Presenting...
Aria Houser Walton
Born 2-3-15, 8:08am
8lbs, 3oz. 19 3/4" long
Pictures from her first day...
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Monday, January 26, 2015
Monday, January 19, 2015
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Monday, January 12, 2015
To Know or Not To Know...
...that has been the question.
I haven't been diligent about writing through this pregnancy, but we decided a while ago that we weren't going to find out the gender of this baby.
We didn't want to find out with Avonlea--but due to an over-eager nurse, we were told early. So, we decided that with this one, we would try again.
And it has been fun not knowing. To be able to anticipate and wonder, to thrill in the unknown. I wasn't worried about the "things" aspect. We registered for mostly gender-neutral gifts with Avonlea, and I wasn't worried about clothes, because some of our really great friends have had boys, and so I knew we would have clothes. Plus--who cares if you dress a newborn in a wrong-color onesie? You have to tell strangers what it is anyway!
There *has* been a problem with not knowing, though, and it relates to this post I wrote in December. I have found it hard to connect with this baby. Not that gender has a huge effect on that, but I think it definitely would help me to be able to connect. To get ready, to get closet space filled up, to settle on a name, to start calling the baby by something other than "Biscuit".
I mentioned this disconnect several times to Nick, and he asked if finding out the gender would be helpful for me. After thinking about it, I decided that yes, it would.
Fun fact: Did you know that we have had the ultrasound result on our refrigerator since I was 19 weeks pregnant?
And NO we didn't peek once! We decided at my 19-week ultrasound to have them put the results into an envelope--at that point, I was gung-ho about NOT looking, and Nick was 50/50 about it. We put it on the fridge, and if we decided we wanted to look, then we could.
People couldn't BELIEVE we hadn't looked at it when we told them it was on the fridge! My neighbor, Sunni, actually said she was going to come and look when we weren't there, because she wanted to know so badly! It just wasn't a temptation. With Avonlea, I found out what we were having when Nick was at work, and I didn't want to find out again without him; and when he was home, we didn't really talk about it. It honestly didn't come up.
At our 19-week appointment, the doctor saw that I had a low-lying placenta, so we had to come back at 26 weeks for another ultrasound to check on it. At the 26-week appointment, he saw that the placenta had moved up to where it should be (yay), and then checked over the rest of the baby. He moved it to the "find out" area, and then pulled the wand away--but had it there long enough that both of us thought we had seen something definitive!
Of course, a couple of hours later, I was able to talk myself out of what I had thought I had seen. :)
But anyways, because of the disconnect, we decided that we would look on Christmas Day.
Want to know what we're having?
Well, you'll just have to wait until February 3rd to find out! 'Cause we're not telling! Feel free to leave your guesses in the comments!
(For the record, one of us guessed correctly, and one of us was surprised.)
I haven't been diligent about writing through this pregnancy, but we decided a while ago that we weren't going to find out the gender of this baby.
We didn't want to find out with Avonlea--but due to an over-eager nurse, we were told early. So, we decided that with this one, we would try again.
And it has been fun not knowing. To be able to anticipate and wonder, to thrill in the unknown. I wasn't worried about the "things" aspect. We registered for mostly gender-neutral gifts with Avonlea, and I wasn't worried about clothes, because some of our really great friends have had boys, and so I knew we would have clothes. Plus--who cares if you dress a newborn in a wrong-color onesie? You have to tell strangers what it is anyway!
There *has* been a problem with not knowing, though, and it relates to this post I wrote in December. I have found it hard to connect with this baby. Not that gender has a huge effect on that, but I think it definitely would help me to be able to connect. To get ready, to get closet space filled up, to settle on a name, to start calling the baby by something other than "Biscuit".
I mentioned this disconnect several times to Nick, and he asked if finding out the gender would be helpful for me. After thinking about it, I decided that yes, it would.
Fun fact: Did you know that we have had the ultrasound result on our refrigerator since I was 19 weeks pregnant?
And NO we didn't peek once! We decided at my 19-week ultrasound to have them put the results into an envelope--at that point, I was gung-ho about NOT looking, and Nick was 50/50 about it. We put it on the fridge, and if we decided we wanted to look, then we could.
People couldn't BELIEVE we hadn't looked at it when we told them it was on the fridge! My neighbor, Sunni, actually said she was going to come and look when we weren't there, because she wanted to know so badly! It just wasn't a temptation. With Avonlea, I found out what we were having when Nick was at work, and I didn't want to find out again without him; and when he was home, we didn't really talk about it. It honestly didn't come up.
At our 19-week appointment, the doctor saw that I had a low-lying placenta, so we had to come back at 26 weeks for another ultrasound to check on it. At the 26-week appointment, he saw that the placenta had moved up to where it should be (yay), and then checked over the rest of the baby. He moved it to the "find out" area, and then pulled the wand away--but had it there long enough that both of us thought we had seen something definitive!
Of course, a couple of hours later, I was able to talk myself out of what I had thought I had seen. :)
But anyways, because of the disconnect, we decided that we would look on Christmas Day.
Want to know what we're having?
Well, you'll just have to wait until February 3rd to find out! 'Cause we're not telling! Feel free to leave your guesses in the comments!
(For the record, one of us guessed correctly, and one of us was surprised.)
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
This Child Is Your Child...
...this child is MY child.
It's amazing how, even at 20 (almost 21!) months, Avonlea has so many similar traits to Nick and I! It is so true (and a little scary) how they adopt some of our behaviors and attributes, even at a young age. It makes be feel a deep sense of responsibility to be sure I am modeling good behavior for her.
I've started keeping a list, and I thought it would be fun to see them written out.
How Avonlea is like Nick:
* blonde hair
* skinny
* wakes up SO easily!
* likes spicy food and guacamole
* only sleeps in her bed
* loves being outdoors
* likes going on car rides
* loves the water
How Avonlea is like Me:
* brown eyes
* sings all the time
* loves Disney movies
* likes pasta and milk
* reads all the time
* takes super long naps
* needs food and naps to stay in a good mood
How Avonlea resembles BOTH of us:
* loves technology
* tall
* loves friends and being around people
I look forward to seeing how she will differ from both Nick and I, and develop bits of her own personality.
It's amazing how, even at 20 (almost 21!) months, Avonlea has so many similar traits to Nick and I! It is so true (and a little scary) how they adopt some of our behaviors and attributes, even at a young age. It makes be feel a deep sense of responsibility to be sure I am modeling good behavior for her.
I've started keeping a list, and I thought it would be fun to see them written out.
How Avonlea is like Nick:
* skinny
* wakes up SO easily!
* likes spicy food and guacamole
* only sleeps in her bed
* loves being outdoors
* likes going on car rides
* loves the water
How Avonlea is like Me:
* sings all the time
* loves Disney movies
* likes pasta and milk
* reads all the time
* takes super long naps
* needs food and naps to stay in a good mood
How Avonlea resembles BOTH of us:
* tall
* loves friends and being around people
I look forward to seeing how she will differ from both Nick and I, and develop bits of her own personality.
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
2 Months To Go...
I haven't written for a while.
It's not because I don't have anything to write. I usually fall asleep thinking of all the things I could write about. Maybe I just have too many things to write about, and I get overwhelmed thinking how to condense it all into a blog post. And why sit down to write for 45 minutes when I could zone out to an episode of "Buffy", or (better yet) take a nap??
But here I am, writing a long-overdue post.
Only 2 months to go in this pregnancy. It's like a freight train that is coming, non-stop, and I am so unprepared.
As I reminisce over my last pregnancy with Avonlea, I realize how similarly I went into motherhood as my journey into becoming a wife. It was all romance and rose-colored glasses. I knew parts of it would be "hard", but I had NO idea what that meant until I was deep into it. And yes, it WAS hard. In fact, "hard" isn't an adequate enough word. I felt overwhelmed and anxious and in-over-my-head, and seriously wanted to give up and drop the baby off at an orphanage and take back my precious "me time".
It all stemmed from being completely, wholly, over-the-top 1000% afraid. Not only did I feel like I had no idea what I was doing (and, let's be honest--I really didn't have any idea what I was doing), but because I felt like ANYONE would do better than I could possibly do at raising this tiny human.
As I am faced with this new baby, I realize I have more experience and am better equipped this time around. Practically, I am much more prepared. I know better how to feed and dress the baby. I have been through the drama and struggle of delivery. The drama and struggle of breastfeeding. The drama and struggle of a baby who wants to eat every hour. The drama and....well, you get the idea.
But I guess the problem is that there are so many MORE things to be scared about this time around. So I sit here, 2 months out, and I am just completely, wholly, over-the-top 1000% afraid...again.
So many unknowns. So many questions. So many worries. So many fears. And this time, I left the rose-colored glasses off. There's no more romanticism going into life with a newborn this time around. I'm prepared for the worst. The crying, the lack of sleep, the searing pain from being sliced open and taped back together. I'm prepared for that. What I am not prepared for is all of those things added to the fact that I have a TODDLER. A very needy toddler. A toddler that, I might add, HATES when I hold other babies (like, claws my pants legs and whines and cries and throws a fit hates).
I don't know how to do this. I don't do well in situations where I don't have even a slight grasp on how to handle it. I tend towards avoidance or complete shutdown. But this? I can't avoid. I can't shut down. I have to put on my big girl pants and take it head-on.
I hear from a lot of moms that have already done it. I know it can be done. It might not be pretty, or graceful, or worthy of my own parenting handbook, but it can be done. It has to be.
That said, in a couple of months, if you see me walking around with my yoga pants on and mismatched socks, hopefully you'll extend me some grace.
It's not because I don't have anything to write. I usually fall asleep thinking of all the things I could write about. Maybe I just have too many things to write about, and I get overwhelmed thinking how to condense it all into a blog post. And why sit down to write for 45 minutes when I could zone out to an episode of "Buffy", or (better yet) take a nap??
But here I am, writing a long-overdue post.
Only 2 months to go in this pregnancy. It's like a freight train that is coming, non-stop, and I am so unprepared.
As I reminisce over my last pregnancy with Avonlea, I realize how similarly I went into motherhood as my journey into becoming a wife. It was all romance and rose-colored glasses. I knew parts of it would be "hard", but I had NO idea what that meant until I was deep into it. And yes, it WAS hard. In fact, "hard" isn't an adequate enough word. I felt overwhelmed and anxious and in-over-my-head, and seriously wanted to give up and drop the baby off at an orphanage and take back my precious "me time".
It all stemmed from being completely, wholly, over-the-top 1000% afraid. Not only did I feel like I had no idea what I was doing (and, let's be honest--I really didn't have any idea what I was doing), but because I felt like ANYONE would do better than I could possibly do at raising this tiny human.
As I am faced with this new baby, I realize I have more experience and am better equipped this time around. Practically, I am much more prepared. I know better how to feed and dress the baby. I have been through the drama and struggle of delivery. The drama and struggle of breastfeeding. The drama and struggle of a baby who wants to eat every hour. The drama and....well, you get the idea.
But I guess the problem is that there are so many MORE things to be scared about this time around. So I sit here, 2 months out, and I am just completely, wholly, over-the-top 1000% afraid...again.
So many unknowns. So many questions. So many worries. So many fears. And this time, I left the rose-colored glasses off. There's no more romanticism going into life with a newborn this time around. I'm prepared for the worst. The crying, the lack of sleep, the searing pain from being sliced open and taped back together. I'm prepared for that. What I am not prepared for is all of those things added to the fact that I have a TODDLER. A very needy toddler. A toddler that, I might add, HATES when I hold other babies (like, claws my pants legs and whines and cries and throws a fit hates).
I don't know how to do this. I don't do well in situations where I don't have even a slight grasp on how to handle it. I tend towards avoidance or complete shutdown. But this? I can't avoid. I can't shut down. I have to put on my big girl pants and take it head-on.
I hear from a lot of moms that have already done it. I know it can be done. It might not be pretty, or graceful, or worthy of my own parenting handbook, but it can be done. It has to be.
That said, in a couple of months, if you see me walking around with my yoga pants on and mismatched socks, hopefully you'll extend me some grace.
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