Welcome Ayla Jean "AJ"

Happy Birthday sweet baby girl!

Tuesday, November 18th 8:42 pm

8lbs 1oz 21 inches long

Welcomed into the world by mommy, daddy, grandma Susie, grandma Lola, and aunt Sarah

Name, Ayla means "mighty oak." Dusty found the name and we fell in love with it. We had it narrowed down to 5 names, but she definatley fit Ayla. Jean is after my mom, who's real name is Jeanne (even though she goes by Susie). If she's girly she'll be called Ayla but if she keeps being as ornery as she was in my belly or is a tomboy, AJ will suit her! :)

Pregnancy Photos

Nursery

Here are some pictures of our completed nursery! I kind of tried to do the vintage/shabby chic theme and think it turned out great. The saying on the wall reads "The angels danced the day you were born" I saw it online and fell in love with it. The crib & dresser were gifts from my parents and I love them. The crib turns into a toddler bed for later on. Now we wait...

Work Shower

My work threw me a baby shower this last week. I am so fortunate to work with such a caring and generous staff. The shower was given by my friends Laurie, Cassie, Ashley & my awesome 4th grade teammate Liz. The cake was beautiful and delicious, it read "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star...Do You Know How Loved You Are." We also enjoyed playing some games. For one everyone had to cut a piece of yarn by how big they thought my belly was, and for another we had 1 min. to draw a picture of a baby while holding the paper on top of our heads! Very funny seeing a library full of teachers doing this, even funnier were the drawing results!

A Shower of Blessings

A special thank you to my mother-in-law Lola, sister-in-law Kathy, aunt Karlene, and aunt Rene for throwing such a special baby shower for us! We had fun playing games like present bingo, baby memory, and pick the pins out of rice! We are blessed to have such wonderful family & friends and know our baby girl will grow up knowing how special she is. Thank you for all the beautiful gifts of love! -Jess, Dusty & Baby

34 Weeks, 6 to go!

Saturday marks 34 weeks along! We had a Dr. apt today and all continues to be great. I have gained a total of 24 lbs. and she continues to poke & jab like crazy. Sleeping at night is getting more uncomfortable but overall I am feeling great. Dusty thinks it is great that I have started "nesting" because I have been cleaning like crazy. haha!

30 Weeks

We are at 30 weeks...10 weeks to go! The time is going fast now and my belly has gotten a lot bigger in the last month. She continues to be very active and is kicking and moving around as I'm typing this. As I tell Dusty, "The force is getting stronger" as her kicks and punches are hard! It's also so weird to see the alien like movements from the outside. The last Dr. apt with the glucose test went well, we never heard back so I guess I passed. I have gained 14 lbs. total and all is well. When we were in last our Dr. scheduled all our apts up till the due date so that was crazy. We are all signed up for our classes too. We take a breastfeeding class this month, birthing class in Oct. and then infant care in Nov. busy, busy! We have the nursery all ready except we are waiting on the crib & dresser to come in. We ordered it in Bend from the same place my sister got hers. The crib & dresser are baby's gifts from my folks so we are very lucky!

26 Weeks & the Big 3-0!

Here are a few belly pics, I am 26 weeks along already! We had a Dr apt. and she said everything is "fantastic." My Dr. made another comment about how active baby is when she was trying to listen to the heartbeat with the dopler and she kept moving around! I was surprised that I have only gained 9lbs, since I have been eating like a horse! I have another apt. in 2 weeks where I have to drink the orange stuff and then they take your blood for routine gestational diabetes testing. I also turned the big 3-0...YIKES! Actually, reflecting back on the year it has been pretty good, moving back home, buying our first home, starting a family! I am looking forward to my 30's!

Happy Birthday Baby Ryder!

Congratulations and welcome to my sister and Richard's brand new baby boy! Ryder Jayce (middle name Jayce after our brother Jason) was born on July 30th at 4:25pm. He weighed in at 7lbs 9oz, 19.5 inches long and is just perfect! Mother and baby are both doing well. I got to be in the room during the birthing process and it was so amazing, a real miracle. I now know what to expect in Nov. and am looking forward to having my mom & sister as "professionals." :) Dusty is already a professional, as one of his Paramedic rotations was delivering babies in one of the big Portland hospitals when we lived up north. He got to deliver a baby on his own birthday! It will be so special to have Ryder and our baby girl so close in age to grow up together!