Big Week

This week has been very emotional with a lot of life events going on. Not only did we have our beautiful baby boy, my brother, Tim, left on his mission this morning. Luckily he was able to spend some time in the hospital with us before he left. We will miss him so much and know that he will be a great missionary!

He's Here!

Cooper Matthew Page was born on Monday, September 28, 2009 at 5:17 pm. He weighed 7 lbs 15 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long. We already can't imagine life without him and are loving every minute of it!

Ready to Pop

I am not a big fan of taking pictures when I'm pregnant. There's nothing like a picture that solely says, "Here look at my body!" Really. I have probably 3-4 pictures of my whole pregnancy with Sydney, and I pretty much hate all of them but maybe one. The only problem with that is that I can't remember exactly how I looked with her. My mom swears I was more straight out with her, and a little rounder this time around...maybe? I'm not sure. These pictures were taken a couple days before Sydney was born. I really don't like them very much... but I guess I'm posting them anyway. I think it's hard to tell how big I was, because of the angle, and that my shirt is not tight, but for the sake of trying to compare...

And this picture was taken a few days before our 2nd will be born... The angle is a little different, I have a tight shirt on, you can see my legs, and I'm actually 2 weeks earlier in this picture, so I think it is hard to compare the two... so the moral of the story is, take pictures when you are pregnant, even if you hate it, just because you'll always wonder and want to compare and won't be able to.

And yes, you heard right!!! This picture was taken a FEW days before our still unnamed, 2nd baby will be born! I went to the doctor yesterday, and he is inducing me on MONDAY!!! We sure are excited about this news! My brother, Tim, is especially excited because he will be able to see the baby before he leaves on his mission this Thursday! When the doctor measured me, he asked how big Sydney was again... I said, 8 lbs 6 oz... and he said, "yeah, he'll be that big." The way he said it, it made it seem like he'll actually be bigger. So, that will be another plus with having him 2 weeks early... I'm afraid I wouldn't be able deliver a baby that is much bigger than he is now.

It is a weird feeling knowing the day that he will be coming. It makes me a little more stressed out, because I feel like I have so much I want to get done before he comes! There are so many ups and downs at the end of a pregnancy. You are so uncomfortable that you can hardly stand it and just want the baby out, but at the same time, you know that life is going to change dramatically and aren't quite sure you are ready for it. Plus, there are some things that I really do enjoy about pregnancy. It sure is neat to feel that baby grow inside of you. But I think that this time around, my body is a little more ready for it to be over. My stomach touches the steering wheel after I eat when I'm driving, I have a hard time getting in and out of a car, I'm super emotional, and I pretty much can't walk normal anymore...I waddle. The doctor said that I'm more uncomfortable and sore this time because I am dilated more than I ever was with Sydney until I was in active labor. At my appointment I was dilated to a 2 and 80% effaced. And with Sydney, they day before she was born, I was only dilated to a 1. It is interesting how different pregnancies can be.

Yesterday, I was walking through Target and some guy said to me..."You look like you are ready to pop any minute!" It sure was nice to say, "Yes, on Monday!" Instead of my usual, "2 weeks left!" So as the saying goes, we are excited to pop this baby out! We'll be sure to post pictures and stats!

Love This Girl!

Sydney is growing up so fast, I just can't believe it! She makes me laugh every day, either saying or doing funny things. There are many times I turn around and just laugh at her little personality. The other day, we found her sitting on the couch like this...

Then, she realized we were watching her and trying to take a picture, so of course she posed and said, "cheese!" Sydney loves the "p00-ter" and tries to touch it whenever she can. She likes to try to do the things that we do.

Another day, I found her sitting in the kitchen like this...

Other times I have found her in the cupboard, in the laundry basket, and many other places. She has a lot of fun exploring and playing. She loves dolls, babies, stuffed animals, and her little people toys. I can't believe how much her vocabulary has grown. She will carry on conversations on the phone, and loves to call "pampa." The other day we were at the doctor's office and she walked across the waiting room, climbed up on a chair next to a couple, sat down, and said, "Hi, what are you doing?" She loves to ask people what they are doing. Sometimes, if she is just sitting down, I ask her what she is doing and she says, "I'm doing sit." So funny! She is a very social little girl, and is genuinely happy. However, the tantrums are starting to come more often. She takes after me with her patience, and gets frustrated pretty easily. It's pretty funny because she has started calling Matt "Matt" when she gets mad at him, instead of daddy. She'll start out saying daddy, and if he ignores her, she says "Matt!" I love it!

We got her big girl bed all set up and she has been sleeping in it for about a week now. She loves it! And I especially love it because she sleeps ALL NIGHT! When she was in her toddler bed, she would wake up a few times a night, so it has cut my night time wake-ups from about 5-6 times to 2-3 times, for bathroom runs. She does take a little longer to get to sleep in her bed though, because she is so excited about it, that she wants to play in the covers and can't calm down as easy. Hopefully with a little time that will change.

We are not sure how much Sydney understands about "baby brother." She knows he is in my tummy. She will share her sippy with him, and kiss him, and push on my tummy while telling him to kick. She knows what blankets and clothes are his, and talks about him. It will be interesting to see how she reacts when he comes. She does love babies, but has never had to deal with one around all the time, taking mommy's attention. We are excited to have 2 kids, but I must admit, I will miss having so much time to spend with Sydney alone. I tell her almost every day that she is my best friend. And she really is. I love her so much, and am so happy to have her in my life!

Summertime

Summer is by far my favorite season. What could be better than hot weather, swimming, long summer daylight hours, bbqs, yummy fresh fruit, fireworks, no school, and all the other good things that come with summer? I am always sad when Labor Day comes around and all the pools close. Sydney and I had a lot of fun this summer swimming at the pool at our apartments. Sydney will come up to me and ask me to go swimming, get her swimming suit, and "nemo pants," and brings me the "block." We went every day the week before Labor Day to make sure and get our time in before the pool closed. Sydney does very well in the water. We bought her floaties at the end of the summer because she didn't want us to hold her. After we got those floaties, she wouldn't even let us touch her, let alone hold her. She'll kick her feet, put her face in the water, and swim! If you've ever taught swimming lessons, you know, that there are 6 year olds who won't do that! So she must take after her parents. I look forward to next summer when we can go swiming again...sure do love it! I'll have to find an indoor pool to go to every once in a while, but it's just not quite the same. Yesterday was a cold day here. Rainy and cold. I am sad to say goodbye to summer. It just never is long enough. Maybe I need to move to AZ where it's pretty much summer year-round...

Last week my toe nails were looking really bad...so Matt helped me paint them, since I can't really do it myself. Sydney really wanted to get hers painted too, so here is a picture of her first "pedicure." She'll stop every once in a while, bend over, point at her toes, and say "pretty," "pink!" Good thing these cute tootsies will be able to enjoy a little bit of sandle weather!

I think that with fall and winter coming, one of my goals (since I will be inside ALL THE TIME) is to be better at making dinner. Last week I attempted making Kelli's rolls, or any rolls for that matter, for the first time! I've always been intimidated to try making rolls for some reason, so it was a big deal for me. They turned out pretty good! Not quite as good as Kelli's but maybe they'll get closer as I make them more often. They sure brought back a lot of good memories for me! I do like baking a lot more than cooking, but the only problem with that is that baking seems to have more fattening results!

The Pregnancy Planner...

According to the Pregnancy Planner that Healthy Beginnings sent me:

9th Month (33-36 weeks)

Your Baby: Gaining half an ounce of fat daily. Lungs are maturing. Report any decreased fetal movement to your doctor. Length: about 18 inches Weight: about 5 lbs

Changes in You: Pain in your ribs from the fetus kicking, leg cramps at night, pelvic achiness, occasional, irregular contractions, feeling warm even in cold weather, impatience, difficulty sleeping, and tired of being pregnant.

Yep, that's about right... 5 weeks and 2 days left

Gettin' it Together...

I went to the doctor yesterday for my 32 week appointment. Everything is going great! Our baby has a strong heartbeat, had the hiccups when we listened, and is moving around quite a bit. I measured 34 inches, so I am actually measuring 2 weeks ahead... which doesn't necessarily mean I will have him early. Sydney measured 1 week ahead every appointment and was born on her due date, so we'll see. I just hope that he doesn't end up being bigger than Sydney was, so if he needs to come early in order for that to happen, I wouldn't complain. We are slowly, very slowly, getting more things together. I've been looking at double strollers and bedding, which will be our two main, big purchases. I have absolutely no idea what to do for either one of them though! Double strollers are just HUGE, so I don't know what kind will be best. I would really like to get some bedding that is pretty neutral because I want it to look good with whatever we get Sydney, since they will be sharing a room. But it's really hard to find ANYTHING that goes together for baby boy bedding and twin girl bedding. I can find things that work for both babies, or both twin beds, but not a mixture. It has been quite a headache. We'll see what ends up happening I guess. I am down to my two-week appointments now, and in four weeks we'll start checking for dialation and such... so it really is coming down to the end of it. I can't beleive how fast it has gone by, and I feel like I have so much to do!

I went to a day of Campus Education Week with my mom down at BYU on Monday. It was really fun to be back on campus, feel the spirit, and actaully use my brain! I hope it is something that we do more often. Sometimes, and this is weird to say, I do miss being in school. It just really matches my personality... having a checklist and actually checking things off the list. I loved the busyness of it, and even just learning new things was great. The hard thing now, is that I am still busy, but everything I do is undone in 5 minutes. I spend all day picking up toys, doing laundry, cleaning up the kitchen, and feel like I never get anything accomplished or checked off my list because I have to do it again in 5 minutes. I guess rewards for mothers don't come as quickly. But, I do have those moments when Sydney does something, gives me a hug or a kiss, and I really do see how much it is worth it!

Matt started a new schedule at work- 11:30-8:00 every day but Thursday and Sunday. I really must admit I like having him work mornings a lot better, and we will miss having Friday and Saturday nights, but we are so grateful for his job. He got a new shift actually, because he was promoted! I am so proud of him! He was the only one in his training class that they let apply for this promotion position, because he was doing so well in training. He works so hard to provide for us, and I am so grateful for his hard work. He has had a very good attitude about starting all over in his work life, and it really makes me so glad to be married to him. He is a great husband and father! If it weren't for him, I don't think I would have been able to get through all we've been through the past few months.

We took family pictures FOREVER ago when we were in Oregon. Jessica Baum (http://jessicabaum.com or http://www.jessicajanellebaum.blogspot.com) took them and did a great job! Sydney was about 4 1/2 months old. I have been saving my tutoring money in order to be able to buy some of the pictures and be able to frame them and everything... and we finally got them today! I am so excited to have them! They turned out really cute. And now, I can finally decorate our apartment. I've been waiting till we got these pictures so I wouldn't have to redo things when we got them. So now I can finally unpack the last 2 boxes that we have, hang stuff up, and feel more at home. After that, my project will be the kids' room- but I have to find bedding first :)