4 months old- Luke

This is Luke in a nutshell:

Loves being tickled, playing peek-a-boo, being held, going for walks in the front carrier, being part of the action going on at any given time, and watching Gabe play.  He is a pretty "go with the flow" kind of guy- as long as he's getting attention, he isn't too picky about what's going on.

Likes binky, car rides (usually), sitting upright, being wrapped up tight to fall asleep, the baby swing, playing in the baby gym, trying to put toys and fingers in his mouth.

Dislikes: being cold, hungry (well, don't we all?), um, can't think of anything else at the moment that he doesn't like.

About half the time, Luke sleeps around 7 hours at night, but he also frequently wakes up at 4am to eat.  He would probably go back to sleep if I didn't get up and feed him, but you just don't think of these things very clearly in the wee small hours of the morning when your baby is STILL IN YOUR ROOM.  (What am I thinking?  It is definitely time for Luke to move to Gabe's room.)  He is a fantastic napper, however.  I love that he takes 2-3 decent naps a day (1-2 hours each).

Luke is a pretty happy guy.  It is easy to make him smile and laugh, and he seems to be trying to be happy even when he is not feeling well (like last week when he was super congested and struggled at night for several nights).  He, like Gabe as a baby, is serious about eating.  He gets hungry and he must eat right now!  He is pretty solid, and all that chub makes for delicious cuddling and cheek smooching!

Luke now has a head of fuzzy hair, and I get the feeling he is going to have my complexion: the reddish hair, the freckles, light skin, the whole bit.  

It is such a miracle the way babies so quickly entwine themselves into your heart and you almost cant remember what it was like without them.  I so love my little Luke, and his smiles just melt my heart.  Life isn't necessarily a bed of roses all the time, but those smiles help me get through the crazy puke-and-multiple-blowouts-in-public days when I have to take him home practically naked because he messed every single outfit in the diaper bag while we were out.  Not that that ever happens to me.  Ha. Really though, Luke radiates love and happiness and is really delightful to have around- we love him so much!

Bumbo seat: Is it worth it?

Photo from http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3433615

Has anyone used a Bumbo Seat for their baby? Luke is 3 months old and wants to be sitting upright most of the time, but the baby seats we have for him are reclining.  I did not have one of these with Gabe, so we have never tried one out.  They cost around $40 which seems like a lot for a baby seat that will only be used a couple of months.  I guess I am wondering if it is worth it? What are your thoughts?

Luke's Birth Story

Well, I wrote out the events of Luke's birth as I remember them, and I was about to copy and paste it into this post, but realized it was waaaaay too long.  Instead, I will post an abbreviated version here, and for those who are interested/ fascinated with childbirth like me, I will post the link to the whole thing at the bottom of the post.

So Tuesday night I was feeling very anxious to go into labor since Wednesday was my actual due date and I wanted to have the baby before Marissa and Richard left on Thursday, and my mom came to help on Friday.  We tried all sorts of things to get my labor started, but nothing seemed to be working, so we laid down to go to sleep, and finally the contractions started coming.  We timed them for an hour and when they were 4-5 minutes apart, we called Marissa and Richard over to stay with Gabriel while we went to the hospital.  They monitored me for an hour or so then admitted me around 3:00am-ish.  We waited for things to start picking up, but instead my labor seemed to stall.  We were kind of disappointed but looking back, I think it was a blessing because it allowed us both to get a few hours of sleep that night.  I was able to be put on intermittent monitoring so I could walk the halls and try to get things going, and it probably helped a little bit, but in the mid morning I hadn't progressed past 4+ or 5 centimeters (I was 4 cm when I was admitted) so we decided to allow the doctor to break my water.  I felt no change for the next hour, and then BJ and I decided to use some of the childbirth hypnosis techniques we had been practicing, and BJ helped me visualize my labor starting up again, and allowing the contractions to become strong and do their work.  It worked; almost immediately after we started doing that, my contractions picked up, and things got intense fairly quickly.  Things continued to intensify and progress for the next 4 hours or so, during which time BJ was my main support, talking me through each contraction and helping me visualize being relaxed and calm.  I also listened to a few hypnosis tracks on my iPod, but mostly I preferred having BJ help me- he had a very calming influence on me, and he was so helpful in keeping me comfortable and relaxed.  It seemed like every time the nurse or doctor checked me, I had hardly made any progress, and I was feeling a little discouraged, thinking that I couldn't go on much longer, and I would have to have an epidural.  I was also fighting the "urge" to push (eventually not just an "urge"- but a sensation that my body was taking over and overriding what my mind was wanting to do) for about an hour since I wasn't fully dilated.  Then, it seemed like all of the sudden the doctor was telling me I could go ahead and push, which was so much more comfortable than trying not to.  I pushed for nearly 15 minutes, and Luke was born at 3:42pm, being 9 lb. and 19 inches- quite a chubby baby!  It was such an amazing feeling to look at him and know that he was finally here and that I was able to avoid having an epidural and forceps and many other interventions that we had when Gabriel was born and which I had wanted to avoid so badly.  The doctor actually said that she didn't think I would have been able to push such as big baby our on my own if I had gotten an epidural, so I was glad that it worked out the way it did.  Unfortunately, Luke was not breathing well at first so he was taken to the NICU to be put on a CPAP machine and have surfactant put in his lungs to help them stay inflated better.  After a while, I joined BJ and Luke in the NICU for a while, then we headed downstairs and got settled in our new room.  Luke finally came down to the well- baby nursery about 8 hours after he was born, and we went and saw him get checked by the nurses and took pictures of his first bath.  It was after midnight by the time we were able to bring him in our room with us, but it was sweet to have him to ourselves finally.  I was able to get up and walk around on my own, albeit a bit slowly, and I really felt like I was already healing much faster this time.  Luke nursed like a champ, and had no further issues with breathing.  We feel very blessed to finally have him with us and doing so well.

Gabe came to see his new baby brother the next morning, and he was fascinated for about 1 minute, then was more interested in the balloons and toy tractor in the room.  BJ stayed with me in the hospital until Friday, and we were so grateful to Marissa and Richard, and BJ's parents who watched Gabriel so that BJ could be with me and the baby.  BJ picked my mom up at the airport on Friday, then came back and took me home from the hospital.  It was good to come home and be able to wear normal clothes, and sit in our much more comfortable chairs and bed, and start figuring out a new routine.  It was nice to have my mom here to help for nearly a week.  We have mostly stayed close to home since Luke was born, and I am getting into a new rhythm of taking  care of two kids.  So far, although I am definitely busier and more tired, it hasn't been hard.  Luke is a really good baby, sleeping quite a bit during the day, eating well, and usually sleeping for a 5 hour stretch at night.  Most nights I only have to get up to nurse him twice after going to bed (refreshing! Gabe woke up every 2 hours all night for quite a while).   Hopefully that continues!  He is also growing well.  After loosing 10 ounces in the hospital, he has gained it all back and then some- at his 2 week appointment yesterday he weighed 9 lb. 7.5 oz., and was 20 1/4 inches- wow, over an inch growth in 2 weeks!  He is so mellow and easy going.  I guess Heavenly Father knows what each of us need individually- I figure he must want me to have more children in the future!

Anyway, that is the story of Luke joining our family.  Click here if you would like to read the much LONGER version of the story. 

Welcome baby Luke!

We are a little late in this announcement, but better late than... later, right?

Luke Stanley Taylor was born at 3:42pm on April 28th, 2010.
He was 9 pounds and 19 inches.

Luke is doing great, and I am recovering quickly. 

We will post pictures and more about the birth (for those interested) shortly. 

Still Waiting

Well, here's the baby scoop: we are still waiting for this baby to come.  We get a little nervous at times as my blood pressure wants to creep up a bit, which makes my doctor want to start talking about inducing me.  However, she knows how much I want to avoid that, so as of now, I am on a sort of bedrest.  Although every time I take my blood pressure at home, it is normal, so that is good.  I think being sick last weekend (bad stomach bug- the first time I have thrown up this whole pregnancy) got me really dehydrated, and kind of spiraled me into this.  But I have to say, I feel good in general, other than being 9 1/2 months pregnant.  Ha.  Anyway, I had the doctor sweep my membranes, hoping that might help bring on labor, but nothing much has happened as of yet.  We also made smoothies from all sorts of tropical fruits (supposedly fruits like pineapple, mango, and kiwi can bring on mild contractions etc.) and did some acupressure, but to no avail.  I'm not supposed to go on long walks at this point (I've done plenty of that over the past 3 weeks anyway) and I'm really not interested in using castor oil.  So now I'm just waiting and thinking positive birthing thoughts.  :)

I stopped working this week, which was nice, and allowed me to rest quite a bit more.  I also worked on a few crafty projects this week to help the time pass and keep me distracted from wondering when this baby will come.  I sewed a diaper bag and some diaper cases, made a basic picture family tree for Gabriel, as well as some picture flashcards of family members.  He seems to like looking at those, and he can name quite a few family members.  He gets especially excited to point out both sets of his grandparents. 


I think it has been somewhat of a hard week for Gabe- or at least the last few days have been hard, as I have had less energy and he has a little cold.  That makes for a whiny baby, but he tries to be happy.  We have enjoyed the warmer weather on some days, and have tried to take advantage of that.  Gabe has asked for lots of walks ("Gok! Mama! Gok!)" outside and we have done that, although more in the evenings when BJ comes home since I haven't had tons of energy for pushing the stroller.  Other days we go out on the patio or on the lawn and blow bubbles, or do a short walk around the block and to get the mail.  I have enjoyed hearing Gabe's babbling this week.  He has been whispering to himself as he plays, something that sounds like "ti-koo-ti-koo-ti-koo".  He has also been pointing out various articles of clothing- "souz", "sass" (shoes, socks), "paaatssss" (pants) and he tries hard to say shirt and other things, but they don't sound much like the real word yet.  Perhaps my favorite word that he says (this week!) is cheese- "tziiiiz", which he says kind of in the back of his throat, over and over while he eats cheese, or if he sees a camera!  I'm not sure how he made the "say cheese!" connection at first, but we are going with it.  So funny.

He loves to pretend he is talking on the phone, and he will hold up my cell phone if he can get his hands on it, or his play cell phone, his favorite car, or anything that remotely resembles a phone- even the foot pedal to my sewing machine!

Gabe's antics keep us laughing pretty constantly; as you can tell by the amount of "Gabe stuff" I post on here, he is the main thing that is going on in our lives.  There isn't always much other stuff that is interesting to post about.  I have liked using this forum as kind of a family journal though, and especially chronicling Gabe's growth and development since I am waaaaaay behind on his baby book.

Speaking of chronicling, BJ and I had some fun reading from our journals about the time we were dating, engaged, etc. and realized that we didn't write nearly as much as we should have.  Fortunately, on a road trip we went on early in our marriage, we brought along a tape recorder and some blank tapes, and told "our story" up to that point in as much detail as we could between the two of us, filling both sides of several tapes.  A year or two ago, BJ converted the audio on those tapes to mp3s with the intent of transcribing it all some day.  This week, spurred on by reading our hilarious but sadly lacking journal entries, BJ began the process of transcribing the first tape.  Judging by the eye rolling and laughing coming from his corner, I can only assume the recording must be pretty cheesy.  I am going to go in and edit and format the document so it can be easily read.  Then we can add it to some of the other stuff I have compiled from that time period (some of our email correspondence- also pretty cheesy and entertaining to read).  Anyway, I think that recording a little bit at a time (as opposed to trying to sit down and write all at once)  is a good way to preserve some of our memories, and is possibly more motivating when you have a ton of stuff to catch up on!  Then you can have a record of what your voices sounded like, and you always have the option of transcribing it. Anyway, just a thought.  Here is one more picture that I just barely caught on camera the other day- just one more thing that represents the funny things Gabe does all day that amuses me!

The update and Gabe is 21 months old!

Ok, well, there isn't really much of an update.  This week has just been kind of a waiting game for us.  BJ had a 36+ hour day after he had to work a day, then all night, then the next day too (Ironically just after we read in 3 Nephi where the sign that Jesus would be born would be a day and a night and a day as if it were one day).
My doctor's appointment went well... nothing really noteworthy to mention.  My contractions have definitely been picking up in frequency, duration, and intensity, but not consistently.  I do have my hospital bags all packed though, with  my list of everything to grab last minute!  On Sunday I had a recurrence of my sinus infection- the one I had a couple weeks ago that the antibiotic never really took care of.  It hit me with a vengeance but I went to Instacare and got quite a strong antibiotic which helped immensely and so I'm not in any pain now.  Gabe does seem to be fighting another mild ear infection but he is doing much better and I think he will be able to fight this one off by himself. 
I am trying not to become too impatient to have this baby, and just use this time to keep preparing, spend time with Gabe, and work on some crafty projects.  We have been going on a lot of walks this past week which Gabe loves.  He points excitedly to the stroller and says "gok, gok!" (Not to be confused with "gook"- book, or "guk"- milk/ drink.)

 Yesterday we went for a drive and were listening to the Remember the Titans soundtrack when Gabe found his new favorite song!  When Gabe wants something, and sometimes when he's whining he says "nananananana...?" -so when he heard that in a song (Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye by Steam), he started laughing, rocking back and forth in his seat, clapping, and singing along which really made us laugh.
Gabe has gotten a lot better at going to sleep at night and at nap time.  We've been able to put him down for bed after our nightly routine (diaper/ jammies, brush teeth, sing songs in the rocking chair, drink of water, say prayer) while he was still awake for quite a while, but up until a few weeks ago, I was still rocking him all the way to sleep for his nap.  Now he is quite the "big boy" as he goes to sleep on his own after a few minutes of rocking and songs at nap time.  Occasionally when he is tired he will even sign "sleep".  A lot of the things he signs are now accompanied by the word itself, which is fun to hear!  Of course he has learned a lot of words without signs too.  My favorite words to hear him say are "cute", "cool", "shoes", and "love" (and "mom-my" of course!).  Anything that makes an identifiable sound is referred to by its sound instead of its name.  He loves splashing in the water and arranging his toys on the side of the tub at "baaaff" time.  He does not love the post- bath routine so much.  He tends to have dry skin and gets some eczema patches, so we put on lots of lotion and some hydrocortisone cream first thing after drying off. 
 

We usually have some reading time every day- initiated by Gabriel- he brings me book after book after book, and sits quietly on my lap (mostly!) turning pages, pointing to things, babbling, and sometimes requesting to read the same book several times in a row.  Gabe still loves cars and dogs (toys, the real things, and the sounds they make) above almost anything else.  He seems to be amused by poking my belly and saying "babeeeeeee" or "saaaaaaaahhhhhfffff" - soft.  We're trying to do our best to prepare him for having a baby brother, but I don't really think he has any idea of how life is going to change!  I'm sure he will adapt quickly though.  We are going to try to have him spend some time with his favorite people- aunts and uncles and grandparents!  All grandmas and pas are "baba" right now, and he greets them with hugs and kisses- "mmmmah!"
I am excited for the weather to warm up more so we can do some fun things outside.  Gabe is up for pretty much anything outdoors, and he especially enjoys going for walks to see the creek or the cows (and any other animal we encounter), swinging, going down slides, running around on the grass, and last summer we discovered he loves swimming and is fascinated by bubbles, so we will have to try to do lots of that this spring and summer.  We are all ready with his swimsuit/ rashguard, hat, sandals, sunscreen, and lots of energy (Um, him, not me, currently)!  Let's get to it already!

The last two weeks

I haven't been very good about updating the blog lately, and since this is our family journal in a way, I guess I had better repent of my lazy ways and give an update on the last couple weeks.


My family came to visit us during their spring break 2 weeks ago, and we loved having them stay with us!  We did a lot of shopping (only a little buying), visiting with extended family, the boys played tennis and racquetball, some of the family went skiing, others took advantage of my mom's awesome hair cutting skills, we watched some funny and some lame movies, ate lots of yummy food, went on a few walks, put together a package to send to Tayler, visited my Grandma C a few times, got to hear an old time band perform, did some baking, had my parents come visit me while I was working at the Celebration of Light Health Fair, and just generally enjoyed each other's company.  Gabe loved all the attention, and started saying "baba" for grandma and grandpa (sometimes bapa).  We were sad when they had to leave.  Looking at pictures later, Gabe called Anna "La-la", Cara was "Ya-ya", and he just smiled and laughed when he saw Collin. Gabe still sees Marissa all the time, and sometimes he calls her "Eetsa" but usually when we ask him to say Marissa he just claps and says "aaaaaayyy" (yay).

We had a little scare this week when I went to the doctor and found out I had 2+ proteinuria, which meant that I had to do bloodwork and a few other tests to make sure I wouldn't need to be induced early or put on bedrest (for preeclampsia, the same problem I had when I was pregnant with Gabe).  However, we found out that the tests results turned out just fine, and I am still up and around and the baby is fine too.  So no worries there.
I started having contractions a lot earlier with this pregnancy, and especially the last week or so they have really picked up, but I don't mind, since I am already dilated a few centimeters and 75% effaced (sorry if that is TMI).  Also, baby is head down, so things are looking good all around.  We have just about 3 1/2 weeks left until the baby is due, and we have been trying to scramble and get the last few things ready.

We enjoyed Easter Sunday watching General Conference and spending time with family.  We had a yummy breakfast that Marissa and Richard made, then in the evening we headed over to BJ's parent's house for a family Easter dinner which was delicious.  We took a few pictures of Gabe in his new Easter suit- see the web album below.  The kids had an Easter egg hunt, and Gabe found about 6 eggs then lost interest and just wanted to eat his banana pudding with vanilla wafers.




This week we are back in the routine of work, work, work.  I usually like getting back to things on Monday, but man, I am feeling more tired every day.  It's hard sometimes to feel motivated to get myself going.  Here we go anyway!

Ruffles, bows, lace, pink, frills....

...We won't be using them. Haha. We are having another boy. My guess was that it would be a boy, so I wasn't surprised. The baby looks good, and is measuring only 4 days larger than expected, so we will be keeping our due date of April 28, 2010. I think BJ will figure out how to post our ultrasound pictures tonight. We haven't picked a name yet. We have a few that we both like, but haven't decided on one yet. We are excited that Gabe will have a little brother, and it will fun to watch them play together.

Is it a boy, or is it a girl?

We invite one and all to make their guesses in our poll on the right. We find out the gender of the baby on Thursday morning. Is it a boy? Or is it a girl? We're excited to find out what you all think (and feel free to make comments too on this post if you like). Have fun!

Long Time

Yep, it has been a long time since I posted. A lot has happened in the past month or two. I will try to catch up.
Here are some albums and videos that I meant to post when Gabe turned 15 months old. Now he is nearly 16 months. Wah.





This video is from about a month or so ago, when he was really starting to walk around more. Now he is much more stable and just running all around the house, following me from room to room.

My mom came to visit about 2 weeks ago. We had her stay with us the 5 days she was here, and we had a good time! I was terrible about taking pictures, although I got a few. Some of the things we did were: Go see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearsal, make applesauce, lots of baking, visiting my Grandma Christensen, driving up Hobble Creek Canyon and taking pictures, barbecuing, and lots of visiting.


Probably the main reason that I haven't posted in a while is that I haven't been feeling too energetic lately because... I'm pregnant with Baby #2! I am due April 28. I have been very fatigued but the nausea is really starting to decrease. Thank goodness. I am definitely showing earlier than with my first pregnancy, although it is definitely the awkward stage where I just look chubby, not pregnant. Thus, no pictures yet. Haha.
Anyway, more to come on some of the other things I have been working on lately.

Baby Alert!

Someone should invent some sort of alarm that goes off when your child is about to get into something they shouldn't. I would buy one.
Gabe is only a year old, but he's at the stage where he is very curious, fairly mobile, and loves to put things in his mouth. Dangerous combination! It means that he needs fairly constant supervision. I am learning not to be lulled into a false sense of security when Gabe is quiet. A few times today I have looked up or around the corner after noticing that Gabe was being quieter than usual, only to find him getting into something he shouldn't. He knows it too, because he jumps when he sees me and puts the thing (whatever it is) down. Usually the "thing" I find is a piece of lint, carpet, kleenex (or what's left of it) or nasty old piece of food or dirt. How does he even find that stuff? Sometimes, though, I find him getting into my purse (why did I leave it on the floor again?), trying to chew on the power cord to BJ's computer or the vertical blinds on our sliding glass door, or reaching into the bathroom garbage. Why do these things hold such attraction to babies? I understand that they are curious and trying to learn about the world around them. I don't want to stifle that. Yet I want to keep Gabe safe and not let him get into things that are going to hurt him or make him sick.
Going outside is a whole different ballgame. Most kids love to be outside, but there isn't much out there that I am thrilled to see him put in his mouth. I've seen parents go to both extremes on this; some almost wont put their kids (babies/ toddlers) down when they go outside, others let their kids pick up, play with, and taste anything that isn't poop or poison.
My questions for you all are:
1. What are the strangest, funniest, icky-est things that your kids, siblings, nieces/ nephews etc. have tried to eat?
2. Did those kids eventually learn on their own not to put nasty things in their mouths, or did it take constant vigilance on the parent's part for the first several years of their lives?
3. Should babies be allowed to pick up, play with, and lick/chew anything that doesn't pose a threat to their safety, whether inside or outside?
Feel free to answer one or all of the questions!
Thanks in advance!

Baby Booties!

I saw a couple of templates online of different baby booties that were way too cute! I was sad that mine weren't as perfect as the pictures they had on the websites, but I thought they were still pretty cute.

The style for the pink booties came from the Martha Stewart website and the blue booties came from the Craft Magazine website
These were fun to make- they gave me warm fuzzies! But I will warn you, from looking at the picture I thought they were going to be really fast to make (maybe they would be, for someone really adept at doing this kind of thing), but they took me longer than I expected, especially the blue ones (I know, they look so simple, but they have all this reinforcement stitching that you can't really see well in the pictures). They were, however, easy, so if you want to try it, go ahead!

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.

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.

Baby Makes Three

The time has come! We are officially going to be parents! I am just over 2 months pregnant, and we expect the baby to come sometime in July. We are very excited to finally be starting our family! I have had some morning sickness, but I am doing ok. The semester is almost done for me, and all I have left is my capstone semester. I have been tentatively assigned to work in Labor and Delivery at a smaller local hospital- the same hospital, in fact, that I have chosen to use for myself! So I'm feeling good about that.

~~BJ'S TURN~~
So... I guess I don't have a whole lot to add except that I'm going to be a daddy! Yea! And now it is my goal to sleep as much as possible now, because I won't have another chance to until I'm 64. Aside from that, we are really very pleased. Rochelle is looking forward to buying maternity clothes. She has already named our first 6 children (in order, and let's just hope the genders match up)... and if any of you steal our names... well, you will have to take it up with her. Rochelle is currently going through the lovely morning sickness stages, and is enjoying that very much. ;-) We told our families in the past week or two. And now we tell the world! So what more do I have to say? Not much I guess. Just looking forward to all the fun times ahead (and preparing to go gray).

This picture represents the physical proof we currently
possess of our good news!