what made me happy today; car accident; and more!

First off: What Made Me Happy Today...

At my doctor's appointment, I was told that I weigh exactly the same

as I did at my first appointment. (meaning: I've lost my baby weight

from this pregnancy!! YAY!) Now all I have to do is lose what I'm still

hanging onto from my FIRST pregnancy and I'll be good to go!
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Second: My Cuz/Sister Candisse was in a HORRIBLE car

accident late last week. We are so grateful she's alive and

[slowly] healing. Look at this:

FREAK!
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Finally: Here are my darlings

Her hair was so funny- it was kind of mohawk-ing on the top
and looked all fuzzy and messy in the back-

Cheers!

[Barely visible] Orange Mustache

Coming in my next post: The Fire Department Paid Us a Visit!!

Grandma's Party

Due to my "condition," I wasn't able to post about Grandma's big

party on the 9th. We had a big surprise 80th b-day party for

Grandma Wonderful. Candisse and Rachelle did a beautiful job

putting it together and it was a complete success!

I had to take a picture of this picture of Grandma, which I've never seen before:

We hung out and ate great food and some gave tributes to Grandma

and Grandpa. It was emotional and fun and sweet and huge!

I didn't take as many pictures as I should have...

I actually left the party a little early thinking I was in labor!

We went to the hospital and they had me walking the halls trying to

get things going for me... but though I was in labor, nothing was

really moving along so I ended up going home... Boo!
---

I have never see this picture either:

Can you spot anyone in the family?!

I can't find everyone, but my dad is top right, mom's in front of him

(yes, with dark hair) I'm in the front right with my hair center-parted
Dallas is in front about four people from right covering his face with both hands,

and Lance is directly behind him and the football! So funny.
Grandma's center at the back and Grandpa's way at left.

I actually have photos from this reunion, but I'd never seen this one!

Here's a close up of some of us:

Peli had fun at the party, especially with this train. He played

with Bobo and Wubbs the whole time!

We took a pic of Grandma with all the great-grandkids-
my pic with all of them didn't work, but this one did.
Grandma's holding Halle, and Peli's up front with Wubbs and Kassydie.
I wish we could've stayed longer but I was in some serious pain
and I was seriously thinking that was Baby Night...
but that was Monday instead!
What a beautiful day! And a beautiful Grandma!
And a beautiful family!

a few baby photos & official update

Hey All! We are home and everything's going well!

Thanks to Becky for posting the birth for me!

Lil Raini so far is SOOOOO MELLOW! She sleeps alot and

so far has only gotten mad or cried if she's hungry.

Peli was a little more... let's say... moody than that ;)

-

Her full name is Loraini Josifine (pronounced Josephine)

She looks alot like Peli, in my opinion, but with lips more like mine

So far all her pix looks just like the pix we have of Peli at her age

-

All went well with the delivery except about 30 minutes with no meds

at dilated to a 10 and complete (not good!)

Other than that, things went smoothly, I was induced and

once things got going I only went through two rounds of pushing!

Here are a few pictures of her so far-

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Grandma Leslie with her right after being born

On Daddy's lap

When she opens her eyes, they are HUGE and brown with a bit
of some kind of glimmer, which makes us wonder if they'll stay dark
brown or maybe change (??) She is super-alert and wants to know
what's going on around her... when she's not knocked out...

This two of her look exactly like shots I have of Peli in this swing-
Her hair is super-black. Even Peli's hair had some lighter brownish
color to it, but not hers. It is pitch black right now!

We wonder if she'll start sucking her thumb like her big brother

Above, Peli's pretending to be asleep!
He already loves her so much

This morning was our first morning home and his first words were
"Where's my Baby Sister?!"

Thanks for the messages and visits and calls!

We're doing great and are very glad to be home!

---

PS- The hospital took a few photos that you can see by clicking HERE

and searching for Loraini. You may need to use our name (Faiga) or

hospital (Jordan Valley) to look her up. They're pretty cute

if I do say so myself!

some pix from the last couple weeks

{This is Peli and Bobo at Wubbs' house at my

lil baby girl shower a couple weeks ago! So fun}

{ Wubbs, Peli, Bobo}

(I'm glad Peli's not afraid to express himself...)
{Wubbs and Peli are keeping each other at arm's length}

{These are some gorgeous orange flowers that I received last week!

Last week was difficult- I was showing strong signs of preeclampsia,

and I was certain I'd be induced... only to have all my symptoms disappear

the next day! It was an emotional-roller-coaster kind of week,

and one night Suka took Peli to the shop without my knowing

and let him pick some flowers out for mommy! So sweet,}

{These are a couple of pre-church photos-

Peli doesn't usually want to wear a tie, but this day he kept saying

"Wear it like Daddy!!"}

{Not sure what he's doing with his hands, but I sure love that face}

{Like father like son...}

{Suka took these of Peli dancing}

you're welcome.

Breathing Easier

Today I am breathing a lil' easier.

First, the baby dropped yesterday!! YAY!!

So I've actually been able to BREATHE and get into a

somewhat comfortable position!

-

Also, my sweet sisters-in-law

and cousins threw me a lil baby girl shower on Saturday!

It was SO FUN to hang out with Grandma, Sue, Marci,

Cand, Shell, Lynds, Rhonda, Beck, Suz, Brianna and everyone!

Let's just say I'm no longer worried about not having any baby girl clothes.

Thanks to everyone for the lovely presents for little Raini,

and for taking the time and effort to come hang out!

It's always humbling to have people do stuff like this for you,

especially for a second baby.

Having knocked-up-brain like I do, I forgot to take pictures,

but as soon as everyone else posts or emails some, I'll let ya know!

A BIG HUGE thanks to Becky and Shell!

Love you!

PS- I had to use this pic because Grandma Leslie's present included

some of these "Baby Leg Warmers," which I'd never seen or heard of!

Hilarious!

click HERE to see some photos

SERIOUSLY !? ...you really thought i needed to hear that?

Story Number One.

[In the middle of the night, there was a noise loud enough

to wake up both me and Suka. Thinking it was Peli, I roll out of bed

and go look in on him. He's sleeping and everything seems fine,

so I go get back in bed. As I climb in...]

-

Suka says: "What was that?"

-

I say: "A Bad Guy. I'm gonna go beat him up. You stay here."

===

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Story Number Two.

[Yesterday, I was asking Suka if he wanted me to help him carry

something in from the car. Looking at me like the

crazy eight-month-pregnant-chick I am...]

-

Suka says: "No, I can get it."

-

I say: "I can help! I'm not a wuss!"

-

PELI says: "You're a wuss, Mom!!"

-

I think: Thank you, Son.

===

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Story Number Three.

[And finally, yesterday I was explaining to Suka that

the baby had dropped, so I had been able to breathe a little better

and am not quite so uncomfortable...]

-

Suka says: "Is that why you weren't grouchy today?"

-

I think: Isn't it... um... refreshing to have kind, sweet people in your home

who believe that protecting your tender feelings is more important

than being flat-out honest to your hormonal self?!

Pregnant Much ??

A few t-shirts you might wanna look into...

{This is one of my faves-}

{Another Great One:}

{What Dallas would wear if he was pregnant}

{How I feel right now:}

Exactly What I Wanted to Hear...

Every once in a [long] while, it seems like you get lucky (so to speak)

and you get told EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR.

-

This morning, I had another ultrasound to try to nail down a

For-Real-Due-Date,

'cuz they keep telling me they can't tell if this baby's just big,

or if she should be due earlier than we thought.

-

I kept thinking, with my luck, they're gonna

end up telling me I'm due in July or something!

But no, today I was told Exactly What I Wanted to Hear:

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The due date's officially moved back a couple of weeks!

Yay!

-

(In a funny sidenote, she's BIG enough to actually be due on the 11th (!!)

but they're sticking with May 16th. (Which means we're probably looking

at another 9-pound-one-million-ounces-newborn...)

-

Another sidenote: She's still a girl.

(Don't laugh- we had a "girl"

who turned out to be a "boy"

when he was born in our family...

I won't tell you which brother... for now...)

-

Another sidenote: Because she's like 31 weeks at this ultrasound,

I could see her VERY CHUBBY CHEEKS! and BIG LIPS!

And she spent much of the ultrasound chewing on her hands.

Awwwwwwwww.....

-

I'll shut up now.

Official date: May 16.

First-Born Tag & some photos

{You'll have to excuse my no-makeup-face...

but I thought this picture was so fun and happy!

We were trying to take a picture of me and Peli giving each other a kiss-

but right before the camera would flash, Peli would pull away and laugh-

he was just teasing me...}

I actually got tagged with this on Facebook, but I thought it would be fun to blog it!
-
Here you go mommies- a different kind of survey for a change - it's all about your your first born!

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED? It was a “Whenever it happens…” kind of thing. I was not on birth control.
2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? yes
3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? Excited, happy… then Holy Schniekies!
4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU? no
5. HOW OLD WERE YOU? 28
6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? I took a test at work (that I bought at the dollar store!)
7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? AGHH! I couldn’t get Suka on the phone, and my family was ALL up at Bear Lake with no phone service… so the first people to know were two girls I worked with! Then I left and drove to Suka’s work and hunted him down to tell him.
8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? Absolutely. I’m not into those kinds of surprises…
9. DUE DATE? March 2, 2006.
10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? Yes, but just from week 7 to week 12. I had horrible headaches the whole time though, and back pain.
11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? Burritos (cheap, vending machine ones) and chicken fingers.
12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? I don’t remember being irritated at anything/anyone different than I was when I was not pregnant. Is that bad?!
13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? Male (But we thought it was gonna be a girl before we found out).
14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? No! We thought it was a girl, but we were stoked for a boy and are happy he was a boy!
15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN? Holy Cow, literally. 65 pounds!
16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? I was SO overwhelmed with others’ love and generosity. I actually had FOUR! showers: a Nielsen family one at Aunt Sue’s by Cand and Shell, a Reynolds family one at Grandma’s house, a work one at the B.L., and a ward/neighborhood one with my neighbors and friends from the neighborhood and ward where I grew up!
17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? We knew.
18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? No, except after delivery I was told there had been a possibility I’d need a transfusion due to anemia/low blood iron. I had no clue until everything was over and I hadn’t needed one. Other than that, Peli was just situated so far back in my back, I had severe back pain.
19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? UVRMC/Provo
20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? I was induced at about 7am, started pushing at 1:15, delivered at 1:34pm. It was heaven.
21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? Suka, but I wasn’t in labor yet- I was induced. They were worried this was gonna be a 10- or 11-pounder and my blood pressure had risen.
22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? Suka and my mom.
23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? natural
24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? Hell yeah! Whatever they’d give me!
25. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 9 lbs. 1 oz.
26. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN? Tues. Feb. 28, 2006 1:34pm
27. WHAT DID YOU NAME YOUR CHILD? Epeli Wallace Hyran Faiga
    Epeli was my husband’s dad’s name
    Wallace was my maternal grandpa’s name
    Hyran was a Maori bishop who had a huge influence on Suka. We didn’t add this one on until the day of!
28. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY? He’ll be 3 in 3 weeks!

Any of you who have a kid should do this survey- it's fun to think back!

{Below is Peli on his beloved Cars couch. He had ordered me

to put his blankie over his toes... btw- this is a blanket my mom

used with my brothers!}

{Hang Loose... or as Peli says it "Hang Noose"}

{I had just finished vacuuming, and Peli got all his cars out and lined them,

then told me to "Hurry" and take a picture!}
{Daddy and Peli}

{I HAD to take this one- cuz look at his plate!!

It is a PIE PLATE that you cook a pie on!

He filled it up and overflowing with spaghetti (one of his faves)

and ate the whole thing}

{RAWR}

{His hair looks kinda girlie here- his headband had fallen back!}