Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Hello World! We're Still Here!

Ok, I think I'm officially back. Life has been going generally well since Katelyn's arrival, though I admit that this whole two kids things takes some serious adjustment. I'm still trying to find the right balance. I think that I was neglecting Jeffy a little bit and I've shifted my paradigm to be able to take better care of him too. The past couple of days have been really good. I've set some new goals and have patience and love my top two priorities right now. So far so good.

Katelyn is one month old! At her check up, she weighed 9 lbs 6 oz and was 21 inches long. 50the percentile all across. Funny, she wasn't as big then as Jeffy was when he was born! She's doing well. Her most recent sleep pattern is to go to bed at about 8:00 pm, and she usually doesn't wake up till 2:30 or 3:30. Not bad for five weeks old! She is as cute as ever and we're really enjoying her.

Jeffy's doing well too. He seems so big now! His favorite toys are the couch and the outdoors. The couch is his favorite jungle gym in the world. I hope it survives a few more kids. When he's not climbing and flipping all over the couch, he's out on our patio. Now that it's gotten cooler, we spend a lot more time outside. Unfortunately, it's been raining the last few days, so we haven't been outside as much as he would like.

We're trying to think of fun Halloween costumes. Jeffy's fallback is Superman since he got some awesome Superman pjs from his grandma. I was thinking of making the two of them Pebbles and Bam Bam, but I don't think I have the time to make costumes right now. So we'll see what I can find.

Jeff started the next phase of his training, Power School, this week. So for the next six months, he's going to be home for about one hour from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm. And that one hour is playtime for him and Jeffy. So far I've survived him gone all right and hope I can continue to do so.

That's it for now. Hopefully I'll have time to post again soon!

And of course a recent pictures of my little lady.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Introducing Our Katelyn!

Yay! She's here! Katelyn Elise Davis was born on Thursday, Sept 3 at 1:35 pm. She weighed 7 lbs 9 oz and was 19 in long. A very nice size, in my opinion! ;)

Sometime later when I have more time, I'll share the whole story. But, for now-- I delivered vaginally! (That deserves a whole lot more exclamation marks, but you get the point) Labor wasn't too bad. I went in at 2:30 am, started pushing at 11:00 am, and after a grueling 2 1/2 of pushing, she was born. Pushing was definitely the hardest part. I was quite exhausted by the end of it. Duh, I guess.

The absolute best part was getting her here, hearing her first cry, and being able to see her first moments. That was amazing. I didn't get to have that with Jeffy, and it was such a special experience. She was placed right on my chest after she was born and I got to hold her and feed her for quite a while before they took her to weigh, measure, and clean up. I felt the most wonderful sense of awe and peace and joy. Who knew childbirth could be wonderful, and not traumatic!

It was really a blessing I was able to get her here the normal way. I'm so grateful for the doctors and nurses who worked so hard to help me. I'm going to write them letters and thank them.

Anyways, she's here and she's perfect! Isn't that all that really matters? Let's see if I can get some pictures posted quickly.

First picture!

So tiny.


With mommy.


With daddy.

So pretty!

In her hospital bassinet.


Ready to come home!


All warm and snuggly in her bed.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

I Think This Is It!

After my doctor's appointment yesterday, I came home determined to help baby start her journey out, if she was ready. On the way home I stopped and got some castor oil, my mom's induction method of choice. :) I followed her directions and make a castor oil cocktail of 2 oz oil and 6 oz orange juice, followed by two big spoonfuls of ice cream. (the ice cream was my idea) :) It was the nastiest thing in the world and I don't think I'll ever do it again. I had a cocktail at 1:00, 3:00, and 5:00. Diarrhea started at about 2:00 and contractions a little after that. At 7:00, when I was supposed to take another dose, I called my mom and complained how gross it was. She told me to go walking. So I did.

Jeff and I went walking around the neighborhood from about 7:30 to 9:30. It was quite enjoyable! I loved being with him and just spending some time talking together. We brought Jeffy in the stroller, and eventually stopped back at home to get his doodlebug (giant stuffed caterpillar) and he went to sleep. By the end I was contracting every 4 mins or so and feeling pretty hopeful.

After a shower the contractions died down a little bit and I thought that maybe it hadn't worked and it was just false labor. I wasn't especially disappointed, because I still felt that the real thing wasn't really far away. I was able to fall asleep and slept till about 2:00.

Then, the contractions really started. It's now a few minutes till 5:00. I was having one every 3-5 minutes until about 4:15 and now they're coming consistently at 4 minutes. And these babies hurt! In about 20 minutes I'll call my doctor and see what they want me to do.

I really think this is it! If all goes well, we'll have a baby girl today!

I'm so excited!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Is It Worth It?

Castor oil is the most disgusting thing in the whole world. I feel so sick.

Ugh. Keep going with it? I don't know if I can. . . .

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Yay for the 2nd time around!

So at the doctor today I was told I'm 2 centimeters dilated and 60% effaced! Yay! This was definitely not the way it went last time and I like it this way MUCH better! We're definitely going for the VBAC and it looks like it's going to be soon. I can't wait! I'm feeling so good and ready to do this!

Wish me luck!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

I Won, I Won!!

Remember those oh-so-cute flower clips just a few posts below? I won that giveaway! Or, my entry #295 did, out of who knows how many. Isn't that awesome? I didn't win those particular clips--I won three flower clips, which is even better!

I haven't won anything since a raffle in 5th grade. It's great!!

(You can see the blog where I won at makeitandloveit.blogspot.com and the boutique they're from at beautifulbabyboutique.blogspot.com. Can you tell I'm practically giddy?)

Crisis

We're just a few weeks away from D-Day and we have a problem. We haven't yet found the right name for baby girl!

"Caroline Elise" is very pretty. It's a good name; I just don't think it's the right name.

I'm really at a loss here. Who knew choosing someone's name would be such a big deal? :) There are lots of names that I like, but nothing sticks out as being "it."

Maybe we'll have to meet her first.

I just don't want to be carrying around a 2-month old baby, calling her "baby" because she I'm too indecisive to give her a name. Lame!

Ok, you out there somewhere in the universe who has the perfect name for my little girl--time to cough it up!!

please?

Monday, August 17, 2009

Jeffy's New Best Friend

With his birthday money Jeff got Guitar Hero World Tour--the one with the drums, bass, and vocals along with the regular guitar. It came in a nice, big box that has now become Jeffy’s favorite toy. He likes to pile up lots of toys in it, throw the toys out, toss them back in, then jump in himself. He has a few rug-type burns from learning how to get in, but they're totally worth it!



We think it's pretty cute.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Cuteness



Aren't these precious? Makeitandloveit.blogspot.com is having a giveaway featuring beautiful baby boutique. I'm entering and invite anyone with a little girl in need of some cuteness to check out this great little shop!

beautifulbabyboutique.blogspot.com

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Beach Trip!

Yay! We've been here over three months and we finally made it to the beach this weekend!

We went to the Naval Short Stay Recreation Area on Lake Moultrie and had a great time. The lake was huge! The best part was that it's for military members only, so it wasn't very crowded and there were lots of free things. We were able to get a nice big umbrella and some beach chairs by showing our ID. Yay!

The sand was super hot and it really felt like my feet burned. Jeffy didn't seem to mind one bit, which I was thankful for. He had a great time! There was lots of shallow water for him to play in and he liked to collect little shells and sticks.

We only stayed for a few hours since that was all my pregnant self could take. But we had a great time and we hope to go back after baby comes and I can enjoy it more. We've been told the water stays pretty warm all year round and that fall is one of the best times to go to the beach. Yay for the south!

~Picture time!~

Jeffy enjoying the sand. Really, the kid loves sand.


Daddy and Jeffy building something . . . .


It was hot.


A hot, tired, pregnant mama and Jeffy before we got a real beach umbrella.


Jeffy put his hat on himself and it turned out like this. Awesome!


Daddy and Jeffy's finished creation.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Petty Officer 3rd Class Davis

Yay for Jeff!

He graduated from Machinist Mate A-School today! After 14 weeks of intense training and studying, he finally graduated and did so with distinction. He was one of four in his class to qualify for this. And along with graduating, he was promoted to the rank of Petty Officer Third Class! He is now officially "Petty Officer Davis" and gets to wear a crow on his patch.

I'm really proud of him and how hard he worked to accomplish this. He not only made it through all the assignments, tests, physical fitness assessments, watches, and duties, but made spending time with his family a priority and managed to be a great daddy even while so busy. What a guy!

We took the chance to celebrate and had a really fun day. My good friend, Amber, watched Jeffy for us. (THANK YOU!) The ceremony started at 9:00 and was nice and short. We stopped for breakfast at McDonald's before heading to Cypress Gardens, an old plantation turned into a "swamp garden." We toured the swamp aquarium, sat in the butterfly garden, and looked at three scary gators in a pen. The best part was a guided boat tour around the swamp. This was my first time in a swamp ever and I was fascinated by it all. I loved the water lilies and lily pads the most. We saw two gators in the water. The guide told us there are about 25 that live there. Yikes! We also saw some turtles and lots of different kinds of bugs in the water. It was nice and relaxing to sit back and have someone else paddle us around. We also learned that quite a few movies had shot scenes there. The two I remember are "The Patriot" and "The Notebook." Oh, and I just have to share that the guides and Jeff were impressed by how easily I got in and out of the boat. Hee hee. Not bad for a super pregnant lady! :)

After Cypress Gardens we went out to a nice lunch BY OURSELVES! We figured that we get to go out just the two of us about once every six months. So this was a lovely treat. We went to Texas Roadhouse, where I tried ribs for the first time. I'm just now coming around to liking red meat. I wasn't brave enough to order them, but Jeff shared some of his, and next time I will order them. They were yummy!

So that was our fun day. We decided to do it again when Jeff graduates Power School, which should be around March/April of next year. Yay for dates! It was great to enjoy each other's company without the distraction of the little man. But of course we were happy to go get him at the end. He's so cute!

Unfortunately, I made sure to bring the camera, but didn't check to make sure it had a memory card in it, so we're kind of lacking in the picture department. Oh well. It was still a great day!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Cough, Cough, Wheeze

Poor Jeffy.

Rather quickly, his cold turned into a really bad cough. I'm not one to just rush to the doctor anytime he has a sniffle, but this time I was scared he wasn't getting enough oxygen. I took him into the medical clinic in the early afternoon and I'm really glad I did The doc heard him wheezing and said the first thing that needed to be done was to help him breathe more easily. So Jeffy got the second nebulizer treatment in his life. Man, he hates those. I don't especially enjoy it either.

I had to sit him in my chair in front of me, wrap my legs around his and pin down his arms so he couldn't move, then hold a mask over his face for fifteen minutes. Yeah, I was sweating when it was done. He put up quite a fight. And he's a lot bigger and stronger since the last time he had that done. Whew!

Then doc ordered a chest x-ray to make sure it wasn't pneumonia. I'm pregnant, so I couldn't go in, blah blah blah. Poor kid. That's the second time in a month that he's had to get an x-ray while being held down by strangers. It's not fun to sit outside and listen to your kid scream.

Then he got another nebulizer. Thankfully, I think he was pretty worn out from all the screaming and he just kind of laid there the whole time. He may have even fallen asleep. After all this he was breathing much more easily. Thank goodness. Doc said if the nebulizer didn't help much, she was going to send him over to the hospital. Yuck. The x-rays also showed there was no pneumonia, so we were spared that hassle.

Now I have to hold an inhaler with a mask over his face every four hours to help him breathe and force feed him some nasty steroids to break up the phlegm. But he's a lot happier and less clingy now so it's worth it.

We've all been running low on sleep with all the sicknesses, etc., and I was really looking forward to a whole night's sleep in my own bed, but alas, this was not to be. Jeffy and I had a sleepover on the hide-a-bed like we have been for a few nights. Even though he was feeling better, he wouldn't even close his eyes to go to sleep unless he could feel me next to him. Poor little guy. We both got more sleep than the night before, but it wasn't the restful night I had hoped for. Today is looking more promising and I'm not giving up hope!

My friend, Amber, said that a bunch of kids from playgroup were hit with a similar thing, so we think that's where it's spreading. I'm not sure if we're going to go this week. Good health might be worth less playtime. We'll see. In the meantime, Jeffy's doing better, and that's all I could really ask for.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Just Bethany

I started to feel silly writing on our blog and commenting on others with the name "Jeff and Bethany Davis." Jeff never participates in the blogging and could care less about the whole thing and I am my own person, so why shouldn't I be named just myself?

So I created a new email account and added myself as a new author for our blog. It may seem silly, but I like seeing my name by itself as an author and commentator. I've always liked my name and it just makes more sense to me to admit that when I write or comment, it's just me and Jeff isn't actually contributing over my shoulder. (Come on, you know that's what you thought!)

So here I am! Just Bethany.

:)

This Is The Cold That Never Ends. . . .

Jeffy woke up last night sick again. I guess maybe it's the cold Jeff and I had last week and it just took longer to get him, I don't know. Either way, he's miserable and I feel bad for him. Today was going to be our first day in our new ward (found out we've been going to the wrong one. whoops), but it might be Jeff on his own. Oh well. You do what you can.

I really hope everyone gets well and stays well so when we add a new person to the family it won't be even more stressful! Sigh.

At least we're not all sick this time. Count your blessings.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

35

35 weeks down and 35 days to go. Yay!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Unexplainable Boredom

I don't know why I've been feeling so bored lately.

Remember how we all got that nasty stomach bug? Well, we had a few days of good health, then were struck again! This time it was a nasty head cold. Ugh. It hit me harder than the flu did. I was miserable. Jeff was too, but pushed through it and did all his work stuff. THANKFULLY, Jeffy got a runny nose, but wasn't too bad at all. I would much rather me be sick than Jeffy. That lasted for about a week. We're feeling much better now. I still have a cough that I think is going to stick around for a while, but other than that, we're ok. I hope it lasts a little bit longer this time!

Pregnancy is going pretty well. I'm almost 35 weeks and compared to this stage last time, I think this one is going better. I haven't really started swelling at all yet, and I think last time by this point I was already stretching out Jeff's shoes. :) I had one really, really uncomfortable day during the cold where my back hurt and my hips really hurt and it reminded me of the end of the last pregnancy. Thankfully, it went away with the cold and I hope it stays away. Hip pain is one of my least favorite parts of pregnancy. So yeah. I'm feeling pretty good. Just . . . waiting.

BUT (and this is the really frustrating part) we're still in limbo about the VBAC. Good grief. I first came to this doctor about two months ago and filled out all the releases to get the records from Jeffy's birth and they still haven't shown up yet. I filled out the releases again, and nothing. Without those records, the doctors aren't able to say definitively whether I can try a VBAC. Grrrrr. I guess it's up to me to get them somehow. My last appointment was hugely frustrating as well and right now I really don't like doctors or the whole health care profession. Oh well. As long as baby gets here safely I guess I can't complain too much.

I've been working on lots of projects lately. Jeff's mom sent me a bunch of material and a pattern for muu muus that she got on a trip to Hawaii. She brought me back one and it's the best thing for a pregnant summer! So I have some of those to make. And she also sent material for some cute little Hawaiian print clothes for Jeffy.

I'm also finishing up Jeffy's old clothes quilt. I was actually brave enough to quilt it on my machine instead of tying it. That was exciting! I am now in the process of hand stitching the binding. The perfectionist in me is irritated at all the little mistakes, but oh well. I think overall it turned out pretty well.

So you'd think I wouldn't feel so bored. But I do. Maybe I have spring fever. I'm stuck inside the house all day, as it is TOO HOT to go outside. I hear the weather starts cooling down in November. Maybe I can make it.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Introducing Daisy Lyn Pieper!



My little sister, Kimi, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl early last Saturday morning. Poor girl was 8 days overdue and soo ready to have her baby here! I'm so proud of her, and excited for her, and so sad that I'm not closer to go visit. I have to be satisfied with pictures, I guess. And speaking of pictures . . . .


Eyes wide open!


My mom with her newest grandchild.


Proud new daddy!


Yay Kimi!


Isn't she sweet?

Friday, July 17, 2009

Much Better, Thank You

We're almost back to full health. Stomachs are still a little queasy, but overall, we're all a lot better. Thank goodness. When things like this happen, I have no idea how on earth it will all work out with another baby. I could barely handle the three of us being sick. Add a newborn? Sigh. I guess you just do your best!

Anyways, Jeff had a good birthday barbecue, aside from the fact that just about everyone who came got sick, which was about half his class. Whoops. There goes our social life! ;) We had about 15 people come, which I thought was pretty good. Jeff had a good time grilling hamburgers and converting new people to the nerf world. He had lots of guns out there and the guys enjoyed shooting each other. We even had a couple families with kids come, which was fun for Jeffy. Everyone stayed a lot longer than I expected and eventually I needed to go hide/rest in our bedroom, since I had pulled a muscle in my back. Nobody cared though, so no big deal.

Jeff's classmates really like the chocolate chip cookies I make, so I made sure to have plenty available. I made almost 8 dozen, and they were gone quite a while before people even started to leave. I'm pretty sure they would have eaten as much as I could have made easily. Jeff had to come in and put some aside for himself to even get any. I thought it was funny.

So I'd say it was a success. But I do feel bad that we got everyone sick. At least I know that it was a real bug and not food poisoning. I would have felt even worse then!

So . . . since we never finished cleaning up from all the fun, then we got sick, the house is pretty much a disaster. It's my task for the day to get it presentable at least. Not really looking forward to it, but it has to be done!

A few other things: this morning I ran over our kitchen trash can while backing out of the driveway. Don't ask what it was doing out there. We had a big storm last night and it got blown behind the front tires. Ironically, I had checked behind the back tires, but not the front. Oh well. I smashed it to smithereens. (How on earth do you spell that word?) Then about 5 minutes later, I found a new trash can! Friday is big item pickup day, where you can put out big items and the trash guys will come pick it up. Redundant, I know. Anyways, I always like to go treasure hunting on Thursday evenings/Friday mornings. Since this is a military base, there is a constant flow of people moving in and out, resulting in stuff on the curb. So this morning I found a trash can almost identical to the one I destroyed! I was happy.

But the real treasure was found last night. I was taking Jeffy on an evening walk in hopes of distracting him from his teething fussiness and found an entertainment center! These people obviously were moving or had moved out, and left everything they couldn't fit on the curb. I was really excited, since we've been looking for something that is harder for Jeffy to get into. I ran as fast as my prego belly would allow and made Jeff go get it. Don't worry--he was very willing. There was a nice couch too, but its cushions were missing, so we left it. It's a nice big center, with cabinets that I can easily Jeffy-proof. And you can't beat the price! Now we have a little rearranging to do. I like rearranging, so it's good motivation to get the house cleaned up. :)

So that's been our week. Being sick, getting better, finding treasures, and now getting the house and our lives back to normal. It feels good to be back.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Jeffy's Sharing

So Jeffy's head bumping had nothing to do with being sick. He just got sick, and being the sweet little boy he is, he shared it with all of us! Jeff is home sick today, after spending the night throwing up, and it even hit me this morning. For all you women out there who throw up a lot during pregnancy, I feel for you. This is the first time I've thrown up while pregnant and it stinks. So we're a bunch of sickies today and I hope it goes away soon. This is yucky!

Jeff had a nice birthday barbecue though. I'll post more on that when I'm not so dizzy.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Ugh

So here was our day today. Quilted a little in the morning. Jeffy hit his head on the wall after losing his balance running around on our bed. Took the screaming toddler with me to an OB appointment. Was told they're still waiting for my Idaho records to determine whether or not I can actually try a VBAC. Went to a teddy bear picnic with Jeffy, where we made a cute frame to hold a picture of him and his favorite teddy bear. Got really hot. Came home and got thrown up on. Gave him a bath and called doctor. Went to Urgent Care. Got thrown up on again. Held again screaming toddler down through a shot and a rectal temperature. Waited outside while nurse held down screaming toddler through a CT scan. Finally got the ok to come home. Trying to comfort exhausted toddler. Now I just have to clean the whole house and make lots of food for Jeff's birthday barbecue tomorrow.

I'm tired.

It's now a few hours later and aforementioned toddler has diarrhea and a diaper rash. Yay life!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Today is Jeff's 25th birthday. And here is a list of 25 things I love about him.

1. The first thing he does when he comes home is grab up Jeffy in his arms and give him a big hug.
2. How naturally smart he is.
3. How hard he works and is willing to work to support us all.
4. He always says dinner is great and he appreciates me making it.
5. He never loses his patience with his little vampire of a son.
6. He encourages me in my hobbies and dreams.
7. How we can see the same movie, but see totally different movies, and enjoy trying to bring the other around to their point of view.
8. He likes my family and enjoys spending time with them.
9. He's willing to put dreams and wants of his aside for a while for the immediate needs of our family.
10. I've never felt uncomfortable sharing deeply personal things with him. It's the opposite--I've always felt completely comfortable and want to share with him.
11. He trusts me enough to do the same.
12. He brags about me to his co-workers.
13. His confidence.
14. How often he tells me he loves me.
15. His willingness to help people.
16. His cute shiny head.
17. I can bounce ideas off him and he listens and responds (even about things he couldn't care less about, like quilting and crafting.)
18. He initiates prayers and scripture study for our family.
19. He would rather be home with us than get perfect grades.
20. I feel very safe with him around.
21. I know his decisions are based on what's best for our family and not just himself.
22. He takes Jeffy when I need a break.
23. He never stops wanting to learn more about . . . everything.
24. He wants to make a difference in the world.
25. He loves me.



Now I just have to sit him down and make his read this. :)

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Super Duper Post

It's been a while since I've posted, but it's not for lack of trying, I promise. The internet is really hit and miss, and most of the time it's miss. Especially when I'm trying to upload pictures.

So here we go--what we've been up to for almost a whole month.

Jeffy and I introduced Daddy to the water park a few weeks ago. Jeffy had an even better time than when we went with playgroup, and an even better time than that when we went with the church playgroup last week. Every time we go, he gets a little more brave and I get a little more tired. Before we went to the sprinklers, we all crammed into a 2-person paddle boat, which was quite an adventure. I held Jeffy on my lap, and needless to say, it was pretty crowded with me, Jeffy, and new baby. And Jeff did almost all of the paddling. What a good sport! Jeffy was wearing a lifejacket that was too big for him and he looked really cute, though uncomfortable. That was a fun trip.










Later that same day, we went to a bbq hosted by one of Jeff's classmates. That was my first time meeting many of these guys and it was fun. Jeffy was the only kid there, of course and he provided some good entertainment. And he really liked to play with their puppy. Maybe we should get one. Well, maybe we should borrow one for a day instead.

We had a nice father's day. At church Jeff got some chocolate, which is always nice (especially since he shared. :)) After church I surprised him with a charcoal grill and steak and he had a blast cooking. We had hamburgers for lunch and then he grilled the steaks for dinner. It started out a little shaky but ended well. Jeff burned off all the hair on his hands while protecting his face from giant flames. We had lighters in the house, so I didn't think I needed to get matches, but apparently lighting a charcoal fire with lighters isn't such a great idea. No harm done though, and we both thought it was kind of funny. Jeff really enjoyed it and thinks he has a new weekend hobby. We didn't get to serve him cinnamon rolls as breakfast in bed because he had to go do morning colors, so I was glad the rest of the day was fun. We had the cinnamon rolls for dessert! :)



The Navy is going to new working uniforms this month--blue fatigues. The guys all make jokes about how they'll be perfectly hidden in all the blue bushes. Here's a picture of my sailor in his new uniform.



So we found out for sure that baby #2 is a girl! We've been waiting a long time to know for sure and now that we do, it's time to get excited! Really, anytime I think about my little girl, I get really, really excited!! I got out my sewing machine, which hasn't seen use in two years and made little lady her first dress. I think it turned out really cute and I was intent on doing a good job, so it's well-made too.



Then the weekend after the ultrasound, our community had a giant yard sale, and we hit it early to find cute baby stuff. And it was a big success! We found two especially good sales where we got lots of really cute clothes for not very much money! I was so excited I took a picture.



And we even found a stroller! It's a sit-n-stand stroller, which is nice. And for it we paid ... [insert drum roll here] ... $20! Wahoo! It was only a year old and I think they had gotten a really good price on it so they passed along the savings. And the best part about it is that Jeffy loves his new seat. We brought it into the house to give it a good cleaning and Jeffy couldn't be torn away from it. I buckled him in to test it out and when I went to undo it, he hollered. So we went on a little walk in our new half-filled double stroller. I'm glad he likes it.



I pulled out the infant carseat to make sure it fit in the new stroller and Jeffy wanted to test that out too. He sure has gotten big since he used it!



After the yard sales were over, things that weren't sold were taken to the thrift shop on base, so I knew I wanted to make a trip there. They're only open a few days and week, and when it opened, we zoomed over to see if there were any goodies. Once again we hit the jackpot! We found a ton of more cute stuff! There was a set of onesies in particular that were super cute. There was one for each day of the week. Too fun. And we even found a crib bumper pad for $2! This thrift shop is the best. Their prices are unbelievable. I love it! This time I didn't take a picture, I just added it all to the growing pile of pink clothes.

Ok, back to the baby that's already here. A friend of mine made her little boy a quilt out of his old baby clothes and it's super cute. I thought about doing it for a while, but didn't necessarily want to cut up a bunch of baby clothes in case of a future boy, but as I was sorting through them "just in case," I realized that we have plenty, so I decided to go ahead and do it. It was kind of hard to cut up some of those cute little things--they have a lot of sentimental value to me! But I'm glad I'm doing it. This way they won't get worn out or given away by mistake. So far I have all the pieces sewn together with a border around them. I have batting and a soft fleece backing and I just need to tie it. I got everything all set up and then realized I didn't have the right kind of needle to thread yarn. Darn! But I'm close and I think it's going to turn out really cute. Thanks, Amanda, for the great idea!



And this is just a cute picture of a sleepy little man. :)



Oh yeah, we're thinking of the name Caroline Elise Davis for the new baby. What do you think?

Friday, June 5, 2009

House of Bounce

We're back!

We've had a pretty fun-filled week. On Wednesday we went to a local water park with the Base Play Group. We went to the sprinkler area, which had a section of big sprinkler type things and fountains and whatnot. I'm a retard and forgot my camera, which was too bad, because Jeffy was so cute! He had his little swim trunks on, and I got him to keep a cute little spiderman hat on the whole time. We even had little red sunglasses that he wore for about a minute. He had a great time.

We got there a little before the sprinklers started, so we went over to a playground for a while. By the time we got to actually play in the water, I was pretty tired. (thank you, pregnancy) But Jeffy loved it. His favorite ones were fountains that sprayed water about two feet up in the air. He mostly just waved his hand through them and smiled. He walked through a big wall of falling water once (I think the hat kept it from getting in his eyes) and he didn't do that again. His favorite thing to do was just to run. He does this cute little run where he bounces up and down more than he goes forward. I love it. He just kind of ran around and when something caught his eye (a toy, a flowery hat or something) he would stop to play with it. He only biffed it once, which I thought was pretty good!

This playgroup is really helping us to get out and find fun things to do in the area. And I'm meeting nice people too. One girl, Amber, invited us to go to the "House of Bounce" today with her family. She has two little boys--Case, who's 3, and Jeremiah, who's 7 weeks or something. I was feeling especially tired and worn out this morning and felt more like staying home, but we went, and like usual, I'm glad we did. Jeffy loved it. There was lots of room for him to run around; there were balls everywhere; and there were lots of bouncy things he could get up and down on by himself. I tried to follow him around and take pictures, but he was pretty quick and I didn't get any spectacular ones. He had a good time and it wore him out, which is always great!

Amber's husband is in the same program as Jeff, and it's nice to have someone who has done this and survived. Phil is about to start the last phase of Nuke School, while Jeff is about 4 weeks into the first phase. They live one street up from us, which is also nice. We're going to have them over for a mini pool party on Monday. It's nice to have a friend.

Hopefully I can get back into the habit of blogging regularly. It always helps to have pictures to share. I'm almost 27 weeks along with baby #2 and everything is going well so far. I have an appointment on Tuesday with a group of doctors that do VBACs and I'm hoping it will go well.

That's it for now. More to come soon.

The kid will go after any ball he sees!


Hmmm, which to play with--the ball or the bouncy cars?

Trying to run up the slide....



And down he comes!


"What, mom?"


So fun!



Cute kid.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Well . . . .

We're here in Charleston. It's hot. And we don't have internet so blogging will be put on a back burner for a while. But we're alive and mostly moved in and life is good!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Chicago

Jeffy and I got back yesterday afternoon from a whirlwind of a weekend in Illinois.

We left early Thursday morning. We had a flight from SLC to Chicago O'Hare at 7:10 am. That was a little early for Jeffy, and Jeff's mom, who drove us. We got to the airport a little before 6:00 and the timing worked out really well. Jeffy was pretty good on that flight. He fussed at a few points, but mainly snacked and napped. Hooray!

We got to Chicago and I felt like we were back in the real world. Utah has a weird feeling to me. Anyone ever been to that airport? It's huge! We walked from the gate to the luggage claim, then walked and walked and walked to where the shuttle from the car rental was picking us up. It felt like we walked to the next zip code! I had Jeffy in the stroller along with the diaper bag, and was pulling our suitcase. It made for one tired mama.

We finally got picked up and driven to the car rental place. I was so glad they had carseats available--one less thing for me to carry around. We got the car and took off. Great Lakes was about 40 minutes north of Chicago and to my surprise, the road we were told to take was a toll road. I wish I had known that in advance. It wasn't a big deal, thankfully. We drove and drove, then I guess I misread a sign or something because I got off the highway where I thought I was supposed to, and got thoroughly lost. I had brought the GPS with me, but it wasn't working so I pulled over and looked at the map for a while. I figured out our route and got us to the hotel all by myself! Hooray!

We checked in, ate some food, and went on a drive to see the area. We found the Great Lakes Naval Station easily and enjoyed getting to know the area a little bit.

Bedtime was a bit of a struggle. The hotel provided a playpen thingy for Jeffy to sleep in, but he wasn't too keen on the idea. Being in a new place with none of his regular routines threw him a little too. I eventually gave up and brought him into bed with me. After about a half an hour he fell asleep and I was able to unpack and shower, etc.

The next morning was Jeff's graduation. The ceremony started at 9 am, but the gates opened at 6:30 am, so I figured it was best to get there earlier than later. We left the hotel at 7:00 and drove the 5 minutes to the base. Nobody really knew where to go, and lots of people tried getting on base at the wrong entrance, and finally everybody just kind of followed each other to the right place. We pulled onto the base and were directed all around, ending up in a big parking lot. They had us pull up into a lane, cut the engine and wait for further instructions. Once the lane was full, we all showed our graduation pass and ID. The sailor who checked us asked if we had any drugs, alcohol, or firearms and I kind of giggled at him. He laughed back. I don't think I look like much of a threat.

From there we drove to another parking lot and got to get out there. Then we walked all the way to a front building, showed our IDs again, then walked to another building and got our names checked off a list, then walked to the Graduation Hall. It was super windy and super cold and I was super tired from lugging around my little chunk. We finally got inside and walked to our section. The bottom was full so we had to hike some stairs to get to the balcony. I think I got the last seat that would be in front of Jeff's division. Good thing we didn't leave any earlier.

Then the real fun began. We still had more than an hour before the ceremony actually started. I had some snacks and things for Jeffy, but those only lasted so long. They had some informational videos being shown beforehand and at times Jeffy was interested in those. They played some Sousa marches over the loudspeakers and he really liked that. Then the Navy band or whatever came out to play some songs. He liked th actual songs, but all the screaming/applause, etc. really scared him. He started screaming and it didn't really stop till . . . ever. The ceremony started, the divisions started marching in and everybody got up and cheered/screamed for their recruits. Which in turn made Jeffy scream. I had to get up and take him to a little hallway to calm him down. I tried multiple times to go back in and take pictures, but it never lasted very long. At one point, an old man offered to take him and was able to get him to sleep. Thankfully this was at the point where they were introducing the divisions and I got to record them introducing Jeff as his division leader. Jeffy woke up to the cheering not long after that and I wasn't able to take many more pictures or listen to much more of graduation. We went back downstairs to use the bathroom. We stayed down there for quite a while. I really didn't want to be told to go all the way back upstairs. We finally resurfaced to the main level and I saw that Jeff's division was standing right in front of us, Jeff at the front. So we stayed there for the rest of the program. It seemed to last forever. A lot of it was really neat and I would have loved to have been able to sit down and enjoy it, but with a screaming little monster, I just wished for it to be over.

Finally it ended and the sailors were granted liberty. I scooped up Jeffy and went to find Jeff. We got to him and had to wait for him to button his coat up all the way before he was allowed to hug us. Yay for the military. :) He looked great. As the divisions were marching in I tried to find him. I thought I had, but the guy looked too tall and thin to be Jeff, but it turned out to be him. He looked confident and happy. And who can resist a man in uniform? :) He told me he had to go stand watch for a little while before he was allowed to leave. That was disappointing, but oh well. That was about 10:45 am. An hour later he found us in the car and we left.

I should have known that the Jeffy monster that emerged during Graduation wasn't just going to disappear. The weekend was great, mostly. There were really fun times, then there were Jeffy times. He remembered his daddy immediately and wanted his full attention the rest of the time. Sure, it's understandable, but I need some attention too! Anytime all of the attention wasn't on him, he threw a fit. And sometimes if threw a fit even if all the attention was on him! We finally got to the point were if we wanted some time for just the two of us, we put him in the play pen and let him cry himself to sleep. I'm sure our neighbors appreciated that. He would usually be asleep in about half an hour. Usually.

On Friday we just relaxed. We got some dinner, watched some tv and just enjoyed being together again. On Saturday we went into Chicago. We went to the Navy Pier, which was fun. We took a spin on the giant ferris wheel there, and had to pay $6 for Jeffy to come with us. Lame. We found a really nice park--Oz Park--somewhere in the middle of the city and had a nice lunch there. Jeffy had a lot of fun at the playground. It was windy and cold, but still fun to be together outside. Those two days, Jeff had to be back to the base in plenty of time to be in his ship by 9:00 pm.

On Saturday we attempted to go to church on base, but we missed most of it. I liked the chapel there. It was a basic building with one main chapel in the center, then three or four smaller chapels on the side. It had just about every faith you could think of. I liked the idea of people from all kinds of different faiths joining in one place to worship. There was even a recruit getting baptized into our church that day. It was a pretty neat place.

Eating was kind of hard on Sunday, since it was Easter. We had forgotten all about Easter, and didn't plan ahead. Whoops. We did end up finding a nice nature reserve nearby and had dinner there. The rest of the day was just relaxing and planning for the future. Sadly, Jeff had to be back an hour earlier that night.

It was a mostly nice weekend. If Jeffy hadn't been there, it would have been fantastic. It was a little anti-climactic though. We went all the way there, Jeff graduated Boot Camp and finished everything, but we had to leave without him. Dumb. He will leave there tomorrow morning (Wed) and fly to Charleston. Then he flies back here on the 22nd and we all move out east together. I'm so grateful he gets to come get us. Moving is a big job and I really dreaded the thought of having to do it by myself.

Jeffy and I flew back Monday morning. That was hell. We were on the plane for about 4 hours and Jeffy screamed most of that time. I don't mean just crying, I mean screaming. A lot of people were very kind and patient and tried to help, but I could tell the girl next to me was really annoyed. I tried everything, but nothing worked. It was awful and I had to try very hard not to lose it and start crying myself. The worst part was that I didn't even have anything to look forward to at the end of the trip. On the way there, the anticipation of seeing Jeff made it worth it, but this was just depressing. Anyways, we survived. We're home, back into our regular routines and Jeffy's back to his mostly happy self. I'm not looking forward to the adjustment period in Charleston. But at least there I'll have Jeff with me.

So that was our trip to the windy city! It sure lived up to its name! And even thoughI had to deal with a screaming little monster the majority of the time, it was still wonderful to see Jeff. I am so proud of him. He worked really hard and excelled there. He finished with new confidence and self discipline. He helped his division do well and helped many individual recruits graduate. I'm really proud of him and grateful for how hard he works for our family. Love you, sailor!

(Lots of pictures to come soon.)

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Ultrasound Results:Twins!!

Gotcha, didn't I? Hee hee.

No, it's not twins.

But it is a baby girl! Yay for pretty dresses and headbands! Yay for picking a pretty little name! And yay for a little sister for my wild boy!

Now I need a new name for our blog. Any ideas?

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Baby Bunnies!

Remember the youngest Von Trapp girl, whose favorite things are "bunnies" and "baby bunnies!" I'm with her. Baby bunnies are the best.

Our bunnies had bunnies a while ago, but nobody knew until a few weeks ago, when all bunnies were moved from one pen to another. There were four found. All of them were mainly white with gray here and there, over noses and ears and such. My sister, Kimi, adopted two of them, and there are now two left. Then, about 2 weeks ago, more baby bunnies appeared. There were eleven born and there are now five left. This batch is more mixed--there are two white ones, one speckled white and black, one gray, and one jet black. They're so cute and so tiny!!

I have one of the older baby bunnies that I really like that I wish we could take with us to Charleston. I love holding her and she seems to like it too. I held her for a while in the pen today, then just couldn't put her down, so when Jeffy and I went outside the pen for him to wander around, she came with me. Then she came with me when we went inside. When I needed to use both my hands to do something for Jeffy, I put baby bunny in my pocket.





She stayed in there, as happy as a clam, all cuddly and warm in my pocket. I wish I could have a baby bunny in my pocket all the time! Maybe someday.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

We're Back!

Hooray! The cord came today, and so far so good!

Once I have a little more time I'll get back on and do a proper post, but for now, know that we are back and alive as ever! :)

Monday, March 23, 2009

My Excuse

I know, just when I create this awesome plan to make my blogging life more interesting, it all just dies. In all fairness though, it isn't all my fault. The power cord for the laptop died and I don't have the opportunity to get on a computer very frequently. I bought a new one on ebay . . . from Hong Kong. Yeah, didn't know that until afterwards.

It's going to be a little while before I'm back.

Whoops.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

14 Month Portraits

Isn't my little boy handsome? :)
























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