The Schaefers

Newborn Photos

2010-03-16T21:43:00.000-07:00

These are a few of the photos that I took the other day- Cadence was so sleepy and easy to pose. :) I have more once I get them edited. She is so precious, we love her so much!

8 days old

Cadence Darien Schaefer

2010-03-16T21:20:00.000-07:00

Cadence has finally arrived. I went in on Thursday the 4th to the Labor and Delivery because I had been leaking fluids and we needed to find out if it was amnoitic fluid. I didn't think it would be anything and that I would be going home because we had gone in the Saturday before for this- and it had been nothing. So, one of my best friends, Renee, was down because we were going to scrapbook when my doctor said that I should go in. When we got to the hospital they tested the fluids and it turned out to be amnoitic fluid! So they said that we wouldn't be getting sent home until we had a baby. The doctor likes to deliver the baby within 48 hours of fluids starting to leak so I was going to have the baby soon- but I wasn't dialated at all and they didn't think it would be happening anytime soon so Darren finished his day at work.

I was admitted and got hooked up to an IV and all set up in a room... and then the waiting began. We stayed the night and in the morning one of the doctors came in to check my cervix and ended up breaking my water to try and get things going. A couple hours later they put me on a low amount of pitosin to try and get my contractions stronger to get my cervix ready. The baby wasn't liking that so they had to lower the dose even more. So we kept waiting- the whole day went by I got an epidural in the afternoon and the doctors had started talking about having to do a C section... which I wasn't really wanting. At 11:45pm I was dialated to a 10 (finally) and got to start pushing. I pushed for two hours- which was pretty rough- and then baby Cadence was born!

CADENCE DARIEN SCHAEFER

Born March 6th 2010

7 pounds 9 ounces

19 3/4 inches long

They put her on an IV and antibiotics because I had gotten a fever during delivery and also my water had been ruptured for so long- they just wanted to be safe. She is perfectly healthy and we are SO happy. We stayed until Monday and then got to go home with our precious little baby.

We have been home for a week now adjusting to being a little family and we love it so much. She is sleeping a lot of coarse because she is new- but even when she is up at night it's so easy to take care of her because she is so wonderful. We love her perfect little face and toes and well, everything. Recovering was alittle rough at first but when I look at my little baby I can easily forget about the pain. We are so amazed at how much we love her and can't believe what an beautiful thing having a child is.

We like to thank everyone who visited us so far and all of the help with dinners and everything. It is so great to get to share this with the people that we love and care about.

Maternity Pictures

2010-03-16T21:16:00.000-07:00

These are our Maternity photos at 37 weeks pregnant.

Ready To Go!

2010-02-10T14:58:00.000-08:00

I am one month and one day away from my due date and my belly is SOOO big! I have several people a day asking if I am due any day or overdue. They are so shocked when I tell them I still have a month to go. I know it's wishful- like any pregnant woman does- but I think I could go early. She is starting to drop down and there really is no where to go! We will see! I took some more maternity photos this last week- I just need to get a few done with Darren... but here they are.

Her room is FINALLY finished! I had my baby shower on Saturday and I honestly think that she is ALL SET. SHe has too many clothes and I am pretty sure everything else a baby needs. We are so excited and just waiting now. Here are some pictures of her room all set up. The only thing I need to do now is finish her blanket and hang up the signs in her room. I got to go to Babies'R'Us the other day and get all the neccesities- thermometer, nail clippers, baby orajel and all those goodies- so I feel really good about being ready for when she comes.

At my baby shower.

Looking into her room. This dresser was from when Micahel and Kelly found out they were expecting Darren- 25 years ago! He repainted it and added some cute little details to it!

Her shelf with all her blankets, toys and books- next to her changing table and bouncer.

Her crib and Daddy and Grandpa put together- got the the bumper and quilt for $5 each at Target! I was sooo excited because they were the ones that I wanted and they went on clearance!

Cadence's Room

2010-01-27T18:35:00.000-08:00

I have been SO excited getting things together for Cadence... and I am not starting to notice just how much our world is going to revolve around our little angel baby. All I can do is think about her! All I talk about is her! The past few days we Darren and Michael(Grandpa) have been working on her bedroom and it is now finished. We live in a fairly old duplex- it's still nice, just hasn't had much updating and so they redid her room. It looks amazing! The took off all the old dark brown 70's style trim and closet doors and replaced them with white and also painted the walls. It looks awesome. Here are some pictures of the progress. So her room is now finished and we are waiting on the crib- that we should be getting any day... and the rest of her furniture. Then I can spend the weekend setting things up and decorating. Which I am really looking forward to. To keep myself busy I have also taken on a project of making Cadence a quilt. It's pink and has hand embroidered cowgirl boots on some of the patches- 15 of them to be exact! Which is taking a long time but I am happy working on it. I love this little baby and I am sooo excited to meet her! We should probably change the name of our blog to something to do with Cadence, because before she has even made her debut we are loving and doing everything for this little princess. :)

It's Been FOREVER

2010-01-19T17:28:00.000-08:00

It has been a really long time since I have posted! We had very wonderful holidays- spending a lot of time with family. Michael was home from Alaska for Christmas! Which he hasn't been in a couple years- so that was really nice... and we had my mom and dad at our house for Christmas Eve. I think the very first Christmas I have ever had with both of them. It was so nice- Dad stayed a few nights with us which was fun to get to hang out. I wish so much that all of our family lived close so we could see them all the time.

Since Christmas I have been pretty much just relaxing and getting ready for baby. I have only had one shoot- which has been a nice break but also makes me sad because I LOVE getting to take pictures for people. I am excited to say that I have 6 weddings booked for the 2010 Wedding Season! I don't plan on going back to work until the summer- and like I have said before- it is only going to be for myself. I am happy with how much my business has taken off! It's nice to be able to work for myself and I am sure it will be even nicer once Cadence is here.

More about our little angel baby. We are getting sooooo excited because I am now 32 weeks! So close to when she arrives. My belly is insanely huge and we get to feel her all the time moving around. I keep hoping that maybe she will arrive early because I swear she has ran out of room! But then again I am happy with whenever she decides to come- Darren and I have been spending a lot of time together and at home- cherishing the time we have with no responsibilities. Not that we are not excited for the baby- it will just be different for the rest of our lives! I have just started getting really uncomfortable and having a horrible time sleeping, but I am lucky to have a husband whos work allows me to stay home and be able to sleep in when I have late nights or horrible sleep. He is so sweet too- I feel like everyday I fall in love with him more as we get ready for this little baby that we made. We are getting really excited and anxious to see what she looks like- I CAN NOT wait!

I have already started getting props for her newborn pictures- I am SO excited! She will have millions of pictures. :) We are also getting her room ready and just ordered her crib yesterday! Anyways, I think that's about it for what has been going on lately... I will try to be better about updating this. Here are so photos from the past month or so. :)

Update...

2009-11-14T19:52:00.000-08:00

So I thought I would update a little... it's been a few weeks. I have gone to the doctor since our last ultrasound and everything is going really well. I was a little worried about my weight but our doctor assures me I am fine. She said I am just being pregnant and thinking I am huge, I would like to believe this, but, well- I'm pregnant, ha. It was my first appointment without Darren, because it was a workday for him, but it went well. I got to hear our little baby girls heartbeat and it sounded strong.

We have been getting a lot of stuff! There is pink everywhere in our house. I am on the search for the perfect material still to make her baby quilt... I made a cowgirl boot quilt for Violet and really want to make a matching one for our baby. I have also been painting some little decorations for her room. My season at the studio is now over so I have a lot of time for nesting. :) It's pretty fun.

We have decided on a name. We haven't really announced it to everyone, just people who ask. We're naming her Cadence Darian Schaefer. We love the name Cadence and couldn't picture her with any other name when we talk about her... and Darian is her middle name, it's like a girly version of Darren's name. Our first boy and girl are going to have middle names like Dad.

So everything is going great. Basically being pregnant is all I do- and get ready for when she arrives. I also have been doing a lot of photography on my own, which I am really happy about. I even have some people wanting to book weddings for next year. I don't plan on going back to work except for myself, which I am really excited for.

We had a great Halloween with our friends and even painted my belly... it's not really big but there is a little bump there. I think that is about it... we have one more ultrasound and just short of 4 more months before baby Cadence arrives.

PINK

2009-10-27T11:17:00.000-07:00

Soo... we found out on the 20th that we are having a GIRL!

I have let it sink in now for a week because we were both kind of in shock at first. I was so sure that the baby was a boy! But we are verrry excited and have already started getting stuff together for her cute little cowgirl room. :) There is a lot of organzing to be done and we still have to get baby furniture before we actually start the baby nursery- but it's pretty exciting. I am 21 weeks today and want everything to be done! Lol. We are lucky to have friends and family that have already had girls so we are getting a sweet load of hand me downs- which I am totally cool with. Plus I did go shopping a couple times to buy a few things myself. I think I am going to take a break on buying things like clothes and what not, but might get a few more things for her room. Well, here are a couple ultrasound pics-

Also, a couple pictures of my belly that we got... I'm all decked out in Halloween colors. :)

My Nephews and Niece

2009-09-04T10:15:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post a few pictures of my nephews and my niece. I took these for my sister and sister in law and also use them in my portfolio for my photography. Just a little peek at my work.

This is Cryus, my sisters oldest. He is four now! I need to do an outdoor session with him and get a few more pics.

This is Matt, he is my sisters youngest. He is a little ham and will be two in February!

This is Violet, she is my sister-in-laws baby girl. She is 5 weeks old in these pictures!

That is all for now, I just wanted to brag about all the cute babies in my family. :)

Our Baby...

2009-09-02T15:10:00.000-07:00

Darren and I went to the Doctors on Monday. We had an appointment to testing for down syndrome and other things- which I really haven't been worried about at all. I am young and healthy... and like when I had my surgeries a long time ago I just have this peace of mind knowing that our baby is going to be perfect. So, we got to the doctor and the ultrasound tech asked us a few questions and what not and then started out ultrasound. We got to watch our baby for like 30 minutes! It was so amazing and the tech was sooo nice. She even put the baby's heartbeat up so we could hear it for the first time! It was so fast and cute. I wish I could have recorded it. The tech did all the measurements she needed to and then spent a bunch of time showing us all the parts on our baby, she even said that if I was a little further along we could know the sex. (A lot earlier then I thought- but we don't have another ultrasound till October) It was so cool because she then said that she would start a 3D ultrasound! Which I always thought we wouldn't get because they are pretty spendy. We didn't even have to pay for it! It was so crazy to see our little baby- it's skinny little legs and lumpy little body. I can't wait till it gets all chubby. I love chubby babies. Anyways, I am obviously excited about all of this. It was a great experience and Darren is so sweet about everything. I really think that our baby is a boy... every time I look at the pictures we have I just have a feeling it is... and now everyone we know is saying they think it's a boy. I guess only time will tell when we get our next ultrasound. That's about it for now. Just wanted to do a little baby update.

It's Been Awhile...

2009-08-22T21:47:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't updated in a really long time. I think it's due to the fact that I have no idea how to use a blog or make it all fancy. All the people that I know that have these things decorate them and make them cute. I guess I will learn how to in time.

Things going on in our life lately:

Darren is still working for DirecTV and he really likes it. I am going back to work next week for the photography studio that I was working at last year. I haven't had a real job since I left, I have just been doing a lot of photography over the past 8 or 9 months and my business is doing pretty good- my portfolio has grown a lot! I am only going back to work for the season (which is until November) and then I will probably stay not working because well, I am pregnant!

That is the BIGGEST news. We are expecting our first baby. We found out when I was about 4 weeks and now I am almost 12 weeks. Almost done with my first trimester! We are so excited and I have had a pretty easy pregnancy so far. I have really only been tired... and possibly wanting to eat everything in site. The doctor says that everything looks great and I even got my first ultrasound a few weeks ago. We get another one the 31st, so we are very excited every chance that we get to see our baby. Here are a few pictures... my belly isn't showing too much, you can't tell by looking at me.

Well, I think that is enough for now. I will try to update soon, I need to figure out all the nifty things on here.

So We Are Starting A Blog...

2008-12-12T13:26:00.000-08:00

Or more like I am starting the blog. This seems to be a good way to keep in touch with family and friends, keep up to date, at least for the ones that don't have Myspace.
So, a little update: Darren has just started a new job with DirecTV and he is really enjoying it. He is still trainging, which is a four week process! Only two more weeks to go and he will be on the field. I am currently staying at home... looking for a job, kinda. I got laid off last month and have been looking for a job with not much luck. With this time off I have been working a lot more on getting my photography business together. A have done a couple sessions in the past couple weeks and I am looking forward to doing more. It's nice to not have to answer to anyone.
We are still living in Woodland, Washington and plan to stay here. It's a small town and we love that. We are still close enough to Vancouver if we need anything from the big city. Well, that is enough of an update I think... I will add more blogs soon.