Kaden Edward

Well I have been meaning to write the big finale to this journey for a few days now, but I am just barely getting around to it.
       Here he is!  Mr. Kaden Edward Parks!  Born December 6, 2013 at 5:56 p.m. 6 lbs. 11 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long!

Here is the fun story (because I'm sure you all want to know)

    I wrote my last blog post not quite knowing what was going to happen, but full of faith that it was all going to be ok.
    A little after 3:30 that afternoon (Friday) the Dr. came over to labor and delivery to get everything ready to try and flip baby.  Let me just tell you now, trying to flip a breech baby HURTS!  Holy smokes, it was not a pleasent experience.  After a few tries he was able to flip the baby into a head down position.  The Dr. stepped into the hallway to say something to the nurse, and then came back in just to make sure everything was good, and guess what...this fiesty little baby had turned again and gone back to a transverse position!  We were all just baffled that he had moved so fast. We decided to try to put in an epidural and see if maybe with me more relaxed we could turn the baby and keep him head down.  It's not very easy to relax when a Dr's hands are literally shaking as he forces a baby to turn.  Ouch!
    The anesthesiologist came in and put in the epidural, which went fine until my blood pressure dropped.  I immediately started feeling way naseaus and super, super dizzy, as well as seeing all sorts of shapes in front of my eyes.  After that whole issue was resolved (including me having a complete meltdown and crying for a few minutes, but hey things were a little crazy) the Dr. came back in and we tried to flip little man again.  No dice.  He was not going anywhere and therefore we concluded that our next option was a C-section.
    The C-section went great and I practically slept through the entire thing.  I seriously could not keep my eyes open.  I remember hearing the baby cry for the first time and trying to look around to see him.  I also remember seeing Joe stand up and watch him take pictures and seeing a little tiny baby across the room wailing and kicking like a healthy baby does.  Finally, Joe came over to me and showed me a picture of our precious little boy.  He was beautiful.  Just like I knew he would be.  The entire thing (from trying to flip the baby to delivering the baby) had taken less than two and a half hours from start to finish.  It's crazy to think that everything happened so, sooo fast.
   In the recovery room I finally got to snuggle with my new little one.  He was just perfect.  I still couldn't stay awake very well so he and I just slept for a good hour or two while all the anesthetics wore off.  Then they took us to the mother and baby wing where we settled in for the night.
    We stayed in the mother and baby wing for four days (C-section patients are allowed to stay for two extra nights, and I am so grateful that I did) and finally got to come home on Tuesday afternoon.  So all in all I spent seven nights in the hospital over the last two weeks, thats more time than I ever care to spend in a hospital again!
     My recovery has gone really, really well.  I always thought that it would be really difficult to recover from a C-section but it has been (suprisingly) not so bad.  The first night when they made me get out of bed and walk around was really rough, but I made it.  I'm not allowed to do anything strenuous, but I am allowed to walk as much as I want!  Wohoo!  (It's a step up from bedrest) Things like coughing and sneezing hurt a lot, but I'll take it to have a happy healthy baby.  The thing that hurts the most is how bruised my stomach is from the Dr. trying to flip the baby. The part that is hard is that I can't pick up Hudson and he is too squirmy to sit on my lap most of the time, so he and I both don't like that.  Hudson is a super cuddly boy so it's been tough on him.
     Joe and I debated the entire time I was recovering about what to name the baby and finally, finally decided on a name Monday evening.  It was crazy, it just seemed like nothing would fit!  Eventually I realized that nothing was ever going to fit until we just picked a name and started calling him that.  Sure enough, we started calling him his name and he settled right into it.  His name is Kaden Edward Parks.  And he is just perfect.
     Hudson is adapting well, on his first visit to the hospital he didn't want anything to do with the baby, he just wanted to sit with Mommy, but after a few days and a few visits he was so excited to see his "baby brother Kaden" and asks to hold him all the time.  He is super helpful, and loves to do things like get a pillow for the baby, or put the binkie in the babies mouth. I have to watch him like a hawk so that he isn't too helpful, but I think it is just so sweet as to how much he realied that Kaden is a part of our family now.
    Kaden is such a sweet baby.  He sleeps all the time and basically just wakes up to eat.  If I put him down he only sleeps for about 10 minutes without fussing, but if I am holding him he will sleep for hours and hours. last night I slept in a chair so that I could hold him and he slept for 5 hours!  It was awesome.  I had to wake him up at 4:00 so that he could eat, and then Hudson woke up at 5:00 so it was a bit of a tiring day, but I am just loving it so it really isn't that bad.  Kaden had his first Dr. appointment today and everything is looking great.  We have to go back next week just to make sure that he is gaining weight because he is just so, sooo tiny.  (He was 6 lbs 2 oz. when we left the hospital)
     I feel so incredibly blessed right now.  With as scary as things were, and as bad as things could have turned I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has taken care of me.  I have felt his love as well as the love of my Savior these past few weeks through the whisperings of the Holy Ghost and Priesthood Blessings.  My testimony has been strengthened that the Atonement is real and that we truly are children of a loving Heavenly Father who cares about each of us and knows us by name.   The last few weeks have been pretty up and down and I know that we aren't out of it yet, but I have a wonderful family and a loving Heavenly Father.  Life really couldn't get much better.
      I have had so many people call to check on me, and so many who have helped with Hudson. I cannot believe that I am so loved, I am so grateful that people are so willing to just take care of me right now.  Especially my mother and father in law.  They are such great people and it is such a blessing that we are living with them right now.  I couldn't have done all this without all of their help.  Thank you, thank you, thank you to each and every one of you for how much you have done for me and my family right now (even if it just liking my pictures and leaving cute comments on facebook.  It actually makes me quite happy to know that people care enough to like a picture of my little man!)
     Now for some pictures!

Just a few moments old...

Eyes open

Our first family photo!

He has a little turtle neck, it is the cutest thing ever!

Going home!

This is when he was doing the hearing test.  Isn't he just precious!!!

A little sun during the storm.

So, I went in for my ultrasound this morning at 11:30.  I really didn't have high hopes that my fluids had increased enough, but I was going to be optimistic.  Honestly I have been really calm and upbeat through the last two weeks and I have just known this entire time that everything is going to be ok.
    This has been my 8th ultrasound this pregnancy.  You would think that after 8 ultrasounds I would have some awesome pictures of this little guy.  Nope.  Not a single one.  At the 20 week ultrasound he was turned the wrong way so we couldn't see his profile, and then in all the ultrasounds in the past two weeks fluids have been way to low to get a good picture.  Who knew that a large amount of amniotic fluid is what allows you to see babies so well?
    Today, after learning that my fluids are at a 4.7 (so only up one centimeter from yesterday) I was feeling kind of discouraged.  Then, the ultrasound tech asked if I had any good pictures of him.  I told her no and that he was a stubborn kid and liked to keep me in the dark.  She said "lets just see what we can see" and turned on the 4D monitor.  And then, just like magic, there he was!  My beautiful, precious little baby boy that I have been fighting so hard for the last few weeks.  And let me tell you guys, he is absolutely beautiful.  I immediately started crying and just couldn't believe how much love I have for him and how worth all of this has been suddenly seeing his precious little face.  It really was just a giant sunbeam through a bit of a storm.   I cannot believe that this gorgeous little boy will soon be in my arms.
   As for our plan of action...since fluids really didn't come up that much we are going to deliver baby boy today.  There is another scary twist to the story (this little guy likes to panic me a bit!)  He is breech, well technically transverse.  This has semi been another big issue for the last two weeks because he keeps flipping between transverse and breech, and you cannot deliver a breech baby vaginally. We think since fluids are low every time he trys to to turn head down something makes him uncomfy.  We are going to try and flip him and then induce labor.  Because my fluids are low we are being very, very careful and cautious about flipping him so that he doesn't go into distress.  And if he does, then we will go to a C-section.
     Needless to say I am a bit nervous, but like I have said before, I have complete faith, confidence and trust in my Doctor.  I am so greatful for him.  He has discussed things with me multiple times, consulted other doctors, and been a huge support.  I know that he will take as much time and care for me and my baby as we need.  I am also so grateful again for medicine and what it is today. With as up in the air as things are now, I am glad to know that there is a whole team of professionals ready to go if we have to go for an emergency C-section.  As well as a very comptant and compassionate nursing staff who are very capable to help me with anything I need!
    Finally I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father.  Like I said earlier, this entire time I have felt very calm about everything and I know that that is the Holy Ghost comforting me.  The power of the Atonement is so real in my life right now and I know that I am not alone and that my son is not alone.  I cannot express the gratitude and love I have in my heart right now for my Savior and Heavenly Father.  We truly are children of God and he does not ask us to do things without preparing a way for us.
    Please pray for me and baby, I know that everything is going to be just fine and I am so excited to soon be holding this sweet little one in my arms, but we will take all the prayers we can get!  Hopefully my next post will be pictures of this beautiful litte boy that I got to see today for the first time!

A baby! Almost....

Well we went into the Dr this afternoon and my fluids had dropped to a 3. Since they dropped I have been admitted to the hospital again to receive more fluids.  Hopefully that will boost me back up to a higher number and the we can let little guy cook a bit longer.  
     However,  if fluids are still low tomorrow then we will just induce labor and get him here! 
    Thank you so much for all the prayers, help and words of encouragement you have given me this week.   I feel so blessed to have so many people who care so much about me and about this sweet baby.

A new baby update!

    I saw the Dr. this morning so I figured it was time for another update.  Last Friday I was worried that I was leaking fluids so we went to the hospital around 10:00 on Friday night to check.  Thankfully, I was definitely not leaking fluids at all so that is all safe.  We did a quick ultrasound and found out that my fluid was a 14!  Wohoo!  It was so nice to have the rest of the weekend and not worry.
    Today at the Dr. we did another ultrasound and my fluids had dropped back down to a 6.9.  Above a 5 which is good, but below a 10, which is not very good at all.  We did a stress test on the baby and he is just fine.  His heartbeat is strong and active so we know that he is safe and happy.  And his movement is absolutely wonderful...I feel like there is a football game going on in my stomach!
    The Dr. sent me home on semi-bedrest (I can't really do much of anything, but I don't have to actually lay in bed all day long) with the instructions to come back and see him on Thursday.
   Once again I am just so grateful for an OB doctor that I know cares about me specifically and who I can trust completely.  I know that both me, and the baby are in very, very safe hands.
   Please keep us in your prayers, I have had a blessing that says everything will be fine and I have faith in that blessings and in the things Heavenly Father promises us.  I know that my baby is special to him and that I am special to him, nothing is going to happen that shouldn't happen.
   Thank you also to so many of you who have offered to help me with Hudson, help me around the house and bring meals.  And thank you to those who have sent me quick messages of encouragement and love.  I feel so supported and cared about.  It is absolutely wonderful.

A Trip to the Hospital/Baby Update

    I know I have friends and family who want to know all the fun details about baby boy right now, but I didn't really feel like putting everything on facebook for the whole world to see. So I figured I would post the link and direct people here to my blog.
     On Monday morning I went to the Dr. for my weekly appointment and for an ultrasound.  In the ultrasound we learned that the amniotic fluid was really low so the Dr. sent me straight to the hospital to pump some fluids into me to see if that could help to boost my fluids.  A safe level of fluids is somewhere around a 10.  That is safe, not necessarily good. My fluid level was a 4.5.  Pretty Scary.  After being in the hospital all day on Monday on an IV and a heartbeat monitor for the baby, the Dr. came in and checked my fluids again, they still weren't up much so he had me stay the night and then sent me for a high risk ultrasound Tuesday morning.
     Tuesday morning's ultrasound told us that my fluids were up to a 6.79, still not good, but better.  The Dr. decided it would be safest to have me stay one more night and check again in the morning.  By then we would have a better clue as to what was going on.  Wednesday morning my fluids were at a 6.9.  The Dr. consulted with a high risk specialist and determined that it would be safe for me to come home for Thanksgiving and the rest of the weekend.
    It is so nice to be home, I am on bedrest and probably will be for the rest of my pregnancy, but we are willing to do whatever it takes to bring this little guy here safely.  I have to do kick counts twice a day and if anything changes or feels funny at all I am supposed to call my Dr. right away.
     I will go in Monday morning for another ultrasound to see where things are.  There are a lot of factors that will help to determine our next plan of action, but I have complete faith and trust in my Dr. and his decisions.  If my fluids have dropped more, or if the baby is in any sort of distress than we will probably just go straight to delivery.  If they are good then we will keep baby in as long as possible!
    I can honestly say that I am so, so, soooo grateful for modern medicine.  This is the sort of thing that not too long ago would not have been detected and we most likely would have lost the baby.  I am so grateful for my OB Doctor who has helped me to feel confident, safe, and taken care of.  Just knowing that he did a lot of research, consulting, and thinking about me has helped me to feel so good about everything and I know things will be just great.  The nursing and ultrasound staff were amazing as well.  I am really excited to be delivering at that hospital.  I know I will be in good hands.
    Please keep this little guy in your prayers, as of now his heartbeat and his movement is strong and we know that he is safe.  That is the most important thing and I am sure that we are being taken care of right now.  I will be 37 weeks next Tuesday so the plan is to make at least until next Tuesday!

September!

Well...FALL CAME!  Wohoo!  I have decided that I am a huge fan of fall in St. Louis.  The leaves are just perfect here and everything is beautiful.  The weather is also great.  We are still wearing jackets outside instead of heavy coats (that never is a possibility by this point of time in Idaho.)
    September was an amazing month for us.  We seriously got to do so many cool things!  I have been meaning to blog about how awesome September was for awhile, but I just kept forgetting.  So for starters....we got to see THIS GUY (look below)...in Concert!

That's right folks!!!  Michael Buble!  I have been practically obsessed with Michael Buble since I was like 15.  I have always wanted to see him in concert and thanks to some very sweet people who are near and dear to my heart, Joe and I had the opportunity to go to his concert when he came to St. Louis in September.  It was such an awesome experience, and he sounds so good in person.  P.S. did I mention this was my first real concert that I have ever been to where an actual singing star performed!  I know...I know...life dream...fulfilled.  It was great.  Here are some more pictures from our awesome night!

This is us in our seats

The view from our seats

Together by the Michael Buble sign

This was pretty cool...not gonna lie...

On the metro on the way home!

Another great highlight of September was Hudson's birthday!  He turned two years old on the 19th and I cannot believe that he is so big already!  He is such a funny, sassy little two year old.  I just cannot get enough of him.  

     For his birthday I decided to just have a small birthday party with three kids from nursury and a little girl who lives down the street.  I was so proud of myself because I figured we could have a fun pool party and just let the kids all play together outside.  I was so excited!  But...then the Wednesday before the party we learned that the weather was not going to be very condusive to our swimming pools plans.  After thinking and thinking about it for awhile we decided to see if we could find some ball pit balls and fill up the pool downstairs in the basement.  I found some at Once Upon a Child and a big box and Goodwill and so we were really excited.  After spending two days washing the 400 something balls we had aquired we got ready for the party.  

   His party was a great success and I think he had quite a bit of fun just getting to run around a play with the other kids.  He had a bit of a grumpy moment, but I think we'll allow him a bit of crankiness on his birthday.  Here are some fun pictures!

This was Hudson's cake that I made for him.  It was actually pretty easy, and a ton of fun!

Our sweet ball pit.  (We have since found about 500 more balls at some garage sales for really cheap so it is now the ultimate awesome ball pit!)

All of Hudson's friends eating a snack

Hudson was way more interested in the dump truck than he was in eating the cake.  I guess I picked a good cake huh?

Blowing out the candles.

I watched a little girl for a few weeks in September while her mom started a new job.  It was a lot of fun and really good for Hudson to have someone to play with and teach him to be a little more like a typical two year old.  Emmaline is such a sweetie and they look for eachother at church most Sundays.  It is super cute.

Hudson got a sweet Jello Jigglers kit from my mom for his birthday so we made Jello and played with it one afternoon.

Another really amazing thing that we got to do in September was go see a Ram's game!  It was amazing.  Joe was in class one day and his teacher had two Ram's tickets in his shirt pocket, so Joe asked him if  he was going to the game that night and he teacher said "Actually, no.  My wife and I have season passes so we try to give the tickets away when we can't go...are you interested?"  Of course Joe said yes, and so his teacher said he needed to check with the first person he offered them to, but if that person didn't want to go, Joe could have them.  Well, luckily for us, the other person didn't want to go, so we got the tickets!  Our seats were awesome!  We were thirteen rows back from the field.  It was crazy.  The Ram's got slaughtered, but it was still such a great experience to have such amazing seats and actually get to go to a professional football game!  

This is how close we were to the field

Starting to look a little pregnant!  (I know, not a whole lot, but for a lady who never gets very big this is a huge step for me!)

As the players were being introduced

Some really famous football dudes.  The one that the lady is talking to is Marshall Faulk.  He was a very famous player for the Rams some years ago.  Funny story time...a whole bunch of men walked right in front of us looking very proffessional in their best suits.  I turned to the couple sitting next to me and said "do you know who that is that just walked in front of us?" And the guy replied "I think it was Kurt Warner" Being from Idaho, and not the biggest football fan (c'mon I'm a music major...) I gave him a blank stare and said "who's that?"  In which he and his wife both looked at me like I was the craziest person they had ever seen in their lives.  The guy pointed to the hall of fame sign up above the stadium and said "Kurt Warner?  That guy up there..." Turns out his was a great QB for the Rams.  Then the guy's wife said "I just really hope that we get to see Marshall Faulk tonight."  Once again I gave a blank stare and said..."I really don't know football, who is that?" The people then looked out me like I was from outer space, how could I not know about Marshall Faulk!?!?!???  Turns out he is another really famous player for the Rams, and I got to see what he looked like in person!  Lucky me!  p.s.  the couple didn't really talk to me very much after that...

We didn't even have to zoom in to take this picture we were that close!  This is as the Ram's were making their one and only touchdown of the game.  (It was in the last 5 minutes of the 4th quater and most of the stadium was empty by that point.  Except for the fans of the other team...)

Here are some other great highlights of September!

     -I started working in the Family History Library.  It has been a lot of fun, not a lot of action, but fun.  It is wonderful to be able to get some time to be able to do my Family History and get to know a lot more about the many different ways to do Family History.

     -Hudson started going potty on the potty!  He even started telling me when he wanted to go.  We tried putting on underwear, but he kind of freaked out about the whole idea and would have a panic attack every time we tried to put them on.  We decided he probably just wasn't ready yet and we are just content to have him go in the potty when he wants to.  I was honestly amazed that he started taking an interest in it this early!

    -Hudson also got a big boy bed!  Wohoo!  My sister-in-law gave us her little boy's old toddler bed and it is shaped like a racecar!  Hudson loves it.  He got a Cars blanket for his birthday a few days after I took this picture and he is so good about bedtime.  He thinks it is so neat to sleep in his "race car" bed. 

The morning after his first night in his big boy bed!

Loving the new bed!

We started making his bed the very first day he slept in it.  He thinks it is so fun to tuck in the blanket and then put his animals to "sleep."  He always says "tuck, tuck, tuck...goodnight animals!"

Well, I think that about sums up our great month of September!  Hopefully I will be able to update about October and November soon!  

Fall is (almost) here!

Seriously, I don't think I ever have been so excited for fall to come.  But I am way, way excited this year.  It hasn't even been that hot this summer in St. Louis so I really can't even blame the heat.  I have a super cute assortment of scarfs that I bought at the end of last spring on clearance and I have had to wait all summer to wear them!  I know vain, and silly, but I am way excited about these scarfs.  I am also quite excited to be pregnant in the fall.  With Hudson I was in my last trimester during the summer and it was pretty miserable, so I am looking forward to the cooler weather.  Also, one more word as to why I am excited for fall....SOUP!  I realized last year just how much I love soups, and I have been finding all sorts of recipes for yummy soups but it has just been too hot to make them.  I haven't really been able to cook much this summer because I realized that pretty much every kind of meal that I make is a hot meal, and Joe doesn't want to eat hot food after his 30 minute drive home in a car with no air conditioning....I wonder why? Needless to say, I cannot wait for fall to actually get here....and you know what comes after fall????  CHRISTMAS!!!  Which means a baby!

    Speaking of baby...we are having another boy! And we couldn't be happier.  I have felt that our second baby would be a boy since we found out that Hudson was going to be a boy, so I think I have been waiting just a little too long for this little guy to come!  I am so excited that Hudson is going to have a little brother to run around with and be best friends, and have someone to teach all of his awesome cool tricks to.  I am just so excited to have two little guys romping around the house together.  And, I went through all of my baby clothes the other day and I forgot how many cute little boy clothes we have, I think we need another little boy just to show those off!  I can tell that this baby is a special spirit, and I feel so blessed to get to be his Mommy.  It is really kind of emotional to be going through the process of having a baby again, and it is so different this time.  With Hudson, I was so so soooo busy with school that I really didn't have a lot of time to really just revel in the fact that I was going to be a Mom.  This time around I am still very busy, but it is Mommy busy, not school busy.  I love looking at Hudson and thinking how he was once a little baby, and how I get to do this all over again.  I'm very nervous, but this time I know that Heavenly Father is looking out for me and that he has sent these little boys to me for a reason.  I don't always think I'm a good mom, and I know I'm not a perfect mom, but I know I'm the right mom for these little guys.  And I know that they are the right babies for me.  It is amazing how much I need Hudson and how much he teaches me already.

     For instance, today I was trying to get dinner ready, and a special yummy desert (orange brownies...try them, they are to die for) and Hudson was just screaming for attention.  I really felt like I didn't have the time, and I was a little fed up with the day already.  I spent the morning at the Dentist (not my favorite place), and Hudson took a short nap which means he was CRANKY!!!!  I was trying to listen to a General Conference talk to calm me down, and I happend to be listening to President Monson's talk from the last General Conference session about obedience.  As I was getting frustrated with Hudson for being so needy while I was trying to uplift myself spiritually, and get dinner on the table, it finally hit me that part of my obedience to the Lord as a mother is that I need to put my son first and attend to his needs.  We have been commanded to raise our children in righteousness and we have learned through the Family Proclamation that we have a sacred obligation to attend to the needs of our children.  So I took a deep breath, knealt down next to Hudson and helped him with whatever it is he was crying about (I honestly don't remember).  He immediately settled down, said thank you, and kept playing with his toy.  That little lesson today was exactly what I needed.  I just can't believe all the things I am learning as a mom.  p.s. he started crying again a few minutes later by the door because I wouldn't let him go outside.  He cried a bit longer, but Dad happened to walk in the door pretty soon after that and made Hudson feel like a champ again!

August has been a pretty laid back month, The highlight of the month was definitely finding out that we were having another boy.  Did I mention that I am so excited?  My studio finally took off in the month of August as well.  Honestly this has been such a great, big, huge blessing.  It was really discouraging trying to find students, and having lots of people tell me that they wanted their kids to learn piano, but nobody actually started lessons.  Finally, in August, BOOM!  I now have six students and a few more potential students.  I honestly feel so blessed that I am able to actually use my talents and degree for something.  I love teaching lessons, I really do! And it is extra nice because now we have money to put away into savings for when we move after Joe graduates!  And a little extra money for buying things like a new hairbrush...because Hudson dropped mine in the toilet earlier today...gross!

     August has been a really big month of growth for me as well.  Things have happened that have really made me upset with my lot in life at the current moment, and for a while I stopped looking at the good things and only accentuated the bad.  I called my mom crying a lot over petty things that were really just silly.  And I got really angry.  Really angry that things weren't different, and that we didn't have more money, and that people had other things I didn't...petty things like that.  I was really just frustrated with every little thing in life.  Finally about two weeks ago there was a quote by President Hinckley in the weekly newsletter for our Relief Society.  It says
     "Don’t be gloomy. Do not dwell on unkind things. Stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the          sunlight. Even if you are not happy, put a smile on your face. ‘Accentuate the positive.’ Look a little              deeper for the good. Go forward in life with a twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face, with great            and strong purpose in your heart. Love life.” Gordon B. Hinckley
This just kinda struck me in the face that I was seeking every single little storm that I could.  If something had the possibility of getting on my nerves a little, it was all of a sudden going to get on my nerves a lot!  I realized that that probably wasn't the kind of person Heavenly Father wanted me to be, and it definitely wasn't the kind of person that I wanted to be.  It has been my goal in the past few weeks to put a smile on my face and to stop seeking storms.  Man is that hard!  I haven't been very good at it, but I know I have been better.  I know that I still have a long ways to go. I have felt the softening in my heart towards my family and towards myself.  I have been happier in the last week or so, and when I am not happy, I look for the sunshine, and try to enjoy it.  I'm telling you...this strategy works.  Heavenly Father wants us to be happy.  He sent his Son so that we could be happy.  There is no reason to be sad, and gloomy.  Or unkind.  By trying to change my heart I have been given a whole new perspective on life and how many blessings that are just pouring in.  Life is good.  I love it.  I love being a daughter of God, and I love the happiness that knowledge gives me.

It's July! And we are having a baby!

     So, as the title suggests...I am pregnant!  We are having another baby!  Pretty much everybody knows this news already, but one day I am going to make a book out of all these blog posts, and so I figured I should probably mention this big piece of news.  The baby is due on Christmas Day!  Super exciting for me, but probably not as exciting for the baby.  I always thought it would be pretty stinky to have your birthday on Christmas.  Oh well, we will figure out some way to make it a lot of fun!
     So far this pregnancy has been pretty tough, but not nearly as hard as my pregnancy with Hudson was.  My biggest blessing is the fact that I have such an amazing husband and such wonderful in-law's to help me.  Seriously, I wouldn't have survived those first few weeks on my own.  (Ok, I probably would have, but Ed and Debbie have made things so much easier and bearable!)  I also have a great doctor who helped me get some great nausea medicine early on, so I could feel better before it got too bad.
    We find out on August 12 what the baby is going to be and the days are just dragging by! I want to find out so bad!
     July had a great start for our family.  Joe had a week of vacation from school, and so he took the week off of work and we just played and played all week long.  It was so fun and so needed for our family. We went to a super fun outlet mall, which is not your ordinary outlet mall!  It had a go-cart track and a mini-golf course, and I think even a paintball thing.  But the coolest part about this mall is that the official training rink for the St. Louis Blues (the hockey team) is there!  We actually got to see a hockey game, but it was only some high school kids playing.  It was still really neat to see it, and we got to see a real live Zamboni!  I have always wanted to see that (weird huh?) and I finally did!

On the 4th of July we had a great day!  We went up to St. Charles and watched a parade, and then we got to walk around Old St. Charles for a bit, it still has a lot of old building and cobblestone streets!  There was a super yummy soda shop that we stopped at, and they had a soda fountain from the 1920's that they still used!  It was one yummy soda!  Hudson also got to sit on Santa's lap (you know, Christmas in July or something like that) but he freaked out so it wasn't for very long.  Though, he did understand that in order to get the yummy looking candy, he would have to sit on that big guy's lap!    After we got home we all lounged for a bit and then we went to Darryl and Elisa's for a 4th of July BBQ!  It was tons of fun and great to just visit with family.  After dinner we went to the park to watch the fireworks.  By that time Hudson was so tired that he wasn't too excited by them, but he did just cuddle and snuggle with me and watched them quietly.  That was one of those perfect moments in my life, where I was so happy I thought it was just going to burst out of me.  Here I was, sitting there with my baby in my arms, and my husband by my side as I remembered how blessed I was to live in a country where I could do that very thing.  I know there are a lot of things going on in the U.S. that we may not like, but it still is God's country and I cannot be any more proud to be an American.

     On Joe's last day of vacation we went to the water park and splashed around the entire day.  We had been doing swim lesson's with Hudson the week before, so we were hoping that maybe after giving him a whole week break he would like the water a little more.  Didn't work.  He loved the little splash pad, and the lazy river (in which he just floated on the water but never got in,) but as soon as we got in the pool he was ANGRY!

     The rest of the month has been moving quickly and I can't believe that it is almost over!  Debbie came home from Idaho the day after the 4th of July and you could tell how happy all the Grandchildren were to have their Grandma back home!  Debbie was in Idaho for the entire month of June, and so we all missed her very much. Hudson has loved having his Grandma home and another friend to play with.  Especially because she has a new tablet with lot's of fun games for him!

(So, I just realized that I never posted this, so sorry it's late.  But better late than never!)

What a week!

We had a great week last week!  First of all, it was Memorial Day.  Who doesn't love a day off (well, I don't really go to work at a job, so I don't really ever get a day off, but that's ok...I love it) My father-in-law had the Young Single Adults over for Memorial Day (he is one of the Councilors in the Singles Branch here) and so the weekend was spent cleaning the house like crazy.  Thanks to some help from my sweet hubby and some wonderful family we got it all done!  While the YSA kids were at our house, Hudson and I went over to Aunt Elisa and Uncle Darryl's house.  Darryl is Joe's Uncle, but I seriously love them like they are my own Aunt and Uncle.  I also love their daughter's, Kristin and I have decided to have a movie summer, we are going to watch all sort of movies this summer simply because we both love them.  I'm stoked.

    Anyways, we spent the afternoon over there, and then a giant thunderstorm hit!  (Thunderstorms never scared me until I moved to St. Louis) It was raining like crazy, and then Joe called me to come get him from work.  After hydroplaning once or twice I made it to Sonic (where Joe works) and made him drive home.  We spent the rest of the evening together as a family just playing...man I love that. 

     Tuesday was a pretty uneventful day which consisted of me cleaning Hudson's room (which needed it badly) and wasting time.  I think I might have done the dishes, that's bonus points right?

     Wednesday was definitely the highlight day of our week.  Joe had his final day of classes (his classes are in 10 week blocks, he started a new block today) so he was home early and didn't have to work!  DOUBLE POINTS!  We decided to spend the afternoon at the zoo with Hudson.  Hudson has been learning all sorts of animal sounds and all about different animals and so I was really excited to show him the animals he was learning about in real life!  First we saw the new Sea Lion exhibit which is AWESOME!  The exhibit is a tunnel with clear walls so the sea lions swim right next to you and over your head.  Hudson loved it.  He kept saying "arp!  arp! arp!" because that is what a seal says.  They're close right?  Next we went over to the Hippo exhibit.  Normally the hippo's are in the back of the exhibit, and you can kind of see the top of their heads.  Not this time!  They swam right next to the glass, and often would press their noses up against it.  Hudson just stood there amazed, we hadn't learned about hippo's yet so he didn't quite know what to call them at first.  The hippos crawled on top of each other, pranced around, and showed off, and I'm sure it was just for my little man.  This was definitely the best part about the zoo.  After that we saw the baby elephants, the monkeys, an alligator, and some snakes.  Hudson wen't bonkers in the monkey house, monkey's are probably one of his favorite animals and so he just went from exhibit to exhibit screeching "ahh ahh ahhh!  Oooo!  Ooo!"  It was such a blast to take him to the zoo.  I can't wait to take him again!  (which will actually be this week because my Aunt Sherri and my cousin Alicia and her kids are coming to St. Louis to visit us!  And they want to go to the zoo!  Woot woot!  

    I feel like Thursday was another day of simply being lazy, Hudson had a nasty, nasty cough (the kind where he was gagging and almost throwing up,) so we took him to the Doctor just to be safe.  It was really neat because Joe does his clinical's in the same hospitol so as soon as he finished for the day he just walked over and met us at the Doctor's office.

    Friday we went to the library, and Hudson got his first prize for summer reading!  It is a super cool ball.  He loves to read books, so it didn't take very long for us to reach the first prize!  

     Friday night was probably one of the scariest nights of my life.  Really the only night that was scarier was when I found out I had preclampsia and it was time to get the baby (Hudson) here now. (Talk about new mommy anxiety) 

    So anyways back to Friday...we had a tornado!  I had just read the blog of a friend of mine's who lives in Oklahoma and was hit by the really bad one two weeks ago, and thought to myself, "wow, good thing we aren't going to go through anything like that."  I think I thought too soon.  

     We were at the bowling alley playing ski-ball, (Joe and I like to do that when we only have a few dollars for date night/family night) when a mom dragged her crying child away from the arcade saying "there is a big tornado coming and I would like to be home before it hits, so we are leaving" then one of the worker's made an announcement and we didn't catch it.  We went to the front desk and asked what they had just announced and they said that the tornado sirens had just gone off and that if they went off again everybody could go to the bathroom and wait out the storm.  Well, knowing how yucky public bathrooms are, we really didn't feel like crowding in there with a bunch of other people.  We looked outside and the sky looked good so we decided we could brave the 7 minute drive home.  Scariest drive of my life...as we drove west towards our house we could see the giant black cloud that we were driving into.  Joe kept reassuring me that when the sky turns green is when you get scared, but I was shaking.  We got home and turned on the news to see where the storm was at.  We learned that the storm was projected to hit us within the next 10-15 minutes, so I sprang into action.  I grabbed pajamas for all of us, extra bedding, water, and our 72 hour kit along with cell phones keys, and I secured our file box so that it would be safe.  We went downstairs and plugged in the computer so that we could receive updates while we were downstairs.  A while later it got super loud and you could tell the storm was here!  I'm pretty sure I stopped breathing for a bit.  Thankfully our area didn't get hit by the tornado's and so our entire family is safe and sound. However there were quite a few tornado's that touched down in surrounding area's and now there is some pretty big threats of major flooding.  

    I feel so blessed that I was able to keep such a clear mind and grab the kinds of things we would need while down in the basement. However, I did realize how ill prepared we were if we had to leave for whatever reason.  We definitely have the resources to stick it out for a few days in our own home (entirely due to the fact that my in-laws are very prepared) but if we had to leave it would be quite the scramble to try to get things together. 

    The rest of the week went smoothly, and it ended with our last night with Emily here in St. Louis.  It has been such fun having her here and she helped a ton with Hudson.  The great part is that she is coming back in July and I can't wait!  

   So great news!  June starts the final stretch of our college days!  Joe now only has a year left of school and then he will be done!  I am so proud of him.  He is doing really well in school and he is working so hard for our family.  I am so blessed to have such a wonderful man in my life.  He is such a loving dad and a great husband.

as promised...here are some pictures from the last few months.  I can't seem to get videos to update so it's just pictures.

Hudson has a thing for drawing on himself.  His arms and legs are covered too

He also got into something blue, but I don't remember what it was.  I just love how guilty he looks here!

My little music man!

Hudson can make a chair out of anything...bookshelves, presents, paint cans, toys, books, you name it!

this is when we were dying Easter Eggs!  We had a blast

He loved "fixing" the vacuum!  He gets his handyman skills from his Grandpa's!

Opening his Easter basket!  We weren't going to do anything for him for Easter, but Grandma made sure the Easter Bunny came!  We are so blessed!

Painting pictures for Grandma Bigler!  (Sorry mom, I keep forgetting to mail them)

One of our favorite family games is Croquet.  Hudson loves to carry the mallet around and pretend like he is playing

He also likes to put the end of the mallet in his ear...

It was so nice we got out Hudson's pool!  I had to get in there with him in order for him to like it, but after that he really enjoyed it!

Riding bikes!

He sometimes likes to hide in the closet....takes after his Dad.

Making muffins with Grandma!