Cameron & Lesley

Taylor's younger brother and his wife came out to visit this weekend. They actually don't leave until tomorrow, but Taylor's lung surgery is Wednesday so I might not get a whole lot of posting done after that. So I thought I would post today.

Friday we picked them up from the airport and headed straight to Rocky Mountain National Park. It has been in the 70s so we packed sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, etc. I guess we spent too long in Houston because we got to the mountains and realized there was still about 2-3 feet of snow on the higher elevation hikes. Whoops. Luckily we have jackets in the car at all times for the boys. And since we had come straight from the airport Cam and Lesley had extra jackets in their luggage. So after driving back down to a lower elevation we enjoyed a fun hike around a lake and tromped through a field to find a beaver pond. The boys loved that and got tossed back and forth from river bank to river bank.







Saturday was a relax day. And thanks to a family friend we got to enjoy the Denver Chop House that night for dinner. Leaving the boys home with a babysitter. Hannah slept through all of dinner and I got surf and turf. So really it was quite a good time! Also it was prom night so I got to spend half of dinner socially analyzing the table next to us. It was fascinating, but also kind of sad to see all those girls in such scandoulus outfits. The best part however was that they spilled water three times. Three! The waiters kept having the change their table cloth. Very hilarious.

Sunday was a great Mother's Day. I got flowers from the boys and a pink jump drive from Taylor. Having graduated college still using a 3.5 floppy I was pretty excited to get my first jump drive. Now I feel up to date with technology. If only I can think of what I need to save on it and transfer somewhere...

Today we met Taylor downtown for lunch, are heading to the park after nap time...unfortunately that doesn't include me, but everyone besides me and James is napping. Then tonight for Family Home Evening we are going to drive out to the Denver Temple.

James found a butterfly while we were eating lunch. Right after these pictures he kissed it and it flew away.



Tomorrow should be fairly chill and then I drop Cameron and Lesley off and pick up Taylor's mom...to help with the boys while Taylor is in the hospital.

We're so glad Cameron and Lesley could come visit us and we have had a great time. Although staying up until 11 playing games every night is really starting to hit us with the 5:30 wake up time of the boys. Not to mention Hannah eating at 3 or so.

Blog of the Day

My new favorite blog.

Lovelylisting.com

This post and this one won me over.

Kim!

Kim came to visit last weekend and I was so happy! We had a great time. I forgot how much I love hanging out with her! She is so easy and fun to talk with and we just chatted all weekend. It flew by so quickly.

We spent most our time talking, but we did get in a couple games of Trivial Pursuit...finally someone beat Taylor. I can never do it. We went to the zoo on Saturday despite the freezing temps. It was 75 the day before Kim came and has been 70 or over since the day after she left. But all weekend it was around 50. We also ate out and made homemade lava cakes. (so easy, and SO yummy.)

Our girls were totally meant to be best friends. They compliment each other in every way and are nothing alike...




Thanks so much to Bryan and Taylor for the fun weekend. You guys were great sports!

Felt Food

Loving this! Made a donut today and ready for fruit as soon as I can run to JoAnns...which is no small feat.

SD card not reading as usual. I so do not get along with computers. Imagine a really cute felt donut.

PS. Finally updated Preschool Party. Should receive updates once a week now. I think we're back up to speed.

Natural Childbirth

Would I choose to do natural childbirth again?

Yes.

I know a few of you talked to me the day after and I told you how crazy I was and to never, ever under any circumstances to go natural. The memory has faded. =]

Having a natural childbirth really was an amazing experience and I feel if we had been better prepared everything would have gone a lot smoother. Up until the last about 90 minutes everything was going fine. It was hurting, but I was in control and SO, SO happy to not be immobile. What I hate about medicated childbirth is the fact that you cannot get out of the bed. Even at the beginning if you don't have an epidural yet you are generally hooked up to an IV, monitors, etc. All of which I very much dislike. By simply stating you don't want these items everything is so much more comfortable. But you have to be prepared!

I highly suggest actually doing some research. So you say you don't like reading non fiction or those books are just boring. Well, I don't really love reading car reports or searching for every opinion I can before buying a computer. But you do. So you'll get the best outcome. I would say the birth of you baby is a lot bigger deal than any of these "major" purchase. You might not choose to go natural, but you should still educate yourself on your options.

Get educated and make a good decision for you, your baby, and your family.

When we have our next child Taylor and I have already decided we will spend a lot more time getting prepared. We decided on natural childbirth at about 2 months along or maybe earlier. But we didn't pick a method until about 5 to 6 months along. And it was simply not enough time to prepare. Giving birth naturally it not just something you can do on a whim. (if you can, you're amazing). It takes a lot of preparation physically, mentally, and emotionally. You really have to get yourself ready for the experience and know what you will do. Next time Taylor and I will start practicing our relaxation at 3 months or so. And we are planning to take the actual Bradley Childbirth class. This time around being the arrogant people we are, we figured if we just read the book we would be fine. Next time we'll take the class. Being fully prepared is the best way to go. Then you can shorten the "I'll never make it, I'm going to die" time to only 20 or 30 minutes. =] But know that it will come. Because when you hit that last stage no matter what you've done, you will lose it. But it's okay.

My biggest regret was that immediately after birth I was not feeling up to holding and bonding with my baby. I was exhausted physically and mentally. I couldn't take any more. And I was really looking forward to that perfect time right after birth. I really think by preparing better we can capture those precious moments next time. That and making sure they have 18 heater blankets ready. Birth makes me SO cold. Like so cold I can't think rationally. That cold. Brrr.

Now to my analogy of natural birth and running. Because I know most of you out there say "WHY?" What would ever posses you to want to go unmedicated? Well, I read about it and felt it would be best for us. I knew it would be hard, I knew it would take a lot of work. But in the end it was totally worth it for us. Hannah and I were healthy and happy. She had no jaundice, I recovered quickly. I could walk and move. I was able to get in whatever position I chose. I didn't have to have a big needle in my back...hate that. I felt a huge sense of accomplishment and empowerment. Huge. I prepared and worked hard and I did it. And it was worth it.

I cannot understand why anyone would ever, ever want to run 26 miles. I do not get it. Why would you ever choose to put yourself through that? It sounds exhausting, painful and really just plain stupid to me. Who needs to run for 26 miles straight? We have cars. You can drive. WHY? I do not get it. I would never willingly do that. And yet I have many friends and famliy members who spend lots of time preparing to do just that. They train and work hard. They run and they are exhausted and they hurt. And yet they feel a great sense of accomplishment. They fill strong and empowered and amazed that they were able to train their bodies to accomplish such an amazing feat. And they don't even get a beautiful, precious baby at the end. And yet they still feel satisfied. Don't get it. But respect it. And am amazed by it.

Natural Childbirth is a healthy choice for mothers and babies. I reconize it is not for everyone. Each person and family should make their own decision. But it really is worth the effort. Birth is a wonderful process. We were meant to have babies and the 'pain' associated with that is not bad or something wrong. We don't have to fix it or make it go away. It is a natural process and it's beautiful. I plan to give birth naturally again. Just don't ask me about it the day after. =]

Sitting Pretty

Hannah is getting so big! I just think she is adorable! So she already has been loving the Bumbo. I think she started it around 7 weeks old. I tend to do everything earlier than most I've noticed, but we just love to get them independent and moving. So much more fun for the babies and exciting for us. She already loves her Exersaucer (we call it a Play Station and in the future will refer to it as thus). I think in about two weeks she'll be ready to sit at the table in her high chair. Only 7 more weeks until she gets rice cereal!! Can't wait.

Mormon Ad

I tried to find out if this is a legit Mormon Ad, but I couldn't. It's fun none the less. Enjoy.


(Coming this week...my thoughts on natural childbirth. I'm not kidding, it's coming.)