Disappointment--get used to it?

Today I had my hopes sky high to find out what the sex of the baby is. Last month I felt the same, only to find out that the baby wasn't ready to let us see. Apparently it still feels the SAME way. So after waiting 4 more weeks, I went back in again today. The doctor had a really hard time seeing anything since its legs were crossed--yet again. At first she was guessing "girl" but then all of a sudden saw "something" and said, "wait, possibly a boy!" She's not 100% sure, though, so I really don't know if it's a girl, boy, or possibly a combo of both (gah)? I was so upset I just cried and cried once I got to the parking lot. I was just so dissappointed that we couldn't tell what we're having. I can't take the suspense any longer. Yet, I have to.

I have no idea how some women don't want to find out on purpose. I CAN'T STAND not knowing. Although a boy would be cool for a myriad of reasons, I'm not sure if my body will be able to have 3 children, so I am really hoping for a girl. I'd love to have at least one of each. Before today I was convinced it was a girl--now I am totally doubting it and super confused. Oh well what do you do? So now I have to wait until December 21st for a third try at trying to tell what we're having. This next appointment will be the 3-D ultrasound, so if we can't tell on that one, I may very well have to just WAIT until this baby is born to find out! GAH!

Otherwise, I've been feeling the baby move just a tad here and there lately. Always a cool thing. It just feels like soft little taps and pokes. It's nice to know its alive & kicking in there. And I got to hear the heartbeat today, too. That was comforting. So all in all, today wasn't a total dissappointment, I guess!

PawPaw Ron's Visit

We had so much fun with PawPaw here to visit us (that's my dad). The first couple of days we just kind of chilled out, ran errands, etc. I managed to cook us up some mean taco/burritos Thursday night. Friday we went to the Airforce Museum (that was cool--they had tons of planes and old WWII stuff to look at and I think Dad really liked it). We also went downtown to the train station and got some cute pics of Jasey and PawPaw there. We ended up walking down the street into the little gift shops and antique stores. Some were better than others. We also managed to hit up the D.I. (ooh I got an almost brand new Pictionary game for only $1). Ha ha ha. Anyways, on Saturday we didn't have any power at my house (what are the odds), so we grabbed some brkfast at MickeyD's then went up to poke around the army surplus store. After that dad wanted to try to find some snow, so we drove up to Bear Lake. Gorgeous there! And we did get to see snow! Dad took WAY more pictures than I did, so I might have to steal some from him. On the way back home we stopped in for dinner at a little family owned restaurant. Gator (my lab), Pippen, and Goosie will sure miss PawPaw--possibly even more than we will! (just kidding dad). My dad loves dogs so much, I keep trying to figure out how I can ship all three of them to Lousiana since I know he'd take such good care of them. He went out and played fetch with Gator every day he was here (lucky Gator!). So cute! I think Jase has gotten used to having him here and will be asking "Where's PawPaw" for the next few days or so...awwww sad. So thanks for coming to see us, dad, we had a great time! Hope you did, too!

PawPaw and Jasey in front of a cool, old train.
Jase strikin' a pose. It's HARD to get this boy to hold still!
Love this pic. I think the yellow train makes me happy!
Roob, Jasey, and my dad at the local Pizzeria. Good times. We have eaten enough food in the last week to last us a couple months!
Dad, Jasey and myself after a yummy dinner at the family owned restaurant. Had to get a cheesecake to-go!

Ginormous Windmills

My dad's been visiting here for the last few days...Roob had told me about these gigantic windmills just outside of Evanston, WY. So we took a trip to go see them. Oh my, these things are sooo big. I took a picture to try to give some perspective. This one is of the entire thing...And this one is zoomed up a little bit closer. Those little vertical black lines you see at the base of the windmill are actually BOLTS. Geez! They stuck out like 2 feet out of the ground. Now that is one big bolt if ya ask me! Oh, and I think it's easier to see Jase & Roob to the left in this one...

Jase's Sayings These Days

I'm trying to take a moment and write down all the funny things Jase has been saying lately. Just yesterday he spent half the day in the work truck with his dad. For those of you that don't know, Reuben goes by "Red" in the work world. Anyways, later on in the day he was walking around with the cell phone saying, "Hi. This is Red. Can you hear me?" Ha ha ha! So cute! I wish I would have been there to see that.

I was shopping at Ross and picked up 2 pairs of Dr. Suess pajamas. One for Jase, and one for his cousin Hibbin for Christmas. I told Jase we were buying them for Hibbin. Well now he calls them the "Hibbin" pajamas. The pants are super long on him, so he was trying to go down the stairs and said, "Momma, fix it the Hibbins?" (he wanted me to roll the pants up at the bottom). Cute.

He is learning so much new vocabulary, it's shocking. I was at Target and bought some Einstein bagels (which I am sure I told him I was doing at the time, since I talk to him a lot). Anyways, a couple of days later he pulled them off the counter at home and said, "Have one, the bagel?" I guess he learned that word from just hearing it once! Another word he learned was "snowblower." We told him what they were at Lowe's one night. On a return trip, he said, "snowblowers!" while pointing at them. Impressive. To me, at least ;)

When he falls down (or gets hurt) he'll say "I sorry, Are you ok?" This always makes me laugh bc that is what I say when he falls down.

We have a book that he really likes called "Blankie." It is one of my favs, too. He is getting really good at remembering what words go with what pictures. He will say the correct phrases for certain pages in the book. One page has the little baby with his blankie tied around his neck like a super hero's cape. The page reads, "Super Blankie!" and Jase is too cute when he gets to this page. He yells it at the top of his lungs. There is also a page that says "I love birthday cake." But Jase's interpretation is "I love you birthday cake." Gotta get the "you" in there. Heh heh.

Sometimes he'll repeat a full sentence that I'll say. He also repeats some things that mommy realizes are not what she wants him to repeat. Working on that. He had been doing this funny thing where he'd make a coughing sound and then say "disgusting." It's funny to hear a little toddler say disgusting. I guess he picked it up from me somehow. Or maybe his dad.

He's really good at saying "Thank you," "excuse me,"(after burps/sneezes)...he's still working on "you're welcome," though. I'll be driving the car, hear a baby burp, then hear "excuse me!" Tee hee.

I've been watching for Potty Training readiness signs. So far, not too many. Sometimes he'll tell me he has a dirty diaper, but not usually. I just think he hates getting his diaper changed so he'll keep it a secret. For now, I don't think he's ready. So in the meantime I just show him as much as possible how the potty is a normal part of our lives, and hope to keep him interested in it.

Jase's 2 yr Stats

Height = 37.25", 95th percentile
Weight = 32.2 lbs, 85th percentile
Head circumference = 50.4cm, 85th percentile

Wow. So I have had an interesting day. Took jasey to a new pediatrician. Our last one was just ok. He wasn't super friendly with Jase so I thought I'd try to find a better one. My first impression wasn't the greatest since we waited probably 40 minutes (what!?) to just see the NURSE who weighs/measures him. I was so BUGGED. And we were like the only people in the waiting room, so I don't know how they were THAT behind. THEN after the nurse strips him down, we waited AT LEAST 20+ minutes in THAT room for the actual pediatrician to come in. Needless to say at that point I was ready to punch someone. Try entertaining a 2 yr old for THAT long, and with all clothes off except his diaper. AND my worst nightmare--we are in a GERMY doctor's office (so I wouldn't let him get off the table)! GAH! I was going nuts. I just hope that was an abnormal wait time.

Once she got in there, she was nice. I liked her. I didn't love her (could very well be due to the long wait time beforehand making me go crazy). But she was really playful with Jase so that was good. After her exam and talking with me, she starts in with the flu vaccination discussion. She let me tell her my concerns and then proceeded to give me a very convincing argument FOR the flu vaccine. She had the seasonal flu vaccine in the office that was thimerosal-free (mercury-free). I was liking that idea, but I felt REALLY pressured and didn't know what to do. Jase was also due for a HEpatitis shot. So while the nurse went to go prep that, I called Roob to see what he thought about the flu shot. I already felt like crying. I knew tears were coming even before I called him. I almost cried in front of the doctor. She told me she just had to send a 4 yr old to the hospital for pneumonia, which was a complication of having seasonal flu. NOT what a mommy like me wants to hear! All I could think about was worse-case scenarios for Jasey and I was starting to panic. I can't help it. Worrying is in my genes.

Anyways, Roob listened to me retell the pediatrician's advice and he still didn't think we should do it. But he told me I could if I wanted to. No thanks. I don't want things like this to be up to just me. My luck I'd do it and something would go terribly wrong. Anyways, I just got like crazy worried and started to crack. I started crying. I was still crying when the nurse came in with the Hep shot. She didn't ask why, thank goodness. But how embarrassing! We left w/o the flu shot. I got in the car and just let myself cry some more. When you have a medical professional telling you all the pros about getting the flu vaccine, it starts to mess with your mind and your previously determined decisions (I had already decided against the flu shots for Jase and myself--even though if I did do it, it woud be only the thimerosal-free seasonal flu vaccine, which I was surprised they even carried. I think this is what took me off guard).

Anyways, now it's like 3 hours later and I have calmed down. I feel better. Still not 100% sure I did the right thing, though.

Halloween 2009, pics and video

I was able to drive down to my best friend's house (Kiki) to spend Halloween with her and her family. Good idea since my neighborhood is much more rural than hers. I have never seen so many trick-or-treaters in my life!! Anyways, it wasn't long before Jase really got into knocking doors and collecting candy. However, he wanted me to open EVERY piece for him at EACH door. We had to work on that :)Here he is showing off his loot! (i just realized i don't have any pics of kiki's daughter posted here. sorry kiki!!! they are all on facebook) Heh.
Mr. Stinker and his cool all-terrain wagon ride...Kiki pulled him and Carma (Kiki's daughter) around. So nice, eh? Friends are the bessst.
Aww, here's my gorgeous Kiki and I. She was a gothic fairy chick and I was a sleek kitty cat. I was supposed to be "animal control" to go along with Jasey's costume, but I ran out of time to get all that together...
Pic of me and tootles before we hit up the 'hood! We probably lasted about an hour...Jase was a bit slow to get to all the doors (each one had a few stairs to climb), so I was lifting him up over them to try to speed things up. Not good for the ol' back since you know, it's going out on me and all these days....hahaha. I am TOO old! Or wait, I think Jase is just TOO heavy! All in all it really was a fun night. He was just too cute to watch waddle around!

This video is funny. Jase didn't realize we were actually back at my friend's house, so he was just doing his thing. When the door opens, watch how he just goes inside. He kept going inside EVERYONE's houses!!! Makes sense cuz that is normally what people do after the door opens, right? :)

This is a super short clip of him getting his first trick or treat candy. It's kind of dark but he was SUPER excited about it--hope you can see his facial reaction!