A Beautiful Day

Our lives changed forever at 2:06 pm last Friday--and for the absolute best! 

It all started with my weekly appointment on the previous Wednesday.  The docs office was very busy and finally after waiting 1.5 hours in the waiting room, I finally got taken back to an exam room.  One of my doc's nurses came in to do my check, since I know they were trying to make up some time to fit everyone in before the end of the day.  I was 2 cm dialated and 60% effaced.  Being that IBP's due date was the following Monday and a mere 5 days away along with my progress, she began talking about the option of induction.  I have been against inducing all along because of some of the horror stories I had heard about extremely long labors, often ending in C-sections, etc, etc.  JP wasn't with me at the appointment, so I really wasn't making any decisions then and there, but as soon as I left the office, my mind began wandering.  Should I do this?  When? I wonder if things will be as easy as the nurse lets on? Then I began thinking that we were about to be upon the weekend and I knew that my doc was not on call, so if IBP came over the weekend (which had a high probability per my doc), a different doc from the practice would be delivering her.  I picked my doc for a reason and really wanted him to do the delivery, so I was gravitating on the side of inducing.  After several rounds of phone tag with the office and several questions, we decided to book it because a Friday morning check-in was available.

So, we were set and as soon as we made our final decision on Thursday afternoon, everything began to feel so surreal.  Alarm sounds at 3:45 am on Friday (after JP and I both tossed and turned all night) and our beautiful day began.

final preggo pic and about to leave the house

We checked in to the hospital at 4:45 am and by 5:30 am, my IV was in and Pitocin started.  Around 8:30 am, the doc came in to break my water and things really got going then.  Progress continued and I finally got the epidural at about 6 cm and what a difference it made!  Love the epidural!!! 

staying connected during labor

quick house divided pic with Dr. Seeker and my nurse Kessa

At 1:30 the nurses began breaking down the table and calling the doc in because IBP was near.  After less than a half hour of pushing, our little beauty was here!  The experience was absolutely amazing and the end result words cannot explain.  We have been living on cloud 9 ever since!  We are absolutely in love with our Baby Reese!

loading up to go home

she has stolen our hearts!

::::PINK:::::

Team Parker is now 3! We welcomed our beautiful daughter at 2:06 pm on January 22, 2010.

Reese Nicole Parker came into this beautiful world and we are tickled PINK and thank God for this precious gift!

Weight: 7 lbs 10 ounces
Length: 20 inches

She has big beautiful blue eyes and dark hair like her daddy. 

Mom, Dad and Baby Reese are all doing great, just trying to get some rest when we can.

Here are a few pics to enjoy!

39 Weeks

So here we are at 39 weeks (and 1 day) and expecting the arrival of IBP any day now!  I'm so ready to meet this little one, to know what his/her name is going to be and just know our newest addition.  The world talks about pregnancy being 9 months, but in reality, the pregnancy life cycle is 40 weeks, which is really 10 months.  So being just a week shy of the 10 month mark, I think back a bit at the past 39 weeks and I have to say for the most part it has been a piece of cake.  Of course, I've had my uncomfortable moments these last several weeks, which make me more ready than ever for this little one to be here, but all in all I have had a truly wonderful pregnancy and I wouldn't change a thing.  So, I wanted to take a moment and reflect on  my favorite thing about being pregnant (besides indulging my sweet tooth more than ever before!).  Hands down, being able to feel this little life move around inside of me has been the most fun!  It is truly a miracle and I sit in awe and enjoy being kicked every single day!  Take a visit over to the Graco blog for more of my sentiment on this topic.

So, hopefully our next post will be to announce the birth (and sex, and name, and weight, etc.) of IBP!  We can't wait!

Just Waiting...

...and trying to pass the time.  It is very unusual for us to have an empty calendar, but condsidering IBP could make his/her arrival any day, our calendar is clear.  We did, however, enjoy a nail-biter of a basketball game this weekend versus A&M, and enjoyed it suite-style, thanks to Matt!

Thanks again, Matt!

JP and I also bought a new camera so that we start it out right documenting IBP's little life.  We decided on an SLR over a point a shoot and considering my lack of photography knowledge, I've been taking it everywhere with me to "practice".  So, here are a few shots from the weekend...

Ready to pop!

The boyz...

One of my faves...the beautiful blue-eyed Elle and her beautiful mamma!

A Little Bit-O-Fun in the Wedding Photobooth

The Old-Timer, the Newbie, and the Soon-to-be in LA for 48 hours

Sorry for the late post, but it took a few days to get over how nice the weather was out on the West Coast...
Well, although the trip was short and the outcome was not sweet, we managed to have a great 24 hours. I flew in to LAX around 10AM on gameday and caught a cab to Santa Monica...Pablo, Kris (the Old-Timer), and Mark (the Newbie) were waiting for me (the Soon-to-be) to start the trek to Pasadena. Joining in the two-car caravan was the Schoenvogel clan, who were all in attendance (6 deep these days!!!), and Walt even had his tickets... (though we had to drive back around the block to the hotel to get them!!!) Walt did snag us a great tailgating spot about a block away from the Rose Bowl.

Tailgating was great...

Meeting up with old friends...

We even bet on which Brenhamite would be the first seen...and the winner was (no shocker!) Billy Holle, fresh off a BlackJack table on the Vegas Strip!!!
The Rose Bowl...It was amazing that we were out there 4 years early.

There were of course crazy fanatics running around...

As I mentioned before, the game didn't turn out how we envisioned it, but we did get a small glimpse of the future of Texas football ... GILBERT...GILBERT...GILBERT!

Well, after a long day of drinking, tailgating, drinking, yelling, and yet more drinking we crashed hard, only to get up and head home the following day.

Goodbye Santa Monica! We'll see you again four years from now...
 

Pink or Blue?

It seems something has gone astray with my original "boy or girl" poll.  It was up to just under 70 votes, and now it's back down to 40-something, so I've decided to create a new one.  We are still holding out on what IBP is...my mind literally changes daily on what color I think he or she will wear.  I do love hearing what everyone else thinks though, so please cast your vote and we are looking forward to seeing who is right very soon!

One More Hurdle to Jump

Itsy Bitsy Parker is due exactly 19 days from today...my how time flies!  I reached the 37 week mark yesterday, which makes me full-term, and essentially IBP could be here anytime.

From the beginning, there have been a couple of January events to get through before IBP arrives.  I was a bridesmaid this past weekend in my good friend Laci's wedding.  It was a fun-filled New Year's weekend full of festivities that I successfully made it through.  And what a neat wedding!  You see, the groom is a Navy Seal and along with that came a plethora of Navy guys into Austin, complete with a post-ceremony sword arch.  It was also great to see so many of my Theta girls and I'm sure they enjoyed seeing me in all my pregnant glory, too.  Hopefully my body will be back to normal for our next hoorah!  Fun times, for sure!

with the beautiful bride!

the Swordsmen arch

Mommy & Daddy-to-Be

Singing the Theta wedding song to the bride--we were a bit rusty!

Theta love!

Now for the last hurdle to jump...JP going out to California for the National Championship.  Since the beginning of the season, we felt like the Longhorns had a good chance at making it to the BCS title game this year, but once they beat Okie State, we felt like the deal was sealed so I hurried up and booked JP a flight out to LA.  I have to say I'm a bit jealous that I'm not able to make the trip, especially considering the fun we had out there in 2005, but I didn't want JP to miss out on another Longhorn football milestone, considering my due date would still be a couple of weeks out.  So, if all goes well, he will be headed out early the morning of the game and back the following day, so keep your fingers crossed that IBP doesn't make his or her entrance into this wonderful world until Daddy gets back (and hopefully with a win)!

Happy New Year!

The Nursery

A while back I posted Beginnings of a Nest.  Well, minus some personal touches, given the fact that we don't know who this little person is just yet, IBP's nursery is nearing completion.  I have been getting a lot of requests to post pics, so here are a few, as well as my recent post on the Graco blog detailing my nursery makeover.