The Jensens

photo update

2011-06-11T21:40:00.000-04:00

Hey ya'll!! So, lots has happened in the last month!! Scott finally took the 2 actuarial exams he has been studying for for the past 5 months (we won't know the results for another 6 weeks or so), we moved to Greenwich, and did our first Ragnar Relay race together!! Each of these events deserve their own post, but since I'm such a slaker, I'll just combine all here in a general post.

Moving day was one of the more stressful days of my life- everything went as well as it possibly could have, but I was on pins and needles all day, worrying that the movers would totally rip me off or destroy my stuff or not be able to fit everything (including our king size mattress) up the tiny stairway to our apartment. I had to coordinate things all on my own since Scott had to work and had his big exam the next day. If it weren't for awesome friends willing to babysit Peyton all day long and others offering to keep me company during the move and help me clean, I'm sure I would have had an absolute nervous break down. I can now say that I am proud of myself for doing all the packing, organizing, hiring movers, and everything else that goes along with a move on my own. I hope we won't have to move again for a long, long time. And when we do, it certainly will not be before an exam! We really like our new place and especially being able to explore a new area. We are right on the border between Connecticut and New York (literally- you can see across the river to Port Chester, NY from our front porch) so we kind of get the best of two towns. We are less than a mile from the Byram beach, the train station to NYC, COSTCO!, Michaels, the library, an elementary school, the freeway, and lots of restaurants/shops. It is truly a walking area which is great for us because we love being able to walk everywhere.

So, we moved and the next day Scott's mom, Sherry, and little brother, Jonathan, came to visit from Utah. It was so great to see them again. We ate lots of good food, visited, ran errands, shopped and just enjoyed each other's company. Then that Friday Scott and I awoke at 4:30 am to head off for the New England Ragnar relay race. This is a really unique race- it covers the 200 miles between New Haven and Boston. Each team consists of 12 runners split into two vans. While one van is running, the other van rests. The running van meets each of their runners every few miles to provide water and cheer them on, so even when you aren't running, you are actively involved in the race. The other van had some way fast runners, so our van usually only had about 3-4 hours to rest before time to run again! Each person averaged about 16 miles broken up into 3 legs. Scott and I only had to do 12-13 miles total. I was a little disappointed about that because I felt great the whole time and actually ran quite a bit faster than my usually very slow pace. Anyway, we had so much fun doing the race and would absolutely recommend it to anyone thinking about doing one. It was also just really nice to be away with Scott without having to worry about Peyton. We haven't been away from him overnight for more than a year. After the race ended on Saturday, we stayed in Boston with some friends and saw the USS Constitution, Bunker Hill, and of course ate at Mike's pasties and Mr. Bartley's burgers. We got home Sunday evening, exhausted but full of great memories. Peyton was already asleep for the night when we got home, but when I got him out of his crib the next morning, he was very excited to see us. He hugged me around my neck and clung to me for about 5 minutes, only loosening his grip to lean back, smiling and staring at my face, sometimes touching it gently as if to say "is it really you, mom?" It was one of the sweetest things!! It was nice to have a break, but so great to come home to him.

This was at one of our van exchange points: Hammonassett Beach. One of the most beautiful New England beaches I have seen

We all seemed to spend a lot of time doing this in between running. I don't know if it's nerves or what, but races just make you have to go ALL THE TIME!

We had to wear this reflective gear from 7pm-7am.

Me handing off the baton / wrap bracelet

This was during Scott's hardest leg where he ran up and down steep hills for 6 miles during the hottest part of the day. He did so awesome! See that cute church behind him? There were lots of quaint scenes like that along the way.

The Finish line in Cambridge, MA, next to Harvard Stadium!! We all got medals for completing the race and an awesome t-shir, as pictured

No trip to Boston would be complete without cannoli's from Mike's

U.S.S. Constitution

Ahh Mr. Bartley's burgers! or should I say, sweet potato fries

Since then, we have been busy setting up the house and trying to have some fun as well. I got sick with a bad stomach virus for five days, so that put things on hold, but we are now back up and running. Scott and I went into the city last weekend to see one of our favorite singers, Sondre Lerche, perform live at the Bowrey Ballroom. We thought the concert started at 8, so were a little dismayed to find that he actually wasn't scheduled to perform until 11! That put us home at around 2:30 am. It was such an atypical date for us- we rarely leave Peyton for longer than a few hours and have NEVER picked him up at 2:30 am! Thank goodness we have such nice, understanding friends! We owe them some serious babysitting in return. Unfortunately, we forgot our camera so didn't get any pics of the night. But if we had remembered it, you would be seeing pictures of Little Italy lit up for the weekend, delicious pesto fettucini at BREAD cafe, window shopping in SoHo, an unforgettable concert, and of course the past-out-cold drunk being dragged off the train by his friends on the ride home. Anyway, a great date for sure!

Here are is the promised photo update of our doings:

Peyton and I went to Cove Island beach (the closest beach to our old place in Stamford) with some friends one morning before we moved. He LOVES the sand. Especially pouring it all over his head.

Peyton at the Stamford Nature Center- he got really excited about the farm animals. I have never seen a rooster that big and feathery in my life!

These are way overdue, but they were taken on easter. Isn't that the cuttest Easter outfit?

Scott took Peyton to the city a few weekends ago while I was sick with the flu. They had fun in Central Park and at that toy store from the movie Big (you know, the one with Tom Hanks?)

Happy Spring!

2011-04-19T19:12:00.006-04:00

Trying out the new baby backpack on a short hike. It was a little cold for Peyton's liking!

Well, thought I'd give an update in what's going on with us! First of all, we are moving. Not far- just the next town over. After a winter of utility bills THROUGH THE ROOF, way, way higher than I thought was possible, we decided to get a different apartment. A family in our ward is moving out of the second floor of a house, and after looking at many, many apartments, condo's, houses, etc., this one ended up being the absolute best value. It is in Greenwich, CT right on the border of New York, and only about a 40 minute drive to NYC. It's about a 15 minute drive to Scott's work, so a bit more of a commute than his usual 5-10 minute walk. I am most excited about being walking distance from Costco, the beach, the library, and playgrounds! Oh, and a wonderful family in the ward with young children will be living on the first floor. I'm excited for a change of scenery although we will miss living in downtown near all the excitement!

In other news, Scott and I are getting ready to run our first race together- the Ragnar Relay! It is a relay race with 12 members per team, covers 200 miles between Yale and Harvard, and spans about 36 hours. We're looking forward to having a great time (and hopefully not dying in the process) with some of our friends, enjoying the New England scenery. I'm running 15 miles broken up in 3 different legs, so I don't think it will be too bad (crossing my fingers). It is a challenge for me to get my training in since Scott studies pretty much every waking hour (literally) for his upcoming actuarial exams- both in May. Since I don't have a jogging stroller and it's still a little cold to take Peyton anyway, I have to squeeze my runs in wherever and whenever I get the chance! I will be very happy to no longer be a single parent after these tests are over!

I also got called as to teach Sunday school to the 16 and 17 year olds at church. Last Sunday was my first lesson, and It went okay but I learned really quickly that I need A LOT more practice as a teacher! I made a comment to Scott afterward that I just realized I am bad at writing on chalkboards- my handwriting stinks and I go way too slow. He was like "wow, you really haven't taught before, have you?" I guess I haven't- it's a lot harder than I thought it would be! I am looking forward to this challenge though and especially the opportunity to learn from the scriptures. Hopefully the Lord will help compensate for my weaknesses and somehow allow me to impact the lives of these kids.

Now, for Peyton news. Peyton is such a bright spot in my life. He brings us so much joy. After 16 months of life, he has finally started walking! He is all over the place now, tearing apart everything within his reach apart. I love his curiosity and try to embrace the mess that results. He doesn't really say any distinguishable words yet, but he certainly understands what is going on and can identify the following items correctly: banana, carrot, nose, ear, head, mouth, toes, belly button, ball, dog, cat, sun, moon, eyes (gets this right about half the time), rock, milk, socks, shoes, bath, blanket, and book. He is working on using a fork to eat, but still has a ways to go with that. All in all, we are a pretty happy and content bunch, just taking life a day at a time and trying to appreciate the small pleasures in it!

Here are some pictures from Peyton's 15 month "photo shoot" I did (he's 16.5 mos now- I know I know, I'm a bad blogger.) I tried my hand at editing them- what do you think? Isn't that face to die for?

I love the serious face

Tiny little teeth! Now he has 12! TWELVE TEETH! Where is my toothless baby?

Throwing rocks into the river - a favorite activity

P.F. Chang's for dad's birthday dinner. Happy 27th Scott!

Dad and Peyton taking a walk in front of our place.

It's been awhile...

2011-01-31T09:24:00.007-05:00

We're alive!

It's official: I'm the worst blogger out there. I've used my camera's poor battery life as an excuse to take fewer pictures, then used the fewer pictures as an excuse not to blog!

In case you were wondering, yes, we had a great Christmas and a happy new year. Soon after, however, we were pummeled with several blizzards and freezing temperatures to make January quite miserable. I actually only made in one week into January before deciding I couldn't take it anymore and bought a ticket to Georgia to visit my mom and dad for two weeks. I'm here now. Tomorrow Peyton and I leave to go home. I'll certainly miss the 60 degree weather and the wonderful company (especially since they love to get up at 6am every morning with Peyton! I haven't had this much sleep since before he was born!) It's been a much-needed break, to say the least. But I am excited to get home and see Scott. We miss him very much!

In other news, Peyton is growing up into a big boy and is now officially weaned as of 8 days ago. I'm a free woman! He has made the transition to exclusively using sippy cups very well. I was really worried that he would never fall asleep again, but he actually has no trouble at all getting to sleep without nursing. What a relief. He has become much more interested in food and now enjoys stuffing as much food into his mouth as possible when I'm not looking. I have to watch him carefully and slow him down when he gets a hold of something he likes like bananans or animal crackers. I'm having so much fun taking care of him and watching him learn, change, and grow.

We're still working on the independent walking- he definitely can do, it just seems to be a matter of him wanting to do it. He just isn't that interested. He has started to crawl a little finally after 14 months of life! I never thought he would crawl before walking since he has been such a bottom-scooter! Anyway, here's a picture catch-up from the last few months:

Scott got this bag from some party at work. It is an awesome HUGE canvas beach bag. We thought it would be fun to put Peyton inside it and indeed, he did enjoy the ride!

Peyton with all his presents on Christmas. Thanks to everyone who sent him gifts! He loves his new toys and clothes!

We met up with Kydon and his family as well as my cousin Tyla and her husband, Joey, this weekend in Atlanta. We went to an awesome park/trail developed around a historic mill. SUCH a beautiful day! 70 Degrees and sunny!

Peyton learned how to give "kisses" and I have to say, it's one of my favorite things ever getting a slobbery kiss from him! Unfortunately, this pic also shows my "mommy bangs." Grrr. Can't wait for those to grow out. Did I also mention that Peyton is done with his helmet? Yep! See how nice his head looks now?

Stuffing his face! Waffles are another favorite

Pictures and Video

2010-12-09T21:19:00.010-05:00

This is Scott, filling in for Camille who, for some reason, disappeared from the blogging world sometime around Halloween. I was putting some videos and pictures on our computer and I decided I would go ahead and post them on the blog. For all the family we saw at Thanksgiving, we had a great time, and it's been tough adjusting back to normal life. For all the family we didn't see, we miss you!

At the Georgia - Georgia Tech Game

Tailgating before the game

Peyton's B-Day party at Granny's

Getting a bath in the sink at Granny's

"Shorts" weather in Georgia on Thanksgiving

Peyton, opening a present on his big Bday

Another present

Showing off the cake

Peyton this evening, playing before bed

Below are a few videos of Peyton on his birthday. Two of the cake and one of the presents.

Wrapping Paper

2010-12-09T21:13:00.001-05:00

Playing in the Cake

2010-12-09T21:10:00.001-05:00

Smashing the cake

2010-12-09T21:09:00.001-05:00

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-01T22:00:00.003-04:00

As you can see, Peyton was the cuttest little mouse for Halloween!! Scott said he looked like a girl because of the headband and makeup, but I think this is quite the masculine costume, don't you? We had fun getting dressed up for the ward Halloween party although Peyton couldn't make it to the trunk-or-treat. He was pooped and had to come home and go to bed. I bought 300 pieces of candy to give out at the church party and to potential trick-or-treaters but wouldn't you know, we didn't give out one piece. Not one! Third year in a row with zero trick or treaters. I was bitterly disappointed and had a tummy ache from eating way too much of the candy myself by the end of the night. I guess there's always next year!
I was a bumble bee. Can't you tell by the pipecleaner headband and all black clothes?

I had to take Peyton to a pumpkin patch before the season was over, so we went to our local Stew Leonards (the most awesome grocery store EVER!) to take some pics. I couldn't figure out why there was NOT ONE parking spot open in the entire parking lot until I saw a huge line formed and this guy as the main attraction:That's right! BOBBY FLAY! IN PERSON! He was doing a book signing of his new Throwdown cookbook. I knew it was only a matter of time until I ran into a celebrity while living so close to NYC. I was extremely excited, especially after eating at Mesa Grill, his restaurant in the city.

This is Peyton the vampire. He loves feeding himself pieces of bread but sometimes he can't get the whole piece in and some hangs out the sides. That's what's going on here but he totally looks like a little blood sucker so I had to snap some photos!

Growing Up

2010-10-15T21:47:00.002-04:00

It seems like Peyton is changing so much every day, I just can't believe it! The past few weeks his personality has really started to shine forth. Peyton has always been a pretty serious little boy- he had an absolute scowl on his face when he was born (I thought it was darling, of course), he didn't smile at all until he was 2 months old, and did't give one little giggle until he was 5 months old. It has always been really difficult to get him to laugh or even smile big. I have never been worried about it because I think it's in his genes- I've been accused of being too serious a number of times. He isn't ornery at all, he's very content. Just serious. Until now! The last week or so he has gotten so crazy! All you have to do is look at him and he shrieks and giggles. He is getting really expressive with his vocalizations and uses all of his mono-syllable "words" in various tones and intensities, pretty much non-stop throughout the day. I'm left wondering who this little boy is? Where is my solemn baby? Not that I'm complaining. It's just so interesting that it has taken him this long to get out of his shell. I'm sure enjoying his light-hearted babbling!

DOC Band #2

2010-10-13T09:38:00.003-04:00

We got Peyton's second helmet Monday. He should be in it for the next 3-4 months and then we will be done with them forever! And hopefully his head will be round as a bowling ball as well. I can never stand having him wear these helmets plain and white for more than a day, so I set to work painting it the night we got it. I always feel like people are staring at him when it is unpainted and wondering what kind of brain surgery he had or something. It seems more like an accessory when it's painted. He doesn't seem to mind this one at all either, it is pretty much exactly the same as the last one except a bigger size because of his growth.

I don't think I'll keep this same design for the whole 3-4 months but we'll see how lazy or ambitious I am feeling after a few weeks! These pictures aren't the best quality, but they do the job! I had a really hard time getting a picture of the back because Peyton kept trying to turn around and look at me!

10 Months Old!

2010-10-09T15:45:00.004-04:00

I can not believe how old my baby is getting- he is only two months short of being a one year old! I remember so well this time last year when I was huge and pregnant with him and going to clinicals ALL the time! I'm so glad we have Peyton and I thank Heavenly Father for him every day. He brings so much joy and happiness to our lives as we watch him learn and grow and change.

Peyton is such a sweet little boy. He almost never cries, he sleeps really well and eats really well. He travels in the car well, he loves to go on walks in his stroller and pretty much enjoys whatever is going on in life. I could take an example from that and work on being more content myself! His favorite activity is to hold onto your hands and walk all around the house. He still doesn't crawl and has absolutely zero interest in learning to, although he can scoot on his bottom lightening fast from one place to the other. He has started feeding himself snacks like crackers, bread, etc. which is really hard for me because he makes a big mess of himself and everything he touches! Peyton is also toying with meaningful communication which is really exciting. We are working on waving "bye bye" (SO cute!) and saying "mama," "dada," "baba," etc. and putting the words with faces/objects. He is quite the jabberer and makes a lot of noise, especially when he thinks you aren't listening. Naps and sleeping have really stabilized a ton and Peyton is very predictable which is really nice for me. He sleeps 12 hours at night and takes two good 1-2 hour naps during the day. It's great because he is a little more flexible now than he used to be- meaning he no longer explodes when we are 30 minutes late for one of his naps. It makes outtings a lot easier and more enjoyable!

We also had an awesome changing table and glider/ottoman given to us, so now we officially have one room in our house finished. The nursery! I love it. We had a lot of fun rearranging the furniture in there to make it look just right.

News on the Job Front

2010-09-18T21:20:00.004-04:00

Where has the time gone? I can't believe September is almost half over! I still have to remind myself not to write "August" when I'm writing the date!

Things are turning around here. I've been on the job hunt for the past 6 weeks, and have finally had some success! It's not the most exciting job, but I still feel so, so blessed for how perfect it is for me right now. I have been applying for EVERY type of nursing job around here and have had a handful of interviews and no offers until now. I found an add on craigslist for a seasonal flu nurse position with a community health clinic which serves uninsured/underinsured patients. I wasn't that interested, but decided to apply for the heck of it. They called me soon afterward and asked if I could drive to a town 1 hour away for an interview. I was kind of annoyed by that but decided I'd give it a shot. When I got there, the interviewer began interviewing me for the flu nurse job, then ended up interviewing me for a full time position as one of two main nurses for one of the busiest clinics. It actually seemed like a really cool job - much cooler than the other doctor's office jobs I interviewed for. They ended up offering me that job, but I had to turn it down because the commute was too long and I just couldn't see leaving Peyton in daycare 5 days a week, all day long. I was, however, able to convince them to let me have the originally posted job as a flu nurse! I got to pick my own days and hours, and the clinic is .3 miles from my house! LUCKY! I decided to take it before I knew the pay. I assumed it would be low because all I really have to do is give flu shots. Let's just say I was pleasantly surprised! They know how to pay nurses in Connecticut! (They also know how to charge rent, unfortunately).

Anyway, I set it up so I'm working only on Thursdays and Fridays until December when the job ends. This is great because I can still apply for other jobs in the meantime. My biggest dilemma is, of course, Peyton. Finding a childcare solution for him was one of the most stressful things I have been through in awhile! I hate the idea of leaving him anywhere with anyone, but I really feel that this is an important time for me to gain any experience in nursing that I can get, as well as earn some extra income. Anyway, after talking to many many people from church, searching endlessly for day cares online and saying many many prayers, I finally got a lead! I found a new member of our ward to watch Peyton at our house and so far, it's been going great! I really felt like the spirit led us to each other and it is a mutually beneficial situation. I'm so relieved!

So I had my first day on Friday, and I have to say it seems to be a fun job. The clinic in Stamford is very, very small and only has a doctor, a medical assistant, a receptionist, and me! I'm the official nurse on site. Apparently I'll be doing all the flu immunizations, some other immunizations, patient education, and other miscellaneous tasks which require an RN license. I am really excited because I HAVE MY OWN OFFICE! And my own laptop! They told me I could bring pictures and houseplants and stuff for "my office" lol. That just tickles me for some reason! I haven't seen any patients yet, but I'm excited to get started and put my education into practice. I've really missed being in the medical field these past few months and am overwhelmed with gratitude at this opportunity to re-enter it in a gentle, gradual way. Hopefully I can find something that will give me a more broad experience in the hospital setting, but for now, this is just right for me.

Crazy Bed Head and a Ladies Man

2010-09-03T22:04:00.003-04:00

Pictures just don't do justice to what I found after Peyton's nap the other day: crazy, crazy hair! His hair is getting so long- I think we are almost ready for the 1st haircut since it is growing over his ears and sticking up in weird places. I guess he has a cowlick at the back top of his head because the hair there tends to stick straight up! (As seen here, although it's exaggerated).

We sure love our little boy. I tried to pick just one or two pictures from this photo shoot but decided to include them all since they show his cute personality so well. He is truly the sweetest little boy- he brings so much joy to our lives!

I bought this bib in a pack of eight. I was in a hurry and just grabbed the cheapest bibs I could- the one on top was blank- no words or anything. When I got home I was surprised to find that four of the eight had words printed on them. I got a real kick out of them- especially this one! The others say "Party at My Crib," "Spit Happens," and "Major Trouble." Definitely got more than I bargained for out of these bibs!

Pictures!

2010-09-01T20:34:00.007-04:00

Beware: this is an official picture-dumping post! We have had SUCH a great August and I'm sad it is over! Scott's mom, dad, and three of his brothers came to visit earlier in the month then my sister, brother, and sister-in-law visited right after. It was so, so great to have family around. We really enjoyed hanging out together and letting everyone get to know Peyton again.

Scott and me in Times Square. We took the Jensen's to the city when the came and walked around Times Square, visited Ellis Island, and the Statue of Liberty.

This Buzz Lightyear was in the Times Square Toys "R" Us store and is entirely made of Legos! Entirely! They also had a HUGE Lady Liberty and King Cong climbing the Empire State building. Completely made of legos! Can you tell I was impressed?

View of the Skyline from Liberty Island

Peyton had a good time looking at the fountain- that boy LOVES water! He wanted to play in it really bad and it was super hot outside, but unfortunately we had to get to Bobby Flay's restaurant, Mesa Grill, for dinner! YUM!

This picture was taken near Harvard at a burger place featured on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives." The burgers were SO GOOD! I didn't think I was going to be able to finish the 7oz beef burger with bacon and cheddar cheese, but I managed. Somehow :)

Kirsten got to be great friends with Peyton- I really appreciated all her help!

These were taken at the oldest restaurant in the United States!!!! They had good Boston seafood.

At the U.S.S. Constitution museum. We thought it was a festive mural.

At a super old garden outside of the Old North Church in Boston where Paul Revere hung the lanterns to warn of the British. "One if by land, two if by sea!"

It actually rained almost the whole time we were in Boston with Dane, Kirsten and Laura. Peyton stayed nice and cuddled up in his stroller. I thanked my lucky stars I decided to buy this particular stroller because it handled the old cobblestone streets beautifully and the huge canopy kept Peyton remarkably dry while the rest of us became soaked through and had to buy ponchos and umbrellas.

Bizarre Happenings

2010-08-02T20:53:00.005-04:00

Scott was out of town this weekend for a friend's wedding in Utah, so Peyton and I have been spending more time together than ever. I came up with all kinds of outtings for us over the weekend: playing at the beach, shopping, going out to eat, taking walks. We had a lot of fun. Yesterday, however, on one of our walking trips several bizarre events happened within 5 minutes. I keep playing the scene over and over in my head for some reason- it seemed like something from a crazy movie. Or dream. Maybe I feel this way because we recently saw Inception and now I'm questioning reality? Neh.

Anyway, we were walking toward the downtown area and this car alarm suddenly went off a few yards away from us. There was no one nearer to the car than us, and no owner in sight. The alarm just kept going and going and going. I was quickly walking away from it when I felt something wet splat on my forearm which was pushing the stroller. I looked down and screamed as I recognized the black and white semi-solid smear of bird poop. This crazy looking bum was walking by and was the only witness- he came close to me and said something that I couldn't understand. I was so embarrassed that anyone- even a bum- saw me get splattered with bird poop! And I was confused because I wasn't under a tree or anything and I couldn't see or hear a bird anywhere. Guess I'm just unlucky. I just stood there for a few seconds freaking out because I couldn't think of any way to get it off without getting my other hand poopy. I ended up trying to wipe my arm on a nearby light pole which didn't work so well. Then I realized I had stuck a burp cloth in the stroller! Hallelujah! I had to spit on it to get it all off, which was also disgusting, but necessary. I was rattled, but recovering when I heard this loud clanking coming toward us. Everyone on the street drew their attention to this car which roared by- I looked up to see pieces of tire flying every which way across the street and one side of the car riding on the bare rims of the wheel- it was like something out of a movie! I mean, who would do that? An old man passed by me and commented "Livin' on the wild side, isn't he?"

I continued my walk uninterrupted, but it just seemed so weird that those three events would happen almost simultaneously.

Sorry if you were hoping for a substantial blog post, but this is all I've got!

Picture Update

2010-07-29T14:36:00.005-04:00

Peyton has a new friend! I've been watching this little cutie a few days a week for the last few weeks. She is 2 months younger than Peyton, but they get along really well- it is so cute to watch them interact. They will sit facing each other and smile and babble at each other. I especially like this picture because it showcases Peyton's fat little legs and they are both smiling in it.

I also thought I'd document one of Peyton's favorite activities: Bath time. It has really become a lot of fun since he's been able to sit and play really well in the water. He is so fascinated by it! Scott has a good time bathing and playing with him and I really appreciate the help! It's good bonding time for them.

This is a picture from our trip to Newport a few weeks ago when Peyton was sick. We took a bunch of pictures, but they all looked HORRIBLE! This is probably the best one! The scenery was nice though, as you can see
In other news, Peyton somehow contracted a second ear infection 2 days after finishing the first 10 day course of antibiotics. I was glad that I recognized the tell-tale signs pretty fast though and was able to get him diagnosed and prescribed yet another antibiotic within about a day. He is already feeling better. I hope to be done with sickness for at least a week!

All Recovered

2010-07-22T21:03:00.002-04:00

Like the new layout of the blog? I liked the old one just fine but was rudely informed that I had to change it or my blog would be naked by tomorrow. This one's nice too though!

Well, it's been a rough week. Peyton caught his second cold ever (and coincidentally also the second cold in he's had in the past month) but this one was much worse than the first. He woke up suddenly last Thursday night at 10:30pm, crying and stuffy. Scott and I looked at each other horrified, as this was the exact way it began the last time, right down to the time he awoke. Scott's friend from college was coming into town later that night for a weekend visit and we had a lot of fun things planned, so we crossed our fingers that it was just some crazy allergy.

The next morning, Peyton had a runny nose, but nothing too serious so we decided to risk it and head to Newport, RI for the day (pictures to follow). This was a bad parenting decision.

Note to self: Avoid bringing sick children to the beach in 90 degree weather with 100% humidity.

Our poor little guy was pretty miserable all day. It was a very stressful situation for all involved, as we were hours away from home and had no good way of comforting the fussy baby who was beginning to refuse to eat or drink anything. I could also tell he had a fever just by feeling him and when we got home, that suspicion was immediately confirmed. That night he was up for hours crying- our poor house guest will never want to come visit us again! Saturday I was getting more and more worried as Peyton continued to refuse to nurse, take a bottle, or eat any solid food and his wet diapers became more infrequent. I called the doctor at 5pm after he hadn't had anything by mouth since 10:30am. We were told to start oral rehydration by squirting milk into his mouth with a 6ml syringe every 10 minutes. This was extremely labor intensive, as 5 syringes = 1 ounce and it took both of us to accomplish the goal- one to hold and one him still and the other to inject the fluid. It was a long night. Sunday morning our pediatrician opened up the clinic for us so she could check out Peyton and diagnosed an EAR INFECTION. I've heard of ear infections, but I had no idea what misery they could cause! Apparently, ear infections make sucking and swallowing incredibly painful (thus the fasting). I was so relieved to finally get an answer and get the okay to give pain meds and a prescription for glorious, wonderful, strawberry-flavored antibiotics which we began immediately.
It took until Tuesday for Peyton to start acting like himself again. I fed him with that 6mL syringe for 3 straight days, keeping careful mental note of all intake and output (my nursing skills came in handy there) and worrying and praying incessantly about his hydration status. When he finally began nursing again, I was so relieved. He hadn't eaten or slept well in days. On Tuesday his appetite and sleep needs revived with a vengeance! He took a 3 hour nap in the morning, nursed twice withing the next two hours and ate two big bowls of rice cereal, then took another 2 hour nap, nursed twice again and ate an adult-sized bowl of oatmeal, then went to sleep for the night at 6:30 and didn't wake up for the day until 9:30 the next morning. That was one tired boy! I am so so so glad to finally have my baby back- I feel like we've been through a lot together and now every time he smiles or eats well it makes me so happy.

We are done with sickness! I am going to sanitize everything from now on and keep germs far from our house!

July Update

2010-07-14T09:35:00.007-04:00

Well, a lot has been happening around here! First, I just wanted to say that I took the NCLEX on Saturday and passed! I thought it was really hard. I know some of my other friends took it quickly and didn't seem to have trouble but my test took me 3.5 hours and 140 questions. I was pretty nervous that I had failed so I was relieved to find that that was not the case! Anyway, it feels great to be free from that looming test.

In other news, Peyton now has a helmet (technically called a DOC band) to correct his plagiocephaly. For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, plagiocephaly is a flattening of the skull. I have known for awhile that Peyton needed this, but it has taken some time to find the clinic, make appointments, work with insurance, get consultations, etc. since moving out here. It has taken an entire month of me actively perusing the treatment to get the actual DOC band. We are going through a clinic called Cranial Technologies, which is located 1 hr 15 min away in Madison, CT and they have been really good so far. We took Peyton in to have him evaluated, and they estimated that with his head shape and age, it will probably take 6 months and two separate DOC bands to correct the shape. They took a bunch of pictures of his head from all angles, then made a 3-d cast of his head on a computer. They sent the image and dimensions to a company in Phoenix, AZ that actually creates a custom band that fits in such a way as to allow the flattened parts of the skull to be free from pressure and allowed to grow while restricting other areas from growth. Wearing the band 23 hours a day (off for one hour for bathing and cleaning the band) should correct the shape. We finally had him start wearing the band last Thursday. I was really nervous that he would be super fussy and hate it, but he didn't even seem to notice it at all! Actually, when we got home I put him down for a nap and he slept 3 hours with it on! We have had one problem with the band: Heat rash. I took the band off on Monday morning and he had this big red spot on his forehead. I knew it didn't look normal so I kept the band off, called the clinic, and made an appointment for Tuesday. I thought it was a pressure sore and was really upset about it, but I'm glad it is a heat rash and not something more serious. Peyton has always had such sensitive skin- it is going to be a real challenge to keep it healthy during this time. But all in all, I am really glad we're doing this right now. I could already see a difference in his head shape after just a few days of wearing the band, so I'm excited to see the improvements continue.

The band was actually white plastic originally, but I found all these awesome ideas online for decorating them, so I decided to hand paint Peyton's in a jungle theme. I LOVE how it turned out! People respond a lot better to Peyton since I painted the band- it doesn't look so medical and unapproachable now. People ask a lot of questions, and that's okay with me because I'd rather have them express their curiosity than pretend not to notice Peyton. Anyway, here's a plethora of pictures of Peyton in his new "hat" :)

Off to church At a Luau our friends hadThe following aren't necessarily the greatest pictures, but they're more to showcase the paint job
At the beach

I have two neighbors who are also stay at home moms right now and have little boys under 14 months. One of them decided to get a baby pool for the babies and put it up outside our complex on the lawn. GREAT idea! We filled it up with hose water which was kind of cold, and as you can see Peyton wasn't too keen on it at first. I had him stay in until he got used to it, then he loved it! It has been really hot here with record-breaking highs, so it was nice to be able to put the kids in the water.

Isn't he the cuttest? One more tidbit: Peyton has two teeth as of last week! They are so tiny and cute poking up through his bottom gums. I don't know why I'm so excited about teething, I guess it's just one of those milestones that means your baby is growing up. Bittersweet!

The Big Apple

2010-07-04T18:42:00.007-04:00

So we finally made it into the city yesterday! We were really worried about bring Peyton, but he actually did great! He didn't really nap at all the entire day, but he came home and crashed for the night early and slept really well! We had a good time- New York City is exactly like all the movies depict it and better! We met one of Scott's roommates from college at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (which was AMAZING and HUGE), hung out in Central Park, visited the New York Public Library, and had lunch at a little deli nearby. It was quite an adventure taking the train into town and using the subway with the baby, but overall very doable. Here's some pics from the day!

Grand Central Station

New York Public Library

We spent some time just walking around the streets- Scott was a trooper carrying
Peyton most of the way!

In front of the Met

Peyton's newfound joy is the baby swings.
Luckily we found some in Central Park! He had a ball

Family picture in Central Park

One of two 15 minute naps taken by Peyton

Waiting for the subway

These were actually taken in Stamford on the walk home from the train station. They have all these sculptures of cats and dogs scattered throughout downtown. Peyton and I were walking by when they were painting them and the lady wanted our hand outlines on this one. After much searching, we finally found it!
This is also a good picture of how Peyton likes to grab my hair and pull it

That's his little hand print

Sick Days

2010-06-30T20:31:00.002-04:00

Sick Sick Sick.

That's how all three of us are at our house. Just last Friday when I took Peyton to the doctor I was bragging about how my 7 month old has never been sick. The doctor laughed and said I just jinxed myself and he was sure he would see us again next week. I think he must have been some kind of fortune teller as well as a pediatrician because we were back in the office at 8:01 AM Monday morning and my suspicions were confirmed: Peyton has a cold.

Scott always looks to me when anything goes wrong with any of our bodies and wants me to be an expert on the matter. The problem is, I've never taken care of a baby with a normal cold! Only babies with pneumonia, RSV, etc. And they always had doctors right there, ready to prescribe for whatever was needed. It is hard taking care of my own son without a whole staff for support. I've found myself looking up medication after medication to see if it is suitable for children under two. NOTHING OVER THE COUNTER IS! I know that in the hospital, various medications are given but since I am a normal consumer, I have to take the safe road and let him suffer the symptoms unassisted. I did give a little acetaminophen. Despite having no medications for him, I have been to the pharmacy 4 times in the last few days. First, different nipples for his bottle to help him drink better (nursing is a VERY difficult task when the nose is stopped up), then the tylenol, then the humidifier, then I got sick and went to get myself some medicine. Then Scott caught and I had to go get him medicine and tissues. I've spent a lot of money at Walgreen's lately.

Yesterday was definitely the worst day for Peyton:
3 Diarrhea episodes
1 projectile vomiting through mouth and nostrils all over the carseat and everything episode
1 bath because of above mentioned vomiting
2 saline nose drop traumas
4 bulb suctioning traumas
4 outfit changes
3 loads of laundry
very little sleeping
and a LOT of crying

It was a hard day. Luckily, I was healthy enough to handle it yesterday. Today I am pretty bad off and he is much more like himself although a terrible cough and runny/clogged nose remain. I don't like having a sick baby! I hope this doesn't happen again for a long, long time.

June Pictures

2010-06-27T20:39:00.005-04:00

June has been a fun month out here. Here's some pictures to document our adventures! (And Peyton's cuteness, of course)

Another couple from the ward lives just around the corner from us and has a pool in their complex, so this is Peyton swimming for the first time! I was so excited to put him in, and he seemed to enjoy it. He was very interested in the water and kept trying to put his mouth on it and drink it.

Scott's work had their company picnic last weekend. The food was awesome, by the way. This pic is taken in front of our house (well, condo/apartment)

Mom came to visit us last week and we all had a lot of fun! It was great to have her and we sure missed her when she left on Tuesday.

These pics were taken at Cove Island Park, about 5 minutes from our house. The water behind us is Long Island Sound. I LOVE that park- it is so beautiful and serene.

Mom brought Peyton this blow-up ball and he is really into it. He likes holding it like this with his hands and feet

I just love this face.
We went to a barbecue with some friends last night and Peyton was just so pooped that he fell asleep in this uncomfortable stroller! He looked so sweet I had to take a picture

Still a Big Boy

2010-06-26T11:04:00.004-04:00

My little guy has been up to a lot lately, so I think it's time for a developmental update for all you grandmas, great-grandmas, aunts, cousins and friends! - all of whom I am confident check this blog daily for updates :)

We had Peyton's 6 month checkup yesterday (although he's almost 7 months now), and it's confirmed: He's still big. But not only is he chunky - 22 lbs 10 oz - he also apparently had a huge vertical growth spurt! He has grown almost 10 inches since he was born! That's almost a foot in only 6 months of life! No wonder babies are fussy- all that growing can't be too comfortable. I knew something was up when yesterday morning I tried to put some overalls on him that he wore last week and they were too short to snap (well, I tried to force them to snap because they're really cute, but Peyton wouldn't have it).

My little angel sometimes becomes a devil at night and has been waking up a lot- 2-3 times per night. I get really frustrated when I hear of babies half his age sleeping 10+ hours at night. So, I consulted the doctor about it and he gave me the official okay to just ignore him at night. We tried it last night and it was so much less traumatic than I thought! He still woke up a BUNCH but mostly just talked to himself and whined a little before falling back to sleep. I still didn't get any sleep because I can hear every move he makes even though he's in the other room, but still I thought it was a successful night of sleep training. I did got in to change his diaper and feed him once, but that is much better than 2 or 3 times. We'll see how it goes tonight.

He also got a bunch of vaccines but actually cried very little. I took him to the mall later that afternoon and discovered that while I was distracted with my shopping, he had managed to peel one of the band aids off his thigh and was sucking on it. It was pretty disgusting and I couldn't help but feel a sense of dread as I realized that this was probably the first of many, many utterly disgusting items he will find to put in his mouth.

In other Peyton news, he is now officially a sitter! He can sit really well! The other day I put a boppy around him, put on Baby Einstein, and he actually sat there and watched the entire program (20 minutes long) without flopping over. I think he hardly blinked the whole time- he was pretty mesmerized. Peyton is getting more and more fun every day. It seems that he grows up so much from day to day and is always doing something new. I'm having a lot of fun hanging out with him!

Rain Rain GO AWAY!

2010-06-09T19:46:00.002-04:00

This is day 1 of raining. I keep looking at weather channel.com and it keeps saying this is the first of a long string of rainy days, and already I am missing the sunshine! Being stuck inside is the worst- I love taking Peyton out on walks. We usually walk somewhere at least twice a day- the library, mall, Target, Scott's work, or just around the neighborhood. This is making me very, very nervous for the winter out here when every day will be cold and no fun to be out walking in. So, I have a few inside projects I am interested to keep myself busy:

Scrapbooking. Now I am really no good at making scrap books, but I have a lot of pictures and I know that one day I will be glad I have them in a scrap book. I went ahead and ordered some prints of Peyton the other day and bought him an official baby scrapbook, so Im all set with this one!
Reading. I am currently trying to read Rough Stone Rolling about Joseph Smith. It's a really great book so far but I'm not a very dedicated reader, thus it's taken me a month to read 100 pages. Yikes!
Crafts. I have a lot of lofty ideas in this area, which kind of scares me because I haven't made anything creative in so long! I have some Christmas present ideas, baby ideas, and home decorating ideas. Now for the green to fund these projects and I'll be set!

Looking at my list, I realize that all three are areas in which I feel weak but have a desire to succeed in. Maybe my rainy days won't be so glum after all- I'm feeling better all ready.

Six Months Old!!!

2010-06-06T20:26:00.008-04:00

Here's a couple of cute pics of little Peyton lately. He is growing up to be such a cute little boy. I am having so much fun playing with him every day. He is a really great baby- I don't have much to complain about. He smiles and talks A LOT and really doesn't cry that much. He does have what I call his "angry mutterings" that he does when he's annoyed or tired. He furrows his eyebrows and makes these funny words in a deep voice that sound like "aye yay yay" or "Why I oughtta" without all the consonant. It's so funny.

Sitting up
Model Pose...

...Or just a tip-over! Happens every day.

-I got a sweet little chair called a Bumbo for him. It's great because he can almost sit up, but not quite so it holds him up really well so he can play

-I got him a cute sun hat so he won't get burned at the beach

Anyway, we've been having a lot of fun. The three of us went to Newport, RI and Mystic, CT last Saturday for a day trip. They are very cute, classic New England coastal towns. We had fish and chips and fried clams there and just enjoyed the beautiful weather and nice little shops around. It was nice for Scott to take a break from studying and spend some time all together.

We made it. And now we have a computer again

2010-05-24T20:55:00.007-04:00

So, we're here in Connecticut! Our place is still a bit sparse in the furniture arena, but we now have the essentials and are feeling great about living here. When we got to here, our computer promptly crashed and it has been quite a process to get it up and running again. I'll spare you the details, but let's just say that I am very glad to have the web at my finger tips once more! You should try getting around a new city without the internet- it sure has been an adventure! This post is going to be mainly a picture post of Peyton since he's the cuttest out of the three of us and probably the reason anyone even checks my blog these days. He is such a sweet, cute little guy and far from a newborn anymore. Here's just a few of the things he's up to now that he is 5 1/2 months old:

-Solids. I started giving him some baby rice cereal twice a day and he slurps it right up. It is fun watching him experience eating something other than milk
-Sleeping great! He takes 3 naps everyday and sleeps about 12 hours at night. He fusses a little when I put him down sometimes, but usually goes right to sleep! It is way nice to have my evenings free and a few hours of free time during the day
-Rolling over. Peyton will no longer stay on his stomach at all. As soon as I put him on his tummy, he rolls right over onto his back
-Laughing. This happened for the first time on the road out here and now I love making him giggle. It's the best sound ever.
-Playing with toys. I got him an exersaucer at a yard sale the week we got here and he is getting really coordinated at spinning the little toys on it. He concentrates so hard and gets this little monkey spinning really fast
-Growing hair! He's got some awesome fuzz on top along with 2-3 reeeally long hairs (about 2 inches).
-Still chubby. At the 4 month appt he was 19 pounds and I know he's got to be at least 22-23 by now! He wears a lot of 12 month clothes and even wore an 18 month shirt to church on Sunday. Mamma mia.
-He likes to claw my face if I get close enough
-He can almost sit without help
-His gets the Beatles sung to him every night. He loves them.
-He keeps me busy and I love it!

Here's some pics from the rest of our trip (Kirkland, Niagra Falls, Palmyra, the unflattering pic of Peyton asleep in the Sacred grove) and some from here in our new place

Almost there!

2010-04-29T10:51:00.003-04:00

Our trip is going so well, and we are excited to be in Stamford TOMORROW! Yesterday was a good day- we drove a bit more leisurely and stopped in South Bend, Indiana to see the famous University of Notre Dame campus and the area. That place is SO beautiful! The campus was immaculate and the weather was perfect. We gorged ourselves at a 5 Guys burgers and fries and kept on driving. We stopped again in Cleveland where one of Scott'S old roommates is attending medical school and ate dinner with him and some of his med school friends. Apparently it was "Rib night" at their favorite restaurant, which also happened to be a downtown bar. It was very tame there, but Peyton seemed quite out of place as we showed our I.D.'s at the door. He was definitely the only person under age 21 in the place! So, yesterday was full of a lot of delicious, fattening foods, driving, and friends. It was a long day though, and by the end of it we were exhausted.

It was a little stressful trying to find a hotel late at night while driving in the car with Peyton fussing, and out of exasperation we finally booked one that was about $30 more than we planned on paying. But WOW! I had no idea what $30 extra bucks can get you! We dragged ourselves to the hotel were pleasantly surprised that we had accidently booked a suite with a separate room for Peyton to sleep in! This is a very nice hotel with a super comfortable, huge bed and everything needed for a good nights rest. We liked it so much that we are still here at 11 am the next morning, writing blog posts while Peyton takes a much-needed morning nap outside of his car seat. We are about 1 mile away from Kirkland, OH so we are going to go there for a bit once he wakes up, then head to Buffalo, NY to see Niagara Falls this evening. We were so spoiled by this place last night that we realized we can't live without the separate room for Peyton, so we are going to book another suite for tonight in Rochester, NY. Anyway, we are having a wonderful time and really enjoying our trip across the country!

Across the country: Day 2

2010-04-27T23:27:00.004-04:00

Here we have successfully completed day 2 of our journey to Connecticut! I am sitting here quietly typing at a Super 8 hotel in Burlington, Iowa. Peyton has been such a great baby yesterday and today- We were really scared that he would cry loudly all night long in our hotels, but both nights we tried to get into a place at a decent hour and put him right to bed. He actually slept for almost 7 hours in a row last night! It was so great!

Today has been good. We were making such good time that we decided to take a detour to see Nauvoo. I didn't want to initially because I have been there several times, but Scott really wanted to so we went. We got there at about 6:30 and everything was closed, but the weather was beautiful and the place was deserted (a rare occurrence for Nauvoo- it's always been 100 degrees and extremely crowded every time I've been). It was nice to walk around the temple and the area. Very peaceful. Here are some pictures from the evening

post from the road

2010-04-26T17:44:00.002-04:00

Okay so this is Scott. I'm experimanting to see if I am able to make a new post from my phone. So far so good. Camille is driving and. I am silently tapping away, hoping that the baby will stay asleep. We are somewher outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming and making great time. We had planned to stop somewhere near north platte Nebraska, but if things keep going well we may just continue on. We figure that if the baby is going to scream, it might as well be in our car rather than a hotel room where he will bother others. He has actually been very good for us so far. We left sometime just after 8 am and we were able to drive over 3 hours before he woke up. We stopped and fed him but then he woke up after only a few minutes and we had to go a few hours with him screaming. We stopped at the walmart in laramie Wyoming to feed him again, and this time we walked around the store for a while to let him play. When we got back to the car he fell right asleep, but woke up after about 20 minutes. Luckily he went back to sleep, and now we are doing everything to keep it that way. Hence I am in the back seat, silently tapping away on the phone while Camille stoically mans the drivers seat. Well I'm going to see if this will actually post before I risk writing any more.

February

2010-02-08T17:02:00.007-05:00

Well, it's February again! I start getting excited in February because that means it's almost March, and there are a lot of nice, warmish days in March. It feels great to know that the bulk of the winter is behind us!

Life has been pretty insane lately. My school has really starting picking up speed. I now have completed 54 of my 210 clinical capstone hours in the NICU. It has been really fun being there and working with all the tiny babies, but also very sobering. I feel so much compassion for the parents of those little ones. I took care of one little girl who was severely immature. Her parents were young college students, much like Scott and myself, and they actually had her just a week or two before we had Peyton. So we both have 2 month old babies yet I get to go home and take care of mine, watch him smile, wiggle and play, and all they can do is come to the hospital several times everyday to see her in her incubator/isolette. They have been doing this for over two months with no near end in sight. It is heart breaking. For some reason, I just didn't realize how sad the NICU would be. The good news is that a vast majority of the babies I take care of will get older, stronger and better and be able to go home and start a fairly normal childhood thanks to modern technology and nursing care. It is great to see their parents when it is time to take the baby home!

Anyway, in Peyton news, my little boy is now 9 weeks old! I took him in for his 2 month doctor visit and shots on Friday and he handled it so well. He didn't cry that much and although he was a little bit fussier than usual, he was very manageable for the rest of the day. Here's some facts about Peyton lately:

-He now weighs 13 lbs 8oz! That is the 90th percentile- he is a VERY big boy. I love his fat cheeks the best and kiss them all the time.
-He smiles! After he has gotten up from a nap and eaten is the best time for smiles. He grins huge, makes all these baby noises and kicks his legs and arms like crazy! Too bad every time I try to capture it on film he stops immediately. I guess he is camera shy
-He likes to stick out his tongue. A lot. It's like he is testing the temperature of the air or something. Out in, out in, out in.
-He likes to lick anything his tongue is close to including blankets, arms, binkies, his hands, etc. This is definite licking, not sucking.
-He does kind of suck on his hands. Sometimes I wake up to these smacking noises and I think it is him sucking his hands
-Sleep is still a battle at nighttime. Some nights he does well and sleeps for a couple of 3-4 hour stretches, others he is awake and wants to play. All night. Ah! I finally got the Healthy Sleep Habits book in the mail, now I just need to find the energy to read it
-His size 1-2 diapers are getting too small :( and his 3 month old close are becoming tight
-He still likes to be swaddled to sleep
-When he is awake, he is often in the "T" position. This is where his body and legs are super straight and his arms go straight out to the sides

My baby is growing up so fast! He truly seems like a big boy now even though he is only 2 months old. Life is getting more fun now that his personality is coming out a little. These pictures aren't the best, but it's all I've got right now! Witness the chunk:

5 Weeks old

2010-01-09T16:03:00.005-05:00

I can't believe my baby is already 5 weeks old! We have had a great time getting to know him and enjoying all the cute little things he does. Here are some interesting little tid bits about Peyton:

-He is a very sweet baby and cries sometimes, but can always be comforted pretty easily by holding him tightly and bouncing
-He does not like sponge baths, but LOVES having his hair washed and now being able to take a real bath (since his cord FINALLY fell off completely)
-He is a very noisy sleeper
-He's good at going through 2 diapers per diaper change (there's a tendency to go during the change about every other change)
-He has strong legs and can support his weight for about 2-3 seconds before crumpling
-He can almost roll over from his tummy to his back
-He is over 11 lbs now and has several new fat rolls forming
-Last night he was asleep all night except for feedings, including one 5 hour stretch!!

That last one is probably the reason I finally have enough energy to blog! Peyton has had his days and nights confused for about 3 weeks, staying up almost all night and sleeping all day. Suddenly last night he was just out! Of course I still woke up every couple of hours to feed him, but he went right back to sleep each time and slept soundly. All three of us feel great and well-rested today! I am trying hard not to get my hopes up that this trend could possibly continue, but I am definitely enjoying it now. Without further delay, here are some photos I took this morning of our cute little boy. Also, check out the post before this for tons of other pictures from the past month

December 2009

2010-01-09T14:06:00.007-05:00

ok, so here is a myriad of photos taken during Peyton's first month of life! There are several important "firsts" such as the first bath at home, using the car seat for the first time, first holds by grandma's and great-grandma's etc. It has been so fun to have him here with us.

9 Days Old

2009-12-13T23:15:00.004-05:00

I can't believe our little guy is already a week old. It has been an exciting, joyful, stressful, wonderful week. We have been having so much fun taking care of Peyton- learning all of the cute little things he does and just enjoying being parents. My mom has been here and it's been really great to have her- I havent had to do any housework all week! Which is awesome because I'm still really sore and am just getting to the point where I have a little more energy to deal with things other than the absolute bare minimum (eating, sleeping, taking care of the baby). Anyway, here are some more pictures of Peyton, including lots of father-son time, and some of his cute faces. Of course I don't think the pictures do his cuteness justice but my photography skills are slowly improving. So, enjoy!

Peyton Dale Jensen

2009-12-07T23:38:00.004-05:00

We are so so happy to introduce our sweet baby, Peyton. He was born on Friday, December 4 at 2:20pm at the American Fork Hospital and we have been in love ever since! He is a big boy- 9lbs 3oz 20in- and I'm feeling it. I'm learning it is very hard work having a baby and taking care of him, but totally worth it. The birth went great and I kept thinking to myself "I am SO glad I live in 2009- this would really hurt if I was doing this 30 years ago!" As it was, I was able to get a wonderful epidural and feel very little. It was so great to finally be able to meet him after all this time. Anyway, here are some pictures. Scott was in charge of the picture-taking and I think he did a pretty good job, even though we'll have to forgive him for forgetting not documenting the first bath lol. I'll post some more pics soon whenever I get a chance to upload them. Happy Birthday Peyton!

Thankfulness

2009-11-25T13:39:00.003-05:00

Good news! Scott has been studying many hours a day for the past 4-5 weeks for the first actuarial exam. He took it yesterday - and passed! To put the significance of this event into perspective, consider the following: There is absolutely no way to get a job as an actuary without passing at least this first exam. The exams are very very difficult and math/statistics-intensive - this test only has a 33% national pass rate. So, you can imagine how proud I was that Scott passed it on his first try! This is important to our family because it is pretty much the first solid step in the direction of a good career for Scott. There have been a lot of other opportunities for jobs and things this semester, but none that have seemed to fit very well. Hopefully, Scott will be able to pass at least one more exam before we graduate in April and then maybe we'll get a job! It is so exciting to think about moving on from college and out of Provo!

We're pretty excited about life, to say the least. We have a lot to be thankful for- we have great families who we love so much, we are in our last legs of college, we have a great marriage with lots of love, and we are being blessed to be the parents of a new little boy soon. Seriously, I feel that Heavenly Father has been looking out for us this year. Every time we get nervous about finances or plans for the future, money seems to show up out of nowhere and opportunities arise. It has happened countless times. Not to mention the help we have both received with school - me especially. It hasn't been easy being pregnant, working, and going to school full time but somehow I have worked more hours than ever before and have not just passed my tests and assignments, but actually gotten really good grades- including several 100's on tests and papers. Now with Scott passing this actuary exam, we are really realizing how few of the good things that are happening to us can be attributed to our own efforts. It is very humbling. I'm not sure what the Lord has in store for us, but he is obviously helping us get somewhere.

One More Week (hopefully)

2009-11-24T00:57:00.002-05:00

So, long story short- nothing is happening. I know I'm not supposed to be expecting anything like a baby this soon because I still have one more week until my official due date, and even then it could be later but... I am getting very impatient! I did too good of a job COMPLETELY clearing out my schedule for from now until finals (Dec. 14-19) so now I am actually quite bored. Which is not conducive to helping time go by quickly. I did start a project- I'm making some covers for a few old throw pillows- but it is annoying because I dont have a sewing machine and you wouldn't believe how long it takes to sew the simplest things by hand! FOREVER! Which also doesn't help in the waiting game.
I guess I am in a weird place. It is hard to be motivated to do anything productive or meaningful because I am so big, cranky, and ache all over but I definitely can't sit around either because I will go crazy! Plus, I don't want to plan anything too extreme - just in case the baby does decide to show up. So, what to do? What did you do to pass the time in the days before your baby showed up?

Baby Update

2009-11-20T23:19:00.003-05:00

So, folks I'll be 39 weeks pregnant on Tuesday! We have been getting so excited- I think I have just about everything all ready for the baby. Scott asks me several times every day if the baby is coming- and yesterday, I finally was able to give him some positive news!
I went to my midwives yesterday afternoon for my normal weekly checkup. I had been having contractions pretty regularly all day and when she checked me, I was 3cm dilated and 80% effaced! I was pleased about that. Since then, I've still been having a bunch of contractions (some of which kept me up half the night last night) but they don't hurt that bad so I'm just hanging out at home, hoping that little baby Jensen comes soon! I am trying not to get my hopes up too high because I have know girls who have been at this stage for weeks before their babies came. But it's still pretty exciting! I can't believe my pregnancy days are almost over!

Halloween?

2009-10-22T23:15:00.004-04:00

Instead of studying or doing something productive, I am day dreaming about Halloween. I have always really enjoyed this particular holiday. Last year I was SO excited to actually live in a house in a neighborhood instead of the typical college apartment because I thought this meant that children would come trick-or-treating at our door. I went out and bought pumpkins to make the door step look appealing and 5-6 big bags of "good" candy- you know, mini candy bars. None of those tootsie rolls or dum dums that always get traded right off. Scott and I set ourselves up with a scary movie and waited. And waited. And waited. All night. Not one cute little goblin or princess came to obtain any candy from our house. I was so depressed that naturally I was forced to eat all the candy myself and 4 of the 5 bags where gone within 2 days. This year I will be a bit or miserly. If no one comes to an actually house, they for sure aren't coming to our current tiny apartment.

I also like dressing up for Halloween and usually sport at least 2+ costumes per year to various events. I guess we don't have enough of a social network anymore because this year we havent been invited to one dress-up event! I have a feeling, however, that some opportunity may present itself. In which case, I have absolutely no idea what i will do since I am huge and pregnant. I decided to google it. This is my favorite idea so far haha

I think the costume will be a little too much work for me though. And Im not crazy about exposing my bare belly painted white. So, i need ideas! Anybody seen any cute and easy pregnant costumes I can copy?

Picture Updates!

2009-10-19T19:44:00.005-04:00

It's what you've all been begging for so finally I will acquiesce. This is the official 33 weeks pregnant belly pic AND my new haircut.

I like my new hair, but when I see the before and after, I can't help but miss my long locks! I am afraid my hair will never ever be long again. Short hair is just too easy. Here's a before and multiple views of after. I had to include the new 'do curled and straight.

So there you have it. Short hair.

In pregnancy updates, I got to visit the labor and delivery unit of the hospital not once, but twice this past week- don't worry, I wasn't in labor but did discover I had a really bad UTI. The second trip was three painful days later when I finally decided the antibiotics WERE NOT WORKING! Luckily I got an amazing shot of super-antibiotic and am feeling SO GOOD today! I won't go into the details of my suffering, but it was a very intense weekend.
Now I am getting ready for more school and tests and clinicals. I am VERY ready to be done with it all and focus on the baby, but unfortunately I have 4 more weeks until the bulk of the work is over. I hope I survive! It really isn't THAT hard, but it is getting more challenging by the day. Anyway, that's it for now!

I'm here

2009-10-09T13:19:00.002-04:00

I guess it's time I gave a little update. Since I haven't blogged in many months! I am still alive, and still very pregnant- 32 1/2 weeks!- and barely surviving school. It has been a really busy semester, but time is just flying by! I can't believe our little boy will be here in less than two months! I am so excited. I am starting to feel all the aches of being very large in the abdominal region- inability to breath or eat more than about 1/2 a cup of food- and can not longer walk without the signature waddle of a pregnant lady.

We still haven't decided on a name yet. I am in my ICU and Psychiatric nursing clinicals right now. A couple of days ago I was at the State Mental Hospital for my first clinical day there of 8 days. About 5 seconds after I passed through the locked doors, a lady comes up to me, gets down by my tummy, and starts rubbing it. "Oh! There's a baby in there? You know his name? Well his name is Joshua." Here she starts yelling at my stomach. "Hi Joshua! What did you have for breakfast? What is mommy going to feed you for lunch? Are you pulling on your umbilical cord?" She let up a little when the psych tech reminded her she should be working on "boundaries." Haha! I guess we could always name him Joshua since apparently that is his predestined name according to the lady at the mental hospital.

Seriously, I think we are just going to have to get a look at his cute face before making a final decision. Why does naming a child have to be so stressful.

Anyway, everything else is going well. I have had 3 tests and 3 big assignments due within the last week, so that was pretty horrible but luckily it is behind me for awhile! School is keeping me extremely busy but a lot of it is due to the fact that I am working ahead so that I won't have too much to do when the baby comes (hopefully). Maybe I will take a picture of my pregnant self someday, although I currently avoid picture taking at all costs. We'll see.

In Washington DC!

2009-07-13T15:23:00.012-04:00

Well, I've arrived! I actually got here to DC two weeks ago and Scott and I have been very busy having a blast! I figured I had better catch up before I get way too behind. We had been having fun seeing the sights around DC. This is an incredible city with a lot to offer- it has been really fun to be here so far. Scott and I live in housing provided by the church/BYU for BYU interns. It is just like a dorm and really reminds me of the way I lived when I was a freshmen at BYU in Deseret Towers. Our room is pretty small but we do have a fridge and microwave at least! We live on the girl's floor so that is interesting for Scott sometimes :)

The night I arrived, we decided to go out on the town to find something to eat. Our apt./dorm is about a 4-5 minute walk to Georgetown so we headed in that direction. There is quite a night scene here with TONS of college students out and about at midnight. A real city feel. We ended up just getting burgers and fries, but it was fun to be in the atmosphere. The next day we attended the ward Scott has been going to and that was really fun as well. About half of the members are African American and French speaking. The other members are also very diverse and multi-cultural so there was a really cool and different feel to the ward than the very mono-culture experience of a BYU married ward. After church we got off the metro at China town and took our packed lunches to the National Sculpture garden to eat. They had a huge fountain there and some really interesting sculptures. Unfortunately, jet lag, a killer headache and pregnancy combined with some huge blisters from my church shoes dulled the experience a bit. It has taken me quite awhile to condition myself to Scott's pace and the walking lifestyle we have. And form awesome callouses. Ha Ha

That week Scott had his internship every day so I was able to slowly adjust to being awake during the day (I had been working nights) and get unpacked etc. It has been SO nice to take it easy during the days- I almost got a volunteer position somewhere but decided that I would rather spend the short time I have here enjoying myself. There is some great shopping in the area which I have been taking advantage of. I bought my first pair of Haviana flip flops (Scott swears by them) AND my first little baby item- it's just a little blue onesy but I was pretty excited about it. I have also been taking some exploratory/exercise walks around the city during the day and visiting a few museums (most recently the Holocaust museum- highly recommended).

Without further delay, here are some of the sparse pictures from the past two weeks:

Scott and me on the Mall one day after Scott's work

We went to Alexandria, Virginia last week and had such a good time! It is the third oldest historic district in the nation. Washington, Jefferson, and many other important figures came there. It is right on the water and we ate seafood at this cute restaurant for lunch

We spent the fourth of July right in the heart of DC. The parade was awesome- notice how many tons of people were there! And the fireworks on the steps of the Capitol with the National Symphony playing in the background complete with cannons blasting was amazing as well

We went to a place called Ben's Chili Bowl for excellent chili dogs last weekend. Apparently it is a really famous place- Bill Cosby, Obama, and many other celebs have their pictures on the wall there

The following are from our trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on Saturday.

We also went to a cool historic town called Harper's Ferry, West Virginia on our way home from Gettysburg on Saturday. This was where a famous civil war battle occurred, as well as the attempted slave revolt led by James Brown.

Finally, yesterday before church Scott and I visited Arlington National Cemetery and saw JFK's grave, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Iwo Jima monument. It was really beautiful there and humbling to see so many thousands upon thousands of gravestones. Here is Scott in front of the Iwo Jima monument:

It's a Boy!

2009-06-23T21:46:00.004-04:00

So, it's official- my motherly instincts came through. I guess I had a 50-50 chance in guessing the gender correctly, but I have had very little doubt that our new baby would be a boy.
Sherry (my mother-in-law) and I went to the ultrasound this afternoon and had so much fun seeing the baby! He was apparently asleep at first, but with some gentle nudges from the doctor, he quickly awoke and started moving all over! Kicking his legs, stretching his whole body and curling up again. It was amazing. It's crazy that I'm not really feeling any of that movement yet. I am feeling lots of hunger though. I have never felt this hungry this often in my life. I can be really full then about 1.5 hours later, absolutely starving again. It is so strange. Anyway, here's a nice little photo of baby Jensen!

I Made It!

2009-06-18T23:16:00.003-04:00

In case some of you didn't know, Scott and I are officially going to have a baby! And, I am very proud to announce that I have finally MADE IT into my second trimester and no longer feel nauseated 24 hours a day!! Energy levels are rising and I am starting to feel like myself again! And we are so excited to be having a little baby come live with us. I am 16.5 weeks pregnant at this point, and the baby is due Dec. 1.

Scott has been at an internship in Washington DC since the end of April, so it's been really tough going to school full time, working full time (I am now an LPN instead of a CNA- thank goodness), and feeling generally crappy without him around. But luckily, I get to fly to DC next week and I'll be there for the whole month of July!

I am also supposed to find out what gender the baby is next week! Apparently, they can tell as early as 14 weeks these days, but I have my doubts about whether they will be able to see anything or not. I really hope they can though- I can't stop thinking and wondering about it! I have a feeling it is going to be a boy, but I would love a sweet little girl too! Either one would be great.

Anyways, I just wanted to give an update since I am a neglectful blogger. Scott has the camera right now, so no pictures yet! But soon!

Eventful Weeks

2009-04-13T00:09:00.002-04:00

A lot has been happening in our lives... which is one of the few sorry reasons I use as an excuse to not blog! One of the BEST things is that I recently found out I got a $5000 scholarship for next school year! I applied to this scholarship a few months ago thinking I'd never get it- and here I am! It is kind of a funny story how I found out I got it. We were at Scott's parent's house in Sandy for conference weekend and during the opening song of the LAST session, his mom says "hey, before I forget I got this piece of junkmail for you." I put their house as my permanent address because I thought I wouldnt hear back until we moved from our current place. I opened it to a CONGRATULATIONS! and was very surprised. I was glad she remembered the piece of "junk mail" because I had to mail it back in with my signature immediately to be rewarded!

In other news, we will be moving from our first home together in less than 2 weeks. I am really sad to leave this house because we have made so many happy memories here and it is so cute. We did, however, find a great apartment which is VERY close to campus and a lot less expensive than where we are living now, which brings me to my next news:

Our car broke down today. After 15 long years of life, two of which were spent in diligent service to Scott and me, it's time to say goodbye. This is why we are glad to get a rent break- because we will now be taking on a heafty car payment. I have never bought a car in my life. It stresses me out to think of having the responsibility to choose a car, then actually having to maintain it, insure it, gas, registration, emissions/saftey, etc. It has been so nice to have an old car for the last few years which was payment-free and stress-free. It's had many dings and scratches, but it's an old car, so who cares? A newer car will be all different. Not to mention that we will probably need to get one ASAP as I will be commuting from Sandy to Provo or Salt Lake daily in only 2 weeks time. Hmmm...

Finals are just ahead of us now as there is only 2 schooldays left. Scott and I are flipping out just a little trying to study, move and look for a car, but luckily the light at the end of the tunnel is drawing nearer and the semester will be over soon whether we are ready for it or not!

This Week

2009-03-22T14:23:00.005-04:00

It has been one crazy week this week! I have had multiple tests, papers due, family in town visiting, and church activities going on. I thought I was busy before, but this week tops all those other busy weeks. It has been fun though, especially being able to see my brother Dane, his fiance Laura, and my sister Cecilee and her family

Dane is in town for his spring break, so the four of us went out to eat on Wednesday night and Dane helped me get my locked keys out of the car .long story- I locked my keys in the car at the hospital before my clinical then had to walk home because Scott was in school... it was kind of a long walk, but luckily it put me home right as the UPS truck was driving away from my house. I flagged it down because I was expecting my new cell phone in the mail and I knew they wouldnt leave it at the door without a signature- so luckily I was able to get my sweet new phone.

I didn't take any pictures with Cecilee and her family, unfortunately. But it was really fun to see them yesterday after Brian's half marathon in Moab. Her little girls are growing up to be so sweet and cute! I'm glad we live relatively close to them so we can see them once in awhile.

Scott's birthday was also this week on the 19th. I can't believe he is 25! I met him when he was 22... it just seems so weird how time goes by. We had a really good day though- he came home from school and wanted to open his presents right away. They weren't very exciting, but it was still fun- I got him some new clothes and a book he's been wanting. Then we went out to eat together then watched a friend's intramural basketball game. Then we brought stuff for strawberry shortcake over to our friend's house and ate birthday cake. It was really fun just being together all afternoon- I am so glad Scott was born and that we came into each others lives at the time we did. I love being married to him and I feel so lucky to have such a great husband!!

Poetry

2009-03-08T17:08:00.003-04:00

What ever happened to the art of poetry? Do people write poems anymore, just for the sake of the rhythmic beauty of the written word, spoken aloud?

I am the chorister in my BYU ward so I get to do the "Music Moment" every week. At first, the calling seemed like a bit of a nuisance to me- who even remembers or cares about the music moment anyway? But recently I have begun to really appreciate the words of the hymns and how poetic they are. It amazes me how the content of the verses combined with the connotations of individual words make a huge impact within a relatively short song.

I was also reading a blog today that made reference to a high school in Texas called Sidney Lanier High. This name, Sidney Lanier, rang a bell to me so I looked up the name on Wikipedia. I realized that he was a poet from Macon, GA whose poetry we studied in my 8th grade Georgia Studies class (my teacher was Mrs. Funk- whom some of you may know). Anyway, I actually remembered having to memorize a few stanza's of his poem, The Marshes of Glynn, and I became attached to his poetry. I think I went through a phase where I read lot of it just for fun.

After re-reading some of his work today, it made me wonder what has happened to this seemingly forgotten art form. Perhaps poetry is still alive and well, just hidden from view within personal lives. I also wonder if our culture has stunted it's growth- poets seem to bring forth images of sad, gothic, death-obsessed individuals with nothing else to do. I hope this isn't the case, because poetry can be so beautiful and fulfilling, as seen in this first verse of The Marshes of Glynn about the salt marshes on the coast of Georgia:

Glooms of the live-oaks, beautiful-braided and woven
With intricate shades of the vines that myriad-cloven
Clamber the forks of the multiform boughs,-
Emerald twilights,-
Virginal shy lights,
Wrought of the leaves to allure to the whisper of vows,
When lovers pace timidly down through the green colonnades
Of the dim sweet woods, of the dear dark woods,
Of the heavenly woods and glades,
That run to the radiant marginal sand-beach within
The wide sea-marshes of Glynn;-

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Marshes_of_Glynn for the entire poem.

March

2009-03-04T15:24:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to post because I am happy that it is finally March. When Scott and I had been dating for only about a week- this was in Feb. 2007- he made a comment that has really helped me get through the other bitterly cold Utah winters. He said:

"Don't worry, it's almost March. And there are a lot of nice days in March."

How true this statement is! And I can't tell you how many times I have found hope by repeating this phrase while walking through foot-high snow to school. Now, March has finally arrived and I am relishing in the 50 degree weather. Do I dare hope for even warmer months? I believe so!

Recipe of the Year

2009-03-01T00:17:00.002-05:00

Today I thought I'd share my favorite recipe: Delicious Tortilla Soup. This is the Recipe of the Year because it is incredibly easy, cheap, fast, and tasty. A combination like that is hard to come by! So, without further delay, Delicious Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can refried pinto beans
1 can corn
1 can chicken broth
1-2 cans chicken meat or 1 cup cooked, cubed chicken
1 C salsa
2 C cheddar cheese
sour cream
tortilla chips

Combine everything except the cheese, sour cream and chips in a saucepan. Let the soup simmer for 20 minutes, adding 1 C cheese during the last 5 minutes. Garnish with additional cheese, sour cream, and chips. I also add some of my favorite spices like cumin and chili powder to the mix. It's great and super fast/easy!

I Told You BYU Nursing was Good

2009-02-27T17:34:00.002-05:00

As some of you readers may know, I currently work at a "Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center" (aka nursing home)as a CNA (yes, I do have to change adult's diapers). But hopefully I will be able to work as an LPN there in May when I can get my license. I am surrounded by other college students either in nursing school or trying to get in nursing school so there is a lot of debate about which school is better than which other school. Many of the nurses have told me biased things about how everyone who comes there from BYU is a horrible nurse, none of them know anything about nursing, yada yada yada. Well, I recieved this email from one of my faculty members today and I would like to brag about it:

2008 NCLEX Pass Rate - BYU Highest in Utah for 2008

BYU- 90.91% 1st time pass rate
BYU had 121 candidates, 110 passers

National average 86.73%

Other Programs in Utah
Westminster College - 89.74%
Salt Lake Community College - 88.67%
Provo College - 88.24%
University of Utah - 85.71%
Weber State College - 84.59%
Dixie College - 83.95%
Utah Career College - 83.33%
Utah Valley State College - 81.67%
Stevens-Henager College - 71.88%
College of Eastern Utah - 71.43%
Southern Utah University - 68.97%
Ameritech - 60.83 %

It is so fun to look at the colleges some of the BYU diss'ers. I can't wait for the next time someone complains that BYU nursing students suck- I can say "well actually...."

Yes, I'm Still Alive

2009-02-26T22:57:00.003-05:00

I bet no one even checks our blog anymore since we are SO slack about updating it (I guess it's that I'M slack about updating. I think Scott has only written on here once). The sad thing is that I read several blogs on a daily basis and almost NEVER update my own. Sometimes I think my life is just too boring- I'm afraid that I will get bored just writing about it! But, I will do my best.

This post is simply to prove to myself that I CAN update my blog and it does not have to be a long, time consuming process. Alright self, you've been proved.

Christmas in Utah

2008-12-26T14:20:00.006-05:00

This is my first Christmas in Utah AND my first Christmas with Scott!! It has been SO fun. I was really happy to wake up on Christmas morning to a snow storm! It has been snowing buckets all day yesterday and today so it really feels like the holidays. We had a fun Christmas yesterday and we both got a lot of nice presents! Scott got me some night stands from our room, lamps, a pretty house plant with a beta fish in the bottom, and some other odds and ends. We also got a bunch of awesome church history (and family history) books from both of our parents along with a blow-up air mattress
(if anyone wants to come visit, we now have someplace for you to sleep!), a slow-cooker, and other various personal items like clothes, etc. Sherry made me a really cute nurse's bag too which i love!!

Scott's brother, Stephen, and I also made this awesome gingerbread house before christmas. I feel like I've had to protect it with my life from being eaten and picked at!

We had such a great Christmas although I did miss being with my own family. After all, there's no place like home for the holidays!

New Sister - in - Law!

2008-11-16T21:11:00.003-05:00

So, as many of you have heard, my brother Dane just got engaged to his finance Laura this weekend! But, you may not have heard about from a primary source who was there at the scene! Dane called me on Friday morning to announce that he was in Utah at that very moment and told me of his plans to propose that night. I was very excited that he asked me to help him set everything up- we went over to her house while she was gone and decorated her balcony. We put up tons of white lights, candles and flowers all over it, and Dane had his laptop out with music playing. When she got home, I was hiding upstairs and I guess she heard me or something because instead of following the clearly defined trail of rose petals leading from the garage to the balcony, she ran upstairs saying "Dane? Dane? are you here?" I tried to hide but she found me and was very surprised to see me hiding in her house! I told her to go out to the balcony so she ran down stairs to see Dane climbing- yes, climbing- up her balcony. Im not sure what all went on outside but in a little while they came in and we all celebrated! Here's some pictures from the night:

DC... Here we come!

2008-11-04T19:11:00.002-05:00

Good news everyone! We just found out that Scott got accepted into BYU's Washington Seminar for next summer! Washington seminar is an internship program BYU organizes for students to get work experience in Washington DC. That means that we will be living in DC on Pennsylvania Ave., just one mile from the White House!
Scott will get there at the end of April, but I won't be able to go until the end of May because I need to do a month-long nursing study abroad. That is actually still up in the air as to where I will be going, but we will have to be apart for a month :(. I will hopefully be able to go to Ecuador, Austrailia, Taiwan or the Navajo Nation if everything works out. I want to find a job as an LPN or a nursing care technician once I get to DC - I think it sounds so fun to live in a new city and work there!
So, exciting things i guess. Scott and I had a fun Halloween; however, absolutely no trick-or-treaters came to see us. I was really disappointed about that. I bought TONS of candy and now guess who ate it all? Yep- me. I am now committing myself to diet and exercise in a feeble attempt at rectifying my irresponsible behavior. Scott and I had some of our friends over for Halloween and watched a scary movie and had pizza and delicious caramel apples. It was really fun and a much-needed break from the constant studying.
School is going well- both of have TONS due before Thanksgiving break- I think we each have three papers and four or more tests coming up in the next three weeks! Ahhhhh! But I actually am enjoying nursing school. I got to go into the Operating room last week and see some crazy surgeries which I thought was awesome. I have also been practicing all my IV, medications, and sterile dressing skills which has also been fun. Next semester is the mother/baby and OBGYN unit so I think that will be really great too!
Scott is doing great in school too- he works hard and gets good grades and I am really proud of him! Hopefully soon we can take some more pictures and post them for your viewing pleasures :)

Monthly Post!

2008-09-21T22:30:00.002-04:00

So, I am very bad at keeping up with our blog. I openly acknowledge this and so I am going to work hard to post at least once a month! Pathetic, I know.

Scott and I have been really busy with this new school semester. We have completed three full weeks now, which means that the first round of midterms start this upcoming week! Yikes! Scott is taking a few hard math classes, an economics class, a biology class (GE), and a classic civilization class- he is keeping busy indeed. He also just joined our ward's inter mural flag football team- which won their first game last Wednesday! Yay! We started jogging together a couple of times a week, which is hard to fit in but it always feels really great when we're done! (you know how running is :)

My first few weeks of nursing school have proven to be very busy and interesting. I go to my clinicals this term up at the Huntsman cancer institute and the University of Utah Hospital. I have to go up the night before to assess my patient in preparation for the next day, then spend the night as I have to be at the hospital at 6:45 am. It is kind of a hassle, but I am learning so much by being in the hospital! I have already seen some complicated cases of disease, and some very sad ones. My first day one of our patients went into cardiac arrest and I got to witness real CPR being performed as well as seeing the patient get the defibrillator shock to bring her back to life after about 10 minutes of unsuccessful compressions. Every couple of weeks we switch floors, so next week i will be on the neurology floor. We will also get to go into the Operating room several times this semester to learn about OR nursing. So, my life right now is a mix of these amazing clinical experiences, and the dullness of pharmacology. I also joined a power yoga class here on campus for the semester, which I am really enjoying. The teacher is amazing and I am sore after every workout!
Well, I guess that's it for the update! We are students through-and-though and that is what we do!

Vacations!

2008-08-27T22:10:00.004-04:00

Well, it has been way too long since I made a real post and Scott and I have been very busy people! Scott worked and went to school full time for the past two months and I have been working 50-60 hour work weeks as well, but we have still managed to have some fun! We went to British Columbia, Canada in July for Scott's huge family reunion. It was so fun! The area was absolutely beautiful and we got to do some really amazing things like take a helicopter over mountains that only a few people have ever even hiked. Here's some pictures:

We also got to go boating with at lake powell this summer as well as taking a short weekend trip to Scott's grandma's cabin near Jackson Hole right before school started. We got to see Yellowstone National Park which was quite amazing. Neither of us had been there for years so it was like seeing everything for the first time! We did almost all the hikes to the waterfalls along the main loop of the park, saw Old Faithful, and plenty of wild life. The best part was the beautiful weather! It felt like fall up there and it was so much fun! We took tons of delicious food with us to eat and had leftovers for a long time afterward

Yes, this is the way I choose to update my blog- Better updates to come!

2008-08-25T18:52:00.002-04:00

8/08/2008 Beijing Summer Olympics
My favorite competitions are :
gymnastics
women's beach volleyball
track and field
mens and women's indoor volleyball
swimming
tennis
high jump
trampoline

8 TV shows I like to watch:
(this was back when we had a TV with channels :(
The Office

Seinfeld

Gilmore girls

nanny 911

america's next top model

what not to wear

even stevens

i cant think of any more!

8 Restaurants I Love:

Cafe Rio!
Carrabas
Bubba's barbecue in Jackson Hole, WY
Country's BBQ in Columbus, GA
Chilies
Olive Garden

8 Things that happened today:

Went to work, dodged 4 attempted punches by a 94-year old, gave two showers to the elderly, ate some chocolate, took a nap, checked my email, talked to Scott on the phone
8 Things I am looking forward to:

School starting! Getting to not work as much, going home to GA for Thanksgiving break, hopefully buying a computer, getting into better shape, the leaves changing colors in the fall, seeing Scott tonight

8 Thing I Love about Summer:

wearing flip flops, laying out in the sun, not slipping and falling nearly everyday, having the car stay on the road, smelling sweet summer smells, vacations, swimming, hyiking, etc

8 Things on My Wish List:
new house, new computer, air conditioning, graduation, new shoes for the snow, jeans that make my butt look smaller, coffee table

Our House

2008-06-30T11:40:00.007-04:00

As promised, I am finally putting up the rest of the pictures of our little house for everyone to see. This is the front- we are lucky because our landlord is really good about mowing the grass each week and setting out the sprinkler almost every night, so have to do nothing to keep it looking good!

This is the mirror we recently bought to fill the huge blank space over the fireplace. We like all the bookshelves because Scott has a lot of books! Whenever people come over, they like to look at the "library" and talk about the books with Scott. One day, maybe I'll read some of them

This is a picture of the entry to the office,and also the last time i saw my wedding dress. Yes, thats right- I sold it last week to a very nice girl with very good taste. It was a little bit hard to let it go, but I sold it for about 60% of what I bought it for, so I was happy.

This is the area of the house that looks the worse. This desk was here when we moved in and it looked so big and nice at first. But then we realized that it has no drawers and all of the little shelves just get used to display junk.

So, I bought this in hopes of downsizing and simplifying:

But now i think we are going to keep both desks since Scott and I will both be in school in the fall and we will probably both need our own desk to do homework and stuff. So I guess I will just have to live with the messy desk!

Smoothies

2008-06-28T10:51:00.002-04:00

So, i have started buying a lot of fruits lately since I have made a goal to eat at least one fruit per day. That may sound easy to you, but for some reason I dont always make it! Earlier in the week I was particularly adamant and bought lots of bananas, peaches, and raspberries. The result is that they all started to get over-ripe from not being eaten fast enough. So, we decided to make smoothies this morning! It was really fun for me and they turned out really good. We made a raspberry banana one and a peach banana. They are very easy and I would really recommend it if your fruit is getting over-ripe (i think that may have helped the flavor). I just blended up a few ice cubes with 1/2 cup fruit (raspberries or frozen peaches), a banana, a little milk and 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream.
In other news, I finally abandoned my two-herb herb garden yesterday. I have been diligently trying to grow basil and oregano using this little kit I got but I finally had to diagnose them with "Failure to Thrive." They never got bigger than 1/2 inch sprouts in the 2 months I've had them and yesterday I found them completely withered up. It was a sad day but I will try again!

Scott's Entry to Blogdom

2008-06-27T02:25:00.003-04:00

I figured that it was high time that Scott contributed to the Camille and Scott blog. Camille told me that my post would not be cool without a picture, but I'm going to try anyway. We've spent the last few days adjusting to a new schedule. I've started school for the summer term, while working near full time, and Camille has taken on more hours at her jobs. The result has been both of us leave the house before 8 and don't come home until sometime after 9.

We're preparing for a family reunion in Canada next week. We've been anticipating it for over a year, and the time has finally come. It will be a sort of compacted trip since I can't afford to miss too many days of school. Ironically, we will be spending the 4th of July outside the country.

It is good to keep up with the going-ons of everyone else. I do spend some time reading other's blogs even if I have to date only contributed once to our own.

Home Decorating?

2008-06-13T16:39:00.004-04:00

I just realized that a lot of you have probably never seen our house, So i took it upon myself to take some photos and post them. You will notice that the walls are still quite bare and although I am always trying to think of decorating ideas, I'm never quite sure what to do. Recently I have just been buying little things here or there, but then when i get them home, I dont always like them. Such is the possible scenerio today. I bought these wire cross- things (shown below) and now I cant decide if they are good or bad.

I think i actually do like them now that im looking at the picture again. Anyway, here are some other photos from around the house. I think the bathroom is my favorite because of the sweet little towel with the J on it (wedding present)

On second thought, i guess it was just a couple rooms i took pictures of. Ill have to post some from the living room and office later on. Im thinking about doing either bright red or lime green curtains on the kitchen window pretty soon- its times like these when i wish i had a sewing machine! Curtains would be so easy to sew, and they are expensive sometimes.

Everything else in life is going really well- Scott and i just work and play all the time! Scott is about to start summer school in about two weeks so we want to plan a little vacation before he starts. Maybe to Zions to camp or maybe we'll go up to his grandma's cabin in Jackson Hole. If anyone's available next weekend who wants to go, let me know!

Update

2008-05-29T17:40:00.003-04:00

Hellooo! Well, life is crazy as usual, but it is SO fun to be married! Scott and I are having such a great time right now- we havent done anything too excited, but just the normal day- to- day stuff is so much better with a husband. I still have a long way to come in the art of being a wife but i'm working on it. My main problem right now is cooking. I can only think of a few things that i would actually eat that i also know how to cook, and my normal diet of cold cereal and milk just isn't cutting it for Scott. So, any extremely easy recipe suggestions that involve chicken and canned food?

I recently started a part-time job as a CNA at a nursing home/rehab center a few blocks from our house. It has been tough training and today was my first day on my own. They want to have me work in the psych ward mostly and that's where i was today. The day started out terrible but got better. Early this morning i was trying (very clumsily) to dress and change a tiny 100 lb 90 year old. She has dementia really bad and was yelling and cursing at me the whole time and actually punched me in the face twice. I was getting more and more upset as i couldnt figure out why the tabs on the diaper weren't sticking right (among other deterrents) when finally i just threw my hands in the air and walked out of the room and bawled in a corner where no one could see me. It was terrible. Luckily, no one found out that I am a cry baby and the woman did eventually get dressed, but it was a traumatic day. There are definitely ups to the job as well though, and im sure ill get used to it. There was one lady who is really large and talks in a funny voice- she is always saying things that amuse me. Today she asked me to get this stuffed animal cat she likes and when i brought it to her i asked "Do you know who this is?" and her eyes lit up and she said "Hell yes!!" and snatched it from me and hugged it. It was so funny!

We're Married!!

2008-05-13T10:29:00.008-04:00

Hello all! We are finally married and im finally writing about it!! What a wonderful experience it was to be sealed to Scott and to have all of my family in the temple together. I love the temple! It was a perfect spring day and everything went almost flawlessly. It is hard to believe that it was only two weeks ago! I feel like i've been married for longer. That is probably because Scott and I have dated for so long. It really hasnt been a hard transition living with him- we get along great and it is really fun to get to be together so much!
Our honeymoon was AMAZING! We left for Cancun the morning after the wedding and spent the next 5 days there. Here are some of my favorite pictures:

In summary, we ate a TON of delicious food, snorkeled with the fishes, visited a tropical island, and spent a LOT of time at the beach. It was great!! Now we are just trying to get moved in and find a place for all our stuff. We started with all the rooms completely filled with boxes, and are slowly clearing away little chunks at a time. I'll be glad when i can finally start doing a little decorating and not so much organizing!

2008-04-11T16:20:00.002-04:00

Well, it's time for an update! I can not believe that the big day is only TWO WEEKS AWAY!! There are so many exciting things coming up! I am having major problems focusing on school, even though i have five tests coming up in the next week and a half! All i can think about is the wedding and seeing all my family and going to Cancun! It's like the ultimate Christmas!
In other news, I got a job this week. I am the newest server at the Old Spaghetti Factory (yes, the same restaurant we are having the luncheon at, but a different location). Yesterday was my first day practicing with a "trainer." It went really well, he said that I am picking it up really fast. The job is tons easier than Country's was- that was a hard job looking back on it! It is fun to work with people who are members of the church and doing the same things in life that i am. Most are students at either UVSC or BYU and two or three are engaged to be married within a week of me! I thought that was pretty crazy.
I think we have almost everything done for the wedding besides the last minute touches, etc. Scott's mom is amazing- she has taken over a lot of areas of planning because i just don't have time to worry about so many details! My one responsibility for food is the punch. And i have no idea what to do for it. Does anyone have a good, easy punch recipe?

Pictures, finally!

2008-03-26T13:44:00.004-04:00

So, we finally took some engagement pictures since of course, this is the last minute to send out the announcements and we needed some pictures to go with them! So, here's a little sneak peak!

I'm technologically retarded

2008-03-11T02:04:00.003-04:00

Sorry i am already inconsistent with my posts! i get frustrated because i see everyone else's cute blogs and i havent had time to figure out how to manage this thing! i need a personal tutorial. i would love to put pictures up on here if i only knew how.
so, things have been RIDICULOUSLY busy since my last post! but, i am happy to say that i have been acing my many, many tests so far in the nursing program, and i am progressing daily in my wedding planning adventures! This past Saturday Scott's mom, Sherry, and i pulled a wedding planning marathon. We picked out the flowers, tuxedos, table linens, planned the food, surveyed cake places, and had a bridal shower Scott's grandma threw for me! it was so crazy but so fun! im very excited about the flowers- i love flowers. My bouquet will be all white roses, hydrangea and stephanotus, and my bridesmaid's will be pink peonies and roses. i cant wait to see them.
The shower was amazing. i only know about 5 or 6 women in Scotts family, but there ended up being about 20 people there! He has a great family- many second cousins, great aunts, aunts-in-law, family friends, and neighbors came. i felt so humbled and grateful that people who didnt even know me would come and bring such nice gifts. it was a "kitchen shower" which means that every brings non-perishable food items or kitchen necessities. we have SO MUCH FOOD! it was really fun to get all that food- i had to leave almost all of it in storage at Scott's grandma's place though because i have nowhere to keep it around here. im very excited to learn how to cook some new things without having to spend any money.
Scott and i have really enjoyed being engaged so far. its fun to plan our futures together and continue to get to know each other. i feel our love deepening each day and i am so appreciative of the good person he is. i am the luckiest girl in the world!

2008-02-18T20:05:00.002-05:00

hello again!
i hope everyone's week has gone well. I've had a really good one! Im trying to keep the momentum up through midterms, so we'll see how it all goes. the nursing program is keeping me pretty busy, but i really love it. It is so great to have so many resources at your disposal to be able to learn with- we have great faculty, a nursing learning center (this is an appendage of the BYU library that has only nursing-related stuff), and lots of expensive dummies to practice on. This week, our lab got 5 new dummies that you can program to have different respiratory and heart problems. Then you can listen to their chests and see what that problem actually sounds like. It's pretty cool- and it had better be for the $5000 a pop they cost. This past Thursday in my clinical i had my own patient to take care of by myself for the first time. It was kind of scary. She was an 85 year old woman who had many, many health complications and was pretty much wheelchair bound. i got to do her full health assessment (vitals, neurological, respiratory, etc.), help her get up, get changed and dress, get her dentures in eat, take her blood sugar, and all of that. It sounds kind of like normal things that people do everyday but it was hard because i wasn't sure exactly how dependent she was, and i kept of having to figure out over and over again that she really couldnt do much of anything. It was a really good experience though and she was a very sweet, even-tempered, patient person to work with.
Scott and i had a great time this weekend. We went the the BYU vs UNLV basketball game on saturday night and had a great time. We had to get there way early and stand in line to get BYU vs Utah tickets, but i think it will be worth it! Then yesterday we went up to Sandy to visit his family and stayed overnight. It was really fun to be there with everyone. He has such a great family- they are so nice and easy to get along with. I feel very blessed to have them be part of my life!
We talked about a lot of wedding plans while we were in Sandy. Scott's mom is great to work with- she has a lot of good insight on wedding things since his sister just got married a year or so ago. It looks like Scott has a ton of really good friends and we can't really see cutting any of them out of the wedding party, so i think we are going to have about 7 groomsmen and 4 bridesmaids. They are all really good guys and i think it will fun to have them all there. Mom also just told me that my aunt Amy will be coming out at the time of the wedding! It looks like both sides of the family are making the wedding like a mini reunion for everyone. Im really happy that so many people will be able to make it.
I also found some replacement skirts for my bridesmaids this week. I had ordered the first ones off JCPenny.com and really disliked them when they got here, so i kind of found these other ones on a whim but they are really pretty! Now i just have to get a shirt to go with them... In other wedding news, Scott and i also booked our flights to Cancun, Mexico last night! We are going there for a week for our honeymoon. Im so excited- im sick of the snow and i wish i was in a tropical paradise right now! Actually, id be happy anywhere that has a temperature warmer than 40 degrees.
Anyway, this is getting long. hope all is well!

It's our first post!

2008-02-13T00:12:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone!
We decided to create this blog after i saw Kydon and Shanna's blog. It is so cute! i think these are a good way to check up on people to see how they are doing too. We are busy with wedding plans and i'm SO excited to be getting married! I have been trying to find a photographer for awhile, and Scott told me he has a friend that takes pictures really well. At first i was really against it, but then i saw some of his pictures and i really liked them so he is going to be our photographer!
In other news, school is really busy, but it is going great! i LOVE nursing school so much. The small classes are really nice, and all my professors are really understanding and good teachers. i was really sick last week, and all my teachers emailed me seperately several times expressing their concern. all the girls in the program are really nice too and im getting to be good friends with some of them. Scott is also very busy with school and work but we still get to see each other a lot and we have a lot of fun.
I hope everyone's doing well! More later