How big is Dallen?

"I'M THIS BIG"
Dallen had another doctors appointment today to be weighed and drumroll please...he weighs 8 lbs. That's a whole pound in a week, yay!! We are so proud of our big guy, working so hard to grow so big. Some of his clothes are actually starting to fit and his cheeks are starting to fill out. Its funny but the fatter his face gets, the more I think he looks like me. Check him out!!

THANK YOU

The words can't seem to say it all, but a huge, all-encompassing thank you to everyone for making my life such a happy one. Today was my birthday and I must say, a day that is all about you just doesn't seem the same when there is a little one to share it with. Everyone has been so fantastic in making these last 3 weeks possible and for helping to make my special day that much more special.
Thanks to LeAnn for watching Dallen so I could get my nails done (its been almost a year) I felt like a princess!
Thanks to my Mom for my pretty new sweater!!
Thanks to Alaine for my birthday ice cream to substitute for cake!!
Thanks to my wonderful husband for the beautiful flowers and for our even more beautiful son!
Thanks to everyone for the phone calls, emails and well wishes, I love you all :)

For the first time...

I will never forget the pure joy I felt the first time I saw my son and now I can finally share that moment with all of you. Its almost been three weeks but we got Dallen's first pictures off my phone. We were in such a hurry to get the hospital and caught so off guard that we forgot to get our camera. Good thing we just bought a new camera phone. We just got an SD card online for less than $10 (the store was selling them for $45) to transfer the pictures to the computer. So, here they are...the very first pictures of Dallen.

The very first picture of our son

Meeting my mommy

Proud Daddy

One happy, healthy baby boy
(Turn up the volume)-Thank you Kenny Loggins

Are those your eyes, is that your smile?
I’ve been looking at you forever. But I never saw you before.
Are these your hands holding mine?
Now I wonder how I could have been so blind.
For the first time I am looking in your eyes.
For the first time I’m seeing who you are
I can’t believe how much I see, when you’re looking back at me
Now I understand why love is…Love is, for the first time.
Can this be real, can this be true?
Am I the person I was this morning?
And are you the same you?
It’s all so strange, how can it be?
All along this love was right in front of me.
For the first time I am looking in your eyes.
For the first time I’m seeing who you are.
I can’t believe how much I see, when you’re looking back at me.
Now I understand why love is…Love is, for the first time.
Such a long time ago, I had given up on finding this emotion..ever again
But you live with me now, Yes I’ve found you some how
And I’ve never been so sure.
And for the first time I am looking in your eyes
For the first time I’m seeing who you are
Can’t believe how much I see, when you’re lookin back at me
Now I understand why love is…Love is, for the first time.

New Photos

I know its been a couple days, but life with a newborn is absolutely insane!! The last 2 1/2 weeks of my life are becoming a complete blur. My computer crashed yesterday so there is a lack of pictures but here is a recent one. We are working on getting Dallen to gain some weight so hopefully his face fills out more in the next week or two. In the meantime, we love this little face.
Also, check out our first family photo on the side bar :) So sweet!

Bye-Bye to MiMi

"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts." -Washington Irving

We cannot thank my mom enough for all of her hard work the past 2 weeks as she helped with welcoming Dallen into this crazy world. I was so sad to see her go today. It is true what they say about discovering a new appreciation for your own mother when you become one yourself. Thanks for everything you taught me over my lifetime to prepare me for this moment. I love you so much and miss you already.

QUICK HEALTH UPDATE:
I had my post-op appointment today at the doctor and they have yet to find any conclusive information about my condition. We are just going to continue monitoring my high blood pressure and try to control it with medication and as for the headaches, I will just have to suffer through and take lots of Motrin :) I am slowly but surely starting to feel better. Recovery is intense!

Preserve Marriage

As most of you already know, this upcoming election includes some propositions regarding marriage. There is Proposition 8 for CA and Prop 102 for AZ that need to be voted YES in order to establish that marriage is to be between one man and one woman. My sister has been helping support the "Yes on Prop 8" campaign with a blog. There is a really sweet post from October 17th called "Yes for the children" and it features little Dallen. Check it out: http://www.preservingmarriage.blogspot.com/ (Sorry for some reason hyperlinks don't work on this dumb computer I have)

A Day of Firsts

Yesterday Dallen got to experience a lot of new things. It was his first time to leave the house, his first doctors appointment and his first football game. He loves being in his carseat and he really loves the sunshine. He must take after his momma with the love of sunbathing. He did so good at the doctors appointment. I thought he would scream at the top of his lungs but he barely even cried. He is such a good boy!He weighs 6 lbs 14 ozs and other than the little bit of jaundice he is very healthy. I think he is happy about the treatment for jaundice, more sunshine :) When daddy got home, he and his boy watched a rather unfortunate BYU football game. Good thing Dallen slept through the whole game anyway. Go Cougars!!

Some photos from the day:
All packed up and ready to go outside

Enjoying the sunshine

Like father, like son

Sleeping through all the excitement, like usual :)

I'm obsessed!!

You would be too if you got to look at this adorable face everyday. Every waking moment I am staring at this beautiful face. I can promise you there will no longer be a shortage of pictures on this blog. Enjoy!!

The prettiest flowers...

...for the prettiest baby!!
Thank you Great Grandma for the beautiful flowers. I love that they came the day I turned one week old :) -Dallen

The Results Are In...

Mark has passed the Bar Exam!! With all the other exciting things going on in our lives this week, I almost forgot to pass on the good news. I am so proud of my husband and am so excited for the bright future our little family has to look forward to.

REUNITED and it feels so good!!

It has been a roller coaster of events and it feels so good to be home again. I am the happiest mommy there ever was. Let me first begin by thanking all of you for your love, support and prayers. It is so wonderful to have friends and family in times like these. I was (after much begging and complaining) released AGAIN from the hospital this morning. There is still no diagnosis for what exactly is going on. All the MRI's, CT scan, X-Rays, blood and urine tests and everything else turned up no results. For the next week or 2 we will be monitoring my high blood pressure and hoping it goes down. If it doesn't, there is a possibility I may have kidney failure from the c-section, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. In the meantime I am enjoying the cutest baby I have ever seen!! I will try and keep up with putting up pictures for all to see, while balancing everything else that life has brought my way. I feel so blessed and am so filled with love. Hope you enjoy photos of Dallen as much as I am enjoying the real thing. We'll keep you posted with all the goings-on.

Proud DaddyProud MommyMimiGrandpaAunties Kellie and Aubrey with Mama and Dallen
Uncle (and middle-name-sake) Scotty

There are some professional shots from the hospital on their website: http://www.our365.com/NewbornPortraits/BabyDetail.aspx?birthid=d6cadbeb-6420-4623-ab52-92aaf6512441

And you know there are so many more to come...

Dallen Scott Bracken

Congratulations Jacki and Mark! This is Auntie Aubrey signing on again to share a few pictures with everyone of the beautiful new addition. Meet Dallen Scott Bracken. Isn't he a cutie!

Saturday evening Jacki and baby were realeased from the hospital. Unfortunately, Jacki became very ill and was re-admitted to the hospital late Saturday night with high blood pressure and severe headaches. Today she is back in the hospital to have an MRI and a few more tests to determine if she will be well enough to return home Monday. We pray for Jacki's speedy recovery!

SURPRISE!

This is big sister Aubrey, a.k.a. Auntie Aubrey, filling you all in on the exciting news that Baby Boy Bracken decided to come a little early! Jacki went into labor Wednesday evening and because the baby was breach, he was delivered via c-section. Here are the stats:

Dallen Scott Bracken
Wednesday, October 8, 2008 @ 11:45 pm
7 lbs. 4 oz. and 18 inches long

Mother and son are doing well! I've only seen a cell phone picture but he is absolutely beautiful! Well, I'm off to catch a plane to Arizona to meet my little nephew. Stay tuned for pictures!

The Results Are In...

Baby boy Bracken is gonna be a stubborn little boy. He decided he was comfortable right where he was and doesn't want to turn around. My C-Section is tentatively scheduled for Friday, October 17th. I am just awaiting a phone call from the doctors office confirming the date and time with the hospital. I will keep you all posted.

In the meantime, here are some pictures of the semi-completed nursery. We are not quite finished yet, but definitely made some great progress while my parents were here. They were so helpful and I was so sad to see them go. Thank you everyone for all your prayers and support, we will keep you posted as we get more information and pictures.

A Request for Prayers...

Family and Friends- I have finally reached full-term pregnancy and we are getting so excited for our little nameless baby boy to arrive. At the doctor today we were given some unexpected news. Sometime in the last 2 weeks our little guy has turned himself breech. If you ask me it was yesterday, I thought he was having a party in there! Since I have had low amniotic fluid throughout the pregnancy it is not possible to go in and turn him and highly unlikely he will do it himself. What does this mean? Most likely I will be having a C-section, which is scary because the doctor has also discovered that I am anemic. So, we are hoping with faith and prayers our little bundle of love will decide to somersault just one more time before leaving his home in the next couple weeks. We will know more next week and I will keep everyone "posted". In the meantime, I am so excited to have my parents come for a visit this weekend to play and help with getting the nursery completed. I am excited to finally get some pictures to share with everyone. Thank you all for your love and support.

Showered with love...

Thank you to everyone who came to my Arizona baby shower to help me celebrate and prepare for the arrival of our little boy. I got so many wonderful gifts. A huge thank you to my mother-in-law for sending the finished quilt we designed for the crib. I will take pictures of the finished nursery after next week when my parents come up to help. I also got the most amazing diaper bag. I love it!!A huge thank you to everyone who came. My new friends in the ward and Angela who came the furthest to be there. It was so good to see a friend from PA after so many long months. Thanks to LeAnn for putting it all together, and Whitney for all her help. I owe you one! Thanks everyone for loving me and my little family so much, I know we all can't wait for the little guy to arrive.

One Month

Today is Spetember 23rd, one month away from October 23rd, the due date for our little boy!! I cannot believe that I am going to be a mommy so soon, although I completely look the part. My belly is huge, my belly button is poking out, my feet and ankles are totally swollen, I have grown out of my maternity clothes, my shoes, my rings...why am I doing this again?!?! Oh yeah, because one month from now, I will have the most beautiful baby boy to fill my days and nights with LOVE!! I will post some pictures soon, I promise :) Keep us in your prayers!

Perks

Mark has been at his job only 2 1/2 weeks and already we are enjoying some perks. The judge offered Mark his tickets to the Diamondbacks baseball game tonight. The seats were great, behind home base, and the game was excellent: 7-6, D-backs won, yay :) It was so fun! I am looking forward to the next time the judge gets tickets and can't go, and I am so proud of my workin' man!!

Friday fill-in

1. Oh, I can't wait until I have a ...beautiful, bright, bubbly baby boy (6 more weeks!!)
2. Water...is the first thing I see when I open my refrigerator.
3. I never leave home without...my cell phone!
4. If I were a condiment, I would be...hot sauce, because...it's my husband favorite :)
5. Lack of common courtesy...is really high up on my list of pet peeves.
6. The last thing I thought of before I went to bed was...how am I supposed to get comfortable with this gigantic belly?
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to...date night-dinner and a movie would be nice, tomorrow my plans include...running lots of errands (hopefully finishing buying furniture), and Sunday I want to...take a nap!

Cute idea Connie, thanks!!

Have Miracles Ceased?

Yesterday Mark and I had the opportunity to be at our cousins' baby blessing. I love these little twin boys. They have such an amazing story and it was absolutely nothing short of a miracle that these boys are here. Brian and Lyndsie are such a wonderful example to us and seeing what they've been through makes us so grateful for the opportunity we have in the near future to be parents. We love you guys and thanks for letting us spend so much time with your boys. I stole this ADORABLE photo of Zane and Gage from Lyndsie's blog! Thanks to Uncle Bob and Aunt LeAnn for having us for dinner that night too, so we could spend more time together. I know I have a lot of pictures of little babies on my blog lately, but, get used to it, right?!?! :)