The Grubers: July 2012

Monday, July 30, 2012

July 4th

We had quite a fun and eventful Fourth of July. It was especially fun (and at the same time more difficult) since it was Charlie’s first. We didn’t quite know how Charlie was going to feel (being the day after his circumcision). But lucky for us, he did quite well!

We met up with the Gruber clan for a picnic and water fun at Bridal Veil Falls. The Tuttles were still in town, so we got to celebrate with them.

Soon after, we headed to Draper for a delicious dinner of smoked pork and a movie on the projector: Mission Impossible IV - Ghost Protocol.

Dad hosted this dinner since Mom was in Idaho helping with funeral plans. Grandma Rich passed away the weekend before...more on that to come.

Great dinner Dad, thanks for putting it all together!

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

The Alpine "Quail" Fire

Charlie was two weeks old, and we were making our way to our next doctor’s appointment (for that special “boy procedure”...poor guy), when I saw some smoke billowing in the distance...appearing to be coming from the Alpine area. We had a little time to kill before the appointment, so we decided to head to Alpine to check it out. As we got closer, we could see that it was getting bigger and it was definitely in Alpine.

We pulled into a nearby neighborhood with a fantastic view. Cars were lining the streets, as people would drive by, pull over, and get out to watch the fire grow. The residents of the neighborhood were all out in the yards, staring in disbelief at this roaring fire. While the fire was devastating and scary to see, it was also amazing an exciting.

We continued on to the Gruber house where we found Amy and the kids watching the fire with their binoculars. We watched the fire burn all the way up the mountain, completely torch a barn, and threaten nearby homes. We couldn’t believe what we were seeing. Being the “mountain-man” that Jason is, seeing the fire destroy the mountainside was especially devastating. Alpine already had a scorched side of the mountain from a fire about ten years ago.

Eventually we had to head on to the doctor’s office, but the huge volcanic-like smoke cloud could be seen from all around and for several days. Once the fire was contained (thanks to a rainy day and the great work of the firemen), Alpine was happy to announce that no homes were destroyed by the fire. What a miracle!!

Monday, July 23, 2012

More June Family Fun

The birth of Charlie definitely took the spotlight for the month of June for us. However, there were some other fun family events that took place.

My sister, Kimberly, turned 18 and a couple days later graduated from high school! I can't believe she will be moving out to college this fall! Graduation is such an exciting time, so I'm glad Jason and I were able to attend and celebrate with her before Charlie was born! Congrats Kim!

Kimberly's 18th Birthday

Seminary Graduation was also that evening

Kimberly's High School Graduation:

Charlie was there in spirit :)

Such a windy day!

Afterward, we celebrated at Happy Sumo. Yum!

We gave Kim a Whirley Popper for graduation so she can make delicious kettle corn for all of her college friends

Once Charlie was born, we were sure to make several stops at the Grubers so they could spend some time with the little guy. It was also a perfect time for a family picture, since all of the grandkids were in town.

Clara, Oliver, Harlan, Duke, Elsa, Nancy, George, Charlie, Alex, Mya, and Capri

Nine Grandchildren!

Check out that chin dimple!

Friday, July 20, 2012

The First Night

Our first night with Charlie at home...we had no idea what to expect, and there was no way to be really prepared for what we were about to encounter. Our first mistake was having him sleep in a portable crib at the foot of our bed. Our original plan was to have Charlie sleep in our room for the first several weeks, since he would need to nurse every few hours. However, for the first week or so of Charlie’s life, he would breathe with a very loud wheezing noise whenever he slept. The nurses said he was okay, but now having him home we were constantly nervous. We felt the need to get up and check to make sure his chest wasn’t caving in or his mouth wasn’t blue. That first night, Jason (being the amazing husband that he is) really wanted to help me rest and recover, so he continued to waive me back to bed whenever Charlie needed to be checked on. Charlie would go back and forth between wheezing and crying, so Jason was in and out of bed constantly between 11 pm and 3 am. He was holding him, changing diaper after diaper, and even finger feeding him so I didn’t have to get up to nurse him. Finally it got to the point where I couldn’t take it anymore. I felt so bad that Jason was taking on all of the load. I opened the door into the bathroom where I found him leaning over the counter, with his head on his arms in complete surrender. I peered above his head and could see Charlie had pooped a good amount on his swaddling blanket. Come to find out he had also peed all over his other one (we only brought two with us - such young and naive parents we are). So here we were at three in the morning, with nothing to wrap him in. There was definitely some tension felt at this point from all of the exhaustion.

I found out the next morning what had happened to the first swaddling blanket. After several diaper changes, Charlie had started crying again in his crib. Jason went to pick him up and found that his blanket was completely drenched with pee. He brought Charlie to the changing area, opened the blanket, and was shocked to see there was no diaper to be found. He ran back to the crib determined to find the missing wet diaper, but it wasn’t in there. At last, he realized due to his complete exhaustion, the last time he had changed Charlie he had forgotten to put on a new diaper. He had just wrapped him up without one and put him to bed. After this experience, I can see why Jason was in such dismay when the second blanket got messed on as well.

Shortly after I got up to help Jason at three, my mom came in to see if she could help with anything. Without any more swaddling blankets, she helped us wrap him in a towel and started a load of laundry for us.

We survived our first night, but it wasn’t pleasant...especially for Jason. Ever since, we have let Charlie sleep in another room and have used a monitor to wake us whenever he starts crying. Excluding two or three, nights have been a lot better since then and we don’t have to worry about Charlie’s loud breathing.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

The Five-Star Arbon Hotel

With me recovering from a C-Section, my mom was so thoughtful to invite us to stay at their house in Draper. Our apartment has two floors, with the kitchen on one floor and the bedroom and bathroom on another. We knew taking the stairs could be quite challenging and painful on my recovering body. So my wonderful mother prepared the master bedroom for us (which is on the main floor), while my parents slept in my old bedroom in the basement.

Let me tell you, staying with my parents is the best thing that could have happened to us! It was so lovely! The bedroom was beautiful and spacious (recently remodeled), and it is attached to a large bathroom with lots of counter space that we used as a changing table and bathing area. Not only were the accommodations beautiful, but the “service” was superb! I really felt like I was staying at a nice resort. My mom was always there to help and hold Charlie. She made us all of our meals, even bringing some to me in bed. She was always willing to help during the night as well.

We stayed there Saturday night through Wednesday night; five nights. Originally we had planned to only stay one or two nights, but it was so hard to want to leave. It was just so pleasant staying there with them. My siblings seemed to enjoy it too, just watching Charlie lie there on the floor making his little grunting noises while trying to pass gas. It was great! When Thursday came around, I really did not want to leave. I was actually kind of emotional about it. We had things to attend to at home, so I knew we needed to leave, but I really didn’t want to. Words really cannot express how grateful I am to my mom for all of her help and for making our stay so amazing!