Someone Once Told Me...

Winters in AZ

2012-01-31T20:39:00.000-08:00

Are seriously amazing...

It's so hard to get a good picture of Carden lately. The little stinker just won't sit still for anything and half the time absolutely refuses to look at the camera at all, which is why most of his pictures are a profile shot. And then he saw a picture with his toy cars in it and now all he wants me to take pictures of are his toys, like this:

(that's a nasty frog Josh got on his mission and for whatever reason Carden wanted a picture of it.)

Carden loves to imitate EVERYTHING. "Mama! Mama! Like this!" And then he shows me what he is copying. Here he is showing me how the frog had his arms.

Carden's books had to be included in this picture

Carden-two years and few months

2012-01-13T21:20:00.000-08:00

Carden is becoming more entertaining every day. We just love this little guy. It's so fun to watch him learn new things and copy EVERYTHING we do.

He still loves his quad. Pretty much he loves everything outside. We go on walks, feed the ducks at the park, ride bikes, drive quads, throw rocks, play in the dirt, everything. The weather here is amazing and we just can't get enough.

Carden is a picker. A scab/owie picker. And he will not stop. So now even the tiniest cut has to be covered in bandaids. He loves to show everyone his "bob bandaid."

My parents gave Carden a sand/water table for Christmas and it has provided hours of entertainment in the backyard. As long as someone is there to play with him. We're still working on playing in the backyard while mama makes dinner. Not quite there yet.

Carden already is asking to have friends come over and play. He has some play dates every week and the neighbor kids come over all of the time, so he doesn't think he should ever play alone now.

Carden is becoming more of a a daddy's boy. Josh is gone a lot with school and work now and Carden sometimes won't see him for 2-3 days, so when he does finally get to spend some time with him, Carden doesn't want much to do with me.

He is still such a cheeser. He's playing with rice here. Just pouring it from one container to another. I think it entertained him for about 2 hours. And it only took me about a week to get it all off my floor!

Carden loves his little brother a little too much I'm afraid. Poor David is always being crushed/rolled on/stepped on/kicked/licked/anything else you can think of.

Carden is getting so much better at talking. He is talking in 4-5 word sentences right now and more people than mama can understand him (thank goodness!) Here's my speechie bit for those who are interested. He has the phonological process of dropping the inital consonant of words that start with s, sh, ch, f, v, basically any sound that you prolong. So it can be kind of hard to understand him at times. I talk too darned fast and the poor guy probably can' t even hear the first sound when i talk! He's able to imitate me correctly when I prompt him and he's starting to say it right on his own now. I have to admit this has always been my fear-that my kids would have a speech issue. And then I'd have to prove how good of a therapist I am! jkjk. He's still only two so I'm not really worried yet. And when my parents came to visit they were able to understand at least 50% of what he said, so we are definitely on track.

Carden used to always say the randomest things, give a fake laugh, sigh, and say "funny." I loved it. too bad that it didn't last for long. He would say thing like "two orange tic tacs." laugh. sigh. "funny."

He gets all of his pronouns mixed up and I love it. Josh tried to correct him the other day and I wouldn't let him. "Mama hold you?" "Mama help you?" Mama play you?" Mama thinks it's just too cute.

David-9 months

2012-01-13T20:57:00.000-08:00

David is actually 10 months now, so it's definitely time for an update. 9 month stats: Weight-18 lbs., Length 29 in. About 15th percetile for his age of 9 months.

David is still doing awesome. He is now FINALLY crawling after about 2 months of rocking on his knees and rolling around the whole house to get into everything. He is a much happier baby now that he can get around to everything. Although he is still a mama's boy and gets so mad at me if I walk by him without picking him up.

David is a grabber and a pincher. Nothing is safe around him. He knocked over an entire bowl of cereal and has dumped over his own food more times than I can count. Seriously, it takes less than a second for me to turn my back for him to grab whatever I had and chuck it.

"huh?"

David loves his big brother and I just love to watch them. He laughs and laughs at Carden. Even when Carden is climbing all over him and stepping on him or rolling over him, he still smiles when I think he should be crying.

David already loves cars, trucks, and trains. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with Carden. He will scoot/roll over to the tile and push the little cars back and forth.

Lovin some dada time

He is doing awesome with his helmet. Well, he doesn't complain about it, but his head hasn't grown since we got it, so it still looks the same. Grow baby grow!

2012-01-13T19:53:00.000-08:00

So there I was, lecturing everyone else about not blogging enough and then I take a vacation. Whoops. It's about time I write about Christmas.

We had a great Christmas of course. We spent Christmas Day with Josh's family and then my parents and sister came down later in the evening. Carden loved everything about the Christmas season. Our neighborhood was pretty festive and we would walk around every night to look at all of the lights. Carden loved to show me all of the "ismas ee ights" ("Christmas tree lights"-yea I'm a speech therapist and I think my child has a speech impediment. kind of ironic. More on that later). HE LOVED LOVED LOVED to see the lights at the temple and still asks to see them. He also still asks "ick or eat? (trick or treat) so I'm not expecting him to forget about Christmas lights anytime soon. David was pretty chill about the whole thing. He just went along for the ride most of the time.

Carden and David got pretty lucky this year. What can I say, Santa wanted to give the presents just as much as Carden wanted to get them. Josh was tired of Carden always begging to drive his real RC cars, so we decided that Carden needed his very own REAL rc car.

Carden was so excited, he pulled the trigger and drove right into Grandma K.

Daddy teaching him how to drive.

See how excited David is to play with his new cars and ball?

And so excited to look in his stocking! Oh wait, that's the face he always makes...

Carden also got a Thomas the train set. He loves it. The trains are out every day and he just loves to make new train tracks.

We had a very merry Christmas and I'm always so sad to see it go.. As Carden still likes to say.."bye bye Christmas tree lights!" I already can't wait until next year.

I think it's time...

2011-12-08T22:15:00.001-08:00

for people to start updating their blogs again. You know who you are. And I miss reading about you.

Cutest helmet head ever

2011-12-03T17:30:00.001-08:00

I couldn't help myself

2011-11-15T06:16:00.000-08:00

We already put up the Christmas tree. I know, I know, people start Christmas to early, what about Thanksgiving, blah blah. But Carden wanted to, so i caved. And it was the cutest thing ever. Carden has seen them in the store, but I'm pretty sure he never imagined we would have one in our house. I don't think he remembers anything about last christmas.

I brought out the tree and straightened all of the branches before I turned on the lights. Carden was so surprised with the lights and we over to one and tried to blow it out like a candle. So funny.

David watching the lights

"peekboo!"

Hanging the ornaments

Mother Nature Farm

2011-11-11T21:29:00.000-08:00

There's this little farm in Gilbert, right smack in the middle of the city. I took the boys and met up with a couple of my cousins and their kids. If there are animals involved, Carden is in heaven. He does not get that from me.

Cutest face ever.

They had goats, llamas, a cow, chickens, a turkey, ducks, huge pigs, and baby pigs. There is also a hay ride, a bounce house, and a little maze made out of hay bales. we also got to decorate a pumpkin. Carden loved everything so much and would cry and cry when I made him go on to the next thing, but then he wouldn't want to leave that one either. Little boy heaven.

Hayride with the cousins

The hay maze

He loved this bounce house

We watched them throw pumpkins on the ground to break them and feed them to the pigs and goats, so now everytime Carden sees a pumpkin he tries to throw it.

Farmer Carden

Carden and the pig. Cheese!

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-11T21:23:00.000-08:00

I wanted to be creative this year for Halloween, so just suggested making a car out of a box. And then I thought of a cop car and fire truck, since Carden is just a little obsessed with them. I spent a few weeks spray painting and cutting out, and voila! Here they are. I was just a little proud. Every one told Carden he was just the cutest thing ever (which he was) and he got lots of extra candy since he was so cute. David kept on playing with the box with his feet and covering his head so his didn't stay on for too long.

A David update...

2011-11-11T21:10:00.000-08:00

So one day, David decided he wasn't going to poop. And then he decided that the next day and the next and the next. For a VERY long time. Not kidding, he had one decent poop and one small one in probably a month. A MONTH. WE totok him to the doctor, everything was fine. He stomach was soft, he wasn't in pain, he was still eating just fine.

To help him poop, we first tried prune juice and apple juice. Nothing. He just likes juice now. Then we tried a suppository. Again nothing. So the doctor suggested that maybe he was just absorbing all of the milk and so she suggested we start solids and give him some oatmeal and veggies.

And now I have a pooper! And an eater! Who loves food! And is a little piggy! He loves oatmeal, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, zucchini, and bananas. Funny thing though-he doesn't love avacados no matter how much I try. Little stinker!

David learned to roll over all the way-back to tummy-a few weeks ago. So he is rolling all over the floor now. If he sees something he wants, he gets it. It's so strange to me because I could leave Carden on the bed until he was 9 months and never worried about him since he wasn't going to go anywhere. David is on the move though!

David LOVES to laugh. Especially during Relief Society, and especially during testimonies in Relief Society. The past two sundays David has literally been shreaking with laughter through out the entire meeting. He just laid on the floor laughing and laughing. Most people smiled, but a couple of the older ones gave me the stink eye.

still scared of the camera though...

Almost sitting up now

Birthday boy!

2011-11-11T20:59:00.001-08:00

I'm so late to post about my little boy turning TWO!! How did this happen? Baby Carden is no more, now i have little two year old.

We had a small birthday party when my parents were in town for David's blessing. Carden got an RC truck that he LOVED for the month that it lasted. It has since gone to the dump. Poor truck.

Birthday Pie! (Josh's family tradition)

So Surprised!

At his two year old check up he was 27 lbs-50th percentile and 36 inches-90th percentile. It looks like he might have a little of his dada in him after all!

Carden just loves to scare his mama with his speech development. He tends to wait a long time to do things until just about the point i know I should worry, and then he hurries and catches up. He was still only saying one words up until about 2 weeks before his birthday, so I was getting all sorts of worried for him. But then the two word utterances started and now he's saying 3-4 words-but of course no one understand him except mama. Again, i think he just likes to worry me...

Carden is getting so brave! He used to be such a chicken about climbing down from things-now he jumps off the third step, the back of the couch, the bean bag, everything!

He is LOVING nursery. He begs to go all though sacrament. Even though he doesn't sing during nursery he is picking up all of the nursery rhymes. He loves to change the words to the "wheels on the bus." We sing the wheels on the cop car, school bus, city bus, cement mixer, yellow school bus, "mack" truck, etc. If it's something that you drive, we sing the song to it. Also, every time he sees a picture of Jesus he sings the "sunBEEP" song. SO cute.

This kid could spend all day outside. He loves helping his Daddy work on the yard. He loves digging in the dirt and making messes. I try so hard to keep the inside toys from going outside in the dirt, but it's just not working so well. He is just determined to remind me that he is a boy and makes messes! here's the proof:

ice cream, pizza, and dirt (and it all came out in the wash.)

A pair of socks i found outside. i'm pretty sure this was the first time he had worn them. sigh.

Dear Carden,

2011-10-14T22:48:00.001-07:00

If you're wondering why Mama didn't kiss you goodnight tonight, it's because I saw you take that drink from Maggie's water bowl.

Love, Mama

Life is good.

2011-10-09T15:52:00.001-07:00

The weather has cooled down and it feels amazing now. And this is what our front yard looks like almost every night now:

Carden is somewhere back there on his little quad. The kid has no idea that he's only two. He plays with these kids all the time and thinks that he should be able to do everything they do.

Life is good today.

Feeding the dinosaurs

2011-10-03T21:52:00.001-07:00

Apparently dinosaurs like dog food. Good thing since the dog won't eat it.

Brotherly love...

2011-10-03T21:45:00.000-07:00

Bathtime!

2011-10-03T20:47:00.001-07:00

2011-10-01T14:02:00.000-07:00

David's bottle leaked all over in my purse the other day (curse you Dr. Brown's overpriced bottles that always leak!) and now my purse smells like a cow died in it. Not sour milk. SOMETHING DIED IN THERE. Nasty. But on the up side, I found a hundred dollar bill in another purse I grabbed out of my closet. SCORE!

Why do I even bother?

2011-09-16T13:30:00.001-07:00

Taking pictures of 2 boys under the age of 2 is basically impossible. Oh well, they're funny to look at.

6 months for Gravy

2011-09-16T13:17:00.000-07:00

So pretty much we should have just named him Gravey, since that what he's called 90% of the time. He had his 6 month check-up yesterday and I'm still smiling I was so excited about the whole thing.

Weight-15 lbs, 6 0z
Length 25.5

So he is now 15% for head, length, and weight for a 6 month old. He just keeps doing better and better. At his last check-up (he was 2 months old adjusted) he still wasn't smiling, cooing, or making eye contact. The doctor talked about early intervention and possibly needing some help to make sure he doesn't get too far behind.

I didn't follow up with it and I glad because now! He is laughing, blowing raspberries, talks all day long, looks back and forth between people who are talking, rolls from tummy to back, brings toys to his mouth, and is pretty much just awesome. I was so happy to report that he was doing everything a four month old should be doing and then some. yay!

I think my heart just stopped...

2011-09-01T22:20:00.001-07:00

2011-08-23T21:56:00.000-07:00

He smiles all the time as long as the camera isn't out, he loves his big brother and doesn't even complain when he gets a little squished by him, he has a head that is even bigger than his brother's was, he is getting to big to carry around, he loves loves love to cuddle and be held ALL DAY LONG, he is FINALLY starting to get his days and nights in order, he still hates tummy time, he's lost all of his hair and we're still not sure what color it's going to be, and he is loved so very much. Oh Davey, we're so glad you're doing so well.

Just a little early...

2011-08-23T21:48:00.000-07:00

We like to celebrate birthdays early aruond here. Ok, actually I just like to buy my kid stuff, because he has the best reactions and gets so excited. I've been looking for a little toddler bike for him for awhile and of course we buy everything though craigslist. I came across an ad for a big wheels trike, a toddler power wheels and a bigger power wheels, both battery operated. So I picked them all up for 50 bones and now have the happiest boy in the world.

I'm pretty sure he would sleep with this if I let him. He is in heaven right now. Little boy heaven.

It's been long enough...

2011-08-23T21:29:00.001-07:00

And we actually did have some fun this summer, so I need to document it! Well, at least show some pictures, that is.

Towards the end of july we went camping with Josh's parents and some of their friends. Josh's brother has a little pop up trailer that he let us borrow, otherwise I'm pretty sure this trip wouldn't have happened. Camping with an almost 2 year old and a four month old in the rain does not sound like fun-unless you are in a trailer with a soft, dry bed!

Um, this is the only picture of David I got. And he's so bundled up in blankets you can barely even see him. Babies are really not that exciting on a camping trip. Sorry David.

Carden takes after his Dad and loves loves RC cars. I wish I could understand this, but if it makes him happy, then I'm happy. I'm pretty sure Carden is going to lose his voice if he doesn't stop making car sounds. He growls like an engine all day.

Grandma brought marshmallow guns for everyone. Carden thought it looked fun but was very confused when the marshmallow kept falling out.

Love this boy.

We haven't had one of these pictures for awhile. And I think we can wait awhile until the next one too.

Introducing 'The HO-GER'

2011-08-01T11:34:00.000-07:00

Want to Impress your guests? Glue this recipe to your 'fridge.

A Ho-ger is an eloquent mutt-like mix between a Hot dog and a Burger. Here's how you do it, take your favorite sliced bread, Salt and Vinegar Chips, sliced tomatoes, BBQ'd wieners, Guacamole, pepperoncinis, and Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce, and good company...You won't be disappointed

HogersAreTheBomb.com!

Sweet babies...

2011-07-18T23:23:00.000-07:00

And finally...

Bet you didn't even notice the baby on the last one, right? You were too distracted by that HAIR! Have you ever seen hair so red/orange/gold and shiny? I didn't think so. Poor kid. I hope he doesn't hate it too much.

2011-07-18T23:04:00.000-07:00

Five blood draws, one urgent care visit, one 9-hour ER trip, one urine test, one kidney ultrasound, and two EKGs laters, we finally got results from all of David's testing: nothing. He's fine. This past week has been a NIGHTMARE for poor Davey Gravey. We've been testing his blood since he left the hospital because he was anemic and had elevated electrolytes and bilirubin. Well this last blood test also showed that his potassium levels were in the critical range. It's easy to get a false level for potassium so they had us draw the blood again. And when that came back high, we had to draw it again and again, and my poor baby with the chubby arms is quite a fighter and does not give up his blood easily. When he had elevated levels at hte ER, everyone went into panic mode, because it's abig deal to have high potassium, so we had to do all of these other test, but luckily everything came back normal so they tested his blood one more time, and we finally got a good blood draw and the right number. Anyway it's over now, thank goodness, and everything is apparently fine.

David had his four month check-up last week and the results are in! He is chunky! Everyone at the ER was amazed that he was a premie, because he doesn't look like one now! Yay for chunky babies!

Length: 22.5

Weight: 12.7

He's now 10th percentile for weight for a four month old and 3rd percentile for length. He's on the charts for his age already! This is a big deal for a premie, because they usually don't catch up for a long time, so we are excited around here!

Holy cuteness, right? I know.

Heavy Load

2011-07-18T19:52:00.000-07:00

Anybody want to guess how much this whopper weighs?

Carden update

2011-06-26T15:36:00.000-07:00

CARS? CARS? CARS? CAAAARRRRSSSSS!!!!!!!!!

He is just a little obsessed with the first movie. And now that the second one is out and every store is filled with 40 isles of cars stuff, shopping with him is an absolute nightmare.

Carden is almost two now and I just can't believe it! Every day this kid surprises me with the things he can do! I refer to him as a constant wave of destruction and he really truly is. Our house is always torn apart and about 80% of it can be blamed on him. He definitely keeps me busy!

He loves to take things apart. Somehow he discovered that pens (like bic pens) have two parts to them, so now I am always grabbing a pen just to find that the ink has been removed from it. I have no idea how he discovered this or how he manages to take it out.

He loves to help mama fold laundry, meaning that I fold it and he grabs handfuls of it and runs it back to the dryer. I pretty much have to put away one item at a time, because once it is folded he makes a run for it to "help" me.

He has been able to remove the outlet plugs since he was about 16 months old. I can't even take these off! One day, he grabbed the vacuum, moved it to the living room, took out the outlet plug and plugged in the vacuum in and pretended he was cleaning. This was a couple months ago and I couldn't even get after him I was so surprised.

He loves pushing the kitchen chairs around the house to get whatever it is he wants. There will be times when all four chairs are in a different room in the house. He is now able to push a chair over to the front door and unlock it to make an escape. We have a chime whenever the door opens now, but it's definitly time to add another lock.

He LOVES his baby brother and always wants to know where he is. If David is crying, he tries to pick him up and he always asks to hold him. he loves to point out all of David's body parts and repeats them again and again. Eyes. Eyes. Eyes. He will say the same one over and over until you acknowledge that yes. David has eyes too.

such as big boy now!

David Update

2011-06-24T15:53:00.000-07:00

Boy have I gotten behind on blogging! This David is becoming quite the little chunk at 11 lbs now! We took him to church for the first time last week and eveyone kept commenting on how tiny he his, but compared to two months ago he is huge! I guess I forget that he is still pretty small.

David has decided to get an early start in making life difficult for his mama. About a month ago, he was having problems with his pooping. In that he pooped WAAAAY too much. He was literally filling his diaper every thirty minutes and there was no way for me to keep up with it. One night after a feeding I changed his diaper 4 times before I finally just gave up and let him sleep in it. So after doing some research on the internets, I stopped eating all dairy and a little part of me died at that moment. It is so hard to know what to eat when you can't eat dairy. Especially since cereal is the MAIN food group in our house.

One day I actually started crying because I was so hungry and nothing sounded good except dairy. when David came early, one of my first thoughts was how unfair that I was missing out on two months of all you can eat ice cream every night. So as you can see, i'm a little upset about it.

But I'm getting used to it now. I like rice milk on my cereal and now that popsicle season is here it doesn't seem quite as bad. I've had some milk twice since I went off and both times David screamed in pain all day, so that also makes it totally worth it. little stinker.

There really aren't any David updates. He still can't do anything exciting, but he is definitely becoming more aware of us. Oh! and this is exciting! He finally grew into a sleep sack we have and since then he has been sleeping 6-7 hours straight at night. LOVE IT!

I've got bedhead, yes I do!

2011-06-04T10:29:00.000-07:00

The hair is coming in! We might even get a haircut before the end of the year!

40 weeks today!

2011-05-15T21:53:00.000-07:00

Ha! Boy am I glad I'm not still pregnant...!

This little man is seriously chunking it up right now. At his last dr's appointment a week and a half ago he weighed 6 lbs 7 oz. So he gained 22 oz in 14 days. Awesome! And now I'm sure he's closer to 7 1/2 pounds. He outgrew all of his preemie clothes about a week ago, and I think we'll be out of the newborn diapers soon.

And he's learning how to do so many things already. Like poop 12-15 times a day! (absolutely not kidding. it is unreal.) This kid is a gas master just like his older brother. How do I get so lucky?

Considering all ofhte time I spend washing dishes, it's a good thing I have a little helper:

And now I can hear David squawking in the other room, so more pics later

2011-04-24T21:53:00.000-07:00

David has been doing awesome so far. He love to sleep, eat and poop. Pretty easy right now, other than the fact that I have to wake him up every three hours to eat. His pediatrician just gave me to ok to change it to every four hours at night, so I can get just a little bit more sleep.

So far, Carden loves his baby brother. He loves to throw away all the dirty diapers, and say "EEWW!" and plug his nose when he does it. He loves to "pet" him and pat his back to help burp him. I'm actually surprised at how much easier it is with the two of them than I thought it would be. But now I've probably just jinxed myself, dang it!

Seriously, what a cutie!

Here he is in his "cage." We have to put the bassinett netting on the pack n play, because Carden loves to throw things right now and we're afraid he'll try and play catch with David...

First family picture. I think we're all a little tired at this point. (And white. We are all very white in this picture. Good thing summer is here).

And what a cheeseball!

A mini Carden?

2011-04-24T21:46:00.001-07:00

David--5 weeks

Carden--5 days

What do you think?

Too tired to write much, so here are some pics:

2011-04-17T21:12:00.000-07:00

He's had a doctor's appointment on Friday.

Weight: 4 lbs., 11 oz
Length: 19 in.

Guess who gets to come home tomorrow?!?!

2011-04-13T15:01:00.000-07:00

The Birthstory: Part 2

2011-04-12T20:38:00.000-07:00

On my way to the hospital, I noticed that I was starting to have more contractions and they were a lot stronger. I think I had three contractions in a 15 minute car ride. I got to the hospital and didn't know where the labor and delivery entrance was so I just went in the ER. No one was at the ER desk when I got there and I had a least two more contractions in the ten minutes before I even saw someone walk by. I stopped a nurse and asked for help and she let me know that everyone was "busy right now so you need to wait." 5 minutes more of waiting and I was not very happy. A security guard walked by right as I was doubled over and offered to take me to the labor and delivery area. THANK YOU!

I got to L&D at 6:26 am. The triage lady was very nice and reassuring and told me about all of the reasons for false labor and lots of times it turns out to be nothing. My contractions were about 5 minutes apart on her little chart so she sent me on back to get checked and I was certain I just had a UTI or something and they'd give me an antibiotic and send me back home to rest. The nurse checked me and I could tell by her face that it was not good.

Me: Am I dialated?

Nurse: About a six or a seven.

Let me summarize this: I DROVE MYSELF TO THE HOSPITAL WHILE DIALATED TO A SEVEN! And I had NO idea that I was in labor. Am I an idiot?

My doctor was luckily at the hospital for a scheduled C-section so he was there to check me right away. I only had time to hurry and call Josh and my mother-in-law again to tell them to come to the hospital because I was dialated and would probably be here for awhile until they could stop the contractions. (Again-I'm not very bright about this labor stuff). My doctor checked me and declared that I was an 8.

Me: Ok, well lets hurry and get some medicine to stop everything.

Doctor: No, we can't stop it now, you're too far. We're having a baby right now.

Me: (Freaking out now) WHAT?!?! I can't have a baby! He's not ready yet!

Doctor: I know, but we can't stop it at this point.

Me: OK, well then lets get the IV going so that I can get an epidural.

Doctor: There's not going to be time for an epidural.

Me: (giving a serious death glare) Oh, THERE WILL BE TIME FOR AN EPIDURAL.

Doctor: (somewhat amused). Ok...we'll see.

Have I mentioned that I hate to be wrong?

They hurried me off to the delivery room and it was just me and the nurse. After about 15 minutes i told her I was feeling some pressure so she checked me again.

Me: What am I dialated to?

Nurse: Well, there's not really any cervix, just a bag of waters. Um...is your husband coming soon?

Luckily Josh got there 2 minutes later, just about the same time as the doctor and the team of about 20 pediatric nurses/who knows what, who stayed there for the ENTIRE delivery. Why is it in the movies they always show a woman with a towel over her and the doctor carefully raising it to deliver so no one sees? Because at my hospital it is not like that AT ALL. Here world, enjoy the view!

ANYWAY. Needless to say, I did NOT get my epidural. I was pretty proud of myself through the contractions. I had complete control and bit on a washcloth when they got bad and I really didn't make a sound at all. David's heart rate kept on dropping when I contracted so I made sure to control my breathing which seemed to help his rate stay up. Overall, it wasn't too bad and I thought I could totally handle the rest with no problem.

Then came the pushing and holy burning. I pushed on 2 contractions and seriously wanted to die.

Me: Just pull him out!

Doctor: Wow, you are just not stretching AT ALL.

Me: WELL THEN JUST CUT ME ALREADY! I DON'T CARE JUST GET HIM OUT.

Doctor: (amused? Annoyed?) OK ok. just let me numb you a little. (I found out later he was embarassed to be cutting a 30 weeker, which I though was pretty funny).

So he cut me and one more push and David was out at 8:13 am. And instantly the pain was gone. So crazy how I was in the worst pain of my life (up to that point) one second and the next it was completely 100% gone.

David came out screaming and I started sobbing that he was too little! And he shouldn't be here yet! But he was doing good so they let me hold him and then everyone left except for me and the doctor and nurse.

In case you're wondering if there is anything more painful than delivery a baby au natural, the answer is yes. The doctor got to work on removing the placenta and surprise! It didn't want to be removed. He kept on pushing and pushing and it was oh so very very painful. I could see he was concerned and he mentioned that I was bleeding a lot so he didn't want to wait to let the placenta take it's time to leave. So out came the tools. And the digging and the scraping of my uterus AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN. For 45 minutes. I honestly had thoughts that I was going to die right there on the table and no one was going to even know it.

I had no pain meds at all. At one point I reached up and kicked the doctor's shoulder, it hurt so bad. Everytime he would take out his hand and the spatula/rake/meat grinder I would pray that he would have the placenta and be done, but nope. They eventually gave me a sedative which did nothing for the pain, just made me too loopy to kick the doctor again. Seriously, it was 45 minutes and it was horrible. Delivering a baby was nothing compared to this. Finally it came out and later I heard the doctor talking his notes into his tape recorder. He said that a complete D&C was performed. Oh, well THAT explains the pain. Because most people are under complete anethesia for a D&C but I got to experience the whole thing!

Eventually Josh came back and let me know how David was doing. I didn't get to see him untli later that night and couldn't hold him again for a couple of days. But he's here and he's healthy now, so we have a lot to be greatful for! And next time, I'm not going to question contractions-just get to the hospital.

The Birthstory: Part 1

2011-04-10T20:50:00.000-07:00

I have a strange fascination with reading other people's birth stories. I don't know-they just interest me. So here’s mine.

The week that I had David, Josh was in California all week. We had gotten a notice from our HOA a week before telling us to clean up our weeds in the front lawn OR ELSE! We had until Thursday to get them cleaned up, so I spent a couple hours in the morning and then again in the evening on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday trying to clean them up.

On Thursday I woke up feeling not good. Just kind of achey all over and no energy. I assumed I had done too much in the yard and decided to take it easy that day. My lower back was hurting, but it had been hurting for a couple of months. I thought it was just because I was pregnant and dealing with a 17 month old baby at the same time. I had been trying to get the chiropractor for a couple of weeks hoping that would help, but just never found the time.

I was seriously exhausted on Thursday so I made sure to try and nap when Carden did, but my luck is always bad with that. Of course he only wanted a 45 minute nap that morning. I tried to put him down again in the afternoon but again, no luck. I was so exhausted that I put him in his crib and started crying, begging him to please take a nap so mama could sleep. He was surprised by my crying and was quiet for about 5 minutes, but that's all. So I brought him downstairs and laid down on the couch while he watched a movie.

It was when we were watching the movie that I noticed every time I stood up I had a contraction. No pain at all though. Throughout the evening I noticed them more often, but again they were painless and only happened when I was moving. I started to get a little nervous, so I went upstairs and researched Braxton Hicks contractions. My contractions were identical to what I found, so I managed to talk myself out of being too concerned.

Josh came home about 6ish and we played in the yard and went on a walk. I was still having lots of contractions and talked to him about it, but didn't want to make a big deal over anything. That night I took a bath and made Josh give me a back massage and surprise! the back pain was gone! I still had some contractions, but I felt sooo much better, had energy for the first time all day, so I decided that I was just fine and didn't worry anymore.

That night I woke up around 4 am and realized that a contraction had woke me up and it hurt. I can remember being surprised and thinking that this was not good. The contractions were all in my back at this point. I felt my stomach during one of them and it was completely soft, just my back was contracting. I knew that preterm labor could be in your back, but it just was so confusing to me that my stomach wasn't contracting at all. I decided that I would just go to the doctor first thing in the morning and tried to go back to sleep. Of course that didn't happen and I started to time my contractions, just for the heck of it. Surprise! They were 9 minutes apart. It was about 5:30ish and Josh was awake by then, so I called the doctor and talked to the on call nurse. She told me to get to the hospital ASAP and reminded me to go the hospital where we had Carden at (about 15 minutes from our house). There is another hospital right by our house but they can't handle preemies.

Josh and I tried calling his parents, but couldn't get a hold of them. Carden was still sleeping so we decided I would just drive myself to the hospital. I was pretty sure that nothing was wrong. If they were real contractions they would just give me some medicine and tell me to take it easy for a few days. No big deal. So I brushed my teeth and hair, changed my clothes, put on a little make up, and finally got in the car to head to the hospital.

To be continued....

Because the spoon is just too slow...

2011-04-10T20:23:00.000-07:00

Got Milk??

2011-04-01T16:16:00.000-07:00

Cause I do!! This is about 10 days of my milk supply. I now just pump and dump because as you can see, I kind of have a lot. Can I get a MOOOO?

Sometimes I hate blogspot

2011-04-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

I totally know how to write with paragraphs, but sometimes it won't let me! GRRRRR!

This is a long one...

2011-03-27T15:22:00.000-07:00

A really, really long one. So if you just want to skip to the end to see the pictures, feel free! Again, what a crazy couple of weeks we have had. Lots of ups and then lots of downs. Little Baby Davey initally was doing really well after his first round of antibiotics. They kept him on three different medications for 7 days and during that time he was awake and alert and just doing great. They started feeding him again as well. It's a very slow process-they started at 3 mLs every six hours (one teaspoon=5mls) then bumped it up to every three hours, then started increasing it by 1 mL every six hours. He initially needed a little help pooping, but after only one suppository he also started having some good poops all on his own. All this meant he was digesting his food and that everything was going great. On Friday afternoon I came back from the hospital so excited about everything. He was awake and alert with me, he was already up to 21 mLs (his goal is 32), he had a big poop all by himself, yay yay!! Then Friday night Josh and I went to the hospital together and things just went downhill. When we got there we asked to hold him so the nurse took his vitals first. He had a temperature of 100.4 and just did not look good. His temperature probe had come off so the nurse assumed his incubator had heated too high. So we took him out and held him anyway and he was seriously on fire. We checked his temp again and now he was up to 102. So they called the doctor and she decided that it was most likely another infection. This meant blood draws again, as well as a lumbar puncture and a urine sample. The lumbar puncture involved a needle into his spinal cord to rule out meningitis and a urine sample involved a catheter of course. My poor poor baby boy. They gave him a sedative, but my experience with sedatives is that they don't take away the pain at all, just make it so you can't kick the doctor (more of THAT story to come later). I just pray he didn't feel too much. They immediately started him on antibiotics again and also stopped all milk feedings. His stomach became distended so they took an xray of it and found out that his bowles were dilated, which is a pretty serious issue for him. Basically his digestive system shuts down when he has infection and this can leave food in there to sit and bloat and cause all sorts of bad things. Because of this they had to put this horirble tube down his mouth into his stomach and it sucked out the air/gross juices from his intestines/bowels. He was SOO uncomfortable with this. He had a hard time sleeping with it and it was always making him gag. They found out that the infeciton was in his PICC line, so they had to remove the line. Because they stopped giving him milk, ALL of his nutrition was supposed to be coming through his PICC though, so this meant that he had to have an IV. Actually 2 IVs, because one of the medications they started him on had to be in a seperate line. Again, my poor poor baby boy. It is a constant battle with a preemie to find a vein and when they do find one, it doesn't last for long before it "blows." And when the baby has an infection, the veins tend to blow even faster. So he has had multiple IV's put in him over the past few days and he is still on his antibiotics. But the good news! His most recent IV has lasted almost 48 now, which is honestly a miracle, especially because it's in his wrist. They are hoping to avoid another PICC line. His bowels look great, he even had a few poops yesterday, which is amazing because he really isn't getting any food in his stomach to poop out. They started him on my milk today and since he would be almost 34 weeks, they even gave it to him in a bottle and he did great with it! The goal for him is to be on milk only by Sunday and then they will stop the IV fluids. He should also be done with his antibiotics on Sunday as well, so if we can just make it until then, no more IVs either! YAY!!! They are concerned with his low red blood cell count and low iron levels. The poor guys has had his blood drawn at almost once a day for 3 weeks now and it's started to affect him. But if they can keep him ok until Monday and he is on only milk, then they'll give him a shot to help encourage blood cell production and hopefully we can avoid a blood transfusion. But that's still up in the air for now. Anyway enough of the novel, lets see some pictures!

I was going through my mom's pictures and I came across this one of little Carden:

Holy Cuteness!

One week old...

2011-03-18T21:21:00.000-07:00

And what a tough week it has been for this poor guy! I think he really regrets that decision he made to leave early...little turkey.

Well, after a couple of really hard days with not much good news, we have now had two days of good progress from little Davey Gravey. Where to start...they started him on the medication for his heart and were supposed to give him 3 doses of it. But unfortunately, Baby David started having a hard time. He was having way too many apnea episodes and also was unable to maintain his body temperature like he had been. He also had been acting lethargic and just not himself. They ran a quick blood cell count and came to the conclusion that he had developed an infection.

So, they started him on antibiotics that night and took some cultures to see what the infection was and where it was located. Because of all the problems going on and the antibiotics, they decided to not worry about that last dose of the heart medication. I also remembered that I had a cold sore a few days before I delivered him and because of that they also decided to give him some antiviral medication, just in case I had infected my newborn child with HERPES. So sad. All of this was really just preventative stuff, because they didn't really know for sure what was going on.

For the past couple of days things have been looking better. He hasn't been having as many apnea episodes (he is on caffeine to help with it though), his blood cell count looks good and he seems to have more energy. Also, so far all of the cultures have been negative, so it may have just been a little bug that got him. They haven't repeated the echocardiogram yet to see if the vein in his heart has closed, but the nurses don't hear a murmur, so they may not need to give him the 3 dose.

He still isn't taking any food yet, just his IV. The doctor thinks that they can start feeds tomorrow or the next day if his apnea continues to look good. So, basically we are still a LONG way from taking him home.

Loving some cuddle time

Isn't that IV on his head the saddest thing ever?

And I can't forget this cutie!

Davey is a week old? WOW!

Baby Davey

2011-03-16T13:15:00.001-07:00

Just a few updates on David:

They have been trying to give him some of my milk through a tube over the past couple of days, but he hasn't been digesting it, so they stopped the feeds. They noticed a heart murmur yesterday and did an echocardiogram and found out that a little vein that's supposed to close at birth hasn't closed yet. This is causing some extra stress to his heart and lungs and makes it so that his blood isn't going where it's supposed to (like to his digestive tract). They started him on a medication to close this vein, so hopefully in the next couple of days they vein will close and he might be able to try eating again. For now he's getting all of his nutrition through his PICC line.

When I saw him this morning they had put a new IV on the top of his tiny head for the medication, since all of the veins in his arms and legs are too small. So sad! But he did seem to have more energy. He was opening his eyes and kicking his little legs, so hopefully this medicine is working and his poor heart won't be working so hard.

These are all typical preemie issues that we're dealing with, so nothing to be too alarmed over. We are very greatful to everyone for their support and prayers!

Welcome home David!

2011-03-13T22:47:00.000-07:00

He's here and healthy, just a little (ok a LOT) early! Born 3-11-11 @ 8:13 am, 3 lbs. 8 oz. He was on a venitalor, but they took him off after only 12 hours and he's been doing great since then. He came out screaming and didn't stop for awhile so we knew was a fighter. They put in a PICC line yesterday and also started him on the billi lights, but that's all pretty routine for a premie. Every doctor/nurse who works with him says he doesn't act like he's little, so we're hoping he takes after his big brother and chunks up fast so we can bring him home.

Here are a few pics!

Yeah, I'm cheap like that...

2011-03-06T20:41:00.000-08:00

I have a new addiction. Couponing for me has now almost reached obsession level. But sometimes, I get such a good deal, I just have to brag about it. Like this:

I got THREE (3!!) boxes of these Pampers wipes for a grand total of $1.83! That's 61 cents for a box of 720 wipes.

And then I got a box of 84 newborn Pampers diapers for FREE! I seriously feel like I could go on and on about how many awesome deals I get. Josh thinks I'm a nerd, but is just happy that I find these deals so that I don't make him go to cloth (which I still would be ok with).

Just one more couponing story, I promise... I went grocery shopping a couple days ago and my total was $84. Not so fast though! I handed her my coupons and brought it down to $22. Seriously. 60 bucks in coupons? Other than the diaper deals, I think that was my best shopping trip yet.

Carden is NOT a fan of my couponing though. I have to limit my computer time to when he's sleeping and he thinks our shopping trips take way too long (I'm sure Josh would agree, too). And then I don't let him throw my coupons all over the room. I know. Mean Mama.

30 weeks and counting....

2011-03-06T20:06:00.000-08:00

I've been really bad about blogging this pregnancy. I don't know if it's because of the move or the one year old who thinks he's two and throws WAAAY too many tantrums and all of a sudden decided to boycott FOOD, but it just is hard to find the time and energy to blog. But I'm going to try and be better! And show you some belly pics!

I have once again had a very easy pregnancy. I was sick one day during the first trimester, felt great all through the second, and am still doing good now. My hair and skin are awesome again, no food aversions this time ( I couldn't eat chicken, spicy foods, or orange juice with Carden), reflux just started a couple of weeks ago (I had it from day one with Carden) and so far I still have energy and don't feel too much like a whale. I hope we have a girl one day just so I can see if there is a difference, or if I'm just lucky.

Here I am at 30 weeks with nameless baby:

And just to compare, here's one of me with Carden at 30 weeks:

Good to see my veins are popping out all sicknast again.

All about Carden

2011-02-15T11:56:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that this kid is almost 17 months now. Only one more month until nursery! Wahoo!

A few updates:

While we were in Utah, his language literally exploded and he now tries to say everything we do. He learns new words almost everyday and is still learning and using new signs as well. He loves to make animal noises (I think ducks are his favorite, since we have ducks at the park) and gets really excited whenever he sees an animal. I'm pretty sure he gets that from Josh.

He has been folding his arms whenever we say the word prayer for a couple of months now and we still think it's just about the cutest thing ever.

He is very good at sharing, as long as it's with Maggie. I'm a little embarassed to admit just how much food the two of them share. She is starting to get a little chunky thanks to him. He also opens his mouth really wide and tries to get her to lick his mouth. Disgusting I know and I try to stop it every time I see it happen.

His obsession with water makes me very glad we don't have a pool, at least until summer comes. He pretty much asks to wash his hands about 10 times every hour and gets very upset if I don't let him. Yesterday I was cleaning the tub and he tried so hard to lean in and get the water that he made himself throw up from all of the pressure on his stomach. He has also fallen headfirst into the bathtub three times now trying to get toys or turn on the water. Seriously obsessed.

He loves other kids. Any age. He has no idea that he is little. The only time he's ok with me leaving him is when there are other kids around.

He is becoming a daddy's boy, which would be a good thing if only Josh weren't so busy doing house projects. There are times when apparently I'm the worst thing in the world and he screams and screams until Josh can take him.

He imitates EVERYTHING, which is not a good thing when you are working on a house. We have outlet covers everywhere, but he still tries to stick anything and everything he can into a socket. He knows what to do with a hammer, painbrush, screwdriver, basically any tool that he's has seen Josh use. It's pretty funny to watch him try and paint the walls.

He is obsessed with sticks or anything shaped like a stick. He got a toy mop and broom for christmas which was great at first but have since been confiscated due to his love to chase and accidently hit Maggie with thim.

A few pictures:

Still cheesy!

And still loves food (especially whipped cream)!

Playing with the stair gate. He loved it!

What? I didn't do it?

So cool.

He kept on trying to put the glasses on himself. The best was when he pushed them on his neck so hard he gagged.

A box. The greatest toy ever.

What we've been up to....

2011-02-15T11:47:00.000-08:00

Packing, unpacking, and more unpacking! Holy crap, how did we get so much crap? And how did we fit so much stuff into two bedrooms at grandmas? Things are FINALLY starting to find places and hopefully I should be able to update a little more often.

In between the whole moving stuff, I did find time to take a trip up to Utah for a couple of weeks (pictures to come) and we spend lots of time at the park. The great thing about Arizona is there are parks everywhere and it's 80 degrees right now. Perfect.

Sometimes I like to admit I'm wrong...

2011-01-07T19:14:00.000-08:00

It's a BOY!!

And yes, we are very excited about having another boy. I hope we have a girl at some point, but for now, this really was the better decision.

If you're not sick of these yet....

2010-12-19T20:16:00.001-08:00

Josh and I did some Christmas shopping today...

2010-12-03T18:51:00.000-08:00

At first I wanted these:

Or possibly these:

But then Josh talked me into this:

It's finally official! Can't wait to start moving now! And it couldn't be better time, because judging by my pizza face, I'm guessing it's a girl.

17 weeks. Due May 15 :)

Have I mentioned I love my cricut?

2010-11-22T19:56:00.001-08:00

Crafting can be fun!

Say Cheese!

2010-11-22T19:51:00.000-08:00

2010-11-06T09:29:00.000-07:00

Three poopy diapers and it's not even 9:30. Sigh. It's going to be a long, stinky day...

ROOAAAARRRR!

2010-11-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen a cuter dragon's butt? I didn't think so.

My Favorite Things (for now anyway)

2010-10-15T20:41:00.000-07:00

Getting into drawers:

Tantrums when I can't play with things I find in drawers:

A pizza pan (I don't get it either):

He carries it everywhere

Checking out his hair in his reflection

Throwing things in the bathtub:

A puppy on a string:

The Dishwasher:

Outside:

Dear LaffyTaffy

2010-10-13T09:20:00.001-07:00

Nobody likes banana. So please stop making it. Thank you.

Confession:

2010-10-11T20:31:00.001-07:00

I watch iCarly sometimes. And I like it.

I love fall.

2010-10-10T14:58:00.001-07:00

Even though it's still in the 90's here in AZ, somehow it still manages to feel like fall.

Dear Carden,

2010-10-04T20:18:00.000-07:00

Remember when you used to look like this?

And then this?

And now you look like this:

I don't even know if I can call you a baby any more (even though I still do), because you are a big one year old! And you run all over the place and get into as much trouble as you possibly can!

I call you my little piggy, because, well you are. You love to eat and you love your puppy maggie, (you love her food as well. BLECH!). As soon as you hear me coming you take off in the opposite direction as fast as those chubby feet will take you.

Happy late birthday baby!

Love, Mama

It's A Monkey Party!

2010-10-04T20:17:00.000-07:00

The invites:

The cupcakes:

The little piggy/monkey LOVING his birthday cake!:

The birthday boy with all of his loot:

The guests:

The decorations (made with my Cricut which I LOVE!)

Overall, I'd say it was a success :) (But maybe too much work to do for the next birthday!)

Remember when Carden went on a swing for the first time?

2010-09-14T21:16:00.000-07:00

And he made super cute faces like this cause he loved it so much?

Well, now, not so much. He seriously did not breath for a full minute (red face) and never did crack a smile. I've tried swining with him in the backyard a couple times since and it's the same thing. He is so scared he grabs my arms and cries and won't let go. Maybe someday.

But he sure is happy if he gets to hold Maggie's leash!

We have a walker!

2010-08-25T08:10:00.001-07:00

(as well as a hand-clapping, high-fiving, NOSE PICKER!)

TROUBLE!

2010-08-21T09:05:00.001-07:00

The greatest invention ever

2010-08-21T09:03:00.000-07:00

All of my pictures look like this:

2010-08-07T14:56:00.000-07:00

Because Carden always wants what I have, especially if it's the camera. And if he doesn't get it he lets me know. He's skipped the cute mama thing and gone straight to MOOOMMMMM! Stinker.

What? I like food!

2010-08-04T20:21:00.000-07:00

9 month update

2010-07-11T21:53:00.000-07:00

Carden turned 9 months and decided he no longer wanted to be a baby. At least that's what it seemed like to me. One day he was still my nice quiet little baby-I could leave him on the bed to play or nap and know that he would stay right there because he couldn't go anywhere. And then one day he decided to be a BIG BOY! and CRAWL! and STAND UP! and CRUISE! all over the place! And EAT! Oh how this boy loves him some foods. ALL food. Including tuna fish, olives, pickles, roast beef, lemon garlic chicken, broccoli, cauliflower, cheese, watermelon and anything else he can get his hands on.

And he has grown so much since he last check up. 3 inches in 3 months which makes him 29.5 inches and 20 lbs 14 oz. With all this moving and growing I think he's lost some weight. He definietly looks smaller. I kind of miss my squishy baby.

We just got back from vacation, so I'm not in the mood to upload pics, so they will have to come later...

Where did my baby go?

2010-06-28T09:43:00.000-07:00

And who gave me this big kid?!

Can you see the resemblance?

2010-06-28T09:30:00.000-07:00

The Pho Hawk

2010-06-17T15:38:00.000-07:00

What? It's totally there!

I love...

2010-06-14T21:06:00.000-07:00

Walking! (with a little help)

Swimming!

A Stolen Fish! (Yeah-we'll get that back to you next time we see you Becky and JR. Sorry about that!)

FOOD FOOD FOOD!

Sharing!

My music table!

Daddy!

Blow-outs! (On Daddy!)

Poor little girl

2010-06-07T21:29:00.000-07:00

Maggie has always been a difficult dog. She's lucky we love her so much, cause anyone else would have gotten rid of her loooong ago. She stopped eating dry dog food when she was about a year old. We tried EVERYTHING to get her to eat. She went for almost four days without eating anything before we finally caved and gave her people food. Now, she won't even eat that. Seriously-what dog won't eat steak? Or sausage? I was getting so tired of being a dog chef that I finally took her to the vet.

Oh, the other thing about Maggie is she has a horrible over bite. We've always known about it, and the vet said it was one of the worst he's ever seen. So when i took her in we found out that because of this overbite, her bottom canine teeth don't match up right and have punctured holes in the roof of her mouth. That's right-HOLES in her palate! Poor girl. I don't think i would eat either. So painful for her, I'm sure.

Hello buck teeth!

So, now we get to take her to the doggie dentist to get her teeth filed down and get root canals on them. I always thought that people who spent more than a hundred dollars on their animals were crazy. But now I totally understand. I'm just not ready to get rid of her yet! Even if she is a turd 90% of the time. :)

Seriously, how can you not love this dog? Even if she does have bed ear.

LIfe with Grandma

2010-05-25T22:18:00.000-07:00

My grandmother has Alzheimers or some form of dementia and living with her has definitely been an experience. It's crazy to see how her brain works now-or basically doesn't work. We have to laugh about most things because otherwise I think we would go crazy. She does the randomest things sometimes. Like last night when I opened the fridge and found this:

(I put it on the counter for the picture) That's a bag of cashews held together with a canning ring. Why? Why? She always has to put things in another container. Example:She'll put a bag of baby carrots in the empty bread bag and then put that in the half empty strawberry container and then try and put that in the salad bowl. So random.

So one day she decided to make lunch (I usually take over everything related to meals). She cut up a baked potato and heated it on the stove. Then she added some cheese. Pretty normal right? Then came the coconut. Then the grapes and blackberries and strawberries and cashews. All together. On the stove. And tops it off with strawberry jam. And she just couldn't understand why I didn't want any!

But even though she's slowing losing her mind, she still has a sense of humor. Like today when I was playing peek a boo with Carden and was crouched down under his highchair and she poured a glass of water down my pants. Seriously-how many roommates have wanted to do that but never dared? Oh Grandma!

Swings!

2010-05-21T20:58:00.000-07:00

First time at the park! And judging by his face, I think he might like it.

Riding a chipmunk is apparently not as much fun as the swing. Who knew?

Josh bought a tripod and remote for our camera for an anniversary present, so now we can take pictures on our own. Good thing cause Grandma kept cutting off our heads :)

Today I went and visited some of my former coworkers. I also visited them when Carden was about 3 months old and back then no one said anything about his head/hair. But this time EVERYONE commented about my little redhead. SO, I'm pretty sure he is officially a redhead. Well, once he gets hair that is. Which will happen in about two years. Maybe three. Poor kid.

Sometimes, just to be crazy, I like to spike Carden's hair like this:

2010-04-24T21:51:00.001-07:00

Family pictures

2010-04-24T21:28:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, we decided to try and get some family pictures. We went to this farm house in Chandler. My sister in law knew the people who lived there, so she recommended it. Except the people who lived there didn't know us and almost kicked us off. It was kind funny. But mostly awkward. Anyway, here are just a couple...

Always so serious. Must. Have. Leaf.

Hello big blues!

With Grandma King

Julie gets married! And then Heathbar comes to visit!

2010-04-24T19:54:00.000-07:00

So this is really a catch up post. At the beginning of March Carden and I got to go on another plane ride, this time to Washington DC to see Julie get married! Yay for Julie and her new hubby! Our awesome friend Heather from Oregon also came out, so it was guaranteed to be a good time.

It was around this time that poor Carden decided that he only loved his mama and cried if anyone looked at him wrong or made too much noise. So we had to miss the awesome talent show because he cried everytime people clapped. It would have been pretty funny if only it wasn't my child. Little stinker.

So Heather and I aren't really familiar with the DC area. We left our hotel about an hour before tte wedding and went to target to buy Heather some shoes, thinking we had plenty of time. Well, the GPS took us on all of the back roads, so it ended up taking a lot longer to get to the temple. The wedding was at noon, meaning we had to be there at 11:30. Well, we got there at 11:58. Give or take a minute. We ran into the temple, me pushing the stroller. I was hoping Julie's sister could watch Carden for me, but we never really talked about it and we couldn't find her. So I stayed in the waiting area while Heather went in. I was so sad, thinking I was going to miss the wedding! The entire reason I flew out there in the first place! But! Then an incredibly nice lady sitting there offered to watch Carden for me, so I let her and just prayed that she really was a nice lady who wouldn't steal my baby. And she was and I made it and it was wonderful! Congrats Julie! Good luck with all of that cooking! Ha.

Then Heather came down to visit in Arizona last week! Yay for friends coming to visit! Heather came over for dinner, we went to the zoo, we visited at JR and Becky's house and had lots fun! Heather needs to come visit again. So does everyone else.

Happy Unbirthday!

2010-03-31T20:47:00.000-07:00

I seriously can't believe that Carden is 6 months old. Holy crap, he'll be one before I know it! After his check-up from the doctor, it's official that I still have a fat baby. 18 lbs, 10 oz. It's no wonder that I have back aches all day long. Especially since he loves to scream as soon as I put him down and don't even think about leaving him alone in a room!

Um, hi fat rolls!

Carden's favorite things to do include screaming as soon as I put him in the car seat and then screaming the entire car ride-2 minutes or 20-it doesn't make any difference. He'll scream until I take him out and then yay! I'm so happy! I love life!!

He also loves wiping his nose all over my shoulder. All of the sleeves on my shirts are now ruined, since he spits up still and it's now very colorful. When I'm carrying him on my hip, he'll shoves his face in my shoulder and then rub his nose back and forth about every 30 seconds. Seriously, don't get it.

He also loves to be thrown in the air (not more than a couple of inches Sharon! Calm down!), held upside down, kissed all over, and tickled. He is so ticklish and I love to hear him laugh. Oh and he'll play peek-a-boo with himself for MINUTES! He just laughs and laughs when he uncovers his face. It's pretty funny. I need to be better about getting it recorded. And he now officially loves food. He's only had vegetables and rice cereal so far but he loves them all (no comments Heath!). He may like diet coke as well. That's still up for debate, but you'll have to talk to Josh about that one.

First food

2010-03-14T14:15:00.000-07:00

Carden got his first taste of food yesterday. Cereals don't make a colorful enough mess for picture purposes, so I started with avacado instead :)

I love food! I've been waiting my whole life for this!

Give me more!

Just saving some for later

Apparently he was tired of wearing his church clothes...

2010-03-14T14:07:00.000-07:00

And yes, that is MY side of of the bed! Sicknast!

What exactly is the point of toys anyway?

2010-03-08T19:36:00.001-08:00

2010-03-08T19:11:00.000-08:00

My friend's baby is the queen of crazy faces. I was feeling really jealous because the second Carden sees the camera he gets serious like this:

Although once in awhile he will give me a big smile like this:

But today, he made this face. And I had to laugh.

I totally understand if you're jealous...

2010-02-20T13:49:00.000-08:00

I already thought I had the most perfect baby in the world, but now it's official. Carden is Awe.Some. This morning I discovered that Carden cut his two bottom teeth. When this happened, I have no idea because he never let me know. No complaints at all from him. No fever or fussiness or keeping me up all night or anything at all. Seriously. I am so lucky!

2010-02-16T20:12:00.000-08:00

Carden is finally big enough for his Jumparoo. Wahoo, another thing to entertain him.

I promise he really does like it. He just gets so serious whenever he sees the camera flash.

New church clothes. So big and so cute!

Miniature Josh? Ha ha!

Don't spit up on mom's crazy hair, please!

Carden's latest trick...

2010-02-16T20:10:00.001-08:00

Josh is so happy about it, because now he can feed Carden AND play on his computer at the same time.

So long, farewell

2010-02-14T14:39:00.000-08:00

We rented out our house last week! Yay! Josh put up an ad on Craigslist (have I ever mentioned how much we love Craigslist? Because we do. About half of all of our possessions have come from Craigslist. We love it.) and within about an hour we had already gotten a phone call. We showed 3 people the next day and then signed the papers that night. It's kind of sad for me-we spent SO SO SO much time on that house, cleaning it and painting it. I was still deciding on nursery colors so thank goodness I didn't ever decide and finish it! We've basically decided that we're not planning on moving back-a house always gets trashed with renters and we'd like to just keep it as a rental now. We were happy with the house, but Josh always regretted not getting a pool and is determined that our next house will have one. And now that I've been pregnant in the middle of the summer in Arizona, I'm starting to agree with him.

4 month update

2010-02-02T20:33:00.000-08:00

Carden and I survived our first plane trip a couple weeks ago. We went to Utah to go to a wedding and he was an angel on the way there. Other than the blow out all the way up the back and the projectile spitting up all over himself, me, and the seat back in front of us. Yeah, let me tell you just how fun it is to change clothes and diapers in an airplane bathroom. Luckily we had an entire row to ourselves. So funny though, when I was getting on the plane I had him in his carseat, with the base attached, as well as my purse, diaper bag and a carry on. So it was a little difficult getting to a seat and I unknowingly hit every single person in the isle with the car seat. Oops.

On the the way back however, the flight was completely full and he screamed and screamed for about 30 minutes. I was crammed next to two 20-something year old guys, just back from a weekend snowboarding and let me tell you how fun it was to nurse next to them when Carden was screaming and arching his back and throwing himself everywhere. I'm pretty sure that they will never have children now.

Wow, time goes by fast! I can't believe Carden is already four months (plus a week now)! And he's still growing strong, though he's started to slow down a little. At his four month appointment he was 15 lbs, 15 oz and 26 inches long, the 75th percentile for both. He can roll from tummy to back, but he HATES being on his stomach so much I'm pretty sure he'll be in high school before he learns how to go from back to tummy. He knows how to scream so loud to make me run in the room and think he's dieing, just to start laughing the second I pick him up. Little stinker.

A post NOT about Carden..

2010-01-21T18:24:00.000-08:00

I know, what a surprise!

My family has a baking secret and I just discovered it and decided to share it with everyone else. This is for anyone looking to cut out some fat/calories when you're baking. Using applesauce for oil = gross. Instead, use soy lecithin! (the liquid kind) My grandma is apparently addicted to it because she has about a 40 year supply of it. Seriously. Two tablespoons plus 3/4 cup water instead of one cup of oil. It works, I tried it. I'm not sure about the fat in it but i think it's like 4 grams in a tablespoon or so. Now where you buy it I have no idea because all of my Grandma's bottles are about 30 years old. And that's the other thing-it doesn't ever go rancid like oil does. I used it in some pumpkin bars and they turned out great. I'm converted!

Baby Lingo according to Josh

2010-01-18T20:30:00.001-08:00

Josh has developed his own vocabulary for all of the baby stuff. It makes me laugh so I had to share some that I can remember right now.

Stroller=Baby Cart (kind of like a shopping cart I guess?)
Car Seat=Baby Seat
Pack and Play=Port-a-Crib (like a port-a-potty?)

2010-01-10T20:13:00.001-08:00

Finally, I will get some pictures posted from Christmas! Everything has been crazy over here-grandma's house is the family party house, so everyone was over here for the holidays and I feel like I'm still trying to recover! And we've been trying to get our house ready to rent (anyone interested?) so I've been a little busy. Anyway, enough with the boring speech, let's see some pictures of a cute baby with the biggest droopiest cheeks ever!

Here we are modeling our Christmas eve pajamas:

By the way, Carden had two blow-outs and about 15 spit-ups in his pj's before we finally got the picture. I just used wipes to clean it off and then finally yelled at Josh to get out of bed and get in the picture because Carden stunk so bad!

First time opening presents:

Carden got way more presents than I did, lucky duck!

We also had Carden's blessing the Sunday after Christmas. Josh said he was so nervous, but he did a great job! And Carden was an angel of course-he didn't make a sound the entire time, even though I think Josh was hoping he would scream.

My mom made the blessing outfit. Thanks Grammy!

Holy big blues!

Our families after the blessing

And then here's just a few more random ones, just cause he's that cute! I am loving the smiles and the laughs!

I'm just a little behind...

2010-01-06T14:45:00.000-08:00

I LOVE BARF HAIR

2009-12-17T17:14:00.000-08:00

2009-12-05T19:51:00.000-08:00

Not quite...

Getting closer...

There it is !

2 months

2009-11-30T11:09:00.000-08:00

Holy chunky!

Wow, time goes by fast! Carden had his 2 month check up today and his stats are:

Length: 24 1/4-90th percentile
Weight: 13 lbs, 1 oz-90th percentile

I knew I had a big baby! Crazy that he has almost doubled his birth weight, because apparently he's not supposed to do that until he's four months. What a show off :) He is now in size 2 diapers and wears 3-6 month clothes.

For Carden's two month birthday, he decided to give his mama a present and start sleeping through the night. Yep, he can now sleep for eight hours straight, as long as he's not gassy. If I don't give him Mylicon drops he wakes up tooting.

So sleepy and fussy after his shots today

So yesterday I dressed Carden in the cutest church outfit and was going to take a picture of it after church, but he decided to have major poopy pants during the sacrament and totally blew out his diaper. Church is so much more entertaining with a baby :)

And now about me...Friday night my fever spiked again at 102.4 so we called my doctor and she recommended going to the ER to have my duct drained with a syringe. So we got there, waited for a couple of hours, paid a hundred dollars and saw the doctor for 3o seconds while he told me to go home and nurse my baby because they can't help with Mastitis. OK, because I haven't tried that one before. Whatever. I've now had this plugged milk duct for about 6 weeks. Six. Weeks. It hasn't been painful until this past weekend when I got the mastitis. And now the infection is clearing up with the antibiotics, but I still don't know what to do about clearing the duct. I'm going in on Wednesday to see if he can empty it with the syringe but the lactation consultants I've been talking to don't have a lot of faith in that. No one seems to know what to do with me because it's basically unheard of for a duct to be plugged this long. Grr. So I still don't know what's going on. But at least my fever is down and it doesn't hurt like it did this weekend!

A Special Day For Us

2009-11-29T20:29:00.000-08:00

Carden managed to make sacrament special today. Thank you my son. You make me proud.

This Thanksgiving? it Stink. Stank. Stunk.

2009-11-27T11:31:00.001-08:00

Let's start with the negative first.

What I'm NOT thankful for: clogged milk ducts, MASTITIS, 101.5 degree fevers, doctors offices and urgent cares that are closed on Thanksgiving Day, a screaming baby with an upset tummy while I have a 101.5 degree fever and no husband at home to help.

What I am thankful for: A husband who comes home when I beg, my mom and dad being in town, an aunt to runs over to help, a cousin who insists that I call my doctor EVEN IF IT IS THANKSGIVING BECAUSE YOU NEED HELP AND THEY ARE PAID FOR THIS DANG IT!, 24 hour pharmacies, drugs, and a super cute baby who is happy now, even if he won't take his nap like he's supposed to.

The verdict of this whole situation: Most likely I'll be getting surgery on Monday. We'll see if the drugs work, but I'm not very hopeful.

Just pics

2009-11-13T08:59:00.000-08:00

I hate tummy time!

What??! You've got to be kidding me!

I will almost smile for you. Almost.

Droopy cheeks!

Mama said she wants to eat me cause I look like chocolate mint. She's weird.

I'm already dressing like Daddy-shorts and long socks.

Carden's Tricks

2009-11-08T09:49:00.000-08:00

Six Weeks

2009-11-05T20:32:00.000-08:00

This is how Carden feels about turning 6 weeks old today:

I know, it's upsetting to me as well. I can't believe how fast time goes!

Carden had his one month appointment last Thursday. He was 10 lbs, 7 oz then, so now I'm pretty sure he's at the 11 lb mark.

Last Sunday, Josh said there was a baby blessing of a little boy who was about the same age as Carden. And his name was CARDON! I'm so mad. We chose this name knowing there wouldn't be very many Cardens, and to meet one so soon and in our own ward just makes me mad. GRRRR.