Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Big Announcement!!
A few posts ago, I mentioned that we have some exciting things happening in the future. Now that one of them is official, I am excited to announce it! We are moving back to Wisconsin in December! The original plan was to hopefully move there in 2 years when Jordan finishes his undergrad here at BYU-I, and live in Madison so he could do med school at UW-Madison, but a few weeks ago while watching General Conference, Jordan felt that he should apply to transfer NOW. So he applied to UW Milwaukee, UW Madison, and UW Lacrosse. He was accepted by UW Lacrosse, and UW Milwaukee, but Madison has a strict policy that all students must have taken 2 years of foreign language in high school and Jordan took one, so we are going to MILWAUKEE! We just got the official letter of acceptance this morning and have been so excited to share the news! I've really never spent much time in Milwaukee so this will be a fun new adventure for us! The neighborhoods surrounding the campus look really nice and green and they are close to the lake! It may not be so wonderful in the winter, but the other three seasons will be great! Not to mention, we will be so close to our families! This is a huge plus, especially because Axel is so young. I think his grandparents are going crazy right now with excitement!
So, we will be leaving Rexburg at the end of the semester for good. It is really bittersweet though. We have the most wonderful ward ever and have made so many close friends here. It will be sad to say goodbye to such wonderful people, but fun to stay in touch. We are so lucky to have such good friends here.
We don't have an apartment yet or anything really but I have been looking around on craigslist and emailing some people. We would like to get that set up soon. Ideally, I would like to be moved in somewhere as close to the 1st of January as possible. In the meantime we can stay with our parents, but it is so nice having your own place and it will be fun decorating and getting to know a new neighborhood! I will find out tomorrow if I can transfer my job with Image to Wisconsin. This would be HUGE for our family as well! The territory is so much bigger and has so much potential, it would be a gold mine and a GREAT job to have while Jordan is in school. If I can transfer it to Wisconsin it would be something I can keep long term as well, so we are really hoping it all works out. I will speak to the President of the company tomorrow. I hope she is enthused about it as we are! Fingers crossed!
Tomorrow Axel will be 2 MONTHS OLD! I can hardly believe it! He is just the cutest little boy I have ever seen and we fall more and more in love with him each day. His fussiness is still calming down quite a bit and he has been such a happy little guy lately. He is getting into some routines which is nice, and getting more comfortable with other people around. He still wants his Mama though after a little bit, and that is such a sweet feeling. He is becoming such a little cuddle bug too! I keep trying to catch his big smiles and squeals on camera, but I always seem to miss the really good ones! I was able to get a few though and his little smile is so darling! I have to apologize though for the spit-up, and the annoying sounds coming out of my mouth. It's sad how silly you can sound when you become a parent. Please don't judge!
So, we will be leaving Rexburg at the end of the semester for good. It is really bittersweet though. We have the most wonderful ward ever and have made so many close friends here. It will be sad to say goodbye to such wonderful people, but fun to stay in touch. We are so lucky to have such good friends here.
We don't have an apartment yet or anything really but I have been looking around on craigslist and emailing some people. We would like to get that set up soon. Ideally, I would like to be moved in somewhere as close to the 1st of January as possible. In the meantime we can stay with our parents, but it is so nice having your own place and it will be fun decorating and getting to know a new neighborhood! I will find out tomorrow if I can transfer my job with Image to Wisconsin. This would be HUGE for our family as well! The territory is so much bigger and has so much potential, it would be a gold mine and a GREAT job to have while Jordan is in school. If I can transfer it to Wisconsin it would be something I can keep long term as well, so we are really hoping it all works out. I will speak to the President of the company tomorrow. I hope she is enthused about it as we are! Fingers crossed!
Tomorrow Axel will be 2 MONTHS OLD! I can hardly believe it! He is just the cutest little boy I have ever seen and we fall more and more in love with him each day. His fussiness is still calming down quite a bit and he has been such a happy little guy lately. He is getting into some routines which is nice, and getting more comfortable with other people around. He still wants his Mama though after a little bit, and that is such a sweet feeling. He is becoming such a little cuddle bug too! I keep trying to catch his big smiles and squeals on camera, but I always seem to miss the really good ones! I was able to get a few though and his little smile is so darling! I have to apologize though for the spit-up, and the annoying sounds coming out of my mouth. It's sad how silly you can sound when you become a parent. Please don't judge!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Baby Baby Baby Ohhhh...
I don't really have much to write about, but I felt like taking advantage of the chance to do so while Axel sleeps. Blogger is telling me that image uploads are disabled for another two hours due to maintenance, so no pictures this time, but facebook is full of them :)
Axel is 7 weeks old as of yesterday, and he continues to amaze me and turn me to mush every day! Every time I look at him I fall more and more in love with him! He has brought so much joy and love into our little family! He is gaining a lot of weight lately, which is a good thing because he has been on the lower end of the charts. I know that doesn't REALLY matter too much, but I'd like the numbers to be a little higher for pride's sake! He is about 10 1/2 lbs now, and I'm guessing about 22.5 inches. I swear he gets bigger every day! He has such a cute little baby body, and about 4 chins! He's getting so heavy, but at the same time he is still so tiny! Oh I just love him! He's starting to outgrow his newborn size clothes and fit well in his 0-3 month clothes. It's fun getting him into some of these cute outfits, but sad for me at the same time because he's growing too fast for me! It's just a reminder that he wont be my tiny baby forever, so I have to soak up all the cuddles I can now!
It is so fun to watch him play and look around at things. He is very attracted to shapes and colors. At first it was anything black and white. He will just stare and stare and stare at the picture frames on our walls, and also the light fixtures on the ceiling! He even gets distracted from eating when he see's them. Now he is paying more attention to bright colors, especially reds! He loves to stare at Jordan's big red bike, the red awning (sp?) at the park, and our Trader Joes shopping bag that usually sits by the door. He has a little play mat with a little musical box that lights up different colors as the music plays and for now it is his favorite activity! When he is in a good mood, he will lay there and flap his arms and kick his legs while he watches it and make the cutest little noises at it! He'll even flash his big gummy grin while he watches it. It is so cool to see him getting excited about things! His little personality is already starting to develop and it is so fun observing all of this! He is also smiling a LOT now for Mommy and Daddy, which turns both Jordan and I to mush every time we see it. When I take a shower Axel will sit in his boppy chair on the bathroom floor and look around, and as soon as I get out and talk to him he gets the biggest smiles on his face! (I like to think it's because he hadn't seen my face for a few minutes, not because Mommy is nakey..). He also gets really excited when Jordan comes home from school. As soon as he hears Daddy's voice he'll turn his head all around looking for Jordan's face, and when Jordan comes up to see him Axel will smile really big! Knowing that Axel recognizes Mommy and Daddy, and is happy to see us is such an amazingly good feeling! He isn't laughing quite yet, but he does these cute little squeals when he gets really happy or excited, so I think the laughing is soon to come! Our new thing is, I will stick out my tongue at him and make a noise like "ma-ma-ma-ma-ma".. he just stares and stares.. and then tries to stick his tongue out too! It is so so so cute! I really need to get it recorded. He's also "communicating" if you will, with Jordan and I now, and I don't mean just crying. When he's in a good mood, he'll just look at us and make little noises that sound kind of like sighs when we talk to him. His developments are happening so fast! Babies really are so incredible to observe!
It has been really fun learning how to parent together with Jordan. It's such a blessing that we can agree on the big things and we have the same ways of doing (most) things. I'm not trying to brag here, but I just can't say enough what a big help Jordan is. He works so hard all day at school, and has to come home to a fussy baby (although the fussiness seems to have hit its peak and is getting a lot better!), and will be so kind and loving with both of us. He is such a good Daddy!
Lately the weather in Rexburg has been gorgeous! Outside our living room window all I can see right now are gorgeous fall leaves on the trees and on the ground! I wish it could stay like this forever! This weekend we are going to try to go find some pumpkins! I am so excited for this! I'd like to be ambitious and say that we'll also make caramel apples to give to our friends, but I have to be realistic now that Axel is around. I made pumpkin bread the other day and the whole process (should've taken me about an hour..with baking time) took me about 5 hours haha! It definitely makes the end result worth it though!
Axel will be 2 months on the 31st (halloween!) and has to get his 2 month shots on the following Monday! I am not looking forward to this at all! Watching my poor little guy get poked (I think they give him 6 shots!) and then be sore for a day or two after will be really hard for me! I don't know how Moms do it. But, at least we'll get it all out of the way. Please, don't anyone try to tell me about the autism/vaccine thing.. I don't buy it. Oh, but that reminds me of a funny video I want to share. The robotic voices are really annoying, but it is funny nonetheless.. enjoy!
Axel is 7 weeks old as of yesterday, and he continues to amaze me and turn me to mush every day! Every time I look at him I fall more and more in love with him! He has brought so much joy and love into our little family! He is gaining a lot of weight lately, which is a good thing because he has been on the lower end of the charts. I know that doesn't REALLY matter too much, but I'd like the numbers to be a little higher for pride's sake! He is about 10 1/2 lbs now, and I'm guessing about 22.5 inches. I swear he gets bigger every day! He has such a cute little baby body, and about 4 chins! He's getting so heavy, but at the same time he is still so tiny! Oh I just love him! He's starting to outgrow his newborn size clothes and fit well in his 0-3 month clothes. It's fun getting him into some of these cute outfits, but sad for me at the same time because he's growing too fast for me! It's just a reminder that he wont be my tiny baby forever, so I have to soak up all the cuddles I can now!
It is so fun to watch him play and look around at things. He is very attracted to shapes and colors. At first it was anything black and white. He will just stare and stare and stare at the picture frames on our walls, and also the light fixtures on the ceiling! He even gets distracted from eating when he see's them. Now he is paying more attention to bright colors, especially reds! He loves to stare at Jordan's big red bike, the red awning (sp?) at the park, and our Trader Joes shopping bag that usually sits by the door. He has a little play mat with a little musical box that lights up different colors as the music plays and for now it is his favorite activity! When he is in a good mood, he will lay there and flap his arms and kick his legs while he watches it and make the cutest little noises at it! He'll even flash his big gummy grin while he watches it. It is so cool to see him getting excited about things! His little personality is already starting to develop and it is so fun observing all of this! He is also smiling a LOT now for Mommy and Daddy, which turns both Jordan and I to mush every time we see it. When I take a shower Axel will sit in his boppy chair on the bathroom floor and look around, and as soon as I get out and talk to him he gets the biggest smiles on his face! (I like to think it's because he hadn't seen my face for a few minutes, not because Mommy is nakey..). He also gets really excited when Jordan comes home from school. As soon as he hears Daddy's voice he'll turn his head all around looking for Jordan's face, and when Jordan comes up to see him Axel will smile really big! Knowing that Axel recognizes Mommy and Daddy, and is happy to see us is such an amazingly good feeling! He isn't laughing quite yet, but he does these cute little squeals when he gets really happy or excited, so I think the laughing is soon to come! Our new thing is, I will stick out my tongue at him and make a noise like "ma-ma-ma-ma-ma".. he just stares and stares.. and then tries to stick his tongue out too! It is so so so cute! I really need to get it recorded. He's also "communicating" if you will, with Jordan and I now, and I don't mean just crying. When he's in a good mood, he'll just look at us and make little noises that sound kind of like sighs when we talk to him. His developments are happening so fast! Babies really are so incredible to observe!
It has been really fun learning how to parent together with Jordan. It's such a blessing that we can agree on the big things and we have the same ways of doing (most) things. I'm not trying to brag here, but I just can't say enough what a big help Jordan is. He works so hard all day at school, and has to come home to a fussy baby (although the fussiness seems to have hit its peak and is getting a lot better!), and will be so kind and loving with both of us. He is such a good Daddy!
Lately the weather in Rexburg has been gorgeous! Outside our living room window all I can see right now are gorgeous fall leaves on the trees and on the ground! I wish it could stay like this forever! This weekend we are going to try to go find some pumpkins! I am so excited for this! I'd like to be ambitious and say that we'll also make caramel apples to give to our friends, but I have to be realistic now that Axel is around. I made pumpkin bread the other day and the whole process (should've taken me about an hour..with baking time) took me about 5 hours haha! It definitely makes the end result worth it though!
Axel will be 2 months on the 31st (halloween!) and has to get his 2 month shots on the following Monday! I am not looking forward to this at all! Watching my poor little guy get poked (I think they give him 6 shots!) and then be sore for a day or two after will be really hard for me! I don't know how Moms do it. But, at least we'll get it all out of the way. Please, don't anyone try to tell me about the autism/vaccine thing.. I don't buy it. Oh, but that reminds me of a funny video I want to share. The robotic voices are really annoying, but it is funny nonetheless.. enjoy!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
I Have a Six-Week-Old!
Look how big he is getting! I can't believe Axel is 6 weeks old! Time has gone by so fast, but at the same time it feels like his birth was ages ago! Right now I'm just sitting in bed with little A fast asleep on my chest, all cuddled up. I really should be getting him used to his crib, and bringing him in whenever he's asleep, but I love having him up close to me! Yes, it might be harder to get him into his crib later, but I wont get this cuddle time forever, so if that means putting off the crib routine for awhile.. so be it!
I just had my six week check up yesterday and everything went great (except I didn't know you get sodomized by the doctor! Geez, you really have to lose all shame when you have babies. Anyways, I am now officially in the clear to resume normal activities. I've pretty much already been back into the swing of things, but I haven't exercised yet other than walking and I am really anxious to get going with that. It's just a matter of finding the time! Jordan is in school most of the day and at the library most nights until pretty late, and Axel's feeding schedule is still pretty erratic, so it's hard to break away for too long. Hopefully though, I can get an hour in a few nights a week.
*************************************************************************************
So it's the next day. Axel woke up and that ended my quiet writing time. It's almost 11am on Wednesday and Axel is once again asleep on my lap. Jordan is at school right now, but today is his "short" day so I will probably get to see him a little more. Yay!
The weather is starting to get much cooler now and I love it! I absolutely love love love fall! If it could be fall year round I would be so happy! Although nothing beats a fall in Wisconsin (or Berlin!). I am really excited to go pick out pumpkins with Jordan and Axel! It better not come down to grabbing one from outside the grocery store! I want the whole pumpkin patch, jackets, caramel apple, apple cider experience! I'm still trying to figure out what to dress us all up as for halloween. Any ideas are welcome!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Here You Go Shalyse :)
My sweet sister-in-law Shalyse, has requested I post lots and lots of pictures! I have a bunch on facebook, but I have no problem posting more on here! I love showing off my guy! I hope this will do for now! It is quite a few! I tried not to make them redundant to the ones on facebook. Enjoy!
Coke & Butter + 1
Alright so, I had this big long draft I've been trying to work on here and there, but the longer it takes me to finish it, the more things I have to try to remember so I've decided to scratch that whole thing and just give a decent update on our little family of three! I wanted to go into detail on our birthing experience, but that will take too long, so if anyone has any questions on how the c-section went, shoot me an email or give me a call. Long story short, it was a breeze, we were pushed in and Axel was pushed out (yes, there is pushing involved in a c-section, only not by me.. by the OB!). We stayed in the hospital for 3 days, and I was definitely ready to leave and go home! Jordan was and is so amazing! He helps me, encourages me, and is so supportive in everything! The birth experience was very special.
Fast forward to today and Axel is 5 1/2 weeks old! I can't believe how fast the time has gone by, or how big he is getting. When most people see him they say "oh he is so little", but to us he seems like he is getting sooooo big!
It's fun to look at Axel and try to figure out who he looks like! My mom thinks he looks like me, Jordans mom thinks he looks like him, and I can honestly see similarities in both of us! Comparing baby pictures if fun because I think he looks just like both of us! But, he also has his own look.. Here are mine and Jordans baby pictures with a comparable photo of Axel..
So.. everyone will find different similarities, but at the end of the day I don't really care WHO he looks like because to us, he is perfect!
Being a mommy has dramatically changed my life already. I can already see all the lessons I am learning, and going to learn, and how this will help me grow as a person. The biggest lesson I am being taught right now is a whole new kind of PATIENCE! Axel is one fussy little boy and does a lot of crying. He really doesn't seem happy too often, which is hard for me because of course I want (and need) to feel like I am doing a great job and raising a healthy, happy baby. However, he could be a lot fussier, so I am grateful for the quiet times I get. They DO exist! The other biggest struggle has been breast feeding. No one warned me about how hard it can be! The first trial was the PAIN! I wont go too far into detail but I was very sore after the first day and didn't know if I would be able to continue nursing. It hurt soooo bad! However, the lactation consultant at the hospital saved my life with a nipple shield. I highly recommend it!
It's so funny how quickly your whole temperament can change. Usually when I am frustrated or stressed out I have a very short fuse, but with Axel it doesn't matter how I'M feeling, all I care about it soothing him, calming him, and making sure he's okay. When I fell in love with Jordan my priorities definitely shifted to making him as happy as can be, but still I have never felt such a strong sense of selflessness as I do with Axel. It's so hard to explain all the feelings and emotions I have now as a mother, but I'm sure those of you who are mothers can completely understand without me saying much. I am so grateful for my little family. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband who is so caring and thoughtful and SWEET. He is such a great daddy and is so loving to the both of us. We had a pretty neat experience the other night that I wanted to share...
It was about 2am and Axel had been fussing for quite awhile. He was very obviously hungry, but wouldn't latch on! He would just cry and cry and cry and we couldn't figure out what the problem was. He'd been burped, had a clean diaper, a normal temperature, everything checked out! So WHY would he not latch on?! It was a very frustrating night and eventually Axel and I were both covered in milk and sobbing. Well, Jordan came to the rescue and took Axel from me and I could hear him saying (in a nice voice) "Axel, you made Mommy cry!" It was the first time since I'd been home from the hospital that I cried. Through every frustrating moment prior, I was able to calm myself mentally, count to 10, do whatever I needed to to stay strong and keep myself together. This time I just couldn't. I wasn't crying because I was mad, and it wasn't an emotional breakdown that had built up. I was crying because my sweet little boy was in such distress and I couldn't comfort him. It was the worst feeling in the entire world. Jordan took Axel into our room and shut the door. I sat on the couch and tried to calm myself down (I was REALLY crying), and a few minutes later Jordan brought Axel back into the living room. Axel was calm and had stopped crying and as Jordan laid him in my arms he quietly said, "try it one more time". Right then I knew that Jordan had just given Axel a blessing. I knew everything would be okay, and sure enough Axel latched on, ate, burped, sighed (yes, he let out a very satisfied sigh when after he ate and burped.. we both laughed pretty hard), and fell into a deep sleep. While he was eating Jordan sat close to me and rubbed my back and told me I am a good mom and that everything will be okay. I love him so much!!! I don't know how I got so lucky to have such a sweet and loving husband!
These days we are just hanging out at home mostly. It is hard to leave the house with Ax because I never know when he will get fussy, so I try not to go too far unless he has a full tummy, or I have someone with me who can drive if I need to comfort him, etc..
Jordan has been pretty busy with school. He is working hard to get those perfect grades that med schools require. He works so hard in so many domains! I am so proud of all of his efforts and achievements! He is going to be such a great example to our children. We are getting excited and looking forward to our trip to San Francisco in November! We went there last year for Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time together. We decided that we should do it again this year while it's still within decent driving distance. We have some other neat things unfolding for us that I'm not going to mention just yet, but they are VERY exciting and if it all works out, will bring a lot of joy to our lives. NO, I am NOT pregnant again. (Oh my gosh, I do want more kids, but not yet..) These plans have to do with school and careers. One of them is something we've been working on pretty much since we started dating seriously and is finally becoming a reality, and the other is a relatively new idea, but we feel really good about it. Haha, confused? Good! I will share more details when things are a little more concrete, but I will say that it looks like it will be a very exciting new year!
I think I am finally finished with this post. I would like to mention that it has taken me almost 4 hours to complete it!
Fast forward to today and Axel is 5 1/2 weeks old! I can't believe how fast the time has gone by, or how big he is getting. When most people see him they say "oh he is so little", but to us he seems like he is getting sooooo big!
It's fun to look at Axel and try to figure out who he looks like! My mom thinks he looks like me, Jordans mom thinks he looks like him, and I can honestly see similarities in both of us! Comparing baby pictures if fun because I think he looks just like both of us! But, he also has his own look.. Here are mine and Jordans baby pictures with a comparable photo of Axel..
So.. everyone will find different similarities, but at the end of the day I don't really care WHO he looks like because to us, he is perfect!
Being a mommy has dramatically changed my life already. I can already see all the lessons I am learning, and going to learn, and how this will help me grow as a person. The biggest lesson I am being taught right now is a whole new kind of PATIENCE! Axel is one fussy little boy and does a lot of crying. He really doesn't seem happy too often, which is hard for me because of course I want (and need) to feel like I am doing a great job and raising a healthy, happy baby. However, he could be a lot fussier, so I am grateful for the quiet times I get. They DO exist! The other biggest struggle has been breast feeding. No one warned me about how hard it can be! The first trial was the PAIN! I wont go too far into detail but I was very sore after the first day and didn't know if I would be able to continue nursing. It hurt soooo bad! However, the lactation consultant at the hospital saved my life with a nipple shield. I highly recommend it!
It's so funny how quickly your whole temperament can change. Usually when I am frustrated or stressed out I have a very short fuse, but with Axel it doesn't matter how I'M feeling, all I care about it soothing him, calming him, and making sure he's okay. When I fell in love with Jordan my priorities definitely shifted to making him as happy as can be, but still I have never felt such a strong sense of selflessness as I do with Axel. It's so hard to explain all the feelings and emotions I have now as a mother, but I'm sure those of you who are mothers can completely understand without me saying much. I am so grateful for my little family. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband who is so caring and thoughtful and SWEET. He is such a great daddy and is so loving to the both of us. We had a pretty neat experience the other night that I wanted to share...
It was about 2am and Axel had been fussing for quite awhile. He was very obviously hungry, but wouldn't latch on! He would just cry and cry and cry and we couldn't figure out what the problem was. He'd been burped, had a clean diaper, a normal temperature, everything checked out! So WHY would he not latch on?! It was a very frustrating night and eventually Axel and I were both covered in milk and sobbing. Well, Jordan came to the rescue and took Axel from me and I could hear him saying (in a nice voice) "Axel, you made Mommy cry!" It was the first time since I'd been home from the hospital that I cried. Through every frustrating moment prior, I was able to calm myself mentally, count to 10, do whatever I needed to to stay strong and keep myself together. This time I just couldn't. I wasn't crying because I was mad, and it wasn't an emotional breakdown that had built up. I was crying because my sweet little boy was in such distress and I couldn't comfort him. It was the worst feeling in the entire world. Jordan took Axel into our room and shut the door. I sat on the couch and tried to calm myself down (I was REALLY crying), and a few minutes later Jordan brought Axel back into the living room. Axel was calm and had stopped crying and as Jordan laid him in my arms he quietly said, "try it one more time". Right then I knew that Jordan had just given Axel a blessing. I knew everything would be okay, and sure enough Axel latched on, ate, burped, sighed (yes, he let out a very satisfied sigh when after he ate and burped.. we both laughed pretty hard), and fell into a deep sleep. While he was eating Jordan sat close to me and rubbed my back and told me I am a good mom and that everything will be okay. I love him so much!!! I don't know how I got so lucky to have such a sweet and loving husband!
These days we are just hanging out at home mostly. It is hard to leave the house with Ax because I never know when he will get fussy, so I try not to go too far unless he has a full tummy, or I have someone with me who can drive if I need to comfort him, etc..
Jordan has been pretty busy with school. He is working hard to get those perfect grades that med schools require. He works so hard in so many domains! I am so proud of all of his efforts and achievements! He is going to be such a great example to our children. We are getting excited and looking forward to our trip to San Francisco in November! We went there last year for Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time together. We decided that we should do it again this year while it's still within decent driving distance. We have some other neat things unfolding for us that I'm not going to mention just yet, but they are VERY exciting and if it all works out, will bring a lot of joy to our lives. NO, I am NOT pregnant again. (Oh my gosh, I do want more kids, but not yet..) These plans have to do with school and careers. One of them is something we've been working on pretty much since we started dating seriously and is finally becoming a reality, and the other is a relatively new idea, but we feel really good about it. Haha, confused? Good! I will share more details when things are a little more concrete, but I will say that it looks like it will be a very exciting new year!
I think I am finally finished with this post. I would like to mention that it has taken me almost 4 hours to complete it!
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