Hello to all from Hong Kong! We have finally arrived. It only took me and Mav an extra six months more than planned ;). 
Just after Maverick turned three weeks old (as in the next day) we packed up and headed to McKinney, Texas for a week long visit with Scott's family. It was a great week, Scott got to see them this summer right as I got my feeding tube, but I hadn't seen most of them for since the summer of 2012. We played board games, hung out with Satch (the best dog in the entire world), went to the Dallas Zoo, had great barbecue, went to Caroline's 5th birthday party (Kitty Kat themed), and had lots of quality family time. On Sunday February 16, 2014 we blessed Maverick in church. Scott, his father Dave, brother in law Matt, and several family friends were the priesthood presence. It was a beautiful blessing. A very happy day. 
Our little ray of sunshine has grown so so much already, it kind of breaks my heart a little. We measured him with a measuring tape last night and he is already 22 inches- 3 inches longer than when he was born! I'm not sure how much he weighs currently, but he feels much heavier. The New Born pair of sleep-and-play jammies that were the only things that fit him when he was born are barely long enough now. Also, he is getting nice and chubby. He was a total bean pole before, and just five days ago me and Scott both noticed at the same time that he was getting rolls on his thighs. And then the next day they were on his wrist. And then his neck. It is amazing and I adore it. I am constantly kissing his little squishy baby cheeks, it's my favorite because you can press your lips in for ages and still be going into baby fat. 
He started going through a growth spurt about a week ago, and then we completely flipped his time zone, so this little guy is only sleeping 3 hour stretches at night, despite all my Babywise and Happiest Baby on the Block efforts. But on the upside, he is starting (BARELY) to try and figure out that his head should move towards whatever he wants (food, and binkie primarily). So he tries to lunge his head towards them, resulting in him tipping and rolling himself part way. Although he only ends up going the right direction about 15% of the time. And his tiny baby sighs and grunts are just as prevalent. He's still got a pirate eye when he is tired, or an eye roll, and he still tries to give me the stink eye when I am burping him. Which he resists to no end. 
All in all, being a mom is the GREATEST. I love my little man more than anything. Him and Scottie. 
Anyways, enough with the gushing. Hopefully my next post will have lots of pictures of us in HK, including some of a new apartment! The apartment is yet to be picked, but will be very soon. For now you can enjoy some photos of our cute family. 

Scottie and Maverick after the blessing. Maverick's blessing outfit was an adorable cable knit onesie. 





Here is Reesie-Roo dressed up as a cat at Caroline's birthday party.

A hilarious game of 'lick the whipped cream out of the cat bowl'.


Emily King throws the most amazing birthday parties! Seriously. 

Mimi and Maverick.

Satch, Gramps, Maverick, and Mimi. I love this picture. 


Here is Maverick yesterday (February 24, 2014) showing off his new fat rolls. 



All dressed up with no-where to go. Just my little doll.

Comparison in size, next to Lola's Bitty Baby doll. 

AND, here are just a few of the precious new born lifestyle photos we got taken by Tracy Layne photography. I am in love. They are treasures. 














At 5:44 PM on January 22, 2014, at exactly 38 weeks gestation, Scott Maverick Stiles was born! Our healthy baby boy was 7.6 lbs, and 19.5 inches long. 
On the night of January 21 just before we fell asleep me and Scott said a prayer, and I asked, as I had been doing for weeks, that baby Mav join us as soon as possible. I woke up the next morning at about 7:30 feeling like I had wet the bed just a bit. And when I stood up there was more trickle. I called my mother to tell her that I thought my water had broken, and then I called Scott, who was on his way to orientation for the ski resort he was volunteering at. I got his answering machine, but he called back just a few minutes later. I told him that I thought my water had broken, and he turned the car right around to take me to the hospital. He later told me that he knew I was in labor when he saw a missed call from me that early in the morning, because normally I don't get up until at least 11. 
We made it to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in downtown Provo, and entered in the E.R. for the first time in my life. When I told them that I was in labor and my water had broken the nice lady at the counter zoomed over with a wheelchair. It was nice, but I felt pretty silly because I could still walk. But no way was I going to turn down one of the only times in my life I could legitimately ride in a wheel chair. So we made our way up to the Labor and Delivery floor. Then some nice nurses proceeded to ask me lots of questions and poke at me. 
I had been really excited that since I was now 38 weeks, and had broken my water there was no way they could turn me away. But they checked me, I was only dilated to a 1. Uh oh. Then they did a PH strip, which was negative for amniotic fluid. Oh no! They warned me that they might have to send me home, but decided to look at some of my fluid under a microscope just to double check. So me and Scott waited anxiously, playing Settlers of Catan on the iPad, and me having contractions that were horrible. But the fluid was confirmed to be amniotic fluid- yeah!!!
Once they discovered this, they officially checked me and called my doctor. Since my mom's work was about 5 blocks away she showed up then, and the kind nurses started me on some sort of great painkillers that even allowed me to nap! The nurses checked me again in the afternoon and I was at a 4.  At that point the doctor came, a sweet lady from my OBGYN group that I hadn't met yet, Dr. Dabling. They discovered that I either had two amniotic sac layers, or that I had a hole where the bit of water before had come from, and now I was no longer leaking because the fluid was below the hole level. This meant they had to re break my water. By poking it with what was essentially a very long crochet hook. When this happened Scott nearly passed out, and had to go find himself some food. A few minutes later I went to the bathroom before the anesthesiologist came to give me my epidural, and there was a literal FLOOD of water. It was disgusting and super embarrassing, but the nurses were very sweet, and the anesthesiologist was in and out in about 3 minutes. I can't imagine what his hourly rate is. 
That epidural was AMAZING. I couldn't feel anything in my lower half, just some pressure during contractions, and cold numb legs. Sweet relief from those contractions. An hour and a half later, I was dilated to a 10 and pushing. I pushed for about 30 minutes, with the nurses and Scott holding my hands and coaching me. Me and Scott had discussed previously that he would stand by my head and give me moral support so he wouldn't be grossed out or scared. But when the time came he said he was so excited that it wasn't scary, and he was right there with me, I really appreciated it. (He even cut the umbilical cord) I was throwing up while I was in labor, up until about a minute before he was born. 
Finally, I felt pressure, and then no pressure, and Scott told me, "Open your eyes- we have a baby!" And when I opened my eyes I saw the most beautiful, sweetest, most lovable thing I had ever seen. And I was terrified before they put him in my arms. I was scared that I wouldn't know what to do, or that he wouldn't like me. But as soon as I touched him, he stopped crying and I felt peace. The entire day of labor and delivery was really very easy, and far less scary than I had heard. Knowing that in just a few short hours I would not be sick anymore, the pain would be over, and I would have my baby, it seemed like a very light price to pay. As Scott would say, I had about 100 days during my pregnancy that were far worse. And sure enough, as soon as he was born my nausea was gone and I felt completely healthy again.
Today Mav is ten days old, and already I feel like my little baby is growing up! He is the easiest baby I have ever seen. I believe that Heavenly Father made the pregnancy so hard for me because He knew Mav was going to be so easy. At least as a newborn ;). Every day since he was born has been pure bliss. Mostly we love to hold him, stare at him, cuddle him, and kiss him. Scott is the best daddy, and husband. He has been taking care of both of us, and is so sweet and gentle. I love to see how excited he gets to see the baby after even just a few minutes apart, and I hope that little Maverick turns out just like his daddy. 
I am so glad that I have a healthy, happy baby. Although I am sure that even if he were a hard baby we would feel just the same. He is my little ray of sunshine, and every moment I am thinking about him, and how lucky and blessed I am. 













Hello all! Welcome from me and baby Scottie Maverick (aka Mav), who are enduring week 32 of pregnancy. This is a pretty eventful week, full of Christmas parties out the wazoo, with Scott's birthday being December 8th, my birthday being tomorrow (December 12th), and now there are only 14 days until Scott comes home on December 25th! I have sooo much to be grateful for this holiday season. I know that I am a very fortunate soul, and every year I have about 2 gajillion things to be grateful for, but this year I am feeling extra aware and grateful. Every night when I say my prayers my 'thank you for' list far outweighs my 'please bless...' list, and it is a wonderful feeling. 

WARNING, the next section waxes pretty mushy and nostalgic, so feel free to skip it...

I have family nearby that are so sweet and loving to me. Constantly cooking me food, inviting me to activities with them, letting me hold their babies....
I have family (on the Holbrook and Stiles sides) far away that are so thoughtful as well. Sending me sweet cards, texts, calls, emails, ect. 
Sunnee, David, and their kids have been beyond gracious in welcoming Scott into their home. I find it especially sweet that my little nephew Kale (only about 9 years old) never complains about having to share his bedroom with his two little sisters because Scott is staying in his room. He hasn't said a single complaint as far as I know, and I hear reports that every time he says a prayer he prays that me and the baby will feel better soon so that we can come to Hong Kong soon. 
My parents have also been amazing hosts to me. They are so thoughtful, always inviting me to do things, feeding me, taking care of me when I feel awful. I am especially appreciative of the time they spend with me just sitting on the couch, or when my mom would hold me as I cried or held my hair back when I got sick. 
I have a job that allows me such great benefits that I have been able to take advantage of, especially my health care and disability coverage. It always amazes me that if I hadn't started working at Medicity at the time I did last year, my coverage would have been much different for this pregnancy. 
I have easy access to some amazing doctors, who are very good at what they do. 
I have an amazing husband whom I miss very dearly. He is my best friend. He is so supportive and loving. I am grateful that I get to talk to him every day even though he is so far away. He is every quality I adore and I hope that our baby boy is just like his daddy. He loves me and the baby very much, and he works very hard to give us everything we want and need. 
My baby is healthy and safe. It always astounds me that no matter what weird problems I have during the pregnancy, and no matter how crappy I feel, none of my many doctors has even suggested that the baby is unhealthy. He is growing so big and strong (70% they say!). I love to feel him move, even now when he seems to be right under my lungs, and getting a little too strong.
I am a member of and have faith in a church that brings me happiness, hope, and understanding. I always get kind of nervous sharing my feelings or thoughts about church with people, but let me simply tell you that I believe in Christ, and the Atonement. And I have been blessed in so many ways because of it. 

Anyways. A quick recap of how I've been keeping myself busy for the past month. First off, I made Scottie Maverick a Christmas stocking. My family has these HUGE felt stockings that my mom made us, and we are each represented by different characters. If you read my blog last Christmas (or was that two years ago?) you saw me and Scott's stockings. I am a princess, and I made one for Scott when we got engaged that is a Dallas Cowboy's football player. I have been stressing out for a few weeks because I can not find where we packed them :(. But here is the baby's nonetheless. 



Ta-da!
That's right. A Dallas Maverick football player. Looking unintentionally Asian. 

After the stocking I started working on a Quiet Book for the baby. They have all these great page ideas, some even with tutorials, on Pinterest. And I know he won't be able to really enjoy it for at least a year, but who knows when I will have this much time again! So here is a compilation of all the pages I made. I am not a great sewer, and some of it looks kind of ghetto. But it turned out pretty cute, and I doubt the baby will notice (or care). I hope. Especially because a lot of the pages took me about 8 hours each. UGH.


Mr Potato head (more accessories inside the page, not shown)


Two cars pages. I tied the car on with a shoelace so we don't loose it, but we will see how long that lasts :)


A mailbox with letters inside


A rice-search page. 


A clock- with moving hands!


A toolbox, with little tools inside. So cute. 


A tie-the-shoe page. If he's like me he won't be able to do this until he's 8, but hey....


A farm barn.


And a hill with tiny little farm animal finger puppets. These took me AGES. But they are so adorable I about died. I will have to watch Mav like a hawk when he plays with them, because I do NOT want to have to remake them. 


A count-the-beads page. With tiny rainbow colored zoo animal beads. Of course. 


A ladybug page. Where the spots snap-on, and a zippered inside to hide them in. 


Two matching game pages. With little pieces for you to match the shapes and colors. 


And lastly, a tic-tac-toe page, with Velcro pieces! 


Here is the flannel cover/carrying case I made for it. Complete with a Velcro closing!


The pages fit inside with some binder rings, and a ribbon connected to the cover holds them in the case. 


I had to make a pocket for the rice search since it was so bulky. 


And last, but not least, I added a little tag that says 'Specially Hand Made By Kelsey'. But I can't figure out how to flip photos once they are in Blogger, so it appears to be upside down :).

Also, before you go, here are a few belly update pics of me from the last few weeks. Enjoy!

Week 30: 



And week 32: 




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