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Thursday, August 15, 2013

Baby #3

I guess it's time to finally announce that we are pregnant again with baby #3!!! We found out back in April, but we had some scares and with the last one being a pretty sensitive experience, we've waited to really tell a lot of people. Although, Dawson apparently told the whole primary in Holden one Sunday a long time ago. We just found that out. We are excited, but also have feelings of withdrawal. For some reason we've held back on being too attached because we were afraid of losing this one. Now that we know the gender and we are more than half way, we are starting to get more realistic about having another one, and the excitement is starting to stir. 

I did get sick again, but I try not to complain too much because I'm just grateful that Heavenly Father sent us another one. With Andee, we felt like we were done.... so I am just counting my blessings. I refused to get a picc line and just dealt with being sick and trying to take the medicine orally. We ran out of medicine, which we would have to get in Cedar City because it was so much more affordable. However, we didn't drive down there for awhile and I've been trying to get through my days without it. It's getting so much better and I now feel like I don't need it at all. I've learned I have to eat even though I don't want to, and I have to sleep. 

This is how many of days were spent after moving to Orem. My sweet Dawson would cuddle with me and helped me so much.
This pregnancy has been a lot more like I was with Dawson; restless leg syndrome, insomnia, hunger pains all the time, showing earlier, and extreme tiredness. With Andee I had so much more energy... but not this one. I sleep so much, and constantly feel hungry. I keep trying to push myself to stay awake, get things done, and stay on top of things, but until now it's not been an option. I'm starting to snap out of it, but I still have those days. 

I started to feel the baby move at 15 wks and 3 days. This baby is just as active as the other 2.... it's continuous. I know it's not time to start kick counts, but having Andee not so long ago and that being the reason for going to the hospital and finding out her heart stopped has really effected me. I know how important kick counts are now and so I subconsciously am always aware of the baby moving and trying to count. I have to keep reminding myself that its okay if it's not moving.

We have had many ultrasounds... I had some spotting a lot in the beginning. After moving up north, the doctors up here immediately did an ultrasound and found that the extra tissue around the placenta was in the front instead of on top. It wasn't allowing the uterus to create a seal, therefor I was spotting. They said eventually it would move towards the top and everything was okay. It was such a relief to find out that nothing was wrong. Also, during this ultrasound the baby looked right up at Dawson and Dawson yelled, "It's looking at me!" It was sooo cute!

This whole time we've felt like the baby was a girl. We'd refer to it as a girl, named it, and started preparing for a girl. Even Dawson would tell us it was a girl. I think we were just feeling the void of not having a little girl physically with us because......
it's a BOY!

SHOCKER! We are still trying to wrap our heads around the idea of having another boy. I seriously never thought I'd have another boy... I thought it'd be all girls if we were to have more. Even Loni, J.D.'s sister did a necklace trick and it said we'd have 3 more girls! It's a myth. Obviously. I won't lie, I kept telling J.D. it's probably a boy because we thought it was girl. Sure enough, the boy parts have been revealed! We even had to ask the nurse twice how sure she was.... it's pretty obvious when something is appearing between the legs that looks like stub or 3rd leg. :-) lol! The baby also looked right at us again and waived his little arms. It was so cool for Dawson to see that because he waved back. Everything looked really good and no complications as far as tests and the ultrasound went. They said my chances of stillborn again are slim and nothing so far shows any negative signs.

The rest of pregnancy we will have 2 more appointments 4 weeks apart, and then starting at 30 weeks they are going to being doing tests and ultrasounds twice a week until the baby is born. It's relieving to know they are taking precautions because of how things turned out with Andee. Also, I've been able to feel a sense of peace with this pregnancy, something I know the Lord is blessing me with. 

As far as names... well one name that we'd tossed around when Dawson was on his way here was Monty. However, that was 5 years ago... so we are still trying to figure it out. We've never felt this way about not knowing the name of what our baby is going to be. I have a strong sense or belief of how a baby's name is from memory once it's decided. A memory from the premortal existence. I'm struggling remember this one. I know I will, but I've only got 19 or less more weeks to figure it out. The idea of it being a boy is something I'm just trying to get my head to figure out still. 

when we found out it was a boy Dawson said, "Oh... so we're going to have another baby that's a girl?" He was still excited, but he must know that he's supposed to have another sister...so we will see. I want to just get through this one right now. 

Dawson still gives the baby a kiss every day and talks to him. He's starting to talk about how he's going to teach him soccer so he can be on Dawson's team when he's 4. He's excited to share a room with him and show him all the boy stuff. It will be super fun. 

We are due December 27th, but I'm pretty sure he's coming early since the last 2 were early. I definitely don't want him born on the 24th or 25th, so if I have any say it will be the 23rd or earlier. :-)

Chad and Amy come to stay

My brother Chad and his family stayed a few days with us before heading back to Missouri, and my sister Amy and her family stayed with us the night before they took James to the MTC. We had a house full! However, Dawson loves his cousins and never gets enough of them. 

To keep the kids busy and occupied we did lots of fun things. One of which was a slip n' slide, and water guns.....
We don't have a good hill to put the slip n' slide on, but the kids managed to make it all the way to the shark's mouth!
Sometimes they had to crawl...
Daxon all soaked up and ready for more water.
Some of the time our Ipad would go missing... and later we'd find silly pictures such as these of Dawson and Rylee.
They have to much fun!

James Taylor's Farewell

My oldest nephew, Amy's 1st son, is finally 19. Even though the rule of going on mission when your 18 just changed, James was the oldest in his class and was going to be 19 right after he graduated. Either way, we knew his whole life he'd leave right after high school....literally! He turned 19 June 2nd. He was called to the Billings Montana mission and was so excited! This man seriously has prepared for a mission his whole life. It's what he's thought about since he was old enough to know what a mission was. He is the first to go on a mission from his dad's side of the family, so it's a pretty big deal. 

He spoke July 14th in Kanab, and left July 24th to the MTC. He didn't shed a single tear because he just wanted to go and serve. So here's our last pic with him before he left.


His luncheon after church was at the park and Dawson was in his glory! He's a little monkey and loves to take chances climbing on things that look challenging.
Here's Daxon.... he too is a monkey. lol!
Jessi is such a little mother. She takes care of Mckynlee without question whenever Jori's around. Mckynlee loves Jessi so much. Jessi never complains, she just immediately takes Mckynlee and you don't even have to worry for hours.

We are so proud of James for choosing to go and serve the Lord. He is going to be an amazing missionary.... I doubt we even hear from him until he's back because he's so dedicated. We will miss him a lot!

Jori's Wedding

My sister Jori got married 2 weeks after my sister Amy. It has been a crazy summer with all the events, but this one in particular was pretty special. We stayed at a house in Kanab, and that is where she got married. It was perfect because we didn't have to travel to and from the hotel, there was a pool, and we had everything there for the wedding/reception. She got married on July 13th to Daniel Schofield. He couldn't be more perfect for Jori and her children. 

Here is the isle, with my dad and Jori's son Carson walking her down in the back. In the front there is Dawson on the left, Mckynlee in the wagon, Breslynn and Daxon (the twins) on the right, and one of Danny's nieces pulling the wagon. Dawson was so proud to be a part of the wedding.
As they walked passed, this is what I noticed..... the big bow on the back of the wagon that had Andee M'lee written in gold on it. She was a flower girl with Mckynlee. In the wagon they had a pink teddy bear with Andee M'lee embroidered on it. Mckynlee was holding the bear and playing with it. Both of my kids were a part of this special day for my sister. It brought tears to my eyes because of how thoughtful my sister Jori is. She always talks about Andee M'lee and never fails to include her. When we ask Mckynlee, "Where's Andee? Where's Andee?" She just starts smiling so big and looks up.
During the ceremony Mckynlee would start to get a little fussy and Dawson just played with her the entire time to keep her happy. The thought of Andee M'lee being there with her and Dawson playing with her too was such a tender moment. It also never fails to suprise me how in tune Dawson is with little ones. His attention span towards babies and younger kids is truly amazing.
Here's the newlyweds to be! It was so funny during the ceremony because Danny was reading was the bishop was reading out of his book. Danny was just following along with his eyes and we all started laughing once the bishop turned his book towards Danny so he could see better to follow along. HILARIOUS! Then the bishop asked, "Have I misread anything?"
Here's Dawson next to the Andee M'lee bow and the "Andee Bear". Dawson was so proud of knowing his sister was there with him, and he took care of her the rest of the night......
.
Here is our whole family, missing one....that should be here in December. It includes my sister Amy and her new husband with his kids, all of Amy's kids before James goes on his mission, and everyone else. L-R: Rick (Amy's new husband), Amy, Choc in the back, Kortni, Haylee in the back (hopefully Choc's wife soon), Me, J.D. behind me, Danny, Jori holding Mckynlee, Matt, Jamie, Chad, James behind, Layne behind, my mom, my dad, Lyndee, Mikinzie, and Sari. Then the kids in fron L-R: Carson (Rick's boy), Tayson (Rick's other boy), Dawson holding the Andee bear standing behind, Rylee, Daxon, Jessi behind, Breslynn, and Carson (Jori's son).
Here is our little family. Sorry about the hair do, we had just gotten home from Lake Powell and had about 1 hour to get all of us ready, so no specialties with getting ready.
Remember how I said earlier that Dawson took care of Andee M'lee all night? Well, what that entailed was him pulling that wagon around all evening with the Andee Bear wrapped in a blanket. It was so sweet!
When other kids would come try to pull the wagon they would start to run and Dawson would yell, "NO! slow down! You have to be careful with my sister, she's asleep and little." He's so protective. :-)
This little man is Daxon. He is such a character and absolutely adorable. He's sitting on Great Grandma Biel's lap and sang, "You are so Beautiful" from Little Rascals to her. We couldn't get enough of hearing him sing it! He would even go high at the end like Alfalfa, "to meeeeeeeeee."
Here are the men in our family, minus my dad. They all are pretty well fit don't ya think? L-R: J.D., Chad, Danny, Matt, Rick, and Choc.
And here are the ladies (sisters). L-R: Jori, Me, Amy, Kortni, and Jamie. We all try to pose and then on the count of 3.... the next picture really shows us.
I yelled "on the count of three grab your boobs!" and so we did and Jori bent over- it was hilarious! The best part is that my sister Kortni is grabbing  her chest in this pic, but then she thought we were supposed to grab the person in front of us, so she tried to grab Amy's chest.... seriously.
My mother, her mother, Jori, and Mckynlee- 4 generations all healthy and lookin' good!
After the party, we needed another party at the pool. So J.D. and I headed out with the kids and had so much fun! L-R: Dawson, Chase, Jaidon, and Miki in the back.
We obviously didn't get enough, so we swam again the next day and the next! BUT, J.D. wouldn't get in.... so of course Dawson and his mischevious side (from me) pushed him in! Way to go Dawson!
All in all it was an awesome weekend and full of lots of laughter.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

The 4th of July

This year we were in Holden for the 4th. It was pretty dang hot, but we lasted and had fun. Dawson had a pretty unfriendly attitude with the camera for the parade (mainly because he does not like being woken up, unfortunately he gets that from his mom.) We found a perfect spot for the parade and we weren't even early! 

I do have to be proud of this little guy because we didn't let him stay and play for more than 10 minutes on the bounce houses. He didn't fuss or whine, he was ready to go home. 

Of course, the heat meant it was time for swimming. From left to right its Dawson, Brant, Tilden in the back, Jetta, and Taylee. They had so much fun running in circles and making a whirl pool carry them around the pool. It was pretty impressive!

The cousins again relaxing in the cool water.
 Before we went to Molly and Lucas' to swim, we set up a little pool at Grandma and Grandpa's. Dawson had a great idea of setting the slide into the pool. The little kids loved this! Below is Kyson and Dawson.
Such a great weekend, and we can't get enough of cousins and Holden.

Yuba Lake this Year

We finally made it to Yuba Lake for the summer. It was a perfect day with the whole clan. 
Here is Dawson, Aunt Loni, Taylee, and Kyson building a sand castle! They had a blast kicking it down at the end of the day.
The kids spent a lot of time out in the water jumping off the tube and swimming around it. Below is Jetta and Dawson trying to catch a fish with a bucket....... no luck.
Here's the kiddos again still searching for a fish....
and another shot of the other cousins on the tube. They never wanted to get off. Out on the water when Chet was pulling the tube behind his boat Dawson just wanted to go faster and faster! He loved it! It was hilarious that he wanted to go super fast and some of the older kids just wanted to keep it slow. Dawson did get his thrill when he rode with J.D. and Parker. I wasn't on the boat, but he had quite a story to tell when he got back to the beach.
Thank you again Uncle Chet and Aunt Bobi Sue for bringing your boat and toys! It was so much fun!

Amy's Wedding

SADLY, I didn't get any photos, but my sister Amy got married!! She is so happy and we couldn't be more happy for her and her new husband. She married a man that has been a family friend for over 20 years. He is truly an amazing guy and he makes my sister so happy. 

She got married June 28th, at Angel's Landing in Kanab, UT. It was so beautiful. J.D. and I prepared and cooked all of the food. We had BBQ'd ribs (those were prepared by a restuarant), and had dutch oven potatoes and salad. After the ceremony we all ate and enjoyed a live band! We danced and danced until it was dark. Dawson was so CUTE! We tried so hard to get a picture, but the lights weren't working. All night he kept asking this little girl, (the groom's niece), to dance. She wouldn't..... and finally she did! Dawson, NO JOKE, would twirl her under his arm and rock back and forth. He was in total control and led the girl all around the dance floor twirling her. Everyone couldn't get enough of them. A true gentleman we have on our hands. 

Congratulations to Amy and Rick! We are so happy for you!

The Move to Orem, UT

On May 14th we moved up to Orem, UT to start a new business with J.D.'s brother. It's been pretty hard moving because Holden felt so much like home to us. Dawson made friends so easily, as well as J.D. and I. J.D.'s Handy man business brought him so much confidence and felt proud about what he was doing. It took us about 2 months to actually get all the boxes unpacked and sort of moved in. We have been dragging our feet because we didn't want to move. I know it will take some time to get adjusted, and there are some positives about moving. 

We live in my brother Choc's house in the upstairs for now. We are still looking for another place to live or hopefully buy.... but as things keep going on, it looks like some other options may possibly be popping up and we may or may not be moving in that direction. We will see as time moves on. 

We spent a lot of time swimming in the beginning at the Provo Rec Center.

It was so much fun until they started to change the rules and you had to slide down the slides on your back laying down..... unfortunately it is no longer where we want to swim because of the injuries that occurred from that rule.
I will post a couple pics of our front room. We are still moving in, and have not decorated anywhere in the house. Even this room needs some more decorating, but I don't think it will happen until we know if we will be here for a long time or not.
We absolutely love our new entertainment center that we traded a log bed for with J.D.'s brother. It has been wonderful and adds so much to the room. It's by far my favorite piece of furniture. We still have some decorating to do with it as well.....

We just transferred our records, have signed Dawson up for soccer & preschool, and are hoping to make friends soon.