Aiden Wayne Welch

Aiden Wayne Welch joined our family on Tuesday, December 29, 2009 at 10:50a.m. He weighed 7lbs, 1 oz., & was 20 inches long. So far Mom and baby are doing fine. They should be going home from the hospital tomorrow (New Years Eve). Stay tuned and we will update with the full story and more pictures very soon!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! (jess had some fun editing)

We had our picture taken with "Santa" (Logan). Such a cutie!

1yr old Logan, Stacy, & Bob

Jess & Stacy

Jess at 39 weeks

Bob & Stacy Gudyk invited us to spend Christmas day with them and their families. We had a delicious Christmas dinner and a fun day with all of them! Thank you so much for the invitation! :) We had a wonderful time!

37 Weeks Pregnant

Jess is officially "full term" now. At 37 weeks, the baby's lungs are fully developed and he could safely arrive anytime now. Jess is having trouble with heartburn and getting comfortable, as well as some trouble sleeping at night, but over all she has been feeling great! Her doctors appointments are going well and they say baby Aiden is measuring normal for his due date on Jan. 1, 2010. They have told Jess to watch her weight these last few weeks, but she has only gained about 25lb so far during her pregnancy. Some people have told us that Jess may deliver earlier than New Years, and Jess certainly hopes so. But we will just have to wait and be surprised! :) Our families plan to visit after the baby is arrives. Jess' parents will probably be here first for a few days and Jon's parents will be coming up to visit at the end of January.

This from http://www.babycenter.com/ :

"...Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours..."

Stay tuned- we'll be sure to keep you posted on the latest baby news!

Monster Cookies

2 c. white sugar
1 lb. box brown sugar
6 eggs
1 T. karo white syrup
1/2 lb. margarine
1 1/4 tsp. vanilla
1 (18oz) jar crunchy peanut butter
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 pkg. chocolate chips
9 c. quick oatmeal
1 lb. M&Ms


Mix all together and drop by teaspoonfulls and flatten. Bake at 300 for 10-15 minutes.
(*Test the first pan, cookies should be tender and chewy but should not fall apart on you when cooled. I have a gas stove and 15 min was perfect for my batch of cookies.)
Enjoy!

Fruit Cups

This is a delicious and refreshing addition to breakfast or just to enjoy as a snack!!!

1 Can of Apricots - chopped
2 Bags (or 18 oz container) of Frozen Strawberries (no sugar added) - chopped
4 Large Bananas- diced
1 large can of Diced Pineapple
2 cups of Blueberries (optional)

Mix all above together in a large bowl. Rinse the Pineapple can & Apricot Can with water and add to fruit mixture for juice. Then, take small plastic cups (I use the tiny 5oz. cups) & fill with fruit. Make sure to get an even amount of juice and fruit in the cups. Stand in baking pan in freezer until frozen solid, then you can store in ziplock bags, stacked til ready to eat. Let them thaw slightly before eating, they are best when they are slushy and you still have frozen fruit pieces to enjoy.

Samson Snuggling with Baby Bump

I am beginning to think that Samson knows that something is about to happen in our house. He follows me everywhere (more than usual) and wants to snuggle with you whenever he can. I also think that he has been a little more protective of me since I became pregnant. The other night he just wouldn't stop trying to get on the couch with Jon and I. We have been trying to work with him on not getting on the furniture, as we're getting a new couch soon and need to break his habbit. I finally gave in and let him up beside me. He immediately ducked under the blanket I had across my lap and made himself comfortable, resting his head across my pregnant belly to watch TV with us. :) It didnt take long and he was sound asleep! Aiden started kicking and my belly was moving and bouncing Samson's head but he didnt seem to care. I just thought this snapshot was too cute not to post. It will be going into Aiden's baby book eventually... hopefully they are as good of buddies when Aiden is outside of my stomach as they seem to be right now. :)

November Baby Shower

Me with Kim. She works as a Lab & X-ray Tech in the Outpatient Lab next door to the doctor's office I used to work at. Funny thing is that 5 years ago when I was in Phlebotomy School, I trained with her! A few years later is when I went to work next door.

Jaime & baby Danica

Office Manager Karen with Kelly

Nurse Deb, Mary, & Nurse Becky

Lynn, Johanna, & Dr. Nash (shower hostess)

Jodi & Nurse Lauren

Gifts from everyone at the Doctor's Office. Baby Monitor & Space Saver Highchair.

On Sunday afternoon Megan Nash hosted a baby shower for me at her house. All invited were the ladies from the Doctor's office where I used to work. It was a fantastic afternoon spent with some dear and wonderful friends. They pitched in to get me the baby monitor & highchair we had registered for, plus loaded us up with outfits, tylenol infant drops, diapers, wipes, and towels. We even got a humidifier, some baby books, toys, & bibs! I am so blessed to have such great people in my life. A big Thank You to Megan for hosting the shower and to everyone else as well. It was so nice to see and visit with everyone again. I miss working with them!

Dan & Kelly Engagement Photo Session

On Saturday, I had the privilege of taking the engagement photos for our good friends, Kelly Pearson & Dan Holler. They graciously allowed me to have fun and take a bunch of pictures! I am so glad we were able to spend time outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. Thank you guys for your patience and I hope you enjoy these! More to come...

False Alarm

Its hard to believe I am 32 weeks pregnant already! Where has the time gone? We have 8 weeks left until Aiden's due date for arrival, but only 5 weeks until the doctors consider him "full term".

We had a little bit of an interesting evening yesterday. I have been feeling a little cramping discomfort in my lower back for the past couple weeks and the doctors have been checking me weekly to make sure not starting to go into labor.

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Well my symptoms were a bit worse yesterday so I called my OB Doctor. The nurse advised me to go to the hospital to get checked out. I left work, drove to Pittsburgh and picked Jon up after work and we drove over to the hosptial.We discovered that during "rush hour" headed into the city that even with that traffic, it only took us 1hr from the time I left the house til we arrived at the hospital. Not too bad.

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Anyway, I went up to Labor & Delivery and they put me on monitors and did a test to see if I was in Preterm Labor. I did have a few small "peaks" on the monitors which I guess translated as a few small contractions, but nothing to worry about. It was interesting to watch the baby's hearbeat on the monitors. He stayed steadily in the 140-150 range but a couple times went up in the 180s to 190s then dropped to 120s. The cramping they said was normal but some of it was caused by baby's position: "Oh, yup his head is right there, thats probably causing a lot of your pressure" the doctor said as he felt around on my belly.

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We arrived at the hospital about 5:40pm and left about 4 hours later. Anyway, very glad to know that everything is fine and we aren't having baby Aiden anytime soon! I feel much better after getting checked out. I will start going to the doctor every 2 weeks now. We were very impressed with the hospital after our false alarm last night and are very comfortable with the idea of delivering there in several weeks.

Tortilla Soup

2 cans of black beans (drained)

2 cans of diced Italian Style tomatoes

1 can of chicken broth

1 can of tomato sauce

1 small can of green chillis

1 small jar of salsa

1/2 cup of water

2 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded/chopped into small pieces.

Combine all but chicken & cook for at least 1hr. Then add cooked chicken and cook for another hour. Beans should be soft. It is also ok to eat if not cooked so long. Just make sure to bring everything to a boil and cook for 20 min, add chicken and cook additional 10 minutes.

*I have done this in the crockpot for 6-8 hrs on low (chicken and all) and it has turned out super delicious! I just added a bit more water/tomato juice. The longer it cooks, the more tender the chicken and the softer the beans.

Top with crumbled Tortilla chips, cheddar cheese, & sour cream. ENJOY!

Recipe from Jenna Fatula

October

Fantastic photo that Jon took, looking up a tree. I love this shot!

We had a few more nice days, and so this weekend we went over to McConnell's Mill.

We were able to get a few more beautiful shots of fall. I love this time of year!

30 Weeks Pregnant

Samson

Samson is a fun little guy, we love having him as part of the family! It will be interesting to see how he does when Baby Aiden arrives and he is no longer the center of attention. :) I'm sure he will do great, he is so loving. Though he does have a lot of energy, he is pretty gentle when it comes to playing.

Fall Was Here...

While we had a few short days of warm weather this week, I was able to get some photos taken from around our neighborhood. The sun was fading fast, so thankful for some editing I was able to do to brighten up some of these pictures! Enjoy the last little bit of fall from Western PA!

Outside Finished...

Porch "After"
Porch "Before"...

Shed "After"...

Shed "before"...

So this summer we worked on quite a few things outside... the front porch was in terrible need of fresh paint. When we finished with the porch and had paint left over- I decided the red shed should match! :) We recently got thin plywood, painted it white, and put it up around the two outside railings on the porch. This will just be temporary during the winter to protect from the wind and snow.

Baby Registry

For the sake of good communication, I thought I would utilize my Facebook & our Blog to update our family members on how we are doing with baby things.

Everyone keeps asking, so I am just creating a reference point for those of you who are curious.

We are pretty well set on baby clothes sizes newborn up to 3 months.
We have plenty of blankets as well.
We have been blessed with many other different items also, from crib & swing, to bathtub & boppy pillow, to hangers & breast pump with accessories. We are still in need of items we have on our registry at Target & Wal-Mart (items listed are just registered for type of product and sizes. doesnt matter what print or material just as long as no pink.)

Thank you to all of you who have helped get us started! We are so appreciative!

The baby's room is pretty much done, I just have a few things left to hang on the walls. Its getting pretty exciting now that that is all done and I'm in my 3rd Trimester now! :) January 1st will be here before we know it!

My Surprise Visitor

So, on Saturday I had a surprise at my Baby Shower. My Mom flew in from Oklahoma City to be there! She got in on Thursday the 1st and stayed until this morning. A whole week! I was completely clueless, despite the few hints I recieved unknowingly (it all makes sense now though... haha). It was really fun to have her here to stay with us. I called off work on Monday and we went to the Outlets and around town. She was able to meet up with some friends of hers here while I worked Tuesday and Wednesday and I took her to the Pittsburgh airport this morning. Jon knew for a whole month she was coming into town and kept the secret safe! I miss her already and can't wait to see her again with the rest of the family when baby Aiden is born!

Baby Shower ~ October 3rd, 2009

The Baby Bump!

Game we played, where everyone cut a piece of ribbon for how big they thought my belly was around. Their ribbons were then compared to the ribbon my hostess measured and cut for my actual size. Who won? Mom! She was about 1/4 inch off! haha

Cute favors- Cinnamon Rolls.

Tabitha's Mom made a delicious cake! Chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream inside.

It turned out lovely!

Mackenzie Arblaster came to the shower with her Mom and she was a great helper with all the gifts! :)

I got a good variety of things for the baby. Quite a few clothes...

My brothers sent an A & W RootBeer bear for Baby Aiden.

That is his nickname already- "A & W" :)

Flannel Quilt made for Aiden by his Great Great Grandma Patterson in Dallas.

The other side has blue and greens and airplanes on it. I will have to get a picture up with the other side showing for you all to see it. It looks great!

My Shower Hostesses; Tabitha Adams & Netta Hill Dewberry.

They did a fantastic job! Thanks ladies! :)