Monday, December 20, 2010

The first quarter of 2010

It counts as writing an update, even if it was a year ago, right? Anyway, I'm sure I'll look back on this time of procrastination and laugh, but at least I will have it all down! Moving on...

January 2010: We decided to potty train Mallory. She was not so interested, but since she was turning three the next month it was time to get things rolling. I read a lot of information and gathered a lot of advice and went to work. Things...didn't go so well. Mallory just did not care about it. She was just too preoccupied with playing. We tried and tried and I cried and cried, but finally she got it. When I look back on this period of time I have to laugh...or cry. It seemed like Mallory always needed the potty right in the middle of Allison nursing, so I would be carrying a baby latched on to the bathroom and trying to pull pants down, wipe. etc...oh well. She still has accidents, but for the most part she is really good about going potty. Allison was just...Allison, waking every 3 hours or 4 hours to nurse, smiling a little, rolling over,swinging in her swing, looking cute. I was still surviving on 5 hours of sleep a night, wondering when and if this child would ever sleep through the night.

February 2010: Mallory turns three! We celebrated with a Tinkerbell party complete with Tinkerbell cottage cake at Grandma and Grandpa Hanner's house. I can't really think of anything else special that occurred in February...I am sure there was tons of snow and tons of snow shovelling.

March 2010: John and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary! I feel ridiculously lucky to have stumbled upon a man so perfect for me. Sure, we don't agree on everything, but we always kiss and make up. He picks me up, dusts me off, and helps me see the bright side in life. We celebrated with a new to us minivan. I was dying for one, and it has been SO nice. Allison continued to get up every few hours to nurse, although she would sleep for a 5 hour chunk of time. Mallory and I started going to the library for story time and kept up our twice monthly play date. We got ready for the big thaw and when I say "got ready" I mean did nothing...oops.

Well, sorry to leave with a cliffhanger, but it's past my bedtime...

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

A synopsis of a year or so...

Wow, it's been awhile since I posted.

A friend has inspired me to write more, so I will try my hardest to keep up with my blog. Even if it is just for the sake of my 4 followers. You know who you are.

So, should I do a recap of the last year or just start now? Heck, I have time. Last post was August, we'll start there.

August 2009: Pregnant with Allison, although I am not sure that we had decided on her name yet. Still working at Rooster's in Layton. John had just been hired at Hill AFB as a student intern, which I was totally stoked about! Previously he'd driven to Draper for work every day and it was starting to take it's toll on our sanity. We were living in Layton in the apartments, dreaming of owning our own home someday. Well, when John got hired at Hill we decided to look at houses in Ogden...

September 2009: Found a house in Ogden I could live in for at least 5 years! After many dismal options we found a home in our price range that was move-in ready. We put in our offer. We waited. We got a response. We counter offered. We waited. We got another response. We counter-counter offered. They agreed! By now we were in October, but who's counting really? I finished up work at Rooster's and went on Maternity leave.

October 2009: Most of October was filled with offers, counter offers, and postponements. Finally, on October 26th,John's 29th birthday, we closed on our house! But more exciting news was to come our way that busy Monday.
I went to my 37 week prenatal visit at noon and found out that I was 4-5 cm dilated! The week before I was 3 cm dilated, which was very different from my pregnancy with Mallory. Since I had not felt any contractions, the doctor was kind of worried, as was I, so he said to call him if I did feel any and if they were 6 minutes apart consistently. He also said that we would be more than likely having the baby that week, rather than November. I called John and he assured me he would leave class immediately if we needed to go to the Hospital. However, I was not so convinced I was having the baby that soon. I went to pick up Deidra to go over to Wal-mart for a bit and see if the walking got the contractions going. Well, chalk one up to Wal-mart! After an hour of shopping for some last minute items that I might need if indeed I did go to the hospital that night, my contractions went from 15 minutes apart to 3 minutes apart. Went back to Grandma's and called John. Still not so convinced, we left Mallory there to go to the hospital, just to get checked. After lying down for a bit, my ctx went back to 15 minutes apart. I was still only 5 cm dilated, so they weren't sure if I was going to stay or not. Well, then my blood pressure went way up and after a little discussion they decided to keep me. it was about ten pm by then, and they called Dr. Meek with the news. They agreed to start pitocin at 4 am and in the meantime gave me some drug to sleep...well, Allison had other plans. The rest of the details are slightly fuzzy due to the meds. I know at 7 cm I got my epidural and was definitely in pain. I think it was midnight. At 2 am they called Dr. Meek. He arrived at 2:15ish or so, came over and broke my water, had me keep pushing through the ctx, and out came Allison! Yep, one push. The whole room was in shock. The nursery nurse had not even made it to the room yet, and John didn't even have time to turn on the camera!
I have to note here that Dr. Meek jokingly said to me at my appointment to call him anytime, but try not to make it 2 am...Ha ha, he should have known!

So, Allison Melanie Reynolds was born 10/27/2009, at 2:20 am. 5 lbs, 9 oz, and 16 inches long. Tiny little thing, and so beautiful!

November 2009: We moved in to our new (or slightly used...ok, really used) house the week before Thanksgiving and started unpacking. I was up every two hours feeding the baby, so I saw ALOT of sunrises that fall/winter. It's amazing how the body adapts to little to no sleep. Allison was the most beautiful baby, but MAN was she picky. She would not take a bottle to save my life. I didn't mind too much, since I wasn't working and didn't really have a lot of stuff going on. Although it might have been nice to get out sometime for longer than an hour. Oh well! Thanksgiving was spent in the company of my family and the Baskette's. It was really fun to be with family and friends and especially great to show off the new babies (Lucas Scott Sherrod was born in September).

December 2009: We managed to get our Christmas tree and stocking hung for Santa, although that was about all the decor we had time for...John was busy with finals, and I was busy...you guessed it, feeding the baby. I was feeding that baby so often that Mallory started "breastfeeding" her baby dolls. It was a cold, snowy winter and it was probably the first time I actually asked that it not snow anymore. The snow is not quite as great when you actually have to shovel it yourself. John bought me tickets to see "The Nutcracker Ballet" in Salt Lake City, and I enjoyed every minute of the show! It was fabulous and I was sad to see it end. I am pretty sure our 2009 ended with the entire family in bed before midnight. Our party years are over for while, it would seem.

Well, it's late and I should get to bed. I will definitely be back soon to write the rest of my "18 months in review."

Friday, August 21, 2009

A recap of our summer so far...

I am in the worst mood ever and felt the need to document it here, since I don't feel like complaining over the phone to anyone...they just tell me I am pregnant or whatever.

First though I will do as my therapist says and write a few good things that have happened over the last months. First, Mallory no longer has a binky. I had been contemplating getting rid of it for some time...I just didn't want her to be completely heartbroken. Braydon got his taken away too early in my opinion and he didn't stop talking about it for a year. I did a little research and asked around, and one night I told John I was going to cut the end of it off and see how Mallory reacted. She sucked on it for a second, got mad, threw it down, and told us it was broken. I suggested she throw it away if it's broken. She then took it to the garbage and threw it away. She has asked us for it, but I remind her that she threw it in the garbage and then she doesn't say anything. It's been 5 days, so hopefully this is a good sign!

Second, John got a new job! He was hired by Hill AFB as an intern for the remainder of his bachelor's degree. The pay is almost the same as his old job, and he only has to drive ten minutes. Plus they completely work around his school schedule. I feel really good about the whole deal, and a lot more secure with him working for the government.

Third, my pregnancy is going well. Baby's heart rate is good, her U/S looked good, and I have been measuring correctly. She moves differently than Mallory did, she almost feels like she is kickboxing in my belly!

So, now I can complain a little. This pregnancy has been way more painful than my first. My back is hurting all the time, I've had a horrible cough (that's just part of a cold, blah blah blah), and my hips hurt so bad when I am trying to fall asleep. Then if it's a particularly bad night with the hips I limp the entire next day. Everything seems to be annoying the crap out of me. I cry often, mainly when Mallory frustrates the heck out of me.

My sister is kind of annoying me. She is due in 2 weeks, and I don't even think it will help. She is having a boy, and so she is constantly rubbing it in that she is having the "first biological grandson" like I even care. She calls me with these idiotic questions, and she has already had a kid!!! She is constantly comparing herself to me weightwise...which is just something you don't do! She doesn't have any friends and she got fired from her job when she was about 4 months pregnant. Since it was kinda impossible for her to get another job, she hangs out at my Mom's house every night. She puts me on edge and I end up being really mean to her, then my Mom looks at me like I am so unsympathetic. I have started to just avoid going there. So basically I hang out in our little apartment all day since I hate the heat and I don't have any extra money to do anything. Oh, and we don't have cable.

Oh, and apparently I am not supposed to even buy anything for this baby, since it's another girl and we already have anything. Besides the fact that we don't have the money. I have come to realize that the reason I love shopping is because it makes me feel better. I wish we were rich! I think I was destined to be poor, though.

We started potty training Mallory and while she has gone on the potty a few times, I think it was by accident. I just really, really DO NOT want to be changing 2 kids diaper's and still wiping another one's butt once a month. And while I didn't actually potty train Braydon, he seemed to understand the whole concept a lot more than Mallory has so far. Every time she goes in the panties she immediately comes to me and says she needs to sit on the potty. Is this progress?

So now I have to go get ready for work. Hopefully I don't get any tips tonight in loaves of bread. Yeah, that's right. I had a table this week that left me no money, just a coupon for a free loaf of bread. I am sincerely hoping that they accidentally took the CC slip that had a tip written on it. And I also hope that none of my tables wants to have an in-depth conversation concerning my pregnancy.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Is it May already?







Aargh, I am so bad at this blog writing thing. Ok, so I need to make a commitment to write at least one a week.






What's new? Well, we are expecting again! John and I decided to start trying or not not trying as we like to call it, in January. So, we will be welcoming a new addition to our family in November, right before Thanksgiving-ish. I have a great doctor, which is such a relief. I have also seen and heard the heartbeat, so I am sleeping a little easier. Now we just wait. In June we should be finding out the gender. Everyone keeps asking me what I want, and honestly, I really don't care. I know that sounds cliche, but it doesn't really matter. I am just hoping for a healthy pregnancy and baby. So far I have had a touch of the queasies and really bad allergies. I feel like I am already sticking out, belly-wise, but no one can tell. I just wonder if they always thought my tummy was that big.






Mallory is still growing like the proverbial weed. She is getting easier and easier to understand, also! It is really entertaining to listen to her sing her favorite songs and dance up a storm. She loves "KidSongs" and her favorites are "Jeepers, Creepers", "Oh, you Beautiful Doll", "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer", and "Five Little Monkeys." Usually she only picks up a few words or lines from each song and then blends them into one musical montage. Mallory also REALLY likes playing in the dirt/sand. Grandma Hanner got a sand box and she will sit in there for hours, which is fine by me! She is a bit stubborn and has had a case of the "no, mommy's" which drives me nuts, but I guess it's just that age. She is learning her ABC's and 123's and is becoming quite better at them. She can count to ten, but always, no matter how persistent we are, forgets 3. Not sure what she has against the number 3, but whatever! She is also learning colors and is starting to really grasp the concept, I think. She can name tons of animals, though, and knows their different sounds. She has become more aware of other people's feelings, or I guess their actions. Whenever someone is crying or looks sad she tells me and wants to know why.






Braydon is a ton of fun and comes up with the best lines! The other day he didn't want to nap, so he asked if he could help with chores instead. He is a big help, and very competitive with Mallory, which can sometimes work to our advantage. Grandma Hanner gave him a new batman motorcycle, and he told me, "Grandma Hanner must like me a lot, since she gave me this batman motorcycle." It was very cute, he came up with that all on his own. He also asked me if the new baby would come home with him to his Mommy's house, and I just had to chuckle. I mean, only a kid would come to that conclusion, but I can see how it made sense to him. He can also write his initials! What a smarty pants.






Work is going great. I am down to 4 shifts, and soon will be down to 3. It is just too hard on my back to work a double on Sunday, but I am sad to let that shift go since it is a good money maker. I guess people still go out to eat, even if the economy sucks. Fine by me!






My next big project? Finishing some scrapbooks. I haven't updated since *gulp* 2005. I think my last pages were of my college graduation! And that does not even include my trip to the United Kingdom.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Florida


I am back from my vacation and feel like I need another vacation. Rephrase...I need a vacation with no children. Not my children, not anyone's children. In fact, maybe a vacation with no one but myself.

I sound so glum. Our trip to Florida was fun. We went shopping alot which was great. Except Mal wanted to "I walking" the whole time. "I walking" is her walking alone, no hands and no leash. No bueno. So we had to cut some trips a little short. We drove out to the beach, but it was rainy so we just looked at the water and all the crazy nice condos. On Super Bowl sunday we went to Sarasota Jungle Gardens. My Grandmother worked there in the 60's which is kind of neat. It has beautiful gardens, a flamingo pond (it was mating season so there was some serious squaking), tropical birds that will sit on your shoulder, alligators and reptiles, and cool animal shows. I was able to hold a baby alligator, and Mal had another fit because she was not old enough to hold him as well. She loved the parrots and the flamingos.

The day after the Super Bowl we went to Tampa to check out the stadium. My sister wanted to do this, not sure why, but whatever. So, in the pouring rain we took pics of the day after the super bowl. Let me mention that I didn't know the super bowl was in Tampa this year and I didn't even realize it was the week I would be in Florida until a few days before I left. I decided day of to root for the cardinals.

The weather was nice to me, but my Aunt said it was rather cold. Mallory was able to wear a tank top and shorts one day! I actually sweated a little bit. Then a "cold front" moved in and we were back in jeans. By cold front, I mean temps in the 60's.

We hung out with Great Grandpa...he will be 90 in a few months. Hard to believe! Anyway...now I must finish preperations for Mallory's 2nd birthday. This is even harder for me to believe.


Monday, January 26, 2009

Hi everyone! I'm finally back. I guess I could say that my busy life has taken up all my time lately and made it impossible for me to write any blogs. The truth is...I've had writer's block. I still feel like I do, but I need to write something, even if it turns out to be super boring.



We are leaving for Florida in 2 days and I still have nothing packed! My house is a wreck and I just can't keep up! Help.



Mallory is "growing like a weed." It seems like an outfit that fit last week is too small this week. It doesn't help that children's clothing has no sizing standards. So, I can't just take out all the 24 mos...half of them still fit. Ugh. Braydon seems to have shot up in the last few months as well, but his clothes were all too big anyway, so now they fit just right. ;)

Saturday, October 18, 2008

The Great Imitator

So here we are...our family blog.



This is mainly a way for me to keep track of all the important milestones in our family. However, I realize that people like to know how the family is doing without needing to read all the crap on my MySpace or Facebook. So, for all those who enjoy reading about my little beasties, here you go...The Reynolds.



John (Johnathan, Johann, Daddy, Johanthan) is currently a student at Weber State University, Debbye's alma mater. Go wildcats. He is studying computer networking and trying out all of his newly learned psychological theories and communication techniques on Debbye. John is also working part time at Rooster's Microbrewery, consistently outselling everyone there, including his wife. In his sparetime he likes to wrestle children and taste test cookies.



Debbye (Debster, Debtastic, hey you, Mommy) works part time at Rooster's as well and prides herself on making people laugh. I will be going back to school in the Spring or Fall to obtain a teaching license. Look for me at a high school near you in the next 2 years. She is also a full time housekeeper/mom/laundry specialist. You should notice I didn't put down cook in that last job description. I don't cook. I reheat.



Braydon (little man, bud, batman) is living in Montana right now...we miss him a lot. We look forward to seeing him as often as we are able. He enjoys keeping the order around here and doing anything that Mallory can't do yet. He loves the pets, even when they run away from him in mortal fear.



Mallory (Mal-mal, Mallmsy, batgirl) is a very curious child. She enjoys pushing limits, and testing her parents' patience. She is learning a lot of new words right now and also stringing them together in to "sentences."



Words Mallory knows:


  • Mommy

  • Daddy

  • Kittie

  • dink (drink)

  • book

  • bease (please)

  • bee(s) (any bug that flies)

  • bug

  • bido (spider)

  • baby

  • guy (her eeyores)

  • chip

  • cooka (cookies)

  • cow

  • toy

  • tree

  • api (airplane)

  • deedo (Deidra)

  • anna (DeAnna or banana)

  • ory (Lorelai)

  • ampa (Grandpa)

  • bado (Braydon)

  • puppy

  • ugs (hugs)

  • lo (hello...she only says this when she is on her play phone)

  • hi

  • bye

  • see ya

  • going

  • see (after I take a picture of her with the camera)

  • candy

  • mine

  • doing

  • bite

  • help

  • uck (stuck)

  • ew

  • stinky

  • ball

  • money

  • outside

  • bum bum

  • nose

  • no

  • poo poo

  • too too

  • meow

  • tweet tweet

  • moo

  • ruff ruff

  • uh-oh

  • owie

ate (kate)


She also asks where people are going (daddy going?) or what they are doing. She likes to shut the door, any door, and say bye bye to whoever is in the room. She also knows where all the snacks are kept at our house and Grandma's and especially likes fruit snacks. She says please and thank you (when prompted). She is learning "I love you" in sign language and will say it sometimes. She knows several nursery rhyme songs...her favorite is "itsy bitsy spider." She knows "Wheels on the Bus," "Rock a bye baby," "Patty cake," complete with hand motions. She is learning the starfall alphabet and really enjoys the letters F-K. She likes to sit on the potty, but doesn't actually use the potty. She takes good care of her babies, taking them for rides in the stroller and feeding them in the high chair. She is fiercely independent at times, and always a dramatic actress. We enjoy watching her learn and I am amazed at how much this little girl teaches us.

I understand the children imitate adults as part of the learning process. Who knew they would look so cute doing so? Mallory seems to copy something new that either John or I do every day! Today I caught her putting her baby in his carseat (like a miniature one that her cousin Lorelai uses), grabbing his bottle, strapping on her purse and sunglasses, then heading for the door. Good thing she can't get it unlocked yet. Otherwise she probably would have driven off in the car. Just kidding. But seriously, when she is ready to leave she grabs her sunglasses then brings me my sunglasses and then waits by the door.

We are well right now. Looking forward to a trip to Yellowstone and Halloween. After that it is just a few weeks till Deidra comes home!