Little Jenna

Introducing Jenna Lynn Bates, born September 20th at 11:03 pm. She is cute as can be and we are so happy to finally have her home with us.

Labor and deliver went smoothly, but she soon after had breathing problems and spent the week in NICU hooked up to all sorts of machines and IVs and tubes. It was the hardest thing to see her like that, and go home without her the first few nights. Thankfully, she recovered quickly and is home doing great. We feel so blessed to have this little girl in our home. I can't stop kissing her soft little cheeks, and Sam is the proudest Dad around.

One week to go...

And feeling great! A little too great... I think baby girl is a little too comfortable inside, and we are so ready to meet her already! Today at my Dr. appointment my doctor agreed that it is looking like she may come late. I have been putting off packing my hospital bag and doing all the last minute preparations, because I feel like I will jinx myself and she will come even later if I do. I keep thinking that if I put it off I will wake up any night now having to throw it all together and rush to the hospital last minute, just because when I am not prepared that's usually when stuff happens :)

Our Last Baby-Free Trip

Sam and I just got back from a week in Seattle and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho for a family reunion on his side. It was so nice to have a whole week just to relax with family. Sam hasn't had a break from work since we moved here, and it was so good for him just to be able to play around with his family all week. We stayed up late playing games and woke up whenever we pleased. Our hotel was right on the lake, which is where we spent our afternoons. The weather was perfect, everyone in the family was able to make it, and other than flying and driving tons with an 8-month-pregnant belly, it was a great time.

A visit from my favorite sister!

Brooke earned her spot as my favorite sister, being the first one to visit Sam and I :) They were only here for a couple of days, but it was so much fun to be together again. We had such a good time swimming, snorkeling, going to Waikiki, and just hanging out and talking. I couldn't ask for a better big sister or brother-in-law. Brooke and I were laughing walking behind Cody and Sam in Waikiki, because they looked so much alike. Both same height, both shaved heads... to hide receding hairlines :), both in their plaid shorts talking about financial advising all night long (even though none of us are from Utah, Sam and Cody both graduated from Weber State and are financial advisers). The only hard thing about having family visit is that it makes you realize all over again how much you miss them!

Fun in Kauai

Edward Jones puts on a local family trip every summer, and this summer ours was in Kauai. We were spoiled rotten for four days and had such a great time. Neither one of us had been to Kauai before - it is beautiful. We stayed at The Marriott Beach Resort and they provided all our meals, every one of which was sooo delicious. We had such a good time swimming, relaxing, and having fun with the other Edward Jones families.

A Happy Father's Day

Sam spent his first Father's Day setting up for baby girl. We are so excited!

Date night

Moving back to Hawaii has brought on a whole new kind of date night. Although we miss eating out at all the delicious restaurants Utah has to offer (still craving Cafe Rio and Carrabbas), I don't know if there is anything the two of us love to do more than be in the ocean.

Friday night after work Sam, and I rushed to Waimea just as the sun was going down and swam past dark, until it was just the two of us left with the whole bay to ourselves.

Perfect Day

It is weird to think of all the free time that Sam and I used to have to spend together before good old Edward Jones came into out lives :) 70 hour work weeks are the new norm, and we actually are used to it and Sam is really liking what he does. BUT it sure is nice when we can sneak in some free time.

Friday was perfect. Sam got done by noon, and he took me to Waialua Bakery for lunch, my favorite sandwich shop. We spent the afternoon at the beach, where he surfed and I snorkeled with a bunch of turtles. We made a stop at Matsumoto's Shave Ice on the way home, got home as it was getting dark and fell asleep watching a movie. It was the kind of day you want to rewind and do again.

Half way there!

I am over 20 weeks and absolutely LOVE being pregnant. During the past couple weeks I have been able to feel our little girl move all over the place. I still get excited over every little kick I feel. I still can't believe how blessed we are to have this little girl on the way!

Delivery Baby Shower

Two of our best friends, Rachel and Richard, came to visit last week. It was so good to see them again, and made is miss our whole Ogden crew a lot. Rachel is one of those people who is always doing the nicest things for others. She's the one that gets together the friends for bar-b-q's, who brings over house warming gifts, and does a million other things that I don't even think of doing!

Somehow while packing and getting ready for her trip over here, she gathered baby shower gifts from so many of our good friends in Ogden. Her suitcase was completely filled with them, and Sunday night when we joined them for dinner, she threw me a "Delivery Baby Shower". It is honestly the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of our good friends who sent sweet cards and gifts all the way over here, we appreciate them more than we can say! You make it difficult to be so far away! We miss you all. And a giant thank you to Rachel, for throwing the best baby shower ever.