It's Autumn TIme

Benson was such a good helper. He helped Kimball and I rake leaves at Granma and Grandpa Knights house. The next day we went there for a family dinner and it literally looked as though we had not raked a leaf. Oh well, Benson had a blast in the leaves.

A little hiccup

Andrew was born at 7 lbs. and 2 oz. When we took him to the Pediatriciam the third day, he had dropped his weight to 6 lbs. and 7 oz. This is normal, but we wanted to come back in two days and weigh him again. This time he was 6 lbs. and 5 oz. Now we were a little worried. At his two week appt. he was supposed to be at his birthweight. He must take after Kimball because he was only at 6 lbs. and 9 oz. I started supplementing with formula and two days later he was at 6 lbs. and 11 oz. He's gaining, just slowly.

Also, Andrew had jaundice. He seemed fine when we lift the hospital and at his three day check-up. However, Kimball and I took him in for a weight check and my Dr. said he wanted a bilirubin test done right away. His level was 19 and they broght lights out to our house within hours. He stayed under them for two days. I hated putting the mask over his eyes when I knew that he was awake. His level went down to 11 and we could take him off the lights. Three days later and three heel pricks later, his count went back to 14. We put him in the sun, and the Dr. said that he was okay. You can see a bit of yellow in his eyes, but it's almost gone now.

Kimball put Andrew on the floor for a "Sun Bath" and Benson didn't want to be far away in case Andrew needed his binky put back in. He pressed himself right up to the resting baby and watched attentivly for the binks to fall out. Since the baby was sleeping and didn't need it, Kimball took the binky away but Benson stayed anyway. Signs of an older supportive brother we hope.

Just another day at the Electric Beach for Andrew... The eye patches that they gave us (pictured) were bad at staying over his eyes so Kimball made an eye patch out of black cloth that stayed much better. We had to move the phototherapy bed off the floor and onto the vanity in the bathroom because we caught Benson inside the bed multiple times.

BIG BROTHER

Benson and Luke waiting in the waiting room of the hospital



Benson meets his new baby brother...hmmm, that's what was in mom's tummy.



This is our little family of 'three- turned four' going home together. It was a little stressful leaving the hospital because we didn't have a name and we couldn't get the carseat to fit him right. We were all so glad to be home and I was really glad to have Benson back- I had really missed him. When Kimball put the baby in the car, he made the mistake of placing Benson's "Ni Ni" over the baby. Oops. Benson started to whimper, "Ni Ni, Ni Ni" as he pointed to his blanket. I thought, "oh great, Benson is already going to think that this kid is taking over". As soon as we gave Benson his blanket back, things were great and the whole way home, if the baby's binky fell out Benson would make sure that we knew by saying, "uh oh, baby. uh-oh, baby"


Benson loves to hold Andrew- not for very long, but he comes to me with his arms outstretched and we let him hold him whenever he wants to unless he's eating.


Benson is really good at giving Andrew his binky


We were just a bit tired on the third day...


I can't believe that I have two kids!!?? I love it!


This is Benson giving loves. He used to hug and kiss my tummy when we would tell him to give brother loves, and now he kisses his head. It is so sweet. This is probably the best thing about having a new baby in our home.

Grandma and Grandpa High with Andrew

At Sunday dinner many weeks before Andrew was born Grandma promised that the first grandchild born with a dimple chin gets their college paid for. When Darryl, Louise & Carlie came to the hospital, Kimball met them at the elevator and asked, "Mom, are you prepared to pay for college tuition?" Grandma had forgotten she promised that. Let that be a lesson to you parents out there, be careful what you promise your kids, they have a better memory than you!
It's so fun to see physical attributes passed on from one generation to the next. Kimball's parents are the greatest support to us. During my pregnancy Louise hand crocheted a special blanket for Andrew- we're talking 100+ hours on this beautiful blanket. They have been so wonderful to us and especially to Benson. They too, spoil Benson. They spoil us with so much, the greatest being their love and involvement in our lives.

Carlie and Andrew

Aunt Carlie came home from her mission the day before Benson was born and honestly it seems like yesterday. She was so excited to come to the hospital and meet the baby. She took tons of really great pictures for us since we were a little pre-occupied. She came on Sunday and again on Monday after a class. That time she got the baby all to herself. They've already bonded. Carlie is such a great Aunt. She is sooo busy, but always makes time for her family.

Grandpa Jones and Andrew

I was so glad that my dad was in town. Just moments after the delivery, my dad, Jenn, and Laura came into my room. I was so excited for them to see/meet my newborn. During the last couple of weeks of my pregnancy my dad teased me, "When are you going to have that baby, Erica?", which is ironic because earlier in my pregnancy he teased me with, "should you be doing that?- you're going to go into labor. Sit down. Put yourself on bedrest, etc." My dad also came up to the hospital a second time later on Sunday evening to bring me some of the sticky buns that I had missed out on earlier that morning. My dad is such a great gradpa. He is surprisingly so mellow with the grandkids and loves them to pieces. Benson LOVES his "Bompa" and gets so excited when he sees him. He loves to be chased by Grandpa, and Grandpa loves to spoil.

Grandma Jones and Andrew

Grandma Jones was a literal life saver throughout my pregnancy, delivery, and the recovery. She was so helpful with Benson and made us her famous pork chops and her chicken noodle soup so that Kimball and I wouldn't have to worry about cooking when we came home. My mom feels a surge of relief now that Andrew is here safely and she can now answer my phone calls with a 'hello' instead of 'Are you in labor? Where are you?" My mom has great intuition too. The night before I went into labor my mom told me to, "sleep with my clothes on". Thanks mom for everything!!

Laura and Andrew

Laura was a big help when Andrew was born. She helped with Benson and visited me in the hospital. The day after we came home from the hospital, Laura and Luke came over to visit. It was then that I realized that I didn't even have a picture of her with Andrew yet. I am so grateful to have a sister that is so close- close to where I live, and as a close friend. She has been so sensitive and kind through my pregnancy- she even vaccumed and cleaned my car for me just before the baby came. She is one of my best friends and I hope that her Luke and my Benson will also be close friends. Laura also helped by taking all of my maternity clothes off of my hands...we're all hoping that means something exciting is coming within the next year or so (:

Uncle Evan and Andrew

Evan isn't the first to offer to change a diaper, but he is the best at making the kids laugh. All of the nephews just LOVE Evan and want to follow him around. He is always so gentle with the kids, yet knows how to teach them how to wrestle. Evan loves to give Benson candy and play ball with him. His favorite thing is to lift the kids until their heads are going to touch the ceiling. I've learned to tell myself, 'stitches maybe, but they'll be fine'.

Here's a video clip of Evan making Benson laugh. Evan was hitting a volleyball so hard that it would bounce off the ceiling. Uh, since Kimball and I don't do that at home, it was new to Benson and he LOVED it.

Jennifer and Andrew

My little sister Jenn came home from Utah State for the weekend hoping that she would get to meet her new nephew. Jennifer is such a good aunt. We love that she is away at school, yet we hate that she is away at school. We wish we could see more of her. Andrew is the twelth grandchild on my side, yet Jennifer was still excited to have another nephew.

Big shoes to fill

Benson loves to put shoes on. He MUST be our kid. He says "shoos" so cute and will hand me his shoes to put on. On the changing table, when you say "shoes" he lifts his feet up in the air. He helps dad choose which shoes to wear, and will locate the match in the closet. He frequents our closet rummaging for a new pair to try on. He tries to put them on while he is standing and it has been great for his balance. My heels are tricky, Andrew's shoes are too small, but daddy's shoes are just right!

Finally

I didn't know what a full pregnancy felt like until now, but at times it felt like forever. My main goal, which I had very little control over, was to bring the baby home with me. My wonderful Dr. and midwife kept a close eye on me to help us stay pregnant for as long as possible. At week 31 I had started dilating and by week thirty-seven I was 4 cm. I guess I'm rare because I stayed there for over two weeks. Even more unusual, I was 6 cm. for four days. Lets just say I had uncomfortable and painful contractions for a month. However, I was happy to have that over a stay for baby at the NBICU. I had my 39 week appt. and my midwife was sure- again- that I would have the baby any moment. My mother was especially cautious about the boundaries in which I had to stay within- just in case. Kimball and I had bags packed for three weeks...waiting. On conference Sunday, four days after my last appt., I woke up to an unusually long contraction. I didn't think much of it since I'd had them consistently through the night, but when another long one came just a minute later, I said the famous words, "Uh, babe, I think it's time". Kimball jumped out of bed and we quickly got dressed and grabbed Benson from his bed. We got to the hospital at 10:25 a.m. My mom met us at the emergency pull through at the University Hospital and parked our car and took care of Benson. Kimball tried to get me to sit in a wheelchair but the footrest was all messed up and I said forget it, let's walk. When we got to the OB emergency, the nurse Anna was expecting me. I was 7cm. and definately in active labor. They admitted me to the labor and delivery room. I was assigned the same nurse, Pam, that delivered Benson 19 months earlier. By then I was at an 8 and they said that if they broke my water that I'd have the baby very shortly. However, there was not a Dr. available. It gets even better...there was not an anesthesiologist either. During my pregnancy I had prepared for a natural birth- if it's even possible to prepare for that- and had wanted to go natural, but I was also flexible. I'd been told that you have to be dead set on not having an epidural, and I'm just not that way. I wanted to be flexible according to the situation. Good thing. I had to endure many more contractions before there was a Dr. available and I could start pushing. I can honestly say that the pain was so intense that I think it took me to the maximum that I could bear. Kimball told me that I would know great pain, but that my joy would overcome all the pain in an instant. That definately happened when they placed this perfect, goopy, purple, baby on my chest. It brings tears to my eyes to know that Kimball and I were able to welcome our son into the world and put our arms around him and tell him how excited we were to see him, love him, and add him to our family. There were moments when I didn't think that I could endure it, or do it, but I have to give great thanks to my wonderful husband who gave me the inspiration, encouragement and support to bring our son into the world. Kimball is my best friend and greatest blessing. I couldn't have done it without him. My mom asked if she should leave, and I said no. This wasn't really part of the plan, but during the labor I could honestly feel her silent prayers in my behalf. She delivered six chilren naturally and she could empathize. I think that she took great joy in seeing Andrew safely arrive and knowing that I survived. Andrew arrived at 12:35p.m. on October 5th, 2008, just three hours after feeling those long contractions at home. He was 7 lbs. and 2 oz. and 20 inches long. He's a little thing, but I honestly do not know how the body fits that inside. They let me hold him for a long time and nurse him right away. Kimball and I got to give him his first bath just after they were done with me. I actually said, "I think I'd like to go home now", but my logic told me that it would be wise to stay a night. We did. We must have had someone in our room every 10 to 20 minutes. Andrew and I were doing very well so they let us go home Monday early evening. Andrew did fail his hearing test the first time, but his little voice box worked perfectly. He cried a healthy cry most of the night. I joked that Kimball must have failed the hearing test too because he slept right through it all (:
I knew that I loved the baby I carried, but it is amazing the depth and strength of the love that I feel for Andrew already. I just can't get enough of him. It brings so much joy and fulfillment for us to see Benson hold him and kiss him. We feel immensely blessed to welcome another child.

It's official- Andrew Robert High

After eight days, we finally have a name for our precious baby boy. We talked our way out of choosing a name before leaving the hospital. We just needed more time. People gave us a hard time by saying that we've had nine months to choose a name, but we only knew him for one day before leaving the hospital and we wanted to know him a bit before choosing a name for him. After bringing him home, Kimball and I decided to take advantage of the deadline extension. We chose a couple of different names that we liked and decided to call him a different name each day until one fit. It sounds confusing- and it was at times, but we wanted to find a fit. We called him William for a day and a half, and as much as I wanted to use the name, it wasn't him. Kimball loved Harrison and after calling him that for about two hours, we looked at each other and shook our heads. We tried out a few others and were feeling stumped.

Just at the moment we were leaving the hospital room my dad called. At first I wasn't going to answer because I had my arms full, but decided to. I said 'hello' and my dad wasted no time by replying, 'I know what you should name the baby". I was very interested and thought, 'okay dad, give it your best shot because we don't'. He said, "Andrew". We had liked that name when we were choosing a name for Benson, but it got nixed because I thought it was too common. It re-surfaced and made it onto the name list this time, but I had the same feeling that it was too common. Kimball listed it as an option on our blog poll and it got the most votes. As much as we love everyone and respect your opinions- that wasn't what motivated us to choose the name, but between that and my dad's input we decided to call him that for a day. All we can say is that it stuck. We know that Andrew didn't literally choose his name, but we think he looks like an Andrew, and it just fit him. Both Kimball and I were hesitant to make it official because it wasn't what we thought we would name him, but we couldn't deny that it was a great name and it worked. Kimball wanted his middle name to be Robert after his mother's father. Grandpa Bob has the dimple chin and has passed it onto Louise, Kimball, and now Andrew. Kimball had a special relationship with his Grandfather and Andrew is the first grandchild to get the dimple chin like Grandpa.

I Made It!

Throughout my pregnancy we had little "scares" that the baby would be born early like Benson. My Dr. was very cautious and we decided to do progesterone shots that have been proven to prevent pre-term births. It worked. We are sooo grateful that I was able to carry the baby full-term (39 weeks and 4 days)! This pregnancy definately exposed me to a bit more discomfort than my first, but not too bad. At 38 weeks I felt like I had maxed out and didn't know how much more room I could offer to the little guy. Thankfully, the body is an amazing thing and knows what it is doing. Everyone gave me a hard time for now knowing what it was like to experience the ninth month during my first pregnancy and now I can proudly say that I know...and I'm not sure I'll forget.

Poll Results

The results are in from our baby name poll! If only you could fess up to your votes. Now we'll never know who REALLY voted for Andrew, and who liked Palmer, Macoy, Truman, Winston, Dexter and Miles who only got 1 vote. We feel good that we were on the right track with our front runners getting the most votes.

A New Baby Has Arrived!

Erica and I are pleased to announce the new arrival of our 2nd son. He was born at 12:35 PM on Sunday October 5th. He and mom are very healthy and doing extremely well. He weighed in at 7 lbs 2 oz and 20 inches in length. We know you'll skip the reading part and go to the pictures, so let's have at it...

First the Family Picture:

The Mommy Picture

The Daddy Picture

The Solo Picture

We're working on a name, since none of you guessed the correct delivery date in our poll, select the name you'd vote for in the poll on the right.

You've only got a few hours to chose, so chose wisely!