Welcome to Columbia!!

So we have been here just about 2 months now and I gotta admit, its not to bad ;) I love our house, I don’t think I could ask for anything more (well maybe just one more bedroom for all our guest we’ve been having). We finally got new couches like 3 weeks ago and you never realize how nice things are till you don’t have them. We were using my rocking chair and a blow up aero bed in our living room, super ghetto looking!! But our couches are so nice and we got a killer deal on them all you see for only $900!!!

our TINY back yard its like 7 ft wide by 40 ft long this is 1/2 of it. looks the same if you stand in the same place and look left :)
Wall art in graces room goes most the way around her room I love it!
We started these letters before grace was born and we finished them the week before we moved but they turned out great in the end!!

My Hobby Lobby find I love that store!! all you see for 25$!!!!

Grace is doing really well she is babbling all the time and I swear she is slipping real words in her jabbering. She is crawling and getting into everything 2 ft and lower. She can walk if she’s holding on to something and she is so fun. She is my best friend. I love that I get to stay home with her and see everything she does, even when its unrolling a whole roll of TP, dumping a box of tampons on the floor and playing in the toilet. Obviously the 15 min I spend getting ready in the morning is too much for her and so she turns to those types of antics. She is very dramatic and throws temper tantrums like a 2 yr old, throwing her self on the floor and caring on like it’s the end of the world. But she also lets me reason with her and I swear she looks like she understands everything I say to her! She has 4 teeth and her two top ones are soooo big!!! I think Her teeth are too big for her mouth right now because she has bitten her tongue a couple times and she hit her mouth and cut the septum that holds her upper lip her your gum, it was so scary for me blood everywhere I took her to the dr’s cos I was freaking out but she was fine. She has learned to click her tongue so she does that a lot. She likes to dance and in the car she likes listening to NPR ( probably because it puts her to sleep;) she is 20 lbs now, and almost 27 in tall. Here are some pics of her just being her.

sneezing grace

she's laughing i think...

we found her sleeping like this one night
her tired eyes :) she had woke up at 6 am to go to the beach
her first attempt at crawling was in the tub....
listening to NPR :)

dad can i have the credit card too???

Ryan is doing good as well. He is getting busy fast so I think it’s a little stressful but he says he likes it better than work so I guess thats good. He is normally gone 8-6 working the whole time so it makes for long days. Even weekends he doesn’t have a lot of free time due to HW, church, and work around the house.

I’m getting better and cooking and keeping the house clean, mostly cos I don’t have much else to do but its kinda nice to come into a clean house and know that it looks that good cos of you J the one chore I don’t like is dishes I swear I finish cleaning the kitchen, turn around and it needs done again!! Drives me nuts. But if my kitchen isn’t clean I cannot do anything in it so I try to keep it in good shape. Grace loves to “help“ me in the kitchen especially with the dishwasher (taking everything out clean or dirty) and if she sees or hears the fridge open she makes a B line over for it and try’s to get into everything! It was cute the first few times but not so much any more.

I’m having fun too. I’ve joined a Moms Club and that’s fun. I’ve met lots of great friends and I can tell when we leave here it will be hard to do. Its hard for me to make close friends if I know were not going to be around forever but when everyone is in the same place as you with no money and no family around you make your own “family” and I’m grateful for my new family but I’m also sad because we will all go our own way one day and that makes me sad but I can’t focus that far ahead, I need to live in the now as they say. I’m over activity days at church and I love working with the girls I think this is going to be a fun calling.

Mom Club!!

Last night I went out for a girls night and it was the first time I've been out without Grace or my husband. I was really nervous at first wondering if Grace would be ok, would Ryan know what to do if she cried, would he remember to change her diaper, that she likes to be held sideways on her tummy if it hurts, that alot of times she just needs to hear your voice to calm down, would he drop her, ect... He did great, I came home to them both sleeping peacefully. i have to thank my husband a million times for letting me go out and have some me time. He is soo great!!!

I had such a good time and it wasn't like we did anything amazing but it was great to just sit and talk with amazing women and really feel like I connected with them on more than just an acquaintance level. I've never really had "girlfriends" and never really felt like I was missing out on anything but now I'm so glad to have these ward sisters in my life that I can relate to on so many levels!!! It's great to be in the Mom Club!!! and I guess I shouldn't really call it that because there were a few of the girls that don't have kids, so I guess its awesome to be part of the Womens club!! I feel so mature now like I'm finally embracing being a woman. I've always hung out with older Women and had older friends and maybe thats why I've always felt young or immature compared to them but Now I feel like I Finally fit in and am a WOMAN!!!! lol it feels like an overnight change but maybe it's been a long time coming, but it feels great!!! Anyways thats what has happened to me lately :) Tomorrow my little baby turns 1 month old!!!! I can't even believe it!!! shes getting so big it makes me cry!! We are going to take more pics so stay tuned!!

My Side of the Story ;)

Well I figure I should get my side of the baby story out there for all that are interested :) Tuesday the 17th my Doctor called me at 6:00 in the morning and asked if I was in labor (half joking) and asked if I wanted to come in and have my baby. I had thought I was going to have a natural birth but I was DONE being pregnant and I really didn't want to wait any longer to see my little baby so Ryan and I decided to get induced that morning. We got to the hospital about 8:30 and I was dilated to a 2 and 100% effaced and they started me on pitocin about 10:00. Nothing happened until 5pm when they broke my water (FYI sitting in a hospital is really, really boring). I started having pretty intense contractions and man being in labor really redefines your perception of pain and what real pain is, I knew it would hurt but you can never anticipate a pain like contractions. But I figured it was worth the pain because I must be dilating really fast and be at a 10 cos my contractions were coming right on top of each other and lasting for a 60-90 seconds. So the nurse checked me at 11:30pm and I had gotten nowhere, I was still at a 2 so I asked for the epidural. Within an hr of getting it I went from a 2 to a 5 and then in another 2 hrs a was a 9. Then I fell asleep and that was nice. They told me to tell them when I felt pressure. So about 7:30 Wednesday morning I decided I felt some pressure and the nurse came and checked me and I was a 10 and her head was already engaged. I started pushing at 8 but I couldn't feel my contractions to push with so they turned off my epidural. So even tho I didn't get a natural labor I did get a natural delivery. Around 9 the doc came in and after she crowned it only took about 5 more pushes to pop out a 13 1/2 in head and a 8 lb 5 oz 20.5 in long body. There was so much adrenalin at that point that although it was painful it was nothing compared to the labor and it was totally worth the pain. After her head was out and her shoulders the doctor had me reach down and pull the rest of Grace out and put her on my chest. It was the most amazing moment EVER!!! she was sooo pretty covered in goo and her swollen cone shaped head (which disappeared really fast) only a mother could love such a thing :). The next day I was surprised how sore my upper body was but I guess if your in a crunch position holding your legs up for 2 hrs your bound to be sore.

But as you can see from the photos it was all worth it!!! She is amazing!! Nothing compares to being a mom and caring for another human being. It is surreal sometimes and I feel like I've just been babysitting for a really long time except for the fact that she stops crying when I hold her and how I instinctually know what to do and how Grace looks at me and she knows I'm her mother. I never knew I could love someone so much unconditionally so soon after meeting them, if I think about it too long it makes my heart hurt and I cry happy tears. It makes me realize how much my parents love me and how much my heavenly father must love me.

Its also great to see Ryan parent. He is the most amazing dad. He is soooo helpful and takes such good care of little Grace. I didn't think I would ever love him more but watching him with her makes me love him soo much more than I ever knew I could.

I also have to say I'm really lucky grace is such a good baby!! She only cries when her diaper needs to be changed and she only whimpers when she is hungry or when she wants me to hold her (probably cos she knows ill feed her lol) she sleeps for 5 hrs at night, eats, and sleeps another 5 hrs. I never realized how awesome a good nights rest is till I had Grace.

And I am doing great too!! I have 3 lbs to go before I'm at my pre preg weight. I fit into my pre preg pants which im thrilled about and its only been 2 weeks!! Its awesome!!! I can't wait till my 6 weeks are up so I can have sexy time with my husband;) (sorry to all my parents and grandparents who might read this)

So that is the life of the Orrs for now :) Tomorrow is Ryans birthday and I'm so excited birthday are my favorite!!
~Sierra

One Week Old (Well Really Almost Two Now!)

Wow it seems like I just made our last post like 3 days ago but it's been almost 2 whole weeks since Grace was born. We have been so busy and distracted by all things newborn that we haven't had much time to update or get out many pictures which apparently, as I have been informed by many people who want to see pics, is completely unacceptable:)

We took grace home on Friday, November 20th which was 2 days after her birth. That night she slept 4 hours straight and continues to sleep 4-5 hours at once every night, which we are EXTREMELY grateful for (and I should probably knock on wood having said that). She got all sorts of visitors and on her first visit back to the birth center she was the healthiest baby they had seen all day. We are so thankful to have been blessed with such a beautiful soul that has been able to enjoy her time here so far without complications or health issues. She is a happy baby and though Sierra would probably say that she eats ALL THE TIME she spends a lot of time just observing her surroundings (and sleeping of course!). When she opens her eyes she has beautiful dark blue eyes and many people have commented that she appears to have more hair than me. Even the nurses in the room when she was born managed to make a comment on that but I let it slide as I was just excited to have our new daughter with us.

I have told Sierra on many occasions that the whole thing still seems just a bit surreal... To me it feels more as if Sierra went through the whole pregnancy experience, and then at the end of the nine months we were just handed a baby from the hospital. It is hard to imagine that she was actually created and that she is the same person that was living inside Sierra's belly the whole time. I am still wrapping my head around it! I am sure it is a much different experience for the women, but I suppose Sierra will have to comment on that when she finally has a few minutes to make a blog post.

Okay so now that you have read through my reflections and the details you may or may not be interested in, here are the pictures that I promised. When she was one week old, which was the day before Thanksgiving, we did a little photo shoot and got some really precious shots. Here they are!

*Sierra and Grace*

*Grace Makes Faces... Some Cute*

*Some Not So Cute...*

*Grace was a bit testy for some of the shoot, so she had her pacifier on hand*

*Doing What She Does Best*

*We were waiting to unwrap her until she got a bit more tired*

*My hand is bigger than her head!*

*Of course she opens her eyes for mom*

*My Two Lovely Ladies :)*

*Tucker decided he would like in on the attention*

*My parents got us these flowers*

*My mom really wanted pictures with a single flower in it. I obliged and they turned out great!*

*This is my token artistic shot*

*I think this one is ADORABLE*

*I can't remember if this is a yawn or a cry*

*She likes the football hold*

*We got one shot at this one, she was quite obstinate by this point*

Well, that's what I have for now. As always, thanks for keeping up with us and we love to hear from all of you too!

-Ryan

Grace Lorelei Orr

At 10:06AM on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 Grace Lorelei Orr became the third member of our family! She was 8 pounds, 5 ounces and 20.5 inches long. Since I personally was not the one to birth her, I will leave that whole story for Sierra to post later on. Instead I just have some pictures to share for all those who want to see! There will be more later on but here is a good start:)

Until the next post!

-Ryan

I'm Ready for This Baby or Am I?

Hello,
Sierra here,I’ve decided that OBs make you come in one a week during your last month because if you didn’t have a scheduled appointment you would just come in anyways telling him how you think your in labor and all the other crazy things that go through a 8 ¾ months pregnant women’s head. For example today I decided that my baby must be blind and can’t locate the opening which she should come out and that’s why she is still stuck in there, crazy but today it made perfect sense. Yesterday it was because we haven’t installed her car seat and she knew it wasn’t safe to come yet. So today we did install her car seat but it doesn’t fit in our car. It’s truly depressing when your car seat is so “safe” it won’t fit in your car because it doesn’t latch properly (this probably is because our car is a ’95 and has over 180,000 miles). We jimmy rigged it to work behind the passenger seat but because the car seat is so big and our car is sooo tiny the front passenger seat has to be all the way to the dash and sitting as straight up as it goes. So basically baby grace gets a nice seat in the car and whoever else is in the car other than the driver must sit in the back. So our “5” person car has turned into a 2 person+ car seat car because the middle back seat and the front passenger seat are useless. I’ve started taking up walking like it’s my job and my life depends on it, that hasn’t worked either. I even ran the bases on a little league field the other day, that didn’t do anything. I guess I shouldn’t be so whiney yet I’m not due for 2 weeks but man it’s all that’s on my mind. Last week I figured she didn’t come because I didn’t have my diaper bag but I finally got it and that wasn’t the reason either .
We have two Chihuahuas, Tucker and Layla, they are our spoiled babies. I’m really worried what they will think of the new baby. I hope they will get used to her and are nice and don’t try to bite or smother her (tucker does this thing where he lays his neck over your mouth and nose and doesn’t move till you move him, he likes the air you blow on his neck trying to breath). Anyways, today I’m working on this project for my last class at school to collect my degree (my final is this Thurs and then I will officially be a graduate of EWU!!) all day and the dogs have been pretty patient. But tonight Layla was in a mood. She kept crying and crying and she just ate, went outside, and had her bone to chew on but apparently she needed more attention from me so she jumped on the bed and started screaming at me from the other room I went in to see what the matter was and she just cried till I would come sit on the bed with her and scratch her. She LOVES to be scratched. So I scratched her for like 10 min and then she fell asleep. Every time I stopped scratching she started crying. It was annoying but so cute. She has never done that before. I swear she knows something is up; maybe she is helping me practice and prepare for the baby. Anyways that is about all for today, maybe tonight the baby will come!!! (haha I can dream can’t I??)

Getting Ready

These past couple of weeks seem to have been some of the busiest I have ever had. After leaving Eastern, I thought working would provide a welcome relief from an overwhelming schedule since I would no longer have homework to worry about when I got home. Unfortunately this has not been the case! Homework is still piling up from my last two classes I am taking at the community college and even though I rarely do it (I forgot an entire test last Thursday!) it still is always in the back of mind. Add that on top of working full time, plus the million appointments Sierra has preparing for the new baby and the endless list of projects that have to be completed before Grace gets here, my new spot as a Scout leader, Sierra's new responsibilities in relief society, and we have one busy schedule! 

Of course I don't want to sound whiny! We love living so close to our family and we have a TON of help! So I can't really complain, but I just never imagined how busy we could be. I have a feeling it isn't about to let up either with a new baby soon and then heading off to graduate school in the very near future!

One thing I do have to say though, is thank you SOOOOO much to everyone who has helped us out by donating/giving us gifts of so many wonderful things for Grace! We seriously have enough clothes such that she could wear a new outfit every day of her life until she is one year old I think! Plus the Swings and Boppys and Diapers and Blankets and I don't even know what else. We are so grateful to have all of you wonderful people to be helping us out so much. Thanks again! It is a bit bizarre though owning so much baby stuff... It's like we are real adults now or something :)

Anyways, I came into work today (Saturday) to do some software tests and I have ten minutes of down time in between each test, so I had a chance to edit the pictures that I took of the Sullivan family (plus me) while we were on vacation this summer in Lincoln City, Oregon. So here you have it!

Sierra, Mariah and Cameron:

The Sullivan Family At the Pier:

Brenda and Greg:

Again, How Cute!

Brenda:

Cameron

The Whole Family on the Pier:

Just the Girls on the Beach:

Us Guys on the Pier:

Another Angle, We are Cool :)

The Sullivan Family Holding Hands... Trust me, it is hard to catch all 6 people in this family with everyone opening their eyes :)

Greg and Janae framing a fishing boat in the bay:

Janae hamming it up:

Mariah

Me:

The Siblings:

The Whole Family on a nice Beach Log

The Whole Family again:

All of us on this really sweet Log we Found:

Well I suppose that is all for now... Hope you enjoyed the pictures!