Merry Christmas!!

 Merry Christmas Everyone!!!  Hope you all had a very good Christmas - We sure did!  I had 2 Christmases!!  We had one with Grandma & Grandpa Louie before they left, and then another one on Christmas Morning after Santa Came!!

 Here's me with my Stocking.  It was stuffed to the brim!!!  I can't believe that Santa got all that in there!!  I got bath toys, bubble bath, silly straws, cars, crayons, and a bunch more stuff!!!  Jayce got a stocking too, it just had teether toys in it, though, nothing cool like I got!  Mommy and Daddy even got some candy and stuff in theirs.  They must have been good too.  

 Here's me opening some of my presents. 

 Some of my favorites are my Thomas Set from Grandma & Grandpa, my Pillow Pet from Unkie Rodgie & Auntie Kathie, and my Trampoline from Santa.  I haven't actually gotten to play on the Trampoline yet, Mommy and Daddy haven't opened it and put it together, but I ask them EVERY DAY!!  I think I heard them say that Santa got mixed up and brought the wrong one, so we are waiting for the other one to come. Jayce got some stuff too.  He got lots of clothes and a toy box and blankets.  Here he is in his new Smartwool Socks.  Mommy says those will keep his feet really warm. 

 Mommy also says I'm supposed to say Thank You to all the people who sent gifts to me and Jayce.  I got lots of books from people!!  It's really good too, since Mommy hasn't taken me to the library in a while.  I still have new books to read at nap time and bedtime!!  

We haven't been doing much since Christmas.  We went to Church a couple times, but mostly I just hang out at home with Mommy and Jayce.  Daddy's been working a lot.  They had a maintenance shut down this week at his work, so he's been putting in a bunch of overtime on his days off.  And when he's not at work he's still trying to fix our Computer.  It's almost done.  He should be able to get it up and running to use by tonight (at least that what Mommy hopes!!)  Guess Daddy should have paid the extra money to the company that put the computer together for you - cuz it's been a pain in the butt to get going!!  

Not much else going on.  I don't think we are going to stay up for the New Year.  Daddy has to work the next morning to get the production lines back up and running, so staying up until midnight isn't a good idea for him.  And Mommy gets such little sleep as it is, and I don't think I could stay awake that long.  Mommy thought maybe we could stay up until 10 and Celebrate it with Indiana on Indiana time.  I think that's a better idea.  I just don't know if we can find the New York ball drop on TV since we are on Colorado time.  We'll see.  Oh, and we are FINALLY supposed to get some snow Tomorrow!!!  It's been so long since we had ANY precipitation, things are so dry out here.  But tomorrow it looks like we could get at least a couple inches.  Daddy was hoping for a blizzard like New York and everybody on the East Coast got, but I don't think we will get that lucky.  I just want to be able to put on my boots and play outside in it!! 

Well, Have a good New Years everyone!!  We'll See you Next Year!!  hahaha

Happy Birthday Jayce!!

Well, now that we are home a little settled I thought I would tell you all about Jayce's Birthday and how we've been doing since. 

Early last Tuesday morning, just after Cam left for work (that makes it before 5 am), I felt like I was leaking fluids.  I wasn't sure (since I was induced with Riley and don't remember much about my water breaking other than the intense pain that soon followed!!), but I couldn't fall back asleep so I just sat in bed thinking, trying to decide what to do next.  Well, as if God knew what I was thinking (and he does of course!!), about 20 to 6 my water broke - I WAS SURE THIS TIME!!!  So I called Cameron at work and he came right home.  We packed everything up, woke up Riley and took him to our neighbor's house and headed for the hospital.  We arrived a little after 7 am, but my contractions weren't anything to speak of so they ordered me to walk.  And so I walked. . . and walked . . . and walked . . . and walked some more!!!  My doula Cj walked with me; we also tried a birthing ball and some massage.  But by noon I was only at 2 cm.  So I got into the jacuzzi tub (Fabulous invention - my next bathroom WILL have one of these!!) and they hooked me up to pitocin.  Since my water broke they needed to speed things up because of the concern for infection.  After an hour in the jacuzzi tub I got out and was starting to feel the effects of the pitocin. 

By 4 o'clock the contractions were intense enough I was ready for an epidural.  Cj was helping me to breathe through them, and the Doctors and Nurses said I did a great job lasting as long as I did.  I credit Cj.  By the time the anesthesiologist was doing the epidural, the contractions were so intense I couldn't even feel what he was doing.  They said that's when you know you got the timing right!  We did have some issues with getting the medication right and the next half hour or so was still pretty painful.  The doctor checked me again around 5 and I was already at 7 cm!!!  Woo-Hoo - Jayce was on his way!!!

It was this time that Cameron started prepping for his job as photographer . . . except for one problem:  He couldn't find the camera!!  In all the hustle and bustle that morning he had left the camera bag (and the diaper bag we later discovered) sitting in the living room!  While I panicked, Cam tried to figure out what to do!  Again, my fabulous doula Cj to the rescue!!!  She drove all the way to our house (25-30 min drive each way) to get the camera, so that Cam could stay (just in case!) 

Just after 6:00 the doctor checked me again and I was at 10 and Jayce was ready to come out!!  But I was determined to make him wait for that camera!!  It wasn't easy, but we held off until about 6:20 to start prepping everything and I knew that Cj was on her way up the elevator!!  Cameron got the camera about 30 seconds before I started pushing and Jayce was here about 20 minutes later!!  Phew!!!  It was a whirlwind!! 

They wanted to hold off on giving him a bath because his temperature was a little lower than they liked, around 97 degrees.  They gave him to me to do Skin-to-Skin and try to warm him up, but after an hour of it not working we determined that the problem was because MY temperature was low!!  They put him under the warmer and everything was fine!  He held that temperature just perfectly!  I was finally able to eat something, and we were in the post-delivery room by 10:30.  It was a crazy day!! 

Jayce is absolutely perfect, just like his brother!!  And he looks a lot like his brother too!  He doesn't have as much hair as Riley had, but still a full head of it!  I wanted to post some comparative photos, but we are still dealing with computer issues and I don't have access to Riley's pictures right now.  But you can see the pictures from Jayce's birth, and the following couple days at the hospital in the Kodak album posted at the right. 

We came home Thursday afternoon, and my wonderful neighbor had made dinner for us!  So once again we didn't have to cook!  Grandma & Grandpa Louie arrived Friday afternoon, and have been loving every minute of time spent with Riley and Jayce!  It's been nice and relaxing (other than some last minute Christmas gift details we are working on) and we are looking forward to the next few days at home!  Because Cameron got all last week off, he has to go back to work tomorrow, but only through Thursday since he gets Christmas Eve off already!  Grandma and Grandpa will be here til Thursday too, so there's lots more family time ahead.  Next post will probably be about our wonderful Christmas as a new family, so for now enjoy the pictures of Jayce's birthday!!  Have a Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Jayce Moway Louie

Happy Birthday Jayce!!!  We welcomed Jayce into the world yesterday, 12-14, at 6:43 pm.  He weighed in at 7 lbs 5 oz, and 20 inches long, just a smidge bigger than Riley when he was born.  Both Mommy and Jayce are doing great, and we'll be home tomorrow afternoon, just in time for Grandma & Grandpa to get here on Friday!!  Pictures still to come...

Friday's the day!!!

Hi Everyone!!  I hope all of you in Indy are staying warm and cozy during your snow storm!  Here in Colorado we are very jealous!!!  We have had little to no snow so far this year, and with none in the immediate forecast our dreams of a white Christmas are slowly disappearing.  The temperature was a balmy 62 at 2:30 today, and add the wonderful Colorado sun on top of it and it was almost like late September or April here rather than Middle of December! 

Well, a lot to update you on from this week!  Last Thursday I went to the Doctor and made some arrangements for Jayce’s birthday!  As of then, I was one and a half cm dilated, (I know it’s not much, but since I was at 0 when I was induced a week after my due date with Riley this is a BIG Deal!!) and almost 60% effaced.  According to my Dr. I “could go at anytime!!”  And I think that’s the only reason she let me schedule my induction date, because she doesn’t think I’ll make it that far!!  Well, it’s now Monday night and other than the few contractions I get around dinner time every evening . . . Nothing yet!!!  I’m scheduled to be induced on Friday Morning (if nothing happens before then), and so it’s nice to have a light at the end of the tunnel!  Cam’s parents come into town that day, so by inducing as early as possible they will get to spend even more time with their new grandson!  We are very grateful that they are coming to visit, and help out with Riley during this time!  I have so many wonderful friends offering to watch him if needed (and one exceptional one who I will be taking advantage of that morning!!) but it’s great to let him spend so much one-on-one time with his grandparents too! 

We also have a lot to tell you about what we've been up to lately!  I've been trying to "document" to the greatest extent I can our "Month of December" for a scrapbook.  We had a lady come and talk at MOPS about doing a "Day in the life" scrapbook to savor your life's moments at this point in time.  I was intrigued by this and did some more research and found someone who does a "Month in the life", and she suggests doing December because of so many holiday traditions that happen during this time.  I thought it was a great idea, and what better December to document that one that is occurring with so many changes to our family!  The idea is to journal and take pictures everyday, or almost everyday and just record daily life.  If you don't have anything for that day you can fill in with other topics like the story behind a favorite ornament or tradition.  I've done pretty well so far at keeping track of everything we've done, and have taken a bunch of pictures, so I'd love to share some of them with you. 

Cuties are in Season (both the oranges and this little man!!)

Time for Haircuts . . .

Riley decided he wanted to try too!!

At the Indoor Bounce Place with Greg

IHOP Brunch with Daddy

First Trip to a Movie Theater - to see the new Narnia

Last week was quite entertaining!!  After just giving the boys haircuts earlier in the week I spent an entire naptime on Wed wrapping presents.  Not thinking to much of it I left all the wrapping materials on the living room floor (there were still a few straggling gifts to wrap tomorrow).  Thursday morning I got in the shower while Riley was eating breakfast and watching PBS cartoons.  I got out and got dressed, and then got him dressed I noticed his hair looked a little funny in front, like it was sticking up from sleeping on it wrong.  Then I touched it, to attempt to flatten it, and noticed that it was fuzzy and short, not sticking up.  He had CUT HIS HAIR while I was in the shower!!  I didn't know whether to laugh or cry!!  I had just given him a haircut, so I couldn't "even it out any" without completely shaving him!  So that should make for some interesting pictures this holiday season, and when his brother is born!! 

Then on Friday we went to an indoor bounce place with our great neighbor friends.  Greg and Riley had a BLAST!!!  They ran, jumped, and slid for over 3 hours straight!!  And Lacey and I always enjoy chatting while the boys play!  Everyone was getting cabin fever with the colder temps and this was exactly what we all needed!!  We are definitely going to be doing this more often!  Saturday was My Day!  It was a GREAT DAY!!  I wanted to see the new Narnia movie before Jayce was born, and so we decided to take Riley to his first movie in the theater.  We went to IHOP for "brunch" since it was a 11:55 movie, and then got some snacks at the theater.  Riley did great!!  It wasn't a cartoon movie, so it didn't hold his entire attention, but once the dragon showed up, he was captured!!  The movie was great too!!  I especially like the part with Lucy and Aslan towards the end, but it's been so long since I've read the books I don't remember that being in there.  Guess I'll have to re-read them all again when I finally get some time!  After the movie I was able to get one last massage with my doula CJ.  It was so nice and relaxing!!  Much needed indeed!! 

Yesterday I had a dinner and gift exchange with my MOPS Steering team, and today was our last MOPS meeting of the year.  It's so nice to have other moms to connect with and relate to during this time!  And the support is so wonderful!  One of my Fabulous MOPS friends brought us dinner tonight, knowing that this week would be stressful for me, cleaning and waiting, and doing any last minute prep work.  I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful group of friends that would drop anything to help out another! 

So now the waiting game starts!!  (as if it hasn't already)  ;)  I will update again after Jayce arrives, to tell you he's here as soon as I can (thanks to our fabulous new smartphones!!!), but will probably hold off on the details and a longer post until we've been home and settled for a few days.  Have a good week everyone, and feel free to send any snow our way!! 

Oh Christmas Trees

What a week we have had!!  You won’t believe all that we’ve done!!  Well, I’ll start with after Thanksgiving.  Daddy spent most of the weekend working on Computer stuff.  We have needed a new computer for a while now, and since we can finally afford it now, that’s our #1 priority.  So Daddy got some really good deals on parts to build one (yes, my genius Daddy can build a computer!!) on Black Friday.  Mommy and Daddy say that the new computer is their Christmas present to each other, that way they save even more money on it.  And I heard that Daddy’s gonna wipe the old computer and give it to me just for games and stuff – isn’t that COOL!!! 

On Wednesday, Mommy’s church lit up their Christmas Tree.  It’s a Night Lights Tree – meaning every light bulb on the tree represents someone who has sponsored an abused child in our community to help give them a better life.  Isn’t that Cool!!  There are a bunch of lights on it this year – way more than last year!!  Anyways, we went to watch them light it up.  It was a lot of fun!!  Mommy and Daddy said that maybe one year we can watch something like it in Indy, since it’s a lot bigger than this one – I would like to see that, cuz this one’s pretty big if you ask me!!  It’s almost as tall as the Church Steeple!! 

Then on Friday Mommy and I went to church again, but this time for MOPS.  I know what you’re thinking – MOPS on a Friday Night???  Yep, MOPS hosted a Parent’s Night Out – Babysitting and Gift Wrapping for parents who wanted to go out.  Mommy did the Craft for all the kids, so we got to make really neat Santa Cards with our Handprints!!  Mommy hasn’t gotten a picture of mine yet, so you’ll have to wait to see it. 

Saturday we did accomplished our annual tradition of chopping down our Christmas tree from the forest.  Mommy was scared we wouldn’t be able to do it this year with Jayce being in her tummy, but we did it!!  We packed a lunch, drove up to the site near Red Feather Lakes and ate.  Then Mommy and I hung out at the car for a little while Daddy went Tree Scouting.  He got lucky and found a nice one really close to the car, so Mommy decided she would hike out to take some pictures.  We hiked out, and got to our tree in no time - Good Find Daddy!!

 

 Daddy did a good job of chopping it down.  It was a really tall tree, and Mommy wanted to leave as much on it as we could so that it wouldn't loose it's pretty shape.  So Daddy drug it back to the Jeep and we strapped it on, after figuring out that it was over 13 ft. tall!!  But Mommy still didn't want to chop any more off. 

 Then we got it home (after stopping at Walmart to get Twilight Eclipse DVD for Mommy), and Mommy still wouldn't let Daddy cut any off of it.  She Really Liked This Tree!!!  Crazy Mommy!!  So we finally got it in the house (after a lot of furniture moving and tugging and pulling), put it in our tree stand (which is only rated to hold a 10 foot tree) and The thing did NOT fit!!!  Duh Mommy!!  So Daddy finally convinced Mommy to let him cut some off, the only problem . . . it was already in the living room!  And yes, that's where Daddy Cut it!!  He took the lid of a big plastic bin to catch all the sawdust and chopped another foot and a half of the thing!  (that's as far as Mommy would let him go!!)  But we did it - we got the tree standing and secured in the stand - thankfully it's a skinny tree, otherwise I don't think our tiny stand would hold it!  But it definitely took some stretching to get it decorated!! 

 Not too mention we bought LED lights for our tree this year (but only two strands) and they only covered the top half of the tree, so we had to put on our old mini-lights on the bottom until we can get more LEDs (that's why it looks like there aren't any on the bottom!!)  Mommy let me put the first ornament on the tree, and I helped her decorate it!!  I'm not very good at hanging the ornaments, but Mommy was patient and helped me, mostly!!  Then she and Daddy watched her weirdo vampire movie!

On Sunday Mommy's friend Laurel came over and played with me while Mommy and Daddy went out.  They did some Christmas shopping (and said I couldn't go with them) and went to dinner and a movie.  It was the first Date they've had in a LOOOOOONG time, and Mommy said it was so wonderful!!  They had really good Chinese food (Chili House - their favorite!) and went to see the new Harry Potter Movie.  I wanted to go see that too, but Mommy says I have to wait until I'm older to see this one - it's really scary!!  I've only seen the first couple that they play on TV all the time.  Mommy wants to go see more movies before Jayce comes, but she doesn't know if she'll be able too.  This weekend the new Chronicles of Narnia comes out, and next weekend is the Yogi Bear Movie.  I wanna see those too!!  Maybe they will take me to see them!  

Well, not much else planned right now.  Just waiting for Jayce to come!  Mommy has an appointment on Thursday, so we'll know more about how close she's getting then.  Then Next weekend Grandma & Grandpa Louie come out to visit!!  I'm excited!!  Mommy thinks that Jayce is going to be a "hold-out" like I was, although I know she's secretly hoping not!!  But if he is, then her Doctor will induce her when Grandma & Grandpa are here.  That way they can stay with me, and see Jayce before they leave, and Mommy can bring him home before Christmas!!  YAY!!!  So I'll update you all later after More happens - what a busy Month we have!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!!  I did!! It was so yummy - well, the turkey was!!  Mommy made a bunch of other food that I don't like, and she even made me eat some of it!  YUCK!!  But oh well, the turkey was yummy, and the rolls.  As usual, Daddy made the turkey and Mommy made everything else.  We tried a new recipe on the turkey, and I think we found a keeper!!  Daddy said it was easy, and it was definitely yummy!!  Here's our turkey all finished:

Mommy made everything else.  We had the usual green bean casserole (yuck) and a new dish with stuffing and sweet potatoes together (double yuck), good ol' cresent rolls, and apple and pumpkin pie.  Mommy always makes a pumpkin pie (cuz she says it's not Thanksgiving without it!) but Daddy's not a big fan and always wants apple.  So this year Mommy caved and made Daddy an apple pie.  But she just couldn't do without her pumpkin one though and bought one just for her!!

We ate our Turkey Dinner for a late lunch this year and had a big breakfast to hold us off til it was ready.  Mommy made breakfast casserole (usually reserved for Christmas Morning), and we watched the parade while everything cooked.  I liked the parade!!  The balloons were really cool!!  Then we watched the dog show, and were a little disappointed that we couldn't see the greyhound or the Irish wolfhound.  Then we ate, and then passed out!!  We were all exhausted (well, except me)!!  Daddy says I fell asleep on the couch before it was 8:00, but I'll believe it when I see it!!  Oh . . .

Anyways, It was a fun day spending it with Mommy and Daddy.  Poor Daddy had to get up and go into work this morning though.  Thankfully it was just a short trip.  They closed down the production lines yesterday so that everyone could have the day off, so he had to go in this morning for a few hours to get everything up and running again.  The good news: apparently he makes a LOT of money for the days he has to do that!!  And it looks like he'll be doing it again around Christmas because of some maintenance down time too.  But he's home already, so he was really only gone for breakfast - guess that's the up side of going to work at 5 am!!

Well, we aren't doing much this week.  Mommy's next Dr. appointment isn't until Thursday.  But I did hear a rumor that Mommy is thinking about taking me to the Bounce place in the next couple weeks!!!  I certainly hope so!!  I'm so bored now that it's too cold to play outside!!  I wonder if we can ask Greg to go too?!?!?  Talk to ya all later - have a good holiday weekend!!

New Chair!

 Merry Early Christmas To ME!!!  (and Jayce too, I guess!)  Cam was very generous with his first paycheck, and allowed me to get a new Rocker/Glider for the nursery!!  The one we had was just a cheap one that we got to "make do" with Riley, and it has seen better days.  It's not completely trashed, but it definitely needs a new seat cushion BAD!!!  So our thought is it will become the "play rocker" for when we get the play room finished (hopefully next year), and this will be our Nice Rocker!  The best part is it's La-Z-Boy, so it will Last, and last, and last - we hope!!  It will be used for kiddos, then eventually as an add on in the living room.  So we will definitely get our money's worth out of it - which thankfully wasn't much - gotta love clearance sales!! 

And as you can see, the room has one more addition too!  Last night we took Riley to Build-a-Bear Workshop and made a Monkey-shaped "Bear" for Jayce.  He was so cute.  He loved watching it get stuffed, and really loved the Heart Ceremony that they do to give your "Bear" a heart.  The only problem was convincing him that it was Baby Jayce's Monkey and not his!!  We got home and showed him His Teddy Bear Fozzy that Mommy and Daddy made for him before he was born, and then made a big deal about putting the monkey in Jayce's bed and Fozzy in His.  Let's hope it worked!!  Cam wanted to name the Monkey King Louie (yes, like in Jungle Book), so all we need now is a bear named Baloo and a cat named Bagheera (although Daddy would prefer a bengal cat named Shere Khan) to go with Mowgli and King Louie!! 

 And lastly, I thought I would add the latest picture of me and Jayce.  I'm now 35 weeks, and no more major contractions!!  I still get at least one or two every day, but that's all, so I'm not really concerned at this point.  My next doctor's appointment is Wednesday so I will probably discuss everything then with my doctor and see if anything is going to change.  Just a couple more weeks until I'm considered "Full Term", so then Jayce can make his appearance anytime he wants!!  (and the sooner the better - if you ask me!!)  He seems to be sitting so much further out in front than Riley ever was, and so it's really taking it's toll on my back.  Not to mention the 35 lbs. 3 1/2 year old who doesn't realize that Mommy can't pick him up right now!!

Other than that things are going good around here!!  Our house is pretty much a disaster - since I've been trying to take it easy and not do too much or get overstressed, but Cam's been really great about picking up the slack on making dinners, doing dishes, and helping out with Riley.  He is still really liking his new job - and liking it more and more the deeper he dives into his responsibilities.  It sounds like he's really getting along with his co-workers too - they seem to have a lot in common, which I'm still trying to decide if that's a good thing!!  ;)  lol  We hope that things will work out nicely with Jayce being born around Christmas so that he can get some time off work, since his vacation days don't kick in until next year.  He's been talking with his boss, and as long as Jayce is cooperative (hahaha) then he should be able to trade the days he already gets off for Christmas for earlier and then work the week after Christmas a little more than originally expected (which would be ideal since they shut down that week for maintenance and Cam wants to be there anyways to learn more in the process).  So, not much else going on here.  Just hanging out until Thanksgiving!!  Guess it's really sneaking up on us - we  better go get our turkey!! 

First Snow!!!

It SNOWED!!!!  I was so excited yesterday to wake up and see snow!!  I was a good boy yesterday morning and went to wake up Mommy instead of sneaking downstairs and getting into stuff I'm not supposed to, and Mommy told me to look out the window!  I spent the whole time Mommy was waking up looking out the window and watching it snow!! 

So I drug Mommy outside and we played in the snow!  It was so much fun!!  Mommy showed me how to shovel the driveway so I can help Daddy this winter.  I thought it was more fun to shovel the snow on the grass and put it on the driveway, but Mommy said I was doing it backwards. 

Then we went in the backyard and let the doggies run around . . . well, let Mowgli run around - Piper's not much of a snow dog!!  And Mommy helped me make a Snowman!!!  Actually Mommy did most of it, but I made the balls to start with so she could roll them.  We had to make it a couple times, cuz it kept falling apart or falling over.  Finally we got it standing with a face and hat.  Mommy hurried to take some pictures!!! 

Then Greg was playing outside too, so we went over to play with him and Lacey and Jaxon.  We tried to make another snowman, but mostly we just played with Callie and ate snow!!  Then we went inside to warm up and play some more.

When we came home I was bugging Mommy about some Hot Chocolate so she made some, and it was YUMMY!!!  Mommy found a recipe to make her own Hot Cocoa Mix, and since we drank almost the whole first batch already we made some more.

That way Daddy could have some too when he came home for lunch.  Yep - Daddy came home for lunch yesterday!!  Isn't that cool that Daddy works so close he can come home if he wants too!!  Then he can have a hot lunch and hang out with us if he wants!!  Also, last night we went and did some shopping.  Daddy made Mommy a promise a while ago that she could get something special if he got a good paying job, and since he did we went and got the something special!!  Daddy's going to pick it up today, so I won't ruin the surprise - I'll let Mommy tell you about it when it comes and she can get pictures.  She's so excited!!  And so Thankful to Daddy!!  Speaking of thanks - Turkey Day is Coming!!!  Mommy made a Thankful Turkey for us.  She'll have to take a picture to show you.  It was a MOPS Craft.  It's a turkey with a lot of Paper Feathers for the tail.  Each day we take a feather and write something we are thankful for on the feather then stick it in his tail.  Then when we sit down for Thanksgiving dinner we can read off all the things we have been thankful for this month!!  Mommy's so smart!!  I'm thankful for her and Daddy!!  So have a Happy Turkey Day everyone and Watch for an update on Mommy's Surprise!!

Another Scary Night

Well, it just wouldn't be a pregnancy without some sort of pre-term labor issues for me!  Last night Cameron and I spent most of the night in the hospital trying to make sure that Jayce wasn't going to arrive 6 1/2 weeks early.  I started feeling contractions late in the afternoon yesterday, and by 5 o'clock they were coming about 5 minutes apart.  Since we are still working through some insurance logistics I wanted to avoid a trip to the hospital as much as possible - especially since I had just had a Doctors appointment earlier that day and everything was normal!  So I laid down, tried to relax, drank lots of water - but by 6 o'clock they were still 5 minutes apart, and every 3rd or 4th one was coming at 3 1/2 minutes.  So I called the on-call nurse for my Dr.'s office, and she said since I'm still pre-term any having that many contractions it's time to go to the hospital. 

Thankfully, Lacey was generous enough to let Riley have a "last-minute sleepover" with Greg last night!!  We packed a bag for him, pulled dinner out of the oven to sit and wait for us to return and headed out!  By the time I was hooked up to monitors in my room, it was about 7:30 and the contractions were about 2 1/2 -4 minutes apart.  They gave me a shot to stop the contractions about 8 o'clock, but those medications only last for about 30 minutes max.  The nurse told me they would make my heart race, and did they ever!!!  For those thirty minutes I thought I was going insane!!!  My arms wanted to shoot off my body and do a dance all of their own!!  And of course, once they started wearing off I got a horrible headache!  But they did their job, and stopped the contractions.  The Doctor continued to run a couple tests to see the likelihood of me delivering within the next two weeks.  When all those tests came back normal (or negative) they released me from the hospital.  It was about midnight before we were back home in our own bed. 

Riley stayed all night at Greg's house - there was no point in waking him and Greg's parents in the middle of the night.  And I've only had a few contractions today, nothing major to cause concerns.  Cameron was quite the trooper last night!  Staying with me, and trying to sleep in the most akwardly uncomfortable chair I've ever seen, then getting up at 4 am as usual to go to work this morning!!  I really blessed with a great family and group of friends!  So hopefully everything will return to normal and this little guy will stay snug for another couple weeks. 

In happier news!  Riley finished his swim lessons today!!  (yes, we went - but I just lounged in the pool with the jets - I have learned what back labor is, and it's not fun!!! - and the teacher was wonderful to work with Riley so he could finish everything!)  He got a certificate of completion, and had a blast!!  It's so great to see how much he has improved in the last 4 weeks, from being completely terrified and clinging to me like an octopus to laughing and playing and swimming like the rest of the class today!  There were no tears, or even screams today!!  I hope this helps him in the future, and he doesn't regress between now and the next time we get in a pool.  But he's at the age he can start the Pre-school class now, (which is Mommy free) so maybe we'll do that in the spring to keep him conditioned!!  Well, that's all for now!  We have absolutely nothing planned for the next couple weeks except for a few small things (Like a Massage for me - YAY!!!) and a birthday party next weekend.  So things will relax a little around here.  And we are all praying that Jayce stays comfortable until at least Thanksgiving!!  Have a good weekend everyone!

Happy Halloween!!!

Hi Everybody!  I hope you all had a happy and safe Halloween this year!!  I had a Blast!!!  Wanna hear what all I've been up to the last couple weeks?  Ok - let's see, Daddy started his new job, so Mommy and I have been spending lots of time together!  We've been going to swimming lessons (which I've learned isn't so bad after all - except for the going underwater part that Mommy makes me do!), and the library, and grocery, and painting!!  I miss hanging out with Daddy, but Mommy and I have a lot of fun too - and Daddy's usually home by the time I wake up from my nap which is really nice!  Daddy seems to like his new job a lot!  He has a lot of responsibilities, and has to get up really early, but it sounds like the people he works with are really nice, and the insurance and other benefits are so great!!  Which is good, because those were the worst things about his last Job! 

We went shopping last week to get Daddy some new work clothes, and Mommy got something for Jayce (and part of my Halloween outfit).  This outfit is for him to come home from the hospital in, and for Christmas too.  Isn't it really cute - it has a reindeer on the butt!!! 

Oh yeah, and Mommy FINALLY finished Jayce's room.  She's still adding a few 'accent' things, like a night light and name picture like in my room, but all the major painting and moving of stuff is done. 

And Last Weekend we went up in the mountains to play in the snow!!  Mommy wanted to take some pictures for Christmas cards (yes, I TRIED to tell her it was a little early!!!), but I had fun just making footprints!  It was snowing really hard up at Cameron Pass (up the Poudre Canyon) and they had almost a foot of fresh powder!  

This weekend was SUPER busy!!  Yesterday I helped Mommy plant some bulbs and bake all day!!  She coordinated the Bake Sale at church this morning to raise money for MOPS, and so I helped her make Owl Cookies (my favorite fall cookie!!) to sell.  Thankfully, she made some extra for me and Daddy too!! They were Yummy!! 

Then last night Daddy and I carved my pumpkin - yes, a little last minute!  We only got one pumpkin this year to save money, and a couple gourds for Mommy and Daddy, so we only had one pumpkin to carve.  Daddy helped me, well, ok, did almost the whole thing.  I didn't like the goopy insides.  Mommy made me touch them for a picture, but they were yucky!!  I immediately washed my hands!! 

Then today Mommy left me at home with Daddy when she went to church so she could work the bake sale all morning!  They made a lot of money for MOPS, and Mommy brought home some of the leftovers - YUMMY!!!  And tonight was my FAVORITE PART!!!  TRICK OR TREATING!!! 

 Here's me in my Mickey Mouse Costume.  Mommy put me in pants instead of shorts (partly cuz she had a hard time finding red shorts this time of year) so that I'd be warmer too.  It was a warm night though, so I didn't even have to wear a coat.  Daddy took me out, and Mommy stayed home to pass out candy.  We went all the way around our block, over to Trevor's house and back again.  I got almost my whole pumpkin full of candy!!!  But Mommy and Daddy only let me have a few pieces tonight.  I hope they leave it out again like last time so I can eat it all in the morning!!!  hehehe  but probably not! 

Well, that's all that's been going on here.  We have one more week of swimming lessons, and Mommy goes to the Doctor again this week.  Then after that we are relaxing until Thanksgiving!! 

Swim Lessons - Yuck!!! Candy - YUM!!!

Hey everyone!!  Hope you are having a good weekend!!  This week I started Swim Lessons with Mommy.  It's a Mommy & Me class, meaning Mommy helps me the whole time.  I HATE IT!!!  I like it better when we just go and play at the baby pool, where it's only comes up to my knees and I can just play.  Mommy and Teacher make me go in deep parts where Mommy has to hold me.  I don't like that, cuz then I can't do what I want.  They also make me do stuff like make swim arms and kick my feet.  Mommy keeps trying to dunk me under water too, and I REALLY don't like that!!!  I think the only part I like is when we get to play with toys.  Mommy says I'm supposed to throw my toy and "Swim" to it, but why would I throw it when it's already in my hand and I can play with it!!  Duh!!  Oh and I like Jumping off the edge into Mommy's arms (even though I cheat a little and make Mommy hold me before I jump!!)  Mommy said I did better on day 2 than day 1, and I guess I was nicer about it, not screaming in Mommy's ear as much.  But I only have to do it for 6 more days!!!  Yippee!!!  I just hope that Mommy doesn't get the idea of doing this again next year!! 

Yesterday we went to CSU's Homecoming Parade!  It was so much fun!!  I got to see firetrucks, and floats, and cars, and get CANDY!!!  The Rangers that Mommy used to work with were in it (Mommy was sad she couldn't be with them this year) and so I got to see the new Ranger Truck and Steve's Horse - she's pretty!

  And Colby gave me candy!!  I didn't get a whole lot, but what I did get I polished off this morning before Mommy and Daddy got up!!  hehehe - I thought for sure they would hide it after I went to bed last night, but when I woke up, there it was still in the bag laying on the floor where I left it last night!!  So I ate it all before Mommy and Daddy could take it and hide it!!  Aren't I smart!!

Here's a picture of Jayce's Room.  Mommy finished the second wall.  Now she just has one left to do.  It's the wall by the closet - she's just doing three Monkeys hanging (like in the game Barrel of Monkeys).  Then she's all done!!  I bet she'll be happy to be all done!! 

Oh, I almost forgot the MOST EXCITING NEWS!!!  DADDY GOT A JOB!!!!  It pays really well, and sounds like the insurance is really good too (whatever that is - Mommy and Daddy were excited about it!)  But best of all Daddy will get off work at 3 everyday!! That means he gets to hang out with me more!!  I guess that means he has to get up really early though.  Mommy says it's even earlier than she had to get up this summer!!  I hope he's not too tired to play with me when he gets home.  Anyways, I think he's gonna start this week sometime.  And one more thing to tell you about.  Mommy wants me to tell you that she has a Doula now to help out when Jayce is born.  Mommy's friends with my Friend Ashlynn's Mommy, and Ashlynn's Grandma is a Massage Therapist (I don't know what that is, but Mommy was excited) who's training to be a Doula.  She's already taken a bunch of classes on prenatal massage, and is learning other techniques for helping Mommies in labor.  But before she can be certified as a Doula she has to be at 3 births, and so Mommy and Daddy are let her be at Jayce's birth to help her out.  I guess she's going to give Mommy some massages too, which Mommy is SUPER Excited about - and all this is FREE, since she's not certified yet!  Mommy was a little worried about having someone other than Daddy and Doctors there, she said I couldn't come, but after meeting the lady and learning how much help she can be, (not to mention Mommy likes to help people out too) she realized that this can't hurt any, and it's Free, so Why Not!! 

Well, that's about it for this week.  I still don't have my Halloween Costume finished, so I'll have to bug Mommy about that this week so I can show you.  Have a good rest of the weekend everyone!!