Life with a baby

Wow! My life (I should say "our lives") have been turned upside down! West likes to be up all night and sleep all day. Why do I not remember my other two kids doing that? There's a lot I don't remember! I think it would be fine but I have again contracted my weird, post-partum sickness that involves chills, aches, and fevers. Poor Shawn had to stay up with the baby the other night because I literally could not move! A 2:00 a.m. bedtime and a 5:00 a.m. alarm clock do not go together well, I felt so bad for him. It's been an adjustment for us, needless to say. I am continuing to take ibuprofen and other meds to keep my fevers away, but I'm also on an antibiotic that will hopefully get rid of any other weirdness. I was allergic to my first antibiotic - my right eye swelled up HUGE! I actually took a picture of it but I don't dare show anyone. It is hideous, it looks like I was punched in the eye. Maybe someday I'll be normal again. Then again, maybe not! It feels like it's been forever since I've been without some sort of ailment. Then, if it's not me feeling like I'm going to die, my car either won't start or move out of "Park." Or Rags runs away. Or Hannah doesn't make it home after school and I think she's been kidnapped. Augh! So I just cry and eventually move on.

On the bright side, I took West to the doctor yesterday and he'd gained one full pound! He was born 6 lbs. 9 oz. and now he is 7 lbs. 10 oz., which is what Chance weighed when he was born! He's in the 20% for height, weight and head. I've never had a kid that small. I'm sure he'll catch up though, he's quite an eater! Things could be worse - luckily West is a healthy, happy kid. We love him to death. He looks nothing like me, but a lot like his dad. Which is just fine with me.

Another bright side moment - Hannah lost her first tooth! It has been loose for a long time. The other day I looked in her mouth and saw that her new tooth was actually growing in behind her loose one! I had to pull "tough love" and yank her loose one out while she cried and fought me! I know, I'm so mean!! But afterward she was so happy and proud to have lost her first tooth!

And I can't forget to mention Thanksgiving - I wasn't too excited to go because I didn't feel good and was so tired, but once I got there I was so happy to be there!! We went to my mom's house this year, who again outdid herself by cooking the entire Thanksgiving feast on her own. She wouldn't let me bring anything. It was THE BEST!! The turkey was so moist and my favorites (yams, shrimp dip, cheesy cauliflower) were cooked to perfection. I love Thanksgiving - no worry about gifts, just fun and family. We were so happy to have Jason, Lindsay and Lily there - they haven't been to a Utah Thanksgiving dinner for a few years! After dinner we played Scrabble, and even though I was drugged I took second place -- LUCKY for me. The self-proclaimed Scrabble queens (my mom and sisters) love to play me because I am so easy to beat!!

West

Our little guy finally arrived! He was born on Friday, November 12, 2010 at 12:10 a.m. He was 6 pounds 9 ounces and 19.5 inches long. We are so happy to finally have him here!

I had been having contractions since last Friday. I actually stopped at the hospital the Friday before on my way home from work because my contractions were regular (3-4 minutes apart), but not very intense. The nurse told me that I should go home and lie down and they would go away. Which they did. For awhile.

On Tuesday, I had an emotional breakdown! I was crying over everything! I think my hormones were out of control. Then the following Wednesday I was supposed to go to work (my last day) but I did NOT feel good. I called in and said I wouldn't be there. I had a doctor appointment that day anyway, so we made an appointment for induction on Friday, November 19. It seemed like an eternity away, but at least there was an end in sight! The contractions were continuous, but not too intense at this point.

On Thursday morning around 4:00 a.m. I started keeping track of the contractions. Shawn had to go to Salt Lake not only for work, but also to take his grandparents to the airport. I figured I'd be fine for awhile, but around 6:00 a.m. I called him and told him he'd better come home! I did NOT feel good, the contractions were regular, and I really felt like I should go to the hospital. I called my mom and asked if the kids could come over, and we headed for the hospital around 7:30 a.m. For some reason, Shawn decided to take a very odd route to the hospital. We were in a residential area and got pulled over by a cop for speeding and not having our license/registration. It was so weird, like you see in the movies with the wife in labor and speeding to get the hospital! The cop said he didn't want to deliver a baby so he let us go without a ticket.

I checked in to the hospital, was asked like five billion questions, and was hooked up to the contraction machine. They were regular, and I was at a "4." Things were moving along nicely, I thought! But, not everyone thought the same way because the doctor said that things needed to be moving along faster or I would need to go home. So the nurses told me to walk around for 45 MINUTES. Ugh. I walked laps around the labor/delivery for that long with no real problem, just occasional pains. When I went back to the evil nurses, I hadn't progressed much so they told me that I needed to come back later. I was upset because how could I be having painful contractions and be told to go home!?! I was so mad. I wanted this baby out. Shawn tried to cheer me up so we went to a craft fair and then had lunch at Union Grill to kill time. Then I went home and laid there. There was no way I was going to walk more, I was a sight because my tummy was huge!! I did not look like I was in any condition to be walking!

Around 5:00 p.m. I couldn't stand it anymore; I was in a lot of pain. I called the hospital and asked if I could take anything for the pain because I was miserable. The nurse told me that if I was in that much pain, I should probably come in. So, we again loaded up the kids to take them to my mom's and hauled down to the hospital. Little did I know that my poor brother-in-law was sick as a dog, lying down on the bathroom floor because he couldn't move!! I felt so bad dropping them off there but I was ready to be lying down on the bathroom floor myself.

When we got to the hospital I was having a hard time talking between contractions. I was at a "5" so the nurse again called the doctor. The doctor told her, "If she (me) is not at a 5, I am holding you personally responsible." What?! I guess he was concerned because I was only 38 weeks and so I couldn't be induced or helped along in my labor in any way. You have to be at least 39 weeks for any artificial "help." The other nurse confirmed that I was a "5, almost 6" so they got the okay to take me back and schedule my epidural. I could not wait for that epidural! Yes, it's painful to have it but it is NOTHING compared to the pain of the contractions! I have no idea how people give birth without drugs. I think I would pass out.

Anyway, things started moving along after the epidural! I was kind of shaky and cold, so I had to keep my eyes closed and just rest so I didn't throw up or anything. But it beat having contractions! I laid there while Shawn and his mom watched Top Gun on TV. It was so nice to just be able to listen to the movie instead of be concerned about when the pain was going to begin again.

I was kind of hoping the baby would be born at 11:11 p.m. on 11/11 but I was too slow. After I was fully dialated I only had to push four times and then the baby popped out! It was so awesome. It is the craziest thing to witness a human life come into the world. He was the cutest thing I had ever seen. I could tell he was small; he looked teeny to me! He felt so huge in my stomach but he was just teeny. I was so happy he was finally here! So was Shawn, he was just beaming. The baby was wide, wide awake and only cried for a second! He was just looking around at everything! I can't imagine what a weird feeling it must've been for him!

Shawn decided to name the baby West Dale Redd -- West is his great, grandfather's middle name (Hugh West Jacob) and Dale is my dad's and grandpa's first name (Dale Bradford Warburton; Dale LeRoy Warburton). I think it's a good name -- not common, but not weirdly unique. Just right!

West has been a good baby so far -- he wakes up about every three and a half hours to eat. When he was first born, he always had this mad face with his eyebrows together. He's sort of stopping the mad face now. He's also starting to open his eyes more and more. I love when he's half-asleep, half-awake and gives little smiles and other facial expressions! We think he's adorable.

The kids have loved having the baby around, although the other day Chance told me the baby was boring. Maybe I should start waking him up to see how exciting the baby is in the middle of the night! We are calling Hannah "Little Mama" because she is my right-hand gal. She loves helping me take care of the baby. I put her in charge of the baby monitor so she stares very intently at it to see if West is moving in any way! It is so cute.

I am so grateful to have such a healthy baby. I wish I knew why we have been blessed with three healthy babies, it is so humbling to think about. I am trying to get used to the schedule but no matter how tired or upset or emotional I get, I always try to remember how lucky I am to have this baby in our lives. He has been a blessing to all of us and we love him to death!!

A failure as a mother...

Really, how did 2 of 2 become BYU fans? I am doing something wrong.

HALLOWEEN CELEBRATIONS

Courtnie had a fun party at her house for Family Home Evening on the Monday before Halloween. She had the table decorated SO CUTE and of course, my camera was in the car. By the time I got it out, the table was destroyed! (In a good way! The kids had a blast with it!) But she had dry ice, spiderwebs, these freaky looking goblets with gummy worms - it was SO cute and the kids thought it was sooo cool! We carved pumpkins and the kids played Bingo. We'll have to make it a tradition, it was really fun! (of course I can say that, it wasn't my house that was hit by a hurricane of pumpkin guts and everything else Halloween!!)

I was cleaning off the top of the fridge and found this fake money that I had bought for some random reason. I wanted to do something with it for my pumpkin for the neighborhood pumpkin contest this year. Shawn and I started talking, and don't ask me how, but Shawn came up with the idea of President Obama stealing money out of a working man's pants. Here's how it turned out:

Oh yeah, first place baby!! Yet again!!

Other Random Happenings

Chance had a Toys-R-Us gift card and birthday money that he was DYING to spend, so I decided to be "fun mom" for once instead of "mean pregnant mom" and take the kids down to Layton. After wandering around that store for what seemed like FOREVER (hoping it would put me into labor! no such luck...) Chance decided to buy the game Mind Flex. Supposedly you can move these little foam balls around an obstacle course by using only your mind. Ooooh, eerie, I know. I made SURE we could return the game in case it didn't work. I just had a feeling that it was going to be a piece of $80.00 junk. Anyway, we took it home and played it for Family Home Evening the next Monday. It really worked!! You have to concentrate but somehow that freaky ball moves around the obstacle course! You have to try it to believe it. It was so funny to watch everyone concentrating so hard. Shawn had a dream that night that he was moving cement panels out of our backyard by using only his mind. We all think we have the "Force" now. Is this a look of determination on Shawn's face or what!?

If you look carefully, you can see the ball in the air - a little fan blows it up in the air and then you can change its direction with your "mind." I have no idea how it works.

I also wanted to post what Miss Hannah has been doing lately. Since the school year has started, she has been taking piano lessons from Bravo Arts Academy in Washington Terrace. She is going to a class called "piano team", which means there are 4-5 kids in her class that all take the lessons together. She really likes it, but I think this is going to be her last month down there. The piano method they use down there is... weird. To me. I think I'll just try to teach her at home for awhile and then put her in with a different teacher in a year or so. I guess I'm a piano snob. I had such an AWESOME teacher (my mommy) who actually taught me my notes rather than simply "where to put my hands." I want Hannah to learn the same way. I just hope I'll have time to focus on her piano with the new baby. I really want her to learn.

Hannah has also been taking tumbling at The Edge in Pleasant View. She LOVES it. She was so proud of herself to be able to do a backbend all by herself, and she is now working on her cartwheel. I can tell she's getting stronger and more confident. I figure if she starts young enough, maybe she'll not be scared to do back-handsprings like her mother was! I always HATED doing anything that made me go backwards. Hopefully Hannah will be a little braver.

The Cabin

We took a quick trip up to the cabin over Fall Break. Shawn went up on Thursday to go fishing with Brett, and the kids and I (and Rags) drove up the next day. Chance was invited to go with Brett and Shawn, but he is still traumatized from the last time those two took him fishing - he about froze to death!! It was such a pretty drive to Star Valley- I love driving to the cabin during the fall in the daytime. I did not take as many pictures as I should have, but I just had to grab a picture of Hannah with her slingshot sitting on the four-wheeler. "The boy we never had" as Shawn calls her. At the cabin, Laura taught Courtnie and I how to crochet and use knitting looms. It was fun! We made beanie hats and scarves. Then we took a trip to the Afton fabric store to buy some more yarn and check out the fabrics. I'M GETTING OLD!! While we were at the store, Shawn took the kids to Lance's pond for some fishing. I showed up just in time to grab a picture. The fish were jumping like crazy, and they are good sized! We took our trailer to the cabin as we have been doing for a few years now. It is nice to have our own space, plus to give everyone else more space within the cabin. Our family is getting too big for it, but it is so much fun to go! The kids put on a circus and another play for all of us. This is what I mean by not taking as many pictures as I should have! I have no pictures of it, but it was pretty cute. Everything seems to be extra fun when it happens at the cabin! Even cutting wood - I took this picture of Shawn so he could show his Crossfit buddies that he was a lumberjack Crossfitter.

Homework

It seems like the only person I have blogged about is Chance. But what do you do when he is always doing something so goofy? I had to post a couple of his homework papers. The first one is gross, you have been warned.

He had to write the last two sentences on his own by using as many spelling words as he could. Please forgive the poor English in the first sentence. But seriously, "My dad does not want his fungus fixed?" I won't go into detail about how he came up with that sentence! I was so embarrassed!

This pink one has a little explaining to go with it. I guess the "correct" answer was that the blue team should have given one of its players to the red team. But I thought he answered it wonderfully! You can tell we've been involved in sports a lot lately... It must've struck Mrs. Filiaga funny because Chance said she photocopied his paper to show to her family!

The second explanation has to do with the teacher addressing Chance as "Mr. Redd." A few weeks ago, Chance was asked to come to the front of the class to explain something that had to do with math (I'm still not sure what it was.) So when he got to the front of the class, he introduced himself as the teacher, "Mr. Redd." I didn't know about this story until he brought home a birthday book with notes from his class members. They were all addressing him as "Mr. Redd" in the book so I asked him, um, why? So now I guess that's what kids call him at school! He also told me that sometimes the teacher will ask Mr. Redd to come to the front of the class and ask the class to be quiet. The class, for some reason, always obeys Mr. Redd. What a character!

Baptism and Primary ProgramMy cute boy Chance was baptized on October 9. It was a little stressful for me to get ready (don't ask me why, I didn't even do anything!) but it turned out wonderfully.

Chance was so happy to see that a few of his friends from school were being baptized on the same day! There were four boys all together. The talks beforehand were wonderful - neither of the speakers were from our ward, but their talks were very well done. Chance only had to be "dunked" one time. When he came out of the water, he had the biggest smile on his face and he started to giggle. Which made everyone else giggle. Then he began to tread water to the stairs. He must've forgotten it was only waist deep? Shawn made him stand up and walk, the little clown. The confirmation was wonderful, and Shawn's Grandpa Ted gave a great closing prayer. It was a prayer/blessing, which is what he usually does. Classic.

For some reason I thought Shawn was going to have to wear a jumpsuit, too. Wouldn't that be funny!? Probably just funny to me.


warning: big mama in the house

We had a dinner afterward in the cultural hall at the church. That was my best idea yet - to have the dinner at the church instead of at our house. The turnout was AWESOME and there would have never been enough room for everyone in my house. After it was over, Shawn said he felt bad we didn't let the kids play basketball. I told him we couldn't because there were other people in the building and it would have been too loud. Shawn replies, "But that is every kid's favorite memory - playing basketball after their baptism." Really? I have no recollection of that! ha! Shawn made a huge batch of meatballs (that were to DIE for, if I might say) and we had meatball sandwiches, salads, appetizers, and desserts. I think it was a success. Luckily I asked my sister Lindsay to take pictures at the baptism - otherwise, there would be none!

At first I was bugged about Chance's messy meatball shirt, but now I think it's kind of cute. I made those #8 cookies and they were huge!! I think they were supposed to be teeny but I got a little out of control. The picture on the right is Uncle Jason dragging the kids around. It seems like he's always throwing them or dragging them or something! He is the best. Then of course my mom, Chance, and Lily. That is one of my most favorite pictures ever! Lils is the cutest baby in the world.

The very next day we had our primary program. Chance was in charge of ringing a bell and took that task very seriously. He rang it right on cue and as hard as he could! It was very cute. He then had to tell how he felt when he received the gift of the Holy Ghost. Since it just happened the day before, I had to write down a few lines and he read it. But that's okay, he'd had a stressful few days! My little Miss Hannah knew EVERY word of EVERY song, and gave her part memorized all by herself. Here is what she said:

My family is a garden
A place where we can grow
Our garden is for people
Not plants grown in a row

We can tell that we are growing
The seeds of love and cheer
We fill our home with sunshine
And feel our Savior near

I love our family garden
Although I'm still quite small
'Cause in our family garden
I'm growing straight and tall

Prior to all of this, we had Chance's birthday, Shawn's birthday, and last but not least - Rags' birthday. I think Rags had the biggest celebration (if you don't count Chance's baptism dinner). We went to the dollar store and bought him some toys and a "happy birthday" balloon with a dog on it. Spoiled rotten this dog is. Ragsy is going to be in for a shock with the arrival of the baby! For Shawn's birthday (the big 3-5 this year!) we went as a family out to dinner to a new chicken wing place in Layton. I am not a wing fan so I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich, with led to Shawn feeling a little embarrassed and deciding to apologize to the waitress for me with "she's pregnant." It's been a fun, busy month so far!

Alaska

Shawn went to Alaska for nine days during the first part of September. Shawn's mom gave Shawn's dad the trip for his 60th birthday, and of course Shawn had to go along to show his dad the ropes! They had a great time, but the only part of the trip I remember him telling me about is when he accidentally let my FAVORITE camera get wet and ruined in the river. I'm glad the SD card survived, but my poor camera! Oh, and then I heard a story about Shawn falling into the river then running around in his garments or something? I guess that got quite a laugh. Oh, and one more thing I remember - he didn't call us the entire time he was gone because he claims a bear ate through the phone line at the lodge and they didn't get cell service. Hmmm, still don't know if I believe that story! Here are a few pictures of the trip:

Shawn, Bryan, and our neighbors Jody and Jeremy Deamer

Bry

Shawn

Anyway, right after Shawn left Chance said to me, "Mom, I feel bad for you." "Why?" I answered. I was hoping he'd say something like "Because you're pregnant and can barely move" or "Because you have to take care of us all by yourself." But instead he said, "Because Dad's not here for a whole week and you don't like to cook." I laughed and said, "Yeah, you should feel bad for me." Chance then provides his solution, "I guess we should go live at Grandma April's (Shawn's mom) for the week so we can eat." Then he pauses and adds, "Well, you are good at making breakfast food. Like cereal."

How time flies...The other day, Hannah pulled this little gem out of a box of pictures I have. Where has the time gone?

First Days of School
Chance started 2nd grade this year! His teacher's name is Mrs. Filiaga. My next-door neighbor is good friends with her and said she is an excellent teacher. I met her and I think she will be great for Chance. It's freaky that he is starting 2nd grade because I remember when I was in 2nd grade. That's really the first I remember of school.

Hannah started Kindergarten this year! I can't even believe she is old enough. I guess because she's been our baby. Shawn came home from work to see her off on her first day. I thought that was so cute of him! She totally has him WRAPPED around her finger. Hannah has Mrs. Judkins in the afternoon. Chance also had Mrs. Judkins and loved her. She is such as sweet teacher. We have been very lucky with teachers at North Ogden Elementary.

We went to the dentist (Uncle Mark) a week or so ago and the dental assistant asked me what I was going to do with all of my free time now that both of my kids were in school. I guess she missed my big, fat belly so I informed her that I was probably going to stay pretty busy with a new baby in the house!

Scouts
Chance was lucky enough to start scouts a little bit before his 8th birthday. Since I have ZERO brothers and this is my first boy, I have NO clue about scouts. I walked into the scout store and the guy there sold me one of everything in that place. I didn't know where the badges should be placed on the shirts, or what he was even considered - Bear? Wolf? Bobcat? Chance commented, "Mom, you don't know what you're doing, do you." Was it that obvious? Yes, I guess.

Anyway, scouts began and I can at least help him show up on time. His scout leader is Cleo Christensen and she is the sweetest lady! She's probably in her 80's. The troop (is that what it's called?) took a trip to Antelope Island on a Saturday, and they were the only scouts there. It just so happened that a Deseret News reporter was there so she published a few pictures of the kids in the paper! Here is a classic of Chance looking at a brine shrimp that was printed in the newspaper for all to see...

A couple weeks ago, the kids were playing tennis for scouts. One of the other boys accidentally whacked him in the nose with a tennis racket. His poor nose was bleeding out of control and I could see sort of a weird thing poking out of one of his nostrils. We thought it was broken so we took him to the Instacare. It turned out to just be a bad bleeding nose with no break (luckily). But for the few days afterward, Chance was traumatized and hesitant to return to scouts! I promised him that if they played tennis at scouts again, he didn't have to play! Shawn had to tell Chance's football coaches that he was missing football practice because he was in the Instacare and might have broken his nose with a tennis racket. The coaches just looked at Shawn like, "really? tennis?" Such a wimpy sport compared to football.

Football

This was Chance's first year of real, live, tackle football. It has been so fun, but it has been an eye-opener for me. I went to his first practice and was in shock - these 7, 8, and 9 year olds were being treated like adult players! They had warm-ups, stretching, and learned to run plays. The coaches were all dressed alike and were yelling at the kids like crazy! It was quite a sight. His team doesn't huddle before a play - the coach just writes the play on a board and holds it up for the team to see. Then they are supposed to remember the play and position themselves to run it. It's pretty impressive. On one of the first practices, Chance's helmet was hurting his head really bad. He just wasn't used to it, and those helmets are heavy! He ran over by me to get a drink and he had tears in his eyes. I wanted to give him a big hug (but I refrained) and I asked him if I should ask the coach about his helmet. He said, "Gotta go, Mom" and ran back out as quick as he could. Chance is a perfectionist and does all of his warm-ups and drills perfectly. He is never first in any of them, but you can be sure that his form is perfect! He's really good at leg lifts and sit-ups. A lot of the kids struggle with those, but he has a pretty strong little core. I made the mistake of telling him that I thought he was developing a six-pack on his tummy, so now that is his favorite thing to show off.

at practice

Their team has practice every night from 6-7:30 p.m., with the exception of Thursdays, then games every Saturday. Chance loves it. He plays hard, but he's not quite as aggressive as some of the other kids. He's getting better, though. I love watching him. I have always liked football so it has been fun for me to watch him get out there and play. Because he's one of the youngest/smallest on the team, he does not start and plays 2nd string defense. (Although he was moved to starting defense after an awesome game against Roy!!) He will play nose guard or on the line on defense. During practice, he'll play running back. He says he doesn't like running back, but he never fumbles the ball and I think he's pretty good at it. I just think he doesn't like being tackled all of the time. I don't blame him. But they look so cute in their little outfits, don't they?!? Unfortunately, they lost their first game like 37-0. It was quite the learning experience. When they sent Chance in for his first play I was so nervous! It was like I was out there! But on his very first play he got a tackle! I was so proud of him! Go Warriors!

Sarah's Birthday (August 2010)

Shawn loves to tease his sister Sarah. She is the baby of the family and is 13 years younger than Shawn. On various birthdays, Shawn will give Sarah embararrasing gag gifts just to be funny. When Sarah was going into Junior High, he gave her this huge leopard print bra. Another birthday he bought her a bra made out of candy. I think his infatuation with bras had to do with the fact that he was struggling with realizing his little baby sister was growing up! When Sarah turned 16, he bought her a car. Yes, a real, live, running Chevy Celebrity. It was quite the junker, but it ran! Not sure what ever happened to that car... When Sarah was going to college, he gave her a care package with little embarrassing sayings, including references to avoiding the "Freshman 15." Isn't he rude? Sarah's 21st birthday was no exception. Shawn thought of giving Sarah a blow-up doll for this birthday because he remembered his Uncle Glen received a female blow-up doll around the same time in his life. We thought it would be so funny to give Sarah an inflatable boyfriend because although she dates a lot, she was not seeing anyone seriously. Little did we know that between the time we thought of our surprise and Sarah's birthday, Sarah found herself a real boyfriend! We had to change our approach a little bit and make it sound like the blow-up doll was a back-up boyfriend in case things with she and her current boyfriend Josh did not work out. But it was still pretty funny! We named him "Josue" which is Spanish for Josh. Aren't we just so funny?Gracie, Brielle, Sarah, Josue, and the real Josh

11 years and counting...It sounds lame, but it is so hard to believe that Shawn and I have been married for 11 years! I think one of my favorite things about Shawn is that he makes me laugh every day. I think he is so funny! Shawn and I were reminiscing about when we first started dating and how we'd always go to Chili's in Salt Lake. We'd go there time after time after time. Finally, one time I asked Shawn if he wanted me to pay for our meal. Don't ask me why, but I thought he'd insist on paying. Instead he very quickly replies, "Sure," and hands me the bill!! I was so mad!! His excuse for it is that I was a "women's libber" going to the U and he didn't want to offend me and my rights. Anyway, we still tease about that night! So on our actual anniversary we took the kids to Chili's to celebrate.

Happy Anniversary Card from Chance

Then that weekend we went to the spa for massages and ate dinner at the Roof restaurant in the Joseph Smith building. Really, that place NEVER gets old. I don't know if it's because we hype it up and only go once a year, but we are NEVER disappointed! The food is SOOOOOO good! It was a wonderful anniversary!

View from the restaurant. There was a lightning storm going on while we were eating - very cool to watch!

4th and 24th of July!
(Yes, I realize it's September.)

We had our traditional 4th of July visit to the cabin and attended the traditional, little Star Valley carnival. It was held on Saturday the 3rd this year because the 4th fell on Sunday. There was an older lady at the carnival who was dressed as pirate supervising a treasure hunt. She scared Hannah a little bit because she snapped at Hannah for accidentally jumping into the treasure hunt when it wasn't her turn. But, like magic, cotton candy helped ease the pain!

Later on the 3rd, we set off fireworks at the nearby church. It was fun, but then we watched the longest fireworks show I've ever seen! I think instead of a grand finale they dragged out the entire show to last almost an hour. I'd be fine with watching a grand finale and then going home, so long fireworks shows are not my thing!

We had to make a traditional trip to Bubbas to get chicken wings for Chance and Shawn. We drove an hour up to Jackson and pulled into Bubbas, only to see a "For Sale" sign on the front of the building! Chance was DEVASTATED. He yells "WE DROVE ALL OF THE WAY UP HERE FOR NOTHING!!!!!" Shawn and I were trying not to laugh because it was sort of funny - we couldn't believe Bubba's wasn't there! We had been going there for years! We knew how excited Chance was for wings so we contained ourselves. Shawn asked an employee of the business next door what happened to Bubbas, and he pointed across the street. Phew. There was Bubbas in a brand new building! Chicken wing cravings were cured.

On our last day (Monday) we went golfing - I rode around in the cart while everyone golfed. It was pretty fun! I enjoyed just riding around watching everyone play, it was relaxing. Rags came with us to the cabin and was obsessed with Annie the entire time. Poor Annie didn't have a moment to herself. Rags was clinging to her leg "hugging" her the entire trip! It was quite a sight.

For the 24th of July we went to the Ogden Raptors baseball game. For some reason I have no pictures of this, but it was a lot of fun! First we met for dinner at Shawn's parents' house, which is always delicious but for some reason it is especially yummy in the summer. They do not disappoint by having fresh veggies from the garden! My favorite! Then we went to the game with Shawn's parents, Sarah and her cute friend, and Mark & Brooke's family. The game was entertaining (the home team wins! yay!) and the fireworks show afterward was PERFECT! Short, sweet, and spectatular. Chance was thrilled because after the game he was able to get autographs from the players on a baseball he brought. VERY cool to a seven-year-old. Did I mention the snowcones? I have been obsessed with snowcones lately. Mmmm, Tigers Blood. I think a Raptors baseball game might have to become our 24th of July tradition.

BABY

face

You can tell this is my third baby because I still haven't posted to the world if it is a girl or a boy. Not that we love this baby any less, I guess I've just been preoccupied with trying to stay on top of the other two kids and everything else. So....drumroll please....it's a BOY! We are super excited! The entire fam came to the ultrasound so we could find out together. After the nurse told us it was a boy, Hannah just kept asking Shawn, "So...what is it again?" Shawn would say, "It's a boy!" About two minutes later Hannah would repeat, "So...what is it again?" And Shawn would repeat, "It's a boy!" This back-and-forth conversation took place about five more times until we finally realized that Hannah knew what the baby was, the reality of it was not sinking in! The doctor asked Chance how he felt about the baby being a boy. Chance replied in his most adult, conversational voice, "Well, it's a win-win situation for me because if it was a girl, I got my own room back. And now that it's a boy, I have someone to play sports with." The doctor thought that was a great answer. I have to admit, I was pretty impressed with it myself. Needless to say, we are all so happy the baby is a boy. Shawn told me that our family needed one more boy, and I guess he was right!

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After the ultrasound I took Hannah over to Old Navy and we picked out a baby boy outfit. She thought that was pretty cool. Ever since, she has been excited about the baby boy that is coming. She is always hugging and kissing my belly, and has named the baby Cody. Hannah always says, "I love this little guy!" and hugs me. A couple times ago after she hugged me, she asked, "Mom, does the baby grow back here too?" and patted my back. Hmm. Yes, I guess the baby does grow back there too. Ugh. This baby named Cody is a wild one, he moves and wiggles like CRAZY in my belly. I don't remember the other ones moving this much. I already have a feeling he's going to be a handful... The doctor commented, "You have an active one in there!" I was like, "tell me about it." I guess I'd rather have him be active than wonder if he was okay in there all of the time.

Pictures and Notes by the Redd kids

Chance's pictures of our hero Spongebob and friends - he drew these when he had extra time at school. I couldn't bear to throw them away for the longest time, I thought they were hillarious!

Sandy * Squidward * Patrick * Spongebob

Hannah's portrait of Rags:

Hannah's love notes:

First Translation: Hi Mom, how are you? I love you. This is Hannah.
Second Translation: Hi Dad, how are you? I love you.

June Recap
I have had horrible luck with my blog - every time I try to post it takes forever to load! So now I am way behind. Oh well...

I wanted to post a few pictures from Shawn's grandma's (Grammy's) 80th birthday party which was in June. Shawn's parents had a cookout/barbeque for her and all of her family and close friends. Grammy's favorite tradition for her birthday is hamburgers on the grill and homemade strawberry ice cream. So of course that's what we had! (Just on a larger scale.) We all just love Grammy, she is truly one of the kindest, most thoughtful, sweetest people I know.

August & Janice Wiechmann * Grandpa Ted and Grammy Ann Alene Dunn * Cindy and Aric Wiechmann * April & Bryan Redd

cousins on the tramp - Hannah * Gracie * Chance * Autumn * Brielle

Blurry - my pet peeve - but cute picture of Chance * Brielle * Sarah * Porter - what on earth is Porter grinning at?

Chance's mad hoop skillz

Shawn held his first Elders Quorum campout up at Doug Christensen's farm in Wellsville. We had tried to reserve a campground for everyone, but EVERYTHING was booked. I guess to reserve a group site at a campground, you need to reserve it months in advance, not just weeks. All of the decent sites were booked through September. We're new at this, okay! But Doug's farm turned out just fine - there was plenty of room, and the kids had a blast feeding the cows and shooting bb-guns. We watched a movie that we projected onto the barn door with a killer sound system thanks to one of Shawn's counselors. I think it was a success. We were the only ones who brought our trailer so I felt kind of wimpy but I'm sorry, that's how I roll!

feeding the cows, a definite highlight!