Need I Say More?

Really, is there anything cuter?

But here's a few more just so you can debate. :)

Reid loves our dogs... and our friend's dog too.

He likes Daddy too!

Guess he needed a better view.

I love it when kids sleep with their butts in the air!

(Thank you Jennifer - I get so many compliments on these PJs, I love them!)

Dogs, Birds, and Lamaze

So, this week has been INSANE! Every night we have had something going on. Well, I'll just tell you about the interesting ones...

1) Wednesday night we started Lamaze class. Now I know some people think I'm crazy for being interesting in wanting to have this baby natural... but just hear me out.

Anytime I get a headache, or a discomfort... I deal with it, cuz its usually not that bad. I'm not a person to jump into taking medication. I think I was when I was little, and now I just don't like it. And, I have had pain that I would consider a 10 (you know when they ask you to state your pain level 1-10), mostly cuz I went into shock when I woke up from the surgery... I figure that counts as a 10. And I think that if I had been more aware and had known that pain would come, I could have dealt with it.

Also, a HUGE needle going into MY back? Need I say more?

And, I've heard some stories of the discomforts of an epidural: being stuck in 1 position, medication being too strong (can't tell when to push), medication not being strong enough, and not getting to eat afterwards! Bummer!

Now all of these are minor and can be dealt with... which is why I'm not dead-set against an epidural.... I just want to have another option. If I can do it without one, why not? Right?


Anyways, enough about that....
We also decided to do Lamaze cuz we're not sure what to expect, so might as well, take an education course that's geared to help me learn how to deal with the HUGE miracle my body will be performing.

So we started Lamaze class, and learned all sorts of cool things about the anatomy and how the body works. I learned in more detail what a contraction is, and how the muscle groups are working together to push the baby out. However, I have to say that the coolest thing I learned is that I'm having the Braxton-Hicks contractions! I HAD NO IDEA! hahaha! They just feel like the baby pushing on the outside of my uterus for a short time. But I learned if its a larger area than just 1 hand (or foot), its probably a Braxton-Hicks contraction. And, that this is the uterus's way of "working out" to "get in shape" for the actual labor. Isn't that fun?

I know some of you already knew, this, but I didn't and I think it's super cool! I'm thrilled to know that my body is already preparing for our little dude to come out!


2) Last night Matt was out visiting some people (doing his Home Teaching). And I had a committee meeting for my church responsibility (Activities) at our house. Well, our dogs get excited when people come over, so I put them outside. One person showed up, and we started chatting.

Well, after about 10 minutes of barking, Cleo wasn't calming down. So I went out there to see what her deal was. She wasn't barking at the back wall (like normal), she was barking at her crate.
I thought... hmm... that's weird. So I moved the crate.
And lo and behold I found a pigeon behind the crate. I thought well, if I let it go... NO! CLEO CAUGHT IT! AHHHH! OH dear, OH MY! (was about all I could think)
So I grabbed Cleo by the neck (of course she just happened to not have her collar on), and the bird gets away. But THEN Lightning gets the bird. And OH CRAP! What do I do now? Now I've got to hold Cleo with both hands at her shoulders to try and keep her contained (she's getting stronger, or I'm getting weaker, hmm?) ... I've got a pen and paper in my hand. So I release Cleo, grab Lightning's collar, and shove him inside, dump the pen and paper on the table, and go back out and grab Cleo and get her inside.
THEN BREATHE!

The poor visitor at my house was like, "WHAT is going on? Are you ok?!" Worried about ME, the pregnant lady!

Well, I tell her there's a bird outside, dying... cuz there was definite blood. So I look at her like... what do I do??? Well, she and I both know the humane thing to do. And we tried to... with a plastic bag over its head... But it DIDN'T DIE! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!!!!!
Neither of us have the gumption to try again, so we scoop it into the bag and throw it away. We each said a little prayer in our hearts for the poor little bird and that the Lord will put it out of its misery soon.

That was HORRIBLE! I've never dealt with that! I never thought my dogs would actually CATCH a bird to torment. I know its normal, but it seriously disturbed me! Not to mention, I'm pregnant! And I can't handle things like this... physically (chasing dogs and birds around the yard) or emotionally (death... of any kind).

I know I am a disappointment to many... but I just couldn't do it! UGH! Give me a spider any day! But some small animal... woe is me!

Anyways, after having to head out to Stake Choir after my meeting and talking with Matt, he's fairly sure that it is dead by now. And whether or not that is true... I choose to believe that it of course died quickly in that plastic bag.


Either way, that was just a little TOO MUCH adventure for me! I'll stick to crocheting my baby afghan, thank you very much!

As if Being Pregnant and Sick Wasn't Enough of a Party

So sorry I haven't posted (I haven't even been on facebook in the last couple weeks either), work has been crazy. We had some crazy deadlines and lots of work that needed to get done. So I basically was working constantly for 2 weeks. Which means long hours, and high stress... Really good things for your immune system, let alone your pregnant immune system.

Then I was surrounded by some people who were all getting over 'something'... and I think my body said, "I GIVE UP", and I got a cold. Of course the first day of my cold was my day off. My sister had all 3 boys home all week, cuz it was Spring Break. So we planned to spend a day together. We decided to take the boys swimming. (Gotta love this warm spring weather) Well, we had a great time swimming and floating and spinning and all sorts of fun. After an hour we were all starving and headed for lunch. We went back to my house to eat, and I felt terrible, cuz I just wanted to crash instead of still hanging out with them. But alas, I have a VERY understanding sister, and she ended our day of fun early. I crashed for a couple hours, and set my alarm so that I would be able to make Matt dinner.

Then that night, I spent many hours honking my nose, and trying to prop myself up so I could breathe out of my nose somewhat. However, I learned something very crucial that night:

IF

Pregnancy = Being Uncomfortable

Head Cold = Congestion = Needing to sleep in abnormable positions

THEN

Pregnancy + Head Cold = NO SLEEP

Needless to say, it was a rough night.

So, I took Friday off to try and relax and get some rest so my body could recuperate. Well,.... that didn't happen.

Matt took our bigger dog to the vet cuz she had been limping for about a week, and we found out that she tore her ACL. (or the comparable ligament in a dog) So, now we get to spend the next 2 weeks trying to keep our dog down as much as possible until we get her brace for her leg. It just kills me, she LOVES going on walks, and LOVES going to the park, and everytime she hears another dog she starts to whimper. I think she's super lonely. But alas, it's like kids right? You gotta do what's best for them, not what they want. It's just hard, and then you add in the additional emotions with pregnancy, and my heart just breaks everytime she limps around! Poor thing!

So here it is 5 days later, and I still sound like a frog, and I'm trying to keep my dog down and relaxed, and the baby kicks me everytime I cough! haha! I really don't blame him. But man, will I ever get better?

Dogs, dogs, and ... Matt?

So the one thing I did remember to take pictures of this holiday season... was the dogs. They are so darn cute!

My 3 cute babies:

Its just cute how much they like each other.

My personal favorite was the sight of Matt's birthday breakfast! (thanks for helping make breakfast Brittney!)

A big event around here was Lightning getting his rabies shot! Because... that means he can get groomed!

I thought this would be a perfect blogging opportunity, so I wanted to take some before shots... here are some attempts:

Here are the successful before shots:

And here he is after his grooming appointment! It was worth it!

His and Hers

Matt and I have always dreamed of having 2 dogs. A bigger dog for him and a smaller one for me.

So, we decided to get Cleo a friend... Meet Lightning!


Here he is trying out his new bed


The first introduction, Cleo meeting Lightning.

Trying out their crates together.

See how well they get along! Sometimes they sleep together.

So we have a cool big athletic dog, and an adorable schnauzer. Its really fun!

Trying Not to Be Those Crazy People Who Treat Their Dog Like a Human

... it's harder than I thought! I mean check her out! She's so cute.


She's 6 months old and has already stolen our hearts. We got her Monday afternoon from the Human Society just after she was spayed that day. She was very excited to see us, and to get in Matt's red truck. Then she squirmed the whole way home. She met the Broderick's and half the Hannah's the first night, and loved them all. During dinner she slept in between Matt's and my feet, it was so cute. She crashed pretty hard that night. She's had 2 accidents at the beginning, but otherwise house training is going well.

Welcome home Cleo!