Jenny Garland

Sister, Sister

Here are pictures of Kate and Sara Paige, both two days old at the time.

In Honor of Aretha Franklin...

I'm sure you saw or at least heard about Aretha's fabulous hat at the Inauguration!

Sara Paige thought she would try to make her own fashion statement this morning. It was a huge hit during our first stroll through the hospital hallways :)

Allow me to introduce you to our sweet baby girl, Sara Paige

She's here! She's here! She's here! Sara Paige Garland made her debut at 1:52pm at Centennial Hospital in Frisco, TX. I could not be more thrilled with the service and knowledge of the labor and delivery nurses here by the way! I totally recommend delivering here.

We got to the hospital at 10am this morning after driving very slowly on icy roads. I had my epidural at 10:45am and Pitocin at 10:50am. At 11:10am, my doctor came in to break my water and I was 5cm dilated. After that I contracted, dilated, etc quickly and all the sudden it was "go time!" I pushed for three contractions. The baby's umbilical cord was loosely wrapped around her neck but thankfully my fab doctor was able to quickly unravel her before she experienced distress. I delivered at 1:52pm (only three hours of labor, I wish that for everyone) and Sara Paige scored an 8, then 9 on her Apgar scores. She weighed in at 7 pounds 11 ounces and 20.5 inches long. Her hair is very dark, almost black, like Brad's and right now she has blue eyes like me!

Since Sara Paige (that's what we're calling her by the way, both names) was doing so well, we got to keep her in the room with us for an hour to cuddle and feed before Brad went to the nursery to watched her first bath. That was really meaningful for us to have some time together right away.

She is such a sweet girl and has the cutest, poutiest lip. We think she looks a LOT like Kate. Soon I'll do a side-by-side comparison so you can see for yourself! Kate was 8 pounds and 20 inches at birth, so they were pretty close in size.

My mom, Brad's parents, my sister in law Jenna, and Kate came up to visit this evening (my dad's out of town on business). Kate brought Sara Paige a birthday present: the cutest lovey named "Purple Pink Bunny" and a plush, pink blankie. What a thoughtful sister! Thanks for helping Kate pick out the cute present, Mimi and Poppy! I made sure Sara Paige had a gift for her big sis too: a stuffed animal Kate named "Giraffe Garland" and some purple cool girl shades (thank you Target dollar aisle)! Kate was super excited to meet her "sisser" and enjoyed tickling Sara Paige's teeny weeny toes.

I of course will upload a million pictures (probably starting tomorrow) but for right now I'm going to cling tight to my newest blessing and thank my lucky stars for another darling, healthy little girl.

Thank you all soo, soo much for thoughts, well wishes, and prayers. We are extremely lucky to have you!

PS ... Isn't this necklace the sweetest? I ordered it a few months ago and now I finally get to wear it :)

More updates soon!

Love,
Jenny

Holy moly, I'm having a baby tomorrow!

I went for my 39 week appointment this afternoon and since my blood pressure was even higher than last week, my doctor sent me over to L&D to run blood tests and monitor me for a couple hours. Thankfully, labs were normal and my blood pressure calmed down a bit. If I wasn't already scheduled for the induction tomorrow, I definitely would be now with blood pressure issues. Can you believe I'm still hanging on at 4cm? Three weeks at a 4!

Anyway, the weather here in Dallas is supposed to be pretty nasty tonight so we're thankful the hospital is only 10 minutes away. Kate's at her Mimi and Poppy's house being spoiled rotten, my bags are packed, and we're ready to go ... I'll definitely post tomorrow sometime with pictures of Baby Garlando! Yippee!!!!

*edit ... the hospital just called (11:45pm) and said to come in at 10am instead of 7am due to icy road conditions, so things are not going to get rolling as early as we had thought!

25 Random Facts, Habits, or Goals About Me

It's late at night and I can't sleep, so I decided to write 25 random facts, habits, or goals about me. If you are bored and actually get to the end, I'll be impressed! :)

1. I met my husband Brad, on the first day of summer school after my freshman year. I was home from Wake Forest University and we both were taking a calculus class at the University of North Texas. I fell for him right away. I went back to Wake for the fall semester and then transferred to UNT. It was the best decision I ever made :) I learned where you are is not nearly as important as who you're with.

2. I am super goal-oriented and when I get a "to-do" list in my head, I obsess. I graduated college in three years and had my masters degree in counseling psychology by the time I was 23.

3. I always double knot my shoe laces.

4. I think the invention of Diet Coke was pure genius.

5. In the sixth grade I wanted to be shorter. For a whole week I walked around school in a lunge-like stance thinking no one would notice and feeling certain I wouldn't stick out. Apparently, I was wrong. My teacher sent me to the nurse to make sure nothing was physically wrong with me. Oops. Although I have learned to embrace my height (5'11"),  you still won't see me in heels!

6. Which leads me to #6. Flip flops are my best friend. Thankfully I get to wear them a ton here in Texas :)

7. I started to sew after Kate was born (2006). A major reason I love it is relatively morbid. I have a fear of death. I can't think of anything worse than not being with Brad or my daughters. If something were to happen to me, I find comfort in knowing the girls will be able to wrap themselves in a quilt or cuddle with a soft toy I lovingly made, just for them. Sounds silly, I know. But it makes sense to me.

8. On a lighter note, I could live on watermelon, salmon sashimi, miso soup, and seaweed salad. Well, if only the budget would allow :) I can't wait to eat salmon sashimi once Baby Garlando gets here!

9. Speaking of... Baby Garlando will be evicted in two days if she doesn't make her move first. I can't wait to see Kate as a big sister.

10. I like to-do lists. No, no. I love to-do lists. Sometimes I write silly, measly things on my to-do lists such as "brush teeth" or "take shower" (like I'd forget?) just in order to cross them off.

11. I have a sick obsession with a Tetris-like game on my iphone. I have wasted an immeasurable amount of time on the darn thing.

12. I would rather do your taxes than dance in public. It may have something to do with the fact that I cannot hear or feel a beat to save my life.

13. When I turned 18, I decided to be rebellious and get a tattoo. Except my parents really didn't care or make a big deal out of it, so it was not nearly as "rebellious" as I had planned. Also, I didn't like the tattoo very much (a janky-looking black cross on my left shoulder). So, I went to a different tattoo artist to have him make it into something new. Unfortunately, the new design looked a bit too much like a swastika for my taste and I freaked. Which leads us to tattoo artist #3 who assured me that adding color to the swastika-esque design would eliminate any confusion. It ended up looking like a big circular, pink and green watermelon. Lovely. My dear parents paid for me to have it lasered off and after about 10 treatments, you can barely see it. Stupid, stupid decision to get a tattoo. I don't mind them on others (love the show Miami Ink), but I just got it to get it. I am still self-conscious about wearing spaghetti strap shirts because you can kind of see it.

14. I have dyed my hair every color and have had pretty much every haircut conceivable. As of today (emphasis on "today"), I'm attempting a more natural look and am trying to grow it out.

15. I like sudoku. A lot.

16. I have had meningitis, shingles, and a seizure (not at the same time).

17. I am clumsy. I often run into things and have inexplicable bruises.

18. Every night I put a glass of ice water on my bedside table even though it's usually full in the morning.

19. I have DES. That's "dry eye syndrome," people. Brad makes fun of me and my lubricating eye drops.

20. I love flowers and gardening but I'm terrible at it. I guess you really do have to water things to keep them alive or something. The only thing I've been able to keep living for an extended period of time is an ivy plant my in-laws gave me four years ago.

21. I broke my wrist snowboarding. Well, not so much "snowboarding" as exiting the ski lift at the top of the mountain. Whoops! Please refer to #17.

22. I can't stand the smell of bananas that are too ripe.

23. I have worn a size 10 shoe since 7th grade I think?

24. I have never been able to do a cartwheel.

25. I love to crank up the hot water in the shower as far as it will go. If my skin isn't red when I get out, it was too chilly for me!

38 Weeks - Baby Garlando Update!

We just got back from my 38 week appointment. Wouldn't you know, I'm the same amount dilated as last week! Talk about beating the odds after 6 weeks of bedrest! Today my blood pressure was a little high (138/80) and I'm starting to swell, but this happened at the end of my pregnancy with Kate too. Nothing to worry about as of now.

The nurse and doctor said they were both surprised I made it this far along, which I'm thankful for. I had a feeling (apparently a very wrong feeling) that Little Miss would be here by now!

The gist is if Baby Garlando doesn't decide to grace us with her presence soon, I  have an induction set up for next Wednesday morning (January 28). Either way, I can't wait to hold her in a week or less!

On another note... during the past week, Kate has decided to be potty trained. I tried a few times before but girlfriend just wasn't ready so I let it go. I wasn't planning on trying again until spring but  when she started to say "Katie use the big gull pahty now," who was I to argue? I am definitely expecting some regression after her sister gets here.  But for now, it's nice to only use 1 diaper a day!

Kreativ Blogger

Nope, no baby yet! Looks like our little girl wanted her very own birthday and didn't care to share with her mama yesterday :) That's okay with me! We're excitedly awaiting the baby's arrival and can't wait to cover her with loads of kisses and cuddles.

As a fun aside, my blog friend Astrid, gave me the Kreativ Blogger award! :) Astrid sews the most precious clothes for her little girls. And she's a huge Ottobre fan, like me! Be sure to check out her blog.

There are a couple rules with receiving this award:

1. Copy the award to your site

2. Link to the person from whom you received the award

3. Nominate 7 other bloggers

4. Link to those bloggers

5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominated

Here's my pick for 7 blogs I love to read :)

1. Made by Petchy. Petchy has fabulous red hair and a ton of great tutorials (see her DSLR camera strap tut). I always get inspiration from her blog.

2. Oh Fransson. Quilting's not just for old ladies, people. Oh Fransson makes amazing quilts and has wonderful patterns available. 

3. Stitchy Stitcherson. Whew! The patience of stitching by hand continually impresses me.

4. You Go Girl! Cassie loves fabric and creating stuff. You'll love what she comes up with :)

5. Erica B's Style. Erica is an amazing seamstress and I adore everything she makes. What a sense of style!

6. Just a Spoonful of Sugar. This is Lisa, my neighbor's blog. She loves to craft too and has two cute, CUTE little girls she writes about.

7. Rocky Mountain Highs and Lows. This is my friend, Melissa's blog. She recently moved to Denver so this is how I keep up with her :) Melissa writes about her crafts and precious family (love you, Grant!).

Toasty, Reincarnated

Toasty, a Nemo-like stuffed fish from the grocery store toy aisle, has been an influential member of our family for the last six months or so. Kate immediately named Toasty after we bought him and if you recall, there was a significant period of time when she would only refer to herself as "Toaster Garland" (in honor of the stuffed fish).

Toasty is almost always with Kate. He sleeps, rides in the car, runs errands, and plays with her on a daily basis. When Toasty gets stinky from being excessively chewed on, Kate directs him to "swim like a real fish" in the washing machine. Then when he is squeaky clean and warm from the dryer, she squeals in delight and tells him in a baby voice, "There's my clean little fishie!"

Unfortunately, Toasty has been manhandled a little too roughly. Between the playing, chewing, cuddling, washing, and oh... that time Kate threw him on an open flame, Toasty has about seen his last day. He's burnt, holey, perpetually stinky regardless of a regular bathing routine, and has almost paper thin skin.

I have been dreading the day Toasty becomes a "dud." This morning Kate saw a new hole in his fin and said "Aw man. Toasty's got a boo boo." I asked her if she would like me to make her a new Toasty, thinking she would surely say no.

Thankfully, I was wrong.

She thought about it for a second and said, "Yep. A pink Toasty. Me need a pink Toasty." So we went to Hobby Lobby and for $2.57, she picked out an interesting furry pink and leopard combination for her new friend, "Toasty Too." I think Toasty Too looks more like a stripper than a regular old fish, but Kate's happy. She told me Toasty Too should look "sassy." Mission accomplished.

For your viewing pleasure, please compare the original Toasty and with his alter ego, Toasty Too:

Baby Garlando Update - 37 weeks

Just got back from the doctor and I am 4cm dilated! The doctor said if I start having regular contractions to take my booty to the hospital right away because this delivery might go quickly. Don't have to tell me twice lady, I like the 'ol epidural. I'll be back with more news when I have it :)

Sister Dollies

This was the last craft project I was determined to get done before Baby Garlando's arrival and thankfully, it happened :) The dolls are made from the Black Apple doll pattern.

Kate has kindly offered to entertain both sister dollies until the baby gets here.