The stats are in

Vienne weighs 17 lbs 6 oz and is 26.5" long. Both are just about at the 95th percentile. Christian weighed that at 9 months. She is growing up way too fast but really is the cutest thing ever. I was given permission to start her on fruits and veggies once she starts getting interested in eating. Apparently new research is showing that exposure to solids should begin a little earlier, lessening the likelihood of type 2 diabetes and food allergies. I already give her a little oatmeal in a bottle once a day to help keep her more regular and satisfied. Here she is standing in her excersaucer.












She loves to blow her spit around.


















Here's a cute one from bath time to show off her lovely curves.

















Christian loves to lay by her when she's on the floor. Here he's laughing because she's "tickling" him. He laid on her hand and she was just trying to get it back.










And now my handsome boy. He pulled a little girl's hair today at the gym. She screamed at him so he pulled her hair, making her scream some more. We'll be working on gentle touches a bit more this week. I love seeing his language progress. His ability to understand and take direction has improved so much this week. He did not want to leave a car he'd been playing with at the gym today. I explained to him he can play with it every time we come, but that it has to stay. I let him know we were leaving to go home and eat some food. He put the car in the box and left without another fuss.






And one of him and me. He wanted to take one together.

Update on goals. They're going well. I've been to the gym twice now. I'm going to try to get there every day this week. Having two babies so close is tough on the body. Add a broken foot to the mess and what do you get? A body in desperate need of muscle tone, lifting, and shrinking. All you moms know exactly what I'm talking about. Well I better to get to bed so I have energy to bring it tomorrow.

Conference!

I love conference Sundays. DJ worked last night so I set the DVR to record the sessions. My kids slept in till 9 which was a great way to start the day. Us three watched the first session together. Christian surprisingly played very quietly. He thought it was very interesting when I sang along to "We Thank Thee Oh God For the Prophet." I loved the general YW's presidents talk about raising daughters. After the first session was over the kids and I went for a good walk and then both the kids went down for naps. I waited to watch the second session till DJ got up. We both really liked the talk about missionary work and of course President Monson was so uplifting both sessions.

Something exciting for me was I cooked up some purple potatoes I got at the Farmer's market. They are so beautiful and taste almost like any other potato. I liked that they seemed to stay together rather then mush up like a russet or yukon will. I see them used all the time on Iron Chef and Chopped. I was so curious about them and happy I was able to find some here in Moses Lake!

Some kid updates. Christian has become a very obedient little boy. I'll admit that I was really worried about his ability to obey before and after Vienne was born. It seemed that he really did not want to listen when I told him no, so I stopped. I made a conscious effort to not use the word no with him for about a week. I saw on the Doctors that children will listen more quickly if you instruct them what to do, rather then what not to do. Duh, of course they would. It took a few weeks before I saw any progress. Like all lessons, it took a lot of practice and follow through to break the bad habits we both had and learn the better habits. Now to keep up with it!

Vienne amazes me at how observant she is and how much control she is gaining over her movements. Yesterday we were in Spokane for a wedding. I took my niece Isabelle with me so she could watch mine and my sister Stacey's kids. After the wedding we went to the mall where we also picked up some food. I had Vienne forward facing in the baby bjorn. She almost knocked a bowl off of the tray I was carrying because she was trying to grab it. She'll see Christian or I touch something and try to get it herself. She just wants to be able to move. Tomorrow we find out how big she has gotten over the past 2 months. Until then...

Oops

I locked Vienne in the car last night, not on purpose.

She did not wake up well from her afternoon nap. Nothing was making her happy so I figured she needed a car ride. I always latch her in the car first because Christian is behind the driver's seat so its just easier to do him second. I decided to drop the keys and my phone on the passenger seat after putting her in the back. While I dropped the keys I hit the lock button. The car beeped twice so I thought I hit the unlock button and didn't worry about it. Apparently I hit the lock button twice. I shut her door and the car beeped again, meaning it was locked. Well I wasn't too concerned because we keep a spare key in the kitchen, or do we? As I'm searching for the key I remember I grabbed the spare key a week ago to drive with it because I was too lazy to find my keys. I then put the spare key in the glove box after using it that one time a week ago, don't ask me why. I start to panic when I realize my baby is crying and locked in the car. I grabbed Christian and ran over to our neighbors the Johnston's. I asked to use their phone to call DJ and see if he had an idea. He got permission to come home and Owen Johnston came over to help right away. Emily Johnston kept Christian. It took about 1/2 hour and several failed attempts before we heard the blessed car alarm go off because Owen finally got the cafe curtain rod DJ flattened and shoved in the car between the door and the frame to hit the door unlock button of the passenger door. She was so happy to be out of her carseat that we had all smiles until it was time to nurse to sleep. I held her for a while after, we both needed it.

Ironically today, she's been a relatively easy baby and didn't freak out when it was time to get in the car to go to the park. Thankfully babies have short memories and forgive quickly. For your enjoyment I've put up two cute pictures of both. Christian has claimed Vienne's swing as his own. Which is fine because she never really liked it. Vienne is sitting her her bumpo chair playing with a toy. She is quite fascinating with that one.

The last 3 and 1/2 months.

I'm going to try to summarize the last few months. They've kind of been a blur, but things are starting to settle and I realize I haven't documented anything. Christian is the cutest big brother. He constantly wants to give his sister kisses, hugs, and he likes to suck on her feet. He tries to hold her and its so cute. Luckily he is good at playing on his own, because Vienne had to deal with colic. The poor girl just could not settle from about 2 weeks to 10 weeks. We spent our days on the exercise ball, bouncing away. Here she is posed in her blessing dress. She's a strong little girl. She is in the 100th percentile for height and weight, her head is close behind. She can roll over from front to back and back to front and has done so for a week now. She desperately wants to sit up on her own, thankfully her bumpo chair helps. She loves to coo, giggle, make eye contact, and play with her toys.

Christian is growing up so fast. He is picking up new words quickly now. The ones we can understand are car, all done, please, hi, moo, vroom, Jesus, momma, and dad. He sings along to his nursery rhyme book and folds his arms for prayer. He loves to go to nursery. Sister Tolley and Sister Rouche are his leaders. His favorite toys are anything with wheels and anything kitchen related.

We blessed Vienne on July 3rd and all our family and friends came over for it. I crocheted the top. I chose an orange color because the Charma de Vienne rose is an orange hue, so I've decided its her color. The lace is leftover from my wedding dress.

We spent most of the summer at home where Vienne was most comfortable, but we were able to spend 4th of July in Spokane to watch the fireworks, make a few trips to the aquatic center, and frequent the farmer's market. We even moved into the end unit of the 4 plex we live in. My goal for fall is to start going to the gym again, get to know the new people in our ward, and be more social.

Vienne Rose ~ May 23, 2011

Vienne has come! Here's her story:

Sunday, May 15, I made DJ come home from work early (he was working nights) because I was certain I was in labor. Right before my ob appointment that morning my contractions stopped.

Tuesday, May 17, I had an acupuncture appointment. The goal was to help the body prime for labor, shortening the length and intensity of labor.

Sunday, May 22, went on an hour and a half walk with DJ and Christian.

Monday, May 23, woke up to mild contractions. Didn't think anything of it because they were at least 10 minutes apart. Went for another long walk before my ob appointment that morning. Contractions began to hurt a bit, but were still pretty far apart.

11 am ob appointment. Found out I was dilated to 4cm. Water broke while my midwife, Sherri Russell was checking baby's position. I was definitely in labor!

We went in to the hospital around 2pm. Mom needed to take care of a few things before she could watch Christian and I wanted to wait till I started to get the good, strong labor contractions. I was at a 6 when we arrived and very excited at how quickly I was progressing. Two hours later I was still at a 6. I didn't want to get up and walk because my foot was swollen and hurt (the stupid "screwed" up one, haha). It also hurt too bad to be in bed. With my first labor I stalled for 8 hours after getting to the hospital, needing pitocin to kick start labor again. This time I decided to use a light epidural because I had to stay in bed. Well it worked. I got the epi around 5 and was ready to push by 6:30. Apparently Vienne was very ready to be born because it only took a small push to bring her head forward. My midwife made me stop pushing because she was not ready to deliver her yet. So we waited till the next contractions and she just slid out right at 6:40 according to the monitor. She was completely covered in vernix, but was still very cute. I was very surprised to find out she was 8 lbs, 3 oz and 20 inches long for being 1 to 2 weeks early. Christian was only 6 lbs 14 oz born the day before his due date.

My Mom and Kim went home to get Christian and bring him up to see Vienne that evening. He loved her. His whole face light up when DJ brought her over to him.

La Vie En Rose

Did any of you see the movie La Vie En Rose? It was a small independent film in French with English subtitles. It was about a French singer named Edith Piaf who was really popular in the 50's I believe. It starred Marion Cotillard. The title means Life in Rose. I had the chance to watch it when I worked at the theatre in Pullman. Because the population there is concentrated with Professors, we actually had an audience for small, artsy films. The movie was kind of depressing, but the music was fantastic.

Here are two versions of the song by the same title.

Edith Piaf singing the song in full French.

Louis Armstrong's cover, which is really good.

The poster is pretty cool as well. I kept a poster. The title of the movie is why we're naming our little girl Vienne Rose. Coincidentally, she'll also be named after her Great Grandma, DJ's mom's mom (Rose), who we both think is pretty cool. She'll be joining us sometime in late May or early June. I'm excited to have a girl in Spring. I was born in the Spring and I just think its a good time for girls. This little girl has gone through a lot with me, so I feel a bond with her already. I honestly didn't start feeling that with Christian until I was close to being ready to pop.

Now back to Christian. DJ's work had a Christmas party for everyone's kids at the bowling alley about a week before Christmas. It was on a Sunday, but we decided to go so Christian could see Santa and get his present. We weren't going to be able to bowl anyways so there was no temptation there. (My foot was still in the boot and Christian is just too little still). They had a photographer there taking pictures of the kids. Christian's expression is so him. He was in complete awe of the situation. No tears, he didn't even come close. He just had to study everything that was going on.


DJ and I at the REC Christmas party just for adults. We just got these which is why I'm finally posting them. We are very excited for Valentine's day. DJ's birthday is February 15th, so its a two day party for us. DJ just so happens to have the next two days off as well. He's my perfect match, I honestly could not ask for better. I have never met a more patient, considerate, thoughtful, or fun person. And then he became a Dad a blew me away again. I'm about to brag, but he is one of those Dad's who could be a great single parent if he had to. He just knows what to do, often times more then me. I had a really high bar set for the guy I was going to marry and he cleared it easily. Happy Valentines Day and happy Birthday to my love.

Quirks

Christian has the funniest quirks. He has to watch every single car insurance commercial on TV. His favorites are Progressive and State Farm. He loves to watch Tosh.O, he knows when to laugh. He loves to kick the ball his cousin Ashton gave him for his birthday. He walks most of the day now, when he does crawl its to get somewhere really fast. He puts his heads down and takes off. He leaps after the bread during sacrament meeting. He is a show off. The family sitting behind us during church this last Sunday did not pay attention at all to the meeting because Christian was showing them all his tricks. He will sit down and spend time with a toy. He's starting to figure out what the buttons do, and shows purpose with his play instead of just randomly pushing buttons. He loves to hide in little places, like Mom's lazy susan. Right now he's had a runny nose, so he's been a bit more cuddly. He likes to sit on my lap facing me and nestle his face in. Because he wasn't interested in me right after my surgery, I'm enjoying our re bonding time, and I think he is too. His Dad is still his favorite person. Last night Christian got cold and woke up around 3:30 so I brought him into bed. He was fine cuddling with me until he noticed his Dad. He then had to cuddle with him. DJ left for work at 6 and was able to sneak out. Around 6:30 Christian woke up, realized his Dad was gone, and burst into tears. He was inconsolable for about 5 minutes. I know DJ really enjoys the bond he has with his little boy. A couple days ago we were downstairs with him, and my parents were upstairs. Christian heard them so he went to the bottom of the stairs to wait for them to come down. DJ looked over and said, "He is ridiculously cute." I know everyone feels the same way about their 1 years olds but I really do think I have the best little boy.

Christmas pictures -Thanks Stace!

Christian took his first multi-child bath on Christmas. Evalie and Jayda were very nice to let Christian join them. They were good about letting him splash them and he got his fair share of splashes. It was a huge success.








Christian LOVES to be near other kids. He would get so excited when Charlie would come play with his new toys. Here they are checking out the laptop DJ and I got him. Its a little old for him, but he needed a toy with buttons that made noise. Plus he loves to open and shut things, so he loves it.












Christian's Grandma and Grandpa Berezay also got him a little laptop, but its a little different. It has a lot of shapes, and sings a lot of songs. His favorite is the drum button.










Grandma and Grandpa Redford got Christian a little book that reads to him. He loves opening it up and hearing the songs and sounds. That's me helping him, our only picture together.


















Kim and Trent had our family for Christmas. They got Christian a cute little Tonka truck. He's still figuring out how to push it around without tripping. I think this summer he'll got nuts when I let him play in the dirt with it.

Welcome 2011

First a quick catch up of December. Christian had his first Birthday on Dec. 19th. All 3 chargers to all 3 of our cameras somehow got buried underneath all of our stuff in storage so my friend Natalie brought over her camera so we could get pictures. She's been gone for the holidays so hopefully I'll get those soon. Also waiting for Christmas pictures from my sister Stacey. Christian got everything he could have wished for had he known he was getting presents. He opened them like a pro and has been having a lot of fun exploring his new blocks, babies, trucks, boxes, and shapes.

DJ's promotion and pay raise started in December, which has been awesome. It is so relieving to pay all your bills and have money left over to save. We call 2010 our poor year, because it was the first year we lived off one paycheck. But we learned a lot of very good lessons about budgeting, sacrificing, and patience. DJ was so sick of working so much and not being able to do what we want with it that he decided we deserved a great Christmas. He worked a lot of overtime to buy himself a new Xbox, to buy me new maternity clothes (I had the same budget, but find it almost impossible to spend that much on clothes), and give the gifts we really wanted to. I needed new clothes, but when you're used to not spending money, that was a hard one. Thankfully, Motherhood Maternity was having a restaurant gift card reward so we earned almost as much in gift cards as I spent so I didn't feel guilty when we left.

We had an ultrasound on the 21st. We we're able to find out what we're having because the little baby was not cooperating. We also decided to move the due date back a week. Since I know when conception occurred (I know everything about September due to the accident) the new date makes more sense. We have another ultrasound on the 25th to get a better look and hopefully to find out this time.

I had my final appointment with the Podiatrist on the 28th. I didn't know this would be my last appointment with him when I went in. I had another round of Xrays. Well my foot looked solid. The bones were completely healed, the screws were tight, and my joint was stable. He manipulated my foot, let me know I didn't need physical therapy because it was doing so well, which was more good news. He said once I got a new pair of shoes, I could stop using the walking boot. I have to wear Podiatrist approved shoes from now on, and all the time. He said maybe up to an hour barefoot a day would be ok, but to really limit it. But at least I'm walking normally now and I even drove to the store, the first time in 3 1/2 months. The shoes I got are cute, extremely comfortable, and not a bad price, just about $80 bucks more then I ever would have spent before. So we'll slowly build back up my shoe collection. BTW, anyone who wears a size 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 and needs some shoes call me up. I have to get rid of all of my old shoes.

DJ and my parents are very happy to have me back at full speed and doing everything I used to. Now we just have to find a place and move again. Ug.