football games and grills

Because we got cable, we decided that it'd be smart to have a grill for hamburgers when we have people over to watch football games.

I usually get this look when I'm taking an "unwanted" picture. :)

Though we were VERY disappointed in BYU's performances during the Texas and UofU games, we're quite happy that they won the game last week and look forward to watching them play again tomorrow. :)

smiley baby!

so...sometimes late at night I feel really frustrated at Johnathan for not being sleepy when I want him to be sleepy...then he gives me one of these

and then he hits me with one of these

then he decides to melt my heart the rest of the way (if it's not quite completely melted yet) with one of these

so basically he already has started wrapping me tighter around his little finger... :) 

TWO MONTHS!

Wow time has flown!
Poor Johnathan had his 2-month dr. appointment yesterday.  those of you with kids know that that's when they get the first big round of immunization shots.  I was really worried because Albert hadn't been able to come with me because of classes and I knew that if Johnathan was anything like me he'd be a pill about getting his shots.  luckily, he wasn't like me.  he took his shots like a "man" and only cried for about a minute after he got them.  He even fell asleep on the way home.  Unfortunately, last night he refused to sleep unless we were cuddling with him.  This morning, we took his temperature (he'd felt really hot) and the thermometer said 99.2!!!  Honestly I'm still a little worried because this is my first experience with my baby being sick...we went and got some children's Tylenol-type stuff (off brand basically)  when I left for work he was finally sleeping on his own (though in his cuddle-doughnut thingy)
Anyways: Other updates for Month two of Johnathan's life:
-at the dr's office he weighed 13lbs and 9oz and was 24 inches long (big boy)...his head size was in the 15th percentile...
-he's started smiling a TON (I'll post a video soon) and has even begun to babble a little...which is SO much fun.
     -he's kind enough to smile at me when he's being a pill and wanting to be up late at night. :) it makes everything better.

(this is one of his smaller smiles lol)

-he's FINALLY started sleeping well at night (with the exemption of last night, but he was sick so that doesn't really count).

 (his favorite sleeping position...we get screamed at if we try to pin his arms down lol)

-he still spits up a lot when I consume dairy
-According to Albert, Johnathan is awake most of the time when I'm gone at work.  he loves his daddy!

(yes, Albert is telling me not to take the picture hahaha)

-he doesn't fuss as much in the tub and he's a lot better at letting us change his diaper (unless he's hungry).
-oh and apparently he's a carrier for sickle cell...which is strange because as far as Albert and I know we don't have any African American blood in us...but the dr insists we do. Anyway, it's not something to worry about because it has no effect on him. The only time to worry would be if he married another carrier for sickle cell and even then there's only a 25% chance that their baby would actually have the disease. (yay punit squares!)

updates on Albert and I:
-we switch to the xfinity comcast under MY name so it's cheap again...also we have cable...which albert is SUPER excited about especially because it's football season again. (he was up watching a game just last night)
-Albert has started school again. (he's taking Cell Bio (from my uncle Paul), Organic Chemistry, Floral design (which i'm happy about because it means I get flowers almost every week), Statistics, and a research class)
-Albert got a job last week as a janitor in the SWKT from 4am to 7:30am.
-This week he got promoted to crew supervisor and got a pay raise.  (blessings from us paying fast offerings)
-I am still working. (really there's nothing exciting going on in my life personally...which is ok because I need a bit of calm)
-oh I've managed to basically cut dairy completely out of my diet...which feels horrible because I have begun craving lesagna and pizza and cheese burgers a lot recently. Ugh! I do cheat and eat chocolate still...though not often.

Baby Blessing and Birthday Parties

Johnathan was blessed on August 7th. :)  My parents and my 4 youngest siblings few in from Virginia for the event. It was a bit of a hectic day because Albert and I had an pre-church meeting with the rest of the ward missionaries (oh, did I mention we were called as ward missionaries...I guess not...sorry) and I wanted to give Johnathan a bath and he wasn't too fond of baths at the time (he usually likes them now) so it took a little bit to get him ready.  Luckily we made it to our meeting just in time.  And then we waited excitedly for our families and friends to show up at the chapel.
The blessing went really well. :)

 After the blessing, we took the party to one of my family member's house (it's technically my Aunt's house but my sister's family is renting it...and shortly the blessing luncheon my older brother and his family were renting it...so yeah).  There we had delicious sub sandwiches purchased from Wal-mart and watermelon and water. :)  yay!  there were lots of games played (mostly a wonderful game called 'Munchkin' which my brother Ben dominated at...usually with the help of another person, but still) and hugs exchanged and smiles and full stomachs and leftovers.  in the end it was a very happy day with lots of loving family and friends in which I hardly ever held Johnathan (who was mostly awake the whole time...no, he didn't sleep well that night).

Albert turned 24!  Yay for living another year!
yep... he was super excited to get the game Munchkin (many thanks to Mike for editing the cards for us).  most of the rest of his presents were money (which went towards school books haha).  On Albert's Birthday (the 8th...also the day after Johnathan's baby blessing) we went to Albert's Aunt's house (Aunt Sonia) and had a party there which also celebrated the births of Albert's Uncle Mark  and Albert's younger sister Vanessa.  Unfortunately, Albert felt sick most of the night...and then Johnathan felt sick and spit up ALL over Albert...we weren't smart enough to have brought an extra shirt for albert...so we went home soon after that.  That night albert continued to feel sick, so Johnathan and I went and slept in his room (he in his crib and me on the floor).  Thus, albert was able to get a good night of rest. :)

ONE MONTH OLD!!!

Time flies when basically all you do is sit at home and feed the baby and change the baby and burp the baby and try to make up for the sleep you didn't get at night because you were staying up with the baby.
It's really hard to believe he's actually a month old!! Right now he's sitting in his bouncer beside me looking back and forth between me and the ceiling fan.

Updates on Johnathan:
-He isn't really smiling very much yet (like REAL smiles...he smirks all the time when he's falling asleep (so cute!)), though I did get a good smile last night when I was bathing him after he spit up all over the both of us.
-He's starting to make noises OTHER than crying (and coughing and sneezing and hiccuping) which is really fun.  Can't wait for more!
-He still doesn't really like to sleep at night, but he's getting better at staying awake during the day and then crushing my hopes of him sleeping at night.
-he sleeps with his arms over his head.
-His stomach can't handle it when I eat dairy.  Though it's a lot better about cheddar cheese right now...but recently I've eaten American cheese and have had to do several loads of laundry as a result (I'm tempted to eat swiss cheese to see if it's just the nationality, but I hate swiss...so I probably won't)
-He hasn't really been trying to roll over very much yet.
-He LOVES LOVES LOVES to cuddle...and he REALLY doesn't like that we're trying to cuddle with him less so that I'll be able to get housework done with TWO hands later on instead of one.
-He has yet to cry for no reason (be it hunger, air bubbles, messy diapers, or just wanting to cuddle)
-He is getting better at being content without mommy holding him all day (YAY!!)
-when we do cuddle with him, he loves putting his head right under our chins and pushing up. (silly boy)

Things I've Learned in the Month Since Becoming a Mother:

-It's not a good idea to let your husband take classes for the first little bit of having a baby...especially if he has hard classes that he has to spend extra time up on campus studying for...
-When babies cry they actually DO say "Wah"
-No matter how many diapers you get at your baby shower, it's never enough.
-Babies poop a TON.
-I need "rewards" (even if they're as simple as Albert getting home and changing a few of Johnathan's diapers) to get me through the day.
-When I take several naps during the day, it makes it so that I can't fall asleep at night...but I don't sleep at night, so I need to take naps during the day to catch up.
-Even though babies stomachs are small, they can throw up a TON.
-You take a HUGE risk when changing a boys diaper if you don't keep him covered. (I already knew this...I just had to re-learn it several times before it stuck)
-having the ability to feed your child can be extremely painful...especially if they don't eat on time.
-when you take a sleeping infant to church you hear all the other children's crying a lot more than you did before.
-screen savers are also ear savers...Johnathan LOVES just sitting and watching our computer screen saver (some bubbles that float around on the screen and change colors...WONDERFUL!)

Happy home, happy hearts...crying baby.

      So...long time no write.  sorry about that.  I started 2 different posts...and thought of writing a lot more than that...I just never got down to it.  I have this thing that kind of sucks up all my time and energy these days.
Anyways, so if you hadn't already heard (hopefully you had) Johnathan has been born (he's the time/energy sucker).  He's totally adorable!

(this is him like only a minute after being born...he's a lot cuter now)

(now (ish) photo)

      He's actually even cuter than that, I just haven't taking a picture of him in the past week and he's sleeping and I don't want to wake him up with the flash.

      Anyways, so yeah!  I went into labor...Saturday night/early sunday morning.  or at least that's when I REALIZED I was in labor haha.  It was 3:20 in the morning and the contractions (which I had thought were fake cuz I thought there'd be a larger area covered in pain) were about 15 minutes apart.  We ended up going into the hospital then because I was bleeding a little.  (poor Albert had gone to bed at 2 and I kept waking him up with pained groanings.)  

      They watched me for an hour, nothing progressed, but they decided to watch for another hour because Johnathan's heartbeat kept going down when I was having contractions.  So, after the next hour I was declared officially in labor (mothers were called and Albert's mom came from lehi to the hospital...my mom kept her flight for the 4th) and they gave me some fentonal and then the dr said he was going to break my water and I requested the epidural.  honestly, getting the IV hurt more than getting the epidural.  Anyways, the dr. was a little worried because Johnathan had already pooped while in the womb and the stuff could get in his lungs and stuff...luckily none of that happened.

      Albert slept a little while we waited for me to dilate all the way (3-5cms took like...4-6 haurs.  5cm to 10 cm only took 2 hours)...I was unable to sleep despite being super drugged up.

      At 4:17 Johnathan was born.  and the dr said "mom look down and see your baby" and I looked down and started sobbing.  The dr. said that I had a little tear on the inside from Johnathan coming, but other than that everything went wonderfully.  Johnathan was declared healthy and breathing (because of the poop, the dr said that it might take a while to hear him cry, but he cried almost as soon as he got out.).  He was 8lbs 3 oz and 19 inches long. :) (the receptionist at Johnathan's dr's office says that that's HUGE for a first child...I enjoyed telling her that my sister's babies were both over 9 lbs.  I feel lucky) His face was a little bruised from coming out...ok a lot bruised...so bruised that they had to put a "I have a bruised face" sign in his tub thing so that the nurses wouldn't freak out and think he wasn't breathing.  but the bruising is gone now.

Albert's mom with Johnathan

My mom with Johnathan the day we were leaving

sleeping in his car seat on the day we were leaving.

      one thing that was quickly determined was that he had Albert's hair...at least his spikeyness.  

no, his face isn't blue from screaming...it's the bruises.

      Albert's mom says that Johnathan doesn't have very much hair compared to what Albert had when he was born (apparently he was born needing a haircut hahaha), but of course for my side of the family, it's a lot of hair.  (he has more than some of his cousins who are several months older have now) he looks more like his dad than just having his hair.  he also has his eye color and his bodily build (though we think he may have the super tall evans gene)...and right now he mostly has his dad's hair color, though it's turning lighter and I caught some red in it the other day right after his bath.

Albert with the last load of stuff for the car on departure day

      The first night home was actually really good.  Johnathan slept super well and Albert and I felt super lucky...the next night was horrible.  We were tempted to ask one of our mothers to stay the night and help...but we pressed forward...Now...well...the nights still aren't the best.  Johnathan wants to eat at 1 and then wants to stay up eating little bits until like 3 (luckily singing really helps him sleep...so I've been singing hymns to him...and little dorky songs that mostly involve the word "sleep"...also luckily, it also puts Albert to sleep...usually).

Johnathan in the car on the way home

      He then wants to eat again at 5:30 (it takes usually about an hour to get him back down, though sometimes I'm lucky) and then again at 7:30-8 ish (which is going to be a bit of a problem since I have class from 7-8 in the fall...maybe he'll start eating better at 5:30 so he'll go longer...we can only pray).  Then Albert leaves for school and Johnathan and I sleep some more...sometimes only until 10, other times we make it to 11...usually the first though.  but after 10 he sleeps until 12. :)  after that sometimes he sleeps (like today) other times he's awake and wants to be held and I'm torn between holding him, getting nothing done, but not getting a headache, and just letting him cry, having to take advil and getting a little bit done. usually saving myself a headache wins out...which isn't good I know.

Aunt Sonia and Abuela with Johnathan

      When we first brought him home, we were a little worried about him going to the bathroom enough...then my milk came in (ow) and that worry has COMPLETELY disappeared.

Johnathan with my Grandma Evans

      He's just had his first big growth spurt.  Thursday he was 8lbs4oz and 19.75 inches long.  Monday (at his Dr. appointment) he was 8lbs8oz and 21 inches long.  yeah...big difference.

So, little facts about Johnathan:

      -He hates having his diaper changed (he screams bloody murder)

      -he hates bath time...even now that he can be in a "real tub" (more bloody murder screaming and kicking and trying to escape)

      -he can hold his head up pretty well (which surprised the doctor)

      -he usually only cries for 3 reasons: he's hungry, he's got a bubble, or he's got a messy diaper.

      -usually he's content to be awake and just look around (aka he doesn't need to be held) but he's also like his daddy in that he LOVES to cuddle...Which albert loves.

      -he doesn't like cuddling laying down at all...you need to be sitting almost bolt upright...(which I don't like)

      -he will throw a fit about being put in his car seat, but he secretly likes it. he calms down very quickly once he feels like the car seat is moving (either by us swinging it, or in the stroller or in the car)

      -he takes forever to get to sleep (not that much fun for me)

      -he goes through a LOT of diapers.

and last but not least -he is both a mama's boy and a daddy's boy.  though if Albert's home, he usually calms down a lot faster for him than for me.

My two boys sleeping. :)  so cute.

      so yep that's our son.  I am of the opinion that God made babies cute so their parents would be able to stand them during the first bit.

      I haven't had too much trouble with "baby-blues" though it's a lot harder when I'm sleep deprived (usually I feel pretty ok) and when he's crying at me and won't go to sleep and I don't want to wake Albert up cuz he's got to go to school in the morning.  sometimes I'm still a little cry-happy. Like last night...though I think it was a good crying because I wasn't frustrated or anything...and I was singing hymns. It wasn't like the 2nd week with him where I actually felt depressed (which I recognized partially because I didn't even feel like eating ice cream or chocolate both of which I had easy access to...yeah that's totally gone now).

      Anyways.  yep.  We're happy, sleep deprived, making it through the days one at a time...ish.

(sleeping smiles...so cute!!!)