The LITTLE Bale Family

Too Long!

2011-02-24T12:53:00.001-08:00

WOW!!! It has been way to long since I last blogged. There is so much updating to do. Maddie is now 18 months now! Oh my goodness! She is adorable! She walks around repeating everything I say (which means I have to watch what I say). She pretends everything is a phone, and she loves to sit down and paint nails with mommy. She's a true girl. She also breaks out dancing anytime Usher's "DJ got us falling in love" song.

Ben is still working at Knight Transportation. He graduated for ASU in December. Woot! He has gotten a new job at AXA Advisors as a financial advisor. He has to get his licensing before he can start there, so it will be a few more months before he starts there. AXA is located in North Scottsdale, which means we'll be moving soon, again...

As for me, I'm still in school at University of Phoenix. Nothing else is going on for me. I'm staying at home with Maddie, and though I may get bored once in a while, I love it. I hope that caught everyone up!

Pre-Pregnancy Weight!

2010-07-30T07:20:00.000-07:00

I am so proud of myself! I have officially gotten back to my pre-pregnancy weight! It only too me a year :P This is just a milestone, I am trying to keep going and to lose more weight. This just motivates me even more! I hope to lose at least 20 more pounds before I get pregnant again. But who knows how long that's going to be, so I might be able to lose even more : ) We shall see!

Trials

2010-07-02T00:13:00.001-07:00

So, here I sit late at night, not being able to sleep. It is the dead of summer in Phoenix, the hottest time of the year. Naturally, our bills go up especially the electric bill. It is the hardest time for us financially. I sit here doing our finances and wonder how we are going to pay all of our bills, it is still an unanswered question. But I went and got on my knees and prayed to the Lord to help us, all I can say is, I need to trust in Him. It is a very hard thing to do, especially since I can't see how it can be done, but I know that if I put my faith and trust in my Lord, he will guide us and take care of us. I am reminded of my favorite scripture mastery from seminary,

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding, in all thy ways, acknowledge him, and he will direct thy paths." Provers 3:5-6

I am trusting in the Lord and will learn and grow from this trial!

One way that I am going to help fix this problem is, I got a part time job at a high school. It's nothing glamorous. Actually, it's a cafeteria cashier. It will help us make ends meet a little better, plus it will give me something to do to keep my sanity! Staying home all day, every day, can be hard!

P.S. HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!!

2010-06-09T09:10:00.001-07:00

It has been way too long since I've blogged.

A couple of weeks ago, Ben and I went on vacations to Washington to visit my sister Mandie and her family. It was super fun. We went to the rain forest and to the beach. It was so green there! I was so sad to leave, I even cried. So, here we are back in Phoenix, soaking up the sun.

Maddie is ten months old now! I can't believe that she'll be 1 in two months! It seems like I just had her... She is growing up beautifully. She is crawling and pulling herself up and standing. She's gotten really fast at the crawling too. I'll walk to another room, then turn around and she's right behind me. She startles me sometimes. She says mom and dadda. And she has the biggest blue eyes I've ever seen. I just love her so much!

Ben is going to summer school (blah) I'm not too happy that he's going to summer school, but he did it so that he can graduate from ASU in December. So I guess I am happy for that.

I am still going to University of Phoenix, I still have about 2 1/2 years left, but it will all be worth it. I'm still staying at home, which is driving me a little crazy. I need something to do. A hobby or a part time job or a job from home or something.

I think that pretty much brings us up to date. I'll be posting pictures soon : )

The Best Valentines Day Ever!

2010-02-13T09:38:00.001-08:00

Ben and I celebrated Valentines day yesterday because it's on Sunday this year. It started early, when Ben on his lunch break called me. He told me that there was something weird outside of our door, so I went and looked and there was a dozen roses, a card with a poem he wrote for me and Wendy's on the front door step waiting for me. He's so sweet!

Later that night we went to Claim Jumper for dinner, which was pretty good. And afterward went to the ballet and saw Sleeping Beauty. It was the first time I had been to the ballet and it was fun. I really enjoyed it, it was a little long though. I also want to mention that it was all Ben's idea!

In the spirit of Valentines Day, I want to say how much I love my husband and appreciate everything he does for me. He is absolutely the best in the whole wide world!!!

Maddie

2010-02-09T09:45:00.000-08:00

Here's just a little update on Maddie and how she is doing. She turned 6 months on Friday and had her six month appointment. She is 26 3/4 inches long (89 percentile) and 18lbs 12oz (92 percentile) She's a big baby, but believe it or not, her percentiles have gone down.

She is babbling a lot, sitting up on her own, and gets up on her hands an knees. I know she'll be crawling soon. Maddie is extremely social and smiles at everyone she sees. And her favorite activity is to pull mommy's hair. She's such booger! She is adorable and lets just put it this way, I love her soooo much!!!

Tooth Problems

2010-02-09T08:47:00.000-08:00

This past weekend has been horrible! Two weeks ago, I had a root canal started, but due to time could not finish so I had to schedule another appointment to finish it. The weekend before my second appointment, my tooth got really infected and hurt like non other! It hurt so bad, I couldn't eat. Which made me sad, because I like to eat and it was super bowl Sunday. Yesterday morning I woke up after a very long night that consisted of on and off sleep, my tooth didn't hurt as bad as it had been. Except for now I had a huge bump in my gums! I went in to the Dentist and they finished the root canal. My mouth feels better, but still hurts a little bit. Morale of the story, root canals stink!!!

Family Pictures

2010-01-05T11:05:00.000-08:00

Mandie and Jason came down from Washington for Christmas and Ethan's wedding. So we conveniently got family pictures done. Thanks guys,we really appreciate it and they are wonderful!

Maddie was such a trooper, considering how cold it was outside. We still got a lot of good pictures of her.

Solids!

2009-12-11T10:05:00.000-08:00

Maddie had her first serving of rice cereal today. She was actually pretty accepting of it. Not really much of a surprise, she likes her food. She would open her mouth to let the food in, but by the end, it all came right back up. Which is to be expected. I think starting her on solids is going to be pretty easy. I just can't get over the fact that she's old enough for this already! My baby is growing up so fast!

Camping!

2009-10-12T09:43:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went on our annual extended family campout. Not as many families could go this year, but it was still just as much fun. The weather during the day was pretty nice, but the weather at night was a bit chilly. I had Maddie sleep with Ben and I so I could make sure she stayed warm. She probably would have been fine in her pack-n-play, but it gave me comfort.

The last night we were there, we were all sitting around the campfire, playing psychiatrist, when we heard a coyote howling being us! It was super close! So, naturally we all got kinda freaked out. The game ended there and we all went to bed. It was so scary, but nothing happened, everything was fine.
The best part about camping was, Maddie didn't get as much sleep as she usually gets at home, so when we got home last night, she went to sleep at 7pm and didn't get me up to eat until 5 this morning! It was crazy! She's never slept that long before! I know it won't last.
I love our camp outs! I get to spend time with family, especially ones that I don't get to see that much! It's the best! I hope people who couldn't go this year will be able to next year :)

Giggles!

2009-10-07T23:09:00.001-07:00

Tonight, as I was playing with Maddie and blowing raspberries on her feet, she laughed for the first time! It caught me off guard and was probably the sweetest thing I have ever heard! I'm so excited for her to start laughing. She is so adorable!

First Smile

2009-09-17T09:41:00.000-07:00

Maddie's first smile caught on camera. She's with her Great Grandma Goodsell aka Granny. Granny is so happy and proud that Maddie's first picture smiling is with her. She was bragging about it :) I'm glad we caught this on camera, her smile is just adorable.

It's On!

2009-09-14T10:07:00.000-07:00

Allie, Kalei, and I have decided to do a competition to see who can tone up and lose the most inches on our tummies. I'm super excited! The ultimate motivation to work out and lose weight. I'm extremely competitive so I want to win! But the best part about it, is that we're doing it together and we're all getting healthier together. It's always better when you have someone exercising with you. Wish me luck!

Smiles!

2009-09-10T09:24:00.000-07:00

Maddie has started smiling and responding to us. I LOVE it! It makes my day every time she smiles at me. It just melts my heart. But of course I haven't been able to capture it on film yet. I'm still trying to do that. As soon as I do, I'll put up a picture :)

Madilynn At One Month!

2009-09-07T14:14:00.000-07:00

Man, Does Time Fly!

GUESS WHO'S HERE!

2009-08-14T09:32:00.000-07:00

She is finally here! I went into the hospital on August 4th to be induced. After 15 hours of labor, I was still only dilated to a 6, my doctor suggested I get a C-section, and after an hour of discussing it, Ben and I decided a C-section was our best option. Which turned out to be the right decision. Turns out, she was 9lbs 13oz and 21inches long. She was too big for me to deliver. I had her at 1:02am on August 5. We named her Madilynn Alexis, Maddie for short. We are so happy she's here! She is beautiful and looks an awful lot like her daddy. I especially LOVE the little dimples she inherited from her daddy, but she does have my nose. :) We love our precious little blessing!

JUST A LITTLE BIT LONGER!

2009-08-02T15:01:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that in just two days, I'm being induced! I can't wait to bring our little girl home and to hold her in my arms. I have to admit though, I'm pretty nervous about the whole thing. Labor, deliver, and becoming a mom! It all seems so weird to me.

Here are the details, I'm being induced on Tuesday, August 4, 2009. We are scheduled to be at Good Samaritan Hospital at 4:30 a.m. Wish us luck!

HOSPITAL VISIT

2009-07-18T19:29:00.000-07:00

I have high blood pressure, and some signs I was told to watch out for were swelling and a headache that won't go away with Tylenol. Should I have these, then I should go to the hospital. I had a headache since last night, not only did it not go away with Tylenol, but it also did not go away with sleep, in addition to that, my ankles were huge! So, I went to the hospital. That's three hours I'll never get back... I had to lay on my side for two hours while they kept an eye on my blood pressure and the babies heart beat, they took blood for tests, and turns out, nothing is wrong! In fact they said my blood pressure is low now. After the two long hours of being on my side (my leg went numb) I had to sit there for an hour before I got the ok to go home. Next time I have to go to the hospital, I better come home with my baby!

Just one more week until my due date. I just wish it would happen already.

ONE MONTH!

2009-06-27T11:32:00.001-07:00

That's right! Only one more month until my due date! But I can have her any day now. Not that I've been having any signs of it happening any time soon, it's still exciting! I have definitely hit the uncomfortable stage that everyone has told me about. It seems that my body hurts all the time and all I want to do is sleep! I'm not a person that normally takes naps, but I have taken one every day this week. I am ready to have her. I can't wait to hold her in my arms!

Ben seems to be doing okay with the whole idea of having a baby. He never once has freaked out or showed any sign of being nervous. I talked to him about how it's going to be hard on us financially, and he just responded with "it'll be fine", not a response I expected. Half the time I feel alone in the nervous area. I know he is going to be a wonderful father. He notified his boss that when I have the baby, that he is going to take a week off and help me to recover and take care of the baby. What a wonderful man!

HELP!

2009-06-18T14:37:00.000-07:00

I need to get out of here! Or maybe I just want to go on vacation. I'm so desperate, that I'll even be okay with just going up north for a day or weekend or something! I have decided that having a baby in the middle of the summer stinks! Not just cuz of the heat, but because it seems like I can't do anything. And no one will let me do anything! I know this baby will be worth it, one summer without vacation should be okay right?

TWO WEEKS

2009-06-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

My two week appointments have started, it happened so quickly. Today I went in to meet one of my Dr.'s partners. Just the normal check-up. The babies head is down where it should be, I haven't gained any weight, and when the Dr. was checking the heart beat, she kicked the doppler really hard! It was pretty funny to see my tummy move like that. It caught the Dr. off guard, and he started to laugh. It was fun, can't wait until my next one in two weeks!

UPDATE

2009-05-29T10:35:00.000-07:00

I had my 7th month Dr. appointment yesterday. I'm all done with the ultra sound appointments... which makes me sad, I liked looking at my baby. Although I do have to admit that I enjoyed how quick and easy it was! Just as an update, the baby is as healthy as can be, and so am I! I have to brag that so far I have only gained 11 pounds :) Here's the exciting news... my Dr. told me that all I have to wait is another month! If I go into labor in a month, then that is okay, he said they won't try to stop it! Isn't that amazing? He got me all excited. I don't think he should have said that, because now I'm hoping for the end of June rather then the end of July, when I'm due. I am so happy and thankful for such an easy pregnancy so far. I have been blessed!

MOVING

2009-04-22T06:53:00.000-07:00

We're moving in two days! We found an apartment for a decent price and a decent size. It's not exactly ideal for a little one coming, but will work. I am so ready to get my own place! I need privacy and a KITCHEN!!! It's one of those situations that you don't appreciate what you have until it's gone... So, on Friday we move into our new apartment! Yippee!

SIX MONTHS PREGNANT

2009-04-21T15:40:00.001-07:00

NO LONGER BABY "X"

2009-04-17T09:35:00.000-07:00

25 Weeks along. Another sideways face shot! I think she looks adorable!!!

Yesterday was an amazing day! We had our Dr. (baby) appointment at 3:00 in the afternoon. Which was really hard since we were supposed to find out what gender the baby was (again). So we arrived on time, and ended up waiting an HOUR until we finally got in the ultrasound room! Seemed like forever! Well, as soon as the Dr. started the ultrasound he asked one more time if we wanted to know the babies gender, we said yes and he said... "it's a girl"!!! The little stinker was no where as shy this time as she was last time. Her feet were up by her head and she was basically mooning us. I wanted to scream I was so happy! We are both super excited!

APARTMENT HUNTING

2009-04-09T12:51:00.000-07:00

We are currently living with Ben's cousin, which is beyond unbearable, with the whole lack of space and everything. So we are trying to find an apartment of our own. With our price range it's rather difficult. So the process is going slowly and is extremely frustrating! On the bright side of things, we're thankful we have a place to live! About two weeks after we moved out of our last apartment, the complex filed bankruptcy and all the tenants were kicked out! We have an angel watching over us!

STILL BABY "X"

2009-03-25T11:08:00.000-07:00

21 weeks along. It's a face shot sideways.

So, as many know, we were supposed to find out the gender of our baby last Thursday. Ben and I went to our appointment like normal all excited and everything. And would you believe that baby wouldn't open it's legs? The Dr. pushed and poked my stomach as much as he could but could not get the baby to budge! It's amazing how the baby shows personality traits already, stubborn and shy. So far it seems it has it's mother's personality. I'm thinking that if it's that shy and modest, it better be a girl! So, the gist of it all, is we have to wait again another month. I'm thinking 3rd times the charm right? Crossing Fingers!