Dryhead post for Elder Asay

So Michael's little bro is serving a mission in South African and occasionally he gets to check blogs, and I've heard that his favorite ones are those including things like farming/cows, anything like that, so in an effort to regain favorite sis in-law status, I'm posting this for Elder Asay!! :) We love Jared and are so proud of him and miss him.

So last week we got to sneak in a little trip to dryhead. We were sad when we showed up and found our Charlene accidentally got stepped on by a horse, but she recovered well. Both Stetson and Kandace rode on horses, Carson rode the whole time by himself (he's quite the little cowboy). We love going on these trips because it is a great Asay family tradition and is always a good time. Jan always makes it worth our while with delicious hamburgers, chips, drinks, treats and more.

It is SOO very beautiful up here.

Cowley's Day

Yesterday was Cowley's Day. It was also my 10 year high school reunion. Its truly amazinh how fast time flies. It is also amazing that I managed to wind up with 5 HUGE coldsores on my face days before reunion time. SA-WEET. It was really fun anyway. Really good to see old friends, visit and fun to ride in the float! Fri night we met at Byron to visit and get our shirts, and Saturday after the parade we went to the armory park in Lovell for Bob Acton's famous bbq sandwiches and a potluck. Chris Wambeke's stories about good times on the Asay farm were the highlight for me. Not just anyone can make me laugh like that kid. Looking back at the last 10 years, I'm grateful for where I turned out and for the good family I have whose helped me steer my course.

This is Janelle's cousin Audrey. She's 7 mos and ADORABLE! Look at those cheeks! Morgan and I sang "I'll fly away" at the variety show that night. It was fun to sing again.

3 weeks

Our little princess is 3 weeks today! Janelle is our angel and we love her. I wake her up once every night to feed her, just because I'm supposed to for the 1st month. After that I'll let her go all night and hopefully she will! She's doing great and we are crazy about her.

Day old child

My day-old child lay in my arms.

With my lips against her ear

I whispered strongly, "How I wish-

I wish that you could hear;

"I've a hundred wonderful things to say

(a tiny cough and a nod)

Hurry, hurry, hurry, and grow

So I can tell you about God."

My day-old baby's mouth was still

And my words only tickled her ear.

But a kind of light passed through her eyes,

And I saw this thought appear:

"How I wish I had a voice and words;

I've a hundred things to say,

Before I forget I'd tell you of God-

I left him yesterday."

Carol Lynn Pearson

Thank you Kara Bischoff for the beautiful pictures.

Kandace and Janelle

Well first of all, let me tell you about Kandace and Janelle. I always worry about sibbling rivalry/jealousy issues with the arrival of a new family member, but Janelle has literally been welcomed with OPEN arms. Kandace can't stay away from her. She is CONSTANTLY kissing her, laying by her, hugging her, touching her, just taking it all in. She can't get enough of her. She truly loves her. Whenever I bring Janelle into the family room after a nap or something, Kandace runs right up to Janelle and says, "mom, I love my baby." Stetson loves Janelle too, and always wants to "pet" her, but he's not like Kandace about it.

In other news, Janelle is 2 weeks old today. To celebrate we took her to church for the first time! She wore a darling pink dress from the Children's Place that her great uncle and aunt Bruce and Diane Asay sent Kandace when she was a baby. Janelle was a popular item at church and everyone was anxious to see her. One of my favorite people in our ward, Barbara Moncur came to me after Relief Society and said, "you know the rules in this ward, right?" Her rule is that she gets to hold all the babies. :) Barbara is a gem and I love her.

It seems like there's always some bumps along the road during the first couple weeks, that I have to overcome. I was feeling AWESOME right after delivery and the next couple days, but things sort of turned around for me and I had serious soreness and other issues I'll spare you the details of. Janelle is a great baby. I wake her up once in the night to feed her because she's not supposed to go more than 5 hrs for the first month. After I feed her she goes right back to bed and sleeps 'til 7. We're working towards a 3 hr feeding schedule and she's doing pretty good with that.

Michael had to work a 24-hr shift yesterday (bla) and so he's been very tired, but he was up in time for 8:00 church this morning.

We are grateful for our new baby and looking forward to life with Janelle.

more...

Kandace loves to wear hats! She pulled this beenie out of winter storage.


Janelle and his super cute cousin, Ian.

swim party

Last Friday we took a rendezvous to Billings. Joel and Kambrie are house sitting for a family in their ward who has a big beautiful house plus a pool, so we decided to par-tay! Stetson and Kandace need to learn to swim quick because they have no reservations and want to get right in on all the action. Brenda rode up with me and dad rode home with me to make the ride easier.

birth story

A lot of people have asked about the birth story, so I'll tell ya how it went down. Friday I'd been having contractions on and off all day, Saturday early morning they started getting consistently close together so I kept track of them for about an hour. I contemplated getting out of bed and watering the lawn or something but decided to get all the rest I could. When I finally did get up, things slowed down and I was bummed. We decided to get our mind off things and try to enjoy our day with the kids so we took them to the whale pool in Lovell and cleaned house a bit. By 6ish they were 3-5 minutes apart but not that intense. I called my doula and she eventually came over at about 9. Things actually slowed down after she arrived, so at about 10 we considered calling it a night until things picked up. Just as she was about to leave, we decided for her to stay so we could try different positions so that we knew what worked by the time we arrived at the hospital. In the next couple of hours things really picked up. By midnight she said we'd better go to the hospital, so we got into the car, and I was in the backseat so I could be on my hands and knees for relief. The contracions were every 3 minutes about and they were in full force. I can't really describe it, but I was trying my best to focus my attention and do the things Melanie had showed me. My water broke between Byron and Powell and not long after (about when we got into Powell) I was having the urge to push and got really scared (thats an understatement) that we were going to have this baby in the car. Michael kept his cool really well and called Melanie to tell her what happened and she said to pant through the contractions so I did that and we eventually pulled into the ER after going about 40 through Powell. Without even putting my shoes on we (Melanie and I) raced into the hospital and I was looking forward to getting this baby out but other plans were in store when we realized the doc wasn't even there yet. The ER had been contacted but she dropped the ball and the OB never got the message that I was coming. I leaned over the bed and panted through contractions, thinking through every contraction that it would be the last one, when I eventually pushed her out at like the 4the one (before the doc arrived). A nurse delivered the baby and did a great job. Melanie was crucial in keeping me as calm as possible and I was glad she was there. I wish she would have been with me in the van on the way. So people have asked if I would do natural again, and I'd say probably. I haven't exactly digested all of this yet but this I know--my recovery was 10 times better this time around and my post partum depression has been way less. I feel proud of myself and think I'd feel even better about things had the doc been there and I didn't have to pant through all those contractions when my body was ready to push. After Janelle was born (always a beautiful moment) we had 2 hrs of skin to skin, the cord wasn't clamped 'til all the blood pumped and she nursed right away. This has helped with breastfeeding I think. I think the ability to give birth is a divine, God given right thats meant to be incredibly challening --I don't think there's any easy way around it, but it sure is worth it. I can't even begin to describe how much we love Janelle. SO much that it hurts sometimes--having your heart walking around outside your body sort of things. We had a hard time picking the name but we're both in love with it now since its hers and she's ours. We didn't get any pics if right after she was born but Melanie did and hopefully I can post those.




The pic of Michael is priceless to me. I took this right after she was born because I wanted to capture the "proud dad" moment. Noone loves babies like Michael and I am certainly glad he's the dad of mine.

Happy 4th of July/Janelle meets some family

We actually came home July 3rd, which is actually the same day I had her (!) but it seemed like we'd been there longer since We were admitted so early Sunday morning. We went to the hospital that morning for some genetic screenings and a weight check, then headed to Asay's to get our kids. They had a ball there and it feels so reassuring to know your kids are in such good hands when you have to be away. Later that evening we went back for a bbq and some fireworks. It was weird to be out so soon with a brand new baby but nice to be out and about.

Life with Janelle

We've been enjoying our Janelle immensely. She is a dream baby and we are all smitten by her. Kandace can't stop touching her and Stetson loves to ask if he can "pet her." :) She's eating around the clock, about every 2 1/2 hrs, and sleeping a 4 hr stretch at night, so we're not feeling too sleep deprived. The hardest thing right now is thinking about when Michael has to go back to work and how I'll survive. I've definitely been thinking a lot about priorities and letting the less important things slide so I can give all my kids the love and attention they need. The public health nurse stopped by to check for weight and jaundice since Stetson and Kandace both had it pretty bad. The nurse thinks she looks great and we found out the Janelle is already back to her birth weight!! :)

Jill and the boys brought us a bouncer and some cute presents for the kids so they don't feel left out. We have some great family!! Mike & Rachel came over yesterday...Rachel brought us cookies and neighbors and visiting teachers have brought us some meals.

Finally!

Janelle Asay

born July 3, 2011 1 am

8lbs 3oz 20 in mom and baby are doing great. more to come!