First fishing trip

Parker went on his first hiking and fishing trip. He did great! The boys got up super early and headed out with Blake and Craig. We were a little nervous about how Parker would do and he was just a champ. He came home so tired, happy, but pretty worn out. One minor injury to the knee and smelt like campfire but the boys came back in one piece. Too bad they didn't catch anything. Guess it was too early in the season. Seth had Parker in the deuter kid carrier so it was good training for Rainier with a 30+ pound pack on. I know that what happens on the guy trips stays on the guy trips but as long as they come back safely that's okay with me. I did hear about Blake and Craig eating a tadpole, which is disgusting, and about how they had to cross the ice cold river. I'm so glad Parker is learning to enjoy being outside and has such a great example to teach him. We want to have "outdoor" children. This place where they hiked up to is called Sunday lake and the guys scoped out the area and found a couple awesome camping spots on the river. I think we'll go up there for our next camping trip. Love living in the PNW.

We stayed up late last night with Blake and Mimy after the big ballroom dance performance. I only got a few hours of sleep before I had to get up for my race in Duvall. It was the first Sunday I've ever worked, which was weird for me, but I made it to 1pm sacrament meeting. Seth had the kids on his own and I'm so lucky to have him because he is such a great dad and had no problem getting them both up, showered, dressed and fed before church. He even cleaned the kitchen! Not a lot of guys can handle that. After church he let Lindy and I nap while he made spinach and onion beef burgers from scratch. Seth invited Blake and Mimy over and had set up a table outside with a table cloth and everything for dinner. He is the best. Literally. Tomorrow he is taking Parker on a guys only hiking and fishing trip with Blake and Craig. Parker is pretty excited. Seth is supposed to be getting him in bed right now but I hear Parker laughing hysterically. Today I am just so overwhelmingly grateful for Seth and my children. With Mitch dying so suddenly in an avalanche it's just made me realize one, the dangers of the things we like to do and two, the reality of how quickly life can change. I'm trying to relax more and just enjoy where we are in life. I've stopped saying "I can't wait for..." And instead I've started saying "I'm excited for..." For example, I'm excited for when Lindy can laugh and play more. I'm excited to climb mt. Whitney soon. I'm excited to have Parker start school. I'm really excited about changing my last diaper ever. Lots of things I CAN wait for but that I'm looking forward to.

1. Woke up and had baby snuggles. Seth and I actually had time together this morning to make his lunch and chat. Normally he has to hurry but I got up early.

2. Went to a park that was part splash park and Calvin figured out how to turn the water on. Resulting in running around in undies.

3. Kids took a nap at the same time so I could do laundry and watch the new episodes of arrested development. 

4. Went to another park after nap. In trying to have a "no TV summer" and have as much outside time as we can. Austin came to the park too!

5. Seth surprised us by coming hone early and Parker was so excited.

6. Lindy and PK took a bath together, he thinks its fun, she doesn't know what to think.

May 28, 2013

What did we do today?

1. McKenzie came over today so the kids could play and Parker loved it! He played hard and took a great nap.
2. We all slept like rocks last night, guess we were all tuckered out from the camping trip.
3. Parker gave some of his birthday invitations out today and was so so so excited about it.
4. Scored some sweet old school threads for Lindy from Sue. She even had a few dresses and outfits that I used to wear.
5. Went to my parents house tonight and Parker and my dad played "Parker hide and pretend you can't find him for an hour."

What am I grateful for today?

1. Parents that live close by and love it when we visit
2. Hand me downs
3. Nap time
4. Rain
5. Face time

Memorial Weekend 2013

1. Went camping at Ensign Ranch with Blake and Mimy, it was a well worth it last minute decision. It was Lindy's first camping trip and she loved it.
2. Went into town to get just a fish hook... ended up buying a sweet OR down jacket and new gloves.
3. We managed to pack EVERYTHING in our car without using the rack
4. The tent we brought was HUGE, like a wind turbine, and it was freezing cold at night 45degrees, but we just burrowed down in our bags, Parker especially loved to bury himself.
5. Parker was sick the first day and kept getting cold and only wanting to drink juice, which meant he had to pee all the time. It was very convenient being out in the middle of nature when nature called.
6. Seth tied his phone up in the tent so PK could snuggle up and watch a movie when he got too cold.
7. I made my first perfect s'more.
8. Am currently working on 11 loads of laundry resulting from the trip.

Being a Mother of Two...

Being a mother of two has been interesting so far. I love it! It does take us a lot longer to get out the door and in/out of the car but I think I am handling it very well. Parker is a wonderful older brother and is very helpful. Sometimes he is too helpful and ends up making a bigger mess but I just thank him for being a big helper. My patience (surprisingly) has increased. My total hours of sleep (not surprisingly) has decreased. My laundry (a little surpringly) has tripled. We have to get out of the house everyday, if even for a little trip to the grocery store or the park. We like to go on long walks on the BPA trail, sometimes I take the kids for long runs but Parker can only handle a couple miles. We like to go to story time at the library and when its not raining we go to a park (there are a tone around here). Most of the time its just me and my two loves on our little adventures but we like to meet up with friends. The other day at the park Parker was climbing on this rope ladder and playing with some other kids he met there. I remember just a few weeks ago I had to help him across this rope ladder and I was so scared and now I watched him do it all by himself. He is growing so fast and has taken his role as big brother very seriously. Lindy is growing like a weed and sleeping very well. She still has a lot of long hair and likes to smile and cuddle and take long showers. Lindy is such a good baby, hardly cries and when she does cry she can calm down so quickly. She gets the hiccups a lot and Parker thinks its hilarious. Seth just started his new job at Swedish hospital so we are finally getting into a weekly routine. Its so nice to have him home for a three day weekend every week. I forsee a lot of camping and cabin trips this summer. Having two small children has its ups and downs and lots of poop but I love it and it sure keeps me busy.

Lindy Mae

Lindy Mae is here.
Its been a while but life hardly permits time to sit and type away. Lindy was born two weeks early on the morning of my baby shower so I didn't quite make it to the party but I heard it was fun.
Friday, March 15th, all day I was uncomfortable and kept having painful contractions but nothing consistent or even painful enough to merit a trip to the hospital. So finally towards the evening I wanted to get out of the house. Seth, luckily, was called off of work that night so we took Parker to my parents house and went to the gym. I walked 1.5miles on the treadmill while watching Seth in his spin class out of the corner of my eye (not creepy style at all). Walking actually helped my contractions go away and when we left the gym I felt great and was planning on sleeping really well. When we got back to my parents house we stayed for a while and hung out and then I suddenly started having contractions every ten minutes, then every eight minutes and then five and they were getting really painful. I kept denying being in labor but my mom finally convinced me that I should go to the hospital. So Seth and I came home, showered, got ready to go and then kissed Parker goodbye.
When we got to the hospital around midnight they sent me to triage in the labor and delivery unit. They were really full that night so I sat in a wheelchair for a few minutes. When the nurse at the front desk realized that it wasn't my first time being in labor and that I had been dilated to 4cm two days earlier she said that I get to skip triage and go straight to a delivery room. I really wanted an epidural and when I FINALLY got one I was dilated to 7.5cm and then it didn't even work all the way. I still had a "window" where the medication didn't reach do they upped my dosage while also moving me to a different position to get the medicine to reach all the way. Bad idea. With my dosage being upped my legs went numb and I couldn't even move them and I hated it. Never again will I get an epidural. When it came time to push like 2 hours later I couldn't feel anything on my lower extremities. I did not like that. I was afraid I wouldn't even know if I was pushing or not but I tried and ended up pushing three times and out she came. She was really eager to get here I guess.
Lindy Mae born at 5:26am, weighing in at 6lbs 12 oz and a height of 19.2 inches. It was a really really fast delivery and she's been a very easy baby. She gained weight well and at 4 weeks old she sleeps for a good 6 hours at night. So far so good. Big brother Parker has been taking very good care of her. He is extremely protective of his sister. He loves her so much that sometimes he needs to not be around her before she is hugged to death. We all just love our baby Lindy.