March 18, 2014

Boy or Girl?



Before we go find out what we are having today, I wanted to record what Asher thinks about it all.  We didn't tell him we were pregnant and having a baby until the news was out, about two weeks ago.  But up until that point he has been telling us that he needs a baby brother, or that mom needs a baby.  A lot of the moms around here have been having babies so he is very aware of babies and keeps seeing his friends getting younger siblings.

Once we told him we were having a baby, he said, 'T is having a boy, so we must be having a girl.' (My sister Tierra is pregnant with a little boy, due just 3 weeks ahead of me.)  He was so matter of fact about it, and that was it.  Since that day he is convinced that the baby inside of me is a little girl.  He tells everyone that he is having a sister.  A few of his conversations: 

Someone asked if he was having a brother or a sister.  He looked at them and said 'A sister.  But I really wanted a brother.'

The other day someone asked if the baby was a boy or a girl.  He of course said girl.  Then they were explaining that it could be a boy or a girl still and that we don't know yet.  And he said 'yeah, but it's a girl.'  

There's just no question in his mind that he is getting a little sister!  I don't have any strong feelings about it either way (and I was wrong with Asher!) but I am feeling that it might be another boy.  We can't wait to go find out and see if Asher is right!

March 13, 2014

Big Brother

Coming September 7, 2014.

We are thrilled that we are pregnant and feel so blessed to be able to experience this again.  A lot of people have been asking if we got pregnant naturally this time around, but it pretty much took the same process as getting pregnant with Asher.  (With less waiting around I guess, since we had gone through this before.)  

I know that while I have been struggling to get pregnant (both times around) I loved reading about other people and how they handled this process.  So I don't think I could post a pregnancy announcement without a few of my own thoughts. 
(Feel free to skip ahead to the pictures if you're not interested)

This time around was obviously very different from last time.  For the most part, I would say it was easier.  I was already a mom.  I was already doing what I loved on a daily basis.  I knew that my body was capable of carrying and delivering a baby.  And I knew I could do it again.  That made giving up control and knowing that it wasn't up to my timing so much easier.  But there were things about waiting for a second baby that were also harder.  Guilt.  So much guilt.  I felt guilty for wanting another.  Hadn't I begged and prayed just to get Asher here?  Suddenly I felt greedy wanting another.

Once I got pregnant I was obviously thrilled.  And relieved.  So relieved to not be starting over on another month, another cycle.  But lingering there, was this strange mix of other emotions - guilt, sadness, and pain.  Like I was somehow undeserving of this or like it shouldn't be my time yet.  Sure, I hated our process of waiting - hated the artificial insemination, the awkward doctor visits, and the nasty side effects of the fertility medication.  But still, our process was relatively easy.  Especially compared to so many others.  

I know it doesn't seem normal to be feeling all those feelings at a time when I should have just been so happy, but I think the struggles of waiting for a baby stick with you, and definitely change the way you think about all of this.  My fertility problems and the process we've gone through to get our babies here has forever shaped me and become such a big part of me.  I hope it has changed me for the better: made me more loving, caring, empathetic, and nonjudging.  

And for all of those people out there who are still waiting - please don't give up hope.  I pray for you that your time is soon.  And I will never, ever take this little baby inside of me for granted.  

And now just some fun pictures of Asher as he goofed around while I tried to get a decent picture for our announcement:
and thanks to Kate, Rilee, and Tommy for their help with these pictures!

February 25, 2014

2 1/2 Years

Ahh, how is my little baby two and a half years old?  I've been wanting to do a little update on him for awhile but haven't been getting around to it.  He was 2 1/2 as of February 4th.

Asher is definitely the highlight of our days.  He is happy and constantly keeping us laughing.  He is really sweet and such a fun boy.  Some things I want to remember about him:

And this is long, but I don't record things other places than here right now...so I want to remember this.

-He is always talking.  He loves to talk and talk and talk.  He asks questions, he talks about everything he sees, he is just a constant jabber jaw.  People are often amazed by all of the words coming out of his cute little mouth.

-One thing I love that he says:  If you give him a compliment, or someone says to him that he is cute, he always responds with a cute little 'thanks.'

-He loves singing.  He knows so many primary songs and other short songs.  Some of his current favorites are: Away in a manger, I am a child of God, You are my Sunshine, the Rainbow Song, Angels We Have Heard on High, the ABC's, and Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam.

-He is obsessed with the music from Frozen.  He always asks for the Reindeer song, the Olaf song, and the Build a Snowman song.  He knows so many of the words and sings in the sweetest, quiet little voice.

-He can count to 12 but always skips 7. :)

-His favorites things to play with right now: playdoh, puzzles, and books.  He also likes balls, cars, and his legos, but those are after he has already done the first three.

-He is BEYOND OBSESSED with Daniel Tiger.  He asks for it anytime he sees an iPad or iPhone, whenever he wakes up, and other times randomly throughout the day.  He will never choose to watch something else over Daniel Tiger.  I try not to let him watch it too often, but he loves it and while he's watching, he giggles and giggles.

-He is a pretty good eater.  He still loves fruit, anything with cheese (pizza, mac & cheese, quesadilla, grilled cheese), hummus, sandwiches, oatmeal, cereal, and some vegetables.  He'll usually eat whatever we are eating, but sometimes it takes some coaxing.  There are a few things I can NEVER get him to eat though - any kind of beans.  He takes one look and says, 'I don't like beans.'  Whether it is black beans, kidney beans, green beans, he just doesn't like beans.  

-He loves milk.

-He has a pretty set bedtime routine these days.  He likes to sit on his chair and have us tell him one story and then one song.  Then he lays in his crib and gets one more story and one more song.  He wishes he could have unlimited stories and songs.

-The other night he wanted to put me to bed.  He told me to lay in my bed and he climbed up with me.  He told me he would lay on my bed since I don't have a chair to sit on.  Then he told me one story - starting with 'once upon a time...' and going on for a good 30 seconds or so.  After that he sang me a song, told another story, and finally one last song.

-He has to sleep with his blanket, pillow and teddy bear.
-He loves nursery. He loves his cousins.  He loves his grandparents.  

-He loves to be held.  He holds onto me so tight and wraps both arms close around my neck.  He even likes to keep his cheeks pressed up against my cheeks when I'm holding him.  It is really sweet and I am loving that he is such a cuddly little guy right now.

-He still naps every day and usually sleeps around 3 to 3 1/2 hours.

-He loves dad SO much.  He would want dad to do everything for him.  He prefers dad to give him a bath, change his diaper, feed him, etc.  He especially wants dad to put him to bed every night.  Every single night after prayers he quickly says, 'Ok, dad's turn!'  Marcus is so sweet and usually says ok, even though he's done it for so many nights in a row it is definitely not his turn.  

-He always wipes off my kisses.  He has done this for the longest time now, it's like it is just subconscious.  He doesn't seem to mind the kisses, just quickly swipes his hand down his cheek after I kiss him.

-His kisses are the best.  He still doesn't pucker up his lips, he just touches his cheek to yours and says 'MUAH!'   

-When we say, 'I love you Asher' he always says 'I love you too.' 

-Whenever it is sunny or warm outside, he turns to me and says, 'mom, is it summer?'

-He always asks to go on bike rides to the park.  

-He is really particular about things.  He doesn't like specks or seeds or crumbs on any of his food. If it does, he won't eat it until he has picked it off.  He doesn't eat a piece of cereal if it is broken.  He can get pretty crazy about this kind of stuff and really will stress about it.

-He likes to be clean and always asks for a napkin during dinner.  Only he calls them 'apkins' which is pretty adorable.

-His understanding and vocabulary always amaze me.  The other day I said I was starving and then asked him if he knew what starving meant.  He thought for a minute, and then said 'like hungry?'  Another day I asked him what empty meant and he said 'all gone.' It's fun to me to see him understanding and answering these kinds of questions. 

-He can be quite stingy with his hugs or high fives.  He rarely will give a stranger or someone at church high five (and it seems that people ask all the time?).  When we are leaving our families he is willing to hug some but others he says no.  Then he usually laughs like he is teasing and knows that they really want that hug.  

-He still sits in his high chair and does at restaurants too.  He is starting to resist and wants to sit in a normal chair.  We are trying to prolong this as long as possible just because he is usually so good to sit and eat with us and let us enjoy our meals.

-He's also still in his crib and has never once attempted to crawl out.  He calls for us in the morning, saying, 'mom, dad, I'm awake.  mom, dad, come get me!'
We love this Asher boy!

February 24, 2014

While We Were Gone

While we were gone Asher was lucky enough to stay with two of my sisters who both live in Logan.  He spent Tuesday - Friday afternoon with Katie and Nate and their family, and then Friday evening - Sunday with Elise and Mike.  I am so grateful to them for adding a little craziness to their lives to watch Asher for us.  I know that he was so happy with them and well taken care of.

These pictures are from Katie - as you can see Asher had an amazing time playing there.



Thanks Kate for the pictures! When we got home Asher had so much to tell us about.  How he played cars, played in the snow, played playdoh, ate a chik-fil-a, and all about his cousins and how much they played with him.  I know he had a blast and I'm so thankful to Katie and Elise for taking such good care of him!

Cruisin'

February 4-9

Pre-Cruise 
We flew out Tuesday evening to Newport Beach and stayed the night with our friends Sarah and John.  They were such great hosts.  We got delicious mediterranean takeout, stayed up late talking and laughing, ate delicious crepes for breakfast, and then had the royal treatment of a private tour around town from Sarah.  We hit up the banana stand on Balboa Island and finished off with fresh fish tacos.  Sarah dropped us off at the cruise terminal and we were so sad to say goodbye.
We met up with Tommy & Rilee and Kate & Jake for our four day cruise (Wednesday-Sunday morning).  First stop:

Catalina Island
Our first stop was Catalina Island.  I thought it was absolutely beautiful there and such a cute little town.  We rented electric bikes which were actually amazing and we rode around all day on them.  We rode to a botanical garden, different beaches, and the Lobster Trap for lunch.
^^Deep in conversation...
^^After getting caught on our bikes in the rain.  We hiked up to a bell tower and enjoyed the beautiful view.

Ensenada, Mexico
First we took a rather tourist-y bus ride out to El Bufadora.  What they had promised to be a 30 minute drive turned into nearly an hour and a half - and we were a little skeptical as to what we'd gotten ourselves into.   It ended up being lots of fun though, and the blowhole was pretty cool to see.  We all ate lots of churros, pina coladas, and street tacos.  We bartered a little for our few purchases and bought some stale Mexican candy.
We made a quick stop on the way back at the beach.  The girls were all freezing because it was getting later and was windy by now.  The boys all took a quick swim just to say they did it.  The girls found a place to get a massage before we headed back to the ship.  

Around the Ship
We had lots of fun playing card games, hot tubbing and just hanging out together.  Even though the weather wasn't quite as warm as I would have liked, it was usually sunny and really nice to be out in the sun.  
^^Time to get off the ship.  I'm so glad we had friends who wanted to vacation with us.  We had such a fun time and were happy to have this little break from reality.  

February 12, 2014

Ice Castles

On Martin Luther King Day we went up to the ice castles in Midway with some of my family.  Marcus had to work which was a little lame but oh well.  So did Nate Jones, Mike and Elise, Joe and my Dad.  Asher liked the castles, but all of the snow/ice under his feet made him pretty nervous so he wanted to be carried around the whole time.  His favorite part was definitely getting to see Olaf.  That was one of the few times he let me set him down, and he was absolutely shaking with excitement.  

February 11, 2014

Yurt Adventure

January 17-18
It was a beautiful weekend, so much sun and not a cloud in the sky.  It was warmer than usual, and the trail was groomed so we pulled our snowshoes in on our sleds.  Once we were there we grilled steaks and snowshoed through fresh powder.  We sledded until dark and thoroughly enjoyed being outdoors.
Me + Marcus, Tommy + Rilee, Kate + Jake