Breakthrough

Yes... I know I am behind on my blog (Christmas, Lincoln's Blessing, etc)... but I had to put this blog up.

Lincoln found his thumb! He isn't the best thumb sucker yet... but enough that he is sleeping longer through the night. We are SO happy about that. Lincoln is sleeping 6-8 hours at night the last few nights. Yee-haw! The only bad thing is he still doesn't go to sleep until 1-3am. We will work on that next. First we just need the AMOUNT of sleep to be great. Then we will work on the timing of it.

Go Lincoln! (I hope I am not jinxing him by putting up this blog)

Lincoln's Two Month Checkup

Well, Lincoln just got back from his two month checkup.... yes, he screamed bloody murder when he got his shots. The receptionist asked me after if that was Lincoln singing a song :D. Yes, that was my son, hahaha.

Anyways, as a comparison between my three children:

PARKER:
Birth:
8 lbs 7 oz (75th percentile)
19 1/2 inches long (40th percentile)

2 MONTHS:
9 lbs 10 oz (10th percentile)
21 1/2 inches long (50th percentile)
36 cm head circumference (maybe 0 percentile)

TYLER:
Birth:
8 lbs 0 oz (50th percentile)
20 inches long (50th percentile)

2 MONTHS:
11 lbs 4 oz (40th percentile)
22 inches long (20th percentile)
I don't have his measurements for his head.

LINCOLN
Birth:
8 lbs 3 oz (60th percentile)
20 inches long (50th percentile)

2 MONTHS:
11 lbs 2 oz (35th percentile)
23 inches long (50th percentile)
39 cm head circumference (25th percentile)

....So Parker had a rough start to this world... so that is probably why he didn't weight much at his two month check up. But just by looking at Parker's I thought "oh hey, Lincoln is way bigger. Maybe I will have a bigger kid yet." Then I looked at Tyler's two month measurements and saw he weight 2 ounces more then Lincoln at this age. So then I thought "Oh never mind... he will probably be a little stick boy also". Hahahah. Oh, but check out the size of Lincoln's head! I have never had a kid have a head over 20th percentile! No wonder he doesn't fit his tie I try to put on him for church.

There was a girl who was getting weighed before Lincoln this morning that was also two months old. She weighs almost 5 pounds more then Lincoln. It is truly amazing the range kids can have at the same age.

A sad note... the medical assistant, Alicia, for our amazing doctor, Scott Peterson, is going to have a baby next month. We will miss not seeing her at each visit. She is the greatest! The new person who is being trained seems cool though. But we will sure miss Alicia. I am glad she is going to have a girl though. Most of the people I know are having boys... so I am glad girls exist too. :D.

Oh another note: I need Lincoln to find his thumb ASAP!!! He doesn't really like the pacifier much. He can't quite find his thumb... so he wakes up searching for something to suck on. So I try to help him find his thumb or else he sucks on my finger. Needless to say... I don't get much sleep. Please find your thumb soon Lincoln! Tyler was the same way... slept horribly until he found his thumb around 10 weeks of age. Can I survive two more weeks? I hope so.

Mixed Emotions

So I know the whole purpose of having your child blessed is to have their name on the records of the church... but I am having mixed emotions right now. Let me explain:

I realized after Lincoln was born that January 11, 2009 was a Sunday! I was so excited. The reason I was so excited was that was the EXACT date that Parker was blessed in 2004. I remember dates quite often and I know that was the day my youngest sister, Sharolyn, gave her "homecoming" talk after serving a mission in Philadelphia. Parker was blessed along with his cousin Reese. I was so excited to have Lincoln blessed on the same day and have that tie with him.

I was also excited because we were changing the time we went to church from 1-4 last year to 9-12 this year. 1-4 church is HORRIBLE when you have young children who need naps.

So a week ago our Stake President informed our ward that there would be boundary changes to the wards in our stake to even them out more as our ward had way more people then the other wards. We were told the changes would be told to us on Jan. 4... yesterday. I figured we would be a part of the main part of the ward and wouldn't have to worry about things, though I would be sad to see some of my friends go to other wards and not see them each Sunday.

Boy was a wrong... and this leads to my mixed emotions:

1. In the meeting last night we were informed that we would be moved from the Aspen 9th ward to the Aspen 6th Ward. We were also informed that we would be attending at a different church building. We were also informed we would be attending church from 1-4pm again.

Just thinking about this makes me want to cry. This is why:

I want to cry because we are back to the nightmares of Tyler not getting a nap on Sundays because of church from 1-4. I want to cry even more because we will be blessing our son, Lincoln, in a building where 2/3 of the ward doesn't know us, and don't know Parker. I want to cry even more because we are going to a building where we were with Parker for 2 months (as a new building was built). I have so many memories of Parker in the 9th ward building... memories of him running up and down the halls and seeing all of his friends in the ward. All the people in the 9th ward who were there with us at his funeral (which was in that building).... How do I find closure when I was expecting this? I wasn't ready for this change. I wasn't ready to move churches. I want to cry.

My friends who remain in the 9th ward also moved to the 1-4 time slot for church... so now they won't be able to come to see Lincoln blessed even if I invite them because they will need to be there as the new people who are now a part of the 9th ward come the first week. I love the 9th ward... I have served so many and love them so much and they have served us so much and helped us through the hard times with Parker and this past year when we lost our jobs. My testimony has grown so much in that ward.

I know I will find more friends in the 6th ward and we will help each other grow together... but it is just so hard right now. I don't know how to get the sadness out.

One positive note: Rodger was called to be the Ward Clerk in our new ward. I am so excited for him to have this opportunity. It will help him grow so much. Go Rodger!

Birthday Party

Today was my nephew's first birthday party! Enoch MacArthur Ameh is a big ONE YEAR OLD! He is the second child of my own identical twin. He is such a cute boy. With his cute smile, happy demeanor, and love of eating paper... we love every ounce of him (he weighs more then Tyler now I think, hahaha). Here are a few photographs from his party today. Most people couldn't make the party because of the big snow storm (about 9" of snow fell in Orem today... more will fall in the next 3 days too). Those of us who were able to make it had a great time. Tyler loved singing Happy Birthday to Enoch. He sang it over and over and Enoch loved to dance to the song. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ENOCH!!! We love you!


Here is Enoch opening his presents with his sister Ami's help. He had so much fun. He loves paper! Tyler loved the toys as much as Enoch did for sure.








Here is the family before we sang Happy Birthday to Enoch. (Lori, Enoch, Friday and Ami).


Here is the before and after of Enoch eating his birthday cake... I think the after is pretty appetizing. I wanted to eat it but they decided to throw it away! I can't believe that! (Double click on the photograph to see the image bigger... it is AWESOME!)

Sick...Tired...Struggles...Blessings

1. SICK: Ahhhh what a wonderful thing to be sick (sarcasm all over the place) ... our family has been hit with the sick bug since just after Thanksgiving. Tyler and I picked up something from Thanksgiving. We got better. Then Tyler picked up something from Nursery at Church. It went from Tyler to Rodger to me. Everyone else is basically better... I am still not... It is so hard to be sick with a newborn. So far Lincoln hasn't gotten sick. I pray he doesn't. This is RSV in the making for a newborn. I keep praying the "Mommas Milk" will keep him healthy. So far so good. Being sick is sucking all the energy out of me (hence the #2 point of being Tired) and making it so much more difficult to get anything done. Don't come to my house.... IT IS A WRECK! I think a "tornado" hit again!

2. TIRED: It is enough to have a newborn causing the wonderful sleep deprivation. Adding being sick on top of it makes it even worse. I LOVE SLEEP DEPRIVATION! It does wonderful things to your brain and body. It helps with patience and gives you the ability to get so much done. Ummm... yea... right. I hope that Point #1 goes away asap so that Point #2 improves. It is hard to not have a functioning brain.

3. STRUGGLES: I won't dive into this Point much... But as a friend said specifically about dealing with grief, but I would also like to incorporate this into all struggles: "I have also noticed in myself and others that illness of any kind seems to magnify grief [and struggles]. I think when we are ill our defenses are down and it is so easy to fall back into the dark. My grief [and struggles] was horrible last year when I was pregnant and so ill all the time.....I couldn't see past the end of my bed, could barely take care of myself, could hardly take care of my family. Everything seems more doable when we are well!"

I agree with my friend. I have found that since I have been sick that the struggles we are having, financially and dealing with grief during the holiday seasons, just seems to compound with Point #1 and Point #2 taking place.

Some of the struggles are not mine, specifically, but they impact me a lot as some of the struggles are those of someone so close to my heart and whom I love with all of my heart. Not knowing how to help... Not knowing what to do... makes it so much harder for me. Then when I throw my own struggles (as mentioned above) I feel even more overwhelmed. I feel sad because I want to go out and love and serve others, as that makes me so happy, and yet I am becoming so overwhelmed with Points #1, #2, and #3 that I feel I can't love and serve others like I want to. :(

4. BLESSINGS: Even with Points #1, #2, and #3 I am trying to see all the blessings in my life. One of my blessings is that of my children, even though the oldest, Parker, is assisting in Point #3 as I continue to miss him and wish I could hold him in my arms; even though the second oldest brought home the illness that caused Point #1, and even though the youngest is assisting greatly in Point #2 ... I still love them with all of my heart :). I am so grateful for them. We will continue to learn and grow from Point #3 and Point #1 and #2 won't last forever... but Point #4 will. It is hard sometimes to always see Point #4 when you are faced with the other Points. It depends on the moment.

I would love to have a period of time without the struggles... I feel the struggles keep coming. Is it possible to have a break from struggles?

Best Friends

I would love to see Parker, Tyler, and Lincoln together ... but it is so fun to see how much Tyler loves Lincoln. I am putting on some photographs of Tyler with Lincoln. Tyler likes to cuddle up with me when I hold Lincoln and leans into me and says "I love Yipin" (pronounced Yee-pin). I say "I love him Yipin too. I love Parker and Tyler too! I love my boys!"








Here is a photograph with me and Lincoln after Lincoln's first bath.

Here is a photograph with Rodger and his boys. He was holding Lincoln and Tyler came and sat next to him. After a few minutes Rodger asked me to go into the living room. He said "Is Tyler asleep?" ... I laughed... umm yea. He said he fell asleep within minutes! I had to take a photograph.

I love being a mom!

Tyler is slowly learning to be potty trained. Actually, since Lincoln was born he is making better progress. He keeps telling Lincoln he is a "BIG BOY!" and shows him his pullup or his Big Boys. Here are three pics I took (actually before Lincoln was born) but Tyler is so cute. The one picture has Tyler with his Eeyore. After I put his big boys on he went and put a pullup on Eeyore. I laughed and of course took the photograph. I love Tyler. He makes me laugh.

Parker's Christmas Village: Season Four

Wow... look at me go... I am getting blogs up!

We just finished putting up "Parker's Christmas Village" ... Season Four! Many of you may not know about Parker's Christmas Village... Let me tell you about it:

After Parker died in July 2005 we tried to figure out a way to continue to include him in our lives even when we couldn't hold him in our arms. It is very difficult sometimes to do this... We try and decorate his headstone several times a year. The hard part, and sad part, is trying to think of things that he would enjoy BUT that are things that won't blow away if it is too windy OR get destroyed by weather elements.

So, as we started approaching the first Christmas without our little boy we decided to start a Christmas Village for our house. I can't remember what helped the idea come to mind, but I am glad we did. We try and add at least one building each year (more of we can find sales, hahah). It is like a present from Parker to us.

Eventually we want to make a sign that will hang above the Village that says "Parker's Christmas Village" but we don't have money for that yet. What we will eventually do is build up the Department 56, Dickens Village and eventually have a train that will run from the Dickens Village to the North Pole Village. We think it will be a fun thing for his siblings (and cousins or whoever) help put it up each year. We are going to make thing (ie. walls, waterfalls, etc etc etc) that will help add elements to the Village. We made some walls this year our of rocks and slate ... It reminded me of the dangers of hot glue guns as I burned my finger pretty nicely (blister and all) as I was nearing the end of making my wall. Therefore I made the decision to only make four walls as I didn't want to burn myself again. IT HURT BAD!

Here is a photograph of The Parker's Christmas Village: Season Four. Click on it to see it bigger. It is hard to see some things but you can see quite a bit of it.



We miss you, Parker. Merry Christmas!

It's a Soda ... It's a Popcorn... No, It's a French Fry!!!

Hey Everyone,

Before Thanksgiving comes (which is tomorrow)... I figured I should get the Halloween photographs up. A wonderful neighbor made the costume for Tyler. I am so grateful for her help as Tyler wanted to be a french fry and I don't sew (I think I have a needle and thread somewhere).

Without Tyler's French Fry hat people thought he was a soda, popcorn or even, unfortunately, Sponge Bob. Here are some pics from my dad's work halloween party, our ward halloween party, and halloween day.

Click on the photograph if you want to see them bigger. Enjoy our little french fry (and Lincoln on his first halloween inside my stomach (at least this is one I don't look quite as big in, heheh)).

We Are Free!

Finally... we are free from the "baby tanning bed"!!!!!

Lincoln's bellibin levels were quite high. So from Monday afternoon until this afternoon we had him under the "light box" almost all day long. Rodger and I are SO WORN OUT. We would take three hour shifts through the night to make sure he was under the lights a lot. Finally today the levels dropped enough that we are FREE from the lights. Now we can have normal newborn baby sleep deprivation instead of abnormal newborn baby sleep deprivation. We are also excited that Tyler will get to help hold Lincoln more (he LOVES his little brother) and also we can pay more attention to Tyler instead of having to sit by the "tanning bed" all the time to make sure he didn't move the sheet that was protecting his eyes from the lights.

Yea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh... our cutie pot, who was 8 lbs 3 oz at birth (who dropped to 7 lbs 8 oz in the hospital) is now up to 8 pounds even. He likes to eat for sure! We love him SO much! Our little Lincolnian Institute, Link-ers, Linky, Link, Lincolnian Sebastian (that is one my twin likes to call him), .... We love you so much!

Baby Lincoln

Hey Everyone...

Sorry for the delay... I will get more info up on the blog about our new little son... but here are some pics :)

Welcome, Lincoln!!!