Mt. Rushmore

You know, there are some things that you just never think of.........like, Mt. Rushmore from the Canadian side.

I know...totally pointless, but it made me laugh!

Quiet Down Cobwebs

I never had a very good rocking chair when Hayden was an infant so I didn't get the pleasure of rocking him every day. That was one thing I really really wanted to be able to do with Dallin, but due to our financial situation I came to the heartbreaking realization that it wouldn't be practical to purchase a new glider.

While expressing my sorrow to Mike's aunt she very kindly offered me the beautiful glider that sat in the corner of her bedroom that has never been used. I am so grateful for her and her generosity and I will always cherish my rocking chair.

To sum up how important a rocking chair is to me, I'm taking a few words from an email a friend sent me after telling her I was going to be sensible and not spend money or gift cards on something so silly as a rocking chair:

Almost ten years later, it is still in the nursery- stained from years of use. At one point, it had been broken by my kids, and I came home from my grandma's funeral to find it pieced back together and repaired. I still rock my babies in it. Whenever I sit there, I think of an article I once read about how generations of women have rocked their babies. A million things make our lives so different from our ancestors, but a mother rocking her baby is an image that spans the centuries.

Babies Don’t Keep
By Ruth Hulbert Hamilton

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due,
Lullabye, rockaby, lullabye loo.
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo,
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo,
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs;
Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

Bath Time!

Dallin's umbilical cord stump finally fell off today - so we gave him a real bath for the first time! He loved it until it was time to get out...then it was too cold.

More pictures of the boys

Coming home from the hospital - his outfit was HUGE on him!

Hanging out in the boppy

Today in the swing

Skin-to-skin with Daddy

Hayden LOVES to lay down with his "Baby Brudder"

This is what happens when we let Hayden dress himself:
Shirt, inside out
Shorts, backwards
Tie-dye and camo?

Hayden's awesome Batman pajamas that Baby Dallin brought for him

Birth Story and Big Brother

Since I had a c-section with Hayden I a repeat c-section with Dallin. We got here at 5:30am to get my IV going and such. Then at 7:28am I walked myself into the Operating Room, which was FREEZING...it was a very strange feeling to just waltz in there instead of being wheeled in like last time. I got my spinal and was happily numb. I get a little claustrophobic so I just kept my eyes closed until they held Dallin up at 7:50am. Everyone was surprised at his size...my doctor even commented that he thought he would be 10 lbs! Mike got to go with Dallin to be cleaned and weighed then he brought him to me to hold for a minute before I got all closed up.

Not much of a birth story when it's a routine repeat c-section...sorry!

He's doing well now and is a pretty good eater, though he likes his sleep a little more than he likes to eat it seems.

My amazing doctor:
Dr. Leandro Rodriguez

And the very proud big brother:

Grandma Brenda and Nana came to visit today and Hayden was thrilled to pieces again to hold his brother...this time all by himself (aren't boppys wonderful?) He sang him songs when Dallin got fussy and snuck kisses and hugs when he thought nobody was looking. He is going to be a GREAT big brother!

Dallin James Richards

Born 4 August 2009
7:50am
8 lbs 4 oz
20 inches

What's in a name?

It’s 3am. My c-section is scheduled in just four hours…I am leaving for the hospital in two…my head is spinning…and I can’t sleep.

I’m not really nervous about how the surgery will go. I’ve done this before and know what to expect. I love my doctor and I am confident in his abilities to deliver this baby and keep both of us safe.

This is a very melancholy event. On one hand, it’s August and I’m 39 weeks pregnant. I’m huge, hot and miserable and all I want is to get this baby out. On the other hand, this baby has been all mine for the last nine months. For nine months it’s just been him and me. Hundreds of kicks, thousands of hiccups – all mine. Now don’t get me wrong…I’m sure at 1:00, 3:00, and 5:00 am when he’s waking up to be fed I’ll gladly let him be anybody else’s, but you know what I mean. Never again will I feel this little guy move inside of me. In five hours or so my abdomen full of life will be left full of scar tissue and emptiness. I can’t wait for the days, weeks and years ahead of me to get to know my new son…but pregnancy is a wonderful, beautiful thing where women are able to act with Heavenly Father in creating life. There is nothing like it, and all good things come to an end, right?

We have really struggled with picking out a name for this baby. We settled on a first name a couple of months ago but could never agree upon a middle name. Hayden’s middle name is Michael, after his father, so I didn’t want to just give this one a name because it “sounded good”. Unfortunately, most people in either Mike’s or my family have names that sound terrible with either his first name or our last name. I’ve had a lot of quiet time to think last night and into the early morning hours and I finally found a name that means a great deal to me and just plain sounds right. His name will be Dallin James Richards. Just like Hayden, we’ve chosen the name Dallin for no other reason than we liked it. James will be after my best friend’s father, Michael James Scott.

I met Jim when I was 13 years old and his family moved into our neighborhood and ward. Kelly and I became fast friends, but I had absolutely no idea the influence her father would have on me. He was ready and willing to provide priesthood blessings and any other advice I needed at any time. He gave me priesthood blessings before school started and counsel when necessary. He is a very good man. Jim was such an influence for good during my teenage years that it just seems right to name my son after him. I so wish my own father was still here to meet my children, but he passed away a few months before Hayden was born. Maybe they were there to greet him on the other side of the veil.

It is now 3:34 am and I suppose I should try and get some sleep for the last hour that I’ve got. I’ll post pictures as soon as I can!