Pictures For Grandma

Paisley's Food Storage

Now we're just working on stockpiling the breast milk. We may need a larger freezer.

"Dear God Please Help Me" - morrissey

It looks like Paisley's prayers have been answered as today marks the one week anniversary since she came home from the hospital. That means that we have somehow managed to keep her alive outside of the watchful eyes of the nursing staff. Forgive us for patting ourselves on the back for a moment.

Since we haven't been able to keep up on the blog for the last 2 weeks or so, we thought we'd hit some of the highlights. We ended up going to the hospital at about 2 am on the morning of the 11th. They got us settled into a delivery room and by about 4 am, we were finally able to try and get some sleep. They had hooked Brandi up to a pitocin drip to try and initiate contractions but we really weren't able to make much progress until they decided to break her water at about 9am. It was at about this time that Brandi was able to answer a long nagging question: How do labor contractions differ from Braxton Hicks contractions? It wasn't long after that where we were introduced to the modern miracle of epidurals. For the next several hours everything seemed to progress smoothly and before we knew it, they were telling us that Brandi was dilated to the magic number of ten. It seemed that the only issue was that Paisley was face up and so in attempting to turn her face down, they kept Brandi rotating from laying on her left and right side. Which was pretty tricky since the anesthesiologist gave her so much extra juice to compensate for her extra height (5'10" isn't really that tall, but Brandi wasn't objecting) that she was a virtual paraplegic. Not so good for lower limb management, pretty great for labor. The rest was just like the movies. A little "push, push, push" followed by the supportive "You're doing great, Breathe!" There was a little concern when they had Brandi start pushing before the doctor showed up and Paisley's heart rate would drop to half its normal rate but would recover fairly quickly after the contraction. The doctor finally showed up and thought it was an issue of the cord being around Paisley's neck but didn't seem too concerned and so we pushed on.
















As previously reported Paisley made her world debut at 2:49pm weighing in at 7 lbs 1 oz and stretching out to 19 inches. In a follow up visit, they've shrunk that to 18 1/4 inches which was surprising but she's got arms, hands, and feet that give us faith that she will soon enough grow into her full potential. For those who don't know, Tim is 6'6" tall. But for now, she's so cute and little that even her smallest outfits drown her. We stopped into Baby Gap the other day to pick her up a few preemie onesies. As also suspected, she came out with a full head of hair.

Mom and baby were released from the hospital last Friday morning and we've been hanging out at the house reading, making progress and a few mistakes but really enjoying the time that we've had to get to know each other. We've had some family visit from both sides which was nice and helpful while Tim has been able to take time off work to help a little as well.

Paisley has been such a good baby. She sleeps quite a bit and very seldomly cries. The feeding sessions have been the cause of a little frustration but not nearly as bad as the ones in the hospital with the nursery staff and their very hands-on, over-the-shoulder approach. Even though she's been working us over with her diaper situation, we're just so in love with this bundle and are excited for all the time that we'll be able to spend together while she grows up.

Day 3

Hiccups 1 day old

Paisley Sage

Paisley Sage entered the world on July 11, 2007 at 2:49pm. She weighed in at 7 lbs. 1 oz. and measured 19 inches although she refused to stretch her legs, so we're pretty sure she's longer. Mom and baby are doing great and everyone was released from the hospital Friday just after noon. We think she's really cute and here's a picture of her leaving the hospital just to prove it. Of course we're just getting started and there will be plenty more pictures, stories, and movies once everyone gets settled. Thanks for all your congratulations and comments.

Green Means Go

The last week can only be described as physically and emotionally exhausting but there are a few pieces that are worth mentioning here.

The first story is just the absolute irony of life. Last Tuesday we were racing from Las Vegas to Salt Lake to catch Tim's ailing father in time but only made it half way before the dreaded phone call. As we pulled off at the next exit to have a cry and collect ourselves, Brandi noticed where we were. Cedar City. The exact exit of the fateful event that started this whole blog. Practically under the shadow of Applebee's and Walmart. This place must be our Bermuda Triangle where life appears and disappears.

Had we not been so close to the beginning of one life, we would have easily made the end of the other. Tim's mom had informed us Sunday afternoon that his dad had been admitted to the hospital early that morning because of some shoulder discomfort. This development wasn't too unusual and he was scheduled for several tests the next few days to get a better idea of his recent lack of energy. By Monday morning the situation had deteriorated greatly and a tearful call from Tim's aunt signalled the decision to head to Salt Lake as soon as possible. Being so close to Brandi's due date on top of an already high risk pregnancy, neither of us felt comfortable making the trip without an okay from the doctor first. The doctor's office wasn't able to fit us in on Monday so we were forced to wait out for Brandi's previously scheduled appointment Tuesday morning.

After the appointment Tuesday morning, we received two exciting pieces of news. The first was, after giving us a copy of Brandi's chart, we got clearance to make the drive to Salt Lake. The second piece of news was that the doctor wanted to schedule a date to induce Brandi. I hope everyone is ready for this, because it appears that Paisley Sage will be joining our little family on July 11. So yeah, in like a week. As described previously, we have a history of performing well with deadlines, but this might be a little too tight. With all of the excitement we lost 2 weeks of our growing "To Do" list. Tick tock. Tick tock.

Pink-ish Envy

At first glance, it may appear that being on the male end of things during pregnancy is the best place to be. You don't have to watch your stomach grow over a period of nine months (although Tim insists that his is expanding too), the jungle juice mix of hormones, and all the other undeniably horrible components that lead up to the ultimate undeniably horrible event and all that mess. We mean that beautiful event.

There is no argument that women pay a price that men will never come close to being able to reimburse. But sometimes, somewhere in all that drama, when the birthing seems far away, a little jealousy creeps into the male mentality. For Tim, these moments seem to be directly connected to the sound of the cash register and the bagging up of some new outfit. Remember the post about the benefits of being impregnated by a metrosexual? This definitely counts as one of the disadvantages. Of course, a disadvantage that could easily be solved by more money in the wallet, so hopefully Tim can kick his penny slot addiction soon. Kidding. The blame falls directly on the shoulders of responsibility and budgeting. Luckily, the jealousy doesn't last long for two reasons: the new baby outfits are unbelievably cute, and the realization that even with the huge advances made in maternity wear in the last 7 1/2 years, it's still maternity wear.

Everyone knows that parenthood offers countless opportunities for sacrifice, what is less obvious is that sacrifice occurs long before sleepless nights and diaper changes. Brandi is either getting more sensitive to the growing jealousy or Tim is throwing more tantrums; either way, on Saturday EVERYONE got new pjs!

The Day The Music Died

The title really should be "days" since it has been a work in process. The omen began with the death of our iPods. Brandi's gave up on her several months ago and we made the blank screen discovery of Tim's just before embarking on a full 36 hour drive to Sasquatch and back. I have no doubt that we'll replace them some day, i.e., the day Paisley's full ride scholarship arrives in the mail. We reverted to cds and now know what the pioneers had to deal with on their little road trip.

The second painful realization was a process in and of itself. This was our first experience with the Sasquatch Music Festival but for the most part, it's all pretty much the same big party. The obvious difference was that the goal of Coachella is avoiding heat stroke, at Sasquatch, the threat was hypothermia. The setting overlooking the Columbia River was quite inspiring but it's hard to stay inspired through the nicotine (if you're lucky) haze and crowded collection of circus freak rejects. We had supposed that Coachella had outgrown us this year, but the harsh reality is that we've probably outgrown Coachella, and Sasquatch, and Lollapalooza, and Glastonbury. And in defense of poor Paisley, not all of it is her fault. Sure Brandi was a bit hampered by the tummy but Tim wasn't exactly skipping circles - except for when the line to the "Honey Bucket" (port-a-potty) wasn't moving fast enough. Sasquatch probably had half the attendees as Coachella but maybe 1/3 of the space, so it was always crowded. Brandi coined the term "festival intolerance."

Going into the event, we tried to convince ourselves that we could be one of those "cool" couples that haul their children around for two days forcing them to this insanity. But it would be unforgivable to rob these little ones of their innocence before they can even utter the words "how" and "why." Sure it was the perfect photo opt for Gwyneth and Apple with the little pink ear covers, but being married to Chris Martin means that you don't have to try and explain why the guy next to you is using your name's sake fruit to smoke their drugs.


Yes, we're getting old and have added blankets, snacks, and ear plugs to the festival bag. But even though music will still play a big part in our lives (even if they're cds), it looks like we've both accepted the idea of trading in the festival bag for a diaper bag. A rite of passage that reveals our budding maturity in our ability to accept and adjust. The music isn't dead, these days, it's just in bed by 8 p.m. Does anyone know if The Lawrence Welk Show is still on?

Rockabye Baby!

We've been reading several different pieces trying to prepare ourselves for the pregnancy and the next 18 years. According to the literature, babies like classical music AND it's even supposed to make them smarter. (Tim really supports this concept, but mostly to defend himself when Brandi makes fun of him for being in the high school band. Which is apparently different than being in a band during high school.) We've searched high and low for some Mozart, Brahms and Beethoven without much luck. Which is not to say that we didn't find anything else. We came across these gems and have made many purchases. What's cooler than laying your baby down to a little Radiohead? Everything in its Right Place gives baby the security she needs, even though it's missing Thom Yorke's voice. I guess the lack of lyrics is a good thing for Zeppelin's Baby I'm Gonna Leave You. Milk before meat.

It's almost enough to justify this:

Pimp My Snug Ride?

As Xzibit says, "You've officially been pimped." Even though the result isn't as exciting as a plasma screen on the gas pedal or a new set of chrome rims worth more than the car, earlier this week we brought home the latest and greatest upgrade on the market. The Graco Easy Ride Travel System. Or something "catchy" like that to try and distract you from the fact that your vehicle will never be the same. Unlike the show, the baby induced "pimping" comes in phases. First the car seat and stroller. Then eventually the baby, i.e., the new stereo system, and finally once the stereo has graduated to solids, the new upholstery of Cheerios and fruit snacks.

Just the latest reminder of the fun we get to look forward to. We just heard Paisley say, "Thanks Grandma Ricks."

Forever in blue genes

Considering our given fields of study, we have a pretty solid understanding of genetics. Knowing this, there's going to be a strong propensity for young Paisley being too cool for school. What we have worried about is how quickly she'll pick up on the music snobbishness that we take so much pride in. Luckily, her 16 week ultrasound picture resembled the cover art work on one of the greatest albums of all time, that we can't help but beam with pride. What do you think?

What's in a name?

A question as old as Shakespeare. Well fair Juliet, the answer is - a lot. On second thought, considering her question was directed towards the boy Romeo. Boy names really don't matter much as we see people getting away with such silliness as Gage, Tucker, and Jaxson. But girls have to come with that "Ahhh" factor. THIS is pressure. With names like Tim and Brandi, the two of us didn't exactly come from the originality farm. Which is fine. Those were different times. These days we have handy web sites and books dedicated to baby names around the universe. They had genealogy records and The Bible.

A little background: the two of us have a hard enough time when it comes to important cooperative efforts such as trying to decide on a dining establishment. De Beers may have come up with "A diamond is forever," but so are names. You don't want to send a new soul into the world with nothing more than an apology. Nor do you want to avoid responsibility altogether. This very blog is titled after a good friend of ours whose 16th birthday present was discovering that her legal name was "Baby Girl." Have we used the word "pressure" yet?

Our goal was to find something that was unique in nature, not just spelling. A name that would stand out from all the others, because let's face it, this child is going to be tall enough to be standing out from all the others anyway. We thumbed through the books, checked out cool websites like this, we even looked at street signs for inspiration. In the end, after much discussion, we just went with our gut. We'd officially like to introduce the world to the soon to be, newest member of the human family: Dorothy LeAnn Ricks. Just kidding. Paisley Sage Ricks. All together now..."Ahh."

MTV Cribs

Preparing for the baby requires a lot of hardware. With such a convenient excuse to go shopping, Tim would have considered fatherhood earlier.

The crib in this picture will soon be making its debut into the new nursery. It's actually been there for a few weeks, it just hasn't made its way out of the box yet. It gets all fancy and converts to a toddler bed and then some day, a big girl bed. We'd like to thank Grandma Sherry for the generous gift. Let the spoiling begin! She's a lucky girl/fetus.

The crib was only step one. The hard choices were reserved for the art of bedding. And directly related, financing. Who ever thought that little people linens could cost so much? The nice thing about being with child immediately after getting married, there are a few Pottery Barn gift card leftovers to help absorb the cost. This picture is what we ended up going with. You have to admit, this stuff is REALLY cute.

"Tim slid one past the goalie" -Mike G.

All good stories start with "In the beginning," so being fans of plagiarism, this is where we begin. Not necessarily "THE" beginning, because that would just be a giant advertisement of which birth control NOT to use. This beginning is a re-creation of the day our lives changed forever, for the second time in two months.

The two of us had been in Salt Lake the weekend of November 11th and were heading back on Sunday the 12th when we ended up stalled in the Lehi area waiting to meet up with our wedding photographer to pick up our long awaited pictures from the big day. Trying to kill some time, no pun intended, at the local Cabela's - a place Brandi had NEVER experienced (Tim had discovered one in North Dakota of all places), and quite frankly never wants to visit again. The centerpieced mountain of dead animals contained enough glassy eyed animal stares to officially creep us out for the rest of our lives. Like Halloween haunted houses, we gleefully horrified ourselves for about 45 minutes, only to leave and experience a different but similar experience along the side streets of Utah county. We fully acknowledge our bias.

With wedding pictures in hand, we hit I-15 and cruise control. The tangent added to our return to Las Vegas and we were late. In a few ways. Being new to this 6 hour commute, we had lessons in planning to learn since we always seem to get hungry at the Cedar City mark, which given the towns culinary choices, hasn't treated us well. We had already done Taco Bell, the gas station Iceberg, and IHOP. We're not actually sure exactly how we ended up at Applebee's but there's a good chance that it was a double dog dare affair. It's no secret that the place isn't our favorite but we felt confident that we could find SOMETHING on the menu that wouldn't disgust us. We're big Chili's fans and even though the two places are identical, we just don't like Applebee's, maybe it's their commercials. In the end, we probably were only able to tolerate the "food" and the ten gallon hats due to our distraction. We were "late" and had been all weekend. Going on 5 days and it was the undertone of every conversation. We'd been married for a full 60 days. We had just gotten the pictures from the wedding and now we were late! For 45 minutes we talked about subjects like cycles, birth control, and urine chemicals. Tim was officially over his head. As we left dinner, we looked across the parking lot, saw the glowing Walmart sign, looked at each other and knew that we needed to know. Our feelings about Walmart are much stronger than Applebee's and as tragic, disgusting, and utterly hilarious as the idea seemed, it would set the stage for the perfect ending for a not so perfect day. It's important to be consistent. In a matter of minutes we found the EPT isle and, like scared "after school special" teenage crushes, made the purchase. Unlike the special, we had the benefit of self check out. Brandi disappeared into the restroom while Tim browsed the Christmas DVD specials. A little aim and 3 minutes of our time changed our changing lives.

Brandi emerged from the restroom expressionless, which is expression enough, took my arm and said, "Let's go. I'm not going to tell you inside a Walmart." We made it back to the security of the car, and under the soft glow of the dome light cataloged our future. One line=situation normal; two lines=grow up time. The below is the actual cell phone documentation of that moment. The blur could be a fair representation of our truth fog. In our experience, if you stare at it long enough, it becomes an obvious two lines. It's appropriate that something that looks like a Lik-M-Aid stick is still causing so much indigestion. We realize that after reading all of the above confessions, it would be easy to think less of us and even consider us a little white trash. We don't blame you. We've gotten mileage out of making fun of honeymoon baby couples. Now we're the joke. Go ahead and laugh BUT it's important to also know that Brandi swears that as she went to discard the EPT wrapper into the stall trash can, there in the bottom, was another EPT wrapper from earlier that day. It could have been the one piece of comfort we had all day. We're not alone in this.

They're Having a Baby

Hello bloggers. We finally jumped on board. Please bear with us until we get our feet under us. Since our move to Las Vegas and away from all of our friends and family, we thought this would be a good tool in keeping everyone informed of our lives and the upcoming birth of our new baby girl. We expect her to get most of the attention, thus the name of the blog.

Like most things in our lives, we're a little behind schedule and have missed many of the exciting moments of the pregnancy, but really, it was just a lot of sickness and accepting the fact that we are pregnant well within the first year of our marriage. Warning, this could turn out to be a very honest recap and may not always portray this really exciting time in the best light. But really, it's a lot to get used to. And we have a long record of selfish living and we're getting better at swallowing our own life plan.

We have just officially entered into the third and final trimester. Or for those of you who are more familiar with babies than Tim is, we're at 28 weeks. It's a little difficult for us to say goodbye to the second trimester due to the fact that it was so much more pleasant than the first. Supposedly as we get closer to the actual delivery, things will get a little less pleasant, but until then, we're just going to enjoy the stability.

Not to say that there wasn't excitement during the second trimester, but for the most part, those elements were from external sources. I'm sure if you keep up to date on this, all such details will eventually get described.

As we further develop this story, we plan on showing you around our new home, and share all of the cute and wonderful things we find on the world wide internet made for new baby girls. But mostly, as the anxiety of being new parents grows stronger, we appreciate and welcome any comments and/or suggestions you care to make. Thanks for stopping by and welcome aboard!