Spring is Here!!

And hopefully to stay! No more snow please. We are definitely ready to be out of our house on a daily basis. I think Ethan is going stir crazy and I am as well. We love to do anything outside so it'll be nice if this wonderful, sunny weather stays.

I absolutely love Spring. It is my second favorite season (fall being my first). I love the warmth, the smell of flowers, and all the people who come out of their houses for the first time in months. And I love Easter. And General Conference. And going on walks. And the sun! Ok, I pretty much love everything about Spring. I am so happy its here!!

So Brayden turned 3 months yesterday. 3 months! I can't believe its been that long. But at the same time, it feels like he's always been a part of our family. He is so much fun. He is laughing all the time. He smiles like no one's business. He is so chunky and happy, I love it! He is seriously the best baby. He never cries, except when he's tired. And he sleeps fabulously. He usually sleeps about 8-9 hours at night now, which is fantastic. And much needed for my sanity, believe me :) He is still nursing like a champ. Only problem is, he doesn't take a bottle very well, unless its from his aunt Heidi. She got him to eat one in 35 minutes instead of the hour it usually takes. Nice one Heidi! Brayden is starting to stretch some of his 3-6 month clothes so we may be upgrading here soon. We just love our little chunky man. He is such a blessing to our family!

Ethan is a little stud man. What else can I say? I love that kid to pieces. He is so much fun, learning so much everyday. When someone is sad, he'll go ask "What's wrong?" in the cutest, most concerned voice he can. It is so stinking cute. He is a little spit fire too. Literally, he spits a lot. I am getting very fed up with it. He knows he shouldn't do it but he does anyway. Now, he thinks its ok if he spits if there is something in his mouth. So he'll put something, like a piece of thread, in his mouth then spit. When I tell him to not spit, he points to the something and spits again until its out. It drives me crazy! Any advise on how to get him to stop? I love that kid, despite the spitting though. He is so sweet and polite. It melts my heart when he says "Wuv you mom". So sweet! And his laugh is so contagious. He gets laughing and you can't help but laugh too. I love my boys!!! I am so blessed to have such wonderful children.

Happy 2 Months Brayden!

Brayden turned two months on Tuesday. Its insane to me that I have had two kids for two months. Mother of two. Still is so weird to me. Anyway, I took him to his well check Wednesday and his stats are as follows:

13.5 lbs-90%

25" long-95%

Yep, big and tall. And he has a bit of thrush, which isn't that big a deal but can spread to make him have a super bad diaper rash so the doctor put him on some topical stuff that seems to be working. The doctor I took him to is a new one for us. He is really nice and personable. We've gotten to know him quite well this past week. Anyway, back to Brayden. He is showing so much personality these days. He is in size 3 diapers and 3-6 mon clothes. He's our little chunkers! He smiles like crazy, sleeps so well during naps and mostly at nights, and I almost got a real laugh out of him by laughing myself. He is just such a sweet, sweet baby. We can't get enough of him, including his big brother. Ethan loves Brayden, a little too much sometimes. He gives him his blanket and teetee to share with him. It seriously melts my heart. I love my babies :)

Anyway, this week has been a very un-fun week. Brian started feeling a little sick Monday and by Tuesday after work, could hardly function. So he didn't go in Wednesday because he had some time he needed to take off. Thursday he was coughing like crazy, achy everywhere and fevering so I sent him to our new family doctor, Dr. Potter. Well, he was tested for a few different things and it came back that he has RSV. So most adults show RSV as a mild cold and mistake it for that. Well, Brian for some reason got a different strain or something because he is experiencing it as a child would. He hurts everywhere, has a very deep cough and fevering off and on. As a virus, there is nothing they can do except let it run its course. The good doctor did put him on an inhaler for the steroids to help keep his lungs open but that's about it. I feel so bad for him because he never gets sick and when he does, its bad! Poor guy.

Well, all week I have been feeling a sore throat coming on but was thinking it was maybe just a mild cold. I was wrong. Thursday night, I started fevering, my throat swelled up to a point where I had a hard time breathing and I hurt everywhere. I went in to see Dr. Potter Friday morning and he took one look at my throat and said strep. He tested me to make sure and it was positive. So he put me on antibiotics. I started feeling a lot better that night after 2 really good naps and lots of ibuprofen.

Well, we've been cooped up all week since we really didn't want to spread any of this to anyone but poor Ethan was going crazy. Luckily, so far, he hasn't gotten sick at all. Brian and I would be both laying on the couch, not able to lift our heads, and Ethan would be literally tearing our house apart. He was getting restless! But since I have been feeling better, he's been doing a lot better about not destroying things. It was good to see him like that though because we knew he definitely wasn't feeling sick. And sweet Brayden is still super happy so we are thinking he's good too.

I wanted to thank my wonderful mother who brought us homemade chicken noodle soup to help us all feel better. That was very thoughtful and it tasted oh so yummy! Thanks madre! You are the best!

Brian is going to attempt work tomorrow since the doctor said he was only excused until Monday. Yep, Brian had to get a doctor's note for work because he missed more than two days. Isn't that so funny? What a weird place of employment.

Just Pics!

Cutest thing in the world!

Funniest thing in the world! (his hair now lays down thanks to real shampoo, not baby)

Chunky

Posing for the camera

Ethan accidently going down on his own. He was a bit freaked out but smiled in the end.

This kid loves his baths.

And sleeps really funky sometimes.

Just loving the slides. We can't wait for it to warm up for good!

Ahh, my two handsome boys. Love them to death!

Happiest baby in the world.

Putting on the cheese. He never lets me take pictures of him smiling so this was a HUGE deal for me :)

Brayden looks so tiny! Wow he's changed a lot in just a month.

Old man hair. Our neighbor, Zach, called it the cul-de-sac on Sunday and I still can't stop laughing.

One month old. So handsome!

We (Laura, Mary, Tara, Heidi and I) went to visit my grandma just over a month ago and she was so sweet with Brayden. She didn't even know I was pregnant, although I had told her a few times. Sad what old age does :(

I love this picture! She is so happy with Maddi and look how cute Miss Madelyn is. My grandma kept calling her a him and saying how cute HE was. We all just went along with it, giggling on the inside. There is no way this girl could ever be mistaken for a boy. EVER. She's too pretty.

Still No Pics!

So I still can't get the internet on my other computer with the pictures so I have to figure out a new way to do it. Until then, you just get words. Sorry.

Our lives are crazy but great. Brian is busy busy busy with school and work. Ethan is as busy as ever with being 2. I'm not sure how he has the energy he has when he wakes up at 6 or 6:30 every morning and doesn't go to sleep until about 9 at night but he does. And its crazy fun :) I love my boy! Brayden has been such an angel baby. He eats perfect, he sleeps great (still gets up every 3 hours at night but at least its not more), and he smiles like crazy. He is such a happy baby. When he's awake, he just looks around, taking in the world around him. Ahh, I love my life! I just can't believe my baby is already 8 weeks old. He is 2 months next week! Insanity!

Yesterday, Brian had work off since he worked Saturday so we headed to the park. Ethan was in heaven! Brayden wasn't a huge fan because of the wind but it was so fun. Ethan was going crazy on the toys and slides. He absolutely loved the ducks and geese. I thought he was going to get bit by one because he kept getting a little too close. I am so excited for when it gets warm for good so we can do that more often.

Our Valentine's wasn't too exciting. Brian had school that night so we weren't able to do much. He brought me flowers, which are absolutely beautiful. When he got home, we had take-out from Wingers and watched a movie. It was so nice to just be together. Brayden cooperated and went to bed early so we could just be together. It has been awhile since it has been just us. We usually have Brayden snuggled between us. It was so nice!

Anyway, I promise once I get our flash drive out, I will upload pictures. Brayden has changed so much since his newborn post. He's a little chunkers!

What We've Been Up To Lately

Is not much. We do a lot of watching movies and coloring during the day, with lots of playing with dad and making messes at night. Ethan is such a sweet, cute boy sometimes and such a stinker others. This morning, as I was nursing Brayden, Ethan found a stray crayon and colored all over the fridge, floor and top of the laptop. I was so angry! He was in time out for awhile while I calmed down. But he is being so cute too. He talks so much, loves his brother too much sometimes, and is getting so creative. I will hear him talking to himself and I'll ask who he's talking to, and it is usually papa. He sure loves his Grandpa :)

Brayden is getting so big. He is a month old tomorrow. Where has the time gone? He is such a good baby. He eats really well, is super happy when he's awake (mostly), and has smiled a couple times, I swear, on purpose. He focused in on my face and smiled so big yesterday, with no gas following! He is just so cute. He now loves his baths. He has a major double chin and his cheeks are getting huge. I just love my boys! Life couldn't be better.

Brian has started school. He is taking an online math class and a business writing class in Bountiful. He is really enjoying it and I love that he is doing what he loves-learning. Work is still going well. He's just as happy with our two little ones. He asks me almost every night how we got so lucky to have such great kids. And I only say that Heavenly Father must sure love us ;)

I have been feeling great. I don't even feel like I had a baby. This time has been so much better than last time, healing wise. Well, everything has been better this time around. I am totally in love with my children and love that Brayden is such a snuggler. We put Ethan in a toddler bed and he did great the first few nights, then for about a week, he was awful. He would wake up every two hours and it just happened to be when Brayden was asleep. Those were some really long nights but he's back to sleeping till about seven, which is fabulous. Life is wonderful and we couldn't be happier!

*Sorry no pictures. All my pictures are on our other computer, which doesn't have internet at this moment. I will post them when I get that taken care of.

Our Newest Arrival

I love this picture cuz his bum looks so huge :)

Brayden Paul Harding joined our family on December 22nd at 2:35 AM. He weighed 7 pounds 3 ounces and was 20 inches long. Perfect little angel. I went into the hospital, thinking my contractions were nothing since I had been having them for awhile, weeks in fact with no change. I was out shopping with Heidi when she finally convinced me that we needed to go and just see if they were doing anything. When we got there, the nurse checked me and said I was at abouta 3. What?! I was a 4 at my last appointment the week before. I know it changes with every person but really? A 3? I was a little upset seeing as how I had been having the contractions for a few hours and they hurt like crazy. Well, my blood pressure was high enough this time to make me stay. They admitted me and about 45 minutes after the first time I was checked, the new nurse checked me and said I was a 5. Yes! They were doing something. She asked if I wanted my epidural and I said yes! I was done feeling these contractions and ready to have this baby!

Anyway, the anesthesiologist came and had to do the epidural twice because apparently he missed the first time. That hurt like crazy too but once it started working, I didn't mind. Brian showed up about 20 minutes after I had the epidural so he got to see a happy me. Well, about 2 hours later, the nurse checked me again and I was at a 7. When she checked me, it caused my water to break. About 2 minutes later, I started having contractions that I could feel and it wasn't fun at all. So I called the nurse back in and pushed the booster button to get some more medicine. Well, it didn't help so she called the anesthesiologist back in and he gave me about 4 booster shots before they started to work. By that point, I was completely numb but not feeling any pain so I was happy again. So at about 2 AM, the nurse checked me and I was fully dilated and ready to push. Only problem was, I couldn't feel anything so when I pushed, I couldn't tell if I was pushing right or not. They turned off my epidural and I was able to feel a little more and at 2:35 AM, Brayden was born.

He came out with the cord wrapped around his body twice. He didn't cry, just looked around and grunted a little here and there. His oxygen levels were a little low and he was struggling to get air so they put him on oxygen for about 10 minutes and everything was great after that. He honestly didn't cry for about 12 hours. It was insane, seeing as how Ethan came out screaming and didn't stop for 5 months. We only had to stay a little over 24 hours because I begged to go home before Christmas. It was so easy and great this time around. Ethan's birth wasn't so hard but the recovery was a lot more difficult with him. I was up and going the day we got home. I felt and still do feel great and am just loving my little boys to death!

Brayden is growing like a weed. We took him in for his 2 week appointment yesterday and he weighs 8 lbs 4 oz and was 21 1/2 inches-60% for his weight and 95% for his height. He also got circumcised, which is so super sad. But he's doing really well today and still the happiest baby in the world.

Ethan is doing really well with Brayden. The first week he ignored him and when he'd hear him cry or grunt, he'd call him Maddi, Heidi's little girl. But the last few days, he's been really cute with him. Actually calling him Brayden and when he's sad, he'll go rub his head and say "Its ok Brayden. You're ok." It's the sweetest thing. I love seeing them together. I just love my boys!!

Christmas was pretty uneventful. We stayed home mostly. Brayden had to get his bilirubin checked that morning and Ethan got an x-ray done for swallowing a penny but other than that, it was a pretty chill Christmas. We had dinner at my mom's then came home and watched Prison Break.

I know, Ethan looks silly but he wouldn't smile for me. But he really does love his brother.

Look at those cheeks and double chin. Love this face!

Seriously the happiest baby in the world. He smiles all the time.

One of his first baths. He's not a fan still but hopefully will be when we can give him a real bath.

Lately...

Ok so I have so much to write about and as always, no pictures to share. We'll start off with our new place. We moved! Yay! And we love it. We moved into an older town home in a wonderful part of Kaysville. We are really excited about it and our wonderful neighbors :) We haven't really been to church yet due to the fact I can't really sit for more than an hour and it happens to fall right during Ethan's nap, which he CANNOT go without seeing as how he is the orneriest kid at about 1:30. So needless to say we're really excited about the change in time come the new year.

Next would be Thanksgiving. We moved into our house in day before Thanksgiving. For Thanksgiving this year, we headed to my mom's. It was a lot of fun to see everyone. Almost everyone in my family was there for dinner and the rest who weren't, joined us later for yummy pies. It was craziness as always with all the people but so fun to see everyone. I wasn't feeling the greatest so we headed home a little early and just unpacked the rest of the night.

The last few weeks have been a little crazy. Between doctor's appointments and trying to get ready for this baby, with all the Christmas stuff going on as well, we've barely had any time to do anything. Brian is enjoying his work at Lowe's. He's loving his hours and just signed up for school in January, which we are both a little nervous and excited for. Its going to be an adjustment, having him be gone more and have a new baby on top of it but it'll be really good for him to get going. He's really excited about getting back into school and learning.

I have been playing with Ethan, going to doctor's appointments and trying to stay positive about still being pregnant. I know I'm only 38 weeks but when the baby drops at 32 weeks and doesn't move back up, it is a REALLY long 6 weeks. Plus I've been having contractions all the time with little progress which is really frustrating. But we are really excited to have this little one join our family, hopefully before Christmas :) I went to the doctor yesterday and everything is looking ok. I have high blood pressure but not enough for them to start me. I am dilated to a 4 and on my way, my doctor keeps saying. We'll see. She said she'll see me this weekend. I highly doubt it. I think Brayden will come when he's good and ready. Plus we have two family Christmas parties this weekend, which we definitely want to be part of.

Ethan has been such a fun boy lately. He definitely has his days and moments, being two and all, but he has such a fun personality and is beginning to pretend. It is so fun to play with him and watch him interact with Brian. He loves his dad and knows he can only do certain things with his dad, such as wrestling, shooting, things boys do. He also has been getting his 2 year molars, which have been ok. He's a little more sensitive but mostly he's good. He doesn't get sick or fevers or anything with his teeth, which has been such a blessing! He does however turn into a super sensitive bear but we just love him and give him ibuprofen and it seems to help :)

Life is great and we feel so blessed to be at this point in our lives. We are so excited to start new adventures (school, baby) and see what the Lord has in store for us. We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

Pregnancy Happenings

So I wanted to write this down, mostly for my own benefit so I don't forget the details. This past week has been a bit crazy pregnancy wise. I went last Thursday into my 33 week doctor appointment. Brian decided to come with me so that he could meet our doctor. I had to switch seeing as we moved and I don't want to travel to Logan while in labor. Anyway, I had been having contractions pretty regularly all day but didn't really think anything of it. Contractions are pretty normal for me. So anyway, we sat in the waiting room for about 45 minutes before they finally called me back. Then we spent another 30 minutes waiting in the room. Honestly! So finally the nurse practitioner came and said Dr. Jiricko was caught up with another patient and couldn't see me. Like I cared at this point, I just wanted to go home. So the exam continued and she was concerned about my contractions so she checked me. I was dilating but not even to a 1 yet so she said she just wanted to monitor me for about 20 minutes, just to see how often the contractions were.

So they hooked me up to an archaic machine. We were laughing because it was printing paper, no screen and it was making humming noises :) Anyway, after about 10 minutes she came in and I had had about 4 contractions. And the baby's heart rate had what they called decelerations. She said it was normal for it to fluctuate but his rate went from 160 to 80 and that was dangerous. It happened a couple times in the 10 minutes so she sent me to the hospital to be monitored.

We grabbed some dinner and headed straight over. I wasn't too concerned about the contractions but the decels were a little scary. So they hooked me up at the hospital and the contractions were coming about every 2-3 minutes, some being more painful than others. So about a half hour into it, the nurse checked me and I was at a 1 plus so they decided to admit me. They started giving me tons of medicines, hooked me up to the IV with the antibiotics, since I am strep B positive and told me I couldn't eat anything but ice chips. I got the steroid shot to help Brayden's lungs, just in case he decided to grace us with his presence that night.

Well, I was hoping they would just keep me for a few hours and let me go home. But nope. Brayden's heart rate decelled again twice in two contractions so they kept me. They wanted to see that he had no decels for 8 hours. Well, they gave me doses of nifedipine, a drug that helps with contractions and they weren't slowing down so they gave me a shot of something else, can't remember the name but they said it was similar to magnesium. It made me feel so sick and my whole body shake. But that did the trick. After that, my contractions slowed to maybe every 5-10 minutes and I was able to sleep for a little bit.

In the morning, I was SUPER anxious to go home since I was feeling a whole lot better and there had been no decels all night. My doctor came in and started talking about having me stay all day and maybe releasing me after my follow up steroid shot that night. I was not having that since the hospital in super uncomfortable, things were looking a lot better and I knew I could rest better at home. I basically begged her to let me go home and she said if she checked me and I was more than a 2, she wouldn't let me. She checked and I was a 2! Yay time to go home. She sent me home with the nifedipine and on bed rest.

Well, things have been a lot better since then and I have been taking it semi easy. I mean come on, how much bed rest can you do with a 2 year old? I went to my 34 week appointment yesterday and she said things were looking great. I'm still at a 2 but she has kept me on bed rest until 36 weeks, along with my meds. Then after that, she said things can happen if they want. We'll see. I'm pretty confident I will be pregnant well into December.

On to other news, we found an apartment! Yay! I am super excited. Thanks to my friend, Jennica, who's dad owns some townhomes in Kaysville, we are moving in less than a week. Hopefully Tuesday but we don't know the day for sure. I will post pictures when we get all settled in. I am so excited to have our own place again. My mom's has been great and she has been beyond wonderful but its always nice to be on our own. I am so grateful for everything my mom has done for us. Without her, we have no idea where we'd be right now. Thanks Mom! We love you!

Photos Finally!

Just Because...

I love these faces!

So happy

This was forever ago, July 24th but I thought they looked so cute!

His new favorite pastime. This kid LOVES to color!

Happy Birthday to my little one! I still can't believe he's two. SO crazy!

He was so excited to see his buddy, Hunter. And I'd say Hunter was pretty excited himself :)

Loves this lion. He keeps calling it a bear. One day he'll get it right.

Ethan is very much into Toy Story 3, Finding Nemo, and of course, How to Train Your Dragon!

Playing with some dinosaurs, or dinosauns as Ethan calls them, from Grandma Mathison.

My belly at 32 weeks. Random I know but I keep getting asked to see my HUGE belly ;)

Halloween. He wasn't a fan of being dressed up so we bribed him with money. Also a new fave.

My two favorite people in the whole world. I love these boys!

Proof of the money. He loves it. Always asks for it.

We took Ethan to the Dinosaur Park in Ogden a few days before his birthday. He loved it! He was a little scared at first but then was completely fascinated with it. He wanted to touch everything and run everywhere. It was so fun! He loves those "dinosauns"!

I had to add these last two because I just love this kid. He is so stinkin' cute, most of the time.

Gotta love that hair. It grows straight out and there's nothing we can do about it :) Don't forget the shoes, over the pajamas. Yep, that's my kid! I hope you enjoyed the show.