Happy New Year!

2010 is almost done. Wow. What a year!!! Some of our highlights:

*Moving to MN and living in Aaron's parents' basement

*Aaron going back to college at MSU to pursue a career in Nursing

*Erika getting a job as an assistant preschool teacher

*Finding out we were pregnant and due the week of Christmas

*Buying a house and settling into it after 6 months of living in a basement

*Finding a great church and small group

*Becoming an aunt and uncle to sweet Evie

*Preparing for Baby Willey

*Becoming parents to our little man, Tristen

I don't think that 2011 will have as many changes as 2010 but you never know! This has been an incredible year and we feel so blessed by everything that has happened this year. We hope you all have a wonderful New Year's Eve and a Happy New Year tomorrow!

His Name

Tristen Joseph

How did we come up with that? Well, let me tell you!

Tristen-

We initially started liking the name Tristen when we heard it in the movie Stardust. Tristen is the main character and we loved the "Englishy" sound of the name. We're both drawn to the English sounding names since they sound so good with our English last name Willey.

Then we looked up the meaning and although the main meaning is "Sad, sorrowful", we looked up other meanings from different origins and found that it also meant "Knight" and "Bold". We were sold on it then :)

Because he will probably be a blondie, we could just envision a little blonde boy named Tristen running around in our household. But, the spelling.....goodness we were back and forth until we wrote it on his birth certificate. We kept deciding and then changing our minds! We finally decided on Tristen with an "en" at the end because it was symmetrical with the "ey" at the end of Willey. We're weird like that but at least it helped us make the decision! And, yes, it was the spelling that I wanted :)

Joseph-

This is Aaron's middle name but it actually wasn't the first choice of middle name until one day I threw it out and we both smiled. It was perfect. First, it would be a way to pass on Aaron's name to his firstborn son.

Second, Joseph from the Old Testament is my favorite character of the Bible. As I was pregnant with Tristen, I read and reread the story of Joseph and the ways in which he was sold into slavery, thrown into prison, etc. and yet he forgave and loved his brothers regardless. He is a great example to me of what true forgiveness looks like.

So, it just fit together...Tristen Joseph :) Speaking of our little knight, I am absolutely LOVING being his mom. Oh. my. goodness. I can't believe how much he has stolen our hearts already. He's a sweetheart and everyday he becomes more and more alert. I can't believe he's a week old tomorrow! I feel so blessed :)

Birth Story

There are so many things I would love to blog about right now (how we're doing, the first few days, how tired we are, how much life has changed, how much we love our little man, our Christmas, etc...) but, I know there won't be time to write about them all separately SO...

We're doing great...the first two nights were a little rough but Tristen slept SO great last night giving Aaron and I lots of sleep! Yay! We went to bed at 9:00 last night...I think that explains how much our life has changed :) We love our little man so much....I can't get my eyes off of him and find myself studying his little movements. WOW :) He's amazing and I'm so in love! Our Christmas was good but obviously very surreal :) We were able to reflect on how it might have been for Mary and Joseph....it was an incredibly special Christmas.

Anywho.....I'll try to keep this story short....

Dec. 22nd-

Because there were too many babies being born on Dec. 21st, our induction was postponed until Wednesday. We got to the hospital around 6:30am and I immediately got the induction medicine and got things going! The dr. broke my water around 10:00 and until that time, I was not in pain at all. I heard inductions could be brutal but it wasn't bad...until.....

The medicine really kicked in and the contractions got harder and closer together. I had planned on going without an epidural but I was very open to whatever because I just didn't know what to expect! Around 12:00, I was only at 3 cm so they upped the medicine and kept upping it until 2;00. Oh my goodness...for the next two hours I had contractions a minute apart and they just kept intensifying. I decided that if I had made progress I wouldn't do an epidural but if not, I was totally getting one :)

At 2:00, I was still at a 3 so I got the epidural and felt AMAZING :) Haha...it really was so fast and easy from then on out! At 3:00, my nurse told me to sleep for a while so I quickly fell asleep until 5:00. I had just called my parents to tell them that it would be a while when my nurse came in, checked, and told me I was at 10cm already and ready to push! What!?!?

The dr. came at 5:20, I pushed for 20 minutes and Tristen was born at 5:41pm :)

And, we were still smiling and just LOVING on our little boy. I couldn't believe how great I felt afterwards. Seriously, I was expecting the worst so we were surprised when the actual experience was wonderful, fast, and pretty painless.

Because I was fully awake and not too tired from contractions/pushing, I was able to completely ENJOY the first few hours of his life. It was incredibly special just to love on him and take in everything. I am so SO thankful for an easy labor and delivery! And, I just loved my nurses....they were wonderful!

So, there you have it....I feel so blessed (and a little bad for not having to endure through too much!)! Happy Monday all! I almost have a week old child already! I can't believe it!! We'll see when I have time to blog again :)

Announcing....

Tristen Joseph Willey

Born December 22, 2010 at 5:41 pm

8 pounds, 4 ounces

22 inches long

We are PROUD parents!! :) We got out of the hospital today and it has been a whirlwind of a day being Christmas Eve and all!! I'll update more about his birth story and all the details when I have time and energy (hmmm....we'll see how soon that is!) but to give a little teaser, labor was SO much better than I could have ever expected (I was thinking the worst!) and my nurse said it was a story to brag about because it was so easy. Thank you, Lord!

He's an adorable little man and we are in love :) Merry Christmas everyone!! This is an incredibly special Christmas in the Willey household!!

In 9 months time...

A lot can happen in 9 months time. Obviously, the physical.....a baby grew inside of me! I knew I would gain weight, be uncomfortable, "look" pregnant but I never knew about the other changes that would happen in 9 months time.

I'm talking about the change in my heart. The absolute LOVE that is spilling out of Aaron and I right now as we think about holding our son. The joy that we are experiencing in our "last days" and the ways in which we are not thinking about it being the ending but another new beginning in our life. The maturity that I have gone through in the last 2 months as I anticipate devoting my life to being this child's mother.

*Sigh* It's been a wonderful few days of relaxing, reflecting, and getting ready. I know this new journey won't be all fun and games but, I'm so excited nonetheless and am trusting God to take us step by step as we enter a new phase in life. It is reminding me of the week of my wedding where I was on the brink of change....and, I couldn't do anything about it but just LIVE in the moment, soak up every second of the here and the now, and move one foot in front of the other.

So, that's what I'm doing :) Next time I blog I pray that we will be a family of three...whether it be tomorrow, Tuesday, or whenever this little one decides to make his appearance. And, I know that just like my wedding day, the day he comes will only be the beginning of a beautiful change in my life. Not always easy...but beautiful just the same :)

All I want for Christmas.....

is to hold my baby in my arms! And, it is looking VERY promising! If he doesn't come on his own over the weekend, my doctor is inducing on Tuesday! There is just no more room for this little (or, big!) guy so my doctor said he needs to come in a few days!

I'm feeling peace either way (I would love to not be induced, but if it means he gets here safely, then so be it!) and I'm just glad to know he's coming soon! In the meantime, I'm trying to keep my mind off of it! So, there you have it...the latest update!

Day 30

I must admit that I was slightly disappointed this morning when I woke up and felt great....a sign Baby Willey wasn't coming today. It would have worked out perfectly with our "schedules" (and just in time for Christmas but not too close to it!) but I must remind myself that he will come when he wants to and our schedules will be thrown out the window! I'm doing fine...the snow and icy patches are presenting a bit of a problem when you're this pregnant, but I'll survive :) I have a dr. appt. tomorrow but I'm expecting him to say "next week"....he is right on track to come ON Christmas Day, eh?

Anyways, the last day of the photo challenge and then a possible blogging break (well, just not quite as regular blogging...we shall see how I feel!)

Day 30: A photo of you when you were happy

Taken on the last day of our honeymoon in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. "Double gulp" size (I can't remember what size it really was!) of Vanilla Coke, a personal favorite of Aaron and mine. This was taken after a game of mini golf, a ride on a trolley, and right before the daily downpour of rain (does it always rain at 4:00pm in Florida during July? It did every day while we were on our honeymoon and we saw some amazing storms!) Anyways....hope you enjoyed the photo challenge! It certainly made the last few weeks more eventful for me :)

Day 29!!

Day 29 is supposed to read: A photo of someone you find attractive

But, I'm changing it to: A photo of some"thing" you find "cute".....because I really wanted to post this picture:
I love my dog. She is just way too cute and such a great companion! She's ridiculously spunky and CRAZY sometimes but her mellow and sweet moments make her endearing :) *sigh* good picture to start my day with!

Boots!

I didn't think I would get these boots done before Baby Willey got here but I had a sudden burst of energy today so I took advantage of it! Hmm, what else can I get done before he comes? Knit a matching hat? HA! No way! Only if he's two weeks late.....Hope you're all having a fantastic Tuesday!

Last Summer and Food

Yesterday I didn't really feel like blogging because I thought I might be making a trip to the hospital.....BUT, I'm still here :) I never thought I would get to the point where I actually don't believe that I'm going to have a baby. Our childbirth educators warned of this happening in the last few weeks but I thought it was funny. Now I am slightly believing it :) But, with contractions on and off with no progress, it's hard not to believe that! I keep reminding myself that I still have at least one..if not two!...weeks of this so it's wishful thinking to think he'll come early!

Anyways....onto the photo challenge....

Day 27: A photo of last summer

Playing Bocce Ball at a family reunion

Day 28: A photo of what you ate today

No, this isn't what I ate today :) But, it's only 10:30 in the morning so I've only had a bowl of cereal which is super boring to photograph. And, I'm having left over chili for lunch...another slightly boring pic. But, if I could have whatever I wanted today, I would visit our fave restaurant in Cherokee and have "my usual" :)...with a Vanilla Coke please. Yum!!

Fave Weekend

Day 26: A photo of your favorite weekend

Obviously there's been some great weekends in life but our first anniversary weekend probably tops them all! We went on a dinner train ride on Friday night and it was so romantic and fun.....

On Saturday, my husband graciously dressed up in our wedding attire again (well, he had a suit on and I dressed up in my dress) and endured through countless pictures with me :) I had heard of people dressing up every year on their anniversary and taking pictures but unfortunately this was the only year we actually did this :) But, it was super fun.....well, at least for me :) What a fun, fun weekend!

White Christmas??

I'm thinking that we'll have a white Christmas this year :) Blizzard is going on RIGHT now.....I heard our city made national news this morning! We are getting it REALLY bad! We are so cozy right now as we gaze at our Christmas lights, watch Christmas movies, and look out the window :) I like days like today as long as we don't have to travel! *sigh* Oh, coziness :) I love it!

So, onto that photo challenge...almost done!

Day 25: A photo of a night you loved

Summer of '09-Aaron and the other men in his family went on a fishing trip. SO, we girls decided to do something special as well :) My mom and I met my mother-in-law and sister-in-law in Chanhassen to go to "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre. It was SUCH a fun night!! Maybe instead of fishing, the men can babysit our kids so we can do this again?? :)

Hair Photo

Day 24: A photo of you that your hair looks nice in

I must admit that it isn't so much my hair that I love in this picture but it's more so my red sweater :) And, I really REALLY want to wear that sweater this year....hmm....maybe next year? Oh, and I like that Sarah and I have the same color of hair in this pic :)

Anyways, today was my LAST day of work! It is still really surreal but maybe it will hit me next week? Now Baby Willey can come any day he would like and I won't be stuck on the road during a snowstorm! :) I thought that if he came early he would come this weekend but it's not looking too promising (although my doctor keeps saying to be prepared anyday!) so now I'm back to saying he's going to be late! December 27th or 28th is my guess :) We'll keep you all updated!

Baby Pic

Oops....sorry about the title! Hopefully I didn't throw any of you off thinking we had our baby! Today's challenge is:

Day 23: A photo of a friend as a baby

The only person I have a somewhat baby picture of on my computer is Aaron so this is the closest I can get to this day's challenge. So, this photo challenge really is making the days go by really fast! I just may go through blog writing withdrawl after it's all done :) Oh wait...hopefully I'll be a mom by then and then I won't have TIME to blog every day :)

Anyways, TWO more days of work left! And, yesterday I got asked again if I ate the baby in my stomach :) My students have made this last week SO enjoyable! My coworkers and I can't stop giggling with them! :) Happy Thursday all!

21 and 22

Sorry, two photo challenges in one day again! Last night I had a sudden burst of energy so I used it to wrap Christmas presents, hang the baby's name on the wall (now his room is off limits! And, yes, I will post pictures of the nursery but I decided I wanted it "complete" before I did so you'll have to wait until after he's born! Oh, and the spelling changed again....this time it's final and we ended up with my original spelling!), finish packing our hospital bag and put it in the car, clean, and do laundry! Wowzers! Now I feel ready!

So, here's the two photo challenges:

Day 21: A photo of you standing up

What a random picture request! Anyways...this was taken at the Mall of America a few days before Aaron and I moved to Iowa.

Day 22: A photo of your town

Honestly I don't have too many pics of our town because I've been pregnant pretty much the whole time and haven't felt like running around taking pictures! But, here's two....I think the above is the courthouse? And, the one below is Minneopa Falls.....sooooo pretty!

Oh the things they'll say!

I have 4 more days left until maternity leave! Yay! I'm starting to get a little nervous because 1) the weather hasn't been the greatest lately 2) I have a 20 minute commute and I don't want to get stuck at work while in labor and 3) I'm 38 weeks pregnant! The baby could come anyday!

So, 4 days left.....I'm trying to hold off on going into labor until Friday :) (Like I can really stop it!) Anyways....lately my preschoolers have been HILARIOUS! My job can be really draining physically and emotionally but lately these quotes/moments have been keeping me going. Enjoy:

Student: Miss Erika, how did you get a baby in your belly? Did you EAT it!?!

Student: Miss Erika, how can you eat still if there is a baby in your belly?

Student: When is your baby coming out?
Me: Just in time for Christmas!
Student: In a Christmas present?
(I'm just envisioning her thinking about me opening up a Christmas present to find a baby wrapped up inside!)

This week has been "dr. week" at school so all the kids have been dressing up as doctors. They run over to me and check my heart and then put the stethoscope on my belly to check my baby's heart. It's adorable :)

Boy Student: I have a baby too! (As he sticks out his tummy and walks funny....Hmm, I guess that's what I look like? :)

Oh goodness! I'm sure there's more but I can't remember them! Well, off to work! I can't wait for Friday!!

Something I like to do

Day 20: A photo of something you enjoy doing

I love to sing. I always wanted to be a soprano and never really knew where I fit in with the whole singing thing (because I was definitely not a diva!) until I realized one day that I was actually an alto. I didn't know my voice could go so low until college choir! Throughout college my love for singing grew sooooo much (especially alto singing!) and I wish I had more of an opportunity to sing now. Three goals after the baby is born is to sing more, play piano more, and pick up guitar again. We shall see if they happen or not :)

19

Day 19: A photo of you on a school tripI was pretty limited on this day because most trips were taken before the rise of digital cameras but here's one from my senior class trip to Seattle, Washington. This was after a 32 hour train ride so we were tired! Not too much else to say....so, Happy Sunday!

My High School Class

Day 18: A picture of one of your classes

HA! My junior class picture (I went to a small Christian school so this was the extent of us!) These people were so fun to grow up with :) My Social Studies teacher Miss U is on the bottom and she was a key person in influencing me to become a teacher. This picture all of a sudden makes me miss high school....the good memories outweigh the bad! Hmmm...maybe a 10 year reunion needs to be planned?? :)

16 and 17

This week just hasn't been the best week to be honest. It started with Aaron getting in a car accident on Monday night. Thankfully he is okay and our car, even though it is said to be "totaled" and in need of repairs (like a new door!), is still drivable so we are still going to drive it until it dies :) This car seriously has 9 lives....and is on it's 6th one maybe? I'm just glad he's okay and didn't have any injuries :(

Then, this winter storm. I usually LOVE winter and love storms......but not when I'm pregnant.....and have to drive in it. Today's commute back from work was just awful and then I fell on the ice outside my house after I returned home from my work day. Thankfully the main impact was on my arm and side but OUCH! It hurt! The dr. said Baby Willey is probably fine but I'm paying extra attention to his kicks now and staying INSIDE for the rest of the weekend!

Okay, done complaining....it just hasn't been the best week! :( But, here are some pics that will make you smile:

Day 16 (from yesterday): A photo from the last party you went toOur Halloween party! So fun!

Day 17: An embarrassing photo (I saw someone else change this day so I'm copying her :)

Oh my goodness...this picture makes me laugh and is perfect for today when I needed a laugh! When I was in 4th-5th grade, I wanted to be a tomboy SOOOO much! My brother and I loved to play sports (favorites being basketball and hockey...notice the Mighty Ducks hat? Ha!) and I LIVED in holy jeans and sweatshirts....and baseball caps. So embarrassing but sooooo funny :) Hope you enjoy it!

Before "Love"

Day 15: A photo of you and someone you loveI know....another photo of Aaron and I=Boring! BUT, let me tell you the story behind this picture and maybe you'll see why I chose this one :)

So, this picture is actually before we said the magic "I love you" phrase. We had decided to save that until our engagement night so this was still in the "I really REALLY like you" stage and was at my senior year homecoming game.

BUT, what this picture doesn't show is what happened the week before. We had discussed marriage, looked at rings, and had even discussed possible dates of a wedding before this week and Aaron had called me on Monday of homecoming week and had asked me on a date for Friday night. "Dress up!", he had said.

"Dress up!?!" My mind quickly RAN to the possibility of getting engaged that weekend...Homecoming weekend...."It's perfect!" I thought. What I didn't know was that Aaron was throwing me off while he continued to plan our perfect proposal two weeks later :)

Anyways, I highlighted my hair so it would be perfect for all those "proposal pictures", prepped myself to be proposed to that night, and dreamed about what ring he had picked out. HA! I feel like a dork even admitting all my silliness! I was blown away when Aaron picked me up and headed to this expensive Carribean/seafood restaurant downtown. After our meal, I was thinking through every way that he might pop the question.

Then, by pure COINCIDENCE, we walked out the door to see a black limo in front of the restaurant. If you remember, on our first date Aaron rented a black limo (and did so for the actual proposal too) so it just confirmed my suspicions. However, we walked right past the limo and into a little park to walk around. I started getting confused...

I totally manipulated the situation by asking Aaron if he had ever been to the Stone Arch Bridge (just to see if he had a proposal plan or not!) and when he responded with "No...do you want to head there?" I KNEW that this wasn't the proposal night because Aaron would have a plan and wouldn't let my silly manipulation tactics interfere :)

A little dejected, I went home that night and laughed at myself for being so dumb and "girly". And then this picture was taken the next day with my freshly highlighted hair and my boyfriend who I "really really liked" still :)

But, two weeks later I commended my then fiance (who said "I love you" for the first time) for his excellent work in completely throwing me off and sweeping me off my feet with an incredible proposal....on the Stone Arch Bridge :)

There you have it....A photo of me and someone I love :)