Northwest Hospital

Today marks the one year anniversary of leaving Northwest Hospital with our baby boy in our arms! After spending 15 days in a place, the place your 1st child was born and you were cared for so sweetly, well, you kind of get attached...in the last year Jeff and I have often found ourselves crying out, "i miss the hospital"- Wes slept all the time, we had 24 hour babysitters, the nurses told us to sleep through the 2:30am feeding, when we did feed him late at night or early in the morning we had company- roughly 6 different rotating nurses to learn all about and learn from, we also had access to their little kitchen and though it wasn't much (jimmy dean breakfast sandwiches, yogurt, pudding, prune & apricot juice) Jeff made the best cranberry spritzers...oh how I miss those.

We can hardly wait to go there again when our niece is born in February. In fact, we didn't wait...we went there on Saturday to tell Wes his birth story and see if any of our old friends were there.

Wes out front.

Wes with Julie, one of our nurses, who remembered us quite well...she asked about Jeff's band and my sewing projects...it felt nice.

Our old hall, seriously, this place kind of felt like a dorm.

I'm so thankful that Jeff really wanted to go too, that he wasn't just indulging his crazy wife. I think we both just love this place and what it symbolizes...the start of our family, of so many families. I think I'm in love with birthing centers! Truly, if for some reason I decided to go back to school and start a totally different career, I think I'd like to be a labor & delivery nurse...but that's a different blog post altogether.

Thank you Northwest Hospital and team!

Thanksgiving Redeemed!

Last year Thanksgiving was good, but this year Thanksgiving was the best!

The boys changed the Turkey Bowl from tackle football to a more mild soccer (and this year the rats lost for the 1st time ever- boo, hiss- vipers). There was a great turnout, but not too great of weather and Wes and I couldn't stay long.


We headed to my amazing sister and brother-in-laws for brunch which was co-hosted by Jeff's mom. Delicious treats as usual...monkey bread, bacon, sausage. And some fun at the photo shoot parlor that Rebekah prepared for the day- what a great idea and the start of an annual tradition, I hope.


After that we raced home for a quick shower, wardrobe change, and gathering of our contribution to the nights festivities and then back over to C&Rs for a full on Thanksgiving feast! My parents were able to come, which I loved since it's so nice not having to decide where to go and to have us all together (minus my brother who was celebrating in Mexico...my pale skin is jealous).

I know I mentioned in my previous post that there was a ton of food, but I'm not sure you get the picture...I think Rebekah and I counted 3-4lb of meat per adult...3 turkeys and one ham...and don't even get me started on the appetizers, sides, and pie- oh my!

Below were the best "cousins" photos I could get...these boys are busy!

It was truly a lovely day and the fact that Wes was finally able to join us was icing on the cake (wait, was there cake?) You can see some adorable video clips on my Mom's blog.

What a blessing it is to truly enjoy your family and friends, I am one lucky girl.

(btw, we've really got to take a big family photo at these events...I always feel bad when I don't have a photo of everyone...we're a little Wesley-centric over here!)

Gobble, Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving! Bigger post to come...when I'm not stuffed from all the food and left overs...man we had a ton of food this year! Hope you're all enjoying a restful day and have a fabulous weekend. We might even get our tree!

Our Wesley is One!

I can hardly believe it!

It's crazy to me that the time has gone by so quickly. I remember this time last year we were still at the hospital, wondering when our little man would suck on his own, bathing him in the same size bucket they gave me to vomit in just minutes before they rolled me into my c-section, changing his tiny preemie clothes while minding all the wires that were used to monitor his vitals, pumping, feeding, sleeping, receiving visitors (and their wonderful meals) like clock-work, putting Wes to sleep in his little incubator, discovering who our little son would be as he smiled, wrinkled his forehead, and brought indescribable joy to our lives.

I can't, nor do I want to, imagine our lives without Wesley. He is more than I could of dreamed or wished for in a son and he is cuter than I ever thought possible. (I always knew I would know if my child really wasn't that cute...and I'm happy to report that he's adorable!)

We celebrated his birthday on Sunday the only way we knew how...with tons of family and friends. We are so blessed to have this community to raise our son in and thank you all for a memorable day- brief, hectic, fun!

Grandma Evans made her famous angle food cake and Wes ate it like a little Prince!

It's hard to take it all in...motherhood, family, each passing day as Wes continues to become a big boy. I pray that God will help me enjoy every minute of it and that he will bless Jeff and I with the strength and wisdom to guide Wes in the coming years. We are all so very blessed and overwhelmed with gratitude!

One Year Check Up

We had Wes' one year check up today and the doc gave us a clean bill of health- no lung issues, no ear infection, NO fever!

Head: 47cm (75th %)
Height: 30in (50-75th %)
Weight: 20lb 5oz (25th %)

I cannot believe this boy is turning 1 on Sunday. He is a delight, constantly chatting away, pointing like crazy (we've had a lot of ET moments), imitating words (we think he said chicken tonight), getting into mischief. He's also finally sleeping through the night...on occasion he'll sleep from 7:15pm to 8:30am...it's heaven!

We are so thankful for a wonderful 1st year of life and can't wait to see how this next one unfolds...walking, talking, taking it all in.

We love you Wesley James Gough!

What are you lookin' at?

Seriously, what are you lookin' at?

10 on 10 :: November :: Sick

A Ray of Sunshine

Today a friend popped by to pick up some items she left while staying with us in October. But what she picked up was nothing compared to what she delivered.


Rachel was a ray of sunshine this evening...she dropped by a care package filled with cough drops, emergen-c, chapstick, kleenex, and a magazine. What a sweet girl!

I truly am so blessed to have her as my friend and I thank you, Rachel, for your kindness and thoughtfulness. I'd like to thank all of YOU for your encouragement and well wishes during my small bout with the flu. I think I'm on the road to recovery...but I'm still planning on taking some Nyquil so I can conk out early and get some rest.

So Sad

My fever was up to 102 this morning and I had to cancel our reservations. Lying in bed all day was so not what I had in mind for this weekend.

But rather than go on and on about that I thought I'd look for a photo from this day last year...and as it turns out I only have one and it was taken by my nephew, Simon, with my phone.


I was still pregnant this time last year and I had no idea that in 8 short days Wes would be here!

Hope everyone else is having a better weekend than me.

Oh, and I haven't forgotten to be thankful...today and yesterday I am very thankful for my husband who has proven to be a wonderful nurse and father during my illness.

I Woke up Sick

I think the thunder and lightening last night was a bad sign...I tossed and turned and woke up with a fever, headache, and body pain...Jeff stayed home and I was able to take some ibuprofen and stay in bed until Wes woke up from his 1st nap at noon.

Today I'm taking it easy and hoping I'm better by tomorrow because Jeff and I have reservations at the Corson Building.

Calendar

It always takes me forever to change the month on the two calendars I have in my house...I forget about them because in this age of technology I don't really use them...I've got my phone or my computer to tell me which day it is...and if I'm making plans then I use a small appt. book that I keep in my purse (archaic, i know).


Today, while flipping my Nikki McClure calendar I noticed that October had the word Mother on it (each month has a different theme). This was particularly noteworthy for me since I will have been a mother for an entire year in 10 days. These last few weeks I've really been thinking about what that means, how quickly the time has gone, how different my life is, and how richly blessed I am. Words can't even begin to do it justice.

Today I am thankful for being able to become a Mother, for surviving the first year and picking up a whole new skill set- where juggling Wes has become second nature, for the gift God has given me by entrusting me with Wesley's precious little life, for an amazing, joyful son!


While I was out running errands for you-know-who's birthday party it was rainy and cold and I was reminded of my highschool PE teacher who wore shorts pretty much everyday, rain or shine. Crotzer, I think it was...anyway, Wes was wearing a bright orange vest today and it reminded me how Crotzer used to force us to go outside despite the cold and would tell us to keep our core warm because then at least your heart would be pumping warm blood to your extremeties. Good to know I applied that to the care of my boy...and now I might write a book- Everything I need to know I learned in PE?

A Good Cup of Tea

So, I've never been a huge coffee fan and it was no surprise to me when I had a food allergy test done several years ago that coffee turned up. It's not the caffeine as people often suggest, it's the actual protein that my body just doesn't like...and by "doesn't like" I mean that I feel anxious and there's a "tightness" in my chest.

But, after I had Wes something strange happened...I LOVED coffee and I didn't notice it being a problem (ok, maybe every once in awhile)...but it was especially an issue on Monday, so much so that Jeff decided to use our stethoscope to listen to my heart (since that seemed to be the center of my anxiety). And, what do you know? It was doing it's old PVC thing...


So, coffee's out! But now I've got to find a replacement...mostly I just like the warm cozy cup of something to sip...so, today I'm thankful for The O Dor tea I'm drinking..it's a black tea, called The Du Loup and it has vanilla and hazelnut flavors...it's no cup of Starbucks Holiday goodness, but for now it will have to do.

Anyone have a favorite tea that I should know about? Something rich and coffee like?

Milkshakes in the Afternoon

Jeff was home sick today and I guess he wasn't too sick for milkshakes because he whipped them up after I brought home some incredible Paseo sandwiches...talk about a great day!

Lots of things to be thankful for today; MOPS, a nap, Jeffy being home, a random trip to the gym, a delicious dinner, some crafting, and of course...online tv- getting caught up on Heroes (I might just be the only one left watching this show).

Happy Halloween!

Our little owl was a hoot...and although I didn't capture his little "who" face (which he does all the time, and was the inspiration for his costume) I think he was rather cute.

I made his costume after being inspired by this one. Wes sported it at two parties, our church's Harvest party and cousin Levi's b-day party where Wes enjoyed his fair share of candy wrappers.

Hope everyone had a great holiday!





I'm going to attempt to write on this ol' blog everyday this month, a challenge by Alisha (or at least my interpretation of it). Anyone else want to join me? You can take Andi's approach and share things you're thankful for....for instance, I am thankful for a sunny Fall day, a baby boy soon to be turning one who has adjusted to the time change swimmingly, and Mops tomorrow.