Jenny's Gatherings

Please go to jennysgatherings.com to find the best cooking classes in Orange County!

I have learned so much and have really enjoyed learning new concepts and recipes!!

Remember when I had a baby?

I know I am the world's worst blogger.  I mean, I did have a child and not blog about it.  Truth be told, I am already forgetting things about my baby girl and I really want to document her sweetness.  So here's to another try at the blogging thing!

Introducing....

Harper Meadow Hoffman

2.22.11

8lbs 12oz

20 inches 

She was so beat up and bruised when she was born.  We sure had a rough go in the delivery room.  (Details to follow in a separate post.)

I sure am obsessed with her and don't even get me started on her big brother!  Life is good :)

One month to go!!!!

Can you even handle it!  Only one month to go...CRAZY!  I can't even believe our little girl will be here so soon.  We are staying super busy getting ready for her arrival.  We can't wait to meet

...HARPER HOFFMAN...

Yep!  We finalized her name and we couldn't be any more excited.  It finally just feels right.  What a nightmare choosing a name was this time around. 

P.S.  Can you even stand that little boy in the background?  He is just perfecting his funny face in the mirror.  He's been doing it for a good 10 minutes.  Love my little bubbies :)

Santa

Can you get over this face?  I sure can't.  

Merry Christmas!!

Baby Bump

29.5 weeks

Love this baby girl so much!

Labor and Delivery (Better late that never, right?)

I just came across this post that I never posted!  How fun for me!  I love thinking about my delivery experience with Ryder.  I hope baby girl's goes just as smoothly.

October 2008
Here's my story about my baby Ryder...

Sunday, August 31st we went to church and I started to feel a little weird. We left after the first hour because I didn't feel well. I went home and rested for a little bit then headed down to my parents for dinner. I just laid on the couch and snuggled with Taylin as she tried to make me feel better. I didn't feel like eating, but figured I better eat anyway. We left and went home and I still felt bad. Andrew and Ashly came over to see Ryder's nursery and while they were here I definitely started feeling contractions that were more powerful than any I had felt before.

By 8 o'clock I was in the bathtub trying to relax through the contractions. I listened to a Hypnobabies cd and just relaxed in our room for about an hour. I had Steve start timing the contractions and we realized I was having them consistently about 4-5 minutes apart lasting about a minute long. We waited as long as we could and then headed to the hospital at about midnight. By that time my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and I was trying my hardest to stay relaxed.

We checked into triage and they checked me and I was only at a 2! I thought for sure I would have been at least a 4, but no, a 2. I was kind of bummed but what could I do? We decided to walk around the hospital floor for an hour to see if I would dilate anymore. That was rough. I would take a few steps, have a contraction and hold onto Steve, then take a few more steps. It was pretty long hour, and I was starting to lose focus. I kept thinking when I get checked again I will for sure be way more dilated. That's what kept me going. Well, after an hour they checked me again and I was still a 2. We talked about my options and decided to go home with a sleeping pill and come back a few hours later. I couldn't believe it but once again, what could I do?

The nurse went to get my sleeping pill and I threw up everywhere (sorry...TMI). I went to the bathroom to clean up and was shaking like crazy. The nurse decided to keep me there for a little while to monitor me some more. She checked me again after about 30 minutes and I was a 3! Yay! I was so excited, but still a little concerned that I wasn't progressing very fast.

They took me to my room and I was starting to lose focus. My contractions were becoming so strong and I was beyond exhausted. I finally looked at Steve and told him I wanted an epidural. He told the nurse and at about 6am I got my epidural. I was so nervous to get it because of all the work I had done to prepare myself for a natural child birth. I was so tired I couldn't even think straight. The second I got the epidural I immediately calmed down and went to sleep.

The doctor and nurse came in about an hour later because Ryder's heart rate kept dropping. I was so scared. They wanted to monitor him internally so they were going to have to break my water. I didn't want them to and as luck would have it my water broke on it's own when they rolled me over. I was so pleased! They hooked me all up and checked me again and I was a 4. Progress!!

At about 8am my new nurse, Heather came in to see me. She was awesome!!! I really loved her. She wasn't going to check me but decided to at the last minute and I was a 9! Yay for me! She left to go talk to the doctor and came back about 30 minutes later. Dr. May came with her to meet me (Dr. Kaminskas wasn't working because it was Labor Day) and I felt so good about him. He has delivered over 9,000 babies, so he definitely knows what he is doing. He left to go get changed and Heather got the room ready for delivery. I couldn't believe it was happening so fast!

Heather had me do a few practice pushes and realized we didn't need to practice anymore.  We waited for Dr. May and a few minutes later he strolled in.  I pushed for about 25 minutes and out he came.  Our sweet Ryder Brian was born at 9:44am weighing 7lbs. 11oz and 19.5 inches long.

I kept saying to Steve, "We did it!  Look at him!".  I was seriously in shock that he was finally here!

It truly was the best moment of my life to have Steve by my side as we met Ryder.  What an amazing experience.  I am so in love with my little family.  Steve said later in the day that this was the best day of his life.  My mom quickly asked, "Even better than your wedding day?".  Without hesitating Steve said, "Yeah!".  I am so glad he loves Ryder so much!

Catch up...

I am starting to catch up on the last few months of our lives!  Yay!  Keep posted for even more updates!

Hawaii and a sick little boy....

Don't let this picture fool you....

We went to Hawaii in August with my whole family.  It should have been a great vacation, but this little boy turned out to be quite sick.  It was basically a nightmare for us and we have now vowed to never travel with any children under 3.  Not only was he sick, but he learned how to crawl out of his crib the day before we left.

These are some of the only pictures we have from the trip.  The one day we went in the water :(

When we got home, we immediately took Ryder to see Dr. Carruth.  Turns out he has asthma...but only when he gets a cold.  We now own a nebulizer.  Saddest thing ever watching this boy when he is getting a treatment.  But, I know it's helping him breathe better, so it's worth it.

I am so thankful we only have to do this when he gets sick.  People thought I was crazy before with germs...watch out now!  A common cold for Ryder is now a bit more complicated!

PREGNANT!!

Back in June we found out we were pregnant!  What exciting news for our family.  Our little baby is due February 23, 2011.  Ryder and baby will be almost exactly 2.5 years apart.  

A few months later we found out what we were having.  I decided to do something fun to tell my family.  I made cupcakes that had either a pink or blue jelly bean inside.  Everyone made their guesses by choosing the label they wanted.  We all ate them at the same time....

          

Yay for PINK!  

We are so thrilled to be having a baby girl!  I can't believe it!  I have had 3 ultrasounds that have all said girl....so I better get shopping!

Steve's Graduation

This post is so fun for me to write!  Steve graduated with a degree in Business Management back in February.  I am so proud of him!

He always wanted to finish, but with work it just never seemed possible....until one day when we just decided it was more important than most things we were spending our time on.  After 2 years of lonely Thursday nights for me, tons of homework and many study groups, he finished!

Of course I had to thrown a little party in Steve's honor.  He hated every second of it, but when you are married to me, you just don't have a choice when it comes to parties.

Some of the treats.

Steve with his parent's.  Brian and Shirley.  They are the best!!

Some of the party goers.

I am so thankful for Steve's sacrifice for our family.

Disneyland

Steve got us Disneyland passes for my Mother's Day present, and we love it!  I hadn't been to Disneyland in ages.  Now I find myself wanting to go all the time!  We went a few times right when we got them, and now just started going back.  It is amazing how wonderful it is when it's not crowded!  We are OBSESSED!

On the tram

Love these two...

Steve and his low carb lifestyle!  Gotta love that turkey leg.

Watching the parade.

Classic Disneyland picture.

The day after.  He wanted to eat his breakfast with his Mickey ears.

Ryder's first ride....Small World.

PRIVATE!!

We are going PRIVATE again! With another baby on the way, I just feel better about it.

Leave a comment with your email, or email me directly!

skhoffhouse@gmail.com

Thanks!!

P.S. If you already had access the last time I went private, you don't need to leave your email. I still have you on my list!!

Father's Day

We had a photo shoot with the fabulous Sarah Hull for part of Steve's father's day gift. Ryder was absolutely NUTS and I was sure we didn't get one good photo. Sarah was super quick on the draw because she captured a few of my active boy.

Steve loved the pics and can't wait to show them off in his office!

P.S. How cute is Ryder giving me "besos". Love this boy!

NYC Half Marathon!!!

I had so much fun in NYC, but I missed Steve and Ryder so much. As much as I love my family, I hate to be away from Steve and Rydi. Especially in New York, where all we do is shop and eat. 2 of Steve's favorite things to do!!

But, I survived! It was a blast. We got some great shopping days in and ate some wonderful food. What else is there to do in NYC? Andrew decided to fly in and surprise Ashly. It was so much fun! We were very silly together. Why is it that when you get together with your siblings you act like children?

I was semi nervous about the race, because it was forecasted to ran on race day. I partially didn't believe it because the first 4 days we were there were BEAUTIFUL!!! It was heaven.

Well, I should have believed the weather man because boy did it rain! We woke up at 5am the day of the race and it was down pouring. We went to get breakfast, and came back drenched. This was not looking good. By the time we made our way to Central Park it was beyond wet. We bought ponchos at Duane Reade, so that helped, but we definitely couldn't run in them. I was not prepared for all this rain! I had bought sleeves to run in the day before, but other than that I had nothing. No hat, no jacket, no gloves. It was crazy!!! My feet and shoes were soaked before I even ran one step. I was starting to kind of freak out and then the announcer starting talking over the loud speaker. She was trying to get us all pumped up even though it was 45 degrees and pouring. Well, it worked! She said, "It's not the easy days in life that define you, it's the hard ones. And today is definitely a hard one." I took that and got over the rain. I realized I was going to run rain or shine!

I had so much fun running! It was so neat to see so many women all together. The race seemed to fly by and before I knew it I was crossing the finish line. It was such great feeling! After I finished I was waiting with my dad and I watched hundreds of people cross the finish line. I found myself cheering people on and getting emotional watching them achieve their goals. All in all it was a great day!

Here we are going to the airport. We were laughing because you would have thought we were going to prom. The doorman at the hotel got us this white stretch limo instead of 2 taxis. Very fancy way to get to the airport!

P.S. Here are my battle wounds! Because of the rain, my sports bra was soaked and rubbed me raw! Nasty!