"Happy to You O-son"

Mr. Orson, you're two years old! You are such a fun kid. You have tons of energy and are beginning to cause two year old trouble. Today you broke Hazel's lego cat-in-the-hat and she said in exasperation, "Orson, why do you have to be such a two year old!?!" Other two year old antics this week have included: climbing on things non-stop, sneaking a stack of pancakes out of the kitchen to your room, throwing all sorts of things, and screaming out "no prayer" in sacrament meeting yesterday. It's a good thing you're so cute!! 

Diaper rash cream mess

Toilet paper boxing gloves!

Generally though, you're a wonderful little boy. You talk so much and say some of the funniest things. The title for this post is "Happy to You O-son" because since your birthday you say this every time you see a candle. It's your version of the Happy Birthday song, and it means you want us to sing Happy Birthday so you can blow out the candle. It's adorable!

You LOVE tractors! You call our riding lawn mower the "lawn tractor." Any time Daddy puts on his boots and cowboy hat you assume he's going to mow the lawn and beg to help him. Often he lets you help with at least the front yard. You loved this little peddle tractor at the pumpkin farm we visited.

For several months you've been showing interest in potty training, but I wanted to wait until after Conrad was born to start. About a week after your birthday, you just didn't want to wait any more and insisted on wearing underwear. You've picked it up really quickly! 

I love watching you and Daddy together. You idolize him and always want to go places with him. He loves having a companion for sports, manly projects, etc. You recently went with him to Lowes to buy bricks for the fire pit. Look how hard you worked!

You're also picking up Daddy's love for hats!

Your birthday was a fun low key day. We opened gifts before Daddy left for work. Your favorite was your very own cowboy hat!

The Hazel and Eliza were on Fall Break for your birthday, and they spent the day making you a pinata. It was supposed to be Batman but we didn't quite finish. You didn't care and loved it anyways.

You wanted a tractor cake and Daddy even pulled out the lawn tractor while we sang!

Not my best cake, but Conrad was only a week and a half old.

Your birthday meal choices included doughnuts for breakfast, oatmeal for lunch, and hot dogs with sweet potatoes and broccoli  for dinner.

You are the best big brother. You LOVE having Conrad around. You like to hold him and love on him. Even after the novelty wore off, you've been a kind and concerned brother. You even like to pretend your football is a baby!

Orson, we're so blessed to have you in our family! We love your energy, your spunk, your sweet phrases, and especially your hugs and kisses. 

September in Pictures

- 1- 

Enjoying Life

 

 - 2 - 

Beautiful Kentucky

- 3 - 

Basketball

- 4-

General Women's Conference and Primary Program

- 5- 

Snuggling Conrad!!

Special Delivery

Conrad's delivery was so remarkable! I'd had so many doubts leading up to this delivery. What would we do with the older kids? Would the new providers I'd found but only met a handful of times support my preferences during labor? What did I even want during labor? I struggled to decide if I should have a natural delivery like with Orson or an epidural like I'd had with the girls. Really what I wanted was the benefits of both without the negatives of either (if only right!)

I realized that with so many things I felt were out of my control, I wanted just one thing from this delivery. I wanted a peaceful delivery so I could enjoy every morsel of those sacred first few minutes. The veil is so thin as a baby is born and heaven is so close. No matter when happened, I just wanted to feel at peace and revel in the glory of bringing our son to this earth. So, for weeks leading up to the delivery I prayed to feel at peace. I know without a doubt Heavenly Father heard and answered my prayers. 

I made it through the General Women's broadcast Saturday and the Primary program Sunday without going in to labor! All day Monday I had contractions on and off, but didn't think a thing of them. Monday evening I had a few stronger contractions, but they were still very irregular so I headed to bed. I woke up about 1:00 am to use the bathroom, noticed another contraction or two, but fell back to sleep with no problem. By 2:15 I was awake again, but not with consistent contractions, just general discomfort. I gave up trying to sleep in bed (Lenora had climbed in and was taking over my side) and went to sit in the recliner instead. I had a few strong contractions while I was sitting there but they were still 10+ minutes apart. But by 2:45 the intensity of the contractions had me thinking this was real labor. My early labor normally lasts hours, but I was shocked when by 3:00am my labor had kicked in to high gear. I quickly woke up Michael, and told him to get someone here to watch the kids!

He groggily called our Bishop of all people haha! (Our Bishop is also a professor at EKU and loves kids. He hits total grandpa mode any time there are kids around, and I guess he had repeatedly offered to Michael to come watch them even in the middle of the night when labor hit.)

While we waited for the Bishop to drive the 20 or so minutes from his house to ours, I wished we were already at the hospital so I could get my epidural! Contractions were strong, long, and very close together. Michael gave me a beautiful blessing then busily got the dogs taken care of, pulled the car up to the front of the house, and soothed Orson who had woken up all while helping me through contractions as best as he could. At one point I filled up the tub and soaked in there for a few minutes. By about 3:30 Michael was trying to get me out of the tub and dressed so we could go as soon as the Bishop arrived, but I knew I was in transition and this baby was coming fast! He was SO clam and collected despite my insistence we needed to leave now! I said a quick prayer begging Heavenly Father for guidance and peace. I told him I really didn't want to have this baby in the tub or the car, and asked if He could please slow down my labor enough so we could make it to the hospital. Immediately I felt an overwhelming sense of peace. I had the strength to get up and get dressed through two agonizing contractions. But, once I got settled in the car with the seat reclined all the way back and the cool night air blowing through the windows, my contractions eased up. The entire 20 minute drive to the hospital, I had only a few contractions and they were much, much more mild.

The clock said 4:08 when we got up to my hospital room. The nurse confirmed I was fully dilated with a bulging bag of water. She quickly called in what seemed like every nurse on the floor. Though the room was full of hustle and bustle, it was still so peaceful! The lights were low and each nurse besides my primary nurse simply worked in silence to get things ready. My contractions remained spread out and less intense. Michael held my hand and gently stroked my forehead.

About 4:30 I simply had to start pushing. The midwife hadn't arrived and no one had broken down the end of the hospital bed or turned on those crazy bright lights. My wonderful nurse Ginger told me, "just do what you need to do." With the first push my water broke, and after two more contractions Conrad was born! I immediately sat right up and picked him up off the bed.

He was perfect with the most perfect little head I'd ever seen. By the time the midwife arrived a few minutes later he was already snuggled up on my chest. Just as I wished, the atmosphere was so serene. I held him, nursed him, and snuggled him for several hours enjoying every minute.

I have no doubt Heavenly Father heard my prayers and blessed me with this wonderful delivery. It could have easily been an extremely crazy and stressful experience, but it was the exact opposite. The peace I felt was beyond expression. It was a powerful testimony to me that we can be blessed with peace in the midst of storms. It was exactly as President Dieter F. Uchdorff taught, "When we are grateful to God in our circumstances we can experience gentle peace in the midst of tribulation... in the cold of bitter sorrow we can experience the closeness and warmth of heaven's embrace." 

Nurse Ginger who delivered Conrad!

Sweet little Conrad, you came to this world in such a hurry you must have a great work to do here! We cannot wait to watch your life unfold and feel honored to be your parents. We love you little peanut!