Garrison Arrives!!

These are all pictures from the hospital! Of course I have about 200 others but I just uploaded some of my favorites!! He is so alert and has the chubbiest little cheeks! He has bright blue eyes and Im really hoping they dont change!! He looks just like his daddy so at least he could have mommy's eyes!!

Garrison Adam Bal.....LONG OVERDUE!

I haven't had much time to blog with a newborn....but hopefully you already know .....Garrison Adam Bal was born on June 28, 2008 at 2:41pm! He couldn't be anymore perfect! The labor wasn't as bad as I had imagined either. Friday, June 27th, was my last day at work and I was lucky to have him the next day. I didn't want to waste any of my maternity leave without my baby! Friday adam and I went to sams club and barnes and nobles to walk around. That night, I told Adam, we may have a baby sooner than tuesday (when they were going to induce). Adam got a little nervous...LOL. He started cleaning like crazy and packing more stuff in our already packed bags. He even asked me if we had diapers somewhere....what did he think I had been doing for the last 9 months?? Of course we had diapers! So I woke up at 2am on saturday with bad back contractions and alot of other "complications" and my dr said I needed to go to the hospital. At 330 am we arrived, I as dilated to a 3 and my contractions were every 4 min apart. Around noon, I was fully dilated and started in on the pushing. What a beating! I had gotten the epidural around 1030am, and I think I tried to wait it out a little bit too long. I started shaking and was pale as a ghost. My nurse kept saying are you all right? Heck no im not alright, this hurts!! There for a bit, before the epi kicked in, I was thinking this child is an only child, I wont go through this again! At some point Garrison turned and was trying to come out sunny side up, or face up. I turned on my side and tried to help him out that way, bc he was stuck. They put my on oxygen and put an internal monitor in the little guys head to monitor his heart rate. Everytime I had a contraction, his heart rate was dropping too low. The Dr came in and suggested a c section, at which time the baby was still doing fine, so I said no thanks, I want to keep trying. About 30 min later, Garrison's head was starting to swell bc he couldnt make it out, and so the Dr said its time for a c section or a forceps delivery. Off to the OR we went, and Garrison was born at 2:41pm. In a split second my life changed forever! Adam is an amazing dad, he just loves the little guy so much!

The nursery

Garrison's due date is less than 3 weeks away, we are so excited and cannot wait! The nursery is all ready for our little man. Adam did an amazing job, this room was basically our storage area and was in need of lots of work. Adam installed a new ceiling fan, laid new tile, installed a chair rail, painted, put together the furniture, added new blinds, plus rearranged everything a gazilion times until I was satisfied....oh and didnt complain once! Garrison is blessed with an amazing dad already!

Sonogram pictures

July 1st...that is the date we are aiming for as of our last sonogram. Today I am almost 34 weeks. We have two dr appts next week, one with the pediatrician and one with Dr Monier (our ob dr). At 32 weeks, we had another sonogram, bc the Dr says im measuring "big." At 32 weeks, he weighed 4.8 lbs and was 16.8 in long and cute as can be! The last sonogram picture is from 12 weeks, but I wanted to add it bc its my favorite! He just looks so comfortable in there and perfect!!

Welcome to our world!!

Well I have been contemplating a blog site for a while now, and figure with a baby on the way, I better get it started now. We have lots of family and friends out of town, and what better way to take a peek into our lives than with a blog! So to update anyone who has been out of touch....our story: Adam and I are living in the dallas area and bought our first home about a year and a half ago. We have a pool and a game room so both of us are pretty pleased with our home. Adam has a gazillion projects going on in the house but has really impressed me with his handyman skills. I will have to post some before and after pictures. Now that I think about it, maybe I should hire him out. Anyone need to rent a husband? We can negotiate the fees :) The nursery is our current project and I just love it! I say our project but really it's all Adam, all i've done is decorate! Our four year wedding anniversary is coming up on June 25th. I can't believe it has already been four years! I am in school working on a dual masters degree, but am taking this summer off to prepare for the baby. I am working toward my MBA and also MHSM (health systems management). I currently work as the manager for a home health company for the elderly and really enjoy my job. It can be very rewarding and stressful at times. Adam is a manager for fox and hound and loves what the does, plus I love his schedule. I couldn't be happier that he finally found a job with lots of room for advancement and something he is happy doing. He also owns his own online company and is always looking for other investments. He is happiest when he has way too much on his plate! We have come such a long way from those 19 year olds, who slept in til noon, skipped alot of classes, and bartended at night. What alot of fun we had...but we are def looking forward to this next step in our lives! Welcome to our blog and hope we can keep you up to date on the Bal's!!