life: march 2010

. I am re-learning to do everything one-handed.

. Loving sleeping on my stomach again.

. Wishing I fit in to my clothes. Getting dressed is a challenge so I pretty much live in my sweats.

. Enjoying two little boys.

. A little scared that Wes left this morning for a 3-day business trip. I might move in with my mom.

. Getting a few house projects done.

. Love listening to things like this: Ryan was getting fussy in his little bouncy chair so Nate went up to him, rubbed his head and said this: "it's okay, little brother. i'm here. don't worry. it's okay." Nate sure does love Ryan.

. Enjoyed the Vancouver Olympics. Kinda bummed they are over.

. Getting more sleep than we did last week. Still quite tired but Ryan's getting better, thank goodness.

. Thinking of dyeing my hair brown again. Soon.

. Dreading Ryan's circumcision this week. I hate that process!

. Enjoying our perfect weather this time of year.

. Looking forward to Wes' parents visit in a few weeks.

. Loving cuddles from Ryan. Nate's way too busy to sit with his mama these days.

. I really wish there was an on/off switch while nursing.

. Wishing I knew what to do for Nate. He's struggling a bit.

. Enjoying my new life as a mom of TWO boys.

brothers

Here are the boys at one week old. When Ryan was born, he looked nothing like Nate. But I think he's starting to look a little bit like his big brother.

Ryan: 6 days old

Ryan is almost a week old - here's what we've learned about him so far:

• He is a really good eater. He loves his milk. He pretty much falls asleep every time but will sometimes still eat while he's asleep. It's hard for me to hold him sometimes because he smells my milk and all he wants to do is eat!
• His days and nights are totally mixed up. He'll give me a good stretch during the day but is a terrible sleeper at night. He no longer gets his long naps during the day in an attempt to get him to sleep at night. Wes and I are exhausted.
• He does not like his crib. We're trying to get him to sleep in there but he's not a big fan.
• He doesn't like to be swaddled. He wants his hands free.
• He's kinda fussy late at night.
• He's my little chunkster.
• During the day he's a really good baby.
• He poops all of the time & loves to pee when his diaper is off. He even peed on my friend Brooke's couch today as she was taking his picture. SORRY brooke.
• He is a strong little dude.

He went to the doc yesterday for his first check-up. Everything looks good - here are his stats:

• Weight: 9 lbs. 6.5 oz. 86% He only lost .5 ounces since his birth weight! Like I said, he's my chunkster.
• Height: 22 inches 95%
• Head: 75%

We love this kid.

Coming home with Ryan

Nate loves babies but we were really curious to see how he’d react to one of our own.



Once we named Ryan while we were at the hospital, my mom told Nate that the baby’s name is Ryan. Nate immediately said, “it’s not Ryan, it’s peanut butter.” He’s been calling the baby peanut butter for weeks.

We got released from the hospital and made it home late afternoon on Friday. We were home for about a half hour before my parent’s came over with Nate. Nate had a bouquet of tulips {thanks to my cute mom} to give me as he walked in. He immediately wanted to see peanut butter and give him a few outfits he picked out earlier that day with Grandma.

Nate is slightly obsessed with his little brother. He wants Ryan near him at all times. He sits by him at the dinner table. He wants Ryan to sit and watch “Buzz and Woody” with him. He wants to hold him. He wants to kiss him. He wants to carry him around the house. I’m going to have to keep a close watch on him, for sure.



When we first got home from the hospital - Nate really struggled with me feeding Ryan. He was hysterical. He kept saying "don't hurt mommy's boobies!" He obviously thought Ryan was hurting me or he was confused as to what was happening. Luckily he has gotten over it for the most part because he was really distracted all weekend by a fabulous dad.

I’m looking forward to seeing Nate & Ryan interact and become little buddies. It will be a transition and an adjustment but over time I think they’ll have a great time together.

Ryan meeting his big cousin, Abbie for the first time.

introducing RYAN.

ryan m. griffeth



Born on February 18, 2010 at 2:37pm
9 pounds 7 ounces
22 inches long



Let me start by saying that we absolutely adore our little baby boy. He’s been so good so far. And I have to say going on round two with a newborn is much easier than the first go-around! I think it also helps that Ryan is a little more laid back than his big bro. Which means his mom is a little more laid back, too.



Here’s the long story of the arrival of Ryan . . .

7:00am: My mom arrives at my house to wait for Nate to wake up. She is taking care of him while we’re at the hospital.

7:30am: Wes and I check in to St. Rose Hospital where I get hooked up to all of the machines to start the induction.

8:30am: Pain is starting to come but I’m not dilating and he’s still really far up there.

10am: Broke my water to try to get labor going a little faster.

10:30am: Contractions are coming . . . still far apart but they are painful.

11:00am: Contractions are getting closer together and are killing me but I’m still at a 3.

Noon: Epidural man is called – can’t take the pain anymore.

12:30pm – my hero walks in to the room with a big needle for my back. The epidural started to kick in but I was still feeling contractions so he came in and gave me more medicine and then life was good. Real good. By now I had made it to a 6.

1:15pm – I was feeling great, relaxing in my bed trying to get a little rest.

2:00pm – My nurse, Tiffany came in and asked if I was feeling any pressure down there. I told her no so she checked me and his head was literally ready to come out! Doctor Miller was called & I was told not to push.

2:15pm – Sam arrives just in time to witness the delivery.

2:20pm – Dr. Miller came in & got ready to delivery Nate. {at this point, the only pressure I was feeling was really high in my belly. He was positioned really funny in my belly – it looked like a big tumor!}

2:37pm – I pushed twice and he slithered on out!











I was a little hesitant to be induced but after pushing out a 9+ pound baby I was glad the doc recommended it. Since Sam is in nursing school – I provided her with a nursing experience and had her come in the room with us for Ryan’s delivery. It was fun to have her there!

As Ryan came out, my first thought was that he looks nothing like Nate other than they both have their dad’s “butt chin”. Then I immediately realized how big he was as he was kicking Dr. Miller. She commented that she’d never been kicked quite like that by a baby – and then called him a toddler due to his size. We were all shocked he didn’t weigh over 10 pounds. It’s amazing how big of a difference a few pounds makes on a newborn. Ryan doesn’t feel nearly as fragile & newborn-like as Nate did!



Because Ryan weighed a decent amount, he had to pass 3 blood sugar tests in the first 4 hours of his life. The nurses told me the best way for him to ensure a pass is to feed him. So he had his first feeding right after he was born and that’s when we discovered that our little boy LOVES to eat! He ate for a full 30 minutes on his first feeding. What a nice surprise that was for me. I’m not used to a newborn who likes to eat. Ryan latched right on and it was great. It definitely took a lot of the stress out of having a newborn. With all that eating came a lot of poop!

The first 24 hours of Ryan’s life were fabulous. Wes and I were able to enjoy our little dude and each other for a full day and it was kinda nice to sit and enjoy each other after the craziness we’ve had in the last few weeks. Plus we knew the “just hanging out with our baby” would end as soon as we got home to a crazy 2.5 year old. Plus, he pretty much slept for the first day of his life which was nice. We had an occasional cry but he was a very content baby!





How am I doing? Well, when you push out a 9 pound 7 ounce baby in 2 pushes, it’s bound to cause some damage down there so I’ll be dealing with that for a while. But Nate did the same thing to me so at least I was prepared this time. And holy cow – your uterus really contracts after delivering a second baby. Every time I feed Ryan it feels like I’m back in labor! But none of that seems to matter too much when I get to sit and cuddle with my little man.

Nate had a great time with my parent’s while we were at the hospital. Thanks to Kiley & Ali/Tripp for helping them out, too! We are very grateful for you all – we didn’t worry about Nate at all while we were gone.

A few hospital visitors . . . {Sam, how do I not have a picture of you?}





Leaving the hospital . . .




Nate’s reaction to baby Ryan coming soon . . .

Our last day as a family of {3}

Today was our last day as a family of 3. I head to the hospital tomorrow morning at 7:30 to be induced. The doc wants the baby out.

We had a fun last hoorah before little man arrives. Nate and I woke up and cleaned the house a bit before meeting friends for some play time at the park and some Port-of-Subs. During Nate's nap, I heard the chime that tells me a door has been opened. To my surprise, Wes came home at 3pm with Cold Stone! It was a real treat. When Nate woke up we took him to the park & to the carousel at The District and then came home for dinner and some play time. It was a fun day.



I tried to take Nate to do fun things in the last week. Here's a bit of what we were up to:

BASS PRO SHOP. He doesn't go there for the fish anymore. He just wants to golf.

CHILDREN'S MUSEUM. He LOVES the new builders exhibit as well as his usual favorites.

A LITTLE NIELSEN'S FROZEN CUSTARD.



KILEY'S FABULOUS PARENTS. Nate got to spend a few hours with Kiley's parent's last weekend while the four of us went to dinner. He loves her parents! They are the best.



I'm excited to meet my little guy tomorrow!

SCORPIONS

Yes, we have scorpions at our new house.

Yes, they are creeping me out.

But as I talk to more people, I’m learning of more ways to get them under control so that’s helping my mental state.

I received many warnings from my sister and friends that our new house was in one of the “scorpion pockets” of Green Valley. I’ve lived here the majority of my life and have never seen a scorpion until moving into this house. ANY bug freaks me out – I hate knowing that I may see a little friend when I least expect it – but these scorpions are just gross.

It doesn’t help that this house was vacant for 5 months before we moved in. And that we have a ton of palm trees and ugly, pink desert rock throughout the yard. They like palm trees and rocks.

Since the seller of this home did a lot of work on the inside before we bought it – we decided cleaning up the yard would be a good first project before it gets too hot. So yesterday we hired my parent’s yard guys to come over and trim our palm trees. They cut them all back and shaved the base of all of them. They found a few scorpions while they were working but as we went on our scorpion hunt last night with our black lights – we found a number of them still alive {they aren’t alive anymore!} and LOTS of bright specs of pieces of scorpions killed by the chainsaw. A small scorpion victory for me seeing how many were killed! Just wait until this coming Saturday when we really tear up the yard.

LUCKILY they light up at night with the use of a blacklight so you better believe Wes and I go on scorpion hunts nightly. Somehow it has turned in to somewhat of a fun game trying to see how many we can get – it’s pretty cool how you can see their skeleton with a black light. They are really easy to find as long as they aren't hiding. I’ve shocked myself by going out there with him since I hate critters! We go outside armed with 2 blacklights, a can of bug spray, a screw driver & long tongs. You can’t just step on a scorpion and kill it – you have to jam it with a screw driver over and over. Luckily when you spray them with bug spray they play dead which makes it easy to break them in to pieces. We look inside every night, too and have yet to find one at night or at all upstairs – so that’s good. And I haven’t seen one alive in our house in about 5 days which has been fabulous.

I’ve been reassured by my friends & neighbors that over time, these little creatures are controllable. They will always be here but there’s a chance I won’t see as many if I take a few precautionary steps. I’m just hoping they don’t like Nate’s room or the nursery. Or my bed!

For any of you with scorpion experience – send me any tips you have!

Happy Valentines Day

they are in charge from the beginning . . .

I wasn't ready for Nate to come in to the world on 8/6/07. I wanted a few days of lounging in the pool. But he came anyway - on his own time.

I'm now as ready as I'm ever going to be for baby boy #2 to arrive and he's quite content in the womb.

I should know by now that children don't do what their mothers would prefer for them to do.

I saw the doc again today. Absolutely no changes from last week. I am a few days shy of my due date so we're definitely participating in the baby waiting game. I'm actually feeling okay, other than not being able to get comfortable at night to sleep. But other than that - pregnant life is still tolerable. Hence no induction date. I prefer these monkeys to come when they are ready so I continue to wait. And wait.

And for the sake of having a "40 week" picture - here you go. A ginormous belly with a triple chin cropped out.

Cleaning Day

My wonderful mother gave me an early baby present - she came over from 8am-noon today and we cleaned my house! Now that pretty much everything is put away (except for my office), the entire house got cleaned . . . even down to cleaning shutters and baseboards. Why is cleaning a lot more enjoyable when there's someone else around? Nate always does better, too because he's got multiple people to talk to and help clean. He was a trooper today - he enjoys cleaning! And what really made his morning is when Aunt Ali dropped off a Valentine with a big, yummy sucker. He kept it on the kitchen counter and went back to eat it all day long.

Now the goal is to keep my house clean so I come home from the hospital to a clean house! Still waiting for him to decide to leave the womb . . .

The Lion King

{once again, can't believe I posted a picture of me! I swear I'm getting bigger and fatter by the day.}

A week or so ago we got a nice break from moving on a Saturday night. My Aunt Tina, Uncle Gary & Aunt Leslie were in town from Utah so we went with them, my parents, Ali/Tripp & Aunt Kara/Uncle Allan to the Lion King at Mandalay Bay. Sam joined us for dinner first at Brio at Town Square. It was a great night out with family that we don't get to see nearly as often as we'd like and The Lion King was great! We always enjoy when our family from Utah comes to visit!

two of my good friends . . .

{i can't believe i posted this picture of myself ginormous self!}

My dear friends Kiley & Nancee went above and beyond the call of friendship duty this week! Monday was our big day with the movers. Nate went to play at Nancee's house all morning while the movers got the big stuff out of our old house and in to the new one. Later that night, after a day full of un-packing, these two showed up at my new house with an adorable baby gift full of lots of goodies and kidnapped me for a girls night! We went to Cheesecake Factory and enjoyed a night out chatting away.

As if that wasn't enough - on Wednesday they came to help me clean my old house to get it ready to rent! Thanks girls . . . you're the best.

a little bit about our week of MOVING.

We're here. We're all moved. And almost all put away. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you know a baby can show up any day now making life a tad bit harder.

Here's a few things about our week:

1 - Friends & family ROCK.

2 - Moving doesn't put you in to labor.

3 - Nate has named the baby peanut butter.

4 - A husband of a 9-month pregnant lady does alot of lifting and physical labor while moving. I've hated not being able to lift stuff!

5 - We still have no clue on a name for this baby. We've been a little preoccupied to even think about it. Sometimes I forget I could go in to labor any minute. Then I look down and my belly is an instant reminder.

6 - We have a few great new neighbors who have come by to say hello and offer help. Ali's good friend Amy brought some delicious muffins that the baby and I enjoyed.

7 - Having a little extra space is nice. A 3-car garage is a dream come true.

8 - I'm glad I'm married to a handy man.

9 - Nate is adjusting pretty well. He's loving more room to run around in. I think church will be the big adjustment for him.

10 - A black widow and 3 scorpions have welcomed us in to our home. Creepy, yes. But I knew they lived around here so I'm just getting used to it hoping we have good luck or that they prefer to bite me and not the kiddos.

11 - We couldn't have moved as much as we did without the help of my parents, Sam, Tripp, Kiley, Ryan & my aunts/uncles (tina,leslie,gary,kara,allan). They were fabulous.

12 - I owe my mom my life! She is the sole reason we've made so much progress around here. She loves organizing and putting away so she's enjoyed herself but boy, has she been busy.

13 - We're already enjoying the random drop-ins from the Thompsons who live within walking distance. Nate loves his cousins!

14 - This little baby boy of mine is killing me. Life is very uncomfortable but the longer he stays in there the more I can get done before his arrival. I actually feel great when I'm moving around and doing stuff. The minute I lay down I'm in pain.

15 - The other night when I was reading Nate stories before bed, he put his head on my belly and then looked up and told me I was getting really fat in his cute little 2-year-old voice. I had to smile.

16 - Movers are worth every penny. We had them move the big stuff and it was fabulous.

17 - The boys rooms got painted - thanks to Wes for staying up 'till 2:30am the night we got our keys.

18 - Nate spent a lot of time with his friends this week. My cute friends were so nice to let him come play while we moved and I went to the doctor. Speaking of the doctor, as of Thursday I was still at a 2 with not much, if any, progress from the last week.

19 - My 63-year old stubborn dad did a little too much physical work and is now paying for it. So when he comes with my mom to help - he plays with Nate instead of lifting and moving. Lets just say Nate and Papa are buds.

20 - We are excited to get settled and in to a new routine in our new house. I think I'll live here for a bit before we do any real decorating but we've at least got most things put away.

And since a few have asked for more pictures, here ya go. This house is TOTALLY different than our last so our furniture doesn't go all that well but we'll be living with it for a while! I am excited to s l o w l y decorate and make it ours.

the playroom


the family room. we're excited to one day do a built-in in here with an updated fireplace.


the kitchen. while it's not really my style - the storage and island sure are nice.


the breakfast nook.


the empty living room and dining room. these will be empty for a while which nate is thrilled about. he runs and runs in circles trying to catch people with his butterfly net.


I'll keep ya posted on the arrival of our little man . . .