Christmas

I can not believe that Christmas has already come and gone, Once again this year I struggled with getting into the Christmas Spirit. This is the second year in a row that I have been in a funk… and I need to snap out of it. Next year I have BIG plans people BIG plans.
This year I was so excited for the Pickett cousins Christmas party… This was the first year that I felt like Kevin and I belonged. In years past we were always invited, I just sometimes felt like the looser couple going to the kids party with no kids… But not this year… Yeah!
I love this Picture of all the girl cousins lined up from oldest to youngest… SO CUTE!

Later that night we had the annual Pickett Fondue Party, and of course the White Elephant gift exchange… Mmmmm Love me some fondue! (Major Fail I did not get any pictures)
On Christmas Eve we had my mom, Justin, Mandee and the Kids over.
The DuBose’s …

Justin, Montana, Mandee, Austin and Brandon.

Grandma Vicki With the Grand kids…
On Christmas Morning Charly Woke up at 5:30 (this is her usual wake up time). Kevin and I showed her what Santa had left her and let her open the present we got her.
Santa has been here!
Checking everything out…


Opening presents… Charly was being so cute when she was opening her present she would make this low growling nose… Ha Ha This baby cracks me up! 



Sorry about the shaky Video… and Yes I know I sound like a goober, but had to share Charly growling…

Where's Charly?
We hope you had a very Merry Christmas!

Chocolate

In an effort to jump start my Christmas spirit this year; I asked my mom to help me make Candy. If you were lucky enough to know my grandma Leavitt then you know she was known for her delicious candy, It was a tradition I grew up with and I always new it was Christmas when I walked into her house and the smell of Chocolate field the air. Of course my mom was more than happy to help and before I knew my small batch of peanut butters and mints turned into 10lbs of caramel and 25lbs of chocolate. In all we made orange sticks, lemon, raspberry, turtles, mints, nougats and Peanut butters. I have no idea exactly how many we made, I can tell you it was a lot. I had so much fun making the candy and I look forward to making it again next year, this is a tradition that I defiantly want Charly to know.

Mandee and Montana making Centers 

Charly and Grandma Vicki making mints

Kevin chopping the chocolate

We even recruited Lynnette (Grandma Pickett) To help dip!

Montana and I playing Candy shop; Yes she was my apprentice… (Scary picture, but this is what you like after almost 18hrs of Chocolate making)

Rolling!

Little Miss Charly Lynn is now rolling!

Happy Halloween from our little duck!

Kevin and I decided to have a little photo shoot at the park with Charly…  We decided she was the cutest duck there.

Love this little girl so much!

Marshmallow Mattes to the Rescue!

I am so behind on blogging and have way more important things to blog about than this, but I came across these pictures (from a few months back) and they  made me giggle… Kevin is often drawn to these packaged meals, I think he thinks they will be quick and easy after work. Usually I am able to convince him not to buy them but this one he wanted to try…

Can I just say this thing was NASTY… as it was cooking my house had a funk! And yes there was a funky green tint to it, needless to say this thing went right into the trash.  

Marshmallow mattes to the rescue…

Lessons learnd , Don’t let your hubby pick out grocery's and Marshmallow mattes do really save the day!

Happy Birthday!

Today is Lynnette’s (Kevin’s Mom) Birthday! I truly feel so blessed to have her in my life, she is such a amazing woman, mom, grandmother and friend and truly a mentor for me.  This past year Lynnette has helped me become a better person, daughter, wife and mother.  I will always be thankful for the kindness and love that she has shown me… I am so grateful to have such an amazing mother in-law.

Lynette we hope you have an amazing birthday, we love you so much!  Love/ Kevin, Jamie and Charly

A Great Year!

I cannot believe it has been a year since that night... The night that everything changed, my normal was changed, my family was changed, I was changed. I have struggled with doing this post. It would be all too easy for me to write about how hard this year has been. How I worry that the family I once knew will never be the same. Although this year has been hard it has also been great. My faith in God and what he has done for me has grown so much . My marriage is stronger, It may sound crazy but I love Kevin so much deeper than I ever have, every day I fall in love with him a little bit more. I am closer to my in-laws; I am truly so thankful for the Pickett's and wonder where I would be without Lynnette. I am thankful to still have my mom and for our relationship that continues to grow. I am thankful for my Brother and know that he loves me.  But most of all, we all were blessed with the best gift... Little miss Charly Lynn she has brought so much joy and happiness to both Kevin and I. We often tell her how lucky she is to have her Grandpa Charlie as her extra special guardian angel.

Although its been a hard year its been A Great Year!

And baby makes three…

Where do I even start… June 27th 2011 was a day I have been waiting my whole life for; it was the day I was going to become a mom…

I had a scheduled induction on June 27th. The night of the 26th I remember laying in bed thinking “holy crap tomorrow my life is going to change forever.” Kevin and I just laid in bed talking about Charly.  We wondered how things were going to be after she was here, talked about how fast my pregnancy went by and  how everything  was going to go tomorrow.

Before I knew it; it was the morning of the 27th, my alarm was blaring and it was time for me to get out of bed… Let me just say I dragged my feet all morning and truth be told I was scared… Could I really do this? Do I even know the first thing about being a mom… Holy crap I never took a lactation class!?!? How am I going to feed the baby… YIKES! Somehow I was able to get showered and somewhat ready (how does one get ready to go have a baby?).  As Kevin and I left our house that morning he said “well, the  next time we come home we will be a family of three.” As we were walking into the hospital I remember looking over at Kevin and saying “can we go back home?” he made the comment that it felt a lot like we were checking into a hotel and I remember looking over and saying this is way different than checking into the Fairmont… and there we were on the 4th floor of Mc-Kay Dee Hospital…. ready or not here we go.

Before I knew it they had me changed into my hospital gown and the IV’s hooked up. This is when Kevin called the moms (my mom and his mom) to let them know that they could come up and it was time to start the Pitocin. Dr. J came in and broke my water around 930am and I remember as she was getting ready I asked her if she needed to get a bucket or something.  Everyone just laughed and said ‘no that’s what the towels are for…’ After my water was broken I guess they wished they would have taken my advice and got the bucket because I had so much water (my L&D nurse, Connie, told me she would not be surprised if I had just lost 10 lbs because  there was so much water).  For those of you who’ve never had a baby,  this is the craziest feeling ever, I am not even sure how to explain it other than a uncontrollable gush of warm water… this odd sensation of course gave me the giggles which made even more water come out (which squirted out like a little fountain), needless to say I had everyone in the room laughing.  It was now time for my epidural (I was lucky, I went into the Hospital 4cm dilated, so they were able to give me my epidural quick that I never really felt a hard contraction;  I felt a few small ones but nothing too bad).  I can honestly say that this was the most painful part, maybe it was because needles scare me, or maybe it was the fact that the anesthesiologist was not that friendly…  Regardless it HURT! Once everything was done it was time to wait and wait…

The Pitocin did cause me to have contractions, however, along with the contractions came some unwanted side effects.   With each contraction my blood pressure would drop and even more worrisome after every contraction Charly’s heart rate would drop from 150 to 90…

They would turn off the Pitocin for 30 min and then turn it back on to try and ‘solve’ this problem, but every time it was restarted I had to start at a lower dose (4).   The plan was to get me up to a dose of (12), but the highest that we could ever get was to a 8 before the problems would start back up. We were told that they were going to turn it off, let my body rest for another half hour and once again and turn it back on at 4:30.  The nurse did tell me that if it did not work this time I would have to get a c-section. I remember thinking ‘ok just do what you’ve got to do, I am so ready for this to be over with…’

It seemed as soon as my nurse told us this, the nurse was coming in saying that Dr. J had reviewed the strips (my contractions and Charly’s heart rate) and that she would be here in 10 min and it was time to get me ready  because  we were having a c-section… I remember thinking wow what happened to 4:30? I thought we were going to try this again? Before I knew it they had Kevin dressed and I was being pushed to the OR.

The actual C-section is a Blur for me… I remember trying to joke with Dr. Patel (the Anesthesiologist ) telling him that he was the candy man (There was simply  no teasing with that man), and Dr. J telling me I had nice tissue (Ha Ha… Really I have never had that compliment before). Kevin looked down and said “can you feel that?”, I responded, “No, but I cant breath like someone is pushing too hard on  my lungs” (After the fact Kevin told me they were doing quite a bit of pulling and tugging). 

***Warning -  The below photos are from my C-Section**

And before I knew it Charly was here! I got a quick glimpse of her; and then she and Kevin were off…

I remember laying there thinking holy cow they just cut me open, took my baby and now I have no idea where she or Kevin is… This was the craziest feeling… I was now a mom… But seriously where was my baby? Where was my husband?

After surgery I was taken to a recovery room and still no baby or husband?  Finally Kevin, Charly and a nurse from the nursery came in.  Charly was perfect (Apgar score 9/9), then the nurse said what I had been dreading “your baby is starving you need to feed her” (Oh crap… I knew I should have taken that darn lactation class) I just looked at her and said ok but I have no idea what I am doing… Luckily she knew exactly what she was doing and was able to help me.

We were then taken to our post-delivery hospital room.. Yeah! I get to see everyone (Keith and Lynnette, my mom and Justin and Mandee were all there). That first night in the hospital I am not sure I slept at all… I just laid there staring at Charly and Kevin… thinking ‘wow the Lord has blessed me so much, I am truly thankful to have such a loving and caring husband and now a perfect little girl… God is Good!’

Charly had one little set back on that Tuesday (June 28th), they came and got her to do a hearing test, Kevin and I were in the room visiting with Pastor Gerrod and Paula (I still could not get up). I remember hearing a baby crying but not thinking much about it… Well after a few minutes our nurse came in and explained that Charly had stopped breathing in the hall but they were able to get her breathing (The baby I could hear crying was mine) and that she was being looked at by the NICU doctor… I remember feeling tears well up in my eyes and just looked at Kevin and said go be with her…  Charly had what they call a Blue Spell, when babies are born via C-section their little bodies don’t get squished enough to get all of the amniotic fluid out of there lungs which can cause some babies to choke and stop breathing. Although Scary this is something that can happen, I am just thankful that it happened when the right people were in place to help her… I am not sure what Kevin and I would have done had this happened with just us.

In total we spent 5 days in the hospital, My recovery has been surprisingly quick and we are now enjoying life with our perfect little girl…

Charly Lynn Pickett Born June 27th at 4:49PM, 6lbs 12oz and 20 inches long.

Fully Baked!

Wow I can not believe I am in the 3rd trimester It seems like just yesterday I was telling Kevin that we needed to get a test… So Much has happened in the past few months, I know for one I have grown.  Not just physically but mentally, spiritually and do I dare say I feel like I have grown up… My emphasis on God, my marriage and family has truly grown. I know that one the best gifts that Kevin and I can give Charly is a strong and loving marriage and a safe and stable home. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful and caring husband.

April 30th – Today my mom and my Cousin Shelly hosted a baby shower for me. I must admit I love all of the cheesy shower games, today we played hearts (Which is a lot like Bunco). Hearts was always a game we had to play at showers that’s my Grandma Leavitt was helping with. So it was important that we play hearts at my shower as a way to remember my Grandma; oh how I miss her. Charly and I got so many cute things.. I can not wait to start putting everything away in her nursery.

May 4th – 31 Week Dr. apt.. Oh My Goodness Charly is measuring big Dr. J says she weighs around 4.5 lbs I know what you are thinking that is not that big well at this stage she should be around 3.5LBS that is a whole pound over…

May 8th – For mothers day Kevin took me to Mimi’s for Breakfast one of my favorites and to get Pedicures. I love that Man!

May 13th – Just for the record shopping at 33 weeks pregnant is NOT fun…  I’ve noticed when I am up and moving I have a lot the Braxton hicks contractions, and they are starting to hurt; my poor hubby had to drag me around the Mall (its usually the other way around)…

May 14th – Today My Sweet Sister in-laws and Mother In-law threw me a baby shower… They even did cheesy Baby shower games (Thank you Ladies). I am so blessed to have such fun in-laws. Charly even got her own SKP (I will  post some time about the SKP’s) not to mention many other great gifts.

May 15th – Everyone at Church kept asking how much longer… And when I would say 7 weeks they would give me a look like “Oh honey you must be miserable”.  I swear my belly is going to rip in two… Only seven more weeks I can do this… If Caroline Ingalls could do this, I can do this….

May 19th – 33 Week apt! She is now at 5lb 2oz. We love our big healthy baby.

May 27th – Making room for baby! Nothing like organizing and cleaning out cupboards and closet

May 28th -  Maternity Pictures… Thank you Angela, Kevin and I had a blast!

May 30th – Charly kicked so hard today I wonder if she bruised a back rib… All I could do is laugh and cry at the same time. I Laugh because I love feeling her kicks and jabs, and cry because they are beginning to HURT.

Jun 2nd- 36 week apt. Charly is now 6lbs the good news is her head is no longer measuring big… She looks perfect!

Jun 4th – Crow Mt Hike, This year Kevin and I did not hike the Mt for obvious reasons… But watch out Next year we will be hiking.

The Davis/Pickett Cousins… Charly is going to have so many friends to play with.

The Pickett Girls… Yes its true that is my baby bump! Ha Ha!

June 6th – I am so tired of Kevin having to pull over so I can puke or always looking for the closest bathroom or garbage can… I am pretty sure my poor esophagus will never be the same.

June 9th -  I am at 2cm and effaced 70%… So these Braxton hicks contractions have been doing something. 

June 16th – I had another apt today I am now at a 3cm… I almost fell off the table when Dr. J, said she would induce me on the 27th of June; If Charly had not come yet… Holy  Crap we now have a set date.  All along I have been saying that I wanted a set date and now that I have one I am starting to freak out. Although Dr.  J wouldn’t say, Kevin and I both got the impression that she thought Charly would come sooner than later. 

June 22nd – I feel like a Pregnancy ticking time bomb…

June 24th – Today was my last day of work until after Charly is here… It was the strangest feeling knowing next time I go to work I will be a mom she will be here.. I will have held her in my arms, kissed her cheeks and looked into her eyes. Today was also our last OB apt… It will be the last time that we remember to grab the DVD (My Dr. does a ultrasound at every apt and its on DVD, I love watching her grow from a  little “Smudge” to a baby that cant be seen in a single  frame). I am now at 4cm and my water could break at any time… As we left Dr J, said well I will see you Monday if not sooner with a smile…

• Kevin and I though for sure Charly might be coming tonight, Lets just say thing started happening, I called the Dr’s office to see if I should worry or just relax. Well when the nurse got on the phone she asked me if I was having contractions (insert overly stressed and hormonal pregnant lady response) I just started to cry and said I have no idea… everyone says you will know but I don’t know, I am having cramping and explained the other things that were happening, She was so sweet though and said its ok, I will call Dr. J and call you right back. Well the good/bad news is I was not in labor but my body sure is getting ready for it… And of course we called Kevin's mom too, she and Dr. J said the exact same thing… that everything was going to be alright. I spent rest of the night sitting on the couch with Kevin staring at me and with the slightest move I swear he was ready to rush me up to the Hospital.

June 25th – Still Preggers…. Today my mom and I went and got Pedi’s, A girl needs to have cute toes when she goes into labor {wink, Wink}. Kevin also took me on a date… We went to Taggarts Grill.  It is one of my most favorite places to eat because you can sit out on patio and watch the peacocks… Oh and they have the BEST pink cookies ever. After dinner we came home and watched The Back up plan… Although I am not sure watching a delivery like this right before you are getting ready to give birth is the best idea… All I can say is there will be no Pools or crazy ladies with a drum .

June 26th – Well today is my official last day being pregnant I am so excited to meet Miss Charly Lynn… I must admit though although I am excited I am sad to… I am going to miss feeling her little kicks and playing with her while I am at work (She would push on my belly and I would push back, then she would push a again.) I am going to miss knowing that she is with me and safe… I am going to miss laying in bed at night and have Kevin rub and talk to my belly… I know its sounds crazy to say but I am going to miss being pregnant.

June 27th – D Day! Ready or not here she comes!

Facts About My Third Trimester…

Food I lOVED… Snow cones - My cravings have really gone away.

Food I HATED: Food has not been problem it has been Smells… I am still dealing with smells, yucky smells will get me running to the bathroom in no time

Total Weight gain: 27 LBS YIKES!