Improvements

For a while James and I had been talking about getting a new mattress because our old one was used and nearly 10 years old.  James had always wanted an Intellibed mattress because of all the great things he had heard about it. His philosophy is that if you spend a third of your life on it, it should be a good quality. I was a little iffy about getting one because they are super expensive like $2500 or so depending on the size and such. One morning he was looking at the online classifieds on the off chance that someone would be selling one.  There were only four listed and one of which actually looked like a good deal.  It was a king size Intellibed for only $500 with the frame and box springs and was only three years old.  We went that night, checked it out, and brought it home.  It is a great great bed.  What I have noticed is that I don't toss and turn as much.  In the old bed, if you stayed in one position too long you would get achy and have to turn over, not hardly in this bed.  It has been so nice, and it is nice and roomy.  We had to do some rearranging with our sleeping situations since Dash was in our bedroom and wasn't sleeping very well with us in the room. He has the other bedroom to himself and Jet sleeps in his firetruck bed in our room. Anyway, I would say the Intellibed is a big improvement from where we were.  From this:

to this:

Another improvement happened to our little Honda Spree Scooter.  Winter had not been very nice to the seat cushion on that thing.  It was all shredded and torn.  We are trying to sell it and I wanted to fix the seat because it is such an eyesore.  I told James I could totally reupholster it not really knowing for sure I could.  We bought some fabric, took off the old cover and I just kinda eyeballed a new pattern to cut out the fabric. Long story short, I was able to make a new cover and it turned out pretty well. I love doing stuff like that, just making something totally new without any pattern and making a big improvement.
From this:

To this:

Easter!

Last Sunday was Easter and although we didn't really do much to celebrate, we took Jet to his first Easter egg hunt.  It wasn't much of a hunt because all the eggs were just out in this open field.  It was over in less than a minute if you can imagine and we almost missed it because we were running late.  We pulled up to the hunt and I let James and Jet out so they could hurry and get the eggs.  I didn't even get to see Jet find any eggs, but that's ok I am sure we will be going to many more hunts.  Here are pictures from our first Easter egg hunt!

4 Months already?

Well, it has been a while.  My two little boys keep me busy and I am finally getting them into a routine that lets me have an hour during nap time usually to myself.  Having a 2 yr old and a newborn has had its challenges, but I sincerely hope Jet and Dash are great friends and playmates in a few months.  Jet is dying for a playmate. He always wants me to wrestle with him or play 'football' and I don't always have the energy to do that.
       Since Dash's birth a few things have happened:
                      James was called to be 1st counselor in the Bishopric
                      We flew to Oklahoma for Christmas
                      Had our first date night in a while without the kids
                      Joined a gym
 My day to day is usually something different.  I try to get out of the house a few times a week to take the boys to story time or get myself to the gym, or to the store.

Dash recently turned 4 months.  He is such a joy! I know now after having Jet that the little baby I bring home from the hospital doesn't stay that way long and to really savor each phase and moment.  I am really enjoying Dash.  Here are some things he has been up to lately:

Loves to be sung to
Loves to be held
Reaches for everything and anything
Loves the dog and his brother
Is a momma's boy
Loves to chomp on his hands (he gets his whole body into it)
Can play on his tummy
Almost rolls over from back to front
Wears 3-6 month or 6 month clothes
Sleeps 10 hrs at night with one middle of the night feeding
 3 or 4 naps (usually an hour each) during the day
More of a squealer than a laugher
Seems like his tongue doesn't fit in his mouth :) (see pic below)
Has not been sick! (With all the stuff going around this winter and a 2 yr old that has had a couple of colds, I attribute it all to breastmilk!)
Exclusively breastfed!

Just went to the doctor today and here are his 4 month stats:

                   15.7 lbs     64%tile
                   26.75 inch long    95%tile
                   16.9 inch head   68%tile

Pictures of our baby boy:

Winter Fun

We have been having so much fun lately enjoying being so close to Salt Lake.  Recently we went to a Jazz game where they played against Jimmer Fredette and the Sacrament Kings.  It was really fun. Afterwards we went down to the court and got some pictures, as we left we were invited to a vip room and got some free chocolate cake and sodas, awesome! This past weekend we went to the lights on temple square and visited City Creek Center.  We ate out at one of our favorite places Chik-fil-a. On Saturday, we took a ride on the new rail line from Salt Lake to Provo.  It was a free ride day so the train was full.  Luckily we got some good seats on the upper car and had a table too.  It was fun, but I was happy to get off when we got home.  James decided to break up the monotony of the ride and started everyone singing Christmas Carols.  He asked me to join him and we got a pretty good group to sing for a while.  It was a memorable experience. Here are some pictures of our recent adventures!

Dash's Birth Story

Before I forget all the details of how Dash came into the world, I am going to write them down.  So I was totally convinced that he would come early.  I had had two ultrasounds done around 18 weeks and 20 weeks, one said he was due on Oct 8th, the other on Oct 15th.  I had also been measuring big every time I had gone to see the midwives.  At my midwife appt on Oct 1st, the midwife told me I would go into labor within the week, ha! Jokes on me! I also wanted Dash to come while my mom was here since she would be here from the 12 to the 19th. The night of the 15th I was just getting so fed up.  Tired of being pregnant and people looking at me like I was the 8th world wonder. That last month was so hard! The morning of the 16th I was awake around 7am and started having some intense contractions.  By 9:30 they were about 5 min apart.  I wondered if it was truly labor or just a false start.  I wanted to do natural birth and from all the books I read about it, they all said to labor as much as you can at home because once you get to the hospital you can't eat and you are hooked up to monitors and lose a lot of freedom.  So I went about my day, cautiously hoping it was really labor.  I went to story time with my mom and Jet, and came home.  I went on a walk with my dad and dog, tried to rest and was managing the contractions alright.  By 2:30 I had decided that I should get to the hospital just to see how things were progressing.  I also knew that I needed to get 2 doses of antibiotic 4 hours apart so I would have to be at the hospital early enough to get those.  I messaged James to come home and get ready to have a baby.
It was all so exciting, with Jet I didn't go into labor on my own and had such a different experience.  So we packed up and went to the hospital around 3:30.  I was already dilated to 7 cm when I got there and I was so excited for that! I couldn't believe that I was doing it all on my own.  Unfortunately that meant that I could not get both doses of antibiotic and the midwife even suggested I get an epidural to slow down labor and to help lower my blood pressure which was creeping up.  I said no thanks and that I would just have to deal with not having the antibiotic and having to stay in the hospital a couple more days because of it.
So I was in the labor and delivery room with my family (mom, dad, James, and Jet), no nurses were there and I had  a very strong contraction.  It was so strong, I thought to myself  'something has got to give here', and then my water broke.  I pushed the button to call the nurse and told her my water had broke.  The next thing I know is that Dash's body had descended down the birth canal, I feel a ton of pressure and I say 'I need to push!' Dash was crowning at that point.  A bunch of nurses, the midwife and all this equipment come out to get ready to deliver.  I pushed twice and he was out at 5:19pm! So amazing and quick. He weighed 9lbs 10 ounces and was 23 inches long, one big baby!
I was so happy that things worked out and that I was able to birth Dash naturally.  It was so nice to get up and walk around, almost be normal after having him. My body has healed and felt so much better because of it.  If anyone gets the chance to birth naturally I recommend it, you will feel so much better and recover so much quicker and your labor is shorter too.  I had built  up natural childbirth in my mind as something that was difficult and potentially so painful it would push one to the edge of death pretty much.  It was not as bad as I had thought.  I didn't even use any of the pain coping techniques I had studied about.  I just breathed and let my body do its thing.  It was truly an amazing experience!

We know how to have fun!

These last few months until our new son comes have been filled with lots of fun and getting out while we can.  I have taken Jet to so many parks and done other activities with him, taking advantage of the fact that we don't have to be home all day like we used to at the storage units.  Recently I took him to the Discovery Gateway children's museum in SLC.  Its more like a big indoor playground than a museum.  Jet loved it.  He loved the ball display the best where you put balls down tubes.
We have done other things together like, ride bikes, go swimming, ride the paddle boats at Liberty Park, go to the Aviary with some friends, and watch a Salt Lake Bees Game. We have gone to a Gymboree class, story time at the library, visited temple square, went to an open house at the Spanish Fork airport among other things.  Whew! We sure do know how to have fun! Gotta take advantage of the warm weather and time before brother comes.
Here are some more pics of our fun times:

Bring on Baby!

YAY! We are getting so close to baby coming and everything is almost ready.  I am working on a couple of sewing project to get done for him and myself, and I should probably make some meals I can freeze for after he comes, but other than that I am ready! As ready as I can be.
This past Monday I was 34 weeks and that means plus or minus 6 more to go.  I have a hunch that he will come a bit earlier than 40 weeks (at least I am hoping).  Actually just hoping he comes when he is ready.  Baby has been measuring a week ahead at all of my appointments so that is why I think he will be ready before the 15th of October.  Plus if having Braxton Hicks contractions all the time is any indication of being ready, then it is probably going to be sooner than later.  Leave it to mother nature though to prove me wrong though.
I am getting excited for a whole different birth experience too.  Last time I was on bedrest for a month, had high blood pressure and was induced, and labor was 16 hours.  I did not like any of that, so hopefully this time things will be different.  So far I don't have any high blood pressure so that is a relief and the midwives told me the second time around labor is like half the time.  I am hoping to have that moment when I am at home doing the dishes and labor starts or sleeping and my water breaks. The more spontaneous the better right?  I am also hoping to do a natural birth.  I have been reading a few books about it and no doubt if you are healthy and pregnancy going well, it is the best thing for you and the baby. I know this in my mind and hopefully I can stick to it and that no complications come up.

I am ready to have my lap back and to have Jet climb all over me without having to shield my stomach, sleep on my stomach, among other things.  I just can't wait to see his face, his little toes and give him big kisses!