Our Newest Addition.

Saturday was my first full day back from Oregon. It was absolutely gorgeous so I decided to take the girls out on a run instead of going to the gym to run on a treadmill. -Ok. Running after being in Oregon was HARD. I feel like I was gasping for air the entire time and pansied out and walked quite a bit. On our way home as we were jogging through our neighborhood, I saw a free kittens sign. I ran past and texted Ross asking if he wanted another kitten. At first I was joking. After talking and thinking about it, I went back just to peek.

The couple at the door were so friendly and plopped an orange and white kitten in my arms. She was cute, but I wasn't sold on the idea of having two cats. I ended up taking it home anyway, planning on bringing it back in an hour or so. Claire started calling the kitten "dog" and we've had to explain may times that it isn't a dog, it's a cat. Now she just calls it Belle.

While we were in Oregon, Belle went back to her old naughty habits. When Ross would come home, she was so happy to see him, she wouldn't leave him alone. She really is a social cat and always has been. She gets pretty lonely during the day.

She took to the new kitten right away and they've been inseparable since. Belles thinks the kitten is her baby and carries the kitten around EVERYWHERE. We were shocked to see her leap with the kitten in her mouth into our tall laundry basket. We're not sure why, but Belles loves to put the kitten in the laundry basket. ALL the time.

The night I brought it home, I actually went to take it back, but they weren't home. We thought we'd see how the night went and maybe try to take her back again in the morning. She is so attached to Ross and Belles, we ended up keeping her.

Right now we're trying to teach Claire to pick the kitten up by the belly, instead of clasping her hands around the kitten's throat to carry her. Since it is Ross' kitten, he is in charge of naming her. It's been a couple of days and she still doesn't have a name. I'm sure he'd appreciate any suggestions.

The Summer of She-Woman.

The beginning of the month, I ventured up to good old Portland, Oregon with the girlies. I've been a little Oregon homesick, and really felt like I needed to go. We only have one car. Sweet, supportive Ross told me to go. He took the bus and walked and received a few rides from our gracious friends for ten days. I couldn't have a more wonderful husband.

The drive up was plenty eventful. What started out as a fun adventure later turned into a big disaster I never want to repeat. At first I thought it'd be a great idea to stop and get out of the car whenever Aoife needed to eat. I thought it would help Aoife sleep longer between feedings and Claire would be happier with the breaks. Our first stop was at a gas station a few miles from the Idaho boarder. Inside they had a lounge area for "professional drivers", outside there wasn't any sort of grassy area, just a bird poop covered table in the middle of a bunch of rocks. So I sat and fed Aoife while Claire had a wonderful 45 minutes throwing rocks.


In Boise I wanted to find a McDonalds with a play place for Claire to play while I fed. She made friends with an older girl who desperately wanted someone to play with. It was hilarious watching her grab Claire's and and try to pull her along to play.



By our next stop, Claire had had it, my plan of Aoife sleeping had miserably failed. With two screaming girls, my temper was running short. I brought along Ross' old laptop and the beloved Elmo DVD. I stuck in a movie and pulled back on the freeway. In the wrong direction. I was so wrapped up in helping the girls, I didn't realize it till I had gone well over 20 miles.

At eivery stop I discovered Claire had either pooped or peed through her clothes and for the last hour and a half of the drive, Claire was throwing up in her car seat. By the time we arrived at my parent's house, I was a stressed out, exhausted mess! We gave Claire a bath and watched the Elmo DVD again to calm her down before we went to bed.

We were able to spend a week at my parent's house and had a great time. Claire immediately took to the dog. She became fascinated with dogs and loved sharing food with her. The poor dog often wanted to go outside simply to get a break from my crazy toddler.



We had a wonderful shopping day with my grandmother and the girls each got a cute summer outfit. They enjoyed lots of snuggle time from adoring grandparents and played themselves silly!


After that week, we went to visit Ross' family. It's been a huge blessing to both be from the same place. Whenever we go visit, we get to see both families. Claire played and played with adoring aunts and uncles. And I was spoiled beyond belief. I was taken off of mom duty at night and enjoyed wonderful nights of much needed sleep. Our last night there I ended up getting a sassy makeover!

Unfortunately Ross was lonely so we cut our trip a day short to get home. We had a great time with the Lovelands, and Claire I'm sure misses having all of her aunts and uncles to play with. Luckily we'll get to see them again this weekend!

The drive home was a thousand times better than the first trip. After 15 hours in a car with what was supposed to only take 12, I decided to only stop for gas and bathroom breaks. I fed Aoife with my arm behind the seat while I drove and Claire seemed to be a lot happier that time. Towards the end everyone was tired and we ended up watching the Elmo DVD four times. In a row. Whatever it took to keep Claire from screaming to keep my sanity!

We made the trip in just a little over 12 hours and Claire couldn't have been happier to be back home with her Daddy. Though she was a little confused and kept calling the cat, "dog". It was great to have a couple days with Ross before Monday came back around and I had to get back to real life. We're taking off again Thursday for California and I have sworn off Elmo anything until that day when there is a moment of desperation.

After our road trip, I feel like she-woman. I started feeling that way before the trip, especially during my workouts, but now I definitely feel like she-woman. I'm really looking forward to all of the fun things Utah County has to offer this summer and am determined to have a great summer with the girls. Between Ross' job and internship, he's pulling 60 hour work weeks. During the day it really is just me and the girls. Rather than sit at home, we're going to be going to parades, the pool, maybe some hikes, and just find some fun things for us to do. Hello Summer!!

I Don't Have Time To Blog.

I used to make fun of the girls that ran off and got married right out of high school and never in a million years would I guess that I'd be one of them. Yet, here I am almost 3 years later.

18- engaged
19- married
20- welcomed our first bundle of joy

And now here I am at 21 with two kids, one semester away from Ross graduating, and one month away from turning 22. Honestly, I'm hoping for a pretty uneventful year.

Sometimes when I really think about it and remind myself that I am 21 with two kids, I wonder what I'm doing. And then I remember that being a mom is the greatest thing in the whole world and I truly truly love it.

After Claire was born, my dad told me to keep a journal and continue to blog about everything. I just looked at him and asked, "When?!". Adjusting to parenthood was challenging and finding the time to record life's events was even more so. With two, between keeping the two critters alive and entertained, making sure I feel like an actual human being, maintaining the house, and giving Ross attention, there is very little time left! When I have an opportunity to record, I'd much rather be getting that precious sleep.

With that said, here are a few updates from the Loveland house:

Claire is a busy toddler and loves to get into everything, especially mom's drawers. After feeding Aoife, I'll usually find Claire in our room with my clothes scattered all over the floor, my toothbrush in her mouth, and a thousand Q-tips laying in what looks like a game of pick up sticks.

Last week I found Claire tossing our toothbrushes into the toilet. She got in trouble and it was hard to wait till I was alone to let out the laughter. I'm not sure if it's due to the lack of sleep, but everything just has so much more humor lately.

Aoife got over her double ear infection. For a while I was taking her into the doctor every other day for shots of antibiotics. The first few times, she wasn't showing any progress and I started to worry. The doctor was going to give it one more go before calling in a specialist to check her out. Thankfully she began to show improvement and got put on an oral antibiotic for ten days, though I still had to bring her in every couple days to get checked. Hopefully we won't be going back until Aoife's two month appointment.

Aoife's gaining weight, though still doesn't weigh as much as Claire did at birth. She seems so huge to me, and it just blows my mind that Claire was bigger. I'm still rolling up the sleeves on the newborn clothes and I love that she's still a little baby.

Ross finished his finals yesterday! Right now he's working his job on campus, working his internship, and is just busy busy busy. (Though of course he always makes time for our Tuesday night date on the couch.) Only one semester left!!

I guess there's just me left! I've been getting two MAYBE three hours of sleep a night. It's been a month since I gave up my beloved Diet Coke. When I gave it up, I actually quit all soda, sweets, treats, snacks, and upped my workouts. The digits on the scale haven't budged, but my body has changed so much. (That's where I'd rather see the change anyway!) Yesterday I bagged up the clothes that no longer fit. I was shocked at what I was left with, and how empty my drawers suddenly were. With just those few short weeks, I'm back into my high school jeans. Hopefully next month I can talk Ross into a much deserved shopping trip for my birthday.

All in all, we're wonderful. Claire makes us laugh and keeps us busy, Aoife is a sweetheart, and the cat is still an idiot.

Two Kiddos Under One Roof: Week 1.

A week ago we brought our sweet girl home. So far, having two critters so close together has been so fun and not at all like the disaster I had imagined. I really love it. We've survived week one with very few casualties.

Claire is adjusting to not being the center of the universe and is a great big sister. She loves having a baby in the house. The first thing she does when she wakes up in the morning is shout "baby" and run to find wherever her sister is so she can see her. Claire is also fascinated by Aoife's binki. Claire stopped taking a binki at 3 months, but now that Aoife has one, Claire is fascinated. She loves to help out by putting the binki in Aoife's mouth. She likes it so much, she pulls it out and does it again and again. Aoife isn't as amused by the game. Sometimes Claire forgets to give the binki back and ends up running off with it. We have to watch her. When Claire sees Aoife without a blanket, Claire takes it upon herself to make sure her sister is warm and covers her up. While it's very sweet and thoughtful, Claire likes to cover Aoife's face with the blanket, and not very gently. Claire also is a champ and throws the diapers in the garbage for me while I'm changing Aoife. It's become her job, and she's good at it!

It's been a fabulous week. Even the nights aren't as terrible as I remember. Going from one to two has been a much easier transition for me than the zero to one. Maybe having Aoife in the NICU for a couple weeks was actually a huge blessing!

Not to brag, but I'm already below my pre-pregnancy weight. I'm not sure how, but I am counting my blessings! I was still trying to lose the weight I had gained with Claire when we found out we were expecting. With eleven pounds to go till my goal weight, I've decided to give up soda. Specifically, that means my beloved Diet Coke. Today is my second day clean. This entire week I'd go through the Sonic Drive-Thru on my way home from dropping Ross off at school. (Sonic has the BEST Diet Coke.) I guess it was kind of like a morning coffee for me to kick start my day.



I still haven't found a way to get both girls to cooperate so I can sneak in a nap during the day, but I think things have gone really well without my morning soda. Though last night I did mistakingly burp the cat a few times.

I am tired with saggy bags under my eyes, busier than ever, and things couldn't be any better. We're so in love with our two gals.

Introducing Miss Aoife Elaine:

Miss Aoife Elaine decided to make her debut five weeks early. She has her mother's patience. Weighing in at five pounds even and 18 inches long, we are so in love with our little pipsqueak. And what a pipsqueak she is. She is ever so dainty, though I'm sure if she's anything like her sister, she'll chunk up in no time.

We had a fabulous weekend lined up. Friday we walked around the mall window shopping, bought a couple new games to add to our collection, and spent the evening playing and having a blast. Saturday we had a couple basketball games to finish up the season, and then we ventured out to Provo Beach Resort to take Claire on the carousel. Claire and I had actually spent the entire week before Aoife's arrival simply playing and spending time together. We went out to the zoo one day and Claire had her first carousel ride. I felt awful that Ross missed out on such a fun day and thought we'd try one closer to home so Ross could be a part of it too.

Sunday we were supposed to have Ross' brother, Jake, and a friend over for a fatty feast of a dinner. I was really excited about the ribs, potatoes, stuffing, and apple pie. But it didn't end up happening.

A few days prior to Aoife's birth, I had a suspicion my water was leaking. Though, at the beginning of this pregnancy I vowed to myself I wouldn't go to the hospital unless I was positive I was having a baby. Saturday night during family prayer, Ross said something about me knowing what my body was trying to tell me. An hour later I was on the way to the hospital to get tested to see if my water was indeed leaking. I arrived at about 8.I honestly thought I'd be on my way back home to to enjoy what was left of the evening with Ross. After I had picked up that fresh pineapple I was craving. Brooke was my nurse and did the initial test. The positive was so faint, she decided to wait a half hour and redo it. I was also already dilated to a 4, and she could feel the bag of water, which was pretty loose.

Brooke came in to check on me multiple times during the waiting period. I was having several contractions and started to feel sick. She told me she was pretty sure I had a high leak and that I was probably staying. I called Ross to give him the list of what I wanted in the hospital bag and had him find someone to stay the night with Claire. (Thank you Uncle Jake and Uncle Adam!) Brooke came back to do the second test and it was definitely positive. My water had been broken for three or four days and I had no idea.

It was a little strange being told "You are having a baby tonight" when I really wasn't planning on anything happening for a few weeks and didn't feel like I was in labor.

By the time Ross arrived at the hospital, I had been moved in our deluxe delivery suite and has prepped for the IV. My midwife initially said they were going to give me antibiotics and try to hold her off for as long as possible, probably delivering her in the morning sometime. Not too long after I had the IV in, Brooke came in to tell me my midwife, Sue, was actually coming in to break the rest of my water and start pitocin to get her out as soon as possible. They were worried about infection because my water had been broken for so long and decided she'd be better off out than in.

When Sue came in, I had dilated to a 6 1/2. I was in labor and would have had the baby whether I had come in to get tested or not. After she broke the rest of the water, the epidural guy came in, bless his heart. He got it in pretty quickly, however only my legs and butt cheeks got numb. Sue thought Aoife would be here in an hour, maybe 2 at the most. She was right. A couple hours later I started having contractions that made me think I was dying. It was honestly the most excruciating pain I have felt and I thought I was going to rip the handle bars right off of the bed from gripping them so hard. Luckily they only lasted a couple minutes. When Sue came in to check on me, Aoife's head was right there!

It only took a few pushes and she slid right out at 2:27 AM. I guess that's the blessing of itty bitty premie babies.) I got to hold her for just a couple minutes while Sue sucked out her nose and then she was whisked away to the respiratory specialist. After a few minutes of working with her, he came over to tell me she was going to be taken to the nursery to be worked on, which we fully expected. She was put on a CPAP machine to apply pressured oxygen to help keep her lungs open, got an IV to get some antibiotics started, and had about a million labs drawn while she was hooked up to monitors to measure her oxygen levels, heart rate, and breathing rate. Ross went with her and stayed for a few hours.

She was on the CPAP machine for a few hours and administered a medicine called surfactant to help open her lungs more. At 10:30 she came off of the machine for good and I finally got to hold her. She was so tiny! My mom flew in that afternoon to help us out. It was such a blessing to have her and know Claire would be taken care of and spoiled rotten.

Tuesday Aoife got put under lights because her billi levels were going up. We left the hospital that morning. When I went in to talk to Aoife's nurse, I found myself just sobbing. It was weird leaving the hospital and leaving something behind for who knew how long. It was HARD.

Wednesday she was off of the lights and I could hold her again! By Thursday she was off the IV and had taken one whole feeding by mouth, though it wasn't until Friday we hit a turning point. I decided to switch to bottles for the two feeding that I get to come in for. Since making that change, she has been taking her entire feedings and doing wonderfully. It's been such a blessing to see her progress. We also got to take Claire in to finally meet her new sister. Because of the IV, she had to stay in the nursery and Claire couldn't go in. They let us use an empty room and wheeled Aoife in for some family time. Aoife was wide awake and she and Claire checked each other out for a while. Ross got Claire to touch her, though only with one finger. She wasn't too sure about the baby and didn't want to hold her. We tried helping her, but every time Aoife got too close, Claire pushed her off of her lap. She gave her sister a good bonk, which Aoife didn't care for, but over all Claire did great and it was so fun introducing them.

Sunday her Dr. decided she was doing so well, she was going to double her feedings. Now, every other feeding, she gets a bottle instead of using her feeding tube. Those went well yesterday, so this afternoon they're going to try one back to back feeding and see how she does. She is also now receiving fortified milk, so she gets more protein and calories to fatten her up. Hopefully if all goes well, we'll get to take her home in just a few days, rather than the week I was anticipating.

I have really felt the Lord's hand as well as everyone's prayers through all of this. In the beginning I had a really hard time. I blamed myself for her being born so early, wondering if it was the entire pineapple I had eaten the day before, or my not knowing my water had broken DAYS ago, or this or that. I sobbed every time I went in to feed Aoife. It got to the point where the nurses, and Aoife's doctor were getting worried. Between the physical therapy, billi lights, helmets, and NICU visits, these two little girls are building me a stronger backbone.

We love our dainty little pipsqueak, and even though the doctors and nurses think she was more like a 34 weeker, her timing couldn't have been better. Aoife is doing wonderfully and is known throughout the hospital for being a sweetheart, though with an attitude. She is famous for pulling out her feeding tube and taking off the monitors. The hospital administration as even come by a few times to see this bossy girl. Her nurses often get tired of fighting her and leave her feeding tube out until it's time for her to eat. She is just like her sister and knows exactly what she wants. Every one of her nurses have said she is the sweetest baby and so good and easy. Even when she's awake, she doesn't cry and just looks around. I was so worried about having a colicy baby, it's a relief to hear each time I go in. Let's hope her disposition doesn't change when she comes home!

Fuzzy Friends.

Claire's first Christmas, my cute little sister gave Claire a lamb. Claire became so attached to the fluffy animal. I'm afraid if I ever lose it, Claire will explode. This animal has special powers. It makes her fall asleep, and fixes every ache, pain, and owwie.

Ross wanted Aoife's animal with special powers to be from him. Friday night we had a little family fun night. We ventured to the dollar store to find Claire a couple treasures. She picked out a sparkly glitter baton and a book containing her latest obsession, Elmo. With our prizes in hand, we headed for Toys R Us in search of the perfect companion for Aoife. We spent a while browsing the couple aisles of furry friends, but to no avail. Luckily Babies R Us is right next door.

The selection was a little smaller, but the size of the animals were more what we were looking for. Claire spotted Elmo on some gift wrap and I kept an eye on her as she pulled every piece of merchandise with Elmo off of the shelf while Ross searched through the animal piles.

It didn't take very long to limit his decision to two animals. A fluffy pink bunny, and an adorable monkey. Ross said he felt like this gal is going to be a monkey. (With two little girls running around, I feel like we're ALL going to be monkeys.)

As we were walking toward the car, Ross jokingly said that we're all ready for her and she's ready to come. As funny as it was, that night I started having some pretty heavy contractions. I debated about going in to the hospital to get checked out, but decided against it. In the beginning, I told myself I wouldn't go in unless I felt like I was dying. I think we just went in one too many times with Claire and every experience was still fresh in my mind. Spending hours in a hospital in a breezy gown only to get sent home with a piece of paper telling me to take it easy just doesn't sound appealing to me.

Saturday I finally got around to sewing Aoife's quilt our of fear she'd be coming sooner than we expected. It took a huge load of stress off and I decided now that she has her cute monkey from Daddy and I have my matching nursery, she really CAN come.

Well, contractions continued all weekend. I ended up being sent to the hospital Monday morning from my midwife appointment and got that cool piece of paper filled with suggested restrictions. The last bit always feels the longest, and I'm trying to enjoy the last couple weeks of sleep I'm sure I'll get in the next 10 years. We're just too excited!!

Valentine's.

Valentine's Day fell on a Tuesday this year. If you know us Lovelands, Tuesdays mean only one thing: Biggest Loser night.

Even Valentine's Day couldn't get in the way of our date with the couch.

Ok, we're not THAT pathetic. We actually had a really busy Valentine's Day. Ross spent a few hours working on his internship. After, he rushed off to the gym. When he got home, he didn't even have time to shower before we headed off to Lehi to go pick out tile. (We're getting our shower and entry way redone over the next few days.) I never knew there ENDLESS possibilities when it came to showers.

By the time we got home, Ross still had some homework, Claire was tired and grumpy, and to be honest, I was tired and grumpy, too.

Luckily it was Tuesday and we had something to look forward to after the critter went to bed. Ross cooked up some delicious Sloppy Joes while I gave Claire a bath. And we sat ourselves down and had sloppy joes, steak fries, and a few too many cupcakes while we watched our show. And it was wonderful.

We exchanged our gifts for our sweethearts last week. (We always end up celebrating holidays and birthdays early. The anticipation and excitement KILLS me.)

Ross got me a Kindle Fire, which Claire of course thinks is hers. And I gave Ross this beauty.

Even though we got to spend Valentine's night together, I feel guilty I didn't cook, didn't plan on cooking, and frankly didn't want to cook. I felt obligated to make it up to Ross. Here's our set up for tonight.


On the menu tonight, we have filet mignon, which has been marinating ALL day, a green salad, and rice pilaf. And of course something bubbly and delicious to sip on. It's kind of fun getting a second fun day with my two Valentines.

Tomorrow the construction starts. Updates and pictures are sure to follow! Hope everyone had a great love day yesterday!