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MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celeb - Collage - Morph

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MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Those 3 little words...

Today was payoff for all the frustration and tears of the past few weeks. As we've been struggling with Emma, there were times I was sure I wasn't going to survive motherhood. But today as I was putting Emma in the car, she put her arms around me and said " I love you so much!". That's what we mothers live for.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine Cuties

Five years ago today I was getting engaged up the canyon in Cedar City. It was a beautiful night, right about sunset. I had opened some presents from Tyler, and he said he had one more. He handed me his laptop and a slideshow with pictures of us starts playing. Then he starts singing this beautiful song he wrote about our lives together. I just kept thinking, " He should have saved this for the proposal!" I finally realized what was happening the last verse of the song, as the last few lines were the proposal! This is a memory I will always cherish. It was just so perfect! Now we've enjoyed 4 years of marital bliss (at least most of the time).
In stark contrast to this very romantic Valentine's Day, this Valentine's Day Tyler and I had a very romantic dinner of Taco Time, eaten in the car, accompanied by our two little girls. Not exactly what movies are made of, but I was surrounded by the people I love most. And rumor has it that Tyler has something romantic up his sleeve for next weekend. No pressure, honey! I love you! Happy Valentine's Day!

I need help!

So, I've been spending a lot of time searching the internet lately. My google searches have gone a little something like this:
" How to know if your toddler has a behavioral disorder."
or
" How to deal with a toddler who won't take naps."
or
" What to do for an insecure toddler"

Needless to say, Emma has been a bit of a challenge lately. There have been a lot of big changes in her life, so some of it was to be expected, but she has gone above and beyond my expectations. Lately she will not stay in her room to go to sleep unless someone is in there with her. She gets out of her bed and runs out crying. Then almost every night she will run into our room crying at 3 or 4 in the morning. This has been going on since we had to go to the hospital with Mya. I figure it stems from that. She woke up one morning and we were gone. Maybe she's afraid that will happen again. I just don't know what to do about it. She is really insecure. She says she's scared of the monsters, but its hard to say if its legitimate or not. When she was 6 months old we had to learn to let her cry herself to sleep. Once she did, we have never had a problem until now. But now she can get out of bed and open the door. If she really is scared, I want to comfort her, but I don't want to make the problem worse by giving her too much attention. So, I wonder if any of you child psychiatrists (a.k.a Moms) have any suggestions for me on how to handle a kicking, screaming, hitting, crying, won't go to bed, 2 year old. And if you could tell me this is normal, I would feel a whole lot better too!

Smiling in the face of adversity

We are happy to report that Mya is home and doing pretty well. We were able to bring her home last night. As you can see, she is in good spirits.

I have been so humbled these last few months. It has been one of the hardest times in my life. When it rains, it pours. Its kind of been one thing after another. But at the same time, I don't know that I've ever felt so grateful for all the good things I have in my life. My trials have certainly put things into perspective for me. I've realized its not "what"in your life, but "who" that matters. I have been blessed with wonderful family and friends. Those who dropped everything, no questions asked, to come help us in our time of need. Not only with our kids, but with our house as well. Those who have offered their support in other ways, whether it was a phone call of concern, or a comment on a blog. I just want to say thank you. I could never express in words the gratitude I feel for all of you. And especially for those who went above and beyond. You know who you are. Thank You!

Heartbreak

So my biggest fear about having a winter baby has been realized. Mya was admitted to Primary Childrens last night with RSV. There is no heartbreak like seeing your little baby suffer. Its sad to see her hooked up to oxygen and various other tubes. Its also sad knowing you have a little one at home who needs you as well, and who doesn't really understand what's going on.

So far Mya seems to be doing okay, relatively speaking. She has a lot of congestion and sometimes struggles to breathe. I'm just glad we are in good hands here. Our stay will most likely be a couple of days. Mya needs to be able to maintain her oxygen levels on her own before they will let us go. It's hard to say how long it will really be, but she's a fighter!

A girl after my own heart

This girl loves getting in the tub. Just like her mommy.

So relaxed she decided to take a snooze.

Does anyone have a comb we could borrow?

A new do

The before.....

The after.......

It was time to get rid of the mullet. Unfortunately that meant cutting off what little curl was left in her hair. Kind of sad, but she's really working this new hair cut. It kind of matches her sassafrass attitude. An attitude that frequently gets her in trouble!

Mya Claire

Mya is now 2 weeks old and seems to be thriving. She is such a good little baby. She certainly is a joyful addition to our family.

Daddy's little helper

Because of all that snow and the fact that our driveway is kind of big, Tyler decided he needed to pull out the big guns to do snow removal. So, he got his Dad's 4-wheeler and plow and went to work. Emma was more than willing to help because it meant a ride on the "zoom-zoom". Even if it was freezing !

Merry Christmas!

This Christmas has definitely been one of the best. After some hard times, the blessings have been flowing freely. Having a baby so close to Christmas puts a lot of things into perspective. We enjoyed spending time with our families on Christmas and Christmas Eve. Once again, we were very spoiled! Thank you to everyone for all the wonderful gifts. Although Christmas is not about the presents or the toys, we sure enjoyed watching Emma open her toys ! She was so much more into it this year. She got so excited. She just wanted to help everyone open presents. She didn't care whether they were for her or not. Mya slept through most everything. Until Mommy wanted to go to sleep, then she was wide awake! Even though this is pretty belated, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas as well. And Happy New Year too!

Emma has sure stepped into the big sister role. She loves to talk to Mya when she is awake, and whenever Mya cries, Emma is sure to tell her " It's Okay!". My favorite though, was when she met Mya for the first time in the hospital. As she was getting ready to leave, Mya was awake for a little bit. Emma got so excited! Then Mya drifted to sleep again, and Emma says " No, No, Eyes on." She is too cute!

The best gifts under my tree!

The Stork has arrived!

She needed a little persuasion, but once she decided to come, she came quickly. After 3.5 hours of labor and only 5 minutes of pushing, Mya Claire Tyson joined our family December 21, 2008 around 12:45 pm. She weighed in at 6 lbs 15 oz and was 20 inches long. She is a bundle of joy and the best Christmas present I've ever been given!

Temple Square

Last Saturday was the first day that we got to enjoy some Christmas festivities as a family. Tyler has been wrapping things up at the house to make it livable, and move-in day is Saturday. Woo hoo!! It won't be completely finished, but Tyler will be able to finish things while we live there. And after walking all around the Gateway and Temple Square, still no labor. So, it looks like Sunday will be the day! I guess Mya wasn't as anxious as we thought!

Cheese!

True Words of Wisdom

So we got this little quote at an inservice we had today in church. It was fastened to a sponge and it read:

Children are like sponges.
They absorb your knowledge
they sap your strength
they soak up your resources
and drain your energy-
but with one big squeeze
they give it all back.

I thought, how true! Emma has been going through a little bit of a naughty phase where she talks back and throws major tantrums. It has been really hard, partly because I feel responsible. She is going through so many changes, and big changes at that. How could she not act out? I think the whole bed rest thing was just as hard for her if not harder than it was for me. The hardest part for me was actually seeing Emma suffer in her own way, and knowing I was the cause of it, even if it wasn't my fault. But amidst all the tantrums, the yelling, and the naughtiness, there are times when she will come give me a hug or a kiss for no reason and without me asking her for one. Or she will tell me she loves me with no prompting at all. Then there was the time that I was discouraged to tears, and she went into the bathroom, grabbed a "wash" (toilet paper), and came over to me and wiped my tears away. Its times like these that make me forget how naughty she can be. Its times like these that make all the heartaches of being a mother totally worth it.

It really is real!

It has slowly become a reality. Our very own house! The outside is completely finished, and the finish work inside is well under way. If all goes as planned, it will be finished in a couple of weeks. Tyler has done such an amazing job. He has worked so hard! I look forward to spending my evenings with him again, just as much as I look forward to our new home. New home, new baby. So much is going on, I feel slightly overwhelmed!

We've decided to go green....literally! We wanted to be a little different and not do a tan or a brown stucco, so we thought we would do a subtle green. Well it turned out to be not so subtle. And we got what we wanted- no other house in the whole neighborhood looks like ours! Even if it is a little more bold than we had planned, I still really like it!

Hooray!

I really need to get some pictures up, this blog is getting a little boring. Anyway. I went to the doctor today and what she said was music to my ears-"You can resume all normal activity." I'm dilated to a 2 and about 70% effaced. Ideally they would like me to make it to 36 weeks, but I don't think they would be too alarmed if she came before then. And if by chance I made it to 38 weeks, she told me they would just induce me at that point. So either way you look at it, this baby is coming before Christmas! Yay! I think this was music to my mom's ears as well since she's been doing all my laundry, and taking care of Emma. I never thought I would be excited to do my own laundry, but what do you know? Now its a waiting game!

Update

I went to the doctor yesterday, and the outlook is positive. My cervix hasn't changed since last week, which is good. I am dilated to a 1 and about 60% effaced. But from what I understand you can be that way for weeks. So, I still have to really limit my activity, but I can at least go out occasionally, which is so nice. Once I hit 36 weeks I can do whatever I want. No more bed rest at all. So at least there is an end in sight, granted I make it that far. Thank you all for your words of encouragement. And those of you who have offered to help with Emma, you better be careful, because I may just take you up on that! She's probably about as stir crazy as I am! And thank you to my mom who has been so wonderful and selfless! Its times like these when you realize how wonderful family is. All of our family has been so supportive and thoughtful. All I know is I've learned not to take the simple things for granted. What I wouldn't give to be able to pick my daughter up, or to give her a bath, or to dance with her to "Honey, Honey". It will all be worth it in the end. As slow as time seems to be going, I know that before I know it this will all be over. Until then I will bear this burden with patience and try to look on the bright side- I'm getting a ton of projects done!

I'm not ready!

It's starting to look like our new addition is a little anxious to come just like her sister was. I've been participating in a pre-term labor study and went in for a routine exam on Thursday. They didn't like what they saw and I ended up spending the night in the hospital so they could monitor me and the baby. I don't know that I understand really well what's going on. I'm not dialated, but my cervix is about an inch shorter than it should be at 31 weeks, which I think is effacement. Maybe you delivery nurses could help me out! They gave me steroid shots in the case she does come early, and sent me home the next day with orders of bed rest for the next two weeks at least. They couldn't really give me any sort of time frame. So now its a waiting game. And I am so not ready! We are still finishing our house. Most of our baby stuff is in storage. I'm supposed to stay in bed, which is really very hard! Especially with an active 2 year old! I feel for all of you who have had to go through the same thing! I'm just grateful its only 2 weeks ! I hope I can at least make it to 34 weeks. Emma was born at 35 weeks and was fine even without any steroids. Wish me luck! We'll keep you updated!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We couldn't resist going out and playing in the first real snow of the year. We never really made it out much last year. Emma decided she really liked the snow. And it was the perfect snow to build a snowman!