Monday, March 29, 2010

2 down, 1 to go

I was blown away this weekend with an unexpected shock.....JORDYN POTTY-TRAINED HERSELF. Friday afternoon Jordyn pulled out her little toilet and pooped ON the toilet, literally. She didn't open the lid to poop in it. Even though there was a mess to clean up we still praised her like crazy doing the "pooh-pooh dance" and giving her potty candy. (The things parents make up to motivate kids.) We kept her naked pretty much the rest of the day and then Saturday. Sunday Jeff thought I was a little nuts that I put underwear on Jordyn to church instead of a pull-up or diaper, but I thought I would take her to the bathroom every 30-45 minutes. During nursery the teacher said Jordyn came up to her to tell her she had to go pee several times and she took her and all was well. I was stoked that she didn't have an accident and asked an adult, her nursery teacher, to help her go to the bathroom. She's done great today and we've had no accidents. I'm sure we'll have some accidents in the future, but she has the concept down and I have one less child that I need to buy diapers for and need to change. It is like Jordyn's favorite book, Mooseltoe says, "it was so simple, so easy, so perfectly perfect." This experience was a breath of fresh air unlike Sydney's potty-training days when she had her bowel issues. Two down, 1 to go (in 2-3 years of course and a BOY. That will be a whole new experience with a boy).

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Lots of Levi

Let me just say that a photo shoot with kids wouldn't be a photo shoot without resistance, whining, bribing, a diaper change, and anything BUT a usual, cute smile. Levi was great. He slept the whole time except for when he was naked. He'll dislike the naked pictures of himself, but I will always love them.










Not sure where Syd is looking at or what her expression is all about.
We finally told Jordyn not to smile because when we told her to smile she ended up winking. Still not sure where Sydney is looking at.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

viewer discretion is advised

We also do this when we need a good laugh.
This is the scariest picture of them all. Jeff looks like a camel.
I love Jeff's long chin.
Lauren
Jordyn
Grandma Marianne

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

My Favorite Things

These are a few of my favorite things (about Levi):
That the back of his head fits into my palm.
I can see his capillaries on his cheeks.
His super soft skin
His skinny legs, before the baby chub comes.
The flaky skin on his soft hands and feet
Sleep smiles
When he sleeps w/ his mouth open
Watching him stretch: arching his back, knees to tummy, and arms over his head
His blond eyelashes
When he falls asleep in my arms
actually there isn't 1 thing I can think of that isn't my favorite right now.

"circ" du soleil

You can tell I'm a mom who hasn't had a boy before because at the hospital the nurse kept saying "circ." I finally asked her what the heck she was was talking about. She informed me that circ is short for circumcision. I should've figured that out, but wasn't thinking much at that time apparently. So the other day Levi got his "Circ" at his doctor's office. I'm not sure why they waited 2 weeks and didn't just do it at the hospital. With the help of a local anesthetic it didn't seem too painful, it LOOKED painful. The saddest part was watching them strap his skinny legs to the table. He gained 3 ounces and grew 1/4 of an inch.

Monday, March 22, 2010

It's still winter here

I've been reading, on facebook, how warm the weather is in California, Utah, and Arizona and wanted people to know that it is still winter here. This past week has been absolutely beautiful. The sun has been out (the sun is setting now at about 9pm) and the snow is melting. I hear that it will snow more before it all melts. I thought I needed to post more pictures so you could see what it looks like.On another note, Sydney has been taking ice skating lessons. It is adorable. The first day was like watching her learn to walk all over again. It was sad and cute at the same time. She learns more and more each time and gains more confidence with each lesson she takes. She enjoys going every saturday morning. It's experiences like this that make me thankful our family is living in Alaska. There are things we do here that we wouldn't do if we lived anywhere else.

Jeff snow blowing our driveway. I've learned that having a snow blower is a necessity. Shoveling all the snow we get is a beast.
Here is our street/neighborhood. I love the neighborhood we live in. There are lots of kids and we have lots of friends we've met on our street. I'm excited for summer when everyone is outside playing.
Our driveway and house. The snow piled up on the side is about 3 1/2 ft. tall. Yes we haven't taken our x-mas lights down yet. No one does until late spring, early summer; and most people put them up in sept./oct. So pretty much they are on our house for 6 months.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Kiss Me I'm NOT Irish, but I AM Cute!

Happy St. Patrick's day. Yesterday, Levi had a package from Jeff's work and one of the outfits was this green and white stripped sleeper. Today also marks his 1 week birthday so more pictures are in order. This cute hat is one that my friend made for Levi.

Here I am on my birthday enjoying Levi sleeping on me.
Levi has been a great boy. I say that because he sleeps soundly at night making very little noises. Yesterday he had his 1st doctors visit. He is still 20.5 inches long and weighs 7 lbs. 12.8 oz. When he left the hospital he weighed 7 lbs. 10.9 oz. He is definitely getting enough milk.

He is a mellow baby. Only fusses when he is getting his diaper changed which is every feeding or when he is naked in his little bath tub. He loves being warm, cuddled in blankets.
He also likes to sprawl out and look around when he's awake. His daily activities include eating, filling a diaper, tooting, burping, tummy time, sleeping, receiving hugs and kisses from everyone, and looking around. What a life!

Friday, March 12, 2010

Levi Russell Shaw

2 days old

A few hours old
Jordyn felt the need to wink at the camera
Just minutes old: Father and Son
We're so happy to finally have Levi here with us. He was born on Wed. March 10th at 4:39pm. Everything went pretty smoothly. The moment we saw it was a boy was very exciting and met all my expectations. It was one of the most exciting moments of my life and Jeff agrees. You can see just how elated Jeff is in the picture of him and Levi. Levi weighed 7lbs. 12 oz. and was 20.5 inches. We came home from the hospital last night. Today he has pooped about 6-7 times, eats like a champ, and is sleeping when he isn't eating or pooping. I find joy in staring at him, holding him next to me, watching him sneeze, kissing him, touching his soft cheeks, and trying to change a diaper without getting squirted on. I can't believe he was inside of me just 3 days ago. It doesn't seem possible. The whole experience is a miracle and I'm so grateful to be part of it. I hope to treasure the simple and quiet moments of my time with each of my children and of Levi while he is so small and perfect.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

The time is near

The time is coming. The long 40 weeks of anticipation is here and I couldn't be anymore excited. I feel like a giddy school girl ready to start school the next day or like a child knowing Santa Claus will be coming to my house via the chimney tomorrow or the day before I got married. All of these scenarios made it impossible for me to sleep the night before and once I did get to sleep I woke nearly every hour looking at the clock to see if it was time for me to get up. Today my mom is flying here, Jeff is off work for the next 6 weeks, and I'm ready to go (bag is packed, newborn clothes washed, house cleaned, and eager to see what are new family dynamics will look and feel like). We decided to have me be induced tomorrow so that is the reason I'm talking about things happening tomorrow. The reason(s) for the induction is probably what you can guess: with 2 kids already I wanted to plan around my mom being here so I didn't have to make an unpleasant call to a friend at 3am telling her my water broke and if she could come watch my kids. Another reason is that my birthday is coming up and I don't think my child would want to share the same birthday. That's a dumb reason, but it's the same reason why I wouldn't want my child to be born on Christmas day.

So what do you think I'm having? I wonder the same thing. Right now I will take a gander and say, "BOY." Over Christmas vacation I had some family members guess the day, gender, time of day, height, and weight. Whomever comes closest with those categories will get the first phone call of our big news. I know it's kindof silly, but I like making things "fun" like that. So take a guess and soon when I get the chance, your inquiring minds will know what's been growing inside my belly for the past 40 weeks as I post pictures.