Going Home

 We took Xander home on Thursday June 7.

We could have gone home the day before but he had a lot of amniotic

fluid in his stomach that he was throwing up and it would make him choke.

He would stop breathing and turn blue when he started choking so we

stayed at the hospital for him to get checked up on more.

Mom and Dad putting his first outfit on.

Even with it being Newborn size it was a little big.

 First time in his carseat!

He looks so tiny in it.

All buckled in and ready to go!

It was very exciting and scary to be taking him home.

Let the journey begin!

First Bath

 Xander's first bath at the hospital.

He did pretty good seeing how he does not like to be undressed.

He really liked having his hair washed!

I love how babies like the sound of the water.

What a cute little guy!

Visitors at the Hospital

 Xander had a lot of visitors at the hospital!

 Grandma Caylinn

 Grandpa Jeff

Grandma Julie

Grandpa Rick

 

 Uncle Bradly

Aunt Kendra and Uncle Zach

 Elaine and Jen

Great Grandma Rowley and Chester

Carlee

Mike

Thanks for all of the visitors and support!

Xander J. Shorts

On Monday, June 4, 2012 I had a doctor's appointment to see how things were

going. I had been dilated to a three for three weeks and there was no change.

I was asked if I wanted my membranes stripped and I said no because Brady's

Aunt Cheryl had recently passed away and her funeral was the next day and

Brady wanted to be there for it. That night I started having contractions at 8:00 pm.

Around 11:00 pm I told Brady that they were getting pretty painful and that we

might want to go to the hospital soon but I was worried that they would just send me 

home so I had us wait for a little longer. We checked in to the hospital at 11:50 pm.

Once they told me that I would be staying I called my Mom to have her come.

I was worried about getting an epidural because my cousin just recently had a very

bad experience with hers so I waited until 2:20 am to have one. I was dilated to a six.

The epidural went very well and I think they are the greatest things ever.

This is us resting in between contractions. They wore Brady out!

By 6:00 am I was dilated to a ten so we did a rest and descent for

an hour and I started pushing at 7:30 am. I only had to push for 2 hrs 20 min.

On June 5, 2012 at 9:50 am Xander was born weighing 7 lbs. 10 oz. 19 inches long.

 The little guy was pretty swollen but the swelling went down a lot within the first day.

 Our first family picture!

 

My nurse Emily. She was amazing!

 

 Mommy and Daddy with Xander! We love our new little guy!

Arizona Trip - Part Three

 Of course we had to go to a couple Spring Training games

while we were in Arizona! We went to two. 

The Diamondbacks played the Indians at our first game.

 This is where our seats were at! They were padded and everything.

And very much in the sun! Great view though!

 This is where we sat for our second game.

The Diamondbacks played the Dodgers.

We were supposed to be out on the grass but I was already

burning after only being out there for 30 minutes while

getting our autographs so we found a nice cement

bench that was in the shade the entire time.

There was a breeze and everything!

Go Diamondbacks!!

Arizona Trip - Part Two

 On our trip we were also able to see the Mesa Temple Easter Pageant!

I really enjoyed it! They did a great job at telling the story of Christ's life!

 Some of the performers.

 We also went to the Mesa Temple.

Temple number Fourteen together as a couple!

 The Temple grounds are gorgeous!

Arizona Trip - Part One

 Brady and I decided we should go on one more trip before

Xander came. Brady served his mission in Arizona and has

been wanting to go back ever since then.

He has been home for three years so we decided it was time to go back!

This is us waiting at the airport for our plane.

Our sweet ride while we were there. We did a lot of driving so I 

was very grateful for the SUV with extra leg room! Very comfy!

 

It was such a fun vacation because it was laid back and relaxing!

We started off by going to a couple of malls that were in Brady's area 

but he was not allowed to go to them.

 Brady took me to some of his favorite places to eat there.

The first night we ate at Ray's Pizza!

 After Dinner we went to Harkins Theatres to see Hunger Games!

I loved the movie and I loved how comfortable the theater was!

 We also went to El Rico's (All three of them.)

This is the original El Rico's. It was tiny! The Elders used

to leave their orders on post it notes and put it on the back

door and then someone would bring their food out to them.

They always got it for free too!

 Right across the street from the original El Rico's

the owner built this nice one. It was two stories and could 

probably hold at least ten original El Rico's in it!

The area around this building never developed.

There is literally nothing around but desert!

So Rich, the owner, moved his restaurant to Gilbert

where it was getting a lot more business.

We ate here on Friday night.

 While in Gilbert we were able to see the Gilbert Temple being built!