The Great Outdoors

One of the reasons why we bought this house was because of the great area behind us. Not only do we have a great view from our backyard (thanks to Zane), but the conservation area behind us also has tons and tons of trails to hike on. From day one we've taken the dogs through the trails and they've loved every minute of it. For about half of the year, there are creeks all over where the dogs can play and swim in and catch a water break. Now that Cally is here, she too joins us on our walks and the 5 of us have a great time. Here are some pics of us enjoying the outdoors.

Left: Trinity and Stafford /Right: Zane and Cally

Left: The Layla girl fishing /Right:Stafford taking a dip

Left: Trinity exploring /Right:Heading home

Beach Babe-Cally's First Trip to the Beach

After a great week with my mom, it was time for her to go. She flew out of Orange County Airport so Zane and I accompanied her with Cally to say our goodbyes. While there, we decided we should hit up the beach nearby since it was such a beautiful day and Cally had never been. We spent a few hours in the sun, watching the waves and enjoying the breeze. We had lunch on the grass and laid around enjoying the day with our beautiful daughter. Although she's still pretty unaware of her surroundings, I'd like to think she had a great time, we definitely did.

Cally's First Roadtrip

Since my sister Erica lives only 3 hours away from here, my mom and I decided to make a little trip down to Yuma while she was here so she could see my sis and her family as well. So we packed our bags and at only 1 week old made the three hour roadtrip down to Yuma. I was a bit nervous about traveling with Cally at such a young age, I was afraid she'd cry the whole time. Much to my surprise, we didn't hear a peep from her the whole time. We stopped once to gas up and I took the opportunity to feed and change her then. We continued on to Yuma without any problems, she did great!

In Yuma we had the chance to hang out and catch up with my sis and Cally got to meet her new cousins. I also had the chance to see my good friend Jil and Stephanie and show Cally off.

The Girls: Me, Cally, my mom, Erica, and Kaitlyn

Kaitlyn, Klay, and Nickolas

Cally and Jil

Kaitlyn and Grandma Nancy


While there, Stephanie gave birth to her daughter Tennison and I was lucky enough to meet her as well ...talk about good timing! Tennison was born on March 25, 2009, weighed 8lbs 5oz and was 20 in. long (the exact measurements as Cally!) Congratulations Steph!

Tenninson Jo Olivas

Rub A Dub Dub-Cally's First Bath

Today Cally lost her umbilical cord and she ended up with an innie! We were very excited and relieved to see that her belly button came out looking so good. It's perfect...

Now that her umbilical cord is no longer there, I couldn't wait to give her her first bath. Zane took pictures of her first plunge as I lathered her up and splashed around with her. She wasn't the happiest of babies during her bath time but it was still fun to do. And she smelled so good after wards!

I'm loving all the fun things that we get to do together and can't wait for more to come! Motherhood has been wonderful so far and I'm enjoying every minute of it!

A Grandparent's Love

Here's some pictures of the new grandparents...Grandma Nancy (my mom), "Nana" (Mary), and "Papa Bear" (John). Missing is Grandpa Raul, but we hope to change that soon!

Thanks to all of you for coming over and helping out as much as you did! I am eternally grateful and so lucky to have all of you in my life! We love you!

Cally's First Few Days

Here are some pictures of Cally's first few days at home. She is doing wonderful and we couldn't ask for a better baby. She's eating like a champ and sleeping most of the day. We are really enjoying having her around!

The Birth- March 15th 2009

Cally was due on March 14th, 2009 but as we all know, it is not the doctor but the baby herself that decides when she is gonna come into this world. I had my last doctor's appointment on the 13th of March and I was a bit disappointed to find out I was only 2 centimeters dilated and 60% effaced. After that, I was certain that she wasn't going to come for a while and that I'd most likely have to be induced. So I went about my day not expecting anything. The following day, the 14th, I felt completely fine although I began to have contractions that would last a while and although they were never painful they were definitely uncomfortable. Mary, Zane's mom, flew in a few days prior to be with me during labor and she was certain that Cally was coming sooner than what I thought.

At about 0130 that night I woke up because much to my surprise my water had broken. I woke Zane and Mary up, hopped in the shower, and soon we were off to the hospital. I began to have somewhat painful contractions in the shower but they really didn't start until we got in the car. Once we were in the car, my contractions grew exponentially and so did my pain. Thirty minutes later we arrived at the Naval Hospital in Camp Pendleton.

I was checked and found out that I was only 3 centimeters dilated but they decided to admit me since my water had broken and my contractions were so strong and close together. Three hours into these god awful contractions I finally received the epidural and my pain disappeared. My sister Erica arrived shortly after and we all spent the whole day sitting around waiting as I slowly progressed.

Finally at around 1930 I was dilated to 10 centimeters. Since Cally wasn't moving down herself they decided to start me on pitocin to increase my contractions and "labor her down." At 2040 the nurse came in and said that I was going to need to start pushing even though Cally hadn't moved down any.

And so I did, three hours later I was still pushing and Cally had not progressed still. By this point I was completely exhausted and frustrated. Although she was never in any distress, three hours was the cut off so the doctor came in and told me that they would have to use suction or forceps to aid her in coming out and if it didn't work then I would have to have an emergency C-section.

So with the aid of the suction she was finally born at 2359 on March 15th. It was a very long and hard labor but well worth it in the end. Cally weighed 8lbs 5ounces and was 20 inches long.

Zane and I are both thrilled to have Cally finally here and have been enjoying every second with her. Daddy is doing great with her and has been a great help to me while I'm healing. He's even changed most of the diapers!

We are looking forward to watching her grow and experiencing all the wonderful things that come with parenthood!