3 Months

with the football as a measuring stick again



I love those eyes!

Our Annika baby is 3 months old! She started laughing while we were in Salem, OR for Thanksgiving. I was tickling her under her chin. Her little laugh is so sweet! She also laughs when David holds her out in front of him and sings to her while he sways her back and forth. I think she might already be transforming into a daddy's girl. I can't really compete with his amazing singing voice and funny jokes! :) I really do love watching them together.

Annika is doing better on night time sleeping overall. She still has her nights. But, she usually sleeps until 4 or 4:30. And then until 7. She is officially attached to the binky. I love that thing and I hate it. It's great to help her to calm down in the car and to sleep. But, I don't enjoy getting out of bed to put it back in multiple times during the night.

I had surgery 2 days ago (12/2) to remove a pilonidal cyst that I have had for about 5 years. It didn't really bother me for about 4 years, until I was pregnant. It was located toward the surface above my tailbone and was thus quite uncomfortable when it flared up. After Annika arrived, we decided it was time to take care of the cyst. Surgery went well. All I remember is asking to see the cyst when they were done. I don't really even remember what the cyst looked like. I am pretty sore. It should be a 10 day full recovery period, but I'm hoping it starts feeling better tomorrow. David has been a great caretaker- for Annika and me. He had his 1st night on duty on Friday. I had to wake him up when Annika needed her binky or was hungry. I am amazed that he can sleep through that! Especially when her bassinet was right next to him. I was quite amused when he had to console her at 12:30 am. He asked me "why" she was awake and if she usually did this. (she doesn't usually wake up this soon, but she has several times. I guess David was unaware of that:) It has been hard for me not to be able to do everything for Annika. I have needed a lot of help from David and I miss being the complete mom package that I am under good health circumstances :) I am looking forward to the end of my recovery period.

2 months!

chillin' on her blanket from Gram Pam

Happy Halloween



Aunt Abby made her this darling headband! this is the 1st photo shoot that I've been able to capture a big smile. so sweet!


Our sweet baby is 2 months old! She is smiling all the time now and making the cutest cooing sounds. She had her 2 month appt on Halloween. I was really worried about her immunizations. Especially after she spit up all the Tylenol I gave her before the appt. Luckily, I saw a friend in the parking lot before we went in and she told me to try the squeezing the lips together trick to keep her from spitting up.
I had my friend Dena meet me there for moral support. Annika screamed her little lungs out. It was very hard to see and hear. But, after holding her close and sucking on her bink, she was almost asleep in her car seat by the time we left. I think she was exhausted from all the screaming. I was so glad that she calmed down quickly.
She weighed in at 9.14 and was around 22.5 inches long. 30th %tile for weight and 50th for height. She's staying on the same growth curves. So even though she's small, she's growing steadily.
We love our little Annika girl!

6 Weeks

Cutest little girl in the world!


sitting up in the Bumbo (what a fun word!) She doesn't always love the Bumbo, but she looks so cute in it that I just have to put her in it every once in awhile!


"Let me count all the reasons I love you"


Grading papers with dad

Daddy time!

tummy time- it's good for both of them :)

Annika is 6 1/2 weeks old now. She is so sweet. I really don't know what I would do without her. She is still a little squirt, but slowly growing! She weighed 9 lb 2 oz on Tuesday (10/11).
She loves floor time on her tummy and back. It must feel so good to stretch out and have free movement. I love it when she stretches- so cute!

She is awesome at maintaining a eat/awake/sleep schedule. She eats every 3 hours during the day. She usually goes to sleep for the night around 9:30-10. She wakes up around 2 to eat. In between night time feedings, I put her in her bassinet awake and she goes to sleep on her own. She wakes up again around 5 0r 6 to eat. Then, the best part, we usually go back to sleep until 9!

She has started smiling fairly often the last few weeks. The 1/2 hour after she eats is the best "happy" time to squeeze the smiles out of her. It's so fun to talk to her; we've had some good conversations. :) She is becoming much more alert. She will often stare intently in one direction, usually looking upward. We like to think she is seeing Gram Pam, as she wanted to be called. :) I miss my mom so much, but I feel like Annika is my connection to her. Annika brings pure joy to our lives.

We love our little sunshine girl!

Annika's Blessing

We blessed Annika on Sunday, 9/11, at my parent's house. She looked beautiful! And it was so fun to doll her up. She wore the same dress that my mom and I were blessed in (and we all share the middle name of Joy). My mom's great aunt made the dress. My great grandma, Abuela, made the blanket. Abby made the hair flower and some friends made the socks and bracelet. It was so fun to use all the accessories. She is such a sweet little girl!

Annika's first days at home

Perspective (3 days old)

she found her thumb:)



1st dress she wore (5 days old)



holding in the bink

Aunt Heather and soon to be girl cousin!

Cousins Evan and Parker

Great grandpa Stock

Great grandma Stock

One week old

Annika Joy Beus

8/31 4:55 am- ready to leave for the hospital

Before the epidural

After the epidural: life is good:)


Annika and Gram Pam


1st Bath

Grandma Kathy



Our baby girl is here! She was born August 31 at 4:55 pm. She weighed exactly 7 lbs and was 19 1/4 inches long. At her 2 week appt: 7 lbs 10 oz! 20 1/4 in.
We love our little Annika so much! Taking care of her has been the sweetest experience of my life. She is a great baby so far. She is calm and content most of the time.

The birth story:
On Monday morning (8/29), our Dr. called and said that after looking at an ultrasound from the previous week, he was slightly concerned about her size. He said the placenta may be on the small side and, therefore, not providing sufficiently for her. He wanted me to come in for another ultrasound and a nonstress test. We did that. Baby looked fine, but he was still concerned about her size. She was in the 12th %tile. Before we left on Monday, he said if I hadn't had her on my own before Friday (9/2- my due date), he wanted to induce me on Friday! Things started to seem so real, in a surreal way. We were going to have a baby on or before Friday. On Tuesday, our Dr. called to schedule the possible induction. He asked if Thursday or Friday would work better for David's schedule. By the time I talked to David and called Dr. back, the hospital was "booked" for Thurs. and Friday. The nurse asked if we could come in the next day, Wednesday, at 5 am! So, I got my hair cut, bought hospital snacks for David, got one last bday present for David, and finished packing the go bag. I didn't have time or the desire to nest:) But, David was sweet to clean the kitchen and bathroom Tues. night.
I slept pretty well, until 3 am. We got up and showered, David made delicious fried eggs and toast (I ate as much as I could. I was worried about how hungry I was going to be when they said I couldn't eat anything until the baby came. This was serious news when I was used to 2nd breakfast and 2nd lunch:) I was relieved to hear I could still have clear liquids. But, after awhile the jello and broth wasn't cutting it for me.
So, we arrived at the hospital a little after 5am. I had my first IV start. I was worried, but it went fine. They started the pitocin around 7am. Apparently, I was having contractions about every 8 minutes when we came in (I couldn't feel them). We watched a few Office episodes (the one where Pam has her baby). Dustin came to visit on his work break. Then, Keenan and Dad stopped by around lunch time. That was when the contractions were starting to get painful. I could still breath through them and wasn't ready to ask for an epidural yet. Around 1pm, Dr. Bunch came in and checked me. I was dilated to a 2. By 2:30, I was wanting some pain relieving interventions. I wanted to try statol first. My nurse checked me and I was a 5! She said she could give me statol if I wanted, but I was also far enough along for an epidural. I chose- epidural! The anesthesiologist came in around 3pm. I was really nervous about getting the epidural- mostly worried about having a contraction while he was starting the epidural and having to hold still. I did have one contraction before the epidural was all secured. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. And that was the last painful contraction that I felt. I am a big fan of epidurals. So, I only had about 30 minutes of really painful contractions. Things went fast from there. By 3:30, I was an 8. Dr. Bunch was on his way and they got the room all set up for our soon to arrive baby girl. My parents and siblings (except Keenan who was at football practice) came around 3:30. It was a tender mercy from Heavenly Father that my mom was able to be there. I still can't believe she was there. She sat in a chair right next to my bed while I was pushing. It meant so much to me to have her there. The epidural was perfect- I wasn't in any pain, but I could still feel the pressure when contractions came and knew it was time to push. I started pushing around 4pm. After about 45 minutes of pushing, her heart rate dropped to the 70's. The nurses and Dr. were very calm, so I wasn't too worried. They put oxygen on me and Dr. Bunch got the vacuum ready to help me get her out sooner. When the vacuum was ready on her head he told me "one more push and you'll have a baby." I couldn't believe it. The whole time pushing I hadn't felt like I was helping things move along at all. I kept asking if I was doing everything right. And when he said "one more push," it just didn't seem real, that we would actually be seeing our baby in a matter of seconds. But, it was real:) Our sweet Annika Joy arrived at 4:55 pm!

Dustin is HOME!

My brother, Dustin, has been serving a mission for our church in Uruguay for the last 2 years. Today, we picked him up at the Pasco airport. It is so good to have him home. Abby came home from BYU yesterday. So, we're all home! I love it.
Dustin worked hard as a missionary and his shoes showed it. :) You can see his socks at the heal and the toe is separated from the sole.
We came home and had Time Out Pizza and peanut butter sheet cake made by Abby. Such a happy day!
(side note: I'm due 3 weeks from today!)