Turning 4 weeks!

Time has really been flying by. Not so much because of any sort of schedule because with a new born we are quickly learning that he dictates everything! With that said we have been surprised to find that we are able to many of the things we enjoy doing and going, just with more prep time and not always arriving on time.

We just finished a lovely visit with Nana (Aim's mom), Aunt Nancy, Aunt Liz, Cousin Colby, and Cousin Jaclyn this past weekend. It was great to have everyone here to love on little Paxton. Most everyone got to spend quality time with Pax (this usually meant napping with him :) and eating (which it seemed like we ate a whole side of beef while they were here.)

We just got the professional pictures of Paxton (who was almost 3 weeks in the pictures) taken by The Photog. Check them out!

We also had his month checkup yesterday. He is 8lbs and 13 oz (put on 2 lbs since leaving the hospital) and very healthy. We praise and thank god everyday for this little blessing. He is the VERY BEST Christmas Present this year!!!!

Happy Two Weeks!

Tonight at 6:55pm Paxton will be two weeks old! And if you follow our blog you know that means it has been two weeks since we posted anything. It has not been for a lack of news. Instead, an abundance of news which leaves me bewildered as to where to start.
Overall, life in the Tippen household of 3 has been wonderful. For starters we got to bring Paxton home on Thanksgiving day, accompanied by Preston's mom and dad. They ran to the store Thanksgiving afternoon and bought a ton of groceries and whipped up a fantastic Thanksgiving Day meal. (Sans the Turkey since they were all frozen. We were planning on celebrating Thanksgiving at a friend's home so we literally had no food. Preston's dad improvised with a delicious chicken.) We really couldn't of asked for a better first few days of Paxton's life. Preston's parents cooked, cleaned, oogled over Pax, and Preston's dad helped Preston finally completely finish the downstairs bathroom! We were truly sad to see them go, but anticipate their soon return for Christmas. Next on the horizon is the visit of my side of the family. We are so excited!
These last few days have been relatively calm, with lots of laughs over poopy diapers, farts and pee sprays in the face, large belches, funny faces (most likely caused by gas, catching a pattern here?), outfits that say New Born but drown Pax in fabric, cute coos, baby snores, and the slow realization that we are now Mom and Dad not just Preston and Aimee.
I never thought I could worry about someone to the extent I do for this little one. People keep asking the typical question, "Are you getting enough sleep?" My answer is yes, because our little Pax sleeps well for 2-3 hours at a time, but I on the other hand am in a light mode of sleep all night, listening for him and getting up several times to just make sure he is breathing. It really amazes me how quickly my perspective on life changes once giving birth. I haven't woken up one day since he has been born without truly being thankful for the gift of another day; for life. Preston and I keep asking each other when will we get bored with just starring at him. Perhaps the first time he talks back to us. But for now, we are smitten with love.

Our Bundle of Peace

On November 24 at 6:55pm (CST) Paxton Edward Tippen was born weighing in at 7lbs 2 oz and 20in. Mom and baby are doing very well. He's got all 10 fingers and 10 toes and is very healthy. Right now we are loving spending time with him, that we sneak in between visitors and doctor checks. The timing was just perfect;' he came early, with the doctor we wanted, and in enough time for Preston's parents to come over the holiday.

his first pictures here

No Baby yet!

He's not here yet but that's a good thing because we have had many projects to complete before his arrival! Preston's mental "do-it-yourself" (DIY for those who are in the club) capacity is being strained and challenged daily as he lays siege to the basement bathroom remodel. And Aimee's body is strained and challenged by the constant pressure near her birth canal that baby boy is creating.
Today's task was putting the flor in the bathroom. It was much more fun that anticipated after returning the sheet of linoleum that was too small and going with self stick tile! I never thought I'd use my old wreslting knee pads again but they totally saved my knees today. Below are a few pics of the new paint and flooring with the shower base uninstalled (that's next)!

~Preston

A Fabulous Shower

Tuesday was a big day for us. First we had our 36 week Dr.'s appointment. As of Tuesday I am 30% effaced with only a dimple sized dilated. According to my doctor, right on target. Knowing we won't be going into delivery this week was very comforting for us considering Preston flew out at 6am this morning (Friday) for his grandmother's funeral and will return tomorrow night. So here I am sitting cross legged for the night.
In the evening, we had a church wide family shower. I wish we had some video of it to share, but unfortunately we only have a few snap shots. We were so blessed with a wonderful meal with many families, a hysterical skit depicting Preston, Aimee and Baby Boy Tippen (titled "Turbo Charge Tippen") by the Weber Family, a fun kids game that included the kids putting balloons under their shirts like they were pregnant (hysterical!), and then tons and tons of beautiful gifts. It was quite overwhelming in a great kind of way. Now are drawers are full of adorable clothes and our kitchen cabinet full of baby bottles. We are now just waiting on a few online Target shipments and then we still need to place our cloth diaper order.

Tralese as Preston and Sauvell as Aimee

Wendy as Turbo Charge Tippen.The kids shoving balloons under thier shirts.

Opening gifts.Our baby rocker, made by local Amish. A BEAUTIFUL keepsake and perfectly designed for a woman.

life & death

So its too late to be actually writing but after almost falling asleep watching a PBS special on cannabis i hoped on to check the end of the day sports scores and found my mind drifting away about my soon to arrive baby and soon death of my grandma.
I've never really been a person who deal with change very well. I have become better at coping with change as I age but it is big changes are not my forte. I am about to experience two very huge changes. I've had 9 months to prep myself for our first baby, but yet as i get daily updates from my mom on the status of my grandmothers deteriorating condition it seems her death will be harder change. In the back of my mind I've always known that my grandma was going to die (just like us all), but it still weighs heavier on my mind than the huge change that will happen when the baby is born.
I think its because death's adjustment period (grieving) doesn't have anything new, just the lack of something. With the baby everything is new and everything changes, but with death there is just a void.
Now, i love Jesus and believe that our belief in Him holds the promise of life everlasting, but for life on earth this is it. So, I'm left holding a mixed bag of emotions, none too overwhelming, but a jumbled pot of anxiety, excitement, dread, and uncertainty as the two polar opposites on life's cycle converge in the very near future within the Tippen household.
~Preston

36 weeks

We have officially passed the 36 week mark of pregnancy! Just less than one month left, give or take a week or two. We have our now weekly check up this coming Tuesday, so I am sure I will have more to post on the baby's progress after that. Safe to say for now though that I feel as if I can literally feel him getting bigger inside me day by day. Or maybe he is just stretching his limbs. Either way, it is as if every part of my body feels him inside of me.
As he develops more and more, and the days get closer to his arrival we just seem to be falling in love with him more and more. Knowing that he can hear us has us talking to him all the time. I wonder what our voices sound like to him in there... To update you on a few of our ongoing projects see the pics below.

Here is Aimee at 36 weeks.

Here is what used to be a shower in our basement bathroom.
Here is what used to be a toilet, wall papered walls, and linoleum floor.

Happy Halloween!

Well it has been a while since we posted. A few updates... I had my bi-weekly doc appointment and baby is back on the normal growth curve. (Sigh of relief...)
We have been busy with house projects. I decided that I wanted to tear the wall paper down in our downstairs bathroom before the baby comes and we have lots of company. It has drove me crazy since the day we moved into the house, but now with the influx of hormones it really was driving me crazy. So I started a project I thought I could finish with about a 30 dollar investment. Upon ripping the wall paper off we discovered that there was significant water and mold damage on the drywall because of a lousy previous install job. (This is where I exit the story because of the whole mold issue and in all fairness Preston should write the rest. However, he isn't here right now so I will have to tell his tale.) About 2 weeks post our project start date Preston has tore out most of the existing shower, bought a new shower and consulted with a plumber. This week's goal is to finish ripping the floor of the shower out, along with the bathroom floor, reinstall sections of drywall, install some new piping with the plumber and prep for painting. We are hoping what started as a $30 dollar project will in the end cost us less than $600. We are also hoping this gets done BEFORE baby arrives. :) I am really glad my husband loves me despite my hormones and the crazy things they make me do.
Back to handing out candy to neighborhood kiddos.

Thank God for sports radio

I'm sending this while taking a 12 hour trip home to see my ailing grandmother. Its a long day and the longer/later it gets the more some realities settle in.
1. Driving this alone is hard for a few reasons. Going through tolls trying to dig for change is easier with a copilot. And eating a big burger while on the phone and searching for change is even harder!
2. A blackberry is a phenomenal tool. Internet, facebook, texting, and calling all at my fingertips.
3. Sports talk radio is even better than a blackberry! I listened to it the whole way. I could have hosted Sportscenter by myself.
4. Energy drinks taste horrible, but do the trick. Not sure how teenagers pound these things. But there is no way they are good for a person.
5. If they ever make a car that drives itself I'm buying it right away. While there at it make the car fly too!
-thats all, goodnight. I miss my babies back home.

Bump Pics

We took a walk on the wild side and got maternity pics. We had a great time with the Photog, who took these pictures. Here are a few on the MANY we took.

Online Baby Shower

We had our online shower this past Saturday. We really enjoyed it. First of all, it was way fun getting lots of mail and packages over the last few weeks. Secondly, Preston's family sent us fun stuff like homemade "baby shower" cookies and silly games to play during our shower. We skyped with Preston's mom, dad, sister and brother in law while we opened gifts. It was as special as you can get for being long distance. Here are some pictures of the fun. Thank you everyone who sent gifts or helped put this together. Baby Boy Tippen felt very loved. :)



Here are some of the cookies we enjoyed...and still are enjoying.

Everyone in Preston' s family took a guess at the size of my belly. Ashley, Preston's sister was exactly correct. Preston's grandmother, however, estimated my circumference to be the same length as my height. :) They made us try 5 different baby foods and guess what they were. Preston actually won. Hmm...

Here is what our living room looked like after our shower. For more pics of our shower and to see all we got, check out the link to our picture gallery.

Fast Growth Curve

I have now "graduated" to bi-weekly doctor appointments to check up on our little one. (Who turns out to be not so little anymore...) Thus far I have been spot on with my uterine measurements. Each appointment I measure as many centimeters as whatever week I am. Seeing these measurements has become a routine I enjoy and take comfort in. Today I went in for my 32 week appointment. The nurse came in to measure me. As I lay there, waiting to see that comforting 32, I was surprised to see the nurses finger inch up the measuring tape to 35. New nurse I thought to myself, I'll ask my doctor when he comes in. Well, after another measurement by my trusty doctor, it was confirmed, our little one has jumped 3cm above the curve in just 2 weeks. Ironically, I have not gained one pound in the last two weeks either, even though I have been a human garbage disposal. What does this mean? All baby growth! To top it all off my doctor suggested that the rapid measurement change could be caused by the baby going into breech position. He checked the baby's position, but no, he is head down. The doctor said that a baby's growth pattern is often sporadic so nothing can be determined until the next appointment. I'll update you in two weeks. He did say with a smile that if the baby continues to grow above the growth curve, a natural birth will become more interesting with my size frame. Hmm...

Fall is Here and Christmas is Coming...

Christmas is on it's way! More accurately, I am quickly preparing for Christmas in advance so that Christmas preparations can be done and the Holiday enjoyed once our little one comes. The picture below is actually Preston's stocking from last year. We have a tradition that we make each other a stocking each year. However, last year I procrastinated and never got it finished. I figured I would make up for it this year with finishing last years and this years. This years is already made, but I can't show it since it is a suprise. Our little one's stocking is finished as well, except for the name across the top. That is a suprise too. :)



We took a scenic drive north to Wausau and went to a Fall Festival with some good friends. Seasons and Holidays are just so much more fun with friends and kids! You can't tell from this pic but the colors are amazing here, especially the colorful trees among the expansive corn fields.

It must be a pumpkin inside of me, not a child!

Gavin was sporting his new winter jacket, camo style with the pumpkins. :)



























Reily at one of his happier moments of the day. Poor guy, it was sunny but COLD today!

Here is our latest prego update. Sorry, it has been awhile. We can hardly believe that we have less than 2 months till our little one is here. It seems like he gets bigger and more squirrely every day. He also gets hiccups often, which is really cute. (At least for the first couple minutes.) At our last doctor's appointment the doctor told us that he is head down. We actually got to feel the sides of his head (Which was awesome!). As for the rest of his body, it shifts almost daily.
We have been busy getting ready for him to come. His nursery is slowly but surely coming along. Curtains are up and an area rug is laid. We will probably wait until after the showers to post more pictures of the nursery. The walls and shelves are pretty bare.
We are so excited for him to be here for Christmas. His first stocking is made and ready to go, other than his name across the top. We will have to wait for that until he comes. (Make your vote for which name you like the best.)
We are also looking forward to having family come and visit soon after he is born. Both sides of our family have already bought plane tickets, which makes this all so very real.

31 weeks pregnant!!!




He likes to move around as we are relaxing at night before bed. Here are some of his latest moves. :)

First Shower Gift!

The UPS man brought a pleasant surprise today! (it wasn't the hard drive docking station that Preston was waiting for though) We received our first gift for the online shower! Thanks for the awesome gift Steve and Lauren!

We can't open it yet (and its just killing Aimee) :)

New Dresser / Changing Table

We searched high and low for the perfect baby dresser/changing table, but felt defeated after many stores and websites offered cute looking items at either sky high prices or cheap manufacturing. We finally found a gem at the local antique store (Aimee was in heaven) that was solid oak with lots of character. It was chipping and an ugly yellow so we refinished it.

We went with a crackle finish in hopes of keeping the antique look. The glass knobs are very classy and it will make a nice place to change diapers and store stuff.
album

Why Super Dad Is Also Super Husband

Preston always finds a way to use my extended time from home as a time to do a home improvement project that I want done. This weekend I went away (on a retreat mind you, not even work or family related) and he whipped the house into shape once again. In a matter of 24 hours he managed to finish scraping, cleaning, puttying, and repainting two more of our outdoor windows, scrub the bathtub (which I really dislike doing), vacuum the floors (another chore I don't enjoy), wash the sheets, and start the finishing protective coat of our baby dresser. It was so nice to come home to an extra clean house and a husband who did projects he knew I shouldn't be around for the safety of the baby, while I was away from home. I didn't even ask him to do any of these things. (Well, I didn't ask him to do it while I was away on a retreat. :) ) What a wonderful hubby. I just had to take the chance to brag on him.
We should have pics of the refinished dresser up soon. It looks great!! I am looking forward to filling it with baby stuff.

29 weeks along! Its amazing how the baby develops inside of Aimee. i wish we had taken pictures every week, but this progression shows the difference much better. only 11 weeks (give or take 2 weeks) to go :)

See Progress

Manly Work

I've decided that chopping wood or being a lumber jack is the manliest job someone could have. Any other nominees.  P.S. I used my blackberry for this post as well :)

First Mobile Post

"I love technology," Kip from Napoleon Dynamite.
Preston is trying out the mobile posting feature from his blackberry. The hope is that baby Tippen will enjoy technology as much as Preston!

Super Dad and the wild night missions

Last night was a great adventure. Here's the skinny:

After returning home from meeting Aimee stood in front of the refrigerator and cupboard with a desperate look on here face. After much searching (30 seconds) she realized that there was nothing in our house that would satisfy what the baby was craving (I think it was really her but you know everything can be blamed on the baby these days)! That is when Super Dad (Preston) sprung into action. Super Dad - willing to go anywhere, at anytime to retrieve anything to satisfy the craving or desires of Aimee and the baby. His mission - to find and purchase large chocolate chip cookies and return home safely.
Super Dad raced to the store with his super powers on high alert. Once arriving he realized that this particular store had chocolate chip and chocolate chunk cookies. Dasterdly, the mission was a t a crossroads! Super Dad was up against a wall, the well being of the entire home rested on making the right choice! With a quick call to another Super Dad from Montana (Justin has been through this twice), Preston realized he needed to consult with Aimee so this missions would not fail.
Alas, it was chocolate chunk that would really satisfy the craving, so as quickly as someone can buy cookies and a half gallon of milk (that are convienently located on opposite ends of the store), Super Dad was returning home. That's when he got another call. There was a friend in need! Super Dad was on it, nothing too small or too large for him to handle. Our friends, the Johnson's, were going into labor and needed someone to watch their preschool age son.
Later that Night...
Super Dad has done it again. By midnight Aimee had had her cookies and milk, baby Tippen was happy, Piper Johnson was a healthy 7.9 oz, Mrs. Johnson was doing well, and Super Dad was resting in anticipation of his next mission.

Piper Johnson

~Written by Super Dad (akaPreston)

Babymoon videos

Here are a few videos from our Babymoon.


This was from Preston first standing on the board in the white wash. Later on he dropped into a few waves, but we have no video of it.



This was the most amazing bird we've ever seen. He did some other tricks besides sing Old McDonald, but that was his best.

More of San Diego

Here are some more pics of our "babymoon" to San Diego.

We spent one day at the San Diego Zoo. 9 hours to be exact. Preston had to see every square inch of the zoo. :) We had a great time though. The zoo is amazing with some really interesting animals and shows to watch.




This is an Okapi. It was Aimee's favorite animal. It appears to be half horse, half zebra. Looks like it should be in C.S Lewis' Narnia tales. Check out more here

We got to see some great CA sunsets. The pictures just don't do justice to something so amazing.






There is Aimee out near the edge. The landscape was so varied and different at each beach. The waves and salt air was wonderful!


Preston took a day to learn to surf. He did really great and loved it. We were so amazed at how many surfers there are in San Diego. They swarmed the beaches, from morning until after dark. Preston was wiped out after a full day of surfing. Aimee spent the day reading on the beach, which she loved.
Overall, it was a great trip with lots of relaxation, sun and exploring. We are ready to enter the final stretch of preparing for the Baby Boy Tippen to be here as a part of our family. To see more from San Diego check here

San Diego!

We took our final babymoon this month. We visited the very beautiful San Diego, CA. When I had gone home to PA a couple months ago I opted to get bumped twice, resulting in 2 free plane tickets. We decided to use those tickets to go somewhere we had never been before, and were almost guarteneed it would not rain. (We don't seem to have much luck when it comes to vacationing and good weather.) So San Diego it was!
We couldn't have asked for a better trip. It was sunny and warm every day we were there. Here are some pics to show you highlights of the trip.


Here is me prego on the beach. Even the water was warm!















Here is the very beautiful Torrey Pines State Park.

You could hike right down to the beach.

Tippen Visit

Preston's parents and youngest sister came to visit us mid August. We had the typical visit, putting them to work on house projects, playing lots of games, and eating good together. They helped us scrape, putty and paint our exterior wooden windows. The girls also helped prepare the nursery. We painted the bookshelf (in the picture) and large mirror to match the crib, which is compliments of the Tippen's as well. The nursery is off to a good start!

23 1/2 weeks prego

The baby is over 1 pound this week and Aimee is definitely sticking out there farther! His favorite activities include kicking mommy and now since he has gotten bigger, kicking mommy which bounces his head off the other side of her uterus. Aim now gets double bumps every time he stretches.

The Schreiber's Come to Town

Joel, Nicole and Cecily came to visit us this past weekend. It is always so wonderful to see them and reconnect! Here is a fun family shot the last day they were here.

Having Cecily (who just turned 1) in our home helped us realize how non baby friendly or proof our home is. This is her caught red handed in our food pantry.

We did discover that fun can come cheap. Cecily was enthralled for a long time with a simple cardboard box.

Cecily also had a blast in our hammock. I think Joel and Preston had an even more fun time teasing her and playing with her in it.









In the end we realized that at least until Baby Boy Tippen is born, Preston's first love is still technology. (Of course I took the picture so I don't have much defense either.) Good thing this baby has a couple more months to incubate so Mom and Dad can be ready to keep him alive.

We love you Joel, Nicole and Cecily! Thanks for coming to visit us in little Marshfield.
Who else wants to come for a visit?!?!