Olympic Fever

We've watched about every bit of Olympic coverage here at our house this past week or so, including the daytime coverage. It's beginning to show.

We were in the bathroom on Friday doing hair when I told Lily she had the Chinese national colors in her hair (she had red and yellow elastics). Chloe misunderstood me and thought I meant her hair-do was Chinese. This is a hair-do she never likes me to do on her, but since she thought it was Chinese, she asked for it, too. I can tell her pretty much anything is very Chinese and all of a sudden she is all for doing/wearing/eating it. I'm evil for using it to my advantage, but the Olympics will be over in a week....

This morning while feeding Cannon, I had the men's volleyball match against Serbia on. The kids, as usual, all gathered in the room (why don't they play elsewhere? They're always right on top of me when I feed him...). I was not surprised they were mesmerized by the tv, but I was shocked when I realized Chloe was totally following the game and pointing out when USA got a point and when the "blue team" got a point. She was cheering with such passion, it was cracking me up. "Go USA, Go USA!!! Oh, the blue team got a point. Mom, the USA didn't get it. Oh, hit the ball!!! Yay USA!!" Before she'd totally caught on to the concept of Team USA, she'd ask me if they were from our ward. HaHa! I was impressed with how quickly she caught on to how the scoring works.

Adjusting

The kids are doing remarkably well with the addition of little Cannon, considering that he's turned their lives upside down...

Chloe loves to hold him. Loves it. She'll hold him for a good 20 minutes sometimes -- and wow is that helpful. And she stays pretty calm when he cries and can get him happy again. I hope he keeps letting her hold him as he gets older and more aware. I really appreciate the help. Almost every time she holds Cannon, she asks if I want to take a picture of them. They're cute enough I indulge them most every time.
Lily likes to hold Cannon, too, but she doesn't last more than a few minutes. She talks about him a lot, though. And I think she enjoys having a little more time to herself when Chloe's busy holding baby. I do love how Lily calls him "The Baby Cannon."
Brigham has been interesting...he loves Cannon. He loves to hold him and kiss him and pet him to death. It's darn cute. But he is acting out toward me and even Stanton sometimes. He's waking up in the night or not ever going to sleep at all. That was the case last night. We got him in bed at around 7:45 and he cried until midnight. We got him out around 9:00 and let him snuggle with us and Cannon, but he went right back to crying once we put him back in bed. I do think he's getting some new teeth, but I suspect there's a little need for attention there, too. We'll have to wait and see with him. I hope we don't do many more nights of the crying -- it makes him so grouchy in the morning. I am grateful, though, that he's not acting out toward Cannon. That could be disastrous. These are the sorts of things I'm catching him do lately. Funny and non-destructive...I can handle a dress....
Cannon slept from 11:00 pm to 6:00 am last night. What??? It was awesome. I'm not counting on it continuing, but I'll enjoy the nights I get it! He's eating so well -- and the nursing isn't killing anymore (thank goodness because Phelps is done swimming -- what would I do???). I took him to the doctor a week ago and he was already up to 7 lbs. 1 oz. I've never had a baby gain weight in the first week. I guess he's eating enough! He's changing so much -- maybe more quickly than the others did? Or maybe I'm going crazy.


And a conversation between Lily and Lindsay (my cousin):

Sitting at the bar eating pizza, Lily passes gas...
Lindsay: What was that?
Lily: My gas was talking to me.

School Shopping...

I've been doing my favorite version of school shopping this morning -- the online version. I ended up getting a great deal at Children's Place -- I got 19 items (enough that I only need to buy a couple of cheapy turtlenecks at Walmart and all 4 kids will be set for winter) for $150 and that included shipping and tax! They are having some decent sales right now, plus $5 shipping (no minimum), and there's an online coupon (FA78) that gets you an additional 15% off. I was pretty pleased with the deal....and Children's Place is a good quality product that I've always been happy with.

Okay, so nobody in my house is going to big school, but preschool counts, right?

Thank Goodness

Thank Goodness for the Olympics. Watching Michael Phelps and crew dominate at the Water Cube has made the completely excruciating event that is breastfeeding a much more tolerable experience.

Thank Goodness for disposable diapers. I had completely erased from my mind the sheer amount of bowel movements a newborn has per day.

Thank Goodness for good self-esteem. Chloe reminds me daily that my tummy is still "huge." Just yesterday she observed it was getting smaller.

Thank Goodness for good friends. My neighbor Chalisa came and watched Brigham this afternoon so I could go watch the girls on their last day of swim lessons. And I am so glad I did. It was so nice to spend some time admiring them and cheering just for them.

Thank Goodness for blogging friends. I was having a "moment" yesterday trying to juggle the chaos that will now define my life when I hopped on Google Reader for a moment of sanity. Amidst the 70-some-odd posts I'd missed in the last several days, I caught a gem from Janelle of Regally Blonde. She quoted Marjorie Hinckley saying, "These are the Golden Years." It gave me a much needed moment of perspective and clarity. The rest of the day was so good because I allowed it to be golden.

Thank Goodness my little ones love their baby brother so much. They are adjusting well and showing so much patience with Cannon and I right now. The only thing I worry about is him getting loved to death. A pretty great worry.

Thank Goodness for my beautiful little Cannon. He's a missing piece I didn't even realize was missing. I am completely in love with him and find myself not even dreading the middle of the night feedings. What an angel.

Just Trying to Remember

Cheryl, my friend since 6th grade, came to visit me in the hospital! She took a detour through Logan on her way to Idaho just to see me! What a sweet friend.

He's Here! Baby Cannon is Here!

Cannon Gregory Allen is here! Born at 2:33 pm -- 6 lb. 11 oz., 20 inches long.
We got to the hospital at 10:40, Doc broke my water at 11:30, I was slowly progressing...6 cm. to 7 cm. over the next couple of hours. Nurse checked me at 2:15 and called me an 8 cm. Five minutes later I had a crazy big, uncomfortable contraction and told Stanton the baby was coming. The nurse came in, she called the doctor and I tried really hard not to push until she got here. By 2:25, she was in the room and I just started pushing. He was here by 2:33. Wow. It was incredible. My labors have all been fast, but he was the fastest once the pushing started. It was so neat to do that again.

About 20 minutes after I had him, they shipped him off to the NICU. His color was just a little dusky and he had the cord (which was long) wrapped around his neck a couple of times so they wanted to be sure he was SATing okay. He ended up having low blood sugar for quite a bit of time. He was in the NICU for a good 4 hours or so, but is back up with me, looking pink and beautiful. His blood sugar picked right up after eating a couple of bottles. While he was in the NICU he discovered his thumb:
That always gives me butterflies. I think I might try to force the binky, though. He has a really unique nose -- completely different from the carbon copy noses our other 3 have. It got squished quite a bit, I'm sure, during delivery, as he was posterior. It's cute and long and so unique!!! Oh, he is a squishy little bundle. What was I stressing about?!
Cannon and Mom about 4 1/2 hours after his birth. Gorgeous, squishy little person! I already love him.

An Update Before the Asterisks and Exclamation Points Start

We're here at the hospital. We got here and settled at about 10:40 and the nurse checked me right away. I was at 5 cm. By the time my doc got here a half hour later I was at 6 cm., so it looks like this baby was planning on coming today anyway. I have been having contractions fairly consistently for the last about 12 hours. Really weak, though, and only about 10 minutes apart. But they've been working regardless of consistency and intensity!

I had the epidural about 20 minutes ago and everything went well. It's always just the slightest bit nerve wracking to have that done.

Doc broke my water about 5 minutes before the epidural. She thinks I'll be quick and able to do this without any pitocin. We'll see.

It's about 5 minutes to noon. I'm sure they'll come check me again soon. I think this baby might come a little quicker than I was anticipating. I just figured since he'd taken so much longer to start coming that the delivery part would take longer, too. Looks like I was wrong.

I was hit by a huge wave of emotion a few minutes ago -- just realizing that I was going to actually be giving birth again, nursing again, having a newborn again...all of that. It came on so suddenly that I had a little breakdown. I'm really so happy to be doing this again. I am just saying a lot of silent prayers that this baby will be healthy.

Nurse just came in and thinks maybe we ought to do some pitocin. I doubt I'll be updating again until little man is here!

Serious Ketchup

I have some serious catching up to do on family events. I need to post about my G & G's 60th wedding anniversary party (yay G&G Rose! I love you!). I need to post about swim lessons. There are things I won't even remember I need to post about until I dump pictures off my camera.

But right now, I need to sew. I need to finish some quiet bag orders before I have this baby.

Oh...did I mention I'm having this baby tomorrow???!!!!!

Fin. Ished.

I finished Breaking Dawn today. I'm just happy to be done with the Twilight Saga. Sort of like I was when Harry Potter was done. I loved the whole series, but I am glad to have it out of my life! I am glad I can just moveon.org.

I will say that I thought the story was well-planned, well-told, and engrossing. Yes, there were some plot holes, but they weren't really going to change the outcome of the story.

And while I'm usually very very prudish about intimacy in books and in movies, I thought she handled all of those scenes with tremendous taste and restraint. I was impressed.

I really liked how everything wrapped up in the end. It satisfied me and like I said, I'm glad it's over. Until the movie comes out in December. I might have to go to that. Yep, I probably will.

Have you read the Twilight books? Did you like this one? What did you think?

Now Here's a MAJOR Award!

Proving once again that I am perhaps the luckiest person on earth, I won TaLaisa's giveaway. Yes, I won it!!!!! I'm really excited because I know what this girl is capable of. She gave me a beautiful necklace/earring/bracelet set (the earrings have 3 interchangeable charms...how cool is that?) for my birthday and I wear it probably 5 out of the 7 days in a week. And you know I have a lot of other cool jewelry. Hers is just the best! And now I get some more. I feel just the slightest bit guilty, since I've already received her jewelry as a gift, but not guilty enough to refuse the prize!!!

Visit TaLaisa's Bead Drawer to see the loot and to buy some of your own! Be sure to leave her lots of comments so she'll know we're anxiously awaiting her shop opening and the opportunity to buy from her!

Buncha Bum Shots

Like Father Like Son -- I love how his legs are crossed up in the air like that.

What is so enthralling in this bathtub???

Ah, sailboats -- thank you, Blue's Clues! This provided a good 20 minutes of fun for the kiddos -- and so easy!
In case you're wondering, you just need a plastic bowl, some play-doh, a straw, and construction paper. You can see what to do from there....

Guess What I Forgot?

A few things --

Like toilet paper on the $350 mad rush through Sam's Club.

And to pack a bag for the hospital...not that I need it yet....

And that my kids have swim lessons today through the 14th (my due date...whose bright idea was that?)....they've been in their swimsuits all morning.

And that Breaking Dawn came out this weekend....guess I'll have to go buy it since I'll be about number 697 at our library....

And that when there's nothing else consuming your thoughts, the last few weeks of pregnancy take FOREVER!!!!!!!! New Baby Boy, we're anxiously awaiting your arrival! Come quickly!


Finally, have you visited TaLaisa's Bead Drawer yet? She's having a great giveaway you won't want to miss. Tell her I sent ya!

G&G Rose 60th Wedding Anniversary

All of the unmarried grandchildren and great-grandchildren (there are more, but these are who made it to the party...)

With their five children and spouses.

We had a great time celebrating Grandma & Grandpa Rose's 60th wedding anniversary at Aunt Christie's.

Mitch and the girls in the pool

Nate & Mitch swam with the kids for 2 hours before the party and then Rob & Lindsay swam with them after dinner. They had such a ball. Lily is addicted to the water slide and Chloe loves the diving board. It was fun to observe them from a distance -- Lily is so social - she loves to be the center of attention and she often is without trying. Chloe, on the other hand, really likes to just hang back by herself and watch what's going on. Actually, she is often not watching everyone else at all....she's just enjoying being by herself.

Back to Lily for just a second...I had a moment of worry for her tonight -- she has this adorable, articulate, deep, inflection-filled speaking voice that is a joy to listen to. But the flip side of that is that everyone is constantly trying to imitate her. There's definitely not any malice or desire to make fun of Lily, but I worry sometimes that it will make her self-conscious as she gets older. I have a deep voice and I know from personal experience that it's something that's easy to feel self-conscious about. I think we'll just have to watch that one with her.

Anyway.....back to the party -- it was so much fun for everyone. I love getting to catch up with cousins I don't see often enough. And it was just so fun to see Grandma & Grandpa there with all their posterity -- I just can't imagine what it must feel like to be on their side of the spectrum and see all the kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids that have come because YOU got married. Amazing. And even more gratifying, I'm sure, that everyone gets along, loves each other, and are living productive lives.

Love you Gram & Gramps!

My cousin Bill, or The Great White Whale
Chrystal and me, or The Great Green Whale
Hannah and Chloe
Lily Love

Christie, I stole a bunch of these pictures from your blog -- thanks! They're terrific.

Rollercoaster Riding at Its Finest

I don't love the cliche, but there really isn't another way of describing this past little while with our Brigham. Dr. Everitt called this morning. The MRI showed some more accurate measurements of the left ventricle (LV) mass and they weren't where she was expecting them to be. The LV mass of a normal heart is between 37-83 grams (oh, I hope that's the right unit of measurement, I'm not sure all of a sudden). Brigham is at 29. The "normal" range, as you can see, is pretty broad, but Brig's not even at the low end yet. Keep in mind that Brigham's LV pumps against his lungs, so it is not getting the kind of "resistance training" a normal LV does, hence the low mass. That's the purpose of the PA band he has on. So, from these measurements, it's pretty clear that his heart hasn't grown into the PA band completely and so it isn't providing the resistance necessary to get that mass up to a normal level. It's really important that he have measurements well within the "normal" range so that when the double switch operation is performed and the LV takes over the systemic pumping responsibility, it will be able to handle the load.
Soooo....we're not there yet. It's not a cause for concern. It's just a cause for more waiting. We'll have another follow-up in December, but Dr. Everitt doesn't plan to do another MRI for 9 months or so.
Look, I know I should be thrilled about this. I am to a degree. I realize this means 9 more months of healthy, fun Brigham. That's a fantastic thing. But if I'm being real, it is hard for me to accept. I had just decided that this was really perfect timing...the way things looked like they were headed. No kids in school, a still relatively unaware child having the surgery, etc, etc, etc. Now we will be looking at Chloe starting kindergarten, Lily in preschool, the new baby in toddlerhood, and Brigham old enough to start forming some memories of the events he'll be enduring. I know, I know, it's not really that terrible, but for me right now, it's just another unexpected, unprepared-for, jolting turn on the rollercoaster.
I will be over it soon. And as much as I don't love rollercoasters, when the ride is over, I'm always glad I got on. It will be the same here. But for now, don't mind me, I'm just the girl on the front row screaming and crying and wetting her pants in sheer terror. Terror isn't the right word. More like emotional overwhelmance...but that isn't a word, so I guess I'll stick with...ah, what the hey, I like making up words. I'm just the girl on the front row screaming and crying and wetting her pants in sheer emotional overwhelmance. Come to think of it, the wetting her pants might be caused by pregnancy...but that's another post for another day....

And on a less dramatic note, the MRI did show a couple of good things that we hadn't been able to really measure objectively before...Brigham's ventricular function is excellent and the pulmonary artery's growth is normal -- the band is not causing any malfunction there. Those are very good things and signs that Brigham has good healthy months ahead of him.

If It's Wrong...

to want to just wear a t-shirt and sports bra all day....let my kids watch a ridiculous amount of tv....not get them dressed for hours.....and just veg today.....I don't want to be right.