Lucy Boo

Isn't she totally adorable!!!

Lucy is it the best baby, we all just ohh and ahh over her.

Lucy is now over two months old and she is so sweet. My best friend Andee Durrant McDonald took these pictures, aren't they gorgeous?!?! She has brought so much joy to our family already. She has started to give us little smiles, and she scrunches up her nose...I just melt. Marshall gave her the best nickname; Boo Boo which has turned into Lucy Boo. Kids really come up with the best nicknames. Last Sunday I was very blessed to sit in one of the best sacrament meeting christmas programs ever. I was seriously in pure heaven rocking Lucy while listening to the beautiful music. Christmas is such a fun time to have a newborn.

It's a Girl!!!

Woman love to share their personal sagas of giving birth and I am no exception. Please pardon my indulgence.

It was October, 9th and Mama Sloan was very pregnant with our little mystery baby, and very anxious to deliver. I went on a long walk in the morning, stepping up and down curbs, took evening primrose, and ate lots of pineapple...still no action. So, we decided to enjoy the fall weather and go for a hike near Hiese Hot Springs. By the next morning I was especially anxious to go into labor because 10-10-10 would be the best birthday ever. So, I took it up a notch and went for a run, it felt fast to me but I am sure it looked more like a shuffle. Still no action.

I was scheduled for an induction on Monday morning at 5:00. I really don't like inductions because they take away your mobility, but when you live far away from family and have two kids you do what you have to do. I have been preparing most of the summer to attempt another natural childbirth, after two failed attempts with Lamaze/Bradley methods I studied Hypnobabies. I am just not made for pain, remind me next time to just get the epidural and enjoy the ride. The hypnobabies worked beautifully during mild contractions, I got several naps during the day (although the soothing voice on the CD's would tell me I wasn't sleeping, I was just in a deep state of hypnosis). But, when the pain intensified (after my water broke) it was a total joke, I could not concentrate enough to do crap (pardon my crass language, it's just the truth). I tried to tough it out, but once again I got to a point that it was just too discouraging; only at a four after hours of intense laboring. So, I was reduced to begging for the epidural. It took about 40 minutes for my wish to be granted, I was a bit of a mess during this time. It was not a pretty sight, lots of "dammit this hurts"...and hyperventilating and screaming "owe, owe, owie!" I got the epidural at 8 p.m. and they checked me right after and I was at a 9. I delivered at 8:45.

As the baby came out Aram announced to me that it was a girl. We were both so happy that we both shed some tears as we held our beautiful Lucy Jean. She was so beautiful. I treasure that moment when they placed her in my arms for the first time, it was such a sweet, tender time. She was 6 Ib. 9 oz, 20 inches tall, and very healthy.

Over the last few weeks we have been taking it really easy and just enjoying getting to know Lucy. She has a very sweet temperment and sleeps a lot. The boys are totally loving her, and will be awesome protectors of their little sis. Marshall has already given her a nickname, Boo Boo. I think it's a good one seeing that she was born in October.

Baby Countdown

We are down to the wire at our house, in less than than two weeks life will forever change by adding another child to our family. We can't wait to see what this little baby will be, boy or girl, and what he/she will bring to our family with it's unique personality.

I remember when we were about to have both Sheppard and Marshall how it was so hard to imagine our family life with another person. Now I can't imagine life without them. I feel the same way right now in anticipation of this new little one. It's hard to imagine the changes that are just around the corner. I can't wait to see the changes and challenges that will come.

First, What in the heck is this BABY!!! Now that I am at this point in the pregnancy I am so glad we didn't find out the sex, the anticipation for that revelation make it very exciting.

Next, what will he/she look like? What will we name it? What will it's personality be like, will she be like Shep or Marshall, me or Aram or totally unique? Will it be a good baby, how will I cope with postpartum?

There are of course the scary questions that you try and avoid thinking about...will the labor go well? Is the baby healthy and strong? With any of these type of thoughts come the realization that if something is wrong we will deal with it and in the end no matter what everything will work out for the best.

Then come the questions of how this baby will change the family. I can't wait to see Marshall become an older brother, and Sheppard further develop in this role. If it's a girl it will be fun to see how Aram is with her, and if I feel differently towards her than my boys.

Life has been a bit of a whirlwind over the last 6 months with the new job, trying to sell the house, then renting the house, living in a hotel, then living in a cheapy student apartment, trying to buy a short sale and the uncertainty that came with it, buying a new house and moving all while being pregnant. But, I am sooooo grateful we are now settled and ready for this new stage in our life. I know life will only get crazier two weeks from now, but I just feel so happy to be settled and have a nest for my little chicks.

Holy Cow I Have Cute Kids

Marshall is absolutely in love with cows. If you ask him what his favorite animal is he'll tell you it's a cow (how many kid's favorite animal is a cow??? wierd, but cute). When I ask him what he dreamt about last night he'll always respond "Cows." So, you can imagine his excitement when we pass a field of cows while driving.

One day as we were passing one such field of cows he exclaims with pure joy "Holy Cow, it's cows!" over and over again. Sheppard jumped on Marshall's and quickly corrected him, "Marshall it's not Holy Cow, it's Holy Ghost." Marshall must have misunderstood and starts exclaiming "Holy Goats, it's Cows."

Oopsy-Daisy

Two words you never want to hear when your wife is cutting your hair, "Oh crap." I have been cutting Aram's hair for almost 8 years now, I think I have gotten pretty good at it over the years. I guess I got a little casual because on this last Do I was just chatting away, and then I realized the attachment had fallen off...it was too late he already had a nearly bald strip in the back. It doesn't help when your wife is just about in hysterics, laughing and screaming "Oh no, oh no, oh no" as she hops around the room. I hope that Aram will look at these pictures some day and find them as hysterical as I do!
We tried to cover it up with a hat...didn't work.

Our Ironman Dad

The Fan Club

The boys and I followed Dad around the town from one leg of the race to another. They were great little cheerleaders!
The Run

This was the very last stretch and Aram looked super strong.

At first, when he got off his bike and started running he was barely at

a shuffle because he was a bit stiff from the ride.
The Bike

Aram's bike is way retro-old. He told me he was a bit frustrated when a husky girl passed him on the bike because of his lack of gears, a piece of humble pie never hurt anyone.
The Swim

This part of the race was the hardest to watch, I just kept thinking "that is soooo long to swim."
Doesn't he look enthusiastic?

Flathead Lake

This year we tried a "You Pick" cherry orchard. Marshall was loving life, he ate more than he picked. We made some yummy cherry jam with our pickins.
Hanging out in the hammock with cousins, Lachlan and Joette.
Marshall would disappear often only to be found in Grandma's garden, working hard at making a mighty good mess.
Wild ride to Wild Horse Island. It was pouring rain on our way there, but it cleared up and ended up being a great day of hiking, and swimming.

Our Grandpa Rocks!

We are so proud of our groovy Papa Dude. He is in a band called the "Shamrockers", they play folksy Irish music; some traditional and some original songs. On our visit to Montana this summer we were "Lucky" enough to see our Papa Dude jam out at The Columbia Falls Fair.

Summer Review

Marshall got potty trained!!! Sheppard was a great helper, showing him the ropes of how to pass the time while "working things out."
The boys at Jackson Lake, with the Tetons in the background. We made a trip with Lou Lou and Pampa, the lake was a little too chilly to swim but the boys had a great time throwing rocks and going on little adventures.
Row, Row, Row your Boat. Lou Lou took the boys out on a ride in the raft. We felt very spoiled having Grandma and Grandpa all to ourselves.
Sheppard and Pampa on a hike at Jenny Lake.
One of our local favorites, Big Jud's Burgers. Our whole family can split this one hamburger.

Yellowstone Trip #2

On this day-trip we had many adventures along the way.

Marshall has this small obsession with throwing rocks into water, usually this is a fun and simple way to pass an afternoon, not so in Yellowstone. See at Yellowstone you spend your day hiking and looking at pools of water, and there are millions of rocks to choose from along the way, but there is also a $1000 fine..try explaining this to a very determined 2 year old whose favorite pass-time is throwing rocks in water. We stopped to watch some Buffalo by a river and Marshall had was in heaven throwing his rock. To get him to get back in the car Aram gave him a rock for our next spot. Our next spot was a hike to hot pots. I tried to get Marshall to give me his rock, he wouldn't. I tried to get him to throw it in the trees, he wouldn't. Once we got to the hot pot I tried prying the rock from his little hands, he's got a very firm grip. When he saw his chance he chucked the rock, but luckily it ricqoched off the fence. I swept up the rock before Marshall could get it. This was the beginning of a very long tantrum. As we continued on the hike we passed a small stream I gave the rock back to Marshall and told him to throw it in the water. "NO, big water." He wasn't going to settle for a measly stream when there were bigger fish to fry. So we were back to square one, trying to get the rock from Marshall before Marshall got the rock into a hot pot. Once again luck was on our side...if you call being on a hike with a tantrum throwing two year old luck, the hot pots were too far off for him to make it and so he catapulted the rock over the fence and fell short. He was pretty upset that it didn't make it into the water and set off to find another rock. At which point we decided to carry back to the car.

The next Sigfred and Roy???

We have made many trips to the Tauphaus Zoo in the short time we have been living in Idaho. From these pictures you would think that the boys were totally crazy about the Tigers, it's not true don't let them fool you. On our first visit in May I was holding Marshall as we were watching the Tiger, then he let out a very mean, hungry growl, it made me jump. I don't know if it was my jumpiness or the actually roaring but now Marshall has a major aversion to Tigers. Every time we go to the zoo now he freaks out when he know we are getting close to the Tiger cage.

Yellowstone Trip #1

Aram's parents were so kind to come and watch the kids while we did some house hunting in Idaho Falls. On Sunday we decided to make a trip through Yellowstone and down through the Tetons and back again. It was super cold, it was like we went back to February. It was difficult to coax the boys out of the car to see the Buffalos and mud pots. I especially enjoyed out picnic in the snow. I don't think the boys saw much on the hikes because the wouldn't take their blankets off their heads. I haven't been to Yellowstone for years, and it was like the first time for me, I got giddy when I saw the hot pots bubbling over and the Old Faithful.

An Update

Here's a quick update on life since last I wrote, so much has happened to us in the last five months that it seems overwhelming to blog about it. But I will do a quick synopsis and then start blogging fresh from here on out.

-We found out we were pregnant, a total surprise baby. We are super excited but had to make some changes in plans we had made (changing my registration for the Ogden Marathon from a full to a half.)

-Had a miscarriage scare when I was about two months along. Much to our relief it was pain caused most likely by a cyst. And baby was fine!!!

-We made a trip to St. George to see G.G. and Papa Don and our Auntie Brady. We had a great time hiking, swimming, and catching up.

-Sheppard turned 4 years old in March. I can't believe how old he is getting. We went to Chuck E. Cheeses for his birthday with our little family. And, in true Sheppard fashion he freaked out about the animatronics and all the noise (kids), but once he realized there were video games there he snapped out of his fit.

-In April Aram started to look for a new job. There were a number of factors involved with this decision, some of which were he really wanted to get back into the food industry (it's much more regulated than the vitamin industry which is a big bonus when you are interested in Quality), his company continued to take things from employees despite record profits, health insurance was a big one and no raises company wide for two years. Aram loved who he worked with and made some great friends there, but he felt it was time to move on. As we began looking for new jobs we worked through food industry recruiters. Many of the jobs he was applying/interviewing for were East/West coast. So, we were really excited when he got an interview with Basic American Foods in Idaho. He landed the job, Quality Assurance Manager, and here we are 6 weeks later living in a hotel (short term) in Rexburg, Idaho. So far he is really impressed with the company and is excited about their commitment to producing a quality product, and really likes his job so far.

-We worked hard getting our house ready to put up for sale...it's officially on the market for a screaming deal. So we are crossing our fingers that we can get our house sold so we can move on with a house in Idaho.

-We have been house hunting in Idaho Falls...which is super fun trying to find a place that is a good fit for our family/lifestyle.

-All four of the girls in my family were pregnant. The day before mother's day we had a girl's day at my parent's house. My sister Lindsee was on bedrest at 29 weeks because she had toxemia, and my sister Kelsie was about 37 weeks along and seemed to be a bit miserable. We let them relax and we were just hanging out, we decided to take our blood pressure just for fun (what we pregnant girls do for fun). Lindsee's blood pressure was through the roof, and I am sure all her crazy sisters made it go 20 points higher. She ended up having to deliver her baby that night. Baby Elli is our miracle baby, she was about 2 1/2 pounds. She still is in the NICU a month later but she is progressing really well. The day after Elli was born Kelsie went into labor and had cute little Cormac. It was a crazy mother's day weekend. We went from four prego sisters to two in two days.

-Sheppard finished his first year of preschool. We sure had a great time doing our co-op with Ephraim, Walter and Neal and their fabulous Mommies (teachers). We will miss you next year.

-Papa Dude and Gramma Judy came to help us on our house browsing trip. We did a road trip up through Yellowstone, down to the Tetons and through Jackson and back; it was a long, memorable day. I will never forget our picnic in the snow, or Marshall's reaction when he first saw a hot pot (he just giggled and thought it was hilarious.) The boys had a great time with their grandma and grandpa.

-We are currently staying in a hotel in Rexburg. We will rent an apartment for the remainder of the summer once our temp housing is done and hopefully by then we will be able to buy/move into a house in Idaho Falls. But, for now we are enjoying our food allowance, the pool, not having to make our beds. To be honest I feel a little bit guilty, it's like we are on a perpetual vacation. But, I am trying to put the guilt aside and really enjoy this time I have with the boys, without all the distractions of home life. I really have the sweetest boys in the world, as of late Marshall has been calling me "Mama" and it just about melts my heart along with his constant hugs and loves.

I know I missed a million little moments that really make up the fibers of our life during the last five months. But, those are the high/low lights, and I will try and do better about recording the small moments.

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Role Reversal Bedtime

We have changed to 1:00 o'clock church (oh joyous). Due to this, Marshall's schedule is thrown totally out of whack. Today he didn't get a nap, so we put him down early for bed. About a half hour later Shep accidentally woke him up. So Marshall's mind and body were acting like he had taken a nap. After several attempts at trying to put him back in his bed we then asked him if he wanted to sleep with Shep. He snuggled up to him, and kept saying "Shep's a baby" and rubbed his back and head, and gave him lots of kisses. He then went on to cover his older brother in pillows. I thought he might eventually fall asleep but soon I heard the noises of a lively farm. Marshall was up and about "mooing" his little heart out playing with the Little People's Farm.

Plan B failed, onto plan C. Aram laid down with Marsh in our bed. After about five minutes of cooperating Marshall thought of a new plan. He thought to turn this into bedtime for Daddy. He tucked him in, gave him kisses and went on to follow our routine with him. He said "SHHH, stay here..." then went to the door and said "I going to shut da door", he opened and shut the door about four times and repeated this several times. On his last time he said, "Stay there, love you, shut da door." That was the end of it, Aram was officially tucked in by his two year old son.

So, here I am at 9:50 p.m. writing on my much neglected blog with the small sounds of two year old gabbing to himself as he lie in his bed. I must note he originally went to bed at 6:00. If he is true to his nap schedule he should fall asleep at about 11:30 tonight (bedtime is about 5 hours after naptime).

Nursury Rhymes

We have been learning nursury rhymes in preschool for the last couple of weeks. Shep loves to retell them to me. He has his own versions of the old classics.

Shep:"This Little Piggy went to the market, this little stayed home, this little piggy had roast pee, this little piggy had none..."-I don't know about you, but roast pee sound pretty nasty to me.

These next ones come from a nursury rhyme book we were reading, I would read part of each rhyme and he would finish them. He was looking at the pictures to find the right words, this is what he came up with.

Me: "It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is..."

Shep: "Laying in his bed."

Me: "Rub-a-dub-dub, Three men in a..."

Shep: "Bucket"

Me: "Little Miss..."

Shep: "Muffin"

Me: "Sat on a..."

Shep: "Tuffer"

I don't think he quite gets the rhyming thing yet.