Adorable

Our little one must have been praying when he fell asleep!!

As soon as we laid him down, he stretched out his little legs.  He must've been in that position for 45 minutes.

He's growing up so fast.  He'll be six weeks tomorrow and I really can't believe it.  Where has the time gone??  He's gotta weigh at least 12 pounds and he has gotten so long...all that praying and stretching I guess.

The first surgery and hopefully the last!

So as the husband I feel it is my duty to fill in for Amy and blog. I hope I do her justice!

We arrived at the hospital at 8am to find out that we were early, apparently someone made a mistake with scheduling and we were not supposed to be there till 9am! What??!!.....are you serious? We need sleep right now! Well, Amy needs sleep and I need her to sleep because if she isn't sleeping than that means she is tired and not her wonderful chipper self!! Tisk Tisk Tisk Kade. Anyways, our room had a television monitor so we decided to catch up on Full House and some other ABC Family shows that were on in the morning. After an hour or so the nurse comes in and asks Amy a few health related questions and shortly after she is given an IV and some "floaty" drugs that make her feel sleepy. She was then taken into surgery around 10am and about an hour later she was done. The Doctor per Amy's request gave us the "stone" or what I would call the "whopper" since it looked like one of those chocolate covered malt balls that no one likes in our household! Amy was in and out of sleep for the next 6 hours. I would describe her as being narcoleptic....one moment she would be alert and then the next she would be out...she denies she slept but let me tell you, she was asleep. Her pain level was at a 6 out of 10 for most of the time and finally it came down to a 4 and half. She was able to drink broth and juice but still had challenges with going potty. The nurse came in about 4:30pm and asked how Amy was feeling, Amy replied by saying she felt about the same but did not have the urge to go potty yet. The nurse responded by saying that it was not a requirement before being discharged from the hospital. We decided that 5pm sounded like a good time to leave the comfort of the hospital and its amenities. Amy is such a blessing to our family with ALL that she does and now as a husband I get to find out first hand just how much work she does EVERYDAY! I hope I survive and become a better husband and dad through this unique time in our family's lives. Just one thing....keep us in your prayers to all of our loyal blog followers...my wife and kids especially since they will be in my care. YIKES! ; ) Till next time...

Surgery

I'm having my gallbladder removed tomorrow.  I have to admit, I'm a little nervous.  I've been in touch with a girl who was in our ward who had the procedure done last year.  She's been letting me know the truth about this surgery...it WILL take time to recover.  She mentioned the surgery lasts about 45 minutes, but the hospital recovery time is several hours. 

I've been especially nervous about how my post-baby body will react.  I'm nursing and I've been told that I need to pump and dump the day of the surgery so that baby doesn't get any of the yucky meds/drugs.  After that, he should be fine.  I will be on some pain killers but the pharmacist told me that it won't have any adverse affect on the baby beside maybe making him more tired.  I just think, he's a newborn, how much more tired can he be?!

Maya is all squared away for tomorrow, a friend of mine is going to watch her until we get home and then she'll most likely go to her little friend's house after that.  My biggest concern is how Kade and Maya will fend the days to follow.  My mom recommended having someone come in and check on me to make sure Kade's ok.  How sad is that?! I have to have someone come and make sure my baby is being taken care of.  Well, now is definitely the time I'm going to take advantage of all of my friends who have kids close to Maya's age.

Wish me luck!!

Missed :-(

I missed blogging yesterday due to an unforeseen schedule.  Oh well. I kind of figured I'd fall short posting everyday this month.  Hopefully this is the only mess up.

Last night I had an idea for a post, but now I've forgotten.  Darn!!  I should've got out of bed and began a post.  Eh.  The weather has turned for the worst here in Rexburg.  Last week it got very cold and has continued to get even colder this week.  A few mornings ago, Arthur woke up to get ready for work and it was 11 degrees outside.  BURRRR!!!  He's been riding his bike faithfully this semester but that morning it was just too darn cold that I wouldn't even let him ride if he'd wanted to.

The next thing that comes with the colder weather is snow...lots and lots of snow.  I believe this winter won't fail to impress with how much snow will fall.  We've lived here for three winters, this will be our fourth, and we are always surprised how soon it snows and how long it snows for...October to April, really?!  We should be prepared and use to it by now, but I am never ready for these bitter-cold and snowy winters.

I think my biggest issue with the winters here is how hard it is to keep our home warm.  Just when we think it's warm enough to turn the heater off, within a few hours it's freezing again.  Our poor babies...Maya's got a thick skin already, but Kade is just learning about the terrain he was born in.  The worst is bath time...the warmest rooms in the house are typically the kids' room and the living room, only if you're right next to the heater.  After Maya's bath we get her all ready for bed in her room because it's warm in there.  Kade on the other hand, we bathe in the sink and haul him over to the living room right next to the heater and get him dried and dressed.  He HATES it.  He hates the bath in general but the cold after the bath...no fun for baby, or this mama.  Even I hate getting out of the shower.

Chalk it up to another winter in Rexburg that we're not prepared for!!  Hopefully by next winter we'll either be on our way to somewhere else or have thicker skin!

The Gallbladder

Last night I had one of the worst experiences of my life. I would not wish it on anyone!! Arthur and I got home from one of Maya's friend's birthday party and we were just hanging out when I got an intense pain just under my rib cage on the right side. I was trying to find a comfortable position but just couldn't. I felt a constant pain that got worse at times and it was very tender to the touch.

I headed to bed around 10 and tossed and turned for about an hour and finally couldn't handle it anymore. I got up and walked around but that didn't help. It hurt so bad I could not control my tears. I'm sure Arthur was wondering what was up with me. He offered a blessing and I accepted. What a beautiful experience, receiving a blessing from my righteous husband.

After the blessing, by now it was midnight and I tried to get comfortable again, but about an hour later the pain was just too crazy. So, I told Arthur I needed to go to the hospital. Since our kids were sleeping, Arthur stayed with them and Steve came to my rescue. He hauled tail over to our house to get me and hauled some more tail to get me to the hospital. They pulled me back right away and started the assessment. They asked me all kinds of stuff and got me hooked up to some pain meds. Those helped me SO much. They made me quite loopy for a few minutes. Steve witnessed this right before I was discharged because they gave me another dose. Anyhoo, the doctor came in and pushed on my stomach and with it being to tender it made me catch my breath. He did the Murphy test; pushed on my abdomen while I exhaled and that was even worse.

Steve was allowed back once they got all the info they needed. They took some blood and a half hour later I went to have a CT. From the CT they saw that I have a few gallstones. The doctor recommended I have my gallbladder removed but didn't push it. He gave me the contact info of a local general surgeon and today we went and met with him, Dr. Coray. He strongly recommended to have the surgery. It's an outpatient procedure so it will only take a day. Next Monday is the day that I will become one organ short!!

It's supposed to be very routine...even so, keep me in your prayers. Thanks!!

Kade's Arrival

Welp, where to start. First of all, I don't even know how many people are actually reading this new blog of ours. I'll assume those that are reading, really, really appreciate all the words I type!! :-)

A few weeks before Kade was born, I was having false labor almost every night. I'd wake up to some semi-intense contractions (which means they weren't intense at all I just thought they were, until I remembered what the real things felt like) and think, this is it!! So, I'd hop in the shower to get ready to go up to the hospital and they would stop. I'd get back in bed and finish out the night in a deep slumber. The night before one of my appointments I was having contractions for several hours, even after the shower I kept having them. It was then that I thought, this is it!! I decided to wait it out until my appointment which was early the next morning. Not to mention I was nervous about calling the friend that was going to watch Maya if I did go into labor before my mom came in the middle of the night. That's the last thing I want...to be woken up in the middle of the night just to return to my bed because those folks had false labor.

So at my appointment the doctor said I was dilated to a three and effaced 75%. I thought that that must be good. This appt was three weeks before my due date. I went in the following week and was told I hadn't made any progress and to sit tight. So that's what I did, I sat very tight because this kid didn't seem to want to come out anytime soon. At my last appt, which was on the 6th, the doctor stripped my membranes and said, "I can't imagine you'll make it to tonight. Hopefully we'll see you in the hospital a little later." He also mentioned that if I didn't go into labor that night, I should make an appt to be induced. So we did and it was for Monday the 10th at 7:30am. Arthur and I left that appt thinking, wow, we could have our new baby by tomorrow. If not tomorrow, for sure on Monday. It felt a little surreal. We've waited these past nine months to welcome this little thing and he was going to come any minute.

Well, he did not make his entrance that night...or the next night...or the next! My mom came on Saturday night and that was a relief because now she could spend some time with Maya and we wouldn't have to bother anyone in the middle of the night to watch her. By Sunday, his actual due date, I was ready to meet him. I headed to my meetings for church and the light contractions started. I came home and hung out with my mom and urged the contractions to get more frequent. That did not happen. In fact, that night I prayed for the contractions to stop so that I could get some much needed rest before this kid came. Yeah for answered prayers...I slept like a baby that night.

The next morning we were up bright and early and headed off to the hospital, which is a five minute drive. It's really nice knowing there is a fully capable staff five minutes away to take care of our emergencies. We got all our forms signed and I was laying in the labor and delivery room by 8:30am, hooked up to an IV by 9 and started labor. They wanted me to have a few contractions before they started me on Pitocin just to be sure I was going to progress with the labor efficiently and effectively.

Let me go back...once they hooked me up to the IV, I totally passed out. It was crazy. I was feeling a little warm, which got me sweating and then the IV was put in and I felt super sick to my stomach and I leaned to my left and the nurse said, "I think we lost her." I could hear everything that was going on but I was completely out of it. Arthur had stood up to see what I looked like and he said that I looked like I was coherent. My eyes were open and he felt there wasn't any indication that I was passed out. Awesome!!  After I came to, I couldn't believe I passed out.  I laughed about it the whole rest of the day.

This was me right after I came to.

Moving right along, I had several contractions and they hooked me up to the PIT.  From there things happened really fast.  When I got to the hospital I was dilated to a four so they said once everything was hooked up, I could get the epidural whenever I wanted.  So I opted to get it as soon as I was hooked up Pitocin, and that was around 11:15am and I was at a five.  I did not want to feel anything and nothing I did feel!!  It was amazing. 

Me right as the epidural kicked in.

The nurse came in to check me at 12:30pm and I was already to nine cm.  Then the nurse told me to be aware of pressure and the urge to push.  So I was very aware of what my body was doing and let her know each time I felt pressure and wanted to push.  At 1:30pm, the nurse came in and checked me and I was fully everything.  The doctor showed up soon there after and I started pushing at 1:40pm and four pushes later Kade was born...1:47pm!! 

It was a great experience and I joked as I pushed him out that my body was made to do this!!!!!  He was 7 lbs. 15 oz. and 20 inches long.

Our new little family of four

With the experience we had with Maya, we decided to stay at the hospital as long as my insurance would let us so we could be close to her.  This time, they said "you can leave tomorrow if you'd like."  Arthur and I were both surprised and relieved.  It was nice to have a baby in our room that night and to be able to put Kade right into his car seat the next evening and head home.  We were greeted by my mom and Maya.  Maya was so excited to have us home.  This experience has helped me know just how aware Maya is and how much we love her and she loves us.

Adding one more kid to the mix has definitely been an adjustment, but a worth while adjustment.  We are running on fumes and hope that this little man decides soon if he'd like to sleep a little longer than just a few hours at a time.  He's a great eater and is chuckin' out faster than we thought possible.  He's a joy to have and watching him grow is a blessing.  We love him and now that he's here, we can't imagine life without him.

Sundays

I love Sundays.  They give me a chance to reflect on the weeks activities and take inventory on how 'I did' during the last six days.  Today was an especially great Sunday.  We had the opportunity to really focus our fast on some of our good, good friends.  They are struggling to get pregnant right now and they are preparing to do IVF.  From what she has told me, there are quite a few things they both have to do to make the most of this, i.e. shots, pills, etc.

We've had them in our thoughts for a long time regarding this, but today was the first time they've asked us to participate in a family/friends fast with them.  What a great feeling...really putting someone else first and disregarding my own feelings and needs.  Since I'm nursing, I had to eat, however, the Spirit of the Fast was definitely felt.

I also had the opportunity to teach the Relief Society lesson today and since we were behind in the Gospel Principles Manual, we, as a Presidency, decided to catch up and teach from there today.  The lesson was on the Postmortal Spirit World.  It was such an incredible experience for me.  Many of the sisters shared their testimonies about the hope they feel because of the knowledge they have about there being life after death. 

I love fast and testimony meetings because I enjoy hearing everyone's testimonies.  They strengthen mine and that makes me grateful.  Someone once said something along these lines, the strengthening of testimonies is found in the bearing of it.  I love that and it is so true!!!

What I did today!!

For lack of a better topic, and the day coming to a close, I'll tell you what I did today.  I woke up and fed Kade and then slept for another hour.  At 10am a girl friend of mine had a Pamper party.  A bunch of us girls just hung out and we gave ourselves facials and mani's and pedi's.  It was a lot of fun to have some girl time.  I feel like I've been stuck inside since the weather has turned cold...bitter cold!

I came home in the early afternoon and Arthur and I decided to go down to Idaho Falls.  We visited Toys R Us and Maya had a great time.  We walked around the mall a little bit and made a quick trip to Target.  On our way home we called in an order for Chinese food.  When we got home we sat down and enjoyed a delicious, well the best we can get around here, meal of yummy food.  Maya loved the Lo Mein.

We are now watching a movie, which happens to be a Saturday thing.  There are several good movies coming out that Arthur and I have been looking forward to watching.  Next week it's Green Lantern and the week after that Pirates four!!  I think I'm most excited to watch the latter.

Later I plan on feeding Kade and hitting the sack.  I gotta catch some serious Z's!!!

Haircut!!

I'll just get right to it!! A couple of Sundays ago I went to church with slightly damp hair and all day I felt like a combination of Cousin It and a wet mop. It was then that I realized it was time for a change. The next day I was in a local hair salon getting my long locks chopped off. I was trying to channel Jennifer Aniston from 2000ish. She had an adorable bob that was just above her shoulders. I brought pics w me to show the stylist what I wanted.

Well, it turns out my hair is just too thick to be cut without layers. So, once I looked in the mirror, I asked the stylist, we'll call her Jane, to add some layers. Jane did as I asked, however, the layers did not go up high enough to create any kind of thinning at the bottom of the very blunt cut. Jane styled my hair and then curled it (terribly). I headed home and redid my hair to see if maybe once I styled it I'd like it. To no avail, that plan failed miserably.

The next day I contacted the salon and the owner answered. I asked if I could come in to get my hair fixed. She explained to me that they like to have the original stylist fix the do, which I totally understood, but Jane wasn't working until Friday. I felt that was a little too long to fix a disgruntled customer's locks, so I asked to be seen that day. The owner, we'll call her Trudy, said she could fit me in that day at three. I said great and before I knew it Turdy was changing her tune and telling me she'd call if something opened up. So I still had no appointment to fix the hair I was unhappy with. I still haven't received a phone call from Trudy or Jane attempting to fit me in. Thank goodness I didn't just wait around.

A friend of mine, who I don't know why I didn't think of earlier, attends the local Paul Mitchell hair school and when I mentioned my experience she said, "come see me and I'll fix ya right up!!" So in I went to a hair student and boy am I pleased! She did a great job, not to mention her teacher cut most of my layers. They both did a great job and it was worth paying twice to have them fix it.

There ya have it!!!!! Think twice before chopping your hair or at least think long enough to make an appoinetment with someone you KNOW will do a good job!!

Halloween

We had a great Halloween weekend.  On Friday we had our ward party to which we were late because of something I'll post about later.  We made it to the inside activities and completely missed the outside truck-or-treating.  There were so many things to do inside (lots of yummy food) so Maya wasn't too concerned...plus we went out on the 31st too.

Our little man was a monkey...well not just any monkey but a cheeky monkey.  If any of you have a definition of a cheeky monkey, by all means, enlighten me!!! A sassy monkey?!

He had a cute little tail on the back but I didn't get a picture of that.  Bummer!

Maya was a cupcake and she had such a great time wearing her costume.  It was so fun to see her get so excited about knocking on the doors and saying 'Trick-or-Treat!!"  She's at that age where she understands things quite a bit better.

So, on the 31st, we went out with Maya's bff Devery, who was a kitty cat.  We had dinner with our friends and then headed out to a close neighborhood, that wasn't  apartments, and began the girls' journey.  They'd run from house to house and had a blast.  It was quite cold, probably 40 degrees and windy.  Kade didn't like when the wind blew up his car seat cover.

After doing a couple of blocks, we checked the girls' loot and figured they had enough candy for us...um, I mean them.  We headed back to the house and had hot chocolate and just hung out and caught up with our friends.  It was a great night and I must say, I'm looking forward to taking Maya out trick-or-treating next year!!!

Prompt

A cousin of mine has sparked my interest to see if I can blog everyday this month.  We'll see how it goes.  I'm utilizing her blog as a prompt in order to decide on a topic for today.  I don't usually blog about anything but my kids so this will be a new experience for me and you!!

She talked about TV shows that she watches and then went into wondering how she could 'get out more.'  I think a little TV is ok.  We, like her, only have the Internet as a way to keep in touch with the TV world.  We do have instant Netflix and enjoy that.  Soooo...here's my list of some past favorites and current favorites.

Past Favs:
LOST - I've actually considered watching the series all the way through again.  I still have some unanswered questions, go figure!!
Prison Break - We're watching this now on Netflix, but it ended back in '08 or '09.
Beverly Hills 90210 - Yep, I'm going way back.  The same cousin, who helped light a fire under me, use to live with me and my family and we would come home from work and watch what we liked to call Garbage.  We knew it wasn't the greatest show, but we couldn't get enough of it!
Friday Night Lights - I was sad to see this show end.  I knew it had to end eventually, it just came too soon :-(.

Current Favs:
The Biggest Loser - This show has always been a must watch for me.  It's inspiring and I'm looking forward to when I feel up to 'for real' working out.
Modern Family - So funny! I don't keep up with the weekly episodes but I do watch it when I can.
ANTM - If you know what that stands for then you're into it too!!!  Definitely a guilty pleasure.
Project Runway - The season just ended and the person that won has only been sewing for six months.  Crazy!!!

Right now it feels almost impossible to get even five minutes to myself, let alone watch a 40 minute show.  However, finding that balance with family, responsibilities, and me-time is a challenge and sometimes a 40 minute show is all it takes for me to be rejuvenated.  Try and figure out what you can do to find that ever important balance.

Welcome, Welcome!!

Due to some security issues, we've had to change our blog and make it private.  I know, I know...I always said my blog would never be private but after what happened, it is!!  It was nothing too crazy; just enough to change all our passwords, update my email address, change the color of my hair...oh and get a nose job plus face lift ;-).

A lot has happened within the Yuan household.  Actually, not very much has happened, it just sounds better to say 'a lot' rather than one huge thing.  Anyway, we've welcomed a new addition to our family, Kade Vincent.

It was a fast, smooth and easy delivery.  We had an appointment to be induced the day after he was due (10/10) and we showed up at 7:30am, got all hooked up to everything by 9 and he was born at 1:47pm after four pushes.  That's the way to do it!!!

Maya and Grandma came and hung out with us a little bit after the delivery and it was fun to see Maya's reaction to this new little person. 

She absolutely adores him.  Us, however, she doesn't!  She puts on quite a show when she feels we're putting her on the back burner.  I do feel bad because that feels like ALL...the...time.  She's being a real trooper though.  She does get a lot of attention from daddy which was kind of to be expected since Kade relies on me for...uh...ahem...all things having to do with his growth.  And let me tell you, boy is he growing.  At his two week check up he'd gained a pound and a few days later, he'd gained several more ounces.  His cheeks are filling out, but he's still got some seriously scrawny legs.  He's a fun little boy and time has flown by these last few weeks.  I hear with each kid it only goes faster...oh dear!

Stay tuned for more updates on our growing family and the whole delivery happenings!!