Hospital Pictures

*Hospital Pictures*

These were taken when he was only a few minutes old. My mom was the only one at the hospital when he was born. Everyone else came Friday after a good night's sleep.



Here's the ones that came that day:

Jared stayed that night obviously but I thought it was a cute father-son picture.

Aunt Kelci

Big Brother Crue

Aunt Loni

Uncle Kyle and Crue

Grandma Little with her two grandsons (they are the first grandkids on my side so you can imagine how spoiled they are:))

Grandpa Peterson

Rachael, Crue, and Grandma Peterson

The story

(Warning! It's long - for journal purposes)

Thursday (June 11) we went to my last doctor's appointment before I was scheduled to be induced on Monday. They did a non-stress test because I was over 41 weeks. The baby's heart rate wasn't doing something they were looking for, possibly because he was sleeping. Dr. Sanders came in after a while to talk to us and showed us on the chart where there was a slight bump in my contraction line (it went under instead of up like a mountain) and said that where that was and with what the baby's heart rate had done right around that point made them worry that my placenta was starting to calcify from being old. If it calcifies, then not as much oxygen will reach the baby and he didn't want us to have a still birth Monday when they start me. My doctor and his office were going on a trip that weekend and he didn't want to have to worry about me all weekend. He asked us to go home and get our stuff, eat (I could only eat a little if I wanted to), makes calls if we needed to, and then head over to the hospital. I also had Jared give me a blessing before we left. We got to the hospital at 9 pm and he was there waiting for us. After getting changed the nurse came in to get my iv going. I had tested positive for Strep B so they had to give me two doses of antibiotics, 4 hours apart. The nurse tried the first time in my right arm. She had to move around a little trying to get the needle to thread. I started getting light headed and finally she pulled it out. I asked her about numbing it first (they had done that with Crue) so she tried on my other arm and numbed it first. She still couldn't get it in. She called for another nurse and then started trying again. The other nurse came in as the one was trying a third spot. She still couldn't get it so the second nurse put heat packs on my arm to try to get my veins to do better. After a while she came back and tried again. She ended up digging around for a while again but luckily this time I was numb. She finally was able to get it in. I now have 3 bruises from the first three tries. I felt bad for the first nurse, Krista, because she felt so bad and was having the hardest time (she said she's been a nurse for 9 years). The cool thing was the second nurse was Natalie, who was my nurse when Crue was born (I think she was new then) and I was in the same delivery room that I had Crue in. The 3rd nurse, Megan (who was my actual nurse - the other two were just helping) started the Pitocin about the time the first bag of antibiotics was empty. I had been having a few contractions that weren't too bad. It was mostly pressure, not pain. I have had them before and they only last that night and then go away. When I got to the hospital (and they started the Pit) I was dilated to a 5. After the Pitocin kicked in my contractions weren't measuring near as strong on the machine but they sure hurt a lot more. I was going to see if I could deliver without an epidural (basically hold off until I couldn't handle it anymore) because we don't have insurance and the one I had with Crue cost about $1000. My first contraction happened around 11:30 pm. After going to the bathroom around midnight I decided I'd better ask for my epidural because my contractions were getting pretty bad. Megan called for the anethesiologist and I was now doing what I could to make it through the contractions. After a little while I wasn't getting a break between contractions. I could feel the pain in my pelvic area still (a lot of it would go away but not all of it) and knew that another one was about to hit. I asked about the anethesiologist and she told me that he was on his way (she went and checked one of the times). She turned the Pitocin down since I was not getting a break. Shortly after that I felt like I needed to push a little with the contractions. I told Megan and she checked me. I was at a 7. That was when she went to check on the anethesiologist so I could get an epidural before I got to an 8. She turned the Pitocin off at that point. I think she recorded it and walked out. All of a sudden I really felt like pushing and started saying it - loud enough that the nurses could hear. Krista came in (it had been maybe 10 seconds since Megan had left) to check me and I told her Megan just barely checked me and I was a 7. She started to check me while my contraction was about over and I told her I was getting another one. She pulled her hand away and all of a sudden my water breaks. The baby is now crowning and I am unable to stop my body from pushing. She yells for Megan and all three of them are back in the room. They call my doctor (who was at home at the other end of town) and the respitory therapist and are doing everything they can to help me. They had me roll on my left side and for the first time I would feel a break between my contractions. Natalie was by my head talking me through it (like last time), Krista (I think) was holding the baby in until the doctor got there, and Megan was getting other things ready. I heard someone in the hall ask if we needed the anethesiologist and I jokingly said that he was too slow (I think they thought I was mad at him because I couldn't joke very well while in pain). I had gone from a 7 to water breaking, crowning and pushing in 30-45 seconds (not exaggerating). Doctor Sanders called and said he was in the parking lot so they rolled me on my back and he came running in. After about 3 good pushes, the baby came out. It was 12:51 am. I had been in labor for about an hour and a half. They didn't have time to get the bed apart or anything. It was crazy. It was so good though. I would definitely do it again without an epidural if it went that fast or faster. It was a lot of pain but I made it through, and I healed a lot faster. Two hours later I was able to walk over to the recovery room. Later Jared and I were talking about it and Heavenly Father was definitely there helping me. I went really fast which was good considering I didn't have an epidural. Cooper was a lot smaller than Crue (1 lb. 1 oz. smaller) and had a much smaller head, which was good since Crue had gotten stuck on my tailbone. When my water broke, Cooper's head was already past my tailbone so I didn't have to worry about him getting stuck. I think the fluid helped him over my tailbone. With his head being a lot smaller and him just being smaller overall, I didn't tear which was really nice. The doctor told me I just had some scratches. I was especially glad about that since I wasn't numb and was worried about stitches. Also, since we were worried about money, it was sure nice to know that the anethesiologist didn't get there in time so we won't have that expense. It was a really great experience and I'm so grateful for how everything went and for Heavenly Father's help through it all. There were so many times I didn't think I could do it, even though I really had no choice. And most of all I'm grateful for Jared. I felt so bad for how hard I was squeezing his hand but he said it was ok. After Cooper came out Jared was crying and Doctor Sanders asked if dad wanted to cut the cord. He said "If I can see through the tears!". Later he told me he had started crying because of how much pain I was in (I was yelling to get him out of me) and then they were tears of joy when he saw Cooper born. I have the most amazing husband, even though he doesn't believe me. I love seeing him be a dad to our boys. It makes me fall that much more in love with him when I see him playing with Crue or when he's holding Cooper. I love him so much! Plus, he gave us some really, really cute boys. :)

He's here!

I'll post the story later when I have some more time but I just wanted to say that he's here and we're all doing great. Crue has been having a blast hanging out with my parents and my sister (getting spoiled I'm sure) while we've been in the hospital. We just got home today. Here's a picture for you of Cooper and one of our family at the hospital.

Cooper West Peterson

June 12, 2009 12:58 am
8 lbs 5 oz 20.5 inches

Mean doctor

So my doctor isn't really mean. In fact, we really like going to him (yes, I make Jared go with me to all the pregnancy appointments). Yesterday I had another appointment and he asked about stripping my membranes. We were planning on asking him to do it so we said yes. I remember being scared to do it with Crue because almost everyone said it hurt so bad but it didn't really hurt and I was fine afterward (once I got some water). This time though, holy cow it was not so good! It didn't hurt really bad, like say a bad cut would, but it was sure some really uncomfortable pain!! Jared told me after that I did really good and I told him I held my breath through a lot of it because it was not fun. Then my doctor had me stick around and do a non-stress test and get an ultrasound to make sure there was enough fluid. He usually starts that at 41 weeks (which I am today) and you have to do it twice a week. So I'm scheduled to go back Thursday. I probably won't post about that appointment because there's not much to post anymore, especially since I just went yesterday. When the girl was doing the ultrasound she was using the small machine that can go from room to room instead of the nice one that they can project on the wall (that they use for the other ultrasounds) and the computer was turned just enough so I couldn't see it but I think Jared could. She asked if we knew what we were having and I said a boy. She said he was really showing it off. It was pretty funny. So look forward to the next post being about the baby getting here!

You might be a redneck if....

....you mow your lawn and find a vehicle. So I guess even though we didn't really mow our lawn but do have weeds like crazy and a torn apart vehicle in our yard, we must be rednecks. :)
My uncle took what he wanted off their suburban and then gave it to Jared so he could use parts off of it for his '86 Blazer he's been working on for rock crawling. He got the Blazer for really cheap and it's not the best condition so he's not worried about dinging it or scratching the paint or anything while he's four-wheeling/rock crawling. Plus the wheels and tires could be sold for more than he paid for the Blazer so that was worth it right there! Jared has sold some of the stuff off the suburban that he doesn't need and has already made more than it cost him to get it here so that's been good. He has gotten a lot off the suburban for his Blazer and that has been a great help. If Jared can just sell the tires and wheels off the Blazer (know anyone that wants them?) then he can buy the tires and wheels he wants/needs and then get those, the ball joints, steering linkage, and park brake all on/fixed then it will be street legal and good to go for rock crawling. He has to sell the tires and wheels because they're six lugs and he's putting different axles on that are eight lugs. I'm so glad it's almost done so we can take it out and have some fun in it now that it's warmer (it's hard to go in the snow).

By the way, my uncle is an awesome artist. He takes car parts and driftwood and turns them into amazing things. You can check out his blog here and see all the things he's made. (It's also listed in my blog lists under Tim Little's Fine Art.) If you're in Salt Lake I think he's got stuff in shows there and I know there's something about posts downtown that artists get to put stuff on top of and he was one of the ones selected so you can see them there. The shows he has stuff in is listed on his blog. If any of you have parts he can have, let me know. He's always looking for stuff from engines.

Sprouts!

Yes, we have sprouts! It's amazing! We are so excited. Everything has some sprouts except for the potatoes and two more rows of corn that we planted on Monday. We also got my tomatoes planted but they are plants, not seeds, so of course they're the biggest things out there. We've only had two of the circles with sprouts so hopefully the others are just taking their time. The ones that have sprouted are Montana Jack (a pumpkin) and another pumpkin that are supposed to be the big competition size ones. I'm excited. Here's some pictures of our sprouts. This first one shows most of the stuff that's in the rows. You can't see all of the sprouts because some are little but from the very top of the picture to where I'm standing there are carrots, yellow onions, green onions, beans, and then peas.

These are the beans and peas.

And here's the corn! I'm so excited for corn. I LOVE fresh corn. And I'm really excited to be able to bottle a lot of this so that we can have it all year long (and have some good food storage).

This is the Montana Jack - it was the first in the circles to sprout.
These are the large competition size pumpkins.

I'll post more pictures once we start getting veggies. One of the tomato plants has a little tomato growing on it so I'm excited for that. We have 5 Big Beef tomatoes (I think that's what they're called) and 2 Sun tomatoes (one of those has the tomato growing) and 7 grape tomatoes. Crue LOVES grape tomatoes so I figured it would be better to plant them ourselves and he can have them to eat whenever he wants instead of spending tons of money on the ones at the store.

Haircuts

Both Jared and Crue have been in need of a haircut. I cut Jared's all the time so that was no big deal. My sister-in-law, Molly, cut Crue's hair last time and showed me what to do so I could do it. I've tried a couple of times when he was younger but it was hard and I didn't know what to do - I've watched Jared's mom cut his hair so I knew what to do when I started cutting his. We hoped that if Crue watched Jared get his hair cut and then had Jared hold him, he might do good. It definitely helped but after a while he was ready to be done. I got it done and it looked pretty good. I was impressed. :) I took a picture and he loved smiling for me. It was so cute. Here's my little boy with his new hair cut. There was sure a lot of hair to cut off!

Another doctor visit...

I'm still a good 3 1/2 and he said my cervix is really good. He was really surprised at how patient I am - he's got some women that are ready to beat him if he doesn't get the baby out of them, especially if they go past their due date! He told Jared he has a really patient wife and it was even better when Jared said the same thing later. I have another appointment Monday night and we're thinking we'll probably ask him to strip my membranes then. It didn't work with Crue but we're hoping it'll work this time.

Where are my contractions?!

We went to the doctor (again) last night. He said I'm a good 3 1/2 almost a 4 and that my cervix is really good. Once I have contractions, I'll do great. He told me I need to get out and do stuff. Problem is, it doesn't work! After doing a lot of work when we went camping, I still haven't had contractions. With Crue, I tried walking (even pushing a stroller with a 18 month old up and down hills on a 3 mile walk), and a bunch of other things. I think we're going to see about a four-wheeler ride this time. That's the only thing we didn't try with Crue that might work. If not, at least I get to have fun trying! :) I'm hoping to wait until Monday anyway. Then it would be June and my awesome neighbor, Jessica, will be working that night in the OB so she could be my nurse! I guess the next update will either be when the baby comes, or after my appointment next Wednesday.

Crue's new ride

My mom found this four-wheeler on clearance at Cal Ranch. It comes with a SWAT guy and a gun. I think the gun got lost in the toy bucket but Crue has fun putting the guy's helmet on. He calls it a "hat". He points at Jared's helmet and calls it a hat too. Yesterday Crue decided to start riding the four-wheeler. It was hilarious! He sat on it and just used his legs to move. I got a video but it was at the end of when he was riding so it wasn't very good but you get the idea. The picture shows how small the four-wheeler is compared to him.
I have a feeling we'll have to be getting him a four-wheeler someday:) He sure loves anything with wheels! (Not much of a shock coming from our family.)

Memorial Day Camping

I was excited to get one more camping trip in before the baby comes. Not that we won't go camping again this summer but it'll be a little harder with two kids (one being fairly new) than it is with one. We went to Oak Grove - my favorite place - and had a lot of fun. Jeremy and Molly and their kids were there the entire time (Jared's brother). Molly's sister, Amanda, and her husband were there but left Saturday. Molly's sister, Erin, left Sunday, and her other sister, Jen, came for Saturday night only. We just hung out Saturday and played a few games or hung out around the fire. It was overcast and cool but it felt good. That night a storm came and it about blew away a screen house (it was staked in but the wind pulled a few stakes out) and it pulled one of our tent stakes out. It rained too - thank goodness for awnings and trees. Jared's parents joined us for dinner Saturday night. Molly's friend joined us on Sunday. A few people went hiking Sunday and for dinner we had Jared's parents, my entire family, Molly's dad, and Jen's husband. Jared and I were in charge (luckily we had lots of help) and we did Jared's famous dutch oven bbq chicken and potatoes and I did two kinds of cobbler. Six dutch ovens at once! We had both camp chefs set up and I used charcoal for the cobblers. It was SO good!
I only got one picture the entire time though - how terrible am I! We had gotten some pallets from my brother-in-law. Jared's brother had talked to the camp host and he remembered us from last year. That was good because he didn't care that we had more cars and people than were allowed per site (he said he remembered us being quiet so we were ok). He said he knows that old pallets need to be burned but he hates the nails that always end up where they shouldn't be so Jared tore the pallets all apart and the kids helped put the nails into soda cans to throw away. On Saturday Crue "helped" Jared take some pallets apart. He was helping to hold a pallet while Jared hammered on it and then later he was sitting on the edge of the cement with the can and helping to put the nails away in it. When I went to get the picture of him sitting on the cement he stood up so I didn't get it but the one below is of him "helping" hold the pallet so Jared can break it apart. I love seeing those two together - it's so cute!

Hard work

Rachael and I decided that it is much better doing a garden together rather than Jared and I doing one, and Tyson and Rachael doing one. Monday night we started working on it. The guys (Jared, Tyson, and Kevin) all helped till the front flower bed so I could plant some seeds I had bought. I had edging that I had bought the first summer we were here and I was finally able to put that up. Rachael, Rachel, and Kevin all helped get the edging in and then Kevin and Rachel went home and Rachael went to help with the backyard while I planted seeds in front. So here's my new flower bed:

Because of the wonderful clay here in Cedar, Jared and Tyson have had a rough job (I bet they're probably glad we're only doing one garden instead of each doing their own too). They tilled the ground for the garden but that stuff is basically rock hard. They got one big area tilled that we are growing tomatoes, onion (green and yellow), carrots, beans, peas, corn, and potatoes in. Then they tilled 8 circles off to the side (and Rachael and I sort of dug out another one) that we planted different kinds of pumpkin in - for carving, decoration, and for eating - along with zucchini, cauliflower, and squash. I think that might be everything. Tyson's mom is going to come down this summer and teach us how to bottle so we can bottle a lot of the food for food storage and just to have in the winter and stuff. I'm really excited. I hope everything grows and grows well! The only things we have left to do are to plant zucchini (I need to get seeds), get more tomato plants and plant them in the garden along with the ones I already have (they are still sitting in pots on our deck), and cut up potatoes and plant them. Other than that, everything is planted and ready to go! I'm so excited!! This is my first garden so I'm really excited to see how it goes.

I tried to get a shot of the entire thing but I couldn't fit all the holes in the picture from where I was. I'll get better shots when things are growing!

Jared is tilling where the potatoes are going to go - we already had everything else planted except some of the corn that we'll start in a couple of weeks so that we can have two rows of corn ready to be picked at a time instead of 4-6 rows all at once.

Rachael watering the seeds.

Tyson watching the rest of us do all the work! j/k Actually, he was taking a break from tilling while Jared took his turn. These are all pictures from the second night of work. I forgot to get some of the first night with all of us working when Kevin and Rachel were here too. More garden pictures in a couple of weeks with some sprouts hopefully!

Doctor

This appointment was a lot faster than last week. We were home half an hour after my appointment! Things went pretty good. My cervix was off to the side a little bit so that sucked when he was trying to figure out what I was at. He asked what I was at last time and he started to say a 2 but we told him and he said, yeah, you're a 3 - 3 1/2. Apparently my cervix is moving forward meaning he's dropping to get ready. So hopefully that means I'll go into labor on my own. I'm good waiting until June though. They always say something when I'm there about how they feel for me but in all honesty, I am having a great pregnancy and am just fine waiting. They're really nice though and I love going there. It was funny because while we were talking to the doctor when he checked me he told me I need to go garden. We laughed and said I had been doing that the last two nights and it obviously hasn't worked! Speaking of garden, I'd better get pictures of that posted!
Also, the doctor talked to us about an option to help with money. He said as long as I have a good delivery (so basically like Crue's) they can discharge me after 6 hours instead of waiting 24 hours. He already wrote me the prescriptions that I would be getting after the baby is born. If I want to stay in the hospital I can if there's empty rooms and basically pay room and board so that I'm there while the baby is (since they keep him 24 hours for the testing). I guess the only difference is that I have to take my own pain medication rather than the hospital charging $5 a pill every time a nurse has to give me something. I don't know how much it really is but it's a lot cheaper if I do it myself than to have to pay for the hospital to do it. I'm excited for that. My doctor is always trying to think of ways to help save us money and make it so that we are excited for the baby and not so worried about the money part. It's been really nice.

Not so fun weekend....

Friday night we had a fun girl's night out planned. We were going to the What Women Want Expo in St. George and then to dinner and out for ice cream. The expo was really fun. I started getting a little sore during the last couple of rows but figured I'd tough it out since we were almost done. It was also after dinner and I was hungry. We went to Texas Roadhouse after and I was so excited - I have been wanting to go there for a long time. I ended up getting sick and threw up twice while we were there and wasn't able to eat any dinner. We went to a shoe store after and I stayed in the car (Rachael stayed with me). Rachael ended up driving after that because I was getting worse. We stopped at Cold Stone (I stayed in the car) and then headed home. I kept throwing up, even once everything was out of me, until about 3:30 am when I was finally able to go to sleep. I kept Jared up too and he had to be to work at 8 am (and work 16 hours!). I felt bad. I was sore from walking around and trying to throw up half the night. I ended up going to my parents' house so that they could watch Crue and I could sit and relax. I was able to eat a little bit and that was good. I felt a lot better, especially by Sunday, but my stomach still hasn't fully recovered. I still can't eat as much as before and I don't want much sugar which is unusual for me.

Jared felt sick at the first of the week but never threw up. Then in the middle of the week we were at Jared's friend's house getting a helmet that he was giving to Jared and Crue threw up a LOT - and all over me. Luckily his friend was pretty cool about it. Then on my one night of fun, I end up getting it and got it worse than both of my boys! It went progressively worse from one of us to the next. I'm just glad it's all over with now!

Tonight Tyson and Rachael are coming over to plant a garden in our backyard. They are going to be doing stuff to their backyard so it's not ready for a garden but they don't want to wait any longer so they decided to do it in our backyard. I'm glad because I wanted to do one but don't know what to do and figured it wouldn't get done this year (we're only good at growing weeds). Since they're coming over to do one, we're all going to work on it and do a community one - so I'll add what I want to it and we invited some other friends to come add to it if they want. I'm really excited to learn how to garden. Tyson's mom is going to come teach us how to bottle later this year too so we can bottle some of our stuff. I'm excited to be able to add to our food storage, especially stuff that I've grown and bottled myself! I'll post pictures of the garden and hopefully of us working on it. I also got some flower seeds to put in the flower bed out front so I'm going to get that done tonight with the edging I have to go around it. Hopefully it'll do good and the front of the house will look a little better! I'll get pictures of that too when it's done.

Giveaway

I saw this on my cousin's blog and thought it was so cute.
Now I'm entering so I can win it! Just go here to check out her cute ideas and for info on entering. I'll have to keep checking her blog out for more ideas!

Free Chocolate!

I found this today and got one for me and Jared so I thought I'd let you know so you can try each week to get your free chocolate. Just click here (RealChocolate.com so you don't have to come here every Friday unless you want to:)) and if you're one of the first 500,000 people each Friday, you can get a coupon in the mail for a free Mars candy bar! You have to enter your birthdate and then it'll take you to a page that tells you if you're one of the lucky ones. Hurry and do it before everyone else finds out about it and it's hard to get one without waking up super early! You can click here to learn more about it and why they're doing it. Pretty cool! You have to wait for your coupon to get mailed to you but it would be worth it for free candy!

Appointment

I had another appointment last night (only two more before I'm due!). We had a long wait which was unusual. There was two people that came in after us that got called back before us (they may have been there for the other doctor or the PA) and then we waited for a while before the doctor came in once I was in the room. He checked me and said I was a good 3 1/2 almost a 4 and my cervix is really soft. I'm glad I went back up instead of being smaller. Even though I don't expect to go into labor soon (at least before my due date) I still like to be dilating and have hope that maybe this time I'll go into labor on my own. We'll see. When the doctor came in he apologized for taking so long and said the girls were telling him he needed to come see me because I'd been in there a while and was going to get a paper mache butt from the paper I had around me! I had a good laugh at that one.

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was Jared's birthday. It was a busy day so I wasn't able to get on here to post. To him, it's just another day. I love birthdays though so I always try to surprise him with a few things. Crue and I got him garments and temple shoes that he knew about, clay pigeons and a clay pigeon thrower. My parents got him a gun case for his 22. When we got home from my parents' house he went and put his gun (plus the clip) in the new case. I surprised him with a cake at my parents' house after dinner. He LOVES ice cream sandwiches so I made him an ice cream sandwich cake that was really good. He asked if we got to take the leftovers home and I told him of course - it's his! Today at lunch I told him not to forget dessert and he said don't worry about that! I'm glad he really liked it.
I just want to tell him thank you for being the best husband and father. He was definitely worth the wait. :) I'm so glad I get to be with him for eternity. He may not be perfect but he's the perfect one for me. Now that we have one child and another one on the way, it's so fun to watch him be a father. I think he's liking it more and more as Crue gets older and they can play together. One day I was in the hall and happened to look towards the living room. All of a sudden I see Crue go running into the living room and Jared following close behind. So cute! He works so hard for our family. I am grateful for him every day.
I love you!!

We made it!

I had another doctor's appointment last night (imagine that, we made it to this week like Jared and I thought:)). He checked me and said I was a 2 - 2 1/2. So either I shrunk or because it's just opinion, today he was saying smaller numbers. Who knows. Oh well. We'll see how next week goes. They said I tested positive for Strep so I'll have to get an antibiotic when I go to deliver.

New additions

No - our little boy is not here. I forgot to tell about Jared's recent purchases that we're excited about. And the fun he had trying to get them. GM does training all year long and the technicians take tests (and the parts guys) and depending on how well they do (and how early they get their tests done) they get rewarded at the end of the year. Jared earned Platinum this year in his area! It's the highest you can get. Congratulations! I can't remember everything he gets but I know he gets business cards, a certificate, a medallion, a gold ring with a diamond (they add a diamond to the ring each time after this that he gets a Platinum rating again instead of another ring). They usually give them "money" (points) that they can spend in the GM store but this year they let each person decide to get the points for the GM store or take the points in cash. Jared got his in cash and had already decided last year that this year he wanted to get guns with his money. (He was going to just get a gift certificate from the GM store for Sports Authority or another sports store and then go get his guns until they changed and let him just get it in a prepaid card.) Luckily we know lots of people that know a lot about guns. Jared knew he wanted a shotgun and a 10/22. He talked to Max and decided on a Remington 870 Express for the shotgun.
It looks like the one above. He wanted the synthetic instead of the wood look and he got a 12 gauge.
The other gun he got was a Ruger 10/22 like the one in the top of this picture:
The other one in the picture is a stainless steel barrel and they're at least $20 more so he stayed with the black. We had to pay some money out of pocket but it was less than what just the Ruger would have cost if we had just gone in there and bought it. And we got a gun cleaning kit, ammo for both, and a 50 round clip for the 22. So we were pretty excited to not have to pay much.
Poor Jared sure had a hard time getting them though. We had gone into stores looking at what they had and the prices to decide where to get them. We decided that Walmart had the best price on the shotgun and Cal Ranch had the best price (and the only place with a black barrel) on the 10/22. His prepaid card finally came in the mail and we went to Walmart on a Thursday night to get the shotgun. The guy that was there is actually our neighbor's dad. He asked for Jared's license and asked if it had his current address on it. It's the same license he got when he turned 16 so of course it was old and had the wrong address. He said it has to have your current address on your license. Of course with it being a Thursday the DMV was closed on Friday so Jared went before work Monday morning to get it. Then Monday night we went to Walmart thinking we were good to go. They call in to get his background check and they end up sending it to research. That means no gun until they call back and say he's good to go. They call back Thursday I think and say he's good to go and we can go get the gun whenever. We end up going Friday night and finally get the shotgun. We leave Walmart and head straight to Cal Ranch for the 10/22. (It was cheaper to pay for two background checks than to get the guns at the same place and pay for one check because of the difference in prices on the guns.) They call in for his background and it's sent to research. You've got to be kidding me! He was just cleared the day before! The guy gave us a number that we could call and they tell us once someone is cleared or denied their information is shredded so they didn't have a record showing he was cleared. And all she said was if we could see what she saw then we would know why they send it to research but she couldn't tell us what she saw. So we leave empty handed. If we had known that, we would have gone there after Walmart so they could do both background checks at the same time. They called Monday saying he's cleared so we go back to get the gun and clip. I swipe Jared's GM card saying we were putting part of it on that and the guy had to cancel it because he has to put in the amount being charged to the card. So he does that and then I swipe it again and another guy takes over and for some reason he canceled it again or did something and it denied the card. What?! It's prepaid and we know exactly how much is on it. We even tried a few dollars less and we still got denied. Jared called the number on the card and found out the first time we did it (after the first cancelation and when the second guy came in) it had gone through so it was good to go. But for some reason Cal Ranch was showing that they weren't paid. The lady Jared talked to when he called about the card said they might not have Cal Ranch's merchant ID number so she gave him a number and said they could call them with it and have it go through. We were ready to pay the rest with another card but then it wouldn't let us because according to the computer Cal Ranch still hadn't been paid. After quite a while trying to figure it out they finally just put that we paid the first part in cash and then the rest we paid for with another card. They took the number the lady gave us and Jared's number in case something didn't work out and let us go ahead and take the gun. They said they would call if there's any problems. So far no call so we're good to go! What a mess. It was so nice to have the guns now.

On Wednesday night Max called and we went out shooting with Max and Jenny (Max had bought a Remington 870 shotgun with the wood look with his money from GM). It was really fun. We shot clay pigeons and I felt better after not hitting any when even Max and Jenny (who hunt and have other guns that they've taken shooting before) only hit 2 out of 5 (Jared hit the same). I guess I need more practice so we'll have to go shooting more often:) My dad has guns but we didn't go out much so that's why I'm not the best. Crue did really well being around the guns. I was worried because I had never been shooting when I was pregnant with him and I thought maybe the shots would scare him but they didn't bother him one bit! Maybe in a few more years he can shoot the 22. :) It'll be fun to take them camping (depending on where we go) and just go out shooting with family and friends.

So that's our excitement for now. Jared had a hard time finding 22 shells (ever since Obama was put in nobody can keep them in stock) but he finally found some at a pawn shop. So we are good to go now. Next year Jared is going to get a 30-06 with his money so we'll have a full size rifle, a fun smaller rifle, and a shotgun. Maybe someday we'll get to go hunting!! (I'd better learn to shoot better first!:))

A good laugh

Jared and I went to my doctors appointment yesterday. It was the first time he checked me to see if I was dilating. Sure enough, I was a 3 and 50% effaced. He said the baby has dropped and my cervix was soft and getting ready and said I would probably go soon. He told me to go ahead and schedule an appointment for next week but I probably wouldn't make it that long. Normally someone being told all that would be getting really excited and would probably pack for the hospital as soon as they got home. Jared and I just laughed and told him we'd see him next week. I did the same thing with Crue. Four weeks before I was due I was a 3 and 70%. Between that point and when I went in to be started (I went two weeks over) I went to a 5 and I want to say around 80% effaced. I had my membranes stripped at one point. Never had a contraction. Never went into labor. Jared and I were both expecting to be told that I was dilating again this time and are both expecting not to go early. So it was pretty funny. We'll see what happens. The doctor did tell me I was measuring a little small which kind of surprised me because I got a pretty big belly with Crue. I'm guessing it's because instead of a desk job like with Crue, I'm watching a bunch of kids and definitely get my exercise in. Or maybe I'll just have a smaller boy this time. Or both. Who knows.
I really do hope I make it to my due date for a few reasons. The first is because 3 of the kids I watch have parents that work at a school or are going to school and will be done in 3 weeks. It would be nice to be able to finish up the school year and then they don't have to worry about finding someone else (and I don't have to worry about calling so many people). Another is because there are so many birthdays in May that I want him to have a June birthday (there's 3 family members with April birthdays and 4 with May birthdays). The only relatives with June birthdays are my dad's brother and cousin that share the same birthday. So no immediate family. And the last and biggest reason is because I'm taking two months off from watching kids after he's born. If I have him at the beginning of June, then I will get June and July off and then start back in August, which is right about when the kids with parents working at/going to school will be ready to start. And I would have the two main months of the summer off so I can take the boys to the park and go do other things with them. We'll see what happens though. You never know - I could go early, on time, or late. I really hope I go on my own this time (rather than being started - it wasn't bad, I just want to go on my own). I'll keep you updated with how things are going. Sorry for such a long post!

Easter

I didn't get any pictures this year for Easter but I figured I'd write about it for journal purposes. The day before Easter Jared's grandma has all the great grandkids over for an egg hunt in her back yard. Everyone brings a sandwich for themselves and something to share with everyone. They also do egg wars where you take your hard boiled egg and hit them against everyone else's and whoever has the egg that doesn't break, wins. Jared found out Wednesday he would have to work Saturday so we were both really disappointed about that. Crue and I went to St. George by ourselves to have some fun with the Easter activities and to pick up a bed we were getting from Jared's grandma. There ended up only being two of grandma's actual great grandkids and the rest of the kids were Jared's cousin's husband's nieces and nephews (did you follow that?).

Jared's cousin and her husband had set up games for the kids - they had a fish pond, cake walk, and a duck pond (if the shape on the bottom of the duck matched the shape they drew, you won a prize). Crue got a thing of bubbles from the pond and Jared's mom blew bubbles for Crue. He was laughing so hard while he attacked the bubbles! It was hilarious. He was the first to win at the cake walk (a cupcake). He won a ball from the duck pond game. He just wanted to keep playing with the water from the pond. It was close to his naptime too so he was getting pretty ornery, especially when he didn't get what he wanted. After the games they did the egg hunt. Since Crue was Sandra's only grandchild there, she took his hand and walked with him around the yard while I carried his bucket. We'd go to an egg and tell him to get it and put it in the bucket. He didn't quite get it or care about the eggs too much (although he did like the candy in them later). We only got a few and then we couldn't find anymore. We were about done anyway since he was having more fun with a little soccer ball in the yard than looking for eggs. After that I decided not to worry about doing an egg hunt at our house for him. I was going to do a few eggs and figured he might like the noise when he shook the eggs with candy but then I decided he probably wouldn't care too much after Saturday.

Sunday we went to my parent's house after church and had a big meal. I had made strawberry jello with bananas in it (my dad's favorite that he always asks for) and a bunny shaped veggie dip bread bowl. I think my sister got pictures of that so I'll have to add them when I get them. It turned out pretty cute and it was really easy to do. My mom had Easter baskets for us (thank you!) and Crue loved his little toys. I think my mom has too much fun shopping for him. :)

It was a pretty fun weekend but I think Crue was pretty clueless about what was going on. Next year I'm sure I won't have any trouble when it comes time to look for eggs! And hopefully we can start teaching him what Easter is really about.

Free Clock Giveaway!

My cousin, Staci, makes amazing clocks and she's doing a giveaway to help spread the word. Check her blog out here.
Here is the clock you can win:


Check out her blog to find out how you can have a chance to win. She is also offering a deal for Mother's Day.

Check out her blog - she's got some really cute clocks! And she can do pretty much anything you want.

18 Months!

I forgot to post about Crue's doctors appointment. It went better this time. He let the doctor look at him (except his mouth) and he did ok for his first shot but HATED his second one. Poor little boy. I do love the cuddling I get after though (since I don't get it as much anymore). He is definitely a big boy. I think he's the cutest thing ever! Here's his stats from the doctor:

28 lbs 4 oz 78%
33 in 69%
20 1/2 in (head) 99%

He is definitely all boy and you can tell what kind of family we are. "Ut" means truck and he does a vroom vroom sound for any motorcycle (or four-wheeler or even Jared's pedal bike on the side of the house) that he sees or hears. He LOVES to play in the drivers seat in cars. Sometimes he'll do his vroom vroom while he's playing with the steering wheel. He will give us kisses and loves (hugs) and Jared recently taught him squeezes (an actual hug where he puts his arms around you and squeezes). He says mama and dada and says bapa for grandpa. I watch a little baby and he's good to help with her (he'll "help" burp her or "help" hold her bottle) so I'm excited for ours to come because he'll be a great big brother. When you ask him where the baby is he points to my belly (usually) and excitedly says "baby!" It's so cute. Crue has been a wonderful blessing in our lives. I'm so grateful for him. He is such a good boy - we are really lucky!

We love you Crue!

Here's some pictures that my cousin took when we were in AZ for Thanksgiving.

Here's some more recent pictures of him.

Wearing daddy's hat and shoes.

Playing in the bubbles at G & G Little's.

Blood, blood everywhere

This morning while I was getting ready I could hear Crue starting to wake up. After a little while Jared comes in and says "We have a problem". He has Crue who is COVERED with blood all over his nose (mixed with snot so it was thick) and all over his face and hand. Jared said there was also a pool of blood in his bed. I was worried that something bad had happened since there was so much and asked about taking him to the doctor. Last night he had woken up and Jared had sucked stuff out of his nose so he could breathe and go back to sleep so I was worried that something had happened from that since he fights so bad while we do it. Crue seemed fine so Jared just cleaned him up. Then Jared got Crue's bedding to wash and when I went in the room I noticed it had soaked through to the pads my mom had given us and a little bit on the mattress pad. I went in the laundry room a little bit later to help Jared and he had the bumper pad as well. Crue had gotten it on pretty much everything except his pajamas. It bled a little more today but not anything to worry about. I'm glad he's all better, at least from that. After his nap today he woke up and it sounded like his airways were restricted a little. He's woken up like that once before, at G & G Peterson's, so I don't know what it is. He was kind of sick (like the cold and stuff) after that for about a week or two so maybe that's what he has again. Or an allergy. Who knows. I'm just glad he's not acting sick and seems to be feeling ok.

Nursery!

Since I play the piano for Primary, Jared gets to take Crue every week to Sunday School and Priesthood. Recently he got a calling to teach the 16-17 year old Sunday School class so Tyson and Rachael have been taking him during Sunday School (thank you!!!) and then Jared and Tyson take him to Priesthood. Jared, Tyson, and Rachael finally got their break this Sunday - Crue went to Nursery! I wasn't too worried about him because he's used to playing with kids all day at home so it would just be different toys and kids. I walked in and he wanted me to put him down. I did and he went straight for the toys. I told one of the guys who he was and then left. Before I left I watched Crue pick up a little basketball and try to put it in the hoop they had. It was just barely taller than him and the ball fell out of his hands and behind him before he made it in. It was cute. He must have done great because they didn't say anything when we picked him up. I had walked in and a short time later Jared walked in. He saw Jared first (we walked in different sides) and ran for him. We'll see how he does each week. Hopefully they're all this good!

Break time?

It's been a while since I've posted so I figured I'd do a little update. (By the time I got done typing it was long - just a warning!) Things have been pretty crazy around here. I am now watching 8 kids plus Crue (luckily most of them are part time so I don't have 9 kids from 8-5 every day) and it seems like by the end of the day, I'm so worn out. When I was pregnant with Crue I felt great and was never this tired but I also had a desk job - not chasing a bunch of kids around, including one that is almost a year old and another that is a couple of months old. I'm glad I get to stay home though and not have to send Crue to day care.

Our big project going on right now is putting a room in the basement. My sister, Loni, is going to move in with us for a while so we decided to build a room in the basement. We had some supplies from my parents and stuff that was left when we bought the house and figured the rest would be fairly cheap. We were just going to put up framing (only one wall needed to be done) and put drywall on the two sides that weren't cement so it would be closed off. My parents had a door they let us use so it would be an actual room. A friend of ours has been helping us. What was going to be a basic room has turned into a room with a closet, insulation along the ceiling and cement walls (the other two walls have unfinished space/rooms on the other side and we'll finish those walls when we finish the other rooms) and drywall on everything. Then the other night they decided to go ahead and do the tape and texture on the walls and paint so that we don't have to take off all the outlet covers, switches, and light to do them. The only thing the room will need when it's done is flooring. We got some free carpet and pad from someone a long time ago so we're just going to cut that to fit in the room so it won't be cement but it won't be permanent. We'll just lay it out. They are going to be doing the taping tonight so hopefully the room will be done by next week. We started working on it on last Monday (March 9) and she was going to be able to move in this week but now it's looking like next week. It looks like a room now though so that's good! I'm glad we've had supplies donated by my parents and supplies and labor by our friends. It's been a huge help. It'll be nice to have Loni here so she can start doing all the cooking and cleaning and watching Crue. Just kidding Loni! I'll be glad to have the room done because Crue loves to go downstairs and play in there while they're working (he likes to be with daddy too) so I'm spending most of my time down there making sure he stays out of the way and not getting stuff he shouldn't (like the knife for the drywall). I haven't been able to get anything done upstairs so now my messy house is REALLY messy and driving me crazy. We're going to St. George this weekend so I won't be getting anything done until next week. And I feel so worn out all the time that it's hard to get motivated to do anything when I do have a little break. Hopefully I can get things clean, and feel good in my home again! And then the room will be done, the house will be clean, and we can have a break for a little while and get to bed at a decent time every night!

Crue will be 18 months old on the 26th of this month. He'll get to go to Nursery! Of course, I haven't been the one taking him each week since I play the piano in primary and can't really watch him and play at the same time. So it's not as big of a deal for me but I'm still excited for him to be able to go play with the other kids and all the toys. Jared takes him every week and when he has to teach Sunday School (he teaches the 16-17 year olds with another guy in the ward) our good friends, Tyson and Rachael, take him for us. They moved in just around the corner last year so we hang out with them almost every week. And we sit together in church and Rachael and I go to the Enrichment stuff together (it's so nice to have someone to go with!). And they're also willing to watch Crue when we go to my doctor appointments which makes it nice because we pass their house on the way to the doctor's office or the hospital for lab work.

We talked to my doctor about a week ago at my last appointment. We have been worried because we don't know how we're going to pay for the baby. It was already a worry and then Jared ended up having surgery and his deductible is $1500 (luckily the insurance pays 100% after that). A friend had told us about a midwife doing a home birth only costing $2000 (vs. approximately $8000 for my doctor at the hospital). Neither of us really wanted to do that but the cost was a huge factor in considering it. Rachael told me about the financial assistance at the hospital. We can't really do payments, or they can't be very much, but she told me sometimes they'll write some of it off so you don't have to worry about it. She has been VERY helpful in getting me forms, telling me who to talk to, telling me how they do things (she does billing for some physicians and knows some of how the hospital works). When Jared had his surgery she talked to her boss to find out what I needed to do for help even with Jared's deductible. She brought over a form when we were at the hospital and told me what I needed to do and who to talk to. The lady at the hospital said she won't know what they can do until they get the bill from the hospital so as far as delivering there, I could do it and hope that things worked out or I could do the midwife and have a lot less cost. We decided to do it at the hospital (we really like the people there and it's nice to be able to relax and have them watch the baby the first night). Jared and I both really like my doctor so we decided we'd better talk to him as well before we change doctors (and go to the one at the hospital so that he can do the same financial assistance as the hospital) to see if he'd do anything for us. We didn't want to call and talk to the girls and be just another patient. We were both nervous but while we were in there my doctor mentioned that we were waiting on insurance or something. I told him we had been waiting on Medicaid but that I had been denied so we wanted to talk to him to see if there was anything that could be done. He told us not to worry, that we'd figure something out. Since he owns his office, he's in charge of what gets billed, etc. compared to the doctors that work for the hospital who have no control over any of that. He asked Jared about doing some trade work for some of it. My doctor and his sons have some motorcycles so depending on what needs to be done (Jared doesn't know everything about motorcycles since they're different than cars in some areas - he takes his bike to get worked on for certain things that he can't do). I told him we can't do big payments and he was very reassuring and said not to worry about anything. He said we'll get things figured out so that I can still go to him but not have to worry so much about the financial part of it. I was so glad! Jared and I both felt much better after talking to him. He's a great doctor and I plan on staying with him for all my kids so I didn't want to have to go to someone else just this one time.

I think that's about everything for us. Sorry that it's so long. Some of it is for me to have a record of things and other stuff was just an update for everyone. I'll post about Crue's checkup when we go (speaking of which, I'd better call to make an appointment along with other calls I still need to make) and get some pictures up of Loni's room when it's done. Maybe even a few of it in stages, depending on what pictures I have.

Happy Valentines Day turned into crazy week

For Valentine's Day Loni volunteered to watch Crue so Jared and I could have a night to ourselves. We went to Pizza Factory for dinner (I LOVE their breadsticks dipped in honey butter) and then Jared surprised me and took me to Maggie Moos for dessert (they just opened two days before). It was SO good! Then we went to our house to hang out with just the two of us for a while. It was nice to be able to just be with Jared for a night and not have to chase around a little boy. (Thank you Loni and Mom!)

After a wonderful night our crazy week began. The Saturday before Valentine's Day Jared kept saying his gut hurt but it wasn't like an upset stomach or anything. He couldn't describe it. It went on for a few days and then it was gone. Saturday it came back but in a more specific location. Sunday he looked online to try to figure out what he might have and said it might be appendicitis from the location of the pain. Sunday night he was in so much pain. He asked me if I remembered when they asked me at the hospital when I had Crue to rate my pain a 1-10 (10 being the worst). He said it was a 10. Rather than going to the ER and having the added expense, he decided to wait until Monday morning to go to the doctor. His doctor was on call so he wasn't in the office that day. The office told him to go to the emergency room. He called the InstaCare but they were closed so we finally went to the emergency room around 9:30 on Monday morning (the biggest thing that made him go - he didn't want another night like Sunday night). I took Crue to our friends' house because they wouldn't let him in the room in the ER area with all the sickness. After blood tests and a CT scan they said he had appendicitis. They took him to another part of the hospital where we waited for a while and then they finally got him ready for surgery. They took him in at 2:15 pm. I went home to eat something because the last thing I ate was breakfast before we went to the hospital. I came back an hour and a half later (surgery was supposed to take an hour) and he was in the recovery room but they hadn't brought him back to the room he had been in before yet. While I was sitting there one of the nurses said he was in the operating recovery room and when they brought him out I could walk with them to another room. We ended up going from the er at one end of the hospital, to surgery in the middle, to patient rooms at the other end. The doctor stopped and talked to me before they brought Jared out and said the appendix had perforated (luckily it didn't rupture) and had leaked some fluid into him. He said he can't lift more than 30 lbs for two weeks and he can't go back to work for 2 weeks. He said if he was feeling really energetic and wanted to go back to work he could on Monday but only part time (and of course he'd only be able to lift 30 lbs). He also said his appendix was really sick so it's a good thing he came in. So then they brought him by and he was still waking up. I followed them to his room. Because of the perforation he had a drainage cord coming out of him that led to a bottle thing (the shape of a grenade). It was to pull out any of the fluid that had leaked. Also because of the perforation he had to stay in the hospital overnight so we didn't get home until Tuesday night around 7 pm. I ended up not watching kids Tuesday or Wednesday (luckily Monday was a holiday). Thanks to Tyson and Rachael for taking Crue all day (literally) Monday and Tuesday night and to Jenny for watching him Tuesday! I did take Crue to see Jared but he just wanted to go run around in the hall and not sit there in the room with Jared so it was nice to have friends that took him so I could be there with Jared. Then my awesome cousin Tamara brought us dinner on Wednesday night. Tyson's parents had taken Tyson, Rachael, and Crue to dinner Tuesday night so they got some for us and brought it home (it was Jared's first solid food since Sunday night). Thank you to everyone for your help and support.

Tagged again

6 Things Tag
1- Post the rules on your blog.
2- List 6 random things about yourself.
3- Tag 6 people at the end of your post.
4- Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Shanna (my sister-in-law) tagged me so here goes.

1. I LOVE camping and four-wheeling!
2. I like learning about/working on cars (good thing Jared is so patient with all my questions!)
3. I taught myself how to play piano
4. I have always wanted 3-4 boys followed by 1 girl and so far am two for two! (of course I would be happy with a girl too - I just want healthy kids)
5. I like seaweed (the stuff in California Rolls but straight out of the package - Jared thinks I'm crazy)
6. I love peanut butter and chocolate (together)

Since I just recently tagged some people I tag whoever wants to do it.

Tagged

I got tagged by my cousin-in-law Rachel so here you go (my first tag ever Rachel - don't you feel special!:))
Here's the rules:
1. Go to "my pictures"
2. Click on the 6th folder
3. Upload the 6th picture
4. Blog about it
5. Tag 6 people

*This is a picture of Jared's best friend, Max, and Max's nephew. Jared went four-wheeling/rock crawling with a bunch of people one Saturday in March 2006 the first year we were married (I think that was the day I was stuck at home doing homework). It's kind of hard to tell but the rock Max is sitting on is actually sticking out - there's nothing underneath it.

*I tag Desiree, Kristi, Heidi P., Jessica, Caitlin, and Tiffany.

Baby #2!

For a while we didn't know if I was pregnant or not. Every once in a while I would wonder, like when I would get a little morning sickness at night (it was only bad enough that I couldn't eat some things - not like Crue when I wanted to throw up and couldn't even think about food until the afternoon). But all those things I noticed weren't to the extreme like when I was pregnant with Crue and they only lasted for a little while, not long enough to make me know I was pregnant. Then in January I started getting fat and wondered if maybe I ate too much at Christmas (I really ate a lot). Then I finally figured out I was pregnant (my belly button started looking like it did when I was starting to show with Crue ) and about that same time my family started teasing me about it because they noticed my belly too. A week or two later we took a test and sure enough, it was positive. We finally went to the doctor last Friday (Jan. 30) and he did an ultrasound to try and figure out when I was due and to see what we were having. Because of some random/weird bleeding before now (including once thinking I might have miscarried but didn't) we had no clue how long I had been pregnant or when I would be due. He gave me an approximate date. I thought I would be about 3-4 months along but he said about 20-21 weeks. The cord was sitting in the baby's lap so it was hard to tell what we were having but he guessed a boy. Today I had the official ultrasound. She put my due date as June 2 and this time the cord was in the face so we were able to clearly see it is a boy!! We would have been excited either way but now we won't have to buy clothes since we already have a bunch of boy clothes. Plus it'll be fun for Crue to have a brother to get in trouble with:) We're excited he's healthy and things are going good. I'm about 23 weeks along. That's pretty good to not know I was pregnant the first half and now only have half a pregnancy to go! Here's the ultrasound pictures from today.

The top one is a 3-D picture of the baby with the cord in his face. The bright spot in the top left corner is the right side of his forehead. Then you can see an eye and his nose by the cord and the mouth just below that. The next one is his foot.

The top one is his heartbeat and the second one is him not being shy (Crue wasn't either:)).

Holiday recap

We had a really good Christmas and New Years this year. We had a Christmas party with my family the Sunday before Christmas because my two married siblings were going to be with their in-laws for Christmas. We do a Secret Santa each year where you draw someone's name (not you or your significant other) and then get them a present and during the party we try to guess who everyone has. We had a big yummy dinner and then went to open presents. Jared had my sister Kelci and I had my brother Lex. We weren't sure what to get either of them but they were both excited with what they got. Jared got Kelci a collage of picture frames and I got Lex a skookie (Camp Chef). He said he had been looking at them before so it was a good thing I got him one. I got the brownie one of course because his wife, Shanna, LOVES brownies. My sister had Jared and she got him a cargo net cover for the truck (definitely a big help when we're going camping). Shanna had me and she got me the newest Josh Turner cd that I wanted and some Reeses (my favorite candy).
On Christmas Eve Jared worked half a day and then we went to St. George. We ran a couple of errands and then went to Jared's parent's house for a little while. It started snowing while we were there! It was pretty cool. It wasn't sticking to much though. Then we all went to Jared's aunt and uncle's house for their annual Christmas Eve party. I look forward to the homemade clam chowder there every year! And of course all the other amazing food everyone brings. We had fun visiting and eating. Crue was trying to climb on a little chair they had there (Jared's aunt made a little table and chairs in a wood working class I think that she keeps out for grandkids) and ending up falling and hitting his chin on the chair as he went down and then hit the back of his head on the tile. Jared had started heading for him right before he fell. He had a mouth full of blood and he scraped his chin a little. The poor kid. He ended up being ok but just wanted to be held for a little while. After that it was difficult to hold him - he just wanted to go play! On the way home we hit some bad weather. Luckily Jared is amazing and got us home safely (he's had to do that a few times - fog, snow, rain, etc.)
The next morning we got up and made pumpkin pancakes with hot cider syrup. My family that was in town came over (mom, dad, Loni, Kyle, and Kelci). After breakfast we opened presents. Crue was going towards the kitchen where my mom was and tripped on a toy. He fell and hit his face on the tile and once again, had a mouth full of blood. That kid! He seems to do something to his mouth every time he falls. Twice he's bruised his gums before his top front two teeth came in. Welcome to the life of little boys I guess:) After a while my family went home to take naps and we hung out for a while and then went over there later that day. I ended up getting sick and that wasn't much fun but oh well. At least it wasn't all day.
For New Years Jared's best friend's older brother and his wife (I watch their little girl) invited us to their annual party. We went last year (it was my first time but Jared had been before) and it was really fun. My mom said she'd watch Crue for us (Thank you thank you!) which worked good for her because no one else was home so she had some company. We had a fun time eating good food (I love the homemade cheese balls!) and playing games. Then of course some sparkly drinks at midnight. Then most of us stayed and talked for a while. By the time we got home and went to bed it was almost 3 am. It was tons of fun though. I was glad we didn't have to worry about Crue waking us up a few hours later. We slept until just after 10 am and it felt good! My mom had fun with Crue. He slept pretty good until around 8 or so and then she went and got him and put him in her bed and they fell asleep for a couple more hours.
We had a great time with all our family and friends. I love all the get togethers during the holidays. It is such a wonderful time of year. And of course, the best part is feeling the Spirit the entire time. Too bad it doesn't last all year long!

More Christmas

Crue opening his present from the cute neighbor kids (thanks Jessica!). I just wish we had been home when they brought it by. He loved the McQueen car and the play rug.

Who doesn't love socks for Christmas? :) We were a little short on funds this year so Jared got coveralls because his are too small (which he had no idea he was getting) and socks for work, that he knew about.

Jared opening his coveralls. He loves getting dressed up for occassions like this. j/k :) Jared did really good for me this year. I got a new watch, a John Grisham book I wanted, a Christmas cd, and a food chopper I'd been wanting. Thank you for a fun Christmas!!

Christmas

I figured now that we're almost halfway through January I had probably better get some Christmas pictures on here. And of course since Crue is our only child, and my parent's only grandchild, most of the pictures are of him. The funny thing is that my brother was the one with our camera, not me and Jared.

Crue's only present from mom and dad this year - Mack (from "Cars") with a car hauling trailer that comes with the three cars that make him fall asleep on the road in the movie when he loses Lightning.

Kyle decided to take pictures from the floor.

Crue was hilarious to watch when he'd open presents. He would tear little pieces off (the one he's holding is about the biggest they over got) and then look for either the garbage bag or someone to hand it to. Since he was the only kid we didn't worry about him taking a while to open each present.

Concentrating on opening the present. He was so cute. He loved everything he got! (How could you not when you're spoiled with toys?)

Lots of snow

I looked out our family room window and saw this snow/ice hanging off the deck. It was pretty cool because it was barely attached but still hanging on.

It was snowing pretty hard. I tried to take a picture but it didn't work as well as I had hoped.