Halloween

This year we went back to the same pumpkin patch from 2 years ago to get our Halloween pumpkin.  I didn't realize that we took the same picture 2 years ago until we got home!  I can't believe kids can change so much so fast.

 Elijah at 5 months 

                  

     Elijah at 2 years 5 months

 He was a bit grumpy this day.

He was totally uninterested in pulling out the slimy seeds.  I thought he would have been all about it.  But he seriously just wanted to play with his trucks in dirt.

 For Halloween night, we teamed up with our neighbors and did a big chili dinner.  Alice came over Wednesday morning and we made a lobster size pot of chili... enough to feed both of our families and some additional neighbors... about 14 people.  She also made homemade caramel corn and root beer.  My parents came over to go trick or treating with the boys.  Elijah went as Lightning McQueen's crew chief.  Roman was a skeleton.

 Josh went as a sexy dad.

 Look at that HAIR!!  It cracks me up because he has Owen Wilson hair... better known as Lightning McQueen.

 We trick or treated to the Carrillo's house so we could see Penny.  Here she is as Snow White.  They're good buddies.  Not many people can bring out his crazy side like Penny can. 

Roman's Birth

Right when Roman was born I was just glad to have him in my arms and didn't feel the need to write about the details of his birth.  But now that he's over 3 months old, I find myself incredibly sentimental about everything with him.  I want to always remember the details of that day, so I'm going to try in my very mushy brain to remember how that day unfolded.  I will love looking back on this in the future... I know.

Since Elijah was an emergency c-section, my goal with Roman was to have a vbac.  I tried acupuncture a week before my due date to try and stimulate my body into labor, but by the time I was 39 1/2 weeks, I was still only a 1.5 dilated.  My doctor told me that she didn't want me going past 39 1/2 weeks because of my previous c section.  I didn't argue even though I was totally bummed.  But to be honest, I was a little relived.  I knew what a c section was like so I could mentally prepare.  A vaginal birth still scared me to death.

Anywho, Wednesday July 11th was the day we scheduled the c section.  Sunday July 8th our air conditioning went out.  We had to go through our home warranty so we had to wait for them to come look at it.  Long very frustrating story short, we packed up all our stuff and stayed at my parents.  I was pretty stressed... not sure if I should pack for this new baby or not because if the a/c didn't get fixed by Saturday, we would be bringing a newborn home to my parents house.  I was NOT ok with this, but couldn't do a thing about it.  

So on Wednesday morning, I woke up and showered.  I did my hair and makeup and we were off!  We took Elijah to the Carrillo's so he could play with Penny for the day.  Even though this was my second baby, I was still FULL of butterflies.  I was kinda nervous but totally excited to meet the little guy.  I was pretty sure we were going to name him Roman, but was afraid he wouldn't look like Roman, so I was just waiting to see.  We walked into the hospital and checked in at the counter... just like a hotel.  Weird.  At 9:00am they took me back to the pre op area where I got in my robe and they hooked me up to the monitors.  Everything looked great with baby!  

The girls who got me prepped for surgery were great.  A sense of humor really help me relax, and this nurse had it.  I met my anesthesiologist... who was hand picked by my mom since she works at this hospital.  He was so great... made my entire experience delightful.  I hope to have him next time.  

It was time to go meet my son at 11:00am!  I actually walked into the OR.  Again.... weird.  I got on the table and was getting prepped for my spinal and we were told we had to wait for 10 minutes because my doctor was in the middle of a delivery.  So I sat there... on the operating table, half dressed, in a freezing cold OR with some staff who were going to help out (about 5-6 people).  We had a nice conversation about who knows what and then finally the doctor came in.  Game time!  At about 11:30 I got my spinal, which was amazing.  Not much pain at all.  I started to feel nausea which is typical, and my anesthesiologist squeezed some magic meds into my IV and the nausea went away immediately.  Awesome!!  I threw up with Elijah so I was prepared for that, but not this time!  Once I was numb things happened really quickly.  Josh came in, the sheet came up, they started the incision, and Roman was born at 11:45 or so.  I was hearing them talk as I laid there and as they had opened me up they could see him in my womb, but he wasn't out yet.  They kept saying, "Wow... this little guy is moving around like crazy!"  "He's so active in here"  "Hold still little man, we're trying to get you out".  Then they all said "Here he is!" and I heard his sweet... very hearty cry.  I lost it.  No matter how many times you go through it, I'm assuming it always takes your breath away.  I just looked at Josh and mouthed, "wow".  Roman cried so loud as they cleaned him up and I loved hearing it. 

Once they got him wrapped in a blanket, they brought him to me and laid him next to me.  I'll never forget how amazing he felt.  His soft, warm, brand new skin.  And that smell... my son.  I was in love.  He was beautiful.  He was crying a lot but once they brought him to me he was silent and then the sweetest thing happened... he started sucking on my cheek.  He sucked on my cheek for about 5 minutes. (Needless to say, he had no problem latching, and has been a very efficient nurser since.)

Once I was ready to go, they wheeled us to our pre op room where they checked his vitals and gave him a bath.  Then we headed up to our room about 1:30pm.  

I was feeling great and was thankful to have all of our family there.  It was nice to be able to share it with all of them.  Elijah was so great with him when he saw him.  I could tell he changed a little that day.  I saw a look in his eyes I had never seen before.  It was a look of timidity and gentleness.  He was a little apprehensive to see the tiny baby we'd been telling him about, and also seeing me in a hospital bed.  But he was so gentle.  He wanted to kiss, cuddle and hug him right from the beginning.  And as I write this now, 3 1/2 months later, he's still the same.  He's so good with him.

We stayed in the hospital until Friday afternoon about 3pm.  It was a very quick stay, but we loved every minute.  My nurses were awesome.  I was sad to leave them.

This was a wonderful experience.  Very different from the first time.

Oh!  And we did end up getting our a/c fixed so we were able to take Roman home to his own room.  Josh spent most of Wednesday and Thursday in the hallway yelling at the home warranty company.  Good thing this was my second child. 

Happy Birthday Josh

Josh's 30th Birthday Surprise Weekend Getaway!

Last weekend we went up north for a little R&R.  Josh has been super busy with his two jobs so I knew a quiet weekend in the mountains would be just what he needed.  He came home from work to find the car all packed up and the boys and I ready to go!  We spent a lot of time lounging, napping, eating, and Josh got a lot of target practice in.  His hunt is coming up in November.  Elijah didn't so much love hiking, but he loved watching "dadda shoot target".

 He was in awe watching Josh.  Very focused.

 Helping dad get the arrows out.

Roman at 2 months

I sat the boys down to take some pictures when Roman turned 2 months.  I knew it'd be almost impossible to get two wiggly little boys still enough to catch a clear shot.  I gave Elijah Francesco and McQueen and told him to show Roman his best friends.

Roman Blaise Watt!

I'm finally posting pictures of our newest addition... Roman Blaise Watt!  He looks just like Elijah did as a newbie, so I'm curious how he'll end up looking in a few years.  We're doing good adjusting to life as 4.  It's been a much easier transition for me this time.  The C-Section was pretty awesome.  Having a scheduled c-section rather than it being an emergency was such a huge difference.  I was rested and showered, checked in at 9:00am, Roman was born at 11:30am!  

It was a wonderful experience this time.

Here are a few pics I snapped on his 1 month birthday.

 Here we are waiting for Elijah to come in.

 I didn't know what to expect as far as how E-man would react to all this.  He was very aware before hand that I had a baby in my belly, but I didn't know what that actually meant to him.  The very first time he saw Roman he walked over and gently kissed Roman's head and said in a whisper, "hi baby". Then he closed his fist and gave him a super soft tap on the head and whispered, "ba-ti".  Elijah calls a punch a "ba-ti".  He and Josh wrestle all the time and they throw a lot of ba-ti's.  We told him that someday soon he'd have a brother that he could "ba-ti" with.  Well he definitely remembered that and was very excited to give Roman his first ba-ti... but he did it so sweetly and tenderly that I burst into tears.

It's been a while...

Hopefully back at it again, but can't make any promises. It seems to get less and less tempting to sit and blog in the midst of raising a full of energy, completely fun 20 month old. And to add to the workload...

Here we go again! I'm pregnant and it was a surprise!!! We were in the midst of praying when to try for another baby, whether or not to go to seminary, and when to buy a house. Well, the Lord gave us some clarity in November when we found out I was pregnant!

We find out boy or girl on Valentine's Day. My prediction is girl only because I've been wanting different foods this time. Fruit and Caesar salads. Sounds girly right?

I'll post a few pics of Elijah over the past months. Oh yeah, due in July.



E-man got bronchitis this past month. :(