1st Family Vacation

Brian and I love taking little weekend trips to Park City and Deer Valley. 

We figured taking Rylan on one would be a good introductory vacation because if it became too annoying, we could easily drive home without problem.We had fun and Rylan did okay.

However, I now know why my parents always seemed to be in a bad mood on vacations.

Vacationing with children = exhaustion.

I felt like I needed a vacation from the vacation!

Here are some photos of our first family "vacation" (lol!) to Deer Valley:

Before we drove up to Deer Valley, Brian wanted to take us to a place he has been raving about since he started working at Overstock. It is a super delicious Vietnamese restuarant called Oh Mai. I got a honey glazed pork sandwich... Delicious! Brian got Pho and I snuck a few bites of that as well... delicious again! 

Then, we drove to City Creek to do a bit of shopping. Rylan was mesmerized by the water/light show in the middle of the mall. If we turned to leave she would start to fuss. She was completely entranced by it. 

Rylan lives a very posh lifestyle...

It was a bit cold on our way up. We enjoyed warming up by the fire together. 

This fireplace kept us sane.

If Rylan started fussing, we would set her up next to it. She would watch the dancing flames and the warmth often put her to sleep.

Rylan had a rough time going to sleep, most likely due to her unfamiliar surroundings. 

Much to our dismay, she fell asleep around 3 AM.

Yeah...

The next morning we woke up around 9:30 and rushed downstairs for breakfast. They serve an amazing breakfast. Cheese blintz, canadian bacon, eggs, potatoes, oatmeal, banana walnut pancakes, fruit... scrumptious!

After we got back to our room, we took a nap.

We let Rylan have the bed and we slept on the sectional. 

Then we all got ready to go on a drive/nature walk.

On our way to Brighton. 

Brian pondering life alongside a cliff... 

:)

While the colors of the leaves changing were incredible. My favorite were the mountains covered completely in pines. 

Christmas Mountain.

While Rylan was sleeping, we ran out of the car for a grand total of 45 seconds to take a scenic selfie.

When we got to Brighton, we spotted a loud waterfall and decided to take a very short, very very short, nature walk to it.

This picture cracks me up because Brian looks like a mountain man.

Ugh, that beard and mustache though....

CREEP FEST!

Chilling by the "waterfall"

It looks small, but it was seriously loud.

Kind of like Rylan!

Later that night we decided to go into town and eat dinner. We went to a pretty good Greek place. It wasn't anything like Greek City Grill, but it filled us up.

Afterwards, we went to the store and got a couple of yummy treats and a scary movie. 

We enjoyed a relaxing night by the fire and jacuzzis. 

While also judging people walking around outside in their robes.

We seriously saw a lady in our hotel 6 or 7 times through our 3 day stay and every time we saw her she was in a robe... 

The next morning we woke up early to eat breakfast (seriously, it's gotta be good if I'll wake up early for it!)

But as we were heading out, Brian noticed it was snowing!

We took a couple of shots of Rylan's first snow fall.

It's kind of hard to see the flakes, but you can see it on the roofs.

By the time we left the hotel, all the snow had melted. 

I'm glad it didn't follow us home.

I'm not ready to start cleaning snow off my car in the morning...

I don't even want to think about it!

It was a super fun vacation. Rylan made a ton of friends. Seriously, that kid has way more friends than I do.

But I don't blame them.

It's easy to become obsessed with a chubby, red haired baby.

Especially when she has a smile that lights up the room along with her Emerald green eyes!

Who could resist?!

And speaking of resisting....

She must get her irresistible nature from her dad

Oh gosh...

Sorry if this image haunts your thoughts for the rest of eternity.

It's finally October!

Oh. My. Gosh.

Can we just soak in the fact that it's October right now?!?

I freaking love October! 

It is my favorite month... and my birthday is in August so that's saying a lot!

Before we get to October though, let's recap September.

Brian, Rylan and I went to Chalk the Block at the Riverwoods. Rylan saw half naked men play (pathetically) with fire. Brian had his first funnel cake, yeah. 

Seriously?

Who did I marry?

We also went to the women's expo at UVU where we ran into the first human Rylan ever met! Our sweet Obstetrician, Dr. Allen. 

I tell people when this man retires, I stop having children.

People laugh, like it's a joke.

But I'm dead serious.

Brian and I went to Boondocks to go-kart with his brother and sister and their spouses. 

Emily, Suzie and I discovered we are a walking joke.. literally.

Rylan bonded with her dad on her first date.

Last weekend, Brian and his brother Ben went to the Olympic Park in Park City, Utah. Suzie and I had purchased Bobsledding living social deals so they could go together. They had a great time. Rylan joined in on the fun and went snowboarding. She is a natural.

This month is incredibly important and dear to me as it will be the last month that we will spend in this home, in this neighborhood, in the ward, in Utah County. 

I am so sad.

As you guys know, Brian accepted a job at Overstock.com in April. He loves it. However, it is located in Cottonwood Heights, which is about an hour away from where we currently live. Sometimes with traffic it takes an hour and fifteen minutes...

and it's not even snowing yet.

After a lot of discussion, a lot of apartment hunting and a lot of tears (mostly from me) we found a place closer to Brian's work.

I know it is the right thing to do. Brian will be closer to work so he will have more time to spend with us and more time to sleep. I have lived in Utah County for six years. It's probably time for a change. Our new place is more than twice the size of this place. It has 3 bedrooms which allows Rylan to have  her own nursery (instead of sleeping in our room... awful! Her noises are sweet but not at 4 AM!) and Brian will have a little office and I will have a little craft room. We will have our own backyard and patio and the place has just been remodeled. And... they are letting us bring Kyoto! We are probably going to get fat since all of our favorite places to eat are up there!

It's just heartbreaking to me because we have made some really great friends here. I love my neighborhood. Everyone is so friendly and they really took us in when we moved here. I love working with my young women. I have recently gained a lot more responsibility in my calling which I love. Brian just got a calling after somehow dodging one for a year and five months... 

In our first apartment, before we moved to this one, we were in a neighborhood that was NOT very friendly. No one in our ward spoke to us and our bishop only spoke to us one time in the whole year and a half that we lived there. We felt like outcasts in our primary calling. In this neighborhood, we have felt so much more involved and accepted. I guess I'm just afraid that this new ward/neighborhood will be like the last one we were in. 

Ugh.. yesterday after coming home for Young Women, I became very emotional. It's a scary, daunting realization that I will have to start all over again. But, it will be good (I keep convincing myself). 

*sigh*

In other news... Rylan is cute. She is a also a creep.

Rylan's Baby Blessing.

Rylan is a huge blessing in our lives.

We absolutely adore her.

Especially now that she is starting to sleep through the night.

Not that we didn't love her before, but that definitely helps.

LOL!

In our faith, when babies are born we perform a special ordinance called a baby blessing. It is very similar to the Catholic (and other Christian religions) tradition of christening.

The babies wear all white and are blessed in our meeting house during our regular church meetings. They can also be performed at your home with an elder of our church present to witness the ordinance.

The father of the child is typically the one who blesses the baby and others (usually family and close friends) are invited to participate by standing in a circle around the baby. It is, in short, a special prayer in which the father of the child can relay his hopes and dreams for his new child.

Brian and I are not public speakers. We get uneasy speaking in front of large groups. Needless to say, Brian was a bit nervous to bless Rylan in front of our congregation of about 150 people. I was having sympathy nerves for Brian because I knew how frightened I would be if I had to do it.

Brian did a wonderful job. The blessing was beautiful and many of our family members and friends had tears in their eyes. 

Rylan wore the baby blessing dress that I wore for mine, 24 years ago. 

She looked so beautiful in it.

This is one of the only pics Rylan actually looked at the camera.

Me and my little love.

3 generations of women.

My side of the family.

Brian's side of the family.

She is so excited for her first white dress day!

I also celebrated my 24th birthday on the same day as Rylan's blessing. 

I happily took a backseat to Rylan's big day.

Here I am with some of my awesome, amazing and inspiring girl cousins.

I love them.

Baby, wedding and a Family Reunion

I'm attempting to catch up since the last time I wrote. It's proven harder than I had initially anticipated. This post is not in chronologically correct but I figured..

What the hay? I'll get it up here anyway!

Didn't mean to rhyme...that would be incredibly... lame... or is it awesome?!? No.

It should go in order of most recent to less recent with a few exceptions:

We just love our little sweetie. We most definitely love entertaining ourselves at her expense. It keeps things lively. 

I can almost hear her little teenage voice in my mind.

She is going to hate us... lol!

I remember when I purchased this little pea coat. I can't imagine she already fits in it. Especially since it is 6 months and she pretty much fits it. 

What a chunky monkey.

We had so much fun at our first Campbell Family reunion. Our plan is to do one year close to home, the next year away. This is a few pictures from the awesome relay race Ben and Suzie put on.

This is of the Oreo Challenge.

Ben beat Brian by a landslide.

I am ashamed of him. 

Just kidding.

This is the egg balancing portion of the race.

You had to transfer the egg from your spoon to the others. 

It is not as easy as one might think.

We went on an awesome hike to Stewart Falls. We left around 9 and were worried it would get too hot before we returned but it all ended up working perfectly. Luckily the hottest part was by the falls. Most of the hike was in the shade of trees anyways.

It was Rylan's first outdoor adventure.

Pretty intense for a 2 month old baby. 

Rylan is hardcore.

The only "somewhat" family picture we got from the hike. 

Rylan's in it... she is just basking in the shade of her blankie.

I can't believe the leaves are changing already. 

Beautiful.

Rylan was mad the 5 minutes she was awake out of the entire 2.5 hour hike.

We were lucky she slept the whole way.

We worried her cries might attract mountain lions...

I think the holiday decor around here at stores is absolute crap.

Everything is doused in glitter.

So we make our own.

The first time Pop Pop met Rylan. 

They have very similar hairlines wouldn't you say?

We took Rylan to Color Me Mine when she was a month old and make some pieces with her cute little feet and toes.

I have a happy girl.

We just love her. 

She is the absolute sweetest.

Brian's brother, Ben, married his beautiful girlfriend in August.

Brian tells me it was a beautiful ceremony, out in the country.

I wasn't able to make it since I was still recovering from labor.

I did however attend the reception for a bit and that was stunning as well.

Suzie is awesome.

We just adore her.

She brings so much life and laughter to our family.

Family Picture.

(Minus Josh).

Mommy myths I foolishly believed.

This month of being a mommy has been a trying experience to say the very least...

Here are some mommy myths that I foolishly believed:

1.Vaginal deliveries, being the most natural, will be easier.

They actually are, however, I had a 3rd degree tear (yeah that means I tore into the muscle) and that has been very debilitating. I can't sit or stand for a long time because the pain and itching is simply overwhelming. This might seem weird or even dramatic, but I feel like recovering from the 3rd degree tear has effected the bonding experience. Because it is so painful for me to move, especially from a laying position to a standing position, I was getting super upset with her when I would put her down and then lay down, only for her to cry 3 minutes later. I started to resent her, in a sense, because I was in so much pain. "Don't you know what you did to me? Be nice!!!"

2. Rest as much as you can at the hospital because you won't be able to rest as much at home.

Ok. I had to be in the hospital for like 3 days. Most unrestful 3 days of my entire life. They kept coming in every hour to do something. 

"We have to check your/Rylan's vitals." 

"I'm the lactation specialist, just checking in."

"Would you like to take advantage of this opportunity and be vaccinated yourself?"

"Sorry to bother you again, but I forgot to see if your husband wanted to be vaccinated too?"

"We need to take Rylan for this test, you have to come with us.. now!"

"Do you want us to take newborn pictures done?"

Oh my heck! Just leave me alone!!!! I ended up having Brian be a bouncer, literally telling people they were not allowed in, unless it was to check vitals because it had been 2 days and I had only slept 3.5 hours.

While my sleep is unpredictable and limited, being home, is much more relaxing than being at the forsaken place!

3. Newborns sleep 15-20 hours a day.

I guess this isn't really a myth. Rylan does sleep a lot, but she only sleeps 2 hours at a time. For some reason I thought she would sleep 4 times in like 5 hour increments. No such luck. She does sleep 6 hours through the night... if she feels like being nice.

4. Breastfeeding, being the most natural, is easy.

First off, no one told me that you develop flu-like symptoms when your milk comes in. I literally thought I was dying. My mom didn't know because she wasn't able to nurse us, so she thought I was dying too. Breastfeeding hurt like a mother, too! Um... bleeding? Chaffing? Kill me? 

Nobody tells me nothing!!! Probably because it might have changed my mind.

I do like breastfeeding now. The initial pain was just a hurdle that took about a week to overcome. Rylan can only sleep if I nurse, it's very comforting to her and we get a lot of snuggle time that way, so it's worth it. It helped my tummy contract and I'm only 7 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight.

5. When you have the baby, most of the weight will shed away.

Not true. Not true. Not true. It was 4 AM, in my hospital bathroom the first time I saw my stomach after having the baby. I literally had a melt down. Most likely the result of shock, exhaustion and utter disbelief... It has gone away but seriously, no one told me. I brought my pre-pregnancy jeans to leave the hospital. Yeah that wasn't happening. Thank goodness I had brought some stretchy leggings!

6. Labor/Delivery is the scariest part.

Ok, seriously? No! I have been more terrified and paranoid of my imminent demise in the past 3 weeks than I have been in my entire life. I have no idea what "normal" is or how this new "normal" is supposed to feel. Therefore any change from the norm, ultimately means death. Obviously.

Also... did you know redheads tend to bleed more during and after delivery as well as after surgical procedures?

Me either.

Lucky me.

I thought I was dying! Thanks for letting me know Doctors!!!

There are positive things I planned on writing about... however Rylan is freaking out so I gotta go.

Rain check.

I really should be sleeping...

"La Jefa" which means, "the boss" in Spanish is taking her diva nap, so I really should be sleeping. But I just can't at the moment, so I figured I would take a few moments to write a little about my birthing experience while the details are somewhat fresh in my head. I'm sure there are already so many things I have forgotten... Blacked out maybe, haha!

On Friday, July 11th, I went to my regular weekly check up. I was feeling miserable. I felt like I had the flu coming on. I was light headed and dizzy. I had hoped my trip to the Dr's would be brief, as it normally was. Unfortunately, this was not the case. I was measuring a bit small, so the Dr. was worried the baby might be growth restricted. He sent me to get an ultrasound and it was confirmed that the baby was measuring a bit on the small side, and I didn't have as much amniotic fluid as I was supposed to. The Dr. then had me to a NST, to check baby's heart rate. She passed with flying colors and I was sent home after making several appointments to retest on Monday afternoon.

The whole weekend was miserable. I was feeling very nauseas. I wanted to make sure Brian and I did something fun, as I didn't know if this would be our last weekend "alone." So we went shopping, out to dinner, to get a slushie and watched a movie. The next day, I was exhausted and very uncomfortable at church. I could hardly concentrate on anything that anyone was saying. I was in a complete daze. 

After church, we dinner hopped. First to my in-laws and next to my aunt's to see my mom. I started getting super grouchy around 9:30 and we left. 

That night I had a dream I was walking in the dark in a creepy city and out of nowhere- someone shot me in the back. I awoke from my dream and had a sharp pain in my lower back. I was having, what I now realize was one of my first contractions. Brian says, "I was a trooper." as I waited as long as I could to go to the hospital. I had contractions from 12:30- 9:45 when my water broke and I had the scary realization that this was go time!

We got to the hospital and I was put into a big room. They tried several times to put an IV in my arm and failed (I have tricky veins) and it wasn't until 2:00 that I started receiving my fluids and antibiotics. They told me that the anesthesiologist would be in about 45 minutes as he was finishing up with a surgery. I was happy about that as I needed some time to mentally prepare. The epidural was something I had been terrified of since the day I found out I was pregnant. Not two minutes later, the anesthesiologist walked in and I started balling. I was so scared. The Dr. joked and said, "You're crying that I'm here now.. but when I finish with you, you will be smiling from ear to ear I promise." 

He was right. 

My Dr. came to visit me during his dinner break and did an ultrasound to make sure that the baby was still head down. He gave me a hug and then left. He really is the sweetest Dr. ever.

After that it was just a ton of waiting.

I went from a 4 to a 9 in less than 2 hours. We waited for the Dr to finish with another birth in the room next to mine, meanwhile they started to prepare the room. I thought, "Holy Crap! This is real talk now!!" My mom held one leg as my nurse held the other. Brian sat behind the bed and gave me massages in between contractions and helped to support my neck while I pushed.

I was pushing for 2.5 hours when the nurse said, "maybe we should taper off your epidural, I think it would help you tell where you are supposed to be pushing." 

I was like, "No! Ok, I'll make you a deal. You give me two more tries of pushing and if I'm still not pushing properly, then taper me off."

She gave me a funny look like, "yeah right as if that's gonna work." and relented to my request.

My next contraction, I focused so hard on the push and guess what?! I shocked them!

"Yes! Keep doing that!" She and the Dr. exclaimed. (That's how I had Rylan pain free)!

After 3.5 hours of pushing, the Dr. worried about me becoming too exhausted and the baby was stuck behind the pelvic bone. Her poor face kept scraping up against it, and she was stressed. He suggested I think about using forceps to get the baby out in the next 5 minutes. After discussing the pros and cons and potential risks and benefits. We decided we would do it.

Baby Stats:

Name: Rylan Eve Campbell

Born: July 15, 2014

Time: 12:45

Weight: 7 lbs 3 oz.

Length: 19.5 inches

Hair: Strawberry Blonde

Eye Color: At time of birth dark blue/grey. They are getting greener everyday. 

When she was finally born, I felt like crying for joy, but instead I just couldn't stop smiling. They placed her on my chest. She was all slimy and smelled kind of gross but I didn't care. My little baby girl was here. She cried and cried and snuggled up against me. She was so warm and snuggly. 

Afterwards, the Dr. told me she was beautiful and gave me a hug.

I have to say birth was not as scary as I thought it would be. I think that was a blessing. If it had been a traumatizing experience, I would've had to seriously think about getting pregnant again in the future!

Honestly, the two night/three day stay at the hospital afterwards was torture compared to the birth! I wanted to get out and do things, but couldn't because I was confined to my little hospital hotel room. I also couldn't sleep at night because every three hours they would come to check my vitals and every four hours they would come in to check Rylan's. I was going insane!

My dad bought me beautiful flowers.

I could not get ready fast enough when both my OB and Rylan's pediatrician discharged us. 

We are now happy and comfortable at home. While Rylan still has her days and nights confused, we are enjoying spending time with our new little stinker. We have lots of pet names for her already. 

Including: Squirt (she has huge eyes and reminds me of the baby turtle from Finding Nemo), Lady Bug, La Jefa (The boss), Peliroja Peligrosa (the dangerous redhead) and baby cakes.

It's so bizarre how quickly you can fall in love with such a little person.

Before she was born, I couldn't believe she was coming. After her birth, I can't believe there was ever a time when she wasn't here with me.

I love my little girl.