An Ashe Week of Firsts!

Travis, Eli and I stuffed our first Scarecrow, we named him Stumpy. We also had our first craving pumpkins party last week. Eli wanted to help so badly, he held his little pumpkin and tried to bite it like everything else. Travis's jack-o-lantern was awesome, mine not so much and Eli's was cute! We headed to downtown Cherokee for some trick or treating, it was ok but I am making it my mission to find a good neighborhood for next year. I dressed up as a witch for work; made oreo eyeballs for our snack party and overall really enjoyed this halloween & no alcohol was involved! Eli celebrated his 6 month birthday on the 1st of November. He is exploring all over our house in his walker and making our hearts melt with every new thing he does. Next week we will start veggies. He is graduating from his bumbo so we are setting up his fancy high chair (thanks Amanda and Joe) in the dining room. Next Friday is his 6 month check up, our family is wagering on his weight. I am guessing 19 pounds but the others think 20 pounds. What veggie is his favorite will follow, so stay tuned.

Eli loves Fall & I love Eli!

This past weekend we took a little drive on the Parkway. Didn't want to miss out on all the leaf looking. Our little man loves being outside, probably all the colors and things to gaze at. Yes, we took some more pictures of him. I know, I know enough already but he is growing so fast I don't want to miss any of it! It's hard to believe that in a week he will be 6 months old. Everything this little angel does fascinates me. He is laughing now, Travis hopes he has my LOUD obnoxious Garcia laugh but I hope it's more subtle. Funny how simple little things like a scenic drive can be so much more exciting with a baby. In all reality, I still can't believe I am someone's mom but I am....Eli's mom! On another note, we live in a BEAUTIFUL place! Here are some pictures from our leaf looking day.

Apple Bobber Champ!

You just really NEVER completly know someone.....recently found out that my husband of almost 7 years (my main squeeze since 2001, so we are talking a DECADE people) is an olympian apple bobber! He smoked the competition. Out of the 6 apple bobbers, Childers one apple, the rest of us zero apples, and Travis 6 apples! This is him in action!

Fall is in the Air!

Happy 5 Months to my sweet baby boy!
October 1, 2011, turned out to be a cold fall morning. We planned on bundling Eli up in his jogger to support Breast Cancer Awareness but being a new mom and still figuring out temperature and outings, we nixed it. Instead we played with Eli who is doing something new and fascinating everyday! Plus, we were going to be out later that afternoon with friends at an apple orchard for Apple Roland Weekend and didn't want to over do it.

As a matter of fact, a year ago on Apple Roland weekend we told our dear friends the Roland's we were pregnant! This year our little man is 5 months old and the Roland's also have a baby, sweet baby Annie! CRAZY!!

The day was spent picked apples, apple inspired dinner at the Roland's house and discovered Travis is a Champion Apple Bobber! Who would have known? Not I or anyone there that night. So lucky to have such great friends and traditions to share with our sweet babies.

The rest of the weekend and on into the week I have been whipping up more apple inspired dinners and desserts. YUM!

Eli was Baptised!

Our sweet little boy was baptised Sunday September 18, 2011.

My dearest cousin Maribel(my sister at heart) flew in with family in tow to be our sons Godmother. Maribel brought Eli's baptism suit from Mexico. It was a special day that we shared with the most important people in our lives.

Eli will be 5 months old next month (well if you go by weeks he is 4 months & 4 weeks). Everyday it is a new discovery: his tongue, his hands, his feet, almost rolling off our bed, his sweet sweet squeal, his eating cereal face. Everyday he makes my heart skip a beat. Being a mom sure is hard work but this little man makes my world complete!

During their visit here we have taken lots of pictures, laughed til my face hurts, and ate so much it's ridiculous. I sure will miss them once they are gone but feel blessed to know I can count on my family & friends when we need them the most.

Eli also had his first professional photo shoot a few weeks ago, he is such a little ham. I thought for sure I had just wasted our money because he didn't smile, he was fussy to the point I felt incompetent in controlling my son, he flat out refused to pose but in the end the photographer snapped some good ones.


Now on to the next thing, I am researching costumes for Halloween. My best buddy Kelly has scheduled a Halloween photo mini session for our boys, that will be interesting for sure! Those boys will have no choice but to be buddies. Speaking of buddies Eli will be picking apples next weekend with his future "apple of his eye" Annie Roland. Can't wait to snap picture of them together. So glad our close friends have babies right now!!

Baby Blues

The saying Baby Blues has so many meanings for me. I definitely felt a little bluish after the baby was born, especially since breastfeeding turned out to be so hard. Glad we got through that and didn't give up! Baby Blues represents the color of most of the clothing our son received at our Showers. Never a big fan of baby blue, I must admit baby Eli looks adorable in it. And lastly, Baby Blues means missing my baby while I am at work. I took 2 months maternity leave after Eli was born. Today is my second day back and today was harder than yesterday. He was awake and cooing this morning, yesterday he was asleep. I am grateful that my mom & mother-in-law can keep Eli while we are at work and I keep hearing that the grandmother's are the second best thing but I definitely question me returning to work. I loved my time at home with our sweet baby. I am missing out on 10 hours of his day four days a week. I question if my income is really worth that. We would be okay with one salary but not as comfortable as we are now. I want lil man to have everything he needs and will one day want. Then I think... I love my job, after all I am a working gal and never saw myself as a homemaker. I finally landed a job that is challenging and am finally using that degree I am still paying for. So many things have changed in my life. Things that bothered me before don't and things that didn't bother me before do. All my thoughts are about Eli. It's no longer Travis and me, we hardly get any alone time but yet we seem to be managing just fine. I am a firm believer of saying "I Love You" often and "Thank You For All That You Do" regularly. Our glances to one another say so much more these days. We knew our lives were going to be completely different but I didn't realize how much. We can't pack up for a weekend get away like before. No more improv trips to Asheville after work or weekends. Sex can't be spontaneous like when it was just us in our house. Simple tasks such as laundry or washing up after dinner aren't so simple anymore. Lots of planning must go into things as simple as going out for dinner. Nevertheless, this new chapter in our lives is so exciting and words can't describe what it feels to be a mommy! I have stocked my office with framed pictures of that sweet face and look at him often, maybe this will get easier as time goes by. I hope anyway!

Eli is Coming!

April 30th didn't start out as expected. I had been up all night feeling odd & experiencing a few contractions. About 5am that morning we were headed to Labor & delivery. Mind you I read many books, felt like I was ready for what was to come but all that went out the window when I saw blood on my underwear. I flipped out! I forgot what floor we had to go to, forgot what nurses station we had to report to, I was lost. Luckily Travis was on his A game. I was monitored for a while then let go with some medicine to help me sleep. After we left the hospital we headed to Hooper's for breakfast. Little did we know that this breakfast would be the last we would share just us. We headed home, I napped and felt great when I awoke. We had friends coming over to watch the UFC fight. We enjoyed grilled chicken, veggies and the company of good friends. I remember telling Ivey as they were leaving that this may the last get together before our little Eli was here. I wasn't counting on him coming that very next day. Around 9pm I started having regular contractions. I started timing them. We still had friends over so I didn't want to alarm anyone. After everyone was gone I told Travis. Trying to stay true to our birth plan, I laid down. We didn't want to head to the hospital too soon. Around 2pm the contractions were stronger & more frequent. I finally told Travis that we had to head out. We weren't ready at all. Eli's bag was packed but our bag was not. I hurried around and threw some things together. Upon arrival at labor and delivery, we were told I was probably having false labor because Eli wasn't supposed to be born yet. At 5am the nurse checked my cervix and it was dialated to a 3-4cm. We were then admitted and taken to our birthing room. It was pretty surreal when the nurse told us that we in fact were going to have a baby that day. We were both so tired, we hadn't slept much in two days and with the contractions I couldn't sleep even though the nurse advised that we rest. Easier said than done. At 7am I was given the option to receive pain medication. Our birth plan was to have no intervention at all but I really couldn't handle too much more I thought. After being assured that our baby wasn't going to be born in the next hour and be affected by the medication I agreed. I was given stadol (spelling), I felt pretty loopy and would fall asleep between contractions. The calmness lasted for an hour. The cat nap was what we needed to keep on going. The nurse told us we would have the baby by noon. I became fixated with that. In our child birth classes we were told to transport myself somewhere else, or concentrate on something while a contraction hit. I began counting as soon as I felt the pain. 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and so on. This really helped me. Around 10am, I was again offered the epidural, I refused and instead got up walked around the hospital floor. We did so many laps. I was against getting in the birthing tub but it really did help the pain. Travis was amazing at keeping me focused. We listened to Adele while the contractions got stronger and stronger. We slow danced every time a big one hit. We tried different positions on the bed, bounced on the ball but the slow dancing is what really eased the contractions. At 11:30, my cervix was dialated to an 8. I thought oh no I can't do this anymore. At 12:30, my cervix was dialated to a 9. At 1:00pm my cervix was fianlly dialated to a 10 but there was still what they called a lip left on the cervix. Meaning I couldn't push yet. Finally at 1:30 pm my very calm doctor came in and I began to push. I wasn't prepared for the pushing part, my legs were up, one was held by Carol our awesome nurse and the other by Travis. When a contraction hit I was instructed to push. I pushed & pushed and our little miracle was born at 1:50pm! When I heard his first cry & caught a glimpse of him, everything changed. I got to hold him immediately afterwards, it was love at first sight. He is my little angel. He was born 8lbs and measured 19.5 inches at 37 weeks. This Sunday he will be a month old. I am not going to lie and say it has all been peaches and cream but I will say that one glance at his beautiful face and all the sleepness nights and nipple soreness disappears. The breastfeeding has been the hardest part for me. I wasn't prepared for the demand, the pain and possible torn nipple if his latch isn't right! In short (well not really this blog is pretty long), I wasn't prepared for so many things. I thought I was, thought I read everything I needed to read about my pregnancy & delivery but I was not prepared for the 17 hours I was in labor. I realized I hadn't read anything about what to do once our bundle of joy arrived. Luckily, motherly instincts really do kick in. I am so in love right now!