Her cloth diapers and my next project.

Okay, so I LOVE my cloth diapers.  I ordered them off of this website www.theluvyourbaby.com because they were cute and WAY less expensive than EVERY OTHER BRAND I looked at.  Literally, every cloth diaper I saw was around $20 a diaper.  And that was JUST THE COVER.  The inserts for each diaper (inserts are to soak up anything needing to be soaked up) cost their own pretty penny.  But this site is linked to a small company based in Canada and each diaper comes with two inserts and costs $7 each.  And when you spend more than $70 you get free shipping.  Well, just to get started we bought 12 diapers (really the bare minimum if you want to do laundry everyday) which was a little over $80.  That's about how much 1 month of disposable diapers cost.  I LOVE CLOTH DIAPERS!!!  They're also super easy to clean - it's not a hassle at all.  And the best part is that we're saving loads of money every week we use those little things.  However, I've just been using regular old wipes you buy from the store.  They really don't cost much, especially because I don't wipe her every single time she has a pee filled diaper.  But I'm kind of getting tired of going to the store to buy them (lazy or a wonderful opportunity?).  Plus, I don't like wasting money on something that will be garbage.  SO my next project will be to make my own cloth wipes!  I found this awesome blog post that tells you just how to make them here http://www.myhappycrazylife.com/make-your-own-cloth-wipes/.  And the solution you use is super easy - just get a mixture of water and some of your favorite baby shampoo.  Badda-bing badda-boom.

I'm really excited to try this out.  I love the idea of saving money where I can.  Particularly when it's so dang easy to AND I can let my hippy side shine and save the rain forest (or whatever).  But really.  I feel good not filling up our beautiful gift of a planet with "disposable" (non-biodegradable) diapers.  I'd rather be a little more self-sufficient and love Heavenly Father's creation without filling it with crap (literally).

Our bobee.

Being a mommy is pretty much the best thing ever.  And being a mommy watching daddy play with the baby is even better!!  I love watching Joseph play with Saoirse and I love seeing her excited to see him when he comes home from work.  

She's so cute!

Okay, so there are two reasons why I love this picture.  Number one, pictures of daddies with their babies are the best pictures ever.  Number two, she is really rocking that cow print cloth diaper.

Holy cow she's so dang cute I could die.  She LOVES bath time!!  Besides the occasional splashing water with her feet, her favorite thing to do is to pee in the bathtub.  

Oh my little bobe is getting so big!!  I seriously can't believe it.  She giggled for the first time a few days ago.  We're patiently waiting for her to repeat the cuteness.

Anyway, she's getting pretty good at holding her ginormous head up.

My advice

Since our friends will be getting married this Saturday in the B.E.A.utiful Timpanogos Temple, I've been thinking about advice I would have for them to create a stronger and more gospel centered marriage.  Getting married in the temple is a good start.  But it takes so much work to keep your marriage strong.  I've only been married for a little over a year, so I don't have a ton of experience in this field, but in the time we have been married we've had to adjust to living with each other and learning how to make our home a place where the Holy Spirit can be.  So, my advice to newly married couples everywhere(!) is that in order to build a stronger love between you two, you should always find time to serve each other.  I can't even describe the joy that fills me when I catch a sneaky Joseph trying to do the dishes before I get home or clean the apartment or whatever.  And honestly, the reason I do anything around the house is so Joseph can come home to a cleaner home than what he left from.  It's then important to notice/compliment/thank each other for all that they've done.  Not only is it important to serve each other but also to let the other person serve you - it's about finding the perfect give and take balance in your relationship.  

I love serving Joseph and keeping him a happy husband which then in turn, makes me a happy wife.  I plan on being with him for eternity and that eternity started the moment we became husband and wife in the Nauvoo Temple on May 7, 2010.  So it's essential to work on continually being in more love than we were the day before so that our eternity can be a pleasant one.  

Her second day.

My baby bump/birth story.

I realized after looking through some of my old posts (I swear I'm not narcissistic) that I NEVER posted any pictures of my wonderful baby belly!!  It was the coolest thing ever.  SO.  Here is the last picture taken of me before I went to the hospital to have my babe.  I'm *pretty* sure this was taken at 36 weeks - she was born at 37 weeks thanks to my wonderful doctor for breaking my water FOR me (please note my sarcasm, she was almost a preme, I can only thank Heavenly Father that I make babies quickly - I'm pretty sure she would have come on her own at 38 weeks)  Ugh, I would have to SO ticked off if she had to be in the hospital for any amount of time longer than I needed to.  BUT, I don't like to think about that because it just makes me mad.  Next time I'd r e a l l y like to have a home birth and just skip over doctors and have a midwife for attempt number 2 at having a natural birth.

Okay, this is just turning into my birth story, I can feel it.  Well here is what I looked like BEFORE my dreams of having a natural childbirth were shattered.

36 weeks.

SO, my birth story goes a little like this.

On the afternoon of the 22nd of March I went in for my weekly doctors appointment.  It was the second time that the doctor was going to "check" me - like, my dilation and stuff because I was 37 weeks along.  4 days before this appointment I was at 1 cm and at this appointment I was 3 cm and *probably* would have had the baby at 38 weeks IF the doctor didn't accidentally strip my membranes (aka break my stinking water).  So we went home a little frazzled calling our parents to let them know I was going to have the baby sooner than we all expected.  (Slash give our moms time to fly out here to help us out for a couple of weeks).  Six hours and one tasty Mexican meal later we arrive at the American Fork hospital to have our natural hypnobirthing childbirth.  But I was having some high blood pressure, and that was just the beginning of our misfortune.  Because of my blood pressure they wanted me to stay laying down in my bed hooked up to this machine constantly.  And to make things better I was told that if my blood pressure got any higher that they'd have to put me on some "nasty" medication to keep me from having seizures.  Boy, that totally just helped my blood pressure stay exactly where it was, high.  So in an attempt to lower my blood pressure, Joseph and I did a hypnosis (I DO NOT RECOMMEND DOING A HYPNOSIS TO LOWER YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE, YOU WILL JUST STOP YOUR CONTRACTIONS COMPLETELY), while my blood pressure remained at "high" levels my contractions stopped all together!  That's not really something you want to happen when you're trying to have a baby.  So 3 hours later I was induced with Pitocin - a horrible drug.  Did I mention that it's horrible?  6 hours after that I'm having my drug induced contractions that feel about as natural as eating pennies for nourishment.  Aaand I get an epidural - because Pitocin is evil.  3 hours after some glorious drugged sleep plus 1 more hour then I feel pressure, down there.  And I just can't help but push.  And when the serious pushing comes, it only lasts for about 10 minutes and there's the baby!  Oh and who was it that delivered my baby?  I can't remember his name because it WASN'T my doctor - he had to go home after being at the hospital all night.  When it comes down to it, the only thing that was actually successfully followed on my birth preferences list was the "please do not cut the cord immediately, once it begins to kink then it can be cut" part.  Other than that, I did not receive an episiotomy (like my birth preferences requested) but I DID tear in 4 places.  If I actually had my doctor deliver my baby like he said he was going to, then he would have given me an episiotomy, like he said he would if I was going to tear in several places.  

*ugh*

My suggestion for a happy, comfortable, ENJOYABLE birthing experience?  Have your baby AT HOME using the Hypnobirthing method with a midwife who will not touch you.  Hospitals are whack - and I didn't get anything I wanted all because my doctor stripped my membranes.  

I guess I should clarify that my experience was not the worst thing ever, I did come out of there with a 7 lb 7 oz baby who was healthy.  But next time, I plan on having a birthing experience that is natural and normal and what a birthing experience should actually be like. 

My two sleeping babes.

They're just so darn cute!

His heritage.

Yesterday was a fabulous Sunday filled with Church, meetings, "Pirates of the Caribbean" Munchkin (a combination of Munchkin Booty and Zombies), and Dominican foods!  It was my first shot at a traditional Dominican meal that Joseph's mom makes and it turned out fantastic!!  The beans were a tiny bit sweet - but I didn't have the right kind of tomato sauce.  Oh and it took me FOREVER to figure out how to make rice right. That's one of the more frustrating things.  Ever.  Seriously.  Whatever you do, do NOT follow the cooking directions on the rice package - they're wrong, and your rice will turn into a slimey globule.  P.S. if you're not into mixing all of the food on your plate then this is not the meal for you (or you need to get over your weird anxieties about your food touching).

It's pretty easy to make, just make some NOT sticky rice, drained pinto beans with a tomato sauce and onions (and probably about 1/2 a can of water, and any kind of delicious seasoned roast - thinly sliced.  BEST MEAL EVER.  

The best part is that we have some serious left-overs.  

My love.

Oh how I can't wait until my Joseph gets home from work!  I think my favorite thing is to hang out with him.  He's my favorite person ever!  I can't believe that he's the one I get to spend eternity with and make babies FOREVER with!!  I love eternal families and I love the temple where everything starts!  Some friends of ours are getting married in the Timpanogos Temple this month and I am so happy for them.  I recall the moment Joseph and I walked together through the temple to be married while Saoirse was watching us from heaven and it makes my heart feel so full.  I was so excited to begin my eternity with Joseph and everyday seems to be the best day of our eternity together.  I love going to sleep and waking up next to my best friend in the whole world.  Dang I can't get enough of it!  Anyway, for our friends, I can't wait until they can experience the happiness that I've had having the most perfect eternal companion.

Who would have thought that reality would be happier than my dreams?  I certainly didn't.

Our Midwestern adventures.

We just returned on Sunday from our trip to the good old midwest.  We drove to Iowa first in our friends' car.  They're moving to South Dakota soon and that's where Joseph's parents live so it worked out perfectly for us to drive it out there for them!  However this trip was different not because the change of vehicle but this time we had Saoirse with us!  Fortunately at 8 weeks she was more than willing to sleep almost all of the 18 hours it took to get there.  And she was so happy upon arrival!!

We ended up spending a ton of time over at my brother's house so I got to see my darling little niece Scarlet a lot which was nice because I used to spend everyday with her for the first 3 years of her life!  She's 4 1/2 now and still remembers me, which I greatly appreciate.  

Oh I really do miss that kid!

On a side note, my brother Jherek introduced us to this game called Munchkin while we were out there.

(this is the version we bought before we left Iowa)

  

IT. IS. SO. FUN.  It's essentially a short card game version of a role playing game like Dungeons and Dragons.  WAIT, before you stop reading this, it is really fun, for real.  Once you get the hang of it, all you do is just mess with everyone and try to make them lose.  It's the best game for anyone who is even slightly competitive.  Once we got to South Dakota we played it with Joseph's little brothers who ended up buying it before we left.  It's like the plague, minus the actual death part.

Haha, I love this movie.

Anyway, Vincent is huge.  He's only 1 1/2 but he looks like a 12-year-old.  Practically.  He also looks more and more like his mom.

My mom couldn't get enough of little Saoirse.  She got to hold her and change many of her soiled diapers.  Yay for moms!!

My dad and step mom were able to spend lots of time with their granddaughter as well!  I'm so glad we were able to see and spend so much time with them.  Hopefully when we're done with school out here and move back to the midwest we'll be able to see everyone much more often.

"Dang, they are so much like the same person.  You ask them if they want ice cream cone, they both say yes.  Wow. How in the heck?"

Anyway, after a week in Iowa we hauled our cheeks on up to South Dakota.  It was so GREEN there.  The grass was practically florescent and the trees neon.  It was great.  It made me slightly depressed to come back to Utah where there are a few trees but mostly anything that has life out here growing in the ground is a weed.  An ugly weed.  BUT while we were enjoying the wonderful humid weather of South Dakota we went with the fam to the zoo!  I hadn't been to a zoo in a long time but it was fun!  Even if I was a little sad for the lethargic African animals stuck in a South Dakotan cage.  But I did get some sweet rays. (from the sun, not sting rays, those are gross).

Rhino.  There was a sign saying that despite the massiveness of the fence (and the 10 feet between that and another smaller fence) that the rhino can "spray pee on you" if it looks like it's backing up to you.  Gross.  Oh yeah, this guy smelled horrible.  Not that good lookin' man, but the large prehistoric looking animal to his left.

Look at those freaky little monkeys.  They look like they would try to eat my brains.  *shiver* ehhh.

HOWEVER this little bambino was ADORABLE.  Just like a real baby except he was eating grass and I'm sure his mother would have tried to kill me by removing my flesh if I tried to love that baby.

At one point after finding a secluded place to feed my baby (which was beautiful by the way, a random hut at the dead end of this trail looking over a huge forresty field with tons of momma and baby geese) we come back to find Mark (one of Joseph's little brothers) riding a metal cow.  The weird thing is that I guess you used to be able to actually milk this thing.  But I did laugh seeing him ride that.

What are the boys looking at?

Oh just some alligators.  And despite there being a fence between us, they made me very uncomfortable. They were just pretending to be asleep, I'm sure of it.  

Well the zoo was fun.  We got a good walk in.  Saoirse had her first experience smelling a Rhino and some monkeys.  And I saw a bear stare directly into my soul.  A pretty good day!  And upon leaving South Dakota we were able to get a picture with Joseph's grandma and his great grandma.  Once we photoshop his dad in there it'll be a 5 generation picture!!

Let's be serious for 2 seconds.  We had Saoirse's baby blessing in South Dakota and guess who didn't get any pictures?  Me.  I'm super sad about that.  So hopefully Joseph's grandma will send some to us so I can remember just exactly how cute my baby is in a bonnet!!  Speaking of not getting pictures, I NEVER get pictures of Joseph's family!  What the heck is with that?!  Well maybe next time.