Welcome to the World, Donovan James Potter

This is the unedited version of Donovan's birth. It is the best birth ever!

Let's start with how wonderfully obedient Van is. I had a few wishes for how and when Baby #3 would arrive. Because Oliver and Ruth are exactly 2 years, 2 months, and 2 days apart I hoped I'd go past due date (July 29th) and deliver on August 1 so that Ruth and Baby #3 would also be exactly 2 years, 2 months, and 2 days apart. First wish granted!

For my second wish, I prayed that I'd be able to have a good night's rest and a good meal before having to labor. So on July 31st I went to visit with Dr. Chalmers and he swept the membranes and said he'd plan to see us sometime that night. Made me nervous that I'd deliver within a few hours of my hoped-for birth date; and that I'd have a terrible middle of the night labor, which would be exhausting. I still had Laura Callahan (friend/doula) come over to rub my feet and do some visualizations and affirmations with me. Chris and I went on a walk. And Staci Davies came over to take some pictures. She offered to photograph the birth and wanted to come take some pictures of our family the night before to tell the whole birth story. It was a calm, but exciting night thinking that I could go into labor at any minute. Chris and I went to bed that night expecting to wake up to broken waters. I'm not sure if I was relieved or disappointed when I woke up the next morning and saw I was still pregnant. I told Chris that I was gonna do everything possible to have a baby that day! I put on my work out clothes and was gearing up to go for a strenuous walk. I needed breakfast first though and while eating my granola, at 7:45, I noticed my first contraction! Wish granted!

  

Lastly, I wished for a quick labor! Haha! Be careful what you wish for! ;) 

At 8:00 I noticed that I'd had maybe 3 contractions in the last 15 minutes, so I started to sound the alarm. I told Chris, called my mom, Linda, Marietta, Laura, Diana, and Syndi. I made the kids breakfast and Chris was getting ready to go to a 9:00 meeting (which he didn't). We asked Linda to come over and watch the kids so that Chris and I could labor uninterrupted. When she arrived I said, "Oh, good! You're here. I'm gonna go get in the tub and try to relax so I can get these contractions to slow down." I was so busy with phone calls and breakfast that I wasn't really keeping track of the frequency. But they were strong enough that I would have to stop and breath through them, focusing on relaxing every muscle to make each contraction more efficient. I left a voicemail with Syndi that made her just laugh later, cause I totally paused for 30 seconds and breathed into the phone! Chris came to check on me in the tub and he timed contractions. When he realized the contractions were every 3 minutes, he cancelled his meeting and started to focus on getting packed to go. I needed his help with everything from this point on. He helped me to our bed, get dressed, he even put deodorant on me. I wished he could do more rubbing and pressure points to help me with the pain. But he had to pack and get me ready. So we called Laura over to come help. She got here quick. I told her that I was not doing well. That I felt like I needed to throw up and poop at the same time. Laura recognized that as transition (the most intense, shortest stage of labor right before pushing). She said it was time to go! And we fully agreed! It was just PAINFUL to move!

Laura found me a shirt, no bra. Chris ran around the place loading the bags and carseat and got the air conditioning going in the car. Laura walked me out the door. I remember telling Oliver and Ruth I love them while they were playing with Grandma downstairs. I told Linda thank you and we'd see her soon at the hospital. We were still trying to find someone to replace her at the house with Oli & Ruth. I was going to grab some flip flops by the back door, but a contraction hit again and then shoes didn't really seem important. No bra, no shoes. Fell into the back seat of our Honda Accord and laid my head down on a dirty beach towel - Chris thought he was supposed to bring it because it was thrown into the baby car seat by one of the kids. Glad we had it. 

I remember every little bump and turn leaving our house. Laura was sitting on the floor in the back seat with me, awkwardly pushing on my knees during contractions. I felt like we were stopping at every single red light down Sunset Blvd. I told her I was afraid I'd have to walk right in and get an epidural. She replied, "This is the hardest it's gonna get." Which finally clued me in to what she already knew. I was in transition! It was at the corner of Sunset and Bluff Street that I announced, "Shoot, Guys! We're Really Gonna Have a Baby in the Car!"

I'm told that Chris looked at Laura terrified. Laura said, "You're not crowning unless you feel burning." And she talked so calmly the entire time! I couldn't believe that this was actually happening to us! But it was burning! I wanted to push so bad! There were two things stopping me though. I was afraid of the mess in the car - that Chris would be mad about it. Then I was bummed out that I wasn't going to have that peaceful, serene atmosphere that I create at the hospital with my sisters and friends there. I frantically yelled, "I feel burning!" Laura calmly assured me, "You don't need a hospital to have your baby. You can push if you want to." She's right. I want to push so bad! I could have a baby behind a handcart!

Chris really sped up! I heard him call Labor and Delivery to tell them we were on our way and to meet us in the parking lot. I watched the trees in the window whip by and listened to Chris change gears like a pro driver! I was so impressed with his driving skills and calling L&D at the same time. I never thought his race car skills would come in so handy! He seemed so calm and in control. This is probably the most fun thing in the world to Chris. I think he's actually loving speeding through town like a race car driver! He was the most anxious one in the car though. The thought of having to move out of the car and into a hospital made me wanna cry. So I was happy to be pushing. Chris said his heart rate has never been higher! And when we reflect on the event he said he'd never wanna do it again! 

While all these thoughts were going on, I pushed. I started pushing somewhere along Bluff Street. I'm pretty sure I only pushed 5 times before the baby was out. After the second push, I yelled at Laura to take my pants off. She assured me, she could see Baby's head and asked for my beach towel. Chris pulled into the parking lot, parked crooked in front of the doors, and then honked the horn and ran in to get the nurses. Laura called him back, "Chris, come catch your baby." That would be so cool. She sat there ready to catch the past few minutes though and I know she was excited to do it too. The nurses ran out fast with a kit and clean towels. Chris felt more comfortable with their clean towels and experience and let them take over. They got there just in time to catch! What just happened???

Because most everyone finds out the gender these days, they didn't announce it so quickly! Chris was holding my upper body, shaking, and laughing, "It's a boy!" 

"No way!" I started to laugh and cry! I held my little baby boy! I knew immediately that he was perfect for our family. I wanted a little girl, I was certain we were going to have a little girl. But I knew that we needed another little boy in our family! And I looked at him and knew he was healthy and strong, he just looked better than the last 2 babies. "What time is it?" I asked everyone. "9:49 on my phone," Laura said. Only 2 hours of labor? Wow! I had about 30 seconds to stare at him and have a peaceful moment holding him. Then I looked up and realized that we were in the back of the car! Oh my gosh! I'm naked in a parking lot! And I'm still in labor! 

Chris cut the umbilical cord. The snip shot some blood that ended up being the only mess in the car. Seriously! I'm guessing my bag of waters ruptured when I went to bathroom an hour or so prior. So the nurses hoisted me into a wheelchair and pushed me inside. They covered me with towels, one of which contained my side of the umbilical cord and they had me hold it. Chris walked in carrying our baby. They put me on a delivery bed and I immediately delivered the placenta - there was the mess! That was fortunate to not have to clean up later! 

Our baby boy was 8 pounds 4 ounces. My biggest baby, but definitely the easiest to get out. Chris sent a text message to family. Both our moms thought he was totally joking when he said Baby was here already. Linda had just said good-bye to us 10 minutes ago! So he included a picture and sent it again. They still didn't believe him. Van nursed perfectly for a long while in the L and D room. Diana was on her way there when we called earlier, so she was our first visitor. And then Bill came to meet the baby too.

But our most important visitors were Oliver and Ruth. Linda brought them over within a couple hours of birth. They walked into a fairly dark room. Baby was crying from just being bathed. His face was still pretty puffy from what he had just gone through. And the room wasn't really intended for visitors. So I understand why Oliver and Ruth walked in totally nervous and weirded out. When Ruth looked at her baby brother, her face said it all! He doesn't look at all like my baby dolls! Oliver didn't wanna look at him or hold him. He was nervous from all the crying and everyone watching him. I appreciated Laura being in tune with the kids and talked to Oliver about some of the things that were happening and why the baby was crying.  I asked both of the kids to sit by me on the bed and I held the baby. It didn't take long for both kids to discover the buttons on the bed though. And I was in loads pain and didn't want them moving me up and down at all. So I gave them both some love and sent them home. We were hopeful to go home that very same day, so I figured we could visit all together soon enough. The hospital stay was uneventful. I loved having visitors. Baby and I were so tired that we didn't nurse as much as the staff wanted us too, so I stayed one night. Chris didn't stay the night so that he could help out his mom at our house.

One goal we had was to have a name decided on before we left the hospital. We weren't as prepared with a boy name because we thought we were having a girl. It was Beatrice Capri Potter. We'll save it for later, I guess. My criteria for a perfect name kept dwindling while we negotiated. I wanted a three syllable, family name, that was easy to spell and helped out our family acronym, R.O.C.K. Chris and I decided to name him Edvin. Chris went home and told the kids that their baby brother's name is Eddie. Oliver lit up cause his favorite elf cookie is named Fast Eddie! I messaged my parents with the name. We were set on it! But when Chris came back in the morning to pick us up, he admitted he didn't like it and couldn't do it. Haha! I agreed. We went back to our list and decided Donovan was perfect! I insisted on Van being the nickname, and he is NEVER to be called Donny! Van had a nice rockstar feel to it, but Donovan seemed to match our super-British name theme. We talked about naming him a car name, it was tempting. August Rush, Astin Martin, Accord... We abandoned that idea, but ironically ended up with Van, like a Minivan! Which happens to be my dream car! Practical, dependable, awesome! Just like this baby! The name Donovan means little dark prince, and it's Irish. Van the Man! Vanna Banana! and Vanny are popular with Oli and Ruth.
http://www.ohbabynames.com/meaning/name/donovan/1401#.VBIGn5RdUmw

Welcome to the world, Donovan James Potter! Donovan-because we liked it. James-after my dad. 3 syllables, family name, Van is easy to spell, and I guess I'll give up on my acronym. ;)

Van has proven to be a 3rd child dream! Chris and I knew he would be ;) since we're both 3rd children also. He is our easiest baby and we've been able to take him along with us on lots of activities. He nurses great, sleeps great, has good digestion. What more could a mother ask for? He and I are both healthy and happy! Oliver and Ruth had a tough time for a month or so and really acted out. But now that school's going and Ruth's involved in a few classes, they seem to understand that there's enough love and attention for everyone. They both get in trouble for kissing and hugging their baby Van too much. It's very hard to rock Van to sleep when Ruth's around. She likes to be a helper. Oliver sings made-up lullabies to him. There are times throughout the day that I have glimpses of Heaven on Earth. Then 10 minutes later, chaos resumes! Haha! It's wild and fun and messy and lovely!

Van will be blessed on November 2nd.

Cute little Van!

Tradition: Camping and Strawberry Day

We just got home tonight from our annual trip to Pleasant Grove for Strawberry Days. Since we're 6 weeks away from having baby #3, we combined the annual family camping trip with S-Days; and made it my final trip for a while. Chris asked the kids when we were approaching St. George if they were excited to be home and they piped, "yes!" But I nearly broke down in tears because I know that I will be strapped to my house and the scorching heat for the next several months. I love my babies, but I hate feeling stuck at home. It is good to be home after a long trip. But we had a great week in PG and didn't have enough time to see and do all we hoped.

When we arrived to town on Tuesday last week, it was a rain/snow mix! My kids got dropped off with Grandma and Grandpa Alldredge at the theater and saw How to Train Your Dragon 2. Chris and I did some shopping. The original plan was to start camping this night, but no one really wanted to sleep in the snow, so we postponed the camp out.

Kids are dressed for warm weather, while it's pouring rain outside. They LOVED the movie, popcorn, being with G & G!

The next morning was beautiful and the skies were clear, so packed up and headed up to American Fork Canyon to camp. We got the best site at Granite Flats (#55) and started to get the tent and kitchen areas set up. The kids were automatically in Heaven! Everything about camping is funny with little kids running around trying to help and Grandpas and Dads trying to not cuss in front of them. The kids were stoked about their matching toddler beds to sleep in and told up they were ready for bed at 3 pm. Our tent is huge! We all sleep on inflatable mattresses and have room to spare.

Then we went on a little hike where Oliver had to be the leader. We encountered a little blow snake. Oliver knows I'm scared of snakes, so he tells me he will be brave and Ruth doesn't seemed phased by the disgusting creature at all. Glad my fear isn't rubbing off on them. It helps that Chris and Grandpa loved seeing it and tried to catch it.

Grandma and I made some dinner. Lots of sugar was consumed. It got cold, but no rain or snow. Chris and I had a leak in our mattress that night and my parents snore and have to go to the bathroom 100 times each, but other than that, it was a nice first night. I think everyone stayed warm. Ruth woke me up at 6:00 and was super sad. Thank goodness for the greatest car ever invented, the minivan, cause I just put her in the van and drove her around for an hour while she watched Bambi (I figured that was ok to watch while camping cause it takes place in the forest) and we warmed up while everyone slept another hour.

So Thursday was eventful. We drove down to Timpanogos Cave to get tickets to hike to it. That was educational. Didn't know that you had to have a ticket and that they sell out. So we went back to camp to give Ruth a nap. Grandma and I read magazines and talked all about how we're gonna remodel our houses. Oliver took Grandpa and Dad fishing at Tibblefork. He was SO excited to fish. They caught 2. Oli was bummed that his Mickey Mouse pole didn't catch any. After nap time, we all met up again headed to Timp Cave for the hike. Grandpa kept telling me it was an easier hike than the G. I've never been to the cave before and have always wanted to, plus everyone else was going, so I decided that my 8 months prego body could do it! Grandpa was wrong. It took us 2 hours to get to the cave.

It was a really big deal that a little 4 year old guy, a Grandma, and an enormous pregnant woman hiked the cave. For Grandpa and Dad, it was no big deal at all. Chris threw Ruth on his shoulders and practically ran up the mountainside! I'm not exaggerating! Grandpa wanted to stick with Grandma at the rear. And Oliver couldn't run up it, but he was pretty frustrated with how many breaks I wanted to take and told me to just keep going - a natural hiker! I actually did just fine on the way up. I enjoyed feeling my body exercise again cause it's been so long.

Timpanogos Cave didn't disappoint. We'll have to do it again sometime. It's small, but it's cool. Chris is a nerd for stalagmites and such, so he was thrilled to be in there and wants to do some Intro to Caving course next summer. He took a bunch of pictures inside of the formations.

The hike down was rough for me. The pressure of Baby hitting my pelvis was painful and gave me contractions that I had to stop many times. I decided that I needed a good night's rest after that. I went to Grandma and Grandpa's house after dessert that night so I could sleep in a real bed. Chris and Ruth came with me. We went back up in the morning. Grandpa already had everything packed by 9:30. Oliver had a great time with his grandparents. We stayed up and played for a while longer. No one was too excited about going home and unpacking. So the kids played a game that Oliver made a name for, called Throw things up in the air and watch them fall down. And Hide and Go Seek. We all played and it was fun.

The final 2 days of our week were Strawberry Days traditions. We went to the Rodeo. It was such a better experience for Chris and I this year. I think because we weren't surrounded by my brother's friends. We also met up with my old friends there. I was grateful my parents could help me out with Ruth and Oliver because they were tired. The fireworks at the end were awesome. The next morning, Chris went on a 10 mile run in his new shoes, then met up with us at the parade. Again, great to see my old neighbors and friends. I love my neighbor Kate! She's always so fun. I held her new little baby Burke and Ruth doted on him so gently the whole time. 

While the kids napped/hung out with Grandma and Grandpa Saturday afternoon, Chris and I had to run errands. He needed to switch his new shoes for a better size, and I ended up next door to the shoe store at a baby store. Immediately, when you walk in, you feel the sweet calmness for babies. There were overpriced crib sets and baby accessories. But I was falling for it! I suddenly needed $1000 - and I already have everything! It was the first time this pregnancy that I've actually sat down and been anxious to meet my new baby. I made Chris take a minute in the store and rock in the $400 rocking chairs with me to just take in the mood. And it was a good way to start to wind up our trip, cause now I'm excited to set up the nursery again and nest! We ended up actually buying a dresser at IKEA for the big kid room.

Last night, I got to see my very best high school buddies! And I love that it worked out that we got together at my parents' house - just like old times! Our kids had so much fun playing with each other! We all brought our own food; everyone ended up getting Taco Amigo. My mom served strawberries and cream. It was a perfect night! The kids were filthy afterwards from playing so hard. Made me wish we lived closer and these nights could happen more often. I feel very blessed that God surrounded me with good friends in high school and college. They have always been great examples to me, especially my dear Marietta (who is probably going to be the only person to read this blog!). 

This morning was a mess of laundry and packing, but we finished the trip with a stop to see my very favorite people alive, Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Alldredge. Grandpa is getting old, but he's still so happy and loving. They are wonderfully sweet to me and my kids. Wish I could convince Chris to name Baby #3 Heber if it's a boy. 

Well, that's the long-winded report on our annual trip. We did the same things, with practically the same people, but it's always special! I love sharing camping and Strawberry Days with my kids and I feel complete when I watch them enjoy everything as much as I did! I appreciate my good husband for coming along every year too. He talks about how we need our own family traditions, but we're not creative enough to come up with anything better at this point. So we'll stick with what works! 

Ruth's TWO! But she doesn't wanna be a big girl

Ruth's birthday was last week. In case Ruth is reading this and making judgements about how I was 6 days early blogging about Oliver but 9 days late blogging about her, I just want to remind her that she got a birthday party and Oli didn't. But I love you both, equally and forever and always-no matter what! Also, I was trying to get Chris to blog his first Ironman experience first so that it'd be sequential. Anyways...

Ruth's birthday 2014

Pretty Ruth is finally 2 years old! This FUN and WILD girl is really the most beautiful thing I've ever seen! And we're not the only ones that think so. Everywhere we go, we have total strangers tell us how beautiful Ruth is. But Ruth had to be beautiful to make up for how loud and wild she is! She roars at us and says she's a baby lion. Ruth yells for almost everything she needs. Grandma Potter loves how outspoken she is and thinks she's going to be a strong woman that will be able to speak her mind. My Grandma Rietz just told me this week that my mom was the same way as a kid, which I never knew. Ruth yells so loud whenever she spots a dog or a baby. "PUPPY!" or "BABY!" and she seems to find these things in the most unexpected places-spots them in a picture or in the back of a truck. I love her sweet, tender heart for babies and puppies.

Ruth takes a dog treat over to the Akins' dog, Duke, almost everyday. I've seriously bought 2 boxes of dog treats now. She fell in love with Tyler and Sherry's dog, Annabell when we visited last month. Annabell was about a week away from delivering puppies, so that was even more thrilling for Ruth that there were babies inside Annabell's tummy! I thought Sherry was gonna strangle Ruth from how loud she'd call out Annabell's name all day long. Ruth would sit right on her and snuggle. So it was no surprise that when we gave Ruth a big stuffed dog for her birthday, she named it Annabell on the spot! Ruth is usually pretending to be a dog as well. She licks us, barks, and likes to eat her food like a dog, sometimes off the floor. Her love of puppies runs deep and my heart breaks that we can't get her a puppy just yet.

Ruth and Annabell in Houston

But we are giving her a baby very soon! I was so sad and nervous to find out I was expecting this third baby last December. My heart ached that my pretty Ruth wouldn't have more time to be the baby and I felt like she needed more attention with her wild ways. But about the same time as finding out about the pregnancy, we discovered Ruth's love of babies. We gave Ruth her first baby doll for Christmas and she takes such great care of it! When she opened up the gift and started to love it, Grandma Potter assured me that this little baby #3 is probably the greatest gift I could've ever given Ruth. She is a natural at nurturing. Ruth will point out characters in books as the mommy, the daddy, the baby, the brother - whether they are animals, people, or random things like stars or food. She sees family units in everything. Ruth is convinced that there is a baby in her belly too. Our OB/GYN doctor and ultrasound technicians have really fuelled the flame by putting instruments on her tummy and making it look and sound like there's a baby inside. So whenever I ask her for extra help at home because of the baby inside my tummy, Ruth yells back at me, "No, MY baby!" and holds up her shirt to show me that she's the one growing the baby.

For how excited she is to be expecting a baby, Ruth still doesn't wanna give up her throne as "The Baby." Maybe it's because Baby Ruth just slides off everyone's tongue so well, and we call her Baby Girl most of the time. But she is fully refusing the Big Girl title. In her broken language she tells us, "No, I no big girl. I a BABY!" On her birthday we told her she was two, and she told us, "No, I a baby!" I don't really blame her. It would be tough to give up bottles, diapers, and your nursery. We're slowly working on all of this and encouraging her to be a big girl. So far, so good!

The past week we've been testing the waters to see how Ruth and Oliver do sharing a room. Ruth has been sleeping in an inflatable toddler bed, which looks like a little raft, and she loves it! She also loves sharing a room with Oli. I think she sleeps better in there than on her own. So we bought a new bed tonight and set it up for them to be official room mates for the next few years. They're both pretty stoked about it. Yesterday morning I heard Ruth wake up first. I was still getting up myself, so I didn't run in there at first. Then I hear her yelling, "Get up, Oli! Get up, Oli!" over and over. I run in so she doesn't wake him, and she's sitting on top of Oli, jumping and yelling for him to get up! The best is that Oli was still completely asleep. It was actually super adorable. There's no competition. Ruth's favorite person alive is Oliver! She is sad when he's at school. She misses him when he's got things going on. Ruth copies him shamelessly. She cheers his name over and over when he's scared to go down the waterslide. Ruth and Oliver and great buds. Even though she totally knows how to push his buttons. They are great for each other and completely balance each other. Heavenly Father knew exactly what he was doing when he designed the personalities in our family.

Daddy is Ruth's next favorite person (maybe it's me, depends on the day). This morning she found a toy ring and she showed it to me. I asked if it was for me? "No, it Daddy!" We needed to go into the office, so I told her to hang on to it we can give it to Dad. She sure did! I didn't know she was squeezing it in her tiny palm for whole 30 minutes before we got there. Right when we walked in, she handed it to Chris and told him she loves him and put it on his little finger. Then she climbed up on Dad's lap and helped him with his phone calls. I told Chris that I think Ruth's likely to follow in his footsteps and be an ambitious business woman someday. But Chris disagrees and reminded me of how much Ruth loves to be a mommy and take care of everything. Hard to know, and we don't really care. We just love how affectionate and sweet she is. Ruth woke up from her nap today and told me, "I need Daddy." Took her some time to finally come out of her room and hang out. Then tonight, Chris was worn out and nodding off on her bed while I was getting things ready for bath time. She climbs right up on him and lays on his chest and shoulder, and plays with his beard. She snuggled with Chris for about ten minutes! She's so totally adorable and loving!

Working with Dad at the office

Ruth and I have a great connection too. She's my little buddy. I think she's spunky and challenging and beautiful. I'm loving all the cute girl things and learning how to style her curly mullet. I could snuggle Ruth all day. She loves having her back tickled. Ruth gets into my make-up and nail polish. She's fun to play mermaids with and she pretends to call me on her cell phone. She and I go to a Mommy and Me yoga class while Oliver's at school which has been fun to do together. Ruth is so very different to raise than Oliver because she doesn't really care to please anyone. There is no bribing her or tricking her into doing something. Ruth is just a good, helpful girl all on her own. She cleans up spills and throws away trash simply because she likes to. She's wonderful to have around the house.

Ruth putting my lip gloss on

I think Ruth has a great connection with Grandpa Alldredge too. There was a time when Ruth was about 14 months old where Aunt Kami and Grandma were pretty frustrated with how loud Ruth would scream. It was waking up little Baby Kingston. (Grandma Alldredge told me that I should start to wipe soap in her mouth every time she did that to get her to stop - which I never did.) But Grandpa was patient with her. He'd just snuggle her on his lap and sing songs to her for an hour. Ruth loved it! I couldn't believe she'd stay that long. From then on, Ruth preferred going to Grandpa over Grandma. She just liked his calm lullaby's and snuggling. Of course, Ruth adores all her grandparents though!

There's just something about music for Ruth though. She loves to sing. Ruth sings so loud! The Frozen soundtrack songs are her favorite. She'll sing "Let it go! Let it go!" all breakfast long as loud as she can. We love it! We ask her to sing like a mermaid too; and she lights right up at the request as she sings like Ariel in the Poor, Unfortunate Souls song. I tip my rear-view mirror down while driving so I can watch her sing along to her toddler tunes. So much joy in this tiny little girl.

Ruth could sit in her swing for hours. I've been able to get lots of yard work done while she sits in the swing with very little pushing, although she asks to go higher and higher. Ruth has even fallen asleep in her swing twice.

About 2 months ago, we finally figured out that Ruth's body doesn't do so great with dairy and sugar. Since cutting these things out for a while, we got rid of her thrush (been a problem since 2 weeks old) and Ruth's really slimmed down. Her mood has been so much more pleasant and she sleeps better at night. I hope to someday make sense of all of this, but it's beyond me right now. If we could really be strict and get her off of sugar (all of us would really benefit from this) altogether then I think we'd always have a happy girl. But it's not reality for us. She loves treats! She is a much better eater than Oliver is, but she copies him too much and won't eat foods she likes if Oli won't. Ruth is officially a two year old and has lots of ups and downs within a 5 minute span. So maybe the sugar thing wouldn't make a difference after all. ;)

Also wanted to mention that loves The Little Mermaid. She had an Under the Sea swimming birthday party where we dressed Breya up as Ariel, Chris was King Triton, and Grandma Alldredge was Ursula. Ruth was giddy over every part of the party, especially making a potion in Ursula's cave. Her cake was so fun to decorate and she appreciated it. Most of the gifts she got were little mermaid dolls and dress ups, so we're set for while with her mermaid fetish.

Ruth already has that beautiful glow to her that makes everyone turn their head and watch her when she enters a room. She is confident and brave. We look forward to the terrible twos with Ruth because she always makes things fun and she's so sweet. Ruth has a big brother that dotes on her, and several neighbor boys that watch out for her. We know that so much of her personality will change and evolve over the next year, but we hope she keeps that confidence and sweetness. Ruth, we love you! You're our girl and we're lucky to have you in our family. Heavenly Father really knew how perfect you'd be in our family. Thanks for all the you add to our lives!

Let's talk about Oliver...

Oliver's 4th birthday is this week. So let's talk about this kid!

I took Oliver to his (and my) very first soccer practice yesterday. His coach asked him his name and Oli responded with, "Oliver Alldredge Potter!" as fast as he could sputter it out and with a little jump! He loves his full name and is very proud to be both an Alldredge and a Potter. He tells people all the time that he can do this or that because he is a Potter! and he also is convinced that Potter's fight bad guys. Oliver was arrogantly telling Grandpa Alldredge how great of a hiker he is when they were on a hike together a few months ago because he is a Potter. Grandpa A. taught him that he is a great hiker because he is an Alldredge too. Thus started the Alldredge pride in Oli, and thus started Oliver introducing himself with his full name. 

The rest of soccer practice was Oliver TALKING and TALKING and TALKING! I had to ask him many times to stop so the coach could get a word in. Oliver hardly eats at mealtime because he's too busy talking. It's usually about something totally made-up and wild. Or telling me why he can't eat certain bites of food or where the food came from. Oliver is a terrible eater, but talks non-stop about eating healthy and trying to grow "big and tall so he can ride the go-karts and roller coasters."

Because Oli is so great at communicating, he's quick to make friends. Something I love about Oliver is that he will put candies in his pockets for church so that he can give one to a friend that is nervous about coming to Sunbeams. He has a few little friends that hate to leave their moms, so he will offer them a candy and hold their hand to make them feel comfortable about staying. I'm not sure his intention is seen as harmless to these poor anxious kids, but he tries. Whenever we leave a park he says, "Good bye, friends!" to all the other children there and he assumes anyone that comes around are his friends. He loves babysitters too.

Oliver's best friends are probably 11 year old Baylee Cloward, and 9 year old Chase Cloward. He waits for them all day to get home from school. Then Baylee and Oliver go on adventures together in the yard! And he just tries to keep up with Chase on his bike. Another little friend is Jake Talbot who was Woody for Halloween and Oliver was Buzz Lightyear for Halloween. They play together better than anyone ever! Oliver loves to play with Marshall Callahan too which I love because Marshall is a great influence on Oli. And he's finally feeling big enough to keep up with the very active neighborhood gang of Cooper and Conner Camp, Jacob Rasmussen, and Madsen and McKay Erickson. I see many many years of these boys causing all sorts of trouble together.

A few months ago, Oliver bore his testimony in Sacrament. He was giddy going up there. He stood up as big as he could, grabbed the mic, and said loud and clear, "Everyone be a missionary!" I made him repeat a few other things and then sit down, but the missionary statement was all him. He wears a future missionary tag and is quite anxious to go to the temple and on a mission someday. He burned his hand 3 weeks ago trying to iron his church shirt. I was trying to teach him because I told him that missionaries need to know how to iron. So he was anxious to learn and touched it the wrong way. He still wants to try again so he can be a missionary. Oliver has a plan to marry Ally Akins in the temple someday. He already talked to her mom and dad about it. He said they will go to McDonald's afterward for a party. Everyone seems very okay with the plan for now, even Ally.

Oliver is a popular boy on Sundays. Today, Chris said that some kid came up to Oli in the church hallway and gave him a hug that we don't even know. Apparently, Oliver volunteers for everything in sharing time (I haven't been in there to witness, but I can imagine he has a hard time sitting still). And my friends that are Primary teachers just tell me he's hysterical to watch in there. Oliver loves going to church. He loves getting dressed for church and picking out his tie. He loves picking out his clothes all the time! And he's very conscious that they match too. He still loves to wear hats. And he wants his hair to be long, down to the floor.

Oliver LOVES his grandmas. He takes my phone and calls or text messages them all the time. He recently started to use scissors and construction paper to make his grandmas and grandpas race cars or other creations. He sticks them in an envelope and mails them off. This is a new thing of his, but so far he's been wanting to drop something in the mail to them everyday this week. Oliver has a special connection with his grandparents.

Tonight we went on a family "bike-walk." Oliver loves that! He's great on his bike and I think we're ready to take off the training wheels. He asked for a scooter for his birthday, so I already have that wrapped up, hiding in my closet. I'm so excited to see how he does on it. Oliver seems to be more of a bike, scooter, motorcycle, race car kid than a sports kid. He has almost no interest in learning a sport. We'll see how things go at his first soccer game this week. At the end of our walk, I told Oliver he needed to get to bed early cause tomorrow is a school day. "School is my favorite!" he said and he raced home. I know that it is. He LOVES school! He just started to memorize some sight words and so we have a budding reader that is anxious to read alone. I don't think he's above average on any subject in school. But I know that he loves seeing his teachers and friends there and he's so proud of all the work he does. Oliver attends Miss Janae's Little Patch of Heaven Montessori Preschool in our neighborhood.

Oliver was born to be a big brother. He gets so frustrated with Ruth's independence because he just wants to take care of her. Today, she wouldn't hold my hand in the parking lot at church so Oliver stepped in to help. She kept breaking out of his death grip and he yelled at her, "Stop it, Ruth! I'm supposed to protect you!" He guided her in circles while Chris and I chatted to people in the parking lot, until they finally arrived safely at our van. Oliver is very aware of the baby in my belly and does his best to help me. I was sick with hip pain last week and got in the tub in the middle of the day to relieve it. Oliver felt so sad for me. I didn't know what to do with him and Ruth while I was in the tub, but they sat next to me in the bathroom and Oliver read Ruth and me stories. He's so very nice. So very thoughtful.

Lastly, I just hope Oliver always know how much we adore him. He's silly and fun and cool and wonderful. It's an honor to be his parents. We are proud of him, even when he sings Frozen soundtrack all day long and does his Robby Rabbit puppet act (which are totally nerdy, but so adorable). We know that Oliver will likely change as he gets older, but we certainly hope he holds on to most of these things that he is now. We hope that he still loves church, missionary work, school, friends, talking, his grandparents, and protecting his family. We know that Oliver Alldredge Potter will do great things in his life. He is a Potter! And an Alldredge! And he's got a lot of support from Heavenly angels and earthly kin. Happy Birthday cute little guy!