May 11, 2009

The day before I was induced, we were able to get some maternity photos taken. They turned out really well and we're so grateful we could get them done on short notice, since I was induced early. We had a lot of fun and I can't wait to put them in Leighton's baby book!

Thank you so much, James and Michelle! Everyone should check out their blog:
http://rognonphotography.blogspot.com .

Welcome Home, Leighton!

We are so glad to have our little angel home! She's doing so well today and we're so happy she's healthy! We're having a hard time sharing her, she is just the cutest thing ever!!!

Quick Update on Little L :)

Leighton is doing great, we're just trying to get her eating more before she comes home. The pediatrician said she is looking much better, her oxygen is staying high and they've taken her off of the IV's that she was relying on for food. Hopefully, we'll be able to bring her home this weekend. Thank you for all the congratulations and prayers! We love and appreciate all of y'all!

Leighton Valencia Maxfield

Leighton was born on May 12, 2009 at 11:40Pm. She weighs 7 pounds 3 ounces and she is 19 1/2 inches long. We are so excited to finally have her here! May 12th is a very special day to us. It's the day Jack proposed to me 2 years ago and we are so happy that it is our little angel's birthday! We already love her so much, I didn't know it was possible to love someone so much! She is such a beautiful baby and we are so grateful that Heavenly Father sent her to us! We must have done something right :) Right now, she is still in the Newborn ICU. She had the hiccups throughout the delivery and has some fluid in her lungs. They are going to keep her for a few days to stabilize her oxygen levels, but she seems to be doing well. She's our little trooper already! And I have to say: Jack was my incredible husband, as usual, yesterday! He massaged my feet, stayed with me the entire day, held my hand through every contraction, waited on me hand and foot, held my leg up during labor(only my left side really took the epidural and I couldn't lift my left leg at all!), he counted through all my contractions, and he even cut the chord!! Sorry ladies, I snagged the best man out there! He's such an amazing husband and I know he's going to be a great father too!!
Well, we just wanted to post a few pictures so everyone back home can see her!
We love our little Leighton, we're so glad she made it here safely!!

He's going to be such a great daddy!
Jack, Leighton, and Me
First Family Photo :)

On another note, we are so happy that we had Leighton before Ethan had to go home today! I've had so much fun celebrating his 21st birthday with him and hanging out the past week! It was so special for to me that he was able to hold Leighton before he left. She is so lucky to have such great aunts and uncles! We miss you already, Eeskie! I hope you enjoyed your birthday week and we're so thankful for you! Love you so much, buddy!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of the Mothers out there,
but most especially to mine!!
We Love You, Mom! Thanks for all you do for us, we miss you so much!
Hope you're having a wonderful day!!

Good News All Around!

Hey y'all! I've been trying to squeeze in my last few weeks of work before Leighton arrives, so I haven't had much time to update! Jack is doing really well in school this semester and studying hard. The nursing program is very competitive, so he literally studies most of the time he's not at school or working (whenever that could possibly be! Haha!).

Yesterday we went in for a weekly checkup at my doctor to see how Leighton is doing. I've told my work they could schedule me up until the 15th (my due date is the 17th), as long as they had someone on call, just in case. I just imagined I'd be late.. I am related to the Dinkins! JK :) But yesterday at my appointment, the doctor told Jack and I to try to hold out until Thursday, then they would decide what day to induce me. Turns out, I'm already dilated to a 3 and 70% effaced. I still don't want to get my hopes up, I may end up going to my due date. But we are just so excited for Leighton to be here!! We feel so blessed and can't wait to become parents!

Our other good news: as many of you know, we have been saving up for a little while to go to Disney World in November with our Maxfield family. Jack and I are pretty obsessed with Disney, we had a Disney World Honeymoon and it was magical! Ha! We've planned everything, so we could fly out for Disney World, then spend Thanksgiving with our family in SC. (We have to eat at "Lana's Cafe" for Thanksgiving!) With the baby coming and me taking a month off of work, we didn't know if we'd be able to afford any vacation that soon. Jack has the fall semesters off, so it's really the only time we can leave Rexburg for more than a weekend. We've also been e-mailing the company Jack worked for last summer trying to squeeze out the rest of the money they owed him. This has been ongoing since January! Well, yesterday it seems like all of our prayers were answered! After the doctor's appointment we came home and much to our surprise, there was a check waiting in our mailbox for quite a bit more than we expected! We joke a lot, but in all honesty neither of us thought they would pay Jack for the remainder of his sales because he didn't sign a contract to work again this year. We have so much to be grateful for, especially at this point in our lives. I feel like a lot of the blessings we've received lately are directly connected with paying our tithing. Jack and I have both developed a strong testimony of the importance of paying tithing and it seems like every time we give our 10%, the Lord gives us 110% back. We're still going to save up our money for Disney and SC, but it feels like a huge weight has been lifted. We are so thankful for our blessings and so excited for November and to be able to spend time with all of our family! 2009 is turning out to be our favorite year yet!