EvEry pArty nEEds A pOOpEr...

I have been such a party pooper lately. It has been a really frustrating month so far. The first month of Cicilee's life has been really hard on me.
Let me explain...
I knew I was going to be really busy with all the activities happening right after Cicilee's due date and I tried to plan ahead of time to help alleviate the stress.
In the last month I have~
*Had kidney stones
*Given birth to my little girl (what a blessing)
*Surprised Ben with his father coming into town on his birthday
*Surprised my Mom with my Dad coming into town on her birthday
*Had my fifth wisdom tooth pulled (which I wasn't planning on for quite some time)
*Had a root canal (which may or may not have had to happen...It could have just been a sinus infection).
AWESOME RIGHT?!!

The best layed plans...

My Mom had a big birthday last week and I wanted to do something fun for her so I had my Dad come into town and surprise her. (My mouth had been throbbing for 2 days now and I was just exhausted from trying to act like it didn't hurt). Dad showed up on Tuesday at 9:30am and I couldn't fake it anymore. I was so sure that my wisdom tooth was putting pressure on the rest of my teeth and that is why my mouth hurt. I called my dentist and he said I needed to come in ASAP. So, 30 minutes after my Dad showed up at my door, I was sitting in the dentist chair. He told me my wisdom tooth needed to come out and asked if he could just do it right then. I was so shocked. I am not good at last minute things and I told him that I needed more mental prep time to have a tooth pulled. He just laughed at me and started numbing. About two minutes after I was numb, my tooth was out. I thought that would be the end of the pressure inside my mouth.
WRONG...
After the numbing medication wore off, I was DYING. I was totally overdosing on Tylenol and Ibuprofen. Nothing was working. My entire face just had too much pressure and KILLED. (I know I sound like a total baby, but it really did.) I called the dentist and he prescribed some tylenol with codeine and said it would be safe to use while nursing. Appearantly codeine and I don't get along very well. I was soooo sick and it put Cicilee in a coma...she was totally sedated. We were miserable. It took about 10 hours for me to get the codeine out of my system and for Cicilee to wake up.

The day after my Mom's birthday I went back into the dentists office and x-rays didn't show that I needed a root canal. He did all sorts of tests on me and nothing showed that I needed a root canal. My face was a bit swollen, I felt like someone had punched me in the cheek, I couldn't bite down on my left side b/c of all the pressure in my teeth, and my nose was stuffed (but only on one side).
The dentist told me that he was 98% sure I needed a root canal but it still could be a sinus infection. He then scared the crap out of me and told me that if I needed a root canal but didn't get it that the infection could spread. (My Mom knew a man who died from a tooth infection).
So, yes...I got the root canal.

These pictures were taken the day after my wisdom tooth was pulled (My Mom's birthday).


The birthday girl!

The family at Breckenridge...what a beautiful place.


Kai and my folks. He just loves his grandpa. He followed my dad around everywhere.


My two handsome men...

Our little family...

My Mom and I took Kai and Cicilee to the pool today. It was Cicilee's first day at the pool and I was so excited about it. I thought it would be so much fun.
Boy was I WRONG!!!
Kai wanted to walk around the pool and splash everyone, and then decided the water was too cold, and Cicilee just wanted to scream and scream. I thought she would sleep since I nursed her right before we went into the pool. NOPE. Awake the entire time. AWESOME.
It was so frustrating to me b/c Kai and I went to the pool almost every single day last summer and I was so looking forward to getting a nice tan this summer. We loved the pool last summer b/c it gave us something to do that didn't cost money. I guess we will just have to keep trying until it becomes fun again.
I know we can get there again...
Cicilee has two swimming suits for this summer so far.
This is the one from my best friend, Carly. It fits perfectly and she is only 5 weeks old this week. I am thinking that Cicilee is going to be bigger than Kai. She has totally filled in already.


Me and my two kiddos. Doesn't Cicilee look like she is having a blast?
I am also learning that there is really no way to get everyone to look at the camera and look happy at the same time anymore.
Oh well...

My Mom and Cicilee.
Thanks for your help Mom, I couldn't do ANYTHING without you!

Kai loved my Mom so much. He adores her and they pal around all afternoon in the garden together. I am so glad that he has the opportunity to spend time with her and learn just how lucky he is to have her as his grandma.


I am feeling better this week. It was a rough couple of days though. I can't describe just how grateful I am that my Mom has been here through everything. She has been such a HUGE help. When I was little and would get sick, my Mom was the only person who could make things better. She was like medicine. It is really humbling to know that some things never change. She is the person I want around when I don't feel well. She takes such good care of me AND now my kiddos. She still is my medicine.

crAzy fAcE~

I just love my little man...

He makes me laugh every single day!

What a Week!!!

This week has been kinda crazy...
Ben turned 30 yesterday and I suprised him by having his Dad come into town to golf with him all day. It was great. Ben and Rocky had a blast together and golfed 2 1/2 rounds of golf together in one day. They were totally wiped out by the time they got home.



Today is our 4th anniversary...
Ben had to go to California for work, but Happy Anniversary anyway.
I miss you.
Four years, a house, two dogs, and two kids later...We couldn't be more blessed.
Life is good!

Heaven Is A Place On Earth...

We went to the doctor last week and Cicilee has gained back most of her birth weight...she was 7lbs 7 oz at birth and last Wednesday she was back up to 7lbs 6 oz! She is a much better eater than Kai was and hopefully will keep it up.
Here are some pictures of our little girl from the past week.

First sponge bath
She definitely has Ben's lips...



Cicilee showed signs of jaundice when she was three days old but it has since cleared up.

Hangin' out...

My favorite pictures of Cicilee thus far~

One Week Ago Today...

It is hard to believe that Cicilee is one week old already. She is already a totally different baby.
I know a lot of my friends have asked to hear the story of how it went down.
Here is the shortened version...
My Mom came into town on Monday morning and we went to the nursery and started planting things right away. It was a ball! We were outside all day long digging up dirt. Ben came home from work, mowed the lawn, and we had a BBQ outside so we could admire our hard work.
Soon after dinner (7:00ish) my lower back (on the left side) started to hurt a bit. My first thought was I had pulled something while lifting heavy bags of garden soil around to different parts of the yard earlier that day. I thought it would subside but worried about being injured with my Mom in town b/c we had so many things I needed/wanted to get done before Cicilee arrived.
It continued to hurt though and I didn't know how to make it go away. I then started to worry that it was back labor. After lying on the couch for about two hours it didn't get any better. Ben and I headed to bed and I thought for sure when I woke up I would be ok again.
NOPE.
I laid in bed but couldn't sleep. I thought maybe I could make it til morning when the doctor's office opened and they could tell me I was just being a wimp. I just watched the clock change numbers until I couldn't take it anymore. Finally at 2:00am I told Ben to make some calls and figure out where to put Kai. He was such a trooper and jumped right up. I also (this is shocking to even me) hadn't finished packing my bags and had to lay there and tell Ben what to get and where to put it.
Then, off we went to the hospital.
At the hospital they told me I had kidney stones. I have never had kidney stones before and couldn't believe it. They wouldn't treat me b/c I was so far along in my pregnancy but agreed to keep me anyway. I was so sick and dehydrated, I don't know what I would have done if they would have sent me home.
I was only dilated to about a 1 1/2 but they decided to induce me and take out the baby and then treat the kidney stones. I was dying!!!
So, after SEVERAL narcotics I was able to get some sleep and then they started to induce me. I got the epidural and then started dilating.
Cicilee never dropped, she was facing my hip bone and just stayed clear up in my ribs til I started pushing. They said I would have had her several hours earlier if she would have just cooperated and turned her body. She was a stubborn one though and no matter what the doctor tried (and believe me, she tried EVERYTHING!!!), Cicilee didn't want to turn.
(I am sure not everyone wants to know all the details).
I wanted to give up so badly, but Ben just stayed right by my side and kept telling me that this was better than the alternative. He kept reassuring me that I needed to let the doctor do whatever she needed to to help Cicilee. I will forever remember how supportive and strong Ben was when I was feeling so weak. I truly needed him there.
After the doctor gave up on her theory, Ben told her I needed a good 10 minutes of rest and he wanted to lay me completely on my side and see if Cicilee would move on her own. So, the doctor left and Ben, my Mom, and I sat in silence in the room. A few minutes later the nurse came back in and told me that the baby had indeed moved but had rotated the wrong way. She was now "sunny-side up". I knew this wasn't good news b/c the doctor came back into the room with a look of defeat and told me that it would be too difficult for me to deliver her b/c I was so tired now and it would be hours of pushing to get a sunny-side up baby delivered. She left the room and we started to get to work anyway.
About 40 minutes later the doctor came back into the room to check on us and Cicilee was born.
I was in shock (as I am sure every mother is when they first see their baby). They laid her on my stomach and she didn't look ANYTHING like Makai. I guess I just thought I would see another Makai being born. They couldn't be more different though...in every way...
We love her though and are so glad she joined OUR family.

...and the kidney stones...???
Well, the next morning they took me to get a CT scan and they couldn't find the stone that they thought was causing me so much pain. So, for now I am in the clear.
Not sure what happened to the stone...they think maybe I passed it during delivery or that Cicilee was positioned on my urethra.
I am just glad that it is gone. I didn't sleep at all the first night b/c I kept thinking that once the epidural wore off the kidney stone pain would return.
But, it never did and I hope it never will.

It is weird to think that today is my actual due date. So much has happened in a week. I will try to put up more pictures but here is what I have so far....
Enjoy!






My Mom and Cicilee...

I am so lucky to have a Mom who would think she needed to come out a little early "just in case something were to happen"...
Because it did. Motherly instinct I guess. Thanks for always taking care of me Mom. I love you!!!

Hospital Photos

Cicilee's hospital pictures are online...
Click Here for the Website
Password is~CicileeJane
Enjoy!!!

Cicilee Jane Michaelson

Cicilee was born on Wednesday May 20th at 12:40am.
7 lbs 7 oz
20 inches

We just got home from the hospital a few hours ago but I thought I would get on the computer quick and post a few pictures of our little girl. We are officially a family of FOUR now!!!
There are several more pictures I am going to post, but I just don't have time tonight. It was quite the ordeal and I will fill everyone in on (most of) the story when I have more time.
Until then, enjoy our little girly...
We are absolutely in love with her.

Just Like Daddy...Just Like Mommy...

Here are some pictures we took Monday evening of our little Kai man. (Before we went to the hospital). He is a really good balance between Ben and myself.
He wants to help Ben whenever he is mowing the yard...



And LOVES flowers about as much as I do. He loves to smell every flower in the yard...

"nOOOOOOO"

Kai's favorite thing to say is "nooooo." I do believe this is his first "official" word b/c I don't think that uh oh qualifies as a true word really. Anyway, he has been saying "no" for a few weeks now. I know he has said "doggie" and "daddy" in the past but I am not sure if he really connects those words with what they are or if they are just things he says a lot. He definately knows what "no" means, and now says it ALL day long. The funniest part about him saying "no" is the way he holds his face with the "OOO". I tried to get it on video and this was the best I got.... Enjoy!

This video has some of the sign language that Kai knows (Kai's version). He is really good at saying please and thank you in sign language (better at it when he doesn't have objects in his hands). He knows several other things but I only captured those two on this clip.

bAby shOwEr @ 36 wEEks

So, I have four weeks left.
Four weeks officially...
Five weeks realistically...
:)

I can't believe how big my belly has gotten. Luckily the doctor told me she doesn't expect me to get any bigger. I am maxed out...no more room!!!

My good friend, Emily threw me a shower last night. It was perfect and so much fun! There were a lot of people out of town for the weekend but we had a blast!
My only regret at the shower was not taking ANY pictures. I just started gabbing and before I knew it the shower was over and I hadn't even gotten my camera out. Emily did such a great job though. The food was delicious. She is quite the party planner. Little did I know how much fun girl stuff really is! Cicilee is going to have lots of clothes (dresses) to wear when she arrives.
I am so lucky to have Emily as a friend.
Thank you for all you do!

Here is a picture of the gifts we got at the shower. We have such great friends here and are truly blessed. Thank you to everyone who came. I can't wait to dress up my little girl in all the cute things she got!!!

One thing that surprised me at the shower was how talented my friends are...
Several of my friends have etsy shops online where they sell their cute products.
These are the links (Well, the ones I have).
If you are in need of cute and totally unique baby gifts you can shop here...
Gigglebugbaby
lavender avenue
Josie michelle