My little Valentine

This Valentine's my love was away defending our castle, but nonetheless it was a day filled with love and laughter. Mav was my little Valentine this year and he was as sweet as they come. We snuggled, read stories, played, and shared a sweet treat (of which I am still cleaning out of every crevice imaginable) of sweet potato fries.

Seriously! This kid kills me... just look at that mug! And a very special thanks to Granny Suzie and Papa Mike for the cutest pj's ever! They are perfect and we miss you!

Anyway, that's all. I just wanted to show off my adorable little Valentine who is now sleeping so sweetly :) Sleep tight little lovebug!

Valentine's Day

“Love is more than a paper heart. Love is of the very essence of life. It is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.”—Gordon B. Hinckley 

Why is it that for holidays such as Valentine's Day and Anniversaries it's all about what the man does for his woman? Because men only show affection on special days, right? Not true, at least not for my sweetheart. He is constantly telling me he loves me, what a good wife and mother I am, how beautiful I am, and how, given the chance, he would do it all over again. Not to mention the greatest show of love of all, going out everyday and working hard to provide for his family. If that doesn't show affection, I don't know what does. I love my man. How did I seriously get so lucky?

I married a good man, so I wanted to show him a little extra love. And trust me, it was little. I put Mav to bed and spent a mere 30 minutes making a couple Valentine's while Kyle was at Young Mens teaching his Missionary Prep. class. I made him this...
 

I did not get a picture of the one I made, but this is where I got the idea (thank you Pinterest) and I tied mine off with a blue ribbon and stuck it in his work boot to find in the morning when he left for work. I also made this...

and put it in his cereal bag to find when he poured his cereal. Cute, I know.

Then I went to bed. I am sooo tired lately! No. In case you think you are funny or are actually wondering, I am not pregnant.

Then Kyle, my sexy, affectionate, hard working man, got called in to work. He left at about midnight. He found the "dynamite sticks" but neglected to eat his cereal. Shame on him. ;)

He deserves so much more and I know that, but it's the little things, right?

Also in the spirit of the holidays, I dyed an entire load of laundry this pukey pink color from my maroon Moby that Mav vomited all over on Sunday. Pink. Ugh. Just in time for the holiday I guess. I can't help but laugh at the irony.

I tried rewashing it with white distilled vinegar, no luck.

Any suggestions would be appreciated :)

Prince Maverick

Mav is fascinated with our ceiling fan. He smiles up at it and sometimes just starts laughing at it. So naturally I decided to write a book about it.

I was just going to write a very short, cute little story about it and put it on a page in his scrapbook.

Somehow it evolved immensely into this big project that will probably take weeks to finish.

I invented a story that is mostly true, typed it all up and then I decided I would illustrate it and put it all together in a mixbook and have it printed for him.

I seriously don't know how it got this far. Oh well. I am now 4 pages in. 20 (or something like it) to go.

It will probably be a movie someday.

Seriously.

Like Peter Pan and his shadow.

Main character is Prince Maverick. Supporting characters are the Queen mother and King father. Kyle loves "his" character. I don't know where he gets the idea that it is based on him.

I'm no writer or an illustrator for that matter, but I won't lie, I'm pretty proud of how it's coming along.

Lucky

I feel so full of love and so blessed to have Maverick, the miracle that he is. For I know now that he truly is a miracle.

Lately I have read about people whose babies have died in the night or those who can't conceive for unknown reasons. I feel a little guilty for being so blessed and heartbroken for those who aren't blessed in the same way. Even though Mav woke up at 5:40 a.m. with a blow out diaper. Poop everywhere. I had to change crib sheets and my bed sheets and have a bath before 6 a.m., make and eat breakfast with one hand, do dishes while he plays on the kitchen floor, and lay with him while he cries for 45 minutes because he doesn't want to fall asleep. Peace. Now on to more dishes and laundry and if I'm lucky a shower and an easier afternoon nap time.

UGH! right?

Then he smiles.

Everyone should have that and I am ashamed that I don't number these among my many blessings because life isn't kind or fair and I am so lucky.

I will be better. I am sorry I have taken my blessings for granted.

Everyone has their trials, big and small. We have ours. Today though, for a moment, our life is pretty perfect. 

Win win win

I have been trying to find easy ways to save money and lose weight and get outside more with Mav... good joke right? Especially with how lazy I am. Hey a girl can dream. One thing that I found was to hang the laundry out to dry. It's a win win win. (I love win win wins :)) By physically moving and bending to hang the laundry I burn more calories, the cloths line is outside so I sit Mav on a blanket with a couple toys and he is happy for hours, and of course not using the dryer for every load of laundry saves money! Look at me go! Plus, I have found that it's relaxing and I like the back to basic look of cloths hanging out to dry :)

Kyle has been working hard. I feel like I see him a lot less and a lot more at the same time. Sometimes, like today, he left at 3 a.m. to go on a job and who knows when I'll see him again :( He also gets two days off every week in addition to being on call on the weekend, which he probably gets called in half the time, so that's 4 days out of the week of potential Kyle at home time :) He usually comes home looking like this. Absolutely filthy from working hard and so happy to see his family. Everything about that combination is sexy, plus... just look at him ;)

Ready. Set. Chow.

Avocado

Mav's got teeth! Ouch! Two on the bottom and they are razor sharp, just in time for his 6 month celebration. FOOD! 6 months old. Check. Sits up on his own. Check. Can pick up food and put it in his mouth. Check. Ready. Set. Chow. So far he has enjoyed exploring avocado, pear slices, banana chunks, steamed baby carrots, and homemade baked sweet potato fries! His facial expressions are priceless. We decided to bypass the purees and just let him have real healthy food, also known as baby led weaning or BLW. It's so fun to watch Mav discover the new textures, tastes, and smells of different food. Mostly he just squishes everything in his kung fu grip and gets it everywhere, but occasionally he swallows bits and pieces... the proof is in the poop :)

Banana

Pear

Sweet Potato

With little Mav turning 6 months I feel like I have been given a new baby. He goes to sleep so much easier and sleeps longer and takes longer naps by himself. He entertains himself for longer periods, which is AWESOME! And he is SO happy! He smiles more and laughs more and absolutely loves it when we sing to him. He will be crying for some reason or another and I start singing "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid and he stops, smiles really big, and looks up at me. Cutest baby ever. He still LOVES being outside and he is fascinated by his shadow.

...then comes the baby in the baby carriage!

Maverick was born July 29th. He was 8 days early in fact, weighing 7 lbs 14 oz and 20½  inches long. 10 fingers, 10 toes, 2 blue eyes, and mommy’s nose.  The story of his birth goes like this:

… It was a warm summer night in Medford, Oregon and I was very pregnant, but for once I wasn’t trying to induce labor as I had been everyday previous that night for the past two weeks. Kyle and I were at a friend’s that lived in our apartment complex having a movie night. We had finished watching “Lockout” and were about halfway through “Man On a Ledge” and I was laying on the floor on my side with my feet on Kyle’s lap. It was about ten to midnight when I started noticing something leaking a little and when you’re pregnant things tend to leak, among other strange things, but after a few minutes I decided to go to the bathroom. I hadn’t taken two steps when [GUSH] and a sprint to the bathroom. Needless to say my water had broken! 

Kyle literately ran back to our apartment to get me a dry pair of pants while I just sat there smiling like a fool. I was so excited. Then I called my midwife, Amy Hendrickson, and she told me to come in to the birth center (I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t finish the movie, but just a little). Kyle packed up the car and installed your car seat and we were off! 

I still hadn’t had any contractions yet and we arrived a few minutes before Amy, so we walked around the parking lot while we waited and that brought on a couple mild contractions. When Amy got there we went inside, Amy checked me and sure enough broken water and 4 centimeters dilated, now I wanted to sleep so I could get some rest before active labor kicked in. 

Too bad that didn’t happen, it all started progressing very quickly and before I knew I was working and breathing through each rush. I remember my friend TC getting there to be my doula and making me laugh. I remember standing with my arms around Kyle’s neck through contractions. “You’re beautiful.” I remember Kyle and I were in the shower when I was suddenly in transition and it got really intense. I remember they finally let me get in the nice warm tub, where I wanted to have Mav to be born. Then it was pushing time. I can’t do this... no, I can do this. I am a strong woman. I am a strong woman. 

I was given an oxygen mask because Mav’s heart rate kept dropping and I was told to take deep breaths. “Breath for your baby!” “You’re doing great!” Heart rate still dropping. I remember getting mad when they told me I had to get out of the tub. On to the birthing stool. Still dropping. On to the bed. On my back. “I can see his head!” Dropping. On my side. Dropping. All fours. Dropping. Called an ambulance for an emergency transfer. “Don’t push” they tell me, “breath through it.” So much intense pain, breath through it? Baby is not getting enough oxygen! Breath. Ambulance? Breath. Emergency? Breath. C-section? Breath. Freaking out inside. Breath. Smallest gurney of my life. Every movement brings on a contraction. Breath… breath… breath. IV. Breath. “You can push now.” Deep breath and puuush! Doctor: “You’re going to have this baby vaginally.” Relief. Push. Dropping. Breath. Push. Dropping. Vacuum. Breath. Push. Head. Push. Shoulders. Ouch. Slip. Cry. Here, he’s here! 8:38 a.m. “Look at your baby!” Hi baby. My eyes hurt. His head is shaped funny. Hi. Hi, Maverick. Perfect. Love.