Jared Visits Santa

Okay, so I finally managed to take one of my kids to visit Santa at the mall. We were there getting Austin's pictures taken and we went to get lunch at the food court and passed right by the Santa set up in the middle of the mall. Jared was so excited to sit on his lap and tell him what he wanted for Christmas. He had the cutest smile on his face the entire time.


After he was all done and we had left the Santaland area he took my hand and said to me, "Mommy, that was a fake Santa!" When I asked him why he thought that he said that he sounded "way different than the Santa at our house." Last year for a family progressive dinner Santa visited our house to see all of the kids.

Christmas '07

Now let me remind you, last year Jared was only 2 at Christmas. That little boy amazes me at every turn. He also is always saying something to make me laugh.

Happy Birthday Jordan!!

WOW! Where has the time gone. I can't believe that my oldest son is 8. It seems like just yesterday that I was giving birth to him, at least I can remember it as if it was only yesterday. We lived in Austin, TX at the time and I was working at Red Lobster. I went in the day before my due date for my last doctor's appointment and the doctor said that I wasn't making any progress toward labor (still only dilated to a 1) so he set me up to be induced the following week. I arranged for my good friend Sara to watch Ashleigh for the day that I would have him and I went to work for my last shift. The next morning at 4am I awoke to contractions. Considering what the doctor had just told me I just went out to the couch so that I wouldn't wake Michael and I timed the contractions for a few hours. They went from being every 20mins to every 8-10 mins over the course of 3 hours. Finally I decided it was time to call the doctor. I woke up Michael and Ashleigh and called my friend and asked if she could watch Ashleigh a week earlier than expected. We rushed to the hospital in Rush Hour and when I finally made it to the Labor and Delivery Room my contractions were right on top of each other and I was dilated to a 6. That was a 9:45am. I quickly accepted the offer of an epidural and the doctor arrived just in time to deliver Jordan at approximately 10:30am. I am truly grateful for the opportunity I had to go into labor on my own and also that they had time to give my an epidural when I finally made it to the hospital. When Dr. Phillips told me to stop pushing because the cord was around Jordan's neck I honestly don't know that I would have been able to stop had it not been for the epidural. The doctor was able to loosen the cord and Jordan was born a very healthy little boy. He weighed 8lbs. 1oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. We had no family with us at the time, but we had great friends to help us out. Thank you to Latina and Sara!! We were all so happy to have him in our home. He was a happy baby who loved his sister more than anything. They were the best of friends.

At the Cabin

Aunt Becky's Wedding '04

Jordan & Jared
First Day of Kindergarten

Halloween '07

Jordan & Austin

Now here we are 8 years later and Jordan is still a joy to have in our home. He is a great brother to his sister and his younger brothers. He has a very tender heart and wants to be a friend to everyone. His biggest love is video games, following in his father's footsteps. He is also starting to really enjoy playing such sports as baseball, basketball and soccer. He loves playing with legos and star wars. He also loves playing with his cousins and spending time at Granny and Papa's cabin. He is looking forward to his baptism in a few weeks and we are very proud of him for wanting to be baptized. It is a joy to watch him grow as a boy and in the gospel.

At the cabin

We love you so much buddy, keep Choosing the Right and continue to be a good friend to everyone.

Growing Too Fast!

OK, Austin is now 4 1/2 months old and the kid is growing like a weed. At his check-up last week he weighed in at 17 lbs and measured 26" long, 75th% for both measurements. He's grown so much since birth that Ashleigh can barely cradle him in her arms anymore.

He is such a happy baby and he is so chunky that he is just irresistible. He loves his brothers and sister and is always so happy to see his daddy, of course I, being his food source am his favorite person in the world. He is starting to be very talkative, although his talking is more of a screeching at this point. He is also trying to roll over, but hasn't quite made it yet and he can sit up a little bit, although it's more of a balancing act than sitting up.

He is truly a joy in our home, he loves it when Ashleigh will read or sing to him or play the piano. He is all smiles when the kids are playing with him.