Day 2 at the hospital...and we're home

This was actually the 29th (just a few hours old)...I still have my IV, that's how I know:).
Yesterday morning Daddy had a little photo shoot.
Jonathan introduced Cole to "scruffy" the family mascot. Cole was unimpressed.
We had many visitors yesterday. Many remembered it was my birthday (I forgot). Corban and Landice Mullins washed up and then held Cole. Corban kept calling him Jaxon (a friend of our's newborn) and me Rachael:). It was funny. Corban and Landice will have a new sibling soon!
My posts will probably get less frequent since we are going home today. He's a good baby so far and except for being kind of hungry he is pretty content. Here are some pictures from yesterday. The flowers are for my birthday from Diana Wood. A very exotic and beautiful arrangement. I don't even think she knows that irises and lilies are my favorite flowers:).

We are home now. He is contentedly napping in his crib which he likes a lot better than the hospital plastic tub:). More pictures to come soon. We are just resting up. I just want to make a note and say I am so grateful to have a wonderful husband who really loves his son and is such a great help. I got a wonderful nap today and Jonathan here made me really rest easy. I love you, honey!

July 29th...What a Day for the Fortes!

I don't know about the rest of you ladies, but contractions are some of the most fun I have had. Here's me in between a few just waiting for Cole to make his appearance.
Daddy anxiously awaiting Cole's birth.
Dr. Karen Wilks, our OB, holding Cole. Look at the inky feet!
Daddy holding Cole.
Mommy holding Cole.

So far he's been pretty alert. Surprisingly not sleepy. I am feeling pretty good considering. I am up and about and everything is going pretty smoothly. Obviously I am a bit tired. It was a long night after he was born. He's resting right now. I just had a shower and it was quite wonderful!!! I haven't gotten all of the tape residue off of me yet, though! Cole is doing well and, like I said, is pretty alert most of the time. He cried a lot last night, but is mostly just looking around and trying to figure out his new world now.

He was born on July 29, 2008 at 7:18 PM. He weighed 6 lb. 13.5 oz.and he was 20 inches long.

The Nursery

Here is the nursery. We added Cole's name to the wall above the crib and we added the shelf with hooks by the door. We put his books up there.

The Last Few Weeks in Pictures

Here are the last few weeks in pictures. Elizabeth is holding up a huge blackberry she picked when we went blackberry picking. Lucky we did that before my thumb was numb. I don't know how I would tell the good from the bad without tactile feedback.
Kadence and Corban picking blackberries. Corban's hat is so silly.
Tara, Kaison, and Micah and myself picking blackberries (or resting after picking them).
We went swimming after picking blackberries at Jana Hornbuckle's parents house. It was nice to be weightless! Jonathan and I went to Pops on Route 66 last Saturday.

This is nothing compared to the amount of pop that is in the coolers.
Jonathan choosing a root beer. My cream soda was so good!
And for all of my rabid fans...here is me today. My belly is maxed out. I am not terribly comfortable, but the end is in sight. I thought of putting a picture of a cow instead of me, but I had a few requests to see what I look like now, so I thought I would begrudgingly comply. The camera is packed so I don't plan to take it out again:). I couldn't forgive myself if I forgot the camera when we go to the hospital. Everything is packed, put together, etc.

39 Week Appointment

Well, I had my 39 week appointment today. Cole James is going to be evicted next Tuesday if he doesn't leave the womb beforehand. I was very frustrated just after my appointment because I thought they had all of the "induce" date stuff worked out and that they would bring it up. I initiated it and got some results and I am far less frustrated now. Apparently someone was scheduled for next Tuesday and they had their baby before so I took their time slot. 7:30am is my time to arrive at the hospital for it. I am a little sad that he won't be born on my birthday, but since we are inducing the 29th, I sure hope he isn't since my birthday is the 30th....that would be one long day (not to say that it couldn't happen, but I am not hoping for it)!
I am just glad to have a "light at the end of the tunnel" or "closure" as Elizabeth called it. As it is I feel like I am coming down with a cold, so I need to scoot off to bed and get some much needed siesta time. Tomorrow and Friday I have no plans to go anywhere, so I will clean in the morning and nap as needed:).
Oh, Elizabeth told me about this...JC Penney is having a huge seasonal clothing blowout. I got whole outfits for Cole next year for 1.97 a piece. Check it out:).

Y and Z...I am drawing a blank

So, to end the alphabet fun that started off more fun than it ended, I have drawn a complete blank for Y and Z so I will just start doing normal posts:).
Cole has 7 days to make his arrival or we may have to evict him. He's wiggling around in there and I know it's got to be a tight fit...I can almost grab onto his little feet when he stretches his legs (which is often). My birthday is next Wednesday so I am going to ask to be induced then. My doc is out of town right now, so I have to have my appointment tomorrow with a different doctor. She seems nice from her bio. There are 6 doctors in the practice at Mercy Center for Women's Health. I have only seen mine, so tomorrow will be a different experience for certain. My stomach has bugged me the last two nights, but I slept pretty well despite it. My right thumb is tingly/numb on the outside, but I think it is due to carpal tunnel (pregnancy related...it goes away I have read). Other than that I am still fairly comfortable. I am pretty tired, so I may start having naps for this next week before he arrives (unless he arrives earlier...which I am cool with:).
I am just glad the nasty scrape on my knee has turned back to skin and is just a pink scar now. I couldn't even squat because it would reopen a few days ago.

This past weekend we went to Pops and we both had a very enjoyable experience. I got cream soda that had coconut in it. It was a really cool place and I recommend it. It is like being a kid in a candy store with all the pop you can imagine lining one wall in coolers. We don't even like to drink pop that much, but it was a neat experience just the same.

I would like to say that after these past couple days where I have limited my own activity I am not sure how Melody Byrd did it with being on bed rest with Jaylen. It is amazing to me and she must be one of the most patient people in the world after that. I am going a little crazy now, but I have started scrapbooking our Philmont adventures and I didn't think I would get to it for years. So, some good will come of this rest.

X is for X-Rays

My first job as a college intern was working for an X-Ray machine company called Picker, International. The have been purchased now by Philips Medical Systems. I worked on CT Scan machines testing their software the first year, and Radiation Therapy planning machines the second year. The third year is kind of a blur, but I worked on writing a Graphical User Interface for the machines.
That is what I did with my college summers. While at Philips, I met a man named Al Di Rienzo. He was in a Bible study with me at work (during lunch). Somehow I maintained contact with him and once I got ready to graduate he had moved on to Welch Allyn in Skaneateles, NY. He was the Senior VP of R&D at Welch Allyn and he recommended me for a job. I went up and interviewed and ended up landing a job that would start at the end of the summer after I graduated. Jonathan and I went to Philmont on that time and in August when we returned I moved up to NY State. I moved to Camillus, NY into a really nice apartment complex with lots of older widows who were very kind. I knew nobody when I moved up there. Within a year I had found a church home and I was youth group leader there. I had tea with the ladies in the apartment on Saturday mornings. I made two male friends my age at work and through church was introduced to my female friend, Sara (the one who is Jonathan's cousin...we found out this year). I played ultimate frisbee two days a week after work (indoor in the winter....Syracuse is one ugly city in the winter). I went to the Adirondacks, Niagara Falls, Fishing in Canada, along with many other awesome things. I ran several races (two over 9 miles) with my friend, Matt. I worked out in the company gym almost every day (but I gained 10 lbs when I lived there because the company had a great cafeteria and I went out to lunch a lot). Oh, I actually worked when I lived there, too. I helped design printed circuit boards for a blood pressure project and helped with an EKG project. I got to work with people from Norway, the Netherlands, and Ireland (the Irish guys actually came over and it was great getting to know them a little). Jonathan and I lived 8 hours apart and only saw each other once every couple weeks (usually I would drive 5.5 hours to my parents house and we would meet there for the weekend). It was tough on our relationship, but we are both really glad we did it because we got to be unmarried professionals (well, he was going to grad school) and hang out with friends and kind of do that before shackling down (not that we were all that wild). I will be forever glad that I made the decision to move to NY where I knew nobody and start a life from scratch. It was preparation for moving to Oklahoma and starting over again. I don't mind moving and knowing no one. It is so fun to get to know people and if you are a Christian, there are always churches and like-minded people around. I get sad to think of if we hadn't taken those jumps out of our comfort zones to move to new locations and start over. What a great adventure!

W is for Wendy

Wendy is my mother. She was born May 23rd of some year in the past. She stayed at home with my brother and I as we were growing up and now she is a subcontractor for my father. She does paint and wallpaper. She is very talented at it. She is a good gardener, she sings well and sings a lot, and she is good at fixing things. She makes the best spaghetti sauce and is a very good cook. She likes to help in any and all situations and is always doing something for someone else. My parents have 2 dogs which are my mom's "girls". She is very fit and svelt for her age and walks her dogs a lot.

V is for Vitamins

Well, I had to think of something. Vitamins, it is! I never really took vitamins once a day until we decided we were going to try to have a baby. I have been on them for quite some time now and I think I will continue the trend for the rest of my life. I like them. I really like the chewy Flintstone's ones, but I am on prescription vitamins for at least a little longer. I went onto one that has Fish Oil in it presently and it is pretty disgusting. Anyway, I couldn't think of another V word.....maybe because I am frazzled.

U is for Mother-in-Law

Ok, so I couldn't find anything for U and I realized in my haste that I had inadvertently passed S without spotlighting Jonathan's mother. Her name is Sheryl Forte. She is pictured here eating lunch with us in downtown Columbus this past April. She was born February 27 (some year in the past). She is very good at cross-stitching, she quilts, and she has been the preschool Sunday School teacher at their church for years. I feel lucky to have in-laws such as the Fortes. I have a good relationship with them. Sheryl was brought up in New York State. She met Mr. Forte in Iowa where she went to college and he worked as an intern. They married in the 70s (not entirely sure what year...I think maybe 73). She walks nearly every day and she is into healthy cooking. Sorry for passing you by, Mrs. Forte, I didn't mean to! There are a lot of S-subjects in my life for some reason!

T is for Toy Yoda

I just had to share this. Jonathan just sent this in an e-mail and his message was, "Understand ... she did not." I laughed and laughed. I used to not like Star Wars AT ALL. We borrowed all 6 of them from the Bialons a few weeks ago and watched them. I absolutely love them now. Good story lines, good action, good family entertainment. Yoda always has been a joke between Jonathan and I because the dog I had growing up named Lucky reminded us of Yoda. We laughed every time Yoda had a line in the movie because we were thinking of that insane mutt who I made insane when I was growing up. So, Yoda just makes Jonathan and I laugh whenever anything is mentioned about him. I figured this made a good "T" post because I am not sure what else I would have done. I am running out of things to use. I mean, we aren't that interesting! Now for U,V,W,X,Y,Z. Six more and then I promise to not do alphabets for a while...just normal posts.
On a side note, this has been my first week off of work as a "stay-at-home-soon-to-be-mom". I have kept very busy. Monday I baked cookies and I went swimming at Diana Wood's house (thanks for the burgers and the pool). Swimming is awesome when you are pregnant. Getting out of the pool and weighing 3,000 lbs is not, but it is worth it to swim. Tuesday I went walking in the morning (I did that Monday and Wednesday, too) and bit it when I was trying to get away from a bee. I haven't skinned my knees in forever, but my right one is all beat up right now. I fell on my side, not on Cole. The doctor was pretty unconcerned about it. I had a checkup with the OB and things are still progressing. She expects more progression this week. I am getting a little impatient...especially after the Hamiltons and my friends from college, the Aults, had their babies last week. I am trying to keep busy so I don't think about it much. Wednesday I cleaned the floors in the house (not really nesting...it is a normal thing we do once every week or two) and trained the Cornells on publishing the Vienna Team - Haskew Newsletter. Yesterday I went blackberry picking with the Hobbs (blog link on the left) and Elizabeth Mullins (Mommy Mizfit to the left) and then we swam at Jana Hornbuckle's parents' house (I hate apostrophes). Today I am cleaning the bathrooms and making blackberry cobbler. I am trying to chill out today since I had a busy week. Tomorrow is a diaper shower for Elizabeth and then a Pampered Chef show at Erin Cornell's. Yikes, it will be a busy day!

S is for Salerno

For those of you who don't know, my maiden name is Salerno (insert Godfather music here). Salerno is a city in Italy, but my Dad's family is from San Fratello, Sicily. Sometime in the early 1900's Dad's grandfather, Benedetto Salerno, came over from Sicily with his brothers. I have found the record on Ellis Island's website. Sicily? Yes, we have mafia ties. No, I don't personally know any of them. The most famous mobster from my family was Fat Tony Salerno. I think he was my grandfather's cousin. I recall my dad telling me my Uncle Chuck (grandfather's brother) knew Fat Tony. Anyway, that's the mob tie.
S is also for sausage, on a related note. My parents and my Uncle Chuck started a tradition long ago where we make Italian Sausage the Saturday after Thanksgiving every year along with friends of our family. The Marzullo's, Dagostino's, and the Platten's (the only non-Italian link) usually help with the sausage making. My mother has a big spaghetti dinner with fresh sausage in it afterward. A few years back we had a big touch football game by the golf course behind my parents yard (off the course, of course!).

R is for Rick

I haven't been too quick on posting lately because my camera is packed for the hospital and I am afraid to take it out and forget it accidentally. Also, I kept very busy this first week off of work and was so tired by the end of the day I couldn't post!

Rick is my (Candice's) father. He was born February 11 of some year in the past:). He was born and raised around Cleveland Ohio. He went to Padua Franciscan High School. He met my mother at a store where she worked as a cashier and he kept asking her out (he was denied twice, but third time was a charm I guess). They got married in 1979. They have been married since and raised my brother and myself in the house we moved to when I was three. Dad is into sports and he still runs to this day, though it hurts his knees more than it used to. He keeps in good shape by working out. His big hobby is timepieces. He is very into watches. I don't know how many he has, but some of them are pretty pricey. One in particular that everyone would recognize is the Omega Seamaster that James Bond wears. He has given his watch loving disease to Jonathan. Though, I don't think Jonathan will get an Omega ever, he likes looking at watches. Dad is the owner of a general contracting company (I am supposed to be the webmaster, but I have done a pathetic job) S&K Remodeling. He has worked hard all his life to build the company up from nothing. The company is successful now and he gets many jobs through word of mouth. Dad can sing like Frank Sinatra, which I prefer over his Beach Boys falsetto (yes, he can do it, too). He has always been encouraging me to play guitar, sports, etc.

Q is for "Quick, Strike a Pose"

We had maternity pictures taken last weekend. We got them done at Sears and we were happy with them (I was as happy as I could be considering I am much heavier than most recent pictures:). The bottom pose, we copied off of our friends, the Brocks. We had a couple printed for our parents and grandmothers.

P is for Philmont

Philmont....ah the memories. Have you heard of Philmont? Philmont is a Boy Scout Ranch in Cimarron, NM. I had never heard of it until I met me Eagle Scout husband. He went on two treks there with different troops while he was in school and he worked there after his freshman year of college (just months before our meeting). All he talked about was Philmont when I met him. After college, we decided to head out there and work. I got a job at the Philmont Training Center and he got one in a back country camp called Beaubien. It was a western camp. He brought my engagement ring all the way out there to propose. His original intent was to propose at the top of the Tooth of Time, but he decided to do it earlier (like right after we got there...June 4th 2003).

I wasn't having a great first/second day of work there. We had a bunch of people in my place of employment (the handicraft lodge) who did not speak English. I am not sure why I was so fussed about them, but Jonathan had dressed in his class A uniform and cowboy hat and popped over when I got off work (he was about to leave for his back country camp a day or so later). I was complaining about the people and he was leading me over to the fence with the mountains in the background. He was a little quiet. He asked me to put my things in my tent and then we walked over to the area with the mesa/mountain view. He said, "I am sorry you had a bad day...maybe I can make it better." Then he pulled a little box out of his pocket and said "will you marry me?" Needless to say I had tears in my eyes (of joy...not woe). And I said "yes". We hugged. His heart was about to beat out of his chest:). It was so cute. Then, we went to dinner and sat with Doc and Charlie who both worked over on my side of camp. We announced to them our engagement and we called our parents after dinner (we would have called before, but there wasn't time and the place to eat was only open for meal time (not like a full service cafe).

Philmont, aside from the engagement, holds many memories to me that are near and dear to me. Jonathan and I were separated by 13 miles of mountains an hours drive from each other. I tried to get back to his camp every other week or so. It was great. We rode horses (not just dude rides...we even raced them around the switchbacks), learned to rope, we made tons of friends, I rediscovered my passion for guitar, etc, etc. It was awesome!
When we got back, I promptly moved to NY state (another post) and my friends there said I talked about Jonathan 50% of the time and Philmont the other 50%. The place just leaves an impression. It is God's Country, like the Philmont Hymn says.