8 months time...

I can't believe it has been 8 months since I have blogged last. It is amazing to go back and think of all the things that have gone on in my family life in the last 8 months. So in church today the relief society lesson was titled Remember. There were several things talked about but two points that stood out to me were: remember perspective, and remember our lives (write a journal). Remember to see situations from a bigger perspective. It is so easy to let trials get us down but to remember the bigger picture, I believe could help us stay strong and motivated. It is important sometimes to see things from another persons perceptive, I think this will allow us to learn and grow. Now to remember the trials and the good times we have gone through in our lives. This allows us to look back and see how we have grown or to simply see that there has been times in our lives to be grateful for. This is a good was to see our many blessings. Sometimes it is easy to forget the good things in our lives when we may be going through a more challenging time. Writing in a journal or blogger will allow us to remember that the hard times weren't always hard. I pondered on these topics a lot today and this is why I am going to try really hard to start blogging again. So there has been so many things that have gone on in my life that I would like to post about. I am going to try my hardest for myself to post them all.

Cohen's almost 4...

Cohen's birthday is in 4 weeks. He started Preschool at Preschool Musical last week. He loved it. He had such a fun first day and told me all about it. He told me they learned about the American flag and made one out of paper. They sang the song The Grand Ol Flag. He ate a cupcake. He played with friends. He got a cool ninja turtle ring for the surprise box, he got for being so good. Anyway every day I pick him up from school he is so happy and excited to show me what he learned and to tell me about his day. I am so happy he likes school, I had the hardest time making the decision on which school would be best for him, I lost a lot of money on deposits because I kept changing my mind. Every day he has come home and sang the songs he learned at school, reassures me I made the right decision.

Kaia at 8 months..

I have been meaning to write some posts, but being a mother to two young children takes up so much time. Anyway Kaia made her first strides of crawling one day before she turned 8 months. One week later she was crawling everywhere and doing it really good. Yesterday was the first day that she figured out exactly how to pull herself to standing. Now she can do easier and all the time. She waves at people too. She also is working on four teeth. It is crazy how fast she has changed! She is the most loving, sweetest, happy baby I know.

Capitol Reef and The Grand Stair Case...

Matt had spring break this past week and we decided last minute to take a short inexpensive vacation. So I planned us a trip to Capitol Reef. We just stayed at the Days inn in Torrey, UT just 10 min out of the national park. The first day we got there we rested in our room then we went on a short hike on the Grand Wash trail. We probably made it a mile and half round trip because Cohen was more excited about exploring everything. We didn't see much that hike, but it was what it was, Cohen just was trying to figure out his boundaries the whole hike. That night we are dinner at a place called The Patio. It was okay, the service was interesting(not that great). Saturday we drove an hour and a half south to the Grand Stair Case in Escalante National Forest. It was an unbelievable site driving at the top. We hiked 3 miles to Lower Calf Creek Falls, well I will just say it was not the easiest, especially since Matt was holding Cohen most of the time in a carrier on his back and I was holding Kaia in a carrier on my front. The hike was cool though, and the destination was amazing! The 3 mile hike back we hiked out way faster, since both kids were asleep. After hiking we drove 20 min to Boulder, UT where we are at Hell's backbone grill. It a was a fine dinning place. The good was good but I think a little over prices. In the middle of dinner Matt left to the restroom, Cohen got up and went outside on the patio. I figured since no one was out there he would be fine and Matt could get him. Well Matt came back and went out there to get Cohen and he found Cohen with his pants down to his ankles and about ready to pee off the deck. Funniest part the patio was on the front part of the restaurant with windows all around so everyone  eating inside could see him, and yes they were all watching and laughing. After dinner we headed back to the hotel and went swimming. It was such an enjoyable day just very tiring. Sunday we had a relaxing morning went back to Capital Reef to take pictures of some of the famous sites. After we drove into Torrey and ate lunch at Slackers. It was on the top 10 list of best drive-ins in Utah. Their Slacker special chicken sandwich was the bomb. Then we drove home, this short inexpensive vacation was very fun and the best way to have spent Matt's spring break.

Rolling over...

Today I was spending time with Kaia, and I put her on her belly for tummy time and within 5 min she rolled over onto her back. She is growing too fast!

My beautiful smiling baby almost 3 months...

Kaia 2 Weeks...

I can not believe Kaia is already over 2 weeks old. Time has just flied. She is doing very well. She sleeps great, close to 4 hours intervals at night! She is awake a few times a day up to an hour or so at a time, which is a lot of fun. She eats a ton, and has gained 1 pound in 10 days. She smiles often at random times. I can not wait till I can catch a photo of that beautiful smile! She makes our family feel more complete, and it has not been difficult at all adding her to our family.

I added a few more photos to my photos blog if you want to see them.

Kaia Brooke at 1 week...

I can not believe my princess is already a week old. This past week went so so fast. Kaia has brought so much happiness and a more complete feeling into my life. We love her so much. Cohen loves to hold her and talk to her. Matt just adores her. She eats like crazy and I assume she will become a little chunk in no time, which Matt and I are so excited for! She is so patient and sweet I couldn't ask for a better baby! Today I took a few pictures of her. I could of taken many more but I wanted her to be comfortable and peaceful as she slept so I left her alone. Here are a few of the pictures I liked. 

Kaia's Birthday...

December 12th I went into a regular weekly doctors check-up, I was 38 weeks. I had an induction date set for Dec. 20th and was expecting not to go into labor before then, yet I still hoped that I would.  Matt  was in San Francisco for a business trip and was expected to be back Friday the 14th.  I went to my doctors appointment at 3:30 pm.  The medical assistant that always weighs me and checks my blood pressure did just that and told me my blood pressure was pretty high. My doctor came into the room about 15 min. later like usual and checked my blood pressure again in both arms. She was very concerned and said since my cervix from the previous week was favorable and I was considered full term she wanted to induce me that night. I was very hesitant, since Matt was out of town. She then said they would do a few tests on me before I could go home. My doctor then left and I had the tests done. My nurse told me she thought everything looked good and I was free to go home. I picked up Cohen from my neighbors home and went home. My mom came over she was planning on staying the night with me. She was worried and didn't want me to be alone overnight. We ate dinner around 5:30 pm when I got a phone call from my nurse, she said she talked to my doctor and that she wanted me to pack my things and head over to the hospital to have my baby. At this point I started freaking out and tearing up a bit. I was stressed that Matt was gone and in a meeting at that point. I called 8 times with no answer. I procrastinated heading to the hospital. I took my time packing Cohen's and my things. Finally I got a hold of Matt and I told him what was going on. He said he was heading straight to the airport to get on the next flight to Salt Lake. I then headed to the hospital. I got checked in and waited. My brother Donny came and picked Cohen up from the hospital. I waited until 7 pm till the labor nurse came in and got things started. My doctor came in at 7:30 and broke my water. At this point Matt was still waiting at the airport, his flight did not leave until 9:20. By 8 o'clock my contractions were every 3 minutes and getting so intense I was tearing up almost crying through them. I had the anesthesiology come in to give me an epidural. That really helped with the pain of the contractions. Around 10:00 pm the nurse came in and checked me and said I was dilated to a 5 1/2 and 70 percent effaced. I assumed I had a couple more hours before I was ready to push. Matt called me at 11:00 pm to tell me he had just landed and trying to find my dad to head over to the hospital. When I got off the phone with him my friend Mikell called me, we chatted for a few minutes when I started to feel a lot of pressure. I got off the phone with her and had a nurse come into check me. The nurse checked me and informed me I was fully dilated and full effaced and ready to start pushing. I told her we cant do anything until my husband got there. She said she was going to call my doctor and that we would wait to start pushing until both my husband and nurse got there. I called Matt and told him he needed to hurry. Matt was there 10 minutes later and then my doctor showed up 15 minutes after that and the baby was out 10 minutes after that. Everything happened so fast! The epidural didn't block all the pain or the pressure of pushing. It was so intense and pretty painful but luckily it was quick and our beautiful girl was there in no time. After she was born the nurses put her straight on my chest, it was so special and very emotional. She weighed 7 pounds even and measured 20 inches long. She came out healthy and perfect! It was such a blessing the way everything worked out. The healing process has gone so much better this time then when I had Cohen. I am enjoying my little princess and savoring every moment.

                       Kaia ready to go home!

36 Weeks....

Well Matt and I went to my 36 week check-up today. Things are looking great. It was nice for Matt to finally meet my doctor. I was so happy when he told me how much he liked her. So, I found out I am dilated to a 3. This makes me a bit nerves only because this is faster progress then I had with Cohen. I hope it doesn't mean I am having this baby earlier then I want. We set an induction date of December 20th if she doesn't come before. All in all I am very excited to know I only have 3 more weeks or less till I get to meet her. Cohen mentions all the time how excited he is to meet her and be her big brother. He is so sweet and I know he will be amazing with her.

Our Christmas Tree...

This evening was so great, I made a delicious dinner of chicken fajitas. Then we went to a big tree lot at Nibley Golf course and picked out the perfect Christmas tree for our little apartment! Then on the way home stopped for doughnuts at Banbury Cross, which they were closed but the guy at the drive-though saw us, we waited and he gave us a bag of 4 amazing doughnuts for free. Came home put our tree up then we had neighbors that came to bring us cookies (delish) and to visit and we all enjoyed hot chocolate!

Baby Girl...

This week has been so busy for me. Between homework and preparing for my baby shower and getting some other things in order, I'm exhausted. I had a lot planned to get done today, but instead I ended up at the doctors office for over 2 and a half hours. I went in for what was supposed to be a short check-up, but after my doctor measured me she was just a bit concerned. So I had an ultrasound to check my amniotic fluid which was normal and they took some measurements of baby. Everything looked good there, then they set me up to some monitors and did a stress test on baby. That was about a 30 minute nap, which was nice. The nurse said everything looks great, which was a blessing to hear. The only thing she said is that baby girl is measuring a little small about the 30th percentile, which is nothing to worry about. So from the info. she gave me and from my research I did online, I hope my baby comes out at least 6 pounds. She should be healthy just a little peanut!

Halloween...

Halloween day was good, Matt and I both had class. Cohen went to pre-school and had fun. When I went to pick him up his class was the last of all the classes to get back from their parade.  They walked through a couple of the U buildings. They showed off their costumes and people handed out toys and candy. It was super cute. We picked up Matt and headed down to Orem where we spent the rest of the evening at Matt's moms house and trick-or-treating.