This and that

I decided I'd better post some more pics, since it's been a while. Here are some recent pictures of our little boys.

Tanner is 10 weeks old now (crazy!) and is the most smiley little baby! He's such a content little guy, with the cutest little smile. Did I mention that I love the smiley phase? :)

He is starting to really love his bath. I honestly think he tries to make me laugh when he's in the bathtub because he kicks his little feet and splashes all over. Then, when I respond, he coos and smiles like crazy. Then, the whole thing starts over again.

Jason is becoming more accustomed to his little brother...What am I saying, he loves him to death!? Sometimes, he loves him too much, and I fear for little Tanner's life!

Jason's becoming a great little helper. A couple of Sundays ago, we came home from church, and Tanner was crying because he was hungry. I had to change his diaper before I could feed him. So while I was changing him, Jason said, "Oh, Baby T is sad," and walked over to his diaper bag, pulled out his bottle and fed him while I finished changing him. It was really funny, though, because Jason would let Tanner eat for a few seconds, and then say, "See, mommy, he's happy," and pull the bottle out of Tanner's mouth. Tanner would look at him and whimper like he couldn't figure out why Jason was toying with him. It took some convincing on my part that Tanner was still hungry, but Jason would finally put the bottle back into Tanner's mouth and let him eat a few more seconds. It was cute. Jason's a great help with getting me diapers for Tanner, especially since Tanner's diapers have Mickey on them. We still have some occasional issues with jealousy, but at least Jason has stopped saying he wants to take Tanner back to the hospital!

Tanner's been doing a lot of tummy time lately, and is actually really good about it. Don't get me wrong, he does get fussy after a while, but he's pretty content to do baby push-ups for a while and watch Jason run around. He's getting pretty good at holding himself up and can actually hold his head and upper body steady while he looks around for a minute or two. He actually rolled himself over the other day because he got up high enough and lurched his body at just the right time and just the right angle. He was pretty surprised! Jason thought it was hilarious and wanted Tanner to roll over again!

Here's just a few more fun pictures...

Jason hamming it up. He wanted to wear Tanner's baby hat and "skate board" on his diapers! Don't you love kids' imaginations? (P.S. I promise he's not picking his nose in this picture, although I know it looks suspicious!)

Jason "checking on" Tanner. This is where I find Jason half the time...perched up on the side of Tanner's crib. But, I have to know...why is it that he only wants to be in there with the baby while he 's sleeping? I'm not kidding...all I have to do is put the baby in his bed, and Jason will run in and start pulling things out of Tanner's dresser and closet, running around screaming, and throwing toys in the crib. Speaking of...I'd better go....

Pictures of Tanner

It's been almost a month since Tanner was born, and I realized that I haven't put up any pictures of him since Jake posted those taken at his birth. Jake took Jason to the park this morning, so I actually have five minutes to add pictures. Things are going pretty well; I had mastitis last week, which hit me pretty hard, but I was able to get on antibiotics and am feeling much better.

Jason's doing pretty good with Tanner, but we do still have some bouts of shoving the baby, especially when I'm trying to feed him. I think it's been a bit of an adjustment for Jason because the other day, I told him we were going to go to Walmart and that I just needed to get Baby Tanner. He said, "No Baby Tanner...just mommy and Jason." Ugh...that was one of those heart-wrencher moments. We're going to hopefully have some one-on-one time today. I'm really interested in knowing how you with more than one child keep your older one happy while taking care of the younger one! It's harder than it looks!

Not Just a Mom

Well, it's been a little over a week since our little Tanner joined our family. It feels like he was always with us in a way. He's such a cute, sweet little thing, who loves to cuddle up into me. Jason adores him and always wants to hold him, give him toys, and talk to him. (Of course, he does have his moments of random shoves followed promptly with "Sorry Tanner," but I hear that's common and that it will work its way through. Jason also can't stand it when Tanner is sucking on his binkie (which Jason calls his "pinkie") or whenever Tanner is wearing a hat. He's quick to remove either or both whenever they are being used...much to the frustration of his mother!

I need to post some pictures of our little guy, which I'll hopefully get to soon. We've been adjusting pretty well...I definitely think it's been a lot easier to go from one kid to two than it was to go from zero to one. I guess we've just been broken in a little bit now. I actually am recovering physically a lot faster from this delivery than the last one, too. So, while it's still an adjustment, things are actually going well...knock on wood!

My grandma sent me this little article that I thought was so great! I wanted to share it with all of you moms out there. It's really short and worth the read. Go to http://www.wow4u.com/notjustamom/index.html to check it out!

Welcome Tanner Jenson

Tanner Jenson was born at 10:26 PM on November 10, 2008. He had a little bit of trouble breathing at first, but he is only an hour old and he and his mom are doing very well. Tanner weighs 7 pound 3 ounces and is 20 inches long. Here are some pictures, I am sure Emily will give you the detailed version later.

Baby Update

Since I only have about five days until my due date, I just thought I'd post an update for all of you who are wondering how things are going. I am officially due on Monday, although, it looks like the little guy will be late. As my doctor put it, "Women tend to deliver babies in patterns...it's kind of like following a schedule for showing up on time for church. Some are always early, some on time, and some area always late...you're probably just one of those women who will always deliver late. You can make up for it by being early to church" (Just a little OB humor, I guess...don't you just LOVE the sympathy male doctors give you sometimes?! I wish that they had to go through at least one pregnancy as part of their OB rotations. They'd learn more in those 9 months than in 9 years of delivering babies!)

But, since my fluids were getting low with Jason, which was why I was induced with him (two days AFTER my due date, by the way!), the doctor wants me to have a non-stress test on Monday to check my fluid levels. I haven't been having many contractions, but the doctor said I was a little dilated and getting more effaced this week, which is good news, since I wasn't doing anything last week. We'll keep you posted on how things look on Monday!

It's actually probably a good thing that he's going to be a little late because Jake's been sick with a cold for the last two weeks. Jason started getting sick this week, so I took him to the doctor today, and he has the beginnings of ear infections in both ears. So, it'll probably give Jason and Jake a chance to get feeling better before the little guy comes...maybe, in a way, it's a tender mercy from the Lord who knows that I might LOSE it if I had a sick husband and toddler and a newborn!

In the meantime, I'm just trying to get things ready for the baby. I've been stocking up on food and baby supplies, getting dry cleaning done, washing baby laundry, getting Jason's hair cut, getting the carpets cleaned, trying to get the rest of the house clean, and just generally stay busy so I don't have to think about the fact that I'm late! I'm really excited to meet the little guy, though. Thanks to everyone for all of your love, support, help, and prayers...especially to those in my ward. I seriously have the best friends in this ward, who have just selflessly jumped in to offer their love and support, as well as much appreciated help with Jason. Thank you ladies...I really love you all!

Jason Unplugged

Well, I guess he's technically "plugged" since our piano is an electric piano, and we wouldn't make it too far without the plug!

Jake and I were talking and cleaning up the kitchen one night after dinner and not really paying attention to Jason who was kind of milling around like he normally does when while we're trying to clean up. Then, all of a sudden, we noticed he had turned the piano on and was "playing" it singing, "The Bear went Over the Mountain." It was so cute that I had to get it on video, and post it for all of you! (Don't worry, it's really short.) He loved being a little entertainer and wanted us to record him again and again so he could watch himself. Here's our little virtuoso!

Happy Halloween from the Magical World of Jenson

Well, another month has passed since I last posted, and I really should be working, but we just got home from our ward Halloween party, which was a HUGE hit (thanks to Jodi and her crew!!!), and we had so much fun dressing up that I had to share some pictures. (These are pics we took at home, but some pics were also taken at the ward party, which I'll post as soon as we get them!)

A lot of people have asked me where I was able to find the Minnie Mouse costume (which actually fit over my 9-month pregnant stomach amazingly enough!), so I thought I'd just let everyone know how I came across it...

On Saturday, I went to the Disney store to see if the little Mickey costume that Jason is wearing had been marked down, since it was so close to Halloween. I'd seen it earlier in the month, but it was listed for about $30, which was just too rich for my blood...so I was delighted when I went back on Saturday and it was 50 percent off! YESSS! Anyway, the cashier who helped me check out was wearing this cute Minnie dress, and I asked her where she got it, as it looked poofy enough to cover my stomach. I told her I was having a really hard time finding something to wear for Halloween in my pregnant state, and she told me she'd actually worn this dress for Halloween a few years before when she was pregnant (and, she actually gave birth the next day!) She told me I could order the dress on the Disney store website and that it should be here in time for Halloween. Well, I left really excited to place my order online, until I realized that I really didn't need the dress for Halloween, but that I actually needed it for our ward party on Tuesday. So, I felt pretty bummed that I wouldn't get it in time. Then, the boldness in me kicked in, and a few minutes later I found myself on the phone with this cashier asking her if she'd rent it to me for Tuesday night. She said, "Oh sure, I've got lots of costumes that I've lent out to guests before." I offered her a rental price, which she declined, saying that I could just borrow it! I told her I at least needed to give her a cleaning deposit, but she wouldn't let me even do that, as she said that part of the fun of having these costumes was being able to lend them out. I was/am really touched by her generousity to lend her costume, which she actually bought at Disneyland by the way, to a total stranger. It was nice to see that some kindness, trust, and generousity still exist in the world!

(SIDE NOTE: I still can't believe I had the audacity to call and ask her that, because, normally, that is really something I'd NEVER do! But, I guess I'm just feeling festive and sentimental all at the same time this Halloween...I wanted it to be really fun for Jason, which it was, as he got a big kick out of being Mickey and having mommy and daddy be Minnie and Pluto. Also, I thought it would be fun to have one last hurrah before our little family changes again with our new little arrival in a few weeks.)

I must say that Jake was a really good sport to let me dress him up as Pluto. He didn't want to dress up at all, but I told him that all of the little kids would love it and that it would be fun to dress up as a family. I'm not sure how much "fun" it was for him, but he put on a happy face and was a really great Pluto! Thanks a million, sweety! Not every man would do that to make his wife (and son) happy! You're the best!

We also finally carved our pumpkin on Monday night for family night, which is always a good time. Jason wasn't too into the carving, but he had a great time playing with Playdoh while Jake and I took on the pumpkin. Here's some fun ones from that night...

WE HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE HALLOWEEN!!