Welcome baby Sophia....

We have moved on to the next phase of our lives......PARENTHOOD.

On June 2, 2011, Josh and I went into the hospital for a scheduled induction. By 9am, I was all strapped up and settled into bed with Josh right next to me. After 30 hours of contractions, walking the floors, two epidurals, nausea and vomitting, and pushing for over an hour, SOPHIA RAE BREDING was born by c-section.

As the 30th hour approached, I started running a fever and Sophia was showing some signs of distress. Thus, my midwife called in the MD and withing 10-15 minutes I was in the operating room. I wasn't sad or disappointed about having a c-section, after all it was the best for both Sophia and myself. More importantly, Josh and I finally knew we would be meeting the most important person in our lives.....Miss Sophia......Turtle is still our most important pet!

Both of us received antibiotics, but Sophia ended up with a scalp IV.

We referred to this as her chimney...

Our first family photo

I finally got to meet Sophia face to face.....not fist to rib cage

Daddy's first diaper change

Baby Shower

 Some pics from the baby shower our Air Force friends threw us last week.....



The Korn is about to pop!

Our friends Kim and Tamar are awesome---they organized everything, so thoughtful of them....

Game #1: Fill baby bottles up w/ equal amounts of 7 UP, no hands allowed, 1st one done wins. We've been to 2 baby showers in the past 6 weeks and I'm proud to report that I am now the 2-time defending champ in this event. And it is really, really hard to suck liquid out of a baby bottle---i don't know how they do it.

Game #2: 5 different diapers with 5 different types of candy bars smeared into them. Gotta guess which is which by the smell----no tasting!

Game #3: The Granny Panty race

Game #4: Guess the circumference of Jo's belly

Tons of great gifts.....

Weekend Update

We've been busy since our last post---mostly crossing things off our Things To Do Before The Baby Arrives list.

[Gettin bigger]

Good news....We finally made it to Tahoe for some skiing. It was weird to go from 75 degree weather to mid 20's and snow in just over 2 hours. Seeing snow again was awesome---Turtle loved it. She and Jo played in the snow on the snowshoe paths and walked around the village at Squaw Valley. Meanwhile 2000 ft higher I was attempting to teach myself to ski-----I'd never been before and was too cheap and proud excited to get going for lessons.

It all went really well until I had to snap my boots into the skis. I looked kind of like what a newborn colt looks like as it tries to walk for the first time. My legs were shaking all over the place, I fell down, it looked like I was getting tasered . Riding up the lift gave me some time to eavesdrop on fathers shouting instructions to their 7 year olds as they skied down below me. "Keep your weight on your front foot, Aiden! Make a pizza slice if you get going too fast!" It actually helped quite a bit.

                                             [Thats Lake Tahoe in the background, pretty cool to see a gigantic lake so far up in the mountains.]

I picked it up fairly quickly and by the end of the day I had ascended to the level of "nearly competent." It sucked skiing alone though. Each time I wiped out I could imagine JoAnna hysterically laughing at me with her palm over her clavicle as she usually does.

More good news.......We finally have some friends....kind of. I'd say we have about 3 couples who are at least 1/2 friends by now. So we're up to 1.5 friends. We even had a dinner date at 1 of the couples' house 2 weeks ago--it was a lot of fun. We waaaay overstayed though---- as usual.

Jo has this social disorder....she can't stop talking sometimes (perhaps related to her Chronic Nagging Syndrome???). We were at these people's house for over 4 hours. At the 2hr 45 min mark we had the first "Yeaaaaaaah it was nice havin' you guys over, we should do it again sometime" line. Didn't faze Jo---she blew right thru it. On she went..... baby clothes, cell phone providers, best childhood board games, Winter Olympics vs. Summer Olympics. {All the while, the food in the kitchen full of dishes hardened like concrete......bet that was fun to clean at 10:30 on a Friday night.}

At the 3:30 mark I fake yawned for the 6th time, glanced @ my watch and commented that its almost 10 o clock. She still had gas in the tank though-- 30 more mins worth. Her personal record for overstaying is 95 mins. It happened one night last year in Biloxi and was highlighted by the line "Yeah, my brother has a peanut allergy" at the 90 min. overstay mark. When the conversation is desperately being kept alive by obscure topics filed away in the far corners of your brain like "Allergies My Siblings Have"---- its time to pull the plug and let er die in peace.

[She goes nuts splashing herself to cool down after her runs.]

Even more good news........Turtle is still pretty cute. And she has a new swimming pool she loves cooling off in.

Our little baby girl, _______!

For everyone who has been asking to see my belly, here is the beach ball. It appears to be well done according to my belly button thermometer. I am 30 plus weeks at this point and feeling every bit of the 20 lbs I have gained. Sleeping is hard, breathing is hard, exercising is hard.....but all worth it to feel that little girl jump kick and punch my rib cage (I forgot to mention getting up every night 5-10 times to tinkle). But, Josh and I couldn't be more greatful for a healthy pregnancy thus far.

(FYI the only reason I am allowing people to see this lovely bump is to prove I am actually pregnant. For many of our family members and friends, I didn't look pregnant when we saw them at Christmas or we didn't get to see some people at all. I don't want anyone to think Josh and I kidnapped some child off the street! ENJOY!)

The day after this picture was taken, Josh's mom and Larry arrived at our house. They were for a long weekend and helped us with some major house renovations. We had a wonderful time. Josh and Larry put up a shed for the back yard and Pam and I worked in the yard and in the baby's room. We also sampled the taco/burrito stand on wheels in Plumas Lake (literally the only food place in Plumas Lake and it was DELICIOUS).

We finally gave our laborers some rest and relaxation and took a drive through the Napa Valley. We went on the Mondavi wine tour and tasting. CHEERS! My juice was amazing by the way, when I swirled the juice it released all of the esthers and the aroma was really intense. Best, most expensive juice I have ever had the pleasure of tasting!!

Sadly, the in-laws had to make their way back to the blizzards and cold temperatures of North Dakota. We are so happy and thankful they came to visit and to help get the house in better shape. We needed a little family rejuvination. It gets a little (I mean SUPER) lonely always being so far from family and friends.

I think my growing belly and perhaps the obnoxious winter in MN guided my mom's decision to come for a visit too! Only 3 days after Pam and Larry left, my mom rolled into town. Right off the bat we really made her trip an experience she will never forget....

CRAIGSLIST detour...oh yeah, for those of you who don't know, Josh and I are Craigslist addicts. Seriously, it is crazy to be able to buy practically brand new stuff for little to nothing. I think my mom had a good time, she at least found it entertaining that Josh and I were having the worst communication ever....

1. The dimensions of this couch were given to Josh 2 days prior to picking it up. When I asked Josh " Will the couch work?" he answered, "yeah, no problem". The morning we picked up the couch, Josh informs me the couch won't fit in the Enclave. GRRRR. When I asked him why he told me there wouldn't be a problem with the dimensions of the couch he said "JoAnna, I was busy doing something and I wanted you to stop talking and bothering me". Real nice!!

2. We both thought the other person had grabbed the cash....nope, we showed up to this poor woman's house without any money. Seriously, unbelievable.

3. Because we weren't able to use the Enclave, we borrowed a 2 door truck from Josh's co-worker/friend. Needless to say, we looked quite hilarious smooshed into the back seat with all of the cushions, mom's luggage, and more cushions.

                                             4. Did I mention it was down pouring!

                       Regardless, we ended up with a beautiful couch and Josh and I are still married! HAHA

After the adventure, we worked on the house, enjoyed the company, went to a play (I love you, you're perfect, now change) and.......... got to have a 3d ultrasound.

These pictures are pretty amazing......

Josh thinks she has my "big" lower lip. Do I really have that big of a lower lip? I know I have big teeth, but a big lower lip....I don't think so. Considering my extra large teeth, I was concerned she was going to have teeth already! (kidding)

From right to left of the picture above...you can see her nose and lips. I would't call this one cute, actually it is a little creepy!?

It was pretty amazing to see our little girl. Although, she looks so peaceful in all of these pictures that it seems hard to believe she is the critter kickin' and punchin'. She was so precious and so big, wieghing in at just under 3 1/2 lbs. I think mom enjoyed the ultrasound as well....technology has really changed since she last had one done.

Mom left and now it is just Josh, myself, Turtle and the bun in the oven. Only a few weeks left to go. We are both excited and freaked out of our minds...which I think means we are normal, newly expecting parents! Stay tuned...we will have more pictures to come!

Aloha!

Aloha means "Hello" or "Goodbye" or "Holy Smokes We're Gonna Be Parents in 3 months, We Have Time For 1 Last Peaceful Vacation."

We spent 8 days in Hawaii (aka Hawai'i if you really wanna get proper), mostly on Oahu with a day trip to Kaua'i.

We stayed at the military hotel, The Hale Koa, on Waikiki beach. Our hotel resembled a retirement community with all of the silver-haired retirees shuffling around. We felt like extras on the set of "Cocoon." Most of the conversations we overheard walking the hallways pertained to blood pressure meds, cholesterol levels and the early-bird discount down at the buffet. They were a very friendly bunch and loved sharing their military experiences with us. I hope we're that happy when we reach their age.

Outside the Hale Koa on Waikiki Beach. That's Diamond Head in the background.

Sandy Beach in Oahu......this was our favorite beach, we went on our 1st day and on our last day.

This was a blast, these waves were so powerful. Jo was angry w/ me that I wouldn't let her get tossed around by Mother Nature.

Waimea Canyon on the island of Kaua'i. Mark Twain called it "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific."

On Day #2 we hiked up  Diamond Head, then enjoyed some Shave Ice as we cooled down afterwards.

Oahu's finest dentist, Kevin Leong, served as our informal tour guide. It was good to see Kevin again, we met up w/ him several times including a Valentine's double date.

One day we showed up to his office unannounced. Jo was holding her jaw, pretending to be writhing in pain. I told the receptionist that "Dr. Leong did a root canal on my wife Monday and now her face is swollen, she can't swallow, is having difficulty breathing and she tastes bleach coming out of that tooth. We get married in Maui tomorrow and if he doesn't fix this I'm gonna wring his neck!" 

Stock photo of Hanauma Bay. We went snorkeling here----it was probably the highlight of our trip. We got to swim w/ all of those neon colored tropical fish.

You're not supposed to touch the coral reef in the bay. As we floated along the surface, Jo's belly bottomed out on the coral a few times---she didn't find it nearly as funny as I did.

USS Arizona @ Pearl Harbor

This was alot of fun too. We hiked up to Manoa Falls, a 100+ foot waterfall near Honolulu. About 5 mins before we reached the falls, the guy in front of us proposed to his girlfriend. They were spalshing around beneath the falls looking pretty excited.

One night we went on a dinner cruise. The food was terrible and the entertainment on the main level was poor so we hung out on the top deck and enjoyed the sunset and the skyline view of downtown Honolulu----so pretty.

Baby on Board!

The Pacific

Needless to say, Josh, Turtle, and myself get a little tired of looking at the same thing all the time......whether it be the base, my urgent care, the house, Josh or Turtle's face (I love my puppy).....it was getting old and Josh agreed! Instead of tearing up thinking about our friends and family back home and in MS....we decided to go for a drive north of San Francisco.

STINSON BEACH here we come. It was absolutely beautiful. We enjoyed the beach and the ocean waves all day long. Turtle loved chasing the waves around and playing with other dogs.

Getting her to take a timeout for a photo wasn't easy

I particularly did not enjoy chasing the turd she dropped off in the ocean waves as they went in and out.....I'm sure Josh enjoyed watching me dodge getting hit by the bombs and then chasing to pick them up.

Here are some picks for ya'll to enjoy!

Moving right along, we went to Point Reyes National Park. Despite it's beauty, we were only able to enjoy a picnic in the sun. Turtle was uninvited to join us on the trails and most of the beaches.....but of course we got her a little more beach time down the road.

Turtle made friends with people, dogs, and even a horse (it was taking a stroll on the beach).

Our little girl enjoyed her day at the beach and then enjoyed closing her eyes all the way home. I unfortunately did not have an enjoyable ride home. I guess if you put a pregnant woman in a car and drive up and down and zig-zag the nausea returns.

All in all, it was a gorgeous day spent with my favorite puppy and my wonderful husband! I can't wait to go again, but maybe when car rides don't make me sick!!