Growing so big!

Jaxon is almost 3 months, and I'm amazed at how fast time has gone. He has been such a good baby so far and last night slept most of the night with only 1 nighttime awakening. What a happy mommy I am!! Here are a few words from Jaxon!

"Look, I'm getting really good at lifting my head up while on "tummy time."

"I just recently learned to read the newspaper; this is interesting stuff!"

"Daddy is super comfortable, and I love falling asleep in his arms."

"Carter still tries to lay on me and give me lots of hugs and kisses. Little does he know, that I might just be bigger than him when I grow up!"

The first snow!

So first I have to apologize and admit that I've been a blogging slacker lately! I guess I could blame it on the holidays or just the fact that I feel like I'm getting less and less creative every day.

We are excited to be back in "real" winter weather. I miss being able to take walks in the middle of winter like I could in AZ, but winter really is not complete without snow. This post is a little late in the making because our first real Utah snow was actually 2 weeks ago, but I wanted to post these pictures nonetheless. Carter loved playing in the snow and my favorite moment was when he got down and made a snow angel. You would think he really was in heaven. Grandpa graciously watched Jaxon, while we all played. My mom and younger brother, Cody, even came out and played with us in his boots, shorts, and bare legs. Matt saw an opportunity at hand and tackled him immediately. I told Matt he was a brat, but Cody admitted that it was his fault for not dressing "appropriately" You would have to know Cody to understand that, but on the other hand Cody wears basketball shorts year round, so go figure. We hope you all enjoyed your first snow as much as we did!

Check out my Slide Show!

Jaxon's Blessing

We blessed Jaxon on Sunday. We are so grateful that so many of our family and friends came to share this day with us. Here are just a few of the pictures. Jaxon slept through the entire brunch before the blessing and then was really content for the pictures. He got a little fussy at the first of the blessing but then calmed down once they started bouncing him. He looked like a little snowball, which was fitting as it had snowed the day before! Check out the slide show of the blessing and brunch above!

Boys will be boys!

This week I've got a taste of what I'm in for as a mother of 2 boys, but I have to say I am grateful that my 2 boys are not twins. Let me explain. This week I thought it would be really fun for Carter to play with his cousin Darrin (Brooke's son). Brooke came up last weekend and she is coming up this weekend for the baby blessing, so she left Darrin for the week. Darrin is the cutest, sweetest little thing and so I figured things would be fine. Carter has been very good and easy going, so I figured they would just play. It turns out I was a little bit wrong. I've come to the conclucsion that Boy #1 (Darrin) + Boy #2 (Carter) = TROUBLE! As I've told others about what went on, I think you could put any boy in this equation and you would get the same result! No matter how sweet each boy is or how well behaved, when two boys get together you are in for it! Here is just a short list of some of our "mishaps" this past week:

1. Popcorn spread all over the basement floor.
2. Berries from Grandma's garland thrown all over the foyer floor.
3. The craft room trash spread all over the floor.
4. Berries from Grandma's garland thrown all over the floor AGAIN.
5. Kaylee's hamster let free to roam the house.
6. Beads spread all over the craft room floor.

Despite these few "mishaps," we had a great time with Darrin and I'm glad he came to stay. On the other hand I've realized that I'm not ready for that third child yet!!

Now I'm just curious what the answer for this equation would be: Girl #1 + Girl #2 = ??? (Britt maybe you have a good answer for this one!)

family pictures

Our good friend Andrea Wardle took these adorable family pictures that I've tatooed all over my blog now. She did a fantastic job and for the most part everyone in the family cooperated! She took over 150 pictures and I would say by the 100th picture Carter was done and we have a whole bunch of shots where Carter is trying to run out of the picture...it's pretty funny! Jaxon stayed happy almost the entire time. The weather even cooperated with us and it was not too cold. I'm glad we did them when we did because it looks like the cold weather is here to stay!

Our Leper Baby

I can't believe how big Jaxon is getting. My parents went out of town for a week and when they came back they said he looked so much bigger and older. I guess I don't notice it as much because I'm with him 24/7, but I can tell he starting to creep out of his "newborn look". To our dismay, the other day Jaxon woke up with really bad baby rash. I've joked that he is our little leper baby, but it sometimes makes me sad to even look at him. It doesn't seem to bother him too much, although he does rub his face in my shirt from time to time, so maybe it does. He continues to be happy and we were even able to capture a picture of him smiling the other day. This picture even demonstrates his baby rash really well, but I'm glad he is smiling nonetheless. My aunt who is a nurse practitioner says you have to just leave it alone, but if anyone has any suggestions I'm up for the advice!

Daddy's Day Off

Matt had an unexpected day off on Tuesday, so we decided to take advantage of it. We went to Kneader's for breakfast and got their famous All-You-Can-Eat Chunky French Toast (my mouth still waters when I think about it) and of course "choc motts" or in other words chocolate milk. Matt then took Carter golfing for the first time! He was so excited. We told him before breakfast that daddy was going to take him golfing and so he he kept telling grandma and grandpa that he was going golfing. He was really disappointed when we drove up to Kneader's and said "golf" with a sad look on his face. We told him that golf was after breakfast and I don't think he has ever eaten so fast before! (Maybe I should tell him that every day!) After 9 holes of golf and fun riding in the golf cart, Carter took his usual afternoon nap and then we went house hunting. We had found a great new development super close to Matt's work but unfortunately the price of homes was double what we thought, so for now we will just dream and continue to "hunt."

We all think that daddy needs to have more unexpected days off!

Husband vs Wife

My friend, Talai, recently entitled a post "Swanky Saturday." She explained how she is emerging from the poor student phase of her life. As Matt and I are in a similar situation, it got me to thinking. Matt and I look at many things very differently, but the way we would choose to spend our money is very different (that is if we both had separate bank accounts and the money wasn't "ours"). The best way to describe me is "cheap." I'm always looking for a bargain and I get really excited when I find one. For example, if I find a shirt for $4, sometimes I'll buy it just to say I got it for $4. Most of the times this is great, but there are many times when I have found that I never use or wear it. I get really excited to tell Matt about it, but he doesn't get too excited over things like that because on the other hand, he is more about quality than quantity. He would rather spend a little more money on something that he really likes or wants than something he might use once or twice. It seems whenever we are looking at similar items, Matt tends to want to buy the more expensive item that is of better quality than one that is half the price. I think this is true for some things, but on the other hand sometimes you might as well buy the cheaper item, especially if you could buy 5 of them before spending as much as the more expensive item.

For the most part, I think Matt and I for the most part really compliment each other when it comes to spending money. A good example of this is a picture from Costco that I wanted to buy the other day. The one I had picked out was 11 x 14 and was $57 dollars. As I mentioned before, $57 for a starving student is like food for a whole week, so I almost cringed even thinking of buying it. I decided to take Matt later in the week to help me decide which one to buy, and to make a long story short, we ended up getting a panoramic picture that was 5 times the size for $199. It retailed for $440 so it was still a good deal but I've never spent that much for a picture. Now that it is all said and done, I'm really glad we got the really big one, even though it was a little more money. It will really look nice over a fireplace or couch and will stand out a lot more than the little one I wanted to buy initially.

How do you and your mate fare when it comes to spending money?

Dear Friends and Family,

So this will not be one of my most exciting posts to read, but it is actually a cry out for help and I would appreciate any pointers or ideas any of you out there might have. Ever since transitioning Carter to a "big boy bed," we have had huge issues about him waking up in th middle of the night. It started out as being once a night, but lately it has been 3 or 4 times a night. To make things worse, Jaxon is still up once or twice a night, so you might as well call me Mrs. Owl because I feel like I hardly get any sleep. Does anyone have any suggestions on the Carter matter? I hope Jaxon will grow out of his nightime awakenings soon, but if anyone has suggestions on that too it would be helpful!

Thanks,

A tired, sleepless mother

October in Review!

It seems like October just flew by. Nevertheless, we were able to pack a lot in this month! Here is a short recap of a few of the fun events of the month.

First and foremost was my birthday (Matt smirked when he read this)! My mother took my sisters, aunts, and I to get pedicures and wow! I think this is a must for every future birthday to come! Matt took me to lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, Pizza Factory. Matt also bought me a gift certificate to get a massage, which I haven't used yet but am looking forward to! We finished the night off with Coldstone ice cream, and I do not think there is any better way to end a birthday, or any evening for that matter.

Second was the Murder Mystery Party put on by my friend Breanne Garlick. It was a blast! I was "Sawbones Mcgraw," the doctor of the ship, and Matt was the Governor. It was sort of like Pirates of the Caribbean and I just happened to be the murderer. I was afraid I would give myself away, but I guess I'm more deceptive than I thought. We had great food and the company was even better!

Third was the Corn Maze in West Jordan with Matt's brother and his family. I have never been to a corn maze and I was hesitant to take Jaxon because I thought you literally had to fight your way through corn. We decided to take him anyways and he screamed for the first half of the maze and then finally passed out (that is the little ball that I'm holding). You might have to click on the picture to enlarge it! Carter had a lot of fun and kept picking up ears of corn and throwing the kernals on the paths. Fortunately we didn't get lost in the maze and we were able to visit with Jeff's family. As a reward for finding our way through the maze we got free bowling passes, so I guess that will be our next family adventure.

Last and not least was Halloween. Carter gave some good how-to tips in our previous blog and really enjoyed trick-or-treating. We did take Jaxon at first but then I brought him back to the house when it got dark and cold. Matt said that when people would open their doors, Carter would try to walk right in to find the bowl of candy. Oh, the innocence of children!

What a great month full of so much fun! I'm excited to see what November has in store....

Halloween How-to's....Courtesy of Carter

First, dress your little brother up in a silly pumpkin outfit.

If that wasn't silly enough, then try a monkey costume...There, that is better While in your costume, give mommy your biggest smile and assure her that you will always say please and thanks. Drag your Halloween bag on the ground just to prove to mom that you said it was too big for you. Make daddy take some of the candy out of your bag, so it is not so heavy and there is room for more!Show daddy which houses have the "good candy." I hope this helps! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

It's Official!

We can now officially call daddy Matt Shane, PT, DPT. He received verification of his Utah license to practice yesterday as well as his HUMONGOUS diploma - I don't think they could have made it any bigger without calling it a wall poster! In his words, "This made my year...well my 3 years (referring to 3 years of PT school)." I asked him if it was all worth it and he said, "Oh yeah." I think that with anything which takes a whole lot of sweat and tears, it is always worth it and believe me we had a lot of sweat and tears as a family! (Although sometimes it is hard to think that at the time or while you're going through it). Matt insisted that we celebrate last night at Red Lobster. I suggested waiting until we could be kid-free, but the boys were on their best behavior and Carter loved looking at the fish in the fish tank and the live lobsters. We are so grateful to those who helped us through the process and for your many prayers. We are also grateful that Matt has a job that he loves and that I am able to stay home and play with my boys (at least 2 of them anyways).

Monster cookies!

In celebration of Halloween, my mom made "Monster cookies" for my brother, Dustin, serving a mission in Croatia (we'll see if they get there without breaking into 100 pieces). "Monster cookies" is a sufficent name because they were really about the size of a pancake. I was preoccupied by and my mom had given Carter some of a cookie. The next thing I know he has more cookie on his face than in his mouth and he is kissing and loving on Jaxon. You really can't tell from the pictures, but Carter's face is covered in chocolate and Jaxon has chocolate on his shirt, on his eyebrow, face, and hair and all over his shirt! I think calling Carter the "Cookie Monster" is very fitting!

Cousins

Brooke and her family came up to visit us to go see Cody's football game and to celebrate my birthday! My friend Britt mentioned that I haven't been posting many pictures of Jaxon, and as I look at my blog I sadly find that to be true. Maybe I can blame it on the fact that I'm either feeding Jaxon, changing his diaper, or he is sleeping so there aren't to many moments to snap a good picture. For the past two nights he has slept 6 hours in a row which is heavenly. Anyways, here is a picture of Jaxon and his cousin Max (his birthday is August 23, almost exactly a month before Jaxon's of September 24). Aren't they too cute for words?!?

Pickin' Pumpkins

There is a cute man down the street who sells pumpkins every year and as Matt drove by on his home for work he thought it would be fun to go pick out some pumpkins. Carter had a blast, Jaxon cried most of the time (because he hates his carseat), and Matt and I loved watching Carter try to pick up every pumpkin in the patch. We even picked out pumpkins for Cody, Kaylee, mom, and dad. Carter kept picking out the flat squatty ones (which won't be much good for carving), so we told him to pick another one and he would go right to another flat squatty one! Nevertheless we got 8 pumpkins for less than $20 and had a lot of fun in the process!!

Pics of Pickin' Pumpkins

Utah!!

As many of you know, we have migrated back to Utah. After being in Arizona for 3 years, I have really come to appreciate the mountains and especially the 4 seasons. In Arizona there are only 3 seasons, cool, hot, and really hot! For Conference weekend we were able to spend the time at my parent's cabin in Sundance. It is so beautiful up there and right out the back deck they have a gorgeous view of Mount Timpanogos and Stewart Falls and I love to sit there and soak it all in. I'm looking forward to winter, but no so much the snow, as I hate driving in it. But bring it on right?

Silly Big Brother

Carter is all personality lately. I don't know if he's trying to compete for our attention since we had Jaxon, but he has been so silly lately. He says the funniest things and is such a ham at times. Here is a prime example of this. He found these "80's sunglasses" today and put them on and wanted me to take a picture. Then after I took one, he started running away from me laughing as I was trying to take another (hence the second picture). He is really enjoying being at Grandma and Grandpa's for a time and is loving all the attention he is getting. It probably makes the adjusment fo a new brother a little easier!! Too cute!

My very first SWAP!

So I can hardly contain myself (and maybe it is just because I get to do something besides changing diapers)!! My friend Britt from Bend, Oregon invited me to participate in my very first Swap. It's pretty simple and super fun! She compiles a list of people who want to participate and then she gives everyone someone else's name and then we send a package of goodies to our designated someone. This was a Halloween Swap, and I had way too much fun browsing all of the Halloween decor to find items for my package! I'm posting pictures of the final project and I hope it doesn't spoil the surprise for my Swap buddy. I don't personally know the person who I got so it would be ironic if she looked at my blog and saw my post. So, anyways it's kind of a fun way to celebrate the holiday! I'm thinking about doing my own Thanksgiving Swap in the next few months, so let me know if you're interested or if you know anyone that is!

Jaxon, Jaxon, Jaxon

I feel like I fell off the face of the earth for a few days, but I'm slowly regrouping from the move, baby blues, and sleepless nights (even though these still continue). Jaxon is keeping us all busy but we couldn't love him more (especially Carter, who we have to watch very carefully because he tries to pick him up...yikes). Here are some more pictures. Enjoy!

I'm reluctantly posting this picture, but here are me and my boys a few hours after Jaxon's arrival.

Jaxon's first car ride home from the hospital.

Jaxon's new outfit from grandma.

Carter can't stop loving on Jaxon.

He's Here!!

We are so excited that Jaxon Philip Shane has finally arrived. He joined our family at 3:47 a.m. on Monday morning, September 24 weighing in just shy of 9 pounds at 8 pounds 15 ounces with a length of 22 inches. Everything went well and we were able to come home yesterday. Jaxon is still adjusting to his new life but we are enjoying him. Now, no more talk...here are the pics!


A few minutes after birth.

My very first visitors!!


My brother Carter is ecstatic about my arrival home (and can't keep his hands off me!)

My pops!

Stay tuned for more adorable pics.....

The Baby Ultimatum....or so we hope!!

I went to the hospital for a nonstress test today since I am post dates and everything was great (even though there was a teensy part of me that was hoping something was not right so we could get this baby out...how awful am I). I swear the ultrasound tech kept measuring his belly and saying, "What a chubby baby." She even measured the fat pad around his abdomen and it was 1 cm. I don't know what that means, but she seemed to think it was significant. She said sometimes the measurements are skewed depending on the positioning of the baby, so I'm crossing my fingers that this is the case. As she was trying to get a good picture of the face, she even noticed a little roll under his chin. Needless to say, this might not be the easiest delivery. So, fortunately everything is okay with little Jaxon, but unfortunately we left the hospital without a new baby!

The Baby Ultimatum is this: My doctor scheduled me for another stress test on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. (which works out perfectly since Matt finishes his PT boards a few hours earlier) and then from there I'll be induced. We couldn't be more pleased. I know I mentioned before that I didn't want to be induced, but at this point I think this is the only way little Jaxon is going to come out!! Thanks for all of you have been patient with my complaining and whining about being pregnant, not having a baby, and being uncomfortable, and hopefully my next post will be pictures or our little (or not so little and chubby) Jaxon Philip!

I'm it! Thanks Bre!!

5 things I was doing 10 years ago

1. Driving for the first time
2. Playing softball/basketball for Timpanogos High
3. Going on my first date.
4. Getting fairly decent grades
5. Enjoying being a teenager and (now I realiaze) having limited responsibilities

5 Things on my to-do list today:

1. Clean and vacuum our filthy cars.
2. Work.
3. Play with my boys.
4. Try to walk this baby out!
5. Figure out other ways to make this baby come out!
6. Did I mention get this baby out!!

5 Things I would do if I were a millionaire

1. Take my family on a DisneyWorld vacation.
2. Travel the world
3. Pay off our student loans!
4. Invest, invest, invest.
5. Buy all the scrapbook items I want!!

5 things I will NEVER wear again:

1. Big bangs. I actually got the nickname of "Big Bangs" in elementary school (scary)
2. Gold vinyl bell bottoms.
3. Really short shorts.
4. MC Hammer pants.
5. Two pairs of different colored socks/shirts.

5 of my Favorite Toys:

1. Anything that has to do with scrapbooking.
2. My dad's boat.
3. Matt's IPod (I have yet to enter the IPod bandwagon)
4. Carter's GeoTrax train.
5. Bike.

5 people to tag:

1. Nicole
2. Christy
3. Jill
4. Kim
5. Britt

Just like Dad

I've mentioned in earlier posts that Carter adores his daddy, wants to be just like him, and tries to imitate him in almost every way. For example, last Sunday after church we were eating lunch and we were asking Carter about nursery and if he sang any songs. He imitated daddy's actions (putting his fist up to his head like he was thinking) and said, "Ummm." I couldn't help but laugh and so of course he played it up after that. Carter also enjoys watching golf with daddy and claps and says "yay" and "almost" when they get it into or close to the hole. See how much fun it is to have boys!!

Where or where....

Many of you may be wondering where Baby Boy #2 Shane is these days. We have been wondering the same thing!! Unfortunately for me, he is still tucked nicely away in my belly constantly pushing and prodding for new and more adequate space. Someone needs to tell him that there simply isn't any more room in there and he needs to come out into this great big world. I guess it is just way too comfy in there. The nurse practitioner pretty much summed it up this morning after measuring my fundus saying," You're pretty much to the full mark." Even though I have 4 days until my due date, it might as well be eternity! I haven't really progressed much as far as dilation and effacement goes, but the nurse practitioner said the magic (in my opinion dreaded) word today, "induction." The hospital policy where I am delivering is that you have to be induced at 40-5/7 weeks which will be next Friday. After being induced with Carter and as I felt like we were forcing it (which I guess you are), I told myself I did not want to get induced. I still feel that way and so I'm hoping I go into spontaneous labor before next Friday, but if not I guess it's better than being pregnant forever!! It is crazy to me that we will definitely have a baby next Saturday and I couldn't be more excited to know that there is an end in sight. For all of you that have been pregnant, you know exactly how I feel. Also, since I cheated on my last picture of being pregnant (only 6 months) I've posted a more accurate picture so maybe I can get a little sympathy for how "huge" I really am.

longing for a "cool-off"

After living in Arizona for 3 years now, I've grown accustomed to the intense heat. Like anything that seems to last forever, I get to a point in the summer (usually in September) when I've just about had it. I love seeing he sun shining, but there are mornings when I wake up and the sun is hiding and I feel like a kid on Christmas morning and couldn't be happier that the sun is hiding its face. Since being pregnant over the entire summer (which was bad planning on our part) the heat has been intensified and I'm done with it. I am grateful that we are headed north to cooler weather. I'm sure in a few months after months of snow, I'll be longing for the sun again, but for now I couldn't be happier about the cooler weather just around the corner. We have enjoyed the sun, especially at our favorite place to soak up the sun..Lake Powell, which is where the picture below was taken.

Boxes, boxes, boxes

As we have been slowly packing up our house in the last week or so, I'm finding out it is not my favorite thing to do. (Especially now that I'm addicted to blogging thanks to Britt.) I know there is probably no one who LOVES moving and packing boxes, but I find myself constantly getting sidetracked. For example, it has taken us a week just to get 10 boxes packed in the office and they are still scattered all over the room. I can somewhat put the blame in the fact that since Matt is "immobilized" from his surgery..that leaves all the heavy lifting to me....the almost-9-month-pregnant individual to lift them. Sometimes I just don't have the energy and my gargantuous stomach doesn't help the matter. We have run across some fun things, like an old scrapbook and some old pictures that Matt and I had taken when I was pregnant with Carter. It was fun to see those and how much younger I think we look just 3 short years ago! We've also come across (especially Matt) items we have no idea why they were stored away in a box all the years of our marriage and why we we were keeping them. If anyone has any good moving tips...I'm all ears! Anything to make this process as smooth as possible!

Dad, dad, he's our GRAD

Matt successfully graduated from Physical Therapy school at AT Still University on August 4. Way to go DAD!! We were so fortunate to have both of our parents come down to support him in this (as well as Cody and Kaylee). We had fun spending time with family, even though their stay was way too short!! Matt's parents even took us to Melting Pot after the graduation. It was quite the experienced and we were litterally there for over 2 hours. (I'm glad Carter did so good). Dinner was amazing, but dessert was by far the biggest hit. What can I day, you can't get any better than dipping goodies in rich chocolate! It's definitely not a restaurant you could afford to go to all the time, but definitely a must try at least once. I'm actually looking into buying a fondue pot so we can create our own "Melting Pot" dinners! Good times.

2 long weeks to go

It is amazing to me how fast this pregnancy has gone compared to Carter's. I'm sure a lot of it is due to the fact that I as so excited about Matt's graduation that I didn't have time to worry about being pregnant or how much longer I had. Well, now all that has passed and I have 2 extra long weeks to go and it feels like forever. I do remember this part of my pregnancy with Carter - feeling like I'm going to be pregnant forever! Is that possible...maybe I'll be the first. Then I come back to reality and it occurs to me that in 3 weeks or less there will be 4 of us and I'll be even more outnumbered. Nonetheless, I'm ecstatic to meet this kid who has been churning my insides and bruising my ribs! Carter and Matt can't wait to meet him either. Carter is going to be such a great big brother and hopefully not too jealous of one!! I'm reluctantly posting this picture, but I'm sure in a few months when I'm done being pregnant and hopefully back in my own jeans I'll appreciate that. I guess I'm actually cheating because this picture is from June, but I'm pregnant nonetheless!!

growing so big

I cannot believe how fast Carter has grown. Sometimes I look at him and my eyes swell up with tears because he's not so little any more. (Maybe that is just the pregnancy hormones taking over). About a month ago we broke down and finally bought Carter some "official" church clothes and doesn't he look handsome (not to mention he looks like he is 5 years old)!?! Before this he would wear khakis and a button up or polo shirt. Suitable but not ideal. He wore the tie for the first Sunday but has refused it ever since. It is probably because it literally chokes him. Either the shirt necks are super small or Carter has an extra large neck because the rest of the shirt fits with a little room to grow.