Our Owen

 September was an eventful month! I will always love summer, but having all my boys' birthday in September makes fall a season to look forward to! Here are some pictures from the last few weeks. Because I want the birth story for my records, I'll write it here. It might be a little long, so feel free to skip ahead and look at pictures(I know they are WAY more exciting anyways.) The first is a little "graphic," but it's the FIRST picture we have of Owen, and for that very reason I love it....

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Craig's 26th Birthday!(Yay!) For the evening, Craig and I treated ourselves to a night out(thanks Erin!) and went to a Rockies/Giants game. At the game, I lost my mucus plug which I know really doesn't mean much, but I was excited because I knew my body was getting ready to have a baby! But I didn't want to get too excited because I still had a good two weeks until my due date(September 29). We did a lot of walking to the stadium from the parking garage and back(not to mention all the STAIRS in that stinkin' garage.) For months I'd have cramps that were awfully annoying but not terribly painful, so I didn't think much of the cramps that I got after walking so much that night. We got back that evening around 9:45, and went straight to bed...my body ACHED! 

Here is a picture from the game.  Last picture of me pregnant.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

At 11:30 pm(Wednesday), I had my first noticeable contraction. I was so excited! They were about 10 minutes apart and really pretty consistent. They got closer and more painful, so I called the on-call nurse to see when I was supposed to go in. We had scheduled a C-Section for the 22nd, so I wasn't really expecting to go to the hospital until then. The nurse told me to go in. We called my aunt over(BLESS her!) so Eli could stay asleep, and then went over to the hospital. Once there, they checked me and I wasn't more than a 1, and checked the fluid levels then sent me home around 3 and we got home at 4. There is a lot more to that visit, but that's the short version. I was mad and in pain. The contractions continued aaaallllllllll day Thursday. I was so frustrated because I knew that my body was getting ready to have the baby, but also knew that the hospital wouldn't admit me because I was a little early(I was 37w, 5d) and wasn't really progressing. BUT I never progressed with Eli, so I knew that the only way that I would get admitted early was if my water broke. I went to my 8:50 doctors appointment and had them re-check me because i was still contracting and I knew something was up. aaaand NOTHING. So...I tried to keep my mind off of having a baby(which is really hard while being HUGE) I took a nap, ate, laundry, and went to the store with my Aunt and Cousin(Stacy and Erin) once Craig went to school for the night so I would be distracted from being so frustrated.

Friday, September 14, 2012, 

MY WATER BROKE at 12:30! I was SO happy, but SO tired because we didn't get much sleep the night before.We called Stacy in the middle of the night...again, and we were at the hospital around 2:00. I was feeling great! The contractions stopped by then, but I knew that I had a "free pass" to be admitted. It seemed a little backwards because just the night before I was in a ton more pain(yes, I have a low tolerance for pain) the night before, but because my water broke I would be admitted even though I wasn't in any pain. i started contractions again around 2:30, but was given medicine to make them stop/slow down, because I was scheduled for a c-section the next week and that was what we had decided to do. During my whole pregnancy the decision to have a repeat c-section or a VBAC was at the forefront of my mind. Whenever I would think or talk about having a VBAC, there was something about it that was unsettling(for the lack of a better way to explain it.), so we went ahead and scheduled the C-section. After scheduling it, I knew that this was the right decision for me, because it just felt...right. So... at 3:00am, the anesthesiologist came in and said that we were good to go at 4:30. I remember thinking "oh my goodness, we'll have a baby in less than 2 HOURS!" The hospital was really busy that night(15 babies were in the nursery with Owen!), so the time kept getting pushed back. After some prep, a spinal, AND an epidural, our sweet boy was born.

 6:53am:

While they were prepping, the doctors each made a guess on how big they thought he would be. And I quote, "Considering your due date, I'd say about 6lbs, but it looks like he's a little bigger so I'll say 7." As they were pulling him out I heard lots of comments like, "Oh my!" "Big boy! I think we were all a little off!" "Look at those cheeks!" 15 days early 8lbs, 4oz, 21inches... big boy, no wonder I had awful back pain!

I can't even describe the feelings that I felt hearing my boy cry and cry and CRY. He sounded so healthy! The moment I saw him, all I think was how much he looked like Eli. Wonder why? Take a look at these pictures(can you tell who is who?):
1.

2.3.4.

1. Owen, 2. Eli, 3. Owen, 4. Eli

Our first family picture:

Getting ready to leave the hospital:

First week home:

My mom was able to come out from Saturday, Sept. 15- Saturday Sept 22 and it was so nice to have her here! She made meals, cleaned, played with the boys, and let me have lots of rest!

 Seriously, I have the cutest mom!

First "bath"

I love this one because it is so Eli. haha

I'm outnumbered, but I couldn't imagine it any other way! I'm crazy about each of them.

Eli playing with his little brother:

First official bath:

We are SO smitten by him, and are so happy he's here safe!

COLORADO!

My goodness, we've had quite the eventful summer! California Vacation, Wagner Family Reunion, GRADUATION, and a move to Colorado. Now that we're settled, here are some pictures from our last few weeks in Colorado: 

 We made the big transition to a Big boy bed... and he did great! We did our best to be super positive about this change and how fun it would be to sleep in a different bed, so he went to bed just like normal. His door doesn't shut very well so we leave it cracked open. He doesn't ever get out of his bed until morning or after he's done with his nap. The first morning I woke up to his face two inches from mine saying, "Hi Mommy."

 One of our favorite things about being in Denver? Being able to go to sporting events! As an anniversary present to Craig, I got him Rockies/Giants tickets for the game on August 4. We are excited that the University is having a promotion and giving $5 tickets for the Rockies came this Wednesday(CRAIG'S Birthday!)... who are they playing? THE GIANTS!

 Moving to a new place comes with redecorating! When we moved we got ride of our old dining room chairs and table because they were falling apart. Here's a little preview of the new ones!

 There is so much more to do here! Craig has been taking Eli out on Adventures("abbeen-chhhurrs") each Saturday to give me a break. Here are a few pictures from some of the things that they have done:

Lots of bike rides to the parks. There are bike paths EVERYWHERE here!(I will probably enjoy them a lot more next summer)

 Hikes... the mountains are so close!

For being a student, Craig gets a sweet deal with the transportation department, and gets to ride the trains and buses for CHEAP...and Eli rides for free, so we go on lots of train rides.

 Paddle-boating in downtown Denver. Craig called me while out on the lake/pond and told me that he was having fun paddling, even if Eli wasn't really helping....

 Every first Saturday of the month, the Art Museum downtown has free days, so here we are taking advantage of that sweet deal!

I was really excited about moving, but really nervous at the same time. I LOVED Rexburg, and always will. There is something really comfortable about a small college town with lots of people in the same stage of life. I was afraid about moving and being some 7 months pregnant. But it all worked out. We have felt so welcomed and loved already, and there is so much to do here! We have felt guided to move here, and have really loved it so far. Ask me in a month or so when I have a toddler, a new baby, all my help(mom and in-laws) has come and gone and Craig is back to his regular schedule how I like living somewhere new... the answer may change, but for now I'll bask in happiness of being somewhere new!

Big TWO year old!

For the past week or so, we've been asking Eli what he wants for his birthday and each day the answer changes: a little brother, pancakes, elephants, monkeys, letters, trains, pancakes, etc. He didn't get an elephant, but he did get pancakes for breakfast. We've had a pretty low-key day, but it was really fun watching him open presents because he understands what they are!

 (after I told him to smile AND say cheese I got this fake smile^)

I know I've said it before, but I can hardly believe that our sweet Eli is two! It's been a HUGE blessing to be his mom, and am honored and humbled to have him in our life! 

California

After my class finished at the end of May, Eli and I met up with Anna and the kids and we drove out to California. It was so much fun!

The Drive:

The pool: 

(This is from the first day in the pool since last summer. Since this picture he has done SO much better. Now he'll put his face in the water, blow bubbles, get rings, kick, and do his swimming arms! Bummer I don't have a picture of him happy in the pool!)

 The entertainment:

Eli had a tough time adjusting to sharing ALL the time, but after about a week I think he realized that being with kids his age is more fun than not! Looking back I'm so grateful that we went and that I have these memories! Hopefully grandma and grandpa will let us come next year too. :))

Stuck

We took a trip to Tracey Aviary in Salt Lake City a couple of weeks ago (we have some catching up to do in the blog world--June has been a busy month!!).  We met my brother Spencer and his fiance Ashley there and had a great time.  We are so happy for them and excited for their wedding coming up later this month! Eli made the Aviary a lot of fun.  He got so excited seeing all of the different birds, and he loved feeding the baby ducks. 

 Posing for a picture inside a pelican's mouth.

 Eli just reading up on rare and precious birds.

 Family picture! 

After the picture we all took our heads out...except for little Eli...he got stuck!

 I couldn't help myself so I snapped this quick picture.  He was so scared that he'd be a bird forever.  Poor little guy.  

Brush?

Eli will walk around the house saying "brush? brush?"(sounds more like buh-sh). Instead of holding him up to rinse his toothbrush so that he can suck the water and repeat several times, I came up with this little number.

I was able to do my make-up, Eli was able to drink water via toothbrush. Win-Win. :)