Photo Booth Fun

Week in Review

She is still in the "bug eye" phase.

Ryan thought this picture was funny.

I guess she still wanted her binky.

I am pretending to take a nap.

I made Fudge Jumbles.  

I have issues with digital point and shoot cameras and their flashes and this picture shows it.

This was Ryan's first week of REAL classes.  Things sound like they are going well.  He seems to be enjoying it and I am enjoying quizzing him for his anatomy class.  It is amazing how much I remembered from my class 4+ years ago...and amazing how much I have forgotten...haha.  Ryan is also taking biochemistry/genetics, optics/physics, and labs and clinicals (I probably left something out).  For the most part, things are going well with school.  Maybe soon I can corner him to write about school on the blog.  

I ventured to the coin laundry this week.  It is nice that we share a wall with the laundry room so I can hear when my laundry is done from my bedroom.  But, it is not so nice when others decide to do laundry at 11:30pm (that happened this week too).  

I also had an adventure to the post office.  Google Maps have been very reliable for helping us get around, but the roads here are crazy.  The 2 miles to get to the post office took me about 10 miles due to detours around construction, confusing intersections, and a wrong turn on my part that made me go in a huge loop back to where I started.  BUT I eventually got there and it was worth it because it is across the street from a super old, enormous, haunted mansion.  Ok, I don't know about the haunted part, but it was pretty dang cool.  I didn't have my camera, but next time I'll take a picture.  

Krister and Sheri came to visit on Thursday.  It is so great to have some familar faces around here.  Sheri was even kind enough to take me to Costco that afternoon.  Man, that was an event in itself.  Between the table/desk that I bought, all of the tp, paper towels, and everything else, we barely fit in the car.  In fact, I had to sit in the backseat with Cora and Sheri could only see me from the eyes up because stuff was in the way.  We should have taken a picture.

Ryan took me to Rita's for water-ice for our Friday night date.  Mango ice with Vanilla custard is the best combo for sure.  I now understand what 'water-ice' is...the stuff between water and ice.  It is good stuff.  Once again, I didn't have my camera, BUT we will be back for sure!

My most recent adventure was to the grocery store with Cora.  I have asked around and looked at the ads for the best and cheapest place for groceries.  So I tried a new store today.  Man, I stood out like a sore thumb.  I got lots of looks and comments starting even in the parking lot.  It must be unusual to see a young white girl with a baby.  I got some good deals and the attention that I got was entertaining, so I will probably go back...just not on a Saturday.  

Last but not least, I have opened and put away all of our boxes (except the ONE labeled 'winter coats').  Although, I have a little re-arranging and re-organizing, it is starting to look like we live here.  

PS Stay tuned to hear about the super loud bugs and giant squirrels.  

Week 4 for baby Cora

Week 4 for baby Cora consisted of lots of firsts.  Here are some:

-First slumber party at Auntie Liesl's

-First outing to dinner with Mel & Ernie & baby Sorensen

-First time barfing in public (so much that it was leaking out of the car seat)

-First flight across the country

-First official "move" (although she has spent more time at other people's homes than our own)

-First trip to the local Sprinkles Ice Cream Parlour

-First night sleeping in a real crib

That's a lot in one week for such a little girl.  Anyway, my birthday was great.  Thanks to everyone who made is special.  Too bad I couldn't take an ice cream cake with me on the airplane or I would have.  The flight went really well and the layover was perfect timing for Cora and me.  We met plenty of nice people to help us along the way including a monk-looking lady in religious dress in the restroom who didn't speak but coo-ed and awe-ed at Cora during her diaper change and a giant black man who helped me with getting my suitcase at baggage claim.  I also got a few well-meaning comments from people about how odd it was that I was so young to be starting a family.  Anyway, Ryan was able to find the airport to pick us up and we made it safely to our new place.  Most of our boxes are unpacked and I am working on finding places for everything.  I unpacked Cora's room first, of course (I have been waiting to do that for months now....too bad the room is painted blue.)  The kitchen is a little bit of a challenge, but it is coming together.  There are hardly any overhead lights in the place so we will have to get some floor and side table lamps so we can see.  Overall, it is pretty charming and is plenty of room for our family.  It is all coming together and is feeling more like our home.   I wish I could capture the smell in the hallway of the building to share with you all....at least it is just in the hallway.hahah.  It is good to be back with Ryan, but it still feels weird to be here.  It is fun and interesting to see the new places and see the huge diversity of people out here.  I'm sure I will learn a lot from living here.  

I am still obsessed with taking pictures of Cora sleeping.

Here's another sleeping one.

This was taken at Liesl's slumber party.  

This is pretty much what Cora does while I am unpacking and cleaning.  Look how much bigger her belly is getting.  

This is Cora's room as you walk in.  Check out the lovely light fixture.

I barely got the mobile in this shot.  Thanks to everyone at my shower who helped make it!  I just need to get it hung in the right spot.  

This was Cora's first time in her crib.

Meanwhile, this is what the rest of the house looks like.  

If you ever come to visit, we will take you here.  It is AWESOME.  The ice cream is made locally here in PA in a Dutch community.  

We ate our ice cream on the sidewalk.  This is the street that we live on, just about a mile north.  

Oooh, cute baby.....

Oooh, scary baby.

She always falls asleep with one arm stretched out if she can.  

So, we have a back/patio door facing the courtyard.  The courtyard has a few trees and bushes, but TONS of little creatures like squirrels, chipmunks, different birds, and even a bunny.  I asked Ryan to take a picture of the gathering outside of our door (it seriously looked like a scene from Bambi) and this is what he got.....a long video with amazing coverage.  haha.  I just had to tease Ryan about his cameraman skills. 

 

Life of Cora: Week 3

Asleep. I love the sleeping pictures.

Somehow Liesl and I managed to fit Cora's car seat in between the twins booster seats.

It was a tight fit, but the twins were entertained the entire drive.

She likes putting her arms above her head.

I just love her.

Big yawn.

Mommy with baby.

Here's the moving crew. I wasn't much help.

Moving day.

Her little pucker is irresistible.

So far, Cora has lived longer at other people's homes than our own. She doesn't seem to mind, but I am ready to have a more permanent place to call our home. Ryan arrived in Philly last Friday. He spent the weekend putting back together our furniture, unpacking boxes, and familiarizing himself with the area. He sounds really excited and seems to really like it there and really like the chinese resturant down the street. I am getting anxious to join him again. I think I am ready and have most of the errands and things all finished up here in Utah. That's is a weird feeling.

Ryan had his first day of orientation at the school which included the White Coat Ceremony (no pictures because I wasn't there to take them). He has made some friends already and showed everyone pictures of baby Cora. He said that Cora is the mascot of his class already.....she even has a "Property of PCO" T-shirt waiting for her at our new home. haha.

Tomorrow is the big day for a number of reasons. It is the day Cora and I travel to Philly. It will be Cora's first time on an airplane (wish me luck). And it is my birthday. That is a weird combo of events.

Cora's 2nd Week

She's growing. She now weighs 8 lbs 6 oz and is 21 inches long. That means she is not only back to her birth weight but has passed it! AND she grew an inch and a half. Seems like all the sleeping and feeding is paying off.

Cora is really a very good baby. She hardly cries and is an awesome eater. She frequently goes 4+ hours at night sleeping. In fact, I am certain that I am sleeping better now that she is here and I am not pregnant. She is the best baby ever (and I certainly deserve it after all that I have been through).

Speaking of all that I have been through....I'll do a little update. First, I planned on getting an epidural for pain management during labor and delivery, but my blood work showed that my platelet levels were way too low. I would be at risk for lots of complications including paralysis if I were to get the epidural. SO, I went all natural. It was hard, but was such a great experience with all of my "cheerleaders" surrounding me (Ryan, two of the greatest nurses on the planet, and my very supportive doctor). After delivery, my recovery was very quick. I was feeling pretty much back to normal 3 or 4 days after the birth. UNTIL, that Friday night I had serious chills, a rapidly increasing fever, and severe low back pain that radiated through my lower abdomen. After waiting a little while and calling the on call doctor, we made the very smart decision to go to the ER. My fever was at 102 and the pain was increasing rapidly. I had a post-delivery infection, but after an hour and half ultrasound, lots of labs, and lots of poking and questioning, the origin of the infection is still unknown. They gave me lots of meds to control the pain and lower the fever (which got above 104---if you've ever had a fever that high, you know that you start going crazy and think you are going to die. It was miserable.) I think I was there for about 6 hours before they let me go home. I was on anitbiotics and pain meds for a few days afterwards. BUT before completing the series of antibiotics, I developed reaction to it. I have had an allergic reaction to a medication before and this reaction was pretty much the same. I felt horrible and had red bumps that itched and burned everywhere. Once I stopped taking that antibiotic, it took a few days to clear up and be comfortable again.

It has been a little crazy and really stressful. I have been really tring hard to recover and not push myself too hard. That itself has been difficult because Ryan and I had to finish up all of our packing and loading for the big move. It got a little hard for me to deal with, so we ended up staying at my mom and dad's at night to get away from the mess to relax. Ryan (and Jana and Matt--we shared a moving van because we were both moving cross country at the same time) is currently in route to PA. He left Tuesday and I think he is in Chicago currently. They are estimating their arrival to be Friday late afternoon/early evening. Even though it has been very stressful, things seemed to have worked out pretty well and Cora and I get to join Ryan in Philly in less than a week!

Oh, one last thing.....on Cora's two week birthday, we decided to have her baby blessing at church. A lot of Ryan's family was in town due to a family reunion the next week, and lots of my family was in town for the pending move. We love our ward and wanted to share the event with them as well. She was a little young for the occasion (and didn't fit the blessing dress that I wore when I was blessed) but it ended up working out pretty well.

Most of my pictures on her blessing day look like this...cute, but crying.

Ryan P took some good pictures. I haven't seen them yet, but I have heard they are awesome.

Our new little family. Hopefully someone got a shot where we are all looking in the same direction.

All of the Anderson's that were at Cora's blessing.

All of the men that participated in the blessing (except Bishop Roundy and Bishop Johnson).

I sure look tired. I was really concerned about making it to church by 9 am....and I was still dealing with the allergic reaction.

All of the Hayes' that were at the blessing.

Cora still hates taking baths. She even hates it when I take her clothes off.

Crazy arms.

You can barely see it, but this was some of the reaction that I had from the medication. I took this picture before it got really bad.

Wide awake and wiggly.

I think she looks the best in blue.

Don't you just want to kiss those cheeks?

This is the baby's room. It was never really hers. Sad.

She looks so peaceful here. BUT that "I love daddy" onesie is cursed. She hardly ever spits up, but every time she wears it, she throws up or poops through.

It is only a matter of time before I have a mess to clean up when she is wearing that outfit.

Auntie Liesl with baby Cora. She said she forgot how to hold a new baby. Funny.

Ryan P and Lola (and Ava's arm in the corner) holding baby cousin Cora. The twins are really sweet to the new "baby dolly".