Long Time No Post

I haven't been posting of late because I almost never have time to sit at the computer uninterrupted. Also, I haven't been taking pictures with my real camera (sorry, Dad!) so I've just been posting pictures and videos to my Facebook page because I can do it from my iPhone. If Blogger and the iPhone would get together, I would blog from my phone, but until that day, my blog will just suffer. Oh well. But, I'll try to bring you up to speed. (This is going to be all text for now. I'll try to do a picture post later when Matt is home to watch the chillens.)

Robert's 2 Month stats:

23.5 in long (55%)

12 lbs 14oz (60%)

40cm head circ (73%)

Scott's stats at 22 months:

(we didn't do an 18-month appt for some reason)

32.5 in tall (10%)

22lbs 2oz (8%)

51cm head circ (98%)

Matt's 30th Birthday was on Sept 16. I tried for the first time to surprise him with things he would really like. Matt hates to be surprised because he doesn't want the pressure of reacting correctly to a present he may not want. So the expectation of getting a present always makes him uneasy and anxious. So, I have usually just said he could get something he has been asking me to buy for a year or so, like an xbox or a playstation or something. So, I haven't really done anything for him for the past 4 years, so he didn't anticipate anything. Well, I had a friend knit a Sackboy from a game Matt loves called Little Big Planet. He's a knitted character in the game, and Matt had no idea I had someone make it, so he was blown away. I gave it to him the night before his birthday because he had had a really crummy day at work, so I decided he needed to know his birthday was going to be special. In the morning, Scotty and Bobby and I went to a grocery store and got Oreos, milk, and 2 balloons and brought them to him at work. I sent Scott down the little aisle of cubicles to hand him the balloons and he was really unsure what he was supposed to do until he saw Matt. Then he dropped the balloons and took off running. It was super cute. I took a few pictures, but they're not great, what with the awful industrial lighting and whatnot. Anyway, he walked us out to the car and then we went home. Then I had a friend come over to help with the kids while I went to buy Matt's other presents. I had to wait until the day of his birthday because otherwise Matt would have seen the purchases on our bank account. So, I bought tickets to see Captain America at 10:30pm that night and a day pass to Stone Summit, a rock climbing gym very near our house which happens to be the biggest in the nation. And I went to get all the stuff we needed for sushi. Then I made cookie dough and spread it over the whole cookie sheet to make a cake. I tried to decorate it using mini M&Ms, but they sunk into the dough as it baked so it didn't turn out, but it tasted good! When Matt came home from work, we made sushi and put Scotty to bed. Then, I surprised Matt with the movie tickets. He had been wanting to see Captain America since it came out, but he's been working a ton, and Bobby is so young and doesn't take a bottle well, that we just hadn't done it. So he was very excited, giddy even, until our neighbor arrived to babysit while we were gone. Then after the movie, I gave him the day pass to Stone Summit. I think he had a good day, and I felt like I did really well getting him stuff he wanted, but weren't super expensive. The only downside to the night was that Bobby cried most of the time we were gone because he wouldn't take a bottle. So, I'm not going out without Bobby until he's eating solids, I guess. :( Ah well.

Scott's 2nd birthday was on Sept 30. We went to the grocery store in the morning and got his birthday balloons. (He kind of had a cow while we were getting Matt's balloons because he saw one with Thomas on it.) So, we got a Thomas balloon and a Cars balloon and he loves them. We also bought his cake mix, frosting, and Cars cupcake wrappers. He helped me make the cupcakes a little later in the day. When Matt got home from work we had French toast and sausage, one of Scott's favorite dinners. Then, we made a huge mistake and took Scott to Toys R Us. We hadn't had any time to shop for Scott because Matt has been working from basically 8 to 8 everyday and I didn't want to go with Scott. Anyway, he just started saying No to everything we suggested and then had a complete freak-out when we left the store. We ended up getting him a Thomas trackmaster set, a Mr. Potato Head, a little slide, and a couple of books. He enjoys them now that he's away from all of the other toys at the store. And I honestly can't remember when we had cupcakes, I think it was right before bed. We put a couple of candles in his cupcake, but he wouldn't blow them out. He just wanted to stare at the fire. Matt kept relighting the candles and blowing them out over and over. Scotty loved it. He also got cards and money from both grandparents (which, combined, bought him a tricycle--which is probably what he really wanted from Toys R Us, but we were against that and then finally gave in a few days ago). He also got a puzzle from Aunt Amanda, which he does almost everyday. So, I think he had a pretty good day.

Bobby's 4 month stats:

25.5in tall (59%)

16lbs 7oz (67%)

43.5cm head circ (91%)

Scott's 2 year stats:

32.5in (7%)

23lbs 6oz (4%)

52.5cm head circ (>97%)

The percentage is based on the CDC growth chart, which is only American kids. Before he was 2 years, they were using the WHO chart, which is kids all over the world. So, that's why his percentages dropped.

Well, that's all for now. Maybe I'll put some pictures up later.

Bobby's Birth Story

I got enough takers, so I will share the story for those who are interested.

At my last OB appt, the nurse/midwife told me I was dilated to 3-4cm and about 60% effaced. She said I was very "ripe" and I was a good candidate for an induction, if I was interested. At the time, I wasn't sure. I went home and stewed about it for two days. I didn't know how I felt about choosing my baby's birthday, or about using drugs to have the baby faster, etc. etc. I talked with my mom, my husband, my mother-in-law, and got a Priesthood blessing and prayed. In the end, I decided to get the induction. I was feeling pretty miserable, and I felt like it would be really nice to have a scheduled time to go to the hospital instead of timing contractions and wondering if we should go now or wait till they got closer together... lots of uncertainty in that method.

Once I finally decided, I was told that Monday, June 13, the hospital would call between 5 and 6am to tell me what time I should arrive. So, I set my alarm for 4:50am so I could take a shower and get dressed before we left for the hospital. I tried to go to bed at 8pm, but I was too anxious and worried. I even shed a few tears wondering how in the world I would be able to be a mother of 2. I went in to check on Scott and I just started bawling. I knew nothing would ever be the same, and I was really more concerned about my relationship with Scott than anything else. I knew the birth would be fine. My other anxiety was that I would have another horrible experience nursing and have mastitis and thrush again, like I did with Scott and I really felt like I couldn't survive a re-run of that. I did finally get 45 min of sleep here and there over the next few hours, between changing positions and getting up to go to the bathroom. I got up, took a shower, as planned. Then we got the call from the hospital. They wanted us to come between 7 and 7:30am. Oi! But I didn't want to go back to bed and just keep getting frustrated that I wasn't sleeping, so I had some juice (no breakfast allowed) and went downstairs to watch That Thing You Do!

We left for the hospital around 7:15am. We parked, checked in, and then waited. And waited. And waited. I asked if I could get some juice because by 9am, I was already starving. They brought me some in the waiting room. Finally, around 10am, they got me into a delivery room and the paperwork began. Sign this, sign that, etc. Then the head of the OB practice came in on her way back to the office after performing a c-section. She checked me and said I was about 4-5cm and offered to break my water. Luckily, the nurse said, "Can we get her an IV first before you do that?" and I reminded them that I had tested positive for Group B Strep, so I need antibiotics for 4 hours before the baby arrived. "Oh, yeah!" So, my OB went back to the office, and paperwork resumed. Finally I got my IV around 11am. The nurse tried in both my hands and failed both times. They brought in a nurse who used to work in the ER and she brought in a hot pack and did my IV on my forearm near my wrist. It hurt like a mother, but at least the progress had begun.

I just kind of hung out for the next several hours. I chatted on-line, shopped for nursing clothes, watched Netflix, drank juice, etc. The contractions were about 5-6 minutes apart and were not particularly painful. On the pain scale, I would say they were 3 out of 10. Well, the nurse/midwife from my OB practice came in around 1pm and said, "You look way too happy!" So, she had them up my pitocin over the next hour and then came in and broke my water. After about 30 minutes, the contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and about 8 on the pain scale. AH!!! So, after 3 super painful contractions, I requested an epidural. Around 3:30pm, I got one. The anesthesiologist came in Matt held me while I tried my best to hold still while crying through the worst pain in my life. The doctor thought he missed, so he tried again, and as he was trying again, my feet went dumb, so apparently the first epidural worked. So, he only gave me a little dose so it wouldn't last forever. I could still move and feel contractions, but they felt like very mild cramps. He offered to give me more meds, but my midwife said I probably didn't need it. She was right. The meds started working even better for the next hour or so, and I was very happy with the level of feeling I had. I did vomit several times, however. But, I didn't make a mess, I had the barf bag ready and I got it all in! Yay! So, they gave me some anti-nausea medicine, and didn't puke again. Yess! (With Scott I puked several times because of the epidural.)

So I just hung out again over the next hour or so, and then the midwife came in and asked me where I felt the contractions, and they were still kind of in front, and she said they should be in the bum region by now, so she had me roll onto my left side, and put my right leg up in a stirrup. (This was around 4:45pm, I would guess.) She said she'd be back in 10 minutes. Well, in about 3 minutes, it felt like it was time to push. But, I let myself have 3 or 4 of those kinds of contractions because she said she'd be back in 10 minutes, but I finally just hit the call button and said I needed my doc. So, she came in and said that we'd put my legs in position and do a test push and see if it was time. Well, the put my legs up and the nurse said, "There's his head!" in a southern accent. And I laughed. And my midwife said, "Wait, don't laugh, I have to put my gown on and set up." Well, that just made me laugh harder. The nurse said his head was bobbing in and out when I laughed. And then she said, "If you don't stop laughing, you're going to laugh this baby out of you!" So, I tried to calm down while she got ready. Then over the next few minutes, I pushed 2 or 3 times, and out came Bobby at 5:14pm. Ta-da!

That was long. I guess you'll have to remember how thorough I am next time I ask if you want the birth story... if there is a next time.

Any questions???

Robert Andrew

Announcing the birth of our new baby, Robert Andrew. He was born June 13 at 5:14pm. He was 7lbs. 9oz. and 21.5in.

Here are a few photos:

Robert Andrew

Again, I did put captions on some, so check that as you look through them.

If you want the birth story, let me know. If I get enough takers, I'll do a post. Otherwise, I'll just e-mail the interested parties. Enjoy the photos!

March-June 2011

I'm playing catch up again. Here's a slideshow of pre-Bobbyness. There are comments on many of the pictures, so don't go through it too quickly.

March-June 2011

Playing Catch-up Part 2

Scotty and I went to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens with our neighbor while Matt was away. The program going on was "Orchid Daze." So, there were tons of different kinds of orchids. I didn't bring my good camera, but I got a few good shots, I think. My camera's battery died by the time we got to the children's garden, so I don't have very many of Scott. Sorry!Matt and I have been meaning to go to the Georgia Aquarium since we moved here and we finally did a couple of weekends ago. We didn't bring the good camera on this excursion either, so here's a mix of shots from my little camera and Matt's iPhone. Going clockwise from the top left, there's a grouper, a yellow seahorse and coral, a hammerhead, Scott, some kind of big fish with a saw for a nose (I don't remember what it's called), some jellyfish, a whale shark, and Matt and Scotty looking through a dome window. The whale shark is the big attraction in the big tank. It's the biggest fish they have and it's in the biggest tank in the world. They have four whale sharks, measuring from 19 to 23 feet in length. They are expected to get up to 30 feet long. Pretty cool! We got an annual pass for me and an annual guest pass so Scotty and I will be going back, and we can get one adult in for free if you want to come! :)
p.s. You can click on the collages if you want to see them bigger.

Playing Catch-up Part 1

I'm playing camera clean-up today. It's been too long. I just made a few collages and I'll just narrate our lives with pictures...

January 3rd: Scott finds out he can fit in his smallest toy drawer.
January 9th: Snow falls in Atlanta. The snow started around 9pm at our house and snowed all night yielding only 3-6 inches, but because the temperature stayed so low, it was enough to shut down Atlanta for a whole week. You can still see the tire tracks on our driveway from where we struggled for 45 minutes to get our car to the street over all the ice. (I haven't taken pictures of that yet... Sorry.)
back porch
front lawn

February 14th: I make heart-shaped peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
and decorate them with frosting.February 25th: Scott gets a much needed hair cut. I found myself playing with his hair all the time wishing I could just chop off the bottom inch. I have done that before, but he really needed to get the back kind of faded more so it didn't look like I was trying to grow his hair out or something. Luckily, my next door neighbor cuts hair, so she did it for free!
As you can see, he was happier before the haircut... he didn't like it very much, but he survived.

March 6th: I bravely take another pregnancy photo at almost 26 weeks. Not happy with it, but it's for posterity, I guess. To quote Juno, "I'm a planet."
I need to take the pictures off my other camera, but I'm not sure how far I'll get today. Hopefully I'll get to it soon.

Trip to Los Angeles

Matt was asked to help out with some training in California for three weeks. He knew I would go crazy in Atlanta by myself, so he said that if he was close to LA, where my sister lives, I could go, too. If not, I could go visit someone else for a couple of weeks. Well, he was staying in a hotel in Sherman Oaks, about 10 miles from my sister, so Scotty and I flew out to meet him about a week after he got there. I didn't take pictures of everything, but here are some I did get.

My sister and her kids and Scott and I met up with our first cousin (once-removed) and her daughter at the LA zoo. First stop: Elephants.
Gianna.
Max.
Gianna is Scott's first-cousin once-removed (he's supposed to be one generation older) and she is 2 weeks older.
Orangutan
Silverback gorilla
Zebras.
Max climbed up on the fence by the picnic area, but continued to eat around the fence... I couldn't help but catch a picture. I think he was looking at giraffes.
Flamingos.
Meerkats. Timon was cuter than this...
Jen and Gianna :) It was fun for Jen and I to be pregnant at the same time. And this was the first time our kids had met, over a year after they were born!
All tuckered out.

One day we went to a park by the Santa Monica Airport. I'm not sure that Scott could handle living in LA. He was NOT a fan of the sand at the park. He sat on the pavement the whole time.
Ate some cheese while playing. I had to carry him out there, though. He would not walk on the sand.

We had one Saturday when Matt could hang out with us, and we went with my sister and family to the Griffith Observatory. We got a good shot of the Hollywood sign.
And Scott loved Einstein...
We had a good time in LA. We also got to see my mom's sister and my dad sister on different days, and we went to Disneyland for a day. And then we got sick, and the low point was me throwing up 5 times in my sister's van. :( Still not sure what that was all about.

Anyway--these were also on my camera, and I know my mom will appreciate this. This is Scott eating one of my mom's lollipops.
When he starts to lose focus, and flips the pop around, I know he's done for now...