Luke Adam Baker

Sorry to keep everyone waiting, but I'm finally taking a second to post a picture of my precious, adorable, wonderful, handsome little boy! Luke Adam Baker was born on December 23rd at 12:02a.m. with a full head of BLOND hair!!! He weighed 6lbs 5.9 oz and was 18 inches long! I believe that means 15% of you were correct on my poll! Congrats! : )

I ended up being induced since I was past my due date and the baby still hadn't dropped all the way. The doctor was afraid my pelvis was too narrow for him to fit through, and if we waited too long, he would be too big for me to deliver him without a C-section. It turns out, he was right! I was really nervous to be induced, but after pushing for 3 1/2 hours, having a 2nd degree episiotomy and 2nd degree tearing (TMI?), and having to use a vacuum, I realized there was no way I could have delivered a baby any larger! Once the doctor started with the vacuum, he told me he was going to give it 4 tries or we were going to have to resort to a C-section. I absolutely did NOT want a C-section, and on the 4th contraction, my millions of mind prayers were answered as the baby finally made it through. The doctor kept telling me afterwards how he really didn't think the baby was going to come that way because he kept sliding backwards after every push. He was pretty shocked. I just told him the power of a determined woman shouldn't be underestimated. ; ) lol.

I thought that having a newborn was going to be the most stressful thing and that I would be hoping for the first month to fly by. But now that he's here, I just want time to stand still so I can enjoy how sweet and little my angel is. I'm already sad that he's going to grow up, and he's not even a week old! lol. Even though he keeps me up all night, one little tired smile from him makes my world feel like heaven. I'll be sure to post more pictures later!

Check out my Poll!

Since the baby has decided he's waiting for warmer weather to make his appearance, I've decided to spice things up with a little poll to the right. Guess how much my baby will weigh at birth! To save some confusion, 0.5 = 1/2 lb (7.5 lbs = 7 lbs 8 ounces, not 7 lbs 5 ounces). Now VOTE!

Nursery!

I finished the nursery a few weeks ago, but I'm just now getting around to posting pictures! Here is the room's cute little welcome/warning sign courtesy of Heather Shirley:

When you first walk in:

I love my crib : )

Don't panic folks - the stuffed animals are coming out before the baby goes in ; )

The most comfortable recliner we could find:

The dresser/changing table area:

My diaper stash:

And for your entertainment, my 38 week belly photos!

(These are Adam's manly hands by the way - not mine...lol) My flat belly button cracks me up!

Okay, baby! We're ready for ya!

Devil's Tower National Monument

I had a baby Dr. appointment last Tuesday, where they told me I was still all sealed up, so we decided it would be okay to take a little trip. We've been wanting to go see Devil's Tower National Monument in Wyoming, which is about 2 hours away from Rapid City. Adam took last week off, so we made a day trip of it on Wednesday.

Of course, being the pregnant lady that I am, I had to pee halfway through the trip. Unfortunately, the only place to stop was a little town called Aladdin, Wyoming, with a population: 15 sign. The little town boasted a 110 year old convenience store that was open for business. The lady inside said the bathroom was behind the building, and lucky for me, she had just "freshened it up."

Adam got quite a kick out of the fact that I had to sit on the nasty wooden bench with a hole in it to do my business. The hole was too far back on the bench for any attempt at hovering. I thought about all of the men that had soaked the wood through the years. It's not like you can really sanitize porous wood, right? It was really cold and dark in there too. It made me feel bad for the pregnant ladies in the old days that had to get up 4 times a night to use the outhouse. I decided I would have kept a bucket by my bed...

We finally made it to Devil's Tower, where we were greeted by hundreds of prairie dogs.

You can kind of see Heidi in the picture below. She wasn't allowed on the 1.3 mile trail around the base of the monument though, so she had to wait in the car.

The little hike was quite enjoyable. There was about an inch of snow on the ground and the trail was paved, so it wasn't too bad. The lady at the visitor's center seemed really worried that I was going to fall and hurt myself, so I used Adam as my walking stick.

It was a nice little family day trip, and we were glad to have made it out there before they closed for the season.

Pie in the Face!

Adam's work has a fundraiser every year for their squadron's Christmas party. The fundraiser seems to always include an auction to pie a fellow airman in the face. They first bid on who gets pied and then bid on who gets to throw the pie. I guess Adam has a few people out to get him...someone bid $40 to throw a pie at him. haha! They tried to get me to throw it, but I know better...

Here are some of the guys before the pie-ing:

Adam brought a change of clothes since he knew was going to be pied, which was smart, considering the garbage bags did very little to save the others from certain nastiness.

The pie in the face doesn't look so bad, until you realize that it's not whipped cream...it's cottage cheese...among other things. At least he didn't get the peanut butter pie...or the mustard one. That one was disgusting. The cottage cheese reeked though!

What a good sport!

Baby Shower #2!

My sweet coworkers were wonderful enough to throw me a baby shower here in South Dakota a few weeks ago. We all had a great time, and although I'm really looking forward to being a stay-at-home mom, I'm going to miss them!

Eva, JoEllen, Rachel, me, Ginger, and Becky/Ethan:

Me and Cori:

Danielle, my dear, fellow military wife/former neighbor:

Me and my first child, who wanted to dress up for the shower too ; )

My wonderful friends from church made me some very cute/creative gifts. They were even kind enough to organize my loot for me afterwards!

Tanya, Juli, Heather, and Emily:

Thank you so much to everyone who was able to make it to my shower and for all of the great gifts. I had a really great time! Just for kicks, here I am as of today, at 33 weeks! He's almost done, and I can't wait to meet this crazy, little wiggler!

The Devil's Bathtub

Adam and I decided a few weeks ago to take advantage of the nice weather before it withered away (which it did...a few days later). We headed up to Spearfish Canyon, about an hour from Rapid City, to do a hike that we had heard was really beautiful. Driving through Spearfish Canyon to see the fall leaves is gorgeous in itself, but I'm always up for a fun hike. The trail follows a creek that leads up to a pool of water known as the Devil's Bathtub.

We had to cross the creek numerous times to follow the trail. It was so fun to watch Heidi jump through the water and find her own paths to cross it.
I was impressed with myself for crossing the log. I was like "Look at me! I'm 27 weeks pregnant, and I can still balance! Woot woot!" We even came across a pregnant tree! Heidi obviously thought it was a danger to us all and refused to walk by it. She chose to bark at it from a distance instead.

Since the creek flowed downhill, the trail was full of gorgeous little waterfalls.

Adam took some time out to search for gold in them thar hills:

Here is a picture of the actual Devil's Bathtub. (I keep typing bathrub instead of bathtub...I think I'm in need of a bubble bath/massage...hmm).

Another family that was at the "tub" told us that kids used to slide down the little nature waterslide into the bathtub back in the day. The forest rangers had to place a large rock at the bottom of the slide to keep it from happening...which is too bad, because I was planning on going head first on my belly... :

It was a really fun hike that we would both recommend to anyone in the area. The creek crossings are probably too dangerous for young kids, but you're welcome to try it out! We ended the hike with a sopping wet and happy dog:

Goodbye beautiful fall weather! You were fun for the month that you lasted!

30 Weeks!

I've finally reached the 30 week mark, so I thought I'd post another bump pic-cha!
Also, Adam and I spent Columbus Day - I MEAN Native American Day (as it's known in South Dakota) - setting up the baby's crib! Hooray!!! There's still quite of bit of work to do on the nursery, but it's exciting to see things coming together!

West Virginia Baby Shower!

Adam, Heidi, and I had an awesome time on our trip from South Dakota to West Virginia for my baby shower! We stopped halfway in Illinois to stay with Adam's family over Labor Day. Here is a picture of Adam and his dad after playing tennis:

They both dribbled water down the fronts of their shirts at the same time when they went to drink. It was pretty funny! It was nice to get to visit with them on the way to WV and again on the way back.

After driving for 25 hours, we finally made it to WV (where I grew up and where my family lives)! The whole trip was so much fun. We stayed the first few nights at my mom's place and the last few nights at my dad's. I was able to spend a lot of time with my BFF Sara and family too. It was great to see my family for the first time in over a year and for the last time before the baby comes!

Sara, Adam, Heidi, and I spent a lot of time at a few of the beautiful WV parks. Here I am with my 2 pooches at Ritter Park in downtown Huntington:

Adam, Sara, my brother Adam, and I went frisbee golfing/hiking at another park later on:

We also had to take advantage of the local food places that I miss (i.e. Jolly Pirate Donuts mmm...) Sara couldn't believe that I had never been to Tudor's Biscuit World, so we stopped there for breakfast one morning. Can you believe they had a biscuit called the "Mary B.?" Of course, I had to order it... I must say, it was pretty delicious:

My baby shower was held on the day before I left. My wonderful mom organized the whole thing. My BFF Sara did a beautiful job with the jungle-themed decorations, and my sister Sarah came up with some fun baby shower games. Here is a picture of me, my mom, and sister Sarah:

A few of the beautiful decorations courtesy of Miss Sara Washington:

Adam even got in on the baby shower fun! haha.

Our good friends Matt and Brooke drove down from Maryland for my baby shower. Brooke is also having a boy and is due a week after me! Here we are sticking out our bumps:

Everyone was so generous with their gifts. Adam's mom put together a long clothesline full of clothes, blankets, and burp cloths. It was really cute:

It meant so much to me to have a lot of my closest friends at the shower. Three of them even drove in from out of state. The whole experience really made me feel loved, and it was just what I needed! Here is a picture of me with some of my best friends: Joelle, Sara, Jenna, and Brooke:

After the shower, Adam and Matt decided they could carry all of our presents out to the car in one trip. They were surprisingly successful, as the presents took up A LOT of space in our car!

We were gone for 1 week, but it was way too short for me! I was so sad to leave. I even cried in the car as we pulled away. I forget sometimes how much my family and friends mean to me, and I can't wait to bring the baby out to see them soon!

Mommy/Son Date Night!

Last week the Central States Fair was going on, and the bank that I work for had two premier seating passes for anyone to use! I snatched those babies up for 3 nights of fair fun. Adam and I went to the Supercross and Demolition Derby on 2 separate nights before he left on TDY for San Antonio. The final night I had tickets for was the Blake Shelton concert (I LOVE country). The premier ticket seating was pretty nice/close, and Blake put on a great concert.

I used one ticket and decided that my son would use the other one since Adam was out of town. We both enjoyed a delicious funnel cake with powdered sugar.

The fair was all good fun until I went home after the concert only to have food poisoning for 4 hours that night. I guess that funnel cake wasn't so good after all....eew.

Anyway, here is my "official" 24 week bump picture. Enjoy!