This Joy Filled Life

it doesn't matter how good or bad the day has gone, when we put jake in the tub before bed he becomes the happiest baby... i look forward to bath time every night because i know he'll be in a good mood the whole time.  its not that jake is a cranky baby, but usually by the evening, he's about had it for the day.  i hope he continues to love the water.  i can't wait for swim lessons at the y once he's old enough-- and really that time is coming up quickly!  he is already 3 months old.... all of the sudden he's such a big boy!  he rolled over for the first time two days ago and i can't get over the fact that the time is going so quickly.  now i really know what people mean when they say how fast kids grow up.

we just got back from a quick little getaway to the coast for our 4th anniversary.  for years i've seen the sign for "seabrook" on the side of the freeway in fife and i have been wanting to go for a long time.  we finally booked the trip a few weeks ago.  the cottage we stayed in was incredibly cute, and we had such a good time.  i think we would have had an even better time if jake wasn't so fussy... it was probably my mistake eating broccoli for dinner.  gassy baby = cranky baby.  i'm still learning, obviously.  here are some pictures from our trip. boston did a lot of relaxing and absolutely loved the beach. this is one of jakes finer moments of the trip (ie he is not crying) picnic out of the back of the car. 4 years and still going strong :)  love this man!

Jacob Scott Langlow has arrived and he is absolutely precious!!  i couldn't feel more blessed to have him here and out of my belly, phew.  it is such a relief to be done with pregnancy.  i am sure that in the future i will be missing the feeling, but honestly, right now i am so happy to have my body back, even if it is sore, stitched, and swollen. i am always interested in other's birth stories, and before Jacob got here i was reading them by the hundreds on pregnancy boards, anticipating what it would be like for me.  throughout my pregnancy i had many braxton hicks (painless contractions), so when the began to actually become uncomfortable, i was hoping the time was near.  they began to feel painful on wednesday, the 21st, and although i slept, i woke up periodically throughout the entire night.  the contractions at this point were not really time-able.  thursday the contractions continued throughout the day, but i didn't really time them. ...

i've been horrible about posting... i've got a half written post about the birth story and i just cant get it together enough to finish... i'm working on our birth announcements right now, and thought i'd post these little faces of my new main man jacob!  love him to bits :) hopefully in the near future i will have time to start posting more often!

this is just a quick post to update on how things are progressing.  today i am 39 weeks and we had our 39 week appointment this afternoon.  the doc said he was surprised and pleased to find i was dilated to 2 cm and 80% effaced!  (i was quite pleased myself!)  he said this was very good for a first-timer, and because of the progress he asked me to reschedule our ultrasound and next appointment to friday (as in 3 days from now) so we could see what the baby's size is like, see if he is doing alright, etc.  we'll also talk about induction for the following week if the baby hasn't already arrived.  normally we probably wouldn't talk about induction until i was at least a week overdue, but because of my gestational diabetes, and because the baby is a healthy size, he doesn't see why we shouldn't get the baby out sooner than later.  his size is definitely a factor, as the longer he's inside me, the bigger he gets, and the bigger he gets, the more likely i w...

i've been horrible about blogging here, but i've been sort of busy... and by busy i mean i couldn't really tell you what i've been doing other than trying to prepare for this baby to get here.  i stopped working on the 10th, so that is one less thing i've had to worry about and it is really nice to be able to take my time cleaning and organizing.  i've found that i really only have the energy for one project a day.  that said, the baby room is done and i personally think it turned out exactly how i had envisioned, and i love it :) the sailor theme turned out just how i wanted, thanks to that fabulous craigslist find of bedding, and the glider and ottoman, which i also found on craigslist (for only $60!!!!! amazing find! thanks mary!).   i am beginning to get really uncomfortable.  getting out of a chair has become a chore, and forget reaching anything near the ground- i don't bend in half too easily anymore.  my belly is itchy and i (unfortu...

again, it has been a while since i last posted.  we went with nick's family to maui and when we returned i became horribly sick... i am still recovering, as my lingering cough and clogged sinuses can attest.  i am 34 weeks, which means that baby boy is coming soon!!  i had my first baby shower last weekend and i am so blessed by my girlfriends! i now have many clothes and some essentials for baby, and i am feeling a little more prepared.  i still have two more showers with family, and i know we're going to have to buy a good amount of items, but we're getting there.  today we bought a dresser for our bedroom, so the one we were using is going to be painted and placed in baby's room.   hawaii was fun, but i think the GD diet put a damper on my time... i ate by myself a lot, and felt really constrained by the times i had to eat.  for the most part my numbers were good, and the only times they spiked i knew they probably would (like when i got frozen yog...

so i know its been a long time since i last posted... sorry.  i've been busy.  and tired.  and busy.  you get the picture.  at my 28 week appointment i was treated to the standard (not so delicious) 1 hour glucose test to see if my body is processing sugars correctly.  in my head i was thinking, oh, i've got this.  unfortunately, when the test results came back it showed that my blood sugar levels were elevated, and that meant that i would be treated to the even more invasive (and also not so delicious) 3 hour glucose tolerance test.  many of my friends have had to take this 3 hour test and passed it, so, again, i thought to myself, i totally got this.  unfortunately, i didn't.  two of the four blood draws were elevated, and that is enough to mark me with gestational diabetes.  what?  who ever heard of gestational diabetes?  isn't there only type one and type two?  guess again, my friends. gestational diabetes happe...

twenty seven weeks and continueing to grow!!  here is a preview (and a shot of the new 'do).  i'm just running out of the house, and i have lots more to say, but for now, little boy is doing well and growing steadily!!

horray! i've hit 24 weeks... if you think about it, thats 6 months down!  i cannot believe time has been passing so quickly.  i'm sure every mom (first time or not) worries about their baby.  is everything right?  is this ok?  every single week that i am pregnant seems like a gift, and gets me one step closer to meeting this little man in my belly.  we have friends that just had a baby a few days ago and nick and i got the privilege of meeting him last night.  he is absolutely precious and incredibly tiny (only not, because he was average size).  i can't believe that in about 4 short months i will be meeting my tiny little boy.  i have many friends who have babies, but i never fail to be amazed at how small and precious a newborn baby is.  what a miracle babies are! last weekend nick and i ventured up to woodinville to look at a craigslist find: baby bedding, and matching room decor.  it looked great from the pictures, but you've ...

it has been way too long since i last posted... sorry about that.  i'd like to say i have been busy, but i am not really sure what i've been doing that's kept me away from the computer.  and if that isn't enough, i probably just can't remember.  i seriously understand what people mean when they talk about pregnancy brain, because i now have it!  i cannot remember a thing!!  ever!  this primarily happens to my friend elizabeth, because i scheduled myself to watch the bachelor with her not once this week, but 4 times... each time something came up that i either hadn't remembered, or i couldn't get out of.  (sorry, e!) the big news that has yet to make it onto this blog is that we're having a BOOOOY!!!  are you surprised?  if you are, you are not alone... nick and i, along with most of our family and really thought we were having a girl.  i am in no way disappointed, just shocked that we were all wrong!  it is such a relief to know t...

today is monday. it seems such a long ways away from thursday. really. i think this might be the longest week ever because thursday is my birthday... but not only that (which in and of itself is fabulous, who doesn't love to be celebrated for a day?) we get to find out the sex of Baby! i am on pins and needles just sitting here waiting. we really haven't made any purchases yet for Baby because (call me old fashioned... or not old fashioned, not really sure which, now that i think about it...) i want to buy clothes that match the gender of the Babe! i am really not into the yellow and green bla outfits... i keep seeing little cargo pants for boys and sweet dresses for girls, and i remain firm, because, gosh darn it, i'm going to have a well dressed baby. of course when we purchase furniture and baby gear like strollers and pack-and-plays we will buy gender neutral items so when number two comes around (or three... twins still an option?) comes around, we don't want to bu...

yesterday the wee one turned 17 weeks (of being in my belly) and it is definitely growing.  Here is a picture of my little bump: last thursday we had our 16 week doc appointment.  we were so excited to hear the heartbeat again!  we recorded it this time, and i haven't figured out if i can put the recording on my phone onto the computer... we'll see about that later.   so we've been hearing from everyone and their mom (and my chiropractor) that i am so big for how far along i am... are we sure we aren't having twins?  yikes!  well, not that we wouldn't be happy with two babies, but, gosh... that would be a lot of work!  we were looking forward to our 16 week appointment and for my doctor to tell me that i was looking good and measuring normal... however... the first thing the doctor said when he walked in the door and had me lay back on the table was, "how far along are you?? are you sure there aren't two in there?" WHAT?? i said with all due polit...

So people  have been asking, so here are some pictures!  i am 16 weeks today and i am feeling great.  my belly is starting to stick out and so far i've been hearing i look bigger than how far along i am.. we'll see. hopefully its not all fat... my chiropractor is claiming there are two in there, but i am leaving the baby counting up to my doctor.  i am just so excited to find out the sex! we haven't really made any baby purchases yet, because i really don't love the gender neutral clothes and such, but we get to find out in about a month (what a great birthday surprise that will be!).  Pretty soon they say you are supposed to feel the baby move, and last night i swear it punched me when i was getting up.  like, a serious jab in the belly.  it could have just been a muscle spasm or something, because they say its supposed to feel like fish swimming in your belly or popcorn... i don't think i have felt anything like that, but at certain times (usually ...