If There Were No Such Thing As Clothes, I Would Be Happy.

last night we got home from a late night out. It was roughly 11:00PM. chase and i were both so tired to even be alive and were ready to crash in bed only to be greeted by a large mountain of clean laundry right where i wanted to be laying.

Chase: can we just toss this on the floor?

Bethany: no, we have to fold this before we go to sleep. if we put it on the floor tonight i will never fold it and you will be pulling wrinkly clothes out of baskets when you get ready for the next week. (true story. happens all time time occasionally.)

Chase: we could sleep on the couch?

Laundry rules my life. Worlds worst chore. 

Why do clothes have to get dirty anyway??

(and in case you're wondering, yes. i folded the laundry (all by myself) before we went to sleep in our bed.)

Friends

Oakley and Penelope

THREE MONTHS!?! seriously?!

He loves to scratch his nose.

Still a snorter.

Laughed once.

Smiles often.

Rolls over from tummy to back.
Pulls his pacifier out to suck on his hand.

Can't stand to lay flat.

He is always doing crunchers trying to sit up.

Loves to lick crackers.

He's getting the general idea about tickling.

Eyes are still dark crystal blue.

When he grabs your fingers he'll do a pull up.

Getting chunkier everyday.

Cries at Papa. (I think its the beard.)

Drools A LOT.

Loves loves loves to be naked.

Eats a magnificent amount for such a small tyke.

Can't wait to meet his cousins in CO next week! 

I know, he is adorable. No need to tell me.

But, you can if you want. :)

All my posts have to do with Oakley....

We went to the Nash's ward Halloween trunk or treat 

this year as a little ghost family.

And he is just a freaking cute giraffe. 

my friend lindsay is having a baby girl this month. girl stuff is just so much fun to make with all the frills and tulle and cute fabric. so, i whipped out the sewing machine and got to work.

i was short on baby girl models. so, i made do with what i had. 

I only wish i made a cute headband or something 

to make him look a little more like a girl. 

The "H" is for Hadley.

things i never thought i'd say...

i have been noticing things that i do and say lately that seem normal at the time, but once i stop to think about it, it's a little comical.

• i never thought i would say "good job!" (and mean it) when someone burped a big one.
• the idea of someone spitting up on me what they just ate seemed repulsive, now it's just wipe it up and call it good.
• i never thought i would be so happy to see a poopy diaper!
• i never thought i would squeal and then laugh when someone peed on me while giving them a bath. 

it's funny how one little person can change your entire life and all your perspective that you once (thought you) had.

but i like being happy when he burps and poops. 

i love being a mom.

OAKIE DOKIE ARTICHOKIE!

My little guy is 

TWO WHOLE MONTHS OLD! 

He makes the most hilarious faces.

he smiles at nearly everything i say to him.

he loves to stick out his tongue. 

he has a crazy fascination with the bars on our headboard. 

he stares and stares and sometimes smiles at them.

he snorts (a lot) when he's anxious (i.e. when he's about to eat).

he stops everything for the mobile in his crib.

he gasps, coos and makes lots of happy noises. 

he's getting so much thick and ultra fuzzy hair.

so adorable.

I need more Tylenol PM.

it's the middle of the night and i can't sleep. so, i thought i'd do something productive, (if you count blogging as productive?). my last post was what i thought about while oakley cried. this post would most accurately be named;

what i think about after oak goes to sleep fabulously without a peep and while chase snores louder than something really loud that i can't think of right now.

just a forewarning, this is more of a rant. 

some things that human beings do in general bother me so badly. 
let me name a few;

• when people leave trash in my car.
• when people say "how can you know you don't like it if you've never tried it?!" because trust me! i know i will not like cheese from a squirt can.
• when people refer to pregnant woman as "about to POP".
• when people say they have a migraine when they just have a bad headache.
• when people smoke near entrances forcing me to walk through their cancer cloud.

ok- it might be more than a few things that bother me. but let me tell you something that has been particularly bothering me lately. 

• when people use "well" and "good" interchangeably and incorrect. 

i try to not be "that guy/girl" who always corrects people's grammar. so, i just bite my tongue and listen and try not to think about it. but i am holding in all this grammatical error-anger and i can't stand it anymore! maybe that's a bit dramatic. 

here's a quick lesson about when to properly use "well" and "good" in a sentence. 

i'll just summarize the lesson i would teach 4th graders. 

WELL is an adverb.

it is used when using a verb. (action word)

 "you sing well." the verb is sing. the adverb is well.

GOOD is an adjective.

it is used to describe a noun. (person, place, or thing)

 "that steak is good" the noun steak. the adjective is good.

also there are exceptions like “the pizza looks good,” because the verb involved (looks) is a linking verb, connecting the subject (pizza) with information about it.

 does that make sense? 

here's a summary to my summary.

WELL= referring to health ("i feel well, thank you")

or when someone/thing does something exceptional.

GOOD= everything else. "i'm good." "good job." "what a good dog." (unless you say "what a well behaved dog" because in that case, to behave is a verb and well is the adverb)

get it?

anyway- it just bothers me. 

goodnight. 

this is a new little bloggity segment i'd like to call:

things i think about while oakley is screaming in the middle of the night and i am trying to get him to sleep.

(that includes the idea for this post.)

• i should make a lot of wipey cases so i can start selling them. I think i will start an etsy shop cause that seems the easiest anyway. hope chase won't mind.

• i am pretty much stressing out big time about oakley's blessing day even though so many people are helping me out. what will i wear? all my clothes are either maternity or too small. i hate my hips. i need to go shopping for the food for his after-blessing brunch. that includes making crepes. i have never made a crepe in my life. i need to call katie richards. 

• chase snores really loud. no wonder oakley can't sleep.

• i think i want to get out the boxes of letters that chase and i wrote to each other while he was in brazil and put them chronological order. then i'll put them in page protector sleeves in a folder. then our kids can read them if they want to when they're older. that would be cute. 

• i really want to go on a vacation. we haven't been on a real trip together since april for conference. chase wants to go to spain or italy. that would be fun. but i would be fine with driving to payson and sleeping in a tent. 

• what if i had to go into labor again- TONIGHT! that would suck. what if i got pregnant like next month. that would really suck. for my next baby i will most definitely have a water birth. and i will schedule the photographer before i have the baby so he/she can still be new-new and sleep through the entire shoot. if we have a girl her name is claire or nora. if we have a boy i like cade. chase doesn't like cade. we'll see. 

• i can not wait for these two ladies to come down tomorrow!!!!!!!

i chose the ones where they both have princess crowns on. 

we are going to have so much fun!

• i wonder why babies spit up so much. is it normal? does it hurt? oak can touch his eye ball with his finger and it doesn't even phase him. i hope he doesn't have a weird disease where his eye balls don't have feeling. maybe babies are just born with those abilities. 

• i am glad we have 3 more seasons of "how i met your mother" before we are caught up. after that we need a new show to watch every night. i dread finding a new show. i get so comfortable in my show. and when people try to suggest new shows for us to watch, we either have seen them all already, or refuse to watch them; i.e. lost or dexter.

• i saw this documentary called something like "most deadliest drug" or something from the national geographic channel. it was about meth. i couldn't believe my eyes or ears! it was intense. i really enjoy that type of thing. i think drug addicts, dysfunctional families, abusive relationships, psychological disorders and things like that are interesting. don't get me wrong. i don't think they are good. they are bad. i don't find pleasure in them. i just think they are interesting to learn about in a psychological manner. is that weird? does that make me a psychopath? probably. 

• this post i really long and boring. im sorry. if you made it thus far, CONGRATULATIONS! this was really only a fraction of the things i thought about during the hours of getting oaky dokey to sleep. this will most likely be the one and only post of it's kind. my thoughts are kind of boring.

i love looking through old pictures.

This is of one of the very first times we ever hung out. 

(remember this night, Cait?!)

New Years Eve.

We were driving in Cailtin's old, awesome, rickety blazer.

Pedal to the metal.

Down a neighborhood street.

Hit the deep dip in the road.

Scream and go flying.

Then turn around and do it again.

I didn't like Chase yet. 

[he had a girlfriend...and not to mention his hair... ;) ]

But I think this night he became one of my best friends.

Who'da thunk almost 6 years later we would be married with this adorable 7 week old baby?!

I am in love with this little nugget.

He is a hand sucker.

He can almost fit his whole hand in his mouth.

He has the hiccups like 4 times a day.

He doesn't like them.

He loves bath time.

He stops fussing the second I take his diaper off.

I think he just likes to be naked.

His cry resembles a squeaky toy.

He loves to cuddle. 

He spits-up all day.

I smell like spit-up all day.

Sometimes he cries so hard, the veins in his eyelids look like they are going to explode.

He is a little lot spoiled.

He smiles in his sleep.

I think he's dreaming about the good old days in the womb.

I love him so much. 

Honesty.

Sitting at Chick-Fil-A about to indulge in a juicy chicken sandwich and container of waffle fries. 


4 year old Ogden- "Hey, Bethany. I Can STILL remember when you used to be skinny."


Me- Pause...."Me too Oggy. It's a little fuzzy, but i can still vaguely remember."






I guess it is about time to lose this baby fat.

Oakley is learning to give kisses.

The Once In A Lifetime Ride

(I wrote this post a while ago, but with recent events (aka the birth of Oakley) it got postponed! Enjoy.)




Chase's dad has been going on a long distance motorcycle ride for the past 10 years.
It's called the 
"Once in a Lifetime Ride"
Ironic.


This year the stars aligned and Chase got to go with his dad 
and the rest of the men that attend.

Chase is in the middle/back.

Everyday was planned out to the smallest details. They knew exactly where they needed to be and at what time. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Hotel Reservations were all pre-planned.

With me not working, Chase gone all day and night, and being 9 months pregnant made for some pretty long days and nights for me. I kept myself busy crafting and sewing, and playing with sisters.
It's not like i could text him while he was riding. 
So i was left to just wonder if he was dead or alive and wait for him to call me. 
And trying NOT to go into lonely stress-induced labor.

Pregnancy hormones are not my friend.

They made a giant circle to the tippy-top of Montana  (even crossing over to Canada for a few hours) and then back down to the bottom. 

Look how beautiful Montana is. I think i will live there someday.






These group shot pictures are so funny to me for some reason.

 One of the guys crashed and had to be flown home. 
So the trip was extended to get an extra, crashed bike home. 

I wasn't very happy to say the least.
i am selfish.

This picture is pretty hilarious of Chase, but it's one of the only ones he ever took of himself!

When he got home he didn't smell too good, but i was still very happy.




I never knew how dependent I am on Chase until I had to live an entire week without him! 
I am such a baby.  But what can i say? 
I love my husband.

Life This Week

So, Chase went on his mission to Brazil where he lived and spoke Portuguese for 2 years. He needed some extra credit hours this semester and a chance to boost his GPA so we decided taking a portuguese class would be a good way to do that. Easy A. Except the only class that is offered is Elementary Portuguese. Like learn the ABC's and 123's. So, he decided to go and ask the instructor if he could just take the final and take that grade as his final grade.  Yesterday was his first day of class and before he left I asked if he was just going to go early, talk to the teacher and come home (since it is a 3 hour class!).  This is how our conversation went;

Chase: I think i will talk to her after everyone leaves.
Me: Why don't you just talk to her when you get there and save some time?
Chase: I don't want anyone to hear me say I am fluent. They will give me that look that people give.
Me: (confused.) What look???
Chase: You know that look like "Oh my gosh!" Like when someone poops their pants in class.

It went on from there. I was confused because he was so serious, and kept trying to explain "the look". I honestly have never had that experience of having a classmate poop their pants so I'm not sure if this is a common thing and I am just the exception. I remember a kid peed his pants in 1st grade in Mrs. Dowell's class. But i suppose my reaction would be "Oh my gosh" if that happened in college.

Funny thing is that the teacher went around asking how much everyone knew, and when they got to Chase, he said he was fluent in front of the entire class. I asked if everyone looked at him like he just pooed his pants. He said yes.

__________________________________________________________
Yesterday I forgot to add something in the birth story. As we were on our way to the hospital I was having contractions every few minutes in the car. Chase asked "Does it hurt to laugh?" I didn't know where he was going with that, but it did hurt to laugh so I said "Yes."  He then proceeded to say, "Then don't look over there to the right."
When I then of course DID look over to the right,  I saw something similar to this walking down the road.

Cut off collared shirt, cut off jean booty-shorts and the most magnificent mullet you have seen in your life.  

Following him was a little boy that looked almost identical to (what I can only assume him to be) his dad.

I laughed. It hurt. I punched Chase on the shoulder. Then I laughed some more and told him I love him.

We live in A.J. 

_________________________________________________________
On another note.
I am a mom.
I take a million pictures of the exact same pose. But every picture looks different to me.
I beg Oakley for some sleep when he wakes up to eat every 3 hours.
When he finally is finished eating and falls asleep, I stay awake for another 2 hours just watching his chest move up and down with every breath.
I have already got peed on 5 times and pooped on once while changing his diaper.
I am learning to do things one handed because I always want to hold him close in the other.
I finish changing a diaper, and as I snap his onesie on, I hear him poo again.
He rarely cries, but when he does, I can't help but smile a little cause it's so cute.
Most of his clothes are too big even though they are size newborn. All his pants go to his armpits and he look like an old man.
I forget to eat meals because I just stare at how amazing he is all day.
I ponder the idea that I made him, and Heavenly Father trusts me with this gift.
I am so blessed with such amazing friends and family and especially my wonder-woman of a mom, who have helped us out these past 11 days.
I love my amazing husband and adorable miracle of a son.
I love my little family.

Baby Mine

Oakley Ren Waters

Friday, August 13th 2010

Three Twenty-Nine P.M.

Six Pounds, Fifteen Ounces

Twenty Inches Long

The Story:

At 7 o'clock I was at my amazing baby shower thrown by my magnificent sisters and mother-in-law.  Earlier that day I was telling Chase that I kept picturing me going into labor at the shower. So when I started having contractions at the shower, it was almost comical. I mentioned a couple times that these contractions felt different than the other braxton hicks I usually have. But I just enjoyed myself and tried to ignore them. Chase picked me up and loaded the car full of gifts. We went home and i told Chase about the contractions. I couldn't hardly stand so we left the car as it was and Chase started timing the contractions with his handy-dandy Contraction Timer App on his phone. (That app really came in handy after he started to fall asleep timing.) At 5 minutes apart I called my mom and she said she would meet us down at the hospital. He wasn't due for another two weeks so we didn't have a hospital bag packed or anything ready! Chase quickly packed some things and I kept telling him to stop because i am sure the hospital will just send us home. He packed a full bag anyway, and later i was glad he did. 

We left the 4runner full of gifts from the shower in the garage and took the scion to the hospital. We finally got to the hospital at 11:30pm, but they were really backed up so we waited in the triage for a couple hours still counting. I was still sure they were going to tell me they weren't 

'real' contractions and send us home. So when the nurse came in and said "Yep! You're staying here!" i was blown away! I was going to have a baby.

My sweet mom wasn't allowed in that part so she slept in the car until we were moved to the labor and delivery room. I was so happy to have her there with me. I don't know what I would have done without her by my side helping me through every little thing. I love her so much.

I was in labor all through the night  and into the next day. I was so determined to not get an epidural and trust in my body that I could do it alone. Chase and my mom counted through the contractions with me and massaged my back. I soaked in the "Japanese Spa", which was AMAZING! I wish i could have delivered in there. (I think i will have a water birth with my second!!!!) The more tired i got, the harder the contractions got. After I hit 36 hours of being awake and 15 hours of being in labor, my body was so stressed and tired that there was no progression. After I reluctantly got an epidural, I gave my body the sleep it needed and progress came fast. A couple hours later the nurse came in and I started pushing. 

Almost exactly an hour of pushing later, Oakley was born at 3:29 PM, and was perfect. Chase cut the umbilical cord like a man and then a few minutes later nearly passed out until the nurse caught him and gave him some crackers and juice and had him sit down. 

As they laid him on my chest I couldn't even help but cry. It was my son. And what  was just as awesome to see, was my amazing husband holding our son. I don't think I have ever felt so much happiness rushing through my body in my entire life. 

Throughout my pregnancy I often wondered how ANYONE could be insane enough to go through 9 months of  being constantly sick, plagued without sleep and never being able to get remotely comfortable and then do it AGAIN for a second child. Now I know why. 

Now, here are some fun pictures to look at!

Chase's first time changing a diaper EVER!