Two Months!

Our little Connor is two months! (Actually he's 9 weeks now, but I'm a slacker and forget to update the blog.) Either way he is getting so big! Well...the funny thing is, he is getting big for me, everyone else thinks he is still small....which according to his measurements is true. We have a runt!

Connor's height is measuring in the 50% and then his head and weight are measuring in the 25%. He did have to get his shots and I'm so grateful for Aunt Jilly who did them so fast! He had no idea what hit him until after they were done, then he didn't appreciate the pain. Do not fear though! A few days later he's back and just as smiley as ever! I am so grateful for his smiles and when he shares them. Connor is also starting to coo at us and this morning he was wanting to laugh so hard! I can't wait to hear his little laugh. :)

I've posted my favorite picture of him so far! Well, favorite that I've taken. I just wish I would have taken it with my Canon instead of my phone. O-well, either way he is cute!

Blessing Day

November 5, 2010 Brandon blessed our little guy. I wish I could remember everything he said, but I know that he described our son wonderfully and I'm excited for Connor to continue to grow and develop!

I'm so grateful for all of our friends and family that came to support us. I'm grateful for worthy priesthood holders to participate in our families life. I am also grateful I got to bear my testimony to my inactive Mother and her boyfriend (Jay) who is not a member of the church. The whole meeting I sat next to them battling with myself. I hate speaking in front of large groups of people...yet I couldn't ignore the feelings of gratitude and love the Savior had blessed me with, plus I know my Mom and Jay needed to hear what I had to say. I honestly don't know what I said, or if I even made sense. I do know I cried like a baby, and I felt the spirit.

After the blessing we packed up tons of food and headed to Brandon's office. His work was able to let us use one of their conference rooms for the luncheon, so we were able to have a successful and delicious lunch!

September 29, 2010

Thursday (September 30, 2010) – At 1:30 AM I started to push my little heart out! (Did I mention attempting to push a child out when you have a head cold is not very fun?) Anyway, I pushed for about an hour and a half to two hours, when they decided to have me ‘rest’. They told me I would only rest for a half n’ hour and we’d be back to work, but little did I know they didn’t come back for an hour and a half! (Apparently they were understaffed with nurses and doctors that night). After my ‘resting’ time, (which I still pushed by myself during that time), we started to push again. Just after 5:20 (guessing on times) they told me he was crowning and about to get here…Everything went so fast after that…They started to fix the whole room, and get things ready, and within a few minutes they told me to push again. I kept pushing and pushing, Brandon and the doctor kept reassuring me he was almost there, and then sure enough – push push push…BLACK OUT. Yup, I passed out at the last minute and the next thing I hear is Brandon saying ‘he’s here!” (Apparently I found out I had an episiotomy and I lost quite a bit of blood – hence the passing out). The time after that was so surreal. Our son was here…A beautiful healthy 7 lb 4 oz – 19 inches long Connor had made it here. Did I mention I was surprised he looked like me instead of Brandon!? Huge shock! The first time I got to hold him I talked to him and sure enough he smiled at me and I knew everything was going to be ok.


I love our little family, and can’t wait to share the stories of our new adventures!

September 29, 2010

Wednesday (September 29, 2010) – I did not sleep well that night either due to me getting contractions in my lower back and my cold was just horrible. Brandon convinced me I should stay home and so he called in for me saying I was just not well enough to go to work. It was a good thing too, because not ten minutes later my vision went away and I started to see ‘flashing lights’…I was getting a migraine. It wasn’t the first time I had gotten a migraine, but it was the first time for the pregnancy, and yet again another sign of preeclampsia. So I called my doctors office to see what they thought I should do. Well they set up an appt for me about an hour later and told me I’d have to see a different doctor because mine was out of town for the rest of the week. So I took a nap, and then went down to their office, I had to wait over an hour just to meet with this doctor, and when I did see him, he didn’t even check anything out. Just asked me a few questions and then told me he wanted to give me a shot to knock me out – so if I had someone with me to take me home that’d be great… Well I didn’t, I had gone to the office by myself, so instead he prescribed me Oxycodone and Tylenol which together equals Percocet. Now I personally had a horrible feeling about drugging myself up at 38 weeks pregnant, just so I could feel comfortable. I was also extremely upset because he should have sent me to the hospital, but instead just gave me a prescription and sent me on my way. I drove to a gas station nearby parked and called Brandon to tell him what the doctor had said…I also cried for a good 10 minutes because I just could not understand why they wouldn’t keep me at the hospital. I kept having all these signs for preeclampsia, but apparently it wasn’t that big of a deal… To attempt to cheer me up, Brandon and I went out to lunch and then I went home and rested for a few hours. I woke up and went downstairs waiting for Brandon to get home; he ended up working late but did come home around 6:30 -7ish. When he did come home he was just as upset as I was with the doctor, so he decided to call Labor and Delivery at the hospital and tell them our situation. Once he told them our story they told him that we were more than welcome to come down and they would do a medical evaluation on me. (Finally some semi good news!) Before we went to the hospital we stopped at Walmart and got a few munchies for Brandon and some cough drops for me (my cold had just been getting worse and worse, blah!). We also checked my blood pressure there and sure enough, it was high again. Brandon took a picture of what my blood pressure was to prove that we weren’t just making things up and we drove to the hospital. When we got to labor and delivery (8 pm) it was quite dead. I was the first woman to come in that night so they put me in a small room to check how my body was medically… They put lovely wires all over me, took more blood and started to check blood pressure. Sure enough, my blood pressure was still high and it wasn’t going down. When the on-call doctor came in and started checking things he gave me two option s. 1) Do a 24 hour urine test or 2) he could induce me tonight and get the baby out! Once again I thought it was pointless to ask a 38 week pregnant woman if she wants to be induced or wait, especially an impatient one like myself, but again I asked what his opinion was. Surprisingly enough he said that we should go ahead and admit me to the hospital and get my water broken and induced! (Hurray! – also it was close to 10 pm) A few minutes later they moved me to an actual labor and delivery room (which by the way was HUGE!), and started to prep me for everything to come. At around 10:30 PM the doctor broke my water – and right afterwards Brandon and Dr. Allen gave me a blessing. (Quick side note – I am so grateful for the priesthood and that there are so many worthy priesthood holders around) A few minutes after the blessing my contractions had gotten unbearable! Thank heavens they had called the anesthesiologist and so I only had to deal with the heavy painful contractions for 10 minutes. I cannot describe how wonderful the epidural was! The pain was gone within a few minutes, yet I could still feel the pressure of things going on. Anyway – after the epidural they started me on pitocin – to say the least I was ready to push by 1:30 AM.

September 28, 2010

Tuesday (September 28, 2010) – Monday night going into Tuesday I did not get very much sleep due to me getting sick, and contractions. I went into work and about half way through the day I had a LPN co-worker tell me that I didn’t look to well. I obviously wasn’t feeling too well due to me being nine months pregnant and sick with a cold, but I asked why she brought it up. She said I looked super swollen and asked if she could check my blood pressure to make sure I was ok. About a hour later she came in and checked my blood pressure, sure enough it was HIGH (144/100). She told me that I should either call my doctor immediately or go to the hospital, since I only had about a hour left of work I decided I’d call my doctor and see what they said. We set up an appt. for about 1 PM and I finished my day of work and off I was to the doctors. Brandon and I met up at my doctors’ office, and they checked my blood pressure, sure enough it had gone down. (ugh). So we went in the back to meet with our doctor. After he checked me and everything was the same from the day before he told me I had two options. They could either do a 24 urine test – where I’d have to collect my urine for 24 hours and then bring it back in for them, or I could go to the hospital and they could check my blood pressure every 10 minutes for an hour or two and run some blood tests. He asked which option we would prefer (duh the hospital), but I turned it back on him and asked which one he would prefer us doing. I was surprised when he told us that we should go to the hospital and that he’d call them to let them know we were on the way. In my head I was thinking ‘Finally we’re going to the hospital!’ but at the same time I had to tell myself they could send us home at anytime. So we went to labor and delivery, where they put me in this HUGE room and got all these lovely computers attached to me. Brandon and I waited there while they ran all these tests for about an hour and half when the attending nurse came back telling us everything looked good. (So close!). They told me to go home and relax, and that they would probably see me soon, but that if I had any other symptoms of preeclampsia that I should come back in (blurry vision, headaches/migraines, more high blood pressure, etc).

September 27, 2010

Connor is here. I cannot express the wonderful spirit he has brought into our lives. But I can write down the story of how he got here. It was kind of a weeks’ worth of events that led to his birth, so I’ll write down what happened within that time.

[It is taking me longer to write down the story, due to the fact that I don't have a lot of time! But I'll post those eventful days as soon as possible :)]

Monday (September 27, 2010) – Every Monday for the last month of the pregnancy I had a doctor’s appointment. They just check over everything and see how far you are to going into labor. Well this Monday I went into the doctors and my blood pressure was a little high, still technically ok, but it was borderline high. Also my ankles/feet had been swollen (for months), but they had started to get worse and worse. My doctor told me to come in later in the week (suggesting Friday) to get my blood pressure checked again to make sure I wasn’t getting preeclampsia. On a brighter note, I was dilated to a 4 and 80% effaced. That night I also got a head cold. (lovely).

That being said...

Okay, so every now and then I get on this blog and post a few things that I have had on my mind. I have written about the deep thoughts of change, about how cool my wife is, and other things.

I haven't written on this blog for a while, and although I think Tenille has done a great job at keeping people updated generally on what's going on in our little corner of the world, I thought it would be nice to toss a few thoughts on what's been on my mind lately.

Baby Holyoak's name

Our baby boy was originally going to be named Ammon James Holyoak. Ammon is one of my favorite scriptural heroes, and I just plain old like the name. The middle name James comes from my closest cousin, James Cook. I admire him, the way he carries himself, his work ethic, and kind demeanor towards others, especially to children. I have always wanted to establish that link from him to my kids.

One day, however, Tenille and I were talking about other names that sounded good. I brought up the name Connor, and how it had a nice ring to it. Nevertheless, it wasn't long before I circled back to Ammon and suggested that we just leave the name Connor off the table, but Tenille was stuck on the name. So at that point, we were at odds between Ammon James vs. Connor James (the middle name wasn't up for changing).

One morning, I woke up thinking about our baby boy. About how Connor truly did seem like a good fit, but "Connor James" just didn't sound right. I started to think about the middle name, James. James. Who is James? James Alan Cook, my cousin, I answered my own question. James Alan, I thought. Hmm… Alan. Connor Alan? Connor.. Connor Alan! James gets his middle name from Grandpa Holyoak, Alan Holyoak. My stepbrother Casey's middle name is also Alan (Casey Alan Bair). One of my closest friends is Allen Witt. Alan seems pretty fitting, I thought. I said it out loud and I liked it even more.

Later that morning, I asked Tenille to consider the middle name change, and she liked it. A lot. I think initially she was more excited that I had put away the name Ammon, but regardless, I was so overjoyed to have realized what our boy's name would be: Connor Alan Holyoak.

Saratoga Chase HOA

A few months ago, the neighborhood got together to determine who would serve on the board of the HOA. I personally was getting frustrated with the lack of information we had, and how seemingly nothing was getting done at the time. I volunteered to serve on the board, and without much further conversation, I wound up serving as the HOA president (It sounds more powerful than you think; it's really just a formality).

I have had to learn pretty quickly what it means to serve on an HOA board. I work jointly with good people who are smart, honest, and forthright. The responsibilities of running an HOA are a lot more complex than I ever thought, and sometimes politics does wiggle its way into it all, which is frustrating, yet interesting at the same time. It's been quite a learning experience for me, and one of the main things I have learned is to be not so quick to judge, but rather to get as much information and options in front of you as possible, and then methodically make your way to the best decision.

Immigration and Gay Marriage

Speaking of not being so quick to judge, here's one for you. Most of you out there in the cyber-world have at least read or heard about Arizona's law, prop 8, etc. I personally have been pretty decided on these issues:

1. From a principled standpoint, I believe that if you are to come to the United States of America, you should do so through honest channels. The primary reason America offers such a grand opportunity is because of the freedom we have secured for ourselves. We bow to no one, because of the blood of our forefathers. Freedom comes with a cost, and a free ride to liberty is not only unfair, it cheats one’s soul of what true and honest freedom really feels like. Those among us (some estimate the tally to around 11 million) who are undocumented immigrants do not feel truly free, and are therefore stuck in a cycle of self-deception, that collectively cheats the nation’s spirit as a whole.

THAT BEING SAID:

The solution to illegal immigration is not going to be a black and white, this-or-that resolution. Deporting 11 million people because they don’t have their papers is by all accounts an improbable, exponentially expensive, and simply an impractical solution. Nevertheless, at the same time, I believe that those people who use lies and deceit to cross our borders, and then continue to do so once they are here, should be dealt with according to the laws of justice, and if necessary, sent swiftly back to where they came from. We have been taught to be merciful; however, mercy cannot rob justice. Also, I believe that the Arizona law is a good one – but for reasons others may not agree with. I believe the state law is a subtle and clever way to force the Federal hand, whose responsibility it truly is to resolve the issue. After all, a national border is defined by a nation, not just one state. Stay strong AZ!

2. I believe that gay marriage is wrong; that it is a mockery of the original institution. I believe marriage is intended to be one man and one woman, who love each other as equal partners, who can reproduce and raise children in a loving home. I understand that some homosexual couples have been able to adopt children, but I believe that the best opportunity for young children tends to lie with a mother and father presiding in the home, as nature intended.

THAT BEING SAID:

I believe that this country guarantees certain human and civil rights to all people. That includes the right to follow one's own conscious, even if it is considered “unnatural” or if others detest your actions as heinous. I am starting to believe that even though gay marriage is against nearly everything I hold dear, I can still raise my family just as well in this world, regardless. The only inconvenience for my family will be that it's one more issue on which to guide and teach our children about. This is one of the reasons we are parents. Part of being a parent involves navigating your children through untested, untraveled waters. This subject will be one all parents will have to tackle in the years ahead.

Just as our parents had to deal with things they had never before encountered, so too shall we - the parents of the rising generation - have to deal with things as parents that we didn't experience as kids. Our parents, for example, did not have to deal with texting while driving, or the internet. Who knows what we will have to have to instruct our children on in the coming years? The sacred institution of traditional marriage is likely to be one of them.