December

This month we have tried to stay in the holiday spirit by attending the surprise Christmas festival as well as the electric light parade down town. We have very much enjoyed our time with family and friends this month. We wish you all a very merry Holiday Season and a Happy New Year!

Don't Blink!

November went so quickly.

Spiderman

Sean and I had the company of spider man all day on Halloween. Jake was no were to be found. So we took spider man trick-or-treating. He got a lot of candy and did a very good job of not getting scared by the bigger kids costumes. He did make us check for scary stuff in his closet before we could turn off the lights for bedtime but he said he was not scared he just wanted to make sure the scary stuff was not in his room. He is getting so big.

Here are some more pictures of Madison.

SHE'S HERE!

I had no need to worry of course. I now have a beautiful baby girl who is healthy and was delivered with no complications at all. Actually, although my contractions did hurt a lot more this time around I think my active labor was a lot quicker and easier than with Jake. So thank you to everyone who told me just to breath it worked.
So here are the photos you have been waiting for.
Madison Rose Tharp
10/24/2008 12:02pm
6lbs 15oz

Being Induced Friday 24th @ 3am

I have this very scary overwhelming feeling that if I am induced it will somehow lead to an emergency c-section. I don't really know where this feeling is coming from however it has been on my mind all week and with my appointment to be induced rapidly apprching I am afraid that it will weaken my confidence in my ability and I will self destruct.

So I guess I should explain why I don't know if I can do this. When I was pregnant with Jake I never got to 40 weeks. I was 5 cm dilated at 37 weeks without feeling one contraction. Not even a Braxton hicks contractions. I mean that no pain no discomfort nothing. I actually felt better at 37 weeks then I did at 28 weeks. I only found out I was dilated because I had a scheduled appointment with my doctor that day. She admitted me to the hospital right away. I checked in before 6 and was dilated to 7 cm by 8pm. Then at 7 cm I was given an epidural. 7 hours after being admitted to the hospital I was holding Jake. It all seemed so right and so easy. It went with the flow. "Very text book" vaginal delivery as one of the nurses put it.

So as you can tell the very strong contractions that pitocin will give me to induce my labor with Madison are extremely scary. I just have no idea what to expect or how things will progress. How much pain will I have to endure to go from 3 cm (which is where I am now) to 7 cm which is the earliest I would want to get an epidural. How long will it take. Is this all pay back for my easy labor with Jake.

It is worth every second of course as long as we have a very healthy baby girl. So how come I am so overwhelmed with emotion? I do feel blessed. I do trust in my heavenly father to watch over me. I do think that everything happens for a reason and that I had Jake exactly as I was supposed to and I will have Madison exactly as I am supposed to. Then what is my problem? Why do I feel like things may not be OK? Why do I feel like she is not ready?

My doctor is confident. He is very sure that all I need is a little jump start and she will come right out as expected. He has never made me feel for one second that anything could go wrong. He is so confident that it makes me sick. He hates to perform c-sections and would never increase the risk of needing to perform one. He has no worries. How come that does not make me feel better. He has done everything he needed to do to make sure that I am in perfect condition to be induced. He measured my uterus. He did an ultrasound to make sure Madison is head down and nothing is wrong with her. He checked my cervix 4 times in the last 2 weeks.

So everything is gonna be fine right? I guess in the end all that matters is she will be here this weekend and I can not wait to hold her.

Can someone give me any advice? Is there anything I should do to prepare?

October

So due to the great weather today I was in a very OCTOBER mood. This morning I stopped at the coffee shop and got a pumpkin Bellicino (its like a latte with no coffee in it). Then when we got home from the store we took our dog Yoshi for a walk around the block. Jake and I had pumpkin cake for an after lunch dessert. We also sat down and made spiders out of pipe cleaners and attached them to a spider web outside the front door.

Jake thought it was cool to put them on his head.

All the Halloween decorations are out.

It feels so good outside that all my windows are open for the first time since February. I love this time of year.

Thats Madison's crib with the new bedding I got at my baby shower from Grandma Tharp, Aunt Sara, and Karren. I just LOVE it.

That is her name on her wall that Aunt Krystle painted. Its so beautiful.

And that is me on october 1st at 37 weeks pregnant. My belly is getting HUGE!

I can not wait for this baby to get here.

OMG! Baby Madison will be here any day.

If you would have asked me 10 years ago where I saw myself at 25 I would have said that I would be the author of a best selling cookbook, or even the owner of a bakery. I may have even told you that I would be rich. I dreamed of Fame and loads of money. I dreamed of being somebodies hero.
So I have not done any of those things I dreamed about. Or have I? Today I can tell you that my life has only just begun. You see what I am realizing now is I forgot to dream about the one thing that really matter's. I forgot to dream about happiness. True I thought I would be happy but I thought having fame or loads of money was the only avenue I could take to get there. I forgot to dream about companionship. I forgot to dream about love. So what is fame really. I mean my son thinks I'm a hero for saving his blanket from the monster in the washing machine. He looks up to me and admires me. To him I am as famous as it gets. When you think of the rich you think of money, right? Do you think about the love the rich family on TV has for one another? Or do you count how many cars they have or how big there TV is. Come on really do you envy there life, or there lifestyle? Do you want to be them or be you with all there stuff? If you took there fame and fortune out of the picture where would they be? Would you still admire them? Would they still be interesting? Would they be loved? I am not so sure they would have anything real left.
10 years ago I wanted to be a best selling author of a cookbook. Today I have a mess of recipes in a book that I have written, and to my husband and 2 kids it is a Best Seller. Dream achieved.
10 years ago I wanted to own my own bakery. Today I make just about every pastry, cake, pie, and cookie my family ever wants or needs. Including wedding cakes for some very special people and birthday cakes worth framing. Dream achieved.
So wait maybe I have achieved my goal of fame and fortune.
Maybe it means enough to be famous to my kids or to have a rich home life full of a little stuff and lots of love. Maybe it is having no money that makes me so strong. Maybe it is the self discipline that comes with the budget that makes me a hero.
I am turning 25 this month and I am a mother of two wonderful kids and a wife to one amazing husband. I have incredible friends. I am healthy, and best of all I plan to live out all my dreams in my own way.
Who really knows what they want at 15 anyway.

Baby Shower

The baby shower was amazing. I am so thankful to have such great family and friends. The best part is Madison has everything she needs and more. I will post pictures soon I hope, however I could not wait to share with all of you how blessed Sean and I feel to have the love and support of so many. It just seems as if everything is falling into place beautifully.
So Thank You!
Love Sean, Britt, Jake and Madison Tharp

Madison's Nursery

So this weekend we were able to get started on Madison's Nursery. It started out as white as it could be but with a little help from Jake and the tape we ended up with something very purple.

Krystle putting on the first coat of grape.
Grandma making sure the corners are perfect.

On the top we did lavender and I painted most of it with the help of Sean the next morning. It will need a second coat on the top and touch up in the corners and edges but it is almost done. The paint that is. As for the room we still need to add the chair rail and lots of green accessories.

We also need move in her dresser and changing table and pick out the bedding for her crib. (something with whites and greens in it for sure) I can not wait to get it all done and bring her home to sleep in it.

Jake growing up tooth by tooth!

Jake had his first dentist appointment this morning. He was such a good boy. He followed the doctors directions and liked feeling like a big boy. I was very proud of him.
He was very excited to have clean teeth with no cavities and nothing to worry about.
He sat so still. :)

It is so much fun to watch him ask questions and follow directions. He is getting so big so fast.

In the last two weeks we have had a doctors appointment and a dentist appointment and he did great at both.

Jake wanted to give his baby sister a hug this morning and I just had to capture the moment. So I asked him to hug her again so that mommy could take a picture.
That is my belly at 30 weeks.

Goodbye July!

Oh my gosh where has the month gone? I am going to have a baby sometime in the next 12 weeks.........!!!? This month started out with Sean and I celebrating our one year anniversary on the 4Th. I made stars and strips french toast and we had breakfast as a family. Later that day we left Jake with grandma so that Sean and I could go out to dinner at the cheesecake factory. After dinner we hung out with Sean's sisters and their hubbies and watched fireworks.
This was my belly on the July 4Th I was 24 weeks pregnant.

In this last month we have done so much and it seems like we have done so little. We bought a crib and the paint for the baby's room but have not yet finished the room in any way. I still have my computer in here. We came to a final decision on the name of our daughter. Madison Rose Tharp. We have what we think is grass growing in the backyard.....LOL this is a huge accomplishment if you consider we have been trying to get grass back there for almost a year. Both of us have been working hard at work but due to the times I think Sean is looking for a part time second job. It seems we take two steps forward and one step back. However it is lots of fun and we always seem to have what we need even if we are giving up what we want more often.
It has been a full month with lots of good memories, and I can not wait for what August has in store.

"..and I could not ask for more.."

What a weekend! Our trip to California turned out awesome. Sean Jake and I along with Sean's mom all jumped into the car on Friday morning and headed off to San Diego. It was not a bad drive at all we made good time and we played trivia games and laughed about nothing all the way there. Upon arriving in town we found our hotel without any trouble and settled in. I could not have asked for better. Sean, Mom and I stayed up playing UNO till who knows what time then could not go to sleep due to again consistent laughter about nothing. I think we were over tired and delirious.

Saturday was our day at Sea World. It was gorgeous weather (a little on the sunny side) but not hot. We got to have lunch with Shamu and we got spit on by dolphins witch left us soaking wet.

Sunday was Jake's birthday. It was also the day we drove home. We were all exhausted.

I just can not believe that he is 3 already. We have been so blessed to be able to learn with him and watch him grow. The past 3 years have been amazing. So much has changed for the better. We have all grown a little and learned a lot. Sean and I are coming up on our 1 year anniversary this Friday July 4th and to think that one year has gone by just scares me to death. It all happened so fast and it seems like life is not going to slow down. I am doing everything I can to savior the moments and pause in the laughter to take the time to really enjoy everything that we have built together, and now our family is about to grow one bigger. One stronger. I just can not tell you how grateful I am to have all that I have. Its not always sunny, but at least when it rains we have lots of support for one another and love without reservations.

So the only thing Jake had said he wanted for his b-day was chocolate cake and candles. Sean and I were both beat and tired but we drove to walmart and bought him a cake and some balloons. We were so tired that we forgot the candle. Every year we have had a number candle on his cake. You know the candle shaped like a one and two and so on. Well this year we forgot it at the store and so thank goodness I save everything and thank goodness 1 + 2 equals 3!

We sang Happy Birthday and he blew out the candles and we all had cake all over our faces b4 the night was over.

We have one Boy now we add one GIRL!

So that is my belly at 17 and half weeks. It is much bigger now.

Soon we will be a family of 4. We could not be more excited to start a new journey together as the parents of one boy and one GIRL!

I am feeling good, growing fast, and tired a lot. Sean and I have shared every doctors appointment together. He has been by my side this whole pregnancy, don't tell him I told you but he is even gaining weight with me...hahahah.:) No seriously I could not ask for a better husband or father.

Jake is enjoying the idea of being a big brother. So far he knows there is a baby in Mommy's tummy and he has seen the ultrasounds and heard the heart beat. He understands that he will no longer be the baby however he is not so sure about sharing his toys. This morning he said "mom the baby will be too little to play with my toys right?" It is fun to watch him learn and grow and I can not describe the feeling I get when he puts his ear on my tummy and says "mommy the baby told me it wants some milk." So cute.

In an attempt to stay cool Jake and I have been trying to swim as often as we can. We also eat lots of Popsicles. So last week we went swimming at my moms house with my sister and friend Erin.

My sister is home for the summer so its nice to see her and for Jake to see her.
For Jake's birthday Sean and I decided to take him to Sea World in San Diego. I will have tons of pictures of the trip and I am sure just as much to say. We are taking Sean's mom with us. I will let you all know how it goes.

Kaydence Kautman

So we got a chance to go have dinner with Sean's sister Amanda and her husband Adam and their new baby girl on Saturday. It is so cool to welcome a new baby into the family. I could not be more excited for my sister in law. Her daughter is gorgeous. Jake was very curious with the baby and so we let him hold her with a little help on the couch. It was the sweetest thing ever to watch him cuddle and kiss his new cousin. I cant wait to give him a baby sister or brother of his own.

So I have had a few people question if its really TRUE. Are we really having baby number two? Well after pinching myself and testing more than once the answer to that question is loud and clear.

So here's to the next nine months of our life. (oh and I am praying that a certain someone who knows who she is is pregnant with me because that would be so awesome.:) When she knows for sure and gets the chance to reveal that news to the family I will tell you all who I am talking about. I am just so excited I cant help myself.

Life goes on!

I am Going to the doctor on Monday. I called a friend who works for a Del Webb OBGYN and had her calculate my due date. I am due November 5th 2008!
I want a girl of course however Sean seems to think that another boy then a girl is the order he prefers. I am not sure we will every agree that this baby should be a girl but one thing we can agree on is that we will not care either way, and we will eventually have one more.
On another note I am trying to figure out how to make this cold go away without taking any medicine. I am miserable to say the least. I love it when no matter how much sleep I get at night or how much I want to sleep in I am not at all the boss of when its time to get up. Jake is the boss and at 6:00am this morning I wanted to lock him in the closet I was so tired and his cute little face looked at me and said "mom but I awake" I could not help but laugh. He was right he was awake and I was not allowed to be selfish. :) I am however trying to get better. Those of you who have talked to me know I have no voice and I am coughing uncontrollably. If you have any home remedies that may help besides sleep and drink fluid please let me know.
All in all life rocks right now I am happy and my family is awesome. I am doing good at work and enjoying still being able to be home with Jake all day. Sean is also doing very well at work and enjoying his time with Jake while I work.
We are determined to have Jake out of diapers by his birthday and so Sean and I have developed a routine that is working for all of us and we are making steady progress.
If I could get better life would be almost perfect, however I know that weather I am better or not life must go on.