Special Days

Over the last week...

Shane got his first zit (a HUGE excitement for him)
AJ is now 6 weeks old
Logan turned 8 years old
Logan was baptized and confirmed a member of our church
Heather, Jeff, and their 6 week old, Garrette, visited
AJ got his baby blessing (now named in the church records as our son)
I got nothing done (hmmmm, nothing new there)

Oh, but I did have a book club meeting at my house and we did cookbooks and had lots of yummy food. That and cleaning half the house should count for something.

Here are the pictures to go along with the events:

Colorado Pics

These are all from January 1st and 2nd. Enjoy! As you can see the boys had lots of fun ice skating and sledding. AJ also had his first bottle on Jan 1st.

One Month Old

AJ is now 5 weeks plus two days old. He was one month old last Saturday. I can't believe he's already that old! On one hand it seems like he has been part of our family forever but on the other hand it seems like he was just born. This past five weeks have flown by! Here are AJ's statistics as of today's doctor appointment:

Height/length: 21.5 inches 38%
Weight: 9 lb. 15 oz. 45%
Head Circumference: 38 45%

The poor little guy got his second Hep. B shot today too so he's been sleeping most of the evening. I hope he sleeps well tonight!

AJ also had a "first" today (that was his second doctor appointment). Today, for the first time, he stayed with a baby sitter. He is going to his daycare (an in-home provider who I've kinda known for several years) while I go to class on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 to 10:45 so he's there about 9:00 to 11:15 two times a week.

Before this I had only left AJ at home, I think twice, for short periods of time with his dad. Today I left him for a little longer, with a stranger. Well, a stranger to him and someone I know but was only slightly acquainted with before now. Good thing I trust him and his wife! Randall is the daycare provider and stay at home dad- his wife works at K-State in IT and sells Creative Memories scrapbooking supplies. I met Randall through his wife and have a least one friend who had brought her kids to Randall's daycare for a while. Anyway, Randall seems like a great guy. I left AJ with him with no reservations. It was a little hard for me, but I was in a hurry so I left quickly. When I got back Randall said AJ had done well. He had a couple dirty diapers, drank his bottle, and slept. He only cried for a short time when he needed to be changed or was hungry. Overall it sounds like AJ did great. Whew! I can now breathe a sigh of relief. That's one first I don't want to worry about again. It's always a little nerve racking to leave a baby for the first time!

On another note: Logan's new favorite saying is "i-yi-yi" (pronounced eye-igh-eye) or however you'd spell that...whenever he's annoyed. He says it A LOT!

Shane's news: he's going on a Klondike Derby campout- camping in freezing temps tomorrow night followed by some special cold activities on Saturday which include packing a sled and mushing it (his friends will be the dogs). Shaun is going too. Fun for him! Logan, AJ, and I will be home and cozy in our beds.

Mercy's Baby Faces

Go HERE to see AJ! I had totally forgotten about this.

Happy New Year!

I received this as an email and liked it enough to put it online. I don't like to send forwards very often so this works.

HANDBOOK 2010

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2009 .
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minute walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything..
28.. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change...
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Last but not the least:
40. Please Forward this to everyone you care about. (OR NOT!)

Colorado New Year

We've been in Colorado since Wednesday on a quick, last minute trip. I'll post a few pictures and a brief summary soon! We head back tomorrow. I'm REALLY going to miss the mountain views and all the beautiful snow. I think Shane and Logan will miss the sled hill next door (literally next to our house) and building snow forts more than anything. They're going back to school Monday. We're all wishing we could stay here longer! Too bad Shaun has to go back to work or we'd have stayed a couple more days.