If You Love Me...

I recall being quite struck by Elder Holland's talk as I listened to this last conference (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/the-first-great-commandment?lang=eng).  I happened to re-read it this week during my regular study and was provoked to thought once again.

Particularly, I was taken aback at how much he expounds on a section of scripture I must have heard/read hundreds of times.  Peter, following Christ's resurrection, is asked by the Savior three times if Peter loves the Lord.  Each time Peter answers in the affirmative.  Each time the resurrected Lord says "feed my sheep."

It's these three words "feed my sheep" on which Elder Holland expounds.  The Savior is asking Peter why, if he loves Jesus, is he fishing?  If he truly loved Jesus then he should be about the Saviors work.  He is in essence asking him "aren't there people that need to be administered to?"  "Aren't there souls who need to hear the good news of the gospel?"  "Isn't there something more pressing for the head of Christ's church on the earth to be doing rather than fishing?"

The gospel is obviously a gospel of hope.  The beauty of a testimony of Christ is the peace it brings to the souls of those who posses it, knowing that we can be delivered from our imperfections and weaknesses.  I've long felt that one of the mistakes a person can make is to be too hard on oneself when  he or she falls short.  It is precisely those moments when we need to make the atonement affective in our lives and turn over our insecurities, doubts, and feelings of despair to the Lord.

That said, I feel there is a danger of going the other way.  We need to also not use the atonement as an excuse to not demand more from ourselves.  To stand a little taller, to be more exact and diligent.  Whatever areas we are lacking, home teaching, cursing, charity, missionary work, we can't use the excuse that the Lord will excuse our shortfalls and as a result shirk our duties.  Yes, we will do all of the aforementioned imperfectly, and yes, if we are truly doing all that we can the Lord will make up the rest.  But we can not use that as a reason not to strive to do more, to be better than we are currently.

The words "Do You Love Me?" have echoed in my mind these last few weeks.  I wonder if the Lord asked me, could I answer in the affirmative and be comfortable that my daily actions would not betray my answer?

Ireland at Three Months...

Our Ireland has gone from a perfect infant to a beautiful three month-old.  She is chubby and has legs like the Michelin Man, a full head of brown hair that takes on a slight red tinge in certain light, and has retained her piercing blue eyes.  BEAUTIFUL.

She started sleeping through the night a couple of weeks ago, which of course caused her parents great rejoicing, but has regressed back toward waking up a couple of times a night this week.  I have forgotten how cyclical these things are with newborns.  It's amazing how selective our memories are when it comes to children.  I know this phenomenon has been well documented, but I believe the human race would be on it's way to extinction if we as a species could remember in detail how tough it is to have an infant.

She is "talking" a lot.  Lot's of vowels, particularly the O sound.  She laughed out loud for the first time last week as well.  We were all in Blaire's room playing with a stuffed froggy when suddenly Ireland broke into a belly laugh.  We hadn't even noticed that she was paying attention to the whole thing, finding it quite amusing.  In general, she is a very pleasant, easy going baby.  We are very, very lucky.

A few of her favorite things ... bath time, sucking her thumb, watching football with daddy, running with mommy and sissy, batting around the toys in her gym, and being our sweet little dolly baby.

The Siren Song of Disneyland

Before Ally and I had children we went to Disneyland on a couple of occasions, just the two of us (creepy, I know).  Inevitably we would see parents there with way-to-small children (read infants) subjecting these brand new souls to the heat, noise, and sometimes questionable smells that are "The Happiest Place on Earth."

Being all knowing when it comes to kids, as all childless couples are, we vowed vehemently that we would never do such a thing, that it was clearly selfish motivation on the parents part, and that we would wait until our children were old enough to understand and enjoy the experience.  So you can imagine my surprise when Ally came to me a couple of weeks ago and said she wanted to take the girls to Disneyland.

"Blasphemy!" I shouted.  "It's ridiculous" I protested.  So naturally we went.

Two comments about the day:

1) Blaire did have fun about 70-80% of the time and we got some nice Halloween themed pictures.

2) It was every bit as much work as I anticipated and I would still recommend parents wait until their kids are a little older before taking on the DL.*

*Opinions expressed in this article are those of Dean Thompson.  Any views expressed may not be those of Allyson or any of the other Thompson Girls.

 

 

 

 

Hello Darling

I walked in the door from work the other day and was met by Blaire who greeted me with an enthusiastic "hello darling!"  She also likes to say "darn it" every time she bonks or gets owie.  The other day we were watching Elf and one of the songs in the soundtrack is goes "every time it rains, it rains pennies for heaven. Shooby dooby!"  She always sings the "shooby dooby" out loud.  She makes me smile.

Oh yeah, on Sunday I walked in to the front room to find my iPhone sitting in a cup of water.  Not sure how long it had been there, but it's Thursday night and it's not working.  Pretty sure it's a lost cause.  Not as much smiling.

Ireland was sleeping pretty well for a couple of days, but has reverted back to sleeping not-so-well.  Everything is cyclical with babies.  She grunts a lot at night, but I don't hear her any more.  Not so with Ally.  Too bad for her...

One Month

Ireland hit the month mark on Wednesday.  She's filling out and becoming more alert.  She hasn't quite sorted out nights and days yet.  In fact, it's not a stretch to say she sleeps better during the day than at night.  She starting "cooing" this week which is very cute, and likes to spend the hours of 5:30-8 with her eyes wide open giving us a great view into her beautiful blues.  Not as fun for her mother who spends almost all that time feeding her.

Blaire is still adjusting to the new normal and remains a bit of a pill.  He newest thing is she LOVES to be naked.  If we don't keep some sort of shorts or a jumper on her at all times she will pull her diaper off any chance she gets.  It makes me feel a bit white trash when she's running around in the yard bare assed naked, but fortunately no one can really see back there.  She also loves to "plank" now.  She does it on the couch, the edge of her crib, the TV console.  She has real skill, too bad she's like a year too late.

Ally and I are also still adjusting to the new normal.  Struggling is probably the right word.  Nanny left this week so Ally is flying solomento.  She is doing a fantastic job and I can't thank her enough.

A Couple Weeks In

So it's been four weeks since our world was turned upside down by our new addition.  Ireland is great and we are blessed that she is eating well, gaining weight, and growing.  Her yellow hue has faded considerably and she's sleeping about as well as one could reasonably expect.

A brief side note on what one can reasonably expect for sleep with a new baby.  I thought I remembered how difficult it was those initial weeks with Blaire, and I even felt like I was prepared for a the significant reduction in sleep that was sure to come with Ireland.  It turns out human beings, as a result of adaptation for survival, have evolved to forget the pain associated with caring for small infants.  I'm sure I slept as little with Blaire, but I sre don't recall...

A Few More Thoughts

I'm trying to get a few more thoughts down of the last few day's happenings while they are still fresh.  As I suspect is the case with most blog posts, this one is really more for jounalistic purposes than anything else.

Ireland was on the high-end of what's acceptable for jaundice when we left the hospital.  Unfortunately our pediatrician didn't communicate well to us what that meant in the days following so we went in to see him a week after the birth just to get some piece of mind.  The jaundice was fine, the big news was that Ireland had gained a half pound from her birth weight.  Our pediatrician said it was unprecedented. At any rate, everything seems to be working properly and our girl is growing and healthy.

Ally caught a cold the day we went in for surgery.  Couldn't believe it.  So she's been wearing one of those medical masks this whole week when holding Ireland.  She has found the whole thing very annoying (Ally, not Ireland).  The more negative offshoot has been the bad cough Ally's had to deal with while trying to recover from having her abdomen sliced open.  Needless to say that's not a winning combination.

Ireland is wonderful.  We couldn't ask for a better baby.  She eats well, sleeps well, and does the one other thing that's expected of her well.  She is just beautiful and lovely.  I'm excited for her and Bliare to get to know each other and become friends.  They both make me very happy.

Oh How I Love The Sight Of Ireland

Regrettably it's been a week since the birth of our baby girl and I'm just now finding (taking) time to put some thoughts down about the process and person.

Ireland was born August 8, 2012 at 2.51pm.  She weighed in at 6lbs 10oz, and measured a respectable 20.5 inches.  She came with a full head of brunette hair which after having cleaned has streaks of a lighter almost blond color, so it's hard to say if she will end up with light or dark hair.  She has dark grey eyes that seem to me to have a very slight blue tinge to them, so again I don't know how they will play out.

She came via c-section which went well, but took much longer than we would have thought, but no complications or problems for either mother or child.  While we were in the PACU, the nurse felt like she heard a slight breathing problem, so they worked to get some additional fluid out of her lungs.  In addition she apparently has a slight heart murmur which they tell us is common and should go away in days.  As of this writing Ireland is doing great and getting bigger and stronger each day.  In fact she's gained a half pound since birth, something her pediatrician says is pretty unprecedented.

I've made it no secret that I have felt somewhat overwhelmed at the thought of caring for two children, and so far I don't feel my fears are unfounded.  Blaire, while taking in stride so far the introduction of baby number two, has been aggressively trying to love/touch/maul her baby sister.  She is in her twos, so instruction as to why she can't do this or that has not been received well.  One lovely offshoot so far has been her unwillingness to go to bed at her regular hour, and so far waking up much earlier than usual.  This morning she woke up at 5.30 wanting mom who was of course nursing Ireland, and would not be comforted with any alternative, so I ended up at the park with her by a quarter to 6am.  Wouldn't have been a problem if I had gotten any sleep the night before.  The following night she woke up at 10:30pm screaming and wouldn't be comforted until about 1am.  I tried taking her outside, I took her for a drive, you name it, no dice.

She's acting out in other ways as well trying to get our attention.  Slamming doors, pulling hair, and throwing tantrums at a moments notice.  None of which she did pre-Ireland.  Who is this girl and what has she done with Blaire?

Changing gears, I was reading in Luke today where Jesus talks about how the father gives good gifts.  To paraphrase, if we being evil know how to give our children good gifts, how much more does our perfect Heavenly Father know how to give us what we need.  It's really something that should give each of us a great deal of hope and courage in this life.  I love my girls so much, and would do anything to have them happy and healthy...and I'm evil.  Which means they have a Father in Heaven willing and able to give them infinitely more than me, and I want to give them the world.  So if I'm following the line of reasoning correctly, my girls are set.  Between me and God, they are good to go should they live worthy lives.  And since we are all in that same wonderful boat, there isn't a single one of us that should be approaching any part of our lives with even one sliver of fear.  I hope to instill this sort of faith and confidence in my girls.

The family less one.

Blaire meeting her sister for the first time.

Blaire needs a little extra attention these days.  Manicure it is.

Ally gives good baby.

Turning Two

Pregnancy's Final Days

I'm sure no one is more acutely aware of this pregnancy winding down than Ally.  Let me just take a moment and thank her for her patience and strength during this gestation, particularly the last several weeks where she has barely been able to walk due to sore back and hips.  She has been a trooper and somehow has managed a two-year old as well.

As it did during Blaire's pregnancy, this pregnancy has felt somewhat abstract to me.  It's as though I'm more adjacent to the process than part of it.  Obviously there have been the expected preparations, and I've watched Ally grow, but it seems very arms length.  But as they did with Blaire, the final weeks seem to bring with them a sense of reality and I find myself thinking about baby number two more often.

I'm somehow more intimidated about #2 than I was for Blaire.  Different fears though.  Before I worried about how to care for a new born, what to do if they cried, what if they got sick, how to change a diaper.  Having now been through it I'm confident I can care for this new baby, but not with a two-year old in the mix.  It seems as though Blaire takes all the effort of both Ally and me.  The thought of now adding a newborn to the mix seems very daunting.  

I just keep telling myself that many before us have raised multiple children with success, so it's obviously possible.  I'm hoping this means the scales of success are tipped in our favor.

modeling at the beach

Summer Fun ... Part I

We're anxiously awaiting the arrival of baby #2.  The little one arrives early August so that means all our summer fun has to happen before I'm too huge and uncomfortable to participate in any of it.  Here's a run down of our adventures so far this summer ...

Music class, dance class, park days, swimming

ellen's mother's day show, san diego, zoo

birthdays, aquarium, flower fields

shopping, cleaning, nesting

1st dentist visit, bbq's

beach

A Star Patient

Long Beach Aquarium

San Diego Zoo

Ellen's Mother's Day Show ... Amazing

Baby's coming soon!

Vacation

Ally and I left Blaire for a week (thanks Marilyn) and went to the Caribbean for the first time.  We stayed on St. Thomas, but hit most of the surrounding virgin islands, both US and British.  It is very beautiful and VERY warm.  We got the ceremonial tropical vacation sunburn, experienced the best snorkeling I've done so far, and saw some of the most beautiful beaches ever.  I've included some pictures to help tell the story.

On a separate note, it was much harder than I anticipated being away from Blaire for a week.  I missed her a lot, as I know Ally did.  Admittedly, it was really nice being able to go where we wanted, when we wanted without the restrictions a small child brings.  That said, at every beach I found myself, if only for a minute, wanting to play with Blaire in the sand.  It only took me a minute to realize that I wouldn't be enjoying the sun and water nearly as much if I was chasing her around, keeping her out of harms way and trying to avoid too much sun.  Still, I wish she could have dropped in for about a half hour each day, played, and then gone back to the sure care of her grandmother so that we could move on to the next adventure.  It's a funny relationship one has with ones children, simultaneously wanting them around while feeling relieved they aren't.

The Baths, Virgin Gorda- British Virgin Islands

Magens Bay- St Thomas

Trunk Bay- St John

Cinnamon Bay- St John

Maho Bay- St John

21 Months already?

Blaire Abigail is 21 months.  With baby #2 on the way, I've spent a lot of time reflecting on my pregnancy with Blaire and the day she came into the world.  Here she is now, a very busy toddler.  Enjoy a few of her new faves as well as her latest tricks ...

Loves to kick, jump and dance.  She loves to spin in a circle with her arms in the air saying, "dance."  She's even forming little sentences and says, "I kick the ball."  Her favorite thing in the whole world right now is the mini trampoline at her baby gym.

Our little baby genius can count to two and loves to point out when she sees two of anything.  She also knows several colors and can identify quite a few letters too!  She can also identify pretty much all of her body parts and loves to point out everything from eyebrows and knees ("two knees!") to more "private" areas.  Hilarious!

She's becoming such a big girl and has even started a little potty training.

Miss Blaire is a charmer on the playground.  She loves to hug and kiss the other "babies."  We keep saying, "it's an election year!"  I am convinced she is going to be the best big sister to the new baby.

She's been busy the past couple months and has enjoyed art class, french school, baby gym, and trips to the museum.  She's hoping the LA weather will improve so she can debut her new swimsuit on the beach (as of now, she requests it almost daily).  Complete with her hot pink dress shoes, it makes quite the ensemble.  Our baby fashionista!

What a joy she is.  She makes us smile and laugh every day with the things she says and does.

No more high chair for this baby!

Our Irish Girl 

Super Baby!  She loves to wear her lovey like a cape.

No more photos, please!

Expecting

I guess at this point everyone who reads this will already know we are expecting a little brother or sister for Blaire.  We are very excited, though candidly it's been difficult getting my head around the whole thing.  In many ways it feels like we've just gotten used to having Blaire and have finally adjusted to our child rearing life.  Adding another kid to the mix not only seems abstract, it seems impossible.

Since Ally and I both have siblings with multiple kids and who frankly have a lot less help than we do, I know that raising multiple children is possible.  I hope that I'm not the only parent to ever feel like they can barley handle one child, and so are completely intimidated by the thought of having two.  I'm assuming (praying) that it will happen, we will adjust, and before we know it we won't remember what life was like without two children.  It just seems like a lot to hope for, especially since I still remember what life was like pre-children.

To be fair I remember being very nervous about having Blaire for similar reasons.  I already felt time constrained by work and church, and had no idea how to take care of a baby, and yet somehow we've managed.  But the thing is, currently we can both concentrate on Blaire.  We can tag team when things are tough.  When Ally was pregnant with Blaire and didn't feel well, or needed a nap, she could just rest.  Now if I'm at work, she can't just go lie down, unless of course she doesn't mind Blaire tearing the place apart and endangering herself in the process.  I realize I am expressing the dilemma of many a mother or parent, but now it's happing to me so it seems like a much bigger deal.

As I said though, we couldn't be happier.  The more our now little one grows, the more excited we get.  Ally had an ultra-sound last week and for the first time it really looked like a baby.  Can't wait to meet him or her.

Home for the Holidays

We stayed close to home this holiday season.  We so enjoyed celebrating with our own little family and beginning some new holiday traditions.  Enjoy some photos of the Thompsons at home in LA LA Land.