Weston and Lily

When Weston first saw Lily at two days old, he actually broke into tears! Our good friends were watching him that day and he hadn't had a nap, so he was kind of having a rough time. He warmed up to her when we got home though, and all he wanted to do was give Lily kisses over and over. He keeps saying "baby" and "cute" (a new word for him).

Weston and Lily

When we put Weston to bed on Saturday night when we first came home, I went to check on him in his crib and suddenly realized my baby is a little boy now. I really got choked up about it. He seems so grown up now in comparison to Lily.

Weston not only kisses Lily all the time, but he loves to point out her eyes, ears, nose and even the purple bow they gave her in the hospital ("bow" is another new word for him).

Lily loves her big brother, too! The first time I saw her smile was at two days old and she smiles pretty frequently now.

An Unexpected Delivery!

Lilyan June Dever was born on Thursday, October 1, at 2:04 am. She arrived a little unexpectedly and was exactly four weeks early. Lily weighed 5lbs. 3.5 oz and was about 17 inches long. She is perfectly healthy and is doing well! Labor Day

It all began around 5:00 on Wednesday morning. Not only did I wake up with a cold, but with contractions. Gordon was leaving for work and I told him I was feeling some mild contractions that were pretty close together, but thought maybe it was just because I was really fatigued and they would eventually go away. After about half an hour, I called my doctor and the doctor on call told me to take a hot shower and they would probably stop. I was also told to wait to go to the hospital until the contractions were so intense that I couldn't talk through them and until they were at least 5 minutes apart. I was basically in labor all day, but wasn't quite sure what was going on because I never experienced a whole lot of contractions with Weston. With him my water just suddenly broke, and the contractions came after that--I never experienced any painful contractions beforehand.
I had a lot planned for that day--I was dropping Weston off at a friend's house, was going to observe someone in my ward who teaches preschool (since I'm opening one in January), and was planning to eat lunch with the teachers at my old school, but I cancelled everything. Instead I started doing laundry and getting ready for Lily. I even took a long nap while Weston slept to get my energy up. Later that afternoon I called my doctor because the contractions hadn't let up yet. She told me to wait to come in until my Monday appointment and said the cramping could just be what I would experience for the rest of the pregnancy. After reading my What to Expect When You're Expecting book, I found that my symptoms matched all the signs of the first stage of labor (back pain, cramping, sporadic contractions, etc.) but I still wasn't quite sure if I actually was!

Our Rush to the Hospital

Later that night around 9:00, the contractions settled into a pattern of about 10 minutes apart, but I still thought and hoped that they would go away. About 12:10 in the morning, I felt a huge kick from the baby and then my water broke.
I really wanted to be able to get ready before going to the hospital, and thought I had time, especially since Weston came 12 hours after my water broke. However, the contractions suddenly got very intense and we don't live as close to the hospital now, so I decided it would be best to leave as soon as possible. Gordon's sister Denyce, who now lives right down the street from us, came over to watch Weston.

This is me when we arrived at the hospital, trying to smile inbetween some intense contractions.

When we got to the hospital, the lady checking us in was taking her sweet time! When we finally got into the triage room, I couldn't even get on the table because the contractions were just about one minute apart and way intense. They found out I was already dilated to a six and I kept asking for an epidural, but they said I had to wait until they got me hooked up to an IV. The lady putting in my IV had to stick it in me three times because the tape kept sliding off since I was sweating so much. At that point I couldn't have cared less, I was in so much pain. I just wanted them to hook me up to whatever it was they needed to so I could get my epidural. I was already dilated to a 9 when they found out the baby was breech and then I saw everyone start panicking. They called my doctor and told me I would have to have a C-section. At this point I was thinking whatever you have to do, just give me the epidural! I had to hold perfectly still through a huge contraction while the anesthesiologist gave me the epidural, and finally after two more huge contractions I had some relief! Just moments after they were wheeling me in to do the C-section.

Lily was definitely a breech baby! They couldn't get her to put her legs down!

Lily had a big, strong cry when she first came out. She looked so much different than I had expected. She seemed like a little stranger to me--I remember thinking, "Is that my little girl?" Here I was expecting her to maybe look like Weston, but she is her own little person. I cried when I first saw her--life doesn't get better than this.

Our New Addition to the Family!
Coming Home

I was in the hospital for two days and two nights because of the C-section. I actually had much less pain this time than I did with Weston. I broke my tailbone with him and was really sick afterward, so this has been cake in comparison! We left the hospital late Saturday afternoon,October 3. I was so excited to see my other baby, Weston! I missed him so much.

Gordon and Lily on check-out day. She looks just like dad!

Mom and Lily.

Already Sixteen Months!

Looking at these recent photos in comparison to some of Weston's younger ones, I just can't believe how big he is getting. Weston just isn't a baby anymore--he's turning into a little boy. It's kind of bittersweet for me. They change so quickly.
My parents usually pay for photos when the grandkids turn one. We finally just got Weston's pictures done, as life is now a little less hectic. My friend Michelle McKeen took these pictures of Weston. She and I worked at Fremont Junior High together just last year and were both pregnant at the same time--she had her little boy just three days before me. She did pictures for us last summer as well when Weston was six months old. How he's changed since then!

This is our little family, with another one on the way!

My Saga

Okay, so I feel like we completely disappeared for awhile. I can't believe it's been almost six months since I've posted anything or even looked at other blogs, including my own! First of all, I'm not the best on my journaling or blogging in the first place, and when things got crazy-busy-insane this second semester, our blog was just something that fell by the wayside--this was just one of the many things I decided to let go for the time being.
I'll give the quick run down on this past semester. I taught only part time this year (7th grade English) and it was pretty easy first semester. However, time slowly began to crunch during second semester. First, I was doing much more writing assignments with my students getting them ready for their AIMS writing test. My students took to this pretty well. When I told them I really wasn't trying to torture them, that every writing assignment I gave to them resulted in six hours of homework/grading time for me, they seemed to really be okay with it. 88% of my students passed their AIMS test, which I was very happy about!
I also watched one-year-olds, Parker and Carter, three mornings a week in return for babysitting for Weston. So my mornings were spent grading, planning, and watching kids and then I'd go straight to teaching. The great thing about having kids over is that Weston made some great buddies that he loves to play with!
Not to mention, taking care of Weston has gradually become more time consuming in a number of ways. Breakfast time is messy! Ever since Weston started eating solids on his own, I feel like all I do sometimes is wash his highchair and sweep/scrub the floor. Weston also started demanding more of my time in the mornings. He's become my little shadow. Gone are the days when I could use the bathroom and get ready in peace. He seems to follow me wherever I go and I often spend my time trying to entertain him. He likes to sit with me in the morning, wants me to read him books or go on walks. Also, as Weston moved to solids, I could no longer just pack him formula or milk before taking him to the sitter(easy). I had to start actually packing a lunch for him everyday, which is hard because I never know what that guy is going to eat! One day he'll absolutely love something and eat it all up, and the next day he'll be spitting it out or throwing it all on the floor. So, I always packed a variety of odds and ends, never knowing what he would feel like eating that day.
Okay, finally, Gordon and I are expecting again--we're having a baby girl in the fall and we're very excited! Our due date is October 29th. This pregnancy has definitely been a different experience than my pregnancy with Weston. First, I think I've been more fatigued this time. The nausea has been about the same, but it has been longer lasting. I'm in my six month now and I still feel nauseous. I started to take Unisom because I just couldn't function feeling sick all the time and working. The down side to this is that Unisom is a sleeping pill (originally created for women to ease morning sickness). So there's a trade-off. I don't feel as nauseous, but I feel even more tired after taking it.
Gordon has been a great help this past semester. He works early in the morning and would get home before me. He picked up Weston everyday after work and had dinner ready and did the grocery shopping before I got home. He was also taking a few classes at ASU on top of that.
Things are finally settling down and I feel like I have a moment to breathe now! I put in my resignation at the beginning of April, which I'm very excited about! I know I'll miss teaching, but I won't miss the grading or planning and I'm so looking forward to staying at home with Weston and being a full time mom. After this past semester, we've decided that my being at home will be best for all of us, even if things are tight. I've learned so much from my experiences this past year, and I really feel like I've grown in many ways, for which I'm thankful. I know I needed to learn some lessons, and I plan to remember them and be a better person for it.
With all of that said, my goal is to start my journaling/blogging again as well as doing some catch-up blogging! I feel like there are so many things I've missed that I need to record before I forget. I'm excited to start back in again!

Happy Birthday Weston!

Weston is 1 year old today! Time is just going so fast. He is starting to stand up on his own and soon will be walking. He is also getting a very STRONG, individual personality. The terrible two's might really be terrible. We still love him and can't imagine our lives without him!

Our next door neighbor, Rita, made Weston some brownies for his birthday. I didn't have time to make him a treat since I worked all day, so it was nice to have some sweets for him! My mom, dad and aunt had come down to Mesa for the day, and we all went to Red Robin for dinner.

Weston loved the brownies! This was only about his second or third time he's ever had sweets, not to mention chocolate, so he was loving it!

My Second Party!

We went down to Tucson on Saturday, February 14th, for Weston's birthday with my family. The park we went to was beautiful and it was a chilly, crisp day which I love. Once again, Weston devoured his chocolate cupcake--he also ate a big chunk of his one-year-old birthday candle. I was sick today with the flu, so we ended up cutting things a little short.

And a Third?

Yes, Weston had a third celebration the following Saturday with Gordon's family--what a lucky guy! He had a great time opening gifts and playing with all of his cousins.

I Love Cake!

Everything goes in the mouth...

I was sitting at the table eating dinner and watching Weston crawl around on the kitchen floor, when suddenly he noticed something under the toekick of the cupboards and began reaching for it. This is nothing new--Weston chews up anything he can possibly get his hands on (especially toilet paper and office documents, his absolute favorites). In my mind I was thinking, "Great, he's going to put this in his mouth. Why can't he just leave stuff on the floor where it belongs?" I was actually going to let him pick it up, thinking it was a crumb or something (this might sound bad, but yes, occasionally I let Weston eat his old cheerios and crackers off the floor and he's been none the worse for it), but I noticed this "thing" was long and tan, almost like a stick. Scorpion ran through my mind, and I had a feeling I better check and be on the safe side. I grabbed his little hand and dragged him away and out rolled this scorpion along with a huge scream from me. My heart was pounding a mile a minute. It was half-dead, so Weston didn't get stung, but I can't imagine what would have happened if he'd put it in his mouth. Gordon was doing the dishes at that moment, and killed it.
This picture of it just makes me cringe! Such a horrible-looking creature. It almost looks like we had a photo shoot with the white backdrop, but this is the paper towel Gordon smashed it with. This particular scorpion was about as long as my index finger. I get the chills just looking at it! Scorpions are the most grotesque-looking things ever. Unfortunately we get lots of these, inside and outside our house. Most of them move really slowly because Gordon sprays about once a month--and now he'll be spraying a little more often!