Future delinquent?

Michael has now reached the age were he can truly entertain himself for minutes on end. No more running to mom and dad for constant attention, which means that we are now free to take a shower while he's still awake without worrying about him standing outside the shower begging to be let in. So while Jay and I were enjoying a "whine" free warm shower Michael entertained himself with his books, the most recent football game on TV, and his car set that he got for Christmas. A short time into our relaxing shower I noticed that Michael was being extra quiet. I didn't think to much of it cause I always double check to make sure all rooms that he's not allowed into are blocked off and anything that could cause grief to us or him are kept out of his reach. He remained quiet up unto the time we were getting ready to get out upon which he enters that bathroom calling for us to get out of the water. Jay dries off first and exits the bathroom where he runs into a little surprise ... apparently Michael had found his bag full of markers and figured out how to unzip it. Upon which he grabbed the black marker and preceded to color on the walls, TV, his rocking chair, a few storage containers, and even a few of my keyboard keys. When Jay confronted him he proudly said "color WALL!" "color WALL!" Hmm mm guess I'll pay better attention to what toys of his are lying around before our next shower (thankfully everything washed off easily and that he doesn't know where we keep the permanent markers).

On a happier note ...

It's been so long since I added any new updates about Michael I figured it was high time that I did. Besides what better way to add joy to a blackened mood (bed rest sucks!) then our sweet little boy. Enjoy the pictures :-)

FYI: This is more for my own personal record, hence the reason it's so long

Age: 19 months
Words he can now say: hmm this might take awhile ...
Momma
Dadda
Cat (or kitty) + noise
Dog + noise
Cow + noise
Horse + noise
Sheep + noise
Pig + noise
Goose + noise
Turkey + noise
Lion + noise
Zebra + noise
Bear + noise (which isn't a growl but bear quickly repeated twice lol)
Dinosaur + noise
Mouse + noise
Fish
Bird
Butterfly
Puppy
Rabbit
Eye + where it's located on the body
Nose + where it's located on the body
Ear + where it's located on the body
Chin + where it's located on the body
Cheek + where it's located on the body
Mouth + where it's located on the body
Teeth + where it's located on the body
Chest + where it's located on the body
Tummy + where it's located on the body
Arm + where it's located on the body
Elbow + where it's located on the body (somewhat)
Fingers + where it's located on the body
Hand + where it's located on the body
Leg + where it's located on the body
Knee + where it's located on the body
Foot + where it's located on the body
Toes + where it's located on the body
Most of the alphabet
Pink
Purple
Blue
Red
Orange
Green
Yellow
Truck
Car
Big
Small
Balloon
Bubbles
Bath
Shoes
Boots
Socks
Vacuum
Cart
Book
Story
Prayer
Nursery (some what)
Baby
Blanket
Diaper
Butt Paste (lol I keep trying to get him to say "bum" paste but it's not working)
Shirt
Pants
Jacket
Hat
Gloves
Toothbrush
Water
Music (kinda --- he calls it ee)
Football
Ball
T.V.
Phone
Pillow
Bed
Hello
Goodbye
Good night
Please (still a work in progress, sometimes he says it but he mostly just signs it)
Computer
Tree
Grass
Sidewalk
Walk
Tel (one of the kid's in our apartment complex that he likes to play with)
Gate
Girl (he's already a ladies man)
Broke
Snow
Uh-Oh
Button
Paper
Couch (favorite thing to say about the couch ... "broke couch" see below for reason)
Color (meaning he wants to color something)
Markers
Candy cane
Cookie
Milk
Juice
Potato
Shake
Hot cocoa
Smarties (one of his favorite candies)
Chocolate
Snack
Bread
Corn
Peas
Tea
Waffles
Cheese

Phew that's a lot and there's still tons more to add, but I need a break from typing and the computer so I'll just add some recent pictures of him and then create a second blog with more words and things that he can now do.


** Relaxing after a brisk walk **

** Ready for winter --- kind of --- it appears he's missing gloves **

** Look out snowball attack!!!! **

** Michael and mommy - He's enjoying some nice hot cocoa **

** about to take his sock off **

** "broke couch" -- little monster **

** Trying on mommy's boots **

** Relaxing in John's baby swing **

** Figuring out the snow **

** Happy boy **

The dreaded day has arrived ... BED REST!!!!

I was warned of the dreaded possibility of bed rest ever since my first ultrasound at 24 weeks where it was learned that I had a shortened cervix. At 28 weeks when I went in for another ultrasound (this time internal) and it showed an even lower number than before I was cautioned that bed rest was probably going to happen. At my 30 week ultrasound (again internal) my numbers had gone back up again and I was told that for now bed rest was avoided but since I was still below average to just try and take it as easy as possible (uh sure ... I'll just tell my active 19 month old that). I had another appointment at 32 weeks (this time no ultrasound, just a regular check-up to make sure I was still measuring well and John's heart rate was still going strong etc. etc.). I really didn't want to drive to drive the 35 minutes that it took to get to Idaho Falls just for a 5 minute check-up, especially since I felt just fine and all of the other "check-ups" showed that he was doing so well. So the day before (just to make sure nothing unusual showed up) I canceled the appointment and made another one for 34 weeks. I was feeling good, no issues other than normal aches and pains of pregnancy. Then Sunday rolls around (mind you this is 5 days after the canceled appointment). I started my day out like normal but about two hours or so into the morning I started experiencing more Braxton Hicks contractions than normal (about 1 every 3-5 minutes), they weren't painful just uncomfortable and annoying since every time my stomach tightened it would push John further under my ribs. This lasted for half the day but by evening (after upping my water intake) they slacked off and where back to what they normally were. I just figured I was dehydrated and probably over did it the day before when we were out grocery shopping. Monday rolls around, my contractions are back to normal, but I was now experiencing a dull ache on my right side in my pelvic region so i tried to take it easy for the day...no biggie. 2:30am: Experienced low back pain and menstrual like cramping in my abdomen. I was too uncomfortable to sleep and starting to get a bit worried so I ask Jay for a blessing. The blessing calms my fears with the assurance that all was well with John and that he would be born strong and healthy but also the council to contact my Physician. About 2 hours after it started the pain subsides and I was able to get a little but of rest. As soon as the clinic opened at 8 I called, explained my situation and got myself an appointment lined up for 2 hours later. 30 minutes after I was seen I'm admitted to EIRMC hospital by my doctor for observation, I was showing signs of pre-term labor. I was dilated to a 3/75% effaced with a very soft cervix. 1 IV line, a shot to stop contractions, and about 6 hours after being admitted I was finally able to go home but with "strict" bed rest instructions. So thus begins day 1 of bed rest with at least 28(or more)to go.

Michael's Pregnancy vs John's Pregnancy

Before going into a blog about the changes that have been happening in our family I just wanted to quickly write up a pregnancy comparison note, mainly for my own personal records but also for family if they're curious.

Pregnancy Differences:
Michael
Sickness: Experienced a horrible gag reflex for the first and part of the second trimester
Weight gained: 27lbs (gave birth at 37 weeks)
Food cravings: first trimester I craved these little beef empanadas that I found at the Winchester Walmart when I was home visiting but sadly our Walmart didn't sell them (I craved them so bad I could practically taste them so you can imagine my dissapointment when I found out I couldn't have my craving satisfied). I also craved chili (as most of my family knows, chili and pizza where my usual lunch growing up) so I about broke down crying when I looked on the back of my favorite chili can while shopping and found that it had over 1100mg of Sodium in, which meant ... NO CHILI either!
First time feeling movement: 16 weeks
Headaches: I use to get bad tension headaches before pregnancy but while pregnant with Michael they all just miraculously disappeared :-)
Ultrasounds: Had ultrasounds done at 11 weeks, 16 weeks, and 20 weeks (when we found out the sex), and had my 37 week ultrasound scheduled to check fluid levels when my water broke (2 hours before the appointment I might add)
Birth Place: Alaska (Homer)
Labor: Natural --- 12 hours --- 3 of which were spent pushing
Problems: Michael developed a spontaneous pneumothorax and had to be life-flighted to Anchorage, AK where he spent 12 days in the NICU
Weight: 6lbs 13oz
Length: 19 inches
Time Born: 9:52pm
Date Born: April 20, 2010
Other: I had gestational diabetes

John
Sickness: thankfully no gag reflex
Weight gained: 33lbs (YUCK!) by 33 weeks so possibly more to follow though I sure hope not
Food cravings: I crave milk at times
First time feeling movement: 10 weeks but became a lot more noticeable by 16 weeks
Headaches: Tension headaches did not "miraculously disappear" this time but instead intensified and became migraines --- I've experienced at least 4 migraines since becoming pregnant
Ultrasounds: 24 weeks (when we found out the sex), 28 weeks (internal - to check the cervix and then she did an external 3D ultrasound so I could see our little guy, it was pretty cool) and 30 weeks (internal - to check the cervix)
Birth Place: will be Idaho (Rexburg)
Other: No gestational diabetes (Yay!) but I have a shortened cervix and have now (at 33 weeks) been placed on strict bed rest due to early signs of labor (Boo! Hiss!!!!)

Pregnancy Similarities:
Morning sickness: Slight feelings of nausea if I allowed my stomach to go completely empty otherwise nothing (only lasted for 1st trimester)
Appetite: Hungry and willing to eat TONS more than was normal for me (must have been a boy thing)
Aches & Pains: Rib pain, they both found great joy in pushing their feet as far up under my rib cage as possible, right hip pain (especially while walking)
First time daddy felt movement: 20 weeks
Other: Fatigued a lot more during the first trimester, difficulty breathing and sleeping during last trimester, horrible heartburn 6 months and on.

That about sums everything up (or at least everything that I can think of right now).

North to Alaska

As of 12:15am Saturday May 14th Alaska has become our new home for the summertime (we'll be here until August 29th). Jay thankfully found another internship and since this, out of numerous others that he has applied for, been the only one to offer him an internship we didn't want to possibly miss our only opportunity so we jumped at the chance and took off once again for an Alaskan adventure. The weather has been cloudy and wet since we got here but the sun is starting to come back out and the temperature's starting to rise so we're crossing our fingers for a nice relaxing summer full of work, fishing, hunting, and spending time with family. The most recent adventure that has been undertaken was a bout of black bear hunting. Jay and his dad (along with a few other people) flew across the bay and on Friday Jay was able to bring down a bear. From what has been described it's quite a beaut standing almost 6 feet tall. The King's are starting to come in also so starting Monday we're going to start fishing in hopes of catching on of these monsters. I'll write longer, more descriptive posts of our adventures here as time goes on but for now enjoy the view that we get to look at every day outside our kitchen window ;-D.

Date Night

This will be a short post since it's 11:30pm and I'm beat but I wanted y'all to know just how sweet my hubby was this Friday.

He kept the details of this date a secret from me for almost a month. Michael got a babysitter so that we could have an enjoyable and relaxing time together alone plus it was going to be an outside activity according to Jay so we didn't want him to get to chilled (it is still winter here ya know... mid 30s are the high as of late). Well after dropping Michael off at a friends place we drove to campus where the activity was going to first start. From there we drove about 10min until we arrived at our destination, a volunteer's farm. We got to go on a relaxing sleigh ride with a fun group of students and eat chicken alfredo cooked outside under the shelter of a large sheep herders tent, it was tons of fun, met some really nice people, and the horses were massive Percherons ... sigh* I miss being around horses, aside from our toes freezing we had a nice relaxing evening together. Okay so it doesn't sound like a very spectacular date but we had a lot of fun on it (which honestly is all that matters) plus it was nice taking a break, just the two of us. Michael was very well behaved with Torrey and had tons of fun with her (though he was pretty excited to see us when we went and picked him up) Well gotta run ta ta for now

**WARNING** Due to the graphic nature of this post viewer discretion is advised ...

Today started out like any other day ... not enough sleep (thanks to baby growing pains), no time for breakfast, Jay rushing out the door to get to school, me wishing I could fall back asleep but the crying baby in the room next to mine begs to differ ,,, etc. etc. So around 1pm Jay comes home from school to drop off my car that we had lent to a friend of ours the previous evening. He had a buisness seminar at 2pm that he didn't want to miss so after wolfing down some homemade mac n' cheese he grabbed his backpack and headed out the door to walk the 12minutes that it takes to get to school. When he left I was in the restroom watching Michael standing up by the tub, it was about his nap time so I went out to the living room to get something (can't remember what now-oh and by the way this was probably 10 or so minutes after Jay had left) when I just happened to glance out our window and see Jay on the sidewalk by our apartment fiddling with his phone, I was like "great, he accidently dropped his phone and it's now busted bet he's really ticked right now." So to see what was up I opened our window and yelled down to see if he was okay. Imagine my shock when he yelled back that he had broken his leg ... "WHAT!!!!" I knock on our neighbors door and ask her if she could watch Michael for a few minutes for me then I rush downstairs to my fallen husband. Sure enough the moment I get close to him I can tell right away that he was right about the broken leg I mean it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that when the leg is pointing in the opposite direction that there's something not quite right. He had already called an ambulance (hence the fiddling with his phone) and about 10 or so minutes later they pull up to my now poor agonizing husband. After the ambulance takes him to the hospital I load Michael up and we both head on over there as well. To make a long story short he ended up breaking his fibia and badly dislocating his tibia and hence had to be taken into to surgery to place a metal plate into his ankle to give it the proper support once it was fully healed. It took about 3 hours before he was able to go in for surgery (2 other ankle breaks were before him ... hmmmm go figure) and now he's having to spend the night in the hospital for observation but thankfully he should be able to come home in the morning. He's doing well just very tired (thanks to the anethesia and pain meds) and of course pretty uncomfortable.

FYI: Michael is still recovering from the flu but is doing much better (despite the fact that he chose to barf all over me, the floor, and himself while we were at the hospital ... lol he acted pretty pleased with himself the little stinker).

***NOTE*** If you have a weak stomach do not look at these













Okay I had to show at least one cute picture to help make up for the others :-)

First Thanksgiving

Today was Michael's first thanksgiving, and ours as new parents. What a true blessing it is to have him in our life, especially with the inital trial that we went through with him when he was born. Though we;ve experienced many trials this year as a family we still have been extrememly blessed and I'm truly grateful to God for all that he has blessed me and my family with.

This thanksgiving was a day of firsts ...
First thanksgiving for Michael
First thanksgiving as parents
First thanksgiving without family

Though it wasn't a complete lost, we still got to spend it together and also got to spend time with a new friend. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato pie, potato rolls, stuffing, corn, and homemade apple pie yum yum (my first time making a pie, tasted oh so yummy). We did have one downside to the evening; right before we left we noticed some water dripping down from one of the cubboards so we went upstairs to see what was going on and low and behold we find the upstairs bathroom covered in about 2 inches of water ... dozen towels later and a shop vac to suck up all the water and we finally got it all cleaned up and the pipes fixed so the water would run through them properly (they got a bit frozen due to the extremem temperature drop the previous evening). Definitely a memorable thanksgiving :-)

Gosh it's been ages!

So since it's been so freakin' long I better add a few updates before pressing onward with the pictures.

1) School has started back up again and for poor Jay the work never ends

2) Michael is now 6 months old and he can ...
- Sit up compeltely unassisted
- Is trying to sit up on his own while lying down (work in progress)
- Trying to rock himself up onto all fours
- Jabbering nonstop
- Smiling and laughing constantly
- When not smiling/laughing he's whining and wishing to be held by mommy (sigh*)
- Absolutely LOVES eating solids (one that he really wishes to try but just can't yet is pizza ... goes to show you that he's certainly my son)
- Grabs at everything (he especially likes the feel of the cats fur)
- Sit up in the bathtub on his own now (makes washing his hair so much easier)
- Found his toes and now sucks on them
- Now has 2 bottom teeth (which are pretty darn sharp by the way)

3) I'm trying to get back into shape (work in progress) ... BYU-I holds some free exercise programs in the evenings that I've been trying to go to (Turbo kick and yoga are the 2 that I'll be doing)

4) Went apple picking for the first time after recently finding out that BYU-I orchards are opened to the public (did you know that they have over 100 different types of apples growing in their orchards! ... because we went so late in the season most of the trees were picked clean but the few apples that we did get were very delicious --- Michael even agreed)

Now ... Onto pictures ...

Michael enjoying the sweet nectar of a BYU-I apple



Future Linebacker

Newest pictures of our chubby guy

So Michael will be 4 months old next week (HOLY COW! time is flying by so fast) so I thought I'd add the newest pictures of our little chunky monkey ... Enjoy :-D

MOM! I'm naked!

Holding his bottle all by himself

Such a big boy siting up on his own

And they call it ... Puppy Love

Michael has this little dog, that his grammie Mangum got him, that hums "rock a bye baby" when you pull it's tail. He absolutely LOVES this little dog and will fall asleep while it plays its little song. This little pup has saved us many pouty fits and is a sure bet to crack a smile or laugh. Hope y'all enjoy the video :-)

Kitty Love

It's early morning and Michael is awake demanding his morning feed. I'm cold and still pretty tired so I do what I normally do if I want more sleep, go in, change his diaper, and bring him back to bed with me where he happily nurses next to me while Ilazily doze for a few extra minutes. Socrates and Bella, like usual are lounging about on different sides of the bed, completely relax and asleep. After Michael finishes his meal we both doze off for a short time, blissfully enjoying the warmth that the blankets offers us. After a short time I awake and look over at Michael when to my surprise I notice something different ... Socrates has decided to join us for a quick nap of his own. He's curled up directly behind Michael with the back of his head against the back of michael's head, completely sprawled out with both front paws drapped over Michael's side. It was pretty hillarious, Socrates puts up with Michael very well. One of those times I wished I had my camera. :-)

2 1/2 Months

Michael is getting pretty darn close to his 3 month mark (HOLY COW!) and he's growing like a weed, his baby blessing will be on the 11th of July. He's moving around constantly, has pretty much outgrown his swaddle blanket, and his hair is lightening up to a reddish/brown color. He found his fist and loves sucking on it every chance he gets (especially when I'm carrying him around in his sling/wrap) He also smiles every time he wakes up (granted it only lasts for a short time before the pouty face starts but its sure cute ... he also has the BEST pouty faces EVER! lol). He's all about movement, so I can't wait to get him into a bouncer swing. Well there's tons of stuff I could keep writing about but I need to get off the internet so I hope y'all enjoy his latest pictures.

Earthquake test

One thing about Michael that is always predicatable is that he absolutely LOVES movement. Bounce him around, take him for a car ride, swinging in his swing, or even being swung around while in his carseat, he doesn't care just keep him moving and he'll be completely happy and even give you a smile or two to show his appreciation.

Halibut Fishing

Lisa and Brad surprised us with a chance to go halibut fishing on Saturday (May 29th). At 7:30am we met the caption of our charter while Michael happily spent some one-on-one time with his grandparents. We went about 15miles out to sea and for 4 hours cast our lines overboard, allowing the 2lb weight to sink 200 feet. Any time we had a bite we had to reel and reel and REEL our catch up to the surface where the crew would hook it and bring it the rest of the way up onto the boat. It was fun but very tiring. Jay and I each caught at least 6 halibut (could only keep 2), I caugh one of the biggest fish of the day weighing in at a whopping 50lbs (and boy was it tiring reeling that sucker up, Jay had to finally help hold my pole while I reeled cause my arm got so tired). On the way back to port we incounted numerous birds, a gang of sea otters, and 3 harper seals. The weather was just perfect and all in all it was a very relaxing adventure, and much needed time alone together.

--- My fish is the one farthest to the left (right next to Jay)

--- I caught a fish this big ---

Life Thus Far

I am now the proud parent of a 1 month old 9lb happy and healthy baby boy. After a rough start in the beginning of life Michael appears to have completely recovered from his ordeal and is happily guzzling 4-5oz of milk a feeding and growing like a weed (lol at least weight wise). He's a fairly easy goping child who is fairly happy and content most of the time, calms down quickly when he starts fussing, and usually sleeps 3 hours in between feedings. The cats could care less about having a new addition to the house, and usually look the other way when he's any where near them. Michael just started tummy time this week and has altready scooted himself off his mat and lifted his head a few times before he breaks down crying from frustration (he'll be a strong son buck before long). He has pretty beastly thighs and forearms, hopefully he got his daddy's strength. Life as a parent is great if not a bit tiring and Jay's job/internship is going very well and we're hoping that his boss will allow him to stay on for his 2nd and final internship so once we return back home to Idaho we can just concenrate on schooling and then make a final move to wherever Jay gets a job (instead of moving around for an internship, school, and then job). Alaska is gorgeous (you se Eagles and moose everwhere). Summer has officially set in, blue skies and 50 degree weather now with it staying light out till midnight. All in all life is pretty darn good :-)

---- Below is Michael's most recent pictures (1 month)

Recent Pictures of Michael