Vinyl Me This

Ok, have you ever had the unfortunate experience of missing the Enrichment where they do the cool vinyl lettering on tile or wood and then you feel like you will never get your family name in vinyl on a board? Well this is how I felt until I learned my cousin, Denise, started her own business in vinyl! So, we had a girls night last September and we all went down to Denise's and made our own Vinyl plaques! My mom posted some pictures of our work on her blog. Here is the link: more vinyl examples. (You have to scroll down to the end of the post.)

Anyway, Denise recently created a website! So if you missed your Enrichement vinyl night and want to order something of your own, it just got easier! Click here to see her website Vinyl Me This and create your own custom vinyl letters.

Roommate Visit

My old college roommates April and Julie came to visit on Aug 4th. Julie went into the MTC on the 5th so she was in town and April and I wanted to capitalize on this. She is serving a mission in Guatemala. We had a fun visit chatting about what we're doing now and "the good old days" when we were at BYU-I together. I love my roomies!

Justin is One Month Old

Justin is one month old! I can't believe a month has gone by since we were in the hospital. Time has blurred by.

Here of some of Justin's milestones:
- Weight 6lbs 13oz
- Length 19 inches (as of 2wk appt, he's got to be 20" now)
- Eats only once or twice a night now
- Focuses his eyes more on objects
- Holds his head up momentarily
- Does mini push ups when on his tummy
- He can switch back and forth between bottle and nursing
- We went for a walk in our stroller for the first time today

Likes:
- Looking at the blinds and the ceiling fans
- Sleeping belly down with legs all tucked up into his little body on my belly (reminds me of being pregnant)
- Eating his fist or an occasional finger or thumb
- His little bear mobile which plays "Rock-a-Bye Baby"
- Listening to us play Rock Band (Seriously, he falls asleep every time)
- Listening to his Jewel Lullaby CD
- Being tightly swaddled
- To cuddle
- To hold hands

My favorite things about him:
- Holding his hand, well, his hand holding my finger
- His soft, silky hair
- His sweet smell
- Seeing his little eyes meet mine
- Kissing his chubby cheeks
- Hearing all his funny little sounds
- Watching him sleep and seeing his changing facial expressions

Double Cousin Shower

We had a fun double shower for my cousin Ashleigh who is pregnant and my cousin Jodi who is getting married. I was able to go because AJ and his parents watched Justin. When AJ came to pick me up I got to show Justin off to all my awesome family which was fun. His head was pronounced as having a good shape, his ears were found to be nicely against his head, and other such triumphant remarks were made.

Great Grandmas!

We love our GREAT Grandmas. Here are a couple pictures with our Grandmas.

Justin with his Great Grandma Zenna.

Justin with his Great Granny Ella.

Helping Visitors

Well, the date on here says Monday but it is actually early Wednesday morning because I couldn't finish the post and had to find a free moment another day to complete it. It turns out Justin is sleeping great tonight but I cannot for the life of me fall asleep, so here is my free moment! I'm not even drowsy and every tiny thing is distracting me from being able to settle down. It is ultra frustrating because this is the only time I can sleep. Justin doesn't really take it well when I ask him to feed or entertain himself while I nap.

Anyway, back to my original purpose in posting: helping visits. Karma came down and helped me my first week out of the hospital with Justin. She probably got a little more than she bargained for, I was a little psycho.

I was so worried about Justin being in the NICU while we were in the hospital that I didn't have time to think about bringing him home. We fully expected to be discharged on Sunday and then have to come back and get him. We didn't imagine he would get to come home with us the same day we left. We had never spent the night with him and that first night home was extremely overwhelming. I realized I had no idea what I was doing!

Justin LOVES to be held and would not hear of being set down. Then our first Monday home Justin was tested for Jaundice and had to be under the bili lights 24/7 except for feedings. This, plus the enormous lack of sleep, equalled several regular breakdowns for me. But we got through it.

The next Sunday my Mom, Erika, and Livvy came to help. I was a little more steady by this time and Justin was off the bili lights. Needless to say it was still an adventure.

Also, I can't forget about help from siblings that live close by. Thanks guys. It's been a blessing to have so many offers to help.


The classic, in-a-hat picture taken especially for my Dad.


Looking a lot less yellow. Look at those cute rosy cheeks.


Tag Team 1


Tag Team 2, Part A


Tag Team 2, Part B