Blessed and Slumbered

Adella's blessing day was a rowdy experience which she managed to sleep through (which has left her wide awake for days!). It started with Grandma Creps coming Thursday and included a shopping trip to St. George where we found her some white booties to go with her dress. Saturday was a day of visits and visiting; Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Woodcox stopped by for a visit while Adella once again managed to sleep practically the entire time. Just before they left Riley, Tressa, Anna, and Grandpa Creps arrived to spend the night. Adella remained quiet and sleepy throughout the evening even though the house was packed for the night. The next morning all of Zane's siblings and the remainder of mine with the addition of two friends showed up at the church to share this special moment. The event was particularly special to me because Delli fit perfectly into my blessing dress I wore over 21 years ago. Then, as she slept peacefully in her father's arms, she was given the name of Adella Lyn Felix with a beautiful blessing!

After sacrament meeting the thirty one of us joined at Grandma and Grandpa Felix's house for a luncheon. It was a great time for all of us to spend conversing, where Adella, once again, slept.

Olivia

A Beautiful Baby Girl

After months of waiting, our baby was born on Monday, March 1st at 7:27 PM. She weighed in at a whopping 9 pounds and 4 ounces and was 21 inches in length. We decided to name her Adella Lyn Felix.

The birth went really well. Olivia's water broke around 4:30 AM on Monday and we got to the hospital a little after 5:00 AM. Olivia was in labor pretty much the whole day. The nurses that would come in an check on Olivia were having a blast, because she would joke around with them and was really good natured in between contractions. Around 6:30 they had Olivia start pushing and roughly an hour later I laid eyes on one of the most beautiful creatures I have ever seen.

Both my parents and Olivia's parents were out in the waiting area and later got to come in a see Adella. We stayed the night in the hospital expecting to go home the next day, but we found out that Adella had a little bit of jaundice, so we decided it would be best to stay another night.

We got to go home on Wednesday and they sent us a small plastic rectangle with blue lights on it called a bili blanket to put on Adella to help her with the jaundice. She is continually improving and is almost well enough to be off the bili blanket (though it wasn't extremely serious to begin with).

We both couldn't be happier. She has already provided us with immeasurable joy.

Zane

Baby News

The due date is approaching faster and faster, but I am sure that is only because I am so ready to have this baby. Zane and I have rearranged the baby's room and feel prepared for her to come at any moment. Although things have been fairly easy for us during the entire pregnancy, we were surprised yesterday with high blood pressure. Of course I was put on the regular routine of check-ups and have given more blood and urine, had my blood pressures monitored, and have more assurance that our baby is a girl through another ultrasound. After a few hours at the hospital - which Zane and I enjoyed due to the excitement it caused - I have been sent home on bed-rest. The doctor feels that although I have checked out I might still have preeclampsia and should "lay low" until this baby comes. There is nothing enjoyable about having to lay around when one is already limited to certain physical activities, so I look anxiously forward to the moment my body decides to work with my baby who seems to be making more progress than I am. Besides, I think Zane is ready to hold his little baby because he seemed to enjoy all of the commotion at the hospital.

Olivia

Sasquatch in love!

So, I was thinking how you always see pictures of various animals (eg. squirrels, turtles, birds) in love around Valentine's Day. One creature you never see in love, however, is the Sasquatch. So, I decided to make my own picture. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you: "Sasquatch in Love".

Zane

The Joy of the Greatest Joy

It has already been a long seven months because we were aware of our pregnancy immediately. Calmness had retreated for the time being, and I instantly become an emotional paper-weight. Zane and I only had to guess we were expecting. Since then, we have experienced the joys of these fantastic hormone imbalanced months. However, we consider ourselves very fortunate that the baby is due in February... just in time for me to finish up with my last semester of classes. It was a hard run, constantly being stressed out over homework, work, my ever bulging tummy, and acrobatic baby. But now that school is over with final grades being brighter than expected, Zane and I feel like we can enjoy the last two months. We are now looking at the last ten weeks of pregnancy which include birthing classes, more frequent doctor visits, additional weight gain and size growth, and a whole plethora of pain. However, the best part is still yet to come (thankfully! because the afore mentioned list is quite dismal). It has only been since the final days of school that I have encountered and dealt with the tummy rubbers and feared for the safety of my inny-belly-button (which I can now touch the back of). I've discovered that those who wish to feel our baby roll and kick are always disappointed because she doesn't do much on the front of my belly. She rips and tears at the vital organs while stretching me out widthwise. Yet, this movement, which is now getting more painful the bigger she gets, is greatest blessing thus far. Even in light of the nightly bathroom breaks that often wake us both up, Zane and I cannot be more excited. We have already set up the crib, changing table, and dresser. On top of the all this, we have just recently put the sheets, bumper and quilt in the crib (which has a cute matching nightlight and lamp). We await the arrival of our baby with great excitement - for now we'll just enjoy the back pains, Braxton Hicks contractions, and birthing classes

Olivia

All in the Name of Entertainment

Now don't get me wrong, banks can be very busy at times; so busy that you may not get to sit down all day. But fairly often, it can be heinously slow. If it stays slow for a while, wrinkly old man boredom might just rear his head in your direction and if he stares at you too long, you just might die. So, it is very fortunate that one of my favorite things to do is invent new games from common items. I have employed this technique various times and here are a few of the results:

The Paperclip Bow and Arrow
This one is fairly easy to make and extremely fun to use. You can tape up a hand drawn target, or if there happens to be balloons nearby, even better.

The Cardboard Basketball Hoop
Again, fairly easy to make and very entertaining. For a ball you can use a crumpled up piece of paper, a sucker (minus the stick), or even a rubber band ball. Try and sink a shot from way downtown (or a few teller stations over).

Ladderjacks (Ladderball, Laddergolf, Redneck Horseshoes, and thirty other names)
This one is a bit more complex. After having saved up plastic rolls (that are left when teller tape runs out) for over a year, I was looking for something to build with them. I tried a catapult, but that didn’t always work the best. Next I made some horseshoe poles and made some horseshoes out of paperclips. That was slightly fun, but not exactly what I was looking for. One day, one of the other tellers mentioned a game called Ladderball. I had no idea what that was but all of a sudden it showed up everywhere. After having participated in the game and tasted of its goodness, we decided that this was the direction to go. I constructed two miniature ladders and we made some makeshift bolos and began playing. We formed a league and kept tracks of stats. The ladders and the bolos may have evolved throughout the days we have been playing the game, but the fun remains.

Zane

Decorations

Nestled into the corner beside the towering shelves of entertainment and ontop of a heavy box of food storage covered in festive wrapping, sits our two foot Christmas tree. It's not large or overbearing because that is the purpose of everything else we own - even our outside lighted reindeer looms over it (this reindeer also decorates our living room). The tree only represents a small portion of our Christmas spirit, but it brightens it with its lighting. This is the second season Zane and I have decorated this edifice with red and gold bulbs, small figurines purchased from a quarter machine, and a Santa tree-topper. To us, this Tanenbaum captures some of the earliest memories together and will forever hold its position as our first Christmas tree.

Olivia