family

family

Friday, December 2, 2011

Thanksgiving!

We had such a great time! This year for thanksgiving we went up to my grandparents cabin. I admit it was alot more work taking everything up there, but it was sooo nice! The first couple of days were interesting as we didn't have any hot water, but once that problem was solved the whole trip was amazing. Joseph loves the 4-wheeler so much. If you even went by the window and he caught a glimps he would burst into tears!  He would wiggle around until he was on it, and moving! Taking him off was never a good time. He would scream and scream! By the end of the trip I think he went on the most amount of rides out of all of us. Thanksgiving was so tasty! All the favorites. It's amazing, I seem to think in my mind that I haven't eaten that much but then I am so stuffed with food I can't move! Joseph has his full Thanksgiving meal as well and loved it! It was a much needed break.
Good news now is that James got a job! He is working in Sandy starting Monday and will be selling cars at the Larry Miller used cars. I cannot tell you what a relief it was to get the job. We would have been in BIG trouble if he hadn't. Hopefully now things will get a little less stressful....

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Catch up time!

Oops I waited too long! Just to catch everyone up, it's been a very busy couple of months. Joseph is crawling full speed ahead and has even taken a couple of steps here and there. I am trying to trick him into walking more so hopefully he will keep getting braver! Right now he chickens out and falls down and crawls. It's coming soon though and I'm sure I will miss him crawling. We took Joseph in to the doctor to get another check up on his kidneys! It seems to be good news, his kidneys haven't gotten any worse and the doctors are thinking that they may just be that way and there is nothing to be done. They can't find any blockages so the good news is that we wont have to do anymore check-ups for another year!

I can't believe baby is going to be a year old soon! It's gone by way too fast and I am going to miss him being so small, but I am excited to see what a little boy he will be like. He is now waving, clapping, and daddy has taught him how to do judo chop and  "champion". He has his bottom 2 teeth and I am thinking his top teeth will be coming any day now. The fussy and runny nose are here so I'm just waiting for those cute little teeth to pop out! He has also learned how to do a turkey noise (gobble,gobble) and is starting to do the cow noise, although its more of a mmmmmmmm instead of a mooooo! Everyday he is looking more and more like a toddler and less like a baby! We are already gathering things for his birthday party (jungle theme) and I am going to attempt to make a cake... We will see.

We were able to go visit James sister Louisa and her fun family in Las Vegas this last week. What a much needed break! I think we are constantly stressed about something and this little trip was just perfect. We got to see James mom as well and Joseph got to play with cousins! I had some of the best food cooked for me by my mother-in-law and sister in law, and Louisa's husband Ian threw a really fun party for Louisa's birthday! We had fun decorating the house and the Michael Jackson cake. I think that's where I got inspired to try and do Josephs cake!
Lastly an update on me and James! Work wise nothing has changed, however we both received new callings. I was released from Young Women's and am now the primary teacher of the 5-6 year olds! They are a great group of kids, I just have to remember to change my lessons from teenagers to kids! James got called to be a high councilman. Shock doesn't even cover how he feels! Bless him he is terrified!  Even if he doesn't know this yet, he is going to do a great job and everyone has told me they think he will do a great job!! Its been lots of emotions, but good!

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Here, there, everywhere!

This summer has gone by so fast and has been so much fun! Joseph has got to explore this world a little more and he is loving it! I have been so excited to take Joseph to my grandparents cabin this summer. My dad was up there when he was little, I have been going up there my whole life and it is exciting to take Joseph there so he can enjoy it as much as I have! We also had a Slack family reunion in salt lake this year and my grandparents decided to make it a reunion weekend! We all stayed up in condos in Midway, joseph was able to see inside a crater and tried out some swimming! We had  a relaxing weekend with cousins and aunts and uncles it was nice it get out of the heat and not worry about all life brings!
This last week I took Joseph to the Zoo with grandma. It was Zoorasic Park and it was a lot of fun!  We weren't sure how Joseph would do at the park since he would be missing a nap, but he was amazing! He didn't really notice any of the animals unless they would move, but once they would move he was glued to them. He really liked the monkeys and also the girrafe. He was a little concerned about the dinasours they had, and really didn't like the T-rex when it made its loud noises, but the other ones he was okay with. It has been a lot of fun to see him trying to figure things out and see knew things. Hopefully we can take him again in October with daddy this time!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Here we GO!!

Joseph is growing up so fast! I can't believe next week he will be 8 months old. I love watching his little face expressions as he try's to figure things out. He is a pretty serious boy, but when he smiles my whole day gets better. He is a beautiful  boy with big brown eyes and a little Mohawk for hair. He is eating vegetables, fruits and all the cereals. He loves his fruit! Bananas and peaches are his favorite. He doesn't do so well with his veggies, but he will still eat them. We tried to get some chicken for him, he was not a fan! Started to gag and spit it out. I tried to hide it with other foods, but he still spits it out! I will try again in a couple weeks. He is on the verge of crawling. He can get himself into position, just rocks back and forth until he falls over! He also loves to walk. If I could walk around the house all day holding his hands, I think that would be his best day! He is trying to pull himself up on furniture now, but hasn't quite got it yet. Joseph Loves his Senna Dog! He could watch her all day. She is nervous about him though and usually tries to keep a safe distance so he wont pull her hair. As far as his health issues we are at a stand still for a bit. With James' work situation we haven't even had insurance for the last 3 months and are just now trying to get it finalized. We have been approved so my poor little baby will have to get his 6 month old shot done this week sometime. Our insurance is a bit tricky, but hopefully in the long run it will be more beneficial to us. We have to pay for all doctor visits with our own money. But because the monthly payments are smaller because of a high deductible the idea is to put money into the HSA account and have funds in there if we do need the doctor.. It will be interesting! I cannot be on the same insurance however. I get to be on a special insurance and therefore more expensive insurance because a year ago I took chlomide to try and have a baby. Now no insurances will cover me. This special insurances are what covers people with Cancer.  Its been stressful these last couple of months with money, but we think things are finally looking up for James at work! He seems happy enough and I get to see him a lot more which has been nice. My work will be finishing up this week and I am hoping to try and find something else to do at home, but I know that will be difficult. I have loved this job, it has been so nice to make a little income and still be able to have Joseph with me and be his mommy. I have loved every second of being able to play with him, feed him, and put him down for his naps. He is such a lovely little boy! I have my frustrating moments with him, but I have been so lucky to be able to stay with him and watch him grow up! I am a little sad at how fast it has gone by and how much he has already learned, but I am excited to see him grow up more. I can't believe how much my world revolves around him and James. All in all things are looking up and I think we are feeling pretty good about where we are, so happy times are coming back!

Monday, June 20, 2011

6 Months!

I can't believe Joseph is 6 months old already! In someways it seems like he has been part of our lives forever, but I also still feel really strange that he is MY son. He is teething now I think, at least he acts like it. He chews on anything and everything and seems more fussy then usual which is saying something!  He can almost sit up by himself, he just tips over when he is trying to reach for things.  He can also get on all fours, but still isn't ready to start crawling just yet. We tried to feed him sweet potatoes the other day, Joseph is not a fan. At first I thought it was looking good, but after a couple bites he started gagging on it.. So we will give it another try in a couple days.
 James is heading out to go racing this week! I wish I could be there to see him race, or at least watch it on t.v. but speed doesn't show it for a week AFTER the race! Still I am happy James gets to go out and race. He gets to show his talent and enjoy being in a race car again. Work situation for him is about the same, just trying to figure a way to make it through this year. We are feeling alot of stress at the moment, but hopefully things will get better soon! I think we are both ready to have a break from the work load and just chill out with family and friends. July Can't come soon enough!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Fun for the Family

June has already started out interesting! Joseph is doing really well. No problems, just eating foods! Loves his bananas and peaches. He is still more interested in drinking water from a cup and will grab it out of your hands as soon as he sees the cup. I can't believe he is almost 6 months already. It has flown by and while I am excited to see all of his "firsts" I miss him being a cuddly baby! Joseph is sleeping really well at night, in his own room. Nap times are still an issue for us. He hates taking naps and wont stay sleeping for long periods of time. Still it has gotten better.
This year we had an interesting surprise at James work. They want him to go back to contract. That news would have been wonderful, had it happened 3 months ago when we WANTED it to happen. What that means for us is that we have to save up enough money during the summer months to then get us through the winter. Since we have missed the last 3 months of summer work we are now going to have a very stressful year trying to keep money saved up. Lucky for me I have a summer job that I am able to help out a little bit and stay at home. Not sure what I am going to do when the job ends, and we still need money. Lots of stress for both of us figuring out money, bills, insurance, and setting up the business. All of it costs money! I think once we get through this year though, it will be the best thing for us. James can travel if he wants to, work when he wants to and hopefully get to race! He is excited to get to race a little bit this year, and I am glad he has it to give him some fun time. That is our news update!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Joseph update

Just a week ago baby Joseph had a very bad day! Since before he was born we knew there was a blockage of some type in his kidneys. I had to have extra ultrasounds to make sure they were not getting worse and he would be delivered early. They stayed pretty much the same so we waited until after he was born to do anything else. About a week after he was born we took Joseph to get an ultrasound done. They were a bit swollen the right side more than the left, but were okay for now. They had us return 3 months later to have another ultrasound. This one showed that the right side was better, the left side was now getting worse. Now it had gotten worse so quickly that Josephs doctor wanted the kidneys checked to see where the blockage was and what we would do about it. That brings us to last week. I know Joseph will not remember this and that is the only comfort I have. I was under the impression that he would be put under for all the tests, but I was wrong!! He had to have a catheter and an I.V. placed with no anesthetic of any kind. Then they had to pin his arms and legs down so he couldn't move for 45 minutes. I was a mess! The last test they had to fill his bladder up and see if any fluid was going the wrong way. Not a good day. Finally the Dr. told us that the right kidneys was doing really well and was normal. The left was still not so good. They wanted us to wait for 3 more months and do an ultrasound to see if it changes at all. His urethra has a kink in it, sometimes as the kid gets bigger it will correct itself. If it corrects itself we will just have to do ultrasounds every once in awhile to make sure it stays OK. If it still looks bad we wait another 3 months and do the horrible tests again. If it is still bad Joseph will have surgery.
It was kind of frustrating because James and I still don't know what he is going to have to go through. I feel like we are still in the same boat we were in and don't really have any better answers as to what to expect. Not fun for any of us! He is doing well though, This week I have been trying to get him to sleep in his own bed. That's a whole other fun day! So far he sleeps really well at night. No problems there. It's the naps during the say! He refuses to take morning naps even though he is exhausted! He will scream for an hour if I put him in his bed. Unless I hold him and bounce him, he won't sleep. He is getting so big now that bouncing him isn't much of an option. Afternoon is better. He will fall asleep, but will only sleep for an hour at most. Even when I wait and see if he will fall back to sleep it doesn't work. Hopefully that will get a bit better!
He has finally gotten his wish! I started giving Joseph rice cereal and oh how he loves it! He isn't sure how much he really likes it, but he likes doing something different. He also likes to have food fights with me already. He wins all the time.
I have some good news for me! One of my good friends got me a stay at home job for me! I now get to work for the swim squad! I take phone calls, help register and do anything else I can help with. It's nice to be doing something a little different and still  get to be with Joseph. Hopefully Joseph will keep being a good boy and let me work!

Monday, March 14, 2011

baby blessing

Joseph's baby blessing was march 6, he did an amazing job and was quiet the whole time! He also went to 3 hours of church yesterday and it wasn't as bad as i thought. James and i teach at the same time so that last hour was a bit chaotic, but we made it through. He was really difficult on Friday and Saturday so it was a relief to get my happy baby back again! Friday he also had a little photo shoot done. He was surprisingly good for that considering he was so tired! I cannot wait until the warmer weather gets here and I can take Joseph out on walks! He went on a bumpy ride yesterday with us and Senna and seemed to enjoy it. Come on summer!! Joseph will be 3 months this week! Time goes by way too fast. I'm excited to see what kind of a personality he will have, but I love him being little too. My in-laws have also gone back to Las Vegas and in April will be heading back to England. We will miss them so much! we are going to try and get down there to see them again before they go back.

Friday, February 25, 2011

How its going...

We are now over the 2 month mark with baby Joseph! I can't believe it has been that long already. He is getting so big! We went to his 2 month check up, Joseph is now 24.5 inches and 12.2 lbs. He is smiling all the time and almost laughing. He loves to sing songs with mom and grandma and loves to stare. He always has a worried look on him, but will give you the biggest smile if you start talking to him. My mom laughs because usually you hear people snort when they laugh to hard, but Joseph snorts when he cries! He is still having a hard time eating. He seems to just scream no matter what type of food he eats.  Eating from me doesn't happen anymore so I was trying to pump and give him his food from a bottle which still doesn't seem to help. I have to trick him into eating. The doctor said to try formula instead for a couple of days and see if he responds better to that. Today is day one! It will take 24 hours before we will be able to see a difference so hopefully tomorrow we will have a less fussy and more smiley baby!
He will be getting blessed on March 6. I am a little freaked out with going back to chuch. There is so much flu, strep throat, and RSV going around I am not looking forward to being in tight places with lots of people. We haven't left the house since he was born, unless we went to Grandmas house or to the doctor. He hasn't had a cold or anything so I just hope we will be lucky and not get anything too serious!
I am enjoying being a mom and am really happy I get to stay home with him so I can see all the fun things he is starting to do. He loves looking at his dad and his puppy Senna, and Senna finds him pretty interesting too!

Monday, January 24, 2011

How it all started..

I decided to start this blog for friends and family who may not know how me and James met and also what we have been through this last year! James and I met in 2005 on a blind date.  That story alone would take a lot of time to write, but obviously it went well and in March 2007 we got married! We have been out in Tooele now for about 2 and a half years and love it! We also adopted a dog names Senna ( after a famous formula one race car driver of course)!  She has tons of personality and sometimes it overflows a bit too much, but we love her.
This past year we have been on a bit of an emotional roller coaster. After being told that we would not be able to have kids, we had started to look into adoption. It was so expensive we didn't know how we would ever be able to save enough money to be able to adopt. After lots of emotions and feeling down about it, we had a bit of a shock. I was getting really frustrated every month hoping, but also telling myself not to expect anything, I decided to take a little test. I couldn't believe what I was seeing! That little plus sign gave my heart a shock. I told myself not to overreact, so I took another test....and another one. Then I told James the news and he made me take a couple more. Neither of us could believe what we were seeing. In the end I think we went and bought another box of tests, the ones that are digital. All came back saying we were going to be parents!
After the initial shock had worn off, we went to the doctors and had all the tests to prove we were going to be parents, I started worrying about everything. I was so scared now that I was pregnant that I would lose the baby or something bad would happen. I caused myself two months of tension headaches! That was the worst part about being pregnant for me, the rest of it I LOVED! I was lucky though, I never had morning sickness or a lot of back pain. We found out we were having a baby boy, and we new what his name would be! Joseph was the chosen name, it is the name of James' brother and grandfather. We also found out at the doctors that baby Joseph may have a blockage in his kidneys. There was above normal fluid in the ultrasounds and while the doctor said it would probably be fine he wanted to keep checking on him with more ultrasounds down the road. All of the ultrasounds were the same. There was fluid in the kidneys, but not too bad and not enough for them to act on it. Then it became a waiting game.
As we got closer to the due date we began to notice from the ultrasounds that he was going to be a BIG boy and my body was not going to do well trying to get him out. About two weeks before the due date the doctor asked us to maybe think about a c-section. the doctor didn't want the baby to go over the due date because he wanted the kidneys to get looked at, but also that my body and baby's head weren't looking like a good match. After thinking things over we decided to go ahead with a c-section.
We arrived at the hospital on December 17 at 6:00a.m. I was so nervous for the I.V. because I had heard that was worse than the epidural! I had an amazing nurse and I didn't feel a thing. They hooked me and the baby up to all the machines and I found out that I had been having contractions. I thought it was just the baby trying to stretch! Then came the real fun part. They took me to the operating room to give me my epidural. The doctor who did it was being trained and I can tell you that I could tell he had never done an epidural before. I must say I was so happy to be the experiment. It was the worst pain I have ever had and because he was nervous, it lasted much longer than normal. When that was finally over the sensation of not being able to make your feet move made me laugh. I couldn't see anything, but James was so good about telling me what was happening. Finally, I heard one of the nurses say, "look at those chubby cheeks)! Then came the little cry of my Joseph and magically me and James were a mommy and daddy. Joseph came out at 9.4 Lbs. and 22 inches long. Beautiful and healthy with no problems at all. We left the hospital three days later and I felt pretty good! Tired and nervous about being a mom, but the surgery wasn't as bad as I thought.
Now my little boy is 5 weeks old and still has chubby cheeks! He is growing so fast and is already in 3-6 month clothes. He is started to coo at have little chats with his family and is smiling now, not just from gas! He has had a hard time with gas however and doesn't give us a lot of happy time. We get more of fussy time, but he pulls the funniest faces I can't help but love him. We got his kidneys checked out once after he was born and they were okay, we now have to wait until he is three months old and we will get another check up. So far all of his other tests have been perfect! I will try to keep updating the blog and hopefully get more pictures going soon!  This will be the longest post, just trying to catch everyone up!