Poor Parker

I was completely spoiled with Paige. She didn't really get sick until after her first birthday and the only time she's had to go see the dr besides her well check appointments was when I was worried she had hurt her arm. 

Parker on the other hand turns 1 month tomorrow (crazy how fast time flies!) and has been to the drs at least once a week. 

First he was in the hospital being born. They had to keep doing blood draws to make sure he hadn't contracted any infections. They also had to pump his stomach because he had swallowed blood during the delivery which was causing problems. 

Week 1 was the typical check.

 Week 2 he was circumcised. 

Week 3 he had thrush. 

And now week 4 he is sick with a crappy cough and difficulty breathing. I feel so bad for the poor kid. And to top it off his dang umbilical cord won't fall off. 

(And yes he has an appointment for next week for his 1 month well check)

I know it could be WAY worse and I am so grateful we have never had to have a baby in the NICU or deal with serious illness. I pray we never have to know what that feels like. But it is still so hard watching your baby be in pain and know there isn't anything you can do to help. 

Hopefully he can kick this quickly. 

Introducing..

Parker Taylor Jepson was born Thursday, September 12th, at 3:23 am, weighing 8 lbs 15 oz and coming in at 21 inches long. He has TONS of black hair and so far it looks like he is going to have brown eyes.

So that was cliff notes. Here's the whole story, it's not very exciting and may contain TMI in some parts. You have been warned.

So Sunday morning Karl and I were playing with Paige. I was sitting reading her a book when I suddenly felt wet. I handed Paige off with an exclamation of "Ahh, I'm leaking!" Karl's response "Umm, is that supposed to happen?" To which this genius nurse responded "Gross, it's because I'm a girl, and I'm pregnant, and this is disgusting". I was just thinking, ok I am 39 weeks, my body is just finally doing something to get ready for this baby to come. There was not a constant leaking of fluid or big gush of water so I didn't really think much of it. I definitely didn't think my water had broken. It was more that I would feel fine and then every once in awhile I would move a certain way and feel wet. It was gross but I had never made it this far being pregnant and I wasn't having contractions so I just let it go and figured I would ask the Dr when I saw her.

 So I went about my day, and the next, and the next, until my Dr appointment Wednesday morning. I had been in on Friday and was dilated to a 1. On Wednesday I was dilated to a 2 (yay me) so while they went to do the test to see if I was leaking amniotic fluid I told my mom nothing was happening.  When the Dr came back in she had a slightly panicked look on her face, asked when I first noticed the fluid, and then told me I was having the baby that day. Awesome. Apparently I had a high rupture so the fluid was leaking out and pooling, hence no constant drip, and I only noticed it every once in awhile when I would move and cause it to drain.

Anyways, So I ran home to get Paige situated. Karl left clinic early and went back with me. We got checked in, I got hooked up to pitocin, to "augment" the labor that really wasn't happening, and penicillin, because my water had been broken for three days and we were at serious risk for infection. Then we waited. FOREVER! (I swear I am never going to be able to have a baby without being induced. It took 16 hours on the highest dose of pitocin AFTER having my water broken for 3 days. Next time I think I am going to tell Karl he has my permission to not being in the hospital until I have been there for 10 hours (unless by some miracle I am in active labor on my own) so he doesnt' have to just wait around with nothing happening. We were so bored!)

At 930 pm, 10 hours after being admitted, I was finally having hard contractions that hurt pretty bad. Karl said "is it bad that the more you hurt the more excited I get?" I totally agreed with him, for the first two hurtful contractions. So by then I was hoping to be dilated to an 8 or something (I had been a 4 at 4:30) so I could feel justified in getting an epidural, unfortunately I had gone up to a 5 (seriously?!? I am pathetic). So I cried and by 1030 I had my epidural. I can't imagine having a baby without an epidural. Honestly I never want to try. Those things are amazing and contractions are horrible.

An hour later I started having difficulty breathing. I felt like I couldn't keep my lungs open. So they had to dial down my epidural, which fixed the problem and was actually great because then I could tell I was having contractions but they still didn't hurt. I was able to sleep for awhile, pushed for 45 minutes and then had my beautiful baby boy at 3:23 am.

Karl brought Paige to the hospital the next day. She LOVES Parker. She got the biggest smile when she saw him and kept insisting we pick her up so she could look at him.

When we got home from the hospital Paige was so excited and gave Parker a ride rocking his car seat and saying "whee!!!" so he would know he was having fun.

 It's been interesting having two kids but I think we are figuring it out, slowly but surely. I am just so grateful to have two of the cutest kids in the world and that they love each other so much. 

Paige loves holding and reading to Parker. 

And giving him kisses. 

I am so blessed to have my sweet little family and I love them so much. I am so grateful for Karl. He is such an amazing man and I couldn't have asked for a better husband. He is such a great dad and he works so hard in school so he can support us. I am so grateful that we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, that we were able to be sealed in the temple, and that we are going to be able to be a family forever. Life is wonderful.

Summer fun

Karl is done with school for the summer! That means we get 2 weeks before it all starts again. Can you tell I am excited. 

Its been a pretty busy last few weeks. Sharleis came out for a weekend and we partied hard at the beach and splash parks. Paige decided she was adorable and started covering her mouth when she laughed.

 I just love this little girl. Then the rest of my family stopped by on their way home from Canada. So the whole gang was together for a day and then Leis went home.

Then I was able to go out to Lincoln City, during Karl's finals week (yes I realize I am not a very nice person to be at the beach while Karl had to study), with my family. It was awesome and relaxing and Karl was able to come out for the weekend so it was perfect.

The view was awesome! And we had so much fun.

Her new favorite game. She would try to put the fish back after we caught them.

She has grandpa wrapped around her finger.  

Loving the sea life. She touched anemones, star fish, and urchins and loved watching the seal lions, fish, and octopus. Paige now loves the ocean and doesn't really care how cold or deep it gets, she just wants to go out to the waves. We would have to intervene when she got chest deep. We would make her walk back to shore, then she would just turn around and walk right back out. Crazy kid. 

But I think her favorite part was getting to spend so much daddy time with Karl.We stayed one day longer than the rest of my family and she just couldn't get enough if him.

She was fascinated with Super Nintendo and wouldn't move from either Karl's lap or feet. 

She even passed out in his arms, which never happens. We were literally checking for a pulse because she wouldn't wake up, she was so tired from playing so hard and content to be with Karl. 

So that was our great summer fun and now we are recovering and prepping for when round 2 starts and the Jepson's get here in a few days!

Scardy cat

Paige is literally afraid of her own shadow. Yesterday we went to the park to have a morning outside. I brought my lesson to work on and just let Paige run around on the grass. That girl LOVES being outside. So she was fine for awhile and we started playing together and suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks and was staring at the ground. She had noticed her shadow for the first time. I waved to her with my shadow and Paige just kept staring, not quite sure what to think. After a while she tried to hide behind my leg. When she realized those weird shadow people were not taking the hint and leaving she tried walking away. As she was walking she kept staring at the ground and was very concerned that they kept following her. So she decided the only way to escape was grab my leg, start panicked crying and reach for me to hold her. She apparently didn't care if they hung around as long as I was holding her. That ended our park trip and I had to carry her home and push her little car, because being in the car put her too close to her shadow friend.

Other news. Karl is still doing school. It never ends. He goes through the summer until he graduates in 2015 but on the positive note we are halfway done! He is now in clinic seeing patients 2 days a week, on top of classes, so that is pretty neat.

I am officially done with my job, for over a month now. I love just being able to be home. Hopefully this will help in the quest to not have complications during this pregnancy but it definitely can't hurt. I no longer have my heart rate above 110 for 9 hours straight multiple nights a week so SCORE!.

And we are having a baby BOY!!! That is going to be quite the new experience for me. I grew up around mostly girls and don't really know what to expect but we are really really excited. Over half way there!

Big Changes and Updates

I have decided that I am horrible at blogging, keeping a journal, and pretty much all the other important documentation of our lives but I am going to try to do better. It's not like we haven't been doing anything, a lot has actually happened so this is going to be a quick-ish update and I will try to do better in the future. If not for anyone else's sake then for my own. 

Update #1

Paige is going to be a big sister!!! We are so excited and YES this was planned. We wanted them to be close and we definitely got our wish. If this baby comes when it is due in September they will be 17 months apart. We actually go in tomorrow for the ultrasound and will find out, hopefully, if it is a boy or a girl. But I need incentive to blog more so I am not just waiting for tomorrow.

So far things have been pretty good. I was nauseous way longer with this one but I never throw up so I guess I can't complain.  I felt the baby kick so much a few weeks ago it literally hurt, and then nothing until this morning. I guess that was its birthday gift to me, letting me know it was still alive. I was starting to worry so that was a great wake up call. 

Update #2
We were blessed to have Sharleis come and stay with us for a few weeks. I got sick one week so it was amazing to have someone to help with Paige while Karl was at school. And then the rest of my family came up for spring break. We went on so many adventures including: the zoo, frisbee golf, a beach house, multiple beaches, exploring Portland, wild sea lions, following the Goonies, and all in all having a blast. 

Update #3

Paige turned 1!!! I CANNOT believe it has been a whole year! It has just flown by. She is so stinking cute now (well I think she has always been adorable but it is so fun to see her little personality develop). She started cutting her first tooth on the flight to Nevada for Christmas (great timing but she is a pretty good teether so it turned out ok). She started crawling new years day (apparently there was no need to crawl over Christmas because there were so many people to hold her). And she started attempting to walk about the week before her birthday and did her first solo trip from mom to dad on her birthday (I guess she likes her milestones to happen on memorable days). She is still pretty unsteady but she is getting better. That is a picture of her favorite present. She LOVES her car and we have to go on a walk with it at least once a day. She also like to use it for drive in movies.

She loved her cupcakes. We had a little birthday party while my family was here and at first she wouldn't touch it with her hands. She just tried to suck on it. It was so cute. By her actual birthday she figured it out.

Paige is now roughly 20 lbs, 29 inches long, right along the 50th percentile, and had grown to be quite the little diva since her 6lbs 2 oz, 21 inch long days. She is super chill most of the time, loves to flirt with the little boys around here, especially Ross, but when she is home with just mom and dad she wants to be the center of attention and has discovered she likes to scream. We are still working on stopping that one. 

 I just had to put this picture up. I was walking with my friend Stacey and as we were heading back home I looked at Paige and she was holding her hand out to Ross. When he would try to take it she would pull it away and act all shy. Then five seconds later hold it out for him again. Apparently she knows how to play coy and hard to get. She just cracks me up.  I guess that is enough for now. More updates to come tomorrow, or sometime in the near future, in theory...

Paige

Paige is growing up so fast. I can't believe she's almost 10 months already! We haven't been very good about posting pictures so this post is mostly just a photo update of our gorgeous girl.

She LOVES to eat.

Getting ready for family pictures. Isn't she just a doll?

She and Daddy have too much fun.

By the way, she absolutely loves running around in just her diaper.

Playing with her toys

So stinkin' cute.

And she is WAY too cool for shopping, which is why she has to just lounge in the cart.

We are all doing great. We were able to go see family for Christmas which was awesome. Now it is back to the regular routine. Karl is crazy busy with school, especially now that tests have started. I am still working weekends, which gives Karl and Paige lots of daddy-daughter time. It tends to involve photo shoots of them being crazy together, which I just love. Paige is growing up way too fast. She loves her solid foods, has four teeth, and is crawling all over the place. Pretty soon she is going to figure out walking and then we will really be in trouble. I love being able to be at home with her during the week and we are just enjoying every stage and first as they come.

Changes

Well, I have a job. When I went into the interview I thought "If I get the job, Great!, If I don't get the job, Great!" I need a job in order to renew my nursing license. I have to have 900 hours of work experience in the next two years or I lose it. But I really love being a stay at home mom. I love being with Paige all day. She is such a cutie.

So I am now a nurse at Forest Grove Rehab. It is a rehab center and long term care facility. I am working in the long term care side. It is pretty much the exact opposite of what I really wanted to do. I wanted to be a pediatric nurse working with kids in a hospital. Instead I am working with older individuals in a nursing home.

BUT, I am starting to really like it. I am still scared and don't feel like I know what I am doing, but I am starting to get attached to some of  the residents. There are some of the sweetest people there. They just make me smile. Also, this job is only 8 hour shifts and I can just work weekends evenings/nights. That way Karl can be home with Paige while I am at work.It is good that they are getting Daddy Daughter time. That makes it so I don't have to worry as much but I still hate leaning her. Hopefully it gets better. Of course leaving her with dad means I come home to pictures like this.

We are teaching her young. Go Cougs!

Karl is done with his golf course job. It got a little nuts. He had work from 4am-8am and then had to go back from 5pm-8pm his last week because there was a LPGA tournament and they needed the course to be immaculate.

He just started school and he is SOOOOO excited. Not. His school is so intense. I hope me and Paige get to see him sometimes. Last semester I was able to hang out with him on weekends but now that I am going to be working weekends that time is out. We will have to figure something out.

Paige is doing great. Growing like crazy. She now loves to talk and will just coo to herself all morning. We are working on getting her to sleep all night but that is still pretty hit and miss right now. She is still an amazingly good baby and I love her like crazy. She loved watching the Olympics with me and we have officially decided that she is going to be an athlete.

 Which sport is still up in the air at this point but we are working on it.

The Beach!!!

 It was finally hot enough to go to the beach and get in the water. We still didn't get in all the way but it was so nice to just hang out at the beach and feel the breeze.

 We even tried to let Paige in on the action. She didn't really know what to think about standing in the ocean.

 Here's to living in Oregon!

Summer Hobbies

 This summer Karl has really gotten in to fishing. Sometimes Paige and I join him but I feel like we just kind of pull him down. We don't do too well if we are gone for very long. But one time he took us to this one fishing spot that I like to refer to as "The Beautiful Place". It is just gorgeous. The picture really doesn't do it justice. There are two rivers coming together with waterfalls and are lined with tree corridors. It took my breath away. I love living in such a beautiful place. You all should come visit so you can see it in person.

Here is Karl fishing. The other day he hooked two big salmon. Unfortunately he didn't get them in all the way. That is what happens when you don't listen to your wife and are left without a net. :) But he is really starting to get a hang of it so I am sure he will get one soon.

I have really been getting into crochet. I already posted some of the hats I have made. My latest project was sandals. I found this on Pinterest but it was one of those patterns you have to buy. I don't do that. There are so many free patterns available that I have a hard time paying for one. So instead I printed out the picture and tried to figure it out myself. I know my picture isn't very clear but there is original picture and then my attempt.

I think I did pretty good for not really having a pattern. Next time I will make a few changes and they will look even better. Next project: Rain boots.

Nevada Trip

 After the blessing in Utah it was back to Nevada to spend time with my family. It was so cute to watch everyone with Paige. She is one spoiled little girl. She was hardly ever put down.

 I love watching Paige sleep. She loves to stretch and it is just adorable. So is her giraffe friend from Auntie Nat.

 Nat was loving picking out Paige's outfits. She apparently is pretty good at convincing Grandma to buy the baby new clothes. I'm not complaining. :)

 And what else do you do when it is 110 degrees outside? Hang out in the pool of course.

Paige was pretty at easy in the water. She loves her baths and loved the pool as well. Watching the Olympics right now is putting some ideas in my head. How early is too early to start swim lessons?

Paige's Blessing

 It has been a pretty busy month for us. At the end of June Karl was able to get a week off of work. So we decided we should visit family while we had the chance. Not very many had been able to meet Paige so it was perfect. She is such an amazing traveler. She didn't make a peep on the plane (not that you would have been able to tell. Our flight was pretty rowdy. We had music on someone's speakers going and everything) and did amazing on all the car rides.

Here she is with Daddy getting ready to board the plane. 

 

While we were with our families we decided this would be a great time to bless her. 

 It was so great to have everyone there. I just love taking pictures of Paige and all her faces.

 While we were in Utah we went to the Aquarium with Ann and Alicia. I love the aquarium, I swear there is always something new (this time they had an otter exhibit). You would think I am the only one who liked it though from this picture.


We discovered that Paige is about the same size as the smallest penguin in the world (the Fairy Penguin).

 Paige is starting to get into it by posing with Grandma on the giant frog.

After a super fun time in Utah it was back to Nevada to visit with the Adams's. That is for the next post though. Stay tuned

Yuck!

Paige has always had a very healthy digestive system. We have never had to worry about her not having enough dirty diapers. From these two sentences and the title of this post you may be guessing what is coming next. You have been warned.

When my mom was here helping after Paige was born we had a near miss. We were both slap happy from lack of sleep. Paige had just finished eating and my mom was being nice and changing her diaper for me. As she took off the diaper she said "oh, it is not very dirty." To which I responded "Be careful, she might projectile poop at you." I had no sooner gotten the words out of my mouth when what should happen? Yep, projectile poop! It barely missed my mom, getting the change pad, futon, and carpet instead. We broke down in hysterical laughter. When I told Karl he didn't think it was very funny so I guess you had to be there.

Anyways, that was the back story. Since that time we have had some near misses but I have usually escaped diaper changes unscathed. On Sunday, all that changed. I had gotten up for Paige's 4am feeding. Needless to say I was really tired and a little delirious. As I was changing her diaper I almost got her new one on when she started peeing all over. So it was onto the second attempt. As I was pulling out the next new diaper what should happen? SQUIRT!! I look down and she had projectile pooped all over my shirt. GROSS!!! So I am ranting at 4 am on Fathers Day, which woke up Karl, who heard me getting frustrated at my beautiful baby girl. Oh I am a great wife and mother. Then, to top it all off, as we were about to leave for church, I had just finished putting Paige's cute dress on, she spit up all over me. That one at least I found funny. I guess ironic would be a better word.

But to end on a not gross note, Paige and I had a girls day out on Saturday. Karl had gone golfing with some friends so we decided to go to a splash park. It was a really hot day so I liked staying out in the water. It was me and all the 4 year olds.  To not look so out of place I tried to get Paige to enjoy the water. I would splash it on her face and swing her legs through it. The water was freezing cold so I was a little worried she would start crying, but Paige barely reacted. She is such a chill kid. Usually.