attempted 11 month portraits

Dan took Jayden to the lake today to try to get 11 month portraits of him. However, this wasn't Jayden's plan. He wanted to PLAY!!! So they turned into mostly action shots. :) Here are some!

my name is Jayden...and I'm a messy eater

Jayden makes SUCH a mess everytime he eats. So here's a few shots from today's snack. Mango and avocado EVERYWHERE. He needed an entire outfit change afterwards. :)

11 months old!!!!

So our little boy is 11 months old today. Hard to believe. We are planning his birthday party. When we got pregnant with Eli, Jayden being 13 1/2 months old when he arrived seemed so far away. Now its around the corner!! Where did the time go?

So what cool things is Jayden doing these days, you ask? Well let me tell you.

• standing for up to a minute by himself
• he will walk if we walk behind him holding his hands. this is new in the last couple weeks.
• he'll take a couple steps if we hold just one hand but then he plops on his butt.
  
• his vocabulary is slowly expanding. he says: mama, dada, bye, hi, duck, up, all done. he also will say a couple in combination, mostly "hi dad" and "bye dad." he will also repeat lots of things we say, although doesn't use them again on his own. he has repeated: bad, we're not (I said we're not going to get the stuff on Mommy's dresser), and stinky. i think there are a couple others I can't remember right now.
  
• sleeps 12 hours every night and takes two good naps.
  
• waves hi and goodbye pretty consistently
• loves everyone he ever meets
• gives kisses when asked for kisses
• is generally happy and content almost all of the time

We'll try to get some 11 month pics later but Daddy has kind of a crazy day and as we all know, Mommy doesn't much but blog these days!! Ha ha.

pictures of Eli!!

No, he wasn't born! :) We had a 3D ultrasound today to sneak a peek at our little one's face. Just like his brother, his face was partially buried in the placenta so we couldn't get FULL shots of his face but I think we got a good idea of what he looks like. Or should I say WHO he looks like? The answer is: Jayden!! And for those of you who remember, Jayden looked just like his 3D ultrasound shots when he was born. So here's a few of our best ones. And a comparison of Jayden's!
These are of Eli:





And this one is Jayden...

my daily post

Well I realized today that I've posted something on the blog every day since last Friday I think. So before heading to bed, I thought I'd post real quick. Some cool things about the last couple days:

• I have finished two books. I love to read. 
• Another book I've been dying to read, The Vaccine Book, arrived in the mail from a friend today. Right on time, I need something brain stimulating to read! 
• Jayden still loves me! Ha ha. He came over to the couch and tried to climb on it with me. I picked him up and he laid down on me and gave me the best snuggles!! And lots of kisses and smiles. Even stroked my face lovingly for awhile. I just thank God that I am still getting my time with my boy! 
• Our church is bringing meals a few times a week. So great, and SO yummy!!
• Jayden has been sleeping later in the morning, which is so nice for his VERY tired Daddy.
• Dan. He is cool. Very cool. :) 
• Eli. We like him a lot, too. 

Ok that's all I think. For those of you who follow baseball, please pray for my Dodgers. They SUCK lately and it is BREAKING my heart. 

more pictures...really, can there be too many?!??!

Grandma Dottie took these pictures when she was down helping out last week. Too cute!! Jayden has recently become obsessed with the bathroom counter. He loves to look at "the baby in the mirror." We really think he thinks there's another baby in there. He will try to look around it and then look confused when the baby moves with him.

This is Jayden with Stephanie, one of his favorite people in the world (sorry, Steph, the picture is too cute not to put up!).

With his "friend" in the mirror!!

Too cute

Super artsy shot

And, finally, proof that Jayden still loves his mommy, even though she's not much help these days!


I know I'm posting a lot these days but, hey, I've got the time!! :) Other Jayden news...he moved up to a bigger car seat today!!! Took his inaugural ride in it on a trip to Costco with Daddy!! Such a big boy. His old car seat is now on vacation till his little brother arrives!!!

for his invitation....

So today we were ordering invitations for Jayden's birthday party and couldn't decide on a picture we liked. So Daddy took him outside for an impromptu photo shoot. Here's the result!!





The bottom one was the winner for the invitations!!! We think he is pretty stinking cute!

We are on bedrest day 8. It gets easier as I go. Dan went and got a TON of books from the library for me which is helping tremendously. As some of you know, I am an AVID reader, or at least I was before Jayden came along. So I really should go add "the opportunity to lay in bed and read, one of my favorite activities" to my list of things I am thankful for!

A quick shout out for Dan. He is AWESOME!!! Doing laundry, dishes, making food...took Jayden to church by himself today. Such an amazing husband and dad, there are no words! :)

anyone traveling anywhere?

Can I live vicariously through you? Ha ha. That's not really the point of this post. This is a shameless plug for Dan's new business venture!! :) Dan has bought into a travel company. He gets his own website where people can book travel. It works just like Orbitz or Travelocity or any of those. But he gets a commission on anything booked on his site. So if anyone is booking airfare, rental cars, hotels, etc. check out his site!! And if you're not finding as cheap of prices there as you are elsewhere or as you would like, you can email Dan and he has some extra connections where he might be able to find you even better deals.

Here's the site!! Enjoy, and please help support the cause "Dan goes back to school while supporting a wife and two little boys!!". Yay!

www.dstravelwell.com

long overdue...

So Jayden has been eating table food for quite some time now and we see some GREAT messes around here. The kid LOVES to eat but definitely isn't neat about it. My mom brought us some frozen lasagnas for easy dinners while I'm on bed rest so here is Jayden's first experience with lasagna.

Pardon the fuzziness, he was in motion and we took this with Dan's iPhone (the camera was in the car!).

thoughts from the couch

So I figure I'm going to have a lot of time on my hands in the next few weeks. To be honest, I've really been bumming about this whole bed rest thing and have had a hard time focusing on the things to be thankful for. I remember a friend telling me once that when you're feeling down, to literally make a list of all the things you have to be thankful for. So here's mine for today:

• Jayden and his smile and laugh. That I get to see and hear them everyday, even though I'm on the couch or in bed. 
• Dan...there are no words to express how wonderful he has been this past week...supportive, loving, compassionate, and caring. I could not ask for a better husband. And he's pretty stinking cute to boot!!
• my mom...she is here today for the fifth time in 7 days. That is 600 miles she will have driven with all the round trips from L.A. Countless diapers changed, meals made (for me and Jayden!!), dishes cleaned, loads of laundry done. I could not ask for a more loving mom 
• my dad. he's been here twice making me laugh, cooking me yummy sausage for breakfast, going to get coffee. i have the best, and funniest, dad in the world
• all our friends who have been here to help or have taken Jayden for the day: Stephanie (three times!!), Lilly (house cleaner extraordinaire), Jen (twice this week), Michelle, Andrea (she took Jayden all day TUESDAY!!)
• a church that is providing meals so that Dan doesn't have to cook when he gets home on top of taking over Jayden duty
• a God who orchestrates the details...Dan's leave ends May 15th...when does my mom end bible study? May 13th. 
• Eli. even though this pregnancy with him is proving to be challenging, he is worth every second. my sweet baby boy who i love feeling kick around and grow...i can't wait to meet him!!
• a kind, caring, compassionate and competent doctor who i know has my and eli's best interests at heart. 
• countless friends who have called or emailed to check in. i know so many are praying...such a blessing
• did I mention Jayden? his sweet smile lights up my days

doctor's appointment

Well we're back from our doctor's appointment. Not super encouraging...she said she would strongly recommend staying on bedrest until 35 or 36 weeks. She said I can try to get off the meds and see how I tolerate it. I HATE the medicine so I'm hoping that might work. She said she would stay on it through the weekend, calm things down, and then try cutting my dose in half or extending time between doses on Monday and see how I respond. Anyway, 7 or 8 more weeks of bedrest means Dan taking leave from work to help with Jayden. We are SO thankful he is still able to take paid leave since Jayden isn't a year old yet. But it'll be hard financially too. So we're processing through everything tonight and trying to remain calm.

We'll keep you updated as we have news. We see the doc again in two weeks.

all by myself!!

Well we are bed rest day #3 and so far so good. Our wonderful friends Stephanie and Jen came yesterday to hang out with Jayden and keep me on the couch (this is not an easy task sometimes!). Today Jayden is with his friends Jacob and Mia. It was hard to send him off this morning but I know he's having a great time! And Daddy will pick him up around 4:30! So I'll be seeing him soon. It is strange being by myself. After Dan and Jayden left this morning I went back to bed and slept till almost 11. It was wonderful!! Haven't slept that late since the day before my water broke with Jayden!! Hee hee. Its so funny cause you always wish for days off as a mom, and to sleep in. So in some ways this is nice. But I would also love to spend some of my day off at the bookstore, and not confined to the couch. Ha ha. Tomorrow Grandma Dottie comes and we also see the doctor so hopefully we'll have more answers and a plan then!! 

Thanks for checking in, those of you who are!! And please keep praying for little Eli!! 

bedrest!!

Well this morning brought another trip to labor and delivery... I was having more contractions even with the meds. So we called the doc and she had me take another dose of the meds and head off to the hospital. I'm still not dilated, Praise the Lord!! But I was still contracting even with the double dose. So they gave me another shot of medicine and that finally stopped them. So I am now home on strict bedrest and a double dose of the contraction stopping meds until we see the doc on Wednesday. Hopefully on Wednesday they will check my cervical length to make sure its not shortening too much. We'll keep everyone posted!!! Please just pray for us to find the help we need with Jayden the next few days. And pray for the contractions to stop and Eli to keep baking for a LONG time!!

pregnancy update

Hey all!! Well last night we ended up at labor and delivery as I was having contractions even while resting. They did a test to check for a protein that can indicate pre-term labor. Came back negative. Yay!! And I'm not dilated or effaced. But I was DEFINITELY contracting. So they gave me a shot of terbuteline to stop the contractions and sent me home and told me to rest! Easier said than done when you have a small child trying to tear apart your house!! So hopefully this weekend will bring rest and less contractions. Already having some more this morning so I'm resting while Jayden sleeps. Please pray that I will not end up on any sort of bedrest, as I'm not sure what we would do.

Thanks everyone!!

Jayden loves to swing!!!

Jayden and I took a trip to our local park the other day. He LOVED the swing. Here are some good pics I got!!


I know he's cut off in this pic but I love that you can see his smile, anyway, and the shadow of him swinging. Something about it seems artsy to me!!

Weeeeee!!!

smiles and cuteness

McDonald's Playplace

So we have discovered, thanks to my friend Andrea, that we have an AMAZING Playplace at our local McDonald's. They have a great section just for the crawling/toddling age. Jayden loves it. Everything is musically themed so everything they touch makes music. Jayden is quite enamored!! So here are a few pics of our trip there the other day. The experience was marred a bit by a CRAZY kid who thought Jayden was her toy....and did not have supervision there who were keen on intervening..but that's a story for another day!!

digital scrapbooking continues....

Ok so here's my first completed digital scrapbook!! I'm very excited about it. :)













These are obviously pictures that are elsewhere on the blog...but they haven't gone in a scrapbook yet. So yay!! :)

tagged again!!

Well I tagged my friend Mary and now have been tagged in return...for two things! So here we go!!

The rules for the first one:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.

2. Post the Rules.

3. Share six non-important things / habits / quirks about yourself.

4. Tag at least three people.

5. Make sure the people you tagged know you tagged them by commenting that you did.

1) I love cheddar cheese on spaghetti. Not mozzarella or parmesan. Cheddar. Plain pasta with melted cheddar cheese is one of the world's perfect foods! :)

2) I would sleep with a down comforter even in the dead of summer. There is something about the weight of it that helps me sleep better. When it gets too hot, I keep half my body under it and half out to stay cool. My husband hates this about me! : )

3) I LOVE to wear hooded sweatshirts, even in the summer. They are SO comfy!!

4) If I never had to wear shoes and socks again I'd be happy. The only time I ever WANT to wear them is when I exercise. Flip flops baby!! All the time!!

5) I hate hate hate it when my neck sweats. Our first apartment was not well ventilated and I would wake up all the time with a sweaty neck. I will get up in the night and take a half shower to get the sweat off me. But do I give up the down comforter? Nope! Just turn on the AC, I say!

6) I love anything flavored with mint and chocolate. Mint chocolate chip ice cream. Peppermint Mocha Ice Blendeds from Coffee Bean. Junior Mints. Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies. I love them all!!

Yay! First one done.

Here's the next one:
Here are the rules:

1. List five kind things you do for yourself.

2. List five kind things you do for your closest friend, partner or child.

3. List five kind things you have done for a stranger.

4. Tag 5 people!

Five things I do for myself:

• Go to Starbucks sometimes early in the morning just to start my day off with a bang. Unfortunately, our budget does not allow for this very often!

• Take way longer and way hotter showers than necessary on a very regular basis.

• Watch way too many episodes of Bringing Home Baby, A Baby Story, Birth Day, and Babies:Special Delivery while Jayden naps instead of cleaning

• Buy yummy candy at the grocery store that I really don't need..

• Take naps in the morning when Jayden naps
  

Five things I do for my family:

• laundry....all of it, for everyone. Dan's, mine, Jayden, diapers
  

• dishes...every night or morning the kitchen gets totally cleaned
  

• make Dan's sandwiches in the morning while he showers so that he doesn't have to rush around

• I change Jayden's diaper multiple times a day...and now I deal with poopy cloth diapers...this should count for two bullet points!!
  

• take care of two girls a few afternoons a week to make extra money so we don't starve!
  

Five things I have done for a stranger:

• went and found their kid in the store when they were looking for them

• picked up stuff they dropped and didn't realize it

• let them have my parking place (this was before Jayden and being pregnant all at once!!)

• given money to different charities that definitely went to help strangers

• let someone go in front of me at the grocery store who had less stuff

Ok that's it!!

Now I need to tag people....and to tag people who haven't been tagged. A challenge for sure!!

Here we go: Cassie, Shanaka, Jason, Joe and Karen, Emily

Have fun! :)

play date with Jacob and Mia!!

Jayden had a play date with his good buddies Jacob and Mia

Here are some cute pics of the event! We went to the mall and played in the kids area and then had lunch (no pictures of lunch...I'll sum it up for you in one word: MESSY!!).

All three kids actually turned around at once!!

Sweet sweet Jacob

Beautiful Mia!!!


Jayden and Mia getting snuggly!!!

Jayden started flirting with one of the moms...silly boy!!

tagged twice..my 6 word memoir

My friends Andrea and Andrea (ha ha..yes they are both named Andrea) tagged me on their blogs to write a 6 word memoir. Here we go:

Dan
Jesus
Family
Mommy
Laughter
Sports

it's harder than you think to write 6 words about yourself. so, i tried to think of 6 words that if i was gone, people might remember about me. with that said, i am going to tag 5 people (as per Andrea's instruction) to write their own memoir.

Hmmm...this is a challenge. Gotta tag people that haven't already been tagged.

Jason, Shanaka, Joe and Karen (you guys get 12 words!!), Emily, and Bess! There we go. That's five!!

Enjoy!