goodbye january

reading goodnight moon is a part of our bedtime routine with mr cal baby. 

we often prelude the book by saying goodnight to everything as we carry him to his room.

night night basketballs.

night night kitchen.

night night shoes...

stairs...

potty...

rocking horse...

lights...

then we start into the book with the great green room, telephone, and red balloon.

well today i am happy to say goodbye to january.

goodbye weeks of sickness.

goodbye days of negative degree temperatures.

goodbye freezing rain.

goodbye weeks 25-29 of pregnancy.

goodbye 4:30 sunsets.

goodbye to staying inside all day.

goodbye nasty inversion.

goodbye to days without sunshine.
goodbye to snowstorms on snowstorms on snowstorms.

goodbye high gas bills.

goodbye ice rink in my front entry.

goodbye. goodbye. goodbye.

i've always hated january - it's a long month of blah.

no fun holidays.

no nice weather.

no money because of christmas spending.

blah-blah-blah.

anyways, today the sky is blue and the sun is out.

it sounds like it's raining from the melting snow.

the forecast is looking up and so are my spirits.

jumping on the bed & fhe gameplan

this morning cal jumped on the bed and i folded laundry.

while we had a great weekend (more to come later),

i've started to love mondays because it is a day to get back on routine, and get things done.

i've loved following sharsti's new blog:

theblondehairblueeyedrunner.wordpress.com

one of the things i especially love are her weekly goals, and the way she follows up on them.

one of my 2013 goals deals with FHE, and how i want to have more planned/thoughtful lessons.

i have learned that the natural me is a spur-of-the-moment, unorganized, flexible, last-minute person.

i have also learned that this trait can be both good and bad.

in order to be successful at family nights, i needed an in-depth plan with specific tasks.

so here's my game plan:

1st monday: personal and family inventory after c goes to bed

  kind of boring, but it is a time set aside for us to evaluate how we are doing. 

our personal inventory is a list of questions that we answer in our journals 

 (how are personal scripture/prayer? can you feel the spirit daily? why or why not? what do you feel you need to improve on? etc.) 

our couple inventory is also a list of questions but we discuss them with each other.
(questions about our jobs - being a homemaker/wife/mother is definitely a job-, finances, any concerns? are you feeling loved and supported? etc.)

 and if we don't have much to discuss, we can cuddle and talk about whatever, or we can just make out (sorry, probably tmi, but it's the truth)

2nd monday: gospel basics

 j or i will prepare a lesson about a predetermined gospel topic.

febuary's is on agency.

march = the atonement.

we will start with a quick simple version involving calvin, then let him go play while we have a more in depth lesson involving scriptures, conference talks, preach my gospel, and other manuals.

3rd monday: family outing

some of our ideas are bowling, bean museum, provo beach resort, smores up the canyon, 

picnic at the park...

we are hoping to invite other families to join us on these adventures.

who's in?

4th monday: strengthening marriage/family

 these lessons will be more relationship based.

topics like forgiveness, sharing, honesty, or kindness. 

writing letters to uncles on missions or (great)grandparents. 

serving someone in the family.

reading from parenting / marriage books.

the lessons will come from conference talks, or manuals about marriage and family.

(j & i both took the same marriage prep class at byu and kept most of the materials.. we plan on using those things too.)

if there's a 5th monday, we will figure out something fun to do.

each fhe will have the following agenda:

opening song / prayer

we will read our family mission statement:

--> We, the Asay family, envision ourselves in the presence of Heavenly Father and the Savior with clean hands and pure hearts, able to enter His presence worthily along with our extended family and others we love. 

 we will read our family scripture:

yet to be determined.

have cal's lesson (2-3 mins).

our lesson (10-15 mins).

closing song/prayer.

short activity.

treats.

i know calvin is still young, and having family nights may seen pointless, 

but i think it is important to establish consistency now, before things are too crazy.

plus, after being in nursery, and seeing how much those little ones can learn if you try, i think it's a great time to start having lessons with him.

i love this talk by elder bednar: 

more diligent and concerned at home

i think it will be my mantra for the year.

28 weeks

{january 22}

a bump update:

this could have possibly been the 75th picture taken of me in attempt to document the growing bump.

the previous ones were discarded due to polygamist looking hair, bad lighting, poor iphone quality, and let's be honest.. pale white skin and an extra 10 lbs doesn't do anyone any favors.

so it is what it is...

well today started bright and early at 6:25 after cal had been calling out, 'maamaa... dadaa!' for a while.

we went downstairs where he drank his bottle while we cuddled on the couch.

i fell back to sleep and cal watched pbs.

as some point, cal woke me up asking to play basketball.

i set up his hoop, and started making josh's lunch for the day.

c asked for cereal.. we ate and i followed my cheerios with this lovely concoction:

family scriptures and prayer...

'buh bye daadaa' and i love yous...

rush to get ready and out the door.

sarah was fantastic and watched cal.

 i tried not to barf as i drove to my appointment.

i managed to not pass out during the blood draw.

bp 110/55. weight 128. belly at 28 cm.

as of right now baby boy is breech with his bum down and head and feet up.

i went in with lots of questions about the delivery..

and got a lot of vague - every delivery is different / it's really hard to know answers.

i'm already getting so anxious about d-day.

i've always been the kind of person who reads the end of a book first.

i just like knowing what to expect. and that really is impossible when it comes to delivering a baby.

anyways.. i just need to chill out.

other happenings of the day:

lunch with chelsea!

cal throwing a tub of sour cream out of my grocery cart and it splattering everywhere.

homemade hawaiian pizza.

and my first pack meeting as an official scout leader:

 

not really the most proper way to wear the uniform, but at least i tried.

resolutions, busy day, buzz cut

{january 21}

well, we are 3 weeks into the new year.. 

and i am finally starting to work on my new year's resolutions.

this winter has been so awfully cold, and everyone is sick.

i'm so glad cal and i got our flu shots, because luckily we haven't been hit with the bad flus that are going around..

but we all recently had colds.

josh and cal got sick and were over it within a day or two..

but it's been 2 weeks, and i am still coughing.

getting a bad cold when you are 7 months pregnant is a cruel joke.

i can't tell you how many times i peed my pants while coughing,

or felt like i was going to cough the baby out.

anyways, i am happy i survived and can finally get going on the new year.

i've made lots of resolutions for this coming year.

here are a few:

eat healthier - more fruits and veggies. less empty snacks (esp for cal)

be more organized - plan out my weeks. set goals. use to do lists.

decorate - the family room, and our bedroom specifically.

better fhe - plan it more than 5 minutes beforehand.

run another half marathon this fall - i'm thinking the big cottonwood canyon one?

and to...

be more real on the blog - while i love looking back at the bazillion photos and updates of my babes, i also want to remember what my real everyday life was like.

most likely, it will still involve lots of calvin and of course baby dos, but i want it to be more.

so here's to it!

today was a really busy, productive day.

it started off a little slow, when it was 0 degrees outside, and my baby wanted to cuddle.

we watched some curious george and read some books.

we cleaned a little, got dressed and headed out to run our errands.

c was a champ during our marathon of shopping trips:

carter's for winter clothes for next year - check

aldo for new boots (my anniversary gift from may) - check

gap 40% off their sale stuff - check (but no luck)

motherhood for motherhood stuff - check

and a few other stops along the way.

we shared a hot dog on a stick and headed home.

 

c only napped in the car for about 30 mins, 

making for a rather grouchy kid come this evening. 

i tried to cut his hair yesterday, and he ended up with a buzz:

 

which was way better than before:

 one of these days, i am going to figure out this whole hair-cutting thing.

18 months

on january 4, calvin turned 18 months.

we celebrated with some yummy pancakes and let c blow out a candle - a current fav activity of his.

at 18 months:

weight 22 lbs 6 oz - 25%
height 32 inches - 30%

we also had his cardiology follow up where his ekg and chest x-ray came back normal.

they still think it is a vsd, but want to wait until he is bigger to sedate him for an echo.

he went to his first day of nursery on sunday!

not going to lie, i was pretty gitty walking into sunday school without him. 

he marched right in there and jumped on the slide.

josh stayed with him for a little while, and we both spied on him numerous times.

lil man kicking his legs as he sat on his chair during singing time...

the best was watching him take the cup of water during snack time and dump it right in his lap... he's never used a real cup by himself before.

he let out a nice ah-oh. 

as the leader went to get some paper towels, my cover outside the door was blown.

'muhmaa!' as his waved.

i went in and helped dry him off. he gave me a little hug and gabbered about something.

i gave him a kiss, thanked him for being good and said bye bye.

the last look i saw was a giant pout, as i shut the door.

i stood outside for a second, and didn't hear him cry, so i headed into rs.

anyways, it was a fun day.

i hope he continues to do this well in nursery.

latest words:

ah-oh, cowww (cal spoken in a whisper), hi, buh bye, popo (grandpa), hot, brrr (cold), cheese, juice, geege (george)

latest signs:

please- as he says peese

sad- whenever he hears another baby/kid cry he goes 'ah-oh' and signs sad

he is very much obsessed with his dadah right now.

asks for him all day, follows him around everywhere. loves to wrestle and play with him.

he has started calling out 'dadah!' every morning when he wakes up instead of crying.

he has fallen in love with a certain curious george - 

and mom doesn't mind the free 12 min episodes on the pbs kids ap.. 

its the perfect amount of time for me to get ready, or pack up the diaper bag/car, or chop up things for dinner.

he loves to dance around kicking his little leggies and clapping his hands:

he is becoming more and more attached to his binkies and babas.

i'm dreading the day i have to take them away.. not sure the best way to do it, but i know i need to soon.

have we mentioned that this boy loves basketball?

getting him a hoop for christmas was the best decision ever.

he plays with it all day long.

not sure how he learned it, but he has great form too.

 

after he makes a basket, he gets the cutest expression on his face:

you can tell he's proud of himself, but a little reserved about showing it.

(o and that carpet burn above his lip? from his fall down the stairs - seriously so sad!)

recently, josh taught him how to shoot from on top of the ottoman.

he will take every ball he owns and line them up on the ottoman, climb up and shoot them.

then he politely asks whines while saying please until we gather up his balls and give them back to him.

he had one bad night the week before christmas.

when i checked on him before i went to sleep, i smelt this awful stench!

he had thrown up all over the place and was laying in it groaning.

i called for josh and grabbed my baby.

he clung to me quietly, as i took him into the bathroom to get him cleaned up.

he then threw up down my arms and into the tub.

i couldn't help but cry as my baby kept looking at me with tear-filled eyes and a pouty lip in between gags and chokes.

that is the worst feeling, and i was so sad for him.
hours and laundry loads later, he finally fell asleep and rested well the rest of the night.

he woke up happy and seemed to feel fine the next day.

i was so grateful to have josh's help that night.

he was so good to jump in and change sheets, or rock/read to cal.

 i've got myself a great man...

 and the sweetest baby.
i'd be fine if he stays 18 months forever.

christmas 2012

this past christmas was one for the record books.

full of family.

spoiled by gifts.

brightened by the pure joy of our baby boy.

lots of snow.

lots of traveling.

all a reminder of the joy another baby boy brought to the world thousands of years ago.

...

we started the festivities with bingo night at the chelser's.

cal had a great time playing with grace, and wanted her play-doh set more than the awesome train set he was given.

 that night we did our scott family games and devotional,

and had a fun sleepover.

christmas morning was a blast with the boys. 

see some videos here.

then we headed to the asay's for yummy waffles and presents.

before long, it was nap time for everyone..

we spent the rest of our vacation spending time with family,

scott cousin christmas party-ing,

volley-balling,

basket-balling, 

playing canasta,
eating yummies,
provo beach resort-ing,

and trying to get sleep and laundry done in-between.

25 weeks

well, tomorrow i will be 25 weeks.

i have had the hardest time getting around to documenting this growing belly.

i knew the holidays were going to make time fly, and it feels like our 20 week ultrasound was only a few days ago.

i remember thinking that when calvin starts going to nursery on sundays, i will only have a few months of baby freedom to enjoy the lessons..

well, c goes into nursery next week and in 3 months this little man will be here - hopefully snoozing through relief society, so i can continue to enjoy my sundays.

(p.s. i was released from nursery and am now a cub scout den leader)

i had my 24 week apt the day after christmas.

everything looked great.

he was kicking around while my midwife was finding his heartbeat.

155 bpm.

we went over the ultrasound notes and she confirmed that everything's perfect.

i weighed in at 124 lbs - up 6 lbs from pre-pregnancy.

blood pressure 104/60

baby bump was right at 24 cm.

 they sent me home with a lovely bottle of orange snow cone syrup to drink before my next visit. barf.

as d-day gets closer, i have a lot more questions than i ever did with calvin,

but i drew a blank when she asked me if i had any questions.

 

i went into c's delivery very open minded, and while it was a good experience, i think i learned a lot about what i don't want to happen this time around (TMI warning):

 - getting pumped full of iv fluids that i was so swollen and achy for days 

(also, making me look like a marshmallow woman for all those 'first' pictures)

- not knowing breathing techniques or pressure points to help with pain

- an epidural that worked too well - i could not feel a thing, making pushing difficult

- pushing within minutes of 'becoming a 10' (i want to be able to rest and descend more)

 - pushing to the point of exhaustion (2.5 + hours) that i couldn't enjoy my brand new baby

- tearing + episiotomy + more tearing

anyways, i need to bring these up before too long, and hopefully find better alternatives.

i am pretty positive i will get an epidural again with this delivery, just to see how much 'easier' this delivery goes. 

supposedly, each one gets faster, and somewhat easier.

with that in mind.. i am aiming for a natural birth for baby tres.. whenever that is.

christmas videos

here's a little sample of our most favorite christmas ever.

the second video is the real winner.

christmas morning 1 from Whitney Asay on Vimeo.

opening his present from Whitney Asay on Vimeo.

perfection

last night josh and i went on a date with his family to see the christmas carol at hale center theater.

my momma was a gem, and came down to watch cal for us. it was a wonderful evening filled with malawi's pizza, great company, cuddles with my man, and a play that always gives me goosebumps.

this was one of the first dates that i was able to completely relax, and enjoy my time without worrying about my baby boy at home. mix chicken nuggets, lady and the tramp, basketballs, and grandma.. cal is in heaven, and we get to really enjoy ourselves.

when we got home, we found ourselves in the nursery staring at our sleeping angel. all of the sudden he is in our arms as we love on him and hold him close. i stay and rock him a little longer and try to make him smile in his sleep.

there have been way too many sad things happening lately, that really puts life into perspective. my sweet kindergarten teaching mother - the way she gives of herself freely, and expects nothing in return. it's true that you can't understand the love a parent has for you until you have your own kids...

i'll never remember the late nights or early morning she spent up with me, or the way she held me and rocked me and loved on me.. hoping i wouldn't grow up.. i'm sure she thought about me constantly when she left me with a babysitter - making sure my pjs were laid out next to my goodnight story and favorite stuffed animals in hopes i would drift off to sleep easily. i guarantee she got teary eyed as she listened to horror stories on the news and thought about her babies.

i often think about her when i'm doing my daily mommy duties. i try to think of ways to thank her or give back to her, and then i think about cal and how all i really want in return is for him to be healthy and happy and a part of my life forever. maybe that's what she wants from me.

so as i sit here and write this, i have my napping son in my arms, and another one hiccuping inside of me. i am so blessed, and grateful for my testimony and knowledge that i can be with my sweet family forever, because of a loving Heavenly Father and His atoning son.

Nails and spears shall pierce Him through

The cross He bore for me, for you

So hail, hail the Word made flesh

The babe, the Son of Mary

This, this is Christ the King

Whom shepherds guard and angels sing

Haste, haste to bring Him laud

The babe, the Son of Mary

125.

making ginger snaps

125 days till d-day.

less than 18 weeks.

this pregnancy has been zooming by.

baby port is almost a foot long now, and weighs over a pound.

and i am pretty sure that pound of cute baby flesh is taking over my stomach space because i get full really fast, and hungry again even faster.

i heard somewhere that the more sweets you crave during pregnancy, the sweeter your baby will be. 

well he is definitely going to be the sweetest thing around.

i think he is already getting used to being wrestled by cal, because c is oblivious to momma's growing belly and the extra space it needs.

i am having a hard time staying off my back while sleeping (in our glorious new bed, i might add), but i am still sleeping pretty well.

the worst part of my night is waking up around 5 am with a full bladder and a growling tummy.

it is so hard to get out of my comfortable warm bed.

before the quilt came.

moving on to the bed.

josh and i went out on black friday and got ourselves a new bedroom set.

merry christmas to us!

i don't think either of us had slept well for months prior.

we love the new furniture and feel grown up living in a fancy room,

not to mention, the mattress is so comfy, and there is plenty of room.

pure. heaven.

we found a great deal on a gorgeous quilt, and now are on the hunt for the perfect pillows and curtains.

mr. calvin joshua is still mesmerized by basketballs, and recently chose to watch a michael jordan documentary over lightening mcqueen in cars.

he has also started playing 'pretend' more - 

sharing his binky or crackers with stuffed animals, and making eating noises for them,

flying his airplanes, or 'vrooming' his cars.

he also learned how to say cheese when i take his picture:

yummy pomegranate smoothie monster