Xander's 9 month stats

Xander just turned 9 months old yesterday and had to go to the doctor for another well baby visit. He weighed in at 21 pounds 9 ounces and was 28 inches long. I think he is 29 inches and that the nurse measured wrong because he seems a lot taller. His 12 month pants are getting short on him. He wears 12 month and 18 month clothes right now. We are continually buying him new clothes because he is growing so fast. The growth is finally slowing down a little, since he has only gained one pound since his 6 month appointment. At 9 months he has already spent more time out in the world then he did growing inside me. He was only in my belly for 36 weeks 6 days. According to a chart that I used, he is 39 weeks old. I'm definitely glad he is out of my belly. I can't imagine I would be walking very well with a 21 pound baby inside!
Xander can be a really happy baby. He has lots of smiles and he giggles a lot, especially when we play peek a boo. He is still not crawling. He rolls around to get places. We are working on getting him to stand better. He will put weight on his legs, but he is wobbly and has to be supported in order to stand. He can sit up and play just fine on his own and lately he is showing an interest in pulling himself up. His pediatrician is not worried that he is not crawling yet. Xander is just the laid back type and doesn't want to learn too fast. Plus our home is not adequately child proofed yet. We still haven't found a baby gate that will fit our wide staircases. He finally got his first tooth about a week ago. This teething thing has been going on for a long time!
Our world revolves around Xander right now, until he gets a little brother or sister someday (still hoping for a girl). He keeps us busy and I am just trying to enjoy these moments, because everyday he needs mommy less and less. I realized that today while I was giving him a bottle. He grabbed it and fed himself. He wouldn't let me help him. He's also a master at inserting his own Binky's and stuffing baby puffs in his mouth. I only have 3 months left to plan his 1st birthday. I'm so grateful that we have made it this far and are a busy yet happy family.

I am off for seven days again so I thought I would take the opportunity to post a new blog. It's so nice to not have to worry about my job every other seven days. When I am working my seven days though, it seems like everything is happening. Weddings and birthdays and parties seemed to be planned for my work weeks. I do my best to make it to everything. When I am finally off work it feels like nothing is going on.
This last work week Xander and Jeremiah both got sick. I went to pick Xander up from daycare last Friday and he felt really warm. I decided to take his temperature. The best way to take a baby's temperature is rectally. You can try under their armpit, but most babies are too wiggly. There is no way it will work in their mouth. I felt bad, but I had to take his temperature. It was a 102.6! As a first time mom I was really worried. I went and grabbed my medical reference book and it did say that rectally the temperature is a little higher then the actual body temperature. I was still worried so I called the pediatrician's office. The nurse told me to give him Motrin or Tylenol. Jerry and I just cuddled him close for the next couple days. It was so sad to see him not feeling well. He wasn't his usual smiley giggly self. I had to work my 12 hour shifts on Saturday and Sunday, so Jerry was stuck in the house all day caring for a sick baby. By Sunday night he was in a better mood and seems to be feeling a lot better. I just felt bad that I couldn't be there for Xander since I was stuck at work.
On Sunday Jerry started having mouth pains that kept getting more intense. I didn't know how to help him since I was busy working. He decided to call the dentist and go in for an appointment on Monday. They thought he might need a root canal and he was referred to a specialist. Luckily they think it might be a sinus infection. We are crossing our fingers that he wont need a root canal.
Xander is doing well and learning new things everyday. He doesn't crawl yet. His preferred form of mobility is rolling on the floor. He can roll pretty fast. He will get on his tummy and try to crawl, but he doesn't seem to know what to do with his legs. Crawling is not considered a milestone that babies have to meet so I'm not too worried about his lack of crawling. Jerry and I are working on teaching him to stand so he can just skip the crawling if he has too. He is doing pretty well. He even tries to pull himself up on his toys, but he hasn't been successful yet. He is a big boy weighing over 20 pounds, so it has to be more of a challenge for him to learn to stand. He will be having his 9 month appointment in 2 weeks so I will post his stats on here. I am really curious how tall he is right now. His 12 month pants are getting short on him. He can fit in some 18 month clothes already. I really need to do some more clothes shopping for him. He grows out of his clothes too fast now.

Lucky 13

I just had to share some old pictures on our blog. On 3/13/09 Jerry and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. Yes it is not as big as a 20th or even a
50th wedding anniversary, but it's still a big deal. That is 5 years that Jerry has been putting up with my cooking. That is 5 years I have been picking up after his messes. (Okay, he does clean up after me too.) Most importantly it is 5 years of loving and supporting each other through all that we have gone through. We have accomplished so much in 5 years. We bought and sold a condo in Bountiful, and then bought a beautiful home in Kaysville where we now reside. We both had really crappy jobs while dating. I worked at Taco Time and Jerry worked in the catalog call center for JC Penney. We now have our bachelor's degrees and work in our careers. I work for ARUP in the Huntsman cancer hospital lab. I am a Medical Technologist. Jerry is a software developer (I hope I got the title right), working for a small company called Reading Horizons. What marriage would be complete without adding a little bundle of joy. Our first baby Alexander Thomas was born on 7/13/08.

We have spent the majority of our marriage getting through school. I graduated in May 2007 with my Bachelor's degree in Science. Jeremiah finally got his Bachelor's degree in December 2007. We just love to have fun and spend as much time together as we can. Now we get to spend time as a family with our little boy. Our future goals for the next 5 years are to just have fun and enjoy the life we have made for ourselves and our family. I don't know if there is more schooling in the future. Only time will tell. I'm sure that we will be adding on to our family in the next 5 years as well. I just know that Xander doesn't want to be an only child. I'm really hoping to give him a sister, but I know it is in God's hands.

Thanks to my supportive family, Jerry and I were able to celebrate our anniversary by spending a night alone together. We left Xander with my sister and her husband Chris. My mom picked him up after she got off work and he slept at Grandma's house. My mom had to leave for work early so my brother got stuck watching him until we picked him up. It all worked out okay. Jerry and I ate at the Old Spaghetti Factory at Trolley Square since the Hard Rock Cafe isn't there anymore. I don't know if it went out of business or moved, but we had one of our first dates at the Hard Rock Cafe. We then spent the night at the Anniversary Inn. It was really special just taking the time to be alone together and just realizing how much we love each other. It is hard to realize this while you are trying to calm a crying baby. On our Anniversay day we dropped Xander off at daycare and went and got massages. We then just hung out and went shopping together. It was really refreshing to take all the time toghether. I hope we can do it again soon.

13 is a lucky number in our family. My parents were married on 12/13/80. Jerry and I were married on 3/13/04. Our first baby was born on 7/13/08. We just celebrated our anniversary on Friday the 13th.

Time definitely flys!

Twenty years ago: I was 5 years old and living in one of the smallest towns in Utah, Clawson. (You probably haven't even heard of it.) I was in Kindergarten at Ferron Elementary school.
Ten years ago: I was living in Price, Utah and in 9th grade. In 9th grade I was on the student council. That is pretty weird for me since I am such an introvert. I got my driver's license at the end of 1999 and started driving a VW Quantum station wagon. I started high school as well at the end of 1999. Jerry was already graduated from high school at this time! He graduated in 1998.

Five years ago: At this time 5 years ago I was finishing up plans for our wedding. I was also in my last semester before getting my associates degree. I had just moved out of the "rock house." I had to live with my sister Sarah a couple weeks before my wedding. Jerry and I had just bought a condo in Bountiful and he was going to live there alone until our wedding. I can't believe that it has already been 5 years since I got married!
One year ago: I just barely got hired at my current job in the lab at the Huntsman cancer hospital. I was about 4 months pregnant and Jerry and I were making plans to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary. Our big 20 week ultrasound was set on our actual anniversary. We were going to find out the gender and then start shopping for a girl or a boy. They told us it was a girl, so we went out and bought some cute girl clothes. Then 4 months later on July 13th, out came our baby....boy!

Six months ago: I was on maternity leave and taking care of our new baby boy. He was high maintenance and I was wondering when I would ever get to sleep all night again. Luckily when he turned 3 months old he started sleeping through the night. He's a lot more fun now and getting cuter everyday.

This year so far: I am just adjusting to being a working mom. Life is so busy and crazy, but we are used to our routine. I am so happy and sad to see Xander growing so fast. He's still not mobile yet, but he learns so much everyday. It's exciting to watch all the things that he can do. I am applying for a passport today and hoping that as a family we can do some traveling this year and just have lots of fun together.

Yesterday: I worked a 10 hour shift at work and came home completely exhausted. Jerry and I played with Xander and put him to bed. I then drifted in and out of conciousness because work wears me out so much!

Today: I woke up early and got everything ready for Xander. I saw Jerry off to work and then Xander and I played. I need to go get ready to go to the gym after I finish this post! I try to work out as much as I can and I know how much it helps. It is my sense of control in this crazy world.
Tomorrow: Go to the gym with Xander. Maybe I will hang out with some friends and our babies. There are not definite plans. I am just glad to not be at work for a few days!
Next year…I will be a working mommy still. I can't even imagine Xander being a toddler, but it is coming! I just hope we can be a more active family.

I can't wait for winter to be over!

When winter first starts it's new and exciting, but as it drags on, I just get sick of the cold. We got a crazy snowstorm yesterday. It was kind of neat to watch it out my big window, but I feel trapped inside. I want to go snowboarding but I don't have anyone to go with. Jerry and I could get a babysitter and go night skiing, but it's hard sometimes. He said he would just let me go without him but I can't find a snowboarding buddy. I used to take a snowboarding class when I was at Weber State. I got to go up to Powder Mountain every single Friday. That was a fun winter. I miss having that kind of freedom. I'm not sure that I will get a chance to go this winter. I was a bad mom last year and went twice even though I knew I was pregnant. It was only the 1st trimester though, so I didn't have a belly in the way or anything. I think Xander turned out okay. I'm just sick of being inside and getting colds. I hope Jerry and I can find fun things to do outdoors with Xander once it gets warm. Maybe we'll get one of those carts you can attach to the back of a bike so we can all go on a family bike ride. We are also hoping to go to Lagoon with Xander and just bring some other people along, so we can all trade off watching Xander. I'm really looking forward to warmer weather now!

Xander's six month stats

I am so amazed at how fast 6 months went by! I can't believe that I have been a mom for half a year now. I remember taking my little guy home from the hospital like it was only a few weeks ago. He has changed so much! He weighed less then 6lbs when he came home and he was only 19 inches long. Today he had his check up and he weighed 20lbs and is 27 inches long! He is in the 91% for weight and the 70% for height. He now rolls around and plays. I was just thinking today that he is already growing from being a baby to a little kid. I didn't think that I would be emotional over the whole thing, but I am. I kind of miss the whole newborn stage already, even though it was so hard on Jerry and me. We plan on waiting a little while before we go through that again. It does take a toll financially and emotionally. We had some adorable 6 month pictures taken last Friday. Here they are....

Happy New Year!

Here is my first post of the new year. I can't believe we are in the last year of this decade. This has been the biggest decade of my life so far. Here is my own personal timeline for the 2000's:
* In 2002 I graduated from Carbon High school. I made the tough decision to move away from home to go to school in Ogden. I also chose my future career as a Medical Technologist. I started my first semester of college in August of 2002. My sister told me to take symphonic band at Weber State. Because of that choice I ended up playing tenor sax and sitting next to my future husband.
*In 2003 Jerry and I became an official couple right around Spring Break. At the end of 2003 we decided to announce to everyone that we were getting married.
*On March 13 2004 Jeremiah and I were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple. In 2004 I also got my Associates Degree as a Medical Laboratory Technician and started my career with ARUP laboratories.
*It took me an extra year, but finally after 3 more years of college I got my Bachelor's degree as a Medical Technologist in May 2007. We also bought a beautiful house in Kaysville that year. In December 2007 my world turned around as I found out that I was going to become a mother in 2008.
*We spent the first part of 2008 getting ready for our baby. On March 13th 2008 (4th wedding anniversary) I was told that I was going to have a baby girl. On July 13th I gave birth to a boy! Since that fateful day Xander has become my world. Almost everything I do now is for him. I'm so glad I have made it this far by they age of 25. I know it is all because of the family and friends in my life who have been there to push me along. I know it is because of my Heavenly Father that I have been blessed with a family of my own. I just hope I can spend the last year of this decade giving back to those people who helped through all these tough and crazy years of my life.
Xander is getting his 6 month pictures done tonight. I will post some more pictures on here as soon as I get some more time.