Study, study, and study some more!

Well, the title says it all! I have been keeping my nose to the grindstone, studying hard for the boards. I have STILL not been approved to schedule my exam, so it may not be the 25th like I was hoping it would be, but I'm still hopeful. I got a job though! I have accepted a job at a skilled nursing facility here in Winston for a company called Sava Senior Care. I am really excited; they seem to really care about their employees and patients which is really important to me. I also get $1000 a year for continuing education (practically unheard of to get that much these days), get full benefits with working 30 hours a week (so I can spend more time with Maddox), and I am getting probably around $10 more an hour than I thought I would as a new graduate! God is so faithful. My temporary start date is March 14th... hopefully I will pass my boards on the first try and be done with it!

In other news, Dave and Rebecca (Lucas' parents) arrived on Thursday to come for an extended visit. Dave is going to help Lucas fix up our investment home and Rebecca is going to help me watch Maddox and take care of the house so that I can study for the boards. Mark (Lucas' brother) comes on Friday to stay for the weekend to help do some of the heavy labor on the house also... we will have a very full house for a couple of days! I think that's about it for now...

Airplane!

You love standing

Your first rice cereal feeding

You're so cute when you pout!

Grandma Joyce came to babysit for a few days!

Life goes on...

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly time flies by. We have already been back from Mexico 2 weeks and life is in full swing. Our first week back I had a nasty head cold that I am still trying to get rid of... and Maddox got a mini version as well; you should have heard his baby coughs, it was enough to break your heart! Fortunately he was only sick for a day or two, I guess him getting all my antibodies helped him fight it off. We also introduced rice cereal in his bottle last week. It was glorious to have him sleep for 4+ hour stretches... unfortunately he also didn't poop for the past week so I ended up taking him to the doctor today after prune juice, rectal stimulation, and a supository all failed. Of course then he pooped in the office. Murphy's law right? Anyways, so we are holding off on the rice cereal for a couple more weeks... at least I know sleep is coming in the near future!

Just "hangin" around

I have been blessed to have lots of friends who have been helping watch Maddox for a couple hours each day so that I can study for the boards. I finally feel like I am making some headway in the massive review book. :) Plus Lucas' parents come next week and then I will have unlimited live-in help. So between studying, cooking, cleaning, taking care of Maddox, applying for jobs, and doing interviews, my life has been relatively hectic! I think that it is about to get more hectic too, as we are gearing up to really start to fix up our investment home. I pray that God will bless our investment and that once it's fixed up we'll be able to get renters in there and have a little extra income instead of a money pit. Lots of exciting changes are underway...

You love bathtime now

Maddox is growing so fast... he is 14lbs, 4oz already and so stinking happy. He coos and oohhs and aahhs constantly, plays with his activity gym, and loves the TV (this won't be allowed when hes' a little older) He also thoroughly enjoys looking at the pictures on the wall and his crinkley lion. The past 2 mornings I have woken up to hear Maddox talking up a storm in his crib at 4am; he goes on for about 15 minutes and then drifts back off to sleep... it is so adorable that I have to stop myself from picking him up, unwrapping him and talking to him until the wee hours of the morning. We are so unbelievably blessed that God put him in our lives!

You are actually starting to enjoy tummy time

You love daddy

You are so incredibly happy these days!

Happy 3 months little man!

I can't believe Maddox is already 3 months old! In honor of this special occasion, I wanted to post about all the things I love about my little man... okay, there's no way I can write them all down, but I'm going to pick the highlights!

I love the way you look at me sometimes.... like you know exactly who I am and that I am your favorite person in the whole world. You look at me with adoring, loving eyes and then smile so big... it makes my heart melt every time!

I love that you humor daddy and watch hockey with him...

I love that you let me dress you up in adorable hats...

and I love your crazy hair!

I love the way you scrunch your chin back to create a double chin when you're pooping or trying to fart...

and I love how you smile with the left side of your mouth in your sleep.

I love the noises you make... all of them! But especially the cooing noises you make when your talking to me or to your friends on your activity gym...

I love your beautiful deep blue eyes...
and I love how you snuggle your head into my shoulder.

I love you so very, very much, little Maddox.

Mexico!

So for "Christmas" this year, the Dargis clan all met up at an all-inclusive resort in Cabo San Jose, Mexico for a week of fun in the sun. Lucas, Maddox, and I got there a day early and stayed an extra day. Maddox was so good during the flying and the whole trip in general... of course when you're held 24/7 what's there to cry about? Me and little man playing on the balcony of our room.

Maddox got to meet all his Dargis aunts and uncles, and meet his cousin Gabby who became good friends by the end of the trip (see above image of Gabby petting Maddox) Uncle Lucas and Gabby still have some work to do though!

Uncles Miah, Jake, and Mark nicknamed Maddox Mad-puppy since he's not quite old enough to have earned the title Mad-Dog just yet. Highlights of the trip included:

a day of snorkling, unlimited wine (don't worry, I p-dumped!), evening games of Catan, lots of sunbathing, unlimited real guacamole, and a wonderful massage on the beach. One on one time with Grandpa!

Rachel 365

I am really excited about this site! Basically you upload a picture for each day of the year! I am hoping that I'll be much more consistent with taking 1 photo a day than I am at updating my blog every day/week.../month lol! Check it out! http://365project.org/rachel_dargis/365

Happy New Year!

I think that 2011 will be hard pressed to top 2010.... during the past year I graduated with my doctorate, we bought a home, an investment home, and I gave birth to Maddox Alexander! While I don't think 2011 will hold quite as many milestones, I know that it will hold just as many blessings! Coming up we have our trip to Mexico with Lucas' family, then I'll come back and study for, take, and hopefully pass the boards, and Lucas' parents will come for a visit and to help us fix up the investment home we bought. I am looking forward to watching Maddox grow and explore his world and all the blessings that come with being a new mommy! Here's to 2011! You love hanging with Dad...

and you are much happier now that you get your acid reflux medicine!

Maddox loves his Grandma!

The Arrival of Baby Maddox

We're parents! Maddox Alexander Dargis was born on October 27th at 11:17am. He weighed 7lbs, 4ozs and was 20.5 inches long! He took his mother quite literally when I joked that he needed to come early as I like to be punctual! Lol! On Tuesday afternoon I had an appointment with my Obgyn; she checked me and said I was still 1-2cm dilated (like I had been for the past 2 weeks) and reminded me that most first-timers go past their due date. Later that evening when Lucas & I went for a walk, I told him it was a reality check... I'd been hoping so much that he would come soon because I was so miserable but that I needed to just accept that I was going to be pregnant for another 2 & 1/2 weeks.... my water broke that morning at 4am. I still would have liked to see my face when it broke and my eyes popped open... maybe when I get to heaven I'll ask God to replay that for me. So I was sure my water had broken but Lucas was somewhat skeptical... he said "are you sure you didn't just pee yourself?" (the Ob had just informed us that day that uncontrollable pee was in my near future). After he stripped the bed and could see/smell for himself that there was no pee, he seemed to come around. We started to get our things together but since I wasn't having contractions yet, we decided to eat breakfast (since we'd been told you don't get to eat until afterwards) and call/email our families.
So about 40 minutes later with my contractions in full force we headed directly to the hospital. When we got there they verified I was indeed in labor and then took us to the labor and delivery room. After a million questions and some pretty intense contractions that were already coming less than 2 minutes apart, they checked and said I was 4cm dilated. I held out for another hour or two (don't really remember) when I finally said I needed the epidural. I honestly think knowing that I didn't have to be in pain was just more than I could handle, plus having a 30-90 second contraction every 2 minutes or less, it was just happening so fast that I didn't feel like I could catch a break. So I got the epidural at 6cm... all I can say is drugs are amazing and I couldn't ever imagine having a child without one now! I went from shaking with pain to playing spider solitaire while I waited for the next 2 hours to pass. 2 hours later they checked me again and I was 9 1/2cm dilated; they said they were going to set up and then we would start pushing... I can't tell you how surreal the whole experience was. I had anticipated being in labor for hours and being late, not being early and having a child in 6 1/2 hours! The pushing was hard; mostly because I couldn't feel the contractions to really push into. The only way I can compare it is like trying to have a bowel movement when you don't feel like you need to have one. Then at 11:17am Maddox was born.
He was born with the umbilical cord wrapped tightly around his neck, he was blue, and he wasn't breathing. Those were the longest 3 minutes of my life. We anxiously waited while 4-5 nurses huddled around Maddox and pumped oxygen into his lifeless little body. All I remember was pleading with God "please, please" I was so scared that I had carried this little man in my womb for the past 9 months and pushed him out and that I would never get to meet him. Fortunately, God heard and answered my prayer and he began to cry. So there you have it. The abrupt and fast entrance of Maddox Alexander into the world! He is so precious and perfect in every way and we are already blessed and forever changed for having him.