Introducing Our Little Man!

It's been three weeks.  Can you believe it?!  Three weeks since our little guy entered our lives.  Jonathan Scott Balaich was born on August 30th at 3:43 pm.  He was 8 lbs. 6 oz., 21 inches long, and two weeks early!  I guess my kids just like to cook faster because Alia was also two weeks early.  I am certainly ok with that:)

So here's the story:

Wednesday, the 29th was a doctors appointment.  At that appointment I was told that I was dilated to a 3.5 and was told to make an appointment for next week, but I probably would not be making it to my appointment (because he thought I would probably go into labor that week).  I had been thinking all week how this was the two week mark, and the baby could very easily come this week because that's what Alia did.  But I was also thinking, "please don't let the baby come until after Wednesday night's rehearsal."  This was going to be a big music rehearsal for the show that I am music directing, and I wanted to make sure that I was there.  Well, I was there, but near the end of rehearsal and especially as I was driving home, I started having regular contractions.  [Insert funny thing my dad said - I told him about this and he said, "Jonathan is just a theatre baby.  He knew when his entrance was supposed to be."  Definitely made me laugh.]

So that night my contractions continued, but never got close enough together to worry, and never got hard enough to think I needed to go to the hospital, but I was pretty certain I would be having a baby the next day.  I was thinking to myself as I was watching TV at 2 in the morning because the contractions were too much to sleep though, "this is most likely my last night to actually get some sleep before I have the baby, and I don't even get to sleep."  We, women, have to go though so much, right?  I was finally able to fall asleep around 3 but was then woken up again around 5:30 with some pretty strong contractions.  From this point, they just started getting closer together, much stronger, and more painful.  But it was doing this very slowly, so I went ahead and sent Nick to work not knowing when we would need to go to the hospital.  About 40 minutes after Nick left the house, the contractions were painful enough that I was hunching over furniture and making pained noises.  [This was very disconcerting for Alia.  She was very concerned about her mom and wanted to give me hugs.  Unfortunately that did not help with any of the pain.]  So I called Nick, who had only been at work for about 15 minutes and asked him to come home.  He called his mom who got to our house to get Alia about the same time that Nick got home, and we headed to the hospital.

Contractions at this point were fluctuating between 5-8 minutes apart so I was really worried that they were going to send me home.  But when we got checked out in triage, I had dilated to a 5 and they informed us that we would be having a baby that day!  The nurse could see that I was in a lot of pain, and I still had not been checked into a Labor and Delivery room, so she was going to have the anesthesiologist give me the epidural while still in triage before he was unavailable because of a c-section of another patient.  I was relieved to know that I would soon have some relief, but then another nurse came over my nurses walkie-talkie and said the c-section had already started and the anesthesiologist would be at least an hour.  I was going to fall apart after hearing this.  I couldn't wait an hour!  The nurse calmed me down and told me she can give me some pain medication through my IV to help curb the pain until I can get the epidural.  Oh man was that stuff nice.  I was floating around the room, my arms weren't attached to my body anymore, and my head just felt like a cloud.  Nick tried to ask me silly questions to get me to say goofy things like in those wisdom teeth recovery videos.  It didn't work.  I was still present enough to know what I was saying.  By the time I got the epidural, I still had this pain medication in my system so the epidural didn't hurt or feel uncomfortable at all.  I kept complimenting the anesthesiologist on how good he was before I realized the next day that it was probably the pain meds and not him.  Oh well, hopefully I made his day:)

So as anyone who has had an epidural knows, once you get one, the rest of the labor story is pretty boring.  I dilated all the way to an 8 (by myself without any patosin) within a few hours, but then slowed down enough that they had to break my water and give me patosin.  I slept most of the day, and visited with my mom who was there for a few hours before it was time to push, Nick played his computer games, and I also STARVED!  Remind me next time I have a baby to stop on the way to the hospital and eat something huge.  I think if I wasn't so hungry, I would not have been as uncomfortable as I was at certain points.
About 3:30 it was time to push.  I pushed for almost 15 minutes, then Jonathan was here!  I was so happy when they laid him on my chest.  He even got to stay there for a while.  When Alia was born, she had some breathing problems so she only laid on my chest for maybe 30 seconds before they took her away to help her breath.  But Jonathan got to hang out with me for a good 5 minutes.  Mess and all:)

Second time motherhood has proved to be a lot better than first-time.  Less stress, less pain in breast-feeding, more sleep at the hospital, more happiness at the lack of stress and pain, and faster recovery.  Nick and I just could not stop comparing how much nicer it was this time around now that we kinda knew what we were doing.  Also, we wised up and let the nursery take Jonathan during the night instead of having him sleep in the room with us.

Now that Jonathan is home, we feel like a complete family.  There's something about a family of four versus three.  We just feel more complete.  Alia has been a wonderful big sister.  After being the only child and the only grandchild in state on both sides this girl has been...well loved.  Because of this, we really expected a lot of resentment and lashing out, but she has really embraced and accepted Jonathan.  She loves to give him kisses, always tells us when Jonathan is sad, helps us get his diapers and wipes, and informs everyone, "No!  He eats ONLY MILK."  [I made sure to teach this to Alia immediately after coming home to save Jonathan from any fruit snacks or gold fish crackers being shoved in his mouth in an attempt to share.  This could be potentially dangerous.]


Jonathan has had his two-week check-up and everything is looking great.  He has already gained almost a pound!  He is now 9 lbs. 3 oz.  He wakes up (normally) at 3:30 am then again at 7:30.  And he has done this ever since coming home from the hospital.  He just loves his mommy so much he wants her to sleep:)  I'm guessing that his size has a lot to do with how well he sleeps.  I certainly don't mind that.  We have not gotten any smiles yet (well besides the ones while his is sleeping) but I read that we still have a few weeks before he will start to smile at us.  I absolutely can't wait for that!





This is one happy family.  So happy to have our two spectacular, beautiful, and handsome children.  So happy that they are healthy.  And so happy that they are ours!

A two-year-old and a bearded Nick

So, I know, I know.  It's been almost a year since I have posted.  And maybe no one will even read this since I have neglected this site for so long.  But for those who may look at this, I feel I owe you an update.

I'll start with the cute little girl who has stolen our hearts.  If I had a dollar for every time anybody has said about Alia, "She's just so cute, I can't even stand it!"  I would have a lot of dollars!  That gives me an idea...maybe I should capitalize on the cuteness of my daughter....hmmmmm....nah.  I'll just keep her to myself:)  She is growing so much!  Yesterday, Alia wore panties for the first time and had a really good day!  We did have some accidents, but that is to be expected when one is used to using the restroom at will for her whole life up to this point.  But Alia did use the potty quite a few times for both numbers 1 and 2.  This momma is quite excited.  Here's that cute girl playing at Grandma's in her Dora panties.

Alia loves to help mommy cook in the kitchen.  Especially when she gets to lick the beaters!  The whole time Alia is helping me add ingredients, she is also asking over and over again, "Mommy, I lick it?  Mommy, I lick it?"  One day after sending Alia away several times when making frosting, I finished and yelled to Alia, "Alia, your greatest dreams have come true!"  Then she ran in yelling, "I LICK IT!"  She knew exactly what I was talking about.

Alright, moving on to the bearded Nicky.  Nick is in Fiddler on the Roof playing Motel the Tailor, and therefore had to grow out a beard or wear a fake one.  He chose to grow his out.  His hair on his head is a lot longer too.  It's been a fun change.  Lots of people have pointed out his resemblance to Abraham Lincoln.  That would have been really fun for the 4th of July.  Oh well.  Opportunity missed.  I really like to look at him while he's on the stand in church (as the ward clerk).  He just looks so noble; almost royal.  Nick hates it.  He constantly complains about this "think that is always on my face!"  He is also way weirded out by that fact that he can see his mustache.  That would be kind of weird.  And to answer the question you all are asking yourselves right now:  I actually don't hate kissing him with a beard as much as I thought I would.  I am excited for a smooth husband again, but in the meantime, I'm not dying.

We are very excited to be welcoming the fourth member of our family coming in two months.  September 13th to be exact.  This pregnancy is going well.  I really thought that I would be so much more miserable at this point in pregnancy with it being summer and all.  But I don't feel like I'm dying any more than I would when I wasn't pregnant.  Baby J is also doing well.  He moves more and more.  Sometimes it feels like he's just trying to break out before it's time.  Nick is totally freaked out by all of the baby movements, though.  And I quote, "Yeah, I would totally freak out if I were pregnant.  All I would think about is the Alien."  And I'm thinking, "you wouldn't freak out about being pregnant because you're A MAN?"

Well, until next time!

Our Royal Duties

At the beginning of this month, Nick and I had the opportunity to perform in a Happily Ever After musical review and had a blast. We performed with other very talented vocalist including Laura Bedore, the host of Show Tunes Saturday Night, a radio show that airs in Utah on, you guessed it, Saturday nights. Songs in the show included: Happy Little Working Song and True Loves Kiss from Enchanted, At Last I See the Light from Tangled, Agony from Into the Woods, Stepsister's Lament from Cinderella, and lots more. All the women got to dress as beautiful princesses and all the men as handsome princes.

The children who attended were encouraged to dress up too! Here is our little Ariel. Notice, no sea shells. For Strength of the Youth Pamphlet, people.

Nick got to sing a song from Shrek the Musical called When Words Fail. That explains the ears.

And here is Nick's castle. Nick spent a total of about 14 hours sprucing up this castle that was used at his sister, April's wedding 10 years ago. It was a lot of work, but it looks amazing and was a perfect back drop for the show.

After the show, we had LOTS of little princesses who wanted to talk to us and take pictures with us. This was probably my favorite part. I love how the little girls would look at me as if I was the most amazing thing they had ever seen...call me narcissistic, but I may be moving to California to be a princess full time. I'm so grateful I married someone who shares my enthusiasm for singing and performing. We have so much fun together and I look forward to performing a lot more with my Nicky.

This has nothing to do with the show, but I thought this was an adorable picture of Nick and Alia. We took this at the Layton City Parade on the Fourth of July.

We've been up to stuff

Well we've certainly been busy with lots of things to report.

First, let's talk about little Alia Rose. She has just turned 15 months and acts it. Alia knows what she wants and lets us know either with sign language or screaming. I thought that I was teaching her sign language so that she wouldn't scream and whine, but I was wrong. At any rate, Alia knows "milk," "please," "help," "thirsty," "eat," "up," "down," and "more." Vocally, Alia can say "momma," "dadda," "baby," and her favorite, "bye." She gets this really high pitched voice when when says it and then blows a kiss with the sound effect, "mwah." Here are some of my favorite pictures from the last couple of months:

Is this what Tyra Banks describes as smiley eyes? A model in the making?

Alia is definitely my little buddy. We love hanging out together. We sing, dance, and laugh. Lots of times we laugh just at each other for no reason. We just laugh at our laughing:)

We love Alia's hair in pig-tails. It makes her look so much like a little girl; she gains a year with those pig-tails.

This is one of the latest pictures of Alia. She's so pretty.

In other news: In the beginning of June, I finished 'Annie.' Katee and I got to do this show together and I loved it.

I, unfortunately, did not have a picture of Katee and I together, but I did have one of Grace, Rooster, Lily, and Miss Hannigan.

I also got to go to girls camp! I had so much fun and learned so much. I love my calling. Here is a picture of the whole Stake Young Women's Presidency:

This was on the last day so we're looking a little frazzled, but that's ok.

I also had the opportunity to conquer the challenge course. We had to climb about 20 feet up a thin tree trunk, then walk about 15-20 feet across another thin tree trunk, then down a zip line. So scary, yet so fun!

And finally, Mom just turned 50 and I made her a cake to celebrate. Probably my best cake so far, if I do say so myself. And the pretty lady-who-does-not-look-50 behind the cake isn't so bad either.

Aaaaaaaand here's picture of Nick because he wasn't in any of the other pictures.

Alia Is 1!!!!!!!!!!

Ok now she's really almost 13 months, but cut me a break. Anyway, I thought I would update you all on Alia's fun Birthday and her current size.

First, Alia's Birthday Party:

I had play practice on Alia's actual birthday, so we celebrated on the following Monday. The theme was, "Look Whoo's Turning 1!" You know because an owl says "Whoo."

Here's the family decorating for me because I was so busy making the cake and cleaning the house that I didn't have the house decorated by the time the guests arrived. It turned out well, though, because it was a fun activity for everyone while we were waiting for everyone to come. I'll have to remember that trick for future parties:)

And here's the cake. Notice the owl theme. The purpose of teaching myself to make more elaborate cakes with fondant starting about 9 months ago, was so that I could make the greatest 1st birthday cake ever for Alia. I feel I have achieved this goal! I'm pretty proud.

The bottom layer was a vanilla cake with almond flavored white frosting, and the top layer was a chocolate cake with a ganache and strawberry center.

Alia with Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Stockett. Good picture of all of them.

One of the few happy pictures from Alia that night. She had been sick the weekend before the party and was just starting to feel better. But you can tell in some of the pictures that she's just tired and out of it.

focus, Alia. Focus! Side note, Nick and I were matching without meaning to. Silly us.

Decorating finished product.

Alia's latest stats:

Weight: 23 lbs 13 oz (75%)

Height: 30 inches (90%)

Alia's Birth Stats: (for comparison)

Weight: 8 lbs (50%-75%)

Height: 20 inches (75%)

In other words, she has grown A LOT!

Love you, Alia Rose!

Alia at 10 months and now 11 months!

I am such a happy mommy. I have such a beautiful little girl who makes me feel so wonderful. Alia is now 11 months which means her first birthday is right around the corner! I've already got an idea for a party theme and cake as well as her birthday outfit all picked out. Can you tell that I enjoy being the mother of a girl?

So at 11 months, Alia is busy busy busy. Alia loves to run along the furniture to get to whatever she wants. She is also quite the expert crawler. I am constantly hearing myself and others saying, "wow she is a fast crawler!" Alia loves chasing Nick, me, or anyone who will run away from her. She is also a big fan of peek-a-boo. Alia LOVES looking at books. She'll sit on my lap for as long as I will read to her. I have never seen her get bored of reading books before I do. And she will also sit and look at books on her own for forever! There was one day that she was in her room looking at her books and I came in and said to her, "will you be okay if I go take a shower?" She looked at me as I spoke, then looked at her book and then looked at me again and waved. It was as if she was saying, "go on, mom. I'll be fine." And she was! Alia now eats everything. And a lot of it! I'm not sure if she has a favorite food because she seems to enjoy anything I put in front of her. She also knows how to drink out of a sippie cup and a straw. Our favorite thing that Alia has been doing lately is this really funny smile. She squints her eyes and shows her teeth while pushing her bottom teeth to one side. We call it her gremlin smile. She's also really good at giving kisses. Yesterday while visiting teaching, Alia kept trying to give kisses to the 2 year old son of the woman I was visiting. I'm going to have to keep my eye on that girl. Alia says mamma and dadda and I'm pretty sure she knows what she's saying.

Now that our play is over, we've been able to get Alia back to a regular sleeping schedule and she seems to be enjoying going to bed at 8. She's also getting a lot more snuggly. Alia hasn't ever really enjoyed snuggling in my lap or arms unless I have something interesting for her to do, like read a book or watch a show. But now when she gets tired, she'll lay her head on my shoulder and sing a little bit. I love it so much! Whenever I am taking her to bed, as we are walking down the hall to her room she waves goodbye to daddy and starts to fuss a little because she knows where she's going. I call that walk, The Green Mile.

These were taken at about 10 1/2 months. So I'm counting them for for even though I did take 11 month pictures. They just didn't turn out as well.

I tried to post a video but I can't get it to load. Better luck next time, I hope!

It's been a while!

So Nick, Alia, and I have been super busy...hence the lack of posting. Nick and I have been doing a show called Urinetown, which has been one of our favorite show experiences so far! We both have really great, challenging roles and have also made a lot of friends in the process. Alia had a lot of fun coming to rehearsals with us, and now that the show is opened, she has lots of fun taking turns playing at her grandparents' houses. Alia is definitely a theatre/music baby. One rehearsal, we just kept her in her car seat but propped it up so that she could watch the show. She sat there and watched almost the entire first act without a peep! She also loves to sing with us. The other day, while driving her to Grandma JuLee's before a show, Alia sang with me the entire 15 minute drive over there. I can't wait to see what kind of little performer she's going to be! Here are some pictures from the show:)

This is Nick and his "side-kick" in the show, John. They have become good friends since meeting each other in Pimpernel. John was also Nick's "side-kick" in that show! Paul and I know John because we went to high school with him...small world.

Nick as Officer Lockstock and me as Ms. Pennywise. Just out of the shot is my utility belt that includes toothbrushes, rubber gloves, electrical tape, and my plunger.

Nick and I took Alia on our last date: Bowling. Let's hope Alia grows up to be a better bowler than her parents is all I have to say!

Alia looks a little tired in this picture. At least she's giving us a "thumbs-up!"

This picture was just too cute not to post. Alia: Post bath. Isn't her hair getting long? Her bottom teeth are getting so big too. No sign of any more teeth at the moment, but I'm sure it won't be long.