Family Pics

just wanted to share my family pics! they turned out so cute!

This were taken for my Mom's birthday. Love you mom!

Here is the whole group

Here is Me, Jared, and Baby Lexi!

Another of us!

Lexi's close up

Lexi, Haden and Junior

Grandma, Grandpa and the Grandkids

Bath Time for Baby

Lexi always starts out great, lovin the warm water

But it never lasts

birth story

Yes, i was DETERMINED that Alexia would be born Saturday Aug 13th under the full moon. I WIN!!!!

heres how it happened

8/12/11

Friday night, i dance for a couple hours while cleaning my house. I danced to halloween music like the Time Warp and Zombie Jamboree LOL. i also played the Just Dance game on the Wii and power-walked on the treadmill for a mile. Definitly got some good contractions going, but i wore myself out, so i went to bed.

8/13/11 Lexi's Birthday!

I woke up Sturday morning and danced some more, making sure to move my hips alot. the countdown was on! I worked up quite a sweat, and went and took a cold shower.while i was in the shower, i felt a pop and felt a gush of warm water?!?! Jared was laying in the bedroom so i told him to make sure the bag was completly ready. got out, and sure enough, i was having contractions that lasted 30-45 secs and came every 4-6 mins, so after stopping at McDs to get a wild berry smoothie, we went to Labor and Delivery.

when we checked into triage, the nurse checked me and i was dilated to a 4 and 70% effaced. My OB was out of town, so the nurse called Dr Housel, who was the on call Doc. they waited about an hour and i effaced a little bit more, so Dr Housel decided to let me stay, and had me walk laps around the halls to try and get Labor progressing more. Jared and i walked in circles for about 40 mins, and i was checked again.i dilated to 4.5 and started getting stronger contractions. So we went on round 2 of walking around. walked for another hour and was checked again. i was now dilated to a 5. but contractions had slowed down.....

So...they started me on Pitocin and i SLOWLY progressed. over the next couple hours, i was not checked, but contractions kept coming and going. About 5 oclock, there was a shift change and i got a new nurse. This nurse, knowing i wanted the baby out today, and because i was still at a 5, bumped me up a couple doses on my Pitocin and my contractions hit hard! up to this point, my contractions were not hurting more then a menstrual cramp. These ones came on fast and strong, and felt like my stomach was gonna explode! so i got an epidural. only had about 4-5 bad contractions before the Epi kicked in and i didnt have any more pain the rest of the labor. lucky me!

an hour after getting the Epi, i asked the nurse if she thinks Lexi would be here by midnight, and she told me not to plan on it. it probably wont be until the morning on the 14th :( She then checked me and said "WOW! your fully effaced and dilated to 8 cm!!! looks like you could have this baby tonight!!!"

Now we were just waiting until i was fully dilated, or for my water to break. Doc said he would break my water at 10.

at 10:15 the Doc called the nurse and told her that he would be to the hospital in 15 mins and then they will break my water! i was so excited!!!! but he didnt show up until 11 pm! my water was finally broken at about 11:05 PM so i now had less then an hour until midnight! he told the nurse that i could start pushing if i wanted. so we did a couple practice rounds to see if it did anything. At this point i was fully dilated and effaced and baby was at a station 1. I pushed as hard as i could, and we got in 3 rounds of pushing. she then told me lets do one more round and hopefully i can get her out enough to call the doctor in (BTW each round was 3 pushes per contractions, and i pushed while she counts to ten) so i got my contraction, took a deep breath and pushed! she got to 2 before she was telling me STOP!!!!!

She ran out and grabbed Dr Housel and he came in. one last round of pushing and Alexia was born!!!!! She was born at 11:43 Pm!!! we BARELY made it! as soon as she came out, they put her on my belly and she started crying. i started bawling! i was crying so hard i was afraid she was gonna fall off! Jared cut the cord and she was cleaned up while i delivered the placenta and got stitched up. Once she was cleaned up, she was given to Jared to hold, which started me bawling again seeing him as a daddy for the very first time!

Lexi is the most beautiful baby i have ever seen! I love her so much and i am so happy to have her in our little family now! She was 6 lbs 6 oz and 19.5 inches long. She is a tiny little thing

my bedding set!

This is the bedding set i wanna get!! i really wanna get all the accessories too, but we will see what i can afford...... here is one site that you can see everything they make for this set

http://www.kids-n-cribs.com/kidsline/miss-monkey

crib i want

http://www.walmart.com/ip/BSF-Baby-Crib-n-Changer-Combo-Espresso/11081239?sourceid=1500000000000003260330&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=11081239

ideas for nursery!

If its a boy....

If its a girl....

Pregnancy Survey

ABOUT THE MOTHER:
Name: Nikki
Age: 23
Height: 5'8
Is this the first child: Yep.

ABOUT THE FATHER:
Name: Jared
Age: 24
Height: 5'9
Is this the first child: yep
Are you all still together: yep! happily married!

FINDING OUT:
When did you find out you were pregnant: December 9th
How did you feel when you found out: scared and surprised
Who was with you: Jared was in the other room
Who did you tell first: Jared
How did the daddy react: shocked, but calm

ABOUT THE PREGNANCY:
When is your due date: Aug 20th 2011
When was ur first appointment: 12/21/10
Have you had an ultra sound: Yep! 4 so far!
Have you heard the heartbeat: yep! 3 of the 4 ultrasounds, but the first i got to see
What was the heartbeat: 96 bpm the first ultrasound, 143 the second. in the 160s the third and fourth
How far along are you: 14 weeks tomorrow

SEX OF THE BABY:
What do you want: I dont care
What does the daddy want: He doesnt care
What do u think you are having; I thought a Girl, but now im thinking a boy. guess we'll find out in a couple weeks
Do you know what you are having now: not yet
Are you happy with what you are having: NA

ABOUT THE BIRTH:
Who is going to be with you: Jared will be in the room. probably parents and sibling in the waiting rooms. maybe my grandparents
Do u know what you are taking with you: No!
Are you going to video tape it: No way!
Natural or medicated: Medicated of course
Do you think you will have a c-section: I hope not.
Do you think you will cry when you first hold your baby: Most Likely
Do you know what you will say to the baby when you first hold it: Probably HI BABY!!! but i wont know til then
Are you scared about the labor: Surprisingly no! im excited!

NAMES:
Do you have a name picked out: Not Yet
Girl : NA
Boy : NA
Is your baby going to be named after anyone: i dunno, i would like to

Did the daddy help pick the name: Im sure he will have his say in it

OTHER RANDOM QUESTIONS !!
Where was your baby conceived: In Bed?
Have you felt the baby move: i felt a flutter once, not sure if that was the baby or my imagination
What race will your baby have: White
Do you have stretch marks: Yesm horrible ones!
What was your first symptom: none! provera wasnt working then it was tender breasts and morning sickness
What music or interests do you want the baby to know: Dancing. but i want them to have a hobby, but its there choice
Will your baby have godparents: No
What is the baby's room theme: depends on the gender
What was the first thing you bought for the baby: nothing yet, but i have a giraffe from my friend Chelcey
Are u ready to be a mommy: Think so for the most part =) i am way excited!

Newest Ultrasound!

Baby Cross 12 weeks 5 days! look at how well you can see Baby's face!

Quick update from appointments!

well, now i am FINALLY pregnant! and i am really really excited about it! i had my first prenatal appointment on Dec 21st. i was able to see just a small spot, but they had no clue how far along i was. but i got this picture! i was told to come back a week later to determine my due date and to see how far along i am! i got to see the heartbeat this time and it was so awesome! my only wish is that Jared was there with me...

so my next appointment, Jared was able to go with, YAY!!!!! they did another ultrasound and found that i was about 6 weeks 4 days pregnant with the little monkey! i got to hear the heartbeat this time! and it was beating 143 bpm! My doctor told me my due date is Aug 20th! and scheduled me a month out for my next appointment (which in pregnancy time, that is forever away!)

the entire month i was waiting for my next appointment, i was SICK!!!!! i had the hardest time forcing anything down, and it seems like nothing would help. i burst some blood vessels in my face, so i looked like i had a rash, and even popped some vessels in my eyes. yuck! i cant WAIT for this trimester to be over with!

Finally! Jan 26th arrived! i got to finally go see my baby again and see how much it had grown. my last appointment, it was about .7 cm tall. really little guy. this appointment, the heartrate was up above 160 and baby was doing awesome!!!!! i had lost 5 lbs in the last month, so my doc wants to make sure i dont continue down that path, so i have yet another appointment in 2 weeks (YAY!!!!!)

here is my last ultrasound

time for another update

since its been quite awhile lol.

well, i am in school, actually just about to finish my first term, with straight A's!!!!!!!!! my first term, the classes i had were strategies for success, intro to anatomy, and medical terms.

strategies for success- this class was mostly to help you get reacquainted with school, and how to give yourself motivation to get thru school. we listened alot to Lou Tice about scatomas and other things that block out your potential.

anatomy- this class is learning about our body. i have only done the first part of it so far which is pretty much the different levels of organization, (chemicals, cells, tissues, organs, organ systems) and the nervous system, integumentary system, and senses.

med terms- this class is where i learned 350 new medical terms(wow huh) and i was surprised how easy it was

I got my wisdom teeth out, and it was totally not that bad :D. after coming out of the anestesia the first thing i remembered was Jared walking out of walmart after getting my perscriptions. then i was pretty much in and out the rest of the day. but i was able to get back to work the next day, which was pretty good.

Jared got him a really nice car. its a 2007 Mazada 3. pretty low miles and in great shape. really is a sexy car lol.

well, that's pretty much it for now, ill try and be better at updating

update on life!

so, you know we got married, and just bought our WONDERFUL house. so whats new with the Cross's now? well, Jared's car has officially died.....suck! and he gets to start looking for another. YAY!!! i guess. what happened was his timing chair broke and pretty much broke some things in his engine like the headers and stuff. he could fix the things that are broken, but it will still burn thru oil like no other, and will die in prob less then a year anyways. otherwise, he could replace the engine, but y spend 3000-4000 dollars on a car that's only worth 2500 in good condition. lame.... but i think he will enjoy having a new car.

as for me, i am GOING TO SCHOOL soon. I'm gonna go to eagle gate college and get my diploma as a medical assistant. YAY!!! it will take me a year to get it, then ill be able to go get me a job with a future. all though i will greatly miss working with my Dad and Grandma. but it will also be nice to be out of the middle of that drama too.

on Thursday, i get to go talk to an Oral surgeon about getting my wisdom teeth extracted...UGG! and i am totally terrified. :( but it will be so much better once they are out, and in the past.


last November, we also got a kitten. he is black and extremely rotten! i still love him tho. and at least now he is chilling out a little. i just wish that he and Jade will get along, but i don't think that will ever happen.

well, that's all that i can think of

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ok, to take a little break from the honeymoon posting

we have been looking at houses for a while now, and as of friday, we have a house(pending home inspection) it is GORGEOUS!!!!!!!

here are the pics!!!!


here is the outside of the house. its in a really nice neighborhood. and i love it! off to the left, there is a big tree that provides lots of shade




Here is a better picture of the tree



as you walk into the front door, your in the living room.
here is the cute window in front



just beyond the front room, is the dining room and kitchen just around the corner


here is the kitchen



upstairs from here is the master bed, the two smaller bedrooms, and the bathroom. here is the bath



and here is one of the bedrooms/eventually nursery



Downstairs from the kitchen, is the family room. from here you can go to the backyard, or the garage




and you can also go downstairs to the unfinished basement from here. which will eventually become another bathroom, and bedroom, maybe two bedrooms, we'll see

day 4

Belize

so plans for today, we are cave tubing thru the caves. YAY!!!!! first off, Belize was my absolutle favorite place that we went to. all the people were extremely friendly, and really made us feel welcome. and we had the best tour guides!!!!! they took us thru the towns and told us all about there way of life. like when they turn 18, the government gives them a peice of land, and they have 5 years to start building on it. they dont finance or anything, so they build there own house.

once we got to the beginning of the trail, we got dressed, and got our tubes and equiptment. the walk to the river was probable about a half hour, but was really entertaining. our guid took us into a cave and showed us some formations, and a swarm a bats. he let us try a bunch of native plants, like guava, oldspice, termites(yes the bug) bitter jackass, etc. he also showed us alot of cool plants, like this one plant that when you touch it, it wilths away and looks dead. really really cool

speaking of cool, the water when we first got in was PERFECT!!! we got in, linked up our tubes, and went down the river into many caves. we were able to see many cool formations like a mother and child, a bird protecting an egg from a snake, and the cave gaurdian.

the only complaint i have about this place was the ice water dripping on us from the top of the caves.

unfortunatly, i dont have many pics from here, because we didnt bring our digital camera with us, so youll have to wait til the desposable is developed.

Fisherman Bliss fished in the waters offshore of belize. and donated 2 million dollars to the island because he loved it so much. but the first time he ever stepped foot on the land was when they were burying his body here. this is his memorial


our towel monkey

Day 4

ISLA ROATAN

after getting off the ship, we were greeted by dancers and musicians. it was very fun to watch them play and dance. there was also a family or something playing on a big xylophone thing. after walking thru a couple shops, we went to find our tour.

today we are going ziplining. i was SO excited!!!! couldnt even stand it. we drove a bit til we got to the top of this big hill/mountain thing. and then i started getting nervous. we got our gear and helmets on and waited for the rest of our crew to get ready. meanwhile i got to watch there pet monkey play in the cage. once we were ready, they hooked us one at a time up to the zipline and gave us instructions. pretty basic, pull down on the line to slow down, the guy at the end will make sure you stop. It was SO MUCH FUN!!!! i often forgot what i was doing and got caught up in the view and the feeling of flying thru the trees. but it was also really fun getting to go really fast. definitly was nothing to be nervous about. totally recommend it to anyone!

the dancers

the Island

More entertainers



Pretty Flower


Scary gaurd with fully automatic guns.....did not feel welcome at this part.....

The Monkey


Us all geared up


the Zipline


The View


On the bridge





Turtle eating our Rum Cake haha


worth $5 Us dollars

Day 3

GRAND CAYMAN

SO THE SHIP WAS TO DOCK AT 7:00 AM, AND WE HAD TO MEET OUR TOUR AT 8:00. SO WE HURRIED THRU BREAKFAST, AND GOT TO WHERE THE BOAT WAS LOADING TO TENDER TO GRAND CAYMAN SO WE WOULDNT BE LATE. GOT ON SHORE SHORTLY BEFORE. GOT OFF LAND, AND TRIED TO FIND THE PERSON HOLDING UP OUR SIGN. DIDNT SEE HIM ANYWHERE, SO WE ASKED SOME ONE, AND THEY SAID THAT THEY ARE NOT HERE YET. SO WE WAITED FOR ANOTHER HALF HOUR, SINCE WE WERE A LITTLE EARLY AND WENT TO A COUPLE SHOPS.
WELL AFTER STRESSING ABOUT Y OUR GUIDE WASNT THERE FOR A WHILE, I GOT THINKING THAT MAYBE THE TIME ZONES WERE DIFFERANT. SO WE ASKED SOMEBODY THE TIME, AND THEY WERE 2 HOURS BEHIND MY PHONE.....OOPS

our tour for today was stingray city and snorkeling. we got on our bus that took us to our boat. the trip to stingray city from the boat took about 30-45 mins. so on the trip, our instrustor(think of stereotype Jamaican, thats him) told us about the stingrays and how to handle them and feed them. he was very amusing.

we got to stingray city, and he told everyone to jump in. in past experience with beaches and pools, its always cold, so i was embracing for the worse. the water felt WONDERFUL!!!!! wasnt hot or cold, just refreshing. Jared and i grabbed a squid from the instrustor and went amongst the rays. they were huge!!!! i dont remember them being this big at seaworld. but i was holding my squid, and a stingreay came up to me and practically jumped on my leg to get to the food and i flipped and dropped my squid. oops. Jared asked if i did it right, and when i told him i dropped mine, he insisted on me feeding his, since he has done it before, and i am the animal freak. so i tried it again, and the stingray sucked it up out of my hand, it was so cool!!!!!! after that, we got some snorkel gear so we can look underwater at these amazing creatures. and just before we left, another instructor got one for me to hold. i couldnt believe how comfortable the ray was with letting me hold it. it didnt even fidget when i handed him over to jared to hold. it was way cool!!!

after that, the instructor took us a few hundred yards away to the reef. unfortunately, with Hurricane Ivan coming thru a couple years ago, the reef was in rebuild mode. there were the dead corel formations, but no plants and hardly any fish. but just trying the experience of snorkeling was enough to get me hooked and wanting to go again. This snorkeling, when i first got off the boat, and realized i cant stand here, really spazed me, so i had to get my life vest on. it was really cool once i was relaxed


PICTURES!!!!! once again, alot of pics were with under water camera, so sorry

Us waiting for our tour to show up

the boat was kicking water up really high, and it was fun to watch

People and boats at stingray city

The pretty blue water!

STINGRAY!!!


our boat




Pirate ship, ARG!!!


Our towel elephant drinking our orange fanta