Thursday, March 27, 2008

Sick Babies are SOOO much FUN!!!

Opening Disclaimer: my poor little guy has been sick, and my #1 concern is for his well being, but having said that, I have to vent. I have recently discovered a very complex mathematical formula that has probably already been revealed to every other mother on the planet. The formula is this: When babies are sick, the amount of sleep mom will get is inversely proportional to the amount of laundry she will have to do that week. For example, on a normal, non-sick baby day... I might get 7 or 8 hours of sleep and have to do 1 load of laundry (or none at all). On a sick baby day, like yesterday, for instance, I would probably get closer to 3-4 hours of sleep and have to wash at least 3 loads of laundry.
Bryson and I had both been sick last week, and on sunday as we were both nearing the end of our colds, I was so proud that we had managed to keep Davis healthy. I should have known better. Davis got sick that night. To sum up his path of destruction through the house, I have had to change and wash the sheets at least once a day due to either throw up or a huge poopie blow out, Davis has gone through an average of 3 outfits a day (with a high of 5 yesterday) for the above mentioned reasons, I have had to change clothes an average of 2 extra times a day when his vomit or blow out was aimed in my direction, we both have averaged 2 baths a day since monday, and of course the sleep has been sucked away to be replaced by a sad, whimpering baby in the middle of the night. Poor little guy. The funny thing is, when he's awake, even when he is throwing up all over his mom, he is perfectly happy and cheerful all day. Don't worry though, he seems to get extra fussy in his sleep to make up for his good moods while awake.
I have learned to never underestimate how much damage a sick little baby can do with a little milk in his tummy. Hopefully he'll be on the mend soon. Sorry for all of the gross details, but I just couldn't resist the opportunity to vent for a minute!

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Welcome Rosalyn Mary Mull!

My new little niece was born very early wednesday morning at 12:52 am, and I actually got to be there to see her born! I went to the hospital to check on my sister in law, Mary, and drop off some night gowns around 11:15pm. She was getting ready for her epidural, and in the meantime, she was squeezing my hands through the contractions. So, I thought I'd stay until the epidural kicked in, then take off. But, to make a long story short, the epidural never kicked in (turns out, it was administered in the wrong place), and her contractions got very big very fast. Before we knew it, she was pushing, and little Rose was there! I could not believe that poor Mary had to endure all of that pain without any medication! I know people do it "naturally" all the time, but she was in so much pain, I wanted to cry for her. She did an amazing job, and to quote my sister, she "took it like a woman!" Until I see a man endure a major surgery or something comparible without any pain killers or anesthesia, my standard for toughness will have to be moms who have made it through childbirth. Anyway, little Rose is adorable. Dark hair, long eyelashes, and that dimple chin that is so prominent in Bryson's family. It was such a neat experience to get to be there for her arrival. There is nothing like witnessing the miracle of birth!

This was taken from my phone about 10 or 15 minutes after she was born


These pictures are from our visit the next day.




Look at those chubby cheeks!


I thought this face was so funny and cute, I couldn't resist.

Monday, March 10, 2008

San Francisco!!!

It's been a while since my last post. That is partially because I am boring and usually have nothing to write about, and partially because I've been out of town for the last week. Bryson had a business trip to San Francisco, and since I'd never been before, Davis and I decided to tag along. It was so much fun! Aside from the PERFECT weather (74 degrees and perfectly sunny), the city and surrounding areas are gorgeous! Everything was green and all of the trees were full of blossoms, and I just couldn't get enough of those rolling green hills. We had a blast in the actual city, but one of my favorite things was when we went to Clayton. That is the town that Bryson lived in for about 5 years when he was a little kid. It also happens to be the setting of one of Brandon's books. (For those of you who don't know, Bryson's older brother (Brandon) is an author. He has written the Fablehaven series, as well as a book called Candy Shop War, which is the one that was set in Clayton). So, in addition to seeing Bryson's old house, he took me around to all of the places described in the book. It is the cutest little town, and I loved it! Hopefully we'll have a chance to go back soon.

This is a view from Coit tower, looking at the Golden Gate Bridge and some of the city streets.


Here are Bryson and Davis (in his Alcatraz outfit) at the bottom of Lombard street. It was a little scary to drive down that!


The Golden Gate bridge was gorgeous! We walked across it... much longer than I thought it was!


Bryson and Davis by the creek in Clayton. I'll throw in a few of these shots because it was so pretty there!








Everywhere from town, you could see these gorgeous hills with roaming cows that looked like the "happy cows come from California" comercials. So cute.




Davis and I in "downtown" Clayton. Mainstreet looks like an old Western town. Very cute. For those of you who read the book, if you are interested, I also took pictures at the elementary school, the restaurant that used to be the Candy shop, the museum, the house, etc.


My friend Rachel lives in the San Francisco area, near Stanford University. So, while Bryson was in meetings one day, I went down there to meet her and walk around. It's a beautiful campus.