Swinging in Our 200th Post!

Had a freak warm day so we headed to the park!  Jaden LOVES to swing!  Last time we tried it, he wasn't so sure about it, but he's been swinging some in therapy so I think he's more used to it.  It was a blast to see him enjoying it so much!  It was a great family outing until he tried to eat the swing.... That was when we headed home.  Gotta love that kid!

One Crazy Year

I can hardly believe that one year ago today my amazing child was born!  And so, in his honor, and for your viewing pleasure, the required year in pictures!  Enjoy!

January 28, 2011

February

 March

 April

 May

 June

 July

 August

 September

 October

 November

 December

 January 2012

It is so hard to look at him today and imagine that he is the same 1 pound baby I gave birth to one year ago.  He is just so healthy and so beautiful and just so normal!!

To describe my feelings on that day is nearly impossible.  I was so confused by what was happening to me and what all of the doctors were telling me and not telling me.  I was angry at my body for failing me yet again.  I was angry at God for taking away the one thing I've wanted and waited for my entire life.  I was grieving the baby I would never get to know because, at this point, I knew he was going to die.  I was hurting terribly for Jake that he would never even get to see his son alive.  I was also hurting for Jake to have to deal with this all alone in a place that offers no sympathy.  I was feeling completely overwhelmed with all of these emotions, all of the information I was getting, and I wasn't able to process it all completely because of the magnesium sulphate they had me on to stop me from having a seizure.  I felt bad for my Mom who had to hold my hand the entire day and help me through this while trying to stay positive herself.  I felt dread at having to tell everyone that was so excited for me to be a mom that I now had a funeral to plan.  But most of all, I was just plain scared.  I didn't want to die.  I didn't want my baby to die.  I didn't want Jake to be gone and have to process this by himself.  I didn't want to be without Jake and have to process it by myself.  I wanted to hold my baby in my arms.  I wanted him to look at me and smile.  I wanted him to want nothing but to be held by me.  I wanted to see his eyes light up with love whenever he would see me.

Little did I know, I would get everything I wanted, and so much more!

He will never be able to comprehend how much he was wanted, how many prayers and tears were shed just getting him here, how many people cared and prayed and fasted for him because they didn't know how else to help, and how much he is eternally loved, but that's okay.  He has his entire life to figure it out!  We love you Jaden!  Thanks for fighting!

Ragamuffin Child No Longer!

Before:

After:

(In this last picture he is getting ready to blow a raspberry)

I handled his haircut much better than I thought I would - he doesn't look too different and I'm glad it's not hanging in his eyes anymore.  Unfortunately, I had my camera to catch the big moment, but I forgot the camera battery at home, so no pictures of the event.  Oh well.  He's getting to be so grown up!

My Handsome Man

He has finally moved into 3-6 month clothing!!!!  Someone from our ward is done having kids for awhile so they are giving us all of their little boy clothes so now Jaden can dress appropriately for church!  I always said that no child of mine would wear argyle, but free clothes are free clothes. :)

Now that Jaden is moving, he bonks his head a lot and cries pretty much every time.  His therapists have taught us to make him come to us when he is crying to make sure he remembers that he can move even when upset.  It's funny to see him really think about if it is worth crawling all of the way across the room to get to mom or dad.  Usually, he will start crawling and then get distracted with a toy along the way and forget that he was ever hurt in the first place.  But I love when he comes all of the way to me because how can you not want to comfort this face:

 Also, now that he is moving, these are what my pictures of him usually look like:

 And I have two pieces of big news:
#1: Jaden has officially passed the 15 pound mark!  As of yesterday, he is a whopping 15 pounds 3 ounces!  You go kid!
#2: Jaden will be getting his very first haircut tomorrow!  Boy do I wish Buffy were around for this one, but she's not and I don't trust myself to do it so we are going to have to shell out the big bucks, but it's worth it. And here is why he needs a haircut so badly:

 Don't worry - it won't be a drastic cut.  Just an overall trim so he doesn't look like an orphan on the street. 
P.S. Don't his eyes look piercingly blue when I turn the flash on the camera?  Love it!

P.P.S. Still don't have any final plans on Florida yet, but Jaden and I are for sure going down there with Jake the end of February/early March.  We just need to decide whether to get a furnished apartment and put stuff in storage or get an unfurnished apartment and have to move everything in and then out again 5 months later....

Did I Turn 27? I'm Not Sure... But Hana Got Married!

So my 27th birthday passed by almost unnoticed (except for the MOST AMAZING FAMILY DINNER EVER!!!!) because Hana and Nolan decided to get married the day after my birthday.  First Robbie steals my thunder by being born 2 day before me and now this. *sigh* Oh well.  But on to more important facts: I have a new brother-in-law and a sister that's married!!!! (fun fact: we figured out that Nolan is Jaden's 14th uncle!)

They got married up in Draper on a beautiful (but COLD) day.  Everything went pretty perfectly and it was great fun, although maybe too much fun for our little guy.  What with the traveling, wedding preparations, and the actual wedding he was ready to come home to his routine.  I'm glad that Hana actually found someone to put up with her, and I think Nolan is a GREAT addition to our family! 

Oh, and thanks to Conner for the pictures!

A Master of Disguise

Updates on Orders!!!

Jake officially got his orders!  He is to report down to Pensacola, Florida on February 26th!  He will be there until July at least, which is a lot longer than we originally thought.  However, it is just a month shy of the 6 month requirement for the government to move us down there.  We still aren't sure what Jaden and I will do while he is down there.  We are getting ready for a trip to Utah next week, so we are kind of focusing on that right now and we'll figure out the rest once we get home.  But we are so excited for official orders and for the timing of it all!

Lock your Cupboards and Put up your Gates!

Jaden is crawling and NOTHING is safe!  Can you find the Bubbas?

I turn my back for one second and he is in the kitchen quick as lightning!

He is SO much happier now that he can move where he wants when he wants.  I am happier too, to some extent.  It does mean I have to be more vigilant to keep the floors clean! :)

This is where he noticed me watching him:

This is where he started to crawl over to me:

This is where he got distracted by the highchair:

This is where he decided it would be a good idea to try to stand up using something on wheels:

This is where he fell over because of the whole wheels thing:

And this is where he decides to stop his fall and suck on the legs instead:

He has a personality all his own!  And we adore him for it!

Christmas 2011

We had a great little Christmas just the three of us!  It was great and informal and I learned that if you want to make a dish from your childhood to actually ask for detailed instructions on how to make it and not just wing it with a general idea! :)

Jaden had a great Christmas but got overwhelmed after just opening the things in his stocking!  We are so grateful that he is here with us to celebrate and had a blast with his first Christmas!