Thursday, January 22, 2009

"We carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations. "

Hayley,

A few months ago, on November 4, your parents voted for your future. We were tired of feeling like we didn't have a voice, tired of the direction our country was going and tired of feeling like there was no hope. Turns out, the rest of the country was pretty tired, too.

This past Tuesday, January 20, our country's 44th President, Barack Obama, was sworn into office. On a very cold winter morning, over a million people crowded the mall in front of the U.S. Capitol Building to watch as Obama took his oath, becoming the first African American to ever do so. It was a moment I'll truly never forget.

President Obama represents something different to everyone. To me he represents hope. He represents change. He represents character. He represents fathers and husbands. But maybe most of all, he represents my absolute greatest wish for you, Hayley: to live in a world of peace, opportunity, pride and tolerance.

When you are older you'll learn about January 20, 2009 in school. I hope that you'll bring the discussion home with you so your father and I can tell you all about the day our country began to change.

Love,
Mama

Monday, January 12, 2009

Just about the best day ever.

Last Saturday was my baby shower and I really can't express what a wonderful day it was. I was really excited about it in the days leading up, but it was many times better than I ever imagined. I need to give a HUGE thank you to Kelley and Steph for putting it together, as well as to Mom, Kati and Margaret for helping them out. Here are some pics to take you through the day:

First, I walked in and the entire house was decorated. It was the cutest thing ever. What I loved was that so much of the decoration was functional, we got to take it all home!
Even the computer was all decked out!
Then I noticed the table covered in yummy food, catered by Steph's mom, Marsha. They obviously know how to keep a pregnant woman happy! Also, all those flower arrangements were done by my Aunt Margaret. The one on the food table was especially thoughtful because she made sure to include white lilies and heather, just like my wedding bouquet (which she also put together for me!). Once the boys departed we started on some games. Now, most shower games are fairly lame but all 3 of the games we played were great! The standout was a game of memory where you had to match baby/birth words together and each time you did you won a corresponding candy bar. For instance, match "Baby Giggles" and you received a Snickers bar. "Daddy"? A Big Hunk bar. "Conception"? A Skor bar. "Epidural"? Life Savers. It went on and on and it was really fun to see which each match would bring.After games we called Geoff back to the house and started on the gifts. This portion of the shower took the longest, by far, as Geoff and I are blessed to have a truly generous family and group of friends. Here are a few pics of us ooh-ing and aww-ing over a few items and then a final shot of what her room looked like once all the gifts were brought in that night:
My uncle Dan even made sure to send over a gift just for Geoff:
After gifts I was bullied into cutting the most adorable cake I'd ever seen. My mom had taken my shower invite to Icing on the Cake (who made our wedding cake and all of the video game cakes I've given to Geoff over the years) and had them put a design together. It was white cake with lemon filling and a butter cream frosting. The cake was decorated with pink polka dots all over, the stroller from the invite on top and the words "Welcome to the world Hayley!" around the side. If I'd had my way we never would have eaten it and I'd find some way to preserve it forever. It was just beautiful.
I am just overwhelmed with gratitude for everyone that made the day possible, everyone who came to celebrate with us and everyone who couldn't make it but sent us good thoughts that day. I will truly never forget Hayley's shower and I can't wait to introduce her to all of you!

As usual, click here to see our Picasa photo albums.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Holiday 2008 wrap-up


She may not be born yet, but Hayley's presence was certainly felt all throughout this holiday season. From the baby gifts, to the feasting, to the realization that Thanksgiving and Christmas will never be the same (they'll be better), Hayley has become an integral part of our lives. Of course, family has always been the focus this time of year. I don't think she knows what's coming, though. Let's just hope Hayley gets into the holiday spirit as much as the rest of us!

Thanksgiving at Danny and Patti's house





We tend to eat well for the holidays. This is but a modest sampling. Unfortunately, Hayley didn't appreciate the loss of space whenever Mommy had her share of the feast. Pretty soon, Mommy will be able to eat and breathe like a normal person! Woo!

Xmas at Nancy and Matt's house


This picture only represents about 20% of all the gifts opened that day in that house. I'm not even kidding.


Hayley's own adorable little mouse ornament.


Mommy and Grandma trying not to cry (but failing) while reading Hayley's gift from Grandpa. (On the Night You Were Born)


Daddy getting the best baby gift ever (zip-up Maggie Simpson star outfit).


Daddy loves you!


Another insanely cute ornament, which is now hanging in the nursery.


We are the Tuttles. Welcome.


New Year's Eve at Steph's house


Here we are toasting the new year, 2009, the year of our beautiful daughter's birth! We couldn't be happier! We are so excited for the coming whirlwind and for the joy of the next holiday season in Hayley's company.


Click here to view our Picasa web album, with all of the pics from the holidays.

It's ok; we can laugh about it now.

Dear Hayley,

I'm going to take this opportunity to tell you, once again, how awesome your father is. You see, a few weeks ago your mama turned 25. Now, before we go too far in this story I should tell you I'm pretty awesome, too. Your father turned 25 a few years ago and I surprised him by waking him very early in the morning, telling him to pack a bag for the weekend, and walking him outside to a van full of our friends. We then drove to Disneyland and had a great time. If you ever ask your dad someday in the future about his 25th birthday, do mama a favor and be sure not to ask him about his feet, ok?

Anyway, back to MY 25th. I knew your father had something planned, but I had no clue as to what it was. In fact, your dad wanted to keep this a surprise so bad he didn't tell a single person for fear I'd figure it out. I slowly started learning some details as the date neared: we were going somewhere cold and we had to wake up REALLY early to catch our flight. Once we arrived at the airport I was told we weren't flying direct, so I wouldn't know where we were truly going for another few hours. We boarded our flight to Phoenix and started our trip.Once in Phoenix we rushed to our next flight and that's when I found out: we were headed to Detroit! As soon as I found this out, I knew what the plan was. Your dad was apparently paying excellent attention all of these years when I talked about wanting to see the Sharks play in other arenas as well as wishing he would plan a trip since I love to travel so much. When we landed in Detroit I looked out the window and was delighted to see a bunch of beautiful snow all over the place. In fact, this might just be the first time I'd been in snow since I visited your dad in Boston many years ago.

We made our way to our hotel and this is when I learned that Detroit is REALLY stinkin' close to Canada. Your mama's never been too great with geography. We could see Canada from out our window, just across the river, and based on how much you were moving around I think you were waving to our friends up north right along with me!
After a quick lunch and rest, we bundled up and took Detroit's monorail, called the People Mover, to the Joe Louis Arena. "The Joe" is the home of the Detroit Red Wings.It was amazing to walk around the arena and look at all of the memorabilia.
I can't help but hope that one day you'll be grown up and walk into the Shark Tank and see a few of these banners in the rafters.
However, with the way the game ended up I'm not so sure. The Sharks lost 6-0 and I could do nothing but laugh. You see, a few years ago we went and watched the Sharks play the Phoenix Coyotes and it was an absolute massacre. They lost 8-0 that time. I'm starting to think maybe we shouldn't go see the Sharks play out of town anymore.

That night we went back to our hotel room and started to watch the Weather Channel. You see, a rather large snow storm was headed our way and we had plans to head home the next morning, on my actual birthday. When we woke up on December 19 we looked out the window and all we could see was a blanket of white. Our flight wasn't cancelled, or even delayed, so we packed up and went to meet a taxi for the drive to the airport. I'm not going to lie, it was by far the worst car ride I've ever been on. I mean, we had to take an on ramp and were delayed because a big rig was stuck in the snow. If they were stuck, how were WE going to make it?? There may have been a few scared tears, I really can't say for sure.

By 9 a.m. there had been 6 inches of snowfall. Our flight was at 11something so we crossed our fingers.
We got to the airport and they were doing their best to keep flights moving. We boarded on time and were only delayed because they had to de-ice the plane. Between the delay and the terrible nose wind, we missed our connecting flight in Phoenix but were able to get seats on a flight to San Francisco.You father felt really bad, thinking he'd ruined my birthday considering the horrible loss at the hockey game and the terrible travel day we had, but you know what? It was still pretty much the coolest birthday gift I've ever received. Your dad put a lot of effort into this trip and it still amazes me that he took the time to do so. He's a great man, that father of yours. I can't wait for you to meet him.

Love,
Mama

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

I'm going to brag here for a second.

So, last night I was thinking that I needed to post about how I totally deserve a cookie for the fact that I actually shaved my legs while 33 weeks pregnant. Trust me, it was no small feat.

BUT THEN, I went to the doctor for a check up* and had my dreaded weigh in. This weigh in is the first since my last appointment 3 weeks ago, which means it was before my birthday, Christmas and New Years. I was not looking forward to it. I stepped on the scale, ready to cry, to learn I only gained THREE measly pounds! I almost kissed the nurse.

So, I think I'll have a side of french fries with my cookie, if you don't mind.
----------------------------

*The check up went well. Hayley is measuring 34-35 weeks which may mean she'll be here sooner than we thought, though they haven't officially moved up my EDD. I had a feeling they were more on track with my original EDD (2/13) so we'll see how it goes. Hayley is positioned head down which is good news. My total weight gain is 23 pounds, my blood pressure still looks good and there doesn't seem to be anything to worry about. I took another blood test to check on my thyroid and iron levels and we'll find out in a few weeks how I'm responding to those treatments. Pretty much, I'm lucky to be having an easy pregnancy and Hayley continues to be the epitome of little fetus perfection! :)