Brandon is leaving me...

So we just found out yesterday that Brandon is going to Tulsa Oklahoma for the whole month of October for and ER rotation. It is crucial that he does an internship rotation in ER because he has to have it to apply for residency. He needs to apply for residency ASAP and Touro was not willing to work with him on getting him into the ER rotation next month, so he's off to Oklahoma. The sad part is, he has another one lined up for December in Oklahoma city. If he makes a good impression, one of the two places may even accept him for their residency program. I know these sacrifices are necessary, but I'm really pretty bummed about it.

Cody is 1 Month

Cody is growing and filling in all his rolls and extra chins. I took all three kids to the Dr. on Wednesday for check-ups and vaccinations. That was a tiring experience. It's a new challenge just getting all three of them in and out of the car. They are all healthy, thank goodness. When it came time for the shots, all heck broke loose. Julia went first and she started the crying. Then, it was Denton's turn after he just watched Julia get tortured. It took the nurse and I both to hold him down for his 3 shots. I hate putting my kids through that, and being the one to hold them down, but sometimes you have to allow your kids a little pain in order to do what's best for them (that sounds like a Sunday School lesson). Anyway, it was a good thing we were the first apt. of the morning and there were no other kids around, because Denton was literally screaming at the top of his lungs. It made me stressed and I'm glad that's over! From the Dr.'s office, we went straight to the dollar store to get rewards for being tramatized. haha.

Off the Radar

So, if you've ever had a newborn, you can guess what I've been up to for the last three weeks... trying to survive :-) We brought Cody home from the hospital and I was trying to nurse him. He was very sleepy for whatever reason and wasn't interested in eating. After losing a pound and a half, his pediatrician told me I needed to bottle feed him so that he could quickly get the calories he needed in the short time he was awake. Basically, there's a lot more detail to it, but, I was pumping 9 times a day along with feeding Cody a bottle 8 times a day. My butt created a permanent indent in the couch. I went to Cody's pediatrician 3 times in one week checking his weight. I felt like they were therapy sessions for me because I always ended up crying. Cody's Dr. (Dr. Dushman) is awesome! He always asks me how I'm doing and if I'm ok. Last week Brandon took Cody in to be circumcised and the Dr. asked how I was feeling about bottle feeding because he knew I was trying really hard to nurse. He had already told me that statistically, if a baby isn't nursing and needs a bottle, he will never go back to nursing. Brandon told the Dr. that I was still nursing and he was shocked. Anyway, Brandon took the kids to the children's museum to treat them to a fun day. They had a wonderful time. The only problem, Denton got the flu. Ya, not fun. The good news... I just took Cody to the Dr. today and he weighs 10 and 1/2 lbs. at 3 weeks old. He's very healthy, we're just hoping he doesn't get sick. All in all, I'm ready for some normalcy. I don't think I'll get it for another few weeks, but I have hope. Brandon goes back to work on Monday. I'm kind of scared to be left on my own with all three kids. We'll see how it goes.

At the kids museum there is a little pretend grocery store. Julia was sad there wasn't really ice cream in the carton. Brandon listed all the things off to me that Julia tried to eat, like the plastic apple, the plastic banana, ect.
This was a fun project to create waterways using the plastic pieces.
>divMy cute little grease monkey.

Welcome To Our Family Cody!

I finally had the baby! Wed night I started having real contractions and by early Thur morning they were hurting enough to wake me up, but they were very far apart. I woke up Thur morning and told Brandon, "I think today is the day." I continued having contractions throughout the day, but I still got a pretty good nap in. By 5:30pm the contractions were hurting pretty bad, so I told Brandon to call his mom to come. He was hesitant because he didn't realize how bad my contractions were like I was. My mother-in-law was a lifesaver. She immediatly got ready and drove here from St. George to come look after Denton and Julia. We had a girl from the ward come watch the kids until Brandon's mom got here, and we left right away for the hospital. We got there at about 7pm. When I got to the hospital, they ckecked to see how far I was dialated. I was already at a 7!!! They addmitted me right away and called my Dr. in. I had the IV put in right away, and blood drawn. Shortly after, I had the epidural put in. He had to do it twice because it got blood in it the first time. The Dr. came in and broke my water (that's the first time my water didn't break on its own). I could still feel the contractions and I told the nurse, but she convinced me it was just pressure I was feeling. By 10:45pm I was really feeling like I needed to push, but I was only at a 9. I called the nurse back into my room 5 minutes later and told her I was going to start pushing. She said, "The Dr. is coming." I crossed my legs until he got there, and finally they told me I could push. To my grief, I could feel everything. The epidural was a no show. I was going to get that baby out as quickly as I could. Dr. told me to stop and catch my breath and I was like, "NOPE." Within 2 contractions, my precious Cody was born. He was a whopping 9lbs 11 1/2 oz and 20 inches long. The Dr. and nurse were both amazed at how big he was. I stayed in the hospital until Saturday morning. I'm so glad my mother-in-law was nice enough to entertain and take care of Denton and Julia so I could rest and not worry. On Saturday, my father-in-law, and sister-in-law came to see the baby and bring gifts. It was so fun to show off my new little baby. Stephanie (my sister-in-law that came) took a bunch of cute pictures. To see more of cute baby Cody, go to http://www.totalblissphotography.blogspot.com/

Kids Fist Baseball Game

Brandon gave blood and was givin free tickets to the 51's baseball game, so we went. The sun was just going down when the game started, but I'm pretty sure it was still 120 degrees. Notice in the pictures taken when we first got there, my hair is done and I look happy. I bet you can tell which picture was taken at the end. Seriously, it was fun and the kids lasted all 3 hours. I kept pouring water out of my water bottle on them and then going to refill.

Prego Pic. Session

Baby Shower Fun

Friends from my ward threw me a baby shower. It was so much fun! We played cut the yarn the size you think prego's belly is, don't say the word "baby" or I take your pin, find the safety pins in the rice bowl without looking, and presant bingo. We ate yummy salad, fruit dipped in chocolate or dip, rolls, candy, and huge cupcakes. I got so many great things for the baby, including outfits, blankets, a handmade diaper bag, diapers, bibs, lotions, and spit-up clothes. I loved chatting with the girls about having babies, being moms, and all the funny stuff that happens along the way. I feel so blessed to live in a ward where I have supportive, loving friends.

A Funny Story From the ER

As you may or may not know, Brandon has been doing his rotation in the ER for the month of June. The other day, a drunk guy came into the ER. He had stumbled over the dog while intoxicated, and cut a big gash in the back of his head. The ER doctor gives Brandon the razor, syringe, and staple gun and says, "You can do this one." Brandon asked the Dr. to show him how the staple gun worked just to make sure. Turns out, Brandon had already used one like it in ortho surgery. What he hadn't used before was the fancy shaver. As Brandon is shaving the drunk guys scalp, he notices that he just left a big bald spot 2 inches over from the actual wound. "Oops," Brandon thinks to himself. I thought, "Well, if you have to wear a baseball cap to cover the initial wound, it will cover Brandon's little boo boo. The sad part is, the drunk guy wasn't so drunk that he couldn't feel the needle Brandon used to numb the area on his head. The guy went to drive himself home and the ER Dr. refused to let him drive, so he had to wait for his buddy to come drive his car home, then come back to the ER and get him. When buddy came back for his drunk friend, he told everyone that he couldn't get drunk guys car out of first gear. They all laughed and decided if you were going to drive drunk, that was a good gear to be stuck in.

Red Rock Canyon

Brandon got off of work early so we went hiking at Red Rock Canyon. The kids loved it and so did Brandon and I. It was nice to be outside away from everything. Denton turned out to be an excellent rock climber and Julia hiked a long way before we put her in the back pack.

Girls Weekend

The dads were very kind to watch the kids the whole day while the moms went and played. Don't be fooled by these pictures though... the water was way too cold.

First, we went to the hair college. Jennifer and Alisha got hair cuts. Stephanie got her brows waxed, and I got a pedicure. I loved being pampered!

Kelsey, me, Stephanie, and Beckie


We went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse, then we went to Stephanie's house and played games and ate banana splits. It was a ton of fun!

This was at Stephanie and Tim's after the baby blessing. Strange, the baby you see in all the pictures isn't the baby that was blessed. Instead, you see everyone holding Matthew, Jaerick's cousin. Let me just say, Brandon was the one taking picures :-)

Brandon and I after the blessing.

Just me being big and pregnant some more.