Summer of fun!

We've had a fairly busy summer thus far, and I'm wishing I had taken the time to update sooner... because I feel like I've got loads to write about and I'm worried I've forgotten half of it. Too bad I was born a procrastinator!

Anyway, here's what we've been up to:

*First our little Addie was born... the most exciting way to start our summer!

* Then one of my favorite brothers came to visit with his incredibly adorable wifey. Dirky and Stef stayed for 10 days! We played and ate and laughed and enjoyed every minute they were here... or atleast most minutes. I'm not sure how many restaurants we visited, but I know there were quite a few... when visitors are in town we've got to take them to all of our favorite eats!

*Uncle Ty Ty came to visit for 5 days during Dirk and Stefs stay, which only added to the excitement.

*We went to Park City and shopped our little hearts out. LOVED IT.

* We also went to the zoo... on a perfect day... well, near perfect day, take away the heat and it would have been perfect. There were hardly any people there, and all of the animals were out and active. Dean was totally entertained, Addie was a gem as always, and slept the entire time!

*When our guests headed home (sad day), we relaxed for a few days before making plans for the 4th. JB and Nicole invited us to join them at the Mariott Hotel near Thanksgiving Point on July 4th and 5th, to enjoy swimming, a relaxing hotel suite, and exciting fireworks!

*On the evening of the 5th we watched our own hommade firework show. Matt's a master when it comes to fireworks... always a fun time.

*Since then we've spent lots of time at the pool with Marie and her kids.

*Last week we went on an outing to the Gateway mall with a few Aunts and cousins for a bit of shopping and a splash in the fountains.

* We went to the Ball family reunion on August 1st.

*Kelsey brought my adorable nephew, Max, to visit us on August 3rd. They stayed for 11 days, and I enjoyed every minute of it! I hated to see them go. I so wish they lived closer... we always have a good time just doing nothing. I need more time to love on her sweet babe.

*While Kels was here, we got Addie's ears pierced. I think I cried more than she did. Addie did great, and only cried for maybe a minute. Needless to say, her little pierced ears are adorable!!

* Carissa and Drew stopped by jsut 4 days after Kels headed home, for a quick visit, during their road trip back to Idaho. It was fun to see my kids interact with them. Their visit was short, and we all hated to see them leave. We always hate to see our guests leave!

*The day Carissa and Drew left for Idaho, Tyler, Jill, and Uncle Jan arrived in town. They dropped by to say hello before taking Jilly to her new apartment. Later that evening we met them at Texas Road House for a bit of socializing. I love any chance I have to see my Uncle Jan... he's my favorite uncle for sure!

Our summer of fun is coming to an end, and we're a little bummed. It's been a blast! How lucky am I to have 3 of my siblings visit me?! I couldn't be happier!

Two months old!

Addie baby had her two month check up earlier this week. She's growing like a weed these days, and has the cutest chubby cheeks and double chin!

Addie's 2 month stats:

Weight: 11lbs. 1oz.

Length: 22 in.

Head: 15 in.

* She's smiling regularly, though she saves her biggest grins for special occasions, and she's got the most to die for dimples!

* She's starting to talk to us, not a whole lot, but the little sounds she makes are oh so cute!

* Addie sleeps for a 7 hour stretch every night, except once or twice a week when she sleeps for 8.5 hours. What a treat! She's always been a pretty good sleeper though. She started sleeping for 6 hour stetches at 6 weeks. Amazing, I know.

* She bears her weight when standing... something I thought was normal. Her doctor informed us that most babies don't do this until four months.

* Addie loves her swing, which is awesome! I love that she'll nap in it durning the day, so I have time to get a few things done.

* She enjoys trips to the pool, though she never leaves the comfort of her car seat or stroller.

We've so enjoyed these first 2 months with our little love! Dean still thinks she's the greatest thing in the world, seriously. And I'd have to agree... she is one of the greatest things in the world, atleast to our little family.

Quick update

Tomorrow our little Addie will be one month old. Has it already been a month? Amazing how time flies. I can hardly stand it. Then again, I'll be glad when she isn't so fragile, a few months I guess. That way I won't be so uptight when Dean decides to run and play, like most normal 2 year olds.

Anyway, I went to the Dr.'s office Monday and weighed her, just to satisfy my need to know that she is indeed getting enough to eat. And she was 8 lbs. 8 oz.! Wow huh? She was dressed, so I guess you could subtract 4 oz. or so, but still, our little peanut is getting bigger. No rolls or any real fat to report yet though. Well, maybe a little in her cheeks, but her arms and legs are still so skinny! Maybe I should start drinking cream... think that'll fatten up my milk even more?

And Dean is still super gentle and loving to his baby sis. He loves her to pieces, and is thrilled to help mommy get diapers and wipes, or help put her bink back in her mouth. He also loves to share his pillow and blanket with her, which I have to watch carefully... he tends to put them on her face. A loving gesture I know, but dangerous.



Ok... nothing clever to end this post with. So... the end.

Has anyone seen my patience?

I've lost it... my patience that is. Not that I'd ever really call myself patient, but since Addie was born, I've lost even more of the little I had. Mostly it goes missing when I'm dealing with a certain 2 year old, and for that I feel guilty. After all, he's 2! I find myself jumping off the handle at every little thing he does or doesn't do. And if he doesn't listen to me the first time? Well that about qualifies him for a time out. I hadn't really thought about it until yesterday, while I was driving home from a nieces birthday party with only a sleeping Addie in the back. It was quiet, and I started to think about both my kiddies... but particularly Deano. This happy little boy went from the only child, to a plural child home, and that can't be easy. It also isn't fair when your mom seems to be handing out time outs, or threats of time out, and semi raising her voice at every little thing. Sad huh?
He really is a good kid. As I type this, I'm watching my sweet boy play with his cars, talking to each one animatedly with a wide smile. How could I not take the time to catch my breath and speak calmly to my little man. I sure love him lots... more than lots.

So, here's to finding my patience, wherever it may be.

How do you like your computer cooked? I prefer mine fried thanks.

Yep, fried computer. Aren't 2 year olds great that way? A certain son of mine, who will remain unnamed, and his special cousin friend poured 20 ounces of water onto my open and running laptop... frying it! Lovely, right? I know. Lucky for me, I'm married to the king of anything computer related, so within hours of it being fried, I was up and running with a new laptop, thank goodness... I mean, what would I do without a laptop? Well... probably more housework and laundry, but who wants to do that?
Anyway... here's to 2 year olds... and fried laptops... and great hubs who can supply you with another laptop in no time!

He's here!

He's here!

Maxwell Kenneth Aldridge made his appearance on June 9th, at 5pm. Weighing in at 8lbs 6oz. and 20 & 3/4 inches, Max is sure to be a solid kid, just like his cousin Dean. Kels was due June 3rd, but Max wasn't ready, so we waited... and waited. Finally, with a little prodding from some medicine, he arrived! With lots of dark hair... enough to mohawk (Addie might be just a tad jealous), big lips, and eyes like his mommy, he's sure to be a little heart breaker! We can't wait to meet this little dude!

Congratulations Matt and Kelsey!!

So far...

We've been home with Addie for 1 week and 2 days. So far, pretty good. Dean's adjusting fairly well. And by that I mean, he's peed his pants twice in the last 2 days (after no accidents for weeks!), throws toys, and generally disobeys most things we ask or tell him. He does have his pleasant moments, when he's asked to be mommys big helper and get Addies wipes, or something. And he's great with her. He loves to kiss and touch her... and would do so constantly if I didn't make him give her a break.

The first few days home, Addie slept like a gem, and only made noise when she was hungry or wet. Well, she still mostly only makes noise for those reasons, but as far as sleep goes... well, she's not so sure about it. This girl fights sleep like it's her job! We're talking staying awake for 4 hour stretches! Poor thing, I know she's exhausted, but as soon as she realizes she's drifting off to dreamland, her eyes shoot open. Yesterday she was awake for 6 hours easily. 6 hours!! She's content if she's being held, of course... but put her down and she's fairly fussy.

Matt went back to work yesterday, and I must admit, I miss having him home like crazy! I was spoiled having him home for a whole week with us. He was so much help, taking charge of Dean pretty much completely, letting me sleep whenever I wanted for however long I needed, and being my personal chef. What more could I ask for? Thanks babe... I LOVE YOU!

We haven't really done a whole lot since being home... aside from taking the kids to the doctors office to have Addie weighed, and to have my staples removed (ouch!). We also went to Olive Garden last friday night, to meet up with some of my friends from back home. And oh, we had Addies newborn pictures taken Sunday afternoon. I guess we've actually done quite a bit. Since I can't drive though, and Matt's gone back to work, we'll be sticking close to home, except for Thursday's doctors appt. for Addie.

I haven't quite gotten the hang of having two kids yet. So my house is a mess, the laundry is piled high, I look like I've been hit by a bus, and most days Dean can be found in a t-shirt and a pair of underwear. But Matt still loves me, so the rest will be ok. I'll get around to it eventually.

Stay posted... baby Max is soon to be born, and I'll upload pics as soon as he gets here!

For now... a few sample pictures from our little photo session Sunday (ok... so the pics uploaded on top... lame.)

Picture overload!

After todays Dr. appt. Addie weighed 7lbs. 4oz.

Addie and Ga Ga

Ga Ga giving Addie her first bath at home.

Mommy and Addie, home from the hospital

Going home!

Addie and mommy in the hospital

The Birth Story

Adelyn Nanette Armstrong

7lbs. 8oz. 19in.

May 21st, 2009.

We got a call from American Fork hospital on the evening of May 20th, telling us they'd like to start our induction at 7am the next morning. Sweet! Nice and early. I packed our hospital bags that night ( that's right, I waited until the very last minute to pack our bags. It was scheduled, so what was the hurry, right? I mean, I couldn't have gone into labor early or anything. I was so on top of it.) We went to bed, alarms set for 5:30 am. At 5:29 am, the hospital called and asked if we could be there by 6:30 am. What?! No, I can't be there, I was told 7... I'm just rolling out of bed, sorry, you won't see us until 7. We hurried to get ready, and headed out the door at 6:15 am. Frist stop, the hospital... nope, Gandolfo's. We needed a hearty breakfast sandwich to get us through the rest of the day without food. We arrived at the hospital at 6:45 am, 15 minutes early, score! We were lead straight to our delivery room, where I changed into my adorable and comfortable hospital gown, and hopped into bed where they strapped heart and contraction monitors onto me. Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump... ahh, the sweet sound of my baby's heart beat, strong and fast. I was feeling so nervous, not because I was going to have my baby that day, but because I knew the IV was just around the corner. Oh how I hate needles! Our nurse Hollie brought in another nurse to start my IV so she didn't have to be the bad guy. Fine with me, so long as this woman was fast and painless. No such luck, nurse 1 couldn't get the IV started, even after floating the needle around. OUCH! Nurse 2 was brought in. She was supposed to be the best on the floor. Awesome, just get it in, ok? Nope... two more tries in two more veins... OUCH OUCH! By this time I was in tears and pain. 3 tries and still no IV had been started. Hollie, our nurse for the day, decided to give it a go. She gave me half an hour or so, to recover from the previous failed attempts. Thank you Hollie. When she came back in, my heart raced, and I begged her to get it in, please just get it in. She went for the vein on top of my bone on my left wrist. On top of the bone... isn't that the most painful place to have a needle placed? Yes, yes it is. But she did it! 4th time's a charm!

After the IV drama I just hung out in bed, chatting with my mom and Matt. Matt put "You've Got Mail" on and I tried to relax (tried being the key word. I couldn't actually relax knowing I still had to get through the epidural). Around 8:30 am Dr. Mower came to break my water. What a nasty feeling. I had high hopes that this would make my labor progress, since I wasn't contracting regularly on my own yet. I was dialated to 2 cm when he broke my water. With pitocin and broken water, I was progressing pretty well. My contractions didn't get very strong until almost 2 hours after my water was broken. Then the pain started. I tried to hold out as long as possible, I couldn't decide which was worse, the pain of the contractions or the pain of a huge epidural needle. Contactions are way worse. But even worse than that, 4 IV pokes. When the contractions got to be more than I felt I could handle, I got my epidural. At that point, I was 4 cm. Epidurals are beautiful! I felt so great when it kicked it.

IV- check, Epidural- check. I could finally relax. The pain was gone, and I was sure I wouldn't feel anymore for most of the day. I tried to rest once again, and this time I was successful, until Addies heart rate started dropping. I knew that occasional drops here and there were fairly normal. But hers kept dropping really low, and way too often. I started to worry, and so did my mom. My nurse kept coming in, having me change positions to try and get more oxygen to the baby. Eventually she put the oxygen mask on me and turned off the pitocin, in hopes that Addie would stablize. She did for a few minutes, and I felt relief. And then the deccelerations started again, getting lower for longer periods of time. At this point I was 6cm and hopeful that things would progress quickly, so I could have this baby naturally. Hollie came in frantically with another nurse, and told me this was not good, and that even she was nervous. Que tears. Dr. Mower was called and got to the hospital a few minutes later with the news that a c-section would need to be performed immediately. More tears. I was terrified. Terrified to have major surgery, terrified for the safety of my baby, terrified of the recovery. I needed a blessing, something to soothe my scared and nervous heart. Matt was there, but he needed another priesthood holder. My doctor helped Matt give me a blessing and the whisked me away to the operating room. I cannot describe my fear. I was in an O.R. with doctors and nurses rushing around me, trying to get everything ready quickly. Matt came in just before they started and I felt a little better having him there beside me.

1:23 pm, I heard a vigorous cry, and knew my sweet little baby was just fine. She came out screaming and bright pink, the picture of perfection. Matt went to her side. She weighed 7 lbs. 8oz, and 19 in. Not the 8 or 9 lbs. we had in mind, that's for sure. I still can't believe how tiny she was, is. Almost a whole 2 lbs. smaller than our little tank Deano.

We didn't get the normal planned delivery we hoped for, but we got our healthy beautiful baby girl, and that's all that matters.

She's here!

She's here! Adelyn Nanette Armstrong! We just got home today, and I'm tired, so I'll add pictures and update you all on little Addie's entrance into this crazy world later!