And Winter Begins

So this week we had our first real snow of the winter. It's here to stay ladies and gentlemen! I think that the only way to get through another frigid winter is to remind myself that it will be our last. But for now, we will just have to enjoy it! I do love the way snow and ice look... on trees :)

This weekend Ryan and I had a much needed date night- mingled with exercise. Ryan hasn't been rock climbing since August and I haven't been since even before that! So we decided to go to the rock climbing gym here in Rexburg for some fun and exercise (leaving Hailey at her Aunt Ashley's). It felt good to be climbing again, even if I was painfully out of shape! I missed it, and I know Ryan has too. We shall return to the gym often.

So today in sacrament meeting, our bishop's wife talked about provident living and food storage. I wish I was better at these things. She told a story about this friend of hers who only cooks 4 times a year- She buys about $400 worth of food every 3 months and spends a few days cooking up a frenzy and freezing loads of meals! Sounds great, but I am definitely not THAT ambitious! But maybe I should do SOME freezing of meals for emergencies and hectic nights. Thoughts? Recipes? As for food storage, I find it hard to start when I know I'm going to be leaving in 6 months and will have to drag all that food with us wherever we go. But who knows, maybe we will be needing a food storage supply within the next 6 months! Its totally possible here in Rexburg!

TIme Flies When Youre Having Fun

Life has finally settled into more of a routine. Hailey usually goes to bed around midnight (give or take an hour), wakes up at 5am or 6am to eat and then goes back to sleep until 9am or 10am. If only we could slide those hours back 2 or 3 hours- then we'd have perfection! But we like that she wakes up at 5 or 6 to eat because it forces Ryan to get out of bed and do his homework- since the mornings are really his only times to get homework done.

Ryan is driving himself into the ground with all that he has to do! He wakes up at 5 or 6 to do homework, goes to school at 8:30 and comes home at 12:20. Goes to work at 1pm. Comes home for dinner from 6-7pm and then goes back to work until 10pm. Then we relax and start trying to get Hailey to bed. But thank goodness there is an end in sight! Ryan is going to be quitting his job in December after schools is over. We decided that for our last semester we should focus on school and Hailey (especially since Ryan will be taking 19 credits). We can't wait!

Hailey is almost 2 months old! Can you believe that? She is growing so fast! I feel like every day she gets bigger and bigger. Ryan keeps saying how he can't wait for her to get a little older so she can play and be more fun... but I don't want her to grow!!! Once she becomes a toddler then she'll be a going to preschool, then kindergarten, then she'll be a teenager and graduating high school! Then, before you know it, she's all grown up and out of the house! No. No no no. She will just have to stay small forever!

Sleepless Nights

And I thought it was hard to sleep while I was pregnant! What I would give for just 5 hours of consecutive sleep! We are adjusting quite nicely during the day though! I have a planned out feeding and napping schedule for her. The feeding schedule goes quite nicely... the napping one- not so much. But we are being flexible and trying to "roll with the punches". It is definitely very difficult, but it is totally worth it when she cracks that toothless little grin of hers! I absolutely adore being a mommy! My baby girl is absolutely perfect in every way! I can't believe how miraculous it is that such a complex and intricate human body was created inside me in only 9 months time! I don't understand how some people could say there is no God- all you need to do is to look at an innocent new baby to testify that God lives and exists. It's simply amazing! I am truly blessed to have her.



This weekend, my dad flew out for Hailey's baby blessing. It was great to have him here. And it was great to have so many friends and family stand in for Hailey's blessing. Ryan's whole family was here and some of his close friends drove up from Utah. We also had a few other close friends and family members (cousins). Ryan did a great job. I couldn't have been happier to be surrounded by so many loved ones to celebrate Hailey and her life on this earth.

And Then There Were Three

As most of you know, we officially brought our sweet baby Hailey into this world on Wed, Sept 21, 2011. She weighed a whole 6 pounds and 11 ounces and 18.5 inches long. I was in labor for 8 hours and only pushed for 20 minutes. It all went pretty smoothly. I was put on pitocin at 7am on Wed and by 2pm I was only dilated to 4cm. It was at this point that I caved and requested an epidural. After I received the epidural I went from 4cm to 9cm in 30minutes. The nurse was so surprised and the doctor wasn't even in the building yet. They had to call him in and boy was he rushing. The nurse told me to try not to push- which wasn't hard to do because I was so tired and couldn't really feel a whole lot in the lower regions. So the doctor rushed over and we pushed the baby out in 20 min! I did receive a small episiotomy to help bring her out. But it was all worth it in the end! She was born perfectly healthy and absolutely beautiful! I couldn't have asked for anything more.



Hailey May Ferons is now a week old and even more beautiful than the first day. She loves to snuggle and be bundled up nice and warm. She absolutely HATES being unwrapped, undressed, or getting her diaper changed. It's a traumatic experience every time. But she is eating really well and sleeping... well, we're working on that one. But we love and adore her!
It's been really great having my mom around to help too! She's been so great helping out with chores around the house and making food and being the best grandma ever! I will be sad when she leaves on Saturday... Then will come the real challange- keeping a house organized AND taking care of a newborn. We shall see how that goes.

Inducing

So at 40 weeks and 5 days I still have not dilated more than 1cm so I will be inducing tomorrow (Tue, 20th) at 8pm at the Madison Memorial Hospital. I'm a little disappointed that I have to be induced, but I am excited to have some finality to this pregnancy! I'm excited to get this little girl out and see and hold her for the first time! It's so exciting! Yet... so surreal. I feel like it's not really happening to me. It's weird. I'm excited too that my mom will be flying in tomorrow and will be able to spend 2 weeks with us! I can't wait to see her!
Today Ryan took me out to lunch to Applebeas for a "final" date where we don't have to worry about children or babysitters. It was nice! :) He is so sweet! He is also very excited for baby Hailey! So here we are at the threshold of a new chapter in our lives together and I am so nervous and excited all at once. This is a huge responsibility! God has sent us his sweet and precious baby girl to raise and call our own. I can't help but be so eternally grateful that I get to experience this with the wonderful man I get to call my husband. This is only the beginning of our family and our life together. Bring it on! :)

Tortellini Marinara

So since I only used half a bag of tortellini for Ryan and I in the last recipe... I decided to try a new one last night with the last half of the bag! It was equally delicious and once again- super easy! Here's the recipe!

1pkg cheese tortellini
1 lb itallian sausage
1 pkg marinara sauce (we just used spaghetti sauce!)
1 can diced italian tomatoes, undrained (we skipped this step since the spaghetti sauce was already chunky)
1/2 lb sliced fresh mushrooms (we also skipped this one due to the lack of mushrooms in our fridge :( )
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

FIRST, cook tortellini according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.
SECOND, stir in marinara sauce, tomatoes and mushrooms. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until mushrooms are tender.
THIRD, drain tortellini and stir into the skillet. Sprinkle with cheese and let stand until cheese has melted. Serve!

Bon Appetite!

Chicken and Cheese Tortellini

Due to popular demand, here is my recipe for Chicken and Cheese Tortellini that I made the other night! It's SUPER easy and only takes about 15-20min! Enjoy!

1 pkg (9oz) refrigerated cheese tortellini
1 cup frozen peas
1 tub (8oz) garden veggie OR onion and chive cream cheese (we went with onion and chive cream cheese)
1/2 cup milk
1 pkg (9oz) chopped cooked chicken breast

FIRST, in a large pot, cook tortellini according to package directions 7-9min. Cook frozen peas in colander. (I just threw them in with the tortellini and they turned out fine!)
SECOND, in a small saucepan combine cream cheese and milk; heat and stir until cheese is melted. Heat/cook chicken as desired.
THIRD, Stir cheese sauce into cooked pasta and pea mix. Gently stir until all is thoroughly heated. Spoon into individual bowls/plates and top with cooked chicken cubes!

Bon Appetite!