Taylor Family Christmas Party

So, sorry this took so long. Having a video camera is new to me, so it has taken me a while to figure out how to use it, convert the files, find an online video site that I feel comfortable with (didn't like youtube's permissioning system) and other details. But now I've got the whole process down, future posts like this should be much easier. I'm also going to help mom to see if we can get videos off of her camera tomorrow too. There are some key videos that we didn't get at this party that I would like to include. These videos are mostly for family who couldn't be there. Not that the rest of you shouldn't look at them or anything like that, it's just that they may not be all that entertaining to somebody who doesn't know this cast of characters. ;-)

Video 1
Video 2
Video 3
Video 4
Video 5
Video 6
Video 7
Video 8

This week...

1. We have enjoyed the snow in that it has made us feel the Christmas spirit more. There's just something about cold weather that makes the season seem more exciting.
2. Gabe has taken a 40-60 minute nap EVERY DAY! What an improvement. He has also been happier and more willing to try to entertain himself. This may have something to do with the fact that...
3. Gabe finally cut his first tooth. I am both excited and saddened. My little baby is growing up so fast!
4. My brother Tayler got his mission call for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints. He will be serving in the Brisbane, Australia mission. I am so excited about this!
5. We saw some friends of ours (Danielle and Scott) we haven't seen for quite some time who were in town visiting. We enjoyed catching up with them.
6. I finished my last BIG Christmas project. I can't tell you what it is. Shhhh.... it's still a secret. Just one or two more tiny little things to do. Also, I am done wrapping presents! Wahoo!
7. We were involved in a minor car collision on Saturday. In spite of not really fitting in to what we had hoped to accomplish during the day, we are so grateful that we all came out of it safe and sound.
8. Today in Primary, Gabe was the baby Jesus for the Nativity scene the kids acted out. He did a marvelous job! He seemed to be amused by it all. He just watched the kids do their parts all around him. The 15 or so kids who had parts were just mesmerized by him. By the end, they were all crowded around the laundry basket/manger he was laying in and gently reaching in to touch him. It was very cute. No one seemed to mind that the baby Jesus was wearing a puppy-dog-print onesie (he messed his church shirt right before... oh well.).
9. We had a family Christmas dinner and party. My rolls turned out well (a bit of a worry for me, since I have traditionally maintained that I do not bake- though I think I may be turning over a new leaf), and we all had a fun time making music and celebrating the birth of Christ. I believe BJ will be posting clips of all the songs he videoed.
I am looking forward to this coming week! We plan on watching old Christmas movies (favorite recommendations, anyone?), seeing the lights and nativity on Temple Square, visiting with more friends, web cam -chatting with my family in Oregon, and maybe taking some fun drives if the weather isn't too bad.

A Few Highlights of November

Visiting with our nephew Taylor before he entered the MTC to serve a full- time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.


Giving Gabe rice cereal for the first time (at least consistently).


Donating my hair to Locks of Love: Before


After


Getting all ready for the last BYU Football game of the season (I say getting ready for it, not watching it, as I don't think the sad outcome of the game could be considered a "highlight").


Visiting with my family, who were all here for the week of Thanksgiving. I had so much fun, and we sure enjoyed having them stay with us!










Finally framing and hanging this awesome Noah's Ark trio that Cara painted for Gabe before he was born!

More of our laughing baby

So Rochelle posted pictures, and I thought that a video was in order too... so here is baby Gabe laughing with Rochelle.

From My Videos

Happy Baby!

I just thought this recent collection of smiling/ laughing Gabe was so cute, I had to share it!

Four Months Old!

I can't believe the time has gone by so fast and my little "newborn" is a newborn no longer! Gabriel is growing so fast and I can hardly stand it! Gabe can hold his head up as well as his upper body to an extent. He reaches for and grabs things, and puts them in his mouth. He smiles and laughs all the time and babbles and coos. He knows when Mom leaves the room... He seems to have gotten through the waking up every 2 hours at night phase- and (maybe I should knock on wood) I think we are starting a pattern of sleeping 7-8 hours at night before waking up to eat! Gabe loves to play peekaboo and pat-a-cake games, actually any old game or song or anything that makes you smile, laugh and talk with him. He is done with the whole pacifier thing, but we are working to keep him taking a bottle. We get a kick out of the way he laughs any time we laugh, or blow raspberries, or tickle him. I love going to pick him up when he wakes up and he gives me the biggest grin! He likes playing in his baby- gym thing and his walker. He still isn't big on taking naps, although sometimes he gets a short nap when he is in the swing.
This kid pretty much has us wrapped around his little finger. Before Gabe was born, I just didn't have any idea of how much we would love him and be thrilled by every little thing he does. But it is true- Gabe has brought more love and happiness to our happy little family than I thought possible.

We have a new president elect

I'm sure you are not hearing this first from me, but it is fairly certain that Obama has won the election. I know many conservatives are fearful of what may follow, but here are my thoughts: We all know that Obama is our new president, and as such we need to lend him our support. He has many difficulties ahead, the economy being the foremost concern, and an atmosphere of optimism is crucial for making a economic recovery. Let's give Obama a fair chance to see what he can do, and let our prayers be with him. I'm sure he will need every one.

On outings, updates, and pasta

I wasn't able to post this past week due to sickness in our home, but we're definitely on the mend now, all feeling much better. Here's a quick update on some of the things we've done:
We did have a nice weekend trip to Park City, which we enjoyed, as well as a little outing to Vivian Park- the weather was beautiful. I will include some pictures from that. We also enjoyed having my brother Tayler come visit us two weeks ago for the weekend. I have continued to work two afternoons a week seeing patients at the county clinic. Work has gotten steadily better for me as I receive more training, get more experience, and become more comfortable doing it all in Spanish. I really like the people I work with, which is an added bonus. Gabriel has become interested in playing in his baby gym, wanting to sit up ALL the time (with help), smiling and laughing (especially if you laugh at him), playing pat-a-cake, and sucking on his fingers all the time. He is NOT interested in laying on his tummy to play, drinking from a bottle (although we are working on this one, and hopefully he will take it a little bit easier for his wonderful sitters!), or sleeping through the night. :( BJ has been busy as usual at work, but he takes time to help cook, take out the garbage, and do other chores around the house to help me out- he is also awesome at getting Gabe to fall asleep at night and calming him when he is upset.



I meant to make a post this week from the Holidays for Everyday site (which is now one of the links included on my blog- scroll down on the right side). It is National Pasta Month. So, in honor of that, I am going to post one of my very favorite pasta recipes, that I never make because BJ makes it sooooooooo good- why would I want to change such a great thing? Anyway, he made it for me for the first time on Valentine's Day a few years ago, and several times since (and he just bought the ingredients to make it again this weekend- Yes!). It is from a Gooseberry Patch "Meals in Minutes" cookbook that we love. It is tasty as well as pretty to look at once it is made. Here it is!

Chicken Primavera

1. 1 onion, chopped
2. 1 c. sliced mushrooms
3. 1 green pepper, chopped
4. 2 Tbsp. butter
5. 1 to 2 c. Italian salad dressing, divided
6. 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
7. 1 tomato, chopped
8. 16 oz. pkg. angel hair pasta, cooked

Instructions:
Saute onion, mushrooms and green pepper in butter with 2 tablespoons dressing until vegetables are tender; reduce heat. Add chicken and tomato; heat until thoroughly warmed. Add to pasta and stir in remaining dressing (to taste). Serve warm. Serves 4-6.

YUM!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Many of you know that I am a nurse, and that I work in a clinic where I do- among other things- breast cancer screenings and education. Consequently, this is something that I have come to feel strongly about. Since I care about you all, please read this and try to make changes in your life if you are not doing all you can to prevent or detect breast cancer early.

Breast Cancer is a frightening disease. Most women fear that they or someone they love will get it. Our fears may or may not be well- founded, but they are made worse when we hear things like:
Every 2 minutes, there is a new breast cancer diagnosis.
Every 14 minutes, a life is lost to the disease.
Over 40,000 people will die this year; about 400 of them will be men.
85% of all diagnoses have no family history.
1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer.
Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women between ages 40 and 55.
(source: http://www.breastcancerawareness.com/facts.php )

Please read a few things that I have listed that can help you lower some risk factors for breast cancer:
Exercise and make healthy food choices.
Limit alcohol intake.
Know your family history. Talk to your doctor if breast cancer is in your family. This may affect the recommendations your doctor has for you. (Source: http://www.cdc.gov/)

In addition, set aside a few minutes each month to do a breast self- exam. Women, if you are at least 20 years old, you should be doing this (as well as getting an exam at the doctor’s office once a year)! I know you may feel uncomfortable, or it may be difficult to remember, but do whatever you have to do to remind yourself! Put a note or sticker somewhere you will see it, or choose to do it on your birthday- date each month. If you are at least 40 years old, you need a mammogram every 1-2 years (ever year after age 50). Men, please encourage the women in your lives to do this- it may save their life, because almost 70 % of all breast cancers are found when women do their self- exams. When breast cancers are detected early, women have an excellent chance of survival- the 5- year survival rate is 96%. If you find a lump, call your doctor ASAP, but know that 8 out of 10 lumps are non- cancerous. If you need a reminder on how to do a self- exam, check out this link that has step- by- step instructions: http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/About-Breast-Cancer/What-Is-Breast-Cancer/Breast-Self-Exam.aspx

A great resource for people who need a little extra reminder is this Early detection plan you can sign up for- for free- and it will send you email or text message reminders.
http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/edp/

There are programs that offer free or low cost mammograms to women over 40 each year if you meet certain income requirements. The clinic I work at is one of these programs, and there are programs like this all over the U.S. You can check out the CDC’s website to find out if you qualify.

Well, we need to say "Happy Birthday" to Charles (a bit late tho' we are) and wish him the best of years! Hope you had a fun time celebrating!

This picture was taken just a few days ago, and my first thought was that BJ and Charles look almost like brothers, right down to their semi- matching outfits! Haha.

We also need to post an update of Gabe's cuteness! So here are the most recent pics:

October is SIDS Awareness Month

Not the typical light and cheery post... yet I think the subject is very important. Most people have heard about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, but while there is a lot of fear out there, maybe not enough is known or understood about it. Here are two important points about SIDS:

• SIDS claims the lives of almost 2,500 infants in the US each year (nearly 7 babies every day).
• Twenty percent of SIDS deaths occur in a day care setting, emphasizing the need for safe sleep practices to be universally understood and practiced.

However, there are some things you can do to help prevent SIDS in your infant under the age of 12 months. Here are some points that I think are key:

DON’T:
• Let your baby sleep on soft, loosely filled surfaces (including comforters, pillows, water beds, couches, adult beds, etc.) because these can interfere with breathing.
• Allow hanging crib toys or thin plastic wrapping materials within your baby’s reach.
• Allow your baby’s head to become covered during sleep.
• Smoke during pregnancy or around infants.
• Dress babies too warmly- this may cause them to overheat. They can sleep comfortably in light clothing.

DO:
• Always place your infant on his or her back to sleep.
• Place infants in their own sleeping environment to sleep: a firm crib mattress covered by a sheet is the recommended sleeping surface.
• Keep all soft objects and loose bedding out of the crib.
• Consider offering your infant a pacifier after breast feeding has been established.

Some good news: Since the “Back to Sleep” Campaign began in 1994, the SIDS rate in the United States has declined by more than 50 percent. So these tips are definitely worth following!

Sources: http://nisa-sids.org/view/581/23192/Risk-Reduction.html
https://kr.ihc.com/ext/Dcmnt?ncid=51062836

Holidays For Everyday... a blogging mini- series! Part 2

See previous post for background on "Holidays for Everyday" and a great website resource. I'm on a roll with food; here is a recipe in celebration of "National Cookie Month"!

Last week my sister Marissa came to my house and brought with her some cookie dough she had made. We baked the dough, and I enjoyed the best home-made cookies I have had in a long time! I asked her for the recipe, and she said that she just used the recipe from the JIF peanut butter canister. Here is the awesome recipe:

Irresistable JIF Peanut Butter Cookies
¾ cup Creamy PB
½ cup Crisco All- vegetable shortening
1- ¼ cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3 TBSP milk
1 TBSP vanilla
1 egg
1- ¾ cups All- purpose flour
¾ tsp salt
¾ tsp baking soda

1. Heat oven to 375*F. Place sheets of foil on countertop for cooling cookies.
2. Combine PB, Crisco, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at med. speed with mixer until well- blended. Add egg and beat just until blended.
3. Combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended. Drop heaping teaspoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet. Flatten slightly in crisscross pattern with tines of fork.
4. Bake at 375*F for 7-8 min. or until set and just beginning to brown. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet then move to foil to cool completely.

Marissa actually used crunchy PB, and although I’m not usually a fan, I really liked it in this recipe. She also put in chocolate chips- a girl after my own heart. Seriously the best PB (and choc. chip!) cookies ever! I think I’m going to make them again tonight!

Also, in response to the request for more pictures of Gabe, I will make sure to post more photos as we take them. I actually have some that were taken last week and a couple from this week and today. Here they are:

Holidays For Everyday... a blogging mini- series! Part 1

One of my favorite websites that I check periodically is www.holidaysforeveryday.com. It is actually a website created by a preschool teacher and is a compilation of interesting and unusual holidays. There are many holidays to choose from each day, and it is a great resource if ever you would like a reason to celebrate or learn about something. I noticed that this month, October, is the National Month for_____ (like 80 different things- I’m not exaggerating!) Some of the things were just downright strange, but others were really interesting and exciting to me. So I chose the best ones (to me of course) and decided to share them with you, along with my two cents on each topic.

National Pizza Month
My two cents on pizza:
Pizza pizza pizza! I love pizza! There are so many great options for yummy pizza. If you live in Utah, you may have tried Pier 49 Pizza… a higher end sourdough pizza restaurant. This restaurant is a personal favorite of BJ’s and mine. In fact, we bought a pizza there this evening, and enjoyed it very much! We love their Barbeque Chicken pizza, their Alfredo pizza, and their Little Italy pizza. The pizzas are a little pricey, so we enjoy them as often as we can, otherwise, we occasionally go for a greasy $5 Little Caesar’s pizza, or we try other local pizza places, such as Two Jack Pizza, or the classic Brick Oven Restaurant, which has much more to offer than just pizza.
We also enjoy putting together our own pizzas. One very easy and quick option is to use slices of sourdough English muffins, topped with tomato paste, garlic salt, oregano, grated cheese, and your choice of pepperoni, ham, pineapple, or anything really. We put them in our toaster oven or on a cookie sheet in the regular oven, and they are ready to eat in just minutes!
We love homemade pizza, although we don’t make it often. Here’s a link to a great healthy-cooking-on-a-budget blog a friend of mine writes, which has a pizza dough recipe. Home- baked pizza has a great texture and gets baked so evenly if you bake it on a pizza stone. We got one for our wedding from Pampered Chef, and we love it!
I ate a lot of pizza in Argentina. The “pizza experience” there is so different from here… it is all about aesthetics- meaning the pizzas are works of art, with everything arranged just so! Also, they put very different things on their pizzas. I actually had one very tasty pizza that had nothing but grilled vegetables on it (including squash and carrots), and another that was just a cheese and garlic pizza (bad for the breath, but great for the taste buds)!

Muy Fantástico

This weekend we celebrated me. ;-) And it was muy fantástico. Rochelle really went all out to make me feel special and loved, and she did a splendid job of it. A quick summary of events includes the following:

• A book which many of you took part in, that spoke of memories of me, and was filled with photos, beautifully put together in a scrapbook style
• A berry cake that was both a work of art as well as delicious (Marissa also needs thanking for this)
• A slide show put to music of pictures of me
• And a delicious dinner

It has been a great time, and I have enjoyed myself thoroughly. I can think of few times that I have felt so loved, not only by Rochelle, but by everyone around me. Thank you all for helping Rochelle put that book together. I really enjoyed it, and I love you all. And a special thanks to my dear wife who put so many hours and so much love into that gift. There is really not much that can compare to a gift like that. But there is one other gift I should mention here that also brought me special delight. Gabe laughed for the first time. And it was adorable. Never has such a small noise brought me such emotion before. I both laughed until I cried at the sight and sound, all the while my heart burst with pride for our little boy. We put him in one of those door frame jumpers, and while he really wasn't big enough to do it, I held him up and bounced it a little for him, and his face was just full of wonder, fear, and elation. It wasn't too long before a laugh escaped his lips. And then another, and another, and another. It was wonderful. We loved it. Rochelle caught a little on camera at the end, but we are hoping to catch more of it on camera soon. I can't tell you how much it pleased us to hear it.

From Laughing

Picture Update

The past couple of weeks have been pretty busy and fun for us. We went to Oregon for Marissa's wedding, and a week later, my family came down here to bring Marissa's stuff, be there for Gabriel's blessing, and take Tayler to college at BYU-I on the way back. We are now back to work, and trying to get into our routine again. Here are some albums that show what we've been up to.

Family Picture

We recently had some family photos with Gabe taken. We were pleased with the results and got several pictures we really like. Thanks to Ron for taking the photos!

Family Pictures!

Gabe's Blessing

Just a reminder to those who are planning on coming to Gabe's blessing:

We will be blessing him on Sunday August 31st. Our church starts at 9:00 AM. Call us or email us if you need directions to our church. We will be having a brunch afterwards at Mom & Dad Taylor's house. We'll see you there!

I love this baby!

He is starting to smile and laugh a little. Thanks to Rochelle for getting out the camera at a very choice moment.

Smiley Baby

This is Gabe snuggling with his Daddy in the morning. He hasn't smiled a ton except for when he is half asleep, but each week he is smiling (big, dimpled grins!) more. He is also trying to figure out how to laugh, but he isn't quite there yet (he is ticklish!)- I read somewhere that babies learn how to laugh anywhere between 2 and 6 months of age. They aren't born with a sense of humor per se, but they are always watching those around them, and they learn to mimic what they see. I can't wait to catch some more of Gabe's grins and eventually some giggles on camera!

I passed!

I'm an official Registered Nurse! I took my board exams on Thursday and found out this morning that I passed them! Yay! What a relief!

Four weeks old... tomorrow

So, does four weeks make a month? Or to call him a month old, do I need to wait until the 7th (since he was born on the 7th of last month)?

He is one month old, and he is thriving. I tell Rochelle that he is eating us out of house and home, but that doesn't really make any sense in this context I suppose. He has been a delight though. We have had a lot of fun with him. He is finally bigger than he was when he was born. He lost a pound in weight shortly after he was born. Although losing weight is normal, a pound was a bit much. We hypothesize that he was storing some water on him just like mommy was, and after he was born, he lost the excess. And for a little while, he didn't quite having the eating thing down. He wasn't quite sure how to get all of that going, and although he wasn't starving, he didn't gain quite a quickly as we would have hoped initially. However, as I said before, he is now thriving. He is gaining an ounce a day, and by my rough estimates, he is drinking a pound of milk a day. Rochelle feels at times that she barely finishes one feeding by the time he is ready for the next. But he sure is cute. We love him to bits. And it's a good thing too, because in our relative sleep deprived state we are in, who knows how we would take all the feedings, diapers, and the inexplicable way he seems to wake up every time we start to drift off. ;-) I don't think Rochelle and I have any complaints. He is a normal baby doing normal things, and yet we somehow feel like we have been blessed with the best baby there ever was. In short, we are proud and happy parents.

Coming home

Well, this has been an exciting week for sure. We are glad to be back in the comfort of our own home, and are excited to have baby Gabe. Let me fill you in on some of the details of the past week.

Rochelle has had pregnancy induced hypertension for the last few weeks. About a week before she had the baby, it was bad enough that they put her on strict bed rest, but not bad enough that they felt that they needed to do an emergency induction. That said, they planned an induction for Monday the 7th, and had her continue on bed rest. Rochelle was not wanting to be induced. We were hoping to go natural (using hypno-birthing), and being induced makes that very difficult. So we hoped that she would go into labor on her own before that time, but it was not to be. Sunday night she had a bit of a false labor, but come Monday morning, we were on our way to the hospital for the induction.

We arrived there around 7:40 in the morning, and she was hooked up to the pitocin by 8:30. For a while she continued to do the hypnobirthing techniques that we had learned, but as the contractions got stronger, she started to feel sharp pains in her back. The baby was turned, which caused Rochelle some heavy back labor. After about five hours of trying to relax and breathe, we decided that it was time for the epidural. The midwife was recommending the epidural on the account of Rochelle's high blood pressure, and the back labor was beginning to be unendurable. Rochelle was restricted to laying on her left or right sides, and was forbidden (again because of her blood pressure) from using other positions that might help reposition the baby and increase her comfort. So she got the epidural, and pretty soon was able to relax again. Hours came and went and Rochelle slowly progressed to completion. At times it seemed that she all but stopped progressing, but the doctor and midwife were patient and thankfully were not too anxious to do a c-section. It was determined that the baby was pretty nearly stuck- with his head turned sideways, a position more difficult to get out than if the baby were posterior (facing up) So around 11:30 at night they decided that it was finally time to get this baby out. He wasn't coming from pushing alone, and so it was going to be forceps or a c-section. The The doctor we had is very good with forceps, and decided that it was worth a go. He was able to turn the baby's head just enough that he thought that a c-section wouldn't be necessary. So everyone gathered around, and with some heaving pushing by Rochelle, and heavy pulling by the doctor, they finally got the baby out. Once out, we could see that the baby was fairly large, 8 lbs. 6 oz. We were grateful that the doctor was able to get him out with just forceps, even though the birth itself was far from what we had planned.

The baby was healthy from the start. He had quite a big cone head, but within a couple of hours, it was barely noticeable. He also had some bruising from the forceps around his right eye and his left ear. Otherwise, he was a happy and healthy baby.

Rochelle was also a bit battered and bruised from the forceps, but the doctor and midwife were more concerned about her high blood pressure that didn't seem to be reducing at all, which should have happened within a day of giving birth. So they had her stay an extra night at the hospital. She has been quite sore, but has been recovering steadily. We are all home now, and doing well.

Thursday afternoon Rochelle's mom came down from Portland and has been staying with us ever since. She's staying for a total of 10 days with us. We are grateful for her company as well as the advice and help she has given us already. We're glad she'll be here a while longer.

Below are some pictures. I'm sorry they took so long to get here, but we have had much to do, and are adjusting to our new lack of sleep. ;-) Thanks for your well wishes everybody. We are grateful for your support.

Welcome baby Gabe

8 lb 6 oz, 20 in.
7/7/08

Update on The Baby and lots of pictures

Ok, so it has been a while since we posted an update on The State of The Baby Situation. I have spent some time at the hospital on a few different days this week because of borderline preeclampsia (or toxemia). This means that I am retaining water like crazy, my blood pressure is shooting up, and a host of other things that put me at risk for developing complications such as seizures (though unlikely at this point). This is a progressive condition, which means it just gets worse until the baby is born. Luckily, I haven't had to deal with this for most of my pregnancy, and the baby is doing fabulously. However, because of the changes they have detected in my bloodwork etc., if I don't go into labor on my own this week, I will be induced bright and early Monday morning. Many of you know that this is not exactly how I had hoped for things to go, but at the moment, I just feel ready for this baby to come, so I will take what I can get! I am hoping, however, that I will go into labor this weekend, thus precluding any need to be artificially induced on Monday. There isn't much I can do though... I am on strict bedrest (with bathroom and meal "privileges") to keep my blood pressure down. BJ has been very supportive during this whole thing, doing laundry, dishes, cooking, cleaning etc. while I can't get out of bed. The bedrest situation has been really difficult for me... obviously it is boring, and there are tons of things I would rather be doing, working on stuff to get ready for the baby etc. But after being chastised by the doctor, I am following the instructions more closely...
Here are some pictures of Baby Gabe's progression!


Here are a few other albums that I meant to put up earlier, but am just now uploading from my camera!

Place your bets!

We want to know when you think the baby will come, and how much the baby will weigh, and how tall the little tyke will be.

Just so no one will have any advantages in information here, the baby is due July 13th according to the original dates, but last time Rochelle was in to the doctors, she measured two weeks early. However, they were also thinking that Rochelle might have extra fluids in her, and that could be the cause of the discrepancy.

So, write it in the comments, when, how much, and how tall.

Well, I have been meaning to post for some time now. We still don't have internet access at our place, but it was high time to post an update! So much has happened, so I guess I will just give a concise summary of events:

-I graduated. :D My parents flew out here to attend the graduation ceremonies and stay with us for a few days. I officially have my bachelor's degree. I am a nurse, although I won't be a registered nurse (RN) until I pass my board exam. That will (hopefully) take place at the beginning of July.

-We moved. I think BJ's posts about covered this one. We really like our condo, and we are mostly unpacked, although there are still some boxes to work on and we're still deliberating about where to hang our pictures.

-I went to Oregon to spend a week with my family. I attended the VPA (Voices for the Performing Arts) concert (this is my mother's non-profit organization brainchild). She is the artistic director for the foundation, and she directs the audition-choirs: an adult choir and a children's choir. My sister Cara sang in the adult choir, and Anna sang in the children's choir. Collin accompanied the children's choir on the piano, and Tayler manned the sound and light booth. My dad took pictures. Just about everyone was involved. They did a great job with their Broadway themed concert! It was great to have a little vacation and spend some fun time with my family. We all wished BJ could have come, but I am glad that he thought of the trip.

-BJ and I are teaching the 3-4 year olds (Sunbeams) class at church. They are quite energetic, and cute, and well, it is going to be quite an adventure.

-I started my first day of work at the health department today. I work in the well-child and birth control clinic on one day, and the cancer prevention clinic on the second day. I will be just doing training, observing, and practicing under supervision until I pass boards and get my license. It is going to be a lot of information to remember, but I think I will really like working there. We do physicals, and a bunch of other things. Lots of teaching.

-We are attending hypnobirthing prenatal classes. I know lots of people think it's a weird, cosmic, hippie idea, but I have found it to be mostly a very well grounded, logical, and scientific method. It is the method I am most confident in in helping me through natural childbirth. I will post a little bit later about what the method is all about and how it works. And I will let you know how it all goes afterwards.

That's all for now. I will post some pictures, and post about some other stuff, hopefully soon.

Closing

So, Rochelle and I were finally able to close on our condo. The funds transfer Monday, so thank goodness that it is over. I suspect that I will be spending the next couple of weeks doing things that we didn't want to do until we owned it, like putting nails in the walls, and getting the utilities in our name. We are going to be getting cable as soon as possible, but from the sounds of it, comcast is procrastinating, and hasn't even been to our complex yet to install the cables. So hopefully we can have internet in the next couple of days, but that is pending on comcast. So, for now, we are still just using my office and mom and dad's house for internet.

Rochelle is with her family this week. They are throwing a shower for her at home. But mostly, she is just excited to see family and friends. I imagine she will blog of her experiences at some point or another.

Work has been very busy for me the last couple of weeks. We are going through PCI compliance auditing this week, and have spent the last several months preparing for it, in addition to all the normal work we already do. It has been fun to learn many of the things required to be PCI compliant. And many of the things that we have done to be PCI compliant will be helpful for just general security anyways, and I plan on securing other servers (the non PCI ones) after the whole project is over. I have to say, I love learning new things. I love working on new projects. That part of my job is very satisfying to me. The parts I don't like are disagreeable people, and situations, but I think most companies have those.

Minor update

We are not dead.  We are just without internet.  I'm doing this post from my office, and so it must be short.  But we are moved into our new place, and it may be a while before we get internet there for various reasons.  So until then, we will keep up with your blogs where possible, and post on ours when we get the chance.

Chow!

Moved... kinda

So Rochelle and I have been very busy. Last Saturday, we moved. Rather, we moved out. We have yet to really move in. Our stuff is in our new condo, but our new condo isn't really ours yet. The inspection hasn't passed yet, so their is no certificate of occupancy, so we can't live there. So where are we? We are living with my parents until the condo is ready. And we haven't finalized our purchasing of the condo yet either because of the inspection and other things the builders haven't completed yet. Hopefully that will all be finished soon. But yes, our stuff is in our condo. The builder felt bad that he promised it would be done, when it wasn't, he gave us a key and told us to put our stuff in until it is all complete. Thank goodness for that. At least we won't have to pay for a storage unit and move twice! So at this point, we are waiting to get everything finalized. Waiting is painful, but it is made less painful by having parents to stay with for the interim. (Thanks Mom and Dad!) Aside from that, we are looking forward to Rochelle's graduation, and for her parents' visit this week. Lots of fun stuff to look forward to!

Keeping up with the blogs

Hey all, here are some instructions on watching blogs in a very easy way.
http://sociolitics.blogspot.com/

Poetry? or...

So, apparently April is national poetry month. In honor of that, I thought I would write a few verses about my life at the moment! Now, don't get too excited- this is not exactly high quality literature here! But since rhyming is kind of fun, I thought I would post this, and encourage everyone to write something back- rhyming or not! C'mon, it will be fun!

Roses are red,
violets are blue,
finals are here-
and moving day too!

I'm writing a paper
and packing a box;
applying for jobs
and sorting my socks!

...Washing the laundry
and scrubbing the tub;
doing the dishes
and cooking up grub.

...Knitting a blanket
and studying for boards-
checking the mail
to see what it affords.

I'm getting a bit tired-
but really, I'm fine!
I'll be glad when it's over
and victory is mine!

A new blog

I looked far and wide, and have determined that there is no rule saying a man should have but one blog, and consequently I now have two. I will continue to post here, but my posts here will be family oriented, and more personal. My other blog will contain my more controversial posts regarding Sociology, Politics, Technology, and anything else I find interesting and controversial. Today I have posted my first post there, and you are all free to take a look. This blog will be open to the general public, and so it is entirely possible, if not likely, that complete strangers will be reading it and commenting. I will therefore have no references to my personal life on it, and no links to this blog or other family blogs. Due to the fact that I am somewhat more liberal than many of you, please do not be surprised if you happen to disagree with me. However, please feel free to comment and tell me what you think. I respect all of your opinions, and am happy to hear your thoughts on my blogs. I think that a lively conversation can be both invigorating, and educational, and that we should all take part. You can find my other blog here: http://sociolitics.blogspot.com/

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Welcome home!

This is for those of you who wondered if my last post was serious... ;-)

Loads and loads of fun

So, we have been packing for the last two weeks getting ready for our move on April 19th (if Rochelle tries to tell you it's the 20th, reminder her that it isn't). ;-) Our apartment has loads and loads of boxes everywhere. Full boxes on the bottom, empty ones on the top, stacks as tall as me. And I think we are only about half way done packing. I have been grabbing every box I can find at work, and some of them are big enough to pack an entire closet. It has been both fun and stressful to get ready to move to our condo. Yesterday, we locked in a rate of 5.5%, something that we are very happy about. I'm sure the rates will probably drop to 3 something just because we locked it in, but that's life. ;-) We have had a huge pile of shred-ables (credit card offers etc.) that we have put to good use. We shredded them, and they are now padding dishes and glasses, and breakable things. We have been packing everything that we don't use on a regular basis, and we have quite a system going. We have a master list of every box, and what it contains, we have every box labeled with a number, a color, and the contents of the box. The color represents the room to which it is to be delivered to upon arrival. We have already reserved our truck, and got a dolly. I guess it is official... we are moving. ;-) If you will be around on the 19th, you are welcome to come join us in our day of organized chaos. We are very excited about it all... and we hope to invite ya'all over once we get settled in.

Fun Fun Fun

Well... Lots has been going on recently with us. We have been house hunting, and doing our best to find an affordable place that is also a place we would be happy to call home. The search has been frustrating at times, but I think we have found a place that we like. But we still need to find out if we can get an FHA loan for this place, before we are in the clear. If we can get the loan, it probably won't be long before we make an offer. Scary and exciting stuff. The prospective home is a condo. 3 bed, 2 bath. It has roughly 1250 sq ft, an open floor plan, and extra big windows (one of our favorite features). We are hoping everything works out with it. If all works well, we will be moving in sometime within the next 4-6 weeks. (Here's hoping that it does work out.) Rochelle took these photos of the model (the last one is of the actual condo that we would get):

Condo photos

Check it out, and tell us what you think.

Let's see, aside from that, we have been busy with the normal stuff. Work / school / school / work. Rochelle is getting dangerously close to graduating, and her stress level is going up. I'm sure she will do well, and that she will be a great nurse. We are going to be very excited to see her graduate. We will all take a big deep breath!

More Fun in Moab

Besides the Half-Marathon, we also spent some time in Arches National Park. It was fairly warm and sunny, so we had great views and although we didn't have time to hike around much, we did enjoy the beautiful nature all around us! Afterwards, we went and got the boys checked in for the race, and found our hotel, which was downtown, just a few blocks from the finish line. We ate dinner and had some great conversation despite being tired ("Let's play Truth or Dare! Or actually just Truth or... I Dare you to Tell the Truth..." -Collin, I think. Haha!).
After the big finish, we drove back and ate dinner before going to visit Grandma C.! Dad and the boys flew back to Oregon on Sunday. Too short of a visit! But we look forward to seeing everyone again, hopefully soon.

Fun in Arches National Park

Yay for Runners!

Good job, boys! They all did an excellent job- Dad's finish time was faster than last year, Collin was one of the few people in his age group that ran the half marathon, and Tayler and BJ ran hard and strong and did great too! Marissa and I enjoyed cheering them all on and just being part of the fun in Moab. Let's do it again! And let's get some 'other' people in on it too! (Cara, Mom, I know you thought about doing it this year!)

Half Marathon Finishers!

I finished it...

So here are my thoughts as I have just completed my first half marathon:

• Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!
  
• How do people ever run twice this amount!
• This gives me a little more appreciation for the title "Marathon of Faith" and "Endure to the End"
  
• It takes a lot more to get ready for a run of this magnitude than I thought. (I thought I might be able to get away with only running once a week.)

So... I did finish the half-marathon, but by no means am I extraordinarily proud of how I did. But all the same, I'm glad I did it, and I'm glad that I had it in me to finish it, even if I spent some time walking instead of running. Next time, maybe I'll be able to run the whole thing. We'll see. But I did learns some things. Pain makes you appreciate your life (especially just after it leaves). Struggles encourage you to call upon God. And no matter how bad I have it, there is always somebody who has it worse.

I am grateful for all the blessings that I have. I am grateful that I am healthy. I am grateful for those who supported me, and ran with me. I am thankful for a Heavenly Father who loves us. And I am grateful just to be here. Life is so full of blessings. Occasionally, something just opens our eyes a little to help us see that-- I am grateful for those things, painful as they might be, they give us joy in the end.

It's a Boy!

It's true- and I must admit I was completely surprised (and pleased, too!).

The perinatologists checked everything out, and said that our baby looks healthy and great! There was no question as to the gender... definitely a boy. Good thing we had a boy's name picked out! It was kind of a funny transition for us to start calling "it" a "he", and then realizing we could call "he" by an actual name- Gabriel Benjamin Taylor. Yay!!!

Ultrasound pics

It was exciting for us to have somewhat of a picture to match with this little person we have been been thinking about so much. I have been thinking and dreaming about little babies for a couple of months now, so it was cool to finally know that it is a boy, and see him a little! I think for BJ, seeing the ultrasound was the first time it has really hit him that there is another person coming into our family. Maybe he can blog or comment about what his thoughts were after we found out. It is wild for both of us to think about!!!

I had another question answered that I had been somewhat worried about... I haven't really felt the baby moving much, but they could tell by the ultrasound today that the placenta is on the front of my uterus, so the baby's movements are pretty well cushioned by it. They said it might even be a bit longer before I can feel much movement, and definitely before anyone could feel anything from the outside of my belly. But it will come soon enough!!!

Anyway, that's the news for now. I will post other pictures soon.

It's a Boy!

Well, Rochelle has given me the floor, and I am to spill my thoughts all over it. Today has been one of those days that leaves you a little dazed and confused. As I took Rochelle to the hospital for the ultra sound, I felt like either way, boy or girl, I'd be happy and that would be that. I wasn't expecting to feel a whole lot of emotion, or to really think much about it beyond being able to call 'it' a 'he' or a 'she'. I had seen ultra sounds before. I already knew we were going to have a baby. I was excited to find out the gender, but hadn't put much more thought into it. But as we watched the images on the screen, and began to put a little bit more of an identity onto the baby, I felt overwhelmed with feelings and thoughts that I can scarcely identify. How do I explain my feelings? What do I tell people as I call them? About all I was able to say was: "We found out we are having a boy and we are excited about it." Today, excited was an understatement. But it left me speechless. Honestly, I really don't know what my feelings even are except that they are good ones. And my thoughts have little more clarity. About all I can say is that I felt an out pouring of love, joy, and happiness, for the baby, for Rochelle, for my parents, and everyone close to me. Feelings of gratitude for all of our blessings welled up in me. And all I could figure out to say was "we are excited". Well, excited we are. Feeling very blessed, we are. Trying to imagine what it will be like to hold that little boy in our arms. Trying to imagine what it will feel like to meet him for the first time. And then... trying to focus on work, and trying to be productive. Can I just say that today was not the best day at work for me? When I spoke to Rhonda today, she gave me some sage advice. I wish I could quote her, but as best as I can remember she said something like the following: "Kids bring you the greatest joys in life as well as the greatest heart aches." This is something that I have always known, but hearing it today after feeling the swelling of emotions that I had gave this concept new meanings to me. And honestly, I know I'm in for a roller coaster, but I'll do my best with the bitter, as long as I can enjoy the sweet. The bitter may be tough, but I truly believe that the sweet will out last it. And come what may, I am willing to give it my best.

Do you dig it?

Maybe this will be one of those blogs that carries absolutely no interest to you. I imagine many of you may feel that way. But I just wanted to say that I found a cool little program that I like, and that I think you might like too (if you are a nerd like me... what was your nerd score?). The program I have found does something very useful for me... it allows me to use one program to sign in to many chat clients, and email clients. Now, honestly, I only use a couple of chat clients in the first place on a regular basis, but at least I don't have to look at adds from Microsoft and Yahoo every time I log in now. Google, thankfully, has never put ads in their chat client. I digress... so maybe it isn't the end-all app for all of you, but you may like it all the same, even if you only use one chat client. Some of you probably will say that you don't use any chat client. To you, I say "Good for you." I don't suggest you install digsby. ;-) But if you do decide to install it, it is in "private beta" right now, meaning that you can't install it unless you have a special code from them to install with. But they seem to be pretty easy to come by. I've seen two codes online, blueball and cnet. You can use them to download and install the program if you so desire.

Oh, and I think the program looks pretty cool too, minus their weird icon, but I'll forgive them for that.

End of nerdy news for today.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I love you all, and hope you all have a wonderful day! I hope we can always focus on the love that our families share, and remember the many blessings that we have been given. Rochelle and I were thinking about our past recently, and thinking how incredibly blessed we are. She has started to keep a "blessings book" where she writes where she sees the hand of the Lord in her life. It's a good idea, and something that I feel like I should start doing as well. The amazing thing is that it never fails... come good times or bad, we can always see the hand of the Lord in our lives. It fills us with love for Him, and for each other, and we hope we can share that love with everyone around us.

BJ's Running...

Hey all,

While I am just getting started (started 2 weeks ago), I am going to be running in a half-marathon in March, and so I have been training for that. Today I am going to try to run 6 miles. My goal is to come back alive. The furthest I have run in recent months is 4 miles, and that wasn't easy. But due to weak knees I haven't been able to accomplish anything more than 3 miles recently. So, I'm going to show you what my training schedule is going to be, and I'm going to show you what I have done. I expect to hear oohs and aahs when you look at the schedule, and lots of sniggers when you look at what I have done. Oh well. They are goals, and goals are meant to be lofty. And I'll do my best to complete them. Because one way or another, I am going to be in that race, and if I don't want to walk the entire distance, I need to prepare myself.

So, here are my goals:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p2OyjzGNLCQev5zT7-sRaVQ

And here are my actual runs:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/user_training?username=beeg_98

I wish I could put all of that on one website, but as of yet, there doesn't seem to be a way to do so. I think they are working on it though. Speaking of running... it's time for me to go.

BJ

Where has the time gone?!

It has been "my turn" to blog for over a month, so in order to stop that from hanging over my head, I will finally blog! Why the reluctance? I don't know. Maybe because there is so much that has happened that it is a little overwhelming to try to go back and remember it all! Unfortunately, this also becomes my dilemma with normal journaling. I have good intentions for so long, until one day I realize that sitting down to journal everything that has happened since the last time I wrote is going to be a gigantically HUGE process, and then I continue to put it off. So, rather than try to chronicle everything in detail, I will just list off some of the things we have been up to (not necessarily in perfect order).

I finished finals, which went relatively well.

BJ signed up to run a half marathon in Moab (the same one I ran last year) in March. He convinced my dad and brothers Tayler and Collin to come and run it as well.

We went to BJ’s company Christmas party.

We celebrated some birthdays in the days before and after Christmas – niece Mandy, sister Marissa, nephew Braden.

We flew to Oregon to spend Christmas with my family, which we enjoyed greatly (The Arave Sing-Along, Christmas Eve and Day traditions, movies, shopping, lots of relaxation).

My family got a family picture taken- by BJ! He did a great job.

I got a few maternity clothes- a first!

We came back to Utah on New Years Eve & celebrated with BJ’s family.

BJ went back to work. :(

We went to my 12- week prenatal appointment and heard the baby’s heartbeat! (Wahoo! What a sweet sound!)

I took up learning how to crochet….? (BJ secretly wants to too.)

Our friend Dhananjay from India went back home.

I have worked a little more on the research project I am helping a professor with to prepare it for publication.

I started my first day of my last semester of college!

I met with the nurse manager at the hospital I am doing my capstone at, was assigned to a nurse preceptor (who I will work solely with for the rest of the semester) and I start my first capstone shift on Friday!

That 12 hour shift is the beginning of 252 hours I have to spend in clinical this semester! Wow! More hours required than any other nursing school around here! Hopefully that will reflect well in our marketability after we graduate!

I am in a very awkward stage where not many of my clothes fit well, but I am not big enough for most maternity clothes yet. This means that I often wear sweats, scrubs, T-shirts, and other comfy but un-flattering clothes. Oh well, it’s all part of the experience!

I am about 15 weeks along. Luckily, the nausea (and to some degree the fatigue as well) is beginning to taper off somewhat.

BJ is working hard at his office on a project that will bring his company a lot of revenue (he came up with the idea and everyone liked it, so now he is working on implementing it. Good job, honey!).

BJ has been following a running schedule to get ready for the half marathon. Last night he even ran outside (brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!) in the dark to get his miles in! (If you know BJ, it is so not like him to choose to run in the cold! He usually likes to run indoors when it is this cold outside. He is working hard to be ready, despite a sore knee.)

I think that is mostly what we've been up to lately. We will try to do better about posting in a more timely manner!