8 Day Update

I can't believe Paisley has been with us for 8 days already. It seems like time is flying by. Ivan took 6 workdays off of work and it was wonderful having him home. He was a huge help and it was tough adjusting to him being gone from 8a to 930p tonight since he had school after work. When Ivan left for work this morning, Emery said to me, "why you no go to work today?" I think she's starting to catch on that I haven't gone to work for several days now. I'm worried about how the transition will be when I do go back to work in 9 weeks.

I was a little nervous about my first day alone with both girls but it went great. It does seem like my days fly by though. I can't remember what I did with all of my time before this.

Emery is still doing great with Paisley. She asks about her "baby sister" all of the time and wants to help with everything from washing bottles to changing diapers with me. She does say "ewww disgusting" and plugs her nose at every diaper change whether they are poopy or not. Emery also does a great job of shhing Paisley when she starts crying.

Paisley has been a wonderful baby. She basically spends all of her time sleeping, eating or pooping - just as you would expect an 8 day old baby to be doing. She's sleeping for 4-5 hour stretches at night which is also nice.

Here is Emery dancing to the Cruella De Vil song from 101 Dalmatians. She is obsessed with the movie and after it's over, we play the Cruella De Vil song about 15 times over and over while Emery sings to it. We really need to get a video camera so we can document exactly how she sings and dances to the song - it's too cute!



On Ivan's last day at home with us, we went to Murray park for an hour to play. Emery loved dragging Ivan around the playground to play with her. Ivan is such a good dad and always does what it takes to be sure Emery has a good time.
Miss Paisley



Is this not the cutest thing you have ever seen? Paisley sucking on her thumb! Prescious ..

Introducing Paisley Marie

The story:

I was due Monday, 9/20 but as of my last Dr appt on 9/14, I hadn't been having any contractions or signs of labor coming. So, Dr Quinn and I scheduled an induction for Wednesday, 9/22. I was completely planning on having the baby on Wednesday. I was planning on going to work Monday, 9/20 and had a fun day of events planned for Emery and I on Tuesday, 9/21. Baby Paisley had a much different plan.

Monday, 9/20, my alarm went off at 4a so I could get up and get ready for work. I snoozed the alarm a couple of times and thought I was having contractions. I was immediately stressed - I was not ready to have a baby! I figured weather I was going to work or having a baby, I would get up and get ready for the day so I hopped in the shower. The entire time getting ready I kept having contractions so I figured it was best to go to the hospital. I woke Ivan up at 5:45a and told him I was in labor. He wasn't ready to have the baby yet either!

I hadn't packed a bag for Emery or wrapped her "present" from her little sister. So, in the middle of contractions at 530a, I was packing her bag and wrapping presents. When I went into Emery's room to pack, she woke up, sat up and said to me, "Mama, what are you doing in my room? Get out, I'm trying to sleep". Someone has some attitude.

We got to the hospital at 7a and I was only 2 centimeters. My contractions were 2 minutes apart. I started in the triage room and nurse was taking down all of the information and watching my contractions to see if I would stay or be sent home. By that point, I had committed to having the baby and told her I wasn't going home. At 730a, my water broke and that sealed the deal - we would be staying. She moved me into an official labor and delivery room and I started asking for the epidural. My thought is that if I know I am going to have an epidural, why go through any pain. Once again, baby had another idea. The nurse tried twice to get the IV in and wasn't successful (I have a nice, huge nasty bruise on my left hand to show it) so she called the anesthesiologist in to place the IV. She then asked him about the epidural so he stayed and gave me the epidural around 830a. The nurse checked me again and I was dilated to a 5 - that was 3 centimeters in 1 hour.

The epidural was only taking on the left side so I was laying on my right side trying to get it to move over and numb both sides. At 930a, I thought I was feeling pressure and the contractions were intense so I asked the nurse to check me - I was at an 8. Things were moving quickly and needless to say, the epidural never took 100%. By 1015a, I was complete and started to push. I pushed for about 30 minutes (it took so long because I was essentially having the baby naturally and I didn't want to push because of the pain) and out came baby at 1112a. She weighed 7lbs 7 oz and 19 inches long.

It took us a few days, but we finally decided on a name - Paisley Marie. She has been a wonderful baby - very quiet and sleeps a lot. Paisley and I stayed in the hospital for 2 nights and came home this afternoon. Emery is adjusting very well to her baby sister and always asks where she is and talks about how cute she is.

Ivan and I are very happy to be home as a family. I do think he's getting a little dose of reality that he's got 3 women in his life now but he's adjusting well.

Utah State Fair

As tradition has it, we headed to the Utah State Fair last Sunday. I was so happy that the new baby didn't come before we were able to hit up the fair.

Emery had a great time playing with games..
Feeding the animals ..
Riding the train with Mama (that was quite the ride - I thought I would for sure go into labor after all of the bumps of that little train)..
Riding a few rides like a big girl ..

Riding a car racing ride with quick turns with Grandma Phyllis. Ivan tried letting Emery ride this one alone and I was the freak Mom who ran up right as she was getting on saying, "No way, someone is riding with her or she isn't going". It's a good thing I did, the corner turns were really fast and Emery didn't like the ride. I know for sure she would have cried and possibly gotten hurt with the sharp turns if she had ridden alone.
Ivan and Emery went down the big slide together ..
Emery had her first taste of Cotton Candy and loved it - thanks Grandma Phyllis!
We saw some seals on our way out ..
We ended up having a great time at the fair. I was asked about 5 times why I was walking around the hot fair being so pregnant. Honestly, I did fine and we left around 3p right when it started to get really hot. Ivan enjoyed a corn on the cob and we shared a Philly steak sandwich and I had my famous funnel cake. Everyone knows I really just go for the food. Emery loved the snacks as well and had a good time on the rides. I have to admit, I felt a little lonely for Emery when she was riding the rides by herself. I can't wait for about 2 years from now when Emery and the new baby can ride the fair rides together.

Lastly, here is Emery enjoying her Sunday night tradition with Papa. She loves to shave with him and put on his deodorant.

Labor Day Luau

We decided to check out the the Labor Day Luau at Thanksgiving Point this year. We actually tried going last year but I waited too long to buy tickets and they were sold out. Since we had never been to it, we didn't really know what to expect. I bought the tickets online and the description really was just that the dinner was buffet style and seats were not guaranteed. Dinner was to start at 530p and the Luau show would start at 730p.

I wanted to get there by 5p since the seats were not guaranteed and I wasn't 100% sure what that meant. We ended up getting there around 515p and we drive up and see a huge line doubling over with people waiting to get into the venue. I then see a bunch of people carrying blankets and chairs. As soon as I saw that, I thought to myself, "oops, was I supposed to bring those?" We brought sweaters for the chilly evening later and that's it.

Luckily, as we got into the long line, we realized that we were not the only underprepared family there. It was probably 50% of the people who were prepared. I wish Thanksgiving Point would have given a better description/info on the event.

Anyway, we got into the venue and ate dinner. Luckily, there were about 6 picnic style table and chairs and we were able to steal one so we weren't sitting on the ground eating dinner. The food was pretty good but then we had to wait another hour for the show to start. We finally moved over to the area where the show was to start. We sat on the grass (no blankets or chairs) for about 15 minutes. Then Emery said, "I'm ready to go home. Let's go home". I was a little disappointed that we weren't going to see the show, but deep down I was ok with heading home. We were uncomfortable sitting on the ground and it was getting really cold, really fast.

So, off we went. We did spend about an hour getting to the car, stopping on the way to play in the little play ground areas and maze that are at Thanksgiving Point. After all is said and done, I think the Luau could have been a much better experience if we were better prepared. I would also say that the tickets were pricey considering what you get for the money.

You're Driving Me Crazy!

Let me set the scene for you. I was sitting on the couch folding towels and Emery was sitting on the floor glued to the TV watching Toy Story. I was trying to get Emery to finish her dinner.

Me: "Emery, come here and take another bite"
Emery: no response - just glued to the TV
Me: "Emery (a little louder) come on Mama, come take another big girl bite"
Emery: no response
Me: "Emery" much louder with some whistles and clapping - (don't judge - I'm 9 months prego!)
Emery: Turns around and says "Shh Mama - quit making so much noise. You are driving me crazy"

Ok then!

Maternity Pictures - 36 Weeks

We had maternity pictures taken last weekend at Murray Park. Of course, it was not the greatest of weather and was horribly windy. I swear, every single time I schedule outside pictures we are fighting bad weather and wind. Add to it that Ivan hates getting his picture taken and it's a little bit of a rough experience for everyone involved. I teased Ivan on the way to get the pictures done that he was battling himself inside. I told him that I thought he knew deep down that it was just an hour of his life and not a big deal but then on the other hand he really didn't want to get pictures taken. Luckily for me, he agreed to be in a few. Emery is taking after Ivan and wasn't too happy to be getting her pictures taken either. It may have had something to do with silly me telling her we were going to the park - why would she want to get pictures taken when she could go play at the park? I learned my lesson on that one.

Photos were taken by Katie Veenker - you can check out her blog at:
http://katieveenkerphotography.blogspot.com/
She did a great job - thanks Katie!

Your Bum is Too Big!

Yesterday morning, I was trying to get Emery to take her pull up off from overnight and put on her big girl undies. I took out a pair of Dora undies and started dancing around with them and acting like I was going to put them on.

Emery said, "No Mama - your bum is too big for my undies"

Nice.

Uncle D, Dance and Emery's ANGRY Face!

Uncle D came over last weekend to hang out. Emery definitely has him wrapped around her little finger and she had a blast blowing bubbles with Uncle D.


Here is Emery getting ready for dance class last week. If you can't tell, we were in the process of giving Carter a bone before leaving the house. Dance class went much better, although Emery still isn't out dancing with the class the entire time. She took it upon herself to walk out to the group and hold the teachers hand twice. We are making progress though. After seeing how the other kids interact in dance class and then how reserved Emery it, it just confirms my reasoning for wanting to get her into something to interact with other kids. She basically spends most of her time with me, Ivan and Grandma Lola. I feel confident that with a few more weeks of dance class under her belt, Emery will be out dancing with the class and teacher and feeling a lot more comfortable.

Here is Emery's angry face. She wanted the camera and I wouldn't give it to her. Boy was she mad at me!

36 Weeks

We are into the final countdown now. We have finally started making some good progress on preparing for this little one to come into the world. The crib is put back together, everything is washed and ready to go. I did have to buy some replacement parts for the swing ($2 for the parts - $8 for shipping and handling but whatever) so that won't be set up for another week or so. I've committed to washing all of the bottles and binky's next weekend, then it's pretty much just a waiting game.

My Dr appointments are still very uneventful. However, if I do have issues, they are usually really odd one's. For example, my left foot started hurting really bad about 4 weeks ago. It was all of a sudden too, I don't remember doing anything to injure it. I was to the point that I couldn't walk and I felt like everyone just thought I was doing the "pregnant waddle" and that wasn't the case at all. Ends up, I have Plantar Fascia - who gets that? Dr Quinn feels confident that it will go away as soon as I deliver but he recommended I get a pair of sole inserts. Well, the problem isn't so much with buying the sole insterts. The problem is that sole inserts won't stay in flip flops and that's really all I own. I'm not about to buy sole inserts and new shoes for 4 weeks! My mom gave a recommendation that she heard about not wearing flat shoes. Viola! I put on my wedged flip flops and I'm back to normal - no more waddling! Yay!

Other than that, I'm feeling good. The acid reflux is still kicking my butt. There are days (like today) that I get less than 5 hours of sleep due to acid reflux. I end up emailing my work at random hours of the night/morning - they love it ;)

We still haven't decided on a name. I guess we will wait and see if we think the baby looks like one of the names that we have come up with when she is born. Dr Quinn said that he can induce me 7 days early without a medical reason. I'm a little tempted to take him up on his offer but I also worry because my babies tend to be very small. I'm almost thinking of inducing maybe 3-4 days early just so we can plan around daycare for Emery, Ivan's work and school schedule and the good old Utah Football schedule. Is it funny that we aren't planning around anything for me?

Emery's Big Girl Room

We have successfully had Emery in her new room for 6 days now. Ivan and I were both worried about the transition, but honestly, we should have known better. Emery has been great with every transition into becoming a big girl.

We did however, take the crib apart based on advice from other parents. I pushed Ivan to do it so we were forced to make the plunge and didn't have the option of giving in and putting Emery back into her crib. I think it helped Emery since we could tell her that she had to sleep in her big girl bed since her crib was broken. There's nothing wrong with parents telling a little white lie right?

The first night, I rocked Emery and sang to her and put her down. She kept saying, "Mama sleep with me, Mama cuddle with me". It was really hard not to lay down with her but I knew that if I started that habit, I would be in for a lot of trouble. So I told her that I couldn't, tucked her in and left the room. About 2 minutes later, I heard the pitter patter of little feet on the kitchen floor. She was up asking for band aids for her knee (she had a nasty fall a few days before this). I gave her band aids and tucked her back in. She went to sleep and stayed in her room all night. Since then, she's gotten up here and there - at max, once per night. She usually just comes into our room saying "Mama, Mama" gets me up just to hold her hand and walk her back to her room to tuck her in. She's been doing really good with napping in her new room as well.



Below are Emery's bears that she just has to sleep with. I try to limit the number of stuffed animals that she gets because it seems like any new one she gets, she just has to sleep with. Pretty soon her bed with be covered with them. And if she doesn't have one when she goes to sleep, she knows it and won't go to sleep until she has every single one.Left to right -
Snake and "Nemo" - Auntie Silv and Uncle D bought her these when they took her to the Aquarium a few months ago
Maya's Bear - Makayla brought this to Utah with her on her last visit and left it for Emery.
Puppy - I got this from Cyprus CU when I opened Emery's savings account
Elmo - good old Elmo - he's been around for a long time
Pink Puppy - I know this isn't a puppy but I called it that one day and it just stuck. This is the cutest stuffed animal. My Aunt Wanda bought one of these for all of the babies born around the time Emery was born. You can push on it's paw and it tells little baby prayers.

Dance Class - Week One

I recently signed Emery up for dance classes. I wanted to find a way to get her interacting with other kids and I found a dance class that would work perfectly with my schedule. The first class was last night at 6p. I rushed out of work right at 230p (this never happens) so we could get home to get in a decent nap. We woke up from nap time, got into the cute little leotard, tights and skirt and headed off.

There were only 8 girls in the class and the teacher was great with them. However, Emery wouldn't let me leave the dance room during the entire 45 minute class. She also wouldn't leave my side and join the other little girls for the dance class. I expected her to struggle a little (she's also a tad young for the class/age group) but I figured she would warm up to it within the 45 minutes. She did start copying the teacher and other girls a couple of times during the class so we made a little progress.

Then, near the end, Emery said she had to go potty. As I was walking her out of the room - she peed her pants. She's had a few accidents lately and we are struggling with potty training regression. Then, as we get into the bathroom, Emery sees a fly which she is convinced is a bee. She starts screaming and crying because she is TERRIFIED of bees. There we were, in the bathroom, me trying to figure out the best way to get Emery home without me having a spare change of clothes and she's freaking out screaming and crying about the 'bee'. It was quite the bathroom experience to say the least! We finally got out of the bathroom and headed home.

So, week one of dance class wasn't the best experience, but we will keep at it. I'm hoping she will really warm up to dance classes in the next few weeks. My next plan of attack will be to have Ivan take her to see if she's more willing to participate. Needless to say, no pictures from this week - my plan was to take some once we got home. Stay tuned for pictures and an update on the dance class experience next week.

Daddy and Daughter

Just a couple of cute pictures of Ivan and Emery .. Emery loves rough housing with her Papa and he loves his little girl to pieces. They are so cute together!

32 Weeks

Time continues to fly by. I was 32 weeks on Wednesday and still going strong. Everything is going really well and my Dr appts are quick and to the point. At my last appt, Dr Quinn asked me twice if I had any concerns, questions, pains, etc and my response was, "nope, I feel fine". He then asked me if he could see patients like me all day long. I jokingly (with some true seriousness to it) said that we could have my appts over the phone and I'd be fine with it.

There's just something about driving all the way from work in West Valley to the Dr in Riverton every 2 weeks for a 15 min appt that includes being weighed, peeing in a cup and hearing the heartbeat. It's nice to hear the heartbeat, but when I feel the baby moving all of the time, I pretty much know everything is fine. I guess I should just be grateful that I'm having another uneventful pregnancy, right?

Anyway, we are starting to make some progress on preparing for baby #2. We finally traded in my Accord for an Armada (hoping to post picutres of "Mama's big car" as Emery calls it). Yes, I have thoroughly convinced myself that a new car was required in the preparation for baby #2. We also bought and put together Emery's big girl furniture. We still need to get a mattress and move all of her clothes to her new room before I can start sorting through all of the bins of baby clothes/gear that I have in our storage room. That's next on the list.

Names - nope, still don't have any. I like Aliya, but I'm not in love with it quite yet. 7 1/2 weeks or less to go so we better get on it.

Lagoon Day

We headed out to Lagoon earlier in the month when Makayla was here (yes, I'm WAY behind on blogging once again). We went the weekend of July 4th and it was the perfect time to go. The weather was decent and there weren't any lines for any of the rides. Unfortunately, I was only able to go on a whopping 2 rides - the carousel and one haunted house but we still had a great time overall.

The whole gang ..


Emery loved most of the kiddie rides. It was funny because she got shy when she came around to where we were standing and could see her. For the first few rounds of each ride, she would bury her face and not look up at anyone. But, she loved them all.
Ivan and my Mom even took her on some swings and she liked those too.
Sweet cousins

This is a ladybug ride that shoots you straight up in the air and then has some pretty large drops. The first time people went, Ivan took Emery on it. Not the greatest idea - she cried the entire time. They also took Emery into the haunted house right at the entrance of Lagoon as the first ride - once gain, not a great idea. Emery came out of the ride saying, "I scared of monsters". We continue to hear a lot of "I scared of monsters" to this day. Oops - hopefully we haven't scarred her for life.