Katie

Katie is my adventure girl. She is in to everything, wants to know about everything, and isn't scared of anything (well, almost anything - she didn't like my sister-in-law's bird that bit daddy's finger!).

So Aaron's brother and family came over to our house a week after Spencer was born. All of the kids were playing outside when Rebecca came in and told me that Katie was muddy. When Katie started coming in a while later, we had to get Rebecca and her cousins to keep her outside for a while. She was absolutely FILTHY! Her church clothes were covered, her hair and face, and hands, and feet, and any other surface of her body/clothes were FILTHY! Here is a sampling of what she looked like after her church clothes were removed. She was sure LOVING IT!!!

Here's a sampling of Katie having some fun in the sun. She is so cute and has so much personality! She has never really been a "baby", and lately she just seems more and more grown up. She does like to be babied when she is tired though. She was definitely tired today after 3 hours of church and 2 baby blessings in 2 different wards! It's tough being dragged around with mom and dad! Enjoy the pictures of our Little Miss "Kate, Kate"!

Spencer

I took Spencer to the Dr. on September 16 for his 2 week (and 1 day!) well visit. He weighed in at 10 lbs and was 22.5 inches long. So he has gained 15 oz. and 1.5 inches since his birth. Way to go Spencer!!!

I don't think Anson could be any more pleased that he has a brother now! I had to include this picture even though Anson's eyes are kind of closed because you can see on his face how proud he is to be a big brother to another BOY!

These girls love their brother too. Katie loves to put her cheek on his, sometimes with her hair all over his face! Rebecca is my big helper with Spencer and helps me burp him, carries him to me when he cries (even when I don't ask her to bring him to me - a little too helpful?), and keeps her brother and sister away when they are being a little to rough around him.

On another note, he has been sick all this week. It started with Katie throwing up in her crib on Sunday. Then Anson came home from church, took a nap, and woke up throwing up in his bed. They were both feeling really well Sunday night. On Monday, Rebecca complained of her stomach hurting, but I didn't think too much of it - just thought she ate too much or something. On Tuesday Aaron, Spencer and I all had the stomach flu. Luckily my stomach hurt like Rebecca and that was it for me. Aaron and Spencer didn't fare quite as well. Spencer threw up all day Tuesday, most of Wednesday, and a little on Thursday. We are now throw up free since yesterday. Hooray! I can finally start getting dressed and doing my hair somewhat again. These things had stopped since I knew I would probably be getting back in the shower in a short time anyway to clean myself off from Spencer's "messes".

6 Years!

Aaron and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary on August 28. We celebrated by doing some family sealings in the temple and having dinner at Fogo de Chao in Scottsdale. Fogo de Chao is a Brazillian Barbecue restaurant. It is all you can eat, but not a traditional buffet at all. The servers bring a brazillian bread, fried bananas, polenta, and potatoes to the table. Then they have a salad bar with lots of different kinds of salads, cheeses, olives, and even some things that I don't know what they even were. There were also guys that came around to the tables with different kinds of BBQ meat. There were so many different kinds to choose from. Lamb, chicken, pork, beef, etc. It was really good. Aaron even asked the manager to show us how they cook the meat and he took us to the back to show us. It was pretty cool.

My parents had Katie spend the night at their house, and Rebecca and Anson spent the night at their cousin Tate's house for his birthday party, so we had the house to ourselves. Then my in-laws took all of the kids the next day. We spent the time very industriously - we cleaned out our closet (7 or 9 trash bags full of stuff!), cleaned off the back patio and yard, and did miscellaneous errands. Aaron got his hair cut while I dropped off dry cleaning, then we had lunch at Subway. Sounds crazy, but I really enjoyed getting everything done on Saturday. I have been trying to get Aaron to get rid of some of his stuff forever, and finally we made some headway. Hooray! He had a hard time letting some of his stuff go, but I don't think he even remembers what he got rid of now. And our closet is a LOT cleaner!

Aaron - My Twice Over 1/2 Marathon Man

Aaron ran his second 1/2 Marathon in Flagstaff in August. His first 1/2 Marathon was in Sedona in February of this year. I have to say that he did much better after this 1/2 marathon than the first one. After the 1/2 marathon in Sedona, his body was kind of in shock or something from so much running, and he was really exhausted. This time he just seemed to take it in stride. Aside from some foot aches from pounding the ground, he was just fine afterwards.

Aaron also did a Reverse Order Sprint Triathlon in Anthem last weekend with his friend Robert. That was 4 days after I had Spencer, so I didn't witness it. Aaron's parents took Rebecca and Anson and took some pictures which I need to get developed soon.

Next Event: Open Water swim in one of the lakes here in AZ. I'm not sure how far he swims or which lake. Swimming is his best event, so I'm sure he will do well.

Anson - My Hardworking Man

Anson decided he was going to "fix" this box. He got out Daddy's screw driver and hammer/mallet thing and went to town. I'm not sure that much was accomplished, but he sure was busy for quite a while!



Now if only he could actually fix something for real around here. I'm sure I could find some jobs he could help me with!

Spencer has Arrrived!

My little guy is already 4 1/2 days old! I can't believe he came 9 days early. That is pretty unheard of for me! So here is the story.

Aaron and I went to the Dr. on Tuesday, Sept. 1. My appointment was at 3:40 PM. The Dr. talked to me about being induced if I hadn't had the baby by Thursday (39 weeks). I really didn't want to be induced - I wanted to go into labor on my own because things go pretty quickly for me, but I also didn't want a 9 1/2 lb. baby. So I was considering it. The Dr. did all of his checkups and asked me if I wanted to strip the membranes. I told him that my other Doctors had tried it before and it doesn't do anything for me, but go ahead anyway. He took that as a challenge and was VERY aggressive with stripping the membranes. It was kind of painful, but not too bad. We set up an appointment for the next week as we left the office.

As we were driving to my mom's house to pick up the kids, I started having labor contractions. For some reason I can't really tell when I am having contractions until I am in actual labor. It has happened all 4 times so far. So I continue to have contractions as we're picking up the kids, as we eat a quick dinner at McDonald's (Aaron has missionary work on Tuesday evenings so we needed to get home quickly), and as we begin the drive home. Just before the exit that would take us to the hospital, I decide that I could possibly be in labor (though it feels rather weird because the first 3 times I woke up in the early morning in labor - never in the afternoon when I'm already awake!). I mention that maybe we should stop by the hospital and see if I really am in labor- though I'm pretty sure I am.

As we drive up to maternity entrance, I see a familiar car and familiar faces. My sister in law, Carrie, had her baby on Sunday, and she and her husband Jonathan were checking out right then! It was kind of funny to see them leaving as I'm entering the hospital. It was about 5:30 PM by now. Aaron stayed in the car with the kids while the nurses determined if they were going to keep me or not. I was at a 5 in triage, and they decided to keep me there in triage for a while to see if there were any changes. I was still having lots of contractions, but they didn't feel that bad. Aaron took the kids to my mom's house and then drove back to the hospital.

When Aaron got to triage, the Dr. on call (Dr. Linnerson) decided I could be admitted to labor and delivery. Brittney, my first nurse, and Dr. Linnerson broke my water shortly after I got to the room - about 7 PM. I was still at a 5 or 6, and the contractions really didn't feel that bad. I decided I would wait for the epidural until it was beginning to be too much for me.

The next time I was checked, I was at a 7, and still doing pretty good. We talked to Brittney about possibly doing a natural birth. She is a big proponent of doing it that way and told us all about how the hospital was going to change some of the rooms to natural birthing rooms. Aaron has always wanted me to do one, but I have always refused because it is so painful just at a 6 usually. Since I was already at a 7 and still doing well, I thought I might be able to do it. I could always ask for an epidural if I needed to.

So I decided to take off the monitors and take a shower around 10 PM. Brittney left around this time, and Tammy came on as my new nurse. I sat in the bathtub for a little while, which felt good, but I later learned the warm water helped start things along again. I got out and had a hard time getting the gown back on because the contractions were now VERY painful! I asked for the epidural when I came out, about 10:30 PM. I wanted it NOW!!!

I had to have a full bag of fluids before they could give me the epidural, so they put it in as quickly as they could. It took 10-15 minutes to get it all in. So now my hands and legs and feet felt tingly from all of the fluid. I didn't want to move at all. I sat on the edge of the bed and Aaron squeezed a pressure point by my knees whenever I had a contraction - which was practically all the time. They had brought in a birthing ball and a rocking chair, but I didn't want to move. So I sat there, making Aaron squeeze his hands out for an hour while waiting for the epidural that wouldn't come.

Apparently the anesthesiologist (sp?) kept putting people ahead of me that were at an 8 already. Aaron tried to get me to let them check me, but as I already mentioned I didn't want to move, and it hurt every time they checked me. The nurse sided with me and wouldn't check me which didn't make Aaron too happy. They really should have made me do some of these things I didn't want to do. I probably would have felt better in the rocking chair or on the ball, but nobody made me move, so we'll never know. I guess it is hard trying to work with a woman in labor. They really didn't want to mess with me!

So finally Aaron suggests that if they check me and I am at a 9, then I'll move up in line. So I let them check me, and sure enough, I'm a 9, and Aaron can see the head starting to come through. Lori, the head nurse or something, came in around this time to check on me (I guess my screaming was somewhat disturbing?). She asked if the Dr. had been called (he hadn't). She sent Tammy to call the Dr. and helped me breathe. It was so much easier with her coaching. Tammy wasn't really helpful at all. It was just at this point that the anesthesiologist came in to give me the epidural. Too late. He was coming. I pushed for about 10 minutes. They grabbed a Dr. to come in and deliver the baby as the Dr. was not at the hospital yet. Spencer bruised his face on his way out since I did it so fast. It was surprisingly kind of cool in a weird, painful sort of way to push him out all on my own.

(I took this picture while laying on the hospital bed, so Aaron had to look way down.)

Spencer Don Manning was born at 11:41 PM weighing 9 lbs. 1 oz. He was 21 inches long and his head was 14 cm.

Dr. Linnerson had to go deliver another patient, so I had to wait for an hour - an hour and a half for him to come back and deliver the placenta. I'm kind of hazy on the details after I gave birth. I had the nurse give me some Staydol (sp?) right as I was delivering. Not a good idea. I felt all sleepy and out of it for at least an hour after I had Spencer. Of course it was in the middle of the night too, so who knows how much of it was the late hour and how much was the drug? So the Dr. finally came back and I was finally able to get some pain killers for the cramps I was having. Seems like the cramps get worse after each pregnancy.

(I tok these pictures today - 4 1/2 days old.)

I sent Aaron home around 1:15 or so to get some sleep. I got to the recovery room and had Spencer taken to the nursery around 3AM.

Since we weren't planning on having the baby that day, we didn't have anything we needed - including a camera. We bought a disposable one at the hospital, so hopefully we'll have some decent pictures after they get developed!

Doctor Appointment

I went to the Dr. again today for another ultrasound and check-up. 10 days ago (Friday, Aug. 14) Spencer supposedly weighed 7 lbs. 6 oz., and today he supposedly weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz. So we're on track for a 9 1/2 lb. baby apparently. I have some excess fluid which is attributed to the largeness of the baby. Kind of seems weird that there would be extra fluid. You would think that there wasn't room for it? Everything else looks really good.

I'm really just hoping to have the baby before the 11th. Who wants to have a baby on September 11 anymore? I'm not too keen on the 13th either - as in Friday the 13th. It doesn't happen to be a Friday this year, but I'm sure it will come around at some point. So the 10th or before that is what I'm aiming for.

But not too close to August either. Our anniversary is this Friday, August 28, so I don't want the two dates too close together either. I'm pretty hard to please, huh?

Random Happenings

I went to the Dr. on Friday for both my regular appointment and an ultrasound. The measurements indicate that the baby is already 7 lbs. 6 oz. - or was on Friday anyway. So we're looking at a pretty good size baby in 3 1/2 weeks from now. Other info: I was 2 cm. dialated and 60% effaced. My fluid level was on the high side, so we'll do another ultrasound next Monday to make sure we are still in the normal range (I guess a hand or something can come out first if there is too much fluid).

I am excited to be going to Education Week tomorrow afternoon. I signed up in April, and it didn't seem like I would be as close to delivering a baby then as it does now! Education Week actually starts today, but I thought that might be a little long to leave everyone. My very kind sister is going to watch the kids for me during the day. She is almost 19, but sure not used to watching 3 kids every day plus taking care of a house. We'll see how she handles everything!

My sister-in-law is in the hospital this week. She has had a really hard pregancy and it looks like they will need to deliver the baby sometime this week, or possibly next. She will be in the hospital until they deliver the baby. She will be 35 weeks on Wednesday, so hopefully the baby will be nice and healthy! Carrie has 4 other kids, so it can't be easy to be laid up in the hospital!

Aaron's brother James married Julie Stapley on Friday morning. The ceremony was short and sweet. I found the cutest dress for Rebecca at Dillard's the week they put everything that was already on sale at an additional 40% discount. So I got it for only $17! I love getting a good deal on a cute dress.

Rebecca's school is delayed with construction, so she won't be starting until next Tuesday (as long as it is done by then!). I am very relieved since I will be gone all week. The school didn't have the calendar out in April when I signed up for Education Week, so I didn't know when the start date was supposed to be. I would have missed Meet the Teacher and picking up Rebecca from her very first day at school if they hadn't changed it. I am so grateful for the delay!