Happy Holidays!

Our little one is 15 days old! He had his 2 week check up today, and is a healthy little guy. He's up to 9 lbs- I feel like he's eating non-stop! He's really been a very good baby so far, but every time we tell someone that he has a sad story to tell us for the rest of the evening (aka us rocking him and him not sleeping very well!) Having baby #3 didn't really hit us until we were walking into the hospital a few days after baby was born for a biliruben test. Josh was carrying the carseat, holding our little girls hand, who was holding our little boys hand, who's hand I was holding. We felt like characters in the song about the '5 little ducks going out to play'. It has been a challenge at times, but we are very greatful for our baby boy and can't imagine our lives without him. The older kids seem to be adjusting well, and we've been trying to adjust to having Daddy back to work. We're not all the way there yet, but hopefully we'll get there one day!

I thought we had been doing quite well about keeping away from icky germs- and I was actually pretty excited about this until our little boy came home from an adventure with Grandma yesterday and promptly threw up. :( We successfully went through several sets of sheets and blankets for his bad through out the night. Luckily he just seems to be done with the throw up portion of his sickness and is just working out the other end of things. Poor little guy. I'm going a bit nuts trying to figure out how to care for both of my little boys without sharing the germs. I don't think my baby boy would handle a stomach flu very well until he's quite a bit older.

Christmas turned out well for our little family. Our little girl got her doll house that she obsessed over since she sat on Santa's lap over a month ago. Our little boy got one of those cool rug things that have roads and a hospital/school/church etc. that he can drive all his new little cars all over. We got them each a newborn Cabbage Patch. It's cute to see them care for thier babies when I'm busy with ours. Our baby got a Papasan infant chair that vibrates and plays music. It looks pretty comfy- we were torn between getting this and the papasan swing that swings both ways. We have a nice swing, but it only swings forward and back. We decided that we at least need to give our old one a chance again. It worked fine for our other two. :) Josh suprised me with two beautiful pearl necklaces in a lovely engraved gift box. And I got him the broadway version of Phantom of the Opera on CD- and the John Mayer guitar book. We spent Christmas Eve with my family, and had a really nice evening- the kids were so excited to be out of our little apartment!

I had been saving my money from my snowboard, and Josh had been telling me I was to use it for a toy for myself( I have an easy time using money for things for the kids or bills!) Anyway, we had looked at Ipod's, Creative Labs, and Zunes several times in the stores, and I always chickened out because of the amount of money they cost! Josh found my money stash and went out and bought me a Zune. It's fun toy- I'm still figuring it out a bit, and wishing we had high speed internet for downloads. I thought it would be great to keep a couple of movies on it for when we are out and about and the kids need something to keep them occupied. However- I don't know if you can download movies from Zune, or Itunes(funny thought with a dial up connection), or if there is a way to put some of the DVD's we own onto it. Wish me luck!

Sorry if this post doesn't flow smoothly- I'm a bit sleep deprived, and get a bit spacey when I haven't had enough sleep. Thanks for all the comments on our last post- It's fun to be in touch with so many of you, even if we don't get to see you as often as we'd like!!

If A Picture Paints A Thousand Words: then I'll paint 10,172

Our journey begins on the night of 12-12-2006 with

And soon became

On 12-13-2006 at 00:20 hrs

Weighing in at and 20.5 in. long and

(that's 0.52 m and 4.03 Kg for all you metric junkies)

entered the world to be greeted by

and

but there was someone who was even more proud than they...

As time progressed...

so we put on our socks and shoes

and headed for home. (As far as I know, they lived happily ever after.)

--The End--

I would like to personally thank

Thank you dearest Wife for all of the hard work and support that has been given to me the past few months while I've been at a new job and going to school. I promise, there wasn't a day that went by that I didn't appreciate what you did for me.

And to Dr. Christensen, thank you for easing our minds and keeping our hope alive when things were so up in the air that I thought I was back in flight school.

I made it to 40 weeks!

Yep, that means no baby yet.And even if I went into labor all of the sudden- ha ha... I'm sure the baby would not be here before midnight. I have a Dr appt tomorrow evening at 5 pm. That is planned so that Josh can go with me to console me and my tears as I learn once again that I have not progressed. :)(It's easier to think that way- than to think something is actually going on!!) I really haven't been contracting or anything. I think perhaps my body is just so used to being pregnant that it has been tricked into thinking it's supposed to be this way forever?!?! Anyway. Wish me luck.

Josh is still sick, we may be taking him to our family physician in the morining. Poor guy has been sick for a week now. Anyway. that's my update for now!

No Progress. :)

Not much else to say- TGIF and Josh will be home for the weekend. I had my membranes stripped again. And am considering going on a 6 mile walking tour of Salt Lake City tomorrow evening. :D My next appt is Tuesday.

I'm looking forward to some new pics like this one. ;) This was when our second was born. Too cute, and there is nothing like a proud Daddy.

Our bun in the oven.

I've reached my 39 weeks today! And yep, no baby yet. This is the longest I've gone with any of my pregnancies, so I feel over-due. Even though I am not. :) My next appt is on Thursday, and I can only hope that somehow- sometime this little baby boy decides he's ready to come out into this crazy world!

The first Christmas that Josh and I were married he suprised me with a snowboard that Santa had left for me! It is a wonderful memory, and he is so proud that he actually suprised me, and I didn't have a clue! Anyway, I sold my board yesterday and had a hard time parting with it because of the emotional attatchment. I think I keep way too many things because of this problem. Anyway, I'm glad the board will be used again- but sad not to see it sitting in the corner reminding me of what a loving hubby I have. I am a true geek and took some pictures of it before the girl showed up to look at it. I unfortunatly don't have any of me actually snowboarding with it. That's ok.

Josh has 4 or 5 tests left to take within the next week and a half. That's a little overwhelming for me to even think about. But he has also come down with the cold/flu that has been going around. He woke up with a fever.... and now the kids have a bit of a fever as well. We need to get over this before our baby comes!! Any magic cold/flu potions? I just keep washing my hands way too often! And have been trying to keep everything as clean as possible. :S

Happy Thanksgiving. :)

I'm attempting to make myself so tired that perhaps I'll get some good sleep tonight. I get a bit tired of laying in bed and having the baby kick around so much that I feel sick all the time. So I figured this was perhaps a good way to pass some time. :) We had a nice Thanksgiving with lots of yummy food. Our poor little son was up at 4 this morning and didn't want to go back to bed! He's on to a new 'scream to get what he wants' phase, and I forgot how completely clueless this phase makes me feel. He did finally get back to sleep around 6ish? after he had tested both Mommy and Daddy's patience. He then woke up at 8 and promptly threw up. :S He was never fevery or anything, so I don't know if he had a bit of a stomach problem, or if it was lack of sleep, and too much screaming! I felt bad though. He's been fine the rest of today, except for a bit over emotional about a few things. Hopefully it was just a fluke... I don't want to have a flu bug at our place to welcome our new baby.

As I've been reflecting on our day... It occured to me that our kids are young, but I want them to understand and love each holiday for it's true meaning. We had a talk with our kids during breakfast and tried to see what things they were thankful for. I don't think it sunk in at all. Josh and I told them things that we are thankful for- and tried to let them/(mostly her) know that today was a special and important day. Anyway, just wondering what ideas or traditions have been carried out in your different families to instill the importance of Thanksgiving/ Christmas in your homes. I'm sure that our Christmas is going to be a bit crazy this year with the new baby being so new. It will be interesting to see how it goes. We will do our best to make it a very memorable and special Christmas- just the same as we will do each year for the rest of our lives. :)

I hope each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and had a little time to reflect on the things you are greatful for! Wish me luck- it's after 11 and my eyes are starting to burn. Hopefully the sandman will be kind to me tonight.

36 weeks 1 day.

So I went to my 36 week appt yesterday, hoping for at least a little dialation and a small hope that this baby will one day be coming out of my stretched out belly. I left feeling like perhaps the little guy is just going to live in there forever!! I'm not dialated, or effaced at all!! I know that all things come at the time they are supposed to. With Josh in school, perhaps a few more weeks... (as in 4) would be the best timing for our family. It's hard to sit back and just wait for him to come though. My Dr said I was doing so 'well' that he didn't need to see me for 2 weeks... (normally they see you every week at this point). In other words... I don't need to see you in a week, there is no way you'll be dialated or anything next week.....

We have been working on reorganizing our little apartment and finding room to keep the new baby's stuff. It's a challenge, but hopefully after it's all done, we will have a very very organized apartment. Our bassinet is little enough it won't take up much room, and the only other thing I don't know where we will put it is the swing. Which was a definate neccesity with the other two. Oh yes, and a place to keep his clothes(not that he has many!!). Hopefully we'll get those things figured out sooner than later.

The kids are doing well. Just growing up and being siblings. It's fun to see how close and loving they can be- especially after a long day of tormenting each other. Our little boy finally got his 8th tooth, and I think is working on a few more. He's finally a little walker and could probably walk in circles all day- he's been working on racing with Missy- and enjoys the falls, jumps right back up and tries again. Missy is getting bored with a Mommy who can't cuddle her and carry her around as much as she'd like. She's been very patient with me when I need to take a nap or need to rest- but I'm sure she will be so very excited when I can actually play with her again. Makes me feel bad that I'm not up to doing more with her. But I'm looking forward to some good play time with her in the next few months.

Josh's job is going well- they have made a deal that he will be able to be off for up to 5 working days after the baby comes. We were really worried we would only have the two days of vacation that he was given when he started the job. Anyway... 5 days will be wonderful, even if he does need to run into the office now and then. He did have one day off sick since he's been at his new job (3 months ago today!!), but we are very much looking forward to the Thanksgiving Holiday to have a couple days off work- even if we will just be playing catch up on housework, and doing homework. We have been very blessed as a couple- I've often heard that the hard times will either make you, or break you. And it seems like when we are going through some of the hardest times, our relationship just seems to grow and grow. Somehow we come out appreciating each other more- and stronger together because we made it through. I know that may sound very cheesy- but I'm greatful for the hard times because they have definately strengthened us.

Halloween

We had a lovely Halloween evening. Josh didn't get off work till a little later than we had hoped, but we eventually did make it out with our cute Monkey, and Turtle. We went to probably 10-15 houses in our Parents' neighborhood and the kids just thought it was the best thing in the world. I think our little girl will remember Halloween now, and Trick or Treating will be one of her favorite activities for years to come. Our little boy was just thrilled to see so much candy everywhere. He has almost perfected the word 'candy', but did try to say Trick or Treat, and Thank-you a few times through out the night. It was chilly outside, but just cold enough to be enjoyable. It felt so nice to go into a warm house and get warmed up, but it wasn't a sharp cold like so many Halloween's have been in the past.

Only 5 weeks 6 days till our little one is due to join our family. I informed my Dr I wanted my original due date back (which was the 1st of December). And he kindly said that he was sure I did. I think that I will try and go walking a little more, and perhaps not take it too easy in the hopes that it will at least give me a little headway... I haven't even really started dialating yet!! I'm much too anxious!

Hope each of you had a Happy Halloween!

6 weeks 3 days. :)

Are we really going to survive the next few weeks? Somehow it really doesn't seem like it- Even though I know we will. :) I think our family is FINALLY a fully insured family again. We got the sad news this week however that my hospital visit from a few weeks ago, and my glucose test for my pregnancy will not be covered by insurance. That has been a bit of a shock. I don't know how people can afford NOT to have insurance. It sure does feel great to know that we are all covered again- even though we do have a deductible to meet in the next month or so. Money can be such a headache. I'm sure it is to everyone to a degree- even when it's not tight.

We have a few Halloween parties this weekend, and I'm excited to see our sweet little ones in thier costumes. Josh is super busy with homework, so it may be the kids and myself at the parties. But I'm excited. :) Our little girl is going to have a sleep-over with her loving Aunt tonight. She has been talking about her sleeping bag and all that they are going to do all day! So fun to see the pure joy a child can have.

We are in no way ready for our new baby boy to come. We need to bring our swing, and bassinet back from storage, and go through all the baby clothes to see what we need to buy. Our first boy was born in July, so I'm afraid most of his clothes will be off seasons for our new one. However as long as we have sleepers and some good blankets and diapers, this new baby will be well provided for. I'm getting a bit anxious about how I'm going to handle 3 kids, but I'm very excited for my back to feel better and to be able to pick up my older children and give them big hugs without worrying about the baby being squished in my tummy. Oh yes, and rolling over in bed without thinking how much effort it takes!! I think I must be nuts to be ready for the sleep exhaustion stage- but I think I'm almost there. (Until it happens... then I'll be wishing for the days of being an uncomfortable pregnant lady again!!- there is no winning, or perhaps I should be enjoying each stage for it's lovely things.)

Well I'm rambling, and need to call and see if Josh is almost ready for us to pick him up from work. Happy Friday before Halloween.

Last Wednesday, one of my cousins and her little family came to stay the night at our place! It was a delight to see them, and our kids really enjoyed playing together. My little girl even enjoyed waking up at 4:30 am to use the potty, and then stare at them until she was invited to lay down with her little cousin- I guess she did actually sleep out there for a bit! I was just suprised to come out of our room in the morning and do a double-take because I saw her in our living room with our guests. Little kids really do know how to make the most fun of everything- she woke up telling me that she just had to sleep out where her friends were. :) Thursday morning we all woke up and headed to work(Josh), to Grandma's office (my kids), and down to the Salt Lake Temple for another cousins wedding (my cousins family and myself.) The wedding was beautiful- and so peaceful. I am still working on figuring out some scheduled 'me time'. And this break or 'me time' was a much needed one. After the wedding I even got to go to Olive Garden for the luncheon- without my kids! I was getting a bit lonely for them by the time I picked them up. A very healthy feeling that I need to feel more often!!

Saturday we had our little girl's first swimming lesson. This was a gift given to her for her 3rd birthday, and she didn't completely understand what it was till we got to the pool. She had a lovely time hanging out with Daddy and getting comfortable in the water. In the toddler/parent class that is basically all they do it blow bubbles, and get used to things. (Which she is already comfortable doing)- but Josh agreed it's great to have some scheduled time to spend with his little girl. Perhaps we each need to do something similar so we get some quality time with him. ;)

This week Josh has been left to run the warehouse without most of the company. The rest of the company is at a Tradeshow in Las Vegas. He was excited for the responsibilty- and we're hoping the tradeshow goes great for the company!! (And that things go smoothly the rest of this week!!) Maybe he'll even be able to come home on time a day or two to get caught up on some of his homework.

Hello to our friends in Egypt. :)

We had a special request from some dear friends who are currently residing in Egypt. They asked for some pics of the beautiful fall leaves so, here is round one. We went up Big Cottonwood canyon weekend before last, and I think we were a bit early. So we took a drive up Butterfield Canyon on the West side of the valley yesterday, and they were much more colorful. I unfortunatly left the camera in the car, and haven't uploaded them yet, so these ones will have to do for now.

We had the opportunity to spend some time with my family this weekend, and our little girl had a ball playing with all of her cousins. She's a bit younger than most of them, and I don't think she knew how to handle being the 'runt' of the group. She came crying to us 3 times in less than an hour because the swings had somehow hurt her. She is at an interesting stage of development because she's very emotional in a non- two year old way. She tears up at little things- kinda breaks my heart. We do still have the occasional melt down, but it's been fun for us to all grow together and we are all trying to handle things the best we can.

My little boy has been especially upset with things lately. He's the calmest happiest little guy- for the most part. It must be hard for him not to be able to communicate his needs. And my little stinker still isn't walking!! We'll keep working on him. I wish you could all see how fast he crawls- I really am hoping that's the only issue is that it is much easier/faster to crawl than it is to walk. Speaking of which, he is calling for me. So I better get going.

Happy October!!

Over-due update!!

As I sit here at the computer- freezing my toes off, I'm so happy that fall weather has arrived! I probably should close my window, but I am still enjoying mere sensation of being cold. We have been a very busy family the past few weeks, and I'm sure that we will not be any less busy for a very long time (probably a few years AT LEAST).



First off my sweet little girl had her 3rd birthday. After weeks of anticipation, I think her birthday turned out quite well. We had intended to have her party at a park up by both Grandma's houses, but the weather didn't agree with that idea, and we ended up having it indoors and Leatherby's ice cream(one of the best ice cream places around!!). We had a very enjoyable time with both sets of Grandparents, and all the Aunt's, Uncles, and cousins that could come. I always feel so blessed to have such wonderful family to show love to my children. I can't believe my little girl is a big 3 year old! Her language and vocabulary have been booming lately, she no longer yelps 'help!' but instead 'I can't figure it out, I need help!'. And enjoys taking turns/ or offering to hold her baby brother on her lap on the tire swing at the park, instead of only thinking of herself. I am one lucky Mommy to have such a wonderful little girl to nurture, and help grow. I only hope I am doing the best that I can and offering all that she needs!

Josh has been insanely busy with work and school. It's hard to see a light at the end of the tunnel, even though we know it's only 11 more weeks till finals will be over. Work will supposedly be slowing down, even if only for a week at a time, but I have yet to see that- and in this case, seeing is believing. I can't really complain though. The job is a wonderful place for him to work, and he even gets the occasional pat on the back for doing a good job. I can't think of too many places where he would have the opportunity to work in an uplifting environment.

My little boy finally decided to take a couple steps last night. (3 to be exact) He is almost 15 months old, and I have had a hard time letting it be alright that he hasn't been walking, when our daughter started walking at 11 months. I realize that each baby is different, and I should be counting my lucky stars I'm not chasing after him all the time. YET. :) He is definitely growing up and learning how to defend himself, and attempting to communicate. Josh finds it crazy that he can say garbage, but he won't say drink or food yet. He's on his way to being a talker- he has his own gibberish language that I think will turn into many real words soon enough.



I am now 29 weeks pregnant- and ready to start counting down the days until I am not sleeping because I have a new baby~ instead of not sleeping because of pregnancy. I keep telling Josh that I don't remember being this uncomfortable this early with the other two kids. And he says I was. :) My Dr. was kind enough to remind me that my body is not as young as it once was either. :P Anyway, I am just grateful that I am not puking and nauseated all the time. It was pretty miserable for a long time... and I'm sure the kids are happy to have a Mommy who can play with them at least a little bit again(even if I am exhausted, and need to lay down quite often).


Well that's my update for now, the kids and I just got home from a very packed full day of Mommy's glucose test at the Dr, lunch at Joe's Crab shack (Kids eat free on Mondays!), Target, looking at lots of puppies, and grocery shopping. The kids are napping- and I'm going to get a little rest while I can.

Busy weekend!

We had a very busy weekend! Saturday Josh and I were finally able to see Pirates of the Carribean 2, and the kids got to spend time with thier Grandma (Thanks so much!) We also got to have a picnic up at Copperton park yesterday. It was so nice to have Josh home with us for another day.

Grandma and Grandpa got a cute new little Shitzu puppy named Willow. She is 9 weeks old, and a very cute little puppy. The kids aren't quite sure what to think of her, but we are hoping they get used to her soon. She's a very gentle dog. So she's a good dog for them to be around.

Anyway, hope everyone else had a good weekend.

Finally Friday...

These weeks with school and new job are really rough on our little family. I don't remember the last time I was so excited that it was Friday. Josh doesn't have school tonight- or all weekend- and no school/work on Monday. I know this extra time away from work and school will be valuable study time, but it will be so nice to have Daddy around.

Due to our change in employment, we are a currently uninsured family. This being the case makes me very uncomfortable with two small children, and also because I am expecting. We looked into getting Cobra, but the quotes we recieved were outrageous. I'm not sure how anyone would afford it! I have been diligently working since the day Josh left his old job on getting our children on the CHIP program. Funny thing is, that until today, our insurance showed us as actively covered. However, when it did finally show up that we were no longer eligable it was back dated to the last day Josh worked. What a pain. Anyway, I only need to get one more paper to the CHIP office, and hopefully we will be on our way to at least having the kids covered. And Josh and I will be covered on the 16th of this month. Hurray, I can't wait to have insurance back again. I didn't know how uneasy I would feel without it.

So, I haven't kept up like I would have liked to, but I'm trying. :) Josh was home yesterday sick with a stomach flu, and I feel like I haven't slept in a few nights. I'm usually awake sneezing(allergies), or running to the bathroom.. (Thanks to my growing baby boy pushing on my bladder). But I just feel out of it. Thankfully we all seem to be getting over it and the kids have done very well with putting up with a very boring Mommy and Daddy.

School is going well so far- we think we may just make it through the semester. Josh spoke with each of his instructors about the possibility of me delivering a baby during finals week. They were all willing to work with him and just told him them informed as my due date approached. I'm glad to know that his instructors have hearts.

Anyhow- I do believe I have deprived my sweet children and our apartment enough for today. Sesame Street will be over in a few minutes and I have a tall pile of clothes that need to be washed as well as a sink and counter full of dishes.

Try, try, again.

Well, Josh is back in school once again. He just started tonight- which leaves me with a lot of time at home, and a renewed effort to keep up a blog. :) Josh began a new job last week as a warehouse manager for a small company. Check out thier website. It's a work in progress, but we are excited to be working for a fast growing company. And definatly a change from his old warehouse job where everyone was treated like a machine.

As for school, he will be taking 9 credits. Physiology, Physiology Lab, Human Growth and Development, and Medical Terminology. This is his last semester of pre-reqs to get on the waiting list for the Nursing Program. Hurray!!!

Anyway- this is a start. I hope I can keep this up. It was a fun thing to do for a while. And we miss hearing from all of our friends and family who regularly read our old one.