Bridget Says Hi

Bridget and I were talking this afternoon and she informed me that she wanted to say "hi" to everyone. Enjoy!

4 Month Stats

So here's the report from the visit to the pediatrician today. Bridget currently weighs 17 lbs. 14 oz. (above the 97th percentile) and is 25 inches long (75th percentile). The surprising measurement of this visit was her head circumference - 17.5 inches which is also above the 97th percentile. When the doctor looked at her head measurement on her growth curve he asked us if we have large heads (you can stop laughing). Then he asked if it would be okay if he measured our heads and proceeded to do so using the little infant head measuring device (really you can stop laughing). Apparently there is some sort of calculation that can be done using the head measurements of the parents to determine if her large head measurement is okay for her or cause for some concern that would lead to subjecting her to some imaging tests. I don't think Nate has ever thought he has a large head, but I've always thought mine's been a little on the large side (I'm sure highly intelligent people have to have larger heads :0) Anyway, I'm really not concerned...it was just a very funny experience.

And since Nate hates having his picture taken, I made him pose for this one with Bridget. Notice the drool on her chin...it's always there no matter how often we wipe it away.

4 Months

Bridget is 4 months today! She goes to the pediatrician for her checkup and shots tomorrow, so I'll have to wait to post her stats. I know she's going to be right around 18 lbs. She's already outgrown some of her 3-6 month clothes which is a sad thing because most of her 6-9 month clothes are summer stuff, and it's not quite warm enough to wear them yet. She's been doing a lot better at tummy time the last week or so, and even though she isn't rolling over yet, I think she's getting close. She loves to practice sitting up, and quite often when she's sitting in a reclined position, she tries to sit up all the way. She's very good at grabbing things - toys, blankets, and especially my hair. She's recently developed a fascination with the remote control, and I'm just glad she doesn't push the buttons yet. She's still working on eating from a bottle and is not yet as efficient at it as she used to be and needs to be. The shirt she's wearing in this picture is a little misleading...she still prefers her mother and will only allow other people to hold her if she's not tired or hungry, but it's a cute picture anyway. Someday she'll probably prefer her dad because he'll be the fun one, and she'll get tired of spending all her time with me.

Monkey Princess

Can you tell who the real princess in this picture is? I'm pretty sure it's that cute girl in the middle, but the sock monkey is a close second. Nate has a coworker who makes amazing sock monkeys and she just finished Bridget's. I was also amazed by the sock frog she made to accompany it. This morning as we were playing in Bridget's room after she woke up, she seemed pretty fascinated by it and kept staring at it. Nate and I were trying to come up with names for the sock monkey, but nothing has seemed to fit yet. We may just have to let Bridget name her when she gets a little older unless anyone else has a great idea.

Easter Weekend

We had quite a busy weekend, so we had to create a slideshow of pictures to highlight most of it.

On Saturday, we went to Salt Lake to meet my sister Megan, her boyfriend Mike, my sister Jessica, and brother-in-law Matt for lunch at Buca di Beppo to celebrate Jessica's birthday which was actually Sunday. The food was delicious despite the poor service, and Nate finally got to eat the gnocchi he's been craving for weeks. After lunch we headed to Megan's apartment to eat Jessica's birthday pie from Coldstone and dye Easter eggs. Then Megan came back to Roy with us to spend the night and watch Bridget while we attended the adult session of our stake conference. I was very nervous about how Bridget would be since she's always fussy in the evenings and doesn't like anyone but me to put her to sleep. She did cry for about 30 minutes until she fell asleep. Thanks Megan for being such a great aunt and helping out! Nate and I both agreed that it was the best stake conference we'd ever attended. We were able to hear from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and Elder Donald J. Keyes. I could go on and on about what they talked about, but if you really want to know, you'll just have to ask me.

On Sunday, we all attended the general session of stake conference where we were able to hear from Elder Holland and Elder Keyes again. After church, we went home to make Jessica's birthday cake before Nate, Bridget, and I had to rush off to Nate's family's Easter get-together. From there we went to my Aunt Jennine's house to gather with my extended family for birthday cake and homemade ice cream to celebrate Jessica's birthday again.

It's Finally Spring

I'm so ready for warmer weather and am glad that spring is finally here! Earlier this week Nate came home from work with these beautiful purple tulips for me. This is only the third time Nate has ever bought me flowers because we both agree they are a waste of money, but I'm glad he does it every once in a while. He stopped at Costco to buy some milk and claims that he saw them and thought of me because I love purple. That may be true, but I think he also didn't want to stand in line just to 2 gallons of milk.

Weekend Update

Nate's sister Alysha came from St. George to stay with us over the weekend, and it was sure nice to have her here. She stepped right in and changed diapers, rocked Bridget to sleep, worked with Bridget on bottle feeding, and even watched her so Nate and I could go out to dinner. It was so nice to have some extra help and have a bit of a break. And apparently we're lame and didn't even take any pictures of them together. :-(

Speaking of bottle feeding...as I mentioned in a previous post, Bridget is having to relearn how to drink from a bottle. She used to take them just fine, but I guess I got lazy and didn't give them to her often enough so she forgot how to suck on it (it's a different tongue motion than breastfeeding). I bought some bottle nipples that are similar to her pacifier, and she seems to be getting the hang of it again.

And last of all, I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. After almost dying of the stomach flu last week, Bridget and I have both caught colds (at least that's what I think it is at this point). Bridget has had some junk in her nose and a sore throat. So far I've just had a really sore throat and felt run down. Luckily, Bridget seems to be handling it very well and still smiles and laughs. I guess she's less of a wuss than her mother.

And the Wait Continues...

Some of you know that I have been looking for another job. I need a change and need to find a place where they offer something akin to health insurance (rather than my current employer's excuse for insurance). I interviewed for a Business Analsyt position with Coventry Health Care (http://www.cvty.com) two weeks ago. I was supposed to find out the hiring manager's decision today and I found out NOTHING. I contacted Coventry and they are still looking at candidates in Sacramento, CA and Richmond, VA. So, I am still being considered but I continue to wait.

Marriage 101

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go to a nearby high school to be on a marriage panel for an Adult Roles class. My cousin Lisa invited me (she's student teaching), and I loved doing it since this is one of the same classes I taught until Bridget was born. I have to admit I loved being in the classroom again, and it made me miss teaching a little bit. I also loved sharing all of my marriage wisdom (I have so much of it since we haven't even been married quite 2 years yet). Bridget came with me, and was very well behaved. She slept through most of it and sat quietly on my lap staring at the students for the rest.

My Latest Project

For over a year now I have been "working" on a website for my dentist. Two weeks ago Kimberly told me I needed to work on it and I said I would . . . and I did. I finally have his site up and running and am now adding features, etc. This has kept me busy in those moments when I do not want to look for a job any more. So, solely for the purpose of building up his stats, check out http://www.jamesjonesdmd.com/.

In the near future we hope to have a tour of the office, online payment processing, photo gallery and oh so much more.

Surprise Vacation, Part 2

Here's picture collage from some of the highlights of our trip. On the left you have Bridget with Grandpa and Grandma Waldron. Bridget's in a phase right now (at least I hope it's just a phase) where she mostly just wants her mom which disappointed Grandma, but hopefully she'll be more fun the next time we see them. Bridget also got to meet her cousins Jaxon and Tanner this trip. The top center picture is me, Bridget, Aunt Stacey, and Tanner. You can tell from some of the other pictures that Tanner enjoyed getting to know someone closer to his size. Tanner is only 5 months older than Bridget, and they're both very chubby babies as Grandpa liked to frequently point out. Jaxon, who loves to have his picture taken, is in the center with me. He always says "cheese" when his picture is being taken and then runs to go look at it on the screen on the camera. He's a very bright 3-year-old and kept us all entertained. The last day we were there was so sunny and warm that Bridget enjoyed going on a walk with Grandma in her carrier.

As mentioned in our previous post, we planned to return home Monday but we actually didn't get home until Tuesday due to an unforeseen event. At 3:30 AM Monday morning I woke up with the worst stomach flu I've ever had in my life. I'll try to spare you some of the gory details, but lets just say I threw up more times that day than I have in my entire life combined. All fluids and food were trying to escape my body at every exit plus I had a fever and my body ached so bad I felt like somebody had beat me up. Nate was so good to take care of me in the middle of the night and made me a bed on the couch right next to the bathroom and even cleaned up after me (that's true love). My biggest concern the whole time was how I was going to be able to feed Bridget in my condition. The last 2-3 weeks she has refused to take a bottle anymore and I didn't know if I would be able to produce enough milk for her since I couldn't keep anything down and was severely dehydrated. Luckily she slept until 6:30 that morning. I think we were truly blessed that day though because my body was able to produce enough to keep her satisfied and she napped a ton more than she normally does. When I woke up Tuesday morning I was feeling much better and was back to my normal self by the end of the day.

Here's a picture of me "on my death bed" as I liked to proclaim many times that day.

All in all, it was great to see family but I could have done without the 2-day adjustment it took Bridget to adapt to a new place, almost dying from the flu, and how much longer it takes to travel with a baby. We'll hope for better things when we go back in July!

Surprise Vacation

We decided a few weeks ago to come to Montana and surprise Nate's parents. They haven't seen Bridget since she was 5 days old, so it was time. Although I have wanted to post about our plans, etc. I couldn't. Nate's mom gets an email any time a new post is added to the blog. We will be back home on Monday and I'll post some pictures then. This is a picture of their house (actually taken last summer) in Huson which is about 20 miles outside of Missoula.

I was nervous about how Bridget would handle the long ride in the car and being in a new environment, but it hasn't been too bad. We drove to Idaho Falls Wednesday evening and stayed with our friends Dustin and Emily. Bridget slept the entire way there, but didn't sleep quite as well that night as she normally does. She did very well in the car on Thursday too. She slept a lot off and on and didn't start getting tired of being in the carseat until we were just a few miles from Missoula. She still isn't sleeping as well at night or for naps as she does at home, but hopefully tonight will be better because we'd like a good night's rest.

Sadly our surprise didn't go quite as we'd planned. We showed up at Nate's mom's office just to discover that she'd barely left to go to a seminar. So we headed to the house to hang out until she came home. Nate finally ended up calling her and telling her we were here. She was very surprised as was his dad when he got home that night.

3 Months

Bridget is 3 months old today. It's amazing how fast the time has gone and how big she is getting. She still doesn't do any tricks (unless you count blowing spit bubbles), but here's a little of what she's doing these days:

• She sleeps very well at night...usually 7-9 hours before waking to eat and then going back to sleep for a couple more.


• She doesn't nap much during the day (much to my dismay)...usually 30-45 minutes 3-4 times a day. Hopefully she'll start taking longer naps again soon.


• She's very smiley most of the day. Mornings are her best time and evenings are the worst.


• Tummy time is not one of her favorite activities. If she's in a good mood she may last 5 minutes.
  
• She loves to practice standing and sitting - just watch out for the spit up and drool if you're holding her! And even though she spits up a lot, she's as chubby and cute as ever.

Call me crazy but it got up to around 50 degrees today, so we bundled up and went on a walk outside for the first time. We only lasted about 10 minutes though because I think it was a little too chilly for her. I can't wait for it to be spring!

Giggles

Bridget has figured out what the camera is for and has a tendancy to be camera shy...hence the angle of this video. While I entertained our little munchkin, Kimberly did everything she could to keep the camera hidden. You can ignore all the funny noises I make to get a reaction out of Bridget!

Saturday with the Sisters

On Saturday we ventured down to Salt Lake to spend some time with my sisters Megan and Jessica and brother-in-law Matt at Megan's apartment. Matt's birthday was a little over a week ago, so we got together to celebrate the special occassion. A fun time was had by all playing Rock Band, eating delicious enchiladas Megan made, and eating amazing birthday cake from Coldstone. It was my first experience eating a Coldstone cake, and it was so tasty I'm sure it won't be my last.

Jessica and I are jamming out playing Rock Band. I tried playing the drums for the first time and ended up being pretty good (okay, so I was playing on the easy skill level).

Nate's not a fan of Rock Band, so he and Bridget opted for a nap instead. I don't think Nate got much of a nap, but Bridget didn't seem to mind the rock music in the background.

Here's a family shot (Front: Megan, Jessica, Bridget, and Matt) (Back: Kimberly and Nate).

My Spare Time

Just before Bridget was born, I bought a couple of stocking kits to make stockings for Bridget and Nate (for some reason I didn't make Nate one last year). I thought I would have all sorts of spare time to work on them after she was born since I would be home all the time and I thought newborns slept a lot. Well, I was wrong. I don't have as much spare time as I thought because newborns are a lot of work, and when I do it's not usually spent being crafty. Anyway, it's now 2 months after Christmas, and I just finished Nate's stocking today! At least I still have 10 months to get Bridget's done.

Shaking Bed

About 7:15 this morning I was laying in bed half asleep listening to Bridget stirring in her room and not wanting to get up when it dawned on me that the bed was shaking slightly. I ignored it at first thinking I was imagining things in my sleepy state but continued to feel it to the point that I sat straight up in bed. In my mind I was wondering if I was feeling an earthquake (which is a definite possibility living on a fault line) but looked around and nothing else appeared to be shaking, so I decided I was just crazy even though I felt it for about a minute or so. I forgot about the whole incident until later this evening when Nate asked me if I heard about the big earthquake in Wells, Nevada today. Wells is about 180 miles west of Salt Lake, and the earthquake measured 6.3 on the Richter scale. What I felt this morning were apparently aftershocks. It's nice to know I'm not crazy!

Mommy's Girl

Yesterday Bridget and I had one the best days yet since she was born. She took several naps, we got out of the house, and she was very content in her bouncer on the kitchen counter watching me do some baking for church and Nate's work.

Bridget had so much fun during our baking extravaganza that she had to take a nap in the middle of it.

She was all smiles during her diaper change as usual.

Last night was a different story. I had to leave her with Nate while I went to Enrichment for a little over an hour, and she wanted nothing to do with him. I felt bad because she cried most of the time I was gone, but I told Nate not to take it personally - it's just because he doesn't smell like milk. She's definitely more of a mommy's girl right now, but I'm sure that will change in a few months. I figured out this morning that she was probably fussy because she needed to eat more often than usual...apparently she's having another growth spurt. She slept for a little over 10 hours straight last night (9 pm-7:15 am)...a new record! I realize this is every parent's dream, and I am grateful she sleeps so well at night (it's just not so comfortable for me as a breastfeeding mom).

Tummy Time...Again

Since Bridget doesn't have many exciting tricks to write about yet, I decided to post this picture just because I thought it was cute. Sometimes I lay her on the Boppy for tummy time just to spice things up a bit.

It's Alive! (Again, Finally)

Some of you know that about 3 weeks ago our computer decided to freak out. After some troubleshooting, I determined the problem was with the motherboard (aka mainboard, desktop board). Kimberly called Mark and Mark and through their Intel magic were able to find someone in Kaysville who could help.
After several trips to the store (and about $500 later), I had everything I needed to get the computer back up and running. However, since that time, the wonderful world of Windows' Blue Screen of Death has been a consistent problem. Another trip to the store (and a few emails back and forth with the General Manager) and I got new memory. NO MORE PROBLEMS!
Once again, we have a fully functional computer. Now, my project is to reinstall Windows (to get rid of a few quirky problems) and get everything installed. I am going to have a fun weekend!
Thank you Mark and Mark for your help!