"Look everyone, my mom is FINALLY going to update her blog and blog about me."

Hmm, has it really been since February since I last blogged? Yes, that would be pathetic, you are correct. Well, not much has happened since February, so that is probably why. Just kidding.

This weekend I spent some time with my amazing friend Bethany www.bethanyf.com (in case you want to take a peek at her awesome work!) and she took a few snapshots of Jonas, so I thought this would be the perfect time to post a few and update you all on the latest and greatest happenings here on Gordy Place.

So, let's back track a bit. February- hmm, I can't think of anything noteworthy that happened (yeah, that's what happens when you wait seven months to blog!). March was amazing though. Craig and I got to go to Maui, Hawaii on the bank's dime, a place I have always wanted to go. Hawaii, check. Italy is next on the list now. If you remember, last year we went to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico courtesy of WAMU and this year it was Hawaii. Seriously, how can you not have an amazing time when you are somewhere tropical AND someone else is paying for it. Maybe that's why WAMU's stock is down to $1.34. The only bummer of the trip (besides taking a 6 hour plane ride when you are 8 months pregnant and watching/feeling your ankles swell like overstuffed sausage links- PS- whoever said pregnancy is beautiful was never 9 months pregnant!!) is that I had been really sick with a nasty sinus infection and cold for two weeks before that and was still sick, but better to be sick where it is warm and you can lay out by the pool with a virgin margarita than in the cold and rain. We had an amazing time and we look forward to going back! (maybe for our "weaning vacation"- my good friend Bethany just introduced that phrase to me and I think it is brilliant. A vacation when you are done weaning your baby. Give whoever came up with that idea a prize will ya?)

Fast forward to April.  I had a great last few weeks of my pregnancy but was definitely ready to be done.  I think I let myself get into the precarious mindset since Rowen was 3.5 weeks early that Jonas would just be early too.  And, everyone knows how entirely patient I am! My doctor decided to go ahead and induce me early since my blood pressure kept climbing (it did with Rowen too), so she let us pretty much pick his birthday within a frame of dates.  We picked both the earliest we could and also tried to avoid our crazy mass of birthday/anniversary extravaganza that we have all within days.  Note to self- we are not good date planners.  Another note to self- we did not plan Jonas :) I digress. Anyway, we chose April 28th since my birthday is the 29th and our anniversary is May 1st.  We just hoped that he would make his grand entrance on the 28th and not the 29th.  So, we went into the hospital around 7am that Monday.  Dr. Olmstead had me hooked up to pitocin and broke my water by about 9am and Jonas was born at 3:56 pm.  All in all, not bad for a pitocin birth, which I do not recommend if you can avoid it.  It's a lot of intense labor and you never get to work up to it.  I love labor though. I know that sounds sick, but I love the challenge of it and I love that every labor is it's own story and experience.  This time I was much more confident and I knew what to expect and what I did and did not want.  I did most of my laboring in action- walking the halls and using the birthing ball.  I waited until an hour before Jonas was born to get an epidural, which of course did not work. Hmm.  I think next time I would like to make it the whole way without, because I just like being more in control of the experience instead of vice versa, but I say that now while comfortably typing at a computer, 4.5 months removed from birth and pleasantly forgetting the pain. :) Jonas was 7 pounds 1 ounce and 19.5 inches when he was born and had a head full of strawberry blonde hair.  He was beautiful.  He has been such an amazing baby form day one.  Almost always happy, hardly ever cries and a great nurser.  I seem to have small babies (Rowen was 6 pounds 11 ounces) and then they grow into massive babes.  Jonas is a whopping 17 pounds today and 27 inches- more than the same size that Rowen was at 6 months old.  Must be a Cartmill! I honestly cannot imagine life without him and even though he wasn't planned, he was the best "surprise" we have had in a long time! It's funny- we kept thinking we would name him either Hudson or Everett, but when he came out, he really was neither one.  Jonas is a name we added to our list just days before his birth, but it just fit him.