Danae's Blessing

Sunday Danae recieved her blessing. My dad gave her the blessing and my brother Jason and brother-in-law John were in the blessing circle with some friends of ours from church. My family, and Leigh, Tonya, and Leslie, all made it for the event. Michael's mom is visiting from Kansas and his dad is here from Utah. We all met back at the house for chilli and conversation. I think everyone had a good time...thanks to everyone for coming!

First Bath

Danae's cord finally fell off so we were able to give her her first real bath, not just a sponge bath. She was not happy, but eventually realized she was just going to have to deal with it so she began sucking her thumb. She really tugged on her daddy's heart strings when her bottom lip began to quiver. She also gave us our first parental lesson in bathing...put the diaper on as soon as you can...you probably aren't going to be able to make it from the master bath to the nursery without an accident...actually, you probably aren't going to make it out of the bathroom without an accident.

God Bless Our Veterans

With all the excitement of Danae, I am a little late in my recognition of Veterans Day. I am very appreciative of what they have done for us and for the soldiers currently serving our country. I also can't go without mention of the Marine Corps birthday on Nov 10. Here is Michael's Marine picture...isn't he handsome! I wish I could have seen him in his blues when he was enlisted. He still has them...maybe I'll have him put them on sometime so I can see him (but he will not put them on without shaving his mustache/goatee...but it grows back fast)

Pictures of Danae

We have had alot of visitors over the past week. We appreciate the support and company. We really liked the meals that were brought to us by friends...they sure are nice when cooking is the last thing you feel like doing! Thanks to everyone! Here are a few pictures of Danae. (I swiped a couple from Heather...I couldn't resist...they are great pictures)

Our Angel!

Surilla Danae Dearden



Born on November 04, 2008 at 4:00pm... the day the 44th president was elected (but, we won't go there). She was 7lbs 11oz and 20in. She has brown hair like her daddy and her eyes are bluish sometimes and brownish at others...we will see what they decide to be. She is perfect, precious, beautiful..... she is a blessing!

The Arrival!

She is here, but I will be posting a Post of just her and her stats. This is just a note and a few pictures. Hospitals as many of you know aren't the most fun place to stay the night...they aren't quite an upscale hotel...and yet they aren't as bad as the "Cozy Inn" we stayed at on our way to Kansas in August when we just needed a place to sleep!


Tuesday morning around 6:30 they started the petocin to get labor going. Around 7:30 the Dr. broke the amniotic fluid and told me I was committed to having that baby...as if I wasn't already :) . The contractions were bearable until around 9:00 when they started getting very strong and only about 30 seconds of rest time between them. This is when the nurse checked and told me I had probably another six or more hours to go. I stuck with it and by 10:30 I was needing the epidural, which I hadn't decided on one way or another prior to going in. Around 11:15 I got the epidural and could have kissed the anesthesiologist...although, he was a little like Ben Stein and don't think he found the humor in my joke.


Even with the epidural, it still isn't comfortable, but the sharp, strong pain is numb and I could REST! By 2:40 I began pushing. I had had a nurse I really enjoyed up until 3:00, when it was time for her to leave...then the drill instructor nurse took over! At first I didn't like her, and I snapped back at her a few times...but she kept on me. I actually appreciate her drill instructor approach. When the doctor came in to check me after the nurses had called him to tell him they could see the head not too far from crowning, he discovered she was transverse. (which is still head down, but facing the wrong direction). This can make for much harder pushing and delivery...not that I know the difference. And yes, even with the epidural I could feel the immense pressure of her pushing her way through. He told me I had 15 minutes to make some substantial progress otherwise we may need to move to a Cesarean....she was out in 20 minutes after that! I had to get an episiotomy and she still tore me a little more than what the doctor had cut.

Michael and my Mom were both GREAT supports!! I really appreciated them at the hospital and now at home. We are adjusting to life with Danae. She is precious and perfect...just needs to sleep as much during the night as she does during the day :)

On Our Way

We are on our way to the hospital to start the inducing process! We'll update with info and photos when we get home and settled in. Here we go.....!