Two Months

Achaia was two months back in January, but I'm still catching up. :) At her 2-month doctor's appointment, she was 23.5 inches long and weighed 11 lbs. She also got her first shots, besides the few she got at the hospital when she was born. And she did so good- she settled down within a couple minutes of getting the shots. She cried a little more a few hours later when the soreness got to her.
By two months, she was smiling and starting to coo. She could also hold her head up a little on her own. She loved to listen to people talk to her and would sometimes talk back. Achaia likes to lay on the floor and kick her legs.
During her second month, we celebrated Christmas. She got a nice swing that she enjoys and a really pretty forest green dress. Achaia gave Caleb and I a great Christmas gift: sleeping through the night! The week of Christmas, at about 6 weeks old, she starting sleeping around 8 hours through the night! She has been sleeping great ever since. And there was much rejoicing- yayyyy!!
We gave Achaia a name and a blessing the first Sunday in January. It was a great day. She looked beautiful, as always, and she was smiling really big after the blessing! It was great to have our families and friends all together for her special day.

Playing with Daddy

Green dress from her Great-Grandma Peterson for Christmas

Smiles!

Loves to play with Daddy!

With Santa Claus

Christmas morning

Achaia and I (and my sister) on her blessing day

Blessing Day

Full-Body Shot

This is one of my favorites. It's our computer desktop.

One Month

We celebrated Achaia's first month back in December. Here are some pictures of her at one month. She has been so fun to have in our family. At her one month appointment, she weighed 8 lbs 10 oz and was 22 inches long. After one month, she wasn't quite sleeping through the night but was only waking up once in the middle of the night. And she was so contented most the day so I could finish my very last semester of school. (And I finished and graduated with a BS!)

First time going to church

Blowing kisses

She loves to look at the lights.

Face Shot

This picture shows how she loves to kick her legs, especially her right one!

Napping with Daddy

Someday I'll be as big as Daddy!

It's a Girl!

Yes, I am a horrible blogger, but here are the details on our sweet little girl (with pictures!).

Achaia at 6 days old

And here's the story about the days leading up to Achaia's birth. I had a doctors appointment about a week and a half before she was due. The doctor asked if we wanted to schedule an induction for a few days before her due date. We agreed and had it scheduled exactly a week later.

That night I got really sick. I wasn't sure if I had the stomach flu or if I was actually going to be going into labor. I had heard of some people who get really sick before labor, but it was a week and a half before my due date. So I convinced myself it was just the stomach flu.

The next day I was still a little sick but since I hadn't eaten anything, it wasn't too bad and I was able to get up and work on some homework. Then in the afternoon, I started contracting. It came on pretty quick so it was hard to miss. I went over to my sister-in-law, Tenille's house so I could have someone to keep me sane until Caleb got home from work and school. I started timing my contractions at her house and for the next hour they were consistent and long enough to warrant a trip to the hospital. Caleb was already on the alert but he had to stop in to take a test before he got home. He called me after his test just as I asked Tenille to take me to the hospital.

So Tenille drove me the few minutes to the hospital and stayed with me while I got admitted and taken to my room. Then Caleb caught up with us and Tenille returned home. The nurse and checked me out and told us that she would check me again in an hour to see if I was progressing. She said I needed to show some progress in order to stay at the hospital or else I needed to go home for a while longer. Luckily for me, because the contractions were getting strong and more painful, I progressed in that hour and they allowed me to stay. Then I got an IV and some pain drugs until they gave me the epidural. By this time it was late at night.

Turns out I was in labor not quite 24 hours and at the hospital a few less hours than that. I am very grateful for the epidural because I was able to be comfortable for most that time. During the last hour, however, the epidural started to wore off and since I was so close to delivering, I didn't get another dose. I learned how low my pain tolerance is and was glad it was only an hour! Achaia Jane was born at 2:00 in the afternoon and weighed 7 lbs 9 oz. She is a perfect Angel and we love her so much!

My pregnant belly at 38 weeks or one week before Achaia was born

Achaia's very first picture

Achaia and I shortly after she was born

Achaia and my mom- the proud new grandma

The Nursery

We were a little behind on our time line to get the nursery done. We finally got the paint done a few weeks ago and ordered new carpet. (The old carpet was really gross and ugly, and we didn't cover it while we repainted the room.) We picked out carpet on Mon. Nov. 8. The earliest they could install the carpet was Nov 12, which we figured would be fine because our baby wasn't due until Nov 18. However, I went into labor that Tuesday and had our little girl on Wed Nov 10.

The carpet was installed the morning of the day we came home from the hospital. She spent that night in our room because we didn't get a chance to move all the furniture into the nursery. Thankfully, my sister- and mother-in-law assembled the crib in our room while we were in the hospital so we didn't have to worry about that when we came home.

We finally got the furniture moved into the room and all the baby stuff moved in on Saturday, with the help of my parents and sisters. Below are pictures of the final product. Note: three walls are green, one wall is blue. Yes, that's on purpose. :)

The crib and rocking chair (so comfy!). Above the crib it says "Shh... Our Cowgirl is Sleeping".

The rocking chair and changing table/dresser.

The other corner, with the blue wall and wire cube shelves on the left.

Officer Commissioning

On September 2, 2010, Caleb accepted his commission as an officer in the US Army and became an officer in the Utah National Guard. He had previously been a member of the Idaho National Guard, but switched to Utah because of the opportunities with the Engineers in Utah. Caleb completed his Officer Candidate School (OCS) with the Idaho Guard.
The oath swearing, pinning, and first salute took place at the Guard Headquarters in Draper. He is now a 2nd Lieutenant. I am so proud of him! He worked hard for a year and a half's worth of monthly drills and summer camps. And did I mention he received the Academic Award for getting the highest marks of his OCS class on the written tests! I really am so proud!

Taking the Oath of Officer of the US Army

"Pinning" Caleb's new officer rank

Some Summer Fun Pictures

Back in the middle of May, we decided to cut down one of our pine trees because it was starting to die. The following picture shows the strategy for getting the tree down:


That's right, Caleb went up halfway and began cutting the tree while the brothers-in-law held onto a rope that was tied higher up the tree. They would pull on the rope every once and while until it finally snapped the tree in half where Caleb had been cutting. Luckily, no one was injured and there was no property damage, but can I just say that I was so nervous the whole time! Then here is the tree finally down on the ground:



Then in the middle June, we went to Lagoon for Layton Construction's Lagoon Day. Since I am pregnant, I didn't get to ride too many rides (just the train, sky ride, and Rattlesnake Rapids). But we had a lot of fun hanging out with our friends. Below, Caleb is getting ready to spray someone on the Rattlesnake Rapids and then the two of us hanging out at the park (hmm... you can even see my arm in Caleb's sunglasses while I take the picture... oops):

Our Little Girl

We are having a girl! The suggestions have come up to name her Ashley or Angie, but we have decided to go with Achaia (A-ki-yah) Jane. We are so excited! The above picture is from a 3-D ultrasound we had a week and a half a go. I hope you can see her, it's kinda fuzzy. The picture shows her face with her right hand up by her face like she is going to suck her thumb. It is so fun to get ultrasounds and see her grow and develop. We can't wait until November when we can welcome her into our family! And for the record, I am 21 weeks or 5 months pregnant. :)