New Year's Eve

2010 was full.

Full of tears, joy, excitement, disappointment, family, growth, memories and love.

We can't wait to see what 2011 holds and especially can not wait to welcome our baby Alivia.

Blessings

Today we found out that we would be welcoming a baby girl into our family. We are so excited and cannot wait to meet her. We have a wonderful doctor that allowed us to have as many people in the ultrasound room as we wanted.

My mom, Scott's parents and Cameron were able to be there. We even skyped my sister-in-law, Amy, and niece, Madison, in too!

What a great blessing to see our healthy baby moving around.

It was a wonderful day. As soon as we found out I had to go the store and buy a couple outfits!

We are constantly blessed and it's not often I write them down on the blog, although I should. Something else happened today that I want to remember.

On Christmas Eve, we visited Temple Square. While driving downtown, the car started acting funny. It would shift gears roughly and switching from drive to park or reverse would make the car jump. All signs were pointing to the transmission. Then, of course, the check engine light came on. When things go wrong with the car it makes me so frustrated. We have not had good luck with the cavalier and had recently replaced the engine and fixed an expensive part with the air conditioner. Having something go wrong with the corolla was the worst possible thing to happen, especially at Christmas.

I did enjoy the holiday, but in the back of my mind I couldn't stop thinking about the car and what it would probably cost us to get fixed. I was fretting, but for some reason not as bad as I usually do. I just kept telling Scott that it would be ok and we would get more answers on Monday. To have those words come out of my mouth is rare.  "It will be okay,"  is something that is said to me...often!

Today came and Scott took the car to Autozone to get the free diagnostic test done before my big ultrasound appointment.  Of course, it came back there was a problem with the transmission, but they couldn't pin down exactly what the problem was. Scott then took the car to the dealer and gave them the information he got from the test. After they reviewed it, they knew exactly what was wrong. A small, expensive ($800-1,200) computer part that communicated with the transmission and engine had become corrupt.

But...it was a recent recall.

They replaced the part for free!!!

Even if it hadn't been recalled, they informed Scott it would have fallen under the warranty that had recently been extended to 80,000 miles. We were at 79,200. We got the car back a couple hours later and it was as good as new.

When Scott came home and told me I almost cried. It was definitely one of those moments that you instantly say a prayer and thank Heavenly Father. And I did!

Merry Christmas!

This year was so fun because Cam actually understood what was going on. He was so happy and excited to finally be able to open the presents. It took us 2 hours to open everything because Cam would get distracted with every gift (and he got 1000) and Scott was video taping. Great combination.

Cam got a huge chapstick in his stocking and wouldn't put it down. Look for the "upper lip shine" in the pictures to follow!

Thanks Lindsey and Alli, Cam loved his Toy Story stuff!

Cameron got a few Disney movies that are must haves. He was pretty excited about The Goofy Movie.

Cam loves the moon, or as he says La Luna, so Scott got him this awesome rocket that reflects the moon and other scenes on the ceiling. Cam was flying it around all morning....ZOoooom Zooooommmm!

Thanks Uncle Scott, Aunt Amy and the girls! Cam has not stopped coloring! He loves the magic markers, almost as much as I do. No messes!

Grandma Mia got him his own portable DVD player. He was in heaven!

His awesome, huge fire truck!

 

 Cam's favorite gift from Gramy and Papa..Elefun! He wants to play every second.

Cam was spoiled and has not stopped playing with all of his new stuff since Christmas.

We appreciate the whole family and all the thoughtful gifts that were given this year. It was a great Christmas!!

We are so grateful to have had you come visit mom! Thanks so much for everything.

Temple Square

My mom was able to visit this year for Christmas and I am so glad she did! We have tried to go to see her every other Christmas, but since Cam can't fly for free anymore, it just wasn't an option this time.

We went to temple square on Christmas eve and had a great time. We were bundled up (Eskimo Mom!) and ready for the crowds.

Cam LOVED the horses. With the wait being over an hour and the cost of $60.00 this was as close as we were going to get! Maybe they will lower the prices after the season.

Christmas at the Gateway

 

 

 

 

 

 

We go to the Gateway every year during Christmas time. I love the big tree covered in lights and Cam loves the fountain. It wasn't raining, but Cam discovered the umbrella and couldn't put it down.

Jon and Rach

Winter Swimming

Cam would swim everyday if we let him. He loves going to the rec center with Scott and asks to swim each time we drive by it, which is often since it is 2 seconds from the house. Scott is so good to take Cam and spend the evening swimming with him. Cam gets so excited and will talk about it for days.

I can't believe how brave Cam is in the water. He is not afraid of anything it seems. He loves the big "lellow slide" and can go on it 100 times. I always ask Cam after he is done going down the slide if it is scary.  

"NO Mommy! Dat's fun. Try again!!"

Mall Santa

We took Cam to see Santa this week at Fashion Place Mall. They let you take your own pictures instead of buying one of their over priced packages.

We talked to Cam about it before and he said he would not sit on Santa's lap, but wanted to talk to him.

And that is exactly what happened!

I tried sitting Cam on his lap but he would not let go of me. This is as close as he would get without me right next to him. Santa didn't seem to mind too much, he was tired and wanted to fan himself with the coloring books he was handing out anyway.

Santa did get a quick high five, so quick that we missed the picture!

Big Boy Bed

We have been talking about converting Cam's crib into a toddler bed for a while now, but had been putting it off. He wasn't trying to get out of his crib so I thought it was no big deal. I realized though that I had wanted to also start potty training him after the new year and felt I couldn't handle both big milestones at once!

So a couple of weeks ago Scott converted the crib and had Cam him help. Cam was so excited and proud to help "fix" his bed. He has done surprisingly well and absolutely loves feeling like a big boy. The first couple nights he woke up after a couple hours of being laid down and came out in the living room. We just told him it was still bed time and he went straight back into bed. He has been waking up a little earlier now if he hears Scott getting ready for work too.

 I have been trying to teach him to let Scott or myself go get him in the morning or after naps instead of him opening the door and walking out. He is slowly learning the concept and I am just trying to be patient. 

He really has done so well and I am so proud of him. 

A picture of him in his bed will be coming soon!

The first morning after sleeping in his bed, he woke up and walked out into the living room and said Hi to us. It made me realize how grown up he has become. It made me so sad to think he is no longer our little baby. As I was trying to get ready for church I broke down and just laid in bed and cried. (I can blame my emotions on the pregnancy, right?)

I am not ready for him to grow up and change. I adore him in every way. It makes me sad to know I will never have him again at 6 months, 1 year old, 18 months, 2 years old...

I know we will have other children and I will have those ages again with each of them, but it won't be Cam at that age. There has not been one day of his life that I have ever wished the time to go faster so we could move to the next stage of his life. He has been amazing from day one and I know that will continue, I will just miss all these moments. I want to always remember him like this and the fun we have.

Every time I look at him and tell him what a big boy he is, he shouts,

 "No, mine little Mommy!"

I wish little could last a little longer.

Festival of Trees

We go to the Festival of Trees every year and went on their last day this year. Wow, it was crowded! I wish they did it longer...4 days just isn't enough.

Cam had fun this time because we didn't make him sit in the stroller. It gave me more stress for sure though. There were so many people and I was afraid of losing him.

There seemed to be SO many trees this year and a TON of quilts. I was in heaven!

Can you tell Cam was getting bugged that I kept taking his picture?

ha!

I need to make one of these! This is one of my favorites.

One of the Utes trees.

Toy Story galore!

Lunch time...

I love all the fun things that we do during the holiday season and this is definitely one of my favorites. I can't wait until next year!

I love to sing!

Cam LOVES to sing. I think we sing a zillion songs everyday. He loves to sing in nursery and tells me every Sunday what songs he sang. (Thank you great nursery leaders!)

Here is his version of Popcorn Popping.

Forgive my voice on here too please, turn the volume way low!

Stay tuned for his adorable version of, I Love to See the Temple.

What did you just eat?

Cam eats a yogurt before bed every night and he had strawberry kiwi tonight. He was in a silly mood and could not stop laughing whenever I said the word kiwi.

He makes me laugh all the time!

Disney on Ice

We were lucky enough to get a great deal on tickets and we were able to take Cam to Disney on Ice a couple weekends ago. He LOVES anything Disney and I couldn't wait to see his face when he saw Mickey. Of course we had so much fun and Disney did not disappoint!

I can't wait to take Cam again!

We had Mickey pancakes to start the Disney day.

Do you see these prices? Holy cow. We didn't get him anything. Although Uncle Robby did buy him a little Mickey before the night was over! He has not put it down since.

Waving to his friends!

The only thing that could have made the show better? Buzz and Woody! They are Cam's absolute favorite characters. Maybe next time.

Children's Museum

Last week Cam and I headed to the Children's Museum at the Gateway and played for a bit. We have a 6 month pass to get us through the winter months and it lets up to 4 people in each time we go! This time we took Uncle B.

Cam was so excited to play and interact with the other kids. He loves the water part and can stand there for hours if I let him. I learned my lesson last time and made him wear the waterproof apron this time!

If anyone would like to come with us, let me know! We would love to take you!

Yum, donuts and tomatoes!

 Not sure if B or Cam had more fun during this part...

 Peek-a-boo!



Life Changer #2

We will be having a baby join our family next year and we are so excited!

Expected due date is June 8, 2011.

This pregnancy has already been some what of a roller coaster ride.  After trying for a couple months, a test finally came back positive.  Based on my last period, I estimated to be about 5 1/2 weeks along.  However, a week or so later, I began bleeding after having been sick over the course of the weekend.  I even threw up for the first time in........I can't even remember when the last time was.  So, I called my doctor and he set up an appointment for an ultrasound and lab work to test my HCG levels.  In a normal pregnancy, HCG levels are expected to at least double every 48 hours.  The ultrasound showed that I was measuring nearly two weeks behind where I should have been.  On top of that, after testing my HCG a few times, my levels were not increasing at nearly the rate they should.  Over the next couple of days, my bleeding became worse.  Against the advice of my doctor, I accessed the results of my tests online so that I could read the actual medical notes.  They indicated that my levels were low and that the baby may have stopped developing.  At this point, it seemed as if all signs were pointing to a miscarriage.  Naturally, I started preparing myself for the idea of losing the baby.  And honestly, I felt from the very beginning that it might happen.  However, my doctor kept in contact with me and remained positive at all times.  He was in no way convinced that a miscarriage was actually happening. He suggested testing my levels again to verify if they were still increasing.  Although they were not doubling, my levels were still increasing.  He ordered another ultrasound.  I was expecting to see that the baby had not developed any further, but I was wrong.  The baby was developing consistent with the findings of the first ultrasound.  We were even able to hear the heartbeat!  What a great feeling that was! I was so overwhelmed with emotions. It was nothing I imagined would happen.

The doctor was satisfied with the ultrasound and didn't feel the need to test my HCG levels again. He planned on seeing me in 2 weeks unless anything changed or got worse. My bleeding actually stopped and things were feeling normal. After the visit with him 2 weeks ago, he determined that I must have ovulated late and that is why the ultrasounds were showing a different measurement than it would be if we went off my last period. He doesn't have an explanation for the bleeding or the HCG levels and said he doesn't really care since there is a baby with a heartbeat! He scheduled another ultrasound, which was yesterday, to make sure things were ok and developing as they should. Things were great and the measurements were right on with the other ultrasounds, 10 weeks 1 day.

I feel so incredibly blessed to be having this baby. For me, being able to get pregnant and have a baby is such a privilege and blessing. I know that Heavenly Father has a plan and that His will is happening. I have learned so much through this experience and appreciate all the support I have received. Scott has been so wonderful and positive, my mom has called me almost everyday checking on me and the baby, my mother-in-law has dropped everything for me when I needed her and I had a great friend to talk to that had, unfortunately, experienced her own miscarriage recently.

I love being pregnant. I am looking forward to this pregnancy and meeting our sweet baby next year. Cam will be such a great big brother and I can't wait to see his face when he meets this baby. I pray that this baby will be as healthy, easy and as good of a baby as Cam has been. 
(I know that is not likely, but it could happen, right?)