No longer the newest

Well, little Walt has had cousins on both sides born within days of him. My oldest brother Bryan and his wife Stephanie had a baby boy 2 days before I had Walt. My in-laws Th. and Lady Steed had a baby boy two days ago on the 11th, so he's 2 weeks younger than Walt. Congrats to all the new babies and parents in our family!

It'll be nice to have cousins so close in age! Reunions should be fun.

Here are a few more pics. from tonight. You can see his little cleft chin in these. It's so cute.

Walt at 2 weeks

Walt and I headed to the pediatrician this morning while Matt worked from home to watch Dean. I had hoped we'd pass everything with flying colors. But not so.

She commented on his long extremities noting that he has very long arms and legs in comparison to his body. Not good or bad, just an observation.

He was a little uncooperative and wouldn't open his eyes for his eye check. He was also very resistant to the hip check.

The good:
weight: 7 lbs. 10 oz.

• He's gained back all of the weight he lost in the hospital (he was 6 lbs. 15 oz. when we left) and added 2 oz. for good measure. Good. We need to get a little meat on those bones.

height: 21 1/4 in.

• He grew 3/4 in. in 2 weeks. Not bad.
  

His circumcision has healed nicely.

Hips seem fine (though he was very uncooperative with his left leg and wouldn't let her move it for awhile. Strong legs.)

His jaundice is mostly gone. His nose is still a little yellow, but you wouldn't look at him and think he looks jaundiced.

The not so good:
He has a little heart murmur. She didn't seem overly concerned about it but wanted us to go to a cardiologist to get an ultrasound. It could be one of two things.

1. He could have Peripheral Pulmonic Stenosis.
2. He could have Ventrical septal defect (VSD). That's a small hole in the heart.

Hopefully it's really not a big deal...

His cord hasn't fallen off yet, but it should be ok as long as it falls off in the next 2 weeks. She thought it needed to be aired out a bit and that if it starts to stink to use the alcohol like they used to recommend.

There's also a minor urological issue, but hopefully that will resolve itself in the next month or two.

What he's like so far:
He's really been a good baby. Doesn't cry a whole lot THANK HEAVENS!! He is a pacifier kind of guy and almost always wants to be sucking something (his hands, the blanket, a pacifier) when he's awake. So long as he is sucking, he's generally happy. He doesn't like diaper changes much, but he hasn't made a real fuss over the sponge baths. He sleeps pretty well, much better than Dean did so far. He's kind of a grunter and is a little noisy in his sleep, so sometimes I think he wants to eat when he doesn't. He's pretty tolerant of Dean's "loves" and "hits". Dean has already tried to make him stand up by pulling on his arms, and today Dean tried to pick him up by his feet. I got there just in time to make sure his head didn't slide right off the swing and hit the ground. Guess I need to belt him in so Dean can't do that.

Overall he looks like my side whereas Dean has more of his daddy in him. The mouth and chin are different from my family though. You can't tell in these pictures, but he has a cleft chin. It's pretty cute.

My little helper

Yesterday as I was making breakfast, Dean decided he wanted to help. He found some empty canisters and tried to fill them up with flour. I was a little bugged at first that he'd made a mess that I didn't want to clean up (Matt actually cleaned it up later that day), but then I rethought it and found it to be pretty cute and funny. I mean, it's not like he was trying to be bad or make messes. He was just trying to be like me. So I busted out the camera to keep the memory.

I mean, honestly how cute is that little face and those little foot prints...

The last picture is Dean trying to get Walt stand up.

And today I know I'll be okay

Last night I got a blessing from Matt and my dad that my body could heal up properly and that I could deal with the changes. My dad also gave me a father's blessing this morning before they left.

Today actually went better than I expected. I physically felt much better today. The burning I was having in my incision was greatly reduced. My back didn't hurt as much either. Walt slept more than normal, so he and Dean really didn't interact all that much today. I just hope that Walt doesn't flip flop his days and nights since he slept so much today. During the first feeding Dean hit Walt 3 times and kicked him in the head once, but the second feeding I found that if I completely covered Walt with a blanket Dean left him alone more. Similarly, I have found that Dean isn't as threatened by Walt if he's in a wrap or sling. I have a pouch sling that is super easy and comfortable heat wise, but it did kind of exacerbate the back pain I've experienced during recovery. Today I tried the Moby-like wrap my friend Lisa sent me. It was much easier on my back, but definitely toastier. So, I'll probably alternate the two.

Anyway, I am grateful for blessings and my husband and my parents. I know that I'll be fine, even if I (and Dean) have a few meltdown moments here and there.

The name game: a follow up

When we got to the hospital we were still unsure of a name for our baby. We had 5 names that were on the "short list" for a first name: Edward, James, Luke, Garrett, and Walter. James is a family name on both sides, and Walter is Matt's great, great grandfather (though we didn't know that when it first made our list). Edward was a name that topped Matt's list for years, and Garrett was Matt's current favorite boy name. Luke was a name my dad suggested since Matt's dad's name is Mark. Mark, Matthew, and Luke.

For middle names we only had two ideas: Campbell and James. Campbell is the Scottish clan on Matt's mom's side.

Initially Matt got to see the baby longer than I, so as we were waiting to get him back from the clean up and tests, I asked if he had any names stick out to him. He said there was a name that came to him, but he wanted me to see him and hear what I thought before he told me his idea.

After I saw him, two names popped into my head and I thought both were quite suitable for our little blondie. One was Walter James. The other was James Campbell. The name that came to Matt was Walter Campbell. I thought that was also a suitable name after hearing it. I was totally torn and couldn't figure out what name was "the best" for him. After mulling it over two days in the hospital, I kept coming back to Walter. Maybe it was because I mentally referred to him as such the last few months of pregnancy.

I really liked Campbell for a middle name, but it just didn't seem to flow right syllabically with Walter. Wal-ter Camp-bell Bras-field. It wasn't bad; I could live with it, but it just didn't feel right to me. So then I was back to Walter James. When I told Matt I was leaning toward that, he said to go with it.

Even after we put it down on the birth certificate papers, I was a little worried we'd given him the wrong name. Was he really James Campbell?

After having him home for a week I feel like we made the right choice. Walt just works.

Deep Breath

More tears today.

Some came from anticipating my parents' leaving tomorrow morning.

Some came as I was realizing that Dean will never again be the boy he was and I will never again be the mother I was just one week ago.

It's all a part of life, I know.

Every phase of life has made me a different person, and has provided new opportunities for growth. I'm usually just fine closing old chapters and starting new, but this has felt a little harder. I am very happy to have our little Walt. I just need to come to terms with the fact that life will be different and I won't be able to meet all of Dean's, Walt's, Matt's and/or my needs all the time. I also need to figure out how to let Dean know I love him when I can't hold him. Additionally, I need to figure out how to teach Dean that Walt is fragile so I can keep Dean from killing him out of jealousy and/or love.

As a side note: Dean is completely avoiding our bedroom and is still pained an panicked at the rocking chair being in there.

Adjusting

Dean and Walt look quite different as babies. Dean had dark hair and was much more filled out. He never had the "old man" look. With Dean I thought Pampers were horrible diapers because they never fit him properly. Low and behold, Huggies are a little too big for Walt and the Pampers fit him! haha. So, Pampers for skinny babies and Huggies for chubby babies...

So far Walt has really been a dream baby. He rarely cries and he has his nights and days correct. He has been so laid back and relaxed and I am very grateful for that!! His jaundice is getting better and he's not quite as yellow today. He eats really well and generally doesn't complain. He's a little squeaky at times and occasionally the sound of his breathing scares me, but he's been great.

My incision burns much more than I remember. It's worst when I move a lot and after I sleep. My back seems more tired as well, but that's probably from having another little guy to look after. With my parents here I've been able to keep up with the two boys. We'll see how I do come Wed. when they leave, I can't drive, and Matt's at work. =( I tried going to the store with Matt last night and it's amazing how taxing it was just walking around!

It was Matt's 28th birthday on Friday. We had a german chocolate cake with delicious homemade frosting. He had to cook his own birthday dinner (pastrami burgers, grilled zucchini and fries), and I felt kinda bad about that. All part of adjusting to a new baby, though.

Dean really has been behaving much better than I had anticipated. He seems pretty panicked that I'm going to leave him again, and it breaks my heart I can't pick him up to console him. Considering his life has been turned completely upside down, he's been quite good. He'll tell me to put down or stop feeding Walt occasionally, but he's also shown his "baby brother" lots of love.

Here are some of the good:

Yesterday Dean said "share" and put his favorite blankie on Walt. SO CUTE!

Dean likes to pat Walt's head and usually is good about being gentle. It's a little scary though.

Dean often waves to and tells Walt hi.

He tries to rock Walt when he's in the swing or in his car seat. Again, a little scary, but he's trying to show love.

------------------------------
The not so good:
He steals Walt's pacifier for himself. (Which is funny since he never really used one as a baby.)

Last night Dean had had enough change and had the biggest melt down I've ever seen him have.

We've kept both a rocker and a glider in Dean's room since he moved in there at 3 months. Yesterday Matt moved the glider into our room for night feedings. Dean did not like that one bit, but got over it. I decided I didn't want the glider because it just didn't fit right, so at Dean's bed time (mistake one) I had my dad trade it out for the rocker. We didn't bring the glider back first (mistake two), so Dean thought we were taking both of his chairs. He went berserk. Hyperventilating, crazy talking, running around, scream-crying. My mom was changing Walt's diaper at the same moment and was hungry, so he was crying too. I was beyond hungry and quite tired, and I started yelling at Dean to stop acting like he was. I yelled for Matt to come help. We finally got the glider back in his room and I read him books before bed. We were both still crying a little, and he cried himself to sleep.

This morning when he got up, the first thing he talked about was the chair. He had mini melt downs any time he entered our room and saw the chair. Poor kid.

We're home

Well, I don't feel much like blogging the details yet, but I thought I'd post some pics. and the main info. people are looking for.

5:30 AM on 7/27/09:
(we thought we'd get a better picture inside the hospital, but it never happened...)

Walter James Brasfield
weight at birth: 7 lbs. 8 oz.
length: 20 1/2 in.

He has super blond hair and loooong fingers and toes. There was a slight scare that he had strep, so he had an IV in the whole time at the hospital and we only found out today that he could come home with us today without staying longer for antibiotics. The antibiotics in the IV gave him a little jaundice, but I think he'll be just fine soon enough. He's a super chill baby so far and really has not cried much at all. Let's hope it stays that way!

This c-section was MUCH better than the last. It was nice not to have to go through 18 hours of labor in addition to major surgery. I didn't have the shakes afterward, and my recovery has felt better all around. I'm pretty tired, though, so this is going to have to suffice for a little bit.

Dean's been pretty good about it all, though I know I'm going to have to be REALLY careful about leaving them in the same room without an adult for any length of time. Not because he's malicious, but because he's a very curious and helpful not yet 2 year old!

Be Back Shortly

No picture update (our camera battery's being charged for the hospital). Our c-section is scheduled for 7:30 tomorrow morning. I'll probably be in the hospital until Thursday, so there will most likely be no pictures or updates till then. See you when I have a new baby!

As reality sets in

Last night I shed a few tears thinking about what will happen next week. It's hard to think of being away from Dean for more than 3 whole days. Sure I'll see him in the hospital a couple times, but that's a big change from being with him nearly every waking hour for the past 21 months. Heck, I'm tearing up just writing this. Matt thought I was being a bit over the top, but when you don't leave your kid with anyone (including your husband) for more than a couple hours every 4-5 months (I guess now once a week with nursery), you get kind of attached. And then you worry about their attachment and adjustment as well. And then to top it all off, Dean woke up sick this morning. Fever over 100*, hasn't eaten a thing. At least he's drunk some milk, gatorade, and a little soda. Once the Tylenol kicked in, he acted fairly normal, but as it wears off each time, his fever returns and he gets lethargic and cranky (for good reason). I really, really hope that he'll get over this quickly. It would be so much worse leaving a little sick boy for 3 days for others to care for him...

I'm not worried about loving Dean less or the new baby not enough or too much, but the unknown is still a bit scary. How do you divide your time when you're used to giving yourself exclusively to one little being?? Will the new guy be as fussy/colicky as Dean was? How will I get through the day when I don't get to take naps like I did when Dean was a baby? Oh, I know we'll figure it out, but I do anticipate a rocky adjustment. Hopefully I really am being over the top and it will all come more easily than I expect. But I've found that life rarely is easy than you expect.

woohoo!

Well, I just got back from my last pre-baby doctor's visit. I'm throwing Dean off schedule again; he's late going down for his nap. Ah well. Learning flexibility...right?

Well, I have NO GESTATIONAL DIABETES!! Hooray! She said my glucose level was 62 which means that if anything, it's low! Still sugar in my urine. Just an odd thing I guess. That makes me so happy since it's kind of stressed me out this past week. Probably contributed to my cold.

My last set of stats 5 days before I have my baby:
Weight: 155 still, so 24 lbs. total so far
Blood pressure: 110/60, so that's better today too
Dilated between a 1 and 2

The questions I had answered:
What happens if I or Matt still has a cold? Well, nothing, really. We still have the c-section and Matt can still be in the OR with a mask on.

How long does the c-section take? Well, the baby will be out within a few minutes of cutting and with stitch up and everything, it will all be done in about 1/2 hour.

How long will I be in the hospital after? It depends on me and how well I'm feeling and how quickly I want to leave. I could leave as early as Wed. or as late as Friday, but most Monday c-sections generally go home on Thursday.

Pain management? I only asked this because my sister said to make sure they didn't give me demamorph in my IV. The doc. said she usually won't use that. She said something else, but I didn't pay that close of attention. Oops.

-------------------------

This baby is feeling sooo much bigger this week! He's kicking out in places he hasn't before. Lots of side action, which is unusual. I really hope having him a week before his due date isn't going to affect him poorly for respiratory issues or jaundice or anything else.

Other than my cold I'm feeling pretty good, really. A little tired and hot, but Dean and I were still able to take advantage of the cooler morning (low 80's with a breeze!) and take a walk (1.2 miles round trip) to the park and play for 2 hours. I can still get up and down from sitting on the ground while holding Dean if I have to! I've slept on the couch the past couple days since I don't want to get Matt sick and I'm cooler under the living room fan. Less puffing and water retention than last time. I'll post one more picture on Sunday probably.

So much for a good schedule

Well, our schedule has been thrown way off track and we can't seem to get back on! Poor little Dean has been going to bed 1-2 hours later than normal the past week, mainly due to church activities and recommend interviews. Unfortunately this doesn't equal an extra "sleep in" hour in the morning. He's actually been waking up a little earlier than normal! Ugh. The few days I've tried putting him down on time he's talked for nearly 30-45 min. before falling asleep.

We didn't put him in bed until 8:20 (normal is 7) tonight because of temple recommend interviews. He didn't talk too terribly long, but it was pretty funny to hear him yelling "lawn mower" as he was going to sleep. He often talks about lawn mowers during the day. It's usually followed by "daddy, hat" since that's the only time Dean sees Matt in a hat. Other words that frequently accompany "lawn mower" are garage (where we keep ours), truck (lawn care companies), and Susie (she has a toy lawn mower he LOVES).

He's really started putting concepts and words together on his own and has had a huge boom in 2 word sentences. He's getting easier and easier to understand. It's fun.

Anyway, I hope we can get back on track with sleep soon. Luckily he's not been too terribly grouchy because of it.

One week

One week left people. One week. Just enough time to get over this cold I have. Hopefully.

The last 10 years

I missed my 10 year reunion today. Unlike my 5 year (which I didn't attend), I really wanted to go to this reunion. It's hard for me to believe that it's been 10 years since I graduated from High School.



Since I couldn't be there in person to share my past 10 years, I thought I'd do a little recap here.


Fall 1999

• Took the 1/2 tuition scholarship at BYU over the full scholarship at BYU-Hawaii so I could hang with my sister Julie.
• Worked at the Education LRC 20 hrs/week and took lots of credits.
  

2000

• Started dating Matt (my now husband). We met in our freshman ward and had Sharing the Gospel class together. I pursued him.

• Lost my scholarship with a 3.52 GPA. Darned biology and Psych 111!!
• Participated in Miss Navajo County Pageant for the second time. Was totally bummed I didn't make as much money as the year before.
• Sent Matt off on a mission to PA
  
• Lived with the best set of roommates ever. Was crazy busy with school and work (TA for Child Dev. 210).
  

2001

• Went through the Temple and received my endowments.
  
• Lived in China 6 months teaching English & wrote Matt weekly. Can I say AWESOME???

• TA'd for Child Development again. Lots and lots of reading and grading papers.

• Lived with my friend Lisa in her family's basement and traded part of my rent for teaching piano to two of her sisters.

2002

• Tried going to TX to sell energy for the summer and was thwarted by Enron. Ended up in VA with my sister Julie and her family. Waitressed and made pretty decent money.
• Went to England for a week to visit my sister Amanda and her family while her husband attended Oxford.

• Matt came home from his mission. We dated. I bought my wedding dress (without him knowing it) 2 months before he asked me to marry him!

• TA'd for Child Dev. again. Took lots of credits.
• Received 2 different scholarships that covered almost all of my tutition!! Woot!

2003

• Got engaged very end of Feb.

• Got married very beginning of May. (Yep. 2 months later! I NEEDED a short engagement!)

• Sold Dish Network in Reno with Matt. We made decent money though we both stink at sales.
• TA'd for Child Dev. and Moral Foundations of the Family (with Dr. Olson.)
• Took lots of Spanish classes for my minor.
• Kept my 2 scholarships.

2004

• Took an unpaid internship as staff at New Haven, a residential treatment center for teenage girls. Worked about 30 hours a week (including commute). Was totally stressed.
• Graduated BYU! Majored in Marriage Family and Human Development and minored in Spanish.
  
• Took a full time job cooking (instead of staffing) at New Haven. Really upped my cooking abilities!! Cooked (and shopped, and planned, etc.) about 7-8 hours/day for about 25-30 people 5 days a week.

Summer 2004 - Summer 2006

• Continued cooking at New Haven while Matt finished up school.
• Went to Guatemala for one of our anniversaries.

2006

• Moved to TX and bought a house
  
• Had a hard time finding a full time job. Took some random part time jobs.
• Met some friends and had some fun.

2007 - Present

• Had Dean and have loved being a stay at home mom the last (almost) 2 years!

• I'm 10 days away from having another little boy.

Some people just have issues: Part 2

Read here for part 1.

Our fence is up, stained, and beautiful. I need to get a picture so you can see the amazing difference of our new and old fences.

Well, the guy came to stain it today. I didn't think I needed to inform my neighbor he was coming (you know, the one who insists the fence is no responsibility of hers) since the fence is ours and paid for by us alone. I honestly didn't do it out of spite. I just didn't think I needed to inform.

Anyway, I was gone to my dr.'s apt. while he did the bulk of the staining. He was nearly done when I got home. Shortly after, I heard our outside water going and figured he was cleaning out his canister or nozzle or something. But then it kept going for, oh, I don't know, maybe a 1/2 hour. I peeked out to see if he was still there, and he'd left without turning off my water! So I went outside to check it out. We have a dual head on the faucet so you can have two hoses hooked up. He'd turned the stopper for the side he'd been using, but he left it on nearly full blast and our garden was flooded by the other head by the time I turned it off! Annoying, but not a huge deal.

As I was out looking at the fence, our neighbor came home. She stopped in her driveway and I could tell she was not happy as she got out.

She came over and told me that the stainer had used her water and failed to put her hose back properly (though it was not running like mine! I could only imagine how irate she would have been.).

Odd, I said. I know he used mine too. I mean, what am I supposed to say? Sorry the guy was inconsiderate?

She complained more about that and then she started going off on how she was unhappy that the grass by the fence got stain on it.

What I thought: Lady, you just got a $2000 fence for free and you're complaining about stain on your grass and your water being used?????

What I said: I think it's pretty inevitable since the fence goes clear down to the ground. The good thing is that it's grass and the stain will be cut off the next time you mow.

She said she wished she would have known that they were coming so she could have put something down to protect the ground.

I told her I was sorry I didn't think about the fact that the grass would be stained in the process.

She asked for a number of someone she could call (maybe the waaaaaambulance??). The number is very clearly posted on the fence, but I went and got her the name and number of the contractor. I don't know what she thinks she'll accomplish by calling. Maybe she just wants a good venting session? Sheesh. Some people are hard to please.

Gestational Diabetes at 37 weeks???

I'm not sure yet if I actually have gestational diabetes, but today at my apt. my doctor said that last week (met with the midwife since my doc was gone) and this week I've had sugar in my urine. It could mean diabetes, but they took some blood today to confirm if it is or not. Ack. She said at my 28 week diabetes test my sugar count was 78 and anything under 140 is normal, so I wasn't even borderline. She only sees a patient develop diabetes this late in pregnancy once every couple of years, so it's pretty rare. I REALLY hope that the blood work comes back normal, but if not at least it's only 11 days of having to really watch what I eat. I don't even know where to begin with that, so I'll probably have to do a little web searching.

As for my other stats:
I'm now at 155, so I've gained a total of 24 lbs. since my first visit.
My blood pressure was 98/60, so it's in the low normal range.
Dilated to 1 cm.

Hello Heartburn

I have been having horrible heartburn the last few days. I never really had it with Dean, so this is new for me. I've gotten it after eating anything, really. I had oatmeal for breakfast this morning followed by a good dose of heartburn. Apples for a snack. Heartburn. A large glass of water. Heartburn.

I am grateful that my "pregnancy suffering" is quite minimal compared to a lot of people I know. At least it wasn't like this the whole pregnancy. And even this is quite low on the scale of suffering.

The name game.

Well, we've had a lot of people recently ask if we have a name picked out for our little guy yet. My most common answer is that we're still not 100% sure, and I leave it at that. I've been more hesitant giving out our name ideas this time around, though I'm not positive why. Maybe it's because we'll probably not be 100% sure of his name until we're at the hospital.

It's hard coming up with names we both agree on. We do, however, both prefer masculine, traditional names for boys that are not over used. Matt's very anti-made-up-sounding names, especially if they're really trendy at the moment. For a long time Matt really liked the name Edward. It took him 4 years to convince me that I could name one of my sons Edward, but during this pregnancy he told me he's over that name now. Fine with me, especially with the whole Twilight craze. I've trended toward somewhat British sounding names like Calvin, Ivan, Gavin, Simon, etc, but Matt wasn't super fond of any of those, and I wasn't feeling all that strongly about them for this baby anyway.

My dad suggested Luke since my father-in-law's name is Mark and my husband's name is Matthew. We both found it pretty funny, and we honestly think that Luke is a pretty decent name, but not this baby's name.

About half way through we happened upon a name that we both liked enough to put on our "consider" list. I've stood by it since then, but Matt's gone back and forth. He did feel better about it after finding out that we do have at least one ancestor with the name.

Anyway, I looked it up on the social security site for the popularity, and in 2008 it was ranked #393. Awesome. Dean was ranked #353 the year he was born. That got me curious about my name.

I love my name. Honestly. I feel like I have probably the best girl's name ever. It's common enough that I don't get weird looks but uncommon enough that I've only ever met 1 other Celia in my entire life! I'm entirely grateful that my parents didn't name me Cecilia, though people (usually older people) have been known to call me that. The year I was born it was ranked #616. Last year it was #757. I love it.

A budding sense of humor

Dean is starting to understand that when he does certain things he elicits laughter. Some examples of his budding sense of humor are:

• While reading his "Jobs" book, he will point to the woman doctor and say, "Daddy!" then he'll look at me with a sly look and laugh.
• Any time he sees a sheep in a book, he'll point and say "Moo!" and crack up while saying "No. No."
• If we're watching a video of him (something he LOVES to do) that we laugh at, he will mimic his behavior and words displayed on the video.

These are just a few examples on the top of my head. He's a funny little guy.

The count down.

I changed my due date count down widget to reflect my c-section date. 20 days left...

Firework fun

I didn't get any pictures, but I wanted to give an update on how our little family firework show went. We drove out to Melissa to a spot near where we set them off 2 years ago. We knew it was pretty close to the city/county line, but we risked it. We didn't have many fireworks so we thought maybe we could get through them.

Well, about half way through our stash, a very nice policeman came and informed us that we were within city limits. He said a gentleman called saying we were setting off fireworks. If that's true...crochety old man!! Lame. But the officer was nice and we just collected the remainder of our fireworks and went about 3 miles south and set them off on the side of a road.

Dean was super good! He was slightly confused about being awakened after having gone to bed for the night, but he didn't cry at all. He was very intrigued and excited by all the head lights driving out there. It's funny to think he goes to bed before it's actually dark, so he never sees them! He loved the fireworks and kept asking for more. We had some mortars, fountains, roman candles, morning glories, and firecrackers. He didn't even get scared at the firecrackers. We had a lot of fun.

He went to bed really easily when we got home (though we had to leave the closet light on because he was a little scared at the dark room...like I said he goes to bed before it's dark outside!). He was also quite good at church the next day. I'm happy it worked out so well.

Belly Beautiful: 36 weeks

It's a little hard to believe, but 3 weeks from today I'll have a new little baby outside of my belly. People tell me almost daily that I look like I'm about to pop. I'm feeling pretty well, though. Sleeping has been extra hot. I end up on the couch pretty frequently at night so I can sleep under a fan.

I started the "nesting" phase finally. I think I'd been in denial for awhile that his arrival was close. He has a few new outfits and I put all of Dean's 12 mo. clothes away today so I could make closet space for the old "new baby" clothes. I'm also starting to sell some of our bulky stuff that's taking up unnecessary room. I just sold my single jogger for $5 less than I bought it last year. Not bad since I used it almost 5 days a week for a year. I'm still TOTALLY kicking myself for not buying that BOB stroller off of craigslist. I had no idea how well they held their value. I could have bought it for $350 and sold it for more on ebay if I wanted! It still makes me sick to think about missing out on that deal because I was too cheap. I've never had worse non-buyer's remorse. Since then I've been looking on craigslist and ebay at the BOB duallie and Phil and Ted's double. I've yet to see one close for less than $400.

I'm starting to feel a little nervous about having 2 children under 2! I'm also feeling a little nervous that Matt will be traveling 1-2 of the next 3 weeks! Pray that I don't go into labor early people.

36 weeks in 2007

36 weeks in 2009

Sweet Land of Liberty

Happy 4th everyone! Dean and I graced the ward breakfast/bike parade/flag ceremony this morning while we let daddy sleep in. Dean enjoyed driving his friend's motorized car, though he couldn't steer properly. After that we did some productive discounted fabric and baby shopping. It was the first baby shopping I've done this time around. I bought 6 outfits for the new little guy, and that's just about all I plan on buying since I can reuse most of Dean's stuff.

This afternoon Matt put together the child sized wooden chair and table set we got at Ikea yesterday. So cute.

For dinner Matt grilled up some polish sausages that we ate on hoagie buns topped with coleslaw. A winning combo! Dean liked the sausage and buns, but decided the coleslaw was too spicy. (His new descriptive word.) He got a little soda (for probably the 3rd time in his life) with dinner. He described that as cold and spicy, but I guess it wasn't too spicy for him since he asked for more when his little cup ran dry!

Tonight we plan on getting Dean out of bed after dark to go set off some of our own fireworks. (I hope he doesn't get too scared tonight or too grumpy tomorrow!) We got some of the cool big fireworks. We just have to find a good county road since it's not allowed within city limits here. Matt's family always shot off their own fireworks on the beach in CA, so he has some fond memories of the 4th.

My appreciation for personal freedoms really took shape as I lived in Communist China in 2001. "You don't know what you got till it's gone." I am grateful for this sweet land of liberty and for the men and women who have given their lives and time to make that liberty possible!

How to Make Rabbit Stew

First: Live in the part of town that has about a billion rabbits hopping about the neighborhood.

Second: Plant a garden to attract the fuzzy bunnies.

Third: Now here's where people are often thrown...put up a buried fence around the garden. Fences not only keep things out, but they keep things in as well.

Fourth: Allow the little tiny baby rabbits to squeeze through the fence links and live there undisturbed for a couple weeks to get a little meat on its bones.

Fifth: Once the rabbit is too big to escape through the fence links, catch the rabbit. They're quick little buggers and can hide quite adeptly in the bushy vines and plants, so it might take you about 45 min. in crazy hot weather like it did us...Our tips: high pressured water sprayer to direct it to the corner. Hope that it tries to get out of the fence but instead gets its head stuck in the fence.

Sixth: Boil it up and strip the meat...Ok, ok. We didn't boil it up this time. But the next time it makes its way into our garden...watch out bunny!

It was so little, I did feel bad to be chasing it around and terrorizing it. He kept getting smarter and smarter with his hiding and by the end it was hard to scare him out of the thick vines. Matt nearly got a gun to shoot it when we were unsuccessfully trying to catch it. Sad, but we couldn't let it continue to live in our garden. Our cantaloupes, watermelons, and cucumbers are looking too good to be eaten by a little bunny.

Work! Tools!

Dean is in love with tools. Last week I bought him his own real looking tool set. His favorite to use is his "hmar", but his favorite to admire is the new edger we got. We've gone through 3 hand held edgers with our large yard since we moved in. So last week Matt bought a heavy duty rolling edger. So far it has proven to be much better than the others. Dean seems to think it is the ultimate tool. He will ask to go to the "grage" to look at the "tool". He'll sit on the hot garage floor and just admire it.

Today as I was cooking and cleaning up the kitchen I kept finding one of our kitchen chairs on it's side. Every time I tried picking it up, Dean would protest and say "Work!", grab his hammer and start pounding on it. Matt had to fix one of our chairs last week and I guess he now thinks it's his duty to keep up the maintenence on it. Haha.

Also, we got him a little stroller last week off Craigslist since he kept getting frustrated trying to push his strollers around the house. He really has enjoyed it. The first day he had it, he tried sitting in it. I told him it was just for toys. He went and grabbed his tools, piled them in the seat, and pushed them around the house! haha. I wanted to take a picture, but my battery was dead.