Swing Swing

On Monday, Ezra had his 2 month appointment. I really loved Liam and Ezra's pediatricians in Vegas, so I was really nervous that I would not like the random doctor I chose for this appointment! However, he was awesome. Also, he had never met anyone from Las Vegas! We waited for a long time, and Liam would not stop playing with the drinking fountain in the waiting room. They finally called us back and weighed Ez, who came in at 13lbs! Then the doctor came in and poked and prodded my little man, which was FASCINATING to Liam. He pointed to all of Ezra's body parts for the doctor and was especially excited when it came to look at Ezra's "EARS"!

The nurse came in to give Ez his shots which is always so sad to see, and it made Liam sad, too. He told me "crying crying" as I calmed his little brother down. We then got to the car, and as I went to open Liam's door, he pressed the button that locks the doors, so it got stuck. I then had to slam the door, to get it to relatch so I could unlock it again. Little did I know, Liam's finger was trying to open the door and I slammed it inside. :( Liam and I then sat in the parking lot and cried with each other for a minute. I felt so bad that I then bought him some fries and took him to the park. Good news is, his finger is fine now!

On Wednesday, we went to the park again with a few of our friends. We love this park! The first time I took Liam, I literally had to drag him home. We play in the "Tot Lot" side, which has a giant castle complete with secret tunnels and a slide, two digging sand pits with tractor diggers, musical pipes, a schoolhouse with actual chalkboard, a train, a helicopter, a bouncing tire, an alligator, swings, and a table with checkerboard on top. Around the playground is a fun nature walking trail that we have done a couple times with our handy dandy double stroller. Okay... I'll just show you too many pictures now.

The tractor digger

The helicopter

Liam driving the train. In front of him is the schoolhouse, to his right is the statue of liberty, and you can also see the bouncy tire thing.

The musical pipes.

Swinging with his buddy, Ross.

On the slide of the castle.

Oh yeah, Ezra was there, too. He also loves the park... I think.

On the nature trail.

Jason had a big statistics test on Wednesday which he was super worried about and he studied so so hard for! And guess what? He rocked it! he got a 93! We are so proud of him and all that he is doing. Thursdays are laundry day. This means I let Jason take the car to school and Liam and I pop popcorn and do loads and loads of laundry all day while watching movies. I've been rewatching Harry Potter, starting with #5, which is pretty fun. On Friday, I decided to take both boys to the grocery store with me, so I wouldn't have to go on Saturday which was a game day for Ole Miss, which means it's impossible to go anywhere! The fun thing about being in the South is that people will stop you and talk to you. I had a lot of people stop me and tell me what a good job I was doing with my two well behaved boys.

Liam and Ezra sharing popcorn and watching Harry Potter.

On Saturday, we took family pictures at Rowan Oak, which is William Falkner's home. I am looking forward to seeing the finished product! On Sunday, the bishop came over to visit with us, and then we had the missionaries over. I baked two loaves of pumpkin bread which turned out Ah'MAZing. In fact, I can't stop eating it. Here is the recipe: http://www.chef-in-training.com/2012/09/easy-pumpkin-bread/

Ezra takin a snooze on Mama.

Rowan Oak

Mississippi!

I promised my sister that once I got to Mississippi I would be much better about updating my blog. So far, I have not upheld that promise. Sorry, Katy! I am trying to make up for the last month of not blogging now.

I guess we would begin after Ezra's birth. Lucky for me, I got to go stay at my parents' house while I recovered and Jason "got" to finish packing up the house and then "got" to drive our car for three days to Oxford with no screaming children in the backseat! Liam, Ezra, and I all shared a bedroom for 3 weeks, which was kind of a pain in the behind and we didn't get much sleeping done. However, Liam managed to get Grandma and Grandpa wound very tightly around his little finger very quickly, which meant he got to eat cookies and candy whenever he wanted, rearrange all the cupboards in the kitchen, interrupt all of Grandpa's phone calls, and jump on Grandma's bed. Ezra got to be cuddled whenever he so much as made a peep and I got to relax and recover much more quickly than I would have had I been home on my own. We were so grateful for our fun time at their house and we were sad when it was time to leave, but we missed our Daddy WAY too much!

Liam watching baseball with Grandpa.

Liam liked to water the plants for Grandma while she sat on the porch with him.

Before Jason left, we blessed Ezra at the church with as many of our family as could come and with our beloved bishopric from Mission Hills ward. While the boys and I were still in Vegas, we got visits from my sister Katy AND my sister Maggie who wanted to snuggle Ezra before he moved across the country!

So many cute cousins with Grandma and Grandpa!

Ezra's blessing, with Gma and Gpa Bello and Gma and Gpa Elton.

Before we knew it, it was time to get on a plane to fly to Tennessee! Luckily, "Pa" (Grandma Elton) came with us! Boy did I need the help, with two babies, two carseats, a stroller, a suitcase, and two carry on bags!!! Liam did great on the airplane. Each time the plane took off, he wanted to pat pat on his lap and then raise his arms and "Blast Off!" (Little Einsteins rocket style). We barely had a 45 minute layover in Charlotte. We made it to our tiny airplane on time to board. It was the kind of plane where you had to walk outside to the plane and then go up the stairs. As I was checking the stroller outside, I turned around to see a line of people forming at the bottom of the stairs and my two year old climbing up the steep steps of the plane all by himself! It was a funny moment. Ezra also did great, but he got to be held all day long, so why wouldn't he do great?!

Liam insisted on sitting in the window seat on our second flight.

Liam fast asleep on our first flight.

Jason picked us up in Memphis and we were all so excited to see our Daddy!!! We ate at Corky's BBQ in Memphis and then drove an hour South to Oxford, MS,our new home! My mom stayed with us for the next 4 days and was a huge help to me as we got settled in our house. We unpacked boxes, washed clothes, found places for everything, hung curtains, and cooked food. It was a lot of work! That Saturday, my mom watched Ezra while Liam, Jason, and I went to our first Ole Miss football game. It was a lot of fun and a great introduction into Southern football culture.

It was a long walk to the game. Luckily, someone stopped and gave us a ride.

At his first ever football game!

My mom left me and I was so sad! Some girls in my new ward were getting together that night and invited me over, so I didn't feel so lonely. It was fun to make some friends so quickly! I spent the following days orienting myself to Oxford, discovering parks, the library, and finishing getting the house set up. I am finally feeling settled, and I am very happy to be here. I will try to be better about updating the blog so I can share our adventures with you in more detail. Here are some pictures to tide you over in the mean time.

We're always so happy when Daddy comes home! 

Liam is a good big brother.

Liam's first bike! In his pretty green front yard.

Ezra is getting so big and is learning to play with his big boy toys.

Ezra's Birth

As many of you know, I had an emergency C Section. However, not very many people know why, so I thought I would share Ezra's birth story.

I had my first contraction around 4:30 in the morning. I timed my contractions for an hour before waking Jason. J's first question was, "What do you need me to do?" to which I replied that he needed to wake up and get dressed while I called my mom. His second question was, "Can I go for a run?" To which I replied, "No honey, I need you to be here in case my water breaks." Seriously. If you want to have a hilarious conversation with someone, just wake J up from a deep sleep. Anyway, I then called my mom so she could come tend Liam while we headed to the hospital.

My mom arrived around 6:30a and we jumped in her car to drive to the hospital. By this time my contractions were about 3 minutes apart and very painful. When we arrived at the hospital, we had to go in the emergency room entrance and park very far away due to the early morning hours and an absurd amount of construction in the parking lot. I somehow managed to walk with Jason all the way from the car up to the third floor maternity ward. It was 7:00a which meant a shift change for the nurses which meant an unnecessary wait time for me. I overheard one nurse say to the other, "Yeah, that girl thinks she's in labor." She was lucky she wasn't close to me at the time because I would have punched her in the face. They FINALLY checked me at 7:30a and found I was at a six, fully effaced, with contractions only about a minute and a half apart.

This is when I started to lose track of time because my contractions became SO painful. With Liam, my contractions were painful, but not unbearable, and I received an epidural early enough where I really felt nothing. This time, I was FEELING it and I was screaming. I never scream. Ever. I was screaming. And begging for my epidural. Around this time, my sweet Sister-in-law Karalyn arrived. Karalyn is unable to have children of her own and has always wanted to see a live birth, so a few weeks earlier I had invited her to be there. Besides my mom, she was the only one who knew we were even at the hospital. So, she arrives and I am screaming. And they can't find the anesthesiologist. Seriously. He was MIA and I was about to murder everyone until he was found. Lucky for everyone, the anesthesiologist heard my screams from the hallway as he was on his way to a C Section (which would have left him indisposed for 40 minutes). He came in and gave me my epidural, no questions asked, didn't even have my bloodwork back to know if it was safe, wonderful, sweet sweet man. I am prepared to pay him the exuberant amount of money that I'm sure I owe him because my insurance sucks.

Immediately after I received my epidural, Dr. Juarez arrived. Now for a quick aside about how wonderful THIS man is. He has been my doctor for 3 years and we have gone to the same church for about two. I have been able to get to know him and his sweet wife and it has made me love him even more. He has the most wonderful bedside manner of any doctor on this earth. He is calming and reassuring even when he is breaking terrible news to you. I had had my weekly check up with him the Thursday before I went into labor with Ezra, and I asked him if he would be on call that weekend (he was not on call to deliver Liam). He thought for a moment, and said, "I'm not on call, but I don't know what I'm doing this weekend. Let me write you a note to give to the hospital letting them know they can call me." So, I had this wonderful note which astounded the labor and delivery nurses, but it got him there to be with me.

So, Dr. Juarez arrives after the epidural and he checks me. It was no surprise to me that I was fully dilated and effaced. He broke my water and said we could begin pushing. He then took a seat by my bedside and never left me. In my mind, Ezra would arrive within the hour. After two hours of pushing, it was clear this baby was not budging. Basically, with each push he would move down, but once the contraction ended he would go back up. Dr. J was not sure why it was happening (it could be a number of reasons). He then told me that he could try forceps or we could move ahead with a C section. I told him I trusted him with the forceps and we went ahead with that. All this time I have been losing a LOT of blood. More than normal. Also, right towards the end, Ezra's heart rate would start to drop and then go back up, so we needed to get him out quick.

Suddenly there were an extra 7 people in my room. I was introduced to someone who was a respiratory therapist "just in case", a NICU nurse "just in case", and a bunch of other scary "just in case" people. Then they brought out the forceps. Terrifying. If it were not Dr. J, I would never have agreed to them. On my next contraction, Dr. Juarez began working with the forceps, but lo and behold, baby Ezra was NOT coming out. Dr. Juarez put his arm around me and told me we would need to move ahead with a C section. I immediately began to cry. I was tired, I was scared, I didn't want a C section, but I knew it was the only way to get my baby here safe. Jason then asked Dr. Juarez if he would join him in giving me a priesthood blessing. Like I wasn't crying enough?! Without hesitation, Dr. Juarez agreed and he and Jason lay their hands on my head and gave me a blessing of comfort and health. It was truly amazing to me that Dr. Juarez not only stayed by my side throughout this whole process, but that he was willing to use his Priesthood to comfort me when I needed it most. Click here to learn more about the Priesthood.

It was then time to rush me into the OR. Again I was surrounded by a gazillion nurses I didn't recognize. They pushed my bed down a hallway into a very cold room, hauled me onto a table, stripped me down, pulled a curtain over my face, started explaining to me what was going to happen, and then... there was my favorite anesthesiologist again! Whose name is Dr. Kim, by the way. Dr. Kim starts explaining to me all the different types of drugs he's about to pump into me and that's when everything sort of gets hazy. I am very aware of where I am, I am shaking uncontrollably from all the meds, I've stopped crying, and all I want to do is go to sleep. Suddenly Jason is by my side talking to me and then even more suddenly, I hear a baby crying! All of the nurses start exclaiming, "He's perfect! So perfect!" ...and he was!

They held him up so I could see him, then cleaned him up, swaddled him, and brought him to me. I remember being so happy to see him, but I also think I started asking him why he had caused me so much trouble to get him here.

They then took him and Jason away and I promptly fell asleep. Yes. I was lying stark naked on an operating table with two men sewing my insides back into me, and I fell asleep. I do remember trying not to fall asleep, thinking how it was a strange place to fall asleep... but soon Dr. Juarez was waking me up and saying goodbye. The nurses then hauled me from the table back onto a bed, which promptly made me throw up. Bad idea. Apparently if you throw up or admit to being nauseous, they will not feed you for another 12 hours. They don't even care that all you've had to eat that day was a granola bar and some ice chips. They then wheeled me back into my room where I was greeted by a smiling/crying Karalyn and my sweet husband oohing and aahing over my baby. The nurse asked me if I wanted to hold him and my illogical, drugged up mind almost told her no because I wanted to go back to sleep. I did manage to tell her yes and I got to hold my sweet Ezra in my arms, feed him, and talk to him.

Most birth stories that are shared seem to be about everything going right. How a woman gracefully has her baby in a tub of warm water while being massaged by a doula or at home in her bed surrounded by everyone she loves. But boy am I glad I was at the hospital that day. I am grateful that Dr. Juarez spent over 4 hours by my side (which was the talk of the day around the nurses' lunch table apparently). I lost a lot of blood. My placenta tore. And, Ezra was facing "sunny side up" which is why he would not move down. It terrifies me to think what would have happened if I had been at home. I know many women who prefer this, so I am not bashing it in any way, just saying it's not for me. I would not recommend a C section, but I am grateful my baby came out so healthy and "perfect". Not everything always goes as we plan it, sometimes we have to adjust our plans to make everything turn out just as it is supposed to.

6 Weeks and Counting!

In six weeks and two days, my Sweet J will set out on the road with our dog, Abraham, and his good friend, Erik. It will take them about 3 days to drive all the way to Oxford where they will meet our moving truck at our new home in Mississippi! Liam, Baby, and I will stay here with my parents until baby is 4 weeks old, and then we will fly out to Memphis, TN where Sweet J will pick us up and take us to our new home in Oxford.

We are getting excited and anxious! We are mostly anxious about not knowing when our sweet new baby, Ezra, will arrive. It is hard to be organized and have a plan when such a big event could come any day!

Last month, for Father's Day, we took Liam to the circus. I made J and Liam matching bowties so they could dress up for the occasion. Liam loved it, but it was a lot for such a little guy to take in! And a long time to sit still!

Liam has also been taking a gymnastics class this summer and it is fun for him to be able to get all his wiggles out! Although he might like the fact that they give him a sticker after class better than the actual class, haha! He is growing and learning so much, it is fun to be around him.

Other than that, we have been packing, packing, packing, getting ready for baby, selling things we don't need to bring with us, and trying to stay cool amidst this horrifying heat! It is hard to explain to Liam why we can't go to the park when it is 117 degrees outside, but we have been watching lots of movies and even took him to see his first movie at the theaters: Monsters University! He was very well behaved and watched the whole thing. He's basically a Disney movie buff.

San Diego!!!

When Jason and I first started dating and then every year after we got married, we liked to go down to San Diego at least once a year. Ever since Liam has arrived, we have planned on going to San Diego at least three different times and EVERY time something has come up a day or two before the trip that has prevented us from going. So, we finally tentatively decided that when we sold our house we would take a little bit of time and money to go down to San Diego with Liam. We picked a date, tentatively booked a room, didn't buy tickets, and hardly told anyone we were going since we were afraid that once again we'd have to cancel our trip! So, the day came, we loaded up the car, loaded up Liam, and Jason went to get his wallet which he found and which we soon realized, was missing his credit card. But, fear not! It was still at the restaurant we ate at two nights previously, so after an hour delay we were finally on the road!

Not sure about all this sand...

Our first stop, after the hotel, was the beach! Liam was not thrilled about getting back in the car and was very skeptical of all that sand! However, once we took him out to the water, he was SO excited. This little boy loves water. Liam went out into the ocean over and over again and was shivering like a little leaf he was SO cold! But, he didn't want to leave! It was pretty cold and windy, so finally we bribed him with a warm bath and some pizza and headed out to dinner. Sleeping in a hotel with Liam proved to be difficult the first night and we got very little sleep. We took Liam to the buffet for breakfast and he picked out his own cereal, you know those cute little boxes of cereal? He was thrilled! However, he got impatient waiting for me, so he got down a bowl for himself, plopped down on the floor of the dining room and tried with no luck to pour the cereal into the bowl all by himself. It was pretty cute.

Liam pointing to the Gorilla, who made sure to show me his "good" side.

Then it was off to our next adventure, The San Diego Zoo! It was mine and Liam's first time at this zoo and Holy Cow that is a lot of walking!! Especially when you are six months pregnant and running on very little sleep. If you've ever met my son, though, you know about his love of ALL animals. Seeing his face light up when he saw a REAL LIVE monkey for the first time made the whole trip worth it! He got pretty sad when we wouldn't let him hold any of the animals. He would coo and talk to them and reach out his two little hands, palm up in a very inviting manner for them to be cuddled, but we decided it probably wouldn't be a good idea. Especially with the giant gorilla.

Liam was just as thrilled about the statues as he was about the actual animals.

After about two hours, we left to take a drive so Liam could catch some zzz's in the car. We got some food and then went to the hotel in hopes he would take a rest there (which he did not). Then we headed back to the zoo to take in the last of the important animals, like the giraffes and the panda bears! When we got to the panda bears, there was a big crowd standing around watching the Mama and baby panda chow down on some bamboo. It was really quiet as everyone seemed to be pretty awestruck when all of a sudden, Liam very loudly exclaims, "AWWWWWWWW!" ...and reaches out his hands to cuddle them. Such a sweet boy! So, we went and bought him a little stuffed Panda at the gift shop which he was able to cuddle and rock in his arms to his hearts content. We then went back to the hotel where we got a good night's sleep. Well, Liam and I got a good night's sleep, but unfortunately my pregnant snoring kept Jason up.

Note, the elephants in the background, but Liam just really wanted to go play with the elephant statue some more!

The next morning I took Liam to the hotel pool even though it was still freezing cold, and then we headed back home. The ride home was a lot harder for Liam because my Nook had run out of batteries and so he could not play any of his cool apps and of course toys and books would not cut it! However, we made it home safe and sound and now we have some wonderful new memories of San Diego.

Changes: Baby #2, PhD's, and Mississippi

Oh, how many times have I told someone that I think I am a country girl trapped in the Southwest? However many times I said this, though, I never truly believed I would actually ever LIVE down South. I thought maybe one day I would be able to walk the streets of Memphis, attend a country music festival, stuff myself at a craw fish boil, and maybe stand on a beach with my toes in the Atlantic ocean. But, LIVING in the South never really crossed my mind as a reality. Until a few weeks ago when Jason got that life changing email inviting him to attend the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) for four years in order to earn his PhD in Business Management. Previous to that email, my mind had been in New Mexico, Washington, and maybe even in Indiana. I was floored and knew my world is about to get rocked.

Liam and the soon to be Dr. Owen

Even before we received confirmation that we would be moving across the country for four years, we were delighted to learn that we would be having a second child! We got this news in December and soon after went in for an ultrasound to see how far along I was. The ultrasound revealed... nothing, and we were sent home with the news that we should expect a miscarriage in the next couple weeks (Christmastime, of course.) After much crying and worrying, no miscarriage ever occurred and I found myself back in the doctor's office looking at a new ultrasound with a small white bean on it. When the heartbeat was found and sounded over the speakers I could not believe it. I have NEVER been so happy to hear a heartbeat! On March 21 we found out we're having another little boy whose name is still to be determined.

Can not wait to have another cute little boy around to brighten my day!

The amazing part of all of this is that it will ALL be happening in August. All of it. Baby is due August 16th. Jason needs to begin his drive across the country August 16th. We're in the process of selling our house to investors who will let us rent the house from them until, you guessed it, August.

How am I feeling about all of this? Depends on the day. Excited, apprehensive, nervous, happy, sad, scared, you name it! Frankly, I just wish it were October already and my baby was here and we were all there and on with our lives. It will be a grand adventure for us, that is for certain!

Easter egg hunting with Mama

January 2013

January was a fun month for us. Everyone finally became healthy again and the weather became warmer again!

Liam enjoying apples dipped in peanut butter and Nutella! Yum!

Jason continues to write essays, fill out applications, and stress about getting into a PhD program. He has also started a Calculus II class to help prepare him better for a PhD program and because he just doesn't have enough to worry about already.

I turned 25 which seems to be a good age to me. I mean, I don't feel much younger or older than 25, so I think I will just stay 25 from now on! My mom babysat for us on my birthday and Jason took me out for dinner to Geisha, my favorite hibachi restaurant. We then went home and watched the Rebels beat San Diego State at San Diego State. Thanks for the awesome birthday surprise, Rebels! The following week my friends, Aubrey and Katie took me out to get a Pizzookie (pizza cookie) from BJ's and it was delicious!

Liam practicing his ball skills for his future stint on the Runnin' Rebels team.

Liam has been associating things this month. For example, when he has a sippy cup of water, he periodically walks over to our water dispenser, pretends to fill up his cup, and then resumes drinking. He also likes to throw TRASH away now which is much better than throwing away our favorite toys. He steals tissues in order to "wipe" his nose. He figured out how to open doors. He brings me his shoes and jacket when he wants to go play outside and he can show me where his nose, eyes, ears, and belly button are! Basically he's the smartest one year old I know.

 

My little adventurer playing in the dirt.

We went as a family to see Disney on Ice because Jason got free tickets and it was at the Thomas and Mack Center which is where we go to watch basketball games. As we were walking up, Liam was getting excited and telling us, "Ball!" But, when we got inside and instead of a basketball court, there was an ice rink and giant castle, he kept asking, "Ball, go?... Ball, go?" He was super confused, but I think it was somewhat entertaining for him as well.

Super confused at Disney on Ice.