18 November 2014

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today's is my mom's birthday and it's a big one. She told me that when she was a little girl she asked her mom how old she was. My grandma said "36" and my mom thought that was so old so, in my mom's eyes, she has been old since she turned 36.
I wasn't really sure how to pay tribute to my mom on her big birthday so I thought I would come up with a list of things she's taught me to do, the type of person she is, basically, the ultimate mom list. Here goes:
She taught me how to bake.
She instilled in me a love of music.
She didn't let me quit the swim team my freshman year of high school.
She emails me pictures from my childhood.
She taught me the importance of family time and traditions.
She drove to St. George to spend my 21st birthday with me.
She showed me how to be a caretaker to a little baby.
She baked small loaves of bread for me and my castmates in the high school musical I did my senior year of high school. They 
She taught me how to sew baby blankets and now I'm making some of my own.
She encouraged me to make friends in all the places we moved.
She (and my dad) showed me the importance of sticking to your principles, even when it's hard or unpopular or when all your other friends get to go to the 8th grade dance ;)
She is devoted to the gospel.
She cried when we told them I was pregnant with William. Like, a lot of crying.
She takes time to serve others.
She counsels me.
She loves going to movies and eating movie-theater popcorn.
She is a fantastic grandma to William and that will only continue with baby #2.
She pursues her education in many different ways.
She learns new skills and uses them to serve other people.
She is a great typist so she records funeral services and transcribes them for people.
She shows me the importance of listening to your body and the importance of rest.
She married my dad and went to work full-time so he could finish his degree. She chose to get married and have me instead of finishing her college degree. Now, I'm six months from finishing my SECOND college degree. When I freak out about my classes, she motivates me to keep going.

My mom is many wonderful things. But the most important thing is that she's just my mom and she does a great job at continuing to mother me even though I'm a mom now, too. My mom is also my friend. She is someone I can always turn to and I cherish the times I get to spend with her, especially now that she lives so far away. When I went to college in Idaho I was thrilled to be 18 hours from my family. Now that they are a measly 10 hours away, I find myself aching to be with them more often. I'm blessed with great in-laws, but it's not quite the same. I wish she could be here to spend more time with William because she is a wonderful person and I want him to know and love her just like I do. My dad is sure lucky to be married to my mom and she's lucky to have him. 

Happy birthday, momma. You inspire me to be a better, kinder version of myself every day. I try to emulate your spirit of service and love in my own home. I love you so much.

Love, Denise

14 November 2014

Sick William

Wednesday William started acting funny. His appetite was gone and he slept a TON. He would be playing and then just kind of sit there and do nothing for a while. I'd call his name and he wouldn't respond. He just sat there. Thursday he didn't want to wake up and then I knew something was up. I took a sick day and waited for him to wake up. He didn't have a temperature but he kept acting weird all day. Right when he woke up he was saying his mouth hurt. I thought he probably had dry-mouth so I gave him some water and he was fine.
At 6:00pm William and I got in the car to pick up Tyson from BYU. It takes about 15 minutes to make the drive. Half-way there William started crying. He said his mouth was hurting again and then, he puked all over himself, his car seat, and his blanket. From what I could see in the rear-view mirror, it was going to be quite the clean-up job so I didn't stop driving. I called Tyson and told him to get a ton of paper towels. William kept saying "Gross" and crying that his shirt was wet and gross.
When we got to BYU I remembered I had stashed baby wipes and diapers in the middle console between the front seats. I grabbed the wipes and got to work. It was nasty. After I cleared away most of the stuff from William's shirt and the car seat straps, Tyson pulled William out of the car, stripped him to his diaper, wrapped him in the emergency blanket from our kit in the trunk, and sat him in the front passenger seat with the heater going. I finished clearing out the car seat as best as I could (wipes and paper towels only), Tyson put William in a new diaper and a sweatshirt we found, and we drove to the mouth of Provo Canyon to our favorite urgent care. I wanted to make sure William didn't have the beginnings of strep or some other infection.
The doctor checked him out and William is fine. He may have a little stomach virus so we have him on a low-fat diet but he's not contagious or anything like that. And he's acting more normal with a still lesser-than-normal appetite. Last night I pulled the car seat apart so we could wash the cover and William's clothes. Tyson gave William a bath while I Clorox-wiped the rest of the car seat and the straps. I put the car seat back in the garage and doused it with a healthy misting of Febreze.
I'm glad William doesn't have anything serious. I'm glad I had some cleaning things in the car to take car of the immediate mess. And I'm glad we were able to take him to get checked out by the doctor so quickly.

03 November 2014

A Bucket List

A friend of mine gave birth to twins recently and I finally got around to reading their birth story on her blog. Reading about it really helped me to remember that rush of love I felt when William was born. I went back and read his birth story and while a lot of it was unpleasant the end result was worth it.
As I'm nearing my third trimester (I'm currently at 26 weeks) I'm starting to feel a looming panic. Luckily it's been easy to push away thanks to church activities, Halloween, and now Thanksgiving and Christmas will help me until the end of December. But then suddenly it'll be January, I'll be taking three classes and I'll only have one month until the baby's due date. I feel like I have so much to accomplish before he comes which makes February feel so far away. But then I think "There's only 51 days until Christmas" and "There's only 95 days left until the due date" and I freak out a bit. Okay, a lot.
The good news is that before January I'll have lots of positive things to do with Tyson and William to keep me from freaking out too much. We're taking a trip to visit my mom's family for Thanksgiving and I cannot WAIT. The ladies at my work are throwing a joint baby shower for a professor who is also expecting a boy and for me. Then, December. And we all know how busy December is with parties and holiday traditions and merry-making.
In order to get the most out of my 95 days, I've made a little bucket list. Maybe to-do list is a better term.

Before Baby Boy Remy #2 Gets Here
1. Get the office put together so we have a designated work space.
2. Replace all the doorknobs in the house so we stop getting locked out of our rooms.
3. Get the boys' room organized.
4. Pull out all of William's old infant clothes, wash them, and sort them so I know what I actually need. I might have to start over since this baby is coming in the dead of Winter, not the end of Summer like William.
5. Make sure to do lots of fun activities with William including taking him to Temple Square to see the lights.
6. Also, get William potty-trained.
7. Go to the temple at least twice.
8. Make baby blankets for the new baby. (I already have the fabric!)
9. Get the master bedroom organized and set-up for the baby (including getting a small nightstand, setting up the bassinet, and getting all my night-time feeding supplies set-up).
10. Keep working with William to understand the concept of a new baby. He already knows he's going to have a little brother and he knows that little brother is currently in my tummy. We're getting him some "big brother" books for Christmas and I am considering getting him a little doll or something to practice holding and being gentle.

Not a super exciting list to be sure. But there you have it.

02 November 2014

Halloween 2014

I've always enjoyed Halloween. My family had some simple traditions that I've carried into my own family but I think my favorite part is dressing up. This probably goes back to a basic part of my personality: I've always been a bit dramatic. 
What can I say? I like to get dressed up in a costume and wear crazy red lipstick and fun eye shadow.
This year was the first time William knew what was going on. He was Scooby-Doo for Halloween and he loved wearing his little costume. We bought it before he broke his leg and I was glad it fit over the cast.
We carved pumpkins but we couldn't get William to reach in and help pull out the guts. Maybe next year.
 (William's "happy face" pumpkin)
(My pumpkin) 
(Tyson's pumpkin eating William's painted pumpkin)

Tyson's family has a party on Halloween every year so after work we headed up to do trunk-or-treat at the church with Tyson's parents, sister, and her three girls. Then we went to the house for chicken noodle soup in bread bowls (SO GOOD) and our party. My brother-in-law Josh couldn't come to the party but he made two pinatas for us: one for the kids and one for the adults. The little kids took turns hitting the pinata but they needed some help to bust it open. The adult pinata was reinforced with wood and HEAVY. We strung it up in the garage and took turns whacking it with a metal baseball bat. It was therapeutic. And fun :) Instead of candy, the adult pinata had numbered wood blocks inside which corresponded with dollar-store prizes. It was awesome!
On Saturday we did some clothes shopping for William and the new baby. Then my sister-in-law brought her girls over and we made molasses cookies and the kids helped to decorate them. It was so cute! They took it so seriously. These "pumpkin-face cookies" are a family tradition of mine. It was fun to share that tradition with Tyson's family. And they were a hit!
 We'll definitely have to do this again next year. We came back home tonight and it was freezing cold here. Brrr!! Guess winter is ready to come on in after the really warm October we've been enjoying. Only a few weeks until our Thanksgiving trip and then a few more weeks until Christmas. By the time Christmas gets here I will only have 6 weeks left until my due date. YIKES! So much to do!