Friday, August 29, 2008
All Our Stuff
Our hide-a-bed couch and love seat- (the newest in the collection) we got for free from my mom and step dad who were getting rid of them because they don't have room for them.
Two Banana Chairs- we got for free from my grandma who didn't want them anymore, they are (were) in perfect condition when she gave them to us.
Two Bookcases- One I inherited after my grandma Lemmon passed away, and the other was a Christmas present from Mom and Kerry.
Leather Armchair- (my favorite) was my dad's reading chair, and my mom gave it to me when I got married because she knew it was my favorite.
Kitchen Table- It came with two leaves and 4 matching chairs, it's made of real wood. Aaron found the whole set for $50 at a garage sale right before we got married.
Washer and Dryer- We bought these with the "extra" money we earned installing security systems in Phoenix.
Computer Desk- Aaron bought off of Kelly's roommate for $25
Office Chair- I gave it to Aaron for his birthday, but I got it on a killer sale
Mattress- It's a double pillow top queen size mattress, we bought it on Craig's list for $200, they gave us the box spring, and two dressers with it because they were moving back east and couldn't fit them in their Uhaul.
Bed Frame- Instead of buying each other Christmas presents last year we decided to get a bed frame.
Night Stand- Inherited from my grandpa after he died.
Our Dresser- free *see mattress
Lincoln's Dresser- free *see mattress
Lincoln's crib- given to us by a lady in my mom's ward who didn't need it anymore
Rocking Chair- given to us by Aaron's sister Stacey
Lincoln's Changing Table- Aaron built it himself, the wood was a little expensive, but it's a much better quality changing table than the ones you can buy at the store, and it has a toy box built into the bottom.
So that's the story of our stuff. I'm sure it was intriguing. I'll try to get some pictures up as soon as I unpack the box with the camera cord in it. Oh where oh where could that be?
Thursday, August 28, 2008
No, We Didn't Fall Off the Face of the Earth...

The drive was long. There's no way around that. We left at 6:00pm on Thursday the 21st. The reason we left at night was because all our stuff was already loaded into a semi-truck and on it's way to Utah and we didn't feel the need to hang out in an empty apartment all night long. Plus we thought it would be easier on Lincoln if he could sleep through a lot of it. So we started driving as soon as Aaron got home from work. The only problem with our plan was that all day long I had been puking and feeling miserable, so driving wasn't the most appealing thing. But luckily (thanks to a very helpful tip from April) we stopped at Burger King and got some chicken nuggets and a soda and after about an hour I felt good enough to travel. We made it as far as Witchita, Kansas and then stopped at a Comfort Inn for the night.
After a not so comfortable night at the Comfort Inn (I blame this on being pregnant because Aaron and Lincoln slept great), we hit the road again. The goal was to get all the way to

Anyways, a night's sleep and a free breakfast did us worlds of good, and we hit the road again Saturday morning. When we crossed from Wyoming into Utah I vowed I we would not have to make another bathroom stop and I would hold it until we got to my parents house. Fat chance. My "iron bladder" that we of the Lemmon family are known for failed me in my weakened pregnant condition, and 20 minutes later I was begging Aaron to pull over the first chance he got. We finally made it to Hooper. It felt so good to be home (sort of home at least). It was

That's not the end of our story, as we did eventually make it to our apartment in Provo. But this is the end of my telling of this story, because I am tired and want to go spend some time with my husband. So I will continue another day with our Provo adventures. Until next time.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Swan Superstitions

Monday, August 11, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
We're Not Lion, Lincoln is One Year Old!!!!!


Here is Lincoln opening up his present from us. It's a dump-wagon. Inside it has Mega Blocks (large Legos) and the back dumps like a dump truck. Lincoln loves to push the wagon around, and Aaron has a lot of fun building with the blocks.
This Little People train set is from Grandma Swan. Lincoln really enjoys scooting the train around and pushing all the buttons that make noises.
This is the cake and ice cream damage. Lincoln was so funny to watch eat it. As soon as we put it on his tray he went right for it, shoving it into his mouth in handfuls and saying "Mmmhhmmm" with every bite!

Lincoln's Birth Story
Saturday August 18th 2007
Our son was born on August 10th, just a little over a week ago. The last week has been an emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual whirlwind that I hope I never forget. I am a mother, and my life will never be the same.
August 9th was a pretty typical Thursday. Aaron went to work. That night Apx decided to take all the techs and their wives out to see a movie. Sydni and Stacey and I got ready for our date at Stacey’s house. Stacey braided my hair and we got all dolled up with make-up and wore cute clothes. We met our husbands at the movie theatre where we saw Borne Ultimatum, which is an excellent movie. I rode home with Aaron. On the way home I asked him if we could stop and get a drink at the gas station. I thought he said yes, but he didn’t think he did, and so we had an argument (mostly playing around good naturedly) about whether we could go or not. He ended up taking me to Sonic instead. I got a slushy, and we also ordered 3 large cups of ice (Sonic has really good crushed ice) and Aaron said we were going to put them in the freezer so that when I started having contractions we’d have ice on hand. We got home at about 12:30am of August 10th.
As we were getting ready for bed Aaron and I started discussing that tonight would be the perfect night for me to go into labor because I had my hair braided and we had ice and because it
Aaron wanted to go back and grab our ice and lock up the house, but I told him to get in the car and drive. It’s probably a good thing I did. Contractions in the car were miserable, and I don’t
Aaron must have gotten me back into the bed, I don’t remember getting there. The pain was so hard now that every time I had a contraction I screamed along with it. It was a throaty scream mixed with a loud groan really. It kind of reminded me of the softball pitchers who grunt when they pitch the ball because they think it makes them pitch harder. I kind of felt like if I could concentrate on groan/screaming it wouldn’t hurt as much. I don’t think it worked, but I still screamed anyway, I couldn’t stop myself. I’m sure it was just like they always show labor in the movies. The nurse told me that my doctor would be here in 10-15 minutes so just to relax and breath and wait. Wait? Yeah, right… like I could just put the whole thing on hold until the doctor showed up. I remember thinking: lady there’s no way I’m not going to push when I feel like it, I don’t care who catches the baby, just get him out of me. They had strapped a monitor to my chest, I think to monitor the baby’s heart rate. Well, the baby’s heart rate dropped, and the nurse who was watching me said, “Get someone in here I think we might have to deliver one.” They had me role onto my back (I had been on my side up to this point) and push once, and then the baby’s heart rate came back up, so the nurse decided that we would again wait for the doctor. I remember being very aware of Aaron telling me to breath deeply. They had put an oxygen mask on my face because I was breathing too fast. It was a very physical reminder to breath deeply and slowly. The nurse was also standing at the end of the bed telling me to breath. When the contraction would hit I was aware of three things besides the pain and my screaming, they were Aaron’s voice, the nurse at the end of the bed showing me how to hold my lips in a circle and blow out slowly, and the feel of the oxygen mask over my nose and mouth. When I wasn’t in pain I vaguely remember other nurses coming in and out asking me and Aaron questions. I think the only response I had for any question directed at me was “I don’t know.” I couldn’t believe they wanted me to think about insurance and dates of birth and who knows what else while I was minutes away from delivering a baby.
Dr. Foltz came in the bedroom, I don’t know how long it actually took him to get there, but it seemed like he got there pretty fast. He came in the door looked at me for like two seconds, probably to see how far along I was, and said “Give me a local anesthetic.” He gave me a shot to numb everything down there and gave me an episiotomy. Aaron asked him something about the episiotomy and the doctor said “It’s just a little one.” Not very much time after that Dr. Foltz told me to push. I breathed in and out and then pushed as hard as I could. The pressure between my legs was incredible, I screamed probably the loudest I had all night… Dr. Foltz said “Ok, now relax and breath, oh ok”… I had kept right on pushing and suddenly the pressure was all gone and I felt like there was slippery jello being sucked out of me, but it didn’t hurt anymore. I looked down over my knees and I could see these little purple feet and a grayish purple thing which I assume was the umbilical cord. It was 3:22am. I did it! Aaron walked over to cut the umbilical cord, and I laid back on the bed and panted trying to catch my breath. Then they handed me my baby. Right then I knew that even though love at first sight isn’t realistic in dating, it’s one hundred percent applicable to childbirth. I couldn’t believe how much I instantly loved the wet, semi bloody (they didn’t clean him before they handed him to me), wiggly, grayish/purpleish little ball they had just handed me. He was my son. A combination of Aaron and I that we were able to create because we have a Heavenly Father who loves us so much that He gave us the ability to bring His spirits into this world by giving them bodies. I never wanted to let go of my son. I just kept thinking, this is my baby, this is what has been inside of me these past nine months. He really was a tiny little person. He was beautiful. 7.7 pounds, 20 inches long, with a crown of 13 ½ centimeters. His little head was perfectly round. It hadn’t been in the pelvis long enough to make it cone shaped. His eyes were open and we just looked at each other. It’s a feeling that no one who hasn’t stared into the eyes of their own newborn baby would ever understand. Nine months of pregnancy, hard labor, pooping out a cannon ball, all the pain, everything became instantly worth it the second they handed me my precious little son.
A nurse came in and helped me nurse him for about 20 minutes. Then Aaron took some pictures. After that they came and got the baby and took him to the nursery to clean him up. It was just a little bit before 5:00am. They told us that our room wouldn’t be ready until about 7:00am so we should try to get some sleep. I don’t remember exactly when it started, but my legs started shaking really bad. I think it was because my muscles had been so tense and my body had just been through a major ordeal and my nerves couldn’t handle it. It was like they were in shock, but they just shook uncontrollably. It was the weirdest thing ever. I mentally tried to make them stop, but I had no control. A nurse came in and said I needed to go to the bathroom. So she and Aaron helped me sit up. It surprised me how hard it was for me to sit up. My leg muscles wouldn’t cooperate. I sat on the edge of the bed and I felt really dizzy, so I told the nurse, and she told me just to sit there for a minute until the dizziness went away. When it did she and Aaron helped me stand. I took one step and felt dizzy again, so I said something. The nurse said I was only a few steps from the toilet and I could sit down on it. Well the next thing I know Aaron is laying me back in my bed. I asked what happened, because I didn’t remember using the bathroom. Turns out I had passed out. Aaron caught me and he and the nurse put
I slept for probably about an hour and a half. I woke up just a little before 7:00am. I had to pee. I called out Aaron’s name to try and wake him up. I tried for about five minutes, he was out. I felt really bad trying to wake him up because I knew it had been a long tiring night for him, but I didn’t know what else to do. I wasn’t sure how to get a hold of a nurse. Finally, just as I was about to throw a package of crackers at him, he woke up. He was pretty out of it, it was adorable. He got a nurse and once again the two of them helped me to the bathroom. I made it all the way there this time, and I was sitting on the toilet when I started to get dizzy. I had a hold of Aaron’s arm, and I was trying desperately to not pass out. I was trying to breath deeply and get the dizziness to go away. We aren’t really sure if I succeeded. Aaron said I would be holding on to him and then I would go kind of limp and then I would grab on tight again. Anyways, it ended in a nurse coming in and having me smell something that was the most potent smell in the world and it woke me up. She made me smell it several more times, probably just for good measure. Whew! Peeing was a weird sensation. I couldn’t feel the muscles that allowed me to pee. I kept trying to start peeing and nothing happened. Then I just let my body relax and pee started falling out. I say falling because that’s what it seemed like it was doing, I couldn’t feel it coming out, but I could feel a pressure somewhere in the lower part of me becoming less and less, and I assume that was the feeling of my bladder emptying. Weird.
After that they moved me to another room, and brought the baby in to stay with me. I kept him in the room with me as much as I could. I wanted to hold him every second. They brought in a bunch of paper work for Aaron and I to do, among which was the birth certificate. Now, ever since we found out we were going to have a boy we had planned on naming him Boston Charles Swan. But when the baby came out, neither Aaron nor I started calling him that. We noticed that neither of us were calling him by the name we’d picked and we wondered if it was because it was just so weird to finally have him here, or what. But then as we were filling out the birth certificate, Aaron was like so should I just put Boston? And I was like I don’t know. And we couldn’t do it. We had decided that the name just didn’t fit this baby. So we changed his name. We decided to name him Lincoln Aaron Swan. Lincoln means “to gather in” or “the gatherer” and it also reminded us of President Lincoln who was a great man. We named him Aaron after his dad, because I hope that our son grows up to be like his father. It seemed to fit him perfectly. Everyone in the family was a little surprised when we told them of the change, but they all seemed to like it and adapted quickly enough.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Ahh...PB&J and Some More Fort Fun

Lincoln had his first peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It made a gynormous mess, but it was so funny because every time Lincoln put a bite his his mouth his eyes would go really big and round and he would say "mmmmmhhhhh" so it was worth the sticky face and hands and sticky everything else the sticky face and hands came in contact with. I keep wanting to try more food with him, but his darn teeth are taking forever! Just come in already so the kid can chew.
A few days ago Aaron set up some of our moving boxes and the banana chairs to make a little fort/cave for Lincoln to play in. He loved it. He kept wheeling his little tractor in and out and in and out.
Oh, and I need to take a minute and give props to my most recent awesome discovery. It's a used kids clothing store called Once Upon A Child. For those of you in Texas that are interested it's over by CiCi's and Albertsens, and Braums, just west of FireWheel Mall. Ok, I love this store. It's the biggest second hand kids clothing store I've ever been in. Even bigger than Denim and Frills in Vancouver, and that's saying something. (Maybe it's really not, but for me it is. Keep in mind that I come from UT where the biggest 2nd hand store is DI and the childrens clothing options there are marginal at best!) Anyways, after Aaron and I discovered this little gem, we went there and got Lincoln all geared up for a Utah winter. I got him 4 pairs of those warms fuzzy footy pjs for $3 each, and one of them was brand new. Can you say bargain? I think if I were to buy those new somewhere else they'd be like $15-20 bucks. We also found him a warm winter coat, some church clothes, and the tractor pictured in the fort picture. That tractor was almost the best $5 bucks I've ever spent. Hours of entertainment is a beautiful thing!
Monday, August 4, 2008
I Keep Getting Tagged...
*4 RANDOM THINGS I LIKE ABOUT MY HUSBAND *
1- He is just as goofy and weird as I am
2- He is a great daddy to our little boy
3- He compliments me every day
4- Always notices and thanks me when I do the laundry/dishes/make the bed/etc.
*4 JOBS I HAVE HAD*
1- Teller at America First (has everyone done this? I'm hard pressed to find someone I went to high school with who hasn't)
2- Supervisor at the MTC (ok, so I was a custodian, but I really did supervise while the missionaries did all the cleaning)
3- BYU Catering woot-woot!
4- BYU Intramural volleyball referee
*4 MOVIES I'VE WATCHED MORE THAN ONCE*
1- The Emperor's New Groove
2- Finding Nemo
3- The Incredibles
4- Lord of the Rings trilogy
*4 PLACES I HAVE LIVED*
1- Hooper, UT
2- Provo, UT
3- Phoenix, AZ (aka Hell, sorry, but it's a family joke. I have a relative who was worried when we moved to AZ because she said we were moving to Hell...I think she meant because of the heat)
4- Richardson, TX
*4 TV SHOWS I HAVE WATCHED*
This one is a little tough since I don't have a TV
*4 PLACES I HAVE BEEN*
1- St Louis
2- Florida
3- Canada
4- Bahamas
*4 PEOPLE WHO COMMENT ON MY BLOG REGULARLY*
1- Kris
2- Kate
3- My mom, but on the phone not actually on the blog, and it's usually "Oh I just have the most darling grandson."
4- Nette
*4 FAVORITE FOODS*
1- Toast (see previous blog entry)
2- Toast
3- Toast
4- Ginger Ale (does that count as a food?)
*4 PLACES I'D LIKE TO VISIT*
1- East Coast to do all the American History sites
2- Europe
3- New York City--to see a Mets game
4- I'd like to go back to St. Louis sometime, that was a really cool place
*4 THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS COMING YEAR*
1- Moving back to Provo where it gets cool at night
2- Aaron graduating from college
3-Our second baby being born
4- Another Swan Sisters' weekend (we will be having those annually, right?)
A Trip Down Memory Lane

I feel the worst when I'm hungry. Usually if I'm feeling nauseous and I eat something within a few minutes my tummy settles down and all is well for awhile. But have you ever tried to eat when you feel like puking? And so I find myself standing indecisively in front of the refrigerator looking at what we have to eat. I run through the options in my head, but all the options make me want to vomit. I'm not joking. It's so ridiculous because I know that the one things

So what do I do? I put off eating as long as I can, which is brilliant (please note the sarcasm and the eye rolling) and when I'm desperate I end up eating about 4 pieces of toast, because it is the only thing I can attempt to choke down. I can't even tell you how much bread we've gone through in the last two weeks. But I guess I should be grateful because I haven't actually thrown up yet. I just feel like I'm going to most of the time. Maybe it will be better when we get away from the heat. Who knows.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Ginger Snaps

