OK so this is from January 2013. We stayed at the beach for no reason last year and had so much fun. It’s got me thinking.
Ok so it turns out that an interesting thing happens in Washington at the beach in the winter. It stays the same as the summer. The kids still run from the water and half the fun is staying in a hotel with a big tub.
OK it’s true we deserted our blog for an entire year. I know Scott really likes having a record of our growing family but I was weary of blogging. I tried to get Scott to do it for an entire year. I thought it would be soooo much more interesting to see a dad blog. But here we stand.
Meet….this kid
Alfred Dax. Mommy calls him Freddie. Dad, Alfie, and when he is a soccer star we will insist on Freddie Dax. Honestly we are still just figuring out what sticks.
Can I answer two questions for you?
1) Is this an oops baby?
Nope, he is on purpose baby. We know we told you we were done, we changed our minds. Heavenly Father let me know that we should have one more kid.
2) Is Alfred a family name?
No, believe it or not, we like it, or Scott likes it. I like the nick names it has.
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| Poor kids! See that guilty shifty look on my face? Freddie was born with pretty low blood sugar and so we were under strict orders from our doc not to have any visitors and not to pass around the baby, if we wanted to keep him with us and out of the nic u. So Henry and Abe didn’t get to hold their new baby, they just looked at him like this. Then had to go to school. |
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| This was later that day. Fun was had by all and Scott even took the boys for treats in the cafeteria. |
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| I was so hyped up after birth I couldn’t sleep but I did appreciate seeing my two men and all of Puyallup sleep. |
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| I woke up and realized this sweet baby was sleeping in a little vomit! I was so tired and grateful he was sleeping that I left him to sleep and wallow in it. A tad embarrassing when the doc came in the room in the morning and needed his patient to be a little more hygienic for treating purposes. |
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| This is a great baby, we are happy he is ours. |
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The picture above is dedicated to gestational diabetes. Let it be recorded that I started this pregnancy weighing 133lbs. At 28 weeks (still working out in a major way) I weighed 154lbs. Then I got my GD diagnosis, whined and cried the rest of the pregnancy. And when I delivered I weighed 146lbs. Ironically the skinniest/lowest percentage of body fat, I may ever be, because the next four weeks was sugar palooza.  |
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| Settle down! This is a fake contraction. This picture was taken birth night but this is when we were waiting, waiting. |
Beloved Birth
I LOVE the story of Alfred’s birth. He was born a month ago yesterday and I tell the story every chance I get. I want it recorded somewhere. So this record is for me, I’m confortable sharing gross details (OK actually I love to share gross details) I understand you might think this is an overshare, consider this your invitation to stop reading
So Monday the 16th, my darling mother-in-law is here and waiting to do what Grandma’s do. (Take care of my other devils) My parents are here waiting to get a glimpse of baby before they head back to California. We didn’t have a lot planned, we went to costco for no reason at all. . . We looked at each other. . .I had painful contractions all day with no discernible pattern. I could stand being pregnant honestly but the painful irregular contractions were a real pain in the…..well everywhere.
When I could stand it no longer I called my friend who is a chiropractor. (My doula had suggested an adjustment might help baby plop into a more ready position.) He said he had an opening at 10:00pm at his house. Bless his heart! I showed up having some real contractions and by the time I left a 1/2 hour later, I KNEW this baby was on his way! . . .or hers because we didn’t know yet what it was. We just called it Who-ka-la-ka-feeky.
Enter Tiffani. I texted my doula on my way home, telling her I was super ready for some help. She is so fantastic, she was there in 10 min. This is when I tell you that I went back and forth about hiring a doula so many times. I didn’t want to be seen as high maintence and I really believe it was a little unnecessary, I really didn’t want to spend the money and, this was my third birth, but MAN ALIVE, now I preach the doula. She was in charge of the situation, which I really loved and I think it made Scott able to relax a TON. Her pain reliving techniques were….art. Honestly she saved our bacon. Scott was the one that finally pointed out that this was our last birth, I was never doing this again, I might as well do it the way I wanted, might as well hire the doula, thanks Babe.
Scott was so great, he is always very calm (the man has patience) but birth is not his favorite thing. It makes him nervous, and uncomfortable. Although he doesn’t really voice it, I know that if he had been in charge our birth would have looked different. It was a little funny, being on the floor of the living room with Scott timing, Tiffani squeezing my hips together. Karen hanging out in the corner, and my parents in the kitchen, quietly munching on something. I remember when I was in the middle of a particularly gnarly contraction I started to pull at my hair and to panic. I heard Tiffani tell Scott to take my hand, it helped a lot to squeeze on that hand to my hearts content. I’m not sure why, maybe it’s trying to communicate to another human being what you’re going through. I don’t think he let go of my hand again though the whole thing (except maybe to drive) the details get fuzzy, but anyway you get it. He’s fantastic.
We labored in the living room for about 50 minuets before Tiffani announced that it was time to leave. No questions asked, she was in charge. Before I had wanted at least one hour of regular contractions to make sure we didn’t have to do the walk of shame and come home, but at that point I knew that baby was on it’s way.
The ride to the hospital was not awesome. Someone had placed some towels on my seat “Just in case.” Scott kept telling me not to christen our brand new car He told me later that as we made our way to the hospital he kept driving faster and faster. Yeah, I’ll admit that in my quest to relieve to pressure I may have unbuckled and writhed around for while, I can see why that would make a husband panic.
We arrived at the hospital and I thought I was in for an entire night of labor and I was not going to be rushed. I stood up out of my car and stayed standing there though a contraction. I walked 5 steps and took my candy sweet time with another. I walked in the doors, someone was standing ready with a wheel chair. I stood still at the wheel chair and had another contraction. At this point I did start saying “nauseous, Nauseous, NAUSEOUS!” with increasing volume each time waiting for someone to put a pail in front of me. And so I sat my butt on the wheel chair and ralphed all the way to labor and delivery. My doula had to keep reminding me how much the “shshshshshuing” breathing helped me. You have never heard a harsher shush out of any librarian or primary teacher. SHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHS! I remember passing a group and young thugs and hearing their reaction to my present state, “Damn”
I was wheeled into a triage room. Where I was asked to change into a robe. I remember ripping my clothes off, throwing the robe on and announcing that I would be standing for my next contraction so hurry and do what you have to do nurse. She announced that I was at a 6 and that we were headed down the hall to a delivery room. I stated that I had to pee again first (I had just tried to pee at the house) Again I thought we were in for a night of labor and I would not be rushed. I peed a teaspoon and felt justified. I walked to the wheel chair and stood next to it getting ready for my next contraction. At this point someone convinced me that we HAD to move and to sit down. I sat and my water broke all OVER that chair, the little blue pad placed on the chair didn’t have a CHANCE. And this is how I ended up as the crazy lady, sitting on the very edge of a wheel chair yelling (yes yelling I NEVER thought I would be a yeller) being wheeled quickly down the entire length of the hospital, at least it was that long in my memory. I felt guilty yelling, thinking of all those resting nursing mothers in the rooms we were passing. We got to my room and the nurse declared to someone else that I was “feeling pushy.” A light bulb went off in my head and I thought, I didn’t have the right vocabulary before but, I AM feeling “pushy.” The nurse checked me again and said “She’s complete, have Dr. So and so stand by” THAT is finally when I figured out that my baby was coming now NOW! Everyone was yelling at me not to push, try telling a baby to hold it’s barf! Apparently my doula whispered in my ear to “do what I had to do”, I didn’t hear her. I really thought I was trying not to push so that I wouldn’t tear my body from my clitoris to my butt whole, yeah because obviously that how it feels. I tried SO hard not to push, that was the hardest most painful part. Couldn’t not push (trying holding your explosive diarrhea next time huh) One push for the head and one for the body. I never got permission to push so I was asking, “is it bad? Did I tear open my butt?” Someone said “Oh he’s peeing!” and I said “It’s a boy!??!” All those months of waiting to hear what we were having, I never imagined I would forget to ask….or that it would be announced with a stream of urine. The euphoria was pretty amazing. All told, we were at the hospital for 12 minutes. The mystery dr. hardly had time for 2 gloves. I think all the nurses were wading around in “birth” because no one had any time to get anything ready. Freddie and I made an enormous mess
My real dr. showed up 9 minutes after he got the call but alas he came running in 5 minutes too late. My doula told me later that I was joking around with everyone, just being a giddy version of myself.
A fun fact. I did not need even one stitch. Astonishing, I know! But no one ever talks about the after care with a natural birth.I didn’t have an IV and my doula said I had one troubling gush of blood and THAT is why I was awarded two pills shoved up my butt, that when I said “DAMN” is right. I do not know that dr. He was VERY kind to me when he told a nurse not to bother with an IV. She had been trying to put it in though out the entire process. But that “after care” was super painful, turning my vagina right side out I guess. I thought he was VERY rough with my lady parts but I guess I have nothing to compare it to. Alfred Dax was born at 12:02 on December 17th, I wish I had pushed when I first wanted to so that he would have one more day separating birthday and Christmas. 7 lbs 11.5oz Oh well.
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| I look super unhappy in these three pictures and I look like I could use some botox between the eyes. But I think these where taken during the above mentioned “after care.” That’s one grey baby. |
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| I love this. |
Ah love. If you think these pictures share too much then 1) I hope we don’t run into each other in public soon (especially don’t come over!) and just think of the pictures I COULD have had if anyone had had any time to whip out a phone. Alas no one did.
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| This is the first picture I took in the Luxembourg bathroom for Heidi LeBaron. I just wanted her to see the OCD germaphobes of other nations uniting. |
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| This picture was taken to prove how brave I was to touch down in Luxembourg and promptly jump on public transportation! This picture also was taken just before I got lost and wondered around Luxembourg for a few hours. Thanks iphone maps! |
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| Beautiful Luxembourg! |
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| Things you might see on lazy afternoon runs. |
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| I just wanted to document how chubby I looked while I was in Europe. Two or three shirts, wooly sweater, scarf, pregnancy coat (from the time I was pregnant!) It was pretty cold to say the least. Washington has made me soft. In more was than one. See above picture. |
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| They drink pops there that are like. . .for ants. They don’t understand the mug of shame, and their skinny European selves couldn’t handle it anyway. |
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| Christmas Market! Where we are most of our meals! |
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| Every country has their own Notre Dame so they don’t have to share:) |
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| The exit signs (see above) made me giggle and want to run and exit all at the same time. |
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| Thanks Jeff, for the vaca! |
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| Yes, I bought this rip off boring pamphlet for 4 euros! I hadn’t seen ANY information on the entire city in English for 3 days. I was thirsty for some knowledge. For the record there was nothing interesting in it. |
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| See above pop obsession |
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| Work’in late during dinner |
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| which is OK because I’m super amused with the French fry forks. |
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| My commitment to working out:) |
Paris!
and me with my map because Paris can be a little intimidating to a non French speaker.
Versailles! all day long!
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| We read that the walls were super thick to that the guards could stand in the window wells and you couldn’t see them. This is Scott at attention. |
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| The only toilet we saw. . .suspicions? |
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| Marie Antoinette’s little English village, so cool. |
Notre Dame
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| ok, it’s hard to tell what’s going on in this picture but this was defiantly the most popular thing going on in the Notre Dame. It was this very bizarre little animatronics diorama of a village and builders? I seriously did not get what all the fuss was about and I felt uncomfortable fighting to see it thinking about all the lives and the sacrifice that had went into building such a monumental cathedral. |
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| So yeah we ran out of time and could not do it all. This is me with a trash bag and the Eiffel tower in the background. Yeah that thing poking out of the buildings. |
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| Yes we are aware we looked like total nerds. At least we have each other. |
A celebration of food indeed!
Abe could not be more excited to be baptized. He literally counted down the days. It was an awesome day and I was very thankful amazing spirit that I felt as Abe was baptized. He was a little concerned at first that because of a scheduling conflict he was baptized in a building he had never been in before. “Dad, I’m a little nervous that I’m getting baptized into this church and I want to be baptized into my own church.” Whoops! maybe a good time to teach the principal of a world wide church, ya think? But I know that it’s because Abe feels comfortable and feels the spirit in our home ward with his rockin teachers and who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?
Also I’m unsure of where the vegas style lighting came from in these pictures.
Noodles and squid afterward for his special day!
You wouldn’t know it if you weren’t paying attention but Henry’s personality is getting braver, more grown up, and more sure of himself. This is him being super brave at the Dr. But still very modest.
Yes that is an apple core in the back of my car! At least it isn’t a Twinkie wrapper!
Why not collect some gorgeous leaves for your Mom? Feeling the love!
Abe had a rocking monster truck party, I don’t have any pictures of that event yet but they exist. Abe I love being you mother, you are very sincere with your complements and you really want to do the right thing. I really hope that your extreme stubbornness is put to good use one day because heaven knows it makes me want to beat you on a daily basis. I love your weird ideas about how things work or could work. Mostly I appreciate the loving concern that I have seen you have for the people around you. It’s a privilege to help you grow up. Also look at this picture of you! You are so good look’in, it catches me off guard sometimes, those freckles and eyelashes will take you far in the world I’m sure.
First Maris Farms has to rob us blind (and we love every moment of it)
Then we dress up our kids in costumes that they kind of like but we love
We call that one Amish Abe. Sadley we realized this year that ALL of Henry’s costumes have been food. Peas, hamburger, candy corn, Oh Henry bar.
Also we carve pumpkins “as a family” aka Allison carves pumpkins everyone else watches Charlie Brown.
The reason this post is called “kids on drugs” is not the reason you think it is. This video was made before the parents were even up…at all. Scott thinks that this video is certified evidence that we made the right decision by medicating Abe for ADHD. (since obviously no awake parents=no stimulants for the day yet) The entire video is like an acid trip, maybe like the way Abe’s mind is always working.
I think this video is proof that I have geniusly artistic children and someday they will rule the world. Just watch and see if you find your self humming “dancing with the alien, the alien, there is some poison right there.”
We can’t stop singing it.
The kids miss squeezy, they try and find an alternate pet.
Also bey blades make a come back.
Three Men and a Bailey 