Monday and Tuesday

Yesterday (monday) I took Jax to the doctor to get his leg checked out. He's had a lump for a few weeks that I was a little worried about. It's right in the crease where his leg and hip meet. I had read online that it could just be a swollen lymph node caused by his MMR shot a few weeks ago... and it turns out, that's all it was. But it had been 3 weeks and it was still there, so this mama was getting a little worried. The doctor said it's getting smaller, it's not red on his skin and it's smaller than a centimeter. So all of those things are good signs and she isn't worried about it. We just have to keep an eye on it and make sure it goes away in the next 2 or 3 weeks.

After the doctor we headed out to do some errands. I ran through McDonald's because I had a coupon for an iced coffee. WHO KNEW that McDonald's iced coffee would be good?! I was pleasantly surprised. After that we headed to CVS to get some Little Swimmers diapers for Jax. I have heard not great things about them... like they are completely ineffective and they are basically just poop catchers (sorry for the mental image. Ha!), but I had coupons and I knew that I could get them for free. I don't normally even put a diaper on Jax in the pool, but I know that I need to when we are in a public pool so I got the Little Swimmers for those occasions. Too bad they only had mediums and they are made for 24-34 lbs. And my little guy isn't even 20 lbs yet. Oh well. At least I have something I can use now.

After that we headed to the park to kill some time before lunch. OY! It is so stinkin' hot here right now. It's been right around 100 for the past few days, PLUS humidity. So it feels like 105-110. Ick. I know it's been super hot back home in CA as well, but at least it's not sticky heat! The park was fun and Jax is finally getting to the age where he will actually walk around on the equipment and climb on things. It's rather cute :)

Yesterday afternoon was spent cleaning and napping. Good stuff!

Today we are headed to mommies group. We haven't been for a few weeks so I'm looking forward to seeing the other mommies and kiddos.

A few other random things... Pampers diapers with Dry Max are causing a LOT of problems with kids. They are getting rashes and chemical burns and all kinds of nasty stuff from the diapers. So if your kid has a diaper rash that won't go away, that may be way. Read another post about it HERE. Just one more reason why I've never liked Pampers!

We only have a few weeks until Ryan leaves and we are still trying to get pregnant. We would really appreciate some specific prayers in this area. That we are able to get pregnant, that I have a healthy pregnancy without complications and that I'll be able to have a VBAC.

Thanks ya'll!

Recipes from Jax's Party

Hey ya'll... hope you're having a good Friday. As you can tell by this blog post at 9pm, mine has been super exciting ;) I've had a few people ask for some of the recipes that I made for Jax's party so I figured I would just post them here. First up is my Grandma Bunny's spinach dip. It's TO DIE FOR! After that is my own recipe for pasta salad, which is pesto-based instead of mayo-based. Both recipes make a pretty big amount, so you could probably half them if you don't want too much leftover. Enjoy!

Spinach Dip

2 pkgs frozen spinach- thawed and squeezed dry

2 cups sour cream

2 cups mayo

5 green onions- diced

2 cans water chestnuts- drained and chopped (these are by the Asian foods in the store)

1 packet Knorr's leek soup mix (it's a powder, usually found on the soup aisle or near the salad dressing mixes)

Mix all ingredients together and serve with sourdough or french bread. It works best if it can sit for a few hours... flavors soak into each other and YUM YUM YUM!

Pasta Salad

2 lbs tricolor corkscrew pasta

1 ball of fresh mozzarella (found in the specialty cheeses case)

1 cup roasted red peppers- chopped

1/2 purple onion- diced small

1 cup grape tomatoes- halved

1 7oz (approx.) container of pre-made pesto

salt and pepper to taste

Boil the pasta in a large pot of very salty water for about 8-10 minutes. Drain and set aside or in the fridge to chill. Once the pasta is cool, combine the rest of the ingredients and salt/pepper to taste. If it's too dry then just add extra-virgin olive oil until it comes together. Serve at room temperature.

I hope ya'll enjoy these! Have a happy weekend!

More Birthday Fun

Im sitting here watching my toddler walk around the living room. Wow. I can't believe how big he is getting. Here's his 12 month stats...

• 19.8 lbs (10th percentile)
• 28.3 inches (15th percentile)
• He is walking more and more everyday. He's getting good at standing up from sitting in the middle of the room and starting to walk.
• He's trying SO hard to talk more. He only good at 'mama' and 'dada', but I'm also recognizing mojo, no, please, thanks, night-night and yes. He also said 'nana' while my mom was here! There have been many times that it sounds like he is saying other words, but I'm not sure what they are.
• He loves stacking blocks and putting smaller toys in and out of bigger toys.
• He's a picky eater but loves some "superfoods" so he gets those a lot (avocado, blueberries, sweet potato). He loves fruit but isn't so great with vegetables which is frustrating!
• He's 100% on whole milk and loves drinking from a straw
• He goes to bed at 7pm and *usually* wakes up between 6-7am. But he's been waking up around 5am the last few days. Ugh.
• He wears 12 month clothes and size 3 shoes.
• He likes to stare and take things in (and has been that way since he was born), but when he smiles, it lights up the room!
• He has such a deep, boy voice and it's the cutest stinkin' thing!

Here's some other pictures from Jax's party last Saturday. I was so happy with the way everything turned out. And I was especially happy that my parents were able to come out!

Jax and Boppa

The food table and the birthday boy chair

The banner I made

Friends and kiddos

Reading his new Elmo book

"Happy Birthday To You!"

Mmmmmmm

Gotta rub the hair!

Ryan is back at work today so we're back to the routine. Happy Monday!

God of Peace

Baby Cohen went to be with Jesus last night at 8:35pm in his parents' arms. This little angel fought SO hard and touched so many lives in his 11 days here on Earth. Pray for a covering of peace and love over Brent and Megan. This is something that no parent should ever have to go through.

"I am leaving you with a gift -- peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid." John 14:27

Birthday Party, Myrtle Beach, Parents

Sorry I haven't posted in a bit, I've been enjoying my family while Ryan is on leave. I'll make this short and sweet just to update ya'll and I'll tack on a few pictures while I'm at it :)

My parents got here last Friday evening. Saturday we had Jax's party which went GREAT! It was lots of fun and there were a lot of people and kiddos here which made for a busy/fun time. Sunday we went to church then my mom and I got pedicures while Ryan and dad started a project at home. Monday and Tuesday we headed to Myrtle Beach, SC (about 2 hours away) and enjoyed the beach and the super nice hotel pool. Today we've just been running a few errands and relaxing. Ryan and dad are working on putting up a little custom shelving unit thing between out kitchen and living room. I'll post pictures once it's done. Dad leaves tomorrow evening and mom leaves Friday afternoon (they arrived separately because dad was at some work training in Cleveland). I'm SOOO not ready for them to go *sad, sad face*. Here's some pictures... I'll post more in the next few days!

Birthday Party--

Myrtle Beach--

More to come...

PS- PLEASE pray for baby Cohen. He's stable but his kidneys aren't functioning and they're getting a little desperate. They really, REALLY need his kidneys to start working or they have to put him on dialysis, which isn't good. Please pray for him. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, check out my previous post)

Update on baby Cohen

He was born yesterday morning (June 7th) via scheduled C-section!! He is doing well but definitely still needs lots of prayers. Go HERE to read all the updates from yesterday and today. And keep praying for the little man!

CVS ya'll

I am forever singing the praises of CVS and their rewards program. I'm pretty sure today was my best day yet. Let me start by saying that they have some Huggies diapers marked 75% OFF. Yep. SEVENTY-FIVE. So that made them $4.49 before coupons... then add in my $3 off coupon and I paid $1.49 for 34 diapers. BEAT THAT! I got 2 packs at that price. I wasn't originally even planning on getting diapers this week because we have TONS at home. There have been some great sales and great coupons roaming around so we've really stocked up.

Ok, onto the stuff I had planned on buying. Here's the list--

1 Gillete fusion razor

4 Dove deodorants

2 Degree deodorants

3 Old Spice deodorants (we've got TONS of deodorant!)

1 Old Spice body&hair wash

2 John Frieda shampoos

2 Windex multi-surface cleaner

2 Glade plug-ins refills

1 Glade plug-ins holder

Including the diapers, I spent $24.15 on $129.23 worth of stuff! Sooo if you do the math, I saved $105.08!!! And I have 8 ECB's (CVS money) left AND I'm submitting a $5 SC Johnson rebate tomorrow. You really cannot beat that. I was floored when I saw how much I saved. I have to thank Southern Savers for all the awesome scenarios and coupon match-ups. If you want in on the CVS goldmine, go HERE. Jenny explains it all and she can help get you started! Happy couponing!

Mini photo sesh

I didn't really want to pay for professional photos for Jax's birthday... especially when our camera takes amazing pictures. I decided to set up a little photo session for him the other day. Man, that kid likes to move. For that reason alone we definitely shouldn't get pro pictures taken... he would NEVER sit still and we would end up with nothing. Ha! Anyway, I first tried to set him up inside, but that didn't work out so great. So I decided to set him up on the grass outside which was great except for the fact that the grass totally fascinates him. Which means that he won't look up, or answer to his name, or do anything except sit and stare at the grass and kick his feet in it and pick it. Oh well. I still got a few cute pictures. See....

JUNE 3RD!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAX ALAN HANSEN!!!

You are one year old today. I can't believe that it was a whole year ago that you were born. My labor was long and then some very scary things happened. I am so glad that God helped the doctors know what to do and let both of us make it. You have made my life so much more joyful and I am so glad that God chose me to be your mommy. I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for us. I love you so so so much!!!

2009

2010

But they have such cool colors!

I'm not sure if it's weird to let my son play with these...

Whenever I get ready in the morning, it's the first drawer he goes for

He loves pulling the boxes out

Then he loves pulling the "girl stuff" out of the boxes and stuffing it back in

I guess it's totally harmless, but there's something odd about it

Oh well, at least he's entertained!

PS- Notice how full my drawer is... thank you CVS!

Baby Cohen's Broken Heart

I have been following the blog of a sweet first time mommy-to-be, Megan. She is 38 weeks pregnant with baby Cohen and is scheduled for a C-section this coming Sunday. At 22 weeks they found out that baby Cohen has 4 different heart defects, which would all be ok if they were separate... but they're not. His condition is very rare and very dangerous. Please pray for baby Cohen, for Megan and for Cohen's daddy Brent. They need some serious prayer warriors fighting for them.

Check out Megan's blog HERE.

Check out baby Cohen's blog HERE

Thanks!

June 1st

One year ago today I was 10 days overdue. One year ago today I went to the hospital to be induced, only to be turned away because the beds had filled up. One year ago today I ate lunch then went back to the hospital to be induced. One year ago today I finally got admitted and got set up with an IV drip of Pitocin. One year ago today I was ready for my world to change forever!

To be continued...