Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Isaiah's Brother or Sister

I am so behind on this thing which is bad because I told my mom I DO keep a journal and well, this is it. I guess I should record that we are expecting again. I will be 3 months pregnant the 17th of this month. I am already showing probably because I never really gave my poor abs enough time to recover from Isaiah.

Oliver and I are both really excited. I am sick of course, but not as bad as I was with Isaiah. Unfortunately, I feel like throwing up almost constantly, but I have not had horrible heartburn like I did from the begining with Izzy. I am also less nauseaus and have gotten sick so much less this time around. The truth though, is that I absolutely hate being pregnant. I don't mind the hip pain or all the aches I have from sports injuries that manifest themselves in full force while pregnant, I am actually looking forward to the pain of delivery (though hopefully my epidural serves me better this time) because it means no more nausea, and I don't mind the weight gain because I WILL lose it all. I love my unborn baby so much, I just struggle with understanding why women have to go through all the nausea and hunger pains and men get off free of pain, not that I want my husband to suffer. I think I have such a hard time because instead of focusing on getting through THIS pregnancy, I think about how I want a lot of kids and how I have to go through this again and again.

I am keeping positive though and hope I am not sick the entire time this pregnancy. The next few weeks will tell all.

On a positive note, we are having another baby! Oliver wants a girl and I don't really care. A girl would be fun, but I'm sure Isaiah would love a little brother so close to his age. We will find out the gender at the end of next month.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Our Dearest Hawthorne

Backtracking again, I must record a little about our crazy, unpredictable dog.

When we went to visit my parents back in May, we decided to leave Hawthorne in New York since we will be staying there for about 3 months, until Oliver starts working. Since, he loves the woods and being outdoors, we knew he would not mind.

One day, my Dad decided to take him up to his favorite place in the entire world: The 100 Acre Woods. Hawthorne gets to ride in the front of my Dad's truck, while Carigan, our family dog who hates Hawthorne, rode in the back. To make a long story short, while they were in route to the 100 Acres, Hawthorne must have seen some cows and JUMPED out the front passenger side window. He went tumbling as the truck was going at a decent speed. My Dad pulled over immediately and ran to see if Hawthorne was okay.

After 2 nights at the Vet's and a few scary days for us all, Hawthorne seems to be recovering well. He suffered no broken bones, but has some torn muscles and major bruising. My Dad says he walks like an old man.

We are just so happy he is okay. You do not realize how much you love your crazy, energy-filled dog until you almost lose him. Hopefully he has learned a lesson: don't jump out of a moving vehicle. I also hope he associates cows with pain as well, or my next post will be about him getting kicked by a cow.

Oliver Graduates!


Well, I know this happened back in May, but I could not go on without posting this major event in our lives. Oliver is done with Law School, and although I was not happy with his graduation cap choice, I am very proud of him. I wasn't able to see most of the ceremony, due to an active little person, but I did get to see him walk and get his diploma. It was very special.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Here is our little "drama" king playing with his favorite toy, a little table that has little wooden letters that spell his name, a gift from the recruiter at Gibson, Dunn, and Crutcher, Mike Flanagan. He absolutely loves it. He is starting to look like such a big boy. He is going through a stage right now and only wants to be held by me. He cries hysterically if anyone tries to hold him. He makes me feel so special and loved. Of course, it is really hard right now because I am not suppose to carry him until my feet are completely healed. But he makes the pain worth it and we spend a lot of time on the floor together.

Oliver only has 3 days of school left. This coming Wednesday is his last day of classes, and then only 2 weeks until graduation. He is really excited about finishing and starting the next chapter: studying for the New York Bar Exam.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Isaiah Pulls Himself Up!

I believe it was this past Monday, or was it last week, my mom and I were sitting on the bed in my room talking. Isaiah was happily playing in his crib. For those of you who do not know, Oliver and I decided to move the crib in our room, right next to our bed. Anyway, my mom and I were deep in conversation when I looked over at the crib to see how my little angel was doing. To my extreme surprise, there he was standing up, holding on to the side of the crib, smiling at me. I was so surprised that I almost caused him to fall when I jumped. My mom is such a fast thinker and quickly grabbed the camera and I snapped a photo. I will post that one shortly. He has a really funny look on his face.

He is nonstop. He crawls all over and is pretty quick. Unfortunately, he loves my treadmill and is always climbing on it. He also loves to go to the patio door and bang on it, especially when Hawthorne is on the other side. He loves to jump up and down when I hold him and has hit the area where I had my stitches so many times I just give up... We do have a lot of fun crawling around together since I can't carry him yet. If I walk too much, it is a long night of achy legs and sore feet. But I do feel they are improving by the day. And for those of you who know me as one who pushes myself, don't worry, I got the bill for the procedure, and I WILL follow my doctors orders to a T. Well, maybe just to an S which is really good for me.

Isaiah is so much fun and I really have been thinking it is time for another child...then I got carsick today and the 9 months of morning sickness all came back to me. Not to mention, I have lost all my pregnancy weight, but still have some major toning to do.

Well, tomorrow is Easter, so I better get to bed so I can be alert and listen well in church tomorrow. Haha, it kind of sounds like I only go to church on Easter. Don't worry Mommy and Daddy, I go every week.

That reminds me, I miss my mom so much. She was here for 3 weeks to help me with the baby while I recovered and she was an angel. She cooked, cleaned, deep cleaned, tried to teach Hawthorne to mind us, watched the baby, gave me good advice, and just made me so happy. I always have such a hard time saying goodbye to my parents. I was so lucky to be born into their home and I cannot wait to go to New York this Spring and spend some time with them. Hawthorne is really excited too; he loves the 100 acre woods!

Friday, April 3, 2009

Isaiah, Isaiah, Isaiah...

So, Isaiah pulled himself up to a standing position a few days ago. I could not believe it. Luckily my Mom was close by to catch him when he fell. He really is growing by leaps and bounds.

As for the rest of us, Oliver is working on a final as I type. He has been working diligently as always and helping me out with the baby, since I can't carry him.

Well, my mom leaves in a few days. The next few weeks should be interesting. I'm not quite sure how I am going to manage while Oliver is at school. The baby and I will be crawling around together. :)

Monday, March 30, 2009

Thursday Can't Come Quick Enough

Well, I am definitely sick of not being able to get around. I have an appt. on Thursday to get my stitches out and get re-wrapped. I am hoping that I will be informed that I am able to start walking more. This sitting around with my feet up is no fun at all. Thank goodness my mom is here though. I am in a lot of pain and there is no way I would be able to take care of the baby. It looks as though I will be illiciting the help of my Pops after my mother leaves. I did not realize how long it would be before I can carry the baby. He has been a little angel through all of this. We are so blessed to have him. Oliver is getting a taste of how it feels to get up multiple times at night as well. He must be really tired. At least he knows how I feel now. The only difference is, he has to go to school all day. Poor guy. I am so lucky to have a great husband and baby and family that are helping me so much. Hawthorne on the other hand...Can you say DOG TRAINER NEEDED!

Sunday, March 29, 2009

A Day at the Henry Ford Museum



The 27th of this month, we all decided to go to the Henry Ford Museum. Oliver's Aunt Dorthy was in town, as well as my mom and Mary, so we decided to show them a little bit of Michigan history. We all had a good time. This is a picture of Oliver and Isaiah on the bus that Rosa Parks rode in Montgomery, Alabama.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Isaiah Crawled!

So, 3 days ago, I watched my baby crawl, really crawl. It was so cute and it took me a few seconds to register it. Then I was shouting to my sister and mom, "Look, he's crawling!" He is getting better and better by the day. He has been the sweetest baby, sleeping well, playing on the floor and in his bouncy seat, and eating solids like a big boy. I do notice that he is a bit confused with Mary and my mom here, and does quite a few double takes to figure out which one his mother is.

My surgery went well and considering I am not taking the painkillers I was given, it has been less painful than I had anticipated. It is definitely better than morning sickness. It is very hard sitting in bed or on the coach all day. A friend of mine lent me her crutches and a wheelchair, so I can get out of the house. I am not suppose to walk until my 2 week checkup next Friday, so when we went out Tuesday to the store, Oliver had to wheel me around. Of course, he got a kick out of pushing me in the wheelchair and then letting it go. So, I decided I am not going to leave the house until I can walk. :)

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Llego la Abuelita!

My mom arrived today to help us take care of Isaiah and Hawthorne for the next few weeks while my feet are healing from surgery. I am suppose to be at the hospital at 6 a.m. tomorrow morning for a 7:00 a.m. start time. For any who may not know, I have had plantar fasciitis for a few years now and it got to the point where it needed to be resolved. So, now it will be, tomorrow.

I will receive general anesthesia which means poor Isaiah is going to have to take a bottle for 2 days...and that is with my intention of not taking any painkillers afterward. So, I think we are going to have an interesting week to come. I really hope he does okay. Everyone keeps telling me that he will eat when he gets hungry enough, even if it is out of a bottle. He is eating some solids now too, so hopefully that will help. I just worry about him being confused and sad. Poor little shnookies.

That is my main concern right now. I probably should be more nervous about all of this, but I am really happy to be on my way to running half-marathons; I have no desire to run a full. I'll leave those to the tall and lean. But basketball and tennis all summer, here I come!

Thursday, March 12, 2009


Here is a cute picture I took with my phone: Oliver and the baby taking a nap together.

It seems as though winter is finally starting to leave us, but being from Upstate New York, I know that he will probably rear his ugly head a few more times before Spring really arrives. All is fine here in Michigan: Oliver continues to study, Hawthorne continues to annoy, Isaiah grows rapidly, and I struggle to lose the last 2 lbs of my pregnancy weight.

Now that March is here, the idea of Oliver graduating is slowly starting to become real to all of us. To be truthful, as much as I am not a fan of the Midwest, our time here did pass quickly. As I have mentioned before, we are part of a really great ward and have made some really good friends. I continue to coach and play basketball on the women's church team despite my Dr.'s admonitions and the pain that I have for days after playing. I just can't help myself; I love sports!

It looks as though Isaiah will have two new cousins in the fall, maybe three if Chris and Summer's adoption goes faster than planned. My sister Maria found out she is pregnant with her fourth child; hopefully Tanner will finally get his boy. And of course, we all found out a short time ago that Jackie is pregnant with her second. We are really happy and excited for those new additions to our family.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009



I just want to do a quick post to document that Isaiah is scooting. He gets on his little, adorable knees and scoots, but he only goes backwards. It is so funny.

Monday, March 2, 2009

I have been quite negligent when it comes to keeping this blog up to date, but I do have an excuse: we lost the USB cable to our camera, so it's hard to download pictures. But a lot of important events have happened lately, so I thought I would do a quick post. First and foremost, Isaiah is now sitting up! He has been getting there for the past month or so, but now seems to be really getting the hang of it. He is also now eating an array of things, still mushy though. I am too scared to try those little "puffs". When I think about giving him a cheerio, motherly instincts kick in and I feel the urge to chew it up like a bird and then feed it to him. I wonder if he will be grossed out by that when he is a teenager?

Oliver is in the home stretch and we can all "see the light at the end of the cold, dark state in which we reside". He is still as busy as always, despite finishing his duties with the Law Review. His graduation date is the 9th of May. I plan on getting pregnant the 10th of May. Just Kidding.

I am currently coaching the Women's and the Young Women's basketball teams. I also play for the women. It is a ton of fun and makes me realize that despite being out of shape, when you love a sport, you can play it for hours and hours even if you can't breath! :) Ha! It's nice to get back into shape and fit into your pants again.

Well, I believe that covers it. Oh, I am almost done with all the Twilight books. I really did not think I would enjoy them, and although my criticisms of the books are many, I also think they are great pieces of literature, though slightly adolecent for my taste. I still think that The Scarlet Pimpernel is a better love story; however, I am only in the 3rd book currently, so we will see.

Saturday, January 17, 2009




It has been miserably cold here for the past week or so. We have received quite a bit of snow, but not nearly as much as my poor parents in Upstate New York. We have managed to stay warm nonetheless. I know we are not the only ones in the country experiencing this bitter cold.

Isaiah is growing so quickly. He has turned into a rolling machine this past week. He is also using his arms to lift his little body off the floor. Slowly, he is becoming more mobile, and hopefully with that will come a little more pleasure with floor-time. He is going through an "I want to be held ALL the time" stage and my back is killing me!

Oliver and I are working hard on our New Year's resolutions: family prayer, family night, exercising and scripture study to mention a few. So far, we are doing well, but it is only January. My exercise goal is to be in shape by the time we move to Utah, for the summer, so I can run in all their 5k and 10k. I don't plan on doing more than that. No marathons for me. We'll see if I can get Oliver to run one or two with me; he may be too busy studying for the bar.

Monday, January 5, 2009


Back in November, Oliver, Isaiah and I went out to Utah for Thanksgiving, and then the baby and I went to Arizona to spend time with Maria and "the babies". While we were there, Tanner had a work party and Santa showed up. So, this is Isaiah's first picture with Santa. He didn't cry, but as you can see, he does not like to sit back. We had a lot of fun out there. Gabby was very sweet to the baby and somewhat possessive. She did not like her other sisters anywhere near him. Alena and Cameron were also great with him. Alena picked him up like a little adult, always supporting his head. It was so adorable. We had a great time and enjoyed the awesome weather out there as well. We can't wait to go back for another visit.

Sunday, January 4, 2009


So, although this happened back in Oct, I thought I would give a shout-out to Rich for making the UVU basketball team. We always knew those monster hands of his would serve him well in the sport. He has always been a fine player and even got to polish his skills while serving a mission in Lithuania, a country that has a love for the game as well. We are all very proud of him for making the team. We know it was tough as a walk-on. He is lucky to have a father who worked so diligently with him.