Celebrating 7 years

Jason and I had our 7 year anniversary on August 24th. We celebrated this week by going to Toronto to see U2 on Wednesday and Niagara Falls on Thursday. We took Owen with us , while Dylan stayed home with Jason's parents. Taking Owen went well- thanks to our sleepy wrap and his Peltor Kid earmuffs :) Not that taking him didn't have it's challenges- the biggest of which was changing his poopy diaper on my lap in a bathroom stall!! I can definitly say I have never been stared at so much in my life- walking around with a baby straped to your body at a huge concert really draws attention. I even had someone ask if they could take a picture! It was like I was famous or something :) The concert itself was amazing- for a more deatiled account of the concert, you can check Jaason's facebook. Parking for the concert was a nightmar, and we ended up finding a parking garage attached to a soho hotel/condominium complex. To get down to our truck we had to take an elevator from inside to hotel. When we got into the elevator, there were 3 other people in it going to thier cars as well. They started talking to us about taking Owen to the concert, and I realized we were taling to Peter Gallager! (the Dad from the show The OC) He and his friends were sooo nice and he just acted like he was a normal person. He was really down to earth and friendly. So that was an fun and unexpected end to our evening :)

We drove to Niagara Falls after the concert and stayed there for the night. We spent the day there and had a great time just walking around taking it all in. We rode the Maid of the Mist, where we got totally soaked- and we weren't even on the top of the boat.

Here are some pics of our trip:

1st day of preschool

Today was Dylan's first day of preschool! He is going to school Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00-11:30. Last Thursday we visited his classroom for an open house, and he was a little unsure, but by the end he was having fun. I'm really glad we went last week, because today he had very little hesitaiotn before walking in and making himslef at home. When I picked him up at the end of the day he didn't want to leave, and was all smiles. So, we made it through the day with no tears from anyone :) Here are a few pics of the big day:

Dylan and Ethan stomping in the dirt outside the school

He was very concerned about the missing egg

He's actually standing right in front of the fish he colored, so you can't see it :(

The past 3 weeks

Here are some pictures of our first few weeks as a family of four:

Minutes after Owen was born

Getting ready to go home

First family photo

Dylan loves his brother

We spend a lot of time on the couch like this

Dylan's "big brother present"- a real guitar!

Dylan looks so big next to Owen

Sleeping peacefully

Us when Owen is 3 weeks 1 day old :)

Our Little Owen

Owen Jude Day

Born July 6th, 7:51 pm

9 lbs. 5 oz.

21 inches long

More details to follow......

Big Decision

Jason and I have made a big decision about our next baby. We are going to use cloth diapers this time around instead of disposables. Every time I throw out a huge bag of Dylan's gross, stinky diapers, I feel guilty for how much waste just my ONE kid is producing! It feels like I'm filling up a landfill all by myself.... But I always thought, well there's no way I could handle cloth, so I just kept using disposables. Then our friends Daniel and Amanda decided to use cloth with their new baby Elliana. I was impressed, but still thought there was no way I could do it. Then I saw how different cloth diapers are now from when we were babies. There are so many options that I really think anyone could find a cloth diapering system that would work for them. The thing I was most concerned about was dealing with the stinky diapers once solid foods are added to the diet....but then I found out that there are flushable liners you can buy to put inside the diapers once things get messy. So really, there's not much more contact with the "poopies" than with a disposable. And actually, I like this better. Because this way the smelly poop is flushed away immediately, instead of sitting in the diaper pail until it's full, getting stinkier and stinkier. So now, we just have to decide which kind of diaper to invest in. The cost upfront is significant, but in the long run it will save money, and it is so much better for the environment. For anyone who is familiar with cloth diapers, we are thinking about using GroBaby or BumGenius one size pocket diapers. But I'm still doing research, and haven't made a final decision yet. Anyone who is interested in looking into cloth for yourselves, or just want to see what I'm talking about- here are some great websites: www.kellyscloset.com and their blog www.theclothdiaperwhisperer.com 

Happy Birthday Jason

Happy 30th birthday Jason!!!! 

Thank you for being a wonderful husband and father. 

Dylan (and Owen) and I are so lucky to have you!

We love you! We love you! We love you!

Owen pictures

Here's our little guy at 30 weeks. The ultrasound technician said it looks like the partial previa has corrected itself, but we are still waiting for final word from the doctor. We will hopefully know something later this week or early next week. 

this is a shot looking up his nose :)

and this is his cute little profile

Too busy

The last 2 months have been so busy for us, and I haven't really had the time or energy to keep my blog updated. I still don't really have time to go into detail, but here is the bulleted version of some of the things going on over the last few months:

• On the way home from CA, I received a call from my Dr. telling me that my ultrasound results showed I had a condition called partial placenta previa. Basically this means my placenta is positioned too low, and partially covering my cervix. This brought about a new set of restrictions to my everyday life- no lifting over 15 lbs, no "strenuous" housework, no exercising besides walking, and even that is limited to 20 minutes. 
• The reason for these restrictions is that I am at greater risk for my placenta to detach, which could cause premature labor, or worse, but we choose not to think about that.
• The good news is, partial previa usually corrects itself during the 3rd trimester, so we have an ultrasound scheduled for April 21st to see how things are going. 
• If I still have partial previa by the end of the pregnancy, I will have to have a c-section, but my midwives & Dr. are confident that it will probably have corrected itself by this next ultrasound. 
• Jason is super busy at work, due only in part to it being Easter week. The church is going through major changes, and only Jason, the youth Pastor Amanda, and the secretary are still on staff. 
• Currently the church is being run by the board, and we are searching for a new senior pastor (please pray we find the right one soon!!)
• Due to my partial previa, I was no longer able to lift Dylan in and out of his crib, which meant we had to put him in his toddler bed before we thought he was ready. This actually worked out better than expected, and he loves his Lightning McQueen race car bed!
• Our goal is to have him potty trained before the next little guys gets here...we'll see how that goes :)
  

I guess that is all for now. Here are a few pictures of my belly and Dylan:

It's a......

BOY!!!!!! Yippee, I am so excited we are having another boy :) The due date is June 29th.... the ultrasound tech said according to the ultrasound we are due July 4th- but since that is so close to the original due date, the doctor will probably just leave it at June 29th! So I guess that means I'm about 19 weeks pregnant now- almost halfway through the pregnancy already!! WooHoo! The baby was very active through the whole ultrasound, so she had trouble getting a clear picture of him. But she said everything looks good and healthy. We're naming him Owen, but we don't have a middle name picked out yet. I am so happy to be having another boy!!!!!!!!!!

Next Week

Next week is going to be one exciting week. One week from today we have our ultrasound and will hopefully find out if we are having a little boy or girl. Then the following day, we leave for Redding for a week!! We are so excited to get away for a little while, especially in the middle of winter. This has been an extremely long, hard winter, and it's probably not even close to being over. I can't wait to get away and hopefully see some CA sun. Even if it rains the whole time we are there, that would still be an improvement over bitter cold and snow. But really, the weather is not the actual reason we are going to Redding. Our church is going through a lot right now, and Jason needs a break. The church is sending him to a conference at Bethel, and then we will be spending time at The Stirring. I can't wait to see old Redding friends, and to attend a church service where I have no responsibilities!! What a nice break that will be :) I'm not even sure if we have finalized our plans for where we are staying.... nothing like waiting til the last minute! This will probably be our last trip before the baby is born, so we are looking forward that as well.  Jason's parents are staying at our house with Dylan, so not only will our week be "snow free," it will also be "kid free!" (well...at least free of our kid) We will miss Dylan like crazy, but I know he is in great hands with his grandparents, and this is a much needed break for us. 

Baby bump

Here's a pic of my bump. It was taken today- I'm approx. 16 weeks along. 

Random Dylan Cuteness

Dylan has been doing and saying some pretty cute stuff recently, and I know if I don't write it down, I will eventually forget about it as he moves on to new cute stuff :) So, here are some of the newest sayings:

While shopping at Target, I was trying on some jackets from the clearance rack (the best way to shop of course!) As I tried on each one he would look at me and say "Not cool Mommy, not cool." I thought we had a few more years before he would think I wasn't cool!! Haha

While I was changing his diaper:

Dylan: (singing) Twinkle, Twinkle little star...

Me: (joining in) How I wonder what you are...

Dylan: No singing Mommy, no singing!!

Me: You don't want me to sing with you?

Dylan: (almost yelling) NO!!!

OK, so even at 2 years old, he know which one of his parents has TERRIBLE voice!

When we are at home, and he hears a noise in another room or upstairs, he will cup his hand behind his ear and say "Listen. You heard dat?" 

If we ask him a question, and he feels he needs to think about the answer, he puts his hand up to his cheek and taps his face while saying "Hmmm, think, think, think." I think he got that one from the Disney cartoon My Friends Tiger & Pooh, but we cancelled our cable a few months ago, so it's been a while since he's seen it- but he still says it all the time!

That's all I can think of for now, soon he'll be on to new things....

The baby

I felt the baby move today for the first time! I am only 15-16 weeks along, so I wasn't expecting it for a little while still. What's funny is that I had my first whole cup of coffee today since I found out I was pregnant. Coincidence- I think not!! This little guy or girl was probably doing some extra back-flips in there- heehee :) Coffee had started sounding really good to me again, which is good since I work at Starbucks, and the smell made me nauseous for the past 2 months!! I obviously drink much less than I did before, and I am always careful to stay well under my 200 mg per day caffeine limit, but it's nice to be able to enjoy a good cup of half-caf. There really isn't much other baby news. We heard the heartbeat at our appointment at the end of last month. It took a while for the midwife to be able to find a strong signal, but eventually we heard our peanut's strong little heart! I am feeling much better now, and slowly getting my energy back. When we ask Dylan where the baby is he points to my stomach and says "in there." He will also talk to the baby and kiss my tummy. He always saying it is a sister, and in just a few weeks we will find out if he is right. Our ultrasound is scheduled for Feb. 3rd, so in about 3 1/2 weeks, we will hopefully know what we are having! I can't believe how quickly things are going. In the beginning it feels like it will never end, but already it seems to be flying by. Before we know it we will be halfway there!!!! We keep meaning to take a belly photo, so when we finally get around to it, I will post it so everyone can see my little bump :)