Friends

You know- friends make the world a better place.
Yesterday, we had our friends over for dinner. well- they offered to bring us dinner and come over to visit. going out is much more difficult now, trying to remember everything to bring.(worked out too because Jack went thru 3 outfits just while they were here!)Since I'm on this low fat diet, Amy made 2 dishes that in combination had less than 5 g. We're so lucky to have such great friends. Dinner was yummy and it was so nice to catch up. It's been over a month since we've actually done anything with anyone. After dinner we played RACKO. They are expecting their first (also a boy!) in April. They'll be moving tho :( so we hope we still get to see them often. We also have other friends that are moving too! BUT they're moving into our complex. :) they have a little girl who is 1 and i'm super excited to have another mom so close!

Many crazy things have happened to us since moving here to MD. Many challenges. However, one of the most wonderful things is the friends we've made. We always heard how tough it is to find "couple friends" where both you and the husband like both the husband and the wife in another couple. I don't know if it was because we were still kinda "newlyweds" or because it was Provo or because we still wanted to hang out with our single friends, but we didn't have a whole lot of "couple" friends. We had a few but none that Matt and I would hang out with the couple together or just the girls or just the guys would get together. We've been lucky enough to find a few couples to be friends with here. It's great to have friends that are in the same stage of life!!

Anyway! I've just been cooped up for what feels like forever and even tho we stayed inside- it was great to have company!

Saturday mornings

By the end of the week, I'm exhausted! I sometimes miss my naps because we have apts or because of cleaning or because that's when matthew has his break from work. but whatever the case may be i usually lay down to watch tv with matthew around 7 on friday nights only to fall asleep. i wake up around midnight or 1 am to find that matthew took care of jack all night. he'd feed and change him before he even started to really wimper so that i would stay asleep. i feel so refreshed and ready for the week then. it won't always be this way but for right now i'm just so grateful for a hubby that lets me nap and takes care of our little boy. he's such a good husband (plus i'm less grouchy and more energetic for whatever he wants to do on saturdays :) )

1/11/11

What a cool day! 1-11-11 and it's my birthday! We've had SO much going on lately so I didn't get to plan my birthday as I had planned last year. I really wanted to have a party with pizza and ice cream and brownies surrounded by friends and games and maybe a movie. It's a Tuesday so it would have been last weekend or next weekend. but life has thrown a lot of things at us these last few weeks and so Matthew and i will be doing some more low key things instead. I can't really eat the food that I want but we'll Matthew said he'd make a yummy dinner. we'll skip the dessert for now. After next week, Matthew promised to take me out for whatever food i'd like to eat. My mom is in town so we'll head over to Dave and Buster's for some games and maybe a movie since it's right there. My mom will take care of Jack for us. i'm really excited and even tho i'm not having a "1" party- I get to spend the day with my little boy and then the evening with my very best friend. It's going to be and has already started out to be a perfect day.

I love birthdays! I can't believe a whole year has come and gone. I've gotten so many things accomplished though it's really amazing. and it's been 3 years since Matthew proposed on a cold winter night in utah. that birthday and everyone since has been amazing. life is good and for that i am grateful. busy and crazy and tough- but good.

life as we know it

Life is busy. but- what else is new?!?

i totally love being a mom. don't get me wrong-i'm crazy tired and hungry and sore but every minute is worth it. it's different, yet the same as what i thought it would be. i knew all of these things would happen- that i wouldn't get sleep and that i would love him so much but it's different knowing you'll feel a certain way and actually feeling it.

We're done with visitors now- all on our own. It was great to have family here and Jack loved it! My mom was here for about 2 weeks and then we had Christmas. then Matt's mom came for about a week. i loved the help and having someone to talk with during the day but now I have Jack all to myself. which is also nice.

we started to "sleep train" today so hopefully he'll catch on quick and I'll get some more sleep during the night. today went great. i'm still tired but it's nice having a set schedule. we'll see how it goes over the next few weeks.

for being a new mom, i feel so accomplished. sure- my house won't always be clean but it's mostly clean right now and that feels good. i've been able to get myself in a little schedule so that i can play with jack, clean, nap, pump, feed jack, and have time with matthew. once he starts to sleep more at night-i may even have time to start my crafts! but february will come quickly and then I need to go back to work. it's going to be so difficult. i don't want to leave my little man. he's just so cute. but that's a little while away so i won't even think about it just yet. :)

jack is such a good kid! he loves to stare at things (often the back of the couch- haha). he enjoys his tummy and bath time. he can lift his head pretty well now and move it from side to side when on his tummy. he likes to do "little pushups".. he doesn't really like having his face washed in the mornings tho. probably because it wakes him up some. he's definitely a sleeper! we're trying to put more of that sleep in the middle of the night and so far so good. i'm not totally counting on it to last consistently but i'll take what i can get. i actually wake up after about 3 hours now wondering why i dont hear him.... it's nice to just check that he's still soundly sleeping like an angel and close my eyes again to fall asleep. he LOVES to be in his bouncer or swing. even if they are still. he has to sit up for about 30 minutes after eating so he doesn't spit everything up so we usually put him in one of those if we can't hold him at the time. he also likes to watch the TV(when it's on his eyes are glued to that part of the room) and the fish if we put him near the tank..

here are some pictures (which i know is why you read this blog :) )

he loved spending time with grandma christensen and papa bob(great grandpa)

we loved our christmas as a family! i think jack enjoyed his first one too!

he also loves to play with his daddy!!

he also had his first "temple trip" to see the lights! it was a GREAT night. (so warm)

the post you've all been waiting for

little jack

well- this will probably take me a few days to actually post since my days- and nights- now consist of feeding my little man and then trying to sleep when he sleeps. except when i just need a break and need to hear from the real world- i get on the computer.

i am letting you know, as a reader of this blog, that probably 99% of my posts will now be about little Jack.

This last week has just been crazy. We went into the hospital on Wed the 8th and I was induced by Thursday morning. I got an epidural by Thursday night around 7 when I just wasn't getting anywhere with my labor. By Friday, I was more in the active part of labor but his head was just too big and around 1100, the doctor told me his head was turning into a cone and that i would need a c section. the c section was extremely uncomfortable. not painful- because i was numb- but i have never been more uncomfortable in my entire life. they ended up giving me the gas stuff because i couldn't stop tensing my body. I don't remember much of what happened after that. They let Matthew go over and take video and pictures of him right after he was born. They rbought him over to me and that took my mind off of the pain. He was (and is) beautiful. I didn't realize how much I could love him right away. I've felt like his mom for a while now but it made it so real to see him, to touch him, and to feel the warmth of his skin. they took him away then to get him all finished up and moved me into recovery. I wasn't able to feed him right away because I was far to weak to even lift my hands; let alone hold him. When I first held him, Matthew had to put his arms under mine because i was so groggy.

Nothing went as planned with the birth of our little guy. I knew that my birth plan was flexible but things came and went so differently than I had expected. I hadn't even ever considered being induced or having a c-section. None the less, all of the pain, frustration, hunger, and everything in between was so worth it once i saw his little chubby cheeks.

Jack and I both received many blessings during this time. It made me really grateful to know that Matthew has the priesthood and could bless us and let us know what Heavenly Father wanted us to know. Jack probably didn't understand his blessing but the comforting words definitely calmed him. The words in his blessing were definitely more for us than for him anyway. He's such a little angel.

i love holding him, feeding him, knowing that he loves me so much even if he doesn't understand. being a mom is the most wonderful feeling in the world. it's comforting to know that I can take care of him. He's mine and I am already smitten by his cuteness.

our first family photo

in his car seat ready to come home

family before leaving hospital

his cute little hand

with his great grams

first tummy time. He loves it!

with his Bachi

coming home.

oh- we won't be posting any of his videos on the blog but if you'd like to be able to see them, please let me know. :)

9 months...

well- the day is here. i'll be going into the hospital in 3 hours. i'll some meds tonight and more tomorrow and then it's up to him....

hello little one- we've been waiting for you!

pictures to come soon :)

40 weeks

Well, the date that I have waited for for the last 9 months has come... and gone.... I know most people go late with their first but I really thought our little one would come a bit early. They estimated my due date as November 11 at first, and then switched it to Dec 5 and stuck with that. But I guess I thought that since they guessed earlier first, he'd be here at least a little before 12/5. Nonetheless, here I am. Still writing, still walking, still waiting to hold my little one...

I went to the doctor today and they would like to schedule an induction by the end of the week. Right now "there's no room at the inn", but she said to hold tight until tomorrow when they will call again to see if I could get in. When they call, they could tell me that I could be coming in tomorrow night to Thursday night or, I guess if there's no room they'll put it off more. I'm really hoping that Jack comes on his own but

I'm open for whatever. I was really against being induced until I found out that a lot of people in my family were induced with their little ones. I trust my doctor's and I trust that they will also help me to know what's best for me.

Even though I thought he would come early, I still feel so

unprepared. I have everything ready and I'm not scared about anything but I know that I will feel unprepared as soon as his little self enters this world. Life will be so different for Matthew and I and

as muc

h as I know that I know it will still be a huge shock. Our lives will revolve around th

is little child in a way that neither of us can expect or prepare for. That is a crazy thought. I am going to be a mom. I will have someone else that is 100% dependent on me. He will be dependent on me for food, cleanliness, happiness, and everything else he can think

of! It'll be hard- I'm sure harder than I can even imagine, but it'll also be worth it- I'm sure more worth it than I can even imagine...

I'm ready for our little Jack to be here. I'm ready to see his cute little squished face. I'm ready to bundle him up in the cute little clothes and blankets that we have for him.

Hopefully, I won't be posting for a little while but while I'm here- I'll keep you updated!

Here's the 40 week pictures!