Cory's 29th Birthday

Birthday Boy and his baby girl!

Do you remember?  The 21st night of September?

I will always remember that special day! Not only is it Cory's birthday, but it was Charlie's due date and now that she's here this day is so much more special!  I have always had this image of waking up Cory with his birthday song and our kids jumping on our bed dancing to "September" to wake up daddy for breakfast.  The closest I got to this dream was in San Marcos when I made him breakfast and got Sno to jump all over him in his bed while playing the song.  Today my dream came true.  I played the song and Charlie, Sno, and I jumped on the bed dancing to "September!"  Charlie already knows the song since my band played it at almost every gig.  When I sing the chorus she smiles!  And she smiled as she woke her daddy up for breakfast.  She is six days old on her daddy's 29th birthday!

Waking Daddy up to his birthday song

We ate waffles and Cory opened his present from me and Charlie.  We got him an iPad because he's wanted one of those so that we can use it with our baby monitor.  We've wanted an iPad for a long time so it was exciting to finally get it for Cory's birthday!
We hung out at home all day, because that's what we've been doing all week.  But in the afternoon Cory's mom came over to make his Birthday dinner.  We had all the family over to celebrate his birthday and even an ice cream cookie cake!  It was SO good!
He really did have a special day, but what makes this Birthday so special is the baby girl. I started dating Cory when he was 19!  This is our 10th birthday to spend together!  But this really was the best birthday ever for Cory.  He said it even tops when I took him with me to Disney World last year!  And that was awesome!  That's how much little Charlie means to him.  She's all he wanted.
Now that Cory and I are finally parents, I look at him in a whole new light.  Not only is he the most amazing husband, he is the father of my child.  I new it would be different, but I didn't know how much this feeling of love for him would overwhelm me.  As I watch him holding his little girl with so much love, I can't help but love him ten times more than I ever did.  He has been such a good husband and dad.  He was great through all of my pregnancy, taking good care of me, especially through delivery.  He was at my side the entire time coaching me through the pain.  I had a fear that when Charlie came he would focus more on her and I'd have to just take care of myself.  But through all of my postpartum pain he has taken good care of me and Charlie.  Doing double duty.  I love him so much more than I ever have before.  And that is ALOT ALOT!

Happy Birthday to the best husband and daddy that I could ever ask for. Charlize is so lucky to have you as her daddy! I love you, Cory!

Charlie's Birth Day

Getting ready for Charlie!

It all started on Friday morning at my doctor's appointment.  I left school at 11am to go in for my 39 week check up and I had a very nervous feeling for some reason.  I had been swelling more and more each day and night before I had been feeling numbness in my arms.  I thought it was just because I've been on my feet all day at school, but apparently there was something more.  My mom had a feeling too.  She got off work early that day and knew that we had a doctors appointment so she met us at the doctor's office.  With Mom and Cory there with me I was very nervous.  They called my name to do the normal routine... check my weight, blood pressure, and urine sample.  My blood pressure was super high and off the charts.  Then I got even more nervous!  The nurse said to try it again after I went to the restroom, that maybe it was a mistake.  But I knew as I was in the restroom that high blood pressure and swelling is a bad sign, that I might have preclampsia. and I might have to be induced and deliver tonight!   It happened that way with my friend Whitney last year.  I went back to take my blood pressure again and it was still high.  I told Mom and Cory and they felt the same way I did.  I could see it in their eyes.  Except Mom looked a little more excited!  haha!  We went into the room to wait for my doctor.  As soon as doctor Freeman came in she said... "You're gonna have a baby today!"  And I said "I thought I might" and she said "I'm not asking you I'm telling you.  You're gonna have your baby today."  I started crying as she explained how important it was for my health and Charlie's for me to induce tonight.
Cory and I were freaking out!  For me it was my plans... I had planned to "get ready" for Charlie this weekend.  We had a wedding to go to, birthday parties, and our big baby shopping spree with our gift cards.  We just put her room back together after the Countrymans left on Sunday.  I didn't have time to make it absolutely perfect for her to come home to.  I still need her baby book so I can put her foot prints in it at the hospital.  What about school?  I was supposed to get my school laptop on Monday.  They all laughed when I mentioned my laptop!  For Cory I think it was more about "OMG I'm about to have a daughter!" because he thought I was crazy for being upset about my plans. And I was of course. My mom was like "I'm gonna be a grandma!  I'm so excited!"
The doctor informed us that I would be checking in to the hospital at 7pm so I had time to calm down and get things as ready as they can be.Cory took me to school to get things settled their and leave things ready for the sub.  I got to say bye to my 7th period class.  They were so excited!  I cried when I told Principal Fraley "I'm having a baby today!"  Cory teared up too!  It was a great moment!  After school, we had a relaxing last meal at Pei Wei and then my "nesting" kicked into over drive!  I made Cory stop by Babies R US to pick up a few last minute things.  I finished packing my hospital bag, even though it was already packed, and I started cleaning the whole house!  I had a break down when Cory told me to stop vacuuming.  All those hormones!

My family anxiously waiting for Charlie

Finally it was time to go to the hospital.  Before we left the house, we said goodbye to Sno, and had our little moment as the last time we would leave our house alone.  So emotional!  But a very special and spiritual moment for Cory and I as we have been waiting for this for such a long time.
We made to the hospital and it was like checking into a hotel!  They made us wait for our room in the waiting room.  It was pretty funny!  When our room was ready they came and got us.  I had the BIG room!  Thanks to my friends Lacy and Emily who are nurses at Baylor!  They know I have a huge family!  It was a nice room!  :)  I changed into my hospital gowns and filled out a bunch of paper work.  I got hooked up to machines and they gave me my first dose of meds.  Then Cory and I had some time to ourselves before my guests arrived.  Friday night turned into a party in room 222.  Apparently I was having contractions and didn't even know it.  They were regular and 7 minutes apart.  My family was making fun of me because I was singing through my contractions.  Andie brought the Bose system like I asked her to so I made her be the DJ for the night.  Even thought they new I wouldn't have Charlie until the next day, our family came to see us on Friday night and just hang out in the hospital with us.  It was fun!
The next day not so much!  People came to see me but I was not the happy singing mommy to be that I was the night before. I was in alot of pain most of the day.  The doctor came in and broke my water first thing in the morning, which actually hurt.  Then my contractions got stronger and they wouldn't give me an epidural until I reached 4cm.  But I was stuck at 3 pretty much all day.  When they finally did give me an epidural it only worked on half of my body, so they readjusted it, and when that didn't work, they had to do it all over again.  Not good.  BUT it was so worth it.  After going though labor pains all day, I could finally get some rest now that I couldn't feel anything.  I took a nap and woke up only for the nurses to up the Pitosin doses.  They told me they would come check on me again at 8pm.  At 8pm they checked me and they said I was ready to push!

The magical moment of becoming parents

Mom and Andie came in ready for delivery!  Mom was there for moral support and on video and photo duty.  Somehow Andie got stuck on leg duty!  She was already on Facebook duty, make up duty, and music duty, but the doctor appointed her to leg duty!  By the way her DJing skills were awesome.  We had music playing throughout the entire delivery. (And yes the rumor is true that I was pushing to "Push it" by Salt and Pepa!) Cory was my focal point for most of the time.  I had several:  a bunny, a picture from Angelina, the Texas Longhorns game, but Cory was the best.  Looking into his eyes as he was about to become a daddy was so awesome, I'll never forget that image.  Cory and Andie helped me push through contractions for about an hour and then that magical moment finally happened   I  became a mother.

Welcome to the world Charlie!

It was the best feeling I've ever felt.  As soon as I saw her and they put her on my chest, I had this overwhelming feeling.  I'm a mom.  That's my baby girl.  I wanted to hold her, protect her, and started singing to her right away.  It was such a beautiful moment.  Cory and I became a family.  Holding our baby girl together and kissing all over this beautiful baby that we made.  It was like it was just the three of us in the room.
But I know mom and Andie were there too on camera duty!  My dad finally got his way and got my mom to start "Facetiming" him while he was in the waiting room.  He wanted to do it through delivery, but I had to kick him out.  While they were stitching me up everyone in the waiting room (which was ALOT of people) got to see Charlie on Dad's iPad. Pretty awesome!  Everyone got to watch as Charlie was cleaned and weighed. They couldn't come in yet because I was being worked on for a long time.  Apparently I had a torn cervix, but I didn't care.  I was on cloud nine watching Cory hold our baby girl.

Charlize Angelica 9-15-12  9:35pm  6lbs 11oz 19.5in

Finally it was OKed for visitors to come in.  We had people come in groups at a time so as not to be overwhelming, so we started with Grandparents first, then Greats, then aunts and uncles, cousins, etc.  I had my bonding moment with Charlize, so I was happy to hand her off to meet her family.  They had been waiting all day (and some last night too) to meet her and she finally came 24 hours later.  Charlie is so blessed to have such a loving family and extended family to greet her into this world.  They all couldn't wait to hold her and pass her around.  It was fun watching everyone's reactions to her.  Annabella cried!  She was so excited to finally meet her baby cousin after waiting for sooooo long. 9 months is a long time for a 3 year old.  Everyone was so excited to meet her.
Once everyone left for the evening it was time for Cory and I to spend our first night  with our baby girl.  We moved to a smaller room and it was pretty funny because I still couldn't feel my legs and I had to switch beds.  I felt like Lt. Dan on Forrest Gump.  But for some reason I insisted on using my arms to lift myself!  I payed for that later!  Charlie stayed up all night with her eyes wide open just taking in the new world that she had come in to.  I didn't really get any sleep until about 5am because I was just watching her as she silently stared around the room.

Charlie and all her Countryman Cousins!

The next day we had several visitors, again.  Some the same as yesterday and some who didn't get to see Charlie the night before.  Everyone, again was excited to see her.  She was passed around all over the room.  Katie was even excited to change her diaper!  (Go for it KiKi!) It was all about Charlie.  Several people reminded me that it wasn't about me anymore, of course.  But I knew that and it was actually a great feeling.  I loved that all anyone cared about was my little girl!  Because that's all I care about now.  She's it!   It's all about Charlie.  Everyone here loves her so much.  And I hope one day she knows how loved she is.
We had one last night in the hospital and then it was time to go home to meet Sno!  Sno was super excited to meet her new family member!  She was so curious but so sweet to Charlie!  The cutest thing was that when Sno barked Charlie smiled!  She knew that bark from inside the womb.  Our new family is finally together in our home and I couldn't be happier!  This is truly bliss.

Here is a slideshow of ALL the pictures from Charlie's birthday:
(The whole story caught on camera)
 

Movie Night at Tammi's

Tonight, Aunt Tammi invited us to an outdoor movie night in her backyard celebrating all summer and September birthdays!
She set up a big screen in the back yard and we all brought our blankets and lawn chairs to watch the featured movie of the night... Marry Poppins!  Katie and I had fun singing all the songs in the back!  haha!
Everyone was freaking out at how huge I am!  I have exactly two weeks until my due date, but I feel as big as a house!  My feet are getting super swollen!  I'm 38 weeks now and everyone is thinking that Charlie could come at any minute, but at my last doctor's visit the doc said that Charlie had no interest in coming out.  She guesstimates that she will go past her due date, but she says she'll induce if she doesn't come before the 28th.  So I know she's coming THIS month.  And that is so crazy to think about.  I kinda hope she comes on Cory's birthday.  It's just too weird that her due date is her daddy's birthday.  That would be kinda cool!  But at the same time, I LOVE celebrating Cory's birthday and I know that he will never have another birthday again if she comes on his day.  It will be HER day for the rest of our lives.  He actually likes that.  But I don't know.  We'll see!  It's all a waiting game now.  :)

Introducing: Charlie's cousin Liam!

Liam Cayde Countryman

Today is baby Liam's birth day!   We are so excited and happy for Shane and Whitney who had their first son  born today at 8:21am!  Our little nephew and Charlie's closest cousin was born six weeks early, but we hear that he is doing very well under the circumstances.   We've been waiting for him since last Wednesday when we got the call that he was on his way.  Early this morning I got a text from Denise right before school started!  As soon as I saw that the text was from her, I knew he was here!  I couldn't wait to hear more about him and get pictures.  Unfortunately, Shane and Whitney live in Utah so we are unable to see him in person for a long time, but we've got plenty of pictures and hope to get more as they come in!  Someday him and Charlie will get to play together, soon!  ;)

Love this picture of Shane!  Can't believe he's a daddy!

Cuban Night!

Ever since Bryan, Michelle, and kids have been staying with us, Michelle and I have been wanting to do a Cuban night, where we make all Cuban food that we haven't had in a while.  They've been with us for a whole month now and we're finally having our Cuban night!  So fun!
Michelle and I are both of Cuban decent (her mom was born in Cuba and my dad was born in Cuba), so both of our kids will be Cuban too!  We decided to teach her kids all about Cuban food.
We had some dishes in mind, but we also looked up in the Gloria Estefan Cuban cook book that I got as a wedding gift to get some ideas.  Michelle got most of the food at the store but she couldn't find plantains.  We have to have Platanos!  (Its the only Cuban thing I know how to make!)  So I made a special trip to Fiesta to get really good plantains to make platanos.  I also picked up my favorite Cuban crackers, guava paste and cream cheese. Since I know the Countryman kids have a hard time trying new things and finishing their dinner, I got a special treat for each one of them if they tried all the Cuban food.  Even though they aren't Cuban, I got Mexican sodas!  Of course they loved them and were already claiming their colors as soon as I came home with them!  They did great though!  Especially Cayden!  He ate EVERYTHING.  A real Cuban boy!  Alysa tried everything and really loved the platanos.  Brynn tried everything too, but her favorite thing was of course... the Mexican soda!  We had a great time and ate some great food!  Even our Gringo husbands enjoyed! LoL!

We have had such a great time this summer with the Countrymans at our house!  It's a great opportunity to become closer as a family.  Not only are we helping each other out, but I love always having someone around to keep me company.  The girls are fun to play with and Cayden blows me kisses every time I leave for work!  Love those kids!

I cannot believe it's September already!   Charlie is coming this month!  :)

Maternity Photo Shoot

My maternity photo shoot was today!  I have been meaning to take maternity pics, but with baby showers and school starting I never had time to book anything.  Luckily, Andie told me about Jasmine Balderaz having $40 mini sessions this weekend!  Perfect!  We are actually free this weekend so I was excited to get out and take pictures of my big belly before Charlie comes!  Thanks to Jasmine for the awesome pics!
Here are the finished photos:

Back to School

Tadaa!  Finished Product!

I can't believe it's already time to go back to school! The summer flew by SO fast!  Especially since I've been counting down the days to Charlie's due date.  Today my nieces came to help me decorate my classroom.   It's been a long day since I had to get up extra early this morning to go to the new Superintendent's convocation.  I had to be at school at 6:30am.  Being prego, I knew there was no way I could decorate my room alone this year, so I got special help from Victoria, Alexandrea, Angelina, Alyssa, Brynn, and even Cayden.  :)  Michelle and Cory helped alot too!
I've been at school for a couple of weeks now.  I worked the Freshman camp and registration to make a little extra money for that month that I won't have a paycheck during Maternity leave.  So I am used to getting up early and going to school and climbing those steps up to the second floor.  It actually hasn't been too bad.  Even fun!   But Monday.... the kids come!  And I just found out that I'm teaching another class I wasn't prepared for... along with World Geography and US History I'm teaching Economics and Government too!  I've never had three preps before.  Last year was my first time to have two preps so I guess I just keep building on!  I know I can do it, I just don't want to stress out too much this late in my pregnancy.  It's hard enough being huge, having swollen feet, and having to pee every 30 minutes.  I am so lucky that I have a supportive family to help me through all this!  Thanks so much to my neices for today and especially to my husband for always supporting me in everything I do!  Cory not only physically helped me with my room, but he is keeping me mentally sane as well.  With him behind me, I am ready for Monday!  and ready for the new school year!  :)

Pooch Hotel

My cousin Vanessa just started working at the new Pooch Hotel!  Today is their grand opening and they are giving away free treats and "Spawdicures" so we are making a family trip over to Richardson to see Vanessa there!
Mom picked me and Sno up and brought Mitzi and Andie met us there with Baby Bevo. When we got there it was so neat!  They have the super cute doggy hotel rooms right when you walk in.  There were SO many dog treats, goodie bags, and even yummy people food!  After we got our treats, Vanessa gave us a tour of the facility, which was huge and super nice!
Sno didn't really get along with the other dogs though.  I wanted to take her into the indoor dog park, but she was barking and growling at every other dog she saw.  She only wanted to be around her cousins Mitzi and Bevo.  Any other dog made her upset.  I know she's a good girl, but I don't know why she's been hating on other dogs.  One of the employees there said its because she's especially overprotective now because of the baby.  Like she knows that she has an extra person to protect when she's with me.  Interesting to think about. I really can't wait to see what she's like when Charlie is actually here.
Sno got her "Spawdicure" and had super cute pink toe nails.  I haven't painted her nails since she was spayed as a puppy.  She did really good for the nail lady, though!  I was surprised.  I am going to paint her nails more often!

Family trip to the Circus!

Tonight we had a wonderful night at the Barnum and Bailey Circus with all of our neices (and nephew)! Shannon and the Waggoner girls along with Michelle and the Countryman kids asked us to join them at the circus!  Dr. Bryan met us their after work!
Victoria and Alexandrea came along in our car as we caravaned out to the Fort Worth Convention Center.  We got there just in time to get to our seats and see the very beginning!
It was so fun to be at the circus again and see it through a child's eyes.  It was so cute to see Cayden's face in awe when he saw fire, and tigers, and the really strong man!  I can't wait to take my little girl to the circus just so I can watch her face in amazement!
Speaking of Charlie, she was kicking up a storm during the show.  Bryan bought us popcorn and cotton candy and being the pregnant girl that I am I decided to mix the two together and created a kettle corn kind of flavor in my mouth!  I couldn't get enough!  Victoria and I felt so guilty eating all that junk but it was SO good!  Therefore, with all that sugar, she was jumping up and down inside my tummy!  I love her so much!  We had so much fun with the kids, but I couldn't stop thinking about how much more fun it will be with our little girl!  Next month! :)

Charlie's 2nd Baby Shower

Charlize Angelica had her second baby shower today given by her Grandma Carla, Aunt Andie, Great Grandma Corina and her Great Aunts Sesa, Kee, Angie, and Tanya!  Grandma Carla's house was decorated so beautifully with pink everywhere!  I do have to hand it to Aunt Andie for being so crafty!  Who knew she could flawlessly recreate all of those Pintrest ideas just for Charlie.  She really does love her!

Aunt Kiki came over and chauffeured Charlize and I to our shower.  As soon as we walked in I saw the beautiful dresser/changing table that "The Greats" got for Charlie from the Princess collection!  :)  Gorgeous!  They used this to put the party favors on which were also pretty crafty!  :)

I walked in and saw all of the other beautiful decorations and beautiful people who came to shower Charlize with gifts!  

We had a wonderful time eating the gourmet sandwiches and the awesome Yogurt bar!  And then on to the games!  First we played the candy game where everyone guessed which candy went with which baby item.  We also played the game where people had to guess how big my belly was with ribbons.  Most people guessed way too big!  What's funny is Wilson, got really close and he measured his ribbon around his own belly before comparing it to mine!  haha!  Wilson is as round as his pregnant sister!  Then we played this hilarious game where people had to guess which features of mine and Cory's that I would want Charlie to have!  Basically the winners guessed that I wanted her to look like me and act like Cory!  haha!   

Finally it was time for gifts!  There were so many gifts, it took over an hour to open them all by myself.  I feel so blessed that Charlie has so many people that love her!  Afterward, like every other party at the Rivero house, the baby shower turned into a dance party with club lights and fog that my dad was so proud of!  So funny!  Charlie already loves to dance like her Aunt Andie!  haha!

It really was surreal to have my own baby shower at my parents house!   Every baby shower we've had there has been for my Aunts or someone older, so it feels really weird that it is now time for my baby shower.  Looking at all of Charlie's gifts made me realize that she is coming so soon!  I can't believe it!

  

Charlie's First Baby Shower

Today was Charlie's first Baby Shower hosted by Zaza and her aunties Shannon, Katie, and Michelle!  Her cousins also helped out alot!  Victoria, Alexandrea, Angelina, Alysa, Brynn, and especially Bella were so excited to through a tea party for their newest baby cousin!  Annabella actually thought that Charlie would be making an appearance at the shower and she was a little disappointed that she would have to wait another 7 weeks!  LoL!  The shower was so pretty! I have been staying away from Zaza's house on purpose so that I could be surprised when I walked in and I was! It was a tea party theme so everything was pink, pretty, and fancy. The centerpieces were different vintage tea pots with flowers in them. I especially loved the kids table centerpiece since it was a giant Disney Princess tea pot! (My fave!) I was so excited to have so many guests from the Countryman side of our family.  I've grown up loving my big family and I'm so glad that I married into another big family.  Charlize will always have two big families that care about her!  :)  First, we sat down to eat at our little tea party.  We had chicken and mushroom crepes and "dutch babies"! 

The tea was a strawberry tea and was very tasty!  After we ate, we played games of course.  The first game was a baby good tasting game.  We passed around baby food and had to guess the exact flavor of each one.  I was not good at this game, especially since I am so picky.  But I tried all ten of the flavors except one... which I smelled and just labeled "Gross!"  That one happened to be turkey and gravy, which if it were real food I would have actually liked, but the baby food version is just nasty.  I don't know how babies eat that stuff.  Even Andie had a throw up face when she tasted it. Then I knew it wasn't good because she eats everything. The rest were pretty bad except for the bananas and the applesauce. Those were pretty good!

The next game was the bottle drinking game.  Andie, Heather, Rita, Daretha, and I had to race to see who could finish their bottle of apple juice first!  Rita cheated and opened up her bottle by unscrewing the top so she got first place, but it was pretty close between the rest of us for a while.  Finally, Andie and I were close but she came out with the win!  The third game was a guessing game with candy bars and a play on words.  It was fun trying to guess which candy bar had to do with the right baby term.  After games it was time to open gifts!  Charlie got tons of cute little outfits!  I can't wait to dress her up like my own little baby doll!

Overall, it was a great time with great family and friends.  I am so thankful for all the gifts and grateful that Charlize has such wonderful people in her life who love her already!