A Healthier Me

My weight has always been something I have struggled with. I have been looking for something for quite awhile to help me lose weight that could keep me motivated and give me the results that I want. I asked around and a lot of my friends had really good success with Weight Watchers so I decided to give it a try. I started on October 1, 2012 and I am so glad that I did. The first few weeks were a little difficult because my body was getting used to not eating as much, but I got used to it pretty fast. The thing I love most about Weight Watchers is that I don't feel like I am really dieting. It really just teaches you to eat smaller portions and choose healthier ingredients and options. It's so funny now to look back at how I used to eat before, especially at restaurants. I always knew what were healthier options, I just never decided to choose those options until I started seeing results. Now when I go to the store or a restaurant I find myself automatically looking for the healthier options and I am happy doing that. I guess I needed something to show me that choosing those healthier options really do make a difference. 

A little over two months in and I am 23 pounds lighter and down two dress sizes! I am starting to feel so good about myself! I am about 6 pounds away from being at a healthy weight for my height and I couldn't be more happy about that. I would still like to lose another 20 pounds by the time I am done but I feel great about my progress and I am confident that I can get to where I want to be. 

I don't really have a before picture, but here is an "in progress" picture.

Summer 2012

Warning: This post is extremely long! Sorry about that!

This year is just flying by. I can't believe it is already the end of October, but I love this time of year and I am so excited for the Holiday season! This summer was a busy one for us. We got to spend a lot of time with family and we traveled quite a bit, which was not expected but it was still good and fun.

In June we got to welcome my little brother Danny home from his mission. The two years he was gone went by super fast, but I am so glad he is home now. That week was pretty much like a huge family reunion. My sister Kristina and her husband, Ashley, were able to come down from Boise, ID and my Dad's parents came in from Maine. While everyone was in town we decided to go to the Zoo. It had been quite awhile since Sol and I had been so that was fun, but it was also really really warm. Jade was only about 2 months old so she didn't really notice much of anything and slept most of the time.

Us waiting for Danny to get off the plane. It seemed like it took forever!

Our reunion! Yes I am a bawl baby.

Danny meeting Jade for the first time!

Sleeping at the Zoo

Jade sleeping on daddy at the Zoo! Haha she pretty much slept the whole time.

My mom, my sisters and I did a fourth of July craft that same week also. I seriously love my mom and sisters. We have so much fun together and I love doing crafts with them because that is really the only decorations I have for my house. 

We also celebrated our 5th Wedding Anniversary on June 20th. I can't believe that it has been five years already. Like I said before, time just seems to be flying by. We wanted to do something big for our anniversary but since we just had Jade we settled for going out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (which was delish) and enjoying each others company for a few hours while my parents babysat Jade. I am the worst at taking pictures so I of course don't have any of our date. The first five years have been a challenge and a lot of things didn't happen the way we thought it would, but I wouldn't change any of it. I know that the trials that we have had to face have brought us closer together as a couple and I fall in love with Sol more and more everyday. I couldn't ask for a better companion to spend eternity with. He understands me more than anyone, makes me laugh all the time and is seriously the most loving husband and father! I love you Sol!!

In July we celebrated Independence Day with my family and ended up making a last minute trip to Colorado and Kansas around Pioneer Day. Sol's grandpa had been dealing with Leukemia for several years and we found out in the middle of July that he was terminal and that the doctors couldn't do anything else for him. We had discussed going out to visit them over Thanksgiving in Colby, Kansas, but with this news we realized that he probably wouldn't last until then. Thankfully Sol's work is super great at letting him have time off so before the end of the next week we were on our way to Denver, Colorado. We stopped in Denver because that is where Grandpa Theron was in the hospital. We thought we would have to stay in Denver the whole five days we were there, but he was released to go home a couple of days after we got there so we headed to Colby. The biggest reason we wanted to go was because we really wanted to Jade to see her Grandpa before he died.

Jade and her Great-grandpa Theron

This was seriously one of the most precious moments in my life. The second she was laid in his arms she started smiling. Even though she couldn't really see his face, it was like she looked into his eyes and knew he was her grandpa. All of us that were there had tears in our eyes. I will never forget that moment. It was so hard to say goodbye when it was time for us to go home because we knew we wouldn't see him alive again in this life, but so grateful that we had the opportunity to go when we did. He died on August 1st a little over a week after we left them. His funeral was on August 6th in Moab, UT. It was a really hard day, but the services were beautiful. I didn't know Theron for that long and I didn't see him very often, but I loved him and he meant so much to Sol.

I had just been crying so this isn't the greatest picture of me, but Sol and Jade look good.

After those rough few weeks we needed some fun times and that is exactly what we had. Jade was blessed on August 5th. It was so great and it still amazes me everyday that I am a mother to this amazing little girl. Sol did a great job on the blessing and we were so grateful for all our friends and family that came to experience that moment with us. Now I feel like the worst mother ever because I never got a picture of Jade in her blessing dress. I changed her out of it when we got home because she kept putting it in her mouth and her hands kept getting caught in it, but I always had the intention to put her back in it later and get a picture. I of course didn't get around to it so we only have a few pictures of her after she changed out of her dress. (I am still contemplating putting Jade in her dress now and taking a picture just to have one.)

Jade with her daddy on her blessing day with Sol's friend Justin and his baby Ryker.

Jade and Ryker on her blessing day. We were laughing at this because it looks like Ryker is trying to make a move on Jade.

In August we also went to the Zoo again with my mom's work, which was fun because Jade was a little bit older so she reacted to the animals a lot more (no pictures again, sorry). My mom's work arranged it so we went to the Zoo at night and I swear that is the best time to go. The animals were way more active and the temperature was perfect. 

My favorite thing that we did this summer was when we spent the day at Utah Lake with my family Jet Skiing. Kristina and Ashley had come down from Idaho to spend time here for their Anniversary so we all got together. I hadn't been in the water at all this year so I was excited to do something water related. It was a blast and we definitely need to do it again!

Kristina holding Jade, me and Melanie having fun in the sun!

Jade's first experience in water other than her bath water. Isn't she just adorable in that swimming suit!

Jade looking cool in Melanie's shades!

On September 2nd we headed up to Logan, UT to attend my brother-in-law Ryan's little girl, Alice's baby blessing. The drive up there was beautiful because the leaves had started to change and it is always nice to spend time with family. Jade is the only grand baby on my side of the family for now, but she has two cousins on Sol's side and they are all really close in age so I hope they become good friends.

Jade with her cousins Matilda and Alice.

On Labor Day we went to a Bee's game with our friends Jari and Kelli (shared a picture of this in my last post) which was pretty fun but also somewhat boring. We ended up leaving before the game was over because Jade was just ready to go home. Maybe we will go next year and see if it is better when she is older. The rest of September was pretty laid back and low-key which I think was the perfect way to end the summer.

5 Months

 On September 18th, Jade turned 5 months old. It is crazy how much she learns and how different she is from one month to the next. She can now roll over and almost sit up on her own. She has started to sleep through the night again and I couldn't be more grateful for that. Her favorite part of the day is when her daddy comes home. I think we have a daddy's girl on our hands and I am okay with that. When she is really happy she squeals and screams a lot now and it is so loud, but really funny! She pretty much refuses to sleep on her back, which at first kind of freaked me out since they say it is best for them to sleep on their back but she is comfortable and sleeps really good so I don't worry about it now.

She has recently learned how to blow raspberries and did it constantly for a few days. It is so cute!

She also drools an awful lot as you can see from this picture! She still loves to chew and suck on things. Since she was a newborn I have tried to get her to take a binki, but she just doesn't like it as much as her thumb. The only time she will take a binki is if she is really tired and then normally all she does with it is chew on it. So it looks like I have a thumb sucker but I am okay with it for now. She is too young for me to try to get her to stop and I really like that she can self soothe.

Isn't this the cutest picture ever?!! She adores bath time! Ever since the first time we bathed her she has loved it. Now that she is older she is much more animated in the tub. She gets so excited that she flails her arms and legs around which splashes water everywhere and she squeals! It is the cutest thing! She is growing up way too fast!

4 Months

These last four months have gone by so fast. I can't believe how much Jade has grown and changed since she was born. I am going to try and do a post about her every month until a year and then every year after that so I can keep up on the things she is doing and how much she has changed. So here are some pictures of her at 4 months.

Here are some things Jade is now doing at 4 months:

- smiles a lot
- likes to have long conversations with her daddy
- sucks on everything she gets her hands on
- drools like crazy
- has stopped sleeping through the night and it's killing me
- LOVES to be outside
- can roll from her back to her stomach, but not from her stomach to back
- Sleeps in her own room
- Rolls over in her sleep
- Has the cutest chubby cheeks and thighs
- Weighs about 13 lbs

We love everything about our baby J (what her daddy calls her)! Being her parents is the best blessing we could have ever received. We are so excited to continue to watch her learn and grow!

Jade's Newborn Pictures

When Jade was three weeks old we took her to a local studio and had her picture taken. I know that is a little late to do newborns but it took me awhile to recover from my c-section so that was when I was ready to do anything. I wasn't sure how she was going to be, but thankfully she slept the whole time and we got some amazing pictures. So get ready for picture overload!

Love love love that little girl! Can't believe she is mine!

Pregnancy and Birth

( This was written right after Jade was born. Sorry it took me so long to post it. )

I can't believe it has been 7 months since I announced that we were going to be welcoming a little one into our home. I remember thinking that April was so far away, but it came so fast! My pregnancy was relatively uneventful. I only had nausea a couple of weeks at the beginning and nothing so bad that I threw up so I was extremely grateful for that. In fact every time I went to my doctors appointments, the nurse and the doctor would both comment on how I was their easiest patient and they hoped I would stay that way. I hoped for the same thing, but sadly my luck ran out at about 36 weeks. At my 36 week appointment my blood pressure started to climb. It wasn't high enough to really be a concern, but then I started having persistent headaches and by the end of the week my ankles and legs had swollen to almost double their size. When I went for my 37 week appointment my blood pressure had gotten even higher and they were not liking the fact that I was having headaches and swelling so much. For the next two days I had to go to the hospital and have non-stress tests done and I also had to do a 24 hour urine text (which is so not fun). This was to see if I had pre-eclampsia because all of my symptoms pointed to that.While doing the non-stress tests everything looked really good and my blood pressure had gone down to a fairly normal level, but the headaches and swelling continued and when I went in for my 38 week appointment my blood pressure was high again. That day my doctor decided it would be best if we got our little girl here sooner rather than later. He felt that it was important we get her here before my condition got worse which could cause a lot of problems for the baby so I left the doctors office that day knowing that my little girl would be here the next day.

I can tell you I wasn't very happy about having to be induced. I really would have rather gone into labor on my own, but I also completely trusted my doctor and if he felt that it would be better for me and my baby to get here then that is what I would do. On the morning of April 18th we arrived at the hospital at 9:30am to get things started. I had already started progressing well on my own so the doctor and nurses felt like she would be here in the early evening. They started me on pitocin about an hour later and I started having contractions. Now at this point the pain really wasn't that bad at all and I was thinking to myself that maybe I didn't need the epidural, but I didn't realize how much worse the pain was going to get. At about 11:30am the doctor came in and broke my water and then the contractions started getting worse. I seriously can't even describe the excruciating pain I was in. I never thought it would be that bad. I asked for the epidural not long after that, but it took them forever to get my platelet count so I had to wait an hour or so before I could get the epi. The epidural is like one of the best things ever invented in my mind. After I got it I was able to relax and sleep for a little bit until things started to go wrong. With the help of the pitocin I started progressing extremely fast and the baby was not liking it. Her heart rate started to fall with every contraction I had so they stopped the pitocin and gave me a shot to stop my contractions. They wanted to give the baby time to rest and relax before we started up again. About an hour later they turned the pitocin back on but was giving me the lowest dosage they could so that the baby would tolerate it better. For the next hour or so she was doing fine, but not great so they turned the pitocin off. They decided to just let me contract on my own and hopefully I was far enough along that I would progress on my own. When they turned the pitocin off I was dilated to an 8 1/2 so they expected me to get to a 10 in the next hour or so. About three hours later I was still at an 8 1/2 and her heart rate started dropping dramatically and taking way too long to come back up again. Next thing I know I have like four different nurses in my room trying to get her heart rate up and then my doctor walked in. He told me that her heart rate was way too low and that we were going to have to do an emergency C section. The minute I heard him say C section I started bawling. I so did not want to have major surgery and I was terrified that there was something really wrong with my baby. So I started bawling and Sol, well he just froze. He was just staring at me with this terrified look on his face which I have to say didn't help me feel any better about having a C section.

Getting wheeled into the OR was kind of surreal. I had not planned or prepared for this so I had no idea what to expect and I was terrified. They did all the prepping they needed and then just as they were about to cut me open Sol walked in. I was so terrified that I would have to be by myself the whole time and I did not want that. As they were working I was just praying constantly that she would cry when she came out and that she would be healthy. I don't know how long it really took, but it felt like forever. The first thing the doctor said as she was coming out was "look at all that hair" and then she let out a wail. I have never felt so relieved in all my life. Hearing that cry was the best sound I have ever heard and of course I started bawling. I couldn't see her yet, but Sol could and he was beaming. I don't think I have ever seen him look so happy. Once they got her cleaned up a little they brought over to me so I could see her. She was beautiful and she immediately stopped crying when I started talking to her, which obviously made me feel amazing! Worst part of the whole thing thought was the fact that I still couldn't move because they were stitching me up so I couldn't touch her and I had to wait like an hour before I got to see her again and hold her for the first time. Here is our Jade Elizabeth Frazier!

We were in the hospital for about 3 1/2 days, which was long enough. The recovery from the C-section was hard, but not as bad as I expected it to be. The worst part of the whole recovery really didn't have anything to do with the C-section. The day we got home from the hospital I started to feel sick and for the next four to five days I had the stomach flu. That first week home was the hardest of my life because not only was I recovering from major surgery and the flu, but I had to take care of my daughter as well. Thankfully I had Sol for a couple days and then my mom was able to come stay with me for a couple days. I know I would not have recovered as fast as I did if it weren't for them. I really hope and pray that I don't have to go through the recovery process again with the flu. It was horrible and frankly made me really depressed. It didn't last too long though and I was able to get the hang of things on my own.

Being a mom is amazing! I am so grateful for this opportunity to be Jade's mother. She is the greatest blessing our lives. It was a long hard road to get to this point, but I wouldn't trade any of the trials we went through to get here because it taught us so much and I know we appreciate Jade so much more than if it would have been easy for us to have her. I'm so excited to watch her learn and grow!