These pictures say a lot . . .

Here are some "pre-church" pictures I got of the kiddos.  This was on one of the Sundays that Tyson was already living in Nashville, (September).

I sent these pics to Tyson-- he said he thought it was cool that his son already looked like such a "stud" at church.  He's a very Proud daddy of both Elise and Jaxon. 

2 month "Cousin Twins"

Before I joined Tyson in Nashville- I had the opportunity to watch my niece's little girl, Makayla, for a day.  Makayla is exactly 1 day younger than Jax. So watching them gave me the tiniest drop of what it would feel like to have 2-month-old twins and a toddler.  I had a lot of fun!  It certainly was not boring.  After doing it, though, I'm not sure how a mother of twins and a toddler gets much of anything else done in a day other than taking care of them.

I think I was quite the site when I was trying to walk out from my 3rd story condo down to my car to load them up.  I had my diaper back pack on, Jax and his car seat in one hand, Makayla and her car seat in the other, and Elise had her arms wrapped around my neck.  Definitely felt like a mule horse  . . .

Anyway, here are some pictures I got from that day.

Sweet innocence

Elise excited to have another baby around

Hands in the Air!!!

Happy Smiles

Elise is 2!!

How we love our fiesty, bright, little Elise- who is officially 2 years old!! 

Here are some of the things Elise loves to do:

* count to 10

* learn and review the letters of the alphabet

* swing on swings
* slide down slides

* go for a walk outside

* swim
* tell us stories

* read books with us

* pretend to talk on my phone

* take care of her "babies", (dolls)- by swaddling them, burping them, and feeding them

* push her "babies" in the stroller

* hold Jaxon, (she sincerely giggles anytime I let her hold Jaxon) 

* kiss Jaxon on the head

* give me and Tyson hugs, (I love how affectionate she is)
* grab Tyson and I around the legs
* run away and be chased

In spite of the toddler tantrums, the daily battles she puts up about eating, and the fact that she can make our home a disaster within minutes, (oh--- and that she sleeps the bare minimum for her age!)-- Elise brings our family so much joy.  Every day I am grateful that I get to be the one to raise her and be her mother.  

Jaxon's Baby Blessing

At exactly 2 weeks old, our little Jax man was blessed.  It was the only Sunday that my father would be in Utah, so we decided to do it then, (even though I hardly felt recovered from giving birth- lol).   

An extra special bonus was having my brother Tim be a part of the blessing!  He and Jill surprised us by coming to Utah for the weekend as part of their anniversary celebration.  

These are the men who stood in the blessing: Tyson, my dad, Tyson's dad, Tim Jones, Cody Walker, Blake Walker, Collin Hilton, Greg Schenk, Matt Dalton, and David Robles

  

it was a wonderful Sunday spent with family and friends, celebrating Jaxon's birth and health.  We feel so grateful for him and everyone's loving support.  

My mom helped me put together this blessing outfit for Jax.  I love the yellow bow tie she made. 

 A proud daddy . . . .

Our Jax Man is here!!!

I don't think a baby would be my newborn baby if he/she didn't start life with anything less than a fight . . . .   apparently a healthy, drama-free birth just doesn't suit them . . . .

Sunday, July 7th, 2013, our sweet little Jax Man made his debut, but not without some stress and fear.

Thankfully, Jaxon is now doing wonderfully- his hypothermia and atelectasis (partial collapse of lung tissue) have now subsided.  No more residual fetal fluid in the lungs; he no longer needs extra oxygen to help him breath without de-saturating. All of the tests have come up negative for serious infection, so  he is no longer on antibiotics.  His heart echogram came back perfect, too.

I had a hard time in the beginning days of Jax's birth, as so much of what was going on with Jax was bringing back some awful flashbacks of Elise's birth.  But, after a few days of being with Jax here at LDS hospital, it is clear that Jax is not going to go through nearly as much as Elise did.  (Jax is getting released tomorrow on July 12th).  No necrotizing enterocolitis, no heart surgery scares, and no oxygen tank at home.  We are certainly counting our blessings for that.

Once again, I am close to tears as I think about the incredible blessing the priesthood has been in the lives of my children, as well as the inspired medical care they have been able to receive.  Loren Walker, (Tyson's dad) came down the day after Jaxon was born and helped Tyson administer to him.  (They also gave me a blessing, since I clearly needed one too!) I will forever be in debt to my Savior for healing and protecting my babies.  I will also be forever grateful for the medical professionals who sacrifice so much time and energy in order to be the inspired healing hands both Jax and Elise have needed.

Here are some pictures of Jaxon; I love this little man so much.  He is so sweet, and yet seems to be so strong at the same time.  It is hard to explain, it is just the feeling I get around him: a quiet strength.  Who knows if that strength will remain "quiet" as he grows, but I can sense that this strength is a part of who he truly is.

          Tyson with Jax in the Special Care Nursery and Jaxon on Oxygen

                                                                             This picture was taken when Jax was 2 hours old

Jaxon's cries are very quiet and infrequent.  He is very active already, (he was the same way in my womb)! Jax is also an excellent nurser.  He was only 6 lbs and 4 oz., but 21 inches long at birth--- making him my long, lean little fighter.  As of now, I think he reminds me of a Jones, more than a Walker looks wise, but that can change quickly as he grows.

Elise's BFF

Elise has this adorable BFF who lives in our neighborhood and ward.  Her name is Charlotte- every time Elise sees Charlotte, she runs over to her and yells excitedly, "Char! Char!".  Charlotte is such a sweet natured little girl that I think she is a good match for Elise's feisty nature.  They are both very active girls, too.  They are in a tumbling class together and we also have play dates together every week.  There are some other cute little friends that come to our play dates, too.  Next time I'll have to get some pictures of these other kids.

Quite a few of my friends in my neighborhood are pregnant like I am, or had a child recently; it makes it so fun, since we all have 1st children around the same age and our 2nd born children will be around the same age, too.

Anyway, here are some pictures of Charlotte and Elise from today's play date:

I told Charlotte and Elise to say "Cheese"- Elise must have thought I said "teeth", so I guess that is why she is pointing to her teeth in this picture. 

6 months!!

I have a hard time taking pictures when I'm pregnant, since honestly, I really don't want to remember what it feels like to be pregnant.  I figure that if I'm going to add a few more children to our family, I need to forget in between pregnancies just how sick I am during the pregnancies.  Now that I'm just about in my 3rd trimester, I am definitely having decent days, but there is always a period in every day where my body reminds me why I am unable to eat what I really want and exercise the way I'd love to.  I guess the best way to describe it is a constant, underlying feeling of ick. 

With Elise, I didn't start to feel like myself again at all until about 4 days after she was born.  The doc told me that with my HCG and progesterone levels being so high, it didn't surprise him that it took that long for them to level off after she was born.At least this pregnancy isn't as bad as my pregnancy with Elise. 

Of course I am grateful to be pregnant and to have the opportunity to bring a son into my family.  (I wouldn't put myself through this if I wasn't.) But that feeling of gratitude really gets overshadowed every time I find myself laying next to the toilet on the bathroom floor, nauseated on my couch, or when I sit and look at my meal, wondering which food will be the least offensive to my stomach.  It wouldn't be so bad if this lasted only a week or two, or even a month . . . but the whole 9 months?!  Seriously body, what did I do to you to merit this vengeance?  The one benefit is that my pregnancy makes the newborn, up-all-night stage feel like a piece of cake.

Anyway, the point of all this ranting is to explain why I avoid taking a lot of pregnancy pictures.

But, for posterity's sake, and for the baby book I plan on making Jaxon, I figured I'd better start taking a few shots before he makes his appearance.  So here I am, 6 months along with the little Jax man:

For the record, I really am so grateful to be pregnant and am so excited to meet my baby Jax Man, I just needed to vent for a minute.  Sorry about that- but I do feel a little better now. I promise my future posts won't be like this one :0)