life goes on...

After an amazing trip to visit my parents and family in New Mexico, we are right back into the swing of the typical Waltemeyer household life which is absolutely fine with me. I'm not much of a traveler and really don't enjoy long car trips. I love being in new places, but I hate the part of getting there. Oh well...in order to get one, I have to have the other, right?

Back to topic. I've been so crazy busy sewing this week and getting everything ready for the boutique this weekend that I haven't had a chance to post about how our weekend went or how Luke's first cereal experience went. I still really don't have time, so I'm just going to post a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend and I'll write the full story after Saturday is over.

Family Picture

My baby

Grandma and Pop with Luke and Killian

***for real!***

Luke's teeth are coming in *for real* this time! Being as I'm new to this whole parenting shin-dig, I've thought these little buggers have been coming in for awhile now. I have been wrong and I will admit it readily. It even became a joke with Keith about how everything that's wrong with Luke is because of his "teeth." I had given up checking and resigned myself to the fact I'd just happen to find them when they'd already come in.

Today Keith and I officially found the jagged sharpness that are his teeth coming out! Actually Keith found it and I thought he was making fun of me again. Kind of reminds me of the story of the boy who cried wolf only this time it was the mom who cried teeth. Whatev! No pictures yet though because he is still super protective of his mouth. As soon as we get pictures, they'll be here!

boutique

I am very excited to be participating in my first boutique with all of the stuff I've been making, so I wanted to let everyone know because I'd love to see you there!

**Holiday Boutique**

Saturday, November 1, 2008
6-9 pm

Kristi Westover's Home
2715 S. Drexel
Mesa, AZ 85209

Featuring: Heritage Makers, Cookie Lee, Scentsy, Pampered Chef, Vinyl Lettering, ModBe clothing, Baby gifts (me!), and lots more!

Here's a quick preview of some of the things I've made that I'll be selling:

Tag Blankets $20

Burp Cloths $4 each or 3 for $10

We'll also have nursing covers, diaper cakes, and diaper wreaths. It should be a lot of fun.... Wish me luck!

birth story

I know it's been six months since he was born, but I want to write out his birth story before I forget too much of what happened. I apologize ahead of time for the length of this post and if it has too much information in it...if you know what I mean. It's just really important to me to remember an event that changed my life so drastically; I don't want to look back years from now trying to recall the details and wishing then that I did what I'm doing now. Here it goes...

I was due April 6, 2008. The ultra sound that we had halfway through my pregnancy put my due date at March 31st and for some crazy reason, that's the date that stuck in my head and I was positive he'd be here on or even a little before that date. Apparently Luke likes to take after his dad and take his sweet time until he's ready to something; in this case, it was being born. At my doctors appointment on April 7, we scheduled my induction for Monday, April 14 at 5:30 in the morning.

At this point in the pregnancy, its extremely hard to sleep anyways, but when you know that your child will be coming the next day, there is no chance of sleep. It was like being a kid again the night before Christmas. I tossed and turned and prayed that everything would go well for myself and Luke the next day.

At 5:30 the next morning, Keith and I checked into the hospital and was given a pill that was supposed to put me into labor. I was 2 cm dilated at this point which was a miracle to me because I hadn't shown any signs of progress during any of my appointments with the doctor. Labor progressed slowly and after awhile I was put on pitocin.

Around 1:30 as I tried to roll to my side, one of my bags of water broke. I remember looking at my dad and brother and telling them they needed to leave the room because something had just happened. I wasn't sure at that time what it was, but they needed to get out! After I was cleaned up and situated again, the contractions started to come much harder and faster. It got to the point where I wasn't able to distinguish when one contraction stopped and another one started.

My ultimate goal for my labor was to make it through without an epidural. Some very important women in my life were able to do it and I really wanted to have that experience as well. It was a really difficult decision, but ultimately, I wanted to enjoy this experience and got the medicine around 5:30 in the afternoon. The thought of a needle going in my back and the pain that was associated with it really freaked me out. My nurse even told me it would feel like a bad bee sting. When the doctor, my lifesaver, told me he was finished, I realized I hadn't felt a thing and I had worried about nothing. Relief came in minutes and then it was back to chatting with all the friends and family who came to visit.

When Dr. Leonard came to check me around 6:30, he broke my actual bag of water. I had never realized that it was possible to have multiple bags of water, but I did. Lucky me. Knowing what the small felt like when it broke, I am way glad I couldn't feel anything for the second one! At this point I was 4-5cm, so we still had a ways to go.

When my nurse checked me at 10:00, it was time to push! I was exhausted at this point and SO hungry. I hadn't been able to eat anything since 8:00am that morning and drink anything since the lemonade that came with my lunch that Keith ate. In between pushes, I would lay back and basically fall asleep until I was told I needed to push again. My epidural was working so well that I never felt the urge to push, so it was two solid hours of pushing. Somewhere in the midst of the two hours, I remember asking if it was normal to have to feel like I had to throw up, which I did within the next minute. Gross, but I felt so much better afterwards.

At 11:50, my amazing nurse Seanna stepped to the door to talk to another nurse. They had a conversation about how I wasn't progressing enough and that it might be time to call the doctor and discuss what the next step would be. In my mind, I could only picture them making me have a c-section. When Seanna came back, she said we would try pushing one more time before they would call the doctor. Something inside me must have woken up because I pushed so hard that his head started come out and Seanna had to push it back in so she could call the doctor!

Dr. Leonard was there within 10 minutes and Luke was born at 12:04am on Tuesday, April 15.

I remember looking down and seeing Luke's face come up at me. When they put him on my chest, it was like the world stopped for a second and I had this tiny miracle that Keith and I created resting on top of me. He looked straight at me as he was screaming and I knew that I was changed forever. He was perfect with his fingers and toes and soft skin. It was a moment I'll never forget and treasure for a lifetime. Everything I had ever wished for was there in that room. Family and friends to support me. A husband who loves me unconditionally. And a child. A sweet child that was ours.

six months

six months. half a year. on the downward slope to his first birthday. holy cow!

I have treasured every single second of these past six months with our little man. Every smile, every laugh and giggle, every milestone, every cry, every poop (even the one that went up his back), every minute of worry, everything. This kid is so completely amazing to me in everything that he does; I am just so incredibly blessed.

This month he began rolling from his back to his belly which totally caught Keith and I off guard the morning we found him like that. He still isn't a huge fan of rolling in general, although he isn't afraid to roll to get to something he wants. He sits up like a champ now and rarely falls. He's become so much more personable and has such a fun personality. He knows what he likes and doesn't and isn't afraid to let you know one way or another. He sleeps a solid 10 hours through the night (praise God!), but he's recently tried to adjust his schedule but can't figure out quite yet what works best for him.

Here are the requisite chair pictures, plus some pictures from various "photo shoots" we've had the past week or so:

We also learned this month that Luke enjoys being out of his car seat when we go shopping. He had a great first experience when we put him in the shopping cart at Sam's.

a walk to the park

We had some gorgeous weather here this past weekend. It's the kind of weather that makes the 110 degree heat in the summer bearable...or semi-bearable. Jill and Emma came to our house to walk to our neighborhood park with us. Emma had a great time climbing on the playground and going down the slide once the bigger kids who were there had left. They had been jumping from the top of the slide and I think that Emma was very unsure of them. The second grade teacher in me wanted to yell, "Slides are for sliding. Sit on your bottom!" I held it in, but was relieved when they were gone.

This is Emma going down the smaller slide.

Luke taking it all in.

Emma found dirt. Can you find Emma?

I think Luke really wanted out, but he just isn't quite big enough yet. Or maybe I should say old enough, because I'm fairly certain he's getting close to big enough.

Luke was wiped out by the time we made it back to our house. When I went to check on him during his nap, this is how I found him. Apparently, he was taking solace in his bumper for not being able to play with the other kids earlier.

bed head

A few mornings ago, this is how Luke's hair looked when we got him up. I know its not really that important, but I thought it was cute and had to document it.

so far behind...so you think you can dance...

It's already been a week since I attended the Best. Show. Ever. but I still can't quite figure out what is going on with Luke so it's taken me this long to post. Anyways. The evening started off with Andi picking me up to travel to the west side to meet up with Stef for dinner and then on to meet Kristen at the show. Luke and Andi had to have some quality time before we began the journey.

Approximately 15 Mississippi's down the road from my house, we had to make a pit stop to figure out how to close Andi's hood because her purse had somehow popped it open. I failed to get a picture of us two girls first trying to figure out how to fully pop the trunk and then slam it down. Darn.

Once we made it to our seats, I started taking pictures...or actually asking someone else to take them for us. The first one is from the front:

This one is from the back. You can see the stage behind us.

During the intermission, which was apparently sponsored by Snuggle, this ginormous dancing bear came out on stage. We thought it was hilarious so I took a picture.

The second half of the show had all of the dances we had really been looking forward to. First, Mia Michaels' door routine with Katee and Twitch:

Katie and Will's amazing display of flexibility:

Tabatha and Napoleon's Bleeding Love with Chelsea and Mark:

Another Tabatha and Napoleon routine with Katee and Joshua:

The whole cast:

I had such a great time and can't wait for next year. Thanks ladies!

it's been a week...

Luke has kept things very interesting for us this week. What we thought had been pure crankiness on Sunday at the birthday party seems to actually have been the beginning of a cranky growth spurt this past week. By Tuesday, Luke was waking up every 2.5-3 hours starving and demanding food. On Thursday, he only ate 4 times but ate 6-7 ounces at each feeding. He seems to be settling back into the usual rhythm and routine now, but I'm not holding my breath.

I think this all relates back to the tummy sleeping. He's a mover in his sleep and that might have something to do with it. This is how I found him the other day when I went to check on him during a nap:


I know that I should probably take his bumper off, but he rotates so much and he's so long that he'd smack his head on the crib.

What's a mom to do.

sunday: part 2

emma's second birthday party

As soon as Holly and Nonna left Sunday afternoon, we hopped in the car to go to Emma's 2nd birthday party. Poor Luke had been thrown off his schedule and been overwhelmed by people already, not to mention he's still trying to get used to sleeping on his stomach. I mention this because this is the reason we do not have pictures from earlier in the party. Luke was screaming in Jill and Eric's spare room as I was trying to put him down for a nap there. Eventually he took a mini-nap and did well the rest of the afternoon.

The birthday girl

Emma received an orange dress-up outfit from her aunt and someone decided to put the hat and boa on Luke. Poor guy looks like a mini-pimp. Not one of my proudest mom moments as of yet.

Luke's friend Liam wanted some of his mom's drink. He was very determined.


Luke got some snuggle time with Eric's mom, Ginger. (She some of the best cookies ever!)

After presents and cake, we hung out in the backyard for awhile. The weather was gorgeous and the kids had a great time playing together. This is Emma with her new Dustbuster. I seriously think this might have been her favorite gift.

Berlynn with a tiara on because she was a princess

Emma saying, "Cheese!"

Alanna showing the food in her mouth and Emma

Luke and Gabrielle trying to get each other

Luke laughing

When Luke crashed for the night, that was our cue to head out. Thanks Emma for having us at your birthday party!

sunday: part 1

the bridal shower

On Sunday, we hosted Holly's bridal shower at our house. It turned out beautifully and I am SO thankful to have had the help of all the bridesmaids and moms. I would not have been able to accomplish all that on my own! I'll just tell the story in pictures.

The cake. Holly is a huge fan of Coach bags and her fiance' Corey has the best taste and buys them for her for gifts. I thought it would be a great idea for her cake to be Coach related and this is what Miss Breanna came up with. Amazing!

We had some (apparently) intense bridal shower games. I think Grandma got a little stressed out by all of the games.

Holly was showered with a lot of amazing gifts. Her kitchen is stocked for a lifetime. My personal favorite gift that she received was the cook book partially because it is the best cook book ever, but also partially because I gave it to her.

Her favorite gift: the purse her mom gave her.

Some of the beautiful bridesmaids and friends.

After all the gifts were opened, the moms, me not included, made Holly put this on in practice for the rehearsal. Poor girl.

After everyone had gone and we were all cleaned up, we were able to spend some time together and we were able to bring Luke out from hiding, I mean a nap, from our room. He had to show everyone how good he's getting at sitting up!

A few last minute pictures and the party was done. Holly will be a stunning bride in a few weeks and I'm glad we were able to help start the celebration right!