A Little Catching Up

I have a lot of catching up to do. It isn't very easy going from 1 to 2 kids and takes some getting used to. I would say so far it's not as hard as I expected but that's not to say it's super easy. Lexie loves her baby brother and wants to hold him all of the time. She never intentionally hurts him, but likes to bounce a lot around him. He has been partially fallen on and kicked in the head a few times but nothing serious...he's tough!

These pictures are funny. First Hoyt sticks his tongue out at Lexie then he looks over like "Mom, are you sure this is a good idea?"

At his 2 week checkup Hoyt weighed 7 lbs 12 oz (21%), was 21 in (60%), and head was 13.5 in (7%). He is healthy and strong and has been lifting his head since the day we brought him home. This morning in bed he rolled from his side onto his stomach and he loves to push up with his legs when you hold him. He is a happy kid unless he is cold (when you change his clothes or diaper), or hungry. We still don't know exactly who he looks like, but we know he is super cute!

Giving me the "I love you" sign. Little genius or just coincidence?

As far as sleeping goes, some nights are better than others. He usually only gets up to eat around 2:30 and 6 a.m. and has gotten better at sleeping in his bassinet most of the time, but unlike Lexie who has never slept a night of her life in our bed, Hoyt has spent part of many nights in bed with us which has not been fun. I do love how cuddly he is and love spending many hours each day just holding him and snuggling and not caring that my house isn't getting cleaned or I don't get showered until 2 or 3 in the afternoon. These babies grow up so fast and I am enjoying my time with a tiny baby for as long as I can!

Hoyt at 3 weeks old giving me smiles.

Cute boy being good getting pictures...and then he's done.

My 2 kids! They are both super cute and I love the one where they are looking at each other. Lexie is such a great big sister and Hoyt is sweet!

For Memorial Day we went on a picnic and let Lexie play on the slide. I forgot my camera so we didn't get pictures, but she loved the slide and went up and down, up and down, until we had to go and we had to drag her out of there kicking and screaming for more. She is loving the warm weather and begs to go outside every chance she gets so she can pick up rocks and help water the plants.

June 1^st my brother Pete came home from his mission in Houston, TX. We traveled to St. George to see him fly in. This was the first time Pete got to meet his niece and nephew and Lexie was excited to meet another uncle!

Lexie had fun playing with her aunts and uncles at the airport.

Great Grandma Mickelson got her turn with the baby.

Here is Lexie meeting Uncle Pete and our little family with the new RM.

The 1st Week

Hoyt's first week was a bit crazy. We came home Friday around noon and just enjoyed our baby for the afternoon.

Hoyt met his big sister Lexie Friday evening along with some of the Hoyts.

Lexie meets her baby brother Hoyt for the first time.

First family photo.

Hoyt meets the some of the Hoyts.

Saturday and Sunday we got our first taste of what having two kids is all about. It went well since I had Bryan helping me with everything. Hoyt is such a good baby, but he is much different from Lexie. She always wants to be in her bed to sleep, he loves to be snuggled and sleeps best when being held so that has been kind of hard. But one thing with him that I'm super grateful for is that he picked up on nursing right away and is such a good eater. It took Lexie almost a month to really get the hang of things. Sunday night we sent Lexie over to stay with my family again for a few days and she had so much fun playing with Grandpa, Grandma and her aunts and uncle.

Because our little guy had so much bruising at birth they were worried about jaundice. We got him tested over the weekend and it was a little high, but Monday at his first Dr. checkup the bili test ended up in the critical zone so we were sent to the hospital because it was too high to even do lights at home. I was not happy to have my baby in the hospital again, but little Hoyt did really well and it only took about 18 hours under lights for his levels to be at low enough to go home.

He was one cool dude in shades and got a nice tan.

Looking pretty serious after getting home from the hospital...again.

Wednesday Lexie came back home and I was so happy to have my sweet girl back! Thursday little Hoyt turned a week old and it was my first day home alone all day with the two little ones. Things went better than I expected and luckily almost every day since they both take naps for at least 1-2 hours at the same time so I can get a shower, eat some lunch and get a couple things done.

Our silly Lexie loves her baby brother!

1 week old and just wants to sleep.

I will try to post updated pictures soon since tomorrow will be 2 weeks, but for those wanting the birth story here is the short version (if you want more details you'll have to ask).

I woke up Thursday morning around 4 a.m. in a lot of pain and after having contractions every 3-5 minutes for a few hours we headed to the hospital as soon as my dad came to pick up Lexie. I was dilated about 3 1/2 and in order to be admitted you have to be at a 4, but I was having regular contractions so they decided to observe me then see how things progressed to decide whether or not to admit me. I was past a 4 by the time they checked again so they admitted me, I got all hooked up to everything and we waited. I did learn my lesson about just getting the epidural when the Dr. says it's ok. I was feeling pretty good so I decided to just wait a bit and see how things went. One minute I was fine and the next the pain was horrible. To make it worse, the first epidural didn't work because he hit a blood vessel. I had to wait and he tried again and luckily the 2nd attempt worked great and was an even better epidural than I had with Lexie because although I had no pain I could feel when I needed to push and everything so I really liked it. The labor lasted longer than we all expected because the baby was posterior. They had me try changing positions to attempt to have him move into the right position. Around 4:45 p.m. my water broke when the nurse checked me and I was between a 6 or 7. Soon after that the heart rate started dropping so they put me on oxygen and we figure that is when he finally moved into the right position because just after 5 I was complete and they called the Dr. I pushed for just a few minutes and at 5:22 little Hoyt was born and we were so excited to finally see our cute little guy!

Introducing...

Hoyt Riley Lyman

Born: May 13, 2010 at 5:22 p.m.

7 lbs 10 oz, 19.5 in

The weigh-in...

Here he is with Mom & Dad & first visitors Great Grandpa & Grandma Mickelson

Mom with her cute boy& Proud Daddy with his Son

We are so excited to have our little Hoyt boy here! It was a crazy day and I'll have to share the story of his birth later. For now I need to rest and take care of my sweet baby! Thanks for all the support and well wishes!

Our Silly, Growing Girl

As I prepare to give birth to our second child, I have spent some time the past few weeks reflecting on my baby girl and realizing how fast she is growing up. I was looking at pictures when she was first born and she didn't even recognize herself but just pointed out that it was a "baby". I just can't get enough of my sweet, crazy Lexie girl! I must admit I'm excited, but a little bit scared of bringing another baby home to mix things up around here. I know we'll all adjust and get used to it, but I'm also very grateful for the fun I've had with my little girl the past 21 months! We are the best of buddies and have a good time just being together every day.

Here she is with her super cute smile and crazy hair! She refuses to let me do anything with her hair, and when I try she has it pulled out and back to looking crazy in no time. But she's cute anyway.

Here she is in her new bed...oh wait, that's not the new bed we just bought, it is the bottom shelf of the bookcase where she likes to take pretend naps.
Lexie is obsessed with animals...especially kitties. We have a couple cats that come through our backyard sometimes and she gets so excited when she sees them. Last month she saw a kitty and started meowing through the window. The kitty stopped and came over to see her and wow she was happy about that! Here are some pictures and a video. This cat stayed at our back door for a couple hours and our little girl was in heaven!

We love our Lexie girl and I know we are going to love our little boy just as much when we get to meet him!

I'm so grateful to be a Mom and help raise our amazing children. I hope all of you awesome mothers out there had a fantastic Mother's Day! I love my own Mom so much more than I can ever say and hope I can be even half the mother she is to all of her children. I'm glad my kids will have her example as their Grandma! Also, I'm grateful for Bryan's Mom who is an amazing lady and raised such a wonderful son that I am blessed to have as a husband. She is also a great example as a Grandma and has been so loving and accepting of me since I joined the Lyman family. To all the other Mothers out there who have influenced my life...there are too many to even acknowledge, but I have been blessed with countless examples of wonderful women and mothers throughout my entire life that have helped shape me into who I am today. I love you all!!!

36 Weeks!

As of yesterday, I am 36 weeks pregnant! This isn't the best picture, but I hadn't slept much the night before and the picture was taken after a long day. I am quite a bit smaller than I was with Lexie, but a lot of that has to do with no swelling and retaining water from the heat of summer and high blood pressure. I am getting to the uncomfortable stage which makes it hard to sleep, but we are getting close to the end! In fact, my Dr. was very surprised that I am ahead of schedule. At my appointment yesterday I was already dilated to a 3 and starting to thin. He wants me to take it easy this week so I can make it to at least 37 weeks which is considered "term". I am hoping to go two more weeks then anytime will be fine with me! The house is mostly ready now, most of the smallest baby clothes are washed, and my bag is partially packed...ready or not, here we go!!!