Porter Nicholas

Yes, HE'S HERE! Our little bundle is here and we are SO in love. I can't say that enough. We look at him and wonder how we could accomplish making something so amazing. From fingers to toes, he's ours. We made him and we love him.

3 Days Old - Photo credit to my friend, K Joy Photography.

He's 3 and a half weeks old! I know to mostly everyone that is still a tiny newborn but to us, he's grown SO much. He's now about 10 lbs and is starting to outgrow his newborn clothes! He went from sleeping almost every second to just laying down next to us and staring at us forever. He'll stare at us as we talk the most extreme baby talk you've ever heard. It's like we think if we use "baby talk," he can actually understand us ha ha. We can see a smile slowly starting to develop and we can't wait until he can laugh at all of our baby talk. :) We've been calling him a ton of little nicknames. I like to call him my 'little Nic' and 'The Portster' has been coming about.

Birth Story

We went for my 38 week check-up and we found out that I was being induced the next day. It was such a surprise. I called my mom and just said, I'm being induced TOMORROW! She was freaking out and we were going crazy thinking of stuff that we had to do. She said that they were going to be here and they were driving all night long to get here. I'm soo happy they did because having them here was the best!! I was induced at 6 am, making the night before the longest night EVER! Knowing that we were going to be parents the next day made it impossible to sleep. Instead, we were cleaning, watching movies, and just freaking out because of how crazy the next day was going to be. So, after a couple hours of sleep, I called the hospital and they said it was good for me to come in! They started me on Pitocin right away and the contractions started coming, hard. When I got to the hospital I was already 3 cm dialted so that helped me a ton because before I knew it, I was a 5 and I was SO ready for an epidural. The nurse said to ask her for one right when I started to even think about getting one because it took a while to get ready. Good thing I asked for one when I did because right when the anestitist walked in, a contraction hit that I never even knew was possible to feel. He was reading all the risks to me as I was breathing through it. That's one way to make a woman fearless about the epidural ha ha. Just read all the risks when she's about to scream in pain. ;) After he finished the epidural, it was almost instant relief. I was lucky he was fast at what he did because trying to sit still during a contraction would've been impossible.

At about 12:15, I told my family to get out of the room because all of a sudden, I knew the baby was coming out. I tried to calmly tell the nurse I thought something felt different and I think that was a mistake. I should have freaked out to her because she calmly walked around the bed and said she'd be right back to check me. I remember thinking, BE RIGHT BACK?? Be right back?? My baby might be here by the time you get back. She finally got back to check me and she said, Oh, yep, I'm pretty sure your ready. And before I could even get a second to think about what that means, the other nurse came in and said, let's start to push. I looked at Nic and remember thinking, oh man, this is it!! Well, after some pressure and pain, at about 1:00 pm out came Porter. :) I looked up at Nic when I heard the doctor say "He's here" and he had tears in his eyes. If you know Nic well, you'd know he only cries on rare occasions. :) It brought so much joy to me to see my sweet husband and baby, all of us together for the first time. Nic cut the cord and that was that. Porter was cleaned on top of my chest and was just wailing. Feeling a precious new spirit right on my chest was the best feeling in the world. So warm and perfect, I knew I was one lucky lady. He went to the NICU just for a half hour to calm his heart rate and then was brought right back to us to stare at and love. Just about 8 lbs and almost 21 inches. He's amazing.

One Day Old.

Now, 3.5 weeks later, we've seen him grow before our eyes. Eyes opened wide, he loves to look around this new world. We just feel so blessed in every way. When we have to wake up every couple hours during the night to feed, change, and love, it's all worth it because we made him and he's all ours. I am so glad that his spirit was born into an eternal marriage and family that is ready to love him and do anything for him. Now, I don't often talk about too many things about our church on this blog, but I am full of gratitude for the blessings that it has brought to our lives, marriage, and now family. I know it is true and I get reminded of that every day. I hope Porter can learn, in his own way, to love this gospel and our Savior as much as we do so that he, too, can reap the many blessings that are waiting for him.

Now for a picture overload. :) It's really easy to take a ton of pictures of someone soo adorable. :)

Nic using the Moby Wrap :)

 We love you Portster. :)

7 Months!!

Wow, time is flying by!! I am now 27 weeks and completely smitten by this little guy growing inside of me. Everyday his kicks seem to get stronger and he just wants to make sure Nic and I know that he's having fun in there!! Last night I was laying in bed and I was rubbing my tummy like the magic bottle from Aladdin (which I seem to do a lot now :) and I realized that sticking out beneath my rib was a little foot. No joke, Nic and I could feel the shape of a little foot relaxing inside of me. It's one of the coolest/weirdest feelings in the world! We're SO excited for our little man to join our family and for some reason, even though my belly gets bigger every day, it still kind of feels like the stork is going to drop him off in the hospital to meet us!

Some cool little things about being 27 weeks:

• Third Trimester!

• He's dreaming now :) I wonder what he could be dreaming about.

• He's 2.5 pounds and 17 inches long!!! Getting ready to pack on the chub!

• He's finally opening his eyes and starting to blink!

• Uterus is the size of a basketball! (and still not near big enough for the baby!)

• Baby wakes me up at night when he wakes up.

• My fingers and toes have a new size-swollen! (ciao to wedding ring for 3 more months :(

• Hello, sciatica! Baby's been sitting on my sciatic nerve for a good little while!

• HICCUPS! no joke, I can feel hiccups at least every day. They last for a few minutes until he can start relaxing again.

26 Weeks!

Here's a picture of me last week for all the family out there who hasn't been on facebook! I was 26 weeks in this picture. (trust me, a week can make a difference in how big this belly is)

I'm so lucky to have an awesome hubby who will pour me a glass of water when I'm finally comfortable on the couch and realize I'm thirsty. :) He's taken me to get ice cream, milk shakes, and plenty of dinners to make my tummy and this little guy satisfied. I've gained about 22 pounds and I am freaking out a little! It's hard watching the number on the scale go up and up and still knowing it's only going to go up for 2-3 months! Nic has been my rock, getting me through my crazy hormonal and emotional days. Haha, and there's been a fair share. :)

We went to a concert last night!! We saw Diamond Rio, a country band from the 80-90's. They're still making awesome songs today. Nic and I love country music and we love how diamond Rio played a wide variety from bluegrass to 70's classic rock (with a twang ;) and of course, their own classics. Our little guy seemed to like it too, he was kicking the whole time they were playing. :) There's so many great songs and I thought I should just attach one of my favorites to let you all know what they're like.

Can anyone say, BIG NEWS?!

It's been a while since I've found time to blog because a lot has been happening here at the Barnes. As some people may know, after we got home from thanksgiving, we found out we're expecting our first new little member of the family!!!!! No joke. We're really having a baby! :) The truth is out, let it be heard, a new little Barnes baby is on the way. It's still crazy to us! I'm due August 3rd!

We've been trucking along as I've tackled slight morning sickness, cravings like crazy, and a growing belly that seems to not stop growing. I'm 20 weeks (5 months) along so it's been quite a little while since we've found out, we're half way to having our baby!!! On our anniversary, we were able to see our growing little one and found out the gender!

It's a BOY!!!!!!

 Right now he's about 8 inches long and about 12 ounces. That's his little hand in a fist by his head, it's like he was trying to shade his eyes the whole time. :) We saw little feet, hands, and even saw him yawn! He's getting bigger and bigger! Trust me, I can tell by the kicks. :) Nic and I went and bought one onesie each just for a little celebration. Nic bought an Oregon Ducks football tee. Haha it was the cutest. We're sooo excited! And a little boy will be a great addition to our fam bam.

Our anniversary was on March 12th! We've been married now for a year and in May, it will have been two years since Nic and I met. It's crazy how time flies so fast! This year has been full of so much joy and I can thank my wonderful husband for all of that.

To celebrate our first anniversary, we headed to Jackson, Wyoming for a quick trip to Jackson Hole. Jackson Hole is a fun tourist/skiing town about an hour and a half away so it's the perfect place to have some fun for our anniversary and do something special before the baby comes. We went to Ripley's Believe it or Not, just walked around town, and got a yummy dinner.

 

This belly is a little hidden but here I am at 20 weeks!

Being pregnant and all, there's really no way to ski right now. :( I LOVE snow sports so this was a disappointment but definitely worth it. :) Nic and I were joking saying the mountains were just taunting us, saying "SKI ME!!" haha we passed THREE awesome ski resorts on the way to town. Nic and I are just going to have to wait to hit the slopes until next winter. :)

 

We're loving this nice weather, Spring is definitely on the way!!! We love it. We're heading to Salt Lake for conference weekend on the March 31st so we're excited to see some family and finally be able to go to general conference! I'm so grateful for the great support from our awesome families and we are so lucky to be having a baby. It's such a blessing and a gift, we couldn't be more grateful.

December's Around the Corner!

Oh how lovely is the feeling when December is around the corner! All my life, December 1st has meant the first day of the beginning of a month-long holiday! Shopping, love, trees, presents, and so much fun! But for the past three years, I've been exposed to one feeling in particular that mixes up all these wonderful feelings: finals. Instead of smells of cinnamon, pine, and vanilla, I've been smelling pencil shavings, eraser smudging, freshly printed paper, and the wonderful smell of an old book. (The last one was actually not quite sarcastic. I really do love the smell of an old book.) These are of course everyone's dream Christmas smells, right? Well, to our relief, there are only two more weeks until Nic and I are off to California and Oregon to enjoy the sun, rain, and family. 

Nic doing all the lights!

This is our first apartment together for Christmas here in Idaho. It is SO much fun to put up a REAL tree. (In my family we used to always use the pre-lit fake trees.) Nic's parents brought up a tree from Oregon so we could have a traditional Oregon tree. It's not what I'm used to, considering I like a full bushy tree, but I'm warming up to this new one. Although it's not the fullest tree, it's definitely the best smelling and looks pretty dang good with some lights and ornaments on it. Nic just sawed off the top of the tree to fit in our apartment and the bottom so it would soak up some water, and that was that. We officially have a Christmas tree! Yay Christmas!

Putting the Ornaments on

Nic and I have had a crazy couple of weeks, with a fun one celebrating thanksgiving! We had two thanksgivings this year, one with my family and one with Nic's and let me tell you what, two thanksgivings is two too many. They were both amazing, containing my favorite recipes. I love my mom's yams and stuffing. They are soo good! And Nic's mom and dad made some awesome mashed potatoes and a great bacon turkey. Although the turkey had some difficulties, the bacon was amazing! We also got to get together and take some Barnes family pictures with the growing Barnes clan. Kelia, my friend and an awesome photographer just happened to be near by and took some great photos! I can't wait to see them! It was just fun to get together and see our families, including nephew Miles and soon-to-be niece! I wish we had family here in Idaho with us because we sure miss everyone like crazy! 

Barnes Family Picture

 Now I need to get back to mask making, book reading, and some classroom discipline studies and I'm sure Nic has math like crazy to somehow complete in 2 weeks. I don't know how he does it! I know I talk about how great he is in almost all my blog posts, but I can't help it! If you don't want to read it all over again, you can just stop here. But he is so kind and caring. After almost nine months of being with him all day, every day, he's showed me how to be forgiving, considerate and patient. I just can't get enough of him! I couldn't have asked to marry a better man and I love him more than anyone could ever understand. Thanks for everything you do, babe.

Can anyone say, 6 months?!

Wow! It's been a long time since I've had time to blog but on this lovely Saturday morning, I get to splurge with my time. Nic and I had a great 7-Week break! We didn't get to do a lot of fun things and Nic was working every night but we still did a few great things here and there. I know that we can't wait for the holidays to come around because we finally get to go back to see our families!

It has been an insane few weeks though and the first week of the semester is officially over! We're Juniors, meaning we should have about 2 years left, but because of the fact that we both didn't know what we wanted to do until now, I'm pretty sure we've both been delayed a year. As frustrating as that is, BYU-I has a great program where you can go to school for the 3 semesters out of the year instead of the regular two. It would cost more money, more quickly, but I think that would be our best option because we could be out of here in our supposed to be 2 years. It feels like college is never going to end, but I can't help but be grateful for this time in our lives. Learning is one of my many passions so I enjoy it, but I think that teaching will be one of my passions too. Being married in college has allowed us to have fun and enjoy these years until we're out of here moving onto the next part of our lives.

We moved into our new apartment on August 30, and it was tough! I miss having my family here to help! Nic's friend Kris came over and helped move the big stuff but I think we still have two boxes waiting to be unpacked! Phew moving is not fun! We do love our new apartment! It has two rooms and this time we actually have room for a table. It's so nice to be living somewhere where you can actually breathe! Ha ha, but we're happy to be here.

On September 12 we passed the 6 month mark of being married! Time has flown by faster than I could have ever imagined. We're half-way to our anniversary! Life can get busy and every couple has to flash back to reality every now and then, I can only hope that as the years pass by, we will be able to be just as twitterpated - as the owl in Bambi would call it - as we were the day we were sealed in the temple for eternity. My love for him grows every day and hard times only bring us closer together. I married the perfect man for me. :)

So, we had an adventure to the emergency room last night. All because of something that's never happened before. My elementary art methods class is doing clay pot right now so my teacher gave each of us clay to take home and finish our projects. I started doing it on Thursday night and took a break until yesterday.

Yesterday morning, I found myself itching like crazy and I thought really nothing of it. As the day went on, I noticed welts starting to appear in my fingers, hands, and arms. Once again, I ignored it thinking I may have just bumped myself. I worked on my clay all day and later that night I felt more and more bumps start to appear on my right hand and about an hour after that, my fingers started to swell into a balloon! I started freaking out because I have never been allergic to anything before. Nic came home from work and took me to the hospital, luckily, my throat never closed up and the only thing I was left with was a huge right hand and welts and hives all over my arms and down to my toes. I was given a quick anti-inflammatory shot and a big dose of benadryl that definitely knocked me out for the night. The swelling in my hand went away just about an hour ago, and let me tell you what, I am never touching that clay, or any other clays, ever again. Ha ha.

Besides that adventure, we woke up to a great Saturday, made some homemade waffles (the only ones that Nic loves) and listened to some relaxing Mindy Gledhill. Growing up, Saturday's were always the best day (besides cleaning, of course) so I like to just have as much fun as I can on these days, and fun for me means blasting relaxing music, feeling the beautiful sunrise, eating a delicious breakfast, and dancing around with the man I love. We just soaked up the time that we found in this crazy week to spend together. This semester going to be a hard one but I think we will both do great the next 3 months! Here are a couple pictures from this morning and of course, the post below is a little bit of Mindy Gledhill. (By the way, mom, I love my new apron! Thanks so much! I used it today. I'll put up a picture so you can see it!)

Mindy Gledhill - Whole Wide World (Official Music Video)

Some songs can be exactly what your wanting to say out loud. <3

Sweet Summa Time

With only a week and a half left of the semester, Nic and I are finally relaxing! (Even though we should be freaking out about finals!) But we are just so excited to spend this 7-week break doing so many fun things. There are several things that I want to do in Utah, South Dakota, Wyoming, and so many other places. I love this country and I want to get out and see it this summer! The Fourth of July was so fun this year! Nic's family came for that weekend so we got to spend it with them. Nic's mom spoiled us with dinners and much more! Thanks Tamera and Doug, you guys are great.

My amazing family is coming into town next weekend! I'm so excited to see them! It's been four months since Nic and I have been married so that means 4 months since I've seen some of my fam bam and let me tell you what, it's been 4 months too long. Court and Ty are going to EFY here at BYU-I and my brother Grant is graduating! It's an exciting time and with the sun shining, I feel like everything is just ten times better. So, Mom and Dad, have a safe drive down here! We love you!

Ya know, as much as I hate Rexburg in the winter, I love it in the summer! It's so beautiful with trees and rivers. Nic and I have been able to just drive out 20 minutes to a spot where no one is around. We go shooting and just drive around in our new JEEP! There are beautiful fields everywhere you go and these awesome colors that fill a sunset sky. Ya, it's drier than anywhere else, windy as all get out, and the altitude is so high (I can't even run a mile without wheezing) but it's definitely beautiful and fun living here in the mean time.

Although, being here in Rexburg for the summer makes me miss my California sunshine more than anything!!! I am having beach deprivations like crazy. Seriously, I think I dream about the ocean at least 5 times a week. I really hope Nic and I can get the time to come down to SD and have a little mini vacation. I love that I'm from a town that going back to can seem like paradise because that really is what Cbad is! I'd love to see all my amazing friends and talk and talk and talk some more. :) So, Meg, Kaitlin, and Alexa, I know you guys all work at the same place so they're going to have to be deprived of you all for one day so we can all get together.

Nic and I had a fun friday night date at the drive-in theater! I've always wanted to go to one so we went to Craigo's and off to the movie we went. We set our radio to 107.7 FM and just had the best time. We saw Cars 2. It really is a cute movie, a ton different from the first one but I enjoyed it. Nic and I were laughing throughout the whole thing.

Life really is great right now and I could never ask for a better husband. He is so perfect for me. He has made my life so wonderful and I can't wait for all of the years ahead. I love you, Nic. :) P.S. I think I have the right to brag about how handsome my husband is! haha ;) I took this picture when he wasn't looking.