Wilcox Wanderings

Go! AJ Go!

2011-12-06T20:27:00.001-07:00

AJ's a semifinalist in the Rumbi Lighten Up Contest. There are only three semifinalists! This means he we have a one in three chance of winning an all-expenses-paid Mexican vacation!

I admit that I am experiencing an inner dilemma. Said dilemma involves leaving my babies at home whilst I venture into another country...without them...I'll be separated from my babies...did I mention I can't take them with me? I can't tell whether I love or hate the idea of being away from my children.

In order to rid myself of this dilemma, I am secretly hoping he loses so I don't have to face leaving my kids. So, if you hate me and wish me to have a "vacation" (horribly anxious time) away from my kids then vote for AJ. But if you love me and wish me to have a "vacation" (selfish relaxing time) away from my kids then vote for AJ.

By the way, this is in jest. He told me I'm in trouble if I don't make it clear I want everyone to vote for him. ;) So, please vote for AJ!

Here's the link to vote...use every email address you have!
http://www.rumbi-lightenupcontest.com/

2011 Summer in Review

2011-10-12T23:11:00.002-06:00

Ok, so I must have had a(nother) baby this year or something because I haven't been able to make time for my blog in, what, 5 months now? I guess I have a lot to cover! Here is the whole summer in review:

Bridges Reunion - June
We had a reunion up in Idaho in June. It was a bit far away for having a young baby but we made it up and I'm glad we did. I learned a couple things: Justin loves splash pads and Kylie hates nursing right after I've gone swimming and am all wet. I was a bit frazzled because I couldn't figure her out (she wasn't very happy that day) but all in all we had fun and we were glad to have gone.

Kylie's Blessing - June
Kylie received a name and a blessing in June. We had a small get together at our home due to a scheduling mix-up. I would have liked to have had it at church but it turned out to be really nice at home. She has been a sweet, sweet baby! She is cheerful and easy going and cuddly! She loves to suck her thumb and snuggle a little jersey knit swaddling blanket...or the changing pad blanket (I'm not sure what is so magical about it). She loves toys and is very interested in her environment. Justin wasn't nearly so interested in anything that wasn't a person. We have all enjoyed having her as an addition to our family very much.

This was honestly the best picture we got. Either Justin was crying or Kylie was squirming.

Here's a fourth generation picture of lovely ladies!

My little snuggler!

Justin's Bday! He turned two! - July
Justin turned two during our Mays Family Vacation (which is detailed below). He is a funny guy. He's talking so much more and says the funniest things. He's started singing along with me. Here is one of his favorites. Can you guess what song it is? "Twinkle star, wonder, how are you?" He is starting to play pretend and will feed his doggy cereal while I feel Kylie her cereal. He can see a wheel in anything and the wheel always "turns it". He loves to make weed whackers and hot air balloons from his legos.

Mays Family Park City Vacation - July
The entire Mays Clan piled into a Park City condo in July! Oh boy we had a blast! We went to the outlets (where I found my dream jacket!). We went hiking and swimming. We stayed up late talking. The boys played video games. We celebrated birthdays.

Water is so exciting!

Two day dreamers

A fun hike

I can't get Justin to keep his sunglasses on but he wouldn't take Liv's off!

My parents had a great lemon tree that died in a bad frost last year. No one had taken any pictures of it so I painted one for them.

New Van
The lease on our Accord was nearly up and we decided to get a van as a replacement. I've always felt like a van was for mothers with 1,000 kids or something so I never wanted one. But as I got looking at it, a van seems like quite a good idea. Before we turned in our Accord we took one last drive up Provo Canyon and hiked to Bridal Veil Falls and drove up to Squaw Peak.

Two boys watching a hang glider.

Starting a little early are we? Justin always asks if he can "play van".

Spontaneous St. George Trip - September
I was stir crazy a couple weeks ago and needed a change. AJ's been super busy with work lately and I needed some adult interaction. Plus, I wanted to try out my new van. So, for the first time in my life I did something spontaneous! I drove to my sister's place on a moment's notice. My parents were in town for a night and I met up with everyone at Cafe Rio to surprise them. When I got there my Dad spotted me first. I handed him Kylie and he tried to give her to my Mom. She kept saying, "Who is this?" and giving him a look like, "Why are you trying to hand me this unknown child?" Then she turned and saw me and nearly bumped her head on the ceiling when she jumped so high. It was hilarious! It was so fun to surprise her! The next few days were filled with fun cousin time, running, playing, and summer saults off the couch onto the futon mattress.

We went to Jumping Jacks (Justin is still talking about it). Justin cried and tried to grab hold of me the first two go arounds but then it clicked and he liked it!

Cousins and statues

We visited Grandpa Dan and Justin wanted to help push him to lunch. My Dad thought it was adorable that he wanted to help, and it was, don't get me wrong but I'm pretty sure Justin just wanted to see how the "wheel turns it".

LDS Legacy Giveaway

2011-09-03T14:07:00.000-06:00

Imma get me a free shirt!

"LDS Church History comes alive for me when…"

I see the artifacts that surround the old stories. When I look at an object from long ago it awakens my curiosity and my mind is flooded with questions. What was life like when this was used? How was it used? Who used it? How did it find its way to us today? Artifacts have outlived generations of people and give us insight into lives and culture long since gone. They are time machines allowing us a small glimpse into the past.

LDS Legacy Giveaway (in case you think you're going to win MY shirt) http://www.ldslegacy.com/blog/

Justin's Silly Pose

2011-06-22T22:41:00.002-06:00

This is so hilarious to me, I have to post about it. When Justin gets really tired he does this thing where he lays on his stomach holding his hands and he holds his feet just above the ground and waves them slightly. He's done it for so long, ever since he was 9 months old maybe. Last week in church he tried to do it on the pew! LOL!

Kylie is 2 Months Old

2011-06-11T22:24:00.002-06:00

Kylie is 2 months old today! I can't believe the time has gone by. She is a big smiler. I call her Smiley Kylie. She has just started cooing and she's been able to roll onto her back for about a month now. She is a very happy and peaceful baby until I eat tomatoes, dairy, or chocolate. Then she is very discontent and let me tell you she has an effective set of lungs. She's a great eater and I only have to have spend about 15 minutes feeding and diapering her when she wakes up at night which is fantastic because she's still sleeping only about 3-4 hours at a time at night. She's a great little girl and I love dressing her up on Sundays. I love that she's joined our family.

Justin likes to play with her. The other day he took her hand and beat her fist against his palm to do the "Wise Man Built His House upon a Rock" song. He is getting so big and is starting to say many words so well. Today he said his first sentence to me. His shoe fell off and he said, "Shoe back on" to ask me to put his shoe back on to his foot.

I'll post pictures of Kylie soon. Ooo I actually followed up this time...

Big stretch! She does this funny lip pucker when she stretches sometimes and I call it her "duck lips". This picture doesn't really show it well. I've yet to capture it.

Silly tongue!

Big smile! She always gives me these super cute big smiles but it's hard to catch them. This is the best I could do.

Justin at 2 months old. There's a little bit of resemblance there.

Kylie Marie Wilcox

2011-04-15T12:20:00.002-06:00

Kylie Marie Wilcox was born on Monday April 11th. She was 7lbs 2oz and 19.5 inches long. She takes the cake on birth size and weight beating her mom, dad, and Justin! She came pretty easily and cried like a champ. She had no problems and got to stay with me in the hospital room! She's a good eater and I haven't had to pump yet. All these little miracles sure make life easier!

Justin seems to like her and we haven't had any bouts of jealousy yet. He calls her "kitty" when she makes little baby noises. I'm not sure if he thinks she is a kitty or if he thinks she's pretending to be one. Here are some pictures.

3-2-1 Blast Off!

2011-04-06T00:30:00.000-06:00

I can't sleep! I'm not really that anxious (about the baby coming) or anything, I just can't turn my mind off sometimes. So, I thought I would post a picture of the baby blanket I finished a little while ago.

Ok, so I might have a few things on my mind. I'm being induced on Monday and since everyone I tell has been asking why, I'll explain. I have GBS and have to be on antibiotics before the baby is delivered and since I'm at 3cm and 80% the doctor thought the baby would come quickly once I go into labor so he felt it was justified to have a more controlled labor. I have to say having an inducement appointment really relieves me! So now it's just countdown time!

Changing Dynamic

2011-03-21T23:45:00.000-06:00

Justin is transitioning to a big boy bed this week. I took him to the store and he picked out his own car themed bed set. His Grandpa drove down a twin mattress on Sunday (thanks again!) and Justin exploded with excitement when he saw his new bed all made up. He played on the bed, bouncing around and climbing on and off. Sunday night actually went super well. He went right down, cried for a few minutes and then fell asleep. He didn't even try to get out of his room. Nap time was a different story today. He tried to get out a few times and finally I decided I'd lay next to him. He fell asleep quickly and it wasn't really a big deal until he wanted me to do the same thing tonight. I did and it took him a little longer to fall asleep but I don't want to start a trend especially since I won't be able to put him to bed myself every night. Here is a picture of Justin's bed, or as he calls it "beb"...

It occurred to me that he's gotten a little clingy and for the first time tonight I realized that when the new baby comes it won't be just Mommy and Justin anymore. I hadn't really thought of the fact that a major portion of our one-on-one time is coming to an end and it sent me into a wave of sadness. I'm excited for this new baby to come, but I will miss all the time I get to share with my JJ. I hope we can all adjust to the new dynamic quickly.

On a baby note, I had an ultrasound today to check my fluid levels and the baby's size because of my pregnancy history with Justin and things looked good. I'm in my 36th week and she is 5 lbs 11 oz and about 18 in long, putting her in the 26th percentile for size. To give a comparison, Justin was born in my 37th week and was 5 lb 8 oz, 18 in long. I'm already progressing and I have irregular contractions quite often. The doctor thinks she'll come in the next 2-3 weeks. I got a picture of her face from the ultrasound so here is a preview before her live debut...

Game WIN!

2011-02-22T12:31:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was working on a video and I had to reinstall Adobe Premiere for the 80th time, or so it felt. To pass the time I played Minesweeper. My strategy is to start the game by clicking each corner tile. Well, luck would have it that was all I needed to do to win the game. So, my new record win time is 2 seconds! It was funny to me so I took a screen shot. Here it is:

Advice Please?

2011-02-06T21:57:00.002-07:00

Ok, so having been through the New-Mommy stage (you know, the all-of-a-sudden-I-now-have-a-newborn-I-have-no-idea-what-I'm-doing-and-I'm-running-on-3-hours-of-sleep stage) before, I feel like I know how to better prepare myself this time around. Lately, I've been a little obsessive about preparing, even if I'm still a couple months out. I've done the standard things like buy a car seat and wash the baby's clothes.

But this time I'm trying to think of things I can do to help me improve on the mommy survival mode of the newborn stage and transitioning Justin into having a sister. I'm planning to make a bunch of freezer meals and I'm working on some skills with Justin like walking next to me in public places rather than having to be carried.

So, what advice do you have? What do you wish you would have done? Or what did you do that worked well for you, especially if you have older children and were preparing them as well as yourself?

Baby Update

2011-01-18T13:40:00.000-07:00

At my last ultrasound in November a Choroid Plexus Cyst was spotted. These are found in the Choroid in the brain and don't cause any harm. In fact, they usually go away on their own by 26-28 weeks. But they sometimes are "soft markers" or are associated with chromosomal disorders like Trisomy 18 or Down's Syndrome so my doctor recommended I have another ultrasound to look for the cyst and other signs of abnormality that would indicate a problem. I had the ultrasound today and the cyst is gone and the baby looks healthy and normal...and cute! I saw her face pretty well this time and she looks a little like Justin, imagine that. I asked the ultrasound lady to record it on a dvd for me so I have the video below.

Christmas

2010-12-29T22:22:00.001-07:00

Inspired by my cousin and then sisters, I decided to make my own stockings this year. After looking at my sisters' and getting an idea how how they are put together I made my own pattern and set to work with the fabric hoping it would work the way I was planning. I was so excited to find that after a bit of tweaking my design worked and I'm really pleased with how they turned out!

Notice how the boys' stockings are the same patterns but alternating color and the girls' are snow flakes and circles! Yay for coordination!

We spent Christmas up at AJ's parents' and had a blast! It was so fun to get to spend some time with them. We had a fun time opening presents and as expected Justin lost interest fairly quickly. In fact, I think he opened more of his presents last year as a 5 month old than this year. But he's sure loved the fun things he got.

Justin the Little Martian

Granny and the grandkids

Our awesome gingy house! Front

Back

This is a little kitty Justin got from Santa and he LOVES it! He carries it around all day!

Daddy talking on his phone and Justin talking on his kitty "phone". Heh-yo, heh-yo? Yeah, yeah!

Thanksgiving

2010-12-29T22:01:00.000-07:00

We got to drive down to AZ this year for Thanksgiving and pick up Monica and Johnny on the way. It was quite a different trip. Word on the street was a major storm was blowing in the night before we were leaving and we decided to try to leave before it hit home. So AJ raced home after work and we, no, I, ran around the house trying to finish packing. We loaded everything up and headed down to Monica's where we coordinated which Christmas presents needed to stay and which needed to come along with us since none of us were spending Christmas with each other this year.

Then out into the freezing wind and into the car again we headed south and in order to break up the long trip invaded the home of my generous aunt along the way. The rest of the trip was uneventful and we were all happy to make it to my parents' home.

We had such a nice, relaxing time. Justin LOVED my Mom's backyard with all the orange trees and steps and paths and small hills. He practiced walking over the various terrain and throwing oranges. We had a lovely Thanksgiving meal. We usually only cook turkeys and I kept saying what a shame it was that AJ wouldn't get his Thanksgiving ham this year (as is done in his family). But then I secretly petitioned my Mom to do one. Monica made a yummy apple dessert and I made pumpkin pie. We played some fun games and even my Dad played with us, which is an unusual treat.

Someone suggested we go hiking and I had a ball! It was so fun to go out on a trail and there were parts Justin could walk himself, but there were so many things to trip on and cacti that I was afraid he would get hurt most the time. I'm happy to report he came out unscathed.

We ran into a storm on the way back and wouldn't you know it, this one was the real dozy! Roads were in fairly good condition until about 20 miles from Monica's home and then the weather let loose and apparently some people didn't get the memo because there were tons of accidents and I think it took us an hour and a half just to get through those 20 miles. What a mess. The next day we made our way up with relative easy. The roads were wet but didn't hinder us too bad and we even got to see Erika and her family at a restaurant on the way home.

A cute hat Monica made for Justin for Christmas. He looks like Dopey. :)

The Cactus Man that greeted us on our way to the hike.

It's a GIRL!

2010-11-22T12:16:00.000-07:00

We Mays Girls apparently aren't too good at guessing our baby's gender. I'm 0 for 2 now following after my Mom's footsteps. It was a complete surprise to me as the very first image on the ultrasound showed a perfect crotch-shot (we'll have to work on modesty down the road) and the technician declared, "It's a GIRL for sure!"

AJ, his Mom Karma, Justin, and I all watched as little arms, legs, fingers, toes and other mini body parts flashed across the screen. I was sure it was a boy but I am sure glad to have a girl!

Family Time

2010-11-15T22:48:00.001-07:00

I am behind and need to play blog catch up. (I have more pictures to come still, I just didn't have time to upload them all yet.)

MAYS VACATION
In mid-October, we enjoyed a fun week in St. George with the Mays clan. AJ wasn't able to come since he just started a new job with Big Fish. Johnny and Marcus could only spend part of the time with us too since they had school or work. But us girls know how to party so we held down the fort! Justin and Liv would climb up and down the stairs together and run around the condo giggling and playing. It reminded me of when I used to play with my cousins.

Even though I brought my safety gate for the stairs the condo's stairs were too wide so I made due with a blanket at the base of the stairs and hoped Justin wouldn't fall. He was always obsessed with the stairs and since we had gates on at home the stairs were more of a toy for him when I gave him time to practice going up and down. So in the beginning he wanted me over there with him to play. He likes to throw balls down the stairs. When he realized I'd let him play on the stairs whenever he wanted they lost their novelty and he spent less time on them. It turns out he didn't fall down once!

We went to the outlet mall, visited Grandma Katie and Grandpa Dan, went on walks, played at the park, and more. It was a fun trip!

HALLOWEEN
Grandpa Steve and Grandma Karma visited us the Saturday before Halloween and we all went to a church Trunk or Treat. Justin was Jack Jack from the Incredibles. We found this funny cape and mask in Mexico. It's a little ironic that they were selling the mask with a cape since a huge theme is the movie is "don't wear capes" but Justin was a cutie and we had fun dressing him up.

SEMA
Only a couple weeks later AJ dropped me off in St. George while he went down to the SEMA car expo in Las Vegas. It isn't open to the public but because he writes for Daily Derbi, the Utah car blog, he got tickets! He was so excited. He brought the creator of the blog down with us and it was fun to feel their excitement as they chatted back and forth about what cars might be there. On the way home you could feel their exhaustion and there was little conversation.

Erika and I had a fun time with the kids while AJ was enjoying cars. We went to the park and visited with Monica. We played outside in the rocks and did sticker book activities.

BABY #2
We find out the gender of this new baby next week! I'm so excited it feels like Christmas to me! I haven't been as focused on this pregnancy as I was with Justin since Justin is a little more demanding now as a one year old than as a fetus and this pregnancy has flown by! I haven't spent as much time wondering about how this baby will look or act like but it's great at reminding me it's still in my tummy. It kicks all the time. I first felt it at 14 weeks (I swear it's true) and now it's an active little peach moving around all the time. I can't want to see it in the ultrasound. Last time I saw it I was 7 weeks I think and it still had the yolk sack. It looked like a kidney bean. This time I'll be able to really see it and begin to mentally prepare for it to come home.

I am totally pregnant, based on emotions alone one could make that assessment. Last week I was nesting and I had to get Justin/the baby's room all ready (I'm hoping to have them share a room). I got the cradle in position and rearranged Justin's crib and other furniture and felt good about things. I have to admit I'm a little apprehensive about having another early bird and so I may be inclined to over-prepare this time around.

So in honor of this little bean I'm hosting a poll. Will the baby be a boy or girl? The poll is posted at the right.

Mix and Match - Two Things that don't Relate at All

2010-10-06T10:05:00.003-06:00

(I just realized I never titled this post. Where's your Gmail-like pop up that asks if I'm sure I want to post this blog without titling it, Blogger? Are you not a Google product? Where's the consistency us absent minded have come to lean on??)

Ok so it's been a little slow these days as far as news goes. Oh wait, no I just remembered, Justin started walking. "Wow," you might be saying to yourself, "that seems like a fairly substantial milestone. How could you forget that?" Well he took his first steps on July 26th and last week he finally decided that walking was better than crawling so it's been very gradual. Anyway, I have a video of him walking.

Also, I did have two cousins get married (they had beautiful weddings) and so got to see my parents twice in September which was fun but short lived. But otherwise things have been slow and I never know what to post if major events don't take place. AJ found this awesome site called What You Ought to Know. There are all different videos ranging from how to find wireless hotspots to the gay marriage debate. They are short and witty so they're fun to watch. I just watched the gay marriage debate and was surprised at his opinion and the points he brought up. I haven't read or heard others bring up some of the issues that he did, so I thought it was unique.

Project Number Two is Underway

2010-08-31T16:46:00.001-06:00

Throughout history men have created some astounding structures and machines. But even the most mighty of these pale in comparison to wonder of creating a human life. AJ and I are excited to announce baby number two is in progress. It's in its 7th week of existence, has a heart rate of 157 beats a minutes, and will make its debut into this world about April 18th, 2011.

The baby is the grayish jelly bean shape in the middle of the black oval.

A Visit from Mom!

2010-08-28T20:15:00.001-06:00

Last week my Mom came to visit! We got her all to ourselves and had a fun time! She came on Wednesday afternoon and that evening we had a ward party. It was supposed to be a swim party but the weather was bad so the swimming part was cancelled, but we did enjoy a yummy potato bar. We went over to a nearby playground after dinner and Justin discovered the joy of going down the slide.

Thursday we planned to go to the outlet stores in Park City it was raining heavily and I tore up my yard while trying to back out of my driveway and avoid hitting my Mom's van. Oops! The lawn was very muddy because of all the rain and I drove off the driveway, carving a big trench with my tire. But we did go to the temple together that night.

On Friday we tried going to the outlet stores again and this time was successful. My yard sustained no further damage from my poor driving skills and it was a sunny warm day. Friday night was spent with Karma and Steve who had come down to visit while my Mom was in town. We went out to a pizza place and enjoyed ourselves.

Saturday was a busy day with a shower I attended and the main event for my Mom: her 30 year high school reunion! She was a hit! and had a fun time too.

Sunday was great having my Mom at church with us. It was the first time I was able to sit through Relief Society without having to stand at all since Justin was really little because my Mom took him out and played with him in nursery.

I had a fun week and was sad when she had to go. Here are some fun things we did:

Playing the drums.

This rocking chair was mine when I was little and my Mom brought it up with her.

He loves to climb, climb, climb!

He loves to FLY!

A squishy family.

Piano is even more fun with Grandma!

I'm addicted to shapes!

Justin liked to watch Grandma put the ball on her head and see it roll off.

Justin and Grandma!

Justin's First Haircut

2010-08-18T14:39:00.000-06:00

Justin's hair was so long in some places and so short in other places. He looked like he was sporting a mullet comb-over combo. I don't think I would have minded too much except that it was getting close to his eyes and I didn't want him having a hard time seeing. And, yes, I'll admit I like things to be even. So on Saturday AJ held a very tired Justin who sat quietly with his binky as he watched Baby Einstein's "My First Signs" (the only show he'll sit still for) while I cut his hair. I showed him the clippers before we started and turned them on so he could see and hear how they worked. In the beginning he kept trying to turn his head to see them. But after a while he didn't care much and it was very easy to cut his hair. The only regret I have is his hair is so short now, it doesn't have the soft curls. But it will grow back and now it will grow evenly!

BEFORE

AFTER

Awesome Cruise!

2010-08-17T18:00:00.002-06:00

The Mays family had a fun time this July on a cruise to Mexico. Honestly I'm too lazy to write about all the fun things we did so hopefully all the pictures will speak for themselves...

Sunday, July 25th 2010

Mom's birthday and we boarded the ship

Monday, July 26th 2010

Cruise day and formal dinner attire

Tuesday, July 27th 2010

Docked at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Wednesday July 28th 2010

Docked at Mazatlan, Mexico

Thursday, July 29th 2010

Docked at Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Friday, July 30th 2010

Cruise day and formal dinner attire

Saturday, July 31st 2010
Cruise day

Justin is One Year Old!

2010-07-17T21:46:00.000-06:00

Well, we had an action packed weekend which started off yesterday with a delivery of rocks. Luckily with some help from parents and siblings we made short work of getting the decorative rocks into the flowerbeds they needed to live in. We even got a few plants planted early. Then this morning we finished the rest of the plants and put in a drip system. The landscaping is finally DONE!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Canby Raspberries!

Lamb's Ears

Russian Sage

Strawberries!

Then we got ready for Justin's 1st birthday party! We had ham, cheese, rolls, fruit salad, and chocolate cupcakes!

We had all our family there for the party except one aunt and uncle who dropped by later in the day. We had 1 pair of grandparents and 1 pair of aunt/uncle present. And we had 1 pair of grandparents and 1 pair of aunt/uncle/cousins participate via webcam. It was quite the techy set up.

I helped Justin practice blowing out candles several times before his big day and I have to say that while he didn't blow the candle out I am pleased that he opened his mouth...even if it was in efforts to eat the flame.

Mmm, Yummy!

A few things about Justin:

He loves to climb the stairs and throw things down them. He loves water and to play in the bathtub and pool. His favorite foods are ham and pears. He loves to dance whenever he hears music. He loves to throw everything. Instead of putting objects down when he's done with them he just throws them. He loves to throw balls and retrieve them and then throw them again.

Here's a picture of Justin for each month of his life:

1 Day Old (July 2009)

1 Month Old (August 2009)

2 Months Old (September 2009)

3 Months Old (October 2009)

4 Months Old (November 2009)

5 Months Old (December 2009)

6 Months Old (January 2010)

7 Months Old (February 2010)

8 Months Old (March 2010)

9 Months Old (April 2010)

10 Months Old (May 2010)

11 Months Old (June 2010)

12 Months Old (July 2010)

What an absolute JOY this boy is to our family!

More on Landscaping: A Tree!

2010-07-15T16:54:00.001-06:00

On Saturday we laid plastic down in our flowerbeds in preparation for a rock delivery tomorrow. I was getting anxious about making sure I had the plants I wanted since many of the nurseries were out for this season of what I needed. I went ahead and bought the plants (I am purposefully not disclosing them in order to build suspense!) last week and have been trying to keep them alive until we plant them this Saturday.

One of the plants I bought was a tree (Flame Amur Maple), which I had hanging out of my passenger window as I took the 15 minute drive home. Justin was a champ as I ran all over town going to the places that had the best prices on the plants I wanted.

While we didn't plant the flowers last Saturday we did plant our tree! Take a look:

Here are the plants I bought that are waiting for their transplantation into the flowerbed. If you can name them (and I haven't already told you what they are, don't be a cheater!) I will give you a compliment.

And here is the lawn. I was too lazy to take these until about 20 minutes ago and I looked at the older pictures and saw how much the lawn has grown and had to share the joy.

And The Green Grass Grew All Around, All Around...

2010-07-06T12:13:00.003-06:00

...The Green Grass Grew All Around!

Despite six sprinkler valves that broke after we hydroseeded, walking all over the yard to fix said valves and adjust sprinkler sprays, and some dry, sunny July days, we have grass growing! There is visible growth between the lawn in the morning versus at night and it is so fun to watch it come up in barren spots where we thought for sure it wasn't going to come up after the abuse it's been through.

A Busy June

2010-07-04T16:09:00.001-06:00

Our busy June started on Thursday the 17th with a visit from the Cardons. Marcus ran in the Ragnar relay race so Erika and I and the kids got a chance to spend time together.

This is the best picture we got of the three rascals.

Liv and Justin sang "Splish Splash I was taken a bath!"

The following Sunday, the 20th, we got together with AJ's parents and brother and his wife to celebrate Fathers Day.

AJ and Justin sat out on the lawn and played ball.

Justin and I are playing "steamroller"

A big smile from a little boy.

Justin picked up Grandpa's potato and ate the whole thing. What an appetite.

The other day Justin was playing down the hall and got quiet so I went to investigate and saw this. He loves to throw around the bubble tape container but it had popped open and he was trying out the gum. He has a giant wad in his hand that he was eating.

Cuddling with Papa Rob.

Flying in the swimming pool.

We had a fun family reunion on Saturday June 26th. Justin refused to eat food or drink milk and he always has a hard time sleeping anywhere but his bed. So I got a little worried. But we had a fun time and Justin survived just fine.

My aunts and cousins worked hard to put together a beautiful book filled with my Grandparents' recipes and our fond memories with them. Here is Denise presenting it (the book is behind her back) to my Grandparents.

Here's Grandma Laurie working her magic on Justin. This is the first time he's fallen asleep out of his bed in months.

Taking a walk with Grandma.

Reading a story with Livvy.

Taking a turn on the see-saw.

Going for a ride with Grandpa Gene on the tractor. (I remember I had a turn when I was young too.)

Breakfast in the kitchen.

Grandma Laurie with all her grand-babies

Taking a swim.

A picture with Grandma Zenna and Grandpa Gene.

The girls...and one boy.

We Have a LAWN...Almost

2010-06-24T20:25:00.000-06:00

YES!!! My dirt is finally seeded! Hallelujah! It only took us 12 months and countless weekends. My father-in-law who has been endlessly giving of his time and talents has helped us with the sprinklers (which are seriously cursed), getting rid of rocks, leveling the ground, etc. We are so lucky to have him!

We only have one more phase left in our yard plans and that is to finish the flowerbeds. So I am still not to the before and after point. I'll probably have those pictures in late summer or early fall when the seed has grown in and the flowerbeds are done.

But here are some pictures of the current stage of the project...

Justin is Eleven Months!

2010-06-17T12:47:00.000-06:00

My baby has fully morphed into a mini-person! He is doing so many new things! Justin says, "ah-duh" for "all done" and waves his left hand around (half signing of "all done"). He says, "bah-bah" for "bye-bye" and waves his hand. He says "wah-wah" for water and loves to drink out of our cups (with our help). He cruises the furniture. He gives high fives. He plays fetch with himself by throwing a toy, chasing it, and throwing it again. We got a piano and he loves to smash around on the keys. He likes to drum the ground or nearby objects with the drumsticks. I really love this phase. He is so interactive, every day is a joy to spend with him.

He loves his glow worm and to play under his jumperoo.

He loves to stand at his jumperoo and roll the rattle (which is hidden behind his body). This sets off music and an elephant noise that he likes to mimic with an "ahhh ahhhhh".

First time in his little pool. He likes to splash.

Eating a cookie.

Trying to get the camera.

Hangin' with Dad.

Attempting to get the hang of his sippy cup. Mom, see what shirt he's wearing??

Half Marathon

2010-06-17T12:46:00.000-06:00

AJ ran the Utah Valley Half Marathon last Saturday! He did great. His goal was 2 hrs and 15 mins and his official time was 2 hrs and 10 mins!

Crossing the finish line. Too bad it's blurry and you can only see half of him.

Putting on his medal.

Two For One

2010-06-08T07:37:00.001-06:00

I have myself a two for one today!

One
After an extended interruption to our fence project we are finally back on track! There is a strip of land to the west of us that the Church owns. They have a sidewalk that runs from the street to the back of the church parking lot through a hole in the fence to save us the hassle of walking all the way around the block to the front of the church building when we're already so close to the backyard.

Anyway this strip of land next to the sidewalk wasn't being used and we inquired with the Church about acquiring the land. Things were looking positive until last Wednesday. In a complete turn of events, Church decided to hang on to the land. It's a bittersweet outcome because it sure would have been nice to have some extra land but we already had our fence posts in and we would have had to spend quite a bit of money and effort moving those, adding lines to the sprinkler system, getting more topsoil, and spraying more hydroseed. So, while we didn't get the land, I am quite pleased with the outcome.

As soon as I had the final word about the land last week I called the fence company to get back on the installation schedule. I thought for sure we'd have to wait at least a couple weeks before we'd finish the project since we forfeited our dates back in April, but my install rep told us we were on the schedule for Tuesday and would likely see the completion of the project that day! Which means I may have my entire yard finished by the end of June! Wahoo!

(This isn't an actual picture of my fence but it's from the company whose doing my fence)

Two
My Dad and his brother Kenny started a company called LDS Legacy. The website is still in genesis but it's moving right along. It offers an extensive history of early Church events and leaders to subscribers through the form of narrated image slideshows. There are some prominent people working on the project. Mark Van Wagoner is narrating the shows and Kenneth Cope is providing music.

And of course I, in all my prestige and fame, am working on the project too. I've been creating the slideshows along with my sister Monica. It's been really fun to see images of church sites, view old church photos, and learn little know Church historical events and facts. But I am using some heavy duty editing programs to create the slideshows and I am using a much appreciated but outdated laptop to do it. So, I decided to look for a new desktop so I could create the shows with more ease. I ordered it June 2nd and watched the shipping tracking updates with anxious anticipation. The log cruelly stopped on June 3rd, from then on I had no further updates...until this morning! And to my excitement the status now reads "Out For Delivery". Wahoo! x2

It looks like it's shaping up to be a pretty good day!

The Culture Cycle

2010-06-02T09:28:00.002-06:00

It's funny how culture keeps circling back on itself. Even now I feel like I'm in a sort of 80's Nuevo. If you're not sure about it visit a high school. When I was a kid everything was new to me because I had no history behind me and I didn't know the history of life before I was born. It makes me wonder how many ideas are really new ideas. I came across this shirt this morning and wondered how many people saw it too and thought it was a new mind-blowing perspective.

It really is awesome. I am a sucker for an optical illusion. The thing is, so were artists in the 19th century (some even as early as the 18th century, like William Hogarth). Although, the conceptual applications of the two images differ, the shirt clearly derives the positive and negative space interplay from the painting "Rider in the Woods" by Rene Magritte. See for yourself:

Even though the shirt isn't nearly as intricate as Magritte's painting, it still makes you do a double take and references an even cooler painting. Although, sadly, just like today's teenagers reliving the 80's, most people will be unaware of the true origin of the inspiration behind the shirt.

Wanna Go FAST?!?

2010-05-23T20:16:00.001-06:00

Like FAST go-karting? Miller Motorsports Park (in Tooele, UT) is having a charity event this Thursday, May 27 from 4-8pm. Check out the details at this link...http://dailyderbi.com/karts/

Dinners are Special Occasions

2010-05-17T14:50:00.000-06:00

I never know what to get AJ for his birthday. He likes to get food but I can't bring myself to spend a lot of money just on food. So instead a made a birthday dinner complete with a fancy restaurant style menu! I did a pot roast with mashed potatoes and gravy and steamed carrots and strawberries on the side. And for dessert? A dilapidated German Chocolate cake that ended up tasting like heaven! Even though there were some mini disasters (it was my first time making pot roast and gravy) everything ended up tasting so yummy and in the end that is all that matters!

AJ blowing out his candles

Speaking of dinners Monica and Johnny came over for a picnic on Sunday. We had a BBQ and sat out on our neighbors' lawn (we still don't have grass, our yard project has been on hold for a bit) to enjoy a warm meal under the warm sun.

Justin is 10 Months Old

2010-05-17T14:33:00.002-06:00

Justin is 10 months old today! The non-mohawk parts of his head are finally filling in with hair. He still has blue eyes. Holy Cow! He is crawling around like crazy. He climbs up anything he can get his hands on and loves to stand and walk around (while holding on to) the coffee table and couches. Justin loves to play with the guitar and piano. He likes to dance while he holds my phone and listens to all the ringtones. Justin loves to feed himself with finger foods and resists me trying to spoon feed him anything. He likes to drink out of our cups and water bottles. He loves to play with his Daddy. Justin likes to hold on to his Daddy's ears while he sits on his shoulders. Justin likes to play peek-a-boo. He likes to cross his ankles when he sits. Most of all he loves cords. When he sees one within reach he gets a determined look in his eye and makes a bee-line for it. And where does it go? Straight in his mouth.

When he advanced from a scoot to a crawl he started getting stuck under the coffee table. One day he bumped his head against the glass part and it came up so I removed it from the table and Justin poked his head up through the hole. He walked around and around the square. Then he started repeatedly squatting down and standing up, trying to get out but not sure how to do it. He looked like a little prairie dog in its hole.

(Peek-a-boo)

Bath time in the sink.

J is for Justin. We must have chosen the right name because there is a J in his belly button.

Happy Birthday AJ!

2010-05-07T10:25:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday AJ!

You are my ray of sunshine on a cloudy day!

I'm glad your infant persistence paid off and you decided to stay!

...oh, I think I feel a rhyme coming on...

You were born in the month of May.

Life was a game you weren't sure you wanted to play.

But you were strong and held your own.

And now look how you have grown!

You are my friend through and through,

Especially when I am feeling blue.

You always know just what to say,

I sure am glad you came my way!

Ok, so the rhyme is awful. I just couldn't help myself after I noticed the first two lines rhymed.

Enjoy some pictures to take your mind off the silly rhyming.

Landscaping: Fence

2010-04-21T11:57:00.001-06:00

I am sooo excited to tell you we are getting our fence posts in as I type! I have often daydreamed of a emerald green lawn and a white fence so that my kids (in my case right now, kid) can play in the backyard freely...and so we can keep our bbq-er back there without it getting stolen. :)

I have gotten a couple requests for more pictures of the landscaping and here are a couple. More will come later because I am planning to do a Landscaping: Before and After blog post with pictures. I always love to see the before and after images! But that will be a little while from now still as we are hydroseeding after the fence goes in and I want to wait for there to be actual grass to take a picture and we still have to put in some plants.

Sick Baby = Sad Mommy

2010-04-21T11:38:00.001-06:00

Justin started to get a fever last Thursday so I took him to the dr and he had no infections but a minor sore throat. They did a strep test and it came back negative. He started doing much better by Sunday, but when Monday rolled around he was back to a fever and had started coughing, poor guy. He was obviously feeling horrible because he is usually active but Monday and Tuesday were spent in my arms, wrapped in a blanket. I'm sad that he feels so crummy and that there isn't much I can do for him. But, I love that I get to cuddle him so much. AJ gave him some back tickles that soothed him quite well.

He must have gotten sick from me and AJ because we've both had sore throats and coughs and congestion. And of course with that comes the need to blow your nose. Well, no one ever knew how scary blowing a nose could be until Justin came along. Every time one of us blows our nose he starts crying like he's in mortal peril! It's really funny but at the same time it makes me sad to see him so frightened.

Justin normally sleeps in one position and doesn't move much. But since he's been sick he started travelling around his crib like a starfish. You know how they have those time-lapsed videos showing starfish as they creep along the ocean floor? Well, that is Justin. I lay him down all straight in his crib, and I check on him a little later and he's moved to his tummy, his new favorite sleeping position. Then again, and he is all askew in the opposite corner of the crib. And again he is scrunched down like this:

He had a well baby 9 month check-up today and it turns out he's got a double ear infection and lost almost a pound (he weighed in at 16 lbs 13 oz on Thursday). I also noticed that he just cut his third tooth (top left). So he has a sore throat. cough, new tooth, and ear infections. When it rains it pours (or pores, as I was going to spell it before I googled it. Good thing I double checked it!) Hopefully he can get illness all out of his system and be well for several months because we have a beautiful spring and summer to enjoy!

Here are his other 9 month statistics:
Weight: 16.12 lbs, 1%
Length: 27.8 in, 35%
Head: 17.25 in, 12%

Justin is 9 Months Old

2010-04-17T22:41:00.003-06:00

Justin is 9 months old today. I can't believe it! I still find myself thinking he is 6 months old. He is doing so much now!

- He is way more mobile. (He does a mix between scooting and crawling and can get around fairly well.)
- He is a climber. (He likes to climb up to standing positions but can't quite do it on his own yet unless his destination is below his head.)
- He is a stander. (He loves to stand at the coffee table and bang objects.)
- He is a dancer. (He lays on his belly and kicks his legs to the beat of the music.)
- He is frightened of nose blowing and often cries when he hears the noise.
- He drinks from a size 2 bottle nipple finally.
- He loves cheerios. (He always wants what I'm eating but can't always have some so I give him cheerios. He must think, "Wow all these foods taste so similar!")
- He loves water and holds his hands under the faucet when we run a bath.
- He loves springing the door stops to hear the "boiiing!"

Justin is showing off his two bottom teeth in this picture, and Daddy's pen.

What a weird face. He kept making that face while eating and I had to capture it.

He obviously did not enjoy the sailor hat-bowl as much as I did.

Cardon Visit + Easter = Fun!

2010-04-13T21:14:00.001-06:00

The Cardons came to visit a few weeks ago. Here are some of the things we did:

Shoveled rocks.

Drew some chalk castles.

Rocked in a rocking chair.

Rolled around on the floor in a symmetrical formation while holding hands.

Be cute pink sisters.

Made funny faces.

Engaged in group hugs.

Surfed the internet on our bellies.

Gave Easter kisses.

Searched for Easter eggs.

Lily, there's one right behind you!

Checked out Easter baskets. I regifted some of Justin's toys. He doesn't know the difference.

Justin is 8 Months Old

2010-03-17T22:27:00.000-06:00

Justin is eight months old today! He is teething lately and is quite a little grouch some moments, poor guy. But he giggles so much other moments. He hates swinging at the park. He gets all tensed up. But he loves to get thrown around onto the couch, bed, in the air... He loves to hear me sneeze and will giggle endlessly as I fake sneeze for him. He does baby kisses and gave some unrequited the other day. He hasn't really learned to master the force of his hand grip yet and will grab and squeeze at my face to pull me toward him for a kiss if I ask sometimes. His blue eyes are lighter now.

Celebrity Look-Alike

2010-03-12T22:47:00.000-07:00

Recently, I started drying Justin's hair into a mohawk after his bath to spice things up. Yesterday, while I was playing with him I realized he looked like someone familiar: Jack Jack from "The Incredibles". Tonight we went out with Monica and Johnny, and Johnny said the same thing! Here are a couple pictures that show some similarities...

Angry Banana

2010-03-08T21:38:00.000-07:00

There is a website called CakeWrecks.blogspot.com that showcases cakes that have gone wrong and also some really awesome cakes. But this one is by far my favorite. We call it the "Impatient Banana".

Idiosyncrasies

2010-03-08T21:24:00.002-07:00

I used to feed Justin in his bouncy chair because he couldn't sit up very well. I tried to ease him into eating in his bumbo seat when he started sitting better but he didn't like that very much so we went back to the bouncy seat. Then he started trying to roll out while I was feeding him. (He does this ninja baby move where he rolls out of the chair and onto his knees with his hands at the side of the chair. I have video of it. I'll have to post it sometime.) So I tried putting him in his high chair his Grandpa Steve made for him and it was a success! I think he was trying to tell me he was ready to move on.

Justin LOVES the alphabet song. He laughs and smiles when I sing it to him. He has an ABC book and he loves to read. He recently needed some new pj's and I was out shopping and I found some ABC jammies! I was so excited because it was the last one in his size. So here is a picture of him in his ABC jammies reading his ABC book and a smile on his face because I am singing him the ABC song.

Home Improvements

2010-03-08T21:16:00.000-07:00

With the help of AJ's Dad we installed some cabinets in our laundry room. I have finally put up pictures in our home too. This marks the end of our indoor enhancements. I am really excited because we will soon be focusing on the yard so we can hopefully have grass this summer.

AJ's Dad made this little shelf for the J Train he made for Justin at Christmas.

Visit to the Cardons

2010-03-08T21:08:00.001-07:00

I went to visit new baby Lily the end of January after she was born. Here is a picture of the cousins.

AJ and I went down again the end of February for Lily's blessing and my camera battery died so I didn't get many pictures. But I did get a four generation picture of Great Grandpa Gene, Grandpa Rob, Dad, and Justin.

Chompers!

2010-03-04T15:10:00.000-07:00

My baby got his first tooth! It is his bottom left tooth! I can't see it yet, although he doesn't give me a whole lot of opportunity to see it, but I sure can feel it when he chews on my finger. I made this exciting discover yesterday evening.

Also, I weighed him when we went to the Cardon's for Lily's blessing last weekend (I will post on that soon) and he is now 16 lbs. My arms are sore! And on a completely unrelated note, his favorite song is the alphabet song.

Justin is 7 Months Old

2010-02-17T22:02:00.000-07:00

Here is a happy valentine. He is wearing a blinking heart for VDay.

Justin and Daddy both with crossed legs.

Justin is 7 months old today (as if you couldn't guess from the title of this post.)
He loves to eat peaches and sweet potatoes.
He is able to roll and move all around, as much as he can without crawling.
He screams, screeches, squeaks, growls, and babbles.
He likes to pull the cord to open the blinds and turn on the fan/lights.
He can sit without support for short periods.
He is starting to pull himself up, but can't quite make it to the sitting position.
He gives baby kisses.
He blows bubbles.
He gives me big smiles in the morning when I come to get him out of bed.

Justin is 6 Months Old

2010-01-17T20:57:00.005-07:00

Justin is 6 months old today! I can't believe half a year has gone by already! Here are his stats. He's had quite the head growth spurt...
Weight: 15.1 lbs/oz (10%, down from 15% at 4 mo)
Height: 25.25 in (10.5%, up from 6%)
Head: 16.75 ins (17%, up from 2%)

Justin has been booming with new tricks. He rolls over from tummy to back and back to tummy going both directions so he can roll around on the floor with more mobility than before. He doesn't seem too motivated to move around and touch every thing, though. He is content to sit and look.

Justin has just begun to sit up. He can do it now for some minutes at a time but is sort of folded over on his legs. He loves to be in sitting and standing positions now. He does not like to lay down much anymore.

He loves his jumperoo thing and plays with all the toys in it. It was an early Christmas gift and I've put him in it since he was 4 1/2 months old. It's only been the last couple weeks that he's really enjoyed it though. the seat can spin 360* and he is able to turn himself to play with all the tray toys.

Justin loves to grab his feet and toes. He loves to grab objects and has gotten better bringing them to his mouth. One new hobby of his is to play with crinkly paper or plastic. He loves the sound. He recently found the ties on his baby blanket and loves to run his fingers through them as he is winding down to sleep.

He likes to blow bubbles and spit with his mouth. This is fun to watch but not while feeding him.

Justin now eats only formula. At about 3 months old he started spitting up more frequently and it seemed connected to my diet so I tried to stay away from certain foods. But it only worsened until I tried giving him a soy based formula. That formula did the trick and he threw up way less. So after about a month of deciding whether to stop feeding him milk I finally made the choice.

He has his 6 month well baby appointment on Thursday and I will add to this post his physical stats.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-12T22:02:00.006-07:00

We started off Christmas vacation with a trip to Southern Utah. We enjoyed time with the Cardons and the Williams for a couple days. It was just like old times with us all together again. We've really missed the Cardons, but what can you do?

Can you tell someone is a little excited?

Then we went on to Arizona to visit my parents. We had a nice week of playing. AJ and I went to the temple with the Williams to celebrate our 4 years of marriage. We visited with friends and had lots of delicious meals. Toward the end of our trip we celebrated Christmas. There isn't a lot to tell about a 5 month old's first Christmas. It consisted of watching, crying, eating, ripping a few pieces of wrapping paper off, and falling asleep. The Cardons couldn't be with us so watched each other open presents via web cam. Justin liked to watch Livvy open her presents for the first little bit. He liked the grab a hold of the wrapping paper and wave his arm around. Justin got a rainforest jumperoo, AJ got a cymbals extension pack for the Rock Band Drums, and I got a knock-off version of the Snuggie, among other things. We had a nice time being together lounging about on Christmas Day.

Don't mind the haze. My camera was foggy from sitting in the car all night.

Wow, we all managed to look crazy in this picture, except my Dad.

Rock Band extension pack!

This one makes me think of the one of me and Mom when I was a baby.

I just love my Mom's smile in this one so I had to add it too.

Papa Rob and Justin

We went home through Nevada and spent time with my Grandparents. It was fun to visit with them and we played a good game of dominoes. Only it wasn't the normal dominoes; the numbers went up to 15 instead of 12. I must have been dealt a few lucky hands because a won. It's nice to win every now and then.

Grandma Zenna and Justin

Papa Gene and Justin

Then, New Year's Eve we went and spent a couples days with AJ's parents. I celebrated the new year by going to bed. Hooray! Steve made a J-Train and shelf for Justin and I'll have to get some pictures posted when we have it installed in his room. Justin hit his limit with all our travels though. His contentment waned as the days went on and by the time we reached Karma and Steve's he was a basket case. Steve found that playing the bongos on his back was one of the only ways he would be soothed and he would NOT take a bottle from me except in the strangest position.

Whoa, N's are scary.

Look at him sit up by himself! What a big boy (and a braggy mommy, oh well)!

The J-train!

Bongos? Never would have guessed it would work.

Ridiculous feeding pose.

And here is a little present for all you marathoners who made it through this long post.

4 Years of Marriage

2009-12-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow AJ and I will be married for 4 years! It's been good times and I love him!

I didn't realize I didn't have a single wedding picture on my computer (they've all been moved on to cds) so I'll have to go hunt some down and add a couple later. But here are a few pictures from our AZ Openhouse. (These are for you Katya.)

Justin is 5 Months Old

2009-12-17T10:53:00.000-07:00

Justin is 5 months old today. It goes by so fast. I was just looking at my blog and realized that I didn't have any posts between his 4 month and this 5 month post so I had to add one for good measure. It seems like Justin changed overnight. He now sits up with minimal support. He used to lean back on the couch corner I'd put him in and now he leans away from it as if to show his independence. He laughs so much more. He rolls over to his back with ease and he is working tirelessly at rolling over to his stomach. He is very close but not quite there yet. He get frustrated and starts fussing, I can see his little mind say, "I am so close, come on me! Go go!" He has started to be much more interested in toys and can play by himself more than before. The other day we watched Lion King and he LOVED it. He was wide eyed for the first have of the movie. He has learned how to hold his binky in his mouth and can sometimes put it back in when it falls out. He can sometimes hold his bottle by himself for a few seconds. Also, I gave him oatmeal cereal, pumpkin, and banana for the first time this month. And last but not least, his hair has grown longer and the sides are catching up to the top of his head.

House Projects

2009-12-17T10:52:00.001-07:00

AJ's Dad, Steve, came down a couple Saturdays ago to help us with some house projects. We moved our dining room light into the dining room (not sure why they put it in the kitchen nook to begin with), adjusted some light switches and plugs, put a plug in the garage, put a shelf in the garage, put Justin's crib together, and started putting handles on the kitchen cabinets.

Steve made a cradle, changing table, crib, and high chair for his boys when they were babies and has refinished them for Justin to use. It has been fun to be able to pass on this furniture to our son. Thanks Steve for refinishing them for us! They look beautiful! Here is a picture of the changing table and in the above post I have a picture of the high chair and cradle.

Justin is 4 Months Old

2009-11-30T22:17:00.003-07:00

Justin is 4 months old (has been for a little while now, echem...). This last month has really been a joy. Justin is getting increasingly interactive and fun to be with. I am feeling more like my pre-pregnant self and can think a little more clearly now that I get more sleep at night.

Justin has started...
- To be interested in toys
- Grasping toys in his hands
- Rolling over from his tummy to his back on both his right and left sides
- Gripping his bottle during feedings
- Sleeping for 9-11 hours at night
- Chewing on his hands
- Sucking his thumb and fingers
- Giggling more
- Growls back at me when I playfully growl at him
- Teasing (I was nursing him on Thanksgiving morning 11/26 and he made a funny suction noise so I laughed. He went to eat again and let go and then looked at me expectantly. I laughed again so he kept faking me out.)

Here are his stats:
Weight: 13 lbs/oz (15%, down from 20% at 2 mo)
Height: 23.5 in (6%, down from 11%)
Head: 15.5 ins (2%, down from 7%)

Justin and I were recently in Arizona visiting my parents and my friend Erin took some pictures of Justin. There are so many that I love it is hard to pick which ones to post but here are a few of my favorites.

To Grandmother's House We Went

2009-11-30T22:09:00.005-07:00

Justin and I had a really fun week with Mama Laurie and Papa Rob in Arizona this month. We had such an enjoyable time. I wish I could tell you about all the millions of things we did but I can't because we didn't do much. But then again, that is what I call a real vacation: unstructured and relaxed time! The best part about the trip was getting to spend time with my parents. Growing up we would talk at dinner time and often end up having long conversations about all different things. That is my favorite thing to do with my parents and this trip I had them all to myself...well I shared them with Justin too. We went on walks, went to the store, played Extreme Sorry and Pass the Pigs, took care of and played with Justin, and ate great food.

Thanks for such a fun trip Mom and Dad! Here are a couple videos (which I will have to post later, YouTube is giving me trouble) and some pictures.

Halloween

2009-11-03T13:57:00.000-07:00

I am an ultra cheapy person. I couldn't bring myself to spend $15 on a costume that would only be worn once. I had just bought a body coat with a hood for Justin, so I turned it into a Halloween costume. The body coat is brown and the hood has little bear ears, so I got a box of chocolate Teddy Grahams and cut it up and taped the pieces on his coat.

AJ's work had a Halloween party on Friday and I brought Justin to Trick-or-Treat in the different departments. It was fun parading him around and showing him off. He seemed to like the attention. Each department had decorated with a theme and AJ's department chose "Coupon Hell" because AJ is always handing out coupons at work. They had printed out tons of coupons and stuck them all over the walls, but it was Coupon Hell because they were all expired.

AJ was a music pirate (and a warm one at that).

We also went to our ward's Trunk or Treat thing which was fun. We didn't go Trick-or-Treating in the neighborhood on Saturday because I felt silly asking for candy when Justin obviously wouldn't be eating it and all the neighbors already saw him at the ward party. We only got one kid at the door so we were left with tons of candy. We went to our friends' home and played games and ate apple crisp instead.

Surgery Pictures

2009-10-21T06:17:00.000-06:00

I didn't bring my camera to the hospital for Justin's surgery because I didn't really know what to expect, but luckily my Father-in-Law, Steve, who came and sat with me the whole day did. The nurse gave Justin these really cute little hospital jammies to wear with little booties. The booties weren't so little afterall, they kept falling off. He loved the jammies and was so happy and smiley.

Oh dear, I am not sure about this surgery business...

Oh wait Mommy! I'm not ready yet!

Ok guys, now I am ready! Watch out Surgery, here I come!

When they brought him back he kept doing this little moaning cry and this half sucking motion. When he would cry it was this really low and slow cry. Very strange sounding. We didn't get any video of his full cry but here is one of his little moan. I was mad that the nurse put an oxygen mask on his face. He seemed just fine without it, so the video makes him look way worse than he was.

Justin is 3 Months Old

2009-10-17T17:35:00.002-06:00

Justin is 3 months old today!

Wow! It's been a wild ride. I think I forgot to buckle up...Justin has been busy keeping me busy. :) At his surgery on 10/8, he weighed in at 12 lbs and was measured to be nearly 23 inches long. He finally started sleeping through the night the week before his surgery (7-8 hour stretches). I think for 5 nights in a row I got uninterrupted sleep. That has kept me optimistic through his surgery recovery hoping that the trend will start up again soon.

Justin was balding around his 2nd month and his hair is now making a strong come back. He has a cute little cow lick on the right side of his hair line, which coincidentally is on the same side I have my cow lick too.

He smiles all the time and tries to giggle (it's more of a sigh really). On Monday I was holding him and he cocked his head to the side and smiled this sly little smile. So adorable. He'll be a big flirt I'm afraid.

Justin is beginning to like being on his tummy a little more. We haven't had as much time as I would like to play and try new things between sickness and surgery. But it will be fun to see him be a little more active.

Another exciting advancement has been Justin's babbling. He started babbling just after his 2 month mark and now is "talking" all the time! What is really impressive to me about his jabbering is that it seems like he attempts to mirror the sound I say to him. Sometimes I'll say, "hello" and I'll get a "ah-yoh" back. He can mirror "oh" and "ah" easily. It is really fun to start having this interaction. This video shown here was taken yesterday and he was a little grouchy so wasn't quite as interested as other times.

Justin's Surgery Outcome

2009-10-16T14:13:00.000-06:00

Justin did well during his surgery except it seems he reacted badly to a drug called Fentanyl and he had trouble breathing. They had to give him some drugs to counteract his reaction and he had a hard time recovering. He spent all of Thursday in a fuzzy sleep. So we had a little sleepover in the hospital which I like to think makes up for our sleepover-less hospital stay when he was born. We went home Friday afternoon and he was doing much better than expected, he hardly even fussed at all.

Then AJ got sick on Saturday and was hit hard on Sunday and Monday. I caught what he had on Monday (although, thankfully I wasn't incapacitated) and Justin caught what I got on Tuesday. We are thinking it is Swine Flu. Justin seems to be least affected which makes me grateful because he is trying to recover from surgery, poor thing.

All in all this has been a trying week. But I am optimistic because it seems like when I just can't take anymore the burden is lightened. So maybe instead of being optimistic I should be dismal, egg on the good times to come faster.

Justin's Surgery

2009-10-07T10:35:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow Justin is going to have bi-hernia and bi-hydrocele surgery. I don't know what time yet, the hospital will call this evening and let me know all the details. I am nervous about it. He is so little. Wish him luck!

Landscaping: Sprinkler Piping

2009-09-20T19:48:00.000-06:00

On Friday and Saturday, 9/18 and 9/19, AJ and his Dad started phase 2 of the landscaping project. They laid all the sprinkler piping. Now all that is left is to bury the pipe, lay top soil, grade the soil, lay sod, put the sprinkler heads on, and install a fence. No big deal! ;)

Justin is 2 Months Old

2009-09-17T11:42:00.000-06:00

Justin is 2 months old now! He's had a hard couple weeks. He got an eye infection right after the baby blessing and it made him feel awful. He is starting to feel better now and is smiling a lot more and sleeping a lot better.

Here are his stats: Weight: 10 lbs 5.5 oz (20.%), Length: 21.75 in (11.5%), Head Circumference: 14.76 in (7%). I know, the numbers make him look teeny. But last month he was 2% weight, 2% length. He was 2% in weight and length at one month old so he has made a big improvement!

Landscaping: Trenching

2009-09-14T21:24:00.000-06:00

AJ and his Dad, Steve, started the major project of landscaping our yard on Saturday, 9/12. They trenched the yard to get ready for sprinkler pipe. The trencher is a beast of a machine. It makes Jason's chainsaw look like a Playskool toy. They had me drive it for a minute and it was a bit scary. I couldn't believe some of the maneuvers I saw them pull!

Swiss Cheese

2009-09-14T13:53:00.003-06:00

Justin had a hernia consultation appointment Sept 17th . Dr. Matlak found that he has the one hernia on the left side of the groin that we already knew of and two hydroceles, which is a condition where there is fluid that has leaked down from the abdomin through the hernia opening. This is noteworthy for two reasons: 1) there isn't supposed to be that much fluid there, 2) it means there is a sort of "pre-hernia" on the right side as well. The Dr explained that if he operated on only the left side it would put too much pressure on the right side and Justin would inevitably develop a hernia there too. So, he is going to take care of both sides and drain the fluid. Also, the Dr said that even though it appears that Justin's umbilical cord hernia is getting bigger it isn't the size that matters, the hole itself is small and the wall of the hole is thick and firm which gives the Dr confidence that it will mend itself. He said they do 90% of the time. So no surgery on the belly button.

Justin is set for surgery on October 8th. It is a "same-day surgery" which means he doesn't have to spend the night (unless there are complications). The operation itself will take about 1 hr 30 min. The hospital will call the night before to let me know what time the surgery appointment is and give me more instructions. The appointment is 3 weeks out because the Dr wanted to wait until his eye infection cleared to reduce the risk of spreading the infection to the healing portion of his body. Since the hernia is loose there isn't much risk of the intestines getting caught in the hole and losing circulation.

Here is a picture of his umbilical hernia.

Baby Blessing

2009-09-14T13:53:00.001-06:00

Justin was blessed on Sunday, September 6th, 2009. He wore his Uncle Johnny's little tux. The night before I ironed it and it was fun because it was so little. My parents stayed at my house which was so fun! It was so fun to get to spend time with my Dad and see how he would interact with Justin the first little boy of the family.

The Cardons came too and stayed at Monica and Johnny's. Livvy and I got to play like old times. We did Ring Around the Rosies in all kinds of animal voices and laughed! We all enjoyed a few rounds of Rock Band as we had a few more songs and a bigger variety so we could all play something we knew and enjoyed.

The Mays family took the opportunity to do family pictures. Steve did the honors and it was quite a feat to get us all in line. Here are some of the winning pictures.

Jodi's Wedding

2009-09-14T13:52:00.000-06:00

I got to go to my cousin Jodi's wedding on Thursday, Sept 3rd. It was a beautiful ceremony. They make a cute couple!

Vinyl Me This

2009-08-19T15:00:00.000-06:00

Ok, have you ever had the unfortunate experience of missing the Enrichment where they do the cool vinyl lettering on tile or wood and then you feel like you will never get your family name in vinyl on a board? Well this is how I felt until I learned my cousin, Denise, started her own business in vinyl! So, we had a girls night last September and we all went down to Denise's and made our own Vinyl plaques! My mom posted some pictures of our work on her blog. Here is the link: more vinyl examples. (You have to scroll down to the end of the post.)

Anyway, Denise recently created a website! So if you missed your Enrichement vinyl night and want to order something of your own, it just got easier! Click here to see her website Vinyl Me This and create your own custom vinyl letters.

Roommate Visit

2009-08-19T14:56:00.000-06:00

My old college roommates April and Julie came to visit on Aug 4th. Julie went into the MTC on the 5th so she was in town and April and I wanted to capitalize on this. She is serving a mission in Guatemala. We had a fun visit chatting about what we're doing now and "the good old days" when we were at BYU-I together. I love my roomies!

Justin is One Month Old

2009-08-17T13:42:00.000-06:00

Justin is one month old! I can't believe a month has gone by since we were in the hospital. Time has blurred by.

Here of some of Justin's milestones:
- Weight 6lbs 13oz
- Length 19 inches (as of 2wk appt, he's got to be 20" now)
- Eats only once or twice a night now
- Focuses his eyes more on objects
- Holds his head up momentarily
- Does mini push ups when on his tummy
- He can switch back and forth between bottle and nursing
- We went for a walk in our stroller for the first time today

Likes:
- Looking at the blinds and the ceiling fans
- Sleeping belly down with legs all tucked up into his little body on my belly (reminds me of being pregnant)
- Eating his fist or an occasional finger or thumb
- His little bear mobile which plays "Rock-a-Bye Baby"
- Listening to us play Rock Band (Seriously, he falls asleep every time)
- Listening to his Jewel Lullaby CD
- Being tightly swaddled
- To cuddle
- To hold hands

My favorite things about him:
- Holding his hand, well, his hand holding my finger
- His soft, silky hair
- His sweet smell
- Seeing his little eyes meet mine
- Kissing his chubby cheeks
- Hearing all his funny little sounds
- Watching him sleep and seeing his changing facial expressions

Great Grandmas!

2009-08-17T13:41:00.001-06:00

We love our GREAT Grandmas. Here are a couple pictures with our Grandmas.

Justin with his Great Grandma Zenna.

Justin with his Great Granny Ella.

Double Cousin Shower

2009-08-17T13:41:00.000-06:00

We had a fun double shower for my cousin Ashleigh who is pregnant and my cousin Jodi who is getting married. I was able to go because AJ and his parents watched Justin. When AJ came to pick me up I got to show Justin off to all my awesome family which was fun. His head was pronounced as having a good shape, his ears were found to be nicely against his head, and other such triumphant remarks were made.

Helping Visitors

2009-08-03T14:57:00.000-06:00

Well, the date on here says Monday but it is actually early Wednesday morning because I couldn't finish the post and had to find a free moment another day to complete it. It turns out Justin is sleeping great tonight but I cannot for the life of me fall asleep, so here is my free moment! I'm not even drowsy and every tiny thing is distracting me from being able to settle down. It is ultra frustrating because this is the only time I can sleep. Justin doesn't really take it well when I ask him to feed or entertain himself while I nap.

Anyway, back to my original purpose in posting: helping visits. Karma came down and helped me my first week out of the hospital with Justin. She probably got a little more than she bargained for, I was a little psycho.

I was so worried about Justin being in the NICU while we were in the hospital that I didn't have time to think about bringing him home. We fully expected to be discharged on Sunday and then have to come back and get him. We didn't imagine he would get to come home with us the same day we left. We had never spent the night with him and that first night home was extremely overwhelming. I realized I had no idea what I was doing!

Justin LOVES to be held and would not hear of being set down. Then our first Monday home Justin was tested for Jaundice and had to be under the bili lights 24/7 except for feedings. This, plus the enormous lack of sleep, equalled several regular breakdowns for me. But we got through it.

The next Sunday my Mom, Erika, and Livvy came to help. I was a little more steady by this time and Justin was off the bili lights. Needless to say it was still an adventure.

Also, I can't forget about help from siblings that live close by. Thanks guys. It's been a blessing to have so many offers to help.

The classic, in-a-hat picture taken especially for my Dad.

Looking a lot less yellow. Look at those cute rosy cheeks.

Tag Team 1

Tag Team 2, Part A

Tag Team 2, Part B

From Carrot to Peach

2009-07-29T10:08:00.000-06:00

So I guess I thought we would just one day go in and take the bili level test and the numbers would be low enough that Justin would be deemed Jaundice-free. It wasn't quite like that. I didn't know there were all these "off the lights" trial periods.

On Thursday I took him to the hospital lab for another test and he was down from 14.5 to 12.5. So he was temporarily off the lights. On both Friday and Saturday his test results were 14.5 so on Saturday the Dr said he could still be off the lights but needed to be on formula (yuck!) for 48 hours and retested on Monday. I took him in again for his test on Monday and his numbers went down to 10.6! So it wasn't quite as black and white as I thought it would be but at least he is doing better. He is now free of the lights for good...as long as he doesn't decide to be a carrot again.

Is My Baby Turning Into a Carrot?

2009-07-22T04:21:00.000-06:00

When we left the hospital, the Dr told us we could take Justin with us (miracle) but he also said we needed to return the next morning to do a bilirubin test. It turns out he has Jaundice and the Dr ordered lights. This was hard for me to accept because our first night with him was so difficult. He was awake all night and did not want to be set down and he wasn't taking food very easily. I had hardly any sleep for the last several nights and when the Dr told me he needed to be kept in a suitcase 24 hrs a day accept for feedings I knew he would have a hard time being in there and my heart broke again for him.

We got the lights and started feeding him more often and tried to get him to eat more to pass the bilirubin quicker. He had an adjustment period but he has done so well! He loves to be touched and held so sometimes feedings are a little longer to accommodate for cuddle time. The latest test showed his bili levels have gone down slightly and we go in for another test this morning. He is looking less like a carrot and more like a little boy so I am hoping his bili levels show much more improvement.

I would like to also add that he is eating SO much better now. I am so impressed with him. Each time he has struggled with something we work together and he gets right down to business. He is a fast learner and even though there is an asjustment period he plows through and improves what he needs to quickly. I am so thankful he is able to do that.

Here are a few random pictures and pictures of the lights he is under.

Look how little he is in his carseat! What a tiny cutie!

What a cute pair!

My Little One: Justin James Wilcox

2009-07-19T11:08:00.000-06:00

At just 37 weeks and 2 days, Justin James Wilcox was born at 1:09pm on July 17th, 2009. He was 5lbs 8oz and 18 inches long.

I was given Cervidil to soften my cervix at 9pm on July 16th and was induced at 6am on July 17th. Labor progressed quickly and I was given an epidural later that morning. A little after noon I started feeling it was time to push and we began to at 12:22pm. Then, our little boy made his way into the world at 1:09pm. AJ was amazing. He held one leg as a nurse held the other through each contraction. I was able to cut the umbilical cord. I also had the Dr show me the placenta and I touched the inside to see if it really was silky like is rumored. It is.

I don't know what his initial APGAR score was but they noticed he had trouble breathing, he would make little grunting noises. They quickly gave the baby to AJ and told him to, "bring him to Mom". He headed toward Karma, my mother-in-law, and all I could shout was, "No, Mom, Mom, Mom..." until he realized they meant me and turned around.

I got to hold Justin for a minute or two and then because of his breathing difficulty they took him to the NICU. AJ went with him. I couldn't go because my legs were still numb. It was all I could do to not just roll onto the floor and drag myself to the NICU. But after about 2 1/2 hours I was feeling enough again that my wonderful nurse wheeled me in to see him. My heart broke when I saw him on the pressured oxygen. I felt so helpless.

The pressured oxygen kind of inflates the lungs for him. They used it for a while and then took him off to see if he would breath on his own. He still struggled. So they put him back on pressured oxygen until they could give him a chemical called surfactant to help his lungs. Just before they gave him the surfactant AJ and his Dad gave Justin a blessing. It was the most heart wrenching and beautiful blessing I have heard. Heavenly Father promised that he would be healthy and strong. This reassurance brought so much peace and comfort.

After he was given surfactant he did much better. He was able to breath all through the night on his own. All the while I had been pumping and after a night pump I went in to see him around 4am. I was able to hold him. Later that morning I was able to breastfeed him for the first time.

He has continually progressed. Last night he was taken off his IV. And now all that he has on are little sensors to monitor his blood oxygen level and heart rate. Some blood was drawn on his birthday to test for infection and that has preliminarily just come back as negative. This means he will not have to stay on antibiotics.

He now has nothing keeping him in the NICU. The Dr will assess his condition just before we will be discharged around 1pm today and he may get to come home with us today.

***NEWS UPDATE! THE DR JUST CAME IN AND CLEARED JUSTIN TO COME HOME WITH US TODAY!***

Yesterday we had some visitors. Kate, Steve, Monica, and Johnny came by to visit their nephew. AJ took them into the NICU one by one while I took a much needed nap. Grandma and Grandpa Wilcox came by and got to hold him.

Then we got to have a much awaited event: the first bath! AJ video taped this whole event and I was able to be there too since I could now walk . He woke up and looked around. He did a funny chicken dance with his arms, they were kind of folded in and then he would wiggle or shake them so it looked like he was making wings of his arms trying to take off.

The last few days have been life altering. I have seen a new side of AJ. He has been such a strength and a support for me and Justin. I have fallen in love with my child and feel like I would brave anything for him. I am so proud of him. He is patient and faithful, he keeps trying through frustration. I have felt the fear of losing him and the peace and comfort from Heavenly Father when he promised us that Justin would be healthy and strong.

It's been a little hard to walk down the hall to the NICU and pass by the other rooms with mothers in there with their babies. I wanted my baby to be in my room with me, but then I think of all the little miracles that have taken place over the last couple days and remember that he will be coming home with me soon and I am filled with overwhelming gratitude that I have that opportunity.

To family and friends that have kept us in your prayers:
Thank you isn't enough but there aren't stronger words. I know that Heavenly Father hears our prayers. Thank you so much for your faith, support, and love.

Here are some of my favorite pictures. Enjoy!
By the way: Does he have red hair? No, :( But it is a beautiful warm honey, light brown. Perhaps it will turn red down the line.

A Turn of Events

2009-07-16T13:29:00.000-06:00

I had an AFI (Amniotic Fluid Index) ultrasound today that showed the AFI at 12.8cm which is an improvement, however the baby showed in the 6th percentile for size. The Dr feels since I've now had two ultrasounds that show the baby under the 10th percentile and I am full term that it will be best if he is delivered. The little size (they estimate he is about 5lbs 7oz) is a red flag that he may not be getting the nutrients he needs. He may just be little, or he may be needing nutrients and the Dr. feels it is better to take him while he is showing well on the NST (Non-stress Test, monitor's baby's heart beat) than have to do an emergency c-section if he becomes distressed between now and 40 weeks.

So that being the case, I will go into the hospital at 9pm tonight and get a medicine to soften my cervix. Then I will be induced with pitocin around 6am tomorrow. We don't know the condition of the baby right now other than he seems to be doing fine based on the NSTs and ultrasounds. He may need to go to the NICU or he may not. We will find out when he arrives.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

Pregnancy Update

2009-07-15T16:44:00.000-06:00

This Monday I went in for my regular Dr's appointment and my belly measured small (34.5cm), the same as last week. My Dr ordered an ultrasound and I came in later that day. The ultrasound showed the baby in the 1st percentile of size and my amniotic fluid at 6.1cm when it is supposed to be more like 8 or 9cm.

Because of these low numbers I was sent to the hospital to do a NST (Non-stress Test) so the baby's heart beat could be monitored. The NST showed the baby was fine. But when the DR learned the results of the ultrasound he had me admitted to the hospital over night. I was put on an IV to increase my fluids and was continuously on a NST.

Tuesday afternoon I was scheduled for another ultrasound, but at the hospital this time. This machine is a little more precise than the one at the Dr's office. Waiting for this ultrasound was a little unnerving because if my fluids didn't increased or the baby's size showed under the 10th percentile the Dr was going to induce me and deliver the baby today. Luckily things looked good. The read out showed my amniotic fluid increased to 10cm and the baby's size was actually in the 25th percentile.

Now I will go in twice a week to be monitored with an NST and AFI (Amniotic Fluid Index). I have a regular Dr's appointment and a more specialized ultrasound scheduled for next Monday. The Dr is thinking he'll induce me during the 39th week (I am 37 weeks today). Since the baby will be far enough along, it makes more sense to deliver him than keep monitoring.

4th of July Bites

2009-07-06T16:26:00.000-06:00

Wow, we have been quite the social butterflies lately. Last weekend we hung out with serveral friends and did fireworks. Friday and Saturday nights we were outside for a less than an hour and the next day I noticed I had become a holiday snack to the mesquitos. My feet get pretty swollen by night time lately and I suppose that is why the little suckers picked them for their meal. I have 5 bites on my left foot and 6 bites on my right foot. Thanks goodness for bug bite cream!

Bonus Room

2009-07-06T16:19:00.000-06:00

We have a bonus room upstairs that needed to be finished within 30 days of closing on our house (loan stipulation) and it's now done! Here are some pictures of it as the boys are working on it and then all done.

Baby Shower

2009-07-06T16:07:00.000-06:00

My wonderful sister-in-law, Kate, and mom-in-law, Karma, volunteered to throw me a baby shower. It was super fun! We played the string game where people guess how big around you are and one friend guessed spot on! I was so impressed! Other highlights include refreshments that reflected my food cravings throughout the pregnancy, a diaper cake Karma made, a fruit bouquet Kate made, and a contest to see who could create the most accurate Baby Wilcox image from cutting up magazine pictures. It was super fun!

Family Weekend

2009-06-23T14:04:00.000-06:00

We had a busy weekend...

SHOWER
On Friday my aunts threw me a baby shower. It was fun to have so many family members together. I received many lovely gifts. Thank you family! This picture below shows the cute blankets given to Baby Wilcox. My sisters and I all wore teal on accident so we needed a shot.

REUNION
On Saturday we had a family reunion. It rained ALL day! But luckily the pool was heated. Here are some of the pictures of AJ, Monica, and Johnny playing with Olivia.

It was important we could still use the pool because we had some water contests to compete in. AJ won 3! He won the rubber ducky contest where you have to guide a duck with your nose to the other side of the pool, the cannon ball contest, and the swim with a ball between your knees contest. I was very proud of him. Here is a collage of some of his jumps off the diving board.

Here we have a real treat with Ashleigh and Bob doing a graceful synchronized swimming routine for our entertainment.

FATHER'S DAY

We spent Father's Day with my parents in the morning on Sunday. They were still in town from the reunion. I think this is the first Father's Day I've spent with my Dad since my first year of college in 2003. It was fun.

Marcus got a card from my parents that says, "Some super heroes don't have capes" and of course being pregnant (that is my excuse!) I had to fight back the tears. But I do think that Daddies are heroes. They do so much good. I know I love my Dad!

I gave AJ a painting of male Emperor Penguins who incubate their eggs through the rough winters. They have to endure temperatures of -80* and winds of 100 mph for 2 months and go without food for 3 months. This is what I call a hero penguin!

After my parents and Erika, Marcus, and Olivia (the Cardons stayed at our home) went home we headed up to AJ's parents'. Karma had an amazing roast and mashed potato dinner for us! We got to spend some time with Karma and Steve and have some Father's Day time with them too.

Here is Livvy playing the drums AJ bought a month or so ago.

Here is my latest pregnancy shot.

New House!

2009-06-14T18:29:00.000-06:00

***Thanks Diane for your recommendation of using Picasa. It did the trick!***

After AJ got a full time job in mid-April I crunched the numbers hard core to see if we could afford a better living environment. Our apartment was terrific and has allowed us to save a lot of money over the last few years but it was limited on space especially with a baby on the way.

I searched everyday on ziprealty.com to find possible homes we could look at but so many were short sales or too pricey. We could not find anything in our price range that also had all the things that we wanted.

We were really discouraged one Sunday in mid-May. Then the following Monday, May 11th I had some extra time after a doctor's appointment and thought I would look again. I found a home with no picture listed but had many of the things we were looking for in a house.

I never looked at the listings without pictures because that usually means their ugly or I am just not enticed enough to look more. However, this time I looked. When I saw it was built in 2009 and was the square footage it was I thought for sure it was another short sale. I looked it up and it was a regular sale!

That night my sister Monica came over and she, AJ, and I drove by the house since it was near our apartment. It was a dream! So pretty! We peeked into the windows to see what it was like and I felt my jaw drop to the ground. I had to dust it off so I could tell AJ I wanted to make an offer ASAP.

I like the house so much I asked Monica if she would go back with me after dinner so I could take pictures of it (I hadn't taken pictures earlier). When we came back we found a flyer about the house with the builder's phone number on it. Since our real estate agent was out of town for the week I decided to call the builder to see if we could get in sometime soon. He told us he could show us the house that night and that it was funny I called when I did because just an hour before he got a message that the contract the house was in fell through.

When we arrived we found another couple and their agent at the house. They had been trying to get into the home for a while and happened to be passing by when they saw the lights on with the builder preparing to show the house.

AJ and I liked it so much we emailed our agent to make an offer first thing in the morning. We found out that couple that stopped in had made an offer that night and another couple people made offers as well. Yikes! We were up against some tough competition.

Luckily, our offer was the strongest and with a connection we had at Zions we knew we could close faster than usual which was important to the builder. We made an offer on Tuesday, May 12th and found out that night that our offer was accepted. We closed on Wednesday, June 3rd and moved in Thursday, June 4th.

There were many events that made this beautiful, beyond-our-reach home somehow within our reach. It is another display of Heavenly Father's blessings when He says "prove me now herewith...if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it." (Mal 3:10) There were also many friends and family members who help us ready loan papers, pack, clean, etc. THANK YOU!

BEFORE

AFTER

Setting up and trying out our new dining table.

He Made It!

2009-06-13T14:28:00.000-06:00

One of AJ's life goals is to run a marathon. Well, check that one off the list! He ran the Utah Valley Marathon and came in at about 5 hours and 55 minutes exceeding his expectations. He ran for 16 miles straight. Here are some pictures.

(BTW: I haven't forgotten about posting about our new house but I am trying to figure out how to do a collage because I don't want to upload 50 pictures on here. If you have a collage program you use please pass on the web address in the comments. Thanks!)

And here is the most recent picture I have of my pregnant self. Outie belly button and all.

GPS Joke

2009-06-08T08:28:00.000-06:00

AJ and I are both a little directionally challenged and we have a GPS that we use to ease the discomforts of this ailment. Our GPS talks really strangely sometimes so we like to make fun of it. We appreciate a good GPS joke. This is right up our alley and I thought others might like it too.

Closing on a HOUSE on Wednesday!!!

2009-06-01T18:28:00.000-06:00

Title speaks for itself! (I'm going to post some pictures as soon as we're in.)

Preparations!

2009-05-24T14:23:00.000-06:00

We recently bought some fun things in preparation for a funner thing that is not yet finalized...

AJ finally got his drumset. We had most of it in the back seat and on the way home it beat along to the music on the radio with a ba-dum dum here and there. Look at the way he is grinning. He was happy!

Microfiber love seat.

Microfiber sofa. We got an amazing deal on these. We got both for the less than the price of the sofa. They are really fluffy and soft. It feels like you're laying on a bunch of pillows!

Dining table and chairs. This is the shape and form of the table. But it will be the same color as the chair below and not like the one pictured.

This is what the chairs look like.

Cousins' Retreat

2009-05-24T13:25:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we had a fun break at my aunt and uncle's cabin. We had a bunch of cousins get together for a little rest and recreation.

Jack on the turn table.

AJ and Marcus shooting bb guns.

Livvy drumming on AJ's head.

Cousins James and Jason eating at Pizza Factory.

Jodi standing and Becca, Lindsay, and Liv hanging out on the hammock.

Livvy and Erika taking a romp in the Rhino.

AJ and me on a four wheeler (we were very careful).

3 Kinds of Parties!

2009-05-12T16:19:00.000-06:00

April 25th we had two friends get married on the same day! It was fun to go see them all dressed up! Congrats Natalie and Callie! Natalie's older sister, Carissa, and I became friends when we moved to Florida. I met Callie in Florida too and the night was a reunion of familiar faces. Later that week on Thursday, Callie's older sister Britni and I got together and drank Jamba Juice at a nearby park. It was fun to visit and see her cute little girls.

Monica next to the picture of Natalie and her new hubby.

Me and Carissa.

Monica, Britni, and Me.

On May 2nd we had a surprise party for AJ's Granny's 80th birthday. Karma (AJ's Mom) was the ring leader for the whole event and she did a fabulous job! It was fun to be a part of it. Kate and I decorated the banner with cute little cut outs that Karma made. Happy 8th Granny!

The banner we worked on.

Granny coming in to the party room as we yell "Surprise!"

AJ's birthday was May 7th. He wanted a tredmill and found one on Craig's List for super cheap so I "got" that for his birthday and then I wanted to do something fun since I didn't really feel like I was giving him the tredmill. So I got 5 of his favorite treats and candies and, using the letters from the names of the treats, I made a puzzle. He had to pull off certain letters and arrange them to discover his secret birthday message. Well, he was way too good and knew what it was right away. :( I better come up with a harder message next time.

Hmmmm, a tredmill and candy? That is a bit of a mixed message.

AJ solving his puzzle.

AJ holding up his triumph. The coin is a quarter because he turned 25.

Easters

2009-04-18T14:52:00.000-06:00

Easter was fun. We went to church with AJ's parents and had a great meal with his parents, Kate, Steve, and Kate's mom Renae. It was seriously on my "top 10 best meals ever" list! After dinner we planned Careers and laughed about the low salaries and stereotypes found throughout the game.

Jello Easter baskets (the grapes are eggs)

Pretty dinner Table

Playing Careers

It's Official!

2009-04-13T17:30:00.000-06:00

It's official today: AJ has a full time job with benefits! He got a job offer from one company last Tuesday and found out a couple days earlier that his company was hiring for a position he was very interested in. He went to someone in his company and told him his situation and after interviewing they offered him the job. So, he gets to stay with his current company!

(These are little "medals" I made for our celebration. We celebrated getting pregnant and getting the job at the same time)

What does that mean for our family? I get to be a full-time Mommy and AJ gets to be a bread-winner Daddy. I don't like to get too deep while blogging, but I want to recognize that there were many mini miracles that made this big miracle happen for us. Thank you to family and friends who kept us in your thoughts and prayers. I know Heavenly Father will bless us in our times of need if we ask and follow his commandments. Heavenly Father truly did, "open [us] the windows of heaven, and pour [us] out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it." (3 Nephi 24:10)

I had been very distressed about the job situation. This scripture gave me comfort, "Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?...And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so will he clothe you, if ye are not of little faith. Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things." (3 Nephi 13:26, 28-32)

I finally had the realization/remembrance that after all we do Heavenly Father will make up the difference. After that "ah ha" moment the job came. I like what Moroni says about it, "...I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." (Ether 12:6)

Grandma, Grandpa, and Livvy

2009-04-09T12:44:00.000-06:00

I found these videos when I was looking through my Christmas 2008 pictures. The one with Grandma Laurie was captured sometime around Christmas. The one with Grandpa Rob was taken after we opened presents when everyone was pooped but Livvy.

Anticipation!

2009-04-04T23:15:00.000-06:00

There are so many great things for AJ and I to anticipate right now: One day we'll get to see and hold our little son, AJ will have that full time job we've been hoping for, we'll have a house, we'll go on a cruise...So many dreams and things to look forward to.

Another great thing to anticipate comes out May 5th. My favorite singer, Jewel, is putting out a new album, but this isn't just her usual musical exploration. This one is a lullaby cd which makes it extra special for me since I can listen and thoroughly enjoy while my son is soothed. I have already started indoctrinating him with a Jewel song I sing to him on the way home from work sometimes.

The Power of the Pants

2009-03-31T17:11:00.000-06:00

AJ has a pair of awesome slacks that I found a rocking deal on at Macy's. I got the $90 pants for $20! They are used for special occassions only. He used them for the job interviews he had in the beginning of the year. During this busy interviewing season he would hang his pants on a hook we have on our second bedroom door and after a lull I hung them up in the closet. Lo and behold a second round of interviews began and out came the pants again.

That second round died down a month or two ago but the pants sat on their hook until last week. I thought it was about time to hang those babies back up so I finally did it Wednesday night and laughed with AJ that he'd get a new interview soon. The next day I got an email from him, "I wanted to let you know I recently got a call from someone who wanted me to come in for an interview. We should have put that shirt and slacks away earlier :o)"

The interview went well. There are serveral different kinds of positions open and they felt like he'd be a prime candidate for the position he was hoping for. They said they'd call him within 5 days to arrange a second interview.

Last night I hung the pants up again and wasn't surprised to find this waiting in my inbox today, "I have my next interview tomorrow morning. Maybe we should try taking the pants to a neighbor's house and putting them under lock and key? What would happen if they weren't accessible readily?"

Is that going to give us bad luck that I hung that back on the door in order to take a picture? You better believe I put them right back in the closet ASAP!)

Family Birthdays

2009-03-31T17:00:00.000-06:00

This last weekend Monica, Johnny, AJ, and I all went down to St. George to celebrate Erika's birthday! We also celebrated Marcus and Johnny's bdays since they are in April. Erika, Marcus, AJ, and I went to a Boys Like Girls concert on Saturday which was super fun.

Other highlights include:
- A thumbs up from Livvy, our official stroller tester for our new stroller. She liked it so much she would just sit in it while we went about our different activities in the house.
- Eating until my stomach was full (my appetite doesn't really go away, but on the rare occasion my stomach will get full) at Golden Coral. A big thank you must go to the good buffets of the world.
- Going shopping with "the girls" for bday presents.
- Bouncing on the blow up bed with Livvy.
- Twirling with Livvy.
- Winder Farms DOUGHNUTS, oh my.
- Winder Farms Lemonade.
- Ok, ALL Winder Farms products. (Thanks for sharing your perks Marcus!)
- Opening presents.
- Spending time with my favorite people. I love you family!

Mom and Dad listening to us opening presents while "eating" a yellow gummy bear.

Livvy and AJ drawing puppies.

Me helping Livvy open everyone else's presents.

Monica and Livvy eating a yummy pork chop dinner Erika made.

All of us at dinner!

21 Weeks

2009-03-25T16:30:00.000-06:00

Mom this is especially for you since you live so far away and can't see my metamorphosis.

Boy Name Suggestions Anyone?

2009-03-18T21:48:00.000-06:00

I was talking with my 2 year old neice on the phone today and I asked her what she thought I should name my baby boy. She said, "belly". That is what her mom reported. I heard, "daddy". Either way, both are silly.

I recently beat Zelda Twilight Princess (Wii version) and AJ told his brother he wanted to name our son Zelda Link. His brother made a few of his own suggestions such as JaMarcus and his favorite basketball players' names. So we've been having some fun coming up with silly baby names.

What do you think? Do you have any name suggestions, silly or serious?

It's a BOY!!!

2009-03-16T20:05:00.000-06:00

Wow! To the surprise of Mom and Dad, Baby Wilcox is a little boy! The ultrasound tech was "sure of it," she said.

I have some great pictures and video to post. Our main computer is on the fritz and I'm trying to get our broken down printer/scanner thing to scan the pictures but it won't have any of it. So I'll see what I can do to get those pics on ASAP. (Yikes, I finally got those pictures scanned after working on this for 4 hours!)

Meanwhile enjoy the video clip of the ultrasound and some great facts about the baby.
Length (Head to Rump): 6 inches
Weight: 10 oz
Heart Beat: 144/min

It's a boy! I circled his little boy indicators.

View of the face. Look at that eye and nose. That is his daddy's nose for sure!

Profile view. His head is facing downward. To the left are his little spine and ribs.

Here's the right arm. The shoulder is up top and the upper arm is extending diagonally downward and to the left. At the elbow, his lower arm and hand move diagonally right. Holy cow! Look at the guns on this little man! He's flexing for the picture!

Leg and foot. The leg is diagonal. The knee is on the right, foot on the left.

Feet. The one is pointing left and you can see his little toes. The other is by the heel of the first and pointing upward. They're crossed at the ankles just like how daddy does!

Adventures in Riding the Bus

2009-03-12T17:30:00.000-06:00

AJ has been riding the bus to and from his new job and he's gotten to know the other "regulars". During one conversation, a fellow passenger proudly told AJ that he was a programmer. AJ has done a bit of programming himself and asked what languages he programs in. The guy flashed him a confused look and said, "English..." and upon seeing AJ's bewildered response, he added, "well, it's the only language I know."

A few days later AJ was talking with him again and in an effort to discretely determine what this guy thinks programming is he asked him, "So what kinds of things do you program?"

The guy replied, "Oh, I just program computers". AJ gathered from him that he meant he installs computer programs.

The Rage

2009-03-11T16:46:00.000-06:00

I used to joke with my sisters that while I was on birth control I would occasionally get..."The RAGE!" I'm not sure what the cause is but I would suddenly feel like my clothes were going to rip to shreds and I would be left an angry green mass. Sometimes the urge to roar would build up and I could easily relate to this creature...

Anyway, it seems "The Rage" is finding its way back into my life. It hit hard yesterday. It all started with me waking up very late. The snow had not only settled on my car but also frozen to it in thick bumpy sheets. The roads were great but I must have been the only person on I-15 who thought so because EVERYONE was inching by as though we had just had a world record snowstorm. (Yes, I AM exaggerating.) Look people, there wasn't even snow layering the road and the existence of black ice was highly debatable! Ugh! I finally made it to school.

There were a couple of incidents in school that fed the rage monster but by lunch time I was determined to get a handle on myself and regain decency. And then, after school, it happened...I saw I had missed a call. I dialed my voice mail. "Hi, this is the doctor's office..."

"Oh, they must calling to remind me of my anticipated appointment on Monday!" I thought with glee...WRONG! The smile that had crept on to my face soon distorted into a grimace of contempt. Nostrils flared, lips pursed, and jaw tightened. OMGosh, I'm turning green! Here's why: "...I'm calling to let you know we need to reschedule your appointment." Ahhh!!! With obscenities flying through my mind I luckily remembered I was still at school and I slapped a hand over my mouth.

I took a minute to think things through which didn't really work out for me because of my irrate state. I decided I would just hurry and call the office back. I asked the receptionist at least three times if she was sure that my original appointment couldn't somehow be salvaged. When I got an impatient, "YES! the ultrasound technician isn't going to be in until noon, so I don't see how that would be possible!" I deemed my attempts futile and I asked what she had available, all the while trying to explain my scheduling struggles:

- If I have a morning appointment AJ can go, but I have to request time off AGAIN, without giving 2 weeks notice, AND rearrange my students assignment schedules again so I can have a sub not have to give instruction, and communicate with my sub that I need him on a different day than planned.

- If I have an afternoon appointment AJ CANNOT GO.

The receptionist apathetically replied, "Ok, well, just tell me which works best for you..." And I am thinking, "I swear, I'm going to KILL you!!!" A little sympathy, please, for asking me to rearrange an important appointment with very little notice?

I settled for the appointment on Monday afternoon, the same Monday my appointment was originally scheduled for, which means AJ CAN'T be with me. So we are going to teleconference him in on my cell phone.

Last night while AJ and I talked (he was trying to calm me down about the situation)he had his hand on my belly and for the first time felt his little baby move. So, in reply he hollered at my tummy, "Hi baby! I LOVE YOU!" I am so glad my baby has a loving daddy. AJ is the cool, calming water that extinguishes my angry fire and he is so reassuring and supportive. I love you AJ!

Next Dr. Appt

2009-02-27T11:52:00.000-07:00

I've had some people ask when my next dr. appt is. I forgot to post it so unless you wanted to do the math with my gender countdown you'd never know. The suspense must be killing you, I'm sure. ;)

Anyway, my gender identifying ultrasound is March 16th at 9am. I'll try to post afterward, but as I am going to work after the appt and I will be calling the VIP soon-to-be grandmas, pas, aunts, and uncles I may not be able to post until that night. But I will be sure to put it on ASAP.

Pregnancy Update

2009-02-27T09:14:00.000-07:00

So yesterday when I pulled on and attempted to button my favorite striped button down oxford for work I realized that my "Gus Gus" era had begun. I could button it but the shirt was so tight it kept creeping up on me (good thing I had an undershirt on). Needless to say, I won't be wearing it for a while. My waistline seems to be about a month behind the pictures they show on some of these pregnancy websites. So it's fun to start looking pregnant. I keep imagining myself being pulled over by a cop and having to say, "But officer I'm pregnant and my bladder is going to explode if I don't get to a bathroom soon!" and he won't believe me because I don't look like it, so he'll have to follow me home where I show him my ultrasound.

But I got off on a tangent there. I have been thinking about how fast the pregnancy is going by and I haven't logged any of my experiences so that what I am doing. This post is mostly for my record keeping but I suppose it could be fun to read for others.

Pre-Morning Sickness
I had a lot of heart palpitations. My heart would flutter or beat heavy several times a day. I was often dizzy but I never fainted. I had these strange abdomen pains in the very beginning. It was like fire and didn't last for more than 15 minutes usually but it was intense. These died after the first month of pregnancy.

Morning Sickness
It started the week after I found out I was pregnant, the second week of December or so and continued until late January or early February. It was hard to have to wake up early for work and do everything slow. If I was late I was going to be late because trying to rush through my morning routine made me more sick. I found that if I didn't eat anything until I felt hunger pains I wouldn't get sick after eating so I waited until late morning or early afternoon to eat. Eating took sooo long and was arduous. Even when I was hungry my mouth was on a different speed than my tummy. Even though I was sick the nausea was relatively mild. Happily, I only threw up once during the whole ordeal.

I didn't announce my pregnancy to my students until my first doctor's appointment on January 6th. Before I told them, I had to stifle a laugh when my students would say things like, "Mrs. Wilcox, you've been sick for a while now, maybe you should see a doctor." Or, "Mrs. Wilcox are you contagious?"

Morning Sickness Foods
I could eat:
- Yogurt
- Cheese
- Applesauce (w/o sugar added)
- Beef
- Bread
- French Fries
- Crackers
- Pepperoni Pizza

I could NOT eat:
- Fish (Nothing new there)
- Eggs
- Chicken
- Ham
- Most Solid Foods
- Anything with lots of processed sugar (soda, candy...)

Post-Morning Sickness Favorite Foods:
- MILK
- Juice
- Nalley Chili
- Kraft Macaroni & Cheese
- Strawberries
- Oranges
- Grapefruit
- Toast
- Cheese
- Beef
- French Fries
- Pepperoni Pizza

Favorite Things About Pregnancy:
- Feeling the Baby. I felt the baby distinctly for the first time a week ago. I was driving home from work Friday afternoon and I had a few hello nudges. I had felt a few flutters earlier in the week. The baby doesn't seem to care for tight spaces. I feel the baby most often when I have something against my abdomen, like a seatbelt.
- Super-Human Smelling Abilities. Just call me Jess the Smellerizor! I really haven't had serious aversions to foods except the already nasty smelling things like poop, mold, and fish (yes, I have ALWAYS strongly believed all forms of sea creatures were NEVER meant to be eaten), so it's super fun to walk around following smells like a dog. I can particularly pick up sweet smells. Hello strawberries!
- Increased Emotion. Yes, this one is a two edged sword but my emotions have leaned toward the positive and I find myself with an increased love and gratitude for people. My thinking has changed a little now that I have a little fetus dependent on me to grow. I don't want to see later down the line that it is at some disadvantage because I was too lazy to do this or that.

Hardest Things About Being Pregnant:
- Fatigue. I have to wake up around 6am for work. Well that isn't really working out for me so I wake up a half hour late usually and am late for work. Luckily, my energy levels are increasing lately.
- Urination. I'm supposed to drink at least 80 oz daily. I have to visit the restroom every hour.
- Hunger. I am ALWAYS hungry. I eat breakfast, lunch, and two dinners and I am still hungry when I go to bed.
- Immediate Physical Needs. When I am hungry I have to eat NOW. When I have to use the bathroom I have to do it NOW. There is no sneak-up period. The urges are intense and demand immediate attention.

My Latest Dr. Visit

2009-02-09T16:03:00.000-07:00

I went to the doc again today. I am learning something interesting about my facility. If I show up early they take me early. I was 40 minutes early (I left early due to weather and traffic because I have at least a 40 minute drive from school to the dr. office.) They took me right in. The same thing happened on my first visit. I was in and out before my scheduled appt.

Anyway it wasn't too eventful except I did hear the baby's heart beat. It sounded like a quick little train. Chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga. The doctor said it was between 150 and 160 and that it was good. The other highlight of the visit was I set my appt for my next visit when they determine the baby's gender!

I am so excited for this. I have no idea what it could be. They told me to bring a blank DVD so they can record some of the ultrasound and I will post that on my blog! I put a count down to the gender on the right. If you haven't voted on the gender yet now is the time!

Livvy's Second Birthday

2009-02-09T15:06:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago AJ and I got to go down to St. George to celebrate Livvy's birthday and see Marcus and Erika's new house.

We got in on Friday and I don't know what everyone was doing taking so long to get out of the car but I ran from the car to the front door and was greeted by a little smiling blond girl with out-stretched arms wanting to be picked up. My favorite!

Saturday was the best because us girls took Livvy to Jumping Jacks a kids place with blow up bouncy slides and obstacle courses. She loved it and ran from one thing to another. Then we had a rest and got some cookies ready for her party. My Grandpa Dan and Grandma Katie came to the party since they live in St. George. Livvy opened presents and then we frosted some sugar cookies.

Sunday we went to church and came home to eat before we had to take off. We had a fun trip.

One happy and cute birthday girl.

Oooo a Princess Cake!

Frosting cookies.

Opening presents.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Bouncing in the giant mushroom (kids only).

Bouncing in the castle with Mommy.

Climbing up the wall with mommy.

On the way to Jumping Jacks. Singing with Grandma Laurie. "I gotta shake, shake, shake my wiggles out..."

More Jumping Jacks Action...

Livvy eating up the Rockband drums with Uncle AJ. Mom's on mic.

Bonus Video:
I uploaded this in the late winter / early spring last year and it took so long I forgot to put it on my blog. It's of Livvy swinging in Taylorsville.