Pictures of Isabella

Here are some pics I have taken of Bella. Not as good as Jasons, but still cute! This first one is of my mom and her. We are about to go to the doctor and she is wearing the new sundress Tamra bought her!


Here she is about to go home from the hospital!


Here she is sleeping like an angel in her crib.


Here she is with her Aunt Amanda!

And here she is with my friend Tamra!

Getting better, a little better all the time...

Isabella is 9 days old today and I am learning new things every day. She is honestly a really good baby so far. I hear newborns sleep a lot, so maybe that will change, but honestly she really only fusses when she is hungry and as long as she is full she is happy. Sounds like her mom! Getting up two to three times a night to feed is definitely hard and I pretty much feel a little bit crazy all the time, but we are so in love with her. I don't know how she does it, but she gets cuter every time I look at her.

The last couple days I feel like we are getting in to more of a routine. The feeding is still a struggle, but we are managing and she is on a pretty good eat, wake time, sleep time routine with her eating about every 3 hours and in the middle of the night sometimes she even sleeps 4! The last two days I actually wore makeup. Probably won't happen today, but baby steps right? Jason is being super supportive and even though he can't help with some stuff, he tries to help where he can. My mom left on Wednesday and his mom is coming up on Sunday to stay for about a week I think. I think my mom and dad may be up again this Saturday - my mom already misses her like crazy! - and my friend Serena is coming in from New York!! So we are excited to see her and introduce her to Bella.

Yesterday was the first time I got out on my own. I wasn't allowed to drive for a week so yesterday I put on real clothes and makeup and went to Target and Babies R Us and then went to Freebirds to pick up lunch. It is amazing how you really appreciate the little things when you have been cooped up inside for a week. The weather yesterday was so awesome and I actually got to listen to Sirius radio and sing along. =) So that was a nice treat for me. By the end of the day I am usually completely exhausted, but I just count my blessings that she actually sleeps during the night (mostly) when she isn't eating so I can sleep too. I know she will grow up all too soon, so I am really trying to just enjoy every minute, even when I am too tired to even think.

Tomorrow is my friend Courtney's birthday party so I am going to have Jason watch Bella so I can go for just like an hour. I am looking forward to seeing my friends! I have seen some of them since she was born, but not all. Should be a good time, and then my sister is going to come visit for a day next week too. So lots to look forward to in the coming week. OH, and ACL is announcing their lineup for the fall on April 28th! Can't wait to hear it. If it is anywhere close to the Lollapalooza lineup it will be greatness.

Ok, I guess that is all for now. I have some pictures that I took that I will post soon. They aren't anywhere close to as good as Jason's pictures, but they are new all the same and hopefully you will enjoy them!

She's Here!

Sorry it has taken me so long to post about the newest addition to our family! You wouldn't believe how tiring it is to raise a newborn. Ok, I know everyone says that, but it is TIRING. =) Besides being tiring it is also amazingly wonderful and I am so in love with this little girl I can hardly stand it. So, I am guessing you want details so here they are.

April 15 at 1:42 am I woke up and my water had broken (I will spare all the really TMI stuff =) ). So I wake Jason up, call the doctor and the doc says head to the hospital. We call our parents and my sister and Jared and tell them before starting to pack up, although we were mostly packed already. For those who don't know my dad is a CPA and this is like the big day for him every year, so when I called my parents he had literally just walked in the door from work. Sorry dad! =)

So about 2 am I start having contractions and from there on out I have contractions every 2 minutes for the rest of my labor. This is not what they prepare you for in birthing class. I was prepared to have my first contraction, then another one like 30 minutes later and slowly build up and wait a long time for an epidural and do all my breathing etc. Well, all that was out the window and let me tell you, contractions HURT. Yes, I realize another thing people tell you but holy cow, it is so true. By the time we got to checked in and put in our delivery room I was in so much pain I told them I wanted the epidural right away and they said that was fine. So I got one and from then on it was SO much better. I have no idea how or why people do this naturally but I would not suggest it.

So for the next 17 hours I was in labor and just kind of laid in my bed trying to rest and also having people in and out to visit. I couldn't have anything but ice chips so I was starving! Around two the next afternoon I started getting a fever so I had to be put on antibiotics for the rest of my hospital stay, and it also made me not feel so good. But finally around 6:30 pm that night the nurse said I was ready to push! Isabella had been pushing down on me all day so they said she was right there ready to go and that it wouldn't take long. That was very good news to me at the time...some people push for hours!

Isabella Jane was born at 7pm on the dot. She weighed 8 pounds 5 ounces and was 21 and 1/2 inches long. She is also absolutely beautiful if I do say so myself. =) The last few days have been a blur. I sleep when I can and my mom is here for a few days to help out. I don't know what I would do if she wasn't here! I would probably have only gotten half the sleep I normally do and would be going hungry I imagine. Jason has also been so great. Doing laundry and cleaning. Who knew having a baby was all it took to get him to do that? Just kidding, honey, I love you. =) Also, just trying to get this breast feeding thing down. That is also quite difficult, but we are working on it! Other than that Bella is really a good baby as long as she is full. She really only cries when she is hungry, which was a lot for a few days, but now we are getting better with that.

Thanks to everyone for your emails, texts, food, thoughts, prayers, flowers and all the other stuff all our friends have done for us. We are so blessed to have you all in our lives and so is Isabella. Here are a couple of my favorite pictures of her so far. Please excuse her head attire, we are working on getting her something more suited to her. =)

Good Music on Good Friday

Today has been a good music day. Do you ever have those? Where you just hear all these songs that you love and some of which you haven't heard in a while? Today it just seems like I keep hearing all these songs that make me in such a good mood so it got me thinking about other songs like that and then I got this list going in my head that I felt the need to share with all of you. Not to mention the fact that I am home with nothing to do but wait for Isabella to decide she is ready to join the outside world. =)

So anyway, I don't claim to be any sort of music critic or to be very 'hip' when it comes to music. I just like what I like and I always like to hear new suggestions for music from friends. So I am just going to list some random songs that I love, and if you are at work, bored and looking for something fun to occupy your time, maybe you want to go track these songs down on iTunes or something. I would also like to challenge anyone reading this to post a comment with a song or ten that you love that might not be on my radar. I don't even care if I don't know you, or whatever. I read lots of peoples blogs who don't know me or at least don't know I am reading their blog. I would just be flattered that you find this little blog interesting in any way, shape or form. Ok, enough rambling from me, here is my list of random songs I either heard recently or that I was thinking of that you may not have heard that I love...

Dixie Chicks - Taking the Long Way - Title song from their latest CD - please don't stop reading my list if you are an anti-DC person =)
David Bowie - Golden Years - this is the song that Heath Ledger and Shannon Sossaman (sp?) dance to in A Knight's Tale, if you have seen that movie
Tracy Chapman - Fast Car - one of my alltime favorite songs ever
Copeland - Should You Return - sort of a recent find for me...good for mellow/melancholy days
John Denver - Take Me Home, Country Roads - this song was on The Office last night and I forgot how much I like it
The Avalanche - Frontier Psychiatrist - this song is weird and not really even a normal song per se, but something about it gets under my skin
Billy Bragg and Wilco - California Stars
Damien Rice - 9 Crimes
Dan Seals - Addicted - really old country song but I just heard it today and it reminded me of middle school or something
Counting Crows - Walkaways and Elton John - Goodbye - I put these together because they are both really short songs, like a minute long, but both just GET me
Hank Williams Jr - Texas Women - I love the part when he says he is an Oiler fan. =) The Oilers will live on at least in song!!
Glasvegas - Geraldine and Shiny Toy Guns - Ghost Town - two newish songs that I can't get enough of right now
The Hooters - And We Danced - Makes me dance as well
Journey - Don't Stop Believing - not exactly a 'hidden' gem, but dang it is good
REM - Nightswimming - I bought Automatic for the People recently cause I had lost my million year old copy of it and it made me remember how much I love this song...random fact about this song - Jen dedicated it to Dawson when she was working on that radio station on Dawson's Creek cause they went skinnydipping. =) Yes, I was a Dawson's fan.
Your Wildest Dreams - Moody Blues - heard this last night at Jake's
Patty Griffin - Tony - pretty dark song but I never get tired of it
Shenendoah - 2 Dozen Roses - another song I just never get tired of
Impossible Dream - From Man of La Mancha - makes me always feel like I should be a better person

Ok, that's it for now. Hope you enjoy my very random list of music. This probably doens't even encompass some of my favorite songs, but they are just ones I thought of. Enjoy and don't forget to post your suggestions for my listening pleasure. =)

No News

Well, I am still pregnant. I keep thinking I am going to go in to labor at any second, but nothing has happened yet. I had a few of the braxton hicks contractions on Tuesday so I thought maybe that was a sign of something, but no. Went to the doctor today and basically no news. Everything is fine. Blood pressures good and my stomach is the right size and my weight gain is still ok. She said I could go in to labor any time or if not I will probably be induced on April 20. I really would rather not be induced, just because I know chances of a C Section go up with that and I would like to avoid that at all costs. But then my doctor said that the longer I wait to induce the chances of it go up anyway because the baby gets bigger and bigger. So, basically if I have not had this baby by April 20, I will probably be induced then.

I have been off work for almost two weeks now and it has been GREAT. I have gotten so many little things done that I wanted to get done and have totally cleaned the house reallly well. There are a couple of cabinets I would like to clean out if I have time, but I have gotten all the major stuff done that I wanted to. It is sort of amazing, though, how fast your house gets dirty. I mean I feel like I have been cleaning my butt off for the last week and a half and I am finally done, yet somehow new dust has started to settle on the furniture. It is never ending I tell you. So I guess tomorrow maybe I will start over again on the cleaning? It would be something to keep me busy at least so I don't get bored.

Today I went to see The Great Buck Howard at the Magnolia before my doctor's appt. It was really cute I thought. It is about Colin Hanks (Tom's son if you didn't know) and how he hates being in law school so he drops out and gets a job as Buck Howard's road manager. Buck Howard - played by John Malcovich - is an aging 'mentalist', which basically means magician. He is sort of past his prime, but used to be really famous and it is just sort of about their journey together. Tom Hanks actually plays Colin's dad in the movie so that is kind of fun to see them together. Anyway, I would recommend it if you want something light, and I think it was pretty short too. A couple other good movies I have seen lately were I Love You, Man- so funny! - and Gomorra, which is an Italian movie about this group called the Camorra in Italy. They are an organized crime group and the movie is based on this book by Roberto Saviano (I think that is his name) who is now in hiding for the rest of his life because the Camorra are actually after him. Crazy stuff, but interesting. Definitely not what I would call a 'light' movie, but really good.

Hmm, not much else to say I guess. I just really hope the baby comes in the next few days because my doctor is out of town starting next Tuesday until the following Sunday! I am sure whoever delivers her will be great, but I would, of course, prefer to have my doctor cause she is awesome. =) Hope everyone is having a great day! The weather is gorgeous so enjoy!

Done!

Well, it is official. The nursery is completely done. We got our rocking chair last weekend and then my mother found a rug at Pier 1! My mother in law and I had looked EVERYWHERE for rugs and of course the only ones we could find cost a fortune, but my mom somehow found a perfect one for a great price at Pier 1. Thanks Mom! Then Jason and I spent the afternoon cleaning (after our second nap of the day - not kidding) so I got to clean the nursery and now it is officially done!

Here are some pics of the rug and the chair...

Being Pregnant is Fun

So I am up early on a Saturday because I couldn't sleep. My back had really not been bothering me all week until yesterday and about 4:45 this morning it was keeping me awake so I got up and did some stuff around the house. Any time I am up the dogs think it is time to get up so they are keeping me company while Jason sleeps. =)

Travelocity lets you have up to two weeks off before your due date, if you want, for maternity leave. You start disability pay as soon as you take it, but I have had the last week off and it is TOTALLY worth it. If you can not work, I highly recommend it. =) I have gotten so much done in the last week off my to do list. I still feel like I have a lot more things I want to get done, but really there isn't anything that just couldn't wait. The house is very close to being all really clean and the nursery is done. Last night I made a huge batch of this marinara sauce to freeze for future use. Have I told you about this marinara sauce? Oh my, if you are a fan of Italian food you must try it. I just found it in this cook book I have by Giada DiLaurentis. It is just a basic marinara sauce and I thought, 'hmm, I should probably know how to make a good marinara sauce', so I tried it a couple weeks back. It was so easy and I just put it over spaghetti with a little parmesan on top and OH MY GOSH. Jason and I both couldn't believe how delicious it was! And the recipe says it freezes really well so I made a huge batch last night. If you want to try it, here is the link to it on the Food Network page...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/marinara-sauce-recipe2/index.html

Anyway, so I also got to have some long lunches with friends this week which was so nice. My friend Lacey is staying home with her baby so I am looking forward to lots of good play dates with Kiley and Isabella! My mom also came up on Thursday and we just kind of hung out, ran some errands, rested. It was a nice relaxing day. My sister is off work next week so if I haven't had the baby yet I am hoping she can come up to visit me. But we'll see.

I had a doctor's appt yesterday and she said I am coming along just fine. Sounds like it could be any day or it could be three weeks from now. I think the norm these days is to induce you if you are a week past your due date, but I would really just rather it all happen naturally. So she said as long as things were going ok still that I could wait a little longer than a week past my due date. Although, by then I may be begging them to get this baby out! =)

Hmmm, I guess that is about all I have for now. It is still early and I don't want to wake Jason up so not sure what I will do now. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Breaking the Big News

D-day (delivery day) is coming soon and a lot of people have been asking about how we are going to notify people when I am heading to the hospital and how they will get updates etc. So here is the plan just so you can all be on the lookout. =)

First, once I am in labor and sure that this is 'it', as in we are packing up and heading to the hospital, we will send out a massive text message to everyone letting people know things are happening. From then on, we are going to steal an idea our friends Collin and Stephanie used and we will record the outgoing voicemail message on my phone with updates on how things are progressing. We will turn off my phone after we record the messages so feel free to call as much as you want. You won't be bothering us and we will try to update it as much as possible. My cell phone number in case you don't have it is 214-457-5194.

Also, if you are not sure I have your cell number to get the initial text, feel free to email me and let me know you would like to be on our list. My email is kellitrent@gmail.com. If you comment below it will email me as well.

The other thing I keep getting asked is about if I want people coming to the hospital. Probably if you haven't asked me that you wouldn't come anyway, but I just figured I would tell you my thoughts on it, just in case. Basically I have no idea how tired/out of it I will be. Plus the rooms really aren't that big. So if you are just dying to come up to see me or the baby in that first 48 hours that I am still at the hospital, feel free, but just know I may be asleep or incoherent or both. =) Otherwise I would say just wait until I get home and then feel free to come visit and dote on my beautiful daughter.

I guess that is about it. If you have any questions feel free to comment away or email me. My due date is April 12 so basically all this could go down anytime between now and like April 19. After that they will induce me, but please pray that doesn't happen. I am really hoping for everything to happen on its own!