Saturday, January 31, 2009

Husband Tag

So I was tagged by Jillian...sort of. I guess I'm just soaking up the fact that Sam is still asleep...

1. Where did you meet your husband?
Singles Ward in Littleton, CO
2. How long did you date before you got married?
A total of 8-9 months (2 different engagements during that time)
3. How long have you been married?
5.5 years
4. What does he do that surprises you?
Sometimes he will totally clean the whole house without telling me or me asking him!
5. What is your favorite feature of his?
Physically - his eyes.
6. What is his best quality?
He thinks logically and keeps me on my toes. But he is also very compassionate and cares so much for other people's feelings and well-being! Hum...also very humble when he has done something wrong and easy to communicate with! I guess that's like 3 or 4, huh?
7. Does he have a nickname for you?
Eh...not really. Just Jen.
8. What is his favorite food?
LOVES every kind of food, but I'd probably say a good steak.
9. What is his favorite sport?
Loves them all, but probably basketball.
10. When and where did you first kiss?
Our wedding night. Just kidding... On my parents' couch when we had been dating like 2 weeks.
11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple?
Besides the obvious "couple-ish" things...probably going somewhere outdoors together...hiking, that sort of thing.
12. Do you have any children?
Our Sam and then our Joshua on the way.
13. Does he have any hidden talents?
Well, he is actually very good at everything he tries, athletically, but he actually writes pretty well too! ESpecially for someone who hates literature and english. He is actually pretty creative and can be pretty artsy.
14. How old is he?
28...in 2 weeks.
15. Who said I love you first?
Crap....I honestly can't remember. I don't think he does either. I think it was just a mutual gradual thing...but don't remember who actually verbalized it first.
16. What is his favorite music?
Soft rock, 80's, alternative.
17. What do you admire most about him?
How incredibly hard of a worker he is! I am so lucky that he is willing to put so much effort into supporting us and making sure we're taken care of!! Also, (here I go again with the 'also's...) he is the most honest and loyal person I know. I NEVER have to doubt if he is telling me the truth. He's almost honest to a fault and can't lie. Even if it's rude and would hurt my feelings, he tells me. He's not one to lie or cover up if I were to ask (and I never would because I know he wouldn't lie) "does this make me look fat?"...though I will make little side comments about things making me look fat...
18. What is his favorite color?
red
19. Will he read this?
Nope. Not into the blogging thing.
20. I tag anyone who wants to be reminded of all the wonderful things about their husbands!

Picture Tag


I decided to do the picture tag in the Johnsons' blog. Cindi will probably kill me for this, but this was my little sister, Cindi, when she was about 13 and was going through chemo. And of course, this was her cat at the time... Man, it seems like this was such a long time ago, though it was only 7 years ago!!
Okay, here's the thing...I won't tag anyone specific...anyone that wants to can do it. You just go to your pictures folder, select the the 6th folder, and then the 6th picture, and you have to post it and tell the story behind it.

Shower and Sam

Thursday night was my baby shower and it was awesome. Destiny threw it all on her own and did everything. It was amazing and I can't thank her enough...thanks again Destiny! The theme was little monsters (thanks Becky for making the cutest invitations ever!) and everything was blue and green...probably the cutest shower ever. :) Okay, maybe I'm biased. Anyway, it was a lot of fun. I had a really good turn out and we all had a good time! Oh...and the food was amazing too. :) I will do a post later with pictures.

I am SO ready to deliver this baby! Every day I think I couldn't feel worse and be more ready, but I am proven wrong all the time. For some reason since the day of my shower things have took a down turn and I feel worse than ever! I am in so much pain that laying down on my side doesn't even help anymore. And just getting off the couch and walking across the room is absolute torture because I can barely lift my foot off the ground. And I thought it was bad before... I know that sounds totally dramatic, but it's so true. And I still wonder why I didn't feel like this with Sam! There's no way I would have been able to work like I did with him...until the day before I went into labor! Anyway, I don't know if Joshua just dropped even lower now or what, but it's miserable. I thought yesterday that maybe it was because the past two days I was doing a lot more than I should (when I'm home all day and I know things of importance are coming up I can't just sit on my butt no matter how awful I feel...I HAD to clean and stuff) and I was just feeling the effects of over-doing it, but when I woke up this morning and felt just as bad, and even took a bath (that usually helps a ton!) that didn't do anything to relieve the pressure, I'm thinking it's just probably that he is down there and ready to come. I hope he comes soon! The only thing is, Sam's party is on Tuesday and I REALLY want to have it for him still...and then on Wednesday I'd like to clean up from the party and get the house clean and ready for the baby again, and for when mom comes...so I guess what I'm saying is, anytime after Wednesday would be WONDERFUL!! :) Ha...like it's up to me... I have my next appointment on Monday (hopefully my last) and I will have her check me again.

I just love my son and I get such a kick out of him and the things he does and says, so I decided to list them all...all the things he has done lately, or is still doing that are so cute...



*I have a big tan pillar candle in the center piece on my kitchen table and he called it a hot dog.
*The other day he opened my cupboard with all my crock pots and rice cooker and said "hot" about each one (though they clearly weren't) and then leaned down and blew on all of them to cool them down.
*He talked in his sleep for the first time about a week ago (or the first that we've heard anyway). We went in to check on him before we went to bed one night and as we were pulling his blanket back over him he mumbled in the happiest tone, "cars..." We always wondered what he dreamed about, and now we know.
*He LOVES his TV shows and, as I have mentioned before, Dora is is favorite, and he loves all the characters on the show. He loves to tell me what colors they are. He will come up to me and say, "Isa green. Benny blue. Tiko purple." And it's just cute...especially when he says "Isa" because he has the cutest voice.
*If he is in a room in the house and doesn't know where we are he will call out in his cute dramatic voice, "Mommy, are you??" or "Daddy, are you?" And the other day I could hear him watching Ni Hao Kailan (spelling?) and Kailan asked something like, "Do you know where Rin-too is?" and he calls out, "Are you?? Rin-too??" I know these are just dumb little things but I love them. He has the cutest voice and I love that he talks back to the TV and answers when the characters on his shows ask questions.
*One of his favorite things to say lately is "Okay." He says it at the resolve of any concern or question. Sometimes when he's done organizing his cars he will say, all business-like, "Okay."
*He loves baby Joshua and kisses my belly all the time, and the other day he was sitting on my lap eating some cookies and he said, "Baby Joshua cookie," and then put the cookie on my tummy because he wanted to give Josh one.
*If I ever hurt him on accident or walk into him I say "sorry" so now he associates that word with getting hurt and even when he hurts himself, he'll say, "sorry."
*He is now at the stage where when he gets hurt he wants me to kiss it all better and I love that...but he does it for EVERYTHING. Even if he lightly bumps or taps his arm on something he will come up to me and say "all better!" so I will kiss it.
*He LOVES watching American Idol with us. He gets a kick out of the crappy singers and the judges' reactions. He will sit in his chair and watch the whole episode with me and clap and cheer when someone makes it to Hollywood and then laugh when someone sounds silly or bad.
*He thinks everything is funny. And when something is, he always has to say "funny." So, on American Idol, for example, when someone sucks, he will turn to me laughing and say, "funny!"
*I'm afraid he is a little OCD like me. He hates having a dirty face and hands. If he is eating anything messy he will just hold his hands out and not even bend his fingers because they are "yucky," and he ALWAYS wants to wipe them. If I give him a tissue, he will wipe his hands and face in-between every single bite. Haha...like me.
*Another OCD thing...he can't stand to have his pants or long sleeves pushed up. If his PJ pants are riding up, even just an inch, he comes to me and says, "Pants! Fix it!" until I push them down.
*Since Dave shaved his head, and it's now growing back, it's at the really fuzzy soft stage and Sam loves to rub it and say, "Daddy, fuzzy."
*Loves to go wild on our couch and make his hair staticky (like in the picture below).

Friday, January 30, 2009

Midnight Mystery Lover

So I was watching Friends the other day, and I know this is totally random but it was one of my favorite episodes and I just had to post, what I think, is one of the funniest conversations that takes place on the show. It's the one where Ross finds out after like 15 years that what he thought was his first kiss with Rachel, was actually with his sister, Monica. HILARIOUS. This is a conversation between Ross and Monica (Chandler is there too) as they are figuring it out and the hysteria in their voices increases until at the end they're practically freaking out...

Ross: "What were you doing in the pile of coats?!"
Monica: "I WAS the pile of coats!!"
Ross: "Oh my G-!!!"
Monica: "You were my midnight mystery lover!!!"
Ross: "You were my first kiss with Rachel!"
Monica: "You were my first kiss EVER!!!!!!"
Chandler (in the same frantic tone): "What did I marry into?!?!"

Okay...enough of what I think is randomly funny....I just love that show...

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Brigham Ottley Coltharp


I just wanted to post an exciting announcement that Sam has a new cousin, born yesterday! Brigham was 8 lbs. 7 oz., which is huge compared to her tiny girls, but luckily the labor went well and he came out well and very quickly! Both mom and boy are doing great! Brigham is Brian and Leslie's 3rd child, and first boy! This one was also different in the fact that she made it all the way to 39 wks. before she delivered, instead of 35-36! He looks like a mini Brian (or a male version of Alexa). We are all very excited for them and I hope to be able to meet him sometime soon!

Friday, January 23, 2009

Movie Tag

So Sam is drifting off to sleep and I saw this fun movie tag on the Jackson's blog and thought it might be interesting to see how many I've seen...

( ) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
(x) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane
Total: 8

(x) The Princess Bride
(x) Anchorman
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
(x) Labyrinth
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
(x) White Oleander
(x) Anger Management
(x) 50 First Dates
(x) The Princess Diaries
(x) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total so far: 17

(x) Scream
(x) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
(x) Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 3
(x) Scary Movie 4
( ) American Pie
(x) American Pie 2 (ashamed of this one)
( ) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
Total so far: 22

( ) Harry Potter 1
(x) Harry Potter 2
( ) Harry Potter 3
(x) Harry Potter 4
(x) Resident Evil 1
(x) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
(x) Little Black Book
(x) The Village
(x) Lilo & Stitch
Total so far: 30

(x) Finding Nemo
(x) Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
(x) The Grinch
(x) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
(x) White Chicks
( ) Butterfly Effect
(x) 13 Going on 30
(x) I, Robot
( ) Robots
Total so far: 38

(x) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
( ) Universal Soldier
(x) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(x) Along Came Polly
(x) Deep Impact
(x) KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
(x) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
(x) Joe Dirt
(x) KING KONG
Total so far: 48

(x) A Cinderella Story
(x) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
(x) Dumber & Dumberer
(x) Final Destination
(x) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
(x) Halloween
(x) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving X-MAS
( ) Flubber
Total so far: 56

( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x) Practical Magic
( ) Chicago
(x) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
(x) Secret Window
(x) I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
(x) The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 62

(x) The Day After Tomorrow
(x) Child's Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
(x) Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
(x) Just Married
( ) Gothika
(x) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
(x) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 72

(x) Bad Boys
(x) Bad Boys 2
(x) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Slevin
(x) Ocean's Eleven
(x) Ocean's Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremacy
( ) Lone Star
(x) Bedazzled
(x) Predator I
(x) Predator II
( ) The Fog
(x) Ice Age
(x) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George
Total so far: 84

(x) Independence Day
( ) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
(x) Darkness Falls
( ) Christine
(x) ET
(x) Children of the Corn
(x) My Boss's Daughter
(x) Maid in Manhattan
(x) War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
(x) Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 93

( ) Best Bet
(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x) She's All That
( ) Calendar Girls
( ) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
( ) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
( ) The Terminator 3
Total so far: 101

(x) x-Men
(x) x-2
(x) x-3
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
(x) Sky High
(x) Jeepers Creepers
(x) Jeepers Creepers 2
(x) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday
(x) Reign of Fire
(x) The Skulls
(x) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
(x) The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
Total so far: 118

(x) Swimfan
( ) Miracle on 34th street
(x) Old School
(x) The Notebook
(x) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf's Tribe
(x) A Walk to Remember
(x) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year-old Virgin
Total so far: 125

(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far: 131

(x) Baseketball
( ) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devil's Rejects
(x) Elf
(x) Highlander
(x) Mothman Prophecies
(x) American History X
( ) Three
Total so Far: 136

( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
(x) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
( ) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
Total so far: 139

( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
(x) Hulk
(x) Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
(x) Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
(x) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
(x) Waterworld
Total so far: 145

( ) Kill Bill vol 1
( ) Kill Bill vol 2
(x) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
(x) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) The Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka The Day of the Woman
( ) Re-Animator
(x) Army of Darkness
Total so far: Still 148

(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 154

(x) The Matrix
(x) The Matrix Reloaded
( ) The Matrix Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
(x) Team America: World Police
(x) Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
(x) Hannibal

TOTAL: 160

More Bald Pics

Well, as I'm listening to Sam scream his head off in his bed I decided I'd post a couple more pics from Dave, Ben, and James' head shaving epidemic, pictures courtesy of James' Facebook page... :)

I guess they're trying to look intimidating in this one or something...

No Appointment

Just wanted to quickly say that the dr. doesn't think it's something I need to make a special trip and appointment for, since Sam's 2 yr. check up is in a few weeks (depending on when Joshua arrives). So we will just do some blood work then!

Hypogammaglobulinemia

Wow....it's a real word, I promise. I just never saw it all typed out and didn't realize how long it was! So, this is what we think Sam MIGHT have. We don't know anything for sure, but everything seems to fit, so when I am in town on Monday for my appointment, I am going to try and get Sam in with Dr. Green to do some testing. It's an immune system problem that some babies are born with where they don't have enough gamma to fight off infections and viruses properly, so they get every single virus or infection that comes, and when they get them, it takes extra time and work to fight it off. We think this might be why over a year ago he had that infection/abscess in his bottom that took 2 surgeries and 2 strong antibiotics to actually get rid of it. That was an infection that a normal baby should have been able to fight off...especially with the first surgery and antibiotic. My mother-in-law thought he might have this problem back then because of this but we kind of ignored it and now thinking back on the last year and how even when he gets a simple cold that when other babies/kids get only last 2 days, it lasts a week with him, and without fail, he will have an incredibly high fever the whole time he is fighting it. I don't know...it could just be wishful thinking, having something to actually pin-point all of this to, but we'll see. I will see what Dr. Green thinks. Dave's mom and sister both had it and had to get gamma shots until they were two (luckily it's a condition that kids will eventually just outgrow). Anyway, it's just a thought and a direction we're headed in, so we will keep everyone updated when I have met with the dr., etc!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Skinhead

I just wanted to post a few pictures from the fun weekend we had in the Valley (it was so hot down there too!). Everyone went paintballing on Saturday, as I mentioned before, and somehow these wigs (I think they're Cas and Helen's) were pulled out and the guys started trying them on with their paintballing gear on. This is Ben sporting the Pippy Long Stocking look...

James (call me obsessed or whatever, but this wig reminds me of how I used to picture Victoria's hair the first time I read New Moon...)

Dave wanted to try one of them on Sam even. He wasn't very happy about this look.

And then playing Rock Band that night, the girls also decided it would be more fun if whoever was playing dressed up in some dress-up attire...


And lastly...they also thought it'd be fun to play dress up with Sam. Surprisingly, he actually quite enjoyed himself. He loved the necklaces and bracelets.... hum....


I only had my phone as a camera so I don't have anymore, though Tiff took some good ones with her camera, so if I ever get a hold of them I will post them. Last of all, I had to post pictures of Dave's latest fashion. The Bagdad dodgeball tournament was on Monday (I didn't go or play like most of the other supportive wives) and since they lost, for some reason Dave, Ben, and James decided it'd be cool to shave their heads. Now, Dave has never ever shaved his head completely, so it was definitely a shock to me. It's interesting and luckily his hair grows fast because I can't wait for it to come back! It actually already is. Anyway...here's the look...

On a More Positive Note...

Sam's birthday is coming up three days before my due date and I really wanted to have a party for him, but not during that time, for obvious reasons. So I decided to do it during the first week of February and he is already getting so excited about it. Not only am I not creative, but lately I do not have the time or energy or strength to do all the cute things, like making a homemade cute cake, or making homemade invites or anything, so I just decided to do your typical theme party, where you can buy everything you need at Walmart. :) It was between Elmo, Dora, or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, because those are the things he absolutely loves lately, but out of those three, Walmart only had Mickey Mouse Clubhouse stuff, so it was an easy decision. I bought him a few simple small gifts so he has something to open, but not only was there really nothing I could think of that I wanted to get him, but the party stuff was expensive enough so I am kind of counting that as his present. He will enjoy that more anyway. Ugh...gotta take a break...Sam's awake....I'll be able to finish this post hopefully some time later today...

Okay, I'm back. :) Anyway, we got all the stuff for it (I will probably end up just getting a cake from the store...I know it's awful, but like I said, don't have the energy or desire to make one!) and he is so excited! He keeps saying "Mickey party!" I think he will love having all the decorations up and everything. So those of you moms of Sam's friends, expect an invite soon. :)

The thing is, I am sort of stumped on what activities to do for it. I'm thinking since he is only 2 and can't do many of the things you would normally do at parties, we will just have the kids over and play and do cake and stuff. If anyone has any suggestions let me know!

The Plague

Well, I have been wanting to take some time to update the blog but this has been the first chance I have had all week! Unfortunately, Sam is sick...yet again! It has been getting really tiring and I am starting to wonder if he has some sort of immune system problem or something. Yes, there are a TON of viruses that seem to be going around in this tiny town the last few months, and every time he gets sick, it's a virus I know is going around, but each time he gets it, he gets it so bad! It doesn't seem like anyone elses kids in this town (please let me know if I am wrong!) get sick as often as he does, or as harsh as he does. It drives me crazy that every time he gets sick EVERYTHING gets put on hold for at least a whole week. Every virus he gets causes him to have a high fever for the whole week and he is so miserable that all I can do is sit on the couch with him all day because he's so needy and sick and grumpy and miserable. I love my couch and everything but I can't even begin to describe how incredibly sick of it I have been the last few months! It seems like when he does finally move past the viruses he gets, he will only have a week or 2 break before he gets the next one. I mean, is that normal?? And of course, this was the week I had a HUGE list of stuff I wanted to accomplish to get ready for the baby and the only productive thing I have been able to do this week has been laundry...and I'm still doing it! It's very frustrating. I just really hope I don't have this baby too early and haven't been able to be prepared the way I feel I need to be.

Another thing that worries me is after I have the baby is Sam still going to be getting sick all the time like this??? Or will the cold/flu season be ending?? It makes me not want to take him to nursery or anything!! It stresses me out incredibly thinking about dealing with this all the time and a newborn baby, that he could possibly pass it to. Anyway, it just doesn't seem normal, and if any of the other mothers in this town have any input, I'd appreciate it (am I alone in how often and how bad Sam always gets sick?).

Last night was especially fun...Not only was Sam waking up every single hour, on the hour, throughout the night, but at about 3am he threw up all over himself in his bed. I felt so bad for him. Poor guy. I had to wake up Dave that time because the sheets needed to be changed and Sam needed to be bathed and I can't bend over the bath tub or the crib anymore. It was such a long night and it wouldn't be such a big deal if when I got back in bed I could fall back asleep right away, but it takes me FOREVER to get comfortable again, so the way it works is I will finally start to fall asleep and then he wakes up again. It makes for a long tiring day ahead. The last few days too, for some reason, I have been so consumed with this baby that's coming soon, and being completely prepared, that that's all I ever think about! All I think about is getting all the stuff on my checklist done before he comes, what else I'm missing, refreshing my brain on all the breastfeeding info (not just basics, but EVERYTHING!) so I can try and make sure it doesn't go wrong again this time, etc. And the bad thing is, the time my mind is the most active is in the middle of the night for some reason. I can be in a deep sleep and wake up with Sam and then go back to bed and all the sudden my mind is thinking more deeply than it has all day and I can't relax.

*SIGH* Because that's what I need to do...relax. I need to just calm down and realize if things aren't completely ready when Joshua comes, it's OK. Things will work out and having him is the most important thing! And as far as breast feeding....I REALLY need to calm down about that one. Because the last thing I want to do is stress out over it again like I did the first time. But luckily, I know a lot more this time, so I don't think it will be as difficult. At least I know what to do and what not to do at the hospital to start him off right.

Luckily I have a husband who is very understanding and helpful...my problem is, I have a hard time asking for help. Even with him...and I shouldn't. One thing I want to do before Joshua comes is deep clean the house...I mean, like REALLY well. And when I told Dave that last night he told me no way. So I'm sure this weekend he will start and help me when he can, but if I have free time during the day the next couple weeks, whether I feel like I can't even stand or not, I'm not going to be able to hold back. I guess you can call it the nesting instinct. :)

I'm so glad I only have 2-3 weeks left though. Every single day gets harder and harder for me, physically. I'm in so much pain and every little action I make causes contraction after contraction...and even just standing up hurts! I'm just so ready!!

Okay, I think I got all the complaining out. Sorry about the negativity of this post...I just had to vent. My next few posts will not be this way, I promise!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Boredness...and Tiredness

So it's not quite 10pm yet but I feel like it's after midnight...I'm SOO tired! We drove down to Phoenix this afternoon to spend the weekend with the Stewarts again. Dave went to a Suns game downtown tonight with Ben, James, and another friend so I'm sitting here in the quiet of the Stewarts' home, waiting for them to get back, which will be soon hopefully. Tomorrow they are all going paintballing, which is the main reason everyone came down here. I'm just going to hang out here with Sam by myself...woo hoo.

I might be a pregnant mom who has to miss all the fun, but I'm still glad we got to come down here this weekend, just for the sake of getting to see friends and getting the chance to get away. Besides, Sam loves coming here. The whole trip down here (he didn't even sleep a wink the whole 3 hrs.) he was saying "Brand's house." And when we finally got here at like 7:15 he ran in and was so excited. He loves it here. In fact, he loves it here so much that I couldn't get him to eat dinner before bed because he just wanted to play with the slinky on the stairs. He was so wound up and excited that even at 9pm it was like pulling teeth just to get him to eat and drink a little something so I could put him to bed. But it's funny because when I said "bed" he got really excited cuz he was so tired, that he went right upstairs and into the room we were staying in. A thing that has helped is that he recently started sleeping with a pillow like a big boy and he just loves it! He gets so excited when he gets to get in his bed now. I hope it lasts.

I love that he feels so at home when we come here. Night time and sleeping isn't even an adjustment at all. He willingly goes to bed very easily every time we're here, and that is SO not normal for him.

When we stopped at the paintball store on the way down, we went into a child consignment shop and found a good deal on a toddler bed for Sam! It came with the mattress too, so we got it. I don't know when we will start him in it, but I don't think I want to even worry about it until after the baby comes. And hopefully, it's an easy transition!

Well, I am 36 weeks now, which means if I do go about the same time as I did with Sam, I will be having baby Joshua in about 3 weeks! But even 4 weeks is absolutely insane to me! I can't believe how fast this pregnancy flew by, even though I have been MISERABLE! I'm sooo glad I am almost done. But I do know I need to enjoy the little bit of peace I still have before I have another infant. Still....I can't wait to not feel like this anymore and to not feel like I am actually disabled! There is still so much I have to do before he comes. I need to pull out and go through all the baby stuff, wash the clothes, organize the room, etc. I hope I can actually have the ability to get it all done before he comes. It would feel very nice if I was 100% prepared in that sense this time.

Well, anyway. Enough rambling for one night. Dave should be back soon!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Ode to Memories...

Okay so not only have I been reminiscing about our old friends because 24 started this week, but my last post made me even more nostalgic for the Holidays... I decided I would post this picture of us watching 24 one night at their apartment...while I stuffed my pregnant face with popcorn... we miss this tradition and miss you guys!

(Oh, and I just have to blurp about how AWESOME this season of 24 is so far! Love it!)

Ode to Berries...


So, I know this is totally random but I'm bored and don't feel like doing anything productive... my sister and I were talking about berries and stuff this morning (don't ask...we are pretty lame...) and it got me thinking of a time a couple years ago when Dave and I went huckleberry picking in the mountains in Idaho with some very dear friends...so I thought I would post about it...

I was about 4 months pregnant with Sam and we (Dave, myself, and Steve and Jillian Holiday) decided we wanted to do something new and go pick berries. We had heard they were everywhere that year (in the spot we went...which I actually don't even remember now...). So we went to the mountains, set up camp (we camped too...found some interesting stuff in our fire pit...I wont go into that now...), grabbed our buckets and preceded to pick berries from the bushes all over the area. There were a TON! They were everywhere you looked and we didn't even have to hike to find them. It was so awesome. They didn't taste as sweet as we thought Huckleberries would taste, but we didn't care. We spent a whole afternoon picking and then got up the next morning and spent a good part of the morning/day picking more! Our buckets were full and we felt so at one with nature!

Anyway, as we were all picking berries that second day off some bushes next to the dirt road a truck pulled over and asked what we were doing. "We're picking huckleberries!" (duh!) was our response. Well, the look on the driver's face told us he thought we were all a bunch of idiots before he explained to us that what we were picking were actually called Saskatoon berries (A.K.A. "service" berries, or "bear" berries)...not even close to huckleberries. (The picture at the top of this post is actually of them.)

Well, we felt pretty dumb and defeated as we thought of all the time we wasted picking them...and all the people that saw us and probably wondered why we were picking them... So we found out then that locating the huckleberries was a little more difficult because you had to go to certain spots, so when we found out where that was (on the side of a mountain) we finally went. We did find a good spot and spent the remainder of the day (and the next weekend too, due to the lost time we wasted picking Saskatoon berries) picking them, but it was definitely more difficult. Not only were we surrounded by the brush on the mountain side, but the berries are a lot tinier (but much tastier!) and harder to see. And they're at ground level, so we kind of split up for a while as we each would find some, sit in the bushes and pick all the ones around us.

It was so much fun and we all had such a good time! That night when we went home we went to the Holidays and made Huckleberry jam with what we got (which didn't seem like much because they're so small, especially compared to how many Saskatoon berries we got!). Since there wasn't much we made huckleberry/strawberry jam and we even decided to make some jam out of the Saskatoon berries because we didn't want that time to be a COMPLETE waste! That wasn't as flavorful, but it was still good and worth it.

We also made a yummy huckleberry/strawberry pie! Anyway...it was a fun camping trip and I hope I can pick berries with the Holidays again someday! It might not be as good as Heather's blackberry picking adventure in VA when a snake fell on her...but it'll do...

Yay! We were so excited about our Saskatoon berries!...when we didn't know what they were...

Picking huckleberries for real now...

Look how many we got!

And lastly...I know this is gross, but can you point our the two "treasures" we found in our fire pit when we got there?? Now look closely because they're hard to point out... We missed out on some party I guess...

Sunday, January 11, 2009

"Colter Cool! Drums Cool!"

So our friends, the Bolingers, got Rock Band 2 for their Wii and we went over and played it last night (Ben came over and played a little too) and I had to post some really cute pictures from it. :) Sam and Colter climbed up on the chair and they each had a drum stick and played the drums. It was so cute and they loved it! All the way home last night, and a few times today, Sam will randomly say, "Colter Cool. Drums cool." He loves going to Colter's house to play!




Destiny, Ben, Dave, and Nick

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Sam Update

I realized I haven't blogged much about Sam lately, as far as what's new with him. I think when they get to a certain age where they are constantly picking up new things its easier to lose track of things and forget to "report" on them. He will be 2 in a month, 3 days before the baby's due date, but I have a feeling the baby will probably come before his birthday, if the timing is anything like it was when I had Sam. So I'm trying to decide if I should have a party for him the first week of next month. I really want to but really have no experience in that area at all so I don't really know what I would plan. If any of you creative moms (and there are quite a few of you!) have any ideas what to do for a two year old boy birthday party, let me know!

I decided to take Sam with me to my doctor appt. yesterday because Dave couldn't be home in time to watch him and I wanted to see how good he would do. The last time we took him he cried the whole time and Dave was even there with him but I feel he has grown up a lot in the last couple months and his understanding of things has deepened so I wanted to give it a shot. And he did GREAT! I realized with the ward Christmas party and the success of him meeting Santa, that if I explain things to him and talk to him about them before-hand, he will know what to expect. So I told him all day yesterday that we were going to mommy's and the baby's doctor. I think he's smart enough to know now that that means it isn't a doctor for him and he doesn't need to be scared. I also told him we were going to hear the baby's heartbeat so all day, especially on the way there, he was saying "baby's heartbeat." It was so cute. And he did so well in the appointment. Even when I was all sprawled out on the table he just stood on the floor with his cars and played. And when my midwife had the machine to my tummy we told him the "bump bump" sound was the baby's heartbeat and he thought that was pretty cool. He smiled and listened the whole time. I just love how every single day he seems to understand more and more of what is going on! He definitely knows he has a baby brother coming named Joshua and that he is in mommy's tummy right now but will be coming soon! Hopefully it's not going to be TOO hard and long of a transition for him when he's born, as far as being jealous goes. I'm just going to have to include him a lot in what's going on and talk him through things and I think we'll manage.

Speaking of my dr. appt. there is really nothing new to report. Everything is going well and measuring fine. Joshua is VERY VERY active and hurting me all the time, which is a good sign. I'm just ready to be done and can't wait till he's ready too! I have been planning this week on going through all our baby stuff and start getting everything ready but I haven't had the chance yet. I wish I knew exactly what day I was going to have him so I could prepare. I want my mother-in-law here when I have him, mostly to help out with Sam, but I don't know when to tell her to get her plane ticket! We will figure something out...

Anyway, Sam is talking more and more and we have to really be careful what we say around him because we have heard him saying "crap" and "gosh" a few times. I think it's more of a challenge for me than for Dave. I can have a temper sometimes... He hasn't learned how to talk in complete sentences yet but is close. Instead of saying something like, "This sucker is great!" he would say "sucker, great!" (which is what he was saying all afternoon after the nurse gave him a sucker). This morning when I heard him wake up, the first thing I heard him say in his bed was "Red, Jesus," and then "blue, temple," because he was looking at the pictures I have above his bed of Jesus with his red robe on and the temple with a blue background. He gets so excited about things and has to tell me everything going on and everything he observes. I love it. Especially in his high-pitched voice. :) He tells me, "I poo pooed," every time he even toots and sometimes will even tell me, "I pee peed" when he pees. He is so smart too...he knows (don't ask me how he caught onto this because I can't figure out how!) stuff like that you have to add an "s" on the end of things when there are plurals and when it's obsessive...like, "Mom's juice," or if there are 3 trucks he says, "trucks." He also knows what "you" and "me" mean now, and instead of saying "help you," and "hold you," like he would when he would copy me asking if he wants me to help or hold him, he says, "help me," and "hold me." I always worried I wouldn't know how to teach him the proper way when it comes to words and talking and stuff but really, kids are so smart at this age and soak everything up, that they pick up most stuff on their own! Every day he will say a word that surprises me because I can never remember teaching it to him. And funny story...the other day he was going around saying "Sammy white. Mommy white. Daddy white." I have NO idea what he meant by that... haha!

As many of you know, he learned how to count, his shapes, his alphabet, colors, etc. a long time ago, but now he knows how to count backwards from 10! A new thing he loves to do is count backwards from 10 to 1 and then raise his hands high in the air and say, "blastoff!"

He is also eating a lot better now. For a long while there we were kind of worried because he never wanted to eat. And when he did it was such tiny amounts of food and he was so picky. But in the last few weeks that has changed and now he eats pretty much anything we give him again! I love it and hope it lasts! One way we found that helped in the beginning was counting his bites of food with him and saying something like, "okay, now eat bite #1" and he would count along with us and eat. It worked like a charm. And I still have to do that sometimes, and when I do it still works, but for the most part he just does it on his own. Last night on the way back from Prescott I bought a half lb. tub of popcorn chicken from Walmart and put it with him in his seat, expecting he'd only eat half, if that, and he ate the entire tub of chicken! Along with potato wedges! And his new favorite food is little pretzel sticks....he'd eat those all day if I let him...

I know this post is freakishly long, but I could go on and on about my son...and I don't keep a journal or anything, so this is all I got! I have to tell one more funny story. This morning he got scared from something on TV for the first time ever! And what makes it so funny is that it was just on Go Diego, Go! He was sitting in his Cars chair watching it, really close to the TV I might add, and there was this part where they came up to a sleeping tree and as they were saying things to get the tree to wake up, the anticipation was so thick in the air that it scared him to the point where he quickly climbed out of his chair and crawled to me while whimpering, "mamma!" It was like when you're watching a scary movie and you cover your eyes (okay, so maybe I only do that...) at a part where you're anticipating something startling because you don't want to be startled or scared. He was scared of seeing the tree wake up or something. Anyway, he wouldn't turn back to watch it until he was cuddled up next to my leg. It was so funny and cute! I was laughing so hard!

Anyway...I guess that's about all!!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Blackmail Videos

So Sam has always had a cute high-pitched voice but lately it seems he "squeels" a lot more when he talks and it's just so cute. We had to get it on video so that someday when he's trying to be all "manly" we can embarrass him. :) Here are a couple short videos of him talking. In the first one he had just woken up so he was a little spacey.

http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z188/the_davenports/?action=view¤t=MVI_4423.flv

http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z188/the_davenports/?action=view¤t=MVI_4424.flv

I would have embedded them directly in the post but for some reason the html code wasn't working...

Friday, January 2, 2009

Computer and 100th Post

Oh, and I forgot to mention that we decided just to get a new computer and we found the best deal at Best Buy when we were in the Valley last weekend! It was great and we love it!

Anyway...woo hoo for my 100th post!!!

Happy New Year!

Well, we had an eventful New Years Eve...not. It was pretty much like any other night. We hung out with friends and ate yummy treats and played A-Z (really fun game!) but we went home at about 9:30 because that was about all Sam could take. Then Dave and I ended up going to bed at 10:30. No point in staying up just to stay up...especially if your sick and exhausted. I will have to say this was my first New Years Eve where I didn't stay up until midnight!

Anyway, New Years day was a lot more eventful! We went with some friends to a place called Wildhorse Basin about 20 minutes from here, which was really fun! We ate hot dogs, payed on the four wheeler, played in the water (the men), played in the mud (the boys), and chatted (the women). Then that night we all gathered at the Bolingers and ate pizza and piña coladas (virgin of course!) and played A-Z and Wii.

Sam and I have been sick again! It's so aggravating. Like Christa, I wonder what has happened to my immune system. Though, really, I know. I usually am pretty immune to the stuff that goes around, but being pregnant, it seems I get every little thing that comes my way...and then of course I give it to Sam. Luckily, he hasn't been too bad this time around. He even seemed to be almost completely better today! But I don't think I have ever been so congested my whole life! It has been over a week now since I have had it, and it worries me that I have some sort of infection or something. I miss being able to breathe!

Anyway, that's really all that has been going on with us, so here are more pictures! :)

Brooklyn loves to eat everything, including wet sand!

Not quite sure what Dave, Tyrone, and Nick were looking at...

The boys throwing sand and rocks in the water. Boys will be boys...

Sam kept walking in the water, but thanks to his waterproof boots his feet stayed dry!

Douglas, Sam, Clint, and Colter.

Playing on the four-wheeler...

Zorro and Bandit sunbathing...

The guys were having fun soaking themselves by going through the water on the four-wheeler. This is about how it looked each time (not sure who this is exactly...), but then they had to stop because it started stalling because of the water. :)

Before we left the boys (besides, Sam, luckily!) decided to follow in their dad's footsteps and run the trucks through the mud puddles and these are the results...

Christmas Pictures...FINALLY!

I have been major slacking lately. Okay, so not necessarilly slacking. I just haven't had much time. Every time I get on the blog I only have time to read everyone else's but not do my own. So here are some pics from Christmas and the weekend of!

Checking out his things from Santa in his stocking (he was so happy and excited!); some mini tonkas, an orange, Sponge Bob fruitsnacks, etc. He also loved opening his things in his Cars chair, which was an early Christmas present.

His Thomas the Train PJs from Grandma!

Opening his hotwheels, or "cool cars," from Grandma.

His Elmo slippers from mommy and daddy. I know he doesn't look very excited in this picture but he was actually pretty excited about it. He loves that he can wear Elmo on his feet!

Opening one of the pairs of shoes he got from Santa...


His Tonka trucks that light up and make noise. He LOVES these things...

Sporting his Elmo slippers....

Eyeing and appreciating his new pile of toys!

Playing with his new puzzle. All he wanted to do that morning was play with all his things. And his new toys are all he's been playing with since Christmas!

As I mentioned in my last post we went to Queen Creek for the rest of the day and weekend. On Saturday we went out to "the desert" and had lunch/dinner and hung out and did all sorts of fun things (dirt bikes, BB guns, Dave and Brand hunted Dove, etc.)...but it was unusually cold for the Valley! Brand, Sam, McKenzie, Dave, and Conner before Kenzie and Conner went out for a ride.

Little Haiden and Helen with the BB guns.

Daddy and Sam on a bike ride. Sam LOVED it!

Sam, Dave, Tiff, Helen, and Brand while Brand and Helen try out her new softball stuff she got for Christmas.

Daddy and Sam playing baseball.

Sam sitting in Jensen's little camp chair. We really need to get him one of these.

Sam Playing the drums for Rock Band. He loved it. :)

Brand, Dave, Tiff, and Doug rocking out...

Our Christmas gift from Brand and Tiff...

A few days after Christmas we got Grandma Karen's package and this is Sam opening some stuff. He got puzzles and a Cars road rug and we got some very cute kitchen stuff (hand towels, mits, place matts, etc.).