New website.....

Julianna has a new website: trying to bring in some extra cash for the Christmas season, she has started being crafty (or atleast trying to be crafty) and creative by making beaded jewelry. Check out her website!

Chicken Curry Casserole....

3 cans chicken, Costco's Kirkland brand (4 cans if you like lots of chicken)
1 jar Roasted Garlic Parmesan Ragu Sauce
2 cans cream of chicken soup (you can even use 1 can of cream of mushroom, or even cream of chicken w/herbs)
1 1/2 cans of milk
2 tsp curry
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp italian seasoning
dash of paprika
1 box of Piccolini (tiny bowtie pasta)
grated cheese

1. Boil noodles as box directs, adding olive oil to the water pre-boil and salt as you add the pasta.
2. Mix ragu sauce, soups, milk, and seasonings. Drain and reserve chicken until the end.
3. Preheat oven to 375*
   
4. When noodles are cooked, fully drain and transfer into a large glass baking dish. (I used the biggest rectangle Pyrex)
5. Add chicken to sauce and stir GENTLY if you want larger chunks of chicken. Stir vigorously if you want the chicken broken up more.
6. Pour over noodles evenly. Use a spoon or a spatula to ensure total coverage of sauce over the noodles.
7. (we were out of cheese) Sprinkle grated cheddar over the top and bake until bubbly
8. ENJOY! Serve with green beans or peas.
   

Hunter

Here is my boy, Hunter! He will be ONE YEAR December 10th. I can't believe how fast this year has gone. Currently, he weights 23.5 lbs. Unfortunately, he has asthma and allergies, so it's made for a very fussy baby at times, but he takes it all in stride, the little trooper. He is WALKING now. no way? YES WAY!! He babbles along incoherently, blows bubbles, blows raspberries, waves (sometimes), squints his eyes to be funny (sometimes), can self feed himself lots of different kinds of food, been off the baby bottles and on a sippy cup for 2 months now (HUGE accomplishment since Jason had baby bottles until he was atleast 18 months old, stubborn boy), can hold his own bottle/sippy cup for 4 months now, LOVES Rapunzel on the movie Tangled, a very very happy boy all around, crawls SUPER fast, figured out where the cookbooks are stored (no, he's never seen anyone get into that cabinet either, he did it himself!), loves his bath and actually recognizes the word BATH since he was about 9 months, he stands up in his bathseat for a few seconds then plunks himself back down....repeatedly and laughs about it, loves to play with his big brother Jason, has SEVEN teeth so far, we've had to trim his hair from his eyes and ears and this last time he looks like a little boy instead of a baby. Tons more, but all I can think of for now!

Halloween 2011

Enjoying candy from trick-or-treating at work

Hunter in his candy corn costume

He posed himself!

Hunter was so distracted by the hay!

Jason....

That's my boy! Jason, who will be 3 in February 17, is over 3 feet tall now! He is doing much better on speaking in sentences and can identify several animals and their sounds (when he wants to), some colors, and can count to 3 (only because he's so stubborn he doesn't want to learn!). He's just now figured out how to "hop" off things, instead of just lunging or crawling off things. He loves loves loves cars, fire trucks, trains, dinosaurs and dragons. His favorite foods are broccoli, yogurt, cheese and milk. If he could, he would play outside all day. He is very smart. Yes, I am a proud mommy.

Stay tuned for a post about Hunter.....

Meatloaf Cupcakes

1 lb ground beef
1/3 cup fine bread crumbs
1 egg
1 squirt of ketchup
1 tsp salt
dash of pepper
2 tsp parsley
2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion flakes
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/3 cup grated cheese (any flavor)

1. Preheat oven to 400*F
2. Mix all ingredients except ground beef in a bowl, then add ground beef. Do not over mix!!!
   
3. Divide evenly into 8 mounds and put into ungreased cupcake pan
4. After 20 minutes, remove from oven and slice one in half. If still pink, put back in the oven for a few more minutes
5. Serve with baked potatoes and buttered green beans
6. ENJOY!
   

Julie's Bolgonese

2 carrots, diced
1 onion, diced
olive oil to cover bottom of pan/pot
salt & pepper
2 garlic cloves or 2 tsp jarred garlic
1 lb ground beef
one 28 oz can tomato paste
2 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil until it ripples. Then add carrots and onions, with salt, pepper and garlic. Saute until translucent on medium.
   
2. Add ground beef, breaking up continuously while cooking to there are no chunks, on medium-high.
   
3. Add parsley, oregano and red pepper flakes with the tomato paste.
   
4. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.
5. Serve over buttered noodles or rice.
6. ENJOY!
   

Grandma Jones' Pork Chops

4 pork chops
Salt/pepper to taste
Olive oil
1 can of beef consommé
1 sliced apple
1 sliced orange
Cinnamon

1. Brown pork chops with a little olive oil in a large sauce pan w/ salt & pepper
2. When almost just done, add beef consommé
3. Top 1 slice apple & 1 slice orange to each chop
4. Sprinkle cinnamon over top
5. Simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes
6. Serve with pasta/rice/potatoes & veggie and ENJOY.

They come out so moist and tender!

Updates.....

I thought I would update our blog since it has been awhile since it was last updated....

We have moved out of the parents house into their rental house but we do have our own space and Jason can run around to his hearts content.

Jason will be 18 months in a few weeks. He is growing so big and trying to talk as well. Last weekend he got his first grown up hair cut and now he looks like a toddler instead of a baby.....

Julie is working at an eye doctors office at the moment. She is enjoying the work that she does there. Half of her office is LDS so that is a bonus for her as well.  She is also expecting baby number two in December. It will be another boy as well. She wanted a little version of her as well as I did..

As for me Danial, I am currenyly in school for Computers I will be finished in October. I am also A+ certified and working on my Net+ certification as well. I am currently looking for work in this area as well.  School is enjoyable as well.

That is all for Now....

Time for update

Jason is growing so much in the past few months.  It is hard to believe that last month in Feb that he turned 1 years old.  He is walking more and more, more like trying to get the hang of walking by himself instead of using things to help him along. He is getting more teeth in as well.  Soon I am sure he will be talking up a storm instead of making the sounds that he does.   At this time he is 24.5lbs and is 30 inches tall.  He still has his blue eyes and long lashes. His hair is growing longer as well. It is a blond with brown mixed in.

 That is all for now....

The Typical Day plus more

It's about time for a blog update. Life has been super busy with grandparents (all sets) visiting, seeing old friends, driving all over the SLC area in the process! Jason is officially 6 months old today!! We can't believe we've made it this long! WE think he's advanced for his age. Yes, we're proud parents, haha.

• blow bubbles....but not only that he can blow raspberries, spit and gurgle....just not on cue yet!
• he loves to squeal and make other sorts of sounds....sometimes he sounds like a kitty or a puppy, other times he's just LOUD!
• he will totally turn clear around if he hears anything.
• he will munch on anything. no, he is not teething. he's been doing that since he was 2 months old.
• he drools a LOT. no, he is not teething, see above!
• since about 5 months, he can crawl. not the full crawl with his tummy off the ground, but he uses his knees and toes to help propel himself with with arms. He's made it to the linen closet and the pantry. and he is fast!
• he can put his toes in his mouth.
• he likes toes and shoes....of other people!
• he likes certain baby einstein vidoes. beethoven, macdonald, and the first part of galileo are his favorites.
• he does not like the swing anymore, and if he's in the swing he tries to grab the legs to suck on them!
• he likes the tab that adjusts my desk chair to lean back. i don't like to lean back so I always have it locked. yesterday i sat down and figured out HE learned how to unlock it.
• you name it, he's into it on our living room. we've had to line the electronics area with boxes (filled with books) so he doesn't get into the cords....or press buttons!
• if he give him a toy in the stroller or carseat, he'd rather chew on the strap.
• at church he likes to stand in our laps or on the bench to see.....everything and make faces at people.
• he is pretty good with strangers or people at church. most of the time he's happy around them.
• he does not like to sleep. it's a battle at every nap/bedtime.
• likes to fake cough sometimes. it's really funny when he does this. he's been a very good cougher since 2 days old, so now he fake coughs!
• if figuring out about shadows and his fingers can do more than just hold things. we'll see him moving his fingers around casting shadows on the floor. it's really cute.
• he loves to suck on the tops of water bottles. i think he's trying to get the water out!
• if he's put in a sitting position, he'll stay there for a atleast a few seconds now.
• he likes to scream at himself in the mirror. we have this little play mirror from Grandma Barbara with attached bugs that move around he likes to scream at. he's doing it right now infact. well ok, now he's trying to munch on it.
• he loves it when Daddy blows on his tummy or makes kissy faces at him. I've tried to make kissy faces at him, but I get this, oh mom stop trying look, instead.
• when on his tummy, he likes to lean on one side to play with toys sometimes. or while he's leaning, he'll reach back to scratch his leg. there's no itch there....because he does it everytime when he's laughing at us!
• oh and one thing i really do not like is he pulls on his shirts when he's wearing them. bibs too. so most of the time he has a bib on so he doesn't stretch out his clothes.
• in general, he's a very happy baby!

So here is a typical day for us: (all times are approx, of course.)

6:30am: Wake up! Either he plays in his crib for 30 minutes and goes back to sleep OR he is UP for good.

7:30am (or whenever he wakes up again if it's later) First bottle and half a banana. He is a very good eater. Knows when he's full. Just recently he's discovered he doesn't have to eat if he doesn't like it.... like pears and applesauce.

Play around for a couple of hours, then has a bottle nap. Depending on how long his nap is (I WISH for a couple of hours, but that never happens!) he'll either play or get a bottle.

About noonish, he'll get his lunch, normally cereal and veggies/fruit, then a bottle. More playing and then a nap....maybe. Sometimes he naps in the mid-afternoon.

We take walks in the afternoons. He loves that. Sometimes we'll go to the mall and walk around.

Anywhere between 6:30pm and 7pm we start bedtime routine. We found that even if he goes to bed later, he still wakes up about 6:30am, so it's better he gets more sleep....plus, it makes for quiet evenings! Bath with bubbles and dinner. Yes, we feed him in the bath tub. We don't have a highchair and it really makes for easy cleanup for dinner time (breakfast and lunch we just hold him to feed him). Then jammies, book and bottle. Normally, we rock him to sleep, however last night was a lot different. He had too much of his bottle so he tummy was bothering him. After his tummy ordeal and cleaning him up, Danial rocked him to pretend sleep....meaning we thought he was really asleep but when Danial put him in the crib he was wide awake and happy....ready to play! So we just left him there to see what would happen. On a typical night, he would stay asleep a couple hours, rock him back to sleep for a couple more hours, then bottle, sleep a couple more hours, then rock back to sleep. Somewhere in there, he may way to be awake and play, so we leave him in the crib and he gets himself back to sleep. We were very happy and surprised that last night he got himself to sleep after about 3o minutes (about 8:45pm...I think....)and he didn't wake until about 5am! So tonight, after book and bottle we'll get him in a happy mood then put him down. Wish us luck!

Right now, he's trying to shove the whole set of plastic keys in his mouth, but he's getting frustrated because he can't! More later this week.....

Baby updates!

On Tuesday, Baby had his 2 month checkup. He now weighs 13 lbs 6.5 ozs and is 24 inches. He is also healthy healthy healthy! He received 3 shots and some drops for the first round of vaccinations. In anticipation for this, I gave Baby some baby Tylenol before the appointment to stave off some of the effects. It worked! After the initial shock of being awoken from his nap with the drops, the stabbed 3 times, he was pretty much zonked out (sleeping) for the rest of the day! He did good that night as well. Last night, however (the 2nd night after) he had a hard time going to sleep and actually needed the light on. Then was an early riser @ 4:30am. Mom and Dad didn't get much sleep after that! I think today he is doing better. He still has those blue eyes and he hair is getting redder and redder each time it is washed!

So these are the things about Baby:

blow bubbles
smile
laugh (ok not really LAUGH OUT LOUD but his own little laugh)
reach for his foot
try and grab at his foot (haven't reached those toes yet)
hold head level with back when in a horizional position
can follow objects 2-3 feet away with his eyes (depends on size and color)
attracted to light
cries or wakes when Dad coughes....or sometimes when Mom sneezes
since we're on coughing, has a very good coughing and sneezing reflex
loves baths, but hates getting his hair washed
is VERY particular how he is held, mostly on Mom's hip facing out and being bounced...when she's standing
absolutely HATES tummy time, although last night we made it through 5 minutes with no crying!


So I'm sure there is more stuff about Baby, but this post may already be too long. We are VERY EXCITED that Grandma and Grandpa N and Great-Grandma J are arriving tomorrow!

Remiss....

Yes, I have been remiss....hey that rhymed! Ok moving on. I really have been remiss in posting on our blog. Babies will do that.

Baby is nearly 12 lbs now! He's probably about 25 inches long, but I haven't really measured. 2 days ago he started laughing at something random while swinging away in the swing. Yes, real laughs, not gas pains. Yesterday he smiled! YES, real smiles, not gas smiles. I've seen enough of his gas smiles to know the difference by now! We even taped him laughing. I have posted many pictures online of Baby. Email me if you want to link to view them!

In case anyone is wondering, I have recovered remarkedly well from the c-section.

Also, Baby still has deep blue eyes (Dad is hoping he will keep those) and a ton of light brown hair (we all hope he will keep that!).

New son

I just thought I would let people know who follow the blog that Julie and I had our first baby boy at 10:57 am. His name is Jason Carter and he weighs 8 pounds and 2 ounces and is 18 and half long.

Mom and baby are doing really well.

More to follow including pictures.

TODAY IS THE DAY!

(this is Julianna on Danial's account)

Ok everyone: Today is the day! We are going to have a baby (hopefully a boy, since I had a dream last month we had a girl and we have all boy stuff, but we'll be happy either way). Yes, we are having a c-section. I'm not thrilled about that, (who likes surgery anyhow) however! it is the best course of action, medically. The baby is very healthy, so there's no concern for the baby.

Check back in with the blog later tonight. Danial will update!

www.graciousrain.com

Hey all.

I just wanted to take a moment out of my bedrest and boredom to put in a plug for my friend's mother's website.

www.graciousrain.com has fun holiday recipe ideas, giveaways, and even info on hypno-birthing. She's actually having a giveway right now for a bag and what girl doesn't want another bag :-D

One more little detail....

At last week's appointment, I had gained 4 lbs. At today's appoint, I have lost 5 lbs. So total weight gained this pregnancy as of today is 14 lbs.

Today's Doctor's Appointment....

Another doctor's appointment! There's news (neither good nor bad) then there's just semi-not-so-great news. The semi-not-so-great news is that my blood pressure is still a bit high (140/82) so no change from last week with that. The other news is that I'm still not dialated (also on that note, the baby hasn't "dropped" yet either). If the baby hasn't come in 2 weeks, the doctor will deliver the baby via c-section, however IF we wanted to, the doctor is comfortable doing a c-section a week from now, if we choose so after next week's appointment. Also, I was able to get the doctor to do an ultra-sound to determine the size of the baby: the head is about 8 cm and he weighs 8 lbs!!!!!! I knew I wasn't having a small baby! Atleast he's healthy, haha.

Btw, the reason for the c-section is because the doctor has informed me that I am "small" and from today's ultra-sound the baby looks like he's going to be big! As much as I'd like NOT to have a c-section, I am open to all avenues to ensure a healthy baby....and a healthy ME for that matter.

Recent happenings....

Well, I had a doctor's appointment today. I am not dialated, my blood pressure is a bit high and the doctor put me on bed rest! So, with 13 days until the due date, I think I can handle bedrest that long! I will try to refrain from spending so much time on the computer and in the kitchen, and more time in bed! Next appointment on Monday afternoon!

Latest Doctor's Visit.....

So I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. Last week and this week my blood pressure is a tad higher than it has been (which has been extremely normal), but the doctor and nurses don't seem that concerned about it. I'm measuring slightly larger than average, but either that means I'm slightly larger than average or the baby is larger. We won't find out until closer to the due date when the doctor will do an ultrasound. As of yesterday, I'm not dialated, which probably means I'll deliver close or after the due date. Right now, WE WAIT!