Leo is 3 months today :)

Only had time to post pics...sorry, no commentary with these ;)

Amazing Love

Leo at 1 day old

1 week old

2 weeks old

3 weeks old

4 weeks old

5 weeks old

6 weeks old

7 weeks old

Many people tried to prepare me for the abundance of love that would accompany the birth of our son.  I can honestly say that words cannot describe the deep immediate love Jonathan and I had for Leo just seconds after seeing him.  It's so amazing, I find myself wanting to run to every pregnant woman and share with them the joy of being a parent.

Many people have asked if I would do the water birth again...my answer is yes, yes and yes.  Jonathan and I were so pleased with everything, we haven't one single complaint about the whole journey.  I will also recommend my midwife until I'm blue in the face. :)

Labor went rather fast and before I knew it, the little guy was just minutes away from taking his first breath.  I have also had many friends ask why I chose to deliver Leo naturally.  To sum up my many reasons, I would have to say that I truly believe we, as women, were created to do such a thing...be a nurturing caring vehicle to bring babies in to the world.  I don't think God made any mistakes with our make up, our tenacity, our fight, strength and love to be in charge of such a task.  I don't think labor is something to be feared, but truly, to be embraced.

I personally want to thank everyone, friends, family, co-workers and strangers for your faithful support.  Cards, gifts, calls, emails and visits. Wow!  We could have done it without you, but it would have been miserable :)

We love doing life with you.

Introducing Leonidas Josiah Collins (10-9-09)...

Sorry we are so behind on posting blog updates. Life has been busy (for obvious reasons) the past 7 weeks. Little Leo has been quite the handful... and quite the blessing. Mom and baby are doing great after our home/water birth. We are loving this cute little addition to our family. I will post on more life updates later, but for now I will leave you with the following pictoral oohs and ahhs...

baby update

Today I am 33.5 weeks pregnant.
We are...of course...so very excited to meet our son in October.

I am so pleased with my choice of midwife! She is very educated, patient & knowledgeable. If things continue to go as planned, we will have a home water birth some time in October. I just finished a wonderful book called 'Ina May's Guide to Childbirth'. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in a home or natural birth.

Due to my job being stressful, my midwife recommended I put in my two weeks. She said I was showing signs of preterm labor which are usually caused by stress. Sooooo, I just spent this past week as my first week on maternity leave :) Marti, my boss, was amazing as usual and did nothing but encourage me to relax during my last weeks of work while training a new girl.

And Jonathan, my adorable husband, could not be more supportive. Since I have been asked to relax & take it easy, Jonathan has become husband of the year :)
He makes me dinner, or picks up take out
He buys me flowers & puts them in a vase
He rents me movies
He redecorates the house
He buys me clothes
He rubs my shoulders, plays with my hair & tells me how perfect I am
He kisses my belly & talks to our baby
He drops me off at the entrance & picks me up at the door
He encourages me to gain weight :)
He plays Yahtzee with me until 2am

I'm so thankful for him, and even more thankful that we get to do this together.
God has been so faithful with provision & a healthy body to carry this baby.
He deserves all my gratitude.

A recap of the last months of pregnancy...

11 weeks

14 weeks

17 weeks

20 weeks

22 weeks

24 weeks

26 weeks

29 weeks

30.5 weeks

31 weeks

32 weeks

32.5 weeks

I have gained 28 pounds & the baby weighs approximately 4 pounds.
My midwife had a goal of getting me to gain 35 pounds total by the time the baby is born. Looks like I'm right on target!
Hopefully we'll keep you updated a little more often ;)

life lately...

Danny, Jamie, David & Hudson came to San Diego for a nice little visit. I left my SD card in Kansas City...so the memory on my camera only held one photo.
Funny little guy this David is!
Thanks for giving us one of your evenings! It was so good to see you & talk with you!

As always...we love to spend time with Lucas when his mom needs some help.

Good practice for us. We took him all over town that day. He's an amazing baby...who will soon be turning 1 in a few months!

Joshua & Ali's Wedding

Janelle, one of Ali's good friends did all of the bridesmaids hair for the wedding. She owns a salon in Flagstaff, AZ. Love her style.
Tyler sat right next to Jonathan at the wedding dinner...you never know what to expect when you get those two together.

Tyler and I can't believe how much Ali's mom Kay reminds us of our own mom. I snapped this the morning of the wedding. She has no makeup on & she's 62 years old, mother of 4 beautiful children. Shocks me every time I see her. I don't think she ages.

Rehearsal. The wedding Party.
Cutie patooty little Emma on the left. Ali is bound & determined that one day she will do a little setting up of Zion Collins & Emma Berres.

Sweet friend Karissa came all the way from Florida! Her "hotel roommate" missed her flight and wasnt able to make it to the wedding...so we gladly had her stay at the Collins Hotel.

I love this man.
Sorry about your eyes Jonathan...they got a little funktified with our camera :)

Of course Lucas would steal our hearts & attention at the wedding reception. Can't ever get enough of him.

Lucas' pretty mommy Lorean. Headed over to her place this weekend to pick out some of Lucas' clothes that he has grown out of in order to stock the shelves for Baby Collins.
Annnnnd, borrow her body pregnancy pillow. I think I'm ready for it!!
I'm almost 6 months pregnant in these photos.

A little over 3 more months to go!!