Parker

Parker Thomas Calvert has made his arrival! He was born August 19th at 12:05 p.m. at Huntsville Hospital. He weighed 7 lbs 12 oz and was 20 inches long. He was exactly 2 weeks early, and I was READY for him.

For those of you who are interested in the details, here is a summary of how things happened. For the rest of you please skip to cute baby pictures below. Wednesday morning around 2:30 a.m. I woke up to go to the bathroom. This was not uncommon as I was getting up around 5 times a night (no exaggeration). This time was different, and I felt what I thought was an early contraction. Of course I was so excited I could not fall back asleep but I didn't want to wake Ben up because I knew it would be a long road ahead of us if this was the real deal. That morning I told Ben that I was pretty sure I was in early labor but not to worry and that he should go to work because who knew when this would actually happen. He very unwillingly went to work but was able to come home early. Besides I am sure he was not getting anything done sitting at work thinking about it ;) After dinner my contractions quickly went from 6 minutes apart to 2 minutes apart so we panicked, packed our last minute things, and drove to the hospital. By the time we were in the parking lot at the hospital my contractions were about 5 minutes apart. I was determined NOT to go in too early and be sent home so I made Ben drive around looking at houses in Blossomwood and the Downtown area. He was nervous, but I was even more stubborn. After a while of driving I was in much more pain than earlier so we headed back to the hospital. We walked into the hospital about 8:30 p.m. and I was admitted by 9:00. I was 3 cm dilated and IN SERIOUS PAIN. I waited and toughed it out for a while, but when they told me I was 5 cm I asked for the epidural. There was a HUGE difference between pre and post epidural Jess, just ask Ben. There was a small scare in the middle of the night. When my water broke, Parker's heart rate dropped significantly. All of the sudden there were 4 or 5 nurses and a doctor giving me meds through my IV, giving me shots in my arm, putting me on an oxygen mask and putting my bed at a very uncomfortable angle. Thankfully his heart rate returned to normal after a while but all the meds they gave me slowed my labor. NOT what a woman in labor wants to hear. After all the excitement Ben and I tried to rest for a little while. Around 11 a.m. I was ready to push and Parker was born at 12:05 p.m. Unfortunately the epidural drip had run out and I was REALLY feeling the pushing part. I can't even imagine how it would feel with absolutely no meds...kudos to you ladies who do it naturally. Once he arrived and they put him on my stomach the main emotion I had was relief. It was so wonderful to see him and know he was healthy. One of my first thoughts after seeing him: Where did all of that hair come from?? Once they took him to another part of the room I told Ben to go with him. I couldn't see Parker but the sweet look on Ben's face was priceless. He was enamored with his son from the beginning.

Here is Parker right after he was born.

Ben was a natural and wanted to hold him all the time.

This picture was taken right after I delivered him, so please excuse my tired and swollen face.

This is still his favorite sleeping position. He looks so relaxed with his hands up like that. What a cutie.

This is our "celebration dinner" that we got from the hospital. I was a little concerned about ordering salmon from a hospital kitchen but my dinner was great! The sparkling cider was a nice touch as well. I love that stuff!

We got a picture of Ben and Parker right before we left to go home. Thanks for the cute outfit, C!

These next 2 pictures were taken by the hospital photographer. We fully intended to not buy the pictures that they took at the hospital but we ended up doing it anyways. It's a pretty sneaky business...you are hormonal and excited about having a baby so of course you will buy the pictures. We admit it, we were suckers. But I like to think of it as proud parents instead.

I just want to add one more thing. I was very proud of Ben during the whole experience. He was so sweet, supportive and helpful. Most importantly, he didn't faint. He even cut the umbilical cord. I was shocked! More on our experiences since we have been home at a later time.

2 Year Anniversary

August has always been a big month for us.

We started dating August 2006.

Engaged August 2007

Married August 2008

First Anniversary August 2009

And who knows...maybe we will have Parker August 2010!?!! Happy Anniversary Ben. I am proud to be your wife and I love you. And you are SUPER cute.

37 Week Checkup

And the news is...........

.....there is no news. Apparently Parker is loving it in there and has no intention of arriving any time soon. That's just fine because he is still growing and developing. When he is born, if he acts anything like he does now then we will have a very active boy on our hands. This is just another reason I think we will be having a mini-Ben. If he was just like me, he would be chilling in there being calm until it's time to come out.

estimated weight: 6.5 lbs
estimated length: 20 inches
estimated mother's mood: changes hourly; ask at your own risk ;)

Severe Heat Advisory

It's hot outside. I mean, really hot. I am hot natured anyways so combine that with this summer's heat and being *almost* 37 weeks pregnant and you get misery. I keep on checking the weather online and it has said constantly over the last few weeks ALERT: Severe Heat Advisory. Yikes. Granted I am not sure who gets to determine that a certain region should be on alert due to high temperature, but it must mean something!

To help get through the rest of the summer I decided to share a few pictures of my absolute favorite place on earth. It's a place with cooler weather, beautiful scenery and did I mention cooler weather?

Mountains and snow. What a beautiful sight!

Knee deep in snow. I would pay good money to be able to do that at this very moment.

Camp 4 Coffee: our favorite breakfast spot or mid-day treat. We needed the warm coffee because it was so COLD. What a concept!

It was so cold that it felt good to be near fires. Now it just feels like I am near a fire when I get into my black car with black interior.

Am I just complaining? Yes. I will also take any excuse to pretend I am back in Crested Butte. As I type this it is starting to rain...hoping it will bring down the temp! Unfortunately Maggie is now frolicking around the backyard trying to lick the raindrops from the sky. I should try to go chase her and bring her in but maybe I will just wait 15 minutes until Ben gets home from work. She loves him more anyways :)

Weddings

Ben was in Orlando this past weekend to be in a friend's wedding. Unfortunately I could not join him, but I was so glad he was able to be a part of Pat and Amy's wedding weekend. I know it makes him happy to spend time with all of his close friends from Florida, and that it's not easy to be away from them all the time. Even though I was so glad he got to be there I am relieved he is back in town...I just knew Parker was going to try to make an early appearance while Ben was a plane ride away. He was not able to take a camera so I have no pictures to share but I just wanted to say: Congratulations Pat and Amy!

Ben being away at the wedding reminded me, I never blogged about a special wedding from earlier this summer! Our friend Will and his beautiful bride Samantha got married July 10th (a good day to get married-just ask my parents!) and we were honored to be there for it. Ben met Will when he first moved to Orlando and they have been close friends since. Ben and Will lived together all 4 years they attended Auburn. I met Will my sophomore year at Auburn, a little under a year before I ever met Ben. I actually hung out with Will and their other roommate Kurt at their duplex when they lived with Ben and I never met him! I just knew Ben was the son of the pastor of the new church in Huntsville and that he had a Braves trashcan in his room. PCA and a Braves fan = marriage material. Anyways, back to Will and Samantha. So much of my time in Auburn was spent with Will and he is more like a brother than just a friend. Will introduced us to Samantha pretty soon after they started dating and it took no time at all to find a wonderful friend in her as well. She is so sweet, encouraging, and just fun to be around.

The wedding was in Birmingham. The rehearsal dinner was at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and we had Dreamland BBQ. That's our kind of rehearsal dinner! It was fun to eat and then be able to walk around and look at the displays.

Here are the boys standing where they are told during the rehearsal.

Loved the bibs that came with the ribs, they looked hilarious with all the nice clothes! Here the bride and groom are displaying the proper way to keep your clothes clean.

Groomsmen from Florida

Me and Shug. No explanation necessary.

Childhood idol...Mia Hamm.

Will, Samantha, Me, Ben

Repeat picture at the wedding reception. The wedding was beautiful and the reception was lots of fun, with lots of good food.

Will, Ben and Joe: roommates for 2 years.

One of my best friends Meredith lives in Birmingham and was able to make it to the wedding. It was great to spend time with her. I miss her terribly!

This is just one of my favorite pictures from the wedding. Ben took this outside of the church right before they were about to take off for the honeymoon. It was good timing too, because as they drove away it started POURING!

Watching our friends get married is a very special time for us...especially when they have a mashed potato bar ;) Looking forward to the next one!

Family Beach Trip

Ben is lucky to have married into a family who loves the beach as much as he does. I have mentioned before that I love seeing Ben at the beach, he just can't wipe the grin off of his face. We arrived to see a beautiful beach, just beckoning us to spend lots of fun and lazy time in the sand. It was beautiful.

Wait! What is that? A red flag?? Oh yeah...the oil spill. Psh. Won't stop us. Honestly it was not too bad. There was oil on the beaches in a few places and I got a lovely stain from it on my (new) beach towel but it was nothing more than a slight annoyance. We didn't go out in the water, but a lot of people did. I was okay with this. It kept my jellyfish phobia from being as obvious as usual.
Like I said, no oil spill can stop us! We made our usual first stop in Gulf Shores at Sea-n-Suds. Here Dad is preparing cocktail sauce for everyone at the table for our feast of crab claws, fish, shrimp and for Dad and Joe...raw oysters. Half the fun of eating here is watching my parents' faces light up knowing that we have arrived and it's vacation time!
Of course we had to get a "sisters on the balcony" pic. We just all happened to be wearing blue. I like to think that is partially my good influence on them. Aren't my sisters beautiful? Inside and out I assure you.
We were so glad to have Joe join us this year. I know that Dad is thankful to have more male support. Our family has been overwhelmed by girls for so long, it's almost scary to think that the guys are catching up. At least when you are around fun people like this an hour and a half wait at LuLu's doesn't seem so bad.
Jen and Joe - looking cute.
Jamie joked that she was surrounded by couples. I wonder how she really felt about the situation...?
For the 4th of July we made dinner at the condo. The guys grilled steaks and we had a few good sides to go with them. The steaks were SO GOOD. Here is the grilling team. Obviously Joe is pointing out something very important, ha.
Jamie was responsible for the camera while the grilling was taking place. Apparently everyone heard a loud noise and then Ben started yelling "Jamie Jamie take a picture TAKE A PICTURE". Ben gets a little excited when the Blue Angels are involved. It was definitely a treat for him to get the surprised fly by. I think Jammers did a great job of taking a picture, especially for being under so much pressure :)
Our 4th celebration ended with watching fireworks from the balcony. Lucky for us Ben brought complimentary BBVA Compass 3D glasses made to enhance our fireworks experience. They really just gave me a headache, but it was fun to see everyone wearing them.
This view from our balcony no longer existed after the 4th. Unfortunately it rained for the rest of our trip. That's alright though. A rainy day at the beach is still more fun than a normal day at home. We were able to visit the outlets, play fun domino games and just be together as a family.
Can't wait for next year!

Ouch.

I am studying for a midterm I have tomorrow morning so I don't have much time to blog. Plenty of things to update you guys on including a fun beach trip over the 4th weekend with my family and a close friend's wedding weekend, but for now I just want to go on record and say....

...I think Parker is breaking my ribs. Honestly I have no idea how some of his kicks have not torn my stomach in half. When did feeling movement go from "aww how cute" to "wow that is ridiculously painful"?!? Does this mean he is training to be an all star athlete? I chose to believe yes. He also likes one side of my stomach over the other. He really does just set up camp on my left side (in between boxing sessions with my internal organs).

In other, and completely unrelated, news one of my favorite scenes from The Office just came on tv...Andy punching a hole in the wall. Never gets old. Obviously my studying is going very well. Oops. Back to the books!