Turn On The Christmas!

We had snow for the first time this season. Zach was so excited. He was sitting at the table, eating breakfast and I said, "Zach, you want to see something really cool?" He said, "Uh-huh..." I threw open the curtains and said, "ITS SNOWING!!" He jumped off his chair and ran to the window and said, "TURN ON THE CHRISTMAS!!" He went on and on and about Christmas and how he wanted to build a snow man. He kept looking at the snow and saying, "Forty minutes til Christmas, mom. Forty minutes." He loved making footprints and shoveling the snow. We built a castle with sand toys from summer and then he smashed them down. Zach had so much fun and played outside for about 45 minutes today. And I was worried we'd be cooped up. Such a cute, fun age for snow.

More Adventures with Zach

I promised my dad that I would not post on facebook about potty training, but I made no promises about blogger, plus this won't make you want to smack yourself in your head.

I had Zach sitting on the toilet trying to go to the bathroom. He said he was getting uncomfortable, but I was not going to put a diaper on him because I knew he had to go. He was on and off the toilet and getting really whiny. Sommer was getting fussy too and I had to go upstairs and lay her down for a nap. Zach said he didn't want to pee in the toilet and I was dead set on not putting a diaper on him, so out of frustration I told him to pee in a cup. He walked around for a while holding a cup up very close to his boy parts. I went up stairs to tuck Sommer in and I heard him rustling around in the bathroom. I was swaying with Sommer to get her settled down and was thinking the whole time of all the messes he was making. Then I heard the toilet flush and said sorry to Sommer. She was just going to have to fuss it out because I was afraid Zach was playing in the toilet water. When I came down stairs to check on things Zach came running up to me saying, "PEE IN CUP!!! PEE IN CUP!!"

I said, "Let me see that cup," and Zach proudly handed me the cup. It definitely smelled of pee. While I was up stairs, Zach had peed in the cup, poured the pee in the toilet, and flushed it down. No messes at all. I couldn't have been happier than if he had actually peed in the toilet. But we are not making it a habit.

Other than potty training, Zach and Jacob have been on some fun outings lately.

I went to Minnesota with Sommer to visit my grandma and Zach and Jacob stayed home for the weekend. Jacob wanted to take Zach to a hot air balloon festival, but it was cancelled due to bad weather. Zach got a red balloon instead and Jacob searched for something else to do.

 They ended up in Downtown Boise after unsuccessfully looking for Donuts. Zach wanted to go into the state capital building because he thought it was church. Jacob took him and and they took a little tour.

This weekend Jacob took Zach to the Warhawk Air Museum just down the road from us, just for fun.

Earlier this summer we took Zach to a football scrimage. It was free and we thought he would like it. We probably we're close enough to all the action and he got pretty fidgety. A few kids behind us had some soda and he had to have "juice" too.

 Zach wouldn't keep his tongue in for a picture.

We love this little boy so much. I am going to miss when this fun age is over, but I am also looking forward to seeing who he will become.

Summer Adventures With Zach

We planned a big camping adventure for Zach. I was REALLY not looking forward to it since we had to take Sommer with us. I got lucky and the weather turned out to be awful in the mountains, but perfect in Jacob's parents backyard. :) We set up the tent, roasted Marshmallows, Jacob and Zach slept outside, and Sommer and I slept inside. Win!

Zach was not excited to have his picture taken.

A few weeks later Jacob and Zach went on a father and sons camp out with our church. Zach was doing great in the evening, but during the night he came down with a really bad fever and came home first thing in the morning.

When he got home he was shaking, breathing heavy, his heart was pounding, and he was sweating all over. I gave him some pain and fever medicine and gave him a warm bath. After that he cooled off a bit. He fell asleep with Jacob watching the Muppets. Poor boy.

Zach is such an adventurous boy. He loves to go fishing with Jacob and is game for any adventure we're going on. He's a good sport and a fun buddy to bring along.

Hawaii

I am going to rewind to May and finally post about our trip to Hawaii. In short, we loved it. How could you not? I told Jacob though, next time, we are not taking kids. The best part was watching Zach. Everything was a wonder and so much fun to him. Zach was on Idaho time most of the week. He would wake up pretty early so Jacob would take him on walks. They saw slugs, and cock roaches. They would poke the slugs with sticks and leave the cock roaches alone. (Shudder.)  He loved swimming and was so comfortable in the water. He wanted to swim all by himself, with his vest on.

 Sommer caught on to being a beach bum pretty quickly. I was proud of her.

We went to the Polynesian Cultural Center and had a pretty good time walking around and listening to the funny Polynesian performers. I always wonder if they come up with the jokes by themselves or if they are given a script.

We took Zach to the Dole Plantation where he road the train. I have never seen a boy so excited to ride a train in my life! As soon as we got off he asked to go again. He STILL asks to ride the train in Hawaii.

We went to the USS Arizona Memorial. That was pretty sobering. Oil spills out still of the sunken ship. They say it is the tears of the fallen crew members.

We had a great time and I wish we could go back! No kids. Or when they are old enough to not throw tantrums on the airplane.

Just an update!

A lot has changed since I posted last. Here is a quick update and then I will back track and write about our trip to Hawaii and other Summer happenings.

Sommer is such a beautiful girl. I am in awe of her big blue eyes. She is short but very, very strong. For better or worse she is stronger than Zach was at this age. I have big dreams of her becoming a gymnastics champion because most gymnastics are known for being short and strong, just like Sommer. I show her a couple of gymnastics you tube videos everyday while we do her physical therapy for her torticollis.

She doesn't giggle much but Zach can get a good laugh out of her when he is being naughty. And what am I supposed to do when I want to here my girl laugh? She thinks it is hilarious when he throws his blocks in the air and they come crashing down all around her. (This of course makes me incredibly nervous.) She also likes it when he hits the walls with his Nerf axe and when he crashes his hot wheels together. Goofy girl.

As for Zach I feel like we are getting to the other end of a very rough patch with him. It took him a while to warm up to Sommer but I think he is getting used to her now. He loves to play in the dirt. swim, and "run fast." I'd say those are his top two activities. He his extremely tall- about a 1/2 a head taller than other boys his age. He loves to go to church and play in the nursery. He tells us all about it on the way home. He his learning his letters and numbers too and becoming a very good talker. I am starting to have real conversations with him.

I am constantly blown away at what this boy remembers. The other day we were in the garage and he found a pumpkin bucket for trick or treating. He pointed to it and said, "treats in the dark?" That was over six months ago!! He also has a very active imagination. Yesterday he crawled under Jacob and wanted fight the pretend zombies.

He is such a fun boy and has become very obedient. It kind of makes my heart hurt sometimes (in a good way) about how good he has been lately. I almost hate to write this because I don't want to jinx his good behavior. (Knock on wood.)

I love my cute little ones.

Comparisons

Zach and Sommer comparisons, just for fun.

Being weighed, right after birth.

Zach

Sommer

At the hospital

Zach

Sommer

One Month
Zach

Sommer

Two Months
 Zach

 Sommer

Three Months
 Zach

Sommer

I used to think they looked a like. Now I might be changing my mind. They definitely have the big cheeks in common.

5th Anniversary

Jacob and I recently hit our 5th anniversary. We have graduated from marriage pre-school and now we're on to kindergarten! Pre-school was hard! We moved more times than I can remember, had two babies, both of us graduated from college, and we're now just getting settled. Our anniversary was on the 18th. On the 17th we headed to McCall Idaho with both of our kiddies. Before we even checked in to our hotel we stopped at our favorite hamburger place, My Fathers Place. It was as good as we remembered from our trip last year. It's a good thing we don't live closer or we'd be there all the time and loosing the baby weight would be twice as hard.

We walked around McCall for a bit and Jacob tested out the panoramic feature of our new camera.

Zach had a tummy ache so we finally checked into our hotel. We stayed at a Best Western Plus which was surprisingly nice. I was totally surprised with our experience. We were greeted with warm chocolate chip cookies and a fire going in the lobby. Perfect homey feel on a cold windy day. The room was just like a Fairfeild Inn. Clean and updated. We showed Zach the pool and he decided that was something he REALLY wanted to do. I don't think he remembered the last time we went swimming because he acted like this was a brand new experience for him. He LOVED it.

And then we found out what was causing the stomach ache and it was time to go clean up and tuck everyone in bed. Our kids did amazingly well sleeping in the hotel room and we all got a great night's rest, even Sommer!

The next morning we got up and had our standard free breakfast and hit the road again. The purpose of our trip was to visit the University of Idaho in Moscow. Jacob had been admitted to law school there and we wanted to check out the campus and Jacob was invited to sit in on a class and meet with the admissions director to ask questions. We rushed, rushed, rushed to get there on time only to find out that Moscow is on Pacific Standard Time, an hour earlier than the time zone Boise is in. So we arrived an hour early and Jacob was able to sit in on two classes instead of one. I took the kids to an indoor play ground. It was perfect for Zach and there was a nice comfy couch for me and Sommer to relax on.

After Jacob was done on campus we turned around and went right back home. I didn't even remember it was our anniversary until I signed a waiver for Zach at the indoor playground. We ate day old peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and splurged for a Gatorade half way home.

I love my Jake and look forward to what kind of crazy anniversaries we will have in the future. Maybe next year we will turn it up a notch and have macaroni and cheese.

Update: After a lot of thought we have since decided that Jacob will continue to work for the State of Idaho and not pursue a law degree.

Welcome to the world, Sommer!

Little Sommer was just not coming on her own. So I decided to be induced three days after my due date. I felt very calm and peaceful about the decision until I could see the hospital and then I got a little nervous. Jacob and I walked into the maternity ward and the nurse asked how she could help me. I said, "I'm here to be induced." She told me that I was scheduled for the Friday before (which was my actual due date) but they had enough rooms and enough nurses. What a relief! I would have hated to go back home when I was already prepared for the day.

We got checked in pretty quickly and by 8:15 I was getting all medicated and ready to go.

 I was already feeling shaken up after getting the IV. Jacob told me I looked like a sad little puppy and I hadn't even been induced yet. I was insistent that the nurse get that anesthesiologist on his way. Thankfully he was pulling into the parking lot when she called and he came in shortly after I was induced. In fact, I didn't even feel my first contraction, that's how soon he came. I don't remember feeling a thing when I got my epidural with Zach, probably because I was already in so much pain, but I definitely felt all the pressure from the needle going in.

After that I thought I was smooth sailing. I could see that I was having contractions on the monitor but I didn't feel a thing. The nurse came back from time to time to see how I was progressing, but after three hours the baby's head was still very high, too high for the doctor to break my water, and I hadn't made much more progress in any other way either. They couldn't give me any more drugs to induce me because I was having contractions too often and they didn't want to put too much stress on the baby. I was feeling extremely discouraged and started to wonder why I had felt so calm and peaceful about everything. The nurse finally suggested that  I turn over onto all fours. I thought I'd never be one of those weirdos, but I was willing to try anything at that point and that's when things really took off. I only sat that way for about 30 minutes and when the nurse checked my progress again an hour later I had gone from a 4 to an 8 in an hour. I was really starting to feel my contractions and I upped my dose of the epidural. The nurse called my doctor, who was working in her clinic and told her to come. The doctor, Dr. Hughes, said she had one more patient to see and she would be right there. My contractions were just getting harder and harder and I HAD to push. The nurses in the room kept telling me not to, but then I felt the pressure of the head. I thought the head was still in the canal, or whatever you call it. When I said I felt the head the nurse drew my blanket back. I was laying on my side and I lifted my head up and there she was!! A very purple head still in the cul (amniotic sac). I remember the nurse picking her up but the rest of it is a blur until they laid her body on me. She was born on March 3 at 2:36 p.m., weighing 8 lbs even and 18 inches long. I didn't see when or how they broke the water. The doctor walked in a minute later to do the rest of the work. After everything had calmed down in the room, I just sat there and laughed. Everyone looked so shocked to see a baby there.

We had visitors and soon after that Sommer had to be taken to the nursery because she was making funny breathing noises. We learned that her blood sugar was extremely low, and her white blood cell count was extremely high, and the funny breathing wasn't going away. Later she had a chest X-ray where the doctors determined she had some fluid retention in her lungs. I remember the nurse telling me they were going to take her to the nursery and I felt so sad. I just wanted to have her with me. The nurse pushed me down the hall way and I was holding back tears the whole time and I had the shakes. I think shock had finally set in from what had just happened and I felt scared for Sommer. When I finally was in bed in my recovery room I couldn't hold my tears any more. I only cried for a minute or two and felt better. We went to visit Sommer and she was under a heater and looked so warm and comfy. That made me feel better, but I still wanted to be with her. By 9 or 10 that night, they handed her back to me. We had to stay an extra night at the hospital for a couple of more tests, but on Wednesday morning, we were finally able to go home.

Christmas

Apparently I was horrible at taking pictures this Christmas. We have just a few. I am sure my mom and dad have more. In fact, I know very well that they do because I'm still seeing stars from all the flashes.

After our horrible stay in Las Vegas, we made it to San Diego for a family reunion. Our hotel was amazing and I forgot how much I love a good maid service. Walking into a clean room after a long day of tourist-ing is like walking into a shoe store and being told to pick out whatever you want, for free. ITS THAT GOOD. Remind me to hire a maid one day.

We took Zach to an aquarium in La Jolla and he loved it. There were Jelly Fish, all sorts of other fish of coarse and afterwards, there was a teeter tooter! That was my favorite part. If you are old enough to read this, you probably feel too old to get on a teeter tooter, but take your next opportunity to try one out again. You will be giddy.

And that was the only day I took pictures. Other than that, we tromped around Old Town San Diego, went swimming, had a great family dinner and called it a reunion.

Then we drove north for 7 hours and spent the rest of our vacation at my parents house. That was very relaxing and so nice to be with my family for a few days. We celebrated Christmas, hit my favorite restaurants and tried some new ones too. But remind me not to go home for winter. Its too nice. When we went back to Idaho it looked something like this.

We Took a Gamble in Vegas

For Christmas this year went to a family reunion in San Diego. There was no way we were doing that all in one day with Zach so we decided to stop in Las Vegas for the night. I made a bid on Priceline Negotiator, which I've normally been very happy with. The rules are, you name your price and how many stars you want in your hotel (Best Western, Ramada and the like are 2 stars, Fairfeilds and the like are 3 stars, and you get the idea). So I asked for a 2 star hotel for $25 in Las Vegas. My bid was accepted by the Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. We were disappointed because there was no free breakfast, but we were even more disappointed when we arrived.

The parking lot was on the opposite side of the lobby, so we had to walk all the way through a huge hotel at 11:00 at night. Check in took 45 minutes. And when we got to our room, it was filthy. Hands down the worst hotel I've ever stayed in. (Unless my parents had us stay somewhere nasty when I was little, but thankfully their days of crappy hotel stays are long gone. I do remember one Super 8 we stayed in during an east coast trip. My parents made me sleep on the floor and I laid there wondering if a roach was going to crawl across my face.)

Exhibit A: The carpets. Stains everywhere.

Exhibit B: The already opened complementary shampoo and lotion. Note the hair on the shampoo bottle.

Exhibit C: The broken TV. When we walked into our room I noticed the TV was unplugged but didn't think much of it since we were heading straight to bed. In the morning we plugged the TV in and the remote wouldn't turn on the TV. Naturally, I used the on button on the TV itself. All we got was static on every channel. We then tried to turn off the TV but the remote or the button on the TV would not turn it off! Then I realized why the TV was unplugged. We decided this was alright because all we wanted to do was leave.

This hotel was offensive. In fact, it turned me off from ever wanting to go to Las Vegas again. Not that the desire was ever very strong, but now I hate the place. I will be calling to get my money back if I can remember.