Herrmann.

pinteresting.

2012-02-14T11:32:00.000-08:00

Don't you love when people post their pins on their blog? No? Meh, whatever. I need a to do list ;)

Diy Dry Shampoo-Growth Chart-Chicken Lime Soup

I would like to do these... this month... ish.Actually, I'm making the soup tonight. The sailboat mobile is for my friend Sarah's pirate themed nursery! How cute is that? And that growth chart is darling and just in time for Paul's first birthday :)

yikes.

2012-02-08T11:39:00.000-08:00

Three things I have been failing at lately:

Taking videos of Apollo
Taking pictures of Apollo
Writing blogs

Two things I have been doing well lately:

Reading lots of books to my sweet baby
Cooking more frequently

These days aren't very exciting for the Herrmann family. We. Are. Busy. Aaron is both working and going to school full time. He sleeps part time.

Apollo is 21 pounds and 29 inches tall. I am 62 inches. He's almost half my height. He hates eating anything that involves a utensil. Seriously. He will only eat finger foods now and NO baby food what so ever. I sneak oatmeal into his nighttime bottle (even though I'm not supposed to) to make sure he gets his oatmeal in. I don't know how else to get him to eat it anymore aside from turning it into some kind of solid.... cereal bars?? I'm hopeful. He drinks four bottles a day. And by drink I mean guzzles. He's so cute. He crawls everywhere, cruises along furniture, turns pages in books, and sucks on his binky all. day. long. His favorite place? Walmart seasonal aisle. His favorite food? veggie/fruit baby puffs, bananas and bread. He loves his stuffed giraffe that we give him at night time, loves to drink out of grown ups cups, and he LOVES to pretend to drink out of soda cans.

I work and play with my sweet baby until he passes out at 9pm.

I started a secret blog.

2012-01-24T16:31:00.000-08:00

It's a weight loss blog. I might let a few people read it. I need somewhere to be accountable for my weekly/monthly/quarterly goals. I'll let you know how it's going :)

Dumped.

2012-01-11T16:24:00.000-08:00

I put an offer on a house yesterday and a few hours later we found out that we didn't get it! I feel like I've been dumped by a short term boyfriend. I might take a break from the dating scene for a few months... Isn't that what you do after you get burned? I guess we'll see. I was breaking my 12 month plan anyway, but I am bummed. I even tried to take it slow... I tried not to fall in love... sigh.

Maybe that's why I spent way too much money at Target just now. Retail therapy for the win!

Are you sick of me posting frequently?

2012-01-05T22:39:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about my goals for the new year. I have this thing I've been calling the "Twelve Month Plan" that I have been talking to Aaron about. I'm not going to get into the specifics but my main goal for 2012 is to buy a house. Scary right? Am I crazy? The market is really good. We can get a house twice the size of our apartment for a lot cheaper than our rent. It won't be a big house or anything, just something we can have a few kids in, have an area for visiting and an area for playing/tvwatching/making messes. I think that's my main motivator. It's kind of scary to buy a house before Aaron graduates and finds a job, and we'd probably move pretty far out from the freeway which would really suck and add at least twenty minutes onto our commutes... AND people don't come to my house now, so ya know, whatever. I have some friends in the city we're looking into (friends with kids!) so that is nice.

Anyway, onto the goals. These three were my goals from last year -

Clean Up the Language
Grade: F
I don't even have anything to say about this. I have foulest mouth I know. Amen.

Finding Joy in the Journey
Grade: B

Finding Opportunities to Serve
Grade: C

I'm glad I took the time to make goals last year, and I'm glad there were only three of them. Because I didn't do so well and I'm okay with that. Needless to say, I will be working with these goals for the next year as well.

Other goals:

Daily scripture reading as a family

Aaron and I have a 30 minute overlap where we are both awake everyday. Reading scriptures is probably better for us than say... watching How I Met Your Mother on Netflix.

Cook three dinners per week

It's kind of sad that I have trouble even making 3 meals a week... but it's also kind of sad I share about... 0 meals with my husband. Why cook when he's either going to have to eat it cold or I'm going to have to wait to eat until 9 PM. Crock pots, my friends... Crock pots...

Okay... That's basically it. I'm shooting low again this year, I'm not pregnant, but I'm definitely busier than last year.

A Year In Review...

2012-01-04T07:22:00.000-08:00

You how the best bloggers do a year in review where they show their favorite photos/videos/outfits/blog posts of the year? It looks fun right? I'm going to do that so all three of you readers can reminisce my year with me.

January 2011

I was pregnant.

(and our car got stolen)

February 2011

I was still pregnant.

(and our car was found at the mall)

March 2011

I became the biggest pregnant person on the planet.

April 2011

Apollo Cody came into our lives!

May 2011

I got over the baby blues, lost the baby weight and stepped out of my hibernation.

June 2011

I chopped off all of my hair and went back to work.

July 2011

Apollo had his first sleepover at grandma's house. Not by choice... I was rushed to the ER at work and had surgery the next day! Yay!

August 2011

We took our anniversary snapshot. Apparently that's all we did because I didn't blog that month.

September 2011

Apollo had his first play date with Kortney! He also got his first tooth and tried food for the first time :) I had a birthday too I think...

October 2011

We were the Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe for Apollo's first Halloween.

November 2011

Paul's first Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday!)

December 2011

Pollywog's first Christmas. It was the best Christmas of my life!

So there you have it. My year in review. It went by quickly and I'm still foggy on the details (still waking up 1-2 times a night with this little guy, with no husband to trade off = cloudy brain). I made a few new friends this year, lost twenty pounds (haha, you know, since I was pregnant in the beginning), threw an awesome party (that I still haven't blogged about) hung out with some of my best friends on the planet, deactivated facebook, got a weird tan and cloth diapered. That's about it.

Also, right now someone at work smells like weed.

11 Days.

2012-01-02T22:24:00.000-08:00

I haven't been to work in 11 days.

And I only used 3.5 days of vacation time. There is something wonderful about the Holidays...

I think the past 11 days were the best days of my life. I really enjoyed being home with Apollo, doing mom day-time stuff, being able to see my husband, cook dinner, exercise (ok I did that like twice...) Hang out with my family, celebrate holidays, clean my house, walk through Ikea, plan for the future...

Tomorrow I will be going back to "real life". I am so not excited.

Two weeks ago I would have said "being a stay at home mom is harder than being a working mom," and while I still feel like that is true, it's hard to GO to work. Make any sense? The part that makes being a working mom hard is just missing Apollo.

Also,

He said Mama yesterday.

the four pictures I took of Christmas.

2011-12-29T22:40:00.000-08:00

My gift wrapping. totally trendy right? I bought the paper for Aaron's Halloween Costume, and I thought I would do something cute with it for Christmas. Little did I know Pinterest was already all over the brown paper packages. I spent WAY too long wrapping gifts.

The Christmas Scene. A car seat for Christmas! Yes please! The pack 'n' play was filled with "pit balls" which I thought 100 balls would cover. I was wrong. Typical. My brain can't handle things like that. Like seeing stacks of lids at a fast food restaurant. Unless they're labeled small, medium, and large, for the life of me I cannot guess which one will fit the cup. Ask me how many times I've tried to fit a large lid on a small cup and I will not be able to tell you.

Paul enjoying his "ball pit" (idea also from Pinterest). Also a side note: Apollo is peeing though his size 3 overnight diapers and I still have 30 left. Awesome.

Aunt Jean's Christmas dinner.

Also, I took pictures of myself and Aaron separately with Apollo and said "You know, just in case we get divorced or something," That joke would have been funny at my family's Christmas party, but I'm not sure how it worked at Jean's. Ah well. C'est la vie!

Whoa, I just wrote a ton of crap.

2011-12-29T12:45:00.000-08:00

Remember that one year (2009, 2010?) when everyone and their dog's new years resolution was "simplify"? Usually that seemed to turn into complicate, and everyone decided to reorganize their kitchen/schedule/junk room.

But lately I've really been thinking about simplifying my life. I spend way too much time on the computer (to be honest, I'm online all day every day at work). I cut out Facebook for awhile and I feel like I could breathe for awhile.

My phone has been dead for at least a week. I feel like I am free! I'm really just too lazy to find my charger and plug it in, but whatever.

Months ago I stopped watching tv/netflix/youtube reading blogs or playing games (or cleaning...) when I was home with Apollo. It made my time at home much more enjoyable.

But all of this makes me sound like I'm going to become a hermit and hide from the rest of the world, but what is so wrong with that? Sometimes I want it to just be Apollo, Aaron and me. I don't want to deal with other people or drama. I want to see the people I want to see, good friends, family, quit my job, own a house, get a dog, live off the land... Okay just kidding about that last one.

So can I just disappear for awhile?

I love my friends that I pretty much only talk to online. I really do! Which is why I can't really disappear from the internet. And I don't want to delete all of the annoying people off of Facebook because I love to see how annoying they are. What a dilemma.

Also, I took off this entire week (11 day weekend, holla!!!) and my life is really great right now and I'm the happiest I've ever been. When Apollo was born I wrote the truth about how hard it was and how much he cried and stuff and people would say things like "He sounds like such a screamer," but I really was having the best time of my life. I wrote about pregnancy the way I was really feeling during it. I tried not to sound like a downer and make things dramatic, but I think any kind of discussion about pregnancy is going to sound like a complaint. I'm not going to say I loved having back labor but giving birth was the best thing in the world. The only good things about being pregnant are feeling the baby move and the excitement of meeting your baby. And in my case, the best complexion/hair of my life. I want to keep things honest around here, blog, is that ok? Do I sound like I'm complaining?

Apollo has become such an easy baby (or I've become a less lazy mommy) and he's happy and loves to play. I love being a mom (even in the really hard first three months), I love being a wife. Even though last month we had zero dollars after all of our holiday shopping - my life is awesome.

Best Christmas of My Life.

2011-12-25T20:20:00.000-08:00

This has honestly been the best Christmas I have ever been to (or even heard of?), something about having a child made the whole day so magical. I think I took like three pictures the entire day? Oh well.

Some gift highlights:

Receiving two baby bullets (one from Aaron, one from my mom)
Receiving two almost identical grey dresses (One from my aunt, one from my MIL)
Gifting my aunt the same ornament she gifted my mother.
My new (red) Kitchen Aid
Our new Kinect and Android tablet
Apollo's new [loud and blinky] toys that he loves SO MUCH. How did I let him play with simple rattles before now? He's in love with trains.

We started out our day at midnight. Yes. Aaron and I just cannot wait for Christmas. Last year I think we opened our presents on Christmas eve or before. Aaron did a really good job on my stocking. Stockings in my family have fun gifts, necessities (like make up or underwear), and candy. Aaron's family is an all candy stocking family, so that's what I gave to him (and a lego Harry Potter thing). We bought a treadmill earlier this month for my Christmas present from my boss, and he got me the baby bullet. I got him a professional looking basket ball hoop that hangs over the door (seriously it looks awesome. I think he really liked it), another controller for his XBOX, and the Lord of the Rings movies on BluRay.

When Apollo woke up we took him to open his presents. He never really got the hang of pulling the paper off but once the paper was off he basically attacked all of his toys. I put baby food jars in his stocking :]. It was really fun.

We went to Tammy's house and opened presents with the family, it was really fun. Apollo loves his grandparents and cousin so much. It's so fun to see him interact with them. We had breakfast there and then went over to my family's house to open gifts. It's so nice to have my Aunt and cousin Marci and Sam and her daughter Zoe in Utah to have Christmas and other holidays with us.

Then it was dinner with Aaron's aunt, Jean. I love this tradition. Although Apollo was cranky because he didn't eat much or nap well the entire day it really was pleasant. He loves to watch his cousins play and laugh and Ruth and Devon's puppy play.

Anyway, I used the words So, Really, Love and Fun way too much in this blog post. But right now I am a happy girl. I really am in love with this baby of mine, my sweet husband and my great family.

Love ya!

Christmas-y Thoughts.

2011-12-22T13:34:00.000-08:00

This Christmas has been a more emotional, thought provoking one for me. The first Sunday in December, we sang Silent Night and I looked at the little girl next to me who was asleep on her moms shoulder as they sang "sleep in heavenly pea-aaace..." - I seriously had to choke back tears. Jesus was a BABY?! Why have I never thought about it before!

Okay, I know I've thought about the fact that Jesus was a baby before. I wasn't that oblivious before I had a child or anything. Babies are just so small and fragile! Christmas videos like this one I saw on Alyssa's blog, make me cry! I'm a wimp. seriously.

Anyway... I'm just rambling. Apollo's first Christmas is going to be small (and great). I am really in the Christmas spirit these days. I've been thinking a lot about traditions I want to do with our family. He's still so teeny a lot of these won't be so exciting until next year but here's two things I want to do every year. Hopefully we will have more as the years go by.

Lights at Thanksgiving Point

Temple Square

This is my favorite family picture... ever. We don't get to take many pictures together. We do get the ten minute over lap between jobs in the morning when Aaron gets home and in the evening when I get home. One day we will get to sleep in the same bed together :).

I love love love love love love love my life right now. I've honestly never been happier in my life. Although my bank account and scale aren't the happiest with me, I will forever cherish this time with my little family. I love Apollo's baby-ness. Sometimes I think about him walking and talking and I can't fathom it. He's starting to crawl, saying daddy (I can't tell if he really knows what he's saying yet...), and growling at us. He loves to drop his toys from his high chair, hold his bottle while laying on the ground and playing with his cousins.

I'm a happy happy girl.

Facebook.

2011-12-18T21:24:00.000-08:00

I deactivated my Facebook. In case anyone thinks I blocked them, I didn't! <3 Bonnie

probably stuff noone cares about.

2011-12-16T08:58:00.000-08:00

Last night I was watching Six Feet Under with my friend Trent. If you know the show, that probably tells you way more about my character and lack of proper TV watching than I probably should be sharing. If you don't know the show - it was on HBO... so, you know...

Anyway, there is this family on that show that are totally raising their baby like hippies. They call their bed the family bed (i hate that term) and stuff like that. Anyway, my friend Trent said "I'm so glad you're not like that," and it got me thinking. I thought I would love to do the whole hippie mom/attachment parenting routine. All you see online (babycenter, the nest) are people advocating these things or bashing people who don't do these things.

List of things I thought I would love to do with Apollo or Things I thought Apollo would like:

Baby wearing: If you've seen my baby you know he's ginormous and wiggly. He did not like the sling, he did not like the baby bjorn, he didn't like any of it. He loves to be carried, but not in a sling. I wish he would like the sling, because that kid weighs almost 25 pounds at 7 months.

Breastfeeding - I thought I would be one of those moms who would be able to whip it out no matter where I was/what I was doing (covered of course). Also, I had no earthly idea that breastfeeding hurt. so. much. I found out quickly I was way too modest, and could only breastfeed when I was alone. I did it for three months, and the thought of pumping at work made me sick, it still hurt, and I was done. It was a hard and sad decision, but I was relieved to be done. I will definitely do it again for my other kids.

Co-Sleeping - I don't necessarily mean the whole "family bed" thing, but I planned on sharing our room with him for quite awhile. I thought it would be nice to share the bed with Apollo sometimes, but not every night. Sometimes at night when I'm just too tired, I'll stick him in bed with me to give him a bottle. And then before he falls asleep he hits me in the face a hundred times trying to get comfortable. No bed sharing. He sleeps so soundly when he's on his own, he doesn't really like to be rocked to sleep any more. Binky, night night giraffe, blankie - he's out.

Cloth diapers - HA who am I kidding. I love cloth diapers. I love changing them, I love seeing his little body with a huge puffy diaper on, I love washing them, I love not buying diapers, I love that he RARELY has a blow out in my cloth diapers and I love that I bought probably the crappiest diapers on the planet and they're still working for us. I feel guilty when he poops in a disposable because you're not really supposed to throw poop in the trash. I think I'm going to start using cloth wipes too (CLOTH NAPKINS? save the planet!) Haha. I've really never cared about wasting stuff before, but it's been making me think lately about all of the crap I throw away. (plus I'm saving major bucks)

Another note:

Crying it out - not worth it. I have been letting him cry a little the past few weeks, when he's really fussy and everything has been taken care of. but if he cries more than a few minutes he's either not tired enough or just needs a little more help going to sleep. Usually he doesn't need me if he's actually tired. but that's just Apollo he's a pretty independent kid.

Last Night --

2011-12-05T06:49:00.000-08:00

I fed my baby his night time bottle. I gave him his binky and we cuddled for a minute. I laid him on his back, handed him his Night-Night Giraffe, and he rolled on to his side, hugging it close. I gave him a kiss on the cheek and he smiled through his binky, closing his eyes.

It was definitely the sweetest and most rewarding moment in my mothering experience.

a laughing baby.

2011-11-03T12:46:00.001-07:00

Untitled from Bonnie Herrmann on Vimeo.

Paul - 5&6 months

Stressin'

2011-10-27T08:16:00.000-07:00

I don't know what my deal is lately, but I am STRESSED OUT. Every night before I go to sleep, I am stressing out about work in the morning. I'm losing my mind. Nothing has really changed, but it's constant stress all day at work. Yikes.

Paulie on the other hand is awesome. Every month it seems like he grows in leaps and bounds and becomes more fun and mild mannered. He finally learned to roll over (both ways) last Sunday, and now he's lunging at things he wants, and starting to cry when we take something away from him. He can hold his bottle somewhat and willingly eats sweet potatoes. He loves to feed himself which is messy but fun. I love him, wanna squeeze him constantly.

I'm pretty sure he has outgrown his car seat. He's ginormous. He's wearing/busting out of 9 month clothes. My niece is eighteen months and I'm pretty sure they weigh the same, and he is solid and strong. He's not really the fattest baby I've ever seen, but he's really tall. He is so cute. Yesterday one guy told me that I had "Such a cute baby". You know it's true if a man is going to stop and tell you that, right? I was thinking about cutting his hair yesterday, because he has all these weird long hairs and then a ton of short hair, but I couldn't do it, the cashier at Walmart said "He has such long hair!". He's adorbs. I can't wait for Christmas with this little guy.

Relaxation tips? Go.

Polly.

2011-10-21T09:41:00.000-07:00

The sweetest.

Did you see the havest moon?

2011-10-07T16:58:00.000-07:00

If not, here's a sweet picture I took that night.

Also here is my sleeping gangsta baby:

And this picture and dress are deceiving. I'm still weigh a million lbs. but look at that baby's sprouty head!

Love my life.

2011-10-02T20:53:00.000-07:00

[Avada Kedavra]

He now has TWO teeth.

He's busting out of six month clothes.

He loves "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree" and "The Itsy Bitsy Spider".

He wakes up one hundred times a night lately.
He's peeing straight through his Sunbaby diapers.

At first he thought it was exciting but now absolutely hates cereal.

I'm absolutely in love with my baby boy.

Polly Wog has a tooth.

2011-09-27T21:21:00.000-07:00

Apollo's tooth popped through today, HALLELUJAH!

(Pictured above with Kortney Robinson)

diapers.

2011-09-27T10:58:00.000-07:00

- I just calculated some diaper savings and I think I will have saved almost a thousand dollars in Apollo's first year. That's including the disposable diapers I use at night. I bought some pretty cheap diapers but even on the expensive end I would have saved about 500. It evens out the fact that I use formula :(

- I hate when I change a disposable diaper and then Apollo poops in it seconds later. At least with cloth I don't feel like I'm wasting diapers.

- Washing diapers takes only seconds out of my day every two or three days. Start washer. Add detergent. Drop diapers in. Restart washer. Switch to dryer. Done!

- Changing diapers only takes three second more - throw away the wipes, separate the liner and the diaper, throw it in the pail. (this will be different when his poo changes to solid fed poo)

- I like his big fluffy butt.

- He's only had a couple diaper rashes - from disposables each time.

Apollo grows up.

2011-09-22T08:16:00.000-07:00

Now that Apollo is 5 months old, I've decided to try feeding him some cereal. The past few weeks have been awful with him waking up several times in the middle of the night to snack. He can't stay awake to finish his bottles because he's so sleepy so he ends up waking up a hundred times. He's been grabbing at our food and sitting up pretty well and weighs almost 20 lbs so I took the leap. I tried feeding him in his bumbo and it just wasn't working out. And he was so messy! Soooo.... I put him in the bath and was washing him up and thought the angle he was sitting in would have been easier to feed him. So basically I fed him the rest of his cereal in the bath. So whatever if my baby eats in the bath. I have no idea why i did that. But whatever, he loved it.

And guess what? He only woke up once the entire night.

Blah blah blah blogs are for complaining?

2011-09-20T21:32:00.000-07:00

Today has felt like one of those days where I just wanted to throw in the towel. I am so happy with my life these days but sometimes I feel I just deserve a break. I don't know if it's the fact that I was outside in the heat for hours today because of work (cute cheek sunburn fyi) in a stupid sweater or if it's Apollo's new teething routine of waking up 3-5 times a night. The worst part of the whole working situation is being alone at night. There aren't any hand-offs around here. It's all me or all Aaron all the time. Lonely.

The truth is Apollo is more fun than he's ever been. He's cute, smiley, laughs a lot, screams in delight when he sees his purple sing-a-majig and loves it when I sing the Popcorn song. I really love my life! But tonight I want to crawl in to bed in my clothes and wake up around noon tomorrow.

Also, I turned 23.

Pops.

2011-09-19T20:52:00.000-07:00

Untitled from Bonnie Herrmann on Vimeo.

Accidentally forgot to title this one, but here you go. Popo from 2-4 months.

Playdate.

2011-09-02T20:36:00.000-07:00

He wasn't really nervous until 4 month old Kortney showed him up by rolling across the floor.

But you know, baby steps.

At least we took a picture.

2011-09-01T22:19:00.000-07:00

Loving the family snapshot anniversary tradition. (I am so in love with that pajama'd baby).

Long time no blog.

2011-09-01T08:07:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've had two seconds to jot anything down. Now that I have a second I realie there isn't much to say. My life is on a strict routine these days.

Wake up, go to work, Aaron goes to school, come home, Aaron goes to bed, play with baby, feed baby, bathe baby, put baby to bed, Aaron wakes up, Aaron goes to work, I read for an hour, I go to sleep. Did you catch that? I see my husband about 10 minutes a day. literally. We don't even sleep at the same time.

I really am loving life right now. I'm enjoying work (what?), I love coming home to my cute and smiley baby, and more and more I'm finding I can get out with the baby when I need to - his schedule isn't so strict and he's napping way less.

Apollo is the best. He is so funny now! He can grab things really well and tries to put the bottle in his mouth, but really just throws it at his face. He really understands that he can participate in the world now he has no patience for eating or sleeping - no way! We used to know exactly when he would just drift off to sleep, but now he fights it (and us). So we keep him up a lot longer. He laughs all the time and he's so smiley and growls/gurgles all day long. Just writing this makes me miss him. Right now he's actually not feeling so good, so the past few days have been a little rough. I did a bad mom move the other day and stuck him in front of Toy Story. I just wanted to distract him from his stuffy nose for a little while. It lasted like 15 mins.

Some things I really need to work on: getting more active and cooking. I changed my schedule to have more time with Apollo during the day. So I still get time to do ... something while the baby takes a nap in the late afternoon. I need to use my time wisely. And we need to eat real food seriously... I think aaron has eaten 8543904 boxes of cereal since I became pregnant. Right now when we don't even get a chance to eat with each other it's hard to feel motivated to make anything. Especially anything healthy. I'd like to get back to the way i was eating before i was pregnant. And dropping a few pounds would be nice too.

anyway, blah blah blah, just getting it all out so at least I know I was alive August, 2011.

Life is good.

2011-08-16T15:57:00.001-07:00

Today I left for work at 6am. I started a new shift so I could be with my sweet boy longer during the day and so my husband can get some more sleep during the week.

I am blessed. I'm blessed I have a husband who goes to work and school most hours of the day. I have to remember that when I only get to see him for five or ten minutes out of a 48 hr period. I'm blessed to have a job with great insurance these past few months during my pregnancy and surgeries. And I'm grateful for a sweet baby who makes my life so joyful.

I am happy. I need to remember my trials are small.

Stuff that's going on

2011-08-01T20:30:00.000-07:00

Well this week has been fun. Okay maybe the opposite of that. It's gone by in a blur anyhow... Probably you don't need to read this blog because it's all boring.

On Wednesday I was taking a break with Gurney and my brother at work. All of a sudden I started to feel really nauseous and we were joking that I was probably pregnant. And then I thought I was having a heart attack. And then I couldn't talk because I couldn't breathe. Fast forward ten minutes - I was in the car praying that I would pass out because I was in so much pain - But then I changed my mind because Gurney was already trying to deal with me practically DYING in the car - and carrying me into the ER wouldn't have been the best idea.

Fast forward an hour - I'm on an ER bed and the teeny room is full and I'm starting to feel better and I'm kind of ticked because I think they're not even going to find anything. They give me some good drugs and take me up for an ultrasound and the tech tells me I'm pregnant with twins. Ha. I almost laughed. My gall bladder though is FULL of stones. I couldn't believe how full it looked. The thing has got to come out that night or the next day.... coool.... The next few days are a blur - My gall bladder comes out, but there are stones in my bile duct so I have to have another surgery. My mother in law visited but I can't remember anything we talked about. I got to see my baby. My heart rate kept dropping and I kept forgetting to breathe while coming out of the anesthesia. I said a lot of weird things to the nurses like "Only like TWO of those people were even nice to me," after my second procedure. I asked my surgeon "COULD I HAVE DIED?" afterward.

The great news is that I hit my deductible when I had Apollo so you know, thats over and done with.

Mostly I'm surprised that I didn't know anything was up before Wednesday. But I guess these kinds of things happen during and after pregnancy.

This morning I slept with my baby in my arms and it was really nice. I've felt so disconnected because of my surgery and everything. It was really starting to wear me down. I just put him down for bed after his bath ( my absolute favorite part of the day ) and he is just so sweet and perfect... I love him.

I think sometimes I make him seem awful on this blog. I try to keep things real - I mean he's a baby and cries - but he is the cutest, happiest and smiliest little baby I've ever seen.

Also it's my anniversary - we went out for dinner at Goodwood but to be honest it kind of drowned in the surgery bidness.

2011-07-13T18:04:00.000-07:00

Apollo from Bonnie Herrmann on Vimeo.

Back to work.

2011-07-13T17:15:00.000-07:00

(Adrianne's pet peeve. Pictures of drool/spit up covered babies.)

Today marks a week going back to work after having Apollo. Is it bad of me to say I am loving it? Honestly I feel like I am getting a break (and getting paid to do so) by working for 8 hours. I come home and love on this little guy like there is no tomorrow! I feel like I miss him exactly enough, and he could do nothing to annoy me (not that he really does, but you know sometimes the crying can put you on edge). I love seeing my work friends, having conversations that don't revolve around poop, and having lunch with adults. (am I really an adult?)

The other night when I went to see Harry Potter I had a really rough day the next day. I had barely seen my baby and I was worried that he "forgot" me. I know thats not true and I just like to beat myself up about everything.. but still! It was hard not to see my baby for more than an hour or so. Love that kid man. He's so sweet. Today when I came home he gave me SO much love and smiles. I LOVE HIM.

All ready for Aunt Marci's house.

Apollo really follows this schedule I stumbled upon: sleep routines. After about an hour of being awake he starts to get a little cranky and if I wrap him up he goes silent, and if I bounce him, he goes to sleep. The only exception is in the evening before bed - he'll stay up for 3 or 4 hours. But honestly I love that sleep routine thing... I will send it to each new mom. I know it worked for me, and it might not work for others, but if you have a baby that seems to cry for no reason or won't nap... I would give it a try. I found it after the first 3 weeks or so and it really changed my thinking... anyway

this seems to be our new routine(ish):

I wake up around 7:00 to Apollo's eating requests and he falls asleep again

7:50 I leave for work

8:15 Aaron takes Apollo to my Aunt's house in American Fork and goes to school

10:00 Feeding and play time for Apollo

11:00 Naptime/Aaron picks up Apollo

1:00 Feeding and play time

2:00 Naptime

4:00 feeding and play time

5:00 I come home

5:30 Aaron leaves for work/sometimes Apollo naps but it seems like most of the time he is up and happy until

7:00 Usually once he starts getting grumpy I give him a bath, lotion him up, warm pjs in the dryer... He LOVES bath time and so do I!

7:30 Swaddle and Bottle. killer combination... the kid is out within minutes after laying him down drowsy.

10:00... My plan is to wake him up at ten to give him another bottle so hopefully his long sleep (usually 5-6 hours) is during my sleep time... but this isn't really working, he still wakes up around 2 and 5. I also wish 7:30 bed time could be just a nap, but he won't have it man.... This boy loves his sleep and thrives on his own little routine. I love that he's so predictable.

2:00 Bottle and back to bed (he's awesome like that)

5:00 Bottle and back to bed.

2 month stats

2011-06-29T21:07:00.001-07:00

12.9 lbs

23 1/4 inches long

Poor baby had to get shots today. He is not a happy camper. He was awake for four hours straight just now, and so sad and whiney. Hopefully he will sleep pretty well tonight.

2011-06-29T07:53:00.001-07:00

Can't get enough.

2011-06-28T21:14:00.000-07:00

Just took this photo three seconds ago. Turned off the flash, put it right on the mattress and let the camera do its thing. I'm so in love it hurts.

Apollo is two months old as of Monday.

As you can see here he is growing out of his 0-3 clothing. and that is a DISPOSABLE diaper under there folks...

He is smiling.

gurgling.

cooing.

tooting.

His most favorite thing to do is to sneeze.

He sleeps well at night - but has a hard time staying asleep during nap times.

He loves it when anyone plays with his piggies.

He loooves to be talked to.

He's trying to swat at toys and faces.

And he cannot sleep unswaddled.

He cries hardest when he's sleepy, but wants to stay awake and see the world.

He loves mom, but REALLY loves dad and his grandmas.

and what do we call him?

Little Guy

Pollywog

Bucky

Paul

Paulie

Spotticus

Pretty much everyone we meet thinks his name is Paolo. So you know. Whatever.

Itty Bitty

2011-06-24T10:54:00.000-07:00

My little babe isn't so bitty any more...

How did he go from this:

to THIS:

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! so in looove.

I seriously think this kid weighs like 12 lbs. Everyday it seems like he is getting heavier and fatter.

Also, a lot of people have been asking how cloth diapering is going. You wanna talk about poop? Lets do it. The first 6 weeks Apollo would poop like 8 times a day. Basically every time he ate he would poo. Now, he only poops like every other day or even every three days. AND ITS HUGE. Especially since little Apollo hasn't been pooping as much it is the easiest thing in the world.

Reasons I like cloth:

1. Saving money

The diapers I'm using are Sunbaby Diapers and they are pretty much the cheapest diapers you can get. I haven't tried any other diapers, so I can't really compare, but they have worked really well for us so far. I spent about 100 dollars on 24 diapers (which is probably more than I needed) and I have spent 20 bucks on a box of newborn diapers before these babies could work for us (plus you know... circumcision grossness). So I feel like we are saving a ton of cash, especially while he was pooping alll the time. I think eventually (like maybe when I go back to work) I will branch out and try a few different kinds, but for now these are really working for us.

2. Just as easy as a disposable... well almost

With cloth diapers you do have to change more often - I change him every 2 hours unless he is sleeping, then I just change him when he wakes up - before a feeding. I tend to go a little longer with disposables Overnight I'm still using disposable diapers. Anyway - while he is still breastfed, the poo can go straight into the washing machine. Yeah that sounds kind of gross. But all I do is take the diaper off, throw the wipes away, take out the insert and toss the whole thing in the diaper pail. Then after about a day or two I just dump the whole pail into the washing machine - Hot wash with no detergent and then another Hot wash with detergent and then throw it all in the dryer. seriously so easy and takes maybe ten minutes out of my day to stuff the diapers.

3. They are really cute.

In a few months when he is eating solids the poo will change from an easy, liquidy, yellow poo to a more solid and stinkier adult like poo. Then maybe I won't like it as much, but we'll see how it goes. At that point you have to dump the solids into the toilet and flush it. They do have these liners you can put in the diaper so it all just falls out at once, so thats my plan. But we shall see how it goes.

Breastfeeding.

2011-06-20T22:19:00.000-07:00

Okay. I know one time I said that it has gotten easier. And then I said it again.

and then everyday I tell someone (usually Adrianne... sorry I'm a whiner...) that I'm going to quit. Each week I give it another week. Someone told me it gets better after 2 weeks.. and then someone else told me it gets better after six weeks.

and at 8 weeks... SERIOUSLY IT IS STILL HURTING ME. It's just this one side, and it's the side thats harder for both of us latching wise, and the one that hurt more in the very beginning. I feel like it just hasn't had a chance to recover. So once it starts to get better.... he decides to crane his neck or start wiggling around and will not let go - further damaging .... well everything. I'm doing everything right - we have a good latch now, but I think it is possible that my milk supply might be lower because of how awful it was in the very beginning.

BUT - I don't hate it anymore. At first I hated how long it took to breastfeed him and how I had to spend 45+ minutes sitting alone with him. I'm enjoying the time we spend alone together, and now it takes 30 minutes instead of almost a full hour. But to be honest, I get almost the same satisfaction when I give him a bottle. Plus, I can see how much he is getting and don't have to worry about what I've been eating.

It has definitely been a challenge, and it's going to get even harder when I go back to work. I'm sometimes jealous of people that have zero problems with breastfeeding and zero worries about breastfeeding. But these little baby steps of it getting better or easier give me hope and help me continue.

blah blah blah.... talk about something besides being a mom and whining -- right?

Okay let me tell you a secret (Thats not a secret if you've ever met me basically...)

I pee my pants a lot.

Loveya!

Stationery card

2011-06-19T10:29:00.001-07:00

Hello Baby Navy Birth Announcement

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View the entire collection of cards.

Father's Day

2011-06-19T09:30:00.000-07:00

I couldn't ask for a better husband, or better father for Apollo.

And I couldn't ask for a better (or funnier) father

and my son gets an honorable mention as well.

The past few days have been pure bliss with these three men in my life. My new favorite memory was made this morning as Apollo, Aaron and I made each other laugh this morning. I love my boys so much.

A-Pollywog can smile.

2011-06-15T10:21:00.001-07:00

Gah, that gummy mug gets me every time.

I love this one... his chunkiness... his cloth diaper.

I'm in love! Well... at least right now while he's sleeping...

2011-06-14T17:53:00.001-07:00

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com

.

2011-06-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

When Apollo has his morning freak out I usually take photo booth pictures with him. I mean, why should both of us be sad right? And also, I donated 10 inches of my hair to locks of love. I've been wanting to do that forever.

Yesterday I went on my first run since I've had Apollo. And it was awesome. I can't wait to be back where I was before I had him. I only ran about a mile and a half and it took me forever, but we will see. I also was able to go to the store, cleaned my bathroom and do laundry. IM COMING BACK Y'ALL! I'm finally recovering from this baby haze... OR I'm just used to the lack of sleep at this point. Here's a typical day for us:

6 am feeding - lately he'll fall asleep for about an hour after this

7 am - aaron gets up with him, I have no idea what goes on at this point

9 am feeding

10 am SCREAMFEST 2011 - Apollo cries for about an hour, inconsolable and finally passes out after bouncing him in his bouncer. until about noon - this is when i get stuff done. (like wash a load of diapers)

12 pm feeding - He usually stays up after this feeding for about an hour and we play until he starts screaming and then i put him down for a nap for like half an hour.

3pm feeding - I usually give him a bottle at this point. I haven't decided if I'm going to continue breast feeding when I go back to work - but I'm definitely not going to pump 3x. He usually will fall asleep after playing for a little bit.

6pm feeding - if aaron isn't home during the evening because of work we like to get out of the house for a couple of hours - like going over to grandmas. He gets a lot of attention over there and will sometime stay up til his 9 o clock feeding.

After he eats and we drive home I throw his pajamas in the dryer, give him a bath, lotion him up and put him in his warm pjs and a disposable diaper. He looooves warm pjs after getting out of the bath and being dried off. We cuddle in the rocking chair and maybe read a book. I feed him 2 hours after his last feeding and swaddle him up and put him in his crib. This is such a nice part of the day for me at least. Even if he's screaming his head off during the bath or while rocking. He sleeps until 3 am for his next feeding and will go right back to sleep until his 6 am feeding when it starts all over again.

Sometimes you feel like a rockstar

2011-06-06T19:40:00.000-07:00

And sometimes you don't.

Yesterday I started a post about how awesome I was because for 4 hours in a row I was able to keep my baby as happy as possible - the moment he fussed I knew exactly what he needed. Then.... over night I could do nothing to please the child. Every time he woke up he screamed for about an hour. Usually he's awesome and just gets up to eat and falls right back to sleep. During the day I pretty much know he'll eat - stay up for about an hour - and then he needs to be put to sleep or he will just cry for hours.

I feel like I've lost myself in baby land. For myself all I care about is getting a shower and getting dressed. I had no idea how much time a little baby could take, especially when they're this small and not getting into anything or causing mischief. But right now I am loving it... most of the time. There are times I crave for a schedule again, and almost desire to go back to work. but then i remember how unglamorous my job is.

Also I need a haircut:

Post Partum.

2011-05-25T22:09:00.000-07:00

This picture makes me laugh a lot. It's like I am a real life mom or something. I'll look like this for the next ten years or so. Baby in one arm, diaper bag in the other. Also, my hair is a gazillion inches long.

I lost all of my baby weight in about 2 weeks from when I had Mr. Apollo. Not that that is normal or anything. And obviously my body isn't exactly the same as it was 9 months ago. And it's not like I was skinny before or anything, but I am feeling good! I'm glad that I didn't have a rough recovery. A few days after Apollo was born, I took him to the pediatrician, and the woman next to me had to sit on one of those inflatable doughnuts. Yikes. So glad I didn't have to deal with that.

The first two weeks after I had Apollo I had the major baby blues. I won't go into it too much, but I pretty much cried everyday about the smallest things. I felt like Aaron and I had no time together, it was always separate with baby or together with the baby. My mom told me she felt this way when she had me, and I always thought it sounded so... silly (sorry mom), like DUH having a baby is going to change your relationship right? But now I completely understand that feeling now. But now it just feels right having a little baby in our family and we still have time to just be Bonnie and Aaron. I think a major factor contributing to the blues was that Breast feeding hurt, took forever and still I have no idea if my baby is getting enough to eat which is really stressful. But it all got better.

I do love having a newborn. It's so much fun to be a mom, even though sometimes feel like I am just waiting and waiting for him to stop crying/to just go to sleep. My favorite times of the day are when he is slowly drifting off to sleep. Is that terrible of me?

Yesterday was awesome. It was almost as if he just realized who I am all of a sudden. He looked up at me and said "Ah!" and gave me a big toothless grin.

2011-05-24T11:23:00.000-07:00

I'm going to upload this photo and pretend that he wasn't screaming his head off. yes. he was just smiling and cooing.

2011-05-24T07:36:00.000-07:00

Hoping I've found the cure to the morning fussiness.

I think after a long night in the bassinet, maybe he just misses me and needs to be close.

2011-05-21T18:48:00.000-07:00

Evening mommy-hood.

I love my baby sleeping on my chest like this. He is so sweet.

My brother came home from his mission to North Carolina on Wednesday, and so far it has been a blast. Also, my cousin Eliza was married on Friday, so between the two, Apollo and I have had a busy 3 days. Today I am enjoying being home with both of my boys.

Being a mom is crazy and awesome. My life revolves around whether Apollo is getting enough to eat. And honestly, how could you know? Do I trust a three week old to tell me he's hungry?? really?? I'm slowly realizing I need to just chill out and roll with whatever feeding pattern he wants. As for sleep (everyone seems to ask), I feel like I'm getting enough but I am definitely not. I have the energy to do whatever I need to do, but then by the end of the day I CRASH and barely wake up to feed the baby, or fall asleep while feeding the baby. It's hard for me to nap during the day, even though everyone says "sleep when the baby sleeps" thats really hard to do. I thought it would be a breeze. Psych.

Breastfeeding is definitely getting better. Really that's all I have to say about that. I remember someone in my last ward (before I was even pregs) out of the blue telling me that I needed to stick out breastfeeding for 13 days, and thats when it will stop hurting. And... it did!

I think my hardest times are when he's crying and I know he's not hungry and not wet and I just have no idea what to do for him. I never thought a baby's cries could affect me so much. It sounds different when it's someone else's baby - easy to ... ignore... not that I would ignore a baby's crying, but I wouldn't panic when I couldn't figure out what's wrong... does that make sense? Anyway, Aaron swoops in and saves the day with a cuddle. I get so caught up in the details like, is he uncomfortable? Hungry? Trying to poo? That I don't realize that maybe he just needs a blankie and a pal.

My very favorite thing right now is playing with Apollo. Sometimes he will be crying and all he needs is for someone to shake a rattle in front of him and he quiets down and gets real serious. He's so sweet. Gah! I love my Polli-bear

Lovin' it.

Two Weeks.

2011-05-13T20:14:00.000-07:00

Aaron calls Apollo "Little Baby Guy", we probably call him that more than anything else. Our little baby guy is now 8 pounds, 9 ounces. At two weeks he gained a whole pound from birth! Whaaat? I feel like that is awesome, and makes me think this whole milk thing is working out for him. It's hard to know if he gets enough nutrition.

He has also grown an inch and a half! which puts him at 21 and 1/2 inches and in the 86th percentile for height.

And as for me, I'm back to what I was before I was pregnant. Freakin' Awesome! Now I just have to lose like 20 pounds.. ha.

I feel like there isn't much to say about me and what I've been up to. I'm just busy being Apollo's mom, and googling everything that I think might be wrong with him.

Today was kind of rough. On Tuesday he had his circumcision which I really hate worrying about. One time we took off his diaper and he started bleeding a ton and I called the doctor frantically, and she was like "no worries, it stopped right?" I feel like everything is 100000X worse to me than it really is. Like worrying about his umbilical cord- I had him lying on my stomach, and when I picked him up I must have rubbed it against my shirt and it was half off and you would have thought I killed the boy I felt so bad about it. He didn't even cry! I have to remind myself that there are worse parents out there than me, and their kids turn out just fine.

Anyway, I think his circumcision must be bothering him because it seemed like he cried all day today. I took him outside just in my arms and we went for a short walk and he was in a daze. He LOVED it outside. We've taken him for walks in the stroller, but I think being able to feel the wind on his face or something just made him calm down.

Love this guy!

This is him after we went on our walk. I think he was still day dreaming about it.

Mother's Day

2011-05-09T18:19:00.000-07:00

Mothers day? Mother's day? Mothers' Day?

I'll never know.

But here are the detes:

I spent a nice quiet day at home with my number one sweetheart. I love him to pieces.

He's definitely his mother's child, if you've ever heard me hiccup... Well it's loud.

Apollo's Hiccups from Bonnie Herrmann on Vimeo.

and alsoooo:

Some pearl earrings from my sweet husband. yeah, he's the best.

I also got five minutes to talk to my awesome baby brother, Zach. He is coming home from his mission in 9 days! I haven't seen this boy in two years, he is my best friend. He is excited to meet Mr. Apollo.

Being a mom is awesome and that first week was definitely an emotional roller coaster. Those baby blues come at you hard and fast! I am not sure if I have gone a day without crying about something [usually something silly]. I love visitors, but I REALLY like spending time with my little bitty family. Today we took a family nap... Parents on the couch, babe in the bassinet... and maybe we only got an hour of shut eye but I feel rejuvenated and happy as a clam.

Also, our sweet little baby learned how to cry and cried the entire night last night. How fitting for Mothers Day! The more we fall into a routine (if you can even call it that....), the easier the days seem to go by. One thing though I can't say I'm in love with is BREASTFEEDING. I am definitely a huge advocate for breast feeding, and I will continue to do it, but man... nobody told me how much it HURT. And that they can spend up to an HOUR eating. Maybe my babe just likes to take his time, but I will start feeding him at 6 am, finish at 7 and then he is ready to eat again at 8:30. I do love spending that time with him, and I'm lucky he hasn't had trouble latching or anything. But how easy would it be to just make a bottle.... and give it to my husband.... so easy. But it's all good. I don't know how people go back to work after just a month with their baby. I love him.

More pictures of my cute little boy.

2011-05-07T12:59:00.000-07:00

At the hospital Bella Baby came and took some sweet photos of my new little baby. Here is our latest family photo. I am in love with it.

Here's Apollo at one week:

And here is apollo today:

So cute. I really love my boys.

A Traumatic Experience.

2011-05-01T19:31:00.000-07:00

I just want him to stay 6 days old forever.

Nothing can prepare you for the moment when your first born child pees and poops in the bathtub.

The funny part is yesterday I was so worried because he wouldn't poop...

The bath was going well (as well as a newborn screaming fit can go) and then he peeped in his face... You know, no big deal right? Well then as we sat him up to do his back I heard this giant toot and well.... basically that was it for me. My mother in law was laughing her head off as I was saying "Well, I'm done, good luck over here..." it was hilarious. I've bathed him twice since we've been home, and I will make sure someone is there again next time too. And the next. In fact I will never bathe this child alone.

Today I changed four diapers in an hour. Seriously. My sister in law was changing his diaper when a beautiful stream of yellow sprayed him in the face. She panicked and stepped away, while I (The amazing new mother I am) caught the stream in my hands. Not before it hit his entire face/mouth. HAHA. I love being a mom to this guy:

My hair looks like an octopus in this picture. Just picture only the hair...

HA!! I love it.

A really long post about Apollo's birth.

2011-04-29T05:43:00.001-07:00

(here is my attempt at journaling my experience becoming apollo's momma. Don't feel like you have to read this... or comment.. My brain is all over the place.)

Eee. I love my baby so much. He is the best.

This is going to be a mess -- but I just wanted to write this down for me really fast.

I went into the doctor on Monday and the doctor decided to send me over for a Non Stress Test at the hospital because my blood pressure was high. (but also I had just been pulled over so duh my blood pressure was high) they monitored me for a million years and it was normal the rest of the time, but the doctor decided to induce me because the baby's heart beat dropped once and also the other medical stuff thats been going on. I was so excited/scared. I kept feeling really guilty, like I was making the baby come before he needed to. he doctor kept scaring me by mentioning c-section, because there is a higher risk of a c-section with an induction (at least on the first baby, I'm not sure about 2nds or 3rds) I had so much to do around the house but I couldn't make myself do anything. I just was in this state of shock and awe that I would be going into the hospital that night, and coming out with a baby.

I went into the hospital at nine, where they gave me Cervidil to kick start my labor by softening the cervix. I had the worst nurse ever. Okay not really but she kept trying to like.... SCARE me about labor. When they had to put an IV in she was like waving the stupid thick needle around and saying how this was the worst part of her labors, and she did it natural and blah blah blah. Instant panic mode. I am so glad my mom was there with me, because Aaron was at work. He came at around midnight and slept on the couch in the room. I think I slept for about an hour and then

Then, they were going to give me Pitocin at 6 am. I didn't expect contractions to start until I was given the Pitocin, but they were there all night long. I started to REALLY feel them at 3 am and that was enough for me. I think I was able to sleep one hour in between 9 and 6 am. I practically begged for the epidural.... I don't really remember most of this but apparently I asked like 6 times about the epidural and Aaron basically wanted to tell me to shut up.

The REAL mistake here is that my nurse mentioned that I could probably get it if I was dilated to x amount, and then LIED TO ME and said I was at x amount. And then she told me what time the anesthesiologist came in. And then her shift was over. So who's REALLY at fault here? (me).

Once I got the epidural I was able to sleep, but to me it seemed like an hour from when I got the epidural that it was time to push. The weird thing about the epidural is that it takes away the stingy ouchy pains, but you can feel all of the pressure. Every hour and a half they would check my cervix to see how dilated I was. (WHICH REALLY REALLY hurt before the epidural) I was stuck at 5 centimeters for about three hours, and they like first time moms to dilate about a cm every hour and a half apparently, so of course they had to worry me about the baby not fitting or something stupid. Anyway, the next check I was about 6 cm dilated, so they weren't worried anymore.

All of a sudden I started to feel like, INTENSE pressure. It seriously felt like a bowling ball resting on my pelvis and I couldn't contract ANY muscles south of the border, if you know what I am saying. It was definitely an odd sensation and would have hurt WAY worse had I not had the epidural, but was intense enough for me as it was. Actually it was a pretty cool feeling. Aaron was super sweet with me after I got the epidural, he tried to distract me with filling out forms (duh, like my number one hobby). I don't think I was very nice with him throughout the process... but I definitely wasn't like mean or mad at him or anything like that. I just wanted to suffer in peace most of the time. Anyway, I started to feel that intense pressure and twenty minutes later had the nurse check me and I was 10 cm dilated and fully effaced -- ready to go. It was so exciting. I have no sense of time for any of this, really, but what we did was "rest and descend" which means I didn't push, we just let the baby come downwith the contractions. So instead of pushing for a million hours, we just did that. Which was really intense. The feeling of needing to push was so strong.

Pushing was really cool. Honestly, the desire to push made it easy to follow directions and do whatever it took to get that baby out. I loved this part, as intense as it was. I only pushed for about twenty minutes. The feeling was so strong, the pressure was crazy and it burned like crazy too. I wish I could explain it. The best part was how much everyone in the room was cheering me on, it was like I had my own cheer squad. Everyone kept saying how good of a pusher I was (but maybe that was just to keep up my spirits)...

The feeling of the baby coming out

was AWESOME. I seriously felt every limb leaving my body. I am definitely not one of those women who miss being pregnant. I do not miss the feeling of the baby moving, having a round, rock hard stomach, I definitely don't miss my allergic reactions to the the pregnancy hormones... being not pregnant is 19453434 times better than being pregnant.

Anyway, the plan was for the baby to be placed on my tummy, but the doctor totally forgot (and apologized 4092490380 times about it) but right above me I got to see Aaron cutting the cord, and our sweet little baby covered in all of his bidness. Aaron grabbed the camera and took a few shots of the baby being cleaned off. And then it was my turn. As the doctor stitched me up, (OW. Worst thing of my life. honestly. I was grabbing the doctors arm the whole time) I was handed my sweet babe, he was cute, and so quiet. Content just to stare at me.

I love him so much.

Everything is honestly such a blur. I feel like such a bad mom sometimes. The baby didn't get to eat for a long time because there were a million people there at one point. Also, we didn't have his bath for a long time for the same reason. I feel so bad writing that, because I didn't realize it at the time. Aaron just told me the nurses said it was okay to go that long without feeding so I shouldn't feel THAT bad.

The first few hours after having Apollo were kind of crazy. Getting up to go to the bathroom was practically traumatic. I had no idea how much you bled after having a baby. I laughed in the nurses face when she showed me my panties and the pads I had to wear. Honestly, I don't know why they don't just put you in a diaper after having a baby... the pads were like 10 inches wide and like 15 inches long or something. At least thats how it seemed. There was a whole process to follow after going to the bathroom and it was just... seriously crazy. I almost died when they said to let them know if I passed a clot bigger than my FIST. What?????

I'm glad I spent the time in the hospital that I did, being a first time mom and everything. It was so nice to have the nurses help you with all of your questions, especially about nursing. But I'm not sure I'd want to spend all the time in there again. At one point they took him away to do a blood test (this makes me so mad) the blood test was for hemophilia, which runs in my family, but they had to get like an adult sized tube of his blood, which is so ridiculous for a days old baby. So I asked them to bring him to me when it was time, and then it took like 3 hours to get him after that. The poor baby went like 6 hours without eating because she kept him away from me for so long, and then was too tired to eat a) because he was starting to get a little jaundice, which makes them sleepy and b) because his blood sugar levels were down :(:(:( ugh it makes me just so sad that she did that. All I wanted was to see my baby... and for him to get some freaking nutrition. As a result, we had to wait an extra 6 hours to leave because they needed to test his blood sugar levels before two feedings. gahhhh it made me sooo sad when they told me his blood sugar levels were "critically low" and I totally cried, thinking I was just the worst mom in the world. As soon as he was fed again his levels went way up, and he was able to leave with us.

Being home is just the best feeling in the world. I am so in love with my little family, and about 90% of the time I'm totally emotional about it. I just want to take care of Aaron and Apollo and do nothing else for the rest of my life. I love them. Aaron supported me so well between pregnancy and definitely through labor and being home with the baby.

Our baby is the sweetest thing. He doesn't cry very much or for very long, and I could just stare at him all day. I know it could change and that he may be quite the crier in a couple of weeks, but for now I just love him. I want to marry him.

Do -

Take a shower before you leave for the hospital

I don't think I was able to shower for 36 hrs after I got to the hospital. My friend even TOLD me to do this, and I forgot. It hadn't been long since I took a shower, but next time I will make sure I get the best shower EVER before I go.

Get a pedicure/facial/manicure

This is probably the best preparation I did for childbirth. Yeah, maybe my feet, face, and hands swelled up to giant proportions, but DANG my toes looked good and the nurses all told me so.

Ask the nurses for anything you need.

I kept feeling guilty and that I was getting in their way or getting on their nerves.

Let the nurses take the baby overnight.

Now that I'm home, every little coo or wiggle makes me worried he's hungry/wet/thinks that there is a lion out to get him. I'll never sleep again. HE'S SO CUTE. I have heard friends say they couldn't sleep because how could they know that the baby is breathing? I thought that sounded so silly... until last night

Let people bring you dinner.

I saw a woman the other day who had a baby the same day Apollo was born, and I just felt so bad for her. She had to sit on this inflatable donut and was limping to sit down in the waiting room at the pediatric office. That being said, it is a busy time to have to worry about cooking dinner, and I am not nearly in the shape that some people are after their birth experience... ouch.

Apollo Cody Herrmann.

2011-04-28T23:03:00.001-07:00

Apollo Cody Herrmann

April 26th, 2011

2:37pm

Seven Pounds, Nine Ounces

and perfect...

If you asked me how it felt, I couldn't tell you.

One week.....

2011-04-24T05:22:00.000-07:00

Seriously, who can believe I'm still pregnant.

I'm back on that thing where I don't sleep (even on ambien, freak me out)

but it's cool. One day (SOON, PLEASE) I'll have a little baby keeping me up instead of itchy palms.

yeeeaaay!

Almost 39 weeks and a word about my pregnant body.

2011-04-22T17:09:00.001-07:00

Here are some cute pictures Aaron took of me. My hair is freshly dyed and I am feeling good with a manicure and it looks like i put makeup on for once.... but dont' be fooled there is also this picture where my belly doesn't look round or cute and I weigh a million lbs.

What do you think?

I feel like I am happy with my pregnant body. I've accepted the fact that I am huge, and that everyone will tell me so. I don't think my pregnancy could have been better in that way. I'm stretched to the point of no return, (okay maybe not no return...) I've gained exactly the amount my doctor wanted me to (not necessarily what I wanted to ), I've taken care of myself. I was lucky enough to not get a puffy face, or gain a ton of weight anywhere but my stomach.

I'm 5'2 and there is literally nowhere for this baby to go but out, although other people can't accept this and ask how much weight I've gained or ask if I'm having twins or ask if I'm overdue, I feel like I am just.... just pregnant.

Things I want other people to know:

Don't stress about weight gain. Be as healthy as you can be (I know I wasn't ;) ) and you will gain what your body needs you to gain.
Stretch marks: if you have ever had them (anywhere), you will probably get them. Some people do not get them, but try not to compare. Accept that you will probably get them or you are in for a long and depressing ride. There are tons of "home remedies" that say that they will prevent them buuuuut, really just accept that you will get them and go from there.

and also... looking at that pictures I think that wearing tighter shirts make you look pregnant, and drapey clothes or dresses make you look fat and ugly. I haven't really worn much tight clothing, but just looking at those pictures I think it might be true...

Adriannnnnne.

2011-04-20T20:53:00.001-07:00

I just had the best day I have had in awhile!

Adrianne and I bought the 22$ facial, pedicure and manicure Groupon. We started out at Target, where we found a cute dress for Adrianne's graduation. Then we ate a pretzel.

and then we had facials (My first... amazing)
and I got glitter toes.
and my nails are freshly purple.

THENNNNnnn we drove around Utah looking for anywhere that could give us hair feathers.... they were nowhere to be found. So we decided to go to Sally's where they also didn't sell them -- but the cash register by some luck had brought some to work with her and charged us five dollars.

Awesome.

Add about 5 hours of Adrianne and I being really annoying to our nail technicians and chattering the whole time

Loved it! I almost feel guilty for being on Maternity leave because I had such a great day! LOVE YOU ADRIANNE! thanks for being my bff.

Adventures in Ambien...

2011-04-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

Doc put me on Ambien so that I can sleep through the night. After sleeping only 6 hours in three days, I was miserable. Everything has been so much more bearable since I've been able to get to sleep. The nights are definitely the worst!

When I went to the doctor on Monday he agreed to do some tests, but said that they woul take at few days to determine what was goin on, but it looks like I am at least allergic to pregnancy. Yeah that sounds weird... But I guess it's pretty common to become allergic to the pregnancy hormones in the last few weeks of pregnancy. When I went into the doctor, he said we would induce if the test came back high, other wise he would do it in one more week.

As soon as I was able to sleep through the night, though, I felt 204% better. And I'm hoping to convince him to just let me go naturally. I can rip my skin off for the next week and a half? right? He could just tell how miserable I was. (mostly because I cried really hard). My feet are definitely in constant pain so I made my way over to Old Navy and bought myself some 2 dolla flip flops. all in all, I'm good, the baby is good. And whatever, in ten days or so It will all be over.

Really I haven't had a bad pregnancy experience minus this, and through dr. google research it seems that it really only happens in first pregnancies (and apparently is much worse if your'e carrying a boy, go figure). Pregnancy is just so weird. There are soooo many symptoms and things that can go wrong. Sorry I've been such a whiner!

Here's my chat with Aaron the first night I took Ambien:

me: i hear a cow?

aaron.s.herrmann: hmm

that might be the drugs....

8:21 PM me: heah

8:22 PM aaron.s.herrmann: you still there bebe?

8:23 PM me: veaflh

barely

aaron.s.herrmann: he he

8:24 PM well maybe you should just shut your eyes and put the computer on the floor

me: mehbeh

8:25 PM aaron.s.herrmann: aww I love you when you are sweepy

the doped up kind

8:27 PM me: uh havin funn deams

8:28 PM aaron.s.herrmann: ha ha ha

I bet

drug dreams are the best kind

8:33 PM me: i totally jus drift sauceded

8:37 PM i think i' out

aaron.s.herrmann: he he he

I lub you bebe

have a good sleepy time

I won't even get into the part where I woke him up in the middle of the night to look at my foot which i told him was a craft project. Or the part where this lady was sitting in a chair next to me "helping me" with my craft project. Or the part where a goblin made fun of this girl who was wearing a wedding dress.

BUT, i will tell you I told aaron the Goblin was a little boy because I didn't want to scare him. but then he asked "Is the little boy Apollo?" and I snapped at him "APOLLO WOULD NEVER DO THAT!" because the goblin was then jumping on the couch.

Other interesting things happened, but I've only heard them second hand. The above is all I remember.

38 weeks.

2011-04-18T03:52:00.001-07:00

So it seems like I've developed a condition called Cholestasis, which is a liver malfunction during pregnancy

Basically, the main sign is that the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet become itchy, and then you can get the worst itch of your life over your whole body, and it becomes worse over night. Seriously the last few nights I have only been able to sleep about twenty minutes at a time before waking up. Last night I was able to get to sleep from 12:30 to 12:45 and 2:30 to 3:30, and I was up for the rest of the morning. I have spent hours and hours in a cold shower, let me tell you.

Fetal consequences include:

Fetal distress
Meconium ingestion
Meconium aspiration syndrome
Stillbirth

YUCK. Yeah, not the best of situations for the baby. It's a pretty rare condition, but my cousin recently went through the same thing, and throughout my family there have been troubles with jaundice and things like that. Usually, it's recommended to induce at 37 weeks with this condition. I'm scared to go to the doctor today and for him not to not to induce me or give me medication because he needs to do tests that take about a week to get back.

I don't really want to be induced, but the stuff above is dangerous, and I'm seriously the most miserable I've ever been in my life. Mostly the fact that I can't get relief by sleeping is the hardest part. Antihistamines don't help, I cannot stay asleep! I've been sleeping on my couch so I don't keep Aaron up all night. And lets be honest, I'm okay with meeting my baby...

I know inductions on first time moms can sometimes lead to emergency c-sections, and I am definitely not someone who wants a c-section, especially on my very first baby. I don't want to be limited in my options in other pregnancies, but honestly I feel like this would be the best for me and the baby. In fact I keep praying that I will just naturally go into labor. 38 weeks is definitely a safe time for the baby, he should be healthy and fully developed.

I'm writing this from work. I almost didn't come today because of everything that is going on, but I did NOT want to sit at home completely miserable. We had friends over last night and the distraction really helped with all the worry and pain (... and swelling, and redness, and fatigue, and nausea...). At least here at work I have a purpose and I have something to keep my mind off of everything.

A few weeks ago I had a dream that I came home from work and Aaron had magically cleaned my car. My car has been full of stuff since our move, because I haven't been able to carry any of it up. Anyway, yesterday as I was sitting on a chair in an i-haven't-slept-in-two-days haze, Aaron said "Well, we have an hour until everyone is coming over... maybe I'll clean your car for half an hour and then head to the store real fast," and I bawled. Seriously, it felt like the nicest thing that anyone has ever done for me.

17 days...

2011-04-14T12:55:00.000-07:00

The countdown continues.

I am so glad I got pregnant when I did and not a month or two later. Let me tell you I AM BURNING UP! I am sitting here at my desk and everyone else is wearing hoodies and all sorts of pull overs. I am gonna diiiie. No okay it's not that bad. But it's snowing outside and i'm steaming up? There's something wack about that.

Not to mention the fact that it's mid April and still snowing. I will never get used to this Utah weather. Also, it recently came to my attention that people consider me "from Utah" even though I've lived out here for just a few short years. Oh well. might as well buy myself a bump-it and get on with my life. But I'm going to start considering BYU students "from Utah" if this keeps up.

I want to go to the beach.

I'm going to try to make it a whole 'nother week at work. as sleepy and uncomfortable as I am it will be nice to have that last paycheck and 3 months to do nothing but stare at a baby. Okay yeah I'll be a lot busier than that... :)

20 Days!

2011-04-11T18:48:00.000-07:00

my favorite baby thing -- quilt made by my mom

20 days to go? Whhhhaaat? I can handle that... I think.

I was totally whining about it when I was calling it 3 weeks an hour ago. Hopefully counting down the days will help. I nap a lot these days.

I went to the doctors today, everything is the same and normal (boring). Oh but I did lose two pounds since last appointment! Ha. I'd be ok with not gaining any more weight. Lets be real.

I've washed all of the bottles, clothes, diapers and towels. And scored an awesome tub and bassinet from my friend Laura. Really, I don't need anything else so I should probably stay away from the baby aisle for awhile. But, I did buy a Johnny Jump up (mostly because Apollo's girlfriend, Lydia has one). Oh, and a rubber ducky that was probably not necessary. I just love him.

37 Weeks.

2011-04-10T13:56:00.001-07:00

I am officially full term. You don't really want to hear me whine. But, I'm done. I'm ginormous, tired, and ugly.

Good things:

I am eating a granny smith apple right now.
I am taking Monday through Wednesday off this week.
I am on my way to take a nap.

I'd show you a picture of my cankles, but I'm just not sure you want to see that.

2011-04-08T10:45:00.000-07:00

My new couch! It's pretty. I'd tell you the story about how it came to me, but I guess it's pretty boring.

In other news - I'm a furniture hoarder.

Aaron is really funny.

2011-04-06T21:04:00.001-07:00

SOOO there are about 25 days til my due date, and although today I was really paranoid I was going into labor.... I'm not. I'm still working and I'm taking next week off I have a ton of Paid time Off saved up - and then possibly going back for another week - and then taking maternity leave. It's gonna be the BOOOOMB. And I want to have a baby some day. Aaron says the baby will be born 4/27/11. What say ye? My guess is never ever.

Sweet conversation with my husband:

And honestly doesn't say bad words. (Even though his wife curses like a sailor)

p.s. just now he said
"yessss! I think its been a while since I did anything blog-worthy,"

I LUB him.

pregnancy freckles.

2011-04-01T18:16:00.000-07:00

Oh man!!

35 Weeks.

2011-03-28T20:19:00.000-07:00

This week I was so sure that my baby dropped. I asked the doctor today and the guy has not budged. I've finally come to terms with the fact that my baby will probably be born in May... but lets keep hoping for April.

This weekend I completely caught up on laundry. Say whaaat! I have NEVER in my life been caught up on laundry. Before marriage I pretty much just bought new clothes instead. Since marriage Aaron has pretty much done every load of laundry. So I think it's safe to say I am nesting. The baby's room is pretty much all set, and we bought the few things that we still needed.

I dream nightly of running, zumba, or climbing stairs without severe/awesome pelvic pain. One day my friends.... one day...

This is for Britt and Adrianne

2011-03-28T16:10:00.000-07:00

Pictures of me from high school.

BAHA

BABY STUFF

2011-03-25T10:12:00.001-07:00

I was given a gift card to Babies "R" Us at one of my showers, and decided to use it towards bottles. CUE MENTAL ANGUISH. There are so many bottles to choose from. I asked my friend Samantha which kind to get and she gave me two different options.

I literally stared at the computer for 3 hours trying to decide. I'm psycho.

On top of that I spent the past 9 months trying to decide which diapers to buy...

(Sunbaby Diapers)

Diaaaaperrrrsssss....
Yep, I'm doing cloth.

for two reasons:

These diapers cost me 108 dollars, and fit babies from 8-35 lbs. Which will save us like 2,000 dollars on one baby, and they have the stamina to last through a few children.

The second reason is that they are just really cute.

There are other reasons like saving the environment and BLAH blah blah, but honestly, that's not why I'm doing it so I probably shouldn't go there and get all hippie on you.

So far it seems like it's going to be pretty easy, and not much harder than a disposable. Baby soils the diaper, you take the insert out, throw them in a pail and later toss the pail into the washer. Dry the diapers, put the insert back in -- DONE!

I've read a lot of reviews saying that babies have much fewer blow outs with cloth than in disposable diapers. So we will see how it goes. I didn't get top of the line diapers, but after reading the reviews it seems like a good starter diaper.

ANYWAY, here are some pictures from my family Baby shower. (no people in them... because I always forget)

My little sister Courtney made those cupcakes. Aren't they amazing? she rolled out the fondant and everything herself. And my mom made that diaper cake. I have some talented family. My sister in law Ruth had a game where we guessed how many pairs of teeny little baby socks were in the Jar. It was great. I had such a nice time hanging out with my family and Aaron's family.

I just love me some baby stuff.

My Mental Crisis.

2011-03-24T21:37:00.000-07:00

I should post the songs that randomly enter into my mind everyday

Today's song is a song we all know, whether we have chosen to know it or not....

HERO - ENRIQUE IGLESIAS

I CAN BE YOUR HERO! I CAN KISS AWAY THE PAIN! I WILL STAND BY YOU FOREVER!
YOU CAN TAKE MY BREATH AWAY!

seriously, you guys can take my breath away. seriously.
Is he really saying "you can take take my breath away,"?

This is why Aaron is a better husband than I am a wife.

2011-03-21T09:23:00.000-07:00

For posterity:

1. I won't refill the Brita pitcher, even though I'm the only one who drinks the water in it. I just finish it and leave it on the counter.
2. I leave all of the cabinets open when I cook.
3. I HATEEEEEEEEE moving laundry from the washer to the dryer. Or the hamper to the washer. Or folding clothes. Or hanging clothes up. I'll leave clothes in the washer and ask Aaron to move it for me.
4. I never close the toothpaste cap. But not on purpose. I'm just an airhead.

BUT I am really really good at signing people up for classes. Favorite hobby of all time.

2011-03-20T13:06:00.000-07:00

Something smells delicious. But unless it's something burning in my dryer, it's not coming from my apartment.

Today I got the "Wow, you look like you are ready to have that baby!" I decided to just reply "Yep, any day now!" she went on to say "Is there only one in there?"

What is the deal peeps? YES I'm huge! I'm 5'2 and there is no room for this baby. I am not measuring big, nor have I gained an excessive amount of weight. IM JUST PREGNANT AND I SHOW IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another girl asked me how much I had gained, and I responded and seh said "Are you sure? Because your belly is so big...."

Do people just like to harass the preggos?

Well this photo made me wanna barf.

2011-03-16T21:11:00.000-07:00

Beginning, Middle, nearing the end.

Because I don't really hate music.

2011-03-16T16:25:00.000-07:00

It's not secret that I kind of hate music.
Okay, let me start over.

No one in the world hates music, there is music out there for everyone. I've never been one to exclaim "Music is my LIFE!", but there were years in high school where I constantly had my iPod in my ears, music playing as I slept, or LOUD music playing in the car as I drove to or from anywhere. Slowly, I began to realize that music just clouds my brain, making quiet, small, could-be spiritual times into times where I'm constantly having thoughts put into my mind. I've never been a fan of "background noise". I started driving with the radio off -- and bam -- my life changed.

Mostly my brain is broken, and I'm a constant ball of anxiety. Things that are too loud, or too fast can make me feel pretty anxious inside, so I don't think this is something that would change everyone's life....

So these days, I'm selective with my music. I like things that are soft and thoughtful. At home I like the peacefulness of quiet. Soon to be destroyed with loud toys, baby cries, and my own need for constant chatter. I'm not saying I listen to hymns all day long (although, I do have a soft spot for any arrangement of any hymn. ever), and I know for a fact Ceelo's "Forget You" is probably best in it's unedited form. It's in my top ten, not gonna lie.

Wow anyway this is long and sounds pretty snobby so I'm just going to go with "I found this song I really like!," Post the video, and be done with this post.

(I think I like this version better than Feist)

p.s. I couldn't handle not posting this song as well (skip to 1:08 if you're like me and too impatient to listen to an interview)

Just another Manic Monday.

2011-03-14T16:53:00.000-07:00

I'm glad I took today off because man I feel like crap.

I think my body has hit a wall. I barely slept last night. Both Aaron and I were rolling over every 10 minutes, I'm sure keeping each other awake. I moved to the couch before sunrise, and moved back as Aaron was getting up for school. Maybe I partied too hard this weekend? I mean I did have a baby shower AND went to a first birthday party.

I'm on antibiotics again because apparently I'm still sick with that cold/sinus infection and I'm on my way to take my second nap (after my second shower) of the day. Maybe this is just how it is when it comes down to the wire? Maybe my body has given up. :)

I went to the doctor today, listened to little Apollo's heartbeat. I LOOOVE HIMMM. I can't wait for him to come out and play with us in his new little clothes and swaddle him up...............

SWADDLE HIM UPPPPPPPPPPPP.

MG baby shower

2011-03-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love my friends...
Adrianne threw me a great baby shower on Saturday.

We ate and talked for a million years (just like any MG get together). Have I told you how much I love my MGs? Not just the ones that were at the shower, but every single one. They are honestly my best friends on the planet.

Apollo's Godmother OBVIOUSLY wants him to be Bieber Jr:

And here is me tooting my own horn....

The nursery is really coming together now, I made these cute yarn balls and put them up before the shower.

Some of the awesome swag I scored:

Totally lovin' this Giraffe... Apollo's first toy. Plus Aaron is always begging me to let him take pictures of me... but usually they turn out like this:

Man I am disgusting, but this is probably how I look all the time. I guess I need some legit pregnancy pictures out there so next time I'm pregnant I'm not like "but I was so CUTE the first time around". Just remember, Future Bonnie, you were ugly ALL the time, you just know how to take good pictures.

Can I tell you how much I love these owls? I'm dying-- THEY ARE SO CUTE. They were made by Adrianne............ I LOVE THEM

I LOVE MGs!!!!!!!!!!

Sharpie Eyeliner??

2011-03-11T11:19:00.000-08:00

I guess I shouldn't have confessed I use sharpie for eyeliner... right? but whatever.

Yep. It works. Washes off easily, yet stays on well. Doesn't smudge. Variety of colors! Probably not the safest thing to put in your eye.

I put it on and took this for you:

You're welcome, my friends...

My favorite things!

2011-03-09T12:38:00.000-08:00

My friends have been posting about some of their favorite fashion/beauty things.

WELL, I only have two things I can't live without:

This eye liner... Oh I love you, CG perfect point plus. Mostly this is what my mom gave me when I asked her for eyeliner when i was 14. I have tried others and they do not compare... Except for maybe sharpie. Which I also use quite often (don't judge me!).

I'm always on the lookout. I judge people based on the eyebrows. I could tweeze with two paper plates if I had too. Not that they are always perfect... but when they are at least nice and neat I feel like a better person.

And that, my friends, is about all I know about beauty.
Here's a super glam shot of my eye. Thought you'd like it.

Maybe one day I'll wear grown up make up and maybe brush my hair every now and then.

32 weeks...

2011-03-02T21:45:00.000-08:00

I MADE THIS.

in other news:

Dang. That girl is SERIOUSLY pregnant. And she still has 8 weeks to go? How is that possible?

I seriously doubt that I will make it to May 1st.

This past week I've had the worst sinus infection in the world, and barely noticed my pregnancy woes. I basically just watched the first two seasons of lost while snoozing on my couch for an entire week. I was monitored in labor & delivery for about 5 hours after a [small and stupid] fall outside of my apartment building. So I am back to work and ready for the next month or two to fly on by.

Also, here are some pictures of our new apartment. don't mind the toilet paper roll on the "coffee table" which is really an old tv stand. I bought that rocker of KSL for 35 bucks, try not to be jeaaaalous!

The entry way... and pile of crap on the floor next to it... super glam! Is that my elbow in the mirror?
And I don't really want to talk about this room.

Anyway, time for me to pay attention to my husband who just told me on the phone "I am really needy today... you can tell, huh..." cute

February needs to be OVER.

2011-02-27T13:45:00.000-08:00

I just wrote out a huge long blog about why this month has been the worst. Then I deleted it. Really though, its been rough and now I am sick and haven't done anything productive in 48 hours. Unexpected stolen cars/car repairs/hospital bills/illness/random spending has made for an expensive, EXPENSIVE month. Mostly I just think I'm in a crabby/crappy mood. Which is funny because aaron just sent me this little gem.
Yes, my friends. 24 days after our wedding, Aaron and I exchanged sweet nothings via gmail emoticons. We are in LOVE. Piles of poo... A crab... what else do you need?

2011-02-16T20:36:00.000-08:00

Everyday I'm getting more and more ready for our little guy to get here... every time I peek into the baby's room I think about a little head peeking out of the top. I just can't wait! Every day I just count down the weeks...

A girl actually said to me the other day "You look like you can barely walk,". I wasn't even walking, I was just standing, and I was even feeling really good that day. I'm 90% sure she just wanted to say something insulting to me in the first place, but I just didn't even give her the time of day -- I'm so over people talking to me. Whatever. I'm short and there's nowhere for this baby to go except out. ha! I haven't gained a lot of weight but I am sure these last two months I will pack it on! crazy.

A couple of weeks ago I went over to Adrianne's house for a craft night. I made this cute family tree for our living room. I absolutely love it. Thanks Adrianne!

New Camera and 29 weeks pregnant

2011-02-14T17:31:00.000-08:00

Two things about this picture

1. This is me at 29 weeks pregnant and yes I know I look huge

2. Yes, I did crop out my elbow (you know why)

Well, we got a new camera at the Herrmann house.

Hopefully this means we will take more pictures. I really like this picture of Aaron because this is his real laugh. This is a look of pure joy.

This is my dog Biscuit. Yes, she wears sweaters. She gets really excited when she sees her sweater.

This is Zoe. She might look scared in this picture, but she covers her mouth when she giggles.

And this is our cute niece Aleah. I love that face.

End.

Annoucement.

2011-02-03T08:39:00.001-08:00

I am officially Bonnie Lurline Herrmann.

Yes, I finally changed my name after 1.5 years of marriage. I guess I'm sticking around.

yay!

2011-02-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

In 8-14 business days Aaron and I will have every penny saved for maternity leave. What a relief! I'm seriously pumped.

January was a long month, and I am glad to be out of it. It feels like Christmas was a a year ago! Maybe it's the pregnancy, but seriously that month took forever. Looking back on my goals...

Enjoying the Journey - Even though our car was stolen, we are pretty excited to get a new car for Aaron. We're looking for blessings in everything these days :). We've been trying to enjoy what we have and get the most out of our time together while Aaron is in-between jobs (there's only like a two week gap). We're excited for him to start his new job (more pay, better hours, but... in Salt Lake... another reason to get a nicer car?) It's been so nice to have him home and so nice for him to have some extra time to work on schoolwork.

Service - I haven't done much by way of volunteering for things at church. I probably could have called my visiting teaching companion and taken care of that. Two of the sisters I teach are in my apartment complex... I just hope they're not on the third floor? I've been on the look-0ut for opportunities to serve, and have had some success, but I just need to keep my eyes open.

And today I'm off to the doctor. Less than 3 months to go. Maybe I gained a million pounds this month.

Let me just say.... I always thought pregnant people waddled because their stomachs were ginormous. Little did I know... about 25% of pregnant ladies suffer with pelvic pain that maybe makes you want to die if you sleep wrong, get out of the car wrong, walk down stairs, put on your pants or get out of your desk chair. My doctor was telling me one of his patients has been using a WALKER. seriously? A walker? And he was telling me people actually get handicap tags because their pain is so bad.

Yeah I definitely don't need a walker or a handicap parking pass. Usually a bath will cure my pain. I'm lucky I don't have it as bad as some people. yikes. But if you see me waddling a little bit try not to hate me too much.

There are so many weird things about pregnancy and not everybody experiences them.

sometimes life is a dream.

2011-02-01T07:54:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was perfect.

I came home to a napping husband. He did homework for five hours and I took a bath. I read about halfway through a book. I made egg bagels for us, we watched some episodes of 30 rock, I took a shower and read some more.

Somewhere in there my friend Trent came over.

There is just something really nice about doing your own thing at home with your best friend in the next room- just in case you need to read a funny sentance from your book outloud.

That sounds really boring. But how boring will life be with a newborn? I'll savor my boredom.

P.s. -- All I want to eat anymore is eggs eggs eggs eggs eggs. Over easy. Everything else sounds gross in comparison.

My mom had a dream...

2011-01-31T13:19:00.000-08:00

that my baby was born and looked like I did... a little eskimo baby...

yes. I will take it. I want a little boy with black hair and huge eyes that don't even show a hint of white.

But I'll also take a little boy with light brown hair and color-changing eyes like ~~Edward~~ Aaron. (ha, just kidding -- not that much of a twilight nerd).

OR I'll take a little blondie boy with blue eyes.... or brown eyes.

Or a little redhead...

Man I just can't wait. Starting my family is so exciting....

3 months (hopefully at the longest) left!

Yesterday was the longest day of my life.

2011-01-30T08:35:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning we woke up at seven to go to a photoshoot with Lissa. We walked outside and...........

Aaron's car was gone. Yep. It disappeared. There wasn't any glass on the ground, or anything. So I thought well maybe it was towed. So we headed on down to Provo and called the police on the way. We called our landlord to give us the towing agency's phone number. They didn't take it. The police officer called our bank to see if maybe some paperwork had been mixed up and the wrong car was repo'd. no go. Our car had simply been taken.

Apparently, Aaron's car is a favorite for chop shops. Even though it's old, some of the pieces in it are valuable for racing cars. Plus the car has kept it's value well.

The photo shoot was fun (and the coldest I've ever been in my life... what was I thinking wearing a short sleeved dress??) I can't wait to see the pictures!

The ride home was frustrating and tearful when the cop told us the car was just gone and is now on the national registry for stolen cars. The cop told us just to call our insurance and let them know what happened.

I've heard that most cars that are stolen show up after a few days a couple miles away, but in the case of Aaron's car it probably is already in 200 pieces and being sold on ebay, but the insurance company makes us wait 30 days before they will give us anything. So I called them reluctantly, thinking we only had the lowest insurance so we wouldn't get anything for the car. Apparently we have comprehensive insurance... which is awesome. So we should at least be able to pay off the loan for the car... in 30 days.

So thirty days with one car... Aaron goes to school in Orem and works in Salt Lake. awesome.

anyway.............................................. so thats our day.

Oh and my mac died.

2011-01-25T15:33:00.000-08:00

The view from the top.
The view from the front.
do you know how embarassing it is to take a picture in the mirror at work?

I was a cute baby ...

2011-01-22T19:13:00.000-08:00

Love my mom.

2011-01-21T17:26:00.001-08:00

Today I carried three bags of groceries, milk and my purse up to the apartment after shopping for half an hour. Some days that is seriously impossible. There have been a few days where I seriously use the railing to get up the stairs and can't catch my breath for fifteen minutes. For me pregnancy equals inconsistency.

Today I feel like I could run a marathon, some days I feel like I might die if I take another step.

Most days I just feel fat and lazy. I wish more of my friends were preggo, maybe I would feel more normal. The only person I have to compare to has had a rough pregnancy. Her feet are sooo swollen, and she's only about three weeks ahead of me. She has had tons of ultra sounds to check up on her little guy (who they first told her was a GIRL). Sometimes pregnancy is torture.

Other moms and current preggos (Tenika):

Am I normal to get so tired and winded already?
Am I fat and lazy?
Do you have days where you seriously need to lean on the shopping cart to relieve pain in your back and hips?
Do you have days where you feel awesome and you could dance all night? Do you feel like dancing? Why do I feel like dancing? Are you a good dancer? I'm NOT a good dancer.
Do you feel little feet in your ribs? I have no waist at all.

Sigh. I sound whiny.

14 Weeks to go.

If you look a little to your right....

2011-01-21T10:14:00.000-08:00

You will notice I have exactly 100 days until I have a baby.

Uh, yeah, okay maybe that seems alot to you non-preggos out there.

But I'm almost two-thirds done with my pregnancy.

I hate when people (men) are like "YOU STILL HAVE THREE MONTHS LEFT?!".

Seriously, I'm not that huge, I dont look like I should be pushing a baby out any second.

When I'm huge... oh you'll know.

But the thing is.... I am huge.... When I look in the mirror I just am in awe at my stomach. Cute outfits are few and far between.

A Recipe

2011-01-19T09:23:00.000-08:00

2 Cups Milk

1 Splash Vanilla

Some Sugar

1. Mix

2. Microwave for two minutes

3. Enjoy frothy treat

Pregnancy Insmonia cure.

And I only woke up to pee once all night.

Things I Like.

2011-01-17T07:11:00.000-08:00

1. Waking up to a clean house on Sundays.

2. Hot baths with an easy read.

3. Sleeping in.

4. Making a nest of pillows on the couch and attempting to sleep in it.

5. Playing games with my family.

6. Mashed potatos.

7. Poor spellers.

8. The baby's room coming together.

9. Rain overnight that melts the snow thats been on the ground for a month.

10. Pretending it's summer.

11. Traffic on MLK day.

12. People with good eyebrows.

Things I do not like:

1. Sleeping while pregnant.

2. Working husbands.

More stuff about pregnancy

2011-01-14T11:27:00.000-08:00

I was trying to explain to my sister in law the other day how there really isn't anything good to say about pregnancy, but that I still enjoy it.

Does that make sense?

Between gaining weight, your uterus stretching, your baby squashing your organs, nosebleeds (I haven't actually experienced that one), feet swelling (not yet), and a ton of other weird/sometimes disgusting pregnancy symptoms... there are only a few awesome things about pregnancy...

My hair, skin and face. Besides that glaring coldsore, my face feels pretty. My hair is so shiney and easy to deal with and my face feels thinner. Also I brush my hair sometimes which is more than you can say for before I was pregnant.

Other awesome parts of being pregnant: Preparing the nursery, Ultrasounds, feeling your baby move, finding out the gender of your baby, holding other babies, cravings, being able to yell at your boss (just kidding, kind of), not taking groceries up three flights of stairs, not worrying about the way your body looks.

Anyway, I've been reading some horror stories about major balding after giving birth, so I'm just going to live it up while it lasts.

The weird part about pregnancy is how differently everyone's body reacts to it. The fact that I'm short and squatty means I've got baby feet up in my ribs and my lungs can't handle anything close to excersize. I've also felt like I can be super emotional at times, like after watching a movie or a commercial, but in general I feel more calm and less anxious than I was not pregnant. But I change my mind on that last one all the time.

Crappy pictures, cute nursery.

2011-01-13T19:31:00.000-08:00

Slowly, but surely, our nursery is coming together. We have the crib... and the car seat.

And I made this crib skirt over the weekend!

I am in LOVE. Seriously...

I couldn't find any crib sets that I was itching to register for, let alone buy.
I love that I was able to pick out my own fabrics for this project, and including a crib sheet (that I will be making this weekend) the entire project will have cost about a fourth of the price of a similar quality crib set. I used this tutorial here, with some editing on the size, and obviously I did a large border at the bottom, and only made the box pleats on the long sides.

If I had a preggo friend, I would make one for her!

I'm getting excited! And isn't that car seat cute? Obviously I (I almost said we... but really is Aaron picking out any fabric?) am going for a blue and brown theme, and everything we have so far has owls on it, but I promise I won't over do it with the owls...

New Year Goals... (a really long post)

2011-01-12T09:17:00.000-08:00

(If anybody reads this whole post, I would love to get any kind of feedback! Good, Bad, You're psycho, whatever!)

I've never been much of a goal maker, and I have so many friends who are good at documenting their goals and following up on them later. (Two people I think of right off the bat are Nikki and Jamilyn. ) Usually the goals I've had in the past have been about excersize or running, and those have been the only ones I have kept up. At a friend's bridal shower a month ago, Nikki, a friend of mine, said "If you don't have goals, you can't get anywhere," or something like that. Anyway, that kept popping up in my mind, and I would disregard it. Mostly because, with this year, I don't know how to change anything. The baby is coming and I can't make fitness or body goals until the year is half over.

But, while talking to my husband one day, I decided I needed to clean up my language. I seriously have a language problem, especially in my car or any time I'm alone, and definitely at work. And I'm not talking light curses... so that got me thinking...

My New Year Goals are to:

Clean up the language -
Completely.

With this, I have another goal:
Quit saying negative things about myself -- it's something my husband hates, and something I know people feel uncomfortable around. Also, if I say it, it gives other people the permission to say negative things about me as well, usually in a joking manner, thinking because I say it myself I must have the confidence to take a joke. I don't know if that makes sense.

Find Joy in the Journey -
I know this one sounds totally cheesey, but I am sick of saying to myself "If I can just make it to ______," (right now that blank is Maternity Leave. Other substitutions include: Christmas, the end of the semester, midterms, finals, spring break, summer, Sunday). There was a time when this was what got me through life, I would pray that I would simply make it through the day, but I am through that time now and have been for a long time. I remember praying and one day it changed to "help me get through this week," a major break through, and something I can be proud of!

I honestly am happy with my life -- I love my husband, I have a good job, he's doing well through school, he just got a new job, we love our home and our family is growing! I catch myself thinking though, that once he's done with school it will be easier, or once I have this baby I feel like my life will start, but honestly I need to LIVE! I need to enjoy these days instead of getting through the week to make it to the weekend, or getting through the day to make it to the evening.
A few sub goals are:

Make my house a home - This one is DEFINITELY inspired by Stephanie. She threw a bridal shower for our friend Jamilyn, and her house was seriously beautiful, and CLEAN. I know this isn't a permanant place for us. The more our family grows the more room we will need, but I need to make this place somewhere happy and joyful and full of things we love, and full of Christ. Somewhere to make memories.

Thrive at work -- I need to do my best, and enjoy my co-workers. (that last one might kill me)

Go on dates -- Hang out with my husband. Spend time with him away from the world, without thinking about things that stress us out. Make memories! I only see my husband for about an hour a night most days of the week, so the nights when he's not working we need to live it up! Instead of just sitting around at home... although we're spending time together we need to Everyone I know is good at that .... just not me. ha.

Find Oppurtunities to Serve -

The other day I was talking with a friend at work, Heather. She was having trouble with one of her friends, and said to me "Maybe I need to find a way to serve her,". Wow. Eye-opener. I know we talk often in church about how service can help us in so many different ways, and I always think about it as a general thing. Service can help us have better relationships blah blah blah, but I never thought of it as specific as Serving Your Friend Will Strengthen Your Relationship. Or maybe I had... who knows, whatever, anyway. I've been having a rocky relationship with one specific person lately (who is not my husband... fyi) and I know in the past few days just simple acts have gone a looong way.
Sub Goals:

Temple Attendance -- Monthly. Thats 12 times in 2011. I think I can definitely make that goal a reality.

Searching for Service Oppurtunities in the ward -- Volunteer. Do well in whatever calling I'm given.

Serve Co-workers, Family, and Friends -- Find small ways to serve to strengthen and keep relationships. I have a few friendships in mind - one where I know the friend is having a hard time even though she doesn't say it, and doesn't talk to me unless he/she needs or wants something. At times the conversations are just bringing me down. From time to time I want to cut the friendship, and I know from experience that sometimes people just need love for awhile. I also have a few family members in mind, that I know need the love that comes from service.

That was a LOT of writing. If anybody read it... let me know, I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. I have obviously had a lot on my mind, and I just want to write them in a place where I can read them and remember!

One last thing... I feel like these goals are goals suited for a more perfect person. There are tons of small goals I need to work on too, and I always think people that have goals like these... goals that are personal must have such a perfect life -- They don't need to worry about dropping five pounds or not yelling at their husband. I just decided to go big or go home!

24 weeks.

2011-01-11T15:49:00.000-08:00

My mom told me I need to be documenting my belly better. I only seem to remember when I'm at work and the only option I have is a public restroom soooooo trying to hide from stalls that could open at any moment I snapped this picture for you.

Lucky for you, you can't see my entire shirt.

I always notice when people wear a white shirt without a t shirt underneath and I can see their bra strap or undershirt lines. Not that I think it's ugly or anything but I always make a mental note, but never remember to wear one.

Well, my friends, today I wore a white shirt over maternity pants which means I have an obvious black line across my stomach and back where my pants end and basically where my bra begins. Over the belly skinny maternity jeans (Aaron laughed the other day when I said "I can't find my skinny maternity jeans" he said "Isn't that an oxymoron?" ... wah wah).

Basically I'm a fashion failure. Maybe I'll try to remember to take another picture later.

On New Years Eve, 2010

2011-01-03T21:15:00.000-08:00

Aaron looked at me very seriously and asked,

"How old am I?"

For the record, he's 24.

I wish you could see the concern on his face.

It didn't look like this, but he's cute.

2011-01-01T16:11:00.000-08:00

I love This. Miss you already 2010 pop.

2010-12-31T10:57:00.000-08:00

I was using my photobooth to take this picture of Aaron:

When I found this little gem:

Aaron Herrmann from Bonnie Herrmann on Vimeo.

Isn't that hilarious? I'm pretty sure this was taken when he was supposed to be cleaning our old apartment. I'm trying not to laugh so I won't wake him up. Aaron is the best. This morning he worked from five to eleven and tonight he's working another shift, four to ten. He's always willing to help people out - he's the hardest worker I know.

Christmas Love.

2010-12-27T08:54:00.000-08:00

Some Christmas Highlights:

Buying Buckyballs for Aaron - he played with them for five hours straight!

Aaron's gift to me - the most perfect dress. It's the first piece of clothing he's bought for me.

Sweet baby boy clothes from my mother in law

Aaron's excited present opening voice, no matter what the present is (the iCarly movie I gave him...)

Playing "Ticket to Ride" with Devon, Ruth and Ryan 'til one AM

Aaron practically living in his new Jazz Warm up suit.

Psycho-Me crying when I opened up the third and fourth season of Quantum Leap on DVD. Seriously, Sam Beckett... I love you.

Being with Marci, Sam, and Zoe. I love that they moved out here to Utah.

Talking to Zach - I miss him a lot. Last Christmas without him!! When he gets home, he will see me as a wife and a mother for the first time. Crazy.

And of course, the best memories are made when cameras are not around. Just the way my big fat belly likes it.

2010-12-26T11:55:00.001-08:00

I put a creepy baby countdown on my side bar...

just gotta fit in.

Baby Ticker - The Baby Countdown Pregnancy Tickergreat free widgetsWidgetboxMore info

Boy, oh Boy.

2010-12-17T22:16:00.000-08:00

Pretend not to notice how this picture is totally ridiculous.

And how at 21 weeks I'm ginormo.

I'm cool with it. I just tried to distract you from the belly with Apollo written on the side

and a face. What is going on there?

Whatever, thats the picture you get.

Anyway, last week we found out we were having a baby boy.

I need to scan pictures of the ultrasound.

It was so cool to watch that baby wiggle and move and hide from the technician and see his little feet.

When the technician said it was a boy Aaron literally did a fist pump and cheered "YESSS!!!"

Similar to the time I peed on a stick and he did a fist pump and yelled "WOOOOOOOOOO!" outside of the bathroom at Smith's. That was a good day.

I was just in awe watching our little guy move.

Aaron made me pinky promise that the baby's name would be Apollo, so unless he comes up with another one, he gets to choose.

I'm so excited.

Ever since I saw my little guy I've just had this LOVE for the baby that I can't explain and I can't wait to see him for the first time, because I know it will be a crazy kind of love.

Make the next 19 weeks fly by! please!