Pictures and Story

I have been meaning to post all week, but as you all can guess- things are finally a little busy around here :) I thought I would share a little bit of how things went for us on Monday. For a little preface, I had been having really bad "Braxton Hicks" contractions for about 5 days. We had already taken one trip to the hospital on Saturday night because the baby failed her kick count. When we went in on Saturday, I was still not dilated at all. So Monday morning I woke up at about 5:00 having bad contractions again. I woke Charles up about 45 minutes later because I was feeling them really close together and a lot more intense. We timed them for a couple of hours and they were consistently about 2-3 minutes apart, but occasionally there would be 5-7 minutes between. By about 8 o'clock, I was in a lot of pain and doubled over the toilet so we rounded up the troops and headed for the hospital- and I was NOT coming home without a baby.
When we got to the hospital, I was at a 2 1/2, so they had me walk around the hospital for an hour and see if my cervix changed at all. I was a little more effaced after the hour, so they admitted me and planned on getting some pitocin going to speed things up. By about 1:30 my doctor came to check me, and I was only at a 3. He broke my water then and told me when I got to a 4, I could have my epidural. My contractions were really close together, and really intense, giving me only about 15-20 seconds to recover from some of them. Around 2, the nurses switched shifts and my new nurse came in. About this time, a friend of the Himmer's and anesthesiologist who was on at the hospital came to check on us. After the nurse saw me go through one contraction, she said- he's here now, if you aren't at a 4, we are calling it a 4- lets get this taken care of. So I got the epidural then and it was like a magic potion. 6 hours later we had our Abigail. The epidural started wearing off towards the end of transition, which was really fun. They tried giving me a higher dosage, but the doctor came back in to check our progress and was shocked at how close we were and told me to get ready to push. She was in a posterior position which was not exciting to hear. My doctor told me, ok Heather, the girl in the room next to you just had the same thing and pushed for 3 hours and ended in a c-section, you have to do better than that. So I was determined :) I started pushing, and things happened fast. The nurse had to have me stop pushing 2 times before the doctor came because she was afraid he wouldn't get there in time. She turned right around into the position she needed to be in and things went great from there.
What an incredible experience it is to have a baby. Its definitely a challenge adjusting to things and getting enough rest, but I think I'll get the hang of all of that soon enough. She is a GREAT baby. She has been really easy and mellow so far, so I hope it continues. Here are some more pictures from our first few days at home.

Some pictures

So our little girl is not quite a day old and tired. We need to feed her but can't get her to wake up. Here are some pictures of how tired she is.






I uploaded the rest of the photos from the delivery on facebook. You can view the photos by using this link.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=33422&l=425d0&id=724736823

The Agony Continues

Hello fellow readers,

This is Charles. Heather couldn't bring herself to make this post but I figured some our die hard readers would want an update. It is true our precious little girl is over a week over due. Its a good thing we love her otherwise she would already be in trouble :).

Heather is still having regular, but very mild contractions. We've been taking this as a sign that things are happening soon, but we don't what soon means.

Anyways, we will make sure to post any updates as soon as they happen.

What do you all think?

We are holding a competition. Everybody guess when you think the baby will be born, the weight, and the height. The winner gets to name the baby. Just joking, they get some major props!

So far the guesses are as follows. If you want to guess post a comment with your estimations and please follow the outlined format.

Heather - Tuesday (07/15) - 7lbs 4oz - 20in
Charles - Wednesday (07/16) - 7lbs 20z - 19in
Mama John - Monday (07/14) - 7lbs 3oz - 21in
Kyle John - Thursday (07/17) - 6lbs 4oz - 19in
Alissa John - Sunday (07/13) - 8lbs 7oz - 20.5in

p.s. Heather said if your guess is above 10lbs or later than this week, she suggested you keep your guess to yourself ;)

About to Pop :)

Well, once again I am getting hounded to take pictures and post them while I still can. I kept waiting for a day I felt cute again, but let's face it... I'd be waiting for a while :) So I made Charles go take pictures of me tonight, the one behind the tree was inspired by Emily I believe. If I remember right, she took one like that when she was pregnant and I thought it was hilarious, so I had to do one. Charles had fun with one of them in photoshop- I bet you'll never guess which one... Super Mom?? Thats right... So here there are, probably the last pictures I will have with the belly :) She is due in FOUR DAYS!! I can't believe it. I could have a baby by the end of the week!! I'm so excited!

Tribute to Kyle... a Day Late

I wanted to get this done yesterday on Kyle's actual birthday, but I didn't have my laptop with me and therefore, had no pictures. If I had a scanner- I could make this a real doozy with some of this pictures I found while I was unpacking, but I'll do the best I can with pictures from recent years.

Probably most of you reading this know my brother, but for those of you who do not- he is the man. Kyle is the kind of guy that is just fun to be around all the time. I love when Charles and him get together because they are unstoppable. We were so lucky to be so close to them when we were in Provo and are missing them a lot now. Kyle is a great example to everyone that he comes in contact with. He is a great husband and father- and a great big brother. I can remember Kyle chasing off many punk boys in high school who were "not worthy of my time." He is extremely hard working and driven. Charles is constantly going to him for suggestions on good books- Kyle is always looking for ways to learn and grow. Anyway- he had a big birthday yesterday and we didn't get to share it with him so I thought I would pay a little tribute to a great brother! We love you Kyle!!

Empathy Belly

Charles and I have been going to a child birthing class for the last 3 weeks at the hospital. It isn't a lamaze (I have no idea how to spell that) class, it is more about teaching all the different stages of labor, and learning techniques for helping out if things don't go as planned. The class has been REALLY good- we have both learned a lot. I was kind of hesitant to take it, thinking it would just be kind of dumb, but it has proved to be very helpful already, just with things we have come across with the baby's position. Anyway, this week in class, Charles got to strap on the "empathy belly." It is a 35 pound belly, as you can see, that straps onto your body to try to reflect what it feels like to be pregnant. Granted... there is no way they can know what this feels like. Example: Halfway through the time he was wearing it, Charles said, why don't you just lean forward more so that it takes the pressure off everything? Hmm... doesn't quite work that way when it is a part of you :) Anyway- here are the pictures a girl in the class took for us. Hopefully you can get a good laugh out of it.

This is Charles in the fitting rooms at Motherhood Maternity- He wanted to try out the bellies they have for you there, in case you would like to be even bigger than you are :)

Charles getting all strapped up with the "empathy belly"

This is me placing the "bladder pouch" - its a pouch that goes on the inside so that it can put pressure on the bladder in just the right place ;)

Belly to belly...Now if that isn't charming, I don't know what is

Happy Birthday Charles!!

Today is Charles' 24th birthday!! WOOHOO!! I found this picture of his birthday 2 years ago blowing out the candles on the cake I made him- trying to woo him into marrying me ;) I guess it worked! I can't believe how much better my life is with him in it. I don't want to be super cheesy~ mostly because let's face it, I'm over eight months pregnant, and VERY emotional- haha. Some of my favorite things about Charles are:

~ His ability to laugh at anything, and help me when I should be able to laugh at myself
~ His innocence and humility
~ How he helps me be a better person just by being himself
~ He is one of a kind ;) and anyone who knows him knows I am not just saying that
~ He is a hard worker and passionate about whatever he does
~ His personality. There is so much more to it than that... but it is impossible to explain all the aspects of Charles that make him who he is
~ The way he reacts when he says something wrong and I let him know about it (note the countless stories documented in the blogs)
~ The way he can make me feel like a beauty queen, even when I'm in the state I am right now
~ His passion for learning and improving

There is no way I can tell you all the great things about Charles~ but I am sure lucky I found him! Happy Birthday Babe!!

Calling all Moms!!

Ok, we are getting down to crunch time here and I still have lots of things I need to decide on! I have been looking at stroller/car seat travel systems trying to pick one, but I am having a hard time deciding between all the options and don't know what to get! Does anyone have a stroller and car seat system that they really liked and would recommend? Another question about strollers- is it better to get one that is more neutral colored so that it will work for boys and girls, or do you wear them out pretty quick so go ahead and get a girl specific one? I just don't know... and for those of you who know my mind- these decisions are unreasonably hard for me to make, haha. So- any input or suggestions for strollers? OR any "must have" baby items that I probably don't know about? Bring on the comments, PLEASE!!!

One more for the day...

Ok, after my post earlier today, I have to add one more event from our evening. Charles and I were just outside doing a few things before it gets dark. He was sweeping off the driveway (so we don't get any more nails in our tires) and I was putting away the garbage can. Down the street I saw a dad on a walk with his three young kids. I was excited to meet them because we haven't met any of our neighbors yet so I was waiting for them to come up past our house. When they got to the top of the driveway, Charles spoke up first: "Oh wow, are these grandkids?" My heart skipped a beat... I knew the answer to that question. Sometimes I wish that husband and wife could communicate some other way so that we could screen things like that... I've given up on that wish though. The dad just kind of hesitated-"uh..haha... no, these are our kids- this one is 2 and a half and then the twins are 13 months." It was fun to hear Charles back pedal from that one. As soon as they walked away I just started to laugh. Charles looked at me and just said, "What?" As if he had to ask. He then defended himself with, "Well, he looked old enough to me" Haha... I just had to share because it made me laugh really hard. Oh well, there will be other kids for our children to play with, right? Haha What a day! :)

Accentuate the Positive!

Today has been a good day so far... despite a few kinks in the day. It actually makes me giggle a little to think about it, so I thought I would share another day in the life of Charles and Heather.
First of all, for a little background, our house uses propane as its main heating source (and yes, even though it is JUNE, we are still using heat) the propane tank that was here when we moved in is really old, and the gauge on it... well, it isn't attached, so we have had it 50% full for a while- until we finally realized what the problem was. Well, we called to get a new tank and switch to a cheaper gas company, but the soonest they could come do the swap wasn't until tomorrow (I called 2 weeks ago). Normally, they pump the gas out of the old tank, into the new one, but since they have no way of knowing how much is in there, they can't pump it. This was a big deal to Charles. He has been huffing and puffing about us having to buy 500 gallons of propane just because they don't know how much is in there. Well... this morning Charles turned on the shower, and let it run for a long time... the water wasn't getting hot. He went and checked the thermostat and realized, the house was at 60 degrees. He was THRILLED!!! We ran out of propane! Haha... He was like- Heather, aren't they coming tomorrow? GREAT!! He was so excited that we weren't going to have to give away any gas. Haha... it was really funny how something that would normally be really annoying, like not having hot water for two days- was suddenly a good thing thanks to my positive husband.
The next exciting part of my day was when I arrived at the Tacoma Mall (trying to be sneaky and get away to shop for Charles' birthday without him knowing) and right as I pull into the parking lot, I could tell I had a flat. It was as flat as it could be. What is more fun than changing a tire when you are 8 months pregnant, in the cold rain?? I'll tell you what... having a grandpa in wranglers and red boots... WITH FLAMES... change your tire for you! As I stood there staring at the tire deciding how to attack it, this grandpa and his grandson came over and said- "Ma'am, can we give you some help?" Can't turn that down! So the grandpa got at it after saying, "Man, I don't know nothing about these funny looking cars, that's why I drive a truck!" It brightened my day- mostly because there were two nice gentleman willing to help me when I was a little frustrated.
Well, thats all for now, I just had to share my two bits of happy things today. Hopefully it gets a grin out of y'all :)

Just for Courtney....

Courtney has been harassing me for about 3 weeks to put a picture up here of my growing belly. Reluctantly... I finally took a picture last night. I keep putting it off for a day that I "feel cute." I'm pretty sure those days are gone for now, haha. So there you have it... 6 1/2 weeks to go!! That is crazy to think. In church on Sunday she was moving around SO much! Everyone on our row was watching my stomach contort as she bounced around. We had friends sitting in the row in front of us, and even they could see her moving around, it was pretty fun. We'll have to work on keeping her reverent during Sacrament meeting :) She has been getting the hiccups a lot too, so thats kinda fun.
I hope everyone had a fun Memorial Day weekend! Ours was pretty busy, but we had a lot of fun. Now that Charles is working full time, it makes the time when he is home a lot more fun and valuable. I think he is going to be really sad this week when we move into our house- he is loving all the action around here with all of his brothers around. It has been a lot of fun!
Well, thats all for now folks- have a great week!

Almost there...

Well, if all goes as planned- a week from today we will have all of our projects complete, carpet installed, and our house will be ready for move in!! Things are coming along now and starting to look much more complete so that is very exciting. I took pictures of my favorite parts so far that we have done. We are just a few planks away from having our hardwood floor completely in, with a huge thanks to Mom Himmer and Andrew who made it happen this week. I LOVE the way it looks. It was a little more tricky than the instructions let on, but Andrew worked hard on it this week and it looks great. We finished the tiling in the master bathroom and got it all grouted this week, all we have left in there is for the shower door to be installed, and a few paint touch ups. This week I got our laundry room floor all prepped to tile down there on next week, so we should be able to knock that out, and I'll take more pictures as we progress. We still have some major cleaning to do, and lots of work outside- but that will probably have to wait until after we get everything settled in, then we can have fun outside. Well, here are the pictures I took yesterday.

New Garage Door and Exterior Paint

New Front Door

Inside Paint color, Solatube, and extra lighting in the living room, and our stair railings that aren't on our stairs yet :)

New light for dining area, and FLOORS!!!

New kitchen counters, backsplash, and floors

Master Bath Shower

Still needs some cleanup, but thats the master bath counter and some of the floor (the floor is really dirty still)

Gig Harbor

Ok, I finally uploaded some of the pictures I have taken since we have been here. I still need to take some of the house, and I have requests in for updates on my growing belly- so more pictures to come. Things are coming along with the house- I can't believe how great Charles' mom has been, we would not be able to move in for YEARS if she hadn't been working so hard for us. It's looking like things will wrap up here in the next couple of weeks and we will be in :) It has been fun to stay at the Himmer house and be a part of everything there. Charles and I were saying last night, we still feel like we are in vacation mode because it is weird to be here and be done. I think reality will set in once we get moved in and settle in to our new place. Anyway- here are the pictures, Enjoy!

Here is Charles one night on a walk we were taking at sunset

a shot of the sun through the trees

here we are together on our walk through Kopachuk park

Sunset from the Himmer house- really pretty

Here are a few from our walk down by the Harbor

Here we have the boys anxiously awaiting the arrival of their brother after 2 years!!

Welcome Home Andrew!!

Chef Sam helping me with Dinner- I made him wear the hat and apron, haha

Quick Update from Us

I don't have any pictures for now, but things are going great here in Washington. I finally got to meet Andrew, Charles' younger brother that has been on a mission in Hungary. He got home on Sunday and its been really fun to get to know him the past few days. It is also good to have Mom and Dad Himmer back. We have been back to work on the house this week getting things done, but there are a few (HOME DEPOT) hold ups that have pushed back our move in date to June. We have been waiting for our order of hard wood floors from Home Depot and they are about 3 weeks late and we still don't have them (hopefully today). But since those aren't in, we can't do the carpet that was scheduled for install this week, and their next available date to do the carpet wasn't until May 30-31. So, we have lots of time to get things done between now and then. We are really lucky to have a place to stay and it is fun to get to spend time with the family in the mean time. Yesterday we had all the boys over at the house helping with things, so that has been GREAT! I have been meaning to take pictures, but a lot of projects are near completion, so I will take some soon and put them up. That's about all for us these days. It is great to be done with school and reading for fun and having time to go to the gym and all of that! I think Charles is really enjoying getting to work all day too. We have been whipped into reality that we can't be together all day every day as it was when we were in Provo working at the same place. That took a little bit of adjusting to the first few days, but I think we are getting the hang of it- and this Friday we will have our first night apart since we have been married :(. He is going to the Father and Son's camp out with his dad and all the brothers. It is the first time they will ALL get to go. Anyway, thats our update- pictures coming soon....