Beauty Queen

This is my adorable little sister. She's 20 years old, has a heart of gold, and had one of the best weeks of her life this week. She's a Beauty School Graduate!!!! She looks awesome here, by the way. On Wednesay, the 11th, her school had a miniature ceremony just for Jodi. She got to sit in a hair-chair with balloons while everyone at the beauty college who knew her got to say nice things about her & congratulate her accomplishments. Mr. McCoy, her teacher said some wonderful things about her smile & the energy she brings to a room. He also talked about her determination & accomplishment in finishing at Earl's Academy as it hasn't been an easy road. He said it was awesome to get to see the look in her eyes when she saw her score on her final examination & knew that it meant she passed & was done with her program. He said that she was so excited & kept saying, "I've got to tell them, I've got to tell them," but he needed her to get some paperwork first & he said that he couldn't get it fast enough, b/c she was so excited to share the news with her family.
Jodi and I have been study partners for the last couple of months. She's been at my house almost every single day for the last couple of months. She's been studying for hours at a time as I've been calling myself the "Test Nazi". Holy cow were there so many tests to take. She's been working so hard! She's made hundreds of flashcards, answered and re-answered hundreds of workbook questions, read and re-read chapters from the text book, and tested on tough material--some of which I had no understanding of because it was so hard and I had to learn it with her in order to be able to help her with it. She has tested and re-tested, and let me tell you, graduating beauty school isn't an easy thing to do. I'm so proud of her for her accomplishment; she's earned her diploma all the way.

I couldn't stop crying when she called me on Monday after she took her final and said, "Guess what?! I passed my final!" I was pretty honored when I realized I was the first one she called (even before Mom & Dad). That meant a lot to me & I was so excited to share those precious moments with her over the telephone. She told me thanks for working with her, and I told her she was worth it. It's really been a blessing for me to have her over at my house every day. I feel we've become closer as sisters & know each other better. I love her so much, because she loves me despite all of my flaws, and I'm lucky to have her as my sister.
Because her ceremony was on Veteran's Day, it was actually pretty easy to make sure all of the family could get there. I'm so glad we all made it to celebrate with Jodi--she deserved a party! It's kind of hard to tell in this photo, but Erin & I crowned the "Beauty Queen" with a flashy pink & sparkly sash that Erin made, and a tiara with flower on on it that I found. It was fun to have her wear that--it even matched her outfit.

Denise had her Baby!

Denise and I found out that we were both pregnant...you know, before we were telling people we were pregnant. : ) We were both sick at school at the same time, and excited to be expecting. I remember the day she came into my classroom & hugged me, it was so funny, because Stacy knew we were both pregnant and was like, well, don't tell Denise I told you, but she's pregnant, too, and then Denise came into my classroom after she dropped her kids off at a special or recess or something & she already knew (from Stacy) that I was prego, too. We were due a month apart, and she had her adorable little Ryker on the 6th of November. I got to go see her on the 10th & I took Emmett. It's amazing what a month can do--Emmett looks like a beast next to a 4 day old baby! : ) The boys were both born about the same size. Ryker was 8 lbs 4 oz, and Emmett was 8 lbs 6 oz. Look how small Denise is already...some people have all the luck! :) That's okay, she can still be my friend...even if she is skinny ALL THE TIME. I'm excited she has a couple months off of school--we'll be planning a play date for the newborns...they can lay on a blanket next to each other. LOL By the way, they are totally matching & we didn't even plan it.

Surprise Visit

Lindsay (Blair) Hancock surprised me yesterday with a visit! I was so excited! It meant a lot to me that she called & swung by. I haven't seen her since her wedding 3 years ago, and it was awesome to catch up. Her kids are adorable and happen to be the same ages as my kids, so we took a picture. It's so fun to have little tykes at the same age. Raylee & Tyson are both 2, and Rider & Emmett are both a few weeks old...well, Ryder is a few weeks more than Emmett, but they're still close in age. I really wish that our families lived close together like we used to, so we could see each other all the time. She's a fabulous friend, and one I miss having around.

Too much fun

I enjoyed Haloween this year; it's a great time to be neighborly, and both Mitch and I had the opportunity to visit with neighbors who we don't get to see that often. We live on a great street, and it's good to get to know our neighbors better.

The Boys' First Halloween as brothers!!!! (Emmett, you crack us up!)

Tyson made the neighbors all laugh, because he was bouncing around like Tigger. He had been practicing his bounce for Halloween. He was so cute knocking on doors, saying Trick-or-treat, and thank you. He told me this year, "I love Halloween! I love candy!"

This was our special "Jack-o-lantern" pizza from Papa Murphey's. We could barely eat it between the constant ringing of the doorbell. Tyson kept hopping up between bites to run to the door & pass out candy. He was as excited to pass out the goods as he was to dress up & go out himself.

Here we are at the ward party. Tyson was in his giraffe costume that night (the one that he picked out months ago at Costco, and the one that I had to con him into wearing). Unfortunately, Tyson shoved the giraffe hood off of his head right before the picture. There's NO WAY I'll be able to get him in that costume for a picture again this year. *sigh* Oh well. It really was cute when he walked around in it. Mitch and I were dressed up as the scariest thing we could think of: Pres. Obama & his wife. Haha! The funniest part was that I said that to people & got a bunch of mixed reactions, so I decided I would just let it be & quit saying that to everyone.

A couple weeks ago, we went to the Pumpkin Patch. Tyson was so excited & loved the pumpkin patch. He's got an awesome memory. You could ask him about it even now, and he'd tell you everything we did there: decorated pumpkins & put stickers on them, saw goats, chickens, pigs & a cow, played in a bouncy thing, went in a maze. It was a trip worth making.

Here's Tyson with his friends that came with us, Mike & Jake.

Baby Days...Can't Get Enough!

His baby faces crack me up!

I set this little play house up in our front room so Tyson can entertain himself when I can't.

He won't fit in the sink for much longer!

I love his fuzzy hair after a bath...it reminds me of a baby chick.

Mitch doesn't wake up to nurse multiple times a night, but he feels like a zombie, too. Often he'll fall asleep on the ground in Tyson's room singing him to sleep, or I'll find him passed out on the floor in front of Emmett's swing, because he sits there giving him a pacifier so I can get some shut eye in the middle of the night. Or, other times, I'll find him on the couch with the boys. I love him. He's working so hard. It's hard to find time to be a dad when you're working full time and attending college, but he does a great job, and there's no question in the boys' minds whether or not their dad loves them--he shows it every time he's around them, no matter how short that time may be.

We dressed up for the Lovell's Halloween party--Mitch was Pres. Obamam (SCARY!), and Emmett was a bear. Maybe we'll have better luck on Halloween night getting Tyson to dress up. I'd like to get a picture of the boys in costumes together this year, but it may be a struggle to get Tyson to wear a costume..."I not like it" he says, or "I wear it tomorrow."

Tyson thinks Emmett is a great little brother, but he doesn't understand the concept that it makes him a brother, too. We'll ask Tyson if Emmett is his little brother and he says, yes, and then we'll ask him if he's a big brother and he'll make a face & shake his head as he says, "No, I not a brother." He is a fabulous big brother, though. He makes sure to tell me things like, "He hungry again," or he'll give him a pacifier and say, "He happy now." Whenever Emmett spits up, and I ask for the burp rag, Tyson will say something like, "Eww, he burp up!" It's fun, and Tyson is a good helper, finding satisfaction when I grant him permission to hold him or to take care of him. Tyson still ooohs and ahhhs over Emmett, and exclaims often, "He so cute! I love Baby Emmett!" The pure love of a brother is so sweet to me.

I knew I would love my 2nd child, but it still amazes me how immediately equal of a love I felt with Emmett. When I had Tyson, I had never felt that type of a love before & it brought a whole new dimension to my life, changing me forever. When I had Emmett, it's like my heart grew, and I love them equally, as if Emmett has been around as long as Tyson, too. I could never live without either of them in my life. I'm so lucky to be their mom.

Emmett Joseph

ANNOUNCING: Emmett Joseph! Born September 30, 2009

8 pounds 6 oz, 21.5 inches long

I love this baby; he is so mellow! It was actually neat to get to spend a day in the hospital with just me & the baby. It'll probably be the only day we'll have together as just Mommy & son for a long time. There's nothing wrong with sharing time with Tyson and Emmett, but having 2 kids is different than having 1, and I was glad to have a day alone with my second son. It's fun to see his personality already. From the moment he was born, I could tell he's got a personality all of his own. He's so easy right now--he doesn't squirm in his sleep, he calms himself down fairly easily, and he's not fussy.

Mitch did a better job with the delivery this time around--he didn't get queesy! He's a proud daddy (and handsome, too).

Emmett, "Burrito style".

Me & Emmett

I love him!

Labor was awesome, despite my fears. This time around the epidural worked and I didn't feel every pain like last time...I actually didn't really like that, though, while I was in delivery, because I had to be told when I was having a contraction and when I should push. Fortunately, the labor part was fast this time, and Emmett was in my arms quickly.

Tyson holding his baby brother for the first time. He was so excited!

Because of all of the precautions with the Swine Flu, no children under 12 are allowed to visit any of the hospital floors, even if they are siblings. I was sad about that, but fortunately my hospital stay was only a couple of days and Tyson came with Mitch last night to bring me & the baby home. We took these shots as a family in the lobby as we were taking Emmett home.

Seeing Tyson run down the hall was one of the sweetest moments of my life. He saw me & the baby and said, "Mommy, Mommy! Baby Emmett!" Tyson's voice was full of emotions--it was a mix of, "where have you been the last few days", excitement, nervousness in the new setting, and happiness at seeing his baby brother. The lady pushing my wheel chair stopped & Tyson crawled up on my lap; after exclaiming "He cute," Tyson gave Emmett a hug and kiss. He then held my hand and walked along the wheelchair as we headed to the exit. He was smiling so big and as we loaded my kids in the car he was so excited to be in a car seat next to Emmett. He giggled as he said, "He cute, he cute!" and then he repeated a couple times, "I love Emmett." It was such a precious moment in time.

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Monday, September 28, 2009

This whole pregnancy, I've kind of avoided taking prego shots of myself. Then I looked at my summer time pictures on my blog & realized I've got chubby photos of myself all over the place, so I might as well just embrace the pregnancy image while I've got it even if I am excited to get skinny again after Emmett arrives. I've only got a couple days of pregnancy left anyway--it's about time I accept what I look like. : )

This pregnancy has been so different than what I expected. It's been way harder than I ever imagined. I really didn't know how good I had it when I was expecting with Tyson. I truly understand the meaning now of being "heavy with child". This experience has weighed heavily on my mind, emotions, and physical capabilities.

• I expected to have to take the hormone progesterone in the first trimester. That wasn't any big deal to me, because I knew it was coming (I can't keep a pregnancy unless I take the hormone for the first 12-14 weeks). I thought things were going great, because this time around my body accepted the pill form the entire time & I didn't have to do daily shots.
• Then the morning sickness came. Oh, was that lovely. It was so lovely when I had to leave my classroom to puke in the school bathroom. It's a little funny now, but was not so easy then. With my first viable pregnancy I threw up a total of 5 or 6 times. Once I was doing that in one day I realized things were not going to get better for me without some help. After a month of being ridiculously sick I got the "magic pills" and thought things were looking like they'd return to "normal".
• As soon as the Zofran started kicking in I found I had placenta previa, so the normal idea went right out the window as I had to quit exercizing, walking any sort of distance a regular person could walk, quit lifting my toddler, or laundry baskets, or vacuuming. If I didn't follow the doctor's rules, the reprocussions were scary, because I had spotting and cramping. Fortunately with a lot of faith and prayers, it corrected and I'm just glad I didn't have to go on complete bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy. From the time I was sick to the time my placenta previa corrected, it was seriously all I could do to teach every day. It took me all of my evenings and weekends to recover enough to go back the next work day with enough energy to do it all over again. I'm so lucky I had the best class in the world.
• About the time my placenta previa was correcting, the school year was ending, so I was pulling my hair out in general anyway with all of the final projects we were doing, getting grades done, and packing my classroom.
• Then I suffered the longest and most terrible summer of my entire life. Summer used to be my favorite season of the year. It probably will be again someday, but it's my least favorite season when I'm pregnant. It's now my least favorite time to pay the SRP bill, too.
• Oh, yeah, I had to get my wedding ring cut off due to so much swelling (it got resized from a 5 ¾ to an 8 ½ ). Fortunately in 6 months I can go back and get it sized back down for free.
• As my belly grew I had weeks of back and abdominal pain and muscle straining. (I had to get a "pre-natal cradle" brace type of contraption. So fashionable!) After I got the back corrected by the chiropractor, I thought my life would return to "normal"...I've got to quit wishing for that!!!!
• That's when my final school check got spent & we had to adjust our income for realzies. I'll just say that's been quite an adjustment as we've been paying COBRA insurance as well.
• THEN I found out I had an infection that awakened chronic fatigue. About the time I started to break out of the 4-6 weeks of fatigue I had to start taking medicine for other infections.
• Now, my belly is so large I can't roll over & it takes so much more effort to do anything a regular person would do, and the abdominal straining has returned, but the good news is that delivery is right around the corner.

This pregnancy has been quite the ride. I think that I will choose to not expect anything to be normal about labor and delivery...that way I may possibly be pleasantly surprised. It's been a long road these past 9 months. All in all, I feel fortunate that I'm having another baby. Sweet Baby Emmett, you may never know or understand everything I went through to get you here, but I do know that it was worth it. I love you so much & I can't wait to meet you.

...And I Thought I Loved You Then

Today is our 5th Wedding Anniversary! Mitchell re-arranged a crazy work & school schedule so that we could celebrate our day on the actual anniversary date. That meant a lot to me. He started the day out by cutting our watermelon in heart shapes. :) What a sap!
He found a baby-sitter (my mother-in-law, Myrna), and took me out to lunch at Macaroni Grill and dessert at Neilson's Frozen Custard. 5 years ago, we had planned everything for our wedding day to a T, except for lunch. We finished pictures at the temple and realized we didn't have lunch planned. We ended up at Macaroni Grill that day in our wedding clothes with Darby, our cousin & photographer. It was fun. We actually haven't been back there until today.

I think about the last 5 years and I just want to cry (with happiness of course). Mitchell has filled my life with so much joy, and because we got married we have experienced so many fabulous things together. I love our little family of 3 (soon to be 4). I thought I loved Mitch 5 years ago, and the love I have for him now is so much deeper than I thought it could be. I thought it was as deep as it could go already, but I had no clue about how it could just keep growing.

Me & Mitch last year.

This photo above is an accurate description of how crazy I've made his life (my crazy schedule, habits, and whims have infiltrated everything we do together). This photo below shows how sublime he's made my life.

I love you so much, Babe!

We're so lucky we got to start our journey together on September 17, 2004 by being sealed in the Mesa, AZ temple. Eternity has got to be amazing if these last 5 years have been so wonderful. I can't wait so see where it takes us!

We had the coolest wedding cake EVER.