An ode to Derek . . . (and the dictionary)!

From a boy . . .

. . . to a man . . .

. . . to a husband . . .
. . . to a father . . .
I know that technically an "ode" is a poem that is meant to be sung. This is not a poem and nobody, I mean nobody wants to hear me sing! But once I have a title in my head it is really hard to replace it with another. So correct or not, it is what it is.

Now that we have that cleared up I want to talk about what a joy it is to married to such a wonderful man. I know that on a day like Father's Day, a majority of the world will claim that they have the BEST Father, Husband, Grandpa, etc. in the whole world. Now since I am in to defining words today, "best" indicates that something is of the highest quality, excellence, or standing. All of which, in my opinion, ring true for my mate.

He is one QUALITY guy! There are some 13 different definitions of the word quality, but the one I am referring to is: marked by a concentrated expenditure of involvement, concern, or commitment.

I knew from day one that Derek would be an excellent father, but to be completely honest, he has surpassed the excellence that I had imagined. His INVOLVEMENT in everyday happenings is beyond what I would expect. Did you know that he never missed a Dr. appointment? Or that he voluntarily read my belly a book every night for 5 months? How about the fact that he wakes up at 1am, or 2am, or 3am to feed his daughter, even though he has to be to work at 5:30am, simply because he enjoys it? I am in no way implying that if a man does not do these things, that he is not excellent, but these are ways Derek chooses to be involved and I am so grateful for all of them!

Is Derek a CONCERNED parent? Um, ya, I'd have to say so. Situation: We put our crying newborn baby into the car to go home for the first time. Before we're out of the parking lot she is quiet. We spend the rest of the ride home with Derek trying to navigate the car while he is turning around to make sure she is still breathing. "Babies like car rides" I tell him. He doesn't believe me. He's certain that something is wrong. I appreciate his concern, but thank goodness we are past that:) Situation: We go to sleep expecting to be waken by hungry cries around midnight. It's 12am, nothing. 12:30am, nothing. 1am, nothing. At 2am, I am woken to the sound of a baby being burped. "Did she cry?" I asked. "No, it was just bothering me that she hadn't eaten so I woke her up." Our baby finally decides to sleep through the night and she is disturbed by her concerned daddy. I love him even more for the fact that he cares.

I think the fact that Derek is INVOLVED, and CONCERNED, shows that he is COMMITTED. He always gives 100% to our marriage, to our child, but more importantly to God. His foundation in Christ inspires me everyday. In fact, I long to have a charactor such as his. He studies IT, and he lives IT. He is humble, he is kind, he is oh so very patient . . . he is the BEST!

Don't hesitate to tell the world why you think the man in your life is the BEST. More significantly, don't hesistate to tell him!

Here's to 3 wonderful years of marriage . . .

This is where we met 8 1/2 years ago. The Salem Academy funnel cake booth at Oktoberfest.

9/11/01 waiting in line at the gas station . . . his gas light was on unfortunately

4th of July 2002
Dordt College 2003

Washington D.C. 2004

Just Engaged August 20, 2005 (It won't let me upload the photo)

Honeymoon 2006

Astoria 2007

Las Vegas 2008

Our new family 2009Here's to many more . . .

Two Months . . .

So I am a little behind on posting her 2 month pictures . . .

Growing like a weed!

Productiveness . . .

Derek brought to my attention the other day that we are so much more productive now that we have a child. It's amazing that once you bring a child into the world, being lazy isn't all that fun anymore . . . at least not for us.

I have finally figured out that I don't really require as much sleep as I thought I did. At two months Baylie sleeps between 6-9 hours at night, which I hear I should be thankful for. Before her birth I took a nap almost everyday. Even before I was pregnant. I love naps, but I couldn't tell you the time I took one. And I am more then okay with that.

Before Baylie I did one load of laundry a week. ONE LOAD! It was fantastic. Now I do 5. Three loads of clothes and 2 loads of diapers. Oddly enough, I am more then okay with that.

Our weekends used to be filled with pure laziness. Reading books and Derek catching up on his magazines, watching whatever sport was on, doing crafts, and my one load of laundry. Now it is strange if we are home for a full day. We have taken a liking to Saturday church and the rest of our weekend is spent with friends, family, or cleaning/organizing something around the house. We still take time to be lazy . . . as I type this Derek is playing Playstation, and Baylie is smiling at me while she kicks me in the arm.

I guess the purpose of this post is to announce that I have arrived to mother/wifehood. I thought I'd dread the day when I was always on the go. Yet something inside just cannot stand to do nothing anything anymore. My days of wasting time are over. Of course, I will stop to smell the roses (just not the dead ones in my backyard:)

One Month and Counting . . .

People always told me that your children grow up fast . . . I did not believe them until now. Baylie is changing everyday, and every change brings me to tears. I just made it sound like I cry everyday, which is far from the truth, but I definately have had my moments of not wanting her to grow up. I thought babies stayed actual babies for a long time? Don't get me wrong, she's still as helpless as all get out, but she sleeps less, smiles more, and is getting so strong. She reaches for objects that hang in front of her and her arms definately resemble the Michelin man!

I look forward to: the day she smiles on purpose, poops less, and rolls over.

I will miss: certain outfits, facial expressions, and her baby cry.

I can't wait to: see if she's shy or outgoing, tall or short, tomboy or girlie, sweet or naughty . . .

But then again I can!

Nap when your baby's napping?

This is the piece of advice that I have heard my whole life, but lately I am beginning to wonder if it is suppose to be, "cry when your baby is crying." Now before my napping baby wakes up and tries to tell me that she's hungry, poopy, cold, or just going to cry for no reason, I thought I'd take a moment and share the first few weeks of Baylie's life with you.

Leaving the hospital was the most excited and scary time of my life. All of the way home Derek and I just kept saying, "This is really happening," "So we are parents," "why isn't she making noise?" "Drive slower." Okay so the drive slower cdomment was obviously me, but in my defense Derek kept turning around to make sure she was still breathing. So I am not the only protective parent:) We truly were flying by the seat of our pants but I will admit, we are doing a fine job!

We came home to a very clean house, curtiousy of my sister! My mom welcomed us with Chinese and kindly sat with me while Derek went to get my prescription filled. Our first night was sleepless but we were so excited I don't think we noticed for the first few nights.

Baylie was having trouble eating in the hospital and still hasn't taken to breast feeding so we had to resort to bottle feeding. This was a very hard decision to make, but after losing 10% of her birth weight, we really didn't have a choice. We are still working on breast feeding but she either just falls asleep or screams and cries until she can't even breath. I have never cried and prayed over something so much in my life. The up side is that I am pumping like a mad women and I am able to give her breast milk at every feeding. It is not the same and I will be sad if she never takes to the breast, but I am so thankful that I can at least give her the benefit of my milk.

Baylie had a hard time getting her days and nights figured out which caused some sleepless nights. Now we are getting between 6 and 8 hours of sleep total a night and we are very thankful for that. There are definately times when the only word to describe her is being a major "pill." There is nothing more frustrating then not being able to console your baby. I told Mindy today that I know my singing voice is terrible, but the fact that it is one of the only things that can quite my crying baby is such a beautiful thing!

All in all the first two weeks have been a tiring, extremely fun, and wonderful experience! Here are some things that Baylie has enjoyed doing so far:

~ At 5 days old she got to watch her daddy play 2 basketball games at the Hoop!

~ She celebrated her first Easter!

~ We took her to watch her first Salem Academy softball game

~ She loves tummy time on her jungle mat and can already scoot herself along

~ Auntie M and I took her on her first shopping trip to Keizer Station

~ She loves spending time with her daddy when he gets home from work

Baylie is awake now and currently sliding herself out of her papasan so I better go pick her up before she topples over!

Cramps, C-Section, and a Beautiful Baby Girl

There is no moment like the present to finally blog about the greatest event in my life. Right now, my beautiful baby girl is laying on her daddy's lap while he flips through his pile of Sports Illustrated magazines that have been piling up.

Thursday March 26 10:15 AM: I had my week 39 Dr.'s appointment and much to my dismay, I had made no progress. I wasn't expecting to dialte early, but I still had my fingers crossed. In the back of my mind I knew that I would probably end up being induced after my due date and that it would be a long few weeks to come.

Friday March 27 2:00 AM: I woke up with the worst cramps. I felt constipated:( The pains came and went randomly and I finally fell back to sleep within the hour and had little pain throughout the rest of the night. Around eight that morning my pains were close together but I thought I really just had to go potty. And I did . . . 12 times that day:) I had heard reaccuring "BM's" was a way your body prepares for labor, but i didn't think much of it. At noon, I went to Olive Garden for lunch with my MIL, SIL, and her mom from Iowa. Some pain throughout but not a big deal. A trip out to Willamette Valley Fruit Co. to see Derek is what did me in. The pain was worse and the "BM's" were gone. I called my mom and she informed me that I had been in labor all day:) Who knew? Definately not me. Call me ignorant but I thought contractions would feel different.

Saturday March 28 1:15AM: The pain is getting unbearable. Contractions are 3-5 minutes apart lasting 45 seconds to 1 minute. Derek calls the hospital, we grab our bags and are pretty sure they'll send us home. We inform our family to be on stand by, but assure them not to get too excited. The nurse asks me my pain level. I tell her a 5. (Not really knowing what to compare it to:) She checks me . . . I'm at 9 cm!! I quickly change my pain level to an 8:) I just didn't want to sound like a wuss at first. We call our family and they are there faster then the speed of light. Little do they know, it will be a long night ahead!

4:40AM: Still at 9 cm! And in ALOT of pain!! I tried to not have an epidural but it was unbearable. Especially when they told me it could be hours until I would push! So I took a shot in the back and spent the next three hours resting up for my eventful morning.

7:30AM: Time to push! The epidural was wearing off and I was very aware of when to push. My nurse was a tad annoying at this point and I think Derek was getting as tired as I was. To me time was flying by but Derek said it was the longest wait ever.

10:00 AM: Not making any progress, I am informed that I am going to need a C-section. I never invisioned this and thus I skipped over these sections in the books I read! Oddly enough, they kept telling me I was the most calm C-section patient they have ever had. Maybe it's because I never read about it before hand:) Derek put on his blue garb and I dawned a hair net. During the surgery Derek watched and just said he saw a lot of blood.

11:08 AM: It's a girl!! Our little Baylie Mykel was pulled from my stomach at 11:08 AM Saturday March 28, 2009! She weighed 8 lbs. 12 oz. and is tall like her daddy at 21 inches long! Our lives are changed for ever!

Little Miss just woke up and I must tend to her! More on the first week at home to come!!