Wednesday, August 25, 2010

The Fastest Summer of My Life (and also the most stressful, unless you count my mission which I often don't)


I have a lot of reasons for having abandoned my blog for the last several months, but none of them are really worthy. For example, one of those reasons is that there are too many things that I want to remember. Sometimes an approximation is the best one can do, and it is certainly better than doing nothing. Looking through my photos also somewhat depresses me because I realize that I didn't capture quite enough. Those first few weeks when the baby is the tiniest thing, almost unrecognizable to what he will soon enough become, I have too few of those. Like many other things in my life, though, I must confront that failure and move on. That is what blogging is all about.

So here is our summer, in photos.
It was the summer of a tiger striped baby who slept in a side car next to our bed.He also came to the pool with us and slept. It was the summer that Andrew really legitimately swam. He even invented the Thumbs Up stroke.He also learned the dead man's float. It would represent a heart attack moment for the lifeguards (he stays under for an alarmingly long period of time) but for the fact that they pay attention only to one another.
(Awkward Family Photo suitable?)I also like this photo quite a bit. The only way to include Andrew's face was to await his surfacing for air and be quick to press the shutter.
It was the summer I really liked my bathing suit. It was also the summer that Will became frighteningly ill. I was horrified when I saw this photo. He reached a point where he could not keep anything down at all. It is one thing to lament that your child can only be fed by a machine through a tube; it is another to wish that such a treatment worked. Despair might be the best word to describe how Brigham and I felt during the most acute phase. But Will pulled through and we are ending this summer as the first time since he was a few months old that he is solidly on the growth chart.It is the summer that I got serious about doing Family Home Evening (this photo of Will is from FHE's water fight activity from last week.)

I also instituted another policy: Brigham Must Be Home By 7:30pm. This policy was born in one horrible moment of clarity during which I was rocking a wailing newborn whose reflux made it too painful for him to nurse while watching my grievously ill and sobbing 2 year old vomit up all over the rug the small amount of food I had Jillian Michaeled him into eating set against the acoustic backdrop of my 4 year old raising hell in some nearby corner of our filthy disheveled shameful home, knowing that Brigham would only be home in a few hours (it was 6pm) as a special favor to me so that I could attend a Relief Society function I proved too depressed to rally myself to attend.Brigham initially failed to comply with the policy but eventually got with the program that enabled a few of these types of moments, not to mention a sane(r) wife.



It was also the first time any of my kids arrived at the 70th percentile for weight. He has dropped back down to 50th, but I savored the chub for the month it lasted.

I am going to have to stop here because it is late, but here is one from just this morning. Stay tuned for the next installment featuring our beach vacation, crafting activities and Will's soccer skills.

14 comments:

Ie Li said...

Alexandra, I miss you! I'm so sad that Will got so sick. I'm glad he is better. All of your boys are so sweet and cute. I love reading your blog and I hope you don't make me wait too long to read more. Take care.

Jacqueline Auna and family said...

Allie! You have such a way with words - I can hear you talking and I can relate to so many things you write. I'm so glad Will is feeling better, I can imagine the desperation you must have felt when he was sick. (I have felt it too at times.) Andrew is so funny and so bright. Your boys have the most beautiful, dark lashes. So happy to hear from you -- I think you an an amazing person and mother. : )

kentandnellie said...

Allie, your boys are so cute (and so is your swimsuit)! I'm sorry about Will. It must be so hard to watch him and not be able to help. I'm glad he is improving. And your new baby is adorable. I hope you're doing well!

Ashley said...

I am so glad to hear your update! I'm so sad to hear that Will (and therefore you) had such a rough time this summer. You are a strong woman and mother. I want to follow your FHE exmple (you are ahead of me in life by a few months though so I don't have to start yet, right?) and I love your policy that Brigham has to come home. I want a policy that Tyler can't go out of town anymore. And that picture of your family with Andrew floating dead-man style in the background is fabulous!!! I would frame that one--it will be a classic for years to come.

Unknown said...

WIll continues to be in our prayers! I'm also crossing my fingers for you guys and a certain job so we can see you a little more often. We miss you! I loved all the pictures- and the dead man's float family picture is classic! Hang in there!

Momo Cannon said...

It made my day to read the FIRST installment of your summer and will look forward to hearing and seeing more. We love you all so much and will continue to pray for Will. We need to get to know Porter better. We also hope that Brigham can be home more, it has been so stressful but we really admire you and hope things get better! Love, Momo

Alisha said...

Suitable for Awekward Family Photos? You bet. I can only imagine the witty phrases they might come up with about Andrew's dead man float.

Also, I should welcome you to the surface again. It's been awhile and we're happy to see your smiling face again.

Jenny said...

Ha ha, I was reading your post thinking, "wow, that is a really cute swim suit," and then saw your comment about it. Also, your hair looks great! Andrew is hilarious, and I love his Thumbs Up stroke!

Allie said...

I love reading your blog! I'm so excited that you have a new post. The thumbs up swim and the dead man's float are seriously both so awesome and hilarious! How scary to have Will be so sick. Parenting is difficult enough without having curves thrown like that. I hope that this upswing continues. Your newest little guy is so adorable and remarkably photogenic for his age.

Troy and Nancee Tegeder said...

Your baby is adorable. So glad Will is feeling better. Nice to have you back in the blogging world again, even if for a moment.

Katie Cannon said...

I cannot tell you how happy I am for the new post I"m so excited to see how everyone is growing. I love you all so much and I"m sorry for not keeping in better touch with you this summer. I hope all is well and that Will may gain more weigh! I love you.

Michelle said...

I just love you. I love the updates, although scared and sad to hear about Will's scares. I hope that he is okay. Your swim suit is so cute! I just love you and your sweet little family. I can't wait to hang out! I can only dream that Mike would stick to a policy. I was telling him the other night how much it breaks my heart that Damon will think back to his childhood, and never remember his dad being home for dinner...it breaks my heart. love you!

Sister Tara Bowen said...

I love your writing and I'm sorry that 7:30 pm is a compromise time for your husband to come home. That reminds me of why I like Doug's low-paying clerk situation right now--the 9ish to 5ish is lovely, even though I still qualify for WIC:).

Tat said...

I desperately want to talk with you! I can relate so much to parts of this post. Nothing I can go into detail about here, though. All I can say is I'm so proud of you and amazed at the great job you're doing with three (!) boys.