Siblings

Will at one month.

Annie at one month.

The older Annie gets, the more I can tell that she looks like Will. I wish in the picture above that Annie was facing straight on- you can definitely see that they are siblings. They are also growing at the same rate; Will was 10 lbs 9 oz at one month, and Annie is 10 lbs. He was 8 oz bigger than her at birth. I was hoping she would be smaller than him as she grows just because I want a smaller baby for longer, but that isn't going to happen. I do love the chub though!

They also have their differences:

• Annie spits up WAY more than Will did.

• I never thought I would have a baby with blue eyes, and it looks like Annie's just might be. Will's are a dark chocolate brown.

• Annie is a total Mama's girl. She will be crying, and as soon as she is in my arms she calms down. Will didn't have a preference at this age- in fact, he didn't even need to be held at all.

• Will loved the vibrating bouncer seat, and Annie is a swing girl.

• Will wore blue and Annie wears lots and lots of pink :o).

Speaking of siblings.... I adore my family. We have had a fun couple of weekends with my niece TeAnna turning 1, and with the 24th of July. Here's to some good memories!!!!

James, Kaydee and TeAnna on the 24th.

Siblings! Will and Annie

My sister, Cami.

My Annie Kate.

Happy 1st Birthday, TeAnna!

Priceless

Reason #56631 as to why I love my son:


He does things like this without realizing what he is doing all the time. Love it.

I think we'll keep her.

Coping

Newborns aren't a walk in the park... add a two year old and things get even more interesting. I am doing pretty well handling the two kids, (at least I think so), but I have my moments (which usually happen on Wednesdays for some reason). Here are some things that have helped me cope over the last 3 1/2 weeks (I call them my tender mercies...):

1. Everyone should have their best friend give birth within the same two weeks that they do. It makes for some great commiserating. Thank you Whitney. What would I do without you?
2. Relief Society dinners- I love the girls in my ward. They bring so much food that I have really only had to cook like 4 times since I've had Annie.
3. Moms. 'Nuff said.
4. And sisters.
5. Darcy Haas watching my boy on the day when I would happen to need to sleep in more than anything. You are an angel!
6. Sugar cookies. You know who you are!!!!
7. A little boy that loves his baby sister more than he loves his favorite cars... and that's saying something.
8. The fact that Will still takes 1.5-3 hour naps in the afternoon. I know, you are all jealous.
9. Prayer. Wow. Lots and lots and lots and lots of prayers.

And last, but certainly not least....

10. Dallas. He takes such good care of my kids and me. Even with a full time job and a killer trig class. I love you.

Annie's Birth

I know all of you have been dying to hear the details about Annie's birth, (okay, so maybe only those Mom's as obsessed with babies as I am) so here is the post you've been waiting for. It's long... you've been warned.

I started feeling contractions when Dallas and I were watching the 10:00PM news on Father's Day. I was trying not to get my hopes up (as I had thought I was going into labor a few other times already), so we continued with schedules as usual- brush teeth, bathe, read scriptures, write in journal, etc. etc. I realized at about 11:30PM that the contractions weren't going away, so I went into action. I was afraid they would stop if I went to sleep, so I got up and went to work! I cleaned my entire house until it was spotless (which is a good thing considering she is now 2 1/2 weeks old and it hasn't been cleaned since that night... sad, but true). I even found the time to blog and get on facebook for a bit.

By 2:30PM the contractions were quite uncomfortable and I figured if this was the real thing I better try to get some rest. Ha. Resting with contractions coming every 8 minutes apart, not to mention the adrenaline that was kicking in, is impossible. Every hour that went by I kept thinking, "I'm going to need to get to the hospital soon", but alas, the contractions never got closer than 7 minutes apart.

By 7:00 AM I noticed that I was leaking amniotic fluid. YES! I knew the hospital wouldn't be able to send me away, even though my contractions were still only 7 minutes apart (although by this time they were uncomfortable enough that I had to stop what I was doing and concentrate). We called Grandma Kaiserman to watch Will and we headed to the hospital (after getting ready of course!).

We got to the hospital at 8:30 AM, and by 9:30 AM they had done the PH test to make sure that I was in fact leaking amniotic fluid, and they admitted me. To my pure joy, my doctor was in town! He told me the wrong day of his race when we were in the office, so he was going to be there!

By 10:30 AM they hooked me up to pitocin to get my contractions closer together- they were still only 6-7 minutes apart, but they were painful at this point. If it weren't for the long break in between, I would have been walking in the hospital doors with my shirt up begging for the epidural immediately.

The pitocin kicked my contractions into gear and they started coming about every 3 minutes. By 11:15 AM I told my nurse that I would want my epidural in about an hour. She hung a bag of fluids to get me super hydrated, and I waited.

At 11:57 AM I was having pretty intense contractions, and I had one that broke my water. And by broke, I mean exploded. It scared me! I literally jumped and let out a quick scream of surprise.

After my water broke, my contractions were extremely painful. Dallas showed up at the hospital (he left to do some work and get his haircut), and I had him rub my back to help me cope with the pain of the contractions. To say they were intense just doesn't cut it. I had never felt pain like that before (and, remember, my epidural had worn off with Will by the end). My nurse checked me as the anesthesiologist was walking through the door at 12:15 PM, and I was a 5.

The anesthesiologist had me sit on the edge of the bed all bent over to give me the epidural. I had one contraction, and he waited until it was over. At this point, I was trying really hard not to scream because the pain was so much. I was good though and held it together on the outside (although on the inside I was writhing in pain!). Dallas stood in front of me and let me hold onto him.

It was the second contraction that came while he was trying to give me the epidural that caused all the racket. I went from a 5 to complete in one contraction. I literally felt myself open up, and the baby slide down. I thought she was just going to explode out of me! I can't remember exactly what I said, but it was along the lines of "She's here, I have to push!" Suddenly people were running in my room, pushing in carts and calling for them to page Dr. Tayler. The anesthesiologist didn't have a chance to get the tube hooked up with the medication.

They rolled me over and broke down the bed. My doctor was so amazing. He just let me go at my own pace. The pain was so bad that I just wanted to get the baby out, so I pushed (even when I wasn't having any contractions), and 7 minutes later Annie was here!

It went so fast towards the end. I didn't have the pain meds like I wanted, but because I was prepared for the pain I handled it so much better than I did with Will. (Ie... they couldn't hear me scream on the other side of the hospital.) If my other labors would go like Annie's did, I would totally just go natural. We'll have to see when the time comes (in several years from now).

Part of me still can't believe my baby girl is here. She is so sweet and we love her so much.

Just because you have a baby....

doesn't mean you have to miss out on summer. We have been able to make it to a few of the "goings on" around town the past few weeks. We may not have stayed as long as we normally would, but it felt great to get out of the house for a bit. We love living in a small town because you can go to an event and not be overwhelmed with people.

When Annie was 5 days old we went on her first outing to the "Nifty Fifties Car Show". Will was in awe with the hot rods (of course). Our favorite was the 68 cherry red Camaro. So sweet... too bad I didn't take a picture of it.


Not the best picture of Annie, but I had to document her first outing!

We also ended up having a very fun Fourth of July, in spite of not having any plans the day before. Nothing spells Happy Fourth like a hot dog for lunch and a hot dog for dinner! Thanks to the Nelson's for letting us invite ourselves over for a BBQ.

Bryn, Will and Luke: Best buddies with the messiest faces ever!!!

And the rest of these are just because I can't get enough! The first two weeks are always tough with a newborn, but they are tough in a I-never-want-to-forget-this-time-when-you-are-so-fresh-into-the-world sort of way. I was watching Father of the Bride yesterday afternoon on T.V. and found myself crying. Annie is the name of the girl that gets married, and it made me think about how quickly this life slips away from us. I'm just trying to soak up every minute right now because I know I don't get them back.