11 Weeks

Just had to post a quick picture to show my 11 week belly. It's getting big already! I really should take morning and night pictures, though. I swear by bedtime I double in size. This morning I barely had a bump at all and then by evening and after dinner this is what I look like. Thank goodness my ankles haven't doubled in size... not yet at least.

It took WAY longer than we thought, but....

Katie has a new shirt to show off! I apologize for the incredibly blurry and horrible pictures. I can't find my camera so I'm stuck using my phone. And in case you can't tell what the shirt actually says... this might help you figure it out. It still makes me laugh the test line came out darker than the control line.

(Due September 23rd which puts me at 9 weeks today.)

I feel kind of bad waiting to post this after so many of you said such nice things about my previous post. However, since we have miscarried 3 times back to back I wanted to wait long enough to know that the baby was doing fine. I had my second ultrasound on Friday and the baby looks great! The heartbeat was a little low with the first one, but it's now at a perfect rate of 141! (That is right smack in the middle of the range it should be in.) And in case you are wondering how I am feeling... pretty yucky actually. I've been nauseated a LOT! So much that I get to the point that I want to throw up, but it never happens. Most foods make it worse, but if I don't eat (beside that being stupid) it makes it worse, too. Right now I'm just battling what foods I can tolerate. I don't remember ever being this sick so Andy is keeping his fingers crossed that means it's a boy. And I'm just counting down till the first trimester is over. On another note, I've started to get a pooch already. I was wearing maternity clothes at about 11 weeks with Katie. It wasn't that I was huge, I just couldn't fit into my jeans anymore. I've already started the rubber banding of my jeans because I can't... I won't... wear maternity clothes this early. Plus I don't even know where most of them are. It's been nearly 5 years since I've worn them! We are thrilled about the baby and the girls are pretty excited, too. Even Katie warmed up to the idea after being around a newborn for a few hours. Both Sammy and Ashley want a baby brother and Katie wants a baby sister. I just want it to be healthy and to survive the pregnancy despite what Andy says. He thinks I desperately want another girl.

Okay, now I have to tell the funniest story that happened several weeks ago. I told Katie early in the pregnancy because she was being so sweet with the newborn I mentioned. Later I figured she forgot since she kept it a secret from her sisters. Well, one day I had Ashley and Katie with me while at Costco. As I was putting things in the cart Ashley asked me what "those" were. I told her they were baby wipes. She then asked why we needed them. Before I could answer (or give her an excuse) Katie said, "Because mommy has a baby in her tummy." Ashley looked at me and then looked at Katie and said, "Katie, just because mommy's tummy is squishy doesn't mean there's a baby in it." The little stinker! I know I can stand to lose some weight, but sheesh! I've also heard comments like, "I heard she's showing quite a bit already" and, "Aren't you 6 months along?" I know I'm chubby... but just you wait, ladies! I will surprise all of you when I am 6 months along and you will think I'm overdue by 2 weeks. Here's a shock... I'm short! I only have about 2 inches of room between the top of my hip bone and the bottom of my rib cage. I don't carry high or low. I carry EVERYWHERE!!! Pictures to prove my point will be posted in the future.

More pictures of Sammy's baptism

My friend took some snap shots to remember the day. Below is a picture of Andy's side of the family that was there. My side had already taken off to open the doors to my house. Others that were there included: my mom, Dale, Ashana, Brinton, and Trent, Brigetta and her kids (Brandon missed the baptism because of work, but came later to the dinner), the Shuck family, Ginger and Sophia Mecham, Angela Thueson and girls, Wadsworth family, Amanda and Carly Young, Becky and Courtney Klotther, Shawn Graham, Erin and Quincy Keller, and the Eisley family.

The 2 girls that got baptised!

Sammy and her Daddy!

I LOVE this picture of the two of them. So sweet!

This one is for Jen (and Jason)...

I'm trying to track you down! I know you check my blog every now and then because you leave me comments. However, every time I try and check your blog it kicks me out because it's private. I didn't check my email in time to confirm the invite and now I have no idea how to get a hold of you. Ah! I miss you and I miss seeing how your cute family is doing. Anyway, if you read this please, please, please email me at wynefamily@msn.com and I will get back to you so we can reconnect. (Btw, this is not the email to invite me to your blog.)

Our first child baptized

Our sweet little Sammy was baptized this Saturday (Feb. 4, 2012). She has been preparing for this day for a very long time. She could hardly contain her excitement. In fact she was hopping down the isle in the chapel on the way to her seat. She seemed to be a little irreverent, but she was just so thrilled it was all she could do not to shout for joy!Our niece, Kelsie, came from Boise to share this day with us for a combined baptism. Her dad, Doug, performed her baptism.

(Andy, Sammy, Kelsie, and Doug)

It was so sweet to see the both of them come out of the font. Both had tears in their eyes, smiling, and filled with the spirit. They both looked so beautiful.
It was such a wonderful day filled with peace and love. I think it was the first day the girls have spent the whole day without fighting or arguing. And I have noticed a difference in Sammy already. I think she tries really hard to be a peacemaker now and have the spirit with her constantly. It has been really wonderful these last few days.

Can you tell which pictures were taken from my camera phone and which one is professional?

More pictures to come and things remembered that day. We love you Sammy and are so proud of the wonderful decisions you make. Thank you for being a good example to your siblings.

Is anyone else experiencing the same thing?

Every time I try and change the background of my blog it shows up plain white and then a small square pops up that says, "Look who's popular..." Has anyone else out there had this problem? I can't seem to figure out how to fix it. If you happen to know how will you please help me? Thank you!!! I'm kind of tired of seeing, "Ho Ho Ho" on my blog. It's February for crying out loud!

This one is for journal purposes...

I debated on whether or not I should blog about this... but I feel I need to for journal purposes. In October one night I was so sick to my stomach and had a quick thought of, "Hm, I haven't had a period in awhile. Maybe I should take a pregnancy test." Keeping in mind we had already been trying for 2 years. And me being late was not a surprise since I had a cyst rupture in August and I spotted all month long. The next morning I got up for church and took a pregnancy test (one of those HCG type). After I took the test I realized there weren't directions as to how to read the results. I called my friend, Sarah, and asked her how I would know. She said, "Well, I am pretty sure that if there is only one line then it's negative. If there are two lines, it's positive. What does it say?" I was shocked! There were two lines!!! One was faint, but it was there! Andy couldn't believe it either so he asked me to do another test... sure enough, two lines again.

We went to church as a family and both Andy and I could hardly contain ourselves. I was smiling the whole time and Andy won't admit it, but he was too. We were so excited that we even started looking at cars with 3rd row seats online after church. We talked a ton about the baby and when it would be due, what we should name it, and if we thought it was a boy or a girl.

Later that evening I went to listen to Sister Beck. She came to speak to our region and it was crazy packed in the church!!! We went an hour early and barely got a seat. I was so impressed by all the things she talked about but the thing that stood out the most was when she talked about the atonement. She said, "When we are filled with joy... that's the atonement." My heart was so full of joy I couldn't keep it in anymore. I began to cry and at that moment I truly felt the atonement and the love of the Savior.

The next morning I got up at 5:00 to go run with my friend. As I went to the bathroom I immediately started to bleed. After cleaning up I climbed back into bed and Andy said, "I thought you were going running." I started to sob and he then said, "What's the matter?" I told him what happened and he put his arms around me and just held me. The doctor's office didn't open till 8:00 so there was nothing I could do for 3 hours.... so I just cried. Andy stayed with me till he couldn't wait any longer to get to work and that was great for me.

Once I was able to get a hold of my doctor's nurse she set up an appointment for me to have an ultrasound and a visit with the doctor. Andy joined me and we went in for the ultrasound. All they could tell me at that point was that there was a blood clot. It didn't mean anything to them except that it could be really early in the pregnancy that nothing has formed yet, or that I really did lose the baby and they have no idea how far along I was. I visited with the doctor and he said that we needed to get my blood tested to see if my beta levels were going up or down. So we headed over to the lab to draw my blood.

Wednesday rolled around and I still hadn't heard from the nurse so I gave her a quick call. She called back and said, "Did you come back in for another test this morning or was it just Monday?" I told her I was only instructed to do it Monday (I even asked the lab tech if I needed to come back in later). She was a little surprised and said, "Well, anything above a 5 is a positive pregnancy. You were at a 35. I need you to come back in tomorrow and test your blood again to see if those levels are going up or down." She gave me her direct number and told me to call her a few hours after I went in and she would have my chart with her.

That evening I had to go to our joint mutual activity since Beehives were in charge. We had planned to go to the corn maze which is something I always look forward to... it didn't seem to have the same excitement. Even the bishop asked if everything was okay. I told him, "Please don't ask questions. I don't want to cry right now." He asked, "Is everything okay at home?" It dawned on me that he probably thought my marriage was struggling or something similar. So I answered, "Our marriage is fine, our girls are fine. Just please don't ask anymore questions because I will start to cry." He left it at that... but I still cried to my friend, Sarah, in the corn maze.

Thursday morning I went in to get tested again. It seemed to be the longest few hours of my life waiting for the results. I called the nurse and she said she would call back as soon as she got the results. Shortly after she called and told me that my levels had gone down to a 25. I wasn't that surprised since I knew in my heart that I had already lost the baby, but there was still that glimmer of hope I was hanging on to. Sarah happened to be at my house helping me prepare for our Halloween party the next day. She seemed to be more emotional about it that I did, but I so hate to cry in front of people. Once she left I began to sob and could not stop. And later my friend, Erin, stopped by to see how I was doing. (She also knew everything that was going on.) I explained what happened and she said, "Cancel the party! Nobody cares about the money. Or just post pone it." I told her my reasons why it was still on and she said, "Okay, but if anyone says anything negative to you... you just point and I'll kick them in the face!" I laughed and thanked her... because it might be something I needed the next day.

Friday evening rolled around and I was not looking forward to all of the party coming together. It was a lot of work and usually at the moment everyone starts coming in costume I get really excited. And we usually have awesome costumes we keep secret till that night, but we were completely out of the mood that we dressed up as marathoners. We wore our St. George marathon shirts, medals, and sunglasses. It was totally lame, but I didn't care. Right at the beginning I lost it and started yelling at some guy that I know was joking... but I couldn't handle even the smallest bit of sarcasm. After that everything else went well for the most part. Everyone that talked to me afterward said it was so much fun. My response was, "I'm glad we can go out with a bang."

It was probably the most emotional week I've ever had, but the more I am able to talk about it the more I feel at peace. I don't know why I've lost 3 babies, but I have faith that the Lord has a plan for our family and I will understand it later. It might be in this life or not, but I know someday I will understand.

I thought we were getting over the hard part of healing when we took a turn. In November I attended our ward's Fabulous Friday (like a Super Saturday). Just before I left my stomach started to hurt a bit. I blew it off as indigestion. The whole time I sat and listened to the speaker I felt very uncomfortable. We went into the gym to work on our crafts and still laughed and had a good time visiting with friends, but I was still hurting. Brook turned to me and said, "You better get that fixed because we are still going running in the morning!" I laughed and told her I really did want to run with her. After awhile I thought, "Okay, this is getting a little ridiculous. I need to get up and walk around. Maybe some movement will help." I took about three steps and Brigetta must have seen it in my face. She said, "I need to wash my hands anyway, I'll go to the bathroom with you." As we walked down the hall she asked if I was okay. I told her my stomach hurt really bad, but thought I'd try going to the bathroom to see if that helped. I was wrong!!! I happened to be wearing my baggy pants and afterwards I couldn't even zip them up! Brigetta said, "I'll go gather up your stuff and pull your car around." After she walked out of the bathroom I had a rancid feeling in my stomach and felt like I was going to pass out. I looked in the mirror and saw my face go ghostly white. I started to sit down and completely collapsed. Brigetta didn't have her cell so I texted my friend, Melissa, to come help me. She walked in and said, "Is this a joke?" (Andy thought that was a dedicated joke to lay down on the bathroom floor.) I assured her it was not and that something was wrong but I didn't know what. Brigetta came back and helped Melissa get me out of the bathroom. We tried getting to the car but it seemed near impossible. Brigetta finally said, "This is ridiculous! I'm going to take your girls to my house and I'm sending Andy back to take you to the emergency room." Melissa waited with me and I felt like an idiot since the only position I could stand being in was on my hands and knees. For some reason it felt like it relieved some pressure. In fact that is how I rode to the hospital when Andy arrived.

It took us 20 minutes to get from our car to the ER doors because I could only take a baby step or two and then I would stop. The staff came out and asked if I needed a wheel chair but I refused because it hurt to sit. Once we got inside they had a bed waiting to wheel me into the room. They ran a tests on my blood, got me started on an IV, and got morphine in my system. The doctor came in and told me, "Your blood work came back stone cold normal." I was already irritated with him because he seemed to look at me like I was being a baby about a stomach ache. So then they did a CAT scan which I was very reluctant to do because I knew they were extremely expensive. They insisted that is what they needed to do. The doctor came back to the room and said, "The radiologist needs to take a look to make sure I'm not missing anything minor, but it looks like you have gas and a backed up stool system." At that point I was freaking ticked off! (He must have heard me griping to Andy through the crack in the door.) I told Andy that was a load of crock! Andy tried to explain that sometimes their hospice patients are in the most pain when they are trying to have a bowel movement. I didn't disagree with that, but I am very regular... and I didn't think gas pains would make you pass out in the bathroom. The doctor came back in the room and said, "Well, it looks like you have a lot of free standing fluid in your abdomen and left fallopian tube. We'll need to do an ultrasound. They'll have to insert the probe vag---" I cut him off and said, "I know how it works!" He then asked if I had any questions. I told him, no, I just needed to go to the bathroom really bad. He left and when the nurse came in she said, "Okay, it's best if this is done with a full bladder." I said, "You're kidding me!" She was surprised and asked why I said that. I responded, "Well, because I just emptied it... twice!!!" So then they decided to put a catheter in and fill up my bladder!!! Then I had to wait about 30 minutes before I was taken in for the ultrasound. When I got in there the tech said, "Oh, my goodness. They didn't need to do this. It's best if your bladder is empty." I was on fire I was so mad! I went to the bathroom and then she proceeded with the ultrasound. It hurt so bad I cried through the whole thing. They concluded that I had a cyst rupture. They sent me home with pain med and anti nausea prescriptions and told me to make a follow up appointment with my OB/Gyn. We got home about 4:00 in the morning and it was still a long night with the pain.

Monday morning I went in to see the doctor for my follow up. They did 2 more ultrasounds and then I visited with the doctor. He said, "I wanted to do the ultrasounds to cover all my bases before I operated." He continued to ask how the pain was and then explained that it was a corpus luteum cyst that ruptured through a blood vessel. I had no idea what that was and how it was different from any other cyst. He said that a corpus luteum is in the ovary when an egg is released. If the egg is fertilized it stays in there and gives nutrients to the placenta. If the egg doesn't get fertilized or if you miscarry then it's supposed to dissolve and go away on it's own. In my case it filled up and ruptured through a blood vessel. He told me that is why it was so painful and that I will be in a lot of pain for awhile. It takes most women 7-10 days to recover. He sent me home free of charge for the ultrasounds and visit with more pain meds and more anti-nausea pills. Apparently I was lucky because a lot of times when that happens the ovary will twist. I even talked to a gal in my ward who said she had had one and they ended up removing her whole ovary.

I was flat on my back for a full week! Any time I would sit up I would get extremely nauseated after about half an hour. It was so frustrating because I felt like I would be less stir crazy if I could do some cross stitching or something, but I couldn't even sit up. I now have a new respect for anyone who is on bed rest. Andy was teasing me at the end because I got so bored I started watching Glee! Thank goodness I had at least Netflix to keep me company.

Brigetta and Sarah were so great to step in and take my kids because I couldn't take care of them myself. Bless Andy's heart... he would get the girls off to school and then pick them up on his way home from work. He would come home, make dinner, help with homework, bathe the girls, and get them off to bed. He was literally being daddy and mommy the whole week... plus waiting on me. I'm not sure how, but he made it through and didn't complain at all.

This is the reason I've stayed away from blogging for awhile, but if you are still reading you deserve a medal! We are back to normal around here and the holidays were good. We spent Thanksgiving in Utah with the Wyne's side and stayed here for Christmas with my mom and family. We spent an evening with Mindy and her family just before the new year since Andy's parents were in town, and then we spent New Year's Eve with friends at our house. Life seems to be crazy, but back to routine.

Katie... the little stinker!

Last week Brigetta and I were going shopping for a few last minute Christmas gifts. Just before she showed up I asked Andy about my outfit and after some critiquing I changed my pants. I was about to walk out the door when Katie came running down the stairs yelling at me, "Wait! Mom, are you wearing your glasses? I told you they don't look good with your outfit." What a little stinker! It's not like I could go without those... sorry girl!

Katie has been a little more than sassy lately and a recent comment that made my jaw hit the floor needs a little background. She likes to wear her skirts up to her chest... yes, they often look like tube tops. I'm sorry, but I don't care what age you are they are not appropriate and especially not for a 4 year old. Granted she does wear pants under them so it's not completely immodest. However, I am constantly telling her to pull it down around her waist. One day I told her yet again to pull her skirt down. She said, "Mom, this is the way I like to wear them and you just have to deal with it." Oh, yes, it was said complete with the sassy head shake and all!

I don't know for sure, but I think I might be in a little bit of trouble. Andy and I don't even want to think about what the teenage years will bring!

Look Who's 8!

Happy Birthday Sammy! We hope that today is filled with fun and giggles! We love you and are so proud of the good choices you make in your life. You bring joy to our family and we are so glad you were born! Here are a few pictures of our cute Sammy.

Family Pictures!

I've been a slacker and haven't posted these sooner. My wonderful friend, Becky, has taken so many great photos of my girls and our family. Here are some of my favorites. And if you like what you see go to www.becloserphotography.blogspot.com and contact her for your own session. Thanks so much Becky, we love them!!!

These two were from Ashley's birthday photo shoot.

More Marathon Photos

Just a few more photos from the marathon. I know these are a month late, but life has been crazy around here and I figure it's better late than never.

Here we are bright eyed and bushy tailed at the crack of dawn... oh wait, it was earlier than that. I think we left about 4:30 in the morning.

*For those of you that don't already know, Emily is Andy's sister and she is married to Nate, my brother... and we've adopted Sarah and her hubby, Adam (not pictured) as part of the family.* Emily, Nate, Sarah, Me, Andy

I think this was about mile 15... still happy as a clam!
I love this picture! To me Andy's face said it all, "Relief! We are finally done! And I did it!"

Yippee! We did it together, we are still married, and still smiling!

This one made me laugh... which couple are we? I thought it was ironic that the couple behind us were dressed almost exactly the same. The guy is even wearing a white hat!

If you ever have the opportunity to do something like a marathon with your spouse don't let it pass you by. It's amazing to see what you can do and accomplish together. I am so glad Andy and I ran along side each other the whole race. Thank you for a great memory my love!

Another cool thing to think about is that I was able to run this race with my brother and Andy with his sister. It's not often I get to say that. Nate is the only sibling I've ever run a marathon with... and maybe the only one.

Marathon #3 and #1

It's been a week and a half and I feel like a slacker for not posting this yet. I finished my 3rd full marathon and Andy finished his 1st down in St. George! We ran slow and steady and took breaks when we needed. Andy hardly talked or even smiled... so I had to dance around him to make him laugh. He thinks I'm one of those "crazy people with energy at the end". My dancing paid off at mile 15 when some guy said, "You get the best dance award. Here's a whole cup of ice." Whoa was I excited and Andy was glad I shared. I was so proud of him for not giving up and we even sprinted to the finish line! Seriously! We ran at least an 8 minute pace for that last stretch! We crossed the finish line hand in hand, all four arms raised in excitement. It was such a great experience and I am so glad we did it together. Our official time was 5:28:27! I keep getting slower, but I'll take slow and happy over fast and crying.

Our other household members were Nate & Emily Koenig, and Adam & Sarah Smith. They were with us last year but this year Sarah and Nate both joined our running crew as you can see. Sarah finished in 4:59:17 and did awesome!!! Nate and Emily also ran together and their time was 5:06:35. They are completely insane! They were flying the first half and then Emily got sick and started puking. They walked pretty much the second half and still finished before us. Even though they will disagree, I think they rocked it!

We stayed a few extra days in St. George and had a blast! We sat by the pool... jumped in the pool... and then climbed in the hot tub... went golfing (guys)... shopping (girls)... bowling... eating out... and watched tv and ate junk food to mention a few. Bowling took place on Monday and it was comical to say the least. It was league night and I'm sure all the old folks were thinking we were the worst bowlers on the planet. We looked funny trying to just bend our legs. Sarah would swing her arm back and then just drop the ball. Every time it hit the floor we would all cringe a little. And then she kicked our butts the first game with a score of 141... I bowled a 60! It was humiliating so we had to play another game. During the 10th frame it was close for the girls for the losing spot. And it was close with the guys for the win. Emily finished her game ahead of me and Sarah only needed 3 points to beat me. I thought, "Great. As long as she doesn't get 2 gutter balls I will be the loser again." She sent her ball down... GUTTER! We all laughed and she sent her ball down again... GUTTER! We all couldn't believe it in comparison to the rest of her night. Next up was Adam. Nate already pulled ahead of Andy and was in the running for the win. Adam bowled his 10th frame and beat Nate by 1 point!!! It was so much fun to be with everyone and I hope it becomes a tradition.

To see our other pictures before they're posted go here. From there type in our last name and the race was St. George Marathon. Sorry, I tried to link straight to our pictures but it wouldn't allow me.

Embarrassed

Saturday night I went to the Relief Society Broadcast with my friend, Erin. We met up with some other girls in our ward and had a great time at the dinner provided. We then proceeded to the chapel for the broadcast. Elder Uchtdorf was a few minutes into his talk when all of a sudden I heard, "I hate it when a guy doesn't get the door even though I told him yesterday and the day before!" I turned to Erin and said, "That's your ring tone." She just looked confused and said, "I'm not calling you." I grabbed my purse and quickly slipped out the side door. Erin's husband was trying to get a hold of her because their baby was running a pretty high fever and started shaking. Turns out she had an ear infection and Erin was apologizing for making me leave. I told her it wasn't a big deal and her children are more important. So the fact that her child was sick was not funny at all... but how we found out was a little embarrassing and comical. Keep in mind I DID set my phone to vibrate. From now on I think the phone will stay in the car or at home during those sorts of meetings.

On a side note... my friend, Becky, has started up a photography business and she took Ashley's birthday pictures last week. Here is a preview. I think she did a great job and I can't wait to see the rest.

Funny, but interesting conversation...

Yesterday when Sammy came home from school she started asking me questions about babies. The questions were more intelligent than in the past and I have no problem discussing it with her. I would much rather she come to me than her friends. So we're having this conversation and Ashley and Katie get in on it. Then one of them asks me, "Mom, do you want a boy or a girl?" Then both Sammy and Ashley said, "I want a baby brother." Katie chimed in, "I want a baby sister and a baby brother." From there they thought they would plan out our future and that I should have 8 kids. I explained to them that even if I wanted that many babies my body wouldn't handle it. Love my Katie! She throws me off guard sometimes and makes me laugh out loud. Her logical answer was, "That's okay, mom, we'll just steal them from other people." Of course I explained to her that we don't do that and it's called kidnapping. However, I'm glad she's optimistic and seems to have a solution to problems of all sorts.

Ashley turned 6

We started off the birthday celebrations with taking cupcakes to Ashley's class! Then came home and prepared for her Barbie/bike party...
The cupcakes were so cute!

All the little girls brought their bikes and we made personalized name plates. Ashley had no idea that we bought her a new bike for her birthday so we brought it out just before decorating. She was so excited and giddy! She is happy with anything we get her and is so grateful that it makes it fun to shop for her. (She'd be happy with new underwear.) So it was especially fun to get her something big and totally unexpected! She actually ran straight to Andy and hugged and thanked him before going to the bike. So sweet.

Here's the bunch of girls that came to the party (left to right):
Ellie Robertson, Sammy, Mallory Wadsworth, Georgia Mecham
Ashley, Gracie Knight, Lindsey Klotthor, and Katie.

We then went on a short bike ride. I stayed in the back and it was so cute to see 8 little girls riding their bikes. I wish I had a picture, but left the camera and phone at home.

I asked Ashley what she wanted for her birthday dinner and she handed me a can of chili. What?! After realizing she could choose anything/anywhere she chose Wendy's. The girl is easy to please.
We came home and had cake, ice cream, and presents with Grandma and Grandpa (+kids), and the Grow family. Grandma spoiled Ashley, too.
When Grandma asked Ashley what she wanted for her birthday she responded with, "A Barbie." After convincing her she should ask for more than just a Barbie Ashley decided she wanted a Barbie car. Grandma looked and looked and couldn't find one... so she got the next best thing. (I think it's cooler than a car)


Ashley is a joy in our home and we are so glad she is a part of our family. She is so tender and loving and tries hard to be a peacemaker. We love you, Ashley!


Some of Ashley's favorite things...
Food: yogurt
Restaurant: McDonald's
Dessert: sugar cookies
Color: blue
Song: Scripture Power
Activity: play games
Toy: Baby dolls and Barbie dolls
Book: Collection of Disney Fairy Tales

(This next part is for journal purposes so you can skip it if you would like.)
Ashley Paige came into our family September 8, 2005 at 8:53 am in American Fork. She weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz. and was 19 inches long. There was no labor due to a scheduled c-section and hers was the only birth video taped from start to finish. (It's quite fascinating to watch in my opinion.) No labor was nice, but it was a long and painful recovery of about 10 weeks. We found out my uterus had adhered to my stomach muscles and resulted in a lot of extra cutting during surgery. (Both my mom and Brigetta came to help take care of me for a total of nearly 3 weeks. Which was wonderful since we made the move to Colorado just after we came home from the hospital.)


We actually couldn't decide on a name for a long time. The night before going to the hospital I told Andy that we had to have at least a list... anything. His solution was to each pick our favorite and then decide when we saw her. I put my foot down because I knew I would lose since he hated the name Isabelle... there's a story behind it. So we, again, went through the baby name books. We went to the hospital with a list longer than most parents.


The names were Ashley, Brooklyn, Courtlind, or Madison with the middle name Paige or Emma. And after she was born we decided either Ashley or Brooklyn with the middle name Paige. Andy and I would talk about it every few hours and say, "What do you think she looks like? Ashley or Brooklyn?" Andy would respond with, "I think she looks like an Ashley." I would then say, "Really? I think she kind of looks like a Brooklyn." We would revisit the conversation a few hours later and Andy would say, "I think she looks more like a Brooklyn now." And I would respond, "Really? I think she looks more like an Ashley now." She was just baby girl Wyne for about 3 days and the nurses kept bugging us to pick a name so they could decorate her name card. Every time they came in the room, "Have you picked a name yet?" Our good friends, Kurtt and Marilyn came to see us in the hospital and we FINALLY decided on Ashley and they said, "Oh good! We hated the name Brooklyn." Thanks guys, we might use it later. ;)


Ashley was definitely a mama's girl from the beginning. We went back to Utah for Christmas and of course all the Aunts wanted to hold Ashley. I passed her off to someone and helped Andy unload the car. By the time we were done Ashley had been passed around the whole room. She was crying and each person was trying to calm her down. I came into the living room, picked her up, and she made a few sigh noises and stopped crying. Andy told his sisters, "Don't worry, she does it to me, too." In fact it was hard to leave her with a babysitter because she would cry the whole time. Thank goodness she grew out of that phase and is happy with anyone now.


Since then she is a happy little thing and will love and hug anyone. She especially LOVES babies. She cannot contain herself when a baby is around. At the last family reunion Sarah asked each of the grandkids what they wanted to be when they grew up. Ashley's response has always been the same, "A mommy." And of course she says it with a huge smile on her face. (I must be doing something right.) If ever she's crying now it's most likely because she is hungry or tired and an occasion of being teased by her sister. And so far kindergarten is a success. She is excited to go, but is glad she gets to spend some days at home with me still.