Jadon Tidbits

Just thought id share some cute Jadon tidbits in this post!

He is such a goofball and a ham sometimes.... many times throughout the day, Derek and I will tell him "you're silly!" or "you're cute!" When Jadon says the word silly, he says "sicky", and when he says the word cute, he says "cuke."

Also, the other day we bought some LED christmas lights that were on sale. When we got home, I took them out of the package and plugged them in for him. He just loved them! He calls them "pretties."

A Week Off!!!

I'm so excited!! Derek has this whole week off! Not sure what we will do with our time...I'd like to get Christmas shopping done. I think we are going to get Jadon a potty for christmas. Not because he is ready for it, but i'd like to get him acquainted with it before we really start potty training. Lately he's been telling us "puh puh" and grabbing his diaper when he has just went potty (pee or poo). I'm so proud of him!! We put him on the big potty a couple weeks ago when he said "puh puh", but he looked a little concerned when he was on it. I think he was worried he might fall in, even though Derek was holding him.
On Thursday (Thanksgiving day) we are spending the afternoon at my parents house eating my favorite meal of the year! Yummy!!!!!!!!!
On Saturday, Derek is going to the Civil War game with a friend, and Jadon and I are going to go to the Downtown Twice Around parade with my mom and the kids.
Then on Sunday after church we will be having Thanksgiving lunch with Dereks family! I'm so excited to spend time with our families....we have so much to be thankful for, and our wonderful families are very high on our list of things that we are thankful for!

The Appointment

I had my follow up appointment today. The good news is, now that i've had several miscarriages in a row, it raised a red flag with the doctor. Thats about the only good news so far. Basically she told me alot about what I already knew from all of my googling, so with that said she suggested that I could get some bloodwork done to see if there is an underlying cause.

The good news with that is that there are 10 things I can get tested for. The bad news is its really expensive.... the doctor came in with my lab order and said "ok, here's the million dollar work up." She didnt have exact prices on the tests for us, but she figured that all 10 tests would be several thousand dollars. Ouch!!!!! We opted to do just 5 of the tests today- the ones that are the most common cause of multiple miscarriages. That includes thyroid and hormone level tests, 2 other ones that I cant remember what they are, and also a chromosome analysis. Alot of the tests can take a long time to get results on, for example, with the chromosome analysis, they have to "grow" my chromosomes so it takes time obviously to do that.

At this point, I just wait on the results of those 5 tests. And unless I get answers before January, we will probably be waiting until next summer to try to get pregnant again. Oh, also, next time I get pregnant I will probably be given progesterone suppositories and baby asprin in the first trimester as a precaution. This supposedly helps increase your hormone levels, however from what ive researched in the past, the results are not 100% conclusive that it really helps.

I'm sure that some people are wondering why we are so eager to get pregnant again. Basically, my biological clock is ticking. I'm going to be 30 in a year and a half, and I want at least 3 kids.... the older you get, the higher risk you are for things like down syndrome, and even miscarriage, as well as other things. Plus, I want to have as much energy for my kids as I can. Besides, now that i've been pregnant 3 times this year and my dreams have been crushed each time, i'm dead set on having another one as soon as we can.

So basically to summarize, my appt. went as well as could be expected, still no answers yet as to why im losing babies, waiting on results of bloodwork to find out.

Like father, like son

So I have heard the story several times from my mother-in-law, Karla, that when Derek was a youngster, he decided to paint the walls with his poop.

This morning after breakfast, I was enjoying my fresh cup of coffee while Jadon was watching one of his favorite shows, Little Einsteins. At one point, he came to me and requested that I pick him up. Sometimes in the mornings he just needs a few extra minutes of cuddle time with me, so I obliged, but before I sat him on my lap I smelled it- Freshly squashed poo.... and I dont mean he had pooped and then sat on it in his diaper... no, this was definately not the same kind of poo smell that my child normally creates. This was the kind of stench that smells likes poo thats been messed with- like a pile of dog poo thats been stepped in- It has a different odor to it than a pile that hasnt been disturbed. So Jadon smelled like poo that had been messed with. It was then that I noticed a smear of brown on his side, under his belly button. I quickly looked his hands over but didn't see anything on them, looked him over every where else and didnt see any more evidence, so I told him we needed to go upstairs so I could change his diaper. On the way to the stairs, I quickly scanned the living room to make sure that there were no toys with poo on them, or on the carpet. But low and behold, Jadon decided to paint the entertainment center!!!! Gross is all I have to say about it!
I didnt even know he had pooed! Usually you can smell him a mile away, but I smelled nothing until I had picked him up.
Like father, like son!

Oh swell.....

My appt is next week, and i've been eagerly looking forward to it..... until I found this article about miscarriages in the NY Times from several months ago. It says: "For 80 to 90 percent of women who lose one pregnancy, the next one, even with no treatment, results in a successful birth. But the devastation is compounded and the statistics slightly less hopeful when a woman has lost two or more pregnancies. After two consecutive miscarriages, there is a 75 percent chance that the next pregnancy will be maintained. After three miscarriages, there is a 65 percent chance." Thats only slightly more than 50%! Thats just great.
Then it goes on to say: " Even after the most thorough work-up, half to three-fourths of couples with recurrent pregnancy loss 'will have no certain diagnosis,' the report states."

I'm beginning to feel like we may never have another baby. Sorry for such a dismal post, but like I said in a previous post, there are good days and bad days.... today's one of those not-so-good days. I caught baby fever again yesterday from out of nowhere. Tomorrow it will be 2 weeks since my last miscarriage, however it seems like its been months. Thankfully I havent had too many "bad" days in the last 2 weeks.

Stress

So Jadon's diaper changes can get a bit stressful sometimes... and the dream I had last night just proves it!
This entire dream was about changing Jadon's poopy diaper! Basically it was a really poopy diaper, and poo was squished into every male crevise Jadon has. He kept getting his foot in the dirty diaper, then when i'd try to wipe the poo off his foot, he'd stick his hand down there and would get poo on his hand. So i'd wipe the poo off his hand and his foot would get in it again! It was a nightmare!!! And it was like that for several minutes- foot in poo, wipe foot- hand in poo, wipe hand- foot in poo, wipe foot, etc.
The sad thing is, that is sometimes how his diaper changes are!!! Apparently its torture to make a 20 month old sit still for 2 minutes to put a clean diaper on!!

Hmmm....

Is it too early to change my playlist to Christmas music??? I know some people say no Christmas music until after Thanksgiving, but thats not really fair when all the stores are already decorated for Christmas!!!!.... it gets me in the Christmas spirit! Besides, it seems to be approaching at "an incredible rate of speed." (movie trivia anyone????) :)

Anyways, Derek insists that now that we have a kid, we have to get a Christmas tree every year now. I'm a little concerned about Jadon getting into the tree and pulling it down on himself. He's not a child that will just leave something pretty and shiny alone, so i'm pretty sure it will end up on top of him somehow. Especially with Derek's history of setting trees!! (It hasnt been pretty! One year we had to tie the tree to the ceiling!!!) Anyways, I think i'll try to talk Derek into putting the tree in our bedroom, either that or just get a little tiny one to sit on the table or something! Otherwise I may end up being the tree's security guard for the whole month of December!
It will definitely be interesting this year!

The Maid

Jadon can't seem to stay out of the kitchen if we are in it, so today when I was in the kitchen cleaning up after lunch, he kept getting into the cupboards and drawers. Today the dishrag drawer was the focus of his attention, and he grabbed a handful of "wags" and all of them stayed on the floor exactly where he threw them and didnt move, except for one that he used to wipe the floor and his toy helicopter with. Also in the dishrag drawer is a couple of aprons that I never use...... anyways, he got one of the aprons out and put it on. Of course it was way too big for him, so I worked my mommy magic- I knotted it up here, pulled it up and tied there, and Ta-Da!!! Instant maid!!!!! He had a blast with that for about 20 minutes. Its amazing how easily amused kids are! Anyways, here's some pictures of the maid.

Wiping the floor and heater vent

Hauling around his wheel barrow

Pausing from a hard days work for a couple pictures

Gosh he sure is cute!!!!!

Here we go again

Well, less than 2 months left until Christmas. This is not where I thought we would “be” by now, but I’m learning to deal with the cards I’ve been dealt lately.

We had a difficult summer…. The month after our miscarriage we ended up having a chemical pregnancy (basically a really early miscarriage). We chose not to announce it since I was only pregnant for a couple days. After that we waited a full cycle before trying again. We ended up getting pregnant right away (big surprise since im obviously Fertile Myrtle) …. And that brings us to today. We are 7 and a half weeks right now, almost 8 weeks, and it looks like im having another miscarriage. For those of you keeping track, that is pregnancy #5, loss #4. With all of my pregnancies that ended in miscarriages, right from the beginning I felt like things weren’t right, and so far I’ve been right each time. When I found out I was pregnant with Jadon, I knew right away that things were going to be ok that time. I guess ive got a good intuition. I was hoping that this time it was just my fear of the past getting the best of me.

Anyways, whenever I have my follow up with the OB, this time I will be requesting that she do some bloodwork to make sure that my hormone levels aren’t wacky, and to make sure that I don’t have hypothyroidism or something… both things that can cause multiple miscarriages.

The last 5 months have been very tough ones…. If I hadn’t had the first miscarriage this summer, I would have been around 25 weeks right now, and we would know if we were having a boy or a girl. Its always hard to think about the milestones like that. The hardest part about having a miscarriage is that it suddenly feels like everyone else in the world is either pregnant or has a newborn, and it makes me feel angry and upset, and I then I feel guilty for feeling that way. I was researching multiple miscarriages last night and came across an excellent website that talks about coping, dealing and healing after miscarriages, and it made me realize that its completely normal for me to feel that way, and I don’t need to feel guilty for feeling that way. Its part of the healing process. I am finding that its really hard to not question “why me again?” But then again, I would hate to have anyone go through this. Derek keeps reminding me that this is all part of God’s plan. Ever the optimist, he is such a wonderful husband, but at the same time I think the grief is different with men than it is for women. Men don’t have their hormones going crazy, and they don’t get to start that immediate bond with the baby that women get as soon as they find out they are pregnant.

Derek had an eye appointment a few days ago, and Jadon and I went with him. Back to my old place of employment. I’m so glad I went. I got to talk to one of my old co-workers (I will not disclose the name so don’t ask) who has had two 2nd trimester losses, one fairly recent. My heart just breaks for her. Anyways, she told me about a support group in Albany for women who have had any kind of pregnancy loss….we talked about the possibility of going to that together. I was fine after my first loss… I managed to get pregnant with Jadon almost right off the bat, and that took my mind off of it. I was doing pretty good after my 2nd loss as well. Of course there’s always good days and bad days, and that’s how healing goes. And im even handling this one fairly well. However, after 4 losses, it would be really nice to be able to meet and be around other women are going through the same thing that I am going through.

With each pregnancy loss, I’m reminded of just how miraculous pregnancy and life really is. And with each pregnancy loss I feel more and more overwhelmingly thankful to have been blessed with my beautiful baby boy….. He is truly a miracle to us.

So anyways, that is where we are at. Our parents and a few close friends knew about this, but we didn’t announce to anyone else. If anyone asked, I didn’t deny that we were pregnant but I didn’t tell anyone unless they asked. The reason I’m even writing about it now is that this blog is like a journal for me where I can write out my thoughts and feelings, and I know that the people who read the blog are people who care about what is going on in our everyday lives. So, your prayers would be greatly appreciated as we go through this yet again.

Just in case you missed it....

Here's the video from Betty on the Rachael Ray show today:
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/show/segments/view/one-womans-struggle/
I have to admit, I teared up when she came out on stage. I'm just so proud of her and she totally deserved a neat experience like that after all her hard work!
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In other news around here, Jadon's been saying weird words for several days at a time and then abandoning the word and moving on to a new one. So, a couple weeks ago he kept saying "shy po." We thought maybe he was saying slipper, but I dont think we ever came to a clear conscensous of what he was really saying. After that, he started saying "bocca bow"... to which we found out he was saying "basketball." The last few days his new word has been "paco." And we have no clue what that one is either. And he hasn't said it once today, so maybe "paco" is long gone and he's busy trying to come up with a new word. Whatever the case, he sure is adorable!!!!! I can't wait to hear the next new word!!!!

More Signing

So Jadon can now sign 11 words!!

• Freezer
• Cold/winter (same sign)
• Hot
• Milk
• Grass
• Wind
• Rain
• Bug
• Dog
• Ball
• Football

Plus, he has his own sign for "Signing Time." He points to one of his palms and says "Ss Ss".... I think he is trying to sign "time" but I can't guarantee that yet. And he keeps doing it over and over and over and over again until I finally put Signing Time on! He just loves that show!!! And I feel good because its educational. :)

Heavenly Harvest- Part 2

So yesterday Jadon and I went back to Heavenly Harvest for a playdate with Becky and Cooper. Unfortunately the cashier lady told us that the corn maze was really long- 20-30 minutes for adults to get through, and that she heard alot of children whining and complaining after they finally finished the maze. (isnt she supposed to be making money for the company, not discouraging service???) So anyways, since it was during the week, there was hardly anyone there. We decided to skip the corn maze, and went on the hayride again, and then the duck race again. The duck race was alot of fun for the boys, and then after about 15 minutes, they started playing in the water, so we moved on. We then went to the hay bale maze again, and that was amusing watching them... Jadon kept going down a dead end, and Cooper kept going in circles around a row of bales. Finally we had to help them go through it, and by then they were tired of it anyways. After that we headed toward the back of the property where the farm has some chickens in a coop... the boys thought that was great! And then we noticed that 3 were out of the coop, and Cooper was chasing after them having a great old time, giggling! Jadon went up to a house that was in the chicken coop, and squatted down so he could see inside and said "hi" to the chickens. He also kept "balking" at them.
Eventually it was time to go home again, but we were there for an hour and a half. It was a beautiful day, a little on the windy and chilly side, but sunny and beautiful regardless! Here's some pictures of the boys:

In the Hay Bale Maze

Resting on a stack of hay bales

Jadon posing with his pumpkin after we got home

Pumpkin Patch

This morning we headed out to Heavenly Harvest Farm for a pumpkin for Jadon. Actually, they have all kinds of fun Fall stuff for kids (and adults) to do. So anyways, the three of us took the hayride down to the pumpkin patch and picked a pumpkin for Jadon. Jadon also did the duck races, although he had no idea what was going on, and just sucked his fingers. It was really busy, so he was distracted by all the people and kids around him. His favorite part was the hay bale maze..... we were actually really surprised, but he took off in that maze like a test rat!

Anyways, we got there at about 11am, had to wait in line for awhile just to get our tickets for the events.... then we did the duck races. Then we got in line for the hayride and pumpkin picking, and waited for what seemed like forever. Finally at almost noon, it was our turn! Jadon just about fell asleep on the hayride! It was his lunchtime, and getting close to nap time! He's such a good boy though and didn't put up a fuss once! After we finished the hayride, we put our pumpkin in the car and headed over to do the hay bale maze. Then we thought that Jadon might like to watch the corn cannon, so we went over near that. It scared Jadon to death though, and he had a pouty bottom lip for several minutes afterwards! Then we decided we should head home to eat lunch and nap. We were there for almost 2 hours though, and probably would've stayed longer and done more things if it hadnt been so late. By the time we left, the parking lot was jam packed! Jadon and I are supposed to go there again on tuesday for a playdate, so maybe then we will do the cornmaze!

We had alot of fun for only $8!! Can't wait to take Jadon back next year when he's a little older!
Here's some pictures of the day:

Duck Race

Hayride-on the way to pumpkin patch

Pumpkin Patch

Bum Bum Bum, Another One Bites the Dust...

So the other 2 fishies died last night. I'm not sure what happened... I cleaned the fish bowl yesterday, and then 4 died. I followed the instructions that came with the bowl on how to clean it properly, so i'm not sure what could have gone wrong. I cleaned the bowl last week and nothing happened to them. Hmmm....

Three Fatalities

Three of Jadon's fish have died now... one yesterday, and two today. I'm not sure why! So now we have two left. At this rate, we'll be buying new fish every month! The two remaining fish seem happy though, although one of them was acting like it was going to die earlier today when I was eating dinner. Hopefully the last two will live a bit longer, at least until the end of the month! :) Oh, who am I kidding, i'm sure i'll wake up in the morning and find that the remaining two have died as well! I've already started thinking about what kind of fish to get next!

Make that three.....

By last night, Derek and I had really scratchy throats, and today I feel horrible... my throat feels so scratchy and dry and swollen. None of us got any real good sleep either... Jadon woke up around midnight and wanted someone to comfort him about every 20 minutes (if that). Finally I brought him to our bed and moved the vaporizer into our room so we could all benefit from it.
We slept fairly good until about 6am, then Jadon woke up coughing. I knew he wouldnt be going to sleep after that, so I just got up with him.

Its going to be a loooooooooong winter at this rate!!!

First Cold of the Season

Jadon developed a runny nose yesterday, and by last night it turned into a full blown cold with lots of snot and coughing. The poor guy cant breath, so sleeping last night was difficult for him. There's nothing you can give to kids under age 2 for colds, and I heard a rumor that they might even remove all cold products for kids under the age of 6!!! We ended up getting the vaporizer out at 5am this morning. Also, we've got a pot of water boiling on the stove to make it humid in the house. The vaporizer and the boiling pot of water were very effective with all his colds last winter!

Anyways, I'm pretty bummed because we were going to go to the pumpkin patch today, but I'm thinking that we will probably end up staying home today instead. I hope we can find another nice day to go in the very near future! I think I was much more excited about going to the pumpkin patch than Derek, but he's a party pooper like that. ;)

Growing up too fast!

Jadon is just picking up so many new things every day now! Its really amazing!

He hears the school bus go by everyday and gets really excited to see it! He points to it and says "Sss" ... (I'm guessing he's saying "school" ????) I'm really amazed with all the new words he's picking up, and the new things he's doing! A few of his latest words are: Octopus, turtle, tattoo, one, two, three. Pretty much he repeats anything we ask him to say! He's making a lot of different sounds too, and sometimes sounds like he's telling a story by rattling off all these different sounds.

Also, he is really starting to sign now! A few weeks ago, we were outside... it was a nice day with a gentle breeze. He was playing around, and all the sudden says "woo" and starts waving his arms back and forth. It took me a minute or two to figure out what he was doing, then it dawned on me, he was signing the word "wind!" He must've felt the wind blowing, and recognized it from Signing Time, and started signing it! I was so proud!!! He also signs "bug" (the little insect-- not the verb). And tonight we were sitting at the dinner table eating, and I mentioned how it was starting to rain, and he repeated the word "rain" and did the sign for it! I cant even tell you how exciting it is for me to see him signing! Not only is he learning and greatly benefiting from learning sign language, but I am also learning it and keeping my mind active as well! I am really enjoying it!

Here's a couple pictures of him "cooking" in the kitchen the other day:

Eating Slump

I know toddlers have amazingly fickle eating habits, and i've read and heard plenty of times how most toddlers will eat really well one day, and not at all the next day... or those same eating patterns but over a longer periods of time.

Well, I think Jadon's starting an eating slump. All week long, he's been eating half of what he normally eats at every meal. He's also refusing to use his silverware now, so I think that the excitment of using a big boy spoon has worn off for him.

We've been very blessed that in the past he's had a very hearty appetite, so its frustrating to me as his mom when he wont eat. I know he wont starve, but its still hard to see your child eating so much less than what was once "normal."

Shhsh!-- updated

So Jadon's latest Baby Einstein dvd rental was one thats all about water. And it showed lots of fishies on the movie, or "shhsh" as Jadon likes to call them. I decided that I thought we should get a fish for Jadon.... nothing big and fancy or expensive (or alot more work!!!). I was thinking just a glass fish bowl and a goldfish or something.
So Derek came home from work early today, and we went to Petco to look at the animals and get a fish. We ended up with 5 because they were having a sale on guppies, 5 for $5. So, hopefully they will last and not die within days!!!! Anyways, I dont have any pictures yet, but i'll try to get some tomorrow. They really are pretty ones though! They are males, so they have the pretty colors and bigger tails. We've got 2 bright orange ones, a bright yellow one, and one thats a neat sortof multicolored, and then a darker colored one that I really havent looked at enough to really see what color he is.
Unfortunately Jadon just wants to stick his hands in the bowl, so luckily I have it up, well out of reach of his little lightening fast grabby hands! Anyways, i'm off to bed now!!

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Ok, here is a pix I took this morning of the fish...they are still alive, so thats a good sign! ;)

Dead Arm

Today, Jadon woke up from his nap a little early, and he was crying. He was obviously pretty upset about something-- it was obvious by the type of crying he was using. So I went up to see what was wrong, and I opened his door and he continued to cry a little, which is unual. He usually stops crying the minute the door starts moving opened. As I moved further into the room, I see him SITTING in his crib... also unusual... he normally stands up the minute he wakes up. Also unusual was the fact that he had tears on his face... he rarely ever crys in a way that requires tears.
Anyways, so I asked him what was wrong, and he points to his left hand immediately and wimpers some more. So I picked him up to see what was wrong with his hand, and couldnt find anything out of place or any ouchies or anything abnormal.
I brought him downstairs and he sat on my lap, and started sucking his fingers (on his left hand). It was then that I noticed the great big red mark on the underside of his arm... like he had been laying on it while he was sleeping. So i'm 99.9% sure that he woke up and had a "dead" arm and it probably scared him and probably hurt a little too. I know it always hurts me when my arm falls alseep!
So anywho, it was just the cutest thing and I wanted to share the story with you all! He sleeps in the weirdest, most uncomfortable looking positions most of the time, so i'm not surprised that he slept on a limb and it fell asleep on him.


Here's a picture of one of his most popular sleeping positions... not sure how having your butt up in the air like that can be even the least bit comfortable!!! :)

Eating like a big boy

So, Jadon's eating has greatly improved lately! He is eating with a bowl... let me rephrase... he's eating with a bowl that doesn't suction to the table, and not throwing it! He does start to play with it after he starts getting full, but we just take it away from him then. We are finding less and less food on the floor (hallelujah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and more going into his tummy.

Since we've been having such great luck with his eating, a couple days ago we started letting him use a spoon to eat, and to our joy, he uses it just like he's supposed to! We have tried a spoon in the past, and he just wasn't able to get the hang of it. I've been working with him and his spoon in the mornings with his oatmeal, and daddy taught him how to use his little fork to stab foods. He is doing really good! I'm so proud of him! I was afraid we were never going to get out of the horribly messy eating habits stage, but I think we are on our way finally! Don't get me wrong, meals are still messy, but at least i'm not on my hands and knees for 10 minutes cleaning up the floor anymore!

Here's a couple pix of him this morning eating his oatmeal.... I tried to load a video, but for some reason it would never load, so you'll have to settle for pictures unless I can figure out why the video wouldnt load.

Lord, Have Mercy!!!

So the last few days i've tried shortening Jadon's nap to see if it will help him go down at night better. Here's how its gone so far.

Monday, I shortened his nap to an hour and a half. (He has been known to take 3 hour naps during the day). That night he went down very well, without a complaint!

Tuesday, again I tried an hour and a half nap. Didnt go as well that night... he would not go to sleep until late again. Grrrrr!

Wednesday... so after the night before, I thought ok, i'll shorten the nap another 15 minutes. So one hour and 15 minute nap. Last night didnt go well again. He would not go to sleep when we put him to bed.... was screaming like he was dying or something, it was horrible. I was so frustrated that at 9:30pm I decided I needed to clean the refrigerator. Cleaning always gives me a sense of control and helps me think through my frustrations. So I pulled out all the food, all the shelves and washed everything down by hand and dried it. Finally about 10:30pm Derek got Jadon to sleep. (He woke up again at 1am, and thats another problem we will be working on after we get this going to bed thing solved.)

So, today, Thursday, I am going to try a half hour nap and see if that makes any bit of difference. Or we could just keep him up until at least 10pm every night! He's like the energizer bunny at night, I swear!! Hopefully mommy wont lose her mind with this short nap!

But, at least I have a clean refrigerator now! :)

18 Month Check-up

Jadon had his 18 month checkup today. I'm always so excied for his appointments to see how much he's grown, and see how well he's doing. This appointment didn't end up being as good though.
He grew a little bit (is 33 inches tall now), but barely gained any weight... just a few ounces. That's pretty normal since he's so much more active now, and he's always been a little on the tall/skinny side! You have seen his daddy, right????? ;)

Anyways, everything is looking fine! No shots today! He was supposed to have a Hep A shot, but was just 2 days too early to get it done, so he will get it done in November when he gets a flu shot.

A hot topic of conversation at his appointments has always been his sleeping issues. Lately, Jadon has not been wanting to go to sleep at night, and has been up until midnight some nights before finally going to sleep. She said he might not need a nap anymore, or we just need to shorten his nap, or make it earlier. (UGH!!!!!!!!!!) So, we are going to try shortening the nap some. The pediatrician said to never let him sleep longer than 2 hours. So, i'll be waking him at 1.5 hours to start with. This was not the news I was hoping for! His nap time is also mommy's "lunch break" time where I get chores done around the house and relax a little!

Random

Derek and I do the Blockbuster movie rental thing for $4 a month. We get to watch two movies of our choice every month, and they mail one to us, we watch it, then mail it back, and then they send us the next movie. Two movies a month is plenty for us, plus its so nice to not have to go anywhere to get a movie!
But anyways, a couple nights ago, we watched Meet The Robinsons (another Disney movie). I remember seeing previews for it when I was pregnant with Jadon, and they always made me laugh. So we finally got to see it, and I was a little worried that it wouldnt end up being that great, but it turned out to be a really good movie! It ended on a "feel good" note, and I always like that! Anyways, 2 enthusiastic thumbs up to that movie!

On a different note, I'm trying to decide if I want to enroll Jadon in swimming again, or if I want to do something different. He is 18 months old today, and there are a couple things in the Albany Parks and Recreation activity guide that he can do now. He could do a music class, but im afraid it would end up being all girls in the class. Theres also a Lil' Kickers (soccer) program for 18-24 month olds..... I thought about doing that... its on saturdays, so Derek could do it with us as well, however its $100 for just 10 sessions. Swimming is $50 for 10 sessions. So, i'm not sure what to do....I have to decide fast though because classes start in a week!! Yikes!!!

Locks of Love

So my hair has gotten pretty long again. Its just a couple inches shorter than it was on my wedding day, which is pretty long! Anyways, I've always wanted to donate my hair to Locks of Love, and thought about doing that this time. They need 10 inches off of your hair, so I thought i'd grow my hair out a few more inches so that I could have a long enough bob when I cut it off that I could still pull it back into a ponytail. However, I went to their website to read about the other qualifications your hair has to meet in order to be acceptable to donate.

It turns out, they accept colored or permed hair, but not highlighted hair (because its bleached). Stink! I guess my horribly crappy $6 summer highlights were a complete bomb afterall. So, I dont know what to do now. I really do want to donate but I dont know if I'll ever have my hair really long again (afterall, I am a mom now, and the more kids you have, the shorter it gets.....or so i've heard!) ;)

So, I'm bummed.

Signing

So Jadon's beginning to pick up some signs, and im so excited! He always does the sign for "dog" almost everytime he sees a dog now! He will also do alot of signs after he sees them done on TV or by me, but doesnt quite associate the sign with the object yet... other than dog. Its really cute and exciting though!

As for me, I know well over 50 words now! I stopped counting at 50 a couple weeks ago. Even Derek used a sign the other day, so I know he knows at least one sign! :)

What a weekend.

Well, I was looking forward to a nice, quiet, uneventful weekend after having had a busy week.... I should know better than to think that a quiet weekend would've actually happened!

It all started on thursday night when Jadon got diarrhea. I thought it was because he had had alot of juice last week, and we dont normally give him juice, but Jadon's great-grandparents were here visiting from Florida, so we had been eating away from home alot, and he had more juice last week than he's had his whole live! Anyways, after a couple diarrhea episodes, he was fine, and was back to solid poo's by friday.

Friday evening at about 8pm, Jadon started throwing up. Then about 30 minutes later, Derek starts to feel sick and ends up throwing up as well. Jadon threw up every 15 minutes until about 11pm, then I finally got him to sleep... to which he woke up 45 minutes later to throw up again.... then went right back to sleep until 1:15am when the freezer made noise and woke him up. We were downstairs sleeping surrounded by towels because Derek was upstairs throwing up every 2o minutes or so for the entire night! Anyways, at 1:15am when Jadon woke up, he was requesting water, and so I gave him a few sips every few minutes. But he was also starving to death and was wining and begging for food. I was hesitant to give him anything because I didnt want him to throw it back up again, but after he was able to keep his water down, I decided i'd give him some yogurt. We took it very very slowly, and he kept that down, and then started playing! Kids are so resiliant! The next day, he had a little bit more diarrhea, but other than that, he was fine!

Derek on the other hand continued to throw up at least once an hour all day saturday. He wasnt keeping anything down, not even sips of water. Thanks to this Gilberts Syndrome, everytime he gets stomach bugs, he usually is out of commision for many days. Today is tuesday, and he is still home from work trying to get his strength back, but he is eating and drinking now, and has an appetite.

After the last time Derek had a stomach bug several years ago, and we took him to the E.R. because he wouldnt stop throwing up, it was then that I decided that I would become a major germaphob and strive to keep the house and everything in it as germ-free as possible, and constantly remind Derek to wash his hands before he eats lunch, etc. Since then, we have stayed pretty darn healthy!! But now we have Jadon, and everyone wants to kiss him on the lips and feed him from their spoons, and let him put his hands in their mouths, etc. At the risk of sounding like a majorly freak germaphobic person, i'd like to request that you keep your kisses to his cheeks, and your spoons to yourselves, and don't let him put his hands in your mouths. I know, he is a kid and the germs will find him, but i'd like to do as much as I can to ensure that we keep these stomach bugs away for Derek's sake. I appreciate your cooperation even if you do think that I am a nutcase.... but I know Derek feels the same way about the germs, especially after the weekend he had!

Anyways, back to the story. I ended up with a migraine and the runs as well on saturday. Jadon was horribly clingy for the whole weekend, and I couldnt even go to the kitchen without him throwing a tantrum. I spent Sunday and Monday trying to clean up the house and doing laundry. By the way, is there any special way to get vomit out of carpet? I think I did a pretty good job, got most of it cleaned up fairly well immediately after it happened, then I went back over it yesterday and scrubbed the daylights out of it to get the odor out, and a few lingering stains. Now it looks like new carpet compared to the rest of the carpet!

On a positive note, I lost over 5lbs! On a negative note, Derek also lost over 5 lbs! lol!

Well, this is a slightly depressing sounding post, not to mention its not very pleasant, so i'll stop here and post more pleasant things later on! :) Hope the rest of you had a much better weekend than we did!

Rainbows

Every morning is sooooo exciting to Jadon! The morning sun shines right into our stairway window, and onto our entryway chandleier. As it does that, it casts little rainbows all over the walls upstairs. Jadon discovered those rainbows the other day, and apparently its the most exciting thing since sliced bread!! He runs around upstairs pointing to each of the rainbows, then makes a noise like "oooooooh!"

Thankful Today and Everyday

So last night, I was preparing to make dinner. I decided to make spaghetti and homemade meatballs. I had never done meatballs before, and thought it would be a nice addition to the normally boring dish of plain old spaghetti and sauce. I pulled a pound of beef (actually I only use ground turkey, not beef) out of the freezer, and popped it in the microwave for 5 minutes on defrost, then went about other business getting a pan ready, a bowl for mixing the meatballs, etc. The microwave suddenly stopped and I thought it was the fastest 5 minutes ever! But the microwave didnt beep like it does when the time runs out, letting you know its finished. I looked at the microwave, it was dead. My first thought was that the power went out... but no, the music was still playing on my laptop, the TV was still going... I had Baby Einstein on the DVD player for Jadon (he LOVES it! he says "Eye sty" everytime he wants to watch it... also its a good distraction while im busy in the kitchen). Everything seemed to be in working order. So I checked the cord to make sure the microwave was still plugged in. It was. I pressed buttons.... nothing. Opened it, closed it, unplugged, then plugged back in.... still nothing. It appears as though the thing just quit.

So, after 5 years, almost to the day, our wedding gift microwave died on us. Tonight we'll be heading to town to find a new one! There's not really a point to this story, other than to say how thankful I am for the little things that are almost always overlooked in life... like a working microwave. This morning I had to boil water on the stove for my coffee and Jadon's oatmeal. It was only slightly more inconvenient, but quite a bit slower. Last night Derek had to eat a luke-warm dinner when he got home from work, which bothered me much more than it bothered him. Its the little things that get used everyday that we take for granted.

So, with that said, id like to say that today (and everyday) im thankful for a microwave, stove, refrigerator, my laptop, tv, lights, running water, a heater, an a/c unit.... all of these things are essentially luxuries that are overlooked until we have to endure an hour or a day or two without them...funny how it feels like the world is coming to an end when we have to live without one of these things for just a short time.

Curious George

So the other day, I think it was saturday, Jadon was in the living room playing while I finished eating my lunch. He was being a good boy, and I kept peeking my head over the couch to see what he was doing. Well, after awhile, he got really quiet, so I peeked my head over the couch again and he was sitting on the floor playing. I couldnt see what he was playing with, but he wasnt getting into anything, and the only thing in the living room within reach (that I thought) was his toys. Couple minutes passed, and he was still super quiet (very rare when we're at home), so I again peeked over the couch, but this time I stood up so I could see the whole room and see what he was playing with that was so intriguing. It was like slow motion when I stood up: first I saw his head, then his shoulders, then chest... oh wait, theres an arm going up in the air with a kleenex on it... oh no!!! Slow motion continued as the rest of the room and floor came into view. Sure enough, he had gotten ahold of an almost full box of kleenex and pulled out every single sheet! I couldnt get mad at him though, he's just curious and didnt know that he isnt supposed to do that. Time to move things to higher locations though.... he is just getting too tall!!!

Here's a video of him putting the kleenex back into the box after he pulled them all out... very cute! He's easily amused! ;)

Horray for Derek!!

So I'm very pleased and proud to announce that Derek got a new job! Still with the hospital, but now instead of working on desktop support he'll be working with servers and stuff. Its a slight raise, and he'll be able to work his way up the ladder in this job much easier than at his current job.
I am so happy and proud of him (as I always am!) :)

In other news, this week Jadon and I learned sign language for things around the house- kitchen, family room, bathroom, sink, refrigerator, stove, sofa, rug, tv, table, toilet, bathtub, shower. Plus, we check out Baby Einstein dvd's from the library and the one we recently checked out has some sign language in it as well... so from that we have learned- driveway, sidewalk, garden, playing field, playground, trail, school, library, bank. There are many more on that dvd, but I cant remember them. I am only listing the ones that I can remember. I am really enjoying learning sign language... its amazing to me that people can actually communicate by using sign language! Its supposed to be really good for kids too, and help with tantrums and frustrations. So far Jadon hasnt picked up on anything, but we've only been doing it for a few weeks, and so far he just watches intently.

Dancing Baby

This was the cutest thing ever!

Derek, Jadon and I were at the mall the other day, and we were walking by a store that had really loud music and Jadon was holding Daddy's hand while we were walking. So when we walked by this store with the loud music, Jadon suddenly stops dead in his tracks, so Derek and I stop to see why Jadon stopped. Well, it turns out he had to bust-a-move to the music! He heard the music so he stopped what he was doing and started dancing! :) It was really cute!

And once again i'm reminded of what an adorible son I have!

Talking Jadon

So, I won't be adding to Jadon's word list anymore. Starting late last week, he has started repeating many words that we say... (all done, arm, ouchie, etc.) so I am expecting that his talking will really begin to take off now! Its really exciting! Derek just mentioned a few days ago how he can't imagine Jadon having conversations with us! It will be really weird, thats for sure!

I hope he learns to call me mommy or mama someday soon though! Apparently right now he thinks I am a dada! So, both Derek and I are Dada. He can say mama, but it means either "more please" or "water". Oh, and Jadon calls himself dada also, only it sounds just ever so subtly different than the dada he calls me or Derek.

We have also been learning some sign language. (well, ive been learning it, Jadon just watches it) PBS has a show called Signing Time, and we like to watch that! Last week we learned lots of colors- red, orange, yellow, green, blue, pink, purple, black, brown, white, silver, gold. A few others we learned from the show are: crayons, broken, new, great, look... I can't think of anymore at the moment.

Teething pain (for the parents!)

Sorry I have been MIA for a few days... Jadon's getting his eye teeth, and anytime he is teething his sleep patterns get totally screwed up. So all week long he has been going to bed at his usual time 8:30pm. But then he's been waking up at about 11-11:30pm every night, and not wanting to go back to sleep until after 3am. With that said, mommy and daddy dont usually go to bed until about 10:30-11pm! So, since Jadon's not going to back to sleep until after 3am, he usually sleeps until 8:30 or 9am the next morning, which is good, but still doesnt give him enough sleep for the night, and not enough sleep for mama either! Needless to say, i've been napping in the afternoon when Jadon naps to try to make up for lost sleep.

Good news though, last night he went to bed at 8:30am, woke up about 7am, so I went and got him and brought him in my bed to warm him up.... ok, so thats a partial lie.... I love to cuddle with him in the morning! :) So he fell asleep again in bed with me until 9am!!! Horray!!! We all got a GOOD nights sleep and made up for lost sleep in the last few days! I wont get my hopes up though... he will sometimes have a few bad nights, then a good night, then another few bad nights.

Derek has next week off for our anniversary (5 years!!!!) so I am hoping Jadon gets back on schedule because we have alot planned for that week!

Happy Birthday Derek!!!

My wonderful, handsome hubby turned 27 today! He hates the attention on his birthday, but I can't help but post on here at least tell him Happy Birthday!!!!

We celebrated by going to dinner (just the 3 of us) at Red Robin (Derek's choice for the evening), and then having dessert at home of chocolate cream pie (he's not much of a cake person).

I still havent bought him a birthday gift... ive been asking him for the last 2 months what he wants, but he has never given me much of any answer... I havent gotten him anything for fathers day yet either (for the same reason as mentioned above), so now I am behind by 2 gifts! Yikes!!! He is the hardest person I know to buy gifts for, yet he is the most thoughtful gift giver when it comes to presents for his wife! He has no problem digging deep into his pockets to buy me expensive and terrific gifts, and yet wants nothing in return. I'm sorry, but I cant give him nothing! He works hard and is very good to me and Jadon, so he deserves something too! I just better figure out something to give him before Christmas!!!!! :)

Happy Birthday Daniel!!!

So yesterday was my baby brothers (well, one of my baby brothers anyways!) 13th birthday!! Daniel’s big 13th birthday, and I can hardly believe where the time went! Seems like just yesterday I was out driving the combine and he came out to ride with me as a young toddler… about Jadon’s age! He wasn’t much of a nap taker when he was little, and back then we had a hammock on our side yard… I remember swinging on the hammock with Daniel trying to get him to sleep. He did eventually go to sleep, but then as soon as I moved he would wake up! (Jadon??? Sure sounds like Jadon!)

Daniel is not a little guy anymore though… he’s now 5 feet 7 inches tall!!! Just 2 inches shorter than me!! Yikes!!! I predict that next year on his birthday he will be taller than me!

So anyways, to celebrate his special day (and it was also a celebration of Derek’s birthday which is in a couple of days), we went to the new Italian restaurant here in town, Carinos. Just the family: mom, dad, the kids, Ashley, and Derek, Jadon and I. The food was terrific! I got chicken fettuccini alfredo, and Derek got the lasagna. They also serve the best bread before your meal comes, and a salad that’s a little on the small side, but really good as well! After lunch we went to my parents house for cake and ice cream and conversation. Jadon had fun playing “catch” with the kids….. or should I say it was playing “fetch”???? Jadon would throw the football, and thought it was hilarious when the kids would go get the ball and bring it back to him.... sounds more like fetch to me! ;)

Overall it was a nice time, and I hope that Daniel enjoyed his special day!

Happy Birthday Big Dan!!! ;)

Isn't he the cutest thing ever?!?!

So I know all parents think their kids are the cutest and smartest kids ever, but I really do think that Jadon is one of the cutest!!! And I'm not just saying that because I'm his mommy! ;)

When he was a newborn, I thought he was so cute and that he certainly couldnt get any cuter! But sure enough, he's turned into such an adorible, happy toddler!

He is growing up so quickly! He is walking very well now... and has started doing a little running too, though its pretty clumsy but improving every day! He is saying about 15 words now, and understands almost all of what we tell him. It just seems like he is picking up new things every day! I never imagined I'd enjoy having a toddler as much as I thought id enjoy a newborn... but I am just LOVING his age right now! Well, aside from his little tantrums that he has even started doing in public, I am loving everything about being a mommy of my 16 month old!

He is also growing up quickly physically lately! His lower half has always been a size smaller than his upper half... but he is now wearing some 18 month shirts, and 12 month pants! His feet are growing faster than anything though! He's wearing size 5 easily now, and I feel like any pair of shoes he fits into one month, the next month he has completely outgrown them!! He's got 12 teeth now.... the 12th tooth just poked through a few days ago... one of his eye teeth! I'll be really glad when teething is done with because it really messes with his night time sleeping.

A few days ago we bought him a booster chair so he can sit at the table with us. He still has to use his high chair for messier meals until we can find some plastic covers to put on our kitchen chairs.... you've seen the mess he makes!!! Here he is in his new booster seat at dinner the other night. What a big boy!!

He's just got the cutest little personality too! He is very much like both his mommy and daddy... he's very timid in large crowds or unfamiliar places like his mommy, and yet at home he is the BIGGEST goofball like his daddy! Tonight while we were eating dinner, daddy ripped one at the dinner table and started laughing, then Jadon was laughing at daddy, which made me laugh, so before you know it, we were all laughing hysterically! Jadon loves to laugh with us, and tries to make us laugh as well by doing silly things.
He has brought so much joy to our life, and I can't even remember how it was before we had him, and I dont really want to!

The Coast

So Derek took thursday and friday off of this week, so yesterday (friday) he decided he wanted to take Jadon to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. So after we ate lunch, we hopped in the car and headed for the coast. We went to the Aquarium first, and Jadon liked all the fish tanks! We had the opportunity to watch the otters and sea lions get fed, but when we got to those exhibits, there were tons of people already crowded around, so we couldnt see anything. So we left and went to the Passages of the Deep exhibit. Jadon also liked that. Before leaving, we stopped off at the potty's.... I was going to go, but after stepping foot in the bathroom, being hit with the worst possible wave of the smell of butt (not poo, but like someone hadnt washed their rearend in a few years! gag!!!) I turned and hightailed it out of there!! Holy cow, it was awful!

So then we headed to the historic bayfront in search of a store selling salt water taffy. We found one, and spent $17 on taffy!!! The price was $5 per pound, so it was easy to spend $17! Now we've got enough salt water taffy to last us for quite some time! YummY!!

After that, we stopped at a restaurant called the Rogue. The food was okay..... but it smelled alot better than it tasted. Derek and I both ordered Halibut fish and chips... The fish part was good, but there was alot of deep fat fried batter on it that was almost too overpowering. Jadon got chicken strips and chips and jello. We were expecting french fries to come with his meal, but they served potato chips with it, which we thought was kindof strange. He didnt eat real well, but we werent surprised, he was very distracted by everything going on around him, and he had a very short nap in the car and was acting a little cranky.

After dinner, Derek wanted to go see the historic bayfront lighthouse which was about a 5 minute drive away. It was closed... had just closed shortly before we got there, but there was a "park" and a great view of the ocean and the boats coming and going, so we stayed for awhile and wandered around, letting Jadon get some use of his legs before going back into the car for the ride home. The "park" was just picnic tables and a few paths.... there was a bum laying beside one of the picnic tables, and we werent sure if he was alive or dead. Also found a used tampon on the side of the road... yes thats right USED!

Luckily the weather was nice...clear, and not too cold, but still required a lite sweater for those gusts of wind, and the view was beautiful as the sun was going down on the ocean. We got home around 7:30pm or so. Even though our trip to the coast wasnt perfect, it was nice to get out of the house and away from everything.

Here's some pictures of our day. Its really hard to get good ones of Jadon anymore... he never smiles and wont sit still long enough to get a good one! So, here's the best I could get:

Doctor appointment

So this morning I had my follow up appointment with my OB. It was horrible sitting in the waiting room because all the women who came through were very pregnant! Made me jealous! I also felt a little emotional being there for the reason I was there.
Anyways, I basically got all the best possible news that I could have asked for! Everything healed up just fine, so that was good as well!
My first question was "when can we start trying again?" To which she answered- after I have my first post miscarriage period. Horray!!!!!
Next I asked if there was an increased chance for another miscarriage. Her answer was- no, not really since both of my miscarriages were pretty early on. And since i've had a successful pregnancy already, that definitely is in my favor.
The final question I asked was if there was something other than genetics-gone-wrong that caused my miscarriage- Since after a heartbeat is found, the chances of having a miscarriage drop to 5%? Her answer- The chances of miscarriage drop to 5% once a heartbeat is found AFTER the 8 week mark. Before 8 weeks, the chances of miscarriage are still higher. So this baby probably died for the same reason the first one did, and for the same reason that most miscarriages happen- chromosomal abnormalities. Again I urge those of you who arent familiar with miscarriage to read the link that I posted a week or so ago.

The doctor did mention that when I get pregnant again, in the second trimester I may need to have progesterone shots to help the next baby make it to "full term" (that is 38-42 weeks). We'll cross that bridge when the time comes though! I'm so thankful that I received all good news!! It makes me feel so much better about the next pregnancy!

Family Weekend

So this was a fairly busy weekend I guess. On Saturday, Derek, Jadon and I went to the park and had a picnic lunch and played for awhile. Then that evening we went to Heidi and Mike's new house for a BBQ for a going away party for Jen and Ryan/birthday party for Karla. Then Sunday evening we went to my parents house for some dessert of ice cream and cake and/or root beer floats.

Jadon had a good time at Heidi's pushing around a doll stroller, and at my mom's house he had fun playing with the dog leash. ;) I swear, just give that kid a piece of string or rope and he could entertain himself with it for hours! Here are a few pictures from our picnic at the park:

Today when Jadon is napping, I think i'll move a few bushes in my yard. Derek gets so annoyed with me because I will plant a bush or flower or tree and then a year or so later decide to move it somewhere else. Usually I do this because the plant is either A.) not growing how I thought it would. B.) not thriving in the part of the yard its in: ie, too shady or too sunny. C.) If I move things around, the space will look better. Its my way of improving the yard without spending the money on more bushes. Plus, I love working in the yard, and at the moment, we really dont have a whole lot left to do with the yard, so I FIND things that I can do. :) I don't particularly care for the roses that are in the little bed around our front porch.... I mean yes they smell delicious when they are blooming, and they are really pretty, but they get so big that they hide the whole porch, and the bushes themselves are not that attractive. I would love to move those somewhere else, but i'm pretty sure Derek would kill me if I did that. :)

Our Day

So we have only gone to 3 of our swimming lesson days this session because of me having the miscarriage. We did get to go on tuesday, and its a good thing because it was picture day! So i'll be posting some more underwater pictures again soon. We were going to go to swimming yesterday as well, but Jadon developed a nasty diaper rash the night before, and I didn't want the highly chlorinated water to irritate or hurt him, so we missed another day. I think his diaper rash is from eating a lot of pineapple... i'm thinking the acidity of the pineapples was burning his butt!

Anyways, instead of going to swimming, Jadon and I decided to go to Corvallis anyways, and so we stopped at Arby's and ate lunch together before the 9-5 crowds showed up. Then we made our way over to the new Michaels Arts and Crafts store. I hadn't been in there yet and was very eager to check it out. Oh, I am in love with that store! I think its my new favorite store! My mind was just running wild with project ideas! Its like heaven for the artistic person! I'm not saying i'm very artsy fartsy, but I really really want to be, and my mom is very crafty so I have to have the gene in me too.... right??

Anywho, eventually I knew I had to leave Michael's because it was getting close to nap time, so reluctantly we left and went to Winco for a few groceries, then headed home. It was a fun day, a beautiful, warm (but not too hot) day, and I will never forget my time in Michael's! :)

Avery Park

Took Jadon to Avery Park this weekend for a little bit. Most of the toys on the playground at the bottom part of Avery Park were a little too old and advanced for him, so really he could only play on the swing. After a bit, we decided to walk to the top part of the park where the small playground and train and dinosaur bones are. We let Jadon walk by himself, but it took us a long time to get there! He was so distracted by everything..... a dog playing in the distance. He stopped and pointed to the dog and said "Puh Puh" (puppy). Melts my heart everytime I hear him "talk"!
Also, he was a little afraid of the big leaves and sticks on the ground. We dont have any big trees that leave sticks or leaves in our yard or around our house, so they were foreign to him. Also, we were able to walk a good part of the park in the shade of those big trees, but every once in awhile we would get to a clearing where the shade would end and the sun would be shining brightly on the ground. Poor little guy was afraid to walk on the sunny parts! It took quite a bit of convincing, and even a little nudging to get him to walk on the sunny areas.
Once at the top of the park, we went in the train- he wasnt really interested in the train yet. Then we went to the playground area, and he got to swing some more, and also got to play on a this little mini teeter totter thing. He liked that! Then daddy put him down the slide.... his face was one of complete worry, though it happened so fast he didnt have time to even think about it.
Anyways, it was fun! Makes me wish we had a bigger yard that he could run around in, and trees that he could seek shelter under from the hot sun. Hopefully someday we will be able to have a home with a little more space (indoors and outdoors!) For now, we are just happy to own a nice home and have a roof over our heads, and shelter from the hot/cold weather!

Update

So I have to go back to the OB office in a few weeks. The nurse called today and said that the doctor likes to make sure everything heals up good for her patients that have miscarriages. They didn't do that after my first miscarriage, but then again, I wasn't an "established" patient of theirs yet.
I look forward to that appointment because then I can ask her some questions like what are my odds of having another miscarriage? Why did the baby die after a heartbeat was detected? (like i've said before, once a heartbeat is found, the odds of miscarriage drop to less than 5%).

I found a website that explains very easily why miscarriage occurs- if anyone is interested, here's the link: Miscarriage. It also has a section at the bottom for people who know someone who's miscarried, and things to say or not say to that person. I know people are just trying to help when they spurt things out sometimes, but it isn't always helpful in the healing process. So far, with this miscarriage, I haven't had anyone say any boneheaded things to me. With my first miscarriage however, I had lots of hurtful things said to me, like: "It just wasn't meant to be." That is NOT something you want to hear right after a loss.

Emotionally we are doing pretty good this time around. The second I started spotting, I started to prepare myself for a possible miscarriage, so I had many good cry's before the miscarriage even happened. By the time we actually had the miscarriage, I had come to terms with the inevitable and was able to accept it and have peace about it when it did happen. The Lord was very good to me in preparing me ahead of time for this! I feel very blessed!

Anyways, I will keep you up to date on my follow up appointment if anything turns out to be abnormal! :)

This will make you smile!

Here's some adorible videos of Jadon laughing! Derek always finds things to do that make Jadon just laugh hysterically, and I always try to get it on video (of course! I love his little smile with all his big teeth and his innocent laughter!) For this particular incident, Derek was rolling Jadon's plastic toy rings down the slide and saying "Bonk!" when the rings would roll into the couch. For some reason, Derek saying "Bonk!" just really gave Jadon the giggles.

Thank You

I wanted to thank all our friends and family who have been praying for us these last few days. It has really helped!

I had the miscarriage this morning.... actually about an hour or so ago. I have had very little pain, surprisingly, since my last miscarriage I was in excruiciating pain.

If you have a weak stomach you may not want to read the rest of the story.....

So when it happened, I went to the bathroom, wiped, and there was a clear blob on the TP. I picked it up with a clean piece of TP to examine it (yes, discusting I know, but I knew what was happening, and I wanted a chance to see my baby). It turns out it was the baby in its protective little sack. Its about the size of a piece of rice.... you can see the spine all the way down, it still has a little tail. You can see little tiny bumps where the arm buds were, and a big red area that was the heart. It is pretty incredibly amazing! Horribly sad and heartbreaking, but absolutely amazing and beautiful too. I imagine we will bury it somewhere in our yard. I don't want to throw it away or flush it down the toilet because afterall, it still is our baby whether it is 5 gestational weeks old or 15 years old.

Here is almost an exact picture of what the baby looks like:

Still Waiting for "It" to Happen....

I woke up today feeling sorry for myself and also feeling very angry. We didn't have anything planned today and I just felt like staying home and sulking anyways, so we did pretty much nothing today. When Jadon went down for a nap, I grabbed a book and laid on the couch and read the whole time. I had a few cramps this afternoon, but nothing like whats to come. I'm hoping the miscarriage will happen this weekend while Derek is home with me, and that way he can be here to take care of me and Jadon, but mostly so I don't have to wait any longer for it to happen. The worst part is knowing there is a living little being in me, with a heartbeat and everything, and knowing that it doesn't have a chance at life.

On top of that, I gained 5 lbs within the first 2 weeks of this pregnancy, and with the way i've eaten the last couple of days, i'm sure i've gained another 5 lbs. I'm such an emotional eater, its not even funny! Whats worse is that I don't even really care.... I figure i'll "care" a little more after this ordeal is done and over, and i've had a chance to grieve, accept and move on.

Anyways, thats how most of the day went. This evening we did a few fireworks with Jadon. We bought a few little ones that didn't make too much noise. Unfortunately the neighbors had some illegal fireworks and were setting them off starting before 8pm until about 10:30pm... they were very loud and really scared Jadon. He didn't go to sleep until shortly after they stopped. Poor guy was horribly tired!

We did manage to snap a few pictures, so here they are:

Annoucement

Derek and I thought we should announce that we are pregnant. This was not planned... we had planned to wait until August to start trying for #2. We were going to wait to announce it until closer to the second trimester after the risk of miscarriage dropped.

Before you get excited though, let me finish. We are supposed to be 7 weeks 3 days pregnant today. Last week I started having some spotting.... for the first couple days it was just on and off, hardly anything at all. I was even questioning whether or not to be worried about such a small amount. When it didnt go away and got a little worse, I started to have doubts that the pregnacy was going to continue. By Sunday night I had fully convinced myself that I was going to miscarry again. I even started researching what the next step would be to get the miscarriage to progress.

Monday I called the doctor, got an appointment for Tuesday morning. Tuesday morning I went in, Derek got away from work for a little bit to come with me. My cervix was closed, and the doctor found a little beating heart! (Both very good signs!) I cried because I was not expecting to hear that there was a heartbeat. The baby was measuring a week and a half smaller than what it should have been though, so they sent me for blood work, and then again today for more blood work to check my hormone levels. In early pregnancy, hormone levels are supposed to double every 2 days.

This evening right after dinner, my doctor called me to inform me that my hormone levels dropped and that it was inevitable that I was going to miscarry again. Now I just have to wait until next week to go in to see the doctor again to talk about medication to help the miscarriage progress a little quicker. (Unless it happens sooner on its own) It can take several weeks for your body to realize the baby isnt growing anymore and miscarry on its own. I feel that would be emotional anguish and am going to opt for meds to help it along.

No, there is nothing wrong with me that I would have another miscarriage. My body has proven that before by conceiving, carrying and birthing Jadon. We are just unlucky. Once a heartbeat is established, the risk of miscarriage drops to less than 5%.... unfortunately this time, we are in that less than 5%. Maybe after a 3rd miscarriage we would start to think about doing some testing to see if there is something else going on.

I am trusting God with this.... He made something beautiful from my last miscarriage-(Jadon)- and there's no doubt in my mind that He will make something beautiful out of this one too.
I dont know if we'll stick to our original plan and try in August still.... probably not. I want to have a full cycle or two before trying again. However, none of my pregnancies have been planned so far, so the next one probably wont be either! The good news is, we have no problem getting pregnant easily.

I'd be lying if I said that this wasn't upsetting to me, or that I haven't questioned over and over why this is happening to me again. I know God has a purpose and a plan for my life, and because of that, I am at peace with this.

Anyways, I hope you will keep us in your prayers for a quick recovery- both physically and emotionally. I'm sorry to have to announce it like this.... Derek and I couldnt wait to share it with everyone a little farther down the road. It just didnt seem right to not tell our family and friends at all, even though we are losing the baby.

Hope you all have a very fun and safe 4th of July! Take care!

Happenings...

So Jadon's new carseat arrived on Monday. I let him play on it a bit before daddy put it in the car. He had alot of fun playing on it for 10 minutes! He looks soooo much more comfortable in the new seat now instead of his old infant seat. Does anyone know where I can get OSU patches at??
Anyways, here he is in his new carseat!

He figured out how to climb up into his stroller, and had a blast with that for a day. It lost its thrill after that though! ;)

Jadon's still working on getting his molars, and 3 have poked through now.... one of which is almost fully in! That makes 10 teeth all together! I can't WAIT until teething is done with! Its really screwing up everything.... his temperment, his eating habits, his sleeping. He's been waking up again in the middle of the night and not wanting to go back to sleep until several hours later. We've tried giving him teething tablets, Tylenol, Motrin, Orajel, and none of those seem to help with his midnight wakings. If we give him a cold rag to chew on, he just sucks the water out of it and doesn't chew on it. We've brought him back in our bed a couple of times, and that sometimes settles him down after awhile and he'll go back to sleep. Last night I did that, and he tossed and turned ALL NIGHT LONG! I hardly slept at all. He kept doing like a crocodile death roll. Then he'd put his feet all over me, and put his hands in my face. When I'd roll over so my back was to him, he would pull my hair. Finally at 7:45 this morning he finally quit moving enough to get 30 minutes of motionless sleep before waking up for the day. *sigh*

We started summer session of Waterbabies on Tuesday, and it went ok. As I mentioned in a previous post, his teacher wasnt going to be doing summer classes, so we have a new teacher who isnt as good as his old teacher. Definitely aren't going to get as much out of this session as the previous sessions... not to mention its outdoors so its very distracting! I think we will take second summer session off from swimming. I'm really disappointed.

Weird dream

I had a dream last night that I was at Kohl's shopping with Kate Gosselin and the sextuplets! Actually, I was more of a babysitter, but still..... I spent most of the dream chasing after the kids.
I need someone to interpret that dream for me! ;)

The Sweetest Thing

After dinner tonight, Derek was cleaning up the kitchen, I was folding some clean laundry, and Jadon was watching a Baby Einstein DVD that we picked up at the library today.

After I finished folding the clothes, I put them back in the basket and went to put them on the stairway above the safety gate so that Jadon wouldnt get into them and unfold them all!

As I was on my way back down the stairs, I slipped down the last two stairs (thanks to my slippers which dont have any traction) and fell down them on my butt.... I winced in pain on my way down as my left arm tried to catch my fall, and scraped the carpet on the way down.

I ended up sitting on the floor at the bottom of the stairs... Jadon was standing right next to me and had witnessed the whole thing. The second my butt landed on the floor, I looked over at him, and he had a horrified look on his face and was starting to wimper in fear, so I snatched him up and held him closely while I continued to wince in pain. He just sat there in my arms with his head on my shoulder, cuddling me for a long time.

It was at that time that Derek came over after having heard the commotion. I explained to him what happened, and Jadon must've then realized that Mommy was ok, so he sat up and gave me a big kiss and was fine after that! (I can't say the same for my left buttcheek though!)

It was sooooo sweet that he was so worried about me! Its so amazing that he has feelings like that now, afterall, he's only 15 months old! They grow up so fast!

My precious, sweet, caring little boy!

Terrible Two's at 15 Months??????

So Jadon has really been "testing" us lately. Just in the last week its gotten noticeably worse. He throws tantrums about EVERYTHING! He is only 15 months old... I thought this wasnt supposed to happen until 2 or 3? I thought we had at least a good 9 months left still! haha! :)

His tantrums get worse when he's hungry or tired (understandably). I know you're just supposed to ignore it, but my biggest problem is trying not to laugh at him! He's still cute even when he's throwing tantrums! The screaming is the worst part though... its ear piercing!

Usually his tantrums are reserved for home only.... probably because that is where he feels the most comfortable. Hopefully it will stay like that! I hate to imagine him throwing a tantrum in the middle of a store........................

15 Month Stats

We had Jadon's 15 month check up today, and he is doing very well! He weighs 22lbs and 5.5 oz now! Is appox. 32 inches long! He is in the 75 percentile for his height!! And his weight is almost to the 25 percentile. Considering our little boy started out at 5lbs and 19inches, and not even on the charts, he has sure come a long way! I'm so thankful he is doing so well!

I always love our well baby checkups, they always set my mind at ease and let me know that as parents, Derek and I are doing a good job and raising a healthy, happy boy! My biggest concern today for the doctor was Jadon not wanting to drink milk much, to which the doctor answered that its not a big deal. As long as he is getting a large variety of healthy foods, he will get plenty of calcium and fats from those foods. *sigh of relief from me*

We ordered a new carseat today as well, since Jadon has pretty much outgrown his current infant carseat. We got a really good deal on a Britax Roundabout..... they had about 8 collegiate models that were really cheap... unfortunately there were no OSU ones, but we ordered a Virginia one, which has an orange cover, and I thought id just try to find an OSU patch to stitch over the Virginia logo. Only the collegiate models were on sale which is why we bought that one rather than just a normal one. Thought we could live with a Virgina carseat if it meant saving $70+ dollars! Anyways, Britax are supposed to be really great in safety, size and comfort... so basically all around great! PLUS, we can keep him rear-facing until he is 40 pounds which is so much safer for him, and was really important to me! Anyways, here's the link to the one we ordered: http://www.babyage.com/products/e902aub_britax_britax_roundabout_convertible_car_seat_collegiate.htm

So long Dairy Queen, So long!

Well, after 14 and a half months of breastfeeding Jadon, i'm sad to announce that I am no longer the queen of dairy for him. If it wouldve been up to him, he probably would have stopped at least a month ago, but I pushed us forward. I wanted to get him established with his whole milk before quitting, but that didnt happen. We are still working on the whole milk thing. He's not a big fan of it, and I cant say I blame him much... I am not a big fan of milk either.

I think we did really well considering when I was pregnant with Jadon, my goal was to nurse until he was 6 months, then switch to formula. I'm soooo glad we chose to continue breastfeeding, it has saved us TONS of money im sure! I never imagined id enjoy breastfeeding so much, but it was such a great experience, and I fully plan to nurse the next one until at least a year as well!

Waterbabies

Just wanted to post Jadon's latest underwater pix. There's only one this time because the first one I dipped him too low, and the second one turned out so good we didnt need to take anymore!

We've decided to take waterbabies this summer as well. I wasnt going to, but after careful consideration, I felt it would be good for both Jadon and I to be able to get out of the house twice a week. Also, he is doing extremely well, and I really didnt want to take him away from that. Unfortunately I just found out yesterday that the teacher he has had this whole time will not be teaching any summer classes, and might not even come back in the fall. I am really bummed, she has been such a great teacher! We will miss her!

Oh To Be A Child Again...

So our weather hasnt been the greatest again... I keep hoping that one of these days it will warm up again and I can take Jadon outside again. He loves it outside, and trys to coax me to take him outside alot. Poor kid is getting sick of his indoor toys.... I dont blame him! I'm sick of being inside as well!

Well a couple weeks ago it got up to maybe 70 degrees, and Derek was watering the yard. Jadon decided to walk through the sprinkler fully clothed and had a blast doing it! After a few runs through it, I just decided to take off his shirt. Then eventually his pants started sagging under the water weight, so I just stripped him down to his diaper and let him run wild. He loved it, although I dont know how he wasnt freezing to death... it wasnt very warm outside! Eventually we took him in to warm him up and get him ready for bath and bed, but he wasnt very happy about it and screamed and threw tantrums! Yes, he can throw a tantrum like a pro! And to anyone who is thinking about commenting that we are lucky he didnt catch a cold, fyi, you cant catch a cold from being out in the cold, or from being wet and in the cold! ;)

I love taking him outside because he loves it so much! I cant wait until we can go outside more often! Here's some pix of him running through the sprinkler. My favorite is the last pic.... he's just so carefree!

Brag Session

So with Fathers day coming up shortly, I thought id take the time to brag about my husband and why I love him so much. WARNING: Sappy content ahead!

Derek is my best friend. He means the world to me, and then some! He is loving and caring. He's honest and trustworthy. He thinks im beautiful, even at my very worst. He loves me unconditionally. He always trys to make me smile and laugh. He still opens every door for me, even after almost 9 years! He makes me feel special. He takes the garbage out every week without me having to ask him to. He's handsome and kind and loves Jadon to pieces. He's sweet, thoughful, romantic, goofy, hilarious, wonderful and amazing. He works hard to make our relationship top priority, he even does a marital devotional with me every night. Not many men would be willing to do that!

I wish that everyone could be as blessed in their marriages as I am. I don't know what I could have ever done to deserve someone as wonderful and perfect for me as him, but I am so thankful that we found each other and that we get to spend the rest of our lives and eternity together.

When I was pregnant with Jadon, I would often think about how lucky Jadon was already to be entering into a family where his mommy and daddy love each other so much, and strive to keep their relationship strong. Not many kids these days can say that they dont come from a broken family, and I take pride in knowing that Jadon will never have to say he's from a broken family.

I love you Derek!!

Jadon's First Haircut

So, the time had come for Jadon to have his first "real" haircut, and not just a little trim here and there. His hair was beginning to get bushy and hard to take care of... he always puts his dirty, food-covered hands in his hair at meal times. Earlier today he got Velveeta cheese in his hair, and you can imagine how fun that was to get out afterwards! That cheese is like glue, but ooohh so good! Anyways, I decided just to cut it myself with the clippers. We stripped him down to his diaper, and put him in his highchair, and gave him a few washable toys to play with. He did really good! Moved ALOT, but wasn't scared of the noise of the clippers at all! Anyways, I took before & after pix of my handsome little boy to share with you. He looks like such a big boy now!

Happiness is being a mommy

Some days I still find it hard to believe that I am a parent. Especially when I just sit back and watch the wonder that is my son. Then I look at Jadon's happy face and think to myself "I'm doing it! I really am a mommy! And i'm raising a toddler!! And he's such a happy and healthy little man!"

How blessed I feel to be the mommy of this wonderful little boy, and the wife of such an incredible man!

Pewy! Stinky!

Jadon's learning new things every day, and closely watching Derek and I all the time! His latest new learned skill is really cute.... of course everything he does is cute! In the past, whenever he would toot (fluff, fart, pass gas... whatever you care to call it), we would say "Pewy, stinky!!" and wave our hands in front of our faces like it was stinky. Now whenever he toots, and we say our "Pewy, stinky!" line, he smiles and waves his hand in front of his face! :)

Sleep Baby, Sleep

My sweet, adorible little son just melts my heart sometimes....ok, ALL the time!
For all the sleeping issues we have had in the past with him, he has totally made up for it in the last 2 months.

When Jadon was about 9 months old or so, we purchased a Fisher Price Ocean Wonders Aquarium for him, hoping it would help him sleep at night in his own bed. It didn't, but that aquarium has been a wonderful piece of equipment these last 2 months! (for anyone who is wondering what the Fisher Price Ocean Wonders Aquarium is, here is a link: http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2341&e=detail&pcat=buocean&pid=33157 .... although ours is a little different than that one).

Anyways, whenever Jadon wakes up at night , he just sits up, or stands up in his crib and presses the seashell button that turns the aquarium on, then lays back down in his crib, sucks his fingers, and goes back to sleep. What a little angel! Everytime I hear him wake up at night, (through the baby monitor), I hear him move around, then I hear the aquarium come on and its like he's instantly quiet again... my heart just melts! Suddenly those 12 long months of him sleeping in our bed, nursing all night long, and me getting very broken sleep every night, has all been worth it! Jadon makes me proud every day, but this is one of the things that makes me incredibly proud of him!

The Library

Last night after dinner, Derek, Jadon and I went to sign up for library cards at the library! Derek is really enjoying reading now, and wanted some new books to read. (you know men, they like to have something to read while on the toilet!) ;) Haha, just kidding, he likes reading other places as well. We have been trying to read to Jadon since he was about 2 or 3 months old, but he has never showed an interest in it. Over the last week, he's started to show a little more interest: sitting in our laps while we read to him.... we can actually get a few pages read before he starts wanting to rip them and eat the book! Thats improvement! So we stopped in the kids section for just a couple of minutes....Long enough to find a Where's Waldo book that we don't already have! Not for Jadon though, for the adults in the house. ;)

I'm excited to take Jadon to the library as he gets older. I have such fond memories of going to the library as a child with my mom and brother! Of course, that was the Corvallis library... unfortunately we have to use the Albany library.

So Jadon is usually a very quiet child in town, just taking everything in and sucking on his fingers. So wouldnt ya know, at the library he wouldnt be quiet and kept making loud noises. It was actually rather funny... for us that is. I'm not sure how all the people trying to read felt about it.

Fun in the Sun!

So we've finally had some nice weather around here! A few days ago I finally got to set up Jadon's little pool for him to play in! He loved it! After I got some cute pictures of him in his little swim trunks, I took them off as well as his diaper and let him play naked. He's never gotten to do that before, so I figured he would like it! He did! Also, he loves playing with the garden hose!

On Saturday we decided to take a trip to the coast so Jadon could play in the sand and ocean for the first time. It was a beautiful day, around 70-75 degrees. He loved playing in the sand, and was fascinated by the water, however it was FREEZING cold, so after about 2 seconds in it, your feet would begin to ache and hurt. We were on the beach for quite some time, and Derek and I got sunburned pretty good. I remembered to pack the baby sunscreen, but forgot ours. After awhile, Jadon started getting hungry and tired, and was on the verge of a meltdown, so we treked back to the car.

It was an exhausting day, but I woke up the next morning wanting to do it all over again just so that Jadon could have more fun again! Seeing joy on his little face makes my day.
The last few days have been in the mid 80’s and even mid 90’s! Tuesdays forecast is now calling for a high of 58 and rain. Its no wonder I get migraines so often with the weather changing so drastically all the time!!

Here are some pictures from the last several days!

The Worst Dream EVER!

I had the worst dream ever last night! I dreamed that Jadon was shot and died before the paramedics could get to him. (I think I watch too much CSI!) I woke up at 5am crying and I went to check on him in his crib just for some peace of mind. He was fine of course, but I was so heartbroken when I woke up, I didnt even feel like living anymore. It was definitely the worst feeling i've ever felt, and i'm so thankful for my loving husband who comforted me at 5am until I had recovered. I dont ever want to dream something like that again.... id rather dream about spiders every night for the rest of my life than have another dream like that.

Finally some nice weather!!!

We finally got some nice weather, and it couldn't have come on a better day! (my birthday) I'm 28 now! Yikes! My mom left me a voicemail this morning, and to quote her, she said "I cant believe you're pushing 30!" Yeah, thanks for reminding me mom!! :) Anyways, the weather... it was about 75 today and beautiful! Tomorrow its supposed to be in the mid 80's and then Friday its supposed to be in the 90's! Good grief, what happened to slowly warming up so that we can acclimatize ourselves to the hot weather? Oh well, I guess I should just be happy we finally are having some sunny days!!! Tomorrow I am getting Jadon's baby pool out so we can play in it!

So for my birthday today, Derek surprised me by taking the day off of work! Then we just had a nice, lazy morning. After Jadon woke from his nap, we went to Corvallis for a little bowling... something we hadn't done since I was pregnant! It was fun, although neither of us did very well! Then we came home, and walked over to Valentino's for some pizza, and after pizza we decided to take a walk. Then we came home and I watered my flowers. It was a good day spent with my 2 favorite boys! :)

Jadon's first molar popped through today too! So now he has 8 teeth all together. 4 on top (5 with the new molar), and 3 on bottom. I can also see another molar on top on the other side of his mouth that's getting ready to pop through too.
The other day, Jadon found Derek's computer joystick and was trying to plug it in to Derek's server. I got some pictures, and it was really cute, he looked like a little computer tech! Its so funny the things that he picks up on!

Fun weekend

We had a pretty eventful weekend. Heather, Chad and Hayden came over for dinner on Saturday evening, and Jadon had so much fun following Hayden around! Its so cute to watch them play. Hayden is 9 months older than Jadon, and its weird to think that in 9 months, thats where he will be at developmentally. Anyways, I snapped some pictures of them while they played... not an easy thing to do when they did not stop moving for one second! :) I just wish that I had a tiny portion of their energy!!!

Here is Jadon running after his cousin. Its a little blurry, but he was so happy and it was so cute, im happy to have gotten this picture even if it is blurry!


Here they are playing on a play structure. Jadon isn't sure how to use it yet, but Hayden knew exactly what to do.



Hugging cousins


This is one of my favorites...


If all goes according to plan, our next children will be close in age too. Its neat to see them growing up together, and unfortunately they dont get to play together that much because life sometimes gets busy! Thats definitely been the case for us lately!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mothers day was very nice... hard to believe it was my second one already! Derek, Jadon and I spent a little time with each of our moms, and Derek and Jadon took me out for chinese food at Pings. It was super good!!! Jadon got me August Rush... one of my favorite movies!
Derek and I keep talking about how now that Jadon sleeps at night, and has a regular bedtime, we need to start renting movies again. We haven't rented a movie since I was pregnant with Jadon, and even then I couldn't watch anything because I was asleep within minutes! Ah, one of the many joys of pregnancy!!

Me Week

So i'm not 100% sure how my diet has gone since I started. I finally went out and bought a scale a couple weeks ago, and it has been a tremendous help! Helps me realize when i'm doing good, and/or if what im doing isnt working, etc.

So the first week I had the scale was a bad week, and I didnt lose any weight. (didnt gain anything either though, so thats good!) This week I was super good, and I lost 1 pound!! I know it doesnt sound like much, but come on, in all honesty, I really dont need to lose a TON of weight, so if I were to lose 5 pounds a week, I would be done dieting in a month! ;) Of course it cant be that easy though, so if I can just continue to lose a pound a week, I should be at my goal weight in 20 weeks! ;)

Also this week I joined an online weight management program thats FREE, its called Sparkpeople.com if anyone is interested. Anyways, it has been a real eyeopener for me! Sparkpeople has all kinds of tools to help you on your weight loss journey, including a place where you can input what you eat that day and it calculates calories, fat, etc for you. I am amazed how fast the calories can add up!!!! It really has helped me stay on track though! I HIGHLY recommend Sparkpeople to anyone who is looking to lose some weight!

On a different note, on friday night I went to a friends house for a "spa night", and we had a nice dinner of salad, and Papa Murphys delite pizza (lower calorie pizza), and fruit for dessert, then we gave ourselves pedicures, manicures, and facials! It was a lot of fun, and I hope to post some pictures from it on here someday soon! Jadon stayed home and spent some time with daddy, and by the time I got home, it was late and he was in bed sleeping, so I didnt even get to kiss him goodnight. By the time morning came, I really missed him!

I also got my hair cut this week for the first time since June of last year! Yikes!! It was in desperate need of it, and the girl did such a nice job! I love it! It looks sooooo much better. Oh, and I bought a shirt and some shorts at Old Navy this week as well! I'm calling it my "Me Week" because I took out alot of time for myself this week to remind myself that while I am a mom now, I am also still a wife and a woman who needs to do things for herself to feel good about the way she feels and looks! Being a mom, its soooo easy to forget about myself and just throw on my most comfortable outfit and put my hair in a ponytail. A little "me time" is good for a woman once in awhile. :)

Busy weekends were well worth it!

Our last few weekends have been pretty busy! Not last weekend, but the weekend before, my brother and dad came over and installed new windows in my living room. They look fantastic, and I am soooo happy with them!! I cant thank them enough for doing that for us! It was a little scary at first seeing a saw cutting into your house, but once they got the holes cut where the windows would go, I was very excited!
Thank you so much Chris and Dad!!!

We've had some leaky pipes in our master bathroom, and until this weekend had just chosen to ignore it, and quit using our master bathroom shower. Derek's uncle Mike came over this weekend to help us with the pipes, and we had to cut a big hole in the ceiling in our kitchen to get to them. Again, very scary seeing a hole being cut into your ceiling! It appeared that the problem was that the builders had just failed to tighten the pipes very well when they built the house, and also not enough putty around the drain.... I think. There was also a little mold where the water had been sitting. Thank you Uncle Mike for volunteering your Saturday morning to help us with this! We greatly appreciate your help!

After that, we had to go to Home Depot to get some supplies so Derek could patch the hole in the ceiling. He did a fantastic job for having had no experience, and I am very proud of him! Then Saturday night, I was getting ready to go to bed, and I opened the front door to call the cats inside, and I noticed what looked like a huge spider on the porch railing. So I called Derek to check it out. Turns out, a certain plumber who thinks he's funny had left a plastic spider there for me to find and freak out at. Lets just say that even being close to a plastic spider made me a little panicky, so I made Derek throw it away.... BUT I made him wrap it in toilet paper first because I just know that when I go change the bathroom garbage, I would see that spider there and probably scream and scare the daylights out of Jadon again!

Anyways, I wanted to show you pictures of our windows!

Here's a before shot, showing you our old windows.....

And here's the new windows....


While I'm at it, here's a picture of the main upstairs bathroom that I recently painted (cupboards white, walls tanish color...) sorry I don't have a before shot of the bathroom.