Malia's Definitely A Model

I am pretty sure that from here on out, the majority of the 

posts on this blog are going to be about our sweet little angel Malia. I

f you're not a fan of babies, then you probably will want to stop reading now.

This post is going to have a TON of pictures! 

My sister in law texted me one day asking if I wanted to 

take Malia to a newborn photo shoot. 

Her friend was starting a photography business and wanted to

get her name out there. She offered to do a free photo shoot 

of Malia. How could I turn that down?! 

We took Malia to Alena's place to get a "primped up."

Having a girl is so much fun because it's like playing dress up with a LIVE DOLL!!

Every girls dream! :)

It was a blast helping Alena get Malia positioned for the pictures.
Being a newborn photographer would be one of the 

funnest jobs, I think. All of her work turns out great. 

So here is the end product of Malia's newborn photoshoot!

Ah, I love this girl.

Who knows... maybe her eyes will stay blue!

I love these ones!! The fall colors, her face, EVERYTHING!

 

 I love these ones too. Her facial expressions are still the same!

Such a cute prop! I absolutely loved the stroller.

I felt bad. The original idea of the photo shoot was to 

get sleeping baby pictures, 

but Malia just wasn't having it. After the first five minutes, 

she stayed wide awake the entire time. These are the only 

sleeping ones we got. I love this headband so much!

 Sweet Dreams

I love newborn feet. 

If anyone wants to get baby pictures done for a great price, 

I'd definitely recommend Photography By Alena

The Big Day!! (quite long.. I apologize)

Today's blog post might be a liitle bit different than usual. How so? 

Well, I will be writing about the most amazing experience a person could have, 

and it happened to Nick and I just two months ago! 

As you know, Nick and I were expecting a little angel to enter our lives on October 20.

Well, she had a plan of her own and came down to meet us 8 days early.

About 3 weeks before she was born, Malia gave us a little scare. 

Normally, it felt like she was doing kung-fu, gymnastics, and summer salts
in my tummy all at the same time, but this morning was different. 

I hadn't felt her move for quite some time.

The last time I could remember was her having hiccups the night before. 

We rushed to my doctors office, which happened to be my doctors day off, 

so we would have to see one of the other doctors there. 

We checked in and one of the nurses took my vitals and 

asked me how long it had been since I felt movement.
Before I had even seen the doctor, they quickly came to a decision
that it was pointless for me to see one of their doctors 

and since it had been "...too long since I had felt movement, 

I needed to go to Labor and Delivery IMMEDIATELY!" 

We rushed to the hospital, where they checked me in and hooked me up to a monitor.

The quickly found her steady heartbeat. 

The sound of her heartbeat was the most relieving sound I had ever heard. 

They said she must have either been taking a nap
or just decided to be little Miss Stubborn.

That was our first scare.

About a week later, I began feeling contractions.

It wasn't just Braxton Hicks. It felt different, more painful.

We began timing them and they were about 10 minutes apart, and 45 seconds long.

At my doctors visit earlier that week, I was 80% effaced and dilated to a 1cm.

These contractions could be serious and mean I was going into labor,

or they could last a couple weeks. 

It's different for everyone, so we just kept timing them.

They began to get closer and closer, about 8 minutes apart.

We packed our "emergency bags" just in case, 

then headed to bed to get some rest. Yeah right.. 

With contractions coming every 8 minutes, there was no sleep on my end.

Around midnight, I couldn't take the pain any longer. 

We decided to head to the hospital.

The nurse checked me in and got my "stats."

I was 90% effaced, but still only dilated to a 1cm.

(At least I had progressed, right?)

She said she would monitor my contractions for an hour, then check me again.

If I was still the same after an hour, they'd have to send me home.

Well, that was a looooong hour, to say the least. 

She checked me once the hour was up, and no progress. 

They'd have to send me home again.

Her "advice" for me was not to come back unless my contractions were

2-3 minutes apart.

SERIOUSLY LADY?!

When your contractions are that close, 

you should be pushing the baby out, not barely checking in.

So, back to our home we went.

The next few days were quite painful because my contractions were still consistent, 

but not consistent "enough" to go to the hospital.

Then on October 12th, it all happened...

I woke up that morning, just like every other morning. 

Made Nick breakfast (yes, I am a great wife), then kissed him goodbye to school.  

I took Samson for a walk, just like I did every morning.  

I did the dishes, cleaned the house, and even swept and mopped the floors. 

I was probably just "nesting" like most expecting mothers do.

Nothing was different. Little did I know what would be happening in just a few short hours.

I threw on a hat, some mascara, and luckily some jeans and went to do some errands.

After going to Home Depot to buy some paint for her crib, I was drained.

I headed to my mom's to hang out. 

We ate some lunch together, then I watched her paint the crib.

She wouldn't let me help because of the "fumes."

I told her I had been having contractions all morning.

During lunch, I had a really painful one. Since that one, we began timing them.

They were about 5-7 minutes apart. 

Still, not close "enough" (according to that nurse at the hospital).

My mom would try and get my mind off of it by talking to me about other things

and telling me stories, but when her stories were interrupted by me 

having contractions every 5 minutes, it was hard to get my mind off of it.

I had not cried at all up until now,
but now it was to the point where I couldn't hold back the tears any longer.

She told me I should call my doctor and see what she says.

Sure enough, it was a Wednesday, which is my doctors day off...AGAIN.

They had me talk to one of the other doctors at the office.

Once I told her how painful my contractions were and how consistent they had gotten,

she told me to go to Labor and Delivery ASAP.

This could be it... I could be having my baby... TODAY!!

I called Nick and told him to meet me at the hospital, and my mom would drive me there.

So what does my mom do? The most logical thing of course.

She takes a shower. She had paint all over her from the crib! Haha. My mom is so funny.

After she got cleaned up, we headed on our way.

She dropped me off with Nick and told me to call her if anything exciting happens. 

I was so nervous because they treat first time mom's
like they don't know what they're talking about

and I didn't want to be sent home again without my baby.

Once again, they hooked me up to monitor the baby. 

The nurse put on her gloves and began to check me.

She got a big smile on her face and said...

"You said that you were at a 1cm the other day?"

"Yeah..."

"Well sista, you're at a 4cm right now!! You're not going home tonight!
Let's have a baby!!"

Then came the tears flowing down my cheeks!

So many emotions running through my body!!

The first thing I said was "I told you!! I knew I was in labor!! I wasn't crying wolf!!" 

Haha. Then you'll never guess what the next thing that came out of my mouth was..

"Ah!! I didn't want to be wearing this outfit when I had my baby!! 

I wanted to have cute make up, and not be wearing a hat!" 

All being said with tears flowing!

I seriously think I was just in shock.
Like seriously, why does it matter if you're wearing at hat

of have cute make up on. 

It's not a fashion show. I'm having a baby, for crying out loud!!
Really, I am not that shallow.

I quickly got over it (sort of) and called my mom to tell her the news.

Within minutes of being there, I got my epidural and was feelin' great!

My mom took multiple pictures of my contractions on the screen saying

"Oh my gosh!! They're off the charts!!"

But I couldn't feel a single thing. I was lovin it.

After about an hour, they called my doctor and she came to pop my water.

She told me "When someone's water breaks, it normally takes about 

an hour per centimeter to dilate, so you're looking at another 6 hours until you'll start
pushing. And the average person pushes for about 3 hours.

So we're lookin at another 9 hours until you have your baby!"

Then she left to go to her son's choir concert.

Seriously? She is leaving?! I am in labor lady!! You can't leave!

But she did, and I was in the nurses hands now. 

I was terrified. I couldn't believe that I was really having a baby.

Nick was being so amazing and offering me words of encouragement like

"Baby, you can do this. You're so strong!! I love you!"

My mom, sister Stephanie, and her kids were in there to keep us company.
About an hour after the doctor popped my water, the nurse came to check me again.
Her facial expression was one that I will never forget.
She had a grin from ear to ear as she said,
"Sheri, you're complete!"
Complete? What does that mean? I had no clue.
"Let me grab another nurse for a second opinion before I call your doctor and
tell her the progress." Well, the first nurse was correct,
but it was great to hear it from a second opinion.
I was complete. As in COMPLETELY DILATED!!

Oh. My. Gosh.
This is it!!

She told my family to leave the room, then had me start pushing.
With the nurse on one leg, and Nick on the other, I began to push.
I went through one cycle of pushing and the nurse looked shocked.
She said that I was a great pusher and that my baby would be
here quicker than they thought.
I told her that I was scared to push without my doctor there.
She comforted me and told me to push again.
After 5 cycles of pushing, she told me to stop immediately!
What!? Why?!
She said in just a few more pushes that Malia would be there.
Then in walked my doctor, right in time!
She put on her doctor clothes, and her gloves and got in position.
She told me to push and was completely shocked when I did.
She said that I was "the ideal pusher."
Most people who have an epidural can't feel how hard they're
actually pushing, so she was amazed when she
saw how hard I could push. She told me to push again.
I was getting closer.
And on the third cycle of pushing, I heard her cry.
The most beautiful sound I've ever heard.
The next thing I knew, she had placed MY baby
on MY chest as she cleaned her off.
I've always seen pictures of this, but it is so much more
real and amazing when it's actually happening to you.



There was the shock, the tears, the excitement.
She was flawless.
I couldn't take my eyes off of her.

I looked at Nick and have never seen someone so happy.
His face was priceless.

Our baby Malia is finally here.
She was in the hands of Jesus right before she was placed into ours.
What a humbling experience to know that God is trusting us to raise his child.

She is the greatest blessing that we could ever ask for.
Nothing has ever brought us such happiness as our baby girl.
We knew that our lives would never be the same from that moment on
and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Haha, looks like she was just as shocked for her to be here as we were.

Malia Ka'iulani Aiko Dargel
7 lbs 9 oz
19 1/2 in

We're having a.....

GIRL!!!!! 

Seriously, I have never been so excited for 

something in my entire lifetime!! 

We cannot wait!! 

Welp, that's all for now! 

Samson

The newest addition to our family is this little fur ball! 

He's absolutely perfect!! I cannot get enough of him!! 

We are crate training him and he's doing such a good job!! 

I thought it would be a lot harder for him to get potty trained,

but really it has been a piece of cake.

We just listen to his "whines." Yes, there are multiple.

There's an attention whine, a playful whine, a bathroom whine,

a hurt whine, and an annoying whine. As soon as we were able to decipher

his bathroom whine from the other whines, we were able to 

ignore his other whines and only take him out when he has to use the bathroom. 

This has reduced the amount of whining that he does drastically. 

He sleeps through the whole night without having to use the bathroom.

For the first week or so, he woke up a couple times night, but now he's

getting on our schedule. 

In a way, it's helping us get prepared for a baby. :)

He's starting to nibble and bite us quite a bit,

but we're working with a great dog trainer and 

hopefully he'll stop his biting in no time.

But as for now, a puppy is a puppy. 

It's hard for us to punish this little thing.. 

I mean, could you say no to this this face?

But we know it's necessary to in order for him 

to turn into a good family dog down the road. 

He's started doing something new today though... 

And it's NOT a good thing.

He HUMPS MY LEG!! Only MY leg!!

It's actually really funny, but I put him to a stop immediately.

Yes, we will be breeding this guy when he gets old enough, 

so no, we won't be getting him neutered, 

so hopefully he'll grow out of the humping stage.

I'd DEFINITELY recommend getting a Bernese Mountain Dog. 

They're great dogs, and absolutely adorable!! 

As of right now, these are the two loves in my life.

Until we get our next addition in October!! :) 

Who knew that the sound of a heartbeat could be so amazing?

On our first baby appointment, we had the opportunity to hear our baby's heartbeat.

I had kept my composure the entire appointment.

I didn't cry whatsoever, even though I was 

really nervous to get all the "tests" done. 

(Women, you know exactly what tests I am talking about. Not fun at ALL.)

Anyways, my doctor told me to lay back and listen closely.

I could feel my own heart beat a little bit faster.

I was starting to get more nervous and letting my 

thoughts over come me. 

"What if she can't find a heartbeat?"

"What if there's multiple heartbeats?"

You know, stuff like that.

But as soon as I heard that heart beat, all my fears went away. 

It was the most calming, peaceful, sound that I have ever heard.

I couldn't hold back the tears. They started streaming down my face. 

Nick came and grabbed my hands and just looked at me

with the happiest look on his face.

I could tell he was just as happy as I was.

Other than my amazing husband Nick, 

I don't think anything or anyone is ever going to make me happier than

the little baby growing inside of me.

Festival of Colors

Yep, this happened over a month ago, 

but I couldn't help but blog about it!

I emptied my camera the other day and 

forgot all about these pictures. It may be a picture overload,

and that's just fine! 

For as long as I can remember, 

I have wanted to go to the Festival of Colors.

Me and Nick had scheduled it on our calendars

and made it a priority to go.

We invited my sister Emily, who also has wanted to go

for a really long time, but she insisted on 

bringing her two little girls, Brooklyn and Mylee.

Brooklyn is 4, and Mylee is 3.

I thought it would be quite a hassle having kids there,

but they ended up being the life of the party. 

Emily's friend Lindsey wanted to come and bring her kids too.

Bentley is 5 and bower is 3. 

They had a BLAST!! 

Anyone who had even one bit of clothing that hadn't been chalked yet,

they were there to fix it! They threw chalk on EVERYONE!!

(as you can see in this picture) 

They didn't care if they were strangers or not.

It was so funny! 

The kids were more covered in chalk than a lot of older people there.

We had to make sure that they closed their mouths and their eyes

so it wouldn't hurt them. So whenever they'd throw it at people, 

they'd say "Close your mouths and eyes!!" 

Nobody could get mad at them because they were kids!

And who would go to a festival of colors and try to stay clean?! 

So the kids went at it and enjoyed every second of it.

There was some water in one of the corners.

Everyone, except these kids, know that water and chalk doesn't go well together. 

It started clumping in their hair, on their faces, clothes. EVERYWHERE!!

It was especially funny to see it on Bowers face from his snot and tears. 

It honestly looked like a fungus was growing on his face. Haha.

If you ever question bringing your kids to the festival,

don't think twice!! BRING THEM!! 

It's a party for all!! :)

Preggo?

First off, I want to apologize for not blogging in ages! 

Seriously, I am so bad. I am not going to PROMISE you that I will get any better, 

but I am going to TRY! 

Some of you may have already heard the news, and yes.... it's TRUE!!

I am PREGNANT!!! :)

That's old news to some, but it may be the first time other have even heard it! 

Here's the story...

So, I had this crazy dream one night about this little baby boy

that looked almost identical to the Shrek babies.. 

He had huge brown eyes, and weird, little (I mean TINY) 

alien-like ears, that stuck out maybe 3 inches from his head.

This little baby was so weird looking, but I absolutely loved him! 

In my dream, this little alien baby was MINE! 

The dream was so weird, but I do remember one thing that stood out...

I was BREASTFEEDING him!! 

Weird!? Yeah, I know. You can't control your dreams, eh?

Anyways, I woke up from this dream being really creeped out.

It felt so real. I honestly felt like I had a baby of my very own. 

Right as I woke up, I had the strangest feeling to take a preggo test.

My sisters had all told me that you'll have really vivid dreams when you're pregnant.

So, that's why the test was the first thing to come to mind when I woke up.

I had also heard that your morning pee will be the most accurate.

So, I opened up that test and did my job.

I think that clear-blue flashed for about two hours

(okay maybe 2 minutes)

before my results FINALLY showed up.

This was like the 5th test that I had taken since we'd been trying, 

so I thought for SURE it would say "NOT PREGNANT."

Boy, was I wrong!!

"PREGNANT"

was written all over that stick!!

I went light-headed and it seemed as if the room as spinning. 

I pulled up my pants as soon as I realized this was real.

Meanwhile, Nick is sleeping so soundly in our big, warm bed. 

Not having a CLUE what was about to hit him..

Well, I run into the bedroom,

Flash on the lights without warning his sleepy little eyes,

JUMP on the bed,

and put the test so close to his face that he is not able to even see what it is.

"Nick LOOK!!!!!!!"

He sits up, and gets the biggest grin on his face!! 

It was by far the cutest smile I've ever seen on his face.

He was so excited! 

We both were!

He really didn't know what was coming.

That was when I was only 3 1/2 weeks pregnant. 

Now I am 14 1/2 weeks along and feeling GREAT!!

I haven't even thrown up once, which wasn't what I was expecting at all.

And in the first trimester, I lost almost 8 pounds! 

Shows I needed to thin out in a few areas before I could start to gain.

There are very few symptoms that I have experienced (so far).

One: Nausea and loss of appetite. Each morning, I would wake up feeling kinda sick. 

Knowing I had to eat something, but NOTHING sounding even remotely appealing.

That's why I lost that weight is because I literally didn't eat anything.

I had maybe one meal a day, and that was the meal 

when I'd take my prenatal vitamin, but that was it.

Maybe a few snacks here and there, but my food intake dropped drastically.

Now that I have my apatite back, I am making up for all those days I missed out.

Two: Drowsiness. 3 o'clock in the afternoon would come around 

and I would feel like it was 2 am. 

I ended up taking a nap around 5 each day,

then going to sleep later that night at like 9.

Still, all this sleep wasn't cutting it for me.

Whenever Nick and I would watch a movie, or even a TV show,

I was out like a light-switch.

That symptom still hasn't left completely, 

but it has eased up quite a bit. 

Every now and then, I am ready to collapse because I am so tired,

but those days are far and few between.

Three: Moodiness. All growing up, I thought for sure that my 

moods would consist of being a total wreck when I was pregnant.

It's been pretty opposite of that.

I feel like I am a lot less emotional since I've been pregnant. 

Before, I'd cry maybe four or five times a week about the most

pointless random things.

But now, I rarely cry. By rare, I mean Once every few weeks! 

That's really weird for me. I mean really weird!!

But I am definitely not complaining... That's for sure.

Hmmm.. Those are probably the top three symptoms I have had 

so far....knock on wood...I don't want to jinx myself.

If this is how my pregnancies are going to be ALWAYS, 

then I don't mind being pregnant one bit at all!! 

I am sure I will be blogging a lot more about about this little one...

So stay tuned for more!

 

What Have I Been Up To?!

HOLY COW!!! I can't believe that I haven't blogged in 4 months!! I am so sorry! I get in those modes sometimes where I completely forget about my blog. I just looked through my camera, and that's how I know there's SOOOO much to update you on! AND there's pictures, which always makes posts better!! Hmmmm.. Where do I start?

Oh yes, the thing that is occupying ALL OF MY TIME is my new (or newer) job! I now work full time at HMHO, which is a law firm. It's a great job, just very demanding and takes up loads of my time. Why am I bringing that up? Oh yes, because the very first month I started working there, Nick and I won a one night stay in the cabins up at Sundance. IT. WAS. BEAUTIFUL!! Here are a few pictures of our cozy little cabin.

Then Christmas came!! Our very first Christmas together being married! It was so much fun. I didn't take any pictures of our decorations at our house or tree or anything, but I did take some pictures of Nick opening his presents. Don't ask why he has his shirt off, because I don't know why either!

                                     I got him some new cleats for Rugby! 

And those Jordan's Shorts for the 

"Christmas Eve Pajama Tradition."

A Rugby (All Blacks) Jersey!! 

He actually picked it out, 

and I just wrapped it for him.

These were my Christmas Jammies!! I love wearing sweats!! :)

Christmas isn't CHRISTMAS without visiting Temple Square! 

I love this!! Exactly one year before, 

we went here on one of our first dates!! 

Awe... How touching!?

Then of course, Nicks' birthday!! My old man turned 24 this year!! How crazy!! I made him some breakfast in bed (he wanted cereal... how boring.) And I added in a Bacon Maple Bar. It's as simple as it sounds.. You put bacon on a maple bar! It is delicious!! Don't knock it til you try it!

Then for dinner, I made him some a yummy crab dinner!
That's rare for me, seeing how I HATE sea food!!

And who in their right mind wants birthday pie instead of birthday cake?! 

Nick of course!! He likes to be different in any way he possibly can!!

And just a couple dates we've been on lately! We try to do one date a week, and we've been really successful at it. Even if it is just dinner and a movie at home! Which sometimes, that's all I am in the mood for.

 On our way to Beth's house for a fun group date!!

Two Jacks Pizza in Spanish Fork. 

If you haven't been there, GO ASAP!!! 

And order their Cheesesticks!!

Fudruckers, for my first time!! 

I absolutely loved it!! 

Dare I say... Even more than 

Red Robin!?

And last but not least, winter fun!! 

From Sledding, to Snowmobiling, to Night-boarding!! 

Couldn't have asked for a better winter! :)

Oops, I almost forgot!! 

I'd be a bad wife if I didn't show my husbands "hair progress" over the months!

Many of you may already know, he's growing dreads. 

It's been one of his goals all his life, so who would I be to 

keep him from fulfilling his goal..?

Here's a few pictures of his hair growth since our wedding (which is the last time he cut it).

(Engagement Pictures)

(Garrett and Nicole's Wedding)

(Slowly getting longer in Hawaii)

(Just a picture looking like Coolio)

(We always have fun in our house!! 

Especially when Nick can do longer 

Pony Tails than I can!)   

(And now the next step... CORNROWS!

Guess who did those?

Yep, yours truly!!)

The End!! Hope you enjoyed!!
I will try to update sooner,
so you won't have to spend so long on my blog!!