June 2013

JUNE 2013

June is my second favorite month of the year.  I know, I know, there are a few of you scratching your heads and thinking, "What? Wait a minute!!  She lives for heat, how can June beat August, the hottest month of the year?!?!"  It's complicated my friends.  And there is a method to my madness.  It will all become clear tomorrow when I talk about August.  But for today, lets focus on June.

June is my second favorite month because it's the beginning, the start to summer and warm weather.  Like I said yesterday, my favorite temperature is between 85 to 90 which means that while spring and fall are okay, I only have three short months of my favorite kind of temperatures.  Three short short months out of twelve months to enjoy, bask in, and love the heat.  

The kids all get out of school in June.  Summer fun and vacations begin.  June is a time to put away jackets and shoes and break out the flip-flops.  June is a time when the summer heat hasn't baked all the grasses and things are still really green.  Everything is fresh in June, the last of the trees are blossoming.  The flowers are blooming, and the world is coming out of the awakening of spring.  June is bright and fresh.  June is happiness and joy.  June is a sign of good times to come, and June means that July is around the corner.

Father's Day is in June.  I went through all of the holidays that are celebrated throughout the year.  I counted nineteen of them.  I went through and put them in order from favorite to least favorite.  We already know that the 4th of July ranks at #2 and the 24th of July ranks at #4.  What then, is my ranking for Father's Day?  Fathers' Day comes in at #9 for me.  I love how we set aside a day to celebrate our Fathers and grandfathers.  I especially love how we can celebrate it in a time of year when you can have a BBQ and enjoy the beautiful weather.  

I have four fantastic men in my life whom I love very much and are very dear to me.  The first is my fantastic hubby.  He is a good dad and wonderful husband.  He works very hard for our family so we can enjoy the comforts of life.

The second is my dad.  He's an excellent story teller, and remembers jokes like nobody's business.  He's always there for me and has helped me out many times.  

Third is my father-in-law.  He's witty and fun.  It's a blast to watch the BYU vs. Utah football game with him.  He's kind and gentle and is fun to talk to.

Fourth is my grandpa.  My grandpa was my hero growing up.  Deem passed away about eighteen months ago.  I miss him so much.  There have been many moments since where I have felt him there to comfort me when I've needed it.  

What did June 2013 hold for our family?  It was quite the month.  For starters, Lion Heart and Tiger Lily have their birthdays right at the beginning of June.  One on June 2nd and one on June 8th.  But this year, a new little addition joined our family.  And out of 30 days in the month of June to be born on, he decided that the 5th of June would be a good day.  We now have a birthday on June 2nd, one on June 5th and one on June 8th.  Our Junes are going to be quite busy from now on

I've nicknamed my little guy the Little Redheaded Feller after my grandpa, but I also call him my little June Bug.  For the sake of things here, I'm going to call him my Little Red June Bug.  

Little Red June Bug's original due date was June 3rd but an early ultrasound showed him to be smaller than that so the due date was changed to June 15th.  

The morning of June 5th I had my regular weekly check-up.  At this point, I was ready for the baby to come and didn't want to wait until the 15th.  I talked to my doctor about the possibility of inducing me.  She didn't want to induce me too early and said that she would be happy to induce me on the 14th.  I was a bit disappointed.  Since was in the higher risk category because of my age, every week, they had me sit for an hour to monitor the baby's heart rate and such.  That morning when they checked my blood pressure, it had been elevated.  And then when they were monitoring the baby, his heart rate wasn't what they liked it to be.  My doctor wanted me to go down to the U and get monitored for three hours and have them check my fluid levels.  We made a deal that if everything was okay and checked out, I would have to wait until the 14th to be induced.  There wasn't anything major that concerned her with the baby, she suspected that with my elevated blood pressure and the baby's heart rate that my fluid levels were probably low.  So, she said if it turned out that my fluid levels were to low that they would induce me that day.

I just could not resist posting this picture.  :P

I left the doctors office praying that I could be induced and have the baby that day.  Now, I am a through and through bleed blue BYU Cougar fan, except when it comes to my health care and then I'm a through and through bleed red U of U fan.  (sorry mom, lol). The U has done all of my surgeries, they are the experts, I really don't trust anyone else with my health care.  During the entire pregnancy, the doctors, specialists, and myself sat down and came up with a detailed birth plan and pain management plan.  With all of the metal rods in my back, an epidural was out of the question.  My dear friends, I know there are some of you who just don't believe in epidurals and think it's too much of a risk, etc.  That is great for you and I accept your opinion. But I am not one of those women!!  We will just have to agree to disagree agreeably. I believe modern medicines have been put on this earth to help and benefit mankind and I believe the risk to be acceptable.  I wanted a really good birthing plan and pain management plan to help me through the birth process.  We were able to come up with a plan that worked wonderfully.  

I arrived at the U and got hooked up to the monitors.  I was supposed to be on the monitors for three hours.  After only 45 minutes they came in and checked the fluid levels.  They were low enough for them to want to induce me that day.  I found myself being checked in and moved over to labor and delivery.  It took some time to get things situated but they got me induced.  What is really funny about the whole situation is that my regular OB did not deliver the baby.  There were two of us delivering that evening, me, the one with the back full of metal and the special set of instructions for delivery and another woman.  Out of the two of us, mine was the easiest delivery.  My regular doctor was needed in with the other lady and so I got the OB on call at the hospital.  This doctor was AWESOME!!  He had such confidence in me and expressed it.  He helped me to remain calm and focused.  I had a team of nurses and anesthesiologists there cheering me on and monitoring things.  Because of the awesomeness of everyone involved, labor went smoothly and at 9 p.m. on the dot, my Little Red June Bug was born.  He had a full head of red hair.

My nurse

Anesthesia guy

My regular OB

OB that delivered the baby

Nurses waiting to take care of the baby

Up until now, I have not posted pictures of Little Red June Bug on my family blog.  I've mainly been putting pictures and videos of him on my private facebook page for him to only share with close friends and family.  He's almost seven months old now and I figure it's time to start introducing him here.  So, without further ado, here is my Little Red June Bug.

What else happened in June you may ask?  Well, Space Man Spiff graduated from elementary school

Tiger Lily graduated from Kindergarten.

Space Man Spiff got to go on his first ever Pioneer Trek.  He had a great time.  Everyone commented on what a kind, and helpful young man he is.  That's my Space Man Spiff.

Tiger Lily and Lion Heart had birthdays.

And after six months of searching, we were in negotiations for our home.  June was a whirlwind month for our family