Emily’s Musings

I’m not exactly known as a “super thoughty person” who always plans really cool stuff for birthdays, anniversaries, and other important events. (People like me for other reasons, like for shopping and fashion advice and every once in a while, someone actually appreciates my knowledge of useless celebrity facts). So this shouldn’t be a surprise to many of you, but two milestones worth mentioning went unmentioned.

The first was our 11th anniversary. It’s not that we didn’t celebrate, because we totally did by power shopping (which is my least favorite kind of shopping for the record) and getting a yummy shake at Iceburg. Fun, huh? It’s not that we didn’t want to celebrate, and it’s not that the 11th anniversary is lame, it’s more like WE’RE LAME. Dallin was home sick, (we had three doctor appointments that day, NOT KIDDING) and I just didn’t feel like leaving my 10 day old newborn for an entire evening. Especially since he was sick! Next year, I promise to celebrate better. Hear that David? Mark your calendar, because our 12th anniversary is going to be AWESOME!

One detail worth noting: I got my original wedding ring sized to fit me (it was like eight sizes too small). I haven’t worn it in about seven years (I’m embarrassed to admit this) and I’m glad to have it back on my finger.

Also, David had a birthday last week. Not a significant one (you know like, entering a new decade) but a birthday none the less. Too bad for David, his birthday was completely overshadowed by Hannah’s birthday party. He better get used to it right?

On his birthday, David gave me a hug and said, “I want to grow old with you.” And I was all, um, that already happened.

David bought himself a golf club (one he really wanted, or needed, or whatever) and told me it was his birthday present from me.

THANK YOU FOR GETTING ME OFF THE HOOK.

I know he loves this specific golf club, because he thanks me for it every time he comes home from playing golf. I just smile and and give him the look that says, I’m an awesome wife. I let you buy your own presents, and then allow  you to thank me for it. It’s kind of like saying, hey, I’M TOTALLY PAYING ATTENTION TO YOUR NEEDS.

I’m pathetic. I’ll try harder next year.

Happy Pioneer Day, Utah! (For those of you who are not familiar with “Utah Pioneer Day”, just know that it’s a state holiday, celebrating the day the Utah Pioneers crossed the plains and settled in Utah. This holiday is as big as the 4th of July around here . . .) To celebrate, we lit some sparklers.

I know, we are such party animals.

We had to light the sparklers while it was still light outside so Hannah could enjoy them. Hannah turns into a pumpkin around 7:00 PM, so waiting to light these suckers in the dark was just not an option. Seriously, the sun doesn’t set until 9:30 PM around here. (Isn’t David handsome? I sure think so . . .)

Hannah only had to be told to HOLD THE SPARKLERS OUT IN FRONT OF HER (and not directly at David) 1,298 times.

She sure had a great time. In case you were wondering why she is modeling so many hair clips . . . All I have to say is SHE IS TWO YEARS OLD. SHE WANTED TO WEAR THEM. ALL OF THEM. Need I say more?

Earlier today, I celebrated by leaving the house ALL BY MYSELF to go shopping. I made some great purchases, and found much more to buy than I anticipated. (What can I say? I’m an expert shopper!)

One purchase is worth mentioning, because it will CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Well, it will change the way you feel in your own skin, which will make you feel better about your body.

SPANKS. Every woman needs a pair. No, every woman needs two or three pairs (you know, one to wear, one to wash, and one to rest). You will automatically lose inches around your waist and they are SO COMFORTABLE. I used to carry these at our Bridal store and I would sell them to every bride. They tighten you in all the right places. They are wonderful. So wonderful, that I didn’t even feel crappy about paying full price for them (I no longer have the luxury of buying them at cost since I no longer own a business). Plus, Nordstrom is offering them at 25% off right now during their half yearly sale. GO. BUY THEM. You’ll be emailing me with how much you love them. I recommend the “Higher Power Spanks.”

For those of your needing a baby fix . . .

Our little man Dallin likes to sleep. A lot.

Sometimes, all this sleeping makes him stinky. And we believe in personal hygiene . . .

He also likes to suck his thumb. A LOT. It’s darling now, but I would much prefer that he suck on a binkie. I’m not a fan of jacked up teeth, and if he keeps up with this habit, he will be on the fast track to owning JACKED UP TEETH.

But I agree, it is SO CUTE right now.

We sure do love this guy!

Happy birthday Hannah! You are two years old today! We celebrated your birthday on Saturday (July 19th, which happens to be your daddy’s birthday) and we all had a wonderful time! You are such and angel, we love you so much!

As we were setting up for the party, you got VERY excited when you saw the balloons. You kept saying, “Happy birt-day party for Hannah?” And then you would squeal, “PARTY! FOR HANNAH!” You have never been to to a birthday party, so I’m not sure how you knew what all the fuss was about.

We set up an event tent and filled up your swimming pool and you went nuts. When Malaya arrived, you were both ready to hop into the pool with your clothes on.

You LOVE Nemo and marshmallows, so your birthday cake consisted of the two. YOU LOVED IT. It turned out to be a great “kid cake.” The adults ate your dad’s cake which was a rich silky chocolate cake.

Dallin was at your party as well. He is not much of a partier. He LOVES to sleep, and since he wasn’t feeling well (he caught a cold) he slept in his bouncer chair while you and your cousins partied.

You recieved several nice gifts from family and friends. You weren’t that excited about opening presents, and it was almost a chore to get you to focus on opening your gifts. You wanted to join your cousins, Malaya and Savannah, in the pool where they were playing. They weren’t interested in watching you open your gifts, and they started swimming instead. In this photo you are actually watching them swim and saying over and over again, “Go swimming? PEAS?”

After the exhausting task of opening all your gifts, you joined your cousins in the warm pool. (Thanks to your dad for making the water warm) On your left is Malaya, (AKA as “Alpha Toddler #1) and on your right is your cousin Savannah (You used to refer to her as FADANNAH! and she is AKA Alpha Toddler #2) The three of you had a wonderful time playing in the water. You were all so cute to watch!

Happy birthday Hannah! We love you!

I received some great baby gifts made by some friends. I’m posting pictures of them so all of you can steal these ideas for the next baby shower you attend!

First, this “baby cake” was made by a friend of mine in Texas.

It is so cute and looks pretty easy to make. You know any mom-to-be could use the diapers, and other goodies used to decorate this cake. Thanks Karen!

Second, my friend Pam made me these gifts:

This is a wipe holder

These are fancied up cloth diapers to be used as burp cloths.

Now, I would like to mention that my JAW DROPPED when Pam gave me these gifts. Why? Because Pam doesn’t sew . . . or at least I didn’t know she did. I might be “outing” her right now, but honestly, I didn’t know she knew how to use a sewing machine, let alone owned one!

Thanks for the fun, crafty gifts ladies!

It’s a good thing we don’t have jobs because we wouldn’t be able to work and fit in all these doctor appointments! Almost every day for the past two weeks, one of us has had a doctor or dentist appointment. Today, Dallin went to the doc, I went to the OB for my post c-section check-up, and David had to go to the dentist. David and I both need some dental work done (living in the Caribbean for 2 1/2 years without dental care can certainly ring up a big bill for you) and honestly, all I want to say to the dentist and endodontist is: GET IN LINE. Everyone wants a piece of us (or more accurately, OUR CASH).

Did I mention I had a root canal done last week? Yes, LAST WEEK. The very week I had major surgery. FIVE DAYS AFTER BIRTHING A BABY. I absolutely had no choice, (other than cutting off my head, but then I couldn’t kiss my darling babies, or see them for that matter) and I HAD TO GET THE TOOTH TAKEN CARE OF. The endodontist was so nice, he gave up part of his Saturday morning to drill a hole in my tooth. I was SO HAPPY to be out of the mind numbing pain, I almost felt good about paying him $900 for ONE hour of his time.

But, secretly, I am kind of bummed that I had to spend $900 on a tooth. FOR MAINTENANCE. Honestly, I don’t have a problem spending that much money on any given Saturday, but it is sort of depressing to spend it on something you have to have done. You know, SO YOU DON’T DIE OF PAIN.

There are so many other things I would have liked to spend that money on, like a new SLR Camera, (Yes, we are still obsessed with Nikon cameras) a new post pregnancy wardrobe, a plane ticket to Hawaii, or a new piece of jewelry (hey, it is our 11th anniversary today). Hey, I wouldn’t even mind spending that money at the dentist for teeth whitening, or Invisalign. But for a root canal? There is no buyer satisfaction in that. In fact, I may even have buyer’s remorse.

Moving on . . . I went to the OB today for my post c-section check-up. The nurse was a little surprised to see David and me there. ALONE. WITH NO CHILDREN. I guess that probably did look weird. But Hannah was sleeping (not that we would have taken her anyway. How BORING for a toddler) and Dallin was sleeping and I didn’t want to expose him to nasty doctor’s office germs because I am a teeny, tiny, bit of a CLEAN FREAK at times. Please, don’t tell anyone. I checked out okay, and they nurse noticed I was in REGULAR jeans and she said, “Reguar Jeans? WOW! 10 days after major surgery? That is great!” And you know what? THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS THINKING AS I HEAVED MY FAVORITE JEANS ON OVER MY OVERWORKED POST PREGNANCY BELLY THIS MORNING. It’s nice when others notice. I have five pounds to loose to be at pre-pregnancy weight. This weight should not be confused with pre-Hannah weight. I have certainly have my work cut out for me in six weeks when I can start vigorous workouts again.

It’s a good thing this shirt is made out of polyester. You know, the kind that never-wears-out-regardless-of-how-much-you-abuse-it. This is David’s “lucky shirt. He wore this shirt when Hannah was born, and said he planned to wear it when all of our kids were born. True to his word, here’s the proof:

This is David with Hannah shortly after her birth in 2006.

This is David and Dallin last week.

David has also worn this very-special-tourist-looking-shirt to other important events like the Kaplan exam (the last exam he had on Saba) at the end of last semester. He also wore this shirt three weeks ago when he took the United States Medical Licensing Exam - Step One.

One thing is for sure, this shirt will be in many more pictures in the future. We all better get used to seeing it.

Hannah’s newborn pictures look so much like Dallin. After examining several photos, I’m pretty sure that Hannah is a girl version of Dallin, and Dallin is a boy version of Hannah. Check them out:

Hannah at one week old (check out the long curly eyelashes!)

Dallin at one week old. He looks so much like Hannah, minus the long curly eyelashes of course . . .

This is Hannah . . .

And this is Dallin . . .

They are both so dang cute!

I would like to point out the obvious right now. I AM NO LONGER PREGNANT. This fact alone has increased the quality of my life by at least 100%. I now have a beautiful baby boy named Dallin, and this fact has increased the quality of my life by at least a million percent. He is a doll. I am so in love with him. This is crazy, (and trust me, I know this next statement is crazy) but right after I have a baby, I want another one. Insane? Yes. So even though I HATE pregnancy (many of you have read about my pregnancy complaints so you know I TRULY DO NOT LOVE being pregnant) the final product is SO WORTH IT. In fact, I think I have forgotten all about my pregnancy ailments.

This delivery was pretty uneventful (especially compared to Hannah’s birth). I experienced no labor, (I highly recommend this) and I arrived at the hospital last Monday morning at 38 weeks pregnant for my scheduled c-section. At 8:36 am, I delivered Dallin who weighed in at 9 pounds 12 ounces. He was a tank, and I can only imagine how big he would have been if we waited two more weeks to deliver him on his due date!

When the doctor pulled Dallin out, I literally yelled, “Oh my gosh! I’m no longer pregnant!” Yes, I was THAT HAPPY ABOUT IT.

This is my beautiful son just moments out of my belly.

My recovery from this birth has been smooth. It has been SO MUCH EASIER to recover from this delivery than Hannah’s. It is amazing how much easier it is for your body to recover from major surgery when you haven’t gone through labor first. The hospital staff was wonderful, and having a baby in the USA was much more posh than my experience of giving birth to Hannah in the Caribbean.

I have had a very laid back week of recovering, and enjoying the company of friends and family who have come by to see our new addition. Hannah is absolutely in love with Dallin (much to our relief) and she always asks to kiss and hold him.

Here are some pictures from the week:

I am so glad to be home. I am up and around, and sometimes I actually get out of the house and take my kids on a walk. We love this little guy and Hannah so much. It’s hard to remember back to when David and I didn’t have them in our lives.

Our new little man has arrived! Check him out here.