Montana Deer hunt

Dusty, Gage and I took our first trip to Montana this week! Gage was great and we made it safely. Dusty had a successful deer hunt and landed this buck on his second day out. We've made some jerky already and it's delicious!

Jason (our brother-in-law) flew in from Ohio and got this buck and hour into the hunt. Nothing like flying in and getting your deer in the same day!

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5 weeks

Gage is taking a nap and I've used the time to reminisce about the past month, Gage's birth, my pregnancy, and how amazing it has all been. Gage is such a blessing in our lives! We love him so much. I can't believe he was born 5 weeks ago. When I went to the hospital at 4 am on that day due to bleeding I really didn't think I'd be having a baby. After being monitored for hours and forced to walk the halls to progress labor, the nurse decided to keep me at the hospital because his heart rate would drop when I'd have contractions. Contractions started about 6:00am and progressed steadily. The doctor broke my water at 1pm and by 6pm I was finally ready to start pushing. After over 2 hours of pushing, little Gage was born at 8:15 pm. I can't even explain the feeling. I probably don't need to explain it because most of you have been there! It is amazing. He had a very faint cry and the nurse was concerned that he wasn't crying enough! (Which is no longer our problem, believe me!!) Anyway, we did have a few scares with his heart rate dropping which totally freaked me out. But we had a great nurse and with a little shifting were able to get it to come back up. He arrived safely (minus the broken collar bone) and is a joy to have!

Now that I'm on my own I've been thinking about how nice it was to have family help me for the first 2.5 weeks. I had an amazing support team (thanks all!). Two of my sisters (one of which shares a birthday with Gage!) were there for the birth, and my Mom and another sister came shortly after to help. My sis-in-law and mother-in-law jumped in the car and drove 5 hours and arrived in time for the birth. You are all awesome! Gage and I appreciate and miss you!

Gage's first Halloween

For his first Halloween, Gage got dressed up as a pumpkin (thanks Aunt Cassie!). The cutest pumpkin I've ever seen! Dusty's parents were in town so we went to PF Changs for dinner. It was very nice having them here...I got some much needed rest! Who knew 5 straight hours of sleep could feel so good. Thanks again Nana and Papa Gatten! :)

More fun pics

First family pics

1 week

How time flies! I'm surprised it goes this fast when I only sleep a couple hours a night. Seems like Gage changes every day. Amy took a few pics of him the other day that I love. It's nice having her here!

I seriously can't get enough of this little guy...LOVE him! He had his first appointment yesterday and the pediatrician asked if I had a difficult delivery. When I asked why she said he had a broken collar bone...first broken bone! (and probably not the last). I know it was when the doctor was CRANKING his head around because he was posterior. I swear his head made a full circle before his first shoulder budged. But he is super sweet the best thing in the world!