Just Me and My Boys

When a loved one becomes a memory...

2011-12-23T21:54:00.000-08:00

That memory becomes a treasure.
Grandpa received the gift he's been praying for the last nearly 3 years. He passed away and was reunited with his wife. And just in time for Christmas. We are so heartbroken to lose such a sweet, amazing man. But we are all so happy for him, as well. Because we know he is happy.
My brothers and I were blessed to live next to them while growing up. We went over every day. And many times not just once a day. When we were in school we would stop by on our way to school, stop in for lunch, then go after school to their house. They were our second parents. They were married in 1939. On their honeymoon, they went and visited Grandma's twin sister, Fern. They slept outside on army cots, and Grandpa went fishing with Fern's husband, Jack. I have many fond memories of fishing trips with my grandpa. I didn't get to go as often as my brothers. My mom liked to have mommy days with me and my sis when my brothers had daddy days with Dad and Grandpa. But I definitely had my fair share of fishing trips. We loved going in my grandpa's boat out on the lake! And my grandpa was always tickled when the girls would come with him. The last fishing trip I went on was with Grandpa, David (my older bro), and my dad. It was at Strawberry. I caught the biggest fish, and Grandpa giggled and bragged to everyone for at least the next month that I caught the biggest fish. Grandma hated the boat. She used to tell us not to look at the water cause we'd get dizzy and fall in. She was very serious about it! I'll never forget the sound of her gasp whenever a small wake hit the boat and it would rock. My uncle told us of this happening once, and Grandma got mad at Grandpa for rocking the boat. Grandpa said, "I'm just sitting here breathing." Grandma said, "Then stop breathing!" They were the funniest couple ever! Grandma was always very feisty, and Grandpa was always laid back and easy going. She was always hot tempered, and I think my entire life I've seen my grandpa mad once or twice. But they adored each other, and would do anything to make the other happy. When my family moved to Payson, it was very hard on my Grandpa. We went from visiting multiple times a day to once or twice a week. But we still got to visit once or twice a week. If it was ever longer than that, we would walk in, and Grandma would say, "Well, hello there, stranger!" When I got a new job, I'd always call my mom, then my Grandma. I worked in Spanish Fork for 3 years in my twenties. I was there 3-4 days a week. Every day after work I would go to Grandma's house. I would sit first and chat with Grandpa for the first 15-20 minutes, then I'd go visit with Grandma for an hour or more. Grandpa would always come in and join us after a while. At the time I wanted to be a physician. He would come and tell me all about this "lady doctor" he'd seen on tv. Grandma would pull out her quote book and read quotes. They'd both tell stories of growing up in the depression. Whenever it was time to go, Grandma would say, "Be as good as you are. You're good enough, already." Her saying this made us want to do better. We wanted to be as good as she thought we were. I was there when Grandma passed away. I am so grateful I was. My brother, David, saw Grandpa the night before he died. He was able to talk with him, then Grandpa passed away in his sleep. I am so grateful David was able to see him at the very end. David was one of Grandpa's best friends. Even after Grandpa had his stroke, David would take him fishing multiple times every year. He reminds me a lot of Grandpa. His love for his family, his love for fishing, and his love for BYU football and basketball. Our grandparents adored all of their grandkids. We knew they didn't love some more than others. They loved all of us. Family was their life. They are the ultimate example of what I want to be.

This is David and Justin waiting at the cemetery. The funeral was beautiful. David spoke, and represented the grandkids very well. Justin, Alyse, and my mom sang and I accompanied them to a beautiful arrangement of "Sweet Hour of Prayer." Until I heard the arrangement, I thought of the song as just another song in the hymnbook. I had no idea it was so beautiful. It amazes me how simply changing the music to a piece can make it so it touches your soul.

The pallbearers carrying the casket. David and Justin were involved in the funeral, so Michael and Brian were the pallbearers for my family. A few of my other cousins as well, including Jared, the only grandson to carry on Grandpa's name. He drove 20 hours from his home in Illinois with his kids and Christmas to attend Grandpa's funeral. When Jared lived here, it was always David, Jared, and Grandpa that went out fishing together.

I'm sure Grandpa loved that BYU sent this flower arrangement. He worked there for fifteen years. He loved to tell us about the prophets and apostles he met.

Grandpa's beautiful handcarved casket. My cousin's cousin made it. Grandpa always said to just bury him in a pine box, so it was a pine casket.

On second thought, maybe pine wasn't the best. If you look close, you can see the screws on the handle ripped out of the wood. I will never forget the commotion as it ripped off on the way to the hearse, and the casket went falling to the ground. My aunt has the same gasp my grandma had. She cried out, "You dropped my dad!" Most of us started laughing uncontrollably. It brought a lot of humor just when we were all bawling. I figure Grandpa zapped it to make it fall, and Grandma probably smacked him for it:)

It is still so surreal. It hasn't even been a week since I last talked with him. And I hate when the time comes to say goodbye. 95 years of love and warm memories, then just a moment to stand next to the body of one who was so vibrant and loving. I don't want him to be gone. I will miss him so much.

My family was the last to leave the cemetery. I love my family, I love our closeness, and I love that we are all striving to make it back to our Heavenly Father's presence. All of us are very active in the church, and we all have a strong testimony of the gospel. And I love that we do.

So, Grandma and Grandpa, until we meet again. Not really good-bye. Just see ya later. And it is still so hard. No more calling, no more dropping by for a visit. But we have our memories. We have the love you gave to us. And we will never forget it. We will never forget you. Thank you. Thank you for just being you. I love you.

The Big 3-0!

2011-11-28T21:03:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am 30! Okay, I actually turned 30 a couple months ago, just way slow to blog! Some have a hard time with this age. I am happy to say I am not one of them! I never really understood the problem with getting older. I love my age, and I love the experiences my life has brought me. The last bad birthday I had was when I turned 20. I worked 6am-6pm 2 days in a row as a cna at the hospital, then had clinicals for nursing school the day prior 6am-6pm, and had more clinicals that day, still 6am-6pm. The nurse I went with was mad at me. We were doing same day surgery and PACU, and our instructors told us to change into PACU scrubs right when we got to the hospital. The nurse I followed was angry I did this. When I got there, she had me sit in a chair and had the other nursing student (who did not dress in PACU scrubs) do everything. I had to sit and watch. I sat for two hours, then my nursing instructor came to check on me. She lectured the other nursing student about listening to her instructions, and made her immediately go change into the correct scrubs. At this point, the nurse I was following realized I was really supposed to be in the scrubs I was in. She then let me start helping out with patients, but I sure didn't like her! I went to my parents that night, and everyone was gone until ten. It was miserable. The following day I decided I wouldn't let anything ever ruin my birthday again. And every birthday since has been fantastic! I have the perfect life! I have the sweetest husband, the cutest little boys, and an adorable dog! What more could I possibly ask for:) Now prepare for lots of pics. If you don't get through them all, I don't blame you, but I sure think they're cute!

Matt got me a snow cone maker for my birthday. First flavor we tried? Tiger's blood of course:)

Matt threw me a surprise birthday party at my very favorite restaurant, Brick Oven:)

Best part of getting older is that my kids and nieces now blow out my candles. I always laugh so hard, I can't blow them out!

One of my favorite pics ever!

Chillin' with the boys

Josh loves feeding the ducks at my dad's work

Matt's fall softball team with my grandpa. All but 2 are my relatives:)

My mom helped me bottle peaches this year

Josh loves playing with Grandpa Wood!

My little computer buddy

My parents went to Disneyland and brought Josh some mouse ears. He loved them!

Gotta love going for walks!

Waiting on our hayride to the pumpkin patch

It was a cute little place, and Josh loved the hayride over!

BATTLE!

Had to dress up for the ward Halloween party, since my cute Young Women were in charge of it:)

Josh dressed up as a Gogan (if you don't know, watch Pete's Dragon), and Anthony was my little Tigger:)

So anxious to get to the next house, he kept running ahead

Nothing like a bunch of two-year-olds trying to eat donuts with no hands!

My bro works at Adobe, and they always have the BEST Halloween stuff! Justin's department did a Harry Potter theme, thus the costume.

Josh and his cousins, Kaitlin and Savannah, waiting in the funnest line ever! There was a live band, amazing costumes, a yo yo man, and people making balloon animals for the kids!

Still the coolest line ever! Josh pet this disgusting creature! I hid from it! They also had a boa constrictor you could pet. It was pretty neat!

I made Josh get a picture in front of the Cars display, but he saw the candy and was trying with all his might to get to it! My bro got better pictures. I gave up trying as I was struggling with this little handful! By the end, I had to put the candy Josh grabbed back, because his bucket was overflowing!

My bro, Mike, was Battle-cat, Josh was He-man

They then switched so Mike was He-man and Josh Battle-cat:)

My baby

The fam

Poor Josh got so sick! Threw up one day, high fevers the next, woke up with this face the next day. His eye swells like this with his allergies on occasion, but he also was coming down with a cold. The day after, he got a cold sore on his lip, then it spread and blistered across his whole face! Still had the cold, and kept picking at his nose, and a week later ended up with impetigo! Poor kid!

This is how bad his face looked on the very worst day

Splash time!

Best thing about the fall. FOOTBALL!

Leaf fight!

Watching the snow

Anthony isn't a snuggler, so this is a rare pic!

My litte bro, Brian, helping Josh make a candy turkey after Thanksgiving dinner

The kids were playing on the tramp. I went out to take a picture, so Kaitlin posed. Josh and Savannah were quick to follow!

My sweet 95 year old Grandpa! Love him so much!

Matt went to put Anthony down for a nap. He was gone for a while, so I went and checked on him. Yeah, sure, put the baby down for a nap!

Christmas tree hunting the day after Thanksgiving. Anthony had fun until his face got cold!

I sure married a hottie!

My parents annual Christmas bush!

We like it bushy, too, but have to keep it within reason so it fits in our house:)

Putting up the tree. Of course, we don't have any pictures of it up yet!

Josh fell asleep a couple hours before bed. We didn't want to be up all night, so we made him walk downstairs. Apparently he was really tired, cause he took a few steps, then collapsed like this! Good thing Matt was holding him!

My boys, great buddies (sometimes)!

Time for bed! Good night!

Summer's End

2011-09-01T12:06:00.000-07:00

I hate when summer ends. Don't know why. No one here is in school(thank heavens). We can really pick and choose when to go on vacation, and I usually prefer going in the fall when it's a little bit cooler. And summer is so blasted hot! But I still hate when summer ends. It's been a fun year! Josh has loved swimming in our little pool in the backyard. He loves the outdoors, but struggles with the heat. He will play baseball and "run the bases" in the backyard a few times, then he'll throw his hat off and toss his bat and say, "It's too hot!" Anthony is becoming a little chatterbox! I think he may be teething. His gums are swollen and he is so fussy! He's making up for being a perfect angel his first three months. But I adore the little guy, and love him so much! I am loving not going to work! I think my hubby is loving me not going to work as well. I'm much happier with life! I love my new calling in Young Women's. I'm over the Beehives, and they are the cutest, sweetest girls! I also love the women I serve with. They are so on the ball, and I'm so glad I'm not president over the Young Women:) My Grandpa turned 95 this year! He misses Grandma so much, I know it's been such a trial for him. Grandma died 2 1/2 years ago! I think my whole family finds solace visiting her grave. My mom and her sisters make certain it always looks beautiful. I love going now and again to just reminisce about the amazing times together. And I love spending time with my most amazing husband. He's always doing such sweet things like dropping my kids off at our parents and taking me to a movie, buying flowers, etc. What would I ever do without my sweetheart? I won't even think about it. No more blabbing, now just summer pics:)

Isn't he the cutest thing?

And isn't Josh the other cutest little thing:)

Anthony loves going on walks with his big bro.

Gotta love $2 Tuesday at the Dinosaur Museum!

Josh was excited to get to touch one of the dinosaurs.

Matt and his boys.

I know, I look way too chipper when a shark is about to eat me!

My boy is getting to be a chunky monkey:)

Giz worn out from a long day of running away from Josh!

Way back when on July 4th. We got Josh out of bed early to watch for the jets.

Fathers and sons camp out. Very disappointed cause we lost pics of Anthony camping with us at the ward camp out! At least we found the ones of Josh!

Josh kept Matt up till 2:AM! He loved the lantern!

Boating in Mona. We were the only people on the reservoir!

Matt showing off his mad skills!

Matt took Josh out on the tube. I thought Josh would freak, but he hopped right on!

Josh crashed on the boat. Matt loved snuggling with him.

Matt crashed at my parent's. Anthony loved snuggling with him:)

What is summer without the zoo? I thought Josh would pick the tiger to ride on. Nope. The panda! A boy after my own heart:)

A very dark pic of me and Anthony with the mama and baby elephants. Matt's idea!

Terror when faced with a water-squirting dinosaur!

He did much better with this one. He said, "Hi T-Rex!" Then, made Matt hold him, a bit nervous.

Josh with his cuz, Kyle. Whenever we go to see Kyle, Josh now says, "I'm so excited!"

Matt and Josh at Thanksgiving Point. Still gotta love $2 Tuesday!

Me and my handsome hubby:)

Had to get a pic of just me and my baby. Don't you love the flowers?

My Josh

My Anthony

"Bye, Mommy!"

2011-07-31T22:48:00.000-07:00

Two simple words that changed the course of my life. Anthony is three months old. Quite the milestone. He is past the colicky stage-though he didn't really have one; sleeping through the night; and, if he gets a fever, he no longer requires a lumbar puncture to rule out sepsis in a newborn. It also means the end of my maternity leave. My first scheduled day was Saturday. I dreaded it as it came closer. I love being a peds nurse, but I love more being a mom. Friday night I put Anthony to bed. He looked so sweet, so innocent, so perfect. I caressed his face as he slept, and told him I was going to work the next day. I know he doesn't understand, but I still had to explain why Mom wouldn't be there for him. I then went in to put Josh to bed. I said to him, "Josh, I won't be here tomorrow. I have to go to work. You get to spend the day with Dad." He gave me a big pouty face and said, "Bye, Mommy!" Tears were in his voice, and it broke my heart. I left him in his room and turned to Matt. "I can't do this anymore. I can't leave my babies!" Matt gave me a hug and told me, "That's fine. Quit your job." "When?" "How about Monday?" I was a bit in shock as I said, "Okay, I will." I have had so many doubts since then. How are we going to pay for the continuing education credits to keep my license? How will we come up with the money for car registration, new tires, medical expenses, even the gas in my car! We've used my money for all of this. But I know it is the right decision. The knowledge of it burns within my soul. I know the Lord wants me at this time to stay home with my boys. I don't know how we will come up with the money, but we will find a way. We just have to have faith that the Lord will provide, and go from there.

It may sound silly to some when I say it is changing the course of my life. I only worked two days a month, but I have been a nurse for ten years. I worked so hard to get where I am today. It has always been a major defining part of my life. I was twenty years old when I started working as a nurse! I have always prided myself on my skills. And I'm now cutting the last ties I have to my profession. I will miss my hospital, I will miss my coworkers, I will especially miss the cute little kiddos I took care of. I will miss the feeling I get when I help a child get better. And, prideful as it is, I will miss the pediatricians telling me what a great nurse I am. But I now get to spend all my time with my family, and working to make our life at home as great as my life was growing up. The greatest gift my mom gave me was to always be there for me, and now I can do the same for my children.

Chasing Birds and Anthony's Blessing

2011-07-10T19:42:00.000-07:00

I remember when I first got married how important my job was to me. I loved being a nurse, and I don't mind saying I was a pretty awesome peds nurse. I absolutely loved taking care of the kids. I always came home happy. Kids do that to me. They make me so happy. I'm so grateful for that time in my life, and all I learned. I still love being a nurse, and love even more that I rarely have to go in to work. It makes me sad that I have less than a month now before I have to start leaving my boys, even though it is really only twice a month. Now, my favorite thing to do is chase birds with my boys. It is really Josh that chases, as I carry little Anthony behind and encourage Josh. He never catches them, of course, then runs back to where I follow. He is breathless as he gasps, "Chase the birds! They flew away!" I love it! He is so cute and sweet, and such a little handful! We're in the process of potty training Josh right now. He has his good days, and his very defiant days. Those are the days when Matt gets home and I hand the boys over and take a bath! But I absolutely love being a mom. It is a bit scary, looking at the responsibility involved in raising a child. Making sure physical, emotional, and spiritual needs are met. Hopefully, I will do a decent job raising these sweet spirits the Lord has entrusted in my care. If you look at the background of the top pic, you can see the birds Josh is chasing, as he waves his hands in the air and screams. I'm so glad I got the picture!
I should add a bit about my little Anthony. Lately he's been going to bed around 10 or 11, then sleeps till 6:30 or 7. It is quite nice! I wish he'd go back to sleep after I feed him, but he is up for a couple of hours, then goes to sleep right around when Josh gets up. I hope to someday get to sleep in again! He is the happiest baby! He has a cute little giggle, loves to talk, and he sticks his tongue out when he smiles. It is so fun having him in our family!

Anthony the day of his baby blessing, June 12th. It was a perfect day, not too hot or cold. We held it at our house, just having a bishopric member come over. It was a beautiful blessing, perfect for my beautiful little baby!

Had to get the brothers in a picture. Josh's face is a mess from all the treats he ate!

Little mischief maker kept pouring water into a cup then dumping it out all over the patio and grass. Fortunately, little got in the house!

We decided to try and get a family picture since we were all dressed up. First, we wanted one in the house.

We decided the backyard was a pretty place for a pic, so took the camera outside. Anthony was starting to fuss, Josh was looking in the grass for bugs, and Matt and I were laughing in absolute frustration!

Best pic we could get. Josh totally cheesed it, Anthony was crying like crazy. But that's kinda how life is now, so the picture fits!

We've done a lot of yard work lately, so we borrowed my awesome bro's truck to take everything to the dump. Josh thought it was the coolest thing ever riding in a truck to the dump, then crashed on the way home after the 3rd trip to the dump. Thanks again, Dave and Tami!

Josh loves running through the sprinklers. His favorite part of it is chasing me!

Anthony smiling while I talk to him. I have better ones, but they are not on the computer yet, and I'm too lazy to get the camera out right now:)

Josh sometimes doesn't like to go to bed, and crashes next to the door cause he likes to look under and try to see us.

We took the kids to the park to fly a kite.

I love this one of Matt and Anthony. Matt loves to hold him like this and play with him, and Anthony always gives him good grins and giggles!

Josh's smile here reminds me of a picture of me when I was younger. It's nice to occasionally see glimpses of me in my husband's clone!

Happy Memorial Day!

2011-05-30T20:01:00.000-07:00

I was debating whether or not it was appropriate to write my Happy Memorial Day title of my blog, but then, when talking with my cute hubby, we both decided it really is a happy day. It provides an excuse to reminisce about lost loved ones. I love going to the cemetery. I find it very peaceful. I know that one reason I love going is it brings back very fond memories. My grandpa used to go for walks every day. My brothers and I lived a block away from my grandparents while growing up. We always wanted to go on these walks with him, and, of course, the very best place to walk was Spanish Fork Cemetery. We spent so much time there! I have been very blessed in my life not to lose many loved ones until recently. We would visit the graves of Grandma and Grandpa's family, all of whom died before I was even born. It was very hard losing my grandma. She was one of my 3 best friends (my mom and sis being the other 2). She was a second mother to me. When I lived in Spanish Fork, my brothers and I would go to her house before school, after school, after church, and pretty much whenever our mom would let us. She was always excited to see us. We always felt welcome, and she always had candy for us in her apron pockets. She played the organ at church on Sundays. We would take turns sitting at the organ next to Grandma. If we played the keys we had to sit back on the bench. I don't think any of us made it an entire sacrament meeting without sneaking a note or two on the organ. I miss her so much. It has been 2 years since she passed away. I was blessed to be with her when she died. It was a horrible experience knowing she was leaving, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I wanted to take my Anthony to the cemetery to introduce them. I know, it's silly. It's a grave, she's not there, and I'm sure Anthony still gets to see her. But I wanted to introduce them anyway:)

The introduction to Grandma Wood (Matt was a bit sneaky taking some pics).

Josh loved the decorations at the grave.

After the cemetery, I took Anthony to meet Grandpa Wood. He was sick after Anthony was born, and just barely is getting over it, so I just barely got to take my baby to meet him. Grandpa was tickled that I stopped at the cemetery first. It made his day:)

Backtracking to the hospital. This is the day I went home, and the flowers Matt bought me.

My mom finished making this quilt the day Anthony was born. She brought it to the hospital to make sure we had it when we got home. I wanted monsters on his blanket because he was so active, I thought for certain he was going to be a monster baby! I was very wrong! He is the happiest, most content baby ever! He almost never fusses! It is wonderful! Now if we could just get him sleeping:)

Josh is such a little helper! He has to mow the lawn with Matt every week. He loves his little lawnmower, and even parks it in the garage next to our real lawnmower.

We got home the day before Easter. Josh had so much fun finding candy, then wanted his picture taken with "Josh's baby," as he calls the baby.

Family movie night on the bed. We always watch Scooby Doo, because it is Josh's favorite cartoon in the entire world at the moment:)

My little sis jumping on the trampoline with Josh. He loves to jump!

Gizmo doesn't mind the baby so far. The baby never pulls his fur!

We took Josh to Pirate Island. They have lights that flash on and off in the trees and look like fireflies. Josh got so excited when he saw them!

Josh takes shooting guns very seriously!

Josh adores his little brother! The biggest problem I have is trying not to let Josh suffocate the poor kid! He never leaves him alone! But I'm good as long as he loves his little bro:)

Josh wanted to be swaddled just like baby

My sleeping angels

Josh loves to dance to the musice when I play the piano.

My cute little baby.

Josh's cousin, Kyle, came to visit after the baby was born. They had a lot of fun chasing, shooting, and rolling around on the floor.

Josh loves holding the baby.

I love Anthony's facial expressions. He's starting to give some good smiles. Hopefully we'll eventually be able to catch one on camera!

Josh playing peek-a-boo through Grandma's legs.

Matt pruned our tree, and Josh had to climb the tree, just like daddy!

My baby is nearly 6 weeks old now! He is growing so fast! Starting to get some nice rolls in his legs, and cute little chubby cheeks!

I hope all of you enjoyed your Memorial Day as much as I did!

Anthony David Carlson

2011-04-22T10:38:00.000-07:00

Well, my baby is here! I'm so excited and happy:) I wasn't going to blog until I got out of the hospital, but now I'm just sitting all day on a Friday, I don't go home till tomorrow, and Anthony is just snoozing on my lap. So here it is!
I wanted so bad to go into labor last Friday so I wouldn't have to work. I walked and walked for hours, I was working out all week that week,and I would clean and clean. Nothing. But Sunday after work I started contracting a ton. Well, I didn't want to have the baby that day. I talked with Matt and we both thought Tuesday or Wednesday would be ideal. I told Matt the perfect day would be Wednesday around 6, because then he could work the next day and Friday, then get to spend the weekend, entire week, and another weekend with me! I didn't want him to waste his days off with me in the hospital. So Monday rolled around, and all contractions stopped. Completely. I walked for 4 hours that day, did an hour long workout, and nothing! Tuesday came, I walked another 3 hours that day, and still nothing! It appeared I would not have my boy till the scheduled day on Saturday. I was on the phone with my mom, and told her I was way too stressed out! Instead of doing a hard core workout that night, I did yoga. I didn't clean anything. I sat and relaxed and enjoyed a movie with my sweet husband. Then I didn't get any sleep that night because I started contracting. It was sporadic, but they were getting more painful. Wednesday was a great day! My doctor appointment wasn't till afternoon and would ruin my whole day, but they called and asked if I would come within the hour. Oh, yeah! Rushed to get Josh and me ready, then left (both of us looked pretty rough, no hair done, but we were in a hurry!). I told the doctor I was contracting a lot more, and he offered to check my cervix. No thanks! With Josh, I never made it past a 3, so I saw no point. Dr. Bean told me if I started having contractions every 5 minutes or more for 2 hours, to go to labor and delivery because I was high risk since my c-section. They started the second I left the office. I drove over to visit with my mom, and my contractions were not slowing down, just getting more intense. So I left Josh with my mom and headed to the hospital. I gave Matt a heads up, but told him not to leave work unless I called. He asked if he could tell his family. NO!!! There was to be not one person other than my mom to know what I was doing until I knew for sure what exactly was going to happen. I know it's silly, but at the time it was very important! I got to the hospital around 1:30. They checked me "to make sure I hadn't progressed to a 5." I was a 1. I had to giggle at that! They watched me for an hour and saw I was contracting. They weren't horribly painful, still pretty short, but very consistent. My doctor was doing another c-section, so he said they'd monitor me till he was done and if I was still contracting, they'd take my boy out. My nurse said it would go pretty fast once they decided, so she recommended having Matt come right away. Matt asked again if he could tell his family. NO!!! You see, I still didn't know what was going on. I gave my mom the same orders, that no one was to know until I knew for sure. So Matt came, then the doctor a half hour later. Baby time! Yes, Matt, now you can tell your family, and yes, mom, you can tell everyone as well. I didn't call anyone, just sent out a mass text to my bros and a couple of friends. Now, I was expecting an hour or two after they said it was a go, but no one counted on my IV difficulty. I had to have a full bag of fluid before they would do the spinal. It was a positional IV, though, and it took nearly 2 hours to get the bag in. They brought me back around 5:30 give or take. I kind of feel bad about kicking a nurse in the OR. She was so sweet holding my hands while I got the spinal-Matt was getting his OR outfit on. I felt the buzz in my leg and it kicked straight out! She thought it was funny, and I didn't kick too hard, but I still feel bad! Now, as I went numb, I started worrying about the spinal not working and having severe pain as they cut me open. It happened to my mom, I didn't just pull the thought out of a hat. My pulse was in the 150's, I was so nervous! Matt walked in, and the anesthesiologist said, "Wow, you must have quite the calming influence! The second you walked in her pulse went down to 100!" Matt has been strutting ever since! He now thinks he is the best thing to hit earth! But I think he is too, so I won't complain:) I felt no pain during the procedure. In fact, it felt really funny, because I could tell some things they were doing, and could feel all the tugging and pulling, it just didn't hurt! I was wide awake for the whole thing this time, and will never forget my little Anthony's first cry! They lifted him high above the drape so I could take a peak before he was whisked off to get cleaned up. I then found out it was very good they decided to delver him when they did, because there was meconium in the amniotic fluid. They checked his vocal cords, though, and it didn't appear he'd got any in his lungs, thank goodness! I know it's pretty common for the baby to get distressed and have meconium, but you still can't help but worry some! I listened as they shouted out his birth weight and height, then went on about how cute and tiny he was. 6lb 7oz, 18 inches! Born at 6:01 PM. All of my family guessed around the 6 lb 5oz to 6lb 9 oz range. Matt guessed 7lb 1oz-sorry hubby:) My final guess was 6lb 6oz, so I was fairly close. I decided on that one because even though he felt huge, I didn't get huge. So now I have a baby with hair, and he's a cute little thing and a good little nurser, and the poor kid was just circumcised, so now he's pretty miserable! So sorry about the insanely long post, but I didn't want to forget things when I get around to writing it in my journal. I'll just leave some pics for now!

The day before I had Anthony: 38 weeks and 3 days

Admitted to the hospital and waiting nervously to go to the OR

He's here! He had a good little cry, and had little old man wrinkles all over his forehead!

Wrinkles disappearing, starting to relax as they listen to his heart.

Chillin' in the basinette, waiting for Mom to recover from the c-section and meet him in mother/baby

The first time I got to hold my new little guy! I got to give him a little kiss on the forehead in the OR, but my arms were stretched out on the boards to the table, so I didn't get to touch him until I was finished with surgery.

Our new family (minus our Gizmo). Can you believe how much bigger Josh is than our little Anthony? Crazy!!!

My favorite boys

Josh was so excited to help hold his little brother! He went right up and pet his face, saying,"Baby!"

Josh gave Anthony a kiss on the head before saying, "Bye, Anthony!" He was anxious to get to my mom's to have a sleepover with Alyse:)

After visitors left, Matt got to have some alone time with his boy. Matt is truly a proud Daddy:)

And I got a bit of alone time too, snuggling my little man while I burped him. I love how he curls up! He wouldn't nurse unless I removed all his blankets. He eats, then cries till he's swaddled again:)

So this is our new family, and I can't even begin to say how happy I am!

He's here!

2011-04-21T07:19:00.000-07:00

Anthony David Carlson
Born April 20, 2011
6lbs 7oz, 18 inches
6:01 PM

Just letting you know the basic stats! I'll post pics when I get out of the hospital, but all is well, and he is just a sweet baby! I'm so happy he's finally here!

Winter Fun

2011-02-19T14:20:00.000-08:00

I'm now 30 weeks pregnant. It has flown past! I'm getting nervous about getting everything done before this little guy comes, though I'm excited to have him here, and I am so glad Josh can have a little brother. I'm fortunate to have another few shifts at work. It's going to be difficult to not have that extra money for 3 months, but with tax returns, we should have money to get us through my time off. I'm not willing to give up those 3 months, and the Lord seems to always know exactly how much money we will need to get by and helps us through. It is funny though, whenever we think we will have some extra, something comes up so we don't get it. I'm also really not looking forward to another surgery. I've been starting to walk Josh everywhere, even when he wants me to pick him up, just to get him used to my not carrying him for 6 weeks. That was the most difficult part after my last surgery, and he resented me for it. I fully expect him to feel the same way with this one, especially when I'll be carrying the baby, but I guess in the overall scheme of things 6 weeks is just a short moment. Oh, well, not a whole lot more to write. I guess I'll just now leave some pics of some of our winter activities. It's been a nice winter:)

Our finally finished bedroom. Pic is a bit blurry, but Josh loved posing and saying, "Cheese!"

Our "Big Helper" assisting his dad in moving furniture back into our bedroom.

Our first family snowman. We didn't have boots for poor Josh yet, so we put plastic bags over his feet. He kept falling, so he made us hold his hand whenever he'd walk in the snow:)

Josh loved helping Matt shovel the driveway. He found a small board in the garage, and decided it was to be his very own snow shovel!

Whenever we leave my mom's house, Grandma always has to give Josh ice cream. She ran out once, so she stole Brian's (my little bro) own ice cream. Josh loved it, and fell asleep on the drive home thoroughly satisfied:)

My handsome boys

Me and my sweet boy

This is my Grandma's grave decorated for Christmas. We drove through the cemetery on Christmas Eve to visit, and it was so beautiful! There were so many lights and lanterns, and someone even managed to make their own flying lantern! It was really neat, and I was amazed by how many people there were!

Josh loved the tree! He frequently pulled decorations off and piled them under the tree:)

Josh feels the same way as I do about Santa. SCARY!

Josh is a natural at attacking pinatas

Had to show off the other babies my soon to be born boy's age. This is cute little McKenna.

The other cute newbie, Justin Thomas

Josh loves to litterally run in circles around the house! This is him at my mom's.

Christmas morning

We were very surprised that as soon as Josh pulled his sword out of his stocking, he immediately went swinging at Matt. I don't know where he learned it, but I would guess my brothers are the culprits.

Josh loves airplanes, and it took us forever to find this one, but Josh's reaction was worth the weeks of searching!

Josh sitting with his cuz, Kyle, watching a movie. Josh lasted all of a minute, then he was off.

Gotta take the family Christmas pic!

Josh's big boy bed. He did fall out of it after a little over a month. I heard a thud, followed by "Ouch!" Matt ran in and Josh was still so sleepy, Matt just gave him a big hug and tucked him back in. He was out like a light!

I Love My Life!

2010-12-27T14:21:00.000-08:00

I have the most wonderful life! My husband is so wonderful, and my boy is so sweet, and I am so excited and blessed to have another little boy on the way. I never dreamed after it was so easy to get pregnant with Josh, that it would take us nearly a year to have a viable pregnancy. Our struggles this year have brought Matt and I closer together, as do all trials and joys of life. I am so grateful to have such a loving supportive husband. I am so glad I did not settle for a lesser man just to get married younger. I had a blast all my single years, I have done things many people only get to dream of, and I am having just as much fun now that I have my husband to share my dreams with. I also am having the easiest pregnancy I could have ever dreamed (knock on wood)! I had some nausea that went away at 14 weeks, and only threw up 3 times! I felt my baby move before I was even 11 weeks pregnant, and I don't think he ever sleeps! The ultrasound showed normal anatomy, but the way he moves I can't help but wonder if they missed an extra arm or leg somewhere:) And I also think it is great I'm not nearly as big as I was when I was pregnant with Josh. I know, totally vain, but I have always been rather vain:) And I figure I better enjoy it, because I don't plan on having another ectopic pregnancy causing me to lose an instant ten pounds again! I'll just have to live with being large after this baby for the rest of my life. Or until I'm done having kids and have all the fat sucked out of me:) Now enough blabbing and I'll just show off my cute fam:)

We went up to the canyon to enjoy my birthday this fall and took some pictures. Josh with his best friend, Giz with his worst enemy:)

Matt bought me flowers for my birthday. He uses all holidays to buy me flowers, and then if it's been a while he loves surprising me with them as well!

My cute little Scooby-Doo for Halloween. The hat did not go over big unless we told him to say, "Cheese."

Matt is so happy he could cry with what a football and BYU lover our little guy is! Josh never wants to put down his football, and now sleeps with it every night!

We had our own little Thanksgiving dinner this year. It was so much fun cooking it together, though the turkey took a solid 6 hours to cook!

I'm too lazy to fix this pic, but this is me at 16 weeks. I definitely have a pooch now, but it sure was great not having it for a while:)

Our bedroom in the process of being fixed up. We started the end of June, and finished in December, but it was totally worth the amount of time it took! I'll post pics next time I blog of the finished product.

Last, but definitely not least, I finally got my piano. A tall upright, just like I have always wanted. I also always wanted it in black, because I have very fond memories of my Grandma's black tall upright, and she was such a gifted pianist! It makes me feel close to her, especially since she passed away over a year and a half ago. Miss her much!!!

Summer is Flying Past!

2010-08-19T12:21:00.000-07:00

How is it already August? I cannot believe how fast this summer has flown by! I know I haven't blogged in a while, so I guess I should add that I am doing very well now. It has been so wonderful feeling good! After my surgery I got an infection in the incision, so that put me back initially. After that everything went well.I spent one week at my parents. Thank goodness they live so close! I couldn't have taken care of my sweet little boy. My mom has had many surgeries, so she taught me a few tricks for when I was alone my own house. I wasn't able to lift Josh for a month, so she showed me how to help him climb out of the crib and up to the high chair. My little boy wasn't happy with me for never picking him up, but he got over it rather quickly once I was able to lift him again.
The rest of the summer has been great! We went on a family vacation to Yellowstone, and had a blast! Matt and I loved the bears, and Josh never got tired of seeing bison. We got a little fishing in, not that we caught anything. It was my first fishing of the season. I really need to get my bro to take me out on the boat. Strawberry is my very favorite place to fish.
We also were able to go to the zoo. Josh loved it, of course. We have discovered since then that in Joshua's mind, Petsmart is every bit as fun as the zoo. And much cheaper! Matt and I went boating with my brother, Michael. Mike told us how bad he was at wake boarding, then proceeded to do tricks I could never even dream of doing! I guess that's not saying much since I can't even get up on water skis!
Matt and I have been fixing up our bedroom this last month. As soon as its done I'll post pics. I'm so excited for it! Until then, we have our bed on the floor of the basement. Well, guess I'll finish by posting some pics. I haven't downloaded our Yellowstone trip yet, so I'll try and do those pictures fairly soon.

Walking home from 4th of July parade

Josh loves helping when we do yard work

Matt sharing a snow cone at a Real Soccer game. Matt loves soccer, and Josh loved doing the wave!

My "big helper" took out all his wipes, diapers, and brought his toys and began stacking everything!

I love rocking with Josh in our rocker before bed.

Josh's first fishing trip at Strawberry

Josh's permanent pose while at the zoo

Josh and his daddy love the tigers!

Going on a picnic

We went to the Manti Pageant this year. Josh was good for the first hour, then we left and beat all the traffic.

My handsome little boy now loves combing his hair.

Josh helping Matt fix up our closet.

This is our temporary bedroom in the basement

I checked on Josh during his nap and found this. Don't worry, after I snapped the picture, I uncovered his head!

3 pregnancies, 1 baby

2010-05-29T22:58:00.000-07:00

I'm very grateful my first pregnancy went well. I have a sweet little boy, and adore him! Never did I dream that in February I would find out my baby had no heart beat at 9 weeks, that I would undergo a d&c, then get pneumonia at the same time. It has now been 3 months. Just yesterday I was in the shower, when suddenly I doubled over in pain. It was literally that quick. I didn't even have the strength to get dressed. I just crawled out of the shower and onto my bed. Thank heavens Josh was asleep!!! I grabbed my phone and called my husband. I begged him to come home right away, that something was wrong with me. He made it home through memorial day traffic in 40 minutes from Salt Lake. When he got home, Joshua was just waking up. Matt helped me to the bathroom, but I couldn't stay up long. Everything was going dark, I could see spots before my eyes, and sounds were becoming muffled. I lay down on the bathroom floor, and Matt got a pillow for my head. He then went to find me some clothes so he could take me to the emergency room. I tried to sit up again, but got so sick to my stomach and everything went black again. Matt had to carry me to the car. The pain in my stomach was excruciating! At the hospital, I had Matt go in and ask for a stretcher. They brought out a wheelchair. Matt picked me up and put me in the wheelchair, where I did my best to lay sideways. The triage nurse took me in to get my vital signs and ask admit questions. I don't remember much of what she asked. Since I was sitting up sounds were all muffled, and my ears were ringing. All I could see was dark spots in front of my eyes. I just kept begging her to let me lie down. The pain was unbearable, and I felt like I was dying. My blood pressure was too low to register. Finally, they wheeled me into the back and let me lie down. It was still very painful, but as long as I lay on my right side, I wasn't sick or passing out. My blood pressure was reading 60/40's consistently. The EMT kept saying that he was sure it wasn't an accurate blood pressure, but they wouldn't let me get any pain medicine unless they got a higher reading. They kept making me turn to my back, but it hurt so bad I always rolled back to my right side. Finally, they had one reading of 100's/60's, and gave me pain medicine. After this it went right back down to 60/40's. An ultrasound tech came and took me for an ultrasound. He kept pressing on my stomach, and it killed every time he did. I asked if he saw anything. "I'm not allowed to tell you what I see." I can't get upset with him for this. I work at a hospital, and know that technically you are not allowed to diagnose or read reports, it must be the physician that does this. He did say that it answered a lot of questions. They called my OB, and soon I was going back to surgery. Dr Bean told me he believed it was an ectopic pregnancy, and my tube had ruptured. He said he would probably open me up to do surgery, but may be able to do just laproscopic surgery. They never gave me any more pain medicine because my blood pressure then was staying 50-60/30-40. Finally, I was put out for surgery, and had never been so grateful in my life! No more pain! When I came around after surgery, I was receiving my 2nd unit of blood. My family was there, and it was wonderful to see them! My parents took Josh for the night, and Matt slept in the room with me. I have now had a total of 3 units of blood, but my hematocrit is still going down. It is currently 24.7, so I'll have it redrawn in the morning. For now, I'll try to rest, but it really sucks! 3 pregnancies, and 1 baby! But at least I have the most adorable little boy. And the doctor told me my other ovary looks just fine, so he doesn't think I'll have problems getting pregnant again. I pray so, though I think I'll give myself a few months before trying again!!!

One Year!

2010-04-30T14:58:00.000-07:00

Okay, Joshua is actually 13 months now. But wow! The last year just flew. We had a fun little birthday get together. I made a cake for Josh-of which I am very proud! I am not a creative person, but it was a lot of fun making it! Matt and I had our families over to celebrate, and it turned out to be a great day!

It is amazing how time flies so fast! Its been a very difficult year for my family. In one year we lost one of my best friends-my grandma, my aunt passed away, my nephew, and I lost my unborn baby. I like to think all of this tragedy has brought us closer together as a family. These losses help remind me how important family is, and how grateful I am to have an eternal perspective on life after death. I'm so blessed to have such an amazing husband and a cute little boy. I'm so grateful for my parents, my brothers and their wives, and my sister. I'm also one of the lucky few that has wonderful in-laws. Matt's parents and siblings remind me a lot of my own.

I don't want everyone thinking this whole year was just awful. It's been good in ways. My brother was sealed in the temple to his wife, and the sealer did an incredible job! I have 4 nieces and/or nephews that will be born by the end of this year. My little boy is walking and talking, and just being cute all the time:) Matt and I were sitting on the couch, and Josh was in the window crawling along the back of the couch above us. All of a sudden he started giggling like crazy. A second later he rolled off the back of the couch on top of us. I am loving being a mom!
And hopefully before too long I can join my throngs of pregnant sisters-in-law:) I'll end with just a few pic's from recent months.

Josh loves feeding his daddy.

Showing off his newly acquired walking skills.

My cute little brother, Justin, and his beautiful wife, Stephanie. They were sealed at Mt. Timpanogos Temple March 20, 2010. My parents are next to them.

Hanging out at the temple for pictures. My cute little sis, Alyse, watched Josh while we were at the temple.

Josh discovered the paper shredder. To his delight, we hadn't emptied the paper yet!

This is Josh's favorite place to play while I do my hair and put on make-up.

Matt and I discovered a delicious new late night snack. French bread dipped in oil and vinegar. We now are usually stocked on french bread!

I ran upstairs for a bathroom break, and Josh discovered I forgot to tie the pantry shut!

My cute husbands 34th birthday. I think our smoke detector batteries may be dead, because it didn't go off:)

Family Fun:)

2010-01-20T15:03:00.000-08:00

Overall, it has been a great couple of months. We had a nice Christmas. Matt and I spent way too much on Christmas. I rationalize it because we scrimped and saved the whole rest of the year, so we blew every dime of Matt's Christmas bonus on presents. And, to my delight, I was called off on Christmas Day:) It was difficult, this being the first year without Grandma, but Matt was so sweet and drove me to the cemetery to visit her grave. I know she isn't there, that it is just her body, but I felt close to her being there anyway. I had a nice little chat while Matt and Josh waited in the car. As I was about to leave, a pinwheel that decorated her grave began to spin. I like to think it was my Grandma just saying "Hi."
Josh is still just the sweetest little boy, but into everything. I love watching him shake his toys at the dog to try and get Gizmo to chase them. He loves the sesame street music cd I bought him. He starts to dance whenever it comes on. Josh also likes to climb on and under the elliptical. When he climbs on I take him of and he cries. When he climbs under he gets stuck and cries. My favorite thing he says now is, "Hi, Giz." He also likes to reach up and play the piano. He can barely reach the keys when he stretches as tall as he can, and it sure is cute.
Last, but not not least, Zumba starts again tonight! So I'll finish by just posting some family pics.

Josh opening pajamas on Christmas Eve

Matt and Josh all tuckered out.

Josh LOVED helping make chocolate cake!

My 3 cute boys.

Me, Josh, and Grandpa Wood on New Year's Eve.

Matt and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary with dinner at The Garden Restaurant in Salt Lake. It was very romantic, and the dozen pink roses Matt bought me didn't hurt!!!

Josh, Matt, and I at the lights at Temple Square

Josh and I had fun on my brother's four wheeler.

April 1st-Close Key Bank Account!!!

2010-01-10T10:38:00.000-08:00

So we opened a new account a couple months ago with key bank. Matt changed his direct deposit to them and that was that. So we were low on money New Years Eve, $27 to be exact. We looked to see if Matt got paid that day. If it's a holiday then a weekend, sometimes his work will pay him early. To our sheer delight, we saw his company had direct deposited his paycheck. Yay! We celebrated by buying Panda Express. A whopping $8.00 meal. The next day we did some grocery shopping spending $70 at Walmart and bought Subway to eat while out and about-a New Years Day splurge. A week later we went online to check our banking, and we discovered we had $101 in overdraft charges! The bank didn't process the paycheck until 1/4/10!!! Not only that, they first processed the Walmart purchase we made on 1/1/10, then the Subway purchase from 1/1/10, then the Panda Express purchase on 12/31/09, and after that the paycheck Matt got on 12/31/09!!! The only answer we got was something to the effect of "That's just the way we do it." So we went that night to cancel our checking and savings accounts. Matt signed to cancel one, and was doing the next when he noticed it showed a fee. He asked about it, and the teller informed us that because we had the account less than 6 months, we would be charged a $25 fee for EACH account closed, so checking AND savings, etc. So we said never mind, we just wanted to withdraw all but one penny from our accounts. He said it was too late, we already closed the one checking and processed the $25 charge, and there was no way they could reverse it. Matt was able to talk to another customer service rep and they said to come the next day and they would reactivate the account and refund our $25. Now, we can withdraw all but our penny in each account (of course, we first have to make sure there are no other hidden fees from doing this). And the first thing I did when I got home was mark on my calendar on April 1st (after the 6 months have passed since opening the account) Close Key Bank Account!!!

Long Time No Blog

2009-11-08T21:43:00.000-08:00

It has been so long since my last post, I don't really know what to write. We officially have a cute little crawling boy. It has been so fun watching him learn and grow! I still love to snuggle with him during his naps. He goes to bed alone in his crib at night without much fuss. It took a couple of weeks for him to realize we weren't going to cuddle him to sleep at night anymore. It has been really nice for Matt and I! We put him to bed, work out, then eat ice cream and watch movies. We keep saying we'll start going to bed earlier, but we can't seem to get to bed much before midnight. It isn't so bad for me because Josh doesn't get up until 9:00 or so. I do feel really bad for Matt. I don't know how he keeps up his energy! If I had half his energy, I can't even imagine all the things I would accomplish! I am very jealous! We have decided to start working out in the morning instead of the evening. We're hoping it will give us energy to last through the day. Now, we just have to see if we can drag ourselves out of bed earlier in the morning! I did start a Zumba class on Tuesday nights. It is a dance workout, and involves Latin and Indian dancing. It is by far the funnest workout I have ever had in my life, and also the hardest!!! If anyone ever has the opportunity to take a Zumba class, I highly recommend it! Now, I'll just post some pics of what we've been up to lately.

Matt and I drove Nebo Loop on my birthday. The leaves were amazing!

Josh's 6 month pictures came out a little blurry, but I love his smile!

Grandma and Grandpa got to babysit when we went up the canyon.

Our cute little Gizmo decided to hide under my legs.

Our poor little dog got neutered. He had to wear the cone for a week.

Josh loves drinking from a glass. I was too lazy to turn the picture, though.

Super Cute according to his grandma. And she is an expert:)

Josh's first football game. He spent most of it with me away from the loud crowd.

Finally, at the end of the game, Josh stopped crying with the cheers, so we got to join the rest of the family in the stands.

We took a trip to Island Park. Giz loved looking out the window of the cabin, and Matt liked to go outside the window to tease the dog.

Matt and I went to Idaho to see Matt's old college day stomping grounds. We stopped to take a picture of the Idaho Falls Temple.

We also stopped at the temple in Rexburg. Matt got a kick out of doing silly things to make Josh laugh.

Big Springs in Island Park.

Matt rowing the canoe until he found a spot to fish (he got skunked).

It got a little chilly towards the end of the day on the river. When Matt would stop to fish, I would read. I'm more of a lake fishing person anyway:)

Blessings and Vacations

2009-09-03T21:34:00.000-07:00

Blessing Day!
August 16, 2009

So Joshua has finally been blessed. It was a nice day. The blessing went great! By that, I mean Josh didn't scream. I was worried about that. I heard he was a bit of a wiggle worm, but with Matt's bro's and my bro's, there were plenty to hold him. After, everyone came to our house for snacks. It was pretty crowded, but most of the kids went outside to play, so it went well. The picture above is Josh on the blanket I crocheted for him. I finished just 2 weeks prior, but I'm so glad I was able to do this for him!

This is our family later that day. Kelli took this in our backyard. Josh refused to smile or look at the camera, but he's adorable anyway!

We also fed Josh his first rice cereal that day. He LOVED it! He cried if I didn't spoon it into his mouth fast enough. It was so cute!

On the 24th of July we decided to go camping. We decided earlier that week, so we didn't have time to make reservations. We thought about going Thursday night, but in the end we got up early Friday. It is a good thing! All the camp sites were full. We got there as some one was packing up to leave, so we were so lucky to get a place to camp! This is Matt putting up our tent for the first time since we got it. I think he enjoyed showing off his skills. Since he was so excited to do it, I just sat and watched-okay I watched Josh and Gizmo, but I was able to get off a couple of pics while I did so.

Gizmo had a blast!!! He was no longer black by the time we left. He dug in the dirt so much, he was brown!

We are all about roughing it, as you can see by Josh in his swing. We were hoping Josh would sleep well if we brought this, but he woke up every half hour. To make matters worse, he didn't just cry when he would wake up, he would scream!!!

Like father, like son! I'm sorry if you can't see the similarities, but I sure can!!!

Gizmo and I were able to enjoy a little quiet reading time together.

Matt was able to get a little fishing in while Josh napped, then we took a walk around the lake. After, we were going to take Josh with us fishing. Unfortunately, a storm came in and we retreated to our tent.

We took Josh up to Bear Lake to visit with Matt's sister. Josh's ever prepared mother forgot a swimsuit and suntan lotion. Figures. Fortunately, his little cousin Kyle had both of these items, plus a hat! Thank goodness for Michelle letting me borrow them!!! Josh had a blast sitting in the water. He only got one mouthful of dirt. He tried to eat it from his right hand, so as I was washing this hand, he grabbed a handful with his left hand before I noticed, and it went straight to the mouth!

Sorry, I didn't turn this picture and am too lazy to fix it. On our way home from Bear Lake, Josh and Kyle had a nice little visit in their matching "Daddy's Little Hero" outfits. It's funny watching them babble to each other!

Matt and Josh wearing matching blue shirts! I'm sure once BYU football starts up on Saturday, Matt will make certain to have Josh in his BYU blue!

If you look with the pic zoomed in, you can see his teeth! He thinks it's so funny when we go into the bathroom. I knew he'd give a good grin for the camera if I went in there to take it.

Matt's breaks went out, so he got to spend hours working on the car. The break pads didn't take long, but he had to take off the rotor, and it was screwed in tight. Then, our friendly neighbor came over to "help" and stripped one of the screws. But it was sure sweet of him to offer his help! And he helped get the screw out after he stripped it!

Matt's brother, Kevin, works at a place that sells play equipment. When their sister came down, all the kids went to Kevin's work to play, and they all had a blast!!!

Joshua loved the swing the best. The higher the better! I'll update more soon, cause I didn't download pictures of our zoo trip yet. That will be next time!

Summer Days

2009-07-14T17:03:00.000-07:00

It's been a fun summer so far. Josh is still growing- he's up to 16 lbs 8 oz. He's just so cute! He's getting pretty good at rolling over now. He's a funny kid. He'll either roll over right away, or cry and cry and cry because he hates being on his tummy! When Matt and I hold him, he likes to grab at our face. And he just loves spitting and blowing bubbles! He is constantly soaked, but so darn cute! We have a new member of our family. His name is Gizmo, and his birthday is April 13th. He likes to nibble on Josh's toes and stand on Josh's head. Josh doesn't mind the toes, but he really hates when the dog stands on his head:) Matt and I are trying to figure out exactly what to do for our family vacation. Something cheap, but that is as far as we have gone on our plans. Since we're going this next weekend, we should probably decide soon. I am working again. Only one weekend every 3 weeks, and I am very lucky that this is all I have to work. It was hard leaving my baby, but Matt had some good manly bonding time with him. And it was kind of fun taking care of my cute little kids at the hospital again. Its nice to have a job I love so much! I really missed the people I work with. Well, that all thats going on at the moment, so I guess I'll add some pics:)

Matt's first Father's Day, just after Josh gave him his gift.

Daddy and Josh all dressed up for church.

Mom likes to cuddle with her two favorite boys while they nap.

Josh next to his cousin, Kyle. It was Kyle's blessing day. Almost twins, except one is long and skinny, the other is round and chubby:)

Josh on his 3 month old birthday.

The first attempt at the Johnny Jump Up. I'm sure he'll learn to love it!

Cousin Savannah loves our new puppy, Gizmo.

Josh just loved the parade (much sarcasm)!

Surprise!!! Check me out!

The backyard of our cute little home.

Josh decided to eat his cousin, Slayte. This was after Slayte's daddy promised his son that Josh wouldn't bite!

My cute Matt holding his baby boy. Gotta love that smile!!!

Bathtime! Aren't pictures allowed?

All snuggled up.

Odds, Ends, and Little Boys

2009-06-04T09:46:00.000-07:00

Well, we've been working on slowly getting our house to order. One thing we have wanted for a long time now is a table. We've been using patio furniture for our kitchen, and it was a little too big for the eating area. Fortunately, my aunt told me she had my grandma's old table.

Talk about retro! It's kind of fun. It brings back a lot of memories! My mom actually had one a lot like it when we were little. So, now our house has all the furniture we need at the moment. Next project-getting light in the living room! My dad is an electronic engineer, so as soon as he has some free time, he's going to come help us out with that.

Now, our cute little baby boy. A new milestone! Joshua laughed for the first time May 30, 2009. When we shake his arms, he gets very excited. My dad decided one day he just wasn't going to give up until he got a laugh out of him. And it worked! It took a little while, but our little baby boy laughed! He's only laughed once since, but it thrills me and Matt.

Matt loves playing with his little boy. He sits Josh on his lap at the piano and plays music for him. Josh stares in fascination. Lately, Matt has been putting Josh on his shoulders and giving him piggyback rides. Josh grabs Matt's hair in a deathgrip, but he smiles so he must like it. Matt's such a cute daddy!

Memorial Day

2009-05-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

I've never cared all that much about Memorial Day. Every year we had a big family barbeque at my Grandma Wood's. After, we would always go place flowers on graves of family members who had passed away. They all passed away so long ago, I never even met them. Now, this Memorial Day, I will go place flowers on Grandma Wood's grave, and it breaks my heart. I know she is still out there. I know it was just her physical body placed in the ground. But I sure miss her. It has now been three and a half weeks. I miss talking to her. I miss her reading her favorite quotes to me. I miss watching her work on her cross word puzzles, and watching her crochet. I miss her asking, "How is our baby doing?" I miss her calling me a "stupid girl" when she felt I was doing something stupid, and smiling back at me when I would laugh at this. I miss her calling me "stranger" if I went more than a week without seeing her. I miss her total acceptance of me, and telling me, "Be as good as you are. You're good enough already." And, most of all, I miss knowing that she's always there, ready to talk and visit and give advise as only she can. She's no longer just a phone call away. And I have no idea how long it will be before I see her again.

Our Family

2009-05-12T20:27:00.000-07:00

This is my husband, Matt. He is an avid fisherman. I don't mind, as I quite enjoy fishing as well. We do get in the occasional argument regarding fly fishing in a river or fishing in a boat on the lake. In my mind, there should be no argument. It is always preferable to be in a boat on the lake:) I grew up with my grandpa taking me out on Strawberry or Scofield in his boat. Matt grew up mostly fly fishing, but he does still enjoy going out in a boat. I, on the other hand, hate fly fishing the one time I tried it. Possibly because I was completely inept. I'm sure Matt will keep taking me fly fishing until I like it. My sweetheart is the most stubborn man. People who do not know him well may not realize it, because he is so sweet and caring. He always goes out of his way to please. So, basically, if I want it done one way and he another, he never argues. He just does it the way he likes. I generally don't mind. He is so good to me, he usually only does it his way if he has strong feelings about it. I don't know how I was lucky enough to find such an amazing man. Heaven was truly smiling down on me!

Now this is our baby, Josh. He was born March 27, 2009 at 9:42 A.M. He was 6 lbs 1oz, just a little thing! And, believe it or not, that was on his due date!

After 31 hours of labor (12 hours of active labor) he was delivered via emergency c-section. His heart rate dropped down to the 60's, so they broke my water hoping that would bring up his heart rate and ease his distress. It worked for a little while, about an hour. Then, it would drop and come back up. When this began, they put me on oxygen. This lasted another half hour. Then, his heart rate dropped and would not come back up. The nurses turned me side to side, then ended up putting me in trendelenburg. This is when they tilt the bed so the head is down and feet are elevated. At this point I warned Matt that he should be prepared in case I had to have a c-section, and I called my mom to give her a heads up as well. Sure enough, his heart rate dropped again. This time they put me on my hands and knees. It was difficult to do, because I had an epidural and could not feel my legs. This didn't work more than a few minutes, but by this time the doctor was there and explaining risks vs benefits of a c-section. I told him my mom had 6, so I wasn't horribly concerned. It took less than 10 minutes from this time to numb me for the surgery and cut the baby out. While they took me back, Matt got dressed in scrubs and called my mom. He came back in and before I knew it I could hear Josh crying. Matt went to take video of him, while I tried to stay awake and listen to his cry. I don't know what medication I was given, but I snowed me! Matt came over and, with reddened eyes, he said, "Someone wants to meet you." Believe it or not, I had no idea what he was referring to until he held my son out to me. He was so beautiful, just sucking on his pacifier! The doctor was still working on me, but I got to caress my baby's face, marveling at its softness. Just like that, I became a mom. And just like that, Heavenly Father entrusted one of his precious spirits into my care. It was very humbling. Matt went with the nurses to take Joshua to the nursery. I was cleaned up and brought back to my room. My parents arrived in the room just after they wheeled me in, and I was so grateful to have them there. My incision was burning, and the nurses were busy with another emergency, so they didn't have time to get me anything for the pain. It helped knowing that my mother knew what I was feeling. Her being there gave me the support I needed to get me through the pain. My nurse finally came back to give me something for the pain, but also pressed on my stomach. That hurt. It hurt a lot. But, soon after, my sweet baby boy came into the room. He was worth every bit of pain I would go through. Josh's blood sugar was low, so I immediately nursed him, then he was taken away from me again to get a bath. Little did I know that I would not see my baby again for the next 8 hours. His temperature was low, and his blood sugar would not go up. Finally, he was warmed up and his sugar was up, and there were no other problems. His weight when we left was 5 lbs 12 oz, and we had it checked 2 days later at 6 lbs and .5 oz. Ever since this sweet little guy has just grown like a weed! He has been a pure joy to have around. And he has the cutest belly! We tease the granddads that he inherited his gut from them:) He has a good appetite, and an adorable smile. He started getting sick on Friday, just a little cough and a little congestion. Monday his cough got quite a bit worse, and today he has been a lot more congested. Poor little guy has bronchiolitis. I took him to the doctor and he had an x-ray taken. The doctor believes it is just viral, so we have to wait the illness out. Poor little guy. He has been very fussy, and won't sleep unless he is in his swing. I feel so bad for him! But, got to show a picture of how cute he is now, just cute as a button!

Oh, and 11lbs 2oz! The little guy is sure growing fast!

This is baby Joshua now. Actually, it is him a couple of weeks ago. Ironically, the first day he smiled at us was also the day my Grandma Wood passed away, April 30, 2009.

This is me, Amanda. My family has always used the nickname Panda for me. Occasionally people try to call me Mandy, but I've hated that name from the time I was a little girl. I do like Panda, though, and will answer to it. This is me in Hawaii, where I spent my 25th birthday on a cruise with my mom. It was the most heavenly vacation!!! Everything was so beautiful! One of my passions is traveling. I was married late in life for a Utah Mormon girl. I spent all those single years traveling. I consider myself very lucky to have had so many amazing experiences throughout the world! I have learned that almost everywhere you go, there is beauty. Some places have that rugged beauty of mountains, some are tropical paridises, and others a lush green. And one of the best parts of traveling is getting know know the people and the culture. I love it! Now that I'm married and have a son, it will be more difficult to travel. But I look forward to family vacations:) And, when unable to travel, I can always go camping, fishing, and hiking nearby. So this is a little about our growing family. Matt and I hope to have 6 kids, so it will probably grow a lot!