Austin Family

32 1/2 weeks and the girls want out

2012-01-12T16:00:00.000-08:00

Quick update on things here...

Yesterday I went in for a non-stress test. Totally routine this early for twins, just making sure they are moving around, aren't under stress and they also monitor contractions. Well, during the test I started feeling some contractions that weren't very comfortable and they were happening pretty frequently. But the babies looked great.

After this test, I had my normal Dr appt so they sent me there with the results of the test in hand. My Dr looked at them and noticed the contractions and while I was there I was having a few too. Last week, I was 1cm dilated and 70% effaced. She checked me then and I was about 2cm and 75%. So, just as a precaution she sent me down to labor and delivery to be monitored.

Once down there and after getting hooked up to the monitors, the real fun began. I started having more painful contractions and they were getting closer and closer. They checked me again (a few hours now since my dr checked) and I was at 3cm. The contractions were about 2-4 min apart.

At that point they gave me a shot of steroids to mature the babies' lungs faster in case they made their entrance.

Then they decided to give me some pills to hopefully stop the contractions. They gave me a total of 4 doses, 30 min apart and they didn't phase me. By then, people were telling us they thought this was the real deal and start prepping ourselves for some babies. We talked to the NICU nurses and everything to know what to expect if/when they were born.

Later, they were able to try another medicine to help stop the contractions, which they couldn't try before because my pulse was too high. (Maybe from all the anxiety of thinking these babies were coming, lol). After about 2 hours from getting this shot, they finally slowed down. Hurray! This was late last night around 11pm. They have since gone back to normal, of about 2-4 an hour and they're not really painful.

But, because I am now dilated 3cm, they want me here until Saturday to make sure things are still stable and then when I get home, it's bed rest for me.

Thank goodness, my mother in law is amazing and is coming out here this weekend and will stay with us to help me until the babies are born. Then my incredible mom who has offeredd to drop everything and be there for me anytime I need her is a huge help and makes me so less stressed to know she would do anything for me. We are very, very lucky. Not to mention our other family members and multiple friends who have all said they will drop everything and help if we need it. We are beyond grateful for them.

I got one more steroid shot today for their lungs and as long as my contractions stay down, I can go home soon. My baby shower did get postponed though, since it was tonight :( sad, sad day.

I'll keep you posted on anything else, but hopefully we can keep these girls growing a little longer, so they can come home with us soon after they're born.

30 1/2 weeks

2011-12-30T21:19:00.000-08:00

My update from my last dr. appt. is in my previous post. I have another in depth ultrasound on Tuesday and another regular dr. appt. on Wednesday so we will see if we have progressed anymore. Hopefully not yet. We need these girls to get a little bigger before they come out. Here is a picture of me at 30 1/2 weeks with this pregnancy vs. my first pregnancy with Dane. At my 30 week appt I was measuring 36 weeks. Babies are estimated at a little over 3lbs a piece.

30 1/2 weeks with Dane 30 1/2 weeks with twins

Christmas

2011-12-30T21:13:00.000-08:00

We had a really fun, relaxing Christmas. First, a couple of days before Christmas, I took Dane up to Josh's work in Park City where they had a santa come and these pictures will show you how much he hates santa.

But he loved the candy cane he got

We were lucky to have Josh's parents come out and spend some time with us. On Christmas Eve we had Josh's uncle and his family over for Christmas Eve dinner. My first time hosting a holiday dinner! Now that we have a kitchen and a bigger house, we can do these things, yay! It was a lot of work, but it was so great to be able to host for once.

On Christmas Eve night, our little family tradition is that we all get a new book. Just a regular book, not a Christmas one. (Except this year he got two, "Yummy Yucky" and "Twas the Night Before Christmas" since we didn't have that book yet) Dane loves books and I want him to continue to enjoy it, so we each get to open our one present on Christmas Eve, which is a new book. Then we can grow our library of books around the house.

I LOVE this first picture. Dane looks so grown up.

Christmas morning we were up around 8 and we brought Dane downstairs. His big gift was his slide, which he really likes. He loves slides at the park and anywhere we go, so I thought he would love this thing. Well, he loves to stand at the top of it and slide his toys down, but doesn't care to go down himself that much, lol. He's already gone down head first twice, good thing I was there both times to catch him, yikes. Then he got a few smaller gifts, which were all a hit. I think his favorite was his little toy tool set. He LOVES to play with Josh's tools (which have been used and around the house for the past few months with all the work we are doing) and he will see Josh use them and copy him. He will use a stud finder correctly, a screwdriver, hammer, measuring tape, etc. all in the correct way because he sees Josh do it. It's so cute. So, he loves to use his little tools to help out.

He loves Yo Gabba Gabba and after he saw his slide, he saw his stocking and went straight for it with a big smile on his face. He loves his little Brobee.

I got Josh some clothes (nothing too exciting, but that's what he wanted) and he got me a really sweet diaper bag that I've wanted, but never wanted to spend the money on :) We really enjoyed spending the day together as a family.

Pictureless update

2011-12-29T10:45:00.000-08:00

I don't feel so bad about not updating because I look at other blogs from my friends and it's been over a month since they've done anything either, so I'm just following the trend. It's obviously a busy few months with the holidays, family and such that I think we all have good excuses. I need to do a quick update on Thanksgiving, Dane (who is almost 15 months, yikes) and Christmas. I also need to add a picture of me now at 30 1/2 weeks. Hopefully that picture will be taken today, lol.

But I will do a quick pictureless update:

1. Thanksgiving was great, we spent it with our wonderful friends, The Cliffords.
2. Our kitchen and floors are done, and our house is started to feel like a home.
3. Dane is the sweetest, smartest little guy I know. He talks so much, but he's definitely a mama's boy lately and that's not helping the bigger I get.
4. Christmas was so fun! We have my in laws here, which we are so lucky to spend time with, and Dane loves all of his fun toys. It was definitely a fun Christmas, even though Dane is still young, he loved to open presents.
5. And here is what has been occupying my mind most lately:

The girls are doing great and growing wonderfully. I'm just recently starting to feel the effects of a huge belly this pregnancy. At my appt. on Monday though I was told that I was a finger tip dilated and already 70% effaced. That has me much more nervous and feeling unprepared than before, lol. This whole pregnancy I have been assuming that I shouldn't have any problems and that they will probably come mid-February (that would be full term, 37 weeks). But who are we kidding? Twins on AVERAGE come at 36 weeks, which would be Feb. 4 and that's only average. Half come earlier than that. My dr. didn't put me on bedrest but definitely told me to take it really easy and do the least amount of everything possible. When he checked me he even said, "Woah, one of the girl's heads is RIGHT there." Not what I wanted to hear of course. Not only that, but the last few evenings I've been having contractions. Mostly braxton hicks, but a few that were stronger than normal. I am soooo not ready for these girls to come yet. It's too soon, they need to grow and thrive longer in there and I haven't started setting anything up yet. I could still be really lucky and they may still wait until February to come, but now all I think about is, what if they come soon, what am I going to do? But I know everything will be ok and I just need to relax and not stress about it.

Besides, who can really be prepared for 3 kids under 16 months? Oh boy, what an exciting, exhausting, wonderful experience the next few years will be. Wish us luck :)

Baby bump

2011-11-25T10:02:00.000-08:00

Hopefully you're not too sick of the bump pictures. It's just nice to put them here because it's fun for me to look back on them later on down the road. (There is a 1 week difference in the pictures, I have been slacking lately)

24 1/2 weeks with Dane 25 1/2 weeks with the girls

At my last appt. (which was about 2 weeks ago), I was 24 weeks, but measuring 28 weeks if it were a singleton pregnancy. So, that's pretty normal to measure about 4 weeks ahead with twins. Now that I'm almost 26 weeks, who knows what I'm measuring, but now my appts are every 2 weeks, so I'll find out Monday at my next one how big I really am. I also took the gestational diabetes test at my last appt. and got the thumbs up for no diabetes, woohoo! It's more common with multiples so I was nervous this time around. And for the record, I think the sugar drinks taste good, haha. It's pretty much just like watered down orange soda and I love orange soda.

Everything else is going smoothly so far with this pregnancy and I couldn't be more happy. Last pregnancy, it was around 29 weeks that I went into the hospital for contractions that were 2-3 minutes apart. I ended up being able to leave the hospital the same day, but had contractions from then until the end. I also started having extremely bad back pain that also landed me in the hospital and a chiropractor. I'm crossing my fingers that none of that happens this time.

I have a little time this weekend between the holidays and home renovations, that I will try and post a little about Halloween and Thanksgiving, which I really need to do. And maybe throw in a few of the pictures of whats' going on with the construction in our house. But no promises :)

And a picture of Dane, because he's just so cute and because I can:

21 1/2 weeks

2011-10-27T09:36:00.000-07:00

With things being so busy lately, I totally spaced taking a 20 week picture to compare with my previous pregnancy. So, the best you will get is a 21 1/2 week shot of the twins vs. a 20 week shot with Dane.

20 weeks with Dane 21 1/2 weeks with the girls

I actually think I look pretty similar in these pictures. At my last appointment though, which was just before 20 weeks, I was measuring the same as 23 weeks with a singleton, so just slightly bigger. I'm starting to get the aches in my back that I had last time, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't get as bad as last time. There were days when I would just cry from the pain and I had to keep an ice pack on my back constantly. It was awful. So, let's just hope that doesn't happen this time.

I'm also starting to get Braxton Hicks already. They don't hurt at all, but they're definitely starting. My dr. said that was ok because it does usually happen sooner with each pregnancy as well as sooner with multiples, but just to take it easy. I know what contractions feel like (I got them early with Dane too) so I'll just keep an eye out for those. I'm really sad too because Josh and I had planned to go to Arizona for Thanksgiving to visit family and it may have been our last trip until the babies came. I asked my dr. what she thought and she said it's up in the air and she would tell me at my next appt. whether or not it would be safe to fly. Well, my next appt. would be like 1 1/2 weeks before we would leave, so I didn't want to buy a plane ticket, just to be told that we couldn't go. So, we decided to stay here for Thanksgiving and spend it as a family. I am excited about that though just because we have never spent Thanksgiving with just us before. We are always out of town or with other family members (which is wonderful as well). But hopefully we will have our new kitchen done by then and I can cook a real turkey dinner for the first time!

We still aren't any closer to choosing names at all for these girls. Before we had Dane, I had way more girl names than boy names. Then after Dane came, we had a handful of boy names that we still really liked and thought we could use if these were boys. Well, now I feel like we're starting from square one :) It's fun and we still have plenty of time to think about it, but choosing 2 names is way harder than just 1! I thought it would be nice, but we can't even come up with enough names that we actually love. But we will do what we did last time and come to the hospital with a few names in mind and wait to see their faces before we decide.

I can't believe we're more than half way done. It's so crazy to think about. If we have these babies at the average 36 week delivery time for twins, then we only have about 3 months left. What the heck, I am so not ready this time around :) I feel like there is still so much to be done before they get here, so let's hope and pray for their safety and my sanity, that they stay in there as long as possible.

Dane is 1!

2011-10-24T15:49:00.000-07:00

Dane turned 1 a few weeks ago and we were in New York, so I am just getting around to blogging about it. We had such a fun trip and were so happy we got to see family! And so happy for Zack and Vanessa for tying the knot! (Pictures above are from the wedding)

Dane is such a big boy now. I seriously can't consider him a baby anymore because he seems so grown up. He does and says so many funny things that I can just see his personality coming out so much. It's adorable and my favorite age so far!

We got him a cake with a car on it (since that is one of his favorite things) and celebrated with family, balloons and presents! We were going to do a little party for him here when we got back, but with everything going on (moving, trip, house renovations, etc) we don't feel ready to really have anyone over for a party. But he got to party in NY, so that was plenty.

Here are some pictures:

He did not want that hat on (and looks half asleep)

Blowing kisses, with Aunt Hally

When everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to him he got SO excited and started smiling from ear to ear. It was SO cute....About to blow out the candle.

He got frosting on his hand and was NOT having it. He's never been a neat, clean boy, so this was a surprise. I thought for sure he'd dig in and get crazy messy. Not the case at all.

Trying to force him to get messy, lol

But he preferred a fork. (With cousin Parker)

Present opening time

More blowing kisses

His other favorite thing... balloons. He loved those things.

It's crazy how fast he is now learning things. You can teach him something that morning and he'll be doing it later that day. He's seriously such a little smartie pants. I mentioned this on facebook, but at his 1 year appointment, his pediatrician told us that Dane was one of the smartest 1 year olds he's seen. He said usually around 1, they hope to have the baby saying around 3-4 words and Dane has a vocabulary over 20-25. If we ask him to say or do something he tries to repeat us.

Here are some other things he's doing at 1:

- If you ask him how old he is, he tries to say "one" and puts up 1 finger

- Again, he has a huge vocabulary. Some of his favorites are, "no, no" while shaking his finger. Especially while doing something he shouldn't like touching plug outlets. (We have covers in them), but he will walk over to them, shaking his finger, saying "no, no" while he tries to touch them. He just doesn't get the "no" concept yet.

- Ways bye and says "bye"

- He follows instructions really well. If I ask him to get me a diaper, he will. If I ask him to give something to daddy, he does. If he has something he shouldn't have, I ask him to give it to me and he will. As of now, he's a great listener.

- Will give us kisses all the time. He's full of love. He blows kisses, gives kisses and hugs, etc. It's so sweet, I love it.

- Will do the motions to songs like, "Itsy Bitsy Spider" "If you're happy and you know it" "Wheels on the Bus" etc.

- Can point out, eyes, nose and mouth

- When you ask him where something is, he holds out his hands and shrugs like saying, "I don't know"

- Can now climb stairs, but not go down them very well... so we still need to be very watchful.

- Love his shoes and socks and says, "Sh" for both.

- Walks so well and sometimes tries to run. When he does that though, he gets a little caught up and can't keep his balance as well. But I'm chasing him around everywhere and I had my first, "OMG, where is Dane?!?!" moments. Very scary, but he was just around the corner on the other aisle.

- Still loves to dance

- LOVES books, cars, ballons, balls, dogs and slides

- Favorite foods - Bananas (which he calls nanas), apples, applesauce, yogurt. We give him everything we eat. There isn't much he hasn't tried.

- Has 6 teeth, with a 7th that just popped through a few days ago

- Can unlock the iPhone (he pushes the home button and swipes his finger to unlock - yikes)

- Sleeps almost 12 hours a night (straight) and 2 naps during the day

- Is totally ticklish and will laugh so hard when you tickle him

- Loves to put caps and lids on and off of things

- We don't watch much tv, but to get him to sit still for a diaper change (which is such a challenge) he loves Yo Gabba Gabba. We never got that channel before so he never watched it, but he loves it now.

- Loves to carry heavy things over to me (i.e., boxes, bags of diapers, the diaper bag, etc.)

He is so cute and does so many things and I love that we can interact and play together. He's such a big, fun, and lovable 1 year old and we're so lucky to have him. I can't believe he's going to be a big brother in just a few months.

And a few pictures from the wedding:

Happy Birthday!

2011-10-07T07:19:00.000-07:00

To our little baby Dane

Happy Birthday!

We are in NY right now for our brother's wedding (yay!), but we will do a small celebration for Dane here for his 1 year birthday!!

He has been blessing our lives for 1 year now! What an amazing year it has been. 2 years ago, I would have never thought we would be where we are now. A beautiful little boy and 2 sweet girls on the way. Heavenly Father really knows what's going on, even if we don't.

Dane is honestly the cutest, most lovable little guy ever. In the mornings, daddy gets him out of his crib and brings him to bed with us. He lays down, rolls into me and spoons with me for a little while. I love my morning snuggles with him. He's the smartest and quickest learning 1 year old I know too. He does so many cute things and has this personality, that I didn't know a 1 year old could have. We ask him how old he is and he tries to say "1"! It's so funny.

When we get back from our trip, I will post more about all of the fun things he does and says, but for now, just know that my heart is full with love for this little guy and I honestly couldn't be happier. It's definitely hard, being a mom isn't easy, but boy is it worth every second.

I love you my sweet Dane! Happy birthday!

We are having...

2011-10-07T07:12:00.000-07:00

I've sure everyone already knows... but for those of you without facebook, we are having....

TWO GIRLS

We were totally shocked, but EXTREMELY excited! Two little sisters that can be best friends and a sweet older brother to look after them. From the beginning we thought we would have more boys, then our ultrasound tech at 15 weeks thought one of them looked like a girl, so then we were thinking 1 of each. But to our surprise, there are too little daughters that I get to take to get mani/pedis, talk boy talk, get them ready for dates, dress them in the cutest dresses, and that daddy gets to spoil and love those sweet daughters of his.

I can't say enough what a blessing this is for us. We can't wait for the journey ahead! And for a few details, the babies measured exactly on target and are looking as beautiful as ever. When we get back from NY I'll have to scan some of the pictures they took because they are so cute. Especially this one, where you can see all 4 of their feet right next to each other. I love it. Also, the dr. said since they are the same sex, they can still be identical depending on when the egg split. So, there is a 25-30% chance of them being identical. I think that would be totally fun, but of course we don't care if they look the same or not, we're just happen we have 2 new blessings to welcome into our home.

Caramel Apples

2011-09-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

I will first apologize to my friend Jen, because I told her I wanted to make these with her, but I was dying to make them yesterday, so I did it without her. (Don't be mad, lol) But they turned out AMAZING. I love the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory apples and decided to make most of them like the apple pie kind. I did a few others as well, but none were as delicious as the apple pie. It was really easy and really fun and got me excited for fall!

And I will tell you this... they actually tasted better than Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. No more spending $5 for an apple when I can just make it myself. This could get dangerous :)

Recipe:

Caramel Apples

I was able to dip 9 medium size granny smith apples and still had enough caramel left to fill an 8x8 greased pan with some delicious caramel.

Ingredients:

2 C Brown sugar

1 C Corn syrup

1/2 C Butter

1 Can sweetened condensed milk

1 t. vanilla

Directions:

Combine the first 3 ingredients and after the butter is melted stir in the can of milk.

Cook to soft ball (230 degrees with a candy thermometer). Stir constantly.

Stir in the 1 t. vanilla.

Remove from heat. Dip apples into the caramel, then if you aren't using chocolate, roll in nuts, or candy.

I dipped them in caramel, placed them on a greased cookie sheet and let them cool completely. You can put them in the fridge if you want to speed up the process. Once cooled, drizzle with chocolate and cover with toppings.

I melted semi-sweet chocolate chips and some white chocolate chips.

For the apple pie apple, I used melted white chocolate, then sprinkled on a cinnamon and sugar mixture. I used on the other apples, crushed Skor bar for the toffee flavor and M&Ms (which melted down because they were too heavy).

Other suggestions: Sprinkles, crushed Oreos, mim M&Ms, mini chocolate chips, chopped nuts, crushed candy bars.

Also, you can use popsicle sticks or any wooden stick to hold the apples. I just found some sticks in the craft section at Smiths. Worked beautifully.

Week 16

2011-09-18T20:52:00.000-07:00

We've made it to week 16 and I'm feeling back to normal. I wasn't totally sick before, but mainly exhausted. Now, I'm feeling really good. I saw the babies last week and they were wiggling around and so cute. One was facing the camera and one had it's back to us. Only 2 more weeks until we get to know what we've got!

On a couple of side notes... we bought a house that we close on this week (hurray!) and Dane is a walking machine. He was walking before, but he was always nervous to go on the hardwood. Now he just walks around everywhere and hardly even wants us to hold his hand anymore. It's so cute to hear the little pitter patter of his feet coming around the corner. He just follows us around all over the house.

Now for the bump pics.

16 Weeks with Dane

16 Weeks with Twins

Gender Guesses

2011-09-14T10:28:00.000-07:00

We find out what we're having on October 3 and if you have any desire to guess, there is a poll on the right of the blog.

I'll tell you what we know so you can have a little bit more of an educated guess... we are still unsure if they are fraternal or identical. The doctor's are guessing fraternal, but that could mean any combination of gender. I'm telling you this because obviously if they were identical, then boy/girl wouldn't be an option, but we just don't know! Leave a comment with your guess too so I know who thinks what.

I'm dying to find out, but we only have 2 1/2 weeks left! Just in time for our trip to NYC so we can share the news with family. Yay!

11 Month Update

2011-09-07T13:52:00.000-07:00

I love this age. Everyday Dane just gets more and more cute and fun. He is really growing and learning so much. I can't believe how much he changes from day to day. Here are a few of the new things.

- He's walking!! I would definitely say he's walking now. He will walk on his own all over the carpet, but step onto the hardwood floor and if he doesn't have your hand, he's not going anywhere. He will walk everywhere holding our hands, but if I let him go on his own on the carpet he will walk wherever he needs to go. He's taken 20 steps in a row on his own, so I would definitely consider him walking now. And again, he never crawled, lol.

- Saying more words! He says, "Ka" for car and makes a noise for the car (it sounds like gargling). He points at them outside and his toy cars and just LOVES cars. He says, "Ch" for "lunch." He says, "Duh" for duck. He says, "Pah" for pig. Says "tar" for guitar. My favorite is when we say prayers and say "Amen" he says (all by himself without us asking) "men!" So adorable. Those are the new ones that I can think of at the moment. And it's funny because he's getting good at signing now, but he can say the words, so it's kind of funny. He will sign "ball" and say "ball" at the same time.

- He finally started standing up in his crib. He's been able to pull himself to standing for awhile, but just recently realized he can do this in his crib now.

- He learned how to drink from a straw. Hurray! It's makes it easier than trying to get him to drink from a cup and then he grabs it and spills it on himself :) It's also the cutest thing ever to see him drinking from a straw.

- He's generally a VERY happy baby. You can get him to smile so easily and he loves to wave at everyone. He gets mad when he falls down walking and can't get back up. Since he can't crawl to somewhere to stand up, I need to help him sometimes.

- He is in this biting stage where he thinks it's funny to bite you. Mainly just me though, so don't be worried. He will come over, grab my leg and just go at it. And it doesn't feel good when he's got 6 teeth in there.

- Another funny thing he does, he LOVES to have you smell his feet. He will either just stick his foot in your face, or you can say, "Can I smell your feet?" and he will gladly offer them up to you. And once you start, he can do this for a long time.

- Loves the DVD "Baby Signing Time" As soon as he hears the music he just smiles. It never fails. (yet)

I love watching him grow and learn and explore the things around him. He is just such a smart, loving boy and his personality is really blossoming. I am excited to plan a birthday party for him too! We will be in New York for his actual birthday, so we will get to celebrate with family. I'm excited about that. We may do something low key at home so that I can make a cake and not have to bring his presents out to NY, but we'll see. He LOVES balloons and it'll be fun to have those around for him to play with. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful, sweet spirit that I can teach and love and have with me forever.

These are taken from my phone, so not the best quality.

His first sucker

He LOVES to "play" the guitar. He actually strums it.

Eating a pear (one of his favorites, and mine), probably watching Super Why or Signing Time

First little electronic ride at the store

Meeting a mini horse

Wanting me to smell his feet :)

New 13 week belly shot

2011-08-29T14:07:00.000-07:00

Well, it's that time again. And I know it's my second pregnancy, so not as exciting for everyone else as my first, but I am still going to post belly pictures for my record and to see the difference between the two pregnancies. I know I'll be showing much more (and faster) than before, since it's my second time being pregnant and since there are two babies instead of one.

I never got morning sickness with Dane, but did have a little with these babies. I would get nauseous if I hadn't eaten much and I did throw up a few times, but I think that's getting better. I think my biggest symptom is exhaustion. I felt ridiculously tired all the time, but that I think is getting better as well. It's a lot harder when you have a toddler to chance around, then the first time, I was just sitting at a desk all day. So things are different this time around, but it's not bad and I'm happy for that.

I've decided to switch doctors as well. Not because I didn't like my other doctor, he was great and delivered Dane. But he doesn't deliver at the hospital with a NICU and I just want to be safe and know that the care is there for the little ones if needed. Hopefully they come when they're ready and don't need the NICU, but you never know with twins. And with Dane I had contractions at 29 weeks and 32 weeks that put me in the hospital and they said they may happen again. So, I just want to be extra careful.

Enough waiting... here are the pics.

Pregnant with Dane at 13 weeks Pregnant with twins at 13 weeks

Family of 5 coming March 2012

2011-08-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

Our two new bundles of joy. We were as shocked as you are. This picture is of them at about 8 1/2 weeks. We are now 12 1/2 weeks and they look like babies instead of blobs. We love these little ones so much.

You don't need to remind me how our hands will be totally full (with 3 kids under 1 1/2), we KNOW it's going to be tough. But I can't even begin to tell you how blessed we feel and how lucky we are. With Dane it took us 3 1/2 years and what a miracle he was. Doctors told us if we wanted more kids we shouldn't wait to long to try. Well, we were surprised when it didn't take long at all! When we saw the pregnancy test we both were like, "what?!?!? no way did this happen naturally!" We made a dr. appt. and were just expecting to find out that our sweet little baby was healthy. The ultrasound machine was frozen and needed to be restarted and it was taking too long and Josh had to get to work. So, he left. I told him, I'll let you know how the baby looks and send you the ultrasound pic. When the dr. did the ultrasound to see how far along we were, the first words he said was, "ummm.... there are two." I could not even believe it!!

With Dane we had a 50% chance of him being a twin (since we did invitro) and we were blessed with one miracle. We don't have twins in our family and I didn't do any fertility treatments this time and with a 1% chance, we are naturally pregnant with twins! We are due March 4, but with 37 weeks being full term for twins, it looks like they will be coming in February. We also made the gender ultrasound appt. and it's only about 1 month away!! I can't wait to find out what we're having. Also, the dr. is guessing that they're fraternal since they're in separate sacs, but he said that is just a guess. They could still be identical, we just don't know yet. I know everyone says this, but I just want to healthy babies. I am nervous about having 2 girls though. I don't know much about girls and we don't have any girl clothes. So, I'm hoping for at least 1 boy so there are less things to buy :)

Now it's time for the belly pics. Those will be coming soon, because I'm definitely already showing - yikes. Oh and to make things a little more exciting, the dr. guessed I'd probably gain about 60 pounds. Yup, you read that right, 60. But then again, I did gain 50 with Dane, holy moly.

Josh and I are ecstatic to say the least. We really could not be any happier.

Dane 10 Months

2011-08-19T20:23:00.000-07:00

Our sweet boy turned 10 months! (Almost 2 weeks ago, oops). I've just been so crazy busy with life right now that my blog has been put on hold for awhile. But there are so many new things happening, so look for some really exciting posts soon!! (I'll give you a hint - we may be moving to a house!)

Dane is really getting to be such a big boy. I feel like he's starting to be a toddler more than an infant. I don't know when that technically happens (a year maybe?) but he's just acting so big.

Here's what he's been up to lately:

- My favorite milestone - sleeping through the night!! He actually started doing this at exactly 10 months and he's been doing it since. And I mean sleeping almost 12 hours straight. His first night he went from 7:30pm until 7:00am. I honestly didn't think this would happen for a LONG time. He was still waking up 1-2 times a night before this, so I thought he would have to get down to just once per night before nothing, but he was just in a habit. He wasn't actually hungry. So, hurray for us!

- Takes 2 wonderful naps a day. Very unlike what he used to do (30 min. naps). His first nap is almost always 1 1/2 hours and his second nap is anywhere from 1-2 hours.

- Gives open mouth kisses. Today he came to give me a kiss on his own, I didn't even ask for it. It was probably the most tender thing I've ever experienced.

- Shakes his head "no" when he doesn't want something. Sometimes even says, "no!" Not too thrilled about that one :)

- Clicks his tongue with his mouth. I don't know how he learned it, but it's so cute.

- Pulls himself up on everything and wants us to hold his hand and help him walk everywhere, ALL THE TIME. (He's even taking his first steps! The most he has done is 9 steps in a row on his own, but he's almost 10 1/2 months now, so that will be put in his next post)

- Doesn't crawl still

- Has 6 teeth. Top two, bottom four.

- Everything round is a "ball." He points to watermelons in the store, balloons, and actual balls and says "ball" to them all.

- Loves to open and close doors and drawers (especially the refrigerator door).

- Favorite toys - toy cars and balls

- Is such a smiley, happy baby that we adore sooooo much.

"Planking" if you've ever seen pics of people doing it, haha

Some family pics (all of the pics are on facebook)

More to come!!!

9 months and growing!

2011-07-08T12:27:00.000-07:00

Here is what's happening at 9 months. Don't have stats yet, dr.'s appt. isn't until Monday.

- I would finally say that his eyes are green! They definitely aren't brown and they definitely aren't blue. But if you click on the picture above, they totally look green.

- Still not crawling, but rolls around to get places and can turn in a circle on his stomach using his arms, but can't move forward or backwards yet. I'm not at all worried and in no rush to baby proof everything.

- Waves, but it's usually a minute or so later. It takes a little bit to process, haha.

- Talking a ton and said (what I would call) his first word! Besides "mama" and "dada" when he sees a ball he says "Ba!" He also says "ba" when we are getting him ready for a bath. And we have a book about bubbles and every time I read it to him he says, "bubba, bubba" over and over. He's going to be a talker! He also says things like, "mom" "dad" "fa fa" "no no" (doesn't know what it means though), etc. Mainly he just knows, what mama, dada, ball, bath and bubbles are. Adorable.

- Loves to stand. Will stand any chance he can get, but it's usually him holding our fingers to stand. He'll walk holding our fingers too, but not great.

- He sings. It's hilarious. He's done this the past two Sundays at church. When we are singing, he will just say, "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" over and over again.

- Has 4 teeth now, top two middle and bottom two middle.

- Only wants his mama. He's in that stage. He'll go to people, but only if I walk away and am not standing there. If I am, he will reach and whine for me. It's cute, but my arms get tired :)

- Gives high fives, so cute!

- Starting to be mainly on 2 naps. Rarely does he need 3, but it still happens on occasion.

Now for some pictures.

We go to the park a lot together

Snuggling with Dad on Father's Day

First 4th of July - We went to Sandy for some festivities, went to the Real Salt Lake game (Dane's first) and then put him to bed and we did fireworks with our friends outside. Low key, but totally fun.

Dane's first climbing experience. And definitely not his last.

He loves Jen

First trip to the zoo. It was ridiculously hot, so not the best first trip, but I still think he liked it. Here he's pointing to the elephant.

8 months

2011-06-14T12:40:00.000-07:00

Our little guy is now 8 months old! He just gets more and more fun everyday! I love that his personality is coming through and I love playing with him so much. Each age I love more and more.

Here are some of the things he's doing:

- Says "dad" and "mom"! It's so funny, because rarely will he say "dadadadada" or "mamamama" it's usually just "dad" and "mom" It makes him sound so grown up. He did start with dad first though :( And he's been saying that for almost a month, but just started consistently saying mom a couple days ago.

- I said in his 7 month post that he was so close to crawling and my guess was he would do it before he turned 8 months. But I was wrong. Still no crawling here, but I'm fine with that.

- Still has just his bottom 2 teeth, but his top two are about to poke through. You can see them just on the surface and they're totally swollen. Poor boy. But those will be here any day.

- We had a dr appt a couple weeks ago because he wasn't feeling well (thought he had an ear infection, but he didn't. He still has not had one yet, which is lucky). Anyways, he was 19 1/2 pounds already. Our big, chunky boy.

- Loves to read books and is always trying to turn the pages before we can even read what's on that page.

- Transitioning between 2 and 3 naps. Some days his naps are great and he only needs two, but sometimes when he has shorter naps, we try to get a cat nap in later in the day. It's about 50/50 right now on 2 or 3 naps, but I think within a month he'll be down to just 2 naps.

- Took his 3rd plane ride. This time we got to visit our family in Colorado who just had a baby. Dane is no longer the "baby" in the family :)

- He eats really well. He can pick up foods that are big enough and feed himself. Also, has been eating yogurt now for a couple of weeks, which he loves. I'm thinking about giving him some meat soon too. But does well with his fruits and veggies. Also likes puffs and saltine crackers (without the salt). I also give him lots of different foods from our plates and he seems to enjoy everything. (Except peas)

- Took swimming lessons and he totally loves the water. I'll have to buy one of those teeny plastic pools for the summer to let him splash around in.

- Went on his first of many hikes and LOVED it. Not one sad peep out of him the entire time. He's been on two now, and both times he just looks around and ends up falling asleep. Here are a couple pictures:

That's all I can think of now, and I didn't take any of my own pictures this weekend of our trip, but my mom did and I'll be sure to post those once I get them from her.

I'm so glad Dane and I were able to go to Colorado to visit my brother, sister-in-law, their new baby Davis and their sweet girls. We had a great time! Davis is such a CUTE baby and he's so good. Hardly ever cries! I'm so happy for them to get their boy after 3 girls, so fun.

The trip was uneventful, until Dane and I flew home Sunday night. We were supposed to fly out at 7:20pm, but it got delayed until 9:15pm. I was nervous I wouldn't have enough milk for him (but I did) and I was afraid he would be a terror, since his bed time is usually around 7:30. He finally fell asleep at about 8:30 and was actually happy the whole time. Then I boarded and he woke up as soon as I sat in my seat :( Then I gave him a bottle, which he got sleepy again, and was close to falling asleep, until he filled up his pants, completely full. Totally nasty and I had to change him on this teeny weeny airplane bathroom. The flight was about an hour and 15 minutes and poor boy could not fall back asleep. Thank goodness he wasn't crying, he just couldn't get comfortable and was rolling around all over my lap and changing positions every 30 seconds, literally. He FINALLY fell asleep just after we landed and were taxiing in, lol. Of course. But stayed asleep all the way home and woke up for a couple minutes when we got home, but went back to sleep. It was a crazy evening and I was DEAD tired. A wonderful trip, but glad to be home to see Josh. We totally missed him.

Will post soon

2011-06-09T20:24:00.000-07:00

Yikes, it's been so long since I last blogged, oops. Dane turned 8 months this week and we're going to Colorado tomorrow to celebrate my new nephew, Davis H. Dulgarian! Can't wait to see his sweet face and snuggle up with him.

New posts about both of those things when I return.

Swimsuit Giveaway!!

2011-05-22T19:53:00.001-07:00

These swim suits are the cutest things ever!!! You must enter this contest!! I did and I'm crossing my fingers!!!

http://www.somewhatsimple.com/2011/05/sys-blog-link-party-and-giveaway-from-essential-swimwear.html

Swim Lessons

2011-05-20T19:18:00.000-07:00

These past few weeks Dane and I did swimming lessons. It was really fun to get in the water and spend time with him and other moms. Our friend Kelly and her son Ollie did it with us, which was great to have friends in the class with us!

Dane actually did really good. Probably because he's still young and just goes with the flow, but I think he may grow up loving the water. He was seriously so cute. He liked floating on his back and "jumping" in the water to me. I put "jumping" in quotes, because it was really just me holding him up and counting to 3 and bringing him back in the water. He can't jump to me just yet, lol.

Getting ready to get in

Ollie and Dane

Ollie, Kelly, Me and Dane

Floating on his back

Getting the kick board ready

Going around the lazy river

Jumping in - if you zoom in, you can see his huge smile. He loved this.

More jumping

We'll probably do this again next year, but definitely we will be taking more trips to the pool this summer. Can't wait!

Our 7 monther

2011-05-08T19:22:00.000-07:00

Dane hit 7 months yesterday! Hurray! What an amazing son we have. I just love him more and more everyday. He gets even more fun too and his sweet personality comes out a little bit more each day. Here are some fun little tid bits:

- He has 2 teeth (bottom two)
- Started clapping 9 (he does it on command too)
- Is "dancing" now. When we say "dance" or if music just starts to play, he dances. This consists of moving his head and upper body back and forth.
- Sits up like a champ
- Eating some finger foods now
- Says "ba ba ba ba ba ba" - hasn't mastered mama or dada yet
- He plays peekaboo! It's so cute. He'll put a blanket or towel up over his face on his own and pulls it down when we say "peekaboo" - smart little guy
- Stands really well when holding on to our hands or couch.
- Is probably around 19 pounds is my guess and has the chubbiest legs, arms, cheeks and toes around.
- Reaches for us to pick him up
- Is taking 3 decent naps per day. Usually a total of about 3 hours altogether. Much better than he used to do.
- Hasn't started crawling yet, but I think he may start moving before he's 8 months. We'll see!
- Had his first hair cut
- His hair is getting lighter and lighter. We may have a blondie on our hands!
- And we STILL don't know his eye color. It's like a dark bluish, grayish color. Take a look and tell me what you think...
- We celebrated our first Mother's Day together and I am beyond blessed to have him as my son and to have the amazing opportunity to be a mom. I couldn't be happier. (And it sure helps to have the most amazing husband in the world along side me to help raise our sweet boy. Josh is truly the best dad and helps me out so much. I am so lucky)

Clapping

Haircut

After the cut

Road trip, playing some fruit ninja

Lounging

Mother's Day

Durango, CO

2011-05-06T15:31:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we made a trip down to Durango, CO to visit Josh's grandpa. Josh's dad and uncle came along too and it was so fun to be able to see them and have Dane meet his great uncle and great grandfather and see his papa again. Dane did great on the drive, which made it easier on Josh and me.

Cousin Mary and Dane

Great Grandpa

4 generations

At the elementary school that Josh's grandpa and dad went to

I'm so glad we were able to go. We had such a great time and we love spending time with family so much!

Celery

2011-05-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

Just eating some celery.

First Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-23T16:37:00.000-07:00

My parents were in town this weekend for my brother's graduation (congrats Chris!) and we had a little Easter egg hunt with my nieces and Dane. So cute.

Nakey Boy

2011-04-20T11:56:00.000-07:00

He loves to hang out with his clothes off. He hates to get dressed. Before bath time (which he also loves) all we have to say is "Nakey Boy" and he gets ridiculously excited. Love this boy.

And because I think this picture is so cute... smiling so big his eyes are closed :)

6 months

2011-04-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

Dane turned 6 months last week! Here is some fun info about our sweet little boy.

Weight: 17 1/2 pounds (60%)
Height: 26.1 inches (50%)

He has turned into quite the chunker. His legs are just so cute and chubby and you can't see his knees with all of the rolls around them. I love it! I'm sure once he starts moving he'll lean out a bit, but I just think he's adorable.

Here are a few things he's doing:

- Rolls constantly from belly to back, but has only once gone from back to belly. He's just lazy I think, because I know he can do it.
- Still loves to pick his legs up and throw them down. Anytime we do a diaper change. Makes it difficult.
- Sleeps on his side. We stopped swaddling him a couple days ago because we find him out of the swaddle anyways and on his side with his arms in the air.
- Stopped taking his binky. Good news for us. No need to wean him from it later.
- Sits up so well! I still put pillows around him just in case, but he can usually stay sitting up for awhile. (5-10 min)
- Loves his sippy cup, but hasn't figured out how to tip it back
- Reaches for you to hold him
- Still not sure of his eye color. Some days I think blue, others brown, others green or hazel.
- His first tooth is in! His bottom right middle tooth. It started showing about 2 weeks ago and now it's about 1/3 of the way up.

- Has had 2 colds in his life and 1 fever of 103* the night after his 6 months shots :(
- Lately only waking up once a night :)
- Finally sleeping longer than 30 min. naps! He still has 30 min. ones, but usually at least 1 a day that's over an hour. Sometimes all 3 if we're lucky.
- LOVES the swing at the park
- Shakes his head "no" all the time
- I swear he said "ma ma ma ma" the other day, but I need to have it on tape for Josh to believe me (haha, not really). Dane wasn't saying it to me though, but just babbling it.
- Has been on 2 plane trips, with 2 more in the near future
- Besides being born, has been to the hospital 2 more times (for his surgery and his stroller incident)

But he's such a happy baby and I'm such a happy mommy. I love this age. He's so fun!

Dane the model

2011-04-07T19:32:00.001-07:00

First Day at the Park

2011-03-31T12:00:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the park... first time for Diggy. He loved it. He loves the swings. We went with our friends Kelly and Ollie.

(Ignore the crotch grab in the first two pictures - I was just holding him and didn't realize it looked so bad until after)

**Scroll down for another new post**

Texas Vacation

2011-03-31T11:58:00.000-07:00

Like I mentioned in my previous post, Josh had 2 weeks off before starting his new job, so after California, we had 1 full day home and then we flew to Texas. This was Dane's second trip on an airplane already and he's not even 6 months yet, lol. In Texas we got to spend the week with Josh's mom, sister and her family. They have the sweetest kids too. They loved up on Dane all week. He loved all of the attention, but sometimes I think he was a little overwhelmed too. He just wasn't used to it. But those kids could make him laugh and it was just so cute. The weather was PERFECT and I got to wear shorts and everything. We spent time outside and just enjoyed being with the family. Here is proof:

Enjoying the weather

Sweet and sassy Carleigh

Amy and Berlynn

Our nephew Hunter

Baby Austin with a horseshoe around his neck, haha

Even though everyone is looking at different cameras, this is the best shot I got. Mimi with the kiddos.

We had such an incredible time and were so lucky we got to visit. Thanks Connie and Amy for everything! Hopefully we see you before NYC. If not... see you in the big apple!

California Trip

2011-03-22T20:29:00.000-07:00

A lot of things have been going on around here. One of the more exciting things is that Josh got a new job! He'll be working as a Marketing Manager at Backcountry.com. It's a great company, great position and great products that he gets a sweet discount on. He put in his 2 weeks notice and his last day was going to be last Friday (Mar. 18), but since it's a similar position that he is doing at Overstock, they just let him leave and paid him. So, his last day was actually Mar. 11 and he doesn't start at Backcountry until Mar. 28... which meant 2 weeks off! That is what prompted our last minute road trip to California.

We left last Tuesday and drove to Vegas, spent the night and headed on to California the next morning. Dane did really great in the car. He had a few times that he got fussy, but it was mainly because he was sick of sitting for so long. He took longer naps though, than his normal 30 minutes, so that was a plus.

While in CA we visited family (my family and Josh's bro and family), we went to the beach, went shopping, enjoyed the weather and just hung out. Oh ya, and we made a visit to the ER. Poor sweet baby had a little accident and fell out of his stroller. I'll just tell you, it's the start of a lot of injuries I'm sure, but one of the hardest things I've had to go through. I almost cried as much as he did. What happened was we stopped on the beach to get out and go on the sand and the water, so I unbuckled Dane in his stroller. Then we stopped a second, decided we wanted to go a little further and kept pushing him. He slid out the bottom and the stroller pushed him. He face planted onto the concrete. I saw it all happen from afar and wasn't fast enough to stop it. I ran over, picked him up and he had blood streaming down his face. His nose was bleeding a ton from both sides, his nose was immediately bruising and his mouth was bleeding. My heart dropped and I started crying. I felt like the worst mom in the world. He was screaming and I couldn't console him. Josh ran and got the car and we went to just a small prompt care. When we walked in, they saw him and said to take him to the ER. He actually started to slow down crying and eventually fell asleep once we got to the hospital. Thank goodness. I knew it wasn't too serious if he was able to fall asleep. They checked everything out and said there probably wasn't anything very serious wrong, but his nose could be broken. They could do a cat scan or xrays, but they said the radiation is pretty strong and not the best thing for a baby. The dr. said that even if they found a fracture, they really couldn't do a lot anyways besides just monitor it. So, we decided against the xray and we just waited at the hospital awhile to make sure everything was ok. And now, 4 days later, he's doing so great. He's such a little tough guy. Here's what he looked like after we wiped away the blood and he was at the hospital:

It's so sad for me to think about it, but I'm just so glad that nothing serious happened and he's a happy boy again. Here are the pictures of us enjoying the day, just minutes earlier, lol...

And just some more cute pictures of our trip:

Vegas

Great Uncle George

Uncle Steve and cousins Lexi and Kendyl

And now we leave for Texas in the morning to visit other cousins... fun fun fun!

5 Months

2011-03-12T10:27:00.000-08:00

I haven't really been documenting on here what Dane has been doing at certain ages, so I need to start now. I do write down when he does something for the first time, but all of his cute, funny quirks I need to make sure I keep track of, because I know I'll forget.

At 5 months here are some things he does:

- He always has and still, LOVES taking a bath
- He's starting to sit up on his own! He hasn't mastered it yet, but can sit there alone for about 10 seconds or so, until he tumbles over
- Dane loves electronics. I think most babies do, but if you put the iPad in front of him, or his favorite toy, he goes for the iPad. If he sees the remote, his eyes lock on it and you can turn him around and his head will stay focused on the remote. As I'm sitting here typing this, he's trying to pound on the keyboard.
- He loves to suck on anything. From toys, to fingers, to blankets, to your face.
- He's a great sleeper at night, but sucks at naps. He'll go to bed around 7:30, wake up around 2ish to eat, and immediately fall to sleep after he eats. Then is up for the day about 7. Naps, he takes 3-4 naps a day, usually 30-45 minutes on average. No fun.
- He's been eating solids since 4 months. His favorite is squash. Doesn't love bananas or sweet potatoes much. I think it's the consistency. Just started apples yesterday and I'm not sure if he will like them as much either. The squash was so smooth and the others are still pureed, but a little less smooth than the squash.
- Learned how to jump like crazy in his jumperoo. It's so cute
- Songs he loves me to sing to him, are the alphabet song, Do As I'm Doing, and songs from Baby Signing Time.
- He knows the sign for "milk." When I do it, he does this thing with his tongue and starts opening and closing his mouth like he wants to eat.
- He likes to put his legs in the air, when laying on his back and slam them down on the ground. Or do that in the bath and splash water all over the place.
- He also does this thing with his head, where he shakes it back and forth like you would to say "no." Even though he's not doing it to say "no" he does it a lot and it's so funny.
- He loves to scratch different textures with his nails
- He's starting to blow bubbles or raspberries with his mouth
- Lastly, he loves when you take his hands and rub them on your cheeks and say "cheeks." He smiles and laughs every time you do this.

Ok, that's enough for now. Here are some pictures:

Vegas Weekend

2011-02-28T14:08:00.000-08:00

Over this last holiday weekend, Dane and I flew together to see my family in Vegas. It was just my brothers and my parents, the spouses stayed home. We obviously missed them and wish everyone could have come, but we had such an amazing time! We played games (nertz), had our own little Minute To Win It tournament and spent time different hotels and walking the strip. It was also Dane's first plane trip and definitely not his last. (We are planning to go to TX, CO, NY and hopefully CA all before he's 1) He did surprisingly well on the plane. I was nervous because he only falls asleep for naps if I'm walking around with him, but he fell asleep both ways and I was just sitting down and rocking him. Phew! I was so anxious about the flight, about forgetting something and about him being awful at nights and he did great in all areas! I was so relieved. Of course, it totally helps when I have 5 brothers and my parents there to help out, since Dane was the only kiddo who came.

Our flight, Dane's first

Minute To Win It Tournament

Family Picture and Games

Playing carnival type games at Excalibur, just like when we were little

Fell asleep on grandma :)

Walking the strip

In the casino

Not our trip, but Dane has found his feet and holds them any time I change his diaper. It never fails.

Also, he loves to sleep on his face (Don't worry, I only let him sleep on his tummy for naps, and when he's like this, I'm constantly checking on him)

Just some pictures of my handsome boy

2011-02-14T11:50:00.000-08:00

4 month check up

2011-02-07T19:48:00.000-08:00

Dane had his 4 month appointment today. I love these well baby visits to see how my little guy is doing. In the dr's words, "he's thriving." So, he's doing just wonderful.

He's 50th percentile for height (24 1/2 inches) and head, and 70th for weight (15 lbs 1.5 oz). Our little chunker. He's also a really tough baby and cried for a total of 5 seconds for his shots. (He did the same thing at 2 months). Which is great for him of course, but also me. Then I don't get so sad.

I had a laundry list of things to ask the doc. Dane wakes up in the middle of the night sometimes, with his head up against the crib. I double checked about crib bumpers and the dr. said no. Which is fine, cuz we never bought any for suffocation risks. Poor boy will just have his head up against the bars every once in awhile. (It's not bad, so don't worry). I let him know that Dane takes 30 min. naps and we rock him to sleep every night, because he can't fall asleep on his own. So, we had the "cry it out" talk. We are going to do the Ferber method, where we check on him every 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, etc. min. but don't pick him up. Just go in to let him know we're there and we haven't abandoned him. Hopefully, after 2-4 days he'll be able to fall asleep on our own and be able to fall asleep in the middle of naps when he wakes up so he can extend those too.

Next, Dane has 2 teeth! But they still haven't started growing in, you can just see them through the gums. Dr. said he thinks they still won't come in for another month or so though.

Last, solid foods. Dr. said it's totally fine if we wanted to try it out. He even said we could skip rice cereal because there aren't any nutrients in it. If Dane didn't want anything to do with it, then don't push it. If I were breastfeeding, I would probably wait until 6 months to start solids, but for some reason, since I'm formula feeding I was much more excited to start him on solids. So, he had his first bites of avocado today! He didn't push it out of his mouth at all, swallowed and then... gagging. He spit it up, haha. We'll try again tomorrow though and see if he likes it anymore.

He's now laughing (hence the video below) - he loves when we rub his hands on our cheeks and say "cheeks" - silly boy
He loves to "stand" while holding our fingers
He is SOOO close to rolling from his back to belly (already goes the other way)
He grabs at everything and chews on it
He's just such a happy baby overall.
Love him.

First Laugh

2011-02-07T17:06:00.000-08:00

Here is Dane's first laugh caught on video. I think it's the cutest thing I've ever heard. Of course, I sound funny, but I can't help it. It's just adorable. He was slightly over 3 1/2 months when he really started to laugh. Everything before that was just squeals and cute noises. I love each new thing he does and look forward to all of the other fun videos we will get. I hope you like it.

New blog

2011-02-03T11:43:00.003-08:00

I just started a new blog about food, etc.

Cookbakeandmake.blogspot.com

Orange Julius

2011-01-28T17:54:00.000-08:00

Here is a homemade recipe... tried and true for an orange julius:

6 ounces frozen orange juice concentrate
1 cup milk (lowfat is fine)
1 cup water
1/4 cup of sugar (which is a lot, and you can reduce this if you want. You can also substitute powdered sugar if you wish)
1 teaspoon vanilla
9-10 ice cubes

- Combine all ingredients, except ice cubes, in a blender
- Blend and add ice cubes one at a time until it's the consistency that you are looking for
- Enjoy this delicious drink

Time to jog

2011-01-28T16:28:00.000-08:00

Here's my new gem I got off of KSL. Can't wait to try it out!

3 months... really?

2011-01-06T13:57:00.000-08:00

Things have been crazy because of the holidays, but I'm back and have a little bit of time to give an update.

Dane is 3 months tomorrow! It feels like he has been part of our family for a very long time, but also that he was just born. We love him so, so much and feel so lucky to have him as part of our family.

He is so different already than last month. He's growing a ton and fits into his 3-6 month clothing just perfectly. He rolls over from front to back, he is laughing and cooing up a storm, and he's starting to laugh! When we hold him up, he can put weight on his legs and pretty much can stand on his own. (Of course with our hands there). He's sleeping in 6-9 hour stretches and really only wakes up once a night. Hurray!

Christmas and New Years were so much fun and great having Dane to spend it with. My side of the family came to town and we got to enjoy a week with them all! We also got to see Josh's brother and his family, and Josh's sister. I'm so glad we got to see them all. It was lucky we didn't have to go anywhere and everyone came to us :) But next year, we're planning to go somewhere for Christmas before Dane is big enough to want Christmas at home.

We didn't take enough pictures and didn't get any of New Years :( But here is a recap of our last month in pictures:
(Mostly Dane of course)

We spent Christmas Eve at our amazing friend's (practically family) house, the Grows. They always cook amazing food and we play games and have fun. Why I didn't take any other pictures, is beyond me.

Christmas morning... Dane looking through his stocking:

Opening presents:

Christmas with all of his gifts:

We had a nice meal, just the three of us. Including a huge ham :)

One of my amazing Christmas gifts from Josh. He printed out these photos and put it on the wall. LOVE IT!

Josh's sister, Hally, and Dane

Dane lovin' his Auntie

Meeting cousins

Hally, Josh's brother Steve, and Steve's family

Josh, Hally and Steve

Playing in his car seat

First time swimming! He loved it! After he got out he fell right to sleep. I think he wore himself out. I didn't really get in (I was kind of cold, haha)

(love this picture)

Playing with dad

The next post to come will be my New Year's resolutions...get excited.

Diggy

2010-12-17T20:15:00.000-08:00

He's starting to suck on things. His current favorites: his fist and my finger (and apparently Josh's nose)

Not the best picture to capture this, but he always tries to hold his bottle. It's the cutest thing... he just can't do it by himself quite yet.

We went to see the lights at Temple Square. This one is by the tree in the Joseph Smith Building.

He is a smiling machine. He laughs at the dumb things we say and the funny noises we make at him.

He loves tummy time. I've started putting him on the boppy too and he loves that. He has been holding his head up since like day 3. He rolls over too, which I have on film, but not in picture form.

Baby blessing

2010-12-06T18:18:00.000-08:00

This weekend we were so lucky to have our family come out for Dane's blessing. Josh seriously did an amazing job. Here are some photos:

Hospital Pics and Others

2010-11-27T17:14:00.000-08:00

Bath Time

Preparing for him to throw up after eating (before the surgery)

At the hospital

First Thanksgiving

Pyloric Stenosis

2010-11-26T09:14:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I last blogged because things have been pretty crazy over here. Let me give you a little idea of what our sweet baby has been through these past few weeks...

When Dane was born he was a great baby. Pretty much he would only cry if he were hungry, tired or had a dirty diaper. We thought we were really lucky to have such a great baby. Then at about 3 weeks old he started crying a ton while we would feed him. He would arch his back, he would cry and just wouldn't be comfortable. We thought it was because we switched up his formula, so we went between a few formulas to see if that would help. Then he started to throw up. We took him to the pediatrician to get checked out and he was diagnosed with reflux.

We ended up putting him on some medicine, which he would throw up after we would give it to him. So, after a couple of days of that not working and him still throwing up (about once a day), we went back to the doctor. They switched his meds and we were totally hopeful that this would work. Another couple days go by and still nothing was working. Then last Sunday night, he threw up blood in the middle of the night. We took him to the ER to get checked out.

They said the blood most likely came from a tear in his esophagus from throwing up so much and told us to see our doctor first thing that morning and to get a referral to get an ultrasound down on his stomach. I did some research before going to the ER and found a problem called Pyloric Stenosis. After reading all of the symptoms, it sounded like something he may have. I really did not want this to be the case because the only treatment was surgery. There was no way I wanted my little boy to have to go through something like that.

So, the next morning, we went to the pediatrician and he felt his stomach to try and feel for the pyloric stenosis and he couldn't feel anything but told us to get an ultrasound done to rule it out for sure. Especially because that day he had already thrown up 3 times, so whatever was going on, was getting worse.

Pyloric Stenosis is when the muscle between the stomach and the intestines is so thick and tight that food can't make it from the stomach down to the intestine, so he throws everything back up because he can't digest the food.

We took him to the hospital and he had the ultrasound. The radiologist came right in and confirmed that he did in fact have pyloric stenosis and we would need to go to Primary Children's Hospital right then to get him prepped for surgery :( I immediately started to cry. I was so devastated, but also relieved to know what was going on and that this could be fixed. They also assured me that this was actually more common than I thought and babies have this done frequently and to not worry.

We headed straight up to the hospital and were admitted immediately and taken to our room. Josh came right over from work and his mom is also in town and was able to be there with us. They put in Dane's IV and that was soooo hard to see. I couldn't watch. His sweet little hand had to be poked and he was crying so hard. The other thing they told us was that if he was going to go into surgery, we couldn't feed him, so he ate last at 11am that morning.

They wanted to check his electrolytes to make sure he could have the surgery that night and that he wasn't too dehydrated from throwing up. They took his blood, came back and told us we would have to wait until the following morning for the surgery because he wasn't hydrated enough :( More fasting for him... so Josh and I took turns all night (2 hour shifts) holding him and comforting him because he was so hungry all night. They had his IV in and he was getting fluids, so he was fine, but he didn't think he was fine, because he was starving. Poor baby. The next morning they were able to take him into surgery at 9am. I was so scared. The surgeon again said everything would be fine and he does these procedures a lot. In fact, he did the same one the night before for another baby.

We took him down to surgery and it was only about 40 minutes later that he was done. The surgeon came in and let us know that it was definitely what they thought it was and they were able to fix it. They make 3 small incisions on his stomach and cut into that muscle to loosen it up. He said Dane did wonderfully and that we would just need to wait another 30 minutes before we could go see him. The bad news was he still had to wait another 8 hours after surgery to start eating. And when we could feed him, we had to start small at only 1/2 an oz (when he used to eat 3-4 oz).

We stayed in the hospital all day Tuesday and we had to make sure he didn't throw up, and he never did! It was a miracle! I can't imagine a baby that doesn't throw up. Before, it was like I expected to be thrown up on, because it was so normal. Now, I'm still nervous it will happen, but it never does! Dane is doing amazing and he doesn't seem to be in any pain anymore. Our happy baby is back. He still cries of course, but nothing at all like before. I feel soooo blessed that everything went so smoothly and that he is now comfortable and we were able to find the problem quickly. We got to come home Wednesday afternoon.

I'm so thankful for all of my friends and family and their prayers for us. I'm so grateful for modern medicine and that this problem could be fixed. A long time ago, when doctor's didn't know what was wrong, babies with this condition would pass away because the muscle would just get tighter and tighter until food could no longer be digested. It makes me so happy to live at this time where he could get the help he needed and have this surgery, because his symptoms were getting worse and worse.

We are now home, happy and healthy. We are so blessed.

Nursing.... HELP!

2010-10-29T19:07:00.000-07:00

Note: This post may be TMI, but I need help and advice.

No one ever told me before Dane came that nursing doesn't come naturally for everyone and it's not always easy. I just assumed it would happen and we wouldn't have any problems. Boy, was I wrong. Over the past 3 weeks I have just been having the hardest time and I don't know what to do. Supposedly, 90% of women have trouble breast feeding, so I know I'm not the only one. My problem is this...This sweet boy of mine loves his tongue (if you can't tell by the pictures) and he loves to suck on his tongue. Because of this he does not latch well at all and it hurts.

For the first few days in the hospital, we had a lactation consultant helping us get his latch right, which we never really succeeded in while I was there. It was painful, but everyone kept telling me that it gets better and to just keep at it and it would get better; however, since he wasn't latched right, it only got worse. It was so bad I would cringe and grab something every time he would latch on because it hurt so bad. It got to the point, that I started supplementing him with formula because I just couldn't do it until I healed some. So, I would just pump and feed him some milk from me and some formula until I felt better to start trying again.

I started going to a new lactation consultant since I've been home. She's been awesome and has helped me get him latched on correctly. The only problem is, she can do it, and I can't. Every time in her office she is able to get him on. She teaches me what to do, but for some reason, when I try it myself at home, we can't do it. I get soooo stressed out and I cry about it a lot because I feel like I'm failing. I also don't have a great milk supply, so if I try to pump, I don't get enough for me to just pump and feed, I have to supplement with formula for him to get enough to eat.

My dilemma... I want to continue trying sooo bad and get it right. I want him to have the health benefits of breast milk, I want to have that special bond with him, I want to do it because I always thought I would. Not to mention, it's convenient and free. But, it stresses me out so bad to the point that I dread him waking him because I know I'm going to have to feed him and it's going to hurt pretty bad. I just don't know what to do. I think I might still try for another week or two, but I feel like it might be better for my sanity to just give him a bottle of formula.

Does anyone have any advice or have been in this situation? I really need some help from someone who has been here before. If you prefer to email me instead of leave a comment, I would love that as well... tiffaustin88@gmail.com

Thanks for listening and for the support!

A few pics

2010-10-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

Happy 2 Weeks!

2010-10-21T19:58:00.000-07:00

Here we are ... parents for two weeks now. I can't even tell you how I feel. There are so many emotions after you have a baby that there's no way you can ever be prepared :) The first week was hard. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but it was much different than I expected. I knew I would be exhausted, I knew I would worry about a lot of things, but I didn't know I would cry for no reason, or that I would get up to check on Dane any time I heard him make a weird noise to make sure he was still breathing. Before he came, I thought he'd sleep so much that I'd have time to do other things... no way. There's not time, haha. But obviously I would not change it for the world.

Dane is the sweetest, most precious little boy in the whole wide world. If I could I would just snuggle him all day. We love him so much. I thought I would be overwhelmed by emotion and love the minute he was born, but I didn't and I felt guilty that I didn't. Everyone always said that you feel a love you've never felt before when you see them for the first time, so I was expecting that. When it didn't happen, I cried and thought I wasn't a good mom.... but after 2 weeks I have that love that everyone was talking about. It just didn't come all at once like it does for others.

I can't believe what a good baby he already is though. He really only cries when he needs to be changed or needs to eat. There have been a couple times that he has cried and we didn't know why, but I think he was a little gassy. He usually just falls asleep or wakes up content. He will just sit in our lap and look around. Last night, we got a couple of 3 hour stretches of sleep....so nice. :) He's so alert and he's been picking up his head since like day 2 or 3. It's crazy. Even the pediatrician was amazed. He told us that Dane is progressing really well. He is using his hands and grabbing everything and the dr. said they usually don't start doing that until around 2 months. Dane has gained more than his birth weight back and is actually tall for his age (about the 70th percentile).

We have also had the help of soooo many people and we are so lucky. Especially from my mom and Josh's mom. To everyone else... thank you!

We got his newborn pictures done and I have added some of our favorites:

As you can tell he loves to stick his tongue out ALL the time... I just think it's absolutely adorable.

Dane Joshua Austin

2010-10-11T14:50:00.000-07:00

My last post said 10 days left... when in fact, I went into labor that night. Now that I have a little time, I want to share the birth story and pictures of the cutest little boy. Our little miracle baby.

Dane Joshua Austin
Born October 7, 2010 at 4:09 a.m.
7 lbs 3.5 oz and 20 inches long

On Wednesday, Oct 6, I had a dr. appt. I went in at 3pm and the dr. checked and I was still the same as the week before: 1.5 cm dilated and 80% effaced. I was kind of bummed because I thought I would have made a little more progress, but hadn't. At the appt. the week before the dr. also stripped my membranes and of course nothing came of that. So, at this appt. he asked again if I wanted to have them stripped just to see if my body was ready. I said yes, might as well. He did that and then told me that he felt my bag of waters bulging and he wouldn't be surprised if my water broker naturally instead of having them do it at the hospital. I thought, ok fine, but didn't think anything of it, because nothing happened last time.

After the dr, I came home and made some dinner. Josh came home from work around 5:30 and we were just about to eat. I walked into the bathroom and all of a sudden I felt a huge gush of water. I go, "Ummmm, Josh... I think my water just broke" He comes in and I started freaking out realizing this was going to happen. We were both soooo excited! Unfortunately, there was no time to eat dinner, so we finished getting everything together and headed to the hospital. Here is the picture of us on our way out:

My water broke at 6:30 and we headed to the hospital at 7:30. I was dilated to 3cm and was 100% effaced once we got there. The contractions really didn't start until after I got to the hospital. Around 8:00 they started getting quite painful. I knew I wanted an epidural, but decided to wait a little bit until the contractions were pretty hard until I got it. Mainly because I was scared of the needle, lol. Little did I know, it hardly hurt and from there on out was easy peasy. Before the epidural:

I got the epidural around 9:45 and at that point I was 5cm and progressing pretty well. I was nervous the epidural would slow things down and I would need Pitocin, but luckily that wasn't the case and I never needed any. By 2:45am I was fully dilated and ready to push. At that point it was just me, Josh and the nurse (who was amazing by the way). It was the most amazing experience and Josh was the best coach ever. After about an hour of pushing, they called the dr. and told me to stop pushing until he got there. In the middle of pushing:

Once the doctor got there, I pushed four times and Dane's head was out. Then the rest of his body just came right out and there he was, crying away! He had a little bit of a cone head, but was completely perfect and healthy. What an incredible experience to see our beautiful little son the first time. I did have a small episiotomy, so I had to get stitched up, but then we got to hold our sweet baby and we just had immediate love for him. Dane did have a small breathing issue for the first 30 min, just that he was breathing to fast, so we had to wait to feed him until his breathing slowed down. He didn't need any oxygen or anything, and he was fine within 30 min and hasn't had any issues since. He was also not a crier at all. He only cried when he first came out, but that's really it. Here are some more pictures on his first day of life:

Just about to go home. We had to supplement with formula a couple of days because he lost 9% of his birth weight before we left. He was 6 lbs 9 oz when we left. But we stopped that yesterday.

Everything we came home with... lots of stuff

Getting him all set up in his car seat and his first little outfit

Grandma holding sweet baby Dane:

He always holds his pacifier his is mouth... so darn cute.

10 days to go

2010-10-06T11:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I just have 10 days left until my due date. Of course he could come before or after that date, but I can't believe the time is finally here. I finished my last day of work yesterday and boy does that feel good! I'm now a stay at home mom! I have a list of things to do while I'm home so hopefully I continue to stay busy before he gets here. I have another dr. appt today so we'll see if we've made any progress and how the little guy is doing. Also, I'll post my last baby bump pic later today. The next time I post will probably be about him.... so get excited! haha.

36 weeks

2010-09-16T09:56:00.000-07:00

Our blog is slowly morphing from the Josh and Tiffany blog, to the baby blog, which is fine by me. Because that's pretty much all we think about these days and he will soon consume our lives completely :)

I had a regular doctor's appointment yesterday and I'm already 1 cm dilated and 80% effaced! I know I can still go to my due date (or beyond), but the doctor seemed pretty sure that I wouldn't make it that long. Either way, this baby is coming soon. I'm more excited than anything at this point. Not nervous, but that will change I'm sure once I want to die from the pain. I still sleep great. I get up maybe once to pee and then a couple minutes here and there to reposition. Or, last night, when Josh elbowed me in the head, haha.

I think we're ready though for this little guy to join our family (well, as ready as you can be as first time parents). It's strange to think we only have a couple more weekends left being just a family of two and having the freedom to go and do anything we want.

This weekend Josh is playing in a dodgeball tournament put on by some of the Jazz players, which should be fun to watch. The Dew Tour is also this weekend which we'll be going to (has stuff like skateboarding, FMX, BMX, etc). I think Shaun White will be there this year too. We've gone the past couple years and it's always a lot of fun.

I'll take another picture and post it soon. It may be one of the last! I don't feel like I'm getting much bigger anymore, but I also see myself all day, so who knows.

Also, as far as a name goes, we're still debating between a few, but decided to wait to see him first before choosing the name. This is seriously going to be so hard! I had no idea. Any suggestions? :)

Nursery Pics

2010-09-10T14:36:00.000-07:00

The nursery is practically done! We are ready when he is! We don't have anything on the walls yet and we don't have a crib bumper, but he won't be sleeping in there at first anyways, so that stuff can wait. So, the minor details aren't done, but I'm happy with it all and can't wait to snuggle our little guy.

Here are a few pictures of what we've got so far

34 weeks - roughly 8 months

2010-09-01T21:19:00.000-07:00

Here's the picture of the month:

Vegas weekend:

We did lots of shopping, walking the strip, eating good food and seeing an AMAZING show. We went and saw Cirque Du Soleil, "Love" ... it was so awesome! We loved it!

I have been to Vegas a million times and have never seen this sign before! Crazy!

We also stopped by the Pawn Stars shop (from History Channel). Too bad none of the guys from TV were working that day.

Last weekend was my baby shower and I'm so grateful for everyone that came! I got so many amazing gifts and it was so nice seeing so many friends! Thank you all soooo much! We played some games, ate some food and hung out. Here is the proof:

This week

2010-08-24T12:07:00.000-07:00

I got bored with my last post, so I wanted to give a quick update and will add pictures soon.

This past weekend was my baby shower and I had such a good time! Two of my amazing sister in laws threw it for me and it was just wonderful! I am so grateful for them.

We had food, games, friends and lots of cute gifts. I am so lucky to have such amazing friends and family to come and support Josh and I and our little boy. And my mom came from CA too, which was so great to have her there!

This upcoming weekend Josh and I decided to go to VEGAS!! One last little getaway while it's just the two of us. We're just going for the weekend, so it'll be short and sweet, but we got tickets to see Cirque Du Soleil's LOVE (the Beatles one) and I am WAY excited to see that. We'll also hit up some of the outlets while we're down there and of course go swimming, since I'm sure it'll be way hot.

Other than that, I'm just trying to get through work each day and am counting down the days until I can stay home with our baby. What a different life it will be, but an amazing one.

Good news at the doctor

2010-08-13T09:37:00.000-07:00

I just got back from the doctor and we got another ultrasound today! The reason was (I don't know if you remember) but near the beginning of the pregnancy they found out that I had placenta previa, which meant the placenta was lying low and covering the cervix (tmi?) which is the path the baby needs to get out. If it didn't move by the end of the pregnancy, that would have meant a definite c-section.

They checked it today and it has completely moved out of the way!! So, no c-section because of this!! Hurray! Who knows, I may need it for some other reason, but at least we can now try a regular delivery, which I'm really excited about.

They also looked more at the baby and we got to see his cute little features. He was even opening and closing his mouth. Everything measured perfectly and the ultrasound tech said he was DEFINITELY still a boy. She said he was very well endowed :) I'll have to post the pic on here. He also weighs about 3 pounds 10 oz (roughly).

Only 9 more weeks!

Anthropologie?

2010-08-12T12:22:00.001-07:00

I definitely don't want this to come off rude to anyone AT ALL! That's not my intention... I'm just curious what all the hype about this store is? I guess I'm just not stylish enough to understand it. I mean some of the things are cute, but most of them look like old lady wear. I could see wearing a few of the outfits, but they are ridiculously expensive as well. I feel like I could find 75% of this stuff at DI.

I've never been the type to follow current trends anyways (I'm usually like a few years behind), so maybe that's why, but if someone out there can help me understand why this place is so popular... please fill me in.

30 1/2 weeks

2010-08-09T20:44:00.000-07:00

Things are getting better as far as my back is concerned. I still have back aches, but that's just thanks to pregnancy. I am starting to go to my dr. appts weekly now, which is exciting, it means we're getting closer and closer to the end and closer to seeing our little boy. I can't wait!

Menu for the week (edited with recipes)

2010-08-09T09:46:00.001-07:00

If you need some ideas:

Monday - Chicken Enchiladas and salad
Tuesday - Fettucine Alfredo, french bread and zucchini
Wednesday - Hot dogs, pasta salad, corn on the cob
Thursday - Orange chicken and rice
Friday - Taco Bar
Saturday - Grilled chicken, rolls and steamed veggies
Sunday - Lasagna, broccoli and caesar salad

Other ideas: Baked Potatoes, BBQ Chicken chipotle salad, homemade pizza

I really need to start taking pictures and posting recipes, but that just seems like so much more time and effort :) Feel free to leave your menus as a comment so I have ideas for next week!

EDITED:

To respond to the comments, Megan here is the alfredo sauce recipe (I really like it and it's easy). Also, thanks for your menu ideas! Don't be surprised if they show up on my menu next week, haha.

1/2 c. butter
1 pkg. cream cheese
2 t. garlic powder
2 c. milk
6 ounces grated parmesan cheese
1/8 t. pepper

(I half this recipe for just Josh and me and it's plenty)

Melt butter (medium heat), add cream cheese and garlic powder. Stir with whisk. Add milk slowly. Whisk. Stir in parmesan cheese and pepper. Take it off the heat. Letting it sit will help it thicken. If it's too thick you can thin it with milk.

Christina, here is my enchilada recipe:

1 cup sour cream
1 can of cream of chicken soup or cream of mushroom will work (I use cream of chicken)
1-2 chicken breasts (I just use one)
olives or green chiles if you want
about 1 cup of cheese (I just throw in a handful)
Tortillas (I use 4 with an 8x8 pan)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook your chicken, then mix with the other ingredients in a bowl. Fill up the enchiladas and leave about 1/3 of the mixture out and put the rest on top of the tortillas. Cook for 10 minutes, then take out of the oven and put a layer of cheese on top of the enchiladas. Cook another 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted.

Or you can just use a can of red or green sauce :)

Also, as far as the veggies goes, I'm still trying to find something good. I usually just use olive oil or butter and salt/pepper, but I'm not thrilled by it. With asparagus (which I used to hate, but now love), I just cook on the stove with melted butter and then melt shredded parmesan cheese on top and it's delish! I guess I could try that with the other veggies too. Ideas anyone? Also, as far as my menu goes, I put an idea on a certain day, but I hardly stick to that. If it doesn't sound good, I pick something from a different day, but at least having a menu, means I have the ingredients for seven meals. We usually eat out once a week as well, but I still pick 7 things, just so I have plenty of ideas.

Hospital Round 2

2010-08-02T06:13:00.001-07:00

Well, after my time at the hospital on Friday, they gave me morphine and I was out for quite awhile and actually got some rest. Saturday morning I was feeling better and able to move around. I even went out to lunch! Then I came home and after I woke up from a nap, PAIN! It was like the worst pain I've ever felt. My back just ached ALL over and I couldn't sit, stand or do anything without it hurting. I tried to bear with it and took some Tylenol, but we all know how much Tylenol really helps, not a whole lot. I went to bed with a couple of ice packs on my back and woke up a bunch, but at 4am is when it REALLY hurt. I woke up Josh and said we need to go back to the hospital.

We did, got all hooked up to the baby monitors and sat in pain until the nurse came back in the room. Only a couple of contractions, which was good, not like last time. All the tests still came back negative and again the answer was: It's just how the baby is positioned. I said, is it possible it will go away? And her response: "I wish I brought my crystal ball" ... Ok, you could have just said, "I'm not sure." I was so bugged, haha. So, they gave me a shot of morphine again and sent me on my way. I even mentioned the dislocated rib thing to her and she was like, "huh, I've never heard of that?" SERIOUSLY!? I've talked to multiple women who've been pregnant or are pregnant and had this happen to them. It's not like it's uncommon for heaven's sake!

Anyways, I enjoyed the rest of Sunday sitting on the couch... boring. And last night I woke up at 2 and couldn't sleep and ended up trying to sit/sleep on the couch the rest of the night. I'm definitely calling my dr. as SOON as they open to see about going to a chiropractor and maybe get some Loritab (which they say is ok to take while pregnant). I need some relief, because this baby still has 11 more weeks. There is no physically possible way I can do this another week, let alone another 2 1/2 months.

(Thanks for all the sweet comments and thoughts on the other two posts, I REALLY appreciate it)

Could it be?

2010-07-31T19:14:00.000-07:00

After my hospital experience yesterday, I hated that they didn't have answer as to what the heck was going on...this afternoon the sharp pains came back and now I hurt, A LOT. My back KILLS, my chest hurts, I can't breathe deeply, cough, laugh, etc. Josh suggested, maybe the baby dislocated a rib. I did some research and everything sounds like that could be it. I have the same exact symptoms. I also read on some baby forums about this happening to a lot of pregnant people. So, as of right now, that is what I believe happened. Nothing I can do about it, but Tylenol (which sucks), ice pack and possibly see a chiropractor on Monday if my dr. suggests that. We'll see.

But seriously, I hurt sooooo bad, I would not wish this upon anyone. I dread going to bed because I know I won't sleep one bit. I had such an easy pregnancy up until recently.... now... all of this and I still have 11 weeks. Ay yi yi.

My day in labor and delivery

2010-07-31T08:45:00.001-07:00

So, Thursday night I had kind of a rough night because I was having a sharp pain in my right side and pain in my right shoulder. I thought it was just normal pregnancy stuff and didn't think anything of it. Then at work on Friday morning it was getting a lot more painful. I called my nurse and she told me to go to the ER just to check on things like my gallbladder, liver, kidneys, etc. I was feeling the baby kick all morning so I knew he was doing ok. So, I left work at about 9 and headed to the hospital. Crying on the way there because it hurt so bad.

I got to the ER and since I'm 29 weeks along, they sent me straight to labor and delivery so they can monitor the baby the whole time. I was having Braxton Hicks while I was there (contractions that aren't painful, kind of like practice contractions and many people get them) They checked for a UTI (the catheter hurt like a B), which was negative and since I didn't have a fever they ruled out a kidney infection. Then they took me for an ultrasound to look at the other organs, which are all up under my ribs. The baby sure is taking up a lot of room in there. The radiologist said everything looked normal. So, I go back to the room after the ultrasound waiting for the nurse.

I was still hooked up to the monitors and I started having contractions again... this time they were painful. They were getting stronger and stronger and about 2-4 minutes apart. I started getting nervous and lots of thoughts were running through my head about if the baby did come early. They wouldn't let me eat anything in case I was in pre-term labor and I was starving. They did this test called an FFN test that predicts if you are in pre term labor and it came back negative, which was good. She also checked my cervix and I wasn't dilated at all, more good news. But those contractions hurt!! Now I know what to look forward to.

So, they never did have an answer to the pain in my side or shoulder and they didn't know why I was having contractions. I felt lost not knowing what was going on. They gave me a shot of Morphine and Phenagan to help the pain and stop the contractions. After resting another hour at the hospital they sent me home since the contractions were getting further and further apart.

It hurts so bad to move around, my back KILLS and I'm still getting contractions, but they're not nearly as painful and they're not nearly as frequent. I also started a fever last night and called the on-call physician to see if we should come back in. He said if the contractions get worse to come in. They didn't so I went to bed. I was up A LOT and crying 1/2 of the time, lol. I'm such a baby. My back just killed! I tried icing my back with a bag of ice and woke up about an hour later to water all over and the bag leaking, haha. This morning I'm feeling better, but not great. I'm still in pain, I just hope the baby decides to keep cooking and this doesn't happen again until I'm due.

July Happenings

2010-07-25T15:30:00.000-07:00

Here's a little catch up of our month so far.

July 4th we spent up in Park City with my parents and my brother's family. We had such a GREAT time! We stayed at a resort and did a lot of swimming, watched the Main St. parade, fireworks of course and just spent time together.

Some evidence:

Waiting for fireworks

July 4th Parade

We had such a great time with them and I'm glad my parents were able to come.

We also went to the Days of 47 Rodeo, which is celebrating Pioneer Day here in Utah.

Lastly, I tried to make a little something for the baby's room. This is what I painted:

3rd Trimester

2010-07-16T08:56:00.001-07:00

I would like to officially welcome myself to the 3rd trimester :) Only 13 more weeks, if he comes on time. We just love this little guy so much and we haven't even met him. How can that be? It will be so amazing when we finally can hold him and love him and snuggle him.

I still can't believe that I will be called "mom" ... what in the world. We have no idea how our life is going to change, but I can't even describe how excited we are. Why must we wait another 13 weeks?! Ahhhhhh.

On a side note, Josh is gone all weekend in NY for his friend's wedding. I would have loved to have gone, but in all honesty, I can't even sit at my desk during the day at work without being uncomfortable, let alone a stuffy, uncomfortable plane for 4-5 hours. But I miss NY and want to go back. Definitely next Oct. though for my brother in law's wedding, so I can look forward to that at least!

Those are my random thoughts for the day. Thanks for listening.

Random 4's

2010-07-09T06:22:00.000-07:00

I completely forgot I was tagged by my cousin, so I am just getting around to this, whoops. It's supposed to be random 8's, but I can't think of that many things, and to keep you interested, I have shortened my list:

4 TV Shows I enjoy watching:
1. Modern Family
2. Lost (sad it's not on anymore)
3. Bachelorette
4. Dancing with the Stars

4 things that happened yesterday
1. Tried to make homemade NY pizza and failed
2. Had girls night out making cards and eating ice cream
3. Almost died of heat exhaustion because our A/C is on the fritz
4. Watching Seinfeld and Friends reruns

4 things I'm looking forward to:
1. Our little boy
2. Not working anymore
3. A visit from family in August
4. The weekend

4 things I love about WINTER:
1. Christmas/Birthday/Anniversary
2. Listening to Christmas music
3. As much as I hate the cold, the snow is beautiful
4. Great food and family

4 things on my wish list:
1. To be skinny after I have the baby
2. Take another cruise with Josh
3. Move to CA one day
4. To have the most perfect, healthy baby

4 people I tag:
1. Mandy C.
2. Amy W.
3. Megan D.
4. McKenna R.

24 1/2 weeks.... practically 6 months

2010-06-29T18:14:00.000-07:00

I'm a little behind, but here are the shots. "Technically" six months is at 26 weeks, so I'm pretty close. It doesn't make sense, I know, but to be exact 24 weeks 4 days in these pictures.

Overstock Lagoon Day

2010-06-29T18:09:00.000-07:00

Every year, Overstock takes their employees to Lagoon. It's super nice because we get 2 free tickets, free lunch and a raffle. This year, they rented out the entire park, so the lines were super short. But I had to sit out because of the little babe in my belly, but I still had a lot of fun. I was able to ride the ferris wheel at least!

Rollercoasters

If you look closely enough, Josh is in the seat third from the front and he's on his phone. He says he was trying to take a picture, but I still thing he was checking twitter or something :)

What a thrill the ferris wheel was! hehe

Memorial Day - St. George

2010-06-29T18:04:00.001-07:00

We went down to St. George over Memorial Day just to get away. The plan was to stay in a hotel and just enjoy being together, but our wonderful friends, Sunny and Kelly were going down and Sunny's family lives there, so they invited us to come stay with them, which was super nice of them! We were able to enjoy their company and still have the getaway we were looking for.

Making the drive down to St. George

A little tennis anyone?

One of our favorites... bocce ball

I didn't play tennis, but I did play bocce ball. Dr's orders. Josh played some golf while there, but I didn't go so I don't have pictures of that. Overall, a wonderful weekend!

My pregnancy thus far

2010-06-29T08:17:00.001-07:00

I have been extremely lucky this pregnancy. I thought for sure it would be more misearable than it is (and trust me, I know it will get worse, but for now).

- I never had morning sickness
- I do get heartburn but not terrible. I just pop 1 Tums and I'm good to go.
- I get hungry a lot
- I don't think I ever got more tired than I was before I was pregnant, maybe slightly
- Unfortunately, my boobs have only grown a tiny bit so far, but I'm sure that will change after he's here
- I never craved anything specific. Only if I heard someone talk about something or I saw a commerical then it would sound really good, but I never had to run out and buy it right away.
- I pee a lot, but not a ton (yet)
- I've had a couple of headaches
- My biggest problem is my back starts to ache from sitting at work all day
- My feet hurt when I'm standing too long (even after an hour)
- I still sleep all night. Sometimes I wake up to pee, but not too often.
- No stretch marks (yet)
- The heat hasn't been terrible yet this summer, which is good
- I got to feel our baby move around 20 weeks... never felt flutters, just punches and kicks, so cute
- Only one week later, we could feel him from the outside and Josh could feel him too... tender moment
- Now I'm feeling him like crazy and he jabs me all the time - that little bully. It's still a little scary, I'll be honest (I'm not used to it!) but reassuring and so cute to know he's getting bigger

I still can't believe there is a little life inside of me (about a foot long and a little over a pound) that we will be responsible for.... and it's only 3 1/2 months away. I CAN NOT WAIT.

coming soon

2010-06-27T11:00:00.001-07:00

I just realized how boring I was and that I haven't posted for 2 weeks. That will change soon, once I have something sweet to blog about :) A new belly picture is in order since I'm now 24 weeks, maybe that will show up here by tomorrow. We'll see.

This week's menu

2010-06-12T16:30:00.001-07:00

Here's my menu for the week, if anyone is looking for ideas! I love seeing menus on people's blogs (Kimber, Steph, etc) because it makes it easier for me to figure out what to make!! (These are not my photos, I took them from the web)

The run down:

Monday - Bacon/Tomato Pasta

Tuesday - Chicken Quesadillas

Wednesday - Breakfast Burritos

Thursday - Pork Chop Skillet

Friday - Chicken Enchiladas

Saturday - Meatball Subs

Sunday - Homemade Lasagna

On a side note...one of my favorite things to eat are club sandwiches. I have figured out how to make them at home (obviously not difficult) and they taste just the same as restaurant style. Here is a picture of the ones we made:

I also need to update our blog about our Memorial Day weekend to St. George and our day at Lagoon... something to look forward to :)

20 weeks

2010-05-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

So far I still have heartburn, my back aches after sitting all day at work and my feet hurt if I stand too long. But that's not too bad and I can deal with it. I'd do anything for this little guy. At least I can still sleep through the night. I'm half way there and it's going by fast. But looking at the pace I'm growing, I think I might be a gigantic monster by the end. :)

New Carpet Pics

2010-05-25T16:38:00.001-07:00

Josh and I just put in new carpet in the bedrooms this weekend and it looks great! I love how it turned out. The carpet before wasn't terrible, it was only like 5 years old, but it was the basic carpet with a basic pad and the owners before us had a dog, so it was kind of gross. So, before the baby comes we wanted to make it nice and plush and clean! Here are some pictures before and after:

Old carpet

New carpet

Old carpet in baby's room

New carpet and new paint. The paint didn't turn out like we had planned, but it looks nice. We were really trying to stay away from baby blue, but it was bluer than we had hoped. Oh well!

With the crib :) We decided to set up the crib, because heck, new carpet and paint, time to start setting up right? Also, I want to try and make some of the bedding, so I need it to take the measurements. I absolutely love it!

We have the cutest baby ever and it's a....

2010-05-18T13:08:00.001-07:00

We had an appointment today and found out our baby is perfect in every way. We got to see pictures and we got a dvd of the ultrasound. We also found out, we're having a little boy!!!!!!! We are so in love with our little guy and can't wait to meet him. I can't believe we're going to have a son. That's so weird to say. But we couldn't be happier! We both felt like it was a boy, but there is always a doubt of course. Not anymore! Only 5 more months until we get to meet him. AHHH... I can't wait!

What do you know about investing? (UPDATE)

2010-05-11T13:18:00.000-07:00

My friend and I were talking at work today about some of the customers we talk to and the things they just don't understand or know about investing. A lot of them seem EXTREMELY naive when it comes to finances and investing and I mean EXTREMELY. But then we thought, is it that they don't know very much, or is that common and we just know more because we work in this field? So, I decided to set up a little poll. I have taken it down now, but here were the results after a couple days:

The question was, "Do you know how an IRA and a mutual fund work and the difference between the two?"

Responses:

Yes, absolutely - 6 votes (23%)
Pretty much - 0 votes (0%)
Eh, Kind of - 5 votes (19%)
A tiny bit - 2 votes (7%)
Not at all - 13 votes (50%)

It really surprised me that 1/2 of the responses were not at all. I guess I just assume that people know something about it, but again, it's because I've been doing this for almost 5 years. I would love to help anyone out that wanted some info on how to start or anything like that, because working in this industry and seeing people who are about to retire and only have like $50,000, makes me really sad. How can you live in your retirement years with only $50,000... you can't. I won't give advice, but it's ridiculously important to start saving something now. That's just my two cents.

Update to Olive Garden Post

2010-05-07T13:07:00.001-07:00

This is the result of the post below:

So, today I got a call from the manager at the Olive Garden I went to, to apologize. Oh man! I didn't mean for it to be such a big deal! Haha! He was really sorry and said he hopes we will come back and that he talked to the server about different ways he could have approached the situation. He explained they do charge that extra amount for alfredo (even though that's not the point) just so that I was aware in the future.

He was a totally nice guy and I feel bad that they actually talked to the server. Oh well, I do feel like he was rude and I was pretty annoyed the whole time I was there, so I guess it's good that he got talked to.

Also, he told me to expect a $20 gift card :) It paid off I guess!

Olive Garden

2010-05-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

I would probably say that Olive Garden is near the top of my "favorite restaurants" list. It could be because my absolute favorite food is ravioli. So, on Monday Josh and I went there for dinner. We sit down and are greeted by our server who goes by the name "Odd." It's on his name tag and everything. He introduces himself as the primary server and proceeds to tell us who the secondary and back up servers are (like we'll remember their names or something).

He's a little bit eccentric, older and obnoxious. Here's where the story starts. He asks our order and I tell him what I want. The same meal I order EVERY time I go there, without fail. Cheese Ravioli with 1/2 marinara and 1/2 alfredo sauce. I have probably eaten this about 50 times in my life. Then Odd says, "Ok, but that will cost extra." And I said, "What? Really? Is that new?" And he says, "It's never changed and I've been here for 25 years." So, I said, "Well, this is the only thing I ever order and I've never been charged extra for that." Then he goes, "Well then all of the servers who have helped you before have probably been fired." (Uh, doubt that).

I didn't make a big deal about it and I ordered it anyways even though I was totally bugged. He seriously pissed me off for some reason (I think it was his attitude), but we looked it up and Olive Garden started 27 years ago, so either he's lying (most likely) or the poor guy has been waiting tables for 25 years. Well, I calmed down because I realized I would just lower his tip by the amount of the charge, so whatever.

There were other things about his service that was really annoying too, but I won't go on too much about it :) So, the check comes and there is a note in there saying, "Have an 'Oddrific' Day!" Oh puhlease.

So, the next day at work I was telling my friend about this and he said sometimes if you file a complaint they will give you like a coupon or something. I figured I'd try and I was actually very polite in the response I sent (online) and just said how he could have handled it a little differently. It wasn't the fact that I had to pay but that he was trying to prove me wrong or something.

I got a response back today, apologizing for what happened and they said they would be sending me a gift certificate in the mail :) Can you believe that!!! Who knows, it'll probably be just like $5, but still! I was very pleased. So, if you ever have a problem with a restaurant and don't mind complaining, you might get something free out of it!

16 weeks

2010-05-03T19:27:00.001-07:00

Well, weeks and months are weird in pregnancy, so I'm just saying at 16 weeks I'm also 4 months (which isn't entirely true) But ummm... I can't believe how much bigger I now am from last time. I have a feeling I'm going to be HUGE.

This week's menu

2010-05-03T08:45:00.000-07:00

So, I know it's hard enough for me to make a menu for the week, so I decided I would share with you what I have on the list for this week in case you are looking for ideas. We actually had a lot of things come up last week, so I didn't get to use what I had planned, so it was a little more simple for me than normal because I already came up with some of the ideas last week.

I make a day by day list; however, sometimes I mix up the days to whatever I feel like for that day. Here is what I have and PLEASE leave comments on what you like to make, so then my menu for next week will be easier!

Monday - Pasta (probably spaghetti)

Tuesday - French Onion Soup

Wednesday - Shish Kabobs

Thursday - Homemade pizza

Friday - Chicken Fajitas

Saturday - Taco Soup

Sunday - Bacon, Egg and Cheese Bagel Sandwiches

Sometimes I try to make a 2 week menu, but wasn't feeling it this time :) Besides it makes grocery shopping a WHOLE lot easier when you know exactly what you need for that week.

Can't wait to hear your ideas!

I think I found a stroller!

2010-04-28T11:33:00.001-07:00

Ok, hopefully you don't have anything too negative to say about this stroller, because I think this is the one that I want to get. Now, I just need to get Josh's approval... which I'm sure he would be happy with it, haha. I have read tons of reviews and have had some friends who just had babies recommend this to me. Not sure which color to get yet, but this is what I'm thinking:

Chicco Cortina Travel System

Features

KeyFit Infant Car Seat

KeyFit Infant Car Seat, #1 Rated Infant Car Seat in America!
Energy-absorbing foam for improved side-impact protection
Secures baby from 4 - 22 lbs
Removable newborn insert for smaller babies
Thickly cushioned seat pad and five-point harness for maximum comfort
Spring-assisted level foot, bubble levels, and “Center-Pull” adjustment for easiest installation

Cortina Stroller

One-hand fold and automatic storage latch
Multi-position, flat-recline seat with “Memory Recline”
Parent and child cup holders and large storage basket
Adjustable leg support, removable canopy, and all wheel suspension
For use from birth to 50 lbs

Why is this so stressful!? :) I think I have also decided to go with the 22lb weight limit vs. the 30lb because really, it's just a matter of when we have to buy a convertible seat, sooner or later and I don't want to be carrying around a 30lb baby in a car seat. So, if Josh gives me the go ahead, I'll be buying this beauty by the weekend! (I have a coupon for it and it expires Sat, lol)

10 Honest Truths (but I can only think of 7)

2010-04-21T09:09:00.001-07:00

I was tagged by my friend Lindsey to list 10 honest truths about me, so this is my blog, I'll say what I want, and please don't judge :)

1. I enjoy speaking in front of people, and yes, I enjoy giving talks in church. I definitely don't like preparing them, but I do like to give them. Not sure why, because I still get nervous but for some reason I don't mind it at all.

2. I am obsessed with finances, which can be good and bad. I have my own system to make sure bills are paid on time, which isn't fool proof, but haven't missed one yet. I check our credit card statement a couple times a week and I know exactly where every dollar goes. But I feel bad for Josh because I'll ask him questions like, "Where did you spend $5.16?" I don't mean to be obnoxious or a brat, I just want to make sure everything is accounted for. I also check mint.com periodically too which is a good place to see all of your accounts in one.

3. I love to hang out with the guys. This isn't a secret, I grew up with brothers, but I'd much rather be watching "the game" or playing xbox or golfing or whatever, then just sitting around. I'm also not good at crafts or sewing which doesn't help. :) Again, I feel bad for Josh because sometimes I feel like I want in on his time with his friends, but he's really sweet about it and we find a nice balance.

4. I have pretty thick hair so I can kind of get away with it, but I wash my hair on average every 5-6 days. This may be gross for some, but honestly, my hair doesn't get greasy until that last day. I have also read and heard that it's better for your hair to not wash it daily because it strips your hair of it's natural oils. I do have to straighten or curl my hair after I wash it, so I'm glad it only needs to be done every 5-6 days.

5. I thought this was normal until a few years ago, but everytime I eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I have to have Doritos on it. Just the original cheese doritios. If I don't, it's hard for me to eat the sandwich. I don't think it's weird, just not very common.

6. I could careless what I wear to work. I'm not trying to impress anyone there and I have 3 pairs of pants I switch between. I also will admit that I wear white socks to work and as tacky as that is, I don't care. Besides I sit at a desk all day and people don't see them, but still. I'm not ashamed.

7. I'm going to be honest with this one, but sometimes I eat things past their expiration date. I hate wasting food and if it still smells good and looks good, I'll eat it. I know that's unsanitary, but I have never had food poisoning, so I think those dates are just guidelines, haha. But seriously, if it's something like meat or milk, I usually don't risk it, but other things, I don't really care.

I can't think of anything else, but if I do I'll add them on later.

Boy or Girl?

2010-04-16T13:27:00.000-07:00

What do you think? We have our gender ultrasound in 1 month and I'm curious what your predictions are. The voting bar is at the top of the page

New Car

2010-04-15T10:25:00.000-07:00

So after my accident about a month ago, we have finally purchased a new car! I don't have a picture of the actual one, but here is a photo I found online:

It's a 2003 Jetta and it looks just like this... just has leather seats, which we love and the back windows are tinted. Happy to finally have this search over. However, now that we have spent money on a car, we most likely won't be going on that trip we mentioned earlier... ah well, this is more important anyways.

13 weeks

2010-04-09T21:47:00.000-07:00

Here I am at 13 weeks... done with the first trimester! I think only 1/4 of that is baby and the other 3/4 is just fat being pushed out, because technically with your first you don't show that quickly. I also decided not to post the pictures from month 2 and 1 because they're pretty much just what I looked like before I was pregnant, lol. Now only if my boobs would just get bigger...

Stroller advice

2010-04-07T06:17:00.001-07:00

Thank you all for being so happy for us! I still don't "feel" pregnant because I just look fat but hopefully soon I'll start looking like I have a baby bump instead. I also have some pictures from month 1, 2 and 3 that I will also post.

My question though for all you moms out there... we're looking for a good stroller/car seat combo but seriously I have no idea what's good and what's bad. I know we want a stroller that is light because I will get a serious workout if it's too heavy, but other than that we don't really know what the difference between all of these strollers/car seats are. Also, we want something gender neutral that we can use for more than just one baby. Any suggestions??

Surprise!

2010-04-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

After years of trying, we have finally been blessed! Baby Austin is on his/her way, October 15, 2010. That's right, we're pregnant! 12 weeks along! Can you believe it?? We've had 3 ultrasounds already and each one our little baby is just getting bigger and bigger and squirming all around! It's the cutest thing ever.

Here is the picture from our 2nd ultrasound at 9 1/2 weeks:

I haven't had a chance to upload the pictures from today's ultrasound, but we got some 3D ones too, which is really awesome (but may look creepy to some, lol). I was extremely lucky not to have any morning sickness. My only real symptoms are fatigue and I'm hungry ALL THE TIME. I'll post more pictures later, but Josh and I wanted to spread the news. Our first try on invitro worked and we couldn't be happier!

I already love our little nugget so much!

Crazy day

2010-03-17T10:26:00.000-07:00

Well, Josh is back from his trip and I'm so happy to have him home! He got home at midnight last night. He was in Texas for a conference for work. Something called SXSW - South by southwest, whatever the heck that means, lol. He had a good time, but we're both happy he's finally back! He does leave for Canada Friday night though for a lacrosse game, so he'll be gone again this weekend, dumb.

As for me - I'm sure you saw on my facebook, but I was in a car accident yesterday. I'm ok, so don't worry :) It was the first accident I've EVER been in. Never been in a fender bender, or anything, so I was totally shooken up over this. And of course it had to be my fault :(

I was turning left into the grocery store parking lot and there were 3 lanes of oncoming traffic. They were all coming to a stop at the red light and the first 2 lanes stopped for me. I was creeping out into the third lane to make sure there weren't any cars, and out of no where this guy slams into me. I spun around 180 degrees and it was a complete miracle I didn't hit like the 4 other cars around me. Seriously, no idea how that happened. When my car stopped, I just thought, "how many cars did I just hit" Really scary. I started crying too, I'm a baby, but I was so nervous and had no idea what to do. The lady behind me that saw everything, came up to me and asked if I was ok and hugged me and said everything would be already. She was the sweetest lady. She called the police for us and she told me she would wait with me until they came.

The man I hit was 69 and his airbag deployed, but he was alright, thank goodness. My back immediately hurt on my right side where my ribs are right after we hit. It stopped hurting, but when I woke up this morning, not only was my back still sore, but my neck is KILLING me. I can hardly turn my head. It feels like I pulled a ton of muscles on the left side. I actually walked home after the accident, because it was pretty close to my house and I didn't want the police to drive me, because I would have felt weird if someone saw them dropping me off at my house, haha.

My car is messed up and had to get towed (pictures to come). It's really not as bad as it may sound, but my car still wasn't driveable. The other guy's car was, so he at least was able to drive home. My front right passenger side got smashed in at the wheel, so I couldn't drive on that tire.

Anyways I was totally emotional all day and thanks for the all texts and calls... sorry I didn't respond to the calls, I would have just cried if I answered, haha.

But all is good now and Josh is home and I'm happy things weren't any worse! You live and learn.

Day to day

2010-03-03T09:10:00.000-08:00

Hmmm. So, nothing new is going on and life is pretty standard over here... hence no blog posts. I'm trying to come up with SOMETHING exciting but haven't really thought of anything. Josh was out of town for Valentine's day so we didn't go out that day. We did spend the evening together about a week later, which is what I prefer anyways, because Feb. 14 is crowded anyways.

I'm happy Spring is almost here! Man, I can't wait! I love the warm weather. Josh and I are trying to plan a trip around Memorial Weekend....maybe something in the Caribbean this time. It'll be nice to go somewhere relaxing and not a go-go-go type of vacation. Which would still be fun. So... any ideas? We're thinking either another cruise or maybe an All-Inclusive type vacation to one island? Some places we've thought about are Aruba, Bahamas, Punta Cana (DR), St. Lucia, St. Maarten, etc. Anyone have experiences they would like to share??? All thoughts are welcome!

Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin

2010-02-22T06:56:00.001-08:00

Here's the recipe I talked about in my last post. It's an Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin and it's easy and delicious!

Ingredients
1 (2-pound) boneless pork tenderloin, with fat left on (the ones that look like a log)
2 teaspoons of salt

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme or 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon dried basil or 2 teaspoons fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon dried rosemary or 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary

Directions
Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.

Place the pork loin on a rack in a roasting pan. Combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. With your fingers, massage the mixture onto the pork loin, covering all of the meat and fat.

Roast the pork for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 425 degrees F and roast for an additional 30 minutes. Test for doneness using an instant-read thermometer. When the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees F, remove the roast from the oven. Allow it to sit for about 20 minutes before carving. It will continue to cook while it rests.

The cooking times will vary, but it's best to use a thermometer to know when exactly it'll be done, then there's no guessing.

But this thing is so moist and tastes wonderful! I paired it along side some mashed potatoes and gravy and some steamed veggies. Enjoy!

Weekend with the fam

2010-02-10T07:30:00.002-08:00

So, it's been awhile since I've been on here, it's just been a crazy month. We went to Texas this last weekend for our little nephew's baby blessing. He is just the sweetest little thing ever. His name is Austin Daniel, so tender. I have some pictures to post, but as always, they are at home and I am at work. I will recap the weekend when I add the pictures.

Josh goes to California tomorrow for a lacrosse tournament! I wish I could go with him but I couldn't get off work... so I'm stuck at home. I'm sure I'll find some things to keep me busy though. I know this post is boring, but I just wanted you to know we're still here, just busy with work and family. I have another great recipe I want to post too, that I'll add here later. It's SOOO fancy, but so easy and yummy.

pictures for the previous post

2010-01-14T18:30:00.001-08:00

Homemade ravioli I forgot to blog about... yum!!!

These lasagna roll up things that I thought turned out well (I love Italian food, can you tell):

A month of medicine (I even have my own sharps container for all the needles, haha):
One night of medicine :(

My homegrown herbs (cilantro, chives and basil)

The newest addition to our family... the ping pong table:

GIRL PARTY! Night out with my best friends:

New Years with amazing friends:

My new camera's tricks:

Christmas and New Years

2010-01-10T11:29:00.000-08:00

Josh and I had such a wonderful Christmas and New Years. It was the first year we stayed home and spent the holidays together. Here are some pictures of our holidays:

Josh's presents:

My presents:
My beautiful new camera:
Just a cute picture :)
Christmas evening:

I have a lot more pictures I want to post, but haven't really gotten around to it. Other notable things that I will post pictures of: The cool pictures my new camera takes, the fresh herbs I'm growing (dorky, but I love it), New Years pictures and the newest addition to our home... Josh's new ping pong table. It just takes so long to find the pictures I want to post, ugh. More to come.

Three Reasons...

2010-01-04T15:15:00.000-08:00

Why I need pepper spray:

1. While walking to the bank on my lunch break (at the Gateway), a guy is standing there staring at me. As I pass by him he raises his eyebrows and says "Hey Baby." Meanwhile I give him a dirty look and continue walking.

2. After work I was walking to my car and this homeless man (with just one front tooth, that's it) is following me and is now walking beside me and says, "Hello ma'am." I say "Hi" (to be nice) and continue walking. I turned around and he was already walking a different way. Well, about 30 feet later, here he is again and he says, "May I have a word with you?" I tell him "no" and keep walking. Yikes.

3. Also, after work, I was walking to my car, a gardner is walking towards me. I think nothing of it, because there were a lot of gardners around. As he passes me he says, "Hey baby, I love you mommy" then puckers his lips and makes a kissing noise.

Do I have a "say something creepy to me" sign on my face?