Summer Fun

Let me just say that March was an awesome time to have baby #2! It has been warm enough that I can send Seth outside to play to his hearts content so I can nurse Eli without him clambering all over me. Seth is happy, Eli is fed, so Mom is happy. We have also taken Eli outside in his bouncy chair and he has seemed to like it just fine, as long as the sun isn't too bright. Fortunately, we have a couple of mature trees in our backyard that provide shade for Eli.

We are so blessed to have such a happy baby. Eli is full of smiles and is quite content. Having another baby has helped me remember to be grateful for all of our blessings. I also have been truly enjoying having a baby around. I know how fast the baby stage passes, so I am soaking up the baby-ness! Of course, having a mellow, smiley baby who sleeps 4-5 hours straight at night makes it very easy! (I think Seth didn't sleep 4-5 hours in a row until he was 18 months!) So, in the spirit of enjoying the baby stage, I put together a list of my favorite things about new babies!

Best things about having a new baby around:

-Of course the CUTE FACTOR has to be on the list! No matter how funny looking some features may be on babies, (like Eli's bald spots on his head) babies are all still cute because they are miniature people. Pretty much anything miniature is cute.

-There's nothing as special as HOLDING/CUDDLING a new baby. It is one of the best feelings ever!

-Is there anything cuter than a BABY YAWN or a BABY SNEEZE??!! I don't think so!

-The SPECIAL SPIRIT in your home from having a baby who was just with Heavenly Father days, weeks, or now, for us, a few months ago.

-You can't spoil a newborn too much. I love that. :)

-You always have an excuse for your house being messy, or for not getting something done, etc. Maybe I use the "I just had a baby" excuse too much!

-IMMOBILITY. Babies always stay where you put them, unlike wandering, mischievous crawlers/toddlers!

-The first time they look right at you and SMILE.

Well, I could continue, of course, but then this post might end up being too long! :)

So I'll just end with a few pictures of what's been going on here. I just realized I didn't upload the others of Eli that I wanted, so those will have to wait for another day.

Seth playing with the hose in our back yard. It's almost a daily occurrence, and our lawn always needs the water, so I don't mind!

Hose picture #2. We have a few (too many) patchy spots in our lawn, so Seth makes mud piles with them. What is more fun to a little boy?!

Our zucchini plants and one of the tomatoes. We have several other tomatoes, and actually have some little baby green tomatoes on them! We are excited for fresh tomatoes. BLT's, here we come!

Is this not the cutest little hat? This picture was taken when Eli was 2 months old. What a sweetie, huh!

Seth on the coolest toy ever from Grandma and Papa Call! Battery powered four-wheeler. :)

Seth loves wearing his helmet. I hope that continues!

Well, that's it for now!

Eli's Arrival

Well, a lot has happened since my last post. Like I had a baby! So exciting, huh! For those of you who care, and because I need to write it down somewhere, here is his birth story:

My due date for baby Eli was March 24. Boy I don't remember those last few weeks dragging so slowly with Seth! I know every 9-month-pregnant lady is sore and tired, but those last few weeks were much harder than I anticipated because Seth's pregnancy was not nearly this hard! But there was an end in sight, so I knew I could make it!

Because I chose to have this baby in Idaho Falls at Mt View Hospital, instead of Pocatello (a 45 minute drive away), (and partly because I wanted SO BADLY to be DONE being pregnant!) I opted for a scheduled induction on Friday the 21st. We were scheduled to go in at 6am, but when I called that morning at 5am to make sure they didn't fill up over night, they said every room was full, they would call me in a few hours to see what it looked like then. After calling every 2-3 hours all morning, we finally were able to go up at 2pm that afternoon. Despite having to wait till the afternoon, we actually had a great morning. We slept in, had a good breakfast, and the 3 of us enjoyed being home all together one more time before Eli entered our lives and changed everything! (For the better, of course!)

Well, to my surprise, when we got there, I was already dilated to 5cm. Having been dilated at 3cm since 35 weeks with pretty much no change since, I figured I would still be at a 3. But I was already half way there! So they started an IV and got the pitocin going! Since they were so busy in labor/delivery that day, it took a couple of hours to get that going; it was 4:30 when they started the pitocin. I still wasn't in pain from the contractions, but the nurse asked if I was planning on getting an epidural. I said I was, and she said the nurse anesthetist was already there so whenever I wanted I could get one. Well, I figured since I was going to get one anyways, why wait? So I still have yet to experience true labor pains! (With Seth, I got an epidural before I even got pitocin!) The anesthetist was awesome, and the epidural was awesome.

A short few hours and a few March Madness basketball games later, and it was time to push! I was really nervous about pushing because it was really physically hard for me with Seth, and I had to push a lot. So I was prepping myself mentally for a similar experience. This time though I only pushed through 2 contractions, 5 times, and he was out! I was done already! Wo. Awesome. He was born at 8:48pm. They immediately gave him to me to hold, and even offered to let me cut the cord (after Geran (of course) declined). I was so in rapture of my little dark-haired bundle that I also declined. It was so special to be able to hold him so quickly with Geran so close to us, too.

My nurses were awesome, and my 1st post-partum nurse was especially great. I tore a little bit and had to get stitched up, but I really didn't feel sore. Everything after the birth went very smoothly. Eli had no problems latching on for me to breastfeed, and he nursed for a long time! I enjoyed the snuggle time with him. :) He did great through the night and the next day.

Meanwhile, Seth was at my sister Rosemary's house. Seth loves it over there, and I know Rosemary is such a sweet mom and aunt, but I still missed my little Seth and was a little worried about him being away from Mom and Dad for so long. So we made the (poor) decision to come home the day after Eli was born. Eli had to have his 24 tests done before we could go, which means we couldn't leave until at least 9 or 9:30pm. Of course after they finished all the things they needed to, Eli was hungry, so we didn't leave until after 10:30pm, arriving home at 11:30. It was a bit of a long night! We should've stayed an extra night! Oh well. We made it anyways!

Seth has been a great big brother, and has not had any jealousy issues like I thought he might. I am so pleased with him. He has been such a sweet boy, loves to pat Eli on the head and say hi to him, pat his back to help burp him, give him "big hugs," and is really good and telling me when Eli is crying! "MOMMMYYYYY! ELI CRYYYYIIIIIINNNNGGGG!" he says. Very loudly and emphatically. Good thing Eli isn't too fussy. He also takes and binky and a bottle, and nurses about every 3 hours, which makes my life way easier! The transition from 1 to 2 kids has been seamless and I love everything about it. Everything is easier the 2nd time around! Plus, Geran and I aren't out-numbered yet. :)


Here are a few of the pictures I took yesterday. I plan to take some with Eli and Seth together, but just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Yes, Seth still naps in his bouncey chair! Can you believe this bouncey chair has lasted this long??!! Fortunately, Seth still takes a good nap every day (though that may have something to do with his 10-11pm bedtime....) so I can usually catch some shut-eye while both kids are sleeping!

Thoughts [ramblings] on Parenting

First a quick holiday update! We were able to spend Christmas with the Call's this year in Washington! Seth did pretty well on the drive, thanks to an overnight pit stop at my parent's in Kuna, a DVD player in the car, and an iPad. :) Staying with Nina and Mark was great--they are some of the most generous people I know! Colin (age 6) and Aubree (age 4) were so nice to Seth and pretty much let him have free reign over lots of their toys! Seth had a blast! It was fun to see all the cousins play together. I am continually impressed with my sisters-in-law parenting skills and how well all the kids treat each other. It makes me sad that we don't live closer.

Seth on Christmas morning sitting with Daddy. He had fun opening up presents, then mostly played with Aubree's toys! Lol. At least we got a picture with him playing with his own toys!

30 weeks pregnant. Only 10 more weeks! Whew. I know I don't look very big, but I sure feel big!

Don't feel obligated to read this part; it's mostly just me putting my thoughts into (somewhat) organized sentences! Here goes:

As Seth has gotten older, I have encountered more and more parenting challenges. Naps, tantrums, picky eating, biting, etc. I have so many questions all the time! Like, "Should I chastise him for [insert somewhat questionable behavior]?" "Do I spoil him too much?" "Do I play with him enough?" "So-and-so does [this] with her kids, should I?" And the list goes on, and changes as he goes through phases and grows older. I probably will never really know the answer to any of these, but I keep plugging away at this parenting thing, day by day. I see so many other moms who seem so confident in their parenting choices! But I think all parents have similar questions, whether or not they voice them. Their questions might be different than mine, but everyone is trying their best! We all have different challenges with our children. One common line I hear a lot (not necessarily directed towards me!) when it comes to parenting is "How do you do it?" Some challenges that seem impossible for one parent might be the exact challenge another parent is cheerfully and successfully dealing with. I have learned to be grateful for my challenges, and try to learn from them. I have also learned to be grateful for the challenges I don't have: I am grateful Seth enjoys good health, I am grateful he sleeps in, I am grateful he doesn't despise his car seat, I am grateful he gives me hugs and kisses, I am grateful for his happy temperament, and so many other things! And one other lesson learned: don't judge other parent's decisions; all kids are different, and you never know exactly what their situation or what their child is like. Being a parent is one of the hardest but most rewarding things in life, and I hope I can continue to learn from it!

Ok, rambling over! (For today. :) ) Thanks for indulging me, if you made it this far! See ya next time!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

We got several inches of snow yesterday, and it is beautiful! I would enjoy it more if it was -1 degree outside..... Burrhhh!! We finally got our tree decorated on Thursday; Seth was a big help. ;) We also enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving free from travel, but still full of food and family and football!

Seth is officially 2 years old now. It seems like he has been 2 for several months, but it's only been a few weeks now since his birthday. So far, the "terrible two's" have been the best! (Everyone says that three's are worse....) The two words that best describe him are energetic and sweet. He is talking in sentences more, can count to 3 by himself, knows colors, and can even point to his mandible and sternum when asked. :) Can you guess who taught him those? :) We have a lot of fun together.

Here are a few pictures to summarize the last couple of months:

Happy Halloween! We almost didn't go trick-or-treating cuz he didn't want to put his costume on. Fortunately, Seth's little friend came to our house to trick-or-treat, and when Seth saw his friend in a costume, he was OK with putting his own on. Unfortunately, at the 1st house we stopped, the lady that answered the door had a really scary costume and it scared Seth enough that he didn't even want to walk up to anyone else's door. Not even candy to coax him into it!

Here's the tree almost done being decorated. You can tell which ornaments Seth helped with the most.

Seth was fascinated with this little nativity set that my brother David got for us a few years ago.

This is just Seth being a little crazy. He got the vacuum out and plugged it in all by himself, turned it on, and tried to suck his ear off.... He thought it was pretty funny. Maybe eventually he will put his vacuuming skills to good use.

Well, we are looking forward to Christmas! For me, I'm mostly excited for Geran to have a break! I get a little break from teaching, too. In fact, I am pretty much done for the semester. It has been a great experience, and I love all my students. I have thoroughly enjoyed it, but I won't say no to a break! I'm sure the Christmas season will fly by anyways, and before we know it, school will be in session again! School actually starts on my birthday this year, just a little side note. :)

That's it for now! See ya next time! We repainted our kitchen (with a lot of help from my family!) during Thanksgiving break so next time I will hopefully have a few pictures of that. Thanks for reading!

Goodbye, summer! Hello, Fall!

Well, here I am again, 4 months later with a quick post! We have had an unusually busy/stressful last few months (I'll get to that late in a minute...) First I will recap just a bit.

I can't believe I don't have any picture of our annual camping trip to Couer d'Alene with the Call's! Next year I will actually bring a camera.... I don't have the proof with pictures, but we had BLAST!! Seth LOOOOOVED playing in the lake water, and thoroughly enjoyed the boat rides. The best part for me is simply to be with family. We don't get to see Geran's family too much since they live in Washington, but I love talking with all of them; I learn a lot especially from my sisters- and mother-in-law. They are all amazing mothers and women and have so much more experience than I have! It is great to have so many people to learn from.

Another fun thing that happened this summer was my sister, Rosemary, and her family moving to Pocatello from Kansas! Only a few blocks away from us! It has been so fun to have them so close. Seth loves playing at their house full of little boys. I feel like I missed out a bit on cousin relationships as a kid since I didn't have any cousins even in the same state growing up, and I have like 60 cousins! I want my kids to actually know their cousins. Even though Seth does have a lots of cousins that live out of state, I have pictures of most of them on our fridge, and Seth knows their names! I hope it helps to foster good cousin relationships as he gets older. Of course, when he has cousins living in the same neighborhood, that definitely helps, too! I have just loved having a family member so close, especially my big sister! She is so sweet and generous; always offering to help and thinking about us. I have learned a lot from her already.

Switching gears: I'm really excited that the holiday season is coming, for 2 primary reasons: #1: I love to spend time with family during the holidays, and #2: it means this semester will be over! Geran started teaching a new class within the Robotics program at ISU this semester, and he has a 2 hour lecture and a 3 hour lab EVERY DAY to prepare for, almost from scratch! He has been putting a ton of work into it (i.e. up till 2AM almost every night reviewing/prepping etc., plus the grading he still has to do....). The good news is that next semester he'll have all the stuff he did this semester, and won't need to spend as much time prepping. That is why I am excited for this semester to end--so Geran can get a break! 

I also started teaching as adjunct faculty in the radiology program at ISU this semester. I am really enjoying teaching. It's only one day a week: four two-hour labs. It is really fun to be in a teaching position, and I love all my students. I was wanted to cut back a little at my technologist job at the clinic, but couldn't due to my co-worker moving. When I accepted the position this summer, I had just found out I was pregnant (but I wasn't sick and tired yet!), and my co-worker hadn't moved. Everything happened all at once: school started, I had to work more at the clinic due to the move, and I got sick and was completely exhausted from this pregnancy. So Geran and I were both totally exhausted all the time. And of course Seth has enough energy to make up for our lack! We had some long days that poor Seth just wanted a playmate, but I was too sick to even get off the couch, then Geran would come home from work exhausted from staying up so late the previous night, so it was all we could do was let him play on the ipad! I am almost 19 weeks now, finally not feeling sick anymore, and mostly just tired. I can do tired; I haven't slept through the night since Seth was born! And my work schedule is a little more back to normal. We are doing much better now, and it helps that I can usually take a nap with Seth on my days off.

If you actually read that last paragraph, thanks for letting me vent a little bit! On to a few pictures. They are not too exciting. Next post will probably have Seth's Halloween costume and birthday pictures. :) The only pictures I have to post this time are from Rosemary's baby shower, and a couple of random Seth pictures.

Food table at Rosey's baby shower!

My oldest sister and youngest sister and I! This was 2 days before Rosemary's C-section (she had a baby girl--Evalyn Rose!), Diana is due December 10 (she is having a boy), and I am about 14 weeks along in this picture, due March 24 (we are having another boy)!

These are the only pictures I had of Seth on my camera. He really needs a hair cut! I still can't believe how blonde he is.

I just love this cutie pie!

Big Boy Seth

Wow, Seth is getting so big! I went to transfer a sleeping Seth from his bouncy chair into his toddler bed last night and thought, "You are getting so heavy, Seth! Where did my little baby go?" He is almost 19 months old now! He has definitely graduated from "baby" to "toddler." I don't even call him "Baby Seth" anymore, though it still slips out sometimes, particularly when he falls asleep next to me.

This age is so fun (not that is doesn't have its challenges!). It is so easy to make him laugh and to entertain him. We play outside A LOT now that the weather is warm. I love it! I am grateful our backyard is fenced in so he can't escape. :) Right now, he is playing in his Cozy Coupe from my mom (thanks, Mom--Seth LOVES it!) out on the patio while I am typing this. He is a boy through and through: his favorite things are lawn mowers, tractors, cars, trucks, and bugs! When we go on walks (which is quite often), we often end up sitting on the curb watching a neighbor mow their lawn. I hope he is this enthusiastic about lawn mowing when he gets older! :)

Enough writing; here are a few pictures:

Geran got new tires for his four-wheeler. Seth had his fun until Dad got them on.

Seth loves playing with kitchen things. He always wants to help me cook.

Chocolate face! Yum!

Seth has a blast on this little slide. Now it is in the little kiddie pool. He also is holding the beloved pooper scooper... Kinda gross. He loves that thing.

The favorite passtime: playing with Dad's iPad! He's got that thing figured out.

This is his "I want to play with that camera you're holding!" face. I don't think so!

What a handsome kid!

This is his very serious driving face. :)

Well, that's what's going on around here! Geran is taking a class this summer, so he is busy with homework and studying. He was just called to be an Assistant Scout Master for the Deacons, so he will get to go on campouts and everything that goes along with that! That will be fun for him. I am enjoying playing with Seth, and am so glad to be done with school! No doctorate for me--Master's is quite enough! We are looking forward to the rest of this summer! It always goes by too fast, but we are making the most of it!

Winter Fun

Living in Pocatello, one must learn to love snow, or all 5-6 months of wintertime will be pretty miserable! I've tried more than once to introduce Seth to the fun times to be had in the snow, but he is still a little young for snowmen and such, but he did like to be pulled in a sled. I didn't get any pictures of that though, because I was too busy pulling him up and down the sidewalk. Here are a few pictures of our recent happenings.

 This is Seth and our neighbor Cameron playing in the snow. It was one of those perfect play-in-the-snow-days: not too cold, no wind, and beautiful fresh snow!

Seth is getting a little tired at this point.... Cameron was doing great!

Yes, Seth is a climber. :) He almost always has a bruise or scratch on his head...

Seth is modeling one of the hats I made for our friend for Christmas.

What cute smile, huh!

Yes, Seth loves chocolate as much as I do; he also has been playing telephone anything that resembles the shape of a cell phone. I don't know if this is evidence of his love for chocolate, or evidence of how much his mother talks on the phone....

Bubbles! Seth loves bubbles. :)

And on a different note, these are the tomatoes Geran is growing hydroponically at the ISU. Some of them are 6 feet tall when you pull them up to their full height! One of them is FINALLY starting to bud. Geran can't wait to have fresh tomatoes during the winter! Good thing winter lasts a while 'round here...

Well, that's what we have been up to. Geran has been especially busy mentor the FIRST Robotics High School 4H club. Their task was to build a robot that throws Frisbee's into big slots and retrieves them. The robot is done, and the regional competition is later this month down in Salt Lake. It's been a good experience for him to help.

I have been busy trying to finish up the Health Education Master's program this semester. I can't wait to be done. It's really hard to find time to do homework and work on my project when Seth wants to help me type on the computer.... Thank goodness for nap times, though, even if they are only 45 minutes naps.

And of course, Seth is always busy. He loves to explore, and is quite the dare devil. He likes to stand at the top of the stairs, get my attention, lean over like he's about the jump down, then, as soon as I get close enough to catch him, he actually does jump! (Well, kind of jumps, he hasn't quite mastered the jumping thing yet.) His is making more and more sounds, so I think he might start saying actual words soon. So far, he only says a few things. What he lacks in speaking skills, though, he more than makes up for in problem solving and motor skills--he is definitely like Geran that way. I love to watch him figure things out. Some parts of being mother to Seth have been challenging: not taking a bottle, he has yet to sleep through the night, he will not hold still for anything, rarely naps longer than an hour, but I just love him so much that I don't need to get caught up in those things! After all, he'll only be a baby for so long, and all those things he'll grow out of. He's already entering the exciting world of toddlerhood, and I don't want to miss anything!