Baby Shower

We had a BLAST on Saturday at my baby shower. My sisters went above and beyond with this one and I am not sure it will ever be topped! Here is the thing, I didn't have my camera, Kristin's camera battery was dead, Nate took Kelly's camera with him and Michaela left her battery charging at home... sooooo we didn't get ANY pictures during the shower! Such a shame since it was AMAZING! BUT Kelly did snag her camera when the boys got back from swimming at the Lehi indoor pool and took these few shots. Hopefully you can catch a glimpse of the awesomeness that was.

Suzanne did the decorations and had these little paper balls hanging EVERYWHERE all different sizes and such. There were little signs hanging up at the different stations too. 

Here is Suzanne cleaning up, she painted everyones toes and even did whatever little design they wanted too. I got pink polish with a White, Green and Brown Argyle pattern. Others did flowers, polka dots and puzzle pieces. As a Thank You for coming gift Suzanne even got little manicure kits for everyone too! 

There was a massage station too! Kristin and Suzanne asked our cousin Bobbie, who is a Massage Therapist to come and give everyone foot massages. After everyone got their toes done they got a good foot rub. Oh they were amazing!

Kristin set up the Hair Bow making station, complete with ALL this ribbon and all the instructions on how to make them.

 I tried my hand at a few, i'll need more practice for sure. Kelly, Michaela, Kenna, KK, Kristin and my mom made a few too. I think Kristin is going to teach me how to make more this week sometime. I was excited to get hair bows to match all the DARLING outfits that Maylee got at the shower. 

The shower was held at Kristin's house and she did all the food.... ohh it was SO cute! She did mini green cheesecakes complete with pink drizzled chocolate on top, she made cookies that were perfectly pink, my mom did the fruit skewers with pink fruit dip and Kristin got a four layer chocolate cake from Costco, my FAVORITE! There were even pink and green M&M's and Pink Lemonade for the drink! DARLING huh! 

This is the GYNORMOUSLY AWESOME diaper cake that my S.I.L Michaela made for me. The bottom part is a blanket that she made for Maylee, inside were 3 different sizes of diapers, onesies, receiving blankets and wipes! The little Marie Cat is so I can take a picture with that and a little card for every month of Maylee's first year to see how she's grown. I am so excited to do it! 

Thank you SO MUCH to everyone that came to the baby shower, I hope everyone had a good time and left a little pampered themselves. The gifts and outfits were adorable, now I just need to find a place to put all her new stuff. :) 

Inquiring minds that want to know...

I had my appointment this morning and it went as well as we'd hoped.

Doc said that whatever I have been doing to keep it up because it is working! My blood pressure was down a teeny bit so I am still on modified bed rest and have to nap at least once a day etc etc. BUT at least I am not on full bed rest and I can do one thing a day still! He said to monitor my blood pressure to make sure I keep it where it is (or lower), if it goes up and doesn't come back down after resting then to call in.

I gained more weight then I wanted to but it was less then I thought it was, unless my favorite nurse Katie was lying to me...I try not to look at the scale when I go in, I hate it. My cervix isn't dilated much thankfully so he isn't worried about me delivering next week. ACTUALLY I don't even have to go in next week. Normally I would have to but my Doctor is out of town and he isn't worried about me going next week so he said not to worry about it. YES! I hate going in!

Also there was NO protein in my sample so he was extremely pleased with that.

The only thing still to think about is that I am Strep B positive and just went through a round of Super STRONG antibiotics. I think he'll check me again at 37 weeks and decide then if he wants me on another round of oral antibiotics or just wait until delivery and give me penicillin in my IV. I would rather do the first option considering we really don't know what I am allergic to while delivering and less is better really.

I am measuring a little small 33 weeks, but he said he wasn't too concerned about it considering my starting weight and how petite I am.

Maylee had a good strong heart beat and still moves a TON so things are going well. I am SO glad that I am not confined to a bed 24/7, just ohh 22/7 haha.

A big thanks for my mom for coming and helping this week, she's done all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, taking care of Ty and Matt has been one happy camper coming home to a well rested happy wife, a meal on the table and a happy son. She packed my freezer FULL of meals so I still don't have to cook while she is gone I just have to pull it out and stick it in the oven. :) She has been a life saver!    

Valentine's Day Bash

Yeah I know I know I am a bit late with all this, but i'll post it none the less. The day before Valentine's Day we had a duel celebration of Valentine's Day AND Chinese New Year. We all made tons of Chinese food, Kristin and Will passed out Licee (lucky money) to the little ones and then we decorated cookies and ate treats and passed out Valentine's a little after dinner.

This is Ty making his Valentine holder. His was a boom box type thing because he passed out candy, a picture and his favorite music. He decorated for over half an hour and LOVED every minute of it.

Here is Ty's Valentine's Card photo shoot, he was SUCH a cheese ball.

He was grouchy at first because he was watching a movie so I bribed him with Dazzled Conversation Hearts for cooperation.

Cheeese, CHEEESSSE, Chhheeee.... uh mom how long do I have to do this! Haha

The only decent one, yes you can see the candy in his mouth, Whatever! Happy Valentines Day!

Sierra decorating her heart shaped Sugar Cookie.

Suzanne going to town while Jason decides what to add next. 

Kenna (cousin Travis's Fiancée) helped Ty decorate his cookies while Kristin helped Sierra

Elena enjoying the sights and sounds of the evening

The men pretty much just camped out over here and waited for their kids or wives to finish decorating sugar cookies so they could eat them. I made Party Chip cupcakes with cupcake toppers, brownie bites, Red Velvet/Milk Chocolate Cake balls with red sprinkles too for munching.

Ty had free reign on the treats and I am surprised he didn't yack by the amount of junk he ate. This is the clean up after decorating, he LOVED it, can't tell by this picture though I guess.

Here are Ty's three finished products. Pretty good huh? Haha

The kids had a little bit of energy, (could it have been ALL THAT SUGAR?) So Matt started timing their laps around the kitchen. They had a great time with minimal injuries. :) 

Here are our finished Valentine Holders :)

Passing out the Valentines.

Sierra after she got her Valentines from everyone... she was hard to track down but I finally got her with chocolate all over her face.

It was a lovely night!

TMT

Children's Tylenol... enough said.

Thanks!

A big thanks to Preston's brother Spencer for being the AWESOME IT guy he is. He spent about 2 hours on our Laptop using remote access to save me from my pregnant rage issues. I was literally... no seriously, about the pick up this lap top and throw it out the window and buy myself a new one.  My blood pressure was probably sky high and I was thinking expletives... shame on me for even thinking them but I did.

Spencer saved the day though and thinks our "partitions" are weird for our hard drive memory so he'll have to look at changing those a little later but for now we should be good to go. Hallelujah!

In other news life has been busy, Matt's youngest brother Braden left on his mission yesterday and I set him up a mission blog. ElderSpence.blogspot.com. We are very excited for him to be on a mission and he was very excited to go. We can't wait to hear about all his neat experiences in the Provo-MTC and down in Southern Mexico.

Matt has school, school and more school bouncing around in his head as this week is Mid-terms. He did one  quiz Monday, took a test last night, tonight is another quiz and the whole weekend will be devoted to getting in some service hours for his Special Ed class. He volunteered at the Equestrian park for Friday night and a Dance on Saturday night, he has to get in 20 hours before the end of the semester. We figured it all out and this week he will only have about 6 hours on Saturday afternoon for some down time. Good thing that is when BYU has it's game against TCU, he'll be able to watch if not listen to it at least. Oh and did I mention that he has been working mandatory overtime the last few weeks? They are a little short handed so they require at least 2 hours a weeks, he's been working about 5 by working through his lunch hours and Saturday mornings... He keeps saying he just needs to survive this week then he can breathe. I agree!

TMT: Stick a fork in me (A Short Novel)

(Just look at the picture below this post if you want the hearts and flowers part of the Spence's life at the moment... as far as this post goes... read on if you really have nothing else to do, but only then. Kristin, Suzanne and Mom you all ready know all this so just sum it up for your husbands to save time for them haha) 

I am so done! Okay I know what you all are thinking, didn't she just write an update last week or so saying things are hunky dory? Yes, Yes I did. Oh how quickly things change.

It all started at my appointment last Friday. I went in and saw a number on the scale I REALLY wasn't pleased with but the pregnancy with Ty I passed that mark way sooner so it wasn't so bad. I sat down thinking I was in a good relaxed mood and they took my blood pressure... hmmm.

I got into my room and Ty was a terror, opening all cupboards and drawers pulling things out, switching every button he could find... you know normal toddler stuff. I was handling it as best as I could but my patience level (again like I stated in a previous post) has tanked big time and I wasn't sure why. As my Dr. walked in my direct quote to him was, "Why on earth does ANYONE have more then one child, one is DEFINITELY ENOUGH!" He smiled at me as I got up on the crunchy paper and he listened to Maylee's heart beat, everything was fine there then he measured me and everything was fine there.

He then asked me some random questions and that I didn't think were a big deal.
"So do you have any swelling in your hands or feet at all?"
-Yes but only at night and it's not much but I have woken up at night because my hands are so swollen... but it goes away during the day.
"Any numbness with that?"
-Uhh No
"How about your vision any blurriness or weird little dots or anything?"
-Well sometimes when I get up too fast I see stars for a second and have to sit down but it's not a big deal and has happened my whole life
"How about shortness of breath?"
-Yeah I can't breathe to well but thats pretty much because my child has reached my rib cage and I am assuming there isn't much room up there for my lungs anymore.
"Any back pain at all?"
-Uhh nope.
"Have you had any contractions?"
-Well yes, for some reason every Sunday I get them for about 3-4 hours but they go away eventually (eh hem or when I go snowmobiling all day but I didnt tell him that haha)


(I'll insert here that I am 34 weeks pregnant and some of you more experienced mothers or those who have had these issues know exactly where I am going with this) 

He stopped asking questions at that point and got pretty frank with me. He said that I had pretty high blood pressure 130/90. That is sky high for me considering I am USUALLY about 118/60 while pregnant, it's even lower when I am not. So jumping from low to high in two weeks was an issue. APPARENTLY I am boarder line preeclamptic. What does that mean? It means and I quote, using all caps to further emphasis how my mild mannered OB put it, "TAKE IT EASY!" 

My response was okay I can take it easy, thats fine i'll sit down a little more or whatever... No No he explained, by take it easy he means sitting or lying 90 percent of the day. Pick one thing to do a day and limit myself to that. Go to just one store, clean just one room, do just one activity but after I am done go back to lying or sitting. Right as he says this, as if Ty knew what he was saying, he flips out into a full scale scream whine mixture tantrum. I looked at Ty then back at my Dr. with a smile and he continued with how he knew it was hard with another little one but it was VERY important that I keep my blood pressure DOWN because I am at risk for having a pre-term baby and he does NOT wast me to deliver pre-term! Neither do I of course.  He told me that I needed to take a nap EVERY day too, no exceptions. The kicker? No more exercise, 0, zilch, nada, not a chance, just lie down as much as I can. He told me think about this as modified bed rest and if things don't change by my next appointment I WILL be on strict bed rest until I deliver and he will be checking me next time (quick math says in my head, YIKES that is a lot of weeks of bed rest! Doesn't he know me? That would be the hardest thing ever!)

When I got home I got on the computer and looked up this preeclampsia business to see what exactly it was all about and one article mentioned that you are more likely to have it when your mother or sisters have had it. We all know Kristin didn't have it and probably never even came close (blah jealous) so I called my mom. YES she had it with every single one of us and was on strict bed rest for a MONTH with Suzanne and I in the end. Of course I would have it then, and I thought I was doing so well! My mom told me to take it easy too and she meant it.

I told my sisters about my almost condition and Suzanne offered to take Ty all day on Saturday. I told her she didn't need to since Matt wouldn't be too busy with his work overtime in the morning and school work but she insisted. I consented because heck i'll let anyone take my child for the day if they REALLY want him! I woke up to some kidney pain on my right side, which is about par for the course for me. But after lying down for about 2 hours extra, it was a nice day. I got in a nap, sat down a lot and got some Valentine's day party stuff out of the way (more on the party later in the week).

Sunday was a bit busy but I tried to relax as much as I could.

Yesterday I woke up feeling a little off again and I tried to get through it. I don't know about you all but it takes a long time for me to realize just how much pain I am in. I figured it out half way up the stairs when I started crying because my right kidney hurt so bad. I don't cry because of pain, last time was when I had Kidney stones... So I made it up the stairs for some Tylenol and called Suzanne at work. She works close and since I don't have a car I knew she could be potentially be to my house sooner than Matt and I wasn't in the mood to wait long.

We went to the Dr.'s office and sparing the gory details I have a raging UTI and had my uh, sample, sent into the lab because of the traces of blood and extra protein they found. BLAH! My Dr. turned the corner to see me standing by the nurses desk, he took one look and said "You again, I was hoping I wouldn't see you for a while..." Yeah I was hoping the same thing, but leave it up to me. The lab results will be back in a day or two. They are testing my kidney function and just how much extra protein they found.

So I am pretty sure that I have only a few days left of "take it easy" because once they get the results of that lab back, Doc just might take away any sort of "up and att'm" activities for me. I am hoping for the best but expecting the worse really. I got my prescription for my antibiotics and got tons of water and cranberry juice to get rid of the UTI, wish that is how to get rid of preeclampsia...only cure for that is delivering my baby and she still needs to cook!

Happy Valentine's to me right? Matt for uhh the fourth time since I have known him bought me flowers when he got home after school. They were perfect and unexpected.

In all this what do I suppose my Tender Mercies are? Looking at the bright side of things-
~I am SO glad that Suzanne works so close to come help me at the drop of a hat AND that she is so willing to take my little monster of a child whenever and chase him around Smiths looking at EVERY stinking Valentine's balloon while I wait for my prescription. SOOO helpful! I have a feeling that others will get that opportunity soon too if they want :)
~I am thankful my Dr. is so good and knows who I am, what has gone on in the past with me, and is very quick to help when I am in serious amounts of pain.
~I am thankful that Ty was a VERY good little man for me yesterday while I sat on the couch doing nothing but drink tons and tons of fluids hoping for a repeat today.
~I am thankful that Matt came home and took care of Ty and me as best he could last night when I was so tired and just plain not feeling well.

Bottom line is, Pregnancy is lame, I am not good at it and I am ready to throw in the towel BUT I have to stick it out at least 3 more weeks so Maylee will be as healthy as possible. I am pretty sure my body will last that long but here's praying my head does!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day All! Ty made this awesome hat in nursery yesterday at church and he loves it... puts a smile on my face seeing him run around with it on. He was so happy to get his picture taken with his hat!

Rubba-Dub-Dub

We've got Ty blowing bubbles in the Tub!

We are working on getting him comfortable in the water we have him do things like lying back completely, put his face in a little, blowing bubbles etc. so that we'll be ready come summer time! We'll be at the pool a ton and i'll be a two kid mom at that point. I'll need Ty able to be okay playing by himself with my supervision while I hold our little lady. Are we excited for summer? Oh yeah.

TMT: Ode to my Husband

Dear Matt,

Thank You.

I know my patience level has diminished in the last few days and you have been so helpful amidst all your schooling and work stresses to be understanding and take over when I am loosing it most. Sometimes I feel like I am failing as a mother, then you point something out that makes me feel like I have done at least something right with our busy, ever growing and learning son.

I still smile as I picture your face in my mind when you accidentally had your arm by my pregnant belly and felt your daughter move. "Uh, was that?" "Yes, Matt it was" "Okay" and you scoot away and inch or two. Thank goodness you love to hold and feel them after they are born because that is when they need it most anyway. I don't hold it against you at all that you aren't into the whole womb moving thing. I personally think it's odd, and to be honest actually quite painful myself. Turns out not all babies attack their mothers rib cages like ours do so maybe that's why other moms and dads think it's enjoyable. Oh and yes, you are right 7 weeks really isn't that far away.

I love how you tell jokes that make yourself laugh. Remember when I asked you "What did one triangle say to the other?" (Reading off a Laffy Taffy wrapper) I don't remember the terrible punch line on the wrapper but your response was better. "You're Acute?" i'll admit it that was pretty good, glad you got a good long laugh out of it yourself, and of course I got it.

Thanks for going to work and school every day (well most days for school) for us, I know you do it for us and that it is really hard some days for you. I know you want a break and I am sorry that home hasn't been quite the relaxing haven it should be due to all my whining, complaining, nagging and pessimism. Promise I am trying to lose the attitude and be happy. Most of all thanks for loving me with all my weaknesses, where I am weak you are strong and I think that is how it is supposed to be.

Thanks for being my Tender Mercy everyday.

Love you, and yes I will scratch your back for you.

Mickie

Sunday Morning

Yep, that is the Wall Street Journal people... Kid Genius in the making.  

Favorites

I have figured out two of Ty's favorites in the last while. First, his favorite color is Orange. He'll pick Orange whatever instead of any other color if he has the choice. Second his favorite song is "I just haven't met you yet" by Michael Buble. Every time the song comes on he stops what he is doing and does a dance.

Oh and yes in case you are wondering, dancing consists of flapping hands and arms and spinning in circles. In this particular case he was in the middle of eating pears, which is another of his favorites, and he got down from the chair and went into the living room to dance.

When he's jamming in the car he kicks his legs and claps his hands to the music. I would take video of that but it would be hazardous while driving myself haha. I am a mom and can multi-task remarkably well but I don't think that type of mutli-tasking is legal :) 

Big Boy Bed

Ty decided himself a week or two ago that it was time to sleep in his big boy bed. He was hating his crib one day so Matt just told him to lie down in his other bed to go to sleep so he did. Ever since then about 75 percent of the time he sleeps in his big boy bed. Sometimes I still put him in his crib when it's nap time or bed time and he doesn't want to go down. But even during nap time some days i'll put him in his bed and i'll hear him playing quietly in his room with his Buzz then I usually go check on him about 15-20 minutes later and he has crawled into his bed for his nap. He generally stays in his bed, we crack the door at night just in case and he has only come into our room once in the middle of the night. Mostly he'll just sit there and wait until you come get him in the morning or after his nap. I doubt it will stay that way, but it's nice for now. Also, it eases the transition for when his baby sister gets to sleep in the crib. He'll all ready be used to sleeping in his bed so no sibling jealousy will stem from him thinking she stole his bed.

Isn't he just so darn cute? I took this just a few minutes ago, it was super dark in the room I am surprised the flash didn't wake him up!

He hasn't fallen out of bed yet either, well that we know of, maybe he has and got back into bed himself. We do put pillows on the floor next to his bed just in case though.

TMT: Wait, it is Tuesday right?

That is how things seem to be going this last week. Today is Tuesday and there are so many Tender Mercies that I could share I could probably go on forever. I'll just go with a few.

Two Saturday's ago after my Grandpa had his stroke I was in a less than desirable state to coach my girls basketball team. Game time was at 11:30, I got the call from my mom at about 11 telling me the news. I called one of the players mothers to ask if she could help, she said she would be late but would help when she got there. I had a tiny melt down but was able to re-gain composure quickly while on the phone with her. The second phone call I made was to the Young Women's President to see who else I could call to take my place. I didn't make it long at all before another melt down ensued. She, being the sweet lady she is, responded with "Say no more I will take care of everything, you don't need to worry about this at all today. Please go spend time with your family today and do what you need to do. We'll make sure to pray for your family and Grandpa as well." Later I found out she was on the road to the Temple with her husband so he could be sealed to his parents, his Father died when he was very young and his parents weren't sealed then. His mother was finally able to be sealed to her husband and have her son sealed to them as a family that day. She had so much else to think about but she took care of my little problem in a jiffy when she knew I couldn't. Also, I thought that was interesting considering she was attending one of my Grandpa's very favorite things, sealing of couples, children and grandchildren in the temple.

The second one is how coincidental divinely guided it was that we planned our snowmobile trip for last week. My mom and I went back and forth for days in early December to find the best weekend in January or February. I am so glad it was last week so that my mom was able to be all ready on her way here when Grandpa had his stroke. She had all ready cleared time in her schedule and has been able to stay and extra week to help her siblings and mom figure out how to help Grandpa. I know she has been a big support and help to all of us and especially to her Dad.

Third is just the recent advances my Grandpa has made. He lost control of his right side but with help from the Physical Therapist by bracing his right leg he was able to stand on his own yesterday! He was also working hard with his speech therapist and things were going pretty well all things considered. We hope Grandpa will be able to join Grandma at home sooner then later. It's hard to see such a strong man like my Grandpa have to deal with this type of thing but it's easy to see all the little miracles and tender mercies that have taken place in the last week and i'll tell you my prayers have been more of thanks and appreciation then anything else because of it.