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.

Merry Christmas!

Sorry, not an original post title! It took me a couple weeks, but I am finally feeling the Christmas spirit. This is my first Christmas in 4 years that I don't have to work! It will be fun to wake up Christmas morning with my family and get to spend all day with them. In fact the last Christmas I had off was in 2003. Jerry and I had just barely gotten engaged and he got me a gorgeous ring as my Christmas present. We spent Christmas in Bear Lake where we got hit with a huge snow storm. Since then we have spent a little time in Bear Lake every December to celebrate Christmas. This will be the first Christmas we are spending at home and we have a little baby. Xander is already 5 months old. We aren't going to wrap him any presents, but I think we are going to go out and buy him some fun 6+ month toys to keep him entertained as he gets older. I wish we didn't have to do the whole Santa thing, but I guess it is a part of childhood. It is just kind of lame lying to your kid until one year they realize you have been making this whole Santa thing up. Sorry if I sound like a grinch about Santa but as I get older I want to celebrate the birth of Jesus more then thinking about the commercialization out there. When I listen to Christmas music, I prefer the traditional music rather then songs about Rudolph or Santa. All I wish for everyone out there this year is to have a Merry Christmas spending lots of time with your family and loved ones. Just be safe and have fun and remember the true meaning of this time of year.

I just wanted to post pictures earlier of Xander last year and then Xander this year. This ultrasound was done on 12/18/07. You can't see much, but the little circle is his heart beating. Time definitely flies!

It's almost Christmas!

I have been so busy it's been hard to go online and update my blog. Being a working mom is tough but things are going well. We finally put Xander in daycare and he seems to be doing well. I guess he is too young to have separation anxiety. Hopefully he wont have that problem since he has to get used to being in daycare every other week. I just got done spending a week taking care of him. I don't mind working though since sometimes I just need baby breaks, and I like working in my profession and helping people.
It is just weird to reflect on last December. I found out I was pregnant on 12/10/07. I was late but didn't think I was pregnant since I felt just fine. Jerry told me to take a test but I wanted to be stubborn about it. Finally at 3am on 12/10 I woke up from a dream where I had taken a test and it was positive. I was determined to prove my dream wrong so I stumbled out of bed and went to the bathroom to take a pregnancy test. I took it and a faint second line showed up! I was in shock. Jerry and I had been trying to get pregnant but I thought it would take a few months. Later that day I had to buy more pregnancy tests and they were positive too. I was more scared then anything.
It is overwhelming to know that you are responsible for this little life. You have to be a good example and teach your child to grow up happy and teach them what is right. Alexander is already 5 months old and seems to be doing alright so far. He smiles and laughs so hopefully I am being a good mom. I honestly don't feel like I could do this without Jerry. There are a lot of times where I just don't know what to do and he is there to take the baby and help me out. He is such a good dad and he actually wants to and loves to take care of Xander. I know a lot of dads out there who leave most the work for the mom. I'm so glad Jerry doesn't leave me hanging. Motherhood has been a challenge for me so far. I do love my little guy and I'm glad he gives me a little smile here and there. (Grr I wanted to add some pictures, but for some reason it wont let me. I'll try to post again later.)

Xander's 4 month stats

Yesterday I took Xander to his 4 month appointment. First of all I'm shocked that it has already been 4 months since that day back in July that changed my life forever. Motherhood is not getting easier and I'm convinced that it will not get easier, but it is getting more fun. It's like his personality chip in his brain finally turned on. He smiles and laughs. He baby talks and just this past week finally realized he could grab things with his hands. I looked at pictures of him when he was brand new and I think he is actually cuter now then when he was really small. He went from weighing 6lbs 6oz and 19 1/4 inches at birth to 17lbs 1oz and 25 inches long! He is so big. I get a backache when I carry him too long. I thought the backaches were painful when I was pregnant, but it doesn't compare to lugging around a 17lb 4 month old! Xander was kind enough to start sleeping through the night at 11 weeks old and is really good at it. He also give me some cleaning time by taking a long afternoon nap. I am slowly getting used to being back at work. It is hard being at work, but at the same time I like being a working mom. I am a supervisor in my laboratory and I kind of like taking a baby break and doing "grown up" stuff. Between that and going to the gym it helps me still feel like me in this new life I am living. I think I have been struggling with some mild post-partum depression, but I am making it through. When I start feeling really down, I just think of all I have going for me in my life.

I can't belive my baby who was only 5lbs when I brought him home from the hospital is so big now! He is in the 90th percentile in weight and the 55th percentile in height. I guess he really does take after his mom and dad. Here are some cute pics of Xander trying out his new toy.