4 Months!

WOW! Our little man is already 4 months! He is so much fun and such a joy to us. Friday night we went and got our Christmas tree. Evan was the cutest little bundle out there. That was fun. We put up some decorations on Saturday and got the tree decked out. Evan seems to be pretty amused with the lights.
Evan recently had his 4 month check up. He is now 15lbs. 9oz. and 26inches long! The doctor was pleased with his progress. It was funny, when he was telling me the percentiles of his weight and height, his weight is in the 65th and his height is in the 90th, he looked at me and said,'Well we know that he doesn't get his height from you, :) but he has a tall dad.' I just laughed. It's the truest thing. The little man is doing well. :)

To check out more fun pictures go to http://picasaweb.google.com/AimeesManDan. I added more pictures to the November album too!

Don't worry we didn't forget Evan's 4month birthday bash...coming soon!

Thankful

Our Smiley Guy

Hiking in Holcomb Valley

Evan likes to stick out his little tongue! He's silly!

We are all very thankful to have a home and to be home. The fires came closer then ever before causing the whole neighborhood to evacuate. Fortunately or unfortunately for us we were away in Big Bear for the weekend. Although it was nice to get away and visit with family it was stressful when we heard of the fires. We watched the news for updates and Saturday evening Dan and his dad tried to get home to help out, but where not allowed to enter. We wound up staying in Oceanside until Tuesday. Yesterday our phone and internet came back on. The area is still only open to residents. The utility companies are working very hard to restore things to their previous state. The firemen are still present in our neighborhood.

On Saturday my dad didn't evacuate with my mom. He stayed and helped put out various fires in the neighborhood, including two that were on our property. We are thankful for his efforts. Thank you to all of you that offered your homes, food, prayers and help. We very much appreciate you.

3 Months!

WOW! Our little guy is already 3 months! Evan is getting pretty big. Evan is becoming more and more fun with each day. We just love our little guy. We had a birthday party for him at our friends Doug and Michelle's house. We had one huge cupcake for the occasion.
Check out http://picasaweb.google.com/AimeesManDan for more fun Evan pics!

Lots of Firsts

This past week was full of firsts for Evan! We had a very full week. It started off with Dan's birthday. We all went to Renaissance for Dinner last Sat. night. It was a good time. The musician wanted us to put Evan in the tip jar so that he could take him home to his wife. We weren't going for it. :)
My mom had her right knee replaced on Monday. It was the first time Evan has been to the hospital as a visitor. He did great all week. He knew that his job was to make Grandma smile. He had no problem doing that. :) He made all of the hospital staff smile too!
On Friday Evan had his first Halloween. He had lost of fun things to wear. Great Grandma Nielsen sent him a cute Halloween onesie and Pumpkin suit and Dan and I got him a little bear outfit. We thought that was appropriate since we call him our little bear. He was a pumpkin at the hospital and then wore the bear outfit around to the neighbors houses. Actually, there was only one neighbor home that we knew. But they loved seeing him.
That was a full week to wrap up October.

Talking with Evan

Our Morning Conversation

Talking to Aunt Julianne

Enjoying Evan

Hanging out with Daddy. :)

Sitting in the BUMBO!

Playing makes me tired! :)

Evan is getting so big and is soo much fun! He is having fun playing with this play mat. He grabs at the rings and loves to look at himself in the mirror. He has started to scoot himself backwards on his back across the play mat. He has strong legs! Yesterday morning I put Evan on the play mat while I was taking care of something. After awhile I didn't hear him anymore. I looked over and he was asleep. It was so cute!
Evan has also been talking a ton. In the morning when he wakes up we have a conversation about how the day is going to go. It makes me smile. I will try to post one of our conversations.

Evan's 2 Month Birthday

Of course we had a 2 month birthday. Here is the party. Hopefully our singing is better then the 1st month. :)

2 Months old!!

Wow! Evan is already 2 months! He is so fun. He has been cooing a ton and holds his head up pretty well too! We recently had his 2 month check up . He is now 12 lbs. 9 oz. and 23 1/2 inches long. The doctor also looked at his mouth and told me that he will probably get his first tooth before 6 months. hmmm.... I don't know what to think of that. His daddy got his first tooth at 2 months!
Evan is also in cloth diapers now. Not only are they super soft, they are also pretty fashionable. He has such a cute bum in them. :) They are called Bum Genius. They are pretty easy to use and more economical in the long run.
As always there are more new pics of the little man on our picasa web album.

Life is GOOD!!

I love my life. God is so good! Each day I am so amazed at God's goodness and mercy toward me. I am truly enjoying being home with Evan and am so thankful for a husband that works so hard to provide this. I am so blessed.

Evan has grown so much since my last post. He is getting quite the chubby checks. He has become more aware and alert. He is smiling more and more too! He is such a joy!

In the mean time he has had many firsts. We spent the last two weekends down in Oceanside. Evan has ridden the train twice, gone to the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, the Beach and to Cabrillo National Monument. He also met his Great Aunt Dawn from Michigan. Evan did great! He slept a lot, which was not a surprise to us. But also put up with us putting him in random places for cute pictures. I will upload pictures soon to our web album.

Evan was smiling. I was trying to capture it on video. :)

Evan's 1st Swim

Today we took Evan in the Spa for his first swim. He loved it! We thought he might because he likes to take baths. We would support his head with one hand and he would float and kick. He was totally content the entire time. :) See our picasa album for more pictures.

One Month

Sept. 1st

Wow! Evan is already 1 month old. We are enjoying each day with the little guy. He is acting more alert each day and grabbing things too. He found my dad's mustache the other day.
Today we went to get a weight check and Evan weighed 9lbs. 4oz.! He is definitley thriving! Dan and I knew that he was getting heavier, but we thought he was maybe 8lbs.

Evan: A Pictoral Doccumentary of the First Four Weeks

Hello everyone. We added more pictures to our web album. See the previous post for the URL to the album. We are having lots of fun with Evan. He does all of his own stunts.

Evan Pictures

It's amazing how quickly your day goes by when caring for a baby. He eats a lot! Evan is doing well. He is really a content little boy. We love him a ton and are enjoying our new addition. It's amazing how something that small can have everyone transfixed for so long. Inbetween his feedings I will attempt to update the blog and photo album and attend to the rest of the stuff around here.
I just got our picasa web album up, so check out more Evan pics on that sight...
http://picasaweb.google.com/AimeesManDan

A few of our friends have taken pictures of Evan also! They are awesome. Check out their sites for cute pictures of our little man.
http://kristinrogersphotography.typepad.com/
http://www.thismarvelouslife.com/

Evan William

Evan is Here!

Evan is 1 week old today! It is crazy how things have just happened, time has flown by and wow, we are now holding our baby. God has blessed us so much. This little man is so perfect and so perfectly made. How can anyone doubt that there is a God?! It's amazing how something so small can affect your heart in such a huge way!

Many of you don't know how things went at the end of my pregnancy and I certainly haven't had the time to talk to many of you. Sorry! I've been a bit busy. :) Well, I thought that I would share some of it with you...
I was due July 30th. July 31st I had a routine appointment with my midwife. Upon leaving we scheduled an appointment at the hospital for the following Wednesday, August 6th. Then they took my blood pressure 3 times! It did not go down, it was around 150/90-100. This was very abnormal for me. So I was advised to go home, get my stuff, get my husband and go to Labor and Delivery. Dan and I went to L and D triage. I was monitored for about 30-40 minutes. My blood pressure was going down, so Dan and I were making dinner plans. The MD came in and told me that my blood work was abnormal. It showed that my liver and kidney's were over functioning due to the high blood pressure. This meant that they were going to induce because if those organs were affected what organs would be next and if it affected the placenta the baby would be at risk. In addition the blood pressure put me at risk for seizures, which put Evan at risk and could lead to an emergency c-section.
I was taken to a L and D room were I was put on pitocin. (about 8ish) They quickly found that my blood pressure remained low only when I laid on my left side. So they put me on magnesium sulfate to reduce the blood pressure and reduce the seizure risk. Whenever I sat up or even laid on my right side my blood pressure rose. About 11pm they broke my water. By 3:30am I had had enough with dealing with the pain. I could no longer cope with the contractions. Mainly because I couldn't move around much when I had a contraction. I wouldn't recommend the left side only position. I soon received an epidural and began to relax. At some point a MD came in and put Evan on an internal monitor and put more fluid back into the amniotic sack because Evan's heart rate was getting to low at certain points of my contractions. By 7:30am I was dilated to 8.5-9 cm. 9am I was checked and ready to push. I did not use the epidural anymore then what they were already giving me when I began to push because I wanted to feel the pushing. And I did! Dan and one nurse helped me push for about an hour or so. When Evan was coming out he propelled most of himself out and did a 360 turn. He was ready to come out!
I was kept on the magnesium sulfate for 24 hours after delivery. The risk of seizure is still high during that point. I also had to lay on my left side for the rest of Friday because my bp was not going down. :( Dan was amazing and went everywhere with Evan and took care of him! The magnesium sulfate caused me to retain an incredible amount of fluid! I looked like I had 2-3 chins. My face never retained water throughout my pregnancy, so that was weird. The water retention also affected me being able to feed Evan. :( That was frustrating, but with the help of some professionals Saturday and this week we are doing well. Despite the obstacles Evan had only lost 4 oz by Tuesday and was 1 oz shy of his birth weight on Thursday. That was very encouraging. We have been working very hard.
Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us, visited us, brought us food and goodies, flowers, taken pictures and given us massages. Thank you so much for all the love! We are blessed beyond our comprehension. Thank you!

I will try to add some more pictures soon...
Check out my friends websites for some cute Evan Pictures... http://kristinrogersphotography.typepad.com/
http://www.thismarvelouslife.com/

2 days until D Day

Well, last Thursday I had my midwife appointment and there was no change. The little boys head is not engaged, so there isn't going to be any change with my dilation until it is. So who knows when he will arrive. I did experience some cramping and discomfort a little bit last night, so maybe something was going on. I may be a bit hopeful. If he is still not born by this Thursday, then I will have my midwife appointment. That will be the last time I will see her. At that appointment they will schedule an appointment for the following week at the hospital. There they will check me and the baby and decide what to do. They won't let me go much longer then that. So no matter what we will see our little guy some time with in the next two weeks. :)

I am excited to hold him, see what he looks like and start learning about this little guy. I think I will actually miss being pregnant. For the most part my pregnancy has gone super well and it's been fine. I count it all a blessing from the Lord.

38 weeks

Yesterday I had my midwife appointment. Evan's heartbeat is good and consistent. This time she actually 'measured' me to see how far along I am. Well, I'm already dilated to 2cm and am effaced 70%. (I hope this is appropriate to put on the blog.) She is hopeful that Evan will arrive before or on his due date. WOW! I believe today marks 12 more days to go. Oh, my goodness. He could be here any day now. Things are going really well and she was very happy with the progress. My next midwife appointment is next week Thursday.

What a Surprise!!

This past weekend was very full and eventful! When Dan and I arrived at his parents house there was a house full of women for a surprise baby shower! I was definitely surprised and in shock! The shower was beautiful and it was great to see so many people that I hadn't seen for a while. The food was great too! Once again we were completely spoiled and are completely blessed. I am continually amazed at the generosity and thoughtfulness of others. I am very thankful. I will post some pictures after I get some this weekend.

Last Day of Work

Well yesterday was my last day of work. How weird! I've worked at YLPT for over three years and have loved it! I remember when I was hired, Rob asked me what I wanted to do, go back to school, get a masters degree, get another certification...My response was that I wanted to be a mom. And here I am. He was completely okay with the response. Having two kids of his own, family is very important. He figured that with Dan finishing up school he would have me around for about a year or so. Over three years later we've made the big step. When I started working there I thought yea I want to be a mom one day, but I love this job. How will I ever leave it! Over the years God has worked in my heart and has shown me what is more important to me. I will always love that job, I worked for two great physical therapists. But family is more important. It is just so hard for me to believe that Evan is due in 19 days, could arrive sooner or later, but soon, very soon I will be taking on a whole new line of work. Wow!
The hardest part about leaving YLPT is not being able to talk about life and patient care with Rob and Kris. I'm going to miss those guys. The patients too! I loved the interaction with the patients and I loved being a part of getting them better. I will have a new family member now that I will take care of. Thankfully Dan and I do live so close to the office and they said that I better stop by. Of course I will. I'm sure in a few days or weeks it will really hit me that I'm not working there and I'll break down. So far I've just managed to have the watery eyes. All this change is hard on an emotional pregnant woman.

Well, tonight after Dan gets off work we are going down to Oceanside to spend some time with his family for the weekend. That should be fun. :) We are going to the Zoo at Night on Sat. Night. I love the Zoo. I'm excited about that.

37 Weeks

Today marks 37 weeks down. It is hard to believe that little Evan may arrive at any time now. There is definitely part of me that is excited to see him and meet him, but another part that is not ready for him to come. I have some things around the house that I would like to get organized first and get some odds and ends done. I know that when he comes is not up to me though. It's all in God's perfect timing. :)

I had a pretty routine visit with the midwife yesterday. Evan's heartbeat was normal, 150 bpm. Next week they will check to see how far along I am. That should be fun. :o Today Dan and I met with Dr. Lamb, a pediatrician. With Kaiser, they allow you to make appointments with pediatricians before the baby is born. It is kind of like an interview. Dan and I were very pleased with the appointment. He thoroughly answered all of our questions, asked us some questions and even gave us more info. I know that I will be very comfortable bringing the little guy to see him. He is also available by phone and email. I like the convenience.

Things are going well, Evan's room is coming together and we are just preparing for the arrival. Tomorrow is my last day of work. It is very surreal. I have worked there for over three years and have loved my job. This week has already been difficult saying good-bye to patients. I know that my body is physically ready to be done with work, but mentally it will be difficult. I'm closing the door to this chapter of my life and getting even closer to motherhood. This is what Dan and I have longed for and are so excited about, but it doesn't make change any easier. Tomorrow will be a tough day.

Not only does he have a Super Cute Room, He has a Name too!!

The little guy finally has a name! We really thought that we wouldn't name him until he came out, but we kept finding ourselves agreeing on one name, in a round about sort of way. It just took awhile to finally commit to it. His name is Evan William Nielsen. William is the same middle name as his daddy and his Grandpa Nielsen's first name. We just like the name Evan. It means young warrior and is Irish too, like his momma.

The nursery is coming along...My friend Meggin painted the wall behind the crib to match the bedding. It is sooo cute! She did an amazing job. I am continually in awe of how well she matched the colors and made the animals look so much like the bedding! The monkey looks better then the monkey in the bedding. She knew I didn't care for the white monkey, so she came up with a super fun monkey. Thanks Meg for all of your time and effort. We love it!

Family Baby Shower

On Saturday I was showered with blessings from our family and close family friends. The shower was beautiful. There was china, tea sandwiches, tiny quiche, tables with umbrellas, lots of cupcakes and lots of chatter and laughter. It was a great day! Thank you Mom and Mary for planning such a wonderful party! :) And thanks to everyone that helped make the day go off without a hitch! We are so blessed to be loved so much. We received so many great things that we need and such great clothes! I can't wait to see our little guy in the outfits! God has abundantly provided for our needs. We are so thankful for each and every one of you that has blessed us and our new little one.

Fun Pictures!

Recently Dan and I had some pictures of us taken for our 4 year anniversary and the pregnancy. It was so much fun and we love the pictures. Our friend Kristin from church took the pictures! She did an awesome job! If you want to see more than what is her check out her blog at http://kristinrogersphotography.typepad.com/ or email me and I can send you the link to a whole bunch of them, frecklednielsen@yahoo.com. Thanks Kristin! We love them! How will we ever decide which ones to get?

The pregnancy is still going really well. I have been so blessed. I am having more swelling in my hands and feet, but all seems to be normal. Friday was supposed to be my last day of work as many of you know, but it seems that I will be working until the 10th. I have two more 15 hour work weeks. Not to bad. It still seems surreal. I can't believe that I'm winding down at work and going to be having a BABY!! WOW! I am going through so much change right now. It is crazy.

I am looking forward to this coming weekend. Dan and I are going away to a bed and breakfast in Pasadena from July 3rd-5th. Our last get away before the baby arrives and to celebrate our anniversary. I'm looking forward to visiting the Huntington Library also.

40 more days!!

Dan and I at Sarah and Nate's Wedding.
June 7, 2008Me, Isaac, and Kris

Stacie (due Aug. 20th), Me (due July 30th) and Kris

Smiley Isaac!

It's been awhile since I updated the blog...sorry! A few things have been happening. I was in another wedding and I've been working working working. Therefore I have been pretty exhausted. The Sunday after the last wedding I spent the whole day at home and the majority of it sleeping! I was pooped! My feet are definitely starting to swell more, so that is limiting my activity a bit and just uncomfortable by the end of the day. It is all worth it though. And really if that is all I have to deal with then I am more then blessed!

A few weeks ago I went to see my mid-wife and when she measured me I was 2 cm smaller then I was supposed to be. However she said that consistently I had been measuring a cm smaller then the norm. She said that if next time she measured me and the trend had continued I would be sent for an ultrasound. Well, I had my appointment this week and I had grown. Not a surprise to the world around me. :) I was still measuring a cm smaller then the norm, but consistent with all my measurements. She is not concerned at all. She says that I am small and that I'll most likely just have a small baby. Dan and I were only 6lbs. and some change when we were born. So it is very likely that this guy will be about the same.
It is so fun to feel him move and feel where he is. I am constantly amazed at our God and his creation!

9 more Weeks....

This picture was taken last Thursday at my friend Heather's wedding. I think you can see that I'm growing!

Dan is trying to give you an idea of where the baby is. :)Isn't it funny how depending on what I wear I look different. I guess that is true even when you are not pregnant. Here are some of the cute things from my coworkers! Super Cute!
I can't wait to see the little guy in them!

Wow! A little less than 9 more weeks to go. It is so crazy! People tell me all the time that I'm too small to be that far along, but I sure don't feel too small. I'll try to get Dan to take a good picture of the "baby" this weekend to show you all. Things are going great still! My feet are starting to swell and I can't wear my wedding ring anymore, but that is really it. Besides the very normal awkwardness and waddling at times. :) The baby's heart rate is good and I feel him very often. We went to see Indian Jones yesterday and he was very active during the movie.

Last week my office threw us a shower. It was very nice! Dan and I had a great time visiting with everyone. We also ate some really good food too! Not to mention that they are all very generous! Thank you! We got some great practical items like the pack and play, floppy seat( for grocery carts and high chairs), a tummy time mat, and thermometer; as well as some super cute outfits! Thank you so much to everyone for our thoughtfulness!

Our next Midwife appointment is Tuesday. I see her every other week until the beginning of July. Then it is once a week. It's so exciting.