Jasper's "Me Bag" for School

This is the only homework Jasper has been asked to do since school started.

The bag says:

Please help me decide what item goes inside, something about me for all my friends to see,

What I like or do that makes me special too!

We also received instructions to bring 4 small items that match the above description for Jasper to bring for a glorified show and tell.

  

Jasper chose a Hot Wheels car, a tower of Legos he built, a light up ball and a book he recently earned from the library summer reading program.

I thought he did a great job picking out smaller items that would fit in the bag that highlight some of his favorite things.

Jasper LOVES to get a lot of balls on the trampoline at once and play "Poison Ball."

Baby Henry attempting to play "Poison Ball" and trying not touch any of the balls on the trampoline. 

Let's just say he was not winning that game.

 Jasper building a Lego train and a Lego tower on a train.

(These 2 photos are from 1 year ago when our downstairs was still getting put back together.)

 

Jasper is ALWAYS reading a book.  We have had to ban books at the kitchen table, because he would rather eat than read.

Our library is in the same shopping complex as Target.  So if we go to the library before Target Jasper asks to ride in the cart so he can read the new books he just checked out.

 

I've lost track of how many Hot Wheels Cars Jasper owns.  A couple years ago I made a  fold out track to play cars on with storage pockets for the vehicles in a fold-n-go format.

 Jasper would have liked to have take Baby Henry as one of his favorite things, but he wouldn't fit!  

Jasper is a great older brother to Henry and is quite proud of him.

Jasper's first day of 1st Grade at Smalley Elementary

Jasper is thrilled to be in 1st grade at Smalley Elementary.  He loves school. He is still 5 years old. but will be 6 soon.

His teacher is Mrs. Doughty, and he has 19 kids in his class.  The class is decorated with hot air balloons.  Which is really cute and kind of fun since Jasper and I just finished reading "The Wizard of Oz," as part of our preparation to go see the musical at The Smith Center in a few weeks.

Jasper went to 2 years of preschool at Smalley, and last year he went to PM Kindergarten, in Ms. Montemayor's class.  So he is starting his 4th year at Smalley.  This is his first year eating lunch at school and he is excited to bring his lunch each day.

Morning recess is at 8:40 AM, and Jasper is supposed to be lined up to go in school at 8:52 AM.  School gets out at 3:11 PM.

Henry and I are walking Jasper to school every day.  Smalley is .7 of a mile downhill from our home. 

 

We made it four of the five mornings the first week, and Friday's torrential rainstorm made it so we had to drive that day.

 

It was an overcast and humid day the first day of school.  After Henry and I walked backed home we went to Mission Hills Park to meet up with the mom's in our ward for a potluck breakfast.  I was dripping wet from the humidity and walking.

Here's to a great year in 1st grade!  Two thumbs up!

Meet the Teacher - 1st Grade - Mrs. Doughty

Jasper was very excited to meet his teacher.  He will Mrs. April Doughty for 1st grade. 
It is her first year having her own classroom.

Our entire family came over to the school for the 2:00 PM Meet and Greet time.  We love that Mike has a bit of flexibility with his new job and can be a part of these things when it works out.  He's going to be in New Foundland for Back to School night, so this was his chance to meet Mrs. Doughty.

Jasper and I went to the Children's Museum that morning, so we had to hurry home to make it back in time for the meet and greet.

Jasper sits at the green table at the front of the class.  We were supposed to buy a notebook as part of the supplies list.  We just happened to buy green!

Front of the classroom.

Mrs. Doughty's special reading chair for story time.

Fun books they will be reading.

Hallway sign outside front door of Jasper's classroom, #62.

 

 Jasper knows quite a few kids in his class.  He went to afternoon Kindergarten last year with: Heaven, Joey Jr., Kendelle, and Gunnar.  We also go to Let's Play Music class with Kendelle.  

Jasper goes to church with Turbo and Abigail.

  Jasper was really excited about the reading area, and spent most of his time in there.

 

I thought this "Book Hospital" bin was a really cute idea.

Reading nook rules.

 We had to tear Jasper away from the reading area when it was time to leave.

He was really excited for the "book buddies" (stuffed animals) that you can read with. 

When the kids walk in the class they take this foam name tag that has a magnet on the back, and place it in a bin that says "cold lunch" (brought from home) or "hot lunch".  

  

I am planning to make Jasper's lunch every day.

  Jasper is looking forward to a great year in first grade with Mrs. Doughty!

33 Weeks - Let the Countdown Begin

Today I had my 32 week check up on our busy little baby.

I have been feeling a lot of pressure and pretty uncomfortable, so I was curious as to what our little guy is up to.  I feel like he is always trying to break out...but we still have seven weeks to go.

He looks great.  He's just as busy as I thought he was.  Every other sentence that ultrasound tech said was, "You have a very busy baby."

It looks like he has a lot of hair, just like Jasper did.  She took a snapshot of his hair (above), she was so excited about it.  He is already turned head down, ready to go, measuring in at 3lbs 10oz.


I am feeling extra puffy and swollen.  My OB said that's just 3rd trimester fluid retention, but nothing to be alarmed about.

I still have the single umbilical artery (SUA) which can cause growth restriction, but so far hasn't been a problem for our baby.  Because an SUA can be a soft marker for down syndrome they do look for other markers during my ultrasounds, but we have never seen anything else.

Today I started fetal monitoring, which also looked good.  I will go back every Wednesday morning from now on for 20 minutes of fetal monitoring, a quick ultrasound scan, and a quick check-in with my OB.  I'm going to take Jasper with me for these weekly appts.  We'll see how that goes.

The baby is measuring for a Nov. 1st due date.  Right now the plan is to induce me then if I haven't gone into labor.  Induction makes it so we can stop my blood thinner shots in a controlled way for delivery.

In July I switched OB's.  I was going to a regular OB and a high risk (perinatologist).  The double appointments were killing me.  I switched to Dr. Van Bohman at Desert Perinatal and I have been VERY HAPPY with him and the entire staff there.  He agreed to take me as a total OB patient, so I only have to see him.  HUGE time saver for me.  Plus his office runs on time, which is also very nice.They have a Green Valley office that's 15 minutes away from my home.

Because I had a sub-clavian DVT (big, bad, blood clot in my chest) when I was 34 weeks pregnant with Jasper I'm taking a new anti-coagulant (Fondapirnux) shots daily as a precaution and have never had any side effects from these new shots.  For that I am very grateful.  I see the Hematologist, Dr. Edwin Kingsley, on Thursday for a blood draw, a check up on my blood thinners and to discuss stopping the blood thinners when I deliver the baby.

Yesterday someone told me, "Wow, your pregnancy has gone by so fast."  I decided I'm never saying that to anyone. I just smiled and thought, "I'm glad it's gone by fast for you."  It sure hasn't gone by fast for me.

I feel so blessed to be pregnant with a healthy baby and can't wait for him to get here!  THANK YOU to everyone for your thoughts and prayers on our behalf.  We truly feel like this baby is a miracle.

23 Weeks -- And some GREAT news!

(Photos of Jasper as a baby.)

Today I had my 23 week ultrasound with the high risk OB, Dr. Wilson Huang.  I also had a fetal echo cardiogram.  Mike ran over during his lunch break to meet Jasper and I for the big appointment.

A normal umbilical cord has 1 blood vessel and 2 arteries.  Mine has 1 blood vessel but only 1 artery.  This is a soft marker for Down's Syndrome.  Coupled with some blood work that I had come back a couple months ago showing a very high risk for Down Syndrome, we were really worried.
A lot of babies with Down Syndrome have heart problems.  If our baby's heart showed problems today during the fetal echo cardiogram, then it would be a huge indicator for Down Syndrome.  I have thought that if our baby does have Down Syndrome, it would be easier to deal with if our baby didn't also have major heart problems too.  The heart problems really scare me.

After measuring everything possible on the baby's body and doing a fetal echo cardiogram I am THRILLED to report that our baby boy looks great!  Our baby is 1 lb 2 oz and busy as can be. 

The Single Umbilical Artery (SUA) could mean an early delivery if fetal circulation isn't doing well or if the baby isn't growing enough.  But, I could also go full term.  I'm going to be prepared to have the baby a month or so early, and hope for the best.

Because I had a sub-clavian DVT (big, bad, blood clot in my chest that was nearly fatal) when I was 34 weeks pregnant with Jasper, I am on anti-coagulant (blood thinner) shots daily. 

I started taking anti-coagulant shots when I was 5 weeks pregnant, and since I was 11 weeks I've been on a new medicine called Fondaprinux. I have a food allergy to pork, so when I took shots of the more common medicines like Lovenox, Heparin or even a newer shot called Fragmin, I got HUGE softball size bright red welts at every injection site.  Fondaparinux is made from beef, not pork like all of the others.  My shots are $130 per day and we feel so blessed that after much pleading and some tears on my part, our insurance covers them.

I feel so relieved after the ultrasound today.  I am so happy and getting more excited by the minute!
It is all sinking in.  We really are having a baby.  After FIVE years of waiting, we really are having a baby.  I feel so blessed for this miracle in our lives.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

CineMark $1 Summer Movie Series

One "beat the heat" option for us is the CineMark $1 Summer Movie Clubhouse.

The Cinedome is 5 minutes from  our house.  It's not the newest theater, but you don't have to walk through a casino to get to it -- which is a bonus, especially with kids in tow.

Their Summer Series shows start at 10AM every Wednesday.  Here's a link for the PDF of their flyer.

 The movies are $1 each of $10 for all 10.

We're Having Another Boy!

(Photos are of Jasper one day after he was born.)

June 4, 2012

Today we found out we are having another baby BOY. We are so excited!

Mike, Jasper and I have all felt like we were having a boy, and we've called him baby Henry since the day we found out I was pregnant.  We can't wait until he gets here!!!

Jasper loves to come up to me and say, "Mom, I need to give baby Henry a hug."  He then asks me to point to the exact location in my tummy where baby Henry currently is and proceeds to tell him how glad he is for him to come to our family.

Jasper gave the closing prayer in our CTR 4 Primary Class and said, "Dear Heavenly Father, We are thankful for this day.  Please bless that our baby goes big and strong like me.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

Not the most appropriate closing prayer.  :)  Jasper prays for baby Henry at every meal, every family prayer, any prayer.  It is very sweet.

Big Brother...Almost

We feel like it's a miracle that I'm 15 weeks pregnant.

Last year I went to a fertility OB, Eva Littman. Since she couldn't pinpoint any particular problem, we didn't go through with any fertility treatments.

Since she had seen me for extensive testing, Dr. Littman took me on as a patient the 1st trimester for extra monitoring, even though I got pregnant on my own.  We were spoiled with weekly ultrasounds and lots of attention.

We're excited, but I'm still really nervous. We would appreciate any prayers for our little baby.

THANK YOU!

First Time at the Splash Pad 2012

Today we met up at the Mission Hills Park with a few of our friends for some water fun.  The kids all had a blast and loved the water.

Jasper doesn't have preschool on Friday's, so that is usually our day to go do a fun activity.

It's been hot here in Henderson, we're sweltering, and we're only half way though May.  It's gonna be a long, HOT summer!

I'm not sure why, but they took down the red fence around the splash pad.  It's easier if you have older kids, because you can sit on the shaded picnic tables and the kids can run over to check in.

If you have tiny tots who you are worried about wandering off, you might wish the fence was still there.

Here's a wet and cool summer...and trying to beat the heat.