blogging marathon

Okay so here it is - Ryan is occupied watching football and Ari seems to be occupied for the moment yelling at the cat in the kitchen... So I am going to embark on a blogging marathon, sorry if you get sick of all these posts but I have to get them done when I can.......

The funny thing about Blogs ....

Agh, the drama of blogging...
It all started the other day when I called a friend and we were chatting- our conversation of course led to blogs, I think it went something like this
my friend-- "have you talked to so and so?"
me-- "well I looked at there blog"
my friend--"yeah I went on there too and I wanted to leave a comment, but I didn't have time to update my blog, so I didn't want people to see my comment, cause then they would know I was online, BUT didn't update my blog"
me--"Oh, I never comment, like hardly ever, ever do I leave a comment, are you supposed to always comment?"

We went on to talk about the politics of blogs, something that until recently I hadn't even thought about.

So, if someone has a link to your blog on their blog are you then required to put a link to their blog? (I have avoided this one by linking no one, not actually on purpose but because I can't seem to figure out how)
Apparently, these links are like friendship bracelets - if your blog makes it on someone else's blog then you are popular and they like you, but if your blog doesn't make the list..... well better luck next year.

Do you have to leave comments? And if someone leaves a comment on my page do I need to then comment back to their comment, should I mention their comment if I run into them at the store, if I don't comment is that going to jepordize my standing on their links to other blogs?!

Should I even attempt to update my blog if I am not going to then take the time to visit everyone else's blog (well everyone who has me listed on their blog as a friend or family member) and leave a comment? If you notice that my blog has been updated but I haven't left a comment on your blog do you think I am selfish and lazy?

My blog isn't private, so if someone I know stumbles upon it and leaves me a comment do I have to add them to blogs I am watching? Even if we aren't friends (well even if I don't think we are friends)?

If I don't have enough time to update my blog, but I go to someone else's blog and leave a comment, do others see my comment and think "oh Joy left a comment, she must have updated her blog, lets see.. click" only to be sorely disappointed and then when they see that I have left them high and dry, do they curse me is private?

There is this whole dynamic to blogging that I had never consciously considered, but subconciusoly I worried about - so many times I have thought about blogging or not blogging, leaving a comment, etc -

agh... I will update when I am ready, comment when I feel like it and I still haven't figured out how to link other blogs to mine- so that is that....

New Jobs

Ryan and I started our new jobs this week. For those of you who haven't already heard I got a job offer I could not refuse. I am working for an amazing boss, with awesome benefits and its finally a job that really makes me feel like I have found my calling. The hours are a little hard to get used to, its pretty much a 24/7 sort of thing- but there is a fitness plan and a really relaxed dress code - basically I feel like I was born to do this job....
I AM A STAY AT HOME MOMMY !!!!!!!!!!!
Okay so that being said, Ryan got a job with HealthNet which is a health insurance company and he will be doing something to do with benefit applications or something like that - it sortof in a weird way has something to do with his planning degree and his internship (instead of approving or denying an application for a sign or a building he will be approving or denying applications for benefits.....)
We are both happy with our new positions - and adjusting to the transition quite well. I am just so grateful that we have been blessed with this opportunity, and it couldn't have come at a more perfect time- Ari is days, maybe minutes away from walking)
Okay, I know what all of you are thinking - "Joy, you are a stay at home mom now, SO UPDATE YOUR BLOG and put up some pictures....."
About that, in this whole transition to being a stay at home mom- I had to give up some things, one of which was my beloved blackberry, and while I would gladly give up my blackberry or just about anything else to stay home with Ari - something tragic happened during this transition period
DISCLAIMER.... I do not, nor ever have, claimed to know anything about technology....

Okay, so we are horrible parents and basically the MAJORITY of Ari's life has been captured and saved on our phones- first picture, first time he rolled over, sat up, ate food, etc you name it- we took the video/picture with our phones.... Well long horrible story cut short- I some how deleted my memory card when I switched to my new phone and LOST EVERYTHING, sure Ryan had a few pictures and video - BUT I HAD EVERYTHING - and its all gone, this is still a very sensitive subject and I have actually FEDEXed my memory card to a computer guy to see if he can possibly extract a picture or video or two ... so we will see
So now I am busy backing up, and rebacking up every picture and video that we have remaining - so once I get all my backing and rebacking done - then I will have time to post and put up pictures, (the ones I have left)

we love you all and we miss you
p.s Ari has 6 teeth
p.p.s Ari climbs on absolutely EVERYTHING
p.p.p.s Ari loves to swing and swim (but never at the same time)

California here we come...

Sorry we have not posted in awhile - trust me we have been busy. I promise an updated post soon. BUT in the mean time chomp on this- WE'RE MOVING TO CALIFORNIA... and soon- we have to be there by August 1st. I got a promotion (little as it might be) to a sales office in Thousand Oaks-

Ari's photo shoot

These were taken a month or two ago - but we finally got them back and they were worth the wait






we have like 20 or so more but I didn't want to load them all....
WE LOVE YOU GUYS !!!!

Happy 6 month Birthday Ari

Its official- well it was official a few days ago but it takes a while to post... anyway Ari is now 6 months!!!! I can't believe how fast the time has gone. Ari went to the Doctor for his 6 month check up and here are his latest stats:

Ari @ 6 months
15lbs 5oz 13%
26.5 inches 52%
42cm 7% (head circumfrence)

Compare that to
Ari @ birth
6lbs 7oz
19.5 inches
????


Yeah Ari!!!!!!

Ari's best buddy Ethan (they haven't met yet but I am certain they will be best buds) got Ari some boardshorts for his 6 month birthday. Thanks Ethan and Kaydee
Ari was so excited he wanted to do a little modeling






Ari is such a blessing in our lives and I am so happy just to have to opportunity to be his mommy

WE LOVE YOU ARI

What's For Dinner.....

Ari will officially be 6 months on June 1st, and while I have been holding off til the 6 month mark to start him on cereal - tonight we decided to give it a test run. After all it is only a few days difference, and Ari has been all about our food, drinks and utensils.
And so it began- I really think the pictures here are worth a million words......

A boy and his dog

Ari is getting better and better at sitting on his own and with this new talent he is really getting a kick out of playing with his puppy. Berkelee might have a different word to discribe it - but the two of them really are cute together. Lately, Ari has really liked to try and take Berk's toys from him- he seems to like dog toys more then his own toys (although to be honest, they are pretty similar) Berkelee is so easy going about the whole thing- he really is a great dog. Ari and Berk are already bestfriends.


For some reason Ari and Berkelee can often be seen kissing. One or two kisses is fine - but there is the occassional open mouth kiss - that I just can not handle.... ew- boys !!!!!!!

We have TEETH !!!!

It's true - we have teeth. Ari's lower two teeth have made there way to the surface. So far teething has not been too bad, Ari had a few fussy nights, but even at his fussiest he is not too bad- lucky for his mom he hasn't started using his chompers yet.

Here is the best picture we could get of Ari's two little teeth!!!!

Happy Mother's Day

This was my first Mother's Day - and it was perfect.



Dear Ari
Thank you for making me a mom. Thank you for your patience and understanding, I am new at this. Thank you for waking up with a smile and reminding me of Heaven every single day. I wanted to be your mom even before I knew you - thank you for this amazing gift...
love,
Your Mom


"It was from you that I first learned to think, to feel, to imagine, to believe."
- Josh Sterling


"When a baby is born, so is a Mother"
- Johnson & Johnson

Happy Anniversary !!

Happy Anniversary Ryan! Thank you for being my best friend and the perfect companion for all of life's trials. You are a great husband and an awesome dad. I can not believe everything we have been through and I could not imagine going through it with anyone but you. You are my rock and I hope I am yours. Thank you for 3 amazing years - looking forward to what the future holds for our family.

P.S. Thank you for the best birthday/anniversary/mother's day/Christmas/Easter present ever..... and thank you for helping me be a mom !!!!!

Look Who's Sitting Pretty....

Its offical- Ari is now sitting on his own unsupported. I can not believe how much he has changed in the 5 months that he has been here with us. Ryan and I are always in awe of how it seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital-



He is learning so much and getting so smart. Currently Ari has an obsession with all things relating to drinking(no he's not an alcoholic) he is fascinated with cups, bottles, sippys, soda cans, etc. It is adorable - he watches us like crazy when we have a drink and as soon as we put it down he reaches for it. When we do give him CLOSED soda bottles or empty cups he is so smart with them and knows exactly what to do with them. He puts it up to his mouth and pretends to drink. We have given him a little breast milk in a cup and he did do relatively well drinking with assistance. Oh, my little boy is getting SO big. And in a few short weeks were going to start on solids- yikes



Ari loves sitting - and he is a pro at it!!!!!



We recently went to the Zoo for our very first visit - all in all it was a good day!





Okay funny thing about the picture with Ari in the Lion's mouth- (if you couldn't tell - its a lion's mouth he is sitting in) - so the big lion is actually a bubbler (a drinking fountain for all of you not from Wisconsin) and when we decided to take the picture Ryan said "don't get Ari wet" Well I thought that I had him sitting on the very edge of the lions mouth where it was dry but apparently his bum was still getting wet- after the picture Ari's entire bum was soaked- but he was such a trooper about it - it didn't bother him the whole day!

Happy Graduation Ryan

Ryan's graduation was May 2nd. We are really proud of him and excited for the next phase in our life to begin. Ryan's graduation ceremony was really nice and relaxed. Since the school of Architecture and Urban Planning is relatively small - there were less then 100 graduates - the ceremony was nice and short.



We are so proud of Ryan for all his hard work


With his mom graduating from BYU and his dad graduating from the U - Ari will have some tough choices to make.... (I think he is going to be a cougar though

5 Whole months

May 1st Ari turned 5 months- We can not believe how fast it is going and how big he is getting. Ari has such a fun personality and really is such a good baby. He rarely cries and when he does cry it is usually for good reason ( he is ill, has messy pants, etc.) We are truly blessed.
Long before Ari was born someone said to buy a big stuft animal and take his picture next to it every month so you could see how he grows from one month to another - however I did not do that - oh I keep meaning too - but I just haven't gotten around to it. I know exactly what stuft animal I even want to buy - there is this huge lion at Anthropologie but its expensive and I missed the last Anthro days - so now who knows if I will ever get around to buying it. But take my word for it - Ari is growing....
Here are some recent pictures from Ari's 5 month photo shoot.....






A few Tid Bits about our Ari:

1. He loves sucking his toes
2. His puppy makes him laugh uncontrollably
3. He is fascinated by cups and soda cans- he reaches for them if they are in sight
4. He is very talkative (perhaps he takes after his mom)
5. He has started sitting up unassisted VERY briefly
6. HE IS TEETHING - yep that is right two tiny little teeth are making there way to the surface as we speak -
7. Ari drank out of a cup with assistance for the first time May 4th

We love our little Ari and are so blessed to be his parents

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