Grey's Top 25

I realize the following post is most likely only interesting to Skyler and I.  In fact, as we wrote the following list, we were giggling like little school children.  We just so happen to think that Greyson is the coolest thing that ever happened since N'Sync in the 90s.

With that being said, here is a list of funny quirks that Greyson has.  I have definitely come to learn that every baby is extremely different and these are the things that make Greyson:  "Bubs", "Grey", "Buberooskies", "Bubsie"..etc.

1. He doesn't like to be naked
2. His arms are always are flailing in his face or mouth
3. He has to wear mittens (avoid abused/scratched up face)
4. He has Skyler's split tongue
5. He's pretty much slept through the night since day 1
6. He goes cross eyed all the time
7. He's had tears from the beginning
8. He likes his car seat when it's moving and hates it when it's not.
9. His poop stinks
10. He gets hot in his car seat
11. He doesn't love bath time...yet
12. Today he started drinking the bath tub water like a dog and liked it.
13. He doesn't like to be changed.
14. He loves to eat.
15. He loves his binki
16. His magic "go to sleep button" is to lay him on his stomach and pat his back.
17. He started smiling yesterday.
18. Cuddling always makes him stop crying.
19. He gets the hiccups all the time.
20. He doesn't like bright lights
21. He started to spit up a little
22. His favorite place is mom's chest
23. He's been able to pick up his head since we got home from the hospital.
24. His legs are extremely strong. He runs a marathon every time we change his diaper.
25. He loves his Grandmas, Grandpas, and Aunt Ivy.

There ya have it folks:)

Meet Baby Greyson

Fact:  Every baby is a miracle.  Getting pregnant is a miracle, having a baby grow and develop inside of you is a miracle, and birthing a baby is all very miraculous.  BUT my baby is on HuGE miracle, and this is why:

My mom had a really good point the other day that coming in to this world is really traumatic and going out of this world can be equally traumatic.  Unfortunately Greyson had quite the traumatic entrance in to this world.

His story starts a week before he was due when my doctor asked me if I was ok waiting for labor.  I told him that I definitely was, but that if I went a week over I would like to be induced due to risk factors as well as the risk of my mom leaving Rexburg without being able to see her grand baby since her flight was in a specific time frame.  He said that was fine and proceeded to schedule me for an induction on October 25th, just in case I needed it.

Four days later I was at my apartment and realized that I hadn't felt my baby move in awhile, so I did the drill.  I laid on my left side for 10 minutes...still not a whole lot.  Ate some sugar, no go.  Ate real food, I got a little movement but not a ton.  I said a little prayer and my answer was that he was ok, but that I should go to the doctor.  40 minutes later I was hooked up to a stress test and Baby S passed with flying colors.  While I was there though, I asked which doctor would be on call on my induction date.  They proceeded to explain that I would go in Wednesday night with one doctor and then they would start everything Thursday morning with a different doctor.  I definitely wasn't a fan of switching around doctors so I moved my date up one day so I could have the same doctor both days.  I came home and told Skyler that I felt like the answer to my prayers was that I needed to switch my date.

The next day at work, I had a lot of opinions thrown at me for some reason.  People telling me I should just wait for everything to come naturally, and others telling me to listen to my "motherly instincts."  Long story short, it had me really thinking about whether or not I had made the right decision to get induced...I got a phone call at about 4 o'clock that day from the hospital telling me they had over booked patients and that I needed to bump my date up one more day.  While this made me uneasy, I felt comfort and for some reason I knew that it was ok.

Two days later I was officially one day over so I had to have a full stress test and AFI? test?  not sure if that's what it's called but they test how much fluid is in your tummy.  He passed the stress test by the skin of his teeth and my AFI said that I was at a 12.8 which apparently is ok but lets just say, I was all skin and baby.

Three days later, I'm over my due date by 4 days and headed in to the hospital.  We got there at 8:00 pm and Greyson was born at 10:17......Ya, crazy right?  When I got there they hooked me up to a bunch of machines, one of which said that his heart beat was in the 180s and not dropping (babies should be about 150s).  They called my doctor and he insisted on coming straight up ( I should have known then what was to come).  He did an ultrasound and found that my placenta had basically given up.  It was calcified and deteriorating fast.  Baby had already had a bowel movement and basically was struggling to survive without a reserve tank that a placenta usually provides.  And to top it all of, my fluid level was a 4.  In the words of the doctor, " It's too dangerous for you to go in to labor whether natural or induced, your placenta and baby can't handle it.  We're going to have to do a c-section.  It's not an emergency but I'm not going to wait til the morning."

40 minutes later I was in the O.R.  After he had walked out of that patient room people immediately started swarming in like mad wasps.  I had the anesthesiologist at my left side describing the procedure and risk factors, who, while mid sentence, bolted out of the room only to return and advise me that I wouldn't be able to do a spinal tap because we didn't have time due to my Factor 5 blood condition.  That meant I was going all the way under.  I had a lab guy taking blood from my right arm, and I think there were a few nurses in the room bustling around like they had a purpose.

Next thing I knew, the room disappeared just like in the movies.  The first thing I heard was my baby and a nurse telling me that that was what I was hearing.  I don't remember a whole lot after that.  I know I got to hold him but I had a really hard time keeping my eyes open.  Later it was explained to me that when they went in to do the c-section they found the cord around his neck twice.  Because of this, he was unable to drop like babies typically do before labor which causes dilation and contractions.  Hence why I never dilated and why I never did or would have gone in to labor.  

My baby is my own miracle.  If my induction date hadn't been moved, we're not sure if he would have made it to my original date, but the odds don't look great.  Heavenly Father was looking out for us that day and I'm extremely grateful.  Now we  have our beautiful Greyson and we couldn't love him more:)

Don't Fight it...Just Embrace it

Maybe being 2 days away from my due date is making me come to terms with all the things in my life that I have recently come to embrace that I normally would not let fly by.  Here is my list of reality checks to myself:

1.  I am not a blond:  Fact, when I was born I was blond.  Now I am not; my hair is tragically mouse/dirty dish washer colored and it's about time I admit it.  I had my hair dyed back to my natural color, and while it is darker than I expected, it just led me to realize how far from my natural hair color I've been for the last...I don't know...15 years of my life?!

2.  I have "Relief Society Arms":  For those of you who are not accustomed to Mormon slang, relief society arms can be defined as "Loose skin/fat on your triceps area that jiggles while leading music at church or while doing like activities."  I can admit that this is normally not the case and my arms are still impressively skinny BUT while in the process of making a child I learned that in order to work out your arms, you must first have abs and in order to grow a child, those abs must disappear:)  Therefore here is my equation:  baby = no abs = no arm work outs = Relief Society Arms.  I'm real good at math.

3.  I cannot keep our home PERFECTLY clean:  Maybe it's the whole nesting instinct sinking in but I really wish I could keep our apartment perfectly clean at all times and let me just tell you, it's impossible and it's about time I admit it.  The sad part about this tale is that there are only two of us in the space.  Imagine how I'm going to feel when I have munchkins running around the place.

4.  I have become slightly "High Maintenance":  Wow, as hard as it is to admit, it's true.  In order for me to go to sleep I have to have 4 things perfectly in alignment.  1) my bed 2) my pillow + my circular decorative pillow at my head 3) another decorative pillow under my belly 4) another decorative pillow in between my legs.  If any or all of these things are not in place, I'm hosed.  Other examples of high maintenance behavior:  I refuse to take out the garbage, I insist on having my circular decorative pillow under my bum while I do my makeup sitting on the floor in front of the mirror, and I not only do I refuse to paint my toe nails myself but I insist that Skyler do them for me:)  Hopefully you don't think any less of me because of this.

Are there more things in life that I have decided to embrace and not fight? YES!  But I don't want to bore you.  Life is great and you got to love coming to these reality checks:)  I just can't wait to meet my baby ANY DAY now!!!!!

Full Term

I feel like it's time for a baby update:)  I am currently 37 weeks.  I made it full term and man do I feel full term!!!  My baby itself is measuring LARGE.  His head is in the 75% and his body is in the 40%, in other words he is going to be an orange on a toothpick!!!!!  Am I concerned about birthing a head that is in the 75th percentile....? YES!!!!!!! Holy cow, how is that going to work out, it just doesn't seem to be adding up to me.

Since finding that out, I have measured, large, small, right on...In other words, who knows when I'm going to go!  My mom has officially purchased a plane ticket for my due date and 10 days after, I'm really praying that I can go at least while she's here or possibly before.  I actually decided that it would be epic to have my baby on the 11th of October.  That would make his birthday 10-11-12.  Pretty cool birthday, huh?

Today I had an appointment and the doctor's newest orders are to eat ice cream every night! At first I thought she was kidding but then I realized she was being totally serious because I had somehow managed to lose a pound this last week.  Probably not the best thing to do since he gained approximately a pound all by himself.

Well that's the update:)  One minute I can't wait to hold him in my arms, the next I am panicking that I am inevitably going to be a mom any day, and the next he is moving so much that I feel like he is the hulk and is going to burst out of me and I am just praying that I will survive the next few weeks.  All in all, I'm pregnant...such is life and I'm loving it:)

August = The Month of Madness

I cannot even begin to describe all of the changes that have happened to us in the month of August.  It has been pure MADNESS.  This is however my attempt....

August 13th = My birthday!! I turned 23 and Skyler made sure I had the best day ever.  He made me an ice cream cake that was most definitely made with love and we had some friends over to share it.  It was also the day that I decided I was absolutely, without a doubt, sick of our car and taking it to the shop once a week.  We also had an interview with the owner of The Academy Apartments on my birthday.  What this meant to us was that we could possibly live rent free with free utilities, cable, laundry, internet..etc.  That also meant that we could possibly afford a new car....let the stress begin.

August 15th = We found out we got the position!!  Now do not be deceived...the hours spent from the interview to when we found out was absolute TORTURE.

August 17th = TRABIN:  (tra-bin) is defined as a cabin and trailer combined to create the perfect atmosphere for tight corners and crying because you're laughing so hard moments.  On Friday, we drove up to Island Park to spend the weekend with some family friends (Smiths and Okelberry's) at the trabin.  It was a blast and so nice to relax after such a stressful week.

Here is the gang at Island Park:)

August 20th = Let the packing begin.  Through this week I tried packing 3-5 boxes a day just to get a good head start.

August 24th = Skyler and I hit the boxes hard.  We packed non-stop all night and even mooched dinner at the Kelly's because we had packed up all of our food.

August 25th = Moving Day!  We borrowed, my boss's truck, my uncle's truck, Rick Kelly's truck, and John Kelly's trailer so that on Saturday we could make one trip and be done.  It was awesome.  The guys helping were great!  They started moving everything at 9:00 and were completely done by 11:00.  I was at work while all of this was going down and was pleasantly surprised when I got off and everything was moved AND Skyler had completely scrubbed our old apartment because he knew I would have a hard time bending over to clean.  He is a saint.

August 26th = Unpacking...enough said.  I hate it.

August 27th = We officially took responsibility for the apartments.  I never thought my phone would ever ring that much.  Bring on the responsibilities!!  I guess I should mention that we are now in charge of 8 apartments full of 48 boys that attend BYUI.

August 28th = We got new carpet in our new house!!  We were so happy the owners were willing to get us new carpet, but it was definitely an adventure to unpack and then have to move everything out of  the living room.

August 30th = Let's go to Utah!  When we got in to Utah Thursday night, we  went straight to Maddox where we met up with the Smedley's, Tueller's, Smith's, and Okelberry's for a seriously good meal!  

The birthday boy!! That is the shirt I got him for his birthday and the cake Grandma Tueller made him.

August 31th = Skyler's birthday and we woke up at 8 am with iPad in hand and a list of about 10 Toyota Corolla's that we were set out to look at in Salt Lake and the surrounding cities.  We were definitely going to buy a car.  By about 3:30 we had signed our lives away and bought a 2011 Toyota Corolla with 29,000 miles and I got it for 2,500 dollars under NADA value.  It think we did pretty darn good:)  It was extremely dramatic, stressful...etc.  I will leave that for a different post.  But, we also had a baby shower with the Smedley's!!! What a day!  The shower was great and we were definitely spoiled!

The baby shower:)

Meet Gracie, our new car!!

September 1st = After a long stressful day on Friday, we deserved a day of SHOPPING!  We went to City Creek and had a blast:)  Skyler and I both had birthday money with strict instructions that we had to buy something fun with it.  I got some fun shirts and a really cool watch and Skyler decided he wants to save his for something big.  We ended our day at Utah Noodle where we enjoyed some "Good ol' American Chinese Food" in the words of Kerry.

Utah Noodle!

NOW = We are exhausted...unfortunately this week to come we are having check-ins for three days, starting a birthing class, starting to teach dance again, and this is my last week of working full-time.  Bring it on September!

Oh and by the way I'm 33 weeks!! :)

I love my belly:)

7 Months!

I'm officially in my third trimester!  I have to be honest, I thought being in your third trimester would be different.....In fact, so much so that I have decided to make a list of things I should/am be experiencing and my feelings about them.

I should...

1.  Look about double my size:  Hallelujah that I'm not!  I'm very grateful I haven't gotten huge because it makes my life much easier.

2.  Have an extremely aching back:  Thanks in part to my not huge stomach, my back, while sore is very grateful for the lack of pain.

3.  Be totally ready:  For some reason when I was in my first trimester I had a ton of questions and thought, oh ya I'll research it and by my third trimester I'll totally be ready for this whole baby/birth experience.  Well here is my third trimester, and here I am...excited, but pretty naive haha.

4. Be constipated:  Well that's awkward...haha but seriously everyone talks about how you're crazy constipated and you get  little bundles of joys called hemorrhoids.  I am extremely pleased to say "all systems clear!"

5.  Have a line down my tummy:  I guess not everyone gets these because I haven't got one yet...I guess there's still a chance....

I do...

1.  Have ribs that hate me:  For about 10 weeks I have had excruciating pain in my ribs.  When I asked my doc what I should do about it, he said, "oh don't worry, I'll take care of that in about 11 weeks."  My thoughts "you little stinker." I recently have been feeling relief while simultaneously noticing that my ribs are REALLY spread apart.  I think my body finally gave in and said "FINE, I'll spread apart for this crazy thing inside of me."

29 Weeks:)

2.  Have a child that is a shaker and a groover:  I LOVE how much my baby boy moves:)  He is constantly rolling, punching, kicking, and shaking his groove thing.  The doctor said that if I lay on my side, I should feel him move 10 times within a 20 minute period.  I almost started laughing, he moves 10 times in about 2 minutes most days!

3.  LOVE my baby:  Whenever he moves I feel like it's just a little reminder of how much I love him already and how much I can't wait to meet him:)

All in all, my third trimester is proving to be great thus far:)  I am now 30 weeks and it's crazy to think that I'll be full term in only 7 weeks!! 

Baby Update:)

6.5 Months! 

Our crib and fabric for the bedding:)

Changing table!

                 We have some exciting baby updates:)  Skyler and I bought a crib while we were in Boise and it matches our changing table.  I absolutely LOVE folding little baby cloths, so I organized the baby clothes that we got into sizes by age and set them up on the changing table.  I also picked out the fabric for our bedding!!!  We found the cutest giraffe fabric that is green, turquoise, grey, and some yellow.  I love it!  My mom is going to make a quilt, bumpers, and a changing table pad cover:)  I can't wait to see what it looks like when it's all done!!! 

Le Bois

Kerry and his grill

Skyler seems to think that "Le Bois" is french or something for Boise....who knows.  Either way, Sky and I got to spend 4 whole days in the beautiful town of Boise with none other than the Smedley family:)  When we got there Kerry was firing up the grill for some good ol fashion 4th of July grilling.  We had delicious burgers and hot dogs with lots to go with them.  When we were done eating we went to downtown Boise to a park called "Ann Morrison Park"  or something like that and we were seriously SOOO close to the fireworks it made them look absolutely huge.  The scary part of the night was going to the Nampa Sonic for 1/2 off milkshakes where we very quickly learned where all of the pot head, drunken men, without shirts on hang out late at night are.  After waiting 20 minutes, we were informed that they weren't even taking orders because they were so busy.  That's when we went through the drive thru and called it a night:)

The two love birds:)

The next day, we went to the WATER PARK!!!  It's called Roaring Springs in Meridian and it was so fun:)  Even for a girl that can't ride the rides, I had a blast on the lazy river.  My funniest moment was when I spent about 20 minutes trying to find the beginning of the lazy river.......it wasn't til I saw a sign that said "Endless River"  that I realized I was a total blonde and I just hoped on in:)  After our day in the sun we went home and relaxed and later went to a really yummy Chinese restaurant in downtown Boise.  It was so good because you could tell it was really fresh!

Skyler's comment to this picture was "Syd look how much tanner I am than you."...little stinker.

Look at those smokin hott in-laws!

Here's the gang:)

Just relaxing in the shade:)

The following 2 days in Boise were spent doing what us Smedley/Brendle women do best....SHOP!!!!  Kenra and I had some serious success at second hand baby shops!  We got a ton of onesies for .95 each, it was super fun!  Skyler and I even went garage sale shopping on Saturday morning:)  We both left happy when I got a killer deal on some baby cloths and Skyler found a bike rack for our car.  We even scored and got a crib that is in excellent condition and is a "mini crib" so it actually fits in our apartment!

This is Sky's photography skills at work here:)

Well I guess this could count as my 25 week picture....except I don't look too pregnant...I'll work on that.

Ivy made me this amazing car seat cover!

Come Sunday we were not excited to leave at all...my exact words were "Can we just stay here for forever?"  and Kerry's response was...."Hey, we'll hold you to that."  We love spending time with family and Boise is such a fun place to visit.  Next time we'll be in town, we'll have a baby!!!!!

Celebrate America!

On Wednesday, Skyler and I had a conversation on the phone that went a little like this:

me:  I have an idea, how about we go on a "smokin hott date" this weekend and you plan it.
sky:  Ya, that sounds good
me:  so........are you going to ask me on a date then?
sky:  Hey Sydney, I was wondering if you would like to go on a date with me this weekend? 
me:  why yes I would love to:)

As a result of our Wednesday conversation, Saturday night was epic!  When we plan dates for each other we try to keep it a secret because we both like being surprised and we always try to come up with something as epic as possible.  Saturday afternoon rolled around and Sky revealed to me that for our date we were going to drive to Driggs to go to the "Huntsman's Celebrate America Event." 

It sounds super random, but it was awesome.  The Celebrate America Event is a big ol' party in a little town (populations: 1,439) where a very rich man named John Huntsman owns an extremely nice golf course.  This lovely man every year puts on this event where shows and events are held all day with bounce houses and food stands galore only to end with an incredible fireworks show at the end of the day.  Although there may only be a little over 1,000 people in Driggs, the whole town at least was there and thousands more had drove in to come see the spectacular event. 

Where we watched the fireworks:)

When we arrived, there was a hypnotist show and a BMX stunt show going on.  We had fun there and then went over to the food stands where we got some pretty good asian food.  I even tried a Pronto Pup corn dog!  It was delicious:)   We then went over to a huge grass field where we waited for the fireworks while listening to a live band that was actually REALLY good.  The firework show was incredible and basically summed up another amazing "smokin hott date" with Skyler:)

Happy 4th of July!

Half way mark!!

18 Weeks

19 Weeks

20 Weeks aka 5 MONTHS!!!

I am officially half way done with my pregnancy!!! I am 20 weeks and I'm really realizing that I don't look it haha.  Everyone says that this is the best part of your pregnancy and I totally agree.  I'm not sick at all and I'm not so big that I can't move.  At this point I feel like I should probably have a lot of kids since I'm so lucky; talk to me in a few months though and I'm sure I'll have changed my mind.  This Thursday Sky and I will find out what we're having!!!! I can't wait:) My money is still on that we're having a boy, but I guess we'll see.

P.S. I started to realize that my pictures with me and Jesus were getting a little weird:) haha so I switched the location of where I take the pictures haha!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Today is May 13th, 2012.  It is my first legitimate Mother's day:)    Today in church, we were at Skyler's singles ward and I thought to my self...hmmm I am the only mother in this whole entire room! :)  It kind of made me happy.

I was glad that my mom was able to visit last weekend.  Every time we spend time together I realize even more traits that I have because of her.  One thing we are really good at is laughing together and I love this picture taken at my wedding because it portrays it perfectly.  I'm so grateful for the things my mom has taught me and I can't wait for her to become a Grandmother!!

On the topic of being a mother, I get closer and closer everyday.  Unfortunately because Sky was in Guatemala, I didn't get a 15 and 16 week picture.  But here is my 17 week picture:)...still lacking in the belly department but I'm working on it!

My Belly:) P.S. I'm Pregnant!

12 Week!
Skyler and I found out we were pregnant on Valentine's day this year:)  It definitely made for a very happy day! Here are pictures of my belly, while others say I'm hardly showing, to me I feel huge already haha. 

13 Weeks!

14 Weeks!

Idaho Ballroom Academy

Here's the crew!  Yes we are wearing wigs, no you can't tell anyone apart, and yes the guys are wearing makeup.

This is my makeup all done and my hair ready to get a wig!

Did I mention we had to get a spray tan...

These are the manly men getting their hair and makeup done, poor guys.

I have spent every monday night for the last 7 months practicing for our competitions in Logan and Stanford where we would perform for a total of 10 mins.  As crazy as that sounds, it was totally worth it.  On April 14th both of our adult teams performed at a high school in Logan where we took 1st and 3rd place.  On April 21st, the next weekend we performed at Stanford University where we took 1st and 2nd!!  We, in other words swept them:)  It was super fun and even though our makeup and hair was absolutely ridiculous, it was fun to all get ready together.

Our Epic Outdoor Adventure!

In the coming of the new year, Sky and I decided to make some New Years resolutions.  We decided that we want to go the temple every week and to read our scriptures faithfully everyday.  We also decided that we want to be more "outdoorsy"....yup we want to be true Idaho outdoors folk:)

My Preparations:)

As the date planner this month, I took the bull by the horns!!  I went to the BYUI student outdoors activities list and found TONS of activities.  Seriously, if you live in Rexburg, you have no excuses for not going out and doing things outside.  There were a lot of intense activities but there were also some whimpy ones.  I feel like I found a happy medium.  I signed us up for "Get Connected Outdoors."  I like to compare it to a sampler plate of food; instead of eating a huge plate of one thing, you can have a little taste of everything.  So, we got a sampler plate of outdoor activities, we did cross-country skiing, snow shoeing, and sledding.

We cross-country skied to this yurt and had donuts and hot chocolate

I am a gangster skier, watch out!

We made a friend up at the cabin:)

 I am so glad we made this goal!! We had an absolute blast!  First off, it was dirt cheap.  For $10 a person we had bus fare out to Victory, ID (30min from Rexburg), Lunch(chili, roll, cookie, and unlimited hot chocolate), and full access to skis, snow shoes, and an awesome sledding hill with a lift and all.  It was so fun...we had so much fun that we have officially booked "sleigh ride and dinner" through the school and we're going skiing at Targhee Resort.

Snowshoes

GQ snowshoer

Feliz Navidad

This year was our year to spend Christmas as the Smedley's.  It was so fun:)  I love wrapping presents so I volunteered to help.  Little did I know that I would be wrapping 4 hours worth of unwrapping bliss.  Haha but seriously I love wrapping presents and I was in heaven wrapping all of them while watching chick flicks.

On Christmas day, we woke up, went to church, came home, ate dinner, and then opened presents.  If it was up to Sky, we would have been up at 4 am tearing into those things but he had to learn the gift of patients on Christmas:)  I was glad that we opened them last because it ended up taking 4 hours!!

Kenra is really good at noticing what people like so needless to say, we all had a blast opening our presents.  Skyler on the other hand gets the award for the husband who spoiled his wife the most award.  He surprised me and got me a macbook pro!!  I've been wanting one really bad and he bit the bullet and got me one:)

After Christmas, we drove to Oregon!  I love being home, especially since it doesn't happen very often.  We loved enjoying the Oregon winter weather and spending time with my crazy family:)  You know you're always in for a laugh with the Brendle's.  We got extra spoiled this year because we got to open our Christmas presents that my mom had got us.  She got Skyler a watch that he loves and got me some really cute cloths and accessories.

I love Christmas and that it means we get to spend time with our family's.