Icky Icky!

This week has been a horrible, yucky, nasty, gross week! All 3 of us have been sick. Levi has strep and Matt and I have horrible colds. I'm trying to think of the positives and I figure that one good thing is we can all just be sick at once and get it over with. Another positive is that b/c we are sick it gives me a reason to do a good cleaning in my house. Those are the only two good things I have come up with so far.

We are slowly getting better each day. When Levi had strep a few months ago he had diarrhea at the end of the sickness. That is what we are now dealing with for him. Matt had a fever Friday night of 103 and I was at 101. I had a dr's appointment on Friday and I had to have my blood drawn. I made the mistake of holding my breath while they did that. I almost passed out so I had to stay longer at the dr's office until I was able to walk. It didn't help that I was already congested from this cold so I have no clue why I would be so dumb and hold my breath. I think Friday was our peak day of illness. It is hard for me to sleep still since I have congestion in my chest. Every breath I take is a difficult one since I am 7 1/2 months pregnant. But let's just get all the sickness done now before Christmas!

Thank you Mandie for bringing us soup, rolls, and cookies. It was all yummy! Thank you to Brian and Sam for coming over and giving Matt a blessing. We hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.

Tender moment with Levi

So it seems when one person gets sick the whole family is sick soon thereafter. Last week Matt had laryngitis and had no voice. He went the the dr and was put on some meds and he is much better now. This week Levi developed strep. Levi just had strep back in September/October so I was shocked when the dr said he had it again. To top it all off, I have developed a cough that is just about to kill me.

Yesterday Levi woke up with a temp of 104. I was scared to death. That has never happened before. Shortly after waking up Levi threw up as well. That scared me even more b/c Levi has never done that before either. I called Matt frantically and asked him to come home. When Matt arrived here at home we quickly went to Levi's dr. He is now on meds and is so much better today. Levi still isn't 100% but he has more energy than he did yesterday.

Since Levi was sick I knew it was going to be a very long day and night. We tried to put Levi down for a nap but he only slept for maybe 30-45 minutes. When he woke up he was cranky, of course. I cuddled up with Levi on the couch and we laid there for another 30 minutes or so. Levi was laying beside me with his head rested on my chest and I could just feel every breath he took. I haven't had a moment like that with Levi pretty much since he started walking. Shortly after that I moved into our bedroom. We snuggled more in bed and I loved it. I was so happy to know that Levi felt safe and comforted by me. It brought tears to my eyes to know how much Levi really does love me. He has just recently learned how to give kisses but still doesn't give them all the time. It is those moments that I cherish and treasure when he knows his mommy and daddy love him and will protect him. I am so thankful that we have a beautiful son that loves us and knows that he can rely on us to make things better.

Happy Anniversary!

Today is mine and Melissa's 5-year anniversary. I want her to know how much I love her but words are never enough but it doesn't hurt to try.

The things I love about Melissa:

1. Her unconditional love for me and our family.
2. Her sense of humor – She is so funny and silly. I love that we can be goofy with each other.
3. She is a wonderful mother to Levi. She is so patient with Levi and is a terrific role model for him. Nothing makes me more proud to be her husband than to see her in action as a mom.
4. Her laugh – I mean her real “laugh out loud” laugh. I’m not sure if a lot of people have heard her laugh like that.
5. Her stubbornness – An attribute that we both share but we have learned to compromise and accept each other’s stubbornness.
6. Her family – I love how we have become closer over the years. I also love that we have been able to spend a lot of time with them lately.
7. She is a fire-cracker! She won’t hesitate to stand up to someone for what she believes in.
8. She makes me want to be a better person.
9. Her testimony of the gospel.
10. The way she knows me.
11. Her smile.
12. Her eyes.

I love more than I have ever found the way to say to you. Happy anniversary my love!

Happy Birthday Matt & Levi (A bunch of pictures)

It's that time of year again when Matt and I scramble to figure out what to do for gift ideas. It doesn't matter if it is for us or for Levi. We struggle usually every time. Matt's birthday is Dec. 3rd. Levi's birthday is Dec. 4th. Our anniversary is Dec. 11th and of course Christmas on the 25th. Every year we tell each other that we really had poor planning in every department possible. But it does make for fun times though.

Matt turned 28 this year and our baby boy is now 2! I honestly can't believe that Levi is 2. It is so cliche to say but where did the time go? The past 2 years have been difficult at times but more amazing than anything. For Matt's birthday I made him a cake. Let me just say that I am NOT a cake decorating professional by any means. I try and that is all I can do! But it's cake so it will just be eaten anyway. I also made Levi a cake as well. I can never decide what the best thing to do is as far as cakes go. Do I make just one cake for both Matt and Levi? Or do I make 2? Being pregnant doesn't help me to decide which is better either. So I did 2 cakes anyway.


I didn't have a number 8 candle so as you can see I just put 27 + 1. It worked!

Levi really wanted to touch the candles but he did a good job helping Matt blow them out

The next day I was able to help Levi blow out his candles. Since Levi's birthday and Christmas are so close together we decided that we wanted to save most of his presents for Christmas. So we got him an Elmo chair. He loves it! It giggles and vibrates when he sits in it. We also got him a play kitchen set with food. We replaced the microwave that came with the kitchen set with a way cooler one. The new one has a timer, makes noise, and has more buttons for Levi to push. It is interesting to watch Levi use his imagination and pretend to cook or eat the food. Our neighbor got Levi an Elmo movie and Elmo bath toy as well.

Then came the fun part of letting Levi go crazy with his cake. We stripped him down to his diaper and let him go at it. We gave him a bigger piece of cake and Levi wasn't sure exactly what to do with it. Once Matt showed him he could just pick it up and eat it, Levi devoured that cake.

This past Saturday my parents came out and spent the day with us. We went to the Heard Museum. It was a really neat place that you wouldn't think would be so close to us. They had a dinosaur exhibit going on and Levi wasn't too excited about it. The dinosaurs moved and made noise and it scared him. It was cute to see how much Levi clung on to us. Meemaw and Papaw brought presents too. They got him a new pair of shoes, toy trucks, crayons, and a coloring book. We were most excited about the shoes!

Levi is touching a crystal that he is not supposed to touch.

Digging for "Fools Gold".

Looking at the nasty snakes! Yucky!

Levi is too scared to let go of us or my mom's leg!! There wasn't anything that he liked about the whole dinosaur experience.

This museum is a fun place to visit and we will be going back in the spring when they have more outdoor exhibits open. We had a fun weekend celebrating with each other and family. Thanks Mom and Dad for coming out. We finished off the day by going to Subway for dinner and doing some Christmas shopping for Levi at Toys R Us.

I am thankful for my husband because...

I am thankful for my husband for the following reasons:

1) I am thankful that Matt works so hard so that I am able to stay at home with our children. We may not be the richest in the world but I couldn't be happier being with our babies.

2) I am thankful for Matt's wonderful and playful personality. We do the dumbest and silliest jokes and I often wonder if anyone else heard us what they would think. He loves to play and come up with new games for Levi.

3) I am thankful for Matt being such a good father. I could not ask for a better person to raise our children with. I am so happy our children will have someone there to do "man stuff" with.

4) I am thankful for Matt having such a wonderful family. Matt has so many siblings, nieces, and nephews and they are all amazing. You can really see and feel all of the love that they have for each other.

5) I am thankful for Matt's stubbornness. Now, we both together are pretty stubborn but I am grateful to have someone there to keep me in line. Without him there, I think I would never give in to anything.

6) I am thankful for Matt's nose. That may sound silly but to me Matt has the perfect nose. I hope all of our children get his nose. So I am also thankful to Matt's parents as well for giving him such a perfect nose.

7) I am thankful for Matt being a fixer of all things. When I am sad he wants to fix it. When Levi breaks something Matt will fix it. If Matt doesn't know how to fix it he will try even though I might be nervous the whole time. Matt is a fixer of all things and I love that!

8) I am thankful for Matt helping me so much around the house. He does dishes, washes clothes, vacuums the floor, mows the lawn, plus more. I feel so lucky to have a husband that will help me do things and not just expect that I do everything myself. It really makes my life so much easier. I think we make a pretty good team.

9) I am thankful that Matt and I share the love of football. Football has to be the best sport ever! Some guys aren't into sports and some wives aren't either. So I am glad that we will forever share the love of the greatest game.

10) I am thankful for Matt taking me to the temple. I am so grateful that I found a worthy person that believes and shares my same values. I have only seen Matt cry a few times in 5 years. One of those was our wedding. Matt has a true heart of gold and I get to be with him for eternity.

I appreciate you Matt and all that you do for our family. I love you!

Attention All Moms!! Money Saver!!

So here is a tip to help out all those Moms out there! Today at Target I was able to get 3 packages of toddler flushable wipes for FREE! Yes I said FREE! I will definitely be stocking up on these while the coupon and sale are still good. I'm so excited about this b/c I will have 2 kids soon using diapers and wipes. Even though these are the flushable wipes I will still use them like my regular wipes. If you don't have children you can use these as gifts for those that do. So if you are interested here is what you do:

In the baby isle with the wipes the toddler flushable pack (48 count) are priced at $.97. Also, Target does have the tubs priced around $1.60 so after the coupon only about $.60 each. Still a great deal either way.

Go here and print off the Target coupon for $1 off any up & up brand diapers or wipes.

The coupon is located under the section labeled "Expiring 12/05/09". You can print off as many as you would like. Just put a number in the box. Then click the Get Coupons button. Your coupons will show up on the next page. Then hit your browser's print button.

Now, on the coupon in the small print it does say "limit 1 per transaction" but you can still get more than one package at a time. I would recommend no more than 5 at a time. Just so you don't get problems from the cashier. If you have other items to purchase at Target then you will have no issues with this. If you want to only get the wipes make sure to tell the cashier that the coupon value will be have to be adjusted down to match the price of the wipes. Otherwise, the coupon may beep since the value of the coupon is more than the price of the wipes. If the cashier says they can't do that then don't be scared. Trust me, they can adjust the value! Ask to speak to a Lead Cashier that can adjust it. In the Target coupon policy it also states they can adjust the value of the coupon. For this money saving deal it is worth it to stand your ground.

That's it! You have just scored free wipes! Let me know if you get your free wipes. I know I will be making several trips to Target for this deal.

The night terror

For 1 year now Levi has had really bad night terrors. As he has become older they have become less frequent. But they for sure do not get any easier to deal with. Last night Levi had a night terror and every time he has one it just brings me to tears. If you have ever had a child with night terrors then you know what I am talking about.

Matt and I feel so helpless when he has these. It is almost like Levi is possessed. You look in his eyes and he is not the same person. Even though his eyes are open he is not awake. Levi will kick and fling his arms around. He will hit us but we don't get mad at him b/c he is not awake and doesn't realize what he is doing. We have discovered recently that by turning on Elmo for him does help him to wake up and calm down.

When Levi wakes up the next day he is none the wiser as to what has happened. He is always in a good mood and is ready to get up and play. We have prayed that Heavenly Father will take this burden away from Levi. I guess this is a trial for us as parents but it is really hard to overcome. It really stretches your emotions like never before. Last night Matt gave Levi a blessing. I am so grateful for Matt and the power of the Priesthood. I really don't know what I would do without it in my home. As soon as Matt laid his hands on Levi's head he was calm. When we laid Levi back down in bed he slept through the rest of the night.

I know Heavenly Father watches over and protects all of his children. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? I would love to know.

Oh the joys of pregnancy!

I am just about to the uncomfortable stage of this pregnancy. And I'm only half way done! When I was pregnant with Levi, it was at this point that I started breaking out in hives while I sleep. It is really weird. I was hoping that I wouldn't have this same problem but it has started again. I remember when this first happened I woke up thinking I was being attacked by bed bugs b/c the welts on my legs and arms were so huge. I went to a dermatologist and pretty much the only thing I can do is take an allergy pill before I go to sleep. The hives really are uncomfortable and they itch like crazy. Why does your body have to do such weird things when you are pregnant?

A Tough Decision Ahead

In the coming months Matt and I will finally be able to see our precious new baby. We can't wait to have a new child, even though it will be tough. But in light of this excitement, we have a decision to make. We have to decide if I will have another c-section or try to deliver this baby vaginally. My doctor has surprisingly left it up to us to decide what to do. She has recommended we do the c-section but we do still have the other option.

When I was pregnant with Levi everything was normal and pretty much perfect! I could not have asked for an easier pregnancy. The problems began once I went into labor with Levi. Levi was not in any hurry to really come out of me. He was born on his predicted due date when I finally went into labor. But we did have an induction scheduled for the very next day since we thought he wasn't going anywhere.

When I arrived at the hospital I was dilated at a 5. That is pretty much where I stayed. Things all happened so fast and I was very scared. Especially since this was my first and I had no idea what to expect. Levi was not really centered in the birth canal. You could feel his head over to my left side. I was given pitocin to speed things along and every time I would contract Levi's heart rate would drop. When the doctor broke my water, meconium, (Levi's poo) came out. All of this together did not leave us with much option but to have a c-section. As expected, when the doctor pulled Levi out the cord was wrapped around his neck. It was a good thing that I did not try to push him out since this could have caused damage.

My doctor gave us a statistic about if I deliver vaginally what the chances are of my uterus rupturing or running into other problems. I know doctors always want to be safe and I would never do anything to harm myself or our baby. But at the same time, I feel like I was jipped with Levi's birth. Giving birth is not glorious or fun by any means but I guess I had pictured it to go one way and it didn't. For me the recovery from my c-section was very difficult. I swore that I would never go through that again. I just don't know what the right thing to do is.

I seek out the advice of those who have experienced this situation. How did you decide what to do? Thank you for your input.

For those who haven't seen this

Matt and I laugh every time we see this video. Enjoy!

For those that may receive our blog update by email go to http://youngfamily1204.blogspot.com/ to view the video.

We are still alive!

I have totally slacked off on posting updates. This 1st trimester has been a lot more difficult than when I was pregnant with Levi. I have had more headaches and nausea than I expected. I am now 17 weeks so hopefully I can start to be normal again.

At 12 weeks I had a doctors appointment with a specialist. This is nothing alarming as we did the same thing with Levi. I had a sonogram and they checked for Down's Syndrome and Trisomy 13 & 18. The dr I go to is pretty accurate at checking the sex of the baby that early. It looks as if we are having another boy. We are super excited b/c Levi will have a buddy to run around with. I was hoping for a girl and I do wonder if I will get a girl but we are happy just to have a healthy baby. I actually go to my regular dr tomorrow for another check up.

In July we went to Nauvoo for 1 full week. It was amazing to spend so much time there. I will put up pictures in another post telling all about what we did. All I can say is WOW!! Nauvoo is such a spiritual place.

We have been home to my parents house a couple of times. Most recently was this past weekend. Levi had so much fun playing with his cousin Joel. They played and played and played. I'm glad that Levi is finally getting to an age where he just loves to run and get out tons of energy. While at home this weekend, my best friend Jessica gave me a new hair style. I haven't had my hair this short since high school. I LOVE it! Thank you Jessica so much. You have so much talent! I'm sad you are moving to Alabama but I know I will see you again soon! I will have to get Matt to take a picture when my hair is fixed cute and I will add it on here.

Here are some recent pictures of Levi. He is really getting so big. Where does the time go? Levi will be 2 in just a few months!

Playing in the sandbox this morning.

Eating at one of our favorite places, Firehouse Subs!

I love this smile!

We had to get proof of how freakishly strong Levi is. This is what he does in his closet. He has bigger muscles than me! Amazing!

A lot has happened! Big news!

Since my last post several weeks ago we have had a lot going on. So hold on b/c this is probably going to be a long post. First and foremost we are announcing that we are expecting our 2nd baby on March 3rd, 2010. We are super excited and can't wait! I'm am really crossing my fingers that this one is a girl. But if it's not that's ok too! I had my first doctors appointment today and everything is fine. I'm right at 7 weeks along. The baby is about the size of a grain of rice. He/she has a great heartbeat and is right on track. We couldn't be happier. If you ask Levi where mommy's baby is he will lift up his shirt and point to his tummy. It's too cute!! I sleep a lot and eat a lot which is not how I was with Levi. I'm eating about every 2 hours. I haven't been sick but there have been a few times where I have to just take a minute to relax or I will vomit. All is good so keep checking back for lots of pictures as my strength allows.

My birthday was on June 28th. I am now 27 years old! I can't believe that I am really that old. It seems like yesterday that I was back in high school. We knew that I was pregnant on my birthday so that was a great gift. Also, I always crave Spicy Cheetos and Diet Coke while pregnant. So while I was taking one of my many naps Matt and Levi went and bought me a bag of Cheetos and 5 12 packs of Diet Coke. But that wasn't my real gift. I told Matt that I wanted to take the money he would have spent on a gift and use it for souvenirs on our trip to Nauvoo. Instead of a birthday cake I wanted birthday cookies. So here is a picture of Levi helping me blow out my candles.

July 4th weekend was tons of fun. First, we went to our ward breakfast. Levi loved playing in the park. He tried watermelon for the first time and ate the whole piece down to the rhine. He got so mad when we took that part away. I guess he thought he could eat that part too. Then we went out to a nice dinner with some friends. After dinner we watched the fireworks and had desert. We let Levi stay up way past his bed time. We paid for that one b/c he was up every hour that night. He finally fell asleep about 3 am. Needless to say we didn't attend church the next day since we were so tired.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go to Austin and San Antonio with some great girlfriends. We drove on Friday to Jenna's house in Austin. Then Saturday we got up and went to the HUGE outlet mall in San Marcos. We spent all day there shopping. You could make a 3 day trip out of these outlet malls. I volunteered to drive and the back of my SUV was filled with bags. We made it to San Antonio late Saturday afternoon. We ate dinner on the Riverwalk that night and then relaxed in our room. We managed to stay up until 5 am Sunday morning. I haven't stayed up that late in years. Probably since the night before I got married. We had a blast the whole weekend. I am grateful that Matt stayed with Levi so I could have some time away. I missed them tons though. Sunday we walked to the Alamo. I have never been there before. It is a lot smaller then what I thought. It always seemed so much bigger in pictures. After the Alamo we drove back to Austin to drop off Jenna. Then we headed home. We were all so tired but it was well worth it.

This Friday we are off to Nauvoo for 1 week. We haven't been on a vacation since 2006 when we went to Alabama. We can't wait to get on the road. Matt has been there before but I haven't. I will be taking tons of pictures and will post them when we return. Have a great week.

Busy busy

This month has flown by! The first week of June was so crazy. It just flew right by. There was not one day that whole week that Matt and I were at home at night. I loved it and it was worth every tiring minute. So here is the breakdown. Monday night was the "guys night" with Matt, Trever, and Jason. They went and hit golf balls. Trever and Jenna were moving to Austin so they wanted to have one last night of fun.

Tuesday we had one last girls night with Jenna. We went swimming and talked and talked and talked a little more. Some silly pool guard tried to ruin everything and give us a hard time about being there. But we ended up being able to stay later thanks to Mandie and her crazy connections! Thanks Mandie!

Wednesday we had a going away party for Trever and Jenna. It was fun to share stories about Trever and Jenna and all the crazy things we've done together. We always had a blast with them and will really miss hanging out.

Thursday night Matt had softball. I haven't not been able to go to any of his games this season b/c they are usually after Levi goes to bed. I was finally able to go to one of his early games. I did catch most of the game but I did have to chase Levi around too.

Friday my bestest (yes I said bestest) friend Laura FINALLY came back home for a visit. I haven't seen Laura since last July. Laura was the one who is responsible for me and Matt getting together. I owe her big time! We had a BBQ at our house with Laura, Kirk, Megan, Joe, and Emma. It was just like we had all never been apart. Megan is my other bestest (I said it again I know) friend. I love her dearly!

Saturday we were supposed to go to Megan's wedding reception. We got a little caught up at the Honda dealership. We traded in Matt's Civic and got a Honda Pilot. It took about 5 hours of going back and forth with the salesman but we got what we wanted. Because that took so long we weren't able to get to the reception on time. But my parents did surprise us and come out for a visit. It was nice for them to spend time with Levi. Saturday night was when the big transformation happened. All I have to say is look at the before and after shots and it explains it all.

Before

After

A whole 6-7 inches chopped off my head! Wow! I love my hair! It is so short and easy to do. No more pony tails here. It's great for summer and it only takes me about 10 minutes to do instead of 1 hour. Thanks Laura. You're the best.

Sunday, we had dinner over and Laura's parents house. We ate yummy brisket, chocolate cake, and ice cream. It doesn't get much healthier than that. Last but not least, Monday, we ate one last dinner at Rudy's BBQ. That would be Kirk's favorite BBQ place. Sadly, Laura and Kirk had to head back to Arizona on Tuesday morning. Maybe someday they will return to "God's country" here in Texas.

Whew! Are you as tired as I am? I think I am going to go to bed now. Goodnight!