What We've Learned in One Month

Bryan and I have learned a lot about being parents this last month. (I'm sure you can guess who's learned what):

We have learned what it's like to belong to the world of proud parents. When Caden holds his head up, smiles, or goes a whole night with out crying we want to tell everyone how great we think he is.

It's a good thing Caden was born in the digital age because there is no way I could afford to develop all the pictures we take.

It is possible to love someone who pukes on you, pees on you, and poops on you...all in one day...multiple times.

I have learned another reason to love my wife because she's a great mom.

Although Bryan is incapable of getting up in the middle of the night, during the day he is truly an incredible daddy.

I have learned not to tell my wife that I'm tired.

I have learned that it was possible to become even more OCD than I already was. I think I wash pacifiers 300 times a day and clean his hands another 400.

I've learned that they should make Boppy's for adults.

I have learned that boys are very, very talented. A diaper can be covering the "area" completely and somehow they manage to get pee on the upper backside of their outfit. As a girl, I am left amazed.

I've learned that babies make sweet dancers.

I've learned that the greatest joys in life come from seeing your family happy.

We have learned that every time you change the little guy it costs us $.25. We have also learned that you can go through 704 wipes in 2 weeks. Mostly we have become very grateful for costco!

I have learned that with becoming a mother you are blessed with almost a magical amount of patience. Energy also comes out of no where--it's still pretty baffling to me.

I have learned that babies have lots of different cries and I don't know what any of them mean.

I have learned that showering during the day is a gift, not a given.

I have learned that when you find a mystery wet spot on your shirt, it only stays a mystery for about a second (and the answer is never water.)

I have learned that I will probably be one of those mother-in-laws that can't let go of their little boys. :)

In my mind, the most pronounced thing I have learned is that it is very possible to fall in love with someone at first sight. I have been in love with our little boy since the moment they placed him in my arms. I also have learned how quickly time really does go. Our baby is a month old and is growing so much every day. I have yet to hit the point of accepting that he wont stay little forever.

T-A-G

I got tagged by Mr. Bryan Phipps. (See the Counterpoint for pure entertainment.)

Favorite Person (outside of family)? Jenna...for tagging Bryan so I don't have to hear him cry about never being tagged. And lots of other reasons of course!!

Favorite Food? Chocolate Torte, chocolate ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate cake, oh and...Hawiian Pizza

Quirks about you? I couldn't think of anything but Bryan said my quirk is that I weighed a 110 pounds but could eat an entire bag of oreo's in one sitting. Sad but true...I have NO self control.

Any regrets in life? I worked at BYU's Health Center for 3 years and every day I would spend far too much time looking at people.com. I should have used that time to do something more valueable.

Favorite Charity/Cause?The Perpetual Education Fund

Favorite Blog recently?I love all my friends blogs!! Right now they are the only thing that keep me connected to the outside world!

Something you can't get enough of? Holding my baby boy.

Worst Job you've ever had? This may come as a surprise to some but I have to say the summer I nannied for Satan's son. This kid never listened, spit on me, hit me, cracked his brothers head open, and chased me with knives. It was TERRIBLE.

What job would you pay not to have?Anything that would require me to shower more than the two times a day I already shower.

Favorite Bible verse right now? Matthew 5:16

Guilty Pleasure? Watching So You Think You Can Dance over and over and over. Last night I think I watched Mark and Chelsie's Hip Hop dance about 10 times...and then I got up and watched it again....I love DVR!!!


Got any confessions? I married a man who eats 10 bags of cinnamon twists a day.

If you had $1000 dollars to spend on yourself how would you spend it? I would definitely buy a new high-tech camera to take pictures of Caden with. I WISH!

Favorite thing about your house? This summer has made me beyond grateful for my own home. It's been fun living with 10 other people, but I'll be more than happy to be out of our "studio" appartment...aka Bryan's old bedroom.

Least favorite thing about your house? The backyard--it is nothing but weeds.

One thing you are bad at? Getting frusterated with situations I cannot control.

One thing you are good at? journaling. :)

If you could change one thing about your circumstances, what would it be? I would make it so that we weren't living on just love and loans.


Who would you like to meet someday? The Savior.

What makes you feel sexy? Having a decent tan.

Who is your real life hero? Parents of multiples. I do not know how they do it all at one time.

What is the hardest part of your job? I LOVE my new job!!! The hardest part of being a stay at home mom at the moment is going on zero sleep.

When are you most relaxed? When I am in the brookstone massage chair, or when I am at the ocean listening to the waves...either are great!

What can you not live without? Bryan...
because he's my only hope for riches and the ability to become a professional shopper. (That's revenge for your diet coke answer punk!)

Do you agree or disagree with the recent article that reported that blogs are authored by narcissists? I'd probably have to agree, :) but since 95% of my readers are also bloggers we make great friends. Only kidding.

Why do you blog? It's something I really enjoy and I can publish it on blurp.com for my posterity. :)

Who are you tagging?
Tami Larsen because she's never been tagged...you're welcome sister.
Jen Romney because she's joined me on the obsessed with blogging train.
Rob because he never blogs.
Jenna and Anna because they are from Wisconsin and I want to. :)

Highlight of my Month

Having my baby boy really start to smile at me!!

Thoughts

In two weeks I'm turning 25. Is that even possible?!? Life goes too fast. I feel anything but old enough to be a wife and a mother, making huge decisions that will effect the rest of my life and my family's life. This week it has really hit me that I am "growing up." Bryan and I have been talking a great deal about our future plans. Law school is a little different than other advanced degrees in that the internship you get your second year usually turns into where you start your career the years after. We have to start applying for that second year internship already this summer. Yes, I ALREADY have to know where I want to spend the next chapter (5+ years) of my life when I feel like we just barely decided on staying at BYU for Law School. This place we decide on now will be where Bryan works his first job, where we buy our first home, where my baby starts school, where our family continues to grow. This is a HUGE decision. We have to look into possible income amounts, housing prices, tax prices, education systems, the strength of the church, distance from family, medical centers, and on and on and on. We are looking EVERYWHERE: Texas, Arizona, North Carolina, South Carolina, Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota, California, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Georgia, Tennessee.

I have my pro/con lists and my charts with all the different numbers. Unfortunately, those charts cannot help me with one of my greatest concerns. There were times growing up in Wisconsin that I truly loved, but there were other things that were extremely difficult and challenging. The frozen tundra weather aside, the main challenge was being LDS in a community where our family stood alone. Since this was such a struggle for me and my siblings it is a huge issue for me to not put my own children in that same situation. At the same time, I made amazing friends in Wisconsin; I had a chance to really have my faith tested and learn on my own what I known to be true. So my question is where is the happy medium?!? I grew up where I was the only one; My cousin's grew up in Orem where they didn't even know other religions existed. I don't necessarily want either of those situations. I assume the church is generally pretty strong near larger cities. Basically Bryan and I haven't lived enough other places to know what the church is like outside our comfort zone states.

Any thoughts?!? They are more than welcome!

The plus of "growing up" and almost being 25 is that I'm not naive enough to think that you can't be happy no matter where you live. I know happiness is a choice; I just think that choice is easier when you are in a city that feels like home! :)

Happy Birthday Mom!

Suck your entire fist if you want to wish Grandma Glenda a very Happy Birthday!

Dear Mom:

Happy Birthday!!! We wish we could be there to celebrate with you. I figured videos and pictures are basically the next best thing. :)

I just want to tell you how truly grateful I am for you. Becoming a mother has put everything you did into a new light. Every time Caden wakes up now I think about everything that you did and gave for me to be where I am today. I've always recognized that you put everything into your kids; you are the most selfless of mothers. I have ALWAYS admired you and how you have raised us, but my admiration has grown even deeper. I also wanted to thank you for teaching me to love being a mom--to think of it as the greatest blessing in the world. I realize all the feelings I have had attacted to motherhood is because of the example you set for me. I just am so grateful for you and the role you have and always will play in my life. I love you tons and hope you have a wonderful day!! No cleaning windows. ;)

I have really used the amazing skills I picked up from you in singing lullaby's lately. Here's to you on your day, Grandma. :)

The other night Grandma while I lay sleeping...I dreamt I held you in my arms...But when I woke Grandma, I was mistaken...So I hung my head and I cried. Sending our love to Wisconsin,

Ashley, Bryan, and Caden

May Day!

I have been meaning to post this forever since I have so many friends with cute little girls. My bestie, Kristen Tutt, is an extremely talented little lady. She started her own business, called May Day, creating CUTE accessories primarily for little girls. Check it out here!

I love them so much it almost makes me want to buy some for Caden's hair. . . and then I see Bryan's reaction and change my mind. :) I guess I'll just be waiting 'til I get my own little girl.

Sleepless in Shingle Springs

So, I'm a little slow getting this up, but quite frankly I'm lucky to accomplish anything in a day. My little stroll on the sleepless side caught up with me, and I got an awful cold. It's made life a bit interesting seeing as though you can't just lay in bed when you have a two week old that kind of depends on you for everything, but we are surviving!

I've shared many of Bry's sleeping stories with you all before, and I'm about to share some more. Since having Caden, as I mentioned before, our lives have been lacking in the sleep department. Bryan especially struggles with this because he needs his sleep or he doesn't really function. . . at all. Every night I try to get up with Caden from about 1 AM on. Well, each night Bryan has also been "waking up" to put his two cents in.

Here are his most recent sleep talking comments:

"Geeeeeeeeeez, you've been doing that for like 5 minutes." (I'm changing his diaper--I had gotten him completely changed and then he went again; then in the middle of changing that diaper he peed on me so I was ready to kill Bryan.) As if that comment wasn't enough he continues with, "Maybe we should sign you up for a speed changing class."
Goes back to sleep.


Bryan: "WHERE ARE THE BABIES?!?"
Me: "Babies?!?!?"
Bryan: "Yeah all our other babies are missing."
Me: "Sorry, we only have one."
Bryan: "Oh."
Goes back to sleep.

Bryan: "HOW?????????"
Me: "Oh bless. How what?"
Bryan: "How are we supposed to deal with this?"
Goes back to sleep.

At about 5 PM Bryan says: "I'll take Caden all night. I know you are really sick and I want you to get better."
Me: "Thanks honey that's so nice of you. Blah, blah, blah."
At about 3 AM I say: "Bry he's crying, he really needs fed."
No response.
Me: "Are you going to feed him?"
Bry: "No, you can."
Rolls over, puts covers over his head, and goes back to sleep.


He claims he doesn't remember any of these incidents, which all occured on different nights. Hmmm....

We had Caden's two week appt on Friday. He now weighs 7lb 10oz and is 20 inches long. Unfortunately he still doesn't even fit into his newborn outfits. Guess it's a good thing I didn't return them all. He's still amazing us with how good natured he is. Everyone here calls him our "sucker baby" because at this point I'm totally wanting another one sooner than later.
Lastly, I am able to share a little video in honor of my favorite summer show, So You Think You Can Dance, thanks again to my dear, dear husband. This is Caden's Elvis Dance. Sorry it's sideways:

Mr. Smiley Sleeper

He is so smiley and we love it. AND...he's totally has dimples! Yay!

Just wanted to tell everyone thanks again for your congrats! They mean so much! I really am so sorry if I haven't been able to email you or facebook you back yet--as I'm sure you guessed life is pretty busy and unpredictable at the moment; Just know I appreciate it a ton! Love you all!

I'm a Week Old!

Hi. My name is Ashley and I'm an addict. I have taken over 200 pictures of my kid and he's only a week old. I think I have a major problem. Bryan looked at me the other day and says, "Ashley, there is a fine line between living life and documenting it." Yeah...and then Caden did something Bryan thought was cute so he rips the camera out of my hands and takes like 10 pictures. I'm not the only one in this house that has problems.

Here is some proof of my addiction (and what I'm sure my son would say if he could talk):
Okay this one I just like because he looks so little on Bry's chest.

"I'm a whole week old today. And I bet I've had more pictures taken of me than my parents did in their whole childhoods."

"It's 3 AM and you people are still taking pictures of me."
"All I want is changed and you think my leg kick is picture worthy.""I pee on you and you still take pictures of me."

"Okay I'll give the ladies a little smile."

"Rock on."

"Really?!? You are taking a picture of me doing this?"

This is what he does when he's doing his business. It cracks me up every time....maybe I'm just sleep deprived.

As Bry said, "See, all you do is stare at him."

Our little family.

"I'm so bored. This is like take number 15."

Me and my baby boy. I'm pretty in love with this little guy.

"Seriously, I'm so exhusted from all this picture taking."

The Incredibles

Mr. Incredible:

I feel so lucky to have my husband! I have been going on maybe 4 hours of sleep a day just because I can't stop worrying that Caden is going to stop breathing-- or a long list of other things. Bry told me to go to bed last night and that he'd watch him for awhile. I woke up this morning at 6:45. He kept him all night in the family room! I'd say that makes him Mr. Incredible. He also finished his first internship at Becker, Laurie, and Runckle yesterday and it went great! I'm very proud of him!

Baby Incredible:

So maybe his name isn't Jack Jack but I still think he's an Incredible. Yesterday Bry took him to get his circumcision (which is another reason Bryan is incredible--I couldn't bare to watch it!! Pathetic, I know.) HE DIDN'T CRY A SINGLE TEAR! The doctor said this is the first baby to come into the office that hasn't cried. She said he has the best temperment she's ever seen. I seriously don't know what I did to deserve this kid; I feel sooooooooooo lucky!

When he got home from the doctor he went on to pee on me (and the wall) and then poop on me but I still think he is incredible. :)

Here are some more pictures of our first week at home. I can't believe he is a week old tomorrow. I know...it's only a week...but it went sooooooo fast. At the same time, I can't picture that I actually had a life with out him. It feels like he has just always been part of our family.

On a clean changing table...after our first little "incident".

On the way to the doctors office. I was so scared for him.

He loves his swing.

And I love these little feets!!

Mommy's Joy

So much has changed this past week I'm not even sure where to begin. Mostly the biggest change is the amount of love and joy that has filled our lives. I knew I would love this little boy but I had no idea how much. The second they put Caden in my arms I was so overwhelmed with love for him and it just grows every day. I think the reason I am most sleep deprived is because I cannot stop starring at our little boy. Being a mom is everything I had hoped...it is incredible and life altering and I truly feel so, so blessed to be his mommy.

After only 14 hours of labor he was here! Labor was not what I expected at all. It was by far the hardest thing I have ever done. After I got to the hospital they broke my water and I started into labor on my own. Since I wasn't progressing as quickly as the doctor would have liked they started me on the pitocin. When the contractions started to hurt I got my epidural and was in heaven. I thought things were going to be a breeze after that. For about 6 hours they were. Then for a reason unknown to my anesthesialogist the epidural quit working. I could tell she was frusterated because she had no idea what was going wrong. She tried everything to fix it; she gave me different drugs to try and take away the pain but nothing was working. The next 6 hours of labor were quite an "experience" and the actual delivery was the worst pain I've ever imagined, but after all of that I would do it again in a heart beat (and will!) because I love this little boy beyond what I imagined possible. I am seriously already excited to have another baby because it is such an amazing miracle. True to Bryan's character, he kept me laughing even after labor. Much to my surprise in the middle of labor when the nurse asked if Bryan would be cutting the cord he said sure. As soon as the baby was out he looks at the doctor and says, "You can go ahead and cut that." The doctor asks if he's sure. "Oh yeah...I'm sure." And I'm sure you can hear his tone. Caden has the cutest pouty face right before he cries. He had it mastered minutes after he was born. We love it! Also in the picture note what Bryan is wearing. Yes, while I started pushing my husband disappeared...only to come back, three pushes later, in his white collared shirt with his hair done. I thought I was going to kill him. Luckily for him I wasn't able to move and pain makes you forget easily. Although--he will never, ever live that one down. The entire time we were at the hospital I just held him. I couldn't stand the thought of putting him in the nursery. I remember one of my friends saying how she hated the thought of how quickly they'd grow up and her baby was like a week old (I laughed then)...but now I get exactly what she meant. I feel like every day he changes and I don't want to miss any of it. He wasn't a fan of the light when the nurses would come into our room in the middle of the night. We thougth it was cute. :)Like father, like son....while he was sleeping he put his blanket over his face to block the light. Bryan sleeps with a pillow over his head to do the same thing.
I loved the Sutter Roseville Hospital that I delivered at. The nurses were awesome. The ones that helped with delivery even came back up to mother/baby to check on us. It was such a good experience; I didn't want to leave. Plus being waited on hand and foot was pretty nice after labor. Getting ready to head home. He looked pretty little in his carseat. When I look at him I still can't believe he is ours forever. It's pretty overwhelming.
Our first day home with Caden. He is seriously such an angel. I feel so lucky to have such a good baby. He only cries when he is naked or starving. He sleeps perfectly and has such a good temperment. My sister in law said to me the other day, "I don't think I have heard this kid cry since the day you got home." Bryan and I keep looking at eachother saying this is too good to be true. He's pretty dang amazing....you can tell we are proud parents. :) Our little angel sleeper.
He is always playing with his hands. Like I said...I just watch him for hours.
After his first bath. He's got steel blue eyes that we think are adorable!
Hehe. Today we went through 4 outfits...and I kept getting this face when I'd change him. Love it.

Thank you everyone for all your thoughts and prayers for our little family! Everything is going wonderfully--we feel so blessed and love this little guy so much. I'll try and post more pictures sooner than later--life has just all the sudden gotten very busy. Love you all!!