Baby #2

Hello everyone!

Well, we recently went public with our announcement of baby #2. It's been an interesting journey to get here. If we'd had our way we'd already have a 5 month old baby on our hands, but things definitely did not go our way, and I learned a lot. I am not going to claim to know what it is to be infertile (since I'm obviously not), but I do have more empathy for those that cannot conceive. I am sharing more on here than I would normally share, but I have this feeling that I should.

Here it goes: After trying for a little while I finally got pregnant late September/early October of 2013, and then I miscarried the day before Thanksgiving. I was truly devastated. I know that miscarriages don't really affect some women, but it definitely affected me. I spent a lot of time crying or sleeping. I had never miscarried, and I don't have any women close to me that have miscarried, and so I didn't realize that I should have gone to see the doctor (the nurse on the phone also never told me that - very confusing). That contributed to the next mess.

I spent the next four months getting positive pregnancy tests, and then starting my period 2 or 3 days later. Talk about heartbreak. I finally called the doctor and he prescribed birth control. That was definitely NOT in my plans, but it made sense. I also learned while at that appointment that it will always be harder for us to conceive because of some female issues. Not impossible, obviously, but I'll never be a Fertile Myrtle.

There was one week when I was on my period, and crying all of the time, that I received 8 pregnancy announcements and 2 gender reveals. Talk about salt in the wound. I was genuinely happy for these people, but I could feel myself turning bitter at the timing. I finally wrapped up my birth control and started ovulation testing with great trepidation. Luckily,  I was ovulating and didn't need to start any medications.

Finally, just after our fourth anniversary, I got the positive pregnancy test, and it seemed to stick. There is only one OB clinic here for all of Pocatello, and so they run a tighter ship than my last doctor. Unless you've had multiple miscarriages they do not see you until 10 weeks. This had me very anxious because I was so worried about miscarrying again. I was very sick and fatigued which made things worse.

I finally went in at 10 weeks, but this time I wasn't going to see the doctor. He doesn't actually see you until 14 weeks. At this point we only told parents and my sister as I didn't want to spread the news and then miscarry again, but I felt some people needed to know.

I finally went back in at 14 weeks and heard the heartbeat. It was relieving, but I still wasn't satisfied. I still had this anxious, worried feeling that something was wrong with my baby. So, I still kept it a secret that we are expecting. They don't do ultrasounds here until the anatomy ultrasound, and my doctor scheduled me at 19 weeks to go in. I figured at that point I would be ready to share.

The day finally arrived where I got to see my baby! I was feeling almost sick at this point because I was supposed to be 19 weeks, and I still hadn't really felt my baby. Maybe a slight nudge or two here or there, but that was it. I was a basket case, and then we found out that Mr. Mitchell wasn't going to be able to make it. Fortunately, my sister was able to come to record the ultrasound for him. I had decided it must be a boy because the world is expecting so many baby girls right now (at least that's what my Facebook feed regularly says), but, surprise! We're having a girl!!

We also discovered that we're about 1 1/2 weeks behind what the doctor had said. This did not surprise me as he based the due date off of my last period, but the ovulation kit showed I ovulated very, very late in my cycle. The due date has been changed from January 25, 2015 to February 2, 2015. Tomorrow I will be 19 weeks. Despite only being about 17 weeks at the time of the ultrasound the technician is confident that it is a girl. She got a good view a few times and each time she'd say, "There's absolutely NOTHING there. You're having a girl." Along with finding out the gender and due date I learned that my baby is perfectly healthy. The relief was amazing. At that point I was BURSTING to share.

I went home and had my sister take a picture that I then emailed to all the siblings as an announcement:

I actually had to shove my tummy out quite a bit to
get a picture where it didn't just look like I've gained weight.

As soon as I had a response from all of my family members and close friends it was time to share with the world. I had an overwhelming response of love and support for which I am grateful. I have been a wreck my entire pregnancy, and I can now just bask in it and anxiously await the arrival of my sweet, little lady.

P.S. Here is a more accurate picture of my tummy taken a couple of days before we had the ultrasound:

My butt is still bigger than my belly.
(17 weeks - apparently)

Thank you to those of you who have been just as excited as we are about this pregnancy. You have no idea what is has meant to me.

Mr. Tidy

A little nickname we have for Sprout is Mr. Tidy because he loves to help clean and has a little OCD streak (like his mother). Here are some of his recent cleaning endeavors:

He loves to sweep. I think we'll have to get him his own Sprout-sized broom for his birthday so he'll stop stealing mine.


Sometimes he'll ask for the scrub brush out of the blue so that he can go and scrub walls.


Any excuse to get in the toilet...


He also loves to wash dishes, put away laundry (it ALL goes in his pajama drawer), weed the flower bed, make Mommy & Daddy's bed, and put the vacuum away. (He doesn't like to help vacuum and instead sits on the couch watching the vacuum's every move.) I hope he'll always be this helpful, but I get the feeling it won't last once he realizes most people don't clean for fun.

Holdaway Family Mini-Reunion

My side of the family had a very mini, mini-reunion in July. It was pretty much my parents, my sister's family, one brother's family, and my family. (Mr. Mitchell and my sister's husband couldn't make it.) The boys had a night of camping and the girls had a night of movies and shopping. We were all spoiled rotten by my parents and had a great time. I don't have many pictures because my memory card filled up. Sad.

He wanted to go on the camping trip.

He had to sit on the edge like Ryanna.

A very tired grandma.

June and July 2014

Hello blogosphere. I am trying to inch my way back into your world even though I have neglected you for a few months. Reason: summer. I hate summer. I used to love summer. Then I got married. Now I'm a summer widow. It is what it is. It provides for our family and my husband loves his job. Anyways, this is pretty much just going to be whatever I find on my camera. Enjoy.

He LOVES being on mommy and daddy's bed.
 Probably because he's not allowed to sleep in it.

I went and bought him his own styrofoam
wreath so he would leave mine alone. 

Helping mommy with the Cool Whip.

Whether or not we have swim diapers on hand it appears to be swimming time.

He loves the August thunderstorms.

4th of July

Mr. Mitchell was sent out on a fire on the 4th of July, so Sprout and I took a last minute trip over to Mendon to celebrate.  There really aren't enough pictures to justify its own post, but, what the heck? We went over to Hyrum for a fun fireworks display. I was worried Sprout would be upset by the loud noises, but he did great and was spoiled by his cousins and aunt and uncle.

Thanks for the 4th of July shirt, Grandma Holdaway!

TBT: Jealousy in San Fran

It's that time we've all been waiting for : Throwback Thursday!! I'm probably the only one that enjoys this, but it's like back-journaling, and fun. I struggle with finding pictures worth giving a 'holla' to because most of my pictures that are older than 5 years are at my mom's. So, I'm using this beaut that I rediscovered on Facebook recently.

Ready for story time? Let's go.

My brother, Chris, is sixteen years older than me. He's kind of been like a second dad. When I was younger and carefree and could do whatever I wanted (kind of) I was able to visit him often. One time he worked it out with my parents for me to go visit him while he was living and working in San Francisco for a summer. I was so excited! I always felt very special on these trips to visit my brother, and we always got to do fun things. I was so pumped! And then I found out.....THE girlfriend was coming, too... .... *dun dun dun*

Now, it wasn't unusual for Chris to have a girl along when I was with him, and it never bothered me. I could always tell that I was still in first place, and it was all good. There was something different about this girlfriend, though. I could tell that I was being nudged into second place, and that does not bode well when one thinks one is the princess. Now I HAD to go so that I could show everybody what was what.

I got into San Francisco, and for the first bit it was just Chris and me. We got to go zooming through the San Francisco streets on his motorcycle, we went to a Giant's game, we saw the Golden Gate bridge, I hung out with his roommates, and slept on his floor. Then one morning I woke up and heard another woman's voice. The OTHER woman, as it were. Now the motorcycle sprees were over and we had to take the truck. Now I was stuck in the backseat. Now I was in second place.

It didn't take an Einstein to notice that my cheery disposition had left the building to be replaced by flying daggers. I honestly hardly remember anything that we did while THE girlfriend was in town, but I very distinctly remember when this picture was taken. I wanted a picture of my brother and me, but he insisted that he get a picture of THE girlfriend and me. Take a good look at that picture. I'm trying to smile, but I'm all prickles and can barely turn up the corners of my mouth. I don't remember what happened right before, and I don't remember what happened right after, but I remember knowing my end had come.

Now that I'm 26 instead of 13 I'm grateful that my brother married Tiffany. I even like her now. I'm not really sure when that change came about, but Tiffany is a fun sister-in-law. Thank you, Tiffany, for being nice to me even when I clearly wanted to strangle you. Maybe we should retry San Francisco someday? I promise I'll be a much more civil travelling companion.

May 2014

Hello all. May was a busy month that should be full of pictures, but I hardly have any. Mr. Mitchell and I celebrated our fourth anniversary (with a lovely night in full of good food and dessert), there was Mother's Day, and Memorial Day weekend with my family in Boise. Mr. Mitchell started work in Burley and has been doing an hour and fifteen minute commute to and from the ranger station. Sprout has started some early signs of entering his terrible twos. The busy summer season is upon me at work. Let's just say that we're all exhausted.

Here is what I do have for you guys - Random May Treasures:

Mr. Mitchell played in this car when
he was little and it has been bequeathed to
Sprout. Prior to this picture he was eating dirt.

My little buddy while I made his curtains.
No pictures of those yet since they're currently
 hanging on pins because I haven't bought a rod yet.
Classy, people. Classy.

He loves to 'read' books - large and small.

His pajama drawer is the 'go-to' drawer. He loves
 to empty it out, fill it with toys, and sit and play. He also puts
away ALL clothes in that drawer whether or not
they belong there. (i.e. daddy's shirts, mommy's socks, etc.)

The swing has been a favorite past-time for a
couple of weeks now. This was the second day we had
the swing and he wanted out there the minute he
 was awake. He is still in his jammies in this picture.

A favorite game of Sprout's is to put his blanket over his head and walk around bumping into things. Right before I started taking this video he was walking around for minutes at a time with the blanket over his head while bouncing off of the living room furniture and walls.



Mr. Mitchell had Sprout help him make a sandwich. Right before I took this video Sprout successfully stole the cheese right off of the sandwich. He's decided that sandwich making is pretty fun.



Sprout's vocabulary has been steadily growing. Sometimes it takes quite a bit of detective work to figure out what he's labeling, but he's always so proud once we figure it out. Here are some things he says

hi
no
doggy
daddy
buh-bye = bye-bye
nigh-nigh = night-night
deuce = juice/milk
peace = please
eyes
no = nose
airs = ears
he-air = hair
mau = mouth
toes
baw = ball
baw-baw = basket/bathub/blanket - most multi-syllable 'b' words
side = outside/swing
beh = book

Those are the just the ones off of the top of my head that he says correctly or are easy to type phonetically, but there are many more. He doesn't know how to say 'yes' yet, so, when offered options he'll say 'no' to the ones he doesn't want and either stays silent or says 'please' for the one he does want.

That wraps it up for this month. I'm sorry my posts have been blah lately. I'll try and get better at taking pictures and things so I have more to share.