Pictures.....

Here are a few(or a lot) of pictures from the last couple weeks. Branson is 2 weeks old tomorrow, I can't believe that! He has already gained about a pound because he eats a lot:) But everyone is adjusting well, and I cannot imagine our family without him now that he is here.

I love that I was actually able to catch this little smile with my camera!




Macie wanted to take pictures of her baby while I was trying to get some of Branson...

Branson Reed Denning

Our sweet baby boy was born on Thursday, April 29, at about 12:00 PM. He was 6 lbs 15 oz, and 21 in long with hair just like his sister's. I was due on the 27th, and was scheduled to be induced on the 29th at 5:00 AM. They told us to call the hospital at 4:30 to make sure it was ok to come in. So bright and early Thursday morning I called in and they told me they were a little short staffed, so wait until 7:30. But Branson had his heart set on five :) I had my first contraction at about five, and they started out close and strong. so by 6:00 I was calling the hospital again telling them that I had to come in now. It was kind of embarrassing, I felt like I was making it up. My labor was progressing really quickly, so I was able to get my epidural right away, unlike Macie's delivery, and it was great! My body knew what it was doing this time, so the pushing was a breeze....amazing! And at about noon we said hello to Branson Reed Denning. To tell you the truth, I was really nervous about not feeling an instant bond with our little boy. I was SO excited to have Macie, and I just couldn't wait for her to come out so I could start being a mom! But with Branson I was so nervous to have another baby while I still had a toddler, and I was DREADING nursing again. I felt so guilty for not feeling a special bond with this one like I had with Macie before she was born. But the moment this little guy was born both Reed and I felt such an overwhelming and instant LOVE for him. What a relief:) And nursing has been so easy this time, and I actually am enjoying it! Macie has done great with him so far. She is ALWAYS wanting to hold him and touch him and kiss him, which gets tiresome, but is better than jealousy:) Reed and I feel so blessed that everything went so well, and want to say thank you so much for everyone who has helped us these last few days.....especially with Macie. And I want to say thank you to Reed for being so great through labor, delivery, and recovery. You are the best!

We are in TROUBLE...

Last night Macie had the longest and most traumatic tantrum she has ever had, and you'll never guess what it was about........shoes! She LOVES shoes. Last night we were at Target getting Reed some shoes and I remembered that Macie needed some white sandals. So I take her over to the little girl shoes...huge mistake! While I was looking at all the white summer shoes, she fell IN LOVE with these shiny pink sandals with a big sparkly butterfly on the front. Kind of ugly in my opinion, but to Macie they were GORGEOUS! She would NOT try on ANY of the shoes I wanted her to, just the pink ones. And when we had to take them off of her she threw a major fit! So Reed walked around the store with her for a while and tried to calm her down. Then we tried again to get her to try on these white sandals that I had picked, but she REFUSED! She was screaming her head off and kicking, and making a huge scene. So I just decided to get the sandals without having her try them on, and take them back if they didn't fit. So I walked over to the clothing for a second to look at the swimsuits for Macie and Reed let her put on the pink shoes again. She instantly stopped crying, her face lit up, and she ran over and gave him a big hug! ha ha! I would have loved to buy them for her...but she needed white shoes, not pink butterfly ones:) Plus they were like twice as much $ as the white ones, and I didn't want to give in to her tantrum. So Reed took her out to the car while I bought their shoes. She was crying when I got in, and she cried about the shoes the whole way home. When we got home she kept saying, "Shoes, Shoes!" So I gave her the white ones and she put her hands over her eyes and fell to the ground crying! Finally, right before bed, she wanted to wear her new white sandals, yay! When she woke up this morning the first thing she said to me was, "shoes!" I said, "Juice?" And she said, "NO, SHOES!" So I thought she wanted to wear her new shoes! We went in the living room where her and Reed's new shoes were still in the bag. I gave her the box with her shoes in it and she opened it and........covered her eyes, threw herself on the ground and started crying again! Oh, the drama:) But luckily it only lasted a couple minutes and then she was wearing her new sandals all round the house. What a GIRL!

Easter Weekend

We had a great Easter/Conference weekend. Conference was a little harder to listen to this year with Macie running around and demanding attention, so I am anxious to get the Ensign next month so I can read the talks. But even though I was a little distracted, I was still able to enjoy it. Saturday night when Reed got home from work we colored easter eggs. I didn't think Macie would be that interested, but she LOVED it! That made it so much fun. By the way, I haven't been able to play with my camera for a while, so there are a MILLION pictures on this post. I was having a little too much fun experimenting:) Sunday morning we hid the eggs (in plain sight) in the living room, and had a little egg hunt for Macie. Again, I thought she wouldn't really care about the eggs with no candy in them, but I was wrong...she had so much fun running all around and picking them up. She especially LOVED the candy she got in her basket. I was a little surprized she never threw up from all the candy she ate that day! Sunday morning we listened to conference at my parents house and were able to eat a delicious lunch with them. Then that evening we had an Easter dinner at Reed's Parents house with all of the family! They even had a little egg hunt and GOODIES for all the grandkids. We had a great weekend with lots of good food, family, and Spiritual guidance.

Coloring Eggs...











The HUNT...Finding her eggs.
The GOODS.

Easter Dress...Reed and Macie in her new Easter dress.

Macie's Imagination...

I think it's so funny to watch Macie start to "pretend." I didn't realize that they did that so young! She is always making me eat her pretend food that she makes, and she puts everything "to night," even the shampoo bottle with a washcloth for a blanket:) I wanted to post a couple funny things she's said and done lately so I don't forget.....

I was unloading the dishwasher the other day and Macie stole the blender attachment. Next thing I know she's walking around with it on her leg, so I just let her. When I was done unloading, I went to get it from her and it was completely STUCK! Her poor little leg was all red and puffy looking. It came right off with lots of soap and water, but I just thought it was funny that she would even want to wear it in the first place.


I was taping off a room to paint in our new house and Macie points to the outlet and says, "Eye, Eye, Nose!" I can see how that looks like a face. A few minutes later she sits down on an unopened package of paper towels and says, "Potty!" Then she wipes, hops off, and pretends to flush the toilet:)

Baby Boy's Room....

A couple Saturdays ago while Reed was at work I was able to get everything ready for Baby Branson's bedroom! This was a HUGE accomplishment for me, because sewing ANYTHING usually takes me forever! But I was able to cut out and sew curtains, two blankets, and a cover for the crib bumper. Oh, and paint a frame to go in his room. I had heard that bumpers were hard, but Reed had the idea of making a cover that I could slip onto the one I use for Macie, since she will be in an actual bed by the time we put the baby in the crib. It was so much faster:) So, I know this isn't the most exciting post, but I was feeling good about getting things ready. Lately we've been at our new house A LOT. Reed has been working on the garage and bonus room, and I've been cleaning and painting. So it seems like I am never home lately, and when I am home, I'm exhausted:) So....that was the whole point of me being so excited that I got his bedroom stuff done:)
Curtains...
Blankets & Bumper Cover...
Picture Frame...

My Friends are WAY too nice to me!

Today I had plans to go to a friend's baby shower. So I dropped Macie off at my In laws and hurried to the party....I always seem to be a little late when Reed's not with me. I was only like five minutes late, which I thought was pretty good, but when I drove up there were already a lot of cars there. So I ran inside and apologized for being late, and headed downstairs........little did I know that my friends had tricked me, and the baby shower was actually for me! Fake invitation and everything...how embarrassing:) I was SO CONFUSED when I got down the stairs and everyone said SURPRISE. It took a while for me to understand what was going on....pregnancy brain you know:) So then I start crying...I'll blame that on the pregnancy too. I was way shocked, and I totally didn't deserve another shower, but I also feel very LOVED. How'd I get such nice friends? Thank you to everyone who came, I am so excited for all the cute new BOY things you gave us! And thank you to Katie A., Kortney, Lindsey, Ashley, and Katie for giving me a baby shower that I wouldn't let you give me:) It was WAY NICE, and so thoughtful for you guys to do all that! Like I said....my friends are way too nice to me:)

THE FOOD: They got Olive Garden soup and bread sticks, amazing. And this is the cake made out of diapers that Katie made!

Cake and gifts...

Opening gifts: Yeah, I know I'm not even looking at the camera, but this is the shot with the least amount of double chin:) I don't love pictures of me when I'm pregnant.

New Home.....

Last week we were able to close on a house in the Rigby area. Reed has been looking at this house since last May! It was a spec home that was in forclosure for about three years, so its never been lived in. The bank that owned it is clear in Texas, so it was a little difficult to work with them....so frustrating for ME. But Reed was patient and kept trying, and we finally got it! We are SO EXCITED, but also very sad to move farther from our friends and family, and ward. But, Rigby isn't THAT far, so don't forget about us :) There's a few things that weren't finished all the way on the house, (like some insulation and sheetrock in the garage, septic system, and some hand rails) so we probably won't be moving until about June. We also want to paint some of the rooms to make it more our own. Plus we will have a baby coming sometime in the middle of everything......so June sounds good as of right now :) Anyway, here are some pictures of what the house looks like right now, and I'll do an after post once we move in. Sorry there's so many.......



Front View


Back View


Deck


Kitchen


Master Bath


Master Bath


Master Bedroom


Living Room


Sitting Room (office for us)


Entry Way and Dining Area


Branson's Room (that is what we're naming our baby as of now)


Macie's Room


Main Bathroom


Laundry Room

Back to Normal...Kind Of

So Macie has been really sick the last couple days, especially yesterday. It is SO hard to watch her be so miserable, I hate it! She has a cough and runny nose, and I'm sure other things...but she just can't tell me about them. Yesterday she threw up about six times from coughing so hard, and she was so disgusted with it, it made me laugh. Two of the times she threw up she was in the bath tub, and she was trying to get away from it as fast as she could! Which was a kind of funny to me, because up until about two months ago she pooped EVERY SINGLE time she took a bath! And that didn't faze her:) And one of the other times she was running and dodging it as it fell on the floor. Sorry, that's a little graphic, but it made us laugh because she managed to miss all of it! And another time I just held her and let her puke all over my clothes so I wouldn't have to clean the carpet! I never thought I could do that before I had a kid, I would have DIED! Anyway........I am happy to say that she is doing SO much better today! We have spent half the morning dancing and playing ring around the rosies, or "Ashes, ashes!" as Macie calls it. She's still sick, but acting a lot more like Macie. So, for all of you with sick kiddos out there.....I'm sorry!

I am NOT ready for this.......

I thought I had at least six months until I had to start thinking about Potty Training. Nope, Macie is officially obsessed with sitting on the potty! I thought she would just think it was cool for a little while, and then stop. But it's been a few weeks, and she just wants to sit on it more and more! I thought she was WAY too young, but I talked to my mom and mother-in-law and they both had little girls start at Macie's age. So please help me......I don't know the first thing about potty training! We bought her a seat a couple nights ago, which she thinks she's so cool sitting on. But she's never actually WENT in the toilet, just LOVES to sit on it...and wipe...and flush...and wash her hands. Over and over:) So, any advice would be great!