Gabby's 2nd Birthday Party

On October 23rd, we celebrated Gabby's second birthday with some of her friends.  We had a ladybug theme, complete with very strange-looking homemade ladybug cupcakes (sometimes I forget that I am not a very crafty mom).  For games, we had coloring and dot stickers on ladybug pages, a ladybug hunt (searching the house for ladybug cutouts with licorice on the back), and pin-the-dot-on-the-ladybug (which turned out to be a bit confusing for the two-year-old crowd).  All in all, Gabby had a great time and hopefully the other kids did, too!

Ice cream push-ups.  The cleaner way to go.

 Opening gifts.  She LOVES every single gift she received.

 Even Claire had a fun time hanging out.

Gabby with her new doll, a gift from Tori.

After the party was over, Gabby explained to Claire that one day she too will get to have a birthday party.

Pumpkin Time!

We ventured out to a local pumpkin patch this weekend.  It was a beautiful fall day for the occasion and Gabby had a great time with all of the farm activities.  But her favorite part was the fact that she had an excuse to wear her rain boots.

 

Baby Boyer #3

For the last several weeks, I have been having a very sharp pain in my side, sometimes paired with vomiting and cramping.  I would be in misery for many hours and then wake up the next day perfectly fine.  After this continued to reoccur, my doctor advised me to go to the emergency room.  They would do a CT scan to see what was going on.  As soon as they were about to bring me back for the scan, the nurse came in and stopped them saying that my urine was positive for pregnancy.  Clearly, that was a mistake I said, looking at my 2-month-old.  The blood test would clear things up.

The doctor shook his head and told me that while there could be a false-negative in a urine test, there wouldn't be a false-positive.  Furthermore, he had never heard of a positive urine test and a negative blood test.  They did the blood test only for protocol.  We needed to accept the fact that I was pregnant and prepare ourselves for the possibility that it was an ectopic pregnancy causing my pain.  Jason and I just stared at each other in disbelief.  We laughed (because we had never learned how to react to unexpected news like this) and imagined our lives with 3 kids under 3.

I imagined the nervous breakdowns of the future as they rolled me in to do an ultrasound and gave us a due date for June.  How was this even humanly possible with the 6 week post-partum drought plus birth control?  Jason mentioned that if this child had made it through all of that, then certainly it was meant to be.

A couple of hours later, when the disbelief was finally turning into acceptance, the doctor came in and told us (with an embarrassed look on his face) that there had been an error and we were not pregnant after all.  Wow.  New mix of emotions.  I had just convinced myself that I was pregnant and now they wanted to roll me in to do a CT scan.  Were they sure?  Which test was correct?  They assured us that the blood test was correct - no sign of the pregnancy hormone.

The results were that I had kidney stones, as we had originally suspected.  Hopefully they will be easier to pass than the child that we thought we were having.  Baby Boyer #3 may only have existed in our minds for a couple of hours, but I was already beginning to love him or her.  I am just glad that he or she is going to give us a more time to mentally prepare (as in more years, please!).

Oh, and I had to post the old ultrasound picture to make my story more interesting of course!  Hopefully, people will read more than just the title and the photo....

Potty Training

We prepared for the worst.  We even covered our carpet with plastic (the kind moving companies stick down to protect the carpet when you move).  Gabby selected her mini-toilet.  We stocked up on stickers and Reeses Pieces, cleaning supplies, and underwear.  I read 3 potty-training books and Gabby studied her "Once Upon a Potty" book.

Day 1:  We let her go free around the house in her "culotte"/underwear and a t-shirt.  2 accidents.

Day 2:  Still roaming free.  1/2 accident before she stopped and ran to the toilet.

Day 3:  No accidents.  In fact since day 1, she didn't even let a drop out overnight.  She has just been waking us up at 5AM to go pee then goes back to bed.

Day 4:  Did I mention any poop or "caca" yet?  No, I did not.  That is because our child has so much control of her bodily functions that she is now constipated.  She spent the day fighting her urges to go.  I even offered her a diaper, just to relieve the problem before she makes herself sick, but she insisted on sitting on the toilet... for hours.

Day 5:  At last, a bowel movement.  Not a pretty one.

Day 8:  She still has not had a pee accident since day 2, but certainly is not comfortable yet with the caca.  We spent the entire day (literally) going back and forth to her toilet every few minutes to try to poop.  (This is especially fun to do while you are simultaneously nursing and running up the stairs, by the way.)  It eventually comes, but not without a lot of effort.  Poor thing.  And (fun for us!) the 4-5AM toilet awakenings continue.

In summary, we are glad that we spent money and time covering the carpet with plastic since that meant she would never actually have an accident anywhere close to carpet.  Sigh.  We are pleased with her continued eagerness to go pee, without even being reminded these days.  We just hope that she recovers from the stubbornness she inherited from her parents.  

Yesterday, she was still sore and when I told her that I was sorry her bottom hurt she looked at me seriously, nodded, and said, "Dada fix it."  Well, why not?  He fixes everything else around the house and even her elbow when it came out of place (Nursemaid's Elbow).  Why wouldn't he fix her bottom, too?

September

Yes, Claire is pretty excited to be featured on our blog.  The photo above is actually what I wanted to use as her passport photo, but apparently you can't have your arms up in the air, so we had to go with a boring boyish one.  Shame.  It looks like she loves to travel - what's wrong with that?

September was a great month!  It began with a trip to Utah to visit family.  Jason went backpacking for the weekend while the girls and I hung out with the grandmothers.  Mid-month we celebrated my birthday.  Then at the end of the month, we had our parents in town for Claire's blessing.

Gabby's first Chucky Cheese experience.  She was very proud of herself for giving a large rodent a high-five while she was there.

Sisters.

Gabby and Claire were able to visit with their cousin, Zoey.  They are all best friends now, baby doll included.

Mémé got some good smiles out of Claire.

This pretty much sums up how Claire feels about Gabby.  Distrust.

 While we were busy taking pictures, Jason was out backpacking to Kings Peak with his family in the Uintas.  Kings Peak is the highest point in Utah, not an easy hike when your headlamps burn out, you get lost for several hours pre-dawn, your campground freezes overnight, and illness and injury abound.  But they all made it back and claim it was a great time!

 We also finally managed to take a few pictures of Claire this month.

Just hanging out.

 Claire is a great smiler and if you smile at her, you are almost guaranteed to get one in return.  We realize that as a second child, she has to be that way or she would likely end up completely ignored.  :)

While the weather has still been nice, we have been exploring the neighborhood events, like this little family day at our open-air mall.  Gabby's favorite activity was playing at the sidewalk chalk station.

At the end of the month, Claire was blessed.  It was wonderful to have family and friends join us in celebrating her life.

Oh, and I forgot to mention in my August post that Gabby is a huge fan of camping.  She went with Jason to our church campout and still hasn't stopped talking about sleeping in a tent and eating tons and tons of food.

Failed Photo Shoot

Some of you may recall the drama that took place when we attempted to have family pictures taken last year. Not the easiest process. This year, when Claire was two weeks old, we decided to use another free photo shoot. I am not sure why I believed that although we cannot force one child to be photogenic, perhaps we can force two children simultaneously. Not an option. Basically, our 20-minute scheduled shoot turned into an hour of at least one child screaming at every moment before we finally gave up. These two pictures were the only ones we managed to capture. The reason Claire is making a funny face is because she just had a pacifier pulled out of her mouth and was a split-second away from her cry of disapproval. The question now is whether we should even attempt a family photo this year and add yet another person to the photo who doesn't like his picture taken....

Wanted: Blogger and/or Nanny

It turns out I am not so good at having two children and blogging at the same time. Of course, it is always when you have more to blog about that you don't have time to actually blog, which is why during my chaotic mornings I dream of hiring a blogger or nanny or a housecleaner or all of the above. Until that dream comes true, I may have to forgo my long essays in blogs of the future and let the photos speak for themselves. Below are some things I failed to post in August:

My mom came in town to help during our first weeks with Claire. Also pictured here is my grandmother, who gets crazier (and more entertaining) by the day. :)

Having so many guests in town her first month apparently was a little confusing to Claire.

Gabby continues to be an awesome big sister. She overdoes it a bit on hugs and kisses, but generally, she has not shown any signs of jealousy and loves having Claire around, even when she's "making noise".

Gabby's highlight of each week is going to Primary at church, where she takes home many treasures like the crown below.

She also loves to have play dates with her best friends.

And there is nothing better than hanging out at the park with Mémé and Daddy.

Introducing Claire

(The above proof is a photo we bought from the photographer who took pics at the hospital.)

Claire Evelyn Boyer has finally arrived! (Okay, it was a week ago - July 30th - but it took me a while to find any time to post, let alone sleep.) We chose the name "Evelyn" after two of Jason's grandmothers. After deciding on "Claire", we discovered that his maternal grandmother's name was Evelyn Claire and his great-grandmother's first name was Claire. It was meant to be.

If you have any interest in the random details leading up to Claire's birth, read on. If not, just scan ahead for more pics. (I have a tendency to give more info than anyone actually cares about.)

Wed 4pm: OB appt. on my due date. Dilated to 4cm. Schedule induction for Friday morning at 5am!

Wed 5pm: Call Jason’s parents. They schedule flight to come in Thursday night. Jason has office reschedule all of his patients for next Thursday & Friday.

Wed 11pm: Go to sleep with the comfort of knowing that no matter how much pain and discomfort I am in, I only have to make it 1 ½ more days.

Thur 11am: Dr.’s office calls to schedule check-up for Monday. I explain that I am being induced tomorrow, so no need for an appt. They inform me that no, they are not sure why they told me that the schedule was completely open for me to be induced, as it is actually completely full. I will have to be induced next Wednesday instead.

Thur 11:05am: I freak out. You don’t mess with a pregnant woman like that. The thought of waiting another 6 days is not an option. I had mentally prepared myself for tomorrow. The in-laws bought their tickets. Jason’s patients have all been rescheduled. But most importantly, my emotional state is not stable.

Thur 6pm: My body convinces Claire that we are not waiting another week. The time has come, whether they can schedule me in or not. Contractions begin about 10 minutes apart.

Fri 12am: Jason’s parents arrive, just in time to watch Gabby.

Fri 4am: Contractions are finally 4-5 minutes apart and more and more intense. We leave for the hospital.

Fri 4:30am: As soon as I lay down on the bed for them to measure my contractions, they are suddenly farther apart and less intense. They look at me like I don’t know what I am doing and send us home. They do not seem to care that when I stand up to leave, a huge puddle of blood appears on the floor. “Maybe we’ll see you later this weekend,” the nurse says. Eh?? Later this weekend? I don’t think so.

Fri 5:30am: We drive home with me in agony. I have not eaten or slept all night and I am urgently craving a sausage and egg muffin. The restaurants are not open yet. My pain doubles at the disappointment, which is clearly a personal attack from the restaurant industry.

Fri 7:30am: Okay, so this is what they were talking about when they said labor pains are one of the worst pains a person can experience. Contractions are 2 minutes apart. The thought crosses my mind that maybe I should just deliver at home to prove to them that they should not have turned me away. On second thought, there is a slight chance that my plan may be much worse on me than them. Fine. Off to the hospital again.

Fri 8am: Arrive at hospital with contractions 1 minute apart. I am a true disaster complete with tears and I tell myself, “At least I will never see anyone here again.” Then the nurse comes to rush me to my room. She leans over me in the wheel chair. “Jen?” – perfect – an old friend from high school that I haven’t seen for 13 years. She will be my nurse through the entire delivery. Needless to say, I am not much for reminiscing and small talk as she helps me undress. (No offense, Mey, I was just in a little shock, but you were an awesome nurse.)

Fri 9:55am: Claire Evelyn Boyer arrives before I have time to realize that I am in the hospital. She is perfect! And, I admit, the pain instantly seems trivial once I see her face and hold her in my arms. Welcome home, Claire!

The first few moments of Claire's life.

8lbs, 8oz. 20inches. Thank goodness we did not let her grow another week!

Jason experiments with his wicked photography skills.

The Boyer cheeks prevail again!

The sisters meet each other. Gabby has been such a gentle and loving sister. [Note: That is Gabby's arm around Claire, not my runt arm, as it appears.]

More pics from the photographer at the hospital:

Our growing family arrives home. (I promise, despite the illusion, this is the day after Claire's birth and I am not actually 7 months pregnant again.)

Curiosity.

Jason's parents keep Gabby busy with things like hiking to Bridal Veil Falls.

Gabby had a great time with Noni & Papa B and we ate better than we have for a LONG time. Thank you for all of the help!

I will get back into photo mode and take some better pictures of Claire soon. And I may even eventually post them....