The Wold's World

New Blog and Website

2009-07-18T23:33:00.003-05:00

I must say I have done a great deal of apologizing to my readers, and this will be the last apology you will get from me....on this blog. I have finally pursued my passion to start my own photography business and that is where the majority of my free time has been spent. I have gotten the website up and running along with a blog. And considering I don't have much free time any more, I am pretty certain I will only be able to maintain one blog. So I am hoping that all my readers here will follow me over to http://www.meganwoldphotography.blogspot.com

It is my photography blog, however I hope to be taking more photos of my family now and I will continue to update on my family as well as my business on that blog. I hope everyone understands. Thank you for your continued reading.

http://www.meganwoldphotography.com
http://www.meganwoldphotography.blogspot.com

2009-06-06T10:56:00.001-05:00

2009-05-20T07:29:00.001-05:00

FINALLY!!!

2009-05-07T11:52:00.005-05:00

This is my last week of official classes and I just finished up my final photography project, putting our portfolio together. I wanted to put some of the pictures on here to let you guys see some of my work, some have already been on here and some haven't but I have to say I am proud of my work so far. I only hope that I can continue to get better.

Busy Busy Busy

2009-05-04T09:37:00.003-05:00

I have been so incredibly busy lately with trying to finish up projects for school, working on my Psychology study (which is actually going better than I expected it to) and trying to help Tyler prep the lawn for summer.
Unfortunately I haven't had as much time as I would like to get my photography into full swing, to get pictures updated on the web or to get my website going.
School is done next week wednesday for me and I hope that with that change, some time will open up for me to keep you all up to date. So check back next week and I will hopefully have some photos for you!!

Cutting Teeth

2009-03-31T21:46:00.005-05:00

It's been on the verge of happening and it finally happened last night. Angela got her 3rd tooth...one of her top ones. And I feel like it was harder on me than her. I was up every hour last night trying to comfort her back to sleep, then forcing myself to ignore little wimpers so I could get some rest. She's drastically cut back on eating solids...narrowed it down to just puffs and yogurt drops. The rest of her diet has transitioned back to formula. She is in strictly 18 month clothes now, give or take a few outfits, and it is certainly wearing on our pocket book. Who knew they grew so fast....and why didn't you inform me of it sooner?

Other than that, I have been forcing photos out of everything I can fine to make it into one of two photography projects that I have a pre-critique on Monday. So here are a few samples...of course I haven't had time to get into the school to use the editing software yet, so you and I are both going to have to deal with the hard copy. The first set of photos you'll get is of DETAIL in which I have to take the details of life. You can take that any way you want...so I'm going in all directions I guess.

I didn't even know I had this little bug hanging from my plant...unti Angela tried to eat it.

I like the reflection in this one.

I think Tyler needs new work boots.

The awesome fruit salad that Jessi made for us.

Loved this picture of Jessi helping Quin get un-stuck from the mud.

BED TIME ROUTINE
So I have to take picture of an event...and since we've been snowed in I've taken pictures of Tyler and Angela's Sunday bedtime routine. Every Sunday, no matter where we are or how busy we are, Tyler give Angela her bedtime routine...so he feels like he's helping out...and what an event it has turned into. I missed him feeding her dinner, as I was doing some homework but it's bath, book and bed for now...
Pink duckies are so delicious.

A bathtub full of duckies...and I want to play with the faucet.

"I had so much fun in my bath!"

"Just you try to get a diaper on me!!!"

Reading my Ladybug book while Dad tries to get me in my jammies.

Photography

2009-03-26T22:34:00.003-05:00

So I just got my grade from my second photography project back, and although it was not a grade I was wanting, it will suffice. I thought I would share with you some of the photos from that assignment. I've been pretty busy clearing the snow here in North Dakota and trying to keep Angela entertained in the house, I think that she is as bored with being inside as we are, so photos have been sparse lately, maybe early this week I will have more posted, some of the snow and more of the family. Who knows if I get ambition or not. Snow totals for Richardton today came to 16.7" and that is on top of the 13" inches we got last week. All the snowfall is starting to roll together. So those numbers may be off a little bit...but you get the idea. I told Tyler today that if next winter is like this, we'll take the cut on the house 'cause we're moving south. Let's hope this is it for a while!

A Precious Thing

2009-03-14T21:22:00.004-05:00

In an attempt to gather some more photos for my Photography class, I set up a makeshift studio in our living room. It wasn't much, just a white sheet thrown across the back of the sofa. I hope you enjoy some of my favorite shots from my little photo session.

All Smiles

2009-03-08T23:27:00.003-05:00

Even though she has a broken leg, our little Angela is still all smiles. She gets a little fussy when we tell her she can't stand on her leg or pull herself up, which is a new trick she's been wanting to try out since the fall. But other than that, she is now crawling on her hands and knees rather than comando crawling and she is discovering new territory every day!

IT HURTS!!!

2009-03-02T21:39:00.004-06:00

This past weekend was amazing and so sad all at the same time. First...the amazing....

We left this weekend for Fargo to visit some of our old friends and to go to our annual Fighting Sioux Hockey Game. We left on Friday afternoon, arrived in Fargo in time to meet up with everyone for dinner at Granite City Food and Brewery (where I used to work). We had a great time sitting around the table chit chatting and catching up. We returned to Eddie and Megan's (Tyler's cousin and his wife) house and the guys played darts while us girls watched Angela laugh uncontrollably at their puppy Zoe. It was a late night, but a good one.

We woke up Saturday bright and early in order to get ready and run a few errands prior to the game. We went to Hu-Hot for lunch...one of Tyler's favorite places. Then headed to Grand Forks for the game. It started at 3:37 which was great because Angela was able to be awake for the entire game. We enjoyed every minute of it...and I think besides the fireworks that erupted after every Sioux goal, Angela enjoyed herself as well. The game ended in a 4-4 tie, but it was an amazing game. We left Grand Forks and returned to Fargo to watch some more hockey, eat some pizza, visit and watch the guys play poker.

Here is where it goes bad....It was getting late and Angela was wanting to lie down, so I grabbed her in my arms, grabbed the stuff for making her a bottle in the other hand and headed down to the kitchen. While I was headed down stairs, I fell while holding her. We thought since she was so tired and it was a scary ordeal that she was just scared, and that's why she cried so hard and for so long. She cried throughout the night, only wanting to be held (which I attributed to her being away from home for the first time in a long time, and being overly tired). On Sunday morning, Angela woke up super early and since we were all awake, we left for home right away. All day and night on Sunday, Angela didn't want to put any weight on her right leg and was an incredibly fussy baby compared to what she normally is. I slept on it and was trying to figure out whether or not to bring her into the doctor. I awoke and thought a little more, then decided I would bring her into the doctor to get it looked at.

Angela had her doctors appointment this morning at 11:15 and the diagnosis was...she has two hairline fractures in her right leg. One on her tibia, the other on her fibia. The orthopedic doctor did not put her in a cast today because she isnt a walker and said that she should make a full recovery in less than three weeks. This fracture won't affect her walking, development or growth in any way, shape or form. Although it's horrible in my eyes, I guess I have to look at it as though it could be worse.

I will leave you however with a few pictures from the game. Angela was the star of the show...at least for those in our section.

A snipit

2009-02-14T21:44:00.006-06:00

Hey everyone! Well I've been out and about shooting pictures for my photography assignment and I think I'm having a pretty hard time. We are supposed to find the best examples of the Elements of Art and the Principles of Design. So things such as line, color (monochromatic, complementary, etc), balance, shape, value...things like that. The only problem is that she showed us examples of past entries and now it those pictures that I see when I'm out shooting. I have some ideas of my own, but I just keep seeing the other pictures.

Anyways, here is a little snipit of my pictures from the past few days. The ones with the snow are from the most recent snow storm...ten inches in Richardton!! Let me know any feedback on the photos.

Website

2009-02-05T11:23:00.002-06:00

Many of you know my new found passion for photography...although I don't know if it's newly found. I have thrown around a possible idea of starting a side hobbie of doing photos for other people. Since I was up quite a bit last night with Angela (up every two hours) I thought more about it and decided that it would be a great way for me to be a stay-at-home mom and still contribute to bringing home money and doing something I love. I will still continue my education degree at DSU so that I will always have something to fall back on, however I would like to be at home more with my daughter.

I would not start taking photos for other people until I am done with my photography class in order for me to understand and my camera and photography skills better. I don't expect to become a professional photographer by any means seeing as I will not be obtaining a degree in the subject. I am looking forward to doing this side activity and I hope that it prospures and makes me a stronger photographer. I will be creating a website (hopefully soon) with examples of my photography for others to look at so that they can see my style of work.

I hope to be informing you soon of the new website!!

More Beauty

2009-01-27T10:30:00.003-06:00

I did not have my morning class today because of a conference call the instructor had, so I've been able to work with the pictures a little more and convert them so I can show you what a beauty I have. Enjoy!

RAW

2009-01-24T21:54:00.004-06:00

I have expressed my discontent about my education at DSU to many people so far, however I must say that I am learning a great deal of information...in some classes. One of my favorite classes so far is my Introduction to Digital Photography Art 281 class. It has opened my eyes to a new way of looking at everything and we haven't even gotten into the deep stuff yet. I've been reading the text that she assigns (unlike the rest of the class) and it's amazing the information that the text tells you.

One of the greatest things I have learned is regarding file format. Most people take their photos and leave them in their JPEG format. However I found out that the JPEG format actually throws away pixels that it feels your pictures don't need in order to condense it to fit on disks, jump drives, hard drives, etc. It not only throws away pixels the first time, but everytime you open the picture to send it in an e-mail, show someone on a slideshow, adjust the size, every time you open it, you loose a little bit more. To put it in a more simple way, the way I explained it to Tyler...it's like you fill your cup with Lemonade, and someone takes a sip out of it and puts it back, then after a while you don't have Lemonade anymore. Anyways, I took lots of picture today of my little angel using some new techniques that I learned from reading and used the format RAW(which uses a ton of space but looks SOOO much better!) Anyways, I have to convert the pictures into a different format before I can upload then or edit them at all, which means I can't get you the pictures as quickly. I did convert one of the files to upload for you, just so you can see how clear the pictures are, how much detail there is and how beautfiul our little girl is. So here is a preview of the photos I took today.

Beautiful Baby Contest Update

2009-01-13T10:41:00.004-06:00

Thanks to everyone who commented on Angela's photo. I am only alloted to submit one photo to the contest, however, anyone who chooses to submit a photo may do so. I entered Angela into the contest using Photo number 3. I would be more than happy if you would like to submit one of your own photos of Angela or use one of the ones that I thought would be good.

If you would like to submit your own photo just log onto regisandkelly.go.com and click on the Beautiful Baby Contest. I would also like to ask that on March 2 or 3rd I don't remember which, that you log on to the website and vote for Angela's photo. Thank you all so much in advance and don't worry about trying to remember which day, I can reassure you that I will let you know.

And as a side note, I took Angela to her first day at Daycare today. It was very hard for me as I have spent the last six months with her every day, all day. I am at school this semester and I have a feeling that it will be the hardest semester so far, not in terms of classes and difficult, but in the fact that I cry every time I leave my little girl. I hope it gets better soon. Class is starting here in a few minutes so I must leave you. Good Day.

Beautiful Baby Contest

2009-01-11T21:11:00.004-06:00

So every year "Live with Regis and Kelly" does a beautiful baby contest where the winner receives a $125,000 college scholarship, a photo session with Parenting magazine to be on the cover and lots of other goodies. I decided that I'm going to work my ass off to get Angela a college education that she does not have to pay for ('cause paying student loans off is killing me right now!!). So I am going to enter her into this contest every year until she wins!! The picture that is submitted must be taken within the past 30 days. We took a few pictures in the past month of our precious Angela and I would love feedback from all. We have to have the picture submitted by February first so if you would leave me feeback on here or send me an e-mail at wold.megan@gmail.com that would be great. Just let me know which picture you think would be the best to sumbit! And beware that I am also going to ask that you vote for Angela if it comes down to America's vote. Thanks a bunch to everyone!

Picture 1

Picture 2

Picture 3

Picture 4

Picture 5

"E.I."

2009-01-10T12:19:00.003-06:00

We have had such a weekend already! This past week has wrecked havoc on our systems and I don't think I could handle anymore coming my way. I'll skip the problems that fell on our backs and jump right to Angela ('cause I know that is who means the most). Thursday afternoon after returning home from Dickinson, Angela was feeling warm to the touch so I took her temp. It was 102.6, so I called the doctor. While I waited for the doctor to call me back, I continued taking her temperature, keep her in cotton clothes that could breath and made sure she was drinking her bottles. Her temperature was wavering going up to 102.8 then back down to 102.2 and it peaked at 103.1. Tyler got home and we kept an eye on it some more, administering Tylenol every four hours. It was at 9:30 that night that Angela wasn't sleeping normal, sounding raspy and woke up. I took her temperature and it was 104.1 so Tyler and I took Angela to the Richardton E.R. where they told us that Angela has a double Ear Infection. The put her on Antibiotics and told me to alternate Tylenol and Motrin every two hours.
Thursday night was hard as she didn't want to sleep other than being held. But I almost didn't mind the cuddling. Friday we attended Angela's Great-great Grandmother Eva Nuss' funeral and Angela was content the whole time. Last night her temperature wavered again and we just held steady. She fought sleeping again last night and has now added diarrhea onto her list of symptoms. Her temperature keeps peeking at about 103.2 so in the morning if it's not seeming to calm down a little more, I will call the doctor to make an Early morning appointment for Monday, if the doctor thinks I should take her to the ER instead, I will take her to the Dickinson ER where they can admit her.
Please keep Angela in your thoughts and prayers that my happy little girl will return to me and leave this illness behind her.

Christmas Time!!

2008-12-31T13:41:00.015-06:00

It seems as thought the holiday season comes and goes so quickly for me. I want so badly for it to stay and last forever. I had a Christmas card written out and was in the process of printing them out so that I could sent them off when we ran out of ink. Since the ink is pretty expensive, I decided we would do a new years card instead. That should get to you all by Valentines...I hope.

Angela had her 6 month doctors visit today along with shots. She handled her shots very well, only crying for a few seconds afterwords. The doctor commented on how tall she was and how "advanced" she was in her motor skills. It is amazing how comments like that can make me beam with pride. I think it is because it makes me feel as if I am doing my job well. I suppose I should get on to what you all came here for. So here they are, the pictures of Angela and others from Christmas...oh! Thank you Uncle God and Mom for our Christmas presents this year! It is because of you that we are able to share the beauty of the season(and our daughter) with everyone!

Angela a little worn out from the day.

All smiles.

Angela and Nana snoozing together.

Playing on the floor.

Say cheese.

All my girls.
Haley, Brenna, Angela and Taylor

Taylor holding Angela.

Brenna loved holding Angela.

Kris Oyen at the 701 Christmas party.

Angela playing with her Godmother, Heather.

Ava's first hair cut at the 701 Christmas party.

Josh and Angela...what are you looking at?

Angela and Amiah in their Christmas Eve outfits, playing together.

Angela and Austin...I think they look alike.

Amiah being a happy baby.

She's all smiles for her Auntie.

Grandma Brenda, Amiah and naked Angela.

Jerad and Angela smiling together.

Breanna and Angela.

Tessa's little girl Jocci.

Angela playing in the snow.

Amiah being a happy Christmas baby.

Grandma Brenda and my Christmas Angela.

Averi opening her gift.

Angela in her Christmas outfit.

HUH?!

I love my happy family!!!

Pictures

2008-12-11T18:23:00.006-06:00

Well, Uncle Russ and Mom came through for me! They sent me all the pictures we took on Russ's camera. I am so thankful for these pictures, Uncle Russ has an amazing touch! Love you Uncle God! Here are a few of my favorites!

Angela getting a bath.

Uncle Russ loving on Angela.

Stella and Bolt.

Tyler and Angela

The view from Russ' cabin.
Angela at Yellowstone National Park.

Tyler's favorite picture of me from the trip.

One of the birds in Yellowstone.

Two elk fighting for the fawns.

What a happy couple.
Daddy and Angela in her new hat and boots
Family picture

Say Cheese!
Look at Me!!
My little cow girl!

Oh Snap!

2008-12-02T12:32:00.003-06:00

Well it's finally happened, I knew it would one day but I didn't know it would happen so soon. My digital camera broke. I loved my little Kodak that I have had for so many years now, but after too many falls and now a too cold trip to Montana, the thing won't turn on or take a snap. I am going to attempt to take it somewhere here in town and if they can fix for a reasonable price I'll get that done. In the mean time, I have an old fashioned film camera (what am I talking about, those are not old fashioned just yet!) and I have a camcorder that can take still photos but they don't turn out as nice. But it'll do until I can upgrade my camera to a new one.

Because the camera was being stupid on our trip to Montana for the holidays, I didn't get any pictures. My uncle Russ however has over a hundred awesome photos of the area, Angela, our family and everything in between on his. He is in the process of uploading the photos to a jump drive to send me so I can steal some of them.

While we were in Montana, Tyler was in horrible pain. He has yet another infected tooth that was giving him so much pain that he was blacking out. We took him to the ER on his birthday and they gave him some pain meds as all the dentists in town were out hunting. I've been calling around the area for two days now and I just finally got Tyler in, hoping they could do something now but it turns out he has to go back on the 15th for a cleaning and tooth removal of another tooth. The tooth that was bothering him had a root canal done on it and needs a new root canal, the dentist told him he had to refer him to a guy in Bismarck who is the closest one who will do that kind of work. They won't just pull that tooth because it's a major molar and he wouldn't be able to eat without it. So since we are spending past our deductible in one day, Tyler figured I should get my cleaning in as well. The whole Wold family will be going to the dentist on the 15th! Well, except for Angela, I'm trying to see if my daycare lady will take her for that hour and if she can't then maybe I will just have to reschedule.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are as excited for this Christmas season as I am.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-24T21:28:00.003-06:00

For our little Angela's first Thanksgiving, we will be heading out to Livingston, Montana to visit my Godfather. When I was little I couldn't comprehend the idea of Godfather so I always called him my Uncle God, the name stuck and now he is Angela's Great Uncle God. Angela hasn't met him yet and they have both only seen pictures of each other so I am extremely excited for this adventure. We will be leaving on Wednesday night as soon as Tyler gets off work so that Angela can sleep the whole ride and it won't be such a hassle of a trip. Tyler's birthday is the day after Thanksgiving so we will be celebrating that in Livingston as well. When we return home I hope to have pictures of my Uncle's beautiful cabin, Angela enjoying her Thanksgiving feast of solids and maybe a few pictures of the birthday boy if he lets me. I hope all your Thanksgiving festivities go well and are celebrated with those you love the most.

So Big!

2008-11-21T15:12:00.003-06:00

I can't believe how quickly Angela is growing. She will be turning five months old on Wednesday and although she has not hit some of her milestones that she should be, she has surpassed others. Angela is now weighing 21.5 pounds, and she is 27.5 inches long. We needed to buy a new car seat as she has outgrown her original one. We are going to need to bring in her high chair for feedings because her legs are getting so thick that they don't fit nicely in her Bumbo seat anymore. She is not wanting to roll over because she refuses to let me put her down for longer than a diaper change and five minutes of play. She loves playing in her jumper that her Auntie Cammie bought for her and she loves to walk a little bit with help. She is starting to stand up while holding on to things, but that is only certain objects, such as her crib.

Tyler and I have decided that we needed to break the habit of rocking or bouncing her to sleep and get her more into the habit of falling asleep on her own. We started last Saturday, by just laying her in our bed and lying with her so she knew that we were there but it was okay for her to go to sleep on her own. She is falling asleep like this just find now and when we will continue to do it this way until the Thanksgiving holiday is done, then we will transition to just sitting beside her bed while she sleeps on her own.

For a present we have purchased a Fighting Sioux Cheerleader outfit and although it was precious on her, it fit her already and we were looking for it to fit her in February. What a dilemma we have had these past few weeks of buying outfits, Angela already fitting in them and having to exchange then two or three times. Let's hope it doesn't continue this way for a long time!

Old Photos

2008-11-04T11:02:00.003-06:00

Wow, I promise I will get better. I can't believe how busy I have been now that Angela is down to taking only two (three if I am lucky) naps a day. I just found the cord to the camera to upload all 300+ pictures I have of her, here are just a few that I thought I would share with you all.

Jake and Angela after the baptism.

Angela in her baptismal gown that I wore when I was baptized as well as all my aunts, my mother and most of my girl cousins.

Angela in her "Yoda" position

Angela hanging out with daddy.

Angela's halloween costume. She was Manon Rheaume, the only female to play in the NHL and she was a goalie for the Tampa Bay Lightening.

I promise I will get better at taking pictures and updating all of you. Today here in Richardton it is overcast and 43 degrees. Angela and I went for a walk, we played a bunch and now she is napping. Hopefully we will be more eventful so that we can share with you all.

A month

2008-10-19T12:28:00.002-05:00

I have to apologize that it has been almost a month since my last post. This month has been chaos to put it simply. We are now rested in the house with almost all of the boxes unpacked and it's pretty close to having a place for everything. Angela was baptized on the 12Th. Jake came to visit for a week which was awesome!! Tyler and I have made it a point to go to Dickinson to visit his great-grandparents and today we are finally taking a day off and relaxing for a little while. It's funny how once you have a place to call your own you don't really get a day off.

We are still doing stuff around the house today, such as hanging pictures and picking up from our eats ('cause we don't have a dishwasher). So I am going to keep this brief. I was planning on posting pictures of the house, Angela's baptism, Angela getting HUGE, our visit with my brother and our visits with Grandpa Kudrna and Grandma Nuss. However, I can't find the cord to attach my camera to the computer, so those pictures will have to wait for a later day. I hope this Sunday finds you all in good spirits.

It's time!

2008-09-23T09:37:00.003-05:00

The time has finally come. We are almost completely packed up and ready to make the great trip west to Richardton. We've experienced a few more bumps in the road, especially with trying to get Tyler's beat up 1970 Impala (that he hasn't touched since we've been together) along with my car and his work car plus the Uhaul truck to Richardton with only two drivers. But thanks to having a big family, we worked something out.

This will more than likely be the last time I post for a few weeks, as we will not have Internet right away. So here is the big update for everyone. First off. ANGELA ROLLED OVER FROM HER FRONT TO BACK BY HERSELF ON SATURDAY! We got it on camera but now I need to figure out how to get the video onto my computer so I can show all of you. It was such a great site.

Okay and the schedule for the move. Tonight Tyler's cousin is coming over (HOPEFULLY) to watch Angela while we do some more packing and cleaning. Today and tomorrow during the day, consists of me packing and cleaning and taking care of Angela. Wednesday all of our stuff, and I mean all of it, has to be out of the apartment and the apartment has to be cleaned. So if it works out our friends may be coming over to watch Angela for a few hours that night as well. Thursday morning Tyler will work for a few hours (to get his 40 hours in) then pick up the UHAUL and then he and Eddie will load it. The carpet cleaners come on Thursday, but they don't have a set time so it could be anytime between 8-5. Which means I really can't do anything on Thursday but hang out. Thursday night will be the night we say good-bye to all our friends at a dinner. Friday morning at 8:15 we have our checkout which should only take about 20-30 minutes and then we are off to Richardton. We close on the house at 3:00 and start moving in! Wow what a busy weekend, and Tyler doesn't really get time off because he starts his new job on Monday morning. Wow. I am so excited to be out of the apartment living stage of my life and to raise my daughter in her own home.

I will post more pictures of Angela as soon as I find which box the camera is in, and of course when we get hooked up to the Internet. Wish us luck!

Untraditional

2008-09-16T12:36:00.003-05:00

Today is our two year anniversary! I can't believe that it's supposed to be 80 degrees today compared to two years ago when it was raining and COLD! The traditional gift for a two year anniversary is cotton, the modern gift is supposed to be china. Well Tyler is so picky about what he wears that I'm not buying him clothes, we don't need more sheets at all, and we don't need more towels at the moment. So cotton is OUT. And now that we are buying a house, China is out as well. So Tyler and I decided that we are going in on a gift to give each other. Tiger Woods PGA Golf 08 for the Wii. Haha We have greatly enjoyed playing golf lately and this game is very fun for what you get. We are also going to join Grandma Jean and Grandpa Ron at Granite City for dinner. They are in town this week for a managers convention and it's been so great seeing them.

It's official that we will be moving into our home on September 26!! Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers as we have been going through this process. When we get moved in I'll post more pictures of what our home looks like in our style.

Complications

2008-09-15T18:54:00.002-05:00

with buying a home have arose again. The offer we put on the home was accepted by the sellers we just had to get an incredible amount of stuff done in order to get approved by the bank. That took up most of our stress, thought processes, fight conversations and everything else we could possibly pour into the situation. Well now we hit another bump in the process. We needed to have all of our contingencies removed by today in order for the offer to still be acceptable. At noon today we were still waiting to hear from the appraisal guy to tell us how much the house is worth. He was a little worried because the past three or four houses he has appraised in the area have only been worth less than 45K. Well we were supposed to buy the house for 60,ooo. Here about an hour ago we found out that the house is only worth AT MOST 50,000. We don't really know how much the couple selling the house bought it for, but we are worried they won't sell it for that amount...which means that even though we went through all this work to try to get the house, we still may not get it. Please pray that everything works out and that the couple trying to sell the house really wants to sell the house and is willing to sell it for that amount.

Other than house complications, Angela has been getting HUGE!! She is only twelve weeks old but she is growing faster than I can keep her in clothes. She is now wearing 3-6 month clothes, standing on my lap while holding onto my hands and eating like crazy. Can't wait to see how big she gets while I'm trying to pack up her clothes...I hope I don't have to open boxes to pull out bigger clothes for her in the next two weeks.

Photos

2008-09-09T09:36:00.003-05:00

Well it's finally here, we received our website for the professional photo session last night. Tyler and I have greatly enjoyed looking at them and already seeing how much she has grown. Here is the link to the slideshow so that you can all see the photos. http://www.shawnanoel.net/angelaslideshow/ love to all. Hope you enjoy as much as we do.

Grandparent's Day

2008-09-07T12:15:00.003-05:00

Today is a holiday that is overlooked far too often. It's a day that was created to honor those in our lives that mean a great deal to us. It's a day to pay thanks for all the cards, hugs, kisses and love that is given unconditionally to us, even we do wrong. It's a day to honor the Grandparent's in our lives and it's the first time my parent's are being called "Grandparent's." Tyler's mom Brenda has been a Grandmother twice before, but today we hope she knows that we appreciate her being a Grandmother to our daughter.

Tyler and I want to thank all of our Grandparents for the love, support and all the knowledge they have enstowed upon us since we have become parents, and them...Great-Grandparents. Our day is clouded over and chilly so the time we spend today will most likely be spent inside, enjoying our little girl. Yesterday Tyler took a well deserved and long overdue nap with Angela...
...how cute!! We started Grandparent's day off great by speaking with Grandma Brenda while she was on her way to Dickinson to enjoy breakfast with her dad and then on to Williston. It was so great to hear her happy again as it's been too long since we've heard tears of joy. She commented on how she has not seen many pictures of Angela smiling...'cause she does it all the time now. So I snapped a few photos while we were on the phone with her and this was my favorite....Dad always knows how to make my baby express her happiness.

Good and Bad

2008-09-03T11:19:00.003-05:00

My mom always started with the bad news first so I'll start there as well. The house that we put our offer on earlier, we decided to revoke the offer because we found some paperwork on the house from this year that said it has asbestos. It says nothing about the location of the asbestos but that doesn't matter because I don't want to put my child anywhere near that. So that house is off our possible list now. We asked our realtor to put in the offer on our third option.

This house is a block from the Abby, small and square but it has potential....and it is 20k less than the 2nd choice. It's a two bedroom two bath, one of the bathrooms makes for a great "man" bath for when Tyler gets home from work. It has a small yard, but it's something we can work with. The main thing Tyler and I would have to do to it is give it a little "curb appeal." It looks extremely boring on the outside. SO anyways, if you haven't clued in on the bad news, it's that we are now on our third and final housing option 'cause anything after this is just junk.

And now for the good news. Angela is getting so extremely big. We weighed and measured her at the WIC appointment this morning and she is 13.5 pounds, 23 7/8" long and her head is 15 3/4" around. They said she is growing beautifully and that her weight is in the 98%, length 89% and head circumference is in the 92%. AND I finally captured her smile. It's so precious.

Seconds

2008-09-03T08:25:00.004-05:00

This is now the second time our offer on the home in New England has fallen through. This time we offered the home owner more money to pay off her business contract so that she could move to Spearfish or Bismarck like she was planning. And if she wasn't wanting to move right away, we even found a place for her to rent that was located right next to the Correctional Facility where she works. It was a really nice place 'cause if it wasn't sharing a backyard with prisoners, Tyler and I would have looked into buying it ourselves. But apparently it wasn't good enough for her and she has asked for no more offers. She told our realtor that she would sell again next summer when she gets everything figured out a little more, and that we will be the first to know about it. Ha ha yeah right. There are parts of me that wish that she does put it on the market and her third attempt at selling it will be like her first, no offers or viewings for a year. That way she realizes how good of an offer we gave her, and how unwise it was for her to deny them.

Anyways, we are now playing the waiting game on our second choice. It's not the home of our dreams, but it's workable. It's located in Richardton just a few blocks away from the Abby. It's an art deco home and needs lots of work, but once it's completed we can see ourselves staying in it for a few years(10 at max I think). We have big plans for the house and we should know by later today or early tomorrow whether or not the owners have accepted our offer.

Angela and I have a WIC appointment today and I plan on asking for another weight and height measurement because she is already in 3-6 month clothes. She is HUGE!!!

Waiting game

2008-09-02T08:23:00.004-05:00

We should hear today on whether or not our second offer on the New England home has been approved. We increased the amount that we offered and even found a rental place for the person that owns the home. We are praying that the offer goes through, but we were smart about it and if it does not go through we have to homes on the back burner. Both homes are in Richardton, one is an art deco style home that has a very large yard, lots of character and would need lots of work. The other home is close to the Abby (where my Grandpa Jim went to school), it's small and kinda boring, but with a little work we could turn it around in two years and make a decent profit on it while we keep searching for a better home to raise our little girl.

Needless to say this trip to Dickinson was somewhat of a success. We stayed with my cousins Scott and Katie Nasset and their two girls Anna Mae(3) and Ruby Jane(1) and what a blast that was. They can relate to the fact that not many of our friends have kids and are still able to go out and have a blast. We were able to hand Angela off to Nana Mimi(my mom) and her great-grandparents so we could enjoy some wonderful homemade wine of Scott and Katie's (Tyler enjoyed his Grain Belt). It was nice to have a few glasses of wine and enjoy some good conversation with adults our age and not have to worry about how Angela is doing.

The rest of the weekend was spent enjoying time with friends and family. Kyle and Heather came down on Saturday for a few hours, and it was so great to see them!! They made the trip just to hang out with us at lunch and then they waited patiently while we filled out paperwork for the houses, and they even came with us as we went grocery shopping. It was a disappointment that we didn't get to hang out with them more, but what time we did spend with them was greatly appreciated. Then on Sunday we traveled back into Dickinson to visit Tyler's Grandpa Ray and Grandma Margie. Angela smiled big for them so they could capture a couple of pictures and we had a short but lovely conversation.

Needless to say, the trip to Dickinson that was supposed to be just work turned into a little pleasure as well, and considering it was Labor Day weekend, it was much needed. We just pray that we don't have to travel again before we move because the toll is definitely showing on Angela's attitude.

You look familiar, have we met?

Angela trying to hold the bottle herself.

Snoozing with Aunt Cheryl.

Update

2008-08-27T11:32:00.004-05:00

Here is a quick little update on whether or not we got the home of our dreams...we didn't. She denied our offer because she was unable to cancel her contract with MDU that she had with her business. Because she still has the contract, she can't afford to move and sell her business for a few years so she removed her house from the market. I am so very frustrated as we fell in love with that home and are now put in the situation of having to look for another place to live. We will be headed down to the Dickinson area again this weekend to peruse the area some more. I know that we won't find a home we loved as much as we did that one, but hopefully we will find one that will work for a while. Maybe even one that we can learn to love after adding and subtracting things. I am not going to get excited about any of the houses like I did this last one because I have come to the conclusion that every time I get super excited about something it falls through and I am distraught for days. Maybe I just have to hate everything and then something that I love will come along. Who knows what will happen or where we will live in the months to come.

I will leave on a high note, Angela turned two months old yesterday on my cousin Tyrel's birthday. I hope he enjoyed his birthday a bit, even if he is in Basic, as I know Angela smiled and laughed for a good majority of the day...what fun we had playing. She is getting so big!

Sporting the 701 Crew Baby onesie from Mike and Angela Mathers

What a little "chunkabutt"

"Oooohhh....bright shiny light"

Dickinson Trip

2008-08-24T20:55:00.003-05:00

Well we might have had a very successful trip this past weekend to Dickinson. Tyler got the job at Steffes working at their south shop and will be getting paid .50 cents more that what he is here in Fargo, with a great deal of benefits. They offered him 12 hours a year paid to be a volunteer fireman, full health/dental/vision, and he will work fifty hours a week with the opportunity to work as much as he would like. Which means that when he is cross with me, he can go in to work and make more money!! Haha. We looked at a few homes around the area and we fell in love with a home in New England. Tyler told me he figured I would love that one based solely on the deck, but there is so much more to love in this home. We put in an offer and the lady didn't accept the first offer we made, so we adjusted it today and we are still waiting on a response. We are supposed to have the offer go to the bank to be approved tomorrow, so we are expected to hear from our relator either late tonight or early tomorrow on whether the lady has accepted our offer. The only thing that is stopping her is that we asked to close on the 26th of September since Tyler has start work on the 29th. And she has no place to live and no job in the location that she was planning to move because she didn't figure her house would sell so quick (it was only on the market for two weeks). So if she is able to rent a place to live for a few months from some friends then she will accept our offer, but if she is unable to then we may be headed back this weekend to search some more. In the mean time, I have added a little slideshow of pictures from the house, if we get it I will make sure to update the pictures with what it looks like while we live in it.

Home Sweet Home

2008-08-20T09:01:00.004-05:00

This weekend we are traveling to the Dickinson area to do two things, 1st Tyler has a job interview at Steffes (I don't know if I spelled that right) and 2ND to look at homes in the area that we are thinking about buying. There are a few that we have found online that we like a lot. We got a hold of Tyler's aunt Shirley Dukart from Home and Land Company and we are going to look at these homes on Friday as well. The two that we are really interested in are both in New England, one is in town and the other is a farm home seven miles south. Tyler really likes the farm home because it has the perfect amount of land for our dream home.
This farm home is $95,000, it's on 40 acres of land and it has a really nice Quonset for Tyler to use as a large garage. The garage on the land needs to be demolished and there are grain bins that are on the land that we don't get with the purchase but we have to put an egress and ingress to get to it. The inside has been updated a little bit but not much and there is still a ton of work to be done. This really would be a great home if we only wanted one kid 'cause it only has two working bedrooms. The other room is in the basement and we would have to finish the basement and put in egress windows before we could even think about using it. Still it would make a good home, we would just have to work REALLY hard and put A LOT of money into making it our perfect home.

I really like the home in town because I think it's a good buy for the amount we can afford and I think it would be a good home to raise a family in.This home has a nice big yard for Angela to play in that wouldn't need a lot of replanting. It has a good two stall garage for our vehicles and spot next to the garage for Tyler's impala plus an alley in the back for more room to park. The inside is completely remodeled and there are more bedrooms than we have furniture to fill. It's $89,000 with more square footage than the farm home and we wouldn't have to buy any appliances other than a washer and dryer. It's across the street from the school which is a perk. The down falls to this is that it doesn't have the big acres of land outside of town that we wanted, it might only have one bath(can't figure out if it's a type-o or not from the pictures), and it's not that far from the Women's prison in New England. Both homes have their high and low points, and Tyler and I can completely understand why each other likes the other house. We are looking at a bunch of others in Richardton and one in Dickinson. Our viewing on looking at homes in the smaller towns is that it may be more difficult to sell in later years so we want one in a smaller town that we can live in for years, maybe never move out of. If we end up living in Dickinson, we would only live there for a few years until we find something we can't live without in a smaller surrounding town.

I am so excited to go this weekend and possibly get things going, but I don't want to get my hopes up. We have a couple of loans out that we are in the process of getting rid of so that the approval for the home can go smoother. One of them however is a co-signed loan on a vehicle where the person is constantly late on payments. We've been struggling to get hold of them but they won't answer our phone calls and they have to be the one to file for a credit check with the bank to re-finance the loan and get it on their own. I just think they are too lazy to do such a think and it's making me really upset.

I am praying that everything will work itself out in time for us to hopefully move into a place we can call our own by October 1st. I am praying and I hope you will pray for us to that thinks work out the way we would like.

Motherhood

2008-08-19T10:52:00.004-05:00

Before I was a Mom I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a Mom - I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.
Before I was a Mom I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.
Before I was a Mom I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put them down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.
Before I was a Mom - I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.
Before I was a Mom - I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

Boo Boos and Bandaids

2008-08-15T21:02:00.002-05:00

Angela had her two month check up today where she received her first shots since her HepB shot she was given while still in the hospital. We went in at 2:30 and I was instructed to give her baby Tylenol prior to the appointment to ease some of the discomfort after she gets the shots. But if I was her, nothing would have been able to ease my pain after getting stabbed with three needles that WERE NOT tiny by any means. I now know why babies and kids hate going to the doctors.

When we got there we had to sit in the waiting room for at least fifteen minutes, maybe even twenty. Then after entering the room, we were instructed to strip her down to her diaper so she could be weighed and measured. When you strip a baby naked, you expect them to be in a somewhat warm room....NOT HERE!! It was freezing, I am never cold and I was cold so I can only imagine how Angela was sitting in that room naked for so long. Then we had to wait for the Doctor to come in, but she wanted Angela naked for the examining so we couldn't get her dressed while we were waiting for another ten minutes. After she came in, the Doctor checked her lungs and heart, her eyes, her nose, her ears and then her mouth. It was at that point that Dr. Jones-Dees told me that Angela has thrush. THRUSH!!!! I can't believe that my little girl has the fungus that I told myself she would never get. But not only does she have it in her mouth, I have it on my boobs and after every feeding we have to give her medicine and we have to wash her Nuk everytime it leaves her mouth. That's quite a feet when you have an infant that can't exactly keep the tightest hold on her beloved Nuk.

After the Dr. Jones-Dees left, the nurse came in and gave her shots to her, and I have never heard a cry that loud and that horrifying. And now that we are home, the hardest part has hit...she is in pain because of the shots in her legs, she's struggling to eat because of the Thrush, she just wants to be comforted but it's almost always unsuccessful, and she's frustrated with all the new medicines that she has to be given. I have a feeling that these next few days are going to be the hardest I've ever had.

The facts from the hospitals' standings however is that she weighs 12 pounds 5 ounces, is 23" in length, and her head circumference is 15.25". A little different then what we received at WIC, but they are close enough.

Tee it Up

2008-08-15T08:41:00.005-05:00

Tyler and I have recently picked up golfing in our spare time...what little we have. We went to the driving range a few times, with improvement each time mind you, but at $5 for a bucket of balls, we needed to find a more cost efficient way to learn our stance and swing. So Tyler has concocted a way for us to hit balls for free. We take one of the infamous white tarps that were hung around our wedding and hang it to the front of one of those fence things behind baseball diamonds. Then we stand about three feet in front of it, and swing. That way when we actually connect with the ball, it doesn't get too out of hand. Even though it's a little off kilter, it seems to be helping. With a little help from youtube, I have been able to understand how I am supposed to stand and swing. So with the little improvements that I have made in the past few outings to the park, I have found a great interest in golf. Our friends even come out every once in a while to give our clubs a wack and of course to hold baby Angela while Tyler and I swing away.Big Angela holding Baby Angela

She loves being outside.

Tyler and I have been trying to head out to the park at least every other day, and now that Grandma Micki (Nana Mimi) is here until Tuesday, we will possibly get out every day to hit some balls. That way the "Baby Hog" as Tyler calls her, can get her much needed time spent with her. She's already made sure to take Angela and change her diaper, feed her, snuggle her, and of course stare at her while she sleeps. And you know me, always taking pictures...I am "one of those moms" according to one of my friends, and because I am "one of those moms" here are more pictures to leave you with.Look at those lashes!

I'm amazed at how big her eyes are.

Life is so good.

Liquid Gold

2008-08-13T12:47:00.005-05:00

Angela and I had our monthly WIC appointment today to get our checks and then attend the breastfeeding group that they offer. At last month's group meeting, Linda the leader hit it off with mom pretty well because they were both experiencing being a Grandma for the first time and only days apart. Linda remembered Angela and I today when we got there and I was very impressed with that.

While your getting your checks, if you would like them to they will weigh and measure your child so that you can see that they are getting sufficient nutrition. Since I am impatient and didn't want to wait until Friday when Angela has her two month appointment, I asked to have her measured and weighed. OH....MY...GOSH. I knew that breast milk was good, but I didn't know that Angela would be in the 90% for height the 80% for weight and the 60% for head circumference because of it. She measured 23.5" for height, 12 pounds 1 oz, and her head was 15 1/4".

I am sometimes indifferent about these breastfeeding get together because they all seem a little too happy to be breastfeeding. We always start off talking about why we love to breastfeed and I sometimes find it hard to find an answer to that. I certainly enjoy being the only one to feed her sometimes ('cause it means that when someone else is holding her, I get her back for that little while) but then I want Tyler to be more involved so that he feels like he is helping out adequately. I love the fact that it's free and I don't have to pay for it....oh wait, but I have to buy nursing shirts and bra's so the money goes there instead. I like the bonding time I get with her, other than the chapped nipples that I receive and the nail marks I have from her digging into my boobs. The enhanced breast size is a perk, other than the fact that I leak milk after a good let down and I'm struggling to fit into all my old clothes. I have so many perks to breastfeeding but at the same time there are so many struggles for me that don't seem to cross the minds of these other moms. Sometimes I wonder if since I'm not that fond of breastfeeding makes me a bad mom.

After our clinic today I picked up some pictures that I got developed from some film that I didn't really know what was on them. In our old camera, that Shawna helped me figure out at our photo session last week, there was some film and we snapped a few pictures of Angela on them, so here are those pictures. It's amazing how a good camera can take amazing photos once you know how to work it.This one is courtesy of Shawna Noel

As is this.

This one was me...what a difference huh?

Wash..Dry..Fold..Put away

2008-08-12T13:10:00.005-05:00

I never realized how monotonous doing laundry can be. I've been doing my own laundry for at least ten years now and I don't think I've ever really paid attention to how long and how boring it is. Now incorporate feeding times that co-inside with diaper changes and my day is pretty much the same hour repeating itself.

I have been trying to get the laundry done so that I can pick up the house a little bit and possibly clean the bathrooms and vacuum before Grandma Micki comes to visit on Thursday. I am getting super excited for her to come, it's already been too long since she has seen our little gem. O.K. it really has not been that long since she's seen Angela but it sure seems like it with how much Angela's been growing. Today while doing laundry I compiled the first box of clothes that Angela's outgrown. I had fun putting different outfits on Angela to see if they fit, but Angela most certainly didn't like it.

The dryer has finished and I have many more loads to do before Angela wakes up to feed again...woops too late. Maybe I'll get the laundry done in the wee hours that I am awake tonight.

Blue Bell

2008-08-10T13:19:00.006-05:00

Yesterday Angela experienced her first wedding. Our friends here in Fargo, Kacey and Joe were married at a little church in North Fargo that had no AC. Angela wore a beautiful blue dress that was size 3-6 months. I can't believe she can fit into that size at only six weeks old. Tyler worn the top half of his suite and I struggled changing into tons of different outfits trying to find one that would fit now. I never knew what a struggle it would be to wear my old clothes when my hips are different sizes now. Who knew huh? Anyways, Angela sat through the wedding without a peep...okay there were a few close calls but Tyler was quick with the Nuk. It wasn't until the end of the ceremony when Kacey and Joe were making their procession down the isle that Angela wept. I would like to think it was with happiness for them.
After the ceremony we enjoyed a nice meal catered by Space Aliens. It was here during the reception dinner that our friend Nichole held her first baby. During my baby shower here in Fargo, Nichole wrote me a piece of advice that said when I return to Williston, I can drop Angela off if we want to go out without the baby...that was after she admitted that she never touched a baby because she was scared she would break it. So this was a huge triumph for Nichole.I was very impressed as the Bride even took time out of her reception to sit down and cuddle with out little Blue Bell. I had to make sure to put a burp cloth on her to make sure she didn't receive a nice stain on her beautiful dress...but she was even willing to bottle feed her for a little while. That was until she was pulled away for the cake cutting. I don't think I have ever seen a bride do something like that, so I felt very blessed. It is a gorgeous Sunday, with the temperature hoovering around 73 degrees and the sun hiding behind the clouds. So our little family will be spending the rest of the day enjoying the weather, maybe by going for a walk or if we feel up to it, then we will go to the driving range again. Who knows what today will bring.

Sand Man

2008-08-08T15:47:00.008-05:00

Six weeks ago if you asked me how I thought motherhood would be, I would not expect to say that it would be a roller coaster. My heart grows every day with the love that I have for her and then there are times that I am so frustrated with her fussiness that I want to just throw in the towel and give her back. It only takes a few minutes until I regain composure and I'm totally enthralled with her again.

I think the main reason that I get frustrated is because at six weeks old, she is struggling to sleep on her back. And I can't say that I am not at fault because I know that when late night feedings come around and I am falling asleep, as soon as she is ready to go back to sleep I lay her on my chest, kick back and we're both off into la-la land. However, I think I may have found the culprit yesterday.

We received a gift of pajamas that had the feet on them that were incredibly adorable and I couldn't resist putting her in them when it was a tad chilly yesterday. So after her morning bath, I put her in her jammies and laid her on her back, and she slept for three hours. She did that successfully throughout the day..with Mom making sure she was in warmer clothes. Then last night, we had one of the best nights that we have had since she was born. We got home from watching the opening ceremonies at Mike and Angie's at about 11:30 and after a quick change and feeding, we laid her on her back in the pack 'n play we have in our room. She slept there until 2:30 when she woke for a change and feeding. I made sure not to drift off to sleep and laid her back down in her pack 'n play where she again slept until 6:00. Again after a feeding she laid down and we woke this morning at 9. After six weeks of being home, I got to sleep a whole night in my bed with my husband and IT WAS AWESOME!!!!

I had always just figured that since she was so warm to the touch, that a single onesie would keep her at a sufficient temperature. But I am coming to the conclusion that the reason she wanted to just snuggle with us was because she was a tad chilled and needed the heat from our bodies to keep her warm. What can I say, we are new at this and are learning with time. But I don't think I am going to get my hopes up too high, I don't want to jinx myself.

This past week my favorite photographer stopped by on Wednesday for a photo session. It was so good to chat with her and get pictures of our doll baby and the family as a whole. To top it all off, Shawna was able to instruct me on the proper use of an older camera that I was given by my mother. She taught me things that I had no clue the camera was able to do (things I thought you could only do with photo software). I just hope that I am able to remember her pointers when I go to take a few snap shots.

Early last week sometime Tyler received a profit sharing bonus check that wasn't much but it was enough to splurge a little on something just for us. Tyler decided that he wanted to purchase a set of good golf clubs for the two of us so that we can go out golfing as a family. After the clubs arrived on Wednesday, our anticipation grew and we really wanted to go out and swing them to see how they felt. Especially since this would be the first time I would swing a golf club other than at putt-putt. So yesterday we ventured out to the driving range (I called it the shooting range to a few people by accident) and while I breastfed on the grass, Tyler hit a bucket of balls and when it came around to being my turn to hit, the rain that was predicted for the day decided to show up. So I turned in my bucket of balls for tokens that we used today. I have to admit that I do enjoy it, when I connect with the ball. I am in need of some lessons however because my stance and swing are very armature.

I should get going as we have a wedding to attend to tonight and I still need to do our little girl's laundry. I leave you with pictures that I have taken from this week. And I can't believe how big our girl is getting...she is holding her head up fairly well by herself and even sitting up on the couch by herself ( I think it helps that the cushions hug her in place). Enjoy.

What a way to sleep

All cozy in her swing.

Look how big I am!

And the half attempt at a smile....not quite though.

Nuk...lifesaver

2008-08-03T10:18:00.006-05:00

This past week with my little Angela has taken a toll on my sanity. When we went to visit all of our family we told them that we had a perfect baby and had no real problems with her....we get home and that all changed. She has been what I call a snuggle bug, which means she refuses to let me put her down. She won't sleep on her back, only on her belly on my chest still and now there is no back time almost unless it's laying against my legs. Although it seems hilarious to Tyler and Angela, I didn't think it was very funny when I was peed on, pooped on and puked on all in ten minutes...then the little stinker after her bath peed and pooped on me all over again. Luckily I was able to capture a cute picture in the mean time. She cries for no apparent reason anymore, and it takes me forever to calm her down. After eating's she spits up way more than she ever has, and to top it all off she completely has her nights and days mixed up.
Tyler's brother Tobi had the same thing going on with Amiah and when they went to their doctor, they were instructed to give her half a teaspoon of Mylanta to calm her tummy. We figured it couldn't hurt but the half a teaspoon looked like way to much for us so we cut that in half. We gave some to her for a little over a day...then that's when I decided that since she seemed to puke it up after words and she was still fussy, that I would wait and see what Dr. Jones-Dees thinks. The one thing I know that works is that every once in a while, she takes her Nuk pretty well, which gives me a little peace of mind. I was going crazy this week, not being able to shower/brush my teeth/use the bathroom in peace and also all of the crying that was intertwined in those activities. Tyler came home early from work on Friday to help out and he took care of her for a few hours while I got cleaned up, and did some cleaning around the house. It's amazing what two hours away from her, still in the same house, but doing something other than taking care of baby makes me feel better. Another way of brightening my day was a beautiful bouquet of flowers that my mother sent to me. She knows how to warm a room even when she's not here.We had to reschedule the photo session with Shawna because of some overlapping, but now we are getting our pictures taken on Wednesday. I am so excited, and that extra day gives me more time to get some cleaning done. We started packing this weekend and wow did we get far. There is still a great deal to pack, but we can hold off packing all that for a while as we still may need it. There is a great big pile of boxes in our garage now, so I am having to fight the rest of the tenants of the apartment building for parking spaces. Besides the packing and cleaning, I was also able to get out to watch Tyler play roller hockey on Thursday. It was nice to get out of the house for a little while, as I got to meet up with our friend Zach for a while, as he was passing through the FM area. I got to visit with my friend Joni for a little bit which is nice 'cause I only get to see her when we both go watch our hubbies play roller hockey. And little miss Angela got to meet Eva and Larry Carlsted, an unexpected but delightful experience. over the toys that I don't think she really understood, Tyler enjoyed his first showing of And today as Tyler and I unload the 90 lbs of groceries that we purchased, we watched Angela enjoy her Play mat that Nancy and the girls gave her. While we enjoyed her oohing and ahhingPocahontas, a movie that I don't think he greatly enjoyed. Anyways, we are relaxing the rest of the day, taking as many naps as possible so that I can continue to get through the nights with Angela.

Snap Shot

2008-07-30T07:15:00.005-05:00

Well this week is going to be pretty dull and boring around our house. My life consists of filling out paperwork, trying to pack the house (which doesn't work to well when little one screams when I put her down), trying to clean the house, and do a little shopping for our up coming photo session.

On Tuesday, around dinner time, Tyler, Angela and I will be taking some family photos with our favorite photographer Shawna Noel. I received this photo session as a gift for my baby shower. It was originally meant to be a maternity photo session but I figured that I would much rather have pictures of my family than just of my belly. So Shawna is going to take a trip down to Fargo to take our pictures and I am super excited. Tyler and I wanted to do a family portrait in all black but I am having troubles finding a black dress for Angela, so it seems that we will have to go a different route. Which to me is a tad disappointing as Tyler is no longer willing to wear his suite in the pictures. I do hope that I can get a picture of him in it soon, he looks so sharp.

I leave you hear as Angela is sleeping and my eyes are getting heavy, so I will be joining my baby doll in her snooze.

1 Month!!

2008-07-29T06:28:00.012-05:00

Angela Kaye Wold. One Month Old. 10.25 pounds.

The Wold family traveled the Enchanted Highway this weekend to visit my family in Regent, North Dakota. Our main goals for the weekend were to pick up job applications for Tyler in Dickinson, visit my cousin Tyrel before he leaves for thirteen weeks, and introduce Angela to her Great-grandpa Jim. Thankfully, we got it all accomplished with some time to spare as Sunday was spent as a family just hanging out, something Tyler and I have decided is going to happen every Sunday. With all the craziness that's going on, we decided that we need at least one day of quiet, that we spend just as a family to enjoy each other and not have to worry about enjoying other's company.

We left for Regent/Dickinson on Friday morning EARLY, and after another peaceful car ride, we arrived in Dickinson around 1:00pm. Angela and I went and visited with my cousin Jessi and her little princess Quintavia while Tyler scooted around Dickinson picking up applications. After much confusion of which places were hiring, Tyler and I went around Dickinson for half an hour picking up applications and then headed down to Regent.

When we arrived in Regent, a great majority of the family was out and about getting things done. So we headed over to my Aunt Sue and Uncle Jim's house to visit their grandson Jamison. Needless to say he and Angela kicked it off quite well.

Jamison Paxton Gion

He has the cutest smile...when he's not camera shy.

And he is only five pounds heavier then Angela...what a size difference five pounds makes.

The rest of the day was spent oohing and ahhhing over the little ones. It wasn't until the sun went down that my Grandpa Jim finally came in from the fields, cleaned up after dinner and held his Great-Granddaughter. It was so precious, Grandpa was exhausted from the long, hot day out and postponed sleeping so he could cuddle with his "sleeping beauty."

Grandpa Jim and little Angela Kaye.

After a long night (I stayed up watching the Bucket List, and found out that when Tyler is really tired, he sleeps with his eyes open) Angela spent a great majority of Saturday sleeping. She napped with Grandma Ree for a little while in the morning and once Dad decided that he wanted to cuddle up with his little girl, he took two naps with her. Talk about a Baby Hog.

Grandma Ree and Angela, I love how Grandma naps sitting up.

Daddy and Angela sleeping again.

Like my family does best, the great majority of them waited until a few hours before we were ready to hit the road to come over and meet our bundle of joy. Aunt Audrey who has been a huge help with breast feeding and pretty much any other question I have about babies, came in to town after we got a little timing confusion situated. It's evident that she loves babies as she plays so well with them and they look so good on her. I think she's ready to be a Grandma again.

Audrey and Angela checking each other out.

My cousin Katie and her two little girls, Anna May and Ruby Jane came in to town to meet the tiny baby. If Angela is to be anything like her two cousin's she will never stop. Anna May has the vocabulary of a second grader and little miss Ruby crawls like there is no tomorrow. I am so excited to be closer to them in these next few months so that they can teach my little one some interesting things.

Anna May loving on Angela Kaye.

After visiting for some time, I finally was able to meet up with cousin Tyrel. He had been gone for baseball all weekend and though I shouldn't have been happy about it, he lost a game and was taken out of the tournament. Tyrel, Tess and Jamison made their way over to visit again before we headed out on the road. It was so great to see him, even if I didn't get to visit with him as much as I would have liked due to a crabby, hungry little girl.

It may not be the best photo, but Jamison was wearing his dad's hat and it was so precious.

We traveled across the state with my cousin Chandler and it was such a pleasure to have a young heart in the vehicle to keep us entertained. While we were on the stretch of I-94 from Bismarck to Fargo, we were only about fifteen minutes outside of Bismarck when we were caught in the middle of a high speed chase. It was scary, and yet intriguing. It was the young mind of Chandler that brought laughter as he kept asking what it was that the guy had done, "Maybe rob a bank, probably not, rob a gas station, an armed robbery?" Overall, it was a great long weekend but a good one. We visited with family, and found that North Dakota can have some interesting scenery on the interstate.

Disappointment and Change

2008-07-22T15:13:00.007-05:00

This past weekend was a very busy, emotional weekend for the Wold family. Upon our arrival home on Sunday, we gathered our mail from the time we were gone and found two pieces of mail that could change our lives forever.
The pieces of mail were from the cities of Bozeman and Missoula telling us whether or not Tyler was to come back for interviews. **A little history** Tyler went out to Montana for a state wide testing, both written and physical testing for firefighting. He got a 90% on the written and ended up placing 40Th and tying 10 out of 650 applicants. Needless to say he did awesome. Well, we opened both frantically because we desperately wanted both to ask him to come out as we wanted really bad to move to either one. The two letters had bad news in them however, they said that they were thankful for his application and interest but at this time they were going to go with a different candidate for the job openings.
We were really dissapointed as he did so well and we couldn't believe that they wouldn't even ask him in for an interview when they were hiring close to 20 firemen. After many tears and hugs, we decided that we should try to figure out what we were going to do from here. Tyler and I figured that the reason he wasn't chosen was more than likely due to the fact that he doesn't have any experience under his belt. So what we decided to do to remedy the fact was to move to a smaller town closer to family so that Tyler can get volunteer experience, even if it's only for a year, and then we will try again.
So with that, the Wold family has decided that as of October 1st we will be residing in Dickinson, North Dakota. We chose Dickinson because it's closer to both our families which means we can make it to birthday parties, holidays and other family events more often, and we can also take a quick trip to visit the cousins for a day instead of having to hustle to take everyone in in a weekend. Dickinson also has a school so that I can continue to work on my degree, and Tyler can earn more money for our family. There are a few cons to our decision but the pro's outweigh them significantly.
We had decided that we were going to baptize Angela here in Fargo on Sept. 21, but seeing as we will be moving a little over a week after, we have postponed it to sometime in October in Dickinson. I would love to have baptized her sooner but Tyler and I took into consideration gas prices for those who wanted to be here, but were traveling some distance. Since we will be moving in the middle of a semester, and no daycare will take miss Angela at such a young age, I have decided to take this semester off and focus on my daughter, the move and my Spanish. If I can get a majority of my Spanish klept, then I can take out over a year of school in one semester.
There are still a great deal of decisions to be made, but we will figure that out in time. I hope to keep everyone updated on this as more decisions are made. We appreciate all the support that we received while Tyler was pushing for the firefighting and now that he will try to volunteer. It really does mean a great deal to us. I must be off as my sleeping Angel is waking up now.

Whew What a Weekend

2008-07-21T13:54:00.009-05:00

What a weekend our little Angela Kaye had. She met so many new people that love her so much. She was so good this weekend, and I couldn't have asked for a better trip up to Williston. We had planned on leaving around noon on Thursday, but of course with a little one you are always behind by an hour. We left the apartment by noon, hit up a couple of errands and was on the road by 1:15. I was terrified that Angela was going to continue her cluster feeding while we were on the road, but she surprised me and we only had to stop in Bismarck to fuel up and feed which took less than 45 minutes. Then we hit the road and stopped in Watford City to clean up a poop explosion and feed. Needless to say we found out that Angela loves to ride in the car.

While we were in Williston, Angela met her new cousins. Austin has grown so big I almost didn't recognize who he was. And Christopher and Addison have grown about a foot. It's amazing how fast these kids are growing. I just hope that Angela doesn't grow up while I blink. She spent time with her Grandpa Todd, met her Aunts and Uncles and met Amiah Maddison all on Thursday night. Friday was spent running around visiting those who weren't working and were in town that we knew wanted to meet our little bundle. The 701 boys were all in town to support our friend Josh, and though they were all skeptical on holding her because she was too little or they had had too much to drink, they were fascinated by her. It was great to get to see the guys again. That's another group of individuals that we wish we could be around a little more often. Also on Friday night we spent the tiniest amount of time with Angela's god-parents Kyle and Heather. Kyle was working and was unable to come back to town on Saturday to see her. I guess that just means they have to make a trip to Fargo to spend more time with her.

Saturday was our "Family Day". We started by going over to my Aunt Yvonne's and receiving the huge surprise of having my Grandma Ree there. It was so great to know that Angela was able to meet her Great-Grandma. She was also able to spend more time with her Grandma Micki who drove to Williston from Billings just spend those precious few hours with her. After swimming and smooching the baby, we headed over to Tyler's Dad's house for a BBQ with his family. It was here that she got to spend some much needed time bonding with her cousins, Uncles, Aunts and hanging out with Grandpa Todd and Charla. After taking pictures of the two girls, who are only 9 days apart but so different in every way...especially length and weight...we headed out to enjoy some fireworks the Uncle Tobi bought for cheap on July 5 (Amiah's b-day). It was a late night and we should have gone to bed earlier considering we had a really busy day on Sunday.

Sunday morning we awoke at 6 to get ourselves and baby ready to be on the road by 7:30. We met up with Great-Grandpa Ray and Margie in Dickinson and it was great for him to see his first Great-Granddaughter. After breakfast, we headed down to Bismarck so that Angela could meet her Grandma Brenda. It was so great to see her for what little time we had and you could tell the Angela was happy to meet her as she was wide awake the entire time, only drifting off to sleep a few minutes before we got ready to leave. Although we couldn't take pictures when we were with Grandma Brenda, I will definitely keep those precious images in mind forever. After Bismarck, we headed home. Unfortunately we had to make a pit stop in Jamestown so Tyler could take over the driving again because I was too tired and also so we could change and feed. We got home about 7:30 and our little Tyke was tuckered out. We had a great weekend but we are so happy that we are able to just relax at home in quiet for a little while. I leave you with a few pictures from this weekend. I took close to 200 pictures but most of them didn't turn out, so here is just a handful that did.

Great-Grandma Ree holding Angela for the first time.

Tyler swimming in the pool, we wanted Angela to take a dip but it was too cold for her.

Uncle Trevor meeting up with Angela before taking his boat out on the lake.

Great-Aunt Yvonne and Angela enjoying the beauty of her backyard

Beautiful Amiah Maddison Wold. Born July 5 2008.

Great-Grandpa Ray Dukart and his first Great-Granddaughter

Angela passed out after a long hard weekend

The four cousins, Austin 8, Christopher 3, Angela 3 weeks, Amiah 2 weeks.

Angela on the left Amiah on the right, what a size difference

Checking each other out. One of my favorite pictures.

The two girls first meeting time...can you tell which one in my Angel?

Four generations of girls. Most of them in their PJ's

Austin is getting huge. And wow is he smart!!

Mosquito Heaven

2008-07-17T11:04:00.005-05:00

Hello to all, I just wanted to inform you that in about an hour or two we are going to be trucking on our way to Williston. This will be Angela's first road trip and I am kinda anxious to see how it goes, especially since she is feeding so often. We will be in Williston until Sunday visiting friends and family which means there will be lots of pictures. I will update as soon as I can when we get back from Williston. Have a great weekend.

Two weeks...

2008-07-13T20:41:00.008-05:00

I know it has taken me some time to keep you all updated, but this past week has been crazy. Since the fourth of July, we spent lots of time with Grandma Micki running around town getting things done. We went to a breastfeeding group that consisted of other mothers that are breastfeeding. It was really a nice group that was run by a lactation consultant, it allowed me to vent my frustrations with the feedings and also to share the joys that it brings as well. It made me realize that I have a bond with Angela that Tyler has yet to receive, and as much as I should not feel guilty about it, I do. I want Tyler to feel like he is contributing and helping out as much as possible. He is always asking if there is anything he can do to help and I know he really wants to help out, I just don't want him to feel useless in raising our daughter. I have been pumping every now and then so that when I really need to catch up on sleep or when I just don't feel like feeding every thirty minutes, he enjoys taking over.

We also went to our first doctors appointment. Angela had her two week appointment on Thursday and boy has she grown. She weighed 7 lbs. 8 oz. when she was born and was 20" long, and at her appointment she weighed in at 8 lbs. 3 oz. And wow were they right when they said that all babies do is Eat, Sleep and Poop. The amount of sleep I get has gone down, the amount of diapers we go through is ridiculous and I don't think she ever stops eating.

We are still struggling with getting her to sleep on her back by herself. She loves to sleep on her tummy on our chests or on her back as long as we're snuggled with her, but to put her to sleep on the floor on a blanket or in her pack n' play or crib is impossible. Which means that trying to get things done on my own is almost impossible.

This weekend was pretty eventful for us as well, we said farewell to Grandma Micki who's stay with us was greatly appreciated as she was an enormous amount of help. While we said goodbye to one guest we said hello to two more. Lane and Averi Christensen, our good friend and his daughter from Williston came to Fargo just to see us and it was awesome. We had such a good time visiting with them and Averi was so good with Angela. She would sing her the ABC's when she would get fussy and she would gently rub her cheek while she was eating. Then while she was lying on the floor Averi would bend down and give Angela kisses on the forehead. It was precious. We did notice though that if we get together with all of our friends who have kids, we will be greatly confused as all of our daughter's names begin with A. We have Amiah (Tobi and Cammi's new addition), Addison (Chance and Ashley's girl), Ava (Kris and Amiee Oyen's girl), Averi and now we also have Angela. Talk about confusion.

Since I have been cluster feeding for the past day and a half now, I will leave you with pictures and keep you updated a little later on. I hope these past few days have been eventful for you all and that you are all doing well.

Visitors

2008-07-05T21:18:00.011-05:00

These past few days have been somewhat of a blur for me. It seems as though the days pass quicker as they pass. Trying to get Angela ready to leave the house is the biggest challenge for me as it takes forever to feed her, then I have to dress her and pack the diaper bag and then feed again, all of this for her...then there is me who has to get ready. This first week has flown by quicker than I ever could have imagined it to. Our days consist of sleeping whenever we can, feeding baby, going for walks and visiting with friends. Mostly it's taking cat naps with our little Angela laying on chest. It seems as though that is her favorite position to sleep in as at night she refuses to sleep away from us (that might just be me worrying too much about her dying of SIDS). A little something that may come to haunt us in the future. I used tell everyone that I would never let my baby sleep with me and get attached to it, I would put her to sleep in her crib and that would be how she slept all the time...but boy do things change when you actually have her in your arms and don't want to put her down.

Since we've gotten home, we have had many visitors stop by to meet this precious little angel of ours. We appreciate all of the love and support that we have had this whole time, we just never knew that so many people could love something so little and so new. I do have to admit that when people come over to visit, I get jealous of the time they are spending with her, mainly because that is time they are taking away from me. I am so selfish in that respect.

As we continue to enjoy every minute we have with her it sometimes still is unbelievable that we have such a precious child to love every day. Breastfeeding is going much better now, she is still feeding about every 2-3 hours during the day and then marathon feeding throughout the night. It seems as though she has her nights and days a little mixed up. I might have to invest in grandma to use my Grandma Ree's technique of rolling in various ways to get her confused (that's what she did with me when I was born). I will leave you now with random other pictures that I have taken of my little girl. I don't think I take enough pictures, but I am told otherwise. I do hope you enjoy.

SuNsHiNe

2008-06-29T20:30:00.005-05:00

Well hello to all, it's been a few days since I have had the ambition and energy to try to do anything other than hold my precious little girl and do my best to sleep while she does. I am so thankful for all of the support we have received these past few days. It's so nice to get phone calls, text messages, e-mails and gifts from all of our loved ones. These past few days have had their ups and downs but they are so worth every minute of it.

I decided that we would breast feed instead of formula but with having flat nipples, we have been needing to supplement with tiny amounts of formula from time to time. It seems lately however that she is hooked to mom's breast all the time. It's good that she is eating awesome, but at the same time...Mom would like a break. My newborn milk is coming in now and it's getting much easier to fulfill the needs of this little girl's appetite (which is just like her father's). Her billirubin has been high since her birth. On Saturday it was at 9.8 at 6 am and increased to 10.2. Then on Sunday Tyler and I took her in to get it checked again at the request of the doctor's, only to find it was 14. 2. She was asked to come in again today to get it checked at the clinic and after Mom's first experience with baby blood draw, we found that it was 15.8. So once again we will be going in to the clinic in tomorrow to test it again.

With only being three days old, she has captured our hearts completely. I will leave you today with more pictures for you to enjoy and will keep you all updated, once I get away from a latched baby or the breast pump.

Home at last

2008-06-28T16:10:00.004-05:00

Hey there everyone we have spent a couple long days in the hospital but the whole family is now home. It was stressful and long but in the end things are going in our favor. We had some feeding issues but as soon as we got home Megan relaxed it started going really well. I am not much for these things but thank you to all of you who gave us support while we where there whether it was being concerned or staying away or the many other things you did for us. Megan will write later today. So with out further adieu here are some pictures of Ms. Angela Kaye Wold

Gramma Stays

2008-06-25T12:53:00.005-05:00

Yeah!! I can't express how excited I am that Grandma Micki has decided to stay here in Fargo until after the birth of her first grandchild instead of heading back to Billings to work for a week. I was so worried that she would get back to Billings and go to work for a day only to have to RUSH RUSH RUSH back for the delivery. I didn't know when I should call her, do I call when contractions start up good...but then what if it's false labor? Do I call when I get admitted into the hospital and then just have her fly...but then with the cost of flying that would be too much to ask. I was so torn between this decision and I am so happy that she weighed the pro's and con's of missing work for a week to stay here and wait patiently with Tyler and I for the arrival of our little one.

I hope that we are able to greet her sooner rather than later but whenever she comes I just hope that she is healthy and that I am going to be able to provide her with all the love and care that she needs.

I have been having pretty good contractions today but none that are close enough to time and worry about. They are strong though, so I am hoping that they will slowly get closer together so that by tonight they are able to be timed close enough and that they are strong enough to admit me into Labor and Delivery. Who knows if all I'll be doing is hoping though.

Roots and Shoots

2008-06-24T08:59:00.003-05:00

This weekend was kind of a blur needless to say. I was trying to figure out exactly what it is that we did over the weekend, and between my mother and I, we were loosing a few hours here and there. I know that a vast majority of my time was spent sleeping while Tyler and mom were reading their books that they were so consumed by. Tyler was reading Angels and Demons for a few days and was so intrigued by it that he finished it in less than a week. When he gets into a book, he just can't put it down. But thankfully that book had like 68 short chapters so he was able to put it down a little more often than normal.

Yesterday almost felt as though I was on a roller coaster. I wasn't sure what to expect out of my day other than Mom and I had decided that we were going to re-pot the plants in my house since it hadn't been done in over a year. We stopped at every home improvement store along with Gordman's, and Michael's. Needless to say we didn't find any kind of pot that I would have wanted to accent my home decor until we got to Michael's. After exploring their vast selection of pots, Mom and I returned home with our McDonald's Southern Tea and Iced Coffee in hand along with three bags of soil, a bag of peat moss, and three new potters. I must admit that even though I despise McDonald's a great deal, they do have a pretty good Southern Sweet Tea and Mom had nothing but compliments on their Iced Coffee.

While I sat with my feet propped up on the balcony, Mom instructed me on how to re-pot plants and the different ways that they'll grow. It's amazing how much information she has tucked away up there. We enjoyed our time getting messy on the balcony and decided that we should get a little walk in to the grocery store to pick up the necessities for dinner. Mom, the speed walker in the family was finding it a little hard to stay at such a slow pace with her daughter but managed to stroll with me while I waddled away.

We returned home from the grocery store a little over an hour later with Caribou Coffee in our tummies and a couple free bottles of water that the grocery store was apparently trying to rid themselves of. We enjoyed home made Calzones for dinner and after a little while, my periodic contractions started to even themselves out about 6:00. We decided to go for another little walk to try to get them to progress and turn into labor. I got so excited because it started working!!! We went through the neighborhood and I had a good number of contractions while I was walking. Mom and Tyler walking with smiles on their faces and I was going through pain. What great support huh. When we got home I labored for a few more hours and as they progressively got longer and stronger. Needless to say we were getting excited that the time was coming. After a little while of laboring in the living room. Mom informed me that if they were to stay the 2-4 minutes apart and over a minute long then we were going to make our way to Labor and Delivery. After hearing that I decided I wanted to take a bath to ease the pressure and clean up a bit before heading that way. What a bad bad bad idea.

Tyler started up an awesome bath for me, even plugging off the drain at the top of the bath that water runs out off when it gets too high. However, once I got into the bath tub, the contractions slowed and tapered off. At about 11:00 when the contractions had slowed enough, Tyler finally went to bed as we decided that it was probably not going to happen now. What a disappointing night. These false labor contractions really are annoying as I get my hopes up so much and they are chopped in half in the matter of minutes. Who knew I would want so much to put myself in pain. So again today I will try everything in my power to get her to come out and greet the world.

Smooshy

2008-06-20T17:39:00.003-05:00

Over the past few nights, my sleep pattern has made me a little hostile. However, last night was a good night. I don't know if it was the fact that I was so tired from not sleeping the past three nights, or if it was the warm bath that I took earlier in the night, or if it was that I was bored the whole day, or if it was the "tickles" that I asked Tyler to give to me on my arm before I rolled over to go to sleep. Maybe a combination of them all, but I slept hard last night. No dreams, only getting up a few times to use the restroom and take my Thyroid medication. It was blissful to be able to wake up this morning and feel like I was refreshed.

Tyler and I turned on our Wii console again for the first time in months this morning to play a little bowling and golf, then decided we would take a little stroll down the "train park's" bike path. We walked for a quite some time, but had to turn around before we got too far, because I had to pee like crazy. It was a pretty busy morning for that little bike path too. Along side the path there are sporadically little playgrounds and while all those were full, there were also a good fifteen bikers that passed us. It was nice to see so many people utilizing the Fargo Parks.

After our little stroll we came home to frantically search for Tyler's wallet that he's apparently been missing since Tuesday. We tore the house apart and still have yet to find it. We've completely run out of places to look now, as we've begun searching in shoes, cupboards and even contemplating searching in the fridge/freezer. I've been praying to Saint Anthony that he help us find it, but I don't think he's listening to me now.

After mom arrived in town around 12:30 or so, we meandered over to Qudoba and had a tasty lunch, that was followed up by TCBY's white chocolate mousse -- oh how I love that stuff. After stuffing my face with goodies, it was time for our doctor's appointment.

Mom and Tyler accompanied me, knowing that there wasn't going to be enough room in the exam room for all of us, Mom was kind enough to wait out in the waiting room and catch up on a little "Parenting" magazine. My weight went down 3/10 of a pound so I am now at 202.6. Which to me is A LOT! But apparently it isn't that big of a deal to Terri. My Group B Strep test came back negative. My thyroid is looking a little low but they are going to keep me at the prescription amount that I am currently at. Terri did an internal exam and my cervix is still closed, but I am soft and mushy which he said is a good thing. The baby apparently has not settled into my pelvis though so he was unable to do anything to help the labor progress. He told me I am measuring at 40 weeks, which is two weeks ahead of schedule. That sounds hopeful and since the little one is still just floating around up there, he said that if next Friday, she hasn't progressed down then he's going to look into "doing something a little sooner than they normally would." I don't really know what that means, but Tyler and I think he means induction. I think he may also do an ultrasound then to see what size the baby is 'cause he asked us about when our last U.S. was and looked a little concerned. Baby's heart rate was good, it started at 136 and progressed to 140 right away.

Now all we can do is hope that I have more contractions and that this little one settles down sometime soon. I've given up hope that she may come before July 1 for financial aid purposes. I am now thinking with the way things have been going she may be a late baby. We just might have an Independence Day baby after all. We are headed to Eddie and Megan's tonight for dinner and then who knows what from there. We'll see how the week progresses I suppose.

What a tease

2008-06-19T13:43:00.003-05:00

My night last night was one of the worse so far. I thought it was going to go great as I was beginning to relax after taking a short bath, and Tyler gave me an upper back/neck massage. During the massage I was nodding off, so I thought when he finished I was going to zonk out and sleep all night with just a few potty breaks. I thought wrong.

Not more than two minutes after he was done massaging, he rolled over and fell asleep pronto, I on the other hand had to pee right away and then began having contractions. I was getting excited thinking that I was going to have contractions all night that would progress into labor. And it seemed as though that was the case, they were pretty good in strength and they were lasting about a minute or sometimes two, they were four minutes apart which got my hopes up. In our birth class though they told us not to notify the hospital that you were coming until your contractions were 2-3 minutes apart. So instead of going to sleep, I stayed up timing my contractions. They never got any closer though. So when I was ready to go to be at about 11:45 (that's two hours after Tyler passed out), my allergies kicked in and kicked hard.

I was up literally all night blowing my nose and coughing up Flem, scratching my throat and being miserable. All of this plus having contractions that weren't progressing like I wanted them to. So after Tyler woke up and went to work this morning and I was still awake at 5:30, I decided that I should try again to go back to bed, even if it was only for an hour or so. I woke up this morning after a little nap at about 9. I didn't get a ton of sleep but it must have been enough for me to want to get things done. As of now, I have already baked homemade chocolate chip cookies, thrown in a load of laundry and begun inputting my handwritten notes from the past few years of history into the computer. That last chore has been a goal of mine for a while and it will take some time to get it done, but at least I am starting it.

Grandma Micki isn't coming to stay with us tonight, she is on her way though!!! She's planning on stopping in Bismarck to stay with her sister Cindy for the night at the hotel and then finish her travel in the morning. Tonight I will be going to watch Tyler play roller hockey again, that's if I can't get a hold of someone to go to Olive Garden and get some eggplant Parmesan 'cause I have been craving it like crazy!! Then I'll come home and pick up the house some more probably, but right now I am planning on taking a nap and then finally taking a shower. Hopefully the little contractions that I have been having throughout the day is doing something to my cervix so that I can have Terri (my midwife) strip my membranes tomorrow to get things going. We'll have to see what happens though.

Full Moon

2008-06-18T19:22:00.003-05:00

I must admit that there had been a reason for my absence. O.K. not really, I'm just lazy and don't ever want to do anything other than lay on the couch and eat packages of Kool-Aid Icee Pops. But hey what else can you expect from me when I'm about to explode?
Here's the update:
The baby has dropped further into my pelvis, which is evident with the most recent photos that I took yesterday. It almost seems as though I haven't been growing, 'cause to me it seems like the belly is smaller, but really it's getting bigger just dropping further down.

Baby does her best to move in my belly the best that she can, it's begun to creep Tyler out when he places his hand on my belly and she presses a limb out to push against the palm of his hand. It's almost like she's saying "Hey Dad! I'll be there to hold your hand soon!"
Soon, how soon is that going to be? I really hope that it's sooner rather than later 'cause the comfortability has completely subsided and it's now gotten really annoying rather than precious. I understand that I'm supposed to love being pregnant and carrying this miracle is a blessing, but I want every person that tells me that to be put in my situation with this weather and the frustrations that I have going on in life. I wish I was back to my old body and I wish that I was able to work and move about like a normal person. I want to sleep more than three hours at a time and I want go through a roll of toilet paper once every other week instead of once every other day. I'm getting frustrated that I can't clean the house as much as I want to, but what frustrates me the most is that when I am stuck here with only my thoughts, I constantly think about how she might look, whether I will be able to teach her accurately all the information that this world has to offer, and how it's going to feel when I can finally hold her in my hands. I want her here more than anything right now just so I can get started showing her exactly how much I love her.
I have heard a ton of ladies say that the full moon usually brings women into their final days, because of the pull of gravity that helps the baby come out. I so hope that works for me tonight!
Babies room is completely done now, we were given so many awesome things to help us with completing what we need to support and raise our little one.

As you can see, she is stocked with clothes, but I know we are getting more thanks to a wonderful little girl that was spoiled rotten and her Grandma Gorgeous (my Aunt Cindy) wants to get rid of them. I am so excited to see what else is going to stock her closet.
We have chosen a take-home/pictures outfit that is a new born size and it's so precious. We were originally going to go with a 701 Crew onesie that our friends Mike and Angie gave us, but it's a 3 month onesie and I think she'll be swimming in it before she comes home.

Lately I feel as though our little baby is teasing us like crazy. I have been having contractions that feel like they will progress into actual labor, and it looks promising for a while, but then they die off and stop. It's just mean 'cause I get my hopes up that I am going to have my little girl with us, and then I get frustrated. It makes it even harder when I get phone calls and e-mails asking if our little one is here or not. I wish I could respond to them with "Yeah she was 8 pounds 3oz and 20 inches long" but I can't so I honestly just get irate. I guess that's where the hormones kick in...or so I'll just blame it on that.
Grandma Micki comes tomorrow to be here just in case since she has the week off. I'm getting excited about her coming, even though I know that I'll get frustrated 'cause she won't let me do anything around the house and she'll want to do it all. Even though our home is always her home, I feel like she should be treated as a guest, with a mint on a pillow that is on a real bed in her own room. But instead she gets a blow up mattress that is on the floor in baby's room. Not much but it's better than the couch I guess. Friday I have my doctors appointment so I'll see how things go there. If I am dilated at all then Terri said that he would strip my membranes to try to get things going. We should also be having an ultrasound to tell us an estimated size of our precious little one. I'm having a debate with myself though, 'cause I want both my mother and Tyler to be there for this appointment. Tyler 'cause he'll be seeing his baby on the screen, hear her little heartbeat go pitter-patter and also be there for moral support. However I also want my mom there with me 'cause she'll know what my midwife is talking about and be able to interpret it for me into language that I can understand, she can see her first grandchild on the screen and also be there for moral support. She's already told me that she doesn't mind missing the appointment but I know deep down inside that she would be disappointed if she did miss it. I think I'll just see where things go.

A Little Ambition

2008-05-22T18:35:00.004-05:00

First, here's a little update on how the pregnancy is going. On Saturday morning, I woke up and started my day like any other Saturday. It wasn't until I was brushing my teeth that I felt the baby drop. It was the strangest feeling I have felt yet. It was as though all the pressure I had been feeling in my stomach was all focused now on my pelvis. I looked up from my aw, and it was as though I saw a completely different belly in the mirror. Instead of carrying high, it had dropped about two or three inches. CRAZY!
Anyways, I went to my 34 week appointment on Monday and one of my midwifes explained to me that it was completely normal to drop near the middle of your third trimester. Thank goodness! She talked to me about my vitamin intake, listened to the baby's heartbeat...when she could find it. And while she was feeling the belly to make sure that everything was normal, the baby was kicking away at her. It was kinda cute actually. She finished by measuring my uterus and I was scared that she was going to tell me that I was still two and half weeks ahead on my measurements. But I was relieved when she said that since the baby dropped, my measurement is more accurate. Before leaving the appointment though she expressed concern about the baby's size and said that she is going to put in an order for an ultrasound at my 38 week appointment to make sure I'm not popping out a toddler. She chuckled and said "If you even make it that far."
I have been completely calm and relaxed about the baby's arrival until she said, "I don't want to see you in here delivering for at least another three weeks." THREE WEEKS!!! Holy Crap! We could have a healthy baby here in three weeks!!!! I'm so not ready for this, the house is a mess, the Wedding Scrapbook still isn't finished-and that has to be done before Baby gets here, we still don't have everything we need, and here's where the panic sets in.
So it started bright and early on Tuesday. My ambition kicked in. I started by looking into getting the car detailed, but with the cost of it surpassing the amount that I wanted, I decided to do it myself. The whole car. It took me a good amount of time since the big belly was getting in the way, but I accomplished it and for the small fee of a few glasses of water. What a relief. Then it was to work it's way inside. I started to work on the Wedding Scrapbook again and I got pretty far on Tuesday night, which then trickled into Wednesday(All Day). But the scrapbook that I have isn't going to fit all the pictures from the wedding, which means I might have to have two or possibly even three wedding scrapbooks.
Today was not so eventful. All I did was the dishes and a couple loads of laundry and then balanced the checkbook. It'll be tomorrow with the help of Tyler that the apartment gets a good head to toe cleaning. I look forward to it.
The weekend looks promising, a bachelorette party on Saturday night and then Sunday after church I get to enjoy the Baby Shower that my friend Angela is throwing me. I am very excited for this weekend. I'll keep you update with pictures a little later.

Welcome!

2008-05-14T15:12:00.008-05:00

Lately, and I have no idea why, I have been into writing. Writing everything, I've been writing to Angela in a diary that I hope will explain to her how crazy her mother is, I've been writing Thank You notes for the littlest of things in hopes that everyone will understand how much I appreciate what they do for us, and I have now decided that I would write to all of you so that you can understand the commotion that surrounds the Wold Family.

I must admit that lately, and by lately I mean since we got married, the commotion really hasn't been that outlandish other than the usual. We moved to Fargo, North Dakota in the December of 2006 so that I could pursue my degree in Social Studies Education. When we came here Tyler started off welding and then it was like a brick hit him and he decided that he too would pursue his dream career of being a Fireman. Tyler then attended Minnesota State Community and Technical College for a certification in Firefighting. He graduated at the top of his class in December of 2007. And I have never been so proud of him for going through with what he wanted. It's very difficult to get a job in Firefighting and he has been interviewing in many different cities, all with great hopes and failing to be the perfect job for our new family. Speaking of it was on November 1, 2007 that Tyler and I found out we were pregnant!!

That must be the biggest commotion in our lives right now, preparing for the child that is to grace us with HER presence. Can you believe that?! Tyler and I are having a little girl who is expected to be here on July 1, 2008. We have never been so scared and excited all at the same time. The pregnancy started off rocky with me loosing close to twenty pounds because of really bad morning sickness. After that began to subside, it was Sciatica that began to taunt me. Because of the back pain, I was forced to quit my job and focus on producing a healthy baby and finishing my spring semester. Tyler has been so great working as much as he can to bring home the bacon for his family. I am so lucky not only to be carrying the joy of our lives but to be married to man who is so giving and understanding of everything.

The latest doctor's appointment was the first of my "every two weeks" visits. It starts at 28 weeks that your belly measurements should co-inside with the number of weeks that you are pregnant. At my 28 week appointment I measured two weeks ahead, but the Doctor said that was normal to measure large the first time. Then at my 32 week appointment, I was measuring 2.5 weeks ahead! That's when the doctor said that we will keep a better eye on my size and if at my 34 week appointment I am still measuring larger than normal, then they will look into bumping up the expected due date of Angela.

Tyler and I are getting more and more anxious for our little Angela to grace us with her beauty. There are days that I just sit in her room, thinking about what she'll look like and reading my "mommy" books. Speaking of baby's room, Tyler did an amazing job on sewing Angela's bedding so that we didn't have to pay an arm and a leg.

I am so so proud of her room, even though I know that we will have to make adjustments for when she gets big enough to move around and pull on things. By this I mean, I know we will have to remove the canopy from above the crib. I am looking forward to my baby shower at the end of the month here in Fargo that my good friend Angela Mathers is throwing for me, and then for the baby shower the first of June that my mom and grandmother are throwing for me. Till then, it looks like I'll just relax and hang out around the house cleaning, reading, sleeping (which I do best), and patiently waiting for the day that I can post that we've delivered our little girl.