Introducing Abigail Joy Domingo

As many of you know, my due date was December 25. I was stressing a lot about this not wanting to be in the hospital over Christmas. This was the year that all my siblings were here for Christmas and I did not want to miss out on all the fun. Over the past month, my blood pressure had been getting increasingly higher. Not dangerous, but enough to where my Dr. had me coming in twice a week for non stress tests to monitor the baby and make sure that all was okay with her. On Dec. 10, I went in for my routine appointment and test. My blood pressure was the highest that it had been. My Dr. got really quiet and I asked her what she wanted to do. She told me that she wanted to get the baby out. She said that all was great with the baby and she did not want to wait until the baby went into stress. Now this was not at all what I was expecting when I went to the appointment so I was totally thrown for a loop. She went to call the hospital to make sure they could take me. She came back telling me I had a 4pm appointment to be admitted to the maternity ward to be induced. As I left, I started to really freak out. The weight of it all was becoming a lot for me to take. I tried calling James at work to let him know that he would have to get off early, but he wouldn't answer. After many attempts, I finally just drove to his work to find him. He was really excited to know we were going to meet our little one so soon. I then went home and to Target to get some last minute things and to pack my hospital bag. I tried to rest, but it was all too much for me to take. After what seemed like forever, I was finally going to put an end this long pregnancy and finally find out what I had been carrying for all these months.

It was so wierd going to the hospital with not having any contractions, but this whole thing went really well. I got some meds and hooked up to IV's and monitors to get it all moving. The Dr. anticipated that it would take a long time to get contractions going. Although, she did not know how anxious Abigail was to meet us. By 3am my contractions were getting really intense and I asked for the epideral. Now I did not have one with Liana, and let me tell you that I will never have another baby without one. Why go through all that pain when you don't have to. I don't need the bragging rights at all. By 6:30 am, my nurse who had been with me the whole night was ending her shift and checked me one last time to find I was fully dialted. 5 minutes later my water broke. The next nurse called my Dr. and once my dr. arrived, 3 pushes later, Abigail Joy was born. I cried like a baby and was overcome with complete thankfulness for our little sweetness.

Here I am before feeling anything.

Because it did take a while for me to have contractions, James got lots of time in on his PSP.

This is my great nurse Karen, who was with me the whole night and left 45 minutes before Abigail was born. She was on the night shift the next night so she came by to visit to see the baby. She was amazing and 19 weeks pregnant with her first. Hopefully I didn't scare her too much.

I am so glad to finally meet my beautiful daughter.

Dr. Kathryn Iwata. My great OB. She also deliverd Liana in the very same room.

Aunt B was my first visitor.

Even though he was hoping for boy, you can clearly see that he was not disappointed with our Abigail.

Aunt Darcy quickly made the trip up to meet her new niece.

Followed by Papa Bear

I wish I had gotten as much sleep as she did those first few days.

Arriving home while everyone was gone at Church.

Liana was so excited to finally meet her little sister that she had been waiting so long to meet.

She couldn't stop smiling.

Work Christmas Party

On December 5, my work met again at The Only Place In Town in Old Town Sierra Madre for our annual Christmas party. It was a great evening with wonderful food, fun gift exchange and lots of laughs.

Jessica and Cindy.
Heather, Pam, and Sydney

Tim was super excited about his fuzzy gingerbread socks.

Tim and Daisy

Silvia and I

Thanksgiving and Sea World

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love being with family. I love food. I love naps. I love relaxing. That is exactly what this year's Thanksgiving was for me. James and I went down to my Aunt Jean and Uncle Dave's in El Cajon with other family from my mom's side and we had a really great time together. There is so much to be thankful for this year especially. I am always so thankful for my parents and their amazing generosity in allowing James and I and our ever growing family to live with them. I am so thankful for my amazing husband who never ceases to amaze me at what he is capable of doing. I am very thankful for this new baby that could be arriving very soon. James and I have wanted a second for so long and are so grateful that the Lord has allowed us to have a second in His timing. I am so thankful for all my nieces and nephews who always make me smile. I am so thankful that James and I both have jobs. I am just thankful. Here are a few pics of our wonderful thanksgiving.

Liana making pecan pie with Papa.
Liana reading There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Pie to Aunt Jean

Boys and Football

Jean had it decorated so beautifully for us.

Yummy Desserts

Yummy Lunch

It wouldn't be a Lindley gathering with games that required you to put napkins on your head. We are laughing at Grandpa who just tried to describe Barney as a place where you put your cows and horses.

The next morning, we enjoyed coffee and scones out by the pool in the great San Diego weather.

Enjoying the Sun and some Cereal

James and Liana at Sea World. Thank God I could opt out of that ride.

Can you find Liana?

Amazing how it was only the day after Thanksgiving, but they were already all decorated for Christmas at Sea World. Here we are with our Shamu Santa Hats.

Waiting in Line for the 4-D Polar Express movie. James looks cute, don't you think?

James and the gang on Atlantis

Here is our friend Angel's Daughter Allyson. Liana was making her laugh and it was too cute not to include. This was our last trip to Sea World with our passes seeing as they run out at the end of December. It was a fun day, but I was ready to get home and relax.

Stone Soup

At my preschool, every year, our way to celebrate Thanksgiving with the kids is to make Stone Soup. It has a really cute story that goes along with it about a traveler who comes into a town very hungry, but everyone tells him they have no food to share. He tells them if someone gives him a pot with water he will teach them how to make soup out of a stone and share it with them. He gets the stone and tells them it smells good, but would be even better if it had a carrot. One townsman says he thinks he ones carrot left at home. I think you see where the story is going. All the villagers end up contributing to the soup and they all share it together vowing never to let anyone leave their town hungry again. So we have all the kids sign up to bring a vegetable and we make stone soup with them. It can be pretty crazy giving two year olds knives and all, but they did really well this year. Here are a few pictures of the fun we had.

We even set the table really nice for them for lunch. It was a fun way to celebrate with them.

Dave and Laura's Wedding

Saturday, we got to go attend a wedding for a couple in our Church. They are great friends of ours and it was a really special night.

Liana looked so beautiful
Laura's sister Natalie and Dave's daughter Simone looked beautiful.

It was a short ceremony so it was standing room only.

The flower girls

The beautiful Bride

The Davenports.

Dave, Laura, James and I.

If you look closely, Liana is third from the back in the Conga Line

Liana dancing with the Bride

Liana dancing with her dad.

Liana dancing with Heather. So Liana loved dancing the night away as you can see.