October-Early November

So this post is fairly late, but life has been so busy for us! I started back to work full time on October 24th. We have been so lucky as both David's mom and my mom have graciously offered to watch Easton for us. We know he is in loving hands while we are off at work! The beginning of October was General Conference. Every year, since we don't have cable at our house, we head over to my brother's home and eat breakfast/lunch while watching wonderful messages from our prophet and other church leaders. Between sessions, we busted out Twister and had some good old fashioned fun! David kicked my bootie, but largely because he kept cheating and stealing the spaces that I should have landed on. It made for some fun though!

For Halloween, David bought some swords and nunchucks and all three of us dressed up as ninjas! We went to my mom's Halloween party, then to David's parents Halloween party, and finally to our own church Halloween party on the Saturday before Halloween. Such a busy busy night, but we had fun and Easton was so good! On Halloween night, we went to my brother's church Halloween party and enjoyed our 5th meal in a row of chili. After that bowl, I told David I never wanted to eat chili again lol. We also walked to our friends home, the Booths, and shared a nice fire pit in their driveway while handing out candy to trick or treaters.

On the first Sunday in November, we were spoiled to have so many family members share Easton's special day with us. David blessed him at church, and then afterwards, we had all of our family members over to our house for a light lunch.

As Christmas time is approaching, I think of how grateful I am for so many blessings in my life. I think back to a few years ago when David, my mom, my sister and I secretly left a Christmas tree on the door step of a co-workers home. The co-worker had told me a few days prior that they had no tree, no money, and would not be having Christmas that year. She was worried about her children and not having gifts for them. The next morning (after delivering the tree), my co-worker greeted me that morning with tears in her eyes. She said "Lynette, you will NEVER believe what happened. God answered my prayers. There was a Christmas tree left on my doorstep. My children and I were SO excited!" It makes tears fill my eyes when I think of that experience and how such a simple thing brought so much joy. I am keeping my eyes and ears opened for ways I can secretly bless the lives, or at least bring a little Christmas cheer, to my family and friends who are struggling this holiday season!

Kyle eating minnow at Woods Canyon - 10/14/11

First Camping Trip

Being stuck at home for the last few months has really done a number on me lol. Thank goodness for my mother who has let me come hang out at her house nearly every day just to be around people! For those that know me best, they can quickly tell you how much I really don't like camping. I don't like sleeping in the cold, I don't like not showering, and I don't like bugs! But as I just mentioned, being stuck at home has changed my mind about some things. I finally decided that I WANTED to go camping with my family over Fall Break as means to break up the monotony of staying at home. So little Easton and I rode up with my mom to the rim, about 30 miles past Payson, on Friday afternoon. David met us the following evening as his work would not permit him to take the day off.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous (when we first arrived) and the leaves were changing into their Fall colors. My two brothers had gone backpacking the day before and so they met us at camp. We followed the boys to the lake and watched while they went fishing. Kyle, my youngest brother, ended up eating a live minnow on a dare/bribe for 1$ from my older brother. (See last blog post for video). My mom and I were disgusted :) My sister in law and her three kids as well as my sister Heidi came in later that evening, just in time to go to bed! I did not sleep well at all that night. The campgrounds were filled with people and they were all so noisy! I hear people next to us throwing up and later in the night, several Elk were bugeling. Factor in the coldness (40 degrees) and a baby to feed (once during the night) and little sleep was had.


Saturday, my mom made a yummy egg-mcmuffin breakfast and after cleanup, my mom, sister, and I decided to take a nap while everyone else went to the lake. After the nap, everyone went to collect firewood and shoot my brother's airsoft gun. I also ended up seeing my good friend Kim and her boyfriend riding bikes right where we were shooting the guns-talk about a small world! We later enjoyed a wonderful dutch over dinner/dessert consisting of chicken pot pies and brownies. I was so excited when my David arrived with my dad, shortly before dinner. Boy did I miss my David!

Sunday, we had yummy breakfast burritos, cleaned up camp and went to the lake. No fish were caught again but we enjoyed the beautiful weather. David and I had a nice chat on the ride home about setting goals together. We want to get in shape and start eating healthy. We want to really start getting into joint hobbies. David wants me to get a bow so that I can start doing archery with him :)

This is my last week before I have to go back to work! I enjoyed spending Monday at my mother in laws house, Tuesday visiting the school I work at and later in the evening playing a co-ed soccer game, Wednesday with my family playing a soccer game with my dad's 9 year old team that he coaches, and today I will spend with the baby. I am going to attempt getting some last minute cleanings done and then I have enrichment tonight.

I can't believe how fast the last few weeks have flown. David is doing his CNA clinicals at Springdale West nursing facility just a few miles from us. Today is his last day, then he will take his final exam tomorrow and State Board exam Sunday-then he is done! Wohoo! (Can you tell how excited I am!!). He is considered doing job interviews with this nursing home as he has enjoyed his experience, they like him, and they are hiring right now. The pay is not very good at all and would be a decrease from what he is making now. Plus I don't know about benefits (Wells Fargo has AWESOME benefits). We got a letter this week stating that David did not make it into the PA program at the University of Utah. We are both sad about this but are hoping doors open down here for him. If nothing else, hopefully working as a CNA will significantly boost his ability to get into one of the schools!

Easton has started chatting a lot more and smiling in response to people talking to him. I am absolutely loving this stage he is in. He will be 10 weeks tomorrow, weighs 13.8lbs, is 23inches, and has a huge head! The doctor said he is in the 70th percentile for height and weight and in the 90th percentile for head circumfrence! I will miss my little buddy once I go to work, but I know he is in good hands with my mom and mother-in-law watching him!

He's a chunker!

Mr. Easton is 6 and a half weeks old today and boy has this kid grown! At birth he weighed 8lbs. 9oz. and now he is hovering around 12lbs! It's been fun to watch him fill out. Over the past week he has started trying to coo and use his voice and it is adorable! He has also tried smiling a bit more but these times are random. He has not learned to smile when others make funny faces or use exciting tones of voice-but i'm confident he'll get to that point soon!
Because it has been 6 going on 7 weeks, I find that I am slowly returning to myself (when I have enough sleep of course). I still do not like having to get home around 8 every night from wherever I am at, just so that I can get enough sleep throughout the night. I find that every hour I am out later is every hour of sleep that I won't get. Hopefully this changes and that Easton starts sleeping longer stretches throughout the night. I have been trying to implement the BabyWise methods almost religiously in hopes that the baby will sleep longer.

In other news, David started a Certified Nursing Assistant program last week in the hopes that he will get a job as a CNA (crappy job, we know) and that that will be the final thing that he help him get into PA school. He has a great GPA, letters of recommendation, etc. but lacks the medical field patient contact hours. It has been a very rough schedule for both him and us. He goes to work from 8:00a.m.-4:30p.m. then has class from 5:00p.m.-10:00p.m. So we really only see him for a few minutes in the morning. We are so grateful for his hard work and dedication. I am grateful that the program only lasts 5 weeks, so he really only has 2.5 more treacherous long days and then one week of clinicals during the day (he will have to take the week off of work). David asks almost every day if anything "good" has come in the mail-referring to any letters from the PA schools he applied to. He has worked SO hard to get in, that i'm just praying he will be accepted soon!

The final product

Almost two years ago, I decided to start a project. My sister in law Fawn had made me a stocking for Christmas a few years ago and I absolutely fell in love with all the hand stitching, sequins, candies, ballerina, christmas tree all made of felt. I thought "this is easy and something that I can do" and instantly I thought of my mom. I knew my mom would treasure such a gift and so I decided that I was going to make a stocking for my mom. I purchased the perfect stocking as mentioned here. My mom is ALWAYS busy making hundreds of cookies around Christmas time for many of her loyal customers so the stocking reminded me of her.

Little did I realized just how much WORK it would take, with almost 100 little felt pieces to cut out, sequin and stitch. There were probably 4-5 stitches you had to do and I had NO clue how to do any of them. Thanks to Fawn and my mom (yes, I enlisted my mom's help on her own stocking), I went to town on the stocking this summer while I was on break from school/work and finished it this last week! While the stitches are perfect, they were done with love :) I told my mom not to look too closely at the stitches. When I gave it to her this past weekend, she was SO excited and wanted to show the other family members and her friends. My sister even wants one and so does my dad-although I told them it may take another two years :) Here are some pictures of the final product.

Baby Easton is here

Forgive me for taking so long to post about Easton's birth. We are so happy to have him here! I was two days past my due date (August 10th) so we had an induction scheduled for Friday August 12th at 3a.m.! The nurses started me on pitocin and we waited for the action to begin. Around 10a.m. my OB came in and broke my water, hoping that that would get the ball rolling. I was dilated to 3cm when I came in that morning. So in all likelihood, I very well could have given birth naturally that weekend. Once the pitocin started kicking in, I started feeling the contractions very distinctly. All throughout my pregnancy, I would feel cramping (like during that time of the month) and it would last all day. So I never knew what contractions really felt like until I was put on pitocin. As the day went on, the contractions started getting stronger. I luckily had my sister Stacey (who is a nurse), my mom, and David there all day to help me get through it. My mom had to constant remind me to breathe and count once the contractions came.

I was advised to get the epidural early before the contractions got so unbearable. So the anethesiologist came in, not too long after my OB broke my water. I was seated on my bed hunched over and the anesthesiologist asked me if I had scoliosis, I said no. This should have been the first indicator that I was not position well. She poked me several times with the needle and each time I cried out in pain (I was bawling during the epidural). They told me to tell them if I felt the pain to the left or right and each time I was poked, I told them which side. Finally after about 4 pokes, the anethesiologist repositioned me and got the needle in where it should be-no pain. Getting the epidural was aweful for me, but in the end I was glad I had it. I also got the max number of lidocaine shots throughout the rest of the day, because I kept feeling pain kicking in. After the last dose of meds possible, my legs went completely numb.

Around 4p.m. they asked me to start pushing once each contraction started. I would have to take a deep breathe, hold it, and push for about 10 seconds....and repeat this cycle 3-4 times on each contraction. Because I couldn't feel my legs, my mom, sister, and David took turns holding my legs up on each push. Pushing lasted two hours and meanwhile, I was getting oxygen and feeling so tired that I felt like my body was going to literally pass out on the table. At 6:24p.m., little Easton was born. My body was too weak to hold him or even keep my eyes open-and yet a nurse came in and made him try to nurse! I am not exactly sure what happend for about 3 hours after the birth because I was too tired and too drugged up! Here are a few pictures of our little guy...I don't want to sound like a Debbie Downer, but being a new mother has been completely overwhelming to me. Dealing with hormones, postpartum blues, and lack of sleep has really thrown things for a loop. I love that I have a precious newborn, but thoughts of having a little person so dependent on me has been difficult. It has also been hard not being able to get out as much as I used to and being home all day! I am so used to being on the go all the time. David got to take a little over a week off to be home with us, and now that he has gone back to work, the days have been lonely. I am so grateful to have wonderful parents, family members (immediate and extended) who have helped me get through this time of change.

I have also had difficulty wanting anything to eat. I rarely feel hungry and when I eat, just about everything makes me want to throw up. This is a HUGE change for me, because I used to eat and want to eat ALL the time. Not sure if this is due to hormone changes or lack of sleeping-but hopefully my body decides it loves food, because this is the time when I am supposed to be eating more and not less!

Baby, Baby, Baby

On July 9th, my wonderful sister in law Natalia threw me a very adorable, jungle themed baby shower. Lots of friends and family members attended and generously spoiled me and baby Easton with gifts galore. Natalia wrote on the baby shower invitations that if you brought in a package of diapers, you would be entered into a raffle drawing to win a gift card to the Cheesecake Factory. The lucky winner-my sister in law Jessica! Needless to say, I received a heaping stack of diapers on top of other baby necessities including bottles, gift cards, clothes, blankets, crib sheets, chocolate, and a mobile high chair. I want to thank all those who attended and those that were with us in spirit. David's very talented cousin Kristi took pictures of my shower. Thank you Kristi!! Below are some of the images that captured this wonderful event.

We even made the food jungle themed: Food included "tiger tails" (Cheetohs), "monkey's choice" (banana nut muffins), "giraffe leaves" (Greek Salad), Zebra Cakes, "Alligator Tails" (Croissant Rolls), Banana Runts, "Animal Munchies" (Animal Crackers with Strawberry Cream Cheese and Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Dips).

Opening the gift from my mom


Enjoying food with family

Sister in Law Sara and Cousin Kristi Ison (photographer)

Me and my mom with baby MaKenna
Friends Juliet and Melissa

My mom and ward friends Kristen Garner and Becca Olave

Sister In Law Jessica with her new baby (and my adorable niece) MaKenna. MaKenna was born just a month prior to the shower.

Playing the game where you have to guess how big around my belly is.

Measuring the guesses to see who wins a prize

Me with Paige, the 9 year old munchkin who I've been babysitting for the last 7 years!

July 4th Week in a Nutshell

I started my fourth of July weekend by going to IHOP on Saturday the 2nd with two of my wonderful friends. Sharianna (in the black shirt) is 37 weeks along and is having a little girl, I am approaching 36 weeks, and my friend Krystal just had her little bundle 5 weeks ago. It was great catching up with these girls!

We continued by going to festivities in Downtown Mesa later that evening. Not sure why our city decided they wanted to do fireworks/festivities on the 2nd as opposed to the 4th, but I was glad they did so that we could do things with our family on the 4th. We watched the Heritage School Show-choir (a charter school in the area) sing/dance/performe a skit on the various styles of music that are incorporated into the American culture. David and I were a little hesitant to stay when the performance first started, but we left at the end of the performance very impressed by the skills of these elementary through high school aged students. Afterwards, we joined thousands of others (including my family members) and watched an amazing display of fireworks. The humidity and 110 degree weather at 9:30p.m. at night was made bearable by the industrial sized misting fans which we were able to find a spot right next to. My dad was also able to find a chair, somehow, for me to sit on.

On Monday the 4th, we got up bright and early (6:00a.m.) to head to David's Aunt Julie's house for a yummy pancake breakfast, flag ceremony, and baseball. I stayed outside in the extreme hot and humid heat for as long as I could. However, after about an hour, my vision started getting a little crazy, and I knew if I didn't get inside where it was cooler that I was going to pass out. It was really weird. So I stayed inside while David and his cousins/aunts/uncles played baseball. (Above) David's aunt chatting and Grandma Judy. (Below) David's Aunt Julie sprayed the players to keep them cool, however, it was so humid that shortly after getting sprayed (so I was told), the water felt like extra sweat.

Afterwards, we went next door to my mother in laws house where we spent the next several hours hanging out with family, BBQ'ing, and learning how to play poker. After many rounds of the game, I started realizing how addicting poker could become. You see, I was winning many rounds and I just wanted to keep playing to win more :) Thank goodness it was just with poker chips and no real gains/losses occurred.

In the evening, we had another BBQ with my family at my brother's home, went swimming, and played with fireworks. By the end of the night, I was exhausted!

On Tuesday the 5th, I went in for my weekly ultrasound/NST appointment. Baby Easton is doing very well. I think when I go in today for my next ultrasound, he will be somewhere between 5-6 pounds. Here is one of the latest pictures of the little guy: (sorry for the sideways picture)Last thing...I promise! Friday was Cow Appreciation Day at Chik-Fil-A. So I was able to convince my little sister and brother to dress up as cows with me. What did we get in return? 3 free meals, valued at approximately 7$ each! All of us were very hesitant, walking to the Chik-Fil-A entrance, as all the other customers coming in the fast food restaurant were wearing regular clothes. Luckily, as we entered, there were tons of other "cows" dressed just like us.

Happy Father's Day!

This year, being the first year we actually have a child on the way, I wanted to do something for David. After all, in 7.5 weeks (hopefully sooner) he will be come a dad for the first time. I had browsed many crafty blogs and modified the idea I liked the best. Here is the final product:

I bought a case of IBC rootbeer, a sweet treat that my husband loves. I covered the box in scrapbook paper and spent what seemed like an hour creating the circular message that says "We are so glad you are the 'pop' of our family.....Love Easton and Mommy". Keep in mind I am by no means computer savvy, especially when it comes to designing things like this. I then decided to make six ties, one to go on each bottle. All were signed "Love, Easton". They read something like this:

1. When I grow up, I want to be a mighty hunter, just like my dad.

2. When I grow up, I want to serve a mission for the LDS church, just like my dad did.

3. When I grow up, I want to treat the women I date and my wife like a queen, just like my dad did and does.

4. When I grow up, I want to go to college and be as smart as my dad.

5. When I grow up, I want to be as charitable and look for ways to serve others as much as my dad does.

6. When I grow up, I want to be as good lookin' and handsome as my daddy is

While David was getting ready for the day, I quietly hurried to my hiding spot, took out the package and left it on the counter. I then came back and started doing my makeup and asked David to make some Eggs Benedict (he is the breakfast maker in our home and it was my ploy to get him to the kitchen). He went out there and I could hear the bottles "clink". A few minutes later, he came to me and gave me a big hug (his face was a little red). He said "Thank you, Love!" and gave me a gentle hug. He then said "you are making me blush". What I think he meant to say is "You're making me emotional and i'm on the verge of tears". Apparently my gift was very meaningful to him-just what I wanted it to be. Happy first Father's Day my love!

In other news, I am approaching week 33 of my pregnancy. Hooray! I am excited to have little Easton here, but now the stress of trying to find someone to watch my dear little one once I have to go back to work is approaching. If anyone knows of any good home based sitters in the Gilbert/Mesa area, please let me know! This picture was taken at week 31.5...sorry it isn't a side shot (but trust me, my belly really is huge if you can't tell).

A new addition

On Friday afternoon, I was just finishing lunch (at Wildflower Bread Company-in case you wanted to know) with some of my girl friends when I recieved a text message from my sister in law. It read "Having the baby at 3". My SIL was not scheduled to have her C-Section until later the following week. Knowing she was feeling sick and had to go to the hospital the day before, I was a little worried. The hospital nurses/doctor said that she had the flu and sent her home. First off, let me just say how I nearly always discredit the diagnosis ER staff give...because on 9 out of 10 diagnosis in our family, they have been wrong. This time was not any different. At her OB appt. on Friday, the doctor said she had pre-eclampsia and wanted to schedule a C-section for that afternoon. And so around 4p.m. on Friday, MaKenna Lily Johnson was born. She is ADORABLE and we are so happy to have her join our family. I'm sure baby Easton is anxiously awaiting his turn to join us as well (I know his parents are!). Here are some pictures of baby

MaKenna.

San Diego 2011

About three weeks ago, David and I joined my brother, his family, and my mom on a short trip to San Diego. Thank goodness we left the Arizona heat when we did. The day before we left, I think it got up to 100 degrees and it was extremely dry. These two combinations and working all day led to swollen legs and feet.

We hit the road early Thursday morning, May 5th and arrived at our hotel about 6 hours later. We decided to check out Seaport village and just meander around. My brother and his family had arrived the day before and were at Sea World. David and I didn't get tickets to Sea World due to how far along I was in my pregnancy (all the walking and not being able to go on rides). We ended up buying these yummy Watermelon flavored suckers (a Mexican candy) that were covered in sugar and chili powder. Sounds gross, right? But I shortly became addicted and wish I would have bought more! Our purchase of the candy ensured we payed 1$ for 2 hours of parking at Seaport Village, instead of 8$ for the 2 hours (can you believe they charge you 1$ for every 15 minutes of parking!) David and I got to take pictures by several large ships, one of which is in the new Pirates of the Caribbean 4 movie.

For dinner, we ate at the "Old Spaghetti Factory". We were going to eat dessert at the Ghiradelli Ice Cream shop, however, our meal at the Spaghetti Factory included ice cream! (I definitely recommend going to that place-a full blown meal for a decent price). So we just strolled down 5th avenue in the gas lamp district and headed back to our hotel.

On day 2 of our trip (Friday, May 6), we toured the USS Midway ship (took us about 5 hours to tour!). It was very fascinating, but lets just say that I could have toured the thing in about 2 hours. In front of the Midway with our niece Kiara and nephew Dallin.

Kiara sitting in one of the airplanes

My mom sitting in one of the soldiers bunks. Not much room and if you were the lucky soldier that got this bunk, you'd have to be extremely careful to not sit up at night or you'd whack your head.

On the bottom floor of the ship was where the jail was. We tried to get Kiara to frown but I guess being in jail was too fun!

Upon arriving in San Diego the day before, I saw the Coronado Island Bridge and told David how I never wanted to go on that thing again. It is so high up over the water! I had crossed the bridge with a few friends several years ago when we had stayed on Coronado Island-and it was scary! So, my brother, upon hearing this, thought that it would be cool to drive across the bridge for lunch (after going on the Midway). So I kept my eyes focused on the road and I survived! Whew! We went to a beautiful beach on Coronado Island. It was way too cold for most of us to go in the water. David had a wet suit and plunged right in. He also found about 10 live Sand Dollars. We were all so fascinated as none of us had every seen live ones before. My sister in law Jessica is due with baby #3 in June and I am due in August with baby #1. So, we had to get belly shots!
After a long day at the beach, we did end up going back and getting some ghiradelli sundae's on 5th avenue and boy were they yummy!

On our last day, we stopped at the Cabrillo tide pools before heading back to Arizona. The tide pools could have been potentially filled with starfish, octopus, fish etc. However, all we saw were crabs, barnacles, lots and lots of shells and some fish. The boys had quite the adventure trying to catch crabs. The crabs were trying to hide in the crevasses of the rock and when one of the boys finally got one out it would scurry extremely fast back into the rocks. I have video but for some reason it won't load onto the computer. Here are photos at the Cabrillo tidepools and lighthouse.
My brother Chris and his two children, looking for sea creatures. My nephew Dallin was more than happy just to throw rocks in the water.