Just Pictures

Fast asleep...


A vision in pink!


The boys lounging in the backyard. Micah ran in to request some juice and his blanket!


What do you get when a skull obsessed eleven-year-old picks out an outfit for my baby?

Blog Peeves!

I love blogging now and I love reading others' blogs also. It is so fun to see what everyone is up to, but I have to say, it isn't always fun or easy to keep up or write comments. I use Google reader and it shows me which blogs have been updated, but those who don't use blogger, blogspot or type pad, I can't get an update on. Same goes for those who have a private blog. Don't get me wrong, I love you anyways, but I may not get around to reading your blog as often as I do others.


Another little annoyance...having to type in the word verification to leave a comment, which is on almost every blog. I can't tell you how many times I have gotten it wrong and have to sit there and figure out the new set of distorted letters. My last peeve? I can't get a cute blog background to work for the life of me! I am always checking out others' backgrounds and layouts and I am envious. I tried once to change it with Matie Kay, but it deleted all my widgets (everything on the left side of the screen) and I ended up spending hours putting it back together. So, my solution is to just stick with the blogger generic dots background. Boring, I know! If anyone knows how to change it (I will need the version for computer idiots) please let me know and I will be happy to change things up on this blog!

P.S. I changed my blog title to make it a bit more appropriate for our fam!

Give me a heart attack!

I am finally getting around to the park again with Micah. We met up with a play group at the Norman P. Murry Park. I remembered going there for the Pioneer Day celebrations every year. Little did I know that they had taken out all the old equipment and replaced it with this:


This thing is three stories high! That is an adult in the red shirt there. So, Micah being the daredevil that he is goes right to the big tower (he wanted nothing to do with the baby area) and heads up the ladders. I had no idea he knew how to climb ladders, so I was trying to pretend to be excited for him so he wouldn't second guess himself, but I was freaking out inside. He surprised me! He is very coordinated and didn't even slip. He went all the way up and flew down the slide so fast. He celebrated every time he came down too with a high five or a little victory dance. He had a blast and by the end, his cheeks were pink and sweaty.


Micah climbing like a pro!


And here is one last shot I couldn't resist!

All dressed up!

I couldn't resist getting Brooklyn a foofy dress. It's my right as the mom to a little girl, right? So I got her all dressed up for her first time at church. I had tights and shoes to go with, by they are still huge on her! She looked adorable, but trying to get her in a car seat with all the puff of her dress was a challenge. It was worth it though!

By the way, I got a great deal on this dress since Gymboree is having a huge sale right now!

P.S.

So we went to the doctor's office today for Brooklyn's checkup. I was busy holding her and filling out paperwork and when I looked up I realized Micah was gone. Where could he have gone? Oh, only to the closet labeled Biohazard on the front. So typical. So do I start watching for mutant super powers now?

To the rescue!

I was so scared to take on both kids on my own for the first time yesterday. What can I say, it takes me a while to get used to change. Luckily, I have great friends who save the day. Brooke was an answer to prayers when she asked to have Micah over to play. I was able to run a ton of errands that needed to be done and get three loads of laundry washed, folded and put away. What a lifesaver she is! Thanks Brooke! Oh, and as a bonus, she made me cinnamon rolls that rock. I am doing it on my own today and feeling pretty confident. Hopefully, our trip out to the doctor and the park will go of without a hitch. I can't wait until my mom comes tomorrow! I will also have Chad on Monday to help out since he has the day off. Anyways, another thing that saved the day...the Boppy bouncer. That thing is great. I feed Brooklyn, swaddle her and stick her in it on vibrate and she dozes right off. Thank goodness for these wonderful inventions! I can't imagine surviving the infant stage without a lot of these modern conveniences.

As a funny side note, Chad and I are still calling Brooklyn "she" and "her" and "little girl" and so on. We got so used to doing that when I was pregnant to avoid conflict that it kind of stuck. Chad actually asked me something along the lines of "are you happy you got your name?" He asked because I didn't make a big deal of it at the hospital when he gave me the OK and I haven't been using her name much. I am a big believer in not being a sore winner, so I wasn't about to do a victory dance and make him feel bad or resent the name, so when I got the OK, I simply said "thank you, you made me very happy." Now, if I can just get around to using her name more often. I have to get used to it. It is kind of strange to give a brand new baby a name anyways, I think it takes time for them to grow into it!

The baby blues...

...sucks! I am having a hard time adjusting to two. Brooklyn is only happy when she is eating or sleeping, so she is constantly nursing. She uses me as a pacifier. As much as I don't want to admit this at the age of 25, I need my mommy and she is in Hawaii right now. Chad is supposed to go back to work tomorrow and my mom won't be here until Friday. Pray for me!

I wanted to add a picture or two of my little angel.

Only good tears

I adore seeing my husband as a daddy. He loves his kids and thinks they are just perfect in every way. Since Brooklyn has been born, he will stop and watch her and then say something like she's gorgeous or she is just adorable. Needless to say I have been a bit hormonal lately since it comes with the territory, so when he stared at Brooklyn today and said "she is just precious," I lost it. I just cried because I felt so blessed to have such good kids and a daddy that loves them too. Chad is perfect for me because as he was comforting me he stopped and said, "so I used that squirt bottle thingy." This would be in reference to the little squirt bottle that the hospital gives you to use instead of toilet paper. I went from tears of joy to tears of laughter. What in the heck? I guess he was just curious!

Introducing...

Brooklyn Kate Trotter! She was born Wednesday the 14th at 4:01 pm and weighed in at a hefty 8 pounds 13 ounces. She is 19 and a half inches long. Let me tell you how it went and begin with a warning, this may be long-winded and deter some women from wanting children. So Tuesday night I went to bed late. Chad came in a bit later and began to massage my calves for some reason, which woke me up with a very painful contraction. Most of the rest of the night was shot for me because I was cramping up off and on throughout. I got up early Thursday and got ready to go in for my induction. Micah woke up early too, so I felt bad leaving him, but my mom was there to watch Sesame Street with him so he didn't mind waving goodbye.


Anyways, we got there at 7 am and they got me all hooked up only to find out I was already contracting (duh) and they started the pitocin an 8 am to help the contractions along. At 9:30 am the contractions were 2 to 3 minutes apart and I was ready for my epidural. Dr. Feelgood (as I like to call him) gave me the epidural and although I was really itchy from it, I was able to rest. At 10:30 am my water broke and I mean broke. There was fluid on the floor that needed to be mopped up. My nurse even called me Old Faithful! My doctor came by to check me at 12:30 pm and said I had another pocket of fluid to break, so another flood ensued. My water breaking seemed to stall my labor though because I was stuck at a three and the contractions were getting farther apart. They upped the pitocin, but it didn't seem to do much for a couple hours. Then around 3 pm, I began feeling the contractions. For some reason or another, my body decided to take labor seriously as the epidural stopped working. In twenty minutes, I went from a three to ten without pain medication. I cannot begin to describe the pain. Let's just say tears flowed and knuckles were white as I clutched Chad's hand. I think that is part of the reason why Chad gave me Brooklyn, he felt bad for me. I was running out of patience waiting for the doctor even though he did get there pretty fast, it felt like eternity. Just in time, the doctor suits up and in three pushes, this chubby little girl comes out! The nurses took her and were cleaning her and she was not a happy camper. She screamed for about thirty minutes straight. The doctor was working on getting me taken care of in the meantime. (Gross part to follow) He was tugging gently to get the placenta out and suddenly a huge gush of blood came out. It surprised everyone. The doctor was covered, the floor was splattered and even Chad got some on his clothes when he was a few feet away. Chad looked at me and said "Whoa, did you see that? It was like watching a rated R movie!" He cracks me up! Needless to say, we had to have the janitorial service come in to do some cleaning.


Anyways, we are both doing well. Brooklyn is a very good sleeper and eater. She will sleep for five hour blocks at a time and will nurse for two hours straight (not all that fun for me, but at least she is patient). She has a ton of hair, which I never expected to happen. I thought she would be a baldy like Micah. She is totally her own little person. She looks more like me than Micah did so they look totally different from each other. We love her and although we are pretty tired from the whole fiasco, we are getting to know her little personality and she seems to be quite the little sassy pants.

As for Micah's reaction to this new one, he was more interested in the toy that she brought him. He did say hi and gave her kisses and thanked her for the cool new toy. The nurses were so sweet with him and asked if he wanted to help with her first bath. He helped with her feet and hair. We got it on video, but it is long (maybe we can edit it). The best part was at the end when we were all saying what a good job he did and he comes running over to Chad and says "Chad, Chad I won!" I love that kid!

Edit by Chad: We'll put "real" photos up soon but here are some cell phone pictures in the mean time:

She is here!

Brooklyn Kate is here and I will get up to speed with pictures and the whole story a little later, but my camera is not working right now. If you want to see a picture of our little chubby one, click on Coorindated Girl on the left side of my blog. Can you believe all that hair?

Hapa da Mommy's Day

That is what Micah wished me on Saturday. We celebrated a little early. Chad and Micah went out shopping for me and I got a nice quiet house for a while. They came back with flowers for me (all picked out by Micah might I add) and a staple gun. I know it doesn't sound all that exciting, but I am trying to get more handy around the house and I have a couple of projects I want to work on. I have a cornice box to cover and some outdoor chairs to cover with new fabric. I know the staple gun will come in very handy! My mom treated me to a pedicure (hello, so nice!) since I can't reach my toes by myself. For dinner, neither Chad nor I wanted to cook, so we went out for a casual bite at Corner Bakery and vegged the rest of the evening. Sunday I got to take care of only myself! At church they gave us potted flowers, which I know will be dead in a week and we got an enormous cookie. Then we went to my parents' house for dinner made by the boys. It was delicious!

In baby news, since I know there are many of you waiting for this kid to come out, I am going in to the doctor today to get checked and I should be induced tomorrow or Wednesday. You would think it would take dynamite to get this kid out! I have had a lot of false labor, so I am hoping that it has helped make progress and that the labor and delivery will be much shorter than the 20 and half that I spent with Micah. Wish me luck!

P.S. I just got back from the doctor and I am being induced on Wednesday. She will be here soon!

Are you kidding me?

You can go ahead and take note of the time at which I am writing this blog. Yep, not quite four in the morning. Well, that is what happens when you have a wiggly two year old that gets into bed with you. I think I could have ignored that on its own, but with raging heartburn, there was no way I was going to sleep! I had no idea you could get heartburn from Krispy Kreme donuts. What can I say...I had a bad day and those little donuts made me feel a little better (for a very short while). I woke up around seven in the morning having contractions. They started at about twenty five minutes apart and by noon they were around thirteen minutes apart. I thought we were making progress and I would be off to the hospital soon. Wrong! They just suddenly stopped for no reason at all. I was pissed. I am convinced that I must have this amazing womb that my kids just like to stay in. Micah was four days late and now this one is too! Believe me, I have tried it all, walking, calf massages, greasy food (bad idea), squatting, etc. Seriously? Come on child! The hospital is still booked, so it is just a waiting game now. I am so annoyed. I don't want to make it through the weekend and as cheesy as it would be to have her on Mother's Day, I would be happy to have her out. Please just get out. Speaking of Mother's Day, I was going to make a little list of possible suggestions for Chad to go out and get me, but here is what I would really like for Mother's Day: The baby out with naming rights. That is it.


If I could have that I would be a very happy camper. However, he is still convinced that we need to hit a compromise with the name. We didn't compromise with Micah. Chad had picked that name out years before and loved it. Since it meant SO much to him, I let him have it and I was not thrilled with his name at all. In fact, the only thing I had to do with Micah's name was the spelling of his middle name. Chad wanted it to be Rion (as in Orion) since he was into constellations at the time. I changed it to Ryan. Now, I love it, but I think it is my turn. He may not be thrilled about my pick, but he will with time and he should be able to understand. I am still going into this with an opened mind though. If she looks like a Callie (which in my mind would have reddish or blond hair), then she will get the name Callie. If she looks like a Brooklyn (which I think would have dark hair), then she should get the name Brooklyn. Bottom line, I want her name to fit her. Anyways, it is now four in the morning and I should try and get some sleep. Who knows, maybe today or tomorrow? Keep your fingers crossed, if she doesn't come out soon I may give birth to a ten pounder!

Still waiting...

If you want to see a recent picture of me at my biggest, you can click on Coordinated Girl on the left side of my blog and scroll down to Baby Shower. Yep, I look pretty bizarre! It will all be over soon right? I have been trying to get labor going, but she is just too comfortable. I spent two hours walking around the mall yesterday and today I have been doing chores and squatting down as much as I can. I am having sporadic contractions, but nothing consistent yet. I am just hoping she is out before Mother's Day! Oh, I was just asking for advice from this mom's group that I belong to on how to get some labor going. One of the ladies linked me to this place www.caiotipizzacafe.com, which has a salad that is famous for putting women into labor. It makes me wonder what is in the the salad. It could be the nastiest salad for all I care and I would have gone in a heartbeat if it wasn't in Studio City!

Quick update

So I just got back from the doctor and left with good news and bad. Good news: I lost another pound and I have dilated to a two. Bad news: We were going to schedule an induction, but the hospital is booked through Sunday! He asked if I wanted to go to another hospital, but we already paid Saddleback. They said they would call everyday to see if a spot opens up for me. I still have some hope, but needless to say, when I called Chad I was in tears over the thought of having to drag this out even longer. On the up side, we are going out for dinner tonight to make my day a little better. Here's hoping that this little girl decides to make her debut sooner than later!

No baby yet!

OK, so I thought I would have her by now, but still no baby. My doctor said he would be able to schedule an induction if I haven't had her by today, so I am guessing that Tuesday or Wednesday I will have her. I have been asked so many times if I am excited and I have to say that I have a huge mix of emotions. I am excited to have her out because I am sure I will feel much more normal (i.e. no nausea, less emotional, no ribs being moved), but at the same time, I am scared to death! I know what to expect, so that makes me nervous. I know about the sleepless nights and nursing, etc. I know how much time and attention they need and I wonder how I will do that and take care of Micah too! I know about the post partum emotions and hope that I will be able to even out quickly. I think it goes beyond that too. I think about them growing up and worry about their needs and protecting them. I worry about everything! I just don't want to get so wrapped up in worrying for and about them that I forget to enjoy them at each age and stage. I think I need a spa day to get all the stress and anxiety out! If anyone has any comforting advice for me, I would love to hear it. I hope that I am just getting myself worried about nothing at all and find that having another won't be as hard or crazy as I am making it out to be!

So spoiled!

So last night I had a second baby shower (yes, a second one!) thrown by my old ward. It was awesome and I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciated it. I haven't even been in that ward a whole year and the entire time I was up in nursery, so when they offered to throw me a shower, my first thought was Who will want to come? Not many people knew me in the ward unless they had a nursery kid. Anyways, they threw this shower and along with all that you see above, I also received many gift cards. I was opening gifts from people I had honestly never met or heard of! I could not believe the generosity. I feel so beyond spoiled and this kid will be well dressed for a long time to come!

I also had a doctor's appointment yesterday and I am still dilating and thinning, so progress is being made. I had a couple hours of false labor the other night, so I am glad it did something! Anyways, the doctor said if she doesn't come by Monday we will induce. It is so crazy that I am actually having another and so soon. It kind of seems like it isn't real yet. I am still concerned with how Micah will adapt, how I will manage and what this one will be like, not to mention trying to name her! I am still holding out hope for Brooklyn. I love that name! Anyways, wish me luck and hopefully the next post will be pictures of her and the story of her birth!


P.S. This is a random side note, but I just caught this kids show yesterday called Boohbah and it is like a cracked out version of Teletubbies. Very strange. It reminds me of the things I see when I am on laughing gas at the dentist. To top it off, their "bubble machine" looks like a giant bong! I don't think I will be allowing Micah to watch that show in the future. I don't want a druggy kid!