More Leona Pics

These are a couple of the pics Gea took of Lea when she was staying with me. This is the typical look on my baby's face. She is just always pleasant!

Lea Pics

5 1/2 Months

So my last post was written a week ago, but just posted today, but this is really "today's". Yesterday, my dad drove down from WA (where he's working), and mom came up with Gea to meet him here and stay the night. My sister, Krista, also drove up from Grand Junction, CO, and is staying with me for a couple of days, then going back 2 hours to see the rest of the fam. Its nice to see her because we don't get to see each other that much. I especially like that Garrett can see his cousins that he doesn't get to see that much. It's probably been over a year since he's seen them. He has had a lot of fun with them since they've been here. Krista has taken quite a few pics of all of them (if you check out her blog, you would know that she is a picture MANIAC! :) But I appreciate it, because I am STILL camera-less. So THANKS KRISTA!

Jesse, Michael, and Garrett

What looks like Jesse and Garrett running
Cheese!

The boys waving goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa

...FINALLY!!! :)

Yes, I know I haven't posted in forever, but I have not fallen off the planet, I've just fallen off the radar. Earl and I moved to a little town in Montana called Dillon so that he can go to a school perfect for him. We are in the process of trying to sell our house in St. Anthony, and praying very hard that it goes through. Hopefully when it sells, we can get our computer fixed, and I can keep this thing updated a little better. Anyway, we live just down the road from Earl's sister, Alder, and I LOVE it! It really has been a great move for us. Garrett loves being close to his cousins, and Lea is getting so big. She is the happiest baby, ever, and such a blessing to us. We have also made some good friends here who, with the help of Alder, keep me from wondering what in the world I'm doing in Dillon, Montana. But it really is a beautiful area, where Earl can stay busy between school and hunting. My sister, Gea came home from Alaska almost 2 weeks ago, and has been staying with me for the last week. She took some good pics of Lea, so I will have her help me upload the pics, and hopefully post them later for your viewing pleasure!!

Brotherly love

I said it in an earlier post, and its still true... Garrett LOVES his little sister! A couple of nights ago I woke up to feed Lea at about 5 am, and as I was getting her out of her bassinette, he sat up on the floor next to her bed and said simply, "Mama." I have no clue how long he was there, if he just came in before that, or if he'd actually been sleeping on the floor! ...Kinda broke my heart! Also, today he was taking a nap and she started crying and it must of woke him up. I heard him saying something from his room, and as Lea quieted down, I understood him. He was saying, "It's okay, Lona," over and over. So I went into his room and tried laying by him (Lea was in the swing by now) but he just said, "Wanna see Lona."

This is him holding her hand:

I know he looks like he's in major pain, but its really his best smile!:

And here's just a couple pics of Lea at one week old:

A Day at the Park

This is Garrett's regular morning routine: wake up, put on Mickey Mouse, and sniff his blanket. This is him the morning of the day I was induced.

These pics are a few days late. We went to the park the day I was induced, so I never had time to post them before I had the baby. Then I wanted to post the new baby pics first. Anyway, we had a fun time. Garrett loves being outside, and Earl had a little too much fun, as well!

I also wanted to shout out a HUGE thank you to our awesome friends, Bryan and Brittany, for letting us use their camera! Ours broke right in time for this babe to be born, so we wouldn't have any of these pictures if it weren't for them! Love you guys!

The Wait is OVER!

Leona NaThel Carlson

Welcome to our family!

Nicknames: Lea, Baby Lona (Garrett's).

Born May 5, 2009 (also known as Cinco de Mayo!) Exactly one week late (definately my daughter!)

6 lbs, 7 oz.

19 inches.

Healthy. We couldn't be happier, or prouder parents. I went in Monday night to be induced. She was born at 5:30 the next morning with no complications and with (luckily) a very easy labor! YAY for ME!! We had a lot of visitors in the hospital and loved every second! Thanks everyone for the love, flowers, help with Garrett, and for bringin me Jamba Juice! :)

G-ma & G-pa Carlson brought Garrett the next day, and he didn't even say so much as "Hi" to me. He went straight to "Baby Lona" and wanted to hold her, touch her bow and eyes, and was very intrigued with her tiny toes! Since we've been home, he still LOVES her, but he doesn't love all the attention SHE gets. For example: I was changing Lea's diaper and at the same time, Earl was changing Garrett's, and she started crying, so he had to give his best, whiniest cry as well!

LOVE THIS PIC OF EARL!! My sometimes-all-too-macho husband (I can say that, cuz he probably won't read this!) has completely melted for his daughter. He is just like Garrett. Wants to hold her, look at her, and is also very intrigued with her tiny toes! He has been the BEST HUSBAND EVER!! And he made a killer salmon dinner for us tonight!

Don't love this one of me, but its a good one of Little Lea with her eyes open.

We love her so much and are amazed at how love GROWS. Its amazing how much we love Garrett and can still love another child so much as well. Having children truly makes us love and appreciate our parents so much more. We feel so blessed to be able to be parents to such beautiful, happy, and healthy children.

... Just Waiting...

Well, today is the "due date". I have really been ready for this pregnancy to be over for about a month now, and I have just been expecting the baby to be early. EVERY night I think "Tonight I'm going into labor". Garrett was 2 weeks early, and that has been the death of me this pregnancy! Some of you 'older generation' ladies (love you mom and Vic!) are going to scoff at my next comment, but tomorrow I'm calling to see if I can set up an induction. Both Earl and I were a month late!! NO WAY! I know, we have it so easy now-a-days! I hate to complain, especially because this time has been soo EASY! Unlike with Garrett, I have had almost no morning sickness, and I have felt GREAT! I danced and worked out with the cheerleaders till I was 7 months, and I would have continued to work out publicly, but it starts to look awkward when a last trimester pregnant woman tries moving like she's not pregnant (my own personal opinion!) So instead, I have still been able to be very active. Doing things like jogging when I can, chasing and playing with Garrett, remodeling the house; lifting heavy things, painting, spring cleaning, etc. But I am so done, I'm such a baby! There's a reason I was born in this day and age. Thank goodness for modern medicine!

Easter Egg Hunt

I know this is really late, but its all I have of Garrett's Easter. He LOVED finding eggs, and after he found them all, he ate TONS of candy, and once he'd had enough, he had fun dumping the candy out of the eggs and watching Copper (G&G Carlson's dog) eat it off the ground!

Anyway, my camera died during this video, and it is DEAD... for good! So we didn't get any other Easter pics, and that's why I haven't posted anything recently. And now the baby is due in a couple days and we have NO CAMERA! I'm a little annoyed, but I guess I should have been ready for it to die, I've had it since I lived in New York... like 5 years ago. We may just have to buy a disposable one till we can afford a new digital. Do those still exist?

Can't Sleep!

Ever had nights when there is so much on your mind that you just CAN NOT SLEEP?!? Well, I don't know if its because I'm pregnant and "nesting" --maybe... but right now its 5 am and I have just been thinking for over an hour. About a half hour ago, I got up and wrote some of my thoughts on paper, thinking that would help, but as you can see... it didn't! Garrett is also wide awake right now (he's actually what woke me up from my peaceful sleep), and he is wanting "up-a-down". So in hopes that after I post this blog, I may be able to sleep, I am going to list ALL that I can think of... whether its been on my mind or not-- just in case I go back to bed and start thinking of NEW things! :

Cheer is almost over!
1 week till competition... ARE THEY READY?!? AM I READY? Paperwork, check. Money, check. Music, check. Routine, check. What else??...
I'm wanting to use the cheer fund to have a 'cheer night out' in a hotel with a pool-- with all the girls and myself and my assistant, it would be about $400! It would be fun but do I dare blow that much of our hard-earned, fundraised money on one night of fun??
Cheer is about to begin! - tryouts are in April -- right about the time that the baby is due, and there is A LOT to do to prepare for that week and to make next year better and easier.

...Speaking of the baby!
I still need to buy a few things before she's born! The big things are a car seat and a tub, other than that I just need to start stocking up on diapers, etc. My sister, Krista, gave these things to me to use for Garrett, but then she had another baby, so I gave it all back. Jacob will only be 8 months old when the babe's born so I have to buy new stuff! Dang it! ;) you spoiled me, Krista!! Clothes, I don't need. I have all the clothes that were given to me - that Adare and Dracy grew out of when I was their nanny, plus a couple of my friends have given me their daughters' "too smalls".

Just a side-note... I gave in to Garrett's demands a few minutes ago, and he was, to my pleasure, very cuddly. But it was taking me a long time to type, so I put him on the couch next to me, and he wasn't having that. He kept creeping his way to my lap. Finally after about 3 tries, he took my hand and told me to get up, then guided me into MY room, and pointed to the bed (where Earl's sleeping) and again said "up". So he is now very content in his daddy's arms!

Back to my list:
As most know, Earl is going to school full-time at BYU-I. He just transferred there from ISU and in comparison, he HATES it. He hates not being able to have facial hair! But that he can deal with. From day 1 we've had problems with transferring and student aid. But thats all been cleared out, and dealt with. The thing he's having the most trouble with is the actual system - professors, testing, the new "learning model", etc. At ISU, he was able to do well when he put in the study time. But here, even the classes where the info comes easy, or hours upon hours put into studying, he still hasn't tested well. I feel so bad for him. He is completely overwhelmed, because since the day he decided to go to school, he has been DETERMINED to do well, and really puts in so much time, but here its not paying off. Anyway, he's had it. He's applying to U of Montana Western, for next semester, on. If he doesn't get in there, we will be moving to Pocatello and living there till he gets accepted into Dental school.

...Which means...
Dillon, MT or Pocatello, here we come! But first we have to sell our house! We are using our tax returns to finish it. When we moved in, we completely gutted and redid the living room, and put in new flooring and paint in all the rooms, and quickly ran out of $$. So we have the kitchen and bathroom and some small painting to finish. We're hoping to get a little extra money when it sells to pay off all of our debts! That would be so WONDERFUL!

Its now 6 and nothing else is coming to my mind, so maybe that means I'll be able to go to sleep! ...but now I'm hungry! :)
There you have it... thoughts from my dumb mind!!

I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT, BUT HE LOVES IT!

YAY FOR ME... IT'S ONLY BEEN 8 DAYS SINCE MY LAST BLOG!! Last night I realized that Garrett is a little odd. He is always sitting/laying down, sometimes with his blanket, on hard floors. It doesn't matter where it is. I have been doing my hair in the bathroom and he will run for his blanket and nestle up on the floor beside me!! (Gross, I know! I try not to let him do that one so much!)

Here's a picture of him right after he woke up this morning

In this video, Earl and I were watching Man Vs. Wild (LOVE IT!) and I looked over and Garrett is sitting right on the edge of the hard floor and the carpet, reading his book! Why he wasn't just a few inches closer and sitting on carpet, I'll never know!

Monthly "catch-up"

WE GOT A NEW BED!! :) Actually its used-new, but new to us! Earl's parents got a brand-new bed, so they gave us their (only 4 year old) bed. Its a pillow top, king-size! The pics don't do much justice, but to give you an idea... the quilts on it were HUGE on our old bed. The pictures on the corners of the top quilt actually hung off the sides of the old bed, and now the quilt barely covers the bed!! Now when the baby's born, we'll have PLENTY of room for all 4 of us! YaY!

This is our day out with the Jones family --Bryan, Brittany, Brooke, and Abby. Brittany told us about a place in Idaho Falls called "Blast Off" that is like a major McDonald's Playland- and it only costs a couple bucks! It was a very fun day and it got us out of the house in the middle of our long Idaho winter... Garrett and Brooke had a BLAST! :)

Above is Garrett drowning in the balls. Anyone who's been around him knows how much he loves balls... so he had a great time and never wanted to leave the ball pen.

These are Earl and Garrett's glamour shots!

Garrett and Dad showing their teeth

Garrett and Dad showing their 'mean face' (my personal favorite!)