You've gotta see these:

Apparently we have a little Shower Singer. He was in the shower and just started belting it out! For those of you who don't know the words to "The B.I.B.L.E", it goes: "The B.I.B.L.E, Yes that's the book for me. I stand alone on the Word of God, the B.I.B.L.E!" (just so you can interpret) Then of course we go through the ABCs.

Then the other day right before school, Dan Zanes from The Noggin Channel came on and Maysen just started dancing away!!! I couldn't help but stop and record it. Too darn cute.

Introducing ...

Griffin Vaughn

This is the picture that told us we were having another little baby boy today. Let me navigate this ultrasound for you. The two legs are in the top right-hand corner and they're bent toward the head which is half-way seen in the left bottom side of the picture. You can see "his defining" part in between the two legs. 2 fists are seen right above the two legs - on either side of the head. The only "not expected" news I got was that, according to the ultrasound, I'm showing almost 3weeks AHEAD of schedule. Today I am 23wks 5d and according to the various mearsurements of tummy, femur, head, brain, etc he is measuring 26w 4d (give or take a day). Also, a baby this age should be around 1 pound. My baby is 1lb 15oz, one ounce shy of being a whole pound over the norm. Maysen was 9lb 7oz when he was born and they say the first is usually the smallest. My doctors take: "Well, at least you're having a repeat C-Section and you don't have to _______!" Uhh, but I have to carry this thing around! Oh well, nothing like a chunky-monkey to hold. I love it! And maybe, just maybe, we'll get our 2007 Tax Deduction and a Christmas baby?

Today I went to the 2nd clinic they have which is farther for me to drive, but OH SO WORTH IT. The one I've been going to is part of the hospital here, and to get to it, you have to park in the parking structure, fight traffic, find a spot, watch for elderly pedestrians ... by the time you get there your BP is out the roof, you're sweating, you're greeted by the teenager-look-alike receptionists. Well, you get the drift. I go to the other clinic - brand new, mind you - and was greeted by mature women with smiles on their face, the parking lot had plenty of parking and the front door was 20ft from where I parked, the equipment was brand new (disappointed when we took our VHS tape to record the ultrasound - only to be told it only records on DVDs so she told me to call her and come back next week and she'd get 5-10min of recording for free done, how nice!), and all smelled like fresh paint. Totally refreshing! Needless to say, my BP was better this time and I felt better.

I had wondered deep down if I'd be a tad disappointed being told I wasn't having a girl. The truth is, is that the second she announced it was a boy, I thought of Maysen. Then I thought of Daddy. The fun he is going to have with his "boys" will be like the fun Nate's dad had with Nate and his brother. Camping, football games, wrestling ... all that Nate gets to experience with his own boys now. And that makes me happy. Watching Maysen growing up, he would just observe when Jurny or Jonas (older cousins) were over. He idolized them, watching their every move and trying so hard to copy it. He would eventually say the same things they would - if they were mad, he was mad. I am so excited that Griffin will have an older brother to look up to - to idolize - like Nate did with his brother. I am sure they will have their moments, fights, punching matches, and yelling competitions ... but what are brothers for? The bond they will share forever will make up for all that. With all that said, it's been a long day and I need to pick out crib bedding and paint samples!

Update: After re-reading, this is sounding completely anti-sister. We just so happened to be having a boy - so that is what went through my mind when she said "boy". Had she said "girl" I'm sure a whole different array of thoughts, emotions, ideas would have flooded through my mind. I would be excited and just as proud either way it went :-)

take two

Tomorrow we will attempt for a 2nd time to find out the main question we've wondered for 6 months now: Boy or Girl? Keep your fingers crossed this little one isn't as shy first thing in the morning tomorrow. Shall we take bets?

Fall is here (officially)

Happy 1st day of Autumn! Yesterday, as the Canadian breezes were blown in, I decided it was time to get my Autumn/Halloween stuff out and up. That required my lovely husband crawling up in the attic to search through the various boxes until he came to the box marked "Fall", the Halloween sign with the dagger at the bottom sticking out like a Tetanus-filled sword. On one attempt at getting the box down, he lost his balance and stepped off the board and onto the sheet rock, almost busting through the attic! But, alas, the decorations were found and now up! I'm feeling especially festive this year. Any good ideas for 3yr olds' costumes for Halloween?

Tomorrow Mase is going to Grma/Grpa's house all day. I had volunteered to work tomorrow and surprisingly I'm not needed so originially had just decided to take the quiet day at home. Instead I'm going to drive up to Portland (after I sleep in, of course) and spend the day with Jenn. We probably won't be doing "all" that much, due to her blood clot, but we'll hang out and watch movies. Who would have thought .. one whole day of not having to worry about who's doing what and where. It'll be a good time.

The other night, Maysen started bringing me various trucks and cars. He'd crawl up in my lap as we'd talk about the colors on the truck, what sound it made, or other various non-important facts about that vehicle. He'd jump down taking that car/airplane/truck with him, and bring back a different one for another game of "Name this Color". After about 30min of this, Nate says "Is he putting those cars back or what is he doing with them?" I assumed he had been putting them back. That is, until we got up to check. I then realized I had an obsessed son. He has always had the opinion that everything has a place and a certain way things go. This brought a whole new meaning to this idea:

Notice how they're arranged (mostly) in size from smallest to largest as the airplane and the helicopter at the end were brought to me about mid-way through this arrangement. He sure is proud of his line-up! I think, in a way, I'm going to be a lucky momma!

slowing down

I'm sure we all can attest to going about our daily routine without concerns for others, especially if we're tired or having a bad day. I think most just become so routine in their job, that it's just easier to go through the motions to get the day over with.

I am guilty of forgetting that, for example, in my profession, you can't just simply forget who you're dealing with. Sometimes (almost always) you're dealing with people who are scared, uneducated about what they've just been diagnosed with, and need that extra patience from you, whom they're looking up to for comfort.

Where am I going with this? My sister, who just returned from Kansas, was diagnosed with a blood clot yesterday in her leg. The inital drive to Kansas took her 2 days, basically immobile the whole time in her car. About a week after she was there, she experienced a horrible Charlie Horse during the night and continued to experience calf pain thereafter. I had initially advised it was probably due to the bad cramp, but if it did not clear up within a few days of drinking lots of water, to go see the doctor. She did that yesterday after noticing increased pain and eventually swelling. The doctor calmly advised her that it was "probably not" a clot but just to be safe would run a D-Dimer. She left feeling pretty confident things were fine, only to get a call from a very passive nurse later from the office stating her D-Dimer was "extremely elevated" and she needed a Doppler ASAP. That was all the information given to her as she was hurried off the phone, not explaining what any of that meant, but did add if she became short of breath it was a potentially deadly thing (basically) and needed to call 911. Uh. Yea.

That's when I get the frantic call of "WHAT?!" Granted, my sister has never been "very" calm when it comes to doctors in the first place (thanks to multiple ear-related surgeries we both had to have as a child), so this was rather alarming. I tried to reassure her that this didn't necessarily mean she had a clot, that's why they were doing the Doppler, but if she did ___, ___, or ___ would happen. I think the information was probably a bit overwhelming but at least she went into the procedure educated about the process and what would happen thereafter. Long story short, she had the Doppler and it is indeed a clot. They sent her back to the doctor where the Russian nurse came in and handed her 48,938 pages of information on her condition, and without a word was gone. They waited another 20min before having her come back, strap "a thingy" on her finger, nod, and proceed to walk back out ... all the while my sister had no clue what is going on. My sister's heart rate was "elevated" to say the least and the kind nurse did speak to her by saying she needed to "calm down". It wasn't until today that I explained to her what the "thingy" was on her finger and why they used it.

She's doing okay - and admittedly better than I would imagine considering she's completely needle-terrified and having to give herself Tinzaparin injections twice a day. She's on daily Coumadin as well and will chronically need to have repeat blood work to make sure her blood is not too thin. I briefly gave her a rundown yesterday of the dos/dont's of coumadin, which she ran by the doctor who said "Oh, I don't know". Thanks to the Anticoagulation Clinic who is managing her coumadin, they did affirm my explainations. This will be a 6 month ordeal for her.

My point is this: My sister was literally "terrified" by this. No one explained what they were doing, why, and what was going to happen. She fell into learning all of this as her 8hr day progressed. By the end of the day, I listened to an exhausted, frustrated, scared 30yr old and realized her day didn't have to turn out that way. All it would have taken was a few extra minutes on the explanation of things, a reassuring squeeze of the hand, a smile or wink, or even an offer of a glass of water. Any of that would have calmed a visibly-shaken person down. I know I learned a personal lesson how to slow down, because most likely they don't know even a fraction of what is going on and how you treat them during that traumatic time will effect their healing.

I love you, Jenn.

school daze

On Wednesday, Maysen started school. Nate went to the office late that morning so he could go too, which was nice. We had told him the night before that he was going to school because I never really thought he'd "get" it. He was super excited, not going to sleep until about 10:30 that night. Thinking we'd get to sleep in at least until 7:15am, you can imagine our surprise when we heard pitter patter on the kitchen floor at 6:45am "Go to school?!"

He was a trooper when we got there, going right over to the toys without a missed beat. We kissed him goodbye and left without a second thought from our little boy. I was to pick him up at 11:25 and got there right on time. I think I was just as anxious to get there as he was for me to get there! I walked down the hall and was met with the classroom door shut. "Hmmm" I thought, as I knocked quietly and walked in. All the other kids were quietly sitting wide-eyed as I walked in, my child's seat empty. That is, because, he was being comforted by Miss T as he cried his little eyes out. Talk about making your heart break! She assured me this had JUST started as they headed in from recess about 5 minutes prior. It was probably a mix of missing mom, having to come inside from recess, and an awkward transition-time for lunch.

He goes Wed, Thurs, Fri as the director told me that it's easier on kids to go three days in a row. It was, in our case, as he knew exactly what was going to happen the next 2 days. I dropped him off the next morning and was met with no tears, but a protruding bottom lip as I left. I again arrived right on time at 11:25 and was met again with my little Bean being comforted as he cried away. Friday was very predictable, as when I arrived again he was crying. It was then decided that I would pick him up just prior to them coming in from recess to divert this upsetting time for him. No biggie, as it means I will go 5min early. Otherwise he is loving school and brings home various colorings, paintings, and stories. It was neat hearing him repeat the story of Noah by saying "Momma, there was a weewy big boat ... then *gets a scary voice* a WEEWY BIG STORM". Very fun.

On another note, Nate got a job offer from the Weyerhaeuser/Denver office the other day! When Nate's Software Developing contract ended at Weyerhaeuser he had told the Denver office he'd be willing to relocate if a permanent job was offered - this was back in February. He of course found another job in the interim and is Web Developing for RealPro Systems. To keep his name alive in the Weyerhaeuser company, he continues to work from home (or work) on a Weyerhaeuser laptop about 10hrs a week for which he makes a very nice hourly income. So weighing all the options, I don't think we'll be moving to Denver. We'd be giving up a lot to move away from here. I can't even imagine moving 6+mo pregnant. It was very flattering for Nate to get that call - as they had just learned about their software developer leaving that day - and it wasn't even posted on the company's listing yet.

Fall was in the air last night as we sweatshirt'ed up and went to the local varsity high school football game last night. It was a lot of fun watching Maysen get excited for touchdowns - he'd clap when the crowd would clap, enjoyed popcorn, and LOVED it when the ambulance turned it's lights on during a good play. I never realized how football symbolized fall. I loved it.

mommy's gift

As I've talked about before, Maysen starts school on Wednesday. It was going to be 96 today, so I decided that he and I would take a drive over to the ocean for a Mommy&Mase day. It was amazing because we left here and by half way to Florence, it was 91 over the pass. We get to Florence, park the van and it was 55. It's usually so windy you can't keep the hair out of your face. Today there was absolutely no wind.

I "should" take credit for this rockin' sand castle, but I just can't. It was the coolest amateur sand castle I have seen around - complete with palm trees and drawbridges. It was abandoned when we got to it - as the beach was pretty empty.

It didn't take long before we were wet - starting with Maysen running full speed through the castle's surrounding "river".

Annnnd ... here's ours, complete with flagpole (aka: stick). We had a blast, though. We threw sand balls, found sea gull feathers, looked for sea shells, buried each other's feet/hands (complete with whipping that extremity full blast out of the sand, getting it everywhere on the human body), laughed, and a couple of times I caught him just sitting there ... smiling. What I wouldn't give to hear those thoughts. I said "Did you have fun?" while sharing McD french fries before the drive home. He simply replied, "MmmHmm. *long pause* Fanks, Momma". What did I do to deserve this?

my little fish

We went swimming today. What a little fishie I have! My camera died in time to miss he and Nate along the side holding on. Nate would go under and pop up and Mase copy-cat him, going under water willingly! He thought it was a blast. He start swimming lessons again in a couple of weeks.

No matter how careful anyone is, I think moms are still super sensitive to their little ones getting hurt. In this clip, I freak out just a "tiny" bit while watching him go underwater accidentally. And what do you know ... he pops right back up.

fall cleaning

What a handsome boy, if I do say so myself. His poor lip, though. Luckily the wounds sustained in last weeks crash-and-burn session are healing nicely. Maysen *hates* scabs and have managed to try and pick them all off, which I can't stand. What can ya do, though?

This weekend has been nice - filled with watching University of Oregon smear Michigan (GO DUCKS!), brownie making (Maysen apparently loves fists full of brownie dough - which then is followed by a sugar high like no other!), and we got the garage cleaned out. We backed Nate's truck up to the garage and if we hadn't used it or thought about it since we moved in, we pitched it! Felt so good! We've never had so many free shelves since we moved in. We'll fill them soon enough, as the garage will soon be becoming the storage area. Right now the spare bedroom is filled with all the wrapping paper, Christmas bows/boxes, and we'll see be cleaning all that out and filling it with baby booties and sleepers. I need a bigger house. We hope to be building within the next couple of years.

Today we're going swimming. It's amazing - as fall nears it is getting warmer and warmer! This coming week will be the warmest it's been all summer I believe - highs in the mid 90sF (we've been lucky this summer). One thing I have been noticing is we're getting the winds from up north at night. So, around 7pm it's almost chilly outside from the northerly breezes. Some of my "I really like it hot" flowers are fading away and my next weekend-consuming plan is to winterize my yard. I usually do it in late October/early November but I have a feeling as I get bigger and bigger with each day I'm not going to be want to bend, pull, heave. So, within the next few weeks we'll get that done. Does it ever end?

I realized I've been doing a lot of ('s so I'll close to end the wrath of parentheses. Have a good coming week ...

late bloomer

I was outside with Mase today getting some fresh air from being cooped in the house the last 2 days with Mase running a fever. I then noticed that my clematis was blooming again, a welcome sight as fall approaches. I have to admit though, that I am ready for fall. I am looking forward to darkness falling at 5:30pm and the sound of never ending rain. I am such a "cozy" person, meaning I love the coziness of darkness, curling up in a blanket listening to the rain with cold breeze blowing through the window. Or opening my bathroom window, lights off and candles lit as I lay in my hot bubble bath. I also can't wait to go on walks with Maysen in the late afternoon as darkness approaches looking for multi-colored leaves. I love that stuff. Just the same, by March I cannot wait for spring/summer.

The temp Mase has been running is better today. Last night at 11pm it was 103.1F. Talk about a momma getting no sleep! I was checking on him every 3hrs just knowing it was going to be 105F at some point. Today he has cooled off, very low grade, but running a steady 99.7 - 100.9 all day, unmedicated.

My sister is taking a sabbatical from her life and heading to our childhood hometown of Dighton, Kansas for a couple of weeks. She left yesterday and it is a 3,000mi journey and is already there. This last year has been a very trying time in her life and I'm hoping that she will get some things figured out for herself while there and away from everything here. I pray for her often.

No, this is not food

Sorry if the picture is a little grainy, but I took it on my new BlackBerry phone. No, I don't mean to use this as propaganda to advertise that I have a new phone, but it is a super cool phone.

So, yes this is my "I gotta keep up with the big boys" picture. He was playing chase and took a nose-dive in the street after failing to catch a 12yr old. Considering all that this has entailed, he's doing alright. This beating took place last night and this afternoon he starting running a fever. It got to 102.7 before I gave him Motrin but was sneaking up again at bedtime. I suspect that this is just a response to fighting off infection in his face - poor boy. He's asymptomatic otherwise and not cutting teeth right now that I can tell. Besides being groggy and whiny, he's doing good.

My baby was to start pre-preschool today, but due to a mold problem in the gradeschool next door school was postponed a week. I understand this is just pre-preschool and he'll only be going 3 mornings a week for 3hrs at a time, but this does mark the official start to his "school days". A week from today he'll be starting the routine of being in school, with a teacher, with fellow students - a journey that will last him from next week until the day he graduates highschool/college. It really is a big milestone. I think Nathan is even going into work late that day so he can drop him off with me as I try not to cry the whole 3hrs he's gone!

I was a bit ambitious with my day today and am feeling the effects of not listening to my body say "Are you crazy ... STOP" so I am heading for the couch. Until next time ...