Ixer's Insights

Slacking

2012-01-24T10:26:00.000-07:00

Okay it's been way too long since I've posted anything. I've been slacking.
I have great goals for this year... including blogging more. We have had a rough start to the year. Everyone has been sick. Ugh. But life goes on and so we are taking lots of medicine and trying to get better.
A small recap of the past few months:

Thanksgiving was GREAT! Chris got back from training just in time for us to drive out to Iowa. We loved hanging out with some of Chris's siblings. The boys couldn't get enough of their aunts and uncles. We got to see the University where Jonathan (1 of Chris's brothers) is now a professor. His office is really cool. It has special walls that can absorb sound or make it echo. My boys loved that.
We also visited a small German village for breakfast one morning. YUM!

Chris took two weeks off for Christmas. It was wonderful having him home. Unfortunately we all got the stomach bug that was going around. Thankfully none of us had it on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Christmas Eve we went over to my aunt's house. We had tons of food and did a silly, fun gift exchange.
Christmas Day was spent at my parents' house and was wonderful. The boys loved everything Santa brought them.
We are so lucky to be living in Colorado Springs. One of the reasons is that we get to see Jonathan and Kate every year at Christmas instead of every other year, because Kate's family lives here too. We enjoyed having them over on Boxing Day (Day after Christmas).

We took it easy on New Year's Eve. We did have a feast of crab legs, twice baked potatoes and asparagus at home.

So there is what we've been up to.

Wishing Star Farm

2011-10-22T18:30:00.000-06:00

I love October. I love the colors, the pumpkins, sweater weather, and Halloween. Last weekend we went to Wishing Star Farm. We went last year and loved it. This year was even BETTER! It was crazy busy, but so much fun. Be prepare for a bunch of pictures.
The boys got to feed the goats and see all the farm animals.

We took a turn going down this big slide that is made out of a hill and hay bales. The boys rode on a little barrel train all by themselves and were so good about staying seated until it was over.

They loved climbing on the hay mountain and playing in the corn bins.

Shaden and Jayce got a pony ride. This year Jayce loved the pony ride. He kept saying "nice pony, good pony" and petting the pony's head. When his turn was over he shouted "bye-bye Nice Pony." This was a big change from last year; Jayce would barely sit on the pony.

Wishing Star Farm had a new activity this year, a giant bounce castle, without the castle part. It was huge and anyone could jump. Chris and I took the boys on it and had a great time.

It was getting late in the afternoon and everyone was getting hungry so we decided to pick our pumpkins and go to Red Robin. I found a funny looking pumpkin; It looks like it grew with a string around the middle. We haven't carved them yet, but we love having them around the house.

Will Rogers Shrine

2011-10-15T08:48:00.002-06:00

We went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo on Monday. We decided (Chris humored me) to drive up to the Will Rogers Shine that is part of the zoo property. What an incredible veiw! You can see forever.

Garden of the Gods looked tiny. (Top middle)

We climbed up all the stairs to the top of the tower and the boys had fun shouting "ECHO" down the stairs.

There was this little door at the entrance to the tower and the boys wanted so badly to go through it; it was locked.

After we had fun visiting the animals at the zoo. We saw the Mountain Lion demonstration; Mountain Lions are scary when they are going after food. The porcupine was wandering all over his space. Shaden and I like to try talking to the turkeys and we got them to "gobble, gobble" back to us. We love living so close to such a great zoo.

Jayce's 2nd Birthday Party

2011-10-04T16:42:00.000-06:00

I can't believe my baby is now 2! Time has gone by so fast. Jayce has his last well baby doctor's appointment scheduled for later this month. I will post stats after that. For Jayce's birthday party on Saturday we went up to my parents house and had a Mickey Mouse party. Jayce loved the Mickey Mouse balloons and tablecloth. He kept pointing out the characters and telling me about them. I decided that I didn't want to make a cake... Mostly I didn't want to screw up the decorating part. Instead I found these cupcakes on pinterest. (Have you tried pinterest.com yet? LOVE IT)

So here are the cupcakes I made.

We got the boys Mickey ears to wear and gloves to play with.

Someone said something that made Jayce give them his crusty look.

Then he went to play and was happy again. :)

He didn't really want us to sing to him. He just wanted to blow out the candles.

He blew them out all by himself.

Close up on the cupcakes. I added two Werther's Originals under the cupcakes to look like Mickey's feet.

On Sunday, Jayce's actual Birthday, we got to stay home and listen to General Conference. Before that began Jayce got to open a few more presents. He got puzzles and Lego Duplos from Grandma and Grandpa.

And an awesome hat from Aunt Margaret and Uncle Nick. This is his silly smile for that morning.

During Conference the boys played quietly and happily with the new Geo Trax set.

It was a great weekend.

Car Blanket

2011-09-16T17:47:00.000-06:00

I finished the car blanket I was making for the boys today! Yay!

On one side it has a lake, a river, and a road with 2 brick bridges.

On the other side it has a road and city print fabric.

To bind it I found some fun fabric with green, gray, white, and black. It was on clearance for super cheap. That made me very happy. I've never made bias tape before so I didn't know how much would be made with a yard of fabric. Two yards makes a ton of 2 inch wide bias tape. :)

I think I might make a belt for Shaden or Jayce with some of the left over.

The boys couldn't wait to start playing.

They are blurry because they wouldn't sit still.

They told me they were driving to Grandpa's house that was right here.

The car crashed into the lake.

Here's a shot of the bias tape.

Shaden's i-spy quilt

2011-08-31T09:48:00.002-06:00

It took a while, but I finished Shaden's i-spy quilt. This was my first quilt and I can't sew a straight line to save my life. But I love it and I learned a lot. After attempting free motion quilting and that being a disaster, I straight line quilted it. I didn't make the bias tape that I used to bind the quilt, but found a perfect match at Joanna's. The boys and I have had fun finding pictures and shouting out things they see.

The quilt is sideways on our couch.

Some of the fun i-spy blocks.

This is the back.

Here's the binding.

For my next project I'm working on a car blanket. It's like a car/train table, only it can be folded up and put out of the way. This is one side... The boys were too excited to wait for me to finish.

Summer of Stay-cations

2011-08-29T15:12:00.000-06:00

Well, it has been a crazy summer. Lots of very hot days and rainy nights. I can't believe how quickly July and August flew by. We had lots of fun doing things near home. (This is going to be a long post with lots of photos.) Here are some of our "stay-cation" adventures.

We are so happy to be living so close to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

The boys absolutely LOVE feeding the giraffes.

Shaden got this awesome hat from his Aunt Margaret & Uncle Nick.

Chris's parents came and visited us. We love seeing them and were so glad we got to go up to Cripple Creek with them. We took a train ride while up there and went on a tour of the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine. The train ride was so much fun and the perfect amount of time to keep the boys entertained. We saw a ton of old mine sites and the weather was beautiful. Jayce and Shaden loved the train whistle and got so excited when they heard it echo a bunch on one part of the ride.
The mine tour was very educational and interesting. I wasn't sure about riding in the ~~rickety~~ elevator down, down, down into the mountain. We all had to wear hard hats and the mine was around 60 degrees. The guide demonstrated some of the old equipment and I couldn't believe how loud it was. The boys were so good during the tour. Yay!

Waiting for our train.

Ready to ride.

Jayce was looking at everything.

So was everyone else.

Self portrait (and some random guy in the background).

One of the mines produced 14 million dollars in gold... just think what that would be worth today!

Train hats and trains as souvenirs.

(Photo by Don Allen)

Down in the mine.

(Photo by Don Allen, Thanks!)

Our next adventure was Alpine Sliding up in Winter Park. Unfortunately Chris and I forgot 2 things in the car... #1 Our camera #2 Sunscreen. Oh well. It was a blast! If you haven't been Alpine Sliding, you are missing out! You ride up part of the mountain on a ski lift and ride back down on a sled (with a brake) on a track. The boys were such great and would run to get back on the ski lift as soon as we reached the bottom. Shaden was having so much fun when the lift closed for the day he was very upset and almost passed up having ice cream.

Another adventure we took was to visit the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster. Shaden got to hold a live tarantula named Rosie. We also got to pet a horseshoe crab, starfish, and a sea cucumber. My mom went with us and Shaden kept telling her that he didn't want to eat the spiders and other bugs. There is a large room where they let the butterflies fly around free. The butterflies were beautiful! And some were huge! There was one bigger than my hand! The boys also managed to find a turtle that was trying to make a run for the door.

Giant Praying Mantis outside.

Shaden and Jayce being butterflies.

Shaden holding Rosie. He was so brave.

Look at all those creepy crawlies!

Here you can see our sunburns from the Alpine slide.

Finding Nemo.

This butterfly was HUGE! Also, I didn't see him until I almost bumped into him.

Trying to catch a glimpse of the shiny part of her wings.

My mom (Nana) and the boys.

Shaden and the turtle that was trying to make a run for the doors.

These wings were so cool.

Shaden was such a good sport for me making him try everything on.

Jayce was having none of it.

Chris had to work some wicked long hours for three weeks after his time off, so one day I took the car and the boys up to my parents' house. My mom and I took the boys to a water park near her house and let them run around. Shaden surprised me and actually ran through some of the water getting his face wet on purpose. Jayce was content running to the water and back to us.

It was a great summer... now I'm ready for some fall fun!

Yo ho ho is what you say!

2011-07-04T12:38:00.001-06:00

Shaden turned 3 on Saturday!

I can't believe it has already been 3 years!

He is such a character. He cracks me up, drives me crazy, and makes my heart swell with happiness and love.

We had a pirate birthday party at my parent's house on Saturday.

Shaden and Jayce love pirates right now.

Shaden made out with a ton of treasure (presents).

Arrrrgh!

Ahoy Matey!

Watch out Landluber!

"A truck and ATV like Papa's!"

"HANKS! Mamma and Hampa!"

"Cool Glow Swords!"

"Smile Shaden"

Yup still a goofy smile. :)

Play dough!

"MY OWN CAMERA! COOL!"

Oooh!

"Check it out!"

Pirate Cake. Like the eye patch being lifted up?

Pirate cake decorating didn't go so well...

It was HOT so the frosting was runny and not working with me.

My dad did an awesome job of making the skull and bones on top

out of the marshmallow fondant I made.

Shaden was a champ and blew out the candles all by himself.

He loved when everyone clapped too.

A Sandbox!

2011-07-04T11:52:00.001-06:00

Chris's parents got Shaden a sandbox and sandbox toys for his birthday. We let him have the sandbox and toys the day before his birthday, because we weren't going to be home on his birthday. He was SO excited to play! Jayce wasn't too sure about sitting in the sand.

Opening up the package of sand toys.

They played in there for 2 hours straight!

That is a big win in my book!

I think we added a bit too much sand, but oh well, guess we don't have to worry about the sand that escapes the box.

Bring Your Family to Work Day

2011-07-04T11:30:00.000-06:00

Last Tuesday Chris had a Bring Your Family to Work Day. It was cool to see where he works. The Brigade just moved to new facilities. Shaden and Jayce had a blast seeing all the "big trucks" and running around the motor pool.

I was standing on the ground looking up at them. Seriously BIG trucks!

Shaden loved sitting in the driver's seat and honking the horn of the trucks.

Jayce enjoyed climbing the stairs and making lots of noise.

They were a little worried about walking on this grate,

but quickly got over that and had fun running on it looking down.

We found Chris's locker and had fun "hiding" in it.

Silly Boys, Cute Clothes

2011-07-04T11:05:00.000-06:00

Jayce looks like he has a fauxhawk. :)

"Enough Mommy"

Resilient Plants

2011-07-04T10:45:00.000-06:00

Well, I haven't killed my plants (yet), but Jayce tried to. When I water my plants I let Jayce and Shaden touch the basil and smell it. One day the boys were playing outside and Shaden had an accident. While inside helping Shaden clean up, Jayce decided he wanted to smell my basil and my jalapeno plant. Unfortunately for those plants he also decided the best way to smell them was to rip them up.

Poor Jalapeno

Sad Basil

I was pretty upset. Chris was sweet and replanted most of the basil.

Thankfully both plants have made a great recovery.

Look at all those leaves!

And the start of a pepper.

And happy Basil!

Check out those tomatoes! Woot!

A Day in the Park with Daddy

2011-06-07T08:37:00.003-06:00

Yesterday Chris had the day off. Hip Hip Hooray! This was so good because I am sick and have been since Friday. Ugh! I have a sinus infection. I got in to see a doctor yesterday, but she told me I have to be sick for 3 more days before she will give me antibiotics. Grrr. I don't have time to be sick for 3 more days.
So I ~~demanded~~ asked Chris take the boys out for a while so I could get some rest. Chris took the boys to get lunch and went to the park to have a picnic.

Sandwiches

Zebra Cakes, Yum!

He also taught Shaden how to use our camera.

Shaden took the following pictures:

Isn't this a great picture from a two and a half year old?

Funny thing about being a parent... You always remember to put sunscreen on your kids, but sometimes forget to put it on yourself. Yup, the boys are sunburn free, but Chris's arms and face aren't.

Hope I don't kill them...

2011-06-02T19:17:00.000-06:00

No, I'm not talking about the boys. :P
I'm talking about the plants in my little "garden."
My parents gave me some herb seeds and Chris and I picked out a tomato plant and a jalapeno plant. So far they are doing well. I just haven't had the greenest thumb in the past... mostly I just end up killing them. So, I say again... I hope I don't kill them.

Basil

Jalapeno

Tomato

Marjoram, Dill, Thyme, & Cilantro

Big Boy Beds!

2011-06-01T20:33:00.001-06:00

On Memorial Day we went to American Furniture Warehouse and picked out a twin bed for Shaden. It was delivered today! Shaden getting a Big, big boy bed means Jayce can now have the toddler (big boy) bed.

Jayce loved climbing in and out of his new bed, but wasn't quite sure about sleeping in it... He kept saying "no" every time I said "laid down in your new bed." Thanks to not napping he did end up laying down and going to sleep.
Shaden thinks it was so cool that "Guys" came and brought his bed. He is also excited that it has drawers.

The toddler bed all made up for Jayce.

His favorite stuffed animal at the moment... Stitch.

New sheets for the twin bed... Cool Cars.

Couldn't find any yellow sheets that we liked.

Another I-spy Swap

2011-05-30T09:12:00.000-06:00

Hey! I just thought I would help spread the word...
Crystal over at Hendrixville.blogspot.com is doing a swap. If anyone is interested in joining just jump on over to her blog and sign up.

I have loved the swaps I've been in. I have gotten so many cute squares! I can't wait to see what new ones people will pick!

Learning to Quilt

2011-05-27T15:42:00.000-06:00

I ended up participating in 3 i-spy square swaps. I now have 400 4"x 4" squares and 120 5"x5" squares. So many CUTE fabrics!
Of course I couldn't learn to quilt by making a small quilt (that would have been the smart thing to do), I had to decide to make a twin comforter size quilt. We will be getting Shaden a twin bed soon and I wanted him to have a quilt for it.
Chris helped me make a pattern using some 5"x5" and some 4"x4" squares. I forgot to include the amount of seem allowances and had to add a bid here and there on the bottom, but so far I love it.
I just used basting spray and put the back, batting, and front together and safety pinned them together. Hopefully I will attempt to quilt them together tonight. I'm a little nervous.

Here are some pictures of my progress:

Sorry the pictures aren't that good. I've been working on this after the boys go to sleep.

I love the pickles!

This is the back.

The main fabric is from Hancock Fabrics called Wild n' Wooly Giraffe Spots.

What Happened to the Sun?

2011-05-24T16:10:00.000-06:00

Don't get me wrong... I love the rain. I understand we need the moisture. I just wish it wasn't rainy or gloomy everyday. A couple of weeks ago Chris was away doing a FTX, so I had the car and it was nice and sunny and perfect to get out and go to the park. So in hopes of bringing back the sun to our area here are some pictures of one outing to the park.

Jayce LOVES the slides!

This park is great for my little guys.

Driving Crazy!

Shaden is getting very brave, climbing all the ladders.

Shaden also has learned a new song:

Rain, rain go away.

Come again another day.

Easter

2011-05-10T15:40:00.000-06:00

Yes it is a little late but, better late than never.
We went up to Denver on the Saturday before Easter. We decided to do the Easter bunny stuff up there with my parents, that way we could focus more on the Resurrection of Jesus on Sunday.
So Friday night I made some bunnies and chicks (and some random pigs) to put in the boys eggs. I got the idea from this blog. She made her's with fleece for the nose but I didn't have any of that around and I wanted to make bunnies and pigs too. I think they turned out pretty cute.

It was kind of chilly on Saturday, but we did an egg hunt outside anyway.

Wagon Riding at the Zoo

2011-05-10T15:33:00.000-06:00

For Christmas my parents bought the boys a wagon. It is GREAT for going to the zoo! The boys love riding in it. We went to the zoo after a doctor's appointment on Thursday and I took a few picture of them in the wagon. I didn't get any pictures of the boys looking at the animals. I was by myself with them and didn't want to try wrangling them both and take pictures while blocking the school kids and group of military guys that were there. The animals were very active. The Mountain Lions were wandering around, the turkeys were gobbling away, the Lions were standing up and sitting down close to the glass, and the Giraffes of course were busy walking to anyone with lettuce for them. Shaden and Jayce were so excited when we got to pet a California King Snake. The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is a great zoo!

Our Playroom

2011-04-13T21:17:00.001-06:00

I thought some of you might like to take a peek at our playroom. Today the boys and I did a total dump, sort and clean in there. The pictures aren't great, but I wanted to take them while it was still tidy.

I not really a fan of wood burning fireplaces, especially with kids around. I think they can be messy and usually let in cold air when not in use. So we put a blanket up and a toy shelf in front of it.

I like to use a lot of plastic bins to sort and store the toys. We used to use the shelf in the above picture to store DVDs on before we had kids and the wooden thing in the picture below used to be a TV stand, so we tried to repurpose them instead of throwing them away and buying new.

My grandparent (Mamma & Hampa) got the boys this cool castle for Christmas. It sets up like a tent.

So that is a little peek into our home.

I love these boys!

2011-04-13T20:38:00.000-06:00

Here are just some random pictures of the boys.

Yes, those are Christmas pajamas and yes, this picture was taken very recently. They fit Jayce and they were clean. :) He enjoys riding on Shaden's tricycle any chance he gets.
Jayce is now 18 months old!
At his well baby check up on April 7, 2011 here are his stats:
Head Circumference- 19" (50% Lots of Brains)
Weight- 20 lbs (3% He runs too much to put on the pounds)
Height- 31" (25%!!! Holy Cow! That is tall for us.)

Shaden has taken to not napping most days, so I don't fight him on it. The other evening Shaden was watching some cartoons while I was fixing dinner. I came out of the kitchen to find this. Surprised me. He is usually one of those kids that will fight being tired by running all over the place and being crazier than normal.

We went to the park the other day and the boys had a blast running around and going down slides.

I love these boys! They sure do keep life interesting. :)

Can't Wait

2011-04-13T18:20:00.000-06:00

I'm so excited! I am participating in 2 i-spy square swaps. Don't know what that is? Well, let me explain. People get fabric with fun prints that kids can identify on them and cut them up into squares of equal size. Depending on the swap coordinator the squares could be 4"x 4" or 5"x 5" or whatever size they pick. The number of participants determines the number of squares. Example: I am doing a swap for 4"x 4" squares with 20 people. We each cut out 20 squares from each fabric we choose. This swap is for 10 fabrics. Then we mail them to the coordinator who sorts them 1 square of each fabric per person. Then they get mailed back to us. For this swap I will end up getting 200 different squares of fabric.
Now you maybe asking, "why would you want all that different fabric?" To make a quilt that you can use to play i-spy.
I thought this was a perfect idea for our family since the boys LOVE i-spy.

Here are the fabrics I chose for one of the swaps I'm in.

Here is my stack of fabrics that I sent... which should be the same amount of fabric I will be getting back soon!

Trying something different

2011-03-28T12:29:00.000-06:00

I decided I needed to make something other than pillow cases. So I found this terrific vest pattern and thought it would be fun to make. The instructions were really easy to follow, but I decided to skip having buttons. I thought the vest looked cute without them and know Shaden and Jayce the buttons would just get lost anyway. The buttons aren't attached to the vest in the pattern so it can be reversible. I was going to make St. Patrick's Day vests or Easter vests, but then changed my mind and picked funny material. This way the boys could wear them anytime. What do you think?

One side of Shaden's has cows on a golf course.

The other side has ants.

One side of Jayce's has cows (some are colored).

The other side is ants on a picnic blanket background.

Jayce is saying "HA HA!" in both pictures.

They can be nice boys... sometimes. :)

Funny kid

2011-03-21T10:59:00.000-06:00

Every night we go up stairs, brush our teeth, sing songs, say prayers, and tuck the boys into bed at around 8 o'clock. Then right before I get into bed later I go into the boy's room to check on them. During the winter I would cover them up again and make sure they weren't cold.
Last night when I went in to check on them I had to run grab Chris and our camera.

I found this:

Shaden was asleep in the large bucket we keep all the stuffed animals. That boy cracks me up!

No, we didn't leave him like that. Chris picked him up and put him back in bed.

Treasure boxes

2011-03-21T10:48:00.000-06:00

The Disney channel recently changed their young kids programs. They went from being Playhouse Disney to Disney Junior. They added some new shows and of course kept some of the best ones like Handy Manny, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Chuggington, Special Agent Oso, and Jungle Junction. Some of the new shows are Babar: The Adventures of Badou, Tinga Tinga Tales, and Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

Shaden and Jayce both love all the shows. Jake and the Neverland Pirates has captured Shaden's imagination especially. He love to pretend to find treasure and say the pirate password. I took Shaden with me to the crafts store the other day and we HAD to find treasures while we were there. We found some great little wooden boxes and paint and fun treasures to go inside.
A few days later I let the boys paint their own treasure boxes. It was fun and messy.

I think they turned out great. My little artists. They had tons of fun mixing yellow and blue to make green. And they also liked seeing the water in the bath turn gross colors when they washed the paint off.

Pi Day

2011-03-21T10:05:00.000-06:00

Pi Day, 3.14, what a wonderful excuse to eat pie! Chris brought home a Hersey's Chocolate Cream Pie! It was chocolately goodness!

Shaden doesn't look thrilled in the picture but he has been avoiding naps like they are the plague so he was a little tired. He actually loved the pie and asked for seconds. :)

More pillow cases...

2011-03-21T09:57:00.000-06:00

I must really like making pillow cases. It's probably because they are so easy and quick.
We had a bunch of ugly random throw pillows for the living room that I decided needed to have pillow cases. My mom gave me all of her fabric stash and I found some pillow panels that I thought would work nicely. I made 5 pillow cases and each one is slightly different. Here are two and the back of those.

The boys love to point out the animals on the back and roar like the lions on the front.

Shaden's Bag

2011-03-11T12:02:00.000-07:00

So here are pictures of Shaden's drawstring backpack. It's a bit big, but someday Shaden will grow... maybe. :) I used ribbon for the straps/drawstrings.

Slacker...

2011-03-09T15:15:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I am pretty much a slacker when it comes to blogging. Oh well.
Since my last post:
Halloween was tons of fun! We went to a pumpkin farm and the boys got to ride on ponies, pet farm animals and pick out pumpkins. We took the boys to a trunk or treat at church. Shaden LOVED it. He was so good at saying "trick or treat." Even now he sometimes pretends to trick or treat around our house.

Thanksgiving was great! Chris and I cooked our first turkey. We followed Alton Brown's recipe. It was delicious! My parents and grandparents were able to drive down to join us. We were so busy fixing and then eating the food that we didn't take any pictures.
My mom let me borrow her sewing machine for a few weeks and I was able to fix Jayce's blanket and make 6 Christmas pillow cases. It started off only being one for Shaden and one for Jayce and then spread to one for Shelby (our niece), then my mom asked for a set, and finally I couldn't leave out my sister.

Just before Christmas my sister got home from Semester At Sea.
Chris was able to take 2 weeks of block leave at Christmas time. YAY! We drove down to Hobbs, NM to spend time with Chris's family. It was wonderful. We don't get to see his side of the family as much, so it was great to hang out and do some fun stuff with them. We took the boys to a park one day.

We fed the ducks and geese (Shaden's favorite animal... for the moment).

We went to Carlsbad Cavern and did a boat ride called "Christmas on the Pecos."

We sang Christmas carols and acted out the Nativity story. Christmas day was terrific. Shaden and Jayce must have been super good last year because they got tons of presents, including a red tricycle that Shaden asked Santa for. Chris got me a sewing machine for Christmas! Yay!

January flew by so fast, but I did manage to make 2 large pillows for the livingroom. They are for the boys to sit on while having snacks, so I don't have to vacuum out couch everyday.
February came and I made Shelby a drawstring backpack for Valentine's day. Having 2 boys means I have to find fun uses for the fun girly material I have. Shaden was really jealous that I made a bag for Shelby, so I had to make him one. Shaden's has planets on it and a green interior. I'll get a picture up later.

And here we are in March. Wow! So I didn't think it through all the way when I made the pillows for the livingroom... I made them and then realized I'm going to need to wash them or at least the outside. Hmm... solution make pillow cases. I think the boys love them even more now.

Jayce's 12 Month Well Baby Visit

2010-10-20T11:27:00.000-06:00

I think it is odd that we always seem to be assigned the doctor who thinks being small is a HUGE problem, but when we see another doctor (because our assigned doctor doesn't have any available appointments) they always can see the boys are healthy and just fine being small.

*Assigned Doc = PCM

At Jayce's 9 month appointment our PCM told us that Jayce was TOO small. We must not be feeding him enough. Or there is probably something wrong with him. He was below the 0% on the growth chart. His head was in the 50% so that is a sign that there might be something wrong.

This made Chris and I really annoyed. We weren't worried. Jayce was eating a lot and Shaden was in the 0% for his height and weight, and it isn't like Chris and I are big people.

Yesterday at Jayce's 12 month well baby visit I was prepared to hear the same thing. So when the doctor (not our PCM) came in and looked at Jayce and said "He looks healthy and you seem to be doing all the right stuff," I was shocked. I laughed and actually told him what our PCM told us at the last appt, to which he replyed "Well, I can see your other son is small and you aren't very tall, are you? So I'm sure it is genetic. Jayce is healthy, active, and proportionate. He isn't fat or too thin. He is just small and that's okay."

We talked about how Jayce isn't talking and the doctor asked if I read to the boys and if Jayce responds to simple commands. Yes, I read to the boys every day. Yes, Jayce responds to simple commands, like come here or go get your bottle, on the floor behind you. Also, I know he can hear just fine, because we were singing "5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" and Jayce went and brought me a monkey stuffed animal.

So, the doctor said not to worry and he probably will talk soon and maybe he doesn't want/need to talk yet, since Shaden is such a talker.

Jayce's stats as of October 19, 2010:

Weight- 18.5 Lbs, 3%

Height- 27 inches, 3%

Head Circumference- 18.25 inches, 50%

Things he is supposed to be able to do between 12 and 15 months:

-Stand Alone and Walk Assisted = Done

-Walks Alone by 15 month = Done

-Shakes Head No and Yes = Done

-Drinks from cup = Not very cleanly but sure

-Marks on Paper with Crayon = When he isn't trying to eat them, yes

-Walks backwards = Done

-Performs for an audience = Sometimes, he is shy around strangers

-Hands toys to Parent = Done

-Squats and Stands Back Up = Done

-Begins to Use Spoon to Feed Self = Done

-Likes to imitate Adults = Yup

-Remembers People and Objects = Yup

-Developing a sense of independence = Yup

-May use 3 to 6 words = We already covered this. Not yet.

-Understands simple commands = Done

-Points to Draw attention to something = He likes to point to his nose and food and Daddy

-Communicates pleasure and unhappiness = Oh yeah

He may be small, but he is super smart. :)

Some of the best things come in small packages.

I want to make one!

2010-10-08T12:33:00.000-06:00

I love checking out crafty blogs. I found a blog called Texas Monkey. I really want to make one of the cakes from this blog.

Aren't they awesome? I love them! What a creative and DELICIOUS way to decorate a cake! And you don't have to be great at frosting or use fondant. YUM!

Now to find an excuse to make one...

Jayce is 1 year old.

2010-10-07T10:41:00.001-06:00

Jayce's 1st Birthday

was on Saturday, October 2, 2010.

I can't believe how quickly this year has gone.

This was Jayce the day I got to take him home. Oct 4, 2009.

So little.

Here he is on his birthday, eating cake.

We will find out if he is still below the Zero percentile on the 19th.

I LOVE this little guy!

He is such an individual.

He has been walking for the past 2 months.

He doesn't say anything yet.

He makes silly sounds.

He goes "uh uh uh" when he wants to be picked up.

He makes AWESOME car noises when he is playing with toy cars.

He throws little hissy fits when he is frustrated.

He ALWAYS has dirty feet.

He HATES shoes.

He LOVES bath time and RUNS when he hears the water in the tub.

He is bossy and will push my keyboard tray in when he wants me to be done.

He is a mommy's boy and has been since day one.

He is STRONG and has had a good grip since he was born.

He loves to play with Shaden.

He has HIS blanket and hates when I have to wash it.

He likes book, but doesn't like to sit still long enough for me to read them to him.

Yogurt is his FAVORITE food.

He gives great HUGS.

That is my little Jayce.

What a Day!

2010-10-06T16:09:00.000-06:00

September 11th is a day full of emotion for most Americans. It was a day of ups and downs for me. As I was driving through our apartment complex parking lot a girl in a large truck backed out and hit my car. It upset me, but our car was drivable and she knew it was her fault. We are currently having our car repaired and have been using a rental for the past week. That was the big down for the day.
The big up... Chris got FREE tickets to see the Air Force Academy vs. BYU Football game. It was an Awesome game. I loved cheering for who ever was on offense. There was a massive amount of BYU fans and we were sitting right next to one of those sections. The Army must have gotten a whole section of tickets because everyone right around us was Army. It was funny. Whenever the Academy would do the split cheer "AIR--- FORCE" people around us would say "AR---MY." The boys had a good time. Shaden actually fell asleep for about a quarter of the game, but he loved cheering and yelling. "Touchdown!" "Run!" "Good Catch!" "Tackle him!"
Every time there was a break in the action someone who served or was affected by the events of 9-11 was announced and applauded. The half time show was fun. The band played one of the songs from the new Star Trek movie, "Enterprising Young Men." And a HUGE American Flag was unfurled over the field. Shaden was impressed. "Wow! Big Flag!"

Learning to walk

2010-09-05T10:23:00.001-06:00

The first weekend in August we drove down to Hobbs, NM for Chris's sister's wedding. When we got home Jayce decided he was ready to walk. We got home on Sunday night and Jayce started walking on Monday afternoon. Here are a couple of videos of him. He is so quick now and loves to carry stuff when he is walking.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

2010-09-05T10:23:00.000-06:00

Chris got free tickets to a Sky Sox game. The Sky Sox are the minor league baseball team for Colorado Springs. It was lots of fun. It was a lot more relaxed than a major league game and that was great for us. Shaden was able to walk around a bit and we could actually see what was happening in the game. Shaden loved yelling at the players. "Run Man!" "Hit the Ball!" "Good Catch!" "Yay!" "Did you see that?!"

A boy and his blanket

2010-08-02T17:07:00.000-06:00

I didn't realize how attached Jayce is to his blanket until I tried to wash it today. I put it in the laundry basket and he went in to our room and took it out. Then I tried to take it from him and put in the washing machine... Tears, oh the tears! Gave it back... Happy Baby!

Here is a video of the playing that happened then.

A glance at July 2010

2010-08-01T22:05:00.000-06:00

Chris had most of July off, so we were able to have some little adventures.

Shaden loves to sit at Chris's desk and use his headset.

Shaden comes into our bathroom and "shaves" just like Daddy. (Yes that is Chris's shampoo bottle.)

Jayce loved playing in the little pool at my mom's house on Shaden's birthday.

Shaden's birthday was Handy Manny themed.

He loves the tools and fixes everything.

The he says "Perfect!" when he's done.

Jayce when he is frustrated.

We took the boys to the Downtown Aquarium in Denver.

We have a picture of Chris standing under this same sign.

Like father like son.

Zoo passes ROCK! We went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo again.

This time with my mom.

Shaden LOVES feeding the giraffes crackers.

We've been going to the swimming pool a bunch.

Shaden makes me a little nervous when walking around the pool, so it was time we got him a life jacket.

Doesn't he look cute?

Jayce has two top teeth and two bottom teeth now.

He gets little bits of everything we eat.

We had a goal of emptying our paid storage unit by August 1st

and part of that was shedding some old papers.

The boys had a ton of fun playing in the sheds.

My sister came down and we took her to Seven Falls.

224 Steps Up and 224 Steps Down.

Shaden playing in the teepee at the bottom.

He climbed up all the way!

All my boys at the top.

My sister, the soon to be World Traveler.

She is going on a Semester at Sea Cruise starting in August.

I want to thank Jonathan, Chris's brother, for these pictures. We had to do some serious shopping and we were lucky enough to have Jonathan and Kate along with us.

June 2010

2010-06-30T20:54:00.000-06:00

I really have been trying to take a picture and find something wonderful each day. The problem now becomes actually posting all these great pics and experiences. So here is the month of June:

Jayce loves it when Shaden shares his yogurt.

Chris and the boys playing.

We took the boys swimming in the apartment complex pool. Shaden loved it. He started to get brave and was sort of jumping from the step to Chris.

We bought new desks. Here is Chris eating ice cream at his.

Chris bought me a Kindle for Mother's Day and my birthday. We decided to go with the Kindle over the ipad because I wanted it to read books and the Kindle isn't backlit and the Kindle was half the price of the ipad. We have no more room in our place for more books and the boys keep taking the books we have on bookshelves out. I LOVE the Kindle. Also, Amazon has awesome customer service. We purchased the Kindle a week before they lowered the price, so I called up and they gave me a refund for the difference with no problem. I was off the phone within 5 minutes.

Shaden says he is "SO Cool" in his sunglasses.

No paparazzi please.

Chris and I went to the Homecoming Ball for his battalion. Everyone looked amazing, the food was great, and we had a lot of fun.

Shaden likes to try and pick up Jayce. Jayce isn't too thrilled with this.

Some interior shots of our new car. We were picking up some stuff left at my grandparents' house.

Jayce found one of the Mr. Potato Head's mouth pieces.

The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo! So much fun! A very interactive zoo. Shaden fed the giraffes and got to hold a baby kangaroo. Shaden loved the baby Orangutan.

Those are some of the fun things that happened during June.

Little Things- Days ??????

2010-06-27T19:36:00.000-06:00

Okay, its almost a month later. Life got busy this last month. I will post some more pics in a little bit, but for now here is a bit of what's been going on...

-We upgraded our car! A "used" 2010 Ford Flex Limited. Dark Midnight Blue. LOVE IT! Seats 7.
-Jayce got his first 2 teeth and has decided baby food is boring and only wants the food we eat or a bottle.
-Shaden tells us "I'm Fine!" when he falls down. He loves to dance. He isn't too sure he likes that Jayce can get around now.
-We went to the Military Homecoming Ball. It was fun and the soldiers look sharp in their dress uniforms and the ladies look beautiful in their fancy dresses.

Little Things- Day 31

2010-06-16T11:22:00.000-06:00

Thursday or Friday, June 2 or 3, 2010

Family naptime.
Jayce is on part of my lap. Chris's head is on the other part. And Shaden is on Chris's chest.

Little Things- Day 30

2010-06-16T11:14:00.001-06:00

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

While car shopping Shaden told the dealer "I LOVE Balloons!" So he got one. It was one of his first complete sentences. :)

Little Things- Day 29

2010-06-16T11:10:00.000-06:00

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Taking a walk.

Little Things- Day 28

2010-06-14T08:54:00.002-06:00

Monday, May 31, 2010

I didn't take pictures for a few days, but on Memorial Day we went to another barbeque up in Denver. It was with friends of mine from high school. It was fun to visit with them and hear what amazing things they were all doing with their lives. Thanks again to Joanna and her parents for the invite and the terrific Bison Burgers. Yum!

Little Things- Day 27

2010-06-14T08:31:00.003-06:00

Saturday, May 29, 2010

We went up to my parents' house for a barbecue. The boys love to play outside and it was such a nice day.

Funny little story... For Shaden's 1st birthday my parents got him a little ATV, then for Christmas they got him a powered one. He took one ride on the powered one, screamed, and wouldn't go near either one for a few months. When the weather started to warm up he decided the non-powered one was great again. Now he tells us that the powered one is Jayce's ATV. If we ask if he wants to ride it he says, "No. Jayce ride ATV."

Little Things- Day 26

2010-06-13T09:49:00.002-06:00

Thursday, May 27, 2010

The boys love spending time with their daddy.

Little Things- Day 25

2010-06-13T09:38:00.005-06:00

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Chris Came Home!!! My sister got awesome pics and hopefully will be emailing me those soon.
But here are a few I got.

This is a video clip I took when the group that Chris was in came into the Special Events Center.

Little Things- Day 24

2010-06-13T09:32:00.002-06:00

I missed a few days... Oops.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

We went to Sam's and after putting away the groceries the boys decided to play in one of the boxes.
At the bottom of the box it reads "Always Cage Free." :)

Little Things- Day 23

2010-06-13T09:28:00.001-06:00

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Shaden got out of bed during nap time, but it seems he really was tired.

Little Things- Day 22

2010-06-13T09:08:00.004-06:00

Friday, May 21, 2010

Our patio is a nice place to go and sit outside... and eat rocks.

Still Here

2010-06-04T22:18:00.002-06:00

Yes, I am still here and I have been taking my pictures each day. I just haven't gotten a chance to post. And now I have a head cold so I'm going to bed. Pics to be posted soon.

Little Things- Day 21

2010-05-21T10:44:00.002-06:00

Thursday, May 20, 2010

I found my camera battery charger!!! Hip Hip Hooray!

Shaden shared a chocolate cookie with Jayce.

Shaden admiring his new lion tattoo.

Little Things- Day 20

2010-05-19T22:21:00.003-06:00

Day 20

Little Things- Day 19

2010-05-18T22:34:00.003-06:00

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Now this is not a happy little thing: Drawing... on things other than paper. :( As I was unpacking a box Shaden managed to find a purple permanent marker. I turned around to see him drawing on one of the plastic containers and he had some on his head. Dang. Took the pen away and while putting it up he found a red one! AHH!! This time he marked near his eye.

Okay, put the whole box up and fix dinner. What is that noise? That's right, he found a pencil and was drawing on the wall! He has never done that before. He has been so good about drawing on ONLY paper. Guess I need to reinforce that idea some more.

Earlier in the day Shaden found my new silicon giant cupcake cake pan and put it on Jayce's head. LOL. He thought it was a hat!

Little Things- Day 18

2010-05-18T10:28:00.002-06:00

Monday, May 17, 2010

Vacuuming. It used to be the chore I dreaded the most. It was mass chaos when I had to do it. I would avoid it at all costs. Shaden would scream and try to climb up my leg while trying to avoid the vacuum. (side note: Isn't vacuum a weird word?)

Recently we had a breakthrough! I say "Shaden, help me clean up so I can vacuum." And he does! Then the boys sit on the couch while I vacuum and for those few minutes it is quiet (well, except for the vacuum).

Now, if only I could have a dish washing fairy come and do the pots and pans.

Little Things- Day 17

2010-05-16T21:39:00.003-06:00

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Jayce got to feed himself some dinner tonight. He loved it.

And then he had to have a bath. Mashed Potatoes and Bananas were everywhere, but I got to eat dinner while it was still somewhat warm. :)

Little Things- Day 15

2010-05-16T20:40:00.003-06:00

Friday, May 14, 2010

"Faster than a speeding Camera Shutter, more powerful than a toy locomotive, able to leap tall toy buildings in a single bound, the infant of Colorado Springs is now the Boy of Steel: SUPERBOY!"

"No Mommy, I'm SuperMAN!" -Shaden

He wouldn't stay still long enough for a good pic, but here he is in his Superman pajamas. We spent the night at my parent's house and so he got to stay up a little later than normal.

Little Things- Day 16

2010-05-16T20:17:00.005-06:00

Saturday, May 15, 2010
Out of order but... Here is Jayce scooting around.

Saturday Morning Doughnut are great! Jayce is getting spoiled. All thanks to Shaden. He will so gladly give Jayce any food he has. But when it comes to sharing toys, well, that's another story.

Piggy Back Ride?

I don't think Shaden is quite big enough to give Jayce one yet. But it was funny to see.

Little Things- Day 14

2010-05-14T08:58:00.002-06:00

Thursday, May 13, 2010-

Going to the grocery store with the boys is interesting. First thing- Sam's Club and Costco carts are built correctly. They have two seats in the front and are just as easy to maneuver as the regular grocery store carts. The carts at normal grocery stores are not meant to carry more than one child and those carts that have a car in front are horrible to steer. If you have just one baby in a carseat/carrier the best carts are Target's. Just FYI.

While at Sam's Jayce rode next to Shaden without his carseat for the first time. I'm not ready for him to be a big boy yet! The boys were really good while there.

Then while checking out at King Soopers Shaden told the cashier each item as he handed it to her. She was so impressed with his vocabulary. She also thought it was funny that I had to put the bananas under the cart to keep them out of reach. They are still Shaden's favorite and he would eat all of them in the store if I let him.

On another note: Shaden is still Lactose Intolerant. I have been giving him Soy Milk, but we were out and he kept asking for milk, so I gave him some normal milk. I thought maybe he had grown out of it. Some kids do. Unfortunately not Shaden. I have recently heard Soy might not be very good for kids under five and I had a coupon for Almond Milk, so we are trying that. I also saw Lactose Free Milk. Anyone know anything about that? Thought that might be a good option to try next time.

Okay, I'm done rambling. Here are the pics.

Little Things- Day 13

2010-05-12T20:43:00.003-06:00

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

I used my new food processor today. It works great. My oven on the other hand... not so much.

Burned all of the Sweet Potato Chips. :( I think I need to buy an oven thermometer.

Funny story:

Me- Shaden come let me change your diaper.

Shaden- No, I'm a big boy.

Me- Big boys let Mommy change their diaper.

Then right before bed...

Me- Bedtime.

Shaden- No, I'm a big boy.

Me- :) Big boys go to bed now.

Little Things- Day 12

2010-05-12T11:53:00.002-06:00

Day 12- Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Went and picked up the cats from Westminster.

Got to listen to the cats meowing and Shaden responding with either a "Meow" or "Me Mou" for the entire ride home. It was pretty funny. And then we got home... I forgot just how many times a day I have to say "Leave the cats alone." :( I hope he will soon learn to ignore them.

Little Things- Day 11

2010-05-12T11:34:00.004-06:00

Day 11- Monday, May 10, 2010

Jayce isn't crawling yet technically, but he sure gets around the living room. He rolls or pushes himself backwards. My favorite is when he does push-ups.

Little Things- Day 10

2010-05-10T11:48:00.002-06:00

Day 10- Sunday, May 9, 2010

Happy Mother's Day!

It was a nice day. I love Mother's Day talks at church. During Relief Society we got to eat cheese cake. Yum! When I went to get Shaden from Nursery, they told me he was great. Thank goodness. He doesn't like going to Nursery, but once he's there and I'm gone he is fine.

They gave us a cute little flower pot with fake flowers and a necklace that spells his name. Super cute.

Here are the boys in there church clothes. Shaden is trying to hug Jayce in the first one.

Little Things- Day 9

2010-05-10T10:13:00.003-06:00

Day 9- Saturday, May 8, 2010

My parents came down to visit us. It was nice to have them come down for the day. They brought a chocolate cake and my birthday present. A food processor! Woot! So excited to try it out. I found a recipe for Baked Sweet Potato Chips that I want to try out and now we can make our own hash browns. Yum.

We went out to dinner at Zio's Italian Kitchen. It was great! It was Prom weekend for the Springs, so we got to see all the prom dresses and tuxes. Some were very pretty and some... well a bit on the "You're missing half your dress" side of things. One of the girls we saw had her hair done up so that it spelled something on the side of her head. It was a bit odd.

On the way home we had to stop at Target to get some formula. Jayce goes through almost a canister a week! We saw more prom go-ers there. Not just one or two people but three or four GROUPS! It was funny to see limos pull up there.

Here are a few pics of Jayce. He is such a happy little guy!

Little Things- Day 8

2010-05-07T20:28:00.003-06:00

Day 8-

Today was so much better than yesterday! Yay! Shaden came in early and slept next to me for a bit. Then Chris called. :) Yesterday his internet was down and he was moving rooms again. This time moving to more of an out processing area. Soon... YAY! No date yet but Soon.

Found a coupon for a free burrito at Chipotle! Woot! On the way out to the car Shaden picked some "flowers" for Mommy.

Me: Thank you for the pretty flowers.

Shaden: Mmm, smell nice.

Me: They are called Dandelions.

Shaden: Daddy's Lions pretty.

And then he proceeded to eat one! AHHH! Think, think, think... Are they poisonous? No, people make tea out of them. Okay. Take pictures.

Little Things- Day 7

2010-05-06T22:52:00.002-06:00

Day 7- May 6, 2010

It was my birthday today. Too windy to do anything outside. Burnt 3 pans of brownie bites. Shaden threw a block at my head. Found a bee hive in between the screen and the window in the boys' room. (Maintenance came and got rid of that.) Had "macky cheese" (macaroni and cheese) for dinner because Shaden kept asking for it. That was my day. No pics today. Tomorrow is another day and one more closer to seeing Chris. :D

Little Things- Day 6

2010-05-06T00:44:00.003-06:00

Day 6- May 5, 2010

Oh, Cinco de Mayo what a crazy day you are. Many people out drinking Margaritas and eating "Mexican" food, but for me... Laundry. Yup, that was my wild and crazy day. It was way too windy outside and I was needing to actually unpack some of my clothes and do laundry. The boys were great for the first half of the day. Here they are playing on my bed. Then the afternoon rolled around and chaos ensued. Shaden wanted Jayce to be in his lap and Jayce wanted NONE of that. Thank goodness for flashlights and an empty box. I wish I had gotten a picture. Shaden would turn the box over, hide in it and say, "Where's Shaden?" And for a brief moment... Quiet.

Little Things- Day 5

2010-05-04T21:34:00.004-06:00

Day 5-

Going to the park! Shaden walked with his monkey harness. He loves it. He laughed when I put it on him and didn't want to take it off. Here are the boys swinging. It was a beautiful day!

Little Things- Day 4

2010-05-03T21:36:00.003-06:00

Day 4- May 3, 2010

Funny thing... Shaden and Jayce are so different in a lot of ways, but somethings are exactly the same. Both boys HATED baths when they were first born. As soon as they could sit up... Splish Splash, they LOVE the bath! And they love to splish and splash.

By the way, if the pictures are a little blurry, phone camera... real camera is in a box that hasn't gotten unpacked yet and the boys are super wiggles so its hard to get a clear photo.

Little Things- Day 3

2010-05-02T22:03:00.002-06:00

Shaden is an attention hog. He loves to talk and be in my lap. (Or as my sister would say "All up in my Kool-aid.") Sometimes I feel that Jayce doesn't get all the attention he deserves. So today at Church it was nice to send Shaden to nursery and have Jayce with me.

Here he is after church. He is getting ready to crawl. He hasn't yet but very soon.

Little Things- Day 2

2010-05-01T23:27:00.003-06:00

Day 2- May 1, 2010

It was a long day. Shaden made a mess with the socks I was about to pair and the toys he dragged out of the bedroom.

After the boys went to sleep: 10 minutes to pick up the toys and put the socks in a box.

I love not having all the toys in the living room. It makes picking up so much quicker.

Little Things- Day 1

2010-04-30T21:58:00.005-06:00

One of my friends is doing this thing where she takes a picture each day. She calls it Project 365. I like the idea, but I couldn't get myself to start it at the beginning of the year. Now that Chris is almost home I realized I should have started this right before or right after he left. Oh well. I guess now is better than never. I also realized I haven't been blogging much because I felt like we weren't doing anything really worth blogging about... Which made me think about the little things. So for my project 365 I want to capture some of the little things.

Day 1- April 30, 2010

Shaden is getting more and more creative. Today, while I made dinner, he got out some spoons and said "Mommy, Shaden cooking." I turned around and saw him pretending to stir, so I gave him a pot and said, "Yup Shaden's cooking, just like Mommy." :) He was thrilled!

And of course since it has been so very long since my last post, here is a picture of Jayce. I love his big grin!

Video Chat

2010-01-03T00:10:00.003-07:00

I love video chatting with Chris! Shaden gets so excited! He points at Chris and yells, "Daddy!" He waves and talks and points at Daddy's nose. He really likes to have Daddy's attention. So it was neat to video chat with Chris tonight after Shaden went to bed. It was fun for Chris to get a chance to see and talk with Jayce a bit more. I got to thinking after we talked... What does Chris see? So here it is:

Updating

2009-10-18T11:33:00.004-06:00

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

2009-10-08T16:05:00.001-06:00

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

2009-07-30T11:51:00.004-06:00

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!

2009-06-19T20:25:00.002-06:00

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.

2009-05-28T11:58:00.002-06:00

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

2009-05-20T11:34:00.002-06:00

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!

2009-05-06T23:22:00.004-06:00

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

2009-05-06T11:59:00.002-06:00

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

2009-04-19T15:17:00.005-06:00

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

2009-04-08T20:25:00.003-06:00

Isn't he cute?

Standing & Sitting

2009-03-24T23:15:00.006-06:00

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

2009-03-24T23:08:00.003-06:00

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

2009-03-19T12:09:00.002-06:00

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

2009-03-17T13:12:00.004-06:00

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

2009-03-07T00:14:00.002-07:00

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

2009-03-07T00:06:00.002-07:00

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?

2009-03-05T12:09:00.003-07:00

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

2009-02-16T01:09:00.003-07:00

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?

2009-02-11T17:08:00.007-07:00

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?

2009-01-28T21:52:00.002-07:00

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

2009-01-26T22:48:00.003-07:00

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

2009-01-24T00:30:00.003-07:00

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

2009-01-24T00:11:00.004-07:00

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

2009-01-23T23:16:00.005-07:00

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!)

Neat Site

2008-11-19T01:35:00.002-07:00

Okay, my friend Desi had a post on her blog about this site and I checked it out and found it to be very cool. Check out http://www.wordle.net/ You put in a bunch of word like lyrics to a song or even a link to your blog and it makes the words in to a "word cloud."

Here's one of my blog.

New Things

2008-11-19T00:19:00.004-07:00

I seem to blog at night and kind of sporadically. Tonight it is later than I wanted because Shaden doesn't want to sleep. He took his second nap of the day way too late and has decided that it is fun to stay awake. Chris is on a FTX this week, so its just me and the little man.

Last week Shaden tried rice cereal for the first time! He didn't seem to mind it. He also tried mashed banana. So that was an exciting NEW food experience for him. (Mashed banana should be washed out of the bowl right away... it turns brown and yucky looking if left in there.)

Also, Shaden has learned to roll from belly to back and he can almost roll from back to belly. He doesn't do it all the time yet, but it is fun to see him grow and learn NEW things.

Chris and I rearranged our great room. It makes us feel like the living room area is so much bigger now. We hope the NEW layout will help us stay warm this winter.

And last but definitely not least... We bought a NEW iMac!!! Yay! It is so big and nice and fast! It is a 20" and it has 500 GB of space! I am loving it!

4 Months Old!

2008-11-04T19:36:00.004-07:00

Yay! Shaden is 4 months old!

He hasn't grown much in this last month, but his doctor isn't worried at all. She said he is strong, healthy, and such a happy baby. He loves standing and can almost sit by his self. He isn't rolling over yet, but he can push up with his arms.

The nurse that took his measurements was so happy she got to see him. She was having a bad Monday and she said he cheered her up with his smiles and babbling.

He now weighs 11 lbs. 7 oz. and is 23.5 inches tall.

Halloween was fun. We went up to Denver to hang out with my parents. Shaden was dressed in his pumpkin gear and we handed out candy. Then on Saturday we went over to the Johnson's for a party. Shaden was dressed up in his skeleton onsie. He looked so cute and was loved by everyone.

Now...Boo, he is sick. :( Actually, we both are. I was expecting a lot of crying and lack of sleep, but again I am soooo lucky; Shaden has just been very sleepy. I try to make him as comfortable as I can by rubbing Vicks on his chest and clearing his nose. I hope he feels better soon.

Okay, I was just being silly with this last photo. The thing over his eye is the magnifying part on the baby nail clippers.