Avery Joelle Shaw

I was told by my friend Carrie that I REALLY needed to update our blog because our last entry dated back to October 2008, almost three months ago. She's absolutely right! A lot has happened to us since Halloween. Our family has since grown by one and we've been busy adapting to this big change in the midst of celebrating Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years with friends and family. Oh, my dear blogging friends, it's been too long. So let me briefly update you on what's been going on in the Shaw household these past few months...

Here she is, our new addition...Avery Joelle Shaw. Born Monday, November 10, 2008 @ 1008 am, 7 lbs 20.5 inches, at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Woodland Hills, CA. After a mere 36 hours of labor (only 5 of which were considered "active"), she finally decided to grace us with her presence.

Here she is getting her first physical assessment. When the Nurse Midwife broke my water at 6 cm they found meconium in the fluid (baby's first stool). Often times this is the baby's response to the stress of labor. When meconium is present the doctors are concered about the baby aspirating (inhaling) some of the contents. They had a pediatrician on hand to assess her immediately following delivery to make sure she was ok, and, as you can see, she was perfect. Apgar scores of 8/10 after 1 minute and 9/10 after 5 minutes.

Avery and Mommy

Avery and Daddy

Avery with Grandma Heather and Grandpa Bruce

Avery, Uncle Cole & Devon

Avery and Auntie Taylor

Some More Visitors While in the Hospital:

Great-Aunt Lynn

Erica, Avery's Second Cousin

We were blessed to have so many friends and family visit us on our ONE night in the hospital. We're sorry we didn't get pictures with everyone, but among those who came were Great-Uncle Jerry and Kurt (another second cousin), Cyndi Hayes and her lovely girls, Delaney and Camden, Ross and Audrey DeRoche, Larry and Sherryl Shaw and some of Mommy's coworkers from the Infusion Center.

Getting burped by Daddy

AAAHHHH...that feels much better!

Now it's time for a nap

All ready for our first car ride home

Even though it was a long, painful, emotional process, Geoff and I felt everything went as well as could be expected with regards to our first labor and delivery experience. Maybe even bettter than expected. Sure it hurt worse than I could have ever imagined, there was lots of noise and writhing and Geoff's hand was slightly crippled in the process, but then there was the EPIDURAL, the DILATION, and the beautiful words we'd been so eagerly waiting 9 months to hear...it's time to PUSH!!! After only 1 1/2 hours of pushing we both saw the light at the end of the tunnel...our beautiful, healthy baby girl, Avery, had finally entered the world. Ahhh, thank you, Lord. Relief, elation, tears of joy...everything was as it should be. What more could two people ask for? It was at that moment that Geoff and I looked at each other and realized our lives would never again be the same, that they would forever be changed, and in that same instant we discovered that it's true what they say...it really is all worth it in the end!

TO BE CONTINUED...

Halloween Party at the Reisers

This is what Geoff and I went as for Halloween. Can anyone guess who we're supposed to be? If you didn't see the movie chances are you'll probably just think we went as a pregnant girl with no sense of style who loves slurpees and a guy who likes to wear short shorts...

Nope...we went as Juno and Bleaker from the movie "Juno".

All the girls dressed up for Halloween (from left to right): Cyndi (The Biker Chic), Cami (princess), Michelle (Pirate Wench), Allison (Vampiress), Taylor (The Mad Hatter), Emily (Elphaba from Wicked), Breanne (Juno), Reagan (Cinderella), Kristin (Geisha Girl), Makenna (Snow White), Delaney (Belle), Sarah (Betty Rubble).

Halloween 2008

This is what our front porch consisted of in regards to Halloween decor. It's not much I know, but it's something.

Watch out for the spider web, there's black widows in it...just trust me...you can't see them from here, but they're there.

This is the pumpkin Breanne spent all day working on. Can you even tell what it is? It's supposed to be a PHANTOM.

OOOHHHH...SSSPPPOOOKKKYYY

The Crib

Look at what daddy assesmbled for the baby!!! It's her Simplicity Ellis Crib in Antique Black and it looks great. What mommy loves about it is that it converts from infant to toddler to adult. How exciting!

Porter Ranch Fire

We had our first wildfire of the season in Porter Ranch, just miles away from our neighborhood on Monday, October 13, 2008. The hills surrounding the Valley are so dry and filled with brush, that it's no surprise to find multiple fires breaking out as a result of the warm Santa Ana winds that come through each fall.
The pictures didn't turn out that great, but it gives you an idea what the hillside looked like from a distance. They said this fire was most likely NOT the result of arson, but due to a power line that snapped in the wind and landed on the dry brush.
We heard a couple of families from VPC had to evacuate their homes as a result, but fortunately no one was affected.
We were even getting a little bit of ash falling around our house. They canceled schools and after school outdoor activities for Tuesday because of the poor air quality due to the smoke.

Belly Pics

Here's some belly shots at 35 weeks. I can't believe I have 5 more weeks to go before the due date...I'll be huge!!!

So far though Mommy is measuring and weighing in right on target .
We'll have another ultrasound on Thursday, October 22.

We are eagerly awaiting the day when we will get to see her beautiful face and hold her snuggly in our arms. The Lord has been good to us. Mommy, Daddy & Baby are all healthy and strong!

Baby Shower at Grandma Heather's House

Grandma Heather and Auntie Taylor hosted Baby Girl Shaw's first baby shower on Friday night, October 3, 2008. Fortunately it was a beautiful night, even a little on the chilly side, and it didn't start raining until Saturday (what a relief). It was an evening filled with tons of yummy treats, a couple of challenging baby games, a plethora of wonderful gifts, and lots loved ones to share it all with.

The Stork Centerpiece Grandma Heather made for the dessert table (you can't see the baby's backside from here, but she said the baby has the Shaw butt)

The backyard looked beautiful. Auntie Taylor did a great job decorating with the help of Great Grandma Lois.

It was perfect that we had so much fall decor left over from the wedding.

Auntie Taylor and Breanne

Breanne's cousin's wife Aubrey and her 4 month old baby girl, Karli.

Time to eat!!!

Courtney & her coffee

Catching up with Carmen

Sarah, me & Allison

Erica, Aubrey, Karli, me, Grandma Mateko, Roberta & Kathy

Andrea, Grandma Heather, me & Betty

Camden, Cyndi, me, Courtney, Emily, Heather & Amalia

Regan, Sherryl, Makenna, Merlene & Delaney

Carmen, Dotty, Kristin, Me & Ginger

Patti, Carmen, Sally, Audrey, Me, Cheryl & Claudia

Emily & Me

Me & Devon (aka Cole's hot girlfriend)

Sarah, Reagan, Delaney & Emily

2-year olds can be so easy to entertain (Ami, Makenna, Reagan & Delaney chasing each other around a post).

And the winners of the Baby Name Game are...Patti & Dotty.

Look at all my little helpers!

With Ginger's great sense of style, she'll be the best dressed baby on the block.

Nobody ever seems to notice what Camden's doing. It's always the quiet ones!

Starting baby's library, thanks to Patti

A beautiful nursing cover for mommy...

and some soft receiving blankets for Baby Girl Shaw, made especially by Sherryl.

Taylor and Delaney

Yeaaa our Baby Einstein Play Mat. She's gonna be a genius!!!