THE BLADS

So Sneaky!!!!

2012-01-26T08:59:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday we went to a few stores to find Jared a new pair of pants. Brogen does not share my love for shopping and it is never easy to take him but it was particularly bad this day. I was trying to get different sizes for Jared and take to him in the dressing room, and try and keep track of Brogen and he was bored so he wasn't sticking by me very good. I turned my head for literally 2 seconds and he was gone. I thought ok no biggie he is just probably on the next aisle but he wasn't. So I walked to the front of the store and I didn't see him anywhere. I start calling his name and walked to the back of the store. No Brogen. So now I am starting to panic just a little but think to myself there is no way he left the store he has to be here somewhere. So I keep walking around the whole store and finally tell Jared to come out and help me look. Mind you this store is not very big so I am really starting to get panicked by this point. We are calling his name and then Jared says I just heard him sneeze so he is here somewhere and then a girl said are you looking for a little boy because there is one hiding in the clothes rack over here. Sure enough this is what we found.

I was so relieved that he was in the store and not taken by some pedophile, but then I was mad at the little stinker for hiding from me and not answering when I called his name. Who does that!? I gave him a little lecture about how he needed to stay close to me because unfortunately there are bad people who might take him and I would never see him again and that it is naughty to hide from me and he was in trouble. He just stared at me and then said "No Mama, I hide! So I am positive he didn't care about one word I was saying. Jared also said my lecture became obsolete when I told him to pose in his little hiding spot so I could get a picture. Ha!

I guess it is exhausting hiding from your Mom and making her lose a year off of her life worrying about you being gone, so he had to take a little break and put his feet up.

A year gone by.......

2012-01-20T07:09:00.000-08:00

Wow! Its awesome that it has been a year since I have blogged! What a slacker. I promised Annie that it was one of my New Years resolutions to keep up a little better on the blog. I think I just get too overwhelmed thinking that I have to do something great and always have pictures but I really don't I can just write something. Then if it has been awhile I don't know where to start so I just keep getting further behind. Brogen does and says so many cute things that I want to remember and so I need to write them down. So how do you recap a whole year? You don't, so I am just going to start with right now and go from there. So here is what we have been up to lately:

Jared- Just started his last semester at SUU. I have to pinch myself a lot because it feels like I am dreaming. We have been doing the school thing since we got married. That is 5 freaking years! He has taken a couple classes a semester until just the last 2 years and he has gone full time. I am so excited for him to be done. We just got through the worst semester of our lives and we almost didn't make it out alive. We literally only saw each other on the weekends and it was really hard. This is the second semester that Jared has had to drive to SUU everyday so we are excited for him to be done with that commute and to have a little extra money in our pockets. Paying for gas is killing us! We recently did a weight loss competition with my family and Jared lost 20 lbs and is looking pretty dang good. He also won the competition and got some money to buy some stuff he has been wanting. He is still working nights at the school and that has been a blessing for him to have that job that works around all of our schedules.

Shannon- I just try to keep up with working full time and being wife and mom to my very active needy 2 year old. I was able to cut back to 32 hours a week this last semester so that we didn't have to put Brogen in day care and that was so amazing to get to spend that time with him that I don't normally get. I am crossing my fingers that after graduation Jared can get a decent job and I can become jobless or at least part time. I am crossing my toes too :) I lost a few pounds doing the weight loss competition but I am still working really hard to lose more. We are trying to be a lot healthier at our house and I am trying to do some sort of work out everyday which is not easy. Some mornings I get up bright and early and get to the gym and some days I just do a work out at home but anything is better than nothing. I have a new found love for pinterest. I just started a couple days ago but I have already spent way too much time on it. I have been loving all the fun ideas I can use someday if I ever get a house.

Brogen- I don't even know where to begin with him. He is a one of a kind that is for sure. He is in a really fun but hard stage right now. He already has a very strong willed, stubborn personality so put that with the terrible twos and watch out! I think he is teaching me patience. He will be 3 this April, I can't even believe it. He is a smart little guy and has the memory of an elephant. He knows his alphabet, all the colors, can count too 25 and knows all the numbers. He can totally run our computer and has been for months now, mouse and all. It took him about a minute to figure out how to run the mouse. I couldn't believe he could do it! So now he can play Starfall all by himself and I don't have to sit there and click it for him while he bosses me around. He loves to draw still and he always draws a moon. He is obsessed with motorcycles and his cars and trucks right now and he loves playing daddy's motorcycle game on the Xbox. He has no interest what so ever in potty training no matter what we do and he has started having night terrors so he is waking up screaming in the night and we can't seem to ever feel like we get enough sleep. Over Christmas break he missed quite a few naps and then just decided he is done with naps altogether so that has been rough because he still needs a nap. We still have to go to great lengths to get him to eat but he is getting a little better. Right now we can get him to eat pizza, PB &J's, popcorn chicken, broccoli, hotdog, and corn. He loves popcorn and M&M's and he loves to sneak swigs of my "Mama juice" as he calls it (Diet Pepsi). He still has to have his juice and blankies and says to me I want to hold you Mom. So I get to snuggle him until his juice is gone and then he is done with that. He loves going to the nursery and playing with other kids. My friend Mikell tends him for 3 hours 2 days a week for us and her little boy Cayson is the same age as Brogen and he loves going there and playing with Cayson and it has been really good for him. He can still be pretty shy when he is around new people but he is getting better with that. He has been saying the funniest things. I wish I would have written them down but a few that I can remember:

-He wanted me to play the motorcycle game on the Xbox so I humored him and I wasn't very good so when I finally passed a level he said "Good job Mama, you are so big"

Since he doesn't eat great we really praise him after he eats a meal and say "you did it, you ate that pizza so good" and one day he ate really good so I let him have a chocolate kiss and when he was done he said, " I did it Mama, I ate that chocolate so good!" Like we really have to talk him into eating chocolate :)

The other day my Mom was at our house tending him and he wanted to watch Toy Story so she was trying to figure out how to do it since we got a new TV and it was taking her a minute and he finally said, "What the duece Grandma?" He learned that one from his dad, he says it all the time.

My little nephews taught him to say, "what's up brotha" and he folds his arms and moves his head around when he does it. It is hilarious!

We were watching Tangled and I started singing the song and he said, "Don't Mama" so I stuck out my bottom lip to let him know I was sad he didn't like my singing and so he said, "Ok, do it Mama."

We have been asking him for awhile now if he would like a brother or sister to come live at our house and his answer varies but the one we get the most is, "No, this is Brogen house!" And no, we are not pregnant we just like to bug Brogen about it because he is so spoiled and we are going to have to prepare him for another sibling like a year in advance.

I know there are a million more things that I can't remember and I am going to be better about writing them down and doing at least a monthly update. We can shoot for that! I am looking forward to 2012. It is going to be a good year for us!

2011-01-13T15:10:00.000-08:00

I haven't updated the old blog forever. I have plenty of excuses for why, but I find myself feeling guilty about it everyday. I know there are a ton of things that Brogen is doing that I'm not going to remember unless I write them down. Just a little recap:

November- My little sis had her baby Jaden on the 13th and I spent the night in the hospital waiting room with the Grandmas and Terron's little sister. We were so excited to see him. He is the cutest boy and it was well worth it to pull an all nighter. He had tons of wild dark hair and the tiniest little mouth I have ever seen. On the 22nd Jared's sister Natalie welcomed little baby Paisley into her family and when I say little I mean little! She was only 5lbs 6 oz and is the tiniest little thing I have ever seen! So much fun to have 2 little miracles in the same month.
For Thanksgiving we went to the Blad's and we had a great time eating yummy food and being with family and seeing Paisley for the first time. Jared got up bright and early the next day and hit the Black Friday sales at the Wal-mart in Richfield and I was smart and stayed in my nice warm bed. He scored some sweet deals though so we were both glad he went.

December- We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my family and had the traditional things go on. Brogen didn't really get into unwrapping presents, it mostly just made him mad because he just couldn't do it as fast as he wanted. I ended up unwrapping most of them, but he loved what he got. We got him a little upholstered chair that rocks and a wheelies ramp way since he is so into cars. He also got a leapfrog laptop that he loves. Jared got some Wii games and money and gift cards and I got a sewing machine (so I can learn to sew) and a jewelry amoire that Jared stripped and repainted for me. We had so much fun and Jared and I both had almost 2 full weeks off of work. We spent a few more days in Enterprise and then headed home for a day and a half and then headed to the cabin to spend the remainder of our vacation. The best part of that is we got to meet up with Ryan and Bri who we don't see very often and it was so much fun spending some time with them. They called us on Christmas day to tell us they are expecting a baby and we couldn't be more excited for them!

Us: Right before Thanksgiving we found out that Jared got a part time evening job that he had applied for and we were so excited. It has been really tight trying to make it on one income for the last year and a half and it was such a blessing to finally find something to work with his school schedule. He can go in anytime after 2 so he goes as soon as I get home from work which doesn't really leave any time for us except the weekends but we are making it work. My cute little Beehives love babysitting Brogen and earning some extra cash so we have started going out on dates at least once a week. Hopefully we can keep that up. On Tues and Thurs Jared has school at SUU from 8:30-5:30 and then when he gets into town he goes straight to work. So Brogen doesn't even see him those 2 days. Our schedule is crazy busy and it gets hectic with me in Y.W. but thankfully I have great family and friends who are always stepping up to help me out. We decided to take advantage of the low home prices and interest rates and we are currently house hunting and it is stressful! We keep going back and forth deciding whether it is really the right time to buy, who knows where we will end up when Jared is done with school, but then decided if we can get into a house for not too much more than we pay in rent we might as well be putting our money to something that counts. We really want to have a place of our own and enough of a backyard that Brogen can play in. We actually put in offers on two different short sales but everyone says short sales are tough and take a long time so you have to be patient. Well I have no patience so its going to be interesting. In the mean time we will keep looking for something else that catches our eye.

Brogen: is a little ball of fire! He keeps me on my toes and pulling my hair out somedays. He sure knows how to push my buttons. Lets just say he is probably the most STUBBORN kid I know. You don't MAKE him do anything. He will do it when he is good and ready and if you try to force him, all hell breaks loose. He finally got his I-teeth in and not a moment too soon. They took their sweet time swelling up and making him miserable and then going back down and I am surprised we all came out alive. Brogen still isn't much of a talker but does say quite a few things. A few of his newest things his says are "I did it" purple, blue, and black. He loves his dads Ipod Touch and can navigate through it watching videos, playing starfall, and anything else he decides to do. It cracks us up how he just pushes the buttons and takes his little finger and swipes so fast trying to get to the video he wants. Right now he is learning his colors and can recognize quite a few of them and has also learned a few letters of the alphabet and the sounds they make. He still loves to watch his baby einstein shows no matter what I do to try to get him to watch the Disney movies. If I tell him he can't watch a show he just turns on the T.V., puts his DVD in and goes and sits in his chair like he didn't even hear me. He is super attached to his blankies and has to have them with him a lot more than he used to. He is the pickiest little eater I know and all he wants to do is drink all day which usually leads to him peeing through his diaper every night and he wakes up crying in the middle of the night. He loves balloons and has to point them out wherever we go and will play with one for hours. He is fascinated with the moon and has to find all his books that has the moon in them so he can point it out, and he loves to go outside and look at it. He loves to sing silly songs and do the actions but only if he thinks you aren't paying attention. He has turned into quite the little snuggler which I take advantage of every chance I get and he knows how to turn on the charm so he can get his way. He loves being outside and we can't wait for the warmer weather to come so we can be outside more instead of stuck in the house. We suck at taking pictures of Brogen lately but I found this one of him looking bugged that his dad put his hat on his head. So funny!

Halloween

2010-11-01T13:28:00.000-07:00

For Halloween this year Brogen was a little tiger which fits perfect with his everyday personality. At my work we always have the little kids come and trick or treat at our desks and its so much fun. Brogen didn't really know what the heck was going on other than he hated wearing his costume. He caught on pretty soon though and loved picking out a candy and putting it in his bag. He was so serious about it though, never even cracked a smile. We really don't give him any candy either so he was loving eating everything he could get his hands on. The next night we went up to my parents and took him trick or treating to a couple of places but he was throwing a fit about his costume so we called it a night. I didn't even dare attempt to paint his face but he
was still a pretty cute little tiger.

What We Have Been Up To Lately

2010-10-24T15:11:00.000-07:00

Life is very busy for us right now. Jared is driving to Cedar Tues and Thurs and has class all day long. I am still working full time and trying to balance working, being a mom and wife, and I just got called into the Young Womens presidency as the 2nd Counselor. I was so overwhelmed and still am but I am excited to get to know all the girls and have fun with them. This was only my 2nd week being in but so far it is going good. It seems like we are always gone on the weekends and never seem to get caught up on anything but we finally had a weekend at home this weekend and we now have a clean house, clean clothes, food in the fridge and I am blogging so its been a pretty good weekend. Brogen went to Nursery for the first time today and I was nervous how he would do but he was so excited and went right for the toys and couldn't have cared less when we walked out the door so that was a huge relief. He had so much fun playing with the other kids and all those new toys. That will make Sundays a little easier for us, now if we can just figure out how to keep him in Sacrament meeting for longer than 10 minutes we will be doing good!

17 & 18 Months

2010-10-24T14:45:00.000-07:00

The last couple of months I have been slacking on keeping a list of all the cute new things Brogen is doing but I can come up with a couple off the top of my head.

He says Uh Oh, and Ouch but does not talk as much as I think he should. Hopefully he is just catching up from months and months of not being able to hear very well. He understands everything we tell him though and when we read books he is able to point to most things when asked. Any advice on how to make your child talk? Ha ha

He loves Barney, much to our dismay and insists on watching it once everyday. Me and Jared do our best to tune it out but those dang songs get stuck in our head and we hate it!

He pulls the cutest little face when he is excited about something. I need to try to get a picture of it.

He is finally working on those 1 year molars and almost has all 4 of them in. We have had a few rough nights over those teeth!

Loves to play ring around the rosies

Loves to play at the park and go down the slides and just be outside. I think we have a true boy on our hands, he wants to be outside all day and just likes an open space that he can run. He loves to run and he gets in this cute little ready position and says one, two, three and then takes off running. He is so funny.

He is the most stubborn kid I have ever seen. Once he gets something in his mind he wants, it is almost impossible to distract him from it and he has had many melt downs because of it. We are still trying to figure out the most effective way to discipline this kid but for the most part he is a really good boy.

He is a brat about getting his diaper changed but especially when its me doing it. The other day we had a 30 minute power struggle over him getting his poopy diaper changed. I seriously am not strong enough to hold him down and change it myself, (he is almost as big as me:) and thank heavens my mom was in town and coming over, we literally had to hold him down kicking and screaming. I don't get it. Some days!

He points to most all of his body parts but will only do it when HE wants to. We have to catch him in just the right mood.

We haven't been to the doctor for his well check yet so I don't have his stats but he is pretty dang tall for his age. Everyone that asks his age comments on how tall he is. Not sure how that happened with such a short Mommy!

Just some random pics of the cute boy!

Ear Tubes

2010-09-15T15:27:00.001-07:00

Brogen got an ear infection right after he turned 1 years old and when we took him back in to the doctor to make sure it had cleared up he said there was still fluid in there we needed to watch. So we took him back to our pediatrician again and the fluid was still there and he couldn't get his ear drum to react to the test he did meaning he probably wasn't hearing much of anything, and what he did was muffled. Since this was right when kids usually start talking and Brogen wasn't really saying much we were both concerned so he sent us to the ear specialist. It had already been 4 months that he had this fluid on his ears and the specialist said lets give it another month before we jump right into tubes. I was not very happy about that but what do ya do? So a month later we took him back and same, the fluid was still there and his ear drum was not reacting to the test they did on him so finally we got the go ahead with the tubes. We got it scheduled right away and on August 18th he got his tubes. Tubes are just a simple procedure but it was crazy how different Brogen responded to everything. At 6 months when he had surgery on his hands he was totally unaware of what was going on and never even cried. That surgery was almost 5 hours long and when he came out of the anesthesia many hours later he was so happy. This time it was a 20 minute procedure and they also snipped the little piece of skin in his mouth that was attached down onto his gums. No big deal right? From the very beginning he didn't want any of the nurses touching him or taking his temperature and he wanted out of that room. He kept pointing out into the hallway so I would take him to the hallway and then he would point to the door. He would not get in the bed to be wheeled into surgery so the anesthesiologist had to carry him off and I got a little teared up thinking about when we did this the last time but reminded myself this was a piece of cake compared to that. He didn't cry when he took him so that made it a little easier. Well it seemed like as soon as we just got settled in the waiting room they called us back to get him. They gave us a heads up that he probably wouldn't be too happy waking up and that the gas makes them cranky and when I saw him it broke my heart. He was sobbing and I could tell he had been crying for awhile. It was so sad. His mouth bled a lot more than they thought it would and so they handed him to me and there was blood all over his gown and mouth and on a washcloth they were using to wipe it off, and I could smell it and it made me light headed but I knew I had to suck it up and try to comfort him. I could not console the poor child and I felt so helpless, he only stopped screaming long enough to take a drink and then he would start in again. He kept pointing to the door and squirming to get off my lap and thrashing around and he is so dang strong that I almost dropped him a couple of times. I just kept asking the nurse if we could leave, that he just wanted to leave and then maybe he would stop crying, but we had to stay there a certain amount of time. Ugh! Finally they let us leave and when we got home he only wanted me. My mom came down to see him and he wanted nothing to do with her and when she even looked his way he would cry. He just acted like he was in pain and not comfortable, he wanted on my lap then wanted down and back up again and finally after 2 hours of crying and sadness he got off my lap to go play and he threw up on the living room floor and pooped his pants at the same time. His throw up looked like mostly blood so we think he had swallowed so much blood that it made his little tummy sick and that was all he needed. Right after that he was jabbering and playing and back to his same old self. We were so happy to finally be done with that. We have seen a huge difference in him and within a few days he was saying all kinds of new things and was non stop talking. He seems so much happier now also. We just went in for the follow up appointment and the Dr. said everything looks great. However now he hates doctors and freaks out if anyone tries to touch him especially if they have some kind of instrument in their hands. We literally had to hold him down kicking and screaming for the doctor to look in his ears, when before the surgery he would sit right there still. He also had a hearing test today and he did well. So yah for ear tubes!

Blogger is Buggin!!!!!!!

2010-08-24T20:14:00.000-07:00

Ok first off I have caught up quite a few posts tonight and it is taking forever because I upload my pictures and that takes forever and then I arrange them and the spacing is all off and I think I have it fixed and then I get a post like the one below with a huge space. Sometimes when I go to move the pictures they disappear completely and I have to start over. I seriously have no idea what I am doing wrong. On preview it looks normal and when I post it, its all messed up. Any help?

16 Months

2010-08-24T19:13:00.000-07:00

We took Brogen swimming for the first time this summer and at first he was really hesitant and then he turned into a little fish. He loved going down the little slide at first with our help and then he got brave and would go all by himself. We still had to catch him at the end or he would go under and he did a couple of times but it didn't even faze him. He didn't want us to hold on to him or help him either.

The next time we took him swimming Jared wanted to take him on the hydo tube and Brogen loved it. The just kept going one time after another until Jared was too tired to walk up the stairs anymore. He would just have the cutest grin on his face all the way down

He added Ta-da and Hot to his vocabulary

Loves to be in his stroller and begs and whines to get in there multiple times a day and we usually end up taking him even though its blazing hot outside

He holds our cell phone up to his ear and jabbers like he is having the conversation of a lifetime

Loves to throw his ball and has a pretty good little arm on him. He mostly throws balls but sometimes we catch him trying to throw anything and everything

He likes to draw with a pen and paper but mostly he likes to try to draw on anything but the paper but he thinks he is pretty good stuff when he is drawing. Its pretty adorable

He likes to be on the computer "helping" us with whatever we are doing and loves to try to be in control of the mouse. He also turns the printer off and on and off and on until we finally unplug it

He likes cords of any kind and likes to pull them behind him

Finally has taken an interest in his trucks and drives them all over the house, sometimes he gets cruising pretty fast

He likes to dance and when we play We Dance on the Wii he has to hold a controller and he dances. Its so cute!

Grandma taught him to knock on the door so when he wants in or out he goes and knocks on the door

He now goes and tries to get in his highchair when he is hungry which is a huge help to us

He has this high pitched girl scream that he does when he is ticked at us, or when he can't make his toy do something that he wants it to. Since it sounds like a girl scream Jared calls him Brogeana whenever he does it

I should mention that we are big on nicknames. I don't know why but we just are. I never call Jared by his name and when I do it just doesn't sound right so of course Brogen has about a million nicknames. I thought it would be fun to remember them later on. They are baby, baby boy, babes, best boy, stinky, bugs, buggy, and Brogeana. Don't worry he does still answer to Brogen

He does so many cute and new things it is hard to keep up. His communication skills have improved so much and he is able to communicate and understand more and he is also crazy independent. Today he wanted his train up the stairs and its kind of heavy and I tried to help him but he freaked out so I just let him go. He had to work so hard to get it up each step and was sweating but he just took it one step at a time and he eventually got it up there. Then he just wanted to turn around and come back down. We work with him everyday to learn new words and do new things and he doesn't really act like he cares and then just one day out of the blue he will do it. So I know he is listening he just doesn't want to do it when we want him to. He keeps us on our toes. Love you bugs!

24th of July

2010-08-24T19:06:00.000-07:00

So I am pretty lame and only got a couple pictures of him in his cute 24th of July outfit but since I bought it for just that I thought I at least should put a picture up. We went to Enterprise to watch the parade and he didn't seem to impressed by it but he watched most of it and then he went out in the street with Daddy to catch candy. His face never changed expression so I don't think he really like it, only the horses. We didn't go to the races or the rodeo we just kind of relaxed at my parents and Brogen played outside to his little hearts desire.

15 Months

2010-08-24T14:16:00.000-07:00

Jared takes him to the park almost every morning and he loves the big open space to just run around and be free after being cooped up in our tiny place

Current Vocabulary: (mind you most of this has taken us some time to figure out because it is in Brogen language) Da Da, Mama, outside, dog, tickle tickle, get you, downstairs, keys, chips, fishy, this, that. There are some pretty random words in there, his dad gave him a chip once (big mistake) and now if he sees anyone with chips he wants them and says chip so cute that we can't resist giving him one. If he doesn't call something by its actual name it is "this" So we hear "this" a lot!

Understands most everything we say to him. Time to eat, Time for Night Night, Do you want to go strolling, Go Outside, Where's Miley (Sara's dog) and when I tell him to go get a diaper so we can change his bum he runs and hides and it takes quite a bit of coaxing to get him

He has turned into quite the schmoozer at bedtime. As soon as I say "ok its time for night night" he pours on the charm. He knows how to manipulate his mommy like crazy and is extra cute and silly so that we will keep playing with him instead of putting him to bed. It usually works too, at least for a few minutes.

He loves to wrestle with daddy, as soon as he sees Jared on the floor its game on! He goes and pounces on his belly and Jared holds him in the air with his feet and tickles him with his toes all while I sit there holding my breath that he doesn't fall. I usually have to be a fun hater and make them stop before someone gets hurt

He now blows kisses after he waves bye bye. I had been trying to teach him forever and he wouldn't do it and then one day he was waving bye bye to my dad and he blew him a kiss. Go figure! We have really discovered that we have a VERY stubborn boy and he likes to do things on his own time not when we want him to, and we know exactly who he inherited this from:)

He loves to look at the animals mounted on the wall downstairs at my parents house and when we name them off he will point to them, he gets them right most of the time. This prompted a trip to the animal museum here in town but he didn't quite know what to think of that, he was a little overwhelmed with so many animals

Loves to be sang too and has started to do some of the actions to the Wheels on the Bus. Itsy Bitsy Spider and 3 Little Monkeys are his favorites

He loves to empty out this cupboard and then get in there and sit for about 2 seconds and then he is on to make a mess somewhere else

Loves to ride in the car because he knows that is the only place he gets to watch his Baby Einstein DVD's.

He loves dogs and whenever he sees a dog he points and says dog and gets so excited

14 Months

2010-06-16T14:21:00.000-07:00

I have just a few new things to write about this month:
He is officially walking as of May 23rd! It was a Sunday and for about a month he had been teasing us, taking a few steps here and there, and then taking about 6 or 7 and then all of the sudden he just started walking. Just like that! It was the funniest thing ever. He looked like Frankenstein with his arms out trying to stay balanced.

When he walks around or plays with his toys he starts to hum. It is the cutest thing ever and when we start laughing he will look up and laugh with us. He loves to be cheered on for the cute stuff he does

Brogen has become Mr. Independant this month and likes to grab the spoon or fork out of our hands when we try to feed him, and makes a complete mess, since he still doesn't have the skills to feed himself. We usually give him a fork or spoon to hold so he can feel like he is helping.

His behavior is so unpredictable, one minute he is happy as ever, and the next he is throwing himself on the floor throwing a tantrum because he can't do something he wants or whatever he is holding isn't doing what he wants it to so he gets frustrated. If he points to go outside and we don't take him out there he has an immediate meltdown especially if he is overtired

He loves to be outside and Jared has started taking him to the splash pad and his favorite part is to walk along the rocks and through the water.

He hates when Jared hugs me or touches me at all for that matter. As soon as he notices us hugging he does this little whine and comes over to break us up and then wants me to hold him. It is hilarious and we get the same reaction every time. We still haven't figured out if its because he is jealous or he thinks Jared is hurting me or something. This morning when he came to break us up he wrapped his arms around my neck and hugged me then gave me a kiss right on the lips then went back to hugging me. He repeated this several times before he finally got down. It was so cute!

He loves to be in tight spaces or little places he feels like are just his. He likes to go in this tiny space in between our cupboards and the kitchen hutch and just chills there and he likes to go behind the couch or chair. This is how we found him when we checked on him the other day. Sitting inside his container of legos throwing them out

The bathroom cupboard was open so he crawled right in and he can now get himself up on the couch and our bed and anything else he wants

Another favorite right now is to pull off every inch of toilet paper off the roll and then proceed to tear it apart into tiny pieces and for some reason he likes to open the lid and try to put stuff in there so we have to watch him like a hawk. He also loves to open up the garbage and put stuff in there. The other day I caught him trying to put his snuggle blanket in there

Just a random picture I thought was cute. He is always on the go, climbing on something, climbing off something, getting into whatever he can find. He is a handful but oh so cute!

13 Months

2010-06-16T13:30:00.000-07:00

Things to remember about Brogen at 13 months:
He learned to high five thinks he is pretty neat when he does it

He finally learned how to turn around and go down the stairs and also how to get off the couch and the bed without nose diving much to my relief

He now likes to look at books by himself. It is so cute, he will sit on the floor or couch and turn the pages and jabber like he is reading to himself. He doesn't have the attention span for us to read to him anymore he only likes to flip through the pages

Since he got sick and refused his binky and bottle for a week, we decided he had pretty much weaned himself and we decided not to give it back to him so.........

No more "Mr. Binks" which is bittersweet because sometimes it was nice in certain situations to have it but I know we lucked out having him weaned from it like we did since he just didn't want it anymore.

No more bottles and no more formula! Yahoo, I am $100 richer each month not having to buy formula. He just drinks regular milk from a sippy and it took him a few days but he made the switch fairly easy.

He has started being more snuggly with the loss of "Mr. Binks" and from being sick and wanted Jared or I to rock him to sleep. I was in heaven since I have always wanted him to lay on my shoulder while I rocked him to sleep and he let me have that for about 3 weeks before he decided he just wanted to be put in his crib.

Still isn't saying anything new from the last post. Just a lot of jibberish

Now has 6 teeth, 2 on top, 4 on the bottom

Doesn't eat that great and seems like he could take it or leave it when it comes to food

1 Year Old Pics

2010-06-03T15:36:00.000-07:00

Well actually these are more like 13 month old pictures but its because I wanted to take pictures with these letters and I had to order them from Roberts because they were missing a letter in the store. Ugh!!! So my friend Beck that has a studio here in St. George took these and let me tell you Brogen was one tough customer that day. The pictures with the letters were not exactly what I had in mind but he was not cooperating and Beck did a dang good job getting what she did, quite a few tantrums later. He kept throwing the letters and crawling away as fast as he could! I wanted them to be more of a "capture the moment picture" but what do ya do? He has turned into quite the little stinker, and regardless I think they still turned out way cute. I am behind on blogging once again but hopefully I will get caught up this weekend. I just wanted to share these cute pics of my little man all grown up.

Jared's Graduation

2010-05-09T17:02:00.000-07:00

Jared graduated from Dixie State this past weekend with his Associates. I am really proud of him for deciding to go back to school. It hasn't been easy trying to juggle work, school, and a family but he did it and I know when we are all done with school all of the sacrifices will have been worth it. Jared has never owned his own gun and he fell in love with a .22 that was all camouflage and supposedly really awesome so I surprised him and got that for a graduation present. He was so surprised and excited. My mom came down to go to the graduation to help me out with Brogen since he gets bored in about 1 second and this is what they did, kicked around a big rock outside and he was loving it!

Brogen wasn't too sure about Dada in his hat and gown. See how cute his hair looks short! Happy Graduation babe and now on to SUU!

Curly Hair.......Gone

2010-05-09T16:35:00.000-07:00

Brogen has great hair and it grows really fast. We buzzed when he was like 6 months old, then it grew back and we cut it short and had fun spiking it and doing mo hawks, and then we decided to just let it grow and see if it would go curly and wavy like Jared's hair did when he was that age, and get curly it did. Of course I thought his curls were so adorable and it made him look almost identical to Jared's baby pictures. It was so long we would have to blow dry it after his bath because it was never dry before he went to bed. The back was the curliest and I am sad that I never got a good picture of that but here are a few pictures with it long.

When we were up at the cabin we decided to have Aunt Nat cut his hair. We put in a Baby Einstein movie so he would hopefully hold still, and since he didn't feel good also he just sat there so still and didn't even flinch when she turned the clippers on. I was a little sad at first when all his little curls started falling in my lap and it took me a minute to get used to the new hair but he looks so cute and so much older. We can always grow it out again anyways right?

Cabin and 1st Ear Ache

2010-05-09T16:01:00.000-07:00

We went up last weekend to the cabin to celebrate Brogen's birthday, Nat's birthday and Jared's graduation. We were planning on some great weather, but I think the bad weather follows me wherever I go and it ended up being cold and even snowed a little Sunday morning. We spent most of the time inside the cabin which is fun anyways and we went to the tree swing for a while and even Brogen went on Jared's lap but I didn't get any pictures. Sara and Terron were able to come also and it was just a lazy relaxing weekend, well for everyone besides me and Jared that is. Friday on our way up there Brogen's nose was running a little and he was conjested but we kind of thought maybe he had allergies. He was a little grumpy but nothing terrible and he was refusing his bottles that day. When we went to put him to sleep that night he wouldn't take his bottle and cried a little but grandma finally got him to sleep. About an hour later he woke up screaming bloody murder and I could not get him to stop for what seemed like an eternity. This is so out of character for him but we figured he was just overtired and couldn't breathe. It was so sad to see him like that and he finally cried himself to sleep in my arms but when I tried to put him down he would cry. So me and Jared took turns holding him the entire night. It was rough but we knew he couldn't breathe and then he started running a fever. I was just really glad that I had brought the tylenol with me and we got that in him and he slept pretty good in our arms. The next day he was really cranky and having meltdown after meltdown over the silliest things. He wouldn't take a nap, he wouldn't take his bottle or his binky. We kept giving him tylenol but I have never seen him so miserable. Jared's family had a little party for him that day and he got spoiled all over again. These pictures are dark and kind of hard to see but he got a little splash table with a boat and a swimming suit and sunglasses. He loved playing with it and that seemed to cheer him up. I know he is going to love playing with it when we put water in there too. Camille made him the cutest truck cake and Grandma had decorated with balloons and a banner. Two 1st birthdays, what a spoiled boy!!!

I really wanted to just leave the cabin and get him to the doctor but he seemed better during the day and we just kept thinking he was stuffed up. When this happened before we had one bad night and that was the worst of it so we were hoping it was the same this time. That night when we tried to put him to sleep he screamed forever and I couldn't get him to stop. He was crying so hard that he was hoarse and hyperventilating. I was beside myself after about an hour of this and ended up crying with him. We finally figured he must have something more than a stuffy nose so we started another long night of taking turns holding him after he finally calmed down. The next morning we woke up to snow at the cabin. Snow in May, it has been crazy weather this Spring, and we got packed up and left after lunch. We took Brogen to the clinic that night and he had double ear infections, sore throat, and congestion. We felt so bad that we didn't just come home. We got him his antibiotics and a humidifier and prepared for another bad night. They gave us numbing drops to put in his ears and that seemed to help a lot. Jared held him until about 2 in the morning since I had to work the next day and then he was able to lay him in his crib and he slept the rest of the night and then it just got a little better every night. He has been such a good boy about taking his medicine and lays so still while we put the drops in, its like he knows they help him. He is still on the mend but hopefully in the next few days he will be back to normal.

1 Year Old!!!!

2010-05-09T14:41:00.000-07:00

So now that it is almost time to do the 13 month post I finally get around to the 12 month post. Lots of fun things have been going on this past month with this babe.

He finally graduated to a forward facing car seat and it is Heaven!!! He has been loving being able to see where we are going and doesn't feel so left out. Although I still sit back there with him sometimes.

We finally got him to clap on his own. It is very hard to teach him anything because he will not sit still long enough for stuff like that.

Got his other top tooth finally! Still just has two on top and two on the bottom

So close to walking, he stands up in the middle of the room and takes a couple of steps but gets nervous and sits down. He has the leg strength and the ability he just needs the confidence.

Helps Mommy water the flowers every night and will do anything to get outside.

Climbs up on the dishwasher and tries to "assist" in getting the dishes out

He is getting better about entertaining himself and likes to sit on the floor and look and books on his own, push his trucks around, and play with his other toys.

He is a stinker about getting his diaper changed and when its a poopy one and he is not in a good mood so we can distract him it takes 2 of us to change it with one of us holding him down. Not fun!

He had his first trip to the dentist. Jared saw a spot on his tooth and we thought it was a cavity even though we thought we were doing everything right so we took him in and turns out its just a defect on his tooth and not a cavity. Phew!!!

One day out of the blue he started pointing and leaning his body towards what he wants. It is so funny

He points and says "this" which is his first word besides momma and dada

He loves dogs and gets so excited whenever he sees one. Jared's family has a dog that is a house dog and Brogen follows her around relentlessly and all she wants is some peace and quiet. My sister also has a dog and whenever we are at my parents house he wants over to the window to look out at Miley. He is not afraid of her and loves getting licked which I think is disgusting!

He is a pretty picky eater right now and eats most table food just fine but will not eat his fruits and veges very good.

For his birthday we had a little family part at my parents house in Enterprise. There was a lot of family that came to support and make his day special. He even had both sets of great- grandparents on my side there. My lil sis Sara spent hours making the cake and it turned out awesome. Brogen loves Baby Einstein shows and would watch all day everyday if we let him so that was the theme for the party. The cake was the Baby Einstein caterpillar and he loved it!

He was spoiled and got so many fun things for his birthday. We got him a little wagon that he can push and pull and he got clothes, toys, and money to go with his new piggy bank.

He wasn't too sure about digging right into his cake but he sure made a mess with the frosting. Jared said he looked like the Joker from Dark Knight with frosting around his mouth.

He went straight to the bathtub after this, that black frosting wasn't coming off that easy. He had a great first birthday but I was so consumed with getting the food ready and the presents wrapped that I feel like I neglected my boy who was whining and pulling on my leg all day so next year I decided his birthday can be low key with no party and I will just play with him and do whatever he wants that day. Love you buddy! Its been a great first year!!!

Easter

2010-05-04T15:44:00.001-07:00

So I decided that blogging is not my thing. I love to look at other people's blogs but I hate updating mine which is a shame because its the only journal/scrapbook that Brogen is going to have so I guess I will do a little catching up AGAIN. For Easter weekend we went to Enterprise. The weather was crappy as usual but we had good times and good food. Brogen always gets spoiled, he got a couple new church outfits and some other toys and books. Jared's mom gave us his Easter bunny basket that he had as a kid and it is so cute.

Before Brogen was born me and Jared would go for walks on the bike trail by our house. These cute families would always come biking past us pulling their kids behind them in a bike trailer. We thought it looked so fun and kept saying that we would get one for Brogen to ride in. So thanks to our awesome tax return this year we got me a bike and a bike trailer for Brogen. I think he looks so cute in it and seems to really enjoy it so we have been going on a lot of family bike rides.

On Sundays we have been taking Brogen to go feed the ducks over in Bloomington. He loves it and seems mesmerized by all the ducks. He just stares and tries to help us throw the bread.

11 Months

2010-03-22T13:03:00.000-07:00

Here I am again, another month has flown by just like the last and we are now 1 month away from the 1 year mark! I want time to slow down right now!!!!! Things haven't changed much since the last post but there are a few things different.

Still just babbles a lot but is not saying any words yet. I think his first word will be ball, but we will see

One of his favorite things to do right now is throw his little baseball down the stairs and make daddy retrieve it just so he can throw it down again. He loves this!

He loves to hit his ball and chase after it and then when he gets to his ball again he hits it and off he goes. He can keep himself entertained for quite a while doing this. He also loves to throw is bat on the tile and watch it bounce all over the place. Sometimes he laughs when he does it and other times he has a very serious look on his face like its all business! He also loves to have someone roll the ball to him and he will roll it back.

He is slowly losing interest in looking at all his books 3 times a day. He only has patience for certain books now and he likes to pick them out of the basket himself.

He has no interest in walking whatsoever and we finally decided maybe we should start working with him a little and making him try, but oh man do we ever see that temper come out when we do. He will take a few steps with us holding on to his fingers and then just throws a fit and sits down and has jello legs and refuses to stand back up. I don't think he will be walking any time soon.

He is getting really picky about what he eats and horrible about sitting in his high chair, getting dressed, his diaper changed, sitting in church for more than 5 minutes, and just about everything else.

Still has 1 top tooth but the other one is SO close to breaking through.

He is getting more attached to Mr. Binks everyday! We try to only let him have it for nap time and at night for bed time but he seems to have an endless stash somewhere and every time I turn around he has another one in his mouth.

When he wants down he will drop whatever he is holding in hopes we will put him down to get it. That is his new thing at church because he wants down so bad!

Loves to be outside and gets to come and see mommy everyday at work and we go for a stroll over to the water fountain by the library. He loves to watch the fountain and see all the little kids running and yelling and having a good time. I can tell he wants to join them so bad. You gotta walk buddy!

We have been trying to be outside a lot lately since the weather is so nice and he loves to be outside so much. We have been strolling almost everyday and taking him to the park when we can and he tried out the swing and slide for the first time and seemed to like it. I just love this time of year and everything that comes with Spring. We are excited to try out the bike trailer we just got for Brogen to ride in. I hope he likes it! I will post some pics later but thought I better do this post before another week slips by me.

P.S. I had a miserable Sunday yesterday trying to keep Brogen entertained at church and just ended up leaving 20 minutes into it and going home. All he wants to do is be down crawling around. I want to find one of those cloth quiet books for him for Sundays but I have no idea where to buy them or if I have to make it or what so let me know if any of you have any ideas.

10 Months, Valentines, G-Grandpa Blad, Baby Lainey

2010-02-21T08:47:00.000-08:00

Happiest Boy!

It is dang near impossible to get a picture of this kid looking at the camera without his eyes closed so this is as good as it's going to get. Brogen just keeps getting more fun everyday and has lots of spunky personality! He is always happy and always moving!
Things to remember at 10 months:

Favorite thing to do after his bath is pull the drain up and let a little water drain and then push it back down. He does this a million times before the bathtub is finally empty

Has two teeth on the bottom and has one top tooth coming in

Waves bye bye now and uses his whole arm. It is so cute!

Loves music and loves to dance. He just can't help himself when he hears music he gets the biggest grin and then starts to move his legs, then his arms, and then he wants to stand up and jump jump jump!

Puts his blankie over his face and kicks his legs like crazy and laughs while we say "Where's Brogen" and then he pulls it off and does it again

I love to steal his blankie and snuggle it up to my face and say "Look at my soft blankie" and no matter what he is doing he will drop it and come on a mad crawl and snatch it out of my hands and bury his face in it. He LOVES his blankie!

HAS to be read to about 3 times or more a day and we are talking about 60 books every time we sit down to read. That is no exaggeration, we counted them! He has his favorites and if we pick a book he doesn't like anymore he pushes it away and reaches for another one.

The other day Jared had a little remote control car he kept bugging Brogen with. He would drive it up to him and then let it spin and Brogen was kicking it like mad trying to get it away. After this went on for awhile he finally picked it up and chucked it on the tile and it broke. I laughed forever about it and told Jared thats what he gets for pestering him.

He does so many goofy things and is always making us laugh. There is never a dull moment around our house. Love you Brogen!

For Valentines Day we were in Kanosh. He got lots of books from everyone and a cute new outfit for church. He actually threw out the tissue paper and tipped the bag upside down and out came his book.

Jared's mom fixed Cafe Rio Salads and it was Oh so yummy and Natalie and Jake came up and we just had a fun weekend with lots of family, food, and fun. Jared was very sweet to me this year and gave me a nice card, a pedicure and a gift card and I got the Season 5 of The Office for Jared.

Later on we went to see G-Grandpa Blad. He is living in a rest home (which is in the hospital) and we wanted to visit with him and get a picture of him with Brogen. It made me tear up while we were there thinking that this could possibly be the last time we see him. He was having a good day that day and hopefully he will have a lot more ahead. Nat took the cutest picture of Brogen giving Grandpa a love and Grandpa giving him a kiss. (I need to get that from you Nat)

4 Generations

Last but not least, the long awaited arrival of Lainey J Gardner (named after Grandma Elaine) She was born on February 11th and we are so excited to have another little girl in the family. She is so dang cute and seems so tiny! I never remember Brogen being that small. She is going to be one spoiled girl by all of us and has the best big brothers to take care of her. Congrats Jed and Karisti!

9 Months

2010-01-19T14:23:00.000-08:00

Well here it goes again. Another month went flying by just as fast as the last one. Brogen surprises us everyday with his new tricks and cute things that he does. He is definitely all boy and wants to be down exploring and crawling around 24/7 just like his dad did at this age. He is such a busy body! Fun things about Brogen this month.

Loves to watch Baby Einstein in his jumper. As you can tell he is really into it.

He Loves to be outside. If you take him outside for a minute and then go back in the house before he is ready he will yell and kick and throw a little fit. He loves to go for strolls and reaches out to touch everything he can along the way. This kid really likes to touch and feel everything.

He LOVES his bath. We say "Brogen you want to have your bath" and he gets a huge grin and gets so excited. He likes to stand up and lean over and watch the bathtub fill up with water and he has the cutest little naked bum you have every seen!!

He still loves to be read to and turn the pages. He gets so anxious to turn the pages that sometimes we don't read the book he just turns pages. He thinks he is "so big" when he does it.

He loves to be sang to and a couple of his favorites are "popcorn popping", "itsy bitsy spider" and "rock a bye". No matter what is going on he will always calm down or hold still if I sing to him.

He has one lonely bottom tooth. We have yet to see the other one even trying to come through.

He babbles a lot still just saying mama dada and baba and some other things we don't understand and when he gets frustrated or tired he starts yelling at us. When he is tired and he starts crawling he will just yell the whole time he is crawling somewhere.

He will finally eat most baby foods except the really gross vegetables and we have started giving him table food which is what he prefers. So far he has tried: pancakes, waffles, potatoes and gravy, cheese, bread, cheesy potatoes, lasagna, spaghetti, tiny taste of mommy's oreo shake, and peas.

He only takes his bottle really good when he is sleepy and otherwise we have to fight him to take it.

He pulls himself up to everything and walks along the couch. He got his first bruise on his forehead by pulling himself up to his jumper and falling and hitting the metal bar.

He can climb our entire flight of stairs by himself but getting back down them is another question.

He has been sleeping from between 8:00 -9:00 to around that time the next morning. It is awesome to get him down for the night that early. He only wakes up once or twice when he can't find his binky and we have to go put it back in for him.

He loves to be chased when he is crawling down the hall. He squeals and laughs and crawls as fast as he can.

When we say "no no" or "uh uh" he turns around and grins and laughs and makes sure we are watching while he does it again. Little stinker!

For some reason his favorite thing to do is be in the bathroom sitting in the sink looking in the mirror and playing with my comb. He smiles and laughs at himself in the mirror and I still don't know if he thinks it is himself or another baby but either way he loves it.

We have been trying for days to get a good picture of him smiling but he always closes his eyes but these just show how big he is getting.

Christmas and many other updates, keep scrolling!

2010-01-04T20:11:00.000-08:00

I updated about 3 months of blogging including Brogen's surgery which I have been dreading doing. It took me hours to do all this at once so I am vowing never to do that again!

Brogen's first Christmas! Yah! I have been so excited for Christmas break this year. I got to have 2 weeks off of work and just be with Brogen. I feel like I miss out on a lot while I am at work and I can't believe how fast the time flies. He is growing up so fast! So we started off the vacation by going to my mom's house for my family's Christmas party on the 23rd. We had yummy food especially Grandma Nells famous potato salad. Then we played a couple of Christmas games and then Santa and Mrs. Clause came by our party. I thought Brogen would cry when I made him sit on Santa's lap but he just sat there and looked at him. I told Santa that Brogen wanted a rocking horse for Christmas

After that we played Quelf and laughed our heads off. Thanks mom for a fun party! The next morning we got up and headed for the cabin to have Christmas with Jared's family. We were so excited to be up in the pretty mountains with lots of snow and mostly we were excited to spend time with family, especially Ryan and Bri, who we hadn't seen in awhile. Bri was flying in that night so we waited to have our Christmas program until later and poor Brogen was so tired so he missed out on that. We had a yummy dinner and t
hen we unwrapped our Christmas pajamas and everyone said their favorite scripture and talked a little bit about it. It was very good! It was so beautiful at the cabin and we even had a Christmas tree. Before we put Brogen to bed we had him open his Christmas pajamas. I was so excited to start this tradition with him. He wasn't too interested in opening them so I had to help him a little

A few pictures of all the family on Christmas Eve

We got up around 7:30 on Christmas morning and Brogen must have been a very good boy because there was the cutest little rocking horse for him. He smiles every time we push the button and it makes it sounds and its tail and head move.
Some pics of Christmas morning

Grandpa Paul even picked out his own present to give to Brogen which is a set of keys that make noise. Brogen loves them! It was an awesome first Christmas for Brogen and I know it will just get funner every year. Later that day we went sledding and had so much fun being pulled behind the mule. Jared and Ryan were being daredevils and took turn pulling each other behind the 4 wheeler on the snowboard. It was fun to watch and laugh at them. We had a yummy turkey dinner and then just played some Cover your Assets, Mormon Bridge, and Quelf, which was so entertaining and fun. We stayed at the cabin until Sunday afternoon and we were sad to leave but excited to have a few days at home. It was so fun to spend time with family and we will especially miss Ryan and Bri! Thanks for a fun Christmas!

8 Months

2010-01-04T20:02:00.001-08:00

He got his first tooth, on the bottom. He was a little cranky but nothing terrible. Its so cute!

He can turn the page in his book. We hold up the page and little and say "turn the page" and he grabs it and flips it over. He is so smart and thinks he is "big stuff" when he does it.

He gets really excited when we praise him or clap for him and does whatever he is doing more

He does "so big" and puts his arms in the air. It is adorable

He can open cupboards now and found the one that has all my bowls and stuff in it and his favorite thing is to pull everything out and then find another mess to make

He gets daring sometimes and heads for the stairs but hasn't really tried to go up them yet

He did however take a tumble down my mom's stairs but only two of them. He only cried for a second and there were no bumps or bruises but it scared him bad

He is getting a lot of personality and is really spunky

Still loves his bath and playing with his toys in there

HATES getting dressed and his diaper changed. It is a fight every time!

Does not like to be rocked anymore and now i have to put him in his crib to fall asleep. So sad but it was fun while it lasted

He eats really good now, and finally eats a good variety of foods instead of just pears and potatoes

He has been very lucky and has yet to get sick (I am knocking on wood right now)

His hair got rally long, so we had Shanette cut it and now he sports a spiky Mohawk

7 Months

2010-01-04T19:51:00.001-08:00

As you can see from the center picture he is not happy about being in his highchair or eating. he went on a major food strike after he got his casts off. The only things he would eat were Pears and Sweet Potatoes. I think it is because I lost my milk after his surgery and he was protesting because he wasn't ready to be weened yet. He hated formula at first and it took us a couple days of mixing breast milk and formula before we could get him switched over. So no more nursing. It is bittersweet.

He started crawling Thanksgiving weekend and he was pretty slow at first but not he is speedy!

He just got his casts off so he had to re-learn how to use his hands and fingers but it didn't take him long

Started to hate getting his face washed and acts like we are torturing him when we try. He even sees a washcloth or paper towel coming and he freaks out

He learned how to hold a sippy cup and loves his juice! He would probably drink as much as we would let him and when there is water in there he doesn't like it

He finally started to babble and surprised me one day when he just randomly said ba ba da da and now he says it all the time

He started making the cutest noises when he would eat like it tasted so good to him

All of the sudden he decided to be snuggled and rocked to sleep. Thats all I ever wanted was a snuggly baby I could rock and sing to sleep so I have been in heaven

He started to eat some solid foods like mum mums, biscuits, and he had some mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving

He still loves to be read to

He is so happy and smiley but getting a little clingy to mom and dad especially around strangers

Surgery

2010-01-04T16:50:00.000-08:00

This is going to be the hardest thing for me to post about. I debated on whether to post about something so personal but since I use this as my scrapbook/journal I decided to do it. Beware this is really long. So I will start at the beginning for those who don't know anything about it. When Brogen was born I noticed that his fingers were stuck together. At first I just thought they were sticky from all that yuck that is on them when they are born but turns out they were really stuck! It has a name, it is called syndactely which is the webbing of fingers and his middle and ring finger on each hand were fused together. I was completely devastated but the doctors were very unconcerned and said that it was an easy fix they just cut the skin and they are fine. So for some reason I am thinking that they just take him and do it now and he is good as new before I even take him home. Come to find out it was a little more complex than that and we would have to wait until he was 6 months before the doctors would allow him to go under anesthesia for something not life threatening. Thus began the very long emotional journey for me. I think that I cried everyday multiple times a day for the first 6 months of his life until he got his surgery and even then after. This has been by far the hardest thing I have ever had to go through. Every time I would think about what he would have to go through the tears started and I couldn't stop them. First of all, I was angry with God. How could he let this happen to MY baby. When I was pregnant I worried so much that everything was going to be ok and that he would be healthy with no problems and so I prayed everyday that he would be and really felt like everything was going to be ok. When it wasn't, I felt so betrayed. I also felt like this situation got in the way of the happiness I should feel that I had this new little life in my arms. Don't get me wrong, I was so happy to have Brogen, but I just felt like the surgery and all the unknowns was a little gray cloud looming overhead. It was hard for me and yet so many people would say to me "just be glad its not his heart or his brain he is having surgery on". Do you know how bad I wanted to punch them in the face especially considering they had never had anything wrong with any of their children. Of course I was glad that it wasn't more serious but to me this was huge and it didn't take away the hurt that I felt to have my child go through this. I had so many anxieties about everything wondering if he would be able to use them, how they would look, how much pain he would be in, and i was so upset to think of him laying on the operating table under anesthesia. When we got the X-rays it showed that one hand was also connected by bone and that was very concerning to us. We met with the Plastic Surgeon who comes down every few months from Primary Children's a couple of times before the surgery and some of my fears were minimized but others replaced them as we learned more about the procedure and what we would be faced with. He would have to have a skin graft taken from his groin area to fill in the raw skin left after cutting his fingers apart. We decided to do both hands at the same time so he would only have to go under once and so he would have both hands in casts up to his armpits for a month. We were supposed to be careful and keep him from bumping them because the grafts are delicate and could fall off and he recommended the surgery be done between 6-9 months. Since we have a very active boy who was showing signs of crawling we decided to do the surgery right at 6 months. He was very up front about everything and said to just plan on having a really rough month with an unhappy child. Even with all that we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Oct. 20th was the date we chose for the surgery. We went up the night before since the surgery would be early in the morning and I asked my mom to come with us for support. That night I tried so hard to just enjoy every moment I had with my happy little Brogen because I didn't know what to expect after the surgery. He was so happy that night and when we gave him his bath that night I realized this would be the last bath he would have for a month. It made me so sad because he loves his baths but could not get his incision or his casts wet. Everything was starting to sink in. It was a pretty sleepless night and I had to get up in the middle of the night to nurse him the last possible time that I could before he had to not have anything to eat or drink. We had to be at the hospital at 6:00 a:m so we got up early to make sure we could get there on time. He slept on the drive to the hospital and I fought back the tears trying to be strong for my little man. We checked in and then waited. They gave us a little buzzer like the ones they have at Red Lobster to let us know it was our turn and we thought that was kind of funny. While we were waiting Brogen woke up and so I started reading him a book. I looked over and Jared was crying. It was the first time I had seen him cry over the surgery because he was trying to be strong for both of us. Here is a picture of us in the waiting room with our bravest face on.

This picture makes me sad. He looks so innocent and
happy and has no idea what he is about to go through

They finally called us back and they had to do the routine things like check his weight, and all his measurements and take his temperature. He wasn't too sure about all of it, especially the thing the nurse put on his foot. He kept looking at it and trying to kick if off.

Then we had to change him into his little gown which he was not happy about and I had a moment that I thought, are we really doing this to him. Am I really going to let them do this to my baby? I was starting to get emotional but tried to think of how cute he looked in his little gown

After we got him dressed they sent us to another waiting room where we waited for a little over an hour before his surgery. In that time a nurse came and talked to us as well as the anesthesiologist and then the surgeon came and talked to us and make little marks on Brogen's hands with a marker and of course he immediately put his hands in his mouth and got marker all over him. We did our best to entertain him but he was starting to get hungry and restless. There was a T.V. in there with Shrek playing so Jared took him over to watch T.V. for a bit.

Then the anesthesiologist came to get us. It was time. He took us out in the hallway and explained what he would be doing and told us to say our goodbyes that this was the end of the road for us. I can't even explain to you how I felt when I kissed Brogen goodbye and told him I loved him and watched him looking back at us as the anesthesiologist carried him away. I think my heart broke into a million pieces. He never cried, just watched us and we stood there until he was out of sight and then we just cried and hugged each other. After a few minutes we went to the waiting room where my mom was with all of our stuff and that is where we spent the remainder of the day. They told us the surgery could be anywhere from 2-3 hours. It seemed like I had been in that waiting room for days. They were really good to call and give us an update from surgery and every time they would say "update for Brogen Blad's family" my heart would just drop and I would rush to the phone. It was always good news though, they had one hand done and he was stable with no complications. 4 hours later they called to say they were done but they would let us know when we could see him in recovery. Aside from a few tears I had kept pretty good control of my emotions throughout the whole thing. It was hard but I knew I had to do it, so when they called for only one parent to go be with Brogen I wanted to go first. I thought I could be strong, but nothing prepared me for what I saw. His eyes were swollen and he was thrashing back and forth whimpering, wearing only a diaper and he had two HUGE bulky green casts on. He didn't even look like my baby. There were machines beeping all around him and the nurse was on the phone telling someone she had just given him some morphine because she thought he didn't have enough and was in pain. I completely lost it. I think everything that I had been holding in just came out and I was a mess. I kept saying "Is he ok, is he ok?" It took a little bit for me to calm down. They told me I could hold him and comfort him and I wondered how the heck I was going to do that with those huge casts on. It was so awkward at first but I got to hold him and kiss him and talk to him and when he heard my voice he stopped thrashing.

He was in recovery for a while because of the morphine and he kept forgetting to breath so that scared me and we couldn't get him to wake up. He kind of drank a little bit of a bottle in his sleep and so they said he was good to go and rushed us out the door. I was freaking out, but luckily we were staying at the hotel again that night so we were close in case anything happened. It took a long time for him to wake up from the anesthesia and he didn't come out of it until about 3:00 a:m. I had been feeding him and giving him his medicine when he was out of it but he would swallow and nurse in his sleep. We had to give him medicine every 4 hours and feed him because he was not supposed to take it on an empty belly so we didn't get a lot of sleep that night. They told us to prop up his casts so we used his pillow and puppy. We were all starting to get a little worried but he started to fuss a little and we turned on the lights and he was smiling. I was so relieved. It was sad to watch him reach for things, unable to pick them up and he seemed a little confused and groggy but thats all. He wanted to jump and he was smiling and we couldn't help but laugh. Thats my little Brogen, always smiling and I couldn't believe how happy he was for what he just went through

The next morning we got up and started packing to go home. Brogen decided he wanted to jump on daddy's lap and I heard Jared say "Oh my gosh" I immediately ran over there to see what was going on and said a few choice things as I stared at his green cast laying on the bed and not on his arm! Thats right, he had already wiggled out of one of his casts. There was his little hand that just had surgery the day before, completely exposed and I just tried not to look at it because I knew it would make me sick. Everything after that was a blur. Jared was trying to hold his arm still and keep him from putting it in his mouth and Brogen was getting so mad because he does not like to be restrained. I went over and sang to him to take his mind off it and he calmed down. I had made numerous phone calls trying to get a hold of the the surgeon and they finally had the hospital nurse, me and the surgeon on the phone at the same time. They told us to wrap his hand in a blanket and most importantly do not let him put it in his mouth and to come to his office and he would recast it. What a disaster! Here are a couple of pics form that. The surgeon was laughing saying that this had never happened before and he knew it wasn't good that the hospital was paging him this morning.

So now he had one green cast and a white cast. When we finally made it back on the road to come home we were kind of joking about the whole thing and how funny it was that he already wiggled out of his cast. If we had only known what we were in for! We stopped in Kanosh at Jared's parents house so they could see Brogen and we could stretch our legs and Paul and Carolyn immediatley went to work on something to put over his casts so he wouldn't knock himself out with them. He loved to just fling his cast around and he even popped my mom in the chin. Grandma Carolyn got out her sewing machine and came up with these beauties we named the "oven mitts" which I am sure saved us all from being black and blue!

To shorten up a very long story, Brogen went ahead and lost a cast everyday after that for a week straight. We took a trip to the emergency room once to have it recasted but it only lasted a few hours and fell off. They can't do the casts very tight and he is really active so with the weight of the cast they just kept slipping right off. We had a really tough week and finally the surgeon just said to have us put him in soft casts. So thats what we did and we were so glad! I was about to lose my mind. One of us had to be with him 24/7 in case a cast fell off. We had to sleep with him and pretty much hold him all the time. It was really wearing on us and I finally called my mom in tears and told her I needed a break. Of course she rescued us and then Jared's mom came after my mom left. It was physically and emotionally draining on all of us. Brogen did really well through everything. The only time he ever cried was when he had to get bandage changed and it was stuck to his stitches and it hurt him a little. Thank heavens for Aunt Sara and Uncle Terron who were there to rescue Brogen and us when his casts fell off. They got more than one phone call late at night to come over and bandage him up. We are so proud of him for how well he did considering he couldn't use his hands at all. He really was amazing. We had to entertain him a lot since he couldn't pick anything up or use his hands, we would have to hold the toys for him to suck on and when we would read him books, he would either touch it with his foot or lean down and put his mouth on it. It made me sad but also proud that he was adapting and working around not having his hands.
A picture of all the casts he lost in all their glory. Jared had fun putting them together for a picture

It was a long 4 weeks with those casts on. They were too bulky to fit clothes over them, so my mom had a lady make some clothes that snapped at the shoulders like the hospital gown and he looked like a little orphan. We took him out a couple of times and people would stare at his oven mitts. I wanted to get him a Halloween costume so bad but I knew it was pointless so Grandma Carolyn found some Halloween material and she sewed something to go over his mitts so he could be a little dressed up. Broc and Brayden even let him borrow their hats from their Mario and Luigi costumes! His orange shirt says "mommy's little pumpkin", and his casts covers say things like "spooky", and "boo"

These are just a few pictures of him with his casts on. His little "mitts" make them look huge!

And finally the long awaited day came to have his casts taken off. Our surgeon was coming down to St. George right around the time his casts would come off so we were lucky we didn't have to go up to Salt Lake to have them taken off. We were both nervous about seeing them for the first time, but excited too. I cried when I saw them. They were still REALLY swollen and bloody and we had to just wait for all the dried blood to fall off. The stitches were just supposed to fall off when they had dissolved inside and those grossed me out bad. I was wondering what I had done to my child. It was a couple of weeks before everything looked normal and they stayed swollen for quite awhile. His little arm was bleeding and roughed up from the cast but the surgeon promised us in a week things would look completely different and he was right.

I need to post a picture of how they look now, they look amazing. We are so grateful to have this done and behind us and so glad that everything has turned out as good as it did. He has full function of all his fingers and never missed a beat. After his casts came off it took him a few days to re learn to use his hands because they were so swollen but he did amazing. It has been a long hard road, especially for me, and I am just glad it is over. He might have to have a surgery in the future depending on how well his grafts grow with his hands, but for now we are hoping its over. We had a lot of help and moral support from our families and friends and we never could have done it without you all! We are so happy to have our little man back with no casts and no stuck together fingers. Brogen is my little hero!

6 Months

2010-01-04T16:33:00.000-08:00

He is so much fun right now and we just can't seem to get enough of him! He changes so much everyday that its so hard to keep up with everything he is doing.

He has been sitting up all by himself for a while now and will sit and play with toys pretty good

He still loves his cereal and his pears and sweet potatoes

He still loves to nurse and is finally starting to sleep through the night. Thank heavens!

He is up on his hands and knees rocking back and forth ready to crawl

He loves to be read to and he especially loves the books with pictures of little babies

He loves to go wild and crazy in his jumper. Sometimes I am afraid he is going to give himself Shaking Baby Syndrome!

He loves to take his binky out of his mouth, put it back in, take it out, and of course he loves to play this game when he is supposed to be going to sleep

He is getting more and more attached to his "little blankie" and can't sleep without it

He laughs out loud when he watches parts of Baby Noah

He is a flirt and loves to come to mommy's work and flirt with the ladies. He loves to be the center of attention and likes to show off!

He loves to stand up and jump jump jump on my lap! I should have some toned arms by now and he never seems to run out of steam!

He loves to give kisses now. I just say "kiss" and he opens his mouth and plants it wherever he can on my face. They are oh so slobbery too but I love them!

Thoughts Today

2009-11-18T08:01:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in such a long time. We have been pretty busy with the events going on lately which I will post about later, but I read my sis-in-law Natalie's blog this morning and it made me really reflect on everything that I have to be grateful for. So here goes my list:
-I am so grateful first of all for my husband. He is amazing in every way possible and is my rock and my strength and I never could have made it through Brogen's surgery without him. This was by far the biggest trial and hardest thing I have ever gone through and while I found every possible negative thing to say about our situation he was always right there with something positive.
-I am so grateful for both of our families. Without our families we have nothing and I love spending time with all of them. I remember my mom telling me when I was a teenager that friends would come and go but your family would always be there and how true that is! My family has been there through thick and thin and I am so grateful to all of them for everything. Jared and I have amazing mom's who are always willing to drop everything and come and help out with Brogen and he love's his grandmas! I am so grateful for my grandparents and for the examples that they are and all the help they have given us throughout the years. They have always been so generous with their time and resources to help us out.
-I am grateful for sight, smell, touch, health, and all those things that I take for granted everyday. I love this time of year when all the trees change to the beautiful fall colors and the air is cold and crisp and the mountains all around us.
-I am grateful for the gospel, prayer, fasting, and blessings. I have to admit that this past seven months my faith has been tested and there were days that I was so bitter at God for not answering my prayers and I was so mad that Brogen had to go through so much. At the same time I know that he was helping me through this time and blessing me even when I refused to recognize my blessings. I felt his love for me and overwhelming peace on the day of Brogen's surgery and I know that many prayers were offered on our behalf. I am so grateful for the atonement and the sacrifice of the Savior and the opportunity I have to be forgiven and to better myself.
-I am grateful for the opportunity to be a mom. This has been the most humbling amazing experience for me. I have learned so much about myself as a person and it has made me more aware of my weaknesses and strengths. I am learning patience and selflessness and everything that I lacked before and I never knew that I could love a child so much. I know how it feels to love unconditionally. When he is hurting or sad it makes my heart ache and when he is happy and laughing I am so happy. I want whats best for him and I worry and stress over him and just love him so much I can't even stand it! There are so many things that I get to experience as a mother and I am so grateful for it!

5 Months!

2009-09-22T16:48:00.000-07:00

So this post is a few days late but better late than never. My little bubbers is 5 months old already. I know I say this every month but I wish the time didn't go so fast. I love this little guy more than life itself and can't believe how much he has brought to my life. Here are a few new things he is doing since last month.
He can sit up all by himself and prefers to do that over anything else

He LOVES his rice cereal! I can't spoon it in his mouth fast enough for him and so he yells between every bite

He has started arching his back and kind of throwing little fits and tries to escape off my lap

He sucks in his bottom lip and looks like such a gummer

He still has no teeth even though I swear he is teething every other day

He went through a little phase where he woke up every 3 hours in the night and was fussy and thought he needed to eat. Needless to say Mom and Dad are so happy that was a 2 week phase!

His little phase prompted a trip to the doc to make sure he didn't have ear infections and he weighed in at 16 pounds 6 ounces fully clothed. Chunk!!! We were informed with a smile that he was just fine and welcome to parenthood!

He isn't really a fan of his binky anymore except to go to sleep

He loves his cousins and loves when Broc does silly dances for him

He will not lay back in his car seat, he sits forward until he falls asleep and then I have to push him back against it. I think this kid is always going to fight sleep!

He gets so excited when I clap for him and say Yeah Brogen! He squeals and kicks his legs

He pushes off when he is on his stomach and manages to get to things he wants. I don't think it will be too long before he is crawling!

He smiles at anyone who will talk to him and is quite the flirt with all the ladies when he comes to mommy's work. He is such a happy boy!

Smile Creations Portrait Studio

2009-08-28T08:24:00.000-07:00

I had to post these pictures because they turned out so cute. My friend Becky just opened up her own Portrait Studio in St. George called Smile Creations. I am so proud of her for doing it! We went in Wednesday to get some pictures and support Beck and these are just a couple of the many cute ones we got. I think she does a great job! If anyone is interested she has an awesome August special going on right now, 6 poses, 3 sheets, free enhancements, and a collage for $39.99. Her phone number is 688-9363 and she is over by Great Harvest. Give her a try, you won't be disappointed! Isn't my little guy the cutest! I love love love his smile and little dimples!

4 Months Old

2009-08-18T18:52:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I am writing this 4 month post! Where has the time gone? We had Brogen's 4 month appointment today and he is doing amazing. This months stats: 14 lbs. 14 ounces and 25.79 inches long. He is in the 50% for weight and 80% for height. I don't know where he gets his long legs from but we know its not from me! He had to get his shots today and he was a brave little boy. He only cried for a few minutes. He was as happy as could be when we got home but is starting to get a little fussy. Brogen continues to amaze us everyday with the new and cute things he does. We just can't get enough of him. Sometimes I feel like we maul the poor little guy to death. He sure is loved! Things to remember about Brogen at 4 months:

He is rolling over and back with no problems and is now a pro at tummy time

He laughs out loud especially for daddy at all the funny faces he pulls and he is very ticklish on his legs, stomach, and neck

He pulls his binky out and then tries to put it back in, sometimes he can get it

He loves to stand up on your lap and then walk up the front of your body. That always puts a smile on his face no matter what

He holds on to the bottle when daddy is feeding him but can't quite hold it all by himself

He can grab and hold onto his toys and loves to play on his floor gym

He likes us to read books to him

He thinks he is a big boy and does not like to lay back in the slightest bit unless he is eating or going to sleep

He has started doing this little thing where when he is nursing he latches on and then pulls right off and looks around the room and then latches back on, takes two swallows and is back off again looking around. Just can't stand to miss anything. It drives mommy crazy!

Next we are going to try the rice cereal and letting him cry a little bit to get him to sleep through the night. Wish us luck! P.S. Thanks Karalynn for making the cute onsies with ties to match daddy. They look adorable!

New Haircut

2009-08-09T14:47:00.000-07:00

Brogen's hair has been falling out like crazy. He was born with a ton of dark hair and it keeps getting lighter and thinner. He is now completely bald on top and then had a line of bald around his head complete with a long little mullet in the back. We finally decided that it was time for a haircut and we are trusting Shanette that its going to grow back in better and thicker! So we let Aunt Nat take the clippers to him. We were sad to cut his hair but now his whole head matches the top of his head where the new hair is coming in. He looked so cute in the little kid cape that Nat put on him, and he was such a little trooper and sat still the whole time which for anyone who knows Brogen that is a complete miracle! I was like the paparazzi the whole time snapping pictures like crazy and we were laughing and he started to wonder what was going on and thats when he stuck out his bottom lip and almost started to cry. It was so cute!

Before the haircut

Still smiling

Holding so still for Aunt Nat

I think he must be sad about losing his mullet!

The end result. Now bring on the new hair!!!

3 Months Old!

2009-07-27T16:50:00.000-07:00

Well a month came and went without me doing a post but I figured I would just skip the 2 month and go right for the 3 month update. We are loving Brogen more and more everyday and he just gets funner every minute. His personality is really starting to show and he is a spunky little thing! Sorry for the long list but I have to do this for journaling. Things to remember about Brogen at 3 months:

He is sleeping longer at nights and last night he made it 8 straight hours. Yahoo!

He loves his hands and has them in his mouth every second. Sometimes he spits out his binky so he can suck on his fists.

He laughs out loud now and makes so many cute sounds. He loves attention and is so smiley to anyone who will talk to him. He loves watching his cousins entertain him with their running around and acting silly.

This isn't anything new, but he never sits still. If he is awake his arms and legs are flying! He even works up a sweat!

He is a freakin chunk! He could hide things in his fat rolls if he wanted and weighs around 15 pounds now.

His poor little hair line keeps getting further and further back and his hair is thinning like crazy. Please grow some new hair!

He reaches for toys and can grab on to some of them. He loves to lay on his little jungle pad and grab at the toys.

He has a little blankie that he likes to hold on to and sleep with.

He can roll from his stomach to his back and almost rolled from his back to stomach. It won't be long now. He hates tummy time so we have to fight him to do it and he only lasts for a few minutes.

He sits up in his bumbo and we read books to him and that is about the only time he sits still. He loves to look at the bright colors in the books.

He continues to amaze us everyday with his cute little personality. We love him to pieces and just can't get enough of the cute boy!

A Name and a Blessing

2009-06-10T12:25:00.000-07:00

On June 7, 2009 we blessed Brogen in my parents ward up in Enterprise. That morning he was so happy and smiling and making the cutest sounds. Its like he knew what was coming. We had a lot of family and friends that were there to support us. Jared gave an awesome blessing and even gave him the right name (him and my dad were joking about how my dad was going to say some completely different name just to rile me up). Jared got a little emotional during the blessing which I thought was adorable and just showed how much he loves his little man. I thought Brogen looked so handsome in his little white suit and he was so sweet through it all only giving one little yell through the whole thing. Afterwards we all packed in to my parents house for a yummy dinner provided by my mom. Thanks for all your hard work mom! It was a really great day. We didn't get many pictures because he hated being in the outfit but we got a couple.

One Month Old Already!

2009-05-19T20:19:00.000-07:00

Wow! Time is really flying. I can't believe my little man is one month old already! It is going by too fast for me. I love being with him and he seems to change a little bit everyday. We were so excited when he finally made eye contact with us and now sometimes I will catch him just staring up at me. I love it! We have been getting smiles for awhile now but finally managed to catch it on camera. His little smile with his dimple is all it takes to melt my heart. Lets just say that he already has Mommy and Daddy wrapped around his little finger and he pretty much calls the shots around here. We just adore this little guy! He finally gets to have baths in the big tub and he either loves his bath or hates it, depending on his mood and there doesn't seem to be a happy medium. He really is a pretty content happy baby but doesn't really appreciate his diaper getting changed and sometimes he screams! I think I am doing him a pretty big favor by changing him but apparently he would rather lay in his poop all day. He usually goes to bed for the night anywhere between 10:00 and midnight and we have to wake him up for his feedings. We let him go for one 4-5 hour stretch and then the rest of the time we wake him up every three hours. Thats what the doctor ordered so thats what we do. Brogen must know that I get a little cranky when I don't get much sleep and he is really good at sleeping at night. His daddy already loves to pester and tease him and if you notice in the picture below Brogen is hungry and rooting around for food and one of Jared's favorite things is to put his nose up to his lips and sure enough he latches right on! He thinks he is hilarious.

Sneak Peak

2009-05-05T17:50:00.000-07:00

Morgan and Karisti came down last Wednesday and Morgan took some dang cute pictures of Brogen. Thanks for taking pictures Morgan and for being such a good sport when he pooped and peed on you and all of your stuff! I know we are pretty biased but we think he is the cutest thing ever. He is already growing up too fast for us. It seems like he changes in looks everyday. He had his 2 week appointment today and he now weighs 7 lbs. 10 ounces so we were really happy he has gained weight. He even grew an inch and is 21 inches long. We love this little guy more than anything. Things to remember about Brogen at 2 weeks: his little lamb cry (seriously its his fake cry and he sounds like a little baby lamb), if he is awake he is usually squirming, he throws major attitude when getting his diaper changed, clothes changed, and having his bath, He has the cutest little smile and one dimple on his right cheek, (just a gas smile, we havc yet to see a real smile) He is such a sweet little baby and would probably sleep all night long if we let him. Brogen is the best thing to happen to Jared and I and we feel so lucky to be his parents.

Baby Brogen

2009-04-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

Finally time for a post! Brogen is now 9 days old and I still can't believe that he is really here and that he is really ours. Here are some pictures from his first few mintues in this world. Some people want to hear the story and for those who don't stop reading cuz it will probably be long. I was really nervous the night before so I had Jared and my uncle Jeff give me a blessing. I felt so much better and knew everything was going to be ok. We woke up really early on Friday morning because we had to be at the hospital at 5:30 to be prepped and ready for surgery at 7:00. We got there and they started my IV and then there was some paperwork that had to be filled out. I was getting really apprehensive to get the spinal shot and was scared it was going to hurt so bad. I just had all these things going through my head, mostly that I was going to see my baby and hear his first little cries in less than an hour. My nurses were awesome, and the one that went into surgery with me is the nurse that taught our birthing class. The wouldn't let Jared in while they gave me the spinal so she held on to me. Not even as bad as I imagined and it started working immediatly. They had me lay down and started getting everything ready. They let Jared come in and he sat up by my head and after making sure I was good and numb they got started. It was completely nerve racking knowing what they were doing to me but I just couldn't wait to get my baby. The doctors were joking and laughing talking about random stuff while they did their work. They asked what his name was going to be and so I told them if he had brown hair it would be Brogen and if he had none or blonde it would be Connor. Finally they said they could see his feet and Jared peeked over the curtain just in time to see him come out. The doctor said it looks like he is going to be Brogen! It was the most amazing and spiritual experience to hear his little cries. We waited so long for this little guy. They let me see him for just a second and then they took him over to weigh him and get him cleaned up. I could hear the nurses dying over his eyebrows and his hair and how cute he was. I was excited to hear that he weighed 7 lbs 3 ounces cuz that is what I weighed when I was born, and he was 20 inches long. After what seemed like forever Jared brought him over and held him close to me. I couldn't believe he was really here! The nurses were awesome, they just took the camera and started snapping pictures for us which we so appreciate having. They also let Jared take Brogen outside the operating room where my mom and Sara were waiting anxiously to see him. After they finished stitching me up they moved me to recovery and I finally got to hold my baby. I never knew I could love something so instantly! He immediatly melted my heart and his daddys! We stayed in the hospital until Monday morning. The recovery has been painful but it gets better everyday. We had a lot of friends and family come to visit and we are so grateful for all they do for us, especially for our moms, who stayed with us, and fixed us yummy food and helped out wherever they could. We feel so blessed to have Brogen in our lives and I love being a mom no matter how many hours I am up in the night, every second is worth it. Jared is such a good daddy and so cute with him! I can't wait for all the fun we are going to have being parents.

Baby Brogen Blad!

2009-04-17T20:32:00.000-07:00

Brogen was born on April 17th at 7:19 a.m. He weighed 7.3 and is 20in long.

He has tons of dark hair and very cute little eyebrows to match!

He is a little angel and we are all so happy he is here! This is just a sneak peak but there are more pictures to come as soon as mom and baby are home!

And The Verdict Is..........

2009-04-09T07:27:00.000-07:00

Baby Blad will make his debut into the world on April 17th! We got to pick the day and with school and work we thought a Friday would be the best. Kind of funny to pick your child's birthday. Yesterday I had to go over to the hospital and have the tests done again and my fluid is the same which isn't great but better than it being lower, and the baby looked good but the little stinker is still breech. So then I headed over for my regular Dr. appointment. I had been having quite a few contractions this week so I thought maybe I was dialated. I decided I wanted to be checked just for curiosity purposes since I'm having a c-section it doesn't really matter. Well its not the most comfortable thing and after all that, I am still at a 1!!! If I was having this baby on my own I would probably be going way over my due date! So we only have a week and a day until we get to hold and kiss this little baby we have waited so long for. I have a lot of mixed emotions but I know once he is here everything will just work out. We are going to be busy this next week getting the house cleaned and just making sure everything is ready. I decided to take Thursday off from work to just have a day to myself and I am going to go get a pedicure and just relax. Jared is going to take a half day off so we can just spend some time together, he is so busy with school that we don't get much time together. So the countdown begins, only 5 more days of work. You have no idea how happy that makes me! I will update and post pictures as soon as I can.

Baby Update

2009-04-02T07:17:00.000-07:00

The past couple days have been a little stressful but things are looking up. I went in for an ultrasound on Tuesday because I have been measuring small at my last few appointments and since I have a pocket on my placenta they wanted to make sure it wasn't causing me any problems. Well the ultrasound tech gave me just enough information to give me a complete freak out. First of all he is breech which didn't make me very happy and he was measuring all weird and his abdomen was measuring smaller which made me think something was wrong with the way he is developing and she wouldn't give me any straight answers! When I asked if that meant there was a problem she said well it could mean that. Then she tells me that my amniotic fluid is really low and that she needed to talk to the doctor. I guess they like it to be over 10 and mine was at a 7. When it gets to a 5 they take the baby because that is really bad. So she leaves me to freak out inside while she talks to the doctor which seems like forever. She comes back and said that I need to go have some tests at the hospital tomorrow and that the doctor wanted to see me in the morning after my appointment. She said the baby wasn't in immediate danger but that things could go that way so I needed to make sure he is moving. Then she asked if I had my crib ready and had taken the tags off the baby clothes. Pretty much she raised my blood pressure sky high! I leave thinking there is something abnormal with my baby and that I could be having him tomorrow after the tests at the hospital. I was a bawling mess that night and Jared and Terron gave me a blessing which made me feel so much better. So Wednesday I go to the hospital for my tests and it ended up I didn't have to get poked in the belly with a needle like I though (whew!) and they just did a stress test and checked the fluid again. This technician thought the fluid was at an 8 and the baby did good on the stress test so I already felt a million times better. Then off to my doctor appointment, and I left there feeling even better than before. He explained everything to me that I was concerned about and he is not growing abnormally. Baby is breech and because of my low fluid level and the stress he is already under, the doctor doesn't think it is a good idea to try to turn him and doesn't think because of those reasons that it would even work but is going to let me think about it. . They are going to keep an eye on my fluid and I go back every week to repeat the tests at the hospital. I was dialted to a 1 which doesn't really matter anyways, we decided to just go ahead with the C section unless by some miracle he turns on his own. He said he would schedule me next week and I will get to go a little early so it looks like 2 1/2 more weeks and we will get to meet our little boy. I was really disappointed when I found out I had to have a C section but I decided the most important thing is to just get him here healthy and the rest doesn't matter. I am really excited and nervous to think that he will be here so soon. I can't wait to see him and kiss his fat little cheeks! I will let you all know when we know the exact date.

Baby Shower, 34 Week Belly Pic

2009-03-17T18:05:00.000-07:00

This last weekend was my baby shower in Enterprise put on by my mom, sisters, and sister-in-law. It was so fun and all their hard work paid off it turned out really good! They had everything decorated so cute with blue and brown. We had a couple fun games and then some yummy croissant sandwiches and a chocolate fountain with all the good stuff to go with it. I had a lot of friends and family there to support me and lets just say that Baby Blad is pretty spoiled already! I got a lot of cute stuff! Thanks everyone that came and thanks mom and sis's for putting it on for me! Check out the huge diaper cake, I thought it was so cute! So I posted another belly picture but I think this will be the last one. I really don't like to see myself in pictures because it shows how big I really am. I swear my face is twice the size and I have more chins than a chinese phone book. Ha ha! Now that I am nearing the end, I have about 5 1/2 weeks left, I am starting to really feel the aches and pains of pregnancy and I finally had to go and buy real prego pants which was a little disappointing but I am going more for comfort at this point. I have gained 29 pounds so far (not cool) and I am starting to feel the backaches, a little swelling, and insomnia! I wake up at 3 and 4 in the morning and can not go back to sleep! I don't want to complain but I now know why people try so hard to make themselves go into labor before the due date! I have a lot of mixed feelings as I am nearing the end of my pregnancy. I am super excited but I also feel really overwhelmed when I stop and think about what is really happening. I have doubts and fears about whether I am cut out to be a mom and if I am going to know what the heck I am doing. I know our lives are going to change dramatically but I think it will be a good change. I can't wait to get this little guy here and I will be so relieved when I know that he is healthy and everything is ok. We also can't wait to see who he looks the most like. We have narrowed it down to two names now, Brogen and Connor but we aren't for sure which one yet. We eliminated Teegan because everyone said they only knew girls named that, and Jared was not having that, and then Aaden is too popular of a name right now and we wanted something a little different so that is how we got to our last two names. I have got the nursery about half done so when I get that all the way done I will post some pictures for sure. If anyone has any advice on how to make these last few weeks fly by please share!

Catching Up Again

2009-01-21T18:17:00.000-08:00

I am really trying hard to do better with updating my blog but I always seem to let too much time go by and then I have a ton to talk about. This past weekend my little nephew Broc came down to have a sleepover. He turns 6 in May and I swear he can't be that old already! I have always felt a special little bond with Broc, I got to be there when he was born and it was the most awesome experience to hear his first little crys. He is always so happy and fun to be around and so freaking smart he keeps us all laughing. For years my nephews and neice have been like my own kids and I have loved spending time with them and spoiling them. They were always that bright little spot in my life whenever I was having a hard time. I was so afraid that when i got married that things would change but thank heavens that Jared loves the kids as much as I do and the kids LOVE him. I am really glad that I got to spend time with just Broc for the weekend before this baby comes and I hope I can still be a fun aunt and spend time with them. We took him to play laser tag, watched a movie, played legos, Wii, and had lots of fun at Fiesta Fun. Here are a few pics from our weekend with Broc

Playing legos

Riding the bumper boats and soaking each other

My other cute little nephew Brayden got to come and spend a couple hours at fiesta fun with us

Hope you had as much fun as we did Broc!

And finally everyone has been asking for a belly pic of me and as much as I don't want to show how big I am here you go. Enjoy!

I just had an appointment today and Baby Blad is measuring in at 27 weeks! I have gained 14 pounds so far and from here on out should gain a pound a week. Sucks to be me! I have 3 months left so you do the math. He is so active, I feel him moving constantly and I love it! I don't know when he sleeps though, kind of makes me think he is going to be a wild child when he gets here cuz he never holds still. I think I will really miss feeling him kicking around. Jared loves to talk to him in my tummy and sometimes we are quite entertained watching my stomach move all around. We have our crib and our stroller and should be getting the dresser in a couple of weeks so when we get the nursery all done I will post some pictures. We are having a really hard time deciding and agreeing on a name and hopefully I won't be adding anymore names to the poll. I hope we have it narrowed down to at least two by the time he is born but we are pretty indecisive so I am not planning on it. If anyone has any cute names for us let us know! I am also having a hard time finding bedding that I like so if anone knows where to get super cute bedding clue me in!

Happy New Year!!!

2009-01-02T21:07:00.000-08:00

Ok so I am officially the worst at updating my blog. So much has happened since my last post so this is probably going to be really long and boring. I guess i will just start with Christmas break cuz I don't want to go back too far. We started off Christmas break in Enterprise. We got there around noon on Christmas Eve day and we headed up to the rock pit with Sara, Terron, Jed, Karisti, Broc, and Brayden to go tubing down the hills. Being prego puts a damper on having fun sometimes so I was the camera girl and took lots of pics. It was fun to watch them though. Jared brought his snowboard and everyone was lovin taking turns on that. I didn't get very many good pictures because my battery died but here are a few.

Christmas Eve was so fun we ate lots of good food, my mom fixed navajo tacos and we had my favorite Christmas slush (it had lots of sugar and the baby was kicking like crazy) then we played some bunco and got some awesome prizes. My mom always puts a lot of effort into making the party awesome. Thanks mom! Sara and Terron stayed over also that night which was really fun so we opened our Christmas pajamas and hit the sack!

Here we are on Christmas morning at my parents house. We got spoiled again and my favorite present of all is the temple picture I have been wanting forever. Jared got some Wii stuff and some clothes and even Baby Blad had some presents under the tree.

The weather on Christmas day was horrible but we ended up venturing out to see what all the kids got which is one of my favorite parts. My mom made all the traditional food that day with Ham and cheesy potatoes and we pretty much just hung around the house all day because of the crappy weather. Friday was more sledding, food, and fun. Saturday we drove to Kanosh to spend some time with Jareds family and it was so fun to be there with them. We played a lot of Scum and a new game called 10,000 which was super fun and ate more yummy food, I think I gained a few pounds over the holidays! Me and Jared have both been off work pretty much since the 23rd and it has been so fun to spend time with family and just be together. We are so excited for everything this New Year is going to bring and we can't believe that in 4 months we are going to be parents. It gets more and more real all the time and we just can't wait to get him here and see what he looks like. On another note, we start school tomorrow and we also go back to work so life will be super busy again. One of my New Year's Resolutions is to update my blog more often. Ha ha we will see how that works out. We just want to wish all our friends and family a Happy New Year!

We're Having A.........

2008-11-25T16:51:00.000-08:00

See if you can tell from this picture

If you can't tell what that arrow is pointing at, its a boy!!!!!

This is my favorite picture. I love how he has his hand up by his face. He was a little naughty while the tech was trying to get the pictures of him. He kept trying to hide in the corners and he was swimming around in there like crazy! I kind of knew in the back of my mind for the last couple of days it was going to be a boy (even though I was hoping for a girl) so i am still getting used to the idea that I can't put dresses and headbands on our baby.

We invited our mom's to come in for the ultrasound and it made it even more special to have both of the Grandma's there. Thanks moms for coming.

Jared is so excited to be getting a little boy that he couldn't wipe the big grin off his face!

We can't wait to start getting the nursery all set up and especially to get this little baby boy here and see what he looks like. We have a name pretty much picked out but we aren't going to tell yet what it is so you will have to stay tuned!

Today is the Day!!!!!!!

2008-11-24T09:16:00.000-08:00

The votes are in! It looks like most everyone is rooting for a girl. So today is the big day when we go in for the ultrasound! My appointment isn't until 4:30 so I am dying here at work. Finally, hopefully an end to the almost nightly dreams about what baby Blad is and me thinking about what it could be 24/7! I hope this little baby cooperates and isn't hiding the goods because I don't think I will be able to leave my appointment not knowing if its a boy or girl. I never thought this day would get here it felt like I had to wait months and months. I am getting quite the bump already and my body is expanding in areas that I don't like. So far the scale is still in my good graces but not the mirror! I knew my stomach was going to grow but I didn't know a muffin top was part of the deal! I know it will all be worth it in the end, but man I don't appreciate feeling huge already! I'm still not positive but I have felt the same little flutters in my stomach the past few days that I think are the baby moving. It feels like something is pulsing in my stomach. I am starving all the time now (which could help explain why my love handles are expanding and I have muffin top) and I actually like food again. No cravings but things taste really really good again. Hopefully later I will be posting what Baby Blad is. We are so excited! Wish me luck!!!

I Need Advice!

2008-11-18T06:54:00.001-08:00

Ok so next week we find out what we are having so while we both have some time off of work and school during Christmas break we decided that will be the perfect time to get some baby shopping done but we want to start looking around right now to see whats out there. So all you mothers out there I need your help! I want to know the things that you can't live without and the things that you bought for your baby that ended up being a total waste of money. Also we want to start looking for cribs, strollers, and all that big stuff so tell me the brands you like and the ones you didn't and the features you like and dislike. Some people have suggested buying a used crib or an inexpensive one because they are going to bite it and chew on it and that is something I didn't even think about. All I picture is a cute little baby sleeping in it, not destroying it! I have no idea about these things so any advice you have on anything would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Exciting News!!

2008-10-31T14:52:00.000-07:00

It has finally happened, we are having a baby! It seems like it has been a long road to get to this point but we are finally here. Baby Blad should arrive around April 26th and we couldn't be more excited!

My cute hubby with a big smile! He is so excited to be a Daddy!

This is the picture from the first ultrasound I had at 6 1/2 weeks

I just went to my 14 week appointment and got to hear the heartbeat for the second time. It is one of the greatest sounds in the world! We held off telling people as long as we could because having 2 miscarriages makes you a little paranoid but we are finally convinced that this one is going to make it. Thanks to all those prayers made on our behalf. We know that we are being blessed. The countdown begins for when we find out what we are having Nov. 24th and I have already planned a shopping spree for immediatly after the ultrasound. I can't wait to find out what we are having and then spoil it!!

Deer Hunting & Girl's Weekend

2008-10-21T19:47:00.000-07:00

Jared got a deer tag this year so we went to Kanosh this weekend so he could hunt with his dad and brother. As you can see in this picture he is all decked out in his hunting attire (including a full beard) but he was really sick with a cold and looked pretty miserable. He was a trooper though and hiked a huge mountain. No deer for Jared but his dad ended up getting a nice 5x4 with a 26" spread. Not bad, way to go Paul! I am so glad the beard is gone!

All the girls had fun watching chick flicks and making a cute craft ( the cute pumpkin) that Carolyn had all ready for us ( and ended up doing most of it) Thanks Carolyn! We also went to the craft botique in Fillmore and found some really cute stuff and then went to lunch. Thanks everyone for such a fun weekend!

I've Been Tagged!

2008-10-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

Rules: Link the person who tagged you, Mention rules on your blog:
Tell about six quirks of yours
Tag six fellow bloggers to do the same.

1# I am a freak about expiration dates. When I shop I check the expiration date on everything and if something is expired even one day I refuse to eat it. Leftovers have to be eaten within the most two days. After that its gone!

2# I have to have chap stick with me at all times. Some days when I have chap stick in my purse with me I won't even use it but if for some reason I don't have any with me my lips suddenly become super chapped and I about die! I took this one right off of Toni's blog it was the perfect description of me also!

#3 I have a serious fear of spiders and I can not kill them by stepping on them, smashing them between toilet paper, or anything else. The only thing I can do is spray the raid and then make Jared pick it up when he gets home. (I once trapped one under a paper cup and left a note for my roommate to kill it when she got home)

#4 This kind of pertains to spiders also, I can not have anything like my blanket, the couch pillows, ect. on the floor. If they are, they have to be washed or shook off before I will touch it because it might have spiders on it. If we go camping or stay at the cabin I make Jared do a spider inspection before I will get in my sleeping bag or in the bed. (you think I need therapy for this)

#5 I get really claustrophobic in crowded places. I can't stand to shop in December because there is just too many people in the store and if it gets too crowded I just have to get out of there before I freak out.

#6 It is impossible for me to change a baby's diaper without dry heaving. It happens every time! Once I was changing my little nephew and he just laid there still as can be but I was so busy gagging and trying to hurry to get the diaper off that some poop fell out of the diaper onto the floor and he was giggling at the faces I was pulling. Jared is going to be changing lots of diapers!

I tag: Anyone who reads this!

Birthday Boy!!

2008-09-30T07:03:00.000-07:00

So my hubby is 26 years old today! Happy Birthday Babe! I just want to brag a little bit about what a great husband I have. The things I love about him the most;

He is always happy and smiling, everyone that knows Jared loves him
He's always the optimist, which helps me because I tend to be a pessimest
He is funny! He makes me laugh everyday even when he isn't trying.
He has a very contagious laugh! He has different laughs too, a really loud one and this cute little chuckle
He has so much patience with me, yet another area I lack in
He spoils me ( probably way too much, just ask my dad)
He is always helping out with whatever I need. Cleaning, making dinner, you name it he does it and most of the time without even being asked. I know for a fact he has scrubbed the bathrooms more than me.
He is going to be an amazing dad. My niece and nephews love him and he is so cute with them.
He kisses me goodbye every morning
He is a very hard worker and I am proud of him for working and doing school
He shows me that he loves me in so many ways everyday. I could go on and on but these are just a few of the reasons that I love Jared so much and I am so glad that he is my husband.
I love you Babe! Happy Birthday!

FINALLY!!!

2008-09-26T20:17:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my patient lil sis I have finally joined the blogging world! I am excited to keep in touch with family and friends, especially those that I don't see often. We keep really busy with work and school but hopefully I will be able to find something to blog about.