Happy Birthday Pearl!

The day has finally come, my baby is 1!!! We tried to make the day memorable, not that Pearl will remember any of this, but it seemed like everything we tried just didn't turn out quite as we had imagined. First off, the cupcakes I made for Pearl's teachers and friends at daycare melted (why is it that every time I make cupcakes the frosting melts on them?). Then we decided to come home early and go swimming. Well, the weather was cold and rainy so the outside pirate ship was out so we tried the indoor kiddie pool. Just as we got to the rec center we noticed this mass exodus of wet kids and found out that someone had pooped in the pool and it was closed for an hour! What a crappy birthday, literally!!! So, we ran home, after bundling up to even venture over to the pool because it was freezing, and decided to try our luck at dinner instead. We went out and tried ordering food that we thought Pearl would enjoy. Note to self, just order what I want to eat! We got home and prepared for what I was hoping would be a plethora of adorable pictures with Pearl smashing cupcakes all over her face for her birthday. She had a great time, mainly because she thought the blanket was for a fort again, but the pictures, well you'll have to be the judge about whether we got any cute ones.

And because this is my blog and I can post as much as I want, I thought it would be fun to quickly summarize what happened one year ago when this funny, adorable, and busy little girl entered our lives. I hadn't had any contractions or nothin' until I went into labor. I woke up in the middle of the night and thought "ouch" what was that? So I laid there in bed trying not to wake up Jeff and sure enough about 10 minutes later another contraction. Hmmm...this is weird and I really hope they don't hurt this bad the whole time I thought to myself. Boy was I wrong! Those women who say contractions don't hurt at all are crazy. I ended up on the couch trying to sleep and then got ready for work just like normal. After all, Pearl wasn't supposed to come for another two weeks and I figured I was going to have these contractions off and on for awhile. I made sandwiches for lunch and Jeff walked into the kitchen just as I had a really hard contraction, which were coming about every 4 minutes or so at this point, and a knife in my hand (from making sandwiches of course), took one look at me and said this kid is coming today. I made him take me to work because I had a ton to do before she came but by 10 am couldn't make it any longer. Not because of the contractions, they stopped as soon as Jeff wasn't around me but because I was really tired. So Jeff drives back to my office and takes me home, and did I mention that as soon as I called him the contractions started up again? We got home, he kissed me goodbye and said don't let your water break on the couch. I was still in denial about the idea of Pearl coming and said I would be fine. No sooner had Jeff got back to his office and told his co-workers that we were having a baby today, then I jumped off the couch and my water broke! I freaked out, thinking oh my heck I just peed my pants, no wait, my water just broke - get me to the hospital NOW! After what seemed like forever, Jeff got back home and threw me and my bag (which I had packed the day before) and took off to LDS Hospital. We called my parents to tell them today was the day and my dad laughed at us. It probably didn't help that a few weeks before during our tour of the labor and delivery ward at the hospital that Jeff called them to say we were at the hospital. My dad wouldn't believe Jeff until I screamed dad we aren't kidding right in the middle of a contraction!!! We got to the hospital about 2 and I was dilated to a 4 or 5 so they hurried and got me an epidural. We got the very last delivery room, good thing Jeff was speeding the whole way there. Everything went really fast after the epidural. The nurses kept telling me that first time moms usually spend hours and hours in labor and hours pushing. Jeff's parents came down soon after we got to the hospital, my parents still didn't believe that it was happening so fast, and took Jeff to dinner. I guess he was tired of sitting in the room watching baseball. Honestly, I'm surprised he stuck around as long as he did - he hates hospitals. While they were enjoying a yummy meal, the nurse came back and checked me again. I was dilated to an 8 and going fast. Not long after Jeff got back, they had me push just to see how things were going to go. Well, I pushed and the nurse said, okay time to stop I can see her head! YIKES!!! They called my doctor who just happened to be clear across the valley and not very happy to be coming to the hospital. He had tickets to the Utah Blaze game with his daughter. I had to wait almost an hour for him to finally get to the hospital (after the nurses called him again and said if you miss this baby it's your own fault). He literally walked in, put on a gown, and two pushes later Pearl was here! She was born at 7:41 pm, weighing 6 lbs. 7 oz. and 20 inches long. The first thing I remember was seeing her with these huge buggy looking eyes (I don't blame her for the scared look on her face, I mean I would freak out too if I were my mom) and then holy cow, she has my dad's ears and tons of dark, nearly black hair! My doctor thanked us for letting him get to the football game on time (still waiting for a refund for the hospital bill, ha!) and we were left to ponder about how we were going to take care of this tiny, adorable baby girl! Jeff did great and didn't pass out or barf like I had expected. She was and still is perfect and we are so grateful to have her! Happy birthday Pearl! We love you!

First day on the job

Okay so I might as well make things official by posting on the blog that I started a new job today, even though I accepted the offer almost a month ago now! I just couldn't bring myself to tell anyone out loud I guess. Some of you diligent blog readers may remember a random post about a month ago when I had interviewed for a job with the Violence and Injury Prevention Program and was totally stressing about my current work situation. By the way, for all of you diligent blog readers thank you for posting comments, even small ones! Comments are the driving force behind my posts and I wish everyone would say something, anything. Anyway that was totally random...

Well, I had another interview and to my surprise was given the job offer. Today was my first "official" day as the Media and Education Coordinator but I'm actually working the whole week in the Genomics Program to finish up our grant. Then on Saturday I'm off to Baltimore for a week long training to learn all about VIPP stuff. Little nervous to be leaving again but luckily I know Jeff and Pearl will have a great time together - let's just cross our fingers and toes she doesn't get sick this time. I'm pretty excited to start something new. Plus this job is part-time with higher pay and benefits so I can stay home with Pearl a little more, hopefully finish up school faster, and become the domestic goddess that I know is lurking somewhere deep, deep down inside (yeah right, keep on dreaming Jeff)! Who can complain with more money and less work? I am really sad to be leaving Genomics though and everyone I've worked with over the past 5 years. Everyone has sent me such nice messages and some of them have even brought me to tears. I really feel like I'm abandoning family and giving up on the race at the last few yards because I've loved all the work we've done and hope it continues on without me. I know that sounds selfish and maybe it is but when you've been the entire Genomics Program, it's hard to leave and think things will be okay. But I needed a change for some reason and I think it's because I need to be home more right now. Pearl is just growing up so fast (Wednesday is the big day) and I don't want to miss anymore of her. I've felt a huge weight off my shoulder since I accepted the offer and while it's been and will probably be hard to leave something I've loved, maybe someone else needs to experience what I've done. Maybe a new person will take Genomics to places I could only dream about. I've learned so much and grown up a lot with Genomics and am so grateful for that experience. You know, it's funny how impatient I get with the Lord but in April I turned down a really nice job because it just didn't feel right. There wasn't any logical reason for doing so but now I can see why things turned out the way they did. I guess I should learn that things always have a way of working out and I just need to hang in there when times get tough. Life is so much more fun when you enjoy it! And I can't wait to start this new chapter in my life.