She's Home!

Yesterday we brought Cali home and it was great. We are so happy to be out of the hospital and home. Cali is so different than Katya and so it's like having our first child all over again. She is so cute and so much fun to have around. Last night was kind of a rough night. She was up for most of it fussy and crying, but I guess that's normal. As Jethro put it this morning, "We now know what it's like to have a normal child." Even though she was so fussy and it was hard to stay awake with her, she is totally worth it. I love looking at her beautiful face and seeing her open her beautiful eyes. She is just so precious and I wouldn't trade her for anything.

Her are some pictures from yesterday.

Getting ready to come home.

Now we know who she's cheering for.

Nya was so excited to see baby Cali that she just couldn't
wait to see and hold her. Her excitement was so cute!

Sleeping angel.

One Happy Family

Katya has been acting strange the last couple days, not eating her bottle, sleeping a lot, and being kind of fussy with Staci's mom taking care of her. We are pretty sure she knows what is going on, or at least that something is going on, and today she got to see her new sister. Katya loves Cali:

Cali's Bath

Cali also takes Katya's lead in loving her baths. She didn't like it when I pulled and stretched her arms and legs, but she sure loved having the water fall all over here. She would sit there with a content look on her cute little face and she was lovin' it. Want more pictures? Click here.

Cali

It seems that Cali is a lot like her sister. Here it is 5:40 am and she still hasn't eaten anything, 12 hours after her birth. She has been too busy sleeping. We tried twice in the middle of the night to feed her, but after an hour of coaxing and tickling her, she still would not wake up. What a silly little girl. We have had to change her diaper twice already so she should be hungry. The picture I posted in the previous post is the last time her eyes have been open. She has been asleep since then, and not even been stirring. What a stinker! It will be nice if she sleeps through the night when we take her home, but in the hospital, they make you feed them every three hours. Here is a picture of her sleeping, since that is all she has been doing.

Cali Beverly Jones has arrived

She weighs 8 lbs, 2 oz, 20 in. long and she is wicked cute! We can't believe she is so big! She was born at 5:33 pm. UPDATE: Pictures are below or here:

39 weeks and ready

I am so ready for this baby to be born. Things have been so different with her than with Katya. At 39 weeks when Katya was born, I felt like I could be pregnant for another month and be just fine. Today I am really feeling this baby and am ore than ready for her to come, especially since the football game is over and done with. Just in the last month I feel like have grown quite a bit. I know I am much larger now than I was with Katya. Here are a few pictures for comparison.

At 39 weeks with Katya

At 39 weeks now

I am wearing the same skirt and shirt and I couldn't zip the skirt when I took the picture today. I know it's not quite as pregnant looking as some people get, but I sure can tell the difference. Wish me luck that she comes soon.

BYU vs. Utah

My biggest fear going into this game was not that BYU would lose, but that I wouldn't make it to the game because I would be having the baby instead. Luckily, I made it and I was so glad I did. We had such a fun time and I couldn't stand to leave the stands once during the entire game (and anyone who has ever been pregnant knows how hard it is to hold it for that long). I was so afraid that the minute I would leave something monumental would happen. It was such an intense game that I kept praying I wouldn't go into labor. I loved every minute of the game and am so glad that we went and are so proud of BYU. Go Cougars!

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving we went to Bountiful to Jethro's cousin Kirsten's house. There was tons of yummy food and Katya sure enjoyed her first real Thanksgiving meal. She especially loved the turkey and the stuffing. In true Katya fashion, she screamed and cried when we were eating pie and she wasn't getting enough pie fast enough. It was a nice relaxing Thanksgiving and a special thanks to Steve and Kirsten for having us over.

Needless to say, my excitement was well founded

Although the score was low, it was a very exciting game. The third quarter flew by and the excitement really started with only two minutes left. Great game! Go COUGARS!!!

Needless to say, I am excited

Go Cougs!!!

How big will the baby be?

With my due date fast approaching, Jethro thought it would be fun to see everyone's guesses on how much our baby will weigh, her length, and when exactly she would come. My due date is Dec. 1 so keep that in mind. The person who ends up the closest will get a prize, determined by Jethro. It'll be fun to see all your guesses so guess away.

36 weeks

That's right, I'm 36 weeks and our little girl will be here in just 4 short weeks. It's crazy to think that we will then be a family of 4. Wow, time sure does fly. I'm excited, but a little nervous. Everyone says that having 2 kids is pretty easy, I just hope that that is he case. I feel bad for our little girl because I haven't taken as many pregnant pictures of me as I did with Katya. I decided to take on yesterday to document. After Jethro took the picture, I looked at it and thought that I was huge! Alright, I know to many of you I may not seem that big, but I was not this big with Katya. I guess it's true what they say- you get bigger with every kid. I decided to pull up a picture of e with Katya around the same time to do a little comparison.

Pregnant with Katya about 35 weeks

Now at 36 weeks

I definitely think that this little girl is going to be bigger than the 6 pounds that Katya was, unless she's just packing a whole ton of water. She is definitely more of a mover and seems like she'll be playing soccer or some other rough sport once she gets older. I am so excited for her to come so that I can see her cute little face and see her personality. I just hope that she waits to come 'till after the BYU vs. Utah football game on Nov. 24- I don't want to miss it!

100

Wow, I can't believe that this is my 100th post. I wasn't paying attention so good thing Jethro was and reminded me about it. We started this blog in January so I think we are doing pretty good- better than writing in our journals. I wasn't sure how much I'd really enjoy blogging, but I have grown to love it. The best part of it is being able to share pictures with family and friends and also to catch up on friends lives. As we get older and our friends move on to different places, it's nice to be able to check their blog and feel like we are still staying in touch. It's pretty nice. I wish more of our friends would join the blogging world and maybe they will someday. I just love that in a time of being so busy with life we can use the internet to our benefit and keep good old relationships going and stay in touch with family far away. I look forward to blogging for many more years and hope that others also see the benefits in doing so and continue or start their own blogs.

Friends

Staci and I had such a good night last night. We went to visit the Ware's. While there, the Bishops and Hunters came to visit. They are all from my mission. We used to get together with the Nelsons and the Wares during the football season last year, but haven't yet this year, until last night. I just want to say how much fun it was and thank the Wares for their hospitality and letting us stay so late. When I first got back from the mission, I would only talk about "the good ol' days" with mission friends, and it was kind of boring sometimes because there was never any moving forward. (Don't get me wrong, I love the mission and I would love to be able to talk about that all day long, but you know what I mean.) Anyway, now that the kids are almost as numerous as the adults in this group, and we are all growing up, it was really fun to talk and learn about how everybody is living and where we all will end up, and so on and so forth. We are REALLY grateful for our friends. Thank you so much for the great get-together Wares, Bishops, and Hunters!

Another First!!!

Okay, I know PK is only 18 months old, but she has done something purely amazing. On Monday, a physical therapist came over to help evaluate whether Katya would need her services. It turns out she does, but Katya is a fast learner. The physical therapist taught us how to help her sit up, and since Monday, Staci and I have helped her sit up 2 or 3 times each. Well, last night, at our friends' house, she sat up all by herself. Then today at church, she sat up twice during sacrament meeting, and then again during her first day at nursery. Then, when Staci bribed her with a piece of a cookie, she sat up so we could record it on video. So cute. I just uploaded it, so if it doesn't work for a little bit, give it some time (Megan!).

How cute!

We took Katya to the BYU vs. CSU game yesterday. She was happy up until the last 10 minutes and was getting bored. It was a little cold at the start of the game and she was bundled up. She looked adorable!

Katya's First Day at Nursery

Today was Katya's First Official Day in Nursery. It was a good day to take her. None of the bullies were there so she wasn't picked on too much or shoved down. It was kind of nice. She was tired so she cried a couple of times, but for the most part she did quite well. She sure does love watching the kids. Too bad she's not big enough to grab the toys that the other kids take from her. She also loves singing time and today she really liked the chocolate animal cookies at snack time. I'm glad she enjoyed it for the most part.

The Great Pumpkin Saga

The pumpkin that Katya rode in for Halloween was in fact real. We even grew it in our garden. I never knew that it was going to be that big, but it ended up just perfect. Even though I was excited for the pumpkin, I wasn't too excited about carving it into Katya's pumpkin carriage. I figured that it was going to be pretty hard to cut, clean, and decorate. It ended up being a lot easier than I thought. Here is the journey of Katya's pumpkin in pictures.

The pumpkin after cutting the hole for Katya.

This thing is pretty large. It probably had about 10 pounds of guts
and flesh cleaned out and still weighed about 30-40 pounds.

Almost finished.

All done and ready for trick-or-treating.

It was pretty fun to carve and decorate such a large pumpkin, even though it was a lot of work. It was worth it to have Katya enjoy it so much. We'll see what next year will bring with hopefully another big pumpkin.

Happy Halloween!

We took Katya trick-or-treating for the first time tonight. The best part of it all was the dressing up. I think she looked so cute as Cinderella at midnight. We had to do something with our giant pumpkin. She didn't last long out there though. By the time we finally got going, she was tired, hungry, and cold. She sure looked cute though.




Staci didn't put up a picture that shows her costume very well and it was cute, so I will put one up here:




Katya in her super cute Halloween pajamas from Grandma Jones. I just love them.

Is she too big for her crib?

With a picture like this, one might wonder if Katya is too big for her crib and needs to go to a toddler bed.


In all actuality, she is barely long enough to fit the width of her crib. I think she just likes airing out her feet.

Boo at the Zoo

Today we went to Boo at the Zoo. It was fun, but way crowded. We lucked out and got a good parking spot. We went with Rebekah and Nya, which was a lot of fun. There were so many people there. There were companies handing out candy, but we didn't want to wait in line for 10 minutes to get one piece of candy. We found a few lines that were really short so we got the candy there. It was fun to see the animals. The monkeys were really active and the baby orangutan was swinging around everywhere. I really like going to the zoo and seeing the animals, but Katya's favorite part is looking at all the people. She was so good and the only noise she made was laughter. I'm glad she is so easy to please.






Sometimes it's so hard to get a picture where they are both smiling and have cute faces. Too bad I can't pull them out of seperate pictures and create a new one.

HAPPY 26th BIRTHDAY JETHRO!!!

Today is Jethro's birthday. He is the big 26. It's been a wonderful 4 years since I met him. Every year that we are together, I find more and more things that I love about him. Here is a list of some of the things I love about him.

1. He has the cutest chin, even though he says it's pointy and hates it.
2. He has soft hands.
3. He didn't kiss me until I said it was okay- so I kissed him first.
4. He has really good taste in jewelry.

5. He sings beautifully in Russian (and in English, but I like to hear him sing Russian).

6. He has cool handwriting.
7. He is a really good teacher.
8. He works hard so I can stay home with our kids.
9. He surprises me even though I'm not easy to surprise.
10. He's really smart.
11. He's good at whatever he does.
12. He knows a lot about computers and technology.
13. He supports me in whatever I do.
14. He is always thinking.
15. He makes me very, very happy.
16. Katya absolutely loves and adores him and can't wait until he gets home.
He is such a good father.17. He takes care of Katya every Sunday so that I can have a break.
18. He listens to me and takes my comments and suggestions seriously.
19. He smells good.
20. He isn't afraid to be himself.
21. He loves to watch college football.
22. He isn't afraid to try something new.
23. Even though he hates shopping with me, he has really good taste in
clothing and always pick out something cute.
24. He always knows what will make me feel better.
25. He looks cute in everything.
26. He is the most wonderful man ever and I love him so much. He is the best and is so wonderful.

Happy Birthday Jethro!

She has finally grown into her clothes....

This is Katya on Sunday. My mom bought this dress for her and I absolutely love it. She finally looks like she is getting big.


This is her in her winter coat. I bought it last winter thinking that she would wear it. I am happy that she is finally growing into her clothes and that she can wear it because it looks sooo cute on her.

Katya is so Funny

Katya can't chew very well. She chokes frequently (or so it seems to us new and nervous parents). Well, the other day, she was eating dinner and started choking. She gagged three or four times and we usually give her an opportunity to try and clear it herself. She didn't that time, and when I stuck my finger down her throat she got really mad. The food finally dropped out of her mouth and she was MAD. She found the dislodged piece of food and shoved it back in her mouth with a defiant look at her mean daddy that stole her food. Tonight when she choked, I reached in to grab the food out of her throat, and she leaned back and clenched her mouth shut so I wouldn't take her food. She knew that when my finger went into her mouth, she would lose her food. It didn't matter that she couldn't breathe, and her face was turning closer to blue. I had to work hard to get my finger in those clinched jaws.

Also, Katya laughs all the time. She thinks she is so funny. When she laughs, she smiles really big with her mouth open and then laughter explodes like a dry ice bomb...or so I have heard...um...yeah... It is so funny because she makes the same face that she makes when she cries (only her eyes are open when she laughs) and then laughter shoots out. So cute. I will try to get some wicked good video up if I can catch her in one of those moods.

The Miracle Super-Wonderful Totally Amazing Cabbage Patch Kid Diet!

Before - Notice that I am very depressed, sullen, nobody likes me, I am allergic to enjoyment.

After - Notice that I am not only a little thinner, but also 100 percent happier, more fulfilled, I make more money, drive a nicer car.

Two weeks ago, I started a diet called the cabbage soup diet. Allegedly, it is a diet they give people who are about to go in for surgery. Luckily, I am not going to go in for any kind of surgery. Staci and I have been struggling to eat well the last few months. We figured this would be a great way to jumpstart us back into eating well and me losing weight. I lost 14 pounds in 14 days. It was pretty awful to eat cabbage soup for every meal for the entire two weeks. I survived, and I have a renewed determination to eat better. I did well during my class parties today and didn't eat a ton of junk food. I had a couple treats, and that was it.