Halloween

Buzz Lightyear


All of our pumpkins. We got one for Savannah.


Jack and one of his teachers.


His preschool class.


His own pumpkin from school.

Our Halloween week was super fun. Jack is at such a fun age. I seriously CAN NOT wait for Christmas this year! We started the week out by going to our ward Halloween party and the Spook Alley that I went to as a little girl. We did it last year, but Jack might have been too young. This year was perfect. He was totally into it. He was a little scared, but he would try to scare everyone anyway. It didn't matter that he was covering his eyes as he was yelling BOO, right?? It was cute. The people working there were great and acted scared each time he yelled BOO. He left each one by saying... "Thanks for being spooky." The chocolate doughnut was a hit and it was the first time we have gotten him to drink hot chocolate. He now loves that as well. The ward Halloween party was super fun as well. Jack and I made a Black Cat cake for the cake walk and he loved the little spook alley they had at the church.

A couple of days later, we were able to take Jack to his grandma's dance studio to trick or treat. It was the first time that he really understood that he was really going to get a lot of candy! He had a good time showing off his Buzz Lightyear costume to all of her dancers.

On Thursday, Jack had his Halloween party at school. They were so cute dressed up in their costumes. They did a little parade around the street and performed their Halloween songs for us in the driveway. He loves loves loves preschool! He also loved that his teachers were dressed like the Cat in the Hat.

On Friday, we had a really busy day. I took him downtown to Wells Fargo where I used to work and he totally filled up one plastic pumpkin with all the goodies he got there. We then went to Jason's work. That night we carved pumpkins and watched "Casper's Scare School..."

On Saturday, Jack woke up ready to trick or treat but had to wait until it got dark. Our ward had a fun trunk or treat that we hit first and then we made our way down the street with a couple of Jack's friends. He filled a whole other pumpkin! He loved being Buzz Lightyear and he now is sad that Halloween is over. I am trying to give Thanksgiving the proper respect so we are not decorating yet for Christmas, but I kind of want too! I think preschool will be good this month so that Jack actually learns about Thanksgiving.

24 Weeks... POP Goes the Tummy!

Here I am at 24 weeks. Officially at six months! I'm happy to be here and have to say that the last four weeks have been rather dull. I was thinking about what to even write about and the only two things I could think of were the facts that my tummy seems to have doubled in size in two weeks and all the swine flu hoopla.

I am still feeling pretty good, but every morning I feel more and more pregnant. I was asking Jason the other day why my pelvis always seems to be sore and why I seem more worn out this time around and he pointed out that when I was pregnant with Jack all I did was sit in an office all day and come home and watch TV. I am so much more active with this one. I did workout with Jack, but I only cycled four times a week and I was very modest with my exertion. I am still feeling pretty good working out. I am lifting weights twice a week, cycling three times a week and running. However, the running is now at an end I think... Actually, I am pretty sure. I tried to run yesterday and I had a hard time getting myself to the mile because the minute I started even walking my pelvis started to hurt... I can just feel all the weight right there and so it is becoming very painful. I have discovered the Stairmaster and think that will be my substitute until March when I can hopefully run again. I have gained a total of 17.5 lbs. I feel pretty good about that. My weight gain has slowed somewhat. Hopefully, it will continue to be modest as the weeks go on, but I am mentally okay with gaining 15-20 more. So, we will see.

I am also more tired and sore this time around because I am chasing after a 3 year-old all day. Jack is such fun and he is getting so excited about the baby. We have decided to name her Savannah and he has felt her kick a time or two and Jason was able to feel her as well. I am feeling her all of the time and I love that!

The drama from this month was to due with the swine flu hoopla. I was really hesitant about the whole thing at first and really didn't see the point in all the fuss, but I guess the media was successful in the scare tactic, because they officially freaked me out. I started to really think about it a few weeks ago when my mom was asking if I was going to get vaccinated. There is a lot of back and forth in the media about the vaccination so I wasn't sure. But, as the weeks went on more and more stories crept cropping up about little 5 year-olds dying in three days and pregnant women dropping like flies. So, I started to do the research about the whole thing. I finally came to the conclusion that it would probably be best for Jack to get vaccinated. I took him a week ago and he has done really well. He was around a few sick kids this past week and so far seems fine. I called my OB about myself and they said they were not going to get the shot and to wait for the health department to get enough in. I found out on Wednesday that yesterday (Saturday) they were going to have the first mass vaccination in the SLC valley. They were getting 7,000 doses and pregnant women were in one of the priority groups to get the vaccination. My friend and I decided to go. At first, we didn't think it would be that big of a deal and so we decided to get up at 6 to be there for the 7am open time. She talked to her hubby and he thought we should get there earlier so he offered to go at 5am and get in line for us. That was the plan clear until Friday night. Jason and I were watching the news and they happened to show the health center in Sandy where we were going the next day. It was 10pm and people were already lining up. 5am suddenly didn't seem early enough! Jason is such a sweet hubby (seriously don't know what I did to deserve him) and he offered to get up and be there by 3am and wait for my friends hubby at 5am so we could get a place in line. So, that's what they did. My hubby woke up at 230am and was in line by 3am. He got us in places 98, 99 and 100. (My friend brought her 4 year-old as well). He came home at 5am when our friend took over and I asked him if it was worth it to go and he said that he bet most of the doses were already spoken for by the line and so it was totally worth it to go. My friend and I got there at 630am and the line was unbelievable!! I have never seen anything like it. The public is really freaking out about this whole thing (myself included) and I bet there were thousands of people in line. We were so lucky to be so close to the front. We were in and out of there by 730am. The line stretched for blocks and blocks... In the paper today they said that by 630am at the Sandy clinic there were over 1,000 people in line and more coming all the time. All the doses at that clinic were spoken for by 730am. It was NUTS! I think that the SLC valley is now completely out of the vaccination and will be waiting until they get more in mid-November! I have to say that I love good hubbies and I am so thankful that Jack and I have our vaccination!! Now, hopefully Jason doesn't catch it before he can get his. We are sanitizing like crazy!!

Anyway, that was my last month!! I am due for another appointment on Tuesday and am looking forward to the weeks going by fast as the holidays come closer! Come on baby girl!! Can't wait until FEBRUARY 11th!

Halloween Fun

The kids.


The witch. Can't remember her name.


He's so strong!



I love this time of year. I really think that it is in the top for me as far as seasons go. I like summer as much as the next guy, but there is something about this time of year. Jack is an absolute ball this year and is loving everything that has to do with Halloween. We have our house decorated to the hilt and his costume is waiting to be worn. He loves to drive down the street and point out that all of his friends are ready for Halloween as well. He loves the Halloween store and he loves all his Halloween songs he is learning in preschool.

We have done a few fun things so far this month. We have made it to Gardner Village a couple of times. The first time, I took Jack on my own in the afternoon and we walked around and saw all of the witches. They really are cute! We also indulged in a pumpkin cookie and that made it even more successful. We then went back with our neighbors to go on the Witch Hayride. It was a lot of fun, but probably not worth $15. You got a hayride (looking at some great scenery) that took you to an old box car which was serving as the witches house. The witch was there waiting for us and we spent about 20 min walking around her house and listening to her stories. The house and yard were decorated soo cute and there was a lot of detail. The kids loved it and so I guess it was okay to pay the money, but we might think twice about both adults going next time! We had such a great time with our neighbors! I love this neighborhood!

We also have gone to the pumpkin patch. Jack goes again for school next week, but we still wanted to go as a family. Jack had a fun time testing his strength for carrying pumpkins and he wanted a lot more than the four that we got. It will be really fun to carve them! I am really looking forward to the next two weeks! This holiday season is going to be the best. It is like I am a little kid again when you have a little kid around who is starting to understand the whole thing and is so excited!! I love it.

Cooking... AUGH!

So, I ventured out a bit yesterday... It was a gloomy type of day. I have been craving some fall/Christmas smells and my dad has an excess of apples from his two trees, so I decided to bake an apple pie. Now, before you think I am super cool... I have to confess that I bought the crust from the store and the recipe was really for more of an apple cobbler instead of an actual apple pie, but hey... Jack and I gave it go. Now, I remember why I hate cooking. It took so much work and mess and although the apple pie was delish... was it worth the time?? I also made chicken cordon bleu FROM SCRATCH, might I add, so in total I was cooking about two hours. And at the end, I was pleased to smell the apple pie baking and have a nice dinner that night (and for many nights to come). But the mess! And I was so tired... Is that normal? Anyway, Jack is really starting to thrive off of home cooked sit down meals lately. Whenever we ask him what he wants for dinner he says, "Something hot." So, I guess the moral to this story is that I will just have to suck it up and learn how to cook. I'm not saying that I will ever love it... but, that apple pie WAS good. If I do say so myself.

20 Weeks and Half Way Done!!!

20 weeks.

WOO HOO! I have finally reached the half way mark in this pregnancy. It feels good to finally be in week 20. I think that the first 20 weeks pass by so slowly. It has been a pretty eventful four weeks. First, I have gained an additional 4lbs, so now I am up to 13lbs total. I guess that isn't too bad. As much as it pains me to look at the scale, with Jack I have no idea how the weight came on or even really what I ended up at, so I am trying to be more informed this time around. I am pretty sure that I gained close to 50lbs with Jack and I am really trying to limit the weight gain as well. So, I have been holding steady at 140lbs for about two weeks... I know that the 10lb jump is just around the corner... I am trying to brace myself. I am trying not to eat any junk except for on Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. So far, it is working out okay... I'm nervous about the holidays coming up! Anyway, enough about the weight gain... I know it is going to happen and I really am trying to be okay with it... :)

Second, they thought I had syphilis... that is obviously not right... so, I'll clear up any rumors right now. Apparently, pregnant women can get a false positive on the syphilis test and normally the lab runs the test again to verify, but my lab DID NOT... so they freaked everyone out, except for me and my hubby who knew that there was no way that we could have syphilis. But, nevertheless, I had to go down to the Health Department (trashy!) and the STD clinic and be tested again. Obviously, I DO NOT have syphilis. It was such a joke. The lady at the health clinic was telling me that I could get started on the penicillin... um, no thanks... asking me if I had talked to my hubby about it... um, yeah, is he freaking out? um... NO! Because we don't have syphilis!! So, anyway, the worst part about it was people looking at me like, "Are you sure?? You never know.." But, I really do. And of course I don't have it... SO, any pregnant women out there... know that you can test positive for syphilis in pregnancy!! :)

Working out is still fun... I have gotten in two more long (4-5mi) runs and they are starting to make me sore afterward... I feel great while running, but the rest of the day is spent in pain because my legs, pelvis and back get sore... It doesn't help that I need new shoes... so, I don't know how much more running I will do. I am hoping to run until week 30, but we'll see. For now, I am only going to run once a week.

I am done getting my progesterone shots and couldn't be happier. I have also changed to the doc that will be delivering my girl and I really like her. She is pregnant also, two weeks behind me, so who knows if she will actually deliver me, but I really like her and the office seems great. I liked my fertility doc fine, but I am happy for the change.

We also had my medical ultrasound and that was awesome. She is measuring right on to her due date, the doc told me I was skinny (something I am NOT feeling) and everything looks great. It was really cool to see both halves of her brain, heart, limbs, etc. I also LOVED LDS hospital. It was a really good experience.

Anyway, I am feeling good, feeling her lots and trying to deal with my emotions this time around. It seems like I am a little more emotional than I was with Jack. I can't wait until Feb 11th!

LOVE the Fall!!

Jack with his collection of leaves from the day.

We have never really taken advantage of our beautiful mountains in the fall. We thought about it last year, but by the time we did, it was too late in the season to go. I happened to be watching the news this week and they said that prime leaf-viewing weather would be this weekend since a storm is rolling in next week. We joined my friend Kathie and her family on a drive up American Fork Canyon to Cascade Springs. It was a beautiful drive and the spot was great. It was very crowded and a little too hot, but an overall successful trip. Jack loved hiking around and finding leaves, flowers, rocks etc. We even took Zoe along and she had a blast. It was a bummer that it was so crowded because you were kind of pushed through and didn't have a lot of time to stop and enjoy, but it was really fun to get out and do something different. When we got home, Jack put all of his leaves on the counter and started counting them in Spanish.... um.... I guess Dora the Explorer is good for something!!

We have also gotten our house all decked out for Halloween. Jack loved putting up the decorations and every morning he walks down the stairs and says..."Is it still a Halloween house?? Oh, good it is." I love this time of year!

Preschool Week

Typical first day shots.


His classroom.


How he fell asleep after his first day alone.

Jack started preschool this week. He is going to the lady who taught my brother in preschool and my brother is almost 19! She has been doing it a long time and is really great with the kids. I have to admit, I was really sad about sending him. I just can't believe that he is so grown up already. These last three years have been so fast. On Tuesday, I took him to orientation. He was really excited about it on Monday, but when Tuesday arrived, he started getting nervous and saying that he didn't want to go to school yet. I told him that I would be there the whole time and it helped that he already knew his teacher from swimming lessons. We got there and after his initial shyness, he started playing right away with the kids. There are 16 kids in his class, mostly boys. His teacher does her preschool with her dad, Gramps to the kids, but the class seems big to me! I would never want to teach preschool! :)

During orientation, his teacher (we'll call her Mrs. L) laid out the plans for the month and then tentative plans for field trips etc throughout the rest of the year. After Mrs. L passed out the sheets and everything I started getting really excited for him. She is going to do a lot of fun things and Jack will learn so much. I am really excited to have something to organize for him, even though it is sad to start sending him out into the world. I left the orientation really excited and at peace with the whole thing.

Yesterday was his first day alone. We talked about him going to school and we got his backpack ready with his show and tell (Buzz and Woody). All morning, he was excited to go but kept saying, "You are staying with me? I will be scared if you leave..." I didn't want to lie to him, but also didn't want to give him false hope so I just said, "We'll see. I have to walk you down and we will see Mrs. L etc..." He seemed appeased, but still didn't quite trust how I was saying it. He's too smart for his own good. Anyway, we got there and we walked in, saw Gramps and continued downstairs. It was a good thing that Mrs. L told us at orientation that if the kids cry just leave and she will take care of it. If she hadn't said that, I would have had a harder time leaving. He walked into the room and starting heading to the toys... turned back and saw that I was still on the stairs. He freaked right out. Crying, running over to me... clinging to my neck for dear life. I kissed him a bunch of times and Mrs. L had to pry him away. I left feeling a little shaken and weird about having 2+ hours all to myself with nothing really to do. I went and saw my friends new baby and to the doc and to my moms... I knew Jack was probably having the time of his life, but it was still weird.

Finally, it was 210pm and it was time to head over to pick Jack up. I pulled into the street and all the kids were out front waiting for us. Jack ran up and happy as could be and jumped in the car telling me all about his first day. They made paper ice cream cones, showed their show and tell and got to know eachother. He seemed to have a great day and now we are both really excited for this year! It will be so great for him.

When we got home, I was going to try to keep him awake until bedtime by making cookies, trying to get him out for a walk etc, but he managed to sneak in a 30 min nap. He was beat! I am going to have to tweak his nap schedule a little bit over the next few weeks.