Spring Break Stay-cation

It's already the end of March, and time sure does fly by when you are taking care of a little one! Somebody recently said to me that motherhood can be wonderfully awful and awfully wonderful. Becoming a Mom truly is the best decision I've ever made, but it has also been one of my most challenging endeavors. At our most recent appointment, the doctor shared with us that, in the religion of Islam, the second greatest sin is to be undutiful to your parents. Parents make SO many sacrifices, many of which I had no idea about until I became a parent myself! I have always loved and admired my parents, but now, I have an even deeper appreciation for everything they have done and still continue to do for me :)

Exhausted!

This month was a bit low key and all about Molly Joan. We did not receive her passport in time to go away for Spring Break, so we treated ourselves to a stay-cation instead. We got in a ton of family time, which I was super stoked about! Here are some pictures from this month.

Falling asleep in her carrier

After bath time

Sleeping in her bassinet

Playing on her mat

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Saudi Arabia!

Learning to smile :)

Sleeping again!

With her BFF, Byron, born 8 days apart

With daddy at the Kuwaiti souq

Learning to smile and laugh ;)

Ready for our daily walk!

From earlier today - I might be obsessed <3

I go back to work on April 13 :( But in April, we have a 4-day weekend and we are that much closer to summer vacation :) Short and sweet for this month!

Stay stoked.

The Best Day Ever

Here we are at the end of yet another month, which just so happens to be the best month of my life (so far)! Read on to find out why <3

Molly Joan Rampley
The Stats
We are SUPER STOKED to announce that our beautiful daughter, Molly Joan Rampley, was born on February 1, 2015 at 9:38 PM. She weighed in at 3.300 kg (= 7 lb 4 oz), and she was 52 cm (= 20.47 in) long. Her head was 33 cm (= 13 in), and her chest was 32 cm (= 12.6 in). After 1 minute, her Apgar score was a 9, and after 5 and 10 minutes, her Apgar score was a 10. My original due date was February 2, and at my doctor's appointment on January 31, we were told that I would be induced that following morning! I was planning on squeezing in one more week of work before baby, but that didn't happen! We were in the hospital by 6 AM that following day, and after some fetal monitoring, I was induced by 8 AM. Contractions started around 1 PM, and Molly Joan was welcomed into the world just before 10 PM. I will spare you the details of in between! We were discharged from the hospital 2 days later.

The stats

Right after delivery

Love
At 9:38 PM on Sunday, February 1, 2015, I learned just how much I could truly love another person when I held my baby girl for the first time. That day was, by far, the best day of mine and James' life. We could not have been happier at that moment, and we are still glowing with love for Molly Joan.

Going home!

A Special Moment
Shortly after delivery, while the nurses were cleaning off Molly Joan, she was crying ever so loudly. James went over and started talking to her, and she immediately stopped crying and looked in his direction. We both could not believe it, but we think she recognized his voice! And for anyone that knows James, he is quite the talker, so this is highly possible ;) It was such a special moment for all of us.

Already giving Dad looks!

<3

Names
As for her name, Molly is a name that James and I have always really liked (maybe me more so than James!). And Joan is a name in honor of both of my grandmothers (Joan Theresa Stapleton and Joan Catherine Yerkes) as both of their first names are Joan, and we absolutely love that name.

Relaxing :)

Maternity Leave
I am currently on maternity leave for a total of 10 weeks. One of my good friends, Amy, had her baby just 8 days after Molly Joan, so we are on maternity leave together, which is awesome! I will go back to work mid-April for about 2 months, and then, we will be back in the States for the summer starting on June 19. Aside from the fact that I get to spend all day with Molly, there is another really cool thing that my school does when one of their teachers has a baby. They have a meal sign-up for the family where other teachers sign up to bring them food. So, every 2-3 days for the next 10 weeks of my maternity leave, one of the teachers at our school will bring us a meal. How cool is that? James and I are definitely stoked about this, and the meals so far have been absolutely delicious!

Baby Buddha ;)

Passport Photos
We took Molly Joan to get her passport photos on February 21 at 20 days old! I couldn't believe it. James had to hold her up, and she had to look straight at the camera and keep her hands out of her face - not an easy feat with a newborn ;) Mission accomplished! And we had her appointment at the U.S. embassy this week to report her birth abroad and apply for her passport. She will be a world traveler at under 1 year old!

Molly Joan's actual passport photo :)

Photo Shoot
Our friend, Taylor, who also happens to be an excellent photographer, came over this weekend to take some pictures of our family. I just can't stop looking at the photos she took. We are so grateful that she was able to capture these beautiful moments for us. I am so in love! Here are some of my favorites.

St. Patty's Day
My other new mommy friend, Amy, and I have planned our first night out. Dads are watching the babies while we head over to the U.S. Embassy with some friends for the St. Patty's Day celebration. This is one of my favorite holidays, so I am stoked that I am able to go out for it!

Travel Plans
We have Spring Break at the end of March and a couple of long weekends before our summer vacation begins. We don't have any definite travel plans for before summer yet. We are thinking about heading back over to Bahrain for a 4-day weekend we have in April, so we will see about that! It will all depend upon when we get Molly Joan's passport. I also posted last time that we have our summer travel plans squared away. We will be in Michigan from June 19-July 1, and from there we will head on down to Philly. We rented a house in Sea Isle City from July 4-25, and we plan on being in the Philly/Jersey Shore area until August 8 when we head back to Saudi Arabia.

This month has been one wild ride with the birth of Molly Joan, and we are stoked for what the upcoming months will bring.

Stay stoked.

Black Tie Gala, Baby Rampley, and Some Summer Plans

It's almost the end of January, and Riyadh already seems to be starting to warm up again. So much for the cooler weather here! Not much has gone on this month in the Rampley household - mostly just resting up for Baby Rampley's arrival. James keeps telling people that our due date is February 2nd or any second!

We did end up making it to one bigger social function this month, the AIS-R Black Tie Gala. It was a fundraiser sponsored by our school for the AIS-R Foundation. We got to get all dressed up, - I had to be quite creative about a formal maternity dress - eat amazing food, and dance the night away! There was also a live and silent auction as well as a raffle. The event was held at The Gardens at the British Embassy Residences. It is a gorgeous outdoor venue, and it was a great night was friends.

Before we left for the Gala

Prom-style photo from the Gala

January was more of a quiet month for us as we anticipate Baby Rampley's arrival - hopefully soon! We had a doctor's appointment yesterday. My blood pressure and weight are normal, and Baby Rampley's heart rate and movements are normal - no dilation yet, so we are not expecting anything to happen too soon ;) Tomorrow, I will be exactly 39 weeks. I plan to work up until my due date unless she makes an early appearance as we get exactly 10 weeks of maternity leave starting on the due date. I want to maximize my time with her at home as much as possible!

39 weeks and feeling good :)

We did make some summer plans this month, which is super exciting! We know we will be in Michigan from June 19-July 1, and we will be in the Philly/South Jersey area from July 1-August 8. We rented a shore house in Sea Isle City, and we will be there from July 4-25. The house is on 38th street a half block from the beach, and we have an extra room if anyone is interested in staying with us. We would love the company!

I imagine that next month we will have much more to write about or maybe,  as new parents, we will be too tired to write anything at all! We will see. In the meantime...

Stay stoked.