Blessings

Jack has certainly been a blessing in our lives. It was a blessing for me to even have a baby in the first place... and being six weeks early, it was a blessing he did so well in the hospital and is still thriving today. Each day I look into his beautiful blue eyes and see that killer smile, I can't believe how blessed I am.

It is a blessing to have the priesthood in my home. It is a blessing to belong to a church that allows me to be sealed with my family forever. And it is a blessing that Jack is ours, never to leave us, even after this life is through.

On August 1st, Chris gave him a blessing. I felt different than I've ever felt that day - it was special; significant. I'll never forget that morning as I dressed him in the suit Chris wore on his blessing day. It was a perfect fit at Jack's six months, though Chris was only two months old when he was blessed. He also seemed to know what was going on, catching our enthusiasm and getting excited with us. He was perfect throughout the blessing and the entire day.

We are blessed to have the support we do from everyone we know, and blessed to have made the decisions we have to lead us to this point in our lives.

How grateful we are for this new blessing and addition to our family.
He means everything to us.

Six Months? Already?

I've found that motherhood has its fair share of surprises.

For me, though I knew I was having a baby and was (somewhat) prepared for this stage of my life, Jack came early. Walking into my 34 week appointment and and being admitted to labor and delivery has rocked my world more than I had expected. Go figure.

Since then, there have been a number of surprises that have come along with Jack. First, though it was semi-expected, there was the NICU. Yes, we knew he'd need to stay for a few days, but 28 was not what we had in mind. And, just when we were finally getting used to visiting him in the hospital and accepting the fact that he still had a ways to go, we were told he could go home. They sprung it on us so fast, we were hardly ready.

Then there was the laundry. I knew there would be more... but, again, how much more was not what I expected, either. His first blow-out was a shocker, too. Who knew that a five pound baby could produce so much poop?

His calm demeanor and and chill personality have been a pleasant surprise. Sure, he cries - but aren't babies supposed to be harder to handle? It was a shocker at first to realize the lack of sleep I was in for, and to experience it, but now that he sleeps well and is getting bigger, he seems to be getting easier to take care of (or maybe I've just gotten the hang of things). I'm still worried when I drop him off somewhere that I will come back to a screaming baby and our sitter will tell me how difficult he was for them. But, no. He has always been so happy and just a go-with-the-flow kid. I realize that may change, but for now - we'll take it. We feel so blessed.

So, because the surprising events in the last six months have seemed to be endless, you'd think I'd be expecting them. But nothing could prepare me for the biggest of all... realizing that Jack is, in fact, growing up.

He still is a tiny little guy. He's the same size as most two-month-old babies. But, six months means he is now ready for solid foods. We have given him rice cereal, to get him used to the process of eating with a spoon - but it's more comical than anything. Between him grabbing the spoon and blowing bubbles into his food, it's been more of a hassle than I'd like to deal with.

So, as I stood standing in front of the baby food at the grocery store for the first time, I must have looked hopeless as I felt the tears welling in my eyes, some spilling over and streaming my cheeks. My baby is six months. I am not ready for this.

I am so proud of my son... he is doing incredibly well for being so early. And, over these six months, I have been so excited to tell others how old he is, wanting to tell them he's a little older, even - because I thought I was ready for him to grow up. Turns out, I'm not. I couldn't help but grab his little feet (I would have picked him up if not for the car seat he was in) and cry while feeling overwhelmed by it all. I can't stop him from growing.

I stared at the food for literally a good 10 minutes before even reaching for any. How in the world was I supposed to know what to do with it? When do I feed him? How much? What kinds? Do I mix it with anything? Does he need a combination of breastfeeding and food? For how long? The questions were endless, as I'm sure every first mother's questions are. I finally chose what I thought would work for him, tried to compose myself, and pushed my cart back down the isle and to the register, feeling dejected. I didn't know anything about this solid food stuff.

When I arrived at home, I tried to hold back the tears as I told Chris just how helpless I felt, but to no avail. He held me in his arms as I cried, and venting to him my frustration with it all. He understood, but helped me to see how exciting it is - and though I wanted to agree, it took me a while.

I now am warming up to the idea of solid foods... but I still don't know what I'm doing. I'll get there, I know. But I have to confess I'm not sure if I want to. Of course, I do realize I don't have a choice - but if I can hold off just a bit longer, I might not go quite as crazy.

Here's a look at Jack's six months... we love this little man!

Altaview Hospital, January 28, 2010

Primary Children's NICU, February 2010
Home... March 2010

April

May

June

July

Good Times

The weekend of the fourth was wonderful - we made sure to take advantage of the beautiful weather, and introduced Jack to some new things.

We hiked up Bell Canyon with Chris's family. First of all, I just can't say how beautiful the state is we live in.This picture doesn't do it justice... The scenery was breathtaking!

Here we are, ready to go... I got rid of that hoodie quick. It's a good thing we went early... the combination of the heat and exercise was not working in my favor.

The hike itself kicked my trash - and it's not a difficult one. Trying (and failing) to prove that I am not that out of shape, I tried to keep up. I didn't do too great... but we had fun, even if we did stop along the way due to my lack of exercise.

This picture was taken on one of our short breaks... I just love these boys.

Here we are at the top... that's a waterfall in back of us.

Jack loved being outside and walking with his dad.
He loved it, so much in fact, that he was lulled to sleep... and spent the last half of the hike doubled over while the sweat kept building on Chris's front.
The only time he even made a peep the entire hike was when we turned him around, facing Chris so his face could be a bit warmer. He was so upset that he couldn't see everything... and the second we turned him back around, he was quiet again. I think this was the first hike of many!

After the trip up the canyon, we cooled off at the pool. A big thanks to the Sperry's and the Fidler's... we had a blast! We were so excited to take Jack swimming for the first time - and were excited to discover something else he loves... and, yet another activity that will put him to sleep (which isn't hard to achieve).
He didn't hesitate once when we put him in the water. Not a single sound - just lots of kicks and splashes. We're so glad he liked it!

He did really well under the shade. Although, he might have mistaken his dad's bright white skin for the sun. ;)

It doesn't take much for this kid to get tired... but we don't mind.

Just look at this sweet face!

MIA

I have to admit, anytime anyone has said in the last several weeks, "It's on my blog," or, "I posted the pictures on my blog," or something similar, I almost have to think to myself, "What's that?" I have been so out of touch with the blogging world that I have only facebook to thank for keeping up with everyone's lives. And, let's face it: facebook gets old.

There are a few reasons why I haven't touched a keyboard longer than a few seconds to type a password into said facebook website. Number one of which is that the hard drive in our computer took its last breath back in April - and everything - EVERYTHING is gone. Pictures from the past three and a half years, videos, music, programs, you name it - all because we didn't back it up when we said we were going to, about a year ago. Oops. Talk about depressing. I grieved for a while, then realized we do have pictures on facebook (who I have to thank again, for that), and I found most of the pictures on my iPod touch (thank you, apple). But - the pics I took daily of Jack in the hospital, the weekly pictures I have been taking since day one... gone. Moral of the story? Back your computer up. No matter what. SO not worth the pain.

Other than praying that our old hard drive can still be revived by some data recovery software, we have been keeping busy. Here are a few things that have happened over the last few months.

Chris has been working graveyards at his job. Not fun... for any of us. It wouldn't be so bad if they were consistent with it - he doesn't ever know when he's going to work them, and therefore pulls doubles sometimes. Again... not fun.

Jack has been doing stellar. He was 10.5 lbs at the beginning of May, so he's more than likely almost 12 now. He will be five months on the June 28th, and is so much fun. He has some new tricks, including rolling over from his stomach to back, and standing on dad's hand in the air. The kid is tough. He also likes climbing up my front when I try to burp him (mostly because he's angry for being done eating. I'm not sure he'll ever get over that stage). He sleeps in his own room now, which was a little tough for me but is so nice. Crazy how time flies.

I myself have started selling nursing and car seat covers, as well as a handful of other things. I'm in the process of starting my etsy shop, and I'm selling things at shows. It keeps me busy and I am enjoying myself. That's what life's all about, right?

Here are a few things I've documented over these few weeks.

Jack's first official major blowout. It was loads of fun. :)

Our first experience with rice cereal...Pretty sure he didn't eat any of it.

First mustache... smashingly handsome little man, isn't he?

Jack has had an umbilical hernia since his umbilical cord came off. It's quite common, actually, and nothing to be worried about. I know it doesn't look like it (because I haven't posted anything to compare it to), but it's quite smaller than it used to be. Yay!
First time in a Bumbo chair. He liked it.
The day before coming home from the hospital, the doctors did an echo on Jack - an ultrasound, basically, of the heart. They found a couple of holes in some different places, but assured us they would close up and that it was nothing to worry about. This is him at his follow-up appointment three months later. He was a curious little guy for the ultrasound tech, and was so good.
After the echo they wanted him to get an EKG to check for any heart murmurs.
This kid was a champ... thanks to the sweet sugar water his binkie was dipped into. :)
Truth be told, he wasn't happy about any of it.
And to top it all off, he had to get his blood drawn. At least he got a cool arm band out of it.
We've had a fun few months. Hope you've had the same!