Our Annual Pumpkin Carving Party

On Sunday, we had our annual pumpkin carving party at my parents house. We ate some very yummy chili (thanks Riley!) and breadsticks, and then we started carving! This year we got some great cut-out patterns from this website. Here is Riley carving a Mario pumpkin for Max.

Natalie and Craig getting the "guts" out of their pumpkins.

Sam got to chill with grandpa John while the rest of us were carving.

Natalie carving her masterpiece. I think her pattern was by far the hardest!The finished product! Riley's puking pumpkin. :-)

Mario (carved by Riley and Max), Wario (carved by my mom), and Princess Peach (carved by me).

Jack Skellington (carved by Craig), and the witch (carved by Natalie)After our pumpkin pie and brownie dessert, it was time to call it a night. We had a great night! This is such a fun tradition.

We have a Diagnosis

On Tuesday we spent most of our day at Primary Children's with Sam figuring out what is wrong with his kidney. He had to have 2 tests done in medical imaging in the morning. We knew it would be hard to watch, but I didn't know HOW hard! Poor kid had to get an IV before they could do his renal scan and they just couldn't seem to get it in. After being poked 4 times (twice in each hand), they finally got it. Between the IV and the catheter that he had to have, he was screaming. So sad. He calmed down and was able to get some sleep after they put the sandbags on his arms and legs and put him under the scanner. This picture is of my little radioactive baby under the scanner. He had to stay like this while the machine took pictures of his kidneys and bladder every 15 seconds for 45 minutes. Luckily, we were able to sit right by him, and even reach in and comfort him the whole time. At the end of this test, it seems that there is no blockage and that his kidneys are working normal, so now onto the next test to figure out what is causing the dilation.

We went directly across the hall to wait for an X-ray room. He got to have his IV taken out, which was great. This picture is of him in his little hospital gown with his poor little bandaged hands.

While we were waiting, he started to get hungry. Just as I started feeding him, they came out to get us for his VCUG. Needless to say, he was TICKED when he had to stop eating and get underneath another scanner. For this test, I had to hold his arms down while the nurse held his feet down. It only took about 10 minutes, but it was so hard to watch my hungry and mad baby scream. After turning him from side to side so the machine could get pictures of every angle while his bladder emptied the contrast, a Dr. came in to make sure we were getting all of the right pictures and to explain the findings to us. From the results of this test, it looks like he has Vesicoureteral Reflux.

In the above picture, you can kind of see the pokes and bruises on his hands. :-(

After feeding Sam and eating lunch, we were able to meet with a pediatric urologist to determine what this diagnosis means for us. The doctor was so great (everyone we worked with up there was amazing, which made it nicer). Since he doesn't have a blockage and both kidneys seem to be OK, there is not much we can do at this point. His reflux is a grade 4 or 5, which is pretty serious, but at this point, nothing is being damaged. So, this diagnosis means that we have to make appointments every 4 months for a year to go up and have ultrasounds done to watch the severity of the kidney dilation. He also has to continue to take a maintenence dose of antibiotics every day for a year to prevent UTI's (if he gets a bladder infection, it will reflux into his kidney and cause permanant kidney damage, thus the antibiotics). When he is 1, we will have to repeat the VCUG test to see if the problem is correcting itself. If it is, great! They will continue to monitor him until it has fixed itself. If it doesn't start correcting itself and continues to be a grade 4-5, they will have to do more tests/scans to pinpoint the exact problem and schedule a surgery to fix the problem. So, now we wait and hope for the best!

Being at Primary Children's made me realize again how lucky I am to have 2 healthy and happy boys. I am thankful that we were just there for outpatient tests, and although fixing the problem may take a while, Sam doesn't seem to be bothered by it and so far there isn't any long-term damage. As I watched the little kids who are in the hospital long-term being brought in for tests, or walking around the halls and lobby because they are tired of being in their room, my heart ached for those kids and their families. We are very lucky!

In happier news, I finally caught a smile on camera. He is started to smile a lot now and he will even sometimes give me a little giggle. He is such a fun and happy baby.

What happened to the Fall?

I am not a huge fan of the 4 season weather we have in Utah. I usually don't really mind the spring and fall, and I love the summer, but I HATE winter. I tell Riley almost every other day that I would like to move to Mexico if we could figure out a way to make money there.

I think I'm bitter about the weather because summer was not long enough this year, but I can handle fall. . .what happened to fall??? Snow already!?! As I write this, it's 38 degrees outside and my heater is blaring! I'm tempted to pack my bags and move to Arizona where the weather this week will be in the mid to high 90's.

I generally like the fall, it reminds me of when Riley and I met. I love taking walks in the fall air, driving up the canyon to look at the pretty leaves, and visiting the corn mazes and pumpkin patches. I'm hoping that it really does warm up a little bit this week so that we can do some of these things! Until then, I guess I'll just stay indoors and make some of my favorite fall food--apple pie, pumpkin anything (cookies, bread, pie, you name it), chili, yummm. . .I'm making myself hungry!

One Month

I cannot believe it's been a month! Sam is so much fun, and things at home are returning to normal. Sam is a pretty content baby and has been pretty easy so far. He has the cutest smile, although so far he has only smiled in his sleep and a couple of other random times (I'm sure it was gas, but I'd love to say he was smiling at me!) He loves to eat, and luckily we've gotten his nursing down from over an hour to about 30-40 minutes. :-)
Sam has also started to sleep a lot better at night. I swear the kid hardly needs any sleep in the first place. Aren't newborns supposed to sleep a lot? Last night he did great though and let mama sleep for 5 hours before needing fed! YEAH!
Max is such a proud big brother, he is doing great with Sam. Today when Sam was crying he said it was "so cute". He loves to help us out around the house and go and get whatever mom needs. He's also content to entertain himself when I'm feeding Sam or taking a much needed rest. Max is also watching out for Sam, and whenever there is a commercial on TV for a "toddler" toy, Max makes sure that I am paying attention so that we can buy it for Sam and save it until he's a toddler. :-) He's got a mental list going of all the toys that Sam "needs". What a good big brother!

HBDTY Dad and Craig!

I want to wish my "loving father" a Happy Birthday! I hope you had a great day Dad, and the leaves were beautiful for your birth. :-) Enjoy your soap, and next time I see your Bee, it better have your "logo" on it!

Also, HBD to Craig aka "That Boy"! I hope your birthday is fabulous.

My Awesome Grandma!

Today, my grandma was featured in an article in the Daily Herald, and what a cute article! My grandma is such an awesome lady and I think that it's neat that she has continued to do things that she loves.

Two Weeks!

I can't believe that Sam is 2 weeks old already! He is so much fun and is such a good baby. We have nicknamed him "lumpy" for now because he's always just happy to sit and chill with us, and he's still such a floppy baby :-) I love it! Here are a few fun pictures from the last two weeks.
The past two weeks have flown by! The first 4 days were spent in the hospital, and the rest have been spent at home adjusting to the new addition. It has been so nice to have Riley home with us. I am not looking forward to having him go back to work.
I haven't really posted much besides pictures since he was born, so here's a little bit about Sam's first two weeks: Sam's C-section had been scheduled since one of my very first OB appointments. It was really nice to know when he would be born, and I only worried a little bit that he would come early. The day before he was born I started having contractions, but luckily they stopped. Monday, Sept. 8, we arrived at the hospital at 6:00am as scheduled. Riley and I both thought it may take a few hours to get things going, but were happy that we were wrong!

The nurses got the IV's and blood draws started immediately, and by 7am we were ready to go into the operating room. Everything was so calm (especially compared to Max's delivery!) and it was very nice. The nurse anesthetist gave me a spinal block and a few minutes later Sam was born! It was so refreshing to hear him cry as soon as he was out.
After his delivery, I spent an hour in the recovery room while Sam was getting bathed and such. By 8:45, I was down in the mother baby unit and Riley brought Sam into me. It was so fun to finally meet and hold him!
The next four days were spent chillin' in the hospital. We kept Sam in the room with us most of the time (except a few hours at night). They had me up and moving as soon as I could feel my feet and legs again. . .ouch! By the third day I was up and about a lot. The hospital bed was not super comfortable to sit in all day, so it gave me the incentive I needed to get out of bed!
We came home on Thursday, 9/11, and we've just been hanging out since. We have ventured out to a few stores and such since I hate feeling pent up in the house. Sam has been lucky enough to visit Costco, Walmart, and Target, my favorite trio. :-) I am feeling great (note to self, the first week after a c-section is by far the hardest!). . .now if we could just get Sam on a better NIGHT sleeping schedule!!!
Max has been adjusting well. We've had a few little issues, but he's starting to figure things out. He likes being our little helper, especially when we're cooking, and he's had a lot of fun playing in his playroom, scattering toys around the house, and watching his favorite shows (and a few new ones thanks to netflix!). He has been a great big brother too with lots of kisses and hugs for Sam. I am so lucky to be the mom of two super cute and sweet boys!

More pictures of Sam!

He is here!

Tomorrow!

Here's a fun picture of our little family on last weekends camping trip. Tomorrow, we will grow one member larger! I am so nervous/excited/scared/glad to be done! I just got confirmation from the hospital, we will have a sweet new little (or big, I'm guessing bigger) Sam in the morning! I can't wait to meet him. I will make sure to post pictures and stats when we get home. . .wish me luck! I'm hoping this c-section is a little bit easier than the last one.

Vinyl #2

I finally decided what I wanted the second vinyl design for Sam's room to say, and it's taken me forever to figure out how I wanted to lay it out, but I got it done! I love the way it turned out.

Things I'm Loving Right Now

Only 9 days left! I am starting to get so sore and tired and I have an annoying cold, so instead of focusing on the negative, I decided to post today about things that I'm loving. (most of which involve shopping...LOL!)

Mama bargains: I love looking at their great deals. I've only ever bought one thing from them, but I totally love it! I got the Fleurville Escape Pod in yellow seedpod for super cheap! It is such a cute little diaperbag/purse. I'm excited to start using it!

Bubele Boutique: I found these guys on one of the other mom shopping websites. I fell in love with their double knotted hats, and when they had a 50% off everything sale, I got two super cute outfits complete with the cute hats. Both of the outfits I got are on their front page. Also, they have amazing customer service. I had a problem with one of the pants that arrived (pocket sewn on the wrong place), and it was fixed and I had a new pair of pants within 2 days!

Etsy: I totally love Etsy! I could spend all day browsing all of the neat handmade stuff. I have bought three things (from three different sellers) that I love. My favorite is the minky blanket and burp cloths that I bought for Sam. The seller even embroidered Sam's name on it, so cute!

Old Navy Flip Flops: I knew I was going to be happy with my stock-up of flip-flops this year. How do you NOT get a bunch of colors at $2.50 each??? :-) These are the only shoes I can really put on by myself right now, and when my ankles start to swell at night, they still fit and don't hurt!

Tums: I am going through these so fast! I'm just glad there is something out there that can quickly rid me of my heartburn. I swear that EVERYTHING is giving me heartburn right now, I even get it from taking my prenatal vitamin!

Motherhood's secret fit belly shorts: These are the most comfortable shorts I own, and I am now wearing them multiple times a week. :-) I love that they don't give me a big line down the middle of my belly like most of my other clothes right now, and the belly panel is really stretchy and lightweight, almost like a nylon only much more durable. I wish I would've gotten more of these.

Bob's Books: We found these books at Costco, and after Max started collection 1, we decided to buy all 3 collections. They are such great beginning reader books, Max loves them. Max has now finished all three collections and is onto some of the fun Usborne Books we have laying around, but he still loves pulling out some of his favorite Bob's Books and reading them to us.
Our Thanksgiving Point Membership: I LOVE having a membership to Thanksgiving Point. We go there so often, and it's nice to have a fun place close to home that we can visit whenever we want. Max has loved Noah's Ark this year (especially the bear caves), and we always think it's fun to go to the farm and feed the animals. The Dino Museum has been a favorite for a long time, and we have been visiting it a lot lately to get out of the heat. Hopefully this weekend doesn't get too cold (weather reports can be wrong can't they?) because we're excited to go to the Labor Day Luau at the waterfall on Monday night.
What things are you loving right now?

Don't Forget the Lyrics, Max Edition

Max and I have been listening to a new children's CD in the car, or, as Max likes to call it, HIS MUSIC. We can only listen to my music for so long, and then Max will yell from the back seat that I need to turn on HIS MUSIC! (Unless it's the Beatles, that's one we agree on. . . oh, and he'll listen to "Anyone Else but You" by the Moldy Peaches OVER AND OVER. . .thanks Nat!) I got sick of the old CD we had in, I can only listen to "The Little People" for so long. The new CD is full of animal songs, including "Puff the Magic Dragon". Max had only heard it one or two times when he started singing it around the house. I love his interpretation of the song (and I'm so glad I got it on video before he started to figure out what it was really saying)!
Here's the video:

Vinyl #1

We finished the first of two vinyl quotes for Sam's room. I love it! Riley was so awesome to take the dinosaurs off of the border and turn them into cuttable images (I wanted them to match the room, thanks Ri)! I am so happy with how it turned out. Now I just need to find a good quote for the second one. . .any ideas?

Sam's Room!

We finished Sam's room a while ago, but I thought I'd post some pics I just uploaded. I love the way his room turned out!

I love the lamp!

Now we just need to add a few more finishing touches, we have a shelf to hang up and I want to put a vinyl saying on the wall, I just haven't decided what yet. Only 3 1/2 weeks!

School is starting! Where did the summer go?

Today was our first faculty meeting for preschool! It was fun to be back, the meetings went great, and I just love the school that I work for (and the people I work with, which makes it very nice), but I can't believe it's already time for school to start! What happened to summer? It seemed extra short this year.
Max is very ready for preschool though, he is getting excited to meet his new teacher and to do "projects". He keeps wanting to work on "scissoring paper", "drawing maps", writing names and reading his books. I love that he is so interested in learning. He's such a smart boy and I'm excited to see what he'll do in school this year!

At least my 4 year old still thinks I'm cute!

Yesterday I was coming down our stairs trying to fix my skirt (that I couldn't see thanks to the gigantic belly). I could feel that the seams were somehow off, not on the sides, but on the front and back. I couldn't figure out how to straighten them out. Max and Riley were at the bottom of the stairs watching me squirm around in an attempt to make my skirt look decent (Riley thinks it's funny that even getting dressed is becoming super hard on me...LOL). I finally got it fixed (I think, I still couldn't see it) and asked Riley, "Ry, how does this look? Did I get the seams fixed."

My super sweet 4 year old responded, "Mom, those earrings are GORGEOUS, and you can wear that shirt when I grow up and we can get married!" Thanks, Max! That's just what mommy needed to hear. I love you my sweet bean!

An Amazing 8 Years!

"True love is spending one day getting married... And the rest of your life feeling glad you did."Eight years ago today (8/2), Riley got to enjoy a full day in a black Tuxedo in the blistering hot sun. The things we do for love! :-) Seriously, though, it was an awesome day. . .
And, what an amazing 8 years we have had. Happy Anniversary Baby!
Riley is the absolute best husband and father. He is so optimistic, generous, loving, logical, grounded, crazy smart, understanding, accepting, funny, supportive, and very good looking. :-) Being with Riley makes me a better person, and I love that we have spent the past 8 years learning, growing, and building an incredible life together. Max looks up to his daddy so much, and tells me often that he wants to be "just like dad" when he grows up. I adore how much Riley really cherishes his time off work and loves to be with his family, Max and I are always looking forward to dad's days off. I love you Riley! Happy 8th Anniversary!

“The most wonderful of all things in life, I believe, is the discovery of another human being with whom one's relationship has a growing depth, beauty, and joy as the years increase. This inner progressiveness of love between two human beings is a most marvelous thing; it cannot be found by looking for it or by passionately wishing for it. It is a sort of divine accident, and the most wonderful of all things in life.”--Hugh Walpole, Sr.

Memories

Here is a fun little game... Leave a comment on my blog of a memory that you and I have had together. It doesn't matter if you've known me for a short time, or a long time, anything you remember! (Including memories of Riley and/or Max)

Also, feel free to re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. On your mark...get set...blog your memories!!

Only 50 days left!

WOOHOO! Only 50 days left until we meet Sam! I am getting so excited, even though I know these 50 days are the LONGEST of the entire pregnancy. :-)

I only have a few things left to do. We have Sam's room almost finished (thanks Riley and mom for all of your help!) We got some awesome new shelving and from IKEA, and I love it! I will post pictures of the finished room when we get around to hanging the shelf. I have also brought home all of the baby stuff that we still had stashed in my parent's basement from when we moved (thanks for the free storage mom and dad!). The clothes, car seat, bouncer, and pack and play are cleaned and ready to go. Now I think we just need to stock up on diapers and wipes and we're good to go!

I am still feeling great, and the heat hasn't been too bad, although I don't think I'm spending quite as much time outside as I normally would. I also occasionally have to adjust our air conditioner to keep from sweating to death, but it hasn't bugged me as much as I thought it would.

So, I need advice from moms. . .I have thought about getting a boppy pillow this time around, with this really cute dino cover, but can't decide. If you have had one, did you use it? Love it/Hate it? Do you recommend getting one? And, if so, just the normal boppy pillow, or a different style???