Saturday, February 16, 2013

Our beautiful 4 month old!



4 Things We Love About Our 4 Month Old.
  • We love how much she smiles and laughs.
  • We love how she HAS to have mommy and daddy in sight no matter the situation.
  • We love how she ALWAYS plays with her hands.
  • We love how she thinks it is just so great to touch you with her chunky feet.
We love her. We love her. We love her.
She makes us all so happy.
She will always be the first "little sister."
We are enjoying every moment with her.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Cha Cha Cha Changes







It's that time of year again. Yes. The time of year where we make all new goals and hope we reach them. Well this year we will. It's also the time for changes not necessarily things that are goals. Let me put you in the loop of things going on in our life.

  • Andrew is getting his Associates degree by the end of summer time. What? Just his Associates? He has been going to school for over 2 years! Well Andrew was going straight for his Bachelors but now he is going for his Associate degree and then his Bachelors. Don't worry he will still graduate completely by the end of 2014 (possibly the very beginning of 2015) he just wanted to have the actual Associates degree just in case some freak accident happened.
  • Starrie is working out now. If you know me AT ALL you will know that this is surely a miracle. lets keep that goal/ habit up. OK? OK.
  • Jocey is making it a goal to be potty trained. It has been a NIGHTMARE! But its gotta happen sometime soon, right?
  • We are getting a second car! Yay! We are SO stoked about this. So if you see a decently priced Honda Pilot with 8 seats, hit us up. We have our eye on one but are still open to others.
  • Jocelynn will be put in some sort of extra curricular activity this year.
  • Jocelynn is also in primary.
  • We are getting a camera. Finally. Our old one decided to break the day we had Vivian.
  • We got a new nephew at the beginning of the year. Jeffery Ethan Summerhays!  
  •  Andrew had a permanent change of getting his wisdom teeth out. It was for the best.
  • I am also starting Vivian's baby book this week. 
There are lot's of things going on right now. So many things to think about/worry about. Sorry I am being terrible at blogging. I will get the hang of it soon. Oh and THIS song is stuck in my head.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Our year review 2012

2012 was a big year for us in lots of ways, lots of good ways! Here is a little bit about each of the family members year.

Andrew:
Completed 2 years of schooling at Broadview University and continues going and learning the things he enjoys. He went from being the store manager at 5 Buck Pizza to being an Admissions Rep at his school and excelling in his job. He went from being an father of 1 to a father of 2 little girls who have him wrapped around their fingers. And he now looks forward to (hopefully) graduating next year with his bachelors degree.

Starrie:
Went from being not pregnant for over 2 years to full on pregnancy. She sewed, crafted, cooked and tackled many projects. She continued to be a stay at home mother. She gave birth smack dab in the middle of October, and went from being  a mother of 1 to a mother of 2 little girls. Starrie looks forward to stabilizing life with 2 children and getting her body back.

Jocelynn:
She went from saying several words and randomly put them together, to forming full and complete sentances. She went from barely being able to sit through movies and shows, to memorizing all their theme songs and lines. Jocey went from 1 inch of hair to about 4 inches of hair. She had her first dentist visits and chipped tooth. And she became an awesome big sister who shows the little one more love than ever. Jocelynn is looking forward to getting potty trained.

Vivian:
Made it through the journey of becoming a full on baby. She came out healthy and had a smile the minute we saw her. She has learned to coo, babble, stand, bat at objects etc. She has brought all new meaning to our family and she brings joy to those who meet her. Vivian looks forward to sitting up, crawling and walking.

As a family we are looking forward to tax returns, our two week trip to Texas, getting into a bigger, newer car and all the special life experiences that are soon to come! We hope you had a happy New Year and that all the things you want will be attained!



Thursday, December 27, 2012

Lets play a little bit of catch up.

First Vivian is now 10 weeks old! Oh how time flies. That means in the next 3 weeks she is getting her ears pierced, I am nervous but also super excited! I will post pictures when we do it. She was also blessed on December 1st by Andrew and it was wonderful. Next Jocey turns 3 TOMORROW! Holy holy holy! Why? I want her to stay little forever! I will also post those pictures later. Also we got family pictures done for this year and I am super happy with them :) I love my cute family! And lastly CHRISTMAS! Jocey understood the whole Santa thing this year and it was soo fun. She got a letter from him, sat on his lap and left out cookies and cider for him as well! Well here comes a ton of pictures!


The whole family



Vivian thought that Jocelynn's nose was food. Jocey laughed and laughed.

Me and my wonderful husband

                                         
Vivi's professional blessing photo

Right after we set up the tree

The girls looking up at the lights

Vivian is 2 months old!


Santa letter

Joce and Viv in their new chair

Adorable owl chair from Grandma Bunker

Some of Jocey toys that she got from Santa, grandmas and grandpa's and friends! She loves all her presents!
Jocey love's singing to her sister :) And whenever Viv cries Jocey thinks she needs to burp or eat.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

All about Jocey

Our sweet sweet sweet girl is turning 3 next month.... YES 3! Can you believe it? 
I cant.

Jocey's favorite things:
1. Cousins.
2. Playing pretend with everyone.
3. Watching any cartoons.
4. Playing with her baby sister.
5. Running up to her daddy when he comes home from work.
6. Skirts.

Jocey's personality:
The best way I can describe it is.... she is very goal driven and will work her hardest to get what she wants. We see this as a potential problem if not handled correctly, but she is just SO cute. Even if it means negotiating for what she wants because she knows crying will never work. Here is what our conversation was the other day. J: " Mommy I can have 1 more chocolate... Ok?" S: " No Joce I need all the chocolates for the treats we're making." J: " Ok, I can have 1 more chocolate and then I can have no more chocolate's." S: " *laughs* No Jocey I already said no and that's it, no means no." J: " Ok so I will have 2 chocolate's and then one, but then NO MORE."
Another coversation... S: " Jocey, it's time to go take a bath." J: " No MOM! That's rude. It makes me very mad." S: " *laughs and not expecting that response*"
This is basically how most of our conversations go.

She has also become very independent and always wants to help with EVERYTHING. Getting diapers for me, helping me clean, throwing things away, putting her clothes away etc.


Here is an adorable picture of Jocey and Andrew at the festival of tree's last night. Compliments of Anna and Bryan.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Vivian's Labor

Earlier in the day:
On Sunday the 14th I started to feel a sharp pain in my side that made it so I could not even get up and walk around. Andrew's mom, Serena, had invited us over for dinner that night at 6, the pain in my side had gone away and we decided that we would go and have dinner with her. As soon as we sat down to start eating the pain in my side came back and would not let up, it was bad enough that it made it so I was hardly able to eat. After that I was convinced that I may have some sort of infection and that I needed to go to the hospital to get it taken care of. We left Jocey at Serena's thinking that we would be back in an hour or two. We did go home and get all of our stuff just in case and also left Serena with Jocey's carseat.

The Hospital:
When I arrived and got all checked in the nurse came and checked me and I was dilated to a 3 and 80% effaced at 8:15 p.m.. I started to get the strong pain in my side again but it was only once within the hour. At 9:00 p.m the nurse came and checked me again and I was a 3+ and 90% effaced, she called the doctor and to our surprise they decided to admit me. Shortly after that Andrew and I started to cry because we were not expecting her to come on her own and we did not get the chance to explain everything to Jocey, because we thought we would be right back. We asked Serena if she would bring Jocey to the hospital so we could see her and talk to her before the baby came. A little while later she came and we were able to explain what was going on and we felt much better, a little while after that Andrew's dad and Kathy came to pick her up so she could spend the next few days with them. At 10:00 p.m. I was dilated to a 4 and still 90% effaced, then at 11:00 I was still the same, then I was checked at 1:00 a.m. and I was STILL THE SAME... Not cool. At that point they needed to either put me on Pitocen or break my water. I asked if they would break my water because that is what we had planned to do when I was supposed to be induced. The doctor said that would be fine so a few minutes later they broke my water. There was meconium ( poop) in my water and I also did not have a ton of fluid, because of this they told me I would no longer be able to do skin to skin when she was born because they needed someone from the NICU to immediately check her lungs when she was born. This upset me a lot. And everything seemed to be going completely opposite of what I wanted. A little while later I went into hard labor and the contractions were killing me in my lower back and side, they checked me at 2:00 a.m. and I was at a 5 and 90%. From that point on the pain was unbearable and they nurse told me that my cervix was a little posterior so I needed to try different positions to help with pain and dilation. So up on my hands and knees I went for 2 hours. Not only did it not help the pain but when they came and checked me at 3:00 a.m. I was a 6 and then at 4:00 a.m. I was still only a 6. I could not even bear for the nurse to check me at that point, she told me she suspected the baby was posterior (facing up) and so every time I had a contraction she was pushing into my bottom and lower back instead of on my cervix to come out. She also said that they can't try and turn the baby until you are at least a 9 and I was not progressing past a 6, and also that often times the baby will correct themselves and face down when it's time to push. At that point I felt defeated, was bawling, having contractions every 2 minutes and did not even have the encouragement that the baby was in the right position to come. I decided to get the epidural, after the epidural was in place the nurse was able to check me and I was STILL AT A 6. They did an ultrasound and sure enough she was posterior. Right after that my contractions stopped. At 6:00 a.m. they had to start me on pitocen and by the way, I was still a 6. At 7:00 a.m. I was a whopping 6 1/2. At 7:35 I felt like the baby was coming out and they checked me and I was an 8! 10 minutes later I called the nurse back in because I felt baby again and I was a 9! 10 minutes after that I was COMPLETE! The doctor thought he felt she had turned the right way so he had me push a couple times and wait 30 min to help baby move down the birth canal. I then pushed through 6 contractions and she was born facing up.... she never ended up turning.

My Feelings:
I am super bummed that I was not able to go natural and that a lot of things did not turn out the way the were supposed to. I was sad about the labor part but I really liked the actual birth. This time I was able to literally feel everything when I was pushing, and with Jocey I did not feel a thing. I still can't believe that I delivered her posterior, my doctor said it was pretty uncommon for that to happen. My recovery however has been way better then Jocey, no swelling, no heaviness in my bottom and minimal bleeding. Vivian's delivery was a complete 180 from Jocey's, but I am glad that I had both of these miraculous experiences. Child birth is a miracle, it is worth it no matter what you have to go through. I love my tiny Vivi bum and am so happy she is finally here!

Jocey kissing my belly before she leaves.

Right after Andrew cut the cord 

First time holding her


She love's her tongue

First time kissing baby sister


Tuesday, October 16, 2012

  Vivian Celeste Whittle
October 15th 2012
6 pounds 9 ounces
19.5 inches
8:56 a.m.

She is perfect in everyway. We never knew how much we could love one child and now we get the opportunity to continue to find out with two. We are so blessed to have this little lady in our lives and so grateful to our Heavenly Father for giving her to us. She is just what we needed to add to our little family.