Carter is 2 months!

Our beautiful little boy is now two months old! I didn't write anything for so long, and I've meant to. We already have over a thousand pictures of this sweet little man....poor thing.... :)

Look at the difference in just two months!!

Carter was born on July 31st, 2009 at exactly 9:00pm. He was 8 lbs 6 oz and 21 inches long. My labor was absolutely wonderful, and I'm so thankful for modern medicine. I only pushed for about 20-25 minutes, and was laughing thru the whole labor. My doctor actually had to tell me to stop laughing and push. Steven was so excited, and I couldn't help but giggle at him.

Carter cried for just a couple of seconds, and then decided that it was much more exciting to look around the room at all of his family who had come to meet him. Besides being a little jaundiced, he was born very healthy. He has been sleeping thru the night (6 hour stretches) for quite a while now, and sleeping in his crib since he was 2 weeks old.

Carter is the sweetest little boy you'll ever meet. He hardly ever cries, and he is constantly smiling and cooing - even in his sleep! (I was able to capture these pictures during said act)

As for Steven and myself, we are holding up pretty well. I'm completely exhausted, mostly because I fall asleep every night in the rocking chair. Steve goes to bed while I feed Carter and read scriptures with him, and almost every night, I fall asleep holding the bub and never make it to bed. Now I'm really wishing that my rocker reclined....haha

Steve finally has a job, two actually, after 11 months of unemployment!! We are SO thankful for everything we have. Times are tough for everyone, and we're just glad to have a warm place to sleep and a little food in our bellies. Our new ward is fantastic, and every neighbor we meet is so inviting and sweet. I just wish I could start setting up play dates so Carter can make little friends for himself!

We love you all, and here are just a couple of the pictures of Carter that I took Sunday while Steve was gone all day. (I took at least 600 on Sunday alone...Oh boy, he's gonna have SOOOOO many pictures...)

Always giggling!

Perfect little toesies!

I love the way he stacks his feet and hands when he sleeps

Yep....those are teeth. Doctor confirmed it. eek!

They keep crowning, then sinking down below his gums,

just to come back again the next week...

Sneezes!! They always come in pairs with this little boy.....

His neck is so strong already!! He can sit like this forever!

I just love this new little church outfit!

Carter Kristjon Young is finally here!!

We went to the hospital on July 31st at 11:00am to be induced. I was so ready to have this baby!!! They broke my water and put me on pitocin at about 12:30. It kicked in so quickly, and my body actually took to the pitocin a lot better than the nurses expected. I only needed the lowest dose to start my labor! Since she had started me on a higher dose, my blood pressure shot thru the roof, and I was put on oxygen. They took me off the pitocin at 1:30 to stabilize me. I had my epidural, and I slept for about 5 hours. When I woke up, they put me back on pitocin, and about two hours later, I was dilated to an 10 and pushing! I actually laughed all the way thru the labor. My doctor actually told me to stop laughing and PUSH! I pushed for only about 20-25 minutes, and Carter was here! He was crying before he was even out. He was extremely healthy, and didn't have to spend any time under the heat lamps at all. He was very attentive, and was looking all around at everyone who came to wish him happy birthday.

Steven and I right after we got to the hospital

My wonderful mother giving me a foot massage

I didn't like having that mask stuck to my face...

Carter Kristjon Young

July 31st, 2009 9:00pm

8 lbs 6 oz 21 inches

Just seconds old...

Proud daddy!

Brand new little toes

With the Giddy Grandparents

This is Charlene's first grandbaby -

she was so excited, and so helpful in the days to come!

As soon as the sun came up after we got him back from the hospital nursery, my camera was out, and I was going crazy!

Spit bubbles!

Kisses from his proud daddy

We're so glad he has lots of hair!

I was bald until I was 2 years old!

Adellyn is No More

We went in to get a gall bladder ultrasound yesterday for the pain in my stomach.  (It turns out I have gall stones everywhere in my gall bladder.  Whoopeee!)  While the Doctor had my tummy all covered in the gel, she offered to let us take a peek at our lil baby!  She was referring to the baby as a "he" and Steve and I just giggled, figuring that she didn't know the gender yet.  She looked at us, and said, "That IS what they told you, right?!  Cause this baby is 100% boy!"  Sure enough, she showed us the ultrasound up close, and there is no doubt whatsoever that our little baby is MOST DEFINITELY a boy.  We just busted up laughing.  We're SO lucky that we haven't bought much for a girl!  Everything that we do have is hand-me-down, so that's good.  Now we just need to find somewhere to store all the little dresses!  Steve has been SO excited!  He was VERY happy before, but I can see an extra little gleam in his eye now.  We wanted a boy SO badly before, and now, it turns out that we get one!  I am SO excited that my children will have a big brother to protect them.  I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't had MY big brother.  : )

The day we found out, we were playing pool in an apartment complex lounge, and the manager's toddler son was just giggling and running all over the room throwing his little baseball with us.  It was ADORABLE to watch Steve play ball with the little guy.  I can't wait!!!!!!!!

A New Semester!

Spring semester is here, and classes are looking good so far for the both of us.  The baby is getting bigger and bigger everyday!  She should be about 2 lbs right now!  She certainly FEELS at least two pounds (or maybe ten) heavy!!  I am loving my classes and my teachers.  This semester is not NEARLY as stressful as last semester, but it's still demanding.  I'm sitting in the Photo Lab right now waiting for my film to dry so I can get started on my processing.  I'm in an advanced Black and White film class.  It's supposed to be a 300 or 400 level class eventually, but I'm unfortunately not getting those upper level credits for it.  If I can just knuckle my way through this class, I can get started on the Color, Digital, and Studio Photo classes that I really want to take.

I have been in A LOT of pain lately.  I have a broken tailbone from an old snowboarding injury in 9th grade, and the baby likes to jump up and down on it.  I can barely drag my feet.  Sometimes, it takes me about 5 minutes to get up from the couch and walk to the kitchen....Just feet away!  Tylenol doesn't even dent the pain.  I yelp every time I take a step, stand up, sit down, lay down, roll over....kind of embarrassing, actually.  I have heard from numerous doctors that a regular delivery may be dangerous for the baby.  Depending on how the tail bone is broken, it could be affecting the birth canal and could hurt the baby during labor, or the pressure during birth could even shatter my tailbone.....meaning a Cesarean birth.  I have always planned on a regular birth, and I hope that I don't have to be cut open.  I'll do what I have to for my little girl, but I highly doubt that our insurance covers Cesarean.  I want to do a couple more photo shoots so I can afford to go have my back aligned an see if they can help me at all.  

I just shot a senior photo session this weekend, and I have a wedding to shoot this Friday and Saturday, possibly three senior sessions the next weekend, and the big one - Emily's wedding the weekend after!! :)  I still have to start making the video slideshow for their reception, and go to school full time.  As much as we need the money doing photo shoots, my body can't take it anymore.  It's actually really rough on my body, bending in half, twisting, squatting, and climbing up rocks to get the shots that I need, and all with a broken tailbone.  The pain was very gradual at first, but the bigger the baby grows, the more debilitating it is for me.  I think I'm going to call it quits after my last promised "job" on the night of the 16th.  I need to focus on school, baby, and getting packed!  We're moving mid-May!  I can't wait to get into the smaller apartment and be able to set up the crib and fold and put away baby clothes.  It just doesn't make sense putting the crib up now, and then moving one month later.

Steve and I are doing better, and we have started trying harder to make sure we say our prayers and read our scriptures daily.  It has helped so much with our nerves, and has helped us stay optimistic.  I applied last week for an Assistant Manager position for the new complex where we're moving.  If I get it, I'll keep it for as long as we live in Rexburg.  Steve is applying at Journey's in Rigby, where he would be assisting special needs adults and children.  Pray for us!!!!!!!!!

Tummy Time!

Steve and I have found a new favorite past time!  Every night, as tired as we may be, we play with our little girl.  She is most active around 2 am, and we like to lie in bed with the lights off, with the book light shining out across my belly.  It immediately makes all the baby's movements visible!  I just thought I would share this picture.  It's so cute to me to see Steve getting excited about the pregnancy, especially now that he can SEE the evidence that he has an active daughter in there somewhere.  (She paces almost as much as her daddy already!)  My belly is jumping at this very moment!