Melarky

Both of our other boys were named after an ancestor. Wellington after his Great Grandfather and Hilyard after his Great-Great Grandfather. We really wanted to follow this pattern of turning to genealogy for a baby name but this time, we had to go WAY back!

Magnus was named after a Scottish ancestor who was born in Orkney, Scotland, about 1746. That’s seven Greats! There is more work to be done because we’re not sure when he died. Magnus Garrioch was married to a Margaret Millar and they had 5 kids. Like Wellington and Hilyard, Magnus’s name was also found on Mark’s Mom’s side of the family.

Orkney, Scotland

We searched in both my side and Mark’s. We even went back as far as Adam and Eve on some lines in my family and after a HUGE list of names, we got it down to a few of our favorites. A few hours after Magnus was born we decided on his name.

His middle name, Scott, is after his Uncle Scotty, Mark’s older brother. And Bannatyne is a Scottish surname found on Mark’s Dad’s side of the family. It is also found in other family members first and middle names closer to his generation.

I get a lot of people asking what his nickname is…It’s all sorts of things, Gus, Gussy, fussy Gussy, Guster, Magster, and yes I’ve called him Maggy a few times. But we mostly use Gussy. Hilyard can only really say “Gu-Sssss”.

I love this Old Navy mechanics jumper I got years ago. I of course first used it for Wellington. I was so excited to use it for Hilyard and now, love it for my Magnus!

Magnus Scott Bannatyne was born February 6, 2012 at 10:24 a.m. We knew that we would be induced a week early because our other two boys were so big. The night before the induction date we got a unexpected late night call telling us that Dr. Horsley wanted us to come earlier. Normally you call Labor and Delievery at 6 a.m. the morning of the induction to see when they could get you in. But instead of calling he just wanted us to come in at 5 a.m. Wow! It was early but we didn’t mind because we were VERY excited to get this baby here. I slept for about 2 or 3 hours that night. I was very excited and couldn’t sleep but I also wanted to make sure and get up and take a shower before we went in.

Mammy came over at o’dark thirty to sleep on the couch and take care of the kids. And we were on our way! I was anxious but not as much as I was with Hilyard and Wellington. Mark teased and joked around with me to lighten the mood (who invited him anyway? )

They started me on the potossin about 5:40 a.m. I was already dilated to a 4 then. Mark and I spent the next couple of hours talking, playing on our iphones. Mark read and I watched shows.

They checked on me periodically. At 9 a.m. they broke my water then my contractions got really bad. I knew it was time to get an epidural after that because I dreaded each and every contraction. I was still a 4 when I had the epidural but for the next hour after the epidural I was feeling happier and even feel asleep for a few minutes.

It was a good thing I got some rest too because the next thing I knew she checked me and I was a 10 and she said it was time to have a baby. I was shocked that I went from a 4 to a 10 in an hour. I couldn’t believe that it was time to have a baby! As they scrambled around setting up I jokingly said “I’m not ready!” Mark stood up by me. He was very excited and facebooked that it was time to push!

Everything was ready and everyone was in place. Dr. Horsley came in and suited up. I pushed once and he said I was a great pusher. I pushed one or two more times and the Dr. and Mark said they could see hair. The next push Dr. Horsley said he had chubby cheeks. They kept telling me I was doing really good and I told them I didn’t feel like I was doing anything! The Dr. jokingly said, “Oh, your doing something!” He said it was a good thing I had an epidural or else I’d be saying “Bleep, Bleep, Dr. Horsley” (it was funny because he is a Stake President) he made me laugh and then he said I could just laugh him out if I wanted. I pushed probably three or four more times and he was out. It’s always an amazing feeling once you finally see your baby! The Dr. asked me how much I thought he weighed. I said “maybe 8 something”? The Dr. said “oh, I think he’s a lot bigger than that!” We were all shocked that our week early baby was 9 lbs. 7 oz. and 20 inches long! Crazy! I was so surprised.

He was perfect. He was crying loud while Dr. Horsley stitched me up. After Magnus was all cleaned up and wrapped in a blanket Mark brought him over to me so I could see him. He was so beautiful! I couldn’t hold him right away because Dr. Horsley was still working on me plus I was shaking so bad I was afraid I was too weak and shakey to hold him.

We were so happy he was here! He was perfect! We spent the rest of the day visiting with family. Carrie, my mom and dad came. So did Mark’s sister Heidi and Mammy, who brought the boys to meet their new brother. They both held and loved their new brother. They sat with me on my hospital bed, ate snacks and watched cartoons.

I was so exhausted and wanted to be asleep. The first night wasn’t too bad, just normal sleeplessness. After Mark got a few hours of sleep I woke him up and traded with him. Mark also changed his bum for the first few times. What a great Daddy!

At least I had room service breakfast to look forward to. It took us a while to get checked out of the hospital. Magnus was cleared to go by 10 a.m. We were told Dr. Horsley didn’t do his rounds till lunch time. So we decided to go ahead and order lunch while we were waiting. After lunch, they said it would be longer. We were very anxious to leave so finally someone called Dr. Horsley for us, it was a good thing too because he said he wasn’t coming in till 5 p.m. that day. He is awesome and he released us over the phone.

We feel so blessed that Magnus is here and he’s healthy. He is a very easy baby so far. He wants to eat like all the time! He’s already waking up only once maybe twice a night. He’s strong, loves being cuddled, and is patient with his brothers holding him.

Last night…
Welly: ” I want some hot chocolate”
Me: “Sorry Welly, we don’t have any”
Welly: “Just look in a recipe book and make some”

He got me there.

Here is a really easy and tasty recipe for homemade hot chocolate. This is from the Make-A-Mix cookbook. There is a large quantity recipe that you can store in a large ziplock bag or in a container. Just as long as its air tight it will keep for A LONG TIME. Then there is a mini mix recipe that makes about two large glasses of hot chocolate. This is handy so you can try it out and see if you like it.

HOT COCOA MIX
4 1/2 cups regular powdered milk or 9 cups of instant powdered milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa

HOT COCOA MINI-MIX
2 TBSP regular powdered milk or 1/4 cup instant powdered milk
1/2 tsp. cocoa
1 tsp. sugar

To make Hot Chocolate:
Combine in a quart jar, cover and shake hard, or mix on low in a blender:
1/3 cup Hot cocoa mix made with REGULAR POWDERED MILK, or
2/3 cup Hot cocoa mix made with INSTANT POWDERED MILK
1 cup hottest tap water

We of course added marshmallows to ours after we added the hot water. Enjoy!

P.S. I made a BIG batch of this one year to serve to our Primary at a cold weather activity we had. It was way good!

Super proud to have such a hard working husband. He has the best work ethic of anyone I know. I’m also proud of him that he takes the initiative and is wanting to be better at what he does. This next year he’ll be working hard to add the title Audioprosthologist to his lab coat.

I know, what is that? From what I understand he will be learning advanced skills in fitting hearing aids. It’s supposed to be a really good course and he’s excited because it’s only offered in Utah every couple of years. It also means one weekend a month, for a year, Mark will be in Salt Lake. His classes start in January and we’re planning on joining him on the weekends he’s in Salt Lake as soon as we can, when the new baby is a bit older (baby is due in February). Hate to be apart!

I know he’ll be great at it! He’s great at anything he does. Basically he’s awesome.

Between lack of time, finances, and babysitters. It can be hard to go on a date, so we’ve started having dinner dates at home. We’ve done it three or four times now.

Basically we feed the kids first. It’s usually mac and cheese, something easy and quick or random leftovers I throw on their school trays. Then after they’re done eating Mark or I take turns making a fun dinner just for us.

This last dinner Mark made was an amazing, fancy steak stroganoff. It was probably the most tasty thing I’ve had in a long time (recipe to come later). He brought home flowers and Martinelles. We put on a table cloth, put out candles and dim the lights.

We’ve also used Sautes for Two from Stouffers before. They are WAY tasty and easy to make. Our favorite is steak gorgonzola. Put it with some garlic or pesto bread, a fancy drink and don’t forget dessert! We’ve had cheesecake before, doughnuts (fancy!) and lemon merienge pie.

While we’re eating our dinner, we turn on a movie for the boys. It’s pretty cute, they try to come in an sit at the table with us or sneak food. We try to shoo them away but by the time were eating dessert we give in and let them come in and have dessert with us. One time Welly came in and hanging out by the counter said, “I’m just going to watch you eat”. It was funny.

We have two of those Sautes for Two in the freezer and I want to try making beef Wellington sometime for us. I also really want to try to make some chocolate souffles sometime too.

I love our dinner dates and I love our time together. I love treating Mark and “US” to something special. It doesn’t take a lot of money or planning, but it means a lot and goes a long way for your marriage.

It seems crazy to me that Wellington is 5 now. Where has the time gone?

Welly had requested a pirate party this year and Saturday, a few days before his actual birthday, seemed like a convient day for his cousins and friends to come over. I love throwing parties, I have fun getting decorations, planning food, games and party favors all centered around a theme. I got a lot of good ideas from Mark’s cousin Kezia including a freebie of some cool pirate invitations (Thanks K!). Sister-in-law Heidi also had a ton of piratey stuff I could borrow (Thanks too!) I found some great stuff around town and by Friday night, the night before the party, I had the house decorated and everything ready to go.

In the middle of the night Welly woke up not feeling good and threw up a little. When Welly throws up its hard to tell sometimes if its him being sick or if it’s his incredibly sensitive gag reflex. In the morning he threw up again, but this time it was by the kitchen garbage which was full, and again it was hard to tell if he was sick or if it was because our garbage was stinky (he is way sensitive to smells too).

Mark and I decided we better do the right thing and call the parents and let them know he might be sick. I felt bad and wasn’t sure how to break it to Welly that he wasn’t having a party. He was so excited and psyched up for it. In the morning, he kept asking me when his friends were coming over. We decided that we’d go ahead and have his party with just us.

We had invited two cousins to the party, Mark’s sister’s boys, Holden and Gray. After Mark talked to Heidi on the phone to let her know Welly might be sick, she said it was fine if they came and could her two other kids come too. My Mom also came, which it was way nice of her to come.

It was fun and worked out. Welly had fun with his cousins. We made eye patches and spy glasses. They decorated cardboard swords. Got tattos. They played in the cardboard boat I made out of a refrigerator box. We turned on Sponge Bob too for a little while while they were playing.

We had a light lunch of Octopus hot dogs on a sea of macaroni and cheese. We had sea blue drink (kool-aid) and Blue jello cups with orange wedge boats. The kids all seemed to like it. Then it was back to more sword fighting.

At this point Welly started to cough here and there. Making me a little worried. We had presents next. Each of his cousins gave him a present (way nice Heidi and Gary). He got root beer, a personalized licence plate for his bike, a mario guy, a Tin Tin book. From us he got a sand digger, a bunch of wooden 3D puzzle things, walkie talkies, and a few other little things. Grandma gave him a cool taradactle guy that shoots things and a wooden kit to build a barn. I think he really liked all his presents.

We then had cake. We had all the kids sit back at the table so that we could sing to Welly and he could blow out his candles at the table. Well when he saw the cake, he started to gag. And gag a lot. I had him go outside to get some fresh air. Mark had already lit the candles and then had to blow them out because I sent him outside. Welly ended up throwing up outside (lovely). We all waited for him to calm down, he came back in and sat on the edge of the couch near the door and we decided to just bring him one little piece of cake on a plate and have him blow out his candles from that. We sang to him and he blew the candles out. He was fine after that, but didn’t eat any birthday cake till later that night.

After all that fun, we had a pirate treasure hunt where the kids all followed clues to a treasure map, then they followed the treasure map to a suitcase full of treats and prizes.

The kids trying out one of Welly’s presents. A sand digger, which because of the season, it’s a snow digger.

Welly had a good birthday party and it was a good thing we had all that fun on that Saturday because he soon got a lot sicker. Late Saturday night, early Sunday morning, he woke up gasping for air. Welly gets croup about once a year, although I was hoping he would have grown out of it by now. We all stayed home Sunday since I wasn’t feeling great anyway.

Sunday night Hilyard started not to feel good and in the middle of the night he started the same thing. His croup seemed to be worse than Welly’s or maybe it’s because he’s littler and can’t really communicate very well and that made it seems scarier. So for the next three nights Mark and I took turns sleeping on the couch with the boys with the window open so that they could breathe better. It was pretty unfun, but I’m sure it was really unfun for Mark who had to go to work in the morning.

If your going to be sick, it’s funner to be sick with your brother. Here they are kicking each other and laughing.

It was so cold!!!! and uncomfortable for us all. There was one night Hilyard was really bad. I couldn’t get him to breathe very well even with the window wide open and us right by it. Mark took him outside a few times to walk around. That night Hilyard would get about 30 minutes of sleep at a time then wake up. After that really bad night I took the boys to the doctor. By that time Welly had lost his barky, tight cough and moved to a more wet, loose cough. It seemed like Welly was on the mend. Hilyard was prescribed steriods and they helped so much. They were in pill form and we ground them up and hid them in some ice cream. It worked great and he ate it all up. We tried the same trick with Welly’s over the counter Little Colds medicine, but he was wise to us.

The boys have been getting better. They still both cough a lot (that is supposed to last for another week) and we’re still trying to avoid people for the most part, except for spending 4 days in the house and not going anywhere is driving me and the boys crazy. I’ve been feeling better during the day, but at night and in the morning I’m still all stuffed up.

He looks so sad here.

On the 14th, Welly’s birthday we spend it mostly on the couch watching shows. We did puzzles and played legos. I felt bad Welly was sick on his birthday and I tried to make it fun and do all the things Welly wanted to do (legos).

Such a cute picture!

I sure love that kid. He’s my buddy and we’re sure lucky to have him in our family. Happy Sick Birthday Welly!

1. Seamless sink. Having the sink below the counter makes cleaning the counters so easy. Just sweep food and whatever else right into the sink.

2. Lighted display cabinet. I love having a place to display my fancier dishes, plus it adds some extra lighting.

3. Three extra long drawers. I really didn’t like the lazy susan that used to be in the corner. I couldn’t keep it organized, things would always fall in the back or get knocked over. Now there are three long drawers. The top I keep my silpat mats, rolling pins, pie weights, etc. Actually I have a lot of extra room in that drawer. In the middle, I keep all the Tupperware. And the third drawer has sugar and baking mixes.

4. Wider drawers and slow close. We kept the four drawers where they were, but now they’re about two inches wider and feature the slow close. I can fit so much more in those drawers and there are no baby fingers getting pinched.

Wellington and Hilyard Fall 2011

We’ve enjoyed fall. I always do. The cooler weather, the fall leaves, the colors, Halloween.

But I think we’re all excited for the snow to come. It snowed a little the other week. The boys wanted to be out in it constantly. Hilly wanted to eat “no” each chance he got. It seems were back to fall for a little while though.

We’ll do more leaf kicking in the mean time while were waiting for more snow.