Food, Family, Fun (no, not the Training Table)

We decided that since we ditched Jason's parents on the 4th of July, that we needed to spend some time with them today. We were trying to think of something to do outdoors that would be fun for the kids and the adults, but not too hot. We decided to visit Zion Mountain Resort, which is just outside of the East entrance of Zions National Park. It is owned by Split Rock (my dad's company and Jason's employer) and a great place to visit. (My brother-in-law Jon designed the website, which won "Best Website in 2007 for the Utah Office of Tourism".)

It ended up being a really fun day. When we first got up there (it takes about 1.5 hours to drive there) we ate at the Buffalo Grill, and then we went outside to see if we could spot the herd of Buffalo that graze there.

We couldn't see any buffalo, but we did find a baby horse that is only 4 weeks old!

Alex and Rachel had a lot of fun feeding the horses, pretending to drive a covered wagon and exploring an old cabin. We were just about to leave, when some "real cowboys" and a "real cowgirl" came up to us and asked us if we wanted to practice roping. Of course Alex and Rachel were all over that! They even got me and Jason in on the action. I must say, I'm much better at roping than I thought I would be. I roped the fake, plastic cow head on my very first try (not even Jason did that)! Then, the "cowboys" and "cowgirl" got the mama and baby horse out of their corral and let Alex and Rachel sit on the mama. We decided it was time to leave when the baby horse (named Zippy) started to get a little playful . . . playful baby horse means biting and kicking.

One of the most shocking discoveries of the day, though, was finding that Alex was going commando. When I asked him why he wasn't wearing any underwear he told me that he never wears underwear. Huh? I wash his underwear. Hmmmm, it's still a mystery. I have his cousin Jake to blame for that one. So Jake, if you are reading this . . . thank you for teaching my son about going commando.

The kids were pretty worn out by the end of the day. About an hour after we had tucked the kids in bed, we heard Rachel crying in her room. Jason went in to find out what was wrong. She said through sobs, "My teeth are so tired!" Allrightythen!

I would have pictures of my kids doing all these fun activities, but when we got up there, we realized that we hadn't charged the battery to our camera. Duh!

A Great Idea:

I can't take credit for coming up with this and I can't remember where I got this idea from, but I've tried it and it's brilliant! You put your baby's socks in a mesh laundry bag (ya know, that thing you put your bra in) when you wash them. Then, when you are folding your clothes, your baby's socks are all together in one little place instead of floating around in sleeves and whatnot.

I told Cole about it, and he said, "Oh man! You're so smart Mom!"

Dun dun dun DA!

Get ready for picture overload!
I love this picture, he just reached up and grabbed my finger spontaneously!

Alex calls the loose skin wrinkles on his head his "nuggles". Who knows where that came from???Classic Rachel expression!

This pose happened spontaneously too. I was just holding Cole when Alex and Rachel gathered around me to see him too. Cute, cute, cute!

I can't even begin to tell you how long this pose took . . . and it still didn't turn out exactly right. Oh well, it's still cute.

I know, I know

Alright. When your brother-in-law asks why you haven't posted lately, you know it's been too long. So, what's my excuse? Well, I'd like to blame it on having a newborn, but I can't. He is such a good baby. Possibly I could blame it on the stupid stomach bug I've had for the past 3 days, but that doesn't fly either (what have I been doing for the other 2 1/2 weeks?). All I can really say is, I don't have much to say.

My neighbor Janice came over and took pictures of Cole 2 weeks ago and is going to give me a disk with all the pics on it after she "photo shops" them. Jason and I have obviously taken pics of him, but I don't know how to download pics onto my overloaded computer (Jason knows the trick and he hasn't taught me yet). So, I'm at his mercy to get those pics downloaded. So, SOON I will have pictures, I promise!

I'll tell you about him though. He is getting chubby (BIG surprise). We like the sing the double chin song to him (double chin, double chin, he has a double chin).

He is a great sleeper. I really shouldn't brag, okay, yes I should. So, he has actually slept through the night 3 times now. It's kinda freaky. I wake up and think "Did I feed him without remembering it?" But nope, he slept through the night. Normally he just gets up once in the night to eat around 4 or 5 and then back to sleep. So you won't be hearing any complaining from me about that.

He has a little temper, which I find to be cute at this stage, but I'm sure it won't be cute when he's 2. He will be sitting there completely content, and the next thing you know, he is full blown crying. No warning. However, I must admit, it is usually followed by an extremely loud squirt (if you know what I mean).

He still sleeps most of the day and is easy to haul anywhere I need to go. We will stay for hours at the pool and we won't hear a peep from him.

Alex and Rachel absolutely adore him. They smother him at times and fight over who gets to sit in the direction Cole is looking. They kiss him uncontrollably (who can blame them), play with his little hands and feet, and are quick to put his Binky back in if it falls out.

Okay, so I just remembered that I took a picture of his yesterday with my cell phone, so it's not the greatest quality picture, but it's still a picture of him.

And this is what Cole did the entire time I wrote this post. He just slept on the boppy on my lap. Check out the cheeks!

If you need me, here's where I'll be:

This will officially be summer #3 down here in St. George for our family. That's how us from "up north" gauge how long we've lived here. We've always had the Entrada swimming pool to go to under my parent's membership. However, starting this year, they have limited the amount of visitors allowed to swim at the pool dramatically. So, we decided we needed to find a decent place to beat the heat. We decided to join the Green Valley Resort & Spa for the summer. It's great because it has a kiddy pool, a lap pool, a diving pool, an indoor pool, and 2 jacuzzi's . . . plus plenty of palm tree shade, what more could you ask for?

I decided to venture out today and see how things went at the pool without the help of my husband. I can't get in the pool yet (for reasons we don't need to get into) and I have to keep little Cole out of the sun, so I was a little worried that it would be a disaster. But it was great! Alex and Rachel swam in the kiddy pool for 3 hours without getting bored, I got to read a little bit, and Cole had a nice long nap. It was a great way to spend the afternoon! I think I just might be living there this summer!

A few of you have commented on needing more baby pictures. They will be coming shortly. He was still pretty bruised up until a few days ago, so I wanted to wait and post pictures of my beautiful baby, instead of my bruised baby. So, check back in the next couple of days to see new pictures.

Nightmare or Dream Come True . . . You Decide

First off, I have to apologize for every post being about pregnancy or babies, but that's what my life is about right now. This story also happens to fall into that category, however it involves breastfeeding. So, if you are Dan or Nate, you may not really appreciate this post. Sorry!

This happened to me last Sunday, and I can't stop thinking about it:

You know that dream where you go to school or work naked? I know everyone has had this dream. You are there, naked, and everyone else is appropriately clothed. It's a terrifying experience, and when you wake up you are relieved that it was only a dream. Right?

Well, last Sunday I found myself extremely engorged after my milk had come in. My little Cole was having a hard time latching on because he was still quite lethargic (and, let's admit, it's not easy to latch onto a basketball regardless). I was starting to get really frustrated. I even told Jason the night before that if he didn't latch on, my boob was going to explode!

Fortunately, this was only a one-sided problem. The other side seemed to be working just great. Well, all the pumping, massaging, squeezing, and hot showers in the world weren't helping and I found myself frantically calling around for help!

My last desperate call was to work (Labor and Delivery) to see if I could come in and use their hospital grade breast pump. I was excited to hear that Julie was working (she is the best at helping moms breastfeed). I was told me to come into work and bring little Cole with me. Once I got there Julie was able to MIRACULOUSLY get him latched onto the basketball where he enjoyed a good hour long feeding. After that, Julie suggested that I go pump to completely empty myself out.

Here is where that dream comes into play only instead of it being a dream, it was real life and, surprisingly, it wasn't terrifying. As I am sitting there undressed from the waist up, my friends who were working decided to come and chat with me. Mind you, I really didn't care. We sat there having a conversation with my breasts exposed, milk being squeezed out of them, and besides the occasional "you have big boobs" and "Wow! Look how much you got out of them" comment, it all seemed completely normal. Completely.

Is this normal? I'm pretty sure the answer is no. I guess I just have a warped sense of what "normal" is. Huh.

The Life of a "Bili" Baby

Wowie, my life feels like it's been a whirlwind since my last post! Thanks to my wonderful husband for helping me publish my last post from the hospital. Much has happened in the last 6 days since Cole's birth. Let me get you up to date . . .

Thursday morning started out like any other discharge day in the hospital. Rubber eggs with cardboard toast were served, I nursed my baby, and sent him to the nursery to have his labs drawn while I showered and got ready to go home. Everything was going according to schedule until we got some bad news. Cole's bilirubin level was elevated and the doctor wanted him to go under the bili-lights. We expected to have him under the lights for 6 hours, re-draw his bilirubin level and go home later on that evening with the possibility of Cole needing the bili-lights at home.

Okay we could deal with that, but 6 hours later we got bad news again. Cole's bilirubin levels hadn't improved and the doctor didn't want him going home yet. I was alone in my room when I got the news and I lost it (big surprise). I wasn't so worried about his health but I just REALLY wanted to go home. I missed my other kids and wanted to sleep in my own bed. But, I had to stay another night.

Now, I know what you're thinking, what's the big deal? Well, imagine this. Imagine you ordered the most scrumptious dessert possible at the best restaurant ever and having it delivered with no fork to eat it. Then to be told, "We only have 1 fork in the restaurant and you will need to share it with everyone here. It needs to be washed after every use. So, you may have 1 bite every 3 hours for the next 3 days." How would you feel? This is how it is when your baby is under the bili-lights. They have to stay under the lights continuously except every 3 hours you may take them out to feed them, then right back in. It's the best of the best in very small amounts.

Fortunately, Friday morning's labs revealed that his bilirubin levels had dropped enough that he could go home, but needed to continue with the lights until his levels were normal. This also meant that I had to take him in every morning to draw his blood.









At least we were home now, but we had to make sure that he didn't pull his "goggles" off because the lights can cause damage to his eyes. Plus, we had to make sure he was eating every 3 hours. So, we had a few sleepless nights. Sunday we were finally able to take him off the lights completely and we have had a happy baby since then. Last night he only woke up once at about 3:30 . . . let's hope that trend continues.

Changing subjects, I have worked long and hard to get his nursery in order. It's nothing spectacular, but I had to show off all my hard work:

The bedding is the same was what I had with Alex. I went to a graphic design place and had them pull the image of the airplane off the Internet, then we tweaked it and had it cut into a 5 foot vinyl decal. I think it turned out cute. I also re-upholstered his glider (it used to be pink) and made his drapes . . . yes they are blackout!

Jason hung this airplane for me as a surprise for Mother's Day. The airplane, train, and truck were baby gifts from my sisters.

I found the lampshade a Target . . . how perfect is that?

We just love this little buddy! We can't get enough of him, especially now that we can actually hold him!