Merry (late) Christmas!

Here is Crew giving his sister a sweet kiss on Christmas morning!

We had a great Christmas morning with just our little family. I am thoroughly enjoying my two babies and have loved Brian being home, although he is already back to work. Crew has been sick with a double ear infection the whole week of and before Christmas, so he was sleeping in til about 8 or 9. Brian, unfortunately, woke up around 6:30 am and had the rest of the family up by 7. Poor Crew was a little tired and had to go down for an early nap. We did our stockings and ate our orange butter coffee cake (so yummy!) and then did presents. Crew loved all his new stuff although I think at first he was slightly overwhelmed. We did go a tad overboard but next year with two kiddos to buy for we figured we would spoil him while we can. Dave and Shelly got here late Christmas night and are here til Monday. We are having so much fun with them and will be sad to see them go! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Pictures

Sorry I could not figure out how to flip the picture of Briley and me in the hospital so it was right side up, and then I couldn't figure out how to just delete it off. I hope it doesnt bother everyone as much as it bothers me. But I will add more pictures here of just snap shots around the home I have taken. We got newborn pictures taken yesterday and I cannot wait to add those, but it will be awhile before we get them back.

Welcome to the World Miss Briley

For those of you who don't know, I had Briley almost a week ago today on 12/12. I was just about three weeks early and she was an ity bity 5 lbs 15 oz. She had been trying to come for awhile, when I was 35 weeks I started having pre-term labor and they kept me overnight in the hospital trying different medications to stop the contractions. We were finally able to stop them and they sent me home on moderate bed rest. I stopped working and was good for about a week before I got sick of laying around and started being active again (jogging aside but lets be honest I never jog anyway:)). When I got to 37 weeks I started getting anxious and bored cause I felt like I was just waiting around... we had gotten Christmas shopping done early and everything was in place. I started to worry she might even be late. Went for a family drive up Carr Canyon and hiked around a bit up there last Saturday. I'll admit, I was trying to jump start labor but nothing happened so I went about my day and finally decided she could come whenever she wanted, I wouldn't be impatient anymore. That night around 8 or so I started having contractions but nothing painful. Around 8:30 they were very consistent and even though they weren't too painful yet decided to go to the hospital since my dr said this one could go fast. We dropped off Crew with my friend Jess and by the time we got admitted they were super painful and only a minute or two apart. I was only 3 cm and even though I told them I would probably go fast they made me walk around for a half hour to progress before they would check me again and put me in my own room. It was the longest half hour of my life, it was so painful and I just wanted my epidural. I was 5 cm next time they checked me and by the time they got me my epidural I was already at 8 and kinda panicking that I wouldn't get it in time. Less than a half hour after I got my epidural (by this time the contractions were less painful but still hurt) it was time to push. She came out in 4 contractions (about 15 min or less) and even though I could feel most of it and it hurt pretty bad, I was just so glad for it to be over! It was more painful and intense than Crew's 12 hour birth but I was grateful it only took 4 hours and I didn't need any stitches this time either.

We got home Monday morning and Brian stayed home all week. We have been enjoying our little family so much! We have gotten awesome meals all week from our ward family and this week we are getting more from the mom's club I am in. I have been just feeling so grateful to all our friends here for their support and love. I am feeling great this time around and am amazed at how much energy I have. Briley is an angel baby, she sleeps a lot and is eating well (although I wish I could get her to eat for longer periods of time- dr said not to worry) and has longer and longer periods of alert time where she just looks around in wonder. I am up 2-3 times a night to feed her but she goes right back down after. I feel so blessed to have two wonderful children. Crew is adjusting well to sharing his parents, and seems to like the baby more and more. The real test will be when Brian goes back to work on Monday.

I love having a girl! The bows, flowers and frills are just too much fun. I can already see how everyone says girls are more expensive. But she is totally worth it! I am loving this Christmas season more and more now that I get to share it with both my children, plus I love not being pregnant although lets be honest, I don't totally look "not pregnant" yet;). All in good time! I am planning on taking another two or three months off then going back to work very part time. I am going to keep two of my kids from before and work either one or two days a week probably for an hour and a half each kid. I love the flexibility of my job, and the rewarding sense of accomplishment when I help them progress in life. Its the same feeling I have every day being a mom. So great! Haven't felt any baby blues yet, am hoping they won't sneak in down the road.

A horrible thing happened this week. An agent from Brian's station was shot and killed while on duty. Brian didn't know him well but its a tragedy and makes you realize the frailty of life and appreciate what you have. I can only pray for Brian's and everyone's safety every day and know that there is a reason for all things. I am just so thankful Brian and I are sealed together in the temple and get to be an eternal family no matter what.

I will end this post with a funny story. I have started pumping a little every day to have a storage of milk in the freezer. Yesterday Crew took out one of the little storage bottles from my bag where I keep everything and held it up to his bare chest and looked at me with a proud little smile. It totally cracked me up, kids pay a lot more attention to us then we give them credit for! I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season!

Happy August

So I am horrible with keeping up this blog. It has been a long time and so much has happened. I can't believe it is August already! We have had such a fun and busy summer, things are now slowing down and wrapping up so I figured it was time for an update. We are expecting baby # 2 the end of December, although I am hoping to have her on or around the 20th because I would love to have her home by Christmas. That is right, HER, its a girl oh yeah baby we are so excited to have a sweet little girl in our house. I love my boy more than anything but I was really hoping for a girl so I could have one of each that way later if I have all boys or all girls I won't have to worry about not getting one or the other. Plus now Crew won't feel so competitive, especially as they get a little older. I am just so thrilled. We had the ultrasound a few days ago. Thinking we are gonna name her Briley Nicole. We really like Briley and kinda came across it with our first baby because we were trying to find different Brian/Ashley combinations. And I just love my best friend and sister who both have the name Nicole (well Christy's middle name is Nicole), plus its a beautiful name!

We had a slew of vacations early this spring/summer. It started off with my awesome sister Christy flying out from Nashville (6 months pregnant at the time) and we drove to San Diego for a two night three day trip there. It was our first time going there and we had so much fun! Crew loved the beach and really enjoyed watching the waves with Daddy. I loved how beautiful and well kept all the houses and yards were. We all loved shopping at the fabulous outlets they have there, especially Coach (well I loved that one especially:)). We ate at some great restaraunts and Christy took some fabulous new family pictures for us. (see above) Thanks Christy you are amazing. It was a short but wonderful trip and I can't wait to go again, its only a 7 hr drive from where we live. I am hoping to go back one more time before the baby comes.

Right before she left, to kick off Crew's birthday celebration we did a cake smash and got some awesome pictures. That boy loves cake something fierce! Before we left for Utah we had a party for him here at our house with our Arizona friends and were touched by the number of people that showed up. So grateful to have such good friends and so happy Crew has lots of kids around his age to play with!

For our next trip we drove back to Utah and got to spend time with Brian's family. His brother Jason and wife Celeste came back too from Maine with their two girls plus their new sweet baby girl. His other brother Jon and wife Sarah live there too so we got to see the whole family it was so wonderful to spend time with everyone. Crew has his actual birthday while we were there and we had another party for him. Yes, he had two parties plus a cake smash at the age of one. Hope he doesn't get used to that! :) We really wish we lived closer to family although we love our home and friends here as well. Crew loved playing with his cousins and spending time with Grandma and Papa! I was just getting started with my pregnancy nausea though during that trip which made it a little more difficult, but we had a great time none-the-less. Can't wait to hopefully see everyone again next summer!

My last trip I did solo with Crew, as Brian was about out of leave. I flew to Washington to spend time with my mom and best friend Nicole. It was a tad stressful flying with Crew by myself, especially since all he wanted to do was crawl around the plane and airport and had a very hard time sitting still. But we made it safe and sound. Nicole and I went to the Carrie Underwood concert while I was there. We went and saw her years ago at the Idol concertand had such a great time it was wonderful to be able to go again and see how much she has even improved from that. She is such an amazing singer and performer. I loved sharing that with my best friend and I miss her very much. Her husband got into medical school in Phillidelphia and they are moving there very shortly. I am planning on going there with the whole family in May, to see them and get to explore New York and Washington DC, both only an hour away!!! Make room for us Nicole :)! So proud of how hard they have worked to get to this point and excited for their new fresh start in the East. Its so exciting to be in a new city with no other friends or family to rely on. Good luck guys!

Brian's work is going great. He has been doing some work with the Intell guys at his station and is really enjoying it. He went to days recently and I must say that after 9 months of swings its nice to have him home for dinner and on a regular schedule again. He hopes one day to move to a criminal investigator position and has been exploring several agencies.

Wow so I feel like I am writing a Christmas letter, which is funny cause its August and I have never even done a Christmas letter before. Just trying to update, sorry if I am rambling. Crew is getting so big, he will be 15 months on Monday. He is not walking yet but pulls himself up and walks around anything he can get his fingers on. He has let go a few times and taken a few independent steps but then falls over and won't try again for awhile. I figure when he is ready he will just take off. He spends lots of time with other kids his age who walk and they provide good examples for him:). I am working with two kids right now, still with Positive ABA. I work three days a week totalling 12 hours, so my work schedule is definitely not overwhelming. Its nice to get out of the house. Brian watches Crew one day, then my neighbor watches him another and on the last day of every week I usually alternate between a few friends. He gets a good variety of experiences with different people and children, and I get a chance to make a bit of extra money while keeping current on my teaching skills. Its a job I really enjoy and I hope to keep it once I have the new baby.

We have had a very nice monsoon season this year, so I haven't had to water much lately which has been great, but the weeds are out of control. I sprayed finally a few days ago and it took me hours. Yard work is not my favorite when its hot and I am pregnant. Brian definitely helps when he can but he works such long days its hard to find the time.

Well I think this post is long enough, if you made it through the whole thing congratulations, sorry for rambling on. Most people post at least once a month, so I figure I post every 8 months and I will just make it longer posts! :) I will try to do it more often now that I am caught up to date. Pregnancy is treating me well, I was a lot sicker with this baby and if that is any indication to my boy vs girl pregnancies (I was hardly nauseas at all with Crew), then I don't mind if the rest of my kids are boys. I am finally feeling better though, but still feel very emotional most of the time. I get angry and frustrated fast and it has been hard on me (plus I am sure on Brian and Crew- although Brian understands and Crew won't remember:)). Oh well a baby girl at the end of it will be so amazing I won't even remember how miserable I have been! I always look at girl clothes and get excited, now I can start buying them! YAY!!!

Hope all is well with everyone! I dont remember how to stagger the pictures throughout the post so please excuse the mixture at the top.

Happy 2010!

Lots of holidays have passed since I updated our blog... I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year. We sure did. In November we went out to Kansas City as a family to see my grandparents that I have not seen in a few years. It was great to see them again and reconnect. They just loved meeting Brian and Crew (naturally). Crew did very well on the flights, he only cried a few times until I could get him nursing and then he was fine. We went to the Nelson Art Gallery and just lounged around the house catching up. Crew kept us all entertained! :) Then Brian flew home to go back to work and I flew out with Crew to Nashville to see my sister. We had a great time there, she took some amazing (of course!) picts of Crew and me and we had fun playing with Jackson and Cole. Those boys are growing up so fast. She is pregnant again now and is due end of July! So happy for her beautiful family, babies are such a blessing! Of course, as I write this Crew is screaming in his crib, refusing his nap! haha... Two days after we got home, Brians parents came out for a week to visit. It was so nice to have them here, not only are they extremely helpful but are just so much fun, I love being around them! Crew had a blast playing with Grandma and "Papa" and got spoiled with some good toys and cute clothes! They were here for Thanksgiving, my second grown up Thanksgiving, and helped a lot with the food preparation. My friend Jessica just had her baby a few days before Thanksgiving, and like a trooper came with her hubby and new baby to celebrate with us. We all had a fabulous time.

December was a little more low key. I am working, but only have one kid still, so I was home a lot with little Crew. Bri was off the two days before Christmas, and we played games, watched movies and baked up a storm, including his favorite Orange Butter Coffee Cake, a Mathie tradition! The rolls are a little time consuming but are so wonderful it makes it all worth it! We loved watching Crew open up his presents and play with the wrapping paper. He got his first tooth while we were out in Nashville and got his second on Christmas Day. So after the presents he was pretty much cranky for the rest of the day.

New Years we left Crew with my neighbor who watches him sometimes when I work, and we went to two different friend's houses for a little bit. Then we had to go home because Crew had woken up and needed us, but that was fine because we spend the rest of the night curled on the couch watching a movie, which was really what I wanted to do anyway! :) I am such a homebody!

I am excited for 2010, I know it is going to be a very good year with lots of new challenges to face... bring it on! Crew is learning so fast. He is a great sitter now and he is close to crawling. He gets frustrated sometimes when he wants to get somewhere straight ahead, because he is good at pivoting and rolling to where he wants to go but he gets stuck sometimes if its too straight forward. Just pick up those chubby knees Crew, you can do it! He is getting more vocal with his baby babble, he can say "Da Da" and other non-sensical things. He is just too cute for words. Yesterday was my birthday and I want to thank all of you for the birthday wishes. Brian and I are celebrating it on Wednesday cause that's his day off. I have a new calling in church teaching the CTR 4's. I will miss nursery but I love teaching in this more structured but still non-intimidating way. :)

I have a few trips planned in May and I am very excited. Brian's brother's family is coming from Maine to Utah beginning of May with their new baby (yay!) and their other 2 adorable girls, so we are gonna drive up there and see the whole Mathie family. Then end of May I am flying with Crew to Washington to see my mom, dad and best friend Nicole. While I am there we are going to go see Carrie Underwood. Pretty much super excited for all those things! It will be a sweet month! Well sorry this is so long I need to be better about posting more often to avoid these super long posts that will more than likely not get read anyway! Hope you all have a terrific New Year! Sorry we didn't get Christmas cards out but maybe next year! :) I will leave you with a pict of Crew in his cute little church outfit, he's such a little man now!