free day at the museum

Aaron had some free passes for the bus for him and 2 passes to one of many museums. So he took the boys down to the Music Museum and the Science Museum. Timothy was free on the bus and the Music Museum. David only cost 75 cents on the bus. We have passes to the Science Museum, so the whole day cost them $1.50!!! And I got some quiet time at home. I got in some football watching time and cleaning time, and computer time. Amy slept almost 6 hours straight - waking only to eat and then going right back to sleep. She's had a stuffy nose, so I guess she's trying to recover. Either that or making up for the 2 days before that where she only took 10 to 30 minute naps all day long. She's still doing great at night waking to eat only at about 2:00 am and about 6:00 am.

I didn't post anything yesterday with all my time because Aaron had the camera and I hadn't uploaded the pictures yet. So here are some great ones that Aaron took yesterday.

They had fun with the parabolic mirror.

The larger than life chair.

David found a friend from school; they played checkers.

David was picked to help in a demonstration.

He was very excited.

These are the pictures I wanted to post yesterday. David was holding Amy Marie and it was so cute. She even gave him a huge grin.

Amy Marie's blessing

Today was Amy's blessing day. The dress was made by my MIL. She made one for each of her granddaughters that were (or will be) born this year (remember there will be 5). It's the first time we didn't have visitors from out of town for a baby blessing. When David was blessed we had both of our families there. When Timothy was blessed we had our good friends (Kyle and Julie G*) visiting. But travel is difficult for both of our families right now.

A family shot -
With 3 kids will we ever get one were we are ALL looking at the camera and smiling?

And a few pictures of the special girl in her special dress.

She was awake, but she wouldn't open her eyes with the natural light from the window.

My family was supposed to arrive tomorrow evening, but there have been a few setbacks. We'll have to see how my dad is feeling. But Eva and Mike (2 of my siblings) may still come. We wish they could have been here tomorrow, but we will be happy to see them any time they can make it.

My Daybook

I saw this on Jessie's blog

I am wearing blue jeans and a pink T-shirt - It's pretty typical for me nowadays.

I am reading The Work and the Glory Book 9 -All is Well.

I am hearing Amy sleeping and Timothy playing with playdough

Learning all the time about how to have patience and budgeting my time.

I am thankful for a wonderful family.

I am hoping that we find a 3 bedroom place before Amy gets too big for a crib.

From the kitchen last night we had meat loaf and mashed potatoes - I haven't decided what to make tonight yet.

Bringing beauty to my home by sweeping the floor - great now there's playdough all over it, oh well.

Around the house is baby stuff everywhere, Bobby pillow, Moby wrap (homemade I did not spend $40 on one), blankets, bouncy seat, baby swing, Lansinoh (need I say more?), more blankets, and baby lotion.

Outside my window Beautiful trees, overcast, but not raining - occasional "sunbreaks".

I am thinking about whether the laundry will be done before I have to pick up David, and whether Amy will stay asleep or not.

One of my favorite things talking with friends and enjoying good food.

A few plans for the rest of the week...Library Book sale tomorrow, RS Broadcast tomorrow night, Amy's blessing on Sunday, My family arrives Monday night -Hurray!

Happy Birthday Dad

My FIL's is today. I have really enjoyed getting to know him over the last 9 1/2 years. He is an accountant and has worked in several different capacities in that career. Dad works hard and is a loyal employee. His job is close enough that he gets to come home for lunch just about everyday. He is a great father and grandfather. He loves his calling in Primary as he teaches Brittany's class at church. Dad played football in high school and went to BYU. He served a mission in Norway, but hardly gets to speak Norwegian anymore. I am grateful for his influence in his family. He is a great example to his children. Happy Birthday Dad!

Enrichment Night

We had an opening social for Relief Society last night. I was happy for an opportunity to get out and see friends, and make friends. I should have realized that changing venues wasn't going to stop Amy's fussiness. She was great for the first hour or so. She slept, and ate and looked around while I ate - Shellie got me some food while I fed her - and then when Cathrine was about to give her lesson Amy started fussing. I tried to calm her, then I went to change her diaper. She was calm for that, until she pulled her hair - twice! I walked outside with her - that used to work for David - and she was calm for a little bit, but then she started fussing again. Two of my friends (actually my Visiting Teachers - Shellie and Julie) had carpooled with me, and said they could leave anytime I needed to. Another lady I met had driven just herself and her 1 month old, and offered to drive them home if I needed to go. But I was hoping to hear some of what Cathrine had to say. Then Lisa came out and offered to hold Amy for a bit, I didn't necessarily need a break, so I declined, but she insisted saying that I should be able to hear Cathrine talk as well. I was grateful, and got to hear a few things I needed to hear. Especially about scripture study, which I have been slacking on.

After Cathrine was done and a prayer was said, I knew we needed to get Amy home, even though I wished I could have stayed to talk with some of the ladies. I was grateful that I had Shellie to carry Amy back to the car. It was only a block away, but up a very steep hill. I can walk mostly pain free, but it still hurts to climb my stairs at home, so I knew that hill would be hard on me. Julie got directions for us on how to get back to our neighborhood. The home we were at has a beautiful view of the city, but is very hard to find. I was glad to have 2 other ladies to help me navigate. We only made two wrong turns each way, and it only cost us about 5 minutes each time. I know some other ladies were about 45 minutes late trying to find their way there. I was also glad to have some conversation on the way home because Amy screamed pretty much the whole way home, and I needed something to keep me from getting frustrated and from getting lost. She stopped crying just as I dropped Shellie off. So she was quiet for 2 minutes until I got home. Then instead of continuing to sleep she woke up. At least she was done screaming for the night. I am hoping she will be quiet enough for me to attend the Relief Society Broadcast on Saturday. I may drive myself just in case I have to leave.

Fall is here!

The temperatures have cooled down, it's raining more, and the leaves are starting to change colors. I love it!! Last year I remember a certain tree that was a beautiful shade of yellow. I'll have to remember to bring the camera when I see it. We pulled out our comforter. I got it on clearance at IKEA last year, and we haven't had a chance to use it until now. It is so warm!!! Now I have to search for a duvet cover on clearance.

It seems like I am always blogging about Amy Marie. I guess that's because she's the one who is doing new things. The boys are doing great, but not much is new with them. Amy Marie took the binky last night, for a little bit anyway. It's a start. Yesterday she also fell asleep sucking her ring and pinky fingers. She is also sleeping in her cradle for about half of the night. Typically she goes to bed around 10:00 pm and we put her in her carseat (usually I end up nursing her in my bed, (or on the couch, and falling asleep until Aaron comes to bed and puts her in her carseat while I get up to brush my teeth) and then she wakes at 2:00 am after that feeding I put her in her cradle and she sleeps until about 6:00 am. After that feeding she sleeps until about 8:00 am - sometimes she's in bed with me, sometimes she's back in her cradle.

There are so many things I want to blog about, but I just don't have the time. I have too many other things I need to do. So it will have to wait.

Happy Birthday Daralee

Sunday was my SIL Daralee's birthday. She is Aaron's oldest sibling. I believe she just turned 34, and is expecting her fifth child next month! We are excited to have another little niece. I didn't meet Daralee until after Aaron and I were married. She came out for Christmas that year with her newborn little girl. Daralee is a great mom with lots of fun ideas. She loves to play sports, and plays the piano and organ. We are glad we now live in the same state as Daralee and her family, and hope we get to see them again soon. Happy Birthday Daralee, I hope it was a great one!

commercials

The other day Aaron heard Timothy talking to himself - he does that a lot. He said, "If you get hurt you can't work." Aaron told me about it and we had a good laugh, but I was trying to figure out where he seen an AFLAC commercial. The only TV they watch is PBS, which doesn't have commercials. Then we realized that we also watch college football on Saturdays - so that's where he picked it up!

Weekend reacp

I think Amy Marie is slightly colicky. She fusses every night from about 7:30 until 9:30 or 10:00. Not that she cries constantly, she just won't eat, sleep, or stay calm for very long. I have found that she likes her bath water very warm. She also likes to have her diaper changed now. Or perhaps she likes where I change it. She calms down for few minutes if I lay her on the changing pad in our room, even if I don't actually take her diaper off. I'm glad Aaron is available to take when I need a break. Right now he has a lot reading to do, but is around to help. Mostly I am explaining why I haven't been blogging much. During the day I get few minutes here and there to check email and blogs, but I don't sit down to post because I am usually holding Amy Marie, or playing with Timothy, or trying to get the house in order, or picking up or dropping off David at school. I don't have my evenings to blog right now. I know she'll eventually grow out of it, so my posts my be sporadic for few weeks.

So while Timothy is cleaning up his toys and Amy Marie is sleeping in my arms, I will attempt to blog one handed - Are any other moms out typing with one hand while they hold a baby? David is doing great with his homework. We had fun talking about temperature yesterday. It's something I can do while feeding/holding Amy. Yesterday Aaron called during homework time and asked what I was doing, "Helping David with his homework, feeding Amy and giving Timothy a snack. Am I supermom or what?" I'm not really trying to be supermom, I was just pleased that I was able to handle the after-school routine.

Lately I've been asked how the boys are dealing with a new little sister. At first I thought they were doing great. They love her and love to help with her. No aggression whatsoever. But then I realized they were displaying their resistance to change in other ways. Mostly toward each other and not listening to Mom and Dad. At the above mentioned BBQ David finally said the dreaded "I hate you" when he was put in time out, it was hard to ignore it. Timothy is refusing to do things by himself like putting on his shoes and socks. He also puts his pants on backward almost everyday, I'm not sure if that's a conscious thing or not. So we are trying to work through that now.

Timothy is doing all sorts of funny things. I love his interpretations of words like "axkident" (accident) and "woyald" (world). I was feeding Amy and watching Timothy play with the duplos and I caught this conversation he was having with himself.




Saturday Amy Marie made her public debut. We went to a ward BBQ. (We had to miss listening to the 2nd half of the BYU game, but they beat Wyoming 44-0!!!) The BBQ was supposed to be at a local park, but was moved to the church because of rain. I think there was smaller turnout because of that, but it allowed us to stay a little longer. The kids had fun, and Aaron and I got to talk to friends. We brought Amy Marie to church on Sunday, but she and I only stayed for sacrament meeting.

Amy Marie has been holding up her head a lot more, and her neck is getting stronger. Monday night Aaron let her have some tummy time and she was holding her head up, until I got the camera that is.

And here are a few more just because.

Oh before I forget, I think we are blessing Amy Marie this week.
Well, I need to feed Amy so I can pick up David. I'll post more another day - I hope.

New niece

In my rush to finish my post the other day I neglected to mention that I have a new little niece. Aaron's brother Stephen and his wife Amber are the proud parents of another little girl. This makes 3 for them. Brookley Sandra was born on Sunday and is adorable. This is Amy's 3rd girl cousin to be born this year. The fourth will arrive next month. She will also have a boy cousin born in late December or early January. Did I mention that my sisiter Becca is expecting baby #2? That will bring the total to 16 cousins for my kids, and half of our siblings haven't had any kids yet.

2 weeks old

I don't have a lot of time, Aaron is taking care of Amy for a few minutes before he has some things to finish. She's a little fussy tonight. Today we had her 2 week appointment. She is gaining weight just fine now. She is up to 10 lbs 9 oz - so no worries there. The only concern was that her belly button isn't completely healed. Aaron wasn't so concerned he told me exactly what was wrong and how they could fix it. "There is a granuloma that doesn't allow it to heal as quickly. The Dr. can take some silver nitrate and cauterize it." So what did Dr. R* tell us? The same thing. In fact she let me take home some silver nitrate and told Aaron if it didn't heal within a week he could do it himself so we didn't have to come back in.

Timothy always has a lot of questions. Today after I fed Amy she gave me a little smile. "I got a little grin out of you." I said. Timothy then asked, "How did the grin get in her?" What a funny guy. Timothy loves to help Amy. Yesterday while driving in the car Amy was crying. I asked Timothy how he thought he could help her calm down, he he decided to sing to her. It was so cute.

David is doing well in school. He is learning his spelling words well, and he gets marbles for good behavior. He has 3 right now, and when he gets 5 he gets to pick a prize. He has homework almost everyday, and so far it's not hard, he just needs to stick to it. I've found that he loves me to help him. I was able to do that while nursing Amy yesterday and while she was asleep today. Aaron went to curriculum night and got to hear more from David's teacher about what they will be doing this year.

It was Aaron's last day on his elective. Tomorrow he's on call. It will be my first night alone with all three kids. I hope it goes well. Monday he will start his Community Advocacy Track It will be so much different than doing a service. It will be a lot of lecture and visiting places in the community. Hopefully he doesn't fall asleep ;) But he won't be home at lunch time anymore, or home by 3:30. I think I'd better get to work on my weekly menu plans, or we might not have dinner. Today I ended up just doing chicken nuggets. Tomorrow might be fish sticks.

A few more picturesA grin while waking up and stretching

"What are you looking at?"

Timothy wanted to be int he picture too. And she blinked, but I thought it was cute anyway.

Timothy really wanted to take a picture. He did a pretty good job, except that I wasn't looking at the camera.

I'll have to remember to take more pictures when David is home. He isn't in many currently.

more pictures and updates

On Saturday Nathan, Amy and Evelyn came over. Valerie also came over to listen to the BYU game with us since Christian was out of town at a PT conference. She had to text him each time we scored - which was a lot.

We also took some cute cousin pictures again. this time with the moms. None of them are great pictures of me, but oh well. Amy looks great. OK to limit the confusion in names we have decided to differentiate the Amy's as follows - no it's not big Amy and little Amy. But rather we will call our daughter Amy Marie, and try to refer to Amy (Nathan's wife) as Aunt Amy. So as I was saying....Aunt Amy looks great in these pictures.

Amy Marie wouldn't wake up for the pictures.

Can you see the blond hair?

I love sleeping babies

A few updates on me. I am recovering pretty well. The first week was rough, but I am getting more sleep now and I'm not quite as sore. Nursing is even getting better. Although she doesn't latch on well at times. I have her 2 week appointment on Thursday so I guess I'll see if she's gaining any weight. According to how much she's putting out in her diapers she's getting plenty of nourishment. Yesterday I ventured out to pick up David. It was fun to see my friends there. Of course they all wanted to see Amy Marie. I have to park in a different spot because I'm not ready to carry her everywhere yet, so I use the stroller, which means I need a ramp, not stairs. The only ramp to the playground is in the front, not at the back of the school where I used to park. Today Aaron got off early enough to pick up David but we all went anyway. Amy Marie has not slept well today, and I thought she's stay asleep while we let the boys play, but she didn't. So I had to find a place to nurse her. The chairs in the lobby were full, so I found a chair in the hallway.

A few milestones for me: I noticed a few days back that my feet were back to their normal size. I forgot that I used to be able to see the veins in my feet. I can wear shoes again! However my hands are still bigger. My ring wouldn't fit. I was worried it wouldn't fit until I started to exercise and work on losing baby weight, but I tried it again today and I could put it on. It's still a little snug though. I'm not back intopre-pregnancy pants, but I can wear the "one size too big pants" loosely.

Tonight Aaron took the boys to a concert. We got tickets from his residency program. I can't remember what it's for but the Beach Boys will be there. I would have loved to go, but the thought of sitting in a stadium for a few hours isn't appealing to me. And I don't think I am ready to expose Amy Marie to a stadium full of people. So Uncle Nathan took my ticket.

Once again Amy has taken a 15 minute nap, so I'd better go.

One week ago...

...my sister Sara got married in the LDS Oakland Temple. Here are some great pictures taken by my BIL David W*. Congrats to TJ and Sara B*.

TJ and Sara

My family outside the temple

Lizzy and Hali - cute cousins

What a beautiful view! It's usually pretty foggy.

Tonight is their open house in Idaho. Wish I could be there!

cousins

For Aaron's birthday we invited Nathan and Amy up for cake and ice cream. Aaron's favorite cake is Oatmeal Cake so we have it every year. We served it with vanilla ice cream and caramel topping. While they were here we decided to take some pictures of Evelyn and Amy. These cousins are about 6 weeks apart.

Amy definitely still has that newborn look, but they aren't so different in size. Evelyn is a little longer and heavier. Evelyn was a little grumpy that evening and didn't like that we unswaddled her for pictures.

Evelyn's not too happy, but still cute.

She looks like she's trying to get away.

And here's one Aaron took yesterday morning as she slept on our bed.
Love the smiles, even when they are sleeping.

The last few nights have been great. I did not get to bed very early - 11:00 pm or so, but Amy has been sleeping great, nursing 2 or 3 times in the night and going right back to sleep. Last night I couldn't get her to wake up to finish her feeding so I put her in the cradle - which usually wakes her after a few minutes - she slept for another 2 1/2 hours! Her first successful cradle sleeping.

Happy Birthday Brittany

Today my SIL turns 10!!! Brittany is the youngest of Aaron's siblings. She was a fabulous Aunt to the boys this summer. She played with them everyday. Even when they were getting on her nerves. She is patient and lots of fun. Brittany was just 7 months old when I first met her. She was born just a month before Aaron came back from his mission. If he hadn't extended an extra month he would have come home the day she was born.

Brittany is fun, energetic and talented. She will try just about anything. She gardens, sews, bakes, plays the piano, reads, plays softball and tennis, takes care of little kids and so much more. She may be the "baby" of the family, but she is very responsible. It's been fun to watch her grow up. Happy Birthday Brittany - I hope it was fabulous.

Random thoughts

Timothy loves to see Amy, but isn't interesting in holding her often. David on the other hand wants to hold her all the time.

Conversation during snack time yesterday-
David: Guess how long a giraffe's tongue is.
Me: How long is it?
David: 21 inches.
Me: Wow, where did you learn that?
David: In P.E.

What? Why are they talking about giraffes in PE?

Timothy can entertain himself with just about anything. Today it is a bucket of batteries.
Yesterday I was taking pictures of Amy, and Timothy didn't want to be left out. So here's one of him too.

Last night was much better. Amy slept most of the day away yesterday, so I was worried she'd be up all night. On the contrary she didn't have any crying fits. She did wake a little more often to eat, but then she went right back to sleep. Yay! Yesterday her umbilical cord stump came off, I was so glad I didn't have to worry about that any more. She's been sleeping for almost 3 hours now, and I hope she wakes up soon. She needs to eat.

I went on my first outing with her and Timothy. We just went to a grocery store nearby. I fed her and put her in her carseat and we headed out. She fell asleep and stayed asleep - she's still asleep. Timothy was very well behaved, I just had to walk very slow. It was nice to get out of the house, besides I had to get a few things for Aaron's birthday. After I feed Amy I'll probably make the cake.

Amy likes the swing, for a little while anyway - long enough for me to clean the kitchen. Aaron also got her to sleep in the crib for about 30 minutes this morning. He swaddled her while she was asleep and then used the extra carseat padding (the one that cushions the head) to help her head feel secure. There is hope that she will sleep in the cradle.

To my Texas friends

We are praying for you! Ike is headed your way, and so far no one I know is evacuating. I don't blame them, because our evacuation experience was dreadful. Good luck. I hope power is restored quickly if it goes out.

Happy Birthday Aaron

Today is a National Day of Remembrance. However prior to 7 years ago it was just a day to celebrate Aaron's birthday. I've already said a few things in previous posts about how much he has done for our family recently. It is so fun to see him play with his little daughter and how much fun he's had with the boys lately. He confessed that he felt guilty when he went to a meeting Tuesday evening. It was really the first time he did something for himself since Amy was born.

I wish I could express in words how grateful I am for Aaron. He is an amazing man - yes I am a little biased. He really does have his priorities straight. He spends time with his family and takes care of us very well. He serves in the church faithfully and is a leader and an example. He works hard at his job (yay he has a job), learning all he can so he will be able to do his best. He is gentle and soft spoken. He is funny, kind, loving... OK I could go on, but I won't. Maybe later.

We love you Aaron, Happy Birthday!

long nights

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been trying to catch up on sleep. I'm so glad I have Aaron here. He has been a lifesaver over and over again. I've had some really long nights with Amy. With the exception of last night and Saturday night I've been awake more than asleep at night. It's been nice to be able to wake Aaron when I needed a break. With the last 2 babies I felt I couldn't disturb his sleep because he needed to be at school and work etc. However yesterday was his first day back and he only worked from 12:30 until 3:00.

Amy likes to eat a lot. She doesn't like to be swaddled - huh?- and she won't take a binky yet. So that leaves me - the human pacifier. I am perfectly content nursing her constantly, except that she doesn't burp very well sometimes and gets a gas bubble. So then she just screams. I am amazed that I have had so much patience with her. It really has to be all the prayers I say, because I don't think I was this patient with either of my boys. Aaron takes plenty of turns changing diapers and burping her, but mostly he occupies the boys' attention, taking them to stores, and to the park, and playing games. He also has been doing most of the cleaning getting David ready for school and fixing meals. We have meals coming to us now that he is back at work - I asked for it to be that way.

Today Aaron will have a full day at work (still only 9:00 until about 3:30) and Timothy will be here all day. I'm glad I can slowly ease into this. I have someone to pick up David from school, because I still don't want to take Amy out in public yet. I also can't walk very far yet. I did a little shopping alone yesterday (Aaron stayed home with Amy and Timothy was at a friend's house), and discovered that I still walk really slow, and can't walk very much - and I can't sit in one place for too long either. But I had to go get something for Aaron's birthday - which is tomorrow!!!

So I haven't posted because I've just been occupied with taking care of myself and Amy. I've enjoyed her wakefulness, but it's not so fun when she just cries. What made it hard yesterday was that her umbilical cord stump was bleeding a bit, and smelling - has that happened to any of your babies? The nurse said I should expose it to the air more to dry it out. It's still attached, but just barely hanging on and I was so paranoid about it catching on her diaper, clothes, blankets, my clothes - anything and everything. So when I burped her last night I couldn't put her over my shoulder. It took a long time for her to calm down. But once she was finally asleep she slept for almost 5 hours - It was wonderful! So I hope the stump dries up and falls off soon so I don't have to worry about that anymore.

The other hard part about her sleeping is that she hates the cradle. She won't sleep more than 10 minutes in it. She sleep plenty of other places though, like on my chest, in the carseat, on the bed- next to me, and luckily we got the bouncy seat set up and she is sleeping in there right now. Aaron also set up the swing last night while she was screaming, but I got her to calm down before we had a chance to use it. So maybe someday she'll like swaddling, take the binky and sleep in her cradle, but until then I'll just be patient. More pictures when I get another chance, Amy is waking up now.

Awake time

Amy is having more awake time recently, as well as longer naps. Last night at about 10:30 Aaron and I had fun taking pictures of her with her eyes open for once.



I've noticed that her chubbiness is mostly in her face. Her legs and arms are actually pretty skinny. She has long feet and toes. I was used to Timothy's chubby thighs, but she doesn't have those. I'll have to get some shots of those cute feet. Do you like the way Aaron styled her hair???

This morning I took a little video of her. She had the hiccups. It's really not an exciting video, just 90 seconds of me cooing over my newborn. But grandparents might like it.



Sorry about the background noise. I need to remember to turn off the auto focus feature.

In other news my sister Sara got married today!!!! I so wish we could have been there, but I did get to talk to her. It was a blessing that my Dad was able to get discharged from the hospital in time for the endowment session yesterday and was also able to make it to the ceremony today. I can't wait to see pictures.

On the home front Aaron took the boys to clean the church, make football goal posts at Home Depot and make a trip to the grocery store. I got to read and got a nap in while Amy slept. There's plenty more to say. But I don't have time now.

Amy update

Is is too early to have another update? Not if there are more pictures, right? Amy had a much better night last night. Although I still fed her a lot. I've never had a problem with my boys gaining weight after birth. However Amy is getting close to losing the worrisome 10%. We had a check-up today and she was down to 9 lbs 5 oz. Since she nurses a lot I didn't worry about it, but I think the problem is that she doesn't stay on task, which is why she nurses so much at night. She falls asleep (and admittedly so do I) and when I try to put her down and get some sleep she's still hungry. So today I focused on getting her to stay awake during her feedings. I tickle of tummy, or cheeks, burp her, or change her diaper - (she hates diaper changes right now) One time I even changed her outfit. The one she was wearing wasn't dirty, I just wanted her to wear something new. The result: an hour long feeding and a so far 2 hour nap! So I got in nap as well, and have time to blog. Hopefully that will help us have better nights and not have to supplement or pump.

Aaron got some great pictures of her today:

This was a lucky shot.

She had a gassy grin just at the right moment.

Finally a long nap.

What a cutie!

And one of the boys for good measure.

They had fun putting together this puzzle. Notice David's Spiderman hands!

She has had a couple of wide awake moments. Oh she's awake now. So I'd better go.