Sunday, December 18, 2011

Christmas Letter


Hello Dear Loved Ones!

How are you? We hope you and your families are doing well and being blessed with all that you need and more. If your lives have been as busy as ours I hope you’ve at least been busy with good things.

We hope you’ll forgive us for not keeping in touch better but after this letter you’ll know why.

In May, Brad finished his junior year of college, had knee surgery and we moved to Texas all within two weeks. His school year ended with a GPA of 4.0, he recovered very quickly from the surgery and Texas was…well I wrote a few really good blog posts about that experience. I don’t handle humidity and big bugs very well. We moved to Baytown, right outside of Houston, for an internship with Chevron Phillips Chemical. Brad really enjoyed the internship and his inner geek really came out and shined. He impressed everyone he worked with so much that we’ll be returning to Baytown, Texas June 2012 for a permanent position as a Chemical Engineer. We’re very excited to have a paycheck even if we do have to deal with the roaches and being so far from family. Please feel free to visit us anytime, folks!

While in Texas we also added a new member of our family. Isaac Daniel Price was born on August 24th, making Garrett a big brother. We gave birth to our 11lb 1oz 22inch boy four days before we moved back to Colorado so Brad could return to school. Brad actually missed the first week of his senior year.

As you read, somehow Brad has managed to excel in his studies, despite his loud and demanding family responsibilities as well as his calling as the Elders Quorum President and the CSM varsity 197lb wrestler. No…he’s not busy at all. Want to know how he does it? Yeah, me too.

While Brad is busy with all that, Dani is home taking care of the boys. That’s right, we’re a family of FOUR now, “boyS” was plural. As I said we just had Isaac in August and Garrett just turned two last week on December 2nd. Isaac is very strong and very big for his age. He has a smile that lights up the room and thankfully it comes out easily and often. He’s very content and happy and laughs more than he cries. Garrett keeps us on our toes with his opinionated, independent and stubborn self! He loves Disney’s Cars, Elmo, rough-housing, Cheese, Sugar in any form, Brad, running, helping, games, and nursery. He actually just moved into a toddler bed that he really likes. Garrett sleeps in a blue racecar, in a Lightning McQueen sleeping bag under a Disney’s Cars tent that fits perfectly over his bed and he loves it! You can actually read all about his adventures on our family blog: bdgpriceisright.blogspot.com. Danielle also keeps busy with her calling in the stake Relief Society presidency and finding opportunities to serve those around her.

Please let us know how you and your loved ones are doing! We’d love to hear from you! We’re so thankful for our bond with you and for all that you do and have done for us. You are proof of Heavenly Father’s love and remind us of our many other blessings. We’re thankful for this time of year that reminds us of our greatest blessing, Jesus Christ and his gospel. He is our Prince of Peace, our Lord of Lords, King of Kings, Mediator, Counselor, our Brother, our Savior, the great I AM. We’re so grateful for his birth, life and sacrifice. Merry Christmas and remember you are loved!

Love,

Brad, Danielle, Garrett and Isaac

Garrett's 2nd Birthday











Tuesday, December 13, 2011

The Zoo: Toddler in his natural Habitat


OH NO! That ox bit off Garrett's hand!
j/k, His shirt was a little big on him. The Denver Zoo doesn't actually have man eating oxen.

They do have some pretty huge bears though. These black bears looked cute and cuddley. It's funny that the exhibits where the most men were happened to be the ones with the bears. I think they were all standing around the grizzly's imagining how to hunt one.


Garret got his first taste of Cotton Candy and he wasn't too sure about it at first but it grew on him. Thanks for sharing, Uncle Ben!



Grandma Tracy took Garrett on a train ride around the zoo! What a dream come true! ANIMALS AND TRAINS!

Aunt Jennah and Garrett pondering how to return to their own kind...the monkeys.


Brad threatening Garrett that he'll throw him in the cage too if Garrett didn't stop running off!


Uncle Ben helped Garrett ride the non-man eating ox.

Garrett loves elephants and loves pretending to be one as well. He was mesmerized by them.


Grandpa Ted, Uncle Ben, Aunt Jennah, Garrett and Brad


Isaac stayed warm and snuggley in his old man sweater. He looks like Mr. Rogers dressed him.


Garrett loved all the attention from Grandma and lead her all over the zoo. He really enjoyed having some one else to boss around.

Isaac shares a day with a Turkey


Isaac Daniel Price was blessed on November 24th, 2011.
Thanksgiving Day.
How appropriate.

Among all the many things we have to be thankful for, actually I guess you've noticed we have many PEOPLE to be thankful for, we gathered as family to thank Heavenly Father for our newest blessing.
Isaac received a blessing and a name on the day set aside for our nation to give thanks.


My Family gathered together and came from Colorado Springs. Brad's family gathered together and came from Wyoming, Utah and Idaho. And we all gathered together to bless Isaac and have a meal.


We were all a little stressed with having to help cook for so many people. And yes, my chocolate cake was a little dry, we were all a little late and there's always a little confusion. However...My turkey was great, the food was great, the family time was great and it all left us a little more Grateful.

My mom is a phenomenal blogger and she wrote about this event too. Here's her explanation.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Ode To a Winter Garrett

Garrett's First Yellow Snow Cone. Just Kidding! It was the first time he's really played in the snow. He was too little last winter to really explore it. Yesterday he was just fascinated by it and I couldn't get him to stop eating it!

I was showing him how you can leave hand prints in the snow and he liked that. I really liked this picture of him.

You can tell how big he's gotten in this one! He's quite tall.

Mouth full of snow again...


Is that not the cutest hat and mitten set? He really likes them because he LOVES dinosaurs. He's also wearing his favorite shirt, it's from Disney's Cars. Thanks Grandma, that was a great one! He'd wear it every day if I let him!

He's so big, and smart! I can't believe he's not even two yet with all his talents and yet I can't believe he's already almost two! Yes, I have mixed feelings.

WE LOVE THIS LITTLE GUY! Garrett Bradley Price, 22 months old, Golden Colorado



Snow Day

That's the way to spend a snowy day! Chillin'!

It snowed two days ago so we spent our day in doors, nice and warm...with the camera. So here's Isaac wrapped up in a blanket made by 90 year old, loving, Great Great Grandmother hands. Isn't it beautiful?

And don't you love his smile?!

And his hair?! ...and his "What the...?" face?

"Garrett! Smile!" lol

Our sweet almost two year old, Garrett.

The view of our back yard. Pretty, eh? I love where we live.

Pics of our Boys

These are my boys. Garrett's just trying to hug Isaac but obviously Isaac does not care.

Our littlest. Isaac, is 9 weeks old. He's got some baby acne and cradle cap but we still think he's cute as a button!

Isaac is growing twice as fast as Garrett ever did. Isaac is already wearing size 6 month clothes!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Isaac's Birth Story






So our second child was due August 19th and was expected to be about 8 lbs…hahaha…what a joke!

The Women’s Hospital of Texas in Houston was recommended to us by everyone we spoke to in Texas for the delivery of our baby. It’s funny, actually, we lived in Baytown and everyone said “Never get medical care in Baytown! Go to Houston!” So once insurance kicked in I started my search for a doctor. I was 36 weeks along and didn’t know where I was going to have this baby or who would be there to help me. I was so far along in my pregnancy that over 40 doctors would not accept me as their patient. At 37 weeks I was telling Brad to start Googling “how to deliver a baby at home” just in case. All the offices that declined me for care told me to” just go to the nearest ER” when I was in labor.

I was discouraged but kept calling till I found Dr. Bruce. She was very kind and we got along very well. I think mainly because she kept telling me how incredible I was for having delivered a 10lb 8oz baby naturally and unmedicated. Dr. Bruce was not shy about sharing her opinions, she constantly made cracks about “better living through chemistry” and how pitocin and an epidural would make for a smaller baby and thus an improved birthing experience. She was funny in giving her suggestions but didn’t really try to pressure me. I appreciated that. She did an ultrasound on me the week of my due date and said that the baby seemed to be weighing about 8pounds. My due date came but still no baby. There were lots of contractions while my mother was in town, we thought for sure I was going into labor, but alas no baby. My wonderful mother wanted to be there for the birth so badly so she could be our doula. Instead she took care of us. She slept on our air mattress, cooked for us, cleaned for us and even read to us. We were intent on finishing “The Help” before she left. Mission accomplished and it was a spectacular! Since we hadn’t had the baby yet my mom took Garrett home with her to Colorado and that was a huge blessing! It was so nice to get to sleep in and go on a few dates with my husband before having another baby.

Four days AFTER my due date Dr. Bruce tried to do another ultrasound but for some odd reason was unable to get a weight on the baby. Since my blood pressure had been high, Dr. Bruce feared we’d have another huge baby AND we were already over our due date AND we had to move back to Colorado the following week we were induced the next day.

August 24th 2011 6:15 AM

We checked into the labor and delivery floor of the supposedly best hospital in Texas. My nurse was Kristin. I was her only patient for the day and she was wonderful! My doctor came in and broke my water for me and said that she’d give us four hours to bring on labor before she started pushing pitocin on me. Anyone who knows my brother Dean knows why I was trying so desperately to avoid pitocin. So we walked. Just like my last birth, I had to WORK to go into labor. That’s so not fair! Why can’t I just “go into labor” like other women?! With my wonderful Brad by my side, I walked for 4 hours. At 6 centimeters dilated and 90% effaced and a broken water, I walked the halls. At exactly four hours, when my doctor said she was going to come give me pitocin, I went into labor. Which is kind of bitter sweet. “Oh thank you Heavenly Father, I went into labor! …Oh No, Heavenly Father please save me, I’M IN LABOR!” (Later on it would become…”Oh just let me die!” lol)

Brad was able to coach me through contractions with breathing really well for the first few hours. He was wonderful and with me every step of the way. The hard part was being so tired, thirsty, hungry and cold…and in pain of course. But the hospital did not allow you to eat or DRINK, NOT EVEN WATER, for the eight hours prior to check in all the way until you had the baby. That’s right…NOT EVEN WATER. During labor. INSANE! And I was freezing the whole time too! The room was just so cold! I swear that place was run by a bunch of savages!

As contractions increased in intensity and came more rapidly we were trying anything we could think of to help me cope with the pain. They had no birth bar. They had no birth ball. They had no birthing tub, which really stunk because that’s how I was able to cope during my birth with Garrett. (Birthing Tubs are Amazing!) They had a shower that was as big as a port-a-potty and had a water stream that could barely cover my hand… and it only had luke warm water. That did not help the fact that I was already so so cold.

Kristin was incredible. She said only like 5% of women who use that hospital deliver their babies without medication. She wasn’t at all used to helping women cope through a natural birth. She went and tracked down another nurse, one who had helped in home births, and asked her for tips and tricks. Kristin really did try everything she could think of to help me.

Eventually the contractions were more intense than they were with Garrett and they never stopped. There was no break between contractions. They came one right after the other, sometimes on top of each other. I couldn’t ever catch my breath so breathing exercises became useless.

I had to talk myself through this mentally, which is something I did not do with Garrett. With Garrett I literally checked out. I hate admitting this, but I checked out so deep to cope with the labor and delivery of Garrett that I don’t remember much of it…and I didn’t check back in until 6 months later. It was so traumatizing for me that mentally I went into a dark hole, locked the door and lost the key for the first months of Garrett’s life. I almost feel as though I cheated Garrett out of something…out of more…out of a mom. So with contractions coming and having no way to deal with them I mentally and then vocally said “I don’t have to do this. I don't have to be strong. I have nothing to prove.” Brad tried to coach me through a few more contractions, knowing I really had wanted to have an unmedicated birth again. But after another plea he told me do whatever I felt I needed to do. I’d been 9 cm dilated for two hours and not going anywhere.

I asked for an epidural and it seemed like it took FOREVER for the doctor to come and give it to me. When the anesthesiologist did finally come, he was wonderful. He was great as he educated me and walked me through every step he was doing. His bedside manner was perfect. I love that man. Meanwhile, Brad was asked to leave the room, as all fathers are. He fell apart as he stood out in the hallway. He didn’t want me to feel like a failure and thus felt like he’d failed me as a birthing coach. And at first he was right about me. I kept thinking to myself “I’ve done this! Why do I feel like I can’t do it again! 10 lbs 8oz-es of baby came out without meds before! Why is this so much harder! This baby is supposed to be SMALLER even!” I did think I failed. Brad wasn't at all a failure though. Brad was perfect and could not have done anything better or more for me. But I failed. I couldn’t do my part. It's not that I think of women who have epidurals in any negative light, not by any means. Having a baby is hard! However, it wasn't ever a part of My birth plan and like I said, this baby was supposed to be easier so I was faced with realizing that I couldn't reach the bar that I'd set for Myself.

Thankfully I had no side effects from the epidural. I remember that I kept commenting on how great it was to be warm. I had the feeling back in my hands and toes again! The warmth was amazing! I could still move myself and felt pressure so the delivery wasn’t difficult at all. I had the baby 45 minutes and five pushes after getting the epidural. The medication relaxed me enough to allow the baby to move down. I was so glad the drugs didn’t slow down labor, give me a headache or make it difficult to push or any of the other junk that can go with an epidural. 6:01 pm the baby was born and he was covered in meconium, so we were a little freaked out. It turns out that the epidural was good for him too- all those unrelenting contractions caused him to be distressed. Thankfully there was nothing wrong with him. Our new son was perfect and healthy. I noticed he looked more like me than Brad but he does have his nose. I was surprised to hear that I’d torn again, since this baby was supposed to be smaller than Garrett. I thought for sure everything had been stretched out from that boy! And then I found out how big he was.

11 POUNDS 1 OUNCE and 22 INCHES LONG.

Another bitter sweet moment occurred. “Love Hormones” kicked in. I was so completely wrapped up in my newborn. He was so perfect and beautiful and sweet and…I’d never felt like this before. Never. Not even when I had Garrett. Again a twinge of guilt swept over me. I did everything I was supposed to with Garrett and I learned to love him. I felt guilty that it came so naturally, that love from a parent to a child, with Isaac. I love them both and now don’t know what I would do without them. I have embraced motherhood. It took some time but I’m there now.

I’m the mother to two beautiful, little boys. Garrett Bradley is the big brother to Isaac Daniel. Brad is an incredible husband and father and the love of my life. We are now a family of four.

Isaac, Brad and I left the hospital happy and healthy…and then moved back to Colorado two days later.


** The only thing I would add to this is what Danielle was like after she got the epidural. As soon as I walked back in she was all smiles, and clearly feeling much better. On top of that, she was SO CHATTY. She went on and on to anyone who had ears about how warm it was, about how nice she felt, and about how hard labor was. She clearly didn't even realize that she was being chatty, probably as a result of all of the adrenaline running through her, but truthfully, if she knew, she probably wouldn't even have cared. You could tell that she felt so good, and also a little uncomfortable with the idea that she had succumbed to getting an epidural, and yet amazed at how amazing her world now felt. She seemed a lot like the kid who was offered a cookie, but instead of accepting it she snuck it out of the cookie jar, and now that she was eating it it tastes SO GOOD. After it set in that she was feeling good, and there was nothing to do, no hard breathing, no focus necessary, she just kind of laid back and enjoyed socializing, after all... what else was she supposed to do. She got people laughing, she made small talk, it became a lot of fun actually. It gave a moment for us to bond, and prepare for the good part of this whole experience... the baby part. It was very, well, human of her, since having Garrett was pretty superhuman to me. She's amazing. It was very cute, and I was so glad that she was feeling so good. -Brad