Visits from Family

We have had a few visitors in the last few weeks. The week of Thanksgiving my sister Kelly & her husband Jason came to visit us. This was a lot of fun! Kelly & Jason assigned Amelia her first nickname, "Milly".



While they were here we played Apples to Apples (a really fun game, and if you haven't played I suggest you go buy it and play!!) Amelia was getting a bit jealous of us not paying attention to her, so we let her play too! Thanks for coming to visit Aunt Kelly & Uncle Jason! It was so fun!


My dad came to visit the first two weeks of December. This is the first time he had seen Amelia since she was born. It was very fun to see and spend time with him.

Tummy Time!

Amelia is getting good at tummy time! She is lifting and turning her head! She is currently at newborn status as my due date was this last Tuesday! They don't really start watching her development until now. Although that is the case, she is doing a lot of the things listed that she will begin to do. She is sleeping about 4-5 hours at a time and sometimes up to 6 hours. It is definitely nice to get some sleep sometimes. It has been a pure joy having her home!!!

HOME!!!

Our baby girl has finally come home! She has graduated!!
Not that I didn't enjoy our 68 day stay in the NICU, but man, I'm so glad we can stay home at night again! Amelia has been home now for 5 days and it has been quite an adjustment. I definitely thought I was more prepared than I really am.

Preparation to Come Home

In order to come home Amelia had to have her eye exam, which is not a fun procedure. She also had to have her car seat test, this is where she has to sit in her car seat for 2 hours and keep her saturations. Well, we didn't get that far...she was too little for her car seat!


So, she is in a car bed. Unfortunately, I was too busy trying to get her ready to come home, that I didn't take a picture of her in this car bed. I will have to do that before she grows out of it and add it to this post.
On the day she came home, we had to wait many hours for her to get her RSV shot, so Rob and I went to his brothers and watched the BYU football game. Before we left to watch the game, we took our family BYU photo!!! Even Amelia is a cougar fan!!!

FIRST HALLOWEEN & BATH!!

Amelia had her first bath on Halloween and I would have had this on here much sooner, but I wanted to get the video from her bath uploaded...it still hasn't happened. Once I get the video on my computer I will upload it onto this post!
Because Amelia is still so small, I had limited options for a Halloween costume, and went with the basic pumpkin! She was adorable! I later found out that Build A Bear sells outfits that actually fit some preemies! Go figure!!! Needless to say, she was adorable in her pumpkin garb!

Amelia enjoyed her first bath! She had a few moments of where she wasn't sure what was going on, but overall, no screaming...which I take to be a good sign! I learned how to do a swaddle bath, which I was told helps the baby get used to the water without it being terrifying. It seemed to work since she didn't freak out! Video to follow...

Mommy & Daddy Time!

Amelia loves "mommy time"! She has gotten to the point where she is taking everything by mouth and starting to put on the weight! She weighed in at 3 lbs. 5 1/2 oz. last night!!! We are so excited that she is growing so well and that there has been no complications. I spend a lot of time with Amelia feeding and holding her. Although it isn't as often as I'd like, it is what it is. If I could hold her and look at her all day I probably would, but I don't think she would like that too much. She knows when I'm suppose to be there and is ready to eat when I am there. It is fun to see her little personality shine through!!





Rob gave her a bottle the other night. We want him to get used to feeding her too and her used to him. She drank like a pro! We are so excited to get her home! It is still a while before she will come home, but her eating from a bottle is a huge step in the right direction! She isn't allowed to go home unless she has everything orally! We are loving it!

3 lbs!!!

Our Miss Amelia finally reached 3 pounds!!!!

6 weeks old on 10/9/06

Amelia has been growing! She is closing in on 3 lbs. We are hoping she will get there soon! She spends most of her time sleeping and growing! On October 8, 2007 she was taken off of oxygen for the first time, and she was able to maintain her saturations for a whopping 3 1/2 hours! She was put back on when I started nursing her, and hasn't been taken back off yet. They say that it happens that way, they go off then they go back on. So, she is not quite there! I know these photos show her wide awake, but really...she does sleep most of the day!

One Month Old!

Our girl turned 1 month on Tuesday and finally reached 2 lbs. It was very exciting! Her nurse, Laura, took photos for the occasion!


Amelia has her own personality that her dad and I enjoy! She knows when she wants to be left alone. The other night she put her arm over her eyes trying to get some sleep. It was so funny that we had to get a picture of that! It is amazing how babies will tell you what they want without using words! She also puts her hand on her head quite a bit, Rob got her started on this, and it just stuck! Her nurse, Natasha, did her hair and put bows in her hair for the photos!







Rob and I get to hold her every day, and I just love this! She responds really well to being held! I do skin to skin holds so that she can hear my heart beating and breathing. Because she is so used to hearing that, we try to give it to her as much as we can!


Amelia also gives funny looks that keep us laughing. Her pacifier is almost the size of her head and she sleeps most of the time! She is such a great little baby and we are so lucky!

Our Growing Girl

We are now to day 18 of life (that is how the doctors refer to her age) and she is doing so well! We have truly been blessed with such a beautiful, healthy little girl! We can't ask for much more! As of last night our little Amelia weighed in at a whopping 1 lb. 13 1/2 oz. She is getting bigger!!!!

Amelia Josephine

Our little angel was born on August 28 at 4:30pm. She wanted to have the same birthday as her daddy, so she decided to be born then! She is doing so well! She was originally on a ventilator, but after only one day she not moved to just nasal air. She is so strong and brave. Believe it or not, she has already started smiling. I think her brother is there keeping her company! We have a long way to go before she gets to come home, but she is on her way.


Amelia was 1 pound 10 ounces and 13 inches long when she was born. Her weight fluctuates daily, but that is normal! We took a photo to show her size in comparison to my hand. It is amazing how little she is. She is so beautiful!!! We are so excited to have her in our family!

Time

I haven't updated my blog in awhile. Since my ultrasound, I spent 3 weeks in Tucson working, a week in Colorado with family and have had no time to update. I had another ultrasound on July 16 (right before our trip to Colorado). Things were going really well. I spent my 29th birthday in Tucson in trial. My trial team had a little birthday lunch for me with cake and a singing balloon! It was funny!

I got home from Tucson on August 4th. I went to my next appointment on Monday Aug 6th and all was great! On Friday the 10th, I was put on hospitalization bed rest. I will be on bed rest until Amelia is born. They are keeping me to be sure my blood pressure doesn't go through the roof and I don't have the same experience that we did last year. I have a much better doctor this time, so we aren't taking any chances. I'm feeling really good right now and have been in here for a week. I'm able to work from here, which is nice. It keeps my mind busy during the day.

I won't be able to add any photos onto my page until I get home. The next set of photos will be our beautiful girl.

Amelia Josephine

Today, June 27, 2007 Rob and I found out that our newest addition to the family would be a little girl! We will be naming her Amelia Josephine after my great grandmother! Here is our ultrasound photos!



This is the side profile of little Amelia's face! She looks nothing like her brother!












This is a photo of Amelia's foot! I think she just may be either a runner or a soccer player! I think her dad would like either!



Finally, this is the "Girl" Shot! Yes, that is right, there is nothing to see...if there were then she wouldn't be a girl...she'd be a boy!!!

Baby Bruder

Kyle came to my blog and complained that he was not on there, I figured that I better get him on there! Kyle is my baby bruder he is 11 years younger than me. He is currently 17 (almost 18) and is a teenager to say the least!


Kyle is a junior in high school! He is in choir and won many awards in that, Rob and I saw him in the Music Man, and he did a great job! Kyle is also going to Germany this summer (apparently he can speak German), who would've thought!


Kyle is extremely smart and knows it! He is getting his Eagle Scout award here shortly! Which is very exciting! He built shelves for a pantry (if I remember right). He moved half way through his project and had to go back to Missouri to finish it!






This photo is from last summer we went on an adventure the day after Kelly's wedding and found this little lake. It was beautiful up there! We found a little snake so Kyle thought to be sure the little guy was included in our photos! That's right, Kyle is very considerate!




Kyle likes to play on his computer (which may or may not be a good thing), he plays a mean game of Scrabble, and sometimes thinks his is the coolest guy on the planet...which I'm sure he is saying that he is right now! Kyle will be going on a mission next summer for our church and has been preparing for that! Life is continually evolving as he gets older! I am blessed to have Kyle as my baby brother!

Crazy Fall...

November will be a great month this year. Rob and I are expecting again. The due date is November 20, 2007...and we are praying to make it that long.
It is going to be crazy that month, not only am I due in November, but so are my friends Nichole, Aubrie, Kathy, and my sister-in-law Rachel. Should be fun.



Love to you all

My wonderful sister Aaron

My sister Aaron and I over the years have been at odds. We have very different personalities and interests. I don't know Aaron very well, but in the past year we have started to establish a relationship. I am very glad that this has happened. She is such a wonderful person and I truly have missed out on having her as an influence in my life.

I have very few photos of Aaron and I together. The photos I do have are not in electronic format for me to add right now, but I will remedy that.
Aaron got married to a wonderful guy named Chris on December 31, 2006 in the crazy city of Las Vegas! It was a crazy day but in the end a beautiful wedding and a great time spent with family.


She was a beautiful bride. I'm so glad that she wanted all of her family and Chris' family there. It was wonderful.












I love this picture of Aaron, Kelly & I. I hope that the three of us will have wonderful relationships for all of our lives. I love both of my sisters.


Things about Aaron:
Work: Coach (I'm not sure if it is Inc. or not)
Live: Philidelphia, PA
Quality I admire most: Her inner strength

Kelly - my baby sister...

The next member of my family I want to show is my sister Kelly. Kelly is 7 1/2 years younger than me. She is a fun loving girl and a joy to be around. Kelly has a sweet spirit and is a beautiful young lady.




We have been there for various hospitalizations together through the years...okay, really only 2 times total between the two of us.



Kelly got married in July 2006 to a wonderful guy named Jason Lee. It was a beautiful day in Manti, Utah. They were surrounded by family and friends.






Some of Kelly's Favorites:
Slumber parties
Hide 'n go seek
Ice Cream
Singing (and she is very good)

Robert L Allen Jr. - My Eternal Companion

Rob and I met in July 2001 at a Family Home Evening activity in Lindon, Utah. We started dating in October 2001 and got engaged in March 2002. I married my best friend on June 26, 2002 in the Salt Lake LDS Temple.
Rob was born on August 28 and is a year younger than me. He grew up in South Jordan, Utah, playing soccer and being mischievous. He now plays indoor soccer, but takes any opportunity to play. He is a very passionate BYU fan. He has been very happy lately since BYU football had a great season. We have season tickets to BYU football and to Real Salt Lake Soccer. Our year is full of sports. Rob is very passionate about his teams and shows strict dedication even in bad seasons. He prides himself on not being a fair weather fan. Rob is such a wonderful person. He has a good heart and tries to do what is right. I am so blessed to have him as my husband.

Favorite Color: Blue
Favorite Food: Cereal(Life to be exact)
Favorite Sport to Play: Soccer

Favorite Sport to Watch: BYU Football! (this photos is of us at a Bronco's game!)


Favorite Movie: The Truman Show and Wayne's World

New ideas!

I have decided to follow suit from my friend Nichole's page. She does a blog about her favorite people...so that is what I'm going to do! Because I love it!