And they called it puppy love

Today was the biggest day for any Primary president, the annual Primary Sacrament program. It was quite the ordeal to put together, especially with it being my first one. But with a LOT of help from my counselors, the program was written, rehearsed, and ready to go. I was out for a few weeks after having Rhode so a lot of the initial practicing happened without me. We even held a practice yesterday in the chapel to make sure the kids were totally prepared.



I got to church 20 minutes early as planned, got all the things set up that needed setting up, ushered the kids to their seats, and was sitting in my spot right as the meeting began. I was feeling pretty calm, considering. Then I look out into the congregation and this face was staring back at me...


Yup, Donny Osmond with his family in tow attended our ward today. Our ward boundaries actually include the Strip and Donny & Marie have a show going on right now. Suddenly, all worries about presenting this program for the ward, bishop, parents, God, and angels were gone. All I could think was, 'I am performing my Primary program for Donnie Osmond.'

Why all the interest? My mom indoctrinated us with a love for all things Osmond at a young age. We all knew that nothing would make her happier than somehow managing to marry into the Osmond family. :)

So as the program progressed, I was able to concentrate for the most part as I sorted sunbeams and five year olds up to the microphone. But there was the occasional thought in the back of my mind, 'I wonder what Donny thinks about the program?'

I did have the small daydream that Donny would come up to me after the program and congratulate me on a job well done. Unfortunately, his family jetted out of the chapel immediately after the closing prayer. Probably to avoid fans just like me!

The program went really well. I was so proud of the kids, they really pulled it off!

One month later

My new little guy is one month old already. I really don't know where the days go. Although I am happy to report that while time has been flying, Vegas has been taking some serious temperature drops. There is something so nice about 60 degree weather. We actually dropped from 90 degree days to 60/70 degree days instantly. None of those lovely 80 degree afternoons, why anyone lives in this desert is beyond me. Of course, when all the Utahns are buried under mountains of snow this winter I will probably be singing Sin City praises!

And to my total enjoyment, with colder days come... feety pajamas!

This is Scarlet's hair after she has removed her pigtails and taken a nap. I know, it's a really good look for her. But I seriously love warm, fuzzy pajamas on my kids. Their adorable level just goes up a few notches.

Back to Rhode, I was hoping to be able to post his one month stats but unfortunately we had to reschedule his one month check up. Although, I'm not too concerned about his weight gain. Check out these cheeks!

Things I have learned about my little guy so far:

He HATES to be cold (born in the wrong time of year buddy). The minute he is naked or has a cold wipe near his butt he is screaming. Bath time is only enjoyable if I can keep his body completely immersed. Coming out of the tub is near torture for the poor boy.

He loves his dad. Whenever I try to get some mom/baby cuddle time, he starts diving for food. When Jon has him, Rhode just looks so peaceful cuddled up with his dad.

Thanks to Scarlet, I have learned he doesn't like being poked (especially in the eye), squished, sat on, blanket smothered, or having someone scream right in his ear. Whoda thunk?

He has figured out that nighttime is for sleeping (except for the eating parts) and he gets more curious about his new world every day. I am definitely in love!

Devious already?!

Scarlet, Rhode and I made our way to Walmart yesterday to pick up the essentials. While we were checking out, I was separating my items into different piles (had to get some stuff for primary) and wasn't paying all that much attention to Scarlet. She usually spends her time checking out all the travel size stuff they have for sale at the check out counter. When I finally look down at her, I notice she has a candy in her hand... and a blue mouth.

Yeah, she had gotten one of those 'baby bottle' candies open and was sucking on it. So then I had to buy it, there's a wasted buck, and I threw it in my purse after letting her know she could not have it.

I got home, unloaded children and groceries, and fed my starving newborn. Scarlet was playing happily, but then I lost track of her. I noticed the downstairs bathroom door was shut, which is very unusual. Whenever she shuts doors she instantly yells for me to help her open it. Plus, she isn't one to play in the bathroom in the first place. So I go over and open the door to catch my 19 month old daughter with an even bluer mouth and a look that said 'uh oh, she caught me'. Not only did she find the candy but she went and hid so I wouldn't catch her! I really thought I had at least another year or two until she figured out stuff like that! How did she get to be so mischievous already??

My guy

Rhode had a little impromptu photo shoot Sunday morning before conference. We didn't get a ton of great shots, but there were a few that turned out. This new little guy of mine is such a joy. I had forgotten a little how instantly you can love these new little people. I find myself exhausted as I get up for yet another midnight feeding but when I look down at my squirmy little dark eyed boy, I am just so excited to be his mom all over again.



The jury is still out on who he looks like. Jon likes to pretend he has all my features only because, after Scarlet, I was hoping my genes wouldn't be completely ignored in all my other children. Of course, his comments usually go something like 'his nose is crooked, so he did get your nose' or 'his ear is kinda funny, oh look so is yours!'

But so far, he looks only a little different than Scarlet did at the same age. Here's a few of Scarlet at the same age for comparison.


I like to call this one 'bottle face', they both like their food.

And Scarlet now... wow she grew up fast.

Also for those of you who are interested in how my dad's trial is going, my mom is giving a great blow by blow on her blog (Because I Said So... linked on the side). Thank you for everyone who has given their thoughts and prayers to my dad.

The Whole Story

As many of you out there in the blogging world, I have foregone all efforts of scrapbooking, journal writing, and all those other wonderful memory saving things I am supposed to be doing. Instead, I blog. I will then publish them in one of those adorable little books and call it good. The reason I am saying all this is because I am now going to write the entire story of Rhode's birth. Probably not going to be entertaining reading for anyone but me 20 years down the line. That and it will be filled with lots of pregnancy/labor words that can gross out the feint of heart. With that said...

I knew I would probably have my little boy earlier than his due date. Because Scarlet was such a heavy weight, my doctor thought I should just schedule a C-section from the beginning. I wasn't a big fan of that idea. Option number 2 was inducing early.

I went in for an ultrasound when I was exactly 38 weeks along and the ultrasound tech told me my little guy was already 8 1/2 lbs. with a head the size of a 42 week old baby. I took this as good news. First off, have you ever heard of any baby actually weighing what they guessed they would on the late ultrasound? I sure haven't. They are usually at least a pound over. I was a little concerned about my baby's noggin, especially after my doctor compared him to "So I Married an Axe Murderer." (It's like a melon on a toothpick!) But I knew if they thought he was a chunker, I was that much closer to getting him out.

So, as expected, at my appointment the next day the doctor decided the baby was big enough and it was time to get him out. When? The next day. I was already dilated to a four and after stripping my membrane (uh, ow. That one hurts) I was basically on my way to motherhood anyway. He tried to schedule me for inducing the next day but the hospital wouldn't schedule me because they were too busy. So, after a lot of back-and-forth yelling on the phone, my doctor told me to go in tomorrow anyway and tell them I am in labor. So that is exactly what I did.

I woke up the next morning and after moving around a bit, I was definitely having contractions. We got Scarlet ready, finished those last few get-ready-for-the-new-baby tasks (which for Jon included putting up some more trim in our guest bedroom. Who knew newborns needed trim?) I dropped Scarlet off at the Warrens for the weekend and we headed to the hospital.

That was the nerve-wracking part. I had this weird fear with Scarlet that the hospital would send me home because I wasn't actually in labor so I waited until I was absolutely positive she was coming before I went to the hospital. This time, I knew I was in labor but I was still only having contractions every 10 minutes or so. Not nearly often enough to go to the hospital. So here they are strapping me up to all the machines giving me the 'are you sure you're in labor' look while I try to give them my most realistic impression of a woman just minutes away from pushing out a kid. The nurse left, still pretty skeptical and I thought I was done for. About 10 minutes later, my labor and delivery nurse Robert walks in and asks if I want to have a baby today. I was so relieved.

I really got a kick out of Robert. I have never had a male nurse in the hospital. Robert was especially interesting. He was a black man in his 50's from Mississippi. Not exactly your stereotypical maternity nurse. When he asked me my religious affiliation and I said LDS, his response was, 'oh good, LDS people always say the funniest things.' I'm not really sure where that observation came from but I knew that we would get along after that.

They hooked me up to all the IVs and monitor things and got some Pitocin in me. By this time it about 1:00 p.m. They broke my water a little bit later and then we waited. Jon turned on the TV and we watched a lot of crappy television. By about 2:30, I was finally having some pretty painful contractions. And, just about then, Robert came in to tell me they wanted to give me an epidural a little early because another girl was going in for a C-section. A few minutes later, the pain was gone and I was one happy pregnant girl.

Three hours of TV watching later and they decided to call the doctor. He got there at about 6:05 and three pushes later, Rhode was born at 6:17 p.m. He looked so tiny! All this light brown hair and this scrawny little body. They set him on the scale and he weighed in at a lithe 7 lb 4 oz.

He was instantly a great eater and an ever better sleeper. That first night, he slept for 8 hours. My nurse was panicking because he wasn't eating often enough but there was nothing I could do to get that kid to wake up and eat. So we both actually got some decent sleep that night.

Scarlet came the next day. Isn't it crazy how much bigger they seem? I swear Scarlet had put on 10 pounds and grown about 10 inches since I had seen her last. I couldn't believe I had been in the hospital with her only 18 months earlier.

They had a special 'new parent' dinner for Jon and I that night. Steak & shrimp, cheesecake, and sparkling cider. Not exactly high quality restaurant food but really good hospital food. I got to go home on Monday after a little extra baby monitoring.

My mom came in town Monday night and we spent a very nice week eating take out, watching Rhode sleep, and wrestling Scarlet away from him. Oh, and somewhere in between all of that my mom scrubbed my house from top to bottom. Best maid service I've ever had :) Just kidding, mom.

He really is such a good little baby. He takes great, long naps and even when he's awake he is pretty happy just sitting there looking around. I really thought Scarlet was a pretty good baby. Thank goodness she came first, she was so much harder! His only potential fault is he seems to have his days and nights mixed up. He sleeps away most of the day but gets up promptly every two hours to eat at night and is wide awake from about 5 a.m. to about 8 a.m.

Kristy and Courtney drove up from BYU for the weekend to meet their new nephew. I think they were impressed. But they enjoyed Scarlet's new loving attitude even more. She is not always a fan of people who aren't me. But now that I was frequently occupied, she was more than happy to take advantage of a grandma and aunts that would give her anything she wanted.

Now it is just the three of us during the day. It is pretty exhausting and I am still in what Sam Miller so aptly calls 'zombie mode' but all is well. I am already feeling almost 100% recovered and I am pretty sure my two kids are as good looking as kids get :)

In case you hadn't noticed...

Kacey lost 7 pounds 4 ounces on Saturday the 13th. Tell her you noticed next time you see her. Her Secret? A child birth experience which could almost have been described as pleasant. Don't tell her I said that; I need to play the "I can't even imagine how difficult it must have been "card.

The proof? Here is the "so new it is still gross" photo. Official stats are as follows.

NIELSEN, RHODE ALBERT

September 13, 2008 - Present

Weight: 7 pounds 4 ounces

Height: 19.5 inches (or maybe centimeters I'm not sure)

Eyes: Dark, appearing black and slightly alien like in photos. Similar to his sisters.

Hair: Present but receding.

Birth Marks: None.

Vocals: Can squeal like a pig

Hardware: Fully equiped. "strapped"

Kacey is in good conditions. She didn't even break a sweat. We were gaming on the chances that our kid would get too big if we waited too long. Under the direction of her doctor Kacey lied, and we went into the hospital shortly before noon on Saturday.

Water was spilled, highly effective medications were applied, and we waited in relatively comfortable terms untill approximately 6:08 p.m PST. Then, Kacey labored until 6:17 p.m. when she was presented with our son. I guess that makes her really good at this.

Scarlet was not an initial fan of the whole thing. She spent Saturday and Sunday morning in the home of our good friends the Warrens. When they brought her back Sunday afternoon, she was rather...confused. We had spent nine months teacher her that "baby brother" meant mommy's belly was getting huge, and now "what's this thing?" This photo was taken seconds after introducing her to Rhode.

She did warm up to him quickly though.

Things changed after we talked her into giving him a kiss.

This child was very much wanted in our family, and I feel blessed that Kacey and Rhode came through in such great conditions. We thank our Heavenly Father for this gift.

Now let's all pray together that I don't mess him up.

My Second Pregnancy

Only a few weeks to go until I am officially the mother of two, I thought it was about time I document a little about the last 8 months of my life.

I have DEFINITELY felt differently this pregnancy. I wonder if it's the difference between being pregnant with a boy and a girl or if all my pregnancies will be a little different. Here are my 1st time and 2nd time pregnancy comparisons:

The not so fun differences -

I was sicker longer this time, four months instead of two with Scarlet.

I was very pregnant all summer... in Vegas.

I got dehydrated all the time which threw me all out of whack.

He isn't a big mover so I get freaked out all the time that something is wrong.

The nice improvement differences -

No swollen ankles! I had some serious swelling the whole last 3 months of my first pregnancy

No dark line down my belly, I don't miss that.

It was much easier to find maternity capris and shorts than it was to find jeans for winter

This pregnancy went by so much faster. I forgot I was pregnant all the time.

Because he isn't a big mover, he hasn't been kicking the crap outta my ribs and other internal organs, that's been a really nice break.

The strangest thing for me is how much smaller he seems to be. I stayed pretty small with Scarlet with my long torso but right there at the end, my belly was definitely taking up a ton of space.

For comparisons sake, here is me at 37 weeks with Scarlet...

And here is me as of yesterday.

I don't know what I will do if this second kid of mine is average size!

And as it seems to be for all last month of pregnancy mothers, I am so ready to be done. Pregnancy definitely lost a little bit of its awe the second time around. But I am really excited to meet my little boy. I have this strange desire to have him look like me since Scarlet didn't get a lot of my characteristics. But then I remind myself how much I like looking at Jon and Scarlet, so adding another Jonny copy to the family wouldn't be that bad.

My friend, Mindy, threw me an adorable baby shower last week. I did a terrible job documenting the occasion but I did get a few of the decor.

Now the countdown is on!