Payson Dips his feet in the Gulf of Mexico

javascript:void(0)

Long overdue update

I can hardly believe it's been 3 months since our Payson was born. He is the most precious little guy and we thank God every day for what a miracle he is. Just over 3 months ago, at 38 weeks and 2 days pregnant, Brian and I had some very Spicy Thai food for dinner. Well, after that and eating the leftovers the next day, I guess little Payson decided he had enough and was ready to get out of my belly. I had a feeling on Sunday night that I would be going into labor. Brian needed to do his check ride the next night so I was nervous I would go into labor while he was out. Luckily, in the middle of the night I started feeling the real contractions and Brian's flight would have to wait. Payson had other plans for us. I tried to let Brian sleep as best as I could during early labor and I silently (or not so silently) endured the pain. I think I spent an hour in my bathtub with contractions about 7 minutes apart. We needed to get Kasey to the vet when they opened at 8:30 so I was hoping Payson would wait just a little longer. By the time we had breakfast ( which I would pay for later) and packed up, my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart. I remember filling out the paperwork for Payson while in excruciating pain. The ladies finally realized I would not be answering all their questions and took Kasey from me. Now that our first born, Kasey, was well cared for, it was time to head to the hospital. We finally agreed on the name and middle name on the way to the hospital. After the initial exam I was 2-3 cm dilated and my water broke. This cleared the way for us to get a private room. By 12:30 at 6cm, I had enough. I could barely breath and the pain was so intense. I could not get a break; the contractions were coming back to back. I asked for the epidural and in 10 minutes the anesthesiologist was putting it in and I felt the urge to push. Oh boy, in 10 minutes I was fully dilated. He wasn't able to give me much anesthesia so I would be able to push. That's ok, because at that point I was so excited to meet our little guy. After just thirty minutes of pushing, we heard the most beautiful sound of Payson crying. They laid him on my chest after Brian cut the cord, and we were in love. He was a healthy 8lb bundle of joy.

Now three months later, he is a 15 lb bundle of joy. He coos, giggles, and socially smiles. He still has a healthy set of lungs and lets us know when he wants something. One of his favorite things to do is the diaper change. I tickle his feet and he has an ear to ear grin. His smile melts our hearts and we find ourselves singing and dancing just to bring a smile on his face. More recently Payson has learned to mimic. When I stick out my tongue at him, he giggles and sticks his tongue right back out at me. Payson discovered his feet first by kicking at his toys on his activity mat. In the last couple of weeks, he has discovered his hands as well. He is able to pull on the rhino, hippo and monkey on his bouncer and make it play music. We are such proud parents. Prying his little fingers from my hair is also a task. My day revolves around this little guy and often I don't make it out of my pajamas. We can't wait till Daddy gets home and mommy can take a little break and if I'm lucky, a nice, hot bubble bath. We are so thankful that Payson is now a wonderful sleeper. He sleeps anywhere from 7-8 hrs in a row at night. I wish I could do the same, but I find myself a much lighter sleeper than before; waking up at every little sound he makes.

Payson took his first trip to Santa Fe over Thanksgiving break. He was a great little traveler. He didn't let us sleep that much, but most of the time he was a little trooper. He has already met my mom, Brian's mom and dad, Aunt Kara, and Uncle Sean. In January we look forward to introducing him to my dad, Krista, John, Laura, great grandparents, and the rest of the family. Payson will have his first plane ride from Albuquerque to Oakland. Hopefully everything goes smoothly and we will have a great trip. It will be hard to be away from Kasey since this will be the first time he won't be able to come home with us. We know Gracie will do just fine by herself. She is pretty independent.

Christmas this year was very special. It happens to be Brian's birthday as well, so we had a lot to celebrate. Payson did not enjoy the morning like we hoped he would, but I have a feeling that may because of all the strange food I had eaten at Christmas parties the day before. We were able to Skype Brian's family and they got to see us open presents and we saw them as well. Guess we'll have to teach my family how to use the webcam for next year. As much as we missed being at home with family, it was very nice to just relax and have our first family Christmas together. We figure traveling with an infant might be a bit easier after all the hustle and bustle of the holidays.

We have made quite a few big purchases recently including a high definition video camera and a semi-automatic 9mm gun. Yes, I got a gun and already had my first lesson. Turns out I have quite an excellent shot. I was able to shoot out the bulls eye and close to it. Hopefully the only time I will use it will be for practice at the range. It does give me peace of mind knowing I will be able to protect my family when Brian has night flights or leaves for tdy's if I needed to.

The year 2009 treated us so well and we wish everyone a happy, healthy and blessed new year. Time is going by way too fast with our little guy and we try to cherish every moment. I know we will miss them, but we look forward to creating many beautiful memories.

2 week well baby checkup

At 2 weeks 3 days old, Payson: weighs 9 lbs 2 ounces; height is 21 and a 1/4 inches, head circumference is in the 50%. He is doing really well and giving us 4 hrs of sleep in a row at night. Payson has the sniffles thanks to me, but his temperature is fine and otherwise doing fantastic. During tummy time last night he flipped over on his back. This little boy is so strong when he gets worked up. We are having so much fun with him, although we are sooo tired. Payson is totally worth it though.

Introducing Payson Matthew

On September 28th at 1:23 pm, one week ago today, Payson Matthew decided to make his grand appearance into this world and into our hearts. He weighs 8lbs and is 21 inches long. We are in love with this little guy. More info to follow when I'm not so exhausted.

Nursery Work in Progress

We have been working on Baby Woolley's room. We still have a ways to go and some more stuff to buy, but here's a preview of his nursery. I love the airplane bedding from my dear friend Shelly and the beautiful Cherry Crib from Brian's parents. Brian set up the swing, bouncer, diaper genie, airplane mobile, and baby Monitor. It has been a productive nesting weekend. I hope you enjoy.

34 weeks!

Trip to Cali

At the last minute, we were granted leave to go home to California. We packed up my Hyundai and took our little ones all the way to California. We stopped in Flagstaff for the night and the next morning Brian's parents took the train to Flagstaff and helped us drive the rest of the way home. It took about 16 hours altogether. All the traveling left me with the worst swelling of my life. My feet were so swollen and you couldn't find my ankles. Even with the swelling, we had a great time. We spent a few days out of the heat up at Brian's family cabin at Shaver Lake. We found out that Kasey is a water dog. He loves loves loves to fetch in the lake or pool. He really is a little swimmer. We also were surprised with a baby shower thrown by Krista, my mom, Janice, and Laura. It was so nice to see our family. We got so many nice gifts for our baby too. I think my parents must have purchased 3/4 of the baby's wardrobe. Brian's parents were also generous and purchased us a crib and mattress for the baby. This baby is going to be spoiled by both sets of grandparents. Brian also had a nice surprise. While we had the shower, Brian's dad took him and Sean to see a Giant's game up in San Francisco.

Now that we are back in New Mexico, we really need to get ready for this baby. We are 32 and a half weeks pregnant and time is flying. We had our 31 week appointment last week and they said baby is doing well and measuring at 33 weeks. I think he's still going to be a big boy. We also made our first big purchase for the baby. It is a Chicco travel system for the baby. We are very impressed with the stroller and car seat. Brian put it together yesterday, and he did a wonderful job putting it together. Brian, the lucky bum just got back from Florida on TDY to pick up one of their new planes. Poor guy had to spend a couple days at the beach and had a nice suntan to show for it. I have been back to work last week getting ready for school to start. I am just going to be substituting for awhile, so I don't know how many hours I'll get. I am feeling pretty well, but not sleeping well. It is so hard to get comfortable with this belly. I feel like I can't breathe when I'm on my back and I do not sleep on my side well. It just hurts my shoulder. Sleeping on my stomach is definitely out of the question. Anyway, I still feel blessed that the baby is healthy and doing well. I'll try to update more often :)

Pictures to follow.

Digital Photography

I took a digital photography class this summer at the community college. It was fun to learn how to use all the features of our new camera. Here are a few pictures that I mounted in my final portfolio. Hope you like them. If you can't tell, I like taking pictures of lines and textures.


oops...I just realized a couple of these are not my final edited versions. I'll try to update it with the ones I edited with photoshop.

26 weeks 3 days pictures

Landscaping Pictures

We had some landscaping work done on our yard this week. We didn't do much to the backyard yet, but we got some trees up and cherry laurel shrubs for privacy. The trees in the back are bradford pears. Also notice the new patio we purchased. I think the front yard turned out great. They did flower beds, two oak trees, and a crape myrtle. Brian and I also went to Lowes yesterday and did some of our own work. We purchased a couple more crape myrtles and he planted them while I kept him company:)

A Chunky Baby

On Thursday, Brian and Laura went in with me to the medical clinic to check on the baby. I had a very small amount of blood and was nervous. It turns out, I have another UTI and the blood was from my kidneys not because of the baby. I didn't even have any symptoms, but the midwive said I caught it pretty early so that is good. They did an ultrasound on the baby and at 25 weeks he is measuring 28 weeks and 3 days. The technician said he was a "chunky" baby. Oh boy! He is already over 2 LBS. We have less than 15 weeks to go now and my only real complaint is the swelling in my hands and feet. Oh well, the baby is healthy and that's all that matters.

24 weeks and Company

We are now 24 weeks pregnant. My appointment went really well last week. They said that the baby was fine and that I am doing well. We are also excited that Brian's mom, Janice, has come to visit this week. We have been having a great time. She has been helping us pick out landscaping for our backyard and all sorts of fun stuff for the house. Yesterday we got some patio furniture and had bbq hot dogs for dinner with margaritas. Mine was virgin, of course, but it still tasted great. We went out to some delicious mexican food for lunch yesterday too. Tonight, Janice is making us home made ice cream. I can't wait and I know the baby will love it.

oh yea, doesn't Kasey look cute in his new lifeguard outfit thanks to Janice:)

Congratulations Captain Brian

This is a little late, but Brian was promoted to Captain June 1st! I am so proud of you, Bri. I love you with all my heart.


Here is a picture of Brian from the Air Force Academy as a senior cadet. He sure has come a long way.

A swift kick and a new computer

Brian felt the first baby kicks last Wednesday when he was laying his head on my tummy. The little guy was kicking away and it felt really nice to share the experience with Brian. Just last night before bedtime, Brian felt the first kicks with his hand. They are getting stronger and stronger every day. I started feeling the baby's movements at 18 and a half weeks and I have been waiting for Brian to get to feel our son.

Recently our Dell laptop has been giving us so much trouble that we finally splurged on a brand new computer. We got the 24 inch IMAC and it came with an IPOD Touch and a new all in one printer. We love the IMAC. It only takes a few seconds to turn on and off and the computer and the screen is really beautiful. We're still trying to learn everything about the apple vs. the windows operating system. So far, windows doesn't even compete.

I guess I'm a pretty lucky girl! Now, let's see if I can convince Brian we need a hot tub for our new patio and maybe a video camera for the baby:)

Summer Fun

Here are some pictures of our new patio and Kasey, Laura, and I playing in the little kiddie pool we set up in our backyard to cool off. Brian is the photographer, so unfortunately he isn't in any of them. I'll try to get him in some pictures soon. I am 22 and a half weeks pregnant and my stomach is getting bigger every day. I am also retaining water because my hands and feet are very swollen. We have been enjoying my dad's visit and Laura's summer visit here.

Half Way Done!!!

On Thursday, I made it to the 20 week mark. We are half way done with this pregnancy:) Here are some pics of my growing belly.

It's a boy!!!

We just had our 20 week ultrasound and found out we're having a baby boy. We are thrilled. Our little guy is thriving. His brain, heart, kidneys, and measurements are all perfect. Everything is working and he was measuring 20 weeks 1 day so that is perfect. I am 19 weeks 5 days today, so just a little ahead. They did the 3-d ultrasound which is really cool. Baby Woolley would not turn his head to face us, so we could only get his side face profile. I think he's adorable. Here are some pics from the ultrasound. Guess we need to start thinking of boy names now.

Paradise in Florida

Brian had a TDY this week to Hurlburt and I decided to tag along. How could I pass up a practically free trip to the beautiful white sand beaches of FL? I used all my personal leave from work and found myself a plane ticket returning just a day before Brian. The weather was gorgeous at 78 degrees with a light breeze. The hotel that the govt put Brian in was fabulous. The holiday inn upgraded us to full ocean view 2 pools, a hot tub, and lounge chair beach service every day. Brian spent his days in a simulator while I walked the beach, read a few books by the pool, worked on my tan, and gained a few pounds from the delicious food. Brian usually got back to the room by 4:30 so we spent a couple of hours together walking the beach or laying by the pool before our dinner dates. It was hard to watch Brian enjoy all the oysters by himself, but I was happy atleast one of us got to enjoy them. On Friday, I had to return to work to Fun Friday and it was pretty much like a carnival for the little ones. They had horsey rides, tractor rides, a bouncy house, a petting zoo, and much much more. Needless to say, after a week at the beach, all the traveling, and a long day working outside, I am exhausted. Here are some pictures from our trip.