Our Forever Family

Whole 30 Challenge

2011-10-10T20:55:00.000-07:00

My gym, Eugene Crossfit, started a 30 day challenge on September 12th called "Whole 30." The challenge technically ends tomorrow at midnight so I thought I'd give you a brief overview of what I learned over the past 30 days.

(image borrowed from fellow Whole 30'er Margaret)

Basically the challenge boils down to eating a LOT of meat, veggies, some fruit, nuts, seeds, and NOTHING ELSE. I have done a paleo 30 day challenge before, but the "no preservatives" and "no sweetners" rules bumped this challenge up to a whole new level for me.

Here's what I've learned over the past 30 days, in no particular order.

There truly is strength in numbers (alternate caption considered, "Misery loves company"). Our gym had almost 60 people all doing Whole 30 together. Our elected leader, Rachel, made a facebook page where everyone shared their successes, failures, and everything in between. She also organized meals every Friday where we got together and ate clean food. Words fail at describing just how nice it was to be with people that "get it." When you're having a rough day or want to quit, there's someone there to help talk you through it - and sometimes that makes all the difference between success and failure. Our gym is starting another round of Whole 30 on October 1 7th, let me know if you're interested in taking the journey with the Eugene Crossfit Crew!
I eat a lot of my kids' food. I did not make my children follow this crazy diet so I ended up making and handling a lot of food that I couldn't eat myself. Multiple times throughout the day, I catch myself almost eating their snack or almost licking my fingers. I wonder how much weight I'd lose just by changing this one habit.

(from the Primal Blueprint)

I am a sugar-aholic. Going 30 days without a brownie really shouldn't be this hard. Also, there is hidden sugar in so many products! I know you don't believe me, so go read your labels (start with your lunch meat).
Failing to plan is planning to .... suffer. My friend Margaret (who did a great job blogging about her Whole 30 journey, you should check her blog out) met with me the first few weeks of the challenge and we wrote out meal plans for the following weeks. I don't think either of us ended up following our plans completely, but just having ideas of what food I needed to buy helped a lot because I didn't have to try and come up with a meal plan on the fly. Not planning didn't equate to failing, it just meant more trips to the grocery store and fighting hunger pains longer.

Cooking is not my passion. I know some people derive a great deal of joy from planning meals, shopping for groceries, prepping ingredients and serving food. Not me. This challenge pretty much required every meal and snack to have something cooked. There were a few times where I wanted to pull my hair out because it felt like my whole day revolved around my food - something my three children weren't too thrilled about either.
The definition of the word "food" has become very broad. If our ancestors from just three or four generations back saw a fruit snack, would they know it was edible? When did we start eating stuff processed in a factory more than stuff that grew out of the ground? I walk around the grocery story now and I can't believe how much processed junk we, as a society, eat. Have you put something green in your mouth today?

There is such a thing as too much coconut. I think I overdid it a little on the coconut milk, shredded coconut, coconut aminos (which I recommend for a great soy sauce substitute if you ever need one), coconut oil, and coconut butter because I reached a point where the smell of coconut almost made me feel sick.
I eat food for emotional reasons. This is something I was vaguely aware of already, but Whole 30 put it into a whole new light. I won't lie, September turned out to be a rough month for me. My husband celebrated his birthday, and I felt like it wasn't a true celebration because we didn't make a cake (maybe that should have gone under the sugar-aholics section). My grandmother passed away, and what I really wanted to do to honor her memory was make her chocolate sheet cake and eat the whole thing myself. My son's angel-versary came and I wanted to go out to eat every meal so I wouldn't have to cook anything. I found out a dear friend is moving and I was very grumpy I couldn't look for some comfort at the bottom of a large blizzard cup. Those are just the extreme examples, if I tried I'm sure I could come up with something for almost every day of the challenge. For me, it's very easy to justify a treat. I've started to use reading as a coping strategy instead of eating, but I'm worried once the challenge is over that I will slip back into my old habits.

Whatever you do, DO NOT follow directions on produce stickers. Today, on day 29 of the challenge, I wanted to cook a spaghetti squash. I called my culinarily-talented (yes, I just made that word up) neighbor, Valerie, and had her walk me through my cooking options. When I hung up I started worrying that I didn't have enough time to cook dinner before my daughter's soccer practice, but to my delight, the produce sticker on the spaghetti squash offered microwave cooking directions that only took 15 minutes! As you can see from the picture above, following produce sticker cooking directions is a bad idea. Next time I will follow the culinarily-talented neighbor's advice instead.

I can do hard things. As adults, I think it's easy for us to construct a world for ourselves where we don't have to go outside of our comfort zone very often or for very long. This challenge helped me realize that setting silly, crazy, unattainable goals for myself helps spice up life and gives me something positive to focus on.
The Whole 30 challenge was hard, and for that reason alone, I'm glad I did it. But should eating healthy really be hard? Shouldn't we all want to eat this way all of the time? Why do we do things that we know aren't the best option for ourselves? I guess I will have to save the philosophical debate for another post, another day. If you have any questions about Whole 30, please leave a comment and I will do my best to answer them.

Introducing . . . Colby!

2011-02-10T09:03:00.000-08:00

Hi, I'm Colby. My Mom likes to tell everyone that I'm a happy, easy going baby. I really love listening to all the sounds around me, especially music. I'm a snacker - which means I'd rather eat a little and then rest and then come back to eat a little more, which is a first for Mom's babies I guess. She also says I put smiles on everyone's faces in our family. Here's a few more things she has to say about me:

On January 24th at 7:30am we checked into the hospital for our induction. After a complication-free labor and delivery Mr.Colby made his grand entrance into the world at 2:38 pm.

Weighing in at 8 pounds 4 ounces and measuring 21 inches long, Colby is our biggest baby.

Julie was hoping for a sister, but knowing she doesn't have to share a room helped her warm right up to her baby brother. She absolutely loves being the big sister, can you tell?

Jacob wants to show off Colby to anyone and everyone that comes to our door, even if they're strangers. Jacob's also been a little concerned about Colby being healthy, but we can happily reassure him that everything is a-ok with this little guy.

Our family enjoyed watching the Super Bowl with our newest family member. We're so glad to have Colby around and hope you all get to meet him soon.

Hidden Identity Revealed Tomorrow

2011-01-23T22:10:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow (God willing) we will meet our new little addition and finally find out if we're having a boy or a girl. Waiting to find out the sex proved harder than I would have guessed. It's funny to me that most people through the ages went all nine months without knowing, and now we're the odd ducks for keeping it a surprise.

Of course, my pink little monster wants a girl and my blue little monster wants a boy (by the way, aren't their impromptu masks cute?). It seems that gender associations run deep though, with most family and friends guessing whatever they happen to be themselves.

We will probably keep everyone updated by facebook/texting tomorrow since it is faster than blogging, but feel free to pass along info to anyone you see fit. Thanks for all the well wishes and hopefully we'll post pictures on here soon.

The Oregon Snowfall of 2010

2010-11-23T12:17:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I'm going to pretend that it hasn't been a year since my last blog post and jump right back into the thick of things (hope ya'll don't mind too much). :) Here's what we woke up to this morning:

I felt compelled to document our snowfall because I just know all of my Utah friends and relatives will get a kick out of the fact that this much snow caused our schools to close down. In our defense, the roads were really icy under the white stuff.

Daddy and the kids following standard snow protocol and frolicking their hearts out - at 7am!

You know you don't see snow very often when your 3 year old's obsessed with "saving" Daddy's car. Play in the stuff? Nah, she'd rather fend off it's attack.

Like a true boy, Jake immediately attempts to make snowballs. How do you explain the different types of snow to a 5 year old who sees it once every two years or so?

Daddy demonstrating why the roads were deemed dangerous.

Our little snow dog jumped right in.

Alright snow, we've had our fun so feel free to make yourself scarce until Christmas . Actually if you decide to no-show again this year, we probably won't mind too much. :) Every other year seems to be working out just fine by us!

Our New Family Christmas Tradition

2009-12-11T09:23:00.000-08:00

Last year we decided to make a special stocking for Caleb. We invited some friends and family to do small acts of service, write them down, and send them to us as their present for Caleb. We loved gathering together as a family on Christmas and reading everyone's acts of service. It brought such a special spirit to our home for Christmas.

I thought we'd just continue the tradition as a family this year but I had several people ask me if we were doing it again. So, I am extending the invitation to all our friends and family to join with us in filling Caleb's stocking with service again this year. I know it's pretty late in the season and I don't want anyone to feel obligated in any way, but I also want everyone to feel included so if you know of someone that might be interested please feel free to pass the word along.

If you'd like to send your acts of service for Caleb's stocking, you can reach us at:

963 Throne Drive
Eugene OR 97402

or email: steckers@gmail.com

To the Farm!

2009-10-29T07:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we ventured to Thistdown Farms. Jacob and I went earlier this month with his class but we didn't have time for the hay maze. At the time I told Jake we might come back with Julie and Daddy, and I'm happy to say we did.

Peek-a-boo, I found you!

Can you tell that we loved playing hide and seek in the hay maze?

Are we the only crazy parents left that let our kids "feed" farm animals? A family walked up right as I was taking this picture and started lecturing their kids on how dangerous it was to feed the animals . . .

Jeremy and the donkey shared a bonding moment, and so of course I had to document it with a photo.

The corn maze turned out to be pretty muddy, but this guy rallied the troops and led us to victory (or at least the exit).

I experienced deja vu when we exited the corn maze. I remembered taking a picture of Jake running down the exact same path. They must be siblings or something.

Tune in next week for the update on how our pumpkins carving with the grandparents turns out!

If I used THIS picture, I don't think I could sell my little pumpkin for 25 cents! Can you tell how she feels about being muddy and dirty?

It's always fun to visit the farm and hunt for pumpkins, but this year it was so muddy that we didn't venture all the way to the field. I know denying my kids the pleasure of actually pulling a pumpkin off the vine will undoubtedly result in a therapy session for them when they are going through their mid-life crisis, but at least it saved ME from having a therapy session now. :)

Conference Weekend

2009-10-05T15:56:00.001-07:00

Around here we FLIP over conference weekend!!! :) My kids were SO excited about General Conference they couldn't contain themselves!

Ok, you caught me. Staying quiet and still for eight hours of conference is something my kids still need help with, and that's why my TV room ended up looking like the picture above - on purpose!

Sunday morning my kids and I had a quick chat about King Benjamin and how all of his people built tents and faced them toward the prophet so they could hear his voice. Then came the fun part: we built our own tent "facing the prophet" (also known as the TV on any other day).

I think we might be tent builders every time conference rolls around. The kids had a blast playing Conference Bingo inside it and Grandma Terri and I hung out in there almost as much as the kids!

Birthday Boy

2009-08-07T11:42:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st Birthday, Mr.Caleb. We miss you and love you so very, very much. This time last year, nations from all around the world celebrated together during the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics. I can't think of a better way to start someone's time on earth and a little part of me likes to think they were celebrating for you too. Just a few short weeks later on the day after you left us (Monday September 29th) the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 777.68 points, the largest single-day point loss in its history and our country is still trying to dig itself out of a recession. Just as the country is trying to recover from the events of last fall, I too am still trying to recover from losing you. I do believe the USA will bounce back eventually, but I don't think I'll ever be the same again. I'm working on a new "normal" for me, but I think it's taking longer than expected.

Caleb, you never got to hear the story "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" but there's a part at the end where it talks about the Grinch's heart growing many sizes in a single day. Well, as any and all new mothers can attest, my heart instantly grew with love for you and the problem now is that my heart didn't shrink when you left. There will always be a special, empty place in my heart for you even if it grows bigger to accommodate others that come into my life. My head knows that I will get to see you again but my heart still has that empty space longing for you every single day.

This is the picture I've stared at the most since we lost you. Even though your binky takes up half of your face, this is exactly how I remember you looking up at me, slightly cross-eyed and all. I miss that look so much. Your eyes seemed so knowing. I could just feel so many thoughts going on behind them that I never got to hear. A few years ago I would have thought it was pretty cliche to say this but honestly you felt like an old soul, too incredibly patient for a newborn who went through everything you endured.

Your memory motivates me to stay on the strait and narrow, and your bravery inspires me to push through when I think I've used all my strength. I strive daily to live worthy enough to see you again and my biggest fear is that I will somehow fall short. This is backwards from the way that it should go, but I hope and pray that you stay with me Caleb and help lead and guide your Mom and family along the path back to live with you again someday.

PS - I hope the blogging world will forgive my lack of posts lately and also feel where I'm coming from and allow a grieving mother a few indulgences on this post.

Tagged!

2009-05-29T16:12:00.000-07:00

While I was blog lurking today, I realized my friend Stephanie Sasser tagged me on her blog. It's a simple tag: Go to your sixth folder, post the sixth photo and tag six people. If there was any doubt about this tag, it all disappeared when I saw this picture. It's one of my favorites.

I took this picture after waking up from a nap where Jeremy was "babysitting" little two week old baby Jake. I'd like to point out that Jeremy's been a considerate Dad right from the start - he wore headphones so that the Halo 2 noises wouldn't disturb the sleeping newborn. Or was it so the sleeping newborn wouldn't wake up and disrupt his game? Hmm . . . I'd also like to point out the fake, "leave me alone I'm gaming" smile on his face, complimented by the rebellious 2 week paternity leave stubble on his chin, classic.

Ok, I never know who to tag so if you want, consider yourself tagged! To keep it simple on myself, I'll tag the last 6 people that left me "uplifting comments": Chelsea, Rachel, Margaret, Lynn, Brian, and Peggy! Thanks for the fun tag Stephanie!

Late Night Idol Commentary

2009-05-13T21:44:00.000-07:00

Just to clarify, I am NOT an Adam fan, Kris all the way for me!

So, our camera is taking a somewhat permanent leave of absence and hanging out full-time at Jeremy's new gym. Usually I take the pictures first and then decide to blog about it later, but without a camera it's hard for me to find something to blog about!

Well, tonight Jacob's nap didn't get over until 5pm and so he's having a late night American Idol watching session with Mommy. Now that we are DVR-less we have to watch things in real time, weird I know!

There's only one other time Jake has really watched American Idol this season with me, and it just so happened to be the night that Adam sang Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" pictured above. The whole song was filmed with crazy circling camera work and lots of shots of that fire you see in the background, not to mention he put an Egyptian spin on Cash ...

Cut to tonight's American Idol show and they start showing footage of Adam talking to all these kids in his hometown. My little Jake shouts out, "HEY! Hot for lava guy is nice now!!! Look Mom, hot for lava guy is nice!"

The Day Before Easter

2009-04-19T10:46:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday we drove up to Salem. The plan was to go to an Easter Egg hunt and dye some eggs. Despite it being pretty crowded, both kids had a fun and successful hunt. Jake even shared a few of his eggs with little ones that only found one or two themselves. The next part was really funny and I hope my Mom just focuses on how funny it was while she reads this post. Here's a brief rundown of what happened.

Ok guys, let's take a picture of you with all the eggs you found. Look at Mommy and SMILE!

Hmm, I guess Easter eggs are more fun to look at than the camera, who woulda guessed? Maybe if we get Grandma in there to show them where to look we can get a cute shot . . .

Oops, Julie still wasn't looking at the camera. I guess we'll have to take another one. Hey Grandma, look up here . . .

Are you ok? You are? Ok ... let me document this!

(After recovering from laughing) One last try guys . . . success, everyone's looking!

The church that held the Easter egg hunt also had a gym full of activities. Here's Julie sliding out of the bouncy gym thingie.

Jake loves the Easter Bunny (and she loves him apparently) but Julie was too scared.

Then our plans changes slighty - Grandpa John wanted to show us the pretty blossoms at the state capitol instead of dying Easter eggs.Grandparents with the grand kids, very cute!While we were there, we got lucky enough to see a Japanese drumming group perform. All in all it was a very fun day!

Family Update

2009-03-23T08:23:00.000-07:00

Am I bad at keeping online promises or what? I apologize yet again for my late update post! But better late than never, right? *wink* Alrighty, you asked for it folks (or maybe just uncle Brian!). Here's a quick update on each one of us, from oldest to youngest:

This guy seriously has Crossfit on the brain. He's the busiest of us all trying to hold down a full time job while training 30 people out of our garage. We don't see him as much as we used to but we understand and hope that his hard work will pay off soon. (ps - don't know how this picture got so distorted but if I don't mention how stretched out it is, boy will I hear about it!)

I really should have some excuse for my blogging absence but nothing exciting comes to mind. Umm, the biggest thing eating up my time is helping Jeremy set up his new scheduling/payment program and giving his website a face lift. I'll be honest, I've been a bit sulky and "woe is me" the last few months but things are feeling a bit better. I can't wait for conference this weekend, it's just the pick-me-up I need right about now.

Here is the dynamic duo in action. I've put them in their own update because the duo is becoming an entity in and of itself! The sibling dynamic is fun to watch as a Mom. Currently we are deep into the "copy cat" stage. Take this picture for example. Jacob puts his rain boots on (on top of his jammies mind you), so of course Julie has to follow suit. Julie then finds a silly hat to dress up in and before you can blink your eyes, Jacob finds one too. I must admit, I've used this to my advantage many a-time. "Look Jakey, Julie ate some of her [fill-in the name of an un-popular food item here]!!" Next thing you know both of them are cleaning their plates (even if Julie wasn't planning on taking more than that first bite she still follows Jakey).

I like this picture because it shows off Jakey's dimples and because he specifically requested he have his picture taken with Kassi. Doesn't she look thrilled? Anyway, this little man of mine is growing more and more each day. I can go places now and not worry about him wandering off or throwing fits or screaming at the top of his lungs. What more could a Momma want?

To give you a little in-depth info about Jakey, his current favorite number is four (four years old now, ya know!) and he won't let you forget it. If we count, we cannot stop at three but must continue on to four or else we are in trouble! His favorite color is yellow, and as some of the Mom's at the indoor playground will tell you, he feels that any and all objects that are yellow should belong to him - or at least held, touched, and loved while we are there.

Someday lil miss bug is going to hate me for posting this picture on the internet. But since she can't protest, I might as well do what I can while I can still get away with it! This is what our Julie looks like right after waking up. She hates having her hair done, and her Momma isn't all that great at doing it anyway so we kind of brush it and call it good. Good thing she still LOVES hats (and looks good in them too, if I do say so myself)!

Her favorite color is definitely "piggy pink" but she will tell you it's yellow if big brother is asked first (remember that copy-cat thing I was telling you about earlier?). When asked, "How are you?" she promptly replies "I'm 2!" She still has to sleep with her piggy, but her new found love of princesses has only deepened since Christmas. This obsession is rubbing off on big brother, but shhh, don't tell Daddy! They are actually starting to play together very cutely and have been known to close the door and say, "Bye Mom, we're playing!"

Well, I hope that gives you a little insight into how we've been lately. I really will try and do more regular and consistent blog posts. Thanks for still checking in despite the lack of posting on my part. We love all you guys and would love to know you stopped by and read our post and what you're up to these days as well!

I'm Baaa-aaack

2009-03-17T11:52:00.000-07:00

Have you missed me? Ha.Ha. I'm not sure you should answer that! Well, I've been busy helping Jeremy with his gym's blog but I've missed doing my own. We gave his site a new face lift and redid a bunch of stuff. You should check it out: Eugene Crossfit

Our local newspaper is having a "Reader's Choice Awards" contest and one of the categories is "Hippest Gym." We think Jeremy's gym is pretty hip, trendy, and new so we'd love to get our name out there. We only recently found out about the contest and there's only 2 days left to vote! We'd love your help to get Jeremy's gym on there but we need your vote.

To vote:

1. Click here or copy and paste this into your browser: http://forums.registerguard.com/limesurvey/index.php?sid=21538&lang=en
(if that still doesn't work, there's a link directly from our homepage [www.ecrossfit.com] you can click on)

2. The first input box directly under the picture should be for "Hippest Gym." That's where we would like you to type "Eugene Crossfit" (but of course it's up to you what you put in there!)

3. The next input box allows you to add any additional comments about your vote. Feel free to fill this out if you so desire but it's not necessary.

4. Fill in any of the other boxes you would like (if any) and then scroll down to the bottom and hit submit. You do not have to enter your email address, only if you would like to be entered in their prize drawing.

Thanks so much for all of your support, we really appreciate it!

PS - I promise most of my future posts won't be like this and I'll post an update on the kids within the week!

Christmas 2008

2009-01-03T16:49:00.000-08:00

Planning for Christmas '08 started back in the summer of '07, which is pretty early for us. If there's one thing you can say about a plan though, it's that you can't plan on anything (which could also be a good description for '08 in general, but that's another post). Despite black outs, snow storms, plane cancellations, and a whole lot of sickness we were still able to all be together on Christmas, and that's all that really matters.

My 2nd Birthday

2008-12-24T08:27:00.000-08:00

Hi! My name is Julie and I just turned 2! Want to hear about my happy birthday?

Aunt Mindy, Grandma Terri, and Mommy decided to make me a cake. Look how nice they were to each other when they started.

But by the end, all three of them were covered in piggy-pink frosting.

I didn't mind because my cake still turned out looking so cute!

This is me showing off my pretty princess tutu.

I shared my new toys with Grandpa John but he's not a big princess fan.

Daddy on the other hand loved my new stuff.

Don't bother me, I'm an important princess!

I liked my piggy cake until they lit the candles and shoved the fire in my face.

Princesses and piggies that aren't on fire, what could make a two year old girl happier?

White Stuff, Red Suit

2008-12-15T20:08:00.000-08:00

This morning I woke up to all this strange white stuff covering the ground. It usually only happens about once a year here, but now I have a legitimate reason to hope for a "white Christmas" this year. (hey, it's bound to happen eventually if I live here long enough, right?)

We definitely need to visit our Utah relatives during the winter sometimes soon because Jacob didn't last more than five minutes outside today!

Yes, this is the same jacket Julie wore last year when it snowed, but we did upgrade her from socks to mittens this time.

After he handed her a candy cane, Julie told Santa she wanted candy for Christmas. So I'm offically off the hook, right? Isn't it funny that we spend most of our time telling our kids to be careful around strangers, and then we shove them in Santa's lap? But I guess technically Santa ins't a stranger, especially this year.

Santa's helper (who might look very familiar to Peggy) told me that Jacob visited Santa a good three or four times. At least he stood in line each time instead of last year's cutting to the front of the line incident!

Cops

2008-12-08T14:38:00.000-08:00

Now that you've heard Jacob's version, let me fill in a few details. I thought Jacob was down for the count, and decided to catch a few zzz's myself. Apparently while I was sleeping Jacob either answered the phone or decided to call the Riverbend Hospital.

Either way, someone at the hospital asked Jake to get me on the phone and he said he couldn't (smart boy, he knew that he shouldn't be on the phone and should be taking a nap instead). Since Jake said I couldn't come to the phone, the hospital lady thought something might have happened to me and sent over the cops to make sure I was ok - definitely not the funnest thing to wake up to!

Hooray 4 Jakey!

2008-12-02T15:45:00.000-08:00

4 he's a jolly good fellow, 4 he's a jolly good fellow. 4 he's a jolly good fellow, which nobody can deny! My first little baby is no longer a baby, or even a toddler. Four years ago, Jacob entered the world. Before his first birthday we knew he got his Mommy's hair and eye color but every day it becomes more and more apparent that his personality is just as outgoing as Daddy.

Sadly I missed out on pictures of one of the best parts of his day because I didn't bring my camera to the indoor playground. Anna brought brownies and had all the kids sing to Jake. She also gave him his super cool birthday hat which he insisted on wearing for the better part of the day.

Last night Jeremy said to me, "I don't think we could have done anything else to make Jake's birthday more special." This made me laugh a little at us parents who try and make special occasions so special even when it's a high probability that our kids won't remember it! I guess that's why we have cameras, right? (wasn't that a great tie-in to me showing off pictures of Jake's big day? haha)

Jakey wanted mickey mouse pancakes with sprinkles, and a "W" for his birthday breakfast. Isn't he such a good helper?

I'm posting this picture because I know Jakey will love looking at his "W" pancake and will let a huge "W!!!" squeal every time he sees it.

Daddy took Jakey out to Red Robin for a special birthday treat.

I could write a whole post about cherries that would be almost identical to my donut post. This is obviously the before picture, haha.

After much persuasion, Jakey decided it was in his best interest to share with Mommy. :)

Best buddies! (probably because Daddy doesn't make him share his ice cream!)

Grandma Terri and Grandpa John came down to help celebrate.

Julie's idea for new hats. I swear the girl is obsessed.

Jakey loved talking on the phone to all the relatives that called to make sure his day was special.

Jakey hugging the card he got from Grandma Grandma.

Grandpa John, Jakey, and Julie racing on the obstacle course Grandpa John built with Jakey's new outdoor toys.

With much effort, Jakey figured out how to blow his party favor balloon.

Julie's attempt at blowing up the balloon.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T22:56:00.000-08:00

Portland Oregon Temple

Every Thanksgiving my family observes the tradition of going around the dinner table and having each person say something they are thankful for this year. Since I am spending Thanksgiving with my in-laws this year, I wanted to share my 'turn' here.

The thing I am most thankful for this year is the temple, specifically the sealing power used only in the temple to bind families together for time and all eternity. Knowing that we are sealed to our precious Caleb and that we will see him again someday is the only thing keeping me going most days.

I am also eternally grateful for Jesus Christ, His restored gospel, and the atonement He made in behalf of all of us to make it possible for us to be clean and pure so that we can be together again in the hereafter. Knowing that He has a divine plan for each and every one of us, and that He is there to help us every step of the way is so reassuring. I am grateful for the example He set for us all, and for all the people who have chosen to follow it and helped carry our family this year.

I am grateful for my children's cheery outlook on life, their smiles, and their loves. I am grateful for their father and the strength and tenderness I have seen in him. And I am grateful for my testimony of the restored gospel, without it I don't know how I would make it through the day.

Feast Day

2008-11-25T14:03:00.000-08:00

It's hard for me to remember how a few months ago I was feeling like I was depriving Jacob and wishing that he could go to preschool. This thought keeps popping into my head on preschool days. Although it's not the circumstances I would have ever wished or dreamed for, I am grateful that Jacob is able to attend preschool. Today Kathy and I (and a few other Moms) got to stay and help their class with their feast. It was fun to catch a peak into their daily activities and routine.

It's also a nice reminder that Jacob isn't the only one that has his moments because they all do. I think as parents we tend to minimize other children's misbehavior while magnifying our own kids' problems. Overall their whole class did great and the minor hiccups here or there are just part of the age group. It does make me appreciate the patience of a preschool teacher though!

Everyone patiently waiting for the feast to begin.

Jacob's 3 yr old class shared their feast with the 4 yr old class so he was pretty excited that he got to see his fellow sunbeam Lindsay.

Me and my little man after the feast, taken by Kathy. I almost posted a cute picture of Kathy's family but then I realized I should probably ask her permission first so there might be an edit in here later.

It was Jacob's turn to be the helper today. He got to ring the bell for clean up, be first in line, and help Mrs. Bruce lead the good-bye song.

Sunday Pictures

2008-11-17T20:20:00.001-08:00

Since Uncle Brian keeps bugging me to update my blog, I'm sharing some random pictures we took yesterday.

Sometimes I wonder if it's even worth attempting to "do" Julie's hair. Before we even got out the door yesterday she had put on a hat and made her pigtails look frumpy. That was nothing though if you compare to this picture of the damage she did to her hair while at church.

Daddy and Jacob show off their 'matching' ties.

"Everybody kiss Julie!" - I think Julie tried to include herself in that group.

Life Sketch

2008-11-07T23:22:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow Caleb would have been 3 months old. Days and dates like these are extra hard for me - commemorating that he was here and yet a stark reminder of his absence. I think it's a good day to share Caleb's life sketch that Jeremy and I wrote together. My brother did such a good job presenting it for us at the funeral that it's not quite the same when you read it yourself. But here it is typos, grammatical errors, and other flaws included because right now I can't make it through reading it without tears getting in the way.

Happy-Ween

2008-10-31T23:09:00.000-07:00

Jeremy and I have told each other (and pretty much anyone else that will listen) that the gospel and our kids are the best medicine for a broken heart. These precious little spirits that Heavenly Father has entrusted us with force us to get out of bed each morning but they also fill our days with giggles and hugs. They help us see the magic and wonder that the world still holds, like only a toddler can. I don't know what we'd do without them right now.

Before Halloween, Jacob kept telling me that he wanted to be Ichiro, but since I didn't want to pay $50+ for a Mariner's jersey (not to mention how non-crafty I am!), I used my Mommy coersion skills and "helped" Jacob forgot about Ichiro and start loving the idea of being an Oregon Ducks football player instead (we already had the outfit . . . can you hear my evil laugh as you read this?). What do you think, should I feel guilty about my costume switcheroo?

What do you get when you combine: 2 power rangers, one football player, one cheerleader, and a bride? Pure fun! Fortunately for us the weather cooperated tonight and we were able to have an enjoyable time trick-or-treating with the Rowes.

Julie was so cute at the doors from saying "Happy Ween!" to blowing kisses goodbye.

Putting trick-or-treating on hold to take a family photo doesn't always have the best results. Silly Mommy and Daddy forgot that getting candy is priority #1.

Until Mommy reviewed proper trick-or-treat etiquette (something we will be doing before we leave the house next year), Jacob made sure our neighbors were giving him the candy he wanted. For the first few houses he either said things like "Not that one!" or he simply took matters into his own hands by replacing the un-liked candy and nabbing the more desirable one. He sure knows how to keep Mommy on her toes sometimes!

Handing out candy is almost as fun as getting some yourself. Jake called out "I love you!" to more than one group of girl trick-or-treaters. I think we're going to have a keep an eye on our little ladies man as he gets a little older.

And my personal fave: Julie's sugar induced stupor.

Sustaining Quotes

2008-10-26T21:27:00.000-07:00

Precious in His Sight by Greg Olsen

Below you will find a few quotes that helped me over the last few weeks. Actually there were a lot of quotes that helped but these ones either were easy to find again or struck me enough to take the time and look up in order to post them. I used to be quite the quote collector so if a relevant quote comes to mind, I'd love it if you shared yours too.

"It is always gratifying to hear of prayers being answered and miracles occurring in the lives of those who need them. But what of those noble and faithful souls who receive no miracles, whose prayers are not answered in the way they wish? What is their solace? From whence will their comfort come? Said the Savior of the world: “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. … But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, … the Father will send in my name” (John 14:18, 26).

In simple terms, the gift of the Holy Ghost is an enhanced spiritual power permitting those entitled thereto to receive it, to receive a greater knowledge and enjoyment of the influence of Deity."

- James E. Faust

If we looked at mortality as the whole of existence, then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life would be calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal thing stretching far into the premortal past and on into the eternal post-death future, then all happenings may be put in proper perspective.

Is there not wisdom in his giving us trials that we might rise above them, responsibilities that we might achieve, work to harden our muscles, sorrows to try our souls? Are we not exposed to temptations to test our strength, sickness that we might learn patience, death that we might be immortalized and glorified?

If all the sick for whom we pray were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, free agency, would be ended. No man would have to live by faith.

If joy and peace and rewards were instantaneously given the doer of good, there could be no evil—all would do good but not because of the rightness of doing good. There would be no test of strength, no development of character, no growth of powers, no free agency, only satanic controls.

Should all prayers be immediately answered according to our selfish desires and our limited understanding, then there would be little or no suffering, sorrow, disappointment, or even death, and if these were not, there would also be no joy, success, resurrection, nor eternal life and godhood.

“For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things … righteousness … wickedness … holiness … misery … good … bad. …” (2 Nephi 2:11.)

Being human, we would expel from our lives physical pain and mental anguish and assure ourselves of continual ease and comfort, but if we were to close the doors upon sorrow and distress, we might be excluding our greatest friends and benefactors. Suffering can make saints of people as they learn patience, long-suffering, and self-mastery. …

- Spencer W. Kimball (this entire lesson is excellent)

… Our beloved friends who are now deprived of their little one, have great cause for joy and rejoicing, even in the midst of the deep sorrow that they feel at the loss of their little one for a time. They know he is all right; they have the assurance that their little one has passed away without sin. Such children are in the bosom of the Father. They will inherit their glory and their exaltation, and they will not be deprived of the blessings that belong to them; for, in the economy of heaven, and in the wisdom of the Father, who doeth all things well, those who are cut down as little children are without any responsibility for their taking off, they, themselves, not having the intelligence and wisdom to take care of themselves and to understand the laws of life; and, in the wisdom and mercy and economy of God our Heavenly Father, all that could have been obtained and enjoyed by them if they had been permitted to live in the flesh will be provided for them hereafter. They will lose nothing by being taken away from us in this way. …

With these thoughts in my mind, I take consolation in the fact that I shall meet my children who have passed behind the veil; I have lost a number, and I have felt all that a parent can feel, I think, in the loss of my children. I have felt it keenly, for I love children, and I am particularly fond of the little ones, but I feel thankful to God for the knowledge of these principles, because now I have every confidence in his word and in his promise that I will possess in the future all that belongs to me, and my joy will be full. I will not be deprived of any privilege or any blessing that I am worthy of and that may be properly entrusted to me. But every gift, and every blessing that it is possible for me to become worthy of I shall possess, either in time or in eternity, and it will not matter, so that I acknowledge the hand of God in all these things, and say in my heart, “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord” [see Job 1:21]. This is the way we should feel with regard to our children, or our relatives, or friends, or whatever vicissitudes we may be called to pass through.

- Joseph F. Smith

“My only hope and confidence is in that God who gave me being, in whom there is all power, who now is present before me, and my heart is naked before his eyes continually. He is my comforter, and he forsaketh me not.”

- Joseph Smith Jr.

Our Angel

2008-10-01T15:17:00.000-07:00

Sometime late Sunday morning, Caleb was doing great but suddenly seemed to have a little difficulty breathing. Being only a few minutes to the ER, we rushed him there and by the time we got there he wasn't breathing at all. The doctors stabilized him and then it happened again. They stabilized him again. This happened a few times. They noticed that although his heart was pumping and he was breathing, his body wasn’t getting any oxygen. They did an Echo of his heart and found the shunt they had put in from the surgery was completely obstructed. The PH balance of his blood showed that he had not been getting enough oxygen for his vital organs during this time. The only thing we could do is unplug him and let him go.

Caleb Elijah peacefully passed away in our arms around 6:00pm Sunday evening.

We wanted to thank all of you for following Caleb along his journey and know that he could feel all your kind words, thoughts, and prayers. He was such a sweet spirit and too pure and good for this world. We are so grateful for our knowledge and faith that Caleb is with his Heavenly Father again. We miss him terribly but we take great comfort in knowing that we will be able to live again with him someday.

Jeremy runs a CrossFit affiliate gym from our garage and put together a special workout in honor of Caleb. We would like to invite all of you - and anyone else you may know - to join us in honoring Caleb with this workout on Wednesday evening at Candlelight Park (the one across the street from our house) at 6pm. For more information on this please visit eCrossFit.com.

The funeral is scheduled for Friday Oct. 3rd at 1:00. Viewing will be from 11:00-1:00. The funeral will be at the LDS building at 550 North Danebo Ave. Eugene, Oregon 97402.

** I know that most everyone who reads my blog was also following our carepage (http://www.carepages.com/carepages/SteckerBaby) and posted such loving words of comfort over there already. We love all of you guys and feel very loved in return. I just wanted to share this post on the off chance someone we know missed the carepage post. **

A Girl and Her Hat

2008-09-20T20:18:00.000-07:00

Julie has always enjoyed "borrowing" anything her older brother owns but recently she became very obsessive about his hats. Actually, she fixates on any and all hats but Jakey's hats were just the easiest to come by. Needless to say, she has been in hat heaven ever since I got her one of her very own. Maybe it's just my proud parent gene kicking in, or maybe it has to do with the fact that the hat hides her lack of hair but I do think she looks rather adorable in it.

Change

2008-09-15T19:50:00.000-07:00

We recently saw a Blue's Clues episode on having a new baby. They sang a song that has been stuck in my head all day because things have been so different:

"Change, change, change.
How can we change?"

Ok, so the first change isn't a huge one but Jeremy went back to work today. All year he saved up his vacation days, sick leave, paternity leave, and any other time off imaginable so he could be available after Caleb was born. It was great having him home for so long to help out and the kids and I missed him quite a bit today. Don't worry, all three kids and myself made it through the day without a major injury or incident (I can't say the same for a carton of cottage cheese Julie got her hands on).

The next change happened recently, but it's still taking some time to sink in. I tried cramming 3 car seats in the back of our Taurus for all of a week before I pretty much forced Jeremy to buy us a new car (Jacob climbing on and over Caleb to get to his seat pretty much sealed the deal). Growing up I remember swearing that I'd never be a "Mormon Minivan Mom" but I'm eating my words! Doors that slide conveniently out of the way all on their own accord are priceless when you're trying to juggle a car seat and buckle in two toddlers. Yes, Jeremy let me pick the color - thanks sweetie.

The only way I could get Jeremy to agree to buying a new car was to sell him my soul. Ok, it wasn't that bad - I just had to agree to start doing CrossFit workouts on a regular basis. My first one started today which is the last big change for me. I'm already sore all over. In fact, my legs almost gave out on me while I was carrying Caleb down the stairs (scary!), BUT I'm doing it. Maybe after a few months I can dial in my diet like Jamie but for now this is a big enough change for me. Jeremy's been trying to get me to work out for over a year now and the smile on his face this morning almost makes this soreness worth it- then again, he might have been revelling a little too much! This picture is evidence that I actually did the workout, but don't look too hard because it also testifies to the fact that I am way out of shape compared to the other ladies there this morning. :)

Sibling Love

2008-09-10T09:04:00.001-07:00

I was a little nervous on how Jake and Julie would react to having another sibling added to the mix. I think I was projecting my fears of taking care of three kids under the age of four onto them because they have literally embraced the arrival of their new baby brother.

Ok, Julie has her moments of jealousy where she tries to climb onto my lap while I'm feeding Caleb or steals his binky, but then she'll turn right around and give him a kiss. Whenever she hears Caleb cry she says, "Uh-Oh, baby!" and runs over to his bassinet.

Jake just loves his new brother to pieces. I swear he has his own special smile that only comes out when he talks about his baby brother. If it involves Caleb, Jake will do anything to be a big helper. Caleb can do no wrong in Jakes eyes. Even if Caleb is screaming at the top of his lungs Jake just laughs and thinks he's being cute. Wouldn't it be nice if Jake felt this way about his little brother all the way through high school and I never had to deal with them fighting? Don't laugh too hard - I can dream, right?

1 Month Old

2008-09-10T08:47:00.000-07:00

I distinctly remember being in the hospital and counting down the minutes until Mr.Caleb was one week old. Now where did the last three weeks go? I'm afraid I might get a little redundant here for awhile in my posting because all I want to do is show off my little guy. But you guys don't mind, right? :)

New Baby

2008-08-03T22:37:00.000-07:00

Caleb Elijah Stecker joined our family on 8/8/08! He is such a brave little guy. We love him so much and already can't imagine life without him. Newborn pictures always make me laugh once the kids have grown up a bit - they just look so squishy. :) To me, Caleb looks just like Jacob as a baby. What do you think?

Jacob right before being discharged from the hospital.

I couldn't leave out my sweet little girl - Julie right after delivery.

Bear Feet

2008-08-03T22:20:00.000-07:00

While visiting Grandma Terri's house one hot day this summer, Grandma pointed out to Jacob that she had bare feet. Jacob quickly responded, "I have kitty feet. Meow!" Ever since, whenever he sees someone with bare feet he assigns them an animal, but always reserves the kitty feet for himself.

(images borrowed from dkimages.com and sportsmanhill.com)

We've got to Hand it to Daddy . . .

2008-07-28T00:13:00.001-07:00

Jeremy officially gets the award for the worst timing ever. He went and decided to break his hand at the ward softball game last Monday. He broke the bone running to his middle finger and pretty much shattered the one running to his ring finger on his left hand when his glove caught on the ground as he tried to make a diving catch in center field (I'd be willing to be it wouldn't be "shattered" if he hadn't insisted on playing out the inning and making another catch with his injured hand). He had surgery on Friday and depending on how things heal this week, he might need a follow-up surgery to straighten out his finger.

At my appointment Thursday, Jacob convinced my OB to give him some gloves which came in handy (I know, I'm so punny today!) when he wanted to help fix Daddy's broken hand.

Tagged by Mindy

2008-07-27T23:29:00.000-07:00

So Mindy tagged me awhile ago and I somehow missed it, sorry!

Four random things I like about my husband:
1. His BBQ skills.
2. His ability to focus on a task and give it 100%.
3. His willingness to sacrifice what he wants now for what he wants most on a constant, daily basis.
4. His work ethic (when he's motivated, haha).

Four jobs I have had: (wow, it's been awhile!)
1. Intern for IS dept. of Oregon Department of Justice
2. Assistant Office Manager for Eclipse/Orkin
3. Papa Murphy's pizza maker extraordinaire
4. Phone Sales Rep for ancestry.com

Four TV shows I watch:
1. The Office
2. Survivor
3. American Idol
4. Heroes (haven't seen season two though!)

Four movies I have watched more than once:
1. While You Were Sleeping
2. Princess Bride
3. All of the Lord of the Rings Series
4. Pride and Prejudice

Four places I have lived: (hah, only four!)
1. Utah
2. Colorado
3. Indiana
4. Wyoming

Four people who e-mail me regularly:
1. My HLHS group
2. Brian (made this list for two years consistently so he still counts) and in the same missionary vein, my Aunt Deanna and Mary Lyn with updates about my cousins
3. Jeremy's scheduler for ecrossfit.com
4. Margaret (gotta love TOF updates!)

Four of my Favorite Foods: (turning this into pregnancy cravings)
1. Cold Cereal (any type/brand will do at this point - I blame the hormones!)
2. Subway Sandwiches
3. Fried Chicken
4. Chocolate Ice Cream/Chocolate Chip Cookies depending on the day

Four places I would like to visit:
1. France
2. Canada (sounds silly but I've been so close and never crossed over!)
3. Italy
4. Hawaii

Four things I am looking forward to in the coming year:
1. A new spirit joining our family
2. Walking normally again (aka not being pregnant anymore)
3. Jacob starting pre-school
4. Watching the growth of Eugene Crossfit

Four People I tag:
1. Ali
2. Cheri
3. Emily
4. LaDawn

What's that?

2008-07-17T20:03:00.000-07:00

Do you know what this is?

We recently bought a play kitchen off Craigslist that has quickly become the new favorite toy (at least for this month). One day I asked Jake to hand me a donut and he said, "What's that?" I thought he was joking but it turns out that he really didn't know what a donut was!

Jeremy was proud that his kids didn't know what junk food was but I felt sorry for my poor deprived children and took them to the store to pick out their very own donut.

Julie doesn't know what to think, but she's excited she doesn't have to share.

Jake's first bite . . .

After a few more bites Jake declares donuts "yucky."

Julie opts for string cheese instead. I guess maybe Daddy's do know best after all?

Two Little Monkeys . . .

2008-07-12T15:44:00.000-07:00

Nap time is an interesting time at our house. Mommy has tried for months to figure out Jake and Julie's sleeping schedule with little success. If anyone has any good strategies let me know!

After a neighborhood party in the park, I thought my little monkeys would be worn out and ready for bed, but no! Jakey sneaked into Julie's crib and they had a grand ol' time. I let them squeal and giggle together for about half an hour before I snapped this picture. Funny how they play the nicest together when they know they aren't supposed to play at all . . .

IN FACT, while I was posting this I thought Jakey was going potty but it turns out that he was teaching Julie about plumbing. The splashing/squealing with the bathroom door closed gave them away. Anna and Margaret have also experienced children getting into mischief while blogging so I don't feel too bad. Good thing it's Saturday and they were going to get a bath anyway. I think this is a new strategy: play nice together but only when doing naughty things so we don't get in trouble!

4th of July

2008-07-05T14:13:00.000-07:00

We had fun celebrating the 4th of July with Grandma Terri, Grandpa John, and Uncle Brian. We headed up to Harrisburg for their parade and found out they had kids games right after.
Brian and Grandma Terri killing time and having fun before the kids games started.

Jake and Julie each participated in the race for their age/gender in the Harrisburg kids games. Julie was more interested in saying hi to the starting line judge than actually finishing the race, but with Daddy's help she made it.
Jake was just super excited it was finally his time to race. I'm posting the video of his race that Grandma Terri took, despite the fact that it shows off my newly acquired double chin (you might want to turn your volume down, the scream/cheering noise level is pretty high). By the way, he had just finished eating a grape Popsicle and that's why his face/arms are "discolored."

We lit off fireworks right outside our house. Jake loved them, Julie was pretty scared at first, but by the end she was chasing after them.Sneaking in a picture of Grandpa John since he never lets us take them.

Fish in Training

2008-07-05T13:55:00.000-07:00

Our nextdoor neighbors have a pool and when I came home from my night working in the library at the church Jake was splashing around and having a blast. The things Daddy's will resort to when they are watching the kids . . . Holly (in step with her typical baby sitting role) got put on "motor" duty pushing Jake around the pool, and Jake loved their toys so much he wanted to hold all of them at once. :)

Our Care Page

2008-07-05T13:37:00.000-07:00

We met with Dr.Rice this Wednesday for our last fetal echo before delivery. I've made a Care Page for all future updates on our baby's condition, that way this is more of a "fun" blog and anyone that wants to know details about our baby and his appointments/surgeries can check that site. You have to create an account to visit his page, but then you can choose to have it automatically email you whenever we update it with new information. If you have any questions on how Care Pages work, feel free to post a comment here or email me directly.

The link to our carepage is: Baby Stecker Care Page

Here's a description of Care Pages from their website: "CarePages are free, easy to use Web pages that help family and friends communicate when a loved one is receiving care. As a CarePage member, you have the opportunity to be there for a family like never before. Rather than wondering or worrying, you will be informed when updates are posted to the site, and you can read and leave messages for the family on the message board anytime."

We are scheduled to visit Doernbecher's on July 11th for a non-stress test, ultrasound to measure growth, and a meeting with the doctor who will be there during delivery. Hopefully we will have an induction date by the time we leave!

Julie's First Coast Trip

2008-07-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

Last summer with selling our house and moving to Eugene we somehow never made it out to the coast so even though she's 18 months now (hooray for nursery!) Julie's hadn't been to the coast until this weekend. We missed the unofficial ward coast trip on Friday since we were hanging out with Uncle Brian, but we did see the Charles' Family from our ward so that counts right?

After eating it, rolling in it, and throwing it on people, Julie finally figured out sand is fun to play with too!

The day started off sunny but by the time we took this picture at the end, you could hardly see ten feet in front of you. The people next to us were playing Marco-Polo on the beach!

I found a picture of the newly returned missionary. Hi Brian!

Our self-appointed official guardian against seagulls wore herself out!

I had to sneak in one more picture of Jeremy with curly hair. He keeps threatening to buzz it all off with this summer heat we've been having. Personally, I like the curls, but maybe that's just me.

Uncle Brian's Back!

2008-07-01T09:01:00.001-07:00

Our dear Uncle Brian came home last Thursday from his mission in Cleveland, Ohio!! I actually remembered to bring my camera this time, but none of my pictures turned out (stupid airport lighting). :( Hopefully I can steal some pictures from my family to post up here. Needless to say Jake was ecstatic to see his "best buddy" again and Julie was all smiles meeting her long lost uncle for the very first time.

Thanks for serving a mission Uncle Brian. You set a great example for Jacob who wants to leave on a mission right now if he could! We missed you but know you were doing the Lord's work and our family was blessed because of your service.

Brian was a little disappointed that we didn't have more world events to fill him in on that happened while he was gone the last two years. If you guys have any suggestions, let us know so we can fill him in! :)

Baby Shower

2008-06-21T20:17:00.000-07:00

Two other ladies in my ward are expecting little boys this summer - Gwen is due with her second boy a month before me in July, and Sara is due with kiddo #4 at the end of August. Technically we have all had boys before and shouldn't fall under the baby shower category but thanks to Anna, April, Lizzie and everyone else, all three of us ladies got a triple baby shower together! It was so fun talking with everyone and eating all the yummy food. The get-to-know-you game was a little embarrassing for me personally, but the ladies seemed to get a kick out of it! ;)

Pictures of everyone at the party would be much more entertaining, but sadly I forgot my camera. So, I'm settling for a "loot" picture and one showing off the diaper cakes that both April and Sara made us (Jake got to Sara's before I could put it up high and my pathetic recreation doesn't do her justice). Thanks again everyone, it was a blast! :)

Daddy Time

2008-06-08T21:12:00.000-07:00

Jeremy heads to New Orleans tonight and will be gone all week so I thought I'd share some of our special Daddy pictures. Hurry back Daddy!

Blood Flow

2008-06-08T17:53:00.000-07:00

This last Tuesday (6/3), the cardiologist from OHSU traveled down to Eugene and gave us our latest echo. Right away she noticed a small amount of blood flow on the left side of our son's heart. When I heard this news, my hopes shot through the roof. Previously the doctors told us his heart wasn't growing due to lack of blood flow on that left side, and we've been praying for blood flow ever since.

Well . . . apparently blood flow can be a bad thing in our situation, if you can believe that! If both valves on the left side are completely closed off, that's "ok." If both valves are slightly open, that's "ok" too. But, if one is open and one is completely closed off then it can either signify or create (sorry I can't remember which) blockages in other coronary arteries. At our last echo our baby had both slightly open but since then the aortic valve has closed off completely. She said that since it closed at such a late stage that it might me nothing, or it might mean everything.

If he does in fact have blockages in other coronary arteries, he will definitely need a heart transplant because the surgeries would not repair the blocked coronary arteries. Before this news, we have been feeling pretty confident in our decision to stay at Doernbechers for the 3 surgeries, but they don't do heart transplants. In fact, Oregon does not have a pediatric heart transplant facility at all so if we end up needing a heart transplant then we would be shipped off to Loma Linda in California.

Unfortunately, we will not be able to know for sure whether there really are other blockages until he is born and they can do a cardiac catheterization. The cardiologist said that even with a catheterization we might miss blockages that would put him at a higher risk during and after the surgeries.

So, for now we are seriously researching hospitals that deal with pediatric transplants and trying to decide if delivering at Doernbechers is still the best choice. I know the Lord has a plan for our son and our family and pray He will direct us.

Two of Jake's Favorite People

2008-05-31T14:17:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Uncle Travis drove his motorcycle down from Washington for a visit. Jake has become quite obsessed with his "uncle spiderman" and was elated to have him at "Jakey's house." The big highlight came when Jake got to ride along on the motorcycle.

Another person Jake looks forward to seeing is his gymnastic's coach. Coach looks a lot like Eric from Survivor and whenever we watched an episode Jake would root for his "coach." Today coach had the day off from gymnastics and Jake was pretty upset that he didn't get to see him. So, we are posting a picture for him to look at instead.

Edited: I felt bad leaving Julie out of the post and then I remembered her favorite "person." We recently had to buy a replacement pig because her original was suffering from too much love (think: smelly even after washing it). Of course when we got back from the toy store she found her original and carried around two until she fell asleep. For some reason the old one's been missing ever since. ;)

Letters and Ouchies

2008-05-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

Jake has been interested in learning letters for quite awhile now, but I just had to share his latest project. He received letter flashcards for his birthday, and last week all on his own initiative he matched the cards with his magnetic letters. I got a kick out of watching him make sure the letters all lined up and you could see the letter on each card. I wonder where he gets his organization skills from because it's definitely not from me!

Julie wasn't having a very good day - she got hives. Apparently she's allergic to the antibiotics we gave her for an ear infection. Poor baby!

Florida Trip

2008-05-28T09:52:00.000-07:00

Jeremy and I recently came back from a trip to Florida he won by being in the top 10% of sales rep for Eli Lilly in 2007! Great job going above and beyond your duty as bread winner for the fam. ;) We had a great time for 4 days on Sanibel Island and Captiva Island - if you ever get the chance, we highly recommend it. Uncle Lilly (our nick name for Jeremy's company) paid for a private fishing excursion. We only caught small stuff (no sharks like some other boats!) but we still had a blast. Our personal favorite past time was napping on the beach, but we also loved watching all the water fowl and even "adopted" a few. It wouldn't have been possible without the help of Nanna and Bumpa (who made a special trip down from Seattle to watch the kids) as well as Grandma Terri and Grandpa John once again. It was nice to just hop in the car and go somewhere without packing kids around, but we were both in agreement that there was something missing because we couldn't share the experience with them. It was so nice to come home and see their cute little faces there waiting for us!

Showing off our sunburns.

One of the few birds we actually saw at the wildlife preserve.

Just woke up from a nap.

Still has energy after his workout on the beach!

Poor little Julie's head is too big to fit into her out fit we brought back from Florida!

2 Months & Counting

2008-05-01T18:20:00.001-07:00

Uncle Brian comes home from his mission in a little less than 2 months. What started out as a very neat and organized activity has recently taken on a style all its own. It's hard to see but the first year or so Jake and I were very diligent to make sure we put our star sticker on every day. I even made a cute rainbow pattern out of the stars - until they ran out. Now, for the past several months we've used more stickers on the kids than the chart! Can you guess which stickers Julie has helped put on all by herself? :) One of my first blog posts was about how much Jake loved stickers and I guess Julie is following in his footsteps!

Spontaneous Utah Trip

2008-04-29T17:20:00.000-07:00

For my birthday present, Jeremy quickly arranged for Julie and me to fly along with my parents to Utah for the week. We bought my tickets Tuesday afternoon and I flew out at 5:30am Wednesday morning! We had originally planned on driving out as a family this same week but with all that will happen after the baby is born, we felt Jeremy needed to save his vacation days and can canceled the trip. Jeremy saw how bummed I was about not going and covertly arranged for me to go anyway. Spontaneous trips are not easy to pull off alone when you have two kids, so I have a few people to thank:

My parents: Thanks for all your help on the plane, babysitting so I could go to the temple, putting up with Julie's screams and just overall help with Julie while we were out there!
LaDawn: Thanks for watching Jake on Monday for my doctor's appointment and again that same week while Jeremy went to work. It's definitely our turn now.
Anna: You called to see why I missed play group and somehow got roped in to babysitting Jake while Calvin was sleeping. Thanks for letting Jer go to the Elder's quorum activity. Hopefully we can babysit Calvin sometime soon too.
Josh and Shauna: I'm not sure if I spelled your names right, but we still appreciate you taking on kid #3 for the day while Jeremy was in Bend!
Tammi: We keep trying unsuccessfully to arrange a play date lately and when we finally do, it's really just you taking on another kid while you host a bunch of people at your house! Thanks and next time you need a baby sitter, you know who to call!
Saundra and Sam: Thank you for so graciously agreeing to let Julie and I stay at your house on such short notice. I'll be thinking of you guys when I watch American Idol tonight.
Uncle Tom, Aunt Beth, and Jeffrey: Thank you so much for letting me use your Jeep while I was in town. Being able to get around on my own was invaluable!
Family in Utah: It was so great to see all of you, thanks for rearranging your schedules at the last minute just so you could see us!
Jer: Thanks for putting this all together and helping celebrate my birthday with Grandma Brown - I couldn't have asked for a better birthday present.
I know there's more I'm forgetting - if so, I apologize and thank you too! haha ;)

Prenatal Intervention

2008-04-29T17:06:00.000-07:00

This is a slightly later update than I would have liked, thanks to my trip (more on that later), but I promised I'd keep everyone informed so here we go.

The first thing our doctor at the Maternal and Fetal Medicine Clinic here in Eugene asked me was, "Have you decided if you're going to California?" Needless to say, the question caught me completely off guard. What he really wanted to ask me was whether or not we had decided to opt-in to a prenatal intervention program for our baby.

Prenatal intervention in our case would consist of a procedure where they try and open up our baby's aortic valve with a "balloon" while he is still in the womb. This is obviously very risky for the baby (they would go through the outer wall of his heart to get to the valve), and apparently even for me. The hope of this prenatal procedure is to allow "flow" through the left side of his heart, which would hopefully stimulate the left side of his heart to grow before he is born.

At our appointment with the cardiologist in Portland (after our fetal echo), we asked her opinion on the prenatal intervention procedure. She is not a big fan of prenatal intervention in general because the last baby the sent down there did not make it; it sounds like that is more the norm than exception.

As it turns out, the cardiologist said our baby is not a good candidate for the procedure anyway. The procedure only focuses on one valve and our baby has a constriction in both valves on the left side of his heart. Even if we were to go ahead with the procedure, it is unlikely we would get good "flow" because that second valve would still be constricted.

Needless to say, we've decided against prenatal intervention. Right now, we are making plans for our baby to go through the three open heart surgeries, starting with the Norwood Procedure. After researching transplants, that avenue feels like more of a dead end. We will still have transplant as a backup option if the Norwood procedure doesn't go well. We are very grateful for all the fasting, prayers and time our family and friends put in to help us make this decision. Obviously there is still time to change our opinion if new information arises, but for now we feel this is the best course of action for our baby and our family.

Matters of the Heart

2008-04-11T09:41:00.000-07:00

It's a very surreal experience when you go in for a routine ultrasound and things turn out to be anything but routine. The good news about our ultrasound is we found out we're having a BOY. We chose to find out the sex because of the bigger news we received: Our baby has a congenital heart defect.

After an amnio (which I swore I'd never get) and another ultrasound at a maternal-fetal medicine specialist here in Eugene, they were unable to officially diagnose our baby's problem and sent us to Doernbecher's Children's Hospital in Portland. We had a fetal echocardiogram which diagnosed our son's heart defect as Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome.

I'm writing this post for friends and family members so I can share the information we've received over the last few weeks. It's a hard thing to explain over the phone under such emotional circumstances. It's taken me awhile to get up the courage to even post this. I don't mind people knowing about our situation, in fact I think it has helped us to talk to other people about it. At the same time, it's not something I'm likely to bring up in casual conversation. "Oh by the way, our baby has a heart defect." is just not something I see myself saying.

I would love to answer anyone's questions. And we are so thankful and truly appreciate the outpouring of love, concern, and support we've received from our family and friends.

Before I get into the specifics of HLHS (Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome), I first want to share a bit of good news: Our amnio results came back this week and our baby's heart defect looks to be an isolated incident (no other genetic defects they look for in the test were found) which means the doctors will go ahead and operate. Apparently there are some genetic problems associated with HLHS (which thankfully our son doesn't have) that are severe enough to make surgery pointless.

Sidenote: I'm not a doctor, any information I provide below is just gleaned from what I've learned. I'm putting things into words that make sense to me. Head here if you want to get more technical details.

What is HLHS? A valve on the left side of his heart did not form properly and is too thick/stiff to let any significant amount of blood to flow through the left side of his heart. Without blood flow, the left side does not have to work and therefore isn't growing. The left side of your heart takes oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps it to the body.

Right now while he's in the womb, this defect is not causing him any problems. He is perfectly happy in there. All of the normal things all babies have in place to let them grow and thrive without using their lungs in the womb are also allowing him to grow and thrive even when he's not using the left half of his heart. When he is born, those connections will close off and he will not be able to get oxygen to his body without medical intervention.

How do you get HLHS? As I mentioned earlier, there are several genetic disorders associated with HLHS, none of which our baby has. Other factors our doctors asked me about were drug use, smoking, and German Measles - none of which I was personally exposed to. The only other explanation we received is there might have been unknown carcinogens I was unknowingly exposed to during pregnancy - in other words, they don't know. Our pediatric cardiologist was trying to explain that sometimes these things just happen and she literally used the phrased, "foreordained." Our doctor said the risk we had for a heart defect with this pregnancy was somewhere around 1%, and our risk for future children will now be somewhere around 4% just because it has happened with this pregnancy.

The American Heart Association has some interesting statistics on congenital heart defects:

Thousands of babies are born each year with cardiovascular defects.

Of these, 4–8 percent have hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

From 1994 to 2004 death rates for congenital cardiovascular defects declined 31.6 percent, while the actual number of deaths declined 25.4 percent.
About 650,000 to 1,300,000 people in the United States with cardiovascular defects are alive today.

What are your options if you have HLHS? After our diagnosis, the Pediatric Cardiologist gave us four options:

Terminate the pregnancy. (This is not an option we considered)
Carry to term and do nothing after he is born - He would pass away in as little as a day to a week after birth because his heart would be unable to get oxygenated blood to the rest of his body. (Another option we did not consider)
Operate - Our son would have an operation within 24-72 hours after birth called the Norwood Procedure. This is the first in a series of operations (usually 3). The second operation is done around 6-8 months, and the third when he is two-three years old. The ultimate goal of these procedures is to have his body pump blood straight to his lungs, then transfer oxygenated blood to the right side of his heart and allow the right side to pump blood to the body. The right side of the heart will be doing double duty and therefore he will have physical limitations for the rest of his life, as well as a high probability of a shortened life span. He will never have a normal heart. This is a fairly new procedure and they only have patients about 15 years out from the surgery to study. If things do not go well with the operations at any point, there is still the possibility of having a heart transplant (which is the next option).
Heart Transplant - They do not perform heart transplants at Dorenbechers and we would have to move either to Seattle or Southern California before he is born. He would not get on the waiting list until he is born, and there is no way of knowing how long he will wait. If/when he gets a heart, there is a risk for the rest of his life of his body rejecting the new heart. He would be on medication that lowers his immune system to reduce the risk of rejection. We are still waiting to get more detailed information about infant heart transplants (survival statistics etc.), but since Doernbechers does not perform transplants, we have to go through longer channels to learn things. We will keep you updated when we learn more information. During my personal research online, I came across some washington transplant statistics as well as a more long term graph of survival patients at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

Right now Jeremy and I are fairly certain we will go ahead with the surgeries, but we don't want to commit to a decision until we know all the details about a heart transplant. I'm at a loss of words on how to explain the huge amount of responsibility we feel - there's so much riding on this decision.

If anyone has information on how to compare hospitals'/surgeons' outcomes for specific surgeries that information could be very helpful for us right now.

My next appointments are April 21st in Eugene and Portland on the 22nd where will have follow-up fetal echocardiogram at both. Right now I'm considered a high-risk pregnancy and will have around four appointments a month, with even more per month as we get closer to delivery. His heart is still growing so they cannot say for sure what he will need and they want to keep an eye on his condition.

I just want to express again that we are so very grateful for the thoughts, prayers, advice, concern, service, support and general outpouring of love we have felt from all of our friends and family we've told about our situation. We love you all and will update you with new information as soon as we receive any. When Jeremy and I decide on a name, I am thinking of making a blog specifically to keep people updated about his condition.

8th Anniversary!

2008-04-05T20:49:00.000-07:00

I've seen a few other people commemorate their anniversary on their blogs and I hope they don't mind if I copy their cute idea. Eight years ago Jeremy and I were sealed in the Portland Temple for time and all eternity. People gawked at our two weeks of dating dating/three month engagement and told us we wouldn't make it past the first three years. It's not just the two of us anymore either. We've added two kids (and a half if you count the one on the way), a house, a car, and a dog - just to name a few things! Jeremy, I felt like the luckiest girl on campus when you asked me out and I'm so glad I still feel that way all these years later. I can't imagine my life without you. I love you tons and I can't wait to see what the next eight years brings. I know it's a lot of pictures but I thought I'd share our engagement photos with all of you:

Easter Pics

2008-03-26T15:42:00.000-07:00

This was the first year since we moved to Oregon (4 years ago) that we have celebrated Easter at our house. The kids had a lot of fun with Grandma and Grandpa. We actually didn't color Easter eggs until FHE the next day, but don't tell the kids because they still had fun!

Gymnastics, Easter Style

2008-03-26T15:22:00.000-07:00

Toddlers are great! You can show up to an Easter egg hunt a few hours late and they still have a blast.

Bye-Bye Nap Time

2008-02-28T14:54:00.001-08:00

This week Jeremy finally convinced me that Jake has outgrown nap time. With Jake bouncing in his bed for 2.5+ hours last night after bedtime, I finally conceded my precious two hours of daily sanity. When am I ever going to get toilets cleaned and my homework read now . . .

Today's lack of nap time really wasn't all that bad, until Jake asked me to read him a story. After the second read-through of "Go Dog Go!" I admit I dozed off (ever since my pregnancy started, many days his nap time has been MY nap time too). Well Jake, making the most of the situation, rummaged around the junk drawer and found some stickers I used for our garage sale last summer. I woke up to him saying, "Stickers for the new baby!"

As you can tell from the picture, Jake is very excited for his new sibling to arrive.

Jeremy's Workout Video

2008-02-18T18:39:00.002-08:00

I've been reluctant to post anything over our big news, but Jeremy's really excited about his latest Crossfit progress video. He's doing a workout called Fran . . . I'd post details but you can check it out at: Crossfit.com. Goooooooo Jeremy!

Thanks to Margaret for helping me with the code to post Jer's video! :)

Our Big News!

2008-01-31T12:34:00.000-08:00

Hopefully this will help explain my forgetfulness (you called it LaDawn!), laziness, and lack of social interaction in general (including lacking blog posts) over the last few months! We owe a BIG thanks to Grandma Terri for all the help she's given us lately while I've been down and out. To answer a few questions:

I'm due August 9th.

This came as a complete surprise to us, we did not plan it at all.

In fact, I thought I was 6-8 weeks but it turns out I'm actually 12 weeks along already.

As of now, we're not planning to find out the sex, but we said that at the start of my pregnancy with Julie and did a 180 by the time we had our ultrasound.

I'm announcing this online because I'm terrible at figuring out a way to bring it up in a normal conversation without it being totally awkward (sorry Anna and Ashley, I tried today at sign class but it just didn't work!).

We can't wait for our new little one to arrive, although I have to admit I'm a little anxious to be a Mother of 3 kids under 4 years of age. We'd love to hear predictions on the sex (I'm sure Jeremy will be taking an official poll once we get a little closer to our due date!), name ideas, and any advice (especially from you seasoned mothers of 3+) for this new adventure we've started!

Snow Day!

2008-01-29T15:02:00.000-08:00

I tried all last week to get my scanner to work so I could post something new, but this afternoon I've decided the "round file" is the best place for our scanner. Instead, I'm showing off our snow day pictures! It seems that once a year Oregon gets snow, and this weekend we got so much they canceled church after Sacrament Meeting. Daddy and Jake built a snowman in the park with the girls next door, which of course got knocked down by some local kids within 24 hours. And yes, those are big brother's socks acting as gloves for Julie's hands!

Christmas Day

2008-01-06T15:56:00.000-08:00

Grandpa John recently shared a quote with me that he found: "I'd be the perfect Mom, but I'm too busy raising my kids!" That's exactly how I feel about blogging lately. Every time I sit down to make a post on here my time gets cut short by the demands of my little ones. So, that's my little excuse for not posting Christmas pictures until January 6th!

Stecker Christmas Eve Party

2008-01-03T16:07:00.001-08:00

Nanna and Bumpa invited all the Stecker cousins over to their house on Christmas eve and Santa Clause came to visit. He said he wanted to visit the kids, but I think all the good smelling (and tasting!) food lured him in.

Nanna and Bumpa gave all the grandkids their presents at the same time, what fun!

Jake has been inseperable from his Diego and baby Jaguar - of course Mommy gets to play Alicia.

Julie loved her doggy, it made missing Kassi that much easier while we were away. Now she can pull her doggies fur and not get in trouble for it!

One of the most memorable parts of the evening is when Jacob found a picture of "Uncle Spiderman" and started crying because he wasn't at the party yet. He carried that picture around all night until "Uncle Spiderman" finally showed up!

Julie's First Birthday!

2007-12-28T14:49:00.000-08:00

Silly Hats

2007-12-16T23:38:00.001-08:00

Jake's 3rd Birthday, Spiderman Style

2007-12-03T11:19:00.001-08:00

2007-11-18T22:31:00.000-08:00

More Halloween Pictures

2007-11-04T21:58:00.000-08:00

2007-10-28T21:23:00.000-07:00

Pre-Halloween Fun

2007-10-24T17:17:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of October we had a free rental and so we rented a Dora Halloween special. Ever since Jake watched that show, we are going Halloween crazy at our house!

Hugs!

Looking at each other is always more fun than looking at the camera!

It's hard to find a time when Jake isn't smiling, but asking him to stop looking at the pumpkins so I could take a picture definitely creates one of those moments.

2007-10-23T13:57:00.000-07:00

For yesterday:

Jake - His love and enthusiasm for pumpkins, and Halloween in general, made me smile all day.

Julie - Slept through the night!

For Today:

Jake - He finally learned how to hold up just two fingers to say how old he is . . . I wonder what will happen with that after his birthday here in a few months. He was so proud of himself!

Julie - Not being shy around Grandma Terri this time, and showing off her walking abilities. This happened with Jake too, but I am still amazed at how easily babies pick themselves up and try again whenever they fall (definitely something I can work on).

Can't Sleep

2007-10-22T00:49:00.000-07:00

Today in Relief Society, someone made a great comment about President Eyring's talk in conference asking us to remember God's hand in all things. She mentioned how their daughter has started keeping a happiness journal for each of her two kids. I know 'happy moments' are slightly different from what President Eyring was talking about, but I'm going work my way up to what he had in mind. I started a happiness journal for myself, and a lot of my happy moments are about my kids, but I sat in bed tonight thinking how great it would be for each of my kids to have a book of happy thoughts about them when they grow up. So, until I get a book, I figure a blog will do (especially for 12:55 a.m.).

Jake - Lately when he gets hurt he will tell me, "No, go see doctor!" instead of letting me kiss his boo-boo better. Well, tonight he pretended to be a doctor and kiss his own boo-boo better. He's so independent!

Julie - Her smile is definitely a happy moment in someone's life every day. What made me smile the most about her today is when she started babbling, "Da da da da." She's done it maybe one other time so far, but it sure is cute to hear!

Happy Birthday Grandma Terri

2007-10-17T10:42:00.000-07:00

The cake Jake helped Mommy make and remake many times that day.

Julie modeling the t-shirt uncle Brian sent to Mom for her birthday. It's the same t-shirt he wore when he helped cleanup the Ohio floods this summer.

Jake 'helped' Grandma Terri open every single one of her presents.

My Mom's birthday wish - to have someone else take a picture of her, how I got roped into it I'll never know! :)

Pumpkin Patch!

2007-10-15T10:33:00.001-07:00

We are having our family pictures taken in a few weeks and hopefully a professional can get us all to smile at the same time!

Jake loved looking for his very own pumpkin. He went through most of the pumpkin patch before we realized he was looking for a clean pumpkin! Once we told him he could clean it off when we got home he found one pretty quick.

This was our 'hay ride' down to the pumpkin patch. I should have taken a picture of the horses because Jake's favorite part of the ride was watching the horses pull us through the mud.

We finally reached the end of the corn maze (you can see it on the right), and Jake takes off down the road all by himself.

Daddy looking awfully silly in his warm, red hat!

Jacob's New Firsts

2007-09-30T17:29:00.000-07:00

I thought we had run out of new things for Jacob to have 'firsts' with, but I guess he wanted to prove me wrong this week. He finally learned how to open the refrigerator door. A few minutes ago I thought he was still taking his nap and heard something in the kitchen . . . and this is what I found. :) If only I hadn't bought that tub of chocolate chip cookie dough at Costco, maybe he wouldn't have been so motivated!

Another thing that he has started doing this week (which is also cute but somewhat agitating at the same time) is climbing into Julie's crib anytime he's awake and she's taking a nap. She's smiling in the picture but it's not always such a happy outcome. I tend to find them with books and toys in there too. Maybe I wasn't so deprived after all by not having an older brother!

On Friday this week, right before Jake and I headed to the mailbox, I asked him to get the letters from Daddy. He disappeared for a minute and then walked around the corner carrying a bunch of his alphabet magnets from the fridge. Ok, maybe that's not really a 'first' but it was pretty cute.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2007-09-23T19:29:00.000-07:00

Daddy turned 30 on Saturday, so we had a busy week getting ready. Nanna, Bumpa, Uncle Travis (who is now known as Uncle Spiderman), Aunt Amanda, Coen and Levi all came down to help celebrate with us. We had so much fun while they were here!

Go Mariners!

2007-08-01T14:54:00.001-07:00

Steckers

2007-07-16T09:44:00.000-07:00

We went to Seattle to watch Daddy's triathlon and got to hang out with Nanna and Bumpa as well as the Stecker cousins.

Fletcher Family Gathering

2007-07-15T16:27:00.001-07:00

About two weeks ago, we got together with the Fletcher's. Here's some pictures!

Escaped!

2007-04-26T19:57:00.000-07:00

As I was getting Jake ready for bed tonight, Jeremy was bringing his samples in from the car. Jake saw the sprinklers and dashed out there in his mismatched pj's!

Cool Dudes

2007-04-24T16:06:00.000-07:00

We have days where Jake wants to share his stuff so much with Julie that she gets overrun, and then we have days where he wants to steal all her stuff (don't even think about sharing his own things). Today was a share everything day, and Jacob insisted Julie wear his sunglasses. Pretty darn cute if you ask me, then again I'm slightly biased.

4 Months Old!

2007-04-22T18:12:00.000-07:00

Today Miss Julie-bug turned 4 months old! I can't believe she's been with us that long already, and I can't believe we ever lived without her. She is truly a sweetheart. Don't get me wrong, she will let you know in no uncertain terms if she needs something, but she has such a tender spirit. She definately wanted this to be a week to remember, we had two new firsts! She cut her first tooth on Wednesday and last night she slept in her crib for the first time.

I wish I could report a full night's sleep on my part last night, but we've got yet another cold in our family. Jake and Julie took turns waking Mommy up last night. Jake is excited about his new roommate, Julie's content as long as she has her thumb, Daddy is happy his 'little piggy' is in her own bed, and Mommy is a little sad to see her baby growing up (even if it is just a little bit).

Stickers!

2007-04-22T17:25:00.000-07:00

Every day we put a sticker on Uncle Brian's mission count down, and right after that Jake loves to decorate himself and anyone else nearby. Usually we use little star stickers for the countdown but these ones show up better for pictures. Good thing they aren't expensive - we usually use four or five a day!

I had to throw in a picture of Daddy and Jake being silly. Don't ask me what they are doing but they sure were having fun!

Summersaults

2007-04-22T17:05:00.000-07:00

I've gotten a little behind on my posts so I am posting a bunch all on one day. The day after we got home from Las Vegas (Wednesday), we were all sitting in the family room when Jake decided to show off his new skill - summersaults. We'd tried to teach him this awhile ago, but he could never quite push himself all the way over. I need to take a class in sports action photography - trying to capture a summersault in action is pretty tricky!

Las Vegas

2007-04-22T16:53:00.000-07:00

** Post still in progress, waiting on pictures from Grandma's camera to finish **

Yesterday I started a post all about our Las Vegas Trip and then our power went out before I could save it. We had lots of fun, especially since Grandma babysat Jake and aunt Chelsea flew out to tend Julie. We saw a bunch of shows:

Danny Gans (we heard he was a comedian, turns out he's a musical imitator)
Mandalay Bay Shark Aquarium (fun, but we wished Jake was there)
Phantom of the Opera (front row seats made it very fun)
Blueman Group (excellent performance, hard to explain but best show we saw)
Bodies (real preserved cadavars make it educational and creepy at the same time)
Mystere (fun circ de solie performance)

Jeremy got a full body massage and I got a facial - we felt very pampered. Jake loved spending time with his grandparents and aunt. Julie was a little fussy for aunt Chelsea, and it turns out it was because she was teething and we didn't even realize it!

More pictures (and posting) to come when I get them off Grandma's computer!

Bubbles

2007-04-12T23:45:00.001-07:00

Today Jake, Julie, and I put one of Jake's Easter present to use - his bubbles. Bubbles are always fun. After a bit, it started getting too windy for Julie so we moved our playtime indoors. But, since I'm really excited about this new blogger thing I thought it'd be fun to take Jake back outside to get a picture of the bubbly fun to post up here. I should have known better. It took all of two dips with the wand before he knocked over the entire thing. At first Jake said "Uh-oh" and pointed to the mess, but it didn't take him long to realize he had no shoes on and there was a big puddle right in front of him. Puddles are more fun than bubbles. Of course I had just mopped the kitchen floor while he took his nap. Missing out on that 'clean floor feeling' was a small price to pay to bring you these wonderful pictures! :)

My first Blog

2007-04-11T08:32:00.000-07:00

I finally convinced myself to try out blogging! I'm not sure if this will be more of a personal record or a way to keep family/friends up to date on our family - it will probably end up a little bit of both tbh. Right now we are focused on getting ready for our Las Vegas company trip this weekend. Hopefully I can figure this out quicky and post pictures when we get back.