Samuel...

Samuel is 2!!! Wow, that went really fast! For his birthday we blew up more than 130 balloons and put them in our formal dining room (which worked great, because it's empty). He absolutely ADORES balloons!!! I had a hard time shopping for his birthday gifts because I really could not justify buying any more toys!! I clean their play room and I already complain to Matt that we have too many toys!

I didn't want to buy him more hot wheel cars, some cheap toys we will throw away or donate to nursery so I talked to Matt about what we should do. We bought him a giant Mickey Mouse plush toy (which he LOVES) and just spent time with him that day, daddy even took a half day!!!! I swear we have everything little boys could possibly need already. Plus, he's two and still doesn't know what the heck a birthday is.

Samuel doesn't get along with other kids his age, which is why we didn't have a party with friends. Probably because we were always on playdates for Joshua. He likes other kids but would rather play with Joshua. They really are best friends. Samuel thinks he is as big as Joshua and is always copying EVERYTHING Joshua does. I took them to Chik-Fil-A for lunch and then they spent the whole day playing in their balloon piles.

It was a great day!

Here are some funny things about Samuel

-He gets mad at Mom/Dad if we are getting upset with Joshua, no one gets mad at HIS brother
-He is a personal space child, if you get in his space, he is going to hit you (really bad for nursery)
-Loves his electronic toys (Ipad/Iphone)
-Favorite movies, Wreck It Ralph, Bug's Life, and Chuggington
-Does say several word/sentence but most of the time speaks his gibberish really fast
-Loves to cuddle with mommy when he wakes up!
-When he wakes up from his nap he yells, "out..side?"
-Can play by himself extremely well
-Pretty good sleeper, unless he is sick
-Always surprises us by the things he knows, like counting along with us
-Loves to read books
-A very independent 2 year old with no fear about streets or strangers
-Is a great eater, probably loves baby peas and simply orange juice the best
-LOVES to dance to music and sing...something which Joshua never did
-Is mischievous but who could get upset with that sweet face




I love being a mother of this little boy! Happy Birthday Samuel!!!!

Brothers...

Thought I was done blogging for the day but I saw this and just had to document it. Wouldn't it be cute if they were praying...nope. Just average kids living in the year 2013, playing angry birds on the ipad and watching a movie on an iphone. Life is really different for them then it was for me. I sometimes feel bad that I can't give them more but then I see things like this and realize, they have MORE than enough!

Sure am excited to be a family of all boys! June please come quickly!

Life in a hospital

Samuel slept mostly in our arms. He just wanted to be as far away from the doctors and nurses as he could. He liked our last nurse, Emily, and her blue gloves. But the minute they said we could go, we ran.

Some funny things Samuel did while in the hospital...

*He saw baby wipes in his crib Monday night and opened them, pulled one out and started wiping the crib and toys down...somebody has an OCD mommy who uses clorox wipes A LOT

*When he woke up he called for Joshua, like he always does

*He loved seeing nurse, EMily's blue gloves and had to have them if the nurses wanted to even touch him

*Yelled mommies name whenever I wasn't present

*After he was feeling better he wanted to be up and about. He took off all his leads constantly and was always tangling himself up with all the cords he had attached to him

*Waved bye-bye to the nurses when they left

Febrile Seizures for Samuel

Father'day was all planned. But everyone except dad was sick. Samuel woke up with a high fever at 4am that morning and had his first seizure. Matt took him to our local hospitals ER where they treated his fever and gave him a shot of antibiotics because they thought he might have ear infection.

I went to church and Matt stAyed home with they boys. He called me and said Samuel was seizing and his fever was back. We called his primary care doctor and she told us to go tonashville and have him admitted to the ER at Vanderbilt. Samuel seized a few more times in the car on the way up.

At the ER they decided to test for meningitis sopoor Samuel had to have a spinal tap. Test come back good but they wanted to keep him over night for observation.

At about 8pm he had a bigger seizure that lasted 2-3 minutes and had to be given drugs to stop the seizing. From there we were moved down to the PICU for observation.

He had a CT and a EEG and everything came back clear. They wanted us to stay until Tuesday to make sure he was okay.

Staying in the hospital was hard. Especially because I have a sinus infection. Long nights for a sick mommy was rough. But I'm glad we have had excellent care.

I'm also incredibly grateful for all our friends and family! We are so blessed to have people who care and love us.

Hopefully this never happens again.

Joshua showing people how the trains work at the hospital. Oddly enough he did teach some guest how to use them.

Wondering...

I couldn't sleep last night. Many factors contributed to this. But one was my concern about my boys. Having children makes you vulnerable. Vulnerable because you love them more than words can express. It sounds cliche but it is true. You can't know what it's like to be a parent until you are one.

But one issue has been making me despondent. People will hurt my children. Meaning, emotionally, maybe physically, and even perhaps spiritually. A post from a friend on Facebook made me think more about this. She said her daughter was upset because some girls in the neighborhood were mean to her.

I have seen Joshua's face when other children don't want to play with him or when others have been mean. That face he makes when he's upset because of other's action, is horrific. His pain is magnified by mine more than a thousand fold.

How do parents do this? I don't want my precious sons growing up in a world that will chew them up. They are so happy and so perfect right now. I want to shelter them from anything that would cause them pain.

But I know I can't. And I know the pain they will experience is for their good.

But I am scared.

I love them too much to see that.

I see now why being a parent is more of a teaching experience for the parent than it is for the child. Heavenly Father wants us to see how it is when He sees us in pain. How He feels when others hurt us.

Which helps us understand better His unconditional Love.

I am grateful for that knowledge and His unceasing hand in my life.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Samuel!

Happy Samuel...

Samuel Today...

Pre-Birthday Celebrations

Samuels birthday is inApril. Matt however will be gone in Memphis for a training during that time. Matt decided to take a holiday on Friday and we went and had a fun filled day!

We went to the zoo as a family! It was incredible to have Matt there and Joshua was so excited we were not going to be leaving daddy behind! Apparently we do that every time.

Then we decided to go and brave a movie with the kids. First one ever as a family of four. We went and saw John Carter. We only saw parts of it so I can't give a great recommendation. But I don't like 3D movies! Why would I want to wear crappy glasses to see a film?

We went to the mall at Green Hill before the movie. Did some shopping and had lunch at Panera Bread.

Now our boys are exhausted and so are we! What a great Pre-birthday celebration!

10 months

Samuel had his 9 month check up and he is looking great! He's in the 70th Percentile for height, 40% for weight, and head is 85%

He is the happiest best baby! He says, "ma ma," "dada" was his first word...but does it count if he was asking for me by saying it? And he says, "jjaa jjjja!" every time he wakes up because he is looking for his best friend.

He is a tease. He flirts and smiles with everyone but when they go to hold him he freaks-out. All my boys are mommy boys. Which I don't mind.

He eats better than Joshua. Great eater! Hopefully it stays that way!

He LOVES strawberries, any fruit, and pizza is his all time favorite. Wonder where that came from?

I'm so grateful I had a perfect little one...now if he only would cooperate in church I'd really have a perfect baby. But I guess you can't win them all.

My Life

These are some pictures of Joshua's first Easters that he actually found fun. He enjoyed looking for "eggies" with his Grandma Smith and friends. He loves his girlfriends...which actually are all blonde. Joshua also won his age group's race...so fast.

There is also a picture of his gift from Sam...well from us the day we brought Sam home. He loves his bike!

A Family of Four

It's been official for almost a week, we are a family of four. Life is so good. There aren't any more words to describe it. Two beautiful perfect boys, one amazing husband, and one crazy wife.

My surgery went well. It went a lot faster than I thought. I had my great OB and he seemed comfortable enough to talk about mountain biking and his son'sTacoma during my surgery. So of course I jumped in on those conversations. The only time I was nervous is when he said, 'scalpel.' I was like crap, what if the anesthesia isn't working and I feel this cut, ah, ah, so I quickly turned to matt and said, 'tell me about the awesome green coat I'm going to have one day. You know the one from BR?'

It Worked. Before I knew it I heard Samuel cry. He was born at 7:59am, weighed 7.12 (I guessed he would be 7.11), and was 19 inches. He's adorable and pretty much perfect. Oddly enough he doesn't look a thing like Joshua. He has kept his eyes shut pretty much the whole time but is now finally starting to open them. They seem to be grayish but who knows if that will last or if they'll just turn light brown.

I'm doing so much better than when I had a c section with Joshua. The pain isn't nearly as bad and I'm able to walk without feeling like my entire stomach is going to topple over and spill out.

I did abnormally well that the on-call OB said I was by far the best walker and that he couldn't believe I was walking so much after a c-section. Yes! I'm hoping this means that my recovery will be quicker and less drawn out.

Either way I'm elated. I feel so blessed So many things went right this time and Matt an I are closer then ever before. We are both scared about how we are going to do this but we are moving forward together so it won't be impossible.

My husband is truly amazing. He cares so much and DOES so much for me. I'm so lucky to have a husband like matt. I'm so lucky to be in love with my best friend.

PS I have some fAmily photos of us but Jessie hasn't emailed me them yet but when she does I will post.

Finally here

It's a Guy Thing...

This is a video of Joshua's latest project. Everyday he has to build a 'house' for 'Pa-Pas.' And we can't put it away at the end of the day but have to knock over the previous days work and start fresh each day because 'pa-pas' needs a HOUSE! Looks like I am going to make it in all aspects to the 12th! Yes! Something in my pregnancy actually went right...holding my breath and crossing my fingers still though.

Here are just a few funny things/Confessions I've been thinking about.

-Today I filled my last bottle of Zofran! Never to return again to that pharmacy and have all the tech's ask how I'm doing and feeling so bad that I have to take this medicine so often.

-This is the last weekend we will ever have one child! Exciting but terrifying at the same time!

-Hate it when people tell me to 'rest up because your life will get crazy soon.' Well, duh! But honestly, did you forget what it was like at this stage in pregnancy? Waking up every hour to use the restroom and uncomfortable sleeping because your legs fall asleep and you have to move the massive bowling ball attached to your stomach.

-I have a phone phobia. I hate talking to people on the phone. I hate 'chit chatting.' I know, I'm a messed up girl but I hate aimless rambling on the phone...doesn't matter who you are (except for my sister Emily because I never see her and feel like she's on a different planet). But because of all the stuff that happened to Matt while in Japan and my bedrest situation people call me....which I am ever SO GRATEFUL FOR but I'm afraid. I hate talking! Please don't be mad/offended...I just hate it!

-Not looking forward to breastfeeding crap again. The clothing, the accessories, the feeding, and the work of actually getting into a rhythm with the little one. But breastfeeding is incredible and I do LOVE the benefit I get and my son gets, so I sacrifice.

-I won't have an excuse any longer to wear PJ's all day long, everyday. I gave up on wearing jeans about a month ago. THey just were so uncomfortable and so I have lived in my comfy yoga pants since then.

-I will have to start wearing a bra on a regular basis again...like 24/7. Which I hate! Funny story--I had to drop something off at the doctor's real fast so I hurried and threw my coat on and some slippers and jumped in the car. I finally arrived feeling that something was a muck. I looked in the mirror and guess what I discovered...yup, no bra. Completely forgot about it. Good thing I had a jacket on.

-I am actually incredibly dumb during my pregnancies. I have a real hard time contemplating and processing information. I usually just furrow my brow and look confused. I don't think I'm that dumb but for the past 9 months I've felt like my cerebellum has seriously shrunk. Poor brain. But I've been able to blame pregnancy for my 'blonde' moments but now, if I do something stupid, I can't blame anyone else but myself.

But WE ARE SO EXCITED FOR LITTLE SAMUEL! Yes, Samuel is the name, and no we aren't doing bible names, just like those names. I feel like it's my wedding day or something equally amazing approaching and like matt said I have less than 72 hours to go. Yes, I'm going to go under the knife, leave my precious Joshua for 4/5 days (something I am petrified of doing because I'm a control freak and can't control what will happen to him during that time), and have to come home and recover from major surgery and try and figure out this two child parenting technique BUT I'm so excited! Excited to be a family of four! Excited to be surrounded by so many cute boys!

Boys are the best! Conference was amazing wasn't it! The first session I listen to on my phone is priesthood because I never got to hear it and it is always the best! I am elated by the chance I get to help turn boys into men. What an incredible experience is ahead of us!

Baby 2

The final word is that we are having another BOY!!!!! Baby looks great and healthy in all aspects. Mommy even gained some weight, wahoo! I think this is the only time I will be excited about weight gain.

I'm ecstatic because I won't have to buy new clothes and I will already know what to do this time with a little boy. It won't be playing the 'holy crap what do I do' game again. Which will be nice. I have so much fun with Josh so it will be exciting to have another boy who will probably be just as crazy as josh. I love little boys!

I just wanted a girl to accessorize and not cut off all that hair! It makes me so sad when I walk past the racks of cute clothes for girls that are on clearance and head to my small little half rack that has a few boys clothes, which are always newborn size...so lame. I also dieing to do hair of little girls...so maybe some of you who have girls can just let me come over and do their hair. That is basically the only reason I wanted a girl...which I guess are pretty shallow reasons so it is a really good thing we are having a boy because BOYS ARE SO CUTE!!!!!