8 Months Later

I can't believe how long it's been since I did a blog post! I'm sort of debating whether to continue or not since I'm terrible at keeping up. I guess if I come back to it though it doesn't matter! Life is crazy now that I have two kids. Everything's changed, yet I continue to say, "I wonder what our next kid will look like?" We women are crazy. Our lives get busier, more stressful, and still we want to keep adding those kids on! It sounds crazy to say it, but we all know that it's because we all love being moms. It's the best job ever!

 

 

Ok first things first! I want to say that I'm an aunt again! I'm sure you all know that by now, but I need to put on my blog! My twin sister Alli gave birth on September 17, 2014 to a sweet baby boy named Dylan Tyce Miller. He weighed in at 6 pounds 4 ounces and was 19 inches long. He was born at 34 weeks, which is very common for her. She has had all of her babies early and even earlier than that. Poor little guy is still in the NICU. His lungs weren't fully developed so he's needed a little extra help to get there. He's no longer on a ventilator, but is still in the NICU waiting to pass certain tests. I know my sister is dying to get that baby home. Please keep her in your thoughts! She had yet another pretty crazy labor experience, you'll have to ask her about it sometime :) My mom and I were able to go to the hospital and visit them to help with the kids. I was able to see that cute little Dylan in all his amazing baby glory, minus all the tubes and stuff :(  I'm just so excited to be an aunt again! He is so sweet, I can't wait to hold him!

 

 

 Last time I posted was when Jaxson was born. That was 8 months ago! Wow, I have never waited that long to post...until now. Jaxson is getting so big. And when I say big, I mean heavy! Che and I weighed both of the kids last week and it turns out that Tayen is 25 pounds and Jaxson is...wait for it...23 pounds! Holy moly no wonder my arms are killing me! It's just so funny how opposite they are when it comes to weight. I love my chunky monkey though. He's heavy, but I love it!

 

Jaxson sits up really well right now, rolls over, and is quite flexible! He's eating solids but not as well as I'd like. He eats oatmeal mixed with a fruit every morning and a veggie/protein at night. He is terrible at opening his mouth for me to feed him. he barely eats half and then he's done. I guess atleast he's eating something right? He has no problem with his bottles though ha ha! Jaxson loves music. I sing to him and play fun songs and he bounces up and down to the music with a huge grin on his face. It's the one thing that can make him super happy when he's sad. He has his 9 month appointment in a few weeks, but according to OUR scale, he is 23 pounds. Such a tank. He has quite the cute little birthmark on his cheek and his eyes just melt my heart. I just love him so much! Right now, I'm trying to put him on his stomach more so he can get to crawling. He may be one of those babies who goes straight to walking because he doesn't like his stomach very much. Jaxson is so entertained by his brother. He gets so excited when he's around and just grins at him all the time. He loves anything he can make noise with and loves Peek a Boo. He's quite a happy baby most of the time. Lately he is waking up 1-3 times every night but we're pretty sure he's starting to get teeth. He is such a sweet little boy and we love him so much!

 

Tayen turned 2 1/2 last month and I still can't believe it. He is growing up way too fast. He is the most active kid I've ever seen. When I think he's gained weight he hasn't. He's just this tiny little body that stays the same ha ha. According to OUR scale he did gain a pound since is two year appointment! He just runs and runs. It doesn't help that he's a picky eater too. Tayen loves to do anything outside. He is such a water boy so bath time is never a problem. Jaxson loves it too, especially with his brother. Tayen is also warming up to Jaxson better. He will sit and play with a toy that Jaxson's playing with without taking it away from him. I think he's starting to love his brother a little more. Tayen is great at puzzles and anything matching. I'm shocked how good he is actually. He's a good thinker and problem solver. The one thing with Tayen I'm not looking forward to is potty training. He doesn't seem ready, but I think I may introduce him to a small potty to see what he does. Oh and did I mention him and Jaxson wear the same size diaper? Ha ha makes it easier for me! I'm definitely not complaining.

 

Our family is doing well. The last 8 months have gone by fast since Jaxson was born. Tayen turned two in March where we did a combined birthday party with his cousin Brycen. A couple weeks later, we blessed Jaxson in our ward. Adam had just gotten home from his mission in Australia and was able to be there for the blessing. We were so excited that he got to come. It was really fun and exciting see him get off the plane. It's been great having him home! Summer was busy and really fun! We were able to celebrate a lot of it with family. Che is still working at the site and supporting our family so I can stay at home with the kids. I couldn't ask for a better guy! I am busy taking care of two boys and just trying to take it all in! We just celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary on September 22nd. We didn't actually celebrate though. Instead we drove to Bingham Memorial Hospital where Che's grandma was brought in critical condition. She had bleeding in her brain and there was nothing anyone could do. That night we had to let her go. It was a very hard day for the family. The funeral services were really wonderful and the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation gave us so much comfort. She was such a wonderful lady and we will miss her so much.

We love you, Grandma.

 

 

Apart from the hard and tragic events of that day, I am so grateful to have been married to an amazing husband for 7 years. He is my best friend and a really wonderful dad. He just makes me so happy and I love him so much. And look at the adorable kids we got out of getting married! 

 Happy Anniversary, Che! 

 

I am so grateful for family. Both sides of our families are wonderful, supportive, and loving. My kids are wonderful and fill my heart so full that I think it's going to burst. The holidays are upon us and I can't wait to celebrate with my little family as well as some of Jaxson's big "firsts." We've had our trials this year that have made us stronger and have also blessed us. But I wouldn't ask for anything different. Heavenly Father tests us for a reason. I am so lucky and so blessed to have what I have. Life wouldn't be as wonderful if you weren't given any trials at all. Here's to a new month and what it brings us! The holidays make me so happy!

Introducing...

 

 

I still can't believe he's here! Felt like yesterday when I was just announcing my pregnancy! We are so happy and thankful for this bundle of joy. He melts our hearts every day and we love him so much. Here are a 10 things about Jaxson in his first 7 weeks of birth:

 

1. He smiles ALL the time. And it's not "Colic grin" like my grandpa usually says. He smiles when you talk to him, sing to him, and maybe a little colic grin here and there ha ha. My grandpa saw it for himself the other day and he got Jaxson smiling up a storm. It was so sweet.

 

2. Jaxson has had colic really bad and we think we've found just the right formula for him, so we hope it continues to get better!

 

3. He's much chunkier than Tayen was at this age and has already moved into 0-3 month clothes!

 

4. No one has a clue who he looks like ha ha. None of our families can't really even venture a guess. I think the older he gets the more we'll be able to tell. He definitely looks different than Tayen though!

 

5. He takes little naps here and there, but has a 2-3 hour tummy time nap in the middle of the day. At night he sleeps 2-3 hours in between feedings. I'm still kind of tired, but Jaxson seems to be starting to sleep longer so hopefully we'll get more sleep!

 

6. He drinks 4 oz of formula

7. He makes the cutest noises

8. He loves to be held close
 
9. He hates binkies, but he lets me give him a soothie every once and a while to help him calm down and go to sleep.

10. He is loved beyond measure.

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We have two children and I still can't believe it. In the hospital, I jotted down everything, or most things, that happened leading up to Jaxson's birth. So, I am going to share it for journal purposes:

I previously had a C-Section with Tayen and decided to have a repeat with Jaxson. I thought and prayed about it and in the end felt that I needed to have a second. I'm not one for risks no matter how small. The bad part about it for me was knowing the date I would have him. Now usually that is a good thing. You know his birthday and you can prepare. For me, it freaked me out and I wanted to throw up the night before the surgery ha ha!

Well, the night before the big day, Che and I drove to Blackfoot and dropped off our little Tayen. At first it was really hard to leave him, but I knew how much fun he would have with Grandma and Grandpa Miles. It was so hard to sleep that night knowing we'd have a new baby to take care of soon.

The morning finally arrived and off to Mountain View we drove. The surgery was scheduled for 7:30am Januray 29, 2014. We had to get up at like 4:30am and be there by 5am. I'm not much of a morning person ha ha (atleast a super early morning person). After we checked in, we got to our room where they began to prep me, give me an IV, and draw my blood. You know, all that super fun stuff! Alli and my mom showed up not too long after I was prepped to go in for surgery. Alli had her camera all ready to take pictures for me. Thanks again sis!

I ended up having the same anesthesiologist which I was so grateful for. I had a crazy weird experience with Tayen and he helped me through it a lot. Not many people would say this, but I was so happy to see him! We love John Foster! We talked a little about what happened last time and he explained to me that he would do a combined spinal and epidural to make sure I was completely numb. After he administered the spinal, we waited...and waited. I felt a little bit of tingling here and there, but when he asked if I could feel my toes for the 50th time I told him again, "I can feel my feet just fine." So the spinal didn't work. But on the upside, the epidural did thank goodness. I have a weird thing with anesthesia apparently. In the end, I couldn't feel a thing except pressure.

Major surgery is always scary. I am always scared when I go in but know I'll be well taken care of. Sometimes the pressure is fine and sometimes it's an overwhelming amount of pressure. Right when they took Jaxson out, I had a huge amount of pressure go right to my head, which has never happened before. It scared me so bad and hurt like heck! But, Jaxson came out soon after that and it was over. I heard his little cry and the emotions overcame me. They brought him over to me and put his sweet cheek against mine. Tears of happiness rolled down my face as I took in every second of that moment. He was so perfect. He looked a little like Tayen when he was born but only when he was just born. Brown hair, brown eyes, our sweet baby Jaxson. It was a wonderful moment.

I could barely keep my eyes open as they stitched me up to send me back to our room. I was so exhausted. Those who came into my room had to watch me try and stay awake. We were well taken care of with the exception of one nurse that kind of annoyed me ha ha. She had only worked there a few months apparently. No biggie though. We love Mountain View and have always had great experiences there. The recovery was much faster than last time and I'm so grateful for that. Now Jaxson is almost 8 weeks old and doing great! He even downed 2 oz his first bottle in the hospital! A growing boy! 8 pounds 6 ounces!

We had many visitors that came to visit and we are so grateful for them. Thanks to everyone who came to see us and the baby at the hospital and at our home. Not only that but for the gifts, the phone calls, and the meals. We have wonderful family, friends, and ward. Love you all!

 Ready to go!

Che and Bill are ready to go too ha ha

Passing through the window

First time holding Jaxson

First kiss

 First Bottle

 First family photo...terrible ha ha. This was the best one. We all look tired and crazy.

This was our celebration dinner. Sooo good! Steak and potatoes, my kind of celebration!

Spending time with Tay. We're playing a game on the Ipad.

Ha ha he's not so sure.

 Going home

Blessed.

Bump Update

Well, I'm freaking out a little! 3 more days until our baby boy is here! We can't wait to meet baby Jaxson! I remember when the countdown was 89 days and now it's almost here.

 

Tomorrow I'll be officially 39 weeks and feeling pretty good actually! The worst I've felt has probably been in the last couple of weeks. It's amazing though because I was miserable with my last pregnancy and this one has been quite the opposite. I have had a lot more energy to the point where I had to tell myself to slow down. I think some of it had to do with having a toddler to chase around. Don't get me wrong, my feet have hurt and I've had some hip pain here and there, but overall this pregnancy has been a blessing compared to my last. Now it's almost here and I'm just now struggling with almost everything ha ha. Especially getting out of a couch or chair. Such small things are just so hard! Although, last week I managed to successfully paint my toenails!

 

I'm scheduled to have a repeat C-Section since obviously I had one with Tayen. I'm not one to go for  VBAC risks and neither is my doctor. I thought and prayed about my decision and in the end, I felt like I already knew my answer from the beginning. So, a C-Section is shall be! This time around feels so much different because with Tayen I went into labor and went through that whole 22 hour process of craziness. Now it's all scheduled and I feel like I'm just waiting on the edge of it. When you're not in pain and you know what you're walking into, it's kind of scary! But atleast I kind of know what to expect with the surgery.

 

This pregnancy went by in the blink of an eye. I'm sure it had everything to do with already having a child since they keep your life so busy. But wow, it seems like yesterday when we were ready to try again for another baby. I'm not sure if I ever typed it down on my blog, but here's a quick recap on getting pregnant for the second time...

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When Tayen was 6 months, we decided to start trying again. Sounds crazy, right? It sounds crazy even while I type this ha ha. I haven't been on birth control since 2008 and I don't plan on going back on it honestly. So like I said, when Tayen turned 6 months we tried on our own without anything. No clomid, Metformin, OV Tests, IUI etc. Well nothing happened for 6 months and honestly I wasn't surprised. I was sure that some of my endometriosis was probably back not to mention the other problems we faced with conceiving.

 

In January 2013 I went to see my doctor to discuss all my options again. My yearly appointment was coming up so I figured I could see if I could just get it done early so I could get in as soon as possible. My doctor wasn't available that day so I talked with the PA who I love so much. She has been the one that has successfully gotten me pregnant through Intrauterine Insemenation. She was so excited for me when I told her we were ready to try again for another baby...which made me so happy that she was so happy :) After we talked it through we decided to put me on the highest dose of clomid for a couple months so we could make sure that I am indeed ovulating.

 

After a couple months and a few blood tests, we didn't get pregnant on our own. But again, I wasn't surprised. She said the next month we'd start the IUI process and I couldn't wait! Now, I hate the whole process, but knowing that this has worked for us 3 times, how could I not be excited!

 

The next month (May), I got a positive ovulation test and off I went to the office to get my first IUI since 2011. Felt like yesterday that I was getting one ha ha. It was no big deal since I was so used to it. I immediately went home and put my feet up while Tayen took a nice long nap. In no way was I expecting to get pregnant on the first one. But come May 28th, I took a pregnancy test and it was POSITIVE. Holy crap was I in shock. I took a picture of it on my phone and sent it to Che immediately and he couldn't believe it either. In fact, the same day, I took another pregnancy test, went to my mom's and told her I had a gift for her. I said "Pink or Blue?" She looked at me confused and said, "Pink." So I then proceeded to show her the pink pregnancy test. She was so happy. Anyway, from that moment on I felt incredibly grateful for the opportunities that we have to in order to have children. Not only could we afford it, but the IUI process has worked for us. Couldn't be more happy and grateful for all of it.

 

Now, I'm off to the hospital in just a few short days and looking ever so forward to meeting our little Jaxson. I feel so truly blessed and thankful. I can't wait for Tayen to have a little brother. Sometimes I feel like I just graduated high school and now I'm having baby #2! Life is simply wonderful.

 

Christmas 2013

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year! I'm a little late for a blog post, but I guess better late than never! I can't believe how fast the holidays flew by! It happens every year and it's so depressing when it's over. But apart from all of those depressing post holiday blues, we partied hard when it time to celebrate and we made every second count!

 

This year we had to buy a smaller tree because I got a piano! I bought my uncle and aunt's old one and I couldn't be happier! A keyboard simply just isn't the same but I thank my grandparents for letting me borrow theirs for so long. I've really enjoyed playing the piano since we got it and even got some piano books for Christmas. I didn't think it would be this soon that we got a piano so I'm super grateful. We got a great deal from my relatives. I don't play the best, but I sure enjoy playing!

 

So because we had to put the piano in the living room, there was no room for our tree! And since the big tree couldn't fit downstairs, we had to buy a smaller one. And can I just say, for $39.99 at Walmart, it is one of the best trees I've had. This is the first pre-lit tree we've owned and boy was it easy to put up and take down. And it turned out so cute!

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Christmas Eve we headed to my parents house to PAAARTAY! We had a lot of fun playing with the kids, eating lot's of yummy food, and even opening some presents! All the boys go to open up jammies from Grandma and Grandpa! By the way the pictures below are not the boys in their NEW jammies. I totally forgot to snag a group picture of them all. I'm such a slacker! Guess I was having too much fun!

 

I'm in love with Tay's PJ's. I bought these back in October and couldn't wait to put them on him.

Tyson the photo bomber

OH Yeah

What's better than fried shrimp? More fried shrimp that didn't fit in this container.

Not a big fan of Santa. He didn't cry...

...he just covered his eye

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Christmas Morning was not what I expected. I was so excited for Tayen to see his Christmas this year because being older I assumed he would show more enthusiasm when seeing some new toys. Well he slept terrible the night before so therefore so did Che and I. Christmas morning came and Tayen was so cranky when he got up that when he saw his gifts he just whined the whole time. We were a little disappointed but knew he'd like them later. Tay got some fun things for Christmas this year. His biggest gift was this new farm. Isn't it super cute? He also got some wooden cars, little magnetic trains, Toy Story, a mini Woody, treats, and a big truck. He loved all of them once he wasn't cranky anymore. It was fun to watch him when he finally wanted to play.

 

After we saw our stockings, we headed back over to Grandma and Grandpa O'Connor's with our wrapped gifts. Tayen immediately found a new toy that Carter got for Christmas and he loved it. Played with it all day long and the rest of the week ha ha. Maybe we should have got him one of those!

We all took the morning and opened presents and slowly tried to take in every moment. I goes by so fast! After presents my parents made an amazing breakfast that had me stuffed all day long. Tayen got spoiled again and even Jaxson got a present from his grandparents! We all really enjoyed our Christmas morning. Here is a puzzle that Tayen really loved from Grandma and Grandpa O'Connor

 

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That afternoon, we were off to Grandma and Grandpa Miles' house and once again, Tayen got spoiled. In fact, we ALL got spoiled rotten. We snacked and opened presents and just put are feet up and relaxed.

 

This was Tayen's Christmas bag full of many many treasures!

 

Che was pretty excited about what he got too. We had a lot of fun in Blackfoot with Grandma and Grandpa Miles. I would have taken so many more pictures from Christmas but when Christmas Eve hit, I started feeling what felt like contractions. To the point where I had to time them. I knew that I had overdone it in the weeks leading up to Christmas so I was a little freaked out. I stopped taking pictures after awhile and only got a few in here and there. Eventually after I downed a ton of water and sat on the couch for long periods they started getting farther apart thankfully. Apart from all of that craziness, we had such a wonderful Christmas and I'm so happy that my sister and her family could stay for a whole week! That meant more time with me and more time for all the cousins to play together! Here is a picture from the week of Christmas that I thought was so cute! I'm so upset that Boston wasn't in this picture though! It would have been perfect with the four chairs. Anyway, they loved playing on this table (which wasn't theirs) but they had fun while it lasted. Oh and we didn't do anything fun on New Year's. Boring us. But we did stay up 'til midnight! Che came out of the office (that's right, we were in different rooms) and he kissed me after the ball dropped, then I went back to watching a show and he went back to playing his game. We are awesome. Merry Christmas!

 

 

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After Christmas I could only think of one thing...baby Jaxson. And I have been majorly nesting ever since. Here is a picture of me at 35 weeks. I am now almost 37 weeks and scheduled for a C-Section on January 29th! Only 20 more days left, can you believe it? I'm kind of freaking out a bit. But we're getting ready and we only have a few more things on our "To-Do" list.

 

 

I want to add for journal purposes: This pregnancy is so different than the last. The first was so miserable that I could barely walk. I started swelling super early into pregnancy and it stayed that way until after. I had the worst "log legs" and this was POST pregnancy! It was so bad. Everything leading up to the labor was bad and even after the labor was bad. The 22.5 hour labor was hard and the recovery was super hard as well. Sure took a toll on my body!

 

This pregnancy, however, has been quite different. Now I'm not saying that it was sunshine and roses, but it almost felt that way compared to the last pregnancy. I had a lot of energy all the way up to about a few days ago. Don't get me wrong,I had my nights when I was really feeling the fatigue and wanted to die, but that was just once and awhile. I also got sick a couple times and that wasn't fun. My feet and ankles just barely started swelling badly about a week ago. And I'm having this baby in 2.5 weeks! I'd say that's pretty awesome compared to last time. No wonder I started feeling contractions during Christmas. I felt the energy to do a lot so I did...but I shouldn't have. That was dumb. I even got through my choir concert (1 hr and 20 min) standing the entire time. That was a miracle in itself. Anyway, I'm hoping and praying that the birth will all go well and recovery will be a little better. Seems like it could be since my pregnancy has been better this time. Nothing is guaranteed, but I sure hope for the best!

 

Tayen was super excited when we pulled out all the baby stuff. He's not going to know what hit him!

Clean as a whistle! Just have to shampoo carpets and it's all done!

I couldn't resist putting this picture on here. He looks so cute bundled up!

 

Now with the cold weather, warm house, baby stuff all out, and feeling ready to pop, we are ready to welcome our new addition! And we can't wait! 20 more days and we'll have a family of 4! So excited!

 

Here's to 2014!