Derek, Janessa, and Rowan

2.5 years

2012-01-31T21:18:00.001-07:00

My sweet, precious baby boy is 2.5 years old. He is such a hilarious little man, and we seem to love him more everyday.

All things Rowan:

-He's POTTY TRAINED! We started on NYE and he is now completely trained. He hasn't had an accident in about 10 days and always tells us when he has to go. He even goes to nap with no diaper. He still goes to bed with a diaper at night, but 95% of the time he wakes up dry. I am so proud of him!
-He is so excited for his Baby Sister to arrive. He loves to kiss my belly and talk to her. He constantly tells me how he wants to share his toys, food, etc. with her...which is a big thing for him because he isn't a sharer. He likes to look at her clothes/bows and say "It will make her SO happy"
-Is finally sleeping through the night consistently and is pretty good about falling back asleep if he does wake up at night.
-He started preschool in September. He goes one day a week for 3 hours and I go with him. He really enjoys it
-He loves to sing. He can memorize songs within a few times of me singing them. Some of his favorites to sing include: Frosty, Rudolph, Ring Around the Rosies, Old McDonald, ABC's, Itsy Bitsy Spider,
-He also has a few nursery rhymes memorized: Baa Baa Black Sheep, Humpty Dumpty, It's Raining, It's pouring, and Little Miss Muffett
-Loves to help. Whether it's in the kitchen cooking or taking out the garbage, he is always eager to help out.
-Really enjoys little toys. He has a large collection of little disney/thomas figurines that he plays with everyday.
-He is really good at pretend play. He makes his toys talk to each other and is always roll playing conversations that we just had with them.
-Is still a pretty good eater. He loves all fruit and that is always the first thing gone off his plate. He also loves cheese and will throw a fit if he can't have a string cheese when he wants one. He is a snacker, and loves me to make him "snack mix". His favorite veggies are cooked carrots and peas. He also really loves Mac & Cheese, Indian Food, and Pizza
-He is very vocal about not liking certain "friends". There are a few kids in our mommy groups that he doesn't like and he tells me constantly "I don't Love_____"
-His favorite friends to play with are Kellen and Athina.
-Really loves Cars, Thomas, Toy Story, and Princesses.
-Went and saw Beauty and The Beast in 3D and did really well. He sat through almost -the entire thing!
-If you say "Rowan, you were such a good boy" he will say "I am not a good boy". If you say "Rowan, we use gentle hands with friends" he will say "I want to hit my friends"...still trying to figure this all out :)
-Has the poem from the book Love You Forever memorized and loves to say it to Dada before bed.
-He tells us "I love you more than anything" and "you are my best friend ever" all throughout the day.
-He has to come give me a kiss goodnight on the couch every night while I'm "sleeping". After he does it he will say "I love mama so much". It's the sweetest thing ever.
-If you ask him what he dreamed about it's almost always "Lightening McQueen, Mater, and Bluey" (He calls "Sally" "Bluey")
-He enjoys "candle baths" and likes to "distinguish" the candles when he's finished
-Can recognize more than half of the alphabet.
-Is a very snuggly boy.
-Likes to watch "family shows" play "family games" eat "family dinner" etc. He always announces we are doing stuff as a family when we are all together.
-Loves to have things "match-up". Pretty sure I taught him this. He will get his trains to hold while we read a Thomas book and say "this is the perfect match-up"
-Got a balance bike for Christmas, and is extremely good at it. He can even put his feet up and glide!
-Loves flashlights
-Sometimes he will mope around the house and when I ask him what is wrong he will say "I'm sad. I have nobody to play with." He says it in the saddest voice and it's usually when he misses his Daddy.
-Still has an amazing memory. He remembers things we did MONTHS ago.
-Loves to spin in circles, have dance parties, run, and jump!
-Enjoys doing "projects", which is what he calls any art activity.
-Is good at telling jokes and even makes up his own.
-Was a cowboy for Halloween and would run around saying "yee-ha!" and "giddy up"
-Is really into holidays. He loved all the holidays and the decorations, toys, and books that went with them.
-When it's time for bath I say "oh no, mama is turning into a rake" and wiggle my fingers. He screams and runs as fast as he can to the bathroom and shuts the door. It's hilarious, and the only way he will start bath time!
-Has started asking "why" and "why not" a lot.
-Is such a good boy. He never throws all out tantrums on the floor...he will just cry for a bit if he's upset, but most the time it doesn't last long.
-Knows to take his shoes off when he comes inside and to put them away.
-Has the cutest laugh...he also finds himself to be rather funny!
-Loves rhyming words. He will say "Lets look in the bucket lucket" or "Lets read a story bory"

I can't believe we are half way to 3! He is such a joy and we always end the day telling each other about all the funny things he did that day.

32 weeks (almost)

2012-01-21T21:40:00.003-07:00

Exactly 2 months until we meet our sweet baby GIRL! I really can't explain how excited we all are to have Baby Sister join our family. Rowan is so in love with the idea of her, and I really hope he still loves the idea once she is actually here.

The pregnancy is going really well, with no complications as of yet. My only complaint is the pressure she puts on my bladder/cervix that causes some serious pain at times. Heart burn has recently started, but hasn't been as bad as with Rowan's pregnancy. I still have some major food aversions and get nauseated about once a day, but it's gotten TONS better!

She is a crazy mover. I am constantly amazed at how she moves my stomach around. I don't remember ever seeing so much movement with Rowan. She is definitely a strong little girl!

We do have her name picked out, but haven't agreed on how to spell it :) She has a major bow collection and her clothes selection isn't too small either! It's so much fun to shop for little girl things...there is so many more accessories and things to choose from than when I shopped for Rowan.

13 weeks

2011-09-16T17:24:00.004-06:00

We were able to see our little "Happy Face" on Tuesday when we had an ultrasound done. We decided to participate in the First Trimester Chromosomal Screening, so the ultrasound was for that (I also had a blood test and got a gigantic bruise!). Luckily the baby cooperated and we got to see some really cute images. They displayed the ultrasound on a tv on the wall, which made it so much more fun to watch. Our results came back great from the test, pretty much as good as you can hope for, it was such a relief! I had my doubts with doing the test, but now that it's over I am glad that we did it. We have our next appointment on the 30th of this month, and I am so looking forward to hearing a strong heartbeat again. I sure do feel blessed that everything is going so well.

11 weeks 2 days

2011-09-02T21:10:00.003-06:00

We had our 2nd OB appointment today and everything went great! We got to hear the heartbeat on the doppler which was neat, a strong 160 bpm. I have lost 2 pounds due to my extreme nausea and my mouth tastes like metal all the time...gross. She said both things were normal.

I really love my new doctor. She has a very calm and happy presence, which will be perfect for when I deliver.

Rowan loves to ask what "happy face" is doing and to kiss my belly before he takes a nap. I hope he keeps this sweetness up when the baby actually arrives.

We decided to do the First Trimester Screening test which is a blood test and ultrasound. I was never offered this test with Rowan so I didn't know about it. I was really hesitant to do it as it's not a yes or no test buy a chances test. It mostly tests for Down Syndrome and Trisomy 18. Our insurance covers all of it, so after discussing it in more detail with my doctor I decided to do it. I do like that I get to have another ultrasound at 13 weeks as well!

We also scheduled our big 20 week ultrasound today. It will be October 28th...so far away! I'm pretty sure it's another boy, but everyone else thinks it's a girl. I just can't imagine having a girl, so that's probably why I think it's a boy :)

7 weeks 2 days

2011-08-05T21:31:00.003-06:00

Well, since Rowan is 2 now and I am not sure I will do monthly updates I decided pregnancy updates can take over :)

We found out we were pregnant on July 9th. I was in UT when I found out and text Derek a picture of Prego spaghetti sauce...get it...
We were both thrilled that it happened so quickly, the first month trying to be exact.

I told a few close friends right away but we waited to tell family until Rowan's party. We gave Rowan the Berenstain Bear Book called "The New Baby". Most people caught on right away, as we had told everyone that Rowan was opening a very special present but some people had to be told!

I have been feeling pretty crummy, but it could be worse. I have only thrown up once and mostly just been extremely nauseated. I also have no appetite and a lot of food aversions...especially to cookies which could have something to do with me cooking dozens and dozens of cookies for Rowan's party when I felt like I was going to lose my lunch!

We went to the doctor today and everything checked out great. We got to have an ultrasound and the baby measured perfectly. We also saw it's little heart flickering on the screen and even got to hear it. It was such a special moment to realize that we were indeed going to have another child. They also confirmed my due date of March 21, 2012.

Our kids will be 2 years and 8 months a part which is exactly what we wanted. It really couldn't be any more perfect :)

2 Years

2011-07-30T18:11:00.002-06:00

My precious baby boy turned 2! He is such an amazing little guy and we feel so lucky to have him as our son.

At 2 years Rowan...

-Loves to be silly. He is constantly doing something to make us laugh. Once he does make us laugh he usually does it over and over again. Too cute.
-Says he's "very tricky". He loves to show off his tricks to us and say "Rowan very tricky". Some of his tricks include holding his taggy blanket in the crease of his leg (ya know when you bend your knee), or doing a plank position from the ottoman to the couch.
-Has the most amazing memory I have ever encountered with a 2 year old. Seriously, this kid remembers details about things that happened months ago, he will start singing songs he hasn't heard in a month or more, remembers random places that we have been to once just by pulling into the parking lot...it's incredible.
-Started having a bit of a studdering problem that lasted for about 2 weeks. Then it went away all together and now he just seems to do it when tired. From my research I think it's just because he can't process all his words fast enough since he has such a huge vocabulary. It was kind of freaky though.
-Loves to eat Cheese Dosa's with Sambar.
-Loves to hop like a frog and say rib-bit, or walk like a dog and bark
-Is very polite. Says thank you and please constantly. My favorite is when he says "thank you very much" and "yes, please!"
-Loves to sing songs. He also makes up his own songs now.
-Loves to count things. He may not always get it right, but he tries really hard.
-Really enjoyed his birthday visit to Utah. He talks about his cousins all the time. He even made up his own bedtime story it goes "once upon a time there was a Gigi, Kolten, and Wyatt"
-Likes to help with his "chores" which usually include: taking out the garbage and getting the mail with dad, and cleaning up his toys.
-Has gotten really good at playing pretend. He makes his cars talk to each other. The other day I heard his fire truck say to the purple car "it's very nice to see you today"
-Had a Cookie's and Milk themed birthday party.
-Likes to stall bedtime and nap time as long as possible. He tries to be super silly and "tricky" so we won't make him go to bed.
-Will tell us when he poops and pees. I think potty training will start soon. He also calls his poop "big blueberry poop" because one time he ate a lot of blueberries and that's what I said to him.
-Loves to swim and doesn't even mind when he goes underwater.
-Constantly asks the questions: "What's Rowan (or mama, dada, etc) doing?" and "what's that called?"
-Learned how to gallop and "jump really high!" from his Gigi
-Found out he is going to be a BIG BROTHER in March! I know he is going to love (and be jealous!) of the new baby.

23 Months

2011-06-24T20:34:00.003-06:00

One more month and he will be 24 months...2 years. This month has been so much fun and he seems to be turning into such a big boy!

All about Rowan:

-His Grandma (Derek's mom) came out to visit for the first time over Memorial Day weekend. We had so much fun visiting a lot of our favorite places and eating yummy food.
-Went on his first big boat ride. It was the Ferry that took us back from riding across the Golden Gate Bridge.
-Went to Gilroy Gardens for the first time and road lots of fun rides! He loves the rides and didn't get scared at all.
-He Loves to go swimming and got a new "floaty" that he loves to wear. I bet by next summer he will be swimming all by himself!
-Has been enjoying stroller rides again. He gets mad if we start to walk back home and will tell me to "go dat way" while pointing his finger in the chosen direction.
-Loves to play pretend with his toys.
-Has gotten really good at remembering his manners. When I tell him to use a nice voice (when he's whining) he will always say "please" and then whatever it is he wants me to do.
-Always says "please mama hold you please" when he wants to be held.
-When he wants me to go somewhere he says "please mama come"
-Has started saying "look" when he wants to see something such as: what's in the microwave, what's in my mug, in the freezer, etc.
-Learned how to do a push up.
-Is having a hard time going to sleep. Daddy is so patient with him though.
-Loves The Cat in the Hat. If you ask him who wrote it he says "dr. Euss"
-Has so many books memorized. If you start reading a sentence he will finish it. It's amazing. We will read a book once and the next time he already knows it. He can also do this with songs and nursery rhymes.
-Loves to pretend to read his books. He will say words that he knows are in the book and lay on the floor and read them.
-Talks about his friends all the time. He will ask to play with certain friends and he also knows which friends he doesn't care for so much :)
-He has started to throw a few more tantrums then he was last month. Usually when he wants a toy that somebody else has. He also has a hard time sharing any of his favorite toys. I'm glad it's just a stage.
-He know that we only throw balls and only jump on the floor.
-Will laugh at himself when he says something funny such as "Rowan eats dump trucks" then he will laugh and laugh.
-Loves to be tickled and will say "more tickle"
-Leaves the "s" sound off of a lot of words.
-Likes to pretend he's going to Hawaii to see Gigi and Meema
-Learned his full name. However, sometimes when you ask him what his full name is he will say "Papa Kevan Deviny"
-Will let me put sunscreen on his face without freaking out.
-Is still rear facing in his car seat
-Loves to pretend to be a baby and have me rock him in my arms. I love this as well.
-Says "I love you" without being prompted
-When he gives you big hugs he always makes an "ahh" sound
-Is definitely the cutest, smartest, silliest, 23 month old boy I have ever met!

5x7 Folded Card

2011-06-08T21:54:00.001-06:00

I Love Daddy Father's Day 5x7 folded card

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22 Months

2011-06-05T07:35:00.002-06:00

Things he is up to:

-Spent his first week without us while we were in Hawaii. His Meema stayed with him and he had a blast!
-Is now weaned. I think being away for a week really helped with that one.
-Loves to sing...
-Can sing half of the ABC's
-Sings the first verse of Twinkle Twinkle, only he says "winkle, winkle"
-Sings "here we go round mulberry bush early in morning" while running in circles
-Can sing all of Row, Row, Row your boatt
-Sings Happy Birthday To You
-Makes up his own little songs
-Said his first long sentence "Mama eating breakfast while reading paper"
-Says more sentences when he talks instead of just single words.
-Loves to play with his "babies" which are all of his stuffed animals. He is so sweet with them and will read them stories, rock them, and feed them.
-Loves Cheese Dosa's. He gets so excited and impatient when we order them.
-When you ask him what he wants for lunch he will almost always say "macaroni and cheese with peas"
-Loves to say "hello everybody"
-Is getting better at playing by himself for short periods of time.
-Gets so excited to see his friend Kellen. He knows that Kellen has trucks and a cat at his house.
-Has a really good memory.
-Throws really well and is learning how to catch.
-Knows that Starbucks has Coffee and Banana's...thanks to Meema for buying him a Banana at Starbucks everyday she was here.
-Says his own name really well now.
-Had his first chocolate treat at his friends Ryan's birthday party. He LOVED them and had chocolate all over his face!
-When he get's frustrated with things he will often throw the item he is frustrated with or hit something. We are working on this.
-Is a really good listener.
-Pretends to read signs when we are out on walks. He goes up to them and says different letters.
-Knows that the leasing office is where we pick up packages and will often times ask for a package when we walk by it.
-Can name different construction things such as Bulldozer, cement truck, trailer, etc.
-Loves to give snuggles and loves
-Will say "I Love You" when you say it first
-Is starting to wear his 24 month shirts, pants are still too big.
-Is wearing a size 6 shoe in pediped brand, but size 5 in crocs and other sandals

1.75 years or 21 months

2011-04-30T13:45:00.005-06:00

Not a whole lot has changed this month. Just getting better at the things he already knows how to do. There are a few things though...

-He will repeat pretty much anything you tell him to say. My favorites right now are "Happy Birthday, Mama" and "good job, mama" He likes to tell me both of those things over and over throughout the day.
-can count to 10, although he sometimes forgets number 4
-Loves going on walks in his "red loller" (stroller)
-Is really into painting, coloring, etc.
-Finally touched playdough with more than just his finger. He's still not a huge fan though.
-Loved Easter and going on egg hunts. He had so much fun putting them in his basket. He also loved finding his snacks in them. He didn't get any candy in his eggs, but he thought the raisins, crackers, and cheerio's were fantastic!
-Will sing a song when you ask him it goes something like this "la, la, laaa, laaa,la"
-Likes to cook us things in his kitchen. My favorite was when he brought us "coffee" in bed on my birthday.
-Loves to swing at the park. He will stay in it until I make him get out.
-Is almost weaned. He is only nursing once a day to every other day.
-His big boy bed has been moved into our room and will be there until we figure out what to do with him...
-Loves to point out that the people riding motorcycles and bikes have on helmets.
-Is wearing 18 month pants and mostly 18 month shirts, however some of his 24 month shirts fit him.
-Loved wearing his little suit on Easter. He kept saying "fancy"
-Has such a strong love for books. He will sit through a whole Berenstain Bear book 2-3 times in a row.
-Is so active. He just goes, goes, goes.
-Knows two jokes. What's a pirates favorite letter? "ARRRR" and How much does a pirate charge for corn? "buckanear" I love it when he ways buck-an-ear...it's simply adorable!
-Plays so well with other kids. He tries really hard to share and take turns.
-When he doesn't want to go somewhere while your holding his hand he just drops onto his knees. We're working on this one.
-Is an all around awesome toddler!

20 (and 19) Months

2011-03-30T14:03:00.005-06:00

Better late than never, right? The past 2 months have just flown by. Rowan is learning so much every day it's hard to keep up with. In my head he just turned one and is so hard to believe that he will be 2 in four short months!
Some stuff he has been up to lately:

-Talking, talking, and talking. I know I say this in every post, but boy can this child talk! His verbal skills are way ahead of the game. He has started saying 2-4 word sentences, and some of his favorites are "dump it out", "more _____ please", "mama do it", "dada eat lunch work"...meaning that he remembers that daddy has to eat lunch at work before he comes home. "mama/dada hold you" meaning he wants to be held. "mama get you" when I get him from his room in the morning. The other morning he did say "mama get me"
-He will say "excuse me" when he burps, farts, hiccups, or coughs. It's so adorable. He also tries to blame his burps on his mom and dad!
-Has gotten better at his colors. He knows blue, red, green, yellow, purple, pink, orange, black, white, and sometimes brown. He will point out cars that are different colors as well as specify what color crayon/paint he wants to use.
-Loves trains. We read his train book at least 5x a day. He can identify the different types in the book as well. These include: Steam, electric, monorail, freight, mountain climber, and snow blower train. Oh, and the railroad crane.
-He can repeat the whole alphabet (as in repeats the letters after we say them) He does a great job at pronouncing them as well.
-When he says the letter "u" he says "you, you, you" while pointing to us.
-Started putting an "uh" sound at the end of a lot of his words. He finds it funny most of the time. So instead of his normal "Pease" he says "Peauh" (please)
-Can now get his feet off the ground when he jumps...just barely though.
-Can climb the ladders at his gym class
-Loves to give his friends hugs
-Will give us "loves" even when we don't ask for them.
-Does a great job at holding our hands when we are walking through parking lots, etc.
-Has started eating large amounts of food most days. Before he would eat most anything, just not a lot of it.
-He will tell me what he wants for lunch most days. Usually his wants consist of: pizza, veggie dog, cheese, apple, pear, orange, or banana.
-Loves his coconut milk and says coconut the cutest way.
-Loves BUBBLE baths.
-Went on another round trip flight but didn't get sick this time!!!
-Is really good at stacking blocks and will say "timber" when they fall over.
-Enjoys cooking in his kitchen.
-Loves going to the park, especially swinging.
-Likes pushing his baby doll around in its little stroller.
-Can blow bubbles with a little bubble wand.
-Seems to remember things better. He will remember stuff we did a few days ago and ask to do it again.
-Is a very snuggly boy
-Can say a few of his friends names including: Luca, Dean, Erin, and tires to say Kellen, but isn't very good at it yet.
-Has a love of frozen yogurt, just like his mama. Actually, he enjoys the fruit I put on it more and will pick it all off :)
-Still talks about Gigi all the time, even though it's been almost a month since he last saw her.
-Loves to play peek-a-boo with anything. One of his favorite spots is to get behind the couch cushions.
-Can draw a pretty decent circle.
-Knows how to "hike"
-Can now name a soccer ball, basketball, and football.
-Is such a hilarious kid. He always has us laughing.

18 months...1.5 years old!

2011-01-28T21:06:00.000-07:00

I seriously can't believe it's been 6 months since he turned one. The changes in the past six months have been so subtle, yet huge! In 6 more months he will be 2...I don't think I will allow that to happen ;)

Stats:
Weight: 22lbs 9 oz (11%)
Height: 31 inches (18% I think)
Head: 80% (I think it's all his HAIR!)

At 18 months:

-He learned how to climb out of his crib, climb on the kitchen chairs (which are tall!) pretty much climb up on to anything he wants, to get whatever he wants.
-Loves to dig in the sand/wood chips at the park
-Loves to swing and made up his own sign for swinging!
-Total body parts known: head, hair, eyes, nose, ears, chin, cheeks, shoulder, arm, fingers, knee, toes, foot.
-Colors known: purple, yellow, blue (most of the time...)
-Shapes known: heart, star, circle
-Animal sounds known: monkey, gorilla, lion, horse, sheep, duck, cow, pig, cat, dog
-New favorite words (favorite to me that is) mawn momer (lawn mower) win mill (wind mill),and purple
-His favorite word- NO! He actually uses it to answer questions, not to be mean
-Threw his first public tantrum at Target...he wanted to get out of the stroller and mommy said no. Many tears and much screaming ensued. People stared. I finished shopping anyway!
-Still nurses in the morning, at nap time, and before bed.
-Loves yogurt for breakfast and a snack.
-Loves my red lentil stew stuff I make, beans and rice from Chipotle, and will chow down LOTS of tofu!

-Loves to cook in his kitchen. He will stir, put stuff in the microwave and then tell you it's hot, and take food to his little table and pretend to eat it.
-Loves to color and paint.
-Never gets sick of reading books. Right now he is loving his Mother Goose nursery rhyme book, Bernstain Bear books, his potty book, and any book with cars/trains.
-Pretty much goes pee on the toilet every night before bath and most mornings when he wakes up. I think potty training will be pretty easy for him when he's ready.
-Loves to rock his Mama Bear stuffed animal and share his binky with her. Cutest thing ever.

-Also still loves his cabbage patch and taking care of him.
-Loves to play chasing games.
-Loves to be tickled and to tickle others.
-If I ask him if he's ready to take a nap he will sign sleep and say fish (he loves his aquarium in his crib)
-Has 12 teeth
-Wears size 5 shoes and 12-18 month clothes. I'm pretty sure his 18 month stuff will last him until summer time.

-Loves to tickle us and be tickled.
-Has the most contagious laugh
-Loves to wear his helmet and brings us our bikes helmets to wear as well.
-Will line up his toys on the ledge in the bathtub before getting out.

17 months

2011-01-06T13:32:00.002-07:00

Almost 1.5 years...crazy! I swear he gets more fun to be around everyday. The cute expressions he uses and funny things he does always leave us laughing and smiling.

At 17 months...
-Is loving tofu cubes, sweet potatoes, any fruit, fig newtons, yogurt, cheese, enchiladas, rice, beans, indian food, smoothies...
-Had another double ear infection and also got ulcers on his throat.
-Went on another airplane ride to Utah and was such a great traveler!
-Loves to hold on to your finger and take you to what he wants...so cute
-When he is looking for something/someone he will say "dada, whaaer?" and shrug his shoulders with one hand up (hard to explain but super cute) He's actually been doing it for a couple months now
-Just started Gymboree classes, since he won a free month!
- A new word he says, that we have no idea where he learned is turtle, and he actually says turtle. He was playing with his new animal magnets and when I asked him what it was he told me...crazy...
-Says a ton of words. A stranger at the playground commented to me on how much he talks...he does talk a lot and I love it!
-Is still signing a lot too. He now loves to sign hurt when he gets an ouchie, and juice when he sees it.
-He learned about juice in Utah...he doesn't get any at home.
-Is still pretty tiny...I think his enormous amount of hair makes up for it and makes him seem bigger
-Loves to read books. His favorite right now are: "There's a Wocket in My Pocket" "I Knew You Could", which is a cute train book, and a christmas book that was mine that has scratch and sniff stickers in it.
-Got a play kitchen for Christmas and loves to pretend to cook. He stirs, tastes, pretends to fill cups with water and put them in the microwave, brings us cups and tells us they're hot
-Learned how to jump on his trampoline he got for Christmas
-Ate his first courtesy cone from Arctic Circle (ssshhh don't tell dad)
-Likes to brush his own teeth and hair
-Pretends to put on makeup with my makeup brushes
-Loves to give hugs to little kids
-Loves being outside
-Really enjoys swinging
-Is still the sweetest baby boy I've ever met!

16 months

2010-12-07T14:59:00.003-07:00

Better late then never right?? He's actually 16.5 months...oh well
This month has been so fun with Rowan. He is turning into such a funny little guy.

-Loves making us laugh and now uses that to try to stay up late!
-Loves hiding and playing peek a boo all.day.long!
-Says SO many words. My goodness. He is always complimented on his huge vocabulary everywhere we go.
-Knows that santa says Ho Ho Ho. He actually calls santa Ho Ho. When ever he sees a picture of santa he gets excited. However, when we took him to see santa he completely freaked out!
-Is now taking one nap a day. I'm having a love/hate relationship with this.
-Has amazing gross motor skills.
-Seems to learn a new sign every few days. I really believe that is why he is talking so much. When we sign to him we say what we are signing and I think that has really helped build his vocabulary.
-Likes to sit on his potty seat on the toilet
-Hates brushing his teeth, but loves the sign for it.
-Is still a fabulous eater. He may not eat a lot, but he eats a large variety.
-Loves his baby doll and takes such good care of it. He will be such an awesome big brother someday (and no, that's not a hint)
-Loves his daddy so much and has such a hard time when daddy goes to work.
-Loves to paint and color. He hardly even eats the paint anymore!
-Follows almost any direction you give him.
-We took him to Holiday in the Park in San Jose and he loved all the little scenes and lights. He kept telling us "mo, mo" which is more in Rowan language.

He really is such an amazing little guy. He is such a huge joy in our lives and I feel so blessed to be his mom. I love that he is becoming his own person, even when that means he has some very strong opinions. I'm so excited for Christmas this year, I just know he's going to have a blast at my parents house!

Cars

2010-11-27T21:34:00.001-07:00

He is so into cars right now and loves driving them around the house.

15 months

2010-11-03T11:23:00.003-06:00

Rowan is learning so much everyday, I am constantly amazed at the things he says and does. He is quite the talker, and people are always so surprised at how well he communicates with us. He is such a happy and sweet child. We sure do love him!

At 15 months:

Weight: 21 lbs 9 oz (4%)
Height: They measured 32 inches but I'm pretty sure it's wrong. We'll measure him again at home

-I've lost track of how many words he can say...
-Knows what a horse, sheep, cow, cat, and dog says
-Had his 2nd ear infection
-still loves any type of fruit, and would rather eat fruit than anything else.
-likes to dip his food
-is the greatest airplane traveler in all of baby land
-loves his cousin Gigi so much. He still cries for her if he sees or hears another little girl her age.
-will only whisper "papa" it's quite funny!
-Calls my mom maba and signs grandma while doing so
-usually sleeps 10 hours at night before coming in our bed
-still taking 2 naps a day
-still gets compliments on his hair everywhere we go
-runs everywhere
-isn't a picky eater, but doesn't eat much...perhaps the reason for his low weight
-loves his wawa (water) and gets really upset if you don't have any for him. When we were driving home from the mall we forgot to bring his cup and ended up stopping at a gas station for some water because he was so thirsty!
-Is a crazy good climber. He will and can climb on just about everything in our house.
-Is a pretty good listener when we tell him to do or not to do something
-Rarely throws a tantrum (I know the time is coming...)
-Attended his first birthday party in California, His good friend Kellen turned 1
-Dressed up as a scarecrow for Halloween
-Is such a sweet, good boy

14 months

2010-09-26T10:40:00.010-06:00

I think that this month Rowan has really turned from a baby into a toddler. He's such a funny and happy boy!

At 14 months Rowan...

-Is sleeping in his OWN ROOM in his OWN CRIB and ALL NIGHT long (and naps too)!!! This was a big transition for all of us, but it was much needed. As much as we all LOVED co-sleeping, Rowan just wasn't sleeping well anymore and was ready to have his own bed.
-Sleeps with his pillow, taggy blanket, and aquarium, and binki
-Can run, and things it's so funny to run away and hide when he tell him it's time do do something he doesn't want to do. Such as a diaper change.
-Tries to jump. He crouches down and then pops back up, his feet never leave the floor.
-Started walking backwards
-Has a deep love for cars or anything with wheels . When he plays with cars he will drive them around on the floor and makes a vroom sound.
-Also loves airplanes and will sign airplane whenever he hears one or sees one.
-New signs are thank you, airplane, dog, mom, grandma, car, bus, hat, bird, hot and cold
-New words are nack (snack), mik (milk), says "bye" very clearly now instead of just ba, cheese, walk, shoe, dat (that), wut (what), burr, and hot. He will also put two words together like bye dada or what's that.
-Loves to tell us whether things are hot or cold. He signs cold so cute and always says burr. If he see's me cooking something on the stove he will tell me hot or if he see's ice in a glass he will sign cold.
-He will point to things in books when you ask him where something is. He has the whole "things that go" page down in his First Words book!
-Started a new music class and will sing along to some of the songs on the cd. He also dances to them and claps when they are finished.
-Still gets so excited whenever any of his friends come over to play.
-Loves hats of all kinds. He thinks the hood on his bath towel is a hat and signs hat when getting out of the bath.
-Body parts he knows: tongue, hair, ears, (have known those since 12 months), belly, nose, feet
-Has gotten really good at figuring out how his toys work. He knows which buttons to push to make them work or make noise.
-Loves watching Baby Signing Time and will go to our bedroom door and start singing Baby, Baby while signing it. Sometimes he gets mad if we don't let him watch it.
-Likes to chew on his clothes...gross...
-Will leave sunglasses on
-Loves books, even more than before. He will sit and read with me for a good 30 minutes, especially if the books have cars or trucks in them. We now go to the library and check out books after story time on Thursdays.
-Can climb up into his stroller
-Loves going on bike rides
-Loves fish and really enjoyed going to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium a few weekends ago. I'm so excited to take him there over the next year since we got a membership.
-Also loves dogs (and cats, but more so dogs) He gets so excited when he sees them walking outside and instantly signs dog and makes this growling noise
-Will go to the fridge when he is hungry and say cheese.
-Has gotten really good at exploring and climbing on playgrounds
-Is wearing mostly 12 month clothes with a few 6-9 month things thrown in. All of his 18 month stuff is still way to big (mostly length wise)
-Wears a size 4 shoe

13 Months

2010-08-24T10:15:00.003-06:00

Rowan turned 13 months yesterday. I think I will continue with monthly updates until he's 2.

He had his 12 month appointment last week
Weight: 22lbs
Height: 29.75

-He is a professional walker
-Can stand up without holding onto anything if he falls down while walking
-Can bend down and pick stuff up while walking
-Climbs onto the ottoman in his room and then onto the rocking chair...scary!
-Tries to sing along with "baby, baby, baby, signing time"
-Signs along with the Baby Signing Time movies
-Signs more with 2 hands now
-Loves hats and shoes and is constantly asking me to put them on by bringing them to me and saying "ha" or "ssshhu"
-Is very brave swimming
-Is loving birds. He likes to chase them outside while saying "b b"
-Gets so excited when he sees other babies
-Loves to wave bye to everything, even airplanes he sees flying away
-Tries to make us laugh
-Has almost 4 teeth on top, 2 on front bottom, and 1 bottom molar just came through
-loves walking around outside exploring
-can feed himself with a utensil if you put the food on it for him.
-Loves reading animal books
-is a very happy little boy!

12 months, or 1 year.

2010-08-05T10:00:00.004-06:00

Rowan is now 1 year old. It really doesn't seem possible, but somehow it is. He's at such a fun age right now and is such a good boy!

At 12 months...

Weight: 21 lbs
Length: ?
(he goes in for his 1 year appointment on the 18th)

-He is walking all over the place and rarely crawls anymore!
-He says ni ni (night night), nana (banana), Gigi, papa, mama, dada, baf (bath), ball,
-He signs milk, finished, drink, water, dad (sometimes), more, bath, and eat
-He loves pushing stuff around the house
-Tries to climb onto everything!
-Loves music and dances anytime he hears it. We were at Starbucks the other day and he started dancing to the sound of the blender, he has also danced when he heard construction noises.
-Is still loving books and being read to.
-Has 4.5 teeth and is having a really hard time with teething right now
-Had his first trip to the ER. He was coughing so hard he couldn't breathe...so scary. He's all better now!
-Had his first bloody accident when he fell and cut his upper lip frenulum.
-Is on a very consistent schedule that I love. Wakes up around 6:30 naps from 8:30-10 then again from 1:30-3 and bedtime at 7
-Loves bath time or anything to do with water. He will come up to me and sign bath and gets mad when I won't let him get in.
-Loves other babies and kids
-Gigi may be his favorite person, when he sees her he tackles her and gives her TONS of kisses and hugs!
-Loves pots and pans
-Likes to ride his new trike we got him. It's so cool with a harness and push handle!
-Only uses his pacifier for sleeping (he's been doing this since 8 months)
-Is very snuggly
-Loves to smack his lips
-Loves to make us laugh
-Is the sweetest, silliest, smartest boy!
Birthday and Utah pictures to come!

11 months

2010-06-26T10:09:00.003-06:00

I really can't believe that this time last year I was 36 weeks pregnant and hadn't met Rowan yet. He is such a HUGE part of our lives and I really can't imagine life without him.

At 11 months:

-Rowan loves to read books. He loves to read the same book over, and over, and over again. He will sit on my lap in the rocking chair (which I love) and just let me read to him. If I'm not reading fast enough he will turn the pages for me. He loves any books with animals in it and also still loves Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? His favorite page is the one with the "boom, boom, boom"
-He can says "nana" for Banana. He has a peek-a-block with bananas in it and he kept holding it up to me saying "nana". Well, I kept saying "block, that's a block Rowan" and he kept saying "nana". I finally noticed it had bananas in it. He's smarter than me some days! Derek also placed 3 blocks in front of him and told him to find the bananas and he did it, twice, so we know he actually knows what he's doing!
-He can almost say baby he says "bayba" it's really cute. He also says "ba" for ball.
-If you ask him to repeat a word he will usually get the amount of syllables right. For example if you say "say tractor" he will say "daba" or say tree "da"
-Said "cracker" while eating crackers. Derek and I both heard him say it twice, so I know we're not crazy =)
-He can take a few steps on his own but isn't very steady yet.
-Loves his little toy penguin
-He is obsessed with strawberries. We had them in our cart at Costco and he was trying so hard to get them.
-He loves to play outside on our patio. Whenever he is grumpy I take him out there and he usually calms right down.
-He loves balls and get's so excited to play with them. He can also throw them and thinks it's pretty funny.
-He also likes to throw his food in his highchair. He thinks it's funny...the carpet, not so much.
-Loves his daddy so much. He gets so excited when he gets home from work and cries when he leaves.
-Takes "rests" while he crawling or playing. He'll be crawling around and then just lay his head down for a few seconds. He'll also do this if he's standing up on the ottoman, if a pillow is on the ground, or to anything else he wants to snuggle.
-Growls at his stuffed zebra
-Can feed himself with a spoon if you put the food on it for him.
-Likes to brush his own teeth...he doesn't like anyone else to do it.
-Almost has 4 teeth. 2 on bottom and 1 1/4 on top
-Loves to go swimming. He will even put his face in the water. If you set him on the side he will jump to you.
-Hates Popsicles. We tried to let him taste one and he freaked out because it was so cold.
-Is starting to sleep by himself in his crib (that is attached to our bed)
-Started dancing to his piggy banks music.
-Is the silliest baby I have ever met!

He seems to learn something new everyday. He is getting so smart and it's amazing to watch his skills develop

*I don't have access to pictures right now, so they will have to wait.

10 Months

2010-05-24T13:14:00.006-06:00

10 Months seems so old. He's been outside the womb longer than he was inside. He has his own opinions and desires. He's just getting so big!

At 10 months...

-Rowan is a super mover. He can climb up and over everything!

-He has gotten really good at walking while holding onto hands.
-He can also walk while he holds onto his little push toy. We took him to the park yesterday and he walked all over on the sidewalks.

-Is the proud owner of 2 bottom teeth, with 2 top teeth coming in soon!
-Loves balls and playing in blow up ball pits.
-Learned to climb the stairs at grandma's house his first try.
-Learned how to drink out of a straw.
-Rowan found his first California girlfriend at a recent playdate. He chased her around and would try to kiss her. She finally gave in and kissed him on the lips!!!
-Speaking of kisses, he loves to give kisses and goes around kissing everything! He loves to crawl up to you and pull you towards him and then give you a big slobbery kiss. He even makes the muwah sound!
-Is an expert traveler, and an angel on flights.
-Is making more sounds when he babbles. He also says "Hi momma" and "hi dada"
-Is such a goofball
-Loves strawberries! He gets excited when he sees them.

9 Months

2010-04-28T14:38:00.006-06:00

Rowan is now 3/4 of a year old. I can't believe that in 3 short months we will be celebrating his first birthday, and oh what a celebration it shall be!

Stats:
Weight: 20lbs 2oz 40%
Height: 27.75 inches 27%
Head: 80%

Happenings in his life:

-He is now an expert crawler
-Can pull himself up on everything and everyone
-Stood up by himself for the first time
-He doesn't really enjoy baby food anymore. He pretty much eats finger foods now. He does however still eat yogurt or rice cereal mixed with a fruit for breakfast.
-Has graduated onto cheerios instead of puffs
-Says mama, dada, num, mmmm, nana and lots of other fun sounds!
-Loves to give kisses
-When he wakes up in the morning he will find his daddy's face and give him lots of kisses!
-Loves it when his daddy wears him in his new Ergo carrier
-Attended his second outdoor Hot Buttered Rum concert
-Is getting his first tooth and isn't enjoying it at all
-Loves waving hi and bye to strangers
-Enjoys going to story time at the library
-Is very social and enjoys interacting with other babies
-signs more, eat, and drink
-Still hates his crib
-Loves his sippy cup
-Loves "helping" unload/load the dishwasher
-Will jump up and down if you say "jump, jump, jump"
-Thinks the fridge is pretty awesome
-Loves to explore everything and everywhere
-Got his first little goose egg on his head when he fell on the side table
-Loves the beach
-Will crawl with his knees off the ground when you put him on grass
-Is always so happy when he wakes up
-Loves being sung to. Some of his favorites are: Yellow Submarine, 5 little monkeys (both the jumpin in bed and in a tree version), Down on grandpas farm, Hometown band, rock a bye, twinkle twinkle, Haileys Comet, and a few other Phish songs that daddy likes to sing him. He will almost always stop crying if you sing him one of these songs.
-Loves it when you imitate the sounds that he makes.
-Still takes Prevacid for his reflux. Hopefully he'll outgrow that soon.
-Loves balls
-Is a total flirt
-Loves the camera

Some of his favorite foods are:
-String cheese. He ate a whole one the other day!
-Beans
-Orange slices
-Lemons
-Bananas
-Pretty much any fruit
-Veggie burgers, crumbles, and chicken
-Falafel
-Cheerios
-Potatoes
-Carrots
-Sweet potatoes
-Plain yogurt mixed with applesauce and cinnamon

I kept waiting to post this to get pictures up, but that hasn't happened so pictures to follow =)

Happenings

2010-04-11T09:04:00.011-06:00

The move went really well. Rowan was an angel on the plane and slept the WHOLE flight. It was nice that he had his own seat so he was able to sleep in his car seat. My Mom and her friend Vonda drove our car here and helped us unpack. We couldn't have done it without them. Before they flew home we were able to drive up to San Francisco for the day and see some sights. I always love going to Pier 39.

I was so happy to find out we had an Ikea close to us. Rowan enjoys "helping" his daddy build.

For Easter we decided to go down to Monterey. It was so nice to have a little day trip with my favorite boys! We just walked down Cannery Row, got some ice cream at the Ghiradelli shop, saw some Sea otters, watched the waves come in (which Rowan loved), and let Rowan feel the sand (which he loved as well)

On Friday it was really nice out so we decided to take Rowan swimming for the first time. One of the pools has a wading pool next to it for the munchkins. It's one foot deep and shaped in a half circle. Rowan Loved it! He loved being able to hold onto the side of it and bounce and he also loved splashing! He would get so excited as the water was flying all over. He didn't even care when the water was getting in his face. He also tried out his new floaty we bought him. He seemed to like that too. We took him in the big pool, which was nice and heated, and he liked lounging around in it. I think we'll be spending a lot of time out there!

Rowan is also now a professional crawler, puller upper, and cruiser! He seems to be learning so fast! He loves to explore our apartment. Some of his favorite places to explore are: The stroller, the ottoman, the dishwasher (if it's open) and the kitchen table.

7-8 months

2010-04-02T08:24:00.006-06:00

We missed 7 months due to life being crazy busy, so this is sort of a combination of what he is now doing. We had a doctors appointment at eight months to get his reflux medicine renewed and he weighed 19lbs 8 oz. They didn't measure him, but I'm sure he's still a shorty!

He has learned so much lately. It seems as though he wakes up each day with a new skill. He's adjusting to the move pretty well. He's been pretty clingy lately, but that's nothing too out of the ordinary for him.

-He can army crawl quite fast
-He can pull himself up onto everything and can hold on one handed and bounce
-Can move between two pieces of furniture while standing
-He waves bye
-Loves to give kisses and "Loves" where he likes to nuzzle into your shoulder with his head.
-He signs eat and more
-Can go from sitting to crawling and back again
-Loves going on walks
-Can walk (slowly) while holding onto someones hands
-Plays peek-a-boo with his blanket while in his stroller. He thinks he is so funny and so do we!
-Loves the mother goose record my mom has, and his favorite song is Hometown Band
-Loves food! He will eat pretty much anything you give him. He has yogurt and fruit every morning and Loves it!
-Loves to feed himself finger foods.
-Can do a pincer grasp
-Hates being by himself
-Doesn't like his crib at all...even though I bought him this cool musical aquarium thingy.
-Loves his sippy cup
-He loves to throw stuff on the ground to have you pick it up for him
-Is still breastfed
-Co-sleeps
-Can sleep through takeoff and landing of plane rides
-His favorite book is Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? He even laughs at it!
-Loves his lady bug jumper/exersaucer
-Has had 3 haircuts now
-We still get stopped everywhere we go by people commenting on how much hair he has and how cute he is
-Loves to sit in grocery carts and wave to people as we pass by.
-Wears size 3 diapers
-Fits in clothing 3-6 months to 6-9 months
-Loves remotes and cell phones
-Babbles all the time. He has said mama twice now but mostly says dada and baba
-Is constantly making his grandpas animal noises where his sucks air in and makes these funny noises. He likes to practice in the middle of the night and when he wakes up in the morning.
-Is getting good at playing his drum.
-Loves to mimic things that you do and noises that you make.
-Loves to make people laugh and smile. It makes him so proud.

He is the sweetest baby I have ever met, and I've met a lot of babies. His personality is so silly. I think he is going to be quite the jokester!

Sign Language!

2010-03-15T14:10:00.003-06:00

Rowan and I have been going to a Sign and Sing class every Friday for the past 3 weeks and I have been signing at home to him. Well, today our hard work paid off when he signed "Eat" 5 different times while sharing some Sonic ice with me! It was so awesome to see him do it and understand it's meaning! They told me it would take at least 3 months for him to sign back to me, so I totally wasn't expecting it! Such a smart boy!

Moving

2010-03-11T09:27:00.003-07:00

This will be our new home for the next 3 or so years. The North Park Apartments in San Jose, California! We have 10...TEN... swimming pools, fire pits, a Starbucks, and more in our little community! Derek got a really amazing job offer. It will be hard to leave our home, but we're excited for the adventure!

We will now be close to two of my favorite places
San Francisco

and

Monterrey Bay

We leave the 25th of this month! I should probably start packing.

Swinging Time!

2010-02-02T15:20:00.002-07:00

Rowan and I decided to head outside today since it wasn't totally freezing! We headed over to our neighborhood park and Rowan tried out a swing for the first time. He seemed to really enjoy it!

Happy Half Birthday!

2010-01-27T07:45:00.006-07:00

It's so hard to believe that Rowan is half way to being one! It has definitely been the most love filled 6 months of my life.

6 Month Stats:
Weight: 17 lbs 15 oz (52%)
Height: 26 inches (33%)
Head: 17.1 inches

At six months....

He can get up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth
He can also get up on his hands and tippy toes, like he is doing a push up. He will hold it for about 30 seconds! He's going to be a strong boy!
He's very good at scooting backwards.
Is beginning to be able to sniper forward.
He loves to stick his tongue out.
Had his first haircut...we just cut enough so that it wasn't in his eyes! When combed forward it went all the way to the end of his nose!
Can say Dada, ahhh, ohhh, yaya, yeah, eeehh,
Drinks water out of a sippy cup
Tried peas for the first time and was not a big fan.
Had his first bout of a stomach virus! The poor little guy threw up 7x in 1 hour!
Loves to put anything and everything in his mouth
Loves to grab the skin on your face and pull on your lips, especially while he's falling asleep.
Hates it when you leave the room and he can't see you.
Changes hands while playing with toys.
Can catch himself from falling over while he's sitting up.
Can sit in a restaurant highchair like a pro.
LOVES the song Yellow Submarine. Most times if you sing it he will stop crying.
Enjoys taking baths with daddy. His favorite bath toy is the cup we use to rinse out his hair!
Is starting to imitate sounds that you make.
Can stand up and bounce while holding on to a chair or something similar.
Is starting to understand cause and effect when it comes to toys.
Loves playing peek-a-boo

We can't wait to see what the next 6 months have in store for him!

Rowan's First Christmas

2010-01-10T09:34:00.006-07:00

Christmas was WONDERFUL this year! We spent lots of time with family and it was so much fun having little Rowan around. He might not quite understand Christmas yet, but he sure did enjoy all the lights and the wrapping paper!
Christmas Eve is always spent with my family. We have a fun party every year that includes, but is not limited to: delicious food, giant in the sky fireworks, people dressing up in fun costumes, trivia game with awesome prizes, lots of laughing, and lots of fun!

The cute ornament I ordered for him

Rowan in his favorite present! He LOVES his jumparoo!

My mom bought a bounce house for the kids and Rowan wanted to try it out!

Here is the Christmas Parade!

Derek was excited to get his very own Nintendo DS!

We came back home on Christmas Eve and spent Christmas morning at our house before going back to my Mom's. We had so much fun opening presents from each other. We both went a little crazy this year, but feel fortunate that we are in a position to do so. Rowan really enjoyed pulling the paper off of the presents and then trying to eat it! He was so happy all morning and I was so grateful that we have him in our lives.

Rowan and his giant stocking that my Grandma Nilsson made for him! It's really special because she passed away before ever getting to meet him, so it's something that I really treasure.

Rowan is excited that he got some new clothes

A little story behind the dental floss. Derek and I were grocery shopping and I saw that they had Christmas Captain Crunch! I was so excited and just had to have it to make my mornings full of Christmas cheer. Derek was making fun of me saying that I would buy anything if it had a Christmas theme...even Christmas dental floss. So what did he put in my stocking...red and green floss! I have such a cute husband!

I made the boys matching pajama pants and shirts. They sure do look mighty cute in them.

Rowan and all of his loot that Santa brought him.

We went back to my parents in the afternoon and she had more presents for us! They are always so generous and thoughtful with the gifts they give us! They bought Rowan the cutest little John Deere cowboy boots! They actually stay on his feet too! He looks so cute in them. They picked me out a food grinder with fruit and vegetable strainer for my KitchenAid! It's awesome! I already made Rowan peas and carrots with it. I can't for him to try them! I plan on making all of his baby food, so this was a much needed gift.

Rowan and his new boots!

Christmas night we spent with Derek's family and had a delicious meal. We brought our Wii so that we could all play Rock Band and it was tons of fun! Rowan got the cutest Leapfrog drum from Dallas & Bonnie. He loves to eat it!
Overall it was such a great Christmas and the best part was that we were able to spend time with all of our family!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-07T09:47:00.003-07:00

This is our first married New Years that we weren't in Denver! Instead I slept, the baby slept, and Derek decided to work since his family would be sleeping. We did celebrate when he got home with some sparkling cider...it was a great surprise! Before we went to sleep we went and had some taco soup with Derek's family

Don't ya just love his little leggings...oh so cute!

We did go have a delicious feast at Taste of India on New Years Day...My favorite restaurant for sure!
...I'll get around to posting about Christmas sometime...

Cute Pictures

2010-01-07T09:23:00.004-07:00

Rowan wanted to give his Grandpa a cute picture for his Birthday so here are the results!

5 Months

2009-12-28T06:45:00.006-07:00

5 fun months with this little guy! We are so thankful to have him in our lives.

Things he likes to do now:
*He is finally rolling over all the time from his belly to his back.
*He LOVES tummy time.
*While on his tummy he can push himself up completely on his hands and then scoot himself backwards.
*He can also hold himself up on his hands and tippytoes, doing a plank position.
*He tries to get up on his knees, but usually just ends up getting his bum in the air. It's really cute!
*He puts everything in his mouth...While at Kohls Rowan was in his carseat and I had my wallet sitting on top of his blanket. Somehow he got a receipt out of my wallet and was chowing down on it! When I took it away, he got a sad little face but recovered quickly when I gave him a more appropriate toy to put in his mouth.
*When I put him down, and he still wants to be held, he will hold his arms out for me and whine.
*He loves to laugh.
*He has been loving Christmas lights. He has a tree in his room and hill flip and flop himself so that he can see them. It's really frustrating when I'm trying to change a poopy diaper!
*He tried cereal for the first time 2 days ago. I was planning on waiting until 6 months before he had any solids, but he just wasn't staying full long enough with breastmilk. He absolutely LOVES it. He opens his mouth for me and even tries to grab the spoon and put it in himself. He was totally ready for cereal!
*He can stand up by himself while holding onto the couch or ottoman.
*He loves to talk and talk and talk!
*He also loves to spit and blow raspberries all the time! He will do it for so long that he ends up having spit all over his face.
*He thinks that peek-a-boo is pretty funny.
*He loves to smile at daddy's funny faces
*He is so sweet and snuggly in the morning.
*He is still sleeping in bed with me.
*He likes to be swaddled when he first falls asleep, but within 30 minutes his arms are free.
*He has found his screaming voice.
*He doesn't like to be alone, and will scream until you come back into the room.
*He got a jumparoo and absolutely LOVES it! He gets so proud when he's jumping.

I'm pretty sure this is the cutest face I've ever seen!

Funny Things

2009-12-17T09:08:00.004-07:00

I wanted to write down some funny conversations I have had regarding Rowan in the past few weeks, so that I would remember them.

Place: Doctors Office
Receptionist: Oh my gosh! Is your baby wearing a WIG?
Me: Nope, that's his hair.
Receptionist: How old is he? That can't be his hair!
Me: It really is his hair and he's almost 5 months.
Me thinking to myself: Seriously, would I put a 5 months old in a wig...do they even make baby wigs???

Place: Same doctors office as above
Nurse: He is the cutest baby I have ever seen!
Me: Thanks.
Nurse: You better keep an eye on him so nobody takes him.
Me: Laugh
Nurse: No, really, somebody might steal him because he's so cute.
Me thinking to myself: oh great another thing to worry about.

Place: PCMC Eye doctor
Rowan has been laughing uncontrollably while the doctor shines a light in his eyes and makes funny noises.

Doctor: Do you guys have a living will?
Us: (a bit confused at this point) Umm, we have actually just been talking about this.
Doctor: Well, if you don't have anybody to take him if you both die I would be more than happy to.
Us: Laughing
Doctor: No really, I have three well adjusted kids already, my wife would LOVE this little guy. Our daughter is one and has NO hair. Maybe I should take a picture of him to show my wife, no she would be mad that he has more hair then our daughter.
Us: Well this is the first offer we've gotten, we'll think about it (just joking with him)
Doctor: Well, just so ya know the nurses are planning to kidnap him, but I thought I would go about it the legal way.
Us: Thanks

I love having a super adorably handsome baby! It makes for some funny conversations.

Happy 4 months Rowan!

2009-11-23T08:20:00.004-07:00

My precious baby boy is 4 months old today. These past 4 months have just flown by. I'm so excited to spend the upcoming holidays with him. Even though he won't get it, it sure will be nice to have our little guy around.

4 Month stats:
Weight as of a week ago 14 lbs 8 oz 52%
Length 24 inches 37%
Head 65%
We switched doctors about a week ago and Rowan is doing TONS better with his reflux! He is now only taking prevacid daily and Gaviscon when he seems to be in pain. He is no longer so irritable since being taken off the Zantac.

*Rowan's favorite toy is his teething Giraffe named Sophie. It is basically an expensive dog toy for babies.
*He loves to jump up and down, I really think he'll love his jumparoo he's getting for Christmas!
*He loves to watch people eat. If he's sitting in my lap while I eat he will turn his head upside down just to watch the fork go in my mouth. I know this is a sign of readiness for solids, but he won't be starting them until 6 months.
*He loves to follow his daddy around the room with his eyes.
*He has turned into a HORRIBLE sleeper! I don't know what's going on, but lets hope it ends soon!
*He still sleeps swaddled, well until he breaks out of it, and sleeps the first few hours in his bassinet and the rest of the night in bed with me.
*He loves to have conversations with people, he will respond back when you talk to him.
*He can sit up for about 5 mins by himself. He can't do anything but look around while he's sitting but I'm sure he'll be playing with toys in no time!
*He loves to suck on his hands.
*He spent 3 days at my sisters house while I watched her kids while she was in Boston. Those kids LOVE Rowan so much! It is so sweet to see.
*He loves his playmat and always grabs onto his rattles and shakes them.
*He is such a smiley happy baby!
*When he gets really tired he becomes sort of delusional and will laugh at anything. Someone just standing up will have him doing his belly laugh!
*We're still enjoying breastfeeding and I'm hoping it will keep him healthy this winter!
*His hair has gotten SO long! When it's combed forward it reaches his eyes, we said we would cut it when it reached his eyes, but I don't know if I can bring myself to get it done!

Happy 4 months my baby boy!

Sitting

2009-11-18T18:41:00.002-07:00

Lately Rowan has HATED being on his back and constantly wants me to sit him up. Well, today he showed me that all his practice has paid off and he can sit all by himself! He looks so dang cute sitting there all proud. Man, he's getting big way too fast!

Winter Wear and Other Things

2009-11-16T12:25:00.002-07:00

His cute winter hat!

His first time seeing snow!

He's like the little boy from A Christmas Story and can't move in his snow suit.

"Brrr mom it was cold out there!"

Rowan loves getting his nightly massages. I'm hoping that doing them before bed will help him sleep better!

Getting so big!

2009-11-04T15:17:00.004-07:00

I so love this picture!

He loves to stand lately

3 Month Update

2009-10-26T08:18:00.005-06:00

My baby boy is 3 months old...OH MY! He is getting cuter and more fun by the day!

3 month happenings:
-He talks and talks and talks. He loves to join in conversations and being the center of attention.
-He is smiling even more! He smiles when certain people walk into the room.
-He loves it when his daddy sings to him. He really likes the Beatles, especially Yellow Submarine.
-He is really good at standing, obviously somebody has to hold him up but he is really stable now.
-While baking cookies, I had to go into the pantry to get some flour and Rowan couldn't see me from his highchair and he started crying. As soon as he could see me again he stopped crying. I felt special =)
-He hits his toys on his playmat and will grab onto them.
-He can bring toys up to his mouth to suck on them.
-He has discovered his hands and loves to suck on the back of his hand.
-He always has his hands in a praying position...so cute!
-He's NOT sleeping in his swing anymore. I'm quite proud of this one. He spends most of the night in his bassinet and the rest of the time in bed with me.
-He still loves being swaddled while sleeping, but is always breaking himself out of it which I think contributes to him waking more often.
-He's not sleeping as well as he was. For a while he was going 7 hours straight. Now it's 5 hours then he eats, then he usually wakes up 3-4 hours later to either eat or he just wants to snuggle. Then sleep 2 more hours and eat. He always go right back to sleep after eating though.
-He is still getting only breast milk, which I'm quite proud of too! He's never even tasted formula.
-He is on another medicine for reflux. He now takes prevacid and zantac.
-He loves my sisters kids and they completely adore him. Gianna calls him "my baby" and surprisingly isn't jealous of him at all.
-He has the cutest laugh and laughs at the most random things.
-He loves sitting in his Bumbo

Sorry it's sideways =(
He's going to be a pea in a pod for Halloween so I'll post pics of that next week!

2 Months

2009-09-27T09:53:00.006-06:00

In Spokane there is a Rowan Ave.

My little boy is getting big so fast! He turned 2 months on September 23rd.
He had his 2 month well child check and his stats are:
Weight 11 lbs 9 oz (46%)
Height 23 inches (53%)
Head 63% (I don't remember the measurement)
The doctor said she was happy with his growth and that he is perfect. He even gave the doctor a few coos and smiles. He received 2 vaccinations and handled them very well. We are not following the normal vaccine schedule so in 2 weeks he will go back and get 2 more. Derek and I just felt after doing some research that we wanted to space the vaccines out, his doctor is very supportive of this as well.

What Rowan Does:
* Most nights he is asleep by 8:30 and will sleep for 6 hours then wake up to eat. He will then wake up 2-3 hours later to eat again. He is usually up for an hour or so after that and then has a morning nap.
* He is SO smiley and talkative! Especially in the mornings. When I change his diaper in the morning he loves to smile and coo and tell me about his dreams.
* He will have a "conversation" with you. It is quite possibly the cutest thing ever.
* He Loves his mobile on his crib. He lays in his crib and watches it go around and talks to the animals. It always brings a smile to his face (and mine) when he sees them!
* He smiled at Grandpa Kevy's animal sounds for the first time. They had quite the conversation.
* He is really good at tummy time and lifts his head up really high.
* He can roll himself over from his tummy to his back, not all the time, but he has done it several times.
* He is a very snuggly baby and doesn't like to be left alone for very long.
* He STILL sleeps in his swing at night. He usually will take his morning nap on my bed in his boppy (don't worry I watch him)
* He still loves to be swaddled when he sleeps or when he is fussy.
* He is exclusively breast fed still. Even though I can't seem to get rid of my thrush we're still going at it. It's nice that he has food ready wherever we go and I would hate having to get up at night and make a bottle!
* He went to Evergreen for the first time. He was so good the whole time. I think it's the only restaurant we've gone to where he hasn't cried. I believe that is because it's really calm and quieter than most other restaurants.
* He went on his first airplane ride at 8 weeks and was an absolute angel. He got oohed and aahed over by all the passengers. The only problem we had was on the way home just before takeoff he decided to have a massive poop explosion! We ended up changing him on my lap with a changing pad. Luckily the guy next to us didn't seem to mind!
* He met all his family up in Spokane for the first time. They of course thought he was the cutest thing ever!
We just love our little man more and more each day. It is so fun to watch him learn and experience new things. I feel so lucky to be his mom!

Back from vacation

2009-09-20T20:23:00.003-06:00

We went to Spokane to visit family this past week and had a swell time. There is a lot of unpacking to be done, but I just had to post a picture of our photo shoot we had while were up there. Rowan is quite the model, and cousin Jonathan is quite the photographer!

Just because...

2009-09-01T09:56:00.001-06:00

He's the cutest baby ever!

Reflux and Massage

2009-08-28T13:18:00.002-06:00

Poor little Rowan has reflux. He makes the saddest face you have ever seen when he spits up, it breaks my heart! We got him on some medicine so hopefully that will help. I just hate seeing my little guy in pain. Hopefully he'll grow out of it soon.
We started an infant massage class yesterday. There are SO many benefits to it and I'm really excited to give him massages every day. One of the benefits is it helps there digestive systems mature faster which can help with reflux, so hopefully we see that benefit in him.
When we took him to the doctor on Wednesday for reflux they weighed him and he's now a whopping 9lbs 5oz! Obviously breastfeeding is working well for him! I'm so thankful to be able to breastfeed him and give him all the nutrition he needs.

1 month

2009-08-24T09:00:00.004-06:00

Rowan turned one month old yesterday. It doesn't seem possible that it's already been a month. It's been one of the best months of my life.
Some stuff about Rowan
He still is in newborn size clothes. There are a few 0-3 month things he can wear but he is swimming in them! I hope he gets chubby soon because he has so many summer clothes he needs to wear!
Every night around 7:30ish he starts to get ready for bed by wanting to eat and be snuggled constantly. It usually lasts until 9:30 when he'll finally fall asleep for the night.
He loves to look at lights. He loves my mom's deck because he gets to be outside and look at lights!
He loves to be outside and go for walks.
He gets so sweaty due to his massive amount of hair on his head.
He is still sleeping in his swing at night. He loves it and so do I because he sleeps so well in it!
He had his first sleepover at Grandma's house (with me there of course)
We had our first time spent apart. On our anniversary we went out to dinner while my mom watched him. I missed him SO much, but it was nice to spend time with Derek.
He is getting more smiley
He still loves to be swaddled.
He can roll over when he's propped up on his tummy time pillow. It scares him every time though!
He's finally not yellow anymore!
He's a very noisy sleeper when he's not in a deep sleep.
He wakes up every morning with a stuffy nose, just like his momma!
We just love him so much and can't get enough of his cuteness!

Sleep...Glorious sleep!

2009-08-13T12:03:00.004-06:00

Last night Rowan slept through the night for the first time...a whole 7 hours! I don't expect it to happen every night, but it sure was a nice treat!

2 weeks

2009-08-10T10:58:00.002-06:00

Rowan turned 2 weeks last Thursday. I wanted to document the important stuff even though it's a little late.
At his 2 week check up he weighed 7 lbs 13 oz (25%) and is almost 21 inches (50%)
He is really strong and tolerates tummy time really well. He can hold his head up nice and tall for a few minutes at a time!
I think his biggest change, appearance wise, is that his eyes are now much bigger. He opens them nice and wide all the time now.
He's a really passive baby and rarely gets super fussy. He doesn't seem to like to be at other peoples houses though, except my moms.
He LOVES to eat, and eat, and eat! When he's awake, which is almost all day, he likes to eat at least once an hour. My days are pretty much spent sitting somewhere feeding the little guy. I had no idea that breastfeeding would consume so much of our day.
He got Thrush, and in return gave it to my breasts. NOT FUN! Breastfeeding is rather painful with thrush and we can't wait until we can enjoy our feedings together.
He makes the funniest faces. They have Derek and I laughing constantly. He also has the cutest sneezes and is quite the sneezy baby!
He gets the hiccups at least twice a day. He tolerates them really well unless he's trying to eat, then he gets annoyed. We've started using gripe water when he gets them but I can't tell if it works or not.
He loves his swing and spends most of the night sleeping in it. He sleeps really well and will usually do two 3-4 hour spans and one 2 hour span. He always goes right back to sleep after eating.
We are loving him more and more everyday and love seeing his little personality develop.
He loves car rides! He usually sits in his car seat wide awake and only fusses if he's missing a feeding or wants to be cuddled.
We've started going on walks in the morning and he seems to like them more. We're up to about 15 minutes before he's done.

He wants to eat now so pictures will have to wait!

First photo shoot

2009-08-05T19:39:00.004-06:00

Rowan had his first professional photo shoot on Sunday. Let's just say it didn't go as I had hoped, but you can't really have high expectations for a 10 day old. He didn't sleep as we had hoped and wanted to eat the whole time. He's also really strong for how old he is and kept moving out of all the positions we was put into. However, she was amazing and got some really cute photos! Here's her website for a little preview.
Chelsea Stirlen Photography
We are just loving our little guy so much and feel so grateful to be his parents.

Rowan's Story

2009-07-29T15:14:00.011-06:00

Here's a link to pictures, it's taken me forever to write this and I'm too lazy to spend time uploading pictures.
Look on Flickr

This is really long, but I don't want to forget anything about this amazing day!

Wednesday night was when it all started, even though I didn't know it was starting. We went to Sweet Tomatoes with Derek's mom. I had been craving it for days and wanted to go before the little guy got here. I joked that maybe the super full stomach would push him out, I guess it didn't hurt! On the way home I had a few contractions, but nothing out of the ordinary.
When we got home Derek started to build our new computer and I watched him on the couch as I continued to have contractions that were anywhere from 20-40 minutes a part. I fell asleep and he woke me up when he left for work. I continued to have contractions throughout the night and would wake up in immense pain but was able to fall back asleep when they were over. Finally at 3 I woke up and the contractions were 5 minutes a part. I really didn't believe I was in labor so I just decided I would see if they lasted. Obviously they did. I browsed the internet, watched tv, and ate some food. They were now about 3 minutes a part and I decided to IM Derek and let him know that perhaps I was in labor. He asked me if he should come home and I told him not yet because I wasn't sure. I decided to go for a walk around 5 to see if they would stop. Walking with contractions is not fun. I got back inside and told him that he should probably come home because by this time they were about 2 and a half minutes a part and Super painful.
When he got home I had a bit of an emotional breakdown and started crying during the contractions. I had been fine with them until he got there! We decided to shower to make sure that didn't stop them before we called our Doula over.
Around 8 our Doula, Amy, came. The contractions were about 2 minutes a part with some coming right after the previous one stopped. Amy was at our house for about 45 minutes before she decided we should head for the hospital.
At this point I was still in a bit of denial that I was in labor. Remember just 3 days before my doctor told me that this baby wasn't coming on his own. Contractions in the car are not fun and I had a few on the way over. Luckily the hospital is about 5 minutes from our house. Walking into the hospital wasn't exactly fun either. I borrowed a truck to lean on and a sign in front of the door to brace myself during them. People kept looking at us and asking if we needed help. We finally got up to labor and delivery and the nursed asked if I was here to be induced. I was thinking "HELLO CAN'T YOU SEE I'M IN LABOR HERE" Once I told her I was in labor they took me into a room to get changed and checked to see how far along I was. I remember thinking please be at least a 5 so I don't get sent home! After a few more contractions I was ready to be checked. I almost screamed with joy when she said I was already a 7! This is the point when I finally believed that I was in labor and going to have this baby TODAY!
I decided to get in the tub to try to relax. I wasn't being a very good relaxer like we had practiced and I needed to calm down. The tub felt SO good, but it didn't really relax me. My doctor stopped by while I was in the tub and said how surprised he was that I was here and had progressed this far without any help. Amy helped me with contractions as Derek filled out paperwork. After about a half hour I got out of the tub and began laboring on the birth ball we brought. My birth ball was my best friend and I labored most of the time on it. When I was checked again I was a 9 and my water was still intact. They asked if I wanted it broken but I told them no. I kept telling Amy and Derek that I couldn't do this, but they kept reassuring me that I could do and I was doing it. The pain was a lot more intense then I was expecting and I was not able to relax during the contractions like I had hoped. Instead I moaned and groaned and squeezed whatever hand was closest to me. Amy did a lot of hip squeezes to help me through the contractions and had all sorts of smelly stuff for different stages of labor. She had this orange one that helped with the nausea a ton! I'm so glad she was there to help us through. At around 12:45 my doctor came back to check me and said that I was still a 9 and baby was at a 0. I decided to let him break my water to try to get Rowan to move down. That was a really weird feeling having all this warm water gush out of you and having no control over it. The contractions became so much worse now that I didn't have my water. My insides felt like they were on fire. It was not pleasant. I was starting to feel the urge to push and so the doctor checked me again. I was finally at a 10! They got the room all set up and a lot more nurses were there. At 1:20 I began pushing our little man out! The pushing felt amazing. It was so nice to be able to do something to make the contraction pain go away. Apparently I'm really good at pushing and only did so for 25 minutes and didn't even tear! I believe I didn't tear because I could feel what my body wanted me to do, when to push and when to stop. That's one of the perks of natural labor.The feeling of him coming out was the most bizarre and amazing feeling I have ever felt. I could feel his little head trying to make it's way out and when the doctor told me he was crowning I felt a huge sigh of relief. I think his shoulders coming out hurt worse than his head. I had meconium in my water so Rowan had to be suctioned when he came out and I wasn't able to really hold him until he had been checked out. It is not how we had planned things but I was prepared for things to go differently then planned so I was ok with it. I remember staring at his cute little face laying on my stomach as Derek cut his cord. I couldn't believe that he had been inside of me. He was perfect. It seemed like forever until Derek brought him over to me. I couldn't stop staring at him. He didn't want to breastfeed right away due to a tube being shoved down his throat but a few hours later he decided to start.
I still look at him and back on the experience in amazement. Things went so well and we couldn't have asked for anything more. He is completely healthy and my recovery has been great. I was able to get up and walk right after his birth because I wasn't numb and didn't have to come down from any pain meds. Rowan was so alert after birth and the hours following because he didn't have any meds making him sleepy. I won't say that natural childbirth was easy but I will say it was worth every ounce of pain. Knowing that I let my body do what it was meant to do was an amazing feeling. Not to mention the great natural high you get afterward.
He's now 10 days old and as cute as can be. He's a really great baby and only cries when he's hungry. He LOVES to eat and does so quite often. He had a bit of jaundice when we went to his follow up visit but it has gone away on it's own. We also took him to the chiropractor to make sure that everything was aligned right (when doctors pull babies out a lot of times it makes them misaligned) The chiropractor hangs them upside down from their knees, it was the funniest thing! Rowan didn't even care. He said he was perfect, and we couldn't agree more.

Rowan's Here!

2009-07-24T20:38:00.001-06:00

So Rowan decided to come on his own time. I'll write more later and post pictures, but he's here and as cute as can be. Born July 23rd at 1:44pm 7lbs 4 oz 20 inches long with TONS of long brown hair! The labor was as natural as can be and both of us are doing well.

Rowan's Deadline

2009-07-21T08:35:00.002-06:00

So yesterday at the doctors he informed that I had two options, neither of which I would like (that is not something you want to hear)
Option A: Have a c section because he thinks the baby is too big which is why he hasn't dropped all the way yet.
Option B: Be induced on Saturday night with Cervadil to soften my cervix and then have pitocin started on Sunday.
Obviously I do not want to have a c section so I opted for the induction. My blood pressure was better yesterday but not great. I'm still at a 1 and 50% effaced. I'm a bit flustered with my doctor. I don't know how he can predict the baby is too big to come out when I haven't even made it to my due date yet and haven't even gone into labor. Derek was mad. We're feeling better after talking about it with each other and talking with our Doula.
We're doing everything we can to get my body prepared for the induction and possibly go into labor on its own. If my body isn't ready to go into labor the induction will fail and I will end up with a c section anyway.
I'm so glad that we decided to have a doula, as this will be a much harder labor than we had anticipated. Hopefully I'm wrong, but pitocin makes for much harder contractions.
I know that some people would love the idea of only having to go 1 day overdue, obviously I don't. I am however very excited to meet this sweet baby who has been living in me for the past 9 months! It's still hard to believe that I will not be pregnant this time next week...crazy! I just have to keep reminding myself that in the end we will have our baby here, it may not be the way I believe babies should come into the world, but he will be here none the less. I can't wait to see what he looks like and experience the joys of motherhood. I'm also so excited to see Derek as a dad. I know that he is going to be an AMAZING father to Rowan, he already is!
Last night Derek took me to get an hour long prenatal massage...it was heavenly. He takes such good care of me. It really helped me relax after a stressful day.
This is our last week before we become a family of 3 and I plan to cherish every minute of it.

Rowan's Nursery

2009-07-16T20:53:00.012-06:00

So his nursery is pretty much done. We have a few things to hang up still, but are waiting until we have pictures to go in them. I love the calm feeling I get when I go in there and I can't wait to play and snuggle with Rowan in it!

From the doorway

Is it not the coolest thing ever that I found scrapbook paper that matches the fabric we used? Hobby Lobby is my new favorite store!

We have breathable bumpers for his crib, but will put them on once he can move around.

His changing table, the top folds down to make the area bigger. Super cool.

I think this is my favorite part of the nursery. It's supposed to stand straight up and down but I decided to have it on it's side so that Rowan can get the baskets of toys and books out. I think it turned out really cute.

We found this cute painting at a garage sale!

I love the curtains and blinds we chose. We wanted to add a little warmth with the blind color and I think it turned out great!

Almost 39 weeks

2009-07-15T09:38:00.002-06:00

We had our weekly appointment yesterday. Nothing too exciting. I dilated a bit more and am now 50% effaced. Rowan dropped further, but not enough to make the doctor excited. My blood pressure was borderline high...no good...my doula thinks it was because I was super sick last week and my body used its "reserve nourishment" to make up for things which is causing high blood pressure. I'm not having much swelling, headaches, protein in urine, or any other signs of toxemia or preeclampsia so that is good. I'm going to try upping my protein intake and eating more fruits and veggies to help get it back down. We'll see if it works when I go back on Monday.
He did offer to pretty much induce me anytime I want to. He said the baby is a good size, lungs are ready, and my body is progressing so he has no problem inducing. Derek and I however do have a problem with that. We told him no thanks and we would rather him come when he's ready. A natural birth with pitocin will be a lot harder than without. I'm afraid though that if my blood pressure doesn't go down next week he will insist on being induced. If that is the case of course I would say yes because I don't want to endanger my son, it's just not my ideal way of starting labor.
I'm just so thankful that we educated ourselves before the big day. I feel good that we've done everything we can to let Rowan have a healthy start on life. I think the biggest thing I've learned is to do your own research. Doctors don't know everything and have biased opinions on what they think works best. So the lesson of the day is form your own opinions based on research and your doctors knowledge.

Ultrasound

2009-07-08T07:34:00.004-06:00

We had our last ultrasound yesterday. It was so awesome! I can't believe how much he has grown since the last time we saw him. Last time his whole body fit on the screen and this time only parts did like his head, belly, or back.

He has the cutest little face with chubby little cheeks. This is looking straight down on his face. You can see his eyes, nose, cheeks, and mouth.

We saw him rubbing his eyes and shaking his head as to tell us to leave him alone. He weighs about 7lbs 4oz...she said the machine usually estimates high and can be off by a half a pound. But it's good to know that he's going to be a good size baby. People keep telling me that I'm so small and how can I be giving birth in just that many weeks, so it had me paranoid that I was going to have a midget child. He's no midget! His measurements were great! He is still floating around in plenty of fluid and the placenta is holding up nicely. It starting to get calcifications on it which means that his lungs are maturing, so that is also a good sign.
He's getting down there nice and low and I'm dilated to a 1. I'm happy that I've made some sort of progress with all of the contractions I've been having. I know that it doesn't mean anything because I could give birth tomorrow or stay dilated to a 1 for weeks.
My parents finally came back from Africa so Rowan can come anytime he wants to now =)

37 Weeks

2009-07-02T08:16:00.002-06:00

Rowan can come anytime now and he will be considered "Full Term" Hooray! We made it! I'm not expecting him to make his appearance anytime soon, but it's nice to know that he would be nice and healthy.
I don't have a doctors appointment this week because my Doc is out of town, but I do have one on Tuesday that will include an ultrasound =)
I'm SO ready to have this little boy here. It seems as the days pass I get more and more uncomfortable. I can't wait to not have to sleep on my side anymore! My hips do not appreciate my current sleeping positions. I am also sick of having to go to the bathroom all the time! It seems as soon as I go from a sitting to standing position I have to go...so annoying! However, I figure all the "bad" stuff that comes with pregnancy is a small price to pay for what we get in return. Sometimes it's still hard to believe that we will have a baby in our home this month! That's if he is a good boy and doesn't decide to stay in until August!
I think I will pack our hospital bag today. I have Rowan's bag packed, but not ours. I'm also going to cook dinner in our solar oven. Hopefully we'll get enough sun to let it cook.
We don't really have plans for the 4th. We usually go to the Clearfield Fireworks by us, but I just don't think I'm up to it this year, so we'll probably spend the night at my mom's to get her house decorated for Sunday when they come home!
I think we'll do homemade ice cream and roast hot dogs and marshmallows in the parent's backyard. Derek said he thinks the fireworks will scare Rowan so he doesn't want to go...so cute!

update

2009-06-25T07:50:00.004-06:00

Not too much going on at the Deviny household. We had our 36 week appointment yesterday. Everything is great. Rowan has a nice "healthy" heartbeat as the doctor would say and we are pretty positive that he is head down! GO ROWAN!!! We go back on the 7th for an ultrasound to see how much fluid I have, how the placenta is holding up, and approximately how big he is. I'm super excited to see him one last time before he comes. He gets the hiccups almost every night before I go to bed. It's so dang cute.
I'm feeling alright. I'm definitely ready for him to come. I have irregular contractions throughout the day, but nothing painful, just uncomfortable. I have to pee ALL the time and am constantly thirsty, which probably doesn't help in the going to the bathroom department. Sleeping is becoming more difficult as the days go on, but I still sleep pretty well considering how far along I am.
His nursery is ready for him to come. I have a few more walls to find stuff for but other then that it is organized and looking pretty dang cute! I'll post pics as soon as I figure out what to hang on the other walls.
So Rowan has to stay in until July 5th and then he can come anytime he feels he is ready. My doctor and parents are both out of town next week so Rowan is under strict orders not to come!
That's all for now!

New Wheels

2009-06-18T16:16:00.006-06:00

So we ended up buying the car. I LOVE it!

This is what it looks like.
Now we just need to sell my car and get the license plate to stay on the back!
Rowan also got a new set of wheels! The stroller my parents bought for us finally came! He is going to be traveling in style! I've had it picked out since we became pregnant. It's Red and the seat comes off to hold a car seat. The handle also can go to either end so I can look at him while I take him on walks!
I took my parents to the airport today. I know they're going to have a fun time. My mom is super paranoid about Rowan coming while she's gone. I know that he won't and kept telling her there was nothing to worry about. Now hopefully they don't get eaten by a hippo or something while they're gone! We're going to "house sit" on the weekends while they're away, it will be nice to soak in they're super huge bathtub. My mom even stocked the fridge with all of our favorite foods and bought stuff to cook dinner in their fire pit. I can't wait until they come back though. I miss them already!
I'm feeling pretty good these days. Only 5 weeks left! Sleeping is becoming a bit more challenging and the exhaustion is setting in pretty nicely. I've definitely started nesting and need to have everything in order. Derek put shelves up in Rowan's closet so I've started organizing his room. It's a lot of fun deciding where to put all of his stuff and his clothes look so cute hung up. I've decided that he should come on July 8th. Then his birthday would be 07-08-09. Wouldn't that be an awesome birthday. Derek says it's too early for him to come though...only 2 weeks, so it's considered "full term" I guess Rowan will decide for himself what day he wants his birthday. He doesn't really kick anymore, he pushes and does some sort of rolling movement. He also gets the "jitters" which is funny. He makes my whole stomach wiggle. The hiccups are also fun. He usually gets them once a day and they last for about 5 minutes or so. I think he so adorable already, I can't wait to see his real adorableness when he makes his big debut!

The past week

2009-06-11T08:06:00.003-06:00

We had our baby shower this past weekend and it was amazing! I'm too lazy to post pictures. So many of our friends and family came and we got so many wonderful gifts! Rowan is such a lucky boy to have so many people care about him. The shower turned out just the way we wanted. We had a BBQ with boys and girls invited. There was even a snow cone machine, I have a slight obsession with snow cones lately.
I've been working on getting the nursery organized. He has SO much stuff! It's fun to wash all of his clothes and blankets and put them in their places. We only have odds and ends left to buy and have plenty of gift cards to buy them with!
We might buy a car today...it's a Mazda 6. I love it. It has a leak that has to be fixed so if the guy will pay for it to get fixed then we will buy it. It's so nice that we are paying cash for the car so we won't have a car payment when the baby comes!
I'm loving this weather. Perfect pregnant girl weather. If it stayed like this all summer I would be happy, however I know the heat is bound to show up soon.
My parents leave for Africa next week...they don't come back until July 5th! I'm going to be so lonely, I talk to my mom a few times a day!
My doctor appointment went great yesterday. We finally gave our doctor our birth plan. He said it was all reasonable. I'm glad he approved of it, Derek was a bit concerned he wouldn't. We're not asking for crazy things...I don't want to be induced unless it is ABSOLUTELY necessary. I think Rowan should choose his birthday, not me just because I'm sick of being pregnant. No pain medicine, I want to eat and drink throughout labor, no IV, want to walk around (another reason I don't want to be induced or have epidural, walking can shorten labor by 28%) don't cut the cord right away, examine baby while I'm holding him. I'm sure this is all so interesting. I have just learned SO much about giving birth and feel very passionate about it lately. This will be one of the biggest events of our lives and I want to be fully informed about all of our options. I want Rowan to have the best start to life as possible, he deserves it! I'm so excited to give birth to this precious boy!

So much stuff...

2009-06-04T08:19:00.004-06:00

I've been meaning to document all the happenings lately, but I keep forgetting.
Work ended. I am loving being home. I take naps everyday. Derek got a promotion at work and I'm so very proud of him! He has crazy hours right now, but I'm so thankful for a husband that would think about what will be best for our family in the long run. I have a pretty amazing husband!
The pregnancy is coming along splendidly. Only 7 weeks left! I have an appointment today. I'm sure nothing too exciting. It's the same every time. Get weighed, pee in a cup, blood pressure taken, listen to Rowan's heartbeat (best part) and answer questions as to how I'm feeling. In two weeks I start going ever week and I think in 3 weeks I get my final ultrasound. I can't wait to see how much he has changed since our 18 week ultrasound. Derek and I are getting so excited for him to make his appearance. I'm super excited for our baby shower this weekend. I think it's going to be fun, and hopefully it won't rain.
We went on a fun hike last week. It was the perfect hike for a pregnant girl. I love hikes that end with waterfalls.

The waterfall is in between those rocks.

My belly at the waterfall. Weird to think there's a four pound baby in there!

Memorial day weekend we headed to Moab for Desert Rocks Music Festival. I didn't want to go, Derek did. I went. It rained... A LOT! There was a flash flood. We left Sunday instead of Monday. I was so done. We did get to see Hot Buttered Rum, which is the only reason I went. Luckily it stopped raining just in time for them to play.

The River and waterfall that suddenly formed by our tent
<
When we left we stopped and had a delicious breakfast at the old jail house.

=)

2009-05-19T17:06:00.001-06:00

3 MORE DAYS OF WORK!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm slightly excited.
We're going to Moab this weekend for a music festival. Hopefully I come back alive.
7 months pregnant + camping in the heat = not so happy Janessa

life and such

2009-05-12T18:24:00.005-06:00

A bit of an update for my remembering...
*I'm almost 30 weeks. I remember thinking back when I first found out I was pregnant that I would be 31 weeks when the school year was over and here I am one week away!
*We went and toured hospitals last night. Davis and McKay Dee. I think we're going to go to Davis just because it's closer to us then Mckay is. They both seemed to offer the same services and had similar policies.
*Rowan likes to push really hard with his feet on my stomach. It feels so cool (I think it's his feet) He also enjoys kicking my ribs, which sort of takes my breath away.
*I have heartburn and acid reflux pretty much everyday...today it was ALL day.
*I'm feeling really confident in giving birth and am only anxious to meet our little one. The pain doesn't scare me. I think I will have enough knowledge and techniques to be able to work through the pain.
*I'm really glad we've decided to have a Doula at our birth. I think it helps with my confidence level.
*My first mothers day was nice- flowers, plants for the garden, sweetest card ever, a silly picture.
*We are looking for a new car. A Mazda 6 (they have good safety ratings) by the end of June we'll have enough cash in our car fund to buy a fairly new one 2005/06
*I LOVE watermelon right now. I have 1/4 of one left that I started eating on Saturday. I could eat a whole one in one day probably but I try to not be a piggy!
* I also love anything cold and drinkable. Such as slurpees and smoothies!
* I have doctor appointments every 2 weeks now. At my last appointment everything was great. I also don't have gestational diabetes and my blood pressure is still good!
* I'm getting more and more excited to meet this little boy!

He likes to move it, move it

2009-04-26T15:03:00.003-06:00

This little boy inside of me has become so active the past few days. Ever since Friday night he has been having a party. It's been so fun to feel him throughout the day, as I usually only feel him at night. He was kicking Derek so hard the other night it had us both cracking up. He also seems to like it when Derek blows raspberries on my stomach. He would squirm around and then kick after each time. Today I used my heartbeat monitor thing I bought at Target a few months back to see if I could hear his heartbeat yet...and sure enough I could! I have been trying every few days with no success until now. It was so awesome. He also kept punching right where the thing was on my belly so I could hear that too. AND...I did the flashlight on the stomach trick and sure enough that worked too. I could see him move and kick when the light was on my stomach...I know I'm a mean mom, but it was so cute! I love that we can interact with him even though he is in my stomach. It makes me so excited for him to arrive. I can't believe that I'm in my 3rd trimester (in a few days) and that my days left are no longer in the triple digits =) I'm sure these last 3 months will fly by since I won't have work for 2 of them!

Easter, Nursery, Birthday

2009-04-18T10:25:00.013-06:00

We got started on the nursery set! So far we have the crib skirt, curtains, and pillows done. It's turning out so dang cute!

The bed skirt

We had Kevan and my mom come up a few weeks ago and Kevan put chair rail in the nursery. We're going to paint the top half a creamish tan color and the bottom half a green color...not like forest green and not like lime green it's an in between green that I really like!
We had another doctors appointment and things are going great! He said I was an easy patient because everything is going so "normal". After my next appointment on May 5th I will be going every 2 weeks and then in my last month every week! I can't believe I'm almost to 2 week appointments! Rowan is getting super strong. He kicks so hard. Derek felt him kick last night and couldn't believe how much harder the kicks have gotten. Even his little heart beat was so much louder and stronger than 3 weeks ago.
Easter was great.I made a cute little basket for Derek and made him find it! I hid it out on the front porch and it took him forever to find it.

Hooray he found it! I love his dinosaur feet pajamas!

My mom went all out for Easter as usual. We had a gourmet breakfast and a super hard Easter egg hunt. We got lots of gift cards! Kevan even dressed up in my mom's Easter bunny costume!

We spent the evening with Derek's family and had a super yummy dinner.

My birthday was the day after Easter and it worked out that I got to have the day off. My mom, sister and two of her kiddos came up and we went and got super delicious scones and did some shopping. My mom gave me gift cards to babies r us to go towards the glider we wanted. We went and ordered the glider yesterday and I can't wait for it to arrive!
I got flowers from Derek

I had just woken up from a wonderful birthday nap too!

and My mom!

Derek and I went to Olive Garden for dinner...I crave their salad constantly! For dessert I had the most delicious fancy chocolate cake ever!

After dinner we went to the mall and I got a new pair of mary jane crocs! I know most people think crocs are the ugliest thing ever but I am way more into comfort these days then fashion. It was a super great birthday even though I was sick...and still am =(

I only have 4 more weeks of work left!!!!! I am so excited to have 2 months off before Rowan comes to get lots of stuff done and get in some good relaxing time. I feel so lucky to have such a hard working husband so I can be done with work.

16 weeks to go!

2009-04-02T20:06:00.005-06:00

I hit the 24 week mark today! I like this week because it marks the week that if Rowan was born, he would have a chance of survival. It's a good feeling in a weird way. I in no means hope he comes early, but it's good to know he would have a chance if he did.
It also means only 16 weeks left until his due date! WOW! This pregnancy is just flying by.
We had our first birthing class last night. We are taking the Bradley Method class. It's a 12 week class that teaches everything from nutrition, exercises, natural child birth, to having a c-section. It will teach Derek to be my birthing coach too. Our instructor is really awesome and I'm excited that we have decided to use her as our Doula as well. We have homework every week that we get to do together which is fun. I feel really good about our decision to give birth naturally. I think we will both be very well prepared and not feel apprehensive about it at all. With all of the information I have read about the medicines used for pain or to induce birth I just don't feel comfortable using them as a first choice. I figure my body is meant to do this so I will give it a chance =)
After tomorrow I have the next 10 days off of work for Spring Break! I hope to get lots of baby stuff accomplished and start working on all the sewing we have to do.

Kick!

2009-03-23T08:43:00.003-06:00

Last night Rowan (99% sure that will be his name) was moving around like crazy. I put Derek's hand on my belly and sure enough he felt the little guy kick! It was pretty awesome. He's pretty active at night when I'm lying in bed. Right now he's kicking me too. It's such a weird feeling.
I'm getting so excited to meet Rowan. We signed up for our birthing class and it starts April 1st and lasts for about 12 weeks. We're doing the Bradley Method class. The class is sort of expensive but since we planned for this baby so well it's not a big deal. I've heard great things about this class and am so excited to do it with Derek. We're planning on a natural birth which is why I feel we need this class. The instructor is also a Doula (google it if you don't know what it is) and so we're going to talk to her about that as well. We feel that the more support and knowledge we have during the birth the better it will be for everyone involved.
Oh Boy! Things are moving right along!

More baby stuff

2009-03-15T09:19:00.004-06:00

I have spent hours looking for the perfect bedding set for our bundle of joy and have come up empty handed every time. Every set comes with bumpers, I don't want the normal bumpers, as they can be dangerous. I want the breathable bumpers so my baby won't suffocate if his face is next to them. However, breathable bumpers don't come in bedding sets. I know I have made this very difficult, but I finally found a solution. I am making (well with the help of my mom and sister) the nursery set. I fell in love with this fabric and Derek actually loved it too!

Now we just have to make it! I think it is going to turn out so cute.

Halfway Cooked!

2009-03-05T16:09:00.002-07:00

I can't believe that my little boy is halfway ready to come! It has gone by so fast. Besides the horrid heartburn and having to eat so I don't get sick things are going pretty well. I fell this little guy swimming, swirling, and twirling inside me all the time now. I feel little kicks and punches more often now too. I LOVE it! It is the most amazing feeling and I can't wait until Derek can feel it. I know the next 20 or so weeks is going to fly by, especially once I'm done with work on May 22nd. Oh, I'm just so excited for this precious boy to join our family.

Stuff and a name

2009-02-24T18:45:00.005-07:00

Not much going on around here. I am still so excited about having a little boy! I hope we turns out just like his dad. He moves around more lately. Today I felt 3 little punches, I knew they were punches because they were by where his head is. It was so cute. I feel his fluttery movements throughout the day and it's a constant reminder of this precious life in me.
So as of right now his name is going to be Rowan. It might change...we like Ezra too, but Rowan is in the number one slot as of today.
Here is the link to his first movie appearance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VswaiwZecHg
Oh and Heart Burn SUCKS!!!! I think it may kill me!

Meet our baby!

2009-02-18T18:49:00.006-07:00

So today was the day. Derek, my mom, grandma, and sister all came to see if the baby had a "stem". Well, the verdict is yes, it does have a stem. In other words it's a BOY! I knew it! We couldn't be happier. Everything looks great, so I guess the best news is that HE is healthy! I'm so giddy right now.
So that's his face. Yes, he does look like an alien right now =)

Ups and Downs

2009-02-10T11:17:00.003-07:00

So a lot has been going on lately. Yesterday was my Grandma Nilsson's funeral. It was a lovely tribute to her amazing life. She was a wonderful person and I am a better person for having her in my life. It was a hard day for our family...losing Tyrell and Grandma within 4 months...not the best combination. Tyrell's ashes were put in my grandma's casket and buried with her. It was good closure I think.
On a happier note I believe the baby enjoyed the funeral because I am 90% positive that I felt that little peanut squirming around inside of me. I felt it twice, a feeling I had never felt before. It made me so grateful for this life that is about to come into the world, seeing that life is so precious.
We're staying at two places this weekend for Valentines. The anniversary inn and some other one that I forgot the name of. It should be pretty fun. Then on Wednesday at 4:00 we get to see this precious little baby growing inside of me. So the next week should be full of fun and excitement and a lot happier then this past week.

Almost there...

2009-02-02T16:37:00.002-07:00

Only 16 more days until we know if this little peanut is a he or a she! I'm SOOO excited!
I think I felt it move last night...I don't remember if I was awake or if I woke up but I felt a kick. I think it was real...but it might have been a dream. It was in the right spot though so I think it was real. Hopefully I'll feel it again soon so I'll know if it was real or not!
I've been feeling a lot better lately! I still have some sick days but no more throw up days so I think I"m better!
I just love this little baby so much already.

Big Purchase

2009-01-25T07:46:00.005-07:00

We made our first BIG baby purchase last night. We went to my parents to visit and for dinner and they told us that they wanted to buy our crib for us! We were so excited. My mom and I went upstairs and started looking. We found this one that I wanted on Kmart.com that was on sale for $78 (normally 140) unfortunately it was out of stock so we called the store to see if they had any. The lady told us that they had a different one on clearance for $48...WHAT a $48 crib! We had to go see. We snuck out of the house and went to Kmart to check it out. It was exactly what I was looking for...white and simple. So we called back home and told them to come to the store so we could buy it. After Kevan checked it out and approved we bought it! Oh and we got the mattress, which was more then the crib...funny. So thanks to my mama and papa we have a crib for our little one! I can't wait to start decorating the nursery when we find out the sex.

So it's not letting me upload a picture of it...I'll try again later. But trust me it's cute!

Heart Beat

2009-01-22T07:17:00.002-07:00

We had our appointment yesterday and it went great! We heard the babies heart beat for the first time (we only saw it yesterday) it was the most precious, beautiful, wonderful sound I have ever heard. I couldn't help but smile, and Derek held my arm with a giant grin on his face. The doctor said it was a fast strong heart beat (fast is good) I am measuring perfect, perfect blood pressure. I even gained some weight which the doctor was happy with, because I had lost weight at my previous appointment! So yeah it was great! My next appointment is February 18th! That's the BIG one. We have the BIG ultrasound to see if it's a he or a she and to look at all the body parts to make sure they have formed correctly!
So yeah, that's the good news of the day!

1/3 of the way

2009-01-19T10:24:00.004-07:00

So my next appointment is on WEDNESDAY!!!! I 'm so excited to check up on our little one and make sure everything is ok. I get pretty nervous though too. It all just seems too good to be true. Everything that I've ever dreamed of having in life, I have (well almost have) A great husband, a baby on the way, a wonderful home, financially doing well, my family...Don't get me wrong, we have our hardships, but this is the life I dreamed of, well without the picket fence =)
I have dreams about our baby a lot. They're weird dreams, like the other night I had a dream that Derek and I were on the couch upstairs and I got down on the floor and popped the baby out. Then we wrapped the baby up and we left for work. I realized a few hours later that I had left my baby at home so I came back to get her. It was super crazy! She was a she and had lots of hair in the dream. In all of my dreams the baby is a girl, but when I'm awake I think it's a boy...so this will be interesting to see if my dreaming mind or awakened mind is correct.
I had been feeling pretty good the last couple of weeks. Not great, but good. Then the past 3 days it's started all over! Oh well.
Oh I remember why I was writing this post. I'm in my second trimester! Isn't that amazing. I'm 1/3 of the way done! There's a little baby thing at the bottom of my blog and it's split into 3 colors and my baby is in the middle color. It's amazing to me...simply amazing.
I should probably start taking belly pictures because I think the belly is starting...that or I'm just bloated ;)
I can't suck my stomach in anymore and the bottom is getting a bit hard...the belly is growing and I couldn't be more excited! I have lots of cute maternity clothes to wear too!
Well, I'm off today and tomorrow. That's nice. I need to go clean our house.
Oh we're moving rooms around and putting ours upstairs, since the nursery will be up there. We (well, Derek and my mom) are going to start painting today. I'm excited! I'll take pictures when it's done.
The End.

Getting Closer

2009-01-05T19:49:00.003-07:00

So I have less then 200 Days until I pop a baby out! I can't believe how fast it's going by. I'll be 3 months along on Wednesday! How am I feeling you ask? Well, I have my good moments and my bad moments. I don't throw up anymore (although I'm feeling pretty close tonight) but I am nauseated most of the day still and I keep getting killer headaches! Oh and I still hate food and wish I could eat in my sleep so I don't have to taste it. However if we are together and I must eat just feed me fruit, especially sour fruit like green apples! It could be worse though. My pants are getting tight. Some jeans I can't quite button up anymore. I just look fat though =(
My next Dr's appointment is on the 21st. Then 3-4 weeks after that we'll get to find out if it's a he or a she. I think it's a BOY and everyone else seems to think it's a GIRL. I really don't care either way, I just want a healthy baby!We've pretty much agreed on names for either so that will be easy. We haven't decided if were going to tell the names because we don't want to hear "oh you can't name your child that" So we'll see. I'm not very good keeping secrets.
Well that's all for now. I'm gonna go snuggle in my warm bed (mattress pad heaters ROCK)
Oh and it took me 2 HOURS TO GET HOME FROM WORK TODAY! I only work 6 miles from home and I almost died twice and almost ran out of gas once!

Holiday Events

2008-12-27T07:37:00.022-07:00

So Christmas was so great this year! Our first present came from our little peanut when we got to have our first appointment on Christmas Eve. The doctor said everything looks great and that the baby was measuring perfectly! We got to see it move around inside of me and it's little hear beating. It was so AMAZING! It was the best Christmas present we got! We also got each other a new camera that came before Christmas. It's so totally awesome!
Next we went to my families house for our annual Christmas Eve Party. This is not your typical party. It is filled with fireworks, games, great food, and surprise guests...

My mom dressed up like a tree and Derek was Santa. They handed out presents to everyone.

My mom even decorated her huge wagon. It was hilarious!

We played family feud Christmas Edition and if you won you got a prize. We ended up winning a gift card to Chili's, Lowes, and a shower radio!

Next was present time. This is my niece Gianna. She got a pink motorcycle!

Here is Derek with Gianna, Kolten, and Wyatt. Getting ready to open his present.

He got a rip stick and so did my brother in law. They played with them down in the basement. Wyatt and Kolten got new scooters too!

My mom goes crazy with presents! We got a new comforter set, hose winder thingy, pajamas, clothes, I got the softest robe ever, sheets, and much more!
We went home that night and spent Christmas morning at our house opening the gifts we had for each other.
Here is our cute little tree!

Derek gave me the most thoughtful gifts. He knows I love Belle so much and gave me Belle iron on patches, a Belle doll, Belle socks, Belle sucker, and a special Belle pin you can only get by trading with Belle at Disneyland (he found it on Ebay) and a Belle ornament!

Derek also gave me a pinkish purplish radio for my ipod, a new mp3 player to take to the gym that is so tiny but it holds 2 gigs and has an fm radio so I can listen to the tv shows! I have a HUGE stocking and he made sure it was overflowing! He gave me lots of cute notes that I can exchange for things I have been craving such as cafe rio, pizza, and ice cream! I think I have the most thoughtful husband ever!
I gave Derek a very colorful hat which I think he looks super cute in!

I bought Phish iron ons and made a matching t-shirt and onesie for him and the baby!

I also gave him a book called What to Expect When Your Wife is Expanding, a new mouse for the computer, a hand drawn Phish poster, a shop vac, a game for the wii called Cooking Mama and a new razor. He is the hardest person to shop for EVER! We had a great Christmas morning together though.
Then it was back down to my parents house to see what Santa had left us there and to have breakfast. I also got to spend more time with my cute new nephew Luke. He is my step sisters new baby. She flew in from Arizona with her fiance. We had not seen her for like 4 years! Her baby is so cute and it made me so much more excited to have one of my own!

Santa was very generous this year and brought me a red Kithenaid mixer! I have been wanting one and was so hoping that this was the year!

Derek got some more Phish prizes like a calendar. It was so much fun to spend the rest of the morning down with my family.
Then it was off to spend the evening with Derek's family at his mom's boyfriends house. His family all came over and we had a nice dinner! All of Derek's family except his mom and brother live up in Washington so we missed them this year!

After dinner we took turns reading a story and opening gifts.

It was such a great holiday! Yesterday my mom came up and we played the wii and I made homemade bread and muffins with my new mixer! I'm in love with it!
Tomorrow we're off to Denver to spend New Years with friends and see Hot Buttered Rum. We'll be back late New Years Day...I think!
So have a safe and happy New Years!

Tag I'm it

2008-12-21T15:35:00.003-07:00

Whitney tagged me so here it goes...
8 Shows I watch:
Desperate Housewives
The Office
Weeds
Little House on the Prairie
House
I can't think of anymore

8 things I did yesterday:
Worked
Took a nap
Went Bowling for a family Christmas party
Went to Derek's work party
Clapped when he won a $250 gift card
Blew my nose 100 times
Ate strawberries
Listened to Coast to Coast

8 places I like to eat:
(When not pregnant)
Cafe Rio
Long Life Vegi House
Evergreen
Royal India
Olive Garden
Chili's
The Pie
7-11 (for slurpees)

8 things I am looking forward to:
Having my 1st ultrasound
Finding out if it's a boy or girl in February
Having a healthy baby
Seeing Derek as a Daddy
Going to Denver for New Years
Being off for 2 weeks
Not feeling sick anymore
Christmas

8 things on my wish list:
A healthy baby

A Kitchenaid Mixer

Magic feel good medicine

4 Door car

Snowblower

Cute maternity clothes

A maid

Some sort of sleeping heating device for our bed

No Title

2008-12-20T09:37:00.003-07:00

I'm off of work for 16 days.
I can't sleep at night.
I have a super stuffy nose.
Strawberries are delicious.
I have no desire to shower.
I want it to be Wednesday.
My life will forever change Wednesday.
For better or worse...we'll see.
Hopefully better.
I hope Christmas is not too emotional.
I don't do well with emotional lately.
I wish my grandpa could meet my baby.
Same with Tyrell.
Derek is so sweet to me.
He puts up with my crazy pregnant emotions.
I hate eating.
Nothing ever sounds good.
I do love slurpees though.
And oranges.
This was very random.
I'll blame it on the pregnancy.
It's a good excuse for everything!

Life

2008-12-13T06:12:00.002-07:00

This month seems to be flying by. I am grateful for this because I so badly want to go to my doctors appointment on the 24th. However, I am a bit terrified that they will say something is wrong and then Christmas would be ruined.
My last day of work is Friday. That means only 4 days with head start kiddos, 3 days with preschool kiddos and one planning day. Then it's 16 days of FREEDOM!
I went bowling on Wednesday with some friends I used to work with. I suck. However I did feel cool wearing my own bowling shoes (Thanks Lane) Anyway, I found out that my friend Erienne is pregnant too! She is due July 22nd, one day before me! I'm pretty excited to be able to go through my first pregnancy with somebody I know.
I've been feeling better lately. My nausea comes and goes and is never really predictable. I have terrible food aversions. I almost vomit by the mere thought of some foods. I'm addicted to Popsicles, Pace Bars in particular. They are like a snow cone on a stick. I've been craving Long Life Veggie House. Cashew Chicken and Lemon Chicken...I need it soon. We tried to bribe Derek's brother into bringing it to me last night but that was a no go.
Sometimes I really hate that we live so far away from where our lives are. I mean sure we have a life up here, but everyone we know, everything we like to do, everywhere we like to eat, is not by us. Someday I hope to move back down to normal civilization, but we'll probably end up moving even further away for Derek's job...but that's ok.
I wake up so early. I was up at 4 this morning. I tried so hard to go back to sleep but it was just not happening.
The End.

Thanksgiving and Shopping

2008-12-02T17:59:00.002-07:00

Thanksgiving was good. It would have been better if I could have taken more than two bites of my food. There's always next year though.
To me Thanksgiving is something you have to do to get to the real festivities...BLACK FRIDAY! This year was a huge success and it was so much fun having my sister come along. People say I'm crazy for loving it so much, but there's just something about racing down the aisle to find you get to take the last of whatever you are hunting down.
I'm still pregnant so that's good. This little babe growing in me sure does make me sick though. I'm nauseated all day long and feel like I haven't slept in days. It's totally worth it though and I'm so not complaining just writing it down for record.
Only 3 more weeks until our doctors appointment! That also means 3 more weeks until Christmas Eve! Which also means only 2 1/2 weeks until I get out for Christmas Break which is 16 days this year!

A thought

2008-11-25T07:20:00.003-07:00

As I knelt over the porcelain goddess this morning emptying my stomach of the delicious smoothie I had just drank I had a thought. I had never been so happy to throw up. It's a sign that my body is doing what it is supposed to be doing and that my baby is growing inside me. I would do this every morning for the next 7 and a half months if it meant I would have a healthy baby. This becoming a parent thing sure is crazy!

A Baby!

2008-11-23T08:56:00.004-07:00

I found out 2 weeks ago that we were expecting our first baby. I guess the Clomid really worked for us! I surprised Derek with a breakfast of baby pancakes and wrapped the pregnancy test in some baby bibs that said "My daddy is my buddy" and "Later I'm Downloading" He unwrapped them and looked at the pregnancy test and said "not pregnant" he didn't see the faint little line that I had seen so clearly a few hours before. I told him no, it's positive, we're pregnant! Needless to say he was ecstatic! I've taken about 4 pregnancy tests since then just to make sure I wasn't crazy, and sure enough they're still positive!
Last night we went to tell my parents. I had a suspicion that they knew already so I wanted to surprise them in a cute way. (My suspicion was wrong, well Kevan sort of knew) We doorbell ditched them and left a baby doll on the front porch with a note that said "If found please return to Janessa and Derek by July 2009. They're expecting me!" My mom answered the door while on the phone with my sister and was a bit baffled. After a minute she started screaming "I think Janessa's pregnant" We came out of hiding and she was jumping up and down for joy! Later my sister came over and we had a pizza party and played Rock Band.
We're telling Derek's family tonight. We have to bring dessert to dinner and I think I'm going to make cupcakes with pink and blue frosting to see if anyone gets it.
Our first doctors appointment isn't until Christmas Eve, I'll be 10 weeks. The wait seems so long. I've been feeling so-so. I've only thrown up once, I found out my tummy doesn't like juice in the morning. I feel nauseous when I'm hungry and then after I eat, so pretty much all the time. However, I wouldn't trade if for anything.
We're really excited for this next adventure in our lives!

Park City

2008-09-14T08:11:00.004-06:00

On Saturday Derek and I decided to go to Park City to do a little shopping and have some lunch. The leaves are starting to change and it was a beautiful drive up. The weather was also amazing which made shopping at the outlet stores very enjoyable.
It ended up being a very successful shopping day and we got all that we were looking for and more! I got some new work out shoes. They are the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn. They are Adidas climacool shoes and look similar to these only mine are a white and mint green.

They had this deal going where if you bought a bag you got 30% off whatever was in the bag. So we found a cute black and pink duffel bag for $12 and put my shoes, sports bra, and a sweat band for Derek in it. The total came to $80 and with the discount it was only $60 so we actually saved more money by buying the bag then not buying it! I love great deals.
Derek got some workout shorts and these cool bike shorts that have padding in them so your but doesn't get so sore. He's excited to wear them to spinning class.
After shopping we headed up to main street and ate at the Eating Establishment. We both got veggie grilled cheese and fries. It was amazing! However, I had the worst stomach ache the rest of the night :(
All in all it was a great little day trip and it was so much fun to shop with my lovey!

A Fabulous Beginning...

2008-09-01T15:23:00.004-06:00

I know that fall hasn't officially begun yet, but to me it has and this weekend was a fabulous way to begin a new season! Friday when I got home I found Derek counting the money in our piggy bank that we started before we got married. I asked him what he was doing and he said he wanted to take me to dinner to celebrate me finishing my first whole week of work! We were out of money in our entertainment envelope so he found another way to take me to dinner...he is the sweetest husband ever! We ended up going to Pier 49 Pizza. We each got our own little pizza's and they were fabulous! We then went and ran some errands for my work and then to the DI to find some curtains for the dramatic play area in my classroom. I found some curtains and Derek found an awesome printer/scanner/copier for $5 we got it home and it works and has full ink levels! What a deal!
On Saturday we decided to go around to garage sales. I have been wanting to all summer but never have gotten around to it. We found some awesome deals. I got some cute vintage salad bowls that look like lettuce leafs and some yellow vintage flower dishes! Each set was only $1 totally awesome! We also found a jogging stroller for $15 and it's super nice. We found some parenting/pregnancy books that I've been wanting. A compact baby swing for $5 Hopefully we'll be able to use our new baby items next year! Oh and Derek found Heelies. Ya know the shoes with wheels! Who knew they actually made them in his size! He was so excited. His smile lit up his whole face when he saw them. We then went to find some corn to buy. We found a cute little road side stand that has AMAZING corn! We got a whole bag for $4...that's like 20 corns! That night we went to dinner with my Grandma and little bug Kolten, he was staying the weekend with her.
On Sunday we went to a BBQ (well an indoor one since it was down pouring) at Nelson's house who is Derek's mom's boyfriend. We had a great time and ate really yummy food. Derek always likes it when he gets to talk to his brother about computers!
Unfortunately Derek had to work today (well, he actually chose to work) so I miss him. But he'll be home soon =)
I'm loving the rain and hope it stays cool for awhile!

Work...Whats that?

2008-08-25T19:36:00.002-06:00

So summer is over and I began work last Wednesday. I forgot what it's like to work 8 hours a day...it's tiring! I'm super busy right now setting up my classroom, cleaning my classroom, getting orientation ready, preparing for home visits, organizing everything, and the list goes on and on and on! I think it's going to be a really great year once I learn the ropes. I work with really great people which makes it nice! They say that the first year is always the hardest and the next year it gets easier (well, hopefully I'll be at home with a baby next year) but I think I'll survive!

Star Bright, Star Light

2008-08-23T07:47:00.003-06:00

Last night we went to dinner at Red Robin with my family for Derek's birthday. After dinner we were trying to decide what we wanted to do in the evening. We decided that we wanted to go star gazing. So we came home and Derek researched where a good place to go would be. We ended up going about 30 miles north and 20 miles east of where we live. We went down a dirt road by some hay fields and parked. We put blankets and pillows on top of our car and started gazing. Derek started seeing so many shooting stars and I was so jealous. However, I soon started seeing some too. It was amazing how many stars we could see and we could even see the milky way! It was so beautiful. It was pretty windy and being next to a hay field made my eyes water A LOT so I sat in the car after an hour and looked out the window while Derek was on the roof. All of a sudden Derek got really excited and said he saw a giant red shooting star thing that exploded! How cool. I was a tad bit sad that I didn't see it.
All in all it was a great star gazing experience. It was the first time we had done it together but I think we'll be doing it plenty more.

Jack Johnson and The Oaks

2008-08-20T18:17:00.014-06:00

On Monday, which was our first anniversary we went and saw Jack Johnson and USANA. We both really enjoy his music! We showed up without tickets and ended up getting two tickets for the price of one! One of the tickets we bought was a GA seat (not the grass), well the lady ended up not looking at our other ticket and gave us both wristbands for the 300 section! So needless to say we were pretty excited! He played all of our favorite songs. Derek really enjoyed seeing the piano player Zach because he's originally from the band ALO which is one of his favorites. Oh yeah before the concert we went and ate at Long Life Vegi House. It was delicious as always! Derek was so sweet and gave me a homemade card, pretty flowers, and an apron that I wanted for teaching!

At Long Life about to eat

See the red wristband =)

A nice man offered to take our picture

It's JACK!!!

My pretty flowers!

Tuesday was Derek's 25th birthday. We went to The Oaks up Ogden canyon for dinner. It's one of my favorite places that I used to always go to with my grandparents growing up, so it was fun to take him there. We had a really fun time and the drive was really pretty. He didn't want a cake, but instead wanted Lime Ricky Sherbet (we had it up in Lava). I thought it would be impossible to find but found it at the first store I went to! We ended up eating our frozen wedding cake on his birthday and it actually was pretty good...we were surprised!

I had a really yummy salad

Derek had this amazing spinach pasta filled with
cheese in an alfredo sauce with artichokes!

The birthday boy!

It ended up being a great 2 days!

One year later

2008-08-18T12:00:00.000-06:00

45 Things I love about my Lovey:
1. He is the silliest person I know
2. He can always make me laugh, even when I don't want to
3. He is very patient
4. He gets me
5. He has the sweetest kisses

6. He always tries to make me happy
7. He works hard to keep our home nice

8. He is very calm and balances out my intense personality
9. He sees the good in every situation
10. He is very rational and gets me to see the rational side of things
11. He never complains about the problems we face and always sees the good in them
12. He is such a hard worker but always makes time to play

13. He loves me unconditionally
14. He makes me feel like I do more things right in life than wrong
15. He is supportive of everything I do
16. He always tries to understand things from my perspective
17. He brings out the best in me
18. He will watch my favorite TV shows even though he doesn't like them
19. He loves my family
20. He is so great with my nephews

21. He is going to be the most amazing dad ever
22. He tells me that I look pretty when I just wake up
23. He is very outgoing
24. He is friends with everyone
25. He wears silly clothes

26. He is always willing to try new things
27. He is always learning something new
28. He is always up for an adventure
29. He can always tell me who sings the song we're listening to
30. He does things he doesn't really like just to make me happy
31. He's a great snuggler
32. He calls me Figgy

33. He is very responsible
34. He is always smiling

35. He's a great dancer
36. He knows my favorite things
37. He knows how to make me feel special
38. He listens to my opinions
39. He lets me listen to country music even though he hates it

40. He gives great back massages
41. He is very handsome

42. He is super smart
43. He is great at personal finances
44. He is the best lovey ever!
45. He puts in a great effort to make our marriage strong
Thanks for a GREAT first year of marriage!!!

Anniversary/Birthday trip to Lava

2008-08-17T10:23:00.018-06:00

We went to Lava Hot Springs on the 14th and 15th of August. We celebrated our first wedding anniversary and Derek's 25th Birthday.

We stayed at the Lava Hot Springs Inn which I now highly recommend. The people were really nice. It's not the fanciest place but it was clean and quaint.

We had our own little cottage that was so romantic!

It was really little inside!

Our hotel had their own hot springs that we thoroughly enjoyed.

They had really hot ones, a freezing cold one, and quite a few that were just right! We spent most of our time in them.

The river was right behind the hot pools.

We had some delicious ice cream from the local creamery. It came in a square scoop!

The Inn had a free breakfast in the morning that was homemade and delicious!

The fresh fruit was delicious!

We went to the real Lava Hot Springs that day

We decided it wasn't the smartest idea to got to the hot springs on a hot day

We still enjoyed relaxing and talking

We went to a cute diner for lunch that had delicious food!

They had cowboy boot mugs

I just had to drink root beer out of it.

It was such a fun getaway! It was nice to just relax with each other and celebrate these special occassions!