Bethany's Birth Story.

Our baby girl Bethany Leeannah was born early on December 1 at 6:27 am. She was 7 pounds 8 ounces and 18.5 inches long. She is such a sweet baby and we love her so much! We can't imagine our family without her. Here is her birth story.

I was a bit nervous to know how this was all going to happen, since I was induced with Jack but I was just going on my own this time around. I felt some good Braxton Hicks contractions for a whole day (ouch!) two weeks earlier and it scared me a bit. Would the real things be worse? Would I have to just suffer through contractions for days and days until they were a certain time apart and I could be admitted to the hospital? I wasn't sure if I would know when I would need to head to the hospital, so I prayed to know when the right time would be. Luckily, Heavenly Father let me know.

I started having contractions around 8:30 pm on the evening of her due date, November 30. We were watching a Hallmark Christmas movie. We put Jack to bed and I started watching the clock. They were irregular but they definitely felt different than the Braxton Hicks, which were more at the front and bottom of the belly. These contractions were more intense and in my lower back. I didn't feel like I needed to push but when they would come I was on my hands and knees and making Tyson push on my hips. We decided to just go to bed and we called both sets of parents to be on alert. I also called the hospital to get their opinion on when to come in and they told me to come when they were 5 minutes apart and lasting for over a minute. I downloaded an app to time my contractions (so I wouldn't have to try and time them in my head while half asleep) and we went to bed. I fell asleep for a few minutes here and there, but by 3 am I told Tyson it was time to go. They were about 10 minutes apart but I thought it was time. (I was also nervous because my mom told me her labor was so fast with her second baby that she almost had my bother in the car on their way to the hospital!) We called my parents to come be with sleeping Jack and asked them to call my sister Michelle, who we invited to the birth.

We got to the hospital by 3:45 am and were brought to the side room where they check to see if you are really in labor before they admit you. Tyson did not love this first nurse because he thought she was skeptical about us. When she checked me to see how much I was dilated, she broke my water (on accident) and I was at a 4. Yep, it was a good thing I was there when I was. I was having some good contractions this whole time, so that wasn't too fun while being checked. The nurse asked if I wanted an epidural and I said yes. She made a call and he was on his way.

The hospital was quiet that morning. There was only one other couple there, who already had their baby. We got to our room and the nurse hooked me all up to get some saline in me before the epidural (let me just say that I think getting an IV in your wrist is more painful than getting the epidural). My sister got there at 5 am and the anesthesiologist showed up just before that. The nurse told me I was a tough cookie going through all of my contractions. All I remember was trying to just breath through them and telling Tyson to come over and push on my hips whenever they came. I got my epidural at 5:15 am, just in time. Because I was dilating so quickly, he gave me a special dose (he said) that was more potent for about an hour, and would then go back to the normal dose. I remember feeling the same way with it that I did with Jack's birth-from the waist down I felt heavy, tingly, a little out of it and tired. It always makes me throw up a few times and really want to take a nap. By 5:45 am I was dilated to a 10 and they called the doctor.

My regular doctor (Dr. Young) that I really like was out of town (remember how he was out of town on Jack's due date, too? Hmm) so the on-call doctor came (Dr. Judd). He was nice and did the job. A new nurse came at 6 am. By around 6:15 am I was pushing and yes, I asked for the mirror to watch! The nurse held one leg and Michelle held the other. I pushed for about 15 minutes and Bethany was born! I remember looking at the mirror when only her head was out, and then pushing one more time and feeling her body leave mine. It was a surreal experience to feel that. Bethany was born at 6:27 am. She had a smooshed nose, brown hair and crazy long finger nails. She looked like her brother. What a little sweetie. After her vitals were taken and she was cleaned up a bit, they gave her to me. Her eyes were open and she was so alert. She later cried and then slept pretty much all the next day.

My parents brought Jack to see us at about 10 am. Jack seemed to know that she was his "baby sissa" but wasn't too interested. He gave her a hug and kiss and we took a few pictures, but he mostly just wanted to ride on the wheelchair and eat cookies. We stayed one night and left the hospital the next evening. I had another great experience at Orem Community Hospital and we liked all of the staff there (part of the time we had the same nurse that helped us deliver Jack about two years earlier!). Bethany was the first December baby at that hospital! We are so very blessed to have such a healthy, beautiful, baby girl who joined our family that day.


Bump photo taken on my due date, November 30.

Baby Shower Time.

A few weeks ago my good friends Desi and Ashley threw me a baby shower. At first, I felt a little weird having a shower for my second baby but they insisted that because it is a girl, that it was okay. Who can say no to someone wanting to throw a little party for your future baby? Not me. We kept it small and just invited family and a few friends. We ate fruit and veggies with yummy dips (seven layer dip, artichoke dip, fruit dip and a peanut butter cheeseball). Oh, it was good. We played a few games and opened lots of sweet girly gifts. It was really nice and sweet.

(I have to mention a week or so before this shower, my friend Alyse threw a bow making party for another friend and I, who are both having girls. That was also so sweet! I'll have to get some of the photos taken there (no, I didn't bring my camera-what?) and add them to this post.)

Enjoy some photos of the par-tay!


Dips, dips and more dips!


My mom and my sister Michelle.


The guests.


Ashley, me, Desi and Rach holding a little handsome man who showed up near the end.


Jack and Ashley's cute little girl Hazel. Also, Desi's darling fabric garland that is still up in my kitchen.

Thank you for a fun afternoon, ladies! I can't believe this little girl will be here any day now.

Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Just thought it would be fun to reminisce of our Halloweens through the years since we've been married. 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 (Tyson was out of town the last year on Halloween). I think it's so fun to be cute and cheesy in coordinating costumes! Sorry honey.



And, of course...this year! Look at that cute little Waldo!



Have a fun and safe Halloween!

Jack Turns Two.

Our little guy turned two years old on October 4! A full blown toddler-wanting to be outside all of the time, running around and chatting away. He is pretty dang cute. Some of his favorite activities are to throw and kick balls, read books, sing and do the actions to songs (we do most of the singing), take baths and getting wet in general, run around the yard with daddy, yells "truck" or "bus" when he sees them, go to the garden (now almost all dead) to pick tomatoes, kiss his pumpkin, or to water it, color, paint (water color), find sticks and rocks, point out the moon or airplanes in the sky, look for rainbows, push his stroller and to give his baby sister a hug and kiss (my tummy). He is in the 70-79% for height, weight and head size, although I could have sworn he was way over 30 pounds (he's just at 30). Luckily, he is still napping for about two hours in the afternoon and doesn't use a binky anymore. Some of his favorite things to eat are fruit snacks, cheese, toast with bam (jam), eggs, beans, marshmallows, noodles, bananas, peaches, raisins, whatever cereal we are eating, peanut butter and jam sandwiches, and yo yo (yogurt).

I've seen such a jump in these last few months in his speech and understanding of things. I remember being a little worried that at 18 months he wasn't saying many words. That changed! He knows a lot of words now and has started to copy a few things his parents say. Jack started saying "How 'bout..." and I wondered where he learned that. Oh, I guess I say that a lot? He's always liked to read and I try and point out letters to him. Months ago, out of the blue, he started to recognize and say the letter "o" in books we were reading. Slowly he picked up more and more letters and now knows the alphabet! What? He can also point out and say different shapes, the numbers 1-10, and colors. It's all thanks to books and coloring books that I've drawn those things in for him. One of his favorite new birthday toys is a Melissa and Doug alphabet puzzle that says the letter and a word that starts with the letter when you put the right letter on top of it. That really helped him to correctly say some of his harder letters like "q" and "r".

Speaking of his birthday, we had a small party for just family and a friend. I wanted to keep it simple and relaxed so I made pumpkin spice and chocolate peanut butter cupcakes that we had with ice cream. The weather was so nice that we all ended up outside. His cousins helped him open his presents and he got some new books, crayons, water colors, stickers, bubbles and clothes. We gave him the alphabet puzzle and a little basketball hoop which turned out to be a hit with all of the kids (as you can see in one of the photos below). Both sets of his grandparents ended up coming to the party a little early so we got to take a few special pictures of the birthday boy with them! He was loving all of the attention and love he felt from everyone! We sure love this little guy.

Second Trimester

Photos taken when I was 28 weeks.

Although I am 31 weeks along as I'm typing up this post right now, I want to mention that little trimester sandwiched between the morning sickness of number one and the uncomfortable-ness of number three. Second trimester was quite nice. My appetite was back to normal, there was no more nausea and I was rocking a cute bump in all of my maternity clothes glory. Sure, I was waking up in the middle of the night to use the restroom multiple times, but at least I was sleeping comfortably. This baby has been really active and I love feeling her move around so much!

I had the pleasure of doing the three hour glucose tolerance test because my numbers were a little high with the one hour test. Hmph. I spent 3.5 hours at the lab where I had to drink the double sweet (pretty gross) glucose drink and get my blood drawn four times. Good news though, I do not have gestational diabetes and I got to read the book The Giver while I was there. Yahoo!

Let's talk about maternity fashion. Is it only me or do other pregnant women hate wearing maternity jeans (at least, in the summer)? I've found myself wearing a lot of skirts, maxi dresses and long tunic tops over maternity leggings this time around. Honestly, I mostly wear tees and pajama bottoms when I'm home with my little buddy Jack. I actually don't mind wearing maternity clothing (except for the jeans) so I'm lucky that way. They do have some cute things available to wear with these baby bumps.

We haven't done or gotten much for baby girl yet. Money has been tight so we (well, mostly me) are trying to be patient in purchasing anything for her yet. My mom and sister were so excited to do a little clothes shopping for the babe so I was lucky to let them start it off for us! Thank you mom and Michelle! Baby girl has some cute things hanging up in the closest now. Next up-clean out the downstairs office, move the guest bedroom down, and move Jack over to his new room. It's weird to start thinking about toddler furniture and bedrooms! What the?!

We are sure getting excited for her to come. Jack loves to give his baby sister hugs and kisses already!

Eyre Family Reunion 2014

The Eyre family (Tyson's immediate family members and their families) has a reunion every year. This may or may not change for the future, but the past three years we've had one every summer. Each year a different family is in charge of everything and this summer it was our turn! We wanted to do something casual and relaxing with good food and a few activities, so we chose to do overnight camping at the Spanish Fork River Park the last weekend of June. We rented the large group area that included a huge pavilion, a volleyball court, a kid's playground and a big grassy area for camping and frolicking. The campgroup had bathroom facilities, running water, etc. so it wasn't roughing it too bad. (Lucky for me, since I was about 4 months pregnant!) It was quite a task to plan an event and all the food for a family of about 50, all with differing likes and opinions, but we think it overall went well and hope everyone had fun.

Jack did great! He loved his new found freedom in the open space and usually ended up around the parking lot of cars next to the pavilion (so he could point out the lights) or at the water spout which he figured out how to use and got soaked a few different times on the last day. We brought a pack n' play that he started out sleeping in, but it got so cold that we brought him into our bed with us half way through the night. Sleeping on a blow up mattress makes camping much more enjoyable for me, but it was freezing when I had to get up in the middle of the night to use the restroom. (By the way, thanks to our friends Ben and Desi for letting us borrow your camping stuff!) We all survived and came home stinky and dirty, which we all know means a good camping weekend.

The large group picture is not even all of the Eyre family, which gives you a clue to how big it is! A fun weekend we are happy to be done with.

Double holiday

Tyson was born on Father's Day so he usually gets to celebrate twice around Father's Day weekend! This year I tried to surprise him (like I try every year) but he hates surprises and managed to get it out of me on the way there-we went to Rodizio Grill downtown and then a movie. Might I add that we just ate meat and drank Guarana, no salad bar for us that night. For Father's Day, my parents and I went in to buy him a little grill for our patio. We are so excited to have that since we now get to enjoy our backyard! Here are some photos from that weekend.



Little did we know Jack would love corn on the cob! Now he insists on eating it that way whenever possible.

Flowers and bows

Yesterday we found out we will be having a baby girl! Here is Jack with a pink balloon to announce he has a little sister coming. He already gives kisses to my tummy for the baby so he'll be a wonderful big brother.



When the ultrasound tech told Tyson and I that we were having a girl, we looked at each other and each did a little gasp. Ha! I was really expecting another little boy so it was a surprise to me! (We both thought our first was going to be a girl, so maybe I'll just plan on the opposite of what I think it will be next time.) We are so excited! We've had a girl name picked out since I was first pregnant with Jack, so we are happy to have that all settled already. After the ultrasound, Tyson walked Jack and I to the car before he headed back to work and said "You are so excited, huh?" which I replied with "Of course! But I know you're even more excited!" and he agreed and ran off to his car. Yep, he'll be mush with a baby girl. He's already practically like that with our little boy.

I immediately started to look online at baby girl clothes! Oh boy. I'm not even sure what we need for a little girl. Lots of leggings, dresses and hair bows? Okay. We will have to get girly things a little at time because money is tight right now, but I feel like I can't wait! We're starting to think about moving Jack to our current guest room (right next to his nursery) and tweak things in the nursery for the new baby. Any advice on when and how to move a toddler from a crib to a bed? I don't feel like he's ready but I don't want to have two cribs, either. I'm sure the baby will sleep next to us in our room for the first few months so we have a little time. Crazy to start to think about toddler beds and moving my first baby to a little boy room!

Now to think on baby girl nursery colors...

First Trimester

I'm finally back to the blogging world! Sorry about that three month break. The biggest reason for it? My first trimester of pregnancy. I was so sick that I did not feel like doing a thing, including blogging. So, let's just blame the whole thing on that.

Now to talk about the exciting news! I am pregnant! In March we found out that another little one is going to be joining our family sometime around November 30 (a Thanksgiving baby for sure)! We have been so excited. My first trimester was a little rocky with sickness and fatigue, definitely more than I felt with Jack. I had zero appetite and didn't gain any weight because of it. I felt like I would throw up if I ever went more than an hour or two without eating something, but I had no desire to eat. I think I lived on saltine crackers and otter pops for a good month there. The worst were weeks 6-10, and then it slowly got better. By week 16, I almost felt like myself again. Geez. I was also so, so tired and would nap when Jack napped (something unusual for me to do). Poor little Jack had to be okay with a tired mommy laying on the couch every morning while he played near by. I really can't complain much because I know there are a lot of women who have a really hard time with sickness during their whole pregnancy, so I'll just leave it at that.

We told everyone we were pregnant with Jack wearing a shirt that says "This guy is getting promoted to big brother" to some family get togethers around Easter. It took some of our family members a few minutes to realize what it said, but everyone has been so excited for us! I decided to take my progress pictures only every 4 weeks or so (I did it every other week with Jack) in front of our yellow shed in the backyard. The photo above was taken almost 3 weeks ago when I was 16 weeks along.

It's always so exciting to see that little one at your first ultrasound! Just a little jelly bean in my tummy. I got to see the baby in another ultrasound at my 12 week appointment because the doctor couldn't hear the heartbeat well (everything's fine). I was able to see the little bug's profile! Next week we get to find out the gender already! It seems like it's gone by pretty quickly.

It's been kind of cool to really think about this little one joining our family. I wonder how Jack will do. I wonder how I will do this second time around. I still feel like a new mom most of the time and that I am learning. I am so happy to have Tyson as my husband and the father to my children. He loves Jack so much and is so good with him. Jack will go around the house saying "dadda" all day when Tyson's at work. Jack laughs and smiles the most when daddy's around. If this is a little girl, then watch out! She will have Tyson wrapped around her little finger because of how I see him with our little guy already. We are both so happy and excited for our growing family!

An eighteen month old?!

Jack turned 18 months on my birthday last Friday, April 4! I love that we share a birthday/half birthday with each other. It's also kind of cool that they both are around General Conference weekends. He is such a darling little boy. Here are some fun facts and tidbits:

-Remember that red and white striped shirt I talked about when he was 16 months? Yeah, it's too small now. His belly has grown outward and most of his 18 month shirts are now too short. He still wears some 18 month bottoms, but tops and jammies are 24 month or 2T. Huh? Still in size 5 diapers and weighs almost 28 pounds. His eyes have turned a green color (started out blue).

-Loves to eat most anything. Some current favorites are raisins, bananas, pears, cantaloupe, strawberries, peas, corn, rice, pretzels, pizza, cheese, popsicles and anything his parents are eating. He also loves eating ice chips. That's been a great help when he's been teething or fussy. We fill a small bowl with ice chips, put it on the kitchen floor and he goes to town.

-Still a good sleeper from about 8pm-8am with one nap starting between 12-2pm for an hour or two. Continues to sleep in crazy positions that change frequently in the night.

-He has 11 teeth that we know of. Pretty sure he was teething a few weeks ago but haven't been able to get a good look in his mouth to see if anything actually came through. (Anyone else have a toddler who refuses to let you open or look at his mouth?) I thought I saw a little white bump where one of his top canines would be so I think those are one their way.

-His favorite toys right now are books, blocks, balls, megablocks, anything he can throw down the stairs, anything with music or buttons (loves the remote and frequently records things by accident), and playing with window blinds. I've started to help him put the blocks into the right shaped holes and he loves that. I ask him if we should "work on the shapes?" and he comes running.

-He has an allergy to dogs/cats. If he gets licked or gets hair near his eyes, his skin turns red and itchy and he gets hives. Boo. Luckily, it just takes a little time for it to go away without any medication.

-He's a dancing fool! This has been a new and frequent thing of his. Whenever he hears music on a show, music from one of his toys, or when I sing a song, he dances! He started out with how most babies do with planting the feet in one place and bouncing up and down. But, his signature move it definitely spreading his feet apart and rocking on them from side to side, usually accompanied with his head moving side to side. He also does "fast feet" where he marches in place really quickly when we say "fast feet" or when we do it ourselves. Pretty entertaining. He also turns in place on command (one day out of the blue we asked him to turn and just he did it! How he knew what turning was or how to do it still remains a mystery).

-Tyson's been taking him into Nursery at church every now and then over the last few weeks so he'll be ready to go himself next Sunday (what?!). Tyson says he doesn't really play with the other kids (most of them just do their own thing in there), but likes the toys and snacks. Sometimes he'll walk around with his whiney voice and points up to the light switches that he wants to turn on and off. He's got a couple of little friends who also just started to go so I think it'll all be just fine. It will be nice for Tyson and I to be able to serve in our callings during those hours at church while he plays away.

-He's starting to do some of the actions to songs like "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Patty Cake"!

-Still doesn't say a lot of actual words but he does jabber and loves to say "ba!". We can make out "momma" and "dad" with an occasional "ack" for "Jack". He says "meow" (sort of) for "cat" and will purse his lips together and stick them out to "moo" for "cow".

-Loves to play "peek-a-boo" with us. He will cover his eyes and shake his head back and forth and wait to hear us say "Where's Jack?" and then he'll uncover them with a huge smile like he fooled us. He'll also climb a few steps down the stairs and wait until you are watching him from the top, then he'll move his head down to where he can't see us anymore and wait for the "Where's Jack?" and poke his head back up. My favorite is when I'm sitting on the floor with him and he'll run behind me, with his little hands on my back and giggle while he waits for me to say "Where's Jack?" then and he'll lean over to side of me with a huge smile like "Here I am, Mom!". I love it.

He's a cutie and we just love him so much. He has brought us so much joy!

A soccer game.

We took Jack to to his first sporting event the other week, the first Real Salt Lake soccer game of the year. It was an afternoon game on a Saturday and I was pretty nervous about taking him. I guess I get anxiety about things like that with my little guy-just worried he'll be fussy and crying and it will be a bad experience for all. Not the case for this game! He was pretty entertained between people watching, dancing to the drums across the field, and glaring at the guy behind us who kept yelling. He would stand in front of our legs now and then to look out but was content to be held as we sat and stood up the whole game. As we were herded in the crowd of people trying to get out of the stadium after the game, strangers would say "hi" to him and Tyson asked Jack if he wanted to give them a high five which he did! He was winning the hearts of people all over the place. It was a fun day! Love this little guy.

Here are a few pics we snapped with our phones:

Haircuts.

I took Jack to get his haircut last week. He's only had it cut once before and that was a bit of a traumatic experience for him so we waited a while. His hair was looking pretty scraggly, with at least an inch or so over his ear. It was time. I took him to a friend who does hair, armed with a box of raisins (his new favorite treat. Huh?), and we just did it. There was crying and some waving of the arms, but he did okay. My friend said he stayed pretty still for how upset he was, so that's something. And now he has a cute, short haircut that should last him to summer. Right?

It's hard seeing your child so sad and upset, knowing that you can't explain to him that it's not going to hurt him, that it's "just a haircut". There's no reasoning at this age. But, it's pretty nice that you can just give him a box raisins after it's all said and done, and he walks around like nothing happened. Kids.

Before.



After.



Notice the two swirly cowlicks at the back of his head? Something he inherited from his daddy. Should be fun for me down the road.

DIY monthly baby photos

Remember how I said I would write about how I did my monthly onesie photos for Jack? Here you go!

The set up was quite simple. First, I chose a room in our house that has a large window. You want to pick a place where you have some good natural light through a window. In our case, our front "home teaching room", as we lovingly call it, has a nice, big window so it was perfect. I just open the blinds right up whenever we take any photos there.

Second, pick a comfy piece of furniture that will be soft for your baby to sit on. Place it in front of an uncluttered area with not much in the background so that the most important subject is featured (your baby!). We have a tan chair that goes with our low couch that worked well. We placed it at the corner of our white and blue walls, thinking that would add just a subtle interest. Third, pick a stuffed animal or toy that you'll place by your baby to show how much he or she grows each month. My sister Michelle bought Jack a cute owl that we used.



Be sure you have another person there to sit at the side of the photo for safety, with arms ready to catch a rolling baby! It happens.



You can do this with any decent camera if you choose a good time of the day when you will have enough light. Try and frame your photo the same each month, but you can do a little cropping if needed. Bring a favorite toy, sing a song, or do anything that you know will help your baby to smile. Then, just click away! You are bound to get at least one nice photo and a lot of funny ones! I may or may not have to share a few of Jack's outtakes because they are so great. FYI, we hardly ever did his monthly photos on the actual right day, so don't get too stressed about that. As long as you do it within the week, you are good.

Have fun taking pictures of your little ones!

Flower fun.

I made two corsages for some boys in our ward going to Prom today. Fun to play with flowers! Do you like the ribbon to tie around their wrist instead of those lame silver stretchy bands? I do.

The evolution of a fishy face.

I love that his dimples show when he does this.