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!