Mostly Pictures

I haven't had much time for blogging but today I have two sick kids. One baby girl is sleeping (I don't know how she can sleep and cough but she is managing) and a little boy just wants to cuddle up next to me and watch Toy Story. So, I decided this is a good time to catch up on February...

Guy has some skills when it comes to Rosalie. He can get her to burp in record time (it takes me a good 15 minutes) and she absolutely loves to sleep on him just like this!

We got to take a week and go to Williston to see our new living quarters! We also got to see our great friends, The Larsen's, who also live there! Vaughn found a new best friend in Vance which will definitely make moving easier.

Guy came home from work and fell asleep with Rosalie on the chair.

Vaughn still loves to hold his sister!

This was our Valentines dinner. I tried to stick with the "red" theme from years past but I was a little sick so it was not my best effort.

Our family at our Valentine's Day dinner.

I think this might just be the most beautiful baby in the whole world! She is soooo sweet! We love her to bits!

One night I got Vaughn ready for his bath....but before he would go in the bathroom he decided he needed to sit in his reading nook for a while! Who doesn't love reading in the nude?

Our superman-storm trooper-hooded superhero!

And last but not least...Guy had to go to Texas so my parents came for one last visit. We live at the top of a hill and Vaughn and my dad hopped on the sled and rode the whole way down.

As you can see, we have been super busy. Vaughn has been a riot lately! He is really changing (maybe getting ready for his 3rd birthday?) and he loves to make us laugh! Both kiddos bring us tremendous joy and our little family seems to be thriving! Hopefully this momentum can continue after the move!

Currently

I usually don't blog this type of thing but I saw it on a couple of my friend's blogs and thought I would give it a go. Often I think I should give an update on our life but don't have anything too interesting to post. Thanks to those of you who shared this too!

Reading - Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (still on the first chapter)

Looking forward to - Rosalie's blessing this weekend and the family coming to share it with us

Stressing about - selling our house

Craving - really good seafood

Wanting - a full night's sleep and a date with Guy

Proud of myself for - cleaning and getting rid of a lot of junk

Wearing - sweats and a black long sleeve tee (pretty standard attire these days)

Avoiding - deep cleaning before the move (where do I even start?)

Sick of - the anticipation of moving

Learning - how to care for a little girl

Suffering from - stress

Struggling with - how to entertain Vaughn and take care of Rosalie

Overcoming - patience

Hoping to - sell our house fast!

Excited for - a new beginning

Relieved by - Guy

Splurging on - a Diet Cherry Coke

Hot Diggity Blog

Who has time for blogging!

Seriously - We have been so busy! We had a family Christmas at our house with just our little family and my parents. It was wonderful and very relaxed. I really enjoyed being able to focus on my children and not feel like I had to entertain anyone else. I love the rest of our families but this was a nice change.

Our lives have had such a big shock with Rosalie. We absolutely love her but 2 kids is way harder than I ever could have imagined. I finally feel like I am getting my bearings but of course this feeling is coming right before we move again so I won't be surprised if I get knocked off my feet again. As I have mentioned before, Rosalie is the easiest baby I have ever seen. I am so thankful for this because with all of the stress we've endured the last 2 months I am not sure how well I would have handled a more difficult child. She hardly ever cries and is very content sitting by herself in the bouncer. Even more impressive is Vaughn's attitude. He is SO sweet with her. He loves playing with her hair and giving her kisses. Yesterday I set her down to run downstairs and she started crying. As I was coming back up the stairs I heard him talking to her so I stopped to listen. He was saying, "It's ok sister. Don't be sad, mama will be right back." It absolutely melted my heart. I am so lucky!

As this picture of our hands shows, our lives are feeling very intertwined. We are so blessed to have each other and it feels like we have been together forever. I can see God's hand in putting us here to be with one another because we fit together like puzzle pieces. Each of compliment one another and make living together easier. I am grateful to Guy, Vaughn and Rosalie for doing their part every day to make my life better!

I wanted to share these pictures of my babies to show how much alike they really are. (Vaughn is on the left and Rosalie the right) So far, Rosalie is so much like Vaughn. Not only do they both look so much alike physically but they also are very alike in personality. They have both been such mellow, happy babies!

Finally, I just want to remind all you ladies to feel your boobs!!! I know it sounds silly and I still feel so young that I didn't think anything like breast cancer could affect me yet. However, I had a doctor who wasn't doing his job of examining my breasts. Luckily, I felt around and found a lump. After a biopsy it turned out to be benign but it opened my eyes to the fact that we need to be taking charge of our health! So, if you haven't been doing self exams please start!!

Announcing...

Adora Rosalie Jordan

November 18, 2010

8:28 a.m.

6 pounds, 13 ounces

20 1/2 inches long

I know this post is really late but I have had my hands full! LITERALLY! I can't put this little girl down. She is so tiny and so fun to hold. She likes to cuddle so as soon and she is in my arms she wiggles closer to me and falls asleep. She is a great baby and hardly ever cries. She is very quiet and content. Her brother absolutely LOVES her!

I don't have a very exciting birth story but people have asked...all I can say is that scheduled c-sections are intense! I was so nervous leading up to the actual procedure that I didn't sleep for TWO DAYS! By the time we were at the hospital I couldn't stay awake any more. So, even though I only had a spinal tap as far as drugs go I slept through most of the surgery. Guy kept waking me up to keep me posted on what was going on and to hold her once she was out. If I had a choice I would like to go into labor naturally even though I know I will be having a c-section.

Also, since many people have wondered...She will be called Rosalie. It is a tradition on my mom's side of the family to name the first daughter "Adora". Most of us have always gone by a nickname, for example: I am "Adora Margaret". My mom is "Adora Ann" but she goes by "Do" (pronounced doe). My grandmother was "Adora Lou" and was called "Lulu". Miss Rosalie is the 7th Adora. While I have mixed emotions about this tradition (why don't we just give people the name that they will be called???), we decided that we would carry it on for now because it was very important to my mom. If it continues to bug me we will probably change it in a year.

Hopefully I will post more as I get more comfortable with being a mother of two. It is fabulous to have another person in this world to love. She is everything I could have asked for and more. How did I get so lucky???

Blessed!

Today I am feeling very blessed! For 9 months I have had the joy, privilege and blessing of carrying another human being with me every where I go. She has been my constant companion and reminded me daily how lucky I am. I have tried not to complain or wish her out (which didn't always happen). It is a strange feeling to know that she will be outside of me tomorrow. It is a bittersweet feeling. I can't wait to meet her! I remember feeling this with Vaughn but not as strong. I love having her inside because it feels like I can protect her.
As I have mentioned before, I am sad to be changing my relationship with Vaughn. He and I are so close and I am not ready for that to change. I don't want to share him and I know that he will have to make a big adjustment to sharing me! Today he has been talking a lot about his baby sister. I know he will make a great big brother and, in the long run (probably even the short run), he will benefit from having a sibling.
Sorry there are no pictures today...Just me being overly emotional and wondering if my house will ever be this quiet again?

Peacocks, Pumpkins & Pregnancy

I think it should be called "P"-tober instead of October in our house! Things have been very busy and exciting around here!!

Peacocks:

I am not sure I have seen anything cuter in this world than Vaughn in his peacock costume. He enjoys wearing it almost as much as I enjoy watching him wear it!! I have a friend who has twin boy's who wore this costume a while back and when Vaughn got to the right age/size I was very eager to borrow it for our own use. I don't know how she handled seeing 2 of these peacocks next to one another because I could barely hold it together with just one. We look forward to going to our first "trunk-or-treat" this weekend with a bunch of Vaughn's cousins!

Pumpkins:

We carved pumpkins early this year which was good and bad. The bonus was that Guy got to do it with us. He has been gone a lot since then so we wouldn't have had time to do it later in the season and still in time for Halloween. The drawback is that they are completely dead now. They have shriveled to an unrecognizable state and are black from mold on the inside.

We let Vaughn paint his pumpkin while we carved which turned out to be a great idea. His is still intact and looking better than his parent's. I wish I had a picture of his final product but rest assured it looks just like you would expect a 2-year-old's painted pumpkin to look.

Can you guess which pumpkin is mine and which is Guy's?

Pregnancy:

Besides being a little more sore than I remember being with Vaughn, this pregnancy is going so well! The baby is really low (I know I should have a picture but that would require self-photography which I am too lazy for at the moment). She is also breach. The lowness and breach position really contribute to me feeling great. I have very little heartburn and I still feel like I can breath pretty well. By this point with Vaughn I was miserable with heartburn and I just wanted him out! I feel like she could cook for a while longer and I would still feel fine!

I have a lot of fears about having another child and this makes me so nervous. Mostly I feel like I am going to traumatize Vaughn. How am I going to give him the attention he needs while taking care of an infant? Will I favor him or her? Will Vaughn and I still be best friends like we are now? But whether I am ready or not she is coming. Assuming everything goes as planned, we will have a c-section on November 18th and finally meet our newest bundle of joy! Until then we are having a very extravagant Halloween because it will be our last holiday as a family of 3.

Many of you have sent me messages wondering if we have a name picked yet. I wish I could say yes because I am quite concerned about her being nameless but unfortunately she is still just "baby girl." Sometimes I will call her Mallory because it feels weird not having a name but I am not sure if that name suits her (or us).

Pistol Pete:

Vaughn has been around for 3 football seasons but this was the first year that he was really aware of everything going on around him. It was fun to watch him take in all the action. From a distance, he was pretty intrigued by Pistol Pete but when my dad took him to actually meet him this (see below) was the closest he would come. The picture doesn't illustrate the 30 feet separating them!

Parties:

Vaughn has really enjoyed his Kindermusik class this fall! Every Wednesday he wakes up and is sure to remind me that we have to go to music class. This week he got to wear his costume to class and enjoy a little Halloween party! He absolutely loved it! His teacher, Miss Carrie, is fabulous. I think this will be one of things we will miss most about Green River!

Happy September!

It has been so long since I have blogged! We have been pretty busy and Guy has been gone A LOT but mostly I just lost my motivation sometime during the summer. The past few weeks have been jam packed with adventure and big news!

When Guy had been gone for a month and a half I convinced him to take a day long drive to come see us even though he would have to turn around in 24 hours and go back. I didn't expect that he would talk me into going back with him! Right now there is a big boom in North Dakota so it is impossible to get a hotel room. Luckily our friends Aspen and Adam let us stay with them. It was so nice of them to put us up the entire time we were there (which turned out to be a week and a half instead of 4 days). Vance and Vaughn turned out to be very good friends!

After we got home from ND my parents came to visit. My mom and I have been very excited to shop for this new baby but have been holding out until we knew the sex. Since my doctor in Evanston could never tell what we were having we have just had to wait. However, patience is not my strongest characteristic. I finally caved and called a business here called "Sneak-a-Peek Fetal Imaging." I made an appointment and we got to go see our baby! Can you guess what we are having?

I am entirely clueless on what to do with a girl but excited none the less! It should be an interesting learning curve for our whole family. She was very cooperative when it came to showing us her sex but we only got a few good shots of her face! Of course, I think she is beautiful. It looks like she will have a lot of hair and I already see a resemblance to Vaughn.

Along with the baby girl news we also had another big surprise. As I mentioned earlier, Guy has been doing a lot of work away from home. I was getting pretty lonely and a little crazy (we can blame this on pregnancy hormones, right?) and begged to him to ask his boss about any opportunities that might be available to him and keep him home more. I was hoping for something around here or closer to my family but was taken completely off guard when he offered Guy a job in Williston, ND. The job would be a promotion for him and mean he would be home a lot more. Even though I wasn't crazy about moving so far away we decided that it was best for our family. We don't have hardly any of the details smoothed out yet but Guy accepted the job and we will be moving in early 2011! Here is a map in case you were wondering where in the heck Willistion is:Williston is located 20 miles from the Montana boarder and about 60 miles from the Canadian border. Now that you know where it is you know about as much as I do about the town! Feel free to plan a trip to come see us any time.

I can't promise that I will be any better about blogging but hopefully I can at least stay somewhat updated on our plans for moving as they become more concrete!