The Birth

I had my first contraction at 3am on Saturday morning, June 30. I waited awhile to wake Eric up, because at first I wasn't sure if it was the real thing! By 8 in the morning, my contractions were coming steadily every 10 minutes or so. When my mom arrived at noon, not much had changed. I decided that we should get out and keep busy, hoping the activity would speed up my contractions. Eric, my mom, and I drove to the Aquarium of the Pacific. When we arrived, it was about 2pm, and I had been having steady contractions for 11 hours! We walked around the aquarium for about an hour, with little change. Then, around 3pm, I had a doozy of a contraction! Whoa! For nearly another hour, I had a strong, long, and very painful contraction about every 8-10 minutes as we continued to walk around the aquarium... although now that last hour is very much a blurr. After a few horrendous contractions, we decided it was time to leave, but at that point I was in so much pain, that we had to have the security guards drive us to our car in their little golfcart. All I remember is pain, pain, pain and then a golf cart!

When we arrived back at our apartment, I curled up on the floor in a quilt, trying desperately to relax during each contraction. After a few hours, I was having painful, long contractions every 5 minutes, so we decided to head to the hospital. After being examined by a nurse, it was determined that I was only dilated to 3, and I had to go home! We were told to come back when my contractions were every 3 minutes for 2 hours. I was so upset, that by the time we got home, my contractions had already sped up, and for the next few hours I endured the most agonizing pain of my life!!! By the time we went back to the hospital around 10:30 pm, I was barely coherent. I decided I could no longer tolerate the pain and was told the anesthesiologist would come and give me an epidural. THREE HOURS LATER I finally got the epidural. The moments that immediately followed the epidural were some of the best moments of my life! As much as I was hoping to give birth without drugs, I had endured 22 hours of contractions and had "experienced" enough labor! The epidural was a blessing from heaven!

After receiving the epidural at 1:30 am on Sunday, July 1 I laid in bed for 7 more hours, with no change. When the doctor came in around 8, he broke my water. Two hours later, I was still not fully dilated and was given a small amount of Pitocin. By 11 am I was fully dilated and ready to push. After 2 1/2 hours of pushing, Anna was born at 1:25pm on Sunday, July 1. It was the happiest moment of my life to date.

A picture with the midwife, Tom, who delivered Anna.
Eric and Anna cuddle in the hospital bed.

Her first bath, 1 hour old!

Our Baby Girl

Anna Grace Tharaldson
Born July 1, 2007
1:25 pm
7 pounds, 15 ounces

Waiting for Anna

Eric had the day off today, and it was perfect weather for a beach trip. After a yummy cinnamon roll breakfast we packed up and headed to Huntington Beach. The dog beach is so much fun during the summer. Scarlet is not the least bit interested in playing with any other dogs, so she rests comfortably under my beach chair the entire time. But Eric and I love to watch the "real dogs" play in the water, chase balls, and have fun. It's so fun to try and figure out the breed or breed mixes, and is especially entertaining to check out doggie outfits. Today we sat next to two white poodles each sporting a light pink tank top with the word "Princess" in rhinestones! How ridiculous! The water was just beautiful and it felt so good to dive under and jump over the cold waves... Scarlet watched from afar of course!

Lunch With The Girls!

For no particular reason, me, my mom, grandma, sis Mindy, niece Hailey, Aunt Linda, Aunt Laurie and Aunt Jane gathered together for lunch. (Cousin Steph and Kelli are missed!) We spent a relaxing afternoon at Laurie's eating pizza (and the most delicious lemon cake I have ever tasted) and taking turns with Hailey! The ladies in my family are such a blessing!

ANNOUNCING!!!

Absolutely nothing! My due date is almost over with no action thus far... not at all uncommon, especially for first time moms! But the waiting is becoming harder by the minute! I can't wait to hold my baby girl!

I am trying to fill my days to make the time pass more quickly. Today I woke up at 6:45 am, when Eric left for work, and I made cookies. I dropped the cookies off for Eric and his coworkers, and then bought toilet paper and a few other essential items at Target. At 9:30 I picked up my friend Emily, who is 7 months pregnant with twin boys, and we headed to Starbucks for a snack and a good long visit. In a few months, when we want to hang out, there will be 5 in all!!! After dropping Emily off at home, I went to Mervyns, to the post office and to the grocery store. I cleaned up our place a bit just in time for Eric to arrive home. We took a nice long walk and then I packed Eric's lunch for tomorrow and began to make dinner. At 5:30 we headed to Kaiser for an Infant CPR class- which ended about an hour ago. Whew! Now I am going to read and rest up for tomorrow- which will also prove to be a busy day, starting with a very unfortunate but semi-emergency trip to the dentist! :(

So keep checking up... hopefully it won't be long before we DO have something to announce!

Anna's Cousin

Hailey is now 8 weeks old and I finally got to meet her! My brother and his wife moved to Southern California this past weekend, and I am so in love with my new niece- and Anna's cousin. I can't wait to see the girls play together!!! Isn't she beautiful?

Hobbit Feet

Okay, I am almost 38 weeks along now and I am PUFFY! I am puffy in my feet and ankles (cankles I should say), my hands, wrists, and my face a bit. I don't mean to gross anyone out with this picture of my yucky feet, but I could resist posting it.

My loving husband made this comment last night right after I took this photo. "All you need is a little hair on your toes and you'd be a hobbit".

Last night my friend and I took a breastfeeding class at our local Kaiser. When I walked in, the nurse practitioner who taught the class rushed over to me and poked my face. She asked if I felt ok, if I had frequent headaches, blurred vision, etc. Then she turned to my friend and asked "Are you friends, do you know her?" My friend nodded. Then the nurse proceeded "Does her face always look this round and puffy?" THANKS A LOT!

So there you have it- I have hobbit feet and a fat face.

It's the Little Things...

I have been on maternity leave for almost two weeks now... and I am loving every minute of it. I know that when the baby is born, I won't be able to get very much done, so I am trying to be very productive right now. This morning I finished steam cleaning the carpets in our place. The last time I cleaned the carpets was 6 months ago... but wanted to make it fresh again before Anna arrives. I receive so much satisfaction as I pour out dirty water and know that it is no longer in my carpet! I'm pretty sure the carpet in our place is very cheap, but after 3 years, it looks almost brand new after being cleaned... it is so AWESOME! Just wanted to share the little things that bring me great joy!

The Portrait of a Princess

Before our new baby arrives, we wanted to pay tribute to
our first baby, Scarlet. We adopted Scarlet from the Downey
Animal Shelter on February 7, 2005. In the past 2+ years,
Scarlet has been a faithful companion... spoiled and bratty...
but faithful.

Eric's Baby (and I helped, too!)

Here is our little patio/garden! We're all ready for summer...

thankfully, Eric has a green thumb, and can keep almost anything

alive and flourishing! Scarlet has been thoroughly enjoying outdoor living, and now that I am off work, she spends most of her day basking in the sun.

FREEDOM!

Today was my last day of work!

After teaching science for just three years, I am going to stay home with baby Anna once she is born. I have so much I want to accomplish before she arrives. I left school today, came straight home and began to reorganize my bathroom cupboards. I can't wait until tomorrow to get started on some other projects! I am making Anna's baby book from scratch, so that will be one of my main projects for the next few weeks!

I'm unemployed! (WOW that is really scary!)

Eric's Off to Panama!

Eric is headed to Panama! Late Sunday night 4/23, Eric will
be joining 2 pastors on a short trip. I'm not entirely sure of
the purpose or goals for this particular trip, other than to seek
the Lord's will for this country. Please keep the three of them
in your prayers! We will of course post photos and updates after
he returns!

Here We Grow Again!

30 Weeks

Double Baby Shower

Eric and I were so blessed to share a day of celebration with my brother Chad, and his wife Mindy, who are also expecting! Our family threw a fantastic double baby shower and it was a wonderful day! Baby Davis and Baby Tharaldson will meet this summer!

The Baby's Corner

We've turned a portion of our bedroom into "The Baby's Corner". Just wanted to share the pics with you!

WASHINGTON D.C.

I am finally getting around to updating! We took a trip to Washington DC on March 1-5. It was fantastic! Not only was the weather beautiful, but we had a great time with our friends John and Paige. We spent three days on a whirlwind tour of the major sights, Eric even got a private tour of the Pentagon (It's good having friends in high places- thanks John!) In our short time there, we were able to visit the Capital, the Whitehouse, the Archives, the Library of Congress, the Botanical Gardens, the Smithsonian, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, Mt. Vernon, the Pentagon and the coziest place in town- the Turner home.