First grader!

Hayden started first grade on September 4.  He is in a 1st/2nd split class this year.  There are 52 students in his class!  14 first graders, and the rest 2nd graders.  His teachers are Mrs. Wilkinson and Mrs. Hancock.  So far Hayden is doing really well.  We haven't had quite as many struggles with homework this year (YET!), but maybe that's because it's more his level.  He doesn't have a problem doing the 2nd grade curriculum.  I just worry about next year.  He will be in 2nd grade and learning the same stuff all over again.  I'm not sure how that's going to work.

I didn't cry on the first day of Kindergarten, but I did on the first day of 1st grade.  I guess because he is gone ALL day now.  It's been an adjustment and we have a very tired boy at the end of the day (and especially at the end of the week).

I just wanted to add--Hayden also turned 7 last month.  I can't believe he'll be getting baptized next year!

Cassidy's Blessing

We blessed Cassidy in church on September 2, 2012, and it's a good thing too.  If we had waited until next month she wouldn't have fit into her blessing dress.  We were happy to have lots of family with us.  My parents were here visiting, along with Allen's parents, brother Shawn, and his sister Kari and her family (Ryan, Cameron, Connor, & Callen).  Allen's brothers, Robert & Curtis, and their wives (Courtney and Courtney) and our nephews, Carter & Owen were also able to come for the blessing.  She looked so sweet in her blessing dress and she didn't make a peep during the blessing.

After sacrament meeting, Torrin gave his first talk in Primary.  He had a big audience there watching him.

You can tell how sleep deprived I am!
We didn't get a family picture like we wanted, but that's ok.

I give props to any photographers out there.
It is really difficult to get good shots of an awake newborn!

Welcome, Cassidy Diane!

Allen and I went in Monday morning at 9:45 a.m. 8/27/12 to see my midwife, Gretchen.  I was 38 week, 5 days.  The plan was to have her strip my membranes and then for us to walk around for a while to see if labor started.  When she checked me, I was already “about 5cm” but still “kind of thick.”   She didn’t want to send me home at 5cm because we live 45 minutes from the hospital, and she knew I’d go fast once my water broke and might not make it back to the hospital.  She asked us to walk around for a while and then check in to labor & delivery.  We walked around Temple Square for about an hour.  I was getting some contractions.  They were about 10 minutes apart, but not consistent.  Allen confessed that he didn’t actually believe we’d be having a baby that day, so he didn’t come prepared (with his netbook and some food. LOL).

I was nervous about checking myself in to L&D because I knew my options were 1) Pitocin to get contractions started (I am not comfortable with this route since I’ve had a previous c-section), 2) break my water IF baby had dropped low enough (she was still a bit high before and none of us felt comfortable enough breaking my water at that point), or 3) wait around in L&D until things got started on their own, which could have been hours.  We got there close to noon and I expressed my concerns to Gretchen and the nursing staff.  We decided to wait and see if my body would take over.  We walked around the unit for a bit, and then went back to my room.  Lying in bed did nothing except stall the contractions; but I did feel some (about 9 minutes apart) while I was standing, so I asked for the birth ball and sat on that for a while.  Allen watched NCIS and football while I surfed the web and got on facebook.  LOL  I couldn’t focus on anything else, so this passed the time.

The contractions started coming consistently 6 minutes apart and they were getting stronger, but not bad enough that I had to breathe through them.  I was comfortable enough at that point to know I was in active labor and decided to stay.  My midwife checked me at 4:18 p.m. and I had made progress.  My cervix had thinned out to 80-90% and baby’s head was low.  I was only at 5+cm, though.  At that point, Gretchen broke my water, and I knew baby would be here in a couple of hours. 

Contractions really picked up then.  They were much stronger, though still not very close together.  I labored for about an hour, while Allen made some phone calls.  I was feeling a lot more pressure with the contractions, so I knew baby was coming down.  Gretchen checked me and I was at 8cm, so she started getting her cart ready.  Allen did put his phone away long enough to help me through transition, which is really all I needed from him.  It didn’t bother me before that he was watching TV and making phone calls, though I think I did have to tell him that it was time to put the phone away and get into position once I had to breathe and vocalize through contractions.  (Might have been a bit awkward for anyone he was talking to who could hear me moaning in the background).  He held my hand through the really bad ones.  

Once I felt pushy, Gretchen checked me and I had a tiny lip left.  One more contraction and I was ready.  I was determined to get her out quickly.  I pushed for only 20 minutes with Grayson, and that was really tiring. (I know 20 minutes doesn't even compare with the 3 hours I pushed with Hayden, but it makes a big difference when you don't have an epidural.)  I only had to push through two contractions and Cassidy Diane was born, weighing 7 lbs 2 oz and 20 inches long.  She has golden blonde hair (and very little of it) and she is just the sweetest little thing.  When they placed her on my chest after she was born, I felt something warm and wet dripping down my side.  She peed on me!  Gretchen and the nurse said she was “such a pretty baby.”  I did have a small tear, but I’m not nearly as sore as I was with Grayson and Torrin.  Most of my post-partum pain is in my tail bone, which I hurt a few years ago falling down the stairs. 

We are home now, and Cassidy is doing great! She is nursing like a champ and sleeping great.  She had a tough time sleeping in the hospital, but now that my milk has come in she is letting mom sleep more.  J  We are just thrilled to have her and can’t believe we now have FOUR kids.  We’re definitely outnumbered around here.

38 weeks

Hanging out on the birthing ball.

First bath.

Grayson's reaction.  He opened his mouth in shock when he first saw Cassidy.

Gretchen and Cassidy

We took our traditional dad & baby picture at home since Allen wasn't feeling well when she was born.  (Was worried he might have had strep throat).

Guess what.

This is going to come as a shock to my faithful blog followers (all three of you).  I'm human.  Gasp!  I know, I know.  It's hard to take in, but let's call this confession time.  I am NOT super mom!  IF they remember this summer at all, my boys will remember it as the one they spent in the sprinklers and in front of a screen.  We didn't do swimming lessons, we only went to the park three times, and we rarely left the house.  I didn't even sign my boys up for soccer this fall.  I let them watch WAY too much TV and play WAY too many video games.  My 2-hour rule was thrown out the window back in June.  My house is a mess most of the time.  I get by doing what's absolutely necessary.  I haven't really exercised for months, and most days I live in scrub tops, Allen's shirts, and yoga pants with hair dye stains on them.  I probably do my hair and makeup once a week--Sundays--IF then.  I've been a total hermit, and it will probably stay that way for another two months until I get the hang of having a newborn again and get my rear end to the gym.

It's always amazed me the difference exercise makes.  When I'm not exercising and taking care of myself, I have very little energy to take care of the other things in my life.  At least I can see this and admit it, and I know I won't continue to be a hermit forever.  I'm not sure my boys care or even know what they are missing.  I think they are just happy to be here (Oh! To be a child again!).  They don't seem to care when I'm being lazy and the bathroom isn't cleaned, or there's a pile of unfolded laundry on the living room floor that I've been avoiding for too long.  I know what they are missing out on, though.  I know how things *could* be.  But in the end, will one lazy summer really make a difference in their lives?

I love floral prints.

 I made this crib skirt for the baby last night.  It took me about 4 hours.  I love the finished product.  I just wish I had a white crib.

I still need to make a valance and a crib sheet.  I originally wasn't going to do much of anything with the nursery, especially since we were hoping to be moved by now.  But I'm really hating those yellow walls and want to paint them an aqua color.  I'm not sure I have it in me, though, especially since we don't know how long we'll be here.

So, I'm 35 1/2 weeks pregnant now.  Last night after finishing up the crib skirt I kept getting contractions, but they were mostly in my lower back.  Weird.  They were 3 minutes apart for over an hour, but once I was able to get some sleep they went away.

This boy is 18 months old now.  Seriously.  Where did the time go????

Grayson is such a little 'helper'.  He loves to help mess up the house.  I can't really pause do do much of anything without him getting into something or climbing on something.  His new favorite thing is taking a drink and then letting it dribble out of his mouth onto the floor.  Not so nice when I step on a puddle of milk in the middle of the living room.  I think I need to be better at picking up after everyone right away.  No more leaving boxes of cereal or glasses of water on the counter for him to dump out.  He loves to get up there and play with cups of water, milk, juice, or whatever.  First, he'll dunk his hand in there.  Then he'll plop whatever else he can find into the cup of liquid.  He really is a sponge when it comes to learning.  He can count to 10--he usually skips 7, though.  Every day he is saying new words.  He repeats what we say, just like a little puppet, and he's starting to speak in sentences.  Not long sentences, but things like "I want apple."  I love this kid.  He sure keeps me on my toes.

Projects for baby

One fun thing about having a girl is that I've found I actually WANT to sew again.  I've done Halloween costumes for the boys in the past, but it's just not as rewarding as sewing a cute little dress.  Here are the first two projects I did for baby.


This quilt/blanket has a soft minky dot backing.  For those who haven't sewn with minky before, it is a PAIN to work with.  It's recommended to use a walking foot on your machine, but I don't have one, so I ended up cutting off a ton of minky in the end.  I'm still happy with the way it turned out, though, even if one corner is a little curly.

I decided that rather than spending $40+ on a blessing dress, I would make one.  I contemplated learning to crochet because I REALLY wanted one like this.  http://www.etsy.com/listing/76958739/the-ella-crochet-baby-dress-christening? (Beautiful, isn't it!?)  But I just don't have the budget to be spending $100+ on a dress that baby will wear once, and I don't have the patience to learn to crochet.  I'm sure it would have been one of those why-did-I-even-start-this-project moments (like when I tried to sand and re-stain my old crib and changing table--BIG mistake).  Anyway, eyelet is the next best thing, in my opinion.  I found this adorable white eyelet fabric on ebay for $12, and I used this tutorial to make a dress.  http://www.sew-much-ado.com/2012/01/infant-peasant-dress-free-pattern-and.html  I lengthened it a little since the blogger said it's meant to hit right below the knee and I wanted it longer.  Here is the finished product.  Again, I'm really happy with it and had a lot of fun making the dress.  The pattern was so simple and easy too!

I know the lighting is terrible.  Sorry!

My next project for baby is a crib skirt.  I haven't decided if I'm going to make a bumper for the crib.  I might get to that project if I'm feeling ambitious or get the nesting bug.  This is the fabric I'm going to use--Garden Rocket in Turquoise.  I am in love with floral prints right now.  I'm going to use a coral pink print as an accent color.  I'm in the process of ordering swatches of different prints now, and then I'll make the final decisions.  I really like aqua with pink right now, but I just don't want to overdo it with the pink.

I'm also thinking about sewing another dress with that same peasant pattern.  I got a turquoise eyelet fabric, but it's kind of stiff and scratchy, so I may save it for something less delicate than my baby's skin.

I can't wait.

I can't wait to have a small 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1500-1700 sq ft home.  Cleaning this place is going to put me into labor.  Too many bathrooms, too much empty floor space to spread out the mess.