Bili Baby

Von is one month old today. Life has been very busy since his arrival with the holidays and family in town, so here is my attempt to catch up on the events this last month. At Von's first doctors appointment, when he was a few days old, we found out that he had jaundice. The levels did not come down on their own, so for five days, 24 hours a day, he had to be attached to a "bili" blanket, which is basically a flat light that he would lay on. A nurse came out to our house everyday to check him and take blood, and finally by day five, his levels were low enough to take him off.

Baby Von

He is here! I went into labor on Friday around noon and decided to beat Friday traffic, so we headed to the hospital about four. Overall, it was a really easy labor and delivery. When they admitted me I was dilated to a 5, and really not in much pain. I got my epidural at about seven o'clock (the most fabulous drug ever invented), and a little after 10 I was ready to push. After 12 minutes of pushing, he made his entrance, with a FULL head of brown hair. Ian says he looks like our UPS guy. He was 7 pounds 1 ounce and 20 inches, born at 10:32 pm on Friday, December 12th.
We are so happy everything went smoothly and since then he has been such a great baby, eating and sleeping really well for us. Here are a few pictures, I will post more later. His proud big sister.

Addi's Favorites

Since Addison just turned three, I thought we'd highlight her top three favorites. Here they are...

Movies:
1. Annie
2. Gumby
3. Chipmunk Adventure

Disney Movies:
1. Cinderella
2. Aladdin
3. Peter Pan

TV shows:
1. Americas funniest home videos
2. Oprah
3. Laker games

Food:
1. M&M's
2. Edamame
3. Scrabbled Eggs

Drinks:
1. Chocolate Milk
2. Milk
3. Juice

Cartoons:
1. Dora
2. Diego
3. Yo Gabba Gabba

Places to go:
1. Disneyland / Sea World
2. Park
3. Church

Animals:
1. Gidget (or as she calls her Jiget)
2. Abby
3. Boo Boo

Phrases:
1. I not need go to sleep
2. I love YOU more!
3. Silly Daddy

Things to do:
1. Swim
2. Play with figurines and toys
3. Telling and hearing bedtime stories

Things she is afraid of:
1. Spiders
2. The TV or DVD player not working
3. Daddy spanking her

Favorite songs to sing:
1. Tomorrow- Annie Soundtrack
2. A Whole New World- Aladdin Soundtrack
3. Jimmy Eat World

Daily rituals:
1. She has to pray before she goes to bed or she will not sleep.
2. She always has to bring two or three toys whenever we go somewhere in the car.
3. She expects m&ms everytime she goes pee pee on the potty.

Happy Birthday Addison!

Addison officially turned three today. Although, when Ian told her "Happy Birthday" this morning, she replied, "No, Dad. I already had my birthday." So, needless to say, we are not celebrating it today due to the fact that we already had a party for her and she is insisting that it isn't her birthday anyways. It makes our day a little easier. I did, however, take her to story time with Mrs. Clause this morning at Rascals to Rebels, a local boutique close to our house. She loved the stories and dancing and singing to the Christmas songs.

Still Pregnant

Still no baby.  Still no contractions.  :(

D-Day is almost here!

I had my doctors appointment this morning and had good news...I am almost dilated to a 3, 80% effaced, his head is at a -1, he is small, his body is in the right position and...drum roll please...she stripped my membranes. With Addi, I delivered 24 hours after having my membranes stripped with similar circumstances. However, I still haven't had any strong contractions, so we will see. I have gotten my hopes up so far, I hope they are not crushed by my labor being prolonged much longer. You still just never know. The doctor asked me today, if I felt more swollen this time around because I had gain 4 pounds since last week. I told her it was just my sweater (and the fact that my last appointment was before Thanksgiving weekend). Anyways, Wish me luck!

Santa Clause is coming to town...

Addi got to see Santa tonight at Fashion Island. The last two years, she was so scared of him, but not anymore...She asked several times to go see him this week and when it was her turn, she ran right up to him, sat on his lap and posed for the picture. Ian and I were very happy that we did not have to join her this year in the picture. When Santa asked her what she wanted for Christmas, she pointed to the presents in the room and just said, "those."

Thanksgiving Weekend

For Thanksgiving, we made a trip up to Lake Arrowhead to spend it with Ian's family. Shandra and Christian flew in from Hawaii. Nana, Papa, Lina and Lisa flew in from Utah and Ryan from Colorado. Needless to say, it was a full house. There was lots of good food, time on the Wii (I am all time champ on Dr. Mario, only beat once by Shandra. It's a good thing I went to college, or I would not have those skills.) and we even were able to catch a movie. Preggo pic. Shandra is ten weeks behind me.

We are already getting good use out of our new double stroller.

As of today, I am 37 weeks and 5 days pregnant. Last week, I was dilated to a one and I have an appointment tomorrow. Hopefully, there will be some progress, or better yet, actual labor. I need to get this baby out of me.

Sea World

The weekend before Thanksgiving, we made our final trip to Sea World for a while. We figured it would be the last chance to have a fun outing with just Addi, so we took advantage of the chance. She talked about it all week leading up to it. Our little girl just LOVES animals and ran from exhibit to exhibit.
Addi at the dolphin show...
Also, the last time I was pregnant, this same weekend ironically, we went to Sea World with Ian's family. I took this picture then...
And because my due date is only one day different than with Addi, I am 36 weeks in each picture. Here is me now...I am a little older, larger, and blonder.

For Addi's birthday, (which isn't for another couple of weeks) we had an early party since my due date is so close to her birthday. It was a Western theme, everyone dressed up and Matt barbecued his famous tri-tip.  It was a lot of fun for Addi, she of course, loved being the center of attention and was so excited with all of her fun gifts.  
We had it at Ian's parent's house. The plan was for me to go over about noon to help set up and have Ian put Addi down for a nap, so she would be well rested. He put her down, and after about a half an hour of listening through the monitor to her sing and kick at her crib, he finally went into her room and asked her why she wasn't sleeping. She said, "Dad, I'm too excited."
Family Picture. I had to wear one of Ian's shirts because, it was the only thing that would button over my belly.
The treasure hunt.

Jazz Game

For Papa's birthday, Bret got tickets to the Jazz game 3 rows from the floor. Nana and Papa are HUGE Jazz fans, and had never been to a game. They even arranged for the Bear to come see them.

Nesting...

I officially went on maternity leave on the 6th. My client was so sad, I had no idea after working with him for almost four years, he actually liked me, as he most commonly refers to me as a "wicked old witch" and has been known to swear at me on occasion. However, I have not yet had time to slow down. The next day we hopped on a plane to Utah for a couple of days to celebrate Ian's grandpa's 87th birthday, and last week I was busy preparing for a birthday party for Addi that we had last weekend (pictures to come). It has been fabulous to just be at home, even though I have been nesting non-stop. I have completely turned my house upside down, trying to make room for the baby, making several trips to Goodwill and throwing away a bunch of junk. Today, I made a trip to LA to get bids on some dresses and also went to the grocery store twice, due to the fact that I forgot my wallet the first trip. I have 4 1/2 weeks until my due date, which hopefully means I will deliver in about 3 weeks. That is my plan, anyways. We go up to the cabin next week for Thanksgiving, I just hope I don't go into labor while we are so far away from the hospital. We will see...

Help Baby Mia!

I received an e-mail from an old Ricks College e-mail last week that broke my heart. A couple that we went to school with have a baby girl who is suffering from a severe congenital heart defect. She has been in the hospital since birth and just received a heart transplant this week. To help out with medical bills, my friend Jayna is organizing a "Have a Heart for Baby Mia" charity event and is asking for new and used craft or baby products to be donated to be sold at an event in early December. Things you make, stuff you are not using anymore....nice new or used baby and kid clothing, quilts, baby items, shoes, home decor, binky clips...whatever baby/kid things you can scrounge up! I know you guys can do well each in your own area! She would like things shipped before Nov. 26th so you can get the products to me and I can ship them or you can ship them directly to her (e-mail me for her address). Any help would be much appreciated. For more info on Mia, check out helpbabymia.blogspot.com. It is a tear jerker. I hope to hope to hear from many of you soon!

Happy Halloween!

I bought this outfit a couple of years ago at Babystyle on clearance. So when Halloween finally rolled around, and after having Addi dress up as Princess Leia twice already, I let her pick what she wanted to wear, and obviously, she chose the bird. And we just happened to have an Easter basket from last year that matched perfectly. It was so hot, however, as last week was still in the 80s. When is fall going to get here? Seriously. I am ready to not be so hot.

A Week of Firsts

On Wednesday, we ended up at the dentist office for an impromptu dentist appointment for Addi. I had originally scheduled her for a Saturday in January, thinking Ian would take her and deal with her being wiggly in the chair. That was my plan, but when they said that they had an opening right then, I decided to just get it over with. They had her lay on top of me, which worked great for her, she sat completely still while the hygienist polished her teeth. However, it was not so good for me. After a few minutes, I got really light headed, start sweating grossly and was unable to get up for the better part of ten minutes. When the dizziness did not go away, the hygienist decided that I was unfit to drive, so I had to call Marsha to come and pick us up. I don't know if Addi's weight cut off all the blood to my head or maybe my blood sugar just got to low. I called the doctor and apparently it is normal for that to happen in pregnancy, so I guess I'm okay. The good news is, is that Addi's teeth look good. She has one three year molar and no cavities.
Then, on Friday Addi had her hair cut for the very first time by Ian's sister, Chelcie who does hair at a salon in Fountain Valley. Here is the before picture that I took before we went to the salon.

Addi happily getting her hair cut.

For those of you that know Addi, you know that she never sits still. Ever. She shocked us all when she let Chelcie round brush and curl her hair after it was cut.


The final product

Addi and her stylist

Addi's last first for the week was her first play session with Von. The picture explains it all...

Addi is growing up so fast. These last few months have been so great with her. Gone are the days of hitting and spitting and going to timeout several times a day. Let's hope that things don't change when the baby comes.

Survival Test

On Monday, at swim Addi had her first survival test. She was fully clothed with shoes and thrown in the pool by Scott with no warning. It may sound awful, and she was a little traumatized, but in real life, you never know when a pool accident may happen, clothed or not. She did really well, but cried the entire lesson because of the new experience. Her biggest problem is once she gets herself to the side of the pool, she has a hard time flipping her body over to grab onto the side. She just lays there waiting for Scott to help her. Side note...this little girl is going to be trouble as a teenager. When I uploaded the pictures and videos of her this morning, she saw the picture of her and Scott and told me, "Mom, Scott's my boyfriend." Where she even learned the word boyfriend, I have no idea.

Trunk or Treat

Here are a few pictures of our ward's Trunk or Treat.

Addi & Jonas

We made the mistake of parking next to the Mason's. Their trunk was decked out. Ours, not so much. Addi was fascinated by their decor.

Halloween Preview

May the force be with you...

Last Saturday, we went down to Lego Land to hang out with Jaime, Dan and Luke. Despite Ian still recovering from the flu, Addi throwing up all of her juice just as we got to the exit in Carlsbad and me being seven months pregnant, we had a good day.

We dressed the kids up in their Halloween costumes so they could trick or treat. Addi was Princess Leia and Luke was Darth Vader. We watched the original Star Wars the night before, so Addi would know who she was dressing up as. She was excited to fight the big Darth Vader and hang out with the lego R2D2.

Once we got home, Addi refused to take her costume off or let me take out her hair.

Happy Birthday Brooke!

Brooke turned 20 last week and we celebrated by going bowling at Lucky Strike. For being pregnant, I must brag about myself. I bowled a 127 the first game, beating everyone on our side of the lane. Whenever anyone has a birthday, Addi thinks that it is hers. It is going to be a sad day when she realizes that it is not.

Swimming Update

Addi is in her 5th week of swimming and doing so well. She definitely has a little crush on her instructor, Scott. She stopped crying during her 4th lesson and looks forward to it now. Here is a video of today's lesson, we are so proud of her!

What happens in Vegas...

We're back from sin city very sleep deprived (thanks to one miss heidi) but all in one piece. Jaime and I drove out together and met Heidi there. The shopping began before we had even arrived. We stayed up late (3 am late on more than one night), slept in and ate A LOT! It was my weekend of gluttony as I take my diabetes test today. We made our way down to the lazy river, layed out, read Us Weekly, snacked and talked. Our first night there we met up with an old roomate, Kara and ate at the Cheesecake Factory. After a very lengthy dinner, we walked through the Forum Shops at Ceasar's Palace and attempted to buy gelato but then found out it was $10 dollars. $10 for a tiny bowl of ice cream? Heidi's double scoop would have set her back $16. Highlights included Heidi attempting to wear a coat made of HUMAN HAIR at Dolce & Gabana and Jaime attempting to take a picture of her in it until the guard kindly asked us to leave, Heidi running in every store to look at purses that she could "get us for cheap from China," and us browsing at Tiffany's, trying on gigantic rings. The next day we shopped at H & M and then headed to the Bellagio where we ran into one of my favorite people, Jamie Morgan. She was there for a teacher's conference with her new hubby. I was so excited I screamed when I saw her. The rest of the trip included more shopping, laying out and eating. It was the best. It will be my last excursion kid-less for a while, and although I felt guilty leaving Addi again, it was much needed and enjoyed.

Good Things Utah

Our dresses were featured on Good Things Utah yesterday. After the show we got a phone call from someone from the Disney Channel who wanted the Canary dress overnighted to her to use in a photo shoot today for Wondertime magazine in November. It goes out to 650,000 subscribers. We were so thrilled. Thanks to Kelly who had our only Canary dress and had to run to Fedex for us as we are still waiting for our dresses from the manufacturer.

Santa Ana Zoo

We also enjoyed the Santa Ana Zoo this week with Raechel, Jonas and Asher. There wasn't much at the zoo, but they did have a great play structure and a little petting zoo. The kids had fun seeing all of the monkeys. That was really just about all they had there, it was kind of surprising.

Vampire Weekend

No, I am not talking about Edward or Bella or anything related to Twilight. We went and saw Vampire Weekend (a band) with Kelly and Jason last week. We ate dinner in LA with them and then enjoyed the show. Jason has lots of connections in LA, so we had backstage passes after the show. It was a good time.
Me looking large...

Water Safe

We recently enrolled Addi in "water safe" swim classes out in Seal Beach and had a major break through on Wednesday. She goes for just 15 minutes 2 days a week with her instructor Scott and they focus on getting the kids to be able to save themselves if they were to ever fall in a pool unattended (my worst fear since Ian's parents have a pool). He was recommended to us by the Tuggles and Jacobs who have been so happy with the progress their kids have made with these lessons as well. The first two lessons were kind of hard to watch, she screamed the entire time. I would hide behind a mirrored window so she couldn't see me, but by the end of both, he had her floating on her back without his assistance (still crying the whole time). So, on Wednesday, we had her third lesson (still crying a lot, but a little more calm) and by the end of it as the pictures show, she was able to jump in the water, guided by him, and then on her own without him touching her, she got herself up to the top, rolled herself over and then began to back float all with out him touching her until the very end (all while still crying). It was amazing to see, especially just after 3, 15 minute lessons. We are so excited about the progress she has made.