Kids say

I just have to share with you all.  Last night Garrett slept through the night.  He's 8 1/2 weeks old.  I was just so thrilled.  I fed him at 10:30 last night, and then he went right to sleep.  Then this morning I woke up at 6:10 (because when you haven't pumped in 8 hours it REALLY starts to hurt) and he was STILL sleeping!  Of course I had to go into his room and check to make sure he was still breathing.  Which he was.  And then I pumped.  Oooh the relief.  Anyway.  I am just amazed.  He's such a good baby! 

This week was my first week back to work.  With that also comes daycare.  I'm not sure if I ever posted this, but I lost my day-caregiver last month.  Tresa Hansen.  I'm sorry...this is the only picture I have of her.

My kids love her so much.  They went to her house for 2 years.  But her husband got a job teaching in Nevada.  Which is so much better than ANY job teaching in Idaho.  So they had to move.  I was devastated.  I got the news they were moving about one 2 weeks before Garrett was born.  The only bright side to this whole thing was that I would be going on maternity leave for 8 weeks and would have that much time to find somebody new to watch the kids once I go back to work.  Even with 2 months to find a replacement, the news pretty much rocked my world.  I spent lots of time fretting and crying over the matter.  I would NEVER find anybody as good as her.  And there's an un-explainable amount of comfort that you get as a working mom, just knowing that your kids are comfortable where they're at, and that the person caring for them loves them. 

Anyway.  So this week was the first week at the new daycare.  I feel pretty good about this place.  It's another in-home daycare....although she has quite a few more kids than Tresa did.  But Angie seems to like it.  Anyway.  Yesterday I was picking up Caleb and as we were getting into the car he says to Mary (a 5 year old girl at the daycare).... "Goodbye honey."
..........
I'm sorry, WHAT?
I looked at Caleb.  "Did you just call her 'honey'?"!!
He looks at me.  "Mom!  We're playing mom and dad."
........... ok....... (is that ok?) .......
"Oh.  Ok."
So as we're driving away I decide to investigate the matter (knowing full-well that the first boy I ever held hands with was in first grade, just like my son is).  "So Caleb....is Mary your friend?"
"Yeah.  But she's a girl."
"well, it's ok to have friends that are girls......as long as you don't kiss them."  :)  There I said it.
"Right mom.  Cuz we don't kiss friends."
"Right."

Lately, Angie has been kind-of obsessed with gender.  She's always asking me, "Mommy- you a girl?"  and I tell her yes, and that she is too.
"You have a pee pee?"
Honestly....it was funny the first time.  But now i'ts just routine.  The conversation ALWAYS goes like this.
"No sweetie, I don't have a pee pee.  Only boys do, like Daddy and Caleb."
Well a few weeks ago we were at Grandma Lyons's house.  Angie was being loved on by her grandpa.  He was doing all of the things that make Grandpa the favorite.  Pushing her on the swing.  Taking her for walks outside (while carrying her of course) and all the while carrying on with extremely meaningful 2-year-old converstion topics.  They were sitting on the couch, and she was on his lap, giving him big hugs and being oh so sweet.  I looked over at Paul a few minutes later and his face was BEET red.  He was trying so hard not to laugh.  Ok no...he was laughing, but just laughing so hard he couldn't get it out.  I vaguely recalled hearing part of the conversation.
"Pa pa- you a boy?"
oh no.  I didn't hear it.....but I KNEW what she'd asked him next.  I looked at Paul again.
"She asked you if you had a pee pee didn't she." 
He laughed OUT LOUD and nodded.  Good job Angie.  I think you successfully emberassed your grandpa. 

Pump-In-Style

Ok....most of my readers will not care a bit about this post....but it took me SO long to figure this out, that I feel like I owe it to the other pumping mommies out there to share my discovery. 

My breast pump is a huge part of my life right now.  I like to pump and then bottle feed my babies.  I have never nursed.  It takes too long, and I love being able to get instant relief when the milk has come in, and I'm ready to get it ALL OUT!  Since I'm a working mom anyway, it all makes sense that I should do it this way. My breast pump is a Medela Pump-in-style. 

The model I have is what you see in the picture.  So here's what was going on.  I was noticing that I was losing suction.  I used to be able to pump 4 oz (I always measure on one side, even though I always pump both sides at once) in 5 minutes, and by 7 minutes I could have 6 ounces.  Quick right?  Lately it's been taking 15 to 20 minutes to get 4 ounces!  It gets SO annoying, I mean....I have to use this thing 4 times a day.  There were times when it felt like it was taking LONGER AND LONGER every time I used the pump.  I was really getting frustrated.  But I FINALLY figured out why (and honestly....it's not all that complicated, I'm just a little slow I guess)

The breast attachment is something that I rinse after every use, and I actually do wash the horn with soap every time.  But there's one part that I was NOT washing every time.  See below...

 This little flappy valve.  I also noticed that as I continued to lose suction, these little valves were making more and more noise while using the pump.  Kind-of a "buzz" vibration that I suppose only pumping moms would recognize.  And I also noticed that as it lost suction, I was getting more and more condensation in the hoses. 

 Apparently when you don't wash these parts, you get build-up which affects the suction.  See the white stuff?  Well.  Once I cleaned it off....it was like my pump was brand new again!  6 ounces in five minutes again.  What a relief.  And the condensation went away in the hoses.

 On a second note, I just want to say that the pump itself has a face-plate that can be removed.  (see below)

If the face-plate isn't re-attached completely and tightly, the pump won't work right either. 

So....lesson learned.  The best way to keep the pump in working order is to keep it clean!  Who knew.

It's Over

 Today was baby Garrett's blessing day.  My parents came with great-grandma Willis, and Parker's parents came with great-grandpa Lyons, along with Jayne and Garrett.  We also invited our best friends Travis and Jill with their 3 kids. 

 Parker gave little G such a beautiful blessing.  There's truly something amazing that happens whenever that man is able to use his priesthood power to bless his family.  I can't explain it, but it brings out a side of my husband that I don't always get to see, and it's like I fall in love with him all over again every time it happens. 

 After sacrament meeting we came back to our house and I had a baked potato bar, complete with non-homemade chilli.  But to make up for it, Jill brought cornbread made from scratch that was truly a hit, so nobody cared that the chilli was Nalley's and not mine. ;)

 After everything settled down this evening, and the kids were put to bed, I sat on the couch and started feeding my little Gher-bear, and I just started to cry.  Today is the last day of my maternity leave.  My baby is 8 weeks old and that means it's time for me to go back to work.  Man it went by fast. 

With Caleb, I started school when he was 4 weeks old.  Hard right?  Yes.  But school seemed like such a "righteous" cause you know?  It's school.  Then Angie came, and I went back to work when she was 6 weeks old.  But daddy wasn't working at the time, and she actually was able to stay at home until she was 8 months old.  But with Garrett there is no school, and there is no stay-at-home parent.  I can't express the guilt that I feel.  It hurts so bad.  He's so precious and innocent, and he deserves to be cared for by his mother.  I knew this day was coming before he was ever born.  Before he was even conceived.  But it doesn't make it any easier. 

I just have to continue to pray and hope that the Lord will bless us with a different situation someday.  I worked hard for my education, and I can not ignore my student loans  It is what it is.  It just sucks.  All I've ever wanted was to be a mother, and to care for my children the way that I know I should....which is to be at home with them.  I am grateful for the 8 weeks I had to spend every day with him.  It was complete bliss. 

TOFW 2012

 Last weekend I went to Time Out for Women with my sisters, mom, and Grandma Willis.  I really enjoyed myself, even though I was kinda fighting a terrible stomach bug at the time.  Parker watched the kids at my mom and dad's house, and I got to spend some time being spiritually fed by some awesome speakers.  My FAVORITE talk was by Hilary Weeks.  Here's the link to a segment of my favorite talk:

 Like all conferences, some talks were better than others, and some of the music was good, and some of it was not my favorite.

I was really touched by a few talks in particular.  A woman from Africa, a woman who suffered cancer in her eyes leaving her completely blind, and then another of my favorites was Hilary Weeks's music video "Beautiful Heartbreak"  Here it is.  Get out your tissues.



I've decided that at things like this, you get out of it what you decide to put into it.  There were times when I felt un-interested, but I wasn't focusing.  When I decided to really apply myself and listen with my heart I was able to take home so much more.

What I took from this conference: I need to pray more and spend more time reading my scriptures.  I learned that the power of positive thinking can change your life.  And I learned that I am SO lucky.  No.  Blessed.  To have the things in my life.  There are SO many people who have it worse than me.  I have such great examples to be found in my mother, grandmother, and sisters.  They are such a source of strength to me.

I also learned that as much as I love my baby....I will NEVER take him to a big conference like this.  And IF I did (which I wouldn't) then I would LEAVE THE ROOM when he started to cry and hopefully set a good example for the other sisters in the room who can't seem to comprehend the over-the-shoulder stares that are screaming, "Are you SERIOUSLY going to sit there while your baby whines in this HUGE room full of people?!!". 

I hope to get to go again sometime!

Harvest

Summer is going by so fast!  I just wanted to write a few things down.  Our garden is doing really well.  We have plenty of broccoli, beans, and zucchinni to eat on a VERY regular basis.  I haven't had to do any canning yet (which I probably SHOULD....but I don't really have the time, so it's good that my garden isn't FORCING me into a canning spree).  Our peach tree produced some AWESOME peaches, but I picked them about 1 week too late, and they were pretty soft.  I decided that since we wouldn't be able to eat them all in time, that I'd make some freezer jam.  I'd done strawberries with my mom a few weeks before.....it can't be all that hard.  I did everything she said, and followed the instructions exactly.  It didn't set up.  Maybe my peaches were too soft.  Apparently my mom's one attempt at peach freezer jam was also a failure.  So......next fall if we have too many peaches, we'll be freezing them and then putting them in smoothies or cobbler.  Not jam.  I guess we'll use it as berry syrup on our pancakes or something.  It was really quite a let-down because incase anybody forgot....I have a newborn baby in the house.  And the fact that I took the time to pit and peel peaches instead of taking a nap is saying something.  Boo.   

The other day we went to the park, and Caleb was getting pretty good on the monkey-bars.  A few minutes later he came running up to me in tears.  He held out his hand and showed me a dime-sized blister that had been ripped on the palm of his hand.  I told him that it's a monkey-bar blister and that I had gotten several when I was little.  I told him, "I know it hurts, but every kid gets these kinds of blisters.  You're gonna be ok."  His reply made me laugh:  "Every kid in the whole wide world?"  ........how do you answer that?  As a matter of fact, he's ALWAYS asking me questions I can't answer.  It's really annoying at times.  He always asks questions regarding time, which is a concept he really doesn't understand yet.  "Mom....how long does it take to get to Las Vegas?" then when I reply "Oh, about 8 hours."  His next reply is, "Well how many minutes is 8 hours?"  Seriously?  You can't tell time yet kid....why are you asking me this?  He also is constantly asking me math problems.  "Mom.  How much is 8 plus 5?"  Then when I tell him, he either argues with me about what HE thinks is the answer.....or he follows-up with another math problem.  I'm glad he wants to learn....he just asks this kind of stuff ALL THE TIME.  One of these days he's gonna figure out that I'm still counting on my fingers. ;)

Caleb is quite the little sponge when it comes to learning.  His favorite thing to watch on TV is documentries!  He's always got some thing on from national geographic of animal planet.  His favorite show on PBS is "wild Kratz" which is 2 brothers exploring animals.  As a result, Caleb is always spewing facts like, "Mom- did you know the ocean is the largest ecosystem in the whole wide world?"  and "Mom- did you know the biggest mammals are whales?" The other day I was talking to him about monkeys.  As we listed off different species like howlers, arangitans, gorillas and so forth, I mentioned a chimpanzee.  Caleb quickly corrected me.  "No mom.  Chimpanzees are NOT monkeys, they're APES!"  ........yes you're right.  I've just been schooled by a six-year-old.

 

Little miss Angie.  She sure keeps me busy.  But is SO much easier to care for when her brother is gone.  They spend so much time fighting.  But today (our first day home with Caleb at school ALL DAY) and she said to me, "What aw you doing widdow miss mommy?"  Hah!  I guess I call her "miss Angie" more than I thought, cuz apparently now I'm "miss mommy."  She has been insisting on dressing herself for the past week or so, and is becoming more tolerant of me putting ponytails in her hair.

Angie has some favorite movies right now that just make me so pleased!  Goofy Movie is the first.  This movie was a STAPLE in my childhood.  I just love it!  And  it's awesome to see that my girl likes it too.  Her other favorite is "Annie."  And this is just so cute, because she sings the songs to herself while she plays, and even dances around the living room saying, "We've got Annie!" 

Angie also has a favorite word right now.  "Probably."  Everything is "probably." 
"Mommy- you should probably make dinner."
"Mommy- you should probably vacuum."
"Mommy- you should probably paint my nails." 

Our garden has produced a hybrid.  The cucumber is to the left of the pumpkin- both of which are in the same box.  They've cross-pollinated to give us yellow cucumbers!  Ironically, they taste just like a cucumber.  They're just a different color!

The pumpkin (so far) seems to be un-affected.  And so far we only have one.  It's currently the size of a cantalope....maybe a little bigger.  It looks like it'll make a fine jack-o-lantern!

Just before school started, we decided Caleb had better learn how to tie his shoes.  So we bought him lace-up shoes for school, and he had about a week to practice.  He had it down by the first day!  I was so impressed at how fast he learned- but today when I picked him up from his first day of school, both of his laces were un-tied.  Oh well. 

Caleb also got a new set of partial dentures this summer.  About a week ago actually.  After Garrett was born, I didn't make him wear them for a few weeks.  Then when I tried to get him to put them back in, he cried "they don't FIT mom!"  I found it hard to believe that his mouth could've changed that much over 2 weeks....but maybe he was just so used to the change before.  So I took him into my work.  Dr. Thompson tried in the old ones and said "These things are way too small.  His teeth have errupted more, and he's going to need a whole new partial."  So we had a new one made.  It fits him pretty well....but for some reason, his upper lip-line is not right when he smiles.  The picture below illustrates what I'm talking about.

Dr. T. is on vacation right now, so he'll have to wear these for the first week of school, but hopefully I'll get him in and they will be able to fix it so that his smile is a little more normal.  He's still a handsome little guy.  And such a trooper to live every day with such a mouth-full!  I love him so much.

Last Sunday we had corn on the cob with our dinner.  Angie (who has front teeth) was able to dig-in with no problem.  Of course I had to take a quick picture.  There's nothing more classic than a kid eating corn on the cob! But I was surprised to see how well Caleb did too!  He didn't want it cut off the cob.  And he didn't want to wear his partials either.  With only 5 teeth, my boy was able to mangle an entire ear of corn.  He actually ended up eating much more than Angie did!

Finally- little Garrett is my joy.  His blue eyes and red hair just amaze me.  I don't know where it came from, or if it'll stay that way.  But he's just so beautiful!  We've allready adjusted the straps on his carseat because he's just SO BIG!  And he's been wearing 3 month clothing for several weeks now.  The newborn stuff barely lasted long enough for him to wear each outfit once!

He's starting to make facial expressions, and has slept up to 5 hours sometimes at night.  I have been feeding and burping him while lying on the couch at night, and I've made a bad habbit for myself.  After he's had enough, I roll him onto my chest to burp him, and we usually both fall asleep for another hour or two.  Most of the time he hasn't burped, and then when I finally wake up (because I haven't pumped yet, and now it's just painful) he usually needs fed AGAIN before I can go back to bed.  It kinda makes for a long night, even though I'm spending the majority of my time snoozing.  I need to keep myself awake while I'm burping him....just get everything done and then I'd be able to actually go back to bed.  But it's just so easy to roll him over and doze off myself.  We'll get the hang of something.  I only have 2 weeks of maternity leave left. 

I've enjoyed this time so much, I'm just so sad it's about to end.  He's so precious, and I love him so much! 

One Month Old

Little Garrett is 1 month old today.  I just can't believe how fast time flies!  And he's SOOO BIG!  2 days ago I started dressing him in 3 month clothes, because the newborn ones are just too tight!  Today also marks the half-way point for my maternity leave.  Another sad thought.  But I'm trying to enjoy as much as I can, and soak up every precious moment as this little baby grows before my eyes.

Baby G sleeps 3-4 hours at a time.  It sometimes makes the nights drag on forever, but my body is getting used to the pattern, and I can go 2 days without a nap and not feel like I'm about to drop dead.  But even so, if I go too long without a nap during the day....I start to get this TERRIBLE headache at the front of my forehead.  Nothing helps to make it go away except catching up on some much-needed z's.

I read this pamphlet that the hospital gave me.....and it says that babies should be drinking 3-4 ounces at each feeding by one month.  Well.  Garrett has been drinking 5 oz bottles for 2 weeks!  No wonder he's so big!  He's just growing so fast.  And I can't complain, he is SUCH a good baby.  He only cries when he's hungry.  He doesn't keep me up for anything more than feedings.  He hasn't had colic, and he doesn't even need to be held to fall asleep.  I really have been so lucky. 

Today I got a picture of his first smile (see above).  It's not much.....but at 4 weeks, I'm just amazed that I was able to get a picture of it.  He hasn't had many facial expressions yet.  But I've decided that his smile does nothing but excentuate those adorable chubby cheeks. 

Garrett has been such a blessing in our home.  I am so excited to watch him grow.  He is precious, and I just adore him.

Caleb's Summer

This summer has been a blur.  I just wanted to highlight a few things that Caleb has been up to that I haven't actually blogged about.  First of all, my boy turned SIX.  I felt bad because his birthday was kinda overshadowed by his brother's BIRTH.  We had a birthday party for Caleb on Saturday the 21st even though his birthday wasn't till the 25th. We did this because Robyn and John were still in town and we thought a party with a few cousins would be a good idea, especially with baby Garrett on the way (and not knowing WHEN he would arrive).  We got him a driver and Parker took him for a round of golf at Pebble Ponds (a par 3 course here in Filer).  It was Caleb's first official game. 

You probably can't read the score very well....it's written in pencil all in Caleb's handwriting.  But it's cute and I thought it should be archived. :)  Caleb also got a new backpack, some rope, and a head-lamp flashlight.  His birthday party was pretty simple this year. 

Back in June Caleb did t-ball.  The entire season was only 4 weeks long (which honestly.....with kids this small is just fine cuz they're burnt-out after one month anyway).  One great thing about being in such a small town, is that Caleb knew kids on every opposing team he played.  As a result he spent a lot of his time in the field just chatting with whoever was on base at the time.  But I must say, he got pretty good at the end.  He has a really good arm and hopefully next year he will be able to understand the game a little better.

The weather in June was crazy.  Some days he wore pants and a coat, and other days he'd be in shorts and a t-shirt and covered in sweat.  The season was quite the challenge for me because I was 8 months pregnant, and he had games on Tuesday and Thursdays, and then practices on Wednesdays and Fridays.  And I was still working.  So pretty much every week-day involved me rushing home, and getting him and Angie packed up and fed before going to t-ball.  So 4 weeks of games was about all I could handle as well.  Parker works so far away, and has to stay late SO often, that he missed almost all the practices and close to half of the games.  But it was still lots of fun.

Our final summer adventure has been swimming lessons.  The Filer City pool offers group lessons for 31 dollars.  It's Monday through Thursday for 2 weeks.  I jumped on this one, because since I'm on maternity leave, I'm able to take him at 11:00 AM every day.  And for 31 dollars, even if it is short and he doesn't learn much....it's still daily exposure to the water and he'll at least gain a little more confidence and skill. 

I know I'm just his mom and probably everybody says this about their kid, but I think he's the best in his class.  I watched her teach the "front crawl" to those kids, and Caleb was the ONLY one who was able to put his face in the water, AND use his arms, AND kick his feet.  I got a video, I'll see if I can put it on here. 

Caleb's best friend, Reyl, is also in his class.  These boys were also in t-ball together.  They get along so well.

Summer is finally wrapping up, and it makes me sad.  Today Garrett is 3 weeks old, which means I only have 5 weeks of maternity leave left.  It's gonna go by so fast!  It allready has!