Thank goodness for friends!

Freshman year at BYU my BFF was Wendy. I was from Texas. She was from Oregon. We met in the dorms.

(Christy and Wendy 2001 or maybe 2002)

Wendy had a crush on a boy from California.

(Mark and Wendy 2002)

She spent a semester chasing him- finding any way to hang out with this California dreamboat. Often dragging along her BFF.

She did that one too many times.

(Mark and Christy June 10, 2005)

Don't feel bad for Wendy! I'm the one that lost my BFF! Just kidding... we're totally facebook friends. She found her real love and is happy with her hubby and two kids!

Happy 6 Years!

A Check Off the Bucket list

This last week we took a family vacation to New Orleans, LA. New Orleans feels a lot like home. Familiar streets, familar faces, familiar food! I've been wanting to take Mark there since we met... and finally he got to experience a part of my family he never has.

My favorites (in this order):

1. Getting pictures of my kids with their Great Grandparents. (And visiting with these grandparents.)
2. Seeing Parker run around my grandparent's house with my cousin's kids- just like I used to run around with those same cousins.

3. Showing Mark and Parker the town- seeing them make memories in the same places I have so many memories.

My Maternal Grandparents, Reid and Jewel, in New Orleans

My Paternal Grandma, Betty, in Mississippi

Parker's favorites:
1. Grandma Betty's house in Mississippi. He sweat-ed it out all day chasing dogs, cats, frogs, lizards, hornets, etc. Little boys are made for the country.

2. Alligators on the swamp tour and the sharks at the aquarium.

3. Riding airplanes, buses, a train, boat, and ferry all within a weeks time!

Parker was a sweaty mess the entire trip.)

Mark's favorites:
1. The food, the music, and the architecture of the French Quarter.
2. Experiencing the greenery and country pace of Mississippi.

Ben's Favorite:

1. Always having someone's arms available.

This post doesn't near capture the flavor of New Orleans! I wish I could pass on the taste and sounds thru blogger. But I can not. You should just add a trip to the Big Easy to your bucketlist! Be sure to get some po boys, beignets, crawfish, shrimp, jambalaya, Hubigs, snoballs........

Oblivion

Today Parker tells me, "No. Not Baby Ben. That's Baby Jared."

Really Parker? Nearly two weeks later you're noticing we don't call him Jared anymore?

That tells you just how much attention Parker pays to his little brother.

What's your favorite Dr. Suess book?

Parker was in the bathroom without the lights on, and as he's sitting on the potty I hear. "Say! In the dark? Here in the dark? Could you, could you, in the dark?" Parker continued, "I NOT in the dark! Not in a train, not in a tree, Sam LET ME BE!"

How cute is that?

Every night we read the same three books: Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, and Hop on Pop.

"Parker which book do you want to read?"

"Cat in the Hat by Dr. Suess". (He always includes "by Dr. Suess" ever since his studious Uncle Brent read it to him.)

His favorite is Green Eggs and Ham (can quote almost the whole thing). But MY favorite is Hop on Pop.

"Where is Brown. There is Brown. Mr Brown is out of town." (as you see Mr. Brown soaring across the page.) And also, "That thing can sing. That thing can sing a long long song. next page -> Goodbye thing. You sing too long."

Seriously. If you haven't read Hop on Pop in a while, you should. I laugh out loud while reading it.

How's that for a book review, Jana?

The Day I Thought My Heart Would Burst

Sunday morning I couldn't sleep. I was up at 4:30 in the morning baking cookies. I was misty eyed thinking about what a special Mothers Day this was.

Mark and I had both of our mother's in town; and both of our sister's that are mothers. I can't remember the last time we spent Mothers Day with any of our family.

It was Parker's 3rd birthday- the little boy who made me a Mom. And we were blessing my newest little boy- and hallelujah! he would be blessed with a name that I thought suited him... Benjamin Adam.

It was my favorite Mother's Day to date. Thank you to all my family members that made it so special!

Mark's family who came from California.

My sister's family- they're in Maricopa. My only local family.

My parents came from Texas.

Mr. Wonderful

One lucky and proud mamma!

the song that never ends

"Now I know my a, b, c's, d, e, f, g........."

Blogging Tradition

When a blogger has a baby it is their duty to introduce their baby to the blogging world thru birth story sharing. I'm pretty sure this is written in Google's "terms of agreement".

Jared Ardis on his Birthday

How do you find words for an experience that pairs the most physical intensity with the most emotional intensity you will ever experience? It took 11 pages of my journal to express my thoughts and feelings of Jared's birth.

So I've decided we're going to do fulfill this duty FAQ style. It's easy- conversations post baby are all the same. My answers have been rehearsed a million times.

How did labor go? This the most common FAQ but also the most difficult. I don't know how to respond. All the answers I come up with are inadequate to describe an experience like labor and delivery. Lets go with... "good? normal? intense? amazing?" My midwife says it was "boring" and "easy" because it was so "completely textbook". Her words. Definitely not mine.

How long was labor? 8 hours if you do not count the completely irregular contractions I had the whole day before labor actually started. Which I don't. 8 hours- starting at 7:00 pm and ending at 3:00 am.

Did everything go okay having him at home? Just as planned! The midwife and her assistant showed up about 4.5 hours into labor. Three and a half hours later Jared was here. And within three hours from that point the midwives had cleaned the house and were gone.

Did you have a water birth? No. But I did labor in water. I knew I wouldn't deliver in the water. Water births gross me out. I hope at some point I can get over my unwillingness to sit in water that is filled with "delivery fluids". I've had a baby on a bed, a baby on a birthing stool, and it seems like a birthing tub is the next natural place... segway to next question.

Then where did you have him? Sitting on a birthing stool in my living room. This is the type of birthstool I sat on. Doesn't look comfortable but when you're in labor the oddest things are comfortable. It was actually like heaven! But it's easy to be in heaven when you've just experienced labor and get to enjoy the relief of pushing.

How long did you push? 15 minutes. May this child be blessed.

How big was he? 9 pounds 21.5 inches

Best moments of labor/delivery? No one's ever asked this but they should, even though it's obvious.... Meeting my son. I saw him come out, the midwife and I grabbed him at the same time, I stood up, took him to my bed and cradled him for 2 hours before the midwives started checking him out. He never made a peep, just quietly looked around, looked at me, looked at his Dad, nursed like a champ. I had been given an angel!

The best part about meeting him though was that all my anxiety about having two kids was relieved as soon as I saw him. (You read my previous post?) About 3 hours into labor my Mom and Parker left to go to my sister's house and when they walked out the door I started crying. I was telling Mark that I wanted Parker to come back, I missed him and I didn't want things to change, things will never be the same, maybe we should've waited longer to have another, etc. etc. etc. Mark was very smart about handling this... listened and gave a priesthood blessing.

But when I saw Jared it was instantaneous- I knew he was our little brother and he was supposed to join our family right now. I knew him already, and I had the very distinct impression that he and Parker knew each other too. (How can anyone who's had a baby deny the Plan of Salvation?) I just kept saying, "It's you. It's you." I was so happy to know my baby and to be reminded that Heavenly Father's plan is a great plan, and it was unfolding just as it should. He really is aware of us. I needed this moment.



The second best moment of my labor was when the midwife walked into our bathroom and said, "Whoa Christy you really have been nesting." Music to my ears! When she walked out, "That bathroom is like spotless". It felt really good to have some acknowledgment and praise. You know how everyone cleans their house before having a baby? Imagine if you're actually having a baby IN your house. Yeah, you're fanatical.

Labor and delivery "out-takes": I was in that period of transition, sat up out of the water, looked at Mark and said, "I'm worried. I'm not having any fun." Mark looked so confused, "I don't think you're supposed to be having fun."

And we also laugh about how I angrily kept telling the midwife to "hush" and "stop it" when she would try to coach me thru those last few contractions. And how I dramatically asked her to "Get a knife and cut this baby out." Thankfully, at that point, it was time to push and we avoided that.

Three hours postpartum- Midwives from Sunrise Midwifery as they were about to leave.

By the way... Jared's precision is amazing. Born on his exact due date, at exactly 3:00 am, weighing exactly 9 pounds... we're expecting GREAT things from him.