Monroe James

Our newest addition arrived Monday May 3rd at 5:54pm. She is 21 inches long and 7.5 pounds. She looks like Lennon through the eyes and then like my family from the nose down. She has strawberry blond hair, which is crazy! It is still curly like Lennon's! Lennon is pretty unsure of her so far, but she is getting a little better. She just doesn't want to hold her or touch her, but she likes to watch her and check her out. When Roe cries Lennon starts doing a fake cry too.


The delivery went great! I got to the hospital at 11:00 and got checked in and in the delivery room. They started me on the pitocin by 12ish and Dr. Terry broke my water around 2. I got an epidural at 3ish and then progressed pretty quick. I think I only had to push about three times and she came right out. Claudia (mike's Mama), My Mama and Shannon were in the room with us. This time I watched the whole thing in a mirror and it was awesome! I am so mad nobody told me that when I had Lennon. But it was so cool and amazing to see Monroe arrive!

We are loving having her here! It is a lot of work with Lennon and I feel like I am neglecting her right now. Luckily my Sisters have been a huge help coming and spending all day over here. My recovery is not the greatest, but she is totally worth it. I am hoping by Monday I will be feeling a lot better.

She is a great baby so far. I really can't get over how light her hair is! Also her eyelashes and eyebrows are white too. Mike, Lennon and me all have black eyelashes and eyebrows and dark brown hair, so it's just so weird. In fact she really looks like she could be one of Francie's kids!

Tomorrow I have to go get her bilirubin checked. I also have to get the little attachment under her tongue cut. Hers goes all the way to the end of her tongue! If she sticks her tongue out far enough, it is like a lizard tongue because of that flap being out so far. I feel bad to go get it cut :(

I am totally loving my life right now. I am so blessed to have another angel in my life to raise and watch grow up! It is such an exciting feeling! I want to spend every second with both of my children.

Here is picture overload (you've been warned)






I LOVE this picture! Look at Lennon studying her new sister. Taking it all in. And Monroe is checking her out too!


Bright eyes


Getting ready to go home! Look at that light hair!

All dressed to go

Leaving the hospital

38 weeks pregnant

And looking super cute!

Dying Eggs Pictures

The whole group





Looking hot at 8 months pregnant! haha

enjoying the moment

Today was the best day ever! I got an hour massage with hot stones and it was awesome. While I was driving home I thought hmm I think I'll see about getting a pedicure, there was no wait, so I did! Then when I got home Lennon was being so cute. She told me I went and got tickles and rubs. (I love the way she says rubs!) OH and not to forget Mike and Lennon cleaned the whole house for me "because it would make mama so happy" as Lennon said.

Len got a kick out of my pink toes so I offered to paint hers and of course she obliged! She could hardly sit still 30 seconds so it was tricky. Luckily we were outside too because the bottle got spilled all over!

When I put her down to nap I also took a 2 hour nap! Seriously, the best day ever :) I am trying to cherish my last moments with Lennon before her sister is here. It is going great now that i have this new attitude about it. Plus it is the last time I will be pregnant so i am trying to enjoy that part also!

36 weeks

But who's counting?...oh yeah ME! I am freaking out about going from 1 to 2! It is scary. Of course I am excited to meet the baby and see her, but I have the normal worries of taking care of two kids & making sure Lennon still feels important & loved. I am sure it will be fine, but sometimes I get nervous about it.

I washed the car seat all out tonight. Whoever wrote the instructions on taking off the cover is a complete moron! I spent almost an hour trying to figure it out. Only to realize the instructions did not even tell me the most important step, which I figured out on my own! I was so close to buying a new one. I'm sure now that I have that all ready she will not come early at all, maybe even late.

We got a double stroller from my Mama & Papa too! It is so funny because Lennon loves it like it's some kind of toy. She wouldn't get out of it at BabiesRUs. We finally convinced her to and told her Papa would bring it home after work. First thing when Mike walks in she says "my stroller" and he ahd not picked it up! We told her the store was closed. We cannot believe her memory! She does not forget one thing you tell her. It is amazing! Anyway, Mike brought it home the next day and it is set up in our living room. She watched cartoons from it this morning! Hilarious.

We took her to the aquarium today which was fun, but way too crowded. They just got penguins there so I guess half of the state had the same idea we did. We had to wait in a line to even get in and Lennon says "too much people!" That was hilarious too. She said it a few more times when we were in line. The penguins are really cute, but not worth that madness. The octopus laid eggs too, so it would be neat to go back and see if any hatch.

Boring post, but at least an update. I will add an easter post soon with pictures.

7 months pregs

hiccups

This baby gets hiccups about 6 times a day! It's so funny. I remember Lennon getting them every once in a while, but not like this. It seems like after every meal I eat she gets them! I can't wait to see what this little hiccup machine will look like.

She is currently "baby two". We cannot decide on a name. I guess the current names in the running are Finley Frances or Holland James (which used to be her name but is not anymore, I don't know how that happened. If anyone reads my blog anymore let me know what you think. And not Jolene, Shannon. That name is terrible!

Smith's

Just what the world needs is another SMITH- so we are adding one more! We are having a baby in early May. I am about 8 weeks. We are excited/very sick! This time around has been rough so far. Wish us luck with everything because we are dunzos after this. Hopefully it's a boy so we will have one of each. (although I would not mind a girl at all, and we have all the stuff)

I am considering a natural birth. We also threw the idea around to not find out the sex. Mike laughed and said YOU will never be able to handle that! It's a nice thought though. I really don't know how people can wait to find out. Maybe, just maybe, we will be one of those people.

In other news Lennon said a 4 word sentence! I asked her where her treat cup was and she says "treat cup in there." I was shocked! We went in her room and I still didn't see the cup, until she pointed to it and said "there." The girl's a genius! haha! She can draw a perfect circle too. She is obsessed with drawing circles?? And the girl is OBSESSED with Yo Gabba Gabba. Like a crazy obsession. That's what we're being for Halloween-our favorite holiday.

In honour of my baby girl turning 1 in three days!

Last year on this day, at this exact time, I was going to the ER because I was "in labor". I had drank castor oil (just thinking about that stuff makes me dry heave) and walked around my neighborhood as fast as I could to induce my labor! Two different people recommended it to me & it worked for both of them. It sort of worked for me, but then my contractions were to close enough together so they gave me a shot of morphine and sent me home. Not to worry because I made my Dr. induce me 2 days later. Lennon was born after midnight so it was technically 3 days later. She is lucky to share her birthday with my cute niece Chloe (not to be confused with my other cute niece Chloe!)

Here are a few ultra sound pictures. I can't believe she is turning one. I can't believe that she was inside me & developed into a baby/person! I have an ultra sound from 6 weeks where she was just a circle blob with a tiny heart flutter. Biology is insane!

only child

It's official. Lennon is going to be an only child. That is unless we adopt the next. All you guys that have been pregnant more than one time.... YOU'RE NUTS! Adoption sounds perfect for the next. Then we will be guaranteed a boy & we will be done. 2 is the perfect amount :)

If she doesn't get out from under my right ribcage I don't know what i'm going to do. It hurts soooooo bad. It feels like she is trying to open my ribs and come out that way.

And finally I haven't uploaded any new pics, so nothing to see here folks. Move along. One day, maybe next weekish I can get some up. We should be in our house, that we bought OCTOBER 4th, by this weekend. (crossing our fingers) But at least the bathroom is awesome! When you see the pics you will know. Or anyone can come over and help me get Leni's room ready. The boys put her crib together until they realized a piece was broken. So I am waiting for it to arrive in the mail. I can't wait to get it because her bedding is so unbelievably cute. Jeri is the best. You will be jealous when you see it ;)

Now I'm going to lay down because being pregnant BLOWS.

slacking

I have been slacking on the blog lately! Our house has consumed my entire life. I promise I will post some pictures of the house before/after, my baby shower, baby bedding, new stomach pics & Halloween party very soon!

In the meantime.... I was tagged:

Four places I've lived:
1. Bitburg, Germany
2. Salt Lake City, Utah
3. Murray, Utah
4. Sugar House, Utah

Four jobs I've had:
1. Nanny
2. Dry cleaning sorter
3. Makeup artist
4. Hair dresser

Four things I'd like to do before I die:
1. Have my baby
2. travel more including go to Scandinavia
3. play the accordion well
4. go to space

Four favorite desserts:
1. RICE KRISPIE TREATS
2. Sugar Cookies
3. ice cream
4. fruit

4 interesting facts about me:
1. i have never broken a bone (sorry stole yours Chels)
2. i still sleep with baby blankets
3. i take accordion lessons
4. i am vegetarian
(not very interesting)

Four favorite t.v shows:
1.The Office
2. curb your enthusiasm
3. the hills
4. anything HGTV

4 people I'm tagging, are..
Jess, Justin, Emily, Jamie

root canal hell

It all started with a routine root canal. Since I'm pregnant I could not get the laughing gas. They tried to numb my tooth, but lucky for me it was the hardest tooth in your mouth to numb! When they started drilling they had to switch to Plan B to numb me. They had to give me a shot directly into my tooth! That was a fun thing! It immediately made my heart start racing & I felt like I had just ran a marathon. I had to sit up for 10 minutes while my heart slowed down.

Ok so the root canal is complete. I am home recovering and all seems to be going pretty good. Except the side they worked on I keep happening to bite down on and it is horrible pain. I am very careful while chewing on the other side & never try to bite down on the bad side, but it just keeps happening. I figure out that they have not shaved it down right so it is perfect that whenever I bite I bite down right on the sore tooth.

It wasn't that bad this weekend, I thought maybe this is just a really sore root canal that will take longer to heal. But then I woke up this morning & my mouth & jaw hurt soooo bad. I was planning to go in there anyway to have them grind it down better. When I got there the assistant touched my tooth to feel where it was higher and I burst into tears! I have never been in so much mouth pain in my life! It is awful. So I hope that this does the job. If it still hurts on Thursday I have to go back in and make sure all is going well, but believe me I will! I am not going through another weekend like that.

belly pics

This is 25 weeks pregnant. My belly button piercing is never going to close.
This is 25 weeks 2 days pregnant.

These are 26 weeks pregnant.

I'm looking lovely, I know, but at least I am finally getting around to post the pictures!

I think we are closing on the house on the 26th!! We can't wait. We went by it tonight & we realized that the wall that is panelled is covering 2 windows! Why did people use to panel over windows & cover hardwood with carpet? Anyway, now we aren't sure if we will be able to take down the paneling right away. I hope we will anyway.

Claudia you will love this

The A/C is broken at my work & it's awful. I am sitting here dying over the heat & complaining about it. My coworkers are saying they feel fine.

What's worse than being pregnant? Being pregnant with no air conditioning.

Return of the BLOG!

Guess who's back. I decided I would restart my blog!

Well we are making another offer on the same house! We totally want it. The sellers are a little challenged. I don't think they know what's going on with the market right now. Their realtors called me and said that they should be greatful someone wants to buy their house right now! So, on Tuesday we are making a new offer. I hope they finally accept it. We need a house before the baby comes! I seriously can't wait to get her room all together. And let me tell you being married to an artist is soooo great :) I already know what mural I am having him paint on her wall! It is going to be awesome. Plus, I found super cute wooden letters for her name that were hand painted. But, they wanted about 130.00 for her name. I found plain ones online & then I am just going to have Mike paint them like the ones at the store. Seriously, how convenient is it to be married to a painter? Lennon had better appreciate it! hahaaa
I just tried to find the font online, but I cannot find it. You will just have to wait & see the finished product.

I think this weekend we will refinish the dresser I got for her. It was Mike's Grandmas. I think it's form the 30's or 40's. It has rounded edges that I love! I just don't know what color to paint it for sure? I guess white to match all her other things. But I definitely want to get some cute handles for it. Any suggestions on where to go? I am new to the whole child decorating thing!

what the Hcg?!

Well, I figured I would start a blog since everyone else is doing it! It will be a good place for me to post (complain!) about my pregnancy & everything else going on in our lives. This weekend we had to babysit Myrtle Mae, Mikes' family dog. It was really sad because she was on her death bed & could not eat anything and just laid there in misery. Claudia took her to the vet to be put to sleep this morning. Mike and I were crying over her this weekend and we were able to say goodbye.

Well I have been having every other day Hcg levels drawn for this pregnancy. Those of you who care to read this will know my history & the reason why I am being watched super close this time around. The first day 4/17 is came back at 67. The next 4/19 it went to 171. So I had it done Saturday and it skyrocketed to 617! Whatever is in there seems to be healthy :) That's all that matters to us. We will take what we can get at this point! So, I honestly just want to get it done again today to see what it will be at today! It should be doubling every other day, which it seems to be almost tripling. But, it could mean a lot of things. We are super excited to go to our ultra sound on May 3rd to see the heart beat.... & if there are any more than one baby(s) in there! It is exciting. I just wish it would get here sooner. Other than that I am just starving beyond starving. I cannot get full & if I do I am starving again in an hour. I am going to be huge in no time at this rate! We really just hope everythign works out this time. It has been a hard road to get here, so please no more dissapoinments! I feel like there is nothign I can do about it either way, so that's why we are sharing it and not keeping it a secret. Oh, and Wednesday I will be 5 weeks along. This seems like it is going to take forever........

WOW on Wednesday also it will be one year from when Mike & I left for Paris...............SAD! I wish we were back there so bad. I will post some pictures from our trip in our next post. We have a pretty boring life lately so we can pretend that we're in Europe again! :)