Happy Holidays

We had a pretty good Christmas this year. Tyler was excited about Santa and about getting presents, so that was fun to see his excitement. On Christmas Eve we went and saw The Princess and the Frog with my family. Tyler did a pretty good job during the movie. We haven't taken him to a movie for like over a year, so we weren't sure how well he would do, but he did good. He liked sitting in the isle and dancing, but besides that he did good. Josh even did good. He starting out sleeping in his car seat, but then after like 10 minutes he woke up and then was awake for the whole thing. He must have liked seeing all the colors from the show. Maybe we could do that again sometime soon.
After the movie we went to my parents house and had a yummy Christmas dinner. My mom decided that she doesn't like cooking all day on Christmas, so now we eat our dinner on Christmas Eve. It works out pretty nice. After dinner we went over to Tony's parents house for the Kresser Family party. We got to see lots of Tony's extended family and eat some more yummy food. After dinner the kids had a gift exchange. Tyler liked his present so much that he carried it around all night and we opened it as soon as we got home that night. Then we had an adult white elephant game that was way fun. Their was lots of stealing and that made it fun. I got a head pillow and Tony got a table baseball game thing. So pretty good stuff. After the extended family left, Tony's mom gave the kids some pajama's to wear for the night. So we changed both boys and they really liked the pajama's. Then we went home and Tyler played with his new basketball hoop toy and loved it.
Then we put the boys to bed and then Santa came that night. When Tyler woke up in the morning Tony asked him if Santa came, and he got really excited and said, "Santa came." Then he started grabbing presents and we had to stop him so that we could look for names on the gifts. He opened his presents and really seemed to like them all. It was fun to see his cute face opening the gifts. Then we watched Curious George "Monkey Christmas" while Tyler played with his toys. After that was over we got ready to go over to my parents house. My parents had some fun gifts for the boys and for us and then we had some yummy food. Tyler got more tools and just loves them. After we were there for a couple of hours we went over to Tony's parents and spent some time there. They got us a Wii and the boys some Church cloths and toys. We also got some fun cookie making supplies. It was fun hanging out with them and seeing what everyone got. The kids all seemed to like their gifts and were really happy. Grandma did good.
Then we all went over to Tony's grandpa's house to see him and his wife. The boys had fallen asleep in the car, so I stayed in the car so that they could sleep some more. After Tony was there for about 30 minutes he came back and we went home. Tyler was really anxious to go home and play with his new tent and other toys. It was a busy and fun day. We are so grateful for all that we have been given and all that we were able to give. I am so glad that we live close to both of our families and that we can spend time with both of them each holiday. We are so lucky and blessed!

Parties are fun

Yesterday we had our first annual Willis Family Christmas Party. It was lots of fun. We all met at my parents house and had some food and then played a white elephant game. It was an especially fun game this time because lots of people stole presents from others and that always makes it more fun. I was nice to see some cousins and to have my grandpa and his wife in town. I hope that this is something that we can continue to do every year at Christmas time.

On Saturday we had our annual friend Christmas party. It was lots of fun too. Heather hosted the party at her house this year and did a great job. Their were about 16 of us this year and most people left their kids with sitters, so it was nice to be able to chat and not worry about kids running around. We ate some good food and played the white elephant game there too. It wasn't as fun because no one really stole from others. I guess that means that we need to bring better gifts next year. It is always nice to have this party every year so that we can see friends from high school and find out what everyone is doing.

I am going to get my hair cut today and I am very excited about that. It is just too long and it is driving me nuts. Plus my hair is falling out from the pregnancy and it is just annoying finding long hairs everywhere, so I am going to have her cut a couple inches off at least. I am also going to have her put in low lights so that I can start going back to my natural color (whatever that is -- it has been a long time since I have seen it). I hope that I like it and then can stop highlighting my hair and just go natural. I guess we shall see.

The Bumbo is funbo...

We have been wanting to get Josh a Bumbo for a while now because he just loves to sit up. He has been holding his head up pretty good for a while, so have been looking on KSL Classified to see if we could buy a used one. A new one is like $40 and we got a used one for $20. It is in good condition, so we are happy with it...and so is Josh. He looks so big when he is in there. He's is just three months old, so he doesn't stay in it for very long. But it is nice to put him in there so that he can see everyone and be able to get things done.
I gave him one of Tyler's wrenches to hold and he did really good holding it for a while. They grow and learn so quickly. I guess it is time to pull out the baby toys.
Tyler has really been enjoying the Christmas season. He loves the Christmas tree and seeing all the lights. He really loved going with Tony to hand out our neighbor gifts. He told all of them Merry Christmas and then came back and wanted to do more. I was very glad that he liked to give gifts and not just receive them. He is such a sweet and awesome kid - now if he would just listen a little better he would be perfect. It keeps me humble, that is for sure. It will be really fun to see Tyler's face on Christmas morning and see him enjoying his gifts. I think that I will take Tyler to go and pick out a gift for Josh from Tyler so that he continues to learn about giving. A very important message, especially this time of year.

Family fun

We went and got our family pictures taken at Sears the other day. Josh did a really good job and we got this really cute picture. Tyler, however, did not do well and we only got one not so good picture of the family. So we had to take what we had and Tyler just looks like he is misbehaving in the picture, the rest of us look pretty good I think. The really sad part is that we didn't get any pictures with Tyler and Josh or with just Tyler. So that really sucked. Tyler just would not have any of it and just cried. I was not very happy with him, but there was nothing that we could do to get him to take a good picture. Maybe next year he will do better.

It is currently snowing and it is really pretty. I really do love the snow. I totally think that if it is going to be cold, which is has been freezing, then it might as well snow. Tyler really likes the snow too. I can totally see him loving skiing and snowmobiling. Really anything outside, he just loves. I am glad that he is a happy active kid.

We went to my parents ward's Christmas party last night and had a good time. Tyler was really excited to see Santa, but then when it was his turn to sit on his lap, he didn't want anything to do with him. He wouldn't even look at him. Once again Josh did a really good job and sat with Santa nicely. I found out later that Santa was my friend Blaine from high school. Funny thing to think about. It was nice to see old faces and a lot of new ones. I figure I will always be an 11th warder, so we can go and eat their food and enjoy time with the family.

The other night we put Josh in the corner of the couch to sit up and hang out and then I noticed him leaning so I looked a little closer and I found that he had fallen asleep. So cute. He is a pretty good sleeper for the most part. I didn't used to swaddle him and he wasn't the best sleeper, but then I listened to some friends and have found that he really likes to be swaddled, especially at night. He still wakes two times a night to eat, generally about 2:30 am and about 6:00 am. Sometimes he will go to 6:30 or 7:00, so that would be nice if we just had the one feeding. We will have to work on that.

Happy Thanksgiving

Yesterday was Thanksgiving and we had a great time. We went to Tony's parents house first to visit with his grandparents and then we went to my parents to eat dinner. Everything turned out really good and I think that everyone had a good time. My whole family was there. Since my sister lives in California, we don't often all get together. Tyler has really enjoyed playing with all of his cousins. They all play really well together. I was worried that he would cause trouble, but he actually did really well. I am sure that all the kids screaming and running all over my parents house drove my parents nuts, but it was fun. Wendy and her family drive home tomorrow and I am really going to miss them. I wish that they lived closer so that the kids could play together more often.
On Tuesday I got pink eye and had to go to the doctors again. That was a really hard day. I just felt so crappy. Tony's mom watched the boys for me and I got to take a much needed nap. But each day I have been feeling better and better. I am so very glad about that.
Tony is at work right now. Normally he would have Thanksgiving and the day after off of work, but now that he runs the dryer he has to work when everyone else doesn't. I guess the cows don't get a day off and they still have to do something with milk. I just wish it wasn't Tony who had to do it. The over time pay is good though. Since having the baby our funds are tight, so we could really use it. I just really wish that he were home right now...

Gotta love being sick

Not really, you gotta hate being sick, it is no fun at all. I started feeling a little sick on Friday morning, so I made a doctors appointment for Saturday morning (the first available appointment). It was feeling mostly like a head cold, but with Tyler being sick I wanted to make sure and get whatever I had checked out before it got worse. I was feeling okay for most the day and even went to my parents with Josh to see my sister Wendy and her family.
Then that night I had a really hard night sleeping. I was freezing and then really hot and the my temperature was 102 degrees, it was miserable. So I went to my appointment and he said that I had a sinus infection. He said that it might be early signs of the flu, but he didn't think so and that if I did get it, that it wasn't that big of deal. So he made me a prescription for an antibiotic and a decongestant and I was on my way.
I feel a little better today then I did yesterday, but today I have more of the sneezes, running nose, and using LOTS and LOTS of tissues. Tony goes back to work tomorrow (the night shift) and I am worried about how I am going to handle both of the boys with me being sick and Tyler still getting over being sick. I think that I will go over to my parents and spend some time with them and my sister, but I am sure that it will be stressful with all those people. I guess we will see how it goes. I hope that going over there helps me, instead of gives me more stress. Tyler is usually a good kid, but he can be a trouble maker and I don't want to sit and yell at him the whole time because he is doing stuff that he shouldn't. Sometimes it is just easier to stay home. But I do want to see how well he will play with his cousins.
I sure can't believe that Thanksgiving is already this week. It seems like it is still October. It is amazing how fast time goes by, but then when you are in the moment it seems like it is so slow. Really got to enjoy the time that we have. I'll have to remember that.

H1N1 - Really???

So we have been having a really good week so far. On Saturday we went to Tony's parents to watch the BYU game and then his mom watched our kids so we could go to dinner and a movie to celebrate our 6 year anniversary. A couple of Tony's sisters kids were there and Tyler just loves playing with them. A couple of their siblings had strep, so they didn't go to grandmas. Then on Sunday one of the kids that Tyler played the most with on Saturday said that he wasn't feeling good. So his parents took him in and he had strep and croup.
So I was watching Tyler to see if he was getting symptoms of either of these things. On Tuesday night he started getting a fever and then had a really hard time sleeping. So I called his doctor and she said to bring him in, so I got an appointment for Wednesday afternoon. She did a strep test and it came back negative. She checked his ears and they were fine and then she asked if I wanted her to do a flu test. I figured since we were there and he was already miserable that we might as well. Well, she came back and said that the flu test came back positive. So I said "When you say flu, what do you mean?" and then she said the Swine Flu. I started crying, I couldn't believe it. I have tried to be so careful and not take my kids many places so that they wouldn't get it and here I was at the doctors for strep and it come back swine flu. She said that I should keep the baby away from Tyler. She suggested that I take Tyler to a grandparents house, but I couldn't ask anyone to take my sick kid so that they can get sick too.
So Tony called his boss and took the next couple of days off and he is taking care of Josh and I am taking care of Tyler. I really hope that I don't get it too, but since I was the one exposed to him all day I thought it would be best. He is doing pretty okay for being sick. Mostly wants me to hold him and that is okay. The main problem is that he HATES taking medicine. We try to force it down him and he just spits it back up. So I have been putting it in his drink and trying to make him drink it all. He gets the medicine much slower, but I just don't know what else to do. We have already wasted two doses of the Tamaflu because he spit it back up when we gave it to him. That is expensive stuff - $36 for Tyler's prescription. I hear that it works really good, so that makes it worth every penny. It has been a long night with a lot of up an downs and now Tyler is wide awake and so am I. I sure hope he takes a couple naps today and starts feeling better.
I also hope that my mom doesn't get sick because she had Tyler at her house on Tuesday while I was at work. I would feel really bad if she got sick. If he had shown any symptoms of being sick I wouldn't have even gone into work, but of course he was his happy self the whole day. Lets just hope and pray that Josh doesn't get sick -- that would be the worst!

Halloween, blessings, and more

Halloween was a lot of fun. Tyler and Josh both went as baseball players. I already had both outfits so it worked out pretty good. It was cheep and easy. The pictures are of the boys when we took them to my work for trick-or-treating on Friday. Tyler had a good time learning how to trick-or-treat and playing at my desk. It was also fun to show off Joshua. I hadn't taken him in yet, so that was fun. Then on Saturday Tony took Tyler to the wards truck-or-treat and then around to a couple of our neighbors. After that he helped us hand out candy. I think that he had more fun doing that then actually trick-or-treating. He was pretty funny, he gave the cute young girls around his age more candy then other people. He is such a little flirt, just like his daddy.

We blessed Josh last Sunday. It was very nice. Most of our families were there and we made a nice showing in the ward. Tony gave a great blessing and then after we had everyone over to our house for some refreshments. It was lots of fun. It made me really want a new house that has a big open area for lots of people to gather. Some day we hope to have a house with an open kitchen, dining room, and family room...some day. Josh looked so hansom in his white suit. He is 8 weeks hold today. I just can't believe how fast time goes by. Sometimes it seems so slow in the moment, but then you look back and see that you really need to cherish all the moments, good and bad. I love having two boys and they are teaching me so much.

Crazy times

Things have been a little crazy since I last blogged. Tony had to work nights this past week at work, so that made it really hard for me to have extra time to blog or do much of anything. Tyler got sick and threw up like 7 times one night this week, while Tony was at work and I was by my self. That really sucked. I think that he had an old yogurt that made him sick. Which is good because I was worried that Josh could get sick too.
I had a really hard time this past week. I got really emotional in the evenings while Tony was at work. I think it was because that is when I am most tired and with no adults to talk to, my mind kind of slows down and I was JUST SO TIRED! Josh is also most fussy at nights and having to try and put Tyler down for the night and deal with Josh at the same time was hard. PLUS, I am still way hormonal from having the baby, so I cry for dumb things (okay so I am a girl and do that with or without being pregnant). I did call some of my friends on Wednesday and Thursday and that really helped. A couple of my friends from my ward came over and visited and that helped too. So I will just have to do things like that when Tony has to work nights or I start getting down.
It is funny how anxious I get some times. Like I don't know how I will deal with the future...it is weird. I had the same thing after I had Tyler. A little baby blues I guess. I know it is the hormone's and I just want to make sure that it doesn't get worse and turn into postpartum depression. I know that talking helps, so I need to make sure and talk to people, especially other mom's, and stay positive. A Pepsi would probably also help too. I little caffeine to give me a little kick in the afternoons. It is funny how much having a baby changes everything, literally everything.

My boys...that sounds good.

Things are going pretty good these days. We are starting to get into a routine and for the most part things are good. We had some family in town this past weekend and it was lots of fun having them here. Tyler loves playing with the boys and I always love chatting with my cousins. I had a cousin get sealed on Tuesday and it was great seeing the Grover's and being able to go to the sealing. I guess there are benefits of not producing enough milk, then you can take your kids to grandma's with a bottle and then go do something by your self. I am trying to think of the good things with not being able to nurse well, that way it doesn't totally bum me out. But because of that I got to go to the sealing, and it was beautiful.
Today I had to take Joshua to the doctors because at his two week appointment he hadn't gotten back up to his birth weight, so she wanted to make sure he was gaining weight okay. Well, he gained weight, a lot of weight. He weighed in at 9 pounds. A week ago he was 7 pound 13 ounces. She said I wasn't feeding him enough, and now I am feeding him too much. I can't win. But she also said that he looked a little tongue tied, so she cut his little skin under his tongue. She said that maybe that is why he doesn't latch very well. I guess we will see if he starts nursing a little better. You totally forget how tiring it is waking up every two to three hours to feed a baby. I am so very tired at nights. It isn't too bad during the day because I have so much to do and get my second wind, but during the night is hard stuff. Luckily Tony's last day of work for the week is tomorrow, so he will be able to help out more during the nights. That will be nice...I can't wait.

2 week check up

Joshua had is two week check up today. He also got circumcised today, so sad. We had this done at the hospital with Tyler, but our doctor told us that they charge like $2000 to do it at the hospital and she can do a lot cheaper at her office, so we chose to do that. Tony went with Josh and I stayed with Tyler in the room, and Tony said that Josh did really good. He has been sleeping extra today and I hope that he feels better tomorrow. He hasn't gain his birth weight back yet so we need to give him more formula. That was a little discouraging because I was hoping that my milk was coming in better and so we wouldn't have to do as much formula. But I guess I was wrong. So I have to take him in to the doctors in a week to have him weighed. He is about 50% in weight and head, but about 70% in height. Over all doing good, just need to feed him more.

Getting into a groove

Things over all are doing pretty good. Tony got to take this week off too, so that is so nice for me. Tyler's molars are still hurting him and now he has a big canker sore on his tongue from biting it. So his whole mouth is just full of pain. It is so sad. He doesn't like to take medicine, so we have had to force it in him. That is always tons of fun. Hopefully his mouth will feel better by next week when Tony has to go back to work.
Tyler loves his brother so much. The first thing he does when he wakes up is asked where brother is. Then he loves to watch him while he sleeps and give him loves. Every once in a while he asks if he can take brother, but that hasn't happened yet, nor will it ever. But it still is cute that he asks. He is such a good big brother and I totally knew that he would be.
I got released from my calling in the Young Women's organization on Saturday. I had been in the Young Women's for about three and a half years, so it was probably about time. I was starting to feel like I needed a change, but I wasn't sure if that was what I really wanted or if I was just annoyed with everything while I was pregnant. I guess this is my answer. They haven't given me another calling yet, but I am sure just tons of people are begging to have me in their organization with a brand new baby. It will probably be a little while before I get a new calling. It will be interesting to see what happens.
My cousin Brandy and her family are coming to stay with us this weekend. It is always fun when they are here, I just hope that I don't let it over whelm me and I can just take care of me and Joshua. I tend to think that everything needs to be perfectly clean and organized when I have company, but I think that this time some things are just going to have to be semi-perfect -- and that is okay!

It's getting better and better

I decided to go and buy a nipple shield to see if that would help Josh latch on better, and boy did it work. He does so much better with that and it has given me a lot more confidence in the whole nursing process. I did read that using one might make it harder for the baby to get enough milk, so I am not sure if that is going to be a problem. I will have to look more into it and see what I find out. My sister had to use one the whole time she nursed her first baby, so I don't think that it should be a problem to use it. I guess we will find out.
Tyler seems to be doing a little better. He slept a little better last night, he only woke up once, so that was good. I thought that I was going to go crazy with how he was acting, but now maybe I will keep my sanity, just maybe. Josh seems to be having some gas and constipation problems, so that hasn't been fun. I hope that with Josh nursing more that he will start feeling a little better.
We went to Tony's work today and showed off Josh and got some milk. It was nice to get out for a little bit. Maybe tomorrow we will go to Costco, good times.

Today was a little better

Today has been better. I was able to get Josh to latch on one side twice and even once on the other side. So I am feeling a little better about things. He still had to get topped off with formula, but at least he latched on and got some of the good stuff. I guess we will have to see what happens tomorrow. He really is a great baby and is doing really good.
Tyler has been having a really hard time sleeping these past couple of days. Even naps, he would wake up crying and not telling us what was wrong. It was really frustrating that he was waking up more then Josh and we were having to deal with Tyler all night long. Finally yesterday he told us that his teeth hurt. I thought that he might have a molar coming in, so that is why we asked about his mouth. But then he said it was on the other side that I thought it should be on. So we called the dentist today and Tony took him in. The dentist said that everything looks really good, but he has four molars coming in at the same time. He said that is probably why he's been waking up and why he hasn't been eating very well. So that really sucks for Tyler. I was beginning to think that this was how Tyler was dealing with having a new baby in the house and it was really driving me crazy. Now that I know that it is his molars, I am a lot more sympathetic to his cries. Hopefully they will come in quick so that he can get back to being the happy kid that we all know and love.

The trama continues

Well...she came last night and tried to help me. She did help and he did latch on one side really good and then he would have nothing to do with the other side. What is up with that. So she tried all her tricks and he ended up latching on for like a minute and then wouldn't have anything else to do with it. I guess he does something funny with his tongue so that he can't latch, it's weird. So, how am I doing today trying to do this by my self? Not good. I haven't been able to get him to latch on at all today. I have been pumping like a champ to try and get my supply up, but I have only been able to pump like an ounce at a time, if that. I don't know what to do? Do I call my lactation lady back? Do I call someone else and see if they can do something different? Am I just not going to be able to nurse him like I would like? I am so emotional and this is just so hard. I know that their is nothing wrong with formula or giving your baby the bottle, but I really thought that I would be able to nurse better with this baby. He really is such a good baby, and I guess if the worse thing is that I have to pump and give him formula in a bottle, then I am pretty lucky. I just want to be able to nurse so badly!

Why is nursing so darn hard?

I have a great baby. He is so cute and is such a good baby. He is happy and healthy and even sleeps well. But that kid really doesn't seem to care for my breast. I try and try and I just struggle with nursing. I don't know if I just don't hold him correctly or what I am doing wrong but he doesn't want to nurse from me. He nursed pretty good in the hospital, but not for every feeding and not every time I tried. Now that we are home it has only gotten harder.
He had low blood sugar at the hospital so they had to give him a bottle and then with his jaundice we had to give him more bottles so that he was eating more...so needless to say, he likes the bottle. I really don't mind him having a bottle, if he would have me too. That way I would know that he was getting the good stuff and getting enough to eat at the same time. I had a hard time nursing Tyler too, but I really thought that this time would be different. I had a lactation specialist come to my house after I had Tyler, and today I broke down and called her again. I was really glad that I got her help last time, and I hope to have the same results. She is going to come over after her work tomorrow night. I hope that she can help me and that Josh and I can get this whole nursing thing down. Other wise, I might just go crazy.

Baby Joshua is here!

Well it finally happened. Sunday night after we had dinner at Tony's parents house, we decided to go for a little walk to see if that would help start labor. It wasn't much of a walk because we had to stop at a couple of peoples houses, but after we got back I noticed that my lower back was starting to hurt, but I thought maybe it was just gas or something. 

So I got Tyler ready for bed and sat with him for a while and then decided that I would just go to bed. It was only 9:00, but I was pretty tired. My back was still hurting and I was trying to decide if I was having contractions or not. I kept thinking all night about all the things that I still needed to do before I had the baby and made plans for all the things that I would get done the next day to be prepared. I kept getting up to go to the bathroom thinking that that might make my back stop hurting. It didn't work. At about 4:00 am I had just gotten back to bed from going to the bathroom and then I felt a kind of pop "down there." Then I felt a little wet, so I went back to the bathroom and my bottoms were really wet. So I knew then that my water had definitely broken. So I texted Tony, who was already at work, and then started getting packed.

I didn't hear back right away from Tony, so then I called him. I got his voice mail and left him a message. Then I tried to call Tony's mom, but she didn't answer. So then Tony called me and said that he was on his way home and then he called his dad's phone and let them know that we would be coming by soon to drop off Tyler. 

We then finished getting packed and got Tyler in the car and headed to the hospital. Tyler was excited and said that he wanted to go "fast" and it was way cute. I was having some pretty strong contractions and half way there I threw up...so much fun. Luckily I had a barf bag in my car, so it wasn't too bad.

So after we dropped off Tyler we headed straight to the IMC hospital. We got there and checked in and then they got us our room and got down to business. They checked me and I was dilated to a 6 and 90% effaced. They started my IV and we were on our way. I tested positive for the strep B, so they had to give me an antibiotic and have it in for at least four hours before I had baby.

I was there for about an hour when we decided to get the epidural. The contractions were getting really strong and I didn't know if I would dilate quickly and didn't want to wait too long. After the epidural my contractions slowed way down and I stopped progressing. So after another hour or so my midwife gave me patosen to give me stronger contractions. I started pushing at about 11:00 am and Joshua Clark Steenblik was born at 12:37 pm. He was 8 pounds even and was 20 and 1/2 inches long. He was nice and healthy and happy to be here.

Tyler loves his little brother and does pretty good with him. He is doing some funny things to make sure that we still are giving him lots of attention, so that is kind of annoying when it is naughty things. We all have lots of learning to do.

Me and baby are doing well. We are both learning to nurse and what we are doing, but it is ALL GOOD. We are SO SO blessed and happy to have baby home with us.

Still kickin'

Tony has been working nights this past week. It is my least favorite of his schedules. Even though he is here in the mornings, it just feels like we don't see him much during the week. Since Monday is Labor Day, Tony has the day off, but because the dairy is closed he had to go into work today for 12 hours to dry the milk that they would have used on Monday. So it will be nice to have him home on Monday, but sad day today. Tyler and I are going to take him some dinner tonight, so that should be fun to go and see him for a little while.
I had my 38 week appointment yesterday. Everything is looking good. I am dilated to a 3 plus and 70% effaced. So that is exciting that I am progressing. I am still having contractions, so it will be interesting to see when I have this baby. I have been washing baby cloths today and getting the crib ready. We are getting very excited to have this baby come out and meet us.
After my appointment I went to lunch with a couple friends from my ward. They are so nice to me. They treated me to lunch and got me a couple presents for Joshua. We had a really good time and I think that we really need to do that more often.
Last night my parents block had a block party dinner and so we went and it was lots of fun. Tony took Tyler and Hayden (my nephew) to Murray and watched some of the football game and he really liked that and playing around on the practice field. Tony is such a good dad to take Tyler to see and do such fun things all the time. We sure are lucky to have him.

37 weeks tomorrow

I had an appointment today with my midwife. Everything is looking pretty good. It appears that he has dropped just a little bit and I am still dilated to a one and now 50% effaced. I talked to her about my concerns of having a big baby today. Both my sisters have had big babies (over 9 pounds) and even though Tyler was only 7 and change, it is still a concern that I have. So we talked about how long she would let me go before she would induce me, and we have planned for September 23rd to be induced if I haven't had the baby before that. I feel really good about that date and I am happy and relieved that I talked to her about that today. I don't want or expect that she would induce me before my due date -- honestly it bothers me when women are induced before their due date for selfish reasons, health reasons are different. So I now have a for sure end date in site. I do hope that I go into labor on my own this time before that date, but have no problems with being induced.
Tomorrow Tony's grandpa is getting married in the temple to his new bride. He is like 82 and she is 65 and never been married. They are getting sealed in the SLC temple and Elder Hale is going to marry them. I am really excited to be in the same room as one of the apostles and to hear his council to this older couple. It will be way fun and I am really exited that we get to go. My mom is going to watch Tyler while we are at the temple (THANKS MOM) and then we are going to go and check into our hotel. Tony and I are going to stay a couple nights at one of the Hampton Inn's for a little down time before this baby comes. We are going to take Tyler with us at first to go swimming and then we are going to leave him with Tony's mom at the reception that night (THANKS MARGIE). Then she will have Tyler for the next couple nights and we will get him on Sunday. We don't really have plans so it will be nice to just do whatever we want and have it just be Tony and me. I can't wait, what a fun weekend we have a head of our selves.

Doctors and more doctors

This last week I had three different doctors appointments. It all started on Wednesday with my semi-annual dental check up and cleaning. Not too bad, no cavities found, so that is really good. It is always nice to get your teeth cleaned.
Then on Friday I had my 36 week appointment with my midwife. Everything seems to be good there. I gained one pound, all my numbers look good and I have started to dilate, just to a one so far - but it is still early. My next appointment is on Thursday. I am not sure if I will have her check me then or wait for two weeks? I like to find out if I am progressing, but it kind of hurt last time and so I might want to wait. I guess we will see how bad I want to find out if I am progressing.
Then later on Friday I had my annual ear doctor visit. I have to see him at least once a year to make sure that the tube in my ear is still there and doing its job. I also needed a new ear plug. Tyler likes to play with mine and now it doesn't work as well as it should. So I got fitted for a new ear plug and my doc says my ear looks really good. So that is really good that I don't have to worry about getting surgery for at least another year, unless it comes out before that.
We watched our friends from our wards little baby today. She is just a tiny 5 month old baby. So so cute. It was a nice eye opener as to how Tyler might behave once the baby is here. He needs to learn to be softer and more careful with his toys and him self. He didn't do anything to this baby, but he wasn't as precious as I thought that he should be. He made me think, "what was I thinking?" This is going to be harder then I thought, having another baby. I am going to learn a lot. Lucky me. It will be great. I am sure hard at first, but great all together.

35 Weeks and counting

Well I am now 35 weeks a long. So very exciting. Still seems like I have a long time to go, but I know that it will go by quickly and I will wish that I had these days back. In general I feel pretty good, mostly tired. I know that I will be way more tired when the baby comes so I am trying to get as much good sleep as I can. That is just hard to do when you have to pee every hour and then my cute little alarm clock (Tyler) doesn't let me sleep in much. Tony is really good to me and if Tyler does wake in the night, he always checks on him for me so that I can sleep more. I am still having contractions every now and again. Sometimes it is pretty intense, but other times I just feel pressure. Totally weird and crazy. I do feel really big (as shown in the above picture). I am definitely bigger with this baby then I was with Tyler. Once he drops then I am sure that I won't stick out so much. I guess we will see.

Tyler has been so much fun lately -- okay he's always fun. He has been really into fishing and golfing. We bought him a plastic golf set that he really liked, but then ended up breaking two of the clubs. So then Tony found him a used real golf club that is made for kids his size and he really likes that. I was glad he found it for like $6 because a new set of little kid clubs are like $80 - and that is just nuts. It is a little scary at times because it is real, so the end is metal and I worry that he will hurt something, or someone with it. So far he has been really good hitting it the way he should and keeping it low. The picture is of Tyler sitting on our back porch with one of his golf clubs watching Daddy. It is so cute how he wants to be just like his daddy. Tony found some clubs at the DI for him to play with, so him and Tyler have fun hitting the balls in the back yard. I generally sit on the swing and play caddy for the boys, its hard work but someone has to do it.

I wanna go too....

I can't believe that it is already August. July went by pretty quick. I am about 6 weeks away from my due date. It seems like it is really far away, but I know that it is not. We don't have any plans or vacations coming up, so I think that is why I think that September seem so far away. Having the baby is the next big thing that we are looking forward to. Tony and I have talked about maybe getting a hotel for a couple days at the end of the month and having a little us time before this baby comes. So that would be fun. Tony's mom said that she would watch Tyler for the weekend so that we could do that. She is so good to us.
My family leaves to go to Oregon this weekend for the annual family reunion that they have there every year. We haven't been able to go since Tony and I have been married because between the two of us we either always had school or we could afford to go. This year we were totally planning on going, but then we Tony went to get the time off of work, other people had already requested the time off. So this year we aren't going because Tony couldn't get the time off (and it is cutting it close with the whole baby thing)...bummer. THEN, Tony's family is all going to California the week after that to go to Disneyland and since it is within a month of my due date, we can't go to that either. And I didn't think that would be such a good idea to be 8 months pregnant and walk around hot Disneyland for a couple of days. So sad, I could use a vacation.
I am a little bummed that everyone else is going on vacation and we aren't going any where. Tony's mom is going to take us to Disneyland in March, so we are really looking forward to that. It will be lots of fun. We will really need some time off by then.
So I have been having some pretty intense braxton hicks contractions lately. I never felt any contractions at all when I had Tyler until I was induced. So this is very different for me. I am mainly getting them in the evenings and it is just so different. I guess it is a good reason to slow down and rest. Yesterday I though my tummy was going to burst it was so tight. It is a pretty weird feeling. This baby is getting anxious to come out, but aren't we all.

Family, family, family

We just got back from Tony's annual family camp out. We went on Friday to Palisades State Park and camped out there until this afternoon. But before that Wendy and her family came for a visit on Tuesday. So Tyler and I got to spend some fun times with them and the rest of my family earlier in the week.
Tony had to work the night shift this week and he spent his mornings putting a new roof on our garage. He had a couple of the ward boys who came and helped him and we helped pay their way to football camp. In the end, I am sure that we got the better end of the deal. It was a really hot week and it took a little longer then we thought it would. But by Friday, they got most of it done and it looks really good.

Tuesday, after work, I went to my mom's and met up with the rest of my family. All the kids played nice together and all of us siblings and our parents were all there chatting. It was really nice being all together in one room. We ate some dinner and hung out, it was really fun. Most of them then went up to the cabin to spend a couple days, while Tyler and I went home. On Wednesday afternoon Tyler and I headed up there for dinner and four wheeling with the family. It was really nice up there and we had a good time. I wish that Tony could have come, but a man's gotta work.

Thursday I had my Midwife's appointment in the morning. She had to rush the appointment because she had a lady in labor, but everything looks good so far. I am starting my every two week appointments now and that is really exciting, scary, but exciting. Later that day Tyler and I went back to my parents and we went swimming and ate dinner. All the kids seem to really play well together, so it works nice.
Since we were leaving Friday for the camp out, I decided to have my family over to my house for breakfast. It was nice having them here and doing some fireworks together. It went by way too quickly and I can't wait to see them all again.

THEN...we backed up the car and headed to Palisades. We got there and set up our tent and got our things settled and then just hung out. Tyler LOVED the water and wanted to "fish" all the time. We couldn't keep him away from the water. He mostly just loved to throw rooks in the water and take a stick and pretend to fish. We did end up buying him a kids fishing pole and he seemed to like that. He didn't really get casting or any real fishing techniques, but he liked to pretend. Tony and I went on a fun four wheeling ride with his uncle and we went on some fun trails. Tyler played with the kids and with all the sporting things, he had a good time.

Saturday evening they played Horse Shoes and Tyler loved being just like them and playing with the play shoes. He played during three games of adult horse shoes and had a great time. I wish that I would have taken pictures, but I didn't think about it at the time.

Sunday we got up and went to church, where the power went out after the first 10 minutes. But they still went on and it got so hot in the chapel. I ended up sitting out side and Tyler thought with the lights out that it was play time. Silly kid. So Tony and I didn't get much out of church today, but we did get the sacrament, which is most important. I was not feeling very good so I went back a laid in the tent for a while, and then we packed up the tent and our stuff and headed home. All in all it was lots of fun and I think that we all had a good time.

Fun times at the cabin

We decided to go up to the cabin on Friday morning. We stopped at the Outlets in Park City to see if the Crocs store had any good sales. I got some flip flops for $15, so that was good. We also found a couple things for Tyler and the baby on the way. Then we picked up some lunch and headed up to the cabin. Tyler wanted to play once we got there, but we wanted him to take his nap. We finally won that battle, but it took a while. While he was napping I decided to play me a little Dr. Mario. I am not really into video games, but that one is my favorite. I got to level 19 and then died. So sad.
Julie and her two kids came up after Tyler's nap and that made it lots of fun. Tony made some yummy steak and potatoes for dinner and then after Tony, Tyler, Averee and I went on a nice long four-wheeler ride. Averee started falling asleep on the ride, so we decided we had to head back to the cabin. They went back home soon after that.
It took a while, but we finally got Tyler to settle down in the bed room, but he didn't actually go to sleep until after 10:30. Something about sleeping some where else, Tyler just didn't sleep very well. The next morning we made some breakfast and then went for another long ride before we headed home. All and all it was a really nice trip. We love going four wheeling and I love seeing and hearing Tyler's excitement when we go. He likes it the most when we go fast, typical boy.
Then we have been just hanging around the house and doing stuff here. It is nice to all be home and spending time with each other. Good times.

Happy Independence Day

I love the 4th of July! It is just such a fun time a year. My family always gets together and celebrates in style. This year was no different. Since a lot of us went to the Stadium of Fire at BYU on Saturday, we decided to get together and do fire works at my parents house on Friday night. My sisters and I went and get pedicures on Friday afternoon and then after Tony, Tyler, and I got to go to dinner with Tony's grandparents. They live in St. George and wanted to come up and take all of their grandchildren out to dinner. It was really nice spending time with them and enjoying a yummy meal. They have always been so sweet and welcoming to me, they are the bestest.

After dinner and spending some time with Nana and Papa, we went back to my parents for the fire works. I always like to do the "Snakes" and then I handed out the "Poppers" to all the kids. They enjoyed popping them on everything. Then we got out the real fire works and chairs and got the party started. Tyler really loves fire works and did really good watching them. He even asked for more when it was all done.

The next morning we got up early and went to my parents to walk over to the Murray Parade. My dad goes early and sets up the chairs for all of us and then he also takes his PA system and announces the parade. It makes it that much more fun. They had a lot of entries this year. Tyler really loved it until about entry #75 out of #100. Then he was ready to go. They throw lots of candy and that was fun for all the kids to collect the treats.

After the parade, we went back to my parents and hung out for a while before we started the BBQ. We had a lot of family in town, so that made the BBQ lot of fun. It is always nice to see family that you haven't seen in a while. After a long morning and afternoon, we took Tyler home and put him to bed. Then later that day, we got ready and headed down to BYU for the Stadium of Fire. It was lots of fun. Tyler had a really good time dancing to the music and watching the fire works display. I was concerned that it would be too loud and he might not like it, but he did really great. He let me cover his ears through the really loud stuff, so I was really glad about that. It was a fun, but late night. Thanks to Sherri for giving us the tickets and for sitting by us. We really did have a good time.

My extended family was in town as well this weekend because my cousin Vikki blessed her baby today. Brandy, Ryan, and her four boys stayed at our house again. It is always fun to have them stay with us. Brandy and I could talk forever. I went to the blessing with my sister Julie, and my cousin Robin. It was nice. The church was hot and the kids were all crazy, but it was a good time. After we went and had a nice lunch in, it was hot there too. Really I am always hot, so no big shocker there.

I am so grateful to live in this country. We are so lucky to have our freedoms and privileged that we have. I love that I get to go to church and stand and sing the Nation Anthem. I always get emotional when I sing it, and it is awesome. I just hope that we can keep some of these freedoms that we enjoy so much. It is a little scary what might happen in the future and scary to think where our government might take us. Lets just pray that Heavenly Father will continue to bless us.

Back from camp...

I got back from girls camp yesterday. It was okay. I usually really like girls camp and it always is a such a fun and spiritual experience. I didn't really feel like that this time. I went up a day later then everyone else, and I just felt kind of left out after that. It rained a lot and that made a lot of the scheduled activities change to "down time" aka do nothing. They didn't sing much and that is a part that I really enjoy. I am sure that it is just my attitude, but it was kind of a disappointment. I think that the girls had fun and that is what is really important.
I haven't been my normal happy, perky self lately. Something about this pregnancy - I have just been more down. It is kind of weird. I am a little worried that it will only get worse as it gets hotter. The hotter that it is the worse that I feel. Today was a rough day at church. It was so hot and stuffy and I just felt yucky. I fear that is how it is going to be this summer in the heat. I will just have to try and stay cool.
Tony is so awesome and such a great husband and dad. While I was at camp Tony winged Tyler from his binky and has him sleeping in is own bed all night long. I am such a sucker when it comes to hearing Tyler cry and not making him happy, so Tony was good to take on that task. I have been doing a good job at keeping up with what he has started, so I feel good about it all. We really wanted to get Tyler off the binky and staying in his bed at night before we have this next baby, so it is good. Now it is just getting him potty trained. He really doesn't show any interest in it and I don't think that he knows really when he needs to go. I am not sure if we will try and tackle that before the baby or wait until the baby comes and the newness of it has set in. Any ideas?

Updates

Nothing too crazy or exciting has happened lately, but it has been a long time since I have posted, so I thought that I would give an update on our lives:

* It has been raining here tons for the past couple of weeks. I have loved it. I thought that it was getting so hot before and it was only in the 80's. Also, we haven't needed to water our lawn in a while, so that has been awesome. Our water bill should be nice for this month. The only problem is that I haven't been able to go walking as much or been able to let Tyler play outside. Because of that I am starting to get really tired of Curious George. Tyler loves that show and we bought some episodes on DVD, so we can watch hours of George - lucky me.

* I have gotten the opportunity to watch my sisters kids a couple times these past couple of weeks. Tyler loves playing with them, and for the most part they get along really well. Tyler does have a hard time going down for a nap while they are here because he wants to just play, but besides that a good time is generally had by all.

* Girls camp is next week. I don't have a huge role this year, but I am excited to go. I am in charge of the thoughts for each day and that has been fun putting them all together. I have always like girls camp. I am not going the whole time. I am leaving after Tony gets home from work on Thursday and then I get back on Saturday. Since I am 6 months pregnant and I don't have a specific role, I am just going to go and sit and be silly. I am good at that. I am a little worried about having to get up and go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. That is the worst. Wish me luck with that.

* I have to do my Glucose test sometime this week. My appointment in next Wednesday so I need to do it before then. I just hope that all is well. That is the last thing that I need to deal with right now, or ever. I need to be careful because I do like the sweet things.

* Tyler is great. He tests my patience often, but that is what a two year old is suppose to do. He also can be a great helper and listener. He is so much fun and I am so excited to see him with his little brother. He will be great!

Fun weekend with family

My cousin Brandy and her husband and four boys came down and stayed with us over the weekend. It was nice to see them and spend time with family. On Saturday we went to the zoo and had a good time. Tyler really likes to see animals and enjoyed the train ride. It was pretty hot by the time we left, so I was glad that we didn't stay any longer then we did. We did buy some yummy kettle corn, it was delicious!
After that Brandy and her family went to see her sister, Vikki, who just had a baby and we went home to put Tyler down for a nap. Then we went to Hoppers and ate dinner that night. It was pretty good food, but I didn't really like their home made root beer or cream soda.
Then on Sunday after church we all went up to the cabin and spent the afternoon. We had some yummy food and enjoyed the great mountains and the cool breeze. We did a little four wheeling and Tyler just loved that. We didn't stay up there too late because Tony had to come back and get to bed because he had to be at work at 3:00 am the next day.
Then Monday we went to the Oquirre Temple open house. It was really nice to see the temple and enjoy it with family. I did notice that even though it was nice and peaceful in the temple, it was a totally different feeling being in the temple open house verses being in a dedicated temple. It makes me want to go to the temple more often, we really need to go more often. It will only get harder when this next baby comes.
Speaking of the baby. I had my 24 week appointment on Friday. I am measuring at 26, so I am a little bigger then my weeks. I guess that is fun. I finally gain a couple pounds verses loosing weight, not so fun. I have to do my glucose test on my next appointment, good times. I hope that the test is all good and that I don't need to worry. Good times.

Trip to Auburn, CA

We just got back from our trip to California today.  We spent time with my sister and her family. We had a really good time. It all started on Tuesday when we left our house after work, at about 3:30 pm. Tyler got a cold on that day and so he had a really runny nose and was not feeling very well. He did pretty good on the way to Elko (where we stayed the night), but had a really hard time that night. He kept waking up every hour just whining and crying, it was really sad. Then the next day he had a hard time in the car. It is about 6 hours from Elko and Tyler only slept for one of the hours of the car ride and coughed most the time.

But we got to Wendy's house safely and we sure were glad to be there. Wendy had invited some friends over with their kids, so we all just hung out and let the kids play. Tyler loved all of her boys toys and playing with all the kids (and I am sure just being out of the car). Wendy has two boys (5 and 3) and so it is a little boys heaven at her house. Tyler took a liking to her three wheel scooter (we will have to go get him one) and also their big wheel jeep - what little kid wouldn't like that?!?

The next morning we went to a bounce house and let the kids play for a couple of hours. They really like it. Tony dislocated his finger while taking Tyler up a bounce slide and had to put it back into place him self. It swelled up pretty good and got purple and blue too.  Four days later it is starting to feel a little better. After that we went to Costco (our favorite) to have them check our tire because it was a little low. So we got some goodies and lunch there and then took the kids to take their naps. Later that day we just let the kids play and we just hung out. It was nice for us and for them.

On Friday we decided to go and check out a place that has lots of fun rides just for little kids. It was called Funderland. We weren't sure exactly what time it opened, so we went to the park first to kill some time. The kids had fun playing on the play ground and in the sand box. Wendy and I had fun playing volley ball. After the park we headed to Sacramento to Funderland. It was really fun. They had about ten rides and Tyler could go on all of them. They even had a little roller coaster that Tyler went on and he seemed to like it. He only did it once though. He really like the little log ride that they had. We spent a couple of hours there and then headed back to Wendy's house. The kids just played for the rest of Friday night.

On Saturday we went to the Farmer's Market and got some yummy strawberries. After that we went to the river and let the kids throw rocks into the water. It was really pretty and the boys had fun. Then we went back to Wendy's to play until it was time to go to the swimming pool. Her local pool just opened that day and had free admission, so we went and enjoyed the nice cool water. They had a little kid pool with a play set separate from the big pool and it was perfect weather. We enjoyed the sun and the water. It was cold at first, but felt really good after we got in. Tyler feel asleep in the car on the way to the pool, so he didn't last long at the pool. So we took him home to take a nap. Later that day we had some yummy tri-tip steak and let the kids play some more. It was really nice to be able to relax and let the kids play.

Sunday we got ready and let Tyler play some more. Wendy went through her stuff and gave us a lot of the things that she was no longer using. She gave us an old potty training toilet and Tyler thought it was a nice seat. After playing we headed on our way to Elko where we stayed the night again. Tyler did much better in the car this time. His cold was much better and he was able to enjoy some movies and sleep better too. It was kind of hard for me because this baby has moved and is right on my bladder so I felt like I had to pee every fifteen minutes. Luckily for Tony, I held it pretty good, but I did have to pee a lot. Ah, the joys of pregnancy. Well worth it though.

Then today we got up and ate breakfast and then headed all the way home. Here we are and it is so nice to be back. Over all it was a great trip and it was good to spend time with my sister, her husband, and their kids. Most of the time the kids played really well together, except when Tyler would bug his 3 year old cousin Alex. For some reason Tyler just looked to bug him and knew how to push his buttons. Amazing how quickly kids learn that kind of stuff.

It has been a while

Nothing too big has been happening at our house lately. Last night we went to my parent's ward picnic and it was lots of fun. On Friday night our ward had a dinner/auction to raise money for Girls Camp. They asked me to be the auctioneer and it was a big success. It was kind of hard to know how much to start the bidding or even what some of the items were, but besides that it went really well. I am glad that it is over, at least for this year.
The weather has been really nice lately, so we have been going for walks almost every day. Tyler loves stroller rides, especially when we go to feed the sheep or go over to the play ground. There is a really fun one close to our house that is really little kid friendly and Tyler loves it. We generally go with some neighbor friends and that makes the walks that much more entertaining, at least for me. But they do have little kids too and Tyler like them a lot. There is one little girl that holds out her hand and Tyler holds it, it is way cute.
On Thursday we took Tyler miniature golfing and he really liked it. It was fun to watch him hit the ball into the hole. He didn't quite get how to hold it properly, but he will get it. He was still able to hit the ball, just in his own Tyler manner.
The baby has been kicking so much lately. He is really strong, but Tony hasn't been able to feel him yet. It will be nice when he can feel it to so that he can feel more a part of the fun. We think that we are going to name the baby Joshua Clark Steenblik. We really like it and I think that it will fit him well. We have gotten a couple of cute little outfits, but I have to tell my self not to buy too much because I already have a lot of baby boy cloths. So I am trying to just get stuff that will supplement what I already have since this baby will be opposite seasons then Tyler was.
We leave to go to California on Tuesday to spend some time with my sister Wendy and her family. We are really excited and I can't wait to see how Tyler is with his cousins. We haven't seen them in over a year, so it should be tons of fun.

We are going to have another little...BOY!

We had our ultra sound today. We went to the IMC and found out that we are having a healthy little boy. Everything looks good and normal and he is measuring right on for the due date that I have, September 18th. After we went to the ultra sound, I had my regular appointment with my midwife. It seemed kind of pointless because I just saw the baby, but it was nice to get measured and hear the heart beat again. I am considering getting a new baby doctor after I have this baby. I really like my midwife, but she is moving her practice to Riverton and I really would rather stay closer to my house and Murray. I like delivering in Murray since Tony and my parents live so close. It makes it nice if I need a baby sitter to go to an appointment, or for them to come to the hospital after I have the baby. It might be nice to go to a "normal" OBGYN instead of a midwife. I guess we will see. When we got home today I told Tyler that he is going to have a little brother and he just keeps saying "no" - it is pretty silly. I am sure that he will be a great big brother.
After my appointment we went to lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. It was pretty good. It is kind of pricey, but they give you large portions, so we had enough to take home for dinner. After that we went into the mall to check out Motherhood Maternity. I thought that they would have more of a selection, but it was pretty sad today. I did get one pair of shorts, but that is all. Even on sale, it was still $25. I really liked this one shirt, but it was $35. I just can't justify spending that kind of money on just a shirt. I hope that I can find some good deals on line for some more cute shirts. Ah, the joys. So today was a pretty good day.