Moving Time!

On the 21st we are moving! I could not be more excited to have a home of my own. Well, not really my own- another persons home that we are renting. Either way it will be home. No more living in one bedroom! Which means, I get to actually fold laundry without having Mike to be there to chase after Bren. Going to bed without being afraid of waking Bren up. Use all of our stuff that has been in a garage for over a year (which by the way has ALOT of dust). Parking in a garage instead of the side of the road worrying if those pesky kids are going to throw rocks at our car. Again. And more importantly, feeling like a family. We have lived with my parents before Brendon was born! Which was a blessing for sure. Other wise I am not sure if I would have been able to get to the car while in labor. Instead of the Jeep, Bren would have been born in an apartment haha. My parents have done so much for my little family. I will be forever grateful for them. They are the best parents anyone could ask for!

My favorite sister in the whole world is getting married!! I am very excited and happy for her! She deserve every bit of happiness that Matt and her will have. Plus Bren needs some cousins on the Marshall side of the family ;) I get to be the maid of honor! I have never been in a wedding before. Minus when I was little and a flower girl for my Aunt. I am excited to help make Kelsey's happy day even more happy.

Brendon is doing well. He will be 10 months on the 20th. I cant believe how fast time flies! He is getting more and more personality each day. We got him a big boy car seat! He loves being able to see out the window. And it is so much easier taking him places. I dont have to lug around a big carrier that weighs a ton. He now has four teeth. Two on top and two on the bottom. The temper tantrums begin. He is a pro already, a little scary I must say.

Catch up

Mike got a new job!! This job is going to be SO much better. It has better hours, I will actually be able to see and spend time with my husband! Plus he will be paid hourly not flat rate! We will be able to catch up on everything and then move out! My job as always is going great! Besides the part of being there literally all. day. long. We still have only one car, Mike needs it cause he gets off work earlier then me. So I am at my job sometimes about 12 hours. Sometimes it is a pain in the butt, but there is a good side to it. Since I am here so early, I am able to workout a little bit. Which is nice cause I have not worked out in forever and I am totally out of shape. Plus I get alot of walking done if I want something to drink and what not at lunch time.

Brendon is fantastic! He is getting so big. He is now 8 months old! My parents got him a little walker, he LOVES it. It didnt take him long to figure it out and now he is a pro! However since he can walk all by himself in the walker he thinks he can do it out of the walker. And when it does not work out... Boy, does he get frustrated. He is getting pretty good at standing by himself. He can hold his balance for about a second or two.
He still has not gotten his top tooth :( sure hope it comes soon! Some nights are just lasting too long.

We took our Christmas pictures! They turned out way better then I thought (all thanks to my dads idea). I am trying to be a mommy photographer. I just want really nice pictures for my scrapbooks without paying out the butt for a professional to take them.

                Merry Christmas every one!









        

7 Months/Halloween

Alot has happened over the past couple of weeks. Brendon can now crawl! He can also pull himself up on furniture! Very scary but very cute! When he gets up there he is trying so hard to pull himself up so he can sit on the couch. He tries to lift his leg to try and get it over, sadly he doesnt even come close and he gets VERY frustrated. Bren is afraid to fall, so when he is ready to get down he cries and cries sometimes I give in and help him down. I try not to though because he really needs to learn that it is ok if he falls.

He likes to mimic people in the sounds that they make. For example his Aunt Kelsey loves to do whiny sounds and he repeats them and then that will be all that he says for a while. Cute and sometimes annoying :)

Brendon also loves to hit his toys with other toys so that they make a sound. He will actually bring a toy over to his entertaining and bang the toy against it and enjoys the loud noises that come from it. He even likes to form his hand into a fist and hit things with it to see if they make noise. This includes: his monkey (he punches his face), his toy cars, his bottles and sippy. Oh! That also includes our faces, yep, my son likes to punch me in the face haha.

Its amazing how much he actually understands, people always look at me weird when I talk to Brendon like he actually knows what I am saying, but he does! Maybe not everything, but he even talks back to me when I talk to him. He loves to talk about cars (just like his daddy). Whenever we go pick up Mike from work, as soon as the car turns off he has (will scream and cry if he doesnt) to get out and look at all the cars driving by. He will just sit there and talk forever about them. I just wish I knew what he is saying.

We went to a trunk or treat last night. It was more fun dressing Brendon up and taking pictures :) Brendon was a tiger, I was a safari lady, and Mike was the poor man that Brendon attacked.

6 1/2 Month Update

Brendon is about 6 1/2 months old, almost 7 months. There are so many new things that he is learning. He is so close to crawling, he has the army crawl down, and can get one and sometimes two hands going but then will face plant it. He can sit all by himself for as long as he wants. He has one tooth! It finally broke through the skin all the way. However he is getting the other bottom one. Its not fun at all. He wakes up screaming about 1-2 in the morning, he screams and screams and screams. Its heartbreaking for me, cause he is in pain and there is only so much that I can do to help my little man. Brendon LOVES the Circle K cups (see below). He has figured out that if he puts the straw in his mouth some yummy goodness should be come out into his mouth. When he puts it in his mouth gets confused on why nothing is happening. Brendon also loves to drink out of cups, sometimes he will get too excited and will get a shower of the cold water and then will get the chills. Its pretty cute when he gets the chills, he makes sound effects and everything.

Foods that Brendon has tried:
Yams- Love
Avocados- Doesn't care for
Pumpkin- Love
Apple Sauce- Love
Bananas- Love at first bite

Work is going great! I am learning so much and cannot wait to learn more. Mike is doing well at his job too. He is working such long hours, the only time that I get to spend time with him, is when I take him to work and pick him up. We are just working so hard so that we are able to move out into a place of our own. Well, actually rent another person's home.

Yams!!

Think this says it all on how trying yams for the first time went.

We have a scooter in the house!

Brendon has learned to scoot! He would be crawling however his arms dont know what to do. His legs will start to kick and move, and his arms will just stay put and he will face plant. Its pretty funny! His new favorite thing to do is crawl up to the meshy part of his crib/pack and play and just "ram" his head into again and again and again. He also love to press his head up against the mesh and stare at his night light. Sometimes I worry but mostly just laugh. He also loves to be a dog. He will stick his burp clothes in his mouth and bite down and growl while doing other things with his hands. Also, he likes to play with his toys on the floor and try to eat them without using his hands.

Brendon and I have been sick since Wednesday. :( I think its a head cold, but whatever it is we both have the same thing. Good news is that we are both starting to feel better. And since I sadly had to miss work Mike has been working extra hard at work. I honestly can say he is the best husband any girl could ask for!! The past couple of days he has gone to work at 7am and comes home around 10pm. He is a trooper for sure. The only bad part is that I miss him alot.

I got spoiled the weekend before last. I got to see him Friday, Saturday and Sunday! All day long! So I think that is why I am missing him so much. The reason why I got to see him so much is cause his family came to visit. We had a baby blessing (in other words a Father's blessing). Mike convinced me to do it in church so I did, just to support him in what he really wanted to do. I had a lot of fun seeing all of my brother's and sister's in-law (I think that is the right way to say it :)). We are pretty close to Tom and Ashley, so it was really fun to see and hang out with them and see their super cute little boy! Sadly, we did a lot of eating out. Even though I did eat salad, I could not over come the temptation of wheat. So my stomach is still recovering from that.

On the Friday before the chaos came, Mike, Brendon and I went to the zoo. We have a year membership and we try to take advantage of that as best as we can. We only stayed a couple of hours cause it was so hot and Brendon was getting heat rashes, but he stayed awake the whole time! He loved the Mandrill's. They are the really colorful monkeys. They have red and blue on their face, and a rainbow butt. He loved to stare at them. I am excited to go back and have him see more of the animals!

My boys make things interesting

Life has been pretty crazy busy. Mike finished his apprenticeship at work! And I am starting to train to be a Chiropractic Assistant! I am so excited, so far I am just loving everything that I have learned, and I have learned alot! Mike and I both got raises which is helping with paying off our bills. So we are finally on the road to start saving to move into a rental. Which we are very excited about. We have so many plans and dreams that we want to achieve in our lives and now at least some of them are becoming a realty.

Yesterday Bren turned 5 months! He can sit up by himself, not for too long though. He can also stand when holding on to his entertainer (we call it Mr. Bug, since its a bug :)). He also has become quite the talker! Seems like he always has a story to tell, just wish I knew what he was saying. Brendon LOVES "The wheels on the bus" song, it makes him crack up each time. Brendon loves trying to get his toy, hand AND foot in his mouth at the same time. He actually gets frustrated when he cant and starts to scream.

Taking family pictures was sure interesting. If Bren was looking at the camera then Mike wasnt. If Mike actually smiled Bren wasnt. Gotta love my boys!

4 month update

Yesterday the little man had his 4 month shots. :( Poor little guy, he got a low grade fever pretty quick, has been sleeping non-stop, not eating a whole lot, and needs to be held constantly. He is 25 inches long (75%) and 14 lbs and 1 oz (25%). He finally is starting to like tummy time- thank goodness. He is such a flirt!! Any girl that will give him attention he is in love. Gets me a little worried for when he grows up, if he is anything like his daddy.
Alot of changes on coming, we are starting BZ on rice cereal tomorrow. Hopefully he will be filling better for us to do that. He is learning to reach, he loves reaching for his links and keys. He has started to somewhat do the inch worm.
Work is going amazing! I love being there and learning everything that I am. Both my bosses are so nice so it makes it fun to work. The hardest part about working again is that I miss my little boy dearly. Sometimes it makes me sick to my stomach. If I wasnt able to go home during lunch to see him, I would really REALLY miss him.
First time riding in a cart

Tummy Time

Brendon does not like tummy time. This is how it is just about every time we do it. Its pretty entertaining though, I must say

Oh, there is the light!

I know I have not posted in a while, but nothing too exciting has happened.

Well, I got a job! I am so happy that soon this will all be over. It will still be hard, but we will be able to move forward and get things paid off and find a home of our own :) I will be working at a chiropractics office. I start on Monday! I am very anxious to start, I really like the Dr and the office manager. They are so sweet!! And the work days could not be more perfect. I will be working Monday-Thursday. So that way I will have more days to be with my little man.
Brendon will be 3 months on the 20th. Its pretty much crazy, time is flying by! A couple of weeks ago he had his 2 month check up and shots. He did pretty well after the shots, got a tiny fever but it left as quickly as it came. At the appt he weighed 11lbs and 4oz (25%) and he is 241/2 inches long (90%). He is one long and skinny baby. Just like his parents haha. Brendon is finally starting to somewhat like tummy time. I think he just realizes that he is going to do it no matter if he likes it or not. He is still having a hard time sleeping at night. Hopefully it will get a little bit better in the next few days when I start work.

Brendon loves to swim, he loves kicking his feet in the water.



Brendon LOVES his silky. He loves to cuddle with it when he is sleepy.

Two Months Already?

Yep! Brendon is 2 months old today. His personality is showing so much already. He is acting alot like me, which is REALLY scary. He is so stubborn. When its chilly outside I try and wrap him in a blanket and he will try and try to get out of the blanket until he is successful. Also he tries so hard to suck on his fist. He will actually take out his binkie to get his fist in there. Brendon LOVES to stand! He will scream and scream when you put him down and then as soon as you help him stand he has the biggest smile on his face. He likes white blank walls. haha not sure why but he can stare and stare at them. When he smiles really big he makes this cough noise like he is trying to laugh. Its pretty much the cutest thing ever! Brendon sure does love his daddy. When they play together it just melts my heart.

Brendon HATES tummy time. He likes to look around at things and tummy time doesnt let him see everything that he wants to. He loves being outside, and in the car. Whenever we put him in his carrier he has a big smile on his face cause he knows that we are going somewhere.

Well I am on the job hunt. I figured that while Mike stays at Pep Boys and gets all the experince he can get I will work to help us pay off bills quicker and get our place sooner. Its not easy but I refuse to give up :) We already have a place picked out. Its a moblie home place in Chandler. Sounds like crap I know but they are actually really nice! On the inside you cant even tell that you are in a moblie home. So once we get enough saved we are going to go pick one out! And it helps that we have someone we know that lives in their so we know its a safe and good place to live. Plus they have a pool and a park for me and Brendon! Im pretty much excited.

My birthday day cake, he really wanted some ;)

Two Birds With One Stone

Yesterday was my first Mothers day as well as my birthday. It was a pretty good day besides my hubby having to work all day. I got to spend it with my family, which was pretty fun! Then when Mike got off work we went to Texas Roadhouse to my birthday/mothers day dinner. I still cant believe that I am a mom. I am loving every minute of it, and when I start to get frustrated (I mean, come on! What Mom does not get frustrated?) I just look at my little man and remember what a blessing he has been in my life. When he looks up at me and smiles the biggest smile, it just melts my heart. Brendon turned 7 weeks yesterday!! Time has flown by so fast, I just cant comprehend it. Today while out with my parents, I realized that his head is too big for the head rest in his car seat!! He is getting so big! I always laugh cause I am constantly saying how big he is getting and then at the store I will see another baby and it looks like its on steroids haha

Mikes so called promotion is falling through the cracks. They were so quick to give us the pay decrease but they are being shady on actually getting him to start! So we are actually worse off then we were before! To say the lease I am kinda stressing out. We are trying to figure out what we can do. Mike is NOT a customer service guy at all! If you piss him off, he has no problem telling you (hmmm... sounds familiar ;)) At least I can keep my mouth shut if someone is paying me to :) I don't know if I need to work and bring home the bacon for a little bit or if we both need to work, or can he find one or two jobs that will pay enough to where we can make bills, pay things off and move out? The only problem with me working is that I don't know if I can work full time cause I really don't know if I can be away from my little man that long! I am pretty sure that I will be constantly thinking and worrying about him, not sure how well I can work all day with that in the back of my mind. I would be on the phone with my Mom ALL day asking how he is doing, what he is doing and so on and so forth. You know what they say, "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."

Happy late Mothers day to all of you Moms. Its the best job in the world, and I wouldn't take it back for anything in the world. I LOVE BEING A MOMMY!!

If your not going to say anything nice, don't say anything at all

I have decided to be positive through the hard times Mike and I are going through. Even though Mike didn't get the Ford job because of his driving record (which will clear up in about a year and a half), Mike will have more expirence under his belt (he got a job promotion at work) and he has more time to get all of his ASE certifications. Also Brendon gets more time with my family! So Mike is on the job hunt for another full time job so that he can work both jobs. If he doesnt get one soon, I will prob go back to work until he does find one.
The baby blessing got cancelled due to some lame family drama. The good that has come out of that is that hopefully we will get my brother and sister in laws from Utah down here to be with us. If we do try to have another one, it will just be a father's blessing at our home with family.

This was going to be his baby blessing outfit

Brendon is doing great, we had to up the oz in his bottles again. So now he is eating 5oz every 5-6 hours. He has an appt coming up on the 23rd, and I am very anxious to see how much he weighs. He is just getting so big! He is smiling more and more each day and I hear a new sound come out of his mouth quite a bit. He also seems to be getting louder ;) The thing I love the most right now, is when I pick him up and he smiles up at me. It melts my heart every time.

Cant seem to catch a break..

WARNING this is more of a vent post: Mike cant work at Ford cause he has too many speeding tickets. We were counting on this job, it was suppose to get use caught up on bills and move out of my parents house. We werent suppose to live with them this long, we are being such a burden to them which is why we were so excited for this job. I know we have it pretty good compared to some people, but it sill feels like we cant catch a break. Whenever some thing good happens something bad has to ruin it, If I didnt have Brendon I would be an emotional wreck. I see all of my friends that their hubbys have amazing jobs and are buying and living in houses. And I think why cant that be us? I knew what I was getting myself into when I married my amazing hubby. And I would change it for the world. But I didnt think that we would be here where we are right now. Have an amazing son and living with my parents. Trying so hard to not lose hope and let it get to me. But I cant help but feel like this when it happens ALL THE TIME to us. :( Sorry for the vent but I really needed to get it off my chest.

Say what?

My little man is already four weeks! He is getting so big, on Wednesday he weighed 8lbs and 14oz. Almost 9lbs! So far I have lost about 25lbs, still have some more to lose and then MAJOR toning needs to be done. But I am pretty shocked on how much I have lost so far. I go on daily walks so I think that helps a little bit. I have my doctors appointment in two weeks and I am very anxious. We will finally be able to discuss with the doctor my options about going back on my meds or if there is other options that we can do. I will probably go back on my original meds because I actually felt like a normal human being rather then a psyco lady who yells at everyone. haha

Mike has not started San Tan Ford yet. There was some problems with his DL and it took about a week to get it fixed. Thankfully it is fixed and we are just waiting to hear back from them on whether it fixed the problem or not. We are hoping that it does cause this is the first break that we have gotten in a while. And we need this job more then anything right now. We are already over our heads in bills and now that Brendon is here we have more. With all of his jaundice testing... well that REALLY killed us. And I am afraid to look at the hospital bill (which we havent gotten yet).

May first is going to be Brendons blessing. We have not talked to the bishop about it yet (we will tomorrow, which will be the first time in a very long going to church, and if you know me really well you know why and my views on the church). We arent sure if he will let us do an actual blessing at the church building or not. Depends on what kind of bishop he is, I am nervous to find out. If he decides to be lame and not let us we will just do a fathers blessing somewhere without the church/bishop. It will be just as wonderful, cause for me this is really about Brendon and Mike. My boys having a bonding experience. Mikes family will be coming down for it, I am WAY excited to see my brother and sister in law. Mike and I are pretty close to them and its been almost a whole year since we have seen them.

Two weeks!

As of yesterday Brendon is two weeks old! I cant believe it myself! He is getting so big already, growing longer and longer each day. He is starting to get some fat on his cheeks and a little bit on his tummy.

He is staying awake longer and LOVES to look around. He actually screams and gets very angry if you block his view. He is starting to smile more, however he still cannot control it yet. Also he is starting to learn to make different sounds. For example, he is grunting alot more, he even growls at me sometimes. He also has his high pitched screams when he is just as happy as can be. I must say its pretty cute even at five in the morning. He recently has been making hissing sounds, like a cat. I am getting alot better at knowing what he needs just by the look on his face and the kind of grunts that he makes.

Mike and I had our first date night last night since Brendon. I was a little nervous leaving him with my parents since it was the first time ever leaving home without him. The whole night I felt like something was missing. I think I checked my phone about every half hour to see if my parents tried to call me. haha So what if I am over protective, its my first child. My little man.

Mike got a job at San Tan Ford here in Gilbert Az. He will still be working at Pep Boys full time so that Brendon and I can have health insurance. So I will hardly see him cause he will be working two full time jobs. But you got to do what you got to do right? It will help us move out, get our own place, pay off some bills, and hopefully get another car so we can be a two car family again. Its going to be really hard not ever getting to see him again, I am just hoping that he will make enough at San Tan Ford to support me and Brendon.

One week!

I cant believe that Brendon is already a week old! He is such an amazing little kid. He hardly ever cries, and when he does its only cause he is hungry or needs a diaper change. Other then that he is totally fine just laying down on the bed or floor and in his bouncer. But at the same time he LOVES to cuddle, esp. with his daddy. He now weighs 7lbs and 10oz. He holds up his head really well! He can hold up pretty high and for about 45 seconds! He is still having a hard time with day and night, but that just comes with time. He is currently drinking formula and seems to be taking it great! (ALOT less spit up :))

3 days after we left the hospital Brendon started to get jaundice. Two days later the doctor wanted to test him again. It went up even more. She wanted us to take another test the next day to see if it was going to go down yet. It went up by .1. Its not horrible but not good. It needs to head the other direction. We went in today to do his 5th heel prick for the jaundice test. Thankfully it is starting to go down and he no longer needs to do another test for it!

Mike and I are still trying to adjust to the sleeping schedule. And it is starting to get a little more difficult as Mike is starting to go back to work. He will return full time next week, for this week his is only working 4 days. But thankfully I have my parents at home to where they dont mind watching him while I take a nap (I get pretty mean if I dont get my sleep). Even though Mike is starting to get back to work, he helps out as much as he can with Brendon in the middle of the night. He lets me get some sleep which I think is super sweet of him. Cause he has to wake up early in the morning to work most of the day, and his work is hard labor for sure.

I have big hopes and dreams for my little man. I hope that his life will be 20x better then Mike and I's will ever be. That he will succeed and be happy.

Brendon Zander

Saturday day night I started getting contractions every 5-7 minutes for about an hour and a half before Mike came home from work to take me to the hospital. Sat in the ER room for about 45 minutes and then went to triage for about an hour. I was contracting every 3-5 minutes but I was dilating fast enough for them to keep me there. So they gave me some pain meds and a sleeping pill and off we went to go home.



As soon as we got home my contractions were getting more and more painful and next thing I knew they were about a minute or two apart. They were getting so bad I was screaming at the top of my lungs, so I woke up Mike. He was trying to help me to the car to go to the hospital. But because I was in so much pain (back labor) I needed my mom to help me out. When I finally made it downstairs I laid down on the floor while Mike got the car. While laying down my water broke. I REALLY started to freak out now. As we started to make our way I felt a head! We were on the 202 and he started to crown. But thank goodness he went back up. As we pulled into the hospital parking lot he started to crown again. But this time he was not going back up.



We pulled up to the ER entrance Mike ran out and told them what was going on. Two nurses ran out and noticed that Brendons head was half way out. By the time an ER doctor made it out his head was completly out. I pushed about two times and then he was born, right in the passenger seat of our Jeep. Mike got to cut the cord and then they rushed me to the labor and delivery room to finish the rest of the labor process and to get alot of stiches.


Brendon couldnt be any healthier. Not sure why but all the nurses and drs were a little shocked. Whenever a nurse or dr would walk into our room they would comment about how they heard about what happened. We were pretty much famous there haha

So far he has been the best baby boy I could ever want. He hardly cries, and he LOVES to cuddle. I am recovery very well and just loving being a mommy.

Born 3:32 Am

Weight 7 lbs and 3oz and 19 1/2 inches long

9 months!

Yep! I am 9 months prego! Dont think I am going to be getting a whole lot bigger then I am now, thank goodness! Although I do feel my little man getting bigger and bigger. He is not moving too much cause well there just isnt room in my belly. I get my first appointment on Thursday to see if I have at all dilated at all, and I must say, I am very curious to see if I am or not. He still hasnt dropped so I am still getting heartburn, acid reflex, and rib pain. Alot of rib pain. One thing that I have liked about him getting bigger is that I am getting to know all of his body parts. I know which is his knee, elbow, head and of course his cute little butt. I also like having my brother and sister feel him moving and kicking :) Its fun to watch Kelsey's reaction.

Mike is starting to get call backs from companies getting his resume which is good. But we are not getting any bites yet. We are pretty sure that ND is out of the window, the manager up there is being extremely shady with us and is making excuse after excuse on why we cannot move up there yet. So we are going to try and stay here in Az where our family is. Since I will be having the first grand baby in my family and my mom is SUPER excited (Which I love how excited she is). We are praying and trying to stay positive even though it is very hard at times.

25 things...

I decided to write 25 things that people probably dont really know about me. All I seem to talk about is my pregnancy and my hubby.

1. I am just a little too blunt

2. I am not afraid to hurt peoples feelings (as sad as that is)
3. I have been obbessed with my hair since I was in 1st grade. I even wrote about how amazing it is for a school assignment

4. I have an uncontrolable love for purses

5. My favorite soda is Diet Dr Pepper and Diet Coke with lemon

6. I dont like chocolate (expect during this pregnancy- all I crave is chocolate)

7. I love going to the gym and lifting weights

8. I laugh when some people die in movies

9. My hubby is slowly rubbing off on me on old classic cars

10. I LOVE Family Guy

11. I cant do math to save my life

12. I love reading sci fi books- My favorite series is the Ender's Game books

13. I am extremely competitive at games

14. I love football- My favorite teams are the Cardinals and the Seahawks

15. My life dream is to own my own business of some sort (thinking about an auto shop with my hubby)

16. I love baking

17. My favorite flower is the easter lilly

18. I hate drinking water

19. I love Texas Road House, Olive Garden, and Chilis

20. I am very picky about the clothes that I wear

21. I like to make people laugh, even if it means acting just a little too weird

22. I like almost all types of music including hip hop, rap and country

23. My favorite holiday is black friday

24. I have a mind of a 12 year old boy

25. I love mac and cheese with hot dogs. yumm....