MOM

I have been doing some little reading and writing lessons with Lucy lately, wondering if anything is really sinking in. Well, last week I drew some "m"s and asked her to draw her own. After working on it for a minute, she says "Look mom! Read it." When I looked at the first word she had ever written on her own I just squealed with joy, praised my daughter with kisses and then almost cried! That little girl sure knows how to make her Mama happy! What a special calling to be a mother. I am so very thankful to be Lucy's Mother.

Rapunzel Rapunzel let down your hair!

So My sister Heidi was looking at the pictures on my camera the other day and started cracking up because I had done such a photo shoot of Rapunzel's tower. I will admitt, I am kind of obsessed with the movie. I love it and can't wait for it to come out on video (and if you know me I own about 10 DVD's and don't plan on having collection, so the fact that I want to buy it says a lot!)

So I decided to make a Rapunzel tower because Lucy wanted one. I let her help me paint and glue it. It was a lot of work and it is very not like me. I am not painty. I am not gluey. I am not artistic. I am not crafty. Wow! It turned out great. It looks artistic! There are vines. I painted bricks and vines. Maybe I am crafty. Maybe I just think that because no one else made one that I can compare it to and realize that I am not artistic. Lucy loves it and that is all that matters.

Anyway, I had to document this crafty moment.

I also wanted to say a special thank you to Cassie and Steven Daines for bestowing the small Rapunzel on us. (Steve it was soooooo great to see you and Cassie you pick amazing presents and hope to see you soon too! Cooper keep up the great work! Only 20 more years and you might be able handle this little woman!)As you can see the big doll, didn't fit and Lucy was torn up over it once I glued the roof on. I made a braid out of yarn and was looking for a little doll to glue it on, but I really prefer the real thing! We now play with little Rapunzel every day and big Rapunzel is her Mommy. It is awesome! I am so glad I have Lucy to share my Rapunzel obsession with!



Look big Rapunzel fits as long as there is no roof

Oh no the roof is on.

We can pretend the braid is hanging out of the tower. (It was Lucy's idea to put it on the chair so the tower would be taller)

Pretty much finished!

Added a yarn braid, plus put it in a magical forest!

Now we have little rapunzel! Yay! A match made in heaven! Perfect to scale!

Lucy and Levi

Caught some love on camera yesterday!








Lucy is really obsessed with her baby brother. She loves him sooooo much! The problem is she loves him soooooo much!

When he was 3 weeks she got him out of his swing and put him on the ground. I try not to imagine his little head flopping around. He did start screaming, but calmed down pretty quickly. Somehow I managed not to freak out and yell at Lucy (only because Dave was there to help me).

Last week Dave left Levi in his crib for a little while and came back and Lucy was sitting in it with him.

I have told her the rules - no picking up, no touching face and not to give him little things, but she still says "Don't worry Mom, I'll go get him" when we hear him wake up on the monitor.

She wants to help me wash him and change his diaper and smother him with cuddles! I keep telling myself "Babies were made to withstand siblings." Let's just say, Levi has already had a much different upbringing than Lucy. Lucy was only ever touched very gently and probably cried without help from a parent for a total of 30 minutes in her whole first year. Levi just has to cry sometimes and gets attacked with love, but I'm sure he will turn out fine!

I guess it could be a lot worse. She could purposefully be hurting him...

Here is a one month old pic, taken on October 14
He had a doctor's appointment on October 11 and he was already 11 pounds! I am so proud of my big boy! Wouldn't it be great if we all put on two pounds per month! Or better yet increased our weight by 20%!!!! (That was a very rough calculation)

Levi loves the bath. He gets really smiley, but of course I couldn't get it with the camera. I don't know if you can tell how he is getting chubby little arms and legs. He even has some creases. I love it! I really miss Lucy's chub and am excited to have some chub again.
I have gotten some great videos of his smiles. He started smiling really early, around 3 weeks. I kept thinking he was too young to do that, but he really did it in response to looking at him and talking to him. I guess he is just a happy little guy! Don't get me wrong, he screams when he is hungry. He goes from 0-60 in one second. He is smiling at you, babbling and then the next minute yelling "Feed me now."

He has been sleeping pretty well. He usually sleeps from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. eats and goes back to sleep until 7 or 8. Lucy would do 6 hours when she was about 2 weeks old, but then she was up for a long time. The going back to sleep part makes a big difference in my happiness! Actually I have been extremely happy this time around. 2 kids is way easier than I had anticipated (It's not easy, I just thought it would be completely overwhelming). I even catch myself thinking about how soon we could have another baby, which I'm pretty sure with Lucy at this stage I was thinking, "Maybe one child would be just perfect." It's not really Levi's personality vs. Lucy's, I think I just have accepted my role as a mother and already know how to take care of a baby. Now, I am not shocked when I have spit up in my hair and poo all over my clothes, instead I am pleasantly surprised when I don't have anything gross on me. I used to think I didn't like babies, but i loved kids, so i had to do the baby thing, but now I really do love having a baby. I love being a Mom. I am so blessed and so grateful for my sweet kids and awesome husband. He is always putting me first, even when he is dirt tired at 4:00 a.m. It's amazing!


I have so much to say, but so little time...so I guess this will have to do!

First Outings

We took Levi to the beach for the first time on Saturday night. He loved it. Of course, who wouldn't?

I took him again today, since it is incredibly hot here! We had so much fun! He just ate and then napped in the tent for 2 hours, while Lucy played with a friend she had just made.

I am so happy to be raising my kids here. I felt very confused raising Lucy in the snow. I never really knew what to do, except stay in the house, which was kind of miserable (I am not a home body).

I also took the kids to the park on Saturday morning (since Dave had to work and I had to get out). I am so proud of myself when I leave the house, since it usually takes a whole hour to get everybody ready (and that doesn't mean looking good, we are talking fed and clothed, not necessarily matching).

Anyway, here are the cute shots from the beach:

The First Week

First, Here are some pictures:

Bringing Levi home on Wednesday night, September 15


Lucy welcoming her brother home


Me and my kids (I love saying "the kids")


I think they are going to be best of friends



Our first family car ride to the Pediatrician on Thursday Morning, September 16.


Lucy finds her own Boppy!! Funny Girl!


Levi's first tummy time! (I think it made his umbilical cord bleed a little, so we will wait a few days to try again)


Lucy is trying out Levi's bathtub. She is enjoying all the fun new baby things around!!


The first week has gone by in a flash! Surprisingly, I have loved it. With Lucy it was a really hard and shocking adjustment for me, but this time I love it. Maybe it is because Dave didn't even let me change one diaper until he was 4 days old (he is the best father there ever was!), or that I already know how to breastfeed, or perhaps it is because Levi just came home from the hospital sleeping at night. I kid you not, I don't know how it happened (okay, actually I prayed a lot for it while I was pregnant), but Friday night he slept 4 hours, woke up and ate and went right back to sleep for 3 more. Saturday he is increased to 5 hours, quick feed, back to sleep for 3. Sunday night was 6 hours (from 11:00p.m. to 5:00 a.m.), quick feed and awoke again at 8:00 a.m. Last night (Monday night) 7 hours!!! He went to sleep at 12:00 p.m. and woke up at 7:00 a.m., quick feed and back to sleep until 10:00 a.m.!!! Hallelujah!!!! With Lucy I am pretty sure I didn't want to have any more children after the first week of newborn care, but this time I am so happy, I am already ready to have another one! (Okay, not quite yet!)

My Favorite moments this week:

Watching Lucy hold her brother and kiss him softly and then rub her cheek on his head. She is so good at calming him. She even started calmly singing "I am a Child of God" to him when he was fussing. He stopped fussing and it was a very sweet moment!

Every morning when Lucy wakes up she wants to come see "her baby" and give him a kiss.

Levi spit up and Dave called out to me because he needed a burp rag, "He's spitting..." Lucy then asked inquisitively "Does he need a time out?" So funny! (She went through a little spitting phase and got time outs for it).

Answering Lucy's questions about birth. She asked how the baby got out. I told her he came out my bottom and responded "That's silly!" and hasn't asked again.

Telling Lucy stories about me and my little brother Brian and what we would do together. Lucy seemed kind of annoyed that she couldn't play with the baby yet, so I told her first they have to grow and then they will be lots of fun. I told her all the adventures I went on with my little brother and she loved it. Now she asks all the time "Can you tell me about your little brother, Brian."

Lucy found a neck pillow and used it as a boppy to feed her baby doll! Hilarious!

When Levi cries Lucy consoles him by saying: "It's okay little man." I guess she must have heard me saying that.

Lucy keeps asking if she can have some milk (as in breastmilk). I told her "Sure, you can try baby milk," but then she chickens out and says "That milk is for babies, not older sisters." I am so glad she came to that conclusion on her own without me forcing the issue or letting her try any.

Last night Lucy was helping me burp Levi, and he burped while she was patting. She was so proud. It was precious.

Levi had a weight check on Monday and was 9 lbs 5 oz. Yay he gained 5 oz! I am so proud he is on his way to becoming a big and tall athlete!

Yay! His umbilical cord fell off just a few minutes ago! (11:00 a.m. September 21)

I love being a Mom of two!

The Real Labor Day!

Levi David Pendergrass has arrived! He was born on Tuesday, September 14th at 9:37 a.m. He weighed 9 lbs and is 21.5 inches long. I am so proud and hoping this means he will be a big, tall and handsome athlete, just like his Daddy!

Here are a few pictures of Levi's first days in the hospital. I also wrote my labor story because I know a lot of people are interested in that, but I put it after the pictures, because I know a lot of people are definitely not interested in that. So enjoy if you are the curious type!








Here is the Labor story! Feel free to skip it if you aren't into that kind of thing!

September 13th before bed I started bawling. I can't really explain it... I just knew I was going to have the baby the next day and these were my last few moments with only one child. Lucy had predicted about a month ago that the baby would come on a Tuesday. I asked her when the baby was coming and she said matter of factly "Tuesday in September." The 14th is my Grandma's Birthday and I had told her I would have the baby on her Birthday for her. Now it was here, and I knew it. I was worried about Labor and taking care of a newborn and not being able to spend as much time with Lucy. When we decided to have a baby is was 9 months away and so unreal, now it was here and I still didn't feel ready so I just got overwhelmed. Eventually I got over it, realized there was no real other way out of being pregnant and went to bed around 11:00 p.m.

September 14th

3:00 a.m. Wake up to a nice, real contraction. Pretty sure it was real. I wait to wake Dave up. He will need sleep. I stay in bed through a few more contractions coming every 10 minutes.

3:30 a.m. Okay the bed is not comfortable anymore! I get up and go get some breakfast. Going to need my strength today!

4:00 a.m. I am tired. Maybe I can sleep in between contractions. I go get back in bed through 2 more contractions. Dave wakes up. I wish he could have slept longer. I tell him calmly that I am in Labor for reals.

4:30 a.m. Dave and I jump in the shower. Got to look good for my little man's first day on earth! Just kidding. I did it more to feel good, but I do think it helped the pictures turn out a little more to my liking.

5:00 a.m. My shower has turned into a bath. I call the midwife from the bath tub and tell her I can't remember when I was supposed to call and when I am supposed to go to the hospital, but currently contractions are 7 minutes apart lasting 50 seconds. She said I could wait until contractions are 4-5 minutes apart and 1 minute in length, but I could go sooner if I felt like I should. I stop timing contractions because it is annoying. I figure I will know when it is time.

5:30 a.m. I finish packing my hospital stuff. Dave packs some snacks and I eat some ham and cheese sandwiches. I go snuggle Lucy while she is sleeping, wishing I could tell her goodbye, but not wanting to wake her. Contractions aren't too great while lying down, so I sadly stop snuggling her.

6:00 a.m. Dave calls my parents. At this point I have found that my favorite position for contractions is standing hugging Dave or kneeling at the couch like I am praying (or really praying).

6:30 a.m. My mom arrives. We talk for a little while. She give me some good last motherly encouragement.

I can't believe I have already been in Labor for 4 hours. It went by really quickly and was uncomfortable, but not unbearable by any means. Just felt like I was working out really hard and in between contractions I was happy as ever.

7:00 a.m. We leave for the hospital.

The freeway is jammed up, so we decide to take the coast route to the hospital. As we are nearing Moonlight Beach I have an uncontrollable urge to go walk in the water. I beg Dave to please take me to the beach. He asks if I am sure I shouldn't be at the hospital. I tell him "I think I will know when I am about to have the baby. Don't worry about" He jokes about catching the baby on the beach and how he will quote that for forever. We are cracking up which kind of hurts during a contraction while riding in the car.

7:20 a.m. We arrive at the beach, take our shoes off and go stand in the water. I felt overwhelming happiness wash over me. I can't explain how amazing it was. I really wanted to just kiss Dave the whole time we were there, but he kept it appropriate because there were a few joggers and such. I could have cared less. I was so scared the night before, but standing in the water in the early morning sunlight, holding the man I love and thinking about having a new little man to love, just made me start crying. I was crying because I was so happy. I knew I could do it. I knew I would love our new baby. I was crying because Dave had been such a good labor coach, even though he couldn't come to any of the classes. I was crying because Labor hadn't even gotten hard yet. In fact, I wondered if we weren't going in to the hospital a little early. I had stopped timing contractions long ago. To make a long story short, there is no better place to labor than sunrise at the beach with your feet in the water. It was so beautiful. I know it sounds crazy, but I actually cherish these moments being in Labor.

7:50 a.m. Okay, I guess we had better leave. We get in the car and start driving. Labor is so much better at the beach than in the car! Dave and I realize neither of us has ever been to the hospital from this direction and we end up going the wrong way. We were laughing. I wasn't worried. The contractions still weren't unbearable so I figured I was still a few hours away.

8:20 a.m. We check into the hospital and apologize for our sandy feet. They put me in a wheel chair, which I didn't think I needed, but it is always fun to be pampered. The nurses were nice. They doted over me and told me I looked beautiful. They sat me down and hooked me up to the monitors, but didn't give me an IV because I asked them not to. They did put a lead in my wrist just in case I needed emergency blood afterward. They check to see how dilated I am. I get really worried all of a sudden, because last week at my Dr. Appointment I wasn't dilated at all. I told Dave, if I am only at a 3 or something, I am going to just cry, wishing we hadn't left the beach! The nurse says to me "Looks like you have already done all the work. Good job! You are dilated to a 9 with a bulging sack of water. I will get the Dr. in here" I absolutely can't believe it! Was it really that easy? I can't believe I am still happy, talking, joking with the nurses and Dave. In shock that it's not that bad. Okay, I am only talking and happy in between contractions, (during contractions I am completely zoned out, breathing deeply and working hard) but they still aren't unbearable and Dave is shocked that everything is calm and I'm not yelling at him like in the movies (Although I was really tempted to, just for fun, while we were in the hallway!).

Sometime between checking in and Birth: A few more contractions, the Dr. breaks my water, okay. Now the contractions are intense. I was ready to push and on all fours and the Dr. asked me if I wanted to push like that. I said "I don't know" because at this point I felt like I didn't really know what to do, although I had planned to push on all fours or in a squatting position. Somehow the Dr. talked me into lying on my side, because he knew I wouldn't lay on my back. My emotions were confusing at this point. Before I felt like I knew what I wanted and was calling the shots. All of a sudden I felt like I didn't know what was going on, some animal inside me was taking charge and my logical side was gone. It felt scary, but actually really good to become so uninhibited. It was completely just me and my body and my baby, and I didn't care anymore that I sounded like Tarzan roaring in the jungle. The pain was not what I expected and really hard to describe. It felt very natural and unlike anything I have ever felt before. It is not like falling and getting hurt or like a really bad headache. It's more like when you are exercising really hard and pushing yourself to your total capacity, harder than you ever have before. So hard that some higher power takes over for you and you aren't thinking about what you are doing anymore. It was definitely really hard, but it was also an incredible feeling that my body could really do that. And really cool to actually feel your baby coming out.

9:37 a.m. Anyway, I pushed through two contractions and then had a little man! I was a little sad because I wanted him to come right to my arms, but he was blue and not breathing, so they had to cut the cord right away, take him to the table and then called on the intercom "I need help in room 4." Which worried me. The Dr. assured me he was okay, but you wonder all the same. I prayed in my heart for him.

The Dr. told me at first that I didn't tear, but then when he checked again found a little one. He said it was small and he didn't have to stitch it, but it might heal nicer asked what I wanted. I let him stitch it, but regretted that shortly. I am not going to lie. That sucked. I don't know what kind of numbing agent he used, but it seemed like I felt everything and it took too long. And it is a sharp pain, not a muscular pain like labor. I think I deal a lot better with muscular pain, than needles and pokes. I squeezed Dave's hand more while being stitched than in labor!

And then it was over. My baby was okay and they finally brought him to me. We cuddled and nursed and I knew I would love him forever. And that is the beginning of Levi David Pendergrass.

The recovery is going great! I feel ten times better than I did with Lucy. I appreciated Labor being easy because of the epidural with Lucy, but it felt really weird and was a much slower recovery. This time around, I loved being able to walk around and move right after delivery and I felt so happy afterward and still do. With Lucy I felt kind of weird and confused and cried a lot.

Now that I have had both experiences, epidural and natural, I can say that I loved the natural birth experience and will definitely choose it again. It has increased my appreciation for my body and it's amazing ability. My knowledge of God's grand design, the miracle of life and the creation of woman has deepened. I feel honored to be a woman and mother.

Hopefully it is really Labor Day!

I just realized that I never posted any pregnancy shots this entire pregnancy, so now that I am due in 2 days and in honor of Labor Day (Ha ha) I better do it quick! Just took these a few minutes ago(well Dave did, not me). I am really sticking it out in this one, so I figured I better include one with normal posture, too...
I really meant to post a few shots along the way...let's face it I will probably always be a procrastinator. A few minutes ago I got a strong contraction and what did I think about... oh no I never took any real pregnancy pictures or posted them, quick Dave get the camera...you would think I would be more worried because I haven't even packed a hospital bag yet! As if Labor wouldn't be exciting enough if you were prepared...

The funny thing is my water broke at 11:50 p.m. on Labor day three years ago. I was sooooo excited. I had been hoping to go into Labor on Labor day all day and had finally given up. Let's see if we can make this Labor on Labor Day # 2!

HAPPY LABOR DAY from your friend who hopes she is in Labor!

It's a boy!!!!

That's right! I'm pregnant! We found out last week (March 16) that we are expecting a boy!!! Yay! I really wanted to let everyone guess before I went in, but I didn't know I would be finding out the gender at such an early appointment. I was shocked we were able to tell when I was only 15 and 1/2 weeks. With Lucy I didn't have an ultrasound until 21 weeks. I guess the ultrasound tech for my Doctor is one of the best and has really state of the art equipment. Right now I am almost 17 weeks and due on September 8. The doctor told me according to the ultrasound that the due date was September 4, but that is Lucy's birthday, so I think we will stick with the 8th. It's always plus or minus 10 days anyway so there is no need to change it!

Here is what Lucy predicted:

About a week before my ultrasound I was talking to Lucy about the baby. I asked her if she was excited to be a big sister. She answered as if she already knew what was going on, "I am going to have a baby brother?" I explained that we didn't know if she would have a little brother or a little sister yet. Then she requested "How 'bout a sister."

After the Ultrasound:

I got home from the ultrasound just as Lucy was waking up from her nap (my mom watched her while I was gone). At first she was sad, because I told her she could play with Mommo when she woke up from her nap. She told me "Leave Mommy. I want to have fun with Mommo." After I got her settled I told her she was going to have a little brother. She said "I want a sister" and rolled her eyes at me. I cheered her up by telling her that I had a little brother who is now Uncle Brian. I told her how much fun it was to play with him when I was little. Then she replied "Okay. I have a little brother. I want a big sister." She is so funny! I love her little opinions.

I am really happy and starting to feel good again. The last couple months were rough, but not as rough as with Lucy. I haven't actually gotten sick too much, just kind of constantly nauseated, whereas with Lucy I couldn't even count how many times I got sick. I haven't gained any weight yet, but with Lucy I had lost about 10 pounds by this point, so I am really glad! I am so happy that food is becoming appealing again!

I really wanted to post the ultrasound pictures, but Dave felt like that would embarrass the poor boy later in life. I guess a man's got to keep his pride, even if he is only 16 weeks. I didn't feel like an ultrasound picture was too detailed to worry about that kind of thing, but I am not a guy so I decided to let Dave make this call. Oh well, ultrasound picture are really the the type of thing that are only exciting to the parents anyway.

I am pretty sure I felt a few small kicks 2 nights ago, so that was really exciting! I actually just had my first real Doctor appointment today, where I was able to hear the heartbeat and everything. The ultrasound tech picked it up for me when I told him I hadn't heard it yet, but I guess today's was official.

Lucy had a Doctors appointment on Friday. They had to take her blood and give her 6 shots (3 in each leg). We did a lot of shots before we left for Korea, but she was only eleven months and the state requires that they happen after 12 months. I actually knew that when we had her shots at 11 months, but I didn't want to go to Korea without her updated on her shots. I guess I had hoped they would overlook it, but they didn't. So they had to redo them. Sad, huh? She hobbled around like a duck on Saturday. She seemed really sore.

Her appointment was really funny actually. It was nap time and after they took her blood we had to wait a while for the doctor. Lucy fell asleep on the table. The Doctor did her whole check up while she was sleeping. Then they gave her shots. Poor girl, what a miserable way to wake up! I got some pictures of her sleeping on the table. They are on my phone. I will have to see if I can post them. She weighed 28 lbs and measured 34 inches. That put her in the 25 percentile. I'll be honest it kind of made me sad because when she was a baby she was always in the 90th percentile, but I think she was set back a little after she was hospitalized in Korea.

Well, I'm sure that's quite enough to read. I'll try to keep you updated about the baby and post my tummy when I start showing!

RED HEAD

In all of my brilliancy, I decided I could outwit my little pumpkin. I had the most genius self feeding plan in centuries of mother's plotting. We could just take her outside to eat and then I wouldn't have to clean up too much of a mess off the ground, I could hose off the entirely plastic high chair, and Lucy could play to her heart's content...I mean we live in the most perfect weather possible so why not?

Sounds good in theory, right? I thought it was pretty smart.

I guess Lu thought I was challenging her abilities and with a devilish little smile she smeared the spaghetti all over her freshly washed hair!

I give up! We might as well just dye her hair red, with spaghetti being her favorite food and all! I mean, I'm starting to dream about spaghetti in my worst nightmares!

Ding! Round 1! But, don't get any ideas Lucy honey, I'm not giving up that easy! The war is on!

Never despair, there is always some good to be found in any mortal experience. Once I was past the point of caring about messes, I handed her a regular plastic cup of water without any handles and she drank perfectly all by herself without spilling a drop. She did it again perfectly at dinner tonight, so it wasn't just an ironic coincidence that she would be flawless when it mattered the least. The only problem is after she is done drinking she wants to fling it around, but merely drinking poses no hazards. Way to go my most coordinated almost 15 month old child!

Sorry, I can't resist bragging. It helps me cope with the more challenging aspects of her sweet personality! I'm pretty sure the reason she is so advanced is because she practices all of her skills all night, every night, when she wakes up multiple times. Maybe they should do a study to see if waking children frequently accelerates fine motor skill development or something, because if there was a correlation my life would be explained! I should have been a scientist!

Just one of those days...Part II

(This post is a continuation of the post "Just one of those days." To catch the entire comical feel for this day please read "Just one of those days" post first for the beginning of this comedy scene)

Monday, I thought I had been through it by 10:00 a.m. when I posted, but to leave out the rest of this comical day would just be a shame!

You heard how hard it was for us to come upon diapers Monday morning, well as the day unfolds it turns out downright ridiculous!

Where we left off: David bought a pack of three pullups, enough to tide us over until we could get a big pack at the grocery store and we put Lucy in bed.

A few hours later, Dave and I had split up to accomplish two errands before Lucy's follow up visit to the Doctor in Seoul. My task was to go buy the diapers. I knew where the diapers were located in the grocery store, although David had always bought them in the past, I was confident I wouldn't have any problems on my own. I found some really cheap store brand diapers, $7.20 for 72 diapers which now I can't recall American prices, but it seemed like a steal. With no time to head for home, I met up with Dave and we toted the large pack of diapers with us on the Subway as we rode into Seoul.

At the Doctor's they said Lucy seemed to be doing well, but wanted to do another stool culture. We cruised around our favorite hospital waiting for Lucy to go and then after a few hours brought in the diaper.

As I changed her into one of her new diapers, it was as if all of Korea had just played some big joke on me! The diapers didn't have any way to be fastened. Yup! No sticky tabs! Just a totally normal diaper without tabs. Okay...you can use pads without wings, but how can you use diapers without sticky tabs? Do you just tote around your own tape or use a diaper cover or what? Well, whatever it is you are supposed to do, we didn't have the means, so I just put the diaper on her and tried to roll it around her pants so it wouldn't fall off.

How can you screw up buying diapers? I don't know, but I did. Well, as cheap as we are, we actually wanted to try to use the diapers, so after the long Subway ride home carrying Lucy in this flimsy diaper arrangement, we bought one more pack of pullups to put over these strange diaper inserts, thinking we could keep using the same pullup on the outside for a while.

It was pretty difficult to align the two diapers properly, but we managed to put one double decker diaper on. I wasn't a fan, but decided once again we could wait until the next morning before heading to the grocery store to right this wrong.

As chance would have it, just when we left the Doctor's office and travelled all the way home (1 and 1/2 hour Subway ride plus a taxi to and from the Sub stop), Lucy started vomitting again, after no signs of illness (other than diaharrea) for 4 days. After lots of tears and a little too much vomitting, especially given her recent bout with Salmonella, we headed to the hospital at 10:30 p.m. I knew she was okay at the time, but really wanted to prevent her getting dehydrated again and since we couldn't find any pedialyte in Korea or anything, the next best option was an I.V. Oh joy rapture now (that one was for you girls, you know who you are)!

After arriving at the hospital, Lucy started running around and saying in her most chipper voice to all the ER staff "hi," little wave and then again "hi." She just magically stopped vomitting and got all her energy back the moment we got to the hospital, so I am sure the hospital staff thought we were a little nutty! Anyway, not really wanting to sleep in the hospital we decided to give Lucy an hour and see if she continued to act fine.

She ran around, just happy go lucky for about a half hour and then wanted to nurse. I figured it would be a good test to see if she vomitted again after nursing, but much to my surprise while nursing it came out the other end instead, and her make shift diaper didn't really do the trick. The funny thing is the way I was holding her in my lap, the (we'll just call it a mess and spare you the details) mess Lucy made came out the side of her diaper and went right under my bottom on the chair I was sitting. So the back of my pants just looked like I had a serious accident and when Dave saw it he asked me if I was okay, and gave a somewhat doubtful expression as I tried to explain how Lucy had gotten her poo onto my bum (I guess it did really look like I was trying to blame an accident on my child. I seriously had more on myself than she did, but really guys, it was Lucy).

And so the diaper episode continues. As I began to change my dear little child, I realized due to the volume of the explosion, the diaper liner and the pull up were in need of replacement. I searched the diaper bag and pulled out one of my liners and then continued to search, all the while becoming more frantic as I did not see another pull up. Finally after pouring the entire contents of the backpack onto the bench, I admitted to myself that I had not put the other two pull ups into the diaper bag. Among other things, I also forgot a spare change of clothes for Lucy and therefore even with a diaper liner, I had absolutely no way to keep it around my child.

I reported the serious tragedy to my first mate, and Dave was off for the second time that day, with lightning speed, on a quest for diapers. And now that it was about 11:50 p.m. and the grocery stores clothes at midnight, it was truly a race against time. He raced to the opening of the grocery store and raced to the closing of the grocery store this diaperly disastrous Monday. Of course, I never doubted my trackstar, but I still had to contain a diaperless child full of energy (in public might I add).

But there is always mercy...and always something to be grateful for. There was one other baby in the emergency room, just Lucy's size. I don't know how they sensed my need, what with my nudy child and all, but they handed me a diaper and our hearts communicated, although I couldn't find the words in Korean to accurately express my deep gratitude. I put the diaper on, with no pants to cover it, only socks and shoes.

As she began to wander the hospital dressed in this attire, I felt an overwhelming spirit come over me, speaking of the importance to never judge another, and especially a mother. How true the saying "You could love anyone once you knew their story" and so we might as well love them without knowing the story and assume they have a good heart, realizing that insurmountable circumstances may have lead them to their current state. I am sure many a Mom would have looked at my daughter running around in public, with a dirty shirt, a diaper, no pants, socks and shoes and thought I was unqualified for the great responsibility of parenting, but at that moment I'll be the first to say that given the circumstances I was doing an outstanding job. I mean talk about tough, I didn't even cry once through this experience (okay well, I broke down a little later that night after inserting the IV and taking her for x-rays and making me leave the room). And so I was reminded of this important gospel principal to love one another and give no thought to how things may appear and am grateful for my reinvigorated perspective.

Just then, Dave sprinted through the automatic hospital doors, my hero, with a glorious pack of real diapers. I never knew how glorious diapers could look, but really in the right circumstance a pack of normal diapers can fill your complete soul with nothing other than joy! At some points in his life, Dave was a hero because he had superman like capabilites to jump higher and sprint faster than 99.999999999999% of the people in this world, but tonight he was a brave, optimistic (yep, he was still laughing and making jokes) worn out father, loving husband hero and to me he is grand and these are his real superman like capabilities.

And by now you are wondering if this post ever ends and I know it is long, but it is 4:30 a.m. and I just can't sleep, so I might as well write the night away and you can choose if you want to keep reading, but if you have read this far I know you will finish because, although you are tired of reading (yes, even regardless of my talented writing abitities) you are wondering if our Monday ever ends. And yes it ends and I will make it as short as my descriptive and detailed writing style can allow.

The whole day with the diaper thing was really comical and other than my moody awakening, we were really laughing a great deal of the day (I mean I honestly feel like we were living in a sit com), but from here on out the comedy ends. Just wanted to warn you about the not so sunny next paragraph and mood shift (I really wish I could keep the funny phrases coming, but I just can't think of any other way to describe the next somber hour).

The doctor saw Lucy's diaper explosion of all explosions (I guess he couldn't look away as I cleaned up the puddle of mess on the floor, not to mention my own pants) and recommended that even with her cheery disposition she should be admitted because her little mess looked like bile, which meant her digestive system had completely stopped digesting anything. (This diaper did look and smell different than anything I have ever seen). So it was our choice and we willingly let them stick our little girl four times trying to get the IV in and then they shipped her in for X-rays and only let Dave come, so I cried outside as I listened to my scared daughter cry behind the doors. We entered our room and it was nothing near as nice as the first hospital we stayed at (which I wasn't very grateful for at the time, but now I am). 7 beds, all of them full, except one, Lucy's. Completely unsafe shaky railing, two feet away from another sick baby on either side, no curtains, hacking babies, signs on the end of the beds that say pneumonia, small cot for Dave, without even enough room to pull it out and sleep next to me and Lucy's rickety bed.

There was nothing left to do, but say a humble family prayer in whispered tones and then curl up in our little bed listening to the snoring and wheezing around us and hope this was just a dream.

So the last two Mondays we were admitted to hospital and I am hoping this next Monday will prove to be the third times the charm and Lucy will be cured. I will continue to explain our weeks adventures in future posts, but on behalf of my weary brain and yours, I will take a break and say...to be continued...

Just one of those days...

Today was just one of those days that you were so glad you had a blog because if you couldn't share how ridiculous things were going, you might start melting down a little, but in light of technology you kept remembering in the back of your mind at least you had something funny to share, so you were happy anyway. Okay, so it didn't start out funny, but I was laughing after a few hours.

Woke up 5:15 a.m. "

Time to start the day" says Lucy.

"No way" says Mommy!

However after attempting to put her back to sleep for the next half hour without any luck, I turned on the light and said "Good Morning Lucy," with a big ugly frown on my face. I really just can't lie, even though you know I am attempting in earnest to be happy no matter what, there is no other word for my emotion this morning than completely and utterly MAD! Lucy didn't get a very good nap the day before so I put her to bed early, but I didn't get into bed until midnight, and Lucy woke me up about every 20 minutes the entire night (she still isn't in top shape and started sniffling last night so I don't blame her) so I just got up on the wrong side of the bed.

Now a night like that would be bad and all on any day, but this particular morning held some really joyous experiences in store. It just so happens that on Saturday I realized we needed more diapers soon (Lucy has had the runs for a while so we are going through them pretty quickly). While we were out we stopped by the grocery store, but of course, forgot to pick up the diapers. I didn't realize we had forgot them until about 11:00 p.m. and without our bikes (that were stolen 2 weeks ago) going to the grocery store is about a 20 minute walk, plus freezing weather and we were tired people. So I rounded up all the diapers from all the corners and diaper bags of our house and we had 7 diapers. Not wanting to break the Sabbath I continued to repeat in my mind "We can make it until Monday morning, I just know it" but Sunday night as I put Lucy to sleep, I put the last diaper on her. Still trying to be as positive as possible "It's okay" I calculated in my head "usually we wake up around 8 or 9 a.m. Dave can run to the store while we give Lucy a good morning bath and let her little bum air out and we should be fine," but as you have already heard that just isn't what happened.

So we woke up at 5:15 a.m. and I figured we would run down to the Local Mart just downstairs around 6:00 a.m., although they would rip us off on the price. Dave informed me they didn't open until 8:00 a.m. Alright...naked baby...a few hours away from a diaper...all on just a few 20 minute sleep sessions lumped together to hopefully add up to 4 hours...does this sound like a happy morning? Wait, wait, wait did I even mention Lucy is still on antibiotics which give her diarrhea? All I can say is thank you Korea for not having carpet! Many times I have wished for that blessed soft substance to roll and play on with my daughter. Many times Lucy has fallen to obtain large bruises and I thought of those wonderful days when we used to have short cushiony fabric lining our hallways. Many times I have realized how ungrateful I had been for the carpet in my life as I envisioned my feet in many luscious yesterdays, but today fake wood pleased me in a way no other floor could. Of course, I can't forget to thank the many paper towels, cleaning products and baby wipes who walked me through the last few hours of my life. I'll spare you the details and just say that without any exaggeration we cleaned over 20 messes, #1 and #2 combined.

8:00 a.m. I praise your arrival! Dave ran down to the local market to find the diapers were off the charts expensive and we didn't even have enough cash laying around to buy them even if we were willing to get ripped off so badly, so he sprinted to the bank. Meanwhile Lucy couldn't hold out for a nap any longer and fell asleep naked in my arms, while I tried to protect myself with a blanket. Dave, after hitting up the bank, ran to the grocery store and found it didn't open until 10:00 a.m., so he cruised to a few markets to try to find a decent price, all at top speed for his demanding wife, of course. He finally found a pack of three diapers for $2.00 and completed his Marathon home. Just enought to tide us 'til the grocery store opened. I couldn't believe all he had done in the amount of time, because he was really only gone about 15 or 20 minutes, but then Dave does sprint faster than anyone else I have seen and his forehead was dripping with sweat to prove his bravery, speed and endurance. Thank You Thank You Oh amazing and most in shape husband!

So after the greatest naked session of all times, we slipped a diaper on our sleepy bundle and put her in bed. Anyway the moral of the story is when your ox is in the meir just go get it out! I think the Lord would have understood. It only takes one time running out of diapers for any parent to never let it happen again!

My Very Own Angel

Sunday we went to the English branch in Seoul so that I could get a little something out of church (I feel the spirit at the Korean ward and love the members, but I guess I just don't have the gift of tongues quite yet!). It took us about an hour and a half both ways to get there. I thought we were awesome for traveling that far by subway, especially with a little one. Okay, more than awesome, I thought we were pretty much close to pioneer status, but just as I began wallowing in my pride, the branch president asked us how long it took us to get there. We answered "An hour and a half" and he replied "Oh good, I thought it would take longer from where you live" and then explained that half of the ward travels that far and one man travels three hours both ways (don't worry, they gave him the gospel doctrine calling so he can prepare and have something to do along the way). So never be prideful, never complain, and go to church no matter how far away it is. But this isn't the point of my post. Really the point of this post is to tell a sweet story about Lucy. (who is just waking up from a nap at 8:30 p.m....yes I know...regular sleep times are good for children, but do you know how hard it is to put Lucy to sleep at the same time every day? When she is tired she is tired and if you don't put her down she is a crank, so if it is 7:00 p.m. and you see tiredness cues you just put her down for a nap. So I'll be right back).

(Okay I'm back and Lucy is sitting beside me busily eating her peaches and rice. I thought I might be able to get her back to sleep for the night, but just as she closed her eyes and was nodding back off she surprised me with wide open eyes and a beautiful chorus of "lener lener lener," that noise where they stick there tongue in and out. Totally Cute! Oh well, now I don't have to await Dave's arrival all by my lonesome. Lucy is absolutely thrilled because I just gave her the spoon and let her go to town which only happens when we are not about to go somewhere or already out somewhere (which is surprisingly very rare). I'm all for messes, but timing is key and if you let them make a huge mess of themselves before you leave you'll never get out the door).

Well, half way through church Lucy really needed a nap, so I found a quiet room to try to rock her to sleep. Just as she nodded off, some loud people came by and woke her up, but now I am grateful she did. She saw a picture of Jesus with the children on the door and started signing "come to me" so I brought her close and explained that it was Jesus (The picture to the right is the picture we saw). She looked mesmerized. Then I told her that Jesus loved the little children in the picture and he also loved her and so she gave him a kiss. I smiled and told her good job, so she just kept wanting to kiss the picture of Jesus. Oh, it melted my heart. It was as if she could hear Christ's plea, "suffer the children to come to me." I hope she always knows she is a precious child of God and just how very very loved she is. Little children definitely enter this world with the Light of Christ and a heart full of love. Just when I start to think it's my mission in life to take care of this little girl, I realize she was really sent here to take care of me. She takes care of my spirit and my testimony and reminds me of what is really important in life. She is the light of my life. My very own little angel to dance with, and laugh with and hold and kiss and snuggle and love. So far in my life there is no experience with a higher reward than to be a Mother. And so although it cost time and money to get to church this Sunday, the experience was priceless.

A Little Weighed Down

Lucy has been gaining excessive weight lately...



Wait, look a little closer and surprise! She is not getting any chubbier, she just stuffed about 10 balls down her shirt. Half of them she even got down her onesie.

Look at this little muscle woman pose!

Do you think I can fit a few more down there?

This experience struck me as quite hilarious. I introduced you to our new Ball Hut via a long story last post (see post "Mom Thoughts" for pictures and details)...well let's just say so far it has been a very good purchase. She loves to go play inside her Ball Hut and so it buys me a little more time on the computer...he he he (thus the excessive posting)! Today she stepped inside and was thoroughly occupied for at least 10 minutes...she even pulled the little screen down so I couldn't see what she was doing in there. When she crawled out, she had shoved at least 10 balls down her shirt. This little woman just cracks me up! She looked like she wanted help taking them out and I figured it would be uncomfortable, so I tried to help her take them out and she got really sad, so I put them back and everything was okay in her world again. Oh the stresses a child must endure! What if my mom takes the balls out of my shirt that I worked so hard to put in here? One thing is for sure, they start making goals, be it baby goals, but goals nonetheless, at quite an early age. Eventually we both ended up with big lumpy ball bellies that were jiggling with laughter. Anyway, I finally took them out when we left to go out to dinner (we usually go out to dinner...so spoiled, I know) and when we got back she immediately started stuffing them down her shirt again. Funny Girl. I Guess she just wants to pretend to have a sweet six pack like her Daddy. Keep trying sweetie. Maybe someday...

Mom Thoughts: Article 1

So, I finally decided what I want to be when I grow up...a writer! Congratulations on deciding, I know. I informed my family a few days ago to get some praise and talk of how wonderful I would be at it and although my parents encouraged me, as usual (I call often and announce my "new" calling in life) my youngest sister, Heidi (14 yrs) was quick to clue me in on the fact that I was already grown up. So she says to me "Wow. You are married, have a Bachelor's degree and a one year old daughter. I am pretty sure you passed the grown up milestone a while ago Wendy." So, my dreams were shattered...all this planning and thinking and it's too late, I'm already grown up. Who me? Never. I shutter to think of a person who doesn't keep making goals and dreaming, for aren't we all still growing up? Of course, we cease to grow vertically at some point, but we are always growing and I hope it is upward. I hope we are learning, maturing, becoming better people, trying out new talent's, figuring out how to get a little more out of life everyday, as well as giving back 100 fold. (Didn't know this would turn into such a sermon.lol) So I change hobbies every couple months...you could say I don't know who I am, a misguided soul, who gets bored way too easily and obviously heading nowhere with frivolous ideas...or as I prefer to think, I just have too many talents and if I don't change hobbies every couple months, I will never perfect them all!

With all of this being said, now the meat of my story. A writer I will be...but of what? A novelist? A Journalist? What do I know? What can I write? Well, it is all fine and good to want to write, but you have to have something to write about. As I daydreamed I realized, all I ever want to write about is Lucy, but there just isn't an audience for my love poetry about my daughter. Every now and then I'm sure you love to hear about her, but no one wants to hear how my daughter is a genius, excels in every way, and is clearly the most brilliant child to have walked the planet, not to mention, most likely to win a Nobel Prize (especially if you have your own little joys to dote on). Is there any way to generalize my experiences to gain an audience? And then it dawned on me, I could write Mom Advice. That would be really fun! I love giving advice to new Moms... but then again, so does everybody else that has ever been through labor. Clearly moms already get enough advice from their friends, neighbors, parents, and random strangers, so that option is ruled out...besides with the fact that my daughter still wakes up a few times a night, who would listen to me? I know I wouldn't. There are enough sleep books that don't work and pages of info on feeding your child, so what could I offer anyway? Maybe I could write a column with advice on how to love being a mother. How to enjoy every day. Okay, I'm not all the way there yet, but I would definitely benefit from the research and be able to practice before I preach. So here goes my first writing assignment as an officially declared writer, writing practical advice to help moms keep their spirits up, brought to you today, free of charge for visiting my blog.

A little mess, A little moment. Enjoy the messes. All kids make them, you will inevitably have to clean them, so why not let your kids enjoy it before you clean it up? Better yet, why not join the fun and remember what it feels like to get sticky? But I wouldn't throw out some nonsense like "completely mess up your house" without testing it, so naturally I had to make a mess. Just when I started to get into a bored sort of mood the other day I thought "what an opportunity, why don't Lucy and I make a mess?" So you can see the Ball Hut pictured to the right (we bought it with a gift certificate Dave's Boss gave us for Lucy's birthday, so now she is totally spoiled, but as long as she doesn't know it, it doesn't hurt right?). 200 balls in that hut. Sound like fun? The answer is yes. Could it be more fun? 200 balls later, all over the kitchen floor, the answer is yes. Lucy and I literally had a ball rolling in these balls throwing them all over the house. The only problem was, we did have to pick them all up, and since Lucy only managed to put about 5 balls away (you gotta give her props for trying) 195 balls rolling all over can take a little while. So I don't recommend looking for and creating messy situations everyday. If you are up for it, go for it and have the time of your life. If you aren't up for making messes, no worries, I am sure they will find you. For example, when your child is attacking the spoon you are trying to feed them with and accidentally gets the baby food all over your clothes, her hair, and the floor, you have a choice. You can sigh, and start wiping it up. You can curse the baby food, bibs and Gerber altogether and then start wiping it up. Or you can take your baby's clothes off, give her the spoon and the food, let her do what she likes with it. Take some pictures. Let her try to feed you. Laugh Laugh Laugh and then start wiping it up. Those are the memories you will love. Those are the times you will miss when they are all grown up, but you could have just wiped the mess up right away and never had a memory, only added a metaphorical rock to your "Being a Mom is hard" pocket. One of my favorite childhood pictures that always hung on our wall was of me and my little brother covered from head to toe in flour lying, probably in an entire bag of flour, on the kitchen floor. I am glad my Mom had the wisdom to laugh about the mess and preserve such a fun childhood experience I could always look back on. I don't even remember the experience, but I think I remember it because I have seen that picture so many times. The truth of the matter is, we are women and so sometimes we get a little hormonal. Maybe our outlook on life isn't always shining, and we definitely all have a "Being a Mom is hard" pocket that has at least a few pebbles in there weighing us down. But we must never forget to continue emptying that pocket and filling our "Being a Mom is the most fun, fulfilling and worthwhile thing I could be doing" pocket, even amidst sleep deprivation, messes and more. These are our angels. These little mess machines are the ones who will be changing the world. Taking a little time to enjoy a mess every now and then is just one small way we can live in the moment while our precious jewels are so young. These moments are the ones that build your child's character, and teach them what to do when life takes unexpected turns. Will they laugh or cry? Give up or brave the storm? When you think of it that way, enjoying a little mess here and there, is all worth it, for them and for you.

A short little article, but what do you think? Could I make a hobby of giving tips to uplift mother's everyday life or should I just stick to writing in my journal? Okay, so I won't quit my day job or anything. If you are worried that you will have to read more long, articles by Wendy to do your duty as a friend to me, no worries. This will most likely be my only article (unless the crowds swarm me and beg for more advice by Wendy), but since it was on my mind and I had already dreamed it all up and taken pictures, I had to write it and share my new insights on loving motherhood. Besides, you had to hear the whole long story about why I took a picture of Lucy on our floor with 200 balls...I couldn't just post the picture and say "Yeah, I'm a nut. I made this mess on purpose." The truth of it is, I guess I am a nut, but as a newfound writer, I at least did have just cause. The question is, how do you feel following the blog of such a nut?