Bragging

If you don't like listening to other people brag about themselves-stop reading.
K.
So I have THE  best baby ever! I love him so much and I am so happy!
We brought baby Maverick home from the hospital and the first night was pretty good. He woke up a few times but not bad at all. Then the next night was pretty good too. He would eat and go right back to sleep. Then the next night was good, and the next night. I was bragging him up to everyone. He was waking up twice a night and was only a week old. Then he had a bad night. Then the next few nights were good, and then a bad night. It went like that for the first month. But then we had a Christmas miracle! (I don't know why but when you put Christmas in front of the word miracle it seems even more miraculous.)
He slept all the way through the night. From 10:00ish PM until 7:00ish AM. He did it a few nights and then would wake up once. Then he would sleep through the night for a few days and then wake up once. Until he just kept sleeping and sleeping every night. He woke up the night before my birthday and the night of my birthday. But my husband got up with him as part of my birthday present. And he has only woke up one night in the last 30 days! He is 3 months! He started this pattern at 2 months! He sleeps from 9:00ish PM til 7:00ish AM. Anyone not believing me can come over and witness it. He went to bed tonight at 8:30 and I've been watching TV for 2 hours!
Now I know some of you are thinking to yourself "big deal, my baby did that too." But guess what? My last one didn't- and it was AWFUL! I have to have sleep. I go completely crazy with no sleep. Mataya was over a year old before she slept through the night and I was working full time. I literally lost my mind and had to seek professional help at 10 months of no sleep. If you think I'm kidding you're wrong. So this baby is my reward for not living in a room with padded walls right now. I love him so much. It's weird to be so happy. I love my happy boy. Yay for sleeping babies!!!

Typed this in October but forgot to post. Why do I always do this?

Maverick's birth

I'm back! It's been too long! I got on here to post a few weeks ago and I noticed all my friends on my blog list haven't posted in a million years either. What do you think happened? Everyone just kind of got too busy? Well I'm sad I've been gone so long. I've missed so much. Things have changed a lot for our family. So let's begin...

On July 6th we welcomed our sweet sunshine into our family. He is seriously the sweetest thing. I feel like the word "sweet" describes him perfectly. He is just perfect. I know everyone worships their own children and feels like they are the cutest and best people ever to grace the face of the earth.

But mine really are.

Sorry everyone. I make really good ones. I don't know how, but I do. So here is the birth story.

My pregnancy was different from my other ones. I didn't have any problems with the baby. He was perfect. But I am older. Yes, I've said it. This body is older than it was seven years ago when I delivered McKoy. And let me tell ya, age makes a difference. I was more miserable this time. I was hot and fat. Not hot in the sense that Paris Hilton uses it. Hot in terms of temperature. I was sweaty and stinky and disgusting. Three July babies is not lovely. I was grouchy and uncomfortable. The most uncomfortable I've ever been. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't walk without peeing my pants. I basically peed them every day of the summer before he came. Anyway, I asked Dr. Newman about induction because I knew school would be starting and Kindergartners kind of need their teacher on the first day of school. If I went to my due date I would still be on maternity leave when school started. So Newman said I could be induced any time after 38 weeks because it was my third baby and he was healthy. We chose Friday, July 6th. (McKoy was also born on a Friday. I just realized this.) My only regret about this date is that I missed my cousin's wedding. The wedding pictures make me sad because I wasn't there. But the date worked best with Kody's work schedule. I've never been induced and it was weird to plan it out like that. I cleaned my house and grocery shopped the day before. I had everything ready that night so I could come home to a clean house and food to eat. We went to my friend Kim Almond's 40th birthday the night before. Dennis made me a big cheeseburger as my last meal. Then we took our kids to my aunt Jeanette's house for the night. We came home and went to bed. At 3:00am I got up and showered. Kody and I drove to Maverik for Kody to get a drink and we got to the hospital at 4:00am. The nurse that delivered Mataya checked us in. I was dilated to a 3 and 75% effaced. Also the baby was sitting way low in my pelvis. I thought I might go into labor on my own because I had been having contractions for weeks but I didn't. Anyway, they gave me Cytotec to disolve in my cheek at about 5:00am. I started having contractions so they started pitocin around 8:00. Kim and my mom showed up and went downstairs to get breakfast. Kody's mom came while they were gone and sat with Kody. The nurse anesthetist came to give me an epidural. By now shifts had changed and Brittany Houston was my nurse. So I got the epidural and was still being happy nice Kenzie. I was having more pain but the epidural was going to fix it, so I was very optimistic. The guy left and one of my legs started to tingle which made me think it was working.

It wasn't.

The pain was getting worse and the numbing wasn't happening.

Now let me just back up and say something.

Some women choose not to have drugs during labor.

That's nice.

But I'm not some woman. I want drugs and I want them to work. I had not been mentally preparing myself for pain and reading books about breathing, etc. I was busy cleaning the house so after my drug working labor I could come home and relax. I have read about people saying their epidural didn't work and I secretly didn't believe them. I thought to myself that people that said that, were just complaining because they had felt some pain before it kicked in. I'm sorry to everyone I didn't believe. Your epidural can actually NOT work. I am reminded of the movie Fools Rush In. When Alex finds out Isobel is pregnant. He says he used a condom and she says it didn't work. His response is, "But that's its job! It's whole purpose in life, is to work!" Which is exactly what I thought of the epidural situation. What in the h%#$ is the point of the thing if it possibly might not work? So what could I do?

I cried.

It's one thing to cry in front of people because you're emotional.

It's another to cry due to physical pain.

I was embarrassed but I couldn't help it.

I was in pain and I was scared of having the baby without drugs.

The nurse called the nurse anesthetist to come back in and he went over some options. He said he could take it out and try again but its possible it just wouldn't work. I was crying and hurting and opted to have him try to adjust it. Because one leg had tingled meant it might be able to adjust and be fixed. I was kicking my legs to demonstrate I wasn't lying about it not working. I was afraid they might think like me and not believe people when they said it wasn't working.

Kimi suggested I start pushing so that I could hurry and get the baby out so the pain would stop. I asked them to do a c section so I could be knocked out because I was NOT going to have the baby without drugs. I would walk out of the hospital before I tried that!

About this time Brittany, my savior nurse, got me some drugs to calm me down. I don't know what they were, but I took them and was in heaven. They worked so well I got very sleepy and felt weak. But I didn't care. It was relief. The nurse anesthetist came back to check on me and guess what?

THE EPIDURAL WAS WORKING.

I was so relaxed from whatever the drugs were that I hadn't even noticed it was working. I couldn't move my legs and have never been happier. I was embarrassed about my behavior and didn't want anyone to know how I had acted. I asked everyone to promise not to tell, that I was being crazy. But looking back I think it's OK that you all know I am a weak epidural loving person.

I pushed for just a short time. I was still dizzy and weak but I was happy. Kody filmed while my mom, Kim, and my mother in law held my legs. Kody isn't into the action. He prefers to watch from behind my shoulder.

Maverick Doni made his debut at 12:13pm.

He weighed 6 pounds 1 ounce and was 18 inches.

Just a smidge at birth. I hoped he would be at least 7 pounds. I tried people. I gained about 40 pounds but obviously not much was baby. He was bruised on his head like Mataya.

Well, not like Mataya. Nothing was like Mataya. But he still was bruised.

What is with my kids?

The bruising went away pretty quick. We decided to name him Maverick but Kody didn't want to have it spelled like the gas station. So we spelled it Maverik. No "c." Then we decided his middle name would be after my dad. His name is Don but he used to go by Doni. I told my dad he could pick if he wanted Don or Doni for Maverick's middle name. He chose Don but then I decided I wanted Doni, so I took away his privilege of choosing. Nice I know. So we went with Maverik Doni Smith. Then, a few days after we got home from the hospital I ran to the gas station Maverik to rent a redbox. I pulled in, looked up and said some bad words. It turns out the gas station doesn't have a "c" in their name, Maverik either.

Serious?

What kind of luck do I have? So I told Kody and he made me change the spelling. It is now Maverick with a "c." But don't worry, I already had his birth announcements, social security card, and birth certificate.

Note to self: Changing the spelling of your child's name is really hard and time consuming.

Back to the birth. I have a firm belief that you should stay in the hospital as long as they'll let you, so you can send the baby to the nursery to get some sleep. I stayed 2 nights which was a mistake. The second night they kept bringing him into me to nurse and I got zero sleep. I could have tended him myself at home! I was staying so THEY would tend him. I hate the hospital so much and I should have just gone home.

Note to self: Just because you're paying a butt load, doesn't mean the babysitters/nurses at the hospital will keep the baby in the nursery when you want.

We came home Sunday at about 3:00. I was waiting for Newman to check me out and he was taking a long time, so we left. We really just got up and left. Newman said it wasn't our first rodeo and it was fine we flew the coop.

Since we've been home Maverick has been a dream. He is such a good baby. He had a few bad nights. He was under the lights for a week at home so that didn't help. But almost from the first week he only wakes up once a night. And he has slept through the night a few times. The last three nights in a row, in fact. He is really such a sweetheart.

He was born with a skin tag on his ear lobe. (an extra lobe) It was cut off at about 2 weeks and looks great. He looks so much like McKoy. I love it so much. I love that they are so similar. I love having a boy again. He is just so sweet.

There is just one thing that has been a little difficult with our sunshine boy.

He was born with an ASD and a VSD. Two holes in his heart. We really didn't expect it. When they told us, both Kody and I felt like everything would be OK. We thought that they would close on their own and it would be like so many people we know that have holes in their heart, with no major problems.

Then we went to Primary Children's.

The doctor told us that the VSD would probably close on its own. The ASD however, is large and probably won't. His heart is enlarged and he has a lot of blood surrounding his lungs. He will likely need surgery. Because of where the hole is located, they will need to open his little chest up.

We were not expecting this news.

We left the hospital in silence.

We drove for a few hours in silence.

It was a rough day.

But we are going to be positive and we know that Heavenly Father will watch over our little sweetheart. We've done it before and we will do it again if we have to. Mataya is doing so well and we hope Maverick will too. We have been blessed with beautiful children and we are thankful everyday. Maverick and Mataya will both go to the cardiologist together next month, and we will know more then. They will compare the next echo with the first one and we'll have more information. They would like Maverick to be around a year old before surgery. But I've been told that before. Mataya was 10 months when she had her surgery. I am prepared for whatever they want to do. OK I'm not totally prepared but I'm pretending I am because it makes me feel better. :)

When did this post take a depressing turn?

Back to happy.

In other news I WENT PART TIME!!!

Wow! Part time is the best kind of time there is. I am teaching afternoon Kindergarten only. It is AMAZING! I don't have to be to work until 12:30PM. Yes, I said 12:30PM. I get off at 4:00 and love every day. Being a mom and working full time is HARD.

REALLY, REALLY, HARD.

There is never time to do anything. You leave the house in complete shambles every day trying to get kids ready for school and to the babysitter. You work all day and have to come home to a mess. Then try and make dinner and spend time with your kids before you wake up and do it all over again. You are constantly feeling guilty about not getting enough time with your kids. It's hard.

This is no longer my life.

Let me say it again.

PART TIME IS AMAZING!!!

I don't feel guilty leaving my kids! I am so so happy. I'm practically a real mom. I clean the house, make recipes I find on pinterest, take kids to the park, blog, etc. I may even be a classroom volunteer in Koy's class. Which is something I never thought I would be able to do. This part time thing is only for this year. But I am not going to think about that. Because right now, I am so happy!!!

4:00 AM Woof!

Sweet Little Man

Meeting each other

Our new family

Poor bruised head

Tanning

First day home

Daddy with his boy

Mataya loves her baby "Mavwick"

Still bruised but Oh so Sweet!

Mataya practically gouging his eye out putting on the glasses

This was McKoy's outfit 7 years ago

Primary Children's getting an EKG

Shut your face he's dang handsome!

Finally an update/announcement

This is how we told our family on Christmas Eve. Mataya wore this shirt with a red tutu.

And this is how I'm telling you. We are having our third and final baby in July. And it's a boy! We are excited and nervous. Mostly I'm nervous because my last baby didn't sleep through the night until she was over a year old and she STILL wakes up some nights. BUT... I have to be thankful and count my blessing. This baby was not difficult to conceive. We tried for 8 months and then only did one month of fertility drugs. And we have had no problems at all. I have bled with five pregnancies including both my live children, but NOTHING with this one. I can't believe how easy it has been (besides being sick.) It's strange that this time I've been totally relaxed. Even when we decided to start trying I didn't take five pregnancy tests each month. I didn't track my ovulation cycle or anything. And the month I started clomid Kody was out of town during all the days I was supposed to be fertile. So I was surprised how fast it happened. Truly I have been the least stressed during this one out of all of them, and it has really paid off. We have had five ultra sounds so far and each one has been fine.

In the beginning I was sick and it was so awful I kind of wanted to back out. But there is no backing out and now things are much better. My husband has been so amazing this time. The other pregnancies were different. I don't know if it's because I was different and kind of a crazy person with the others. I'm still a crazy but he has been so awesome. During Christmas he took both kids to the movies so I could nap. He cleans the house, does the grocery shopping and cooks when he's home. He lets me go to bed at 8:00 and tucks me in. He pretty much has been taking care of me this time. And he is so excited. I think he knows it's the last one so he is just enjoying imagining his new little boy. He even took the ultra sound disk to Vegas without telling me and then posted the pics on facebook. I often make jokes at his expense on this blog but I really think I'll keep him.

My children are still not sure what to think about a baby. McKoy was so excited but really wanted another baby sister. Which is weird but he wanted to be the only boy and never have to share his stuff. He'll be 7 when this baby comes. He won't exactly be sharing clothes so I don't know what the big deal is. And our girl doesn't know what she is in for. She did see the baby on one of the ultra sounds and said, "The baby wants it's mama." I told her I'm its mama and she said, "No, you're Taya's mama." Uh oh is all I can say. Kody and I wanted a boy. I was thinking it was a girl and was surprised when she said boy. We are so excited. I do feel sad that Mataya won't get to have a sister but I guess she won't know what she is missing.

So there you have it. I have SO many things to update but it will probably never happen. I'll try my best. Bye.

What happens in Vegas...

This is a pic of Jo's bed when she woke up the next day. I guess it was a long night of dancing and m&m dreams.

Hot chicky babes!

The only ones brave enough to ride the big shot.

These two trying not to bawl because they are so terrified of heights. Seriously, look at Jeanette. She was gripping the railing like she was going to die.

Just some pic my mom took of our view at the top of the Stratosphere.

Dancing Queens

A midnight snack after the show.

After the show we allowed the paparazzi to take our picture. My hair doesn't match my family.

Happy 50th lady!

Eating dinner at the Paris. It was delicious and fancy. We had to use our cell phone lights to read the menu because it was so dark.

My granny and I

Eating at the Mon Ami Gabi. We are happy to eat but Tal has something else in mind.

These pics are all out of order. My Aunt JoAnna turned 50 in October so we did a girls trip to Vegas to celebrate. My mom, aunt JoAnna, aunt Jeanette, Grandma, Talia, Sally, and I hit sin city for memorable night. Kim couldn't come because she has a baby. Anyway, we started out by showing up at JoAnna's work on a Friday afternoon and stole her away. She had no idea. Talia packed Jo's things and we were ready to head out of town. We drove to Vegas with a quick stop in Mesquite. We ate dinner at the Paris and then drove to a show at the Luxor. The show was called Menopause and was hilarious. We then went dancing and rode the big shot at the top of the Stratosphere. We stayed out way way late. Even my grandma! It was a blast!

Let me just say that I haven't blogged in so long. I got on my computer to do a new post and update stuff and I wondered where my Vegas post had gone. I never published it. Yes I'm an idiot. That is not brand new information. But it is still disappointing information. Ok bye.

I'm in my prime

One of my friends told me that 29 is supposed to be your best year. I'll let you know if it turns out for me or not. My birthday was September 23rd. I am just now posting about it because I'm lame. I really had a great birthday though. I felt very loved by many people. My hubby got me a new phone which I love! I've never been smart before but now that my phone is, I feel great! I am seriously such a loser with phones and such, but I've become quite the pro thanks to a tutorial by my six year old. He taught me all the ropes and now I'm an expert with this thing.

In other news we had a nasty break out of hand foot and mouth at our house. I'm sure you enjoyed the pics. Koy mostly had it on his tongue with a few blisters on his hands and feet, but Mataya had a blister on her cheek and big ones all over her feet and hands. It started in kindergarten where McKoy picked it up and brought it home to our family. All is well now and since I uploaded these pics long ago this post is going to appear to have been done a while ago. Don't be tricked. Today is Nov.13th and I'm barely doing it now. Bye.

Just a few things

So all of this post happened a long time ago but whatever. It's my blog and I'll post old stuff if I want to. (Geeze I can be so rude.)Koy turned 6 and we had another birthday party at my in- laws. I think we have had 4 out of 6 parties there. We had our usual crew. It was a fun time. We had pizza and cupcakes. Kody went to pick up the pizza and got 3! I made him go back for more. Then I made everyone eat every last piece so I could prove we needed that many pizzas. The weather was nice but a tad windy. The usual for Cedar, right. Koy got everything he wanted. He had been putting in orders to the grandparents for a long time. He divided up all the stuff he wanted and called and told each grandparent their assignment. They all came through of course. Kody got him his own bow. I'm not talking a plastic little bow with rubber arrows. I'm talking a real bow with his own arrows to match his dad's, along with other archery accessories that I don't know the name of. When we went to Lagoon we stopped at Kody's friends house in SCL that sells bows. McKoy practiced shooting a little bow in the bow shop and Kody decided it would be a good present. So the morning of his birthday Koy opened it and tried pulling it back but couldn't. So Kody loosened it up and McKoy tried again, but still couldn't do it. So after several loosing's the bow finally collapsed into pieces everywhere. We were all laughing because his whole present was now in parts on the floor. It wasn't as funny to Kody so he took his own car over to his parent's so he could take the bow into the shop on the way. They got it fixed and everything was fine after that. Here are some party pics. Koy hanging with the lady guests. I would call him a lady's man but everyone in the pic is related except one.

Me trying to light the candle in the wind.

McKoy getting his 5th pirate ship. He has to have every one that comes out. This year it was assigned to grandma and grandpa Smith.

Taya Ju making nice work of her cupcake.

Talia in the pool with Taya Ju.

Birthday boy Koy. I'm not going to lie folks. He's handsome.

Other party guests hanging in the jacuzzi.

This pic is the day after Koy's party. Grandpa Rich turned 52 and we had a little gathering in my mom's backyard.

Cute girls doing a little slip n' slide

Koy with a biker du rag being cool.

Kimi's baby Lainee before she completely exploded in fatness. She is so fat now that her legs can't fit in the bumbo. She is only 2 1/2 months old. She is in the 100th percentile for weight. That's right. I said 100th. And her dad says she is going to be the fridge for Halloween. PS I gave Kim that blanket. So cute, right?

Now this is at my dad's house in St. George for his birthday. He turned 52 also. I have a lot of parent's to keep up on.

Taya Ju getting a little slip and slide action in her birthday suit.

My dad holding Lainee. She can't even move her arms. She is like a t-rex with a big body and short little arms. Seriously I could eat her. Just a little butter. MMMMmmmmm. She is so cute.

Koy and his buddies (Easton and Stockton) on the first day of Kindergarten. Koy wanted to wear his new Scooby doo shirt. We had a little discussion about it being the first day of the rest of his educational life and that he should wear a nice shirt. He got really sad and I could tell I crushed his dreams. So I did what any responsible parent would do that loved their child. I bribed him. I told him I would buy him a toy at Walmart if he would please wear a different shirt on the first day. So he wore this shirt and what do you think happened when he got to school? Some other kid was wearing that $#%* scooby doo shirt! When McKoy asked why other kids could wear Scooby doo on the first day and he couldn't I took the high road again. I said because those parent's don't love their kids as much as I love mine. JUST KIDDING. But I did say he should thank me for sparing him the embarrassment of wearing the same shirt as someone else on the first day. Koy knows that is a faux pas from the 24th of July, when Kim and I wore the same shirt to the park. (See earlier post)

Koy in his new kicks. Check out those green soles. Super cool Kindergarten attire.

We went camping over labor day. I haven't been camping in a tent since before McKoy was born. My dad brought his camper and Roon brought his. My little family slept in a tent my dad gave us. The tent is AWESOME. The instructions call it a "vacation home" and besides needing an engineering degree to put it together, it was great. It has two rooms in it and a screen porch. There is a light that velcros to the ceiling with a remote control. And it has hanging shelves in the corners with bay windows. You can stand all the way up inside it with room to grow. It is seriously cool. However, it is still a tent and that means cold nights. It would have been fine if I didn't have kids. But I do have kids, so I had Mataya laying on my head and McKoy squished right up against me. It's hard to keep the covers on you when kids are moving them in every direction. Then I was worried about the kids being too cold, etc etc etc. But the camping trip was so much fun. It really made me want to get a trailer. But then I remembered in order to get a trailer I would need another job. So I decided the tent was great!

When it gets hot, off come McKoy's clothes. Look how cute Jada is. She is such an old woman but still loves camping.

Mataya in my dad's trailer. She likes the feeling of screen door in her nose.

Relaxing!

BYE