Week One

Time goes by so quickly, I can't believe our little Peyton is 10 days old today! We are settling in to our new routines with our new little guy and we are all doing well. Peyton is a very happy baby and a great sleeper so far. I hate to even say that for fear that it will not continue so I will not say any more about it:) We've had a good week and here are some pictures for you to enjoy.

Trajen and Peyton meet at last. Traj has been so interested in my baby the whole time I was pregnant. He would tell me, "I am so excited for your baby to come!" and "when is your baby coming?" One day he even thought he saw the baby move in my tummy and he was pretty excited. This is when they met for the first time. Traj came and looked at him through the window at the hospital but couldn't come back and see him.

What a proud cousin. Can't wait until Traj, Tavin and Peyton can be great friends.

Isn't he the cutest little monkey!?! We call him our little chimp cause when he starts to cry he sounds like a little chimpanzee:)

Peyton and Mommy

He enjoys taking naps in the boppy.

Peyton and I really enjoy our days together, the thought of leaving him to go to work makes me very sad...right now I try not to think about it.

He's been very alert the past couple days. He is so strong and he loves to lift his head and look around.

He also got to meet Uncle Nate this weekend. Nate was pretty excited about it. Doesn't he look like a proud uncle? Nate loves all his nephews:)

Our first Days Home

We have survived our first few days home as a little family. Peyton seems to like his new home and we love having him here. He's been a good little baby so far. He does a lot of eating, sleeping and pooping:) He's been a pretty good sleeper at night which is nice. Last night was very good so I'm feeling good today! He even let me et ready this morning which was nice. He seems to like the hair dryer. Here's a few pictures of our first days home.

Peyton loves to take naps laying on Daddy.

My mom was so kind to come stay with us. She did all the cooking and cleaning and kept me company while Shaye was at work. Thanks Mom!

This is just a sample of the good stuff she made us while she was here. Waffles are my favorite breakfast food and these not only look yummy they were delicious!

It looks like he's smiling in this one rocking in his swing.

How can you not love that face, he's just so cute! We love you baby Peyton:)

Peyton's Arrival

I can't believe he is finally here!! We are home now and trying to adjust to our new lives. Things are going well so far. He slept great his first night home which I was grateful for, I got more sleep at home than in the hospital without nurses and such coming in just as we had all fallen asleep and such. I hope that tonight goes as well. This is a long post so get ready!

Well, before I go to much into the here and now I better tell the whole story of how this all happened. It all started Thursday morning when I went into Laurie's office (my nurse midwife) just for a check. She said everything looked good, she thought he would come this weekend so we would just wait for him to be ready. So I made an appointment for Monday if he hadn't come. Before I left Laurie decided to send me down for an ultrasound just to check and make sure everything was good. So I went and had the ultrasound and planned to go to work when I was done. After the ultrasound the lady said, "well I'll walk back to Laurie's with you, today is a good day to have a baby." She was very nice but I didn't know what was going on so I started to get a little nervous. When we got to Laurie's office the lady handed them something and said my fluid level was at a 2-3. I saw their eyes get big and they picked up the phone and started calling and told me to call my husband cause I wasn't leaving, I was having a baby! Everyone was very positive and nice but they didn't really explain what was going on so I started getting really scared that something was wrong and of course I started crying. I called Shaye and he was on his way home from hunting that morning and of course startled him cause I was crying and told him to get there as soon as possible cause we were having a baby today! He was there within 45 mins and I had calmed down. They explained that there was not enough water for him to live in my tummy anymore and he needed to come out today but that I didn't need to worry and things would be fine. So I head in and get ready to be induced and settle in for a long day. At this point it was 10 a.m. and they said it would probably be an all day thing and I wouldn't have the baby until like midnight. So I got all hooked up to everything and they started the process. My whole pregnancy I have been planning to have a natural birth but now that I was being induced I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to do it cause things weren't going as I had planned. Some how everything worked out so well and I am so grateful and feel so blessed. Things started to go quickly and by 2:30 I was having serious contractions. At that point I was way scared cause I knew I couldn't do this until midnight and I was starting to freak out. Poor Shaye and Mikkel were my coaches and they didn't know what to do either. I never yelled at them Shaye said I just ignored them. They would ask me something and I just wouldn't say anything. If you can't say anything nice don't say anything right?! No I wasn't thinking mean things I was just trying to figure out how to relax and get through this and it took much effort to respond. They checked me at 2:30 and I was at a 4 so I got in the tub and tried to relax as things got hard. I was in there for about 45 mins and then I was dying and I had to get out. I felt like I wanted to push and I didn't know what to do. Mikkel and Shaye didn't know what to do cause they couldn't get a nurse to come in and I was wanting to push or do something but I'm still thinking you have to do this until midnight and I can't do this. The nurse finally came and checked me and said, were having a baby and called Laurie to come down. I was like what?!? Right now?!? So I started pushing and that was crazy I thought I might die and I remember thinking I am just so tired I want to go to sleep so bad! I pushed for just over an hour and just when I thought I would die he came out!!! I can't explain the relief I felt I was so happy and so...I don't even know I was just so happy that he came out. I did it I was so relieved. They immediately put him right on me and cleaned him up and we've been together ever since:)

Mikkel was so great, not only did she coach me but she took pictures and they are awesome! They speak for themselves and tell the story of his birth, don't worry she left out the gory details, thank goodness:)

He's here! We love him and he couldn't be more perfect. We feel so blessed!!

Peyton Shaye

He Came! His name is Peyton Shaye Jackson. He weighs 7 lbs. 9 ou. and is perfect and healthy. He was born at 4:53 pm on Thursday Sept 16th, 2010 with no complications besides the pain. We absolutly love him to death already. We are still in the hospital so details to come on the next couple days.

Waiting...

For those of you that are thinking that our baby is 3 days old because that is what our little baby counter says here on the blog I felt that I better clarify. No, our little boy is not 3 days old because he has not yet decided to join us. Apparently I have made him quite cozy in my belly and he doesn't feel the need to get here in any kind of hurry. Luckily I am still feeling good, anxious and uncomfortable at times but really, physically I feel pretty good. I was a little bummed to see my due date come and go with no baby but I have now come to terms with it and I'm ok if he doesn't come until this weekend. Anything beyond that will be another story:) So here we are ready and waiting, hopefully we won't be waiting for much longer we can hardly stand the anticipation of meeting our little guy!

Recent Happenings

Just a little update on some of our recent activities. Shaye has been enjoying any and all outdoors time he can get. Hunting season is upon us and Shaye has been out chasing the deers. He has also enjoyed lots of fishing this summer. Here are some pictures from his most successful fishing trip up to Panguitch Lake.

It sure looks beautiful up there.

Here's Shaye and Jason with all their catches, they were very pleased with their success! So what did they with all those fishes?...

We had a BBQ at our house the next day. This was the biggest fish they caught and they stuffed it up nicely for the cooking:)

As for what I've been up to I'm nearing the end of pregnancy and I can't believe it! It seems to have gone by so quickly but then it some ways I feel like I don't remember life before being pregnant. I still have been feeling really good, which I am grateful for. This picture is me at 36 weeks, only a few more weeks to go!! I had a doctors appointment today and she said everything looked great and things were on schedule. We can't wait to meet our little man. So while I'm waiting I have been "nesting" you could say.

Here is a shelf I made to match the babies room.

In this lighting the colors look a little off but I was happy with how it turned out.

Here's my next project, there is kind of a glare but I am also happy with the way it turned out. I've been feeling kind of crafty lately:)

Here I am in my nest:) Often when Shaye comes home he asks where I am and I'll be in the babies room sitting in the rocking chair reading or talking on the phone. I very much enjoy just being in there and things are coming together nicely for our little guys first room. Here's some pictures of his place.

Thanks to Jennica for the cute little vinyl animals she gave us, they are perfect!

Can't wait for him to sleep in his bed, hopefully he will love it so much that he will be a great sleeper...we can only hope:)

I'm planning to put the shelf I made above the dresser but I need Shaye to help me put it up so I make sure and get it straight:) Now the count down begins, it will still be several weeks until he's here but I think we're ready for him!

Baby Shower

The past two weeks seem to have been crazy busy, time just keeps flying by! While Mikkel was here she was kind enough to throw me a super fun and nice baby shower. It was so cute, she did a fabulous job. Thanks to everyone that came, here are a few pictures of all the fun:)

These are the way cute party favors Mikkel made. It was a little shower sponge and lotion and it said, "From Ashley's shower to your shower." So cute and clever:)

The treats were so delicious plus they looked so pretty.

Love all the blue to celebrate our little boy!

Opening gifts, this was a cute blanket that Grandma Jackson made for the little guy.

Jen, Jana, Me, Mikkel and Tavin enjoying the party. Jen was so great to come and help Mikkel get everything put together. Thanks Jen you are great! Also my Mom came over from Kanab to help out and I was so glad to have her there she is so wonderful. Big thanks to Mikkel, everything turned out wonderful and they put her house together in one day after them not living there for 3 months!! Thanks Mikkel you are the best, we loved having you and the boys here and can't wait til you're home for good!

I can't believe that I am down to the end of my pregnancy. Only 6 weeks or so left now. I'm still feeling really good and hope that it will continue. I am loving feeling the baby move all the time. Shaye thinks I'm so silly cause when I feel his little feet poking out or something I'll say how I think he is so cute. He reminds me that I can't see him but I really do, I already think he is just so cute and precious. I can't wait to meet him and it won't be long now!