All the wonderful details...

Charlie Alexander Porter turned 7 weeks on Monday! Every day those 7 weeks, I've been trying to finish this blog entry and just never could. Geez, am I busy! And time has already gone by so fast.

Charlie is a little doll and I am enjoying him a lot. It has been a while since I have taken care of a newborn and I am learning everything all over again. It's weird how much I forgot how to do. Taylor is really loving being a big brother! He is such an incredible help to me. I am glad that I waited 4 years to have another one. Taylor is big enough where he can do a lot of things by himself, which is totally awesome :)

Taylor took this picture :) These pictures are a couple weeks old and he already looks way different! Charlie is such a big boy, a lot bigger than Taylor was, by almost a whole pound. He's almost 2 inches longer than Taylor was too. Every morning Taylor says to me, "Mama, doesn't he look bigger this morning?" It's so cute :) But he's exactly right- he really does look a little bigger each day. He is already wearing his 3-6 mos clothes. Charlie has some of the same features that Taylor had as a baby but a lot of his looks are so much different. Charlie's complexion is a lot darker than Taylors was. I remember Taylor being so fair skinned. Charlie is a bit of a stubborn sleeper. He did really well the first 2 weeks, sleeping in his own crib in his own room the very 1st night. He is still in his own room but has grown to be real catnapper. He sleeps on average for about an hour a day, unless I go out somewhere. I find myself quite often packing him and Taylor in the car or taking the dog on a walk just to get him to sleep most days. So needless to say, my house is a total mess, you know, muddy dog prints all over the wood floor, carpet total nastiness, the works. I'm trying not to care but I like to have a neat house! Oh well, anyways, Charlie smiled at me and Taylor around 1 mos old and rolled over from his stomach to his back at 6 weeks! It's too cute. I stressed out so much with Taylor as a baby and I am really trying hard this time around to enjoy Charlie and to enjoy being a mom more.


My mom was able to come and help for a whole month. I came 2 weeks early with Taylor so I had her come early, just in case I came early again. My dad also came down for a week to do some projects around my house. He built me an awesome fence for my backyard! Pictures to come soon. It was fun to have both of them around for a while. I realized how much I miss being around family. I feel like I'm out of the loop up here in the Northwest.

Well, as far as the birth story goes, I have to say that this time around was a whole lot better! Everything happened so fast with Taylor, with the c-section and all, that I had no time to think about anything or enjoy the process. This time around was the complete opposite. I found it a little nerve wracking just waiting around for the signs to go in to the hospital but in general, a lot more relaxed. I was out and about doing things with my mom until the day before I came. I made sure I was a lot more prepared and it made the big day go way more smoothly and peacefully. I had had a few contractions at night for a few days and then on Sunday, the 28th, I started having them like 1 every 1/2 an hour or so. They weren't very strong at all so I just kinda decided to wait it out. As the day progressed, they became stronger and closer together that by about 10 pm, they were about 5-10 minutes apart. I was watching Masterpeice Mystery, one of my favorite shows, I found myself not able to concentrate on the show (which hardly ever happens with my Masterpeice shows, hee hee). I felt like it was time so Sonny and I headed to the hospital while my Mom stayed home with Taylor. We checked in around 10:30 and was evaluated in the triage area of labor and delivery. They determined that I was at a 3 and about 50 % effaced. They told me that I needed to be a little more dialated in order to be admitted. The nurse suggested that I walk around the hospital for about 2 hours... I was like WHAT? 2 hours? I seriously thought they were joking. But I gave it a whirl- Sonny showed me some of the departments he had worked in and stuff. I made it to about 45 minutes and then couldn't walk around anymore. I returned to the triage area and they told me I was at a 4-5. Wow! that happened quick! I told them I wanted to bet the pain meds started right away and they informed me that they would get all the paperwork/orders submitted etc. They transfered me to the delivery room soon after that. I still hadn't received anything, no epidural, nothing yet so I was dying!!! It took them another couple hours until the anesthesiologist came. Before she came, they did give me some kind of pain med, a short lived one, that didn't really help at all but was enough to tie me over until the epidural. Once the epidural was administed, I grew really dizzy and nauseated. They told me this happened to a lot of women so I spent the next 2 hours or so vomiting off and on. SO MUCH FUN. After that calmed down, I tried to get some sleep but what with all the wonderful nurses bugging me and checking me, I didn't sleep a wink. Anyways, so to finish up the story, around 7 am that morning, the 29th, they told me I was ready to push and by 8:43 am, he was out. Madigan being a practicing hospital, there were what seemed like millions of people in the room watching me give birth. But at that point, I didn't care, just wanted it to be over with. I was very proud of myself for doing the Trial of Labor after C-section and it being a success. Did I mention that it was totally awesome to be able to hold Charlie right after he came out? Didn't get to do that with Taylor. So neat :)

So that's the story. About a 12 hour labor- not too bad. I'm still not fully recovered but almost. I had a little bit of tearage and have experienced a bit of incontinence so the doc says that'll be a while to recover from all that. But I am so happy to be a mother of 2. New pictures to follow- hopefully sooner than later :)

Charlie Alexander Porter

Introducing Charlie Alexander Porter! Charlie was born August 29th @ 8:47 am, weighing in at 7 pounds 11 oz, 20 3/4 inches long. More details to come later. Here are some recent pics. ps: ignore the non-makeup me... that's just how I roll these days.

Crazy days!

It looks like it's been since April since I last blogged. Wow, how time flies. Things have been crazy busy around here!!! I guess busy is subjective really but it's been crazy for me at least. I don't like being too busy and it seems like it's been out of control the last couple months. With Sonny in his residency, being pregnant, having a dog- it has been really overwhelming at times.

Sonny is now in his 2nd year of residency. He changes rotations every couple months and the hours vary depending on what department he's in. He is doing ENT right now and the schedule has been pretty nice. Starting Friday he will be doing Opthomology, which he says will be an even easier schedule. In about a month, around the time the baby is due, he will be in Plastic Surgery. I'm hoping that will be a lighter schedule too but who knows. His favorite rotation so far has been Anesthesia, mostly because he got to work by himself at his own pace. Lately he has found time to return to doing stocks again and work out at the gym. I'm glad he has time to have a hobby, besides just working.

Taylor is getting to be such a big boy. He seems to grow older every day. I love this age because they say the funniest things too. His personality has really come out. He is a crack up and I really enjoy being his mom and playing with him. With the baby on the way, he has been such a great help to me. He helps so much with the dog as well. I am excited that he will be such a good big brother. He still likes legos but has now started an obsession with camping. We've been on a few trips lately and he is really into RV's- he calls them camping trucks. He is saving up money to buy one. ha ha! He is really interested in insects and loves to read books about them. His favorite are Cinnabar moth caterpillars, which we found in a field near by. The weather has gotten nice, finally, so he spends a lot of time outside with his best friend Jackson. He is crazy about otter pops and any type of "dessert."

Jane is now 7 months old and is still a handful. I have officially concluded that puppies are way harder to take care of than a baby. She needs constant supervision and stimulation or she gets into trouble. I've only gained about 16 pds so far and I attribute that to her totally. Because of her, I have been on walks daily the last 6 months. Even though I don't feel like going most of the time, I know it's good for me and for her. She is so much fun to take on hikes because I can take her off the leash, and she especially enjoys herself around water (as you can tell with all the pictures I posted :) ) Golden Retrievers are truly water dogs. We have come pretty close to getting rid of her a couple times, because of her bad behavior, but we are trying to stick it out and enjoy the positive things she brings to our family. I know that in about 2 years or so, she will be the perfect family dog.

As for me, I have 4 1/2 weeks left until I pop. I'm finding myself a lot more anxious and nervous this time around. I think I'm mostly concerned about taking care of Taylor, the dog, and the newborn. It's also because everything happened so quick before with Taylor, having a c-section and all, and I'm trying for a vbac this time around. It's a fear of the unknown I guess. I'm so glad my mom will be coming down soon to help me. But it has been fun getting the nursery ready and I am also loving the summer!

With all the busyness, we've been on a few trips the last couple months. Taylor, Jane and I drove down to Utah in April for my brothers BYU graduation. We spent Easter down there with a bunch of family and had an awesome time. Sonny gets 2 weeks of vacation a year and decided to use one of his weeks in Idaho in June. It was a family reunion for his family and spent mostly in Rigby, Idaho. Taylor had a fun time with all of his cousins and Jane loved running around Sonny's brothers huge backyard. Sonny was able to take a few day trips with the guys in his family. They went fishing, motorbiking, and rafting. He truly needed and deserved the vacation. The girls went out one night to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Playmill Theater in West Yellowstone. It was a small production, very family friendly environment. Taylor even came along and loved it. We had listened to the soundtrack for a couple months before so we both knew all the songs! This last weekend we drove out to Seaside, Oregon to spend some time with Sonny's dad. We hung out at the beach a lot and visited with Sonny's aunt and uncle too. It was perfect beach weather! It was fun to get a couple trips in recently because I probably won't be getting out much when the baby comes.

The water at Seaside was the perfect temperature. It was super shallow too with small waves.

Sonny had a good time with Jane in the water. When Sonny threw the ball, Jane would swim out and get it and bring it back to him. It was so cool! Dogs are so cute to watch when they swim :)

Look at Jane doggy paddle!


She was in heaven!

You can't tell but Sonny is flying a kite here. I forgot how much fun it is to fly a kite at the beach.

It was so nice being at a sandy beach again. I miss that warm sand under my feet! Sure beats Washington's rocky beaches.

Taylor with all of his gear. He is truly a beach bum, like his mom. We concluded on this little getaway that we have to live near the ocean. It's an absolute must.

Janers found some crab... yum!

Baseball and a quick update

Above is a couple of pictures taken at some of Taylor's baseball games. He is having a good time at them. It's funny to watch boys his age play baseball- most of the time they are out there digging holes, dancing around, chewing on their gloves... ha ha. Once and a while, somebody hits a ball and the whole team runs for it. Taylor has hit one ball without the tee but most of the time, ends up using the tee. About half of the games and practices have been canceled, because of the rain. So goes sports in Washington!

The computer that we usually use crashed a couple weeks ago. All of my recent pictures are on it. So, as you can guess, the future posts will not have pictures. It crashed in the most inopportune time, for Sonny mostly. He was just about to give a powerpoint presentation at work to some of the general surgeons and residents. Yikes! So it was a rough day for him. Anyways, just know that Taylor has grown a little bit older, Jane has grown a whole lot longer, Sonny has gotten a little more tired, and I have gotten a lot more fat. I think you get the picture.

I am now 24 weeks along and feeling ok. I've been having some acid reflux, at night mostly, and am still trying to fit into my jeans. Some days it works, others, not so much. I found some cute stretch pants at Target and wear those most of the time. I get to have another ultrasound in about a month (the one and only good thing about being a high risk patient). I haven't even started getting the nursery ready- it's still the dog's room/office/weight room/library... I have a feeling I'm going to go early, like last time. I'm trying for a v-back and the doctors said that I have a good chance of succeeding, since I had the c-section as an emergency and didn't really even experience the labor process. It'll be nice to deliver in the same hospital too that Sonny will be working at. The Ob-gyn department is delivering 250 babies a month! Because of the way the deployments work, it kind of works out that way. Hopefully I won't be giving birth in some hallway somewhere in the hospital.

Taylor and I made a trip to Utah last month for my brother Kyle's graduation at BYU. My parents flew in from California and made the long drive with us. We brought Jane along too and surprisingly, she did really well. Well, not really a surprise really- in reality, she did better than I did. I hate road trips! But we made it there and back without going crazy and had a fun time visiting with lots of family there. We spent a nice easter with my aunt and uncle and cousins there. It was really great to get out of Washington for a bit. Sonny unfortunately had to stay behind and work. Bummer. But we are looking forward to heading to Boise next month for a family reunion with his side of the family. Sonny is counting down the days until he is done with his first year of residency. He has worked so hard, especially in this last general surgery rotation, and really deserves a nice vacation.

Well, that's what we've been up to the last month or so. We are looking forward to the rainy season being over and seeing some sun already! The summer's are really nice here though- just wish it would last longer than like 2 months.

BOY!

It's official... we're having another boy! We were all very surprised- we all thought for sure it was going to be a girl. But I like surprises...

Recent thoughts and happenings

This time of the year in Washington is REALLY rainy. Even though we've lived here for almost 2 years (in June), I am still not even near getting used to it. Come to think of it, I don't think I ever will. It's your fault California but I love you for it. Ya, the rain still bothers me... A LOT! And now that we have a dog, I think I notice it even more. Having to dry down Jane with a towel every 10 minutes can get taxing, especially with an ever increasing belly. But I gotta admit, walking a dog in the rain isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I'm getting pretty good with holding a leash, an umbrella, treats, and Taylor's hand all at once! And the daily walks have done me good as well- some much needed exercise. So along with the rain, Taylor has started Baseball- following in his fathers footsteps- ha ha. Just you wait babe, he's doing piano lessons next! No- I'm glad he is doing sports. He really enjoyed his gymnastics class so I knew he would like this as well. He is the youngest one on his team but has so much fun with it. He looks so cute in his cleats and glove running out there with his teammates. I think he's going to be a master at defense- at least he takes after me in something :) He also celebrated his 4th birthday on the 19th. We had a Lego Star Wars party for him. He is crazy about Lego's right now and could spend all day playing them. I've spent many an hour on his floor, looking at instructions books, attempting to put space ships together for his Storm troopers, Clone troopers, Hoth Rebel Troopers... ya, that's right, I'm now a Star Wars expert. I know all the dudes names. We had fun junking out on pizza, cheetos, and candy at his party and I even tried to make a lego shaped cake. Looked retarded but tasted awesome. Jane is now 15 weeks and has started obedience classes at Petsmart. After one class, she already knows "sit" and the "watch me" commands. She is pretty good at fetching too. I am anxious and excited to see what this class does for her. I'm hoping it'll help with her biting problem too. But I am starting to enjoy her more now- those first couple weeks were rough. But that's what I've heard from every puppy owner. I think she's finally starting to fit into our family. We are going through treats and bones like crazy! Now to get all her vaccinations finished up and our bank account not so dry- ha ha. I am now 18 weeks pregnant and am beginning to feel the weight of it. My back has gotten a lot worse with the weight and I am just trying to tolerate it. Let me add that my buttox is all bruised from my lovenox injections. Awesome eh? Yep, tons of fun. I'm hoping to get my ultrasound soon and find out what it is! I'm on a waiting list at Madigan Hospital (the military hospital) to get it done and I'm going crazy waiting for them to call me to schedule it. The hospital is so busy! We're still all hoping for a girl. I am still trying to finish my Charles Dicken's book from like 6 months ago- crazy I know! And I'm excited to watch PBS the next couple months to watch my Masterpiece Classic shows. For the most part, Taylor and the dog are keeping me busy. I don't know how people with 4 kids or something do it. Here are a couple of recent pictures :

I'm back baby!!!!!!!!

Hello there friends, family, and strangers who read my blog! Guess what? I have decided to start up my blog again. I took a year hiatus. Not sure why really. Well, you know how you get out of mood to do something or just plain get sick of it? That's what happened to me. But now lucky for you all, I'm back :)

It's pretty much impossible to update you all on what we have been doing since last April, but here is a list of big things I could think of:

1. Sonny started his Oral Surgery residency June of last year. The first year consists of rotating through different departments in the hospital. Some of the departments he has done so far are ICU, CCU and Anesthesia. His hours haven't been too bad at all. But I'm sure I'll be eating those words very soon; He's doing General Surgery next...

2. Taylor turned 4 last saturday. He had a Star Wars themed party. He is such a sweet boy. I will talk more about what he has been doing in a minute.

3. We bought a 2nd car, a 2006 Toyota Sequoia. I am really loving it.

4. We've taken several trips to Utah, California, and Idaho.

5. We've added a new addition to our family- a 3 month old golden retriever named Jane. She is quite the puppy, to say the least. She is such a beautiful dog but is the queen of biting and has already experienced a brutal spurt of roundworm. total yuckness.

6. One of my favorite people in the whole world passed away, my Grandma Rosa. She was one of the most classy, brightest, and funniest people I know and I think about her and miss her every day.

7. Man, I can't think of anymore but I know we have been doing stuff. Oh, one last thing... I am pregnant and due with baby #2 the end of August! We are all very excited.

So I've decided to put my back problems on hold for a while and am trying really hard to remain faithful and still believe that someday it will get better. But most of the time, it is more difficult than you can imagine. Somedays I don't even want to get out of bed. But I was sick of putting off having another baby. So we decided to pursue that instead, even though it meant 9 months worth of lovenox injections (a blood thinner- I had a kidney clot in 2003 and whenever I am pregnant, I have to be on them) and progressively worse back pain. But to me, it's worth it. I am also enjoying decorating our house (especially when my mom comes to visit and buys me a ton of stuff!). We have been exploring the Pacific Northwest a little more together as a family as well. We are trying our best to tolerate the rainy weather- we are in the middle of it right now. Good thing I got a pair of rain boots a while back :) Gotta have those in Washington. We make frequent hiking trips and drives to the ocean with Tay and the dog as well. Taylor is really enjoying the dog.

Now about Taylor :) He is growing up so fast and is such a big boy now. This age he is at is my favorite so far. He is fun to play with. I make sure to make time to play with him everyday, just one on one time, no dog etc. I was a little worried at first about the 4 1/2 year gap there will be between him and the next baby. But I think it will turn out great and I think deciding to get a dog at the time we did was good for him too, to warm him up to not having all the attention all the time. But he is hoping for a little girl, as are Sonny and I. Taylor just started playing baseball in a city league here. He is so cute to watch and is really having lots of fun. His favorite thing right now is Legos, in particular Star Wars legos. His best friend lives 2 doors down from us so they play daily and have lots of fun together. He is such a big help around the house and likes to help me clean the bathrooms! right on! I look forward to blogging about him a lot in the future. I love him so much.

Here are some recent pictures: I tried to make a Vietnamese noodle soup (my obsession right now) but it turned out like crap. I'll just stick with the restaurant stuff.

Taylor took a gymnastics class for about a month a while back. That's him on the balance beam above. He was quite good.