Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Ladies Man

Girls night out with Ryder. The second week, I was going stir crazy and needed to get out of the house. We headed to Sherman Oaks and met a few of my favorite girlies at La Frite.

I love these girls to death! So lucky to have such great friends! Miss seeing them on a daily basis...seriously miss them, but I know they will always be apart of my life!







Ryder Shane Bulkley

On Monday February 21 I woke up feeling completely normal. Shane had the day off so we ran around getting some last minute things for the baby. We met my dad and Bri for lunch and during lunch I had mentioned that I started feeling a little different. That night we had family night at our house and we had a BBQ with my family. By that time I had started having contractions and my mom and my sister started timing them. Some were close some were far. I just couldn't believe that this could be the real thing still being about two weeks from my due date. I was supposed to go to work that next day as this would be my last week of work. That next morning at about 2 a.m. I woke up with some really strong contractions, I woke up Shane. We were both going crazy, was this the real thing or not?! We tried to get sleep that night but failed because we were too excited. We were timing them but they were still close and then they would get further apart. I decided not to go into work that day because in the morning they were still pretty strong. I had to twist Shane's arm to go to school. I told him to keep his phone on and I would call him if they got any closer but I really didn't think I was going to have the baby that day. My friend Jamie came over and helped me do some last minute laundry, packing my bag and just helped me pass the time. I was getting frustrated because it felt like my contractions were getting further and further apart. I kept thinking to myself that this must not be the real deal! Bri happened to get off work early that day and I asked if she would come pick up Ty so Shane and I could go on an intense walk to see if that would get anything started. We decided to walk to Walmart because I wanted to get some travel size things for my bag. Soap, shampoo, etc. There is a pretty steep hill that you have to go up in order to get there and I was fine on the way there but was more sore coming down the hill on the way back. We stopped at the grocery store to pick up something for dinner and headed home. Bri came home with Ty shortly after and we were all sitting at the bar while Shane made my favorite dinner. We were just talking and joking about how we wished my water would just break! Within 5 minutes I started screaming because my water did indeed break! My water didn't break withTylie so it was a feeling I definitely will never forget! We were all screaming and laughing and running around crazy. My parents came over and Jeff came to stay with Tylie for the night. I took a shower, ate a quick bit and we were off!


It was after hours so we had to check in through the E.R.
Here is our support crew...
and the camera lady.
When I arrived and they checked me for the first time I was to a 4, not in a ton of pain yet. My nurse (who I love and adore) asked me what my birth plan was, to which I responded epidural, to which she responded, good! She asked when I wanted it. I thought you had to be to a 6 before receiving it but to my surprise you sure didn't. She ordered it right away...heaven!

Ryder Shane Bulkley graced us with his presence at 5:26 a.m. weighing in at 7 lbs & 19.5 inches in length. Here are a few pictures from his first seconds of life...
Our hospital now does the "Golden Hour" which is also different from when I had Tylie.
So in Love!
After the Golden Hour he got all cleaned up.
Okay, okay I LOVED my nurse! I. Love. Her. She was amazing! Her name is Megan and she was the best! I always say that during labor, your nurse can make or break your whole experience. Seriously they do EVERYTHING! Call me rude, but in my opinion they should get paid more than the doc! Can you tell I was not impressed with the doctor that was on call?! Well, I wasn't! Megan, I will never forget you and how you kick a*@ at what you do! I still need to send you some goodies with a nice long thank you card!


My brother brought Ty first thing in the morning. She was pretty tired because they partied like rock stars all night long and then he had to wake her up in the morning.
She honestly loved him so much from the very beginning and just wanted to be around him and not leave his side. It was pretty cute!
When my water broke, Ryder left these snazzy Jammie's for Tylie, and she wore them to the hospital to meet her little bro in person.
After we had stayed two days and nights in our private suite that Megan hooked us up with, we were ready to take our little man home!

Yep, I am indeed as tired as I look!
So teeny tiny in that gigantic car seat.


Tylie and uncle Jeff made sure Ryder had a warm welcome, and he did!
Giving birth never fails to amaze me! It is the most intense and special experience I have ever been through in my entire life. I am so grateful I got to go through this experience with my sweet husband, mom and sister. So grateful for their love and support! We are so grateful for little Ryder. We are so blessed to have him in our home. I think it's so cool how these tiny little babes truly do come with little personalities. I think the thing that stands out most to me about Ryder is he is a sweetheart, he has the sweetest little spirit and you can feel it by just being around him! I hope he will always stay that way. Isn't it amazing how instantly you feel that abundance of love for these babies, it's the best feeling in the world!

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

It was a Pinkalicious kind of Birthday!

WARNING: This is fair warning that this could possibly be the longest post ever! Sorry in advance for the ridiculous amount of pictures. This is a day that I want to record to the fullest. It was such a special day that I never want to forget!

I can hardly believe that my baby girl turned 3 years old! Three? THREE! Where have the past 3 years gone?! I had every intention of throwing Ty a big bash this year. I hate to admit this, but being 9 months pregnant at the time a BIG birthday party sounded more and more unappealing. Around the same time I had been wanting to take a sick day from work and spend an entire day with just Tylie and I. I wanted to have a total girl day. I wanted to have a special day just the two of us, that we would never forget. (I know what you are thinking, she is three of course she will forget! Well, if you know Tylie, you know that she does not forget ANYTHING) Mostly, I wanted to spend this time together before the baby came. Since her birthday was so close, I decided that this would be the perfect day to ditch work to have "our" day!

Tylie loves Pinkalicious and she wanted a pinkalicious birthday, so that's exactly what she got. Here is how our day went...



February 15, 2011...

We started out the day getting mani and pedis at our favorite spot. She loved it and thought it was the coolest thing ever!
Pinkalicious mani and pedi's that is.

This was her pose when I kept telling her not to touch anything. Didn't want to mess up those fancy nails!
End result...



Next stop, L.A. We had a date at the American Girl Doll store. We were all ready, but her Bitty Baby definitely was not! She needed a new outfit, a birthday outfit!
This is her pick...I think she looks pretty cute and ready to party!
Our next reservation was the cafe at the American Girl Doll store. It was seriously AMAZING. No really, I loved it just as much as she did. I recommend it to anyone and everyone. Age does not matter!
On the menu, pizza of course.
Her baby loved it too.

Dessert! She loved when the whole restaurant sang Happy Birthday to her.
Delish.
Next, we shopped around at the Grove.
Our favorite thing to do is throw coins into the fountain and make wishes.
Our, last stop in L.A. was Static to visit her very best friend.
Had a quick nap on the way home.
Lastly, got ready for a pinkalicious birthday party with the fam.
Here is her pinkalicious cupcakes.
Pinkalicious presents
Birthday girl, giving all her guests party hats...

even this one.



#1 request for her party was a pinata, not just any pinata, a donkey one. Thank you Bri for making her wildest dreams come true! :)

Obsessed with the dang pinata! This girl loves her daddy.
Make a wish!
Birthday Kisses

Pinata time!




Jack Pot!
I have never seen a happier little girl all day long. She was so sweet and kept saying "oh thank you mommy, you're the best" all day long. What a perfect day, wouldn't have changed anything about it.

I had planned to go on maternity leave the week before my due date to have some more one on one time with Tylie. Ryder surprised us a couple weeks early, and we are so glad he is here safe and sound and love the sweet spirit he has brought into our home, but we are so glad we were able to spend such a special day together, just us! I will never forget that day!

Happy Birthday Tylie Belle! You surprise us everyday with how smart you are. We can't get anything past you. You are so intune with people's feelings and you care so much about people. You are such a sass but the biggest sweetheart. I know your whole world is about to change and we know you are more than ready to be a big sister. You are already so sweet with Ryder and love him so much, even though you are still adjusting to having someone else around. He is the luckiest kid in the world to have you! You are so much fun to have around and we love you so much more than you will ever know! Here is to being 3!