Dylan

Some days he needs to color.

In just a diaper.

Don't judge.

I rearranged the nursery last week.

Someone got their tool belt out and

decided to help. I loved it!

In Visalia. He was EXHAUSTED.

I love naptime!

Trying mess free painting.

It was awesome.

We left it on the table for a week!

Bath Time

Evelyn had her first bath last week. 

She wasn't a fan. 

Also, Evelyn has an outtie 

(how on Earth do you spell that?)

 (I'm talking about her belly button,

 just in case you have NO IDEA 

what I'm talking about.)

According to the nurse in the hospital 

nursery, that's genetic. Neither Grant or 

I have an outtie.... I can't think of

 anyone who does....

Belly buttons freak me out. 

My whole pregnancy I have a belly 

button routine where I push my belly

 button in (it makes me feel better).

 Both pregnancies my belly button 

didn't pop out. I'm pretty sure it's because 

of my routine.

In order to make sure I get over that,

 my baby has an a belly button that pops out

and no routine is going to make it go

 back in. I am happy to report that after 

almost 3 weeks, it doesn't bother me at all

 any more. Woo hoo for progress!!

Evelyn got her second bath tonight. 

(I promise I am cleaning her in between baths.)

She really enjoyed the hot water. 

Dylan got a little jealous so he got in the 

bath in a diaper and t-shirt.

 And of course while they are both 

hanging out in the water, she poops. 

That's a first for us. EVER.

I am happy to report I remained 

calm and luckily Grant was near by to get Dylan

out of the water. Pooping in the water is 

easily the most effective way to end bath time.

I don't recommend it.

Grief

Grief is a funny thing. Not funny haha, more funny peculiar. Everyone grieves in a different way. Grant and I (and the kids) drove back from Visalia today, and on the way home we had a long talk about the grieving process. Here is what I learned about myself....

• I prefer to deal with hard things with my family. I didn't know that about myself before today.
• I realize that there is a lot I'm willing to share/talk about, but when it comes to dealing with grief, until I've worked it out on my own, I don't want to talk about it.
• Because of experiences in my past, I am ungrateful for other peoples sympathy. It's a really long story about why I'm that way, but I am really going to work on that. I need to be more empathetic to others. 
• I feel like there should be a who gets to grieve list/pecking order and I should get to  write to the list and everyone should have to follow it, and if you're not on the list suck it up. (Yes, I am that much of a control freak.) Again, I am going to work on that whole empathy thing.... and letting go of control. Who said I got to be in charge anyway? No one. 
• Grant is easily the best thing that ever happened to me. Really. He is the yin to my yang. I am a better person because I married him. 
• Life is all about perspective. It's what you make of it. Your glass is either half empty or half full. It seems so cliche. I am finally at the point in my life where I can see the silver lining. 
• Eternal perspective makes hard things less hard.

Having this many revelations about myself was really humbling. I have some things I need to work on. Realizing that is never easy, but the blow was cushioned by realizing that that is what the Gospel is about. And if ever there was a time to fix bad habits, it's now! 

Sunbathing.

Even though she was a little jaundiced, they still let us bring her home with instructions to let her sleep by windows with lots of sunlight until she turns pink..... so this is what her afternoons consist of.... almost nude sunbathing with the space heater nearby keeping her warm. She usually falls asleep right away, but today she laid there awake just checking things out. She is such a mellow baby. I love it!

Big Brothers

(Sorry for the poor quality, this was taken with my cell phone, like most of my pictures)

I realize that Dylan LOOKS mad, but he really does love being a big brother. The morning after this was taken he got up onto the bed where Evelyn was sleeping in my arms and he asked to hold her (more like "aby mine" and then held out his hands). Last night when we put him in bed, he cried because she couldn't lay in bed with him. He moved over to the side of his bed and offered to share his pillow with her. I do realize it has only been a week, but we are pretty grateful that he is handling it so well!!

Crum Babies

Baby Dylan

Baby Evelyn

Can you tell they're related? Holy cow, my kids take after the Crum side of the family.

Birth Story

Thursday night before my scheduled C-Section, my mom (who came into town to help me out) and I decided that I should have a really delicious meal since who knew when I would get to eat again. (The benefit of this being my second C-section, I knew the spinal block would make me nauseous and you don't get food if you're throwing up. Makes sense right?) So my mom, Dylan and I went to Dave Wong's. Best. Last. Meal. Ever. Seriously. 

(Pot Stickers, Egg Rolls, Fried Asparagus, Fried Rice, & Chow Mein)

I tend to not go to bed until 11:00 and after 10:00 I wasn't allowed ANY food or liquid, so when I get into bed at 11:00, I had the WORST heartburn and every time I laid down it got worse. (So Dave Wong's, I love you, but you can never be my last meal, unless I can take Tums.) I think I finally went to bed at 3:00 in the morning and then had to get up at 5:30. (I did everything the night before so I could sleep as late as possible.)

So Grant and I check in at the hospital and get all set up (the nurses blew 3 of my veins before they found one they could use. It's never a good sign when they call you a human pincushion.) So at about 8:00 they start prepping me for surgery. When I get onto the table and am waiting for surgery to start I had so much adrenaline going that I was shaking. So after they get the baby out of me they tell us she had a huge knot in her umbilical cord. This one was pulled as tight as it could but it never cut off blood flow. (I can't even describe the feeling I felt when they told me she had a knot). 

So at 9:03 on Friday morning, baby Evelyn arrived......

Evelyn Harper Crum

7lbs 9oz.     19 inches long

February 24, 2012 @ 9:03 in the morning.