Welcome to the World, Sweet Afton!

Three weeks ago, on October 18th, Afton Rose came into the world.  I can't believe it's already been that long!  We've been so busy getting to know our sweet little girl that I haven't had a moment to sit down and write about her arrival until now.  That is, I haven't had a moment where I wouldn't sooner choose sleep over blogging.  Well, here I go.

The Arrival

I should warn you: this is a birth story.  Feel free to skip to sections with fewer anatomical references if you wish.  That said, on October 10, I went in to see the doctor.  I was 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced.  As the original due date was the 17th, I expected that next week's appointment would take place in the hospital.  Well, the next week I went to my appointment and same story.  The doctor stripped the membranes, which, he explained, can sometimes be just enough of a push to start things rolling.

My mom was scheduled to arrive the next day in the afternoon, so when the baby didn 't come that night I was both anxious and relieved.  I was sure she was waiting in there so Grandma could be there to meet her when she made her entrance.  Wrong.

The morning of the 18th, all played out as usual.  David went to work and I lumbered around getting me and Paisley ready for the day.  At 9 a.m., my mucous plug came out... hmmm.  I had heard that once that happens, labor is likely to begin, so I texted David to let him know.  Sure enough, contractions began 5 minutes later, and continued about every 5 minutes.  I had decided beforehand that I wanted to labor at home as long as possible, so I waited.  I started packing some last minute things to take to the hospital.

Meanwhile, Paisley wanted to play 'Ring Around the Rosies' again, and again, and again.  I knew when I was wanting to 'all fall down' in the middle of the song that the baby was definitely coming this morning and it was probably time to call David to come home. So, around 10:00, I casually texted him that he might want to come home soon.  A few minutes later, I texted "and hurry!".  He arrived as quickly as he could, with his mom right behind him to watch Paisley.  We went straight out the door.  By this time, contractions were coming every few minutes, and were so intense that everything else was kind of a blur.

Pulling out onto the main road, of course a police officer had to pull out right behind us.  So if you can picture it, there I was, reclined in the front seat, fumbling to do up my seat belt, trying my best to stay relaxed while enduring agonizing contractions, while David raged at the traffic lights and drivers  around us who seemed determined to stop us from getting to the hospital.  On the way in to the hospital I keeled over on cars and sat down several times, until I made it to a wheelchair and was wheeled up to the maternity floor.

By the time we got into the delivery room, I was dilated to an 8, and when the doctor arrived just a few minutes later (miraculously quickly, might I add), I was at a ten and he was telling me to push.  A few pushes and a couple minutes later, we were looking at our tiny little crying baby.  She was absolutely perfect and I couldn't stop saying "She's here, she's here!".  David cut the cord, the nurses cleaned her up, and a few minutes later I was holding our tiny little baby and never wanted to let go.  Little Afton Rose, born at 11:02a.m., 7lbs, 2 oz., 19.5 inches long.  Sigh.  We did it.

On her coming home day

Home at last

Life Ever Since

Everything right after the birth is a bit of a blur.  I know the Douma's arrived, along with little Paisley, at some point.  Paisley was excited about the new "toy", and it took a few reminders till she started saying "Afton, not a toy".  It was obvious she didn't quite know what to make of this whole situation, and who can blame her?  One minute, she has me all to herself and we're singing and dancing around, and an hour later here we are in a strange place, Mom is in a strange bed and won't get out, and there's this new little thing that seems to be getting as much attention as her!

My mom arrived later that day, and I felt so relieved to have her there.  I came home the next day in the afternoon, which would have been extremely daunting for me had she not been there, especially during the week when everyone went back to school and work.  She and Paisley had a blast while I rested for the next few days.  She came bearing gifts from aunts and uncles, and even her wonderful students, and made sure we had everything we needed.  By the time she left, I felt like it might be possible for me to manage two babies after all.

And Afton.  Afton is a doll.  She's beautiful (at least we think so) and it's so much fun getting to know her.  Here are some things we know about her already:

• She loves to sleep, mostly during the day, but we're working on that.  
• She grunts all the time.  I think this is mostly due to gas, but it goes on all night, and no baby is that gassy, right?
• She loves to curl up in a tiny ball on your chest.
• She eats lots, and gained her birth weight back after a week.  At her two week appointment she was up a pound from her birthweight, and 2 inches in length, though I'm pretty sure that's inaccurate.  In any case, she's growing lots already!
• As soon as you take this girl's diaper off to change it, she loves to poop, pee, and spit up, most often all at the same time.  This makes changing her diaper quite a rush.  She spits up a ton, and sometimes I think  it's a miracle that she's gaining any weight at all with the amount that comes back up!  
• She's just a little angel, albeit a leaky one, and we love having her as part of our family.  

I'll be posting more pictures, (I'm still collecting them from different cameras) but enjoy these for now!

Grandma and Afton

Our family of four

Grandma chillin' with Paisley

Paisley never looked so big!

Afton drowned a little in her Halloween costume, but she was nice and warm to sleep through her first trick-or-treating. 

Our little pumpkins

Paisley is learning how to show affection to someone so little. :)

40 Weeks and Counting...

Well, the day has arrived - our little girl's due date, that is.  What does that mean?  Not much, so far.  I feel like she could come any minute, but I've been feeling that way for about a week and a half now, and she has yet to make her appearance.  I'm not complaining.  For a while, my back was killing me, but I think that may have been the Lord's not-so-subtle way of telling me to slow down and take it easy.  The last couple of weeks have been good.  I mean, I don't sleep great at night, and I feel large and slow, and as a result of both I've been extra ornery (David will attest to this), but for the most part I've been relatively comfortable.  More than anything, I'm just excited to meet our little girl!  Here are some pictures I forced myself to have taken just today, on the 40 week mark.  

The following is a letter that I wrote for our baby several weeks ago.  Feel free to read it, or not, but I felt like it would be an appropriate addition to this post as it will probably - hopefully - be the last one I write before her arrival.

Dearest Afton,

  At least I think your name will be Afton. You won't be born for another seven weeks and I want to meet you before officially giving you a name.
  You're kicking around inside me right now.  It almost feels like you're talking back to me as I write you this letter.  Feeling you kick is the most incredible feeling.  Every time you move I think I fall in love with you a little more.
  I have enjoyed being pregnant with you.  Sure the first few months were full of nausea and fatigue, and I'm sure these last couple of months will present some new discomforts, but it has been amazing to feel you grow, and spend time enjoying the process.  We've walked many, many miles together, eaten plenty of chicken salad sandwiches and ice cream, and even traveled to several different states!
I feel like I'm getting to know you already, for some reason.  I feel like you will be a very special girl, and that you and I will have a special, close relationship.  I have to ask you in advance: please bear with me!  I've never raised two girls before, and I have a lot to learn.  You'll have to be patient with me.  But I already love you so much, and I know that Heavenly Father loves you to a level we can't even comprehend.  And he's sending you to us!  We're going to do the very best we can.
  Your daddy and I were so excited to find out you would be coming to this world and to our family.  Your big sister Paisley was no less excited, although I doubt she really understood what was happening.  Along with our excitement came a few concerns, as you would be arriving during Daddy's last year of school, when expenses would be high and income would be low.  Our health insurance was not very helpful, so financially, we knew it would not be easy.  But we also knew how blessed we were to be welcoming you into our family, and we knew the Lord would provide.  And now, several months later, we're just more excited than ever.
  Afton, there is so much I want for you in this life.  I want you to love it.  I want you to be as happy as a little girl can possibly be.  I want you to know and feel how loved and adored you are, and how important you are to this family.  I want you to know and feel how much your Heavenly Father loves you.  You were with Him not long ago.  He sent you on this great adventure so that you could have a body and experience life in all its hardship and all its magnificence.  He also sent Jesus Christ, his own son, a long time ago, to feel all the pain and hardship you would ever feel.  Jesus suffered for the sins that you would someday commit and the hurts you would someday have.  He even showed us how to be like Him, so that we could become like Him and go live with our big heavenly family when this great adventure on earth ends.  Afton, Jesus Christ is your friend, your bog brother, and your Savior.  He is always there for you, and you can - and should - always turn to Him.
  There are so many things I want to teach you and experience with you.  I'm so excited to hold you and rock you, to kiss your little face and tiny fingers.  I can't wait to play with you, read to you, laugh with you, and watch you become everything you can be.  This is just the very beginning, and I can't wait for it to start.

Love,
Your adoring mom.

Paisley the 20-month-old

OK, so I realize that most parents stop doing monthly updates on their children when they pass their year mark or whatever.  But I feel like by the time Paisley's year mark came around, I was just barely getting the hang of this blogging thing!  And besides, the things she's doing now are just so much cuter and funner to write about!  I imagine some day I'll look back and be so glad that I wrote all of it down, while at the same time laughing at myself for what silly young mother I was.  I hope a few of you (grandparents especially) appreciate it too!  On that note, here's Paisley at 20 months!

Paisley's newest loves:

• Pumpkins! (See picture below)  She is obsessed.  If she could, she would spend all day walking around the neighborhood looking at all of the different pumpkin decorations, reading books about pumpkins, or looking at pictures of different kinds of pumpkins.  No one knows where this fascination came from.  I was excited for her to be Tinkerbell this year for Halloween.  I think she would make the most adorable Tinkerbell!  But with her love for pumpkins, we decided that Tinkerbell can wait till next year.  It looks like this year we'll have two little pumpkins for Halloween.  
• Snowmen.  As we were getting the Halloween decorations out, she saw a little life-like snowman that Oma puts out at Christmastime.  He is her newest friend.  Every morning she is excited to go to the cupboard and wake him up.  She then proceeds to put a blanket around him, read him books, and give him hugs and kisses.  She often tells him spontaneously, "I love you, Snowman". Once, while picking him up, his head popped off.  Not realizing how horrified she was, I said something about him being hurt.  This prompted a flood of the saddest tears I've ever seen, along with several apologies and hugs to the snowman once she was consolable again.  Needless to say, she cares deeply about her new friend.  The only way to get her to put him away is to tell her he's tired and needs to go to sleep.  
• Smelling flowers (See pictures below).  She will go to great lengths to be able to smell flowers she sees.  I don't even think she's really smelling them, sometimes she just kisses them. 
• Books.  OK, this is not new. But it seems like the older she gets, the more she loves them.  She has a short attention span when it comes to playing with toys, and especially watching movies.  But she can sit for quite a while just flipping through books.  She'll often bring me a book, sit down on my lap, and say, "Read a book gether, Mama". Often she'll add a "Please?". Try saying no to that!  
• As I write this, I'm realizing how futile it is to try and write about all of Paisley's loves.  She's amazed and excited about so many things, and it's so much fun to relive the magic of these things we've come to see as ordinary.  Pumpkins, snowmen, bubbles, balls, or trains, or even friends for example.  It's no wonder God tells us to be like little children.  If we could all appreciate those little things in life, the world would be a very happy place.  

On Tuesdays we go to a singing time group at a friend's house.  The best part about this singing time is that the people live on a little farm with cows, chickens, ducks, alpacas, and lots of other fun animals that make farm life so magical for little kids.  Paisley's favorite part?  The giants pumpkins out front.  Every time we go to see the animals, she says hello to all of them and then tells me "See punkin first".  Of course, she never tires of seeing the pumpkins so we never really get much time with the animals.  

On this pretty Sunday morning, Paisley and I went for a walk around the neighborhood.  She had to stop and smell every flower, low or high, fenced or not.  

Our Little Sponge

When it comes to learning, Paisley is just a little sponge.  She soaks up everything!  I don't say this to brag. OK, forgive me if I brag a little.  It's just so thrilling for me to see her developing and becoming her own little person!  Lately she loves to count everything.  She counts up to ten, though I'm not sure she always gets the right number when counting objects!  She's putting little sentences together.  Some we've heard lately include:
"Mama, putchya shoes on please", while handing me my shoes in bed.
"No, don't want it."  We hear this a lot lately, especially at bed time.
"Happy Birthday to you, Opa!"
"Sing 'I a Child of God', Mama." Or whatever song she feels like hearing.  If it's one she knows she'll often tell me the words to each phrase before I sing it.
These are some of many little phrases that we hear from Paisley, and every day she's stringing together new words.

Bed Time

If you read my last Paisley post, you'll know that switching to a big kid bed was a bit of an adjustment.  Thanks you to those of you who made helpful suggestions or comments!  I'm happy to say that after a few days of being consistent about letting her cry herself to sleep (I know, it sounds awful and it was agonizing), we have developed a routine that she's happy with, and she goes to sleep like a champ - most days.  She loves her bed and wakes up happy, and if she wakes up at night she can put herself back to sleep.  Just in time for the new baby.  Let me just say, God answers prayers.  

A Weekend at Spring Haven

Over Conference weekend, we had the chance to go to a cabin called Spring Haven in Hobble Creek Canyon.  It was so nice to get away from everything  for just a few days.  The cabin has all the amenities you can't live without, and lots of added luxuries, but it does not have cell phone service or internet.  I forgot how nice it could feel to be disconnected from the world and just enjoy the scenery, quiet thoughts, and being with family. Our friends Jeff and Sam were even able to come up for a night which made it even better!  Here are some pictures.

Paisley loved throwing rocks into the pond more than anything.

See the cabin down below?  Yes, I hiked all the way up there - twice - at 9 months pregnant!
And once in a dress.   Thank you, thank you.

I can't end this post without saying how awesome it was to be able to listen to General Conference.  I put in a link up at the top in case you're interested in listening to it or learning about it, but basically General Conference happens twice a year, and it's a chance the world has to listen to revelation to prophets from our loving Heavenly Father.  I believe with all my heart that the talks given are words of a loving Heavenly Father to all of us, his children.   Every time I listen to them I feel like I'm being spiritually filled, and I go away from it feeling closer to God, feeling his love more in my life, and with a new resolve to do a little bit better.  All in all, it was a great weekend.

Life at 35 Weeks

Admittedly, I am less and less motivated as the weeks go on to take and post pictures of my pregnant self.  Below is a picture of me (at 35 weeks), David, and our good friends Jeff and Sam.  We go to all the football games with Jeff and Sam and it's lots of fun - though I imagine it will be much more comfortable for me in a month or so! 

Before I move on to Paisley and other exciting events from the past few weeks, a quick update on the pregnancy.  Newest developments include: 

• Major sciatic nerve pain.  Ouch!!  Where I used to walk 4 miles a day, now I feel lucky to be able to walk up and down the stairs as many times as it takes to keep up with Paisley. I walk like a grandma, sort of a mix of waddling and limping.  It's humbling. :P  
• Me: "Doctor, is there anything I can do to lessen the back pain?"  Doc:  "Yep.  Give birth!"  Thanks, Doc.  
• Puffy hands and feet.  I have taken off the wedding ring, and my large belly will now be the symbol of my being off the market.  
• Super sore tailbone.  Why?  I think the question is, why not?!  Sigh.  
• The baby is sitting very low now, and moving around lots.  
• Doc says my belly is measuring a bit small, and the baby's head circumference is measuring for a due date around the 23rd rather than the original 17th of October.  But he says we're sticking with the original date, and I'm hoping that's accurate!  
• I've come to the conclusion (once again) that the last month of pregnancy is to help women be excited and even anxious to give birth.  If it weren't for this back pain, I think I might have been comfortable being pregnant for quite a while!  I have no complaints, but I am getting anxious and excited to meet our little girl.  

On the Paisley front, things are going great and we couldn't be enjoying her more.  She's getting to be so big and grown up.  She's starting to speak in sentences, which is so much fun for us.  It's like getting a little glimpse into her thoughts.  She's always super excited to see her friends, and she gets along well with other kids.  She's very concerned when she hears a crying baby, and will forget about anything else until she knows the baby is ok.  She's a cutie.   

Here's where I need your help:  A couple of weeks ago we started brought out the bunk beds and got ready her new "big girl bed".  She was very excited about it.  For the first few nights, she slept great in it.  Nap time was a little trickier, but all in all she did well.  In the past week, however, she's been struggling.  A few times I've stayed in her room with her until she fell asleep, something I never used to do for fear of her becoming reliant on it to fall asleep.  Now, every night is a struggle.  Where she used to go to bed quietly and happily, lately she's been screaming and getting out of her bed.  We usually find her in the morning, happy as can be, cuddled up at the foot of the door.  It's not that she doesn't like her new bed, in fact she's always excited to be in it as long as I'm there with her.  But it's so torturous to listen to her scream herself to sleep every night. I've let her cry it out in the past and it's always worked within a few days, but this time she's really screaming, and it doesn't seem to be letting up much as the days go on.  Fellow parents, any suggestions?  

Just some cute pictures. :)

Paisley the 18-month-old

Well, it's official, Paisley is a year and a half old.  We have been anticipating this for quite some time, as it means that she can finally attend nursery at church!  Paisley is equally excited about this, since it means lots of friends, tons of new toys, and no more walking around aimlessly with Mom or Dad in the halls in the middle of what's supposed to be nap time.  We all enjoy church a lot more these days! 

Honestly, I thought that once we got past her year mark, the changes from month to month wouldn't be so noticeable or worth documenting.  Boy was I wrong! Here are some of Paisley's latest developments:

• She's getting really good with a fork and spoon.  But fingers are still way more fun.
• Her favorite foods are chicken and rice.  And french fries.  And anything sweet, of course, but we're talking real food, right? 
• She loves the playground and is getting pretty daring when in comes to trying new things.  
• She's not shy at all when it comes to meeting new people.  
• She's become very affectionate lately.  She gives lots of kisses and hugs, and says 'love you'.  This is not limited to family members; in fact, it regularly extends to stuffed animals and dolls, friends her size, and occasionally perfect strangers whose acquaintance she's just met.  
• Since returning home to Utah, she's picked up the habit of saying "Oh my gosh" (Oh my doss).  She says it when something surprises or amazes her, and especially when she sees something pretty.  For example, this week she got new shoes.  Every time she sees them, she says "Oh my doss, so pretty, oh my doss."  She sounds so much like a little teenager, it's hilarious.  
• She's become very attached to her blanky, Pooh Bear, and other stuffed animals lately.  She doesn't want to go to sleep without them, and won't leave her crib without them in the morning.  
• She loves to pretend she's talking on the phone.  She'll pick up a phone and have a conversation that usually goes something like this:  "Hello?  Hello?  Jeff?  Grandma?  Oma?  Chloe?  Oh.  Not there.  Bye."  This can go on for some time, and all the while Paisley is pacing the floor with a serious expression on her face, pushing past people as if this is a very important conversation and she is not to be interrupted.  Jeez, where does this child pick these things up?  
• Her hair needs to be cut.  The debate is whether to grow the bangs out, or keep them long. What do you think?  For now they're just at that awkward long bangs stage. 

Cooling off at the water park.

Sportin' the Longhorns hat.

Ready for back to school.  Love the hair-do.

Digging up veggies in Grandpa's garden.

Giving kisses to the deer in Grandpa's garden.  We have to tear her away from these every time.

Training with Dad on the Mountain View track.

Getting ready for football season.

She did the twirly slide all by herself!  Her new favorite thing.

Back to Utah: Days 2 & 3

So, I didn't finish blogging about our trip for two reasons: 1. Driving through the rest of Kansas and Colorado wasn't too exciting, and 2. The usual, my lack of motivation.  But, for the sake of documenting our Austin adventure in its entirety, I'll finish.

Day 2 of our trip home was the drive from Wichita to Denver.  It was pretty uneventful, besides when we realized how sparse the gas stations are along that stretch and barely made it to the Shell with 4 miles worth of gas to go.  We stopped to eat at The Patio Cafe in a small town called Strasburg, just outside of Denver.  The food was excellent.  The minute we passed the Welcome to Colorado sign, we were met with gray cloudy skies and rain.  David was horrified.  I was refreshed after a summer of intense Austin heat.  We rolled into Denver in the evening, where felt cool for the first time in months.  So cool, in fact, that the next morning we would have to fill the tires with air due to the change in temperature.

The welcoming skies of Colorado

Day 3. The home stretch.  As much as I enjoyed the farmlands we had been driving through for the past couple of days, it definitely felt like coming home as we drove through the winding roads of the rocky mountains.  I had forgotten how majestic and serene the mountains were, and how vibrant the color green could be.  A couple hours into the drive, we stopped in Vail, Colorado for church.  Even though we were only there for just over an hour, I fell in love with Vail.  It's a peaceful, beautiful little mountain town and it made me feel like I was back in the Rockies of Canada. The ward we attended church at was small, warm, and welcoming.  Sacrament meeting was done half in English, half in Spanish, including the songs and prayers, and even the talks.  I was sad to leave Vail.

Church at Vail, Colorado

Another beautiful town in the mountains

Just as drastically as the flat, yellow Kansas turned into rainy, mountainous Colorado, our beloved green Rockies spat us out into the dry desert that is Utah.  Not that all of Utah is dry and desert-like.  But I think when they named the first city across the border 'Green River', it was as a sick joke to travelers coming in from 'Colorful Colorado'.  As we got closer to Provo, it began to sink in that our adventure was over, and real life was upon us.  We arrived at David's grandparents' house, where the whole family gathers each Sunday.  It was nice to see everyone, and especially to tell Grandpa about the visit to his hometown.

And so, here we are, back home in Utah.  But the adventures are far from over.  In fact, with the school year upon us and David's new job (more about this in later blog posts), and especially with the arrival of our new baby girl creeping up on us, it feels like we won't be awaiting many dull moments in the near future.  So, though we're back from Austin and the summer is drawing to an end, the adventures - and the blog posts - are sure to continue!

Back to Utah - Day 1, Kansas

As we planned our trip home, we were super excited to drive through Kansas and visit a little place called Humboldt, where David's grandpa grew up.  One of my favorite things about visiting with Grandpa is hearing about growing up on the farm, but I never imagined I would be able to visit Kansas and see it for myself.

On the way up to Kansas, we went through Norman. Oklahoma and stopped for a few minutes at the Oklahoma Sooners Football Stadium, of all places.  As we pulled in, David joked that maybe we would run into Landry Jones (I had no idea who this was, but assumed correctly that it was a Sooners football player).  Well, we got out of the car to walk around a bit, and lo and behold, the football team filed down the sidewalk into the stadium, right before our eyes.  That was a treat for my football-loving husband.

 A few hours later, we rolled into Hometown Country, Kansas.  David joked that it must be called that because the only reason people ever go there is because it's their home town.  The more we got acquainted with Chanute and Humboldt, the more I agreed with him.  I loved it!

We had no idea how to get a hold of Grandpa's family who still lived in Humboldt, as no one had any contact information.  So, we pulled into a gas station, found their name in the local phone directory (yes, those still exist), and rolled down the country dirt roads to the farm.  Google maps led us to a small bridge rather than a house, so we had to call the house to get directions.  The directions they gave were things like "Pass the cemetery on the left, cross the blacktop, and pass two telephone poles and there we are".  Well, apparently telephone poles are different from regular electric poles, and we ended up driving around for about half an hour before the got in their truck and came to meet us.  

It was great to see Uncle Willy, Grandpa's brother, and his niece and nephew who own his brother's old farm.  Paisley especially loved the farm.  She had so much fun there that by the end I felt like a terrible mother taking her  away from it, like I was taking her out of her true element to a bland and barren city.  She marveled at the real cows and horses, hugged and kissed the dogs, chased the cats, oinked at the pigs, lifted the feed buckets (or tried to), collected the rocks, climbed the tractors, explored the little playground, and ran from one wonder to the next taking in everything she could.  She screamed when we had to get back in the car again.  

Paisley had fun playing with Uncle Willy.

  

When David was small, he and his cousins took pictures on this very same tractor.  

Watch out, Paisley will mow you over! 

Uncle Willy, Christy, Rick, Paisley, and my lesson to stand up straight for pictures.

This is the farm where Grandpa lived while he went to high school.  Unfortunately this one has since been sold, so we could only get pictures from afar.  

After eating at the Benchwarmer's Bar & Grill, we headed to Wichita, where we spent the night.