Baby News!

Well our so called "November baby" decided he just couldn't wait to join our family and wanted in on the Halloween fun!

I am happy to announce the birth of our cute little son, Tayevion!

Born on October 29th, 2008 3:35am wieghing in at 7 lbs 11 ounces (good thing he was 10 days early huh?!)

He is so healthy and snuggly and sweet as can be! We are loving having him in our family.

The proud mama and papa:

Here's how it all played out:

I had been having tons of contractions all of Sunday and Monday, but I went to the Dr. on Tuesday morning and she said that although I was almost at a 3, I was not effaced and the baby wasn't fully in position yet. She said "I think you will be fine until after Halloween". So I left reassured that things were going to go as planned. Yeah right. So that night I went to this Halloween thing with my kids and the whole time I kept having these really hard contractions. Some were to the point that I had to actually stop what I was doing, and concentrate. It was really wierd and not fun, especially because I kept thinking that this was more false labor and I was going to have to go through this every night for a week. Little did I know I was in early labor. So I left that night and went home and of course of all the luck I couldn't get a hold of Jonas to tell him I wasn't doing good. He was working late. Finally I was able to talk to him and he rushed home. We called some family to tell them what was going on just in case, and made arrangements to take the kids to my wonderful friend Chandelle, just in case. I kept thinking things were going to slow down and go away but they didn't and I had a really hard time wrapping my head around the fact that "this was it", I was really in labor!

Well to make a long story short, I was in pretty active labor because by the time we went to the hospital at 1am I was at 7cm and he was born 2 1/2 hours later! Those two and a half hours felt like an eternity, by the way. But overall it was a very good experience, I didn't even have to have an IV, no catheter (which to me is like the worst part ever), and not even any tearing. But best of all I have a wonderful, alert and content little boy as a result. So worth all the effort!

Recovery has been great and I enjoyed the time at the hospital where everyone is really to wait on you hand and foot. Now I am home and reality hasn't yet hit. Soon I am sure. I have 3 kids!

Here's a few more fun pictures:

The kids were thrilled of course and it was so cool to see the look especially on Shayden's face because you could just see all these emotions in his eyes after waiting for so long for this to happen. And oh it was so funny, the first thing that Jasmine said to me was "Mom, you tricked me." And completly surprised I said "How did I trick you?" and she said "You told me the baby was going to be born after Halloween!" I gasped and said "I did trick you!" Of course then I explained how I didn't mean to and that baby's sometimes come when you don't expect them to, but it was so funny because so many months ago I needed her to have a reference point, so that she would stop asking me if the baby was going to come that day!

Another cool thing is that he was born on my brother's birthday! So that will be a cool bond that they will get to share!

A few things before the baby was born...

Jasmine had her Halloween program for preschool. She knew the songs so well!
We didn't have her costume yet because it was at my sister's house so she was Snow White.

And on last Saturday we got to go fishing with some of our good friends the Skidmores. We hadn't seen them in a very long time and it was so fun to catch up. The kids had a blast!

Dance and Storytime

I have been taking Jasmine to storytime a local library with her friend Aspen which I have been watching on Tuesday mornings. They had a fun time.

Also, Jasmine has been taking this little dance class from this program that I recently discovered that is super cheap and awesome! It was kind of like a modern dance type thing. This one is over but as soon as I can wrap my head around taking her with a baby in tow, I will sign her up again, probably early next year. She has loved loved loved wearing her little leotards and strutting her stuff, as you can see.

Hooray for UEA!

And hooray for such warm weather in October! We went to Sugarhouse park for a minute and then to see "Journey to the Center of the Earth". It was better than I expected. The kids love cousin time and we just wish the rest of our cousins lived closer!

I love my job(s)!

On the verge of going on Maternity Leave, I had to write a tribute to my 2 wonderful jobs that allow me to work like 30 hours per week but still "feel" like a stay at home mom somehow.

You see my job with Jetblue Airways is awesome because I get to work from home. This means that I don't have to scrape the snow off my car, I can wake up literally 7 min before my shift starts, and I work in my pj's while I blog-without worrying about someone watching over my shoulder. But the best part about it is that it also allows me and my family to see places like this for absolutely free:

But there is not a lot of personal interaction at that job. That's when my Early Head Start job comes in. I get to go one day a week and work in an office with a bunch of fun and crazy gals. I have worked with a bunch of catty and gossipy women before, and I think it is a miracle that this group is not like that. We all get along so well! It is hard to get anything done when I go in because Thursday is like party day there. I also love this job because I get to keep up on my social work skills. Plus I get to go to tons of trainings on working with kids 0-3 which helps me keep up on my mom skills!

I can take my kids to the office sometimes (then I really can't get much done!):

I get to take them to fun places like this:

And I get to act like a kid again!
So this is the group of gals that decided to tell me we had a mandatory "Risk Management" meeting this week and when I showed up yelled "SURPRISE" and threw me the awesomest baby shower ever! They went all out and it was so much fun.

There were even cute little planes and "clouds" hanging from the ceiling.

Can you tell I was shocked by this hilarious picture?The airplane cake was awesome!We played silly and fun games and laughed a lot!

Especially this game where we fed each other baby food! It was so gross but so funny to see it all over each other's faces!It was so fun just to talk and laugh, much better than a "risk management" meeting. Thank you ladies for such a great night!!! It was very memorable!

It's Halloween Time!

Jasmine has been begging me to decorate for Halloween for some time now. She is totally at the age where she anticipates holidays big time.
She keeps saying "Halloween takes for a long time, huh mom?"
Last Saturday was the perfect day because we went to the pumpkin patch at Wheeler Farm with my work and got all wet and cold, so that night we stayed in and had a fun night of Halloween activities.
This is us on the hay ride at Wheeler Farm. Shay picked this enormous pumpkin, he wants to make it into a shark!

I love collecting costumes and so we had fun trying on different things.

Wigs are my favorite, I wish I had a wig closet with all of them on head mannequins! That would be so awesome.

Jasmine refused to wear a wig, surprise, surprise.

Nights like these are good for me because I always have this need to take my kids somewhere, but we had just as much fun hanging out at home, and saved on gas. Plus, then I read this post from my friend Janet and it totally resonated with me because I just want to savor all of these moments while my kids are so little. They grow up so fast, but you already know that!

I think some of the parents that I work with mistakenly think that the main job of a parent is to correct behavior, but I am learning more and more that it is really all about relationship building. Okay that is enough with the preaching.

One last Halloweeny thing: I got the idea for this cute Halloween wreath from my friend over at Spurling Sprite, (who got it from someone else I think). Mine is a little simpler than hers, I might have to add more webbing, but I still like it. It was super easy and cheap, two things that I love. I also love something cute and festive on the front door. Thanks Isela, for the idea!

Halloween is so much fun!

Dinner with Friends

It was about time that we had our friends the Giffords over to our home for dinner. This is their one year old that we had never met, we are such great friends.


It was lot's of fun and I think the highlight was the kids entertainment at the end of the evening, it was hilarious!

Thanks guys, let's do it again! Sooner this time.

Backyard Campfire Fun

We recently had a fun time at a friends house with our Friday Date Night-babysitting exchange group. They have an awesome fire pit in their backyard so we roasted hot dogs and made smores. The kids had a great time playing outside too! I know it is supposed to be really cold this time of year already but I have truly enjoyed this long extension of summer! I just hope it doesn't mean that our winter will be especially cold...

Major "Ketchup" to do

I have some major blogging catchup to do. I don't know if it is just the routine that we are back in for school that has made me a lazy or if it is some sort of writer's block that has got a hold of me, but I have not been keepin' up.

Part of it is that not much has been going on. It feels so good to be back in a routine. I have been able to spend lot's of one on one time with Jasmine while Shay is at school and have been taking her to storytime, dance class and playdates with her friends. Plus she is in preschool 3 days a week which she loves. So I have found myself with alone time several times per week! It has been so heavenly, and it is going to be weird because with the new baby, right off the bat we will have time alone together periodically.

I pick up Shay and his friend from school everyday and then they have a little list (darn those lists I love!) that they go through, with their routine, and they have really fallen into it with ease.

We were having a really hard time with math homework, it was taking forever, but one thing that I have tried has been working. He gets 30 min of computer time per day to begin with and then I time him while doing his math. I actually let him choose how long it will take him, and he has been very reasonable. Then if he completes it under the time, he adds that to his computer time, over it subtracts from the time. He is happy to do these math problems. It has worked really well to get him on track and the other day he actually said to me "you're right mom, I am a math whiz!". I have always told him that, but lately he hasn't believed me.

The other thing that has been occupying my time, as previously mentioned, is that I am NESTING! I know it is kind of late, but as soon as school started I got this major bug to complete projects. I have this feeling like life as I know it is going to end in a few weeks (wait, am I going through a major life change or something?) and that I better get my home in order.

At eight weeks before my due date I started with a list of projects for each week. It has been great and so far I have accomplished some pretty big tasks like organizing my closet, the kids' closets, the coat closet and the bathroom cupboards. I created a better system for all my paperwork and got rid of SO MUCH CRAP! Last week I started tackling photos, yes the millions of pictures that are not sorted and realized that one of my new years resolutions is to create a baby book for Jasmine so I am on my way to complete that. But incidentally, I realized that Shayden's wasn't even completed so I just finished that one. This week I tackle the dungeon which is my office. Can I tell you how good this feels? Everywhere but in my back!

Pregnancy Update

Today I am 35 weeks along, and there are 35 days until my due date!

I went to the Doctor (well midwife) yesterday and I have gained about 25 pounds, and my belly is about 35 centimeters which is right on for 35 weeks. Right on for her, but I feel huge! I have grown so much in the last few weeks it is crazy. The only good thing is that, (and I admit this at the risk of jinxing myself) I have not had the water retention problem of the past...at least not yet. I wish I wish I knew how to use a scanner because I just ran into a picture of of my feet at the end of Shayden's pregnancy. Oh my goodness, just imagine two big burritos side by side and no sign of ankles anywhere! It was bad, with both pregnancies, my face seriously resembled the size and shape of a pumpkin. Hey, maybe since it happens to be pumpkin season this time around, nature just thought that would too cruel of a joke. :) Either way I am happy to have my relatively normal shaped face (which is already round) this late in the game.
I did find this picture of me toward the end of Jasmine's pregnancy. I think my hairdo only compounded the problem:

I shouldn't say that is the only good thing. This pregnancy has not been hard compared to so many others around me, you know who you are...so I can't complain too much...but I will a little. What is with this back pain? It is like my constant companion, whether dull and just kind of sitting there, or sudden sharp spasms that cause me to make embarrassing jerking motions in front of people. My friend actually pointed out the other day that I was waddling! And you know what? It feels good to waddle sometimes! I think I have been trying to do too much lately since I am TOTALLY nesting, and that only aggravates the problem.

Other than that let's see...I had a really great talk with my midwife and she seems right on board with what I want/need in labor, and I was truly impressed with the hospital tour that we took. It is the brand new hospital here (well about 5 years old?) and I have only heard bad things about it. That it is the epitome of a hospital. The last thing I need is a production line birth, where they are moving me along a conveyor belt, while I go through childbirth, one of the most important and sacred events of my life. My midwife said she didn't even think they had a jacuzzi which would have been tragic for me but not the case, almost all of the labor and delivery "suites" have a jacuzzi or at least a tub. That was a relief! One room even has a birthing bar, not that I will use it but I thought that was cool. I talked to the main nurse lady and she was so reassuring that they work with women who want labor in a million different ways and told me I could fax my birth plan and they will put it in my file and I can just ask that it be pulled out when I get there. It was a huge relief because obviously I don't want to progress in labor at home only to get the hospital with a bunch of fears and concerns and have to take a bunch of steps back.


Anyway, this is much longer than anticipated, most of these long and boring reflection posts go in my pregnancy blog, so sorry.

But one last thing, I mentioned that I needed a pillow early on in my pregnancy and I found the perfect one, it has been awesome. It's huge and I love it, it has helped tons. It wraps around my whole body. Jonas, on the other hand, has a different take on it. Here are some of his comments on it (and I edited them a bit):
Note from Jonas: That pillow has robbed me of my wife. She loves cuddling with it more than me. Whaaaaa!!!! I hate that stupid pillow. Sure it's more comfortable than me.....So what I'm a tiny bit wider than the pillow. BUT I'M CHOCOLATE!!!! It's just not fair!!!!!! From this day forward, I will protest ALL PILLOWS that rob men of their wives. It's Sick and Wrong!!! That's how I feel about that!!!!
**Sorry Jonas, I promise that I won't sleep with it forever! But I have talked to a lot of women who still sleep with one after pregnancy, so beware...:)