Updating

I know it has been forever and a day since I posted, but here I am posting.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We want to thank everyone for their support and love this year. I can't believe how quickly this year went by.

Christmas was fun. Shaden didn't fully understand, but he loved opening presents and getting new toys. Now I have the fun task of putting away all the new stuff. Thank goodness Chris's parents sent us a new toy storage shelf. Yay!

Jayce is growing so fast! He is so much bigger than Shaden was at the same age. At Jayce's 2 month checkup he was in the 58% for weight! Weighing in at almost 12 lbs! He is such a happy boy. When you talk to him, he smiles and giggles and wiggles! Right now he wants to be held all the time, which is sometimes difficult with Shaden being in the climbing phase. It keeps me busy. :)

Jayce Jonathan

Jayce Jonathan is here!

Born October 2, 2009

Weight: 7 lbs, 7 oz.

Height: 20 inches

Navy Blue Eyes, Dark Hair, and Tan.

Not quite sure where he got the tan from, but he sure looks cute.

one month later

I realize its been a while since I blogged. A lot has been going on here.

Chris got to his FOB (Foreign Operation Base) and has settled down into a routine.

Shaden turned ONE!

At his one year check-up he weighed in at 17 lbs and 28 inches tall. That puts him in the Zero percentile. LOL. Yeah, that's right... ZERO. Meaning if you put Shaden in a room with a hundred random one year olds, he would be the smallest. His doctor is not concerned at all. His height and weight are great proportionally. He is on track developmentally and the doctor loved Shaden's happy demeanor.

Shaden has taken a few steps on his very own. He thinks he is so cool now. :)

My new doctor says everything with baby #2 looks great. He is growing and his heart beat is strong. She says as long as everything continues to move along as well as it has been there should be no worries.

Those are the updates from our little part of the world.

Enjoy the video!

Easy Patient... Maybe Not!

Where to start... At my 20 week ultra sound we were told the baby was definitely a boy, healthy, and active. All good things. Then I got a call a few days later from one of the doctors at the hospital saying they could only see two vessels in the baby's umbilical cord. There is supposed to be three; one vein and two arteries. So they made a referral to another hospital in the area with a better ultra sound machine to double check.

On Thursday this week I had another regular doctor's appointment scheduled and then the better ultra sound after that. At the regular appointment they informed me what would happen if the baby does have only one artery and one vein. I will have to have growth scans or ultra sounds every four to six weeks and they might want to induce me at 39 weeks. Which would put the baby being born at the end of September! (It keeps getting closer and closer, even when the weeks are feeling really slow.)

The doctor also informed me that my blood platelet level was low at my last blood draw. She said I will have another blood draw and the glucose test at my next appointment and that I need to have my new doctor check the platelet count. She informed me that if the number was under 100 I would have to have my blood drawn at every appointment and that would need to be monitored. Also if it was still under 100 at the time I go into have the baby I wouldn't be able to have an epidural.

:( 1: I hate having my blood drawn. 2: I was so grateful for my epidural when I had Shaden. 3: I hate pain! 4: Chris isn't here and probably won't be able to make it for the birth, especially if I have to have the baby early.

At the better ultra sound they confirmed the two vessel cord situation. But they also said the baby seems to be growing just fine and is very active. He kept kicking and punching me while they were trying to measure. They said for me to make sure I'm eating well and getting a little exercise, but I need to be cautious not to over do it.

So, that is the update for me and baby boy #2. I will try to post an update on Shaden and Chris soon.

So we found out yesterday that we will be having another boy!  Yay!  We are excited.  It will make it so much easier to prepare for the new baby with Chris gone.  I'm sure Shaden will love having a little buddy.  

Now to figure out a name.  We want to use Jonathan as the middle name.  We are considering a few right now.  What do you think of these:

Jayce Jonathan

Merick (or spelled Marek) Jonathan

Parker Jonathan

Bryson Jonathan

Kayde Jonathan

These are just a few of the ones I like and Chris hasn't immediately gone "NO Way."  We want to stay away from the main stream so if these sound out of the ordinary that's the point.  :)

Easy Patient

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday.  We were running a little bit late because of traffic to get on post and construction around the hospital.  Thankfully my doctor was also running behind.  It seemed that her appointment before me was taking a lot longer than she thought it would.  This happened a few times with my appointments with Shaden.  It makes me wonder if I don't ask enough questions or if I'm just an easy patient.  

My family doesn't have any major illnesses and I am healthy and don't drink or smoke or do drugs, so I like to think I am an easy patient.  

Why I start wondering about this is because my appointment only lasted 10 minutes.  And that was with me asking a few questions.  

I'm not complaining at all.  I like to be the person that can help catch a doctor up to her schedule.  And my last doctor would always thank me for making her job easier.

Now for some news from the appointment.  The baby is healthy, in the right position, and has a strong heart beat.  And is due sooner than previously thought!  According to the early ultra sound the due date is now October 10, 2009.  I was a little shocked by this news.  I was thinking the doctor would tell me that the baby was due later than thought.

This is great news for one thing: Chris will be able to go to the 20 week ultra sound!  Which is now scheduled for next week.  Hopefully we will be able to find out if its a boy or a girl.  I like knowing.  Chris was really disappointed when he wasn't able to come to the first ultra sound and was also going to miss the next one, so this is wonderful!

Great Birthday!

I had a wonderful, terrific, awesome birthday!

Chris was supposed to be stuck at the range all day, but got pulled off that assignment.  YAY!  He was able to come home for lunch (which is always nice).  Then he got released early!  Another YAY!  Especially since he has been getting released late recently.  

We decided to go to Carrabbas Italian Grill for dinner, because I wanted some place with a good dessert.  I remembered going there with Chris's family and getting dessert "shots."  So we ended up going slightly earlier than we normally eat dinner and got seated right away.  Dinner was delicious!  I love their Pollo Rosa Maria with Garlic Mashed Potatoes.  Yum!  Shaden is such a good eater and loved sharing my chicken and potatoes and of course some of Chris's pasta.  Then we asked about desserts.  Sad to say they aren't doing dessert "shots" any more.  BUT... We ordered this dessert called "Sogno Di Cioccolata."  OMG!!!!  It was sooooo very good!  It is two layers of rich fudge brownie with shaved chocolate crowned with chocolate mousse, topped with a little whipped cream and chocolate sauce.  We also added a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  It was heavenly.  I know what you are thinking... sounds like a lot of chocolate, it's probably too rich.  But it wasn't overly chocolate or too rich at all.  It was nice and creamy and oh so yummy.

While we were waiting for our dessert to come, an older gentleman came up to Chris and asked him if he was a soldier.  He started talking to Chris and telling him about what he did when he was in the army.  Then he said, "I would like to pay for your dinner."  My jaw nearly hit the floor.  He proceeded to thank Chris for serving in the military and tell him what a nice family he has and then he went back to his table with his friends.  After the uber yummy dessert came our waitress told us that our ticket was paid for by another patron and thanked us for coming.

After we left the restaurant we went over to Target and Chris bought me a Wii and Mario Kart!  I love it!  Mario Kart has been one of my favorite games since I was little and we had a Super Nintendo.  We got home and proceeded to play!

I am so grateful that I was able to spend the afternoon/evening with Chris and Shaden!  It was a wonderful birthday!

Going to the Airport

I remember sometime while in Greeley, watching this extremely cheesy LDS video where a couple went to the airport on a date.  It was over the top, but I have to admit I thought the idea of going to the airport on a date was fun.  Today, if you were to do that, you wouldn't be able to watch people board the planes, take off, or ride the tram at DIA.  Security is much tighter now.

BUT!  I am soooo excited, because we get to go to the airport and fly somewhere!  I love to fly!

 Also, I still love to go to the airport.  It is one of the best places to people watch.  There is so much emotion shown at the airport.  So many different reasons to be at the airport too.  People going on business trips.  People going on vacations.  You can see the excitement they have.  People coming home from vacation.  You can often see that they need a vacation from the vacation before they go back to work and school.  People picking up friends and family that are here to visit.  LOVE and Happiness!  People saying goodbye to friends and family that are leaving after visiting.  LOVE and Sadness.  And so many others!

I get so excited for any chance to go to the airport.  I even have been having fun dreams about it.  So, I would like to thank Nick and Margaret for an extra WONDERFUL reason to go to the airport and fly!  

Easter

Since Shaden isn't quite old enough for Easter egg hunts, dying eggs, or eating jelly beans we decided that all those Easter things can wait for next year.  Shaden did get a small Easter basket with a few eggs in it... one with a toy car inside.  We also decided to spoil him a little and gave him two books with sound and a Busy Ball Popper toy a few days before.

For Easter dinner Chris and I made homemade rolls, baked a ham, and had all the fixings.  It was our first "holiday" meal that we have cooked.  

Every thing turned out FANTASTIC!  Shaden has such a healthy appetite.  He had a little of everything.  I think his favorites were the stuffing and the mashed potatoes and gravy.

Since Shaden does eat so well it kind of surprised us that he has lost a little weight.  He went from weighting almost 16 lbs to just under 15 lbs.  We aren't really concerned because he is so active and happy.  

Cute

Isn't he cute?

Standing & Sitting

Shaden is learning so much so FAST!  At the beginning of last week Shaden would only roll to get around, but on Friday he suddenly decided to crawl.  He still isn't very good at it and most of the time forgets that he has to move his arms and ends up face planting it.  :)  It's pretty cute to see.  I hope we can catch it on video before he gets too good.

Then while at my parent's house for the weekend we had to give him a bath.  I guess I wasn't quick enough with getting him into the tub, because I turn to stop the water and Shaden grabbed the tub and stood up.  I was shocked!  Then he let go and felt back.  I nearly had a panic attack.  My heart was racing.  I picked him up trying to comfort him, but all he wanted was to be in the tub.  Silly little guy.

On Monday I put Shaden in his crib for a nap, but he didn't want that.  He stood up in the crib, then forgot to hold on and fell back and hit his head on the side of the crib.  You know, they say you shouldn't have bumpers in the crib, but I'm really glad we have one.  It softened the blow.

  

Last night while fixing dinner, Chris was playing with Shaden and having Shaden crawl to him.  It was really cute.  After a bit Shaden decided he was done crawling and sat up.  That was the first time he has ever got to a sitting position by himself.  Yay!

He is amazing!

Self Feeding

Shaden is such a good muncher and has gotten pretty good at feeding himself.  Its still a bit messy but it sure is fun to watch.  He has two teeth now and loves to eat!  

Apple Care

Let me just take a moment to say, "I LOVE APPLE CARE!"  

Yes, it did cost a little extra to get but we have gotten our money's worth and then some.

We bought Chris a MacBook Pro over about a year and a half ago.  Since then we have replaced the graphics card, the monitor part of the laptop, the battery, the charger, and they had to reset the system (I think).  All of these things were replaced without cost to us and in a pretty timely manner.  Yay!

Resemblances in Disney Movies

My brother-in-law Jonathan finds the craziest 

things online.  

Check out this movie clip!  

Notice the resemblances in the Disney Movies.  

Its so funny to see how they just copy parts.  

I love Disney, so I don't care if they take a few shortcuts.

(The music is irrelevant.)

Ressemblances dans les films Disney - Insolite

First Tooth

Shaden officially has his first tooth!  That is probably why he has been fussy with me.  He is already such a good muncher.  He loves to eat Ritz cracker and Gerber puffs.  He hasn't bitten me... yet anyway.  He hasn't let me take a picture of his tooth either so no pictures this time.

Watch "Pride and Prejudice" next time you're home sick

Any version of this movie is good. A wonderful love story. The A&E version is the best. Its about 6 hours long but has the full story.

I'm trying out this site that blogger suggested called plinky.com. They offer questions to answer and you can see how others have answered.  I figured if I was bored it might be fun and maybe a few I might post to my blog.

Happy Sink?

Yesterday afternoon Shaden was in a crabby mood.  Nothing I did seemed to help.  He whined and fussed and was just unhappy with me.  I finally gave up and just started to work on things around the house with a fussy baby.  I had to set him down in order to get the laundry started, so I sat him in the bathroom sink (our washer and dryer are in there).  Here is the result:    

                                 

Happy Baby!  There wasn't any water.  He was just happy.  I don't know what it was about sitting in the sink but hey I was happy too.

Funny Foot

The other morning Shaden and I were taking it easy.  I was sitting on the couch in my pajamas and Shaden was having a little fun in the saucer toy we are borrowing from a friend.  I was crossing my legs and wiggling my foot and Shaden started cracking up so I grabbed our camera and here's the result.  You might have to pause the music player to hear the clip.

Isn't that a great sound?  Baby's have the cutest laugh.

Drinking Problem?

Well not a lot going on around here.

We are teaching Shaden to drink out of a sippy cup.  Its been slow going.  Right now we are working on holding a bottle.  He seems to have the idea, but doesn't get that he has to lift it up to get anything.  So he likes to drink juice out of the bottle while he is laying down.  Funny thing is he wouldn't drink milk out of the bottle.  So here are some pics I took.

Deployment Date?

A few friends have asked when Chris will get deployed.  As of right now we have no idea.  Some time in March there is planned block leave for his unit, which means that anyone that wants to take vacation will most likely get it during that time.  We are guessing (and its been rumored) that the deployment will happen at the end of May.  I will post as soon as we hear something more definite.

6 Month Check-Up

Shaden had his 6 month check-up today.  Yes it is a little late, but that was partly due to the doctor's vacation.  And partly because I was a bit of a slacker.  

Shaden now weighs 14 lbs, 15.86 oz. (Pretty much 15 lbs, with clothes on.)  He is in the 10th percentile for weight.  He is 24.5 inches tall.  (Chris said, "He's over 2 feet tall, why isn't he walking yet?"  He's a little excited for that.) Shaden is in the 5th percentile for height.  Who would have thought that Chris and I would have a short child?  LOL

He is doing everything developmentally that he should be at this age.  He can sit all by himself.  He is rolling over both back to front and front to back.  He can transfer objects from one hand to the other easily.  He likes playing peek-a-boo, but prefers to play "where's Shaden?"  I put a light blanket over him and ask "Where's Shaden?" and he pulls the blanket off and smiles or giggles.

I love this little guy!

Funny Little Clip

Shaden started doing the funniest thing with his mouth and Chris and I were lucky enough to catch it on video.  Don't mind the shaking, its just me cracking up.

Clocks

You may have noticed the two clocks on the right.  I just added them.  One is Colorado time, where I will be for the next year.  The other is Afghanistan, where Chris will be once he deploys.  Afghanistan is 11 & 1/2 hours ahead.  Yup that's right, and a half.  Very weird.

So in order for us to talk while he is deployed we will need to talk early in the morning for me and later at night for him.  

Its kind of sucks, Chris was hoping for a good internet connection while out there so he could maybe have some gaming time with friends, but forgot to factor in the time difference.  We can still hope for good internet so maybe we can play together.  I will just have to get up early and got to bed when Shaden does at night, instead of having my free time at night.

I guess we will figure all that out when the time comes.

100 Things

I saw this on my awesome friend Tiffany's blog and wanted to see what things on this list I had done. 

The things I have done are in purple:

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (Rock Band!)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
10. Sung a solo (well, I tried out for one)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightening at sea
14. Taught myself art from scratch
15. Adopted a child 
16. Had food poisoning (Yes! And I NEVER want it again!)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (We need to go visit Donetta)
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France (I heard its really small)
20. Slept on an overnight train 
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked (its illegal and I think it would be very scary)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill 
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone swimming at night
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (Some day I will)
29. Seen a total eclipse (of the moon)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise (hopefully when Chris gets back from Afghanistan)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors 
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language 
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (I would like to be out of debt)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing 
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke 
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (But only if you count in the swimming pool)
52. Kissed in the rain 
53. Played in the mud 
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (not a major motion picture, but home movies count)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China 
57. Started a business 
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia 
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (I was top seller in my troupe)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason 
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (passed out too)
65. Gone sky diving 
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp 
67. Bounced a check (Freshman year of college! I was sooo embarrassed!)
68. Flown in a helicopter (around Mt. Rushmore, it was Awesome)
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy 
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job 
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book 
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car (probably will next year)
83. Walked in Jerusalem 
84. Had my picture in the newspaper 
85. Read the entire Bible (Um, no...need to work on that!)
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox (I got vaccinated when I was 15)
89. Saved someone’s life 
90. Sat on a jury (mock trial in HS doesn't count, does it)
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Rode an elephant (thru the jungle in Thailand, Awesome!)