Sweet Baby James

Harley James Sloat arrived a week ago today. He was about 11 days early, but there was no doubt he was ready to come. I went to the doctor the Thursday before for my regular appointment. The doctor was impressed that I was dilated to a four and 70% effaced. Just like with Kason I hadn't felt any painful contractions, but this time I did feel the pressure and hardening of my belly when I had a strong contraction, so i wasn't too surprised. She striped the membranes and predicted that we would be back in the hospital that weekend to deliver. Reed and I just smiled at each other knowingly. We thought we knew the drill and decided not to get our hopes up because we went through the same thing with Kason (I dilated slowly over about a month) and then ended up having to induce to get him that last little way. However, Harley decided to throw us a curve ball and come all by himself.

I woke up early (about 1:00) Sunday morning (March 7) with pain. I dismissed it as gas and tried to get back to sleep. Not long after I felt some more pain and noticed pressure and hardening of my belly. I thought this might be the real thing, so I decided to note the time and see if I get another one. Seven minutes later I did ... and seven minutes after that I did again. At this point I woke up Reed and he helped me time them for about an hour as they got stronger and closer together. We packed a bag for the hospital and got Kason out of bed and into the car (at this point I was stopping ever 3 minutes to breathe and stomp my way through the contractions). After an exciting ride to Grammy and Grampy's to drop off Kason I was contracting every minute and a half and it was now about 2:30 am.

We got to the hospital and I had to get down on all fours in the parking lot to make it through an extra strong contraction (Reed was pulling on my arm and telling me to get up and into the hospital). We finally made it to the hospital with no time to spare (and no time for an epidural..I kind of freaked out when I realized that). I was fully dilated, fully effaced, and fully ready to push, but we had to wait for the mid wife, so I bravely (don't ask Reed if that adjective is correct) breathed my way through the contraction until she arrived. Finally I pushed for what seemed like no time at all and Harley James made his appearance at 3:51 am. Wow! What a difference from Kason's delivery.



And now here he is, a perfect 6lb 6oz 19.5 inch baby boy. We still haven't decided whether to call him Harley or James. He is a "peacful" baby (that's how the lactation consultant put it when I expressed my worries about him not waking up long enough to eat). He doesn't like diaper changes or pooping, but other than that he doesn't cry much and sleeps all the time. We just love him!

Because of flu season and the H1N1 outbreak there had been a ban at the hospital on all visitors under the age of 18. This meant the Kason could not visit me and Harley at the hospital. On Monday they lifted the ban! I didn't know about it and I was sitting in my hospital room, waiting for Reed when I hear Kason out in the hall. I was so happy I cried! Reed and Kason surprised me with flowers (three roses, one from each of my boys) and a toy that Kason picked out for his baby brother. I am so blessed!!!

Kason and I took James for his first walk and to get some sunshine. Kason was so sweet picking flowers for his brother. It has taken him a little while to warm up to the baby, but he is going to be a GREAT big brother!

I love this picture. This is the first time that Kason was willing to hold James. I only had my cell phone close by and the moment was fleeting, so the quality isn't great, but the subject is beautiful!

My recovery is going great. It is amazing how much faster I have felt "myself" this time than with Kason. Part of it is not having a epidural I think. I could feel my legs and move around right after giving birth. I even walked myself from the delivery room into the recovery room. The other part is I only had to get one little stitch instead of nine, so there isn't as much healing to be done. I am so happy and so blessed by my Heavenly Father to have such a beautiful family!!!

...Maybe Not?

I titled my last post "The Greatest Snow on Earth" referring to the snow we enjoyed while visiting in Utah. However, upon returning home, we have experienced some pretty impressive snow storms. They cancelled church for the biggest one as well as schools and everything else for about three days. Mostly that's because they aren't as prepared for snow here as in Utah, this being the most they have had since 1989, but it was still exciting. Kason enjoyed playing it. It doesn't matter how cold he gets he never wants to come inside. The snow has mostly melted now, but it's still cold. I'm ready for spring.



Remember the daffodils that made a surprise appearance early this winter? Well, I don't know if they are going to make it. We also have some strawberries that appear to mostly dead. I'm not a plant expert, but I don't think the perennials around here are liking the snow and consistently freezing temperatures. And don't tell Kason, but neither do I. I've been praying for an early spring.

We had a fun Valentines day. I enjoyed picking out gifts for both of my boys. I got Reed a set of cuff links to go with the french cuff shirts that he got for his birthday. All the other financial advisers wear them, and Reed looks very handsome in his! I got kason a heart full of chocolates and as you can see he enjoyed it very much. I even got a smile for the camera. Reed got me a Willow Tree figurine called Tender. It's a mom holding her little boy, I love it!

The Greatest Snow on Earth

Kason and I just spent a fun-filled two weeks in Utah! We had a great time with Nana and Grandpa. We did some shopping especially at fabric store (they have a better selection there than here), went swimming, played in the snow, and most of all enjoyed being with family.

We went swimming with Grandpa twice at the indoor pool. Kason loves swimming. He really liked walking around in the shallow end. He kept trying to sit down and most of the time the water was too deep and covered him right up. He also liked going down the alligator slide even though I was a little slow cathching him on the first time down and he went completely under the water. It hardly fazes him at all to go under water. He is our little fish!

One of the days that we were there we went up to Logan to visit my Grandparents (who live there) and my brother and sister (who go to school there). They had tons of snow! It snowed all of the way up and all of the way back home. We took the opportunity to play and take Kason sledding for the first time. He did great! He was so brave going down the hill and held on tight to the sled. We also built a snow man and threw snow balls. It was a great time!

We got to see all of our family out there. Mike and Becky came down the first weekend. Kason had so much fun with them. Kason loved all of the attention (which he really misses now that we are back at home, just me and him all day). We will miss everyone back there in Utah. Thanks for the great memories! But we also missed Reed. The trip was wonderful, but it is nice to be back with daddy/hubby.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Here are a few fun pictures from the last month...

Over Christmas all of Reed's brothers were in town. Kason had a great time playing with his uncles!

Doesn't he make a handsome fireman?

We were surprised with some daffodiles popping up ... in January!

Here is Kason being a cool dude on his tricycle.

I went grocery shopping and the boys made a fort in Kason't room. As you can see it was very exciting.

Here are a couple of Christmas pictures. Kason got this easle and has been quite an artist ever since. He can already draw circles! I am so proud :)

Down the Stairs to Take A Peek

We had a great Christmas! Kason was so cute coming out into the living room Christmas morning to see what Santa brought. I will post more about it later and more pictures, but I wanted to share this video (I warn you it's a little long...I don't know how to edit video yet). The best part is in the beginning when Kason is peeking around the corner. Enjoy!

Take a Picture It'll Last Longer

I have had this post written for quite a while, and have just now had the patients to get the pictures uploaded. Over Thanksgiving Reed's sister came down with her family from Ohio. Kason and his cousin had fun playing and running a muck together at Grammy and Grampy's. There was lots of great food and it was awesome having Reed home so much! Kason is such a daddy's boy that we had a hard time when Reed went back to work all day. But, we are adjusting.

We have kind of a tradition of taking family pictures on Thanksgiving, we did it last year and the year before, so we took the opportunity to take some family pictures this year as well. Kason does not pose willingly for pictures, and when we ask him to smile ... well you can tell from a couple of the pictures what we get. So we had a hard time getting a very good one of all of us, (one of the best ones looks like Kason is picking his nose).

I love this picture of Kason and Reed. Kason loves his Dad so much, it's so fun to watch. When Reed is home Kason follows him around like a little shadow, doing whatever dad does. When Reed is not home, everything is "Daddy's?"

This last one is of my prego tummy (Kason felt that he needed to make a cameo, he already can't stand the spotlight on baby brother). I think the way my hands are makes it look more like a beer belly than a baby belly, but you get the idea. This was taken about a month ago and I have grown since then. I'm pretty sure I am bigger now than I was with Kason at six months...kind of a scary thought thinking back to how big I was with Kason at nine months. If I continue to grow at this rate I will need a wheel chair by then. I now have only 90 day left! And at the same time; I still have 90 days left! I have weird dreams about giving birth in bizarre places and under chaotic circumstances that just keep getting more vivid and unusual. With Kason I had lots of dreams about giving birth to a tiny little baby (like gummy bear size). Anyway, I love being pregnant and I love thinking about what my new little baby will be like. It's so exciting!

Nor'easter

Starting yesterday and continuing through the weekend we are experiencing a "Nor'easter." So named because the hurricane strength winds and heavy moisture come out of the North East. We are getting lots and lots of rain. It has rained pretty much non-stop since yesterday morning. The worst of it is supposed to be today, but I think all we have to worry about is losing power. I have filled every container I can with water (including the bath tub) in anticipation of losing power because we get our water from a well that is pumped with an electric pump, so no power means no water. I also have candles and flash lights at the ready. Kason would be thrilled if we had to use candles - he loves fire!

This is out on our back porch. Kason is pointing at either the rain or the swaying trees. It's all very interesting. He did not want to come back inside.

This is out on our front porch. Kason is sitting on the railing trying to feel the rain. Once again it was quite an ordeal getting him back inside the house.

Kason and I are hunkered down nice and cozy inside the house waiting it out. As you may or may not be able to tell from the pictures Kason would much rather be outside in the wind and rain than in here nice an cozy. He is really missing our morning walks and I'm afraid getting a little cabin fever from being couped up in here all day long, we'll see how long he lasts.

Snips and Snails

I thought I would seize this opportunity while everyone is sleeping and the internet is working great to do a nice long catch up post (even though I should be paying bills and balancing the budget...oh well that can wait). The latest and most exciting news is that we are going to be adding another boy to the family. We went in to the ultra sound on Monday absolutely sure it was a girl. Surprise! Now I am officially out numbered. I know that I was before (2 to 1), but I at least had a chance of making it a tie if this were a girl. Oh well, I am very very excited. My Kason is so much fun and can be so sweet that the idea of another boy brings nothing but joy. My only regret is no shopping spree to stock up on pink and dresses, we have everything we need for a boy (and then some).

At the end of September my parents came to visit. It was so much fun to have them here and be able to share our home and neighborhood with them. Kason had a wonderful time getting to know them. We went to historic James Town and to the Zoo. We also spent a very windy day at the beach and toured the naval base in Norfolk. It was sad to see them go, but Kason and I already have out tickets booked for a trip to Utah in January! We won't be able to be there for Christmas, but during this time Reed will be on a trip for work, so this worked out a little better. It will be fun to see everybody and for Kason to play in the snow (we don't get much of that around here, which I am grateful for).

We had a great Halloween. Kason dressed up as a pirate. He learned to say "Ahrg" and kept his hat on all night. He really got into the candy part of Halloween this year, but not so much the trick-or-treating. We hit a couple of houses in Grammy and Grampy's neighborhood and that was plenty. Kason was ready to stop and eat the candy after every house (the concept of delayed gratification is still beyond his grasp). Reed and I attended a Halloween party hosted by one of Reed's clients. They did a murder mystery and Reed guessed the murderer! Along with 20 other people, so they put names in a hat to choose the ultimate winner. It wasn't Reed, but I still think he is very clever. It was very well done, we talked to a lot of people and had a good time.

The beginning of November marked the end of our first year in Virginia. I can't believe it! Although it seems like we have been through quite a bit while here, I finally feel like we are getting settled and things are looking good. We are in our own place and loving it. We just pulled out the last of garden for this year. It will be fun to pick some things to plant for next year. We have quite a large space, so we are letting some other people plant things there too. It will be exciting whatching it grow and seeing everything turn out (or not). Reed's job is really starting to pick up. He has been enjoying the challenge of starting a new business and now seems to reeping more of the rewards of his hard work. And best of all we are expecting our second little bundle of joy. It's so exciting imagining what he will look like and how his personality will differ from Kason's. The hard part is waiting and deciding on a name. Luckily we had more ideas for a boy than a girl and we have time to decide which it will be. We are looking forward to a fun filled Holliday season and life is good! I will try to keep the posts coming, I know there are some far away friends and family that appritiate the pictures and updates.

Top Ten Excuses for Not Blogging

I know I have been pretty bad at blogging lately. I don't know if anyone even checks anymore, but I am still around and have good intentions of posting great posts, but a lot has been going on. 10) We moved! I need to put some pictures up of our place. 9) Becky came for a visit, I need to put picture up of that fun filled visit. 8) I have been cleaning and unpacking and moving stuff around trying to get everything just how I like it (isn't moving fun). 7) I have been spending every precious moment I have with Reed when he is home because they are few and far between (with being young men's president and all the hard work he has been doing with Edward Jones he is practically a stranger around here). 6) To help with the finances I have been tutoring. 5) I also started babysitting this week. 4)Every time I sit down a the computer Kason wants to be on my lap banging on the keyboard. 3) Because of the move we haven't had internet for a while. 2) It's summer! We've been doing stuff outside. 1) And my number one excuse for not blogging lately is .... drum roll .... I am pregnant! And I have been sick and tired and unmotivated to do anything for the last month and a half. I am almost 11 weeks, which means sick and tired stage is almost over. My unofficial due date is March 17th and we don't know if it's a boy or a girl, but I will try and keep you posted (hopefully at least once again before the baby is born).

I Have a Family Here on Earth

Kason had fun this week getting reacquainted with some extended family. Reed's sister and her family were here from Ohio. They have a daughter who is just a few months older than Kason. She is walking now and Kason is crawling like crazy, having both of them mobile was fun. Kason was excited to see Elyse, he likes having other little people around. He even shows off for Elyse by playing the piano performing his latest death defying stunt in the pool. He can hold onto the basketball hoop and just hang there. We didn't quite get the timing right on the picture, but he can hang there for a few seconds all by himself. My little Evil Conevil! We went to Uncle Stu's graduation. Stuart graduated number 3 in his high school class. Congratulations Stuart. We also went swimming and had fun hanging out and playing. We got some cute pictures of the two of them together that will be fun to show these two when they get older. Elyse and Kason first met right after Kason was born, before Elyse moved to Ohio. There is a picture of them together then. It's fun to compare the two. Kason has grown so much! Which reminds me, I forgot to post the stats from Kason's last doctors appointment. He is 21 lbs. and 32 inches tall (I think that's right. I forgot to have the nurse write it down for me this time, so I'm not 100% sure). Reed has been working his heart out lately trying to stay ahead between now and his next trip to head quarters at the end of July. Then he will have an evaluation and officially "graduate" from the Edward Jones training program. In the mean time he is making contacts, studying and meeting with his trainer. Between that and being the Young Men's president we are lucky to see him for more than a couple of hours a day. He is working very hard and we are proud that he is number 2 in his class right now (and working on becoming number 1) Kason obviously feels the loss and has been crawling around saying his various versions of, "Da, da, da, ..." He loves his Daddy! We are very excited to have aunt Becky comming out at the end of July! She will be here most of the week that Reed is in St. Lois again. We have lots of fun things planned and can hardly wait for the party to begin!!!

If Everybody Had An Ocean

Do you think that in Heaven every day starts with an early morning walk on the beach? I do. Last week Kason and I went with Reed's family to the beach. (Unfortunately Reed was at a training in St. Louis - we really really missed him!) They rented a beach house on Onslow Beach which is about a 3 hour drive. It was so much fun! Every morning when Kason would wake up at 6:30 (that is early morning to me...if it's not early morning for you than you have my condolences) we went for a walk on the beach. Kason was tucked comfortably into the beloved Snugly and I would walk in the shallow part of the water and look for shark's teeth and shells while the waves splashed in and out against my legs. The water was just the perfect temperature and the air was already warm and thick with humidity. I could do that every day for the rest of my life! Kason was usually mesmerized by the waves on our little walks. On our last day we met Grammy and Grampy out on the beach and Grampy held Kason who promptly laid his head down and fell asleep on Grampy's shoulder, it was so sweet. Why doesn't he ever do that for me :). The water is not a source of fear for Kason in the least. He loves it! He liked sitting in the sand and having the waves wash over his legs. We did have to work on not eating the sand though. The first thing he did when I set him down on our first day was grab a big handful of sand and stick it in his mouth, because how are you supposed to know if something is cool or not if you don't put it in your mouth, right? He did overcome that obstacle. Probably because I scared him half to death with my loud, "NO" every time a little handful of sand started inching it's way towards his mouth. He jumped about ten feet with each shout (poor kid), but it only took a few times until his hunger for sand was forgotten (I think that's called aversion shock therapy). After that he contented himself with digging his chubby little fingers and toes as deep as he could into the sand. He also loved the shower. On the deck of the beach house there was a shower head for rinsing off sand and ocean grime before going into the house. The water was freezing, but Kason loved it and opened his mouth wide for a drink every time we passed. I love his funny little personality! One day we went down to join Grammy in the sand and found a crab on her towel. It was cool, but kind of creepy. Crabs remind me too much of spiders. It took all the courage I could muster just to get close enough to take the picture. Kason's uncles Stuart and Greg were there and also Greg's friend Erin. Stuart built a sand castle with two motes and a draw bridge and everthing. It was pretty cool. I think he got more use out of the sand toys we bought for Kason then Kason did. Next year Kason may be a little more interested in sand castle building. Unfortunately I dropped my camera into the water on the first day we were there, so all pictures that we have of Kason's first time at the beach were taken on my cell phone. It worked out okay though because I was able to keep Reed constantly updated with Picture Mail. Reed did very well at his training in St. Louis. One of the trainers he was working with told him that if you threw all of the top Edward Jones advisers into a bag, shook them all together and pulled out one super advisor it would be Reed. We are so proud! He has been doing his first round of contacting this week and is surprised at how nice and welcoming people are. His past experience with knocking on doors led him to believe that most people were unreceptive and usually rude to young men in suits who come knocking on their doors. Hmm. Reed did great in St. Louis and is still overjoyed to be working, but next time we go to the beach we are definitely taking him with us!

A Plain Little Turtle Named Mac

Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss is one of the books that we read often to Kason. His favorite book is actually Spot Goes to School (he loves to open the flaps), but we really like Yertle too. Kason has a little plastic turtle that he plays with in the tub and in the pool, we named him Mac after the plain little turtle who burped and shook the throne of the king. I think that Mac is a good role model for Kason (except for the burping). So, on our walk today we were very excited to see this little turtle slowly making his way across the road. We figured with all the mud on his shell this must be Yertle. Probably in search of another pond full of unsuspecting throne material, but we helped him across the road, up over the curb, and onto the grass anyway. Who knows, maybe he has turned over a new leaf. Everyone deserves a second chance, right?
Kason is now crawling. Last Friday we went and spent the evening with the people who are letting us rent their house while they are in Japan (we move in on July 25th, wahoo!) and they don't have much furniture so there is a lot of wide open space and Kason just took off. He was crawling all over the place and now he doesn't stop. It is so nice for me because he is a lot more content playing by himself now that he can get wherever he needs too. He loves crawling into the shower and pointing at the drain. He points at absolutely everything. It is so cute when he points and then looks at me and starts jabbering away, like he his explaining what it is. My biggest challenge is keeping him out of the shower while I am in there. I tried putting him in the pac-n-play today, but he cried the whole time...I can't do that to either of us again. Any suggestions? What do you do with your mobile baby while you shower?
He has a Doctor's appointment on Monday so I will post stats. Also, look at all of those teeth! He now has 8 teeth total. We think there are at least two more on their way down because of the way he has been sleeping (not good). Our next milestone will be weening. I have always planned to ween him at one year and that's coming up in just two months (can you believe it) so I am on the look out for the least traumatic weening strategy (for him and for me).

...Dearer Than Any Other

Yesterday was my first Mother's Day as a mother, and it was definitely a day to remember. I woke up about 2:30 yesterday morning and just made it to the bathroom to throw-up absolutely everything in my stomach, or so I thought. I continued waking up every hour to throw up. I was afraid I might have, as my dad would say, the Egyptian flu, or as Reed puts it a nine month parasite. But now I think it was food poisoning or something. Finally at 6 I got up and fed Kason, took some pepto and got in the shower. In the shower I proceeded to empty my stomach of the pepto and water I had taken to wash it down.

On top of this I had to speak in church (my 5th time speaking in church on mother's day) and teach my primary class. I was ready to have Reed give my talk for me and just stay at home. Luckily my dear husband holds the priesthood and was able to give me a very sweet blessing. I made it through my talk and my primary class tired, but not throwing up. I came home and went right to bed. I woke up and ate some dinner, and drank and drank because at this point I was so dehydrated I could hardly spit. Dinner seemed to be sitting okay but I started to get a fever and Reed had to go do something, so my sweet little cuddle bug Kason, probably knowing it was mother's day curled up with me in bed and went right to sleep.

When Reed got home we were both still in bed enjoying our rest, but we got up to Skype with my family (a sunday evening tradition since we moved to VA) and I fed Kason then it was back to bed by 8:00. All in all it was a mother's day to remember. I did get a new swim suit as my mother's day present from Kason ($10 at Ross) and I have a wonderful husband and son and I love being a mother! Today I am still feeling a little queasy, but no fever! Hopefully I will kick this thing and we can get on with our lives. It is no fun being a sick mommy.

Oh yeah, and Kason now says "Mommmma" when he reaches for me (and sometimes just randomly too) and that was my best mother's day gift of all!

Good Day Sunshine!

We have been waiting all winter (which to our dismay has been unusually long and cold here in VA) to get Kason into Grammy and Grampy's pool. Yesterday it reached temperatures in the 90's and the pool (having been uncovered and basking in the sun for almost a month now) has warmed up to about 78 degrees, so conditions were perfect to give it a try. They have a salt water pool, which I love, especially for Kason. You don't feel dry or itchy at all and the salt kills the germs instead of chemicals. It doesn't even taste salty (like the ocean). Kason really loves the water and had a great time splashing and floating around. I love doing new things with Kason (not that swimming is necessarily new, he has been before) there is such an added measure of excitement that makes everything seem like and adventure.

It was hard to get Kason to look at the camera because he was either fascinated by the water or busy splashing.

This is an oh so funny shot of Kason in his life jacket. I don't know whether it is Kason's lack of a neck or a design flaw in the life jacket (probably a little of both), but even with the top strap undone Kason's chubby little cheeks got squished as he floated around, but as usual he didn't seem to mind much.

Kason seemed very tranquil and lulled while floating in the water. I think he probably could have fallen asleep. Before long he will probably be taking all of his naps that way.

Here is Kason kicking in the water. He doesn't look altogether sure about life in this picture (probably due to the water he was kicking into his face), but he was generally enjoying himself. BTW Reed and I would like you to please pardon our lack of pigmentation, this was our first real swim of the season, we are still working on it.

Swimming really wears a guy out!

Lots to Cover

Well, once again I have slacked off in my blogging and it's been over two months since I blogged. I will keep the writting short with plenty of pictures becasue that is how I like it. Over the last two months Kason and I visited Utah, Reed started his new job as a finacial advisor for Edward Jones, Kason has broken 6 teeth, I have lost 5 pounds, Jeff and Tammy and Eli came for a visit, and Easter happened. It has been a great couple of months with lots of blessing and happiness!

We had such a good time in Utah staying with my parents! Lots of memories and fun. One of the highlights of our trip was swimming. It was Kason's first time and he loved it. He even got splashed and went under the water and didn't cry at all. Thanks Dad!

This is Kason at my mom and dad's trying on my mom's glasses. It was so funny because he didn't even try to pull them off. What a character!

My dad's work has a photo studio, so while we were in Utah we went and took some really good six month pictures of Kason. It wasn't an all together easy process considering Kason wasn't interested in getting his picture taken for two straight hours, but this is a reallyl good smile one!

While Jeff, Tammy and Eli were here we went and visited Jamestown and Yorktown. It was a cold and windy day, but we had fun spending time with them. It made us long for the days when they were just upstairs. Here we are in front of the flags at Jamestown. Kason was a little to interested it the fountain to pose for a picture.

It was fun to see grown up Eli. He talks so much and has tons of energy.

It will be fun to show them these pictures watch them interact as they get older.

This is Kason enjoying his first Easter. I think he really got a clear understanding of what Easter is all about.

Kason is still not crawling, but he has broken six new teeth and is eating all kinds of things. And he likes to stand up. He can pull himself to his knees, but needs help to get all the way up. Once he is standing he can be content there for quite a while before he either lets go or asks yells to be rescued.

Since Reed has started working I have kept myself busy with Kason (of course) and lots of projects. I have about 5 at various stages of completion right now. I just finished sewing this hat for Kason. I made it out of some of Reeds old pants. It didn't turn out exactly as I wanted, but it was good for a first try!