Rigby Chronicles: January 2015

A Baptism and Blessing

Lizette was baptized on Saturday, November 1st. Since we had so much family coming into town for this event we decided to have Luke blessed on the same day. It was a wonderful day and very special occasion for our family.

Lizette looked forward to this day for a long time and was very excited for this moment in her life. We had lots of discussions about the importance about baptism and the covenants we make when we are baptized. As parents, we wanted her to understand the importance of this, but I think she really did understand so much already. However, it was great for all of us to review the importance of our baptismal covenants. I think by the time the day came she was ready. And she was thrilled that so many family members and friends were there to support her.

It was a great day with lots of family in town to share the day with us.

And look at this little cutie! This was the picture we took for the announcement we sent out. Such a little snuggle bug!

All dressed up in his blessing outfit and laying on the beautiful afghan that Aunt Abby crocheted for him. It's stunning!

Halloween 2014

This Halloween we did something we never do...we had a party! With so many coming into town for the baptism and blessing for Lizette and Luke the next day we thought it would be fun to have a Halloween party. It was a little crazy with lots of kids and trick or treaters, but it was fun! We played a few games, ate some soup and went trick or treating.

I felt that night and sort of all weekend that I wasn't really on top of my party organizing game. With just having had Luke I was still a little overwhelmed, tired...the whole newborn bit. But all who came were very helpful and understanding and it all worked out. It's just one of those things...when you host, you like to feel like you cover everything and this time it just wasn't in the works. :-) Thank goodness for good friends and family!

Girls Birthdays

We love October at our house. Lizette's birthday is October 10th. Lexi's is October 9th. And now Luke on October 2nd. However, with Luke's birth this year the girls' birthdays sort of had to be a low key affair. They were okay with that. They did just get the best present ever after all.

Lexi turned five this year! At five she is full of spunk. She loves to read. Loves her gymnastics class. LOVES her little brother and is a very sweet, caring little girl. She is so helpful to me and such a reliable little girl. I love that quality about her. No matter what, I can always count on her to do what I ask without much complaint. She is so easy going. She is also the one in the family who is always making us laugh. She comes up with so many funny one liners and witty remarks all the time. I'm constantly posting them on Facebook so I don't forget them. The other day I asked her if she was finished with her dinner. She just gave me a big smile and said, "I don't know. Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not." It's always stuff like that that just make me laugh. Love this girl!

Lizette turned the big eight this year! I can't believe she is getting to be so grown up! She is a strong willed, independent young lady. Smart, thoughtful and so helpful. She loves her dance class and is so talented in it. She works hard at it and has a natural grace about her that is fun to watch. I've noticed one quality about her since she has started into dance and since we've begun homeschooling. She is competitive and wants to excel at everything she does. It's not necessarily that she loves the work or loves school or anything. She just wants to know that she is at the top of her game in whatever she is doing. :-) She is beginning to get out of the little girl stage a bit which I'm not so crazy about. She doesn't love the dolls as much anymore and wants a phone now. Jeff gave her one of our old phones that she can text on and she loves it. She texts her family only at this point but it's a little crazy to see my girl texting! This was the big year of her baptism which I will post about later. She was very excited for this birthday for that reason. Love our Lizette!

Luke Jeffrey Rigby

This post is LONG overdue and just plain LONG!

Luke was born October 2, 2014. Our lives have been turned upside down since! So much happiness, emotion, lack of sleep. :-) It's been overwhelming but in a very good way. There is a whole new element of joy in our home. Of course, there is nothing like snuggling a newborn to help you remember what's important in life. But beyond that, it's been so good for our family to feel so much love all at once together. It's wonderful.

Yes, the sleepless nights and trying to keep up with the endless amounts of laundry and housework have been a challenge. I've had days when I've wondered if I'm really cut out for this or not. It's so hard sometimes! But, the good far outweighs the difficulties. It's been good for me to have to chill out about my house a little bit. So the laundry doesn't get done today. Big deal! And the dust is getting thicker and thicker as we speak. No problem. Breathe...I will have a clean house again someday. Right now, these little kiddos need their mom more than a clean house. (Even though, by all accounts my house is still pretty clean. I can't let it go all together people!) :-)

Luke was 6 pounds 3.8 ounces, 18 inches long. He was born with a bit of a breathing issue which caused him to have to go into the NICU for a day. It scared me terribly. I cried for at least three hours after the birth. I couldn't stop. I was so scared for him. But it turned out that his lungs were just a little weak and needed a little bit of a kickstart. They put him on a CPAP machine, cleaned out his lungs and he was good to go after that. Not being able to hold him at first was so difficult. Knowing what that experience is like and then not being able to have it was heart wrenching. I can only imagine what it is like for mothers who have babies in the NICU for weeks or months. Let alone those who suffer the loss of a child. My heart just ached for them during this time. A healthy baby is truly a miracle.

The delivery went great. I didn't feel any of the labor pains up until I started to push and then I felt it quite a bit! Oh yes. But it was short lived and worth every pain. Thank goodness he was small. I had even slept through many of the contractions through the night after I got my epidural. It was great! Jeff and the girls were with me the whole time. Jeff was probably the most exhausted of all of us by the time the delivery came because he got absolutely no sleep. We arrived at the hospital at about 1:00 a.m. and he hadn't slept all night. I and the girls however, slept just great. :-) The girls were so excited and fascinated by the whole experience. I was a little worried about how they would respond but wanted them to have the experience. In the end I'm really glad we had them there. To see a baby delivered is just amazing and not something you get to see many times in a lifetime. I'm glad they got to be there for this.

Our Doctor is also amazing. Dr. Hodges. He's a little bit famous actually. His photo went viral on Facebook and other internet outlets recently as another family he delivered for had a photographer there for their second birth which was a miraculous story. She caught a great shot of Dr. Hodges and the dad hugging and crying and it went viral, made the local news, Today show website and the whole bit. He's a great guy and wonderful doctor. I love that he lets the dads help with the actual delivery and bring the baby out. What an experience.

I think all of these pictures speak for themselves.