Haphazard naptime photo post of October

A week or two ago I started writing a post about how hard the first two months of Evan's life were. Instead, here is a summary: Reflux, jaundice, feeding every 2 hours for 2 months, ophthalmologist appointments, very gassy baby tummy, x-ray at the hospital, lots and lots of heel pricks for jaundice, lots of crying, lots of grunting, sleep deprivation all around, brother adjusting, mom adjusting, dad being the hero, grandparents also being heroes, and a lot of details in between. It was very draining. We still all have our cranky days, but overall we are moving onward and upward. August and September were muggy, weather-wise and emotionally. October has been cooler and beautiful and we are feeling more peace at home too. Here's some of the good stuff that has been going on in whatever random order they ended up on the computer!

I felt awesome for baking 18 loaves of this Rosemary Bread for Young Women in Excellence, made with the surviving rosemary from our failed garden project. Although it was not really a failure; we learned a lot and I love the young women in my ward!

For our date night we had burgers at Red Robin and we were supposed to go bowling but we were really really tired so we went shopping at Target instead and picked out weird outfits for each other.

Mine was also ugly

Lego creations with Daddy

Trying on little brother's shirt. haha I can't believe we could actually get it on him.

Little brother is so cute. Now that he's vocalizing we officially have a house full of chatterboxes :)

Quick trip to the distribution center at the temple and had to snap a picture

Seth and Jade saying a a few impromptu prayers during snack time. Jade's Grandma had tragically had a severe stroke that morning while visiting in San Antonio. These two were really good kiddos that day and it touched my heart that they wanted to say their own little prayers. We are so sad that she ended up passing away, but we are glad that she was miraculously with family rather than at home where she lives alone.

Very often this cute little boy is smiley and talkative during the middle of the night, but after a little chat he always goes right back to sleep.

More fun with second cousin, Jade

I was cracking up at her attempt to wear the Mr. Potato head parts. It's fun to have a little friend around sometimes who likes to play babies and dress ups.

Seth's preschool friends doing a "salty" or "not salty" test on several kinds of square crackers.

Attempting to make a square

This day at school we were also talking about street safety like crossing the street. I made this diaper box car for them to use while playing red light green light. We had a lot of fun.

Mr. Steven Sharp Nelson playing his... level and stud finder cello? I love to see how creative Seth is in using household items as cellos. If you haven't seen the Piano Guys in action, you must! This is Seth's favorite video right now, and this one shows you how awesome Steven Sharp Nelson is. We can't wait to take Seth to their concert in Utah in December.

Breakfast with Stephen's grandma at the Guenther House.

My blackberry sweet cream waffle was so delicious.

This meal was so good: Greek pitas made with really amazingly seasoned steak (thank you Aunt Karee for the recipe), cucumbers, red peppers, lettuce, and feta cheese with black grapes on the side.

Smiley boy!

It may not look like it but he actually really likes the Baby Bjorn.

Some amazing ladies in my ward teach music classes to little kids and did this free class for the kids in our ward. Seth usually has a tough time paying attention in large groups, but he LOVED this lesson about the Musician.

Win! Seth learned how to husk corn and thinks it's fun.

Seth riding the lion statue at the Zoo. We went to see the "pumpkin bash" where they put pumpkins in all the animals' areas and they're supposed to smash them. It was rather anticlimactic, but the rest of the zoo was great, especially the two baby tigers. 

We should have known this would happen. Luckily it didn't break.

Brothers

New cars from Grandma Grace

What a great Great Grandma. She was down on the floor playing cars with Seth all the time and even let him drive them on her back.

A rare gentle moment with little brother :)

Seth was too hungry to wait an hour for our seats at the Guenther House so we bought this AMAZING cinnamon roll from the bakery. It was half the price of the rest of the food, twice as big, and the best tasting so in the future we might skip the wait and just enjoy the bakery.

Stephen went to Atlanta the weekend after his Grandma visited to attend her surprise 80th birthday party!

Stephen with his Great Uncle, Dad, and his Dad's cousin

There's the birthday girl! Apparently they did not tell her who was coming and she was surprised every time someone walked in the door over the course of 3 days. Stephen was the last to arrive and was greeted with a "For Pete's sake!" :)

Bathtime buddies

Just talkin'

Seth on his old, very tattered kleenex box cello

I love this smile

Congratulations for making it to the end of this post.

Family of Four: the birth story

I've been thinking it would be nice to blog again.

My last post was 5 days before Evan's arrival. I had hoped to catch up on our summer adventures but Evan thought it was more important that he should make his debut.

So first thing's first: the birth story.

July 20th was our 6th wedding anniversary. We celebrated by going to a WNBA game the night before and then to the temple on the morning of our anniversary. Around 4:00 we decided to go to the library as a family to borrow a movie for our anniversary night in.

Just before hopping in the car I felt a little "pop." It was so generalized I thought it was my hip or something, but in the back of my mind I thought "Hmmm I wonder if I should get a towel... just in case!" I brushed the thought aside and got in the car. Just before turning into the library I felt a huge GUSH. "Oh crap! *pause* My water just broke!" Immediately after sitting on Seth's spare diaper I commenced to panic and cry saying "I'm not ready for this!" Luckily Stephen was surprised but kept his cool. I called my Dr.'s number and hung up waiting for the on-call Dr. to get back to me. Then I called my Mom. I really wanted her to be there with me in the delivery room for this birth and we thought we had arranged for her to arrive early enough. I was disappointed.

I think I was pretty panicked the whole way home because I didn't notice that when we drove into the garage poor Seth was crying silent tears and saying "Wanna go to the library?" Luckily Stephen was still level-headed! He took Seth in and started a "Kipper" dvd for him while we rushed to finish packing my bag and a bag for Seth. My contractions started once we got home but they were spaced out and very manageable. I got in the zone and was somehow able to quickly and calmly pack Seth's bag, but the tables turned and Stephen started to get stressed out. I don't want to embarrass my sweet husband but amid the chaos the words "... and all you have to do is have the baby" may or may not have escaped his mouth (really, the idea he was trying to express was truly valid, it just came out totally wrong) to which I responded "I will kill you." For the rest of the labor we were totally in sync. :)

By the time we left the house my contractions were getting stronger and closer together (there was no time for timing them- I could tell I needed to go to the hospital). My friend who I work with in Young Women at church and her husband, our home teacher, were LIFE-SAVERS and agreed to watch Seth at the last minute. Once Stephen came back to the car I was in a LOT of pain and encouraging him to drive quickly. I am so thankful we are only a 10 minute drive to the hospital and that it was Saturday and not rush hour!

Upon driving up to the labor and delivery door I had to pause outside for a contraction to pass. We rushed inside and I attempted to wait a little bit for Stephen to finish the admittance paperwork (I think pre-registering must only save you 2 minutes because there is still SOOO much paperwork and sooo many questions when you arrive) but it was soon apparent to the receptionist that I needed to go into triage.

Triage was the worst part of the whole labor. I found out I was dilated to a 7! At my appointment the previous day I was a 1. When I was in labor with Seth I got my epidural at 4, I think. My first question was "Can I still have an epidural?" Bless that nurse and all of the other nurses who continually told me "Yes, you can still have an epidural." Without their "reassurance" I think I would have had a mental breakdown. Still, I was panicking and trying to endure the contractions that had become very severe by this point. I stayed in triage while we waited for Stephen to finish the paperwork and while they started me on antibiotics (we hadn't received my strep B test results yet). They also asked if I wanted a little pain medication through the IV to take the edge off of the pain. Yes. Definitely yes. FINALLY after begging them to let my husband come back they rescued him from the paperwork devil and we went over to labor and delivery.

While they wheeled me over to labor and delivery I felt the calming effect of the drugs they gave me. I felt like I could breathe and I started focusing in and being quiet during the contractions. The drugs were no epidural but honestly they really helped me calm down and did take the edge off the pain. Thank you, modern medicine!! I wasn't in the labor and delivery room long before I felt it: the need to push. I didn't feel this last time with my epidural so it took me a contraction or two to recognize it. All this time the nurses had been telling me how lucky I was that Dr. so-and-so was at the hospital because he's such a fast anesthesiologist and would be able to do my epidural in 1 minute. BUT he was in a C-section and he was almost done. So when I started to feel the urge to push I tried my best to suppress it (hahahaha). I was still totally convinced I would be getting an epidural and wanted to hold out. Unfortunately I really did feel the need to push so I told the nurse. She later told me she had been delaying checking me because she knew when she checked that I'd be ready. But anyway, she checked and said I was definitely ready.

They pulled in a Dr. nearby since my OB practice's on-call Dr. hadn't arrived yet, but luckily just as the other Dr. walked in, Dr. Gallagher arrived! Honestly I had never had an appointment with her but I felt so relieved to see her. Around the time she arrived apparently the anesthesiologist also popped his head in the door. I was too occupied to notice but everyone else quietly shooed him away, realizing it was too late.

Once I came to terms with the fact that it was time to push, EVERYONE- the Dr., the nurses, and especially Stephen- reassured me that I could do it and that I was soooo close! I've never felt the power of positive words so strongly and I am so grateful for the love and encouragement everyone was offering. It was what got me to the finish line. What also got me to the finish line was Stephen's perfect labor coaching and having him apply pressure to my back during every contraction. I was surprised how much it actually helped! I pushed once. After the contraction I was shocked to find out that I could still breathe and rest a little bit. After one more contraction the Dr. injected me with a syringe made for a giant. Then on the next contraction I pushed, the Dr. did an epesiotomy (definitely not my idea), and Evan arrived crying, tiny, and adorable at 6:12 pm weighing 5 lbs 4 oz and stretching 18 inches long.

Arriving at 36 weeks 3 days and exactly 2 hours after my water broke, we were surprised to say the least, but so overjoyed and excited!! Definitely the best anniversary gift I've ever received :)! I have said many prayers of gratitude that Evan had no problems and did not have to stay in the NICU despite being technically premature. Although he hasn't chunked up like his older brother did, he has steadily gained weight. Also, I am so thankful that he was born on a Saturday when Stephen was already home and that he did not come a week earlier when we were visiting friends in Dallas. And what would I have done without my mother-in-law and brother-in-law who hopped on a plane the next morning to take care of Seth for over a week? Or my parents who stayed for 2+ weeks? Miracles!

Before I post pictures, here is a word about our little boy's name. We knew for a month or two that we wanted to name him Evan. It was the only name we both liked and it just seemed to fit! When we first suggested the name, Seth thought we were saying "Owen" but he quickly figured it out and when Evan arrived we all agreed that it was the name for him! We struggled to make a decision on his middle name. Seth's middle name is Darrell, the name of Stephen's dad. For the past few generations they have passed on the Grandfather's name as the middle name so we decided to keep the tradition going. I really wanted to give Evan a name from my family. My Dad's name is Bartley (Bart) and he was named after his Grandpa, whose first name was also Bartley. Although I never met my Great-Grandpa, my Dad is one of the greatest people I know and I hope that Evan can strive to pass on the same legacy!

Newborn photos below taken by Katie Parker Photography