It's been a while

It's been over a year since I've posted. Yikes. Life just gets busy ya know?

Wyatt will be 4 in one week. FOUR! How did that happen. He still gives me a run for my money, but he can now do small things to help out and it makes all the difference. He's been fully potty trained for a while now- major step up in life. He can get himself a drink, a snack, wash his hands, get dressed (though sometimes he wants to wear his fireman costume all day long), buckle himself in the carseat, and get small things for Truett as well. It makes such a huge difference in life to have him a little more self sufficient. It is still amazing to me how much a baby needs, how helpless and totally dependent they are on their parents for survival. I don't want to rush them out of my house or anything- but it is nice to not have to do absolutely everything.

Truett is 20 months and is still my little snuggler. He is cuddly, a major Momma's boy, but is starting to develop his funny, sneaky side. He also LOVES music and likes to dance. Both he and Wyatt love the songs they sing in chapel at school and Truett goes around the house singing them shaking a few 'rocca's (Morracas). He is (now) a good sleeper. It took him over a year to get there, but he made it, and I am a better Mommy.

Sweet manerisms I want to remember: 

When deciding on a snack, Truett stands in front of the pantry tapping his pointer finger to his lip, saying "Hmmmm" . He must get that from me. I also love his 'hustle' walk- where he pumps one arm faster when he wants to run. He doesn't actually run- but it's the funniest thing to see him try to move faster.

Byron is 1/2 way done his chief year. People, this year is HARD. He is always working and it is hard on our family. He leaves at 5 every morning and doesn't get home - if at all- until 11. He is on call most every night - except for two weekends a month.  The boys really miss him. And I miss him. I miss having real conversations with him. but soon- this too shall pass- and hopefully the next phase won't be as brutal.

I finished my masters last March and am still working part time at the lab. I'm 6 months pregnant with our 3rd. ..Baby #3 is due March 26th (Truett's birthday)! It is going to be a very very very busy spring- but I'm excited.

My brother and his family  came to SA for Christmas this year. It's been fun and chaotic to have all the littles together. Life with kids is always exciting- but living out the holiday's through their eyes is so rewarding. 

The terrible two's are no joke

So...we are in a phase. It's the two year old phase. I'm writing this so that I'll remember the good, bad and ugly. Often times I only record the good and then when a new Momma asks me "how did you do such and such"....I conveniently draw a blank.

Dear God,

Please don' t let this phase last an entire year. Or more.

Love,

Sarah

Wyatt protests EVERY SINGLE DECISION throughout the day. It starts the moment he comes out of his room for breakfast. This morning at 7:05- he pitched a fit because he wanted his waffles frozen, but I cooked them instead. After a timeout in his bedroom, he cheered up and came out to eat his warm waffles and immediately started whining about which cartoon to watch. Back to timeout. then he started whining because he couldn't clean the bathrooms with me. Trust me- as soon as he's old enough to handle chemicals- I will remedy that and he can scrub tubs and toilets till his little hearts content. So- by 10 AM- he had been in trouble 5 times. It goes on like this ALL DAY LONG.

Wyatt has lots of energy and we try to burn some off everyday. I took him to the pool where we had a blast for two hours just me and him. We played, dived, jumped for two hours strait. Truett was slumbering away in the kiddie corner- so Wyatt had undivided attention. As soon as we got in the car....meltdown bc he didn't want to wear shoes. Then he wanted them back on. Then he wanted a different snack. He then threw the snack at me.  He proceeded to have several giant meltdowns concerning lunch, choice of toys, and of course naptime.  I do not like staying home with my children when all I do is yell, spank or enforce timeouts. ALL DAY LONG. Going to work is WAY easier. It's a good thing I love him to pieces. Sheesh. Please tell me this is just a phase and I'll get my sweet boy back. Even for just a few minutes a day. And...is it a cruel coincidence that potty training starts at this phase too?!?!

Truett is easy as pie. He greets me each time he wakes up with a huge grin. I know he'll have his "phase" too, but I'm so enjoying this one. 

But sometimes they cooperate for a split second, give me sweet smiles and All is right in the world.

Welcome Baby Truett

I'm terrible at blogging regularly. Now that I have two BOYS....I'm not sure that will get much better. BUT....I want to record the events of my second child's birth before the details become a fleeting memory.

This pregnancy was completely different than my first. My first, was so easy. No sickness, no swelling, no complications....just a little tired at the beginning. Maybe the symptoms just seemed worse since I still had the responsibility of a 2 year old's daily routine instead of just laying around at the end of the day.  This go round I was sick as a dog, tired, and almost delivered a baby 10 weeks early. So...naturally...with all the drama...I was SURE this was a girl! But...

Truett Yocum Branch was born on March 26th, 2014 weighing 7 lbs, 3 oz.

Tuesday night (3/25), I felt terrible. Contractions were frequent, but not rhythmic so I decided to wait it out at home. My water broke with Wyatt (which was unmistakable) and I assumed the same would happen with Truett. I hate the waiting around that happens every time I'm in the hospital, so I decided to wait it out at home. I could NOT get comfortable that night. Wed morning, I took Wyatt over to Aprils (his normal babysitter on Wed) and called my boss to ask to work from home. I had little to no sleep so I wasn't feelin' the office scene.  I was sitting at home furiously writing and editing a paper we hoped to submit for publication due a week later. At around 1PM, I decided to allow myself a short nap since I'd made some good progress and was waiting on a few emails from the other authors. I had just closed my eyes and begun to relax when my water broke. Of course. Byron had just left to head into work for a few meetings. I texted him "My water just broke". He called back to say he was coming back home to pick me up.

We got to the hospital around 2:30 PM and I was starting to really hurt. I got all checked in, IV's in (the first attempt failed and left me with a huge welt on my left arm) and we started spreading the word via text. Wyatt was well taken care of with April, so I was able to rest easy and focus on Baby #2. I got an epidural around 5 PM and from them on...I could think, talk and be human! Byron and I watched some sci-fi documentary about mermaids and I dosed in and out. This time the epidural missed a little to the right so I could feel things MUCH sooner on my left side. Once again- I had to get a little boost of the meds since it started to wear off. We also furiously researched the meaning of a few boys names since we still hadn't decided on one yet. Unfortunately- my contractions slowed significantly so they gave me some pitocin to move things along again. That did the trick and in about an hour- I was really feeling the pressure (not the full amount of pain) of the contractions and asked the nurse about getting the doctor. My regular doctor, Dr. DeLaGarza was actually the physician on call that night which meant she would actually get to deliver the baby she'd been monitoring for the last nine months! Horray! (Wyatt was delivered by a different doctor since he was also born at night).

By the time Dr. DeLaGarza was in the room I was SO ready to push. With Byron at my side, I pushed four times and out came my beautiful baby boy. I was SHOCKED, but so in love immediately. Tears filled my eyes and I couldn't speak, I was so overwhelmed with love. It's simply amazing how God expands your heart to love so much. I didn't think my heart could hold any more love after Wyatt. But here was this perfect little boy, who calmed at the sound of my voice and looked strait into my eyes. It was love at first sight. Again.

We didn't name him right away. Byron went home to get some sleep and was planning to come back in the morning. But...at 4 AM he got a call from April saying that Wyatt was really sick. Poor baby. He went and picked him up and dealt with a super sick toddler for the next few hours. He called me at 9 to let me know what happened and that he was working on finding someone to come keep my sick baby so he could come back up to the hospital. By this time I had already settled on the name Truett. I spent the first 12 hours with this sweet baby boy and he just looked like a Truett. But....I wanted Byron to be there too.

I was super emotional, as I wanted to be in two places at once. Home with my sick baby, and at the hospital with my newborn. I felt terrible because he was crying out for me,  and I couldn't be there to help him. Cynthia came to keep Wyatt for a while, and he actually perked up that afternoon.

I had lots of visitors that day: co workers, great Grandma Sylvia, and other family. After a much needed night of sleep Byron came to pick me up the following morning. Tears filled my eyes when I saw Wyatt and he gave me the biggest grin and a huge hug. My little boy had grown up overnight it seemed. He looked HUGE sitting in his carseat, so proud of his little brother. I am so blessed to have two happy, healthy little boys. God is so good.

As a side note:
I allowed a nursing student to shadow my nurse. She was very young and sweet, and just stood in the back most of the time. At first I thought to myself "I'm sure this is waaayyyyy more than she bargained for:". Simply put....Having a baby is not a pretty picture. But I remember locking eyes with her after Truett was born, and saw that her eyes were full of tears as well. Even a young student can appreciate the pure joy a mother has when she holds her child for the first time.

Things remembered...

Wyatt will be 2 in a week. For the sake of record keeping...I'm jotting down some of my favorite things he is into right now- because I know they won't last forever.

1. He opens the pantry door, puts his hands on his chin and says "Hmmmmmm". I must do this every time I'm trying to decide what to make him for lunch or dinner.

2. 'mon Momma- while beckoning with his hand. (come on Momma) He says this whenever he wants me to follow him somewhere.

3. "Hi baby" or "baby in there"- while patting my stomach. He also does this to Byron sometimes- so I'm not sure he really understands there is a baby in there.

4. He is still my little helper: carrying in groceries, mail, trash etc. The bigger the better.

5. "I gon get choo". (i'm gonna get you)- while chasing something.

6. O MAN! (He exclaims this whenever he sees something really BIG. Or falls down).

7. Little man likes to dance- this mostly consists of him 'jumping' up and down and spinning in circles- but it's awfully cute.

8. "I GOT IT!" -he's so proud when he opens or finds something on his own.

9. "Poppa B...where arrrrrreeee yooooouuuuu?" _substitute any object or person for Poppa B. He says this long drawn out phrase when he's looking for something.

10. "No Dora"- Dora is the neighbors dog. He thinks he's big telling her what's up.

I love this little guys sweet innocent remarks. He's my little ham. He brings so much joy to our lives.

Wyatt-isms

Wyatt is bursting with words lately and I hope I can tuck away his little expressions in my memory forever. 

My favorites right now are: 

 "Grass-popper" (Grasshopper) 

Bi-baby (library)

HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiii!!! (usually when you catch him doing something he shouldn't be doing he calls out hi- very loudly) Or he greets everyone in the store like this. It's irresistibly cute. 

Mickik (Mickey mouse) 

ca-pepa (caterpillar) 

Some others that have recently been added to the vocab: 

- ice

-cookie (an important one) 

- juice

-ink (drink)

- cheese

-pretty much any kind of truck/thing that goes you point to- he can name (firetruck, mail truck, dump truck, cement truck, school bus, train, airplane etc etc.)

- wagon

-mower

-lego

- kitty cat

- moon

- sky

- dirt

- shovel

Cass

Due to a change in plans, we all ended up here this summer. 

Cass, West Virginia. I grew up going here as a kid. We'd stay at my Aunt Flossy and Uncle Tab's place right on the river. We'd stay a week and do nothing but play outside. My dad would take us into Cass once during that trip where we'd spend all our hard earned money in the Cass General store and then go on our annual 2 hour train ride. I estimate it's been about 17 years since I've been back. This time, with a new generation to show off. Wyatt and Eli made the trip for the first time and both boys had a great time! 

We rented a 'renovated' old logging home for four days. that's about all a person can handle. There's not a whole lot in the way of entertainment there in Cass. As I mentioned before, we'd spend the whole week outside: fishing and playing in the river. But this time- it had just rained (on top of all the rain over the summer) and the river was raging. Not much in the way of fishing or playing for toddlers! 

We made the best of it though. The boys played in the wagons, on the playground and in the model trains. We picked fresh apples and fried them up. We ate in every night. My mom offered to watch the boys so we could go on a date night, but alas- there was nothing to do for miles around. So we went to bed early. Ha! But- I must say....being without technology for 4-5 days really was different. No cell service. No internet. No nothing. Seriously. When was the last time you were stuck somewhere for any length of time with NO outside connection? We did have satellite tv. That's come a long way. I can still remember having to wait like 20 minutes for the GIANT dish in AUNT flossy's backyard to change direction and thus change the channel. There were only three to chose from anyway so most of the time- it wasn't worth all the effort. 

I'm glad we went. It brought back waves of memories for me, and I definitely want my kids to grow up knowing that place. I want them to forget about they're regular toys, tv, and technology and just play all day outside. I'm sure the boys will love camping out there with Pop when they get a little older.  Camping: It's just not my thing and hasn't been for about 17 years. 

My little helper

I want to remember my sweet little helper. Wyatt is 19 months old and is the most dedicated little helper I know. He squeals with delight when I ask him to take out the trash. He rushes over to help me mop the floor insisting he do it himself. He jumps into the shower to help me scrub tiles and wash the windows. He reaches as high as he can to dump each piece of laundry into the washer and even demands pushing the laundry baskets to and from the washer. His favorite might be getting the mail. He gets MAD if someone goes to get it without him. He helps put things on the grocery check out, and also helps unload the car.

I know this dedication won't last forever, but I want to remember how sweet his little heart is.  The extra set of hands isn't 'helpful' persey. All my chores actually take 2-3 times as long to complete. But, as a mother, I want to cultivate this servant heart and encourage his 'helping spirit' as best I can for as long as I can.  Rushing him won't help that. and so I resign myself to going slower.

I was so proud yesterday when I picked him up from school. His teacher was bragging that Wyatt is always the most helpful kiddo in class. He wants to be part of everything. He helps set up for snack, and helps clean up afterward. Picking up toys is a race for him- to see how many things he can put away the fastest. Now that's the kind of report a parent likes to get!

Remind me about this post when Wyatt is a teenager. I'm sure I'll need it.