Christmas Time!

Merry Christmas! 

We took Cedrik to our ward Christmas breakfast.  It was nice to get out of the house for an hour and Mom enjoyed holding Freddie at home.  Cedrik was VERY excited when Santa came out but when we got up to him he wouldn't sit on his lap and wanted nothing to do with him.  I'm glad we don't have to start explaining Santa yet...or hiding Christmas presents so he won't open them.  He gladly puts the presents under the tree and leaves them there. 

Our Deddy

Cedrik probably has the cutest name for Freddie, "Deddy."  It's much better than the Fredward, Fred Head and Mr. Fred that we have come up with.

Freddie is such a wonderfully calm baby.  I am getting between 7 and 8 hrs of sleep every night and Jordan is getting at least that. :)  I rarely have to wake him up, unless it's to change a diaper but Freddie sleeps 3 and 4 hour stretches.  It is so nice.  He loves to sit and stare and eat and sleep.  He smiles all the time and Cedrik can't kiss him enough.  He has a hairy back...and he's hairy everywhere else too!

We had a tough couple of days right after Freddie was born.  Cedrik was very upset with me but it seems to be over with now and for the most part Cedrik doesn't get upset with how often I have to take time away from him to take care of his baby brother.  Although, he has decided that he is going to test all the boundaries again since Freddie is born.  He can't stop touching the bookshelves, dishwasher buttons, taking the aluminum foil out of the drawers and now he's taken to pulling off the wood from the table in the kitchen (wicker drawers) and playing with wrapping paper.  It's hard not being able to go outside for a walk but soon enough the three of us will be venturing out and I'll probably wish we could have a few more months inside.

Frederick Morris and His Birth

On Saturday morning (early morning, 1am early) I woke up with contractions.  I had a couple before we went to bed that night too.  I didn't get too excited but laid there and timed them for awhile.  After about an hour I let Jordan know that they were happening about every 8-10 minutes.  Jordan started timing them and we decided that we had better give Shayla a heads up.  She was planning on coming up from Utah to help for a couple of days if I happened to have the baby early (Mom and Warren weren't planning on being here until the 17th).  Jordan tried calling her cell phone 8 times; he called Colby too, whose phone was off; he called the house phone several times and then finally called Jara who answered on the first ring and she went down to wake Shayla up.  Her phone had been on silent and after she and Jordan talked it was agreed that she'd leave around 5:30am.  Second labors are usually half the time of first labors, so that would mean this one would be 15hrs, which would put us at about 1pm.

Anyway, after talking they both got online and looked at the roads and they were terrible.  There was no way we were going to ask her to drive in bad weather.  Around 6am, the contractions were getting closer together and at about 8 we were going to call the midwives but decided to call Dad and Donna first and have them come and take Cedrik for the day.  We went to the grocery store to buy a few things and they picked him up at 9.  After they left, the contractions stopped.  I had sporadic ones throughout the day but nothing great and we were confused.  We had also let Mom and Warren know earlier in the morning and Mom got on a flight that day and was here at 2pm.

Jordan and I spent the day alone, which we haven't really done since Cedrik was born.  It was a great day, he had me haul hay to the trash can which sped up the contractions for a minute.  He is a slave driving birth partner. :)  We also went a bought a Christmas tree since we had planned to go cut our tree that day.  It is a very pretty tree, but it is sad we couldn't keep the tradition going.  I guess labor is a good excuse though.  

That night was another night of contractions and just when the sun came up they stopped again.  We were exhausted and confused again and decided to call the midwives.  Jerusha said that it was pre-labor.  Some women go through it for days or even weeks before actual labor begins.  We were both tired and sad that it wasn't real labor and that it could continue for weeks.  The little relief we got was that that night we could sleep and I was told to take a Benadryl to sleep through the contractions which helped us relax a little more.  We went for a long walk, had a good dinner and went to bed.  I woke up at 1am again with contractions and started timing them and they were about 8 minutes apart.  I let Jordan sleep until 2 and then we started timing them because they were more intense than the previous nights and when I got out of bed they didn't stop.

We called the midwives at about 3:30 when they were about 5 minutes apart and she told us to call when we felt like coming in--at about 3-5 minutes apart.  That way, we could also be a little more sure that I really was in labor.  About 30 minutes later we called and let them know we were coming in.  It took us 15 minutes to get there...it's so nice to drive at 4 in the morning...but the roads seem to have a lot more bumps.

When we got there Jerusha checked me and I was 5cm dialated and she could "safely say" I was in active labor.  I paced the room, sat on the birth ball and listened to music for quite awhile.  Then the contractions started getting a lot longer and I couldn't hold back the tears.  I wasn't crying for pain.  In fact, I'm not sure why I was crying.  At that point Jordan was holding me through each one and that helped immensely.  It seemed to make them much more bearable.

I decided to get checked once more to see how far along I was because I had had a few contractions that made me want to push.  I wasn't quite ready for that (only 8cm) so I got in the tub.  The water helped much more this time and Jordan held my hand the whole time.  I cried for what seemed like a really long time as the midwives came and went a couple of times.  The baby was sounding great--I sounded like a woman in transition.  After that I got on the birth stool and it was about time to push but my cervix had a little lip on it.  I laid on the bed and cried some more, then finally I was given the ok to try pushing.  Each time I pushed, Holly (who delivered Cedrik) would push the cervix back over his head.  Then, when the contraction would be over it would come right back down.  I decided during one of the contractions that I was sick of it and gave a very big push and my cervix stayed put after that.  A couple of contractions later and I "decided" I was ready for my water to break and to get him out...and it broke.  It wasn't very long after that Jordan had to move from being my support to the catching position.  Jerusha took his spot behind me and although I can't stand anyone but Jordan in that close of a proximity to my face, it was so nice to have her behind me and I felt so incredibly supported.

I don't know how to describe this part other than to say that I didn't notice anything really that was going on around me.  I kept saying, "I don't want to suck him back in" because it felt like every time the contraction was done he went back up.  This is how it is supposed to happen, but during that moment I forgot.  Then, I could no longer hold back and I just had to keep pushing.  It felt like I was tearing and I kept saying that over and over but Holly assured me I wasn't.  I didn't believe her.  Then I was hearing "push the rest of your baby out."  It didn't seem like it was time for that but after his head was out I was worried for a milisecond that I wouldn't be able to get his body out...then it came out and Jordan caught him.  He handed him to me very quickly and all the midwives were talking about "her."  Calm, cool, and collected Jordan had the bright idea to check and make sure she was a she and found out otherwise.  Then he said "It's not a girl.  It's a boy!"  We both looked at each other and said" we knew it!" 



Total labor time: 8hrs
6lbs 6oz
21.5"
Pushing time: 30 min
Born at 9: 02am


Cedrik's labor time: 30 hrs
8lbs 1oz
21.75"
Pushing time: 2 hrs

Show that Porter Smile!

Our Thanksgiving Weekend

We ended up staying home for Thanksgiving.  No one was in town so it was our first "official" Thanksgiving dinner together as a family.  We bought a smoked turkey from the butcher by the white barn on Fairview and it was amazing.  I made stuffing again, and it was good...or so Jordan says; sweet potatoes (aka brown sugar with potatoes mixed in).  Jordan was in charge of mashed potatoes--wonderful--and the turkey.  Cedrik didn't care for the turkey.  He preferred pickles, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pickles, olives and pickles.  We stuffed ourselves all weekend.  A tip for your next Thanksgiving meal: buy more than one gravy packet because sometimes it doesn't thicken.  We had water gravy.  Also, instead of a pumpkin pie I made a chocolate truffle pie, Paula Deen recipe.  It was amazing and we ate more than half of it on Thanksgiving.

  

Beatrice stayed with us for the week and got a bath and had her ears trimmed.

On Friday we decorated the house. 

On Saturday, Jordan hung Christmas lights.  I'll have to get a picture of them lit.

Cedrik and I played outside while he hung the lights.

Adios High-Chair

A few weeks ago, maybe a month now, Cedrik showed an interest in using a regular chair.  Yes, our chairs are high.  He only sits in them when we are on either side of him and he has to wait for us to help him down.  Anyway, he loves eating at the table.  He loves using a fork or spoon and I have to be certain of which one will be more useful for each meal because I have him get his own silverware--and sometimes it's hard to know which is better for a 17month old.  We have one lower cupboard that I put some bowls in for him and some silverware.  The next step is letting him use glass (or Correll, because I believe that stuff is pretty indestructable) plates and bowls, but we're still working on not sliding the bowl around.  He is drinking out of a glass at dinner time and if we'd let him pour the water he would; for now, I set the pouring boudaries in the bath. 

It IS messier with him at the table, but he is learning.  It makes my heart swell (literally, I think it does) everytime he accomplishes something new on his own.  He's learning how to pull his pants off and put them on and is trying VERY hard to take his shirts off.  I've read that children tend to learn how to use buttons before zippers.  Cedrik skipped the button step and zips up his pajamas at night.  He almost always is happy to help me put everything away that he gets out to play with and usually I only have to tell him something once.  I love this stage and I love how quickly he learns.  He still has a language that only Jordan and I can understand but he says the prayer when he feels like it (which seems to be very often at dinner) and says "amen amen" after the prayer is done.  (Which we think is because he hears it twice--just like in church.)  We were watching a Praise to The Man music video with the MoTab and he loved watching the conductor and decided to lead the music himself. Sometimes he'll sing and read to himself, but it only lasts a few seconds.  He is adorable and all over the place every second of the day.

Oh Bother.

Just about the only show we let Cedrik watch is the old Winnie the Pooh.  He loves "Pah Ba."  He even has Jordan's old Pooh bear from when he was a little boy.  Cedrik has him on his bed at all times and kisses and hugs him a lot.  It was only natural that we let Cedrik dress up as Pooh for Halloween.  He is the cutest Pooh we've ever seen.  He loved to look at himself in the mirror and knew exactly who he was. "Pah Ba"

We went to three houses by Dad and Donna's house and Cedrik caught on quick.  This was also the first time anyone has ever confused him for a girl.  I guess the hiking boots didn't register. :)

Picking Pumpkins

We decided to go to Reggie's Veggies.  If you haven't been there, it's awesome.  They are on Ustick and Cole, I think.  They have tons of local produce and sell Cloverleaf Dairy products.  They also have MANY pumpkins...and pretty cheap I think.  We decided against the pumpkin patch and hay ride this year.  Cedrik doesn't quite get it yet, and it's expensive!  I'm sure next year we'll cave, but this year all Cedrik cared about was the wagon and the "ba's!" (aka balls aka pumpkins).

They look like geese.

Cedrik thought they were balls, so we had to make sure he didn't throw them.

The wagon was the best part.  He wanted to push and pull it all night.

We didn't realize that hay bales are so large.  Yes, we drove home with the trunk open.

Visitors

We have been boring for two years.  At least that's what we thought when none of Jordan's family haven't even attempted to visit us.  Our boring streak is over!  We had Shayla and the kids visit a couple weekends ago AND Chari, Brandon and Taycee visited last weekend.  In two weeks, our friends from Portland are also going to visit Boise!  I guess living in a house suddenly makes us entertainers.

Shayla working her magic...

Taycee decided that she liked Uncle Jordan this weekend.  She even sat on his lap while he read her a book (silly voices included).

Chari wanted to try the Trailor Park Cafe, that has been seen on The Food Network. Well, it was grungy (i.e. not clean) and the food was ok.  We found out at the end of the meal (After the waitress said, "I was going to offer dessert, but we just ran out" at 2pm) that they are closing, today!  The co-op bought it out.  Don't worry if you never tried it...you're not missing out!

The coolest part of the restaurant.

We also went to the nature center downtown.  If you haven't been there this time of year, it is gorgeous.  The kids liked looking at the fish, but they definitely had their schedules thrown off and it can be seen on their faces.  They hung in their though and I think had fun.  Brandon absolutely loved looking at the fish.

Sleep deprivation.

They ended up being fast friends.  Cedrik kept backing her into the living room wall and giving her hugs.  They even kissed a few times.  At least their too young to understand the "cousin" concept.

In this video, Taycee realizes they're being watched and pushes him away (before that she was letting him shower her with affection).  Then they walk away like nothing is going on.  So sly.