Happy Birthday Eathan!

I started this post on Eathan's birthday, but just finished it today. (lame I know) It's a long one... proceed with caution...

Today is Eathan's 8th birthday! I am taken back as I reminisce about the last 8 years. Eathan is a load of fun, but has kept us on our toes more than any other child yet. I think I have learned the most from him... hands down... and that is a good thing. He is a very kind, thoughtful child with an abundance of common sense and critical thinking skills. He is also full of energy and never stops!! The action and laughs never stop when Eathan is around. We are so proud of him for the good choices he makes and love what he brings to our family. Eathan will be baptized on Saturday, so I will post more about that and his birthday party later.

I want to start a new tradition on each of my children's next birthdays. I want to record all of the details I can remember about their birth. This is something I have been wanting to do for a long time and I figure what a better time to do it than when I am reeling about how long it has been since they were born. Please bear with me if this gets long... I am trying to include as many details as possible... this is for posterity :)

I found out I was pregnant with Eathan in early December 2000. I originally thought I wouldn't be sick this time (like I was with Chansey) but just a few days after finding out I was pregnant, the nausea and throwing up began. I spent a couple of miserable weeks trying to manage my horrible sickness alone, but to no avail. I ended up in the Emergency Room on December 19 with severe dehydration and hyper-emesis. Thankfully, they didn't make me stay in the hospital, but sent me home with a permanent IV and I began home health care that night. I was hooked up to the IV with my backpack and pump for over two months. I tried to be without it once during that time, but got violently ill again, so the doc made me go back on it. At about 18-20 weeks I felt better and began to live a normal life again.

The rest of my pregnancy was normal and I had no other complications. We were so excited when we found out we were having a boy! (I had always thought that I would have a lot of boys) Towards the end of my pregnancy, I started to sense that I was HUGE and this baby was going to be HUGE too. But, nobody believed me, the doc said he thought Eathan would only weigh about 6 lbs. The largeness of me (and the baby) and the mid-summer blistering heat made me very anxious to deliver. I would walk around the mall every day trying to coax labor, but it never happened. I was dilated early and had constant contractions for weeks, but no baby. I went to the hospital on July 22nd in a lot of pain wondering if I was in labor. Well, I was dilated to a four and having regular contractions, but not progressing much. So, my doctor told them to keep me overnight and he would come in the morning and break my water. But, guess what... they sent me home instead!! I only found out that they didn't do what the doctor told them because at my appointment the next day he was surprised that I "chose" to come home. I was so mad at those nurses.

After a few more days of non-progressive labor, I was admitted into the hospital on July 26th. They had to give me some pitocin and break my water to help me along. The type of pain I was feeling was strange... unrecognizable to the previous labor pains with Chansey... much worse in fact. Well after pushing for about two and a half hours (and hemorrhaging) they finally had to use the vacuum to get Eathan out. And we quickly realized why I had so much trouble. He weighed 8 lbs. 11 oz and his head was a bone crushing 16 1/2 inches! (Normal is 13 ish) So, he was huge... and he wasn't coming because his head wouldn't descend because it was so big. YIKES!

Once the delivery was over, we were all relieved. Most of the nurses commented for the next few hours on how lucky I was that the doctor didn't make me have a c-section. The doctor commented that I was lucky to be so healthy. He had previously had patients with higher blood counts than mine who had to have blood transfusions... I felt so lucky and blessed!! We were all healthy and happy, but had to stay in the hospital for a full two days. That was not really fun except a lot of people came to visit since we were there for so long.

I could go on forever about all of the joy Eathan brought to our lives for the last 8 years, but that would take forever. However, I would like to note two more memorable things about Eathan as a baby... First of all, he was so good!! He would eat and sleep and that's it! For months! He was so happy and so calm... what happened?! :) Also, he spit up more than any child I have ever seen!! He had projectile spit-up every time he ate. The pediatrician never worried about it because he was so big and grew so fast, but it sure was annoying. He grew out of it around the time he turned one, but people that were around during that time still comment about it.

One more notable thing... Somehow, on our first date, baby names came up. Todd and I both agreed that the coolest boy name was Eathan (keep in mind that 'Mission Impossible' was new at the time and that is the main character's name) We also agreed that Eathan Todd Breinholt was a really cool name. Isn't that funny that we ended up naming our first son that?!

We love Eathan so much! Happy Birthday Dog! (That is his nickname... it started out as E-dog and then just evolved into 'Dog')

That's All Folks!!

The diving season for Chansey and Eathan has officially come to an end. It's a little sad because they had so much fun and looked forward to going to diving every day. (Except when we stayed up too late the night before :) It's a little exciting because now we don't have to wake up at 5:40 am to take them every day!

We are so proud of how well they both did this year. They were both at the young end of their age groups and still did awesome!

Chansey was ranked 15th out of the entire City of Mesa League at the division qualifying meet. This was impressive to us because the competition in her age group was very tough and she still did well. Chansey works hard and takes every competition very seriously. She tries not to let the pressure get to her.

Eathan ended up getting 8th in the League Finals. He is a natural competitor and as he grows up and matures he will continue to excel.

Awesome job guys! We are so proud of you!!

Eat Mor Chikin

Since I am a total cheap-skate and we are always looking for something fun to do, we couldn't pass up this adventure last week. On Friday, Chick-fil-a had "Cow Appreciation Day" where if you dressed up like a cow, you could come in and get a free meal. So, we ventured out wearing black and white with our spots and tails and had a delicious lunch... for free!

The kids had fun taping thier spots on and finding clothes to wear that fit the color profile. I dressed up too, even though I didn't post a picture of myself because of sheer embarassment. I must say however, our costumes were pretty weak compared to some of the other people we saw. There were people with masks, full-body suits, and even udders sewn onto their clothes. We even saw three people under a sheet with black spots and a cow head sewn on!! It was so funny!

Surprisingly, the crowd wasn't bad. There were a few people in line in front of us, but it didn't take long to get our food and we all enjoyed ourselves. A couple of funny things my kids said...

Chansey- "Mom, you look like a cow!" (Not a good thing to say to a lady who is almost 9 months pregnant)

Eathan - " It's too bad it's not called Pig-fil-a because then Bella could wear pink!" (The kid is always thinkin' :)

Brimhall Dive Team

Last summer, Chansey and Eathan took diving lessons and they both loved it. Ever since then, they have been asking me if they could take more advanced diving lessons so they could learn more. Well, this summer they decided to do something even better... they joined the dive team at Brimhall Jr. High. We knew it would be fun and they would be good at it since none of our kids seem to display any limits or fears. Here are a couple of pictures of them at one of their recent dive meets.

Chansey on her way out of a front dive tuck

Eathan on his way into a front dive tuck.

The only lame part about dive team is that practice is at 6:00 every morning (except Friday). But, my kids have been troopers! They never complain and they usually come home happy and ready to start the day (even though I want to go back to bed)
Even though it is early, it is actually not too hot yet at 6 am, so that is really nice. In fact, in the beginning of the season when we were still having an unseasonably cool summer, they were freezing every morning at practice. They had to take two towels just to stay warm and all of the kids would stand behind the diving boards wrapped up in a towel, shivering waiting for their turn to get back into the water.
In addition to practice, they have a dive meet every week on Wednesday evening. We have discovered the only way to keep cool during the meets is for the whole family to go swimming! But, we all get out of the pool and watch carefully when it is their turn to dive. We have been so proud of how well they have done!! Chansey and Eathan both get consistently good scores and they have placed in every meet. We are crossing our fingers that they qualify for the divisional meet this week. Their coaches do a great job of encouraging them not to worry about whether or not they win or loose, but just to have fun. It is a great lesson to learn at such a young age. We know they will do awesome no matter what!!

Independence Day!

We had a wonderful 4th of July weekend! We were so lucky to be able to spend it with our friends at their family ranch in Christopher Creek. The home was amazing, the surroundings were beautiful, the weather was dreamy, and best of all, the company was unbeatable! We couldn't have asked for a better vacation. It was definitely "independent" of any worries or cares of normal life at home. The kids played non-stop and we ate ourselves sick! :) We even had a chance to have a spiritual meeting on Sunday morning that we all enjoyed.

Here we are all together in front of the gorgeous cabin.


The kids all sang a song together during our "Sunday School" meeting. It was so sweet!

A snapshot of one of the many baseball games that took place on the front lawn.

I couldn't leave this picture out... Todd is throwing Spencer up in the air and he is loving it!

Why do I wonder how my kids get so daring and crazy?!

This holiday is such a good reminder of all we have to be thankful for. No matter the condition of our economy or the conduct of our government officials, I still believe in what this country was founded on and I am proud to be a citizen of the United States. This country was built on solid principles by men who were led by God to establish a free country where Christ's Church could once again be brought forth. I am thankful to be a part of this nation as well as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

One last picture of the beautiful scenery that surrounded us. Our kids spent quite a while fishing in the pond in the background.

Go, go, go Joseph!

On Saturday night, Chansey and I went to see "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat". It was a production at the Queen Creek Performing Arts Center. It is a funny musical based on the story of Joseph in the Bible. We absolutely loved it!! My brother-in-law played Simeon (one of Joseph's brothers) and he did an excellent job! We knew several other people performing in the musical so it made it even more enjoyable.

Several years ago, I was the roadshow director in my ward and we created a roadshow that was a spin-off of this musical. But, believe it or not, I had never actually seen it live until now. I didn't know what I was missing! It is so entertaining! I was glad to see how excited and fired up Chansey got about the whole thing... she is definitely a product of her mother! We were both hyped at the end... all of the excitement took me back to my musical theater days and how much fun it was being on stage.

Chansey is sure that she wants to be in a musical now! I can't wait to see her fulfill that dream. I told her it is a lot of hard work and you don't always get cast when you try out, but I think she understands and she is up for the challenge. So, she wants to try out for the next musical "Willy Wonka". Tryouts are next month. So, we will try it and see how it goes... I will keep you posted!

Tag... You're it!

It has been a long time since I have been tagged, but my old friend Becki tagged me, so I thought I would oblige. Plus, I am always up for a little bit of fun, so here goes...


8 things I did yesterday...

1. Woke up late (8:22 am... sweet!)
2. Went to Stake Conference (today was the first day Spencer was supposed to go to nursery, but since we had Stake Conference, he didn't get to and we had to wrestle with him for 2 hours... we were robbed! :)
3. Made homemade garlic butter rolls (YUM!)
4. Played with my kids
5. Watched a movie with my kids
6. Had FHE/dinner with my family
7. Finished planning Kristie's baby shower
8. Ate two pieces of pie right before dinner (oops!)



8 things I look forward to...

1. Kristie's baby shower (I love Kristie and I love having parties!)
2. Finishing unpacking (I will be done today... I promise!)
3. The rest of the summer (It's been a little lame since we have been moving... time for the relaxing fun to begin!)
4. Quiet evenings when Todd is home and the kids are calm
5. Going to see my brother-in-law in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat"
6. Smiles on my kids' faces
7. Eathan's baptism
8. Having this baby!!!! (only a couple of months left!)



8 things I wish I could do...

1. Sew
2. Play the Piano (I know... "practice makes perfect")
3. Run a marathon (someday I will)
4. Be a good mom all of the time
5. Blog more (since I don't scrapbook, it's my best journaling alternative)
6. Study the scriptures EVERY night without getting tired
7. Go on vacation... just me and Todd... to Hawaii... for a week!
8. Go to the Temple every week (I used to and hopefully I will be able to again soon)

8 shows I watch on tv...

Since we don't even have eight channels on our tv, this one is a little tricky. I don't really have a list. Our family was really into 1."Biggest Loser" last season, so we sat down and watched it every Tuesday night. But that is about it... I don't watch anything else regularly. I do like watching the auditions for 2."So You Think You Can Dance" and 3."American Idol". But by the time the real competition starts, I am bored. Plus, maybe I am non-committal and I can't make myself sit down and watch anything at the same time every week. My other tv interests include 4. cooking shows and 5. game shows, but I don't really find time to watch those much either. Lastly, if we had cable, you could catch me watching 6. Sports Center on ESPN with Todd. I really do enjoy that.

While I am on this subject, I do have one other funny confession to make... when I was first married, I used to watch "Young and the Restless" and "Bold and the Beautiful". Seriously, I never missed an episode. I planned my day to make sure I was home when it was on or I taped it... how crazy is that?! I haven't watched either show for the last 8 years though. I had to repent and give it up. All in all, though a mindless activity is really nice sometimes, isn't t.v. just a big waste of time?!

8 people I tag...

1. Amy 2. Melissa 3. Lindsey 4. Deanne 5. Jessica 6. Cedar 7. Chelsea 8. Lana

Can't wait to read all of your secrets! :)