Monday, December 24, 2012

Grandpa’s work party

Also in September, my parents invited us to my Dad’s work party that was held at a small amusement park in Golden that claims to be Colorado’s hidden gem. Although it was super hot that day, we thought Miles would enjoy some of the kiddie rides and being with Grandma and Grandpa.

The biggest problem with the day was that we were required to wear a paper bracelet that showed which group we were with. Not a problem for adults, but a big problem for a toddler. They would not let him ride anything unless he had it on. So this is what happened when Chris tried to put it around his ankle (thinking maybe Miles would notice it less) to ride his first carousel.

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And then this is what happens when you try to squeeze an adult into a small airplane ride.

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And then make him wait whil a mom and daughter in front of him take their sweet time getting on.

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But Chris and Grandma were troopers taking Miles on all of his rides. Although her face looks like she is having fun, she said it was actually a really jerky train ride. Hence the tight hold she has on Miles.

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Overall a pretty fun day, even if I just pushed the stroller around and took pictures of everyone else.

Hannah’s blessing

So way back in September, Chris blessed Hannah at church with our entire family here. I know, forever ago. Better late than never. And because Live Writer can’t find the draft I started on this forever ago, I’m pretty much copping-out by just posting pictures.

The blessing was beautiful and so was the dress that my mom started when I was pregnant with Miles (not knowing if I would be having a girl or boy). She obviously  put it on hold until I actually needed it. It was worth the wait.

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Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Garden of the Gods

While Chris’s family was here, we wanted to do something unique to Colorado Springs. But since we had so many children on different nap schedules, we needed to keep it close and quick (relatively). So we decided to go walk around Garden of the Gods, promising that the trail is completely stroller friendly. But since Chris and I were probably somewhat sleep deprived, we might have guided the family to the parking lot that requires some walking on slightly rugged terrain . So here’s our caravan (except for me with my double stroller getting an intense workout):

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Here’s Chris when he figured out that we were on the wrong trail. Classic Chris.

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Here’s my son turning beet red and lagging behind (before I forced him into the stroller).

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And here’s me and my adorable hubby.

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Oh, Hannah was there too.

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Hannah meets family

We blessed Hannah at church over Labor Day weekend (more on that later), and were so excited to have so much family here for it. Chris’s family came from Texas and California to stay with us for the weekend. We were able to spend a lot of time in the backyard because weather here is so much more comfortable than in Texas (Chris was finally able to break in his Corn Hole set), ate a lot of food (including Chick-fil-a for Jessica that doesn’t get to eat it in California), and made a small trip to Garden of the Gods.

Chris and I hardly pulled out of camera the entire weekend, so all of these photos were taken by my father-in-law and brother-in-law. And since I think all of these pictures are adorable and speak for themselves, I’m not going to caption any. Also, I’m too lazy.

Enjoy.

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Monday, September 24, 2012

Hannah: 1 month

I know, I know, I’m totally behind on this, but let’s remember that I am a mother of two these days. Meaning, I have way less time for anything that isn’t feeding, changing, bathing, shopping, cleaning, cooking, etc.

But I did have enough sense to take a picture of Hannah on her one month birthday. FYI—photo shoots with babies that’s don’t have any head control are very difficult.

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And she wasn’t willing to give up the pacifier for this one. Mostly because Mommy was attempting this photo during naptime.

At one  month, Hannah was still a pretty laid back baby. I know by this age Miles was already requiring much more swaddling, shushing (i.e. loud white noise), and swinging to get him to sleep. Hannah is pretty content most times to sit in her chair, or in our arms, while life goes on around her. The biggest problem at this stage, she was such a loud grunter while she slept, which means I brought her into bed with me every morning in the pre-dawn hours.

And since she’s my second baby, I have far fewer pictures of her. There are lots on my phone, but I don’t feel like retrieving those because I’m not cool enough to understand how to use iCloud. But here are the few that I do have from her first month.

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Friday, August 24, 2012

In which Jenny learns that babies are made of rubber

Remember when I mentioned that Miles pulled Hannah halfway off of the couch last week? Well it’s gotten worse. At my mom’s house on Sunday night, I laid Hannah in her car seat after dinner because I can’t always hold her (fact: it’s just harder to stuff my face with desserts with a newborn in my arms), but I thought that leaving the car seat on the floor was just asking for trouble. So I put the car seat in an oversized chair that has a large ottoman in front of it, figuring that she would be safe off the ground and a little out of reach. Right?

Wrong.

My mom happened to peek her head around the corner to see that Hannah was no longer in her car seat but was instead lying on the ottoman by herself. I know she didn’t wiggle her way out of there.

So we’ve just been very careful since then. When Hannah’s chillin’ in her lamb chair, it’s on the counter. When she’s in her swing, I am always in eye sight. When I’m in the shower, she now comes into the bathroom where I can see her. Miles has tried to push her in the swing several times already.

But today, I’m not sure there was anything I could do to stop what happened.

We were in Costco where they have double-wide carts, so Miles sat in the cart with Hannah’s car seat next to him. We were on our last two minutes in the store when I stopped to look at the movies. I kid you not, I was no more than 2 feet away from the stroller when Miles did something that caused Hannah’s car seat to fall out of the cart and land on the floor, on its side. She, of course, was screaming, but appeared to be unharmed. I took her out of the seat to calm her down while several employees came over to make sure everything was okay. And while I held her, I tried to explain to Miles that he could really hurt Hannah if he touched her car seat. And how did he respond?

“Oh, no. Binkie.”

You know, because Hannah’s binkie fell on the floor when it toppled out of the car seat on the descent from the cart. No concern for how the baby was. Just the precious binkie.

I did call Chris at work to make sure Hannah would be okay and he assured me that as long as she was strapped in, she should be fine. He just said to watch her.

“For what?” I asked.

“You know, if she doesn’t wake up,” he replied.

Very helpful.

And then I called my mom who told me to write it down because someday I might find this funny. So that’s what I’m doing.

It doesn't help that I chose this morning to try on pre-pregnancy jeans.

So after I finish my Diet Coke, all three of us are taking naps. Long ones.

Friday, August 17, 2012

3 weeks of Hannah

We have survived three weeks now, and I’m beginning to think we’ll make it through okay. Maybe. Chris has gone back to work, I have left the house with two children multiple times (including eating out), and the house is still standing (and mostly clean). And last night I even made a dinner with a side dish and dessert. So domestic.

Hannah continues to be a really great baby during the day and an awfully loud grunter at night. She has been sleeping in our room for a multitude of reasons, but we’re hoping to get her out really soon. Her room is now painted, we bought a second monitor, but we’re just waiting on her schedule to get a bit better. Well that’s what I’m waiting on anyway. Chris is just waiting on me. I think I’m just to tired to walk to the end of the hallway to feed her at night still.

Her biggest problem these days is just trying to keep the hiccups from shooting spit-up out her nose. It’s not a very lady-like quality, which I keep trying to tell her, but she just hasn’t figured it out yet.

Miles still really loves Hannah and is getting a bit more aggressive with his desire to show affection. While I was making dinner last night, I had left Hannah lying on the couch because newborns can’t really go anywhere, while Miles played with his cars and watched a movie. I happened to look over as he was grabbing her hand and pulling her off the couch, even after I yelled, “No!” at him multiple times. She was halfway off before I grabbed her. Needless to say she is now spending more time in her chair on the kitchen island.

Sadly, we don’t have a terrible amount of pictures to show for our three weeks, but here’s one from my photo shoot the other day in which I actually took the camera off of Auto.

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I apologize for her greasy hair, but baths have been few and far between with this sweet girl. Which leads me to the next picture from tonight, at three weeks, when I figured out if I don’t comb her hair after a bath, it’s curly. But only on her Mohawk.

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I don’t think her hair is this red in real life, but I was experimenting with camera settings again. But there is hope yet that this brunette will become a red head, too.

Friday, August 3, 2012

Hannah Rae Johnson: The birth story

It’s been a week, and I’m finally getting around to the official update; I think that’s pretty good all things considered. If you don’t remember how my first birth went, you can read about it here. But I’m sorry to tell you that this story will not be nearly as interesting.

We were planning on inducing on August 6 (I got a call from the Doctor’s secretary yesterday to set everything up), but when I went in for my 38 week appointment on Wednesday, my doctor told me he would see me back the next day to deliver a baby. I was dilated to a 2 and 70% effaced, but that didn’t sound all that imminent—plenty of moms I know walk around for weeks dilated to a 2. But with Miles I went from dilated to a 0 at my 39 week appointment to having him two days later, so there was really no way of knowing.

But my doctor told me he knows these things…something about being an OB for 15 years and delivering over 3000 babies makes him some sort of expert, I guess.

So on Thursday I made sure to get those last minute things checked off my list. Okay, the one thing on my list: get my last mani/pedi. Chris really thought it was strange that I made that my top priority, but anyone with ugly calloused feet like me knows how important it is. We ran some errands in the morning as a family, had lunch at a local burger/ice cream place, I got my pedicure, battled Miles to take a nap, and then ordered some pizza for dinner. A real healthy day, I know. In my defense, the baby dropped so that I could actually eat without heartburn.

And while we were eating dinner, I had my first contraction. So I said, “I think I just had a contraction.” And Chris replied, “Like a real one? or like the ones you’ve been having?”

No, like a real one.

But I totally understand why he asked because I wasn’t real in tune with my contractions last time around.

So I started timing the contractions on my phone (amazing technology…because you know, watches just don’t cut it these days). So Chris started doing last minute things around the house (unpacking the office, etc.) because we were planning on having an Opening Ceremonies/House Warming Party the next night. I called my mom when the contractions were about 20 minutes apart, just in case. She decided to come spend the night so that she would be there if we went to the hospital.

After getting the hospital bag packed with all of the last minute items, putting Miles to bed (and crying because it was the last time he would be my baby), sitting down to watch some Project Runway, and emailing my doctor to tell him he was right, we went to bed because there wasn’t enough progress to go in. But as it turns out, sleep is really hard to achieve with ongoing contractions.

So while Chris slept, I watched a late night episode of NCIS and tracked contractions on my phone. At around midnight, the contractions were about 5-6 minutes apart and getting more painful. And since my Doctor told me to come in when they were painful, I woke Chris up and went to the hospital.

It was such a strange drive—so different than our drive to the hospital last time. For instance, Chris didn’t spend the whole time telling me not to push. And he didn’t have to pack his trauma shears and a shoestring just in case he needed to deliver a baby in the car. We just drove calmly to the hospital.

We checked in just after 1 am, and I was dilated to a 3.5. My doctor admitted me and sent me to a room to wait for my epidural. I wasn’t sure I wanted one until I realized that it was 1 am and that I would be laboring all night, and that without an epidural, I would never get any sleep. I thought that might make the pushing really, really exhausting.

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Not a great picture, but feeling pretty good once that epidural was in.

The epidural went in just before 3 (the most terrifying part thanks to a Dateline I watched when I was 13 about women who were paralyzed from botched epidurals), and the doctor broke my water just after 3. I then was able to nap off and on (more off than on until the epidural started working in both legs) while Chris snored on the couch. Just after 6:30, it was time to start pushing which worked out nicely because my doctor and nurse were both off at 7.

But alas, this little girl did not want to come as quickly as her little brother. I pushed for about an hour and 15 minutes before she made her grand entrance with what the doctor referred to as jewelry (i.e. the cord wrapped around her neck twice), but after that was taken care of, she let out her cry and they handed her to me. I won’t include those pictures because babies aren’t really that cute until they are cleaned up.

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She looks so much like Miles in this picture—except the dramatic difference in hair color.

We spent Friday trying to catch up on some sleep, which meant sending Hannah to the nursery for a while, and getting settled with our new little one. My parents brought Miles over after dinner to meet his little sister. He loves babies and was excited to see one so close, but lost his interest after only a few minutes.

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We went home the next afternoon because it seemed like a good idea at the time. And then we realized just how small babies are when they’re born when we put her in the car seat with that enormous pacifier in her mouth.

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And since then we have just been trying to adjust to being a family of four. But we are truly blessed to have Hannah Rae in our family and look forward to watching Miles and Hannah grow together.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Bubbles in the new backyard

We moved into our new house on July 13 and were able to get a bit settled before the arrival of baby girl, but I didn’t want to blog about her until I showed you how much Miles has enjoyed his new backyard.

This is was two days after we moved in and just after Chris had mowed the lawn for the first time (something he was literally giddy about).

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Miles also loves to run down the small hill in the grass or to just go out to play with balls. Unfortunately, we have no fencing or covers over the window wells, so he can’t go out solo yet, but I think the grass is a big hit.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Papas and Popsicles

Chris was able to take off Father’s Day this year (meaning: he worked the night shift and woke up earlier than he would have liked to come to church with us), which means we were able to get a nice father/son photo shoot (meaning: Miles refused to let go of his truck or look at the camera). Strange to think that he’ll have to kids in his arms next year.

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We had a nice time at church trying to meet new people in our new ward before we actually move next month. And then came home to grill some steaks and spend a nice quiet evening at home.

At since it was very hot, I thought it a fitting time to let Miles have his first popsicle. Yes, he’s two-years-old and had never had a popsicle.

It was love at first lick.

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But then he felt that popsicles are better enjoyed while wandering around the yard with Ramone in hand (another favorite car for the day).

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And then I think he knew that his face was messy. And this kid does NOT like mess.

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Saturday, June 16, 2012

32 (ish) weeks

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I took this picture this morning, so I’m actually 32 weeks and 4 days pregnant. But I feel much farther along. Or I feel like I should be much farther along. Like I could have this baby tomorrow and be okay with it (that is, only if she were completely cooked and ready to be born).

I’ve reached the joyous stage of pregnancy when heartburn and nausea  rear their ugly heads after everything I eat. Even a granola bar. Oh, and my back hurts. And I can’t sleep. And I have to pee about every twenty minutes. And I’m having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions. And I also have to support myself on something to pick anything up off of the floor, a point that Chris thought was pathetically cute the other day.

I have started to pack my hospital bag already. You know, since I didn’t have one last time, I thought I would try to make it up to Chris this time around. It’s funny though because I have no idea what I might want with me if this labor lasts longer than 14 minutes. Am I really going to want to read a magazine?

I took a tour of the birth center this afternoon because if we make it to my induction date (which is now scheduled for August 6th), I’ll be spending more time in Labor and Delivery than I did with Miles; I figured it might be nice to have an idea of what’s happening around me. There were 3 other mothers there (all with their support people), but I was the only one that asked any questions. And I asked a lot of questions. But I feel like when you’ve done it before, especially if you've done it at a different hospital, then you have a lot better idea of what things to ask before hand. I’m sure they were all super annoyed with me, but I left feeling confident. And I’m also sure they were secretly thankful for me.

Miles still doesn’t really understand what’s going on, but he at least no longer points to his own belly when asked were the baby is. We visited a friend’s newborn baby the other morning where I learned that Miles likes to share his toys with babies. Unfortunately, that meant he threw a ball at the bassinet. Fortunately, he has terrible aim. We’re going to have to keep our eye on him to make sure he isn’t aggressively sharing his cars with his baby sister after she comes home.

Chris still hasn’t come to terms with the fact that this will be a baby girl. Every time I show him a new outfit or headband, he scowls. I know he’ll be wrapped around her finger as soon as she’s born, but he’s going to hold out until then. He’s too focused on the new house to be excited for a daughter.

Did I mention that we’re moving 4 weeks from yesterday? That sounds like a really fun thing to do when I’m in my last month of pregnancy. An adventure, really. Luckily I have a wonderful mother who has been coming down once a week to help me organize and pack room-by-room. So far we’ve organized the entire basement—including all of the things for the baby—and the office. She said we should just go ahead and pack all of my clothes next since I can’t wear any of them until after we move anyway. So sad. But so true.

Here’s a recent picture of part of the house.  Sorry about the glaring sun, but we only took this picture so that we could email the builder to complain about something. Can you spot the something that looks funny?

 

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Overall, we’ve got a lot going on this summer. But we’re trying our best to enjoy the time we have as a family of three before a new baby throws a wrench in our normal routine. So here’s what we spend as much of our time doing as possible: swimming, even though it often ends up being eating snacks by the pool.

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Sunday, May 20, 2012

Week 28

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I keep meaning to write about the pregnancy, but then I forget to have Chris take a picture of me when I’m actually dressed in nice clothes. And since he happened to be home before church today, this is what we got. A shadowy face, but better than the ones he took first from a lower position until I pointed out that I don’t prefer pictures from that angle because double chins are never cute. (And I’m really bad at photoshop).

Some days I feel really big, mostly because I know I am bigger this time around. And I keep trying to wear things that just don’t fit well. I finally ironed a bunch of shirts that had been sitting in a box since the last pregnancy (including the one in this picture), so I think I might have enough clothes to make it until August. But it’s highly possible that I’ll be walking around half naked all summer because I’m already sweaty and uncomfortable in the middle of May.

Baby girl is getting more and more active everyday. There were a few days a about two weeks ago that I think she must have turned her back to the outside giving me a nice respite from constant kicking, but it also made me worry that something was wrong. But then she moved again and I haven’t really slept well since. Except when I take Tylenol PM.

As of now we’re pretty sure that we will induce on August 1st, which I’m not very comfortable with, but really don’t have many other reasonable options. And that sounds so silly. But if I want Chris to be able to take the first few days off with me, it just makes more sense to schedule it. And then there’s the worry that I’ll have the baby at home because I won’t make it to the hospital in time. My doctor seems to think that this baby will come just as fast as Miles (or faster), and I’ll still be about 20 minutes away from the hospital with a toddler to try to pass off on someone. I guess it makes sense, but I just feel weird about scheduling a birth.

We’re still not even close to having a name, but that’s not much different than with Miles. We know we won’t name her until after she’s born, but we’re having a hard time agreeing on any.

For now, she’s just Baby Girl. And that’s good enough for me. For now.

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Thursday, May 17, 2012

Birthday festivities, part 2

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Since Miles’s actual birthday was on a Tuesday, we waited until Saturday evening to get together with the entire family. The weather was perfect for a picnic at the park. And by picnic, I mean I ordered pizzas and had them delivered to the park. But it was a perfect outing for all of the cousins.

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The boys playing croquet together.

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Miles tried so hard to swing the mallet (is that what they’re called?) like a big boy.

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Here are all of my sister’s adorable kids (even William with his mullet that has since been taken care of).

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And the birthday boy being his cute self.

I love having my family close enough for get-togethers, and I know Miles adores his cousins.