Just like Daddy

If you know Toby, you know that he LOVES plaid shorts. So check out Dallas! He looks just like his dad. White polo shirt, plaid shorts and flip flops. My aunt Diane got him the shoes. Are they not the cutest?!?! Mom holding him after church.


Such a stud muffin!

Family comes to visit!

Mom and the girls came last night and we have been having fun ever since! We went swimming and bbq'd yesterday and just spent today relaxing and playing games. It's been so fun to have family come and spend time with us. We're doing well pretty good at fitting all of us in our tiny apartment and the girls are still watching the clock and keeping tabs on who gets the baby! Dad and Andrew stayed home and we miss them but are glad the girls came! :)

a REAL bath!

Dallas FINALLY had a real bath.....one month and 2 days old. If you're wondering why it took us so long to give him a bath, see here. I think he loved it! He was a little bit unsure at first, but then his hands relaxed and he seemed to enjoy it. Of course we had to cover him up....as soon as his little bum hit the water he decided to go to the bathroom. Good thing none of us got hit!

It's been so fun to have the family here and play with Dallas. Plus, it gives me a little break!

he he he

The family brought these Mickey Mouse sunglasses home from Disney Land for Dallas. He's pretty stylin' in them huh?!

Also, we tried a mohawk.....he wasn't too thrilled with us. You got to love his long hair! Everyone we meet is shocked when they see his hair. It's fun to play with and I'll be so sad if it falls out.

1 Month and the Umbilical Cord

Dallas turned one month old today! Time sure has flown by and life has been crazy ever since he was born. We are so grateful for him and love him dearly. He is already smiling and Toby got him to laugh today. It was so cute. I am amazed at little babies and all that they learn each and every day. Happy one month baby D!

Did you know that his umbilical cord FINALLY fell off last night?!?!? They USUALLY fall off between 7-10 days after babies are born. NOT Dallas'. His waited and waited and waited. We had to take him in to the doctor's today to make sure everything was okay with his belly button. The doctor said it wasn't too common to see the cord hang on this long, but that everything was okay. We had cleaned it every diaper change and even in between but it wouldn't budge until last night when I was giving him a sponge bath. I am SO excited to give him a REAL bath. Finally!

sleep....need sleep

Dreaded Dentist

I had to go to the dentist today....it wasn't that bad. Just had to get an old cavity fixed.

Toby came home from work to watch Dallas and the little stinker slept the whole time! I was hoping that Toby would have a tough time (sooo mean, I know) but then he would validate me and tell me that staying home all day with a new baby is hard! Instead, he spent the morning studying for his test (a good thing) and Dallas took a nice long nap. Oh well, it was nice to get out....even if it was to the dentist!

*side note. I LOVE our dentist. If you need one and you live in Boise-let me help you. Going to get a cavity fixed had never been so relaxing! Not to mention that the breathing gas they give you makes things quite comfy. :)

Long awaited updates!!!

Well, we made it to Spokane and back! Dallas did quite well on both flights-he slept right through them! It was so fun to get to Spokane and see the look on my family's face. The kids and Dad got to see the baby for the first time! It was a frenzy of who gets to hold him first. We spent the week just relaxing and playing with the baby.

On Saturday, we went to the garage sales! Every year, Liberty Lake has one huge garage sale. I think there were over 300 houses this year that participated. We were looking for a Burley bike trailer to have for Dallas and found a brand new one for $125!!! We were hoping to find a nice used one for $250 so this was a huge steal of a deal. We were pretty excited. It's a two seater and will work great for our bike rides. Mom and Dad were able to sell a bunch of stuff and it was fun to walk around the many neighborhoods and see all the junk that people were selling.

Toby and Dad went golfing and then on Father's Day, Dad deep fried a turkey! We have never done this before and were a little bit worried. People have burnt down houses doing this! Dad did just fine and the turkey tasted great. We had the Walkers and the Gradys over for dinner. It's always fun to have family close by. We spent the evening eating and passing Dallas around. Getting ready to pull the turkey up

It was a success! Dad only got burnt a little bit....not too bad and it tasted so good.


Dallas sure was well loved while we were home visiting. Mom would come and get him in the mornings so I could sleep. The kids would help her give him a bath in the kitchen sink. He loves the warm water. I love how Johnson's baby wash and shampoo smell!

It was a great trip home and I'm excited to see them on Friday. The girls and Mom are coming for a visit! Scroll down for lots more posts!

Boppy Pillow

Oh the many uses for the boppy pillow!

Family Photos

Mom snapped a few photos of us while we were in Spokane. Dallas was hungry so we didn't have too much time to take them. Good thing we love taking photos and Mom's coming down to visit us so we can take more!

"No more photos! I'm hungry...and grouchy....and I need a nap!" out of the mouth of Dallas. Notice how Toby and I just smile at him?!? We're such understanding parents! :)

Park Picnic

We went up to the water park and had a picnic. The weather was nice and the food was great! It's so nice to be out in the warm weather. We had a great time just lounging around and watching the kids. Love the face!
Not too sure about being outside mom....
He makes the best faces!
Sweet baby boy
The girls- Megan, cousin Jenny and Melissa

Baby Love

If you're looking for Dallas, look for Katie! She loved to hold and play with him. I could always count on her to watch him while I got ready for the day or took a nap. It was so nice to have her help. Dallas sure loves his aunt Katie! Aren't they so cute?!
Tons of kisses, all the time.
Wide eyed!

Think the flash might have scared him....he looks like he's about to cry! :) Good thing he has Katie to hold him.

Who sleeps in a crib?

Not baby!

Dallas sure is loved by the family! While visiting in Spokane, I don't think he EVER took a nap lying down in his bed!!!! My sisters kept a tight schedule of who got to hold him. They would watch the clock and even my mom had to fight to get a chance to hold the baby! Good thing they say you can't spoil newborns! :) He loved all the attention and can't wait for the family to come this weekend to visit.

Melissa holding him in the living room
Even Andrew held him while he was sleeping. He was telling him all about long boarding (bet that's how he fell asleep! Just kidding bud).

Megan rocking him to sleep. He loved to look at these blinds!

Mom and I were able to take little naps during the day and even we didn't put him down!

Long-Boarding

Dear Andrew,

It was so fun to watch you long board and teach Toby all you know! Now he wants one.... I love the tricks that you are learning and how you taught me what a truck and deck is along with different wheel bearings and all that other "stuff".

You even managed to help me long board down the street. That was quite funny and I'm glad we got it on camera. I think that snowboarding is a lot easier, but when there's no snow---long boarding is the next best thing.
You even got Dallas on the long board! He wasn't too thrilled but someday he'll want to try it.

Look how tiny he is on your board!

It was great to be with you and I love you dearly!

Love Tammy

Here are some photos of Andrew and Toby long boarding. I have never tried it until we went home to Spokane. It's just like snowboarding and the wheels move side to side when you shift your body weight. I really enjoyed watching him skate and practice his tricks. I got an awesome photo of him flipping his board and I caught him mid air with the board upside down. It was a wonderful sunny afternoon and we did have a lot of fun!

Toby sure had a lot of fun--he decided he wants to get one now!
Such a cute kid
I had both Toby and Andrew hold my hand while I tried to long board down the street. Here I am 17 days post baby and I'm long boarding! The neighbors thought I was crazy to be on the board. But, it sure was fun to be outside enjoying the warm weather!

Updates

coming soon......

after I---
1. feed baby d
2. change his diaper
3. load the dishwasher
4. do some laundry
5. feed baby d again
6. finally take a shower

What's worse than labor? BACK LABOR!

Alright, I have a few minutes to blog. I never knew how much time and energy would be put into something so small! I haven't taken a nap today (I usually try to everyday) and I am feeling it. He makes me soooo tired!!!

I wanted to post about my insane labor so this might be a little long. Mostly this is for me to remember since I journal very little (bad, I know-but this blog is like a journal for me).

I had a doctor's appointment on Thursday May 22 and that's when we found out that Dallas was posterior. For those of you who don't know what that is, it means his back was against mine instead of being against my stomach. This makes labor go much slower and much more painful. Every time you have a contraction, his head hits your spine instead of moving down the birth canal. VERY PAINFUL! My doctor tried to have me scheduled for an induction the next day (Friday) but I was number 15 to be induced!!! Plus, the maternity unit was FULL. They were delivering the babies in the Triage Rooms (where you go to be checked in before you give birth. They check you with monitors to make sure you really are in labor and such).

So, no go on the early induction. She told me to weight it out bc she was sure he'd come on his own and if not, then Tuesday was it. Can't do over the weekend or on Monday bc it was a stupid holiday and they don't do inductions on holidays or weekends.

Mom flew in on Friday, she couldn't wait any longer.....feared that I might go into labor without her and she miss it! We went out to dinner both Friday and Saturday night and took long walks and went shopping. It was quite the peaceful weekend. On Sunday we walked to Camels Back Park and I hiked the mountain. Here's a photo-it does not do it justice. It's not too big, but when you're 41+ weeks pregnant........it's a BIG hill. I was hoping this would put me into labor! You can hike straight up or do a wrap around. We choose to do the wrap around.

Nothing....nada. Not even strong contractions! I went to bed pretty dang sad.

Monday morning (Memorial Day) I woke up at 5 with strong contractions. I stayed in bed till 5:30 and then woke Toby up. We got up and showered and got ready for the day. These were hurting quite bad and were mostly in my back. At first, I could handle it no problem, but then they started getting worse and closer together. About 7-10 minutes apart at 6am. We woke Mom up and were ready for the hospital at 9. I decided to try and do most of the labor at home so we called family, played games and went for a walk.

That afternoon is when it got pretty bad. I'm a strong person, but these contractions were making me stop dead in my tracks, can't move, let alone barely breathe. It was horrible. I called the hospital and explained my situation with Dallas posterior and she said that this was normal and come in later on that night if it gets too bad. I was getting frustrated bc they hurt and I wanted her to just tell me to come in! We suffered through the afternoon and I walked our apartment stairs a million times to see if it would help turn him. I was trying everything to get him to flip around.

As night came, we're already into this over 12 hours.......pretty crappy. I decide at 8 that I can't take it anymore and we head to the hospital. I was dilated to a 1 and 90% effaced at my last appointment. When we get to Triage, she sets me up on monitors and says that my contractions aren't regular (they were-as they had been all day) because they were going to between 5-7 minutes apart instead of a constant 5. Then she checked me and told me that I was still only dilated to a 1 and that she couldn't even find my cervix to see if I had effaced any more! WHAT??? What do you mean you can't find it? She then told me to go home and that my pain had been for nothing and that they could admit me but I would just be in a room until morning. Why would I stay at the hospital and suffer if I can go to my own home and suffer? I was bawling by then. All this pain for nothing??? Are you KIDDING ME? I told her that I had a note from my doctor that said if I came to the hospital in labor to call her. It was written and signed by her and the stupid Triage nurse WOULD NOT CALL HER! She said that the doctor didn't want to be bothered on a holiday night and that most doctors won't even answer the phone. She wouldn't even give me the time of day to call my doctor.

So, home I went to suffer the worst night of my life. It was pure hell. Mom, Toby and I were in tears all night and the contractions were coming 3-5 minutes apart. I have NEVER HAD SUCH PAIN in my life and wouldn't wish it on my WORST ENEMY! I can't even describe the pain. It's something that I have never felt nor wish to EVER feel EVER again! The closest thing I can think of is someone taking a knife and cutting your back in all directions. I couldn't move, lay in any position, stand-nothing made it feel better. I received a blessing but the pain still stayed. Finally at 5am I took a shower and we left for hospital.

When my doctor checked me I was dilated to a 6 and 100% effaced. There was NO WAY that I went from a 1-6 during the night and even my doctor told me that I should've been in the hospital last night to have the baby. She wasn't too happy that the nurse didn't admit me. I was able to get an epidural and the pain finally subsided.

Well, I'd love to end it there, but at 2:40 (I'd been there since 7am) I started to push and continued to push for 3 1/2 hours.......his head would not budge. We were beginning to discuss other options (c-section) and I was NOT about to have that. There is no way I am pushing for 3 1/2 hours and then have to have a c-section and recover from both. He was born and taken to NICU. Not the kind of labor I thought I would've had. Oh well, luckily Dallas is home and healthy and that I am slowly recovering as well. We won't even talk about how bad I ripped, despite an episiotomy.....or the fact that the stupid nurse who wouldn't admit me came to VISIT me after I gave birth. I wanted to hit her or say some choice words. It was a tough two day labor. The hardest thing I have ever done.

To put the cherry on top-we spent the next week and few days of Dallas' life in the hospital with me going back and forth to see him and feed him. Some nights I was able to stay over (they have a little room like a hotel for moms who are strictly breastfeeding) but others I had to go home. I added up all the hours of sleep and in 8 days I had gotten roughly 12. I was one tired girl!

And there you have it-my crazy insane labor. Good thing I had dear sweet Toby and wonderful Mom to be there to support me. There is no way I could've done it without them!

Family Photos

We tried to do the famous "hold the camera back as far as you can and snap the photo" which we usually succeed at doing, until we added Dallas......check out our attempt at getting a family photo! Good thing we're going to Spokane and my Mom can take some!
Try #1-just got the two of us and the tip of Dallas' crazy hair
Try #2-We cut off Toby's head, and Dallas is crying.....go figure

Try #3-We almost succeed, but someone's not smiling, or looking at the camera! :) At least he's not crying in this one!