Guess What I Did!!!....

On Sunday, Clayton turned three months old! He has already grown so much and has such a fun personality.

Things that Clayton loves:

• doing push ups
• baths
• sucking on his hands
• smiling
• laughing
• kicking
• talking
• being outside
• swimming
• going on walks
• hanging out with daddy
• being in the car
• sticking out his tongue
• dancing (ok it is wobbling around while we stand him up)
• and being tickled



push ups

on a walk

Clayton did something for the first time this morning....he rolled over!! OK it was only from his tummy to his back but it still counts. He is working on going from his back to his tummy. So proud of him!!! :)

Clayton's Birth Story

So I just have to warn you that this post is going to be long. I need to have the story written down and I figured those interested could read it too.

On May 24 at 2:30 am I woke up in a puddle. Yes, that is gross but it happened. I thought my water had broken so I woke up Kyle and he asked if I wanted to go to the hospital or wait. I had heard friends say that they had peed in their sleep before and I didn't want it to be that. It didn't smell like it. I figured we could wait til he got up for work at 5:30 and see what we wanted to do then. I wasn't having contractions or anything and I felt just fine. Kyle rolled over and went back to sleep, but of course I couldn't.

At 5:30am we got ready and headed to the hospital. "This is it", I thought. Kyle and I were so excited and ready for the baby to come. We signed in and a doctor talked to us in the triage room. She said that my water hadn't broken and took a swab to double check. I was 2cm dilated and 75% effaced but it was a false alarm with the puddle I woke up in. So, she sent us home. To this day I still don't know what happened that morning. I don't know if it was a leak from my water or what.

That day I started to get contractions. In the early afternoon they weren't so bad, but then towards the evening they started getting stronger and stronger. I couldn't sleep that night because they were so strong and really close together. I didn't want to get sent back home from the hospital (it is like 35-40 minutes away from us) so I waited. The next morning Kyle went to work and said to call if he wanted me to go to the hospital. My contractions were so intense and so close together, but again, I didn't want to get sent back home... so I waited. By noon I was in so much pain that I couldn't even get around the house so I called Kyle and said I should go to the hospital.

The Navy Hospital (Balboa Hospital)

Apparently that day everyone decided to have their babies. We had to sit in the waiting room for a while with all of the prego women and wait for a triage room to be available. When we got in they checked me and  said I was 4cm dilated but that my contractions weren't close enough together. WHAT!!!! They didn't want to send me home so the doctor said to walk around the hospital for a couple of hours and then get checked again.

While we were walking around the hospital grounds I had to stop every few minutes and hold onto something because of contractions. After about 45 minutes we stopped at the McDonald's and I got chicken nuggets so that I had something in my stomach.

When we got back up to the labor and delivery ward I was dilated to 8cm! So in less than an hour I had gone from a four to and eight. Whoo! I told the doctor that I was wanting to get the epidural but I didn't know if it was too late. I was told that I could still get it and we got me a room. I felt so much better just knowing that I was finally getting admitted.

Apparently, there are blood tests that have to go to the lab before the epidural can be administered. While waiting for the results from the lab the nurses put some medicine in my IV to take the edge off. They told me it would make me feel drunk, and it worked immediately. I felt great... well a little loopy. Kyle said that I was talking to myself. I don't remember doing that. I could have sworn that I was talking to the nurses. The nurses switched shifts after I was all checked in and my IV was done. My nurse that helped during the entire birth process was named Virginia.

When I got the epidural I had to get turned onto my side to even out. My left side was getting numb faster than my right side so we had to even it out. The anesthesiologist kept checking on me to see how it was working. That little button is awesome. Once we made sure it was working fine I got the catheter put in. That's right I didn't feel it. Ya! Virginia said that at 10:00pm the doctor would break my water and then at midnight they would have me start pushing.

There was a medical student that was there during the whole process too. He was a very interesting person and I think it was his first time watching someone give birth. He pretty much was just observing everything and I didn't mind that he was there. It didn't bother me at all. Every time he knocked on the door to come in, Virginia would ask who it was and he would say, "it's the med student". I don't think anyone knew his name until after the baby was born and they had to put in their records who was there.

At 10:00pm the doctor came in and broke my water. It felt super weird. Yes I had the epidural but I could still feel the pressure being released. Very interesting feeling. After that we just relaxed, slept at bit, watched TV and waited for midnight to come. I figured since everything had been running smooth I would be able to just get the baby out in no time. Man was I wrong...

Midnight came and I started pushing with every contraction. Virginia had coached Kyle and I on what to do earlier so we were prepared. I pushed, and pushed, and pushed. Because of the epidural I didn't know how I was doing with my pushes. Virginia was coaching me, but I couldn't feel myself pushing.  We tried turning me on my side and pushing. Then we got the bar out and had me hang on to that and try pushing. The doctor kept getting called in because I would get close, but the baby wasn't coming out. I asked for the epidural to be turned down a bit so that I could feel myself pushing a little bit.

Virginia said that I was doing just fine and that I was getting close, but then the baby would just go back in. Pretty much he was "prairie dogging" the whole time. Sorry if you don't know what that means, but I don't want to explain. The baby just wasn't coming out.

The doctor came and realized that the baby's head was tilted and rotated, so he tried going in and turning it. Baby would just turn it right back though. We had another doctor come in, a female one, and try the same thing. The baby was just turning his head right back. Thank you epidural because I am so grateful that I didn't feel that.

I think I almost made the medical student pass out while he was watching. He was at the end of the bed and one time he started breathing really hard. I was thinking, "Hey I'm supposed to be the one that has the issues, not you". Oh well. I could tell that he was trying to make me feel more comfortable. He would give me compliments on how I was doing or just talk.  Once, the doctor told him to do something, and I could tell he was nervous. I would have been nervous too if I was him, but it was kind of interesting having him there.

At 3:00am, after pushing for three hours, and after Kyle had counted to ten way too many times, the doctor said to take a break. "We can't have you so tired that you can't get the baby out. You are exhausted. There are other options. We can try the forceps but there are risks to that... or we can do a c section." Everyone left the room so that Kyle and I could discuss what to do. He mentioned that he didn't want to do the forceps because he didn't want the baby's face to possibly get scratched up. I didn't want to have to get a c section. I wanted to keep trying to push, but I was absolutely exhausted. After discussing for a few minutes, we decided that I would keep trying to push, but if he wasn't out in a while then I would get a c section.

I had asked the anesthesiologist to turn the epidural down so that I could feel myself pushing, but the pitocin wasn't turned down. I was able to feel my contractions more which wasn't pleasant. I asked if they could turn it back up again. While the epidural was getting turned up, Virginia and I decided that I should just push through the contractions. So I started pushing again, and again, and again. Nothing seemed to be working.

We all discussed that I was relaxing too much in between pushes and that I need to keep the pressure down there. This was really difficult for me because I was tired, and my whole body would tense up when I tried to keep the pressure. I was getting super discouraged.

 Virginia mentioned bringing the mirror out. For months before giving birth, I knew that I didn't want to have the mirror. The thought of watching myself have a child just didn't sit well with me. Virginia said that it would probably be good incentive for me. I was up for anything though so she brought it out. It wasn't pretty at all, but surprisingly it was good motivation. I could see how far along I was and seeing the baby come out helped me get the guts to keep pushing.

I was getting close again so that doctor was called back into the room and the mirror was pushed away. I remember praying because I really needed that baby to come out. I don't think I would have been able to do it without help from my Heavenly Father.

Then it happened. On May 26, 2012 at 4:29am, weighing 7 pounds 10 ounces and 22 inches long, Clayton Mathew Blackburn was born.

After the corpsman cleaned Clayton off she mentioned his long toes. Kyle looked over and said, "He gets that from me." Kyle was so proud to hold that new baby boy, and I loved seeing him so happy.

I had done it. I had brought a human being into this world. He was perfect, and Kyle and I couldn't have been happier. We were officially parents!

terrible picture of me but my boys look wonderful

Clayton had jaundice and had to be under the lights in his "tanning bed" for practically an entire day  

Now, baby Clayton will be three months old on Sunday. I can hardly believe it. Time has gone by so fast and he has grown so much. Kyle and I are so in love with him, and we both look forward to watching him continue to grow.

Catching up

I am soooo sorry that I haven't posted in forever. I am going to do my best to write more often.

We have a beautiful new addition to our family, Clayton Mathew Blackburn. I can't believe that he is going to be three months old soon. He is growing so fast and it is hard to think of what life was like without him. I am so excited to see what he will be like when he gets older. He has discovered his tongue and likes to stick it out and lick his lips. Yes, I do post a million pictures of him but I cant help it :)He is a really good baby, but just like any new parent I sometimes get frustrated. I am getting better though and motherhood is growing on me. I like to think that I am doing a decent job.

Clayton and Kyle just love each other. I think my favorite time of day is when Kyle gets home from work and they have their time together. It is the sweetest thing to watch them laugh and smile at each other. I am so lucky to have them in my life. I wouldn't trade it for anything. :)

Clayton absolutely loves Kyle

sticking his tongue out

Our friend Bob has been living with us for about a month and a half now. His family is saving money and looking to buy a house so his wife and girls have been living in Bishop with his family and he has been living with us. They have found a house and so now they are just waiting for the finishing of paperwork and stuff that goes into making it officially theirs.  It has been just fine having him here especially since Kyle gets more "man time" now. Our apartment is a bit cozier now but the company is nice. :)

Kyle and Bob with their motorcycles

I don't know if any of you have ever heard of the Color Run, but guess what... I signed up. So on November 3rd in San Diego I will be participating in it. It is a 5k and every kilometer volunteers throw different colors of powdered paint so by the finish line you are covered in color. Then at the finish line there is a big party and powdered paint and dancing and stuff. I am sooooo excited to be a part of it. :) I can't wait.

random picture I found online of the color run

Kyle is stationed at MCAS Miramar in San Diego and we live in Alpine which is about 30 minutes from base. He has a motorcycle so it isn't too bad of a commute to and from work. We will be here I believe until the end of Kyle's enlistment. So we have three more years in California.

Kyle will be working in Yuma for a month and a half this fall. Apparently sometimes they ask Marines to work at the Yuma base and they asked Kyle so that's that. It will be weird having him gone but it is only for a short time, but we will visit him as often as we can. :)

Kyle and Bob are on our ward's softball team which is fun for them. Last week Clayton and I went to their game and it was a blast. :) Ok, so baby slept practically the whole time but it was fun to watch the game for me. My goodness I never realized how intense church softball can be. Whoa. Watch out for them Mormons!! haha jk I am excited to continue going to their games.Not going to lie my hubby is quite the athlete. Just saying ;)

watching daddy play softball

We have been meeting more people in the ward which has been making our time in Alpine more enjoyable. For a while we didn't really know many people and go to activities but that has definitely changed. I absolutely love the Alpine Ward. :)

Last weekend we had the baby blessing. Kyle's parents and my parents were able to come out and participate in the blessing. It was such a wonderful experience. Of course I teared up but I didn't bawl which I am impressed about. :) Kyle's dad, Bryan, had his birthday the weekend they came so my parents bought a cake and ice cream and we had dinner and a little get together with everyone. I am so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful family.

Well that's about it for now. Life is going fantastic and I feel so blessed. We are so grateful for your friendship, love, and prayers made in our behalf. :)

PS I will post the birth story soon for those of you interested in reading it.

Catch up time

Things have been going good here the past few weeks. Kyle got his orders and he will be heading to Jacksonville Florida on June 2nd. The plan is for me to go to Arizona while he is in Jacksonville. I thought I would leave right after Kyle left, but as of right now that isn't going to happen. Our dear friends, the Byshenks, are going to let me stay at their place until I am able to get to Arizona. So my AZ friends that are waiting for me to come, I'm coming. Slowly but surely I'm coming to AZ. :)

Random picture of us :)

A couple of weekends ago I was able to go with the Christensens to the Gulf Breeze Zoo near Pensacola. It is a smaller zoo, but it was still tons of fun. I actually liked it a lot because I was able to be closer to the animals and see them better. It was so cool!!! Oh and guess what! There were kangaroos!!! My favorite!! :) It was beautiful weather and over all an awesome time :)

So remember our puppy Zoey?? Well... Kyle and I both thought that she was fixed when we got her. Apparently that is false and so this week she has been wearing diapers. I got them from the pet store and they even have a little hole for the tail. She looks so adorable but she HATES wearing them, and I don't blame her.

Ok the top picture obviously isn't one of her diaper. I just wanted to put it up because I hadn't put a picture of her up yet I don't think.
Our dear friend Angel was able to come visit for five days! It was a lot of fun having him here to chill with us. :)

So for those of you who have never heard of XBOX Kinect let me tell ya about it. Pretty much there is a sensor and it tracks your body movement without a controller. So pretty much it's like the XBOX version of the Wii. Is that a terrible description? Well anyways ya kinda get the point hopefully. Recently Kyle and I got the Kinect Sports game and it is SOOOOO fun. I am not a video game person, but I could play with the Kinect forever! Ok maybe not forever but it's tons of fun. So in the sports game there are bowling, soccer, table tennis, track and field, boxing, and beach volleyball. Needless to say I am not exactly up to par with Kyle's skills on any of the games.... except one. That's right... I DOMINATE boxing. Sorry if that sounds all high and mighty, but I am just excited that I am actually decent at a video game. I'm kinda proud of myself a little bit. It's weird. I go crazy when I box in this game. I dominated Angel and then Kyle didn't want to fight against me. He did... and got beat. Then we went to the Christensens house and I played Kyle and Angel again. Beat. I fought Bryce. Beat. Then they all three tag teamed between the knock outs to fight me. Beat. Kyle wanted to play me again. Beat. Whoa right?! Ya I wasn't expecting that either. Ok I am done talking about it...... but isn't that cool!? Ok fine I'm done. :)

So I will end with some more good news. Kyle is the top Marine in his class! Yay!! He has the highest grade and has been doing awesome in school :) Because he has been doing so well he is going to be getting promoted on June 2nd (the day of his graduation and the day he moves). I am so proud of him and how well he is doing. :)

Meema

Because Mother's Day is this weekend I thought I would dedicate a post to my dearest Meema. What do people see when they see my Meema... a little, dark haired, perfect postured, energetic woman. Let me tell you a bit about her, and I will tell you what I see.

Those of you who know my mother you know that she is a race horse. She is constantly doing something. She works at every school in Winslow, AZ. She teaches elementary school music, is the director of the junior high and high school choirs, directs the high school plays, and fits in anything she possibly can before she goes to bed. When she goes to the store, there are a ton of students that wave and say "Hi Mrs. Ricks!!!" It's absolutely adorable! :) She was my teacher from 6th to 12th grade and I loved every minute of it.



Since birth I've heard TONS of people tell me that I look like my Mom. I just got used to everyone mentioning it growing up. I have realized that Meema and I have more similarities than just physical traits. Just to name a few...
We both cry. I think that all the emotion that was supposed to be shared between me and my siiiister was put ALL on me. This is definitely from my Meema. Both of us just have soft spots and can cry. She makes me cry and I make her cry (well sometimes).
We love to run. I love running with Meema. :) It's the best.
We love to sing. No I didn't get my Meema's beautiful singing voice, but I can keep a tune.


Meema is extremely supportive. When I ran cross country and track for Mesa Community College she would give me words of advice. They were inspirational text messages. That may sound funny, but I would read them to my teammates and it would help them as well. She would spend so much time thinking about what to say to me, and it felt good knowing that I was in her thoughts. Those text messages are what got me through a lot of my races. Many times I would cry reading them. Knowing that my Meema was cheering me on, even if she wasn't their physically, was the greatest feeling in the world. I will always thank her for that.

My Meema is the greatest listener. I think that anyone who knows her can vouch for me on that. There were times growing up that I wanted to leave after church was over, and there was Meema, just standing there (with perfect posture) listening to someone talk to her. Meema didn't say a word, she just listened. We would get phone calls a lot of people wanting to talk to her, or for her to just listen to them. Living at home I don't think that I really appreciated that trait so much. Since I've left home, I admire Meema for that so much more. She doesn't mind taking time out of her busy day to talk to me. :)

Meema loves her job. If anyone doesn't get enough credit for what she does, it's Meema. That may sound ridiculous to some people, but I believe it whole heartedly. She practically lives at the schools. You think I'm joking. Nope, definitely not joking. Practically 24 hours a day my Mom is doing something for her classes: recording music, reading scripts, play practices, and preparing lessons.
I could talk about my Meema all day, but I will just keep it to a little post. :) When people meet my Meema, they see a little, dark haired, perfect postured, energetic woman. When I look at my Meema I see the strongest person I know. I hope one day to be like her. Thank you Meema for everything. I love you! Happy Mother's Day.
Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there. :)

Twister!!!

During our Young Women activity last week, we were able to play a few games while some girls were getting interviews. We played Twister and I was the spinner. Then the girls decided that THEY would spin and I would have to sit in any way they told me too. So yes, I was playing Twister by myself. It started off fine (how hard could it get right?). Well it was fine until the girls decided they werent' going to use the spinner anymore. They just picked a hand and told me which dot to put it on. "Sister Blackburn, put your right hand on THAT far red dot over there." My body is not very limber, so I could only turn and twist so many ways, but the girls had fun. :) Ok Ok it was kind of fun for me too. ;) Since I take pictures of the girls and their activities, they decided to take pictures of me too. Oh dear. I guess I can call myself a "Twister Master" now right?? :)

Here I Go!

Hey everyone! I have finally stepped into the blogging world. Ok... I mean my family has a blog that I would post on every once in a while (it has been a VERY LONG time since I have posted... sorry family), but this is different. :) It's my own blog! Impressed? You should be. I have always had this view that people just start blogging after they get married. I don't know why, but they do. Since I've gotten married I thought maybe I should take my turn with blogging. I am not the best writer in the world, so having my own blog with MY sentences being written is a bit nerve wracking for me. That's why I haven't really started til, well, just now. But, I'm coming out of my shell and hoping that this is all it's cut out to be. Everyone has been telling me that I should start blogging so that they can kind of keep tabs on me. I mean, I use Facebook to keep in touch with people. Does that count for anything? Ok fine sorry I even brought it up. :) It may take me a little while to get used to this, but just be patient with me and we'll see how this goes. :)

So way back in January I asked some people what I should call the name of the blog. I got some pretty good responses. I decided to stick to "The Blackburn Bunch". I know that right now it's only Kyle and I in our family. How much is a bunch anyway? More than two? Well, whatever, it works. :) Sooner or later it will turn into a "bunch".

I guess I should do a bit of introducing The Blackburn Bunch now right?? Sorry for those of you that already know us, but here ya go...

Kyle and I were married December 28, 2010, in Mesa, Arizona. So yes, we are newlyweds... ish. I've always been told that after your first year you aren't technically newlyweds anymore, so i'm sticking to that. We are both from Arizona and we love that place. Sooner or later we'll live there again. :)

Kyle is in the Marines and we are currently in Pensacola, Florida. He has been in for almost a year. His job is AS (Aviation Support), so he is in classes working on getting into the fleet in a few months.
We have a little beagle puppy named Zoey, and she is a little tyrant sometimes. She absolutely loves Kyle, and he loves her right back. :) Ok, Zoey loves me too...but not as much as she loves Kyle :)

We have met a lot of awesome people since we've been here. There are a few couples that we hang out with all of the time. They are in our ward in church and they are so fun to be around. I'm sure you'll be hearing more about them during the rest of our stay in Pensacola. :)

I love to exercise. I haven't done as good as I could since I've been here, but I'm trying to do better. I go on walks, and do zumba (sooooo fun for those of you who haven't tried it), and run on a trail on base. Since we are Arizona folk, the Florida weather has been something to get used to. HUMIDITY! YUCK! Whoo. I feel greasy all of the time... it's gross. But the beaches are beautiful and the ocean is awesome, so that's a plus. I suppose it evens out a bit because of that :)

I am the 1st counselor in the Young Women's Presidency for church, so I help with the teenage girls. It is SO much fun for me, and I am having a blast. They are all so fantastic. :)

Well I can't really think of anything else to say at the moment, but you'll definitely be hearing from me again soon.
PS Happy belated Easter!! :)