{discovering} life

5 Days

Today, our little Jaxon is 5 days old. The time goes by so quickly! Before I know it, he'll be crawling around, then walking...it all just goes by so fast. My Mom is here and it's wonderful to have some extra help with the kids. I don't want her to leave! :)

Jaxon is doing great! His days and nights are a bit mixed up but we are doing our best to keep him awake more during the day. We are all so in love with him! It's amazing to me how 'instant' that love is! Hudson is adjusting - slowly. He loves to see the baby but he's thrown a few fits when he wants me. He's been my baby for 4 years so I'm sure it'll take some time.

Thanks again for all of your sweet congrats! I LOVED reading your comments - thank you so much for taking the time to post!

On a scrapbooking note, did you see that the Autumn Leaves latest book, Designing with Recipe, is out!! I'm so so anxious and excited to see this book! It's spiral bound and I just love the layout of it - can't wait to see the final thing! I've seen it available here - the other places I was going to share are now sold out. So grab it - It's gonna be a good one! :) :)

And yes - that is Madisyn's sweet little face there on the cover. So exciting! :)

Also - I just got my Feb. Issue of Scrapbooks, etc...so exciting to see the article announcing the 2008 Creative Team! I know that we have all been anxious to see it - I love what everyone did with those products! So fun to see how we all interpreted using them in our own style! Unfortunetly, it looks like some of the pieces of my layout fell off and were misplaced for the photo (the 'm' and the butterfly at the top of my layout). So, I'll make sure I can post it and I'll share the original here.

More to share too...I just did a little sketch book that I want to share and some thoughts about my entry in the AL Calendar this week. And...more of Jaxon I'm sure! :) Hugs!

Our sweet baby boy is here!

Jaxon McKay Werlich

born Friday, January 25, 2008

4:52 p.m.

8 lbs. 7 oz.

20 1/2 Inches

Beautiful as can be! We are all doing wonderful! Home and happy! The kids cannot get enough of him - especially Madisyn!

I want to thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers, your emails and posts...your support and friendship has meant so much to me! So although I haven't been able to email each of you - please know how much I appreciate it! I love you all!

I'll be back with more photos in the next few days! Hugs!

Today...

This sweet little girl is 6 years old! I just can't believe it! 6 YEARS OLD!!! She woke up this morning and Hudson was so anxious to give her his gift...so he gave her the Sleeping Beauty Doll that goes in the bath/water. She was happy with that! I got a little shot of them together and then they were off to the bath. She had school today and I feel bad, but I'm just so uncomfortable to do much. We are having Ryan's parents over tonight for cupcakes and some presents and then we will have another party next week when my Mom comes down. So, hopefully that will be fun for her, but pretty low key today. I feel bad but I need to let it go...we will celebrate more next week and I hope she'll be happy!

And...tomorrow, I turn the big 30!! Time to freak out yet??? I haven't really had time to think about it to be honest. It doesn't feel as old as I think it used too - kinda the new 20 right??? Right??? LOL!

And then Friday (if not sooner), Hudson will become a BIG BROTHER to this baby boy in my tum! It couldn't come sooner! They are getting so excited and I am beyond ready! So, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers that all will go well!

I'll post when he's here! Hugs!

Well, well, well...

I am still here...and still prego! :) I think this baby is just having fun hanging out in there...I'm starting to think that he is a stubborn little bugger! If I don't have him before Friday, then I will be induced on that day, the 25th. We will just have 3 birthday's in a row - what a silly thing! I'm super uncomfortable - still having a ton of cramping which I never had with my other kiddos. I feel so ready now to have him...I just wish that he would come! I'll be in touch though when it happens...thanks so much for all the sweet posts and emails...you are all so awesome! Thank you!

On Friday, Ryan came home early and took the kiddos to go get Madisyn a new bike for her Birthday. Of course, he came home with one for both of them, but granted Hudson needed one too. He hasn't had one. Anyway - we got their helmets on and walked over to the church parking lot and let them ride around. I couldn't believe how awesome Hudson did! He had strong legs and was so good - so proud of the little guy! Madisyn is still a bit reluctant to go very fast - she goes slow and doesn't have the strongest legs - but we'll work on it. They both had a great time!

Hudson used to never 'pose' for me for photos, but now, he totally does. He'll sit there and smile until I am done - cutest little boy! I was bummed though - last week Ryan took him to get his haircut and I just couldn't go along. Well, they chopped his hair and I still wanna cry when I see it! It's all layered on the top instead of long - oh well! It will take awhile to grow back out but I'm gonna! :)

I was looking forward to Saturday, cause Ryan had to go install a Splash Pad (a new business that he recently started up here - not that he needs to add more to what he is already doing! LOL! But, it is super cool! Can't wait to get one in our yard!) up at a house in Hurricane and so he took the kids to his parents for the day. They rode their bikes again and had tons of fun. I was excited to chill and doing some scrapbooking and cleaning - but I got so sick! I was in bed, laying on the couch or on the potty all day - too much info - I know! :) So yucky! Luckily I'm feeling better today - just if I could get this huge ball out of my tummy now!

I started working on a calendar for the baby - something to record his daily happenings in. I did it for Madi and didn't for Hudson - I feel so bad about that. But, I wanted to do it again so I got the MM Boy Calendar kit and have been working on it. I'm not so much using everything that came with it - but it's a great size and I love the blue calendar.

Anyway - I'll be in touch! Hope you have a great Sunday!

Bored = Shopping

Yes, I'm still bored! LOL! And I'm already a big online shopper, but playing this waiting game for baby has made it a bit worse. Not good! And, those that know me, know that I love Pottery Barn and house stuff! I'm trying to re-do some rooms and things in our house so my attention has been in the 'home decor' department lately. So, I thought I'd just share some fun things I've gotten lately...if any of you are wanting to buy something fun! :)

Pottery Barn Scissors - I've always loved the scissors that they have had and I've been eyeing these for a long time to put up in my studio. The dark wood and metal will look great with my other furniture - can't wait to add this fun accessory.

Polka-dot Heaven - Another thing I'm obsessed with...polka-dots!!! Always! My Mom was so sweet and snagged me some of these mugs for Christmas and I loved them so much, I bought some more and some of the plates. And the crazy thing...the red is an exact match to the red in on my walls in my studio. I'm going to line up the mugs I got, on a shelf, with fun embellishments inside. It looks like the mugs are sold out but I heard that at the store they come in blue, yellow and green too! So cute!

Notepads - Another thing I love is paper and notepads. I have so many stinkin' notepads and books it's sick. But, I LOVE THEM!! Total obsession!! I know this is random to buy from Pottery Barn, but they were cheap and I added some to my basket. I love the loose papers for jotting down a quick layout idea or sketch and then I put them up on my magnet board behind me.

Mercury Canisters - My Mom got these for me for our bedroom for Christmas. I love them! So elegant and pretty - they added the perfect touch. I also got some lower jars that I've put some jewelry and things in - so pretty. Thanks Mom!!!

Kids Bird Pillow - I've been wanting to do up Madi's room for her and have been looking for a long time for something to do. We went to PB Kids in Vegas on our way back home from CA and I got her this small bird pillow - the one there on the front. I love birds, pink and green - it is so cute and she loves it. I'm trying to decide if I get the quilt or another one I was eyeing that goes with the pillow too. She is sharing a room with Hudson right now but as the baby gets to be a year old - we are going to put Hudson and him together and she'll have her own room. I also got some super cute canisters in pink and green while we were there, but I can't find them on their site. Bummer!

I also got a super cute large wood safety pin from Pottery Barn kids but it looks like it's sold out now. We put it up last night above the changing table and it looks so cute. I'm adding some more things there and then I'll share a pict.

Anyway - love to shop. I'm usually a 'fall' PB girl - when that catalog comes out I get all excited - the deep rich colors! :) But, as I got all the new PB catalogs this month - I've just been in love! So much color and I'm in love with color! I've just loved having something fun to look through and dream about!

On the baby front, I went to the Dr. AGAIN yesterday, Monday, and I'm still the same as I was on Friday. I'm technically still 2 1/2 weeks early so he wants to try to wait another week before we induce. If I go on my own, then great, but if not, we'll see what he can do. I'm just torn because Madisyn's birthday is next Wed, the 23rd and my birthday is the 24th. So, I was really hoping that this baby would get here before our birthdays - so I'm praying hard that I'll go into labor. But, I feel like my contractions have stopped - so frustrating! Any natural labor inducer tricks???? :) :) :)

Anyway - thanks for all your posts and sweet comments! I need to respond to each of you - I've just been in one of those moods - so lame! Thank you though - they are lifting me up! :) Hugs!

Something fun to share!

This month, Scenic Route Paper is introducing a new monthly Guest Designer Program! I was completely honored when they asked me to be the first guest designer for the month of January! I have always been a big fan of SR! Wanna hear a funny, quick story...

So, I never go to crops or such, but a few years ago, I had to finish up some layouts for a Chatterbox book that we were working on and I needed to get out of the house. So, I went, just by myself, to a local scrapbook store for the night to scrapbook. Sitting at the end of the table from me, was Sarah Milne, the designer/owner of SR. I was working on my projects and she came and talked to me and told me about a new paper line that she was creating and was planning on launching soon. It sounded interesting and she was so cute! She asked if she could bring over some samples and if I'd be willing to do some layouts for their first catalog. Such a neat experience! Looking back to see how she was just starting and now what a HUGE success Scenic Route is. I just love her patterns and colors...so beautiful!! And I'm so happy for her and her crew!

Well, I did a few layouts and you can check out the Guest Designer page at SR right here. Thanks again to SR for asking me to be the GD this month! Look for a new designer each month...I can't wait to see!

****

Thanks to all of you for your posts, your emails and your sweet baby prayers! We had a super long day yesterday at the hospital and I was worn out. After some sleep, I went to the Dr. again this morning. I am dilated to a 3.5 and 75% effaced. He said that I was much more favorable than I was last night...which kinda stinks cause we had the option to stay through the night on low pitocin and hopefully be better to break my water in the morning. Well, I'm sure they could of and that stinks thinking that we'd have him by now. But, oh well. We didn't want to push things. I am only 37 1/2 weeks so we thought it was best to go home.

However, when my Dr. checked me today, he said that the baby is measuring about 39-40 weeks and is probably a good 8 pounds. I about passed out! Madi and Hudson were both mid 6 lb. range! Scary! LOL!  He stripped my membranes and thinks I'll go any day - not more than a week. I'm hoping that it's the next 2 days or so. So, I'll keep in touch.

As we found out yesterday, the hospital has wireless internet so I'll be sure to post when he's here. And, if he doesn't come for a few days, I'll still be here posting. I did take a photo of my messy studio (that I'm sure your all dying to see...not...it really is a big mess) before we went in yesterday, so I'll post that soon as well. Anyone wanna come clean? LOL! Have a good weekend!

Hugs!

Well...

 

Update: I was at the hospital from 3 pm until 11 pm having contractions and such and all hooked up and ready to go and then my body just stopped progressing...and with me still being a bit early - we decided to go home instead of pushing it. I didn't want to risk a c-section so we are going to wait. I am going to my Dr. again this morning to talk and check things out, so I'll be in touch.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. Not quiet ready yet it looks like! :)

Hugs!

Hmmmmm....

So I just wrote this long post and deleted it! It was boring...I'm kinda in a boring state right now. Not sure what to post about although I have a million things going on in my head. It's now January 9th and I feel like I'm already behind on things...I hate feeling like that. I put so much pressure on myself to do things and I need to learn to let that go.

I really wanted to do the 366 Photo Challenge this year. I was excited to get off to a great start in California and then we got home, busy and I forgot. Lame! So, I'm still gonna give it a shot. I know that I'll miss days and I need to be okay with that. No pressure right!?!? I need to learn to be content and happy with what I can get done.

I also like the idea of 12 on the 12th. Not sure where I saw this - if you know, let me know so I can link it up. The idea is to take 12 photos on the 12th of the month and document them. It seems more do-able than a photo every day, but I really want to work on taking more 'every day' photos. I'm great at grabbing the camera when we are going out to do something, but just day to day stuff, not so great. I feel like it's all just so mundane and boring - but that is life and I want to document it for these kiddos.

One of my fav pages has a photo that is SOOOOO everyday! It's an older layout that I'm sure you've all seen already, but I was just thinking of it today. Madisyn 'lived' in this spot on the sofa almost every day. Yes, she got up to play and such, but this was her spot. The sofa was pretty much her's...toys everywhere, her blankets...it was her own little comfort place. And I love how she is drinking her milk...for the longest time...she has had her milk in those sippy cups with the straws. I can't find them anymore and we only have one left that we have to wash consistently - but that's just the way she is. She'll only drink milk from that cup.

So Madisyn...so the way that she used to be. And with our new sofa that came in December..this is even more special to me...just a reminder of how things used to be.

I think I took this photo just random playing around with my camera one day. I'm surprised I didn't delete it and I'm surprised that I actually scrapbooked it. But, it reminds me of her, of her autism, of how things always had to be to make her comfortable.

That's what I want to document...the every day! I'm gonna try harder to get those every day shots - they may seem mundane at the moment, but I know that as they change, they grow and life evolves, I will treasure them and their little ways and things each day.

I'd especially love to try to take a photo of this new little baby boy on the way, each day! Love that idea and hope that I can keep up with it. That's a big commitement for me! :)

I also need to choose my new WORD for 2008.

I've LOVED reading blogs lately and reading goals, special words for the year and more! Everyone is so inspiring and so on top of it all...and I'm not quite there. I've been thinking though and throwing some words around in my head. Have you chosen a word for 2008?

Well, I'm off. I'm in a major cleaning mode in my studio - I've made good progress although nobody would know but me. I'm gonna take a picture and I'll post it tomorrow - just promise me you won't pass out! LOL!

Carpool today, have to go get a new 2008 calendar, and then I'm gonna chill. I was out running errands all day yesterday - need to relax today. And that also means scrapbooking...got a fun assignment to work on and that always makes me happy! Sorry for the random post. If there is anything you want me to post or talk about, let me know. :)
Hugs!

While I was out...

We headed to Oceanside California with some of my family for a week of vacation. Ryan was planning on just taking the kids so that I could relax and I changed my mind to go with them the minute they were walking out the door Friday morning! LOL! I knew I probably should of stayed and relaxed and got things done (so many little projects around the house that I've been needing and wanting to get to). But....I also wanted to go relax there and see the kids excitement and Disneyland and such. So, I hurried and packed up and we were out the door.

We got to the beach house Friday afternoon and it was just glorious! The waves crashing right up to the house with what seemed like a private beach - it was so quiet and just beautiful! Saturday-everyone went to SeaWorld and I stayed back and made my new Stampin' Up! wish list from their new catalog (LOVE!! If you want to order anything or need help, just let me know. I'd be happy to help ya!) and enjoyed looking through some older Autumn Leaves idea books - love them! It was great to just relax looking out at the beach - can't beat that!!

Sunday - Church at the Oceanside 1st Ward and then we relaxed for the afternoon. I can't believe how much the kids LOVED the beach! We could not pull them away from running up and down it! It was too cold to go in but they couldn't care less - they were so happy!! That night we drove to San Diego to my Aunt's house for a wonderful dinner with all her family! It was so great to see them all! Some of her girls have gotten into making beads and such with glass - I got to make 2 of them - it was sooo fun!! I'm getting them on Saturday so I'll have to post a photo! Way fun!

Monday and Tuesday we hit Disneyland and California Adventure. It was pushing it for me the first day but I think 2 days in a row was way to much for this prego chic! We drove home Wed. afternoon after a morning of letting the kids play on the beach again. They had the best time and I took hundreds of photos - so so many!! Can't wait to scrap them!

We got home at midnight Wed. and I was beat! My feet are completely swollen and I feel like crap! I ended up going to the Dr. Thursday cause I was worried that I'd gotten pre-clampsia (got it with Madi and started to get it with Hudson so they induced me early). Anyway - I'm doing 'ok'. I'm dialated to a 2 and 50% effaced at almost 37 weeks so I'm hoping that I go in the next week. The Dr. did some blood work and other things to make sure I'm ok. I'll go back in next week! Please send baby vibes - I forgot how hard this last month is! My body doesn't like being prego I think and I am ready to pop!!! :)

Anyway - great, wonderful trip! Thanks to my mom and dad for EVERYTHING!!!!! It was beyond fabulous!

On a scrapbooking note...

The new 2008 Hero Arts catalog is officially up on their website! So many great new sets and accessories! I've had a blast playing with them! They have a great deal in their store right now that all orders get $3.95 shipping or free over $70 (I think it's 70). Anyway - some way fun stuff. And the team has been working so hard to have a sample for every stamp!! So, if you click on the stamp you'll see a sample! So rad! Here are links to a few of mine...I know there are more but these are a few I found quickly:

Page

Card
Card
Card
Card
Card

Have fun looking through their new catty! :)

I've got another fun thing to share in the next day or so, so I'll let you know when it's up!

I hope that you all had a happy and safe Christmas and New Year! I'm off to clean up a little and to try to get these feet up a bit! Wish me luck!

Hugs!