A month later...

I can't believe my little Chaser Mac is a MONTH old already! Where on earth has the time gone? We have had lots of help for the past month. The Sunday after Chase was born, my Grandpa arrived here in Arizona to help us out. It turned out to be a good thing he was here because we ended up in the ER with Chase for his jaundice. We spent two days back at the hospital while Grandpa hung out here with Will. After my Grandpa left, my Mom arrived. It was fun to have her here and for all her help. We went to the park and bought Will a tricycle! Andy had his white coat ceremony at school on October 21st. Andy's parents came down to be here for that, as well as to help out and visit Will and Chase. Everyone just left on Wednesday, and I have been adjusting to taking care of the little ones on my own. It involves a lot of tv (luckily, we have a patio. So, I can send Will "outside" without having to actually go out there myself. Even though I LOVE being outside. It's hard when one is nursing.) and Will had to learn to wipe his own bum (finally!). The dishes also don't always get done and we had grilled cheese for dinner last night and tonight...Will just ate about a kajillion crackers.

The adjustment has been going well. Chase and I had some MAJOR nursing issues in the beginning. It involved a lot of crying, mostly on my part, a phone call to the Breastfeeding hotline at 9pm and another phone call to my sister in law Becky, where I had a complete melt down and everything just started working again. Will is loving being a big "brudder". He's really just too darn sweet! He plays this little piggy with Chaser's toes while I nurse. He is always trying to get Chase to laugh. It's really the most amazing thing to see my boys. Seeing Will be so loving and concerned with Chase just melts my heart. Chase started out sleeping pretty amazingly...but the past few nights, he's been waking up about every 2-3 hours. It's taking it's toll on the old Moms over here. We'll work it out though. He's got a little while longer still to be in our room, then it's off to share a room with Will. Oh goodness, am I nervous about it! We'll cross that bridge when we get there.

In the next few weeks, we'll be missing Andy, as he has finals. That means he is going to have to STUDY! STUDY! STUDY! But, once finals are over, we get to have TWO uninterrupted weeks with him for fall break! We'll spend the first week here in Arizona, but then we'll drive up to Utah to spend Thanksgiving with family! We're excited for the next few weeks to go by so we can spend some time together!

Welp, that's our update. I'll post some pictures later...probably. hahaha

Andrew Chase Fraser has arrived!

"Look! Baby Chase! Sleepin! So cute!"

Mommy and Chase!

My three boys, watching Star Wars!

Hey y'all! I thought since Chase is now a week old, I should probably post his birth story! Things have been pretty crazy, and I have been tired, so that's my excuse!

I guess you could say it all started on Wednesday. I had my weekly appointment with Dr. Clinch. When he checked me for any dilation, he says "Wow. You're a good 4 centimeters! I will be shocked if you make it to your appointment next week!" Whoa! What?! So, I picked up Will from my friends and we went to the store to get some meat I needed to make some crock pot meals to freeze. We went to the store and came home to cook dinner...when I decided I was too tired to make what I had planned and we had frozen fish instead. That night I was having some pretty intense contractions, but nothing consistent enough to head to the hospital. Thursday I took it easy, with even more contractions. I was starting to cut some chicken up when Andy came home. I looked at him and said "I think this baby is going to come, but maybe we should go get some spicy Indian food to ensure he comes sooner rather then later..." Of course, at the mention of Indian food, Andy was all over it! We went to a place near our house and I got some spicy tandoori chicken wings. They were SPICY! When we got home, we put Will to bed and Andy decided to go to bed and get some shut eye. Just in case. I stayed up watching some Law & Order and timing some contractions. They were pretty random like they had been the few days before hand, so I headed to bed. I wasn't sleeping well at all. Andy woke up and we were just hanging out while the contractions were going on. Suddenly, I had some pretty intense ones and they started getting closer together. We got our bags packed, called our friend who were going to keep Will for us and headed to the hospital! When we got there, Andy dropped me off and went to park while I checked in. I walked into admitting and they said "How can we help you?" And I said, as calm as can be, "Well, I am pretty sure I am in labor." I could see it written on their faces "Psh, yeah right chick. We'll be sending you home for sure!" They sent me to triage and the nurse came in to check on me. When she checked me, she says "Ohhh! Wow, you're dilated to a good 6...I'll call Dr. Clinch and let him know you're here!"

They took us back to labor and delivery. At this point, I had been pretty open to whatever came my way. I was still feeling pretty awesome, so I denied any pain meds for the time being. We decided to watch some free movies they had on the tv. My contractions were getting more and more intense. I just remember while they were going on I would think "UGH! This is SO painful, WHY am I doing this?" Then the contraction would end and the endorphins would kick in and I would think "Ah, that wasn't so bad. I can do this."

Around 6:30 am, Dr Clinch showed up to break my water. I was also dilated to about a 7. He looked at me and said "Ok, girl, are we doing this natural or what?" I said "...well, yeah. I can do this!" So, that was that. It was too late from then on out! My contractions got more and more intense. I was having to focus more and more on breathing. This lasted for a few hours. I was getting more and more uncomfortable. Around 10 am I started to get the urge to push. My nurse call my Doctor. He had gone to the office to see some other patients. I was able to wait for him to come, and when he came in, he was all business. I have never seen someone work so fast. "Ok! It's time. Wait for the contraction, PUSH!" I did three sets of three pushes and BAM! Chase was in the world! I kept saying "I can't do this! I can't do it!" My doctor finally said "Stop saying that. You're doing it right now!" Oh...uh, right. I ended up with a pretty bad tear because he came so quickly and he had a 14 cm head.

It was not fun at first, but here we are, one week later and I feel great! Besides the discomfort that comes from nursing (which has been a whole different battle on it's own) I have been taking some walks and trying not to sit in the same spot on the sofa all day long. But, that's hard when you're always nursing :P We've been trying to get some sleep and make sure Will doesn't feel left out of things. He loves to see "Baby Chase" sleeping and to help me change his diaper. He's been a great big brother and we're so blessed to have such wonderful boys to come to our family! We love them so much and couldn't be happier...(except if we could get a little extra shut eye!)

"Go into labor anytime now, and we don't care!"

That's what my doctor said to me at my appointment yesterday! You've made it this far, any time after this is just icing on the cake. If this was my pregnancy with Will, I would have had a baby this past weekend! Thankfully, I did not! I am dilated two centimeters and about 60 % effaced. Who knows what that means right now, anyways, right? I could be dilated two centimeters for the next 3 weeks! Things have been going really great! My Grandma spent the week here with us last week. I just love having her here! She is amazing and I couldn't have asked for a better Grandma. We spent time visiting and going to the Zoo. She also took me shopping to get a few post-baby outfits that don't look like "fat clothes". We also got some things for Andy, Chase and Will. Now that she is gone, I am trying to get everything ready for Chase to be here! I am nearly finished washing baby clothes, baby blankets, baby sheets, Will things and anything else I see that might need washing! We're really excited for Chase to be here! I still can't believe we're going to be a family of FOUR! It has not fully hit me...at all. We moved Will's car seat over and are going to get the infant seat out soon. I picked up a friend and her son (who is best buds with Will. They ask to play together...everyday!) from the car shop. We had both of their car seats in the back. Every time I looked back there, I had a glimpse of what my life is to become. I am aware of how incredibly hard it is going to be to have two kids...but I don't think I am understanding it. I just hope that I can get Will to the potty and not interrupt Chase nursing at the same time! I hope I can get dinner on the table most nights and help my husband with the things he can't do because he's busy learning all he can at school. I see lots of positives from this blessing we're about to receive, but I have a secret wish...that I'll be busy enough and moving enough to loose all this baby weight...fast! But, shhhh, don't tell anyone I said that!

34 weeks? Or wait...35 weeks?

I had another doctor appointment today! I am 34 1/2 weeks, but I am measuring about a week ahead. Baby has dropped, so I can now breath. Thank goodness! So far, everything is still looking great! I see my doctor again in two weeks, then after that it's once a week until baby gets here! How crazy is that?! We are getting excited to meet Chase! Will carries around his stuffed animals calling them "baby". I think he'll be a great big brother! It will take some getting used to, for all of us, but I think we can handle it!

Will uses the potty like a pro now! It's so awesome! We've been going to the pool to keep cool and playing with friends a lot lately! I hope to be able to keep up play dates once Chase gets here, so Will doesn't feel like his whole entire world has just been flipped...cause that's exactly what's happening!

We're into week three of med school. Andy is so amazing! He leaves early every morning, any time between 630 and 730, depending on the day. He doesn't usually get home until between 7-9 every night. He works so hard! He's a studying machine! He's still getting A's on his tests, which makes all the time away from him worth it! Being a single Mom is hard, but I know Andy is working his butt off so we can one day have a good life and he can help others! He's going to make a great doctor! We found out our rotation site is Tucson. We're not too thrilled about that. It means we would have to move to Tucson during his 3rd and 4th years. Hopefully he can switch with someone who has a rotation site here in the "valley" (it's a HUGE valley...we still haven't figured out WHY they actually call it a valley...) It would be nice not to have to move again in two years...then again two years after that to do a residency! We are so proud of Andy and enjoy every minute we do get to spend with him!

That's a current update to all you "readers" out there. I don't even know how many people read this thing, but I don't care. I like to go back and read things that happened a year and two years ago!

32 weeks + Frist week of Med School

I am officially 32 weeks now! It's hard to believe that Chase could be here next month! I had a doctors appointment today and everything is looking good. Chase has moved down some more, but I am not dilating and everything else is in tip top shape! My grandma is coming to visit the week of Labor Day and I am so excited! I love it when she comes to see us! In the mean time-I am trying to take it easy, when I feel too tired, I rest. This is about the time I went into labor with Will and I don't want to push myself to see how far I can make it.

Andy had his first week of medical school last week. Things went really well. I think we are setting up a routine. It's a little lonely not having him around as much, but we try to keep busy with play dates and potty training (I'll get to that.) He studies pretty much every minute he isn't in class. He got an A on his first test this past Monday. I am happy to know that all that studying is paying off! It's a lot of stress on him, and he's handling it so well! He's such a great husband and Dad!

We've started potty training Will. He's into his second week, and I would say he's pretty much potty literate! He tells me when he needs to go and he goes. He loves wearing "big boy underwear" and getting a treat after he goes in the potty! I am happy I am not buying diapers for him anymore! Although, I think he would rather walk around completely naked most days. Who can blame him, it is still 107 outside these days! We look forward to cooler weather and meeting brother Chase!

30 weeks + a little piece of my mind

Yesterday was a busy day! This is Andy's last week before school "starts". Really, they should just say it starts the week before it actually does. The first year students have orientations everyday, all day Tuesday-Friday. So, it's been my first week in about two months that it's just me and Will. I didn't realize he had orientations all week, when he woke up early yesterday morning and got ready to head out. I was pretty stressed out when I realized I had laundry, dirty dishes, a doctors' appointment, grocery shopping and a significant others' orientation at Andy's school...and I was going to be doing all these things by my large self! I was definitely spoiled having Andy here these last couple months. Since my stress wouldn't let me sleep, I decided to go ahead and get up, even though Will was still zonked out. I showered and got ready for the day, as well as got a couple loads of laundry started, and was working on my menu/grocery list when my little ball of sunshine woke up with a smile on his face because Mommny was right outside his door! We have Netflix now and Will had discovered "The Backyardigans". He loves the show! I put that on for him and got him some breakfast, finished my menu and list.

Then, it was time to get Will dressed and head to the doctors office. My office has a huge fish tank that Will just loved looking at. There is one fish in the tank that has a bumpy face and Will asked "Owie?" It was pretty darn cute. I was so impressed at how well Will behaved and listened at the office and during my appointment with my doctor. He was a little freaked out when I sat on the table and he was on the floor. My doctor had me scoot over and put him beside me while he checked everything. Will was fascinated with hearing the heart beat! My doctor says I am measuring right on track. Baby is head down still, so that is great news! The best news is that I only have FOUR more shots to go! He says I can be done with my shots at 35 weeks! I am so excited! My poor bum is pitiful looking and the shots hurt like a mother!

After going to the doctors' office, I had to go to the grocery store. I shop at two different stores, and I like to go as early in the day as possible. Otherwise, it's too hot and things start to go bad. It was already about 1045, so I decided to just go. Will was being great! We went to our first store and he was doing a great job. He doesn't usually like to sit in the cart, and he was being a great listener and helping me put groceries in the cart. We then went to our second store. I was nervous about this one because he usually acts up more in this store. He was great though! He sat in the cart most of the time and when he wasn't, he was standing right along side me. I hate check-out lines because they put all the candy right in a little kids face. I picked a line and Will brought me a bag of candy, which I told him he could not have, I would give him a treat at home. He yelled at me, and I bent down and was telling him we don't yell at Mommy or in the store. I happened to glace at the cashier, who gave us this annoyed look and then said to the current guest she was checking out "Oh, the melodious sound of children!" Very sarcastically. I could not believe this lady had just said that, to another guest! I was so upset, I got my cart and moved to the next open line. I have read a lot about this whole "kid-free" movement, where people who don't have kids are basically annoyed with people who do have children. It upsets me that because some people do not care how their children act in public, these people want all kids to not be allowed places. These include restaurants, stores and people are even trying to get kid-free flights. (Sorry, but I paid the same amount of money that you did for this flight. In fact, I paid more because I had to buy my TWO year old a seat!) These are people who are either empty-nesters or don't have children of their own. I can totally respect the annoyances of children (Obviously, I HAVE ONE!). I don't like it when parents just let their kids run wild. But, I am trying to teach my child how to behave and use his manners. He's a KID, he's going to act out sometimes. And I am NOT going to take my child to the parking lot and beat his bum. I was so upset when I got home, I got Will some lunch ready and wrote a letter to my local store about my disappointment. Andy walked in the door about that time, and I started telling him what happened. I burst into tears! Will had done SO well the entire day of errands! I had done so well during all the errands. I did not appreciate being treated like one of those parents who doesn't care! I did not appreciate having a cashier speak to ANOTHER guest about me. If you have a problem with the way a child is acting, SPEAK TO THEIR PARENT. And I really did not appreciate the way my child was spoken about by perfect strangers. I hope my letter does some good. It at least made me feel better in the end. Even though I totally broke down when Andy came home. I didn't realize how hurtful it really was to be treated that way.

Anyways, that's my rant and rave...sorry it's so long! If you have made it this far, you should probably earn a prize! So, here's a hug to you from me! Thanks for listening!

Wow!

Wow! I can't believe it's been nearly a month since I last updated all of you! This past month in Arizona has been great! We have really been enjoying spending time together! We have a wonderful ward and absolutely love it! It's been quite warm, but we spend just about every afternoon at the pool, so it's not so bad. Our home gets super hot when I start cooking dinner...I am pretty sure any calories I consume during dinner are just replacement for the ones I burned cooking said dinner. I found a new doctor, who I LOVE! He's amazing! We celebrated the Forth of July in Sierra Vista, visiting my Aunt and Uncle. They were close to where all the wild fires were happening here in AZ, so we didn't get to see fireworks. It's ok though. We spent a lot of time getting to know their family and eating homemade ice cream! We also went to "The Town Too Tough To Die: Tombstone, AZ" We got to see the gunfight at the O.K Corral and eat at Big Nose Kate's. It's a great little town and it's fun to learn about all our favorite cowboys!

Other things that blow my mind...I just entered the THIRD trimester of this pregnancy. It's been a good one so far. Aside from the sore tush I have on a constant basis from my progesterone shots, things have been great. I definitely am smaller this time around then I was last time. I have felt a few pretty big braxton hicks contractions, but I am sure to take it fairly easy. Next week I get to take the wonderful glucose test and get my rogam shot. Joyous! We are excited for this little guy to come into our family! Will is going to be such a great big brother. He always points to my belly and says "baby?!" These next 12 weeks are going to just fly by, I am sure. I am going to get curtains made for the boys' room in the next month. I think I am going to go for a woodland creatures theme. I saw a cute spread at Babies R Us that I am pretty sure I could replicate. My grandma will be here when I am about 4 weeks away from my due date and help me clean and make meals for after the baby comes. Then, my mom will be here and then Andy's mom will come. I don't know what I will do when all our help goes back home!

Here are some pictures from our trip to Tombstone, enjoy!

Will, riding a 'horsie!"

There is my favorite cowboy in the West, Doc Holliday!


Andy, with the Earps!

Me, with Doc Holliday.