Dallas

A few things about our "big" buddy these days...

* He told us that Easter is when Santa dies...think he is a little confused with what they are teaching at his Presbyterian Preschool
* He keeps telling us he wants to marry his cousin Eliza because he loves her so much. We tried telling him you don't marry your cousin and he got so upset we finally just let it go.
* During sharing time in primary they were talking about agency and said it is something you have in heaven and then you come to earth and Dal shouted out "and you go in your mom's tummy!"
* Also during Primary, he was a little nervous so I went with him and he sat on my lap almost the entire time. He got called up to participate in a game and it must have given him some confidence because he came back and told me "ok, you can go now mom. just go"
* Same Sunday...I picked him up from his class and he was SO proud of his new CTR ring he got. He proceeded to tell me all about choosing the right. The rest of the day he told Teag and I over and over whether or not we were choosing the right. He was a little naughty at bed time that night so when I went in to tell him good night after Teag had gone through the bedtime routine Dal told me he was sorry he had "choosed the wrong all day".
* He is being SUCH a great big brother! Wanting to help (most of the time), always telling us how adorable his baby is, and in the cutest high-pitch voice he says to Greyson "who's a big guy? huh? who's my big guy?" LOVE watching him interact with our sweet babes.
* He was so excited when Greyson got a package from the Keisel's and inside was a little present for Dally as well. He got his own pair of binoculars (to be used on the ranch someday!) and was especially excited that Jacob has the same pair so OF COURSE he has had to sleep with them every night. He even wore them on his belt for a bit :)
* He expresses himself very well these days by telling us "I am just so frustrated" or "I am getting angry!" and he throws a "damn" in every now and then too...always in the wrong context, which makes it pretty funny! The other day he told Teag "I want these toys on my pirate ship damn off!"
* He is as obsessed with Spiderman as ever...most days he can be seen sporting a spiderman shirt, his spiderman belt buckle, and his spiderman shoes. All while watching a spiderman show on TV, eating off of a spiderman plate, with a spiderman fork :) We found some spidey shows on netflix from the sixties so he often talks about 'your friendly neighborhood spiderman'.
* He tells me I am pretty :)
* The other day he said, "when I get 5 baby will still love me"
* When Greyson sneezes he says, "bless you my son"
* He has learned that he can stay up late when there is a football game on, so every night he asks if there are any football games on
* He has started calling me "young lady"

{poor guy crashed when he wasn't feeling so good}

{feeling better!}

{watching a show...notice his cars lined up. slightly OCD like his dad}

{chillin and watching a show while waiting at the doctors office}

{eating frosting from the can. he takes after his Uncle Scotty}

{this is the way to watch football when he isn't wanting to so much}

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We love our Dally boy so much, more and more each day. We are having so much fun seeing him as a big brother. He loves Greyson so much and has been so good and so patient with all the craziness we went through in the beginning!

Greyson - birth story

For my own record...

I was scheduled to be induced Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at 1 am so Monday night my mom and Kim came down to be there with Dal and to be there when I had the babes. They got to our house at about 8 pm and showered both Greyson and me with gifts :) So nice of them! Then mom, Kim and I went to KB for a good diet coke before I went to the hospital. We came home and just chatted and hung out until Teag and I left for the hospital at about 12:45 am.

{Teag and I ready to head to the hospital}

We got to the hospital and got all checked in. My former visiting teacher, Cheryl, was working so she got me all ready to go. I was only dilated to a 1 so she gave me cervidil to thin my cervix and hopefully start contractions. Teag slept in the chair while I attempted to get a little sleep. I started having contractions and by the morning they were more frequent and getting more painful. I got two more doses of cervidil and my Dr. Gatherum decided I wouldn't need Pitocin because I was progressing fine on my own. My mom and Kim brought Dallas to the hospital to see us and hang out for a bit. He was a bit disappointed because he wanted to see baby come out of my tummy through my belly button...sorry bud :) We hung out for a while watching the funny youtube videos from Jimmy Kimmel where the parents told their kids they ate all of their halloween candy - great distraction to my painful and ever-increasing contractions! I talked to Lisa on the phone for a bit, so sad that she wasn't there with my mom, Kim, and I - and Teag and Dallas too :) Between about 1 and 2 pm I finally had to ask them to leave because I was struggling so much with my contractions. I got some medication in my IV to help me last until my epidural. As my contractions became more intense Teag was the best cheerleader letting me squeeze his hands to death and rubbing my back to help me get through them. While waiting to be ready for my epidural I got another dose of pain killer - which TOTALLY knocked me out so I had to be put on oxygen for a bit...

{Feeling a little out of it during my contractions}

I was beyond ready for my epidural, so when it came time I didn't even care that the huge needle was going in my back! I got the epidural and waited for it to kick in. And waited. And waited. And waited. About 45 minutes went by and I felt my contractions stronger than ever. Poor Teag was so patient and good to me while I felt like I couldn't take it anymore and was pretty much screaming! We called the nurse back to let her know I needed something more so I got a dose of another medication in my epidural. Within seconds I couldn't feel my contractions anymore so therefore I was feeling good! I literally couldn't move so Teag would have to readjust me and move my legs for me. The worry was that I wasn't going to have enough feeling to push, but it ended up being fine. My labor and delivery nurse, Annie, came in and checked me and said I would be ready to push within a few minutes. She came back, we did a few practice pushes, then it was time to go! Nurse Annie and Teag were awesome cheering me on and encouraging me. Dr. Gatherum came in shortly after, I pushed for about 20 minutes and at 5:20 pm Greyson John Whiting was born!!! He was 7 lb 6 oz and 19 1/2 in long. He had super long fingers and toes and was absolutely perfect :)

{Greyson John Whiting}

The delivery was PERFECT! Nurse Annie and Dr. Gatherum were awesome and made everything so great, not to mention my best partner in the world Teag :) He was so sweet, loving, encouraging, helpful, etc., etc. that I couldn't have asked for more or better. We could not contain our tears of joy and relief that our sweet baby boy had arrived! We had  both been pretty nervous because Dallas' birth was quite traumatic as he took one breath when he was born, stopped breathing, and was rushed away before we really got a chance to see him or hold him. With Greyson I was so lucky and so happy to be able to hold him immediately and have skin to skin contact as soon as he was born.

As soon as I was taken care of our cute nurse went into the waiting room and asked if there was a big brother there. Dallas yelled "I am!" and came running into the room to meet his new baby. He was SO excited and SO proud and just kept saying over and over "He is ADORABLE!!!" Any noise Greyson would make Dallas would reassure him by saying, "It's okay, it's ooookay". Such sweet moments to see as a mom and dad!

{Dallas meeting brother for the first time}

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After a few minutes my mom and Kim came in to meet the new little man. Annie asked Dallas if he wanted to listen to Greyson's heartbeat and if he would help his brother be weighed and get his shots. He was a little nervous, but was such a great little helper :)

{Dallas helping check baby's heartbeat}

{Dal's cutest 'big brother' hospital bracelet...he kept it on for days!}

{helping brother get weighed} 

{making sure he is okay} 

{getting shots}

{The Whiting Boys}
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After Dal had a few moments with brother and we had a little time with our new little family my mom and Kim came in to meet the new little bundle.

{Kim} 

{mom / grandma}

They thought he was just as sweet and precious as we did. They brought my biggest DREAM cake...a chocolate-chocolate chip from Nothing Bundt Cake to celebrate Greyson's birth-day. We celebrated for a bit and made a few phone calls to family then they left to get Dallas home and to bed after the big day and Kim had to get home to her boys. Teag helped give Greyson his first bath and we had some dinner before leaving the labor and delivery room to go to my recovery room. Our friend Erin (the strength coach's wife) was my recovery nurse the first night and she was awesome. She took great care of me and took great care of Greyson while I got some much needed rest! 

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I got some sleep then the next morning Teag brought Dallas back to see brother.

{so sweet}

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Greyson gave Dallas a little gift for being his big brother - a Joker House that Dallas had been eyeing :)

{Dal was so impressed that baby picked this out for him}

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We had some surprise visitors- Judd, Amberlynn, and their kids - on their drive through Cedar up to SLC for Thanksgiving. They brought a new outfit for babes and some of my favorite candy for me!

{Aunt Amberlynn} 

{Uncle Judd} 

{Teag and Judd hanging with the kiddos in the waiting room} 

{dallas had so much fun with Valerie and Norah!}

My dad came and brought me the sweetest card and prettiest flowers! He stayed for a few hours then he and my mom went back to SLC for Thanksgiving.

 {Grandpa Reynolds and his namesame. My dad's first name is John (but he goes by Dee) along with his dad, grandpa, great grandpa and so on}

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Elaine came next and brought Greyson a beautiful blanket she had crocheted along with another little cozy blanket.

{Grandma Whiting with her third new grandson in 4 months}

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Everyone went on their way to go home in preparation for Thanksgiving. Dr. Gatherum came and checked on me and said I could either go home or stay another night...I opted for another night of being taken care of and Greyson being taken care of. Teag and Dallas hung out for awhile then went home to get rest and give me some more rest. The next day, which was Thanksgiving, Teag and Dal came back to get us and go home! Everything looked good with both Greyson and me so we were on our way.

{little mister all ready to go home. he looks so tiny!}

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The O'Neil's had a Thanksgiving dinner from Whole Foods sent to us and Teag had everything cooking so it was ready when we got home. We were so incredibly thankful to have our sweet little boy, our sweet big boy and our new "cute family" together for Thanksgiving. 

Dally Boy

Just some random pics of our cute boy from the last little bit...

No, he didn't just finish a soccer game...he just loves wearing the full get up on any given day

fun at the hotel!

the highlight of football season for him has been staying at the hotel in Cedar with Teag the night before football games - doing bed checks, eating breakfast with all the football guys in the morning, and having quality daddy and dallas time :)

more fun hotel time...

when I take him to drop him off he gives me a tour of the room telling me, "I will sit here and dad will sit there, I will sleep here and dad will sleep there, this is our bathroom" etc. 

Teag probably doesn't get the best night of sleep, but it is worth it for how much fun Dallas has!

Building forts in the front room

Pre-game going down on the field with daddy

pre-game warm-ups

Dal and his best buddy King before a football game

these two bust a move ANY time music comes on at the games

LOVE spiderman and love dressing up in costume

cute boy

Love this boy so much!

spidey-dallas shooting webs

these days he picks out his own clothes...and on this particular day he wore a Woody pajama top to school. 

Sleeveless and skintight - JUST what I would have picked out for him ;)

Dal and King at the UNLV game

daddy and dallas post SUU beatdown on UNLV!

No question this kid loves his dad!

silly boy

Dallas is very curious and full of questions, similar to myself as a child ;)

One day he referred to Uncle Jake and Aunt Em as brother as sister so I told him they were actually husband and wife, well that has led to many funny little questions and conversations.

Lately he has been a little stressed that he doesn't have a wife and he doesn't know who his wife will be, I have reassured him he has plenty of time, but he still worries about it...

Yesterday my mom came to town and we were driving home from the airport when out of the blue Dallas exclaimed from the backseat, "I KNOW! Maybe Samie can be my wife!"

(Samie is his little girl friend from preschool who hugs him goodbye each day and he blows kisses to as we leave.)

So glad he has that figured out for the time being! Hopefully he will sleep just a little bit better at night :)

Dallas

Just wanted to note a few things about our little buddy and all the funny and cute things he has been saying and doing lately...

* he started preschool Monday and they said he did great other than one time when he started crying and saying he missed his baby.

* he is SO excited about baby brother and is always talking about him. he is constantly giving my stomach hugs and kisses. before bed he gives brother a kiss, hug, pounds, five and a soft  head bonk.

* dal was sure he was getting a sister...when we were at the ultrasound and the tech said it was a brother he started bawling, threw his toys, and said he wanted us to change it. he went on to say "mom and dad need to work their magic again so I can have a sister!"

* he seems to be a bit more diverse these days, but he went through a long phase of only wanting to wear spiderman/superhero shirts...last year it was t-bird shirts

* some of his favorite things to do are go to the library, go to the t-birds practice to see daddy and the football guys, go to the park - especially discovery park in cedar, snuggle and watch shows, play pirate, play cars, help in the kitchen and make cookies, read books, play/talk about superheroes, eat popsicles, go to tiki shack for green apple-pink lemonade sno cones

* his food staples these days are fiber one bars, pb cap'n crunch, rio quesadillas or 'dillas', pb sandwiches, steak (prefers filet mignon), gogurts, milk, mac 'n cheese, apples (peeled only)

* he has a couple imaginary friends  - whose names are always changing and mostly unpronounceable

* he has quite the imagination...he often tells us stories about when he is a dad or when he was a tiny baby

* he says the FUNNIEST things, such as:

"mom, diet coke is not good for you. no more diet coke mom. only water and milk."

 "I just freak out!"

"double rats"

"thanks for being my best mommy" 

"me and dad are the biggest, strongest guys, stronger than Hulk"

"I didn't believe my own eyes"

"I am going to call my baby sweetheart" :)

"I was 3 I didn't like fruit, I am 4 I like fruit!"

* one day he was being naughty and I told him some moms spank their kids and he just matter-of-factly responded, "some mom's do and some mom's don't". I laughed, therefore, he has repeated that one a few times in a few different situations

* recently he has been calling us and referring to us as teag and ash...he doesn't have a clue how funny it is to us and everyone who hears it

* he still gets choked up, teary, bottom lip quivering at the end of Toy Story 3

* he is dead set on getting a pet turtle...we shall see

* he seems to have a little girlfriend at preschool - Sami. Today as we were leaving she ran after him calling "dallas!", they hugged for a minute, he blew her a kiss and we were on our way. oh boy.

* recently he put himself on timeout for making his finn mcmissile car say a bad word to mcqueen

* when I am leaving his room after books, stories, and prayers at bedtime he says "sweet dreams and good night my sweetest mommy and baby, big brother loves you!"

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we just can't get enough of this boy and love him more and more each day! 

we are so, so lucky to be his mom and dad :)

Newport 2011

being cute and silly at bedtime

loving the beach

dyeing easter eggs

SO proud of his soccer trophy - he even brought it to Newport to show all his cousins :)

stopping by practice to see his best buddy