Becky Steven Ammon

He's Getting Too Smart

2011-12-28T20:01:00.003-07:00

I have a list of entries to write on here: Ammon growing up, my birthday, Christmas, puppies, humidifiers, Ammon dancing, swimming, and so on but I have to write this down before I forget it all.

Ammon is growing up so fast! Every day he surprises us with new intellectual growth. I think for now he's stopped growing physically-thank goodness! Last week Steven was changing Ammon's diaper, and out of nowhere Ammon started tickling Steven and saying in a growly monster voice "tickle tiggle tickle!" He even did that to my pregnant belly in the grocery store! Now he'll run up to us randomly and tickle us and then run away.

I can't believe how many words Ammon understands! Here's a list:

-"Diaper change!" He'll waddle towards his room saying "dipa-da! dipa-da!"

-"Go down the slide!"

-"No touch!" We say this like a million times a day...usually he listens but he's still fascinated with the fireplace and blinds

-"Let's go downstairs"

-"Is Daddy home?" He'll run to the backdoor and open the door for Steven

-"Where's daddy/mommy?"

-"That's a no-no!"

-"Where's your puppy?" He'll go find his puppy and bring it back

-"Bouncy-bouncy!" He just did this a few minutes ago since he discovered he could jump in his crib. Silly baby!

-"Where's Jesus?" He'll point to the picture of Jesus on his wall

-"Kisses?" If he's in the mood he'll come over to you and open his mouth on your mouth.

There's so much more but all I can really think about is his sign language. We've taught him a few words: milk, food, drink, i love you. Just those few words has saved our lives and his.

Ammon: (screaming)

Mommy: What do you want?

Ammon: (points to his mouth)

Mommy: Do you want food or drink?

Ammon: (points to his mouth and tilts his head back for drink)

Mommy: Okie-dokie! Let's get you some juice!

He knows lots of signs to songs we sing:

-"The Wheels on the Bus"

-"Open, Shut them, Open, Shut them..." a song about hands that Lita taught him

-"Intsy-wintsy spider!"

-"Popcorn popping!"

-"Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam!"

Speaking of juice, we can't say the word "apple" in our house. Ammon loves his apple juice and apple sauce...apple slices he just spits out but he loves pears and clementines. We usually just spell it out: "Ammon ate all his dinner. Should we give him a-p-p-l-e-s-a-u-c-e?"

Here are words he can say...sorta. At least they are words we can both identify and communicate with.

-"apple" He'll say this for any fruit.

-"up-up-up-up!" He says it so urgently and never once, always in fours

-"buh-buh" Bye-bye

-"mama" and "dada"

-"puppa" puppy

-"hup! hup!" Which means help! He usually says this when he gets stuck in his toy bucket and can't get out. If he's whining about a toy he can't figure out we won't help him until he says "hup! hup!"

-"buh-buh" is for button

There's tons of stuff for Ammon to learn and improve on-like waiting 45 seconds for his milk to warm in the microwave-but he's just 15 months! We can't wait to see what new surprises will happen tomorrow!

September 2011

2011-12-12T20:18:00.005-07:00

Ammon turned one in September! Yay! I can't believe we made it a whole year. It's amazing how fast he grew. Once he was a blob that did nothing except cry, eat a lot, and not sleep a whole lot either. Now he's a monster who plays with toys, cries occasionally, still eats a lot, but sleeps for 12 hours at a time. I'll have to find his stats somewhere...

One happy one year old!

Ammon thinks he needs to be serious because he's so old now.

"Get that camera out of my face. I'm not a baby anymore!"

Ammon sorting the clothes for me. I hope they taste yummier than they smell.

Ammon's attempt at using a spoon. He'll get the hang of it someday....

August 2011

2011-12-11T23:12:00.009-07:00

Thank goodness for Lita and Lito for saving Ammon from Mommy's morning sickness. I didn't take one photo this month so these were all provided from Steven's parents. Yay!

Ammon's new car. He just sits on it and rides down the driveway. It makes this loud clicking sound so I hope our neighbors weren't too annoyed. At least Ammon had fun!

What a lovely face. He really did have fun at Lita and Lito's house...honestly!

He is so proud of himself for climbing up on the table.

Lito and Ammon watching the train. Ammon now loves trains.

"Look what I can do!"

Ammon destroying Lito and Lita's little farm house.

Ammon on the phone with me. "Mama, I'm never coming home!"

July 2011

2011-12-11T22:54:00.004-07:00

Here are some pictures from July. I have a lot more pictures but they are on Steven's phone but we have yet to extract them.

10 months old! I have it written down somewhere how much he weighs. Let's just say he weighs a lot!

Mr. Chunkers!

Ammon the Intelligent!

Ammon the....weird.

Where in the heck did we go?

2011-12-11T22:37:00.002-07:00

Wow. It's been more than six months...SIX MONTHS! Don't worry, we didn't die. We just got insanely busy. Well, first I got insanely sick in July...from morning sickness!!! Yep, we're expecting again in three months. Steven and I knew we wanted to start trying again but we didn't think it would happen in one month. It took a few years and months with Ammon, so we figured it would take forever for the second one. Hmm...nope. This pregnancy has been different from the beginning, especially with the morning sickness. I can't even remember August except that I threw up a lot. Whenever I would gag I could hear little gags coming from Ammon. Aww, he was sympathy gagging with me. My tears of anguish would startle him though so I had to keep the crying to a minimum while I puked my guts out. I have amazing inlaws (excuse my lack of a dash...I spilled soup on my laptop and killed the dash button and number five button. Anyway!) What was I saying? Oh! Steven's parents are AMAZING! They took Ammon for a week and a half and gave him a little vacation. Again, I can't remember what I was doing so just imagine a lot of sleeping, a lot of tv watching, and a lot of puking. Meanwhile, Ammon was playing with Lito and Lita and being spoiled. Wait! I remember something that happened in August: school started! Steven and I went back to school for the semester. He took a computer programming class while I did a US history class and meteorology class. I lost my butt somewhere in the middle of the semester due to the history class. Oh my gosh! It was very time consuming. I had to read five thick novels, do a 10 page research paper on women's advertising in the early 1900s, and study for two inclass essay exams. It was ridiculous but I learned a lot. I could only study at night when Ammon was asleep so my house's cleanliness suffered at the behest of my education. But we made it through and I'm pretty sure I got As in my classes. I'll have to ask Steven how he did in his computer class.

So, we're back now and I'll be updating regularly until this little one arrives, who by the way is a little girl! So far, she doesn't move around as much as Ammon did and I hardly look pregnant. I'm almost 26 weeks and I'm still carrying petite. One of these days I'll get a belly picture up. It's so sad that I haven't taken one yet compared to how many pictures I took with Ammon. Oh well! Now that school is done with I'll have more time to focus on this baby girl.

Holy Moly!

2011-06-07T15:51:00.008-06:00

Like always, it has been too long since I've last posted. But don't blame me. Blame the little monster who is out of control with energy. Ammon is on the move now. He started crawling at 7 and a half months in mid April and he hasn't stopped since. Steven and I say that 7 months was his intellectual growth spurt. He went from a whiny spud (he'd just lay on the ground and cry until someone came to pick him up or move him around) to a crawling machine. And with crawling has come getting into all the cupboards, pulling down all the books, eating the forgotten stale cereal lost in couch cushion crevices, and splashing in the toilet bowl water. Hide your kids, hide you wives, hide your husbands 'cause he's crawlin' on 'erbody round here.

It's been hard for me to do anything on the computer with Ammon around. Everywhere that Mommy goes, Mommy goes, Mommy goes; Everywhere that Mommy goes the Ammon is sure to follow; He follows her into the office, into the office, into the office, He follows her into the office and pulls down all the books/eats all the envelopes/licks the computer chair/opens and closes the desk drawer/noms on a rock....etc. etc. I can't type for too long lest Ammon's ravioli hands creep up and start grabbing at the keys. What a goofy baby!

7 months: 22 pounds, five ounces. The average 12 month old is 21 pounds.

8 months old: 23 pounds. Crazy. I'm glad I don't gain weight like Ammon does.

Nom nom

2011-04-10T23:17:00.005-06:00

Guess who started eating solids! In January, just hours after getting the okay from Ammon's pediatrician, we started feeding him solid food (even though the rice cereal was more soupy and solid.) He sure liked it! Look at the boy--he loves food! All the weight he's gaining now is from all those solids. He still likes mommy's milk but he also loves anything you give him from the spoon. January and February was all about introducing him to new solids like rice, barley, oatmeal, apples, bananas, peas, carrots, squash, blah, blah, blah. I diligently pumped every day so I had milk to mix in with the grains. Now fast forward to March and April, and I've practically given up pumping. It was just too much work to pump two ounces...every...single...day. I'd rather save that milk up to nurse him like an hour later. I don't think he's noticed or cares that much-just as long as he gets food! I nurse him through out the day and he gets his one meal in the evening: some type of grain mixed with some veggie/fruit. He likes veggies more than fruit, especially when it comes to juice. I give him a little bottle of baby juice in the afternoon. He loves the carrot juice (with some mixed in fruits like a V8-Splash) over just plain fruit juice. And it's good juice for him with hardly any sugar so he's not buzzed or anything. I look forward to every afternoon when I give him his bottle. He just lays in the middle of floor quietly and happily sucking away and I get at least fifteen minutes of quiet time for myself. I'm so thankful that Ammon has been doing so well with foods and he has no allergies...that we know of. This is a blessing that I am grateful for each day that I can nurse my baby and give him yummy solid foods.

4 months old...January 2011

What in the world happened to us!

2011-04-10T22:51:00.005-06:00

I'm officially a pile of procrastinating poo. It's been three months since I've last written--3 months!!! I'm going to blame it on the baby. Ammon is quite a handful. I admit that after a long day with him I don't want to blog but rather just lay in bed and watch movies. But enough is enough. Ammon is growing so big and learning so much that I have to get back in the habit of writing on here. He can almost crawl! He can go from a sitting position to his hands and knees and sway back and forth. We're just waiting for it to click in his little noggin to put one hand in front of the knee and keep going. I'll have more of his milestones coming up in his 7-month post. Until now, I'll just try to catch up months 4, 5, and 6. Enjoy!

5 months old: 20 pounds, 4 ounces

6 months old: 21 pounds, 6 ounces

4 months old!

2011-01-13T22:13:00.008-07:00

Ammon is no longer a newborn baby. He's one huge chunky baby. He is literally breaking my back. That's okay, I guess, since he is so cute. This past month has been so much fun for us as Ammon continued to grow and develop so well.

Ammon can bring objects up to his mouth. Before, he would bring up a toy to his eye and completely miss his mouth. Now he grabs whatever he can get his hands on and tries to eat it: stuffed animals, mommy's and daddy's fingers, random power cables laying about, etc.

Ammon can turn over now. When he's on his tummy he can turn over quickly so he's on his back. When he's on his back he scrunches up his body and lets gravity turn him over onto his side. He has yet to accomplish back to tummy but he'll get it down someday. When I put him down for a nap and come back later to check on him, he is on the other side of the crib. Ammon doesn't crawl--he rolls.

Ammon now goes to sleep around 8 every night...well, almost every night. He sleeps peacefully through the night until 7 in the morning. It's so nice to have the evening to catch up on activities like chores, reading, watching movies, sleeping, eating, etc.

Ammon is developing his anger skills. When he is MAD he'll cry and, instead of screaming, he'll go "buh-buh-buh-buuuuhh-BWAH!!!!!!" Maybe we'll get a video of this so you can see exactly what we're talking about. It's just so interesting how he's developing language skills to communicate with us.

Ammon has a tooth! It was discovered around Christmas time--what a nice little gift from Santa! It's a front tooth on the bottom left of his little gums. There's only one so far, and it's coming in nicely. Ammon's not fussy or feverish. He just likes to chew on everything for comfort. Someday we'll get a picture of it...once Ammon's tongue stops moving over it and he'll let us show it off.

Sleepy little Ammon in his little monkey hat.

Just so HAPPY! He loves his changing station...for some reason, he's so happy when you put him on it. Maybe he just loves getting his diaper changed.

The bib says it all.

Weight: 18 pounds, 11 ounces. 99%

Height: 27 inches. 99%

Head circumference: I can't remember but it was 99%

4 months old!

One night, Ammon was making the silliest faces as his tongue was playing with his little tooth. He doesn't even look like my baby in this picture! Silly Ammon!

3 months old

2010-12-16T22:44:00.006-07:00

Ammon is 3 months old! (I'm a bit late on this post. Before we know it, he'll be 4 months!) I'd say 3 months was the turning point. It's like Ammon has matured over night! He sleeps longer through the nights, he doesn't cry (too much) when we put him in his car seat, and he's on a schedule. He's so alert in church and when we go on errands to the store. When he wakes up in the morning, he hangs out in his crib giggling and talking to himself. He's discovered his hands and loves to munch on them.

Ammon goes to bed between 10pm-midnight (we're a night owl family) and sleeps until about 7:30 am. Daddy will change his diaper, play with him, and then bring Ammon to bed where I feed him half asleep. Then Ammon sleeps until 11 or so. So, he's sort of on a 12 hour schedule....but it's a great schedule that works the best for our family.

We're so excited to see Ammon grow, but at the same time we're a little sad to see our little baby getting so dang big! We celebrate his growth and achievements every day and can't wait for him to sit up on his own and finally get crawling!

Nomming on his monkey hands. 12/2/2010

Hanging out with daddy. 12/1/2010

Getting so big! 12/8/2010

3 month growth picture

17 pounds!! 95% percentile

Compare with:

2 months old. 11/8/2010

15 pounds, 3 ounces

Footsies

2010-12-12T16:43:00.003-07:00

Ammon was crying today, and Steven was trying to soothe him. I suggested, "Maybe he's sad because he has bear feet." Steven looked at me and said, "You have bare feet." This was true as I did have bare feet and so I laughed at the play on words thinking Steven was being clever. He wasn't and just looked at me and then it hit him that Ammon really did have bear feet. Silly mommy and baby had bear/bare feet!

Ammon's bear feet

12/12/2010

(I took a picture to show you my bare feet but it was too scary for the blog.)

Chubby baby

2010-12-12T16:34:00.002-07:00

Steven "volunteered" (I signed him up without his knowledge) in the nursery Thursday night while I attended a Relief Society activity in the building. Before the activity started, I had fed Ammon, rocked him to sleep, and covered him up in his carrier. So, for an hour or so Ammon slept while Steven watched the other kids. When Ammon woke up Steven went to the carrier, lifted the blanket, and took Ammon out. This totally surprised this 8-year-old girl who proceeded to say....

"Your baby looks weird. What's wrong with his cheeks?"

......

And then she took her finger and poked Ammon's cheeks!

......

My poor baby....

Baby blessing weekend, Sunday

2010-12-09T21:39:00.009-07:00

Sunday was such a special day. It was the day Ammon was blessed in church. My uncle Todd, Aunt Linda, and cousins Addi and Caiden were there along with Steven's uncle Nick and aunt Marcela. Steven's brother and sister with their spouses were also there along with his parents my parents. It was such a blessing to be surrounded by family on this day. I wonder if Ammon knows and feels how much he is loved by so many.

The little boy of honor.

Our family Christmas photo of the year.

'Lito and 'Lita with the cutest baby in the world

My parents with their favorite grandchild

"This is my jolly face."

"I don't know about this lady...."

"Just kidding! I love my grandma!"

Baby blessing weekend, Saturday

2010-12-06T22:28:00.015-07:00

What an amazing weekend!

Steven's parents arrived late Friday night and immediately started taking pictures of Ammon. At first, I was worried how Ammon would take to all the attention but he just soaked it all up (is that good or bad?) and enjoyed playing with everyone.

On Saturday we traveled to James' and Analisa's baby shower (they too traveled from Utah.) It was fun seeing all the cool gifts (TONS of clothes and blankies) Ammon's little cousin received. During the party, Ammon pooped, peed, and threw up on Grandpa...that's my boy!

Auntie Analisa. Ammon's wearing the shirt she and James gave him when he was born.

Me with the most passionate baby ever.

Analisa, James, and a yummy fondant cake.

Our little family.

Ammon should be a model.

"Here I am! I'm all ready to be snuggled!"

Ammon surprised at all the attention he's receiving.

Christmas Baby

2010-12-06T22:18:00.006-07:00

Oh, Christmas Baby, oh Christmas Baby

Thy chubby cheeks are are so unchanging...

Not only when you're clothed and fair,

but also when you're lit and bare

Oh, Christmas Baby, oh Christmas Baby

Thy chubby cheeks are so unchanging

Stranger Danger

2010-12-06T22:17:00.002-07:00

It's okay, Ammon. It's only Grandma.

We're thankful for...

2010-11-28T12:50:00.002-07:00

I'm thankful for entertainment that makes me all happy and giddy. This includes books like Harry Potter series, Twilight series (yes, I'm a Twilight fan. Insert your rolling eyes here,) and every book that keeps me reading for hours and I can't put it down until I finish it. I'm thankful for movie companies that do an amazing job of converting the story from book into movie like Masterpiece theater. I just absolutely love the British and their great work for adapting books into movies like Sense and Sensibility, Bleak House, Little Dorrit, Wives and Daughters, He Knew He Was Right, Emma, Wuthering Heights, etc. etc. The list goes on for a long time. And I'm thankful for technology that make it possible to create fantastic movies. Without technology, Harry Potter wouldn't be able to fly and fight the One Who Must Not Be Named; and, Leonardo DiCaprio wouldn't be able to plant an idea into Scarecrow's mind through inception (for those who understand this, you're so cool.) Life is full of hard work and I'm just so thankful I can have entertainment to relax to and be excited over.

For this year, Steven is thankful for medical technology. Without ultrasounds, the doctor wouldn't have been able to detect the problems I had during pregnancy. Ammon could have been still-born! In the hospital, Ammon's head was given a monitor to make sure he was okay during delivery. He is very thankful that Ammon and I pulled through and that we're healthy (and I'm thankful Steven is healthy!)

I'm going to guess this but I'm pretty sure Ammon is thankful for my milk. It seems that the breastaurant is the only thing that can make him stop crying. He is also thankful for his mommy and daddy who change his massive stinky diapers. And Steven and I are just so happy and thankful we have the cutest baby ever!

Babbling Ammon

2010-11-21T22:04:00.005-07:00

Ammon has started talking to us! We're not quite sure what he's saying, but it's great that there's a little communication between us. Right now he's working on the "g" noises like "goo," "geh," "guh." And he makes a lot of noises from the back of his throat that sound "g"-ish. I haven't done any cleaning of my house this past week because, as I start to clean, I just stop and talk with Ammon. Ohhh, how we love him sooooo much!!!

Here's a cute little outfit I made Ammon for church. I was sad that he didn't have any nice church clothes. If he were a girl, I'd put him in a cute dress. Instead, he's a boy and now he has shirts with little ties to wear. I'll post more about the shirts later but here's a little something to hold you over until then.

I feel old when....

2010-11-21T21:52:00.002-07:00

I go to bed at 10 pm on a Friday night. Or I just go to bed at 10 pm on any night. I remember way back when I was in high school and even starting college that 10 pm was way too early to go to bed. 10 pm was just the beginning of my evening and I would stay out with friends, watch tv, read books, or do whatever until 2 or 3 in the morning. Now 10 pm is something I look forward to every night.

This past week has been quite interesting health wise. I'm getting old and my body is pooping out on me. I went to the dermatologist to get this bump (3 cm round) on my head checked out. The doctor thought it could be a cyst so he opened it up to drain it and no fluid came out. He then took a biopsy of it and stitched up the wound with 6 stitches. I'll find out the results later in the next couple of days. I find it a common theme that my body doesn't retain much fluid (rewind three months ago and I have no amniotic fluid for the baby to float around in.) The doctor had to cut my hair off so I have a little bald patch, but the rest of my hair covers it up nicely. After the little surgery, I went to the store to get some medicine since I figured it was just a small bandage that no one could really see. I was completely wrong! It was just this big piece of gauze and it looked like I had a lobotomy...no wonder why people looked at me funny. Oh well! I'm not too worried about this bump on my head but I'll keep family and friends posted.

Once Upon an Ammon

2010-11-14T20:25:00.006-07:00

Once upon a time, there lived the cutest baby in the world. His name was Ammon.

Ammon didn't want to go to sleep one night. He just laid in his crib smiling and continued being the cutest baby there ever was.

When Ammon was just one month old he weighed 11 pounds. His cute little body measured 22 inches. Mama thought he was such a big baby until one day....

...Ammon went to the doctor for his 2 month check-up. He weighed 15 pounds, 3 ounces!! He measured at 24 and a half inches. Now that is a big baby!! He was in the 99% for his weight and the 91% for his height. He's already wearing 6 month old clothes!

But Ammon didn't care that he was so big. He just cares if he's the cutest baby there ever was.

And so Ammon continues to live so happily being oh so cute. The end of this post.

Getting back to normal

2010-11-01T22:22:00.007-06:00

I'd say our little family is getting back to normal with a schedule. I stay at home with Ammon while Steven works. We have family come over on Saturday to watch Ammon so Steven and I can catch up on yard work and house chores. We've been to church three times now, and Ammon sleeps through all three hours. I thought by October it'd be snowing since it always does but we haven't had any snow yet! We've had such great weather that I bought a stroller last week and have gone a few walks with the baby. It's great getting out of the house--Ammon and I both get pretty antsy and grumbley if we're inside all day. Right now life is wonderful and it feels great to be almost back to normal.

Ammon is growing up so fast! At 7 weeks, he weighs 13 pounds and 8 ounces. I've had to put away so many of his baby clothes. It makes me sad to see such cute outfits be put away but at least I can say that he wore every outfit! He started smiling last week and it just melts our hearts. For Halloween he was the cutest Tootsie Roll and everyone wanted to gobble him right up. He just gets cuter and cuter every day!

Life with Baby

2010-10-18T21:48:00.010-06:00

I wish I could sit down and really blog what life is like with a new baby, but there's never any time. Ammon is the cutest baby ever...and the hungriest. He eats about every 2 hours. On bad days, he eats every hour. Some days we don't even get out of our pajamas; we just eat and sleep all day long. I'm so tired right now I have no idea what to write so I'll just post pictures of his growth.

At his one month appointment Ammon weighed 11 pounds (81%) and his height was 22 inches (68%.)

One week old: 7 pounds

Two weeks old: 7 pounds, 4 ounces.

Two weeks old: 8 pounds, 10 ounces.

4 weeks old: 9 pounds, 7 ounces.

Who does Ammon look like?

2010-09-14T23:32:00.005-06:00

Does Ammon look like Mommy or Daddy?

He looks a little more like Mommy with those lips but he has Daddy's chin.

Our little Ammonal

2010-09-14T23:26:00.007-06:00

Our little nickname for Ammon is Ammonal switching the m and n in "animal." He isn't ravenous yet...just eats, sleeps, cries, and poops--all in that order.

Survival

2010-09-13T18:15:00.003-06:00

This past weekend has been one of the most stressful I have ever experienced. Ammon and I were having a difficult time nursing. Since he wasn't getting food, he was getting sleepy. And since he was sleepy, he wouldn't wake up to eat. This resulted in a trip to the ER at 2 in the morning--no wet diaper in 24 hours, no food in 10 hours. Plus, he has jaundice and it his bilirubin levels were growing. Eventually, we had to feed him something in some way so we gave him a few bottles of formula while my milk was arriving. Once my milk came in and I got the hang of pumping, we fed him the breast milk through a little medicine dropper. It was like feeding a little birdy. A medical in-home service came over and dropped off this...thing (I don't know what to call it) that Ammon would have to be strapped to to get his bilirubin levels down. Our schedule went put Ammon in his bouncy seat which had the "thing" for three hours; wake up Ammon up and feed him with the dropper (Steven would do this while I pumped for the next feeding); burp and change Ammon; rock Ammon back to sleep; strap Ammon back into his bouncy bilirubin thingy. It was frustrating that we couldn't hold him or play with him. But it all paid off. Today was his first doctor's appointment: his levels are down. No more "thing" to be strapped onto. And I went to the breast feeding clinic at the hospital and they taught me how to nurse him. We have had two successful nursing sessions. No more pump! Today has been just a great day. We are so very happy and blessed today.

Our glowing little baby. Ammon in strapped to his "thing."

Another ailment of the weekend was my spinal headache. Since they punctured me several times for over 90 minutes to get my epidural going, this resulted in a spinal headache. Read this for information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinal_headache. Before I left the hospital on Friday, I had a blood patch done and the pain went away. Then on Sunday, after lifting Ammon's baby carrier, I felt the patch go and the pain start up again. I had to spend Sunday laying on my back watching Lifetime for the pain to go away. If I raised my head, the pain would come back and I couldn't function but I had to so I could pump and take care of my baby. It's been tough and there's not much I can do but wait it out. My doctor has prescribed me to drink caffeinated soda so Pepsi and water are the only beverages I've had in the past 24 hours. The headache is getting better, which makes this day even better. For those who have ever had a spinal headache, my heart goes out to you.

My dear family and friends, I am so sorry how weepy and stressed out I have been these past few days. A few of you have called to talk and I just ended up sobbing my guts out. Thank you so much for the calls and prayers. Now that we are doing better I promise that you can come over and visit now. And for those family members on Skype, we would love to chat now! We can't wait for Ammon to meet all our cool family members and friends.

Sanchito is Finally Here!

2010-09-11T21:04:00.004-06:00

Our little Sanchito is finally here. But his name isn't Sanchito...it's Ammon!! A few hours after he was born, I kept calling him Sanchito but I'm pretty used to Ammon now. There's so much to write about that's happened since my last post but I don't have to time to write a whole novel so you'll get just a snip it here and there of what it's like to be a new parent.

I'll just write this for now: he is one smart little baby. Since he was born, Ammon likes to nom on his hands since that is what babies do for suckage. Steven and I don't really like that habit because he then thinks his hands are my nipples and we don't want him to eat himself. To solve that we gave him a soothie pacifier. At first, he'd suck on it a few times, it would fall out, and then he would cry. I put a rolled up blanket near the soothie to keep it in his mouth and that kept it in for a little bit longer. And then, I had the idea to put his hand near the soothie. He's already learned that if he keeps his hand on the soothie, the soothie stays in his mouth. If he moves his hand, he moves the soothie. If he rolls is hand over the soothie, it goes back into his mouth. This is such a small accomplishment but for Ammon I think it's pretty huge. Good job baby!

The waiting game

2010-09-07T21:18:00.002-06:00

Hello. I am Jess, Becky's most fabulous big sister (though she is bigger than me). I am transcribing Becky's blogpost as she bounces on her yoga ball in the hospital (or rather...she is supposed to be bouncing). The following are the words of Becky:

We got here at 5:00, but it's now 9:30. They're monitoring me, but I'm not in active labor. They need to induce me; they're not sending me home, so I'm not leaving here without a baby. [Steven: They're not going separate you from the baby. LOL.] My family (Jess, Christian, Mom and my husband) are all here with me. Jess french braided my hair, so one dream has come true tonight so far. I didn't have a chance to shower before coming to the hospital, so my mom washed my feet. [Right now the nurse Marci is re-hooking me up to the ultrasound after my hour-long exercise session. Swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh.] I looks like it's going to be a long time for this baby to come. So don't expect anything big over the night. You don't need to blogstock me all night long (though I know you will anyway). That is what Twitter is for...which I don't have. So good luck. That's it.

Ok...Back to Jess. This has been quite the experience. Christian (my husband) and I are learning an awful lot--like what a crunchy placenta is (though don't ask me to describe it further). It has been so exciting...we are all running on adrenaline and ready to stay the night out (though we will probably go home when she sleeps). We'll be sure to try to update regularly (in the event that an event happens), so check back when you can! Bye for now!

Crunchy crunchy

2010-09-07T16:19:00.002-06:00

I had my last prenatal check up today. What we found was that I am still 2 cm dilated with no signs of labor. So, why am I going to the hospital right now? I only have 2 cm of amniotic fluid left. (They measure fluid by cm on an ultrasound.) The average amount of fluid of a laboring woman is 10 cm. The doctors start to get worried when the fluid is 5 cm. Well, I'm 2 cm so they are going to induce labor. First, they will break my waters. If that doesn't start contractions, then I will be given pitocin. I'm all packed and ready to go. Steven is finishing up putting the car seat in the car. I'm going to faint. My last meal was a sloppy joe. I won't be able to eat anything until I've given birth.

Oh, yeah. This post is called "Crunchy crunchy" because my placenta is calcifying--pooping out on me--and will be crunchy. Ahh, all the information you get from me about my pregnancy. Pray for us that all will go well! Thanks for reading!

The day has arrived...

2010-09-04T18:54:00.007-06:00

...but the baby hasn't. Oh well. We're okay with waiting. It just means the baby is comfy and still growing in the best environment for him right now. Of course, I'd be ecstatic if I went into labor this very moment, but I can wait. Until then, I'll just keep cleaning my house. I found this lost USB drive with pictures of me and Steven when we were dating so I'll entertain fellow readers with those. We wouldn't be expecting this baby if we never met, dated, fell in love, and got married three and a half years ago! Oh, how we love each other and we can NOT wait (but I guess we have to) for this little baby to arrive.

Oh no! How did this slip in?!

Oh, how my heart aches

2010-09-01T02:52:00.002-06:00

I can't sleep. I'm out of Fruit Smoothie Tums. Instead of lying in bed feeling like I'm having a constant heart attack, I've decided to get up and go about my day--even though it's almost three in the morning. So far, I've packed Steven's lunch and cleaned the kitchen. Now I'm going to pay bills. But I don't know if that's such a smart idea seeing that the witching hour draws near and I'm about to pass out from sleep deprivation. I haven't even had the baby yet and I can't sleep! But I'm not about to waddle my 9-month pregnant butt into Wal-Mart this late in the night/early in the morning. There are weird people out and about this time...like pregnant ladies who are looking to overdose on Tums.

We're still waiting. Of course. I had my 39 week check up today. Oh boy, did it hurt when the doctor checked to see how far along I am. I wanted an epidural just for those 30 seconds she was poking around. I was thinking maybe I was 4 cm dilated and 100% effaced because it hurt so much. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. I'm still 2 cm dilated and 80% effaced. But the doctor says I can burst any day now. Let's hope it's soon before Aunt Jess and Uncle Christian get here.

38 week Update

2010-08-25T23:27:00.005-06:00

Technically, I'm 38 weeks and 4 days so this post is a little late, but better than nothing!

Look at me! I'm all belly now. 38 weeks, 1 day.

Sanchito is doing GREAT! As of last Tuesday (8/17) his tummy grew from the 12th percentile to the 46th percentile so there's no need for inducing labor. Plus, I've also grown to 34 cm, I'm 2 cm dilated, and 80% effaced. And I've gained more weight....but we won't get into that. My migraines have come back and I don't like it one bit! From the weather changing, to my lower back aching, my hormones fluctuating, and the stress and anxiety compiling, I usually have a migraine every other day. Before, in the winter, I would just put a steaming rice bag on my head and all would be fine. But, I really don't want to do that in 80 degree weather and ice just makes it worse. So, my doctor ordered me to drink some caffeine and take Tylenol as needed. I've hardly consumed soda my second and third trimesters and I've had absolutely no caffeine. I forgot how yummy cherry vanilla Pepsi is and it's hard not to drink it. I have to remind myself that it is for medicinal uses. And it works so well. No migraine tonight!

I thought my tooth died the other night. It was hurting so much and the gums were bleeding pretty badly. Steven asked me when the last time I went to the dentist, and all I could remember was that it was last year and it was snowing. So, I figured it was time for another check up and cleaning. The total number of cavities I have is............................ZERO! I was pretty surprised but over all very grateful. My teeth and gums just hurt because of all the swelling from the pregnancy. I was scared the baby had sucked out all the calcium from my teeth but I guess popping tums daily has paid off.

I have to go right now. I poured myself a bowl of cereal and milk half an hour ago and promised myself I wouldn't eat it until I had written on here. It's pretty soggy. I hope it's still good. Thanks for reading!

Is he here yet?!

2010-08-15T22:47:00.007-06:00

37 weeks done, 3 more to go. I want him RIGHT NOW!!! Nothing much has happened as of late. I did grow 1 cm last week, and we'll find out on Tuesday if Sanchito has been growing too. It's getting unbelievably hard to breathe and do things. I can be active for twenty minutes or so and then I need to go rest for half an hour. My ribs on my right side have been hurting like none other. It feels as if the muscles around my ribcage are being ripped to pieces. As my tummy gets bigger, it gets droopier, thus stretching all the skin down. I am definitely going swimming this week to get the weight off. Sanchito is getting very strong. His kicks have been leaving me breathless and motionless. If only he could kick the amniotic sack open and finally be born.

Poor Mayfield. I think he realizes that something cuter than him is coming. While my mom and I sorted baby clothes, he fell asleep in the pile. I covered him with all the blankies I received at the baby shower.

37 weeks. Bleh.

My awesome baby bag. I love the pattern and colors. It's made out of material that is easy to wipe down and the inside has lots of pockets.

Our Snuggle Nest! This is one item I have been very excited about. I saw it in a magazine and knew right away that I wanted it. It'll keep the baby near us at night, and the railings will keep us from rolling onto our child. I hope the baby likes it as much as we do.

Baby Nursery!

2010-08-15T21:47:00.006-06:00

I can't believe we finally have our baby's room already to go! For more than a year, this room has been known as "the back bedroom." I referred to as the Room of Requirement as it turned into whatever room I needed it to be. But mostly, it was a junk room where all our mess went that we didn't want to clean up. But now it is officially the baby's nursery.

BEFORE

AFTER

For its conversion, we baptized the walls in a light cucumber green paint. We don't have an official crib yet. We're going to buy a brand new one a few months when the baby gets bigger and grows out of the small portable crib that was donated to us. I still need to do some finishing touches like make cute curtains, put up some pictures on the wall, and put some shelving up.

A few months ago, we went to the Salvation Army to look at furniture. I knew I did NOT want a brand new dresser from Wal-Mart or Target that was going to fall apart within a year. The cheapest dressers I could find from those stores go around $100 and they are made of particle board, aka the sausage of wood. We went to the Salvation Army to look for a real dresser made out of real wood and found one in amazing condition for $60. We also saw a glider rocking chair for $40 but we figured $100 was pushing it for our baby monthly budget. We went to purchase the dresser and found out, since it was Memorial weekend, everything was half off including furniture! We were so happy to be able to buy both the dresser and the glider for $60! Our thriftiness really paid off. My family came over in the beginning of July to help us paint the baby's room, strip the dresser for painting, and fix up the rocking chair. I'm so glad everything turned out so well!

BEFORE

AFTER

Little Mrs. Crafty Pants

2010-08-15T21:14:00.009-06:00

Boy, have I been busy these past few weeks! To keep within my baby budget, I decided to make some items that I could have bought at the store, but then we wouldn't be able to pay our hospital bills. My mom and my friend Amber let me use their sewing machines and I thank them so much for it!

I made a nursing cover for around $5! I used these directions: http://blisstree.com/live/free-pattern-to-sew-your-own-nursing-cover/ My sewing wasn't perfect but I don't think the baby will mind. You can call it a "nursing cover," an "utter shutter," or a "hooter hider."

Look at those cute little footsies!

I bought the fabric at Hobby Lobby for $3. Having a boy, I didn't get to add anything pink the nursery. I figured pink was okay in the nursing cover since nursing is a very womanly thing.

My second project was my Boppy pillow. A pillow already packaged with a cover costs about $50 at the store. But an uncovered pillow at JoAnne's was $20. My friend, Mindy, and I decided to buy the JoAnne pillows and make our own covers. We used Amber's sewing machines and her help, and the pillows turned out cute and very comfy.

Aww, my sweet fake baby snoozing in his Boppy.

I made two covers. One is a froggy design and the other is this cute brown and teal pattern.

Mindy used a cute teddy bear pattern for her pillow.

Mindy and her pillow. She's going to have the cutest baby girl!

Nobody can do it like Mom can

2010-08-08T00:13:00.003-06:00

For the past month or so my mom has come over once a week to help me clean my house. It's been such a blessing to have her live close enough that she can do this for me. Without her the bottom half of the house would never be clean. What used to take one second to bend over and pick up now takes a minute of strategy, dexterity, and mobility. So, my mom is now my picker-icker-upper.

Two weeks ago, Mom cleaned my basement bathroom. When my brother-in-law moved out, I had him clean the bathroom since that's the one he used all the time. Sure, it was clean but...something was off. So, my mom cleaned it and she did such an amazing job. Nobody can clean a bathroom like my mom can. Just give her some Comet and she can work miracles. The bathroom instantly had my seal of approval when I smelled the Comet. I was back in childhood when my mom would clean the bathrooms and I knew everything was clean, sanitized, and okay to use again. I almost didn't want to go to the bathroom in fear of tainting such hallowed cleaning, but I didn't want to pee my pants either. I cleaned my main floor bathroom today and used Comet...but it just wasn't the same. There was no special Comet smell, my tub still has a few dirty streaks, and it hasn't been Mommified.

I started thinking of all the things only Mom can do and here's what I came up with:

-hot chocolate: Mom stirs it in such a way that there's never any powder floating on top. Her hot chocolate is never burnt, never too watery or too chocolaty. Mine always comes out with burnt powder islands floating on top.

-scrambled eggs: I think everyone thinks that no one can mimic their own mother's scrambled eggs. I've come up with good enough eggs for me and Steven, but not like my mom's.

-chocolate chip cookies: Mom's cookies always come out big, thick, moist, and full of yummy goodness. I've studied her cookie baking skills to no avail. Mine still come out small, flat, and dry.

-perfect cursive: sure, it's an endangered species of writing but it's managed to thrive through my mom's various notes, shopping lists, and daily thoughts she writes on the family white board. Even her non-cursive penmanship looks like cursive. So neat and tidy. I found faking notes hard to do in school but I did manage to get pretty good at her name.

-sewing patched on jeans: when she would sew patches on our jeans, she made them look brand new. My sewing just looks like barf. Poor Steven has to wear barf-patched jeans to work.

I'm so happy to have my mom as my mom. She's going to come stay with us for a week when the baby is born. Maybe she'll clean my bathroom and bake me some cookies. And I can't wait until Tuesday when she comes again to vacuum! I wonder what sort of things my children will like about me....

Me and my mom at Christmas doing our Snuggie dance.

35 Week Check-Up

2010-08-03T22:33:00.002-06:00

I look like a watermelon!

I'm 35 weeks, 3 days today! Sanchito's heart rate was in the 150's, which is good. But I haven't grown in the past week and a half, so the doctor had me get an ultrasound to check weight and measurements. So, I officially say that I am small for being due in one month. The baby's head is of average size of a 32 cm circumference. However, his stomach is on the small side measuring in the 12th percentile. Anything 10 and lower is not good but for right now things are okay. For half an hour we monitored Sanchito on the ultrasound machine. We watched him breathe, move around, stretch, move his fingers and toes and he's doing just fine. He weighs in at 5 pounds, 8 ounces. My next check up is in one week from today. It's too soon to tell anything so I hope I grow in the next seven days. Delivery can go one of two ways: if he's not really growing anymore, I'll be induced for an early labor. Or, if he's slowly growing then it'll be a late labor. I'm not too concerned right now because he moves around a lot and nothing else unusual showed up in the ultrasound. That's about it for the check up. Oh, even though he has a month to go, he doesn't have a lot of hair on his little head. I was imagining he'd pop out with a full head of dark curly hair. He'll just be a baldy, I guess.

It's Raining Babies!

2010-08-01T22:33:00.013-06:00

Here are some pictures from my baby shower. It was so fun to be with my friends and family to celebrate. I really appriciate all the love that went into this party and all the support I've received from so many people over these past two years. It was hard getting pregnant but the friendships I made along the way really helped me along. I'm so happy to share this pregnancy with so many people. Thank you all for your love, support, and gifts!

This is what I looked like. You can't really see my lobster red sunburn--I wore pink to not make it so apparent. I had sunstroke all day so I showed up a little loopy from pain reliever.

Baby shoes! When I registered at Target, I passed all these little baby shoes and registered for four or five pairs. I didn't really think I'd get any but I received all of them! I can't wait to put them on Sanchito's little footsies.

One baby game we played was Celebrity Baby Photos. I can't remember who this one was...maybe George Clooney? I don't know!

The prizes for the baby games were these wall hangings. Very funny!

A fleece blanket my two high school friends (Cat and Lexi) made. It is beyond soft! I think I might just go take a nap with it. The trick is making sure Mayfield doesn't find it and cuddle with it.

A little baby robe for my little baby. I think I'll bathe him four times a day just to dress him up all cute after he's squeeky clean.

A little blurry but this is the baby blanket my mom crocheted. She crochets amazing blankets! Thanks Mom!

An adorable elephant outfit.

The diaper cake! I thought this was so fun! It was another game where guests guessed how many diapers it took to create this cake. I think 58...I can't remember. Look! More baby shoes!

Almost there

2010-07-29T23:37:00.007-06:00

6 more weeks! ... Actually, more like 5 weeks, 2 days. I am ready to get Sanchito out of me!!! He is welcome to come at any moment. There just isn't any room left for him in my tummy and he lets me know this as he constantly squirms around. Sure, it's cute the first five times of his foot jabbing me in the ribs, but my goodness! I haven't been able to nap or get a satisfying night's sleep as he's just moving, squirming, hiccuping, dancing, jogging, drumming, jumping, etc. etc. all inside my "petite" torso. The way he kicks, I think he's just going to let himself right out of me. I'm still getting tons of comments, "Wow! You're so small!" and according to my doctor I am on the small size, which is okay as long as he's healthy and he comes out of him just fine. He doesn't feel so small, though. We'll just have to wait and see! As you can see, I've changed the blog background to frogs in preparation for this little boy. I hope you like it!

My sister, Reanna, and her husband came to visit Mom and Dad for a few days last week. It was so fun to talk with Reanna about being pregnant. Before all we could do was compare symptoms and medications of infertility. Now we have stimulating conversations of cravings, insurance deductibles, breast pumps, and baby items. Reanna is 16 weeks pregnant with twins so she'll find out in about a month the sexes (sex? sexi?) of her babies.

For all those who are waiting to see pictures from the baby shower, I'll post them soon. For right now I'll entertain you with these:

Oh, Mayfield. You handsome, beastly man dog.

Aww, pregnant sisters. I'm 34 weeks, Reanna is 16 weeks.

Clearly, I amazed that there are two babies in her tummy. I'm going crazy with just one!

Aww, cousins playing together.

Catch Up

2010-07-03T12:14:00.003-06:00

My goodness! I didn't mean for a month to pass before I wrote again. It's been one crazy summer so far. I had a few weeks in June where I had nothing really to blog about, and then all of a sudden, Steven's brother, Eric, just announced he was getting married. Last weekend was the wedding and tons of family came, including Steven's parents who received special permission to leave their mission for a day to attend the matrimonial festivities. Steven's grandparents and aunt stayed with us and made us the yummiest authentic Mexican food, of which I'm still eating one week later. Now, today we're painting the baby nursery--photos to come later. Busy, busy, busy.

Pregnancy update: 31 weeks. 9 more to go. 62 days left. He's going to be here before we know it! He's really not up to much: just getting fat. From what I've read online, Sanchito is around 3.5 pounds and about 16 inches long. Babies average about 7 to 8 pounds when they're born so he's half way there. I've grown out of maternity clothes, and I think Heavenly Father is quite aware that I need clothes, because He keeps sending amazing sales my way. From Target there was a buy-one-get-one-free deal on their maxi dresses. And then yesterday at OldNavy.com, maternity shirts were $5-$10 dollars. It's great knowing my belly won't be naked for the last two months.

This was last Sunday at 30 weeks, 1 day. I'm getting so BIG and I feel it too.

Baby Baby

2010-06-06T17:46:00.004-06:00

WOW! 90 more days until little Chito comes to live with us! We have so much to do, and I hope we can get it all done before September.

This past week I've had a horrible cold, and I've missed medicine terribly. I've gone from a cold, to a sinus infection, to an almost ear infection, and now a rattling cough. I've also lost weight from having no appetite--it's hard to eat when you can't taste anything! But the baby is still alive and doing well. Now, I just need to stay alive and get better.

Bah. Here I am sick but posing for my monthly photo of pregnant growth. Sunday, June 6, 2010: 27 weeks, 1 day pregnant/a little over 6 months pregnant; 90 days/3 months to go.

Aww, look at our baby. Just kidding. That's my doll I've dressed up in some of Sanchito's clothes. And that is our infant carrier seat. I really like the handle. I can't wait until he gets here!!

Creations

2010-06-06T17:31:00.010-06:00

Here are a few of my necklaces I've created over the past month or so. It's such a fun hobby but I can only make one necklace every few days because of my swollen tingly fingers. I have a hard time pronouncing the word "jewelry" that is comes out as "jewlery." Whatever. So, I don't make jewelry: I create colorful beaded body adornment.

I made this one for my mom for Mother's Day.

I made this one for my mother-in-law for Mother's Day.

Guilty Pleasure

2010-06-03T00:00:00.003-06:00

My sickness has turned into a full blown cold. It has taken a lot out of me. I only have enough energy to do one strenuous thing per day like pay the bills, clean the kitchen, do some laundry, etc. I figured today I would make my friend, Amber, a birthday present and card. I made her a necklace, which left all fingers on both my hands tingling and swollen. I moved onto making the card. Half way through I got that dreadful fainting feeling and couldn't breathe. I stopped what I was doing and laid down, but I knew I needed something more. Like sugar. I don't have a ton of things that contain sugar in my house. I could only think of the delicious ripe strawberries cooling in my fridge. I went to grab some berries when I noticed the whip cream and chocolate syrup sitting nearby. I threw them into my bowl and started to nom my way to consciousness. I gave up halfway through though. I couldn't taste a thing; I was eating more for survival than pleasure. Plus, if I ate that whole bowl of sugar, I would put myself into a coma. So, naturally, I told Steven I had a treat for him and he happily accepted my leftovers. I don't feel too guilty about this dish. Without it, I would have died today. And that wouldn't be good on Amber's birthday.

Amber's necklace: clear glass beads and dark purple glass beads

Siiiiick

2010-05-31T23:58:00.003-06:00

For the past five months I've miraculously avoided getting sick. No colds, no influenza, nothing. And then within five minutes of getting ready for bed last night I started to cough. I have no idea where this came from. I don't know what to call this as I don't have the flu or a cold. Just a horrible dry cough and a swollen sore throat. The only remedy for the cough is honey and the only remedy for the swollen sore throat is Tylenol. I tried gargling with salt water and taking a shower for the steam, but nothing happened. What is this??

So, today I just laid on the couch watching really boring television and eating jello. I think Sanchito really enjoyed the jello--he was the most active today than he has ever been. Steven spent his Memorial Day working on our yard and playing his computer games. I'm glad he was away from me all day; I don't want to pass this onto him. Plus, whenever he would check up on me, he'd make me laugh which would cause me to cough pitifully. I'm so happy how much Steven makes me laugh, but "not today, honey. I don't want to die from laughing at your corny jokes." And thus was our Memorial Day.

Mayfield Moment

2010-05-24T23:33:00.002-06:00

Sultan of Socks

Pregnancy Update: 25 weeks, 1 day

2010-05-23T22:13:00.008-06:00

I officially accepted last Thursday that I look pregnant. Sure, I've felt it but I figured I looked more fat than pregnant. Now, I look it. I went shopping the other night and a few people would look at my tummy, smile at me, and let my cart in front of them. Ahh, thanks nice people.

Monday, May 3: 22 weeks, 1 day=approx. 4 months until due date

Sanchito is getting so big! He likes to wake me up in the morning, then sleep all day long, and then kick all night long. I can push on my tummy and he'll kick back. Or if I eat some cheese, he'll wake up and move around. I can't breathe as deeply as I used to and it makes me tired and light headed quite easily. I went to sacrament meeting today but couldn't take the rest of church in fear I would faint away.

Steven and I went to our first birth class on Thursday night. There's five other couples there, along with our friends Mindy and Andrew who are due with a baby daughter a week before us. It's exciting to get Steven really involved with this pregnancy; he now understands that when my water breaks or I go into labor it doesn't mean the baby is going to pop out in five seconds. Steven wants us to be as prepapred as possible so it's fun to see how concerned he is with me, the baby, and finances (that part isn't so fun.) We've started to learn breathing techniques: I'm more of a shallow breather because I have no lung room for deep breaths. And, we've started to learn labor positions like leaning over a yoga ball for comfort or sitting in a cloud of pillows. I can't wait for our next meeting and to learn lots more!

Crazy May

2010-05-23T21:47:00.007-06:00

My goodness! I need to get better at writing on this blog. It seems like May is going by too fast. That's what happens when I stay busy. I had my nose cauterized due to constant nose bleeds and packed with super absorbing cotton. I was out of it for a week, but a few hours after going to the doctor and getting the cotton removed my nose started gushing blood again. I have to wait until after the pregnancy to go back in and have the doctor put electricity to the capillaries. So, now I have a worse off bloody nose for a few more months. Darn my nose!

I hosted two product parties this past week (Usborne Books and Arbonne body products) and I'm pooped out! Plus, I've been cleaning/nesting like a mad woman. My goal is to get my house scrubbed and cleaned before the third trimester starts. I have just a few weeks left but each day I'm getting bigger and can't bend down as easily. Just a few more rooms to go and my house will be ready for the baby!

For Mother's Day, Steven gave me a plant. He wouldn't tell me which plant it is so I have to wait and see. Last week we had this huge storm (flooding rain, hail, and tornado warnings) and Steven went outside and covered the plant with a bowl so the hail wouldn't ruin it. So far, it hasn't died but it hasn't exactly grown. It's still green so that means it's alive, right?

2 a.m. feeding

2010-05-03T01:58:00.003-06:00

In a few months I'll be waking up to feed my baby. As of right now, I'm just feeding myself. I have become that pregnant woman with weird cravings. Two hours ago I told Steven I needed to fill up on food for the night sleep. He was hungry too so I made him a peanut butter sandwich, and for myself, I made a egg salad sandwich. We ate in bed and Steven zonked out immediately. I thought I was satisfied too. I just went to the kitchen, took out the container of egg salad, and grabbed my Cooler Ranch Doritos, and started dipping away. IT WAS DELICIOUS!! I was in heaven: rubbing my belly, dipping my Doritos into the heavenly egg concoction, and "mmm mmm"ing all the way. Now I can sleep in peace. Too bad I'm not tired enough for that. Maybe I'll go eat some more...

Pregnancy Update: 22 weeks, 1 day.

2010-05-02T16:26:00.002-06:00

Here he is! Our little boy. This is just a snippet from the 35 minute ultrasound session we had on Tuesday, April 21. This shows his arm, his "turtle" (as the lady that gave the ultrasound called it), and his little beating heart. At the time of the ultrasound, the baby was normal weight and size for being 20 weeks. Now it's 22 weeks and he has definitely grown. I stayed home from church today as I was having round ligament pains--aka, my uterus was stretching and it hurt A LOT! I can see the baby move around in my tummy, and he's getting really good at punching and kicking me. Steven's even felt him kick a little--now he believes me that there is a baby inside of me. As for names, we're making a list but nothing official...probably nothing official until after I give birth so until then we are calling the baby Sanchito. We can't wait until he's here, he can have a real name, and we get to play with him!

April--What a month!

2010-05-02T15:53:00.003-06:00

I was expecting April to be pretty boring, and here we are already May 2!

On Thursday, April 22 we had a monsoon that somehow made its way into our basement. It wasn't terrible flooding, just enough water damage that we had to move our basement furniture around to pull up the carpet to dry it out. Thank goodness my parents live nearby to drive late at night to come help us. They brought their army of fans and gave their advice and support to what we should do. We sucked up all the rain water with a rented Rug Doctor, dried the carpet with fans galore, and then cleaned the carpet one more time with ammonia and vinegar with the aid of the Rug Doctor. To make sure there was no water damage in the wall, Steven cut six inches of the wall out and stuck fans to dry up the moisture. We are now working on putting new baseboard up to cover the six inches of lacking drywall. And we did fix what caused the water coming in: a clogged gutter that made all the water trickle down the side of our house into our house. Everything is fine now and I can't wait to get things organized again.

The next day, Friday, April 23 my sister Liz came home from BYU! I'd like to be happy that she is home...but she took the Mayfield from me. Oh well. My sister Reanna and her husband Mike drove with Liz from Utah, and it was great to see them as well. We had a family day extravaganza in Denver as we visited the aquarium and the state capitol. But now Reanna and Mike are gone, and I'm stuck here at home without a Mayfield. We'll see family again in September when the baby comes.

Speaking of babies, I have lots to report. But...that is going to be a separate post.

Potpourri

2010-04-07T18:38:00.003-06:00

Not too much has happened this week. Mayfield is on vacation at my parent's house. I miss having my cuddle muffin with me but he'll be home tomorrow. I play a game with Mayfield where he sits/stands while I throw clothes on him as I'm sorting laundry. He's just so patient while I do such silly things to him. On Easter Sunday my dad covered him in newspaper the same way I would cover him in my clothes. He knows to behave because we always give him a treat for his cuteness.

Pregnancy update: I don't know if I've mentioned on here but I've had a hard time keeping eggs and milk down. If the products are cooked like in a cake then I don't throw it up. But a bowl of cereal or scrambled eggs makes me sick all day long. I have another item to add to the list: sugar. I can't live without sugar!!!! It doesn't make me sick to my tummy but it's been doing odd things to my body. I went to the doctor's on Monday to see what was up, and the doctor was surprised I wasn't a diabetic due to what's been going on. (And what's been going on is too TMI for this blog.) He says I shouldn't have sugar for the next two weeks to see if my condition has improved for my next visit. The first night I was dreaming of eating candy! I just miss my popsicles. I could have the fake sugar like splenda but that gives me migraines. He told me to just cut out the sugar from candy, popsicles, cookies, fruit snacks and sugary cocktail beverages but the sugar from 100% juice is fine along with the natural sugars that come from fruits and other natural foods. I forgot to mention about what I've been using instead of milk. I've tried chocolate soy milk, chocolate almond milk, and chocolate rice milk and the winner of my taste buds is the chocolate soy milk. It most resembles a yoohoo and I can live with that. I just bought the vanilla soy milk and I like that just as much as it resembles normal milk. So, I'm still eating my bowls of cereal--the cereal without the sugar! I NEED my lucky charms!!! *sigh* Oh well. I'm just happy to be as healthy as I am! If anyone has any suggestions for ice cream, please let me know! If I can't have popsicles or milk ice cream, I need something for a special snack!!

Too many messes in my kitchen

2010-04-07T18:08:00.002-06:00

I can't stand cleaning my kitchen anymore! It seems like everyday I have an hours worth of rinsing dishes, loading dishes, unloading dishes, cleaning counter tops, etc. Now that I've moved on from first trimester sickness woes, I'm cooking more which means I'm cleaning more. The whole month of February we ate microwavable dinners via Marie Calender or we went out or got take out. Now, I want to be more healthy and cook more meals at home. I love cooking...just the cleaning up part makes me sad. I need to be very grateful for what I have right now, though. Before in our tiny little apartment we didn't have a dishwasher or a garbage disposal. Just one sink and a trashcan to clean up our kitchen. I just need to stop complaining. I'm only 22, have 0 kids, and a thousand futures worth of dirty dishes to clean. Sometimes it just makes me so sad and discouraged. That's why right now I'm not cleaning but blogging.

Speaking of cleaning, I have a product to endorse. Five years ago I used a Mr. Clean magic eraser to clean some things up and it didn't work at all. It was just a very soft sponge. So, a few days ago my friend Amber suggested I use the new Mr. Clean bath scrubber to make my tub white again. I wasn't too keen on Mr. Clean since our last encounter five years ago but I picked up a package of scrubbers, along with Lime Away just in case they didn't work. Today, I used Lime Away first to see if it could get rid of the hard water stains, which it kind of did. My tub wasn't exactly sparkling like I anticipated so I grabbed Mr. Clean and started scrubbing him away on my stains. And I couldn't believe it! It actually worked! I actually have a white tub like a brand new white tub. So, if you're out there battling soap scum and hard water stains by yourself, just got pick up Mr. Clean to help you out! I hope it works for you as well as it did for me!

Our Baby!

2010-03-30T13:15:00.003-06:00

Here's our dear little child....or atleast what our baby will look like. Our children will definently have brown hair and there's a 50/50 chance of olive skin. I'm hoping we'll get a variety of eye color--not just brown. Oh, what the heck! Whatever our baby will look like, it will be the cutest baby EVER!

Pictures

2010-03-28T20:35:00.010-06:00

17 weeks, 1 day = about 4 months

Mayfield modeling for the spring catalog of sexiness.

Our serious photo shoot. Look at Mayfield wink.

Sunday Afternoon Family Update

2010-03-28T17:34:00.003-06:00

I'm afraid to announce that spring is here in fear of another winter storm warning. It was quite odd last Monday how it was 65 degrees out, I was raking leaves in the front yard, and Colorado was under a sever winter storm warning. It snowed its six wet inches of snow, and by the time I woke up Tuesday at noon, it was practically all melted away. Ah, yes, spring in Colorado.

As of a literal family update, I'm on my laptop tapping away while Steven collapsed at an odd angle onto the bed into his Sunday nap coma.

Baby update! I'm 17 weeks, 1 day along. The baby has been most active these past few days, especially at night making it kind of impossible to sleep. A few days ago I was lounging in my bed on my laptop when I felt all my innards move around, and I could feel the baby flip. And then my lower back/kidney area hurt like heck! I thought I was going to die like my kidneys exploded from a stealth uterine infection. I just breathed it out (hee-hee-whoooo...hee-hee-whoooo) until it went away. Freaking out, I called my sister Mindy up to ask the heck just happened to me. She explained the baby was just rested on my kidneys, I was going to feel this a lot, and the pain will worsen during labor. GREAT! How am I going to survive labor if one little incident like this had me crying for five minutes?!?! I admit, I'm a wimp. Give me an epidural now! Anyway, I'm beginning to show like I really am pregnant, not just getting fat in my belly. It's exciting that this is actually happening, I'm really pregnant, and I'm going to have a baby. I'm trying not to buy any baby things right now; we're waiting to find out the sex on April 20th. Then, after that, I will be a baby maniac! I can't wait to get the nursery under way.

I can't forget to mention our little friend that came to visit last weekend. We had a bird in our chimney, and before we left for church Sunday afternoon, Steven put a box in front of the fireplace for the bird to fly into. When we got home from church, we took a nap, and I was woken by something freaking out in the living room. I woke Steven up and told him the bird got out but when he listened for it, nothing moved. I finally kicked him out of bed, in which he went into the living room to discover the bird did not fly into the box but into our blinds. We scared it out of the blinds and it flew out our front door but not before it flew into the door first. This wasn't our first encounter with a wild creature in our house (no, I'm not talking about Mayfield.) About a month or so ago, a squirrel fell down onto the shoot and wouldn't come down for days. We put the box up with chips and nuts for it to eat. We came home one day after running errands to find the squirrel made its way into the kitchen and was hiding behind our flour and sugar canisters. I ran it out the back door and it got its little sooty paws all over the counters. We're going to put some bird netting over our chimney so this doesn't happen again. Mayfield will probably eat the next critter that comes to visit.

Chicken Posole from Food Storage

2010-03-28T17:14:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago, I was feeling too sick to make dinner but I really needed to eat something substantial. I decided on a chicken posole recipe from Real Simple magazine--I've cooked it before, knew it was easy to make, and it was a fast solution for my hunger. I tweeked the recipe a little to accommodate food storage items, so in time of a nuclear fallout I will have a year supply of supplies to make this soup.

Items:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced***(food storage tweek: 1/2 cup of dried chopped onions)
1 32-ounce container low-sodium chicken broth
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (any more and your soup will be ridiculously spicy and make you cry)
2 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken meat***(food storage tweek: 13 ounce can of white chicken meat)
1 15 ounce can of hominy, drained and rinsed
1 lime, cut into wedges***(food storage tweek: I have no idea what to use for this)
salt and pepper

Directions
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and beginning to brown, 10 to 12 minutes. (food storage tweek: using dried onion, stir until cooked)

2. Add the broth, tomatoes, and red pepper and bring to a boil. Stir in the chicken and hominy and simmer until heated through 3 to 4 minutes. Serve with lime.

The only fresh items I used for this soup was the lime and the onion. It was delicious!! The first time I made it, I had a cold and couldn't taste the red pepper, so I added another 1/4 teaspoon. I could still barely taste it but Steven said it was too hot and it made his eyes water. When I got over my cold and have a second helping a few days later, I knew what he meant and I cried too from how hot the pepper was.

Mayfield the Mighty

2010-03-11T15:43:00.003-07:00

I'm such a dweeb. I just tried to send three different messages containing what I could just put on this blog and have everyone enjoy! Mayfield is one stud muffin--and such a good poser for the camera. Here's his photo--I know, another one!--and a little video I put together to show how studly he is.

..............................

Oh, Silly Mayfield

2010-03-04T22:38:00.007-07:00

Happy Anniversary!

2010-03-01T22:27:00.004-07:00

It's our 2 year wedding anniversary today. Yahoo! We've made 2 years, 68 years to go! We celebrated by eating out tonight. We planned on using a coupon for Cafe Mexicali, but upon walking in and realizing our coupon was expired by 1 day, we left in search for other food. We drove around a bit until we convinced ourselves to splurge and go to Red Lobster--without a coupon!! But, hey! It was our anniversary and we wanted the yummiest of all food. It was such a great day, and we're so happy how these past two years have gone. I wonder what this next year will be like...

I was doing bills today and organizing health insurance stuff when I discovered that the pharmacy hadn't billed our insurance for some medicine I ordered these past two months. The insurance had my birthday wrong so nothing from the pharmacy was getting through to them. Steven and I went to the pharmacy to get things settled--I thought if these meds could get through to the insurance company, then we would get closer to our deductible. Upon our arrival, turns out we had met our deductible through our medical bills and now we were getting a refund from the pharmacy! Ooo...we were so surprised! The medicine I had been on my first trimester was NOT cheap and we got around a $200 refund. What such great blessings we receive from the Lord. I'm so happy!

Becky, Patron Saint of Laziness

2010-02-28T22:48:00.002-07:00

I finally admitted to myself yesterday that I am a lazy person. I really don't want to be...I just think that if it's not important, then it's never going to get done. I've had this blog for over a year, and I've only posted two entries, which I then deleted after a six month hiatus. I guess this blog could be important, to family and friends, but I want it to be important to me too. I'll probably end up printing my entries and gluing them in a family scrapbook someday so I better start!

So, to get me to write on this thing I need it to be fun for me. And quick. I can't sit down every day for hours and type about my life. First, my life isn't that enthralling to write hours upon hours about. I'll just mention of a few of the highlights to keep friends and family updated. Steven's parents are on their church mission, and we miss talking to them daily. At least, they can read this blog to keep updated on us and their future grand kid.

Here I go to begin today's entry....drum roll..........

We went to church today. We attended the Spanish speaking Sunday school class and had a very enjoyable time. I know a pequeño amount of Spanish; I can read well but listening to a conversation I just get totally lost. I plan on improving my Spanish this year with personal study, and we plan on attending the class very often. As we left church, it snowed. It's not a blizzard, but I'm just ready for spring. And then summer. And then finally the baby will come!

The highlight of the evening was Masterpiece Theater!! I love the British! And I'm so happy for the BBC and PBS for putting together such well made movies. They really stick to the story but make it exciting with great acting and beautiful scores. I'm amazed I can get Steven to sit down and watch it with me. It surprises me how much he enjoys these movies. Tonight's classic was 39 Steps, a British story of a man who falls into be a spy right before World War I breaks out. I liked it for its handsome protagonist; Steven enjoyed it for the guns and explosions. I can't wait for next week.

Nothing else has happened today. Steven and I both have migraines--probably from the snow--so it's been a quiet evening. Being pregnant, I've had my horrible days to my good days. Today was a good day. I feel the little baby (13 weeks now) moving around in the evenings to let me know it's still there. Thank goodness for my sour lemonade that keeps the nausea away.