Little Ayden

My sister Emily's baby Ayden was born today. She has had a really long struggle, but made it 27 weeks before delivering. Ayden weighed in at just over one pound. Brad I went to visit today. He is so incredibly tiny. He is stable right now, and we are just praying that he is able to stay stable in order for his little body to keep growing so that his lungs can function on their own. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. We greatly appreciate it!

These pics are kind of sad, but I thought I would include them. I had to snap them outside his little plastic dome. The tape across his face is to hold his breathing tube in. I have never seen such small little hands.

Merry Christmas...

We had a really interesting Christmas this year. Oliver woke up at about 12:45am screaming at the top of his lungs...which he NEVER does. (He is usually such a good sleeper and doesn't make a peep all night.) He was sooo upset, and I had no idea what was wrong. I changed his diaper, gave him some milk, held him...nothing worked. He continued to scream like there was no tomorrow. All he wanted to do was get up and play. Finally 2:30am rolled around. We were all awake and sick of the noise, so we decided to have our Christmas morning a little early! We started opening presents at 2:30am this year! Tavin couldn't have been more thrilled, but Oliver was still his usual grumpy self. He continued to scream and yell orders at all of us, determined to claim every toy that Tavin opened for himself. There were toys flying across the room in a fit of Oliver anger, and what sounded like some sort of "baby language" muttering and cursing under his breath. We all agreed that Oliver is not invited to Christmas next year. Tavin had a wonderful Christmas morning, with piles of presents from Santa and an amazing train table from his great uncle. He was incredibly sweet and cute all day, even while being tormented and abused by his younger brother. We made a big Christmas dinner and Grandma "with the O car," as Tavin calls her, came over to share it with us. Christmas night we had a Wii party with our best friends, while the kids played with all the new toys. It was a great Christmas!

Some Snow

We have had a little snow off and on this past week, and when I say little I mean little! There was a dusting last night, so of course Tavin was begging to go out this morning. You could still see most of the grass through the white powder, but the boys were thrilled.

***UPDATE*** I look really silly now! After I posted this, it started dumping. We got over a foot of snow and were unable to leave the house for days! It was our only white Christmas in like the last 19 years! Tavin adored it, but sadly it is now quickly melting away.

Deck the Halls!

You know me, day after Thanksgiving and the house has to be fully decorated for Christmas! I was more excited than ever this year, because it was our first year in our house. Here a few shots I snapped tonight...

^ Living room tree

^View of living room from outside



^Family room

^Garland on the stairs

^ Family room tree

^ Kid tree

^ Yeah I know there are still pumpkins on the porch!

Birthday Boy

We had dinner with my family tonight to celebrate Tavin's and Grandma's (or yellow grandma as Tavin calls her) birthdays. I realized that I didn't get any pictures of Tavin with his cake at his actual party so I snapped a few tonight...

Fire Station Birthday Fun!

Tavin had his 4th birthday party on Friday at the Edgewood fire station. He absolutely LOVES firefighters. All the kids got to talk to the firemen and see their equipment. We went on a tour of the fire station and they all got to sit in behind the wheel of the fire engine! It was so much fun. I don't know if we will ever be able to top this one!

There was a fire truck on top of the cake...it didn't stay on there for very long!

I think this was the first time I have ever seen a kid actually bust the pinata open! Tavin's friend Louisa got it on the second hit!

In awe of the fire engine

I had to pose Tavin for a couple at the end!

New Photography Blog!

I have moved my photography blog!

http://www.stacyjacobsenphotography.wordpress.com/



The new blog features better picture quality and is more interactive. Check it out, bookmark it, and tell me what you think!

Christmas is Here!

Well, Christmas isn't exactly here yet, but Christmas music is! Brad has finished his first Christmas CD, "Christmas Night", and it is now available for pre-order! Save 15% by ordering before November 24th. All pre-orders will be delivered by December 1st. The CD will be available for regular purchase after November 24th for $15. Check out samples at www.Brad'sPiano.blogspot.com

Walkin' the Line

So after many months of encouragement and even some bribery, Oliver has started walking! Last night and most of the day today he has been walking all around the house! Up until yesterday Oliver was nothing but stubborn, throwing tantrums and crying when anyone uttered the word "walk." He would walk when he thought we weren't looking. If he caught us looking at him, or if we encouraged or clapped, he would fall to the ground, throw his head down in between his knees and scream. I guess something clicked in his brain yesterday, because he couldn't be more excited now. He is almost 16 months!

Happy Halloween

We had a GREAT Halloween this year. We did a little trick or treating around the neighborhood and then went to our ward Halloween party. The party was a carnival theme, and everyone really went all out. Tavin had the best time, and Oliver loved watching all the kids playing in their costumes.





Tavin couldn't decide between his vampire costume and his firefighter costume. So, he ended up wearing both. He said he was a firefighter during the day and a vampire at night because bats are nocturnal! Cute boy!


^I LOVE how classically bad this photo is. It just reminds me of all the bad school photos I had back in my day. I was asked to have a photo booth set up at the ward party for kids to come and get their pictures taken in costume. Tavin was my first victim.


^Oliver's turned out a little better!


^Our little shark! I taught him to growl every time someone said the word "shark". It was way too cute!