Weekender to Vail

After we found out we were having a baby, I was feeling a little overwhelmed.  I was very excited and happy but, as all first time expectant mothers do, I was sensing the massive changes and responsibilities coming my way. 

To curb some of those feelings we decided to celebrate and get away for the weekend. We went to Vail, Colorado! It was FABULOUS. We spent the weekend enjoying the beautiful scenery, our time together and the charming downtown. 

 The drive there was amazing. We saw so many hill sides and small towns tucked away at their bases. It reminded me of my hometown in Oregon.

This was the path right behind our hotel. We loved walking along it in the mornings. 

Dan loved the river that went though the whole town, it really is gorgeous. 

It was so beautiful, I could have just sat there and smelled those flowers behind me all day! Speaking of awesome flowers...

These containers were everywhere. I was in heaven! 

If you ever go to Vail, eat at Blue Moose Pizza! The food is great and the atmosphere is so fun. The tables are covered in construction paper so we had some fun coloring while we waited for our pizza pie, and yes, I drew that stunning blue moose. And no, I didn't win the dot/square game. Anyone know the real name of that game? I'd love to know!

We had a wonderful time. Now that Zoe is here, it's hard to imagine our life without her. We are so glad we went to Colorado and celebrated her coming into our lives! I hope we can make it back there someday. 

Showered in Pink

In early February my sisters and friend Michelle through me a fabulous baby shower. It was so wonderful to see so many friends and family! The food was fabulous, and the decor was pink and perfect.

My parents were there, all of my aunts, and some my oldest and dearest friends. The pictures show it all...

ZOE

She is here! And it has already been 6 weeks! I can't believe it. I won't bore you guys with all the details so I will write the quick version. If you don't care to know all about it, skip down to the Zoe photos...

Zoe Elizabeth Zimmer was born on April 22nd at 9:33 pm after 21 hours of labor. It was long, exhausting and stressful, but everything turned out great. I ended up delivering c-section because I couldn't progress past 8 centimeters.

I had great doctors and wonderful nurses who helped me get through it all.

I went into labor at 1:30 am that morning and my water broke about three hours later. Right as we were pulling out of the driveway! I wasn't expecting that at all. Around 6:45 I received an epidural. NOT a good experience. Local anesthetics don't last long with me so lets just say I "felt" a lot of that process. After a few tries by the anesthesiologist and a stronger numbing medicine it finally took. I felt much better about 30 minutes later.

I rested for the next 6 to 7 hours peacefully. I was progressing but very slowly. I started to feel some intense pressure and back pain around 3 pm. The anesthesiologist came back and upped my dosage significantly to lessen the pain. I felt much better but still wasn't any farther along. My doctor then started talking about delivering cesarean while both Zoe and I were healthy and had normal heart rates. Daniel and I had only a few minutes to decide. We decided to go ahead with it. It had been a long painful 16 hours and I was done. I was surprisingly calm about it all. Probably because I was so exhausted. Around 7 pm they started prepping me for surgery. I was still having contractions and my back pain from earlier that day was returning.

As the surgery began I was very sedated but awake, so much so that I didn't even know they had already opened me up! I remember asking the anesthesiologist when they were going to start and he just chuckled and said "um, they started awhile ago, Cat." He was really nice. He kept encouraging me and telling me to keep breathing. The medicine they gave me was slowing my breathing so he had to keep reminding me to breath.

About 20 minutes in, we heard a cry! She was here and we were relieved. They brought her around the curtain to me and I was able to meet her. We touched noses. Then she was swept off to see the doctors.

Hooray for modern medicine!

Now for the stuff you've been waiting for...

Getting Ready for Baby Z

Wow. It's been almost a year since I have begun a post on my blog. It's been a really big year for us, lots of changes and new experiences! Mostly what I have been doing is getting ready for this baby. No name Baby Z is what she is affectionately called these days. Sorry family! Everyone has been asking and honestly we don't really know for sure- it's really hard to decide.

There is so much to think about... Will she like her name? Can other kids make fun of it? Will it look good on a diploma (my Mother's criteria for her children) or on a resume? Will it work for her at age 6, 26, 46, and 86? Should it be a family name that we love or a new name that we love?

Don't worry, we are narrowing it down. Meanwhile, here is a little taste of what's going on in her room. Nothing fancy, just simplicity. My favorite decorating technique.

This cradle belonged to Daniel's great Grandmother who used it for all her children. It's over 90 years old! Cool right? Dan has fixed it up a little with some new white paint and a little tightening of the screws. It's as good as new! We love it. Thanks Zimmers for letting us use it!

She has to have a plant in her room- a small jade from one of my baby showers (pics of that to come soon). Some art by my Grandmother Nanna Margaret, a wooden blue bird from her Dad, and a silver pig bank. My favorite is the bird, Dan just had to get it for her.

Before:

After:

We've done a little painting. I think it turned out beautiful! Dan picked the color!

I'm up to my neck in clothes- thanks to family members sending me stuff and generous gifts. I don't know what to do with it all. Lots of pink! I need to go and get some neutrals like navy blue, grey and black...

Yeah, this stash needs to get WAY bigger.

I think I have enough blankets. I LOVE all of them!

So I attempted making a bumper for the cradle. It was kind of a rocky start, but I made it work! See finished product in the first pic...

I am feeling great these days! Just a little tired and I can't move very fast. It will be a good day when I can run up and down the stairs again, hop in and out of the car (now that is an interesting occurrence), and being able to sleep on my stomach! I'm due in about 4 weeks but I guess the baby could come any time... wish me luck!

BYU-I Graduation

He did it! It was over a month ago and I'm just now getting around to blogging about it- there has been a lot going on! Graduation in the new BYU-Idaho Center was unbelievable, it felt so similar to the Conference Center in Salt Lake it was hard to tell the difference!

We had lots of family there. Thanks again to everyone who came, it really was a great weekend.

Daniel and his brother Jody in front of the building where they both spent 100% of their study time...

Daniel's parents were so proud of him! So was I...

Here are some pictures of inside the BYU-I Center, awesome right?