One Week

Little Ryker is a week old today and to celebrate he decided to pee on me... twice.

We love having him in our home. So far he's been a very good baby. He hardly every makes a fuss unless he's hungry. He sleeps in about 2-3 hour intervals at night which is always an adjustment when you are use to sleeping all night long! There aren't many moments when he's not being kissed, hugged or just plain loved!

Happy One Week Birthday Baby Boy... we love you!

Lots of Lovin'

It's good to be home! There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed and eating your own food! We came home Saturday afternoon.



I kept telling everyone I felt like I was having a 10 pound baby, but everyone just laughed. Now that's it true, I can hardly believe I did it. All of my babies have been really fast, but Ryker was the fastest and easiest. I was really nervous that it wouldn't be that way since I was being induced. (He is 1.5 times the size of Lucas and 2.5 pounds bigger than Kody.)









It's amazing how they change so fast in such a little amount of time. Kody has now taken a liking to him and likes to smother him in kisses and make sure his binky is in his mouth. Lucas constantly has an eye on him to make sure he's okay.










It's been so nice to have my mom here. She's been a huge help with the boys and I couldn't do this without her. She's been here to stay with the boys while were in the hospital which they loved! Jed was able to stay with me at the hospital and keep me company in the day which I really appreciate.



We've had a few visitors at the hospital and at home. Grandpa Mark came down to see us at the hospital and Grama Carole, Tawnya & Nappy came by later that night. On Saturday Grandpa & Grandma Valentine came up to see Ryker and Mariann, Nathan & Talon also came by. On Sunday Shane and Talease stopped by on their way back from Logan. I don't have pictures of everyone, but we are sure grateful for all our family and all their love and support.














And these are just because...

Arrival Story

How could you not just kiss on those chubby cheeks.


Now for his arrival story...


I had an appointment on Thursday and Dr. Glenn decided to start us Friday morning if he didn't come in between. I got a call at 5:30 Friday morning asking us to be at the hospital by 6:30. Because I was Group B positive, I needed 4 hours of antibiotics before he came. I got settled about 7:15 and they started the medicine about 7:30.





I was still a 3 1/2 and 85% (and had been that for the last 3 weeks). Dr. Glenn broke my water around 8:15 and then started the pitocin about 8:45 after I had the full dose of antibiotic. Since my previous deliveries had gone fast they wanted to make sure I had it in me for as close to the 4 hours as possible. The contractions started getting harder after the pitocin but not extremely close together. I got an epidural about 9:15 but was only around a 5. The nurse turned up the pitocin a couple times in the next 1/2 hour and it didn't take long before I was feeling things! The nurse checked me one more time and I was ready. She called the doctor and the NICU (in case he swallowed meconium). I pushed through on contraction and 1 more little push and at 10:38 he was here. Dr. Glenn's first comment was wow he's a 10 pounder and well endowed! He also had the chunkiest cord the doctor had ever seen. It was at least 1 1/2 to 2 inches around. He wouldn't even let Jed cut it cause it took multiple cuts to get through it. Apparently Ryker had quite the food supply! He weighed 9lbs 7ozs and actually surprised everyone in the room that that was all he weighed.








I didn't get to see him for long, but new instantly that I love him and would fit in perfectly. He was taken to the NICU for monitoring since he was making a funny breathing sound, but apparently only spent about 5 minutes there and then was taken to the regular nursery. Jed was with him and said that his legs were to fat to get the blood pressure cuff around so they had to do it around his arm. We only made it 3 hours with the antibiotics so he had to be monitored for any signs of that. And because he was large for his age (that's what the nurse said) he had to have his vitals taken more often and his blood sugar taken ever 6 hours. With all the 'extra' things he had to go through, it was nice to hear his jaundice levels were really low so he doesn't have to be re poked.

I chilled up in the labor room for the next hour or so afterwards with the shakes and chills (as always) and then was transferred down to mother and baby. It was nice to finally get to hold our little guy and love on him. He looked a lot like Kody with Lucas' chin (or no chin). He is perfect and we are so grateful to have him as part of our family.

Meet Baby Ryker

Ryker Beatty Valentine

19 1/2 inches

and...



wait for it...





9lbs 7ozs

He has more chunk than I've ever seen, but completely adorable. More details to come later!

I love this picture... (not of me) because Lucas and Kody are both showing their personalities... Lucas is making sure Ryker's okay and Kody is completely oblivious to the fact there is a baby (he'd rather be pushing buttons)!

5 Days or Less!

I'm hoping for less, but at least there is some light coming through the tunnel. The good news is he waited long enough to come so my doctor should be back in town now. Jed's thinking the 26th since we have a 6th and 16th.

I met my mom up in Bountiful Friday afternoon so Lucas and Kody could spend the weekend with them. They were beyond excited. Lucas could hardly wait to play with all the cousins. And I needed a little break to let my patience level rise again!

Thursday afternoon it seemed like one thing after another...

Lucas decided he needed his dominoes, but instead of asking he tried to climb up to get them and pulled one of the shelves out of the wall and sent everything on top of it down to the floor. He was lucky he didn't get hurt. Fortunately it's in a closet... so I shut the door!

About 15 minutes later Kody decided he would get into the dishwasher and chase Lucas with the big butcher knife. I screamed and he tossed the knife aside. Thankful he didn't catch Lucas and didn't trip while running.

And about 15 minutes after that Jed called to let me know his contact was not in his eye. I searched the bathroom but with no luck. He's always losing his contact but luckily we've always been able to find it. Not this time. Fortunately it wasn't the bad eye that he lost so he can still see. His contacts and I have a love/hate relationship!

Since the kids were gone, Jed and I spent much of the day in Provo. Jed was fitted for a new suit. Something he hasn't had since his mission and not necessarily what he wanted for Father's Day! We ate at PF Changs and did a little shopping for the boys for next year, especially Lucas. It was nice to have day with just the two of us. Especially since we're going to be out numbered pretty soon!

But now that it's Sunday, I miss the two little munchkins. They sure know how to make us smile and laugh with there funny personalities.

KODY

• is finally trying to repeat back words. He could already do mama & dadadada but now he can say "esssse" for Reese and sometimes you can make out Lucas. Every once in awhile you can get his version of grandpa or grandma, but most often he just uses the same sound for everyone.
  
• When he nods yes he uses so much neck action I'm surprised he hasn't given himself whip lash.
  
• He has the cutest run ever! He has some serious twinkle toes while he runs. I need to get it on video before he stops doing it.
  
• One of my absolute favorite things he does is when you pick him up, he'll put one arm around your neck and start scratching or patting your back. I love it!
  
• When he's going to sleep he has to be able to play with the little ties on his blanket and have his little puppy next to his head.
  
• He won't be our baby for much longer, but is going to be a great big brother (with lots of supervision)!

LUCAS

• can hardly wait for his brother to come. He asks me almost every morning how many more days. And then he always tells me that's to long. He saw a brand new baby the other day and I think that made him even more excited. I'm sure he'll be a great help to me and the baby.
  
• He had his last day of preschool last week (minus the water party this week). He is going to miss it over the summer. He loves Ms. Heather and being with all the kids. He still has one more year of preschool before he'll start Kindergarten... and I'm okay with that!
  
• On our way to St. George a few weekends ago we stopped at Walmart in Cedar City. Jed asked Lucas to carry the box of wipes to the car and after carrying them for about 4 steps he turns to me and says "Mom, I can't carry these, my knees are going to give out". I burst out laughing, but he wasn't kidding. I obviously wouldn't want his knees to buckle so I took the box from him!
  
• He has a memory like you wouldn't believe and reminded Tawn the other day how he use to be scared of her work (when he was not even 2)! He's always reminding us of things that happened or things that we promised him from a long time ago. Everything that happened in the past (including yesterday) he refers to as last month.


• He loves to talk on the phone. I find him with my cell phone quite often chit chatting with Jed, Tawn, Shara & Grandma Carole. He knows their programmed # in my phone. He can talk forever about the most random things. It's the funniest thing to listen to. Most likely if they have a missed call on their phone it wasn't from me!
  

I love these two so much and can't wait for our little guy to meet his brothers! They really are the best Lucas and Kody ever!!

My Guy...

We spent yesterday getting our house in order. It seems like that's all I'm ever doing! Lucky for me, my awesome husband vacuumed and carpet cleaned every room in our house. It was a huge project, but well worth it. I love him! Me and the boys worked on getting everything put away since nothing seemed to be in it's proper place. There are still a couple more things I need to do, but for now, if you knock on the door... there's a good chance I might answer it!

We also took a trip into the D.I. to drop off a car load. It's always a nice feeling to get rid of stuff!

Not necessarily Jed's favorite Saturday activity, but I was happy.






The not so helpful helper!

Craziness...

It seems our lives have been like a whirlwind around here. We've had/have a couple major events that have needed some attention before this baby comes.

First off... Jed and I were asked about 4 years ago to over see our 10 year class reunion. It just so happens to be this year. I'm not going to lie... it's been a nightmare trying to find addresses of people who you knew 10 years ago, but have since disappeared. Some seem to have walked right off the earth! Slowly we're getting it done. And when I say we I mean me and my helpers... Jed hasn't shown much interested in the planning of this! Although he did help me fold the invitations! I'm working as much as possible on making sure it's already cause once our little man gets here I'm not sure I'm going to be much help. Especially since the event really falls only 3 weeks after his due date! It is going to be lots of fun and I hope we get as many people from our class as possible.

Secondly... I was asked by aunt Kelli a couple months ago if I would photograph Ashli's wedding. I was extremely hesitant since I've never done anything weddingish before. The wedding was this past weekend in St. George and although it made for some very swollen feet and one long contraction all day, I had a great time. I was able to team up with Denise (Jed's aunt) who is photographer out in Virginia and we had a blast. I'm not sure I could do wedding's on a regular basis (to nerve racking), but it was a great experience and I learned a lot. I hope they like their pictures. (I'm almost done editing them, which is another task I wanted one before you know what.) Jed made me promise that I would not do anymore things like this when I'm about ready to pop... I agreed.

Denise in action!!
You can see more of them here.

We were also able to celebrate Talon's birthday while we were down there. The boys had a blast at the park and splash pad. I wish we had one of those around here.

Birthday boy!

We have finally retrieved the baby clothes from the basement and they are now all washed and folded (but still need to be put away). I have oodles and gobs of 0-3 month clothes and I'm not sure Kody even wore them all! All that moving at the wedding must have done some good cause on Monday I was dilated to a 3. Although it doesn't mean a whole lot, I hope that he'll decide to come sooner than later. I'm getting extremely uncomfortable and my back needs a good pop.

Wedding Dress Repercussions

My dear friend Emily left a comment wondering where the traffic went that use to frequent her blog via mine. Sorry Em, I'm not sure where they disappeared to, but I'll try to round them back up with this awesome blog post! (If it makes you feel better, they don't come around here much either!)

Let me tell you about Emily. Our lives are almost the same... except that I don't live in Japan, My husband's name is not Doug, and I'm sure a few other things I'm forgetting... She makes me laugh almost daily (depends on if she updates that often) with her witty posts and clever humor... One of my favorites being this post!

Emily and I first became acquainted while working in the HR department at UVSC (now UVU). She was the secretary and I was a pee-on workstudy. We became great friends... (I even helped her shop for maternity pants on our lunch break and she drove me to the dr. when I had a kidney stone).

Fast forward to 2002. I'm getting married and need a place to call home. Oh wait, Emily & Doug just so happen to be selling their cute house in Provo. The perfect little home for two and so I buy it. And wait... I also need a wedding dress. It just so happens she has one that I love and so I borrow it.

And why does all this matter? Well it doesn't really, except that...

They now have 3 boys...

and in 25 days or less, so will we!

Coincidence?!

The Little Things...

Must have been a boring conversation...





I'll start with the littlest first.

Baby is set to arrive in 30 days or less. He's extremely active and as I type my stomach is moving in all directions. I have a constant foot or knee that likes to poke out my right side. I had a dr. appointment yesterday and learned Dr. G will be out of town from the 13th - 23rd. Should he come during that time, his backup (also his daughter) is great too. She delivered Kody cause he was out of town then too! I still don't have a single package of diapers for this little addition and I've yet to get out the baby clothes... I probably should start working on that soon!! If this were Lucas, he would have been here yesterday.... CRAZY!

Kody developed Hand, Foot & Mouth this past week. I noticed some blister looking bumps on his feet. I figured they must have been mosquito bites... until they started multiplying. It was quite gross. They also started showing up on his hands and bum. Lucas had this a couple of years ago, but his was more in his mouth with a bad fever and and couldn't eat. Luckily Kody by passed the mouth sores and had no problem eating or drinking. There is nothing you can do for it but wait. I should have taken a picture to gross you all out, but now the bumps are about gone. Maybe next time!

Kodes has made the transition from crib to single bed. He was officially climbing out of his crib and that just makes me nervous. The first few days were a bit rough, but since then he's been doing really well. I have to stand at the door with it almost closed so that I can watch him for a few minutes. He tries to sneak out, but as soon as I open the door he lays right back down. Pretty soon he's sound asleep. For a few days he would fall asleep on me before he made it to bed (note picture above), but I'm not fond of that habit. As much as I like to cuddle with him, I want him to fall asleep in his own bed. The whole transition has worked better than I thought it would.

Lucas told me the other day in the car... "Mom, you're not taking good care of me". I asked "Why?" And his reply "Well, I'm hungry." (and he wanted pizza)! Jed looked at me and laughed... cause apparently it's mom's fault if he's hungry. Jed took Lucas' side since he wanted pizza too!

While looking at the fish the other day in Walmart, Lucas asked if he could have a pet fish. I said, "no". "Can I have a pet dinosaur?" Yes, Lucas... because a dinosaur will take up much less room than the fish!! Silly boy! He's also asked for a hippo and an elephant when Rocky dies.

Lucas has moved into his own room now (was the spare bed). We're still in the process of organizing and dejunking, but it's looking much better. He loves it. Lucky for us, he's a deep sleeper and can sleep anywhere so when we have company he gets booted from his bed.

He's almost done with his first year of preschool. I can't believe it. He absolutely loves it and I have feeling he's going to miss seeing his friends during the summer. He loves Ms. Heather and will be going back next school year. He's a little smarty pants and can remember every detail of every event that has happened is life... and I'm not kidding!

As for Jed and I we've been busy... doing what, I'm not sure... but nonetheless, we're busy! I've spent a lot of time organizing the bedrooms and rearranging. We took a bunch of stuff to the DI and still have a bunch of stuff to go. How is it possible to have so many toys!!?? Jed and my dad reorganized the garage last Saturday. It looks so much better. It'll be nice once we have a shed (probably years from now) to put stuff in, but for now... it's an organized pile of stuff!

The flower beds are weeded and ready for some much needed color. Jed mowed the lawn for the first time this year. Some spots were so long, we probably should have brought in goats first since the mower was having some issues getting through it. Our park strips are in need of some TLC... I think we'll just drench them in "Kill-Zall" and call it good for another year!! We've about talked ourselves into making them straight concrete... sounds good to me!

I still have so much to do/clean, and yet, here I sit typing this blog. Lets hope no one knocks on the front door!

Valentine Family Getaway

We had a great Easter weekend (Thur-Sun) in Salt Lake. It was the Valentine Adult Getaway that Jed's parents had given us for Christmas. It was fun to relax, eat good food & and enjoy each other's company. We stayed at the Little America. The weather cooperated perfectly for the activities that were planned.

We had a beautiful day to visit Hogle Zoo and see all the animals.

Ate dinner at the Mayan and watched "Duplicity". Save your money... it's quite slow and confusing.

Most of us attended a session at the Salt Lake Temple. It's always great to attend the temple with family and especially be reminded of our ultimate goal.

Ate lunch at Iggy's Sports Grill

Paulette and I had pedicures done at the Gateway... and enjoyed every minute of it. Jed & Shane explored Dick's Sporting Goods and I'm pretty sure they enjoyed every minute also.

We watched the Jazz half heartedly play the Warriors, but still had a good time attending the game. (This was our first/last for the season).

Watched Music & the Spoken Word (Talease & Paulette attended) on Sunday morning then drove around trying to find some place to eat lunch that wasn't closed for Easter!

We met Landon off the freeway in Salt Lake to get the boys and then went out to Nathan & Mariann's for dinner and some games.

Thanks to our family for a wonderful time.

Sadly... the only two pictures we took with each other... lovely!

And what about the kids?? They were enjoying their own festivities with Grandpa Mark & Grandma Carole. They played with cousins, visited the baby animals in Logan, hunted Easter eggs and forgot all about mom and dad!

They were spoiled rotten and then sent home! We missed them but loved having some time together with no strollers or time outs!

Jokers...

Lucas is in to telling jokes. He loves knock knock jokes, but usually just repeats back to you the one you told him or combines a couple of them. Such as...

Lucas: Knock, Knock
Me: Who's there?
Lucas: Peas
Me: Peas who?
Lucas: Peas aren't you glad I didn't say banana

He's also big into making up jokes. Like...

Lucas: Why do animals live in the ocean?
Me: Why?
Lucas: Because they live in the sea (insert laughing).
And then he says after every joke... "How funny's that?!"

The other day I was getting Kody dressed and telling him that his shirt had snaps on it. Lucas responded with, "Well...my shirts all natural."

Lucas my dear,
You are a crack up!

Does this face not say GUILTY!

This would be a picture of Kody sneaking out of the play pen when he should have been taking a nap. He learned this naughty trick while visiting my parents a couple weekends ago. He has climbed out of the crib once right after we got home, but since then he's stayed put. I'm hoping to lure him to the single bed soon, but he's not quite sure about it yet. It'll have to be sooner than later with the baby coming!

Kodes doesn't say much... he's actually quite behind schedule according to the medical field. I have a feeling it's because his older brother does his talking for him. He's smart and knows exactly what you are saying or asking him to do. Just this past week he's started shaking his head no (which usually means yes), and I find it quite charming.

He loves to copy whatever Lucas is doing. He has so much personality and makes us laugh daily. Lucky for me, I have two little comedians to keep me entertained all day.

I love how much they love each other. Sometimes their actions would say otherwise, but when Lucas says "Kodes, give me a hug" or Kody walks up and gives Lucas a kiss (or raspberry) it makes it all worth it. I'm excited for Baby Boy #3 to meet his brothers!

I love my boys!

And speaking of baby.... here's a picture me with exactly 2 months to go. I'm getting more and more uncomfortable and I feel much bigger than my first 2. I know it's to be expected, but still...

he's an active little guy and likes to make sure I know he's there! I love being able to feel him and see my tummy move, but sometimes my ribs (and bladder) could use a little less abuse! We have lots to still do before he comes so we'd like him to not pull a 'Lucas' on us!

And a picture of me and Jed...

He's keeping the road to Logan hot. Pretty soon he's going to have a chore list to do at my parents since he's all but taken up permanent residence there! On the days that he's gone, we miss him, but are extremely grateful to have a job!

Help Wanted!

I'm in serious need of someone to keep my blog updated!

Things I still need to post about...

1. The Call's visit in February (Has it really been almost two months?!).

2. Our trip to St. George.

3. Visiting snake city... I mean the old rock house! (sorry mom!) :)

4. Other important matters like... Kody can now climb out of play pens/cribs. Lucas is in to telling jokes... and making them up. I'm getting fatter by the minute (and a picture to prove it). Jed could drive from Honeyville to Logan... with his eyes closed!