Luau

We went to a luau this weekend where my cousin, Chawna, and her kids performed. I joined their dancing group last year before I got pregnant, then dropped out. I am debating on whether I want to go back or not. I enjoy hula, but I am not a fast learner and I get frustrated. 

The Luau was at a park, so here is Ashlyn in a swing (of course, she loves to swing).

Dallin has always loved the swings too. And being goofy.

What a clown!

Then there is Tanner, who can paste on a smile with ease.

Nate and Ashlyn, and Ashlyn with Toki (below). Toki is Chawna's youngest. The two of them remind me of Chawna and me as little girls. 

Dallin adores Amber. Always wants to hold her and feed her.

Here are some pictures of some of the dances. These were the two Hawaiian looking dancers. :) The others were haloes (Hawaiian for white people). 

Chawna's daughter, Aili, doing a Tongan dance.

Chawna's other daughter, Nia, before dancing.

Before the luau, we visited my grandparents so they could meet Amber. 

One Month Old

I have seen so many cute ideas on Pinterest to show a baby's growth over the first year. I decided to put Amber next to one of her stuffed animals to see her growth over the year. There is one idea I love where you use a balloon for every month old they are. I might still do it. I will have to hurry if I want to do her 1 month picture. 

Britt Children's Festival

I have fond memories of the Children's festival, and it is pretty much the same as I remembered it. They have the same crafts and booths that they did 20+ years ago when I went as a kid. Even though I have fond memories, it was not fun to take my kids today. It was 100 degrees, and I had Amber strapped to me, and we were both sweating. Ashlyn was whining that she wanted to go home after only being there 20 minutes. Luckily, my cousin Chawna, was there to take my boys around so they could have a good time. The girls and I sat in the shade, ate a snow cone and watched some girls doing gymnastics on the stage.

 Of course we had to do face painting. And feed the talking dragon some trash.

Mural painting was fun too. 

It is amazing how much attention a new baby gets. Seemed like everyone I made eye contact with commented on Amber, or Oooh-ed and Aaah-ed at us. I think a volunteer even snuck a picture of her on her iPhone. Weird...

 Cutie Pie getting an ice cream cone on her face. 

"You are so beautiful to me..."

We got the movie "Little Rascals" for Nate's birthday and the kids love it! The are saying "O-Tay" now and singing "I gotta pickle. Hey! Hey!" My favorite is when they sing "You are so beautiful". Dallin and Ashlyn did it for me to record. Tanner was too embarrassed.

I love this face! She has turned into such a confident little girl. 

She used to be shy and wouldn't smile without covering it or trying to hold back, now she just lets it shine. I hope she says this confident. I read this article called "When Your Mother Says She's Fat"  that I really liked. It talked about how our daughters pick up on how we feel about ourselves, and they take on a lot of our attitudes. I would hate for my girls to have low self esteem because they perceived that I have poor self esteem. I am really trying to be conscientious of how I act, and what I say around my kids, so they feel good about themselves. 

4th fo July

I forgot to post about the 4th of July. We didn't do too much, that is probably why it slipped my mind. Nate worked part of the day, then we met up with my cousin, Chawna, and her family in the evening to watch fireworks. We got back late, so we ended up doing the fire crackers we bought a couple days later.

My sister, Tracie, was with us and took pictures of the boys because Ashlyn was upset from getting her finger smashed in a door and needed to be held. Then the noise of some of the louder fire crackers freaked her out. We watched from inside the house.

 She got some great shots of the boys and Nate.

Unafraid

Dallin decided it was time to ride a two wheel bike. He tried a couple months ago, but quickly changed his mind. Balancing was harder than it looked. This time he was determined. Tanner claims he taught Dallin, but it was really Dallin's decision and persistence.

 He got this helmet for his birthday.

More Amber

I took a few more pictures of Amber. I just can't resist. 

She has been a great baby. She sleeps well; eats well. She lost 14 ozs in the first couple days, which is 11% of her body weight, so the doctor had me focus on feeding her really well to get her up some. She was getting a big jaundice too, but as she got better at feeding and my milk came in she seemed to be doing better. 

I am anxious to get back to normal. I am very impatient with the healing process. I am dying to get a good sweaty workout. I got diastasis recti with this pregnancy, which is where your abdominal muscles separate leaving a little bulge. Gross. Totally fixable with core exercises though. 

Amber's newborn pictures

I was so excited to do Amber's pictures. I don't think I am done yet. I like being able to leave up my backdrops and things, and just bring her in when she is nice and sleepy. I don't have that luxury when I have a scheduled photo shoot. I have to work with what I get.

Anyway, here is my beautiful Amber.

Amber Lynn

She is here! And she is wonderful. 

Labor and delivery went just fine. Labor was fairly long, but delivery went quickly. 

For those who love to hear a labor and delivery story...

It all started at 1 a.m. June 15th. I started having contractions 10 minutes apart.  They lasted ALL night. Never got to to be "5-1-1" (5 minutes apart, lasting 1 minute, for 1 hour). That is when I was told to go in. If I followed that rule, I never would have gone in. I eventually went in at about 10:30 a.m. with them ranging from 5-20 minutes apart. I knew they may send me home, but I was tired of waiting and the midwife freaked me out earlier in the week saying I would go quick, and not to wait to go to the hospital. 

I was hooked up to a monitor, and I was so irritated to have only 5 contractions in the hour they monitored me. And only 2 of them really hurt. I was sure they'd send me home, but the nurse checked me, and I was 5 cm and "the head is right there!" she said. 

I was admitted, and got my epidural. As soon as it kicked in I pushed her out in a couple pushes. We spent more time waiting for a contraction to come than pushing. It was strange. It was a long drawn out labor, but it was pretty mild. I don't think I ever got to a "10 on the pain scale" with my contractions. Not sure which would be better, quick and hard, or long and mild?

It is funny because Nate was scheduled to work the day Amber was born. I thought about having him call in, but because my contractions hadn't gotten any closer in 6 hours, Nate could probably go in. He works right next to the birthing center, so I figured he could come over and my sister-in-law could drive me if I needed her to. So Paula ended up taking me and staying with me until Nate showed up later, then she stayed to see me get an epideral (foreign to her). Her labors are so fast and intense that mine was weird to watch. Pretty funny to see her so entertained.

Amber looked pretty beat up. Splotchy red spots all over. 

These are the next day, much better. I can't wait to do her newborn pictures in the next couple days. 

 She has big, beautiful eyes. And she has this tiny little mouth, so she is adorable, especially when she is awake and looking around.

Happy 5th Dallin

Well, Dallin didn't have to share a birthday with Amber. He was happy about that.

After his party he told me it was his best birthday party so far. I am so glad he had fun. He just had a couple friends, but it was a very rambunctious crowd. The poor little sisters that came, got knocked over and trampled on everywhere they went.

Nate was very helpful. I had planned everything, and he carried everything out. Did all the games and everything. 

Here is his best girl friend, Bonnie. They are both quirky and sweet, and I am sure will be friends for life. She is so cute. She always calls him by his full name. "Hi, Dallin Spence." "Thanks, Dallin Spence." Look at their eyes. I love kids' eyes; how they expressive they are and they just shine through them. This is my new favorite picture of Dallin.

 Ariana, digging for treasure in the sandbox. Ashlyn searching for gold pieces.

 Dallin chose some classic party games like, Pin the Skull on the Pirate ship. He practiced so much during the day, he won.

Opening gifts. He was excited about every single one. Even the toothbrush and toothpaste we got for him.

 

Dallin really wanted a piñata too. My favorite part was watching Cowen's face. He is the one in blue. He thought it was so hilarious when the piñata would hit someone on a swing back.

I think Joel finally got a hole in it, and Tanner demolished it. Look at that face. Can't wait to watch him play ball this summer.

Spectators. 

Ashlyn, and the little sisters were afraid to bat the piñata.

 I didn't take pictures of the Chocolate Marshmallow cupcakes I made. They were from an awesome recipe I found on Pinterest. 

39 weeks

Welp, here I am, a week away from my due date. Things are looking more promising now, I mean, they ought to right? The midwife said I should go into labor soon, and "the way you are presenting, you will go fast," she says. I am 3 cm and fully effaced, or as she put, "your cervix is mush." That is for all those who like the gory details. 

Being Dallin's birthday today, I am kind of hoping it doesn't happen today. Mostly because I have a very well planned out pirate themed birthday party planned for him tonight, and I don't want to reschedule; already did that once. It might be fun to have 2 kids with the same birthday, actually.

I don't think this picture really shows how huge I am, but I am BIG. Everywhere I go I hear whispers, "She is ready to pop!" and stuff like that. This is the biggest I have gotten around. Dallin was my next biggest, and I was an inch or two smaller around with him. My weight gain is comparable  though, at about 20 lbs. He was 8 lbs 7 ozs, so I hope Amber isn't gonna be 9 lbs. Especially if I go so fast that I can't get an epidural. Why do doctors/midwives tell you things that freak you out!?! 

This is the last picture I am going to post before delivery. Wish me luck!