Jude Houston Martin

It's hard to believe I have my first little baby boy laying right next to me in my bed. Even though I had nine months to think and dream about the arrival of this sweet little boy, I had no idea he would be so perfect and I could love him this much. He has such a calm and tender feel about him.

I've been wanting to write about his birth for a few days but I've felt overwhelmed each time I try. I don't think there is any way possible to give it justice.

Late during my pregnancy I found out I had gestational diabetes and because of it Dr. Yamashiro decided to induce me five days early. This was my first time being induced and it was really kind of nice being able to get things ready and have arrangements for the girls. (Amy and Sara were super stars and took such great care of my girls. It was so nice not worrying about them and knowing they were having a wonderful time!) The only bad thing about being induced is the night before. I wanted to try and get a good nights rest but I was way too excited to sleep.

We got to the hospital at 7:30 am and by 8:00 we were in the labor and delivery room ready to get things started. When Dr. Yamashiro came to brake my water at 9:00 (so MUCH more painful then just having it brake on it's own!!) I was still just at a 2. I was a little disappointed because earlier that week I was at a two.

After they started me on pictocin my contracts picked up pretty good and around noon I got my epidural. Poor John got a few good pinches during the procedure. I always seem to freak myself out too much when I get my epidural. I wish I had skipped that portion of the birthing class we took with Eleanor! Right after I got my epidural Amy arrived and it was fun having both her and John in the room to visit with.

Every time the nurses or Dr. Yamashiro checked me they commented on how the baby was still really high. Yamashiro kept saying the baby was way up in Idaho. Because the baby hadn't dropped I was stuck at a five for quite a few hours. I started getting really discouraged. They said the baby could have the cord around his neck and that could be keeping him from dropping or because of the diabetes he was bigger and could fit. Of course, Dr. Yamashiro didn't show any signs of being worried but I couldn't help but to think of all the worse.

Finally after a few hours my nurse put me in the most uncomfortable position possible in hopes of getting the baby to drop. I had to lay on my side with my left leg swung across me and up in the stirrup on the opposite side of the bed. It wouldn't have been so bad but every time I'd lay on my side my epidural would quite working. My right leg never went numb and when I was on my side my stomach would no longer be numb. It was horrible! Luckily this position worked and during a few of the most painful contracts the baby dropped! I knew something big had happened because I could feel every bit of it and it was PAINFUL!

After the big descend, things really started happening. I went from a five to an eight within a half hour and from an eight to pushing within 15 minutes. I can't explain how relieved I was that things had progressed and I was about to have my sweet little baby! During the day I had heard two different newborn cries in the rooms next to mine and I was anxious to have my baby in my arms and hear his little cry!!

After the first set of contractions and pushes they took the monitors that measured my contractions out of me informed me that I had to let them know when I was having a contraction so we knew when I needed to push. I got so nervous! Wasn't this their job to be telling me when to push, not the other way around? Luckily I could feel my contractions pretty good and was able to take charge.

I'm not quite sure exactly how many times I pushed but I don't think it was more then four or five and at 6:34 pm our sweet little baby made his big debut! The nurse threw a towel on me and then put the baby in the towel and rubbed him. I'll never forget seeing his cute little head and hearing his adorable high pitched cry. He cried and cried and I loved it! It was so much fun hearing his cry. I don't remember either of the girls crying like that!

John got to cut the cord and Yamashiro made sure to tell him not to be careful and not circumcise him. After the cord was cut they took him to the scale and we were all shocked to see that he was just 7lbs 9oz. He was the exact same weight and length as Amelia. We were all a little shocked he was so little. My biggest fear was having a 10lb baby and Yamashiro made sure to taunt me about it every chance he had.

Sara and the girls showed up about a half hour after Jude was born. It was so much fun watching all of their reactions when they walked in the room. Sara's first words were, "He looks just like Eleanor". Amelia couldn't stop saying "baby baby" and wanted to touch every inch of his body. Eleanor did say much and was pretty shy about getting to close to him.

Overall it was such an amazing experience. I would go back tomorrow and do it all over again! There is nothing like having a newborn and seeing your baby for the first time. It's amazing how much love you can have for something. I feel so incredibly blessed to have him here safe and to be part of our family. Eleanor said it the best, "I like our family better now".

The Farm

Don't ask me why Sara and I thought it would be a good idea to take the kids down to the Farm on the hottest day of the year AND just four days before Jude was born AND on a half off day which also meant huge lines! I about died laughing when I saw just how red the kid's cheeks were in these photos! They were all pretty good sports. Aunt Sara came to the rescue by buying us all drinks at Maverick after and I honestly don't think I've ever enjoyed something so much in my life!!

Daddy's Little Girl

These two have always had a special little relationship and I love it. Last night I came downstairs to find this. It made me so happy.

Moving On Down!

With our little boy on his way, we had to make room for him by moving the girls down in the basement. At first Eleanor wasn't too keen on the idea but then John told her she could have a tv in her room and she was sold! (I wasn't too thrilled about the idea of them having a tv in their room.)

We already had the bedroom furniture from when we first got married but it was all painted black. I knew Eleanor would not move into a room with black furniture so last weekend we sanded and painted the furniture. It was a lot of work, but I think it turned out pretty cute. After John moved the tv down I had Eleanor come down and see it (thinking she would be thrilled). She looked at it for a second and then said, "I think it would look better with one of those skinnier tvs". Yeah, I agree Eleanor but it would take an awfully lot years to earn that much allowance.

We had Amelia sleep in the room the first night and she did fine. She did get up once but John and I slept down in the basement so it wasn't that big of a deal. I've decided since I'll be keeping the little man in our room for the first couple of months, I'm not going to keep Amelia in the crib upstairs.

Eleanor has been so responsible with her room. She cleans in every morning and is so proud of of it. She loved setting up all her treasures on her special self and she loves her closet. She and I are in disagreement about which side of the bedspread we like best. She prefers the yellow while I like the white. If she makes the bed she gets to have the yellow.

Amelia jane 21 months

I can't seem to get enough of Amelia lately. She is so dang cute and has quite the little personality! She loves to have the attention on her and will do anything to get a laugh or smile from anyone. She still isn't talking too much but what she does say is adorable. Some of my favorite are:
maca= motorcycle (which she LOVES)
ma= milk
ice= is any kind of drink other then milk
bite= means she is hungry
pretty= bracelet, dress, asking for her hair to be done and flowers
gaga= music. She loves to dance and will walk to the tv and ask for gaga (aka Lady Gaga)
yucky= means her hands are dirty and wants them cleaned
water= she either wants to go swimming or she has spilled any liquid on her
flop flop= her flip flops
papey= paper or crayons
puppy= is almost every animal.
oosa= horsey
side= outside and slide
park= slide
barbra= barbie
Mimi= my mom or any lady close to her age


She also says a lot of other words but they are used correctly so they aren't quite as cute.

Amelia has four dolls that she loves. She constantly has one in her arms or is pushing one around in the stroller or grocery cart. All her babies have to be wrapped in blankets and is constantly having me re wrap them. She also likes to make sure all her babies have a bottle at all times. My favorite thing to see is Amelia walking holding her baby and giving it kisses. It's so cute. I'm sure each baby receives hundreds of kisses daily.

She still has a love for shoes. She wears them 24/7. Anytime we have visitors Amelia makes sure to try on all the shoes and will wear her favorite for their entire visit. Recently she discovered the toy high heels and LOVES them!

When you ask who Amelia loves she will always answer Daddy, Ella and Mommy. And it's almost always in that order. And when you ask her who loves her she'll answer Mommy, Daddy and Ella. When asked who her best friend is she'll say Ella.

Most questions you ask her she'll respond with "yeah". And its not just a simple "yeah". She says it with a lot of excitement. I love it!

Amelia loves to color and holds her crayons or pencils correctly. She's been doing this since she was about 9 months old and its the cutest thing ever!

She brings me the phone multiple times a day and will either say, "Mimi, Lolo (Lori) or Daddy"

The girl loves sunglasses and will keep them on for hours. Anytime we are in the car she wants a pair on.

When she hears the garage door open or Miley bark she runs to the kitchen and starts yelling "daddy'.

She is our little dare-devil. She loves going down the tallest slides at the park. Will go on any ride and gets mad when it's over. She loves riding on Eleanor's bike, scooter or tricycle. She loves jumping into the swimming pool and has no fear of the water. She climbs on everything! She has fallen off our kitchen table a few times and I just know she's going to have a broken limb in just a matter of time.

Amelia can pinch with the best of them! She still thinks it funny even after she gets in a lot of trouble every time she pinches.

She has finally outgrown her obsession with the toilet water. Thankfully she only drinking filtered water now.

She loves getting her nails trimmed. She will often either bring me the clippers or sit down and try clipping her own nails.

First words out of her mouth every morning are "mommy. Ella. side". She could live outside if we let her. She loves looking for bugs and picking them up.

When you tell her to shake her booty she bends down puts her hands on her knees and literally shakes her booty. Adorable!

When I lay down with her at nap time she gets right up in my face and repeats "mommy mommy" and will kiss my face over and over. It's my favorite part of the day!

Every night after eating she asks for a bath and isn't happy when it's time to get out. She makes a HUGE mess while bathing. She likes to splash and throw out toys. She also likes to wash her own hair and body.

She does not like a wet or poopy diaper and will go get her own diaper but will then run away from me when I try to change her.

She has yet to say "no". Instead she just shakes her little head.

I'm pretty sure she'll be featured on My Strange Addiction for her love of lotion. She loves it. We always say that's why her skin is so soft.

She adores Eleanor. She tries to everything she does. If Eleanor is not in her sight she will yell for "Ella".

Amelia repeats her self a lot! She will say the same word over and over until you get what she wants. It drives me absolutely nuts!

She loves sweets and is constantly asking for popsicles or candy. It's impossible to sneak treats with her in the house. She has an insane sweet sense!


I'm sure I could list hundreds of more things I love about this girl, but it's time to but the little stink to bed. I seriously love this little girl and I know we are so blessed to have her in our family.

*The photos were taken while I was writing this post. Love her!

Exhausted

This is what happens after playing with your favorite cousin for 24 hours.

Easter Morning

Easter morning was a lot of fun this year. Eleanor had been talking about the Easter Bunny for a few weeks and was pretty anxious to see what he/she was going to bring her. Every year the Easter Bunny leaves a little trail of eggs that leads to the girls baskets. Eleanor was so sweet with Amelia and made sure she got to find a few eggs along the way.

Over all I think the Easter Bunny did not disappoint! Eleanor was beyond thrilled with the pink ipod she got and both the girls loved their sunglasses. I don't think I'll ever sick tired of watching the excitement of Easter morning!

A few things the Easter Bunny brings each year:
Swim suits
Sunglasses
Pinwheels
Crayons/Coloring books

Amelia

Not quite sure why, but for some reason Amelia feels like she needs to wear her pants low-rider style. And I mean really low. She also loves to pull her diaper down so her little bum shows. I guess it's a good thing she has such a cute little bum it she's going to show it off!

Lehi Round Up Celebration:

Each year I look forward to our town's celebration. All the parades, activities, breakfast and rode reminds me of the 24th of July celebration I enjoyed each year while growing up in St. Johns. This year John took work off on Thursday so he was able to attend the stock parade with us. Eleanor loves this parade. Every little pony she saw she wanted. I must admit seeing the cute little ponies pulling the mini wagons made me want one as well. Amelia decided to take a nap during 90% of the parade. I was disappointed she missed most of it because I knew she would love it. For the small portion she did see, she loved it. She was totally mesmerized by all the horses. I'm sad I didn't get any photos at the parade.

After the parade we met up with the Johnsons, Rosevears and the Wildes for the rodeo. It was a perfect night for a rodeo and I'm so happy we had Ashley watch Amelia. I can only imagine what a pain in the neck she would have been!




On Saturday we left the house early to go enjoy a chuck wagon breakfast at the park. After breakfast we walked around to some of the booths and Eleanor got to spend some of her allowance (she gets a whooping $4.00 each week) and she choose two dresses for her barbie dolls. Of course she had to pick out the most outrageous and glamours dresses.


We met up with the Shirleys for the parade. They were nice enough and set out chairs the night before so we had great seats. Both girls were pretty determined to get as much candy as they could. I think Amelia ate about 30 pieces of candy. She even got pretty good at stilling other kids candy.

(Eleanor and her attitude. I swear she thinks she's a little mini adult!)





Eleanor has been a little bit obsessed with the tuba lately and so she loved seeing all the marching bands. She's determined she's going to be in the marching band when she gets older. I'd love to see that!!






Dang Amelia has got a bad addiction to diet pepsi. It's getting a little out of hand.

Favorite Quote

My favorite quote of the day was from Eleanor to Amelia while they were playing in the kitchen. Eleanor was preparing to give Amelia a ride in the laundry basket and she says to her, "Amelia, don't stop believing. This ride will go on and on and on".

Small Things

It's 9:20 am on a Monday morning. I'm down stairs working on the computer and I can hear both girls playing in the toy room. The sound makes me so happy. They are both playing with their own toys and each are singing to themselves. It's about the cutest things I've seen/heard.

I didn't want to disturb them and take a photo, so instead I found an older photo of just Amelia playing in the toy room. And yes, the toy room is just as messy!

Playmates

These two girls are quite the friends. This morning Eleanor put Amelia in this basket along with all her babies and pulled/pushed her all around the house. Amelia loved every second of it! I heard Eleanor saying, "Oh what a cute Chinese baby". I didn't quite understand what she was talking about until I went out and looked at Amelia. I'd have to agree, she did look like a cute little Chinese baby.

Then again later tonight they pulled out the basket and babies and did it all over again.