Brooks's Birth Day

...11 months later...

I had the flu in January, I was in bed for 8 days. After this, and since then, my asthma got really bad. Like, needing to use my inhaler more than I ever had in my life bad. So, about a trimester into my pregnancy with Brooks, I had to go see my family doctor about my asthma. It was getting really bad and I didn't have a working inhaler. So I got a new inhaler (EXPENSIVE). And started using it. But like I said, it was bad. There were some days that I had to use my inhaler multiple times. Like as often as I was allowed to use it.

When I went and saw my lady doctor at the next visit, I told her how bad my asthma had been and that I now have a new inhaler to address it. Then we talked about my lack of oxygen those days that my asthma had been severe could hurt baby's growth - so we scheduled an ultrasound to check on his growth.

The first ultrasound showed that baby was not measuring where he was supposed to be. Like only 60% of what he should be. So I started having an ultrasound at each appointment to check on his growth.

On the second or third ultrasound like this, baby had flipped and was breech. And had decided to actually grow. Like a lot. No issues with his growth anymore, we continued the extra ultrasounds to see if he would flip again.

He did not.

So a few weeks before he was due, we discussed our options:

We can try to turn him, but with having already had a c-section, there is danger of rupture and hemorrhaging of my uterus

Or

We can schedule a c-section

We opted for a c-section without the added danger of trying to turn a giant baby. My doctor looks at her calendar, "How about the 22nd?"

"Can we do any day other than the 22nd? That's my other son's birthday."

"How about the 23rd?"

"Yes!"

1 and 2 slept at grandma's house the night before, cause we have to head in early.

Everything went as planned. No hidden head or cord wrapped around his shoulders. When he came out I cried. And when he came out, he was angry. Screaming baby. I'll take it!

A white blond, blue eyed, CHONK.

My body freaked out coming off of the c-section again. But I told my nurses what had happened before with Grayson, so they were keeping close and monitoring so they were prepared.

Bear Hug blanket.

And Brooks was having trouble managing his blood sugar, so he got to spend a day and a half in the NICU. We each had lots of cords and tubes for a while.

Eventually his body decided to keep up and he learned to eat good too. So we got to hang out on the same floor again until we went home.

But then his bilirubin levels kept climbing. He had LOTS of heel pricks his first couple weeks of life.

When they called me and told me that someone was bringing the bili lights I felt like I failed. It was rough. But just a couple days later his numbers went back down so we got to get rid of the lights!

And then reflux set in.

Life is a roller coaster friends.

Now we are just over a month away from his first birthday, and he is a dream.

Overheard in Primary II

Sat in a CTR7 class. Talking about the Plan of Salvation, teacher drew the Three Degrees of Glory as the sun, the moon, and stars. 

One kid, "Why did you draw a banana?!" [a crescent moon]

Other kids, "Yeah, that looks like a banana."

Playing Stump the Bishop after our program, he's guessing a scripture reference.

Bishop: "... John..."

CTR4: "THE BAPTIST!"

Same game, guessing a song.

Primary President: "Jesus was chosen, and as a messiah he came..."

My CTR4: "JESUS!" [with double fist pumps]

About to take the advancing nursery kids to go sit in singing time.

Primary President: :Next year you get to go to primary! In primary we have singing time, we learn a bunch of fun songs; and we have class time with our friends!:

3YO: "That's AWESOME!"

We were just able to split back into junior and senior groups for singing time. One of our most vocal 9YO gave a talk for closing exercises. He gets up to the mic and takes a little bit to adjust it, "Do I need to tell everyone my name before I start?"

Primary President: "I think everyone in here already knows who you are, so you're ok to start."

Senior primary singing time:

Chorister: "...And, tick question, was it the same Nephi that wrote 3 & 4 Nephi that wrote 1 & 2 Nephi?"

9YO: "No. He was SOOO dead."

Sunbeam in singing time, "Can we go get pretzels now?"

Grasonian Wisdom III

Wheee ha = Cowboy

Wheee haaaaaaaaaa = Cowgirl

Trying to get him to say his name; Matt: "Say Gray..."

G: "Gray!"

M: "Say son..."

G: "Up in the sky!"

M: "I guess his new name is Grayupinthesky."

Who Who = Grandma/Grandpa

Hot chips = Doritos

Stopped behind the giant carpool line.

G: "Mom! Go!"

Me: "There's nowhere to go. We have to wait."

G:"Mom! My yo [(color) red] stop! Your yo[green] go!"

M: "You're right. Good job buddy."

At the grocery store.

Me: "We just need to get potatoes and then we're done. Can you say Potatoes?"

G: "EWWWWW."

Other lady at the store, whips around and smiles/chuckles.

"Mom, bebe ahh whowho woowoo" = Mom, I found grandma's car

Hey babe, how's your X?

G: "Dood."

Hee Hee = Haley

Broo ah brootie = Brooks's nickname

Ou yamly = our family. A picture of us or anything in a group of 5; blocks, his toes, ribbons on Brooks's toy

Won't say his name. Has maybe said it 3 times ever. Asks all the time to go to school.

Me: "You can't go to school if you can't say your name!"

G: "Daydin, daydin, daydin, daydin, daydin!" [GraysonGraysonGraysonGraysonGrayson]

M: dumbfounded 👀

Leaving to a movie with whowho and whompah [evolved whowho for grandpa]. He has a toy in his hoody pocket.

Me: "Grayson, you've got to leave your toy here so it doesn't get lost at the movies."

G: "Mmmm, isst tineee one." [Mmmm, it's just a tiny one.] with his fingers showing me that it's small.

Lincolnisms XIV

Brought $3 to DI to look at their toys. Found a gun for $1 and some balls for $0.50. After he paid, he whispered to me, "I can't believe that $2 worked!"

We were driving north and couldn't see the mountains for a minute. "Mom,are we out of the jar?"

Me: "The what?"

L: "Our jar. You know, in the mountains."

M: "Our valley?"

L: "Yeah."

There was a fly buzzing around the kitchen. To no one in particular, "SMASH IT WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT!"

And then he FREAKING SMASHED IT AGAINST THE WINDOW WITH HIS HAND! This boy hates bugs. And he smashed it with his hand. I was pretty impressed.

Talking about school: "We didn't have snack today, but we did yesterday. I had an applesauce that tasted like a dirty sock with a rotten egg inside."

Watching a preview for Frozen 2, sees Elsa, "Why didn't they name her Ice-a?"

L: "Mom, what does unconscious mean?"

Me: "Its like asleep, but not on purpose."

L: "What does nauseous mean?"

M: "It means your tummy feels like it wants to throw up."

L: "What does poshious mean?"

M: " I don't know."

L: "It means you like dinosaurs a whole lot."

M: "OH!"

L: "What does moshious mean?"

M: "What does it mean?"

L: "It means you like dogs a whole lot."

M: "Oh!"

L: "I'm poshious and Grayson is moshious."

M: "Got it."

...

L: "Mom, what does cautious mean?"

M: "It means to be careful."

Brings in a random long/skinny piece of paper, "Whoa! That must have been one HUGE sentence cookie!"

Me: "What?... A fortune cookie?"

L: "Yeah!"

"Mom, what do you call a one-legged hippo? A HOPPO!"

(i found out much later that he did not make up this joke. but when he told me, i was so impressed)

My mom, talking to my dad about their OLD neighbor, "He's not doing good. He's slowing down."

L: "Grandma, has he been emotionally eating?"

My mom: "WHAT?!" 😂

(i think he learned this term from the new grinch movie. a hilarious encounter, nonetheless.)

"Aloha Las Vegas! says the Sasquatch."

"What do you call a milk mustache? A MOOstache!"

refuel = refill

Brooks's nicknames: King Brooksington, Brookie

Grandpa Marty was wearing plaid pajama pants, "Grandpa! I see your tic tac toe pants!"

There were football announcers on the tv; "Mom, look! There's Bishop Rick!"

M: "Who's Bishop Rick?"

L: "Bishop Rick! Grandpa's boss!"

M: "Ohhhhh, Bishopric."

(grandpa marty works with the bishopric in his ward.)

Matt said something about Lincoln not being able to work on a roof if he's afraid of heights.

L: "But remember dad, I'm not going to be a roofer, I'm going to be a scientist."

Me: "How are you going to pay for college if you don't go roof?"

L: "Won't you guys pay for college for me?"

Me and Matt, 😂😂😂😂😂

Playing cars with Grayson, driving away from his brother, "We're going to NONEYA!"

(i guess he's heard me say this a few times)

Talking about his new tooth pushing his baby tooth out of the way, "And he'll tell the little tooth to go have a hike!"

L: "Who farted!?"

Me: "Probably you!"

L: "Not me, I didn't burst out one of those big boys!"

Watching Dolphin Tale 2, with Bethany Hamilton, surfer girl.

L: "How does she write?!"

Me: "Do you use 2 hands to write?"

L: "Yes! One to hold my pencil and one to push the paper down!"

(valid)

***HEART MELTERS***

Talking about how the heart's job is to pump blood to all of your body parts, etc.

L: "The heart has a lot of jobs!"

Me: "It does? What are it's other jobs?"

L: "Well, I know that it's job is to love."

M: "Oh, yep. Yes it is."

Driving home with our Little Caesars pizza, I had to stop fast and it flew off the seat, and spilled on the floor of my car. We get home, I realize how bad it is. We get back into the car to go get a new one. I apologized to the kids for ruining our dinner.

L: "It's ok mom. Accidents happen all the time."

(then i cried, and bought a new pizza)

Brooks was in his bouncer crying, had been crying all day-- I couldn't fix it. I was at the stove cooking dinner, trying not to freak out. Lincoln came in the room, saw that I was about to lose it, gently bounced the baby until he calmed down.