Happy Birthday!

Bella wishes her aunt Shannon and very Happy Birthday and says thank you for the awesome shirt!

Clean Shaven...or not

Yesterday I dropped Elvira off at Petsmart to be groomed. It sounds a little scary, I know, but I took her there last time in a pinch and they actually did a really nice job on her. So, I decided to try again.

Close to noon I received a phone call from them. She had apparently freaked. Supposively she tried to lunge at the woman's face and bite her, and tried to tell me that a cage stresses her out. Little do they know that she is crate trained and sleeps in one every night. But, nonetheless, I went to pick her up and rescheduled for next Monday when there will no other dogs in the room at the time.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that they actully managed to get her half shaved. Yes...she looks like a lion.

Things don't always go our way

No worries - this isn't a lesson that I'm suddenly learning after 26 years. It's merely an observation at the end of a stressful several days. We were one of the unfortunate 205,000 people in Louisville who lost our power due to the ice storm. After 5 days of sleeping by a wood burning stove, allergies acting up from my parents cat, driving all over the city just to avoid cabin fever, emptying a refrigerator full of spoiled food for the second time in 4 months (extremely sickening), forgetting to put an extra sleeper in Bella's diaper bag only to have her pee all over herself while being changed and then having to sit through church naked and wrapped in a blanket (embarassing), etc. In short, it was wonderful to have family who would put us up in a warm place with warm food so that we didn't have to eat out constantly, but it definetely made for a stressful week having to run back and forth to our house daily to check on the power and get clothes for the next day.

Our power finally came back on last night. We were so glad just to be home and sleep in our on bed, even though most of our stuff was sitting in multiple grocery bags on the floor around us! I spent most of today grocery shopping, doing laundry and cleaning out the stinky refrigerator. I picked up Zeke and Yana at 7. When we got home, I got everything ready for dinner and threw some peanut butter cookies in the oven. My mom had made these really good peanut cookies and sent some home with us and before Jeff could eat any of them, I finished them off :) So I called her and got the recipe and made him some since I knew he was going to have a long day at work today. I missed him severely all day and was looking forward to him coming home.

Things don't always go our way.

I got a call at 7:45 from Jeff. He had a horrible migraine. He instructed me to open the toilet and put medicine and a glass of water on the sink. I heard him come in the door, go downstairs and proceed to barf his guts out. I hadn't eaten dinner, Bella was screaming to eat and Jeff was, well - sick.

So, I sit here, watching Jon & Kate Plus 8 (and glad I'm not them) and hating the fact that my on first night back in my own warm house with power, I am by myself. I have no point to any of this. I'm just having a pity party. And to top it off, I just remembered that there have been peanut butter cookies in the oven for 30 minutes :)

Photo Session

Yesterday, the most awesome photographer that I know (who did my engagement and wedding pictures), Renee Lewis, came over and did some pictures of Bella. After a few obstacles (we ran into feeding time, she wouldn't go to sleep, and she peed on nearly every blanket that we put underneath her) she ended up getting some really good shots. She's quite the little poser :) Here are just a couple of samples that she posted this evening.

Bella Mae McCarty

As I sit here and write, my 6-day old, perfect little daughter is sitting under Billi lights. If you are shocked by any statement in that sentence, don't worry - I'll backtrack for you!

A week ago, Jeff and I went to my OB/Gyn for a routine appointment. We were in the home stretch - 4 weeks to go with appointments coming weekly! I had spent the previous Thursday evening in the triage unit on the Labor and Delivery floor of Suburban due to high blood pressure and swelling. They sent me home with a large jug to do a 24 hour urine test in order to make I wasn't losing protein, which would indicate that my kidneys weren't properly doing their job and they would need to go ahead and induce. The next evening, we dropped the jug off at the lab. So, on Monday (one week ago...) we went to the appointment expecting find out the results of that test and what the plan of action would be over the next few weeks. The doctor came in and asked me how I was feeling, and told me what to expect when I started feeling contractions and when I should head to the hospital. None of these symptoms sounded familiar so she went on with her assessment. She and I were both surprised to discover that I was already 5 cm dilated! If you don't already know, 10 cm means baby is coming! She sat on her stool, put her head in her hands and basically said she didn't know what to do. If I hadn't felt any contractions so far, she was afraid that by the time I did, I would be very close to delivering little Bella Mae. To make a long story short, they did some tests to make sure her lungs were developed, put me on fetal monitor in triage and decided later that evening to admit me and induce in the morning. WOW.

Before I tell you all about my beautiful new baby, I have to tell you about my wonderful husband. When we went to the hospital last Monday, we had no idea that I wouldn't be leaving for four days. We had NOTHING. I had no bags packed, I had a few items in Bella's diaper bag, but other than that, we were not prepared to leave the hospital with a baby. Nor was I prepared to birth one! Jeff spent the next four days running around like a mad person, making sure that Bella and I had everything that we needed. I can only image how stressed out he must have been. He never once complained. He slept on some of the most uncomfortable (and dirty) couches, spent countless hours driving to get me whatever I wanted or needed, went to Wal-Mart to buy Bella some clothes that we could take her home in (since she arrived MUCH smaller than we would have EVER expected), and put up with quite a bit of drama from me. I don't think he actually slept until Thursday night when we got home from the hospital. He put up with A LOT last week. Okay, he's put up with a lot for the last 9 months! Mood swings, weird cravings at odd hours, my scatterbrainedness (if that's even a word!), my messiness, etc. He continues to put up with my forgetfulness, my crumbs on the couch, my sloppiness and many, many other things. I love him very much and I don't know what I would have done without him this last week, or for the last 2 years. I am very thankful to have such a wonderful father for my daughter. I couldn't have done any of this without his support and encouragement.

Now.... meet Ms. Bella Mae McCarty

Bella arrived on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 at 3:26 p.m. She was 6lbs. (5 lbs. 15.6 oz. to be exact) and 19.5 inches long. Other than being a little jaundice (which is the reason for the Billi lights) she is perfect and quite possibly the most beautiful thing I've ever seen! She is already a a daddy's girl, and she loves her big brother and sister.