We aRe ALiVe!!

Poor Brayden has been sitting here with his pants down for long enough!

If you make it all the way through these posts I will be amazed. I am so long winded, and it is confusing because really you are reading the story backwards.

AUG.

Started out on a sad note. Ryan's Grandma passed away on Aug. 7th, after complications from a stroke.


There are two great things I learned from Ryans Grandma. Both of them about love. The first one is the sincere interest she always had in every one of her grand children and great grandchildren. She always knew what was going on everyones life, and did her best to make it to the birthday parties, recitals, plays ect. of not just her grandkids, but also her great- grand kids. This above picture is of her and George at Brayden's first birthday.

The second thing I learned from Eleanor came from watching her and George. While she was in the hospital they celebrate their 63rd anniversary. Their life together was a true love story. Watching the way they interacted with absolute, love kindness and respect was inspiring.

Aug. 8th was Brayden's birthday. We had such a bad two weeks previously and I was still feeling so sick that we decided to post pone his birthday. It turned out to be a good thing since he started throwing up at around six that morning.


Brayden on his birthday.
Finally on Aug. 22nd I got my act together and we had a small party with a couple of friends and family at the splash park by our house. It was really low maintenance and easy, which is what I needed. Maybe in a year I will go back to trying to be Martha Stewart.

I know I'm vain, but I think he is so stinken' cute

If you know Brayden, you know he LOVES pop.

We Played Most of July Away

I apologize ahead of time for the lack of pictures. Ryan and I are getting really bad about forgetting the camera.

For the 4th we went to Logan on the 3rd to see the USU fireworks. This has been a tradition for Ryan and I since we were first married. With Ryan's work schedule it is so much easier for him to get the 3rd off than the 4th. This year, like always, my Mom went with us. We spent the night of the third in a hotel. It was a fun little mini vacation and I loved spending the time with my Mom.

The second week in July we spent 4 days with Ryan's family at a cabin in Bear Lake. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about the excursion. That many people in one house for four days. . . It turned out to be an absolute BLAST!!! My kids loved every min. Ryan and I forgot our camera, so thanks Miles and Jessica for the pics!

The whole fam.

Cousins at the beach
Brothers!
Ryan's Dad, I love this hat!
You'd think we would have had enough of each other after Bear Lake, but not so, a couple of days laters we went to Lagoon, (Miles and Jessica didn't come, so no pictures ): ) and than we hung out on the 24th as well.

The 24th turned out to be a pretty special day. We all went over to Ryan's grandparents to visit and set off some fire works. Less than a week later Ryan's Grandma had a stroke, it was the last time Ryan and I saw her conscious.

Jessica and the littler ones

All of my nieces (on the Archuleta side)
Me and Jessica, my sister -in-law, I LOVE this girl!
Thanks again Miles and Jessica for the pics.


The Best For Last!!!


so remember how my eye Dr. told me I needed to have eye surgery and I should wait to get pregnant, well apparently I don't like to be told what to do, because we are expecting!!! I'm 13 weeks along and bigger than I have ever been at this point, but hey what do you do. Baby is due March 9th, but we will probably have it sometime in Feb.

The first trimester has been really rough. I really didn't get sick with the last two and had moderate sickness with Carson. I swear this pregnancy is either trying to kill me or convince me to never do this again. I literally started feeling sick at 3 weeks and it was relentless until 8 weeks. Than I went on some anti-nausea medication which has helped A TON.

I had my cerclage (were they sew me shut so I can't have the baby) at eight weeks and it turned out to be a nightmare. While I was under my muscles seized up and de-facilitated (is what my Dr. called it.) He said it is like having a seizure, but with out anything happening to the brain, your muscles just tighten and shake. To make a long story short I couldn't walk, eat, move my arms, cough, breath ect. with out being in pain and to make it more fun I threw up non-stop for 4 days.

Anyway I'm feeling MUCH better now. Food is even starting to look good again, and I've gone 5 days without any puking!

I almost forgot!
Carson started school. I cried for a week before hand, but the day of was actually really fun. Carson was so excited it was hard not to get wrapped up in his anticipation. Brayden however was heart broken, I'm not sure which was harder for him, parting with Carson, of the fact that he couldn't go. He tried to convince me all morning that he was five too!! He cried big crocodile tears when the bell rang and Carson walked through the school doors. I teared up, but I held my composure. There you have it, that's what we have been up to.

Potty Training!

This event actually took place about a mon. and half ago.

After potty training Carson, I pretty much thought I was a failure as a mother. Brayden has been my redemption. He's been ready for along time, but Carson was such a nightmare I was terrified. He forced me into it though by taking off his diaper EVERY TIME he peed. I don't know about you, but really 10 diapers a day is a bit much. So I took a deep breath, cleared my schedule for three days and told myself not to look back. The first three hours started off horribly, he had an accident every ten min. Than just like that he got it!! I was shocked when hour after hour went by with out an accident, than days and now weeks! AMAZING!!

The whole pooping thing took a little longer, but still wasn't bad. He did say the funniest thing though. He had an accident, and I said to him, "Brayden what happened?" He replied, "I dunno Mama, the poop just fell out of me."

The only problem we're having now that he's figured out he can control the pee, he can't fathom why any one uses a toilet. Isn't it so much cooler to pee off the back steps, or in the field across the street, or in the GARBAGE CAN (gross!). A daughter would never give me these problems!

My take on potty training, WAIT TILL THEY ARE READY. I really think that Carson was so hard because he just wasn't ready. And age has nothing to do with it. Carson was three, Brayden was barely two when I felt like he was ready.

Another Set of Stitches

Boys, boy, boys!!! To all of my friends with younger boys, just you wait!! Two weeks ago we spent another long evening getting yet another set of stitches. This time for Brayden. He simply was walking across my father-in-laws office when he tripped and hit the corner of a filing cabinet. (It's not scaling my kitchen cabinets, jumping from ridiculously high places, or keeping up with Carson at the play ground, it's walking across a room that seems to be hard for him)

He was really, brave. He never even cried and actually fell asleep half way through. When it was all done I picked him up and he laid his head on my shoulder and patted my back and said over and over, "you were so brave Mommy, you were so brave." And dang it I was, I didn't even cry this time!

The fun didn't end there. The next day at church I picked him up off the floor because he was being naught and suddenly there was blood every were. I didn't want to make a scene so I immediately started walking out of the chapel when suddenly it dawned on me that Ryan was still on the stand. I shot him a look that was ment to say "PLEASE FOLLOW me". Apparently it said, "Follow me or die". To make a long story short, his stitches were still intact, but bleeding pretty badly, and he a second cut that probably could have used a stitch or two, but Ryan and I worried that they wouldn't let him leave with us if we took him back the next day decided he was fine.

Both wounds are healing fine!

A Little Disapointed

Bad:
= No:









I have a weird eye condition called Keratoconus. Basically Keratoconus is like a bad astigmatism. The astigmatism is so bad that my eye bulges out like the bottom eye in the picture.












Or if you prefer the creepy picture, like this eye:
Pretty huh?!

To correct the problem I have to wear hard contacts that essentially shove my eye back into the right shape. The problem is, that my eyes are so "out of shape" that I have to wear hard contacts that fit really tight, so tight that they rub against my eye, which as you can imagine hurts. The solution: wear soft contacts under my hard contacts. Yes I wear two pairs of contacts on each eye. They stick to each other, get bubbles under each other and generally bug the crap out of me, but hey I can see.

Keratoconus is a degenerative eye disease and my right eye is significantly worse than my left. Today I went to the eye Dr. for yet another contact fitting and he finally gave up on me. ( We have been trying to find a contact to fit my right eye for months, he says it is like fitting a frisbee to a football). So, next month I'm off to see a specialist to see if they can find a surgical procedure to fix my eye, most likely a corneal transplant.

So what does all of this have to do with a baby? Well I have been baby hungry pretty much since Brayden was two months old, but felt like emotionally my family needed a break from my
rough pregnancies. Finally I have started to feel like we were all ready. Not so, says the eye Dr. They will likely not even do the surgery for another 3 mon. and I CAN NOT be pregnant when they do the surgery. Than they don't want me to get pregnant for another 3-6 mon. after that while they wait for my eye to stabilize, since pregnancy has proven to be bad for my eyes (it make the keratoconus shift a lot).

It's amazing how bad you start to want something when some one tells you, you can't have it! Oh and I'm a little freaked out to have my eye operated on. My Dr. comforted me by telling me that they don't use stitches any more. Great I feel SO much better.

A-Z about me

I'm horrible about following up on tags, someday I will follow up on the rest! But, here's one for now.

A- Attached or Single? It was 7 yrs. this May
B-Best Friend? Ryan of course
C-Cake or pie? Depends, is either chocolate?
D-Day of choice? Ryan's Day off, with out Bishopric mtgs.
E-Essential Item? Sleep
F-Favorite color? Blues
G-Gummy bears or worms? Neither... pure chocolate!
H-Home town? Layton Ut., and now Herriman Ut.
I-Favorite indulgence? Vanilla Coke
J-January or July? July. Does any one who lives in Ut., like Jan.?
K-Kids? Carson 5, and Brayden 2 (almost 3)
L-Life isn't complete without: I agree with Brooke... FAMILY and good FRIENDS!
M-Marriage date? May 9th 2001.
N-Number of brothers and sisters? 2 little sisters and 1 little brother.
O-Oranges or Apples? Neither, I'll take a strawberry.
P-Phobias? Driving over water. . . don't ask me to explain, you'll think I'm a freak.
Q-Quote? It doesn't matter were you go in life, it's who you have beside you.
R-Reasons to smile? I have an amazing husband.
S-Season of choice? Summer
T-Tag 3 people: Cathie, Heidi (HP), Kim.
U-Unknown fact about me? I faint a lot when I am pregnant. Ask Cathie, I scared her to death one time.
V-Vegetable? Brocoli with cheese
W-Worst habit? I have ALOT. Sleeping in late, vanilla coke
X-Xray or Ultrasound? Ultrasound.
Y-Your favorite food? Rasberries, pasta, cheerios I could go on . . .
Z-Zodiac sign: Capicorn

DiSNeY LaND!!!!! With The Parson's

Or as Brayden says is Diney Land (pronounced the same, just omit the "s"). Every morning as we walked down main street he screamed Diney Land, Diney Land!

We had an absolute blast! Carson was tall enough to ride almost all of the rides, he even rode the tower of terror. Brayden was in complete awe of EVERYTHING, and nobody got sick. Here are a few pics.

We left bright and early on a Tues. As soon as we landed we drove to Newport Beach and ate at the yummiest restraunt on the Pier called Ruby's Diner. We ate on the roof, which the kids loved despite the fact that it was blindingly bright.











Than we played on the beach. It was a little chilly, but they kids didn't care. Ryan LOVES the beach, and played in the water like he was ten years old. Eventually we went back to our hotel and cleaned up. We came back at sunset to take a few photos. Some day I'll edit some of them and post them. But for now, here are two of my favorites.












After our day at the beach we spent the next three days at Disney Land.













































Carson was a little roller coaster junkie, which delighted Ryan and I. He especially loved the train roller coaster (I forget the name) or what he called, the crazy train ride. My favorite memory of Carson though was at the end of fantasmic, after Mickey conquers the dragon Carson jumps to his feet, throws his fists in the air and yells loud enough to turn more than a few heads, "Mickey Mouse is Awsome!"

Brayden LOVED the parades and the shows. He would just clap and clap and wave like crazy. My favorite Brayden memory was during the firework show in front of the castle. If your sitting right in front of the castle the fireworks actually surround you. It's a little loud and there's alot going on. It scared Brayden so bad he was shaking, but no matter how many times I offered to leave with him, he was determined to stay and watch.

We also learned the Brayden has a more sensitive stomach than the rest of us. The first ride we went on was Gadget's Roller Coaster in Toon Town. I wish I could have recorded the look on Brayden's face, it was so strange. It wasn't until a few rides later that Ryan and I figured out that the look was one of sheer terror. We think he confused the tickle in his stomach with the sensation of vomitting. Poor kid, he thought we were torturing him, but Brayden true to his strong will to never miss out, never complained and wanted to ride, every ride he could.

The Parson's could not have been more fun to go with. I have to admit though Ryan and I finally met our match. We are die hard Disney fans and we can usually out go and out do, just about any one, but Heidi and Brett, EXHAUSTED us (well at least me). It made it all the more fun to have be with some one the loves Disney just as much (if not more) than we do. Thanks Heidi and Brett!!!