Sleep-o-holic!

So, Devin has been sleeping really well lately. He usually sleeps for aboyt 5-6 hours, wakes up to feed, and then sleeps for 2-3 hours. Well, Friday night, he fell asleep in his car seat on our way home from dinner around 8:30. When we got home, we left him in the car seat and put him in our bedroom so he would stay asleep. And boy did he! I thought he'd probably wake up around 11:00, maybe midnight. Well, I woke up at 3:30 and he was still snoozing. He woke up at 6:30; that's a 10-hour stretch! And he pretty much went right back to sleep after I fed him for another 2.5 hours! And again, Sunday night, I put him to bed between 9:30 and 9:45. He woke up at 11; I gave him a binky and he fell right back to sleep until 8:30. He likes to sleep! And it is so nice to get morethan 3 hours of sleep in a row!

Here is a random picture of Devin with my little sister, Sirie. I love his chunky thighs!

Happy Turkey Day!

Well, yesterday was the smallest Thanksgiving gathering my family has had in a long time. Since we moved to Utah 7 years ago we've always gotten together with either my mom's family or my dad's, and since I met Morian, I've had a couple with his family. This year, it was just my immediate family, plus one sister-in-law, but minus one sister and brother-in-law. So that makes 9. Or 10, if you count Devin! I like being with my cousins and grandparents and stuff, but sometimes it nice to just be with my family. And this way, I can have leftover turkey sandwiches! Of course, Devin slept till dinner was ready and then woke up, ready to eat! Luckily I had time to eat a salad before feeding him; I was starving! Dinner was sooooo good! After dinner we played some Guitar Hero (I definately hafta play on easy!), Parcheesi, and The Great Dalmutti.

My sister Maren carved the turkey

In honor of Thanksgiving, I wanted to list some of the things I am most grateful for, in no particular order!
Eternal Families- I am so glad that I married Morian in the temple, being sealed to him for time and all eternity. I'm glad we have added to that family with little Devin. What a blessing he has been to us! I'm grateful he is healthy and growing and getting stronger every day. I'm also grateful for the family I grew up in and I'm glad that we're so close, in living proximity and our relationships.
Temples- without temples, I wouldn't have that eternal family! And it's a wonderful place to feel the spirit. I was able to go back a couple weeks ago after my hiatus when Devin was born.
The Gospel- without the gospel, we wouldn't have the Priesthood, which means we wouldn't have temples. It's all connected! The gospel answers so many questions and brings many wonderful blessings into our lives!
Friends- friends are great! What more can I say? They are your family away from your family.

And on a side note, I'm grateful to win free tickets to concerts! I won tickets to the Secondhand Serenade concert that was this past Wednesday, Nov. 26 at The Great Saltair. The place is kinda ghetto and the openings band were terrible (let's play loud music and scream into the microphone and then swear a lot inbetween songs!), but the main even was fantastic! And even though I only knew 2 of their songs, I enjoyed myself, and so did Morian, think. It was a late night though. They were s'posed to go on at 9:15, but it was more like 9:45 PM. It was my bedtime before they even started!

Devin chillin' with Uncle Ethan

What an exhausted baby!

2 Months and counting...

Devin reached the 2 month mark this past Sunday. He gets cuter every day! He smiles so much now and has even let out a couple big laughs! Even though he still hates tummy time, he's getting better at holding his head up and will even be somewhat calm for a minute or so. He might even talk to ya! So, we took him to the doctor on Monday. He's healthy! Though he does have a rash of some sort on his face and head; it just came outta nowhere! I hope it goes away soon! He had to get 5 shots, which was no fun for him or mommy! As soon as they pulled out the needles, I couldn't look anymore. I hate needles! Of course he screamed and turned red in the face, but he quieted down pretty quickly and was soon asleep. My poor baby! He also got weighed and measured. Ya'll ready for this? He's 23 inches (grown 4 inches since birth) and weighs a whopping 11 lbs 15 ozs! Wowzers! He's a little chunker; definately likes to eat! But, I wouldn't have him any other way! He's perfect! Plus, who can resist such chubby cheeks?!

The Many Faces of Devin...

...while trying to decide whether to sleep or wake up!

Devin's Blessing

Yesterday, November 2, Morian blessed our baby boy. Even though it was Fast Sunday, the ward we currently reside in (my parents' ward) had stake conference. But we didn't want to wait until next Sunday b/c my sister and her husband will be in Europe and last Sunday my brother and his wife were in Russia. So we had our family come for the blessing in the evening. Morian did a nice job on the blessing; I got a little teary-eyed. Then most everyone came back to our place (my parents' house) for visiting and snacking. The house was packed! We got his little white outfit at Babies R Us. We looked into getting an actual blessing outfit, but they were so expensive and one was super hard to even put on Devin. Then we found this white sweater/white pants combo and it looked so cute and was so much cheaper, that we went with it. And he can probably wear it again sometime, unlike the fancy ones.

Kirsta, Morian, and Devin

Kirsta and Devin

Four Generations- Grandpa Craig, Daddy Morian, Baby Devin, and Great-Grandpa David

First time great-grandparents (Morian's grandparents)

Happy Halloween!!!

This year for Halloween we were invited to our friends Mike and Annie's house for a Murder Mystery Dinner with a bunch of friends. Neither Morian nor I had ever done a murder mystery before and it was pretty fun. Kudos to Mike for all the hard work he put into getting it all set up and to Annie for making appetizers, dinner, AND dessert for 14 people! Turns out, Morian was the accomplice. I hope to never get on his bad side! hehe! And I was the one accused of being the accomplice the most. Just b/c I didn't talk a whole lot, but that's how my character was! Morian and I had really wanted to get a cute costume for Devin to wear, this being his first Halloween (and first holiday), but everything we found was way to big! So, he just wore a cute little Halloween outfit that my mom bought for him from Old Navy. He wore a white onsie with a pumpkin on it holding a hot dog and a drink and it said "Snack-o-lantern" underneath it (how appropriate!), orange and black striped pants, and orange and black striped socks. He slept pretty much the whole time we were at dinner, so I didn't take his picture until we got home at almost midnight and he was asleep and still in his carseat.

This one was actually taken last week when we were making sure it fit, but it shows the design on his onesie.

Today, my whole family (minus my younger brother, Micah) went to Body Worlds 3. It was pretty crazy stuff! All these human bodies in different positions so you can see how the muscles are, as well as display cases with different parts of the human body. I felt like I was in anatomy lab again, which was okay b/c I enjoyed that class! Unfortunately, Morian and I had to go through a little quicker than the rest of my family b/c Devin kept getting fussy. He finally fell alseep and stayed that way AFTER we were done. Go figure!

Smiles!

Devin has the cutest smile ever! And he is getting very good at sharing it with us! He starts out with a half grin with turns into an open-mouth smile that makes us smile, which makes him smile bigger! The tricky part is getting in on "film." He won't really smile with a camera in his face, so you have to move it out of the way and try to get him to smile. By the time you get the camera back into place to capture it, the smile has gone away. But, sometimes we are lucky! He also smiles like crazy while he is asleep. Guess he has good dreams! One time I was holding him while he slept and he kept smiling, so I grabbed the camera and took a short video of him. Unfortunately, I can't upload said video b/c it is too big. Bummer deal dude!
Oh, and I just wanted to add...we got Devin weighed the other day b/c it has been 4 weeks since he was last weighed ( 7 lbs 6 oz at 2 weeks old) and it'll be another 3 weeks or so before he goes to the doctor again and gets weighed and we've been curious to see how big he has gotten. So, ya'll ready for this? At 6 weeks old, Devin weighs about 10 lbs 10 oz! Wowzers! I knew he had gained some weight, but I dunno if I woulda pegged it at almost 11 lbs! What can I say? He likes to eat, our chunky monkey!

A new haircut (and color) and some very yucky weather!

So, it has been almost 4 weeks since I had Devin and I have worn my hair in a ponytail almost every single day. I knew I wanted to get my hair done after I had the baby and I finally got around to getting it done. I got some blonde highlights (since my hair thinks it wants to be kinda brownish now) and a bob cut. I really like it and Morian does too (even though it's not long!)

On another note, we woke up this morning to this:

How can it do this to me?! Especially when I was sooooo looking forward to a nice dry winter! And it is only October. It's only s'posed to snow around Christmastime, at least in my book! Yuck!

Devin's First Bath

Devin's umbilical cord recently fell off, so we decided that it was time to give him a real bath, instead of a sponge bath. He enjoyed it much more than he did the sponge! With those, he would scream the whole time (until we washed his hair of course, he liked that part!) With his first tub bath, we sat him in the water and he seemed a little unsure of it at first. I gave him my fingers to hold on to and boy did he hold on! But, after a minute or so, he started to relax and I think he really enjoyed himself! He likes the warm water! So of course we had to take some pictures of this momentous occasion!

Devin chillin' in the tub! (what a big belly he has! he must be eating well!) And don't worry, we made sure he was modest!

A close-up of Devin

Devin getting dry

We love his froggy towel! So cute!

2 week check-up

So, on Tuesday, September 30, we took Devin in to see the doctor. His doctor is very nice and explained things to us in an easy to understand way. We're glad he's nothing like the pediatrician who was at the hospital when Devin was born! So, when we left the hospital after Devin was born, we didn't know what he weighed (they usually lose some weight and then gain it back by 2 weeks), but he is now 7 lbs 6 oz and about 20 in long! (The nurse who measured him said 19.5, but he was kinda scrunched up!) He still doesn't fit into many of his clothes- mostly the plain white onesies that just aren't that cute! Well, he makes them cute, but I can't wait till he fits into his really cute clothes! Um, he's in the 25th percentile for both his height and weight, but for his height he's a good weight! He's still as perfect and precious as ever! I'll post some more recent pics soon! He had to get the PKU test done, which is where they prick his heel and then hafta fill like 6 little circles on a piece of paper with his blood. He was bleeding pretty good and having a good cry; it made me so sad to see him sad like that! But he exhausted himself crying and fell alseep! I can't believe my baby is already 2 weeks old!

Details

So, here's the lowdown on what happened. Tuesday morning the hospital called at 7:00 AM to say they were ready for me and to get there as soon as I could. We were checking in by 7:40. I received the pitocin and another inducing agent at about 9:40, after which I started to have pretty regular contractions that felt none too good! I got the epidural around 12:30. That was a lifesaver! Morian would pretty much tell me when I was having a contraction b/c I couldn't feel 'em. A couple hours later I was feeling the contractions but totally in my back and they were mega painful! (Baby was chilling out kinda posterior/sideways. But no worries! He moved anterior before I needed to push!) So I got an extra boost of medicine at 3:30, after which I was so totally and completely numb in the lower half! By the time I started pushing at 6:15, the numbness was starting to wear off. I couldn't feel pain but I could feel pressure so I knew when I was having a contraction. (And I could move my legs again!) During my first push the baby's heartrate dropped and wouldnt come back up again till I'd changed positions a million times and took lots of slow deep breaths with the oxygen mask on. At 6:30 we tried pushing again and had much better success so that I could continue pushing. At 7:20 my doctor showed up to see how things were going. B/c the baby's heartrate dropped everytime I pushed she didn't wanna prolong the birth anymore. And out came the forceps! Yikes! She used those to help pull the head down a little and then 2 more contractions later I had a baby (at 7:40 pm)! He had the cord wrapped around his neck a little which is why his heartrate would drop. He cried, of course, but not for too long. He was more interested in looking around at his new surroundings and was actually quite calm! We are so excited to have Devin with us! He is such a cutie and such a sweetheart! He likes to sleep all day and eat all night! He has Morian's lips and his chicken legs! But he has more of my coloring like blonde hair and a lighter skin tone. He has pretty big eyes (when he opens them!) and they are so dark you can't even tell what color they are! His fingers, toes, and feet are pretty long. But he is the most adorable thing ever!

Pictures Galore

So, I know you all have been anxiously awaiting pictures of the cutest, most adorable newborn ever! And I am here to tell you, I have 'em! Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to introduce
Devin Jensen Black!
*Reader Beware: LOTS of pitcures!!!

Mommy and baby's first picture together

Conehead

Getting weighed: 6 lbs 11 oz

What adorable little feet!

Snug as a bug in a rug! And none too happy! Proud Papa with Baby
The whole family
You can tell Morian already loves his son!
Checking his heartrate Content after his first bath Mommy loves her baby!
He likes to place his hands right on his face when he sleeps Father-Son Bonding

Going Home Outfit

All bundled in the car seat and ready to go home!

Devin Jensen Black

On Tuesday September 16th at 7:40 PM we welcomed into the world our son, Devin Jensen Black. He was 6 lbs. 11 oz. and 19 in. long. Pictures and more details to follow.

9 Months Baby Bump

I had a request for one last picture of my baby bump, since I have made it 40 weeks and am still going strong! hehe! Enjoy!

Baby Update

Okay, so here's for anyone who noticed that my time has come and gone for this baby and yet I am still pregnant! Grrrr!!!! I went to the doctor this morning and I am very slooooooowly progressing, but a still not very far. Stubborn little tyke! So, if I don't go into labor naturally (as in, all on my own!) in the next week, I will be induced on Tuesday, September 16. Soooo, I will for sure have a baby by next Wednesday! At least, I think I should! So, there you have it. On the plus side, my feet/ankles are still nice and small!

My Swiss Sis

When I was a senior in high school, my family had a foreign exchange student come and live with us. Her name was/is Geraldine (Geri) Theiler and she was/is from Raperswil, Switzerland. That is the German-speaking part of the country. It was such a neat experience to have her live with us and she became a very good friend of the entire family. It's been 8 years since she came to live with us and she has back to visit 5 times (I think!) She was able to come out when Morian and I got married 2+ years ago and be one of my bridesmaids. Her most rececnt visit just barely ended, with her flying back home at 7:00 this morning (Wednesday). Her first couple days were spent with me as we watched all 3 Anne of Green Gables movies. (Plus she had to buy them on DVD to take home with her!) Everytime she visits we make sure to go to Taco Bell (there are NONE in Switzerland and she loves the burrito supremes!), get a banana milkshake from Sonic (we love the way she says banana!), go bowling (we used to go a lot in high school and one of the first times she went with us, she threw the ball into the wrong lane- it was quite funny!), and watch the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice (soooo much better than the new one with Kiera Knightly!) This time we also went mini-golfing with my cousin, Niels, and swimming at 7 Peaks Water Park in Provo. Just to explain the title, in high school, we would call Geri "Swiss Miss," like the hot chocolate. Now, we pretty much consider her a part of the family so she is our "Swiss Sis."

sister Maren, cousin Niels, Geri

Kirsta, cousin Emily, sister Maren, Geri

Dad, Geri, Kirsta, Morian, sister Kayley, brother-in-law Paul