Baby Blessing and other things

So, it's been a little while since we've posted, but we wanted to make sure and write about Jared's big, special day. On December 4, Jared had his baby blessing. It was very special and very sweet and Jared was a very good boy. He was calm and quiet for the whole blessing, except for a little fussing at the beginning. It was a beautiful blessing and then Ryan held Jared up for the congregation. Then, I stood to be recognized as the mother. Ryan was pretty clever and  brought his MP3 player and kept it in his jacket pocket so we could record the blessing so Jared could hear it himself someday. But, once we got home he was kind of struggling to get it off the MP3. The file got corrupted somehow. It was pretty lame, so we're still working on recovering it.

We want to thank everyone for coming. It was a lot of fun! Thanks for the support!

Payback for the Poor Blood Draw

So, this is just a note about the blood draw previously mentioned. We got a letter in the mail the other day from the organization behind the study. In the letter they apologized again for the poor service we received and included a 25 dollar gift card.... hahah, we were both pretty surprised at it, but also grateful for their efforts to make up for Jared's discomfort. (to clarify though, we wouldn't not subject him to it again for another 25 bucks, it's just nice to be recompensed for what he already went through)

Ryan's Fluids Video

So, for one of my classes we had to do a group project as one of our labs. I really enjoy making videos and convinced my three friends that we should do one. I definitely put in the extra effort to pull it off, considering I convinced them, it was only fair. We decided to mimic Bill Nye the Science Guy and talk about fluids (that is the class it is for).

I think it turned out pretty well, hopefully not all of the jokes are too inside for other people.

Jared's New Words :)

Jared is expanding his vocabulary and it's been very fun to hear and see, so I thought I'd share. We've had some fun conversations with him. This video's a little choppy because Ryan helped me take out the parts where I'm just talking to Jared, so it'd be a shorter, more enjoyable video.

2 Month Check-up

Last Wednesday we took Jared in for his 2 month check up. When we first got back into a room the medical assistant measured and weighed him. Before we had come to the doctor's office, Ryan and I both made our guesses as to how much he'd weigh. I guessed about twelve pounds. Ryan guessed about 13 and a half, and thought he might be being a little generous. Well, he turned out to be 14 lbs and 11 oz (95 percentile). We were both kind of blown away. He was also 24 in long (75 percentile).

The doctor, Dr. Zollo, said he was looking really healthy and that he's meeting all his mile stones. We then went on to the fun part: the shots. First, a nurse, the research nurse, came in to tell us about a study that their office is participating in along with any patients who are willing. It was study for a vaccine that they're trying to get approved that combines pertussis, tetnus, diptheria, influenza, Hep B, and polio all in to one vaccine, so that at two months old a baby would only need to get two shots, instead of three. We figured we could participate, so we did all the paper work.

Then, the nurse came back to draw Jared's blood. They had to take a blood sample before and after the vaccine was to be administered in order to prove it's effectiveness. She gave Jared some topical lidocaine cream and some heating packs for each arm. This was the part Ryan and I weren't too sure about; but we knew Jared was tough, so we went ahead with it. Well, that turned out to be something we both really regretted. The nurse dug around in both of Jared's arms 'til they turned purple. I had a hard time watching because I knew she was doing an awful job; I used to draw blood all the time and I know digging around never works it only hurts. Ryan had a hard time watching because it was making him sick. After trying the second arm with no luck she decided she'd take a look at his had. That's when I told her that's probably enough.

Ryan held Jared and comforted him, while we waited for a medical assistant to come in and give Jared his shots. I was trying to calm down and blow out a bit of steam. By that time he was pretty pooped out from the attempted blood draws, so he went right to asleep in Ryan's arms. When the medical assistant came in, it was like nothing, after what he'd already been through, to have her give him his three shots. He went right back to sleep after that and stayed asleep throughout most of the rest of the day.

Here's a video from later on in the day when Jared was feeling a little better, though he was still pretty sore for that day and the next. But, he's such a champ! We're very proud of him!

P.S. Jared seemed especially happy to see Dr. Zollo, and then we realized that he looks an awfully lot like Grandpa Mark. :)

A Few of My Favorite Things

So Jared has some little habits and what I've started calling "tendencies" that are very cute and he has some things that he seems to enjoy. It's fun to watch his little personality grow. One thing he loves, probably more than anything, is staring at our picture above the couch in the living room. He stares at it every chance he gets. It's a picture of the Savior walking with his 12 apostles. I guess it has really good contrast so he likes to look at it.

Without Purse or Scrip

One of his tendencies is that he likes to make his right hand into a fist and stick in through the bars on the side of the changing table while I'm changing him. He'll do it almost every single time like it's really fun for him or something. I think it's so funny!

He loves to have his gums scrubbed every morning and night. He likes to suck on the baby wash cloth while I'm scrubbing his tongue and then gives me a big smile as I wiping his mouth off when we're done. He's starting to enjoy his baths more and, as you can see in the picture he's started wearing size 2 diapers. He's getting so big! He has his two month check-up and shots on Thursday. :'( 

He really enjoys his play gym now. It's become a great baby-sitter whenever I need to set him down but he still wants to play. It makes him smile when we rub his chin or his neck. He doesn't like to have his hat put on. He's starting to like to grab my hair whenever I'm burping him. He hates his bouncer and loves his swing. So there are a few of his favorite (and not so favorite) things.

Oh and he loves his Daddy and Mommy!

Jared's First Camping Trip

This past weekend we spent two evenings and a night in Grandpa Mark and Grandma Kris's sweet, new camper. It was a lot of fun. As you can see, by their hypnotized looks, there was cable at the campground (go figure!). There was also wi-fi, so we were all set for camping. Jared stayed nice and warm, even though it was rainy and stormy outside. He didn't have his pictures to stare at like he does at home, but he was pretty satisfied with staring at the curtains Kris had made. He seemed to recognized them when we came back the second evening because he got an excited look of his face when he saw them again. He slept most the night curled up and cozy in Daddy's arms. He seemed to do really well with his first camping experience.=) Can't wait to take him again!

LOL!! For once I have a bigger smile than Ryan. ;D (he was having a rough morning)

Monkinite, etc.

So, just a couple things that are going on with us: Yesterday, to end their activity for the night, the young men played Monkinite. It's some form of dodge-ball I guess; it looks like a lot of fun. But I guess one of the teachers wanted Ryan to give him a push so he could have a good head start in racing for the ball in the middle of the court. It was the most hilarious thing to see. The boys from the other team decided to not even bother going for it. Then, after Ryan gave him a push, he took two and a half steps and then face planted on the floor. The other boys waited til he stopped sliding and then took off to get the ball. I laugh every time I think about it. Poor kid, luckily they're still pretty resilient at that age.

This is just a short video of Jared waking up. I thought it'd be nice to see him in action instead of pictures all the time. He's enjoying his crib pretty well. He's been such a good sleeper, it's been really nice. The times when he's looking side ways, in the video, is when he's looking at me. He's started this thing where he'll stare at me whenever he's hungry. It's kind of funny. :) He's getting better at looking at faces instead of the walls and every thing else. Also, his cry is maturing and he's starting to make more noises. He's growing so fast. =) He's now basically done with Newborn clothes and is now wearing only 0-3 month clothes.

As for me, I'm just enjoying being at home with Jared and anticipating Ryan's every call or text. I just finished reading Emma. I loved it! It's one of those books I wouldn't mind reading over and over again. Now I'm trying to read the Kingdom and the Crown series in time for Christmas, while also getting started on Christmas presents. I love this time of year. :) (I'm wearing my Christmas shirt today to try and move things along. ;))

Trunk-or-Treat

We got all dressed up for our ward's party tonight. Luisa thought a football theme would be good for this year. We made a nice little outfit for Jared to be our football. Luisa cut out a sweet 'A' for her cheerleader outfit and I borrowed a set of shoulder pads from one of my deacons. We got quite a few compliments for his cute little outfit that matched us so well. :-) it was fun.

 

He liked to suck on the hood when he was in the costume.

Of course, I couldn't pass up on taking the chance to bust out a Heisman pose :-)

Happy Halloween!

Jared's Presentation to the World at Pride Rock

There is an amazing cliff overhanging the Provo Temple and Rock Canyon. I'm not entirely sure what Squaw Peak is because it's kind of a long sloping mountain with several peaks. I call the amazing cliff Squaw Peak. After Jared was born I thought it would be cool to go up there for the first time and take a picture like what's in the Lion King. After a really long drive up a crappy dirt/potholed road we made it to an overhang that would work. The only bummer was that some guy that had sped past us up the mountain had just gotten there to do his scripture study. We waited half an hour or so for him to vacate our picture spot... he was still goin strong by the time we had given up on him leaving.

Here is the product of our efforts...

Thanks for the photographer skills Dad :-)

Oh and it turns out the cliff I wanted to use is accessible to hikers not cars... not good for men in sandals. So our cliff is directly east of the big cliff.

Crib time

Jared is getting just big enough that it's time for him to start sleeping in his crib. We'll be giving it a try tonight.

 He's getting so big!! =0

We had a lot of fun and got to see a lot of family for Jared's one month birthday. First, to celebrate we had a special dinner Saturday night with the Anderson's. We had baby back ribs, baby carrots, baby corn, baby boy tie pasta, and a bunch of other delicious food, including a "1" cake that looked amazing!

His actual one month birthday was Sunday, the 16th. That day we got to spend a lot of time with more family at the Jacobs. We had a delicious lunch and everyone got to see Jared again.

He looked adorable wearing his daddy's old baby clothes. ;)

Play Time

Jared's found himself a new pass time, besides the usual sleep, eat, and poop. ;) He's discovered that it's a lot of fun to arch his back backwards so he can look at everything upside down. I don't know what's so exciting about seeing everything upside down, but he loves it. He just lets his arms hang and then looks around. He's even laughed a couple times while doing it. It's so cute!

Now whenever I sit him down on my lap, he gets this excited look on his face like we're sitting down to play. He even kicks off with his legs if I sit him back up and he's ready to go back down again.

It's so fun, but then he cries if I think we're done playing and he's not ready to be done.

I've learned that he's pretty content if I just hold him sitting up in my arms and let him just lean his head back and look at the ceiling. What a silly boy! :) But it's a good way to get him sleep for bed. ;)

Hitting the Weights

So between my child development class at BYU and all the pamphlets and what not we receive from different organizations, we decided to help him get his tummy time in so he can exercise his neck and other muscles. I guess if he doesn't get enough 'time at the gym' he'll likely be slow to crawl, sit up alone, and all the other great milestones.

This picture is just after we talked about it. I was pretty amazed at how strong his neck muscles were already :-)

He's bound to be a strong boy :-) watch out Thomas and Sup, Ben's gonna have competition for the scariest cousin.

Are you my mommy?

So Jared has really gotten into the groove of feeding. Unfortunately I can't do my part like he wants me too, I guess my arms and fingers and chest just don't cut it :-)

I really didn't have a chance satisfying him with my biceps though because he is way into eating...

Oh and I guess he's already a good bubble blower :-)

Smarty Pants

While Jared is definitely the highlight of most of our fun or interesting news now-a-days, this blog is really about our whole family. So, I didn't want to neglect Ryan's great news. Ryan took his first Child Development exam last Thursday. It was automatically graded that day and he got a 98%. When he went in to class on Monday the professor announced that the class average was something like 77% and that the high score was 98%, which was Ryan's of course. All Ryan's classmates (freshman girls) gasped. The professor then explained that he'd be taking off two of the questions because they weren't very good, making Ryan's score an even 100%. =) The tradition in our family is that when you score an 100% on any test you get a special treat. Ryan chose apple pie for this one. Ryan's good at making sure we have treats in the house. :)

It was the first apple pie I'd ever made, but it turned out pretty okay. =)

Growth Spurt

Ryan and I were discussing the other day how fast a change has to happen for it to be considered a growth spurt instead of normal growth. Well, I think Jared's definitely been through a growth spurt in the past couple days. I know he's supposed to have one about this time. When he had his check-up at WIC seven days ago he was 8lb 12oz and 20 and 3/8 inches. Yesterday he was 9lb 5oz and 21 inches. He feels heavier and even looks different. He has a nice little double chin, but I think he's always had that. He's just really good at being a baby. =)

We both really like our new sling. It makes it easier for mom to get some work done while Jared is trying to fall back to sleep. (Thanks Becky!!!)

Visit to the Doctor's

I took Jared to Pediatric Care, yesterday, for his two-week check-up and circumcision. He was such a good boy the whole time. He didn't cry or fuss when he was being checked or even when we were getting him prepped for the circumcision. My job during the procedure was, of course, to hold his pacifier in and try to sooth him. Easier said than done! I wish I could've took the pain for him. It seemed like a lot of pain for someone so small and innocent to go through.

He was pretty pooped out the rest of the day. I didn't want to put him down, but he seemed to be more comfortable when he was laying down. He'd wake up every now and again and just cry for a second and fall right back asleep. Changing his diaper for the first time after we got home was really hard. He cried a lot and it made me cry. Luckily he didn't need another diaper change 'til Ryan was home to help. 

Today he's doing a lot better and back to his usual self. He's smiling a lot and eating a lot and sleeping a lot, and doesn't cry when he gets his diaper changed. I told Ryan yesterday morning that it hadn't really sunk in yet that I'm actually a mom, I'm a parent. Well, now it's sunk in pretty well. I just glad we only have to do that once (but I'm not looking forward to shots).

Bath Time

Last week Jared had his first bath at home. He was a little nervous and unsure, but he did well. He's had two more since then and doesn't mind them anymore. Now I know where that yummy baby smell comes from... nice baby shampoo :)

 

He didn't mind so much by the time daddy was holding him and he was nice and dry...

First Day at Church

Two Sundays ago was Jared's first sacrament meeting, not his first Sacrament, that was in the hospital with the senior missionaries. Luckily someone made a fitting outfit at our baby shower...

He sure is a cute little baby,

 

and he's extra cute when he smiles :-)

Settling in at Home

We made it home safe and sound. I was kinda surprised the nurses actually let us take Jared home with us :-)

 

We found out that we were pretty well set. There were only a couple of things we were missing...

:-)

Jared's Delivery

Two weeks ago we spent some time at the Utah Valley Regional hospital.


Jared Nathan Anderson was born September 16th, 2011, at 9:50 pm. He was 8 lbs and 3 ounces and 20 inches long. He had the cutest sounding cry; after a long day it was the best sound I'd ever heard.




He was much more enjoyable on the outside :)