Introducing . . .

Alexis Ann Horne

26 October 2009

9:41 pm

8 lbs. 7 oz.
20.5 inches

Alexis (a.k.a. Lexie, Little Bug, Missie, Sweet Pea) finally made her entrance into this world a week after her due date.  She was so comfortable, she didn't want to come out!  I was induced at 6:00am on Monday morning and by 8:00pm that night, I was still only 4 cm dialated.  Alexis was showing some distress and I was developing a fever, so it was decided that it would be best to have a c-section.  Let me tell all of you who think that having a c-section is the "easy way out" -- it's not.  (NOTE TO READERS: skip this next part if you don't like gory details.)  Vomiting while laying on your back is not fun.  Neither is almost going unconscious while you hear the doctor saying, "let's get this bleeding under control" and the nurse having to run to another room to get an oxygen mask when the anesthesiologist asks for one "straight away."  And let's not forget how I screamed and whimpered like an injured animal when they pulled (or should I say ripped) my wound dressing off a few days later.  The upside to having a c-section?  Going to the bathroom pain free.  But I don't want to complain.  She was worth every second of it and then some.

After a four-day hospital stay, we made it home, only to determine that I had a uterine infection.  I was fine in the hospital and within 30 minutes of coming home, I was sick.  How ironic is that?  After a rough night, we were very grateful for the arrival of Grandma Lisa on Saturday afternoon.  (We were also blessed to have Grandma Susan with us at the hospital for a few days.)

Alexis is now a week old and we are so happy to have her in our family.  She already has her daddy wrapped around her little finger, and her mom too.

BIRTH

HOSPITAL

HOME

D-Day

Well, today is my official due date and as of 8:30pm, no baby. I thought you all might enjoy a good look at my belly at 40 weeks. Today was also my last day of work (for a few weeks anyway). Now I can just relax (or attempt to) until she decides to grace us with her presence.

Baby Shower

A few weeks ago my friends threw me a wonderful baby shower. Thank you to all those who helped to plan it. And thank you for all of the generous gifts! I felt so loved.

Bruce

Soon after we were married, John and I bought our first fish, Sam. We became very attached to Sam (he was a Beta) and I know this sounds ridiculous, but I cried when I came home one day and John told me that he had found Sam dead.

Next, came Prince. Prince was a Black Moor goldfish and lived so long that we had to give him away when we moved to Australia. Since then, we have been fishless. There has been much discussion about setting up a proper fish tank since we live in Australia and John is a marine biologist. But, after discussing it for several years, with no definitive action, I finally just convinced John to let us buy another Black Moor goldfish.

Meet Bruce:

Unfortunately, Bruce passed away before I even had time to introduce him on the blog! He was very unique in his behaviour (for a goldfish) and we were happy to have him for 3 weeks.

R.I.P. Bruce.

Whitsunday Magic

We were lucky to spend last weekend sailing around the Whitsunday Islands on the "Whitsunday Magic." The Whitsundays are only about a 3 hour drive south of Townsville and are a tropical paradise! A couple of years ago, we had spent a few days on Brampton Island, one of the islands in the southern Whitsundays, but we really wanted to see more of the area and we didn't want to be stuck in one location. We would definitely recommend the cruise we went on. (Email me if you want the details.) The ship was beautiful, the crew were very friendly and competent, we were served gourmet food the entire trip (we couldn't figure out how they could cook such fancy food in a small galley kitchen) and there were only 25 guests on board. The captain was very accommodating with our itinerary and we discussed every night where we wanted to sail the next day. As you will see from the pictures below, we had perfect weather! It was a great weekend; we couldn't have planned a better "babymoon" to enjoy before our baby girl arrives.

OUR ITINERARY

1. Leave from Abel Point Marina at Airlie Beach.
2. Overnight anchorage at Blue Pearl Bay on Hayman Island.
3. Snorkel at Bait Reef (mid-shelf reef on the Great Barrier Reef).
4. Overnight anchorage at Tongue Bay on Whitsunday Island.
5. Spend the morning at Whitehaven Beach & Betty's Beach on Whitsunday Island.
6. Afternoon snorkel at Pit Stop Bay on Border Island.
7. Overnight anchorage at South Molle Island. Spend morning at South Molle Island Resort.
8. Return to Abel Point Marina.

THE WHITSUNDAY MAGIC

WHITEHAVEN BEACH

SNORKELING AT BAIT REEF & PIT STOP BAY

SUNSET CRUISING

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Congratulations to my sister Brittney and new brother-in-law Jesse! They were married today in the Portland Temple. We wish we could have been there! We can't wait to see the pictures!

Bugs

Growing up, my mom always told us that the word "hate" was a very strong word, and that it was better to say "strongly dislike." Well, I can honestly say that I hate bugs! Now, not all bugs are evil, but the ones that live in my house and attack my kitchen, bathroom, closet, bed, etc. most definitely are. I hope the following picture doesn't gross you out too much.

I couldn't resist putting the ruler down. This cockroach in our kitchen was 4 cm (1.5 in) long! Definitely the biggest one we've ever seen inside. I can't complain too much about cockroaches as we've only seen about 3 or 4 inside our house during the almost three years we've been living here; the ants on the other hand are a completely different story. No matter how clean I try to keep the house, they are everywhere! Seriously, within 30 minutes of cleaning the kitchen, they're back in action. I've already warned John that if he thinks I'm going to put our baby on the floor to play, then we'll have to start cleaning it at least every other day (instead of the current weekly cleaning). Neither one of us are looking forward to that chore.

The ants latest target? My running shoes. When I went to get dressed for church last Sunday, I noticed some stray ants on a few pairs of my shoes. After some investigation, I found a large ant trail leading to my running shoes. As I was trying to be on time to church, I couldn't do anything about it at the time. After church, the trail was still there, but I was too tired to deal with it. Knowing I would need to wear the shoes soon, I finally decided to tackle the problem after dinner. So I used some bug spray on the trail and then carefully carried the shoes into the laundry room sink. I knew that taking the shoes apart would disturb the nest. What I didn't expect was how gross it would be. After lifting out the insole, there were so many ants and eggs that it looked like someone had poured a good tablespoon full of salt and pepper in my shoe. I should have taken a picture, but I was too grossed out. Needless to say, I quickly put the shoes in the wash. Living in the tropics definitely has some benefits, but the bugs are not one of them.