Introducing...

Dylan Kent Ware

Born 3/20/2014 at 5:25 pm

Weight: 8 lbs. 6 oz.

Length: 21 inches

Head: 15 inches

Let's back up to 2 weeks ago.  Tuesday, March 18, I started having contractions in the morning. I even remember exactly when...8:45 am.  Connor had just had his very first accident in bed and I was rushing to get him washed and Brooke off to school.  From that moment on the contractions never stopped.  They weren't painful so I wasn't too concerned.  Troy called me later that morning about something and asked how I was doing.  I mentioned that I had been having contractions all morning and that I wasn't concerned about them but Troy said that he would feel better if he was home working and ignoring me instead of an hour away not working and worrying about me.  The rest of Tuesday proceeded on.  We made a quick trip to the Dr. just to check how things were going and to have some sort of peace of mind.  I hadn't changed from my previous Dr. appt.  That was kind of disappointing but I wasn't ready to have our little guy yet.  Wednesday morning, I woke up around 3:30 and I couldn't go back to sleep.  The contractions were still regular and they were just starting to get crampy.  I decided that I was going to walk the baby out.  We walked at Target, walked to the small park, walked 2 miles on the treadmill at 6-8% incline, then walked at Costco.  Nothing!!!  In fact, by day's end, it felt that my contractions were getting farther apart and not quite as intense.  We went to bed feeling like maybe, hopefully, Thursday would be the day.  I woke up that morning at 1:30 and couldn't fall back to sleep.  Around  5:30 I started timing them.  I had talked to a nurse the previous day and she said that my contractions would need to be 5 minutes a part, lasting 1 minute each, for over an hour.  My contractions were 3-6 minutes apart.  I have no idea how long they lasted but I did know that they were getting more and more uncomfortable.  I had a Dr. appt. later that morning at 10:30 so we headed there after dropping off Connor.  By the time we made it to the office my contractions were definitely getting more and more uncomfortable. We met with Dr. Oster and she announced that today would be the day.  Yay!!!!  Finally!!!!  She had a nurse walk us over to the hospital and we were admitted around 11:30.

Dr. Oster came and broke my water around 1ish and I got the epidural shortly after.  I think I managed a quick cat nap before it was time to push.  5:00 rolled around and it was go time.  I pushed through 3 contractions (3 pushes during each) and out he came at 5:25.  He was perfect!!!!  First thing out of Dr. Oster's mouth was how big Dylan was.  8 lbs. 6 oz!  Who knew?!  She didn't think he would be that big.  I didn't think he would be that big.  They even have an acronym for babies that big...L.G.A-Large for Gestational Age.  I really don't think he's that "large".  Reminds me of The Princess Bride and the R.O.U.S.s Thankfully my body cooperated with the delivery.  Recovery has been great and possibly the best out of the 3.

Brooke and Connor came to visit us the following morning.  Brooke's reaction was better than when she came to meet Connor. 

She is thrilled to be the BIG sister to 2 little brothers.  She's already mentioned that she's the queen of the house.  I don't know what that makes me but I'll let her think that..for now.  :) 

Connor, on the other hand, was more interested on what I had to eat in the room.  He zeroed in on a box of cereal and didn't even acknowledge that he was a big brother. 

After finishing off the cereal, he decided to come over and say hi.  Aren't they sweet!

We found out Saturday that we would need to stay another night.  Dylan was jaundiced and spent the rest of Saturday and all of Sunday hanging out under the lights.  He was not a fan.  You would think the lights offered some heat but not really and he HATED the little goggles.  Poor guy was a champ though.  Even through the heel sticks.

We got to be discharged late Sunday afternoon.  I would like to say we came home to a happy, healthy home but boy was I wrong.  Troy had woken up Sunday morning puking his guts out.  We came home Sunday evening to Brooke puking her guts out.  Troy's dad left to go back to SLC and puked his guts out at his home.  It was great fun.  Add to that my major sleep deprivation and we were all pretty miserable.  Thankfully that lasted only half the week.  If it weren't for Troy's mom being here, I don't know how we would have functioned.

Now 2 weeks in, I think we're all doing great. Brooke and Connor have been doing really well.  I think they've enjoyed their freedom a little too much.  I'm looking forward to Brooke going back to school next week.  It's funny...coming home and watching Brooke and Connor interact it seems like they grew up over night.  Brooke is a great big sister.  She loves to help and get the pacifier whenever Dylan is crying.  Connor likes to hang around me when I'm feeding Dylan.  In fact, both of them are pretty intrigued by the whole feeding process.  It's a lot of fun...

Dylan is such a sweet baby.  He's a lot like Connor and seems to be pretty chill.  One thing different is that he's much more alert than Connor was.  Connor slept for the first 6 weeks of his life.  Dylan has wake periods a couple times during the day.  One day I'll catch a good picture of him with his eyes open.  Can't believe we're a family of 5!

Before And After

It's amazing how much can be accomplished in 2 short months!  After switching Brooke to her new room we tackled painting her old room.

I must admit that it was somewhat bittersweet.  I remember getting her room ready before she was born and can't believe that it was almost 6 years ago.

A quick paint job and it seems like the room was never her old room. 

Now, it's the waiting game.  Everything has been washed and I think we're ready.  Troy and I were talking the other night and I expressed how I wish I knew at least what time of day this little guy was going to make his debut.  I don't care about the day (as long as it's before March 24th) I just want to know the time.  Are we going to have to get up in the middle of the night or will it be during the day?

Brooke enjoyed Valentine's Day. She assembled all of the Valentine's of the deconstructed Olaf by herself.

Making Way

January started with a little fire lit under us.  Troy and I realized that in a quick 3 months the baby would be here and preparation needed to get under way.

We decided to play a little musical bedrooms and put Brooke in the old guest bedroom and baby in her old room.  We spent a day decluttering and moving everything out of the room, another day taping, and 2 days painting.  It's amazing how quick things can get done with one is nesting!

 Brooke loves her new room!!!!!  For some reason I feel like I'm losing my little girl.  She's growing up!

P.S.  She also lost her first tooth this last Saturday.  That officially means we've got a big girl.

Once the dust settled and the smell of paint was gone, we decided to head to warmer temps and went to CA to visit my parents and celebrate Chinese New Year a week early.

Saturday, we all headed down to Monterey Park for a delicious lunch and then to a Chinese New Year street fair.  Then it was off to Uncle Jimmy's for the big celebration!!!!!!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love my family?  I realize how lucky I am to come from a great and big family.  Out of my mom's 9 siblings only 1 lives in Sacramento.  The rest live within 1 hr. 20 min. (without traffic) drive from my parents.  Out of my 21 cousins and their familys only 3 families and one cousin live out of state.  The rest live within 1 hr. 20 min. drive from my parents.  This gathering we figured out that our baby will be #40 for the great nieces and nephews.  I think that makes a grand total of 95 people on my mom's side AND we're still growing.

In attempts to make handing out the lucky money easier on "givers" a new system was created.  The kids decorated licee bags and then lined up to "trick-or-treat". 

Afterwards, the confetti was thrown!!!!!! And thrown some more...and then some more.  The kids played in it for a good 30 minutes and Uncle Jimmy even got into the action.

Amazing, the picture above, is after the confetti.  Thank goodness for wood floors.  I would like to say that was the last of the confetti but as I was sorting laundry today (in CO) I found some more.  Both Brooke and Connor were very excited to see Coco.

Sunday was spent as a day of rest and then it was off to Disneyland.  Besides a bout of carsickness, 2 changes of clothes and a 3 hour car ride, the day went off without a hitch. Both Brooke and Connor were SO excited.

First thing we saw when walking in was Captain Hook.  Brooke was all about saying hi and meeting him.  Connor, not so much.

Brooke requested the Buzz Lightyear to be for the first ride.  I would post pictures of our scores but mine was too embarrassing.  Especially after Connor found the joystick and I spent the whole ride spinning around in circles.

It was a perfect day to go.  The weather was gorgeous and warm and the lines were short.  I believe the longest line we waited in was to buy the actual tickets.  We waited maybe a max of 10-15 minutes per ride.  Some we even walked right on.

 We made our way to Toontown and Brooke was super excited to go on Go-Go Gadget's Coaster.

 Pure joy!!!!

 Connor thought he was super excited to go on the ride as well.

 Afterwards, he emphatically claimed that he did NOT want to go back on the ride.  It was too fast. 

Funny...I remember Brooke having a similar look on her face the first time she went on this ride a couple of years ago.

 

 We met up with Donald and Goofy afterwards.  Connor was still unsure of them.

Brooke also went on Matterhorn with Troy and loved it!!!!  Since the last time I rode that ride seats have changed so Brooke was by herself.  I was surprised to hear that she wasn't scared at all.  If only Thunder Mountain was open.  She would have loved that one too.

 

 Disneyland was so much fun!!!!  Both the kids did great even with naps or rest time.  I think they loved it. 

 

 Both kids crashed before we even got out of the parking garage.

 We stayed at Rachel's that night and Brooke (and Connor) played with the girls the following day. 

Wednesday, we headed back to CO.  Luckily when we landed it was only in the high 40s so it wasn't too much of a rude awakening.  When we left CO for CA it was a whopping 9 degrees!!!!.

I think we did a good job in wearing the kids out.  They both fell asleep on the descent into CO.  I love going to CA and being able to celebrate the Chinese New Year with the family.  Disneyland was a nice bonus too!!!  Hope we can continue making this a tradition.

Christmas!!!!

I feel like Christmas snuck up on us this year.  Probably because Thanksgiving was so late.

Christmas was low-key but memorable.  It helps now that the kids are older and I can see their excitement build as we get closer and closer to Christmas.  It also helps that since we didn't go anywhere this year the tree was packed with gifts that were sent to us.  :)

We somehow got lucky Christmas morning and the kids stayed contained in their rooms until 8.  We should soak it in while it lasts!

 Connor/Troy scored from Santa this year.  Connor quickly realized how to best get his shot in.

I'm so grateful that Santa communicated to Grandma that Barbie was on her wishlist this year.  Phew!  We dodged a bullet on that one.

The rest of Christmas morning was spent playing with all their loot.  We had the missionaries and friends over for Christmas dinner.  I'm getting more and more confident in my turkey roasting skills!  I wish we had a picture of the whole spread - Roasted Turkey with a Maple/bourbon glaze, yummy carrots, green beans, mashed potatoes, stuffing, biscuits, fruit with a yummy dip, a chocolate toffee cake, and a caramel apple pie.  It was all delicious and everyone walked away stuffed to the brim.

Unfortunately by day's end I was down for the count.  I couldn't swallow or talk without my throat killing me.  The next day wasn't much better.  Luckily, that Friday, I had a Dr. appt. and got some antibiotics for the sinus infection and that Troy had the rest of the week off.  

The rest of Winter break was spent hanging out and relaxing.  Brooke was "cast" in an infomercial.  She loved being primped for it and wasn't camera shy at all.

We'll just have to wait and see if she made the final cut.

The kids loved having Troy home all day for 6 days in a row.  They were spoiled with a lot of play and attention.  I loved having him around too!  Especially after I got sick a week later with the deathly stomach flu.  AWFUL!!!  It came all of a sudden, lasted 24 hours, and then was gone.  I didn't leave the bedroom at all that Friday.

Now, I'm we're on crunch time.  We've got just a little over 10 weeks before our new little guy will be making his debut.  I do have a feeling that we may be meeting him sooner than later.  We'll be playing musical bedrooms and painting up a storm.  Can't wait!