Ella May!

Well I FINALLY sat down to update. It's been so long, I think I forgot we even had a blog. Well, Bleu was able to be home in time for the birth of our baby girl. Let me tell you, he was an amazing help. I'm so so so glad he was there. I also had my friend, JoAnn come to be my Douala. Between the two of them constantly rubbing my back and coaching me through, we did a completely natural delivery in under five hours. HOLY COW!


Bleu and I went to my 40 week midwife appointment together the day before my due date. I was really tired of being pregnant. Anyway, that night we were laying on the couch watching a movie when I heard a felt a great big *POP* from my tummy. Bleu even heard it, too! My water broke at 9 pm. We talked to the midwife and she said to relax in the tub until the contractions are 5-6 minutes apart. So I got into the tub and started timing them. They were 2-3 minutes apart, but I wanted to stay home a while longer. After an hour, Bleu noticed that it was time to go to the hospital. So we packed up and checked in before 11 pm. I was on a monitor for about 20 minutes, and then back into the tub to take the pressure off. JoAnn showed up around midnight and she and Bleu were my coaches and cheering section. Seriously don't know what I would have done without them. The contractions progressed and I was doing great, and then they just kept going longer and faster. The midwife said that I needed to get out of the tub and into bed. As soon as I was there, it was time to push. Again, Bleu and JoAnn were amazing coaches. We pushed for about half an hour and Ella May was born at 1:46 am on May 19. Her due date.
6 lbs and 13 oz. and 20 inches long.


It was wonderful having Bleu home for so long! I had quite a few complications and set backs in my recovery, so we were able to get a 10 day extension on his leave. He is such a good Daddy and just adores his sweet little girl.
It was much harder on both of us having him leave this time. He misses his girls lots. We still talk on Skype every night, but sometimes don't get to talk very long when Ella needs my attention. She has a fussy time that's almost like clockwork. I'm fine with that, but it just usually lands right when Bleu gets home from work. So I don't get to talk to him very long and he doesn't get to see Ella.

Mom was able to come down and stay for a few weeks to help with Ella. That was another life saver. I was still in quite a lot of pain when Bleu left and it was hard to get up and down, but Mom was able to be here the day he left.
Ella sure loved having Grandma come to visit. The day after Mom left was a little rough on both of us, and Mom said that it was because she missed her Grandma. Haha. I know I sure did.

Here are some things that I've learned about Ella:

• She is very beautiful and smart.
• She doesn't like being on her tummy unless Grandpa Dixon is underneath her.
• She has a temper and shouts in short little bursts when she wants attention.
• She likes to wait until she's naked on the changing table to pee.....and sometimes poop.
• She likes to poop in freshly changed diapers.
• She likes to cuddle, but loves to see what's going on.
• She hogs the bed just like her mommy.

So it's been nearly forever since I updated this blog. But I had been without a camera for a while until my wonderful husband bought one for me a few weeks ago. I've had a few opportunities to play with it and get used to it.

Obviously, Kami is the only subject available to me. Haha. But I've realized that she actually likes having her picture taken. When I turn the camera on, it makes noise, and she turns to look at it, and stares at the lens, sits, lays down, looks at me, changes positions and looks at the camera. What a silly girl. So she's a little cheese ball poser and gave me some cute shots I think.


This is probably what the baby will be looking at here in a few weeks. A big towering monster! I think Kami might have an inkling as to what's going on. Of course not precisely, but I can tell she knows some things are changing and there are more changes coming. I've been stepping up with the training, giving her more boundaries, and setting higher expectations of her behavior. She's learning fast.

She was really excited when the spare bedroom got cleaned out and the crib and changing table got set up (THANK YOU Gavin and Sara). And was even more excited when I unpacked the clothes, blankets, and all of the baby stuff. The baby has kicked her in the chin a few times while she had her head on my tummy and she's also seen it moving around, so I think she might know that there is definitely something in there. :) She also bumps her nose against my tummy and licks it.

So I bought a baby doll and dressed it in some of the baby's clothes. She LOVES it, and wants to play with it, I think because it's fabric and plastic. But she knows what I'm talking about when I ask her if she wants to see the baby. She is learning that it's not okay to jump up to see it--she has to sit and be good. I put the doll in the crib and she is still jumping up to look at it in there, but it's all a process. She's getting better at laying next to the swing instead of sticking her face right in there and licking the poor thing. But she doesn't mind just watching me rock with the doll--I'm guessing because we are at her eye level and she can see everything. She really just likes to watch. It will probably all be different when it's a real baby, but I think she's getting used to the idea that something else will be occupying my time. She does great with Mikaela when she visits, but she's never been around a newborn. We'll just have to wait and see.

Here's a video of Kami playing. If there is a noise out of her reach, she MUST get it! Silly girl.



So as for the pregnancy, everything is going great! I'm sooooo tired of being pregnant. I want this baby to pop out a week ago, but the longer I go, the better for the baby. Plus I would LOVE for Bleu to be home for the birth and I know he would, too.

So just for the ones who haven't been updated, I am going to be delivering in the hospital with a Midwife and a Douala. I'm really excited. I'm still high risk (of course) because it's a VBAC, but everything appears to be going really well. I feel really good, too.

I'm done working, so I have lots of little projects to keep me busy around the house. I'm trying to get back into the sewing thing and have a few things that I want to make. I take Kami to the park at least three times a week and while she runs around, I walk around the park. I also go to the pool every once in a while for a swim and to put my back against the jets. I want to stay active so that the exercise will be beneficial for the labor. I don't want to be too tired to get through it. I'm determined to have a completely natural birth. I'm studying up on labor and the science of it all, gathering a bunch of relaxing techniques and so forth.

I've been having Braxton Hicks pretty much every day, but nothing too painful. Just enough for me to notice them and not often enough to make any phone calls. I practice breathing and relaxing through them. I've had a few while Bleu and I are on Skype and he asks if I'm okay or if they hurt. He takes such good care of me.

Well, we only have two and a half weeks till the due date! Bleu and I are hoping to be together for the birth and as always, we feel and appreciate all of your prayers on our behalf. Love you!

Butterfly Express!

Let's start at the very beginning, it's a very good place to start. :) So during class a while ago our instructor handed out a flyer for an Essential Oils company called Butterfly Express. I have never thought of essential oils before and didn't know much about them. Well after looking over the flyer I thought "well, gee! I could use all of these oils!" So I sent a few of my favorites to mom for my Christmas List and she got me six oils and I LOVED THEM! I teasingly told Bleu that basically everything on the flyer was my list for Christmas, Birthday, Anniversary, etc. :o). So about a month ago he started telling me that I should go through the list and tell him which ones I wanted right now and we could get started. SO I went through with him one night and gave him a list that he could choose from. He wanted to surprise me, so I just told him all of the ones that would be great to have and let him at it. Well, after he placed the order he told me that not only did he get EVERYTHING on my list, he got a few more that he thought would be good. WHAT a stinker. Love him.

The plot thickens-- the next morning I got a call from Butterfly Express and they said "because your order was so big,..." again.... Love him. "...we were wondering if you would be interested in becoming a wholesale rep." They explained some more and after talking with Bleu, I was changing my order to one of EVERY oil blend they have and a few extras. SWEET!

Yay! I am now a Butterfly Express Wholesale Rep. Woohoo! Take a look at all the goods! I was waiting for my package to come and when it did I was THRILLED and started opening them up and using them right away. SO why this is such good news to all of you??

I will pass on the savings! I can give you 20% off of your order. If you just let me know what you want, I will put in an order and tell you how much you owe, I can even have them ship it to you! Neat, huh? I've already ordered some for Katie and my boss, and mom and I are working on an order right now. It's so much fun! There is an oil for just about everything from Arthritis to anxiety to warts and Digestion. If you want to browse, go to butterflyexpress.net and take a look. But you can't get the 20% through the website, just through a wholesale rep--like me! :)

Also, Butterfly Express has monthly specials and discounts so I will be posting them here, too.

So let's get started!!

FEBRUARY SPECIALS!

• 10% off the Chakra Kit

• 15% off the following oils:

Beloved
Exhilaration
Moonlight
Clary Sage
Rosewood
Tangerine

• Buy all 6 of them for 20% off.

• There is a new blend this month called Manuka

And as always, I need to practice my zoning, so give me a call and I will use my oils on your tootsies!!

Pictures and Videos!

Kami got spayed last Friday and played the sick card all day Saturday. I let her because she was barfing Friday night. Haha. She Loves to cuddle on the floor and this is the best picture that we could get. Look How big she is! I'm just going to put a bunch of pictures of the past week or so. Enjoy!

I had my friend Kamie (Kami's namesake haha) help me out by watching Kami for a few hours while I was in class. Her daughter Mikaela (I know.. SO confusing, right?) just loves Kami and visa versa. Kamie caught this on camera and it's just too cute not to share!

Okay I know this is old, but I couldn't resist. Back in the day when she was allowed on the furniture, she fell asleep and was dreaming, twitching, growling, the works. Then when things settled down, she relaxed and this is what happened. Too funny. I still get a kick out of her face when she wakes up.

Kami Kraziness

I've been promising more pictures and videos of Kami.
Well, here they are. She is just the funniest thing. She has had me laughing all day.

I have discovered a few things that are interesting about her this week. She attacks the broom when I sweep, and attacks the Swiffer when I mop. She hates the noise the Swiffer makes when I push the button to spray the solution. She wants to cuddle when she's tired and thinks that I should get off the phone and pay attention to her! She hates the sound of "hold" music on the phone, but loves to hear Bleu on the phone. She likes people more than dogs, and loves loves loves kids. She's usually perfectly content sitting in my lap licking my hand when I want her to be still. She hates the camera, and wants to bite the dog that's on the screen. Haha. Oh, and she thinks that when I have my hair in a bun that it is her responsibility to chew it up and pull it out.
So here's the story about the box. Bleu's cousins got a Build A Bear for Tristan and I took it out of the box and set the box down. Kami was really intrigued by it, so I pushed it over to her and scratched on it to see if she would play with it, but she didn't seem to interested. So I just left her and went back to what I was doing. After inspecting the box, she sniffed, cocked her head and barked at it a while. Then she bit into it, then she just took off and came back and picked it up and just started running all over the house with it. And..... well.... yeah. The movie explains it.
So then I was trying to get a picture of her next to me to show how big she is. And it was almost working. She would look at the camera just until the light would go off. So they are all fuzzy, and then when I was taking pictures of just her, she didn't like the camera facing her. It's pretty funny.




Oh, Yeah. She likes to lick. Love her, hate that about her. :)

Tristan would be six months old today! I decided that instead of being sad and saying that I've been without him for six months, I'm going to be happy and say...

Yay! I'm six months closer to being with my baby boy! I love you Tristan! I miss you so much and I can't wait to see you again!

Finally

Well Bleu and I have gone to visit Tristan a number of times and every time we go we forget stuff to clean his stone, and the camera. Well, we FINALLY remembered both when we took mom and dad out to see it. Funny thing is, Mom forgot HER camera. Haha. So mom, I'll send you a copy.

So here it is. I don't know when I'll be able to visit him without bawling, but I think I have a good excuse. This week has been pretty rough on me. Bleu left for his deployment on Tuesday, which I'll tell more later, our first baby would have been a year old this week, and Tristan would be six months old tomorrow. So hard times all around, but we are doing what we can.

Okay. Bleu left for his deployment Tuesday morning: we had to be at the airport at 6am. I'm really glad I brought my purse because they let me go to the gate with a pass and ID. We waited for a while and everyone was fine, talking, laughing, joking, we had some breakfast and were just enjoying ourselves. When the PA announced that they would be boarding their flight soon, I could just feel the mood change from pleasant to dread. Waited a little longer and when they started calling the zones to board, all of the family members started clinging to their soldiers, and all of the wives started crying. There's no way to prepare yourself for something like that. I stood at the window with the other family members and we waited and watched the plane leave the terminal. One of the wives standing next to me was holding a four month old baby with tears streaming down her face. She and I turned to each other and she reached up and hugged me. I had never met her before, but we introduced ourselves and walked to the door together. She isn't sure if her husband will be coming home for Thanksgiving so she will probably not see her husband till October of next year. I told her about how Bleu and I both have webcams so we can see each other and she said that was one of her ideas, but they just couldn't afford it. I felt awful for her. I talked to Bleu and he said that maybe we could get him a ticket to come home. If we have the money, I really want to send him home to see his family. I can't imagine what she's going through. My Bishop from our Single's Ward asked if there was anything he could do for me and I told him that we appreciated all of the prayers. And it's so true. So if you ever have a spare moment, send a prayer on behalf of the soldiers and their families. Even thought we don't hear them, we sure can feel them.

Meanwhile, Kami is a puppy through and through. She's growing so big and she's in her toddler stage of running, chewing, jumping, etc. She will definitely keep me busy for the time being. She really smart and just wants to make us happy. It truthfully only takes her a few days to train her to do something. She's great at potty training when we remind her ever few hours, but when we say "go potty" she knows what that means and happily wags her tail and goes to the back door. She sits and stays, she knows that she needs to sit to get her toys, she will drop her toys as long as they don't get stuck in her teeth, she is getting better at fetch, she comes when I call her, we are working on laying on her bed on command, she stays quiet all night and waits to be let out of her crate, she sits and waits for her food instead of barrelling over me, and we started socializing her with other dogs at a dog park. This is the really funny part. She loves the dog park because there are people and kids there. She could care less about the dogs, and will bite them when they stick their noses in her face. So slowly I think she's getting used to it. She actually played with a Springer Spaniel a few days ago. It was big progress. She is starting to show her personality and she's still the cutest thing ever. She doesn't cause too much trouble. We have cords all over the living room and she doesn't chew on them. She knows not to. She doesn't chew on shoes. (One swift swat to the face was enough for her to learn.) So I don't regret the day Bleu brought her home at all. I will be putting up a few pictures and videos soon. She's already outgrown the ones I took a few weeks ago! :) Till next time. Love Ya!