Hello Again!

So I kept waiting to hear back from Logan's internship to write an official "Hey, we're moving to the Tricities" blog... But they didn't give us a date and address until a week before we moved... So instead, I'm writing a "Hey, we moved to the Tricities" blog. :) Also, it's totally fine that I haven't blogged in 6 months...

Logan graduated!! Yay! We're done! We were sad to leave our friends in Rexburg, but glad to be moving on to the next phase of life.

Moving was a little nuts. We were hosting my family and Logan's, packing up, and celebrating Logan's graduation all at once. We spent a couple of days back on the family farm sorting through what we wanted to take with us. Our apartment here is provided by the company he is interning for, and is "furnished" ... sort of. So we didn't bring a whole lot of stuff.

The night before the big move to Washington, I woke up in the night with the stomach flu. (Audrey had it the night before.) I was pretty much no help whatsoever with packing up the trailer and deciding what to take. Logan and his family did it all! We only left a few important things behind... Who needs the other half of the baking supplies anyways?

Also, a 7-hour drive is not so awesome when you have the stomach flu. But, we made it in one piece, and were SO grateful for the help that Logan's family gave us.

Logan is loving his internship up here. He is farming, of course. They grow mainly potatoes and wheat, but also do some onions, carrots, and even organic peas. The "small" portion of the farm he is working on for this summer is 18,000 acres! He is learning the difference between a family farm and a corporate farm. There are lots of pros and lots of cons, just like anything. But, he is learning what he likes and lots of new ways of doing things.

One of the things he really likes about up here is how much he is learning about different ways to do what he's been doing his whole life. He says he asks questions all day, and is learning so much! He also gets to speak Spanish all day. He really likes that.

The thing we like least about being up here is that we are a 40 minute drive away from the farm, and family isn't really allowed to be involved on the farm. We also only have 1 car, so Audrey and I pretty much hang out in the apartment all day everyday, which gets really old. But, it's only a few months... And we're thinking about buying a second car.

Also, did I mention he is working 6AM-6PM, plus the long commute? I'm only going crazy on some days.

P.S. Can anyone tell me why I decided not to bring books or other craft stuff? I only brought stuff to sew... And I don't even like sewing. Maybe I'll be singing a different tune in a couple of months.

We celebrated our 2nd anniversary. So I guess we're totally an old married couple now. Obviously.

Audrey turned ONE last week. I can hardly believe it! She is such a delight and we love her! She's walking pretty well, but still choosing to crawl a lot too. She has 6 teeth. She loves books and dancing to any kind of beat. She is still a Daddy's girl, but likes Mom ok too.

We did a little smash cake, and she really went to town on it. She even wanted to share with Mom and Dad.

    

Yum. Slimey frosting hands.

And as far as farm quirks go....

I've only been out to the farm one time, but I can tell you one new thing about this farm. Remember when I told you what a pivot is? (Yes, this is a test.) Well, here, they call them circles instead of pivots. Ta da! I totally know everything about Washington farming... [Insert cheesy grin here]

Just remember that bringing only sewing stuff to a new state does not make you like it, and you always need an umbrella when you live in Washington. :)

The 6-Month-Old Mermaid

So, I know I've been a super consistent blogger... Ok, not at all. Repenting now. :)

We haven't been spending a whole lot of time in good ole Farmtown, USA these days. I've been asked to serve as Relief Society President in our ward, and Logan has been busy with classes and other school things he is involved in. So, we've been busy here, and I've been a little short on good farm material. But, we will be back on a farm before we know it.

Logan has been applying and interviewing for internships with farms all over the country the last couple of weeks. It is kind of exciting to think about where we will be spending next Summer. We have a lot of good options. The truth is... Farm life is just a good life. We're looking forward to learning a bit about other farms [and especially their quirks]!

In other news...

Something crazy has happened at our house. I've never really liked sewing. But, all of a sudden, when it started to get all Autumnish, it is all I wanted to do! (Sewing is a stereotypical farm wife thing to do, right?) I sewed a ton of things! I made some cute little tea towel aprons, a door quieter, flannel sheets for Audrey's crib, AND a little mermaid costume for Audrey.

   

And let me tell you. If I decide to make her costume next year, I either need to start in June, or become a WAY better seamstress by then.

I found the fabric in the remnant box at Walmart a couple of months ago. It was just wide enough to go around her waist, and plenty long. I waited till the week of our church Halloween party to make it to make sure it would fit. I didn't use a pattern. I just laid her on it and eyeballed it because it is stretchy and is a pretty simple project [in theory, at least].

But, my good ole machine would not sew on the cheap, shiny fabric. It would end up skipping a bunch of stitches in a row and the thread kept jumping. I tried everything the internet had to offer. I tried tissue paper. I tried changing the needle, the thread, and the tension. Nothing helped. So, I had to hand stitch most of it. (While Audrey slept on my lap because we both had a cold and she wouldn't let me put her down.) Thank goodness I have a tiny daughter.

When I got to the fin, I cut a piece of muslin to line it with, which allowed me to use my machine, thank goodness. In the end, it was a little crooked, but it turned out alright for a noob without a pattern! And honestly, Audrey would look cute in a paper bag.

Speaking of Audrey, she is 6 months old as of yesterday!! I can hardly believe it. She loves to talk and laugh. She smiles when I say "Say cheese!" She loves broccoli and trying anything that we are eating. She's starting to imitate a few things like saying "mmmm" with us when she's eating. She's a totally independent sitter, but when she tips over, it is not graceful. She started teething at 3.5 months, but still hasn't cut any. They are so close though! She scoots a little bit, but not very much. She sure is fun!

  

   

We sure live a blessed life!

Baby Weather

[Insert great news jingle here]

Special Weather Report

We’ve been having some pretty severe weather in our area this week.

       

We’ve had scattered spit ups and a bout of blowouts. There has also been severe screaming and gusts of giggles. We’ve been especially lucky to enjoy bursts of babbling and an extended cover of cooing.

Readers are advised never to enter the storm area without a full-body hazmat suit. People may say that it is safe to enter armed only with a burp cloth, but this is simply untrue. The precipitation can and will find it’s way over, around, and under said burp cloth and onto any inch of skin or fabric within a 1-mile radius. Tarps covering any surface may also be advised.

    

One recent blowout was so severe that it affected 6 separate areas in the vicinity. Affected areas included: the couch, Mom’s pants, the burp cloth, the rug, the playmat, and the baby herself. Surprisingly enough, the outfit on said baby was unaffected. Miracles do happen, folks. (Proof below. Spot the blowout site.)

    

It has been reported that the residents are taking the damages with an excellent attitude. Their coping methods include blogging about it, laughing, taking pictures, and using lots and LOTS of wipes. The reported damages have already been repaired and spirits are high on the premises.

This Special Weather Report was brought to you by Your Local News 3. Your best source on all things Searle.

Up Next… The Waving Reflex

Ok, thanks for humoring me. (Not that you had a choice.) I hope you read that in your very best news caster voice. If you didn’t, I must insist that you start over and do so. It really adds to the effect. ;)

We’ve been back on the farm for almost a week now. It is just crazy how quickly we transition back into this life. We got here in the evening. Logan helped me unload the car, threw on his farm boy clothes, and was out the door and on the 4-wheeler in less than 5 minutes. Harvest is well underway, and the grain dust is giving us gorgeous sunsets every night.

The next morning as Audrey and I drove out to ride with him for a little while, I noticed that my waving reflex is alive and well. I thought living in the big city [Haha… Rexburg…] would have gotten rid of the reflex, but this isn’t the case.

Around here, on these country roads, everyone waves to each other as they pass. It doesn’t matter if you know them or not. You just wave. Another thing that is different about driving here is that it is VERY common to be driving down the road and come across a slow truck, combine, 4-wheeler, or tractor. Instead of it being something that people get really frustrated about and lay on the horn… it’s just another reason to wave. You wave in thanks and understanding as they move over so you can pass them.

Say what you will about the evils of a small town. As for me, I love the sense of community and the slower pace of this life.

We like being here even if the Harvest Widow life is even harder when you’ve got a 3-month-old. I’m sure it’ll get even tougher as we acquire more children.

Audrey will be 3 months old tomorrow! We had a bit of a weight gain battle in the first couple of months, but we are now supplementing, and she is gaining weight and growing up so fast! It was really hard for me to have to supplement Audrey. I really wanted to exclusively breastfeed. It has been difficult and emotional from the start, which I know is really normal for breastfeeding. But, she simply wasn’t getting what she needed, despite constant eating. She was losing weight without ever having regained her birth weight. But, since we started adding some formula into the mix, she has been plumping up and is getting back on track. She still nurses pretty well and will take the bottle too. She likes to keep me guessing and switch up which one she is going to prefer every time she eats though. ;) It’s been hard to do both, but for now, it is working for us.

Audrey loves to talk, laugh, and sing along when Mom is singing to her. She loves Mr Lion and all of her books. She is a Daddy’s girl to the core, and looks more and more like him every day. She is currently boycotting long naps, early bedtime (this means any time before 11:30), and any semblance of a regular schedule. She sleeps through the night and is often a happy little girl.

We blessed her on July 3rd. It was a wonderful experience, and we were surrounded by lots of friends and family.

A few assorted pictures...

         

I can now lay on my stomach! I can lift things again. I still have really messed up abs. I tried doing some ab workouts the other day and it still really hurts my incision. Random things tend to do that. We'll get there eventually. I'm glad to be feeling more back to normal. Although, I must say that I'm not sure I would have been quite so excited about my little 16 week baby bump if I knew my belly would continue to look about that big this long after having Audrey... ;)

I am learning all about humility and exhaustion. I am learning to find joy in the mundane and the repetitive. Some days are better than others. But Audrey ‘s smiles and laughs really buoy me up. It’s really fun now that she likes having “sophisticated” conversations with me all day. AND I am really lucky to have awesome family and a loving and supportive husband. I’ve learned just how awesome he really is since he’s been out of the house all day and into the night. I love you, Logan. Thanks for calling me during the day and keeping me sane. And thanks for working so hard all day. You da best!

I’ve most especially learned a lot about how our Heavenly Father feels about us, His children. Being a parent truly does bring us closer to Him if we let it.

Here is your semi-regular, end-of-blog, unsolicited tip:

The Fels-Naptha laundry bar is AMAZING! It is a buck at Wal-Mart and gets poop stains out like a dream. (I’ve also heard that it does wonders on grass stains.) As far as I’m concerned, it could only make me happier if it folded my laundry for me. ;) 

Audrey Jo: The Birth Story [Finally]

Fact: The day before my c section, I had "The Final Countdown" stuck in my head. The whole day.

I expected to be stressed and running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get things done. BUT, I was actually calm, and got everything done early. I had time to rest, and Logan and I got to enjoy a "Last Supper" of Chinese food, and just spend time hanging out. This is a DEFINITE perk to having a planned c section.

We woke up early and got to the hospital about 5 AM. They hooked me all up to an IV, gave me a catheter [yeowch.], and made me sign a bunch of paperwork about the possibility of losing my limbs and other such pleasantries. We had to wait for a bit while I got stronger and stronger contractions [thanks, catheter] and baby kept kicking me right in the bladder [thanks, catheter].

They dressed Logan up like a mad scientist and wheeled me into this room with bright alien lights. I was pretty sure I'd been abducted for a few minutes.

Note: The expression on my face is purely because of the catheter. Let me tell you. I really hated that thing. 

They did my spinal block and laid me out on the operating table. They even strapped my arms out to the sides like a cross, which was a little disconcerting. The spinal block started making me sick about the time they had Logan come in, seconds before they made the actual incision. The nurse anesthetist had his hands full shooting all kinds of anti-nausea things into my IV. Logan watched the whole thing up by my head. I couldn't see past the drape, but I could see the reflection of things below if I looked up at the alien lights. I chose not to look most of the time.

I felt lots of pressure and pulling. Its like I could feel everything they were doing, it just didn't hurt at all. Logan felt particularly honored because he got some blood on his little shoe cover things. Apparently there was a lot of it.

I really liked having the nurse anesthetist and Logan up by me because they kept me updated. Here's what I remember hearing.

NA:
I was a little worried that I wasn't numb enough because it just happened so fast. "They've already made the incision. Everything's going well."
"I just gave you some meds that are going to make you feel like you're floating in the clouds for a couple of minutes."
"You're going to hear a sucking noise. That means they broke the amniotic sac. Then you'll feel lots of tugging as they pull her out. You're gonna hear her cry soon after."

Logan:
"Are you doing ok? You can't feel it?"
"This is really cool."
"Woah! That's a lot of water."
And when they pulled her out, "Oh my goodness! She's so cute! She's really cute. Good job, Honey."


Usually with c sections, the drill is that they hold the baby up so the mom can see him or her and pass them through the window to NICU to get cleaned out really fast, then bring them back. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case for me.

I heard the sucking, and I felt a whole bunch of tugging. This is the time that I actually looked up at the alien lights and could see a bluish little baby being pulled out, feet first. When I heard her little cry, I cried. It was an amazing feeling knowing that she was here and she was ok, and she was ours. It felt like a miracle. The waiting was over, finally! Or so I thought...

I heard Logan comment on her cuteness, and a nurse say, "She's too slippery to hold up." Then, she was gone. I didn't get to see her at all! At this point, everyone was busy getting me all stitched up and pumping all kinds of stuff into my IV. I was so sick, and I just wanted to see my baby. Stitching up is the longest part of the whole operation. I thought they'd bring her back, just like they said, but they came back and told us they'd need to keep her a little while because she needed oxygen.

Logan got to go back and be with her though while they stitched me up. They wheeled me to a room where I kept dry heaving because there was nothing in my stomach to throw up. After a few minutes, I was really uneasy because Logan wasn't with me, so I asked where he was and they brought him to me. He sat with me and showed me pictures of our little girl and told me how great she was. They would be keeping her for 6 hours. I couldn't go see her because I was sick and numb from the waist down.

Here's a lovely picture of me feeling sick and holding a barf bag.

After a little while, Logan went back to be with her. A nurse came in to give me painkillers, and she brought the ones that make me really sick. [I'd already had an extensive talk with my doctor about this, and I was so frustrated.] I finally just broke down and cried and had Logan come back.

It was pretty awful, I won't lie.

They moved me to my official room. They gave me different painkillers, which I threw up. They gave me ice chips, which I threw up. They gave me jello... Which I threw up.

FINALLY, after a little more than 6 hours, they brought her up with a cute little bow on her head. And she was everything Logan had said and more. She was perfect.

And she was officially Audrey Jo Searle. Born at 7:14 AM on April 27, 2016. 7 lbs and 20 inches. Lots of dark hair, her daddy's toes, and a really excellent natural latch with breastfeeding.

And yes, I cried the whole time I wrote about not getting to see her for 6 hours. I never knew that not seeing someone I didn't even know yet could be so traumatic.

But everything was fine once I got to hold her and love on her. We're bonded, and all's well.

I was finally able to keep down food and get up and walk a couple of times the next day. We stayed for one more day and left the next day after lunch.

Recovery was a little rough for me the first couple of weeks because the good painkillers make me throw up and my swelling got worse for a few days instead of going down. And my milk took FOREVER to come in... Or so it seemed to me. But after a week and a halfish, I was off of all medications and started to be able to bend and use my abs again. I'm still not allowed to lift more than 10-15 lbs, but overall, I am feeling SO much better than I was for the first week. My incision is only a little tender. Being able to sit up on my own is something I hope to never take for granted again. ;)

Thank goodness I had Logan and my mom to help me. I was pretty useless.

Mother's Day this year made me especially grateful for fathers. [I know. That's probably against the rules, but it's true.] I feel SO grateful that a loving Father in Heaven has this awesome plan that we can choose a partner to work with us through this really hard and really important thing called parenthood. I feel for those parents who parent alone. I can't even imagine.

(This is us on Cinco de Mayo. It's an important holiday for us because we met 2 years ago when we got assigned to plan a Cinco de Mayo activity for church. We bought this little sombrero as when we were first pregnant because we knew we'd have a little child to wear it in May.)

I'm especially grateful for my husband. I was so sick and weak in the first few days that I couldn't even be up or bent over enough to change Audrey's diaper. Logan learned swaddling, diaper changing, and bathing in her first days, and continues to help with them often. He is a way better swaddler than I am. He's been peed on multiple times. He's my breastfeeding coach [because breastfeeding has seriously been one of the hardest things I've ever had to learn], my own personal chef, and my shoulder to cry on. He takes shifts to stay up with Audrey at night and takes her when he sees I need a break. ["She needs her dad right now."] He falls asleep with the pink boppy pillow, and sings silly songs about pushing out toots and diaper changing. I married an excellent father. This makes being a mother so much easier.

She'll be a month old this week, and I'm sure I'll just amaze you with my next blog about her first month and my wealth of knowledge about parenting...

But really. I've learned a lot already.

And isn't she just adorable?