Baby Searls Birth!

Hello Everyone!

The last time I updated you about baby Searls was in October and we did not know what we were having.

Jon and I had decided to not find out whether baby was a boy or girl.

So,  On February 13, 2015 we had a baby Boy!!  Here is baby D's birth story!

On Monday the 9th I was 40 weeks and was not experiencing any labor symptoms so I was scheduled for a weight ultrasound.

On Tuesday I went in for my ultrasound and they told me baby Searls was estimated for 10 lbs. 10 oz.  Needless to say we were a little shocked and apprehensive.

On Wednesday the 11th my doctor had me go see the OB.  Until this point I was seeing my family doctor.  The OB suggested it would be best to have a C-section because of baby Searls predicted weight.  Jon and I agreed, even if this made me a little sad and nervous.  It is a major surgery.  Surgery was scheduled for Friday the 13th.  (Jon really wanted me to wait until the next available date which was the next Wednesday because he was a little superstitious about Friday the 13th.)

Friday finally came.  I had to be up at the hospital at 10:00 for a Noon surgery.  My parents were there before I was taken back for prep.  This turned out to be a good thing because Jon did not get to join me right away and he would have been so nervous by himself.

Here I am all ready for surgery.

At 12:15 p.m. I was taken back for prep.  At about 12:35 they went a got Jon.  Jon was very excited to see what we were having and wanted to tell me himself.  So, he watched as the Dr. pulled baby Searls out of me (this would have freaked me out) and excitedly proclaimed "Its a Boy!"  At this point I am sure I was crying and Jon was a little teary eyed as well.  Jon was able to cut the umbilical cord to a smaller size.

We stayed in the hospital until Monday afternoon.  Here are some of the photos from that time.

 Here he is in his going home outfit.

And, this is his first night sleeping at home.

Hope you enjoyed seeing baby D's first few days.

Alaskan Honeymoon!!

Hello!!  Welcome back, I know I have been gone for awhile, but hopefully I will be posting more regularly.

Jon and I recently got back from our honeymoon in Alaska.  We had such a great time!

We flew into Anchorage and spent a day touring the city.

Mt. Denali (Mt. Mickenly) from Anchorage.

Crab legs Jon enjoyed!

Flower arrangements in downtown Anchorage.

We took the Goldstar train to Seward, and it was an Amazing train ride.  The car we were in had a glass domed roof, so you could see all the wonderful views.

These pictures are of a Glacier that icebergs break off of, into a lake at the base.

In Seward we took a marine tour and during the tour we got to see Sea Otters, Sea lions, Puffin, Humpback whales, and Orcas  It was an amazing tour, except the part where Jon got a little motion sick.  I have been waiting for the photos from Jon's phone but I never got them.  So, when I do get them I will make another post.


Here is a video from our marine tour, It is of a young humpback whale playing in the water. I can't get this video to work, so maybe at a different time I will get it onto the blog.

Another video, this one is Orcas.  Also, waiting for Jon.


Next, we took the train up to Denali National Park.

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This next group is of the beautiful scenery.

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When we got to Denali park we had half a day to do what we wanted before the next adventure.  So, we decided to take a flight seeing trip up to Mt. Denali (Mt. McKinley).  For someone that has never been on a small plane, it was a new and interesting experience, I don't think I would do it again.  All I kept thinking was, don't hit the mountain, it was a little stressful.

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While in Denali, we saw a bunch of animals and a moose got really close.  We stayed in the Backcountry Lodge inside the park, the trip to the lodge was a 6 hour bus ride with an awesome tour guide.   Here are some pictures from the bus trip.

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Once at the Backcountry lodge, we did some gold panning, took a hike out on to the tundra, and went fishing.  It rained most of the time we were there, but we did not let that stop us, that's why waterproof clothing was made.

Jon and I gold panned out of moose creek, where the lodge was located, the water was very cold and I could only keep my hands in for about a minute.  Unfortunately we found no gold, maybe next time.

Tundra is very hard to walk on, it was like walking on wet mattresses.  It would suction our shoes to the ground, so every step took twice the amount of work as normal walking.  It was a good experience.

While fishing, we experienced the attack of the mosquitoes, they were sooo bad.  The best part came about an hour into fishing, out of wood came a massive Moose.  It trotted right into the lake, right at us.  It was beautiful, but I kept saying we are not 100 yards away, which is the advised distance from wild animals.  Jon and a couple other lodgers did not care at all, just kept filming.  Below you will find the pictures.  I have video of the Moose but I am incapable of getting it to the Blog.