September 24th- 30th

September 24-30, 2007: Week in Maple Valley
Written by Annaliese

Monday, September 24th- We started off the week by doing a small photo shoot with the kids. The Wayments in Layton sent us some darling BYU shirts- so we wanted to get some pictures of them with their BYU sports loving Uncle McKay in his BYU room. After plenty of pictures- we went shopping. I needed a few things so we ran around in Covington and then went to the supermall in Auburn. Corrine LOVED finding all the little ride on toys that cost a quarter to make them move, but she has such a good imagination- she just likes to pretend she's driving, so it doesn't even cost us a quarter! They also had a children's play area in the mall that she ran around in for quite some time. Of course we got caught in traffic coming back into town- not fun. Luckily Allen is such a good baby and took a pacifier until we could stop so I could feed him. After a yummy dinner we enjoyed playing more games of "Aw Heck"- it was the game of the week while we were there!

Tuesday, September 25th- That afternoon we went into Seattle to Dad Allen's office. Carrying a new baby certainly draws a crowd! After showing off our future Cub Scout, we took the tour of the office and met those who were still there. We grabbed a bite to eat at Wendy's and then we all parted different ways. Corrine went with Mom Allen (and threw a fit the whole way home) as she wanted to come with us- but they went and saw the temple, McKay at his work and Tanner at his- she especially loved all the toys at Goodwill. I think she wore her grandma out! Thanks for being so patient with her! :)

Dad, Allen & I went to a Mariners game. He had 2 tickets with incredible seats, the first row on the right outfield side! I've been to several games, but not that close! It was really fun as there were some great catches right in front of us! It had been a fairly rainy day, but had cleared up to be a beautiful night- so they opened the roof. It felt like fall! A woman who worked there at the stadium saw Allen in the sling and gave us a signed baseball card telling me "to help him start his collection". It was cute. Allen slept soundly the entire game. But we have pictures to prove he was there.


Wednesday, September 26th- McKay ended up having the day off and it was nice out so we decided to take advantage of Mom & Dad's annual pass at the Point Defiance Zoo. It was a gorgeous afternoon and so nice as there were very few people there. Corrine LOVES the zoo- and it was nice to have McKay around who could keep up with her! We stopped for some Subway sandwiches on the way home and of course got caught in traffic AGAIN. I think it's constant in those parts! :) We had fun talking to Graham that night to wish him a happy birthday- Corrine was worried that Emily felt left out, so she asked to talk to her and told her happy birthday as well. Such a cutie (but of course, I'm biased).

Thursday, September 27th- I was supposed to have a dentist appointment in Olympia that day, but it was cancelled, so Mom helped me can 17 quarts of applesauce from the apples our trees produced. It was so nice to have moms big kitchen and help getting them done- it would have taken me LOTS longer to do!

Friday, September 28th- Mom & Dad went to a fireside that night and came and shared their notes with us afterwards. We enjoyed visiting and playing games late into the evening.

Saturday, September 29th- was Smithsonian Free Museum day (or something like that) so

we printed out our free pass and decided to go to the Museum of Flight. It was fantastic! I think it would have been more enjoyable without a toddler (she loved seeing all the planes, just wasn't as interested in stopping long enough for us to read anything). I was glad we went early as it was PACKED by the afternoon. Especially cool was getting to go on Air Force One that belonged to several presidents and the Concord. There were 2 buildings that we didn't even get to see! Definitely have to go back sometime.

That evening was the Women's Broadcast. Mom & I went over and did the service project and enjoyed a yummy soup dinner. There was still about 30 minutes before they were going to show the rebroadcast, so we went home where we enjoyed watching the part of the BYU game and then watching Women's Conference. Always nice to be able to be with my mom for those type of things. Some wonderful counsel given by our leaders.

Sunday, September 30th- I thought I was going to head home after church, but figured why the rush? So we enjoyed a nice day at church and a relaxing afternoon with family. We had a great FHE that night talking about "Gifts of the Spirit" and sharing what gifts we feel each member of the family have and what we appreciate about each of them. And of course we got some extra game time in before bed. We did actually pack that night so that we would be a little more ready to go the next day. I was ready to be home with Chris, but LOVED being there with my family. I especially loved that mom & the boys would play with Corrine in the mornings and let me sleep in- what a luxury! :) Thanks for a wonderful week, family!

September 17th- 23rd

September 17-23, 2007: First Week Home
Written by Annaliese

Monday, September 17th- Both Allen & I slept soundly that last night in the hospital. We would have slept longer, but the doctors get up and going EARLY in the morning! Which was probably good because Allen needed to eat anyway. We were both checked out and released by our doctors. The hospital does a nice thing in giving you a free guest meal during your stay, so Chris & I had lunch there in our room before we left. So many people had come and brought stuff for Allen that we had to borrow a cart to haul it all out! Lucky kid!

When we arrived home I received a phone call from a friend in the ward who wanted to bring over dinner. She brought us a roast and visited with Chris & I for awhile. We also set up an evening to play games with she & her husband later in the week. Mom Priamos stopped by on her way home from work and brought us a frozen lasagna, garlic bread & salad for whenever we ran out of meals! So thoughtful!

Tuesday, September 18th- we mostly took it easy and enjoyed spending time together and with our new little guy. A sister who I serve in the Relief Society Presidency with, called and offered to bring dinner (these people who brought dinner weren't even assigned- they just wanted to)- such kind people. Graham- it was all food from the Phillipines- you would have loved it! :)

Wednesday, September 19th- we were brought a delicious dinner by the Seyfriend family in the ward and Keya & Eric Erickson came over to play games. We played "Pit", a game I haven't played since I was a kid. It was nice to get to know them better and enjoy visiting with them. After they left we were treated to a visit by Carmen (Chris' oldest sister) and Pat (his mom). Carmen & her family live in Bremerton (about 2 hours away) and she drove down just for the evening so she could see us
and Allen. It was fun to visit with her and so kind that she made
the extra effort to come see us. And of course we love showing off Allen.

Thursday, September 20th- We had an early and busy morning as Allen had his first doctor's appointment and Chris had a dentist appointment. Allen weighed in at 8lbs 13oz, which is great for a 4 day check up to be only one ounce below his birth weight! I was hoping to head up to Maple Valley that afternoon, but was feeling a little overwhelmed so I decided to wait a day. That night was Enrichment and I knew I didn't feel up to a whole
evening, but figured I would at least go up for a little while to drop off some papers and show off the baby. It was fun to let everyone see him.

Friday, September 21st- I ran around in the morning trying to get my scatterbrained self ready to be gone for a week. I didn't think it would be hard to leave, but it was harder than I thought. I think my emotions hit the surface all at once and I had a hard time leaving my home & my husband. But Allen & I finally got on the road and headed to Maple Valley where I was going to stay for the next week. We hit a lot of traffic through Tacoma, so things were very slow, but luckily Allen was a great traveler and slept the whole way.

It was nice to finally get to Maple Valley and be with everyone. It was especially good to see Corrine- I missed her while she was gone! I was told she was good, I hope it's true! She's so smart and so much fun, but is definitely stubborn! :) She told me all about her nightly tradition with Uncle McKay eating ice cream and popcorn (teaching our daughter real healthy things there McKay). And she told me how Tanner is "Uncle Rinocerous" and she is "giraffey" and how they both chase her around the house. She loves to play and I'm so glad they are there to play with her.

Sunday, September 23rd- We had spent Saturday evening playing "Aw Heck" until way too late, so we enjoyed sleeping in a bit! We attended church with Mom & Dad Allen, Tanner & McKay. It was nice to have several extra sets of hands at church, especially with a new little one. Tanner spoke in sacrament meeting and did a wonderful job (Corrine thought it was pretty cool that he was speaking at church "just like Taylor!"). M&D had some friends over for dinner and then we all enjoyed more visiting and games. It was a nice way to get ready for a new week.
Our cute kids asleep

September 10-16th

Week of September 10-16, 2007: Our BABY BOY has FINALLY arrived!
Written by Annaliese

Wow- who would have thought that having a baby puts you 3 weeks behind in just about everything! :) I feel like I missed the whole last half of September! Oh well, it's definitely worth it! :)

Tuesday, September 11th- I had a doctor's appointment that morning. I was just about 41 weeks and hoping to find out what the plan was as far as this baby goes. With Corrine I was almost 2 weeks late, so obviously my kids just don't come on time. The doctor said things were looking good and that he would like to induce on Friday, the 14th. It was nice to at least have a plan to go from (I should know that anything too planned is just BEGGING to be messed up!).

That night we also had one of those not-so-fun surprises. Our fridge died. We think it's been happening slowly because we noticed a few things have gone bad sooner than we expected. And just that morning I had turned the temperature up thinking that the fridge didn't seem as cold as usual. Well as I went to get a glass of milk before bed I realized that the milk wasn't as cold as normal and that there was no blast of cold air coming from the fridge. Luckily we have a spare fridge in our garage that Mom & Dad Allen gave us. So we got that plugged in, Chris ran to the store for ice, and we proceeded to move everything that was freezable to the freezer and the rest into coolers with ice. Then we stayed up until the fridge was cold enough to transfer everything. We felt very blessed that we had the extra fridge as our property management couldn't get anything done until the NEXT Monday!

Thursday, September 13th- was my last day of work at both CMA and babysitting. I was anxious and stressing out a little just trying to get everything done and worrying about labor and delivery. Chris came home early that day so he helped me get the house clean and a few other projects done. I didn't sleep well that night because I was so anxious- probably not the best way to go into labor!

Friday, September 14th- my wonderful parents arrived EARLY that morning from Maple Valley so they could stay with Corrine while we went up and got settled into the hospital. We had to be there by 6:30am so I know they were up even earlier! We got up and got checked in, they put me in a room, but wanted me to wait as they had a "full house". I guess several women had come in that night and all the recovery rooms were full as well. When my doctor came in to start the pitocin, he was surprised that nothing had been done, but after talking to the nurses he came in and asked if I would mind waiting until Saturday so that there would be enough rooms, nurses, etc. to really give me the proper attention. It was fine by me- so we headed home.

Going home was a blessing in SOOO many ways. Once we got home Mom & Dad Allen took Corrine for a walk and picked lots of blackberries and I took a much needed nap. I had also found out on Thursday that we had some problems with our insurance and the bills for this pregnancy & birth would not be covered. A friend of my sister-in-law's works at the hospital and helped us with some paperwork & such to help get the costs covered. Because we have paid all the prenatal bills out of pocket it qualified us for some additional coverage. The real blessing is that in order to be covered we had to apply BEFORE the baby was born- and by delaying things a day, it all fell into place.

We took a drive out to the beach at Ocean Shores- M&D Allen had never been out there. Chris brought the dogs and we walked for a long time along the beach. Corrine LOVES the beach- so she LOVED it! It was just nice to all be together. We enjoyed ice cream on the way back and drove around looking at homes in the area. That night Mom & Dad treated us to Mexican food- always yummy! It was just a good mental health day that I'm so glad I had before the real adventures started!

Saturday, September 15th- We went back up to the hospital early that morning again. It turns out there is an influx of babies being born on the harbor- they had 3 women currently in labor (there are only 4 birthing rooms) so they didn't want to start inducing me and not have the resources available, so they put me in a room and asked me if I would mind waiting. I sent Chris home and I took another nap- I don't think I've had this many naps my whole pregnancy! :)

Later that morning they came in and gave me the option to wait at the hospital or go home and they would call me when the other women delivered. Chris & I felt that Corrine was in good hands with my parents and that I may as well wait it out so that I don't "lose my spot". :) It was a fairly uneventful day- just waiting, waiting and waiting. The last of the women finally delivered about 6:30-7:00pm so as soon as they were finished they got things moving quickly with me.

By 7:30pm they had me all hooked up and the pitocin was started. And they were upping the dose every 20 minutes- so the contractions were coming much faster than natural labor. I wasn't quite ready for how fast & hard they would come. Since we didn't know how long it would take- my mom got set up on a bed in my room and Chris went home to try and sleep for a little bit. He said he didn't even sleep- just as he was getting ready to get into bed we called and told him to come back up to the hospital! Everything happened MUCH faster than ANY of us expected! The baby didn't drop until after my water broke and almost up until I was ready to push- and once that happened it all went very quickly. I was so grateful to have my mom there as an INCREDIBLE coach through the labor pains. I opted not to have an epidural- so I felt (and remember) more of it than I think I want to! :) But I do remember my mom after the contraction would pass saying "here's your reward" and giving me ice chips. She's too great. I definitely would have laughed if I wasn't concentrating so much on labor. :) I was also very grateful when Chris got back to the hospital- I appreciated his strong hands for the back labor and just being there and being supportive.

Sunday, September 16th- We welcomed our little boy into the world at 1:24am. The doctor & nurses were a little worried about him as the umbilical cord was around his neck and they were having hard time picking up a heartbeat- so they had me pushing hard, beyond the contractions and the little guy was out in 3 pushes. It was a little scary at first as he was very purple and didn't scream right at first- I remember that being my only thought, "Is he ok? Is he breathing?" A crying baby never sounded so good. He was a hefty 8lbs 14oz, 21 inches long and had dark hair (not as much as Corrine, but still plenty of it). He has broad shoulders like his dad and the same blue/grey eyes that Corrine did as an infant- I won't be surprised if he keeps them as well.

Newly Born- you can see just how black & blue the poor kid was!

Chris- a proud daddy!

It was such early hours of the morning and we were all exhausted- so we put off deciding on a name until later that day. As they brought him into me a little later I kept running through all the names on our list to see if any of them fit and none of them were quite it. On Saturday morning Chris had suggested not using any of the names we had. We were planning on using my maiden name, Allen, as a middle name, but he suggested using it as a first name instead. We really struggled with a middle name as neither of us were thrilled with the options we suggested. Chris wasn't really keen on naming the baby after him, but with a little coaxing from my parents he agreed to using his name as the middle name for the baby. So finally late Sunday afternoon our baby had a name: ALLEN CHRISTOPHER PRIAMOS. I'm still getting used to it some days. :)

Mom & Kids- the blue blanket was Corrine's present: a "bee"-
(what she calls her blankie) to Allen

The newest family photo!

My parents had gone up to Stake Conference which was a broadcast from Salt Lake- so of course many were asking and I think it was fun for my parents to be able to relay the good news. They brought Corrine by the hosptial after church and she was ADORABLE with her baby brother. She couldn't quite get used to the fact that he had a name and kept calling him "baby brother" and wanted to constantly smother him with kisses. That afternoon they headed back up to Maple Valley taking Corrine with them for the week- thanks for being here and for letting her come and play for the week!

Corrine & Grandpa Allen with new baby Allen

Grandpa Bill Priamos with Allen

We had several others come and visit and later in the afternoon were transferred to a recovery room. I enjoyed resting and just getting to know this beautiful new baby boy! Definitely a great way to end the week! Thanks for all the wonderful wishes we received from everyone! We are thrilled to have little Allen here! :)