Baby Updates

Yes.

I am still playing the catch-up game.

So this post is going to be a bit of a cluster.
A LONG cluster.
That's right.
You've been warned.

Christmas with a little one was fun.

I was so excited to shower him with gifts and presents and love.
But I soon realized that morning that he wasn't the one opening all of his presents.
It was me.
Brian made fun of me because I basically undid everything that morning that I stayed up all night doing,
but I would do again in an instant.

Even if that makes me silly.
I didn't have to produce a show Christmas morning so it was great to spend the time with my family.

The biggest development in William's 2nd month of life was his facial expressions.

It seemed every time I turned around he was crackin' some strange face.

I'm glad a caught a few of these gems for history's sake.

Oh and another thing we got in month two were CHEEKS!

I mean come ON... it doesn't get much better than that.
He is now lovingly called "baby cheeks" by my co-workers.

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Will's 2 Month stats:

Weight - 14lbs 3oz - 95th %ile
Height - 23.5in - 73rd %ile
Head - 39cm - 25th %ile

So basically - tall, fat and little tiny head.

In January we took a trip up to Idaho to visit Brian's relatives.
Both his mom and dad grew up in Idaho so he has quite a bit of family there.

I had never met his dad's mom,
(she was too sick to come down for our wedding)
so we decided it was time to drop in for a visit.

It was a lot of fun being with his family.

Amazing how I just fit in like they've always been my own.

On our way home we stopped by Pocatello to drop in on THE Jake Taylor.

Love him and so proud of him moving up in his career - from Pocatello to McAllen, TX.

Also, we discovered we have an Albino child.

But he's a really cute Albino child.

 THIS guy came home and little Will is totally infatuated with him.

Uncle Jon is possibly the best uncle around.

(It's cuz he's still a kid a heart!) 

The biggest event in February was Will's blessing.

He was blessed by his father on exactly his 3-month birthday.
It was a big day for the entire family as my brother delivered his homecoming talk
and my dad celebrated a birthday that same day.

We were also excited to have Brian's parents in town.
We love it when we get to see them!

And of course - Will's emotions continued to expand.

By now, he's totally MASTERED the adorable look, don't you agree?

Also, what kind of first-time parents would we be if we didn't have our cameras constantly in his face?
Here is a compilation of my attempts to catch William's most adorable moments so far.
Just so you know -
I sifted through HOURS of iPhone footage to bring you this condensed version.
Just kidding.
But really -
be grateful I didn't post it all.

Of course, my attempt is nothing compared to this little vignette that my very talented husband whipped together while watching William one afternoon as I slept.
Seriously?
Too cute.

 The funny faces continued in March.

It's so fun to watch the newborn saggy skin disappear and get replaced by this chubby, round, happy baby boy face.
Now if only that hair would grow faster...

 Will and I started a new competition titled "Fat Face Friday."

So far - he's winning.

 He started doing several new things this month.

He blows raspberries.
He reads books.
He sings himself to sleep.
He sleeps in his own bed.
In his own room.
And he grabs on to everything!

 In other news, I've stopped wearing earrings.

 Will's 4 Month Stats:

 Weight - 16lbs 14oz - 80th %ile

Height - 26.25in - 85th %ile

Head - 43cm - 20th %ile

And if you didn't get enough this post...

 How cute is my child?

Competitive mom much?
Oh yeah...

Love much,
Mama Beth

6 Blessed Weeks

I knew I had to go back to work.

That was always the plan. 

In fact, the plan was to go back after four weeks.

 But by some unexpected miracles and a few pulled strings,

I was able to get two extra weeks.

And those extra 14 days made all the difference.

My mom didn't join the party until Will was almost two weeks old.

But it was like my MIL handed her the "angel" baton and kept running with it.
My mom was there for anything I needed.
She came up almost every day and helped me with everything:
Laundry.
Baby.

Cooking.
Baby.
Sleeping.

Nursing.
Baby.

What I learned most is that everything was harder than I expected,
but at the same time it was easier.
I know that probably makes absolutely no sense.
So let me explain.

Sending Brian off to work in the mornings became difficult for me.

I just wanted him to stay and play and enjoy our baby with me.

And I know (at times) he wanted that too.

But he had to go to work.

Getting good sleep was harder because I was worried that if I wasn't staring at will at all times,
then he would stop breathing.
Can anyone say, "First time mom?"

Doing any house keeping seemed like a stretch.
My body was recovering still,
but it was a remarkably easy delivery and I bounced back quickly.
Still, I found it absolutely exhausting to stand for long periods of time.
And doing work around the house meant I had to put the little one down.
And that simply was not going to happen.

Not everything was difficult.
I latched on to mothering like I was born to be a mom.

Oh, wait...
I was.
But it was completely shocking to me how easily everything came.
I quickly learned my child's different cries.
I figured out what soothed him - AND what didn't.

I felt a love stronger and unlike any love I'd ever experienced before.
It was simply indescribable.

I found myself wasting hours just staring at this beautiful creature in my arms.

And I had to constantly remind myself that that was OK.

We did get a few things done while I was on maternity leave.
We managed to get family pictures taken by the very talented Carrie Plastow.


We got ready for Christmas,

explored the newest mall in Utah County,
took a lot more pictures,

visited friends and family,
and even popped in to introduce him to my morning crew.
Of course, Lori couldn't keep her hands off him long enough to do the show,
so he did it with her.

Oh and did I say we took lots of pictures and video?

 Let me tell you, those pictures got me through the first couple of weeks back at work.
And even though I'm used to it now - I still sneak a peek at those purdy baby blues.

 Looking back on those 6 blessed weeks, I realize they were really hard and a huge adjustment.
But they were possibly the best 6 weeks of my life.

Love much,
Mama Beth

The First Few

Any new parents can sympathize, I'm sure.

But the past three months seem to have flown by.
I'm cuddling with my little nugget now and
wouldn't give up any of these many precious snuggle sessions we've had the past 12 weeks.
But those sessions have dominated my time
and I've neglected this blog.
I want to remember these first few months
and one way I can to that is by writing about them.
I only hope that with all the time that has passed,
I can remember all of the most important moments.

The first few days:
William and I recovered quickly from labor.
Let's be honest here:
Labor is traumatic - for both parties.
Just the mere thought of what I did still baffles me.
But two days in the hospital were enough for all of us.
Poor Brian has to sleep next to the window and nearly froze the first night we were there.
And I just wanted to be in my own bed - sans uncomfortable donut ring.

Sidebar - I love my amazing morning show crew.
They were all so excited for us and even gave Will his first TV shoutout.

Since my own mother was out enjoying herself on some exotic island,
Brian's mom flew into spend the first 10 days with us.
I'm so grateful she was there.
Without her, we wouldn't have know that our heater was broken
and it got into 40s in our apartment overnight.
(Don't worry - Brian was able to call maintenance to fix it before Will and I came home) 
We also wouldn't have had any meals to eat,
let alone dishes to eat them off of.
She kept my house running while I was able to figure out this new little person.
And for that I am forever grateful.

Brian got a few days with us before he had to go back to work.

It was totally surreal.
We had this brand new little baby.

We were parents.

We had to keep this thing alive.

We had no idea what we were doing.

But life kept on and we figured it out.

 (Correction: We're still figuring it out.)

Love much,
Mama Beth

Birth Day

It's not every day that you get to witness a miracle.

I guess that's one of the reasons why I will always remember the events of November 10, 2012.

Brian and I had spent the previous day running errands, cleaning the house, and getting ready for the pending arrival of a certain little baby boy.

We got all of our chores done and decided to reward ourselves with a celebratory dinner and little get-away.

We talked over pizza about how this little guy was going to change our lives when he came.

I even told Brian that I thought I would be pregnant for another week or two.

(BOY! Was I wrong?!)

After dinner, we packed our overnight bags and headed to the exotic city of American Fork to "Hotel Walker" where a King-size bed and jetted tub awaited us.

My very pregnant body was in heaven.
Then the morning came... and I woke up in a rush.
A rush of water.
Yup.
Water broken.

As soon as we realized what was happening,
Daddy Brian kicked into gear.
I've never seen my husband like that before.
He hopped out of bed, packed our bags and ushered me out to the car.

Overnight, a huge snowstorm blew in and we saw the most snow we had seen all season.
We drove the 30 minutes back to our house because I had everything packed up and ready to go.
OCD.
I know
Plus, the hospital was only 10 minutes from our house so I knew we'd have enough time.
In all honestly - I mostly wanted to make sure we had the camera before we got to the hospital.
OCD.
I know.

We checked into the hospital and it seemed like everything went so fast.

Part of that is because it did.
4 hours after checking into the hospital,
William Walker Grimmett entered the world at 7 lbs. 12 oz.

Here is an audio vignette that my amazing husband put together.
Listen in now to hear how the labor and delivery went.
(I can't listen to this without crying.
The end is a tear jerker!)

As soon as they put that little blue baby in my arms and he let out the first cry,
I knew all was well with the world.

I will never forget this moment.
Again, a tear jerker.

The rest of the day was filled with a lot of firsts.
First feeding.
First bath.
First bowel movement followed by first diaper change - one that included William peeing all over his daddy.
That was a tear jerker as well simply because I was laughing so hard.

While the number of "firsts" we are encountering now is wearing thin,
the excitement and joy that this boy brings into our lives is ever-increasing.
William made me a mom.
William made Brian a dad.
And he definitely makes both of us completely and utterly happy.

I think I like this motherhood thing.

Love much,
Mama Beth