Playing Outside

We survived yet another day with Alex, barely. Alex must have had a belly ache last night and finally went to sleep, after several feedings, rockings, and attempting to lay him in his bassinet, around 2:30a. Jim actually took him downstairs at this point so I could get some sleep.

Around 6:30a, Jim woke me up with the babes saying I might need to feed him. Those 4 hours of sleep were so needed, and I'm sure Jim needed them just as much as I did. Thanks Jim!

Just a little funny thing Jake said today while I was getting Alex bathed and dressed. Jake said, "Ah, look at his little peep." I said something like its pretty tiny cause he's a baby. Jake came back with, "Yeah, mine is bigger." He has no clue why that was so funny, but I got a good laugh out of his comment.

Ryan had preschool today.  I took him to school and Jim picked him up.  When Jim got home with Ryan, we took the boys to Johnny's.  I also had a book due back at the library.

Lacy came by after we got back from Johnny's.  She had been out shopping and picked up some nb size onesies for Alex.  I've never had a kid that was too small for the 0-3 size clothes.  Or maybe I've just never been really aware of it.  I only bought a couple new things for Alex, the rest of his clothes are hand-me-downs, and the bulk of them are either short sleeve or just ridiculously big.  Lacy found some cute nb size onesies that are long sleeve and with the mittens so we can put him on lock down so he won't scratch him mug.

Since I was outside talking with Lacy, the boys got their bikes and snow shovels out and played for a bit.  It was 30+ degrees, which felt super warm compared to the negative degree weather we have had for the last little while.

Captain America, I mean Jake, riding the big wheel.

Ryan had fun climbing this snow mountain.  Jake used his snow shovel as a guitar, lol.

Ryan thought he was so brave to get to the very top of this snow mountain!  He was yelling like he was the king of the world :)

 Jake always has to pull a funny face.  He was hacking away at the snow with his shovel.

After playing outside for a bit, Grandma and Grandpa Mangelson stopped by for a visit.  They were up north to go to Costco and go look at street lights in Springville/Provo.  My dad hadn't seen Alex yet so he finally got to meet him.  I'm so mad I didn't get a picture of them.  I'll have to make sure I get one next time.

We had a really good day.  I'm glad the sun is finally shining and some of the snow is starting to melt.  I can't wait for Spring!!

Alex's Newborn Check-Up

We took Alex in for his newborn check-up to make sure he was gaining weight, not too yellow, etc.  Jim had to go into work again today so I was on my own this morning.  He actually left pretty early compared to Monday and Tuesday.  Alex decided to sleep in 3 hour stents.  BUT, the little turkey was in bed with us, ugh.  I definitely don't want this to become a habit, but we needed some sleep.  

Anyway, Jim left around 7am.  I thought I would be ok because I got us all up and ready by the time Ryan had to be to preschool yesterday.  BUT, Lacy was going to get Ry to school for me since Alex's appointment was at 12:30p, right when Ryan needed to be to school.  Lacy also offered to let Jake come and play.  So, I had to get us all ready for the day and fed by 12p so we could drop Ryan and Jake off at Lacy's house and get to Alex's appointment on time.

Of course, everything was taking longer than I wanted it to so I was running late and stressed for time.  I needed to make my older boys lunch, but I also needed to feed Alex.  I held Alex and fed him (which is not an easy task for me--I'm a person who has to sit and use the boppy pillow to nurse) while I made my older boys noodles for lunch.  I bet I was a sight!  

Amazingly, I managed to get all that needed to get done, done.  I was sweating, but hey, my boys were dressed and fed, I was dressed, diapers had been changed, I'd packed a diaper bag, and we were loaded in the car by Noon.

Of course it was snowing again today and Jim got behind someone who was driving overly cautious (if Jim says this, they were going slow because he is a cautious driver) so Jim didn't get home until a little after Noon.  We were waiting in the car for him though so he just jumped in and we were on our way.

We got the boys dropped off at Lacy's without a hitch.  They were both excited to go and play.  

Jim and I made it to Alex's appointment with a few minutes to spare.  It's days like today when I'm glad Utah Valley Pediatrics has a sick side and a well side.  We were the only people on the well side; the sick side was FULL!

I had to fill out some paperwork since Alex hasn't been seen at the doctor's office before.  We were called back within minutes of checking in.

Alex did really well with the nurse and doctor.  He fussed a little when I undressed him but that is understandable.  

Alex looks really well.  He is back up to his birth weight of 7 pounds 7 ounces (38th percentile).  He is still 19 inches (10th percentile).  His head measures 13.75 inches (50th percentile).

We made his appointment for his 2 week check up when we left.  I thought we had to get shots on his next visit, but we just have to do the PKU test.  I think I can handle that...

We picked Jake up from Lacy's house around 1:45pm.  We were going to run to Costco and Macey's for groceries but decided to wait until Ryan was out of preschool since we were running short on time.

I ended up running to Costco and Macey's on my own.  It was nice to get out even though I would have preferred to take a nap :)

Peeps

My boys said some cute things today so I just had to blog about them and our day :)

Jim had to go into work today to get some things done for drill this weekend.  Alex had another bad night--we were pretty much up from 11p until 6a.  I slept a good portion of the night in the recliner chair holding the baby and Jim took a couple of turns so I could get a little bit of shut eye.  But my goodness, lack of sleep really does a number on ya.  

Anyway, Jim didn't get out of the house until 8:45a or so.  He got up with Alex at 5:30a and let me sleep.  I got up around 7:30a and went downstairs.  Jim got both of the boys dressed while I fed the baby.  He had also got Ryan breakfast, but for some reason Jake was being a turd and wouldn't eat.

After Jim left, I got Jake and me some oatmeal and toast for breakfast.  Ryan also decided he wanted a piece of honey toast with us.  Alex slept a good portion of the morning (naturally) so I got some laundry going and got dressed while he slept.  I actually tried to keep waking him up to feed him and change his diaper to see if he might possibly have a better night tonight.  I'm not sure how much longer Jim and I will last with 2-3 hours of sleep a night.

Jim was going to come home from work and take Ryan to preschool.  Since he got to work later than he wanted, I told Jim I could get Ryan to preschool.  Ryan wanted to take a picture of Alex to show to Miss Tiffany and his class mates.  Yesterday, I took a picture of all three of the boys together so I printed that picture for Ry to take to school.  Well, that wasn't what he wanted.  He wanted a picture of just the baby.  I hurried and printed a picture of just Alex and we left for preschool.

Ryan let Jake have the picture of the three boys.  Jake pointed to himself and asked me who it was.  I told him it looked like a turkey.  He said, "No, it looks like a Key Bird!"  I asked him who calls him Key Bird.  Jake replied, "Grandpa Paul does."  I thought that was so funny.  

Ryan ended up taking both pictures to preschool with him.  Miss Tiffany texted me after I dropped Ryan off at school.  Ryan was the first one to school today so he showed Miss Tiffany his pictures of his new brother.  She told me that he stood at the door and would show the pictures to each of his class mates when they would come into class.  I thought that was so funny!  She taped the pictures to the white board so they were displayed through out class today.  

Miss Tiffany also told me that Ryan told the class that I feed the baby with my peeps.  None of the kids knew what he was talking about, but Miss Tiffany got a good laugh.

Jake and I went home after dropping Ryan off.  Alex had pooped so we changed him.  Jake was my little helper and got me all of the supplies I needed to change the babes.  He was so cute with Alex and kept telling him that he loved him.  Jake is such a loving kid and always tells us that he loves us.  

I put a movie on for Jake and lied down with Alex to see if we could get a little nap in.  Jake actually fell asleep before I did so we all got a much needed afternoon nap today.  Jim picked Ryan up from school for me.

It snowed all day today so when Jim got home he spent a good hour and a half outside shoveling and snow blowing the snow.  Ryan and Jake went out and played in the snow for a bit while Jim was out there.  We probably got almost 6 inches of snow just today.

We had a pretty good day today.  The best part was I was able to get a nap in.  I even got a bit done around the house so that made me feel a bit better about life :)  Now, if Alex sleeps tonight it will be a great ending to a good day!

The Big Boys are Back Home

Last night was our first night home with Alex.  My mom kept Ryan and Jake in Levan for one more night before bringing them back up to Spanish Fork.

We woke up to snow--boat loads of snow.  Jim was going to go into work today, but we had a long, sleepless night and waking up to snow didn't help any.  He decided to stay home :)  I called my mom to see what she thought she would do since the roads weren't going to be the best.  She decided to wait and see what the afternoon looked like.  If the weather cleared up a bit, she would bring the boys home.

Of course, this little turkey slept really well from about 7am til 9:30am.  He looked so cute I had to take a few pictures of him snoozing :)

 By lunch time, the weather was starting to clear up.  I called my mom and she said they were just packing up and getting ready to head up to Spanish Fork.

While my mom was driving up, Jim and I went and picked up lunch at Kneaders.

The boys arrived around 1pm.  They were so excited to be home.  The first thing they wanted to know was where Alex was.  After they gave him a few loves, we sat down and ate our lunch.

My mom stayed and visited for a few hours and then she decided to head back to Levan.  Before she left we snapped a few pics of all three boys together.

Jake wanted to hold Alex first.  He is so cute with his new brother.  I love that he likes to call him "babes".  He'll say stuff like, "It's ok babes."  Too cute!

When it came to taking pictures of all three boys, Jake had to be silly.  He's such a turkey.

The boys were looking at my mom for the pictures, too.

Here we go as a family of 5...

Home with Baby Alex

Alex and I got released from the hospital today so we were free to go home.  We got discharged around 1pm and made our way to Spanish Fork.

My parents have Ryan and Jake in Levan.  My mom is coming up to help me tomorrow since Jim is going to work.  SO, she decided to just keep the boys with her in Levan for one more night and then bring them up tomorrow when she comes up to help me.

Jim and I knew we didn't have much for food at home so we decided to get some grub at Cafe Rio.  We also topped off our gas tank since we hadn't filled completely up on Friday ;)

Alex all snug in his car seat ready to go home!

We came home and had lunch.  

On the way home, Alex had scrunched his little legs up underneath the straps of his car seat.  I thought maybe Jim had strapped him in weird, but little Alex had just pulled his legs up in a little ball and got them stuck in the car seat straps :)

Alex was slept most of the afternoon so I was able to get a nap in, too.  It felt really good to sleep.

We spent the rest of the night just chilling with our new baby boy.

Alex's Hospital Pictures

The gal that took the newborn hospital pictures had a baby and quit taking the pictures a few years ago.  I was SO sad when I found this out.  I was even sadder when I found out they hadn't replaced the gal so we wouldn't get any hospital pictures of Alex.

I'm such a picture fanatic, I had to have some kind of picture for my sweet babe.  I actually got the gal's number that took Ryan and Jake's pictures and called her to see if maybe she would come and take Alex's pictures for me.  She wasn't interested, but she told me she would walk me through getting a picture and would even edit any pictures I got to make them look similar to Ryan and Jake's.  Jim and I decided to give it a shot.

When Jim went home our second night in the hospital, I asked him to bring back Ryan and Jake's hospital pictures.  I had watched Debbie, the hospital picture taker, take Ryan and Jake's photos.  I thought with her instructions and remembering how she posed the babies that maybe I could re-create what she did and take my own pictures.  

The day we were getting ready to leave the hospital, we tried to get some pictures of Alex.  The nurses found out what we were doing and even helped by getting us anything white they could find--towels, sheets, Bonnie (my fav nurse who helped me through delivery) even found a white crocheted blanket to use.  Since we were using it, we got to take it home.  I felt kind of bad, but I also wanted a hospital picture, too.

Jim and I quickly found out that getting the perfect hospital picture was not going to be an easy task.  Our first attempt, Alex was bawling his eyes out.  I got a few pictures, but nothing I thought could be "thee" picture.  SO, I fed Alex and settled him down before we tried again for a good picture.

We got everything set up again, checked the lighting, made sure I had enough space on my memory card for more pictures (I'm a huss about deleting pictures--I hate to DELETE!) and tried again for the perfect picture.

I finally got something that I thought we could use.

When Jim and I got home, I used drop box to send my pictures to Debbie.  She gave me a few pointers.  I was actually thinking that there wasn't anything she could do to help the pictures I took to make them look any better.

But, Debbie helped me pick the best pictures and then she edited them and got them back to me.  I was thrilled with the way they turned out.

I'm so glad I tried to get a hospital picture of Alex.  

The pictures worked out great!

Our First Day in the Hospital with Alex

After the nursery nurses brought the baby back to me at 12:20am, I fed Alex and changed him (he is a pooper!) and every time I tried to lay him down he would wake up.  I ended up holding him, feeding him, and trying to sleep until 5am.  I decided to send him back to the nursery at 5am because I was SO incredibly tired.  I slept really well from 5-7:30am while Alex was in the nursery.

The nursery brought Alex back to me at 7:30a because he was starting to get restless and was hungry. I fed him and changed him again (I had worried that I had bought too many size 1 diapers.  I'm pretty sure I haven't, ha ha.  I forgot how often newborns need to be changed).  The nursery nurse came back around 8:45a to get the baby.  Dr. Fullmer was on his way and wanted to check him out again this morning.

I decided to hurry and shower while they had the baby in the nursery.  Jim had also called and said he was just getting up and would be on his way after he showered.

After Jim got to the hospital,  I decided to go see if the lady that had given me the booties was still at the hospital.  I had asked the nurse last night if she was still here and the nurse thought that she would be leaving early this morning, like around 8am.

The older lady was still in her room and was getting her discharge instructions.  I peeked my head in the door and explained who I was.  The ladies daughter was in the room, too.  She recognized me from the gym and I knew who she was, too.  I haven't ever talked to her but we go to the same class on Tuesday mornings :)  Again, I was embarrassed that it was someone that I somewhat knew that had seen me in one of my worst moments in life, ha ha.  I stayed and talked to the two ladies for a few minutes, thanked them for the cute little booties, and then went back to my room.

Dr. Fullmer came by after he had checked Alex out.  He said everything looked great with him.  His coloring is still great and there is no sign of infection (from me not getting all of the antibiotics I needed before delivery).  Dr. Fullmer said he would come back later this evening if he could to do Alex's circumcision.

We didn't have any visitors today because alot of our family members are sick so we just spent the rest of the day with Alex holding him, snuggling, and loving on him.

Alex looks like he doesn't have any hair, but he really does.  It's just really light. 

Alex snuggling with dad. 

Dr. Fullmer made it back toight so he did Alex's circumcision.  They said he did really well and didn't cry during the procedure.  It wasn't until after when they kept him unwrapped to monitor his bleeding, etc. that he got really upset.

They brought Alex back to my room all cleaned up and ready for the night.

Jim went home a little earlier tonight so he could get some shut eye.  I needed some rest, too, so I went to bed around 9pm when Jim left.  Alex was back in my room by 11:30pm though :)

Welcome Baby Alex Crandall

I had contractions all through the night last night.  They were bad enough that they would wake me up, but they weren't lasting very long and they weren't very close together so I didn't think much of them.

Around 5am, the contractions started to come more regularly.  They would be anywhere from 20-30 minutes apart.  Again, they were strong enough to get my attention and wake me up, but they weren't bad enough that I thought anything was going to happen.

I got up at 6:15a and went to the bathroom. I was still having pains here and there so I wondered if I should wake up Jim and/or call my mom to see if she should get ready and come up to sit with my boys in case we end up going to the hospital.  I decided to text my mom so it wouldn't seem as urgent.  She had told me she was going to start sleeping with her cell phone by her bed.  I texted her and never heard back.  I went back to bed and decided to wake Jim up.

I told Jim what was going on.  He asked how far apart my contractions were and then said I better call my mom rather than just text her.  When Jake was born, I went into labor so fast that we wanted to be prepared.  We also started to pay more attention to my contractions--how far apart they were and how long they were lasting.  They weren't very strong and they were still 20 minutes or so apart so I decided to shower and get ready after I had called my mom.

I was showered and ready by 8am.  Jim also got ready.  By that time, Ryan and Jake were up so he got them bathed and ready for the day, too.  Of course I had put off doing laundry (I was going to do it today) so we were all low on clothes.  I hurried and sorted all of the laundry and started it and then started packing bags.

We ate cereal for breakfast and were watching t.v. when my mom showed up.  It was around 9am.  Honestly, things were pretty mellow--the contractions were hit and miss and they weren't very painful.  I was almost embarrassed that I had called her so early and had her come up so urgently. 

We sat and talked and I would have a contraction here and there but nothing too serious.  When I would get up and walk around or go upstairs to switch out the laundry, I would immediately have a contraction.  Jim and mom told me to keep moving so we could get things moving. 

Around 10:30am, my contractions started to come a little more regularly and they were starting to get a little more intense.  We decided to finish packing all of the bags (I had to wait for some clean clothes for the boys AND I really didn't want to pack all of the bags if we weren't going to be going anywhere--I honestly didn't think we would be having a baby today) and get my back all packed up.

We kind of took our sweet time getting things together.  Jim had to put my boys bags and car seats in my mom's car.  She figured she would take the boys to Levan with her while I stayed at the hospital.  Jim also warmed up some left overs for the boys for lunch.  At that point my contractions were 7-8 minutes apart and they were starting to get painful.

Of course, I had forgot to get gas in our car before coming home from dinner last night.  I even had Kneaders on my brain and wanted to get a bite to eat before heading to the hospital.  SO, I had told my mom we would get her a sandwich and bring it up to her.  I had even offered to have her and boys ride with us so they could get out of the house for a bit (thank goodness they didn't end up coming along for the ride).

Jim and I left our house around a little after Noon.  We headed to Costco to fill up the car and even had intentions of going to Kneaders.  On the way to Costco, my contractions got wicked bad and were 5 minutes apart.  I told Jim we weren't going to be able to get lunch and to put just enough gas in the car to get us to Payson because we needed to go!

Jim put 10 gallons of gas in the car and we were on our way.  I remember him getting in the car and trying to put his debit card in his wallet and my Costco card back in my wallet.  I got really frustrated and said, "Just GO!  We need to go!!"

We got on the road and Jim asked if I called my mom to let her know we wouldn't be bringing her lunch.  I snapped back at him and told him no.  I think he knew at this point things were serious.  Jim made tracks to the freeway and we were on our way.

It was really bad at this point.  My contractions were anywhere from 3-5 minutes apart and I really felt like I needed to push.  I was holding my self and trying really hard to keep it together.  

When Jim got off the freeway in Payson, he had to stop at the light.  I told him we needed to just go.  Of course he couldn't; thank goodness the light turned green.  But there was a car in front of us and they seemed to be going SO. PAINFULLY. SLOW!  The ride from the freeway to the hospital seemed like it took an eternity.  

We pulled into the hospital parking lot and Jim asked me where we should park.  I told him I didn't care and to just park.  He found a parking spot (thank goodness) and we got out of the car.  I really didn't think I was going to make it into the hospital.  I was holding myself and could barely walk.  At one point, I told Jim to go ahead of me and go get someone.  We made it in the doors and Jim got me a wheel chair.  He just couldn't go fast enough for me though.

We got to the elevator doors and they took FOREVER!  I was dying.  The doors finally opened and Jim was waiting for an older lady to get off.  I flipped and told him to get on the damn elevator.  That elevator ride took an eternity, too.  

As soon as the doors opened, I told Jim he needed to hurry.  He told me he was trying, but it just wasn't fast enough for me.  If I could've got out of that wheel chair and ran to the maternity floor, I would have but that just wasn't happening.  

We finally made it down the long hall and two sets of double doors to the nurses station on the maternity floor.  All of the nurses seemed to be right there waiting for me (I later learned that someone from the first floor had called up and told them we were coming, thank goodness, so they were waiting for me and even had started to get my delivery room ready).

They asked me what was going and I told them I was going to have a baby.  They had Jim wheel me to room 2218 and nurse Bonnie followed us there.  She told me to go to the bathroom and get a gown on.  I told her I wasn't going to make it to the bathroom and just dropped my drawers, unders and all, right there.  She told me to get on the bed so she could check me.  I actually sat on my foot and told her if I moved the baby was going to come out.  She convinced me to move my foot and pretty much never left my side.  She could feel the baby's head.

Bonnie, hollered for all of the nurses to come and help.  The rest is kind of a blur.  Bonnie held my hand and told me she was going to help me breathe and get through the contractions so we could wait for Dr. Nance to get to the hospital to deliver the baby.  I couldn't believe we had to wait for Dr. Nance.  I actually thought there was no way I could wait.  The contractions were so close together and SO painfully strong I physically couldn't wait for Dr. Nance to arrive.

This delivery was kind of like a scene from the movies.  I always wondered what kind of ladies screamed during child birth.  Well, I was one of those ladies this time.  It was so painful and there was no time for an epidural.  I tried really hard not to be so dramatic but holy hell, it hurt.  Thank goodness for Bonnie--she seriously helped me get through each contraction with breathing, etc.  I remember telling her that I knew my breath smelled awful.  She said it was just fine, lol.

During all of the madness, I was able to get an IV.  I had told the nurses, between contractions, that I have a history of hemorrhaging and I also am a carrier of strep B so I had to get a bag of pitocin to help with cramping after I had the baby.  I also had to get a mega fast dose of penicillin and hope I didn't pass any infection onto the baby.

Finally, Dr. Nance made it to the hospital.  I remember asking Dr. Nance if he was ready cause I couldn't going to wait any longer.  The only thing that was holding the baby in was my water hadn't broke.  As soon as he broke my water, the next contraction came seconds later and I couldn't help but push.  I remember him telling me to stop pushing (yeah right) but at that moment the baby came out.

We arrived at the hospital at 12:20pm and the baby was born at 12:45pm.  Alex Crandall Nielson weighed in at 7 pounds 7 ounces and was 19 inches long.  I heard him cry and knew everything was alright.  I couldn't believe I had just had the baby au natural.  Even after the baby was out, everything still hurt.  I still had to deliver the placenta, etc. so Dr. Nance was massaging my stomach.  I actually grabbed his hand and told him to stop (just a reaction) cause it hurt.  Thank goodness it didn't take long and it was out.  

I ripped a bit when the baby was born so I had to get stitched up.  Dr. Nance used a local anesthetic to numb me, but I could pretty much feel everything. I remember Dr. Nance saying this is the last stitch and then he did one more and I called him on it and told him I was going to kick him :)  I think I was a little out of my mind.  Hopefully he understands and gets it from other ladies.

The nurses had to crede my stomach so I didn't hemorrhage.  That was awful and oh so painful.  It felt like they were going to push right through my stomach, yowza!  Delivering the baby is only half of the hard, painful work. 

Little Alex was so hungry!  He was sucking his fingers trying to get something to eat :)
This is the picture Jim sent out to family and friends letting them know Alex had arrived.

Jim held the baby because I was still in some pain and didn't feel like I could hold him yet. I could hear the baby sucking on his fingers. He was so hungry.  Around 1pm, I held the baby and tried feeding him.  He latched right on and ate for a good 30-40 minutes on each side.  We had some good skin on skin time, too.

After my bag of pitocin had finished going through my IV, I was able to move to the recovery room.  That was one nice thing about not having an epidural--I didn't have to wait to be able to move my legs :)

Jim went to the nursery and watched Alex get his first bath.  He said he cried and didn't really like his bath :(

 

My mom brought Ryan and Jake to the hospital to see the baby after I got moved.  They were SO excited to see him and brought us some flowers from the gift shop.  The baby was laying on my lap and Jake came over to me and asked where he was.  Too funny!

Jake wanted to hold him right away.  He sat right up in bed with me and held Alex.  Ryan was a little hesitant at first, but then decided it would be ok.  Alex made a little face and Ryan said, "Ok, he's gonna cry.  Take him!"  It was funny.  Jake wanted more turns holding his brother.

The boys were really funny about me, too.  Jake wanted to know why my stomach was still so big.  Ryan kept lifting up my gown and wanted to know how the baby got out because I didn't have any cuts on my belly :)

The nurse that gave me my IV during delivery came to my recovery room.  She had 2 pairs of hand crocheted baby booties.  She then told me that there is an older lady in one of the rooms on the maternity floor recovering from a double mastectomy.  This lady had seen me coming into the hospital in full on labor and gave me the booties as a gift.  I was SO embarrassed.  I was a wreck getting into the hospital--I know I stopped at one point while we were walking in and had to hold myself during a contraction.  I didn't think of people in the hospital that would be able to see me :)

My mom held the baby, too.  Jake got right up in the baby's face and was checking him out.  Alex kind of jumped and it made Jake jump.  It was so funny!

My dinner came while the boys were visiting.  You would have thought they hadn't eaten in days.  Both boys sat right up and filled their tummies.  Bonnie brought my dinner to me and tried to divert my boys by taking them pick out a juice and cookies.  They wanted my dinner and their treats, ha ha.  I got to order what I wanted for dinner.  I had ordered a grilled cheese, broccoli, peas, mashed potatoes and gravy, and a green salad.  They shared the sandwich and ate the peas and mashed potatoes, too.

My mom and the boys brought these flowers up when they came to visit.  Ryan wrote his own name; I thought it was so cute.

My mom took Ryan and Jake to Levan after they finished eating.  Later, Jim went to Daley Freeze and got us both a cheeseburger and fries to eat.  The rest of the night we just hung out and watched television together.  Dr. Fullmer stopped by after he finished at the clinic to check out the baby.  He said Alex looked great.  He did ask us to stay in the hospital the full 48 hours so they could monitor the baby to make sure I hadn't passed any infection onto him.  Everything looked fine with Alex, but it's just a precaution we should take since I wasn't able to get 2 full doses of antibiotics before I delivered the baby.

Jim left to go home around 10pm.  I was really tired, too.  When Jim left,  I sent the baby to the nursery so I could get a little sleep.  I was only asleep from 10-12:20am when they brought Alex back to me.  It felt like I had been asleep forever, but I hadn't got the best sleep either, if that makes any sense.

We're so glad our little guy made it here ok and he is healthy.  After thinking he wouldn't get here today, and then he came so fast.

Welcome baby Alex!  

We love you so much already.

Dinner with the Gals

Annie, Kristy, and I haven't gotten together since before Kristy had her baby.  We decided we should try to get together before I have my baby and can't get out of the house. 

Tonight was the night.  We met up at Paradise Bakery in American Fork and had dinner.  I invited Lacy to come with.  Kristy's husband Jeff also came with.  The roads were super slick tonight and we probably shouldn't have been out and about, but we had already rescheduled our GNO once.  I wasn't sure if I would make it if we had to reschedule again.

Of course, dinner was good, but conversation was even better.  We had a great time.

Little Brody LaMar, 3 months old.

L: Kristy holding Brody. I should've taken a family picture, gripes.
R: Lacy held Brody while he slept.  He pretty much slept the entire time we were at dinner.

The gals and Brody after dinner.
Yes, I am large!

After dinner, Lacy, Annie, and I ran to Target.  Lacy and I both had a return to do, and then we wanted to shop around a bit.

We had a good time tonight.  It's always fun to get together with these girls.

Little Artists

I was able to workout at the gym into my 37th week of pregnancy.  

I decided to stop going to the gym, not because I didn't want to workout, but because I was afraid my boys were going to catch some sort of sickness. We were all well at Christmas time and right after.  But right after I started back up at the gym and took the boys to the daycare they both got runny noses and little coughs. 

SO, in an attempt to keep us all well I quit going to the gym.  It was a sad day.  Every day I would wake up and the boys would ask if we were going to the gym.  I feel guilty, too, like I should be going to the gym.  I've noticed a change in my attitude, too.  I have a "poor, pity me" attitude, I'm SUPER ornery (I freak out on my poor boys several times a day), and I'm just not myself.  The gym definitely helps my mood.

Anyway, since we haven't been getting up and going to the gym every day, we stopped running errands and doing fun things like go to the grocery store, go to the library, go to the post office, etc.  I knew my boys were getting so bored so I decided to let them bust out the water colors today.

Even though they made messes and got water all over, they had fun and it broke up our day a bit.

My boys love to paint.  That's a good thing though since I'm sure we'll be doing more of this soon when our new brother makes his appearance and we're house bound for the rest of winter...

Grandma J Momentos

We went to my mom's today to for Sunday dinner.  My mom, along with all of her siblings, have been cleaning out Granny J's house.  My mom had a few items we could go through and choose something to help us remember Granny J. by.

All of my siblings were able to come so it was a nice little get together for the family.

Ryan kept putting my mom's glasses on and was being silly.  He thinks he's pretty funny.

My sister Amy drove by my Grandma's house on her way to Levan and snapped these pictures.  I thought it would be a good way to remember Grandma's house.

I love that Granny J's car is still parked out front.  This is exactly how I will and want to remember her house.  I miss Granny J every day.