Arctic Circle!

 Recently our favorite hang out is Arctic Circle.  A new one opened up in our area and it is my sanity.  I take Macy there almost every other day to play.  I love that I can let her play and not fear that she is gonna run into the street or somewhere else dangerous.  The picture above and the two below are from the Arctic Circle in Orem that we tried out...definitely not as good as the one by us, but it worked.

 She is so beautiful!

 I LOVE this play set.  Most of the play places were too big for Macy to play on because she couldn't climb up the steps, but this one was the perfect size for her, and because it is new, it is much cleaner than others.

 She learned how to swing on the bar above the slide.  For some reason I love when she does it, it makes me feel proud of how strong she is.

 Arctic Circle is soo cool because they give free courtesy cones with each purchase.  They even dip them...they won my heart at free.

My cousin and my baby

 My uncle Mark and his wife, Angie had a baby 3 days after I had Abraham.  This means that my cousin is 3 days younger than my son and 2 years younger than my daughter...so funny. 

 I love that these two are so close in age, they will have a playmate at family functions.  We have already started trying to socilaize them.  Alexandra (my uncles daughter)  likes to investigate Abraham...she is definitely a girl.

 I watched her one day while my uncle worked on the yard and the kids had so much fun together.  I sang to them and little Alex danced...it was precious.   I'm not so sure how Abraham feels, he probably thinks girls have cooties already.

 The two cuties are pretty close in size although Abraham shows her up in girth.

 Macy loves loves loves holding babies.  She is always asking to hold Abraham and she jumped at the chance to hold another baby.

Easter

 Clark's family has an annual Easter celebration.  It's so fun for the kids because they make Easter baskets and go on an Easter Egg Hunt.  Of course they also have AMAZING food and great company.  This year we had homemade Cafe Rio and it was better than the real thing...I need me those recipes.

 Macy was so cute this year.  She was reminding me so much of myself when I was taking these pictures.  She has a lot of similar personality traits to myself and people have been saying that she looks a lot like me.  I just know that she is pretty cute!

 At first I had to show Macy what to do with the eggs lying all over the grass (we make it easy for the little ones), but she soon got the picture and was picking up egg after egg.  I think she got a few more than her share.

 She LOVED her basket full of eggs, she didn't let it go for a couple of days afterwards.  She carried it around like a purse saying, "Easter Basket," over and over.

 She kept asking for jelly beans all day long, so I finally had to put the basket away, out of sight out of mind right?  It seemed to work and that basket is still in the cupboard full of jellybean filled eggs.

 It is so fun watching Macy grow and learn. 

 I just die over Macy's picture smiling...sometimes it's normal and other times it is hysterical.

 The crooked smile is my favorite!

Tidbits

Lately Macy has been very imaginative...it all started when we went on a walk and saw some ladybugs.  I picked them up and asked if she wanted to hold one.  She was a little nervous, tried, but was too jumpy to actually hold a ladybug.  Later, she started pretending that she was holding a ladybug.  She would hold out one finger and say she had a ladybug and try to get Clark and I to hold it as well.  She has been doing this for awhile now, but today she took it to a new level.  We were playing at the Del Taco play place and she was running in circles saying the alligator was gonna get her.  All seemed normal til she came over to me with her hand out and said she was holding an alligator.  She has a little toy alligator so I figured that she was just imagining that one.  Then the alligator turned into one that could fit on the tip of her finger.  This alligator is the smallest and nicest alligator that I have met.  It played in her shirt and on the window and I even got to hold it for a bit.  My daughter has imaginary friends.

Macy has been pretty creative with getting out of bed since she was quite little.  She has asked for drinks, to go to the bathroom (she is not potty trained), to kiss Abraham, to sing one more song, etc.  Since she has moved to a big girl bed, it has gotten to a whole new level.   She started saying that there were spiders.  This one was a hard one because if there were spiders, we didn't want to ignore it.  One night, she was looking at the floor in the same place so Clark turned on the light and searched for the spider, there were none.  So every night we have to tell her there are no spiders.  She turned it to monsters and her latest is robots.  She says, "No robots."  And we confirm.   She is really into robots at the moment.  I asked her what robots do and she said, "dance."  She cracks me up!

Every morning and every time Macy wakes up from a nap, she says, "Goog (good) Morning!  I had a good nap!"  She has always been a happy waker uper.

Macy does not like when Abraham sleeps.  She is constantly trying to wake him up and usually succeeds.  Mommy no likey.  Clark says that she wants her partner in crime.  We tried to move Abraham out of our room and into hers, but that was not successful because Macy saw that he was in there and stuck her hands through the bars of his crib and woke him up.  It will be a great day when we can move him out of our room.

Abraham started sitting at 5 months in the tripod position and has gotten better and better at it.  He still falls over a lot, he doesn't realize what happens when he reaches for toys.  He plays with his toys a lot more than macy did.  He finds all the little details on the toys and investigates them.  He is also VERY strong.  Hold him once and you will see.  He will pull your hair, pinch anything he can get a hold of, attack your chin and bite with a death grip.  We have had many a tug of war.

Abraham is almost a perfect baby.  He eats great, is chubby, has dimples, almost never cries, giggles so easily, loves his mommy (and daddy and sister), etc.  The only problem is sleep, he is up about every 1-3 hours in the night.  I say that he has to have something that's not perfect otherwise he would be taken back to Heavenly Father and I want him here with me.  I love my little chunka!

TWO

These pictures are all from awhile ago, and Abraham has already changed soooo much!  I was pretty nervous about having child number 2.  I remembered how tired I was with Macy and how I wanted (and did) sleep until noon when she was really little. I was also so worried about Macy feeling betrayed and jealous.  I was also a little concerned about having a boy and how I would feel towards him.  I have only ever known loving a girl baby...how would a boy be different?  Well I am pleased to say that the transition has not been near as difficult as I thought it was going to be!  Maybe it is because Abraham is such an easy baby, or maybe because Macy has dealt really well with the new addition, and maybe it has a little to do with the fact that I am more experienced and not as stressed as I was with Macy.

 Whatever it is though, I am glad.  I feel like I am really enjoying this newborn stage with Abraham.  He took to nursing like a fish to water (Thank Heavens!) and, although he was up every 2 hours to eat through the night for the first 7 weeks, I am happy and in a very good place.  Abraham is growing like a weed...and I am not kidding.  He was 6 lbs 13 oz at birth.  He weighed in at a whopping 11 lbs 4 oz at one month, and when I weighed him two weeks later, it said 13 lbs.  We will find out his two month stats tomorrow along with Macy's two year stats.  I always said how I wanted a chubby baby and man have I got one.  My favorite nickname for him right now is Chunka.

 Macy has decided that she wants a binky all of the time now because baby has one.  I'm fine with it except when she takes his binky and sucks on it...yuck!

 After my family left and it was just our little family at home, Macy would say over and over,"Hold you."  I thought that she was talking to me and wanting me to hold her all of the time.  Come to find out, it wasn't me she wanted, it was the baby.  She asks to hold him constantly and would hold him non stop if I let her.

 I never could have Imagined how much I could love two children!  At times I feel like I am cheating on Macy with how much I love Abraham, but then I think of Macy and my heart is full of love for her.  I love having a boy!  I thought it would be so weird, but it isn't.  He is my little buddy and I can't wait to teach him how to be a gentleman.  I look forward to him going on a mission and being a good daddy someday.  All I know is that the woman he marries better be a good one (sound like a mom to you?).

 Abraham is so chill.  He almost NEVER cries.  He will just chill where I put him down.  If he is opposed to something I do...he gives a tiny little whimper.   My mom says it must be the Hawaiian in him.

 Macy is growing up to be a lot like me.  Before I thought that she was going to be just like Clark, but alas she is not.  She is her mother's daughter that's for sure.  She makes so many facial expressions like me, she talks like me, she is super social, a wanderer, a dancer, and very independent.  There only a couple things not like me...she is cautious (no complaints about that) and she likes to make people laugh.  I mean, I would love to make people laugh, but it just isn't one of my strong suits...I am more of the laugher.  She is also super into the ABC's.  She loves to sing the song and she can identify quite a few.  She can also make the sounds of the ones she knows.

 I really hope that as my children grow up that they will have a true love and kinship with one another.  I know that there will probably be fights and a little sibling rivalry, but I hope that the love that they have for each other will win over that.  If anyone has any suggestions for how to foster that love for each other in siblings, let me know! As for now, they could not be more fond of each other.

 Clark was so excited about having a son.  He feels such a special responsibility to teach him and guide him on correct paths.  Their love and bond is precious.  One thing I didn't expect out of Abraham's birth was how it would bond he and Macy.  Clark has had to take on more responsibilities for taking care of Macy like getting her if she wakes up in the night and other things when I am busy feeding Abraham.  Due to this, Clark and Macy have become best little buds.  They play together so cutely and she even calls for him when she wakes up.  This brings so much joy to my soul!

 This is Macy's first gingerbread house that she made at our ward Christmas party.  She wanted to eat all of the candy rather than stick it on a house...and so she did.  And then threw it on the floor and stomped on the graham crackers til they were mush.

 I don't know if any of you have seen Kung Fu Panda 2, but Abraham looks just like baby Po.  A panda bear was a perfect choice of stuffed animal for this little/big guy.

Man how the time has flown.  Abraham turned two months old today and Macy turned two years old on the 16th of December.  A favorite quote I like to remember is, "The days are long, but the years are short."  Isn't that so true?  I will have to do another post for Macy's birthday and Abraham at two months, but for now, I hope you enjoyed.

Abraham Kalama is Born!!!

On 11/11/11 Abraham Kalama was born at 3:07 pm.  He weighed 6 lbs 13 oz and 19 3/4 in long.  He has been a joy since he was born and is growing so so so fast.  I have been wanting to document his birth story since even before he was born, and I am finally getting down to it.                          Here is Macy happy while Mommy was in labor.

With Macy, I was kind of talked into getting an epidural and pitocin, and I wasn't a fan.  So with this labor and delivery, I wanted to do it all naturally.  I was still going to be in the hospital with an obgyn, but I was gonna go without any drugs or an i.v.  My mom had told me a long time ago that I was the only one of her children that could have a baby on 11/11/11.  I thought she was crazy, but she must have known something cuz it worked!  My due date was on the 18th, so the 11th was exactly one week early.  The doc told me that he would induce me on the 11th if I wanted, but I was not going to give up my natural childbirth.  I did all the research I could on the internet about all the different methods of childbirth like hypnobirthing and the bradley method.  I took from them what seemed to fit for me.  I would visualize each night and try to prep Clark with affirmations to repeat to me when I was in labor.  I also read every birth story I could and watched video after video of natural childbirth.  I still had my worries, but I was determined to do this.

 On the 10th, I went to the doctors office and they stripped my membranes.  I was 2+/3 cm dilated and 80% effaced.  My mom and I went to the mall and walked walked walked.  That night she pushed on my pressure points and I took evening primrose oil.  The next morning nothing had happened.  I was pretty bummed, but I was still gonna try to go into labor.  After a little bit of trying to go into labor and having pretty consistant braxton hicks, my mom heated up a hamburger for us to share.  I took 2 bites and I felt a really strong contraction that peaked went down and then just peaked again.  Then I felt a gush of fluid.   I said, "I think my water just broke."  When I stood up, I was pretty sure it had, but when I got to the bathroom I saw that it was blood and a lot of it.  My grandma called at that moment(12:00) and asked if anything was happening.  I told her what was going on and she said the same thing happened when she went into labor with my mom.  I was worried that maybe my placenta was tearing off, so we just grabbed what we could and ran.  Macy hadn't even been changed for the day or had lunch. 

On the way to the hospital, I tried to get ahold of Clark who was at school.  He doesn't get reception in his lab, so I called his friends wife to call her husband to tell Clark to go to the hospital.  It's a good thing that worked, otherwise he would have missed it.  My mom wasn't really sure that I was in labor, but I knew that I was from the very consistant contractions.  I guess I just handled them well.

Once at the hospital, I told the nurses what was going on and one of them kind of freaked me out that I was gonna need an emergency c-section.  Luckily the nurse assigned to me was very calm and reassuring.  She said I would just need to have constant heart rate monitoring on the baby because of the large amount of blood I was losing.  His heart rate was great and he wasn't in stress the whole time, thank heavens.  I asked my nurse if she could tell how strong my contractions were and she said,"you tell me, you seem to be handling them well."  That was such a nice compliment.  I then warned her that I dilate quickly so be prepared.  She was scared to check me at first, but after talking to the doctor, she did and I was 5 cm.  Pretty soon after, I needed to use the restroom. I walked over and while going I started to get super light headed.  After a little bit of apple juice, I perked right up, but they still wheeled me back to the bed.

This is when the intensity of the contractions picked up.  I was 6 1/2 cm, but I knew that wouldn't last long.  I was stuck sitting on the bed, which was exactly what I didn't want, but I worked with it.  I tried getting in new positions, but the way I felt the best was just sitting with Clark's hand on my lower back.  I felt really tired and could hardly open my eyes.   When the contractions got stronger, I started to make an "oh" sound, and Macy copied me which was so cute. Between contractions I could still talk and enjoy myself.  The one time I lost it was when I was trying to move positions and my foot got caught in the cords.  I was standing on the bed on one foot in the middle of a contraction and I yelled,"I'm Stuck!"  I got checked shortly after and I was 8 cm.  This is when my mom and Macy left the room.  The nurse called the doctor and he arrived a couple minutes later, checked me at a 9 and broke my water and left the room to sit down.  He said that I was way too calm to be doing it all natural.  After the next contraction I felt the urge to push.  The nurse checked and said all I had left was a lip.  The doc came in and checked and said I was good to go.   I just kept saying,"I need to push, I need to push."  The doctor told me to push if I felt like pushing and not to if I didn't.  I love that he gave me the freedom to follow my body. 

Pushing was the craziest thing I have experienced.  It was like I wasn't even there and my body just took over.  I didn't even feel any pain.  I never realized how strong a uterus is until I felt it push so strongly.  The doctor had to give me an episiotomy because my previous scar was not tearing or stretching and he didn't want me to tear somewhere else (this was the only bummer).  Abraham was born 7 minutes after I started pushing.  The moment he came out I said,"That is the best feeling ever!"  I have never felt such a good feeling in my life, it was amazing the relief I felt.  They waited just a bit to cut the cord and placed him on my belly.  After weighing and measuring I got to nurse him and he latched right on.  He was so alert and calm.  I felt great and even walked from my delivery room to the recovery room.  Right after Abraham came out, the doctor asked me if I had a method I used...I said that I just researched and did what came to me.  The pediatric nurse said that I used a sing song method because my oh's sounded like singing I guess.  My labor was 3 hours and 7 minutes...awesome!

 I love how good I felt after having Abraham and how much better my recovery was.  I think the second time around is also better because I know what I am doing and am not stressed about everything.

 Clark loves his little man.

 After walking to the recovery room.

 Macy loves her brother...sometimes a little too much.