Changing FAST!

Hello!  I'm feeling inspired and excited today.  Therefore, I will type up a blog post.  Haha :). Things are really good!  We had a great Thanksgiving in OHIO, Finals are almost done for josh, the bathroom is almost finished, Phoenix is learning new things every day and I am learning to have fun with being a frugal mom.  I'll try to post about those things individually.  But for now, I'll just post some pictures and say how grateful I have been feeling lately.  I have seen so many prayers answered and tender mercies received!  Becoming a mom has changed my view on life.  I love it!  Sure, there are hard days, but we learn from them.  Not only that, but I have learned to more fully appreciate the good times, by living through the hard times.  Mosiah 2:41 and Helaman 5:12 have become the mottos I live by.  Obedience brings happiness and Christ is my sure foundation.

(Yes my credit cards are out... Christmas shopping, are we?)

(Separation issues.  Can't cook dinner without him in the carrier!)

(Snow is NOT fun!)

It's Autumn Time

 Best time of the year!! And this Autumn is no exception!  It's been beautiful!! We have been hiking, running, going on walks, fishing, etc.  Phoenix LOVED the hiking.  He sat in his baby carrier on Josh's back, with a huge grin on his face :). I've been cooking and baking and really, having a great time with trying out yummy, new Fall recipes!  Of course, we've had a couple pumpkin treats too.  This weekend, I'm going to make a new recipe- caramel apple dumplings, with a side of vanilla ice cream!!!! Waahh I can almost taste it now!!  Hope everyone's Fall is going as good as ours :)

Don't mind the slobber.  This has also been the season of teething.  

 
 
 
 
 

 

Grrrrowing We Do It Everyday!

Update on little man:

Says Ma!ma! Just lake that.  Sometimes Mumumum. But he associates it with me so I think it counts that he says it now. Haha

He is teething and it's horrible :(. He doesn't sleep well at all which really means we dot sleep well. We have been so tired lately that in nighttime prayers Josh blessed PK's teeth to sleep well!! Then in morning prayers, I prayed that josh would have a good day at CHURCH. Hahaha ohh dear.  Anyway.

He can stand up next to anything and has learned how to sit down after he has stood up.  Good thing too.  At first he would stand up and then once he wanted to come down, he would shriek until someone sat him back down :) 

He loves to bang anything and everything together... After he has tasted it of course. Haha

He loves to blow raspberry bubbles whenever he is busy with something.  He also does it on our shoulders when we have him in the shower haha

He LOVES walks.

He likes The Lorax now!!  Adds some variety to when he is having a little TV time... Now that I have Finding Nemo and Despicable Me memorized!

He is OBSESSED with water.  Anytime he can get his hands under some water, he will.  He loves to stand and hold the tub faucet while the water is running and put his head under the water.  He's crazy!

His nicknames right now are 'Unnolz and Cunnins!  

He loves the books Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? And Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

5 & 1/2 Months

Can I just say that it is SUCH a joy to have Phoenix in our home?  He makes everything better.  He is so funny, sweet, clever, silly, and loving.  As he naps I am able to type this up, quickly... And it's okay.  It's fine that I don't get everything done around the house that I had planned to do.  It's okay that dinner is a little later than normal.  Its even okay that I smell like baby spit up.... from yesterday.  I get to play and cuddle, nurse and love, the most amazing little boy I have ever met.  I thought I would say a few memories about him lately so that I won't forget :)  So here I go!

Rolled over from tummy to back: 2 months
Rolled over from back to tummy: 3 months and 3 weeks
Sat up all by himself: 5 months on the nose
Started saying Maaama: 5 months and 1 week
Eating solids: 5 months

Nicknames we have for him:  Beebee, Grumbles, Gruntles, Deedles, Goonles (goodness), Eavons (heavens), 'Unny, PK.

Little phrases we love:  Cununazumnuns (Come and have some nums), hadda had some cuddle milk, kizzzles n uggles! Cuddles n loveles!

The other night he was in his saucer and I was talking to him.  For some reason I said BOO!!  at him and he laughed like a maniac.  Literally.  He was hooting and he-hawing.  I took a video and in the background, you can hear me laughing my head off.  I loved it.

He is obsessed with baby food.  I get the little colored bowls out and he starts banging his high chair tray, rocking back and forth and yelling that it isn't done and in his mouth at that very second.  His favorites are:

Rice cereal and prunes or pears
Prunes
Pears
Sweet Potato

I am slowly going to start introducing more foods when he turns 6 months.. Which is in 15 days!  I can't believe I'm going to have a six month old!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE nursing him.  There is something so tender and sweet about it.  He has in the past had some really bad tummy problems and has at times had a hard time nursing because of it.  I had breakdowns thinking that he may not be able to nurse because of it.  Now, he is nursing really well and just doesn't sleep well.   I guess it's a trade off, hu?  Haha.

He had the stomach flu and a double ear infection the week we were moving to our new house (which I will blog about eventually I promise).  He just cuddled and wouldn't leave my arms during the sicknesses.  It is so sad to see a baby sick.  So innocent and precious of a being shouldn't have to feel pain like that :(  But I was grateful to have to time to be with him and help him through.  Which brings me to something I was thinking about the other day:  I AM SO GRATEFUL TO BE A STAY AT HOME MOMMY!!!!  I know it isn't for everyone and that all mommies are different.  But for me, this is my dream job.  I'm so grateful that I don't have to work, like so many others do.  I get to work once a week or so for a couple hours.  It's more of a hobby than anything.

I feel so blessed right now.  I have a loving, funny, husband who works hard every day so that one day we wont be dirt poor and hope that our cars make it the where we need to be!  Haha :)  I'm so grateful for wonderful parents on both sides of the family, who share their resources, time, talents, and LOVE with us- and who have brought us up to have testimonies of Jesus and the gospel.  I am also so grateful for Lou (my sister)  who never fails to cheer me up or make me feel like I'm a good mommy, when the day isn't going too well!

Wonder Woman

I just have to blog a bit about my mother in law- Who I usually call Mom.  She flew out to help us with our home renovations and moving.  She painted THE ENTIRE HOUSE, built shelves for our pantry, entertained the baby, moved TONS of boxes, built our bed, and cooked us dinner, among many other things!  The move to our new house would have been 80,000 times harder without her help.  LOVE HER!!! 

 

Tender Mercies

My lil bug has the stomach flu.  We were all supposed to go up to the other house (the home we bought in Orem) and work all day.  So I was alone with him all day and night.  I didn't sleep last night because he was throwing up and then barely slept today because he wanted to be held and rocked 95% of the time.  Well I started to get a fever and terrible body aches.  I was seriously terrified that I was coming down with it too.  Phoenix wouldn't be laid down to sleep at all this whole time he's been sick and as I bounced him in our room,  I begged Heavenly Father to put him to sleep so I could lay him down and get in the tub.  Well it was probably no more than 20 seconds that he stopped squirming and moaning and completely relaxed.  He was completely asleep and able to be laid down.  I was then able to take a bath, ease my body aches, and crawl in bed with him.  I'm SO grateful for that tender mercy and the many others I see in my life, (especially as a mom) daily!  Ps so far, no stomach flu for me! 

 

I'm Ready!

Okay.  I'm ready to start blogging again!  My goal is to blog once a month.  I think I can do that :) 

Things have been so crazy!  No one tells you how hard it is to be a new mommy.  Phoenix has had bad tummy problems, resulting in terrible, frequent gas problems:( he is starting to get better though! My guess is his digestive tract is now maturing.  He is getting so fun and funny! 

Here are some Phoenix-isms as of late:

High-pitched shrieks, just to hear himself.  Church has been interesting and a little embarrassing.. Haha!

Eating everything.  His favorite thing to chew and suck on is my camelback water bottle.  He sees me suck down water so often that he has decided he should be able to as well :)

He loves Finding Nemo.  LOVES.  It's nice because, when I need to do the dishes, I can turn it on, put PK on his tummy with some toys and he will just play and listen to the movie.  Now, mind you, this activity lasts for about a half hour.  So I fly around the kitchen, trying to get as much as I can done in that amount of time!

He LOVES the tub!!! When the clothes and diaper come off, he is THE HAPPIEST!!! He laughs his head off in there and kicks like crazy! 

We are best friends:) I'll get some pics of him and Josh, soon.  He loves daddy time!  That's all for now!
 

 
 

 

Look Who Decided To Show Up!!!

So this SWEET little piece of heaven joined our family on March 13, 2013 at 10:41 a.m.  He weighed 8 lbs 15 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long!  Check out that big ol' chest!  My kid's buffer than yours.  Haha...But seriously. A quick version of the birth story goes something like this:  I was to be induced on Wednesday the 13th in the early morning because he was getting really big and my placenta was calcifying really badly.  So at 845 pm on the 12th, my water broke while I was in the shower!  Perfect, right?  

 Well I went into labor shortly after and we were off to the hospital.  I labored naturally for about 6 hours in quite a few different positions.  It was amazingly hard, but rewarding as I worked through each wave with Josh at my side.  My doula Bri was there as well as Em and my Mommy.  They were great to have there :)  I felt so comforted knowing that I had a strong support group with me.  Anyway,  I had been laboring in the tub for about 2 hours when my nurse decided that I needed to get out so she could check me.  She said she was sure I had made a lot of progress for how well and long I had been laboring.  Well I got out and after going into the hospital at 3 cm's, I was ONLY A 5.  To make matters worse, Phoenix had started to get distressed every time I had a contraction.  So they told me I would have to labor in this one strange position on my side because it was where his heart rate was the highest.  I was heartbroken.  I was already on pitocin because my contractions weren't helping me to dilate and I knew that if they upped my pitocin and put me in that position, I would not be able to handle the contractions naturally.I cried :(  But it was okay.  Phoenix takes precedence over me wanting a natural birth by a LOOONNNGGG SHHHOOOOTTT!  So, soon after the anesthesiologist came in to give me an epidural so that I could sleep a bit

before I had to push.  At around 8 am, my most favorite midwife's shift started and I felt comforted knowing that she would be there with me for the delivery.  At about 9:50, I had dilated to a 10 and was ready to push.  As I pushed, Phoenix's heart rate dropped and slowly came back up in between pushing.  It was scary, but I was totally in the zone and completely determined to get that baby out in the least amount of time that I could manage.  After a last minute episiotomy and some help from the nurses, Phoenix's head was born.  His shoulders were then stuck.  So Dena (my midwife) had to reach in and help pull him out.  He was purple and white and very floppy.  I only know because of pictures of all this.  I was a zombie after pushing him out.  He was rushed to a doctor and they got him all cleaned up and flushed out and he was crying in no time.  His abgar score was an 8 and then a 9.  What a miracle :)  When the doctor got done, he asked who wanted to hold him first...  I thought 

 "If anyone says a name other than mine, I will put my epidural in their eye ball."  Luckily for everyone in the room, I was given the baby first ;)  He looked up at me with alert and beautiful eyes.  It was absolutely surreal to look at him and know that he had just been INSIDE ME!!!  I am so grateful for him and his precious spirit.  He already is showing us his adorable personality and bringing an added measure of the spirit to our home.  He is so special.  We love, love, love him!!

 Isn't this picture great?!  It makes James look like a GIANT! It's so cute seeing these cousins together.  On Sunday, Emily, Loafy, James, and my dad came to visit and brought us a yummy pizza lunch that they made :)  It was fun to see James meet the baby and to use his little quiet whispers to talk to the baby.  It'll be fun when they can actually play together!   They're going to be best friends :)

Fun Pics From Mum Continued...

So remember how I said I would post pics of Josh as a baby and little kid when I got back from Ohio?  Right.  Well,  it's two months later, but here are some!  

 Oh my goodness.  I said it once, I will say it again!  If Phoenix gets any of Josh's cute genes, then I will be a very happy Mum and he will be a very adorable kid!!

 Oh this is the best baby picture.  The face alone is classic, but the bow tie with the light blue ruffles is the cherry on top!!

This one is my favorite!  Sitting at the top of the slide, with the cop shades, with that look on his face... Can that toddler get any more hardcore?  I submit he can not.

Then with each year he gets more and more handsome!  I sure love this guy :)

Late February Randomness

 Just look at these two.  You'd think they were best friends.  Not so.  At least, not so about 50% of the time.  The other 50% of the time they are besties.  I guess we couldn't ask for much more from a psychotic girl cat with hormonal problems and a tease of a boy cat.  ;)  That isn't a great picture, but those are the cute lil' curtains that Mom taught me to make while we were in Ohio for Christmas.  They turned out really cute!  I have yet to put actual pillows in the pillow cases I made along with it.  One thing at a time.  Haha.  

Lately I have had no life.  I feel like I have reverted back to my 3 year old days when I didn't have any big responsibilities and doing things like going swimming for an hour was the highlight of my week.  I am still swimming every day but Sunday, and while I'm in the water I feel great!  Then I get out.  And I DON'T ANYMORE.  Haha.  Phoenix is slowly dropping down into the birth canal and he is raising hell in my groin and lower back.  I'm not really upset about it, because it means that I'll give birth soon (HOORAY!) but it just is painful and annoying and all I can do is clean the kitchen and living room and then slump down into the lazy boy with a movie.  I have never watched so many movies in my life!   I am really ridiculous with movies.  I have like 15 movies that I LOVE.  When we want to watch a movie, I will almost ALWAYS choose one of those.  The list is something like this:

Harry Potter 1 or 7
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Emperor's New Groove
LOTR
Clue
Indian Jones
Jurassic Park
Independence Day
Tron
Signs
K-PAX
The Goonies
My Name Is Khan
Tangled
Serendipity
Empire of the Sun
The Power of One
The Sound of Music
Singing in the Rain

So now that I have watched almost all of these recently,  I am now broadening my horizons.  With the new movies I am watching, I mostly get the first half and then have to watch the second half later because I almost always fall asleep through the movie.  I am so lame.  

Anyway, speaking of cleaning...Which I did... a lot earlier in this post...  I thought I would post an Instagram shot I took of how I cook dinner when onions are involved.  

Haha!  And in the message under the picture I added the #Totalwuss.  Cause I am!  I CAN NOT handle chopping onions or sauteing them unless I have my physiology lab glasses on. Haha!  But apparently it runs in the family, cause my dad weeps over onions when he is working with them too!  So.  With the many crazy things that are hereditary, I think onion issues is one of the least of my concerns ;)

 Look here!  All you Doctor Who fans, I pulled into these people's driveway and got out to get a good pic of these "Weeping Angels".  These are about 5 days old and literally are weeping as they melt in this great weather we have had.  So if you haven't watch Doctor Who, you should try it sometime, you would have a good stash of funny one-liners if you did.

Speaking of the nice weather we have had,  Josh and Caleb went fly fishing on the Provo River on Saturday.  They each caught two fish and came home with a little sunburn :)  They had a good time!  Josh is trying to get out to the river more, lately.  He is a good fisherman, but he really, really enjoys it.  It's a great release from grad school and the daily do's.  

I gotta be honest.  I don't have hardly any friends in Provo.  Everyone is so busy with their kids and their life and in this new ward, I really don't fit in well.  Once I have Phoenix, I'm sure I will have more in common with the women...  Well.  At least one thing in common with them (a baby!).  So maybe I will find some friends that way.  But in the meantime, this awesome mommy has kept me company a lot :)  She even came down to my house in Provo to visit me!  She talks to me on the phone almost every day.  I don't know what I would do without her.  I thought this picture was the cutest EVER and I had to post it!  This is Em and James and yes she is in his crib and I can't decide which one of them likes being in there better!  Haha!  If we never get to live close to each other in this life (which hopefully won't happen), then I am building my mansion in heaven right next to her's.