Ben * Anjuli * Bubbles*Jack

New Blog

2012-01-02T22:30:00.001-08:00

We've made the move to

http://anjuliandbenpluskids.wordpress.com/

9 month appointment... Almost 1 month late

2011-10-27T16:21:00.001-07:00

Today we took Jack to his well baby appointment.

Weight: 20lbs
Height: 28.5"

His growth has definitely slowed down. He hasn't put much weight on at all. He's meeting all his milestones though.

Some First's for Bubbles

2011-10-16T18:43:00.000-07:00

Bubbles got to go to his very first football game yesterday. He isn't really a fan of strangers or loud noises, but he did a great job and really had fun telling me about the cool stuff he saw. He was really excited to see Oregon State's Beaver prancing around and BYU's Cougar being silly too.

After the long drive back up from Corvallis (long considering the traffic) he had a serious case of the wiggles, so he and Ben went out to play on the trampoline. We're not exactly sure what happened, but the current theory goes like this:

Ben moved and the transfer of energy hit Bubbles just as he was bouncing, so he went flying in the air much high than he bounces himself. We think that he may have locked his knee before landing. What we know for sure is that he was hurt. He screamed when he landed and Ben says it wasn't a sound he's ever heard Bubbles make before. I happened to be about 5 minutes away from them when it happened. I had been calling Ben to see what was happening when I heard Bradley crying in the background. We hurried to get there so that I could evaluate his injury. He said that his knee hurt. Ben had taken his jeans off and applied ice while they waited for me. I couldn't see anything but some swelling. He was obviously very uncomfortable though, so after conferring with my mom I decided that we were going to take him to the hospital.

We loaded him into Ben's car as carefully as we could and used coats and such to elevate his leg. The poor little guy would cry and then fall into a really fitful sleep and wake up crying. It was a really pitiful cycle. I made the decision to drive a little extra to be seen at Silverton Hospital instead of likely waiting all night to be seen at Salem. It was a good decision. They brought us back immediately. The doctor was in there within a couple minutes and had us sent to xray within 10 minutes of arriving. It took a little while longer to have the xrays evaluated. He came in with copies of the xrays for Bubbles memory book. It is definitely broken. They did a fiberglass splint and gave a prescription for pain meds. We were out of there within an hour and a half of arriving.

He's still in a considerable amount of pain, but he's been so tough. We are using the pain meds and ibuprofen with the dr's permission. We should be getting a call sometime tomorrow to schedule him going in to have his cast placed.

Procrastinator

2011-08-15T17:38:00.000-07:00

I used to be so good about writing on our blog. It's not like we have a lack of things to share. I guess it just boils down to the fact that I've become rather lazy. Not lazy in the sense that I don't care for our children, more like I just don't care about updating the world about every little thing anymore.

The boys are both growing leaps and bounds.

Bubbles

Our oldest boy is an amazing little man. He adores his younger brother and can be seen doing everything in his power to make Jack laugh. I rarely have to ask him to do something silly to occupy Jack. He's fun and has an amazing sense of humor. He enjoys singing songs from the Sound of Music. He's turned into a regular daredevil. He practices tricks on the swing set, many of them make my heart stop for a mere moment, but it feels like minutes.

His faith in God is amazing to me. Every night he says his own prayer and it usually includes a couple of things he's grateful for. Most nights Uncle J makes the list. Then he'll ask Ben or I to say a prayer too. In our prayer we ask that Heavenly Father will help Bubbles to stay dry through the night or to help him wake up enough to take care of business. When I comment to him that he's dry in the morning he matter of factly mentions that Jesus helped him. Isn't it amazing that he believes that because we ask then it comes true. I'd like to have his child like faith.

We're working on him attending nursery. For some reason he absolutely HATES it. Each Sunday is a knock down drag out fight to get him to go. We've had success with Uncle Nate attending with him, but it's a no go with anybody else. He's content to just sit quietly during our class with us. Weird kid, huh?

Jack

This kid is an animal. He's already crawling like a champ. He can pull himself up to stand on anything that will hold still long enough for him to do it, and is currently getting pretty good at cruising on furniture. He eats basically whatever we're eating and hasn't met a food yet that he doesn't enjoy.

When he's upset he yells Ama. We all know it's me he's looking for.

Ben starts school the Monday after my oldest brother gets married. He's really looking forward to starting nursing school. I know he'll do amazing. He's working full time right now, but we know he won't be able to work much while school is in full swing.

As for me, I just sent in my application to Eastern Oregon University. I'm planning on being a Psychology major. Someday I'll turn my degree into a career, but for now I'm content staying home with my awesome little men.

I'm a Blogger slacker

2011-06-12T09:18:00.001-07:00

If a picture is worth a thousand words then pretend you read 4,000.

Jack is 4 months old!!!!!

2011-05-05T18:28:00.000-07:00

Today I took Jack for his 4 month well baby appointment. He's growing really well and is hitting all of his milestones.

Height: 26"

Weight: 16lbs 12oz

They didn't give me his head circumference, but the doctor said that he's in the low 80th percentile for weight, upper 80th percentile for head circumference, and 61st percentile in height. He's a peanut compared to Bubbles.

My growing boys

2011-04-27T13:17:00.001-07:00

Jack will be 4 months old in just a few days. He already sits up really well with minimal assistance. He can roll easily from tummy to back and sometimes from back to tummy. He's reaching for things more and more. Some of his favorites things to do are spending time with his Umpa and walking the pasture with me. He giggles a lot now. He especially likes when I use nonsense words in a funny voice.

A couple mornings ago we had a parenting adventure. I was changing his diaper when he peed all over me. As I lifted his legs to pull the wet stuff out from under him he hit me with a solid stream of poo. Luckily, I found it hilarious. It's something I will laugh about for years to come.

Bubbles is a regular sheep farmer now. He helps feed the ewes and accompanies us when bottle feeding our bummers. He's working on learning his alphabet. He knows about half of the song and a handful of letters by sight. He's really observant and has tons of questions daily. He's starting to understand some simple math too. He loves being a big brother. Today he asked if he could have a pool party for his birthday. It's not what I'd pick being so less than swimsuit ready, but I know he'll love it.

That's all the update I have time for. Hopefully I'll do another soon.

It seems I'm always catching up

2011-03-28T12:34:00.001-07:00

We've been super busy trying to get things ready to move into my parents place again. So far we have painted walls and refinished the floor in our room. Bubbles really liked helping us.

Jack was blessed yesterday. It was wonderful to have all our family together. I love hearing what Heavenly Father has blessed my children with. Ben said that Jack will be a peace keeper. I can really see that. He's so chill and does the cutest things when tensions are high.

Ben started back at school today. The only day he'll be home to give me Sundays. He's going to be a very guy.

I was hoping to take the final class I need for my Associates degree, but can't fit it into the schedule. Oh well, maybe this fall.

The adjustment to 2 kids

2011-02-15T17:52:00.000-08:00

While I was still pregnant with Jack I was pretty worried about how we would all adjust to a baby in the house. I was really concerned with how Bubbles would handle it all. Prior to Jack's birth he had the undivided attention of every family member. Let's be honest when you are the only child/grandchild/nephew the odds are pretty good that you are going to get spoiled. I would have to say that he's done a great job with adjustment. He's fantastic to Jack. I will admit that sometimes he isn't as thrilled with us. I can't quite decide if his behavioral issues are due to the new addition or if it's an age thing. I'm leaning towards it being a combination. He's almost 3 so the tantrums can be EPIC. Since bringing Jack home he's gotten a little more physical with his unhappiness. We've been bit, hit, kicked, and punched. We had a little bit of a break through with that though. He punched me in the face one night and I started crying. He looked at me and I told him that it hurt my face and it hurt my heart. If I hadn't already been crying I would have started because his face just fell and he started crying. He was so sorry. He truly didn't realize that he was hurting anybody.

The adjustment has been a bit harder for me. I feel a little guilty that Bubbles isn't getting all the attention he used to get. We're really working on that right now. I get to be the one to read to him before bed. We're currently reading James and the Giant Peach. He and I are really enjoying it. The copy I have has some great illustrations that Bubbles loves. The first few weeks I wouldn't go anywhere unless Ben was there to help if I could avoid it. Now we go to the grocery store by ourselves and have even gone to the library a few times. We definitely still have our off days, but we're really getting the hang of it.

Ben has it a little bit harder. He wants to be able to play a lot with Bubbles, but he wants to get some good Jack time in too. With his school and work schedule it leaves a few hours in the evenings and that just isn't much time at all.

Now for some of the recent happenings.....

Bubbles is so funny. He's become the naughty word police and nothing gets past him. We usually get a very strong "Don't say that word!" and then have to try not to laugh. The other day he was very mad at Ben for making him leave Grandma and Grandpa Clark's. Ben told him he needed to calm down. Bubbles came back with "It's not my fault! It's your fault". Who knew a 2 year old could play the blame game?

Jack is already almost 7 weeks old. He still doesn't sleep much at night, but it's slowly getting better. He weighs over 12 pounds already. It's like he gained all that weight over night. I'm loving the baby pudge that showed up. The other night I was nursing him and he happened to look up at me and I was looking down at him. I had this overwhelming feeling of love come over me. So I tearily tell him how much I love him. Without skipping a beat he filled his diaper. I laughed so hard that I couldn't breathe.

As soon as I have a chance I will post some new pictures.

Jack

2011-01-10T15:37:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I've updated, but this one will have been worth the wait!

On Wednesday December 29 I started having really hard contractions around 6pm. I really didn't want to go to L&D for nothing so I just waited. They were coming about every 3 minutes and lasting for 90 seconds to 2 minutes. My back hurt so bad, but I wouldn't listen to reason. I wanted to make sure it was real. Around 8 Ben called my mom and told her that we needed them to come and watch Bubbles. My oldest brother stayed at my apartment and mom came with us to the hospital.

The triage nurse checked my dilation and said that I was a good 4cm and 90% effaced. They had me walk for an hour and then come back to be hooked up to the monitors and checked again. I was almost 5cm. The on-call doctor wasn't satisfied with that, so they had me walk for another hour. When I was rechecked around midnight I was 6cm dilated. They kept me! Up until then the contractions were awful, but something about finally hearing that I could stay helped me to really relax and get zen about labor. Once I was admitted Ben went home to get Bubbles to go to bed. He was just giving my poor brother such a hard time. While he was gone I just kept moving and swaying. Shortly after he got back I asked to get into the tub.

The tub felt amazing, but it didn't last long. About 10 minutes into the tub I started to transition. I couldn't stop shaking and the contractions were so awful that I started freaking out about how to tell if my uterus was rupturing. My body started fighting the contractions at that point. I decided to get an epidural, but wanted to wait until I was at least 7cm. I got out of the tub and was checked. I was a stretchy 7, so they called for the nurse anesthetist. Once the epidural was in I was able to relax. The nurse recommended that I sleep while I could. I definitely took advantage of it.

At 5:45am the on-call doctor came in to break my water. She waited until 4 hours after my first antibiotic dose. I was already 9cm! She told me to sleep some more. I did. I couldn't remember the last time I'd had such amazing sleep. My ob came on at 7:30. He checked me and I was complete. They told me they wanted me to labor down for a little while because his head wasn't super engaged yet. At 8:45 the nurse said we could try to start some pushing. My epidural was great. I could still feel the contractions some and the pressure, so I could feel where she wanted me to focus my pushing. They encouraged me to try different positions. My favorite was on my side. For some reason that is the position that was producing the best contractions. As I neared the end I would doze between contractions.

Finally they decided the doctor should come down because I was getting close. I just kept pushing when I felt like I needed to while they were getting ready. My doctor looked up and the look on his face was priceless. I was crowning. They hurried then. They finished their preparations really quickly. The doctor sat down and started to massage some mineral oil as I pushed. It took less than 5 minutes once he sat down for Jack's head to emerge. I eased up pushing as his shoulders came out and then he just slid out. It was amazing. I couldn't believe that I had done it. The first thing I said was "Holy crap, I pushed him out". Everybody started laughing. The doctor handed him up to me and I started crying. The feelings I was having were so intense. I couldn't believe the sense of accomplishment I had.

While I was busy marveling over my achievement and the beautiful baby boy in my arms the doctor was checking me over. My doctor stitched me up really quick and delivered the placenta. It was then that I started bleeding pretty heavily. They started pitocin, but it wasn't enough. The doctor ordered the dose increased and then had them give me a shot of something else to help my uterus contract better. The shot made me so sick. I started vomiting. They gave me some pain meds and zofran in my IV and had me rest while they did Jack's measurements and weight.

I was shocked that he weighed 8lbs 9oz and was 20.5" long. His head circumference was 14". It was then that I was very grateful that he didn't wait until his due date. My ob also told me that my due date was actually 2 days later than I'd thought, so he was this chunky at 37+4.

We had a whole parade of visitors the whole time I was in the hospital. Ben stayed home with Bubbles at night because he was such a terror to anybody else. Now we're home and my milk has already come in. It's making the breastfeeding issues a little easier. He lost a fair amount of weight. When we left the hospital he was down to 7lbs 13oz. The oncall pediatrician wanted me to have him seen 2 days later to check his weight and jaundice. The nurse practitioner felt that his jaundice was fine and he was already gaining weight back. That day he weighed 8lbs 3oz. I think a 6 ounce weight gain in 2 days is pretty good.

Now almost 2 weeks later we're doing great. He's a champion nurser and he's working on getting his days and nights right again. I'd forgotten how amazing the newborn days are. It's just so much fun watching him grow a little at a time. It's going to go by much too quickly for me.

Family Pictures by Lila

2010-11-22T15:22:00.000-08:00

First of all, I have to say that Lila takes some amazing pictures and Bubbles just loved her so much. I highly recommend her. If only she lived closer so she could be here to do my newborns.

My Lil' Picasso

2010-11-14T16:18:00.001-08:00

This masterpiece was created all on his own. Ben and I were shocked. I think he's going to really enjoy the Art's.

An Uncle J Visit

2010-11-14T16:02:00.000-08:00

We decided to go visit my brother last weekend. It did not get off to a good start. Bubbles woke up on the way down and we realized he was running a fever. We made a stop at a Walmart and a Target to get the medicine we needed for him. I sat with him in the back of our car most of the way to just comfort him. It was lucky that Ben found Bubbles this amazing Darth Vader costume on clearance. It was the best $1.60 I've ever spent.

It took us to 1am to get Bubbles to sleep. When we woke up we decided to hit the beach before it starting raining. We only got to be there for about 10 minutes before the downpour began, but we had fun and got some cute pictures.

While visiting J we took Bubbles to his first movie at the theatre. We saw Megamind. He liked it a lot and so did we. All in all it was a really good weekend. The only thing that could have made it better would have been if Bubbles had felt better.

Mud Puddle Play

2010-11-14T15:45:00.000-08:00

Bubbles has these really cool rubber boots that he only gets to use at Granna and Ampa's. He enjoys tromping around in the huge puddle in the driveway. I guess it looked like so much fun that all the men had to join in. They chucked stuff into the puddle to try to splash each other. Bubbles wore most of the mud.

I love that the men in my life aren't too cool to do stuff like playing in puddles. Bubbles had so much fun. I think he appreciates the child in all of them too.

Halloween

2010-11-14T15:06:00.000-08:00

I know I'm way behind. I've become a serious blog slacker. We didn't go trick or treating because of Halloween falling on a Sunday. Instead I took Bubbles to my parents ward. He got to play with Ampa and he won candy. It was a serious win/win situtation for them both.

Wonder of wonders, he actually let one of the young women paint a smiley face on his cheek.

In my grossly biased opinion, he's the cutest dinosaur ever!

My day has been the best in some time......

2010-10-29T17:41:00.000-07:00

and I'll tell you why.

This morning I went for a 3 hour glucose test. That wasn't why my day was the best. It was actually pretty miserable, but I was gone before Bubbles even woke up. My parents came to watch him and when I walked in the door he came running with his arms raised. He told me that he missed me. Seriously made my heart melt. It has probably made my week.

Then me and the little man ran some boring errands. Something about my sidekick just makes the boring stuff fun. He makes me laugh so hard. When people tick me off while I'm driving (and for any of you that have ever ridden with me, I apologize. I have some serious rage built up) he will tell me sorry. Then we get in a big sorry war. It's so much fun and makes my stress level drop immediately.

We got to visit Ben during his lunch. Bubbles always really likes to visit him.

Reading over this it's really nothing special today, but he makes my life so much fun. We came home and watched a movie together, so I could get some rest. It's a wonderful day when I get to spend it with my little man. I'm trying to do special time with him because I know that all too soon I'll be trying to split myself in two for my boys.

Now to top off my day, Bubbles tossed my brother the frisbee. Mike missed and took it in the crotch. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. Seeing my brother roll on the floor in pain while Bubbles looked at him like he was insane was priceless.

Busy Life

2010-10-03T15:20:00.000-07:00

We're still alive! Things have been crazy since Ben started back at school. He's at WOU full time now and is still working part time. We don't get to see him very much these days, but I keep reminding myself that it's worth it. The sooner he gets his degree(s) completed the sooner we'll have more time with him.

Bubbles is keeping me on my toes. He is great fun and exasperating at times too. We went to visit J this weekend. I haven't seen Bradley or J happier ever. They just adore each other so much.

I'm just staying busy keeping up with the house, Bubbles, and Ben's schedule. It's been really fun watching my tummy grow.

A Little of This and A Little of That

2010-09-14T10:57:00.000-07:00

Bubbles has been having nightmares recently and as a result doesn't like going to bed. A few weeks ago he ran and jumped in my bed and told me that something scared him. He hid under the covers while Ben read Harry Potter to him. The next thing we knew his breathing had gotten really even and deep. When we pulled back the covers this is what we found.

We went to Coos Bay last week to help my brother move. He'll be attending school down there. He's enrolled in a pastry program. We know that he'll do great. It was just very sad to set up his new apartment and then have to leave. Bubbles misses him a lot.

You can see a baby snake in my hand if you look really closely. Ben brought it home from work (they have a huge population in their blackberry bushes). Bubbles enjoyed seeing it and most people who really know me know that I love snakes. Bubbles touched it and thought it was pretty neat. We set it free in the grass field next to our apartment.

Over half way done. I feel the baby move a lot throughout the day and night. He's very active. The contractions are still present, but we're trying a course of antibiotics to see if the infection I have is what is causing them. I'm just hoping to be more active than I have been.

A Rant

2010-08-31T14:33:00.000-07:00

My midwife recommended that we go to our local hospital for an evaluation for Preterm Labor last night. Because I'm barely past the 20 week mark she had us go to the ER first. They were great in the ER. They called L&D and the decision was made to transfer me over. They had me ride in a wheelchair. A triage nurse took me because she was so concerned. When we got to L&D the nurse who met us was awful. She asked us why I was in a wheelchair. When we told her she just rolled her eyes. (For the record, walking makes the contractions worse.) She weighed me and led us to a room. She had me change into a gown and pee in a cup. When I came out she had me get in a bed and hooked up the monitors. She asked me questions about my previous pregnancy. When she heard I'd gone into Preterm Labor with Bubbles she was much nicer, until she found out that he stayed in until 39 weeks.

They had me lay in bed hooked to the monitors for awhile. The nurse came back in with a dr about 45 minutes after we'd gotten settled. The dr asked some questions and checked me. No dilation, but some softening. That's when she told me that even with cervical change they don't intervene before 24 weeks. She went on to tell me that frequent contractions are common in the 2nd trimester and taper off around 24 weeks. She also felt that if I am going to go into preterm labor then it won't happen until it did with Bubbles. She went so far as to tell me that because Bubbles stayed in that I don't have much to be concerned about. She advised me to call my midwife today and see about doing regular cervical length checks.

Ok. Right then. The nurse and dr leave and the nurse comes back after I've changed. She goes over discharge instructions. Rest when possible and pelvic rest. She then goes over preterm labor symptoms and says that most are common pregnancy symptoms, so take with a grain of salt. Wow, I understand that some are, but I've been having regular contractions. Why isn't this serious to anybody? I had contractions 5 minutes apart all day. No amount of fluids or resting helped. What does rest when possible mean? I have a 2 year old. Am I supposed to just let him run around while I rest or do I just rest when the contractions keep me from doing anything but breathing?

I guess I'm just upset that they'll do nothing if it gets worse. I don't like feeling like I'm being treated like some hypochondriac. They saw the contraction read outs. The dr felt one. It's not really something I can fake.

Ok. I think I've got it all out. Thank you for letting me vent.

Ultrasound

2010-08-09T17:38:00.000-07:00

We had to go today for an ultrasound because Bradley used my tummy as a trampoline yesterday. He didn't mean to hurt me, but it definitely hurt and I started having contractions and a lot of pain. I tried sleeping through it last night, but it hadn't changed by this morning. I called my midwife and she said she'd be more comfortable sending me in for an ultrasound just in case.

Everything is fine. My body just didn't appreciate Bradley's rough housing. The tech said that they do a full anatomy scan when the patient is as far along as me just to be on the safe side, so we got to see everything. According to the measurements she got the baby is measuring a full week ahead with a head measuring almost 2 weeks ahead. We're having another big baby!

As soon as I have a minute I'll work on uploading ultrasound pictures. Until then you'll have to deal with a picture of my tummy from that day.

Another Aquarium Trip

2010-08-03T22:58:00.000-07:00

Ben had been very upset that he's missed out on a bunch of the cool trips we've gone on, so he was really excited to go to the aquarium with us while my dad was on vacation.

They're looking at the seals.

Bubbles didn't want anything to do with us ladies. He wanted to hang out with the boys the whole time.

Bubbles was fascinated by the size of these teeth.

The last time we went to the aquarium we somehow missed the cute little play area. Bubbles had fun and I got tons of adorable pictures.

Here we are with my awesome parents.

Bubbles and Ben being silly together.

These carved turtles were just beautiful.

We almost had success in getting Bubbles to touch a starfish this time. Maybe next time he'll be brave enough to do it.

Oregon Zoo

2010-08-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to update the blog, but pregnancy brain has gotten the best of me. I hope you all enjoy the pictures from our trips with my parents while my dad was on vacation.

Strange looking bald eagles

I loved watching this cougar sleep.

By the petting zoo.

He somehow managed to fall asleep even though we were right behind the train engine.

A goat rider.

This was his second ride on the school bus. We had to take the shuttle to the zoo because zoo parking was too full.

Celebrating Bubbles' 2nd Birthday

2010-07-07T17:43:00.000-07:00

We had a really low key birthday party for Bubbles. We had some delicious sandwiches and mini brownie bites. It was a decent day and it was nice to eat picnic style.

Being a cutie with his Mamah and Bapah Grape

The Clark clan

The Foster's

We love the Grape's

We're adding to the family....

2010-06-23T16:58:00.000-07:00

I'm just shy of 11 weeks pregnant now. I thought morning sickness was bad with Bubbles, but he was a cake walk compared to this.

I'm at least getting better at working through it. The worst days I try to rest as much as possible.

A trip to the beach

2010-06-09T11:09:00.000-07:00

My awesome parents took Bubbles and I to the Oregon Coast Aquarium on Saturday. Grandpa felt bad that he'd promised Bubbles a trip over Spring Break, but couldn't do it because he was re-cooperating from his quadruple bypass surgery.

I felt pretty nauseated that morning, but I decided that I couldn't miss out on Bubbles first aquarium trip.

He had a lot of fun. He mostly liked everything, but wouldn't go near the Japanese Crab tank and he hated the anacondas.

He was watching the seals and sea lions swim around here.

We were all a little nervous about how he'd react to the Passages to the Deep, but he really liked it.

The shark swam right up to him.

Look folks, Bubbles finally played in the sand!

We ate at Mo's.

Bubbles and Grandpa played on the beach together.

You'd never believe how much he hated sand the last time he went to the beach.

The best part of the whole trip for him were the rides at the outlet mall.

The things kids say

2010-05-12T14:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we were at my parents house and it was time for Bubbles and I to get ready to go. I asked him if he wanted to say prayer before we left. He thought really hard and said, "Yes!".

Here's the how the prayer went:

Me: Dear Heavenly Father

Bubbles: Dear Hevly Fader

Me: Thank you for Granna and Grandpa

Bubbles: Tank Too Gampa Ganna (imagine him signing thank you too)

Me: Thank you for Aunt Mallie

Bubbles: Gampa, Gampa, Gampa

Me: Thank you

Bubbles: GAMPA

Me: Bubbles, say thank you

Bubbles: POOP!!!!

This is where my mom loses it and starts cracking up. I'm determined to at least finish the prayer.

Me: Bubbles please say thank you

Bubbles: POOP, POOP, POOP

I couldn't keep going. I was laughing too hard. We're all laughing so hard the tears are rolling down our faces. Bubbles is thrilled to have an audience that appreciates poop humor, so he just keeps saying poop every few seconds. It took a while, but we finally calmed down. If only that prayer had ever gotten finished.

Family Pictures

2010-05-01T20:12:00.000-07:00

An update.....

2010-04-23T21:14:00.000-07:00

April has been a crazy month for us. We've had multiple E.R. trips, a totaled van, my final term for my Associates' started, and Ben got a job.

We're having a hard time adjusting to Ben being gone all night and sleeping during the day. Bubbles hates it. He is so used to having his dad around that he calls out for him throughout the day. It breaks me heart. I know we'll get used to it eventually though.

Sometime during the week of May 3rd we'll be hearing from OHSU School of Nursing. We're hoping Ben is accepted to one of the programs. Tomorrow morning he will be taking his CNA certification. If all goes well he'll be able to apply for a position with the Oregon State Hospital.

I'm staying busy with school, Mr. Bubbles, and work. Let's just say that I'm really looking forward to the summer break. While Ben is working I'm having to rely on my family for child care while I'm in the office and on campus. It makes me feel really guilty, but it's the last term that I'll have to do it.

Bubbles is learning so much. He says and does something new every day. His new trick is "Why?". I already started to hate the word. How to you explain everything he could possibly want to know? He makes me laugh every day and I couldn't be more blessed than I am right now.

We found a new car

2010-04-16T18:40:00.000-07:00

We had given up on finding a car because we were having so many problems finding one that we could afford and fit the many needs we had.

One day my mom called to let me know that one of her best friends from high school was the CFO for Bob Lanphere companies. She gave me his number and said to give him a call. He'd help us find what we were looking for.

I gave him a call and he searched all the inventories and gave me a list of what he thought would work for us. We then picked the dealership that we felt had the most to offer and headed up. At first we'd had our heart set on a Toyota Rav4. It was perfect. Except that the dashboard/center console rubbed hard on Ben's leg and nothing we did made it any better.

We'd lost hope yet again. Nothing else really appealed to us. They had some Subaru Forester's that were amazing, but also way outside of our budget. The manager came out at that point to see if he could help. He showed us a Ford Escape, but we weren't interested in it because of the fuel economy. John (that's the manager) got this mischevious grin and said that he had gotten a 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid in on a trade the day before. We took it for a spin and fell in love.

It had everything we were looking for:

4 wheel drive

excellent fuel economy

good crash test ratings

within our budget

would hold our growing family

We signed the paperwork on Tuesday. They replaced all 4 tires, even though only two really needed it done, repaired some scratches in the paint, and detailed the car. We got to pick it up today. It is so cool. We really couldn't be happier with the car or the car buying experience.

Our awesome salesman, Aaron Johnson. He was seriously the best and a fun guy to work with. He keeps a binder with a picture of every person he's sold to with him handing them the keys. He tapes it to a piece of paper that the family writes a note about the experience on. He's sold a lot of cars. We'll be hunting him down the next time we need to buy.

This is the new car. We even got new plates for it. Some pretty Crater Lake plates that they were able to put on right at the dealership. Seriously, they did everything there. I've never seen anything like it.

Adios blue van

2010-04-08T20:27:00.000-07:00

Oh van we've seen many a good trip with you, but sadly the insurance company has deemed you a total loss. Now we have to search high and low to find a car that we can learn to love. Too bad you were a special edition and there isn't anything like you on the market in our price range. I guess we settle for a not even close second best.

Our van has seen better days

2010-04-06T13:18:00.000-07:00

On our way home from dropping Hope off at her mom's work we were involved in a car accident. I think it's pretty obvious what happened by looking at the van.

We got rear-ended. We were stopped right before the middle school on Lockhaven when a car slammed into us. My first instinct was to make sure Bubbles was ok. He was completely unphased. Thank goodness for that. We got out of the car and I had Ben start taking pictures just in case. The girl that hit us was freaking out. I know she really felt bad. As the adrenaline started wearing off my neck started to hurt really bad. By then a police officer had come to take statements because a witness had called 911. I sat down in the front seat and kept an eye on Bubbles (who was having a blast "driving the car). By then my head was throbbing. The officer decided to have a medic respond. At that point Elizabeth Johnson happened to be driving by. She stopped to make sure everything was ok and to offer any assistance. There wasn't much that could be done, so I told her not to worry we were just waiting for a medic.

The medics came and assessed and recommended that I be taken to the ER for evaluation. Ben took video, but I have too much dignity to post it. Instead I'll post the one pic he got of me being taken out of the van.

I spent most of the evening in the ER. The x-rays looked good, so I was sent home with a prescription for muscle relaxers and some mega anti-inflammatory meds. Elizabeth was an absolute sweetheart and had Travis pick Ben and Bubbles up to see me at the hospital. He waited until I'd been x-rayed and then he, Ben, and my brother gave me a blessing. The Johnson family really went above and beyond. Elizabeth even made us some amazing apple cake (think coffee cake like) that even Bubbles could eat.

Yesterday made us realize just how blessed we are. Nothing matters but that we're all ok. It really could have been much worse. We just need to jump through all the insurance hoops now.

Bubbles' first trip to the emergency room

2010-04-03T22:38:00.000-07:00

I suppose I should give the run down. Bubbles and I were wrestling and tickle playing on my bed. I'd tickle him and he'd laugh and say "No, Momma!". Then I'd pick him up and he'd rest his head on my shoulder. On one of the pick ups he started screaming. We were able to get him to tell us that his eye hurt. We decided that he'd poked it himself and that he would be ok. It was his very first poke in the eye, so it made sense that it would be a really uncomfortable experience. He calmed down enough that we finished watching The Incredibles and started getting him ready for bed. He refused to sleep without the cold washcloth I'd used one his eye. That should have been a warning sign, but what can I say? Hindsight is 20/20.

He fell asleep and woke up screaming. I don't mean crying a little bit. I mean he was really screaming. An uncontrollable I'm in pain scream coming from my little boy. I was out of bed before it'd even registered that I was hearing him screaming. We think he rubbed his eye and that is what set things off.

After a frantic phone call to my mom at nearly 1am we loaded up in the van and took him to the ER. The whole way there and the entire time we were in the hospital he wouldn't calm down unless something was putting pressure on his eye.

Here you can see him using my collarbone to put pressure on his eye.

And then his dad's shoulder. I was going to photo document the rest of the experience, but I just couldn't do it. One, it took all of us to hold him down so that the doctor could examine his eye. Two, I really didn't want to look like a heartless mom. They put this stain in his eye and pulled out a black light. The poor kid had a huge abrasion on his eye. The doc said that they are one of the most painful injuries, but luckily they heal quickly.

This is the morning after. You can kinda see a sheen to his right eye. That would be the antibiotic ointment that we got to put in every four hours. I felt bad enough that he hurt, but I felt like a first class jerk having to hold him down to put the ointment in.

He survived the experience. His eye was sensitive to light so we made him a ghetto eye patch. At least he's a cute redneck pirate. He hasn't complained about his eye hurting at all. I'm going to attribute it to a very heartfelt prayer that a panic stricken mother offered (I really believe in the power of prayer, especially that of a mother) and a child's awesome ability to heal.

Hopefully we can now avoid another ER trip until he's 27.

First Fort

2010-03-22T20:01:00.000-07:00

Ben and Bubbles built their very first fort together. Bubbles LOVED it. He wanted to eat dinner in eat and then insisted we build another one first thing the next morning.

Can't you see how happy it made him?

Even Uncle Mike played in it.

His reward was Bubbles sitting on his face.

Grandpa Foster and Bubbles

2010-03-22T19:45:00.000-07:00

My dad had to undergo a quadruple bypass on the 18th. It came as quite a surprise to all of us. The surgery went very well, but we were very worried in the days leading up to it. I decided to dedicate a post to my dad with pictures of him and the boy.

The very first trip to Granna and Grandpa's house.

It's tiring being a baby. How good it is that Grandpa enjoys snuggling.

Oh what a sad looking baby.

Bubbles' first trip to the State Fair.

The first dinner at Outback.

Playing karate chop with Mom.

Halloween at Uncle Mike's soccer game.

I'm pretty sure this is Grandpa's birthday party.

New Year's Eve with Granna and Grandpa.

Tickle fight!

One of the farming men.

Nothing better than a beautiful spring dad mowing the lawn with Grandpa.

The petting zoo at the fair.

Being silly.

Another great Halloween with Grandpa.

On our way out to feed the sheep.

Another silly evening with Grandpa.

A fierce sword fight with Grandpa the day he checked into the hospital.

I attempted to get a cute picture before Grandpa left to go to the hospital, but Bubbles like making this face and this face only sometimes.

In case you couldn't tell we think Grandpa Foster is pretty special and we're glad he's going to stick around with us awhile longer.

A day that I won't forget anytime soon......

2010-03-21T18:49:00.000-07:00

Today started off with me hoping that we'd be allowed to see my dad, but he's still in the ICU. We got up early and built a fort with Bubbles and then ate breakfast under it together. I have to admit that it is really fun. Ben and Bubbles built one yesterday that was pretty good, but we made a few changes so it'd be easier to reconstruct. (Pictures to Follow)

I then went into the kitchen to make some sweet cornmeal muffins, a new family favorite. While making them Sumo kept pawing at the box of Bubbles treats which contains granola bars, fruit leathers, and some tiny gummi bears. I chased him off because he's not allowed to sleep in it. The next thing I knew he was peeing in it. That resulted in both cats spending the majority of the day shut in the bathroom. We have a constant battles with these two cats. If their boxes aren't pristine then they find other places to go. For example, freshly laundered clothes, blankets, boxes, etc. I am at my wits end. I'm taking the tough love approach and shutting them in the bathroom until they can behave like gentlemen.

Shortly after shutting the cats into their bathroom I dropped an entire bowl of soup on the floor. This all happened before 11am. Church was then out the window. I still needed to clean up after devil cat and then my own mess on top of it.

Thankfully I got a lovely nap after an hour long battle with Bubbles to take his. I got up and made dinner. Nothing special though. It was just chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Bubbles ate all of his and had about half a bottle of BBQ sauce left on his face, so it was time for a bath. I laid him down on the floor to strip his cloth diaper off. I don't like poopy surprises in the bathroom. He was clean, so I let him run off naked so that I could start the tub. I got it running, added his bubble bath, and used the shower head to make lots of frothy bubbles. Then I felt something warm on my leg. I looked over thinking I'd somehow gotten myself with the shower head, but it wasn't so. Bubbles was PEEING on my leg. He stopped when I gasped in shock and then refused to try it out on his potty. Oh well. At least it was pretty funny.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

I'm almost finished.....

2010-03-10T17:52:00.000-08:00

with my Associate's Degree!!!!!

Spring term is my last term. I am so excited. Now we just have to find out where Ben will be going to school. Once we have the info I can decide where I'll transfer for my Bachelor's.

Bubbles begins counting

2010-02-23T22:27:00.000-08:00

We were getting Bubbles ready for bed tonight when he pointed at a group of two stuffed animals and yelled "TWO". Ben and I looked at each other in complete shock. He surprises me every day.

The Nerd Education Continues

2010-02-22T19:29:00.000-08:00

We've been exposing Bubbles to all the things we love. He's watched some Star Trek, we've started our way through the original Star Wars, and tonight Bubbles got to watch a little Fellowship of the Ring.

Tonight he was running around yelling Gandalf and trying to say Frodo. Last night he picked up Emperor (Palpatine) and Darth Vader.

A Beautiful Black Eye

2010-02-22T12:57:00.000-08:00

Bubbles had been running a mild fever yesterday and was restless enough in his sleep that he fell out of bed 2 times. The first time he was back asleep before I could even put him back into bed. The second time he was screaming bloody murder. I scooped him up and began the process of consoling him. It was pretty dark in his room, but I was convinced his mouth was bleeding. It wasn't. Turns out it was a little left over ketchup.

He refused to get back in his bed, so he was my bed buddy for the night. Ben went into our room and turned a lamp on low and got the bed ready for us. I got him into my bed and noticed that he had a big black lump on his eye that was bleeding. The poor kid gave himself one heck of a black eye. I must say it's rather fetching on him.

You can't tell very well in the pictures, but you can kinda see the scab over the corner of his left eye.

An updated photo. I took this today (2/24) while he was napping. The bruise looks like expertly applied eyeshadow in the crease of his eye.
(I apologize for the quality of the photo. I just noticed a plethora of fingerprints on the lense)

A New Trick

2010-02-21T20:19:00.000-08:00

I was in the kitchen washing some dishes when I glanced down where Bubbles was sitting in the dining room. He was looking a little suspicious, but I couldn't put my finger on anything in particular. I went back to washing dishes when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. To my surprise I saw him drinking out of his sippy cup, but the lid was off in one hand. I guess he's decided that he's too advanced for a sippy cup, so he twisted the top off and was drinking straight out of the cup.

I'm predicting some messes in the future.

Mr. Bubbles First Day at the Beach

2010-02-19T12:58:00.000-08:00

It was a BEAUTIFUL day yesterday, so I decided on the spur of the moment to take a trip to the beach. We really thought that Bubbles would enjoy it. The drive was beautiful. He fell asleep about 15 minutes out of Lincoln City, so we had an idea that he might be a little grumpy. He didn't fuss at all when we got him out of the car though. He was very excited when he saw the water, so we headed down the stairs to the beach immediately. We tried to set him down on the sand and once his toes touched he was not having any of it. We decided that we'd carry him around and let him get used to the idea. He screamed any time the waves came close to us. It didn't matter how reassuring we tried to be. We finally told him that he needed to either walk or we were leaving. He'd nod that he wanted down and then pull those little feet up around his ears once you started to set him down. We thought about just making him sit in it, but he'd scream so hard that he couldn't catch his breath.

Looking at this picture you'd never believe that he hated the sand.

Or here.

Or even here. This was him expressing his unhappiness that we were leaving. We really just couldn't win. He didn't want to play, but he didn't want to go either. I'm really hoping that the next beach trip goes better!

Things Bubbles Says

2010-02-15T12:49:00.000-08:00

Hello (which sounds very British because he drops the H)

Ready, Set, Go

Mommy

Daddy

Thank You

Cheese (sounds eeze)

Please (sounds like eeze)

Jesus (also sounds like eeze)

Amen

Truck

Look

Yuck

Ewww

Uh oh

Yes (still sounds like yesh)

Eye

Ear

Lips

Yum

Cracker

Water

Drink

Food

Poop

Soup (which unfortunately sounds like poop)
Go to Sleep

See ya
Bye
Happy Birthday
Geese
Cat
Dog
Sheep
Tree
Darth Vader
Emperor (Palpatine of course)
Nite Nite
Apple
Banana
Hope
Hoop
Gandalf
Snake
Fish
Me
I

I'll add more as I think of them, but he's definitely getting more verbose. He can say all his family members names.

Flowers for Valentine's Day

2010-02-13T19:46:00.000-08:00

I've been feeling terrible this evening. I've got an awful head cold and Ben has been letting me rest in bed. He took Bubbles to the store to pick up some groceries and a birthday present for Uncle Nathan. When they got home I could hear Bubbles looking for me. I saw him coming down the hallway and my heart melted. He came bearing flowers. He gave them to me with the biggest grin on his face and signed love to me. Ben said that Bubbles insisted on bringing flowers home to me. At first he'd picked some multi colored roses, but changed his mind when Ben asked if he thought I'd like them. He was right. I really like to have a variety of flowers in bouquets.

I may be sick, but my men just made this the best Valentine's Day ever.

Prayer

2010-02-11T10:43:00.000-08:00

We pray every night with Bubbles before he goes to bed. Last night was the first night that he said amen when the prayer was concluded. We got so excited! He is starting to be so chatty. He makes me smile every day with the new things he learns.

Smelling Purty

2010-02-09T22:46:00.000-08:00

Bubbles LOVES to put on lotion. Today he found a Japanese Cherry Blossom scented lotion at my parents house. He insisted that I let him put some on his hands. We both got some rubbed in and he ran off to show off his smelly hands to his grandpa.

My dad picked him up and Bubbles proudly shoved his hands under Grandpa's nose. He was of course expecting Grandpa to be impressed. Instead Grandpa said, "Ewwww! You smell like a purty girl. Are you a purty girl?"

Bubbles was surprised and then shook his head vehemently. He was most certainly not a purty girl. Grandpa kept telling him he smelled purty. What Bubbles did next had me laughing so hard.

He looked at Grandpa and then..... Plugged his nose.

From that moment on anytime anybody said anything about how he smelled purty he just plugged their nose and looked around like "Ha! I fixed that!"

My Little Gamer

2010-02-08T20:03:00.000-08:00

Bubbles loved being like the "big boys", so today he got into the entertainment center drawer and fished out his own controller. Ben got out the headphones for him. As you can tell he was in heaven.

A night with the Chipps'

2010-02-07T00:25:00.000-08:00

My sister and her fiance came a watched Mr. Bubbles so that we could a night out with our friends the Chipps'. We had a great time. We were going to go to an adult dance at church, but there wasn't anybody at the building. Instead we went to Target (which was quite fun) and then back to their place to play Apples to Apples.

Ben and Trevor accidentally matched a little. It was kinda cute.

We have so much fun with them. They are hilarious and Apples to Apples got pretty irreverent.

This is what we came home to. My sister seems pretty comfortable with her cat necklace.

Me thinks a new microwave is in order

2010-02-04T19:13:00.000-08:00

Bubbles was insisting on having an egg roll for dinner. Ben tried to comply with the request and I wound up with a house full of smoke. For some reason our microwave burned the egg roll to something unrecognizable in under 2 minutes. I should have taken a picture of it, but we were busy trying to air the apartment out.

A traumatic experience for me today....

2010-01-30T20:47:00.000-08:00

maybe embarrassing is a better word.

We had to use a gift card from a friend that was expiring tomorrow, so today after I got off work we went up to the Woodburn Outlet to visit the Nike store. Bubbles had been pretty good through most of the stops, so I got him an Icee as a treat. Bad move.

We were in Bass because Ben needed a new pair of church shoes. I turned around when Ben asked me a question and then I heard this sound. I can't describe it to you, but I knew it wasn't something good. I turned back and the Icee had slipped out of Bubbles hands. It was everywhere. It was a moment of total mortification. We asked for paper towels and I cleaned the entire mess up myself. I kept apologizing to the kid working in the store, but it really didn't make it better. I felt awful.

Moral of the story: Don't go shopping with a toddler. Or at the very least don't let them have an Icee in nice stores.

A mish mash of stuff

2010-01-30T16:22:00.000-08:00

I noticed the other day that Bubbles doesn't like car rides on back country roads. One of the ways to my parents house is full of curves and hills. We took that way home the other day and the poor kid screamed and held onto the arm rests of his chair until his knuckles turned white. I think it's safe to say that we won't be taking that route again any time soon. We'd initially thought he didn't like the the ride because it was dark on an earlier trip. Now we know that we were wrong. Maybe we'll try it again every once in a while so he gets used to the idea that he's safe even when he feels g forces.

We're watching a Nature episode right now and Ben was naming the animals that they show in the opening credits. Unfortunately Ben is terrible at naming animals. An example of this is the Tucan that the said was a fish and the fox he told Bubbles was a squirrel. I kept laughing as I tried to tell the boy what the animal really was. The more times Ben was wrong the most flustered he got and the answers got a little weirder. I think he needs a do-over.

Bubbles loves Nature shows. I love watching his face light up as he learns about new animals. Yesterday we watched one about Monarch butterflies. He jumped around and flapped his wings with them. Today he has gotten really excited about the elephants we're watching. We got to see a newborn elephant learn to walk and one of the scenes they filmed showed the baby nursing. Bubbles for so excited and pointed at the scene and at me while babbling. I asked him if that baby was nursing and he nodded his head excitedly.

Bubbles really loves animals. I love that about him. I grew up in a family that loves animals. To me life isn't quite complete without pets. There isn't a dog or cat he doesn't love yet. He's a little indifferent to the llama at my parents house though. She stomps at him and he doesn't appreciate her animosity. As he has gotten bigger my dad lets him help with more chores around the farm. While we were there on Thursday Bubbles got to help throw hay out to the animals. He held the flashlight and pointed to where he thought we should lay the it out. I'm looking forward to watching him grow up on the farm and take over some of the responsibilities I had as a kid on the farm.

Toga

2010-01-29T20:42:00.000-08:00

I'm sure some of you will recognize what this particular garment used to be. Bubbles loves silky things and it was time to weed out some old g's and I remade this into a little toga for the boy. He really likes it if you can't tell.

It's a little too big for him though. At one point I wound up making it a keyhole kind of thing. You can see most of the gorilla on his jammies through the opening.

Goat's milk

2010-01-26T16:29:00.000-08:00

Most of you know that Bubbles is allergic to milk. We'd been told by a few people and found in online reading that he may still be able to drink goat's milk. I made the decision that we'd wait until he was older because dairy causes horrible bleeding rashes on his bum for days. We are 5 days in and Bubbles has been symptom free. The best part is that he LOVES stuff.

Bubbles room revamped

2010-01-24T20:25:00.001-08:00

It all started with a new dresser. Grandma Clark got it for Bubbles. He loves the baseball drawer pulls.

We got rid of the recliner that we'd had in the corner which really opened up and brightened his room. I hated the big container his toys had been in, so I decided to have 3 smaller bins that he could actually get into. Then we put all of his stuffed animals into the "bodega" my sister made for him. Now he has tons of floor space and it looks more like a big boy room.

Being Silly

2010-01-24T20:14:00.000-08:00

One of Bubbles favorite things to do is to try to do somersaults. Mostly he stands with his forehead on the floor with his little tush straight up in the air, as seen here.

Bubbles love to draw with crayons. Right now he really likes having his hands and head traced on paper.

Spiderman sunglasses are the best!

Bubbles is growing up

2010-01-21T14:48:00.001-08:00

Ben and I had been concerned about Bubbles not talking very much for some time, but everybody kept reassuring us that he would turn into a chatterbox when he was ready. You were right. He is very chatty now. He's starting to put words together now. I thought that today I would share a couple stories with you.

Bubbles and I were cleaning his room a couple days ago. He helps pick up and put away all the toys and then he runs and hides while I vacuum. (In case you didn't know it he is terrified of the vacuum cleaner.) When I was finished vacuuming and had put it away he came running into his room and said "WOW!"

I guess it had been a little while since I had cleaned his room. In my defense I have been down for about a week or so with a really hurt neck. Some things kinda slid that normally don't.

A little while later I heard him in his room while I was cleaning in the kitchen. I walked up to his room and stood in the doorway and watched him pull his pillow off of his bed while saying "Go to sleep", he then grabbed all 4 of the stuffed animals he sleeps with and laid them down on the pillow and told them "Go to sleep", then he pulled 3 blankets out and covered them up and told them "Go to sleep" again. It made me smile. His daddy whispers "Go to sleep" in his ear every night when we tuck him in. I guess he associates that with a good tucking in.

Should I Delete My Blog?

2010-01-20T18:44:00.001-08:00

I'm taking a cue from my friend Lila. The only way I am going to make an effort to keep my blog up to date is if I know that people are reading the entries and at the very least enjoying the pictures. With work, school, and having Mr. Bubbles running around I don't really want to put the effort into the blog if it isn't really being utilized by family and friends.

If you want me to keep going please leave a comment.

Crayon fun

2010-01-18T23:36:00.001-08:00

Don't I look amazing? We have washable crayons that we bought for Bubbles and we have fun painting our faces and then washing it off. He tells me where to draw and then I do what I feel like doing.

Doesn't he look handsome with extra eyebrows and a purple mustache and goatee?

My dancing machine

2010-01-11T16:19:00.000-08:00

Uncle J just got the Glee cd's and Bubbles LOVES the music. He dances like a maniac every time we turn it on.

P.S. This is video we shot from the new flip camcorder my Uncle Brad gave us for Christmas.

Our Year End Wrap Up

2009-12-26T18:50:00.001-08:00

January

We were thrown quite the loop when Ben was laid off suddenly. It was horrible when it happened, but it was a blessing in disguise.

February

We moved in my my parents on Valentine's day. It was the beginning of a lovely 6 months.

March

In March we got to help as lambing got into full swing. We had a great time and I even got to assist in pulling a few lambs.

April

The weather was BEAUTIFUL for most of April, so we spent a ton of time outside playing with the lambs and on the playground. We also brought the sweetest old chihuahua home to my parents house. Ren still lives there with them.

May

Bubbles turned 1. It went by much to quickly.

June

After spring term finished we went to Idaho and Utah for a little over a week. We had a great time and got to see some wonderful friends. I'm considering making a trip to Utah a June ritual. My parents got a new puppy too. Duke is HUGE now. I can't wait to see how much bigger he is this coming June. Ben and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary too.

July

We spent a lot of time in the pool that Grandpa got. Bubbles has a love of water. We swam a lot over the summer.

August

An awesome opportunity to become a resident manager at an apartment complex was dropped in our laps and after careful consideration we decided to take it. We moved back into Keizer and while we've enjoyed having a place of our own it was an adjustment. We really missed the hustle and bustle of Foster Folly Farms.

September

Bubbles got his first hair cut and we were able to spend the day at the State Fair with my parents. Mostly September was us being able to spend as much time together as possible before school started up again.

October

We were busy with school and babysitting and I started my training in the office. We took Bubbles trick or treating. He had a great time.

November

We had a great time shuttling ourselves around to different places for Thanksgiving. It was nice spending time with family.

December

This last month of the year has been busy. We survived finals and the hustle and bustle of life. Bubbles is talking a lot more and seems to be adding tons of words every day. He's started wanting to color more and makes us laugh with his antics on a daily basis.

We had a wonderful Christmas and if I can get my act together I might actually post some before June comes around.

We're looking forward to the coming year and know that it will be even better than this last year.

My Christmas Letter

2009-12-04T20:58:00.000-08:00

In an effort to make my life a little easier and to save some paper I decided to post our annual letter here. Now you can all tell my biology teacher that I did something this holiday season to reduce my carbon footprint.

We all survived this year! This has definitely not been one of the easiest years we've had since getting married, but it has been one of the best in my opinion. Our year began with Ben being laid off rather suddenly. He was called into work for a morning meeting and came home shocked that he'd been laid off. The hardest part was that management had known since before Thanksgiving that they were going to be laying somebody off and they never thought to give us all a warning. There were tears shed and some uncertainty, but once the shock wore off we quickly decided that our best option was to move in with my parents. They were kind enough to offer us a place to live right off the bat.

We put in our notice and everybody started getting ready for us to move. My wonderful parents already had a rather full house, but we all squished in together and Bubbles couldn't have been happier. We were able to continue going to school and I was able to keep babysitting a sweet toddler that Bubbles adores.

While living at Foster Folly Farm's we had some exciting things happen. Bubbles started walking and celebrated his first birthday. We all participated in a very busy lambing season. I got to assist my dad in some difficult deliveries. I very much look forward to having my own small sheep farm in the future.

I had my tonsils removed shortly after my 24th birthday and right before Ben and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. We had a wonderful time living with my parents, but our stay with them came to an end in August.

I was lucky enough to get a position as a Resident Manager in an apartment complex in Keizer. I love the job and the family oriented manner in which it is run. My supervisor is really sweet and actually recommended me for the job to the property manager.

Ben and I have both been very busy with school and life in general. Ben is finishing up his CNA courses and will hopefully take his licensing exam and get a job before the winter is over. He will also be applying for nursing school very soon. We're keeping our fingers crossed that he is accepted somewhere the first time around.

I'm staying busy working in the office and still watching the little sweetheart that I started watching very early in my pregnancy with Bubbles. I have kept a full schedule at school on top of it all.

Bubbles is a very busy 18 month old. He is really keeping us on our toes. He is smart and hilarious. He has a passion for music and dancing. He has recently begun critiquing my cleaning efforts. If things are not to his standards he makes it known and watches me redo it and then grins and nods his approval. Tonight it was my kitchen floor that was found lacking. He watched me sweep and then actually laid down on the dining room floor so he could point out areas that needed more attention. It actually took me mopping the floor for him to be truly satisfied. How did 2 slobs like Ben and I produce a neatnik?

Our coming year is looking absolutely crazy. We'll be working hard to finish our degrees this year. Bubbles is planning a Disneyland vacation with his Granna and Grandpa Foster.

We are wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We hope your year is as amazing as we plan on ours being.

Love,

The Clark's

Halloween

2009-11-15T13:23:00.000-08:00

Stay Tuned.....

2009-11-14T23:35:00.000-08:00

I'm updating the blog sometime tomorrow.

Sick Bubbles

2009-10-26T01:32:00.001-07:00

I was hoping that the little man would avoid the bug that hit our house, but life sometimes doesn't work like I'd like it to. Bubbles has been running a fever and coughing since last night. Thankfully ibuprofen has really kept him more comfortable. We're praying for a speedy recovery for him.

A photo update

2009-10-19T14:29:00.000-07:00

What can I say.... We both love Cookie Monster.

He's interested in using his potty chair, but hasn't been successful yet.

The little stud can rock those saddle shoes.

Another day of babysitting. It's great that they love playing with each other.

Bubbles in my little neat freak. He likes to clean whenever he can.

My kid is the cutest........

2009-10-11T22:18:00.000-07:00

here's why:

He loves Conan O'Brien

He enjoys dancing to the Beastie Boys and Led Zeppelin

He makes a really adorable popeye face that I can't get enough of

He says yes like yish

He lifts his tush during diaper changes if you say "buns up"

He enjoys wrestling and tickles so much that he'll lay on the floor until you realize that he wants you to "fall" on him and give him lots of tickles

He likes to run everywhere

His sad face is so pathetic it makes me want to smother him in kisses and hugs

He can be so intent on getting snacks that he'll climb up onto the table ninja style and I won't know he's up there until I realize it's really too quiet to be a good thing

Sometimes there is nothing more fun to him than spinning in circles until he falls over

He likes helping with chores. He can sweep, unload the washing machine and dryer, and he helps unload the dishwasher

He interprets "I need to change your diaper" as "Let's play chase"

The first time he saw figure skating he tried to imitate them by jumping around and spinning with his arms over his head

He is constantly eating something

He loves his fruits and veggies so much that we can hardly ever get him to eat meat

He loves musicals

A Video Wrap Up of Our Summer

2009-09-26T22:09:00.000-07:00

It's a little amateurish, but I made a video of some of our favorite pictures from this summer. It takes about 3 minutes to watch it all.

Moms Milk Boutique

2009-09-26T18:45:00.000-07:00

I love cloth diapering and this is one of my favorite places to shop. Check it out!

An Update.....

2009-09-20T21:06:00.000-07:00

will be coming shortly. I need to track down some pictures.

Bubbles' first haircut

2009-09-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

This morning before we had even considered the haircut.

After we'd attempted a trim with the scissors.

After Daddy finished it off with the clippers.

The finished product

Sesame Street

2009-09-08T09:12:00.000-07:00

Bubbles love Sesame Street, but this morning he was more excited than I'd ever seen him get. This little guy makes my day.

King of the Playground

2009-09-04T21:05:00.000-07:00

The very first time he did the playground process all by himself. I think he was showing off for the 3 big kids I was watching that day.

Oregon State Fair

2009-09-03T20:42:00.001-07:00

Trying to smooch a goat

Grandpa and Granna with their favorite boy

A very cute family

The women plus a handsome little boy

The men

Mr. Independent

2009-09-03T20:40:00.000-07:00

Bubbles is gaining his independence. He refuses to let us feed him anymore. It seems like it happened all in one day. He's getting really good at eating with utensils.

Diaper Disaster

2009-08-29T21:32:00.000-07:00

Poor Bubbles just hasn't had a great day today. First I was gone all day to work our BeautiControl booth at the Corn Festival. Then he hit his head hard enough to leave a lump and a bruise. Apparently those weren't bad enough.

We got home from my parents and decided to throw the lil monkey into the tub so we'd have one less thing to do before church tomorrow. I was pulling his diaper off and realized that it wasn't just soggy. I set it on the bathroom floor so I could find some wipes to clean his tush. I hadn't even gotten up yet when he started to scream. My first thought was that he had hit his bruise, but I was SOOOO wrong....... He'd seen his own poop.

That's right folks. Bubbles was so terrified at the sight of his diaper that he hauled buns into the hallway. I ran after him and swiped some diapers and cleaned him up before he could make a mess. He then stood outside the bathroom half whining half crying until I folded his diaper up and threw it away.

Once it was gone he was fine. I never knew a diaper could be so traumatic.

Bubbles' first bruise on his noggin

2009-08-29T21:21:00.000-07:00

I don't know how we've made it this long without any real bruises to the noggin, but we did...... Until today.

I had just gotten to my parents from a day at the corn festival and heard Bubbles scream in the way babies do when they are hurt. I went running and found Ben holding him as he screamed. Bubbles is working on running and he took a face plant in some fairly rocky ground. He had dirt all over his face. We didn't realize that he'd taken a good bump to the forehead until I got the dirt washed off.

The pictures aren't great for documenting the bruise, but it's almost in line with his nose high on his forehead. Poor kid, but it's good to know he's got such a hard head.

KEIZER

2009-08-26T22:06:00.000-07:00

We just moved into our 3 bedroom apartment in Keizer. We are working on getting things more situated. It's started to look more homey.

The first few nights were a real adjustment. We aren't used to city noises yet and Bubbles woke up a lot. I am happy to report now that Bubbles is sleeping through the night and has been for a few days!

Once we have everything looking decent we'll post some pictures.

Random Cuteness of the Bubbles Kind

2009-07-28T14:11:00.001-07:00

Bubbles is starting to wear hats for a few minutes at a time. He has started running and spinning around in circles at random moments. We are enjoying watching him assert himself more, but we do at times wish that tantrums weren't a part of growing up.

As you can tell he also enjoys running around naked. He has also figured out how to take his own diapers off. We learned that when he stripped a dirty diaper off in his crib and then poopy butt stamped his pillow. I wasn't upset at all because you could see how proud he was to have accomplished something new. However, we do make sure that he never goes to bed without at least pants on. Once he figures a way past those I'm not sure what we'll do.

Our July so far

2009-07-19T14:30:00.000-07:00

Learning how to dance with Grandpa.

Giving Duke some love. As a side note the floor doesn't normally look like that, but with a toddler and a puppy things get messy quickly and cleaned up once everybody is in bed.

Soon enough Duke will be big enough that Bubbles will think he should be able to ride him.

Cooling off on a 90 degree day. If you look closely you'll notice that Bubbles isn't even wearing a swim diaper. Brave Dad, huh?

Bubbles has discovered he's a boy

2009-07-11T18:20:00.000-07:00

We gave him a bath after he had spaghetti for dinner. When we went out into the living room to put a diaper on he was sitting on my lap while I dried him off. He looked down and pointed at his penis and then looked up at me and said, "Ba?" (everything is Ba right now because he loves balls and balloons).

I just told him it was his penis. Then I let him wander around naked for a little bit because he's been having some recurring diaper rash. He wandered towards Granna and tried to show her his penis, but couldn't see it over his tummy, so he sat down on the floor and poked it while saying "Ba" again.

We all laughed so hard. It makes me laugh because he runs around naked so often and it's only now that he realizes that he has anything below that pudgy tummy.

4th of July

2009-07-05T00:09:00.001-07:00

We spent a little time in the new pool Grandpa got. It would have been better if the water wasn't cold enough to make your legs ache.

Uncle Nathan came to celebrate with us.

I manned, or is it womaned, the grill.

I just like the way this picture turned out. Mallie was playing with a sparkler.

Bubbles sitting in the back of the van with Grandpa and Granna watching everybody set off fireworks. He has a corn cob in his hand that he refused to relinquish. He really enjoyed chewing on it.

Pictures Galore

2009-06-27T15:03:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try doing this a little bit differently than usual. I'm making a video instead of hand picking the pictures and trying to get them in the right order. Let me know which way you like better.

I haven't forgotten.....

2009-06-26T22:48:00.000-07:00

to post pictures. I have been recuperating from a tonsillectomy and will hopefully feel up to blogging sometime next week.

We're Back......

2009-06-21T18:40:00.001-07:00

and we had a great time! I'll post pictures when I have a minute.

VACATION......

2009-06-13T19:45:00.000-07:00

We're leaving here shortly and planning on spending Sunday and part of Monday in Rexburg before heading to Utah until Saturday. Let's hope that Bubbles sleeps most of the way.

Family Photos by Karee Stosich

2009-06-05T18:11:00.000-07:00

We had a great time having our first real family photos taken since Christmas by a photographer in our ward. She did an amazing job. We never had newborn pictures taken, so we had nothing with little hands or feet or us snuggling a very sweet brand new baby. I was really excited to see that Karee took some pictures that have Bubbles chubby little feed and hands.

Bubbles did much better than I thought he would and it was pretty quick and painless. I'm looking forward to using them in the 1st year photo book I'm going to make.

I hope you all enjoy just a few of the great pictures she took.

Random Pictures

2009-06-03T12:53:00.000-07:00

Grandpa bought a swing set and this swing chair for Bubbles' birthday! B loves it!

He's a pretty relaxed driver.

Nothing like a ride around the farm on the John Deere with Grandpa.

Bubbles loves his PB&J sandwiches

We played at River Front Park before and after riding the Carousel.

It was really hard to get a good picture of them riding the carousel, but I think this one turned out pretty well.

Who knew that a cereal box could be such fun?!?

A Smurf Day

2009-05-31T21:15:00.000-07:00

First of all I need to warn all who read this that this isn't going to be a funny story. The only reason I am calling it the Smurf day is because if I don't try to laugh a little I'm going to start crying again. I've got to lighten the mood I guess.

Today has been a super busy day because we're getting the house ready for an appraisal. It has involved my mom and I running around like crazy people and Ben trying to pick up the Bubbles slack for me.

For lunch I cut up some chicken and put it into some homemade BBQ sauce to simmer. After Bubbles got up from his nap Ben sat down to feed him. I was cleaning in the kitchen when I heard somebody trying to cough. I looked over and Ben had pulled B out of his highchair and was trying to help him cough a piece of chicken up. It wasn't working.

I tried sweeping his mouth to see if I could grab it, but no luck. He was started to turn blue when my mom grabbed him and tried to do the Heimlich like they taught her to do in like 1980. It moved it enough that he could take a breath, but he started turning a deeper shade of blue after he'd pinked up a little bit.

I took him from my mom and threw him over my lap and started pounding on his back. The piece of chicken flew out and Bubbles started screaming. I turned him over and watched his tongue turn pink again and then just held him.

I was shaking so bad by the time it was all over that I was afraid I was going to drop him. Everything happened in like 30 seconds, but felt like it took 10 minutes.

Bubbles didn't want to try to eat again (besides nursing) for a couple hours and it took him even longer to even go near Ben. Apparently he blamed his dad for what happened. Ben felt so bad!

B is doing just fine. He ate a snack and dinner and is again best pals with his dad. I'm not sure that I'm going to get over it any time soon. I will always remember the way his face looked with his lips and tongue blue and a little swollen.

I tried really hard not to get too freaked out in front of him though. He was plenty scared on his own. I waited until I put him down to bed to cry. I sat down on the couch with Ben just a little while ago and told him that we got too close to losing him for my comfort and then started crying.

We are all fine, but it was a little too close for my comfort.

Deleting the blog?

2009-05-25T22:48:00.000-07:00

I am considering deleting our blog because I don't think people are reading it. What's the point in spending so much time to upload photos and update people that don't read it anyways.

If you do read this please leave a comment and then I'll know that I should continue making updates.

Happy 1st Birthday Bubbles

2009-05-19T18:05:00.000-07:00

We had a great first birthday with Bubbles. He destroyed his cake and had a great time toddling around the park. Bubbles enjoyed all the attention he got and has loved all the wonderful presents he received.

It's hard for me to believe that he is already 1! It has gone by so much faster than I ever thought it would. My baby boy is less of a baby every day. He's trying to talk more. He can say Mama, Dada, and Ba for ball. He's knows the difference between a big tree and a small tree and also knows all of our pets by their names. We're all really enjoying each day we have with him.

We tried to get pictures with every family that was there, but my parents left early because my mom was feeling sick. At some point I'll upload some more pictures. We are posing with my brothers Mike and J.

I got frosting smeared all on my back and in my hair. It was a very sweet and sticky hug.

Yummy cake! Bubbles decided that this must be a good way to try to eat it.

Trying to share with Dad.

His first attempts at eating it. I think he was waiting for one of us to tell him he couldn't make a mess.

My mom and brother made the cakes.

more pictures

2009-05-14T21:02:00.000-07:00

My cute little man giving me smooches and trying to steal my hat.

He's practicing his spidey skills.

Spidey would be so jealous!

Uncle Daniel came to visit Mother's Day weekend. Bubbles LOVED him!

Another super quick update

2009-05-08T22:46:00.000-07:00

As you can see in the progression on photos Bubbles was playing hide and seek with the curtain between the living room and the storage room.

It's not a great picture, but I chopped all my hair off. It looks a little manly right there, but I promise it's quite cute.

Bubbles is officially sleeping through the night and has been since we started the experiment. He's a much more pleasant fellow and we are enjoying the sleep too!

Sleep

2009-05-02T11:19:00.000-07:00

After nearly a year of mostly sleepless nights we made the decision to move Bubbles out of our room. A friend recommended a book to me to help B sleep through the night. I was a little worried that it wouldn't work or that it would be really hard on Bubbles, but he has done

FANTASTIC!

The first night he work up about 2 hours after we put him to bed and then again at 3:15 am. He didn't wake up again until almost 8 am, which is his usual wake up time. Last night he went to sleep at about 9:30 and didn't wake up until 5:45. I thought he was ready to be up, but he showed us by laying down in our bed and trying to fall asleep that he wasn't. Ben took him back downstairs to his room and he laid right down and went to sleep. He didn't get up again until 8 am. I think it goes without saying that he has given up nursing at night. He just needed some space of his own and no cats to bother him.

It has been amazing. I thought it was going to be super hard and that it would absolutely break my heart, but he was so ready to do this. It still makes me sad one one level though. I miss snuggling with him already. It is just another step towards growing up. He just isn't staying little long enough for me.

Ren

2009-04-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

There is a new addition at the Foster house! My parents are very sweet and took in a chihuahua named Ren. Our friends recently moved into a new place and couldn't bring their dog with them. They had tried finding a home for him, but hadn't been successful.

Mallie begged our parents and they agreed to a trial run with him. Within minutes it was decided that he would stay.

He is very attached to me, but it getting more comfortable with the rest of the family. He and Bubbles are great friends. He's definitely a keeper!

Playground

2009-04-21T11:41:00.000-07:00

Getting ready to slide.

Grass no longer freaks him out. Now we can't keep up with him.

He loved swinging!

I had him laughing by telling him to get away from me while I pushed him.

Ben got Bubbles swinging and then swung beside him. B thought it was funny.

The mini slide wasn't cool enough for him.

This was making me so nervous, but Ben was just out of camera shot keeping him safe. He climbed to the top of the play structure.

He really did like the horse, but you can't tell from this one.

Sleep

2009-04-21T09:47:00.000-07:00

Bubbles let me sleep last night. It was glorious. He went to bed at about 9 and didn't wake up until 5:30. I nursed him and he slept until a little after 8. I think we just tired him out playing outside all day. Thank goodness for sunshine!

I've had a pretty unpleasant weekend. I have kidney stones. If you've never had them let me just say that I'd much rather have constant contractions again than this. I'm finally feeling better today. I'm hoping that this is the end because if it isn't then I have to go back in for a CAT scan. Sometime today I will post some pictures. I have tons. I think I'll wait until we've taken B to the park.

I'm on Strike!!!!

2009-04-15T21:25:00.000-07:00

So after almost 11 months without a decent nights sleep I am done with nursing at night! We are on night 3 of this project and I am hoping that it doesn't last too much longer.

Bubbles, as I'm sure you can imagine, is not happy with this change. The last few nights we have tried he has been so angry! It makes it so much harder that he is in our room. I wouldn't mind nursing at night still if he would at least go down to one or two feedings. Too bad he wants four to six feedings a night.

I think it's mostly him trying to catch up. He isn't nursing very well during the day because he wants to be exploring. Not only that he is a BIG fan of table food. He is eating pretty much whatever we eat. Today he fed himself a sloppy joe soaked piece of bread with meat and didn't even end up with an orange face or stained clothes! That piece of bread wasn't a small one either. It was the bottom half of a burger bun.

Hopefully very soon I can report that he is no longer nursing at night and back to getting in all the feeding during the day!

UPDATE: I gave up. Bubbles is teething again and is miserable with spring allergies. I'm going to try again when he is feeling better.

More Pictures From a Sunny Weekend

2009-04-09T20:28:00.000-07:00

Pictures from a Sunny Weekend

2009-04-06T09:17:00.000-07:00

My lil toothy man!

My funny boy!

He wasn't in the mood to be very cooperative.

This is in my parents front pasture. There are some pretty neat places to get pictures around the farm.

We tried to get some cute family pics in. Bubbles loves being upside down.

I may be biased, but I think I've got some pretty handsome men in my life!

Have no fear, B and Ben make a great stunt team!

I love his little eyebrows!

Bubbles likes to share. Sometimes it means that I have to chew on grass or really soggy Cheerios.

He loves being pulled around in the wagon. His face doesn't really show it, but he was having a blast!

We're Alive!!!!

2009-04-04T19:04:00.000-07:00

I tried to upload some new pictures today, but my parents internet connection isn't cooperating enough for me to do it.

We are alive and doing well. I have been busy helping on the farm and Ben is really busy with school.

I will try to get some pictures up this coming week while at school.

Lambs

2009-03-14T11:59:00.001-07:00

B's first interaction with a lamb. He LOVES them!