Poor Caleb

My friend Sharee made me feel a little better about this transitioning time by saying that two kids was her hardest adjustment. So far, I feel very inadequate to provide enough attention for two, especially when both are quite needy.

The pinnacle of my lame attempts to handle two on my own was last week when I was trying to herd Caleb with my foot while holding Lucy. He started running for the kitchen (and if you haven't seen him lately, he is a fast runner) and I stuck out my foot trying to stop him, but I didn't get it quite high enough and I ended up tripping him, causing him to face plant onto our hard wood kitchen floor.

I didn't think it was that big of a bump. It wasn't that loud but he cried for a long time. I put Lucy down, gave him a hug and kissed his head followed by a very positive "all better" which usually works with him. He is surprisingly tolerant of pain. I put him down and he kept sobbing for a few minutes and saying "all better" as he walked down the hall, trying to convince himself, maybe, that it was all better. I felt so bad. It is his first goose-egg.




This was my biggest worry about having two kids close together. I knew it would be easy to pay lots of attention to new born, but I was worried that Caleb would feel left out. He has noticed the difference and has definitely been acting more whiny, but it is just with Adam and myself. He acts very loving towards Lucy and is good with other people (thank goodness). But if there are any suggestions on how to help a little boy learn how to not be the center of the universe without scarring him terribly, I would appreciate it.

Holy Cow!

Lucy Mills has finally arrived. She was born at 1:40 in the afternoon and has been a blessing ever since.

My title, however, is in reference to Lucy's dramatic entrance. I know that there are millions of women who have for years, centuries even, given birth naturally and many have techniques that make the whole experience easier and less painful. I have always deep down wanted to be able to go through labor without giving up and asking for an epidural, just to know how strong I am physically. But never in a million years did I think I could actually do it. It's like running a marathon. I really want to do it just to accomplish something that hard, but I know I'll just wuss out.

In this case, I had no choice. I planned on an epidural. After I was induced at 8 am I waited until about noon and then said I was ready for the epidural. The anesthesiologist had trouble getting the cathidar in correctly so they ended up sticking me in two vertebrae. After I was done I said to Adam, "Well I hope this works otherwise that was totally not worth it." It was really unpleasant to say the least.

And what do you know, IT DIDN'T WORK! Not even a little bit. When I realized that there was no hope for pain relief, I became really scared. I felt completely unprepared and was terrified of what lay in wait for me. They would have given me another one, but I was moving so fast, the nurses said that it was too late to try again. I am very grateful that I did move as quickly as I did. It was extremely painful and I don't know how long I could have lasted. I say that now, but you know, one big lesson I have learned from this is that I can handle a lot more than I think I can.

All in all, it was really a life changing experience. It's kind of cool to be able to say I did it, although I also say I don't think I would really want to do it again. If I had a guarantee that it would go that fast, maybe I would.

She is a sweet baby. Caleb likes to show how soft he can be with her but he also gets jealous of this little thing that steels all the attention. Sometimes he wants to take her away from us and carry her off like she's a toy (which we don't let him do obviously). I am so happy she's here and look forward to learning how to balance two little ones so that all their needs are met.

Still not yet... but soon

I was due last Sunday, the 6th, but still no baby. I'm going to be induced tomorrow so I figure I would write one last time on here before I'm super busy. I was hoping to not be induced, but I just go so late and I'm REALLY done being pregnant. I'm not even close to going into labor so I figure it's either induce now or induce later. I choose now. Here is a belly shot from about three weeks ago at the Springville Art Museum. Notice the little man in the background who didn't have the patience to wait for Dad to take the picture.


Along with stuff to get done before the baby comes, it seems that many of my friends are having big changes in their lives too. I was able to hang out with mission companion Natalie for a little while before the move to Seattle. We had a good time just chilling in our back yard with the toys. Her girls are so cute! It was great to see you Natalie!



We are also having some major backyard improvements. My brother installed a super cool swing. It's attatched to a really high branch that he climbed up to reach.


The long ropes allow for a really big swing that Caleb and his cousins LOVE! I wish I could fit. It looks so fun. Here is Caleb with his aunt Jessie.


Adam, my super duper fix it man, is redoing the deck. It is a pretty crummy deck but he is making it look so nice. I'm going to have to post some final pictures later, but here are some of his demolition shots. I love a man who is good with his hands.