Our baby boy!

Carter Matthew joined our family on October 12th, 2010 at 5:23 am. He was 6 lbs 15 oz and

20 1/2 inches long. He has been such a good baby so far and we all love him so much! We have been blessed so much lately. We have even been given enough clothes to last him until he's 2.

This is the before shot! Tyler told me I didn't look stupid...guess he was wrong!

This was the first picture taken right after he was born.

Now when I see this picture, I think he looks swollen.

Daddy's first time holding him.

The girls came to visit. It was so good to see them. It was hard for me to be away from them. Alivia has been in love since she first laid eyes on him. She always tells me how adorable he is & how she knew I would have him. She has asked lots of questions, and we've had some good conversations. I just hope she doesn't share everything at church tomorrow...

Kate loves her brother too. She just gives him kisses. When we first brought him home she cried when he did. Now she just tells him to "ssshhhhh!" She gives me his paci when he cries. She can't say his name so she just calls him baby. I guess that works for now.

Livi holds him a few times everyday. I haven't let her hold him by herself yet. I think I will just wait until he's older, and maybe by then he will be too heavy.

Here are a few pictures I snapped today. I am so in love with him!

So, the birth story is pretty boring. I even had him on my due date. I was trying to go into labor so I ran around all afternoon. I even made excuses to go upstairs a bunch of times. I was having lots of contractions like usual but they weren't consistent (like usual). So I told Tyler & he told me I should start timing them. I wasn't convinced so I folded some laundry & told him I would do it after I showered. When I got out of the shower they were pretty painful so I got dressed & timed them. They were 8 minutes apart & hurt so I told Tyler. He showered while I fixed my hair. We slowly packed our bags all the way up & left at midnight. We got to the hospital at 2:00 (UT time) and after answering lots of questions they checked me & I was a 5. I wasn't impressed because I went to the doctor that morning & I was a 3+. But, since I was a 5 I got to stay. They checked me when I got to my room & I was a 6. I asked the nurse to check me a little while later & when she did I was ready to go. Right before she checked me I felt my water break. Since it didn't break all the way she called the doctor to come break it all the way. He showed up around 5:00 and then I started pushing. He was born at 5:23 with no stitches or anything. This delivery was harder on me than the others. I had a harder time during labor & recovery. I'm not sure if it's because my back is out of shape or if it's because I had #3. But, he's here and we are happy!

Another Tyler post.

So as fate would have it, while we were working in portland this summer, I came across a car that I have been looking for for about 10 years. It's purpose? To resurrect my first truck. A little history about this truck for anyone who cares. (if you don't like car talk and my stories, stop reading now because that is all this post will be about.) Ford made these little trucks for about 10yrs starting in 72'. The truck that I acquired is a 76'. The cab is a little bigger but still retained the early look which I personally like better. In 76 this truck came with a small 1.8L 4-cylinder engine. It came from the factory with 74HP. A little under powered. To prove my point, the 1.8L engines of today come with more then double that. The truck is small, fun to drive, and can still serve as a truck. Anyone who knows me, knows that I like things that are different. I also love projects and I love fast cars and trucks. In the late 70's the Courier came stock with a 2.3L 4-cylinder engine that made more HP. (Click Light bulb) I will put one of those in there! After talking to my dad and listening to some old stories of his "glory days" with his friends, it was decided that I wouldn't put just any 2.3L engine in that little truck, but a TURBO charged 2.3L. In the early 80's ford started an SVO (special vehicle operations) unit that is still intact today. The first project? Mustang SVO. Which came with the Fuel Injected 2.3L Turbo. You see where this is going? They branched out and put the drive train in the cousin cars (Thunderbird, Mercury Cougar, ect) as well, making them even more available. 88' was the last year of these little gems. They have become very popular and now they are becoming harder to find. Which is why I said fate, came into play. So now back to the truck. About 2 years before I left for my mission I found this drive train. I obtained it and started the conversion process. I didn't get very far. I had pretty much gutted the little truck and had never gotten to start putting it back together. I came home and started looking, not to seriously just here and there for one of the donors listed above. Summer 2010. Summer sales in Portland OR. Just scanning craigslist. Boom there it is! And in great shape to! O man the post is 10 days old and everyone is looking for these things. There is no way that thing is still there. Email confirms..... "I still have it. What do you want to know." Gulp! So after a bunch of jumping through hoops we get it and it makes back to NV at the end of the summer. So begin the project.

The Recipient!!!

Now I know what you are thinking. Really that pile????? Well i say to you, to each their own and all that cliché stuff. So The proposed swap from the factory had more then double the HP from the factory. Perfect. Even better, after doing tons of research I found that in the last 5 or so yrs these drive trains have become so popular that the parts and aftermarket industry has grown huge. These little drive trains with stock parts are capable of well over 250HP!! What!! Ya that is what I am talking about!!!!! So now you know why. Not to mention the truck has nostalgia! So now you are thinking well lets see this car. Ok Ok. You had better sit down.

The Donor!!!

Now that thing is ugly. So you see why i have no feelings of sadness for ripping the guts out of this car. I will keep you posted (if you care) on the progress. So back to the story. After doing some more looking and research i found out that there is going to be a bunch of modifying. I must have over looked the fact that the 2.3L that came in the early couriers must be different then the 2.3LFI turbo because it is a tight fit. So the quick easy bolt in swap that I thought was waiting for me, has become a full blown project. It is going to take longer then I had hopped but when it gets done it will be sweet!! It will be close to show type but it will be a nice daily driver! So there you have it. The thing that is filling my time, when I have some to spare, getting this think at least to drive before we head to MO in a couple of weeks. We shall see. I am so excited for this thing to happen!! 10yrs in the making and it is finally happening!!! With my luck and skill and life things, it will probably be another 10 before it is close to done. Well all I hope you will be able to see my vision and enjoy this transformation with me. I know I will!!!