December in Norfolk

What a wonderful time of year! After taking a few days to settle back into life in Norfolk we have enjoyed some great family time, as well as, visiting with our Norfolk friends and celebrating Christmas! DB is growing up right before my eyes! Everyday he is becoming stronger and more coordinated. Currently he loves to be tickled under his arms and chin. Loves taking baths with his daddy and as always...very serious about his food. Below is a picture timeline of some fun moments. Enjoy!

Sitting in front of the Christmas tree looking handsome in my Christmas outfit
My 1st squadron Christmas party...Santa outfit with elf hat...really??

There is a bird on top of that toy!!!!

Got some new bibs in the mail today...thank you Grandmamma & Aunt Brantlee

Happy Birthday Daddy!! Sang Happy Birthday a few times because we liked it so much!

I love books and my favorite story right now is The Night Before Christmas

We decided to celebrate Christmas a little earlier at the Farmer house so we wouldn't be packing a bunch of gifts! Dad & DB in front of the tree on 'Christmas' morning! (They just woke up)

DB opening his 1st Christmas gift from mom & dad

"I like holding the bow"

"The paper is fun too"

"I'm the present"

"Hi Curious George. It's nice to meet you"

"How do you play with these things, again?"

Mom and Santa posing before heading to an Ugly Christmas Sweater party. Mom & Dad wore homemade puff paint shirts...need to get the photo up of Dean

It snowed

The snow stayed until morning so we got dressed warm for a quick picture on the back deck

Close-up. Notice Gabby's paw made the picture. She was running around so fast - she loves snow!

Sitting up like a big boy!

Laughing at mom

Our little Christmas Boy

Yes, its been a while...

...too much to cover in one post. Instead of writing about the past I'm going to start with DB's first profressional pictures. Check out photographer's blog:

http://www.patsybrownblog.com/

New DB Pictures

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

The Proud Grandparents

About to head Home

Little Boy Blue

First Asleep Smile Caught On Camera

How it all happened...

...or at least what I remember. ;) I figured I needed to go ahead and post this story before I forgot the details of D.B.'s birth and birthday. So, rewind to my last post before he was born (August 27th) I got little sleep the night before and had a feeling he was coming soon. After that posting I started feeling weird. Luckily Dean came home at lunch and got to hear my long list of weird feelings. I was really uncomfortable, back aching, thought I had a fever, somewhat regular contractions, but my biggest worry was that I wasn't feeling any kicks. And this baby knew how to kick. Dean and I tried everything cold drink, soda, poking & patting my belly, reading to him, changing positions...nothing. The more we tried the more emotional I became so we decided to pack up for the hospital. We thought it was a little silly to go ahead and bring our overnight bags at first, but it was a good decision in the end. After arriving at the hospital and lots of tears we heard D.B.'s strong heartbeat...relief! Dean had emailed my doctor before we left the house and she showed up within 10 minutes of us being there...more relief. She went ahead and checked me and I was dilated 2 cm...not much change, but my contractions were pretty strong and 5 minutes apart. Doc wanted to check fetal movement through a 30 minute ultrasound even though the heartbeat was strong. During the 30 minutes of the ultrasound we saw zero movement. Worry is slowly creeping its way back into my mind, but a few seconds later I heard the words "we are admitting you and you will be induced" which totally caught me off guard. Lots of emotions were running through my mind at this point and I'm sure Dean can fully describe more. Then the whirl wind started...IV first, which was traumatic in itself b/c it took FOUR (yes, 4) tries before they could get it in. (side note: I really, really, REALLY don't like needles and given my vulnerable state the extra pokes were not helping) Then we made it to our labor and delivery room where we would spend the night waiting for D.B.'s arrival. Neither one of us of got a whole lot of sleep, but things progressed pretty quickly in the scheme of things. I will not expand on all the details of the evening, night and early morning, but not everything was perfect to say the least. The epidural didn't work on my lower back and the word pain had a whole new meaning. Dean was wonderful and stood by and held my hand through it all which was a huge comfort and although I wasn't into talking to people that night Dean read out all the nice text messages that people sent. Thank you for all the prayers...we needed them. In the midst of night D.B.'s heartbeat remained constant; even during the pushing portion. Doc came back to the hospital around 4:00 am and was pleased and ready for me to push. D.B. arrived at 6:42 am and looked so precious right from the beginning...a healthy, happy 8 lb 6 oz baby boy! Doc admitted how shocked she was with his weight...no one thought he was that big, but maybe that's why he wasn't moving - he had run out of space. ;) Dean and I both are very thankful for the wonderful doctors and nurses at Portsmouth Naval Hospital (except for the guys putting in my IV). We had a great hospital stay and felt like that care was excellent.



Both sets of grandparents drove through the night to meet their new grandson. They somehow arrived looking fresh and very awake! I was impressed! It was a very special time.



The rest of Friday was a blur to be honest. I have blurry memories of holding my new baby and seeing Dean transition into being an awesome father to our new son. Its totally amazing how quickly your heart welcomes this new little being into your life. I love you D.B.



Pictures to follow tomorrow:)

Dean Blaine Farmer, III

8 lbs, 6 oz of pure joy! Born August 28, 2009! We are so happy that "D.B" arrived on Friday! We are all doing great!
More later...thanks for checking in!

Getting ready for baby D.B.'s arrival

Last night was not a restful night at the Farmer house. Dean had trouble falling asleep (which is beyond rare), our child decided he would try to run a marathon inside my belly and I of course was wide awake making strange grunting noises at all the kicks I was receiving. Gabby was the only one who snoozed through everything. After Dean and baby D.B. settled down I tired to fall asleep, but was up every few minutes going to the bathroom or thinking about going to the bathroom. Sometime between bathroom breaks and 4:30am I slept...I think. At about 5 a.m. I started having braxton hicks/real contractions about every 10 minutes. (Yes, I actually squinted at the clock across the room every ten min) It's hard to tell if they are real contractions b/c although they are VERY uncomfortable/painful I could breathe through them - and from what I've gathered every one's description of these contractions are different. So, at 6am I decided to get up drink lots of water and move around to see if that changed the 10 minute cycle. It did. They (the bh/contractions) slowed down to about every 15 minutes. After I fed Gabby she went upstairs to wake up dad. Once Dean was up I convinced him to go for a walk with me. It was so nice and cool outside - the sun was rising - just a beautiful morning! The walk was painful for me, but hopefully it helped get this labor process started. Which brings me to my next point...Tropical Storm Danny. Low pressure = labor, right? Isn't that what I've heard all my life growing up on the Gulf Coast? I guess you can tell from this post that I am ready to meet my little guy and hoping that he will arrive safely sometime this weekend! Only time will tell...

A sunrise picture from our walk this morning (39 wks)
A picture outside Portsmouth Naval Hospital monday afternoon before our most recent dr.'s appointment (sorry for cutting off your head sweetie)

No baby yet

Had a great Dr.'s appointment today! 1.5 cm dilated & 50% effaced...when will D.B. come?...who knows!

We'll keep you updated on any happenings at the Farmer house!

It's been a while

So, I've been little bad about updating everyone on baby status! Sorry. This past week I've done a lot of sleeping and well...nothing. Not sure if heat was a factor or not, but I haven't felt up to doing much. Luckily this weekend I have come out of my "funk." Probably thanks to my husband being home from work all weekend and getting me out of the house. We've been on 2 walks this weekend, a Creed concert, out to eat for Greek food (which wasn't so good), busy organizing baby stuff and well, still taking long naps everyday! ;) This morning we slept in and skipped church and headed out to my new favorite place for breakfast - Donut Dinette on Colley Ave. I guess the best part about is that you can have your eggs, bacon, grits...normal breakfast stuff, but you can also get a yummy donut for .79 cents! Also, their pancakes are HUGE and so good! The picture below was taken on our way to breakfast there this morning.

Baby update: doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon at 3pm! I guess we'll find out if we are close to meeting this little guy! Thanks for checking in...

Happy Birthday Gabby!!!!

Halloween 2007

Say Cheese!! Yesterday, August 10th was Gabby's 3rd birthday. (I think). Since she was a rescue doggie they estimated her birthday. I didn't realize it was her birthday until we got a birthday card in the mail from our pet insurance company! Whoops! Don't worry...she got some extra treats, tummy rubs and kisses from us! I was looking for one of her puppy pictures to post and then I found this picture (below) and started laughing...again. This picture was taken on Gabby's first trip to TN/FL. The 14 hour + car drive was a little much for her as you can see below! She later chewed up that nice orange carrier and enjoys looking out the car windows now.

Best Baby Shower

I feel truly blessed...I have the best friends ever! Thank you for a wonderful baby shower - all the little details made it so special!! D.B. & I had the best time and LOVE all the gifts!

Hostesses

Family that came

The pregnant ladies...September, September, December & January ;)

The rivalry continues....

Beautiful Flowers

Fruit display in the shape of a carriage

The Whole Group

Who's in Africa???

It's out in the open...Dean went to Africa to assist with President Obama's publicity trip. Although the boat that trekked all the way across the Atlantic in record time for this mission received zero credit, I did find one picture of Dean flying over there.

32 week update

Baby and I had our 32 week check-up yesterday and we are doing great! We had our 3rd ultrasound to check on baby positioning. Baby is head down currently and I am praying that he stays that way until his birthday! He was a cute little dude in the ultrasound and wiggling all around. My Dr. was impressed to see that he was practicing breathing already (which is apparently hard to catch on camera) and a great sign that he is preparing for his entrance into this world. He must have his father's genes...always being prepared! ;) Definitely feeling contractions a couple times a day now, but for the most part feeling OK. I'll be glad to have Dean's mom and my mom up for a visit later this month! Below is a belly update! Enjoy...and thanks for checking in!

Blue Paint & Funny Story

Baby D.B.'s room is officially blue! The painter finished up today and it looks great! Now we just need the bedding to come!

Funny Story about a bird's nest:

Dean's Email: "a/c 44 got a bird’s nest so it is down for SAR"

Bonnie's Email: "Did birds build a nest in the helo? Are there baby birds in there or eggs? Kind of interesting...guess its a good thing your boat was floating out there b/c otherwise the birds would have died, right?"

Dean's Email: "Sorry sweetie a bird’s nest is when the rescue hoist cable is tangled inside the hoist, rendering the hoist unusable. No actual birds."

Of course it is a knot in the rope not an actually birds nest...I knew that!! ;) Dean's mom & I were in the process of worrying what they were going to feed the birds when I got his response! haha

Tour of the Southest

Dean, Gabby & I traveled for 2 weeks to see friends & family all over the southeast. This is basically a picture post of trip! Enjoy!

We started off at the cabin with Dean's parents in NC. We are standing in front of the garden where we planted corn, squash, onions, fennel & potatoes. It was so much fun and we had wonderful weather!Fresh asparagus & strawberries from the gardens!

Gabby loves visiting her cousin Zoey! They have so much fun playing together...above is a rare moment of them not chasing each other!

We ate lunch with a high school friend of Dean's and her fiance!

Eating dinner at Uncle Chuck's house...had to get a picture with their Great Dane!

Here we are in B'ham hanging out...Gabby was glad to get a break from riding in the truck!

My college friends surprised us with a little baby shower for D.B.! The yummy cake!

College friends: Ammie, Katie, Lisa & Brooke! It was a SUPER surprise to see all of them and they were so sweet to plan it! Some of their husbands came too so Dean wasn't the only man there! ;)

Brooke & I outside after the shower with a frontal belly shot! Brooke is due in July with a little boy too!

We made it to Pensacola and got to see our niece in action at her t-ball game!! Go Marlins!

At P'cola beach for a family picnic and some photos! It truly is prettiest beach...not that I'm partial or anything! ;)

The picnic site.

Our cute little nephew!

The men building sand castles...which turned into see who could dig the deepest hole.

Mom, me & my sister

Dean's finished masterpiece! You are a true artist sweetie!!!

Our next stop was Opelika, AL for a family wedding. My cousin Wheeler married one of my sorority sisters!! I wish I had taken more pictures...it was a beautiful wedding and so much fun!

The wedding party walking up the driveway to the reception!

Ammie & I posing in front of the beautiful "C" flower arrangements @ the bride's house!

Mom & Dad @ the reception under the tent!

Brantlee & Matt

Dean, baby D.B. & me

Alpha Chi photo with the beautiful bride!!

A visit with brother Scott on his b-day in Atlanta!!