tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88027783704299222482024-03-21T09:15:14.794-06:00The WhitneysAlyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08465841160362946745noreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802778370429922248.post-55286363095257808982022-08-18T10:58:00.000-06:002022-08-18T10:58:36.812-06:00Owen Spencer Whitney<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">To start off, I need to say that this will likely be the last blog post I ever write on here. Life is too busy and blogging is not a high enough priority for me to continue on. However, since I had recorded all the birth experiences of my older children here I wanted to do the same with this, our last baby. </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-ea05b0f3-7fff-0b01-b500-912fc4d3ee08"><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Part I</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the early part of my pregnancy with Jonah I began to think that maybe he would be our last baby. My instincts were telling me he would be a girl and my instincts had been right for the other two. I had wanted a sister for Penny since I grew up with all sisters. At my 20 week appointment when we found out Jonah was, in fact, a boy I thought maybe I wasn’t quite done after all. Well, Jonah came along and with him all the work that comes with a newborn. A few months after he was born my sister, Lindsay, got remarried. We settled into life as a family of five and life began to normalize again until about a year later when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and then life was most certainly not normal. My sister and her new husband had decided to start trying for a baby of their own but when the pandemic hit and we were all waiting for a vaccine they would go back and forth. We kept the thought of another baby in the back of our minds for a while as well until about a year later deciding to just see what would happen. For a long time for both of us nothing at all happened. Life became a new normal with COVID’s constant presence but life will always move forward. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eventually Bryan and I decided we needed to either move forward seriously about having another baby or decide officially that we were done. We went to the temple and felt that we would regret not doing everything we could up to and including one IUI to get pregnant. I talked with my doctor and got a prescription for Clomid that I would begin taking at the beginning of my next cycle. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One day in early November my sister called me and told me she was pregnant! I was excited for her– not at all jealous. I’ve been the one having babies for so long that I thought it would be nice to just be an aunt again. It was around this time that I was just waiting for my cycle to start so I could go on Clomid but decided for the fun of it to take a pregnancy test… and it was positive! After 10 months of nothing happening and with a Clomid prescription in my medicine cabinet I had gotten pregnant on my own at the exact same time as my sister! Even though I'd had total peace at her being pregnant before it really felt like it was meant to be at this precise time since both of us had taken a while to get pregnant. She was due July 12th and I the 13th! </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I love my sweet kids but felt four would be the maximum I’d sanely be able to handle so we decided that, barring any strong promptings otherwise, this would be our last baby regardless of if it were a boy or girl. Since I am over 35 my pregnancy was considered “advanced maternal age” and I qualified through insurance to have blood testing done to detect chromosomal abnormalities– it would also tell us the baby’s gender 8 weeks earlier than we otherwise would have been able to know. After I had the blood draw we waited so impatiently to get the call to tell us if we would be having a boy or girl. It seemed to take forever! We got a balloon with different colored confetti to pop for the kids. Finally the call came and the nurse said, “You are having… a boy!” We were both a little taken aback. We had felt it was a girl and knowing this was our last chance to have one made us feel admittedly a little disappointed. It was bittersweet throwing away the pink confetti and Penny was particularly disappointed at not having a little sister. However time moved on and we grieved the loss of the idea of another girl and got more excited about our last baby and last little boy especially since Lindsay found out she was also having a boy! To be honest, I now can’t even imagine my new little baby as anything other than who he is. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now that we knew we were having another boy we had to figure out yet another boy name. We had a handful of names we kind of liked but nothing that was sticking out unlike two girl names that were top of the list. We went back and forth and disagreed. Even names one or both of us had liked in the past we just didn’t like as much any more. At some point the name Owen, which had never been on our list before, began to really stick out to me. We had also originally picked out two family history names per gender and had to come up with another for a boy. Luckily it didn’t take us long to realize we wanted to use Spencer– my mom's maiden name. If she’d ever had a boy that would have been his name. It, at least, was set in stone. We finally got down to a list of seven first names to take to the hospital. We don’t like to choose it officially until we see the baby. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We never really go on vacation but knowing this would probably be our last opportunity to do so easily we decided to go on Spring Break vacation with my parents to St. George. We stayed in the nicest place I have ever stayed before– Arcadia Resort, a bunch of little houses surrounding a big water park. We loved this vacation so much but one sad part was that almost all of us got a stomach bug and were knocked out for a day or two of the vacation each. That was extremely disappointing but we made the best of the healthy time we had.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When we got back we got serious about preparing the house for a new baby. We had decided to move Luke and Jonah into a room together with bunk beds and I wanted to make it really special for them. My friend helped me make an accent wall with thin horizontal boards and we got a cool bunk bed that had a house at the top to give Luke some semblance of privacy. He loves his “apartment” as he calls it. He has a bookshelf up there with tons of books to read, a book light and his own little fan. Some days he says he hates sharing with his little brother but most of the time it’s no problem. We also decided to do something a little different for the nursery than we had with the other boys. We kept the dinosaur theme but painted a mountain accent wall and changed up some of the colors. Overall both rooms turned out really well. I was stressed about getting the house ready in time for the baby but soon everything important was done and we were just waiting…</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lindsay had a scheduled induction date of July 5th due to her age and so I brought this up with my doctor as well and he agreed it would be better for me and the baby, especially since he was measuring a bit bigger, to have him at 39 weeks instead of waiting until 40 so we set up a date for the 6th of July. At that same appointment he checked me. I wasn’t quite 36 weeks but I was already dilated to a 3 and he said he would be surprised if I made it to my induction date. I hoped that was true! I was starting to feel extremely miserable and huge. Gravity was not my friend and I was winded everywhere I went. I was so tired of getting up 5-6 times a night to pee. I really, really hoped that this baby would make an appearance on his own sooner rather than later, like Penny had at 37 weeks 6 days. I went into labor gradually one day with her and everything went so smoothly. I had really hoped it would be much the same this time. To be honest, I was a little scared of being induced again because of my experience with Jonah. Once I got in with him it seemed there was problem after problem and it all went really fast ending in all the drama I wrote about in my last blog post. I weirdly wanted to stretch out and savor this last labor (while enjoying an epidural). Time kept marching on and still the baby did not come.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On the morning of June 26th I woke up to a text from Lindsay– her water had broken and she was in labor! That was an exciting day, waiting for news. By the afternoon she had given birth to a healthy little boy, Samuel Ryder. I was so sure I would be right on her heels! Instead I just kept waiting… I actually had three different times where I truly thought I was in labor but the contractions weren’t strong enough or close enough together and then they would just stop. It was so, so frustrating. I decided this boy would be one who liked to test my patience. I also had higher than my usual blood pressure at my last appointment and went in once to get it checked to make sure I didn’t have preeclampsia. The end there was just fraught with worry. I was almost positive I was going to have him on July 1st with how bad of contractions I was having that morning. Again, the contractions simply disappeared after a while. At this point I was getting worried that I really was going to go into labor on July 4th. What I had been wanting and wanting so badly up until this point I suddenly wanted to delay. I’ve never wanted my kids to share birthdays with holidays. Everyone deserves their own day that is about them… Luckily the day passed without a major incident and I resigned myself to an induction on the 6th as originally planned. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Part II </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On July 5th I decided my theme song of the day was, “Tomorrow” from Annie. That night Bryan gave me a Priesthood blessing as he always does before the births of our babies. One thing I specifically wanted to mention is that he blessed me that there would not be anything in this delivery process that I could not handle and that the baby and I would both be healthy. He also blessed me to have faith over fear. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I anxiously waited until the morning of the 6th to call the hospital and find out when I should come in. When I did so they said they didn’t have room for me and to call back at noon… that was surprising. The theme song of this day then became, “Sitting, Waiting, Wishing” by Jack Johnson. My parents had stayed the night since we had expected to be leaving first thing in the morning. Bryan took my dad, Luke and Penny to the Archery Range to shoot with his new bow and arrows. We spent a lot of this day just impatiently sitting around. At noon they still didn’t have space for me and said to call back at 4 PM! Ugh! At 4 PM they still didn’t have the room but they said they’d been in contact with my doctor and I was guaranteed to get in that night. So finally when I called at 6 PM they told me to come in at 7:15 PM. What a waste of a day of Bryan’s paternity leave but I no longer cared– just SO glad to be getting in and having this baby.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We took a picture of me entering the Labor and Delivery part of the hospital in a throwback to one I did when going in for Jonah. When we compared the two it seemed obvious why I was so much more miserable– I was a LOT bigger this time! </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They got me in and hooked up to an IV and running penicillin for being Group B Strep positive. I started in the hospital dilated to a 5 or 6 so at least those false labor contractions I had been having were doing something. They set me up on the lowest dose of pitocin at 8:40 PM after being in the room for just over an hour getting everything all set up and getting checked in. After less than an hour of that with increasingly painful contractions and discomfort I decided I didn’t need to be a hero anymore and asked for my epidural, which was administered at 9:25 PM. The anesthesiologist was very funny and nice and answered all our questions. During my labor with Jonah Bryan had told me that the epidural needle was the biggest needle he had ever seen. So since this was the last time I’d be doing this I asked him to show it to me– </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">after</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> he had actually done it so I wouldn’t be nervous. Once the epidural began to take effect I just remember feeling </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> so</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> relaxed. At 10 PM my doctor came in and broke my water. They also put me on oxygen to help with the baby’s heart rate dropping, though this was not as concerning as with Jonah. The baby seemed to like me being in a certain position so whenever I would get back into that his heart rate did just fine. The nurse had me bear down to get the baby into position and by 11:30 PM they had paged the doctor to come in and deliver him. I was pushing for about 10 minutes before the doctor said the baby’s heart rate was going down too much and he would need to use forceps. The nurse accidentally brought over premie forceps and when she left to get the normal size forceps I had another contraction and pushed him out on my own. Apparently nothing can strike fear into the heart of a woman giving birth like the word, “forceps.” Kidding, of course.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The baby was born at 11:46 PM just barely making his birthday the 6th of July rather than the 7th. He was 9 lbs 4 oz and 20 inches long! I didn’t know I was capable of making such a big baby– Luke was 7lbs 8 oz, Penny was 6 lbs 11 oz and Jonah was 7 lbs 6 oz. I made lots of jokes about having eaten too much fast food this pregnancy. The baby did not have any notable problems apart from some minor bruising but he cried and cried for a long time after birth and did not want to be comforted. I was able to nurse him in the delivery room and that seemed to go decently. He also had a lot of dark brown hair and he reminded me most of Penny as a baby. All my babies had a lot of hair but Owen probably had the most.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We got wheeled into the Mother and Baby unit and got settled and at this point it was very late so I sent the baby to the nursery, planning to have the nurse bring him back to me to breastfeed him throughout the night. Bryan went home to get a little rest before rejoining me the next day.n The next time the nurse came in she said that the baby had low blood sugar which meant they had to give him a measured feed instead of letting me nurse him. They gave me the option of giving him formula or pasteurized human milk (PHM) and I chose the latter but wasn’t happy about not being able to feed him. I felt so disconnected from my baby. At the next feeding again he had low blood sugar and they had to feed him– meaning that I didn’t feed my baby the entire first night after having him. It was a very weird feeling. The next morning the pediatrician on call came in and I told him about this and he asked if they had given me the option to pump. They had not discussed this with me so the next time the nurse came in I brought it up and they got me set up with a pump. The pediatrician also said that he had a bit of a heart murmur, which can be common with newborns, but they were planning on doing an echocardiogram just to be safe. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Despite the low blood sugar and need for an echo I was surprisingly calm, considering how things had gone with Jonah. I truly believe that Bryan’s blessing of faith over fear was something that Heavenly Father had endowed me with because through all the tiny dramas that occurred with the baby I never really got upset. Another thing that came up was that the baby didn’t seem to want to suck. The nurses were concerned about this and wanted me to meet with the lactation consultant. While also pumping to make sure I had a supply, we tried bottle feeding the PHM and various other things but He didn’t want to suck. I just knew that he’d get there in the end and wasn’t worried. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bryan got into the hospital after all this and while the baby was having his echo. So much can happen in one night in the hospital and I had to catch him up on it all. My dad had a physical therapy appointment that morning and came straight to the hospital from that while my mom got all the kids dressed and ready and brought them in the van to meet their new baby brother. Once the baby was done his echo the nurse wanted me to try feeding him with the lactation consultant so my dad and Bryan left to meet my mom and the kids in the cafeteria for lunch and then my mom came up to be with me while the lactation consultant was there. He still had trouble sucking and she discussed different positions and things with me but didn’t seem too worried either. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After lunch my dad came up to visit the baby with my mom because, including Bryan, there were too many visitors to be in the room at once. My parents got to meet him and hold him and then my dad had another appointment to go to so Bryan and the kids came up. They swarmed me with hugs when they came in and initially barely gave a glance to their new baby brother. Eventually we had each of them take a turn holding him and took pictures of them with him and then as a new family of six! My mom took the kids home but not before Luke had a difficult time saying goodbye to us— of all our kids he feels our absence most deeply when away from us. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Once everyone had left we needed to officially decide on his name. We went into the hospital with a list of seven names but Owen had always been at the top for me. Bryan had been hesitating on it but a week or so before had said, “If he comes out with chubby cheeks and brown hair he’ll be an Owen.” He had totally forgotten saying this but I reminded him when the baby had just been born and he was commenting on his brown hair and chubby cheeks! We narrowed it down to Owen and Miles, a name that had been on our list since we were pregnant with Luke, but in the end officially decided on Owen Spencer Whitney. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Later that day I had pumped some colostrum and was trying to get Owen to eat it by dipping my finger in it and putting it in his mouth. He actually started sucking on my finger when I did this and ate most of it this way! That night he had no problems nursing– he fed well all night and the concerns about sucking dissipated. The next morning we found out that the echo showed no serious concerns and the murmur was expected to resolve itself. His bilirubin levels were checked and they were “low to intermediate risk” so they never did light therapy or had to send us home with a bili blanket or anything. The pediatrician would check on the heart murmur and bilirubin levels the next day but we were able to be discharged!</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I ordered one last free lunch from the hospital cafeteria, fed Owen and then we made our way home to our kids! I usually want to stay in the hospital longer but I guess my long stay with Jonah cured me of that. I was happy to get home and to have all my kids together there. We got home and my parents stayed just for a bit, getting a chance to hold him a bit and then left for us to get settled.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Part III</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well here we are six weeks later and finally posting about Owen’s birth. Though it feels like the blink of an eye to the reader to just say, “6 weeks later” I can assure you that every week and day was hard fought to get to. Owen has not been any harder a baby than any of my others and in some ways he is easier but time flows differently with a newborn. I know that I’ll be able to look back on this time and say, “In the grand scheme of things that was actually such a short time,” but when you are in it it feels like a very long time. I measure my life in two hour increments for feeding during the day and though he goes in longer stretches at night I am still quite exhausted.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One blessing that we’ve had is that Owen has been a much easier baby to nurse. I can count on one hand the number of times he has fought me and cried about latching. His latch is not always perfect but he will generally always go on very easily. Usually he eats for 30-45 minutes! When you measure time to next feed from the beginning of a feed that leaves a small window of time before you’re doing it again! Breastfeeding is just constant but I know we’ll get to a good place where it doesn’t feel so much that way. I’m just so grateful that he generally nurses well and little by little it is becoming less painful, though not all the way yet. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have always eventually transitioned by younger babies to sleeping in a swing but recently the AAP cautioned against swing sleep or sleep in anything with an incline. I was so worried about how I was going to figure sleep out because I relied on that motion to help soothe them before eventually weaning them off of it and putting them in their crib. After seeing ads for the Snoo for a while, I dreamed of being able to get one but they are exorbitant. Luckily they have an option to rent one month to month so we decided to do this for 3-4 months, which is usually about when I transition my babies to their crib. So far I wouldn’t say it is perfect but lately he has been sleeping well in it at night. Around 8:30 PM I feed him and then Bryan holds him for a bit while I get a head start on sleep. Bryan usually puts him in the Snoo around 10:30 PM and then he’ll sleep until around 2 AM. After I feed him and put him back to sleep he’ll sleep in it again until 5-6 on a good night. Sometimes he isn’t settled enough when I put him down and requires some snuggling to get to sleep. During the day lately I have been trying to put him down for naps in it more. He usually only lasts in it a maximum of thirty minutes for naps but I know he’s still young and this is normal. I look forward to things falling into a more predictable pattern! As someone who likes structure, the newborn stage is very hard for me. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Postpartum depression has not been too bad this time– once I got through the first two weeks of intense hormonal changes I would say there are only a couple of times where I could tell I was feeling down chemically rather than situationally. Mostly the constant breastfeeding, being cried at and sleep deprivation have made things difficult but that is to be expected. Every second of every day I am relieved to know that this is the last time we’ll do this. It’s nice to know that I won’t wonder what might have been.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One thing that has been nice is having someone to go through this with. My sister and I text each other to see how each other and our babies are doing often. We give each other advice and comfort. I am so grateful for that and I love knowing that Owen will be growing up with a built in friend. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The older kids love the baby so much, particularly Penny. When Owen is awake and happy sometimes I lay him on a playmat or sit him in his bouncer and have one of them come talk to him and entertain him so I can get something done. They are also feeling the effects of a not very present mom. I’m so consumed with baby that they are often left to themselves. I’m glad they have each other even if they fight way more than I wish. Luke says he wants to remember this time because he doesn’t remember it with Penny or Jonah so he writes about it in his journal. Some days he really feels the effects of our being so distracted and misses how things were before. He will start school this week and I think that will be really good for him. Jonah started preschool last week and Penny will start Kindergarten next week! I have no idea how I’m going to manage all the drop offs and pick ups with Owen and his needs too but we’ll manage. We’re in for a wild ride this year!</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We sure love our newest and last addition. He is sweet and snuggly and oh, so handsome. Our family feels complete now with Owen and it is a very peaceful feeling. </span></p></span>Alyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07603053063213840414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802778370429922248.post-17591421282124458072019-03-13T16:41:00.000-06:002019-03-13T16:51:24.948-06:00Jonah Thurston Whitney<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And just over a year later... Well, turns out a lot can happen in a year, including an entire pregnancy! As of my last post I had no idea I would be making this post a year later but here it is nonetheless.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Part I</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">One day in April or May Bryan and I were driving to the temple and he said, "We need to talk." Uhoh. He went on, "We need to talk about baby #3." I was a little speechless. Penny was around 16 months and I felt I had my hands full with two kids and a little part of me was thinking maybe I could be done and happy with just them. I really hadn't thought about starting to try again but we decided to think about it while we were at the temple that day and give it serious consideration. I remember sitting in the chapel before our session started just trying to imagine myself pregnant again or our life with another child and it felt scary but possible. The idea even seemed kind of exciting but still-- I was nervous. We decided we would stop birth control and see what happened. Bryan reasoned that since we have fertility issues that we likely wouldn't be pregnant for a long time anyway. I was hesitant to give into that reasoning because everyone says it happens when you stop trying. Still, we decided to move forward and not pursue any fertility treatment. I was ready to accept that I was only going to have two kids. But I bought a set of HCG test strips just the same to check on things every once in a while. </span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We stopped birth control and for the first time in like two years, since being pregnant with Penny and breastfeeding and such, I had a period. A few weeks later on a Saturday Bryan's company had a Lagoon day. We spent the day going on fun rides with the kids and, because Bryan's mom came with us and was able to help with the kids, Bryan even had me go on a few roller coasters with him! </span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The very next day was fast Sunday and, on a whim, I decided to take a test. I'm not sure why I did since I didn't have any symptoms-- I didn't even tell Bryan I was doing it. I walked into the bathroom and picked up the test and stared at two lines for a whole minute, I think. Bryan was laying on the bed in our room and finally I said, "Uh... this is a big deal." He said, "What, did you get your period?" I walked out of the bathroom with it in my hand and said, "I'm pregnant..." He had been resting and suddenly he snapped to attention and said, "No, you're not." I told him about the lines and he said, "It's because you're fasting, that's all. Eat something and take another one." I said that wasn't really how it worked and fasting actually made it <b>more</b> accurate but I acquiesced and with every test I took I continued to get the same positive result. We were floored because Luke took 15 months and a round of clomid to conceive and Penny took 13 months, 6 rounds of clomid and finally an IUI to conceive. This baby just decided it was going to exist! I hate to be a stereotype but we definitely fell into the category of, "Once you stop trying..."</span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We usually go over to my parents' house on Sundays for dinner and I was ready to announce it to them that very day but we had a family reunion coming up at the end of the month and Bryan wanted to wait until we could tell them all together. I did end up telling my mom first beforehand. She came over one day and I said, "I need to tell you something about Penny." (Trying to throw her off the scent so she could really be surprised) and then I said, "Penny is going to be a big sister." Bryan liked that approach so much he decided to do it with his side of the family-- only we were going to his mom's for a birthday party and he texted her beforehand and said, "We need to tell you something about Penny when we get there," which put her on edge for the hour long drive before we got there! Finally at the family reunion we were playing a game where we all wrote down a fact most people didn't know about us and everyone had to guess who said it. My sister was reading them off and when she got to mine, which said, "I'm pregnant," I saw her put it at the bottom of the slips of papers to be read last. Obviously, all the groups of people we told her so happy and surprised! </span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For various reasons Bryan and I decided that this would be a good time to finish our basement. We had talked about it previously but upcoming baby put it on a faster track than other projects because our four bedroom house was making use of all four bedrooms with one of them being a guest room and we wanted to free it up for a nursery as neither Penny nor a baby would be able to share a room coming up. This was a very exciting project for us and every day we would go down to the basement to see what progress had been made. We love our finished basement so much! Not only do we now have an extra bedroom (and craft room) but we have a nice storage room and I feel more confident about the kids playing down there unsupervised and even taking the baby down to be with them while they play. </span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">From the moment we finally started telling everyone we were pregnant it seems like most of my friends were predicting it was a girl. My instincts were also telling me it was a girl and they had been right both times before so I felt fairly confident in my prediction-- though not confident enough to buy anything girl specific or paint the nursery (I had already decided I was going to paint it purple once we got the definite news that it would be a girl). I thought this could be the perfect end to the kids we would have. I grew up with all sisters and thought it would be nice for Penny to have a little sister and I was feeling like I might not be up for another baby after this. The only person who really, truly believed the baby was a boy was Luke... up until about three days before our ultrasound when Bryan changed his mind to think the baby was a boy. Well, obviously I was wrong. The moment the ultrasound tech told us that baby would be a boy I definitely didn't feel disappointed but a little thought saying maybe we would end up having a fourth came into my mind. Not that I can guarantee that baby would be a girl but I had been so sure we would be done after this and this was the moment that changed. We obviously don't need to think about that for a <b>long</b> time but it's on the table as a possibility. Suddenly, though, my mind shifted to start getting used to thinking of this baby as a boy instead of a girl. I'm glad we found out. I know it's popular to not find out with a tie breaker baby but I'm too much of a planner to let myself do that. </span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Overall I had a very normal pregnancy as compared to my others. As with my others, I wasn't too nauseous but I did need to eat something right away in the morning before I could get up and move around. I think I threw up a handful of times with Luke and even less with Penny but I didn't throw up once with this once. However, I started having a really bad dry cough that felt like I was about to throw up (even though I never did) and that lasted the entire pregnancy (and is still lingering a little). I would also get winded really easily and had a hard time getting the motivation to walk upstairs. My heartburn was not horrible but definitely unpleasant and I certainly didn't have a lot of energy. As I had done with Penny, I went on anti-depressants a few weeks before being full term to help with postpartum depression. Still, I was mostly myself but by the end, once I had checked off all my major baby to dos, I was so done and so ready for this baby to be born.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Whenever anyone would ask when I was due I would repeat the same mantra: March 4th but my other babies have been early so I'm expecting a February baby. Luke came at 38 weeks 6 days and Penny at 37 weeks 6 days and I had it in my mind that the trend for coming even earlier than the last would continue. I was just hoping I could make it past Valentine's Day because I've never wanted my kids to share their birthday with a holiday and Valentine's Day is one of my favorites. I also <i>wanted</i> the baby to be born in February because up until this point our birthdays have landed neatly in a row by month-- October, November, December, January and I felt it would be a shame to miss out on continuing the trend with the baby being due so close to February. 37 weeks 6 days rolled around and nothing happened and nothing continued to happen... I had an OB appointment at 38 weeks and was dilated to a 3 but with Luke I had already been a 4 at 37. It doesn't necessarily mean anything but I was a little disappointed. I asked the doctor if I could be induced before the end of February so we set up a date for the 27th so I was guaranteed to get my February baby. The doctor and I both thought he would come before that, though. That whole week I did almost everything I'd heard of to get myself to go into labor. Bryan's mom is even living with us right now waiting to move into her new home and we thought it would be perfect if he came in the night so we would just have someone here already. The Thursday night before my induction I thought I was having contractions. They were even fairly regular (4 minutes apart) but they weren't so bad I couldn't talk through them so Bryan and I decided to get some rest and assumed I'd wake up with more painful contractions later that night but instead I woke up later thinking, "Where did my contractions go?" So that was disappointing. It just so happened that Bryan's mom had scheduled a vacation before we ever found out we were pregnant for the following week. We finally just assumed we'd make it to induction day and that's exactly what happened.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Part II</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The night before the induction my parents came and spent the night to be able to be with the kids while we were in the hospital so that was nice. Having family nearby is so wonderful. Bryan always gives me a blessing when I'm about to have a baby so this time he did it the night before. He blessed us to have no major complications but talked about my need to rely on the Savior. That felt a little ominous but I tried not to dwell on it. We got up and called the hospital to see if we could still come in and they told us to be there around 7:45. So I decided to get all dolled up since it was a planned labor. I curled my hair and did my make up and we drove to the hospital in such excited anticipation. It was like Christmas morning!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I got checked in and they asked me a million questions. They poked me <b>three </b>times before getting in a successful IV. That wasn't particularly pleasant. On advice from friends I opted to get an epidural right at the beginning and around the same time that was happening they finally hooked me up to pitocin. I don't even know what time that happened. My doctor came in said I was a 4 and broke my water and predicted it would be around 1:30 PM before the baby was delivered (but that he had my blessing if he came earlier) and that we should relax and get some rest while the pitocin and my body did their thing. Well, every time it seemed like we were about the get to rest for any length of time the nurse would come back in for one thing or another. The heart rate monitor kept shifting and being unable to pick up baby's heart beat so they put one in me that went slightly into his head. His heart rate would drop when I had contractions and so they decided to add more synthetic amniotic fluid back into me as a way to cushion him and that seemed to help his heart rate. The nurse joked that I had as many things going into me as was possible. I started to dilate quickly and they even took me off of pitocin to help yet again with baby's heart rate. I was a five and then before I knew it I was a seven and then I started to feel the pressure pretty quickly and before I knew it I was a nine and my doctor was back in the room and getting me ready to push. I asked if he had hair, as my other two both did, and he told me yes and that it was actually pretty light! I didn't push for very long and soon it became apparent what the reason for the heart rate dropping was-- the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. The doctor was about to cut it but decided to have me push when I wasn't contracting and he was born then at 11:27 AM MST (3.5 hours after arriving at the hospital!). He was 7 lbs 6 oz and 19 inches long.The doctor unwrapped the cord from his neck and Bryan cut it. They laid him on my chest and we were shocked that he had red hair! I just remember feeling a great sense of relief and soon they took him over to do all their tests while the doctor stitched me up. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I could sense that something was wrong while they were working on him, trying to get him to pink up. Bryan says when he came out he was "blue as a blueberry." He seemed to have swallowed fluid and was having trouble breathing. They tried giving him oxygen through a tube there but it wasn't working so they told me that they needed to take him up to the Special Care Nursery to do a CPAP on him. It was scary. They only let me hold him for the shortest minute and I didn't get to try to breastfeed him before they whisked him away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I would have liked to have Bryan with me but more than that I wanted him with the baby so I sent him with them to watch over him and to text me about what was going on. Then, I was alone in the recovery room. It was a strange feeling. Minutes before this little being had been very much a part of me and suddenly he'd been taken and my biological need for my child to be near me was overwhelming. They got him hooked up to the CPAP and he seemed to stabilize. They said he just had a lot of gunk in his lungs and that usually with a longer labor and delivery it gets squeezed out on it's own before they have to breath on their own but with how fast I labored and then delivered he didn't have the time to do that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the mean time they got me wheeled over to my room and set up there and I immediately wanted to go up to the Special Care Nursery. They tested his blood sugar and it was low so they fed him a sugar gel paste and then I was able to breastfeed him for the first time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Part III</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After a short stay in Special Care baby was allowed to join me in the Mom & Baby Unit and it seemed like we were finally in our normal postpartum hospital time. Whenever anyone would ask if we had a name picked out I told them we had a list and we would decide for certain at the hospital. I had a favorite but we have always wanted until baby was born and we could see him/her to give them their name. His red hair threw us a curve ball and for a bit a name we had crossed off the list resurfaced. We narrowed the list little by little. We went back and forth between two names and finally didn't choose either and went with the original favorite because it was the only one that felt right. So, we named him Jonah Thurston Whitney. We had had Thurston picked out as a middle name for a possible second son since the dawn of our marriage. It's my dad's middle name and was his dad's before him. My dad had six daughters, though, so he never had the chance to use it. He is also one of the best men ever to exist, basically, so I felt strongly that I wanted to use it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Things were going pretty well, I thought. All the nurses gushed over the baby and his full head of red hair. Bryan went home each night and slept in our bed rather than being in the hospital with me. He did that with Penny too but with Luke, since we didn't have other is, he stayed with me. The next day we had the kids come by to meet their new brother and we were just basking in our new baby. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Breastfeeding was going decently and I'd had a good enough amount of sleep with him going into the nursery at night and only bring brought to me for feedings. He was a little jittery but they said that was likely from the antidepressants in my system and that it would wear off quickly. He took forever to have his first poop and the nurse had to help him along and by the point that he did have it he'd had enough colostrum in his system that it wasn't just a meconium poop anymore. The next night they performed a car seat test on him where he had to sit in his car seat for 90 minutes without struggling to breath. They do this with babies who have had oxygen issues. Well, he failed it. Twice. They did another test in something called a car bed that is for baby to lay flat in and he barely passed that. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">They also said he had high bilirubin levels and had him go under the bili lights. He also randomly had a high temperature, though that ended up dissipating It felt like one thing after another. The pediatrician said that we could still go home the anticipated next day but he'd have to get photo therapy at home for his bilirubin and go home in the car bed. I was a little stressed and sad but hopeful that we could go home. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">That night Jonah had kind of off feedings and it concerned the nurse who was helping us. For one thing he pretty much refused to nurse on my left side, just like Penny had. I always tried him on that side first and then switched him. Penny worked it out so I figured that would be ok but he also started eating for short amounts of time-- 3-5 minutes or so a feeding. He also just wanted to sleep and didn't want to wake up to eat. I saw the obstetrician on call and he said that since I was recovering well I'd definitely need to be discharged myself because insurance wouldn't cover more. The nurse came in later with a concerned look on her face and said, "So..." and I said, "Uh oh..." She told us that they were still concerned about him and his rapid breathing and how he wasn't eating for very long amounts of time. They didn't think they could discharge him yet but that I would need to be discharged. Since I was breastfeeding I was allowed to stay in the hospital but without care and that I would be discharged. I felt so crushed and I cried and felt like a failure at breastfeeding. He got to be in the room with us while on his bili lights but we couldn't hold him as much as we would like because he needed to be under the lights. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Bryan went home early that night so he could take care if the kids because my parents had been doing it for days and we wanted to give them a break. That night he failed his car seat test again. I waited around for so long the next morning before seeing my baby and before anyone came into the room. I felt so lonely and lost and filled with a need to be near my baby. I hated how separated from him I felt. The pediatrician finally came in to talk to me with the same concerned look on her face that the nurse had had the day before. She said she had wanted to send him home and it seemed like he was a healthy, term baby but that something was off. He kept failing the car seat test and he had "desatted" and turned blue at one point (which no one had told me). She decided that he needed to go back upstairs to the Special Care Nursery. They also did an x-ray of his chest and tested him for all manner of infections, though his bilirubin levels had gone down so he no longer needed to be under the light. As I cried unashamedly in front of the pediatrician I said, "I feel like this is all my fault! I made him come earlier than he wanted by inducing him for no real reason." And then she wiped away that mom guilt in about two seconds by telling me that it was good we had induced him earlier and that if he'd gotten bigger and we'd waited that I would probably have had an emergency C-section. I'm so grateful for that peace of mind, at least.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Since we were going to the Special Care Nursery (essentially a level 1 NICU) I would no longer be staying in the room I had been in but instead sleeping on a couch in his room with him. While not terribly excited with the sleeping arrangements, I was happier to be with him at all times and to always know what was going on with him. The infections came back negative but the x-ray showed that he had a pneumothorax. The nurse explained to me that our lungs are like bunches of grapes (except really tiny) and that a small handful of those "grapes" had burst. It is essentially a collapsed lung, though that makes it sound more dramatic than it was. This could have been caused from too much pressure with the umbilical cord around his neck at birth or as an unfortunate side effect of the CPAP that caused a tiny rupture. She said that it would heal and quickly but it would need the help of oxygen. He was on 21% oxygen, which is just room air but he simply needed the flow to help him. They also had placed an IV in his head in case they needed to administer antibiotics for a possible infection but never ended up needing to use it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I was happy that he was getting the help he needed and that there were watchful eyes on him. During this time my milk came in and it wasn't the most comfortable experience. I pumped some just for relief. His nursing was a bit of a struggle-- he would take sometimes 15-20 minutes just to get the latch he would like and then he would eat for about three minutes and be out. The good thing was that when he was eating he seemed to be gulping it down and he continued to have wet and poopy diapers and was gaining weight. All were good signs even though I wished he would eat for longer so I could feel certain he was done. One thing that was really nice about our time there was that I happened to get the same day nurse and night nurse pretty much the whole time we were in there. It felt better to keep things consistent and they knew us and how our feedings were going, etc. On Saturday night Sandi got back from her vacation to Las Vegas and was able to help take care if the kids so Bryan could spend more time in the hospital with me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">On early Sunday morning I was trying to feed Jonah and he was getting so mad at me that his heart rate was going so high and the machine started beeping like crazy at me. I was so scared and pressed the nurse button but they didn't come and I put him down and opened the door but there were no nurses to be found anywhere. I kept crying out, "help!" Finally one came and said it was okay, there was nothing wrong with him he was just extremely mad. I probably overreacted but when the machine your son is hooked up to starts blaring at you and no one is around to ease your mind it is a terrifying experience! During all this time he was hooked up to a cannula going up his nose and he was stuffy, which is a big part of why he was struggling with breastfeeding. The pediatrician was nervous that he had a cold and said that would prolong our stay by several days so she ran a panel on that. They took him off oxygen that morning to see how he did. If he could go 24 hours without desatting he could come home, as long as he didn't have a cold. Despite the good news, this was all an emotional time for me. It was Sunday and Bryan and I went across the street to a chapel and took the sacrament. It was really important to me because the words of Bryan's blessing to me kept coming back to my mind. It felt so good to be there and to feel the peace that the gospel brings. When we got back to the hospital we found out that he did <b>not</b> have a cold and the cannula itself had been the reason for his stuffiness. His second x-ray showed that the pneumothorax was gone but there was a little fluid around it that the pediatrician wasn't concerned about. If he could go the night without desatting he could go home the next day! Bryan and I were so happy that night and packed up a bunch of stuff to take home because we felt sure that it would be the last night. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">That night I woke up to hear his monitors continually beeping. He kept desatting and was struggling to recover on his own. Our nurse sadly decided he needed just a bit more oxygen and hooked him up for the remainder of the night, though it was the barest minimum of air flow to help him. They took him off again later that morning but the 24 hour oxygen free stipulation was reset. I was so crestfallen. I knew it had been a mistake to get my hopes up so high and it was extremely emotional for me. Bryan was unable to come be with me that day because we didn't have other childcare for the other kids. And speaking of, I haven't mentioned it until now but another emotionally difficult thing for me was feeling torn in two separate directions. I missed my older kids so much and wanted to be with them but didn't want to be separated from Jonah either. Luke, especially, had a hard time with me being gone. We came home one night for a short visit and he said, "Yay!!!!" when I came in the door and hugged me and I burst into tears. They came to the hospital a few times on my insistence because I missed them so much but it was pretty hard to have them there, mostly two year old Penny who only has one volume. So, he stayed with them and was going to join me in the later afternoon. My mom was out of town and my sister was coming down with a cold so there I was, on my own. I tried to comfort myself with hymns and talks about Christ and let Him be my companion that day. Around mid day one of my friends came to visit for a little bit and that was nice to have some company for a little while. Bryan didn't end up getting to the hospital until about 6:30 at night and it was hard! It had been an overall lonely and sad day for me with just a couple bright spots. I was emotionally an physically exhausted and I was trying to not get my hopes up about going home the next day. Bryan told me that he kept thinking of the concept of approaching a stop light-- some aggressive drivers try to speed through the light if it turns yellow but that whenever there is a stop light you should act as though you'll need to stop at any given moment. The night before we were trying to plow through the light only to have to slam on our breaks when it turned red but instead this night we would approach the light as though we would need to stop. Full of anxiety about what the night would hold, I went to sleep. Not long later I heard his monitors beeping. I got up and asked the nurse about it and she said not to worry, that she was watching it and that he didn't need to go back on oxygen just yet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Morning arrived and his 24 hours were up. The pediatrician said we would be able to go home that day! However, he would need to do the car seat test one last time to see if he needed to go home in the car bed or not. The pediatrician said that if any newborn was hooked up to these machines they would probably desat sometimes as well. Breathing is just tricky for newborns but unless there is a need to hook them up they usually aren't monitored that way so they aren't kept. The fact that he would desat and recover was okay. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">One disappointing thing was that this was the morning that I had a new nurse who didn't really know us the way the other two had the whole time we had been up in Special Care. I fed him right before they were going to do the car seat test and then we were going to leave and get breakfast because I was too stressed to be there while it happened. After that feeding he kept desatting and the nurse was concerned and called a specialist to come in and check him out. In the mean time she switched his monitor to the other foot and his oxygen was totally fine. The monitor must have gotten kicked into a bad position or something-- something our other nurses would often fix and he would be ok. The specialist came in and checked him out and said he sounded good and so they went ahead to perform the car seat test. It was really disconcerting to leave after that desatting experience. The whole time we were gone I was full of anxiety that he would have failed immediately. I barely enjoyed my Kneaders breakfast and even had a hard time enjoying walking around Target! When we got back to the hospital he had a few minutes to go and I went to the bathroom while Bryan stood outside his door. He had a sad look on his face when I got back and said Jonah had been desatting the whole time he had been standing there. However, the nurse said he had done well for 80 out of the 90 minute car seat test and had only desatted in the last ten minutes and would recover on his own. That was encouraging! So we thought we were all set to go home, possibly with the car bed (but we had to hear back from the pediatrician on that) and were ready to be discharged. There was some confusion and we thought they were getting the car bed ready for us to take home if we needed to but apparently the nurse was about to repeat another 90 minute car bed test. We were getting so anxious to leave at this point. We talked to the pediatrician on the phone and she said that we wouldn't need to repeat that test since he had already passed it before but that for legal and insurance reasons, since he had been desatting in his most recent car seat test, she had to have us go home with the car bed. The nurses were trying to find one that hadn't expired even though I had had one in our room with me most of the time I had been in there and it had only recently been removed for some reason. It was incredibly frustrating. Finally, though, we were discharged and awkwardly got Jonah hooked up with the car bed and drove away from the hospital with our newborn baby... Not the best hospital experience I have had. Bryan said he gave that discharge experience 1 out of 5 stars. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course, I am so grateful to all the doctors and nurses who took such great care of us while we were there. The end was rocky but I can't hold the confusion against them. Still, I used to drive by the hospital with a warm feeling in my heart about how Penny had been born there and how happy we had been there. I think that driving past the hospital will be a different experience from now on-- not because I'm not grateful but because it was such an emotionally traumatic experience this time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We've been at home with Jonah for over a week now and things are going pretty normally at least for what this time of life is. We are all a little more exhausted and I've been dealing with pain from breastfeeding and out of whack hormones that always accompany the first couple weeks after having a baby. There are small things I work myself up to be worried about with him, especially, because of what he went through compared to my other kids. I thought Luke was going to be my hardest! Breastfeeding started to get better basically the first day we were home, though. He has stopped taking so long to latch and will eat fine on either side. He seems to eat for longer, though I don't keep track of it now that I don't have to because it doesn't help me to go with the flow. That's something I learned with my experience breastfeeding Penny which, while not perfect, did work! Luke continues to tell me how much he missed me while I was in the hospital. He likes to be helpful and to give his little brother gentle kisses. He's a sweet boy. Penny often says, "hold him" and every night when we ask her what she's grateful for (a nightly family tradition) she says, "baby Jonah." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have never chosen a theme word for my kids before but Jonah certainly has one and that is: unpredictable. He was conceived when we weren't expecting it, went against my instincts for gender, stayed in longer that were expecting, came out with red hair and then of course all the unforeseen medical complications. I just hope from here on out he's unpredictable in a good way! This one might give me a run for my money but he sure is adorable and we all love him so much. </span></div>
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Alyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07603053063213840414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802778370429922248.post-35584046059768255792018-02-19T11:04:00.002-07:002018-02-19T11:05:11.682-07:00Another Year in Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm a little late in posting this, but Penny is a year old! The main thing I want to say is... you guys, I did it. I breastfed a baby for a whole year. 12 months and some change. That might not be a big deal to most of you but if you know me or have been reading my blog for a while you know that it's a big deal to me. For a brief summary, I wasn't able to breastfeed Luke and I pumped exclusively for 8 months. It was very hard on me emotionally because I had always longed to breastfeed my baby. Well, I did! And I have to be honest that it wasn't my favorite thing. Don't get me wrong, I am so glad I did it and it was bittersweet to wean her but she was ready and so I was I. We've been weaned for about two weeks! It was never easy to breastfeed her away from home and now I feel a little more free to go out. It's also nice feeling to know that I could leave her at home with her dad and go somewhere and not have to be back by a certain time.<br />
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But enough about me. This little girl is still on the little side for her age. She's 20 lbs and I don't remember how long. Isn't that funny? I wrote everything down for Luke but life moves too fast now to give her the year in review she probably deserves. She's not walking-- she's done things a little later than Luke seemed to. He walked around 13 months so I'm not expecting it for a little while and I think that's okay. She can go at her own pace. She gets into everything, though. She is a great little crawler and loves to climb the stairs-- which is scary to me since she doesn't know how to back down them yet! If we don't have them blocked off she beelines for them. She cries more than I remember Luke crying but I think part of that is that Luke didn't have an older sibling grabbing toys out of his hand all the time! Oh, the life of a second born. She has the best smile and laugh and, of course, so much hair. I've given her less haircuts than I gave Luke by now but that's pretty understandable with her being a girl. I've trimmed her bangs a few times and evened things out in the back once. She doesn't hold still for much so for now I've had to delay my desires of fun hairstyles. If I'm lucky I can do a little pony on the top. She brings us so much joy and was meant to be a part of our family. We love our little girly!<br />
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Alyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07603053063213840414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802778370429922248.post-89593861348941922672017-10-08T21:48:00.001-06:002017-10-08T21:48:46.312-06:00September - October 8, 2017<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Another month has come and gone. After a long summer Fall is finally here and all that comes with it! It is most definitely my favorite time of year. Here's what has been going on for us since I last wrote.<br />
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Luke has been quite difficult lately. He is still our sweet boy but he's definitely pushing his limits and having a hard time listening to us. All totally normal for this age but still frustrating for us (and him, sure). I think a lot of the issues stem from a desire for more attention, as it has definitely been divided with having a new (ish...) baby at home. I'm trying to implement some mom and Luke time each day during Penny's first nap and I hope that will help. Another thing he's started is a weekly playgroup with a few friends around here. We switch off who hosts and it's already noticeable how he's becoming more comfortable at friends houses without me and it's also helped with his socialization a lot.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little stinker drew all over himself. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hiding from brother during a tantrum...</td></tr>
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Penny is growing up so much. She is now eight months old! She's still not crawling because every time she flips over onto her tummy she cries and cries. It makes me so sad-- and also it's not something I was expecting since Luke crawled around this time. She is sitting up on her own so well, though. She also can stand holding onto things and I think she is even trying to pull herself up to things. She has found more of her voice and babbles mamamama, dadadada, babababa but more lately she has been growling and it's pretty funny. The other day she was eating some meat and I said, "Do you like that, baby?" and she promptly growled.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love this sweet sitting girl.</td></tr>
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Another adventure we went on was to SeaQuest with Grandma Sandi, Aunt Shelley and cousins. This place is so neat because you can actually interact with all the animals/fish/birds there.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Play hard, crash hard, </td></tr>
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We have also been enjoying some family park time and frequent Lodestone Park. We pack a picnic dinner and then play until time to put the kids to bed. It's been fun!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWKRbamNd5hF5ZELzin6c2OszdUcVc_Iu3D9eZJv_J3S3UtU4ZiEas1283D3rzceFcXfvJV7BK-n34EYkB0enTq2jqo_U9VF8qtS06xPVKkcRPiEXOGdwWVY7Pmy4WFc27DbuGzNlZv15K/s1600/IMG_20170929_184731.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWKRbamNd5hF5ZELzin6c2OszdUcVc_Iu3D9eZJv_J3S3UtU4ZiEas1283D3rzceFcXfvJV7BK-n34EYkB0enTq2jqo_U9VF8qtS06xPVKkcRPiEXOGdwWVY7Pmy4WFc27DbuGzNlZv15K/s320/IMG_20170929_184731.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Standing up to her toy, as mentioned above.</td></tr>
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A big thing that happened this month was General Conference. Every six months we have the opportunity to hear inspiring messages from our church leaders. I always come away wanting to do and be better. Now that my parents live here it has really become a family event, whereas when we lived in Boise we just watched out our own. Now we spend one of the conference days with them and the other with Bryan's family.<br />
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Another fun thing I did with the kids was to take them to Gardner Village to find witches. Really it's just a fun excuse to get out and enjoy the fall festivities with some of our neighborhood friends.<br />
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Last Friday was the day before my birthday and Luke decided he wanted to take me to McDonald's for lunch. That was fine by me and a nice little treat for both of us.<br />
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That evening we went to a Harry Potter Fall Festival at cousins Ava and Sylvie's school and while it wasn't the most authentically Harry Potter event I've ever been to, we still had a lot of fun with family. In particular, Luke, who got to ride a train, a pony and jump in a bounce house!<br />
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The next day was my actual birthday. Bryan let me sleep in, made me breakfast and then later that day we went out to lunch with my parents and Lindsay and her girls. I just love having some of my family here. Later we went out to a pumpkin patch and had fun picking out pumpkins, riding tractors, eating donuts, exploring corn mazes and riding on a hayride.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luke exploring pumpkins with his cousins</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a and="" another="" come="" gone.="" has="" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg78lkv0bUwoHJi5t19zTJMXG1tYKSvS-bTFEj5VRgzCdts3nZfBowqmHC5O-7gsdhLLigO_Hag4UlOx23d2TJFnjUEonqmOSS_T8qDqspJsaMSlIpphZiil5xBtd1ElC7tqmyCda6jErIG/s1600/IMG_20171007_174429.jpg" imageanchor="1" month="" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg78lkv0bUwoHJi5t19zTJMXG1tYKSvS-bTFEj5VRgzCdts3nZfBowqmHC5O-7gsdhLLigO_Hag4UlOx23d2TJFnjUEonqmOSS_T8qDqspJsaMSlIpphZiil5xBtd1ElC7tqmyCda6jErIG/s320/IMG_20171007_174429.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Penny loving on Ava</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnlw0VnqAe7qICZIq4KawOiG2_xi5pxRgwZI3dtvSNKTKfw8m-xcuZn8Tv921-5gUQUN23OMPn4goQdJ9Jy6w_wk2fJ-qfuIibBCMkjOm2Cf1Ebot4JmHWR_G7M6Fz-np0Tzo3DeWwJUgY/s1600/IMG_20171007_174438_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnlw0VnqAe7qICZIq4KawOiG2_xi5pxRgwZI3dtvSNKTKfw8m-xcuZn8Tv921-5gUQUN23OMPn4goQdJ9Jy6w_wk2fJ-qfuIibBCMkjOm2Cf1Ebot4JmHWR_G7M6Fz-np0Tzo3DeWwJUgY/s320/IMG_20171007_174438_1.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Penny loving on Sylvie</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My adorable, goofy boy!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0xivevaFU0aA9IeF83qNoFarYJMS0VZAH4m6dnC3AxPsyegZihcimpn4RJDd6SpHMtNIsMoaMGehaNFdBfY-pvRMqUaOLkOPTEp498497p3-z7H0iDdHFwvi_u8vlbW4HRXGhb0qSriNb/s1600/IMG_20171007_185456.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0xivevaFU0aA9IeF83qNoFarYJMS0VZAH4m6dnC3AxPsyegZihcimpn4RJDd6SpHMtNIsMoaMGehaNFdBfY-pvRMqUaOLkOPTEp498497p3-z7H0iDdHFwvi_u8vlbW4HRXGhb0qSriNb/s320/IMG_20171007_185456.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whitneys at the Pumpkin Patch take 2-- with a new family member!</td></tr>
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Other than these things we've been busy working on a project in our basement (more details when it's done after Christmas!) and I've been making all kinds of crafts.
Alyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07603053063213840414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802778370429922248.post-56150620917223437122017-09-03T21:44:00.001-06:002017-09-03T21:44:45.029-06:00August (and a little July) 2017<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
You guys, I'm serious about this monthly blog post thing. I made a reminder in my Google calendar to do it on the first Sunday of the month and here I am! Mostly this month I've been sewing and crafting-- for myself, for a charity, for friends. I like to keep busy, apparently.<br />
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Here's where we were at the end of the last blog post. Look how big Penny is there! She's even bigger now. She officially turned 6 months and we have started giving her foods. She still doesn't ingest a ton of it it but little by little she is eating more. And she tries all kinds of things. Tonight she ate some olives and seemed to like it! The banana below is the first thing I ever offered her.<br />
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At the end of July we went to my niece Sylvie's birthday party at my parents' house. I just love having family nearby! Luke got his face painted and also got to ride a horse!<br />
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Of course we had to celebrate Harry Potter's birthday on July 30. It was pretty tame for me but still we had Fish 'n Chips, Butterbeer, Chocolate Frogs and an FHE lesson that actually tied in to Harry Potter.<br />
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The two pictures below are now a common occurrence. Luke loves being a big helper so he usually likes to turn Penny's white noise on before her nap and off after. And he usually stops by to say hi to her for a little bit before I feed her. She just adores him.<br />
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We found a sweet new park with zip lines that is less than ten minutes from our house and we've had picnics there twice now. I hate summer, though. Even in the early evening it is sooo hot and I question my bright idea to go to the park. Luke loves it, though, and who am I to deny him? I hope I get out the door to go to the park a lot more frequently once fall officially arrives. Hopefully now that it is September it will start to cool down a little. Though, I was reminded yesterday that the first day of fall is not until September 20th. Summer.... why must you be so long???<br />
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This picture is so Penny right now. She is such a little grabber. Anything she can get her hands on. I have to be so careful what I put within her reach. She will twist all the way around in her Bumbo to get something behind her. She is so, so close to sitting up on her own but I honestly don't think crawling is going to happen for several more months. She abhors tummy time and cries every time I try-- but I do still try, because it's important. We'll just have to see. Also, I could kick myself for writing about what a great sleeper she is in the last post. Honestly it hasn't been horrible but she went through a regression and was waking up in the night for a little while. It could also be that she got her first ever cold and was working through that. The cold is gone but she still has this horrible phlegmy cough that is kind of heartbreaking to hear. Other than that, she is doing so well and growing more every day<br />
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Guess who is practically potty trained? Luke! I think he was just ready because once I really decided to just stick with the underwear and I made some rules about him going potty on his own if I wasn't around he just stuck to them. We've had very few accidents and he's been consistently going #2 in the potty. Woohoo! Today we were even brave enough to have him go to church in underwear instead of a pull up and he kept it dry for all three hours and went potty there. We still have him in a pull up at night because I'm not ready to deal with the bed wetting since he wakes up with a full pull up most mornings. We're making great progress, though!<br />
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I am just realizing it has been a <b>year</b> since I went through my horrible ordeal with C-Diff. Yuck, guys. Don't look that up. But I felt like maybe I was dying a little bit. Whenever I remember that whole month of what I went through I am so grateful for a healthy body.<br />
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Last but not least, yesterday we were able to attend our niece Ella's baptism. It was so nice gathering for such a special occasion and Bryan's dad was even able to come out briefly for it. I'm so grateful for the knowledge of this true gospel and for the peace it brings into my life. It makes me so happy to see Ella choosing to follow in that path. Next week it will be my niece Ava's turn but I'm sure I'll write about that next month. It also made me think about how neat it will be to go through these things with my kids. Still, I'm not ready for them to be that old yet. I hope I can savor these younger years even through the frustration it sometimes brings. They'll only be this little once. It's exciting to think about the future but sad to know I'll never have this again. Kids are the best.<br />
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Alyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07603053063213840414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802778370429922248.post-12491807810245811012017-07-20T14:23:00.000-06:002017-07-20T22:49:52.968-06:00Life with Two<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well, it's been about 6 months since I last posted and, as I'm sure you can surmise, a lot has gone on in that time with a new baby. With Luke I posted fairly frequently after he was born, mostly as a therapeutic way to vent frustration about the rough initiation I was having into motherhood. This time... well, I'm not going to say its been all rainbows and unicorns but an amalgamation of things has made it easier. Therefore, less venting was needed. It helps that I had been through it before and knew what to expect to a degree. It helps that breastfeeding hasn't felt like an insurmountable trial from the beginning. More than all of these things, it helps that I was able to escape the torturous grasps of postpartum depression. Many people have a very hard time adding a second child. For many it rocks their world... but for us, it's been pretty smooth. Transitioning from no kids to one kid is what what rocked our world. Or maybe when/if we add a third <b>that</b> will rock our world. But one to two has been, while not easy all the time, surprisingly doable.<br />
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Now, has breastfeeding this time been a walk in the park? Uh, no. We have had a lot of challenges but somehow, miraculously, I've been able to take all of these small annoyances in stride and guess what? <b>It's working!</b> Our little Penny Lu is quite the particular nurser. She still only likes to be fed in the cross cradle position (rather than the classic cradle position), at home in her rocking chair without noisy distractions. Luckily I've gotten her used to eating at church (though they are never the easiest feedings because, again, noisy distractions. Turns out mom can't carry on a conversation with her friends while Penny is trying to eat) and at my parent's. But try to nurse out and about? No way. Many tears are shed-- for both parties! And a nursing cover? Forget about it. At the back of my mind for these past six months I've had the thought, "When am I going to turn into one of those pro moms who can pop her baby on, cradle position, under a cover while sitting on a bench at the park while Luke plays? When am I going to become a <i>normal </i>breastfeeding mom?" Lately, I've had a light bulb go off in my head as I came to the realization that it doesn't matter if I'm not doing it the way I see on TV or movies, in blogs or even in the mother's lounge. I've decided I have to embrace my normal. Who cares if she insists on the cross cradle position for the whole 12 months we'll have breastfeeding together? The point is <b>she's doing it! </b>She's eating! And gaining weight really well, even while only eating one side per feeding in under ten minutes. That was one of those things I used to be so worried about but she just wouldn't eat more. But now, her chunky thighs reassure me that she knows what she needs and gets it-- and somehow I'm still amazed that I'm actually providing it!<br />
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I'm really trying to live in the present. There are times when I think, "Won't it be nice when she's older and..." and I stop myself right then and there because when she's older, I'm going to be missing the exact time I'm in now! The snugly, soft, sweet baby phase. Same goes for Luke who has been extremely independent and the daily power struggles are oh, so real. He asks me a <b>million</b> questions a day and I get so exasperated sometimes. I try to remind myself that some day he's going to be a teenager and I'm going to <b>want</b> him to talk to me. I need to soak in his attention and currently being one of his favorite people. I think I thought a little sister might be one of his favorite people too but up until now he hasn't shown her much attention. He helps getting her toys and diapers and pacifiers but he doesn't try to kiss her all the time the way I've seen other older siblings doing. However, as she's getting older he interacts with her more. She adores him and cracks up whenever he says goofy nonsense words to her or even just looks directly at her. Sometimes when I need to get something done and if he will, all she needs to be entertained is for him to run circles around her.<br />
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In other Luke news, we are potty training in the loosest sense of the words. I know I need to buckle down and do it better but I am unable to give him my full attention during the week when Penny needs to be fed and put down for naps. There are stretches of time where I just can't be with him and it seems like those are always the times he has to go and has accidents in underwear. So, for now, we're in pull ups. When Bryan is home we try to do underwear so either of us is always available to him. He simply won't try to go on the potty without one of us there with him. When he does go, it is only #1. He has never gone #2 (numbering them for the easily grossed out non mothers. The rest of us talk about our kids' bowel movements with shocking ease). However, I'm not stressing about it. I know it will happen. I'm not really worried about him going off to college without being potty trained.<br />
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Penny isn't a perfect baby by any means. She doesn't like to be left alone and whines/cries/screeches to get attention. She has had separation anxiety for months. She loves me and Bryan. In that order. When anyone else, even her Grandmas, try to hold her for more than a few minutes she starts to get upset. It's sweet. And exhausting. I know it's a phase that won't last. Trying to appreciate her great love for me. But in so many ways she is also the most delightful baby with a cherubic face that just fills my heart with motherly love and affection to look at. She doesn't love rolling but she will do it and has several times. She still hates tummy time. She is a wonderful night sleeper. I am one lucky duck to be getting as much sleep at night as she's been letting me get for months now. She goes to bed roughly around 8 PM and wakes up around 6:40 AM, generally. There are anomalies on both sides (she woke up at 7:20 today-- I had to go in the make sure she was alive, Owlet and all! But she also sometimes wakes up between 4:30 and 5:30 to eat and then goes back to sleep until around 8!) I'm definitely spoiled in the baby sleep department-- Luke was much the same. When she officially turns 6 months I'll be starting her on solids and it'll be interesting to see how she likes that. We follow baby led weaning where you basically just give the baby whatever food you are eating (within reason) instead of feeding them purees. It does teach them how to feed themselves sooner but really we don't do it for any sanctimonious reasons. It's just easier and cheaper, simple as that. Luke did really well with it and I'm excited to see how she does.<br />
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We've had family gatherings and fun galore in the past six months. I'll touch on those in the hoard of pictures I'm about to unleash on you. One that I'll give a more detail to, and honestly should have written about before now, is her blessing. She was blessed as Penelope Luvera Whitney on May 7, 2017 by her dad. He blessed her to know that she was a loved daughter of God and that her "native cherry attitude" would be a benefit to those around her, among many other lovely blessings. We were able to have a lot of family and friends come to it and hosted an open house at our home afterward. My mom bought her the most gorgeous detailed, lacy blessing dress that I love and we were able to get professional pictures taken later that week.<br />
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Just this morning my friend and I were talking about blogging (I was already trying to write this post-- which I wrote in <b>entirety</b> before accidentally pressing back and somehow deleting the whole darn thing. In a fit of rage I finished off Luke's potty reward M&Ms, woops, and then painstakingly re-wrote it) and she said she tried to just write one post a month encompassing the whole month instead of trying to blog about every specific event. I think I'm going to try to do that. By trying to do everything I end up doing nothing, at least as far as blogging goes. And here are some of our favorite pictures from the last six months:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4dF9D1icNFMoJRwT8zGhOImXQpnQR6-GhNDJ-p0BL0XH9Ywllh3RSSvT1wSqHiYZvtqLRc0OjA40nOq70tWvBmtsFqRhiSqQJT5shktWpnMpkWR7jfDpag1GvFqsyAfgahM6CgnSglmOQ/s1600/IMG_20170202_170421.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4dF9D1icNFMoJRwT8zGhOImXQpnQR6-GhNDJ-p0BL0XH9Ywllh3RSSvT1wSqHiYZvtqLRc0OjA40nOq70tWvBmtsFqRhiSqQJT5shktWpnMpkWR7jfDpag1GvFqsyAfgahM6CgnSglmOQ/s320/IMG_20170202_170421.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Exhausted</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Funny onseie I got at my OB/Gyn at my 6 week check up. She was actually not delivered by my doctor, Dr. Wilson, since she came on a weekend,. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGbBZt4qGfwZASeobwDTCwEk0yRaamHJj27HwFvM-xp5uBb-UPWsUhxqtGo5EISpvZimKWQSlprW8r9iLt0Ok1v5UbTwZ7bEGW99yuJN4WxLbJuUqkHAwkXUu_isqQgCvEIbPeKLuMfU_o/s1600/IMG_20170324_131457.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGbBZt4qGfwZASeobwDTCwEk0yRaamHJj27HwFvM-xp5uBb-UPWsUhxqtGo5EISpvZimKWQSlprW8r9iLt0Ok1v5UbTwZ7bEGW99yuJN4WxLbJuUqkHAwkXUu_isqQgCvEIbPeKLuMfU_o/s320/IMG_20170324_131457.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of her first smiles</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_KrW7hDrwjRrhy-ahd2lUGLyK_AiRhXheC4Nk5HN8Xdbg2xmcvagPvvBp_bjgFoDIhq9kWMbhuO7KYmFNsZ8AqCb5f1XAzzgnKqLWElH3JLK5oMpDcECX6pV1GId8Xlxd02Cp76CVlKlK/s1600/IMG_20170326_135819.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_KrW7hDrwjRrhy-ahd2lUGLyK_AiRhXheC4Nk5HN8Xdbg2xmcvagPvvBp_bjgFoDIhq9kWMbhuO7KYmFNsZ8AqCb5f1XAzzgnKqLWElH3JLK5oMpDcECX6pV1GId8Xlxd02Cp76CVlKlK/s320/IMG_20170326_135819.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This never happens.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Family Pictures March 2017</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Easter Fun!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtzb0aZa6fNhHcTkvkuuadMyclfJYFbx-HSeGufMOAtycecexem-RI_GMo30qCYQZVUJ89lHQ7otl64tBg_LKQ7ZmyoVbzmJEaDvx7a-fugazf34jEzcUA7L20CfosvdgK-C3jIYkyt5N0/s1600/IMG_20170421_093355.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtzb0aZa6fNhHcTkvkuuadMyclfJYFbx-HSeGufMOAtycecexem-RI_GMo30qCYQZVUJ89lHQ7otl64tBg_LKQ7ZmyoVbzmJEaDvx7a-fugazf34jEzcUA7L20CfosvdgK-C3jIYkyt5N0/s320/IMG_20170421_093355.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of my very favorite parts of having a baby</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL9DlZz-4xAWvXqCzNkoxjZJr8E5fjqT5ybV1v2yPn8C9GamkUR3ViE8Wyr0mAjzgLXC4Czvgq0rl6rTYfkrW1sUz-hyncVKeowlMHFK5CR-0tHQb_8G1rzq3Ssz72HDpL03OEKF2ZVqZu/s1600/IMG_20170504_181656_426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL9DlZz-4xAWvXqCzNkoxjZJr8E5fjqT5ybV1v2yPn8C9GamkUR3ViE8Wyr0mAjzgLXC4Czvgq0rl6rTYfkrW1sUz-hyncVKeowlMHFK5CR-0tHQb_8G1rzq3Ssz72HDpL03OEKF2ZVqZu/s320/IMG_20170504_181656_426.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">May the 4th be with you!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2qlpEjyBeqUFuSvu7A14VgAvgLkcx9KZnoioWip9PBd6l_8mePqPMtl02nQYhGcHWZo2rFote10FO2ynW8ehQrNFtd2UZrLeiFYxiMRkoj-5g_3zoXsWNjOLcYaVDjRxbNu7N1D_srlNb/s1600/IMG_20170518_145325.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2qlpEjyBeqUFuSvu7A14VgAvgLkcx9KZnoioWip9PBd6l_8mePqPMtl02nQYhGcHWZo2rFote10FO2ynW8ehQrNFtd2UZrLeiFYxiMRkoj-5g_3zoXsWNjOLcYaVDjRxbNu7N1D_srlNb/s320/IMG_20170518_145325.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wonderful, beautiful new minivan that I <3<3<3</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby Animal Days in Morgan</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful blessing pictures</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy Father's Day!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4th of July Bike Parade!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These two little cousins were the best of friends for about a week and were so sad to say goodbye.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what my days look like. But lets be honest, it's not always smiles. However, I love being able to stay home with these beautiful children!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holding the baby is not quite the same as it used to be for Luke... He complained because she drooled on him and kept trying to touch his face. She was in heaven. She loves when her brother pays attention to her.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luke trying on his dad's old glasses</td></tr>
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Alyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07603053063213840414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802778370429922248.post-9555187108987079272017-02-08T15:53:00.001-07:002017-02-08T15:55:10.061-07:00Penelope Luvera Whitney<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Two Saturdays ago, January 28th, to our surprise we welcomed our daughter Penelope Luvera Whitney into the world at 9:27 PM MST. She was 6 lbs 10 oz and 18.5 inches long and we were graced with yet another full head of hair, this time very dark brown. I am still in shock and awe that she is here. I felt for a long time that I should still be pregnant and that has only worn off in the last few days. I was expecting (or at least hoping) for a few more days before her arrival. I mentioned in the last post that Bryan started a new job. I'm not sure if I mentioned that our new insurance wouldn't be taking effect until February. We still had private insurance but her early arrival meant things will be more expensive as it won't go toward the deductible of our new insurance and we'll have to add her to the private right before cancelling it just so her hospital stay and newborn check up are covered. Sigh. We prayed so hard that we could just make it there. Surely we would since she wasn't even due until the 12th, right? She had other plans in mind. I suppose I should start at the beginning...<br />
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Part I -- Labor and Delivery<br />
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<a href="http://bryanandalyssa.blogspot.com/2013/12/luke-wallace-whitney.html" target="_blank">Luke</a> was born exactly when we wanted him to be. He waited until after Thanksgiving but came before his due date. I was 38 weeks and 6 days along with him when he came dramatically into the world when my water broke late at night and I was immediately already dilated to a 9! After getting to the hospital and getting an epidural, my labor slowed down. I pushed for an hour and a half before they had to use a vacuum to get him out all the way because his heart rate was dropping. The labor and delivery were about 8 hours but I was told that the epidural is what had slowed it down and that I'd have likely had him very soon after if not for that. Because of all this I was pretty nervous that my labor was going to go really quickly this time around and I worried that I might not even make it to the hospital! My doctor told me that if I was at all dilated at my 37 week appointment that they would schedule me for inducement at 39 weeks. When I was 37 weeks with Luke I was dilated to a 4 and 80% effaced so I was sure that I probably would be dilated this time too. This time at 37 weeks I was a dilated to a 3 and the doctor just said I was "very thin" and that I could "go into labor at any minute." Way to freak a girl out! But still, as I was further along with Luke at that point and kept him in until 38 weeks 6 days I felt confident that she'd be born in February still. We set an induction date for February 7th but the doctor (correctly, it turns out) didn't seem to think I'd make it there.<br />
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A couple days later I was lounging on the couch with Luke curled up next to me watching a show when I started having some low back pain and cramping. Because of what the doctor had said I started freaking out a little. I drank a lot of water to slow any cramping and took a warm bath. A friend took Luke out that morning so I could relax and take it easy and my sister came over later and cleaned for me a little while I would just lay in bed. I felt so lazy. I convinced myself that I was overreacting to my body prepping for delivery. Still, Bryan and I made plans for if I were to go into labor while he was at work.<br />
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The next day Bryan came home from work early because there was a gas leak in his building. My neighbor saw him drive by and texted me, "Are you in labor???" I laughed a lot at that but looking back at when she did come, I realize it was entirely plausible. We spent the day getting things ready. We went to Costco and got a car wash and cleaned out the car. I gave both boys hair cuts. The next day was a very normal day, too. We went to Target to get some things and I picked up a larger temple dress from my friend, since we had planned to go to the temple the next day. I jokingly (but kind of seriously) mentioned I was nervous about going into labor at the temple.<br />
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Saturday has generally been my day to sleep in, which I would usually do until about 9. This morning, however, I started having some low back pain around 8 and couldn't fall back to sleep. I immediately took a warm bath, assuming that would settle things down and then we could get ready and go to the temple. I was very determined to go since I knew it would be my last chance for a while. Well the back pain did not abate so I took to pacing around my family room to get it to stop. It seemed to help and I felt confident that at least by afternoon I'd be all ready to go to the temple. Well, after a while of pacing I got tired and decided I wanted to sit down and when I did so I started having some cramping. A couple of trips to the bathroom had me more freaked out that this might really be happening so I called the on call OB/Gyn to let her know what was going on and see what I should do. She said I could be going into labor but the bathroom trips were not definite indicators and that I needed to time my cramping/contractions.<br />
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At this point my cramping intensified into noticeable contractions but they were irregular in timing. Some would come only every 7 minutes or so and others would be only 3 minutes apart! This was such a novel experience for me, Luke having been such a sure labor, and I had no idea if I should just go to the hospital and risk being turned away or wait it out. I called labor and delivery at the hospital and explained what was going on and they said I'd better come in just to be safe. I calmly finished packing my hospital bag and got ready while Bryan took Luke to the neighbor's house and then we calmly drove the the hospital, interrupted only by the occasional uncomfortable but manageable contraction. It was so surreal-- I had prepared myself for the possibility of another rush to the hospital but I had not prepared myself for how smoothly it was going and in that way it blew me away.<br />
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We got to the hospital and instead of collapsing in the parking lot and needing a wheelchair to get me up to triage we made our way quietly up, got to the desk and I said, "Um, I <i>think</i> I'm in labor?" They got me checked into a room and hooked up to all manner of monitors. They checked my dilation and I was at a 4-- they said they would leave me for an hour and if I'd progressed at all they would admit me. Over the next hour we rested and talked to family. We weren't even sure if we would be staying-- if this was <i>it</i>. My contractions seemed to get stronger too and I started to not care about whether or not it was February-- I was nervous to go home feeling that level of pain and if it was going to happen it just needed to happen. When they came back in an hour later I was a 5 and so they decided to go ahead and keep me! This time they hooked me up to the IV that would slowly give me the penicillin I needed to combat being Group B Strep positive. We called my parents to go pick Luke up and take him home to care for him during the hospital stay.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"This is really happening right now."</td></tr>
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I asked the nurse when I should get an epidural, thinking I was supposed to wait until I just couldn't take it any more. She said, "Whenever you just don't want to deal with the pain anymore." Okay! I was definitely in pain and could tell I was about to get to the "can't take it any more" point when I asked for one. The anesthesiologist came in and got me set up-- Bryan later said, "It's a good thing you didn't see the needle he put in you. It is the biggest needle I've ever seen in my life." I didn't care, it was out of sight and out of mind and all I knew was that I could no longer feel my contractions, though I could feel my legs and feet more than I'd remembered with Luke. At first my heart was racing, I'm sure from the epidural, until it faded, though they did keep an eye on me for that.<br />
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Periodically the nurses would come in and fuss around me and check my dilation but for the most part we just relaxed for several hours as things progressed gradually and smoothly on their own. The doctor was going to come break my water at a certain point if it hadn't on its own but since I was progressing well she decided not to and not long later they checked me and I was an 8 and they informed me that my water had indeed broken on its own unbeknownst to me. From there I progressed even faster until the nurse checked me and said I was a 10 and asked me to bear down a little. She said, "Okay, are you ready to have a baby? She's eager to come." At this point, though I couldn't feel the pain of the contractions, I could definitely feel the uncomfortable pressure telling me it was time to push. We had to wait about ten minutes for the doctor to get in and then we were ready to go. I pushed through about three contractions for maybe five minutes and just like that, she was born. Again, a huge difference from the hour and a half of pushing and vacuum Luke needed. The nurses kept saying, "You did it all on your own!" but really I felt like <i>she</i> did it all on <i>her</i> own. She was just ready to come meet the world and got everything going on her own. It was an incredibly smooth labor and delivery.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First time holding my daughter.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tiny baby!</td></tr>
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Part II -- Postpartum Recovery<br />
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We had skin to skin time for a while in the labor and delivery room and then I decided to bite the bullet and try breastfeeding her. She refused to latch onto my left side but I calmly tried the other and to me surprise she latched right on and fed for a good 20 minutes! That was so encouraging to me since my previous breastfeeding experience was so traumatic. I went into it thinking I needed to be more relaxed and willing to go with other options if they were necessary. Before we even left the labor and delivery room we officially decided to name her Penelope, a name that we have loved since before we were even engaged. We had a list of "just in case" names, were she to come out seemly distinctly not like a Penelope but we were pretty sure we would go with it. Mostly we'll call her Penny. Her middle name, Luvera, is in honor of my maternal grandma. We like using family names for middle names.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moving out of labor and delivery and to mother and baby.</td></tr>
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Not long after they got me transferred to the mother and baby unit and the nurses were surprised I was up and moving as quickly as I was. I remember doing pretty well with Luke too, apart from needing a straight cath a couple of times before I was able to empty my bladder on my own. I felt so calm and like myself in the hospital. I was hoping it meant that I wouldn't have to deal with postpartum depression as I previously had. I was even already taking a low dose of zoloft in order to head it off. She continued to refuse my left side throughout the stay and instead of freaking out I would just pump it every other feeding and offer her the side she liked. Going back a bit, instead of staying with me overnight Bryan decided to go home in the evenings in order to be there for Luke so he left around midnight that night. I slept well in the hospital-- they brought Penny to me to eat when she needed to and my hormones didn't cause me to stay awake the way they had with Luke.<br />
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The next morning Bryan brought Luke to the hospital to meet Penny for the first time. We had been preparing him for his sister as best we could and talking about it all the time-- he seemed pretty normal and okay with everything. He was excited to give her a little stuffed elephant that I'd gotten at a baby shower. Soon after Bryan's mom and brother arrived and then my parents came as well. It was a packed room! Later that evening one of my sisters was able to come as well. So different from our stay in Boise where we had no family come to the hospital. We had a couple friends come and that was all. I thoroughly enjoyed my hospital stay, as I had with Luke. Maybe that's strange to say but I enjoyed only having the responsibility of feeding and loving Penny as well as recovering and being waited on hand and foot by nurses. We were told that we needed to stay for 48 hours for them to keep an eye on her for my GBS+ status so we assumed we'd be staying until Monday evening or Tuesday morning but my OB/Gyn said I could leave in the afternoon as long as the pediatrician said it was okay-- she did. It is always a little scary to leave the hospital with your brand new baby but this time I thought I would not miss the hospital as much as I had with Luke.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think Grandpa loves this little girl!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snuck picture of Luke holding Penny for the first time.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bryan and his kids! He is such a good dad.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New family of four!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big yawns, always sleepy!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Classic posed picture of Luke holding Penny</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lindsay holding Penny in the hospital.</td></tr>
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Part III - At Home<br />
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We took another surreal car ride home with our new baby. My parents left and Bryan's mom and brother came back and stayed the night. That night my milk came in (previously she had just been eating colostrum) and she ate on the left side for the first time! I've decided that my crazy hormones kick in when my milk comes in because I haven't completely escaped the depression this time, though it has been much more mild this time so far and I'm already starting to feel more myself. My doctor even said that with the medication the first two weeks are hard hormonally. I feel I peaked around a week and am hoping it is slowly tapering off. Mostly when the sun would start to set I would get a weird and anxious feeling unrelated to any thoughts at all. For some reason that light outside really affected me chemically both times. I haven't had that the past couple of nights but I usually wake up feeling kind of weird until I'm able to get a shower-- that is my sanctuary. Physically my recovery has been very easy, pretty much like last time. I stopped feeling any pain from delivery shortly after delivery itself and only needed pain medication to help with uterine contractions as she breastfed but those are also gone now. I'm not completely back to normal, of course, but I'm not in any pain at least.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grandma Sandi rocking Penny on her first night at home.</td></tr>
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Breastfeeding is going mostly well. I think its impossible not to worry about how its going no matter how smoothly. There was one day that I started freaking out that maybe I wasn't making enough milk because I never get engorged but then Penny ate really well and I still had milk so I calmed down. I've been slightly nervous when she doesn't eat for the 15 or more minutes they said she should in the hospital but now I've stopped watching the clock and trying to trust my instincts when I feel like it's a good feed. Sometimes its frustrating when she falls asleep while eating and I'm not sure if she was full or just got sleepy. Last night she wouldn't eat on my left side again even though I had a lot of milk for her and I had a flashback to the way Luke would latch and unlatch and cry even though he was obviously hungry. I cried as I pumped that side-- reliving those feelings of failure. It was pretty emotional but then I read something online that said if their nose is stuffy that they sometimes have a hard time eating on one side or at all and I had remembered her nose being kind of stuffy. We gave her a little saline in each nostril and she ate fine on that side the next feeding. Each time is different-- sometimes so smooth and sometime a little more fitful. There are SO many variables that go into breastfeeding that make it scary. I'm trying my best to be laid back and just let things happen. So far things are going pretty well overall compared to my previous experience and I do feel confident I'll be able to continue but you never know what the future holds so I reserve the right to go to pumping or give her formula if that is what seems like what will be the best for us.<br />
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I forgot to mention that Bryan's new job gives him two weeks of paternity leave, which means I've had him home with me for the past week and a half. I have <b>loved</b> that. I'm never more clingy with him than right after I have a baby and it has helped so much in the sleep department. The first night was really rough-- my hormones had just started kicking in which made it really hard for me to sleep. Bryan also snores and I was unable to fall asleep before he started like I usually do. I didn't get much sleep that night. After that we decided to break the night up into shifts and have been doing that since. It's obviously not ideal but it has helped us both get a little more sleep. He takes care of her if she wakes up, other than feeding her, from 10-12:30, 2:30-4:30 and 7-9 or 10 when he gets up with both kids. All other times are my responsibility but I think he's doing his share by far. We try to put her in her bassinet and she does a little better than Luke did but is kind of restless so we've ended up bringing her into bed with us just like we did with him. Again, I never wanted to be a co sleeper but it's the only way all of us seem to get the sleep we need. However, we both don't get to fully sleep because we are so aware of her breathing and positioning. Last time I borrowed a baby sleep positioner from a friend-- two foam triangle things that he slept between on our bed but kept us from rolling on to him. We ordered one finally and it's supposed to arrive today. I am so excited and hopeful that it will help us all sleep a little better. Luke was in that for maybe two months before he moved to his swing and then his crib. I'm assuming things will go similarly with her. I guess only time will tell but she definitely loves to sleep. She is pretty rarely awake at all unless she's eating, honestly. Sometimes I feel like if she's awake she assumes she is supposed to be eating because breastfeeding can feel so demanding.<br />
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The last topic I wanted to address is Luke. He has definitely been acting out more to get more attention, usually being kind of destructive. Last week Bryan had bought a little chocolate cake at the grocery store as a treat for all of us. We all had a couple of slices but the following morning when Bryan was in the shower and I was nursing Penny he decided to shove handfuls of it into oven mitts and the rest he took upstairs and threw, piece by piece, over our landing. Pictures do not do this mess justice!!! However, he is still our sweet boy and I don't love him any less than I did before. I didn't really think I would love him less, even though that is a common concern with second time parents. I'm only sad that I don't get to give him as much attention as I used to. He is nothing but sweet to Penny and loves to help us get her diapers and things like that. He is going to be a great big brother and we love him so much.<br />
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Yesterday was the 7th, my induction date, and it's still so crazy to me that she's over a week and half old. I was so certain she'd be a February baby that every time I remember her birthday is January 28th it feels strange to me. Despite all the hardship and uncertainty that comes with having a newborn, we are both so overwhelmed with the deep and immediate love we have for this beautiful little girl. I'm so excited to see how her little personality will fit in to our family. We love you, Penny Lu!<br />
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Alyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07603053063213840414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802778370429922248.post-45278688179523489592017-01-18T22:43:00.001-07:002017-01-18T22:43:21.157-07:00Lately<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I figured I should post again one last time before this baby makes her debut in what seems like a scarily short amount of time. I can't even believe I'm so close even though I feel like I've been pregnant forever and physically I am feeling done. But I know that we will probably try for a third and that I'll long for these kicks and discomfort again because of what it means.<br />
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Anyway, jumping back a few months I had a birthday and not just any birthday... the big one. The big 3-0. That's a little strange to wrap my head around but no matter how old you are you always feel like yourself. I had just barely gotten completely over my horrible intestinal infection and we went out to eat and then to a Pumpkin Patch with our friends the Mannings. I've probably said it before but birthdays are pretty simple when you're an adult.<br />
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I was looking forward to the three crazy holiday months to move my pregnancy along faster and keep me busy and man did they ever keep me busy! To the point where now I'm wondering where all the time went and feeling like there is still so much to do! Halloween came and went-- Luke was Harry Potter and we went to our ward Trunk or Treat. On the day of my parents were in town looking at houses because they had decided to move here so they stayed at our house and handed out candy so Bryan and I could both go out with Luke. We took him out last year but he was more in to it (if not a little stubborn due to his age) this year and understood the whole knocking and getting candy thing. Around this same time we transferred him to his new Outer Space big boy room so we could start transforming his old room into a girly nursery (still in progress).<br />
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Bryan also had his big birthday and had to stop calling me a cougar for the one month he gets to each year. I honestly can't remember what we did the day of other than going to his new favorite Thai restuarant, Thai Delight, but I made him a couple different birthday cakes because his dad came in to town a few days before so we celebrated with him and then again a few days after with his mom. I also decided to host Thanksgiving (am I a maniac?) so I had the whole turkey and everything to do. It actually wasn't too bad (I was not as big then as I am now...) and the turkey, while it took a little while longer to cook than I'd planned, was great!<br />
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Then we celebrated our favorite (to that point) birthday in our family-- our sweet Luke turned 3! It's so hard to believe that he was my little baby and now he runs around and has full on conversations with us-- mostly sweet ones but some definitely stubborn ones as well. I have pictures from all these things but am currently too lazy to post them and pretty much all the people reading this are my Facebook friends and can and probably have already seen them. I had been planning on throwing him a real party this year and doing all kinds of fun holiday stuff with him since it's his last year alone with us and I wanted to make a big deal for him but... I didn't take into account that I wouldn't have the energy I normally have while getting bigger every day. I hope he had fun, anyway. My parents were in town again to close on a house they had decided on so they were able to celebrate with us. I took Luke to McDonald's for lunch and invited some of his little friends to join us at the play place and then we all went out to dinner later. My parents got Luke a train table and we got him a train set and he was so excited! Later we had another birthday party with his Grandma Sandi and Uncle Mike and she got him a neat Codepillar so he can learn to be a programmer like his dad! Whereas I had made Bryan's cakes from scratch I just didn't have the energy anymore and let Luke pick out a couple of box cakes for the different parties.<br />
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The day after Luke's birthday I took him to the pediatrician here for the first time and while I was sitting in the waiting room to go in I got a call from Bryan, which is odd since we generally only text while he is at work. He told me that, due to changes in his department, the Church would not be renewing his contract. Panic attacks immediately set in and worries about having to sell our brand new home while pregnant and feeling soooo not able to do that... I was so frustrated because we had moved our entire lives from Boise for this job. I wondered if we had made a mistake in accepting it. I felt the contracting agency had not been totally forthcoming with us about everything. Bryan knew the contract was technically for just one year but the agency really minimized that and said things to the affect that he'd definitely be renewed for a second year and likely be hired on full time after that. When Bryan first started it became apparent that getting hired on full time was a very difficult thing to do at the church due to their having a pension plan and other things. I think from the moment I learned that I started to feel an anxiety at the back of my heart. So we kind of knew that we'd have to be looking for another job but still thought we had two years. Luckily Bryan was still able to finish his contract while looking for other jobs so we didn't have a gap between jobs. He put out several resumes and had one phone interview and another scheduled but a recruiter coincidentally contacted him at the exact time he was looking and set up an in-person interview with him. That went really well and they ended up offering him a position soon after. The compensation and benefits were great and ended up being a better situation than we'd had before (for instance, as a contract worker we had to get our own private insurance which was quite costly). We decided to accept and finally realized that this could be a blessing in disguise. Bryan had never been truly happy with his job at the church-- mostly because of being a contract employee. He felt kind of disposable and not truly valued, which I think he needs in order to thrive in a job. I've decided that what really happened with our move from Boise is that Heavenly Father knew we needed to be in Utah but a job working for the Church was the only way to get us to move here. I very adamantly did not want to move to Utah but Bryan had had a dream of working for the Church since his mission so I couldn't ignore that. It was a really hard move at the time but we are happy to be here now. Bryan started his new job at Workfront last week and has already been really impressed with it and feels valued (yay!). He's been quite happy there, which makes me happy and I think I feel a lot less stressed now that "the worst" has happened and we've made it through. We were actually really blessed because the period of time between finding out we wouldn't have a job and getting a new one was pretty short. I'm grateful for that!<br />
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Well anyway, another huge thing that happened is that my parents officially moved here about a week before Christmas! It was crazy fast but has been so nice already to just be a half an hour drive away from them. One scary thing that happened, though, was that my dad had a heart attack scare on New Year's Day and had to be rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. We were all really on edge and emotional. He's had a major heart attack before and had to have surgeries. We were very lucky to find out that he was able to get nitroglycerin soon enough to stop it from being a full on heart attack. He ended up not needing to have any further surgeries this time and we were all so grateful for that. We need him in our lives for a long, long time. He is a stable, kind, thoughtful and loving father and I couldn't have asked for more.<br />
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Going back a bit, though, we had our first Christmas in our new house and had a nice, small morning with just the three of us before heading to church. After we were able to go spend the evening at my parents' house and have Christmas dinner. It was so nice to be there! We were unable to see Sandi because of a recent intense knee replacement she'd had but we got to go up and spend the following weekend with her. This Christmas was scary because right in the midst of present buying we had our job scare so everything was put on hold for a couple weeks until we accepted our new offer. Thanks for saving Christmas Workfront!<br />
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And now we are down to the final stretch of pregnancy before the baby is born. I am so ready/not ready. I don't know the last time I made so many Google Sheets trying to be organized for freezer meals, hospital bag, house cleaning, thank you notes, etc etc etc. There is so much left to be done and I really doubt everything on our list will actually get there but I'll try to do the most essential, at least. Everyone asks me how I'm feeling and I generally say I have no energy or patience (two things you <i>really</i> need with a three year old). I also feel enormous, she moves around all the time (amazing and uncomfortable at the same time), my heartburn is killing me, I have to change sides constantly at night for hip pain and of course I constantly have to pee. To reiterate from earlier, my body is feeling done sharing with another human being. This time my doctor plans to induce me at 39 weeks if I'm at all dilated at 37 weeks because of how quickly Luke came (or would have if we hadn't been able to slow things down with an epidural). I am always so scared of not making it to the hospital (20 minutes away) in time and having the baby in the car. Luke came at 38 weeks 6 days so as long as I can make it to 39 hopefully we'll be okay. It'll be strange to experience a full on labor instead of having my water break and already be dilated to a 9! Who knows what to expect? It's kind of terrifying. One thing I'm certain of, though, is that the next time I'm writing in this blog I'll be a mom of two and I'll be telling exactly how it all did happen. For now, I'm signing off.</div>
Alyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07603053063213840414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802778370429922248.post-11610631366049182902016-09-26T22:38:00.004-06:002016-09-26T22:38:38.745-06:00We're Having Another Baby!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Bryan and I always knew that we wanted more than one child but after Luke was born, I needed some time. The newborn stage <b>rocked</b> me. I remember long ago telling people, "I think I could have six kids, at most," and after Luke was born I initially started wearily saying, "Maybe one is okay..." Newborns are hard. But, we knew we weren't <i>really</i> done so when we were both ready we decided to start trying again-- that was April 2015.<br />
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Most of you probably know that we had a hard time getting pregnant with Luke. Doctors won't even see you until you've been trying a year so we went through that and then finally got on Clomid. After 15 months of trying, we got pregnant after our first round. Hallelujah! I was so happy because I figured that I'd found the permanent solution to our infertility and that'd we'd be able to have kids at a normal rate going forward. My OB/Gyn in Boise told me that I could go on Clomid as soon as I wanted since I'd had a history with infertility. We were so relaxed at first. We went on Clomid in June and were told that I would be able to do six cycles (months) with it, but would likely get pregnant before that time. Each month went by and each month I was more confused and frustrated that it wasn't happening. My last month on Clomid was in November and yet again I was not pregnant-- and more, we were moving to Utah the next month so I couldn't even consult with the doctors who knew me on how to press forward. We lived with Bryan's mom for about three months and they felt like such a limbo. We didn't know where we were going to be so we couldn't find any new doctors yet. Finally we moved to West Jordan and I set up an appointment with a fertility specialist. At the very first appointment the doctor diagnosed me as having Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (which doesn't mean the same thing for any given person-- it's a spectrum). He told me it was the most treatable of all fertility issues and recommended starting out immediately with a procedure called an Intrauterine Insemination or IUI. I was surprised and said something like, "Right off the bat?" and he said, "Well you've already done the 6 rounds of Clomid without success." I couldn't argue with that. Over the coming couple of months I had all kinds of ultrasounds and appointments and procedures until finally we knew an egg would be ready and the procedure was performed. I was to go in for a blood test two weeks later to see if it had succeeded and my whole family and lots of friends knew it. I'm kind of an open book and it sometimes ruins the element of surprise. So I took a test on my own without telling anyone a few days before the blood test-- and it was positive! I was able to surprise Bryan after all because he was expecting the news a couple days later. We told our family the next day but we kept it to that circle until I was 12 weeks. At that point we started telling people in person but decided to wait to put it on Facebook until we had the gender just in case it was too good to be true and something happened.<br />
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After a couple of ultrasounds to make sure all was well I graduated from the fertility center to a new ob/gyn. Things seemed to be going pretty smooth at first-- I'd had a pretty easy pregnancy with Luke and assumed all would be the same this time. I threw up about seven times with him and I was determined to be able to say I hadn't done so once in this pregnancy. In my pregnancy with Luke I determined that as long as I had something in my stomach before getting out of bed and moving around that I would be fine for the rest of the day. This pretty much held true for my whole first trimester but I had a couple of gag moments later on, weirdly enough. And then September happened. It has been one of the most physically miserable months of my life. It started out with some pains in my stomach and just a general not feeling great. After a couple days where it lingered I decided to call my doctor and we determined it was a normal pregnancy symptom and they gave me measures to treat it. I followed that for about a week but it just seemed to be getting worse. I went in to the doctor and they said that at that point I was probably in recovery mode but if I didn't feel better after the weekend that I would need to see a gastroenterologist. The weekend came and went and I was no better so I got an appointment the next day (VERY luckily) to see one. He diagnosed me with a common syndrome and said it was likely exacerbated by pregnancy hormones. He gave me medicine to deal with the stomach pain and said that should help and it would improve as the pregnancy progressed. At first I thought the medicine was working and that I was in less pain but the other symptoms persisted with vigor. Those symptoms are TMI for the internet. On Saturday I woke up so miserable and was crying so much. At this point my parents and sister were in town and my sister gave me the courage to call in despite it being a weekend. The gastroenterologist got back to me and had me go in to the hospital to do some lab work. The whole time I was sick I kept crying to Bryan that I just wanted to check in to the hospital and have the doctors and nurses figure out what was wrong me, treat me and keep me comfortable. That didn't happen but I was very fortunate to have my parents around a good amount of the time and Bryan was able to work from home or take the day off a few times. The whole time I also worried that whatever was going on with me would somehow hurt my precious baby that I had worked <b>so</b> hard to get. I went between feeling worried for it and frustrated at it, assuming it was the reason I was feeling more miserable than I had in a very long time. Well, Monday morning the tests came back and I was informed that I had an intestinal infection and would have to go on antibiotics. No lifelong syndrome, just an infection that would not, could not go away on it's own without medical intervention. Thank goodness for modern medicine!!! I don't know how I got this infection other than it was probably something I ate. On the antibiotics I got better little by little every day. Sometimes the improvement was more subtle than I would have liked but now, on Monday, I can say that I feel completely back to myself where my intestines are concerned. However, Luke caught a bad cold several days ago that <b>of course</b> I also got and I've been dealing with that. I think I'm getting better from that too. I now truly know that your immune system is suppressed when you're pregnant. Mine seems to have been laying down on the job, anyway.<br />
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And now to today, where Bryan and I were able to go find out the gender of this baby. I've been telling everyone how much I hoped for a girl. I've always wanted a boy and then a girl and then whatever comes after that can be what it will be. Especially because we have such a hard time getting pregnant and who knows if we'll be able to again I wanted to be able to have one of each. My instincts kept telling me that this was a girl. Every time I thought about the future, I imagined a little girl. That is much how it was with Luke. He just felt like a boy! However, I was not confident enough to be sure of this because I also knew I really <i>wanted</i> a little girl and that could be clouding my instincts. I have to say that the ultrasound itself was pretty miserable. They made me drink 32 oz of water before coming in and then the tech kept pressing on my stomach to get pictures. I felt like I was being subjected to a form of torture. On the one hand, I wanted to sit and stare at that wiggly baby all day long and see her from every angle but on the other hand the only thing I could think about is how badly I needed to use the bathroom. At one point both Bryan and I saw something on the screen that had us sure it was a boy. Good thing the ultrasound tech knew what she was looking for. She was able to show us specifically that this little baby was a girl!!! What a dream come true. We would have been so happy with another little boy and if it had been a boy we would know it's what Heavenly Father had meant for our family. Putting aside our own desires for a girl, I think the reason my instincts were so strong is because it's what was meant for our family. It just seemed right. It's why I couldn't ever clearly imagine our life with two boys the way I could with a boy and a girl. So, my instincts are 2 for 2! The pressure is off of baby #3 if we can ever make it there. It can be whatever it is and I will be over the moon. For now, I'm half way there with <b>so</b> much to get done before this baby comes and three holidays months in the way too. I sure hope I can get it all done! It's going pretty fast this time around. Probably because I have a crazy toddler to run around after. I'm so grateful for Luke. He is such a sweet, good boy that we love dearly and I think he will make a great big brother. It is so strange to start really thinking of him in a big brotherly role. I love my little family and can't wait for this little girl to join us!<br />
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Alyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07603053063213840414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802778370429922248.post-70626867093327290792016-07-24T21:55:00.000-06:002016-07-24T22:10:12.923-06:00Recap<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Does anyone even blog anymore? I kind of forgot about it for a while and was actually surprised my last post was as recent as it was. I'm way too lazy to go back and write posts to account for the last seven months so I'm going to summarize here. Honestly, I'm still even writing so I have some form of journal to account for things we've done as a family. I'm happy if people read it but I recently decided to turn the privacy on the blog back on, as I just think I put too much personal information in here for everyone and anyone to read.<br />
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Since we last met (or even a little before):<br />
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<li>Luke turned 2! We had a small family birthday and were traveling back to Boise to start moving on the actual day. I owe him big time this year. </li>
<li>We moved! So stressful. </li>
<li>We flew out to Maryland for Christmas and were able to see my parents' beautiful new home. The Rudds and Handleys came as well. We got to see Star Wars: the Force Awakens and took a girl's trip to Pittsburgh to see where Lindsay (my sister) lives.</li>
<li>We flew back to Utah and Bryan started his new job working on Temple Square. We lived in his mom's basement for 3 months and celebrated a small Valentine's Day there.</li>
<li>We sold our home in Boise :(</li>
<li>We bought a new home in West Jordan, UT :) </li>
<li>We moved in, unpacked (mostly) and now I feel very much back to my normal self instead of the ball of stress I was for the time we were unsettled.</li>
<li>We celebrated St. Patrick's Day and Easter (We rode on the Easter Train in Heber and then spent the weekend in Morgan)</li>
<li>We had a small BBQ with Bryan's sister for the 4th of July and enjoyed some fireworks that were going off all over our neighborhood.</li>
<li>My family came out for a little reunion and stayed with us. Some of them are still here and I have another sister and her daughters coming to stay this week! </li>
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This list makes it seem like we haven't been very busy but a lot has been going on, especially this month. Now that we're settled I hope I can get back to posting at least about our holidays and other major events. </div>
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Alyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07603053063213840414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802778370429922248.post-24174524403046197122016-01-15T23:48:00.002-07:002016-01-15T23:48:51.370-07:00Faith is for the Future<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Lately I've been feeling really bogged down by the pressures and stresses that come with the life upheaval we've been experiencing. I've caught myself thinking what today would have looked like if we'd stayed in Boise. Luke and I would've hung out at home or had a play date with friends. Maybe we would've gone out to Costco as a family and brought a pizza home for dinner. Just a normal day. No major stress. As soon as these thoughts ran their course into my head popped the quote, "faith is for the future," and I knew it was time to reread my very favorite talk.<br />
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Years ago, I was going through a very emotionally turbulent life experience towards the end of my time at BYU. I went to a weekly devotional that Elder Holland was to speak at and little did I know the effect that it would have on me for years to come. The talk, <a href="https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/jeffrey-r-holland_remember-lots-wife/" target="_blank">Remember Lot's Wife</a>, regards all times of transition in our lives and the tendency we have to try to hold on to the past instead of moving forward. I've watched, listened to and read this talk during many times such as this when I've needed it. I'm pretty sure I listened to it on a weekly basis after I first heard it and during a particularly painful break up.<br />
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All too often I see myself in the actions of Lot's wife. And all too often, as soon as I recognize it and remember these words, life starts to get better.<br />
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So I'll end with this excerpt, one I always need to keep in my heart:<br />
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"<span style="background-color: white; color: #373737; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.5px;">I plead with you not to dwell on days now gone, nor to yearn vainly for yesterdays, however good those yesterdays may have been. The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead, we remember that </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #373737; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.5px;">faith is always pointed toward the future.</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #373737; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.5px;"> Faith always has to do with blessings and truths and events that will </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #373737; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.5px;">yet</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #373737; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.5px;"> be efficacious in our lives. So a more theological way to talk about Lot’s wife is to say that she did not have faith. She doubted the Lord’s ability to give her something better than she already had. Apparently she thought—fatally, as it turned out—that nothing that lay ahead could possibly be as good as those moments she was leaving behind... </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #373737; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.5px;">To all such of every generation, I call out, 'Remember Lot’s wife.' Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the 'high priest of good things to come.'</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #373737; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.5px;">"</span><br />
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Thank you, Elder Holland.</div>
Alyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07603053063213840414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802778370429922248.post-17905256136681250652015-12-01T22:19:00.000-07:002015-12-01T22:19:31.201-07:00Ode to My Home<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Can I get sentimental for a minute here? I'm a very very sentimental person as you might be able to tell. Today I walked into my house after being gone for a week and I felt like crying. In a few short days we will say goodbye to this house forever. My parents recently moved out of my childhood home and thank goodness I wasn't there for it. I've just had to put it out of my mind to deal with out. That house held so many memories for me and just felt so good to be in. Every time I came home from college I felt like it was hugging me, welcoming me back. What is it about homes? They are just framing and dry wall. Carpet and countertops. We can take our memories with us wherever we go so why is it so hard to leave? While I have only lived in this house for two and a half years, it has really become part of my heart. Of course, OF COURSE I'm going to miss my neighborhood and ward and friends SO MUCH. But right now I'm talking about this house... like it's a person. More than a person-- a family member. It has been so good to us these past couple of years. We brought our brand new little baby here. It was a comforting place to be while I navigated the murky waters of new motherhood. I'm so conflicted because I do want it to sell so we can move forward. But when it does I just can't look back because thinking about someone else making memories in this house kind of breaks my heart. I'm not sure why.</div>
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Anyway, I have all these crazy emotions bottled up inside right now due to the move and I find writing about it is the most therapeutic way I have of dealing with them.</div>
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If anyone in the Boise area is looking for a home to love, here is a link:</div>
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<a href="http://www.myrealtyidaho.com/listing/98605474-9861-w-tilmont-boise-id-83709/?utm_source=hootsuite" style="color: #4285f4; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.myrealtyidaho.com/<wbr></wbr>listing/98605474-9861-w-<wbr></wbr>tilmont-boise-id-83709/?utm_<wbr></wbr>source=hootsuite</a></div>
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It has been so good to us.</div>
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Alyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07603053063213840414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802778370429922248.post-89617931359475083312015-11-12T14:55:00.002-07:002015-11-12T14:55:31.917-07:00A New Adventure<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When we graduated college and moved out of Utah three and a half years ago I was confident that we would never come back to live there again. Boise, Idaho welcomed us with open arms and we fell in love with this place we'd never given much thought to before. I would be so happy to stay here many more years and yet...<br />
<br />
We are moving to Utah.<br />
<br />
Yep.<br />
<br />
That's happening.<br />
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Back in August we went down to Utah for a family vacation, spending time with both of our families. Bryan started to say that he was feeling like we should move back to be closer to our family. While I love both sides very dearly, I vehemently put my foot down. I didn't want to live in Utah and I never had. My life was in Boise, the cost of living was so much better here, we live close enough for an easy road trip, Bryan has such a good job... I enumerated the reasons until I was blue in the face. We finally decided we wouldn't move anywhere until we were sure we could be financially stable there.<br />
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At the beginning of October someone reached out to Bryan on LinkedIn from LDS.org. He has dreamed of working for the church since his mission when he was assigned as an Office Elder and helped them with their computers. It was there that he decided that he would study Computer Science and was excited at the thought of using that interest he already had to further the work of the Church. Coincidentally, it is through a fellow mission buddy that he was recommended to work at Clearwater, his current company. Most of the blessings in our life together stem from Bryan's mission. So, when the recruiter for the Church contacted him Bryan told them that he was very happy at his current job but that he would go ahead with the interview.<br />
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At first I thought it would probably just be a passing thing-- that I didn't have anything to worry about. In the past I have heard that the Church doesn't pay very well and we didn't want to take a step down financially so we would stay put. We figured if he did get the offer it might be just slightly higher than what we were making now to compensate for cost of living. Bryan went through a few phone interviews, an online test and a Skype interview. Each successive interview mounted my stress and my fear but I kept coming back to the salary and my love for Boise and felt mostly confident we would stay.<br />
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I really fought the idea of living in Utah tooth and nail since it has never been a place I imagined raising my family. Growing up on the East Coast, I had a totally different experience in my religious and cultural life from what my Utah born friends described. I liked what I'd had-- valued it. I did seek out the BYU college experience and wanted that but never expected to stay beyond it. I hate to really point out on this blog the reasons I was so sick about Utah itself because I have a lot of lovely friends who are wonderful people who were born and/or raised there. Lets just say that there were several cultural and religious reasons I didn't want to live there. So Bryan knew all of my concerns and had even told his recruiter about them. He was very back and forth, saying we loved where we lived and that especially his wife didn't want to leave but then he kept doing well in interviews. The recruiter had one of their employees and his wife call us so we could ask them questions. They were both specifically not from Utah and had even moved from Idaho for the job. I went into the conversation not thinking it would change my mind in the slightest but talking to them was comforting. They'd felt a lot of the same things we felt and told us how their experience had been so much better than expected. After that I felt slightly more at peace about going to Utah but I still was having a hard time leaving.<br />
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Before his final interview, Bryan's recruiter called and let him know the salary that they had decided on, should the offer be extended to us. To put it lightly, we were taken aback. It was quite a bit more than we expected from them. At that point, it seemed inevitable to me that if he did get the offer we would go. Still, after his final interview he was told there were two other people that needed to be interviewed still and that we'd know the following week. We both felt like if he got it then that would be exciting but we'd still have to make a final decision but if he didn't we would be relieved and happy to stay here. Those few days were torture.<br />
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Then, he got it. Still reeling from this. We still hadn't decided but we had until Friday to do so. We felt like it was a good opportunity to work for the church and to be near family and the salary was very tempting. We were like 99% there with the decision but... my heart wouldn't let go. I needed a spiritual confirmation that this could be right for us. Of course we had been praying and fasting about it but I still felt unsettled and our temple happened to be closed for cleaning at the time. We decided to ask to have blessings for each of us. We had our friend and member of the bishopric come over to do so and before he did he sat with us and talked through the whole situation. He himself is a seminary teacher so he does work for the church and talked a lot of his experience there and what Bryan's experience might be. How it would bless our home to have him directly serving the Lord and furthering the work. That is a spirit I cannot wait to have in my home more. During both blessings, he mentioned several things we hadn't even discussed with him that were weighing on our minds and so many things from mine touched me. One in particular that he mentioned that really touched me is that, if you'll notice with certain groups in the scriptures that God asks them to move before He performs a miracle for them. The seedlings of my true testimony as a teenager began when I felt the love of God for me personally and specifically and in this blessing that is one thing I felt strongly. God knows my heart and my trials and He will be by my side. He wants this for us and He wants to bless us. This is the direction our lives are going. We could stay in Boise, in a place we both love, but we both felt wrong about it. Like if we did it would be stagnant because our lives were meant to progress in Utah. And so... we accepted. <br />
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We are selling our home. Our beautiful, practically brand new, custom designed home that is part of my heart. I'm having a hard time because I've been looking at houses for sale in the area and price range we want and they are just not what I want. They feel like a step down from where we are now. We are looking forward to having a basement, though!!! I seriously wake up feeling antsy and anxious about packing, cleaning, listing the house, showings, etc. Bryan will start January 4th but because we are spending Christmas in Maryland with my family this year we will move temporarily into his mom's basement about mid December. There is so much to be done before then. <br />
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I'm still having a hard time coming to terms with leaving. Boise is where we first lived together as a brand new married couple. It's where Bryan got his first job, where we bought our first home, where we had our first beautiful, wonderful baby. It holds so many wonderful memories for me. I love my friends. I have a truly wonderful support system of other moms like me that I have relied so much on and they have been a balm to my soul.I love my ward and my neighborhood and my house. I even love my Ob/Gyn and the grocery store I shop at. Even the fire station I pass on the way home from Costco and the stretch of road it stands on. I. love. my. life. It is so hard to leave. But it is where we are being led and we will go.<br />
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I am excited to live there now, in a lot of ways. We will be so much closer to family! That is a big thing! I can't wait to laugh and play games and have Sunday dinner together more often. Bryan's mom loves to babysit her grandkids, which works for me. I could use a few more outings to movies or plays or, most importantly, the temple with my husband. I can't wait to take Luke to the Aquarium and the Treehouse Museum and the Museum of Natural Curiosity. I can't wait to live near IKEA!!! I will be near old friends I'd like to see more. My parents and other friends and family will be able to visit much more easily! Life will go on. I will make new, wonderful friends. I will come to love a new home and place.<br />
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I am very grateful for the love and guidance of the Lord in my life. Truly, He knows what I need better than I do. I've seen the same thing again and again in my life. I think I know what is best for myself and take steps to make it so but He tenderly leads me the way I'm meant to go. And it is <b>always</b> better than the path I might've taken. I'm sad to go but grateful for the opportunity to progress.<br />
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We love you all and look forward to seeing a lot of you more often. </div>
Alyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07603053063213840414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802778370429922248.post-80528273789278565722015-11-04T22:20:00.002-07:002015-11-04T22:20:47.567-07:00Halloween 2015<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Fall is just the best time of year, in my opinion.The weather starts to cool down and the trees turn beautiful shades of red and orange. It's my birthday month and I get to wear boots over my jeans and cardigans. My second favorite holiday also happens to land in the fall and there is the excitement of other holidays around the corner. This year we started off the festivities by going to Linder Farms with our friends the Mannings. Luke had so much fun climbing on hay bales and running through hay bale mazes, riding tractors and Go Karts with dad and playing in the corn pit with his buddy Jackson. We also took a hay ride out to several huge pumpkin patches to choose our pumpkins.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the hay ride</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This pumpkin gets so much bigger every year</td></tr>
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We have a tradition of carving pumpkins the Monday before Halloween for FHE. This year Luke wasn't able to carve his own but he was so much more involved in the whole process, which was fun to see. We ran around the driveway and "helped" us scoop out our pumpkins and draw on them. The designs we chose are indicative of our interests.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjde1m-bnhsGKXFnzMzdD6VBesWMKJFGLNCAtYuQIiprlAWg5QEFbXMa9bMxshT1Or1tZgYDV1Ba5gCLZRrC5BzOmh5187HgppgF50Ee9X9TOXo_wNvBQp2xVyPcCXmGLhyYwjTHizCwJwV/s1600/12193497_10102256931268619_3666400467691425650_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjde1m-bnhsGKXFnzMzdD6VBesWMKJFGLNCAtYuQIiprlAWg5QEFbXMa9bMxshT1Or1tZgYDV1Ba5gCLZRrC5BzOmh5187HgppgF50Ee9X9TOXo_wNvBQp2xVyPcCXmGLhyYwjTHizCwJwV/s320/12193497_10102256931268619_3666400467691425650_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yuck, guts!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioyYKROBzTGmTe0lTvbRXa9IzpVfFEKgoMwYD8TfvErTRCZs16AX8gVGYTWesSNvGpNd8gLZfyoL1Ixm5PJQFuFns0bj1_KkDI5MP7Z9tjvt4sCF8lzh9Cl5yRwDhL4uYuP3rPQbvOA_3w/s1600/12039472_10102256931298559_7678221982644693564_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioyYKROBzTGmTe0lTvbRXa9IzpVfFEKgoMwYD8TfvErTRCZs16AX8gVGYTWesSNvGpNd8gLZfyoL1Ixm5PJQFuFns0bj1_KkDI5MP7Z9tjvt4sCF8lzh9Cl5yRwDhL4uYuP3rPQbvOA_3w/s320/12039472_10102256931298559_7678221982644693564_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bryan: Protoss symbol from Starcraft</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ru0qU5IIgZZERJ9MJyFmH3gSehwkgkPZxbD_smpKjQ0nsn88lkuz_CIo4wDCJmDfYzsa22n6CA-TOnJZb8v7hcJ3C3a5WubXenXCxBjlBUvi1I6jr8FgIXkzlWm1gMK77hgY1jFjC2l2/s1600/12193471_10102256931398359_4888070738151399966_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ru0qU5IIgZZERJ9MJyFmH3gSehwkgkPZxbD_smpKjQ0nsn88lkuz_CIo4wDCJmDfYzsa22n6CA-TOnJZb8v7hcJ3C3a5WubXenXCxBjlBUvi1I6jr8FgIXkzlWm1gMK77hgY1jFjC2l2/s320/12193471_10102256931398359_4888070738151399966_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me: Deathly Hallows...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvRDhWIsLUsjg8IDaDOSO8F2tVJ3eGG5Ng4p5ojbfrCl-SxCIMsVD8kwVT0kJVAvZ9SP47Qm7WIBLWwJKQGlRk7qrMTjdMGMtZaH_C_0wB7drXmzlg0NBmetxrkXOEzJpqmY6UfxjjpNVq/s1600/11226061_10102256931453249_8959132004980980668_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvRDhWIsLUsjg8IDaDOSO8F2tVJ3eGG5Ng4p5ojbfrCl-SxCIMsVD8kwVT0kJVAvZ9SP47Qm7WIBLWwJKQGlRk7qrMTjdMGMtZaH_C_0wB7drXmzlg0NBmetxrkXOEzJpqmY6UfxjjpNVq/s320/11226061_10102256931453249_8959132004980980668_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and a snitch, because I had room</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQfweywQhOdr4j6mScdH_WRubv6FSh5oq5BlkOA1X4zcPIN8ZeXYW2RG0xqvwHRU6SDj0gLEoW-CR1hyphenhyphen6Y0J-3DvldY9lNO2mwlDCIH__GaXwxryfg0NZBJEMNOj7FXLNRBUJ7J-__OelZ/s1600/12141752_10102263574879769_4536289362857392422_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQfweywQhOdr4j6mScdH_WRubv6FSh5oq5BlkOA1X4zcPIN8ZeXYW2RG0xqvwHRU6SDj0gLEoW-CR1hyphenhyphen6Y0J-3DvldY9lNO2mwlDCIH__GaXwxryfg0NZBJEMNOj7FXLNRBUJ7J-__OelZ/s320/12141752_10102263574879769_4536289362857392422_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luke: Daniel Tiger</td></tr>
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Also this past weekend we had Bryan's cousin Laura and two guy friends come for a visit (they were the 11th Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory in the last Centurion form.... so awesome). Laura's newlywed sister lives nearby in Nampa and their parents happened to be visiting them that weekend as well so we had a big Halloween party! We had mummy french bread pizza and bone shaped bread sticks. We played a lot of games and they held down the fort and handed out candy while we took Luke trick or treating. <br />
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I just love coming up with ideas for costumes. Seriously like five months ago I was like, "Halloween is coming up-- I better think of a good costume for Luke!" Five months ago. To be fair, I had his Link costume picked out for his first Halloween before he was ever born. I've become quite the crafter in the past few years so I love making his costume. Though we don't necessarily always plan to have family costumes, Bryan and I decided to go along with Luke's theme. I decided to go with a Hobbit this year because Bryan got really into the movies this year and watched each other them several times with different commentaries. I would often come downstairs on Saturday morning to find him and Luke watching one of them. And, since Hobbits are short and, lets be honest, kind of cute, I decided that's what Luke should be! Bryan and I decided to be simple version of Gandalf and Arwen (chosen only because I have brown hair like her rather than Galadriel). Someone pressed us on which Hobbit Luke was and I really didn't have one in mind. If I had to choose I'd say he probably most resembles Samwise Gamgee.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOt1Cil-WFjJwqzSz0NNX0TF2FzP-35skmBjVkLNCRDvatCbmMhOgd0Qrj4ews_X3HOZnOcUaC4Fz5g3xuANRbLRar4zsBrvCfyShKTeCxDvnH7-M9INknahxEvvRkMWEoIHCKbDFEU5Fp/s1600/12191454_10102263574455619_6481566549369952054_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOt1Cil-WFjJwqzSz0NNX0TF2FzP-35skmBjVkLNCRDvatCbmMhOgd0Qrj4ews_X3HOZnOcUaC4Fz5g3xuANRbLRar4zsBrvCfyShKTeCxDvnH7-M9INknahxEvvRkMWEoIHCKbDFEU5Fp/s320/12191454_10102263574455619_6481566549369952054_n.jpg" width="176" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our little Lord of the Rings family</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My adorable Hobbit!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gandalf and a Hobbit on their way to Isengard... er trick or treating</td></tr>
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Luke had so much fun trick or treating! We did a big loop around our neighborhood but it wasn't too many houses because a lot of people had their lights off, no doubt trick or treating themselves. He didn't know how to say "trick or treat" yet but he did know how to reach out his hand after someone answered the door. He loved collecting the candy and putting it in his bag and was so well behaved as well. I just love my little family. I hope everyone else had a Happy Halloween too!</div>
Alyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07603053063213840414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802778370429922248.post-37286152570080973502015-11-03T22:49:00.000-07:002015-11-03T22:49:51.917-07:00Spring- Summer 2015<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Okay, skipping right from Christmas to Summer and doing so in November... pretty much par for the course with me. Though you can probably already tell what we are up to at any given time with a glance at my Facebook page, I like to have things written out for our family to look back on so I try (not well) to record our adventures. I wish I was better at doing this more often because now I'm reaching back alllll the way to Easter and trying to remember what even happened.<br />
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Easter, as it often does, landed on a Conference weekend this year. We had a pretty simple holiday but I was excited to play the Easter bunny more so than last year now that Luke is more little boy than baby. On Saturday I took Luke to a neighborhood Easter Egg hunt during Priesthood session. I think I got there maybe five minutes late (if that) and all the eggs were already gone! I've learned for next year that kids are voracious when it comes to Easter Egg hunts! A friend let me use some of her daughter's empty eggs to set around and let Luke pick them up, so that was nice. The next day was simple. We got up and had cinnamon rolls (trying to make that a conference tradition) and let Luke find his basket. We gave him a little candy and some simple toys. We watched Conference and then had Ham and Cheesy Potatoes for dinner-- my Easter classic dinner.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luke "hunting" for eggs.</td></tr>
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A week or so later we had such a treat to have our friends David and Weston come and stay with us for a weekend. Bryan grew up with these guys and then they all lived together in college. In fact, before Bryan and I were Bryan and I we were all just good friends. <a href="http://bryanandalyssa.blogspot.com/2012/07/so-long-farewell.html" target="_blank">I've written about them before</a>. It was a pretty relaxing weekend of playing games and just hanging out. We went out to eat at <a href="http://www.thecounterburger.com/" target="_blank">The Counter</a> (drool) and they got to meet Luke, which was really neat.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv4jhI7NFiiDAwVcv3ZcPo27WSbmIyRfnJPEr4_o7UDURzY8rOH-Ab-60NYYzHaZJIspVoaOijUuNnSg9dBLGXqVHxeaGN4aNrqbly4CYGsHrTd6PPmH0m0fZxwg0uBGrojScUO6E4ByjU/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv4jhI7NFiiDAwVcv3ZcPo27WSbmIyRfnJPEr4_o7UDURzY8rOH-Ab-60NYYzHaZJIspVoaOijUuNnSg9dBLGXqVHxeaGN4aNrqbly4CYGsHrTd6PPmH0m0fZxwg0uBGrojScUO6E4ByjU/s320/unnamed.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luke and his new buddy Weston playing on the computer.</td></tr>
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A few days before Easter our niece Ella called us multiple times begging us to come visit them in Utah for the weekend. It was pretty last minute so we didn't go but we promised we would visit over Memorial Day weekend so that was our next trip! Road trips are hard with kids. But we had fun and mostly just relaxed and played games. My favorite kind of vacation!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYtGo4r_5e81GCBXCCDphIgo8xjPBLLwKymf8PQlBdbXL1aX5wo-zEtq3Ee2cTQIhkugPXSDoms5I7eAfWzP_-eSmLTuhiJjnL93pFA0ACjxsl4ocOOCJ9IjRLiPlP9fDX35yhNi2Oc3mZ/s1600/11391380_10102032850722829_1795013550210109380_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYtGo4r_5e81GCBXCCDphIgo8xjPBLLwKymf8PQlBdbXL1aX5wo-zEtq3Ee2cTQIhkugPXSDoms5I7eAfWzP_-eSmLTuhiJjnL93pFA0ACjxsl4ocOOCJ9IjRLiPlP9fDX35yhNi2Oc3mZ/s320/11391380_10102032850722829_1795013550210109380_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luke helping Ethan play at the park near Grandma Sandi's house</td></tr>
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A couple posts ago I wrote about our sweet Callie and how she died. I was really not sure when I'd be ready to have another cat because I didn't want to feel like we were replacing her. However, it just so happened that a family in our ward/neighborhood had two cats that had a litter of kittens each right around the same time. They had twelve kittens to find homes for! We wanted to help them out and we love kittens so we decided to go for it... we got two! Just after memorial day we were finally able to bring them home. We named them Clara (after Clara the companion from Doctor Who) and Watson (From Sherlock). <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clara and Watson join the family</td></tr>
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In June Luke and I had Mommy & Me swim lessons from a family in our stake. For two weeks we got up and out the door by 9 with our friends Jennifer and Tyson. Luke had fun in the water but was also pretty independent and didn't want to do the things we were trying to learn a lot of the time. Still, he did learn a lot. One thing he loved to do was jump in the pool into my arms. We had fun showing off his skills to dad over the summer.<br />
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Also in July I cut my hair to my chin, updated my Etsy shop, we had Father's day and Luke went to nursery! He... did not like it at first. He cried a lot the first few times and then for several Sundays we was just kind of sober but now I drop him off and he runs off to play without so much as a goodbye when I'm trying to smother him with kisses.<br />
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We invited Bryan's mom and his brother Mike to come visit us for the 4th of July and again we had a nice relaxing time. We had delicious food and set off poppers in the street. Luke LOVED those! Then after Luke went to bed Grandma stayed home with him while the rest of us checked out fireworks all around the neighborhood. It was a lot of fun!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4th of July Spread</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luke didn't want to let me take a picture of him in his Captain America shirt</td></tr>
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Sandi had to go back to Utah after the weekend but Mike was able to stay with us for a week. We are pretty chill so we didn't have a lot of activities planned or anything but on Saturday we all went to the World Center for Birds of Prey that happens to be, oh, a 10 minute drive from our house. It was seriously awesome too! <br />
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We also went to Bryan's company (Clearwater Analytics) party. They decided to host at the zoo, which was so fun! We didn't get to be there too long because I'm kind of strict about Luke's bed time but we did get to do some fun things-- like feed a giraffe! Luke was in awe.<br />
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Just a little bit later than that a few friends and I decided to check out a petting zoo in Caldwell, ID. it was a lot of fun but also like 45 minutes away waaay out in the country. We had fun but man, was that a hot day. My cousin Melissa came and she was super pregnant with twins-- poor girl.<br />
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We also had a fun Stake pancake breakfast celebrating pioneer day. We had a pie baking contest and then got together later with friends for swimming and a barbecue.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Climbing trees at the pioneer day celebration!</td></tr>
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At the end of the month my sister Natalie came to visit for a couple days with her kids. She lives overseas most of the year but they set up camp in Utah for the summer and, since Boise is not too bad of a road trip, I <strike>begged</strike> convinced her to come. It just so happened to land on a little family holiday we celebrate-- Harry Potter's birthday! So, since we all love Harry Potter I decided to throw a simple party. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pin the scar on the wizard</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mixing potions</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drawing our Patronuses</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last of all, Butterbeer!</td></tr>
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Just a week or so later we took our second road trip to Utah for the summer for my nephews Elijah and Tyler's baptism! We had a lot of fun with almost all of our family together, playing games and hanging out. One day we had the chance to go down to BYU and check things out and that was neat to see. We met up with my old roomie Alicia and caught up. A lot of stuff has drastically changed there since I was in school. Sigh, I'm old. The baptisms themselves were so neat and the spirit was really strong there. I'm so so glad that I got to be a part of it. That evening I even got to see my long lost best friend Ashley who I hadn't seen in over four years! I miss my friends!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging out at BYU</td></tr>
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After we got back to Boise, we had yet another fun time when Bryan's cousin Brynn and her family came to stay. They have a daughter about two weeks younger than Luke so those two had fun romping around together. We got to go to the zoo again but this time we spent a lot more time looking at every exhibit and it was so fun! But... then it got hot. We also went to Brynn's sister's wedding open house, played games and hit up H&M (a must when Brynn comes to town).<br />
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Lastly, we finally got a new oven. I haven't written about it on here but we were dealing with a horrible mouse situation where the mice had peed on the insulation of the old oven and taken some out, which made it unusable. It smelled like mouse pee every time I turned it on and the safety of it's use was compromised. We tried to get our builder to pay for it since the mice got in through a hole they hadn't sealed but they wouldn't So, we relented and just bought a new one over labor day when we thought the mice were all gone, Spoiler: they weren't actually >:( but we are working hard on that issue now and they haven't done anything to the new oven so far. The oven is covered under a 3 year warranty that would cover situations like that, though. That is making a veeeery long story short. But we were without the use of an oven for over 6 months. Stove top, Slow cooker, Grill. At least it was summer time!<br />
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Well anyway, we sure did a lot this summer but I loved giving Luke all of these new experiences! Next up, Halloween... which will be much more timely!<br />
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Alyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07603053063213840414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802778370429922248.post-82998068987799253162015-03-12T21:02:00.000-06:002015-03-12T21:02:42.073-06:00Christmas 2014...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I literally cringed as I wrote that title. I feel incapable of moving forward and writing more blog posts until I acknowledge and account for our Christmas.<br />
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This should be short, as we didn't go anywhere this year and hadn't just barely had a baby.<br />
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The Sunday before Christmas I got food poisoning. 😷 It was seriously not fun and I think it'll be a while before I can look at, much less eat, Thai food again. I'm sorry, Bryan. He served his mission there and loves the food. Well anyway, luckily for me Bryan took the whole week off so I had the help I needed with Luke. Unluckily for Bryan (and me) our Christmas break week wasn't all we hoped for. In fact, I was determined to have Luke see Santa and get a picture on his lap but was unable to. I was feeling better but not great so we went to The Village a couple days before to find a TWO HOUR WAIT... in the winter cold!! Horrible. So we left and it was an altogether miserable experience.<br />
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I was feeling like 95% myself on Christmas Eve and our friends invited us over to enjoy a little dinner and Christ centered program. That was so nice, especially since we don't have any family in town. It really made the evening special and we even got some Christmas Eve snow!<br />
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The next morning we got up and opened presents with our one year old little boy! He didn't really get what was going on but it was still fun. We had our traditional Eggs Benedict breakfast followed by a lazy day enjoying new presents and resting. We then had our traditional Ham dinner... and that was that!<br />
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So now that St. Patrick's Day is upon us... Woops. Anyway, at least now I'll feel resolved about that. Here are some Christmas videos we took (I totally forgot about pictures! Uh oh!) I hope the YouTube links work. Enjoy!<br />
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Alyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07603053063213840414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802778370429922248.post-1898608691687432622015-02-11T22:32:00.001-07:002015-02-11T22:32:41.881-07:00Goodbye Sweet Callie Cat<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I had meant for my next blog post to be about our Christmas... and it's February, of course. However. we've had a bit of drama in our family this week. Our lovely and loving Callie died over the weekend and we've been pretty upset. Writing about it is cathartic and I'd be remiss to not pay her tribute, so here goes. </div>
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Some of you may remember when <a href="http://http//bryanandalyssa.blogspot.com/2012/06/callie.html?m=0">we brought Callie home.</a> We were in love and obsessed pretty much from the get go and that's how it continued on up until her dying day. I feel guilty because she got quite a lot less attention once Luke was born but that's just the way of things. She was always skittish of the outdoors but in recent months she would tentatively go outside if we left the door open. Usually we were very aware of her doing so and would herd her back in when we were done being out. A few months ago I let her out without realizing it and panicked for 24 hours until she made it home the next night. I hugged her tightly and kissed her a lot and swore to be more careful. Well, last Friday she made another escape without our knowing it. On Saturday Bryan and I started noticing she hadn't been around so we searched the house and she was nowhere to be seen. I posted a picture of her on our neighborhood Facebook page and told everyone to keep an eye out. When I checked it again a neighbor had commented to call her. It was 11 PM by then and too late to call so we waited until the next day. I had a weird feeling about it so I made Bryan do the calling. The neighbor said she'd seen a run over cat that could be her. We checked the area she mentioned and found nothing. All the while we left food and water out on our porch and hoped she was just having an adventure and would come home soon. The next day I set about trying to find out who cleaned up road kill-- hoping to rule out that possibility. I called one place who said they didn't do it and to call the Fish and Game Department, who told me they didn't do it and to call the Highway District, who told me they didn't do it and to call the Humane Society. I called and they said we'd need to come in to see if she was there and that they had a book of deceased pets to look through. About this same time I reported her lost through her microchip company. If an animal is brought in by animal control they are scanned for a microchip and if something comes up they call the company the microchip is through who then call you. When she had escaped months ago I reported it as well but had forgotten to withdraw the report when she returned. This time the company almost immediately called me but told me that I hadn't actually registered so I'd need to do that and pay the fee for me to use their services. I had really thought I'd registered and thought it was odd that they'd call me this time and not the first time I had reported her as lost. Bryan got home from work and we headed out to the Humane Society. I looked through all the cats that had been brought in while Bryan looked through the book of deceased animals. She didn't show up in either one so, with some hope, we went to the front desk to fill out a lost report. Bryan left to go change Luke's diaper while the girl behind the counter asked me for our contact information, etc. She then asked me for Callie's microchip number and I was distracted waiting for her to ask me more that I didn't notice she'd gone kind of quiet. A moment later another girl came by the counter and shocked me from my reverie by gently saying, "So we do have the cat. Her microchip number came up. She was hit by a car. I can take you to see her if you'd like." At this point I got up looking for Bryan and my emotions really started bubbling to the surface. They took us to a small room where something lay on a table beneath a towel. They lifted the towel corner for all of 15 seconds to show us Callie's face and paws before covering her back up. They started talking to us about cremation or taking her home while I stood there crying and all I could say was, "Can't I see her again?" So they unveiled her face again for the remainder of our time there. That image is seared into my mind forever and has been the source of a lot of my emotional outbursts since. She lay there, her ears shrunken back and quite obviously a shell of her former self. I had the urge to reach out and touch her paws one last time but I didn't. We decided not to take her body or her ashes home. It felt weird to bury her here in our subdivision which lacks a sense of permanence for us. We asked them if they could make an imprint of her paw for us but that is a service they do not offer. I wish we could have had more of a service for her. So we drove home feeling hollow-- like we were missing a member of our family who would never return. That night was fraught with tears but the following days have been mostly better, save a few emotional moments. Everything reminds me of her. I keep expecting her to walk around the corner or to jump in my lap. How can she really just not be here anymore? </div>
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I'm no stranger to pets dying. A few months after Bryan and I got married my childhood cat, <a href="http://bryanandalyssa.blogspot.com/2011/07/dear-sweet-libby.html" target="_blank">Libby</a>, got stomach cancer and was put to sleep. That was an incredibly hard thing to go through because she was also a very special cat which is why we felt so lucky to have found a cat like Callie. It felt like we had her forever while she was with us but now that's she's gone I realize how short it was. She didn't get the long life she deserved. Libby had a good long life-- 13 years. She was an outdoor cat and had many adventures. On Callie's only second escape into the outside world she met her end. It doesn't feel very fair. Luke will soon forget her. Our other kids will never know her. I'm certain we will get another cat but I'm not sure it will live up to her. How could we get so lucky a third time? She had such a sweet personality. She was warm, loving. If our laps were available it seemed like she was always sleeping on one of them. When we came home she would come running to greet us and she always wanted to be in the room we were in rather than on her own. She was such a low maintenance cat and never ever once had an accident in either of the houses she lived in with us. She was so beautiful, with her calico coloring and bunny soft fur. She loved to tease Luke. She'd let him get right up to her before running away a few feet and letting him catch up and then running again. When she came into my life I was in desperate need of something to nurture. We'd been trying for a baby for some time and it had been breaking my heart. She happily allowed me to nurture her and by so doing she nurtured me in return. I hope that she and Libby have found each other and are romping around happily. I'm grateful to know I'll see her again and I'm grateful for the time we had with her. Callie, we love you and we'll miss you. So much. </div>
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Alyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07603053063213840414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802778370429922248.post-80730733947619395022014-12-04T11:25:00.001-07:002014-12-04T11:25:49.110-07:00A Year in Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I am now the mother of a toddler. Yep, we made it through a crazy year. I've heard that the celebration of baby's first birthday is as much for mom as it is for him and I feel that is so true. If you've been following our blog for at least a year you should probably know that the beginning was rough. It is for everyone, in different ways. I'm pretty much terrified to have another newborn and deal with sleep and breastfeeding all over again-- but I know I will be very happy for Luke's little brothers and/or sisters to come when they do. I think about it all the time even though I know that is still a little while away. As my dad would say, I'm worrying about crossing bridges I haven't even come to yet. That's just me, I guess. I think I will always feel some degree of guilt over how breastfeeding went down with Luke, even if it works one of these times around. I'm glad the world is educating everyone on the benefits of breastfeeding but I wish there wasn't so much judgement from well-meaning moms regarding formula. I think you all know how I feel about that because I've been pretty open about it on here. I hope that my next baby isn't born in the winter but if that is what I'm given I'll gladly accept it. Hormones + postpartum depression + not wanting to leave the house + inversion made for a very emotional and depressing winter. Around March or April (after we'd gone to exclusively pumping and were able to have some sort of schedule) Luke and I started getting out of the house during the day and that made such a difference. Slowly life started to have a predictable pattern and I'd never realized how comforting predictability could be. Of course everything can't be predictable but overall things settled down. I started getting excited about sewing and crafting projects and that really helped that I could do something creative for me. Everywhere I would go people would gush to me about how cute my baby was and how much hair he had (that part has died down now that he's a year and a lot of babies his age also have a good amount of hair). He is so sweet and loves to laugh and smile. On the rare occasion he comes up to me, crawls into my lap and puts his arms around me I just melt.This is the biggest trial that I've ever been given because it is constant and forces me to focus solely outside myself-- but that is part of why it is also the greatest blessing I've ever been given. I've never felt so much nurturing love before. Just seeing his handsome face makes me smile. <br />
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Well, as he's the one who had a birthday I should give him a spotlight. To start, I took a picture for every month of his life (it wasn't always right on his month birthday... :/). Here's a little timeline progression.<br />
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He was born 7 lbs 3.7 oz and was 20 in long... now he's 23 lbs 7 oz and 30 in long! Wow! He has seven teeth (four up top and three on the bottom). He has had about 5 trims-full on hair cuts so far! In July I used his dad's clippers and gave him a huge hair cut! He loves to claps his hands and smile. He crawls up to things, pulls himself up and cruises around easy as pie. He has started standing on his own several times a day for a few seconds. He's going to be walking in no time. He likes to open cabinets and drawers and pull things out of it and still loves to put anything he finds in his mouth. He's said mamamamama and dadadadada for a while but its starting to seem like he knows what they mean. He still babbles them indiscriminately but sometimes seems to use them to get one of our attention. One of his favorite games is run from/chase dad around the house, up the stairs, anywhere. I can go up and down the stairs easily. He likes to eat string cheese, bread and cuties (little clementines) but does not like eggs in any form and is still wary of cow's milk. He likes to have books read to him and and turns the pages himself. He seems to like music a lot and seems calmed by it if he's upset. He has so much personality and love and humor and we are so grateful to be his parents! We are still in awe over him-- I can't believe we created him! This big boy once resided in my tummy. <br />
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Well celebrating Luke's birthday seemed tricky when I tried planning a bit ago. His birthday was this past Monday, right after Thanksgiving weekend where we'd just gotten home from being on the road and had no groceries in the house. I thought about having a little play date but his 12 month check up was right in the middle of the day and messed with that idea. I decided that we would just celebrate it early with family. We grabbed some pizzas from Costco and I made chocolate coconut cupcakes for everyone and a special little cake for him. We invited Bryan's aunt, uncle and cousins (one with a baby Luke's age) over and of course had Grandma Sandi, Aunt Shelley, Uncle Mike and cousins Ella and Ethan there. It was a lot of fun! We basically ate dinner, opened presents and ate cake. It was simple but that's what we needed. <br />
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On Luke's actual birthday he had his 12 month check up and it was fun to show off to Dr. Miller and see how far he's come. Then he and I went out to lunch together and I bought him a cookie that he enjoyed (with a little help...). That night we went out and bought our Christmas tree and then he got to open his present from us-- a cute little scooter. He doesn't quite get it yet but he was smiling so much when his dad put him on and pushed him around.<br />
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I can't believe my little baby isn't a baby. Time seems to have gone really slowly but also flown by. I think I say that all the time on here but I always feel that way. I'm so grateful for my little family and so, so grateful for my son who I have wanted to have for my entire life. Happy birthday, Luke! We love you dearly!<br />
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Alyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07603053063213840414noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802778370429922248.post-89336570792222922222014-11-30T20:43:00.000-07:002014-11-30T20:43:00.705-07:00Thanksgiving 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
On this, Luke's very first Thanksgiving, we actually had<b> two</b> Thanksgivings. My parents were in Utah on company business and I begged them to come to Boise and so they did and we decided we'd have our own, small Thanksgiving. I don't get to see my parents often, though this year has most definitely been an above average count for visits with them. I'll take every minute I can get! It's always fun to have them in our home. I was very excited to cook my first turkey ever. Our pre-Thanksgiving actually landed on a Friday. On Thursday we went shopping for everything we'd need the next day. My mom put her part of the meal together that night. We were also able to take them to see The Village at Meridian, which has such a nice ambiance. The next day I slaved away in the kitchen making turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, potatoes and gravy. It sounded pretty simple beforehand but it was <b>a lot</b> of work. I will always appreciate the work that goes in to Thanksgiving from now on. My dad made all his pie crusts from scratch. He made a pie with pumpkin pie filling and another he made from real pumpkins so we could compare tastes. The homemade pie definitely won out but it was so, so much work I'm not sure he'll make the endeavor again.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luke really enjoyed these sweet potatoes-- my mom's classic recipe.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He got a bath immediately following this picture.</td></tr>
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On Friday we mostly relaxed before my parents had to get their flight back to Maryland. We gave them their Christmas presents and they gave Luke his birthday present early. It was a V Tech Sit to Stand Learning Walker. He <b>loves</b> it-- the way is lights up and makes noises and all the different things there are to do. It was so fun to see him playing with it for the first time. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He can also push it around from the back but mostly enjoys the front.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Playing" with Callie.</td></tr>
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Then it was time to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa. Luke was <b>so</b> smiley all weekend but when it came time for them to go he wouldn't smile for a picture. I'm guessing this is because he was very sad to see them go, as were we. We had such a good time with them!<br />
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The next week we packed up our car and drove down to Utah for actual Thanksgiving. This year we had it at Shelley's house rather than at Bryan's mom's house.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whitney cousins enjoying some play time together before dinner.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bryan heading up the turkey fryer with a little help from Grandpa Vern and Dustin.</td></tr>
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Bryan fried the turkey and it was delectable-- as was the rest of the meal. Though, I do have to say that I'm ready for a break from turkey for a while after this. Bryan's mom asked me to be in charge of decorating the table this year and it was so fun to do. We had a simple centerpiece-- a wooden bowl with candles and fall berries. I even made a table runner from burlap and used my Silhouette Cameo to make leaf stencils and spray painted those on. I used my Cameo again to make place cards, though they can't really be seen. We also made place mats from art paper with the words "I am thankful for:" on them. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is the table setting all together.</td></tr>
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Of course to finish the evening off we had some delicious pumpkin pie with whipped cream.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dessert for Luke.</td></tr>
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We had some other festivities as well but they will follow in a coming blog post. We had a fun Thanksgiving and now we are so excited to bust out all the Christmas decorations and music we want. This won't be Luke's first Christmas but he'll be able to be more a part of the traditions this time (and I won't be so out of it!). I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving as well!</div>
Alyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07603053063213840414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802778370429922248.post-78715157190975037802014-11-07T10:55:00.003-07:002014-11-07T10:56:19.358-07:00Halloween 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is the Halloween I've been waiting for for many years-- the first one I have with my own child. Of course, Luke is a little young for most of the festivities but we were still able to start some of our traditions-- going to a pumpkin patch, carving pumpkins, getting excited about costumes and even a ward trunk or treat. I love Halloween-- I'd say it ranks second in my favorite holidays list (next to Christmas, of course). I love the excitement in the air and I, of course, love the season in which it falls (seriously, no pun intended). I love the decorations and the preparations. I've been planning this Halloween since before I was pregnant. I knew that if I had a boy that I would dress him up as <a href="http://zelda.wikia.com/wiki/Link" target="_blank">Link</a>, from Bryan's favorite and beloved childhood video game The Legend of Zelda. I like doing things that are special to Bryan-- Luke's dinosaur nursery was also in homage to Bryan's childhood. Now we're just hoping for our next to be a girl so we can dress them up as Luke and Leia. :)<br />
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First things first, we went to a pumpkin patch in the earlier part of the month. Apparently some of my pictures are automatically being made into GIFs, so I thought I'd post some of those. You can see from below that Luke and Dada were having a lot of fun! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Classic shot of baby at the pumpkin patch.</td></tr>
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On the Saturday before Halloween, we were able to participate in our very first ward Trunk or Treat. We ate chili and all the little kids from our ward made the rounds getting their candy. We got to show off our costumes for the first time, though we had to explain it to most people.<br />
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Another family tradition we have is carving pumpkins on the Monday before Halloween-- it's one Family Home Evening each year that is a given. Luke only stayed for the beginning. All he wanted to do was push his little pumpkin off this tray. So we snapped a couple of pictures and put him to bed.<br />
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I took some pictures with finished pictures the next day. Luke is checking out this weird thing-- we carved his for him as a very classic Halloween Jack O'Lantern. Bryan, in keeping with the Zelda theme, carved a Hyrule crest and I tried to do an owl in honor of Hedwig.<br />
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Finally Halloween arrived! Honestly there isn't much to do with a baby but I took him downtown to Dada's work and we went out for lunch. Everyone is the restaurant, including the owner, were oohing and ahhing over my adorable baby. A couple older ladies kept calling him the Jolly Green Giant. I didn't have to heart to correct them. The owner insisted on giving Luke some free ice cream at the end, which was cute. Bryan's coworkers (also software developers and more likely to be aware of video game characters...) were mostly all able to appreciate Luke's costume right off the bat. It was so fun to take him there and show him off. If you want to make a mom feel happy, tell her how adorable her baby is. I live for that when we're out in public. Anyway, that evening we took a little photo shoot to get the full effect of the costumes and then Luke was in bed before most of the trick or treaters were out. We'll see about next year!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He didn't want to keep his hat on.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJTASyyXZ4sY_HaO07m-lfJu_L333C7KLseB_GqOrNgW0GitcgCcHjTLHZH17LamJnMkK44Fp1zxmvib_pVM9lg1JN8zQU4sez4KOLLM3EFVZvoUxi0t6HaDzBCWtFW6J1DfQAr7-OE68X/s1600/IMG_20141031_171649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJTASyyXZ4sY_HaO07m-lfJu_L333C7KLseB_GqOrNgW0GitcgCcHjTLHZH17LamJnMkK44Fp1zxmvib_pVM9lg1JN8zQU4sez4KOLLM3EFVZvoUxi0t6HaDzBCWtFW6J1DfQAr7-OE68X/s1600/IMG_20141031_171649.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bryan isn't really in to the whole dressing up thing and initially all he was going to do was wear his Zelda t-shirt but after playing Hyrule Warriors he <i>really</i> wanted me to make him Link's scarf.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFplpLpqKnp-EQlgJmVkPRYneGro58crzCmlYN3SVTBHP1xlwHbKF-uoYEKd-ckMJSORYoIMH5bmMVFGc0Xrrefl1To5jD_UIZOUuYZmZCqh8dadyP0iFUjobgSiuKZO-08ekJ3sZPAb42/s1600/IMG_20141031_171700.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFplpLpqKnp-EQlgJmVkPRYneGro58crzCmlYN3SVTBHP1xlwHbKF-uoYEKd-ckMJSORYoIMH5bmMVFGc0Xrrefl1To5jD_UIZOUuYZmZCqh8dadyP0iFUjobgSiuKZO-08ekJ3sZPAb42/s1600/IMG_20141031_171700.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scarf detailing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRr8g2469dFpT30AdwlPJ5M8eI7MSOSBIrDFjLHEb4JpdW3ve3zdZ3iBqjk7MSfkG9rcqtjdmzxCNZ6FD1kFTbob5gv_IGWnTjG07seH_XRKgO-u8UxKUIjsSZSAf47jEKhcvVpbysz6l5/s1600/IMG_20141031_171806.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRr8g2469dFpT30AdwlPJ5M8eI7MSOSBIrDFjLHEb4JpdW3ve3zdZ3iBqjk7MSfkG9rcqtjdmzxCNZ6FD1kFTbob5gv_IGWnTjG07seH_XRKgO-u8UxKUIjsSZSAf47jEKhcvVpbysz6l5/s1600/IMG_20141031_171806.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I knew I wanted to do something to go along with Luke but I wanted to be something simple so he'd get most of the attention. There is a very well known little fairy named Navi in one of the games that is a ball of blue light with white wings. She says, "Hey! Listen!" to Link all the time. As his mom, I thought that seemed very fitting. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spooooky Halloween dinner.</td></tr>
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Well, it's sad that Halloween has come and gone but there are plenty of exciting things to come this month and next. They can be very full and slightly stressful months but they are oh so fun! Coming up we have Bryan's birthday, a little pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving with my parents, actual Thanksgiving in Utah, Luke's <b>first<i> </i></b>birthday (!!!) and of course Christmas. It's time to go blog crazy!</div>
Alyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07603053063213840414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802778370429922248.post-47586471898800176952014-10-28T21:56:00.001-06:002014-10-28T21:56:35.795-06:00Dillion, Colorado Retreat<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is a blog post that is impossible to write. And by that I don't mean that the content is too sad or mind blowing to discuss. I mean I'm sitting here on the couch with the laptop and my almost 11 month old baby wants to know whats going on. He literally just pulled the screen all the way back and stuck the corner in his mouth. He also likes to reach up and pat the keys whenever he can so any typos or weird things I don't see as I'm editing this that end up posting to the world-- that's him (<i>suuuure</i>). This is the reason I almost never use my laptop or desktop. Thank goodness for smart phones and tablets. Anyway, I must press forward because I've fallen behind on my blogging duties once more.<br />
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Well, as I mentioned <a href="http://bryanandalyssa.blogspot.com/2014/08/to-grandmothers-house-we-go.html" target="_blank">a couple of blog posts ago</a>, my family had planned a trip out to Colorado this summer which was postponed due to my dad having a heart attack (he's doing much better now, by the way). We were unable to cancel our reservation at the time so we decided to move it to October. So a couple of weeks ago we made our second trip with Luke by air travel. Since the flight was so much shorter I anticipated it going easier than our trip to Maryland in July. In a lot of ways it was (no layover, for one thing) but as he gets older he has a harder time sleeping anywhere but a crib or pack 'n play (my arms). He will do it sometimes... in his room, being rocked with the lights off... On a cramped plane with weird air levels and bright lights and unnecessarily loud people is a lot more difficult of an environment. That made naps hard and if you know me you should know I'm <br />
<i>always</i> think of the naps. They rule my life. I should probably try to be a little more relaxed about them, especially on vacation. I just know that if my little boy doesn't get his naps he will be <b>Cranky</b>. That's right, with a capital C. So anyway, he slept about half an hour at the end of the flight out. On the way back our flight was very late and he fell asleep in my arms in the airport and woke up as soon as we boarded. He stayed awake the whole flight, was crazy and then crashed on the car ride home from the airport. Oh, travel. You're not really my friend. Good thing the trip in between always makes it worth it. <br />
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My parents picked us up from the airport in this huge 10-11 passenger van. Luke was less than pleased to go from one cramped, confined space to his car seat for a two hour trek up into the mountains. By the time we got there it was bedtime for baby and we were able to relax a little. Natalie and her family have since returned to Qatar so those who were there were Mom and Dad, Tammy and her daughter, Stacey and three of her four boys, Hailey and Brian with their three kids, Lindsay and Morgan with their two girls and of course Bryan, Luke and I. I would say it was a full house but this cabin was so large that it easily accommodated all of us. A couple cool things they had were a pool table and a pin ball machine. The older kids seemed to really enjoy that. Luke and his cousins (just 3 months older than him) just toddled around throwing balls and getting into trouble. <br />
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That first night my mom gave each family a present. She and Hailey are working together to put all of our family pictures into printed out books. They have blurbs about what happened each year, etc. Anyway, this is our second volume so we had fun laughing at each other's bad perms and retelling old stories (like the time Lindsay had her friends paint birthday messages to Natalie all over our basements walls while my parents were out of town). While there we went swimming at a nearby rec center, strolled around some neat quaint shops in Breckenridge, took walks from our cabin to the gorgeous lake but mostly we just hung out and enjoyed each other, which is what I always find to be the best part of vacations. One night we played a couple of rounds of Tyler's favorite game, <a href="http://www.werewolves.com/werewolf-game/" target="_blank">Werewolf</a>, which was a total flashback for Bryan and I-- we played it with a group in our singles ward almost every Sunday when the flirting days were going strong. It was a fairly short trip and on Sunday, since we happened to go on this trip during a regional conference for all of Colorado and Wyoming, we had our own little church program and watched a conference talk and <a href="http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages" target="_blank">Mormon Messages</a>. When everyone had left except us, my parents and the Handleys we all took a nice drive up into the mountains to enjoy the scenery.<br />
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Here are some pictures from our trip (of course most of them are of Luke):<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luke and his cousin buddy.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcZX-Kvda1MSAkLGlY2q_GT1pE_eW7XV167UxjOaIRR4UzYgU70gIRmtMGaCiovpK7odZ25pwwglnU40LVu4y4vLic4MxRyCVea0mH7RX9wQvkHEN-VClBdLVkjgTfynASDTL_HHApAm_-/s1600/IMG_20141018_110315.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcZX-Kvda1MSAkLGlY2q_GT1pE_eW7XV167UxjOaIRR4UzYgU70gIRmtMGaCiovpK7odZ25pwwglnU40LVu4y4vLic4MxRyCVea0mH7RX9wQvkHEN-VClBdLVkjgTfynASDTL_HHApAm_-/s1600/IMG_20141018_110315.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love these sweet girls so much!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buddies dining together.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snuggling with Grandma</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU73DyQY_h2Mxa0OisWElRQ3oKKdCZ8ySt9KqR8aW3MIK_VFZW9sdeVOjEHOUbPasrTkDDPb_QxE5cobEREh-Az39B4-bBoIwObCmJnQ3oFrcWMMrrGvXA_BOg1-P1WXcdGqo3ChapnDZg/s1600/IMG_20141018_144142.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU73DyQY_h2Mxa0OisWElRQ3oKKdCZ8ySt9KqR8aW3MIK_VFZW9sdeVOjEHOUbPasrTkDDPb_QxE5cobEREh-Az39B4-bBoIwObCmJnQ3oFrcWMMrrGvXA_BOg1-P1WXcdGqo3ChapnDZg/s1600/IMG_20141018_144142.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our day out at the quaint shops in Breckenridge</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can't believe my 16 year old nephew is already as tall as dad! </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All the grandkids who were there except napping babies.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnQsxB0KPTXBOSsuTb9-8oip91v6KQp3LL2YCnWi_2lNEL4jFkeYLz3gYmohhHmpOsJ0nk_5tsCtZ1vWDoLYFjfxQC7ITil2kaFueirkgOoh5U47qc437hTVZoFqWvd5lcLJJYyEHU9pEn/s1600/IMG_20141019_112339.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnQsxB0KPTXBOSsuTb9-8oip91v6KQp3LL2YCnWi_2lNEL4jFkeYLz3gYmohhHmpOsJ0nk_5tsCtZ1vWDoLYFjfxQC7ITil2kaFueirkgOoh5U47qc437hTVZoFqWvd5lcLJJYyEHU9pEn/s1600/IMG_20141019_112339.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can't get enough of these buddies!!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYzze1tvPP8gI8WM53AEho_dhBAFwClqF9dXP4DrOnREl8c2HxvO3beRKm6FvZ2V-LvxFpxN74iFKnhGT3QDDB2deMTs-ZmrcCYDvnxLJXQStZo4US4YdmOnpLYU3eW1u-cnJCxkkCVXQV/s1600/IMG_20141019_132726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYzze1tvPP8gI8WM53AEho_dhBAFwClqF9dXP4DrOnREl8c2HxvO3beRKm6FvZ2V-LvxFpxN74iFKnhGT3QDDB2deMTs-ZmrcCYDvnxLJXQStZo4US4YdmOnpLYU3eW1u-cnJCxkkCVXQV/s1600/IMG_20141019_132726.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I thought I had walked into a painting.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVx8JXy5Zwuv9LyiqMrcfuOou3zh3PYTqjL5wpkr_paEaNIId8RcLYUrmjFDgpb9SuTnw9DVcKmrUI0DZsI_uImGaU6BWheuSRLZCQDfT5eKiTCcviv48vLMMDES9te4DYI8Blo5wa0l7/s1600/IMG_20141019_133440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVx8JXy5Zwuv9LyiqMrcfuOou3zh3PYTqjL5wpkr_paEaNIId8RcLYUrmjFDgpb9SuTnw9DVcKmrUI0DZsI_uImGaU6BWheuSRLZCQDfT5eKiTCcviv48vLMMDES9te4DYI8Blo5wa0l7/s1600/IMG_20141019_133440.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skipping stones with dada!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cabin we stayed at.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On our drive on Sunday.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We found snow! (One little pile pushed to the side in a parking lot...)</td></tr>
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On Monday we cleaned up, packed and headed to my sister's house, since she lives nearby the retreat. It was my niece's (her daughter's) birthday and, while we did celebrate with everyone on the trip, it was nice to be there for the actual day. My parents and the Handleys left for the airport in the afternoon but we were able to stay later since our flight was so late and we got to go out to birthday dinner and everything! So nice to be able to be there since we get precious little time with our family.<br />
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Here we are at the airport. I do love my sleepy little boy. I miss holding him while he sleeps. The flight back would sure have been much smoother if he had just stayed this way... <br />
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He sure is growing up and doing <b>so</b> many things. The first year goes so slowly but also so so quickly. He's less of a baby now and more of a little boy! He can climb stairs, no problem. He has advanced from his funny little army crawling to full on hands and knees <b>fast</b> crawling around the house. He gets into everything, loves to play with cords (eek!) and put things in his mouth. He's a great little eater and gobbles down pretty much everything we put in front of him. He loves string cheese, grapes, blueberries, bread, etc. He pulls up to everything and cruises around. He's seriously going to be walking before I know it. He also is growing at least his 7th and 8th teeth and possibly more than I can't see. We've been trying to teach him to wave but he doesn't do that yet-- he <b>does</b> clap his hands, which is so so adorable. Oftentimes I roll a ball to him, he picks it up and then I put out my hands and say, "Okay, can Mama have it?" And he grins really big and puts it squarely in my hands. He has some pretty grumpy times but I just love my sweet little handsome boy.<br />
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Halloween is this Friday and I'm hoping to have another post next week. October-December are such crazy busy months already but now we each have a birthday in them as well! Oh yeah, did I forget to mention I turned 28 a few weeks ago? It was a nice day and night but honestly I'm much more excited for another birthday coming up in just over a month! I can hardly believe it. Hopefully it'll be blog posts galore in the weeks to come. </div>
Alyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07603053063213840414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802778370429922248.post-87287090534095582352014-08-21T22:08:00.001-06:002014-08-21T22:08:56.291-06:00Goodbye, Pump.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well, it's done.<br />
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I haven't pumped for over a week. I thought I'd feel more free than this. I mean, I do. It's so nice to not have to worry about making sure I'm home at certain times, confined to the couch several times a day. There are so many other emotions surrounding the whole issue, though. I'm pretty sure my friends are tired of hearing about it because I've talked about it almost nonstop for, oh, 5+ months. To my friends: I'm sorry. Hopefully this is my last rant. <br />
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Five months of pumping later and I still get depressed sometimes, especially during this winding down time. It doesn't help that this is National Breastfeeding Awareness month and there are posts all over Facebook about it. I often find myself thinking, "If only I had tried..." or "If only I had had the forethought to..." or "If I'd just been more patient." When those thoughts come I try to push them out of my mind because, even if they are true, I tried <b>so much</b> and I thought about it <b>too much </b>and one can only have so much patience sometimes, especially in a fragile emotional state. Now that I'm ending this stage (which I also feel kind of guilty for doing since I made it this far-- but having an end goal of 8 months kept me sane all those months) I can't stop thinking about how I'll go about it the next time around. I literally could not fall asleep a few nights ago until I jotted all my ideas (notes to my future pregnant self) that I didn't want to forget. <br />
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I also feel a guilt that if I do succeed next time around what if Luke feels gypped somehow? The answer is he won't care or know but, as his mom, I feel protective of his feelings even if they are feelings that I'm having for him... and far too far in advance. I guess the underlying feeling is that I never want him to think I didn't love him as much as his sibling to really make it work. I feel guilty that he had the be the trial run baby, but that's just how it goes with first born children. I know I've learned a lot and I know things now that will help me next time (regardless of the "every child is different" mantra we all repeat). Most importantly, I know what to expect of myself. <br />
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I've learned that, though breast is best, formula is great and that the most important thing is that your child is healthy and happy. I know my freezer stash won't last us until he's a year so I expect to transition to formula and I'm totally okay with that. To be honest, it took me a little while to be okay with it, though. Now I live by the phrase, "Breastfeeding isn't the true test of motherhood."<br />
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One last guilt: I feel guilty that I've become so consumed by this issue. I mentioned above that I've talked about it <b>a lot</b>. Sometimes I worry that I'm too selfish-- that I talk over people about my own problems instead of really listening to them about theirs. I don't want to be that person. I'm sorry if I've been that person to you. I promise I'm trying to be a better me.<br />
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And now, to borrow an, er, overly popular phrase I know I must <i>let it goooooooo, let it goooooooo.... </i>let go of my guilt and move on. Thank you to everyone who has been so loving and supportive to me during this time. I'm grateful to have wonderful friends and family and I love you guys. </div>
Alyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07603053063213840414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802778370429922248.post-20903869153326772572014-08-14T13:45:00.002-06:002014-08-14T13:45:28.673-06:00To Grandmother's House We Go!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So a couple of weeks ago, without too much advance warning, we hopped a plane and went to Maryland. Just like that! Actually it was a lot more intense than that-- traveling is a lot more complicated with a baby than on your own. We had to carry around a cooler bag full of breast milk, bring our pack 'n play, check the car seat and stroller at the gate each time, worry about naps and fussiness on the plane and another million things I'm pretty sure I've blocked out. A couple nice things about our traveling with baby experience, though: everyone was very complimentary on how adorable my baby is but oftentimes would try not to sit next to us (which is how we got a free seat between us on our first flight out, which was "full." Sweet!) and we didn't have to haul heavy carry on bags around the airport because he put it all in the basket of Luke's stroller or hanging off the handles. Our two flights out went really well with him! He was overall happy and cute. The way back was crankier, though, and we were glad to be home. <br />
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My sister lives overseas during most of the year and so we wanted for everyone to get together in the summer when she and her family would be here. Originally we had rented a big cabin in Colorado for everyone to come to. That would have been a straight through, 2 hour flight for us. Simple. A couple weeks before that planned trip my dad had a heart attack (which he is recovering well from now, thank goodness) and the doctor told him that he should fly under no circumstances. So, that trip was postponed until the fall. However, that would rule Natalie and her family out of coming and after the scare of my dad's heart attack we all wanted to be together. So plans were moved and changed and we went home to Maryland instead.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luke's first flight!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQI7vSzpEnuBXmwYkDgfOrlaxhOD9SXc7mXDWw9AKVFVGsVmZj2_uQ0AA-r4F_DTJHgXsLEJBu3sX6mxpc3Vn7_EBZry6dO7b9K07_E0j0fDTJd5IIbSW7PCBnXxJbELRQPG0D0BoHZIq1/s1600/IMG_20140723_140026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQI7vSzpEnuBXmwYkDgfOrlaxhOD9SXc7mXDWw9AKVFVGsVmZj2_uQ0AA-r4F_DTJHgXsLEJBu3sX6mxpc3Vn7_EBZry6dO7b9K07_E0j0fDTJd5IIbSW7PCBnXxJbELRQPG0D0BoHZIq1/s1600/IMG_20140723_140026.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can pretty much barely get him to sleep in my arms anymore.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Layover + Two Hour Delay in Chicago Midway</td></tr>
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Finally we arrived! It was so good to be home-- the home I love so dearly. We were so excited to see everyone! Several family members still hadn't met Luke, including his cousin just a few months older than him. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meeting his future playmate for the first time!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playin' with cousin Jack! Another future playmate-- though Jack is a year and a half older.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smiley boy loved this toy Grandma had!</td></tr>
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I am really glad we ended up going back to Maryland. My parents are selling my childhood home and I got one last hurrah there. I'm also glad I got to bring at least one of my kids there. They are moving just a half an hour away so technically when I go back I could drive by my old house but that sounds much too painful-- some other family living in <b>my</b> house.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Such a gorgeous house.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMnujxhkJRvHbndvIA2jyURBPLUcJS54_ZgS7YLzzMKa6O4tTlWR21OawRgtXBWG9ivcLQNaF4tIIT79NnUaSUuuODNUboMObKFDafLk0qIOnt9AgU25A0YQ6iYPTXP3_Lgi6BX6X9VSkD/s1600/IMG_20140725_135407.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMnujxhkJRvHbndvIA2jyURBPLUcJS54_ZgS7YLzzMKa6O4tTlWR21OawRgtXBWG9ivcLQNaF4tIIT79NnUaSUuuODNUboMObKFDafLk0qIOnt9AgU25A0YQ6iYPTXP3_Lgi6BX6X9VSkD/s1600/IMG_20140725_135407.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRrJ8-aHfa6S7O6IAOEVXkavP8P99BJWCUvec_ahwoUmiLjNZoktTh61tU75TSLJCZUMIsey6X4wrYsP8HHSrfHSCYqv4g6OnKgIvGn91ZB1FPj42w-d95Q1yJa-IW8954OnMtLMlI4cKZ/s1600/IMG_20140725_135624.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRrJ8-aHfa6S7O6IAOEVXkavP8P99BJWCUvec_ahwoUmiLjNZoktTh61tU75TSLJCZUMIsey6X4wrYsP8HHSrfHSCYqv4g6OnKgIvGn91ZB1FPj42w-d95Q1yJa-IW8954OnMtLMlI4cKZ/s1600/IMG_20140725_135624.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had a very idyllic childhood.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoKpqnJ4Cq9DQSUrWlGegp45Ml5wgTt2ZAuwPl1RT7YVH72lvdxziajAZ1T2WVEmt9PGdvrqCEPwc8IUrJvJXWTMPV2iDKWgxfhfEykReFYRwEEEpdnNObII-D5x31HoUKaHTc2jxp8C7L/s1600/IMG_20140725_140230.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoKpqnJ4Cq9DQSUrWlGegp45Ml5wgTt2ZAuwPl1RT7YVH72lvdxziajAZ1T2WVEmt9PGdvrqCEPwc8IUrJvJXWTMPV2iDKWgxfhfEykReFYRwEEEpdnNObII-D5x31HoUKaHTc2jxp8C7L/s1600/IMG_20140725_140230.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love Luke snuggles.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiZMQuu_sr_wyfhkBTOmPZERP8Q3XZF2DV1A3fs9nfe7GEArqA0olsE7ZhlGDSr-WCY5vlpmPXC1O43BcRuVGb5XRl4yDWBdNd4PI50C0NbgTGGHlpLg7GOx4EdNjTq4q1uO3eOJgaYu9X/s1600/IMG_20140725_140839.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiZMQuu_sr_wyfhkBTOmPZERP8Q3XZF2DV1A3fs9nfe7GEArqA0olsE7ZhlGDSr-WCY5vlpmPXC1O43BcRuVGb5XRl4yDWBdNd4PI50C0NbgTGGHlpLg7GOx4EdNjTq4q1uO3eOJgaYu9X/s1600/IMG_20140725_140839.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First time on a swing!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilev0sQ7o8tn7NHT_XhSvVp7iPdH32Ut9CsGdSMlmegL3O3ptfVwBTteRRjbifWH4pQQrcFlm3DuLZ-uMkqncZ9bzmNvdXWQIUESBvtbAKR6QMZkkLIeM762afx2Rnv7lnnthv5Pds6ZdF/s1600/IMG_20140725_142322.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilev0sQ7o8tn7NHT_XhSvVp7iPdH32Ut9CsGdSMlmegL3O3ptfVwBTteRRjbifWH4pQQrcFlm3DuLZ-uMkqncZ9bzmNvdXWQIUESBvtbAKR6QMZkkLIeM762afx2Rnv7lnnthv5Pds6ZdF/s1600/IMG_20140725_142322.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not sure why he pulls his own hair... Silly boy!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKs1lCuIKrJuAU5aYv0n3K62ucDuwuoqmfUOYeEqF_2YcqyFf9EKmFEjDGRw4rgL8K8nyNk95uNeHj5ojqT0c5yOQV1JNVJfctIpp5xzVtKEAr3M1k0ASOlOkzJJpk4FSfkCgj8cLGucD-/s1600/IMG_20140725_173631.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKs1lCuIKrJuAU5aYv0n3K62ucDuwuoqmfUOYeEqF_2YcqyFf9EKmFEjDGRw4rgL8K8nyNk95uNeHj5ojqT0c5yOQV1JNVJfctIpp5xzVtKEAr3M1k0ASOlOkzJJpk4FSfkCgj8cLGucD-/s1600/IMG_20140725_173631.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Being men, grilling.</td></tr>
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One of the nights we decided to have a girls night out to the temple. I didn't realize it until i was putting my skirt on but I'd left my recommend at home in my temple bag! We had to go through the whole process of calling my bishop at the temple so I could go. I'm so glad I was able to because it was a wonderful experience. We were greeted by this site when we got home:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdW3oZM_1mqyfZVXoaKCYslFOBFnkM7BxEvPzSQGmzGMZybKSB2FZNNWVipnGH-lDsFz1TeZxfqydBfmgO4tE9Kx3Vi8duZwRfNHct9ErcYAFOLKRooEVn7pE6cQRPUYlGOWkSd1YOUghx/s1600/IMG_20140725_215210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdW3oZM_1mqyfZVXoaKCYslFOBFnkM7BxEvPzSQGmzGMZybKSB2FZNNWVipnGH-lDsFz1TeZxfqydBfmgO4tE9Kx3Vi8duZwRfNHct9ErcYAFOLKRooEVn7pE6cQRPUYlGOWkSd1YOUghx/s1600/IMG_20140725_215210.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bryan & my brothers in-law playing board games. I love seeing this!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrGW_6ZTx2xxs1BmIRBn2QwDKHK1oZXvlaXga8WwJ_o0iYQSKm4_xY_Scm_yiMlQ6Q6dQ_Dxs5ALdbdY3PeHUyz8wOAmaFfFiPgQxBxOiDDLTjIF2AjB5PH5F1t8eOVZ7d1mhtx8eii4kf/s1600/IMG_20140726_212053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrGW_6ZTx2xxs1BmIRBn2QwDKHK1oZXvlaXga8WwJ_o0iYQSKm4_xY_Scm_yiMlQ6Q6dQ_Dxs5ALdbdY3PeHUyz8wOAmaFfFiPgQxBxOiDDLTjIF2AjB5PH5F1t8eOVZ7d1mhtx8eii4kf/s1600/IMG_20140726_212053.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mom and sisters at the temple.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYpOGZHxUecjXXfHADOaC4YFpK5CP4Y3H5iSGcLMzgyN_EG4A-CA3r3zD2PGVgH6iTLxXhyphenhyphenzlyvedpaOCTzbK3nsKHMJo9_ViV5kZx18bxlNSmoLWoA3tmgPsCgKLNl4fXPLpv2pUhLrMH/s1600/IMG_20140727_153112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYpOGZHxUecjXXfHADOaC4YFpK5CP4Y3H5iSGcLMzgyN_EG4A-CA3r3zD2PGVgH6iTLxXhyphenhyphenzlyvedpaOCTzbK3nsKHMJo9_ViV5kZx18bxlNSmoLWoA3tmgPsCgKLNl4fXPLpv2pUhLrMH/s1600/IMG_20140727_153112.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was probably the last time I'd be in my home ward... I'm glad I got to show Luke off.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSo-ZXWqFQDhDhEt8gcHlHIVxrlYHeaEZmKiTU2UzFsDWKo4S_xgMcMTz9cwqLL2YYZccu8KJMluI_eY1OAW75VFFpE2rY__5AA9DaI9z-7wWTrX7Aq_OJ89OF-RaisCdk-6tG-bNhr1Fe/s1600/IMG_20140727_161042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSo-ZXWqFQDhDhEt8gcHlHIVxrlYHeaEZmKiTU2UzFsDWKo4S_xgMcMTz9cwqLL2YYZccu8KJMluI_eY1OAW75VFFpE2rY__5AA9DaI9z-7wWTrX7Aq_OJ89OF-RaisCdk-6tG-bNhr1Fe/s1600/IMG_20140727_161042.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cousins having fun playing!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhulBdABkCfRnQanODmURKeXHYNzu2Mdu9X1gcFOjGCwFVg4L-SnycwxsrlJzEdtlvgPT2LWROyFxJE9R8lPKjdFBicNN04ME5xLfyUT9Eo-JBlHAJP40bqIibxFB4e29Sj5Pebkmah4jIr/s1600/IMG_20140727_183651.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhulBdABkCfRnQanODmURKeXHYNzu2Mdu9X1gcFOjGCwFVg4L-SnycwxsrlJzEdtlvgPT2LWROyFxJE9R8lPKjdFBicNN04ME5xLfyUT9Eo-JBlHAJP40bqIibxFB4e29Sj5Pebkmah4jIr/s1600/IMG_20140727_183651.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dad and Luke enjoying the porch swing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin2Rqzvw1Pp1HsLj26jEQGPMy8WyT74HQuUWtLIpFGsQYY2KJDDmjsZWUNsPFqdqM5P8uD1DTN8IMLWLxoPQafbESsHD4ButnSHXcgj9R7E65rr2rkoRUN1CzD9J2L9iSJtydtgZQHD6cI/s1600/IMG_20140727_184244.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin2Rqzvw1Pp1HsLj26jEQGPMy8WyT74HQuUWtLIpFGsQYY2KJDDmjsZWUNsPFqdqM5P8uD1DTN8IMLWLxoPQafbESsHD4ButnSHXcgj9R7E65rr2rkoRUN1CzD9J2L9iSJtydtgZQHD6cI/s1600/IMG_20140727_184244.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luke would crack up when Ivy jumped on the trampoline.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRVhvvx_CI5-aJ7LpOqwPmHGFwAPmOo86y-W75WZLH2Jrp1Y90_7X7b_vT4ri-O89XruK-fY07OS4KCtiVpnvJMFsTwo8l7vumC3h8m8jLPh6njVEO8d6uBFrfCSH2Gx3bM0QnkaQyHse1/s1600/IMG_20140727_192622.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRVhvvx_CI5-aJ7LpOqwPmHGFwAPmOo86y-W75WZLH2Jrp1Y90_7X7b_vT4ri-O89XruK-fY07OS4KCtiVpnvJMFsTwo8l7vumC3h8m8jLPh6njVEO8d6uBFrfCSH2Gx3bM0QnkaQyHse1/s1600/IMG_20140727_192622.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Silly boy!</td></tr>
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We got to see so many old friends while we were there-- Amanda came to chill with us one morning.<br />
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Mom and Dad took us to visit their new lot. It was gorgeous and green and had us longing to live on the east coast (don't worry Boise friends, we love it here too and will be here for a little while still).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panorama view of the lot.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsO_bjgy3YnHwFnOKhvtb5dD80wlsa9feZGQRVWkX6A1AyI9uejnGw9CRCHPUwpuMao0a72Jkw7thh83vzntDXs2oNo7CfjO9i80nj2dUPPOR4BlgkU6I36sC9bxYvyigxorEKzrhhvJfI/s1600/IMG_20140728_142159.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsO_bjgy3YnHwFnOKhvtb5dD80wlsa9feZGQRVWkX6A1AyI9uejnGw9CRCHPUwpuMao0a72Jkw7thh83vzntDXs2oNo7CfjO9i80nj2dUPPOR4BlgkU6I36sC9bxYvyigxorEKzrhhvJfI/s1600/IMG_20140728_142159.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grandma and Grandpa playing with Luke while Bryan and I took a stroll around the lot.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cousins enjoying some video game time.</td></tr>
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We were there for a little less than a week but the time flew by too quickly for my taste. It felt so nice to be home and be with my family. Unfortunately two of my sisters weren't able to come with the change of plans but luckily we'll see them and their kids when we go to the Colorado cabin this fall.<br />
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Since we've been back life has continued to be busy. Luke used to sleep until 7-8 but has never really gone back to that since we got back. He's been getting up so early lately and I did <b>not</b> miss that. I think it's mostly due to teething and having a general 8 month sleep regression that comes with learning to crawl and such. I've been busy crafting up a storm-- making birthday presents and play mats and decor for our house. I love it! I'm also just about done weaning myself off of pumping. It's gone well but been a little emotional. I'll post more on that later. Bryan got a call from <b>Nintendo</b> America saying they approved him to be a game developer for the Wii U!!! We are very excited about that. He really enjoys making games as a hobby.<br />
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Anyway, that's life as of late!</div>
Alyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07603053063213840414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802778370429922248.post-62338795197315770512014-07-18T14:49:00.001-06:002014-07-18T14:49:11.074-06:00Independence Day + Life<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Oh, do I have a blog? Sometimes its been <strike>weeks</strike> months since I've written and then all the sudden I'll remember that I have one. Especially now that we have our sweet little boy, I want so much to document life. I was looking through my personal hand written journal the other day and realized that I haven't written in it <b>since I found out I was having a boy</b>. Wow, Alyssa. Way to take note of the important things in life. Aaaaanyway, I'm here now, writing about not writing... so I should probably get onto the meat of the post.<br />
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Well, the 4th of July was a couple of weeks ago and we had a great day. I just love any reason to celebrate. Recently, I've started a craft group with some other ladies in my ward/neighborhood and I've really enjoyed it because I love crafting. We meet just once a month but I craft myself nearly every day. Anyway, at our first craft group I made these:<br />
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I saw them on Pinterest and couldn't stop thinking about them. They aren't perfect but I really like them. I just put little flags in them this year but maybe next year I'll get some flowers or something for them.<br />
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Since the 4th was a Friday we decided to use the long weekend and go to Utah. This was Luke's first long trip ever! The car ride was the worst of it. We left after Bryan got home from work and I assumed that would be perfect and he'd sleep in the car. Sometimes when we're out and about and it's getting close to nap time as we are driving home Luke will fall asleep in his car seat (which I hate because then it's hard to transfer him without disrupting the nap process) so I thought it'd be like that. I'm not sure if it was because it was bedtime instead of nap time or because Bryan's car is brighter than the one Luke and I drive around in (it has better gas mileage) but it was not what I was expecting. He did take a little nap in the late afternoon of the car ride and that went okay. I snapped a picture of him sleeping. So cute:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">To grandmother's house we go!</td></tr>
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Anyway, he was a tired boy on the trip but did pretty well with naps once we were actually there. On the 4th we went a little carnival in Morgan, where Bryan's mom lives. It was <i>so so</i> hot and I was reminded of why I'm not a fan of summer. I hadn't realized this until then because I spend most of my time a.) in the house in air conditioning b.) in the car in air conditioning c.) in a store in air conditioning... basically I would die without air conditioning. I mostly lurked in the shadows (i.e. shade of anything I could find). It was a cute little fair with a lot of fun things for kids to do. Cousin Ella got her face painted. She asked for a "unicorn looking at an American flag" and the face paint's eyes widened dramatically with each word. In the end she just got a unicorn-- she's a funny girl. There were also some fun ring toss, etc games to play for free. Bryan, Luke, Shelley, Ella and Ethan took a cute little train ride around a field. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love this candid shot of everyone. </td></tr>
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Later that day Bryan's cousin, her husband and their baby girl Dierdre came over. Dierdre and Luke are just a couple weeks younger than Luke so we thought it would be fun to get them together. It sure was! They really interacted. You can kind of see it in some of the pictures below. Dierdre is a cute girl with such a sweet disposition. I wish we could have play dates more often!<br />
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We had a delicious BBQ with hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, frog eye salad, corn... so many delicious things. I made a fruit pizza for dessert:<br />
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When the babies were put to sleep we decided to set off some small fireworks. I've never bought fireworks before-- just watched the big ones others set off. It was fun to do that and have sparklers. It'll be fun when Luke is old enough to appreciate these things too.<br />
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After, we just sat in Sandi's backyard and watched fireworks all over the valley. I'm not exaggerating when i say it was the best fireworks experience I have ever had. We didn't have to go anywhere or deal with crowds and we could see them going off all over. Her neighbors even set off some really good ones right in front of us that were better than the city fireworks! I can't remember which these were, though:<br />
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So fun! The next day my old roommate Alicia came up and visited all day. it was so fun to introduce her to Luke and she just loved him. Who doesn't, though? He is such an adorable, happy baby. I can't get enough of him. We played with Luke and when Luke went down for naps we played games just like old times. In the evening we ate s'mores and finished off our small fireworks. <br />
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What an amazingly fun weekend! We drove home on Sunday and that drive was probably worse than the one there. There was this huge hassle of trying to find a place to warm Luke's bottle and the only gas station for miles having the convenience store closed... seeing someone run into the pump... Luke waking up and falling asleep a million times over... Lets just say we were so happy to get home and sleep in our own beds. <br />
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Also since I last posted Bryan and I were able to celebrate Mother's Day and Fther's Day. Last year we knew we were having a baby and so we celebrated but now we really are fully fledged parents. For Mother's Day Bryan bought me a 90 minute massage and a couple other small, cute things. Oh. My. Gosh. I told him he could get me that every year! Best Mother's day present ever! Motherhood is <b>hard</b> work and getting to relax like that is just about the best thing I could have asked for. For Father's Day I got Bryan a few small things and we also got a grill from Target for a really good deal! We've been grilling up a storm ever since. Bryan is a grill master already.<br />
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As I mentioned earlier, I am super into crafting and sewing right now. It's important to do something for yourself as a motehr so you aren't drawing from an empty well. This is what I do for me and I'm thriving in it. Sometimes I can't fall asleep at night for thoughts of all kinds of different projects I'm planning on doing. A lot of them are for my house but one of the things I'm doing is making these padded travel play mats for babies and selling them on Etsy. If you're interested here's the link: http://www.etsy.com/shops/TheLoveableLion<br />
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Well, last but absolutely not least is Luke. Really, I just saved the best for last. We love this little boy so much! The first three months were very hard. I loved him dearly then as well but they were very hard. I'm sure you're aware if you've been keeping up with this blog. After that the months have really seemed to fly by! I love being a mom to this smiley sweetheart. It's still hard work but he is so cute and so much fun. I love watching him grow up and go through all these different stages. He eats <a href="http://www.babyledweaning.com/" target="_blank">normal food</a> with us and has his bottom two teeth and his top two are slowly coming in. He can roll over both ways easily and always, always immediately rolls to his tummy for sleep now. He's been in his crib for months and sleeps 11 hours most nights! We love bedtime! He enjoys having his Dada read him bedtime stories and his Mama sing to him. He still has a full head of hair and has had three haircuts already! If we set him down sitting up he stays that way easily to play with toys. Right now he is working on crawling! He army crawls pretty well but is working on getting up on his knees. He's no longer content to sit in our laps but wiggles all around to get to what he wants. He is such a cute boy and I kiss him pretty much every moment I am playing with him. Here's a video I took of him trying to crawl yesterday. Beware, it is three full minutes long.<br />
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Life is very, very good.</div>
Alyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07603053063213840414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8802778370429922248.post-11037913549272863512014-05-13T20:55:00.005-06:002014-05-13T20:55:58.374-06:00Easter 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Well, I'm a little late on this post but better late than never, as they say. This Easter was very exciting because Bryan and I got to play Easter bunny for the first time ever and we had family in town. I love, love, love festivities of any kind. Of course Easter is so much more than just egg hunts and chocolate. It is a time to remember our Savior and the sacrifice He made for each and every one of us. That should always be the focal point of this day but fun little activities are an exciting side note. Luke is a little young to go hunting for Easter eggs but that didn't stop us from including him in egg dyeing fun.</div>
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All our eggs in all their glory.</div>
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Bryan was very proud of his Triforce egg.</div>
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Every Easter growing up my mom would make or buy us a
special Easter dress so new clothes are eternally linked with this day
in my mind. We got Luke a cute little outfit from Target to wear the
church. Here he is after church on Easter morning with
the egg I dyed for him-- a little dinosaur, which seems to be his theme. </div>
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Easter baskets from the Easter bunny (mom & dad) and Grand Easter bunny (Grandma Sandi)!</div>
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And finally, our delicious Easter feast of ham, cheesy potatoes and salad (followed later by a not pictured coconut cream pie). We had such a fun time having Grandma Sandi and Uncle Mike here to celebrate the day!</div>
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Alyssa Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07603053063213840414noreply@blogger.com0