two years

Happy two year anniversary to us!

10.26.06

And yes, it might be true that I finally ordered our wedding pictures after two years. We might have received them on Friday. Who knows when I'll get around to putting them in an album...

thoughts on motherhood

If you read my earlier post, you would know that Jonah was screaming in my ear while I was typing it. Now he is sleeping soundly on my chest and as I was looking at the post about his blessing, I got a little emotional. Motherhood can do that to you. Occasionally I will look at him or a picture of him and be totally overcome with emotion. I love being a mother more than anything in this world. It is the hardest thing I've ever done. It is emotionally draining, and not just with happy emotions. There are anxious emotions, sad emotions, worried emotions, frustrated emotions.

I love babies and I always have, but he is a hard baby. I will admit that. Maybe it's just because I've never had my own baby before, but I don't remember my little brothers and sisters being hard. And I was fifteen when my youngest sister was born, so I would remember. I will also admit that I was scared out of my mind when we found out we were having a boy. I had heard horror stories from Scott's mom about him as a baby and I was terrified that our baby was going to be the same way. Turns out he is! At least we know he is his father's son! But even though this is hard, the best parts come in the little moments. Like when he is sleeping soundly on my chest and I can smell his new baby smell and kiss his cheeks off. Sometimes I can't stop kissing his cheeks. Or like when I give him a raspberry on his tummy and he opens his mouth wide like he is trying so hard to smile and I can almost see it. His face is so sweet when he does that. Or when he does his complaining coo. He doesn't cry but since he's not crying he has to be complaining. It is such a sad voice and it makes me laugh everytime because he is so serious about it.

I was thinking the other day that I can't wait until he grows out of his fussy stage and I can't wait until I can feed him something other than breast or I can't wait until he fits into all his clothes or I can't wait until this or that. Then I realized that I will never have today back and soon he'll be off on a mission or gone to college or married and having kids of his own. I probably will look back at these days and wish I had them back even though I would have to listen to his constant screaming. I am trying to remember the moments that make me really happy and cherish them. They make all the hard work worth it. I am trying to make it so that I won't have to look back and regret that I didn't soak it all up when I had the chance.

blessings

On Sunday, October 12, we had Jonah's blessing. It was a special day for us and we are very blessed to have Jonah in our family. I'll keep some notes about the blessing in a different place because it's probably not very appropriate to have it on the internet, but Scott did a really good job and it was very touching. I'm a lucky woman to be surrounded by these cool boys! I could really get used to this!

Here are some pictures of him on his blessing day. I loved his little outfit. He looked so sweet and he was surprisingly so calm the whole day. He didn't even cry during the blessing, which I was really worried about. He was wide awake and calm as can be, which is extremely rare for him. Maybe we should dress him up and give him a blessing everyday. Except my mom would go crazy from all the cooking. Thanks Mom! Everyone loved your food!

We are blessed.

one month

Okay, I realize that I'm really behind and it's almost been two months, but I want to make sure I have these down.

Jonah was pretty good for the first month, but we started seeing glimpses of his naughty side. He became a little better at eating and he is actually a very good sleeper at night. He goes down around 10:30 or 11 and wakes up around 3:30 and then around 7:30. So, Mom hasn't been too sleep-deprived. Daytime sleeping is a whole different story. He's not a good napper.

This is him on his one month birthday. I guess I'll take a picture of him compared to this froggy every month so I can see how much he has grown. At his two week well check, he weighed 7 lbs. 1 oz. and I took him to the doctor last week because he had a cold and he weighed 9 lbs. 8 oz. So he's definitely growing and even getting a little chubby!

These two pictures showcase Jonah's favorite pastime, which is screaming his head off when he's being held and not being held. He screams when he's not eating, sleeping, or in the bathtub. It gets old pretty fast.

So other than the fact that I have a fussy baby (I'm still in denial about colic. I really don't think it's to that point yet.) and a cat-napper, we have been having a great time. I don't get as much done around the house as I thought I would, but I'm enjoying being home with him. I'm not bored yet! I do have some other things on the side to keep me sane, so that's good. It's a good thing he is so dang cute and that we love him so much or we might have to give him back until he decides to find another way to communicate. If I sound angry or baby-bluesy, it's probably because he's screaming in my ear right as I type. I'm mostly joking around here and just trying to keep it real. But we really do love him and we can't really even remember what life was like before he was here. Whatever it was, it wasn't as good as it is now!

goofy

Just thought I would post a picture really quick of the little guy. I laugh so hard everytime I see it.

only 35 more days

This one's for you, Brooke!

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my life just got a whole lot easier.

Three things made my day today.

1. No more umbilical cord remnants means no more lame sponge baths. He absolutely hated sponge baths and absolutely loved his real bath today. No more screaming at the top of his lungs at bath time!

2. We finally have a crib mattress. He loves to take his naps in his crib. Today he just laid in his crib for thirty minutes - peacefully! Awake! That was awesome.

3. The Baby Bjorn came today. We tried it out and he was a little fussy at first but then - seriously - he fell asleep in five minutes. Now I may actually be able to get chores done with both hands. Get a Baby Bjorn.

little buddy

Jonah LOVES to sleep on Scott's chest. Here is evidence. It happens a lot.

I love how he curls up in a little ball.

All his clothes are huge on him. He's just a little guy. I swear I feed him!

This is what he looks like when he's not sleeping. Rooting, rooting, rooting. He always wants something to suck on.

one week

We are so excited that Jonah is finally here. This has been an extremely exhausting week, but we are slowly getting the hang of it and we think he might turn out okay.

Jonah was born last Saturday and he came all by himself even though Dad had a triathlon that morning. He didn't care - he just wanted to be a part of the Russell Family Vacation 2008.

We were in Midway with Scott's family and I woke up around 3:30 Saturday morning with horrible back pains and contractions around seven minutes apart. Around 4:00 I woke Scott up and told him I thought I might be in labor. He told me to go back to sleep and that I would be just fine. I told him I couldn't go back to sleep because I was in the worst pain of my life. I don't really wear my emotions on my sleeve, so he didn't realize just how much pain I was in. It took a little bit of overreacting on my part for him to believe me (don't tell him that). Oh, and he also had to go ask his mom if she thought we should go to the hospital. By that time, my contractions were about four minutes apart and they weren't getting any less painful, so Lorie told Scott that yes, he should probably take me to the hospital.

We still had the long drive down Parley's and it was not fun, to say the least. During the drive my water broke, but I didn't really notice because I was too busy focusing on the extreme pain in my back. Back labor is not cool.

We got home and I took a quick shower, packed my bag and then we headed off to the hospital. The nurse checked me and I was only dilated three centimeters but his head had dropped really low, so they let me stay. It was sure a good thing because I was ready to push three hours later. We thought that he would be out in under an hour since my labor had progressed so quickly for a first-timer, but that was not his plan. After pushing for three hours on every contraction (which were only two minutes apart), Jonah finally made his entrance into the world. Let me just say that delivery was the most exhausting thing I've ever done.

We love Jonah more than anything in the world and it is kind of unbelievable to me how that happens. We didn't know it was possible, but it sure is. Even when he is screaming his head off at three in the morning, it's hard not to love him.

For the first time (probably in my life) I feel like this thing that I'm working on is really worthwhile. I have motivation that I've never had before and I love being a mother. Don't get me wrong - it is sometimes so hard and frustrating, but the rewards are unbelievable.

Scott has been the best dad anyone could ever hope for. He has been so helpful and I am really dreading him going back to work next week. We have had so much fun and he has been a huge help. He even changes diapers without me asking! We have had a blast this week getting used to our new lives together.

After a week, we have come to find out that baby Jonah just loves to sleep and poop. I don't say he loves to eat, because he has such a hard time with it. Don't worry though, he's getting his sustenance. He just really struggles sometimes. I know it doesn't help that we're both rookies at the whole breastfeeding thing. He also makes the funniest faces in his sleep. I love to hold him while he's napping and just watch him. It's pretty hilarious. He definitely sleeps with his eyes open and it gets a little creepy when they roll back into his head and you can only see the whites.

We also found out that he loves classical music. No joke. We decided to turn on the radio to classical music while he slept the other night and he slept for a whole five hours! It didn't happen again, but it was sure nice that night. Maybe it's because I blasted classical music in the car to and from work when I was pregnant with him. Hopefully that means he will be smart. I'm sure it does.

This has been a week of extreme emotions on both ends of the spectrum, but we wouldn't trade this experience for anything in the world. We love our new lives and we are so excited to watch Jonah grow and develop. We are just grateful that we're the ones who get to raise him.

he is here!

Introducing

Jonah Scott Russell

August 23, 2008

3:33 pm

7 lbs.

20 inches

We couldn't be happier!

More pictures later...

sick of this part

I have had a couple requests for pictures of my belly, but I always find excuses to not take pictures of myself. I'm either too busy to think about it and when I'm not busy I usually don't look photo-worthy. Tonight was one of the non-cute-looking nights. So I will try to look cute tomorrow and post a picture. Actually, I should be really busy because I have a ten page paper due on Saturday that is not even half way finished, but I'm having a hard time staying focused and writing what I want to write.

Anyway, here's an update for you: I'm sick of being pregnant.

If you were to ask me in each trimester how I was feeling, this is how it would go:

First trimester - "I feel sick and tired and I don't have energy to do anything. But mostly good." Not much to say here mostly because I can't even remember the first trimester. It seems like that was ages ago.

Second trimester - "I feel AWESOME!" (I remember telling Scott once that I could be pregnant forever if this is how it was going to be.) The second trimester is seriously the best. Not too big but people can see your belly, still able to move around comfortably, still able to sleep through the night without waking up to go potty. I sometimes wish I was back in those days, but then that would mean that I would have to endure the third trimester again. So I take that back.

Third trimester - "This is horrible." Actually, I really tell people that I'm feeling great, but that's not the truth. Everything is so much harder. Little things like putting on my pants in the morning or shaving my legs have become almost impossible. Plus I don't get much sleep because of my constantly full bladder. Sometimes I even have to have Scott push me out of bed in the morning. Braxton Hicks contractions are seriously annoying and probably the only good thing about this trimester is that it means I'm almost done! That and feeling the baby kick. That never gets old, even when his head hits my bladder or he gives a little kick to my ribs.

I am just mentally ready to have this baby, even though realistically we're not. We still have a lot to do before he comes, so I'm hoping he'll hold out for a few more weeks. But that may not be the case because I went to the doctor today and my blood pressure is a teeny bit high. So if it's too high when I go in next week, I'll have to be induced early. Even though I'm not dilated one half of a centimeter or thinned out at all (which was kind of disappointing). So for now, I'm just kind of trying to take it easy and drinks lots of water so my feet don't swell like they did that one time you all remember (luckily they haven't since then).

Anyway, I will try to look cute tomorrow and post a picture of my belly for you all to see. It's getting pretty huge! Someone said to me the other day, "I just don't know how your belly is going to get any bigger!" Thanks, but even though I'm pregnant and supposed to look like that, I'm still sensitive to comments about my body looking massive. It doesn't help either when people say, "Well you're supposed to gain weight. You're pregnant!" I now know never to say those kinds of things to a pregnant woman because she is even more hormonal and crazy-emotional than before (if you thought that was possible).

a funny story

So sorry for the vacation I have taken from blogging. I have been somewhat uninspired lately. Anyway, I thought of a funny story that happened a few weeks ago that you may (or may not) enjoy.

Scott has always been really complimentary of me. He always tells me when he thinks I look nice or when he likes my dinners. He would never tell me that I looked ugly or fat, and honestly I don't think he would ever think that. He's just great. Sometimes he "helps" me if my mascara is all over my face or if my hair is messed up. A few weeks ago, we were headed to dinner at his parents' and I was freshening up. I decided I didn't like how my hair was done so I thought I'd fix it up in a side-pony. Keep in mind that I'm not a frequent wearer of the side-pony. I finished my freshening up and we got in the car to go to dinner. We were driving up the street when Scott looked over at me and said in a very soft and nice voice, "honey, I think your ponytail is favoring the left side of your head." I just thought it was funny how he tried to use the kindest words possible to tell me that my ponytail looked pretty horrible. I explained to him that it was supposed to favor the left side of my head because it was a side-pony. Needless to say, I probably won't be wearing the side-pony very often because I guess men don't understand the concept of the ponytail "favoring" one side of your head over the other. Just a warning to all you women out there.

triathlon number one

Scott successfully completed his first triathlon last Saturday and despite being really tired, we all had a good time. Kyle and Jamie were really nice to let us sleep at their apartment on Friday night so we didn't have to wake up extra early to make the drive to Provo on Saturday morning.

Scott and Kerri both did well for their first triathlon. Lorie and I were proud of both of them for finishing because it honestly looked hard. We were glad that they didn't drown, get in a five-bike pileup, or pass out from running in the heat. Here are some pictures from the event:

Before the race. They had no idea what was really in store for them.

Scott wouldn't let me post any swimming pictures of him, but this is my favorite of Kerri. She said that the swimming was the closest she has ever come to drowning. When she got close to the end, she just kind of doggy-paddled the rest of the way.

Scott on his trusty mountain bike. Although it is trusty, he will NOT be using it for the next triathlon. He could have shaved off a lot of time with a road bike. He may look happy in this picture, but he really wasn't.

When Kerri passed us on her bike, she said, "I have to pee!" And not very quietly.

Scott running by. He's too cool and focused to smile for the camera here.

And they're finished! Don't they look good for just having completed a triathlon?

So it was a great learning experience for Scott and he's looking forward to his next one on July 12. This one is in a pool, so no getting kicked in the head for him. And Kerri isn't doing this one, so she won't get run up the middle by an old man while swimming. Good job guys!

hello

So I guess it is time for me to be a better blogger. I don't really have any excuses. I can't say we have been busy...because we have definitely been busier. I think it's just that thing we call laziness. Here is an update.

I went to the doctor today. I'm now twenty eight weeks and feeling great. Everything looks good so far and I am just counting myself really lucky that we haven't had any major problems so far. Besides a little traumatic experience a couple weeks ago and a back ache every hour of the day, this pregnancy has been easy! We're now officially in the home stretch and I can't really imagine how I'm going to get much bigger. I feel pretty huge. Maybe I'll post a picture sometime.

Scott has his first triathlon this Saturday. I'm excited for him because he's been training pretty much every day for the past two or three months. He will do just fine. So everyone wish him luck and we're hoping that he doesn't drown in Utah Lake. Oh wait, is that possible? I think the deepest point of that lake is two feet. Right?

I had my twenty-first birthday a few weeks ago. How exciting! Yeah, I know I'm young to be married and six point five months pregnant, but I do things my way. So there. Anyway, it was a lovely day. My favorite present was something I still haven't received. I found out that Coldplay is coming in November and I've always said that if I had to die to go to any concert, it would be a Coldplay concert. So whenever the Energy Solutions Arena decides they want to start selling tickets, I'll be in line for sure. Oh and Scott also gave me their new album which arrived in the mail today, which I'm listening to right now. So far, so good.

Anyway, I think that's it for now. Scott and I are just living the dream as they say. Life is good and we can't complain about much of anything besides gas prices, and still we don't complain too much because it won't get us anywhere.

happy father's day

Just wanted to give a little shout out to my husband who is two-thirds of the way to being a father. So I think it counts to wish him a happy father's day. I am really blessed to have him as a husband and I know that he's going to be an excellent father. He is pretty ecstatic that he'll be one in less than three months. He'll probably freak out once he sees that I wrote even four sentences about him on the blog, so I'm stopping here. Except for that Tarisa tagged me and I'm going to do it about Scott instead. Here you go:

Four places he goes over and over:

• Work. He is such a hard worker and he hardly ever complains which I know is hard for him because it's hard for him to go to a job that he doesn't really want to have for a career.


• The golf course. He loves to golf and feels that it is necessary to go at least once a week because "it will help him in his professional life."


• The gym. He has his first triathlon on Saturday and I am really proud of him for working so hard to complete his goal.


• Home. He likes to be at home with me...most of the time...besides when he's golfing.

Four places he likes to eat:

• Miramar. It's this awesome ghetto Mexican restaurant that his family loves. It's one of my favorites too.


• Pappa's. He LOVES MEAT. Pappa's is another great ghetto steak house that is one of his favorites when he can't bum a quality T-Bone at Ruth's Chris off his dad.


• Happy Sumo. Scott can be a picky eater about some things, but he sure loves him some sushi. He introduced me to sushi and I love it as well. He'll eat anything they put in front of him which is crazy. I have my limits.


• Home. He loves my cooking! I love that he loves it. It makes me feel good about myself.

Four places he would like to be right now:

• On a cruise. He's a cruiser for sure and would kill to go on one at any minute.


• Anywhere but Utah. It's either too cold or too hot for him. I agree. This winter was unbelievable!


• Not at work. Every Sunday night he says, "I would pay anyone $100 if I didn't have to go to work tomorrow." He loves the weekends.


• On vacation anywhere. He loves to travel. He's also fun to travel with because he's up for anything. We've had some fun traveling adventures.

Four TV shows he enjoys:

• American Idol. I introduced him to it and he was a total David Archuleta fan this year.


• The Law and Order franchise. I also turned him on to Law and Order. I can guarantee you that there is always an episode of Law and Order on at any given time of the day. It's great.


• Anything that has to do with football, basketball, baseball, or golf. He loves to watch sports. Just like any other guy.


• I think he really likes the Discovery channel. He enjoys Deadliest Catch and Man vs. Wild. Those are also on all the time.

Four books he has enjoyed (this one was kind of hard for me and I'm pretty much guessing on all of them except the first):

• The Godfather. His all-time favorite book. If you know Scott, it totally fits. And he will tell you that the book is a thousand times better than the movie...not that he's seen the movie...


• The DaVinci Code. Probably mostly because it didn't take very long to read.


• I think one of his favorite childhood books was Where the Red Fern Grows. Which is cool because that was the first book I cried in.


• He'd probably say the Book of Mormon. And not just to make himself look good.

So there you have it. He's a pretty cool guy, isn't he? I sure love him and I can guarantee that he'll be a great father. So happy father's day baby!