7.

August 22nd- Celebrating 7 wonderful years of wedded bliss!

REWIND- 3 weeks and 3 days ago...

Despite all my best well wishing baby girl Norman didn't end up making her debut on her own, so on September 3rd, just 3 days before my due date, Justin and I headed to the hospital to meet our baby girl.

After what felt like one of the longest, most nerve racking mornings of my life we finally checked into the hospital at noon. My c-section was scheduled for two o'clock. The nurses helping me hooked me up to the baby monitor, took my vitals, placed my IV and such... while I did my best NOT to be too nervous... Of course I was so very excited for my baby girl to come, but I was so nervous about getting the spinal tap and having surgery...

(My "baby girl" Jamberry nails.)

Once I was all prepped and ready it was time to head into the operating room. At this point they walked Justin to the recovery room to put my bags there and then I thought they would bring him right back to me. But they didn't, and it was time for me to get my spinal tap! I was so nervous for this and REALLY wanted Justin there for support. I wanted to hold his hand! I kept thinking they would bring him right in... the anesthesiologist started telling me what I needed to do for him to be able to place the spinal tap... still no Justin. I told the anesthesiologist I was very, very nervous for this part. He assured me it wouldn't be half as bad as I was expecting it to be and he had a nurse come hold my hand as I leaned forward over a pillow while he put the needle in my back. He was so nice and helped me stay calm. He told me what to expect and how it would feel and although I was still nervous his calm demeanor really helped me. He was really patient with me and the way he talked to me made me actually believe that what he was telling me was the truth- it really wouldn't hurt too much. And, it really didn't. (I felt sooo grateful to that anesthesiologist- who continued to be so great throughout my entire c-section.) The only problem was that my lower body wasn't going all the way numb... My doctor kept checking by pinching my lower stomach and my shoulder- it felt the same! "It's okay," the anesthesiologist tried to reassure me, "sometimes it takes a little longer." My anxiety level rose. I DID NOT want to have another spinal tap despite how "okay" it was the first time. And where was Justin?! They still hadn't brought him in. The doctor kept checking to see how numb I was. I kept saying I could still feel the pinches and please not to cut me open until I was numb! The anesthesiologist told the doctor he might need to do the spinal tap again. No, no, no! I kept thinking in my head. But, then they checked again and finally I was beginning to get more and more numb! My legs were tingly, then completely numb, and then before too long I couldn't feel the pinches at all anymore. AND, then they FINALLY brought Justin in! It was time for us to meet our baby girl.

Having a c-section is very uncomfortable. Not because it is extremely painful, there is some pain, but the "pain" comes from all the horrible tugging and pulling I could feel. Sooo much pressure! Immediately once the surgery started I couldn't wait for it to be over. Between the extreme discomfort I was in and the anxiety I already had, plus the effect of the medicine (I think) that I had been given I was feeling pretty out of it. I think the anesthesiologist put some oxygen on me. Justin was standing by my side watching. I was so comforted by his presence. The anesthesiologist told me that they had made the cut... I was moaning in pain, gritting my teeth, trying to stay calm... "2 more minutes and she'll be out! Then I can give you something good for the pain- just 2 more minutes!" the anesthesiologist said.

And suddenly it all felt so real. Our baby girl was almost here! I felt overwhelmed with emotions- gratitude for the last 9 months, love towards the child we were about to welcome into our family... and so much more that words just do no justice to describe.

And then, just moments later, I could hear her crying! Oh, what a wonderful, amazing sound! Our baby girl was screaming loud and strong and I couldn't help but burst into tears. Pure happiness filled my heart. What an amazing miracle- to bring new life into this world. Life that Justin and I created together. And she was ours- forever. Oh, how our Heavenly Father loves and blesses us.

The next few hours are more blurry for me. The pain medicine they gave me made me very loopy. But, Justin went to our baby while the doctor finished up my c-section and sewed and stapled me up. I was so glad that Justin could be near her while I couldn't be. I lay there and listened to our baby's squeals and pictured Justin at her side- taking pictures, cutting her cord. Justin came back over to me during that time and I asked about the baby. "Is she okay? Does she have hair?" I asked through tears. Justin answered yes to both and asked if I was okay. One simple question asked in a way that made me feel so very loved. What a wonderful husband I have. I told him I was fine and that he could go back and be with our baby.

In the recovery room I was able to hold our sweet baby girl for the first time. She was tiny and beautiful and I was completely and madly in love with her. I didn't get to hold Keaton for days after he was born and I kept saying silent prayers of thanks, gratitude, and happiness for such a perfect, healthy baby- for the chance to experience motherhood in a way I hadn't before. 

Justin and I were both smitten. We couldn't get enough of her- our precious baby girl- we still can't.

September 3, 2013 at 2:23 PM our little miss Aisley Pearl Norman was born weighing 6 lbs. 5 oz. and measuring 19 inches long. 

Oh, how we love our little miss Aisley.

Celebrating 5 years!

On August 22nd, Justin and I celebrated 5 AMAZING years of marriage! How I love this wonderful man of mine! I am so blessed to have him by my side through thick and thin, happy and sad, and every time in between on this wonderful adventure called life.

I live in Nebraska?!

I still picture our home to be in our little apartment in Orem, Utah. Sometimes, I wake up in the morning and think we are there. At the grocery store, the gas station, or the pharmacy I keep thinking I see people that I know- family and friends from home- and then I remember... that it can't be them cause they don't live here.

It just doesn't feel real to me yet that we live here.

I live in Nebraska.

For years now, I have had this "Today I feel..." magnet on our fridge. It cost me $1 in the dollar section at Target. It's silly, and I probably wouldn't have kept it for this long except Maddie seems to really love it whenever she has come to visit.

Maddie: "Ashley, how do you feel today? Hungry? Fat?! Ha, ha, ha." (As she proceeds to laugh hysterically.)

I just love it.

So, this picture is for her.

And, here is my answer these days Mads- I feel ZANY.

Absolutely and completely zany. I guess it is from the move. My life just feels in a constant state of "newness?" (I don't know how else to describe it?)

Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad thing. We really like it here. So far, I really like it here. For the next year Columbus, Nebraska is our home and so far there are quite a few things that I really like about it. So, I decided to make a little list.

10 things that I LOVE about Columbus, Nebraska: (so far :) )

#1- The first thing I noticed and automatically loved about Nebraska is all the trees. There are no mountains, or hills, or absolutely anything like that here, like Utah, but there are tons, and tons, and tons of beautiful, huge trees. They line the streets and fill the neighborhoods and I think they are gorgeous and a very enjoyable part of Nebraska.

#2- There are lightning bugs here! There are definitely no lightning bugs in Utah. I love sitting outside at night with Justin and Keat and watching for lightning bugs in our yard. I also have really enjoyed when we have been driving at night and I've been able to look out into all the farm fields- there are tons and tons of lightning bugs out there! It's fun and makes me happy for sure.

#3- We have air conditioning here! Which is a very 1st for us since we have been married. It was almost torture in our last apartment with how hot it would get in the summertime! On the very worst days our temperature gauge in our apartment would read anywhere from 90 degrees to 97 degrees!!! I honestly don't know how I did it?! Having central air is a dream. :) It is quite humid here (as my hair can attest to), and because of the heavy humidity having air conditioning (in my opinion) is just that much better.

 #4- We have a dishwasher! Need I say more? We have never had a dishwasher before either.

#5- (This is kinda a silly one, but nonetheless...) Our mailbox is right outside our front door. At our old apartment we had to walk around the block to get to our mailbox, and although that isn't the worst thing ever :) it is quite convenient to have the mailbox so close by. Plus, it also means that we have a walking (for lack of a better word?) mailman, which I happen to think is quite fun.

#6- There are bunnies hopping around all over the place here- in our backyard, at the parks, and in the fields. It's so cute! I keep telling Justin that he needs to catch one for Keaton to have for a pet. :) He says that would be really hard and won't even try for me! (We also see lots of squirrels, and  lots of noisy birds in our yard, which Keaton loves.)

#7- We have the Disney channel! (I've already mentioned this before, but I think it's worth mentioning it again.) We have Disney, Disney XD, and Disney Jr. I love, love, love it. It makes me happy daily. And, since we are finally unfinished packing and all settled in, I finally have a little extra time to watch all things Disney. (Which usually happens during naptime. Justin is a stink and won't let me watch the Disney channel once he gets home from work.) Having the Disney channel also means we have cable. Another 1st. And, although Justin won't admit it, I think he is enjoying watching movies and tv shows with me that we wouldn't be able to watch otherwise, plus I know he will enjoy watching sports in the future. :)

#8- It is quite fun to live in a house. We have 3 floors and so, so, so much room. (It might take me quite a bit longer to clean than our teeny, tiny apartment, which is a negative for me, but it may be the only one. :) ) It's weird, to have so much space, but I've grown to love it already. It's a new, fun, good experience. Plus, it is in fact a cute little house, in a cute little neighborhood, in quaint little Columbus, (emphasis on the little) Nebraska. :)

#9- We can hear the "choo-choo" trains... Okay, so this isn't exactly a "love" about Columbus, Nebraska thing. The trains are close to our house and go by quite frequently all the while blowing their horns as loud as possible- particularly at night. We learned the hard way that it isn't a great idea to leave our windows open at night. (between the trains all through the night and the noisy birds starting at the crack of dawn...). We are getting more and more used to the trains everyday, but there are still nights when I wake up to the sound of the trains horns blowing, and blowing, and blowing all through town. It isn't as annoying anymore (as long as our windows are closed, of course), but it does sometimes scare me a little- like I am waking up from a scary dream just to realize it's just another train. On a more positive note, Keaton gets super, super excited when he hears the trains and looks around and says, "Oooh!" and "Choo-choo." :)

#10- (I am going to kinda combine 2 things in this one.) I am 100% a stay at home mom now. It is amazingly wonderful and I can't help but hoping that is lasts forever. :) And, I have a husband now!
He, he. Just kidding. That is probably not very fair to say. But, with Justin only working now, Keaton and I see him so much more which is so great. We get to do so many more things together as a family now- family dinners, bike rides, walks, movie nights, just purely spending time with Keaton, and we even got gym memberships at the YMCA (which has free daycare, not that Keaton will like it- it is much too much like nursery... we'll see how that goes!).

Happy, happy, happy. That's what all these things make me. Which is good, cause as much as I like it here so far, it is still an adjustment. I have never lived so far away from family and friends, in such a small, unfamiliar place. But, Columbus, Nebraska it is quickly growing on us. And, all these things I love so far, daily put a smile on my face.

P.S. (Instead of adding a #11, but would be very wrong of me not to mention) EVERYONE we have met here- everyone in the branch, our neighbors, Justin's co-workers- has been extremely nice and welcoming to us. We have already made quite a few friends. :)

Columbus, Nebraska feels like home more and more everyday and in a year I fear that we will love it here so much we won't be ready to leave! But, for now, we plan on livin' it up and just enjoying every second of our time here because, like time frequently does, I'm sure it will fly by much too fast!

Cruisin'

Saturday, May 12th- Around 10 am my parents picked up Keaton at our apartment and Justin and I headed out on our long drive ahead of us to Long Beach California, which is where we stayed the night before getting on our cruise ship on Sunday morning. Saturday night we took advantage of being "baby-less" and went out to dinner at a very random, but very yummy pizza joint and then went to the late show of The Avengers. The perfect way to start off our much needed vaca.

Sunday, May 13th- Mother's day. :) And, before boarding our cruise ship we had the super fun opportunity of doing a 3-way Skype with Justin's family and Elder Norman! It was great to hear and see from Curtis and we can all tell he is lovin' every minute of his mission and working hard to be the best missionary he can be. :)

Then, once we boarded the ship we called my mom to tell her Happy Mother's day, and to say good-bye to Keaton one last time. (I'm not going to go on and on about it, although I could... but man it was so hard to be away from Keaton!)

Monday, May 14th- This vacation was MUCH needed for both Justin and I. And, we took full advantage of spending time together- just the two of us- by relaxing, playing games, eating whenever we wanted, doing whatever we wanted- whenever we wanted, and by staying up kinda late, and sleeping in as late as we wanted every morning. It was wonderful.

These pictures were taken our first "elegant" night on board the ship.

Tuesday, May 15th- Our 1st day in Cabo San Lucas. The picture below is a slightly awkward picture of us -and some random lady- on our tender to Cabo.

Since we had two days to spend in Cabo we decided to spend our first day walking around just browsing the shops, doing a little "shopping," and walking to the beach.

 We saw this crazy big swordfish that the fisherman had just brought in and were measuring.

We went on a "glass bottom" boat ride and met this nice sea lion fellow who was sun-bathing on this big rock right out in the middle of the ocean.

Our funny little Mexican tour guide took this cool picture of us with this arch and "lover's beach" in the background.

And, on Tuesday night we enjoyed dinner together just the two of us.

Wednesday, May 16th- Our second day in Cabo. We walked to a different beach than the one we went to the day before and once we got to the beach realized we didn't have our camera. Darn! Then I realized I couldn't remember the last time I remembered having our camera... I tried not to think about it while we playing on the beach all day long, but sure enough, when we got back to our room our camera was no where to be found! We checked everywhere all around the ship, but to no avail, our camera was missing. :(

Thursday, May 17th- Our day in Puerto Vallarta. Our first stop- Walmart. We walked there to look into buying a new camera. (It was just too sad thinking we wouldn't have any pictures from our whole cruise!) We found a nice one for about $87 dollars and bought it along with the games UNO H2O and Battleship. :)  We then found a shuttle driver to drive us to the beach and on a little tour of the quaint little town of Puerto Vallarta.

Justin enjoying the waves and soakin' in the sun. It was a beautiful day. (Can you see my cute Angry Birds bandaid? :) )

I thought it was rather humorous to watch all the kids on the beach fly these little para-sailer "kites" with super heroes attached to the parachutes. We saw Spiderman, Batman, and Ironman (I think). :)

The kids were thoroughly entertained, and clearly so was I.

Some friends we met on the cruise- Chris and Annemarie. They were a super cute couple and fun to get to know and hang out with a little bit.

 A view from above the city.

It was a perfect day. :)

Wednesday night, back on the ship, we spent our night doing a little of this and a little of that in between dinner and a late night movie in our room.

Our towel buddy- one of many left in our room by our great "housekeeper" (is that what I should call him?? Not sure..?) Francis. He was from the Philippines and we got to know him quite well and really enjoyed his fun personality and sense of humor.

Friday, May 18th- Our final "elegant" night on board our ship.

After dinner we went to some karaoke and comedy shows.

And, bought this delicious non-alcoholic (of course!) raspberry-mango drink. Mmmm... It was amazingly yummy!

It was so good, in fact, that we decided to splurge and get another one the next night too. :)

Saturday, May 19th- Saturday morning, after spending a few hours playing some hard core Battleship and Uno games we came back to our  room to find quite the party going on! Ha, ha. Francis had found out we had lost our camera and didn't have any pictures of anything anymore from our trip previous to us buying our new camera, including pictures of our towel buddies, so he surprised us with one of each all having quite the little get together right in our room! Ha, ha. I loved it!

Our last night on the ship was a little bitter-sweet. I was sad that Justin and I's amazing one on one time had almost come to an end, but I was also feeling very ready to get home to our baby! We both missed him so much!

Saturday night, before dinner, at Karaoke. :) (No, neither Justin or I did any singing, but it was a lot of fun to watch and listen!)

Our dinner friends (the couple we shared our dinner table with a couple of nights)- Quentin and Christina. And, in the picture above and below 2 of our favorite people we met on the cruise- our amazing waiters! I can't even begin to spell the guys name in the above picture, but in the picture below, that waiters name was James and on this last night of our cruise he was the hero of the night! Because he found our camera!!! I could have kissed him I was so happy! (Obviously you probably guessed by now that we found our camera since we did in fact have pictures from our first few days of our cruise to share, but seriously, even though we spent the money on a new camera I was still much happier to have both in the end than just the new one!)

Sunday, May 20th- We got up early so we could get a good start on our long drive home. I just couldn't wait to get home to Keaton!. But, what a GREAT trip we had! It was so much fun and so good for Justin and I! A second honeymoon, really, and we enjoyed every second of it!