Advice for New Moms

I went to a baby shower for my friend today. We were supposed to bring our best advice. I wrote mine on a scroll. Since I have about 101 pregnant friends, I thought I would post my thoughts...
Here it is as best as I can remember (plus some).

* The day you have your baby will be one of the coolest days ever!
* Take your makeup to hospital. You'll want to feel pretty while you're there.
* Lots of people will see your business. You won't care. Use the mirror - it's cool.
* Don't be a wimpy pusher. They'll tell you "push like you're pooping!" Gross, I know.
* Right when he comes out, that's cue for hubby to start snapping pics and taking videos. You'll want to see them and remember all those special moments.
* While Dad is following the baby around while he's being weighed and checked, the doc will be delivering your placenta and maybe stitching you up. You'll be so proud.
* The baby is gonna look a little funny. Don't worry. His head will go back to normal and the nurse will wipe all the goo off.
* When you take pictures in the hospital bed, sit as strait up as possible and stick your chin out to avoid the double chin.
* His first poop will be black and sticky.
* Your first poop will probably be scary (especially if you tore).
* Around Day 2 you might start to feel a little sad. You might cry and cry. It's ok. It's normal, and it only lasts a couple weeks.
* Nurses are awesome. They'll give hugs if you need one and hubby isn't there.
* Steal as many of the fake hospital panties as you can. (Just ask, and the nurses will give you lots). They're sexy ~ fish net!
* Take all the meds for your area, too. Make an epi-foam/tucks sandwich in your fancy fish net underoos.
* Also take the bulb syringe (booger sucker-outer), and little baby brush - they're better than what you buy. And all the diapers, too. You'll need them.
* You might cry when you leave the hospital. It's ok. I did, too.
* After a couple days your boobs are going to be huge. You'll look like a porn star. Take pictures. (Wear a swim suit or something so you don't really become a porn star).
-----A note to the husband: No, you may not touch the boobs. I know they look awesome, but they're not for you anymore. They hurt. And no, you may not touch that either. Try back in 6, no, 8 weeks. Have a nice sabbatical.-----
* Baby penises are cute, unlike their older counterparts (no offense, dudes). Take care of it - Vaseline in a tube is great. Wash with water (no soap) too.
* Doctor's Orders: take two months off. Keep the baby away from creepers. Make people wash their hands if you want them to hold him.
* Let people help you! Whether it be watching the baby so you can sleep, or bringing you dinner. People love to help a new mom.
* Being a mom is the hardest job in the world. BUT, it is the most important job in the world. And the most rewarding job in the world. You can do it!
* You are going to be exhausted. You will think you are never going to get a full night's sleep again, but you will. And you don't even have to wait 18 years. (They just have to be both 2 months and 10 pounds to make it through the night). It will take work, though.
* Don't use baby powder - it goes in their lungs. BUT, you can put it on after sunscreen to avoid sand sticking at the beach.
* You also don't need to buy those fancy bags for dirty diapers. Just use produce bags from the store.
* Diaper cream that comes with an applicator is awesome. BUT, it was my idea 5 years ago and someone stole it, so give me some credit.
* Even if your baby is dressed in blue or green, he will be called a girl. He's just pretty. It's ok.
* If you ever think your baby has been possessed by the devil, he is most likely teething. Try some Tylenol and Baby Orajel. (If it's not teeth, it could be an ear infection or maybe acid reflux).
* Boys are noisy. It's ok - that's why they're so cool. Girls are actually really noisy too, but their squeals are often so high-pitched only dogs can hear them.
* Always have a snack with you. Always.
* Cargo pants may make you look like a granola hippy, but you can put all your stuff in them: phone, keys, 4 packs of fruit snacks, a binky, and a granola bar.
* Practice running in all sorts of shoes on all sorts of terrain. A good place to start is stilettos on grass.
* Remember, you can do it! You're little baby is a gift from Heavenly Father and you will be so blessed from all your hard work. Being a mom is awesome. Welcome to the club.

Time passes so fast. Take every day in and enjoy every moment, even in the middle of the night when you wish you were asleep. There will be a time when you wish your Kindergartner would let you just hold him and rock him. They grow up so fast!

I think I owe you some pictures:

Ben put up an awesome backsplash while I was out of town.
We had a little fine tuning to do when I got back.
You can see my piping skills came in handy.

These boys got to go shoot each other with paintballs the day before Father's Day. Ben came home the most abused. Apparently he ran out of ammo and made a run for it. He looked like he had 5 nipples and he had some awesomely colorful bruises on his legs, too. Then there was a nice gash on his knee... my fault - I put him in holy jeans for his "surprise."

Summertime is awesome. Lucas is working on mastering the cannon ball.

Evan loves the water, too.

I made this shirt for Lucas to wear to school today for their 4th of July party.
Also, Lucas likes chocolate ice cream.

Evan was pleasantly surprised by some bubbles the other day.
He also thinks it's perfectly acceptable to sit on the table.

Our summer break is almost over. Lucas starts Kindergarten in three weeks. I can't believe it. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself. We're going to have to start waking up earlier, going to bed earlier, and being organized. Ugh. Plus, I'll miss that kid like crazy!

Kiddie Triathlon

Today was the annual Kiddie Triathlon that our friends put together. It was in our neighborhood, where the kids first ran around a retention pond, then biked around the block, then swam in the pool (and not the pond thankfully).

Lucas was pretty excited - he wanted to run fast like a cheetah and swim like a shark (thanks to his swim lessons he had in ABQ-post coming soon). As far as the biking, Lucas hasn't learned to ride a bike. He has been more interested in picking grass to put in the back of his trike, then pedaling the trike. And the bike we have is a little big, but we got it out last night to practice and he tried really hard. He put forth a good effort and was pleased with himself, but we knew today would be hard.

Lucas did a great job on the run. He ran the whole way with me and was a total trooper. His little pale face was bright pink when he hopped on his bike and headed off with Ben. He was so cute. I got ready to get in the pool with him while he rode his bike. And he took a while... finally Lucas and Ben came around the corner, I gave him some water and he ran to the pool with me. He did a great job in the water practicing his pulls and kicking to the wall and back. He was a happy boy when he finished.

He was even happier when he dug through the cool loot in his goodie bag. Thanks, Jamie and Sandra for all your hard work!

Update: Ben just told me what happened while they were on the bike ride. First of all, Ben took him on the long route, which I wasn't planning on doing. So, he started out leading the pack, then Ocean zoomed by and Lucas said, "Good job, Ocean!" Kids kept passing Lukie, and Ben was worried that Lucas was going to be upset. All the sudden, Lucas said, "I hope Jamie is taking good care of Evan." (Evan was still asleep when we left and Jamie R. was really nice and stayed home with him). How sweet that he was thinking of Evan while he was working so hard on his bike. And finally, Lucas said, "I wonder how many kids are behind me still... I might be the last one." Ben said, he might be, but Lucas was ok with that.... he must have known he would still have the chance to swim like a shark. Love that kid.
Also, they just got back from the library. Lucas came home with five educational videos. Ben suggested "Pinocchio", but Lucas said, "No, I want the one about mammals instead." He's so funny. And obsessed with animals right now, fyi.

When we got home Evan had some fun of his own in the water. He's so cute.

It's been a while....

It's been a while since we last visited on this here blog. Things have happened - amazingly glorious things. Well, maybe that's an exaggeration, but things have happened.
Like, Ben had a birthday. While Lucas was at school that day, I made one pan of lemon cake and one pan of Mississippi Mud Cake - aka brownies with marshmallows and chocolate frosting on top. Awesome. After I picked Lucas up from school we headed downtown and surprised Ben at work. His coworkers were very excited.
Ben's birthday dinner was quite lame in comparison. We had a salad and roasted broccoli. Lame. But a week later we had our official celebration when I busted out the cake and the friends. Ben wanted a "cookie cake" for his birthday. But he didn't want a cookie cake in the traditional sense - a big huge cookie. Ben's cookie cake had to actually include cake. So, I made a giant chocolate chip, coconut, pecan cookie for the bottom layer. In the middle, vanilla ice cream. On top a dense chocolate cake. The cake was covered in luscious chocolate ganache frosting. Mmm. I think next time I would forgo the ice cream in the middle and just serve it on the side, as it was totally necessary with such a chocolaty cake.

We've been spending a lot of time at the park lately because the weather has been so awesome. Evan loves to play in the tunnels and just this past weekend discovered the glory that is climbing up the slide. He's a stud. If it's just us at the park, Lucas and I spend a lot of time playing "Monster" in which I chase him in circles around the playground until we both get tired. It's a great way to tire a kid out and run off the muddy buddies the mom shouldn't have eaten.

Last week I booked a job as a hand model for Dell. While I was out Jamie was kind enough to babysit for me. I owed her, so I decided to host a pizza party/movie night Friday so she and Chris could go out. The kids were good at ate a ton of pizza and carrot sticks. I didn't know quite how to deal with feeding two babies, but Evan found a good solution all by himself. I just put the food in two piles on the highchair and he stood there the whole time eating right next to Miles.

It's great having these guys right across the street from us. Jamie and I take turns running three times a week, so Anna and Lucas get three play dates a week. They play really well together now, which is awesome.
Some funny stuff:
When we first started our running dates, I overheard Lucas talking about, "Mom and Jamie running errands."
Lucas thinks a lot about his future for such a young lad. Several times a week he makes reference to when he grows up and becomes a daddy. Sometimes he worries about whom he is going to marry. He doesn't quite understand that there is more to the world and that he will meet more people. I had to break it to him that he can't marry me or his cousin, Madison. I think he understands now. A few weeks ago he was upset because he asked Eden to marry him while he was at gymnastics and apparently she turned him down. But a few days later Eden and her family were at our house for dinner and as they left he chased her out and said, "Some day I'm gonna marry you, Eden!"
But, the boy has a heart like a 15-year-old because the other day it was all about Anna. Apparently her goodbye after our run Friday morning wasn't sufficient. Probably because he was throwing a fit or running away. He started crying about not getting to say goodbye, etc. I told him Anna would be back in a few hours for our movie night. We talked about how fun it was to have a friend across the street, how they could grow up together.... eventually we got sidetracked talking about all the great milestones as we grow up... we had gotten to college graduation and then Lucas brought it right back to Anna: "I want Anna to be my woman."
Lucas is a stud - a reading stud. The other day we congratulated him for reading something, and he said, "Congratulations, I!"
Lucas is also a memorization stud. He is great at memorizing the Articles of Faith. He is on #3 right now and said it in Primary the other day loud and clear. He's so awesome.

Evan is awesome too. He's so happy. He wants to walk, but he's not quite there yet. Soon. I'm not really worried about it because he already gets into everything. EVERYTHING. He loves to play in the pantry and likes to break into the bathrooms. Today while I was doing my hair I actually heard the unfortunate sound of splashing. I guess unrolling all the TP had gotten old, so he moved onto swimming.
Last week Jamie P. came to borrow something. When she came in she had a handful of old PB&Js. The sandwiches she thought Haven had been eating for weeks were actually stashed under the car seat. She deposited them in my trash can. After she left Evan was standing next to me and the trash can. Before I knew it I heard a crunch, crunch, crunch. Guess what he found? A delicious peanut butter crouton.
And just today he got into the humidifier I was cleaning in the bathroom. I made it a split second before he put the toothbrush I was cleaning it with into his mouth. Gross.

Anyhow, we're busy. We're crazy. I love my rad boys.

Snow What Fun!

It doesn't snow often in Austin. And it's been 15 years since it's been this cold in Austin. We've been below freezing with highs around 24. I've made Evan wear a little snow suit when we leave the house and it works great!
Today we had the second snow we've seen in Austin since we moved here. Last February we had a slight dusting one day. But today we got dumped on! I'm talking a whole inch or two. School was canceled and parents got to stay home from work. Yippee!

Our Snow Day began with some Huevos Rancheros, then we went outside for some snow fun with the Rothes. Evan wasn't a fan, but Lucas had a blast!

Bowling for Pizza

On Saturday we went bowling with some friends. The bowling alley was very fancy schmancy - not the type of place that should require prior immunizations. Lucas and Ben got a deal where they got unlimited bowling for 2 hours, plus unlimited pizza. (I opted to watch since my back still hurt). Lucas was in heaven. He ate about three pieces of pizza - more than he's ever eaten in his life. He got to drink a Coke... and spilled it on the stairs. And he had fun bowling as well. Ben did pretty awesome, I might add. I managed to get one of his awesome tricks on video:

To have a buddy...

This Summer Lucas made a great friend. Bently and Lucas both love trains, cars, firefighters, planes, and all things manly. This was the first little man friend Lucas has had who is actually his age and lived close by! It was amazing to see the difference in the way they would play together versus when Lucas played with girls... These two usually managed to work out their own problems, maybe fight a little, but then move on, with no hard feelings. It was great. Sadly, Bently and his family were just here for an internship and are driving back to Utah this weekend. I don't think Lucas quite understands that Bently isn't just going on vacation.

Hopefully Lucas has learned a little bit about friendship - how fun it is to have a good friend, about making friends, and being a good friend.
Lucas thought it would be fun to give Bently a firefighter helmet just like his, so yesterday when Bently came to say goodbye (and drop off some food - thanks, Nat!) Lucas gave him his hat. They had lots of fun playing firefighters with pool noodles as their hoses. Then there was a sad hug goodbye and some chasing, and they were off... Today Lucas said, "I forgot to tell Bently Thank You for being my best friend!" I told him he could tell him on the computer. Until then...
Bye, Natalie, Shane, Bently and Beckham! We'll miss you. Move back next year!