Week One

AJ has been home for a week now. He has been a great baby. Doesn't really cry unless you change his diaper or make him naked in anyway. We did have some issues with feeding. He really didn't want to breastfeed at first and still has issues with it. I finally broke down and gave him a bottle when we got home. The good thing is that he is only taking breast milk so I don't feel to bad about it.

The girls have been fawning all over him. I have to make sure that they get all of their homework and chores done before they hold him or play with him. Alex has been great with helping me out. The first few nights had been rough with lack of sleep. I didn't much sleep while at the hospital and then top it off with less sleep at home and the stress of not feeding my baby the way I wanted to was taking it's toll. So Alex came up with a plan. He stays up til wee hours of the morning with AJ so I can get a good block of sleep and then I wake up with him the rest of the night and morning so Alex can sleep. I seemed to have gotten the short end of the stick since he thinks he needs to sleep all day long.

AJ's first week has been a busy one with doctor appointments and his first photo shoot with a friend of mine who specializes in newborn pictures. He even went with me to take the girls to young women's where he was ohhhed and awwed by everyone.

Can't wait to see what the next few weeks bring to us.

Introducing....

We are proud to introduce the newest member of our family, Alexander Hyon Harmon Jr (a.ka. AJ) He joined our family at 12:25 pm on January 19, 2012 at Martin Army Community Hospital. He was 8lb 11oz and 20.5in long. He was born via c-section. All went well with his birth. The first thing the doctor said was how big his head was and what a big boy he is. Yes he came out with the Mitchell head. He has some of the longest toes I have ever seen. They look like money toes and he can grip really well with them.

Mommy, Daddy and sisters are so happy to have him in our family. He looks just like Alex and of course I was prepared for that. All the kids came out looking like him. The girls are proud big sisters that have told everyone that they can about their new baby brother. We even sent some pics with them to school so they could show all of their friends.

I can say that I am so happy to not be pregnant anymore. The surgery went well for me. I did get sick but for me that is normal. Alex was able to be there for the birth but was not able to watch unlike with the girls. He was however able to cut the cord and I was able to see him for a few minutes before they took him to the nursery to be cleaned up. We had lots of vistors while we were in the hospital. A lot of them were people that Alex works with in the hospital. They were all surprised to see how much AJ looked like his daddy.

Start of the Second Trimester

We had an ultra sound done a week or so ago to see how the baby was growing. It was great to be able to see the baby so soon. Alex and I got to share this wonderful experience with the girls. Sam was doing her "I'm excited but don't want to show it" look. We did find out that this is a VERY active baby. The doctor had a hard time getting the heart beat because it was moving so much. Can't wait though to find out what it is so I can start planning the nursery.

I think what I have been enjoying most about this pregnancy is that I get to share it with the girls. Sam and I talk about the baby all the time. She likes to hear stories about when I was pregnant with her and her sister. I think out of the both of them and even Alex she is the most excited.

The girls are always asked what they would like to have a brother or a sister. Ashley says brother but Sam says sister. She says that so it won't jinx the baby. So I guess she is secretly hoping for a brother.

I can't believe how different this pregnancy has been. My pregnancy's with the girls were a breeze. I don't know if it is because it is a boy or if this is my last pregnancy but this kid is driving me crazy. Everything that I did not experience in the last pregnancy I am getting a double dose now. I finally got rid of the morning sickness and tiredness and now I can't seem to be able to brush my teeth with out getting sick. I still think I am about to go crazy and I think Alex does to. Sometimes I feel really bad for him and the girls.

In a couple of weeks school will start. Both girls are totally excited to start. I have never seen this from them before. It will be nice to have them in school and have some alone time before the baby comes.

July Birthdays

This has been a mile stone month for the girls. Sam is offically out of primary. She in now in Young Women's and is enjoying it. I was able to go in and talk about her to the other Young Women kind of an introduction for her. I tried to embarrass her but didn't do a very good job.

We ended up going to the Georgia Aqurarium on Sam's birthday. It was the only time we could meet with everyone. We went with Alex's parents and his cousin with her husband. We all had a great time seeing all the different kinds of fish. We even had the opprotunity to pet stingrays and sharks. The girls loved the dolphin show alot. To me it was kinda cheesey because of the singing. I really wasn't expecting to see a dolphin musical.

Later on that day we went out to dinner and gave Sam her present from Alex and I. It was great to see the look on her face when she opened up her Ipod touch. This is the only thing she got but she was totally surprised we got her something she wanted. Ususally this is a "No" present.

We didn't do as much on Ashley's birthday. Mostly because I was feeling not so good. She was excited about what she was going to be getting since Sam got the Ipod so she went to bed way early the night before. Because of that she woke me up at 6:30 am so she could open her present. I told her to go back to bed and leave me alone. After a while we all got up and let her open her present. It to was an Ipod touch. Since she turned 13 (i know it is scary to have a teenager now) she is able to have a facebook page. We had to teach her some things about posting online. She did get a little crazy the first day. Later on that day we all went out for BBQ and then I took the girls to see a movie that Ashley wanted to see. All in all I say they both had a good birthday.


Baby Update:

Well I am now 11 1/2 weeks. I have my first OB appointment this week. They will be doing a ultrasound to see how far along I am and to see if there is more than one. I know this sounds crazy but both Alex and I want twins. We have been disussing girl names but can't agree on any. We already know what the name is if it is a boy. I hope that Alex will let me go to a place to find out what it is in a couple of weeks. He doesn't want me to pay for some thing the Army will do for free but I don't want to have to wait that long.

I will try to keep this updated as much as I can.

Week 8

Well I just finished my second month and am feeling way better. I still have some kind of "morning" sickness and have become very tired on some days. I asked Alex if this pregnancy is any different from the last two and he answered with a BIG YES. With this one I am very sick, MOODY, and extremely tired. We are just hoping that since it is a different pregnancy it means that it is a boy. One good thing is that I can still fit into my clothes.

We are just all excited here about the upcoming baby. Both girls have a preference on what they want for a sibling. Sam wants a little sister. This way she has someone to dress up in cute clothes, plus I think she just wants a little sister since she's the little sister. Ashley wants a baby brother and tells anyone who will listen. She evens asks for a brother in her prayers. Both Alex and I are hoping for twin boys. I know that we are asking for trouble but since this is our last one it would be good to have a playmate for him/her.

It looks like we have a lot of work to do to get ready for this one. I have a lot of cleaning to do. The baby's room has been our catch all room. I am really excited about decorating the room. I do have to wait until we know what were having and how many before I can start buying things.

New Addition

I have decided to keep the blog updated with all that is going on with this new baby. I will have to say that this pregnancy was a BIG shock. We have been not really trying to have another one but not doing anything to prevent it. I had been feeling sick and very emotional the last couple of weeks. I knew that I was "late" but that never really bothered me since I usually am every month. I went running with a friend of mine and she got me thinking that I should test to see if I was pregnant. I got the test and it didn't even take a whole 3 minutes to let me know that I was. Needless to say I was dumbfounded. I called Alex to let me know and I don't think that he believed me at first.

I was able to go to the hospital and take a blood test that day. Within two hours it was confirmed that baby number 3 was on it's way. I told the girls and they were a little surprised at the news. Ashley claims that she is going to be changing all the diapers but I am sure that will change soon after. Sam is excited I think she wants a baby sister so she has some to dress up in cute outfits.

As most of you know we are hoping for a little boy since we have the two girls. It will be great no matter what we have. It will be interesting to be parents of a newborn all over again. There will be a twelve year difference between this one and Sam. That is like how my little sister and I are.

Alex and I are very excited. It will be great to have a little one in the house. Thank you all for your support in the next few month.

Memorial Day weekend

The girls and I decided to spend this past weekend in Spokane with my best friend Karen and her family. It was great to finally meet her kids Jakob and Sydney. We all went out to Jakob's Riverfront Park to ride rides and just have a good time.

On Sunday the girls and I went to Rathdrum to go to church. It was really great to see everyone in my old ward. Most people looked at me like they knew who I was but couldn't really remember until I told them I was a Mitchell. I got to see lots of old friends.

The girls really enjoyed seeing my old high school and some of the towns I used to live in. I couldn't believe how much things have grown out there. Of course it has been eight years since I was there. We also made a trip out to the boardwalk in Couer d' Alene. It was a little windy and chilly out by the water. The girls really liked looking at the boats.

I am glad that we were able to go and see everyone. I really miss everyone and everything.