Feel Better Jorydn!

Jordyn spent the morning at the hospital having an endoscopy. I think I've mentioned before that she has some really bad reflux. A few months ago they did some blood tests and started her on a medication. The tests were normal and the meds. didn't really help. So, the doc. wanted to do a endoscopy (they look in your throat, stomach and intestines with a small camera) to see if anything was wrong. Jordyn did great for the procedure and is actually acting pretty normal now! The doc. said her esophagus is damaged (no surprise there - it can be healed with meds) but everything else looked good. He took biopsies from the different areas he looked at and we'll get the results next week. You don't really want anything to be wrong, but at the same time you hope they find something so we can solve the reflux problem. I just really want to find out WHY she has such bad reflux that only started 3-4 months ago. Jordyn gets to relax the rest of the day and be pampered for having to go through something so terrible! Feel better Jordyn!

Evan successfully completed his first night sleeping in a toddler bed. He did great! He only fell out of it once (it was sad and hilarious all at the same time) and must have learned from it because he stayed curled up in the corner after that. He never got out of bed and still slept until 8:30 am. Maybe it was beginner's luck...we'll see how he does on night #2.
Evan did something cute at lunch today. I made tuna fish and pickles and decided to try and see if Evan would eat it. I've never given him tuna fish (I usually give him peanut butter and jelly) because I assumed he wouldn't like it. So, I set the sandwich down in front of him. He picks it up, looks at it, and in a very concerned voice says," Oh nooo." You could tell he was wondering where his PB & J was! He just kept picking it up, poking at it, and saying,"Oh nooo." Oh, and he didn't even eat one bite! And speaking of tuna fish... it reminded me of how much I loved tuna fish when I was elementary school age. My friend Jeni and I would mix up some tuna fish and mayonnaise, grab some spoons, and eat the whole thing straight from the bowl. I wouldn't even think of doing that now, but we loved it for some odd reason!

You're probably wondering why I posted a picture of a pile of blankets on Jordyn's bed. It's actually a picture of Jordyn napping! I went in to wake her up one afternoon and found this. She loves to curl up in a little ball too. I couldn't even tell where she was!

SISTERS!

Sister Visit

I had such a great weekend! My sisters came to visit and we had a great time. Jenny came on Wednesday and Susan came on Thursday. Just a few of the things we did: walked around Eagle Island State Park near the Boise River and played at the playground, went to a Nature Center in Downtown Boise and had a picnic, went out to eat at Fuddruckers, watched Juno and ate TCBY frozen yogurt, shopped almost ALL day on Sat. (thanks Tom for watching the kids all day!), watched Dan in Real Life and had popcorn and homemade Orange Julius drinks (Tom makes them and they are awesome), and of course we relaxed some of the time and talked and laughed a lot.

I have the greatest sisters ever! We get along so well and I love spending time with them. I'm already excited to plan our next "Sisters Vacation". Now that they are gone it's kind of sad to go back to your old day to day routine. It also really makes me want to move closer to family so I can see them all the time!

Field Trip and Carter Video

Yesterday we joined Jordyn's class on a field trip to the Zoo. It was great weather (around 70 degrees - oh, we also had a record high of 80 on Sunday!) and we had lots of fun.

This is photo of Jordyn and Miss Andy, one of the teacher's aide. We have been so fortunate to have her in Jordyn's class. She works one on one with Jordyn and has really bonded with her. She even chose to move up with Jordyn to Kindergarten! I can just tell that she loves Jordyn so much and really loves working with her. The thing around Jordyn's neck is a checklist for finding the animals. They put a sticker of the picture of the animal when they see it.

Carter enjoying the Zoo.

Evan checking out the birds.

I had to include this photo because the whole time we were walking around we kept trying to get Jordyn to look UP at the animals that were climbing around or up high in their cages. Of course she never would and would sometimes look the opposite direction of the animals. So, I got this photo and was so happy! She was looking UP at some monkeys!

So, I guess this video is mainly for Grandpa & Grandma and Ninny & Pa. I know most of you don't need to see every little developmental milestone that Carter meets, but I can't help but be so excited. He seems to be doing some things early, so we are loving that. Obviously Jordyn missed out on doing a lot of things and Evan was always a few months behind other kids! Carter was getting pretty close to rolling over (from back to stomach) and one day he suddenly did it. Now that is all he wants to do when you lay him on the floor. I LOVE the little squeel he gives out at the end of the video... it's like he's saying,"Yay, that was fun!"

Bargain Freak?

I have to tell everyone about the great purchases I've made recently. I think I've turned into quite the cheapskate in some ways. When I decide to buy something I have to research it to death. I have to find the best product for the best price. And the thought of paying full price for something I want, makes me cringe. I always check Craigslist and Ebay before ever looking at an actual store. And if I buy it at a store... it's on clearance or at least 40% off.

I have to say, Tom and I are pretty tight with our money. The only time we really ever buy things for ourselves is on Christmas, our birthdays, or with our tax return. And you probably guessed it, everything I bought was with our tax return money. And you'll be happy to know we paid down a lot of debt with the majority of our tax return. So, I'm pretty proud & excited (maybe too excited!) about the things I bought and the great deal I got on them!

#1 A Scentsy Wickless Candle - if you haven't heard of these yet, you probably will soon. It's another one of those products that people throw parties and want you to buy the product. I found out about these the day we moved here and have wanted one ever since. They are actually a little pricey though. So, I finally decided to shell out the money to buy one. I paid full price,(eeek) but that was AFTER I check craigslists and ebay and found nothing. But I did get it with no shipping or tax. I really love the product too... the scents I chose smell really good and you can choose how strong you want the scent to be in your home. And no flame so I'm not constantly thinking about it. Hmmm maybe I should start selling them..... NOT.

#2 A new Cathe workout DVD! I was getting bored of my usual workout tapes and felt like I needed a change. I really love Cathe's videos, they are my favorite by far. They are extremely challenging! They are usually around $26 + shipping. I got one on Amazon for $20 total... brand new. Oh, Amazon is another place I always check for cheaper things. I also bought a resistance band, for the new dvd, for $8 total. I got it on a fitness wholesale website. I think I saved a few dollars on that one.

#3 And the best for last. An IPOD, armband, and headphones! And guess how much I got it for? $18.50 total! It's the 1st generation IPOD shuffle (512 MB - 120 songs). I really just wanted it for running so I don't need a million hours of songs. And I actually like not knowing what order the songs will play in. I found someone on Ebay who was selling the IPOD (it was used - the only downside), a running armband (gotta have one of those!), and wrap around your ear headphones (perfect!). The fact that it was 'used' made it really easy to win the bidding. I don't mind if things are used, as long as they are still working well. I went running with my new gear last night and the 4 miles flew by so fast!


I just love buying things for way cheap! What should I buy next!?

Evan's Good Manners

This is video from our dinner tonight. Evan has a bad habit of burping after he drinks his milk. The funny thing is, he is actually pretending to burping! He must have learned it from someone (who will remain nameless) and now thinks he has to burp after every drink. It's really hard not to laugh at him. So, I decided to get it on video so we can look back and laugh at it, but now I have to try and teach him it's not good manners! I have to say though, he does a REALLY good impression of a burp!
(I videotaped from behind Evan because I was afraid that if he saw me he wouldn't do it.)

I really haven't been able to think of anything to blog about lately. We just haven't been doing much at all. Well, I guess this week for our Young Women's activity we went swimming at the Y. It was way fun. We played volleyball, went down the waterslide, jumped off the diving boards, and went in the hottub. It really felt like I was one of the Young Women again and just hanging out with my friends. We had a blast with the girls! And last night I had my "Girls Night Out". We went to Gandolfo's to eat and then to see 27 Dresses. A friend in our ward is the general manager of Gandolfo's and gave us a bunch of free sandwich coupons. I think the whole night only cost me $5.50! I suppose I did have a fun week afterall!

I posted a few pictures of the kids. Carter is all smiles now and loves sucking on his fingers. A few night ago he slept for 7 hours straight too! But, I guess it was a one time thing for now because he hasn't done it since. I had fun the other day taking pictures of Evan and Carter together. Evan will finally hold him for longer than 2 seconds. I also put a few funny pictures of Evan. It seems like I get a lot of pictures of him making funny faces!

We finally cut Jordyn's hair really short. It was looking pretty bad in the back since she's pulled out a lot of it. I'll have to get a few pictures of her haircut soon and post them. The other day I got a call from Jordyn's school. They said she was out at recess and one of the kids ran into her and knocked her over while she was in her wheelchair! They said she cried for a few minutes, but was ok. Luckily she didn't hit her head! I felt so bad for her and a little bad for the kid who ran into her. You would probably feel pretty terrible if you knocked over a kid in a wheelchair!

Well, hopefully I'll have something interesting to post about soon. Until then, this will have to do!

Birthday Extravaganza!

Well, the celebrating is officially over. I think it's actually really fun to have two birthdays in a row. We're always kind of sad when Jordyn's B-day is over, but then we realize that we get to celebrate Evan's the next day!

Thursday night we went to Build a Bear (courtesy of Aunt Jenny and Uncle Chris) and Jordyn and Evan both picked cute dogs. You can see in the photos that Evan's dog is just wearing camouflage underwear. Very stylish. I helped Jordyn pick a cute shirt for her dog and then we bought a cool wheelchair too. Evan has been playing with that wheelchair ever since and has also been trying to sit in it himself. We keep trying to tell him his butt is too big. Then we came home and ate cake & ice cream and opened presents.

Friday we took Evan to McDonald's for the first time, to have a Happy Meal and play in the Play Land. He loved every minute of it. Then we ate his cake and he opened his presents. I think the kids had great birthdays! Click on the photo below to see all the fun!

Birthdays

Happy Birthday Evan!

And the second day of celebrating begins! Today Evan is turning two years old. We've been trying to teach him to say "two" and hold up two fingers. He says "oooo" (sounds like two without the T) and holds up one finger on each hand. Happy Birthday Evan! We love you!

Happy Birthday Jordyn!

Jordyn is turning five years old today! As I was choosing what photos to post on her birthday, I couldn't help but spend at least an hour looking at old photos of her. I love remembering the last five years of Jordyn's life and seeing how much she has changed. We'll do most of our celebrating tonight and post photos of her birthday in a few days. Happy Birthday Jordyn, we love you!

Five Years Ago Today:

• It was the first day of spring.
• It was the first day of the war in Iraq. (We still have the newspaper from this day announcing the war. Can you believe it's been 5 years!?)
• Gas prices: $1.49 - $1.55 (WOW!)
• Milk prices: $2.27
• Movies Playing: Find Nemo, Pirates of the Caribbean (1st), X2: X-Men United
• The temperature in Billings, MT: High 55 Low 32
• People with the same birthday: Big Bird, Spike Lee, John Brahm, Napoleon Bonaparte II

1st Birthday

2nd Birthday

3rd Birthday

4th Birthday

YOU DID WHAT!?

1. I permed my hair.
2. I ran a 5 mile race on Saturday.

Here's a photo of my new hair. I have been wanting to get my hair permed for a long time. Many of you probably know that when you have straight hair, you want curly hair & when you have curly hair, you want straight hair. I have to say that I think it looks a little better in person... not the greatest photo in the world. But, I do like it and the best part is that is it SOOO easy to do in the mornings! No more blow drying for 15 + min. (I have a lot of hair) and then curling for another 15 min. We'll see how I feel in a few months and if I want curly hair permanently. Actually, I was hoping it would be a little less curly, more like big waves, but oh well. Maybe next time I'll try for bigger curls.

Saturday I ran a 5 mile race with my friend Holly. We were planning on running a 5k and at the last minute, Holly talked me into running the 5 mile instead! It was tough, but we ran the whole way and it went great! Now that I've run a 5 mile race, I feel like I can train for a half marathon that's coming up in May. I think it will feel so cool to say that I ran a five mile race when Carter was 2 1/2 months old and a half marathon when I had a 5 month old. Actually, maybe that just sounds crazy!

Just a few other things going on in my life. I got a new calling at church and now I'm the first counselor in Young Women's. That is always a great calling. It's fun to hang out with the girls and we have a really great bunch. I also think it's so hilarious to hear all of the "drama" that goes on in their lives. The funny thing is that it is soooo trivial, but they think it's such a big deal! I just listen to them and laugh to myself!

After having Carter, I was pretty excited to lose the baby weight (as you can imagine). I started keeping track of my weight loss when he was about 1 month old. I feel like after a month you kind of plateau and actually have to start working hard if you want to lose the weight fairly quick. So far I've lost 16 pounds. Sadly, I gained a lot of weight with Carter's pregnancy and I still have 20 lbs. to reach my goal weight. But, I think it's going great so far. It's funny how weight loss is such a roller coaster ride. One day your so motivated and doing great. The next, your bored or frustrated and sick of it. Most of the time I think it's actually fun to make goals (what I'm going to eat, what I'll do to exercise on certain days, etc.) and work to reach them. I love reading magazines, books, and articles about eating healthy and exercising. And of course I love when I see results from the hard work.

Smiles

Carter started smiling today and I couldn't resist posting the first photos. They're not the biggest smiles in the world yet, but I was so excited. If you look at the photos up close, you can see Carter's long beautiful eye lashes.... so cute! Evan and I just about injured our faces from trying so hard to make Carter smile. Here's one of Evan's faces while we were making Carter smile:

Big Brother. Evan has been getting a lot of "time outs" lately. He hasn't quite figured out what "soft" means when it comes to playing with Carter. He tries to roll Carter across the floor, throws balls at his face (very soft balls!), pats his back (rather hard), and climbs all over him. I got a few photos of him the other day trying to play with Carter. Notice in the bottom right photo, both of Evan's hands and feet are OFF the ground! Poor Carter... he's very tolerant of his big brother already!

Kiddos

If this picture looks familiar it's because we have about 10 different versions of it... Evan dumping his food out and putting the bowl on his head! (That is why I just can't bring myself to move him to a toddler chair yet, but I really should!) Another new habit he has is during his night time snack. We give him a little bowl of cheerios and milk. Then he picks all the cheerios out, puts them on his tray, drinks the milk out of the bowl, puts the cheerios back in the bowl, and then eats them. Interesting way to eat a bowl of cereal!

Poor little Jordyn has been sick the past few days with a fever. It's so sad when she's sick because she seems to get really sick and for a long time. But strangely, instead of being grumpy she is always really quiet and happy! So, that's nice for us I suppose. I took this picture of her the first day she was sick.... she fell asleep like this! She just wouldn't lay down to sleep!

I couldn't leave Carter out! I think I say every day that Carter is getting cuter and cuter. I think those first few "hard" months are over. He is getting on a schedule and we're figuring out how he likes to fall asleep and what he likes. He's sleeping longer at night too which is great! He's a little angel.