Introducing...

Welcome to the family, Owen Jensen Ditto!!

Born: January 11, 2015

Weight: 4.5 pounds 

Length: 17.5 inches 

So obviously things did not go according to plan. I had just put the meatballs in the oven for Sunday dinner and was helping Dan with the salad when I was hit with  basically the worst pain in the world. Of course since I'm stubborn I figured there's no way it was THAT bad and I needed to suck it up. I did have Husband give me a blessing, and within about 5 minutes I knew it was time to go to the hospital. :( 

Have I mentioned how much I hate hospitals? Husband endured the miserable drive, and when we got inside they took one look at me (I could barely walk) and got me back to a room. I'll spare you some of the scarier and traumatic details by just saying that within minutes they had figured out that my uterus had ruptured (rupturing was the one thing we were trying to avoid). From the time I walked into the hospital to the time Owen was delivered it was only 18 minutes. They had to be quick to save us both. Miracles happened and we are feeling so blessed. Owen will be in the NICU for at least a few weeks, but he is alive and he's going to make it and that's all that matters. He is pure perfection and I am miserable when I'm not with him. Husband is the best nurse for both me and Owen and I don't know what I'd do without him. So happy to be a family of four. Families are forever!!

My first time seeing him. The nurses were so nice to wheel my bed to his room for a few minutes. I love my little man.

Pregnancy FAQ's

Pregnant women are notorious for being crazy and getting offended if you say the wrong thing or ask the wrong question. While I'm sure Husband would attest to me being crazy, I like to pride myself in the fact that most questions/statements don't bother me. Feel free to tell me that I look like I'm going to pop (most likely I will agree with you!) Feel free to ask, "Are you sure there aren't 2 in there?" and I'll laugh too. I'm just so grateful to be pregnant that I don't see the point in getting all worked up just because people say something dumb about the fact that I'm fat. There are, however, a couple of the usual generic questions that EVERYONE asks that have complicated answers for us.

Question 1 - When are you due?
This is the easier of the tricky questions. March 6th is the real answer. But February 11th is when this baby will finally join our family (just scheduled the c-section today!) Which means the usual follow-up question asking how far along I am is also tricky to answer. Technically I'm 31 weeks. But I only have 5 more weeks to go. So why is the little guy coming so early? Here's the detailed answer: when we did fetal surgery to remove Lydia's tumor, the docs had to make not only a vertical incision, but an extra long vertical incision in order to perform the surgery. (C-sections today are done with horizontal, smaller incisions.) Most women who have c-sections are able to go full-term and opt for a non-c-section delivery in subsequent pregnancies (also known as v-bac. For the sake of my dad I'll avoid explaining what v-bac stands for. You're welcome Pops.) Due to the type and length of the incision I had during the fetal surgery (fetal surgery is different than a c-section, just in case you were wondering), my uterus has a much higher risk of splitting at the incision site if I go into labor. I don't know about you, but I definitely do not want my insides to explode open. So to avoid going into labor all together, the docs have determined it is best for me to deliver BEFORE I hit 37 weeks (the official "full term" mark). So after that super long explanation, you can see why it's hard to tell an innocent questioner in the grocery store my due date. I usually just respond with "the 2nd week of February" but then the follow-up question of "so how far along does that make you?" just doesn't add up. It's a lose-lose situation.

Question 2 - Is this your first?
"No. I have a daughter. She would be 2 but she passed away after she was born." Not only does answering briefly and truthfully make the questioner feel bad, it tugs at my heart strings too. I get that its a completely innocent question and I'm not offended when people ask, but the answer is hard no matter how I say it. If it's a stranger in the grocery store I usually just lie and say that it is my 1st. But then I think of my daughter and everything I went through to bring her here and I feel like I'm dishonoring both her memory as well as the crazy pregnancy we had. I've tried simply saying, "No, this is our 2nd" but 99% of the time a follow-up question is asked wondering how old the first is. Again, do I just lie and say she's 2 and carry on with my shopping while trying not to cry? I get that I'll be asked my whole life how many children I have, and Lydia will ALWAYS be included in that number, but I think the fact that we don't have any other kids just makes that answer harder. Here's to hoping that after more kids come the answer to this question will be less painful and less complicated.

Needless to say - we are beyond excited for Lydia's little bro to make his debut (he is still nameless - we're having a hard time narrowing our list down).

And because pictures make life happy - here is a picture of Husband's birthday trifle (because he is too good for birthday cake). Yes, it was delish!!

We are Here!

Our final stop before leaving "The Lou" was to leave our mark on the Paint Louis wall. After lots of packing/cleaning/eating Thanksgiving/visiting with friends/little-to-know-sleep, the car was loaded (and I mean LOADED) and we quickly drove over to the wall before the long drive.

I just might be addicted to tagging now. It was really fun and we wished we had more time to make it look cool.

Both of us were in tears as we drove out of St. Louis. Such a great place. So many great (and hard) memories. SO many wonderful people who have touched our lives forever. We have made it a goal to not forget the things we have learned as we start our new adventure in a place that is familiar.

Speaking of starting our new adventure . . . this is what our family room looks like right now. I don't even know where to start! I figure since we enjoy eating so much, getting the kitchen in working order is the #1 priority. And can I just say that unpacking is WAY better than packing (especially when I love our place!)

Surviving St. Louis

For almost 6 weeks, husband has been in Utah. Without me. It just made sense to do the Big Move over Thanksgiving weekend, thus limiting the number of days either of us has to take off work. Have I mentioned yet that my job is letting me work remotely through the end of the year? I know - totally awesome. But it means that I have been stuck in St. Louis all by my lonesome (yes, I'm whining. Its well-earned whining though: 5+ weeks alone and PREGNANT!)

So while husband's been "living the dream" in Utah and seeing both of our families, I've been packing up the apartment. By myself. And please don't worry that I've been doing too much for my prego body - I've been smart. Promise.

Anyway - back to us being apart for OVER FIVE WEEKS - this is the longest we've been apart since we met. I know I know - it could be worse, and he could be in the military or it could be WWII and he would be gone for years and years with only a letter or 2 to keep me going. But I think there's a reason God didn't have me born during WWII because I would NOT have been able to handle it. I am not strong enough and I'm one of those pathetic wives that needs to have her husband around.

So yesterday the long-anticipated day was upon us. The day of husband's return!!! His flight to Denver went off without a hitch. About 20 minutes before leaving Denver, the big announcement about the Darren Wilson case was made. (If you've been living under a rock for the last 3 months, google "Ferguson, Missouri." Happy reading.) The plane took off and I figured no matter what happened in Ferguson, we would see each other in 2.6ish hours.

Let's back up to the Darren Wilson case. Things have been CRAZY here for the last 3 weeks with prepping for this big day. Rumors and speculating have been abundant. Every weekend I've been stocking up on the essentials because the announcement was supposed to happen any time. It kind of seemed to be overly hyped up.

So the announcement was made, and within an hour things were getting REALLY ugly. I watched on tv in horror as parts of our town were destroyed. I've never felt afraid like that before - it was scary. All I could think to do was pray for peace and safety for those who were trying to keep the peace. We're about 15 miles from the heart of Ferguson, but there was also a group of protestors in the city, only one mile away from us. Helicopters were flying overhead all night, but other than that our street stayed eerily quiet. And thankfully the city protestors were much more peaceful than the ones in Ferguson.

When it came time to leave to pick up Dan, I mustered up my courage and ran out to the car. (Yes, I got in trouble for leaving the house, so don't bother to yell at me any further. In my defense I needed a man, and getting Dan was the only way to have my man to protect me! And our street really was quiet.) But less than a mile away the protestors had shut down the freeway. Which meant the surface streets were busy with traffic. My drive took me really close to where the shutdown was happening, and it was kind of traumatizing to be see close to the action.

I arrived at the airport just in time to discover that Dan's flight had been CANCELLED. They were literally 10 minutes away from landing in St. Louis when the protesting got so bad that they closed the airport. (The airport is only a couple of miles from Ferguson.) So the plane turned around and went ALL THE WAY BACK TO DENVER. I was devastated. Dan was worried sick and had no way of knowing if I was safe. Needless to say it was a long night for both of us (but it thankfully remained quiet on my street).

And let me also add so that no one worries to much that I wasn't being smart . . . . I live in a duplex and have awesome neighbors that live in my same building and checked-in on me periodically. And my next door neighbors on both sides were also at my beckoned call. And the bishop called several times to make sure I was safe. So I was being taken care of just fine.

Dan spent the night in the airport and was on a flight again at 6:00 am. Thankfully the airport had reopened and we were reunited at last. I cried with relief the whole way home from the airport.

Sorry for this crazy long post without any pictures (head to the news if you want to see pics of all the destruction).

This year for Thanksgiving I have something new to be grateful for - feeling safe. I've taken it for granted my whole life. God bless St. Louis and the good people who live here.

It's Official

You know how on TV when the like-able main character is headed off to some big or important event, and inevitably something goes wrong on the way there? The flight gets cancelled, or there's a major storm, or the car breaks down, etc etc. Did you know those things happen in real life too? Cause they do. Dan was on his way to a big important interview when his tire blew on the freeway. Oh fudge!!! (name that movie)

Yes, he was wearing a suit and tie and proceeded to change the tire on the side of the freeway while cars whirred past at 70 mph. Miraculously he was only 10 minutes late to the interview. Apparently the blown tire didn't phase him at all, because he must have rocked the it-they gave him an offer the very next day!! Praise the Lord and Hallelujah!! It's a great job doing compliance work for a small HR company. We couldn't be more grateful or thrilled.

So what does that mean for our little family?

Yep, that's right. We are moving to Utah! It's been quite the crazy last couple of weeks, and everything just seems to be falling into place like clockwork (which is very NOT normal for us). I keep waiting for something to go wrong because it all seems too good to be true. Then Dan reminded me that his tire blew out on the freeway, and that's got to count for something, right? Right.

So we're packing our bags and will be in Utah by December. To say our families are excited would be an understatement. Get ready Utah - the Ditto's are coming!!

Oh - and just in case you were wondering, this is what baby Gus looked like at 21 weeks. Totally rockin my huge bump. :)

Paint Nite!

It's no secret that I have the artistic talent of a wombat. My stick figures are barely discernible as people, and asking me to draw anything beyond a sun (circle with lines) or a moon (circle) is like asking for the for my dad to like a new recipe. IMPOSSIBLE.

Lately I've seen advertisements for these painting sessions that guarantee a completed painting in a 2 hours. NO ARTISTIC ABILITY REQUIRED. I wanted to do it - partly to prove them wrong. There's no way they could get ME to paint something that I wouldn't throw away in disgust by the end of the night.

So I brought along a few friends, and I have to say - it was a BLAST! We were a little disappointed at first - the painting we signed up for online looked almost nothing like the one the instructor had on display for us to paint.

Here's his painting:

And here's me in action . . . FUN!!

My St Louie chickas and their paintings. All different, but so so fun. Grace's painting on the far right was the closest to what we actually signed up for.

I went in with pretty much NO expectations. I figured if I produced something good enough to hang in a bathroom, I would be happy. While of course mine is nothing that would sell in a paint gallery, it actually looks pretty good! And now I've got the artist bug and I want to go again!! (Sistahs . . . next May? We have to do it!!!) In the mean time, I think I'll start practicing drawing dogs and dinosaurs - I've gotta have SOMETHING manly to draw for little Gus when he comes out. (Gus is just the fetus name. Real name yet to come.)

More Hawaii (and a fun surprise!)

Two months after the fact, its time I finish up Hawaii. Enjoy the photo dump.

First - we had SO much fun announcing to our families in person about the arrival of the next Ditto baby!!!!! We are beyond grateful and feel so blessed.  It's been a LONG couple of years getting to this point, but we trust in God's timing and know this miracle comes from Him. At an ultrasound a couple of weeks ago, our little one was proud to show us that he is a man!! Bring on the blue, the cars, and the dinosaurs - we are stoked! He will make his arrival in February and so far we are both doing fine and healthy as can be.

That's a fortune cookie. This announcement made sense to the families . . . promise.

Back to Hawaii - Ditto boys love to jump off high things into water. The next few pics are of the boys jumping The Point. It's high. And I was grateful for the excuse of being pregnant so I didn't have to do it.

Hang Loose! Moments before jumping.

Matt and the famous Go-Pro

From the top looking down. Holy smokes.
And yes, the water really is that blue (actually, its bluer in real life)

The view from The Point. When I look at this picture I think,
"Why don't I live here?"

The "Lost" trees. Many a famous person was filmed here.

Remember the Hurricane that wasn't? We were there. Other than some wind and
an hour of rain, all we got were some giant waves. Husband and Jon are somewhere in there.

I didn't dare put a toe in that water - I would have
drowned in 4 seconds flat. If you look close you can see the surfer.

  

Go Kahuku High! Husband's alma mater (it kind of resembles a prison, so I guess
its kind of miraculous that he has so much school pride). Thanks to the hurricane that wasn't,
the football game was cancelled so we didn't get to experience a game. Total bummer.

At the Polynesian Cultural Center. That place is seriously amazing. I'm holding a little
fish that I made out of coconut tree leaves. And if I look like I'm in the middle of the first
trimester, its because I was.

At the Pali Lookout. I wanted to bring a book and sit there all day. So peaceful. And beautiful.

The next few pics are from our trip to Goat Island. It's a small island we could see from the backyard of the house we stayed in. When the tide is low, you can walk/swim to it on the reef. We chose the PERFECT (and most beautiful) morning to head out there, and we had the entire island to ourselves, which was super cool. This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. And it was so fun to see husband in his element - Hawaii is definitely where this island boy belongs!

We took this just after arriving. The shore we walked from is behind us.

Husband LOVES animals and little critters. He caught this guy in about 5 seconds. Look at
his face - that is the face of pure joy.

Gross. And cool.

Gorgeous!

Proof that I was there.

Sea cucumbers. When you push them, they leak water. It was gross.

Our little point and shoot camera took this. It was seriously a photographers dream - the sun
was rising in the perfect place and all we did here was set the camera on a rock
and turn on the timer. Yes, we know we're cool.

Adios, Hawaii! Favorite quote from Husband as we were driving to the airport,
"Leaving Hawaii is akin to going through a bad breakup."
It's so true!