Lilypie Third Birthday tickers

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Happy Birthday Shelly!

Today is Shelly's Birthday. Happy Birthday Shelly!

On this special day of celebrating all things Shelly I have to say,

"Shelly, you are my love, my life, my everything! I love the sound of your laughter and the fact that you make me laugh, all the time. I love those big blue eyes and your radiant smile. YOU make me a better person. You are the half that makes me whole. You have done a wonderful job carrying our child so that we could share our love with her. I thank you for this. I celebrate you today and everyday!"


Because I couldn't wait until today I gave Shelly her present last week. But, you can't not have presents on your birthday. So this morning Riley gave Shelly a jewelry organizer for her night stand. Very exciting stuff! :) Riley and I both gave her flowers. Tonight she'll be treated to a double layer Cherry Chip cake with white icing. I'm a Funfetti fan but Shelly's a Cherry Chipper. We'll also get take out Mexican for dinner. Shelly loves her Smothered Burritos. This weekend we'll celebrate with her family.

We spent the morning at a an OB appointment and then a meeting with our Lawyer. All went well. She gained two pounds which puts her at a total of 10. She had a little protein in her urine so they're doing a 24-hour urine test to see if she's at risk for Preeclampsia. Hopefully it's fine just like last time. She's still measuring a week ahead.


At the Lawyers we started the process for our Estate and Will planning, but most importantly, our co-Guardianship paperwork. In the state of Utah same sex couples cannot adopt. In fact, I had to sign my rights over and act as just an egg donor for Invitro. We have an amazing lawyer in the State that campaigns and cares, almost exclusively, for rights of same sex couples. She's established the "Co-guardianship Agreement" that helps to protect both our rights as Riley's parents. Also, in order to establish our intent to create a family unit, I'm changing my last name to Shelly's last name. In Utah, any step we can take to show our intent to be a family helps to protect us both. It's too bad we have to take the extra steps to protect ourselves but it's also so important.

Today I leave you with the card Riley put on her Mom's flowers. Pretty amazing given she's still in the womb!


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6 comments:

Wendy and Karen said...

Happy Birthday! I hope you have a fantastic day!

March 29, 2007 at 7:08:00 PM MDT
amy said...

hey ladies. happy b-day Shelly. thanks for the welcome Dee and I'll work on sweets. Amy

March 29, 2007 at 9:01:00 PM MDT
Holly said...

Happy Birthday Shelly!

What a wonderful birthday celebration! And I love the card from Riley!

March 30, 2007 at 8:02:00 AM MDT
K J and the kids said...

:) Did you make that card all by yourself Dee.
That is a bless your heart, kind of card :) ha ha
Happy B-day Shelly.

March 30, 2007 at 9:36:00 AM MDT
tifferny said...

Happy Birthday Shelly!!!!!!

Dee you are simply the kindest most thoughtful person in the world. Shelly is so blessed to have you. Enjoy the celebration over your burritos and cherry chip cake! YUM!

March 30, 2007 at 10:56:00 AM MDT
Stacey said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! (BELATED)
Awww, such wonderful gifts. :)

March 31, 2007 at 8:54:00 AM MDT

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Our Conception Story

After eight years together we were pretty sure we'd spend our life with our four legged kids, doing lots of camping, and traveling the world. On August 12, 2004 that all changed with the birth of our God Daughter Tate. We immediately fell completely in love with her and soon began to re-think our decision of not having kids.

In October 2005 we began the process of trying to conceive. As soon as we started trying Shelly began having very erratic cycles which made the process that more complicated. After four tries over six months we decided to schedule a consultation with the a Reproductive Specialist. We were desperate to conceive and on a limited time frame since Shelly had just turned 41. Dee was 35 at the time but not able to conceive due to a medical procedure.

Our first appointment with the Repro Man was May 2006. He suggested we try IVF using Dee's eggs and Shelly as the gestational mother. He felt this scenario would give us the highest chance for success of a healthy pregnancy. We spent a short amount of time weighing our options and decided this was the best choice. We began our first IVF cycle in August. They did the Egg Retrieval and Fertilization on 8/31. Three days later, 9/3, they transferred three embryos into Shelly. Then the wait began.

Shelly promised not to begin the home pregnancy test too soon. Dee had to travel out of state for business a week after the transfer and asked Shelly to please wait to test. BUT, the wait was too much for her and she started testing after a week. At first there was no line. But after a couple of days testing a faint line started to appear. When Dee came home from her trip Shelly told her, "I know I'm pregnant." Dee didn't believe her and insisted the line wasn't dark enough so she tested herself to compare. There was absolutely no line. She began to believe Shelly was pregnant but still had doubt. Dee went to the store and bought another brand of testing strips. After five home tests, we were convinced we we're pregnant due to all positive results. A blood test at two weeks confirmed it; we were going to have a baby!