Santa Flies In

Being in a small town we sometimes miss out on all the bells and whistles that come with the city life. No freeways, shopping options are limited, not a lot of good restaurants, and definitely no malls with Santa Claus where our kiddos can sit on his lap. But we have something better than any old mall Santa. Every year Santa Claus flies in on a helicopter and lands at our elementary school. There aren't many (if any) towns that have a Santa as cool and hip as ours.

Brody was so thrilled about seeing Santa stick his head out the "copper" and wave. His excitement was only matched by the few hundred little kids standing on the school lawn chanting, "Santa, Santa."

Things only got better when Brody's Uncle Kade got out after the helicopter landed to help out Santa. We weren't sure that the school was open to the public, so Brody missed out on sitting on Santa's lap, but seeing him from outside the fence was pretty cool by itself.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Our stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

The boys opened new matching jammies to wear.

A quick pic before they nestled all snug in their bed

A huge fit was thrown by Brody instead.

We didn't think taking pictures would cause such a fight,

But, alas, we gave up and said....

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT

Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving was great this year. I normally don't love this holiday, but everything about it was enjoyable, and of course, all the food was awesome!

We celebrate all our holidays with both our families since they both live here. This year was no different. Most years my family does thanksgiving with our extended family, but this year it was just our little family, my mom, and my siblings. We were even lucky enough to have Spenser and his wife this year. We went there for lunch and had a great time, and then a few hours later we went to Thanksgiving dinner with Trevor's parents and 2 of his brothers.

We are SO thankful for our families, thankful that they live close, thankful for each other and our sweet boys. We hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and remembered all the things they are thankful for.

Translation Please?

Everyday we are surprised by the things Brody says. Not only is he constantly repeating the things we say, but he is continually learning and saying things we don't even think we have taught him. Sometimes we go places or we are with friends and family and they look at us like, "what did he just say?" and because we are around him everday we understand it as clear as anyone else speaking we don't realize others don't. We have to repeat what he says a lot of the time so people know what he has just said.

Most words that begin with the letter 'F' are said with the 'H' sound. He has a lot of words that in the past he says wrong, but has learned to say them correctly, but this is one he still hasn't mastered. So if you here him say something about a "hireplace, hireworks, hog, or hore" it means: fireplace, fireworks, frog, and four.

If you ask Brody what his name is he'll tell you, "Bowie Jay Waite." He also tends to refer to himself in the third person. He hasn't really figured out how to use I's or me's yet. He knows all our names, and our families names too. I'm "mommy Tay-m" and Trevor is "Tre-er Joel Waite" and of course there's "baby Ry-er." He used to call my brother, Kade, cake but says his name right now. Taylor, Spenser, and Stormy however are still "Turry, Bense, and Dormy." Trevor's brother Adam also has a different name, he's "A-am."

There are always little words Brody says wrong, but the funniest things are his sentences. He is really good at the one-liners from Toy Story. At any given time you may hear, "Hinny-on(to infinity and beyond)", "Buh-white year re-cue (buzz lightyear to the rescue)." or "nake in boot (there's a snake in my boot)," when you come to our house.

The other morning Brody was drinking juice and I asked him if it was delicious and he said, "no wish-us(delicious), mom. Bowie, boo(blue) juice tay-tee(tasty)." Ha! SOO funny! He also told Ryder when he was fussing the other day, "baby Ry-er, chill out!" I can't imagine where he's learned that one....

If you ever need a good laugh you just need to hang out with a 2 year old. They say the funniest things, and they are far smarter than you would ever guess.

3 Months of Ryder

Time has just flown by since we have had this little guy! Having Ryder was SO much harder than Brody, and recovery has continued to be hard. I never got completely rid of my headache and by week 11 of post-delivery and still no relief the doctor sent me to get an MRI. Luckily they found out that I was no longer leaking spinal fluid, so that wasn't the problem, but the bad thing was they don't know what is. However, by week 12 my headache somehow started to heal itself. I cannot tell you how much better I feel. You don't know how good you feel until you feel bad. We have been extremely blessed though, with another good baby. He isn't the natural born sleeper like his brother (he's doing better!!!), but he is just so pleasant. He hardly cries, he eats well, he smiles a ton, and is just super mellow. As hard as a time I have had, he makes me feel like I want more. I can't get pregnant now (I have an IUD in), and truthfully I wouldn't really want to be, but if it happened I don't think I would be sad. Ryder is just so awesome that he makes me want more. He is just sweet!

Ryder will be 3 months old in a few days, but when we went to the dr. for his 2 month appointment he weighed 14 lbs 8 oz! That is exactly one pound heavier than Brody was at that age. It puts him in like the 96% for his age. Ryder is also in the 86% for his height, but he is almost an inch shorter than Brody was at 2 months.

Currently Ryder is cooing, smiling, and observing everything. He loves all of us, but he is always extremely interested in what his big brother is doing. He watches Brody anytime he is near. Ryder is still holding off on laughing, but he makes up for it with all the smiles and all the "talking" he does. He is such a delight to have in our home. I feel like I can't get enough of him.

We could not have gotten a better baby. We all love our sweet, smiley, chubby "baby Ry-er."

Halloween 2010

Its so crazy to have 2 boys now to dress up for Halloween. This year Brody was a cowboy and Ryder was his cow....or maybe I should say bull since he's a boy.

The whole week leading up to Halloween we built up the excitement in Brody and we taught him to say trick or treat, which sounded more like, "tri-treat." and even practiced knocking on the door and saying that and then giving him a piece of candy.

The day of Halloween roled around and I could hardly contain MY excitement. I couldn't wait to dress up the boys. Despite windy (very windy...this is SJ could we expect anything else) weather we got Brody and Ryder ready and headed to the courthouse where a bunch of goblins, witches, princesses, and other cute characters were waiting to start their parade! This is the third year Brody has been in the parade. Just like Ryder, he was a cow at his first parade and rode in his stroller during the parade totally oblivious to what was going on but this year was a new ball game. This year Cowboy Brody walked the whole thing by himself and never even wanted to be picked up. It meant that we were the last ones straggling behind the whole group because of Brody's refusal to be carried, but it was fun anyway.

Our kids are lucky enough to have both sets of grandparents living here so all 3 of them wre waiting along the parade route to honk their horns and take pictures of these cute kiddos. I love doing the parade because its just a little longer that they get to be dressed up and it makes dressing up that much more special because you are being admired by everyone you pass.

That evening there was a trunk or treat, but since Ryder doesn't eat candy at this stage of the game, and Brody really doesn't need very much, we decided to skip trunk or treat and just go to a few designated places. Even without going to the trunk or treat Brody was able to haul a nice amount of candy in his "puple punkin bucket." Getting as much candy as he did probably had something to do with the fact that he ended up with lots of pieces(one time a few handfulls) of candy from each house. We never just knocked on a door and then left either. Brody and Ryder were invited in so that they could truly be seen. As we would walk away Brody would say to us, "a more tan-ee! ( more candy)"

We really had so much fun celebrating Halloween this year. It just seems to be more and more fun as we have kids and as they get older. Just imagine the how fun Christmas will be this year!

Pumpkin Carving 2010

I love love love the fall and everything that comes with it. As soon as September 1st hits I put up the decorations and begin to enjoy this season. I love to do all the traditional things that most people do at the holidays. For Halloween I don't do the dressing up but I like to have decorations, I love passing out candy, and I always want to carve a pumpkin. Trevor drags his feet and roles his eyes everytime I talk about doing these kinds of things, but especially with the pumpkin carving. He hates it. If the truth really is told, I have to say that I actually don't LOVE carving pumpkins, but I just hate the idea of NOT doing it....thats tradition....thats just what you do. I want our kids to grow up and have memories of doing this kind of stuff with us like I have memories with my mom.

Last year Brody was just right in the center of all the pumpkin activity. This year he was a little more leary. We stripped him down to just a diaper and pulled a chair up and all he would do was take one of the tools and poke little teeny holes. He didn't really want that much to do with carving pumpkins. Well that is he didn't want anything to do with them until we put the candles in them. I truly believe that every boy is slightly a pyro at heart. Our little Brody is no exception to that rule. He kept saying, "a hire a hire!!!" (a fire a fire) when we would light the pumpkins.

I think the pumpkins turned out great this year. Despite hating the pumpkin guts(a lot), Trevor mucked out 3 of the 4 pumpkins and carved his own. I drew out the design of all of the pumpkins and carved 3 of them. The two boys won't remember these pumpkins, and they couldn't carve them themselves, but I wanted 4 pumpkins to grace our front door, and 4 pumpkins did.

Ryder's Blessing

There are still days that I can't believe that we have 2 kids. Yesterday was no exception. Yesterday was Ryder's blessing day. It seems like it was only the other day that we were blessing Brody. It makes it even harder to believe because I put Ryder in the same outfit Brody wore, and they look so much the same that it was like deja vu! Trevor said that he had even worried and had dreams all week that during the blessing instead of giving Ryder Joel Waite as Ryder's name, that he would say Brody Jay Waite.

Ryder was priveledged enough to have his daddy give him his blessing. He also had his great-grandpa Garner, grandpa Waite, Uncle Dustin, Uncle Mike, and Uncle Spenser participate in his blessing. How lucky we are to have family willing to travel and be a part of this special day!

Ryder's blessing was great! I don't know that there are blessings that are bad, but it was special all the same. I am always struck at these moments at how blessed I am to have the husband that I have. I am grateful that he honors his priesthood and that he can give our kids blessings. I am also SUPER glad that its him that has to do the blessings and not me! I do not like to do any sort of public speaking or anything that draws any attention to me, so its wonderful that men hold the priesthood and not women. Besides that it just makes me an emotional mess so its better for Trevor to do it and not me.

Thank you everyone that participated in Ryder's big day, and thanks to those that just came and were there! We love you and are grateful to you!

Random Act of Violence

Its sad but true. We had an act of violence committed against a member of our family. To make matters worse the criminal that committed the crime was our very own Brody Jay. His victim: baby Ryder. The crime scene: our living room couch.

I knew it was only a matter of time before Ryder was hurt more than just an eye being poked, but I have totally and completely trusted Brody around Ryder. I have left the two of them alone in a room on plenty of occassions without even a second thought. That was the case one morning last week.

Mornings are always busy for me. Feeding kids, getting us ready for the day, laundry, and all the other typical household chores. This morning I had done all of that but I hadn't had time to blow dry my hair yet. I left Ryder on the couch and Brody paying extreme attention to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on tv to go to my bathroom and dry my hair. With all my hair it sometimes can take a while to get it dry, but I didn't think twice about that until I finished and turned off the blow dryer only to hear the sounds of my baby crying. Not just crying...more like screaming. This was not the normal, 'i lost my pacifier' or 'i'm starving' kind of crying, this was 'i'm seriously not doing so hot right now mom, please help!!!'

I run into the living room to find Brody leaning over Ryder and holding his Woody(from toy story) figure in his hand. I go to Ryder and find scratches all over the right side of his head. Some places the skin has been broken and there is a little blood, but all the scratches were hard enough to raise his skin and make it look like they were welts. Not only this but the scratches are almost instantly turning into some serious bruises! I realize that Brody has taken his plastic Woody and dragged Woody's spurs all over Ryder's head.

To say the least I'm horrified. First, I feel bad that I didn't hear poor Ryder sooner. Who knows how long Brody was scratching Ryder. Second, I'm just sick that Brody could do this. And third, I feel SOOO guilty for leaving Ryder unattended with his brother.

I am pretty upset with Brody. Actually really upset. I feel somewhat mad, but mostly I just can't believe he did this. He quickly realizes he's in trouble....BIG trouble. I show him what he's done and tell him how wrong it is and I take him to his room for a time-out on his bed (a first for Brody). Brody begins to cry as I carry him down the hallway to his room. When I set Brody down he flings himself away from me only to whack his head on his bed! Instantly there is a black and blue goose egg on the same side of his head as Ryder's injuries and in nearly the same exact place!

My boys looked like they were being abused by their mother! I didn't hardly take either one of them out of the house for a week for fear of what people would think! Haha! It was pretty bad. Brody told me the next day, "Woody trouble." How does a 2 year old already know to place the blame on others? So not only do I have an abuser in my house, I have a little liar! Oh well...I guess its all part of having 2 boys....I know that it was just one beat down of many to come.

Duplicate Copy

Being the mom I can see the subtle differences in the way Brody and Ryder look (emphasis on subtle), but more and more they are looking alike. People are always saying that Ryder looks exactly like Brody. Even Steve Crosby (my mom's bishop) said while looking at Ryder, "Well, he looks like a ditto..." Haha! That's the best description I've heard...Ryder is just the ditto to Brody! I guess you have to be the judge.

If you want to know the real truth though, I kinda wanted our boys to look alike I didn't want them to look totally different from one another. I love when you see little brothers and sisters playing together and they all have a similar look. I want to be able to tell that they belong together and I think that you definitely can with Brody and Ryder.

Brotherly Love

Ryder has been with us for 5 weeks now and other than the sporadic sleeping, (and of course that first hard week for me) things couldn't be better! Brody's transition from being an only child to an older brother has been pretty seamless. He is such an awesome brother!!! The day we were having Ryder I left our house really emotional. I just couldn't even talk about Brody without tearing up. I was super excited for him to become a big brother, but there was also a little sense of guilt. I knew we were going to completely rock his world in just a matter of hours. Nothing was ever going to be the same again. I love having siblings and have become especially grateful for them as I got older, so I knew that giving Brody a sibling was probably one of the greatest gifts he could ever get, but I worried that maybe he wasn't ready. Was it too soon? Had we prepared Brody enough for the arrival of Ryder? Could his 2 year old mind really understand that we loved him as much as this new intruder that was taking up so much of our time?

Things at the hospital were crazy and Brody had had a long day so he didn't really seem too interested in his brother. He did plant a kiss or two but he didn't seem to care all that much. When we came home from the hospital the first thing Brody said was, "Bowie hode baby Ry-er." He wanted to hold Ryder!!!

Things have only continued to get better. Brody has been the best big brother. I couldn't ask for a better big brother for Ryder. Brody is interested in Ryder without being overbearing, he doesn't ignore him, and he doesn't act jealous at all. If Ryder cries he makes sure to tell me. He runs into my bedroom to check on the baby, and loves to give Ryder his pacifier. Of course, Brody is 2 so he can't be perfect all the time....Ryder's eyes have been poked on occasion and he's been bounced a little too hard in his seat, but its all out of curiosity or in trying to be "helpful" its never out of being mean.

I was so excited to have 2 boys together because I wanted them to be buddies, and although Ryder is too young now for them to be playing but there is definitely some bonding going on. I love the idea of watching them grow up together....I can't wait to watch them cycle through being buddies, enemies, competitors, companions, and just plain brothers.

Pumpkin Patch & Corn Mazes

Every year in Snowflake there is a pumpkin patch and corn maze. I have always wanted to go, but just have never done it. Finally this year we went! The corn maze is turned into a haunted maze at night, but its too scary for kids so we just did it during the day. My brother Spenser and his wife Stormy came home for the weekend so we made it a family outing with my mom and all my siblings. Before we went to Snowflake we went and supported my sister at her soccer game, and then headed from Holbrook to Snowflake. It made for a long day, but it was SOOO worth it!

At the corn maze they had a game sort of set up. Throughout the maze there were posts and you had to find them to and punch a hole in your paper. There were like 6 different shapes you had to find and it was pretty hard to do, but if you found them all you got a candybar. I swear I couldn't tell one row from another, so I basically spent the time following everyone else. No shapes were found by me. When all was said and done we were able to find all the posts and make it out of there in just under 2 hours. It was WAY fun! Brody really had a good time too. He picked up several "souvenier" corn cobs while we were in there.

After that we headed over to the pumpkin patch. I have never visited a pumpkin patch because I've always just bought my pumpkins at a grocery store. I don't think I have ever seen so many pumpkins. It was fun to see all the different sizes and colors. They were even catapulting pumpkins in one area.

Overall, such a fun day spent with my family! I hope to be able to go again in the future!

My Other Half

I just can't explain in enough words my love and gratitude for my husband. I have always appreciated him and loved him, but these past few weeks have really put things into perspective for me. I honestly don't know how I would have made it through.

Trevor has always ALWAYS been one to help me out. Even though I am a stay-at-home mom he pitches in without me asking. He knows when I'm feeling a little frazzled and I need some extra help. He will clean the house, make the occasional dinner, and he has never failed to help out when it came to Brody and now Ryder too.I have always been grateful to Trevor for being our family's "bread winner" but he goes about and beyond the call of duty at times. Never in my life have I been so completely incapacitated as I was the week after I had Ryder. Trevor just totally took the reigns. He changed a countless amount of diapers, he fed Brody (which can be quite an ordeal), I started laundry 2 times but couldn't finish so he folded clothes and hung them up to dry, he cleaned our bathrooms, did dishes, took out trash...I mean the list goes on and on. On the weekends when he's home from work I feel like we have a tag-team effort going on. We both put in the work, but Trevor was doing everything. He told me at the end of the week, "Don't take this the wrong way, but I have a whole new appreciation for what you do at home during the week...I mean, I always have, but now I REALLY do."

I am also so thankful that Trevor has continuously honored his priesthood during our marriage. That may not be a big deal for most, but it really is to me. I can probably count on one hand how many times I have received a blessing (not including the standard ones like your baby blessing that most lds people have had) on one hand. This past week Trevor was able to give both me and Brody a blessing. What a comfort it is to me to know that we can ask for a blessing at any given time and it will be done.

Trevor is my rock. He reassures me when I freak out about things I have no control over. He is my best friend. He is my confidant. He is my comic relief. When I worry about something being wrong with one of the kids he is probably the only person that will worry as much as I do. He is honest, loyal, trustworthy, hard-working, loving, fun, sarcastic, and more. Trevor is the best dad to our kids and the best husband I could ask for. I love you, Trev!

The Recovery Time

If I thought that the labor and delivery of Ryder was hard, and I had another thing coming to me. Things only continued to get rocky.

I distinctly remember being SO shocked after I had Brody that my body 'down south' could be so messed up! It was just so much more messy and bloody than i could have ever imagined. I thought to myself over and over, "nobody told me about this!!!" So, this time I was prepared. I had all the things I could possibly need so that Trevor wouldn't have to go to the store for anything 'embarassing' (let's be honest....he would have sent my just-home-from-the-hospital butt to the store instead of doing that for me). I was totally ready for that, but completely unprepared for the aftermath of my epidural.

In basically every aspect of my life I'm what you would consider average. Average smarts, looks, height, etc. Wouldn't you know that the one time I decide to be unique its in an aspect that no one wants to be unique. Anytime you get an epidural there is like a 1 to 2% chance of the dr. going through a membrane and causing spinal fluid to drip in your back which then causes a MASSIVE migraine. I was lucky enough to be on the receiving end of one of these lovely headaches!!!

We got home from the hospital on Friday and my head was killing me but I really thougt that it was normal. The next day we woke up and Trevor suggested we go get lunch at the fair. I wasn't feeling well, but I thought I could do it. We got to the county fair walked from the car to where the food was and I told Trevor, "I can't do this. I really don't feel well at all." Turned around and went home. I honestly went home took off clothes, put on pjs, and got into bed and pretty much stayed there the rest of the day. Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday were not much better. In fact, I would say it continued to get worse. My head literally felt like it was going to explode. The only small amount of relief was when I was laying down. Sitting up and standing was excruciating. Normally showering can make me feel a little better anytime I'm sick, but it only made me want to pass out.

On Monday and Tuesday I began throwing up and couldn't eat anything. Trevor was basically doing EVERYTHING for me. He changed almost all diapers for both boys, he made meals, fed Brody, bathed kids (gave Ryder his 1st bath and I bawled because I wasn't doing it), cleaned toilets, washed dishes, did laundry, and just took over everything else. I cried because I hurt so much, and cried more because I felt like a failure as a mom and wife. The worse day was on Tuesday when he took Ryder to get circumsized and Brody to his 2 year check-up and shots. I was just too sick to go and I could not stand the idea of not being able to go and comfort either of my boys. I just cried and cried when they left until I fell asleep.

I finally wised up and called the dr. realizing that things were not going to get better on their own and they prescribed me a VERY potent migraine medicine that night and scheduled me to come in the next day. After paying over 25 bucks for one pill I took the medicine that night and woke up pleasantly surprised to find that the headache that had also seeped down into my neck and back as well was gone, and the headache itself was a little bit relieved but not gone.

I went to the dr. and they prescribed me another one of those pills to see if it would help knock the rest of the headache out, but they sent me to the hospital to see about getting a blood patch done. I had no clue what a blood patch was and when they described it, I only cried more. They take blood from your arm and then go back into your epidural site and put the blood in there. It seals off the leaking spinal fluid and it has an 85% chance of working. If it DOES work you will feel relief within 20 minutes. I just could not stand the idea of them even touching my back after everything I had gone through, but this headache was so ridiculous that I talked myself into it.

I go in and put on my gown and wait for the lady to come in and they decide to instead send in the SAME EXACT DOCTOR that messed me up in the first place!!!! You have got to be kidding me..... Not only did this dude act like he didn't want to do my blood patch, but he also acted like he didn't think he COULD do it! If he isn't confident in his abilities how can I be??? So, I decided not to get it. I went home in the hoped that my second $25 pill would take care of it.

Thursday I woke up and finally, FINALLY felt a little bit like a real human being! Friday was even better. It only was like a whole week later, but I felt better. I have continued with just a tinge of a headache, but nothing like what I had before. I could finally start to enjoy my baby...just a week after he was born.

Saturday I was feeling great but Brody decided to get major sick for the 1st time in his life. We spent hours at an urgent care only to have Brody puke all over me and get no answers. We spent the whole weekend trying to figure out what was going on and if we needed to go the ER or not. Could things get anymore awful at this point? I'm really not sure. We got to the pediatrician on Monday and were told he had hand, foot, and mouth disease. I guess its fairly normal in kids. There's really not much you can do but let it run its course and by then he really was a lot better but we were just happy to have an answer!!! Trevor and I had both spilled more than a few tears worrying about this little boy. It was really bad.

By Tuesday Brody was WAY better but I was aching all over, I had the chills, and a fever started. I thought maybe I was getting sick, but when the fever broke that night and I felt so much better I wasn't sure. I looked in a book I have and after thinking about how my chest has been really sore I realized that I probably have Mastitis. That would explain all the achiness and the sore lumps I had.

I really have felt like these first 2 weeks of Ryder's life have been 2 of the most challenging weeks of my life. I have cried and cried and cried because it has seemed like one problem on top of the other. I thought that since I had a hard delivery I could hope for and easy recovery but I was wrong. Its been pretty tough, I almost feel like I was robbed of Ryder's first 2 weeks, but things are FINALLY starting to look up. Everyone seems to be well. Somehow Ryder has escaped getting sick himself. We'll keep our fingers crossed that things will be normal for a while.

Ryder's Labor and Delivery

About 5 weeks prior to my due date I started to dialate and efface. I think that every lady at the end of her pregnancy is hoping for an early delivery, but my doctor seemed to really think that I would have Ryder early. No doctor should EVER say that to a pregnant woman. It makes you just hope way too much. For over two weeks I had my bag packed for the hospital, and every single night I would shower, wash my hair, and dry my hair because I couldn't stand the idea of going to the hospital with dirty hair. But all the anticipation was for nothing. I went to my final appointment on the 3rd and Dr. Connelly scheduled me for an induction on the 9th (one day past my due date). I think he really didn't think I'd even make it to that because I was about 80% effaced and 3 1/2 cm dialated. He was wrong.

On September 9th we got up and got ready for the day and made our 45 minute drive to the hospital in complete calm. There was no freaking out because of painful contractions. Trevor and I had always talked about how weird it would be to know the day your kid was going to be born, and here we were doing exactly that.

At 8 am I was admitted into the hospital. I got dressed in my lovely hospital gown, got into bed, and was hooked up to the heart monitor. My nurse, Yvonne, began asking me questions and filling out paperwork. The whole time she's doing this we find out that I am having contractions I'm just not feeling them. She checks me and we were pleasantly surprised to find that I was dialated to a 5. Sweet! Halfway there!

At 9:30 my dr. came in and broke my water. About 5 minutes after that my favorite dr, the one bringing me my epidural, came in. How great was this delivery going to be? I was going to get my meds before I even started to really feel contractions. I could not have been more pleased. But things were about to get crappy. When I had Brody they struggled a bit getting my epidural in. They even bent the needle in my back, but when all was said and done it got in and I felt great. This time was much harder. It seems that the muscles in my back are too tight or something. The dr. had me lean over and he began to poke....and poke....and poke. I ended up with 7 different holes in my back, but I was probably poked about 30 times. He would get the needle into the epidural space but he couldn't ever thread the catheter in. He kept hitting my bones. It was extremely painful! He would go back into a hole at a different angle hoping to get it, but it just wasn't happening. My body began to shake uncontrollably. After an hour of being hunched over we got it in. I was definitely feeling my contractions now. The epidural made my right thigh very numb and it never did anything more. My contractions were getting intense. I was on my side and just crying because I hurt so much. Trevor kept telling me to call the nurse but I didn't think she would do anything. I kept thinking this epidural would work.

After what seemed like forever I called my nurse and told her my epidural wasn't working She came in and had called a different dr to try and fix my epidural. She said this dr. was excellent. She could do an epidural in like 5 minutes. Well, it took her 35 minutes to do mine. During all this time I'm trying to stay still but I'm having major contractions. When the epidural gets put in she checks me and I'm at an 8! At some point during all of this I was asked if a student nurse could come in and observe. I told them sure, why not? Let's make this a party. I'm such a prude and so private but at this point what was one more person? I already had 4 dr's that had seen my vage plus Trevor and 2 more later right before Ryder was born.

The second epidural made both my legs very numb and that is about it. I was feeling every contraction. I have NEVER EVER been one of those people that wants to "fully experience" child birth. I say bring me the drugs. I have also heard people say that they had to deliver without meds and once they did it they were so glad that they had. They felt proud that they had done it or something. Hah!

In what seemed like only a few breaths I felt the need to push and the dr. was there. Holy cow! Talk about the most painful experience of my life. There was a lot of crying involved. There was a lot of me saying, "Trevor, I can't do this!" Granted, at this point there is no turning back, you pretty much are doing this no matter what, but I seriously felt like it might just kill me.

With Brody, I was able to push him out in like 4 pushes. I ended up pushing for only about 20 minutes, but I just couldn't do as well. I felt like I was so busy concentrating on my major pain that I couldn't concentrate on the correct way to push. I also felt like I couldn't breathe. It seemed like I couldn't catch a breath. There was so much burning and tearing going on. At on point I grabbed onto the rails of my bed and when I did I hit a button that made the end of the bed go down, and the dr was sitting on it, so I nearly dumped him on the floor. It felt like such an out of body experience that I couldn't control my actions. I remember apologizing to him. Every once in a while I would catch site of the student nurse and sometimes she would have this terrified look on her face like, "oh my gosh!" and once I was really pushing the baby out I remember her getting this big proud smile on her face and kinda clapping to herself. She was like my own personal cheerleader in the background. After all was said and done I told her that watching me was probably the best birth control for her ever!

Finally after so many tears, burning, and tearing I pushed out Ryder's head. Normally that's the hardest part but Ryder's chest ended up being bigger than his head and it hurt more than his head. Trevor says I cried out more at that point than any other time. With Brody he was face up and that makes labor and delivery much harder I'm told. They never got him turned around either. Ryder was face up as well, but they did turn him around before he came out. However with Ryder being so broad not only did I tear down, but he tore me up on top. So not fun.

Finally Ryder entered the world at 2:06 that afternoon. He came out wailing away. Brody hardly cried at all, and so this was quite different. We knew there was a new baby alive and well right off the bat. In fact, they do the Agpar test at one minute after a baby is born and again at five minutes (it basically tests them on the baby's color, breathing, reflexes etc.) and Ryder scored a 10, which is the best score he could get. Then they took him off my chest and began to clean him up and weigh him.

As all this is going on the dr. then delivers the placenta and because I wasn't numb I felt that and thought it was like a second (but much smaller) baby being born! Then came the stitching and I felt ever one of those go in too. It was seriously the hardest thing I have ever gone through. I remember just crying and crying when Ryder came out because I was so glad he was okay but also I cried a lot for myself. I really couldn't believe what I had just gone through.

Overall the most important thing was having a healthy baby. We were very blessed with that. The following day with a major headache and backache we were able to take our newest addition home. I'm glad to have Ryder out of me. I'm glad he's doing so well, but I'm also very grateful that my first delivery didn't go like this one did because it would have taken me a lot longer to decide to have another one. I felt so proud of myself after I had Brody, but with Ryder I felt like the biggest wimp, and yet it was way harder and I basically did it with no medication.

Ryder Joel Waite

Even though I was dialating and effacing on my own 5 weeks prior to my due date, Ryder just didn't want to come. He needed just a little nudge.

Finally on September 9, 2010, just one day after my due date we went in for a scheduled induction. By 2:06 that afternoon Ryder Joel Waite made his first appearance into this world.

He weighed the exact same as his brother did, 9 pounds 1 ounce. Originally he was measured at 21 inches long, but after being measured again this week we found out the hospital got it wrong he was 22 inches long.

Preparing Brody

In less than two weeks we are expecting Ryder, baby boy number 2, at our house. We have tried to explain this to Brody and I think he kinda gets it....that is, he gets it as much as a 2 year old can, well, at least I HOPE he does because ready or not, Ryder is coming, and possibly sooner than that.

When you point to my belly and ask Brody who is in there he says, "Ry-er", and lately he'll even say "baby Ry-er." Nearly every night he makes me pull my shirt up and he'll rest his hand on my stomach or gently rub his hand back and forth and say the baby's name. He is so sweet, but I just don't know if he realizes that there is an actual baby in there. An actual baby that is going to come and invade his world!

When we pulled up to the dr.'s office last week he pointed at the door and said, "mommy...ry-er." Its so funny to me that he knows so much. When we went in and heard the heartbeat he would tell the nurse, "ry-er noise.." and during the week if we asked him what kind of noise Ryder makes he makes this growling type sound that I think is supposed to be a heartbeat!

Most days I think Brody is going to love this baby. Yesterday while he was sitting on the bathroom counter I was combing hair. Unfortunately for Brody his Mommy's round baby bump is right at his eye level when he sits there. Totally unexpected, Brody leans forward and gives my belly a big kiss. I know what a sweet and tender little Brody can be, but I was really surprised at this. He got a big grin on his face and told me, "Bowie kiss Ry-er." Talk about melting my heart!

Hopefully having Ryder come live with us won't be too much of a shocker. I'm thrilled to have these two boys grow up and be buddies and play together, but I do worry that initially it might be a little rough for our Brody boy. We have talked a lot, so we'll keep our fingers crossed for smooth sailing!

Brody Turns 2

Yesterday was our little man's birthday! It is so hard to believe that Brody is already 2!!! We had a pretty awesome day. It was Brody's RED birthday. He doesn't say red is his favorite color, but we have noticed a definite preference for red.

Usually in the morning Brody stays in his jammies for a while, but Trevor and I went into his room and put him in his clothes first thing. He was so mad at us. He cried and threw a little fit. "No, shirt....no, shirt." He kept telling me. Finally he was dressed and I carried him down the hall to show him all the decorations that had been set up after he had gone to bed the night before. As soon as Brody saw the balloons his mood dramatically changed. A big grin came across his face and he said, "boon!!!" Then we turned to the kitchen and he got even more excited and said, "more boon...tan-ee (more balloons and candy)!!!"

We still had preparations to make before the grandparents and everyone else came over for lunch so we got busy. I made 24 cupcakes the day before, but Trevor wanted me to make a whole other batch. Why? Well, because he informed me that cupcakes taste SO much better than cake and he wanted to have some leftover. Almost 5 years of marriage and I barely find out that my husband thinks cupcakes are SOOO good. These cupcakes were a little more special than normal too because I made them the colors of the rainbow, with red the last layer so you could see it on the edge under the icing. Brody ended up mostly just licking the icing off of his cupcake, but made up for it later on that night when he ate a whole one for a bedtime snack! Everytime you ask him about his birthday he'll tell you about the "nummy cake."

Things were kept pretty simple. Altogether we had the 3 and 1/2 of us, plus 3 grandparents, brody's Uncle Adam, Uncle Kade, and Aunt Taylor. We ate a lunch of beans and sopapillas while toy story was playing. After that it was opening presents and then cake.

Brody was spoile, of course. Trevor and I had tried to not get very much because we knew he's get things from everyone else, and we were right. We got Brody Toy Story 2, a book, and some toy story legos. Toy story seemed to be the theme because nearly everything he got was toy story. Truthfully we should have gotten Brody nothing and let everyone else give him presents because he got way more than necessary. We had to practically bribe him to open the presents. He was more interested in stacking the packages.

Happy Birthday to our Brody boy!!!! We love you SO much. You have brought more joy and happiness into our lives than we even thought was possible. There has never been one stage of your life that we haven't enjoyed. It has all been great. You wake us up almost every morning by walking down to our room and announcing, "Bowie's up!!!" as if to say I'm awake so you need to be too! At night you like to settle down in our bed with us while we watch tv before you go to your own bed. Everytime we go to the store or do anything it all revolves around you, and we wouldn't have it any other way. Thank you for being such a sweet, cuddly, happy-go-lucky little boy!!!

We can't wait to celebrate years and years of birthdays with you!

Our Big Talker

Just a few months ago Brody was saying a few words. All of my friends that had daughters around the same time I had Brody said their girls were saying tons of things! Most of my friends with boys said just the opposite....their boys said only a few things.

Things have drastically changed at our house. We aren't just hearing a new word everyday, we are hearing like 4 or 5 new words a day. Sometimes, okay maybe a lot of the time, Brody says things that only mom and dad can understand because we're with him all the time. It can take a translator to understand what he wants at times. These are some of his current words that you may not understand at first:

gare = scare

dop it = stop it

cock = clock (this word usually makes Trevor die laughing for obvious reasons, but it gets even better when Brody adds word like nice or daddy so its something like this, "nice cock." Yeah, you know you're laughing too)
da-ee = daddy
dumpeen = jumping

tan-ee = candy

murning = burning

I tried to count all the words he's saying but I just can't keep up because he's learning so many new ones everyday. I'm pretty sure that we are up to 125 words if not more. The most exciting part of his talking is that he is grouping words together to try and form sentences. The not so fun part is having a bossy kid telling us what to do. If he thinks we are being too silly or he just doesn't like what we are doing he tells us to "dop it, mommy (or da-ee)." Then yesterday afternoon I guess I hadn't fed him enough because he yelled to me, "Mommy...eat!" I asked him if he was hungry and wanted something to eat and he said yeah and ran to the kitchen. Another funny thing he says now is when he sees a bug he'll tell it, "way, bug!" and wave his arm in the air. This means go away bug, and if I was the bug I would go away.

Of course there are sweet things he says too. When Trevor walks in the door after work Brody looks up at him and in the sweetest little voice will say, "hi da-ee!" It makes Trevor's day. I love when he says, "Bowie, happy!" translation = Brody's happy.

We still cannot get Brody to say anything we want him to say. I'm pretty sure he's capable of even more, but if he doesn't want to say something he's not going to. He chooses the words he says not us.