BYU vs Notre Dame

We had October 20 circled on our calendars for a LONG time. Ever since BYU went independent and announced games at Notre Dame, we planned to go. Months ago, we bought tickets with Mom, Dad and Matthew and weeks before the game Dad bought plane tickets to get everyone here. It was all worth it to experience the tradition and grandeur of Notre Dame football together. We couldn't leave Hunter behind, and with his great track record of traveling, we packed him up and of course he was a champ!

It was a gorgeous fall day -- the campus was full of fall colors and great energy of both Notre Dame and BYU fans. It was also fun to see so much Cougar Blue in Chicago that weekend! We set a record at church for the most visitors in our ward to-date. It was awesome.

It only could have been better if BYU pulled out the upset, but we still had a great time!

Family on campus -- loving our 'hard core' stroller holding all of our stuff!

Ryan and I on campus.

GO Cougars!

H snoozin through half time!

Family photo after the game.

Can't wait for next time!

Fall Weekend Trip: Ohio

After looking at a map, we discovered Kirtland, Ohio is the 1/2 way point between Chicago and DC. With Ashley flying out to Kirtland/Cleveland for a family wedding, we decided to make a family trip of it. We couldn't have asked for more beautiful countryside to drive through.Our weekend was full of family, fun and church history. We also listened to General Conference on the way back home.

H was, once again, our travel champ. He slept the whole way there! Once we got there though, he was ready to play with Grandpa. Good thing BYU football was on late that night....

First stop: Kirtland Temple. Of course, I noticed the gardens as well... check out the size of this dahlia!!

Family photo in front of the temple.

Family in front of the Johnson Farm.

Dad in Joseph Smith's Office in Johnson Farm

Cute Farmhouse on the way to the Johnson Farm.

Grandma and Grandpa at the pumpkin patch

Our little pumpkin!

How much does our pumpkin weigh?!

Beautiful fall colors and countryside.

At the Morely Farm

Our own personal tour and tour guide-- Ashley served her mission here!

School of the prophets

 

Family picnic in the Little Red Schoolhouse. Baby-twins!

Twinners!

We were so sad to say goodbye to family -- but knew we would see Mom and Dad again in a few short weeks for the Notre Dame vs. BYU Game!

Family Day Trip- Indiana

It was a cool but beautiful fall September Saturday, and we decided to head south to Indiana. We packed a picnic lunch and explored the Indiana State Dunes. It was so fun!

H snoozin during our picnic.

Hike out to the water.

Family photo!

Just hanging out.

I guess we weren't the first ones to head to Indiana during fall...

We'll definitely be back to the dunes!

Just another day in paradise...

A lot of people have asked me, "What are your days like"?

Well, these days this is what we do.

Wake up (if I'm lucky, H has slept 5-8 hours straight and we are waking up between 530-7am).

H is a morning person!

H eats breakfast, then plays on his play mat while I eat breakfast. Oh, and then we check diapers. H often has a morning blowout.

Blowout while playing on his playmat (note: he plays on his back, but I found this blowout and sent the pic to Ryan....)

Shortly after, we take a nap (or H naps and I try to squeeze a shower in).

snoozin.

He takes his naps seriously!

Late morning we try to head out for a walk (this may change with the cold weather approaching). We walk anywhere from 1-6 miles. We usually meet up with some of our friends for a walk or lunch or play time.

Afternoon walk through the west loop neighborhood.

Afternoon walk on Lake Shore Drive

Sometime in the afternoon we head back for an afternoon snack and maybe an afternoon nap.

We get dinner started and wait for daddy to come home (yay!!)

The evenings vary --- sometimes we head to mutual, sometimes we stay in, sometimes Ryan and H have daddy/son time.

Monday night football!

Mutual at the Bulls Preseason game.

H usually gets an evening bath-- especially if he is having a rough night. He loves it!

Bath time

By 9:30 it's time for 'last call' on feeding and then we put H straight to bed. If we're not so lucky, we are rocking/singing/playing with H until he falls asleep by 1130 or 12.

H loves the alligator hold :)

Start all over again.

I love it.

Baby H {1 Month}

 We were in Utah for H's 1 month birthday, so I wasn't home to get the same type of pictures.... but he is wearing the same pants in month 1 as month 2, and you can see his belly has only gotten bigger!

Stats:
11.5 lbs
22 inches long

Month 1:
Mover and a shaker - always moving his arms and holding his hands by his face.

After he eats he falls into a deep sleep and when I lift him up to burp him I joke that he is my little sack of potatoes -- all dead weight. He'll snuggle up into my shoulder and its the best. 

Hunter the Grunter is his nickname-- he is so loud sometimes!!

His lips get swollen after he eats and he is just so content.

H eats every 4 hours, and can sleep up to 7 hours at night! Its amazing when I can get 7 hours of sleep!!

When H is really fussing and crying I can lay him on my chest and rock him to relax and calm down. I love the way he feels laying on my chest.

As a newborn H loved to be swaddled, but as he got older, he wanted his hands out so we began to only swaddle his legs.

H loves tummy time and can lift his head up on his own already!

We had to take H into the Children's hospital to have his extra digit removed (he was born with a little extra finger!) it was a little traumatic for me to see H so upset, but it didn't take long to calm him down and his hand is completely healed now.

We took H on his first 'outing' -- a walk to the River. I was such an overprotective mom, worrying about the sun and the wind and all the loud noises!! To be fair, he wasn't loving his first trip in his stroller, but we've gotten past that and he loves it (most of the time) now.

H loves to suck his hand--- he fit his entire fist in his mouth! He will just suck away on it.... sometimes we try to trade it for a pacifer ...

I had my first overnight alone with H -- Ryan had a business trip. I was so grateful he was so good for me that day and slept so good for me that night. 

We are just so in love with our little man!

Baby H {2 Months!!}

Baby H with the best smile I can get out of him with my camera :)

I can't believe it's October and our sweet baby boy is 2 months old. He is such a sweet sweet boy and I love that I get to spend all my time with him! Here are a few highlights:

Stats:
14 lbs - 90% weight
23 1/4 inches long - 75% length

Notes from his Mama:
H is 14+ lbs!! We joke that I make 'muscle milk' because this kid just keeps putting on the pounds! I love his chubby cheeks and the rolls on his legs, but I am sad to see him growing out of his 0-3 month clothes already ... where did my newborn go?!

H has started cooing and it is oh so cute. He also smiles and giggles but not for the camera yet!! I will try to catch him and he'll stop as soon as the camera comes out ....

H is definitely a morning person -- so happy and ready to play in the mornings but gets a little grumpy come evening time.

H LOVES bath time!! It's become part of his nightly routine and I love the way he smells after a bath with J&J's nightime bath wash and Burts baby lotion rubbed on his body.

H also loves to swing! A friend of ours lent us their swing, and he loves to rock in it. It has been a lifesaver when I need to do things like take a shower!

H has become my best walking buddy. The fall weather in Chicago has been gorgeous so we have been going on 3-5 mile walks throughout the city. Most of the time he loves to look around, or fall asleep and occasionally, he will get hungry and scream, scaring off anyone near us!

H is a spitter!! I mean spewing out milk after he eats kind of a spitter. Its been really frustrating so I am trying to figure out if its something I am eating that is causing him to spit up so much. I cut out my milk intake and I have seen a big improvement in his spitting and his fussiness.  

H will take a bottle but he doesn't love it. I'm just grateful he'll take it!

We love to go on hikes! We've had a few family outings and thanks to the Ergo he gives me an extra workout as I carry him :)

Most nights he'll sleep for a good 7 hour stretch, from 10-5 and then go back to sleep after he eats in the morning until 8 or 9.

H is so strong! He can practically hold himself up and sit on his own. I still love it when he is in a deep sleep and is like a sack of potatoes though... that's my favorite.

My little man in 'his' rocking chair.

On his 2 month birthday!

On Grandma Pixton's Blanket

Note: I know I missed his 1 Month highlights -- that post is in progress... I'm playing catch up!

Hunter's Baby Blessing

We blessed Hunter at 4.5 weeks old at Ryan's parents home in Utah. We feel so blessed so many friends and family joined us for this special day. My parents flew in from the east coast, my sister and her family drove from California and my uncle drove my 80 year old grandma from California for the blessing as well. Many of Ryan's family lives in Utah so it was wonderful to have so many family members from both sides of our families there. And a number of Ryan's friends he grew up with were able to come as well. Hunter is very loved. We didn't get a big group picture, but my sister captured a few photos for us.

From Left: Uncle Bubba, Uncle Robert and Aunt Debbie, Uncle Rusty and Camden, Granmda Haines, Mom, Ryan and I, Dad, Ashley, Brandon and Daniel, Matthew and Becky

Our family with Grandma Pixton.

It was a beautiful summer day in Utah and Hunter received a very special blessing from his father.


 

Birth Story

The last few weeks have been -- challenging and rewarding. My recovery has been different than I anticipated; longer and more intense than I expected. I felt like I had been ran over by a train. And, to be honest, it's just been in the last few days where I have felt up to talking with friends and sharing my experience more openly. I have been journaling and spending a lot of time introspectively -- allowing myself to heal.

I always love reading people's birth stories -- so I want to share mine.

Short Story:
I labored naturally for 9 hours, then asked for an epidural, after another 8 hours, I ended up having a c-section.

Walking into the hospital at 12:30am

Long story:

I went into my labor and delivery with what I thought was an open mind. At 11 days past due, I was induced on August 1, at 1:00am. Although I tried to sleep the night before, my efforts failed and I went into the hospital with no sleep under my belt. I did manage to drink a protein shake and a banana on the way, to try and get some extra nutrients in my body.

I was having contractions, 8 minutes apart for about an hour before we went to the hospital. I took this as a good sign; that my body was already preparing for labor and I would progress quickly. I would learn (much later in the day) that I was wrong.

I got into my room at Prentice Women's hospital and they started me on petocin. The contractions came, and I labored naturally with those contractions until about 9:00 in the morning. As the pain got more intense, I sat on a yoga ball, in childs pose and in the shower. When my doctor came in and checked on me, I was only dilated to a 3. She also noticed the heart rate dropping with each contraction and soon a team of Pediatric doctors were in my room. After a few minutes they decided everything was OK and left me along. A few more hours of laboring naturally and by 10:00 and dilated to a 3.5, I knew I couldn't last through active labor and transition at that pace on my own ---  I ordered the epidural.

The epidural was such a relief after 9 hours of labor. However, the heart rate continued to drop, so I was asked to move positions frequently, and was so exhausted that afternoon. I also got sick and threw up a few times and started getting a fever. When my doctor came to check on me at 6pm, I had a fever, was swollen and only dilated to a 4. At that point, she let me know she advised doing a c-section. With no progression, and the state of my health, it was the best decision.

I sobbed -- I knew it was the right decision, but the emotions of it all just broke me down. I had never thought I would have a c-section. My sweet husband hugged me and asked for a few minutes alone so he could give me a blessing. It was such a tender moment and one I will not forget.

They prepped us for surgery and soon I was on the operating table with a great team of doctors talking me through each step. It seems like a dream as I think back to how it felt to lie on that operating table and feel them work to get my baby out. Soon we heard our baby's first cries and I was so relieved.

My doctor later shared that the first thing she saw when she went to get him was the umbilical cord wrapped around him. This helped explain why his heart rate was dropping -- he was caught. Also, his head was wedged into my pelvis and he was face up. At 9lb and 3oz., he needed to be in just the right position to be able to come naturally and that was not going to happen. We are so grateful for a doctor that knew what to do and was able to get our baby out safely. He is our little miracle.

After they got him out, they immediately took him away to check on his heart-- and Ryan got to go over to him and hold him for the first time. He brought him over to me and I couldn't wait to hold him myself. It felt like eternity before I was strong enough to hold my sweet baby and realize that this little man would steal my heart forever.

My first glimpse of my sweet baby -- Ryan took a picture and brought it back to me to see while I waited to meet him in person.

So in love.

It wasn't until the next day that Ryan and I were able to talk and decide on his name: Hunter Thomas Merrill.

Hunter ~ my maiden name and Ryan's Grandma's maiden name, Hunt
Thomas ~ Ryan's middle name, fathers name and grandfather's name.

Our Little Man.

Photo and design by Tiffany Rebecca

We are in love with our sweet Hunter. The last 4 weeks have been exhausting, but blissful at the same time. Is that possible?

More to come.

xo
Kiley