My! How fast they grow!

William 2 days old

William 2 months 5 days old

Isn't it amazing what gaining 6 pounds and growing 4 inches can do?

Two Months Old!

Time sure does fly! It is hard to believe that William is already two months old! He had his two month check-up this last Friday. Here are his most recent stats: weight - 11 pounds 14 ounces (50th percentile), length - 23 1/4 inches (70th percentile). He is growing so fast! William is smiling all the time now! He is also trying to figure out how to laugh. It hasn't happened yet. He definitely is developing his own little personality. He is so fun! I love having him in my life. I feel so grateful that I get to stay home with him and take care of him.

Here is a list of some of the things he likes.
bath time
being read to
eating
being swaddled when he's really tired
going for walks
being sung to
being tickled
staring at the couch
sitting in his bouncy seat

Here are some things he does NOT like.
getting dressed or undressed
getting in his car seat
being swaddled when he's fussy
tummy time

He used to hate having his diaper changed, but he is getting better about it. He doesn't cry as much any more.

Here are some pictures from the last month or so.

This is William in his cradle. I love this outfit that he's wearing. It is newborn size, but it still fits. I think it is super cute! Thanks mom for buying it for him!

William now sleeps in his crib for all his naps and at night time. We started putting him in his crib at night last Thursday. He sleeps so well in it! I love how chubby his cheeks look in this picture.

Another sleeping picture. I love how cute he looks when he sleeps.

Thanks, Crystal, for letting us borrow your swing. It is a lifesaver sometimes!

Playtime!

Smiling at mommy!

His first sleep over! I was babysitting Claire and she fell asleep. I laid her in the crib with William. The rolled up blue blanket isn't suffocating her (which is what it looks like it is doing); it is holding her pacifier in.

Bath time!!! He loves kicking the water. He also loves making more water! He usually pees when he is in the tub. I love the expression on his face in this picture.

I love this expression too. This is a nice shot of his chubby arms and legs! I love chubby babies!

Making Cookies

Marcella came up today to visit for a little while. We decided to make cake mix cookies! It was my first time making cookies with a child. It was super fun! Marcella loved licking the beaters (she even tried sticking hers back in the dough after she had licked it), licking the spatula, licking her fingers, licking my fingers, and eating the cookies. She tried to help roll the dough into a ball but couldn't quite get it to work. Oh well, she had fun licking the dough off her hands instead.

I love Marcella's little visits. When Jon, Kanien, and the girls are away, I miss the little gal. She really brightens up my day!
P.S. Check back tomorrow or Saturday for updates on William. He'll be two months old tomorrow!

A Special Day

Yesterday was a very special day for our little family. We celebrated our 2nd anniversary. It's amazing how quickly time flies. David and I have been together for 6 years - 2 years before his mission, the 2 years of his mission, and married for 2 years. I feel so blessed to be married to a wonderful man! David is so kind and thoughtful. He rarely ever gets angry, and even when he does he is so calm and kind and usually gets over it in a few minutes. He is always so good to me. While I was pregnant, I would look at something I wanted and say "accio, water (or whatever it was I wanted)" and David would run over, grab it, and bring it to me. Accio is from Harry Potter; the object is supposed to fly into your hand when you say the command. One thing I love about David is how much he loves my cooking. He always compliments whatever I make and always says it is the best he's ever had. On Saturday David and I got our wedding video from our friend, Cameron. Cameron did a great job with our video. I love watching the video and seeing the excitement and the joy that was spilling out of us on our wedding day. It is a nice reminder of the joy I have in my marriage.
Of course, the best thing that has happened to us since we got married was the birth of our sweet William! Which brings me to the next reason why yesterday was special. We blessed William in our ward yesterday. The circle was filled with David, both of our fathers, my two grandfathers (David's grandpas both live out of state), my brother Adam, our brothers-in-law Eric and Jon, and our bishop Craig Cottle. The blessing was so sweet and really brought the spirit in. David was really nervous for the blessing, but he did a fantastic job because he performed the blessing through the spirit. William slept through most of his blessing and was quiet when he did wake up. We had lunch with our families at my Grandma and Grandpa Gowans's house after church.
Here are some pictures from our day.

This picture shows four generations. Here I am with William, my dad Floyd William Gowans, and his parents - Floyd H. and Shannon Gowans.

Grateful Thursday

My friend, Amy, does a post every Thursday about things that she is grateful for. I just got off the phone with a dear friend of mine and I feel so grateful for some things that I just have to express. So today I am following Amy's lead and posting the things I am grateful for.
I am so grateful for this dear friend of mine. She is such an example to me of courage and strength. I feel so grateful that she trusts me enough to call me when she needs someone to talk to. We were talking about the atonement and how we know we always have the Savior to rely on. We both expressed how we need to talk to someone sometimes to really feel better. I made the comment that at times I feel guilty talking to people, that the Savior should be enough to talk to and communicate with through prayer. But as I was telling her this, I realized that the Savior IS enough. He and His Father have given us siblings, parents, and friends to talk to. They, in Their infinite mercy and wisdom, have placed other people on the earth through whom They can answer my prayers. I am so grateful for a loving and merciful Father in Heaven, for His Son and my Savior Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for the plan of Salvation and the peace that it brings us in the good times in our lives and in the difficult times. I am so grateful for the friends, sisters, brothers, parents, and family that I can call upon in my times of need and in my times of joy. Thanks Becky and Shannon for always being willing to listen. My friendship with you and my love for you are so dear to my heart and fill me with unspeakable joy. I am grateful for my testimony and for my understanding of the gospel. I am so grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I wouldn't trade my membership or my testimony for anything. It is because of my testimony that I can fully appreciate all that life brings to me. It is because of my testimony and my faith in the Lord that I can truly enjoy having a son and having a sweet husband. I am so grateful for my sweet son and my sweet husband. I love them both more than words can adequately express. Sometimes words aren't enough, just the feeling will suffice.
I want to share my testimony with those few of you who read my blog. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true and living church of our Savior. I know that the doctrines of the church are true and that they can bring a peace unlike any other peace into my life. I know that Christ atoned for me, not just for my sins, but for EVERY aspect of my life - the joy, the sorrow, the good and the bad. I know that He is ALWAYS there for me. I know that my Heavenly Father lives and loves me and that He knows me. I know that families are meant to be eternal. I know that the things that I have learned in the temple are true. I know that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God and that he did indeed restore the true church to the earth. I know that he did indeed see God the Father and Jesus Christ. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I love reading and studying the Book of Mormon. I know that there truly is a power that flows freely from the Book of Mormon and that we just have to read it to partake of that power. I miss that power when I miss a day reading the Book of Mormon. I know that Thomas S. Monson is the living Prophet today. I love praying for him every night and I know that he prays for me. And just because my heart aches for him and because of the gratitude and love I have for him will I add this - I know that Gordon B. Hinckley was and is a true prophet of God. And I know that it is ok for me to say that I miss him because it shows that he made an impact on my life. I know that all these things are true. I bear testimony of these things in Jesus Christ's name. Amen.

He smiled!

William smiled at me today! It was a genuine smile - a responsive smile! I was talking to him and he gave me a great big smile! SO CUTE!!!! Now I just need to get a picture of it. I've been waiting for this! I saw on the news a while ago how a baby's smile provides his mother with a natural high. I now know what they mean!

In other news, William is now one month old! We weighed him this past Saturday and he weighed almost 9 pounds! He probably weighs 9 pounds now! He has cute chubby cheeks! I love it! Here are some pictures from September 17th. I love his expression in the bottom right picture! And I don't know why his head is chopped off in some of the pictures. I'll figure it out, I'm new to Picasa.

When William isn't swaddled he sleeps in a pretty funny position. It looks very uncomfortable, but he seems to like it! These were taken when he was three or four weeks old.

William loves looking at our couch! I think he likes the contrast in the colors and the pattern.

On Sunday we were at my parents house. Shannon came over with her family. Lizzie loved EVERYTHING about William! She kept rubbing his head and poking him. She loved holding him (with my help of course) and putting him in his car seat. Then she stole his pacifier! I guess she loved that too! The second picture is really blurry, but I just had to post it because it is so cute and funny!

So in Love

WARNING -- Long post, but with lots of good pictures. What else would you expect right after a baby is born?

We weren't expecting William to come when he did. I was only 36 weeks and 3 days pregnant. My hospital bags weren't packed. We hadn't turned in our pre-registration form to the hospital. We weren't even in Orem! On the 15th we went to Layton to finalize some car maintenance. We then stayed the night at my parents house. On the 16th my family threw me a baby shower and then we also had a family reunion. David and I had originally planned on going home after those two events. However, we decided to stay one more night so we could watch Michael Phelps compete in his last race. We stayed in the "guest bedroom" at my parents house; it is actually my old bedroom. My water broke while I was sleeping! I awoke at 4:45 am realizing that I was quite warm and quite wet. The trip to the hospital was not much fun. My contractions started right before we got in the car. They were about 2 to 3 minutes apart during the drive from Layton to Provo. David told you the rest of the story. William Floyd was born at 4:29 pm. We named him after my dad, Floyd William, only we switched the order.

Being a mother is amazing. It is also a little overwhelming at times. I have been quite emotional since coming home from the hospital. But thankfully I have a sweet husband who hugs me and holds me when I cry. I wouldn't trade this time for anything. I love caring for my son. I love rocking him and singing to him. I love nursing him and changing his diaper. I even found it kinda funny when he pooped on me in the wee hours of last Sunday morning. I am so in love - so in love with my husband, and so in love with my son.

Here are some pictures to update you on our life.

This is the last picture I intended to post about being pregnant. David and I went to the gardens at Thanksgiving point and walked through them at the beginning of the month. I was 34 weeks pregnant in this picture. It's amazing how much cooler (temperature wise that is) I feel now that I'm not pregnant anymore! On a side note, I highly recommend seeing the Secret Garden in the Thanksgiving Point Gardens. It was my favorite! ("If there's a key, then there must be a door. And if there's a door, there must be a garden." From Hallmark's The Secret Garden)

This is a picture of me in labor. Aren't epidurals splendid?

Here is a picture of mommy and baby shortly after his birth.

William with his grandpa and namesake. In the corner is my FABULOUS nurse, Ashley. She was so amazing! I couldn't have asked for a better nurse! Thanks Ashley!

This video shows how alert and quiet William was right after his birth. I love how he waves! His arms and hands are always moving about or are close to, if not in his mouth.

William's first bath.

Two proud grandmas! I love this picture!

My sweet William, 1 day old.

Getting ready to go home!

I don't know if you remember my post where I posted a picture of the car seat. I couldn't imagine that my baby could be tiny enough to fit in the straps at the lowest level (I hope that makes sense, sorry). However, he is that tiny! Here he is at home!

On Thursday the 21st William was retested for jaundice. His bilirubin level was very high, so we had to get the bililights. He was on the bilibed for the next 4 days. On Monday the 25th he was tested again. His level had dropped enough for him to get off the lights. He sure liked the bilibed though. It kept him extra warm.

Here he is at one week old! He loves to eat his fingers! We love his little toes!

One week old!! I sure do love my little one!

One week old with Daddy. David is a great dad!

Now that he is off the bililights, he can actually wear clothes!

Sweet dreams!

My boys - this is what they did while I worked on this post. So cute!

William

August 17, 2008 We welcomed a new part of our family into the world! After about 11 hours of labor and 55 minutes of pushing, Weighing in at 5lbs 12 oz and 19 and a half inches long. our baby boy William Floyd Dougal! He was born at 4:30 somthing Pm. here are a few pictures for you!