Heath and I thought that this seemed a little extreme and overly cautious but we'd better be safe than sorry when it comes to the well being of our new addition.

So, we woke up this morning and headed for monitoring at the hospital. We got out of the elevator and were very excited to see that our doctor was on-call. We were really hoping that everything would be fine and she would decide that we didn't need to go get admitted for monitoring twice a week. The first blood pressure reading was a tad high, but the second two were on the normal/low end. My urine came back completely negative for protein (this is a good thing), the little guy was having a good number of movements and my temperature was normal. So, Dr. Rogers has decided to cancel all further monitoring appointments as long as all goes well at our weekly visits. YEA!! It seems as though I need to rest a little before getting my pressure taken, they tend to rush us into our appointments after climbing two sets of stairs. The doctors now says, once we get to the office if my pressure is high she just wants to have me rest for a few minutes and then try again. Sounds good to us!!!

Next we went across the street for our ultrasound appointment. We found out that I'm measuring “large for dates” due to the fact that I have more amniotic fluid than “normal”. We were told that they like to see a measurement of 8-18 for the fluid and we are measuring 20. According the technician, this is nothing to worry about, they would be worried if there wasn't enough. She then measured a bunch of different areas on the little guy and he is measuring right on target for his May 17th due date. The only area that seemed to be measuring differently were his legs, they measured at 41 weeks, we're at 37 weeks. Heath asked, “What's going on with his legs?”, her response was, “They're really long!”. He's going to be tall just like his Daddy!!! She had a hard time trying to see his face, he's head down and facing my back, and whenever we would just get close enough to catch a peek he'd put his feet in front of his face, stubborn!! Wonder where that came from???

It's his face I promise.

So, long story short, everything is great!!! More news Wednesday, we have our regular check-up that morning, hopefully we'll find out if we are dilating or progressing at all.

We also had an amazing baby shower on Saturday! My awesome friends Heather Canessa and Cami Petrie put it together and we had so much fun. My mother-in-law, Terri (she stayed and made us dinner that night as well, yummy, yummy fried chicken), my new sister-in-law, Debbye, and her daughter Maddie, all my friends and most of my co-workers were able to make it. We had an awesome lasagna lunch prepared by the Canessas, had cupcakes from Trophy, and even played some games. We got a ton of fun things from everyone and I'm pretty sure everyone had a great time. It was the best day, Heather and Cami really did a great job, they are the best friends a girl could have!!! I can't thank everyone that made it to the shower enough. It meant so much to me, especially since my Mom and sister are so far away and were unable to make it. I hope you enjoy these pictures from the shower. Heath came along and was our own personal paparazzi. How did he do?

Lastly, here are some belly pics, enjoy, I certainly don't enjoy having them taken!!!

Week 36 Day 1

Week 37 Day 3

Week 38 Day 1

WA Alarm showered the baby....with presents!!!

We had a great baby shower on Friday, April 3rd. Heath's work has three employees expecting babies in the coming weeks and they got together and threw a party for all of us. We had a great lunch catered, tons of decorations, and we even had a cake!!! We got a bunch of presents as you can see below.











We were also given a couple of gift cards from various co-workers. The one from Target has already been used, we were able to get the baby's bathtub, some hooded bath towels, washcloths and a super cool pair of shoes. The company also gave us some of their rewards points from one of their suppliers and with these we were able to order our jumperoo, high chair, and Heath picked out a sunshade with the points remaining. What an amazing party! We can't thank Washington Alarm and Heath's co-workers enough for their generosity!!

We have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday, it should be routine and pretty uneventful. Until next time here are a couple more wonderful belly pics.

Week 34 Day 1

Week 35 Day 1

A BLOG of Epic Proportions

I know, it's been a long time since our last entry. Things have been pretty busy and we just haven't been able to force ourselves to come up with something witty and entertaining. But enough is enough, we are throwing down the gauntlet and officially sitting down to force ourselves to be captivating and AWE-inspiring! We know that there are people out there are wondering what we've been up to . . . and now that pondering has taken over my mind, I have no idea what in the world we HAVE been up to. So as this list comes together; believe me, I also have no clue what's coming next.

Brace thyself and keep your *gasp*s in check.

We had our glucose tolerance test the end of February (yes, we know it's the end March). We failed the first time and had to schedule the dreaded 3 hour test. I was really upset but Heath and Cheryl helped me through. I decided to try to not worry about it too much because Heath and I had a great trip planned. The conclusion to follow after the suspense has properly percolated.

At the beginning of March, we decided to go away for the weekend as a late Christmas present and a final get away before our bundle of joy arrives in the world. So we packed ourselves up and to our surprise Mr. Malcolm (recently back from witness relocation ) decided to join us on our adventure. So up, up and away we went to the mountains for a weekend in Leavenworth, Washington. For those of you who don't know about Leavenworth, it's one of my favorite places that Heath has ever taken me. It's this little Bavarian village on the other side of the mountain pass, filled with strange / fantastic shops and all kinds of fun things to do ( like say Ya Sure Ya Betcha or even eat Bratwurst . . . YUM! ). All of the buildings in the quaint town are required to be Bavarian style; it makes me feel like I've traveled to another country, even though it's only a couple hours away. Best yet, no Custom's line to stand in, BONUS! Even with the awesomeness that is Leavenworth, the hotel was rather shady and we felt as though we were "On the LAMB". I say to that BAAA and Humbug even.

You can check out our little Bavarian Village here: http://www.leavenworth.org/

We made it back from Leavenworth and the very next day, we had the 3 hour glucose test. It felt a lot longer than 3 hours and leave it to me to end up with the guy that has been taking people's blood for 2 years and still sucks at it. Thankfully Heath was there by my side the whole time to keep me company and support me CRAYOLA style.

We had barely left the hospital and the doctor's office called us with the results. We passed!!! Now the only thing I had to worry about was the fact that my whole right arm was one huge bruise. After enduring almost two weeks of bruising and offers that "Love Shouldn't Hurt", thankfully the evidence finally faded. My veins weren't very helpful and neither was my friend at the hospital; apparently 2 years isn't close to enough training for him.

That weekend my Mom came to visit. We were hoping for a nice weekend. Mother Nature had other ideas and Mom got treated to what snow is like in Washington. It was pretty crazy, but I think we all had a great time. We didn't really do anything; I'm kind of boring these days. We went to dinner and Mom got to meet my good friend Heather. Then we went on a shopping spree at the crazy baby store (Babies R Us). Mom felt like she needed to help us get ready for baby. There were still some major items that we needed to feel comfortable in bringing him home. Mom to the rescue!!! She got us our travel system, and a Diaper Champ, a bottle set and sterilizer, some clothes, and a super cool book shelf . There are a bunch of other things she got us as well, I just can't remember everything right now. We definitely feel a little more prepared and are very grateful that she was able to come out and visit and help us out.

We met with a pediatrician and have decided she will be the one we take our little guy to. She was really nice and answered all of our questions exactly the way we hoped. Thanks a million to Cheryl who coached me on the way to the doctor's office on what questions I needed to ask. I really would be lost without her. Best. Sister. Ever!

We had a doctor's appointment this morning ( Thursday ), another uneventful appointment taken care of. I think sooner rather that later my routine appointments are going to start becoming less easy and comfortable. The days are flying by and we can't wait to meet our little guy. He is on strict orders to stay in there until May 17th!! His Auntie Cheryl, Uncle Jeremy and cousin Isaiah will be here then and we know we'll need all their knowledge to make it through the first few days.

So, that's what we've been up too! Please enjoy our belly picture and hopefully it won't be so long until we see you next time. Special thanks to my Honeydew, Heath, for editing and adding some spice to this post. XOXOXO

Week 30 Day 1

Week 30 Day 7

Week 32 Day 1

Week 32 Day 7

Hey guess WHAT!!!

The week started off with surprises that just didn't end! We got a wonderful package from my Grandma filled with a bunch of items she made for the baby. Her talents are endless and we really appreciate the gifts. Handmade presents are always my favorite, that's probably why I try to be so crafty. I must get it from her!!

At work, my good friend, Cami, brought the bun a most exciting present. Anyone that knows Cami, knows that she is a huge Green Bay Packers fan. So, leave it to Auntie Cami to make sure the little guy has this number for football season!! He'll wear it proudly, we promise!!






On Friday we decided to go to Macy's. They had sent us a gift card for over $100 for all the purchases we made off of our wedding registry. Heath made me promise that I would not spend it on my favorite nephew, but buy a few things for our little guy. I guess it still hasn't really hit me that he's coming so every time I see something cute, my brain says, “Isaiah REALLY needs this!” So I kept my promise and we got a bunch of cute things for the baby. When we got home we had presents from Grandma Miller that arrived in the mail. The baby's bedding set, the mobile and the lamp. Doesn't it look ready?






Saturday was the final day of our baby prep class. We spent the whole time (5 hours) learning about breastfeeding and newborn care. I think I'm even more nervous about it all now that I've been filled with so much information. Luckily, I have Cheryl around, she's pretty much an expert at this point!! Heath did a very good job learning how to swaddle, the teacher says this is the job that he will probably become the expert at, that and bath time. I took a bathroom break and came back to find Heath trying to figure out how to put on a Moby wrap. It was quite amusing, I wish I had a picture, but I must say, he did a great job. I have no doubts that he is going to be a wonderful father!!

We didn't have a super exciting day planned, even though it was Valentine's Day. We went to lunch/dinner at our local Jalisco's, I know, we just can't stay away!! Heath had surprised me that morning with a bunch of things for the baby. He had gone to the Fred Meyer and they were having a HUGE Carter's sale. He apparently couldn't resist, I have now told him that he is BANNED from buying the baby anymore outfits!! I've been trying really hard to find baby outfits that have cute things to say about Dad and found a perfect one for his Valentine's Day present, because of course, his Dad does rock!! Here are a few of our favorite new purchases.

And for those of you who care, another horrible belly picture!

Week 28 Day 1

Awards and Presents and Dates, Oh My!

Boy, has this week given us lots to report! The bun is doing well. That is, of course, a guess on my part. The doctor did say at our last appointment that as long as he's moving around, he's happy. If that's the case, most of the time he's the happiest baby ever!

We had been trying to get in touch with Grandma Greer for a couple of days and all we were getting was a busy signal. When we were finally able to get through, it all became clear. Grandma is now famous (to more people than just us) and with this new found celebrity, she had many fans calling for “interviews”. In all seriousness, she was awarded the Spirit of Community Award by the North Manchester Chamber of Commerce and was also sent a nice plaque from Bill Ruppel, State Representative from Indiana, acknowledging this award. For those of you that don't know, she is in charge of running the local food bank. This is a huge task and basically a full time job. Heath and I were lucky enough to go and help out over our Thanksgiving visit, it was so rewarding! She does this among many other civic duties over the years. The award she was given stated, “In grateful recognition of your innovation and inspiring commitment which have shaped the character of North Manchester, Indiana”. If everyone could strive to be more like her, this world would definitely be a better place. Thank you for being such an inspiration to everyone! We love you! Congratulations again, you deserve it!!!

We are starting to slowly get things around the house ready for the bun's arrival, but it still hasn't really sunk in that in about 3 short months, he'll be here! That is until he received his first present in the mail! These items came all the way from Alabama and my dear friends Kelly and Paige, Alexis and Michael were in on this as well. Aunties Kelly and Paige really made my day!! The poor bun had no clothes at all until this point. Now he won't have to come home from the hospital nakey!!! I think Heath was a little freaked out over how excited I got over this wonderful surprise. Our most favorite things are the shirt with the little weenie dog and the I Love My Auntie bib! For those of you that don't know, our first baby is Malcolm, our miniature dachshund. We have a definite soft spot for anything weenie dog related!! Thank you so much, Kelly, Alexis, Paige and Michael!!!

Saturday we went to our next to last childbirth prep class. It was very informative and scary. We spent the entire 4 hours talking about the different drugs they can give you while in labor and the side effects. Basically, Heath and I have come to the conclusion that we're going to see how it goes and if we need the extra help, the epidural is not out of the question. I have found that when you're pregnant everyone you meet thinks it's helpful to tell you to, “Just get the drugs!”. This pressure has successfully sent me in the opposite direction making me want to try even harder to make it through without them. We'll just have to wait and see how that goes. On a side note, on our first day of class we were given a pop test on all things pregnancy related. This ranged from vitamins and how much a pregnant women needs to have, what amount of weight should be gained and where this weight should go and what you can and can't eat. I am happy to announce that Heath and I received the highest score in the class! Here's a picture of our 100% test and the awesome ladybug chocolates that were our prize!!

Sunday morning I got a call from my sister, Cheryl (she is the best sister in the whole world, by the way). She informed me that their Internet was working and we were going to be able to have our first ever web date with my new nephew, Isaiah! After some testing and hard work by Heath, we finally figured out how the whole Skype thing works and there they were, live on our computer screen. Isaiah has gotten so much bigger since we saw him. Then again he was only a week old by the time we left from our visit. He was blowing lots of bubbles and seemed a little confused as to why the people in the T.V. were actually talking to him. We talked for about an hour then it was time for them to go, Isaiah was getting a little cranky. He's a growing boy and it was time to eat!!! After we hung up I had a little breakdown, it's hard being so far away from them and my emotions are already a tad bit out of control. Heath was great, as usual, he calmed me down and made me feel better. He really is the best husband ever!!

Little did we know, our day was just going to get better! Heath's mom, Terri, is now back in the area and we made plans to spend the day together. She came over around noon. She hadn't had a chance to look at all of our wedding photos so we all sat down and looked at all 700+. It was so great to look at them again. I can't believe it's been almost 6 months, time really does fly! Then we decided to take a trip to Babies R Us, so we could show her some of the things we registered for. It was so much fun walking around the little clothing area and seeing how excited she was! Of course, we didn't leave empty handed. Grandma decided to get us the glider and ottoman we wanted, it happened to be in stock and on sale! She also picked up a few other things for the little guy. Aren't they absolutely adorable?!?

Heath and I picked up a few things, too. We also got the mattress for the crib. But these are a lot cuter than a mattress don't you think?!?

Malcolm got the bun this outfit. We really do hope they are going to be best friends!!

Once we got home, Terri made us a wonderful dinner of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, zucchini pancakes (so good, we're trying to con her out of the recipe!!) and strawberries and cookies for dessert. YUMMY!!! We don't get home cooked meals very often, so we really appreciate them when we do. Thanks again, Grandma and Grandpa Hilton, for everything!!! It really does mean the world to us!! We will remember to tell the bun that he will definitely NOT be spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa!!! Until next time, everyone have a great week! Here are some more “Growth in Slo-Mo” pics.

Week 26 Day 2

Week 27 Day 1

It's GREAT to see you again.

Welcome back to the most awesome-est BLOG in the confines of this apartment. Yeah!!! Now first of all, it is quite important that we explain why we are personifying the word - STALL. In this time of turmoil and constant change, we have been struck with a month of stagnation. The last doctor appointment we went to, we found out that "the Bun" is still in there. Woooo ... We just went to the doctor again (Jan. 28) and found out ... the exact same thing. The whole going to the doctor seems like a waste of time. Two or three times now she has told us nothing, not one fip-flappin' thing. It's very annoying. This most recent time we went, when asked when our due date was (so we could tell family that wants to fly out to visit) and if we are ahead or behind schedule. We were told to tell our family to buy a crystal ball and make their own prediction. Not cool, not cool at all.


Well ... I'm done with all of that, hopefully we can just keep with the mindset of "No news is good news". Even though we've been "No news" thing it for about 3 months already.


Ok, now I'm really done. We do actually have some news of note. We have started a baby class and it seems pretty good (I'm a great judge of baby classes you know). It is every Saturday and we have gone to two and have two more left. We also took a little tour of the hospital and were able to talk to the tour guide, which was very interesting and nice that we were able to see where our little guy will be born and got that checked off of our list. We also registered with Babies R Us and wow that was a hoot. Two hours into it we had made it through the bottle area. What a long drawn out bit of awesome that was, but, good news it's done. Jealous?

Also, we (a few weeks ago) purchased and assembled a crib, dresser, armoire, toy box and last but not least ... bead roller coaster.

And finally what WE think is important in regards to the baby. He is in there and, much to his mother's displeasure (when he finds her bladder), moving and kicking and jumping and ... did I mention kicking? There are times where he kicks like crazy and can be seen from the outside. So it's pretty neat how much he is growing and moving, very special indeed. So again sorry about the huge gap between posts, but until all of this was typed there didn't seem like much. Enjoy the pictures and we'll see you next time.

Week 22 Day 7

Week 24 Day 1

Week 24 Day 7

Here is our new crib (located in our bedroom) with our first baby blanket handmade by Grandma Hilton.

Our armoire with our currently short Precious Moments Baby Train on top, our baskets inside and a blanket and key set also from Grandma and Grandpa Hilton. You can see the crib right next to it on the right (for reference if you have been to our apartment before).

Here is our changing table located near the fish tank, also containing some baskets.

This of course is the little guy's toy box and BEAD ROLLER COASTER (professionally assembled by Momma).

Hope you enjoyed all of the neat things we were able to get and then find places for. Goodbye my TV, I will miss you. And again see you next time.

P.S. Did you notice all the ghosts. Wow

A Pic and a Kick

Awesome-ness abound!! This lovely picture is quite fantastic, not that it shows much but that this hot Momma finally put a little color into the belly pictures. For the most part all previous shirt colors have been white or light grey, but (once again) BEHOLD!! This girl is R R R Reved Up and R R R Ready.

Week 22 Day 1

Also, something worthy of note. Practice for the Seattle Sounders (Soccer) is apparently underway and someone is working on a kick from mid field. If anyone has any idea on how to get in touch with an athletic scout that would be great (as far as some sort of a scholarship; it's not an if, but when). Thankfully for the subject above, Pelé is being very considerate and isn't keeping anyone up late with his mini scrimmages.


Lastly, and most importantly, a citizen in a Lake Forest Park apartment is the most recent case of assault in the past week. Now this poor victim does not want their identity revealed so we will just call them ... Health ... yes that will do nicely. So, Health was just sitting on the couch and then Health started to feel like he was being threatened. Though Health could not see anyone near that would be causing these emotions, Health could still not deny them. Then, without warning, without provoking, and with malice ... POKE!!! Health was amazed to be attacked with such stealth. Health is recovering from a mild concussion and disorientation. The police have taken in suspects, but no arrests have been made. An eyewitness include a Mr. Malcolm, when questioned he could only describe the event as, "Straight up NINJA STYLE."

Your prayers for poor Health are appreciated. God Bless