Perspective

I prefer my house to be cleaner than it currently is.

I'd much rather look for something to wear in my drawer than dig through the laundry hamper or the pile of unfolded clothes like I did this morning.

I'd like to make a yummy dinner instead of warming up leftovers as I am planning to do tonight.

Somedays I just have to look the other way and remember that I am not sealed to this house for all eternity, but I am sealed to my kids forever. And so, I am going to stop perusing blogs and go start dinner so that when my toddler wakes up from his nap I will have plenty of time to play trains and read books - even if it is the same book over and over and over again.

Because I am a mom first and foremost.

Moldy

I am beginning to think (much to my surprise) that we may be a mold family. Not that we are stinky and rotting - although that may be true as well, but that we are going to be one of those families whose kids look like they all popped out of the same mold. I figured that since Sam and I look so different our children would as well. However, that has not been the case - it is hard to tell from these pictures, because Ollie is so much older here than Ruby, but they both have the same eyes, nose and face shape, not to mention hair color. Of course, Ruby is still changing a lot so I may have a different opinion next week, but for the moment I have to say "Hooray for molds!"

Another Day

So, I don't have much to report. Our lives have not changed significantly since the last time I posted. We just keep busy chasing after Ollie, feeding Ruby, and enjoying one another's company.
Ruby changes everyday. She looks more and more like herself everyday - I know that sounds funny, but it is true. She is loosing the newborn look and getting decidedly cuter.


In between conference sessions on Sunday Sam and Oliver raked up a big pile of leaves to jump in. Ollie thought it was so much fun that he spent most of the day Monday working on those same leaves, when he decided that there were not enough on the ground he got up on his picnic table and started picking more.
I probably won't show this picture to Sam - and I think I'm safe because he rarely reads our blog. He wouldn't like to see Ollie in a pink bow, but Oliver insisted on wearing it this morning when I was putting one on Ruby. We must be experiencing an overload of feminine hormones at our house because it seems they are rubbing off on Ollie. When we asked him what he wanted to be for Halloween he was insistent on being a butterfly. Fortunately, when we took him shopping for a costume Sam intentionally stood in front of the butterfly costume and Oliver decided to be a monkey instead. Then a couple of days ago we were watching football at a friends house and Ollie put on their little girls tutu and began dancing around the living room - he insisted on wearing the purple tutu for the duration of the game. Poor Ollie, he has to spend all day everyday with a bunch of girls - maybe if Sam does decide to read this he will start spending less time at the library and more time at home doing manly things.

Double Take

Seeing as I have now been a mom of two for three whole weeks I feel qualified to give my expert opinion on the raising of two children. Simply put, it is awesome!! I have been happily surprised at how smoothly we have made the transition from a family of three to a family of four (thus far:). Of course, we have had our rough spots. I have had the opportunity on more than one occasion to chase Oliver at a dead sprint through stores and parking lots while lugging along a car seat and baby. There have been a couple of days in which a shower was simply not an option and I did experience one horrific grocery shopping trip with a sobbing toddler and a screaming infant. I am proud to admit though that we are all still happy and still sane. I am constantly busy, but I love it - there is no down time and certainly no time for boredom.
Having two children has required some attitude adjustment on my part. I have found that I am much less tolerant of things that are messy as I have less time for cleaning. I am also much more lenient in regards to cooking and laundry. This morning Oliver asked for Doritos and Froot Loops for breakfast and I didn't even hesitate before giving it to him. (As you can tell from the picture, he is thoroughly enjoying his new dietetic freedoms).


I have also picked up some new baby-skills that I never acquired with my first child. I remember being so proud of myself for managing to cook entire meals with just one arm while toting Oliver around as a baby. Well, that skill is nothing compared to my new found ability to cook, clean and chase after a busy toddler while not just holding onto Ruby, but nursing her as well. Now, that is talent! (Sorry if that was more than you wanted to know, but my life pretty much consists of diapers, nursing and sporadic sessions of Ring-Around-The-Rosies, so that is what you get!)

Baby Update

I have been rather remiss in my photo-taking responsibilities with Ruby. There just seems to be a lot more to concentrate on with two kids and the camera never seems to be around at the right time. However, here are some shots of our newest addition. She is now one and half weeks old and is such an angel. Although it is still early, we are guessing that she will look quite a bit like her brother. Their hair is the exact same color and although I have only detected one cowlick on Ruby, she seems to have the same natural-forming mohawk as Ollie as well. The only difference is that Ruby's hair flips out all over her head.

We have also been blessed once again with a good sleeper and eater. We never had to go through that horrible night/day mix up and she regularly sleeps 4-5 hours between nighttime feedings and goes right back to sleep when she is done. Yahoo!! Also, rather than lose weight, she put on a whole ounce before her first doctors appointment. She does have a set of lungs, but at this point she only exercises them when she is hungry or getting changed (she is just really modest and hates to have her clothes off).

We love our little Ruby and are so glad that she is a part of our family!

Nothin' but Handsome

Check out that handsome boy! When I went into labor, not only was my friend Megan kind enough to answer her phone at 6:30 a.m. and agree to watch Oliver, but she also took this great photo of him while he was there (did I mention she was a super talented photographer). She will be taking shots of Ruby later this week so be sure and check back.


Learning to share the limelight with little Ruby has been hard on Oliver, but I am beginning to think that we are over the worst. He is kinder to her now and is starting to act more like himself again - I hope he keeps it up after Grandma leaves this week.

And now presenting Ruby June Peay . . .

Born: September 10, 2009 at 8:16 a.m.
Weight: 8 lbs 4 oz
Height: 20 1/2 inches

After what I am sure was some careful deliberation, Ruby decided that she did not want share a birthday with the 9/11 terrorist attacks and decided to come a day early. It was about 5:30 a.m., just as Sam was getting ready to leave for school, when I felt the first contraction. For a second I considered telling Sam not to go, but the contraction felt pretty much like all of the Braxton Hicks I had been having so I rolled over and went back to sleep instead. About 6:00 the contractions were too strong for me to stay in bed so I got up and started getting ready. A half hour later they hurt bad enough that I decided to call the hospital and get their opinion as to whether or not they thought the contractions might be real (I still didn't think they were). They suggested I come in so I called a friend to take Ollie and then headed toward the hospital. I had been trying to call Sam during this same time but he was in is car and had his phone on vibrate so he never answered. By now the contractions were practically unbearable. I will admit to doing a bit of yelling while I was in the car by myself. I never reached the point of profanity but I am certain that the people around me must have thought I was suffering from turrets. During the whole drive my only thought was, "I hope they give me an epidural even though I am probably only dialated to a two."

I finally got a hold of Sam and informed him that I was on my way to the hospital. He was just walking into class and had to turn around and jump in his car for the hour drive back home. When I got to the nurses station my first line was "can I please get an epidural." They didn't believe that I was really in labor and slowly walked me back to triage to check. To everyones surpise - including my own - I was dialated to a nine. They immediately wheeled my bed to a delivery room and began poking IV's into me. They managed to get me a spinal tap and just as it began to take effect my doctor told me it was time to push. I pushed with one contraction and out popped Ruby. She came face first, or what is called a face presentation, our doctor just referred to it as "sunny-side up". It means that instead of the crown of her head coming out first, her face was the first thing everyone saw. As a result she looked pretty bruised up, like she had just come off worse in a bad boxing match. But she was perfectly healthy. Sam arrived about 15 minutes after she made her debut. Poor guy.

Becuase of the rush - and the lack of a husband to hold the camera - we don't have any pictures of Ruby fresh from the oven, but here are some moments that we did manage to capture. We are home from the hospital now and are both doing great. We are so excited to have our little "junebug."

D - Day

I want you all to know that I stayed pregnant on purpose just to see what my pregnancy countdown ticker does after week 40. I am not holding my breath for anything spectacular, but I will be checking tomorrow just to see if it says "40 weeks and 1 day" or if it goes for something a little more dramatic like "holy cow why doesn't that baby just come out already!" I am sure you are all as anxious as I am about it.

On another note, I did call my husband today to inform him that any woman who is decidedly still pregnant on her due date deserves a happy-due-date present. After which, Oliver and I took a trip to the mall to check out the Clinique counter during their free bonus time. There is nothing like a good excuse for pampering yourself, thanks again Ruby. Other benefits of still being pregnant would have to be the awesome pedicure I got yesterday from a friend in our ward and of course there is the fact that I still get to sleep through the night. However, that will all end soon as my doctor has scheduled me for an induction on Friday - so I promise that the next time you check this blog you will finally find what you have been looking for - baby pictures!!

In the meantime, here is a picture of my baby shower. A couple of weeks ago Ollie and I drove back to Golden to spend time with some friends and ended up at a surprise baby shower. It was so great to chat with everyone and there was so much cute pink stuff! Thanks again guys.

Things Worth Celebrating

1. Oliver ran to nursery all by himself after Sacrament Meeting today and refused to leave when church was over.

2. I put on my maternity skirt for the last time today. I would burn it, but maybe in a couple of years I will be prepared to consider wearing it again.

Just passing the time

My life right now seems to be all about waiting. I am totally anxious to not be pregnant anymore and am wondering when would be a proper time to stop counting days and begin counting down the hours I have left. Can I make a paper chain with a link for each hour? Just think how wonderful it would feel to wake up each morning and remove eight whole chain-links!

Sam and Oliver, on the other hand, are staying busy and focused on other things. Sam's own summer countdown ended tonight when college football kicked off for the fall. He also started back to school last week and is loving his new class schedule. This will be his last semester of graduate school and besides studying hard he spends a lot of time researching companies and possible job opportunities.




We picked an over abundance of gargantuan zucchinis from our garden the other day and seeing as I was feeling too lazy to peel them, grate them, and hide them as conspicuously as possible in an array of breads, muffins and brownies, Oliver and I opted for zucchini boats. Our little wading pool wasn't quite as exciting as floating them through my parents ditch and pond like I did growing up but Ollie didn't seem to mind too much. He especially enjoyed filling the boat up with Little People and then capsizing it with the water from the hose.


We also couldn't let summer pass us by without giving Ollie a lesson in proper somersault technique. Of course, I am not in my best somersaulting form at the moment so dad had to step in and help out. They both did pretty good!