Oh its been so long....

So it seems that I am doing a horrible job at keeping up on this whole blog thing- yikes....I am SORRY
so here it goes - since our last post we have had a lot of fun. In March my mom "Oma" got to come and visit. It was so good to see her and it was great for Ari to finally meet his Oma. Oma= Grandma in German.....
and anyway my mom doesn't look like a Grandma, just ask Cambren....

It was so nice of my mom to come and visit - she was able to spend the days taking care of Ari while Ryan and I were at work and then we were able to spend time with her at night. On Sunday March 23rd- Ryan, Ari and I were preparing for a nap after church when the doorbell rang. I got up and answered it - and standing there at MY front door was my nephew Cambren who just happens to live in TEXAS...

I could not believe my eyes I just kept starring at him- and then he asked if Ari could come and play- that's when I lost it - My big brother Barry, wife Maria and the rest of their kids Tanner, Parker and Maddy came from around the corner. It was truly the best surprise ever. They had decided to come up and visit for spring break. It will definitely go down as one of my most cherished memories of my life. I have been so sad to be so far away from my family and it was hurting my heart that Ari had not been able to meet any of my side of the family yet- What a great surprise. (sorry this is old news for those of you who read the Front Porch blog- they posted the story first....

We had such a good time spending time with my family - going to the U2 light show, visiting the Dinosaurs at Thanksgiving point- eating out and just enjoying each other- I hope I will be able to see my family again soon.

Here are some recent pictures
Here is Ari, on the awesome quilt Oma made for him



Maddy & Ari - all the cousins were so cute with Ari





And here is a photo from Easter- Ari came down with his first fever Easter weekend and it was very scary - He had a temp of 102 but no other symptoms- after a horrible experience at Instacare- Ari got better all on his own. Here he is Easter Sunday - feeling horrible but trying his hardest to be a champ for Easter pictures


Ari had his 4 month check up the other day and weighed in at a whopping 13 pounds 3 oz- he is long and lean 70% for height and 20% for weight- we love our little guy

Little man on the move...

Ari rolled over for the first time February 12th, 2008... Here is a short video of our little guy (sorry the quality is lacking - its off our camera phone.....

Perspective.....

I guess it started about a week ago. For those of you who don't know I am returning back to work on the 25th and it certainly feels like the hardest thing I have had to do so far. I have known all along that after 12 weeks of being with Ari 24/7 I was going to have to return to work- atleast for a few months, but I had been putting it as far back in the corner of my mind as possible. Until about a week ago- I realised that all of my stalling and putting things off til "tomorrow" was not going to make the inevitable go away. That dreadful day was fast approaching and I had to prepare myself and my little guy as much as possible.
So I started preparing lists and labels and charts and organizing everything and anything I thought Ari might need while I was away. Doing this makes me feel a little bit more in control, and anyone that knows me, knows I need to be in control.
All this preparing for my return to work also gave me a really bad attitude, and thats when it started.....
Ryan came home from work and told me that a coworker's wife had to deliver her baby early, at just 28 weeks. Now this tiny one pound person was literally engaged in the fight for his life. His tiny system way to young to handle the stresses of eating, breathing and maintaining his temperature.
The very next day I recieved news that my pregnant partner ( we were due just months apart and went through the journey of our first pregnancies together) had also delieverd her baby- full term, I was so excited - and then she explained- in the best words she could find - that the baby had some complications and was born with a skin disorder- he was in NICU and she had little else she could tell me.
And then it hit me- while I have been boo hooing around the house for the last week and a half, I have missed something so profound. I have a healthy baby boy. I was blessed with a baby that was placed in my arms right after I delieverd- not wisked away to NICU.
I thought about how I complained about my aches and pains when I was pregnant- and realised how lucky I was to have those aches and pains for 40 whole weeks.
I have been so busy feeling sorry for the things I am going to miss while I am away from Ari while I work - I forgot about how many things I have already gotten to experience
Ryan cutting the umblical cord
Ari latching on for the first time (and every time there after)
First baths and first diapers and trips to the store
Bringing our healthy baby boy home
Rocking Ari when he cries
I could go on and on with all the amazing and wonderful experiences I have had in my first three months as Ari's mom-
Today I have a new perspective, while I am still sad to leave my baby boy and return to work - now I have shifted my focus onto what I do have
A healthy baby boy and a loving spouse- I am truly blessed
Our hearts and prayers go out to our friends/coworkers who are struggling now. Hug your little ones a little tighter tonight - just because you can and remember those in your prayers who are longing for the day when they too can hug their little ones.

Photo Gallery

Okay we are going to try and resurrect our online photo gallery.

we are going to try and update it atleast once a month - please be patient with us ... we love you all


Ryan, Joy and Ari

here is the link if you want to copy it and put it in your browser
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=kpgsg6d.a2dnpund&x=0&y=ans54a

What a difference a few weeks make

When we got back from California I relised it had been exactly two months since the last time I attempted to take cute "diaper" pictures of our little man. So I decided to take new pictures - I am hoping to do some sort of these pictures every month while he is in diapers to do a little time line of how he grows. I can not believe how big he is getting (big being a relative term here.... he is still pretty little)
so here is our little Ari now


Now for a little comparison
here he was just 5 days old 12/6/2007

And here is Ari two months later 2/6/2008

Ari's blessing Day

While in California - Ari was blessed in the Simi 5th ward, on February 3rd. (Grandpa Jeff is currently bishop of the Simi 5th ward, so this was extra special). Ari was blessed by his Dad and there in the circle was also, his Grandpa Jeff, his great uncle Butch, Mike Dickerson Sr. (a family friend of the Williams), and Jason Hoffman (a friend of Ryan's)
It was a really special day for us and we were glad we were able to share it with so many close friends and family. It was sad that we could not have you all there with us, but you were in our hearts as I am sure we were in many of yours.
After Ari's blessing we had a luncheon in his honor at Grandma and Grandpa's - the weather was so nice, much better then the 10 degree weather we left in Salt Lake. Here are some photos from Ari's blessing. Oh yeah in true Ari style, our little man was blessed in a Hawaiian shirt, baby jeans and vans shoes. He is hip beyond his years.(or I guess in Ari's case beyond his months......)

Ari's 8 Week check up

I know this is late but we have been really busy so I will be updating the blog tonight with a lot of what has been going on. Sorry if that bores you....
Ari had his eight week check up on January 28th. He weighed in at 10lbs 6oz and is now 22.5 cm. (Ari weighed in at 6lbs 7oz when he was born and 19.5 inches long. So he is a healthy growing boy.

California

Well we have officially taken our first family vacation and we survived. Ari, Ryan and I flew to California for the week. We left January 30th and came back home February 6th.
Ari was such a trooper on the plane- he didn't even make a peep. We lucked out and both our flights, coming and returning were very empty so we had the whole row to ourselves. Ari was such an angel as always.
While we were in California we went up to Paso Robles,which is where some of Ari's great aunts and uncles live as well as his great grandparents- Grandma and Grandpa Palla. It was so nice to see family and for Ari to meet some of his extended family (although he probably won't remember it. We also went with Grandma Sharon to San Simeon, which is close to where Ari's Great Grandparents live. San Simeon is home to the Hearst Castle. While we did not get a chance to go to the Hearst Castle- we did get to go to the beach for a once and a life time opportunity. (Okay it happens every year from like September to March- but who knows when we will get up there again.) We got to see the Elephant Seals......

If you are like me, I had never heard of an elephant seal and was mesmerized when we got to the beach. There were thousands of them and best of all there were brand new baby elephant seals. Elephant seals are mammals and so they too breastfeed their babies- I being the lactating mother that I am was facsinated by this


here is a picture of some of the momma seals with their babies.



The elephant seals are called that because the HUGE male seals have noses that sort of resmeble elephants - the female seals look like regular seals, just HUGE and the baby seals are so cute. The elephant seals migrate to this particular part of the California coast every year and have their babies. It was really cool to be that close to such magnificent animals and not be at the zoo.



We also got to do a lot of shopping while we were in California, eat at In n Out, hang out with Grandma Sharon and Grandpa Jeff, and have a really good time just relaxing- oh and playing guitar hero.....

Ari has decided that he really perfers the warm weather and is encouraging his dad to look for work that will relocate our little family somewhere warm... I second that!

In His Sunday Best

The last 6 weeks have gone by so fast - Ari is growing and changing so much every single day. He sure isn't that tiny 6lb 7oz baby anymore, and every outfit he outgrows makes me cry a little bit - I just can't believe how quickly it all goes by.... it seems like we just brought him home.
But there is a bright side to Ari outgrowing some of his Preemie clothes... his wardrobe is getting so much bigger and now he isn't limited to sleepers. So here is Ari in his Sunday Best- While I was taking the pictures Ryan got excited and went and found his old Missionary tag- priceless!!!!

Ari's nursery

Finally, Ari's nursery is finished - well 99.9% finished but to the naked eye it appears pretty darn finished so here it is - it has really been quite a project but I think Ryan and I both really had a good time putting it all together- and we can't wait for Ari to really enjoy it too...

Quick Update

Okay this post is going to be quick and boring- sorry no pictures to help narrate the post. Ari is officially 6 weeks old now, we can't believe how quick the time has gone. In a way though it really does feel like he has always been a part of our family. Ryan had his last day at Mervyn's so now he can focus on his last semester of school and his planning job in Park City. It was bitter sweet, Ryan's last day. He has worked for Mervyn's for almost our entire marriage and Ari and I were really starting to like driving to the mall to come for a visit. Lunches with Dad at work are going to be few and far between now- so that makes us sad.... (Park City is just so far away....to go there just for lunch)
But it will be oh so nice to not have Ryan work 12+ hour days anymore.
In other news - Ryan has started what should be his very last semester of school (YEAH), also Ryan, Ari and I will be attending an institute class this semester- we have decided to take Teachings of the Living Prophets - we have the nicest/cutest old man teacher. He is really a sweet guy and welcomed Ari into the class with no hesitation. He even said that I should not get up and leave just because the baby is fussing- I am so glad he was so great about us taking Ari to class. Ryan and I have always enjoyed taking institute together and since I am not ready to leave Ari with a babysitter just yet - it was either take him or not go..... so we are very grateful for that.
Our Christmas was nice, pretty uneventful but nice and quiet none the less. Since Christmas kind of snuck up on us this year we did some creative Christmas shopping. We each got our Christmas money in cash and went out together to do our shopping- we just split up the stores and mall so that we would not see what each other was purchasing - then Ryan would take his presents to the car- and then when he was done I would take my presents to the car. It worked out great - we were both surprised on Christmas. Christmas Day we went to the movies as a family - We went and saw Juno (which is my favorite movie so far) Ari was so good during the movie- NOT A PEEP....
We had dinner with Chad and Kasey which was lovely ( we had Chili Verde - and it was really good)
We spent New Years here at home just the three of us (well four, we can't forget Berkelee)
Other then that nothing much is new- we love you all and we miss you - we will keep you all posted as usual

Merry Christmas Ari

Not a whole lot to post here. This was Ari's very first Christmas - it was hard to explain to him all the politics of Christmas in just 24 days so I am not sure he really "understood". However he did manage to score a Tickle Me Elmo Extreme.

Here is Ari with his Tickle Me Elmo



Ari looking thrilled as every on his first Christmas, in his Christmas outfit that is just a hair too big




"What Dad, you didn't get me a Wii, but all the other kids got Wii for Christmas...."



I had better get a really good Easter basket.....

Kiddie Kandids

Okay so we went to Kiddie Kandids and here are the results, I feel bad cause Ari wasn't really feeling the photo shoot. He was hungry (and shame on Kiddie Kandids for not having a spot for breastfeeding moms, I mean if you are in the business of baby photography it just seems like you should have a room or something- even a chair in the rest room. I refuse to sit on the toilet and feed my baby- so thank heavens for the bebe au lait- and I don't care who I made feel uncomfortable) and he was tired and we had been out running other errands all day so he was a little bothered by the whole thing. Also there just weren't that many poses you can do with a 12 day old baby- and don't get me started on clothing. We are still finding it a challenge to dress our little baby in anything that doesn't look like pajamas. Ari is still wearing preemie clothes and aside from a lot of stores not even carrying preemie clothes - the ones that do only seem to carry sleepers..... so we did not do any wardrobe changes.....
Here is Ari in all his handsomeness

Ari's first modeling shoot

Here are some pictures I took while Ryan was at school. We are working on getting Ari's birth announcements done and I was trying to save a little $$$ by doing the photo myself- I mean how hard can it be to photograph a 5 day old baby, right ?!?!?























Yeah, we will probably stick to Kiddie Kandids....