Happy Birthday Cathryn

Tomorrow is Cathryn's Birthday. I love her.

Can't Catch a Break

Remember how I wrote that Willa had her shots on Friday and had a pretty miserable birthday?  Well, Satruday morning she woke up and was extremely hot with a fever and chills. We thought it was just a reaction from the shots and gave her some Tylenol to get her through the day.  

Here she is looking miserable at her birthday party on Saturday.  She did manage a few bites of cake, but that's only because she's her parents' child and has a sweet tooth.  She's had this stank face for the past three days now. 

On Sunday she wasn't much better, and by Sunday night we called the nurse.  I took her into the doctor on Monday morning and my poor baby has Strep throat.  The doctor was pretty shocked, he said that he almost didn't do the test.

I feel so bad for her!  Within one week she has had the stomach flu, been cutting five teeth, got four shots, and now Strep throat!  No wonder she hasn't been eating much!  She is getting some tender loving care right now and lots of antibiotics.  The bad thing is that this whole time Ryan and I thought that the fever was from her shots and that she wasn't contagious.  I've been letting her do all sorts of naughty things to cheer her up like playing/sucking on my cell phone, car keys, and the remote controls!  Plus, sharing a water bottle and lots of kisses.  If I don't come down with it, I need to erect some type of shrine to my immune system.  Ryan and I have considered a pre-treatment of antibiotics for ourselves to nip this thing in the bud, but Dr. Alyson recommends against it.

I feel like I just did all of this!  Running around the apartment with Chlorox wipes trying to wipe everything down, looking over everything and wondering what to throw in the wash next.  I'm contemplating just buying surgical masks for whenever illness strikes.  Whomever isn't struck down gets to wear the mask until we're sure the sickness is gone.

I made this little bed for her to watch Baby Einstein.  Actually, today is the first day that we have really seen the Tylenol kick in.  I've actually heard her babble and laugh a little today, so it has actually been easier.

Happy Birthday Willa!

Friday was our sweet Willa's birthday!!  Unfortunately, she had a bit of a hard day.  We had her check-up yesterday morning where she got four shots, and her tummy still isn't quite recovered from her virus last Saturday.  This whole week has been tough for her, she just hasn't really had an appetite and has been a little whiney and sad.  She's also cutting five teeth right now (four on top, one on the bottom), they are so close and totally visible under her gums.  I think that might be a lot of the reason she isn't eating.  Maybe it's apropo that she's not feeling great since I'm pretty sure that she wasn't feeling too great one year ago.  It can't be comfortable being pushed through the birth canal!

Here is a birth story recap, because who doesn't love a good birth story?! First of all, Willa was originally due on October 28th (two weeks later) and I figured that she would probably be overdue since it was my first baby and my pregnancy had been going so easily.  Ryan was supposed to be out of town on the day she was actually born, but had a tonsillectomy and wasn't up leaving.  Shannon was all set to be my Doola, however, if he had been gone.  

Two days before Willa was born, Ryan still wasn't feeling well enough to go running in the morning so we decided to just go on an early morning walk together. I'm so grateful we were able to have that time to reflect and savor our life  - where we were and the big changes that would be happening soon - before Willa was born.  We made big plans for a last date and temple trip that weekend.  Ha!  

Since I didn't run that morning, I went to the gym during my lunch hour and was amazed at how good I felt!  I did the stair master for 20 solid minutes, and not the easy one, the hard one that looks like an escalator.  Then, I ran 1 1/2 miles on the treadmill at a 9:30 pace.  The only reason I stopped was because my lunch hour was over and I had to get back to work!  That evening I told Ryan how amazing I felt!  I think it was those endorphins that are supposed to click in right before you go into labor.  Most women clean their house, but I happened to be at the gym so I worked out.

The next morning I went on my regular 3 1/2 mile run and still felt great, but when I got back I had "indications" that maybe I actually would have the baby soon.  I also want to mention that the day before, I had completely cleaned out everything at work.  I finished all the little tasks and only had a few things left to do.  That was also such a blessing, I really feel like Heavenly Father was watching out for us and preparing us to have this baby two weeks early.  

I was having regular but weak contractions so I got ready and decided to go into work and finish up the last details (it would only take an hour or two).  Ryan was nice enough to volunteer to drive me to work, I rode my bike all the other days - even just the day before.

Things progressed, my water broke, yada yada, Ryan picked me up about 11 a.m. and we went to the hospital shortly after.  After a few hours at the hospital they started some pitocin to pick things up. They came in and checked me at 9 pm and I was at 5 cm.  It's supposed to take about an hour/cm so we thought she would be born sometime early the next morning.  Ryan left to get some dinner at Del Taco and I upped the epidural dosage.  The anesthetist warned me not to let the contractions get too bad, or else the epidural wouldn't ever catch up with them.  When they had checked me, I had started feeling some pain again so I pushed the epidural button a couple of times thinking that the pushing part was hours away.

Well, about 40 minutes later the nurse came in to check, then she came again, then she came again and gave me oxygen, then she finally decided to take a look and behold - the baby was basically crowning and was so low down the birth canal that that was why they were having trouble picking up a heartbeat! The nurse was like, "Can't you feel that pressure?"  Having just upped the epidural, I was completely numb.  I had to phone Ryan and tell him to hurry back!  They set everything up, told me to push - which was hard since I couldn't feel a thing.  I pushed a few times, said I could maybe push once more and she was out!  She was born at 10:13 pm.  It was so fast.  I'm kind of proud how fast it was.  I think then, I was kind of in shock.  Ryan said he was worried because I wasn't asking about the baby, I was just saying, "That was so fast, that was so fast!"  Hey, all the nurses were saying the same thing!  Still, I really feel like exercising for the entire pregnancy really prepared my body for labor.  I recommend the book "Exercising Through Your Pregnancy" by James Clapp for everyone.

My favorite part of the birth was seeing them pull Willa out, having her immediately start screaming, and seeing the purplish/gray skin redden as she breathed in the oxygen.  It was so amazing and I loved how loud and quickly she screamed and turned pink. 

There is actually another side to this birth story.  My mom and dad were on a cruise in Panama when I gave birth.  My mom hadn't wanted to go on the cruise, but I assured her that she would be back in time for the birth and that I would probably be overdue anyway, ha ha.  Willa, though, was two weeks early and they were on their cruise, totally incommunicado.  The day Willa was born, my mom and her friends went to a psychic show on the ship.  They had to all write a question on a piece of paper and put it in a bowl.  The psychic drew my mom's question and without even reading it he said, "You will remember this cruise and me because the baby is going to be born today."  My mom laughed it off, but the next day the ship was in port.  She got off the ship and had cell phone reception for just a few minutes.  Her phone beeped and there was a text message with a picture of Willa, but no writing.  She started screaming and everyone around remembered the psychic show from the day before!!  It is still so bizarre.

Here are some photos.  It's so strange right when you have a baby, on one hand you are so excited and happy.  On the other hand, you just want to stuff that baby right back inside of you and pretend that she doesn't exist!  I did NOT want to leave the hospital and was terrified that they were actually sending us home with her.  

First Halloween at two weeks old, I love this photo.

One Month

Two Months

 Three Months

Four Months

 Five Months

Six Months

Seven Months

 Eight Months

Nine Months

Eleven Months

Here are some pictures from her birth day yesterday.  

Morning sleepyhead with dolly:

This was after her shots and she was still able to muster a few smiles (though not many) for me:

Escape Attempt:

Ah, it feels much better to just lay back and relax:

I don't know if you can tell from the photos, but she has really slimmed out since she started crawling.  In these last photos she really is starting to look like a toddler to me.  At her check-up she was in the 50th percentile for both height and weight and had only gained a few ounces since her last appointment three months ago. She is a speedy crawler and I love to see when she really shifts it into a higher gear.  If she is playing in the kitchen and I open the fridge door, she is there lightening-fast.  It makes us laugh every time because she drops what she is doing and books it to the fridge to look inside.  Once she gets there, she says, "Ooooo" in a cute, high voice.  I think the cool air is new for her.

She loves chicken nuggets, but I can also get her to eat a little broccoli, green beans, and peas if I start with those first; trying to figure out something that she will eat is still my most frustrating thing.  She'll try most things, lick them, put them in her mouth, then spit them out and throw them off of her high chair.

She's got a very mad, "OOoonooo" when she doesn't want something.  It sounds like no, but I'm not sure if she's actually got the N.  She babbles mama and dada and I think she knows what they mean, but who really knows.

Having a baby is kind of like getting married.  Before I was married, I thought marriage was a good thing.  My married friends were happy, it seemed like a natural-enough step to take.  After I was married, I can't explain the difference, but life was so much better.  It makes me understand better why Heavenly Father wants us to be married.  It is a better way of life.  I feel the same way about having kids.  Before, it looked good, people seemed happy with their kids.  Since Willa was born, life has been so much richer.  I can't explain it, but I really have more appreciation for Heavenly Father's plan and for His desire to have us marry and have children.  Ryan and I have been so happy with our little Willa and we are excited for the next year!  

Indulge me in some photos of my first born with some of her first birthday gifts.  She has really been well-loved and spoiled.

Enjoying a little blankie from Aunt Donna:

Playing with her new (and first!) Dolly:

Giving Dolly a ride in the stroller/walker:

Yay, look at what a big girl I am!

She did also receive many books.  Here she is reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear which she has owned for a long time and loves very much.  She's looking for her favorite page:

She found it!  "Children, children" is her favorite page.  She will turn the pages until she finds it, then she gets very excited and will sometimes try to lick the children.

Garage Wars and Star Tours

We've been going through quite a Star Wars phase in our household.  It all started while I was in Utah during August and Ryan downloaded a Star Wars video game to the computer.  How could I object?  It seemed like a good thing to keep him entertained while Willa and I were gallivantin' around.

Well, the video game turned into an interest to read some Star Wars books (which we are still judiciously checking out and returning to the library, now in audio format for his commute).  Eventually, Ryan decided that he would like to see all the movies again.  Surely, one ought to have the Star Wars series as a basic part of their movie library; it's like the regular library carrying the encyclopedia or Huckleberry Finn.  I, having never sat through a Star Wars movie without falling asleep, was fine with this.  It would be nice to get some more of the pop culture references.  We weren't too sure about stomaching the money, but we decided looked at Target and Best Buy to price them out; it turned out that we couldn't even find the DVDs to buy.  (We realized later that this was because they were about to come out on Blue Ray.)

This was all during our hot garage-sale pursuit of the perfect changing table.  I had seen a runner-up table at garage sale on my morning run and sent Ryan back to look at it.  He decided that it wouldn't work, but he came back with Episode I on VHS that he bought for 50 cents!  Well, we are cheapskates and this was a perfect deal!  A few days later at Goodwill (again, in pursuit of a changing table) we found a box set for $4!

See here, our VHS Star Wars collection!  It doesn't take a math genius to figure out that Goodwill has some sort of price fixing going on.  I mean, $4 for a box set when I can get one of them at a garage sale for 50 cents?  Sheesh, talk about overpricing!  Still, it was much cheaper than buying it all new so we bit the proverbial bullet and bought it.

Heretofore, we were very happy with our purchases!  We watched them and I stayed awake!  Most of my Star Wars knowledge comes from the Star Wars rap and so often during our watching I would say, "Uh oh, the rap says this!  Does that mean that....?!!"  Ryan and I were shocked at how used to DVDs we have become, the quality of a VHS is so far below a DVD; plus, the previous owners were not kind and did not rewind - the worst!

If you haven't seen the Star Wars rap, watch it here.  Now that I've seen the movies, it's even better! We got Deathstar, We got Deathstar.

Last week I passed another garage sale on my run and you know that I can't pass these things up!
They had a huge baby pool full of DVDs and... LOOK WHAT I FOUND!

 I mean, how could I not grab them up?  They were a dollar each, so four buckaroos total.  I mean, I'm totally fine with paying one dollar for a DVD, but puhlease Goodwill - I will not be fooled by you again into paying that much for a VHS.  I've got standards, you know!

Last night we watched Episode III where Anakin becomes Darth Vader.  That's drama, man!  How could he kill off all those Jedi, even the younglings?  It brings a tear to my eye thinking about it.  I also told Ryan that I enjoyed only having to get two glimpses of Jar Jar Binks' head and zero lines from him.  Ryan retorted that I'm finally able to use up all this Star Wars jargon and trivia that's never had any meaning to me. I have to say that he's right.  Who knows if I find Jar Jar actually that annoying, but everyone says he is and that's good enough for me.

I'll finish up with a quick story about my dad and me at Disneyland.  I was about ten years old and deathly afraid of roller coasters or motion-sick-type rides.  My dad and I were supposed to be meeting up with the rest of the family and I was just following him as he led the way.  We ended up standing in the line at Star Tours, but I didn't know what it was.  I kept asking my dad if this was a ride but he kept telling me that this was the way out, that we had to stand in this line to exit!  Behold my surprise when they led us into a room where we sat down and strapped on safety belts! I realized that he tricked me because HE wanted to ride the ride one more time!!!  Eventually, the line would lead to an exit, but not before we did the ride! In the end, it worked out and I enjoyed the ride (my motion-sick fears have always been more mental than physical), but still - it was so tricky and mean of him!  I think my siblings and I all have stories about my dad telling us something was the only way down, just because he wanted to go that way.  I seem to have a lot of vague skiing memories of going down a slope with snowplow skis, and my dad taking me somewhere way more difficult than I wanted to go by telling me it was the only way down.

Barfo

Yep, it's finally happening.  Senor Barfo has visited Willa and the results were not pretty.  Actually, this post is less about that and more about what a sweet little baby girl she is.  She was such a good girl yesterday and played happily all morning.  After her nap we left to run to the store and she just played and jabbered to herself the whole ride until we pulled into the parking lot.  Then, unexpectedly, there was a whole lot of Blagh, Blagh, ARgh, Argh... You get the idea.  I hurriedly parked and got out to see how she was.  Poor baby must have ralphed up her entire body weight in vomit.  It was truly disgusting and it covered her, the carseat, parts of the car, and pooled in places.  I hurriedly wiped her face and then jumped back in the car to drive home.  Believe me, it smelled pretty bad, too.

She started fussing pretty bad back there, but I started singing to her and she LOVES that.  By the time we got home, she was singing along with me and when I went back to get her, she smiled at me even though there was tons of snot coming out of her nose and she was covered in barf.  She's just a little bit of sunshine.  I'm sure a lot of it was that throwing up finally made her feel better, but even before that she hadn't been fussy at all.  She was a little whiney the rest of the afternoon and I'm home from church with her today (believe me, those kids at church don't want this), but overall she has been so good.  Today we've been visited by rear end of things, if you get my drift, but hopefully it will all be over soon.  I'm not sure how much more of this Ryan can take.  Since my job has been to bathe the baby when this happens, Ryan has done a lot of disgusting fluids clean-up.  

This photo is of her being smiley and cute while Ryan takes apart the carseat and washes the plastic parts outside.  There were pools of vomit on it, so only a complete take-apart and machine wash would do.  The other photo is from a few weeks ago when this busy bee found my phone in her crawling explorations.


Willa turns one this coming Friday.  Approaching the mark has been a little bittersweet for us.  Our lives have certainly been extremely happy and fulfilling with Willa, but it is sad for us to remember how different things were and how much time has passed.  Mainly, we get sad thinking about being in Los Angeles and that it's almost been a year since we moved away. We think about who we would invite for a little birthday party if we were still living there, maybe we would go to the beach or Disneyland.  I miss our birthing classes at the hospital and taking Ryan to get his tonsils out when I was 37 weeks pregnant.  Anyway, life moves on and you have to move with it!

Singing Time Pictures

Sorry for the fuzzy pictures, I'm not quite sure what is causing it except that I'm not very good at taking pictures and Willa is on the move.  Just pretend it's a special effect I've created with Instagram.

I think Willa has attack-camera-itis

One of her favorite things is to crawl very close to other babies, invade their personal space, and stare at them three inches from their face.

Ah yes, the toys

Not minding me and crawling across the room to probably steal another baby's toy

There's just enough structure for little near-toddlers; 10-15 minutes of singing, then playtime.  I'm excited to go again this week.

In other news, we had a really nice weekend listening to General Conference.  I feel like we tried to prepare for it a little more this go-around and we both got a lot out of it.  We also got our plane tickets to go to Dayton for Christmas.  If anyone else will be in this cradle of creativity, let's get together!  There's a Joseph Smith Birthday Party scheduled on December 23rd, you're welcome to come have some Golden Plates cake!