Emily Dickson

Our newest niece was born at 12:11 on Wednesday, November 7th. 

Emily Dickson

3lbs. 11 oz. 16.5 inches long

 Melissa was only 31 weeks along, but was having consistent contractions and in labor for two days. Finally they got checked into the hospital and she was already dilated to a 7. They tried what they could to keep the baby in but to no avail. So, Melissa gave birth to a beautiful little girl and through the miracle of modern medicine and lots of prayers, Emily and Melissa are doing great. Emily is in the NICU and will be for 6-8 weeks while she learns to breathe on her own, eat on her own and regulate her body temperature. It was an emotional days for everyone as we were so surprised it was happening 9 weeks early but we are so excited to have Emily as part of our family! She is coming into an atmosphere with lots of love and support and she is a fighter and already doing so well so we couldn't be more proud.

I would have posted them all

Some of my favorites of our family pictures taken 10.26.12 by Heather Telford.

 

Nolan: 5 months

I could not have a sweeter baby. I am so in love with this little (big) boy! His eyes, his cheeks, his smiles, his roly-poly body.. they kill me. Time is flying by way too fast, here's what happened for Nolan in the past month:

Eats: He started eating rice cereal this month. I was going to wait because he obviously is not lacking for mass but the doctor said it would help him sleep longer more consistently if I wanted to try. So we did. He eats about 2 tablespoons of rice cereal with his bottle around dinner time. Surprisingly, he is not a fan of eating off a spoon. He acts like he is going to gag and makes all kinds of faces of torture so we basically have to wash down every bite with his bottle. He has definitely improved over the month but he still doesn't enjoy it as much as I thought he would! He still drinks a 7 oz. bottle 4 times a day.

Sleeps: The rice cereal definitely works though! He now sleeps 12-13 hours every night and I feel like I have my nights rest back! It's amazing. He has been sleeping from about 9:30-10 AM He also still takes two naps during the day. He's a dream.
Plays: I found an exersaucer on ksl.com and got it for him. He gets tired of the standing position after a little while but so far he has responded well to it. He is starting to play with all the little toys more. He also is starting to roll everywhere. I will set him down in one place and find him several feet away! He is also getting stronger on his tummy and better at holding his head up.

Likes: Toys that are musical. Also has started to chew on things. Still mostly a momma's boy. He also likes his hands, he is always playing with them or holding them or sucking on them.

Dislikes: (besides eating) He doesn't like to try to sit on his own, or even be propped up. He will sit on your lap if you are holding him, but otherwise he likes to be standing or laying down flat.

Other: He has started to chuckle a little bit. Especially when you kiss under his chin rolls on his neck. Caitlin was the same way. His hair is thickening back up, however he does still have a small bald spot going on. We celebrated his first Halloween this month. He was adorable as Mickey Mouse.
 

neither here nor there

October in instagram:

joys of motherhood: october

-Caitlin's current obsessions are: #1 her "Pinkalicious musical" cd. i bought it on accident while trying to buy the actual book then i busted it out a few months ago to see if it could keep her happy in the car and I'm seriously regretting that decision. Caitlin demands "pink songs" as soon as we get in the car and I now have low-budget show tunes about pink cupcakes stuck in my head 24/7 #2 playing in the parked car. She lives climbing around and getting into compartments. She would stay in there for hours if I let her. #3 soap or shampoo or lotion, just as long as any of those have the pump top. i find her "washing her hands" (aka squirting soap all over them and rubbing it all over her body then playing with the running faucet water) ALL the time. She also sneaks into my shower and squirts shampoo all over. #4 dum dums suckers are her favorite candy by far. I keep a handful in a hidden pocket of my purse to use as bribes whenever needed.

-The other day in church we sat in the first row of the back area, so there was a little space between us and the pews ahead. Caitlin took that as a perfect setting for ring around the rosies and started running around in a circle singing the song. This was bad enough but in addition to this: her version of the song is obviously not perfect but she knows most the words, especially "ashes ashes" the only problem is that she can't quite pronounce the sh sound so it's sounds like "asses asses" (donkeys of course)... So yes, that was my kid running around in circles during your quiet worship service singing about asses.
- I was feeding Nolan his bottle and had to walk into the other room to check on something. I did so then came back and sat down on the couch and thought to myself that something was missing... something seemed too easy about that. Then I realized that I had walked around with him holding his own bottle! I hadn't been using a hand to hold it or my chin to balance the bottle while I walked. This doesn't happen all the time but him learning to hold his own bottle is a game changer.
-Ever since we went to the Temple open house Caitlin has been identifying all of the temples she sees. The other night as we were driving home it was dark and the Mt. Timpanogos temple was illuminated and looked so beautiful. Caitlin said "Ooo mommy mommy I see temple" me: yah that's the temple right there isn't it pretty? C: "Yes. Mommy I go temple." She wanted to go there right away and go in. It was really sweet.

-The other night Caitlin said her bedtime prayer all by herself. Usually we prompt her to say different things but this time she started all by herself and kept going. It was a very sweet and simple prayer and the whole thing brought a tear to my eye.
-Caitlin's word to describe her right now would be: unstable. Call it the terrible 2's, blame it on teething, whatever the reason is.. She is very hot and cold. She will change her mood in the blink of an eye and its all really quite exhausting.
-Caitlin has gotten two of her 4 molars.. The two top ones. I noticed she was chewing on weird things and she's been acting a little off and sure enough I stuck my finger in her mouth and felt those little chompers. She loves using the oragel numbing medicine.
-The other night I went to a baby shower and Rebekah was kind enough to babysit while Paul was still at work. I'm sure the kids had so much fun with her. When I got home I was talking to Caitlin about her night and she said "Mommy I missed you!" That made my heart melt.
-If you ask Caitlin if she will do something, she almost always replies with a very confident "yes" but only actually does it about 70% of the time
-People stop me all the time to tell me how cute Nolan is. (I'm not trying to brag.. It's a fact, but also one I agree with) most people comment on how big he is, or how pretty his eyes are but the other night a lady told me that he looks like a teddy bear and I need to dress him up as a panda... I'm hoping she just meant for Halloween.

-The other night Paul drove with Caitlin to Salt Lake and while they were in the car Paul said "Do you want to listen to Pinkalicious or just talk?" Caitlin said "Talk" and Paul said they just talked to whole way there about anything and everything. She's at a really fun age for communicating and it's Paul's favorite thing to see what she will say.

Halloween

We kept Halloween pretty low-key this year compared to years in the past but somehow we were still tired AND on a sugar high by the end of the day.




1. The kids and I ran a bunch of errands throughout the day, they both looked so cute in their orange and black outfits so I made them stop in the parking lot to take a picture. In the late afternoon we went to vivint to go trick-or-treating through the offices and it was a good practice round... Caitlin crashed on the way home and had a tiny nap in the car to re-charge for that night.
2. Jenna and Rebekah met up with us to go trick-or-treating around our neighborhood. Mike and Cassie and Matt also came up later for chili and cornbread dinner.
3. The weather was so nice for the night, so Nolan chilled in the stroller going around and Caitlin was unpredictable as usual. She would act all shy while at the door but as soon as it closed she would say "trick or treat!" She improved as the night went on. She also liked seeing all the kids come to our door and giving them candy.
4. This little boy just kills me. Nolan's first Halloween, as Mickey Mouse.
5. My little Mickey and Minnie were just cute as can be. I wasn't going to have them be something together but then I realized I might not have too many years that I can have them be in coordinating costumes so I picked up a last minute Mickey outfit and made the bowtie in about 5 minutes and it was so worth it because they were so stinkin' cute together. 

October ends

A couple other things that closed out the month of October:

(We had Stewart here for about a week between the boys' hunting trip and the Half Marathon so we got to do some fun things with him)

-We got our first snow. first three snows actually. It snowed in the morning three days in a row but quickly melted. And then it actually got pretty warm for the next few days. Crazy weather but definitely a good excuse to bring out my cocomotion and a reminder that winter is coming. Caitlin loved the snow... she has the highest cold weather tolerance I have ever seen. She is truly a Utah baby. She just loves being outside and loved building her snowman with Grandpa. 

-We visited Great Grandma and Grandpa Dickson in Salt Lake. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of everyone which I am really sad about but they got to meet Nolan for the first time.

-We had lunch with Paul at his work. We do this about once a week and I love it. I love that vivint is such a family-friendly place to work.

 -We got family pictures taken. I thought Caitlin would be a disaster and Nolan would be an angel (which is usually how things work out) but Caitlin actually did decent and Nolan had a little melt down. Regardless, I think we got some cute ones and I am excited to see how they all turn out. Heather Telford took them for us and she was so sweet and good with the kids and great to work with.

-We went to our first Real Salt Lake soccer game and I'm ashamed to say I still don't understand everything about soccer so I'm not the best fan... but I did have a good time eating the hotdogs and nachos and snacks in the box. And the stadium is really cool to be in.

 -We carved pumpkins at our neighbor's house a few days before Halloween and it was fun. We worked on one as a family (i.e.: tried to keep Caitlin from grabbing all the sharp things while also trying to make it cute and let her have fun). She did have fun in the process though. she didn't mind geting messy and holding the pumpkin guts but her favorite part was blowing out the candles inside the pumpkin once we lit it. She's funny.

 

-We voted! We found a place to do early voting and beat the lines. This was my first time to vote and it was exciting for me to be part of the process and feel like a responsible citizen. I'm excited for the election and what it could mean for the next 4 years and the future of our country. Can't wait to find out the results!   

Halloween Half

About a week before the event, I made a spur of the moment decision to do a half marathon with Rebekah. Stewart also made a similar spur of the moment decision and the three of us participated in the Provo Halloween Half on October 27th. This was my second half marathon, my first being over a year and one baby ago. I figured since I have been doing the Insanity workouts so religiously I was in pretty good cardio shape and I was curious to see how I would do. I went on a 5 mile run a couple days before and that was my only training run. This marathon was fun because it was entertaining to see everyone running in their costumes. Rebekah and I dressed up as cats and we entered the costume contest as "siamese cats" with  band around our stomachs and legs (like a three-legged race). But when we didn't win we decided not to run that way. It was SUPER cold at the top and I couldn't feel my feet for about the first 3 miles but by the end it had warmed up and was quite pleasant. 

Rebekah and Stewart definitely did better than me, but I was still proud of myself for running the whole time (although at times I was running so slow I may as well have been walking) and sticking with it and finishing with a decent time. I stuck with the other two for the first 5 miles and felt good then widened the gap during the 6th mile and then I was on my own for the rest. The course started at Sundance and went along the Provo Canyon trail and it was a really gorgeous run. Miles 8-11 were definitely my hardest. Overall I had a good time doing it (well, as good of a time as you can have while putting your body through 13.1 miles). Paul and the kids and Mike and Jenna were all so great to come to the the finish line to greet us. 
*I also want to add that I was surprisingly not as sore or injured as I thought I might be the days afterward so I was very grateful for that.

in other news...

-We went to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point the other day with a few other moms. It's been a tradition to go every year and I was really excited to take the kids. Unfortunately Caitlin decided to be a stinker for the majority of the time there was acted uninterested in almost everything. (Good thing you don't have to pay admission for kids until they are 3!) There were a few moments of happiness for her, one being when she got to put on the pink princess dress and run around on the "pumpkin princess play area" stage. She also liked the jumping pillow and looking at all the pumpkins. Nolan was an angel as always and just enjoyed his ride around in the stroller.

-I've been doing the "Insanity" workouts for a little over a month now (it's a two month program) and they are indeed insane. Very hard and very sweat-producing. I'm hoping to lose all my baby weight and obviously get a rockin' body. It's been really hard so far but I've kept up with it and Paul was nice enough to agree to some nice incentives if I succeed in my goals so I've got good stuff to work towards. I usually work out while Nolan is taking his morning nap so Caitlin comes down to the basement with me and sometimes she joins in and it's pretty funny.

-Paul went deer hunting in southern Utah and unfortunately was unsuccessful (for him that is, I'm sure the deer see it differently). But he did have a good time with his dad and brothers.

vivint likes to party

October 16th was the vivint end of the year party and it was quite the sha-bang. They had a carnival with rides and all kinds of prizes and treats and then there was a show including BMX tricks, dirt bike races and RZR races that were all quite entertaining, although not for Nolan--somehow he slept through most of it. There was also a fireworks show, mixed with plenty of incentives and give-aways. Our friends Robin and CJ were in town (Paul and CJ were high school buddies) so we brought them along and had fun braving some pretty sketchy-looking rides. Cassie and Matt also came later on. (Cassie and I showed up in matching outfits no less). Caitlin got a pony ride and a few carousel rides so basically she was in heaven. We also convinced her to go in the little cars ride and after 3 failed attempts she stayed in the car and loved it (we knew she would). So beat that all you people who think a good company party includes a free dinner and some white elephant gifts.

Nolan: 4 months

Our little chunk is doing great! He is such a sweetheart and so chill. He is so smiley and good natured. He is pretty much always happy until he's  hungry. We love him to pieces.

-Eats: He has moved completely to 7 ounces. At first it was just at night or when he still seemed hungry and now its all the time, the whole bottle. He is getting so big. I feel like he is so much older just because he is so huge. He tanks his bottle and doesn't spit up too often. He eats 4, sometimes 5 times a day about every 4 hours.

-Sleeps: He is a great sleeper. I haven't really done any sleep training with him because of all our travels so luckily he is naturally good. He takes at least two naps a day (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) for about 2 hours. Then he will catnap in the evening before bed. He goes to bed around 9:30 and will wake up around 6-6:30 at the earliest but sometimes he has slept later, even until 9 one time. When he wakes up early he goes back to sleep until 10 or so. Another thing I love about him is that he goes right back to sleep it's so nice and easy when he wakes up during the night. To put him to bed we just lay him in his crib, give him a blanky and sometimes a binky if he wants it and say goodnight. He likes to stretch out and go to sleep on his own and rarely even makes a peep.

-Plays: He loves playing with things like the hanging toys from play mats or his bouncer. He also likes toys that play songs. He is starting to become a lot more aware of his surroundings and he follows things with his eyes as tracks objects. He rolled from back to front on September 21 so he can now roll both ways and he does so pretty often.

-Likes: He likes interaction. He doesn't have to be the center of attention but he likes to be around people and in the action. He is very vocal: he likes to coo and goo and babble. He likes his blankies and specifically likes to have them by his face and cheeks. He likes sucking his fingers.. pretty much any or all of them will do. He also likes to be held facing out.
-Dislikes: Burping, and being left alone (if he's not going to sleep). He doesn't love "tummy time" either. Now that he can roll he pretty much avoids it at all costs.  

-Other: His hair is thinning out and he is getting a little bald spot in the back that I'm hoping won't get bigger but in better news his eyes look like they will for sure stay blue and they are so beautiful! Between him and Caitlin he is getting accidentally scratched all the time. My kids have the sharpest fingernails-- I have to cut them like twice a week! It's so sad. We tried him out in the regular forward-facing stroller while in Texas and he did great! His 4 month stats at the doctor were:
weight: 18 lbs. 6 oz. (94%)
length: 25.75 inches (77%)
head circumference: 16.9 inches (89%)
He also did great with his shots while we were there, he just let out one little shriek and that was it. Such a brave little boy! He got a little sad later on in the day but overall did great.

St. George 26.2

Over conference weekend (October 5-7th) we went down to St. George. Originally the hope for this trip was to be going to see Paul compete in the St. George marathon with other members of his family. But, then the broken foot happened. We went down anyways to enjoy the weekend and support the others but it was definitely bittersweet for Paul... wish he could have run. Everyone else did very well and we were proud of our group. In addition to running, we also got to see some family and friends, go out to eat and play outside in the beautiful weather. All of us stayed in a condo together and the 4 of us slept in one little room which actually went a lot better than I was anticipating, just don't ask the rest of our family that we probably woke up during the night. Caitlin was so worn out from her lack of sleep and our non-stop vacationing that she passed out on the way to dinner and didn't wake up the whole time. that as never happened before and it was an incredible event. Caitlin and Madison were two little peas in a pod the whole time and just couldn't get enough of each other it was really cute.