The New Addition

If you read my goals list in the last post very carefully, you might have noticed baby #2 on there.

Well, apparently I'm better at this goals stuff than I realized because my 1001 days haven't even started, and I can already cross that one off my list.

Here she is:

Her name is Brother CS6000i, and I love her! I have Santa, Matt, and Matt's parents to thank for bringing her to me for Christmas.

I've always liked sewing, although I'll be the first to admit that I'm not very good. I took a sewing class in high school and somehow all of my projects turned out...badly :)

I used Megan's sewing machine for a few months while we were still Utah to make some awesome baby crafts, but moving 1,200 miles away from her made me realize it was time for me to get my own.

Now that I have this great machine, I intend to expand my sewing skills and make some awesome stuff. Wish me luck!

(And speaking of Christmas, I'll post all about ours next time)

101 in 1001

I've never been very good at setting goals, so this is me turning over a new leaf in a new year!


Objective: Complete 101 goals within 1001 days


Start date: January 1, 2011
End date: September 27, 2013


BOLD means completed
italics means in progress

Food

001. Try 20 new recipes (1/20)

002. Host 1 dinner party

003. Bring dinner to a friend

004. Make Christmas cookies for all my neighbors

005. Cook Sunday breakfast 4 times (0/4)

006. Make dessert for dinner
007. Have a picnic
008. Give a huge tip to a good waiter
009. Try 15 new restaurants (4/15)
010. Make pasta from scratch

011. Decorate a cake

012. Make an entire Thanksgiving or Christmas meal

013. Plant and maintain a garden for 1 summer

014. Eat foreign food at 3 different restaurants

015. Try 5 new recipes for homemade ice cream

016. Keep a food diary for 2 weeks

017. Bake homemade bread

018. Make my own salsa

019. Take a treat to a family 6 times (0/6)

020. Make chocolate pudding from scratch

021. Make Matt’s favorite almond-dipped sandwich cookies

022. Create my own recipe

023. Try a Julia Child recipe

Family

024. Live somewhere new 2/24/11

025. Buy a house 2/24/11

026. Baby #2.

027. Take the 40-day Love Dare
028. Go on 10 dates with Matt
029. Have professional family pictures taken
030. Surprise Matt, big or small, 5 times (0/5)
031. Select someone from an Angel tree each Christmas (0/2)

032. Have FHE at least once a month for a year (0/12)

Mommyhood

033. Write a letter to Colin on his birthday
034. Take Colin to story time at the library
035. Take Colin to the zoo
036. Get Colin completely potty-trained
037. Let Colin pudding paint

038. Make a photo book for each year of Colin’s life

039. Blog about Colin’s progress once a week for a year (0/52)

040. Get a picture of Colin sitting on Santa’s lap every Christmas (0/2)

Physical

041. Run in 3 races (0/3)
042. Work out 4 days a week for 1 month (0/16)

043. Do swimming lessons with Colin

044. Use my jogging stroller to go jogging once a week for 1 month (0/4)

045. Reach my goal weight

Travel

046. Have a girls weekend trip

047. Take a spontaneous weekend trip

048. Attend a temple in a foreign country

049. Go on another cruise

050. Visit Nauvoo

051. Go to Dallas 2/11/11

052. Go to Chicago

053. Go to Disneyland or Disney World

054. Go camping

055. Go to the beach

056. Go to 4 new states

057. Visit Liberal, Kansas

058. Visit Buck and Niki

059. Take a trip to a tourist site in Oklahoma

Crafts

060. Make a Christmas stocking for Colin

061. Try 10 new craft projects (0/10)

062. Sew something from a pattern

063. Make and sell car seat covers

064. Make 2 other crafts to be sold at Western Auto

065. Start and finish a quilt

066. Learn to crochet

067. Make Colin a Halloween costume

Personal

068. Do a DIY

069. Pay for the person behind me in the drive thru. 

070. Collect 5 more Willowtree Angels (0/5)

071. Read 20 books. (2/20)

072. Send 15 pieces of snail mail. (0/15)

073. Send someone a postcard

074. Not make any clothing purchases for 6 weeks

075. Buy and not kill a plant for 1 year (0/12 months)

076. Give blood 10 times (0/10)

077. Rent and watch 2 foreign movies with subtitles. (0/2)

078. Do my hair 7 days in a row (0/7)

079. Have 4 girls night outs (0/4)

080. Play in the rain

081. Not go on Facebook for an entire weekend
082. Go to the range and shoot a gun

083. Have a garage sale
084. See a sports game

085. Plan a surprise party
086. Eat dinner by candlelight

087. Send 5 "happies" (unexpected gifts) (0/5)

088. Watch 26 movies I've never seen starting with each letter of the alphabet

A

Bounty Hunter

C

D

E

F

G

H

Inception

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

089. Send a book I’ve written to a publishing company

090. Get an adventurous haircut 1/11/11

091. Go fruit picking

092. Go on 3 double dates (0/3)

093. Start a business to edit college papers

094. Host a baby or bridal shower

095. Read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover

096. Learn a new song on the piano

097. Buy a set of fine china

098. Have my hair professionally dyed or highlighted

099. Go without TV for 1 week

100. Paint stripes on a wall

101. Inspire someone to start a 101 in 1001 list

The Oklahoma Update

Although I have visited Oklahoma many times since Matt and I have been married, the knowledge that I am now living here has given me a new perspective.

The following observations are things I have learned in the one week I have been living here:

• Most people here have a relatively strong accent (which I had noticed before), but I realized that I probably sound funny to them. I had someone tell me on Saturday they could tell I wasn't from around here...
• When I ask "where is that?" instead of measuring the distance in how many minutes it takes to get there, it is measured in miles. 
• Everything is measured in miles because you do a lot of driving whenever you want to go somewhere, and you almost always drive on a highway or freeway to get to your destination. 
• I learned on my first visit that there are some strange city names, but I continue to hear more and more of them. Okmulgee, Pawhuska, Tahlequah and Okemah just to name a few.
• There is a Sonic Drive-In on practically every corner. But who doesn't love Sonic? Especially during Happy Hour. (Sonic's headquarters are in Oklahoma City)
• People here are wimps when it comes to the cold. It was in the high 40s last week when I was talking to a girl in town about how cold it was that day. She told me she was freezing, so I told her it was probably because of the short-sleeved shirt she was wearing. I don't think she appreciated that comment so much...

Things are going well, but we're still working on organizing all of our boxes and unpacking the things that we'll need in the next several weeks. Here's a glimpse at what we're dealing with...

This is the spare bedroom where we're keeping everything
we won't need in the very near future

Today is Matt's first day at his new job, and when I talked to him earlier he said he is loving it. Everything is going well, and it will continue to get better as we become more established. This is the start to a great adventure!

One Busy Weekend

Remember in the last post when I said Colin hadn't been feeling well? Well, I didn't know how right I was until he was admitted into the hospital later that same night.

Not long after I blogged about his 2-month appointment and his immunization, I noticed he was really hot. I had him wrapped up in a blanket, so I blamed it on that. When Matt got home from work he noticed it too. We took Colin's temperature...102.3. I immediately called the on-call pediatrician who told me to give Colin some medicine and call him back in an hour. Fevers in children younger than 3 months, who show no other symptoms, can be a sign of a serious infection, so the doctor didn't want to take any chances. The hour went by, but at that point his temperature was still 101 so to the urgent care we went.

The time we spent in the urgent care was awful. If you ever think watching your child get immunizations is bad, never watch your baby get a catheter for a urine sample or have blood drawn out of a vein. Colin screamed and screamed while two nurses, a doctor, and Matt held him down as they tried to get blood. They tried both arms and an ankle without success, so they ended up just doing a heel prick.

By about 11 we were taken up to the pediatric unit of the hospital where there was only one other kid, so we got lots of attention. At this point they checked his vitals and did a respiratory panel to check for 8 common viruses.

Colin did relatively well through the night, and his fever went away, but when they took another blood sample on Saturday morning they found out his white blood cell count was even higher, so the doctor wanted to perform a lumbar puncture to remove a small amount of spinal fluid to test for serious bacterial infections like meningitis.

I consider myself a pretty optimistic person, so even though this whole ordeal was heart-breaking and stressful, there was one thing that could make me smile.

 Did you have any idea they made hospital gowns this small? :)

After the lumbar puncture, they had to start an IV in order to give him a dose of antibiotics. They wrapped the IV and strapped a board on his arm in order to keep the IV in place. It looked like he had a little cast...

Throughout his hospital stay, Colin had tons of wires all over him. Here he is showcasing the leeds monitoring his heart rate. I also have to give a shout out to Megan who spent all day Saturday at the hospital with us AND brought us breakfast and dinner that day. Megan ROCKS!

All of the cultures they took had to be monitored for 24 hours to see if any bacteria grew. So even though Colin was feeling a lot better by Saturday night, we were forced to stay in the hospital until Sunday around 3 PM. The whole experience was no fun, but we made it through and got out of the hospital just in time for Colin's baby blessing!

We had it scheduled to do during church that day, but since we missed church, we rearranged to do it at the house of my cousin and his awesome wife. (Thanks Tim and Becky!)

A bunch of my extended family and several friends came to help us celebrate. I really wish I had gotten more pictures, but as you might have guessed, I was a little exhausted and stressed. I did manage to at least get a family picture though.

And because I hadn't managed to get a picture of Kim holding Colin yet, I got one of those too. Here you go, Kim!

And if a hospital stay and a baby blessing weren't enough, we moved the next day. I was a little anxious about taking Colin on a plane, but he seemed to be feeling a lot better, so after we finished packing and loading all of our stuff in our two cars and trailers, Colin, my mother-in-law, and I boarded a plane headed for our new home. 

 He did well on both flights and slept most of the time.

Sorry this post was so long, but like the title says...it was one busy weekend.

2 Months Old!

It's true...our baby is 2 months old! (and 1 day now)

We went to the pediatrician this morning for routine immunizations and found out his current statistics.

weight: 11 lbs 12 oz (49th percentile)

length: 24 inches (83rd percentile)

head circumference: 16 inches (54th percentile)

That means he has gained about 3.5 lbs and grown 4 inches in the last two months. He is very average in everything but length. Looking at these statistics, it all makes sense as to why it's hard to find clothes that fit him...most of his 0-3 month clothes are pretty baggy on him and almost too short.

He did pretty well with the immunizations. He only cried for a few minutes, which I expected not only because he was getting shots...but because has been a lot fussier this week than usual. He was around a lot of sick people last week during Thanksgiving, and since his ears looked normal, Colin's doctor just said he probably has his first cold. I think it probably started on Sunday evening, so I'm hoping he recovers soon. Instead of waking up once a night like he had been, he has been waking up an average of 3-4 times a night for the last several days. 

We have the majority of our stuff packed up and ready to go for Monday, and we'll be spending our weekend finishing all of that up. 

I'll be sure to give an update next week after the big move!

My Baby, the TV Addict

I think these pictures say it all...

If he is cranky, as he usually is in the evenings, when he catches sight of the TV, he forgets about what was upsetting him. The second picture is my favorite...he was really enjoying the Christmas celebration at Rockefeller.

If You're Around...

If you're in the Draper area sometime between November 29 and December 2 from 6-10 PM, our stake does a live nativity that is really amazing and authentic looking.

Not only that, but Colin gets to play Baby Jesus for an hour! Matt and I will be Mary and Joseph, and Colin will be Baby Jesus from 8:30 to 9:45 tomorrow night (Tuesday), so come check it out at 12300 S and 700 W.

Colin is breaking into show biz. Don't you want to be able to say you were there at his first performance?

Thanksgiving Fun

Here it is, three days after Thanksgiving and I'm already blogging about it. This has to be some kind of record for me...

We stayed in Utah this year for the holiday to spend the weekend with a few of my siblings and their families. Mark and Mark flew in from Portland, and Emily, Enoch, and Asher drove up from Arizona. We had dinner at Kimberly's house, and enjoyed spending time together.

We got together for a dinner with a bunch of our extended family on Wednesday night, a Thanksgiving feast on Thursday, and then we got together with some family friends that used to live in Montana for dinner on Friday. So basically, it's like we celebrated Thanksgiving 3 times! At least we had different food for each celebration :)

I bet you're dying for a few pictures, right? Well, it's your lucky day!

Colin meets Other Uncle Mark

Megan and Cousin Lisa--would you believe this shot is candid?

Megan and Colin lounging on Thanksgiving Day

I'm pretty sure Colin is Uncle Mark's favorite...

Asher showing off  

Matt takes pie very seriously.
He sampled all five flavors available.

Aunt Emily was holding just Colin, but Asher got a little jealous.
We had to get a picture because they were so cute!

This is Colin with Korbin, who is 5 days younger than him.
Korbin is the grandson of the Weights, the friends we got together with on Friday.
I couldn't believe how much these two looked alike!

Goodbye, Montana!

The countdown to our move is well underway, and we're trying to fit in all of our last minute "want to's." One of the things on that list was a trip to Montana to say goodbye to the Kundis'. They are like my second family, and although I'm sad we'll be so far from Utah, we'll be that much further from them in Montana!

Since Matt already had Veteran's Day off, we headed up that weekend, also hoping to make the trip before the weather got too bad. It's lucky we made the trip when we did...the drive home that Sunday was pretty snowy, and the weather has just gotten worse since then, including temperatures below zero in Montana (I certainly don't miss that about that place).

We didn't do much while we were there, just spent time together. And they sure loved spending time with Colin :)

We also got to see my good friend, Sarah, who has a little boy 2 months older than Colin. It was fun to meet Evan and see the two babies next to each other. The whole night if one would start crying, it would set off the other one!

They're going to hate us when they are older... :)

We had a great time, and although I'm not sure when we'll make it to Montana again, I hope to see them all again soon!

Another Comparison

Most people say Colin looks just like Matt, but after a few people told me he looks more like me, I finally took a look at one of my own baby pictures. Now I'm not so sure who he looks like. I guess I'll just say he's a good mix of both of us! Matt's baby picture is 2 post below in case you want to have another look.

Opinions?

Me

Colin

The Big Move

We've been anticipating this move for awhile, but we officially have plans for our move to Oklahoma. As of December 6, we will no longer be residents of Utah! We weren't expecting it to be quite so soon, but everything has just fallen into place, which I think is a sign that this is what we are supposed to be doing.

Matt's parents are making the trip out here to help us pack up our stuff, and then his mom, Colin, and I are flying out Monday afternoon. Matt and his dad will be driving our CRV, truck, and a trailer to our new home.

Matt and his dad plan to take over the business where his dad has worked for the last twenty-something years, but the take-over won't happen for another year. It's an auto shop with a retail side, and in the meantime Matt will be working there running the retail side and managing the books.

We plan on living with Matt's parents for a few months until we find the house of our dreams. We've already started compiling a list of fun things to do around the area, so we'll be prepared when people come to visit (so you better come visit!). But forget about me or Matt, who wouldn't want to see this face?

Just Like Dad

We've had several people comment that Colin looks just like Matt. I'm pretty sure all newborn babies look very similar, but I do have to agree that Colin looks a lot like Matt. Especially when you take a look at one of his baby pictures...

And compare it to a picture of Colin...

Day 3

Right now my day looks a little something like this:

Today is the third day of my SAHM-hood. Matt's parents were here all last week, and Matt had Monday off because of Columbus Day, so I've only been on my own during the day since Tuesday. Things are going well! This picture showcases his favorite position to sleep in...head turned to the right, with his hands up by his head.

Matt and I are adjusting to parenthood well. It helps that we have the best, cutest baby ever. Colin does really well during the night...waking up every 2-3 hours to eat, but he goes back to sleep without any problem. He does well during the day too because he just sleeps all the time!

We've taken him on a few short outings, but I haven't taken him anywhere by myself other than the walk we went on yesterday. Maybe next week :)

Birth Day Pool Winner

I can't believe I forgot to mention the winner!

Following the rules of The Price is Right (being closest without going over), the winner is...

my sister AMY, who said October 1.

Thanks to all who participated. And Amy, you'll receive your prize in the mail in the next couple of weeks :)

Baby Colin

I'm sure you've all heard by now, but Colin was born last Saturday. Things have been a little crazy around here, what with being new parents and having family in town, I'm a little slow to blog about the big news.

Here is our little guy weighing in at 8 lbs, 3 oz, 19.5 in. long

And I bet you're dying to know all the details, right? I started having contractions around 9 pm on Friday night. They were about 10-15 minutes apart, but it didn't take long before they were consistently 4-5 minutes apart, which is where they stayed all night. By 4:30 am I couldn't take it anymore, so I woke Matt up and told him it was time we head to the hospital. We calmly packed up our stuff (although the majority of stuff had been sitting in a bag since the beginning of September), and we headed on our way. It wasn't at all what you always see on TV shows and movies where everyone is running around in a panic trying to get to the hospital :)

Once we got to the hospital, they checked me over and hooked me up to some machines to track my contractions and Colin's heart rate. They weren't going to admit me because I still wasn't very dilated, but they noticed that his heart rate was going down during each contraction, so they decided it was time to get him out. It only took 41 weeks, after all!

I was admitted into labor and delivery by 8 that morning, where they started me on some pitocin, and it was maybe about half an hour after that I requested my epidural...and boy am I glad I did!

It was around 10 that an on-call doctor came in to break my water, and things continued to progress from there. By 2:30 I was dilated to 10 cm, and it was time to start pushing. By this time I was exhausted. I hadn't slept at all the night before, and it had been a pretty eventful day, so I managed to fall asleep between every contraction that I had to push through. I guess you could say that helped the time pass faster ;) 2 hours later our baby boy was born!

Here we are just before leaving the delivery room to move over to the mom & baby unit

Matt is pretty much the cutest daddy...not that I'm biased or anything.

Our first family pictures. Matt and I both look a little rough,

but I think that's allowed, considering the circumstances.

And this one just because it's so cute!

Thanks to everyone who came to visit at the hospital. We are so excited about the new addition to our teeny Tiner family!

Megan Gets Crafty

Besides waiting for my baby, Megan also has a few friends who are having babies right now. When she told me she had two baby showers to go to, I told her she should make some of the many sewing projects I have lined up. It wasn't until after we bought all the fabric and started the projects that I discovered something new about Megan. She doesn't really love to sew :)

Despite this minor set-back, Megan did a great job! She

made a blanket and some burp cloths for one shower, and a car seat cover for the other.

Here she is hard at work.

And the finished product. Megan absolutely loves this dinosaur fabric,

which is mostly why she wanted me to take this picture :)

And this is the quilt she made me. She loves to make quilts, just not the sewing part of it I guess. She pieced the whole thing, and then I hand quilted it while she was out of town. She did amazing work, and I just know Baby Teeny will love it.

Good work, Megan! I'm so proud of your crafting abilities.

Welcome Letter

Dear Canon PowerShot SD1300IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Blue),

We've been without a digital camera for awhile now, and we couldn't be more excited to have you around. Although my iphone camera is convenient and has served its purpose well, it just can't take pictures like you can.

Welcome to the family! We hope you'll stick around for awhile.

Love, Jessica

Lately

It's been awhile. But I promise it's not because I'm lazy. I've actually been busy! And in case you don't believe me, I took pictures.

In the last few weeks I've been busy...

Washing all of this

Organizing this

Quilting this

Gluing together this, which I like so much that I...

Made a second one

Buying this (woohoo!)

Sewing this for the above car seat

And because of all of the wonderful people

who have given us presents, writing all of these

And don't forget, growing this!

Like I said, I've been busy, but I promise to post more soon!