Hunter & Cooper, Best buds in the making

My whole pregnancy with Cooper the question always would come up of "how would Hunter react to having a little defenseless baby around the house?" I tried not the think about it, but the worry was always there. The very first time Hunter met Cooper was priceless. Here it is, captured on video for your viewing pleasure.

Since then, Hunter has had good days and bad days. If we put Cooper in the bouncer, Hunter tries to give Cooper hugs while unknowingly smashing him. Hunter also tries to share his water or raisins with Cooper. It's quite adorable. Then other days Hunter has been known to try and jump on Cooper to entice him to a wrestling match. That never ends well for Cooper or my sanity, but Hunter is slowly learning.

Cooper's face says it all.

The Birth of Cooper Ryan Jones

Cooper had an estimated due date of the first week in March.  On Friday night (March 1st) I started feeling contractions. I didn't think much of them, because with Hunter I had intense contractions for 2 days before he was born. The contractions kept getting stronger and stronger, but I had a feeling there was a long way to go before the end. After a long hot shower the contractions went away completely and I managed to fall asleep.

I woke up Saturday morning with more contractions and realized that I had so much to do before I had a  baby. Ignoring the contractions I waddled around the house all day getting all of the last minute things done. By the afternoon I was exhausted, but had finished my to-do list. I then decided to go get a manicure/pedicure. It was so relaxing I almost forgot I was about to have a baby, except for every five minutes, when I had a huge contraction. These contractions continued off and on again, all night long. By early Sunday morning I was ready. I called our doula to meet us at the hospital and our next door neighbor to come over and watch Hunter.

Jared and I got to the hospital around eight in the morning and I was admitted, being dilated to six centimeters. My body decided to stop all contractions the moment I was hooked up to the monitor. This had happened with Hunter, so I had prepared for the worst - a long drawn out labor. Every hour, when the midwife hooked me up to the monitor the contractions would stop and then immediately pick up again once the monitoring was done. Eventually my midwife decided it was a waste of time monitoring me, because it was impeding progress and I truly was in labor. Our amazing doula knew all these tricks to keep labor going, stretches to help bring Cooper down, and the right places to massage me to reduce the pains of labor and help me breath through each contraction.  Jared was there to support me with limitless amounts of ice chips and apple juice. It felt empowering to have the strength and support to breath through each contraction and the incredible burst of pain it brought.

After walking the halls, bouncing on the birthing ball and relaxing in the whirlpool bath  I was ready to push by 2:00 pm. My water hadn't broken yet, so my midwife suggested I push a couple times over the toilet. Two pushes later we heard a pop and heard a huge splash as my water bag broke. It was time. I squatted on the back of the bed and pushed. Ten minutes later Cooper slid out ready to take on the world at 10 pounds, 7 ounces. I then laid down on the bed and held my perfect little angel. Once the cord stopped pulsing, Jared cut it and I just held that huge little baby. Things then got a little crazy because I wouldn't stop bleeding, but my midwife took care of things down there while I nursed Cooper. It was beautiful. I finally got the natural birth I had always wanted. I owe it all the my amazing doula, midwife and especially to Jared.

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Our celebration dinner, courtesy of the hospital

Recovering from birth in a hospital was hard. Sleep is impossible with the steady stream of people who wanted to take my vitals, or check up on Cooper. The only thing I looked forward to was the food. Every meal was great. Partly because I didn't make it myself, but mostly because they gave me a piece of strawberry cheesecake every time they brought me food.

By the time I left the hospital I was eager to see Hunter and to begin the adventure of having two crazy little boys. I still do wish someone would bring me cheesecake with every meal.

A Little Catch Up

I can't believe that it has been since Halloween since I have blogged. So, as a special gift for all of you out there, who still haven't completely given up on my blog, here is a summary of the last six months, and there are tons and tons of pictures coming in a numerous amount of posts.

November: We hosted our first Thanksgiving. I successfully cooked my first turkey and fed 12 happy people. I also turned the big 30. Still don't feel old, even though if you look close I am getting grey hair.

December: We went to Utah for a couple of weeks. Hunter hated the snow but loved being completely spoiled by everyone.

 

January: Being seven months pregnant nothing much happened.

February: Being 8 months pregnant I sat on the couch in between nesting projects while trying to entertain Hunter.

March: Popped out a 10 lb. 7 ounce baby. (Birth story coming soon)

April: Finally blogged again.

My men on Easter Sunday

Happy Halloween

I can't believe that Halloween has come and gone. We celebrated in style at the ward trunk or treat last Friday. Hunter had a ball waddling around as a little monkey. Instead of collecting candy from the people handing it out, he would approach innocent kids holding their own stashes in their little buckets, take what ever he wanted out and run away. The other kids didn't even know what was happening. Hunter would then approach the next unsuspecting kid, put in his last steal in their bucket and walk away. A very generous little monkey.

Being fun loving parents as we are Jared and I put Hunter to bed early last night before the trick or treaters starting coming by. We sat on our driveway in lawn chairs so no one would ring the door bell and handed out candy. I was amazed by how many groups of solely adults their were collecting candy WITHOUT any kids. Then there were babies sleeping in their strollers while their moms trick or treated. Of course these moms collected candy for their sleeping kid AND themselves. It was ridiculous. We gave these adults ONE tootsie roll each.  What happened to parents staying in the background and letting their kids collect candy? Jared and I ended up coming in early because we ran out of candy. If we didn't provide candy for every adult in Glendale, we might have had enough to finish out the night for the sweet innocent kids.

Well, if you have read this far you get a treat. Here is the BIG announcement. Last week we went to the doctor for the gender reveal. Drum roll please....Jared and I have made ourselves another beautiful little boy!! (Notice that bow tie on the skeleton.) ETA still around March 7th, 2013. If Hunter had any comprehension of what was going on he would be ecstatic with joy.We sure are.

 

And just to show off Hunter's cuteness here he his. 

Jared thinks he looks like an ewok.

The Eternal Catchup Game

Lately, us Jones' have been quite busy. Here in Glendale, time just keeps zipping by, barely giving us time to catch our breath. Hunter continues to be the center of our universe. Watching him grow up is amazing. He is such a little ball of energy and personality it's almost impossible to get mad at him as he continually terrorizes our house.

Before I get carried away with stories and pictures of Hunter, here is the brief summary of what else is going on in our lives. Jared is still going to school. Some days it seems he will never graduate, but in three years when he does, we will look back and think time flew by. In his limited spare time he is still driving school buses and being an incredible father. Hunter and I love his job, because we get to see him during his long lunch breaks everyday. As soon has Hunter hears the back door open he sprints/waddles towards it laughing with excitement in anticipation knowing his dad is home.

I am just struggling with trying to find the balance with motherhood, trying to grow a baby and somehow keeping our house clean. The never ending pile of dishes is always there next to the ever growing pile of laundry. Hunter tries to be helpful, but it never quite works. Luckily the broom is one of his favorite toys, and I can't wait for the day when he can actually use it. Now for this alien of a baby growing inside of me, it zaps all my energy but there is hope in life: I am FINALLY not nauseous all of the time!! Tune in later this week for the big gender reveal!!

Now for some quick big moments in our lives: A couple of weeks ago we went to our ward camp out in Munds Park, AZ. (It's 20 minutes south of Flagstaff). Being up in the pine trees and fresh air made us question our sanity of moving from Flagstaff, to Glendale but somehow we managed to make it back down to the city and back to the reality of our lives. Camping was sure a very interesting experience with a crazy little toddler. Hunter wore a dirt goatee most of the time. He would always have a rock in each hand. He would put one in his mouth and then look at me innocently with a smile on his face right after it would go in his mouth. As soon as I would take it out, the next hand went immediately to his mouth with that rock he had stock piled. He must have needed the iron or something found in those rocks. Campfire hot dogs and smores were delicious and singing around the campfire was healing for the soul. The night was rough because we were all cold, but after Hunter decided he was comfortable monopolizing my sleeping bag he slept great. Apparently Hunter didn't care if I was cold or tired, so I just woke Jared up and made him keep me warm.

 And a big moment in little Hunter's life. Yesterday he had his first haircut. He went from looking like a shaggy little baby to an adorable toddler in the matter of minutes. It was a struggle keeping him still enough for the hair cut, but luckily our hair stylist is amazing (Thanks Jen). Between food and a super cool electronic book she was able to keep Hunter still enough just to get the job done. Now hopefully, all the strangers in the world won't get him confused as a little girl anymore.

The Before

The After

Get Ready...

Prepare yourself. In three days I am going to blog again.

Our Alaskan Story

Today was monumental, I unpacked the last suitcase from Alaska. It only took just over 24 days after getting back from our incredible summer adventure. I'm feeling pretty good about myself. For those of you who want the quick summary of Alaska here it is. If you want a more detailed summary invite us over for dinner. We'll bring dessert.

This summer was a whirlwind of adventure. At the beginning of the summer Jared and I had both planned on driving tour buses. I would only drive short in town drives, and Jared would get to travel the glorious state. Once we got up there I realized, I didn't even want to to drive, for fear of not being accessible to Hunter, in case the imaginable happened, so I ended up applying for an office job, and getting it. I worked 4 easy days a week and loved it. Jared got to do the amazing tours of the rugged side of Alaska.

When we were there we lived with this little old lady who rents out an extra bedroom for the summer. I had lived with her for a previous summer, so it was a perfect setup. She adopted Hunter as a grandkid and completely spoiled him. We were able to use her car, which made the summer so much easier than it would have been. It was interesting, to say the least, to get the continual advice on how to raise Hunter from a little old lady.

Overall, this summer was nothing like I expected. I knew Jared would be out of town a lot on tours, but I had forgotten how much. I hadn't expected to sit at a computer manipulated excel spreadsheets four days a week, but now I am an expert. Alaska is a whole different place with an little toddler, compared to being there as a young single adult, or even while you are dating the most gorgeous man on earth.  But it was a whole other level of greatness. Our little family had tons of small adventures and really learned and grew. And the little alien of a baby, inside of me, grew the most.

Now for the long awaited pictures. 

I escaped for a leisure float down the Kenai River where we floated past 3 bears feeding on salmon and at least 10 bald eagles.

Hunter and I chilling after a long day of whale watching where we saw Orcas, Humpbacks, sea lions, sea otters, calving glaciers and every type of exotic Alaskan bird possible.

Jared overlooking the breathtaking Turnagain Arm right outside of Anchorage.

Hunter really cruised in style.

Alaskan grass always tastes the best.