Crazy February!

I can't believe it's the 1st of March already! February was a crazy whirlwind and a life-changing month for sure! Here's how it all went down:

I took lots of photos of baby on my iphone. We've had fun playing dress up. She loves her tubby time and is always smiley and happy. She is a good eater and an even better sleeper! What a tender mercy from the Lord!

At the end of January, Jon had to fly to Vegas for some rugby meetings. I headed north to my mom's for the weekend. Sydney had started perfecting her smile that week and grandma was a master at getting it out of her!
I also met up with friends that weekend and had fun meeting new babies, exchanging mommy stories, and catching up!

The next weekend we made a last minute decision to flee to some southern warmth and the boys got in a nice bike ride while becky and I got some good girl-bonding time in!
The next weekend, Feb 6th, Jon blessed little Sydney at our ward then we threw a nice little lunch/super bowl party at our home. It was stressful and fantastic and I wouldn't have been able to do it without such amazing family and friends!
Jon coached his first game as the head coach of the super league team, the Utah Warriors. They played against the U and had an awesome game! It's fun to watch Jon coach. Even funnier when he throws his clipboard! I was waiting for a hat throw, but it never came...

The next weekend we headed back down south, this time to Vegas, for a rugby tournament. My parents joined us and Sara and Wade drove up from AZ too. It was such a great weekend full of sun, rugby, food, and fun. Sydney got her first taste of swimming that weekend and was in heaven! I also got to meet up with my friend Sonna, who I met in NZ, and catch up with her and meet her new little guy. It was so wonderful! I miss her and all my NZ girls!
Cheering on South Africa with Becky and Shane at the USA 7s tournament.
It was nice to finally spend some time with Jon that weekend! We saw him for a few hours each day until Sunday night.
Don't kill me for posting this picture, mom and Sara. Definitely not our finest, but it's what I had and I secretly love it! I loved spending time with Sara and Sami. Jon and I used to pray that we'd have a baby as smiley and happy as Sami. So grateful we've been blessed with that! Um, please excuse Syd's bright red cheeks - I had a new mommy moment and didn't even think of sunblock while we were at the rugby tournament! We tried to keep her in the shade the whole time, but guess there were some times we missed! Sorry baby. I felt guilty every time I looked at her.
That Sunday night/early morning of Valentine's Day, February 14th, will always stick in our hearts and minds as a day of fear/terror/relief/love/and gratitude. As I mentioned earlier, I hadn't really seen Jon all weekend, except at his rugby games. Other than that he was with the team until they left Saturday afternoon. Then he came back with me to the condo my family had rented to spend the night and drive home the next morning. (Nothing says Happy Valentine's Day like a drive home from Vegas, right?!) I was just grateful to have the help for the early morning feedings! Anyway, at 4:30 am I had just finished feeding Syd on one side, Jon had burped and changed her, and was about to crawl back in bed when I went into a Grand Mal seizure. Now, I don't remember much about what happened. The gaps have been filled in for me by Jon and my parents, who have had the event forever burned into their memories. Needless to say, it was a horrifying and terrible experience that ended up with me in the Spring Valley Hospital ER with the drunks of Vegas. The day all seems to be a haze to me. We didn't end up leaving vegas until about 2 pm, and the drive home required a lot of stops for me to feed the babe, try to stretch my aching muscles (I never knew how much it hurt to have every.single.muslce. in your body contract at once. Ouch!) and we were all just sooo tired!

Looking back, although it was such a scary thing in our lives and Jon hasn't slept through the night since then, I am so grateful for the tender mercies the Lord blessed us with. I was so fortunate to seize when I did - not the day before when I was driving all around Vegas with a baby in the back seat, not while I was up and walking around tile floors holding the babe, and not while I was swimming with sweet Sydney; instead, Jon was by my side, my parents were in the room next door and swooped right in to take Sydney, I was sitting up on a soft cushy bed and Sydney was lying right next to me, not in my arms. Really, if this was the wake-up call we needed, I'm so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who made it as easy on us as he could. I'm also grateful for a great cousin/epileptologist, Tim, who brought so much peace into our lives with his knowledge and expertise and caring concern. I think the night we talked to him, almost a week after the seizure, was the first night Jon actually dared to sleep!

So here's how it's been life-changing: I can't drive for 3 months; and that first 2 weeks after it happened, I couldn't be alone and Jon was super jumpy any time I moved! Things are getting better now. I have an Rx for meds now so hopefully Jon will relax, I'm okay to be alone, but still have lots of kind people checking up on me during the day and offering to give me rides when I need them. Thankfully, I'm more than happy to be chilling at home right now, cuddling up on the couch with our little peanut, and taking in these sweet days with her! She's getting so big and has almost outgrown her bassinet. We broke out the monitors this weekend and are moving her into her nursery this week. Yay!