Crafts by Elias

I had to stick this one in of Tyce and Elias taken this morning. They just love eachother and I know they will be buddies always. I wanted to post these pics of Elias cute crafts he is bringing home from preschool. He really loves his "school" and his teacher Ms. Neva. Before this yr, he wasn't into glue, coloring or painting but now he is diving right in! I love the cute things he is bringing home. Bryce has a whole wall in his office dedicated to Elias' art work and school stuff. Elias gets very excited when Dad puts the stuff up.

We have had a lot going on the last month- Halloween, Thanksgiving, Pribyl Reunion and birthday parties! More pictures and posts to come soon. Love-K

Tyce Steven

This was Bryce and I minutes before going back to have Tyce.  I don’t look it here,  but I was dreading the big freakin needle they were about to put into my spine and the large cut into my abdomen after that. Good news is and was that we got baby Tyce Steven. He was born 05.12.09 at 6:37 pm. He weighed in at 8 lbs 1 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long. He definitely made sure we all knew how ticked he was to be pulled out of my warm belly…that is for sure! He was such a brut! So big and burly!

So, about the whole birth…things didn’t really go as planned. That’s why they say, “ Don’t even make a birthing plan”. After I had Elias via C Section I looked back over the years and really felt robbed that I couldn’t give birth normally.  I really felt like if I was more educated about the birthing process back then, I would have NEVER said ok to being induced. That, I believe, led me to my c section. Anyways,  so when I learned I was pregnant with Tyce, I went to the same doc as I did with Elias. I had asked him if he would be willing to do VBAC (vaginal birth after c section) and he said “Its too dangerous”. So, naive old me believed him and went on my way, planning to have a repeat c section.  I didn’t want this. I am terrified of surgery. I wanted to experience a vaginal birth. I wanted to try “all natural”. My mind was all there. But, I was told it was too dangerous. Well, about 6 wks before I was due,  I kept getting nervous about c section. I scheduled my surgery for the week I was due. I felt like the Spirit was tapping my shoulder to try for vbac. I started looking online and reading and researching vbac statistics and talked to some fellow vbac supporters I knew. Bryce was nervous b/c he believed our current doctor before reading anything. He just wanted me and baby to be safe. I told Bryce that I really wanted to try for vbac. The more I read and talked to others who knew about it, the more I felt like it was the right thing to do. Long story short, I changed doctors 3 weeks before my due date. Call me crazy, its my middle name! :) I changed to a practice that delivers vbac often; more often than my previous doctor. My new doc, Dr. Phillips, was kind, quiet and open to my concerns. He didn’t rush me out of his office. He gave me answers that I felt were the truth. He told me he would support my efforts to try to deliver vbac. About a week before my due date, I had been stressed to get to a doctors appt on time. I was rushing and sweating; no bueno.  I got to the Doc’s office and they checked my blood pressure. It was high. Went over to Triage and was still high…so over the next week, nurse and Doc said I couldn’t drive and to basically be on bed rest. I was so upset and totally in denial that I was having a hard time and on verge of being toxemic. After some stress testing days later I had another follow up appt. My blood pressure was still high and my Doc told me that it won’t get any better (BP) until I have the baby. I wasn’t dilated at all nor effaced. He said my cervix was still pretty hard and I was just 2 days shy of my due date. I was sooooo swollen and now he did consider me toxemic. Bryce and his parents were really concerned. Dr. Phillips explained that when this happens, he would normally induce. But, since I have had prior c section, it wasn’t very safe. I just said, “lets just do the C-section” I was really upset and sobbing at this point. That was at 10 am. He told me to go home and come back around 2 pm to get ready for surgery. I wanted to spend my last hours doing something fun with Elias. So, we took him to Pump It Up and I watched Bryce and him play and jump. I think the hardest thing about knowing when I was going to have Tyce was spending my last hours with my first born. I was excited to have Tyce but sad that just Elias and Mommy chapter would turn a page.

 

We went home and got ready and went back and that evening,

Tyce was born!!!! Elias, since day 1, has been in awe of his baby brother. I think the sweetest thing is the two of them interacting. Tyce LOVES his big brother. And, Elias feels the same about Tyce. There has only been one time that Elias has really complained about Tyce. Elias has been such a big helper with Tyce…very over protective. Elias makes funny faces and Tyce’s eyes light up whenever he sees big brother. Tyce has been so sweet….he has always been a good eater; he's all business when it comes to eating. Elias use to eat for a good hour and take his sweet time. Well, Tyce is exact opposite. He is a little chunker and already weighing in at 19.5 lbs at 4 months. Yowza!!! He likes to sleep too! He smiles often and loves to be held facing outward. I also love that everyone seems to think Tyce looks a lot like me and my side of the fam. Its nice to hear b/c Elias is a clone of Bryce! Handsome boys…all 3 of them. ;)  We feel so blessed for our baby Tyce and our big boy Elias. They both bring happiness to our home! Here are the latest shots of Tyce. He is 4 months in these last two pictures. With Love, Keri

" I MAM"

Elias has been saying some seriously funny stuff lately! I know I am posting this after Tyce was born and I should be writing about the birth but I have been meaning to write down some funny stuff Elias has said so I don't ever forget so I need to do this post first.

Here are some classics he has said in the last 3 months:

Was one of the days I actually did my hair and looked somewhat decent while 9 months pregnant.

I was pulling him out of the carseat and he looked at me and said, " Mom, you look so pretty! Your lip stuff looks pretty too" ( I had put lip gloss on right before)

"Mom, the moon looks like a cashew!" (it was a crecent moon out)

"Look Mom, my balls (sorry, had to tell it) are going to blowed off"

"Mom, I telled you I want to play with Jaden!!! That's it, after this sleepy time, you are gonna call Jadens Mom and tell her I want to wrestle her! " (He has a thing for Jaden apparently)

"Ohhhhh Snap!!!"

"I told you Mom, we shouldnt have bought a baby! I told you I just wanted a baby sometimes, not all the time!" (After he accidently hurt baby Tyce and Mom got upset with him)

"I want to buy a girl like her Mom" ( He sees a pretty girl in a magazine or picture and he thinks he will in the future, be able to buy a girlfriend. Great. My 3 yr old already thinks he participate in something illegal. lol)

"Mom, i don't know why she keeps talking to me. She keeps talking and I just want to play!" (Very frustrated as he walked in from out back playing with Jaden)

At a Doc appt, the nurse let Elias know his baby brother would need to get shots done. Elias started crying saying he didn't want that to happen b/c it would hurt Tyce. Then he got this serious look on his face and said, "Lets go Mom. Lets go right now. I mean it. Lets go."

"No, you knock it off". I wasn't too happpy about this comment.

"Im sorry Mom. I know that was special to you."

"My Grandma in heaven is an angel huh?"

Randomly, we will just be sitting on the couch together and he melts my heart with an unprompted, " I love you Mom". Nothing better comes out of my 3 yr olds mouth.

"Im going to kick your butt Dad, oh yes I MAM!"

Elias is really starting to develop a personality all his own. Hes sweet but not a push over. Hes funny but not annoying. He is my special Elias.

Cali Trip-Legoland

We decided to do a super fast trip to California-I don't know how we managed to do it with Bryce's work and Fire Academy schedule, but we did it!!! We wanted to do it for Elias mostly- a last trip before his baby brother arrives! We drove to Palm Springs and stayed with my bestie-Elyse for the night. Boy, was Elias in love!!!! He was acting so crazy and trying to show off...was pretty cute!!! He has been pretty aware of "pretty yadies" as he would say!

We apparentely got the 2 days mixed up in preparing for the weather...I have to say though, that the day we went to Legoland, the weather was really perfect. I LOVE OUR LITTLE FAMILY! Bryce had to do a lot of the legwork on this trip b/c I was 33 or 34 wks pregnant, so I was tired, ankles swelling and contracting! I couldn't believe how brave Elias was with the rides there! Bryce and him found a rollercoaster the last 20 mins before the park closed....they went on it 4x!!!! They would run out and run right back in-there was no lines at that one ride so that helped too! The picture up top with Bryce and Elias in the boat making funny faces makes me laugh- Elias has really been developing his personality! He puts his hands out, opens his eyes brightly and says, "What? Just do it....(whatever he wants us to do)"

I have noticed Elias is the HAPPIEST when we 3 are all together (which is pretty rare the last 6 months with bryce's schedule) but we do the best we can. And, I think Bryce has made it more of a priority to carve out time for Elias and I every couple days! Bryce is in school M-W from 5-10-usually getting home around 1030. And, then he is also gone all day Saturday. It has been tough but have gotten use to leaning on my Dad and trying to make lots of play dates. Elias and I have really bonded during this time too.

The morning after Elyse's, we headed to Oceanside. Bryce wanted to hit the beach. We rented this 4 seat bike...Bryce did most of the work-he even attempted to go up a steep hill but the fat cow I am at this point, Bryce had to get out and push that from the back!!!! WAs pretty funny! Was windy and chilly though, so Bryce decided to go with his gut and pass at jumping into the water.

I am really happy we made this trip-it's times like these that make memories forever.

Day at the Museum

So, today we got to take a visit to the Children's Museum downtown! I love this place. We have been a couple times before but this was the first time Bryce was able to make it out. What a fun family day.....Elias was soooo happy Daddy was there...and boy do I feel pregnant!!! I had to use the elevator!!! :(

Elias said the grocery store was his favorite part! He was so serious....he always has this serious look to his face lately- you would think we are grouchy old parents, but I promise we laugh, tease and play A LOT with this child-don't know what all the seriousness is for!

I love this picture! We didn't see this part of the Musuem last time we came out- but you just run through all these foam things...aside from Elias and another boy colliding right into his nose, Elias had a blast. I think Dad had just as much fun!

See, there he goes with the serious face!! lol. Btw, he didn't want his trailmix until the boy in the chair behind him said that he loves trailmix-then he was all about it!!!!

As for the boy in the yellow boots- this could have been a post on it's own....He has been wearing them for 3 days now-non stop. We were at Old Navy, he saw these rain boots and had to have them! He cried, tried them on and begged. He's not usually a beggar. So, I told him if he had 12 in his piggy bank, he could buy them. He was so upset I couldn't finish my shopping. Im a sucker and took him straight home to count his money....what do you know? He has MORE than 15 dollars in there and so, we were back at Old Navy within 15 mins buying his yellow boots. He even wore them to Church yesterday....oh boy! :) I love this kid!!!!!

Happy Valentines Day!

Lookie! My hubby got these flowers for me for Valentine's! Aren't they pretty???
Bryce had school all day and I was planning on ordering take out from this resturaunt that cooks Puerto Rican food (Bryce loves) and had checked on it and everything- but when I called on Valentines, they said they were too crowded and were not doing take out orders!!!!:( My surprise was ruined! So, I did Bryce's other fave, Abuelo's. Even though my car smelled like a stinky toot by the time I got home, Bryce was thrilled to have his shrimp wrapped bacon....we were going to go to this fun Vday party one of our friends were having but Bryce's was socially exhausted (can't blame him) so, we went and saw "Confessions of a Shopaholic". It was his idea...can't believe it, couldnt believe it until the end of the movie...he finally confessed he thinks Isla Fisher is the exception to unattractive redheads. :)

Cheers to another Valentine's with the one I love....

Sweet picture

I just came across this picture and thought what a sweet picture. It was taken several months ago after date night-we came home, my Dad was snoring in his bed, but little Elias was content as could be. This reminds me of my bedtimes with Dad-he is such a great Papa! Elias just adores him. (The light wasn't on by the way, we just have a strong flash on camera!)

MOM

A year ago today, my Mom was alive, happy and probably bundled up on her couch with comfy jammies watching her favorite show on the TV. The past yr, I have wondered why I didn't call her that night just to chat like we did often. The week before she passed, I felt like we were both pretty busy & didn't get a lot of time to catch up. I remember the day I got the call from my Uncle Rod telling me it didn't look good for my Mom. It was a Thursday, I was driving home from running errands and running around with Elias. I remember that morning reminding myself it was her rotating Thursday to have off and was excited that I would be able to talk with her today. That morning for some reason I got too busy to call her in the morning but knew when Elias went down for a nap, I would give her a call to catch up. Unfortunately, that never happened.

I thought about what I should say in this post-should I talk about how devastating the next weeks were going to be for me & how she passed-all the pain our family felt etc....but, I don't want to keep those memories alive. All I can say is that it was such an empty feeling. I was real numb. I couldn't believe it b/c it was so sudden.
Looking at these pictures brings back some good memories of my Mom. If you can think of anyone who turned their life around & tried to make it right, it was my Mom. She had a really, really tough childhood. She wasn't taught certain things to make her successful for adulthood & b/c she wasn't taught some of the most important things a child should be shown like love and compassion, she battled with what kind of person she should be....what kind of person she wanted to be. And, after all that suffering she went through, bad choices, lifes ups and downs, she became one of the most admirable people Ive known. The more time goes that I am a Mother myself, the more I can understand a little bit of how she felt when she was a young mother to me and my brother.

My Mom turned her life around & did everything possible to be the best Mom to my brother and I. I am so grateful that she became such a big part of my life. If anyone knows my story well, I didn't have my Mom in my life consistently for about 7 or 8 yrs, but the last 8 yrs of her and me made up tenfold. The last 6 yrs we became extremely close. She supported me in anything I wanted to do. Even when normal mother jitters hit her when I was getting married, she stood by my side. She just wanted me to be happy.


My Mom was in LOVE with her little Elias. She helped me so much in being a better Mother. I would call her and tell her little things he would do and I could tell she was so tickled with him! She loved all 3 of her grandchildren. I remember she would always tell me," just give him a popcicle for dinner Keri." I was being so uptight b/c I thought it would make too much of a mess, but boy, one of the first things she did during her trip down to Phx for his first bday was....give him a popcicle!!!!! She also taught him one of his first words...."HOT". Now, Elias asks me about Grandma in heaven, why she's up there. I am so happy he got a little bit of a chance to know her. It makes me so sad to think that none of my other babies will have her here to spend time with her.

There are so many reasons why I loved/love my Mom so much. I love her for all the things she was not. She wasn't perfect, made off to look that way. She wasn't afraid to speak up, tell me exactly what she thought, even if she had to tell me I was wrong. She wasn't super smiley, sociable or loud and boisturous. But, I loved those things about her. She was so real. Such a hard worker. Watched and kept to herself but very perceptive to others. She was soooo giving. After that tough childhood I talked about, she still was one of the only ones in her family that took care of BOTH of her parents with love until they passed. How hard would that be? To forgive & give to people that didn't do the same for you for most of your life. And then, when her two younger brothers died within 6 months of eachother, within a yr after both her parents died, she kept marching. She kept it together & tried to take care of everyone. She was definetly a fighter. When she had her quadruple bipass, she fought to stay here & take care of us. See what Im saying? She had so many things working against her but she didn't quit.

This past year, I have thought a lot about what has happened. Part of me thinks that maybe when that thing burst in her, she was tired. She was so tired of fighting. That's all she did her whole life. I was really mad at Heavenly Father for taking her away from me and I miss her like crazy...words can't even bring to justice the kind of friend I had in her that Im missing in my life. It's like this hole in my heart. But, part of me knows that he wanted her for bigger reasons. If anyone proved themselves to be able to be given a chance in Heaven, it was her. I have been blessed to have her show up in several of my dreams-Im so grateful for that. Some non believers would say that can't happen, but I have had my Mom talk to me in my dreams. There is not an ounce in me, that doesn't believe it was really her visiting me!

There is only 1 major thing I wish I could have told her before she left-it's not even that I loved her b/c I said it to her so much that it was imprinted in her!! But, I wish she could really understand the validity of her time here on Earth. That she could see all the people that she really touched & how many miss her. She helped so many people in little steps that became big footprints on our hearts. She never saw how special she was to me. I hope now she has had a chance to see how lost I am without her. But, I know that one day, we will be together again. I am hoping that when it is my time to pass, she will be waiting for me at the gates of heaven with a happy smile.

I love you Mom. You were more important than you ever knew. I miss you, always.

Love,

Keri