Christmas Eve

Following the tradition I had growing up, we got a bunch of junk food and pizza for Christmas Eve. We started eating at around 3 and I ended up taking a nap from about 4-5:30, which was lovely.

No, Isaac, no "cheese" for you.

And no pizza either.

You get prunes!

When I woke up we let the kids open two presents. One was new pjs (thank you Black Friday) and the kids got to choose their second one. They both opened balls from granny and grandpa.

Isaac's very first present!

I got pjs too! I'm ready for bed!

Isaac didn't know what to grab!

We had baths, put on pjs, watched Joy to the World and put the kids to bed at around 7. They went to sleep pretty easily, except for Blaise cutting his finger on his lamp. They even slept soundly all night! Unfortunately for me, Isaac did not! But who could be mad at him, with that precious face!



Yup, they got matching SpongeBob pajamas.

Playing catch-up

Here are some pictures and videos that never made it onto the blog




All dressed up for the ward party. I always try to get as much use out of our "Christmas" outfits as I can!


Our sled was sitting on the front porch the other day when it snowed a little, so while I was gone Roy brought it into the house for the kids to play with. Rae and Blaise ate the snow, Isaac enjoyed the string.



Isaac loves the bathroom. Anytime he hears water running (or someone peeing) he crawls as fast as he can to get in on the action. He is always jealous when the older kids get baths. Here's a video of me starting the water and Isaac's reaction.







Finally getting his own bath. He LOVES the water! I'm looking forward to seeing how he likes Oma's pool.

On Sunday we got just a tiny bit more snow. It started snowing right as we were leaving for church. (and stopped pretty much by the time we got to church) I just love this picture of Blaise. I'm willing to bet he was singing "Jingle Bells" while he was dancing!

I don't think I ever mentioned.....

Rae started getting up by herself to pee at night! I remember last year around this time I asked for advice because I thought she should be doing it, but after reading more on the subject I decided that she was too young to be worrying about it. We used to wake her up around 11 at night and that worked really well for the most part. Sometimes she would pee in her bed before we got her up and sometimes she would pee in her bed before getting up in the morning. But most nights she stayed dried, so it was working pretty well and I wasn't worried about her getting up on her own.

Well, all of a sudden she started getting up at around 4 in the morning to pee. (and sometimes poop. Who the heck wakes up to poop?!) Some nights she would even wake up before Roy got her up to pee at 11. So we decided to just leave her alone and see what would happen. Some nights she gets up to pee and some nights she just stays dry all night.

I'm realizing more and more that a lot of things with Rae are "just wait and let her do it herself". (except for her speech) She sure has taught/trained herself to do a lot of things!

Did I ever mention.....

Isaac got his own room. His crib was in our room but he started sleeping through the night, so I moved him into the kids' room, because there's a lot more space in there. Well, he stopped sleeping through the night, and the kids kept waking him up in the morning or when Rae got up to pee in the middle of the night. We also had problems when he needed to go to bed earlier than the kids. So I got the great idea of putting him in our walk in closet! It took a lot of rearranging, but I found a great spot for our year supply of food storage behind the dresser in the kids' room. Our closet is a great place for Isaac because it shares a wall with the storage closet, so there isn't much noise from the kiddos. He takes much better naps now. He usually ends up in our bed at around midnight, but that's fine for now. I just like to be able to go to bed alone and do stuff in my bedroom without worrying about Isaac waking up. I don't know long we'll keep this arrangement, but it sure is nice for now!



He usually wakes up fairly happy, he was just really mad in this picture because I left to go get the camera!

Blaise's birth story

Sometimes I go back to the beginning of my blog and wish I had written more details! But here are the bits and pieces that I can remember from the time leading up to the arrival of Blaise :)

I found out I was pregnant with Blaise on April 2nd and when I called to tell my mom about it she thought it was a late April Fool's joke. I can't remember, but I think we told everyone right away. I went to Sutter West Women's Health, where I saw a different midwife each time. I learned a lot about natural child birth from my neighbors (Davis is very hippie/granola/natural) and I really wanted to have a different experience than what I had with Rae. It was nice to know that I'd have a lot of options at the Birthing Center. I really wanted to do water birth.

I was probably the most nervous about leaving Rae with someone while we went to the hospital. Even though I knew she would be fine, I just like to be in complete control of things, so it was hard to relax. I had about 3 pages of instructions written up for our neighbors. The plan was to leave Rae with our neighbors and good friends John and Patience. Their son Abe was Rae's age and they were best friends. My mom was planning to come, but in case I went early they were our backup.

I started having a lot of cramping about 9 days before Blaise was due. I was checked at my appointment a week before his due date and I was already dilated 3cm, but since I wasn't having steady contractions I just went home to see what would happen! I would have contractions everyday, but I was able to go on with my daily activities without too much discomfort. My mom and I were trying to figure out when she should come. She didn't want to come too early because she couldn't stay for too long because my brother was getting married later in the month. Finally she just decided to surprise me and showed up on Thursday.

Saturday December 9th was Roy's birthday. In the morning I had some diarrhea but I didn't think much of it. We went to the ward Christmas breakfast that morning and just hung out the rest of the day. We had Roy's birthday celebration and went to bed. At around 3am on Sunday the 10th I woke up and was in pain.(This was two days before Blaise's "official" due date) I sat on the couch in the living room and my mom joined me after a while, wondering if I was in labor. I started feeling worse so I decided to take a bath. After my bath I was in a LOT of pain, so I called the midwife. I wasn't really feeling any steady contractions that I could time, so the midwife didn't think it was the real thing. Right after I got off the phone with her I started bleeding and feeling really sick. I threw up and it was then that my mom said I really had to get to the hospital!

I remember that I could hardly walk down the stairs to the parking lot. I had to stop halfway down to get through a contraction. When we pulled out of the parking lot it was exactly 6:00am. It was only a 10 minute drive to the hospital, but I was worried we wouldn't make it. When I got there I kept telling Roy that no one was helping me fast enough! They had me change into a gown and asked me if I still wanted a water birth. I said "no way, if there is time to fill up the tub for a water birth then that is too long and I want drugs instead!" My midwife came and apologized for not believing I was really in labor! She checked me and said that I was 10cm and could start pushing anytime. Well, I pushed and he came! It all happened so fast and I never had a chance to relax and figure out what was going on!

Blaise Werner Wright joined our family on Sunday December 10th 2006 at 6:43am weighing 9lbs, 3 ounces - 21 1/2 inches long. It was amazing to have him put on my chest immediately and be able to nurse him before he was even cleaned off. But I do remember thinking that he was really stinky and after a while I asked the nurse to go ahead and take him and clean him off! (I nursed him before he was even weighed) It was really an amazing experience, and I felt so good afterwards!

I was moved to the recovery room after a while. It was so nice! I got my own room and bathroom, which was lovely. My mom and Rae came to visit at around 10am. It is funny that I worried so much about Rae being left with someone but I was only away from her for 4 hours before I saw her again! I was able to go home on Monday in the afternoon. It was a simple childbirth and I am so grateful that I had such a good experience! Here are some pictures that never made it onto the blog:





I said that I felt great, I didn't say I looked great!

Accepting the facts

Last year I didn't buy any real snow clothes for any of us. When we played in the snow we wore a couple of layers,the kids wore their rain boots and Roy and I just wore regular shoes. Every morning I had to walk out to the car in the snow/slush/mud in my tennis shoes and then suffer the rest of the day with cold, wet feet. But no, I wasn't going to buy snow boots because that would be a waste of money because I wouldn't need them after we moved far far away from the snow. Well, we didn't move far far away, so this year I bought some lovely insulated, waterproof boots that I absolutely love. I was especially appreciative of them yesterday when we went sledding. (I wish I had pictures from sledding, but one of us was holding Isaac while the other was helping with the sledding, so no pics)

Oh, and speaking of sledding, I didn't even want to buy a sled for the kids last year because I figured we'd never need it again. We did buy one, and this year I'm considering buying a second one.

At the end of the winter season last year I found some snow boots on clearance for the kiddos, so they are much more comfortable this year too. And I finally broke down and got them some snow bibs too. They played in the snow for about 2 hours yesterday without getting wet or cold - totally worth the money!

Last year I refused to buy a snow shovel. I used our neighbor's shovel a couple of times, but no way was I going to spend the money on a shovel that we'd never need again and have to store all summer long. This year I bought one right away.

The fact is that a lot of the places we'll end up living get snow. There are lot more jobs in the east than in the west. There are lot of jobs in the "midwest" states. Oh, and there is also a job here for another year if we want to stay. So this year when all the snow stuff is on clearance? I'll be stocking up!

Now I just need to find a place to live that has an attached garage and I'll be all set for living in the snow!

Happy Birthday to Blaise!

I didn't get around to writing Blaise's birth story today. I can feel my body getting sick and I am just exhausted. But here are some highlights from his birthday celebration today:

First thing this morning I let him open his presents from Granny and Grandpa


He's saying "CRAYONS!"


This boy loves to color


All of his loot. Yes, that's some scotch tape in the pile. This boy also loves tape!


When I was a kid we had a special plate (and bowl and cup) for the birthday kid. When we got married my mom gave us some birthday dishes. We had lasagna for dinner.


Opening presents from mom and dad and Rae. We got him a play dough "burger maker" thingy and Rae got him a lamp to hook on to his bed. (well, I bought it and let it be from her)


Cupcake time!




When I asked Blaise who should come over for his birthday, the only people he wanted were "Joe and Ashley"! They are his nursery teachers and our neighbors. He just loves them so much. They have been great teachers and it will be sad when Blaise moves on to Sunbeams in January. By the way, Blaise thinks he gets to go to Sunbeams THIS Sunday. Good thing January is only a few weeks away! I don't know if you read my blog regularly Ashley, but you are so gorgeous!

Totally slacking

Yesterday was Roy's birthday. I never posted anything because I never had a minute to sit and think without a child interrupting me. And now I'm getting sick again and don't have anything awesome to write.

But, it is the big 3-0! I can't just pretend it didn't happen! I wanted to write 30 things about Roy, or something as equally cheesy, but maybe next year I'll write 31 things :) It is time to move on, because today is a new birthday!

Happy Belated Birthday Roy, I love you! You are a fantastic husband, father and my best friend in the whole world. For his birthday, Roy got a new wedding ring from me and a toy gyroscope from the kids. He also got to go watch New Moon (alone). For dinner he got spinach alfredo pizza (SO GOOD!)




Hopefully later today I'll get around to writing down Blaise's birth story, which was my goal to do by the time his birthday rolled around. I gotta go make chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting - Blaise and I are so alike!

Slush

Immediately after Rae was born I asked for some food because it had been about 12 hours since I had last eaten. I was brought a sandwich and a delicious slushy-type drink. I can't remember what flavor it was, but man was it good.

This summer I had the chance to visit my brother and sister-in-law's new Snoball shop and try a "stuffed snoball" (shaved iced stuffed with soft serve ice cream) Man oh man was it good.

Sunday night my throat hurt so bad that I couldn't eat a thing. Roy broke the sabbath and went to Sonic to get me a Cream Slush. Delicious.

My point? Ice/snow and water mixed together and flavored is a brilliant idea. Ice/snow and water mixed together outside? That's the kind of slush that no one enjoys. It's ugly, it's messy, you can't play in it and driving in it sucks. Maybe I could scoop some up and make a tasty treat? If only it were that easy.

It has been raining all day. It is the type of day when I usually stay inside as much as possible - but I had a ton of errands to run. Bleh.

Now that I'm inside for the night all I want to do is go to Sonic for a slushy treat :)

Why I'm considering keeping Rae home from school today

Oh, and the fact that I have a fever of 102. Bleh.

Boy toys

It's been really easy to shop for Rae this year. She has a huge list of things she wants and since she is the oldest in the family we keep having to buy "older" toys. Blaise, on the other hand, pretty much just plays with whatever Rae played with when she was three. I have no idea what to get him for Christmas. Any suggestions? What do your boys like to play with? Blaise just colors and does crafts all day, but I think he'd like something new and different that Rae isn't interested in. I think girls are so much easier to shop for. (Here that Roy? It should be EASY to get something for my birthday!)

Yo Jeppson kids

Do we want to exchange gifts this year? This is what we did last year. Thoughts?

Edited to add:

Okay, I was thinking that we should leave Bryce out because it might be hard for him to send something. And maybe we can all send him a little something. Leaving Bryce out, it would be like this:

Christie has Katie
Bobby has Ashley
Levi has Aaron
Katie has Lindsey
Ashley has Levi
Aaron has Christie
Lindsey has Bobby

$20 limit - but it doesn't have to be that much. Also, if anyone has any ideas for M&D that we could go in on, email me!