Bedtime Chat

I tucked C.J. into bed the other night and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

C.J.: Where did my whiskers go? Mommy, you took my whiskers!

M: You have whiskers?

C.J.: Yeah.

M: Does Daddy have whiskers?

C.J.: Yeah.

M: Does Mommy have whiskers?

C.J.: No (glad he answered right!)

M: Do you have whiskers?

C.J.: Yeah. My whiskers are hiding.

M: Hopefully for a long time.

Milestones

1. Eli's first tooth came in yesterday! No wonder he woke up 6 times Monday night.

2. I am no longer shedding clumps of hair every day. If you've never had a baby, that sounds like a strange milestone. But believe me, I've been looking forward to this one for a while.

Baby Tricks

Don't you wish you could do this?

Maybe not, but Eli sure thinks it's fun!

Baaa

I can't decide what baby age is my favorite. Eli is so much fun as a 4 1/2 month old. He loves to giggle, suck his thumb, play with his toys, and smile at anyone willing pay attention to him.

Today at work he was in his crib cooing away while I was on the phone with a new vendor. I apologized for the loud background noise and explained it was my baby. His response: "Oh, I thought it was a sheep."

Right. Because we sheer sheep when things get slow...

34th Birthday!

What a day! Our Halloween celebration at Close To My Heart fell on my birthday this year. And this is no ordinary work party. It is huge. So big that the events dept hired an intern for the month of October, and her sole responsibility was to get the party ready. The decorations in the party room were unbelievable. Wish I had pictures. I don't envy the clean up crew though!

My dept teamed up with purchasing and we were the "kings": King of Pop (Michael Jackson), King of Rock (Elvis), Don King, King Kong, the King of Hearts, and I was the Lion King (Mufasa), and Eli was Simba.

We got our photos taken, got judged by the judges (the executive team), paraded around the building (which is always funny because 98% of the employees are IN the parade!), voted for our favorite costumes and for the pumpkin carving contest, ate doughnuts and cider, etc. I must admit, I was never a big Halloween fan, but after 5 years at CTMH, I love it.

I had to slip out during the festivities to get a crown on my tooth that has been killing me for a week. Turns out I'm still in pain. Guess I'll break down and dish out the dough for a root canal.

I left work early for what I thought was an evening with the Gibbys--dinner and a trunk or treat. But I got home and Barry got out a suitcase and instructed me to pack for an overnighter! I was going to the new Waldorf-Astoria lodge in Park City with my good friends, Jill and Jenny for the night!

It was amazing--and because it was my birthday they upgraded us to a deluxe suite with 3 bathrooms, king size beds, a full kitchen, 4 fireplaces...you get the idea. I missed having Barry with me but the break from the kids (and getting up multiple times in the night) was wonderful! And we had so much fun together. My favorite part was my morning at the spa complete with the most amazing facial. Thank you, Barry! It was perfect!

Daddy's Helper

Our fall garbage pickup is coming soon so it is time to clean up our backyard. The big items got thrown over the fence on to the street. C.J. was able to help put the smaller items in the wheelbarrow, and he made sure to get a few rides in.

Hats, Hats, Hats

One thing we will always remember about C.J.'s toddler years is his love of HATS! Last winter it was his Batman hat. This summer it's been his bug hat, his camou hat, or his helmet. Tonight it was Eli's Packer hat.

What do you think? Too small?

Blessing Eli

Eli's baby blessing was Sunday. We love the intimacy of a family gathering in a home, so we did it at my parents' house so it would be convenient for everyone. It was nice to see everyone and to celebrate our new little one.

Growing Up

Almost daily, C.J. puts on my backpack and tells me he is going to school. This two year old also does homework! At least that's what he calls drawing. He recognizes letters as either "numbers" or as the letters "A" and "O". And he can count: 1-2-3-8-7! He puts his shoes and socks on by himself and yes, they are almost always on the wrong feet (see photo below.) He's getting his pronouns down. He refers to Eli as "he" instead of "it." And every morning he comes into our room and announces "I wake up" instead of "My wake up." And I imagine soon he'll even get his tenses right. Oh dear. Slow down little boy--you're growing up too fast!

First Annual Neighborhood Campout

We gathered together some of our neighbors and went camping at the Spruces this last weekend. We hope to make it an annual tradition. We need a good name for it. Any ideas?

Our wonderful husbands set up camp in the drizzling rain Friday night. Setting up and taking down camp is always the hardest part, so I'm grateful for a husband who does it well, even in the rain. And if you know us, we don't camp "light." For our small family of four we had two large tents--one to house our sleeping bags, port-a-crib, and tent heater, the other to store our gear like my guitar and rocking chair. Yes, my sweet husband wanted me to be as comfortable as possible, so he brought along our wooden rocking chair!

Saturday we hiked to Doughnut Falls (Jill and Nate and family joined us for our morning breakfast and hike) and just enjoyed the amazing weather and beautiful surroundings. It didn't rain again until Saturday night when we were snug in bed. And then did it ever rain! The nights were cold and we got good use out of our tent heater!

The kids did great for the most part. C.J. slept through the nights and Eli didn't wake up any more than usual. We had a few incidences--like Aubrey throwing up, C.J. falling and getting a bloody nose and goose-egg on his forehead, time-outs due to fighting over toys and trikes, etc., but overall I think they loved the adventure of sleeping in a tent and throwing pine cones in the stream.

We definitely want to do it again next year!

Aaron and Ryan cooking breakfast. Yum!

C.J., Aubrey, and Ella playing ball

Jill and Baby Josh being cute

Margaret, Eli, and Barry hanging out at camp

Baby Eli being cute

Aldo drying his son's socks over the fire

Tree Trimming

We've had an overgrown tree in our backyard. Barry and C.J. made a visit to Home Depot on Saturday to get tree trimmers and Barry went to work. C.J. was a big help -- he picked up the stray branches and moved them to a pile. I don't have a good "before" picture, but this is near the beginning of the project.
And this is after! Now the Brinkerhoffs will be able to see the Draper fireworks!

Photoshoot with Eli

One of the great benefits of working at Close To My Heart is that I can take my babies with me until they are 6 months old. Amazing, I know. Getting all of my work done can be a challenge--my to do list seems to just grow and grow. But I love being with my little one all day long.

Another benefit of my job is that there are some great, on-site photographers. Eli and I went outside with Katie today to get some photos while the weather is still good. Here are a few.

Other outings with Eli this week include a visit to our favorite pediatrician, Dr. Valentine, for Eli's 2 month old checkup. He weighs 11 lbs even and is 23 inches long. Thats 30th percentile for weight, 50th for height.

Weekend Jaunts

First some cute photos.

C.J. loves his helmet. He puts it on before he plays soccer outside. He wears it when he rides his "airplane" around the house. He wears it when he rides in the Burly. He's even worn it to church. Here he is with it on in the bathtub.

And some recent photos of Eli. He sure is growing up!

Now to our recent weekends. These photos are at the cabin on our anniversary weekend. I sure do love spray bottles. They keep our toddler entertained for a long time.

Yesterday we went up to Silver Lake for a picnic and a walk around the lake. I've been meaning to get up there all summer! It was almost 20 degrees cooler and absolutely beautiful. On the way home we stopped at the Spruces and made some camping reservations for us and our neighbors. Can't wait!

Reasons to Celebrate!

1- My parents have been married for 50 years! We had an amazing time celebrating with them at Aspen Grove earlier this month.

2- Barry and I have been married 6 years. We spent our anniversary at the cabin. It was a beautiful weekend, though not very romantic with 2 kids demanding our attention. Next year--no kids!

3- C.J. hasn't had a bottle in 4 days! This also means no more changing his sheets in the middle of the night.

4- My bone marrow has stepped up and doing its job and my white blood cell counts are totally normal. No more taking my temperature twice a day. No more quarantine from sick people or crowds. No more visits to the hematologist. And best of all, no bone marrow biopsy.

5- Our dear friend, Mike Torsak is getting married tomorrow. We're thrilled for him and Michelle.

6- Peach season is here! Mmmm. I may have to go every day to Taco Amigo to get a fresh peach shake. They are low fat, aren't they??

Only a dream?

I don't have a picture so you'll just have to use your imagination. One of the many times I woke up last night I remembered this dream: Baby Bop and B.J. were working in the hospital inserting IVs. I was a psychology major so I feel qualified to interpret.

1- Too many visits to the hospital. (I've spent the last three evenings at the E.R. being diagnosed and getting treated for a kidney infection.)

2- Too much Barney. WAY too much Barney. Is there an addiction program we can put C.J. into that will end the constant Barney requests??

A Love Affair

I know it sounds crazy, but before Eli was born I expected it would take weeks or months before I really loved him. Newborns don't really do much--they don't even smile!

Well, I was wrong. I am totally smitten by this little boy. No, he doesn't smile yet (on purpose) and yes, he just sleeps a lot and grunts and cries when he has a bubble, but I adore him. This newborn stage is more wonderful than I remembered. I find myself wishing we could stop time and just enjoy his newness forever. He had his two-week checkup today and he's up to 8 lbs 2 oz. Eeks! He's already growing up too quickly!

C.J. loves him, too, and enjoys "holding it" whenever he can.

Baby Eli has Arrived!

Our new baby, Eli, was born June 30th, 2009 and weighed 7 lbs 6 oz. 

It was quite the event. I had planned on doing a VBAC delivery, but when I wasn't progressing any, I gave in and scheduled a c-section for the day after his due date. I was much too uncomfortable and needed him out!

Late Monday night (his actual due date), I finally started having contractions. I hardly slept at all and came into the hospital at 7:30 the next morning. I was thrilled that I could still attempt a VBAC. About 3:00 pm I started pushing. After about 15 minutes it became clear that the baby wasn't tolerating the pushing well. Though his heart rate would return to normal between pushes, it is also one of the signs that the uterine incision from my last c-section could be opening. So the chaos began and they quickly had me cut open and the baby out. 

The only complication was that they also cut into my bladder on accident. They were able to repair it, but for TWO weeks, I have to be attached to a catheter to make sure that my bladder stays empty. What fun. I suppose I won't miss all the bathroom trips--I've certainly made enough of them over the past month!

As for Eli, he is healthy and doing really well. He's a good eater and a great sleeper. I'm hopeful that his first few days are indicative of the next few months! I really expected him to look like C.J., but he is definitely his own self. He's two days old now and really turning into a handsome little thing. I think he looks like his dad.

The first night C.J. visited us in the hospital he was enamored with his new little brother. He wanted to hold him and touch him and kiss him. When he saw Eli breastfeeding, he exclaimed, "Eating Momma!" But last night C.J. visited and wanted nothing to do with Eli or me. I suppose it will take some time to adjust. 

A Day Out with Thomas the Train

We had a great time Memorial Day Weekend in Heber City riding Thomas the Train and enjoying all of the other fun things there. Teresa, Sam, and Alex, as well as Marianne, Mike, Katherine, and Ellie joined us for the fun.