GJN

Greyson James
2.12.10

Our roller coaster ride began Super Bowl night, which seems so long ago. Monday morning we called the doctor office, which is an hour away from us, to find out if we could get an appointment to make sure things were okay due to having cramps that night. I never experienced strong enough contractions to know what they were with Ashlynn, so I was thinking this is what they feel like. I got to know the true meaning of contractions as we drove over to Elko when they got about 5 minutes apart. After experiencing contractions for a total of about 13 hours that day they ended about 2 to 3 minutes apart at a pain level 9 to 10.
We were care flighted to Salt Lake City, University of Utah Hospital on that Monday. They were able to stop the contractions about 11pm Monday night until Thursday night when they started up again. My family all came down that week while I was in the hospital and had just left Thursday. My mom was going to stay with me since Jay had to return back to work after being off a month for a minor surgery. Everyone headed back to BM on Thursday thinking we wouldn't have the baby for a few more weeks. About 11pm on Thursday, the contractions came back and a few hours later Jay and Ash were back on the road. We were not too sure if Jay would make it in time because things were happening so fast again. After many more hours of contractions, Jay and Ash got there just in time. We were off to the OR to have this little guy who had not missed a beat during the past week. His heart rate stayed strong and was large for a baby at 30/31 weeks. By the time I was taken to the OR and returned back to my room was only 45 minutes! Things happened really fast and went well. I was able to have him vaginally, which is not what we had planned since we were going to have him in Elko (they will not let you have a baby vaginally if you have had a c-section in the past).

(only hours old)

It was amazing...I gave birth to our son, a 4lb 4.5oz 17. 5in long baby boy, who was rushed into the NICU seconds after being born. Within 10 minutes, we were told he was peeing all over the nurses and scored 2 9's on the agar test (10 is the best score on each of the 2 test). They were amazed that a 9 week early baby scored so good on the test! Greyson James (James is after my dad) was born at 11:10am healthy and strong for only being 31 weeks. We were given such a blessing! Greyson made his home in room 6 star 38 in the NICU. This became our home, a home I was blessed to go to everyday for the next 6 weeks. We had wonderful doctors, nurses, staff that took pride in taking care of our son. Greyson needed no assistance as would be expected for a baby so early. We only needed time to grow.
He was dismissed on March 20th weighing 6lbs 9oz. On April 12th, he turned 2 months old weighing 8lbs 13oz. He looks like a newborn baby is all. He looks so big compared to what he started out at. He is so handsome!
My due date was April 16th (my brother's birthday), with our c-section date scheduled for April 12th. It is mind blowing to think he should only be a week old, not 9 weeks old. But we are very blessed to have a healthy little man who has warmed our lives!

there has been so much that i have wanted to write about, but haven't had the time to. so let me see how fast i can ramble and get it while i have a few ticks.
monday, april 12th was our scheduled c-section date to have our little man (i know i still need to brag and introduce him). crazy to think i know! it makes me realize how lucky we are to have been able to spend the last 8 weeks getting to know him and most of all love him. we are truly blessed! it was kinda of an emotional day for me in my mind. i really thought about the whole situation and was like WOW!!
tuesday, april 13th ashlynn and all the first graders that met their ar goals were able to load up on a bus and take a field trip to mill creek. they all were on their best behavior and had a blast. they were able to marshmallows, made rock creatures, learned about smokey the bear, went on a hike to learn about the different types of plants, ate lunch and met smokey the bear! jay stayed home with greyson and i was lucky enough to go with ashlynn. it was a lot of fun. my cell phone died so i was not able to get any pictures, which bummed me out!
duke also go a bath on tuesday...and wow! he looked so much better!! such a handsome dog!!
wednesday, april 14th ashlynn had her first practice of the season for softball. our plan is to take a snack and a sharp pencil so she is able to do her homework and have a snack out at the field after school so we are not going back and forth with the little bit of time we have after school before practice starts. even after one practice i am kinda missing not coaching. for those that didn't know i helped coach ashlynn and brynnlee's tball team last year!!
well this gets me caught up for a few days. there is so much else that happened this week, but time to go get in the shower and start our day! i hope you all have a wonderful day yourselves!

April 10th 13 years ago.....

As I sit here working on my blog today, with today's date staring me in the face....it finally comes to me. Today, April 10th, was the day that Jay asked me to marry him. I can replay the whole event in my head, he's not very creative so all the details are easy to remember!! LOL
We were living in Twin Falls, Idaho at the time in our apartment on Washington Street. We had been ring shopping earlier in the year and the ring sat in my "wedding planning box" until he was man enough to ask me. He thought that just because we bought the ring meant his job was done. All of us girls want the most thought out romantic proposal, right? Well I got a proposal, which totally fit Jay.It wasn't the most creative and thought about proposal, but he did get on one knee to ask.
We had an appointment that day to get our pictures taken and was looking forward enjoying the weekend with my brother and Kathy who were coming from Pocatello. As I was getting ready for pictures, I brought up the idea of how cool it would be for these pictures to be our engagement pictures...hint!! hint!! So Jay went and got the rind and placed the box in my hand and said said will you marry me.....WHAT? Come on Jay. So with this look of "okay" and a smile on his face he got on one knee. I knew that was the best he would do!! But I would take it!!
We will be married for 11 years on June 12th!

Look at that cute Bunny tail!!

I love these two so much! Their first holiday together!

Greyson's First Easter!

HOppY EaStER AsHlYnn

My beautiful niece, Brynnlee and my oldest newphew Jalen!

Where did it go?

Today is Saturday, which means back to reality on Monday. It always seems like your time off goes by so fast, but the work days drag on and on! It worked out well because Jay's 7 off hit during Ashlynn's Spring Break so we were all able to have a week at home together. Grandma Kathy, Jay's mom, came down from Bend, Oregon to spend the week with us and meet Greyson for the first time. It was nice to be home, but even though it was Spring Break and days off for everyone, I still had work to do. Housework such as sweeping, mopping, laundry, cooking, dishes all had to get done, so it wasn't much of days off for me. I enjoyed spending time with everyone, but look forward to the quit days of just Greyson and I!!

The Easter Bunny was very kind to Ashlynn and Greyson. I bought them bigger baskets this year and I think I got them a little too big. The EB had to have Jay run down to the store at 10pm to grab a few more things for Ashlynn's basket because it had a lot of empty space. The baskets did not look THAT big in the store, even thought I knew they were large. Oh well! I enjoy buying for their baskets and stockings at Christmas time. I love to pick up little personal items or things that just strike me. It will be fun buying for Greyson.
Ashlynn is getting at that age where she is questioning the holiday main characters. She didn't so much this Easter, but this past Christmas she really asked questions. I bought these glitter sticks from the dollar store for her stocking and a few months after Christmas she noticed a Made in China sticker on them. She drilled us about why is there a Made in China sticker on it, if Santa made it! No matter what, it has been fun watching her wake up with excitement on those holiday mornings and I look forward to many more with BOTH of my kids!!