First Few Moments

Newest Love of My Life

Just moments after he was born. Instantly little Warner became the newest Love of My Life!

Last of Fall

Just a few more pictures from Sunday's stroll.
Today, Wednesday, almost all of the leaves have fallen.
I'm glad that we got out for one last hoorah and I think all of that waddling around lake may have been just the thing I needed to get little Warner here.

Skipping Rocks With Dad

Today was our really first "cold" day here in Alaska.
After General Conference (Sunday) we drove up Eklutna Lake to enjoy the last of the Fall Colors. It was a beautiful day but by the end of our waltz around the lake we had several pairs of cold hands and ears.

Nothing more entertaining than rocks and water!!! The boys probably spent a good forty-five minutes here just making a splash.

Eric taught the boys how to skip rocks. They LOVED it. Christian was amazing and Sam and Tanner were even able to skip a few by the end.

A Shower in a Box

A BIG thanks to my dear, dear Flagstaff Friends!!! Oh how surprised I was to find an enormous box just outside my front door one afternoon. The note on top read, "Baby Shower in a Box!!!!" I was so touched my your thoughtfulness. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

My neighbor came over and saw the box in the entry way. She commented that she was surprised I hadn't ripped it open. I replied, "Oh, I WILL. I'm just saving it for a perfect moment when I can truly enjoy everything inside."

And I did. . .

Inside was everything for a baby shower. . . GIFTS (several which are not unwrapped since they are baby specific), Angie's famous "breakfast bars" (we only call them that to make them sound healthier and to justify our hording of them), a game, toys and treats for the kids, a notes from sweet friends whose thoughtfulness has truly touched me. By the way, who remembered that I like Bit-o-Honeys? Thanks!! It was just what I needed to get me through the last few days of this pregnancy.

A Few Rice Crispies with your Sprinkles

Sam invited a couple of neighbor girls over for an After-School-Snack party. He was so excited to make the rice crispie treats and to help pour the hot chocolate. As you can see from the picture he LOVED pouring on the Sprinkles!

MOOOOSE!

MOOOOOOOOOOOOSE!

5 FIVE 5 !

I was pleasantly surprised at my OB visit yesterday to hear the Midwife say, "There is a green sticky note here in your chart from Dr. McCreary. She wants us to schedule you to be induced. There is even an exclamation mark." What??!?? This was such a different tune than what they were singing last week. . . but I wasn't about to complain (or even bring the "no induction" talk for that matter).

And there was more good news. Right now I am dilated to a 4 and 50% effaced. Wahoo. So things are happening. Hooray. Hooray.

I drove home just beaming. Tuesday is the big day when we will welcome Baconbit #5 into our family.

Tanner was so excited this morning. He kept asking how many days . . . how many hours. . . he was just giddy. Keep your fingers crossed and hopefully next week we'll have something really cute (keep in mind that our babies have big noses) and precious to post.

FAT

Yesterday we had a few neighbor kids over to play. Ian, a 1st grader, was talking to me while taking off his shoes. "Do you know you're fat?" he asked. "I told my mom that you are fat." (glad he shares his observations) His sister standing next to him, though only four, glared at him with those all knowing eyes that said, "You should never tell a woman she is fat." So cute little Ian started to back pedal, "I mean it is your baby. . . you have have a baby in your stomach that makes you . . . ugh. . . ugh. . . " "FAT," I filled in. I love children because they call it like they see it and even though big or round might have sounded better. . . fat was very fitting.

Conference Countdown

I am just so excited for General Conference I can hardly stand it! Every year I just love it more and more. Perhaps because the older I get, the more I realize just how much better I want to be. When I was younger I thought you just grew up and were something, somebody, some being. . . I didn't realize how much growing and changing and learning and becoming better there would be in adulthood.

Conference is so inspiring. It makes me want to burst out of the racing blocks and make better choices. I want to embrace truth with an unwavering fervency. I want to "Stand a little taller. Rise a little higher. Be a little Better" in everything I do. Aahhh. . . I can't wait. 5 days and counting!!!

Heath, here is the link for the Conference Square game from the Friend Magazine. Our kids really like to play it. Each session I pull out a different treat (marshmallows, skittles, cheerios, and M&Ms) and they start listening.

(For those of you that don't know, Elder James E. Faust, a great leader in our church passed away. . . leaving a gap in the 1st Presidency/Quorum of the 12 Apostles. During General Conference this weekend, a new member of the Quorum will be announced and sustained.)

The boys were talking with Eric about Elder Faust dying and the vacancy that leaves in the Quorum of the 12 Apostles. In all innocence they asked, "Dad, could it be you? Could it?"

I love how little kids think their fathers are superheroes. . . that mothers are Magicians (aren't we suppose to pull snacks out of thin air, heal wounds with our bare hands, and make bad dreams disappear?)

I remember when my brother Greg was little. We were camping and Greg was playing with a little boy in a neighboring campsite. In their four-year-old discussion, things were said and a competition of words ensued. I'm not sure what the other little boy said but I remember Greg blurting out, "Oh yeah. . . we'll my Dad is stronger than Jesus!" :)

Toddler Bed Bomb

I must have been itching for a project. . . could it be nesting? . . . because tonight I got out all the parts for Hyrum's Toddler bed (the same one that Christian and Sam used) and put it together. Eric joined me in the adventure and we soon had it assembled.

Hyrum knew exactly what it was and quickly put his pillow and blanket on it. I have to admit I was skeptical and rightfully so . . . after about an hour of him crawling in and out and in and out I put the bed in the closet and reintroduced the crib (with the crib tent top) as the bed of Mom's Choice for Hy-Mum.

Nights!

Within the last 24 hours I've come to terms with this "no induction" idea. And the thought of being pregnant for a few more weeks, as uncomfortable as it initially sounded, isn't such a dreadful thought . . . I can make it. I will make it. Life is good. . . I'm going to have a baby--what a treasure and blessing that will be!

As I've thought about this pregnant reality, I've come to realize that my days are GREAT. I'm still able to exercise (I rode my bike to the General RS Broadcast on Saturday in hopes of starting SOMETHING, ANYTHING. . . but I didn't get so much as a cramp), I'm cooking, I'm cleaning, I'm chasing Hyrum around, I'm riding my bike with the boys to school. Don't get me wrong, I'm winded, and wobbly, and often times wondering how bending over to pick up blocks could get more difficult . . . BUT I am moving. And one of our favorite sayings around here is "Motion equals emotion."

It is the nights that I dread. I put off going to sleep (reading late into the night. . . for example last night I read Princess Academy by Shanon Hales) in hopes that exhaustion will take over and I'll actually SLEEP for more than an hour or two at a time. It is the heartburn, the chomping down handfuls of Tums in the middle of the night, the trips to the bathroom, the restlessness all while the clock ticks on and I'm thinking "sleep, please, sleep. . . you're going to be exhausted in the morning."

And yup, I'm usually exhausted in the morning, my stomach is full of berry flavored antacid, the toilet has been flushed more in the past 8 hours than all day long, and I'm wondering why did I lay down at all. . . why didn't I just didn't start another book or put in another episode of Alias. I suppose that is part of the plan for me. . . because once this little one arrives life (basing this on bacon babies in the past) will be so much better for me. Ironically, I sleep better. I can eat better. I can definitely move better. And I have this little bundle of joy that somehow makes me forget just how uncomfortable those last few weeks can be.

I've just got to keep my eye on the goal line and my hand in the tums bottle. . .

Biggest Fans

This took forever to upload. . . so view with caution.

(it is just some commentary from Christian and Tanner's biggest fans. . . Hyrum & Sam)

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

Before loading up in the car to head to the racing grounds I gave the kids a pre-race pep talk. Sam was worried if he fell or didn't win. I explained that this race was "just for fun." For racing the kids got a free Subway Sandwich and each runner received a medal. I overhead Christian say, "I've been dreaming about getting a medal."

Well, dreams do come true.

Christian and Tanner did such a great job racing. 2nd grade was combined with the 3rd grade, so I was completely surprised to see Christian amongst the first 15 runners. WOW!! Tanner wasn't too far behind. Their faces were flushed but they both were glowing and proud to have finished the race!!

Olympic Hopefuls?

Can't you just see these faces on a Wheaties box someday? Okay, maybe not, but in my book they were all little Olympians. Today the kids participated in the Birch Tree Jamboree. It was a race for all elementary kids in the Anchorage School District. They divided the kids into age groups and had them run different courses through some beautiful wooded trails. The Kindergarten boys ran .7 mile and the 2/3 grade boys ran 1.1 miles. Hyrum was a great little cheerleader. Here are the boys before and after pictures.

False Start

Sam just as confident as can be. . .

Crowded by the competition and waiting for the race (one of those moments that I just should NOT have asked how he was doing. his face said it all. his lip was quivering and his eyes were full of doubt and fear. and i didn't even get out, "Sam are . . . " when the tears started pouring down his face.)




Eric and I traded places since I was not about to run the race with him . . .




Sam's personal race was the equivalent of a 50 yard dash . . . but we were thrilled that he tried.

He said that next time he'll do it all on his own.

Ninnies

I need to vent for about fifteen seconds. The doctors here are Ninnies. Whimps. Silly. Crazy. NON-INDUCING Maniacs. Phew, I said it. I'm done.

As you can tell my doctor's appointment today didn't go as planned. I was fully expecting to lay out my master birth plan (which really only consisted of PLEASE induce me next week and I DEFINITELY want an epidural) and have the doc give the okay. . . or at least entertain the idea.

But no. No induction date for me. No deadline in sight. My OB had a family emergency come up and is flying out of town tomorrow and will be gone until next Saturday. Ugh! Bummer. What do you do? I'm just hoping this baby isn't the 9 1/2+ pounder that Hyrum was. Cross your fingers for me.

Caster Oil anyone?

Making Sense

I don't think I realized how sensitive I was to my own super senses until after I was married. Everyday I would come home to our little apartment on NAU Campus and just couldn't figure out what was wrong. For several days something felt like it was just itching at my nerves. And then one day, wallah, I took these hideous little Snowmen (a wedding gift) off the wall and threw them away. Ahhh! Instant relief. That was it! The purple, red, and pink clashing scarves were just too much and out of sight. . . off my mind (and nerves).

One night, when we were in our Deer Crossing Flagstaff house I could hear the fuse box rattling in the wind against the bedroom wall right above our bed. As hard as I tried I just couldn't ignore the sound. Eric, when brought to his attention, could hear it but easily rolled over and went to sleep. So around midnight, I threw a coat over my pajamas, slipped on Eric's boots, and went trudging outside in 10 degree weather and three feet of snow with a flashlight and duct tape in hand. I went to town on this poor little Fuse Box. . . and it never made another sound.

Eric does not share my same curse. A year later the refrigerator in that same house would buzz loudy when cooling. Eric would compassionately tell me, "I know what we can do (hooray, I thought. . . at this point I had tried everything). . . live with it." We finally ended up getting a new fridge. Eric would blame my super senses. . . but I would say any obvious person would notice when he accidentally added cinnamon rather than cumin to a mexican dish.

This new Alaska home hasn't been bad. I WD-40 the squeeky doors after we moved in, the stove has a slight hum, and we have one light in the kitchen that after warming up looses its buzz. . . but I haven't noticed anything I couldn't live with.

So on Monday I came home from riding to school with the boys. When I walked into the living room I heard these terrible rattling, rumbling sounds. My heart faltered. We have yet to really turn on the heat which happens to be radiant floor board heating upstairs . . . and not being familiar with that type of heating was devastated to realize that I would need to gear up for a very loud and rumbly winter. Ugh!! I neurotically ran from wall to wall trying to figure out where the rattling was coming from. What is a pipe? Was it the heater units themselves? I felt and listened to every heater to see if which one was guilty. But nothing. I was trying to decide just how loud I would have to turn on the music so I wouldn't become a basket case. Can I tell you how disheartened I was to learn this about the house I love? Oh, I was so sad. Was I going to have to wear Ear Muffs all winter?

A few minutes later I mosied on downstairs to put in a load of laundry. And what did I notice? The fan in the boys bathroom had been left on. Instant jubilation!! I rushed to turn it off and raced (okay waddled) upstairs. And what did I hear? Nothing. Peace. Quiet. No rumbles, no rattles. For the rest of the day, everytime I heard something, I couldn't help but smile at how worked up I had gotten over the bathroom fan.

(Recently I had an earache. I complained to my OB who graciously took a look for me. And what could she see? Wax, and lots of it!!! About 10 years ago I had this same problem. So I went and got them cleaned out. Every now and then when I hear a sound and ask Eric about it, he'll mention that I should have just left the wax in there! (ironically it didn't effect my hearing at all).)

Fall Faces

I'm just in love with the red bushes in front of our house. I was afraid earlier this week that if I didn't take the boys pictures I might miss the opportunity all together. . . so I hauled them out there on Tuesday and took their pictures in the rain. Well worth the effort.

Fantastic Fall

Today was a perfect Fall Day. Crisp, cool, cloudy. . .

A Fluke of a Puke

I haven't puked in months. . . but this morning, while making breakfast for the boys no less, all of those familiar feelings of nausea and wooze came over me and I quickly found myself at the kitchen sink. While taking care of business I overheard Christian say to his brothers, "Oh, not this AGAIN." My sentiments exactly.

FYI: After a quick stint on the couch I have felt much better. To Tanner's credit he did offer to stay home from school and take care of me which was sweet and kind. But in the spirit of academia, I encourage him to go and get 100% on that spelling test we've been studying for all week.