Malea is 2 months today!!!

I know that I have been really bad about posting pictures--well blogs in general--so here are a few pictures for all of my friends that live far away and never get to see her. :) We went to the doctor on Monday and she is 10lbs 12oz and 23 1/4" long! She's getting so big so quickly!

Malea hanging out with my mom and Daisy the giraffe

Hunting for eggs on her first Easter
Hanging out in her swing

Hanging out with Daddy and watching the cars at Kool April Nights

2 month picture!

Here are a few new pictures of Malea because I'm a new mom and because that's what new moms do, they shamelessly flaunt pictures of their new babies anywhere and everywhere they can! :)

Here's Malea meeting her cousin Makena for the first time

Here she is getting her diaper changed. She's always so relaxed when she gets her diaper changed. Look at those lips! I wish I had lips like that!
All of the Moseley women with Papa.

Some woman walked by and bumped Malea's car seat and this was her reaction. She slept like this for 10 minutes. :) She looks like she's dancing to Thriller by Michael Jackson.

Here she is dressed up for dinner Friday night. We were the most popular people at CR Gibbs. Every table wanted to see her, I felt like we were famous or something!

One month!

I can't believe that Malea is already a month old. This month has flown by in some aspects and drug on in others. :) I guess I'm just adjusting to life as a stay-at-home mom. Last night Malea gave me the best "one month" gift, she slept from 9pm all the way until 3am, then I fed her again at 6:30am and she slept until 9:30am!!! Now if only I could learn how to go to bed a 9pm when she does I'd be getting tons of sleep! :) However it is nice to have some hubby time after she goes down so I'll settle for going to be about 10pm. I'm incredibly grateful that Malea got my sleeping habits from when I was a baby and not Matt's sleeping habits, PRAISE THE LORD!!!

Over all I'd say this was a successful month. Malea is still alive--I didn't break her on accident, Matt and I are still alive--she didn't kill us, and over all I'd say we are a happy family. She has definitely had some bad days but I haven't had to call my mom crying since week 2 and progressively each week gets a little better. She has adjusted extremely well to the Baby Wise schedule (I started her very early) which has made my life a little easier since I'm a very schedule-oriented person. :) Matt and I have also been very blessed to have my parents here in town because already we have been out on 3 dates and to church once without her.

I also want to say a BIG THANK YOU to all of you that have been bringing us dinners!!! It has been such a blessing to have so many of our friends and family members bringing us dinner and it has definitely made adjusting to life with a baby a lot easier since it's one less thing that I have to worry about at the end of the day. :)

A few pictures of our Malea

Taking a nap with Daddy

Getting to go on a walk with Auntie Alisha and cousin Parker
Taking a nap in the swing

Just being precious

CRAZY hair!!! Oh and don't worry that's Parker's pacifer, we ordered some pink and blue ones for her! :)

Blogging silence

I'm slowly beginning to realise that having a new baby=no time for the internet. It's a weird reality for me since pre-Malea my whole entire day revolved around the internet since I had to be on the computer for work. This is just going to be a quick blog because Malea is taking a nap and I have so many things to get done while she is sleeping. I'm learning though that nap time is a blessing to mom's because otherwise nothing would never get done! I actually have more time to do housework now than I did before which is pretty nice. Of course I haven't had to attempt to make dinner yet because we have been so blessed by everyone bringing us great meals so we'll see if I can keep the house clean and cook dinner once our dinners are up. :)

Last week was a big week for Malea and I. Monday I took her to the doctor and she checked out perfectly. Tuesday morning however she woke up with pink eye! So Tuesday I went to my doctor's appt in Red Bluff and then drove all the way back to Redding to visit Malea's doctor for the second day in a row! Her pink eye is all cleared up now but it was so sad to see her with a gooped up eye! Last week I also learned that a tiny baby can still make HUGE poops. Malea was all stopped up for a week or so and was having trouble with gas and pooping but now she has figured it all out and we have accomplished the art of "blow-outs". Luckily there haven't been any up the back, just out the side. I think I did 3 loads of her laundry last week!!! :) Malea also had a big weekend. Daddy got to babysit her for the first time on Saturday so that Mommy could have a little break and help Heather re-arrange their living room. She also got to go to Wal*Mart, out to eat and the Stirring this weekend. I was pretty discouraged at the Stirring though because even though she didn't fuss or disrupt anyone I ended up missing the whole message because I was in the back feeding her. At least I got to hear worship I guess. So we'll see if we come to church the next couple of weeks...

I am also learning many things about motherhood. I'm learning that I would go crazy if I didn't have an amazing husband who is grounded and SOOOO helpful. And I'm learning that one of the hardest things actually has nothing to do with the baby but it's mastering the art of getting out of the shower without leaking milk all over the floor!!! Why doesn't anybody warn you about this kind of stuff!?!? I think I have it figured out but it took me a few days and a few messy spills. :)

I'm not sure when I will have a chance to blog again but it's not because I don't want to it's just because I don't really have the time right now, sorry. :)

I feel so blessed

After a week and a half of being home Malea and I are doing well. We had a rough couple of days this week because she was having some major gas issues but after cutting everything I would normally eat out of my diet things seem to be going much better. I feel so blessed to have an adorable baby that sleeps so well at night and that takes great naps during the day. I have also been blessed and encouraged by the amount of support that Matt and I have received. Our first few nights home my mom was here with us, then Matt's mom came up from San Jose to stay for a couple of nights, and right now my friend Renee is here helping out, cooking and cleaning for us! I have been so spoiled that when Renee goes home on Monday I hope that I can survive! :) It seems like all I do right now is feed Malea so it's nice to have someone here helping out to get other things done as well! This has been a big week for Malea; at one week she lost her umbilical cord stump, the next day she got her first bath, she has slept through 5 nights (other than me waking her up to feed her), she drank from her first bottle and she even got to go hang out with Grandma so that Matt and I could go to Erase the Dark! Well it's time to go feed AGAIN so I've got to run but I thought I'd just send out a little update with some pictures since it's been awhile since I posted. :)

Our little Malea

Well she's finally here! Our little Malea Elizabeth Moseley arrived late Monday night at 11:29pm. It was an incredibly long day but in the end it was worth it. We arrived at the hospital at 4:30am so when 11:29pm rolled around I was ready to be finished. I labored for hours upon hours but 1 1/2 pushes for the nurse and 3 pushes for my doctor and she was out! If they hadn't made me not push through 2 contractions (hardest thing I've ever had to do) my doctor probably would have missed the birth! We are at home now, happy, somewhat rested and incredibly grateful for a health, beautiful daughter. The Lord has TRULY blessed us!!!

Here's what I looked like early in the day after only about 7 hours of laboring.

Julie is an AMAZING friend and labor coach. I would never have been able to get through the day without her calm, comforting direction and love.

Praise the Lord for an incredible and supportive husband. I also couldn't have made it through the day without him.

Here's a quite impressive contraction if I do say so myself. I don't remember any of this, I was zoned out on the bed in a totally different world. (You can ask Matt it's his favorite thing to tell everyone.)

Here we are getting our first picture with little Malea. Can you believe all that hair!?!? I STILL can't believe it!

Me with my little girl.

Here she is getting ready for her hospital pictures.

Here we are getting to take her home. I can't believe that you get to walk in one day and then walk out the next with a baby!

Here she is relaxing with daddy after a long couple of days at the hospital.
Me and my girl tired after a first long night at home.

I can't wait for you all to meet her! She is more beautiful than I could have imagined, we are lucky parents--but Matt's already decided that she's never going to get to leave the house without him... and I think he's going to get a shot gun. :)

Update from a miserable, STILL pregnant, mama

Yes I am STILL pregnant!!! I know it's hard to believe, I can hardly believe it myself. Actually my doctor was speechless when I saw him the other day because he was convinced that I would have had her 3 weeks ago! He actually felt sorry for me so if Malea doesn't come by tomorrow-her due date-then I am going in on Monday morning to be induced. Induction wasn't my first choice but if she doesn't come by tomorrow it's nice knowing that there's an end in sight! Matt and I are both very excited to know that the wait is almost over.

This week has been a hard but good week for me. It's been nice not having to work because I have gotten so much done but at the same time I was extremely bitter (happy for them but jealous for myself) when I found out Tuesday morning that Erica had Alicia on Monday night. I guess that even though Malea has been thinking she wanted to come for 3 weeks now that she decided it was too cold out and that she'd let Alicia take the first plunge. :) I know in the scheme of things that a few days isn't a big deal but it would have been nice to be done with all these contractions WEEKS ago! But there's an end in sight... I just have to keep telling myself that.

Since it's been almost a month since I posted my last belly picture I thought I'd post one last picture before we get the pictures of our little Malea posted. According to my doctor's measurements I haven't actually grown this past month but I am definitely carrying a lot lower. It was nice when she dropped all the way because now I can eat a full meal and not feel sick afterwards! :)

If all goes as planned the next pictures we post will be of us in the hospital holding our beautiful new daughter!!! Pray for a great delivery...

Maternity pictures

I know that Emily already posted a few of these on her blog but I just got my CD today so I wanted to post a few of my favorite pictures. Thank you so much Brett and Emily for this amazing gift! We had SO much fun doing this shoot with you, despite the fact that it was about 40 degrees!!! :)

Not here yet

After 3 days of contractions and a trip to the hospital yesterday afternoon Malea is still not here yet. Yesterday afternoon I had my strongest contractions to date so we decided to head to the hospital just to be safe. After about 2 hours at the hospital and some really intense contractions they sent us home. :( I guess Malea is just not ready to come yet. They did say though that she is positioned perfectly and that she if fully engaged. Hopefully that means that when she is ready to come that it will be quick and easy. :) That's our prayer at least! Even though I was really disappointed and incredibly frustrated to be sent home I think yesterday made for a good practice round. Our quick couple of hours at the hospital showed me how much love and support I have from my dad--who drove us to the hospital, my mom--who was there encouraging me and more excited than any mom I've ever seen, my wonderful husband--who was so supportive and encouraging through all of my contractions and kept telling me how beautiful I looked even though I was in pain, and my amazing friend Julie--who gave up the afternoon with her family to come talk my though my pain, rub my back, do lunges with me down the halls of St. E's, and offer me incredible support throughout the process. I love you all and I think that because of you Malea's birth will be an incredible experience... when she does finally decide to come! :)

Coming already???

Yesterday afternoon I started to have contractions. I was only having about 4 an hour so it wasn't really anything to get excited about. I went to the doctor and he checked to see how dilated I was and what he said was "I'm not saying you will have her tonight but I wouldn't be surprised if you had her this week." WHAT!?! That's crazy! After my appointment I went home, still having about 4 contractions an hour, and I took it easy most of the night since Matt was gone at an advisory team meeting. Before we went to bed last night we made sure we laid out our outfits for the hospital and tried to tie up any lose ends around the house. I continued to have contractions throughout the night but they never got very strong. This morning I got out of bed and started timing them at 6:21am. For 2 hours they were about 10 min apart but then after that they started only being 6/7 min apart. They still aren't very strong so I'm not headed off to the hospital yet but I would say that I am in the early stages of labor. Now the only question is how many hours, days, weeks is this going to go on??? Here comes another one...

Baby showers!!!

This weekend I had both of my baby showers! They were both amazing and so much fun. I felt so blessed by everyone that came to both of them and Malea and I were showered with TONS of gifts! Matt and I had a great time putting everything away and we feel so blessed to have received pretty much everything that we need. After a trip to Target yesterday to spend all my gift cards and a few calls to my sister and Julie to borrow a few odds and ends I can finally say that we are totally ready for Malea to come! We even have the car seat strapped in the car with a few toys and a lamb blanket all ready to bring her home from the hospital. :) Here are some of the pictures from this weekend.

Thank you dear friends for throwing my such an AMAZING shower! Everything was SO beautiful--as only you can do Beckie--and I felt so honored by how special you all made me feel. I love you all so much, you're the greatest friends a girl could ask for!

All of the pregnant girls at my Stirring shower. Aren't we all just so cute? :)

Thank you all so much for coming and for making me feel so special! I will take to heart all of your prayers as Matt and I usher in this new stage of our lives.

These are from my family shower on Sunday.

Here is my mother-in-law, step-mother and my nephew Nathan.

The most amazing diaper cake ever! Thanks Aunt Cindy for the 65 diapers PLUS all of the great toys, shoes, and mittens!

A bunch of the handmade onsies that everyone made for Malea. So cute!

My sisters Andrea and Alisha, my nephew Parker, and my cousin Lynette.

Thank you Alisha for throwing my such a great shower! You are so creative and I know that Malea is going to look amazing in those onsies and handmade flower headbands!!!

Every little girl needs a cute teddy bear. :)
The most amazing blanket that my mom knitted for Malea--she might have to fight me for it though. :)