2 months old

My baby is 2 months old, and I am having an unbelievably difficult time with this fact. 

It is so much more difficult this time around opposed to the other kids.

It's not that I love him more, (although his is much more low maintenance thank Jack and Lucy are for the time being.) its just he is my baby.

I know this is the last time I will have a 2 month old. 
I know how fast time goes by and I don't want to miss a thing. 

I feel as a working mom I miss so much.

But,

Here are some fun things we get to enjoy with Maxwell as he grows.

     

Mr. Max is such a good sleeper. He wakes up 2 to 3 times a night to eat and then goes right back to sleep once he is done. Although I am sleep deprived, I know it could be worse.

At his 2 month appointment with Dr. W (whom we love) Max weighed 9 pounds and 9 ounces and is 23 1/2 inches long.

One of our favorite things about him right now is he wakes up each morning smiling. Its hilarious and adorable. 
His face must hurt from smiling so much. 
He smiles for about a half hour straight at anyone that will talk to him and then takes a nap. I'm sure it tuckers him out being so cute and all.

Max loves to be held but occasionally he gets fussy and the only thing he wants is to be put on a blanket on the floor. 
He loves to look around and just be. 
He will do this for a long time. Sometimes an hour. 
It is pretty impressive at how laid back he is.

At 2 months old he doesn't look like a baby. 
He is so little. No rolls at all, he is so skinny. Has so much hair. 
He just looks like a little man.

His brother and sister love him so much. They love to hold his hand, get him a binkie, or just talk baby talk with him. 
It is down right the best thing ever, my 3 little kiddos. 

We love this little man and are very blessed to have him in our family.

Birth story

It was 2 days before my due date, and it was an understatement to say that I didn't want to be pregnant anymore.

Not to mention Papa's birthday and the baby's due date were the same day.

I really wanted them to have there own birthday.

So my mom, grandma Sassy took Jack and Lucy for the night Friday. 

Matt and I took it easy. And then the morning came. 

I was going to do whatever I could to get this baby out.

So we walked, and walked, and walked. We walked a little over 4 miles that morning.

I even did a couple lunges and ran about 20 steps.

Around noon I started to have small contractions. They lasted about 30 seconds and came pretty much every 20 minutes for a long time. Around 5:00 it seemed they had stopped. I was so bummed. Thinking for sure I was having false labor. 

So I went for another walk.

The contractions started up again but were still very consistent. One every 20 minutes.

As I have mentioned before the Ririe men are dedicated sports fans. Of course the big rival football game was on that night. Utah vs. BYU. And since I didn't know if I was in real labor Matt's parents, brother and his wife, as well as our nieces came over to watch the game.

Not long after they got there we need snacks. My husband offered to go but as I didn't want to have contractions in front of people without my husband there I said I would go.

No one ever said I was smart.

I walked in the store and had a pretty strong contraction. Okay I thought to myself. Grab the chips and go. By the time I made it to the chips I had another. Yea, its time to go home.

I got home and plopped my whale of a self on the couch and started timing. I had a contraction, took a breath, waited, 5 min later another contraction, breath, waited, 8 min later another. 12 min later another. 5 min later another. For 3 hours it went on like this.

I was getting pretty frustrated. My contractions weren't consistent. You were suppose to go to the hospital when they are 5 minutes apart. Ugg

On the bright side the Utes won. On the downside my contraction were still not regular, it was midnight, and I was exhausted.

Everyone said there goodbyes and left. Matt and I debated on calling my mom to come over and watch the kids just in case I need to go to the hospital in the middle of the night. We decided to have her come over. Better safe than sorry. While she was on her way I went to lay down and rest. My mom arrived by 12:30 and I'm sure that was just what I needed. 

The contractions started to come and they came fast. By 12:50 I was having them every 3 to 4 minutes and yea, they were consistent. 

I told Matt it was time to go since we had a longer drive to the hospital. 

We made it by about 1:10. I don't think we knew what we were in for. 

I walk in the front door to the security desk, and had a contraction. He led us to the nurses station. And I had a contraction. 

We got to our room quickly, I got undressed and checked in record time and had many contractions. I was at a 7 and shaking so bad from being in so much pain. 

I swear not even 5 minutes later I was telling them I had the push.

Those nurses on the other hand were in slow motion. 

But boy did I make them move.

The nurse checked me again and I was at a 10. The Dr. (not my Dr. of course) rushed into catch. Our new baby was born. In the water sack of course. Yep my water never broke. 

And he was a boy.

A beautiful 6 lb 15 oz 20 inch long baby boy.

He was so small.

And so alert.

And so cute.

Maxwell John Ririe

We are so in love.

You are the best baby, ever. I'm positive. 
Our family thanks the Lord everyday for what a wonderful addition you are to it.

6 year old Jack

My bug a rug is a 6 year old.

as I dropped him off at school Monday this reality hit me pretty hard.

He is so big. 

He is so smart.

He is so sweet.

He is so sensitive.

He is so special, man oh man is he special. 

It seems it was just the other day when I found out he was making Matt and I and Mommy and Papa.

After 32 hours of labor and a never to do again epidural the sweetest little boy joined our family. 

He was so alert and barely cried. 

We had no idea what we were in for.

Jack has changed my life more than any other person. 

I am so thankful everyday for him and the blessing he is to our little family.

Jack, I pray as you get bigger (taller hopefully, your a little on the short side at the moment and your little sister is catching up to you quickly.) that you stay you. Bud I can't express how amazingly special you are. You have a wonderful personality full of compassion, and love. 

You are a so smart. Right now you love to learn and are a very impressive reader. 

You love music (i know this isn't a new fact). But for your birthday you got a karaoke machine and you haven't left your stage since. 

You are a born entertainer. I'm pretty sure you will grow up to be a Christian rock star or worship leader. Although you swear your going to be a pilot or a cop. (When Papa told you, you could be a cop that flies planes and helicopters your mind was completely blown.)

You are such a good big brother. Lucy and Max are very lucky to have you looking out for them.

More than anything Jack you love the Lord. Please continue to grow in Him. Seek after Him. Lean on Him. Love Him.

He loves you.

So do your Papa and I.

We love you so very very much.

Happy Birthday Bug.

3 Amigos

Ready to have your mind blown?

I am the mother of 3. 

I know being that Max was born in September (story to follow) this has been news for awhile. 

But I swear every morning it blows my mind as I scramble to feed and dress Max who is now 8 weeks old, and get a 3 year old, and a kindergartner who just turned 6 ready for another day.

I gasp at how crazy my life is.  

If only the crazy antics we encounter daily were at the hilarity level that Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short experience while wearing over sized sombreros and singing catchy musical numbers and end in 95 minutes.

Mine on the other hand are things like being spit up on just before walking out the door to work smelling of a 1 month old's regurgitation for the remainder of the day. 

Having my 3 year old locking her door in defiance because she must where her pj's to church and she doesn't want me to get another outfit out of her room and Dad being out of town and not having anyone to get the door open. 

and having Max cry all the way home only to be joined in the "crying" by his brother and sister because its hilarious to them to drive Mommy bonkers.

Life has sure changed in the last 8 weeks. I am pretty sure I am only barely surviving. But with much prayer, very little to no sleep, and constant change I am hanging on to the fact that when I lay my head on my pillow at the end of the day the word exhaustion doesn't begin to describe how I feel. 
But I am also grateful every minute of everyday the good Lord gave me 3 beautiful children to love and mother. 

A lesson in patience

I feel like I know better than to ask the Lord for patience. 

You hear that if you ask, he will only give you some sort of  "trial" helping me "grow" in patience. 

Well maybe I am sending the Lord signals unintentionally. 

We have tried almost everything we can think of to get this baby to come out.

Wine worked with Lucy so I have had 2 glasses. 

Not at the same time of course.

We have tried countless spices that have made sure I have no baby but a good amount of  heartburn.

I have heard Pineapple and Mango's are good for thinning your cervix.

 So I have eaten more Mango's the last 2 weeks than I have eaten my entire life. 

The funniest part about that is I have never liked mango's and I literally can not eat enough of them.

They are so good.

I am very thankful Matt is willing to spend 20 plus minutes each evening cutting one up for me. 

Last night my sweet husband brought me home the "pregnancy pizza" from Trio Cafe. 

It is rumored to put you into labor.

Surprise! It didn't work.

It was delicious but so not worth it. 

I did not go into labor and now feel like I stink so badly of Garlic that I could easily save the town from a blood sucking clan of vampires.

I have tried a couple other things as well but obviously I am still pregnant. 

I am just so anxious to meet this little boy or girl.

But..

As the moral of the story always goes I need to turn it over to the Lord. 

I need to enjoy being pregnant

I need to have faith that this baby will come when this baby is suppose to come.

I need to be patient.

I need to trust The Lord, (more so than just this situation).

Small lesson learned, it just took 39 weeks and 3 days to get here.

I love you!

One of my favorite things to do right now is rock Lucy to sleep. 

I know she is 3 and this may be a bad habit but I just can't help it.

She is adorable, prime example.. 

The other night as I was rocking her I said....

I love you Lucy

Lucy giggled and replied: 

Everybody loves me.  

Yep. she is that cool!

Kindergarten

He is too big, sometimes it is too much to think about.

My son is a kindergartner. 

Thinking about it makes me cry.

Matt and I decided its what makes the difference between a Mom and Dad.

Matt sent his son off to Mrs. Young's class so proud to be Jacks Papa.

me too, but

I sent my son off  forever, he may well go off to college. I am so sad he is so big. 

Really more than anything I have no idea when he got so big. 

I swear he was born yesterday. 

On the flip side..

After having a week to process the idea that Jack is in kindergarten I have officially decided Jack was made to go to school. 

He loves everything about it.

He loves recess and even more so he loves to learn. 

Anything and Everything he wants to know Anything AND Everything about it. 

And although he is not too talkative about who he talks to and what he did at circle time he is more than willing to tell you about 

Owls

 The Moon

how high he can count

what sound a "J" makes and what words start with "J"

and 

Earthquakes 

plus anything else you could think of.

because of this I am starting to get more and more excited to have a kindergartner and I am exceptionally stoked and proud to be this kindergartners Mommy!

38 weeks

2 weeks to go....

I hope less, but based on my pregnancy with Lu. 12 days and counting. 

I am excited. 

9 months is a loooong time to be pregnant. 

I went the Dr. yesterday for my weekly and am still dilated to a 1 for the 3rd week in a row. Baby is very comfortable and hasn't dropped at all. 
This may or may not have sent me into a minor to large break down.
I took a nap and aside from feeling anxious feel like a have a better grasp on the situation.

Thinking more this baby is a girl though. 

On the plus side this gives me more time to enjoy mango's. I have never liked mango's ever. 
Now I have Matt cutting them up for me so often his hand have calluses.
But the passion I have for Mango's are stronger than I could ever imagine. 

I'm bummed a little too. 

I won't feel a baby in my stomach again. 

That makes me a little sad. 

There is nothing like it. 

Not to mention how life is going to change. 

My Lucy isn't going to be my baby anymore. 

I worry how she is going to react to baby. She is such a little mommy that I know she will do so well but just thinking about it makes me emotional.

There are a lot of feelings that come with having only 2 weeks to go till life takes another big turn. 

Regardless change is coming. 

I know God is good. 

And the fact he is blessing Matt and I with another beautiful baby is nothing short of proof of that. 

T-ball

The Ririe's are a baseball family, they have been for as long as I have known them and much, much, longer than that.

There is a "famous" story of Matt playing little league when he was younger. 

As Matt goes up to bat Grandpa Gibbons yells,

 "hit a home run and I'll give you 50.00 dollars."

Of course my husband knew what he had to do and for sure hit a home run.

 Unfortunately right into the windshield of Grandpa Gibbons car. 

He still paid. Which I love!

Needless to say as Jack approached baseball, or in a 5 year old's case t-ball playing age we were both so excited to sign him up to start playing and continue tradition. 

And of course to sign Matt up to be coach (just like Matt's dad did when Matt played)

If you have never before seen a t-ball game you are in for a treat. 

(I had never been to one before Jack played) 

It was the most entertaining 45 min of my week. Aside from the heat I loved to watch those 4 and 5 year old'd attempt to play. To say the least it is mass unorganized chaos. But oh so hilarious. 

My husband loved being there with Jack and teaching all the kiddos batting stances and how to put there gloves on the ground to catch the ball in the outfield as it rolled right between their little legs (obviously that isn't what he taught them, but that was just bound to happen) 

Most of the time there were 8 kids running to the ball at a time (trying not to crash into one another) while the others were sleeping, building sandcastles or pick their nose.

But after doing that with 11 little ones twice a week for a month and a half I know he was thankful to have a break before coach pitch next year.

Jack hit so well, and just like his dad ran after the ball no matter where on the field it was or how close to it he was.

The running on the other hand was not taken quite so seriously. Each time he went from one base to the other he did so shuffling his feet. Practicing his "pig pen" imitation kicking up dirt more than I thought was necessary. But none the less he did extremely well.

 Both of my baseball guys earned their trophies. I can't wait for many future games watching Jack and his handsome coach. 

(I just hope for the sake of all windshields Grandpa Gibbons doesn't ask Jack to hit a home run any time soon.)

   

29 weeks

I feel like a whale, and I still have 11 or hopefully a little less weeks left. 

Due to some insurance/job changes I have to change the OB doctor that has delivered-ish (my 2 previous babies were middle of the night babies so technically he didn't deliver either of my little ones but he did follow me through my whole pregnancy) I am completely devastated that I have to leave him. I love Dr. T! I get to go to a new hospital too. Which I am less than thrilled about. 

It is a known fact, I don't do well change. 

It should be illegal to do this to a pregnant lady.

Anyway, I went to Dr. T (my old Dr. on the June 26th) he told me the baby is doing well and the heart beat sounds good but then told be I am in trouble because I am measuring 3 weeks ahead of schedule. 

Chances are I am going to have a hulk baby and not an early baby. Jack was a week early and Lucy was born on her due date. 

I get to go to my new Dr. Thursday to see if Dr. T theories prove correct.

Along with that.

I am not the happiest pregnant lady right now. Big surprise I know. 

It is hot, like record heat hot and that stinks. Sometimes literally. I relate it to how a woman feels going through menopause.

I hate it. Which makes me grumpy. I know poor Matt hates it too.

Plus I have heart burn. I have never really had heartburn before but I could literally take out stock in Tums with how many I am popping daily.

The one thing keeping me happy is this wiggly little baby. He/She moves a lot. I love it. It blows my mind that in a couple of months I will be able to snuggle this little one.

 And know what model I am carrying. 

I'm sure I would be happily content feeling its kicks and jabs all day (in front of a fan of course.)

(I dislike pregnancy pictures but this is my last pregnancy and so I have been trying to document it as much as possible. I have a total of 4 pics from my previous pregnancies.)  

Its her party and

my Lu may or may not have been a tad grumpy.

I think the pressure to "preform"  in front of people may have gotten to her. 

She was grumpy from the first person walking in the door to the last person walking out.

And the cutest 3 year old you have ever seen before and after.

Regardless she had a good party full of, bubbles, presents, and Minnie Mouse

 

 

3 years old

Happy Birthday to my crazy beautiful, funny, cuddly, and adorable Lucy. 

Life has not been the same since you came and I wouldn't change it for the world.

We love you! 

Fathers Day 2013

a little history...

Fathers Day has always been a little bit of a touchy subject. 

Growing up my Dad wasn't too bad.

 He always got cute hand prints, poems and cards from Sean and I with loving messages of worlds greatest Dad written all over it. And I will go as far to say he wasn't the world greatest Dad but he did alright by way of an 8 year old standards.

Then 2001 came and everything changed.

I was 15

my father made some pretty horrible decisions and went to prison for quite a while. 

From then on and up to his passing in March 2012 I didn't quite acknowledge him as my father and have had probably a handful of conversations with him in that time as well. 

I have come to better terms with my feelings about him for the most part but it still made Fathers Day difficult. 

It was hard not to feel cheated or upset.

This years feelings were so different than the feelings of Fathers Days prior.

I woke up with a feeling of gratefulness comfort and being blessed.

I am so thankful of my dear husband Matt. 

There is no one I could have hand picked who could be a better father to Jack and Lucy.

No one loves them, has more patience, or compassion for them than him.

I find my self watching him often with such amazement and thankfulness to The Lord for him in our lives. 

I also have an amazing father-in-law

He and my mother in law are such a great example of what a God filled marriage should look like. 

Not to mention the love he has for his children and grandchildren is amazing. 

He is such a wonderful man and I am so thankful for him.

This fathers day was so special, I didn't feel sad, or upset like I missed out on something. I know the Lord has provided me these 2 wonderful men in my life and I am so blessed.

I couldn't ask for more.

Happy Fathers Day!

   

Macaroni and Tomato Juice

it's not natural

it not that good (in my opinion)

and the passion for it is not normal

but that most likely because I am not a Ririe by blood

Its Macaroni and Tomato Juice. 

That's right, I said it, macaroni and tomato juice. 

That's it. 

Regular Elbow Macaroni and Campbell's Tomato Juice 

(ok, Ill be honest its typically not Campbell's brand because lets face it, If I'm going to eat the food I'm usually not going for spending anymore than I have to on some name brand ingredient that will not improve the taste in the least)    

Here is why I bring this meal up.

It is a Ririe staple. Its amazing, they could literally live on the stuff. 

This isn't a learned skill, its in their blood.

One of the first meals I had with my then to be future in-law was M&T. And I have had it with them many times since then. (Although to my understanding my mother in-law isn't too fond of the stuff either)

I know my brother-in-law and his wife eat it often.

And my children would eat this meal every night for dinner if they could. 

It's amazing (and a little weird) the passion that comes with this meal.

Now I do have to admit, I do eat this meal, and I will continue to eat this meal.

 Because I married Mr. Ririe and eating M&T for dinner 2 plus nights a week was part of our wedding vows. 

And also because its cheap, easy to cook, and my kids will never fight me on it. 

Try it, let me know what you think.

Jumping

Jack: I'm doing jumping-jacks

Lucy: I'm doing jumping-lucys

Space Travel

One of the best parts of having a preschooler/child is the field trips.

Not necessarily the part about surrounding myself with one hundred twenty other preschoolers but having one on one time with Jack.

Recently we went to the planetarium with Jacks school.

It was so fun to have him show me all the things he had been learning in school.

Not to mention, Jack is hilarious.

    

 While visiting the moon Jack though he would test out his many feelings. (You know just in case the gravitational pull adjusts your facial expressions while floating through space.)

Jack was happy, sad, mad, angry, and scared all while visiting the moon.

He is so stinkin' smart. Telling me all about the gas giants and the rocky midgets

All about Saturn's rings and why Mars is red. 

I promise I learned more than he did. And had so much fun doing it.