Random Pictures from June

I'm never going to catch up if I don't do a massive card dump. Sorry!

This is the first and only time I have been able to talk Tae into licking the beaters. I had to lie and tell her it was just like a sucker. She liked it, so I think she'll forgive me.Can you tell that this little girl has a mother who plays the violin? She tried to play Taryn's guitar like this too.

She loves dandelions, but only after they go to seed. For some reason, she calls yellow dandelions by the correct name, but once they look like this they are called 'dinosaurs'. Don't ask me. She even knows what real dinosaurs look like.

On one of our trips home we helped my parents move the cows. She only rode with Grandma for 5 minutes before she decided she preferred being on the 4-wheeler with me.

And here is just a sample of how much like her daddy she is. She loved 'helping'. She slowed Jon down a little, but I know he enjoyed it just as much as she did.

Colton lived with us for a couple weeks while he was working in SLC and Shay was finishing up school in Cedar. Colton was trying to figure out how to get into the coconut and Tae insisted on helping. I tried to pick her some cool looking implements-of-destruction that could do no harm. She seemed content.
She might not forgive me for posting these, but I couldn't resist! She used to like to drink out of Jon's hand after brushing her teeth, but this is her new favorite method. I walked in on her like this and couldn't help but laugh.

And finally, once she figured out what gardening was, we couldn't talk her into letting Daddy plant the flowers on his own.

(not so friendly a tool...I should have given her the potato masher!)

For some reason she likes putting her feet between the posts on our porch. Because I'm so kind, I took pictures of her instead of helping her free herself.

I'll post pictures from July tomorrow. Until then, I'll feel like I've at least accomplished something on this long-neglected but not-so-forgotten blog.

Taelyn's Birthday

Taelyn's birthday was over a month and a half ago. I never did post pictures.

Because we opted to get her a larger gift this year, we decided to keep the festivising small. Colton and Shay went with us to dinner. We went to the Mayan (which Tae calls 'Boys-Jump-Water' for obvious reasons). I was glad they happened to be up when we were going so they could join us. It helped to make it more special for Tae. She loves Coco-Shay. I wish I would have taken more pictures at dinner!This is her 'Big Toy'. She has spent countless hours on (and under) it.
Best KSL Classifieds find ever and I'm still shocked that I was the first one to call on it.
We picked it up the night before her birthday. I told Jon that we could wait until the next day to set it up. He was insistent that we could do it. We started when it was still light out. Funny how hard something like this is to put together when you don't have instructions, don't know what it is supposed to look like when you are finished, and have a two year old trying to climb on the pieces while you're trying to figure it all out. It was well after dark when we finished. Quite the little adventure.

We also got her some princess shoes and princess sandals for her birthday. I don't think they are that cute, but I've finally decided it is much easier if she likes what she is wearing than if I like it. These shoes have hearts, princesses, sparkles and lights-she thinks they are the most awesome thing ever. I had a few videos of her stomping around and checking out the lights, but I'm having problems getting them to load.

Show-N-Tell

They do Show-N-Tell at the daycare. I've been really lazy with it, because she's two-and why put effort into something she just doesn't get yet. Right?

Two weeks ago we were starting to put Tae to bed. We were sitting on the floor and singing Old MacDonald's Farm (a new favorite). When we stopped singing, she meticulously arranged her feet so that she was sitting cross-legged. I didn't think much of it until she started to clap her hands and hit her knees and say something very rhythmically that I couldn't understand. I asked Jon what she was doing and he had no idea either. She continued for a few minutes before I finally got it.

Her chanting was "show-and-tell-it" repeated over and over. I laughed and wondered if it was just a song to her. I crossed my legs and joined in. When she stopped, I stopped. Then she said "momma turn". I struggled to keep a strait face, showed her my empty hands and told her that momma didn't have anything to shown-n-tell.

Her eyes lit up and she pointed at me. In one of her most excited voices she exclaimed "New shirt!"

I lost it. I haven't laughed that hard in a while.

Can I just say how much I love this phase? I love the interaction. I love the learning. And I love the funny things that come out of her mouth. I am amazed daily at the things that they pick up. She is definitely in the sponge phase, and I love every second! [Well, OK, almost every second. There have been a few times that I said something I probably shouldn't have that made me cringe when I heard it repeated back!]

Beauty

I have been attending a class called Just Health. It is an interesting approach that looks at seven aspects of health, of which physical is just one. Yesterday's class covered the influence of media on body image. It was quite interesting and I left the class feeling like I had a lot to think about. I just wanted to share this video we watched.







If the video doesn't work, it can be watched here.

Tender Mercies

Initially the whole experience left me feeling like I have faced one thing after another with this pregnancy. A little change in perspectives was good. We have been so blessed that every 'issue' has been small. This weekend was no different.

• It was a tender mercy that we were in Roosevelt when we had to go to the ER late Saturday night. Taelyn was already asleep and we were able to leave her with Grandma Sherrie.
• The ultrasound technician who was checking on my kidney also checked on the baby. She was so nice. When she asked if there were any problems with the pregnancy I told her about needing to go back in in July to check on the placenta. She checked it for me and printed out a report for me to take to my midwife clinic. She laughed and said there was no reason to pay for another ultrasound if we were already there.
• It was a tender mercy that we were still in Roosevelt when we decided I needed to go back to the ER. We were able to leave Taelyn with my parents and make the mad dash trip to Salt Lake.
• As silly as it sounds, it was a tender mercy that I look pregnant. When I walked into the ER at our hospital, they met me half way to the check-in desk with a wheelchair. Apparently pregnant women who look like they are in intense pain don't have to spend any time in the waiting room.
• Because I called the midwife before we left Roosevelt, she was able to check on what would get me help fastest: going to Labor & Delivery or going to the ER. When I got there they had been expecting me and had a nurse from Labor & Delivery there to check on the baby.
• It was a tender mercy that I couldn't hold anything down on Sunday morning/afternoon because it kept me from eating. When we got to Salt Lake, they were able to take me in for surgery because I hadn't eaten for 24 hours. [Unfortunately it also made it so that I was dehydrated. Apparently my vein collapsed during the surgery and they had a hard time finding another location. I can count at least 10 needle insertion points on my arms, which are now bruised, swollen and very tender.]
• It was a tender mercy that we were in surgery late Sunday night because I had a whole recovery area to myself. They allowed Jon to come in because we were the only ones there. He was able to hear the baby's heart beat the second time they checked it after the surgery.
• It was a tender mercy that I felt well enough after the surgery that they let me go home after two hours.
• Every time I feel Baby Brayden move is a tender mercy. I have been so worried about him with all of the meds I've taken for pain. Even though they told me that everything they gave me wouldn't harm the baby, I was worried about him being overly affected by the morphine, percocet, lortab and the other crazy drugs they gave me through the IV.

I'm so grateful for the wonderful people that came in on-call Sunday night. They all talked to me while I was in the hall before going into surgery. Even Courtney introduced himself and let me know that he was there to make sure all the equipment worked properly so if I saw him running around, there was nothing to worry about. They answered all my questions and reassured me that they were going to do everything they could to protect the baby.

Most of all, I'm grateful for Jon. He stayed in bed with me after getting back from the ER the first night even though I didn't sleep and spent most of the night trying to find a position that didn't hurt, crying, or making some other crazy pain related noise. He would ask me what he could do even though he'd heard me tell him a million times that he couldn't do anything. He joked back when I told him to not even think about touching me because it hurt. He was so patient even though he was only running on a few hours of sleep. He put up with my still telling him how to drive when I was half asleep and half drugged up--and really didn't know what was going on. When we finally got back to our home after everything was over, he insisted on taking care of me before doing anything for himself. My favorite was when he struggled to fall asleep because Taelyn's bed was empty. Once he had me taken care of, his thoughts and concerns turned to her. He is such a good husband and father.

I'm grateful for the change in perspective that has helped me to see the good in this ordeal. I'm grateful everything went as it did and we were able to get everything taken care of. Now I'm hoping I can keep this perspective even if something else does come up!

And We Are Having...

A BOY!
I posted on FB right when we found out...but still haven't taken time to get info on here.

The ultrasound was good. It was nice to see him (well, as much as you can 'see' on an ultrasound). I definitely felt like I could 'see' more on the ultrasound with Tae. He looks healthy. I have to go back in for another ultrasound in July to check on one concern they had about the placenta being low. The doctor thinks it will correct itself, but wanted to be on the safe side. I'm hoping that the baby being a little bigger will help me to be able to see more next time.

I've forgotten how much I love to feel the baby move. I'm remembering that there are some things about pregnancy that I love. It really is an amazing process.

As for names, we really want to use Gary for the middle name (because how could we not when it covers both of our fathers). We have struggled to find a first name that we can agree on. Right now we are leaning toward Brayden Gary. We don't absolutely love it, but neither of us has strong objections to it. As we were discussing names, we would occasionally run some by Taelyn. She has started calling him Baby Brayden, so I guess that has become our deciding factor. Occasionally she calls him Brayden Gary, and it makes my heart melt.

I don't know how much Taelyn understands, but it is probably more than I give her credit for. She loves to rub my belly and talk to him. She still thinks she has a baby in her belly too, but knows that Baby Brayden is in my belly. I think she will be such a great big sister. We are so excited for him to be part of our family.

Pregnancy Details

We are due October 20th and are now at 18 weeks. We go in for an ultrasound next week and have been counting down. I really want to know what we are having so that we can start trying to make it a little more real for Tae (who is convinced we both have babies in our bellies). And I want to decorate-but need to know if I can keep it all pink or if we need to add some other colors. When anyone asks what I want, my response is ‘a baby’. We really have no preference. We’ve just been praying for a healthy baby.

I’m surprised at how baby hungry I got before getting pregnant. I’m so grateful for that; otherwise, I don’t think I would have been able to get over my fears and jump again. Really, I was the holdup on adding to our family. Jon was ready for another one the day we brought Taelyn home.

I’ve been asked a lot how this pregnancy is different than the first and if it was harder or easier. I honestly don’t know. I don’t remember a lot from the first time around…which is totally why I’m pregnant again. I haven’t been nauseous, but have been dealing with morning sickness. Yes…still. Every. Single. Morning. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve gotten sick later in the day. Seriously, mornings are easy: I’m at home, proper facilities are very accessible, and I haven’t eaten anything yet. I do remember getting sick – at all times of the day – the whole pregnancy – in every location imaginable – the first time around. Really, mornings are easy.

I think I'm far more exhausted this time around. Jon says I was more tired the first time around. Who knows. ‘Baking’ a baby is terribly exhausting work! I’m sure having a toddler to chase adds to the exhaustion. The first time around was nice because I could go home after work and crash for as long as was needed. I’ve learned I can’t do that now. I wind up with a little hand (two of the cutest hands in the world – might I add) on each cheek, her nose an inch from mine, with her loudly telling me “MOMMA. WAKE. UP.”

We've had a few bumps along the way. During the first prenatal exam, the midwife found a couple lumps in my breasts. Because of being pregnant, they couldn't do a mammogram. It was an emotional few days before we had the ultrasound and found out that everything is fine. About a week later we found out that I have anti-antibody issues, which can cause hemolytic disease of the newborn (a condition in which antibodies in a pregnant woman's blood cross the placenta and destroy her baby's red blood cells). For now I go in every 4 weeks to have the anti-antibody levels checked. I’ll have to go in more often as I get farther along. As long as I stay below 1:16, whatever that means, we are fine. If not, I have to be referred to the Maternal and Fetal Medicine clinic. If I understand everything correctly, if that happens I have two options: deliver early (if I’m far enough along), or blood transfusion into the umbilical chord. Because of the way I am, I want to know what my levels are. Apparently that isn’t how the blood tests work. It only lets me know if I’m still in the safe range…or not.

I think I’m more excited about the ultrasound next week because of the anti-antibody issue. I just want to know that everything looks good and the baby looks healthy.

Happy Anniversary

It has been Five wonderful years for Tamaran and I.
Here is Jon's short recap, for those who are unfamiliar with
the whirlwind romance of Jon and Tamaran.

It goes a little like this:
A little over five and a half years ago....
T and J met at the institute in roosevelt. As Jon tries to make a hasty retreat from the building aunt Ann yells out the door " don't leave there is someone I want you to meet".
Jon reluctantly comes back inside. Aunt Ann yells to T across the activity room " there is someone I want you to meet" . Rather sheepishly J and T cross the room... " so" J says to T "you just got off your mission huh? where did you serve?" T replies "North Carolina where did you serve?" "Alabama" says J. well it was nice to meet you.....see you later they say to each other.
It was a less than dramatic first encounter. It got better from there. A short time later ( I think a month or so) T asked J to go on a group date ( there was no group, just one other couple I think we call that a double date...tricky tricky). J says yes. They go ice skating J wears his ugly wool sweater that is to big for him ( it's very warm). T has second thoughts about asking J out. J informs T that he is working in a bicycle shop, has next to no college, is approaching twenty seven and living at home. T informs J she is nearly finished with a degree in engineering. T has third thoughts about asking J out. They have fun ice skating. J doesn't really expect to see T again. J teaches a sunday school class. J calls on T who wasn't paying attention. J emabarasses T. T stops J after class to talk. T pauses for breath in conversation. J thinks T is done talking and walks off. ( J struggles with social etiquette ). T has hurt feelings. One week goes by T calls J and bravely asks J on another date. J says yes. T says she will be in roosevelt and askes if Friday or Saturday would be better. J says both. J tells T " I will take you out since you took me out last time...my car is broke can you drive?" T bravely says yes again. J and T go to the movie and dinner. They go out again the next night. Sunday comes J is thinking alot about T. T is thinking alot about J. They go for a drive. J thinks " wow T is pretty incredible" J boldly tells T "I think we should date"..(paraphrased) T..."uh alright". (paraphrased) they talk every night for a week. Sunday comes again J meets T's parents officialy at the institute. T is in SLC. J and T talk sunday night. J thinks " I can't wait to ask her to marry me" he tells T he will be out on monday to spend some time with her. J pops the question. ( it was really awkward, remember the bit about social etiquett?). T Very Very bravely says...Yes. ( there's more to this story perhaps not to be blogged about ).
Five years, alot of tears, a whole lot of laughter, a good bit of compromise, two cars, three residence, and 1.5 children later...what a ride. I look forward to an eternity and five years.

I love you Tamaran.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

In the Last Month We

This post could also be called "I'm a Slacker" or "Things I Didn't Make Time to Blog About". It really is just going to be a photo dump so that I feel caught up.

Got Tae a big girl bed. She sleeps so much better in it.

Went to Temple Square (Thanks, Malissa, for taking pictures).

Went to the park to feed the ducks. (Yes she is eating the tortillas we were feeding the ducks. Slightly grossed me out, but what do you do?)

Helped cook at the ASCE BBQ...ok, really I volunteered Jon to cook and Tae ate and played with Nova (Jenni's dog).

Made lasagna. I had to include this because Tae helped. The second picture shows what she did most of the time. She ate nearly two whole noodles by herself. She loves pasta.

Now I just need to cover Women's Conference and Tae's birthday to be caught up!

Yay Jon!! One more class down!

Jon just finished up his second biology class and lab. Happy day! And even better than that, he got an A!