Two Months

Bristol had her two month check-up today, and she is 22 in. long and weighs 9 lbs. 9 oz (25th percentile for both). In the last several weeks or so, she has started smiling at us and cooing. She is also doing really well at night, sleeping for about eight hours before waking up. So she is only waking about once a night, and if I wake her and feed her right before I go to bed, she doesn't wake-up until five or six. That's really nice. Until recently, Bristol wanted to be held all the time or she would cry, and it seemed like I had to be the one holding her. Now, though, she is often content if she has her pacifier and is in her swing. If I were her, though, I would want one someone to hold me all the time so I would have some protection from Brooke and Jade. Jade really likes Bristol, but sometimes it is too much. She often bugs Bristol when she is asleep in the swing (and wakes her up), or she tries to pick her up, things like that. Jade kind of reminds us of Elmyra from Tiny Toons because she smothers Bristol the way Elmyra smothers animals.

When Bristol is tired, Trent can't get her to go to sleep and I have to do it. This time he actually did, and apparently, it made him tired. Notice that Bristol is wearing Trent's hoodie; she was pretending to be him I guess.

Christmas Fun

This year we made a gingerbread house again, but I decided that I would actually let the kids decorate it. I helped with the frosting, but they mostly did the candy decorating themselves. They each got to do one side of the roof and then whatever else they wanted on the sides. Jade decorated the right side of the roof, and Brooke did the left. After Christmas, we are going to eat it. That's what Brooke wants to do, but no thank you for me.

Brooke's school had a little Christmas program where each grade sang a Christmas song. Kindergarten did "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." This isn't a great picture, but this is what we have. We made the mistake of getting to the program about fifteen minutes before it started so all the seats were filled and we had to stand on the side in the back. Thankfully, the program was less than an hour. Brooke is the fifth child from the left in the back row.

Pictures

Here are a few pictures that I think are cute:

Bristol

Bristol sucking her thumb.

Jade said, "I have chocolate face. I'm making a mess." She wanted me to take her picture.
Obviously, I need to take more pictures of Brooke so I have some of her to post.

Halloween

For Halloween, Jade was Minnie Mouse and Brooke was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Since Trent's mom, Gayle, has been here, she and Trent accompanied the girls while they went trick-or-treating. They just went around our neighborhood for a little while and, like everyone else on Halloween, got more candy than is good for them. Of course, they have been sharing a lot of it with me although they don't know really know that. I had no idea how many trick-or-treaters to expect at our house so I bought four bags of candy. Well, we hardly had anyone so we had a lot of leftover candy. Sadly, we have already eaten all of it.

Baby Bristol

*Note: I started this post on October 29 but actually finished and posted it on November 4. My due date was November 3 (not October 28), but blogspot dates the post using the date on which I started it. So without that information, it sounds like my due date was October 28, and then it doesn't make sense for me to say that Bristol was born two weeks early on October 20. Just a little FYI.

Yesterday was my due date, but Bristol Amelia came two weeks early, very much to our surprise. Her birth was quite an event. On October 20th, I went to the doctor and was dilated to a 3. Until then, I thought that I was going to make it to my due date or at least really close since Brooke and Jade were born on or around their due dates. However, after my appointment, I thought that there was a good chance the baby would be coming a lot sooner than I expected. Around 7:30 that night, I noticed that I was having painless contractions, but they were really inconsistent, anywhere from ten to thirty minutes apart. So I didn't think too much of them until after we had put the kids to bed. Then I thought that maybe it could just be false labor. At about 10:20, though, the contractions started hurting and were only one or two minutes apart. So I got in bed and waited about ten minutes. After that, I was in a lot more pain so I woke-up Trent who was asleep on the couch. He didn't really understand what was going on at first, though. When he was a little more with it, we started trying to figure out who to call to come stay with the kids while we went to the hospital. I was also trying to get my stuff together to take to the hospital. However, I couldn't really think that well because the pain was getting a lot worse, and I could barely move during the contractions so I decided that I better forget about packing my stuff and just get to the hospital. As I was changing out of my pajamas into regular clothes, I walked into the bathroom and realized that the baby was pretty much coming right then. So I walked out of the bathroom and laid down on the bedroom floor. While I was doing this, Trent got Jade up and laid her on our bed. I told Trent to forget about calling someone to stay with the kids and just call 911 instead. He called 911, and as he was talking to the dispatcher, the baby was born. I didn't even have to push; I pretty much just laid on the floor and waited for the baby to come out. After she came out, she cried and then pretty much went to sleep. I think Bristol was born at about 10:50 pm; we really weren't paying too much attention to the time since we were a little preoccupied. Jade had been laying on the bed, but when she heard the baby cry, she said "Baby!" She got off the bed and came over to see the baby. It was really cute. I felt very relieved that the pain was over and the baby seemed fine. About ten minutes later, the firemen and paramedics arrived. They cut the umbilical cord, gave me an IV, and gave me and the baby oxygen (which I don't think I really needed). Then they took us to the hospital where the doctor delivered the placenta.

6 lbs. 5.5 oz., 18 in.

A couple of days after the baby's birth; I was too tired to open my eyes.

Bristol in the "nest" that Brooke made for her.

Jade really likes Bristol (so far).

Brooke's pouting because she wants to hold the baby.

Brooke really likes Bristol as well.

Five days old.

Bristol and Jade

Thirty-eight weeks

I went to the doctor today, and I had to wait a total of one hour and forty minutes before I actually saw the doctor. I was a little annoyed because I was paying a babysitter to watch the kids; usually I am in and out in thirty to forty-five minutes at most. Anyhow, I was pretty glad when he checked me and said I was dilated to a three. I still have two weeks left, but this baby may come a little sooner than I expected. I don't have all of the baby stuff ready (at least as much as I want) so now I am definitely making the most of every minute since I don't know how much time I have until her birth.

Here is a picture of me on Saturday, three days ago.

Brooke and Jade love all this baby stuff. They are both wearing baby headbands and sucking on bottles. Plus Jade is sitting in the baby's carseat. Jade loves to put her baby dolls in the baby carseat, the bassinet and the crib. It'll be interesting to see the girls' behavior when the baby is actually here.

Primary Program

Today our ward had its Primary program for the year. Even though Brooke is CTR 5, this was her first one because last year we moved before our old ward did theirs but after our new ward had theirs. Brooke did a good job; I saw her singing the songs and she memorized her part for the program ("The priesthood blesses my family." That took her about five seconds to memorize though:)) Jade really wanted to go up front and be a part of it, but she'll have to wait a little longer.

These pictures are from today; notice that Jade's hair is getting long.

Brooke giving her big smile, but only because I told her she could make a funny face in the next picture.

Pregnancy Picture

I have been really terrible about posting pregnancy pictures of myself, assuming anybody wants to see them... So here is one from today. I have just over three weeks until my due date.

From this angle I don't think that I look that big, but I swear I am bigger than this so I'll probably post at least one more picture before the baby comes.

Singin' in the Rain

Last Saturday, we had a big rainstorm, and it was so great that I think it's worthy of a post. Anyway, it rained a lot (at least for Yuma) in a short period of time. The best part of it was that it cooled the temperature down and reminded that the weather here could actually get down to bearable temperatures. Earlier in the day, it had been over one hundred, but when it rained, it went to seventy-five degrees or lower. Even better was that I went to the grocery store while it was still raining, and when I came out, it still felt pretty cool even though the rain had stopped. So I actually felt good when I loaded the groceries in the car, drove home and unloaded everything instead of feeling like I was going to die from the heat.

Brooke always loves to go out and play in the rain. I don't know why she put a coat on since it wasn't cold.

Starting School

Alright, here is a real update of what is going on in our family since my friend Julie said that the last post was a tease. :) She's right, but I just felt like I should write something and I didn't want to spend much time on it. Anyhow, Brooke started Kindergarten on August 10. I think that school here starts way too early, but at least she'll get a week off in October. All summer long I was under the impression that Brooke would be going to all-day kindergarten, but the Friday before school started was open house. We found out who her teacher is and that this year her school was only doing half day kindergarten, which I was glad about because I didn't want her to go all day. Brooke is in the PM class thankfully; she doesn't do so well in the mornings. She seems to like school a lot, and so far I think that almost everything they are covering is stuff she already knows. It's nice for Brooke to be able to get out of the house most days of the week (I think that it is still too hot for the kids to go outside and play) and be around kids, though. Plus, I get a break in the middle of the day since Jade usually naps while Brooke is at school. I usually use that time to nap as well. Everyday, I pick Brooke up and drop her off at school, and Jade comes with me at least for the drop-off. Jade likes to wear her backpack when we go, and she's making friends with the lunch ladies, always saying "hi" and "bye" to them (we have to take Brooke in the cafeteria where her teacher retrieves the kids). I can't believe that next year Jade will be old enough to go to preschool!

First day of school -- waiting for Brooke's teacher.

Jade wearing Trent's hat after dropping Brooke off.

Right before going into school; Brooke wasn't really interested in having her picture taken so Trent got her to look at the camera by telling her there was a lizard behind me. She's looking for the lizard -- not smiling or anything.

It's been forever...

So I haven't posted anything in over two months. I just keep putting it off. Things here aren't too bad. It's still really hot here; about a week ago it was 116 degrees. The weather should start cooling down to around 100 (if you call that cool) in a few weeks, and I can't wait. Brooke started preschool on August 10 so it's just me and Jade at home for about three hours a day on the weekdays. Actually Jade sleeps for about two of those three hours so then it's just me. I have less than nine weeks until my due date, and we are excited. Not too much else is going on. I'll have to post about our summer and put up some pictures this weekend.

Cute pictures and more

Well, not a whole lot has been going on lately. Up until the last couple days, the weather was relatively pleasant for about two weeks, like most days it only got to about 90 degrees. Also, it was cloudy or partly cloudy for many of the days which made a big difference in how tolerable it was to be outside. Right before the weather cooled down, we had a day that was up to 108! I am pretty sure that that's the hottest weather I have ever been in, and now it is getting hot again. The projected high for Thursday is 111 so I guess that we will be spending a lot of time indoors again. When it was cooler, we were actually able to be outside a lot, and that's always nice because it keeps the kids from messing up the house. However, there is good news. Even though the heat is increasing, we will won't have to endure for a while. In ten days, we are going to Idaho. We are leaving on July 2nd, and Trent is returning on July 13. Brooke, Jade and I won't be returning until the 29th, though. I can't believe that it is so soon, but I am really excited. I have already thought of a lot places I want to go and things I want to do including visiting my house, eating Chicago Connection pizza, and going to McCall among other things. We're excited to see all the family and for Brooke and Jade to see their cousins.

Anyway, Brooke and Jade are doing good. Jade is pretty much potty-trained; this happened a lot sooner and was a lot easier than I expected it to be. She is also talking a lot, and it's pretty cute to hear some of the things she says. When it appears that she might have hurt herself, I'll ask her if she is okay and she'll say, "I'm fine." Brooke isn't up to much. I think that she is bored especially when we have to spend so much time inside. She starts all-day kindergarten on August 10, though, so with our trip and then school starting shortly after our return, she won't have to be bored much longer. Here are some recent pictures of Brooke and Jade. There are more pictures of Jade because she actually wants me to take her picture while Brooke isn't so cooperative when it comes to photographs.

Just a cute picture of Jade.

Another cute one; she found the camera and wanted a picture.

Brooke and Jade made a little bed with their babies in Jade's crib.

Brooke is our slave; we make her fetch water for us even though we could easily get it out of the faucet in the house.

The baby is a...

GIRL! I kind of thought that that's what it would be, but since I couldn't really be sure until the ultrasound I just kept that to myself. Most family/friends reading this probably already know that it's girl, but I thought that I would post it here anyways along with two of the ultrasound pictures. I am pretty happy that it's another girl, but I also would have been happy if it was a boy. Trent was a little disappointed, but he'll be fine.

The ultrasound technician has a machine that also does the 4-D images so really got to see what the baby looks like (kind of weird and very skinny). I am not sure if she looks more like me or Trent...(just kidding)

I like this one because if you look closely you can see that she put the umbilical cord in her mouth.

Camping

Two and a half weeks ago, we went camping. Trent actually had to beg me to go. It's not that I don't like camping; it's just that I thought we would be camping in the desert or something. When I camp, I want to go to a place with pine trees and all that. So after saying maybe for a while, I reluctantly gave in but for only one night. We ended up camping near Sedona, AZ, and I was pleasantly surprised. The land was pretty much desert nearly all the way to Sedona so I was not very optimistic for most of the drive up. However, when we got really close to Sedona the landscape started to change. There were pine trees and red rock formations; it was much prettier. Thankfully the weather was also cooler. The town was very nice also with lots of very large homes, little shops, artist galleries, and things like that. We didn't make it into doing anything in town since we were there for a short time and had other things we wanted to do.

So on Friday, we didn't do too much since we got there in the late afternoon. We just kind of explored the campground and the wilderness nearby. We also had a campfire and s'mores of course. On Saturday, we packed up our stuff and drive to a trail so we could go hiking. The hiking was fun, but with Brooke and Jade, it was slow. Jade was so tired by the end of the hike that she fell asleep sitting on Trent's shoulders. After our hike, we went to a place called Slide Rock. It's a river or stream that has all these rocks that are really smooth and slick so people can slide down them. Trent slid on the rocks, but I was too nervous about getting hurt so I didn't do it. He also took Brooke and Jade on the rocks a few times. While we were there, the seam on the back of Trent's shorts came apart, and he unintentionally exposed his behind to who knows how many people. We didn't even know his shorts were like that until some woman told him. When we were done at Slide Rock, we drove home. While we were camping, I was sorry that we were only staying one night. It was so nice up there, and we did drive four or five hours to get there. Unfortunately, we weren't prepared to stay another night, and I had to teach a lesson at church the next day. There was one bad surprise from our trip, though, and it didn't come until the next week. While driving near Phoenix, a road sensor and camera caught Trent speeding. So almost a week later, we got a ticket in the mail for $181 (which I think is excessive). The speed limit was 65 and Trent was supposedly going 77. In his defense, speed limits signs were posted quite sparsley, and nearly all the cars in that area were driving at least as fast as Trent.

Embarking on our hike.

Just outside Sedona as we were heading home.

Brooke and Trent at Slide Rock.

Jade and Trent going down one of the "slides."

Trent going down a "slide."

Jade falling asleep at the end of the hike.

Jade on the hike.

Brooke on the hike, kind of pouting about something.

Jade is collecting rocks at the beginning of our hike and putting them in her pockets.

Beginning our hike.

Brooke showing her tricks at our campsite.

Brooke at the campsite.