Fantastic Four

Christmas Card

2011-12-03T12:40:00.000-08:00

Color photo's credit RCP

With how many Christmas cards we want to send out and how much it would cost for me to print them in good quality (my standard of quality) and send them out we decided it was a bit too expensive this year. In most years we'd bite the bullet and do it anyway, but we have no idea how many med schools will want to interview Douglas and how much it will cost for us to get him out for each one. So my solution? Put up my hard worked on card on the blog. That way everyone can see it, and we can save up for interviews. I know it's just not the same, and I admit I'm a bit sad about it, but we must adjust to the situation. I am glad that in this day there is a way for me to still be able to "get the card sent" to everyone (assuming you all decide to check it). Merry Christmas everyone!

Halloween Fun

2011-11-02T17:46:00.000-07:00

So I've been a bit of a slacker at getting this up, but here it finally is. Because of our car being stolen I didn't get a chance to take our normal looking at the camera picts until today. And today was a lot colder th an Halloween was so we're all wearing jackets for those ones. I did make sure to take the camera to our Trunk or Treat, so there are a few fun ones there. (Side note: the cops did find our car so we're in the process of getting it taken care of) Hope everyone's holiday was a good one!

Small Project

2011-10-15T15:41:00.001-07:00

Look out flour & sugar, you're about to get classy!

A few years ago I saw some cool storage containers for flour and sugar, but we didn't have the space for it. (In fact this is the first time I've bought flour or sugar in such large bags.) When we finally did I couldn't find the containers anywhere. Well I finally found what I was looking for and for a reasonable price. The containers make storing and getting into my big storage of flour and sugar sooooooooo!!! much easier! (Love the hinged lid!)

But why stop here when it can be much less boring?! If I had a cricut or something I would have cut out some vinyl, but I don't so I didn't. Thanks to some scrapbook paper and clear contact paper it was easy, looks good and should hold up. So glad I thought of contact paper before modgepodging it on!

Kitchen Make-over

2011-09-21T13:08:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to paint our kitchen since before we moved in. But alas it has remained elusive, waiting for the day when other things are not more important. Finally Douglas has finished all regular and pre-med schooling, and so the goal was to paint before the end of the year. Thanks to a crazy thought by Douglas, that day has come sooner than anticipated! We still have a few finishing touches to take care of (clean-up, etc), and a last coat of white on the stairway, but I'm calling this one project done and successful! I'm so happy with the way it turned out! And now all the parts of the kitchen finally feel like they all belongs together.

Before (but after tearing down wallpaper)

The ugly wallpaper

Nice bright ceiling

Top part finished

Finished product

(Ignore the vacuum & ladder)

Fun curtains (same off-while color as trim)

Oktoberfest 2011

2011-09-15T12:07:00.027-07:00

We had such a great time at Oktoberfest this year. It's sad to think this may be my last year going after doing it my whole life. But I can't be too sad at having such great memories and pictures! I probably took way too many pictures because it was really hard to narrow it down. And the slideshow isn't working today for me, so here are even fewer than I was going to show. We had a few close calls in the pool with kids, but everyone is doing great.

A Day Off During a Busy Time

2011-06-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

First off I should blog about Japheth graduating pre-school. He had such a blast going to school, and he learned a lot. It's still sinking in for him that school is over, but so far he's doing well with it. The day his teacher set for graduation Japheth was so excited and couldn't wait to go to graduation. When we got there he said, "That's a party for me!" He felt special all day, and it was really fun to see. We probably won't be starting Kindergarten early, but find other things to help him grow and learn.

With Japheth graduating, Douglas in his last semester, and getting really close to taking the M-CAT it's felt pretty busy in our family. So what happens when you get an entire afternoon to yourself?! Besides feeling relaxed and getting to listen to some good music (without having to skip songs that aren't appropriate for kids!)? I got a bunch of pictures from my long queue touched up and sorted into their final resting files on the hard drive, plus finally had the time, space, and kid free environment to get a this project done! If you can't tell it was a good afternoon! (Idea and intructions for the project came from: http://thesassypepper.blogspot.com/2010/11/mod-podge-photos-on-canvas.html)

2 Years old

2011-06-07T17:16:00.000-07:00

Xander turned 2 at the end of May. He had a blast with all the attention and fun. We went to a park for his party and let the kids play. Then we had cupcakes and opened presents, followed by going to a little wading stream to float some little rubber ducks. Everyone had a great time, and all the other kids around us were looking jeaslously at our ducks. Thanks to everyone who could come, and for the fun presents. Xander has been having a blast playing with all the presents he has gotten from friends and family! I think his favorite part of birthdays this year (anyone's birthday) is singing "Happy Birthday!" There has been many a night since the birthday festivities began that he has sung himself to sleep with "Happy Birthday." It usually sounds like happy to you Yander, he'll have to get the hang of the Z sound.

He is doing great and constantly learning new words. He still loves to play with balls and read books. He loves watching Curious George and meowing like a cat (just like his big brother). He is 32 1/5 inches tall and weighs 24lbs 3oz. He continues to grow like a weed, and be as cute as is possible. I would like to state that taking his pictures this time was very frustrating since he was a bit of a punk and refused/had no interest in looking at me or the camera.

School Update

2011-05-18T09:26:00.000-07:00

Another semester ended and another semester started. Douglas got A's in all his classes again for spring semester, even though he was worried about O Chem 1. We only had a 2 week break between spring and summer semesters, which was filled with working more since he could, and still having his M-CAT prep course. I'm unsure how I feel about starting another semester; I definately am NOT excited for more home time being filled with homework, but I AM excited that we're starting the last semester before going to Med School.
So here's the run-down. He is taking 1 class and 2 labs this summer (O Chem 2 with lab, and the lab for O Chem 1 since he couldn't get into it last semester). He will take the M-CAT mid-July, and will hopefully be done applying to 20-30 Med Schools by the end of August.

Happy Mother's Day All!

2011-05-06T09:33:00.000-07:00

I received an email from a friend's mom the other day, and liked it so much that I decided to post it for Mother's Day. I think that we could all do with an up-lifted view of what we, our moms, friends, wives, (who-ever we know with kids) do as a mom. Especially since in the run-of-the-mill of everyday, we tend to forget to look at things in this kind of way. Enjoy, and HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! (Thanks Kathy for the email)

A woman, renewing her driver's license at the Count Clerk's office, was asked by the woman recorder to state her occupation. She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.
"What I mean is," explained the recorder, "Do you have a job or are you just a ....?"
"Of course I have a job," snapped the woman. I'm a Mom."
"We don't list 'Mom' as an occupation, 'Housewife' covers it, said the recorder emphatically.

I forgot all about her story until one day I found myself in the same situation, this time at our own Town Hall. The Clerk was obviously a career woman, poised, efficient, and possessed of a high sounding title like, "Official Interrogator" or "Town Registrar."
"What is your occupation?" she probed.
What made me say it? I do not know the words simply popped out. "I'm a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations."
The clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in midair and looked up as though she had not heard right.
I repeated the title slowly emphasizing the most significant words. Then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement was written, in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.
"Might I ask," said the clerk with new interest, "just what you do in your field?"
Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice, I heard myself reply, "I have a continuing program of research, (what mother doesn't) In the laboratory and in the field, (normally I would have said indoors and out). I'm working for my Masters, (first the Lord and then the whole family) and already have four credits (all daughters). Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities, (any mother care to disagree?) and I often work 14 hours a day, (24 is more like it). But the job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill careers and the rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money."
There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's voice as she completed the form, stood up, and personally ushered me to the door.
As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants -- ages 13, 7, and 3. Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model, (a 6 month old baby) in the child development program, testing out a new vocal pattern. I felt I had scored a beat on bureaucracy! And I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable to mankind than "just another Mom."

Motherhood! What a glorious career! Especially when there's a title on the door. Does this make grandmothers "Senior Research associates in the field of Child Development and Human Relations" And great grandmothers "Executive Senior Research Associates?" I think so!!! I also think it makes Aunts "Associate Research Assistants."

Thanks mom for all you do!

New High Score!

2011-04-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

This morning Douglas and I played Ticket to Ride Europe before he got to studying for his O-Chem final. We decided to play an expansion version of the game called Big Cities. Now it looks like Green (or me) lost to Red (Douglas), but not so people, not so! Douglas got a respectable score of 122. He had 2 really long trains in his run- 1 set was 21 points, and the other 15 points, and that didn't include his destination ticket points or the rest of his train (plus he usually gets the 10 extra points for longest train, which he did this game); so, looking at what he might be getting point-wise, I decided to keep picking up destination tickets to try and compansate for a big score on his end. At the end of the game I ended up with 16 destination tickets, and the points from that alone got me 146 points! I had 7 trains left when Douglas ran out of his trains, and my grand-total? Dat-dat-da-dah. . . 212!!!!!!!!

Hat Success!

2011-04-21T12:51:00.000-07:00

Back in college I somewhat tried crocheting. I tried to make my sister a fun scarf, thinking it would be easy. Much to my dismay I failed said attempt and thought that it just wasn't my thing. Then a few weeks ago we were hanging with some friends; while the men got to playing Halo, my friend Liz was brave enough to get me to have another go. Come to find out that my biggest problem with the scarf was the yarn I chose, while fuzzy, soft and fun, not the easiest one to see your stitches. So we planned another hang out with the plan to have lesson 2 while the hubands played Halo again. Luckily most of what I learned in college had come back to me in lesson 1 and so for lesson 2 I decided to make something. And... after attempt 1 at a hat that felt too loose for what I was going for, I had success at making something cute! And with a little ribbon hat 1 will be a present for my niece. So that makes 2 successful hats that are cute! And all with only buying one thing of yarn. Thanks Liz!

Dad Update

2011-04-19T09:54:00.000-07:00

Dad was moved out of ICU Saturday morning, and has been doing well. He takes a walk around his floor a few times per day. He had some tubes taken out before we saw him Sunday, but he was still hooked up to the Sci-fi machine; and I think they took some more tubes out later that day, or Monday. He can go home sometime between today and Friday. They are waiting to talk to a Doctor to make sure everythings on the up and up, and to discuss home options, etc. before they decide when to go home. I think my mom is hoping that they get to go home today for their anniversary.

Dad's Surgery

2011-04-15T15:21:00.000-07:00

Looking out the window with Xander before surgery.

Trying to see the cars before surgery.

Everything went well with dad's surgery. He did have a triple by-pass, his artery was 90% blocked and it was right before the artery branches off (refered to as the 'widow maker' since it effects your entire heart instead of just part of it, and pretty much no one lives after having a heart-attack from that spot). He had an extra branch off which is why it ended up as a triple by-pass instead of a double. Of course that's not where the oddities end with dad; his artery played hide and seek with the doctor, which is part of why the surgery took longer than normal. Most of the time you find it laying on top of the heart, but dad's was actually embeded in his heart muscle.

But everything went successfully, and he is doing well. He is currently in the ICU, but should be moved out some time today or tomorrow. He works on flexing his legs and sometimes sitting forward in his chair to switch things up. He still has plenty of tubes coming out of him, though some tubes were taken out before the pictures I took; and he is hooked up to sci-fi looking/sounding machine (helps take out extra fluid and possibly maintain the right pressure for his lungs). He wanted me to thank everyone for their concern and prayers, and also to say "I shouldn't have joined this gym!" Funny as always.

Blows into this to help prevent pneumonia.

His boiling Sci-fi machine, you can't see the bubbles very well.

30-4

2011-03-24T07:24:00.000-07:00

So this is a crazy month of birthdays since we have 2 about a week apart. But we made it through successfully! Japheth had a "How to Train Your Dragon" party and loved it. We didn't have a pinata this year, but we played Dragon Trainer Says, Musical Dragons and Pin the Head on the Dragon. It was a lot of fun. Japheth is now 4 years old, and I can't believe how big he's getting. He is 35 lbs 12 ounces and 39 1/2 inches. He continues to get smarter every day. He reads probably at a first grade level and is now learning a little math and money (pennies and nickles, etc). He writes pretty well, and loves to write and receive notes. He is also becoming a pro at riding his trike.

For Douglas' birthday he had a Halo party. 11 of his friends over for a 3 TV/3 Xbox extravaganza. We didn't get to bed until about 2:30am and had a 6 am wake-up call from Japheth, but it was a blast! I think we had a Halo hangover for 2 days. He is now the big 3-0! He's doing well with all of his schoolwork and learning a lot for the M-CAT. He juggles everything pretty well and we're always so proud of all his hard work.

Play-time

2011-03-09T08:35:00.000-08:00

So far today the boys have done almost nothing but fight. But yesterday afternoon the boys played miraculously well together for like 30-45 mins. No crying, fussing, screaming, yelling or hitting! Just happy giggling and fun. And now you're asking yourself, 'Is that even possible!? What could they have possibly been doing?' Well they were doing this. . .

Is is wierd that I was basically doing the same thing at the same time? Their pile is higher, but mine's yummier! Mmmm french toast!

Happy New Year

2011-01-13T13:45:00.000-08:00

A late Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! This year we were able to go out to Colorado and visit my brother and his family, and see Douglas' sister and husband for Christmas. It was so relaxing and nice to get away from everything! No driving from place to place on Christmas day; the whole trip was great. We didn't get to actually see anything until we'd been there for more than a day though. We arrived after dark and the whole next day there was a ton of fog. But after that we were able to get oriented and see how beautiful it all is. Plus the fog left a ton of frost that was great for pictures.
Then after arriving home safe, we got to see my other brother before he went back home to Alabama. It was really nice to see both brothers since they've lived out of town for years. And of course we had our annual sledding day with my family, accompanied with the usual awesome crashes!

Douglas finished his fall semester before all the Christmas fun, and got 2 A's and a B+. He has now started spring semester and is taking 2 classes and a lab. Plus he's taking an M-CAT prep through a private company. He'll take the M-CAT at the end of his prep course in June or July and apply to a bunch of med-schools. He has also started doing his 'research volunteer' work, plus still works a few days a week. So we all miss him very much already, even though it all just started. So with scheduling I'm basically a single mom for 4 days of the week. But at least it's only one semester, and I know that as soon as I finally get used to the schedule we get to change it all again! And assuming the boys don't get sick of me, we'll all make it through and presumably be sane.
The boys are still doing great! Xander is such a shy little guy, even towards Japheth sometimes. But he's cuter than ever, and has been learning to recognize some of the letters. Of course it's still hit and miss as to whether he'll say the right name to the right letter, but he really loves doing it and always gets 'O' right. Japheth loves going to pre-school more every day. He has been able to learn and understand about different days of the week. He learns about weather, animals, healthy food and exercise and everything else. It's been so great for him to go and have a place to exercise his mind, make friends, and practice social skills.

Giving Thanks & 18 Months

2010-11-30T12:23:00.003-08:00

This Thanksgiving holiday was great! We had Douglas' family over at our house for "dinner" and then went to my parents for dessert in the evening. There was a lot of great food and fun. Then on Saturday we had Thanksgiving with Douglas' dad, aunt and uncle and their family. More good food and fun. It was so nice to see everyone over the holiday weekend, and I'm extra grateful that Douglas got to have the whole week off! We even got the bonus of him not having to go to school the Tuesday before because of weather.

Pumpkin hide and seek

Xander turned 18 months over the holiday weekend. He is doing well. He's 30 1/2 inches tall and 21 lbs 14 oz. He says many things, and even learned a new word and the Doctor's visit- Frog. He's definitely more shy than Japheth was, but it's just so cute you love it. He wanted to "knock knock" on the door at the Dr.'s office, but wouldn't do it without me holding his hand.

The boys get along pretty well, though Japheth thinks that sharing means he gets whatever toy whenever he wants. Sometimes he has a hard time with why Xander gets to play with a toy when he wants it, because Xander should be sharing! It helps, sometimes, when I say it's Xander's turn. But their both so good and cute, I really couldn't ask for more. Except to remember better how little they are and understand, sometimes it's easy to forget and get frustrated. I'm so lucky to have such a cute and wonderful family! I am truly grateful for all three of my boys!

Oh yeah, Xander managed this!

Halloween

2010-11-02T23:01:00.000-07:00

Halloween was really fun. Pumpkin patch, food, parties, trick-or-treating, all the things that make the holiday great! We all dressed up as Star Wars characters this year, for those who might not know- I'm Princess Leia, Douglas is Han Solo, Xander is an Ewok, and Japheth is (as he puts it) Obi Kanobi One.

Fall Fun

2010-10-15T09:12:00.000-07:00

We went up to Oktoberfest with my family in September. Food, fun, dancing and more; needless to say we had a great time. We were able to to jump on the bungee trampolines, I was a little worried that Japheth would get scared after getting hooked up, but he had a blast! You wouldn't think it'd take so much energy, but it was a pretty good workout for such a short time. They invited the kids up on stage for the chicken dance. Japheth thought it was really fun, even though he didn't know the dance. He spent the first 30 seconds just staring at the drummer playing his set. Between cousins, grandparents, and all that fun both boys were thoroughly tired out!

We also went up to the Handley cabin a couple times. The boys couldn't get enough of dirt, rocks and watching things they threw in float down the river. I thought they might dam up the river with all they put in there. Xander loved exploring, hearing all the fun sounds, and the the seemingly never ending supply of food. Japheth loved that last one too of course, and playing Chinese checkers (which he cheats at) and doing the puzzles. It's always relaxing and fun, and we loved seeing Aunt Kate, Uncle Ken and Grandpa Handley.

On shorter topics, Japheth is absolutely loving pre-school. Xander is definitely a little man instead of a baby, though he's gained the nick-name of "baby." It's very sad when you realize one day that your baby isn't really a baby anymore, but he makes up for it by being the cutest thing ever! Both boys keep learning things so fast it's amazing. I am very blessed to be surrounded by 3 very cute, smart and good boys! We are all excited for the holiday season to start. We are ready for the first, and my favorite, Halloween, but can't wait for it all. January will be a lonely month when all the holidays are through. But I'm sure it will also be the start of another fun and exciting year!

Updates

2010-08-31T16:30:00.000-07:00

Recent trip to the park

So a lot has happened since my last post, so lets get right to it! First off Douglas got A's in both of his summer classes. He just started the fall semester and is taking 3 classes. He is working really hard to get all his homework done on time and understand it, while working and still being a part of our family. He's doing a really good job of it to. Thanks babe!

Next off is the computers. We ended up getting the malware virus on both computers, but after much work and running at least 5 programs, it looks like we were able to get the virus off without wiping the hard drives. We still have some wierd pop-ups and re-directs on the internet that we didn't have before, so we are still looking into getting Windows 7 sometime soon-ish.

I love that he looks like nothing is holding him on in the middle picture

And finally what you've all been waiting for. . . the boys. Xander is doing really well. He's 15 months now and is as cute as ever. He is 29 inches tall and weighs 20 lbs 14 oz. He loves to talk and read and play. He walks like he's been doing it forever, though he took a spill in the mountains the other day. He couldn't keep his balance while walking the small, steep slope between path and dirt. He loves to do whatever Japheth is doing, and always wants to be a part of everything. He can say ball, book (same sound, but he knows the difference), mama, dada, up, he doesn't say dog, but he makes the same sound everytime he sees one; it sounds like woofing. He signs please, more, and milk. Japheth just gets smarter everyday. He's about 3 1/2 years-old. He looks so tall lately, and I just keep wondering what happened to my little man? (Though I know he's still little). He will start pre-school right after Labor Day. I know - "say what?!" The wierdness has just started setting in for me. I'm sad because I thought being close to some schools I'd get to walk him to pre-school. But they want too much for it, and Grama Tanner's neighbor is starting up her pre-school again for a steal of a deal. So I'm going to have to come to terms with driving him instead. It'll be wierd to have him gone for so long so often. I guess it'll be good time for me to try some things out that I've been wanting to do for a while.

Becoming a swing expert

The Good The Bad and The Ugly

2010-07-03T12:03:00.001-07:00

Flipper died a natual death, he caught a nasty virus. . . . They were all in love with dying, they were doing it in Texas.
I have just found a new meaning to those words from the song Avalanche. We are currently battling our own nasty virus, computer virus that is! We are currently in the process of backing up files so we can wipe the whole thing. And man it's a big job since we haven't gotten on it before and I've taken like a million pictures. As if life weren't busy enough right now. I guess we needed something to do in our not very much of it spare time. Oh well, I guess that means no more putting off spending the millions of dollars to upgrade to Windows 7. Which also means having to purchase the latest Adobe Photoshop, since the others don't work with Windows 7.
In other news, for those who don't know, Douglas is going to try and get into Med School. He has about 1 1/2 years of pre-requisites before he can take the M-CATs. Then hopefully he will be accepted the first time which means he'll start in 2012. After that it's a breezy 4 years of Med school followed by 3-6 of Residency (closer to 6 than 3 probably). Yea more school and homework!
Now that the Bad and Ugly are out of the way, on to the Good. Xander is as cute as ever. He does the stairs really well, though it scares me to watch him sometimes. He has started to take a few steps here and there by himself. I think he could have done it sooner, but he thought he needed to keep hanging on to stuff, which he still sometimes thinks. But it's exciting and cute. Japheth just keeps getting smarter every day! He has been wanting to homework just like his daddy, so we bought a pre-school activity book at Walmart and have been going through some pages on most days. I don't know what we'll do when it comes time for school and he's already learned everything. I think it'll still be fun for him, but I worry he'll be bored. At least he has funny to fall back on, right? He thinks he's hilarious, and Xander laughing his head off at him only helps him know it for sure. I love when they play well together, it really is fun to see them laugh together.
And finally, just wishing everyone a happy 4th of July!

Colorado

2010-06-10T15:07:00.001-07:00

So over the first weekend in June we went to Colorado for Douglas' sister, Rachel, who got married. Looking at hotels we had a few options; 1- be close to our activities, be what I consider reasonably priced, and be very rundown. 2- be farther than we'd like from our activities, my "reasonably" priced, and be a place I'm good to take my kids to. 3- be close to our activities, have a nice hotel, and pay a bit more than we'd like to. I really haven't had to look at hotels before, so my "reasonably" priced is probably much lower due to that lack of experience with it. We chose to go with option 3 and make it feel more like a mini-vacation. I'm really glad we did! The room was great, it had a separate bedroom from the main living area so it was much easier to put the boys to bed. Plus we were able to get a pretty good deal online which made the end price much more reasonable to me (and my reasonable price has gone up a bit since our stay).

We had a great time! Though I found out that I can only handle half of Wyoming before I start feeling "Are we there yet?!" But we had a lot of fun at Green River's "time tunnel." I think that might have been one of Japheth's favorite parts. And we found a fun stop just off the freeway a few exits from our hotel that had some Dino fossils and footprints. Japheth wanted to climb on it the whole time, and at one point climbed up between the guide's legs. So that made it a bit frustrating, but it was really cool to feel real bones in the rock, and see the footprints (especially since it looks like one dinosaur hunting another). The dinosaurs in the pictures are actually to scale, so that's how big we'd look next to them. And they color the foot prints with charcoal paste so you can see them better. We also went to the Denver Aquarium. It was a pretty fun time, the boys were better behaved and really liked seeing all the fish close up. And Douglas got to feed some manta rays, but got in trouble for petting them too much. Apparently you're suppose to only use 2 fingers on the tips of the wings.

The wedding went well, and it seemed like everyone was having a good time. It was held in a natural amphitheater in Morrison. It was beautiful, and a pretty cool place to get married. Rachel looked fantastic! Japheth got to be the ring bearer and did a really good job. We practiced with him so he wouldn't go off course, run down the isle or drop the pillow. He was focused and cute and went at a good pace. Thanks mom for helping me make my awesome dress!

Turning 1

2010-05-31T19:32:00.000-07:00

So Xander is now officially 1 years-old. He is 27 1/2 inches tall and weighs 17 lbs 15 oz. He has 6 teeth in his cute little smile, and loves to use them for eating Cheerios, his favorite food. He's healthy and super cute. He loves to walk around with his Tonka truck (see last post), and has started to let go of the Tonka every once in a while to stand on his own for a second or two. He is also climbing stairs, up not down, and made it to the top today without an adult behind him, but with Japheth in front telling what a good job he's doing. He can talk up a storm with all his baby sentences, and sometimes helps me get after Japheth by holding his hand out toward him and talking louder. His favorite toys are Japheth's tools, and he loves to snuggle his bed-time doggy. He has the cutest facial expressions and words, and is such a fun loving little guy. He is super mellow most of the time, but has recently started to attack Japheth by climbing up him to stand up, and then puts his mouth to Japheth and talks into Japheth's back. It's cute to watch them play together; I think it's the beginning to their rough housing, luckily for me it's not so rough yet! He also loves bath time, with his most favorite part being splashing everyone even remotely close to the tub.
While Xander enjoys most things in life there are a few things he thinks he could do without. First is waiting for his milk to warm up. He thinks it's the end of the world having to wait, but refuses to drink it even luke-warm. Second is the feel of outside. Sounds weird, but it's true. He super hates the feel of grass, and while he tolerates it, he isn't fond of the cement either. He definitely prefers to be held outside, but maybe one day he'll find he's having too much fun to notice that he's outside.
We had a great time at his first birthday party! Thanks to everyone that could make it. All the presents are great, and both Xander and Japheth are having a blast playing with the new toys and can't decide which one they like most, though Japheth is finding it hard to share Xander's toys with Xander. Xander was a bit unsure of the cake at first, but only because it was cold. After a bit he really got into it. It's crazy to think we've had him for a year already, and sometimes he looks too big to me! But I know he's still really little, and we definitely enjoy having him around. Thanks again for all the great presents.

1 Plus 3 Equals Crazy!

2010-05-16T20:54:00.025-07:00

I know it doesn't look like it but it's really a hug.

So first I have to attribute this post to Liz, since she inspired me to post it with her poo bath and crayon eating child. (Also thanks for helping me make my blog more stylin') The past few weeks we have felt a little crazy. Partly from crazy little boys and partly from Douglas' shedule. He just ended a class for work and started Chemistry 1210 with the overlapping time resulting in him being gone a lot. I think the hardest part is when the boys take turns being punks or just go completely out of control.
Japheth has been all over the place hyper! It's been a bit more constant than usual. We went to Applebees for dinner the other night and he was literally bouncing off the walls in the restroom. He has been into more things than usual, and has been playing harsher with Xander lately. They can play nicely, but Japheth has been hitting him to get toys back, plus hitting with toys in his excited playing. Also he hasn't been going to bed well lately. We put both boys down at 7pm for the night, but Japheth has been staying awake until 9pm, even though he's tired. The problem is that he isn't just laying quietly, so we have to go up every so often to put him back down. It can be maddeningly frustrating night after night! By the time he finally goes to sleep it's almost time for us to go to bed and we've spent all our "kidless" time taking care of a kid, instead of rejuvinating and relaxing to be ready for another day of kids. Sadly I think our only option is to finally drop his nap. :(
While Japheth has been perfecting his ability to not listen to a thing you say and be hyper beyond belief, Xander has been perfecting his art of crying and persistance in crying. There are many times when he wakes up and straight off swears that he is starving like he hasn't eaten for days. Though if we're out and about he has no problems waiting longer for his meal. Seems a little backwards to me, maybe I'm just wierd though. He'll cry and cry until he gets his bottle, and then sometimes cries more until he's had all his food, and then sometimes more until he has his cherios. And if he sees the bottle then he's automatically starving and needs it right then. And if he sees anyone else eating he of course is starving again, even when he's just eaten. It's a fun cycle of crying, luckily it's not all day long.
I know that they're really good kids, and I love them tonz, but man can kids drive you crazy. Luckily they can be really cute too, often right when it's needed to keep them in the family. :) I love that Xander likes to cuddle, and he says little baby-talk sentences all the time that make you just smile. Plus he does a little head shake ending with cocking it to one side and smiling like there's no tomorrow. While Japheth has started saying "thank you mama for making dinner" even when it's lunch time. And many times an "I love you mama" comes out of the blue. Since Xander is a cuddler, Japheth has decided he needs it a little more in his life too, and I very much enjoy that. But the funniest is when the influence of having mostly girl cousins around, and being with me all day shows itself. Like having tea. . .
Sorry about the audio, can't seem to make it work.

I was going to put a video of Xander talking cute, but since the audio doesn't seem to want to work with my phone videos here's one of him walking with the aid of a toy instead. (A recent developement)

A Dino-mite Time!

2010-03-14T19:26:00.006-07:00

So we had Japheth's friend party this last Saturday. We were sad that not everyone could come, but had a fun time anyway. We played "pin the tail" on the dinosaur, chopped the head off of the dinosaur pinata, and ate dinosaurs that were dipped in "mud." It was nice to make a chocolate frosting that Japheth could have since he won't have chocolate much in his life. We're pretty sure that he's lactose intolerant. Japheth was so excited about turning 3 and having a dinosaur party. He told as many strangers about it as possible. He loves all his presents, thanks everybody.

3 Years and 9 Months

2010-03-03T13:13:00.005-08:00

So it's getting to be birthday season at our house. Japheth will turn 3 on the 12th and Douglas will be 29 on the 18th. Since Xander's 9 month appointment was somewhat close to March we decided to only go into the Dr. once for both check-ups. A week or so late for Xander and a week or so early for Japheth.

Japheth is a very cute ball of high energy. He loves letters and numbers as much as ever. Since he's been able to count pretty high, can recognize numbers into the 20's and beyond, recognizes ABC's in capitol and lower case; we've moved on to spelling and math. He loves to spell with Word World, and types many words on the computer. At the store we were looking at movies and Japheth passed all familiar characters to promptly say "I want this one!" to LeapFrog's Math Circus. He's not very familiar with anything Leap Frog, but as soon as it was over the first time he immediately said "Again!" He is such a handful of a wonderfully good boy. But yes it finally happened... Japheth tried to change his own diaper. At naps and bedtime he's not in underwear yet and after a nap he got out the wipes and attempted to use them all! Luckily I wasn't home, and Douglas had to deal with it. He is 36 1/2inches tall and weighs 28lbs. He's actually in the 25% now, so he's a lot taller since he used to be around 10-15%.

Xander is also doing great! He army-crawls and bunny-hops all over the place, getting into as many of Japheth's toys as possible. Yep that's right, having big brother's toys was the motivation to get Xander moving. He still has only the four teeth thankfully. He loves to cuddle and play and is full of smiles. He rocks back and forth playfully and expects you to do it back. He's growing like a weed, and sometimes with how much food he wants I think he'll surpass Japheth any day, but know it'll be a long while before that happens. He is 27inches tall and weighs 16lbs 14oz, which means he lost a few ounces from his last appointment.

Teeth!

2010-01-21T10:10:00.002-08:00

So Xander has been teething for a little while. Then it happened - 4 teeth in 3 weeks! Yep, so much fun. His first tooth popped out on New Years day, and his latest just popped out today (21st). Mostly he's been pretty happy, but the night before his teeth pop out he's super fussy and doesn't sleep well. I'd like to blame it on our friends Marshall & Liz, I think hanging out with them bring the teeth out. They were there for the first and third teeth, with the second and fourth coming only a few days after.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

2010-01-04T07:36:00.005-08:00

Well another year come and gone. This last year has been a struggle at times, but it's also been a great year! We lost the Saturn in the spring/summer time (right after buying new tires!), Douglas worked a crazy amount of hours and only got paid for half, and the Honda tried to die on us- but we fixed it (for what seems like a lot) since it's our only car. BUT Xander was born in May, both boys are happy and healthy- not to mention sleeping 7-7, Douglas graduated in December and has a job in cardiac (many of the other students in his program don't have jobs yet), we have a beautiful home (that after a year and a half we finally put pictures up), Japheth has been doing well at potty training, both boys are growing and learning well, and we are all just happy and healthy.

Christmas was great! Japheth had a fun time opening presents and he's starting to get Santa a little more. He even got to hear Santa's bells on Christmas Eve after going to bed. Xander got some books, Japheth got books and a kid camera that he loves along with some other fun toys, Douglas got more Ninja Turtles DVD's, Ghost Busters for Xbox360, and some other movies and things, I got some movies, a yoga mat and blocks to help with P90X, money for shelving and some other great things.

This year we are looking forward to Japheth turning 3 and Xander turning 1, and just spending more time together as a family. We are excited for Douglas' sister Rachel to get married, and my cousin Kevin. We hope to have no car troubles this year, and also to be able to afford a new (to us) car. We hope to have Japheth going potty at other places besides our house and wearing underwear all the time soon. And, as every year, we hope to be able to enjoy this year better than the last.

We are very greatful for our many blessings! And we hope that all of you are able to have a great and blessed year for 2010.

6 Months Old & More

2009-12-07T09:16:00.009-08:00

Xander turned 6 months on Thanksgiving. Which was relaxed and fun this year. But he didn't have his check-up until last week. Everything is looking good. He's about 25 inches tall and 16ish? lbs. He loves to talk and eat his toys. He laughs a lot at Japheth and always has a big smile for him until Japheth hurts him. He can sit up and roll over and has been having fun playing with the Christmas tree.

Japheth still loves playing with his little brother, but like all kids, shows too much love sometimes. He's started potty training - which at first sucked big time - but now isn't so bad. He's getting the hang of it a little, and is better at going up with us every hour which cuts down the wet pants a ton!

Douglas is officially done with everything for his Bachelors. He graduates this Friday (11th) and it's very exciting to feel done. He still needs to take his national boards, but technically has 3 years to do so I think. He has applied to a few Echo jobs and we're waiting to hear back.

We also made ginger bread houses for fun. Japheth loved getting to eat his. And as you can see Douglas got fancy on me by making his with a peaked roof.

The Challenge

2009-11-29T15:02:00.002-08:00

So Douglas bought the P90X videos with some of his birthday money a while back and we decided to start the 90 day challenge after he finished student hours. Well the time has finally arrived, and we are nervously excited? about starting the program. Hopefully it doens't kill us. By posting that we're starting maybe we'll have better drive to keep going, because now we have accountability by telling others.

Halloween Time

2009-11-02T09:07:00.012-08:00

Rrrggg! Happy Halloween! We had a great time, Japheth was so excited to be pirates this year. We went up to Idaho Thursday for my nephew's baptism, then made a mad dash Saturday back here for Trick or Treating. We went to our ward's Trunk or Treat and then around our circle. After we got the boys to bed and handed out most of the candy we collected, saving a few choice pieces for Japheth and ourselves. All in all a great Halloween.

Captain Japheth

Xander was our parrot, since every pirate needs one!

Our trip to the pumpkin patch.

We went to Douglas' parent's on Sunday for their Halloween party, this was the treat we took.

Xander 4 Months

2009-09-28T21:26:00.010-07:00

Well we thought that it was about time we updated. Sorry we didn't get the 3 month pictures up. Anyway, we had Xander's 4 month check-up. He's doing great! He weighs 15 lbs 8 oz, and is 25 inches. He's currently in the 60th percentile for height and weight. He LOVES to talk especially when he is getting tired, he has started to laugh a little, and he plays a lot with his hands and feet - more so when playing with his rings that hang from a toy. He puts up well with all of Japheth's rough housing and smothering kisses, and loves to watch Japheth play around him. He has started baby cereal, which mostly he hates, but has been doing really well learning to eat it.

Japheth loves his little brother too. As evident by the picture. He likes to give hugs and kisses, and play by patting him and yelling high pitched words. He still loves his numbers and letters, and reading books. He's starting to get to the point where he can read some books through memory. It's really cute to hear it in his 2 1/2 year way of saying words, and what words he does or doesn't say. He also loves to exercise with daddy.

Xander 2 Months

2009-07-26T06:52:00.003-07:00

So we had Xander's 2 month check up this week. He's doing very well! He weighed 12 lbs 11 oz and was 22 1/2 inches tall. So he's gained 4 lbs 7 oz and an inch since he was born. He's sleeping longer through the night, and hopefully will be sleeping the whole night soon. He's doing well with tummy time, and is starting to coo, smile and look at people more.

Japheth still loves his little brother, sometimes a little too much. He is getting better with letters, he's starting to recognize some of the lower case letters. He's also continuing to say more words, and some previuos words are becoming more understandable. He loves to brush his teeth and floss. There are even times when he gets in trouble for getting into the floss on his own.

Douglas is getting closer to being done with school. He has finished all his tests and assignments for Summer semester, so we only have one to go. Though it still feels forever away because of student hours. I'm better adjusted to 2 kids now, though some days are still tough. But I think that's how it'll always be now that there's more than 1.

Careful What You Say

2009-07-10T19:02:00.003-07:00

So Japheth is at that fun stage where he repeats everything he hears. He'll repeat the last word of a sentence while Douglas and I are talking to each other, he's even called Douglas "Babe" because he's heard me say it. It can be really cute at times, but other times it can be a bad thing. There are even a few words we're trying to get him to change in his vocabulary (like saying "yes" instead of the "sure" he's picked up from Douglas). Because of this stage we have some really funny experiences. Like what happened today...

While we were out driving we ended up being stuck in traffic behind another driver who was texting on their cell phone. We found ourselves getting frustrated as we were repeatedly stuck behind them and stopped while the cars in front of them were moving. After a while we were finally able to escape their distracted driving and get around them. Moments later we found ourselves next to them at a light and as the light changed they again didn't move. So as we drove past them I yelled out "pay attention!" in hopes of saving other drivers from our experience. And since Japheth is in this fun stage he decided he needed to copy mommy and yell out too, much to our surprise he yelled "pay a chicken!"

What does thunder say?

2009-06-14T08:12:00.002-07:00

We haven't videotaped or photographed Japheth as much during the last year. So having a new little guy has reminded me to capture a little more of the cute things that Japheth does. During a recent rain storm Japheth was surprised to hear some very powerful thunder. So I took the chance to have some fun with the video camera.

Xander Live

2009-06-14T08:00:00.003-07:00

aaaannnd...ACTION!

Meet Xander

2009-06-14T07:41:00.009-07:00

Xander was born on May 26th at 5:15 in the morning. He was 8 lbs 4 oz, and 21 1/2 inches long. That's 1 lb more & 2 inches longer than Japheth was. No wonder I was so uncomfortable at the end! Everything went well and we're all home and healthy. He recently had his 2 week check-up where we found not only did he re-gain his birth weight, which is the norm, but he also gained 9 oz.

Japheth is loving being a big brother! He loves to give Xander hugs and kisses and binky. He thinks Xander is very cute. He has also really hit his 2's. He has a harder time listening and doing what you say than he did before. He has also learned how to open doors, yes the knob kind, and the fridge. So that's been a bit hard, but he's learning slowly.

A Better Ultrasound

2009-03-29T14:57:00.003-07:00

Hey we went in this last Saturday and got some 3-D Ultrasounds done of Xander. He's still measuring a few weeks ahead like Japheth did. But everything looks good and normal.

2 & 28

2009-03-26T11:43:00.006-07:00

So, Douglas and Japheth both had their birthdays this month. We had a lot of fun for both. Sadly on Douglas' birthday he had to work and go to school, so we celebrated the day after by going out to dinner. He got some Heroscape stuff (a game he got for C-mas and is enjoying), a garage door opener since we only had one, and "I Am Legend." Also because his actual birthday wasn't much fun, I thought he'd really like to have a Game Night with some of his guy friends. And of course they played Heroscape. But it was a lot of fun, and he said it was a great birthday!

Japheth had a good time too. He had to go to the Doctor for his 2 year check-up on his birthday, but after Douglas got home Japheth opened his presents from us, and we went to dinner where Japheth got his own dessert! We had birthday dinners on each side where Japheth was excited to get to open presents. I think since C-mas he understands that part a bit better. He got some great books and toys including a Rody Horse and a bubble lawn mower. He now weighs 24 lbs 4 oz, and is 32 3/4 inches tall. He's still on the little side, and probably will be as a kid, but is growing great and is praportional. He can count to 12 on his own, and recognizes the numbers 1-10. He is also pretty good at the alphabet, but doesn't quite have it all. He knows a lot of shapes, and still loves to read. We're working on colors and getting the rest of the alphabet, along with recognizing letters. He does recognize S, T, O, & P for obvious reasons.

Japheth also had a birthday party with some friends. It was a Curious George party, they got to color, make George cup-cakes, and play "pin the butterfly on the log." They all had a lot of fun playing and eating. And they enjoyed the game more than I thought they would with their ages. Overall it was a pretty good birthday month!

A Name

2009-02-15T13:43:00.006-08:00

Sorry we didn't blog Christmas, but it was a lot of fun. We got some ultrasound pictures on cd when we went to Douglas' work in December, and we thought we'd share one with you. Everyting is still going well with the pregnancy and progressing at the right times. He loves to kick! We also picked a name for our new baby and thought that this time we'd try sharing it before he's born. So the name we chose is Xander (said Zander). We have already been reminded why we wanted to keep Japheth's name a secret, so I think next time we'll stick to waiting until the kid is born. But this time we've already told people and thought we'd better tell eveyone then. We have yet to pick a middle name, maybe when we do we'll keep that secret.

Baby Update

2008-12-24T11:36:00.002-08:00

So I feel like we're blogging like crazy this month. And we'll probably have another post sometime from now to New Years. But we have some info to update you with. First off we're due June 6th. Everything looks like its progressing normal, and going well. We got to hear the baby's heart beat at our last appointment (which was the second appointment). Now because Douglas works in Radiology, we went to his work to find out what we're having early. We found out that we are going to have another boy. Douglas is really excited for them to have similar interests as they grow up, but most especially for the day he can wrestle with both of them. We are both excited for the new boy. I know that many of you are wondering if we're going to wait to tell the name again like we did with Japheth, well we don't have a name pick out this time, so the answer is I don't know. After we find a name then we'll talk about if we're going to tell everyone or not.

An Overdue Request to Douglas

2008-12-18T11:48:00.002-08:00

So a long time ago my sister in law posted around 10-12 things that people usually don't know about her. At the end she requested me to do the same. I've been meaning to for awhile and am finally fulfilling my part.

These are in no particular order.

1- I have a hard time sitting still. My life has been so busy for the last few years that I now feel guilty sitting around for too long, even on my day off. So my days off often are filled with working.

2- I secretly would love to be a real cowboy. During my mission I spent about 6 months around ranching communities. My weekly community service ended up being ranch work with just about anything you could think of. The cowboys up there were humble men made of strong toned muscles, calluses and very little to say unless it was friendly or important. Plus I like cowboy hats. (the tight pants might be a problem though)

3- The biggest fear I have is a home invasion. I'm obsessively locking doors and often think of what I would do to protect my family if the situation ever arose.

4- I love to watch children especially my son. The innocence that children have is one of my favorite things to see.

5- I don't tease Jill nearly as much as I would like. She would probably tell you that I tease her all the time, but that's not true! (YES IT IS!)-Jill

6- I love fish, swimming, and especially anything that combines the two, like snorkeling.

7- British comedies and sci-fi shows are some of my favorite shows to watch if I'm up late at night. I think my favorite is Red Dwarf. I also like the Red-Green show, which isn't British.

8- I really enjoy taking walks when it's really cold outside, especially if there's snow. Times like these the air is fresh and everyone else is inside. So the roads are all mine. I especially have fun when I have a friend who doesn't mind doing it as well.

9- Dispite my love of staying up late I've been forced to become a morning person. The last 5-6 years I've had to get up early every morning and now I get tired around 10:00. It's a sad, sad thing.

Well, I've thought and thought and that's all I can come up with. Thanks for reading!

Family Pictures

2008-12-13T09:30:00.007-08:00

So we got new family pictures. It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of work. Japheth just kept wanting to run around the studio. Things are well, Japheth has discovered that some food sticks to his fingers, and he can pick it up without having to grab it. He thinks it's a lot of fun. He loves to play Giutar Hero World Tour with his Dada. And every time we go get the mail he HAS to ride his tonka truck.

We got the tree up, and Japheth thinks its fun too, after we got the lights on he kept saying "pretty!" over and over. Though he also thinks the ornaments are new toys to play with. Most are higher, so it's not too bad, but we went over to see his Grampa Rasmussen the other day and he wouldn't stop taking the ornaments off.

Halloween

2008-11-06T09:07:00.005-08:00

So I know it's a little late, but I just wanted you guys to see our Halloween cotumes. We had a lot of fun, and I think they looked great! Thanks, mom, for helping me make mine and Japheth's.

Just kidding. Here we really are, but I think we did a pretty good job of looking like the picture above. Japheth had some blue shorts, but it was a little cold for them, still it was very nice weather. Just try to imagine a red block right above Douglas' hand in the first picture. Japheth had a lot of fun trick-or-treating. At first he didn't know what was going on, but after the first house gave him something, he was a little more excited. Then the second house gave him something and he thought this was the best thing ever! They could have been giving rocks and he still would have loved it. He also got excited when he saw other kids dressed up. We were really excited that he wore his hat, he wasn't liking it so much when we tried to put it on for our party. Happy Halloween!

Announcement

2008-10-11T10:50:00.002-07:00

For everyone who saw Janna's blog, no we're not coppying her, there are no candy bars involved. This is just an announcement to let our friends and extended family know that we're going to have another baby. We're somewhere around 6 weeks, so that puts the baby due around May. That means that Japheth will be about 2 years 2-3 months older than the baby. We'll update you more along the way.

Trip to Snowbird

2008-10-01T13:13:00.010-07:00

So Janna was a bit faster than me at getting pictures of Snowbird up, but here ya go. It was a lot of fun. Douglas had a lot of fun with the kids in the pool while I took pictures, then the pool had fun in his eyes the rest of the night. So he slept while Janna, Josh and I went swimming and hot tubbing later that evening. Japheth had a great time, everytime he got into the hallway he started yelling. He loved exploring a new place. And like always, he's still a bit afraid of the water. He clings to you whenever you go in, even if he can stand in it he'd rather be held. At the park Japheth had fun, but the most interesting thing to him was Montana's scooter. Go figure!

Montana was great at the pool. Janna would tell her to jump with a twist and she'd do it, then Janna would say do a toe touch, and she would. She even did a bunch of cannon balls, but when it came to going in head first, well that's a different matter. So I got the pictures of Janna pushing Montana in. Oh yah, when we got back we had a new roof! It was exciting to come home to, and to have it done. Especially since it rained a lot right after. They did a good job and did it really fast!

Politics

2008-09-17T19:15:00.006-07:00

So I was looking at everyone's blogs, and on my friend's blog (Mickelle) there was a post with some video on it. Well I decided to see what was said about politics by this guy Moyer, and I have to say he's pretty much on the mark. It's a long video, so give yourself plenty of time (aprox. 1 hr), but you can also puase if needed. It's pretty good, and I think most of you will like it, especially since it isn't a republican vs. demorat thing!

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/12142007/watch.html

18 Months

2008-09-17T19:15:00.003-07:00

Well, it's been a bit later than a week. But I finally got some pictures to put with the post. At Japheth's check-up everything went well. He is 31 inches tall and 22 lbs 8 oz. Which means that we've finally broken out of the 10th %, he's now in the 15th %. Between all the signs, noises and words he says, the doctor said he's at a 2 year old level in that area. So he's doing great, and there are no current worries about how he's progressing. He get's cuter every day, he loves to ride his Tonka Truck, running around, and getting into the movies. He's always all over the place, he loves to read books, but his favorite thing to play is "eating." Yes, I said eating. He goes to the drawer and get's out one of his spoons/forks, and then get's a toy that somewhat resembles a bowl. He'll then walk around or sit or whatever, and pretend to eat what is "inside," he'll even try to "feed" me.

On other news, Douglas has a mountain of homework, but is doing well with it so far. We're getting our home re-roofed, because it needs to be, and we thought about doing it ourselves. Well when Douglas got up there it was a bit steeper than most homes, not too bad about 45 degrees. So we decided to just see how much it would be to have some one do it for us, and it was pretty much the amount we already had set aside. I am very excited to tell you that I got to up-grade my camera. It's a very nice Canon, we decided to give the Pentax to Janna & Josh so they wouldn't have to deal with the stupid delay thier camera gave them. Now they can get the pictures they take, instead of the picture right after.

5 Years

2008-08-31T18:40:00.001-07:00

2008-08-31T09:38:00.007-07:00

Sorry it's been so long. With everything that has been happening lately (family in town, moving in, trying to paint and fix up, Douglas starting school again) the blog hasn't exactly been at the top of the list. Everything has been going well though. The painting is coming very slowly right now, but it'll all get done eventually, and hopefully look good. Douglas is excited to now be in school for Cardiac Ultrasound, but isn't excited about the homework. His schedual at work has been a bit crazy lately because of others taking time off, and the time he took off for our 5th anniversary. I know! Can you believe it? So hopefully this next month will be a bit less crazy.

We had a lot of fun for our anniversary. Douglas and I went to the Hotel Park City for a night, and then had our friends bring Japheth with them and we all spent the night at the Handley cabin. It was a lot of fun, and Japheth had a great first time at the cabin.

Japheth is doing really well. He loves to play and get into EVERYTHING! He has his 1 1/2 yr check-up next week, so we'll post more then. He enjoys reading his books, and some he has enjoyed a bit too much. Goodnight Moon is in, I think, 5 pieces right now. He says "dada" a lot more now, and sometimes prefers it to signing dada. He signs a lot, his favorite is airplane, which comes with a sound effect. When we're out crossing he'll sign it over and over as if I can make them fly over us. Though he does get to see quite a few since we're under some routs.

A New Home

2008-06-22T09:28:00.004-07:00

So, we are very excited to say that we have officially bought our first house! We'll be moved in by June 26th. It's not spectacular, but we think it's pretty nice. It's a multi-level with 4 bedrooms, 3 up and 1 down. It has a nice size kitchen and 1 1/2 baths. And Douglas' favorite part- a 2 car garage! He's never had a garage or even a carport so he's very excited about that. And of course owning a home comes with a few extra expenses, like a lawn mower. We decided to get a push mower (the old kind you would see on Leave it to Beaver), we thought $4/gal was too much to pay to cut grass. But it'll give a good workout.

Japheth continues to grow and explore. He is FINALLY getting another tooth on the bottom, and it's a molar! He is continuing to learn to climb up more things. The other day he was in the kitchen and very quiet for a few minutes, so I decided to check on him. He had climbed up onto a chair and was eating some raisons that were left on the table. We have to watch him with his climbing because sometimes he'll try to climb over the back of the couch or up onto the table. We don't know how he'll do with the move, but we hope he adjusts well.

15 Months

2008-06-12T09:19:00.005-07:00

Well everything has been going well for us. Japheth gets bigger everyday, and wants to do more things like mom and dad. He was very intent on helping Douglas with homework, even though there weren't any pictures.
He has found out how to get his binky on his own, and when he's tired or cranky will get the binky, a blanket and his teddybear and walk around the apartment. Sometimes he'll even lay down on the floor for a few seconds. He also likes to come grab our finger and take us around the apartment, and he gets very mad if you don't go with him right away!
We went to the Doctor's on the 11th for Japheth's 15 month check-up. While we waited he was fine, he kept taking Douglas' finger and going to the door, as if to say "Okay Dad, this room is boring, let's go!" When the doctor came in he was very shy, and cuddled right up to Douglas. But as soon as the stethascope hit his skin it was all crying until we left. He currently has 8 teeth, still only 2 of which are on the bottom, and 2 of which are molars. He weighs 19 lbs 12 oz, and is 29 1/2 in tall. That puts him average size for a 12 month old. So he's still short, but his weight is good for his height.

Updates

2008-05-09T09:12:00.005-07:00

Hey everyone! Just thought I'd give you all an update. Douglas took his Boards on Tuesday, the 6th. Which means he got the necessary homework and things done. To pass you need at least 75% and Douglas got well above that. So now we just have to wait for them to send us the info, 1-4 weeks, then we can purchase his licence and he'll be a full tech! Also we just found out that Douglas got all A's for Spring Semester! Yea!

Also Japheth is doing well, he and Douglas got sick for a few days last week, but both recovered well. During that time Japheth seemed more fussy than just his being sick, and as he got better the fussiness didn't, then we discovered that he is getting a molar! His teeth coming in have started to skip around. He still only has 2 on the bottom, his 2 front top, 1 of the ones next to the front top, 1 k-9 on the opposite side, and the molar is in the second place, not the first. So it'll be interesting to see which comes next!

Japheth has also learned to kiss, very open mouthed! And has started to kiss Douglas and I at random times, before it was only when we asked. He has also kissed some random little kids. It's very cute. He loves to play, walk, sqeel and yell. Sometimes when we're out crossing he yells at the kids as they pass. It's not angry yelling or sqeeling, he just likes to be loud sometimes. He is doing well with some signing. He says please, more, daddy, mommy, and milk. Though sometimes he get's a little confused at which one to say, we're still working on saying words out loud.

A Slight Change of Career

2008-04-15T15:21:00.004-07:00

Well, we just found out the very good news that Douglas has been accepted into the Cardiac Ultrasound Program, and that they have a good clinical site in the valley for him to do his student hours. It's nice to finally know for sure, and that he won't have to go far for student hours. I know he'll do just as well with Cardiac as he is doing with X-ray. He'll start the program this Fall, which means no space between X-ray and Cardiac. But it also means he'll be done that much sooner. The program will run through Fall of 09, so he'll graduate in Dec. 09.

Birthdays Galore!

2008-04-02T08:24:00.013-07:00

Hey everyone. Sorry it took so long, but it's been a very busy month. Between 2 birthdays and helping Douglas with school and other misc. stuff, like Jenn and Neil coming out to visit, it's been hard to get to the blog. At Japheth's 1 year check-up he weighed 18 lbs and was 28 inches tall. He's been walking for a while, and has gotten to the point that he wants to walk more than crawl. It's a lot of fun to see some one so small walking around. He's not running yet, but occationally tries to go a little faster with the result of getting to know the ground a little better. His 6th tooth has finally popped through, we've waited about 2 months, and he's been more fussy with this one than with the others. But I think it's one of k-9s intead of the one right next to the 2 front tops, and I've heard kids are more fussy with those.

Douglas and Japheth both had great birthdays! Douglas got mostly things to help him with workouts, and we left Japheth at home with Grandma and Grandpa Tanner and went out to a nice dinner. Douglas is trying to get all of his homework for the semester done a bit early so he can start on the summer semester. His goal is to take his Boards early, and to do so he has to be done with all student hours, which he pretty much is, and be signed up for his last semester and have half the tests done, which also means a lot of studying. But I'm sure he'll do great!

Japheth got a lot of clothes and toys. Douglas and I got him a little wagon to put all his toys in. Sometimes he get's a bit frustrated if the pull handle isn't were he would like. He had fun at his party, which was construction themed, but was a bit shy since there were a lot of people there all staring at him. When it came time for cake, well let's just say it wasn't like most 1st birthdays. Just to give some background- he doesn't like bread! So we were very curious to see if he would like cake since they're very similar textures. Well, see for yourself.

1 Year Ago/1 Year Old

2008-03-12T09:12:00.008-07:00

1 year ago I woke up in the middle of the night to roll over and my water broke. That was the begining of all the crazy fun that has followed. 1 year ago we received a new baby in our lives, and nothing has been the same since. We have had the pleasure of watching him and guiding him for the 1st year of his life, and though some things have been a bit of a struggle along the way, we most definately look forward to helping, teaching, and playing with him for all the years to come.

It's wierd to think that it's been a whole year. It doesn't seem that long, yet it seems he's always been with us. It's even wierder to think that WE have a 1 year old. 1 year ago he was learning to open his eyes, to eat, and to sleep. Now he has 5 teeth with a 6th coming soon. He can crawl very fast, and is learning to trust himself with walking, which he can and does sometimes. He is still learning to talk and notices a good many things around him.

1 year ago he was just barely born. 1 year old today, he get's to experience his first birthday, his first cake (which is also his first sugar besides fruit), and it's still only the begining of what he will get to experience and what will come for all of us. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAPHETH!

I'm a Crossing Guard Too!

2008-03-06T08:53:00.003-08:00

Since Japheth has changed his schedual he doesn't sleep during my morning shift any more. So we've had to find something else to do. Sometimes the Burge's (the people who let me park in their driveway) take him in to play. But this is what we do in the mornings now since it's still too cold to just have him in the stroller.

The Duck Pucker!

2008-03-06T08:39:00.003-08:00

Well he doesn't do it as much as he used to, but here it is. He usually does it now when I tell him to leave something alone! Like the movie he's holding that he's not suppose to get into.

11 Months

2008-02-17T07:15:00.003-08:00

Well we're getting close to 1 year! It's wierd, it doesn't really feel that long, yet it seems like we've always had him. Japheth can stand really well on his own now, and with the aid of any object, can get up on his own. He's still not walking yet, but has taken a VERY small step here or there by himself. He has 5 teeth and is working on his 6th. He gets excited about seeing other little kids, and very excited when daddy gets home from work. He also likes to pucker his lips a lot, like a little duck. It's really cute, especially when he talks at the same time (no he's not saying real words yet).

Things I Love About Jill (for Valentine's)

2008-02-14T17:35:00.001-08:00

In no particular order
1. Her laughter.
2. Her surprises.
3.The kind of mother she is with rules, guidance, patience, and love.
4. That she makes me play video games when I've had a bad day.
5. How beautiful she is.
6. Her gentle nature.
7. How the corners of her mouth curl up when she smiles and talks at the same time.
8. The way she's probably getting embarrased reading this, (and now I'm in trouble for mentioning it).
9. Her photography.
10. That she's not as dramatic as other women.
11. Her long, thick hair, especially when she decides to get creative with it.
12. Her love for Japheth and I.

I love you so much Jill. Life wouldn't be very fulfilling without you in it!

10 Months

2008-01-27T08:30:00.000-08:00

This month's photo shoot was a bit frustrating and diffucult as you can see.
But I think we got a few good ones.
Japheth has gotten sick a few times this past month, infact he got his first ear infection, but he has really done well with all of it. He was a little more fussy at times, but really not much. He got his first hair cut right before Christmas, and cried as soon as his hair was sprayed until it was over. He has started to let go of things to switch what hand the toy is in. So he's standing without any help, but only for a few seconds at a time. We've been working with him on only holding 1 hand when he walks with us instead of both. So it won't be long before he gets the hang of things. He loves to get into everything, and has been opening drawers for a little while now. But he's learning "No" and to obey, though that process is slow. He babbles "mamamama" and "dadadada" though he doesn't quite know what they mean yet, and it's always with his toung out. It's really cute.

Finally Christmas

2008-01-06T14:43:00.000-08:00

Yes, all the sqeels are from Japheth!

Merry Christmas eveyone. I know it's past, but here it is anyway. We all had a lot of fun, and we all got some great stuff. Japtheth really likes all his toys he got, but I think his 2 favorites are the hammer that makes fun noises when you bang it, and Leap the Frog that sings the alphabet song. My favorite thing would probably have to be Lego Starwars for the Wii. And I think Douglas' favorite is Bang! a card game, followed closely by the new Wii paddles he got, or the leather jacket.

8 & 9 Months

2007-12-18T11:13:00.000-08:00

8 month photos
Sorry! We've been busy doing things and this hasn't been at the top of the list. We had Japheth's 9 month visit Dec 11th, he was 26 1/2 inches, and 15 lb 6 oz. That keeps him short, and it means he lost 4 oz from his 6 month check up. It's unusual, but not too concerning since he eats well, we just have to get a little more in him, which he's been good at doing. He has been crawling all over the place since Nov. 11th and can climb to standing potition on just about anything. He now has four teeth, 2 bottom, and 2 top.

9 month photos

We're all doing well. Douglas has recently finished fall semester, and he got all A's again. He's doing great! He's really excited about getting closer to being done. He's decided that he'll go into ultrasound. There are 2 kinds- diagnostic, and cardiac. Diagnostic is the one everyone thinks of, doing babies in the woomb and other soft tissue (abdomens and vascular). Cardiac is looking at the heart. He's not sure which one yet, but will apply to both and decide a little later. Currently he's leaning to cardiac. We're hoping that he can find a hospitol that will pay for his student hours. JVH, where he's at now, won't have an opening for cardiac.

Dino in the Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-30T10:44:00.000-07:00

The green pumpkin!

Happy Halloween! This was our trip to the local pumpkin patch. Japheth had fun looking at all the pumpkins. Douglas got a 44 lb pumpkin that's bigger than Japheth, mine was much more normal sized. We all had a great time.

In response to Danielle's Tag

2007-10-21T07:35:00.000-07:00

Thanks a lot!

8 Things I (Jill) am passionate about:

1 My husband

2 My little boy

3 Taking pictures (not scrapbooking!)

4 Friends

5 Reading good books with Douglas/Spending time together

6 The gospel

7 Good food

8 Having fun

8 Things I want to do before I die:

1 See more of the world

2 Move into a house

3 Loose more weight

4 Read more good books with Douglas

5 Finish "Milkbeard the Pirate," illustrate, and make into a book for my kids (not necessarily publish it)

6 Have more kids

7 Go on a mission with Douglas

8 Have fun times with my family

8 Books I have read recently:

1 Wheel of Time #4 (Currently on book 5)

2 Wheel of Time #3

3 Wheel of Time #2

4 Harry Potter #7

5 Wheel of Time #1 (this was a filler while waiting for Potter, but got us going on the series!)

6 The Hobbit

7 Harry Potter #6

8 Bram Stoker's Dracula

8 Things I often say:

1 All done!

2 Let's clean up

3 Love you

4 I miss you

5 Come home soon!

6 No!

7 Let go!

8 Thank you

8 Things that attract me to friends:

1 Fun personality

2 Easy to hang out with (don't feel like we have to "entertain" them all the time)

3 Similar interests/priorities

4 Comfortable with who they are

5 As interested in the friendship as we are

6 Get along well with me and Douglas

7 Honest

8 Accept others as they are

8 Songs and Albums I could listen to over and over again:

1 Black-eyed Peas - various

2 Maroon 5 - various

3 Love Shack

4 Greenday - various

5 Anything Cake

6 Glycerine

7 Collective Soul - Best of

8 Barenaked Ladies - Stunt

8 Things I learned this year:

1 How cute Japheth is even when he's a punk!

2 What a great father Douglas is

3 More patience

4 Teaching primary is much harder with a kid

5 Weekends don't feel like weekends if you both don't have it off

6 That mother's day and father's day is more fun with a kid

7 That Danielle is a punk for tagging me

8 How to make a dinosaur costume

8 Random things about me:

1 I really don't like talking on the phone

2 I have yet to break a bone

3 I don't like sea-food

4 It's my goal to scrapbook at least the 1st yr. of each of my kids

5 I've only had 3 perms in my life, hated 2 and was okay with 1

6 Halloween is my favorite holiday

7 I like making desserts best, and eating them too

8 I'm a huge James Bond fan

8 People I tag: (I know most of you don't have a blog, but you do have email)

1 Bryan

2 Kristy Rasmussen

3 Maren

4 Becky Boo

5 Janna Banana

6 Brother Eric

7 Faldmo

8 Kate Handley

7 Month Photos

2007-10-14T07:46:00.000-07:00

I know it's harder too see on a small picture, but you can see his teeth in this one.

6 MonthsOld

2007-10-09T10:15:00.000-07:00

Well, Japheth is six months (I know I'm late, and now he's 7 months in a few days). He got his first 2 teeth, middle bottom. He was pretty fussy for a few days, especially at bedtime. But now he's doing great and having as much fun as before, though he's still very drooly. He is growing so big! At his 6 month check-up he was about 25 1/2 inches tall and 15 lbs. 10 oz. His helmet is helping a lot, after just a few weeks we can already see a difference. So hopefully it'll be off soon. Before the helmet we thought his head looked big, but now when we take the helmet off his head looks much smaller. He can scoot around a little, when he's on all fours he can go backwards, this makes him very mad because then he's farther away from the toy he was trying to get.

Douglas and I are doing well. We're both back into the full swing of things. Douglas is at the hospital about 50 hours a week; to get student hours (free) done and he works (paid) part-time. It can get hard sometimes, especially since his schedual is so random. But it really helps that he can do most of his homework at the hospital and he only goes up to school 1 time a week. He's now in his last year for x-ray, but I think we're all ready for him to be done.

Swimming

2007-09-01T14:28:00.001-07:00

"I said No Dad!"

We recently went swimming with Jill's friends, Maren and Ryan, and their little girl, Lexie, who is 1 week older than Japheth. It was a lot of fun and really cute to see. Japheth did a really good job and seemed to like it. Douglas donked him a few times and Japheth didn't cry once. There weren't too many smiles from the mellow one, but he was relaxed and had a lot of fun. He did end up getting a bit cold, but we warmed him up well after with lots of clothes and cuddles.

5 Month Pictures

2007-09-01T14:06:00.000-07:00

This is what you don't see when we're taking pictures of him!

Japheth likes to make lots of noise now, he sounds like he might be getting close to saying mom or ma-ma. He can sit on his own, though he still needs help to get there in the first place. And we've been working with him on staying on all fours. He notices more and more around him everyday, and even becomes distraced at everything when eating. His newest thing is to suck on his tongue, or his bottom lip so it disappears, it's pretty cute. We will be doing the helmet, which he just got fitted for the other day.

4 Months Old

2007-08-02T10:49:00.000-07:00

This month has been a little different with summer semester winding down and family events being over. So we've been able to have a little more time together and time to ourselves. Japheth has really grown/developed a lot this month. He's using his hands so much more, noticing everything in greater detail, and using his muscles. We had his 4 month check up and things are in order except that he has a little bit of what's called torticolis (a slight tightness in neck muscles to one side of the body). In Japheth's case it's on his left side. It's created a slight lopsidedness to his head. So we are trying some physical therapy for him to correct it and hopefully add more symetry to his head. He weighed 14 lbs. (50th percentile), height 24 inches (18%), and his head circumference is about 50%.

First Family Photos

2007-07-12T15:37:00.000-07:00

3 Month Photos

2007-06-18T12:52:00.000-07:00

Lately Japheth has been playing with

his hands, like in this picture.

Father's Day

2007-06-18T12:28:00.001-07:00

Our first Father's Day was great too. I thought it'd be fun to wear Douglas' ties to give him his presents instead of giving him one. Japheth gave Douglas a mold of his hand and foot. I got Douglas the book, "The Three Musketeers" and a nice massage from Myotherapy College.

Blessing Day

2007-06-18T11:50:00.000-07:00

The Blessing was great. Good food, good company! We'd like to thank everyone who came out to support us and Japheth, and everyone who helped out. Japheth did a good job at staying quiet during the blessing and Douglas did a wonderful job giving the blessing.

2 Months Old

2007-05-17T14:19:00.000-07:00

Japheth recently had his two month check-up. He weighed 11 lbs 11 oz, and was 22 inches tall. So far that means that he has the shorter stalky build of the Rasmussen family, but that can change at any time! Douglas had to hold him as he got his immunizations because I knew I wouldn't like seeing that. Boy did he scream!

1 Month Photos

2007-05-17T12:11:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day

2007-05-17T06:45:00.000-07:00

Our first Mother's Day was great! Douglas got the great party hats at the dollar store and surprised me with this very cute display, so of course we had to take pictures and share them. Japheth got me the CD he's holding, and Douglas got me the book, "The Count of Monte Cristo" and the new James Bond DVD. We all had a great time.

Hi Everybody!

2007-04-06T21:15:00.000-07:00

Hello. Welcome to our new blog. We started this, by prompting from Jill's oldest brother, to keep everyone up to date on our family. This blog is in the begining, so it's not that put together yet, plus we're still getting the hang of it. Hopefully we'll update it about once a month with news and pictures of our family. So keep checking it from time to time. For family security this blog can only be viewed by those people we invite via e-mail.

Douglas has recently passed his Limitted Licence Test (meaning he's a partial x-ray tech) and will actually start getting paid for some of his hours starting April 18. He's currently doing a free internship at Jordan Valley Hospital, and has been for the past 8 months. So after 8 months of free labor he's very excited to start getting paid. However, his internship continues for school and so he'll continue to put in some free hours as well. For those who might not know. . . Douglas is currently attending Weber State University to become an x-ray tech, and then will continue on to a different branch of radiology (i.e. ct, mri, radiologist assit., etc.). He has not decided what branch to go into yet, but will decide by the end of this year.

The biggest news of course is our new baby boy, Japheth (ph is pronounced as the f sound). He was born March 12, 2007 at 2:18 pm. He was delivered by cesarian at Cottonwood Hospital, he weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz. and was 19 in. long. He came a full 2 weeks early, but was just in time for the start of Douglas' spring break, giving us more time together before Douglas had to return to school and the hospital. He's absolutely adorable and fun. Even during the hard work and frustration we always end up saying "it's a good thing you're so cute." Jill is taking some time off of being a crossing guard until things settle down, but will return with Japheth in June. Japheth also recently had his two week check-up at which everything was good. They weighed him at 7 lbs. 9 oz. and he measured 19 3/4 inches.

More Pictures

2007-04-06T20:28:00.000-07:00

Japheth's first picture!

All smiles!