Feelin' the l.o.v.e.

Thank you to everyone who made those first few weeks seem like no big deal. We feel so blessed by both our family and our friends. It means the world to us that we have such an amazing community of support around us. Thank you for all the meals, calls and love that you have shown us.

(I'm sad I didn't get everyone's picture that came to visit/help us!)

She's here...

Birth Story:

Of course I was past my due date, as I do...so Sunday, August 1st, Jeff and I went to the hospital at 8am. By the time I got checked in and had my first dose of penicillin it was already 11am. At that time I took cytotec orally to induce my labor. I already had a few visitors: mother-in-law, mom, friend, and my father-in-law ;-). By 12 my labor was starting to pick up and by 1pm I was dilated to a 4. My goal was to labor with the help of the bradley method. At that point Jeff kicked everyone out of the room so we could relax and welcome the lovely contractions instead of resist them.

OH, I have to mention, we had the best nurse EVER!! If you have a baby in Montrose, you must request CAROL!!

So back to the story...Carol, so sweetly, yet confidently shared with us that she didn't like what baby girl's heart rate was doing. Every time I had a contraction her heart rate would drop (normal), but then after the contraction she would continue to drop and not stabilize. The midwife came in to monitor the situation and was not liking it either and requested that Dr. Gilham come in and evaluate/make a plan on what to do. He said we'll give you two more contractions, if she doesn't stabilize we're going to go for a c-section.

We felt so safe with this man around, knowing he would take the best care of us possible. There's no one else I would have wanted making this decision. He has a sweetness/serious confidence that not many doctors possess. So, there I was, with oxygen on, moving in any direction they could get me in to get our little girl to respond. At one point I was on my hands and knees, which she responded well to. So we got to stay!!

In order for them to get the most accurate heart rate, they attached an electrode to baby girl's head, which was how she broke my water. I have no idea what time it was or how many centimeters I had dilated, but I do know they told me two more times that we were going to a c-section in two contractions, but every time she stabilized just in time.

At 3:15 she checked me one more time and I was an 8! For the last hour, the nurse had been asking me if I wanted in medication for the pain and I kept saying no. Once I got to 8, I was ready for the fitenal (sp?) and they said I couldn't have it 'cause that would stabilize baby's heart even more. I looked at Jeff and said, I'm done...I don't have much more to give...

Three or 4 more contractions and it was time to push...

I delivered her head and they found the cord was around her neck. She asked me to stop pushing (WHAT???), she wasn't able to get it over her head so she had to clamp and cut it right there. Then she said okay just short little pushes, to top it off baby had her hand up on her shoulder which made that part even wider...finally OUT she came...blue as ever. Carol, once again, amazing...got her breathing after a VERY long (maybe 30 seconds or more) silence. I started crying asking Jeff what was wrong with her and he very calmly said, she's okay, she fine, she'll be fine, she'll be fine. My mother in law, praying out loud right next to me, claimed her life and asked the Lord to protect her. YES HE DID! Her apgar score was a 7/8, which is amazingly high considering all she had been through. From then on, we haven't heard a negative thing about her health.

Ailee Mae Pollard

August 1, 2010

3:31pm
7.8lbs/19.25 in

more pics to come, 'cause you know I can't resist!!

Amazing day...

Thank you, friends for all your work in putting together such a beautiful and fun morning. Ailee and I are blessed to have such an amazing community of friends.

The setting...so pretty!

Yeah, more babies!!

Diapers...

Did someone say, "no more diapers?" Let me clarify...no more diapers for approximately 9 days until little Ailee decides to join us.

big news in our world...

...No More DIAPERS!! (during the day :-))

We are so proud of this guy, I can hardly get the smile off my face. As most of you know, our son is a motorhead. He loves motorcycles, ATVs, and bmx bikes. He's been known to wear his helmet to the store, lifegroup, softball games...you name it, he has it on or at least wants it on. Aside from his dad, Travis Pastrana is his hero. Every toy is named Travis and sometimes he even goes by Travis. SOO...how do we motivate the little guy to give up diapers ~ a new "REAL" motorcross helmet. Everyday this month we've been looking online to see which one he wants and remind him of how to get it. He's gone about two weeks now without any accidents so it was time to follow through on our promise. This week we went to the motorcycle shop to try them out.

Will he get the...

WHITE ONE...

The RED one...

The BLUE one...

Or the ROCKSTAR one...

TA DA...the ROCKSTAR it is...'cause it looks the most like Travis'

Griffin, you are so big, smart, and so darn cute...we love you so much! Hope you enjoy your new helmet and get lots of use out of it. (Does this mean the ATV is next?)

Buddies...

2.5 years old...

the FOURTH...

Nine months along and we decide this is the weekend to go camping...and what a blast it was. The sleeping situation still needs a bit of fine tuning, but we're excited to get that figured out. We are so thankful for the Rosentreters and Lanes for making it all happen. The setting was stunning and the food, fabulous. Griffin had an incredible time with friends and just digging in the sand and water. He also, of course, loved the marshmallows.

Jeff and I have been talking over the past few days about the state of our country, yes, it is a bit disheartening, but we are still thankful for all the men and woman who made and make it possible to have the freedoms we still have. We continue to pray for wisdom for our leaders and for God to rise up the people HE wants to lead us.

Enjoy the pics, wish I had taken more of the setting so you could see how wonderful the place is.

{a dream}

In my "other" life...my summer days would be spent at a YoungLife Camp. My husband, yes, the same one I have in "this" life, would be playing guitar by night at club meetings and by day running the go-cart/waterfront or anything sports related. My children would run wild and free and know the pure innocence of summer. They would enjoy watching all the activities of high school kids and even partake in a few. I would hang with them and snap a few photos from time to time.

Oh the pure joy that would engulf me...

seeing kids meet Jesus

summer days

healthy food - with an occational milk shake...

Family time

building relationships that would last a lifetime...

The vision is strong...

Okay, so now you know what I would do if we won the lottery.

34 weeks today...

We are getting...

EXCITED!

Pool Reunion~

Last week we were able to meet a dear friend and her fam at the pool.

Gotta love the pool in GJ. Griffin was all over that thing. He was jumping off the side and dunking his head underwater...which he watched Ky do over and over again. They were both champs in the water.

Below is a picture (or 2) of the first time we met for a pool date...

{2008}

{2010}

Chillaxin' and Snackin'

Great to see you, Lace! Too bad we didn't get a pic together- next time. Hope it happens again soon :-)