Life Keeps Going

I'd like for life to pause just like what happened to this blog. 

If only that was possible...

I have been quite the busy body lately. So busy that weeks just flew like a rocket headed to space. FAST!!!

So many things to catch up on so let's start with my mothers' visit.

My ever dearest mum travelled 27 hours (and more on the way back) to help out with the new baby. Long story short I was and am very grateful for the help, the sacrifice, the fun, companionship and the love that she provided during her 5 weeks stay in our humble abode. It's funny how we still need our moms even in adulthood.

I was sad, to say the least, when it was time for her to go. It's just feels like something else to have family close by.

Hyrum took this picture.

I guess it's one of the many sacrifices that I have to make with marrying someone so far away from home. In a way I kinda feel guilty for taking away my parents only grandchildren away from them but we just gotta do what we gotta do. I know a lot of people that are reading this are also away from their families. So know that I understand your situation and we just gotta keep on keeping on.

On different news,

Halia is growing and thriving a lot better than the first two weeks of her life. She was literally starved and even lost weight during the beginning because I was exclusively breastfeeding but wasn't producing enough to keep up (although I thought I did), so I have to supplement with formula whether I like it or not.

She is now TWO MONTHS!!! Like I said, rocket speed!

She is such a delight to have in our lives. She is just starting to smile and "talk" so it's been really fun to witness it. Still makes my heart melt every time.

As I said on my earlier post, she was very calm in utero. And my hopes that it continues after birth actually looks very promising. For one thing, she is definitely a better sleeper than Hyrum.

Speaking of Hyrum, he is now successfully POTTY TRAINED!!! Remember this post, yah well I chickened out and didn't even start it. And since the thought of diapering two kids (esp the cost) bothered me so much, I knew I had to do it sooner than later. So 2 1/2 weeks after Halia was born, we said goodbye to size 5 diapers and hi to Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Lightning McQueen underwears.

The whole potty training process SUCKED! My mother was still here when we started so there was another nagger present besides me. Which was GREAT!

We used a potty chart and gave him a sticker for pees, 2 stickers for poops, then candy after 5 stickers and a toy car when he fills up the whole chart (25 stickers). Ow and a whole lotta cheering and hi-5s. Here is where I got the chart from. 

We only finished 3 charts. He was uninterested in them after a while and would go potty on his own with no rewards needed.

It took a week for him to get the gist of it. Then the next week he was down to just one or two accidents a day. THEN, it was my mums last week here so we went out a lot (it takes longer to get used to public pottys). BAD IDEA! Coz he relapsed and was having accidents again left and right.

So I started again and it took another week to get back to where we were.

Three weeks after my mum left, we can now say that he is fully potty trained coz he finally used a public toilet! Although bedtime (we put on a diaper) is a different story since he sleeps in our bed. Plan is we kick him out of our bed first then put him in underwear so if he pees while sleeping then it's just him that gets covered.

Anyways, I've gone in long enough. Here are a few more photos for your viewing pleasure.

My mum wanted to do a quick Utah trip to visit her friends there so we got to see the Auna's again.

And our 'back-up plan' Halia and Isaiah got to meet for the first time.

Hyrum is NOT scared of snow anymore. YAY!!!

Another powder incident.

Dont mind her. Shes just resting her cheeks on her shoulders. hehe

On our way out for Mavericks 27th bday.

Before church shenanigans.

With my pretty girl.

Then He Turned TWO

My little big boy Hyrum is now a two-year-old.

I know this post should've been done a long time ago but things have been a whole lotta crazy in this household.

Anyways, we had a nice little party in our house with some of Mavs family. My mum cooked some pancit and lumpia and I baked a (not so) fabulous cake.

Hyrum had a lot fun having his cousins over to play with.

Now for some fun facts. Hyrum is now 35" tall and weighs 32 lbs 5 oz. He is in the 80th percentile for height and 95th percentile for weight. Which basically means he is tall and fat. Hehe. Although we think he is more muscular than he is fat.

He is obsessed with helicopters and airplanes. He makes them everyday with anything he can get his hands on. Paper, crayons, blocks, other toys... He likes to pretend he's an airplane and 'runs fast' with his arms spread out like wings or spins round and round to be a helicopter.

He is a talker. With full sentences that you can really have a conversation with him. We can ask him questions that he will (sometimes) truthfully answer which makes things a lot easier (or harder depending on how you see it). We've been asked a number of times if he was three yet based on his language coz he can say (and mean) a lot more words than an average two-year-old. But, his favorite word is the plain and simple NO word.

He knows his ABCs and can count to 10 without any help. He can also recognize them too and would frequently point out letters and numbers when we are out and about.

His toy helicopter got stuck on his hair a lot of times

He is still as active as ever! He honestly doesn't know how to walk coz he is always running or jogging everywhere. It's tough going shopping or being anywhere in public with him coz he is always on the go, which has made for a few embarrassing moments with strangers.

He is a sweetie. And he frequently makes my heart melt with his endless kisses and "huggas". As long as it's not for his little sister.

My little big boy also went through a drastic change in appearance as he got his very first haircut. It reached all the way down to the middle of his back and the poor child was always mistaken for a girl since no one here keeps their little boys hair long.

HALOWHAR!

This child is very stubborn though and has an opinion of his own. If he doesn't like it we have quite the time trying to get him to do it. I guess what comes around goes around.

Regardless, we are just in love with him and how he makes our lives alive. 
He helps us witness Gods' miracles each and everyday day just by being his crazy and very smart self. 


And even though he is constantly testing our patience and our ability to perceive that we are good parents, we love him dearly. 


And are grateful that he is in our lives.


HAPPY SECOND BIRTHDAY BUDDY!

A Daughter for Me

Introducing

Halia Chiya Carreon Mitton

Let me start with the meaning of her name.

HALIA - pronounced hali-yah. Is Hawaiian which means remembrance.

CHIYA - came from my little sisters nickname, Chia. She died at 19months in 1989.

So pretty much, in remembrance of Chia.

This beautiful little angel came into our lives on January 12, 2012. At a small size of 5 lbs and 15 oz, and 18 1/2 inches.

At around 12:15am I woke up with painful contractions that where almost unbearable but still around 10mins apart. I didn't think much of it since i woke up the previous night with similar contractions at 10mins apart which went away in the morning.

At around 1am, they were getting worse and the time was closing in at around 6-7mins. I decided I'd wait one more contractions till I wake Maverick up. One more contraction turned out to be 3 more and by the time the third one came I was in CRAZY pain!

I woke Maverick up and told him it was time and we packed the car and headed to his brothers house to drop Hyrum off, then straight on to the emergency room.

We got admitted at around 1:45am and hurried to labor and delivery which was annoyingly on the 3rd floor and through a bunch of hallways. By this time, I was in a lot of pain and was feeling that "pushing time" was close.

I told the nurses that I labor really fast so after I hurriedly changed into the hospital gown, they checked me and said that I was already at 8cms.

I had nurses left and right trying to do all the pre birth stuff, like ivs n paper work. The doctor arrived panting from running up 3flights of stairs and checked me right away. Still at 8cms 100% effaced, he decided that there is still a little bit of time left so he left to get his clothes changed and do his prep.

Dr. Romney only saw me twice before I gave birth coz I had to transfer hospitals when we moved.

About 10mins later I felt the urge to push. The nurse beside me who was still typing things then checks me again then runs outside to call the doctor.

Maverick says that by the time the doctor sat down her head was already crowning. They didn't even have time to take the stirups out n such. The dr just had to sit sideways on my bed. 2 pushes later her head was out, then 1 more for the rest of her body.

She was born at 2:11am. 26 minutes after we got to the hospital.

Meeting my little girl for the first time. 

PRETTY CRAZY STUFF! Based on my 4hr labor with Hyrum, we knew I was going to be fast... But not THAT fast!

So now we are a family of four.

MY LOVES!

She is a perfect little addition to our not-so-perfect little family. It's still pretty surreal for me to have 2 kids. I called the doctors office today to make Halia's 2 week and Hyrum's 24 months check-ups and I was caught off guard when I said "I'd like to make an appointment for my son and my daughter." I was like, woaahhh! I have a daughter!

So we are adjusting well. Hyrum is starting to warm up to his sister (he wouldn't even look at her at the hospital). She is eating well (thank goodness), sleeping well and is already bringing so much joy into our lives.

Finally touched her. (Didnt last very long tho)

Im excited to see what her personality is going to be. Still hoping that she will be my calm child that will be satisfied with just watching her crazy brother.

Post-partum Blues

Ow the hormones have kicked in.

Which are causing crazy changes.

Massive breast and meaningless emotions.

Like when I cried watching Justin Bieber Movie.

And that's saying a lot since I never cry in movies and I don't like Justin Bieber.

Being left alone with a rambunctious two year old and a newborn three days after giving birth was pretty overwhelming.

I was very much regreting having the baby early (not that I had any control over it).

But, alas, we made it through the week with a lot of help from Barney, Super Why, Blue Clues, Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the rest of the Toy Story gang (we watched Toy Story 1, 2 & 3 a gazillion times that even Hyrum has lines memorized).

Ow and of coarse, the people in the ward that brought us dinner everyday of the week that was enough to go on for lunch the next day.

Halia by herself wouldve been easy to handle. And Hyrum im used to spending the day with. But together...

Especially when this happen...

Makes me want to pull my hair out.

Don't get me wrong, I think pregnancy and childbirth is a MIRACLE that I am very grateful to have been given opportunities to experience.

And I have embraced motherhood with arms wide open (although it didnt happen overnight) and Ive been enjoying it and making the most out of it. 

So theres my rant. Thanks for 'listening'.

Observation

My son doubled in size overnight...

Or at least that's what it feels like.

It seems like he grew soooo much once the baby was here.

Anyone else felt the same when the second child came along?

I have TWO babies?!?!

I now have TWO

Kids

Children

Babies

No longer a kid, a child, a baby.

My spawn is now plural!

That is insane!

Mind-boggling!!

Out of this world!!!

Alrighty. I'm gonna go get some rest now...

Crazy birth story to follow.

39 Weeks

I was exactly at this point of my pregnancy when I gave birth to Hyrum.

The day I gave birth to Hyrum

Me yesterday

I am still hoping to go until 41 weeks (Jan 21st to be exact), but anything goes right.

It is getting A LOT harder to be pregnant. Which makes me want to give birth NOW!

I am NOT taking any extra efforts to get things going like last time. Maybe if it wasnt so cold outside I would maybe go for walks with Hyrum...maybe...hehehe

Anyways, anyone wanna guess when baby girl will grace our presence???

Catch up post: 3-year Anniversary

Our third year anniversary this year fell on a Sunday so we decided to celebrate it on a Saturday. Little did we know that that Saturday was going to be the final moving day so it was a lot crazier than we anticipated.

Amidst all the packing, cleaning, unpacking and more cleaning, we just decided to take a break to dress up and go out to dinner.

So we dropped Hyrum off at Mavericks brothers house and we went to a nice Italian restaurant.

It was a great break for an otherwise very busy day.

Bad quality low light camera phone...sorry!

We both got great food and had a great time just sitting down and talking without the distraction of a rowdy child who doesn't usually do well in restaurants.

Best of all, dinner was on Mavericks new job. 

a week on the job and he got a Christmas bonus

So here's to another grand year full of adventures, trials, laughters, and mystery. We had a good amount of downs this year (specially being miles apart at the beginning of the year) but it has taught us a lot of life lessons that has definetly strengthened our relationship.

I'm so grateful I get to spend eternity with a great guy. 

Who loves me, cares for me, works hard and is a great father.

Pink-a-mania

I am not a big fan of PINK...

It's a very girly color and too much of it makes my eyes kinda scream.

Not that it's not a pretty, it's just isn't in my top color preference.

Then in comes the baby girl...

And we are seeing PINK!

EVERYWHERE!!!

Although I am very grateful for everything that we have been given (we've only bought about 20outfits from a yard sale plus the going home outfit)

All these pink is making me even more nervous to have a girl!

AAAAHHHHHH!!! 2-3 more weeks to go!!!

From baby shower with family in Oakley

From baby shower put together by Burley 4th Ward sisters.