It's a Christmas miracle!!!!

Twice in, what, one week...WOW! I even amaze myself sometimes.

Our little Maya turned four yesterday and the festivities continued into today.

Here she is in her new princess dress that we had to unglue from her body because she wore it for so long.  Now our house is covered in a thin layer of glitter.

She requested a flower cake and this is what I came up with.  I definitely need some more practice in the make-a-cake-other-than-a-9x13 category.  It was fun and Maya was more interested in her gifts anyway so she moved right along.  She asked for a Happy Meal for dinner and to go to the Disney Store.  We did just that and I think she had a great time.  Her face lite up when she was able to pick something out that Mommy and Daddy couldn't say no to.  She had a ball!!

We love her so much even when she's having an off day, or we're having an off day.  She pushes me to my limits sometimes but at the end of the day she's one of the best decisions we've ever made.  Happy birthday sweet girl!!!

Real Quick...

Just wanted to give a quick update on what we've been up to.  Maya and Arthur made a gingerbread house which they both had so much fun doing.  Maya turns four this weekend and she's very excited.  It's fun for us to celebrate because she definitely gets what is going on.  She's a doll and she keeps us on our toes.

Kade got in the pool quite often over the summer and he LOVES the water.  I'm so glad because I was a water baby growing up...I think if I still could spend all day in the pool I would.  He is ginormous and everyday he gets closer to out weighing Maya.  He'll have it done by the time he's 18 months.

Arthur and I spent a weekend in San Francisco with some friends.  I love this city and I always have and probably always will.  We ate good food, walked around a lot, spent a morning on Alcatraz, and the company was awesome.

I'm progressing nicely with my pregnancy.  I've started to feel a little uncomfortable especially since I get heartburn as early as possible while being pregnant.  I'm 26 weeks and we're having a boy.  I'm looking forward to the holidays because I don't have to be terribly cautious about what I eat.  I'll still watch it, but not too closely.

Arthur is working as a manager at a proprietary uniform store for some private schools around the bay area.  It's great to have a job and we're looking forward to what the future holds for us. 

Getting Ready

I thought I'd start out with these adorable mugs so that those following us can't be too mad for taking so long between posts. 

Our little Kade is nine months and in the 99th percentile for everything.  He's over 25 lbs and 30+ inches tall....so a monster.  He crawls all over the place and pulls himself up on everything from the couch to my leg.  Not to mention he is FAST.  We'll set him down in one room and in the blink of an eye he's already in the bathroom or kitchen, the places we don't want him.

Maya is a closet red head....full of fire! Her speech is increasing and getting better everyday.  She always keeps us on our toes.

Arthur is wrapping up his semester and next week he will officially walk across the stage that gives him the right to feel like a graduate!!  Even though he's received his diploma, he feels like this will seal the deal.  We are all so proud of him and are looking forward to the future.

I'm just being me, which means I get to stay home with the kids and enjoy every minute of it...well almost every minute. ;-)

A few days after we celebrate Arthur's graduation, we'll pack up and move back to California to wait out the interview and acceptance process for PA school.  Most of the programs begin in June of next year.  The earliest starts in January and the latest starts in the fall.  It's very exciting and we're anxious to hear in the next couple of months where we'll be headed.

Ummm, no words.

Hopefully people still wonder what we're up to.  So, for those that come to our blog and wonder what the heck is going on with us...I'm sorry it's taken SO long.  Maya is now in high school and Kade is excelling in sumo wrestling.  Hahaha!!! Nah, Maya is three going on too old and Kade is almost six months.  I can't believe how fast time has gone.

The little man! He's a actually not little at all.  He's very, very big.  We'll find out next week just where he is falling in the growth chart.

Sassy pants Maya.  She is a firecracker and we love it. She's wearing the "M" necklace she got from GG Jensen.  She loves to wear it.

We've been busy, busy with Arthur getting ready to graduate.  We found out about a month ago that he could be done with his Bachelor Degree this semester if he customized his cluster.  We thought about it and decided to go for it and then just take some pre-req classes for PA school during the summer.  Now that he has officially finished this semester, we're kinda wondering what we're going to do while we have him around.  It's definitely weird because for the past four and a half years he's been checked into school...completely!!  We've supported him as a family because we knew this is what he should be doing.  It's been very nice having him around!

Next semester he'll be enrolled in two classes and working part-time at the Student Health Center.  We are so blessed to be able to have Arthur continue to work on campus.  They sure do love him over there!!

Let's see, in a nut shell, here's some pictures documenting the last couple of months.

Maya got a hold of a Sharpie and was making herself 'beautiful.'  At least that's what she told me she was doing.  Apparently the floor and the wall needed to be beautiful too! :-)

This dress was mine and ever since Maya has gotten into her princess stage (everything Disney Princess), she feels she needs to wear something fit for a princess.  My mom sent this and thought she'd like it....she LOVES it!!! Thanks mom!!

We took some family pictures about two/three weeks after Kade was born.  A guy in our ward offered to do it so I jumped at it.  This was our first real family photo shoot.  It was really fun.

Here's Big Hair, as Grandpa Jensen likes to call him.  I'm not sure why?! ;-) He's playing in a borrowed exersaucer.  Let me tell you, I LOVE that thing, probably more than he does.  It lets me actually get stuff done.

Our sweet kids. They are such a joy, even when they are testing my patience to the maximus.

I'm going to try really hard to be better about keeping in touch through the blog.  I can't make any promises but I will try. Our family is thriving here and can't wait to start our new adventure. 

Adorable

Our little one must have been praying when he fell asleep!!

As soon as we laid him down, he stretched out his little legs.  He must've been in that position for 45 minutes.

He's growing up so fast.  He'll be six weeks tomorrow and I really can't believe it.  Where has the time gone??  He's gotta weigh at least 12 pounds and he has gotten so long...all that praying and stretching I guess.

The first surgery and hopefully the last!

So as the husband I feel it is my duty to fill in for Amy and blog. I hope I do her justice!

We arrived at the hospital at 8am to find out that we were early, apparently someone made a mistake with scheduling and we were not supposed to be there till 9am! What??!!.....are you serious? We need sleep right now! Well, Amy needs sleep and I need her to sleep because if she isn't sleeping than that means she is tired and not her wonderful chipper self!! Tisk Tisk Tisk Kade. Anyways, our room had a television monitor so we decided to catch up on Full House and some other ABC Family shows that were on in the morning. After an hour or so the nurse comes in and asks Amy a few health related questions and shortly after she is given an IV and some "floaty" drugs that make her feel sleepy. She was then taken into surgery around 10am and about an hour later she was done. The Doctor per Amy's request gave us the "stone" or what I would call the "whopper" since it looked like one of those chocolate covered malt balls that no one likes in our household! Amy was in and out of sleep for the next 6 hours. I would describe her as being narcoleptic....one moment she would be alert and then the next she would be out...she denies she slept but let me tell you, she was asleep. Her pain level was at a 6 out of 10 for most of the time and finally it came down to a 4 and half. She was able to drink broth and juice but still had challenges with going potty. The nurse came in about 4:30pm and asked how Amy was feeling, Amy replied by saying she felt about the same but did not have the urge to go potty yet. The nurse responded by saying that it was not a requirement before being discharged from the hospital. We decided that 5pm sounded like a good time to leave the comfort of the hospital and its amenities. Amy is such a blessing to our family with ALL that she does and now as a husband I get to find out first hand just how much work she does EVERYDAY! I hope I survive and become a better husband and dad through this unique time in our family's lives. Just one thing....keep us in your prayers to all of our loyal blog followers...my wife and kids especially since they will be in my care. YIKES! ; ) Till next time...

Surgery

I'm having my gallbladder removed tomorrow.  I have to admit, I'm a little nervous.  I've been in touch with a girl who was in our ward who had the procedure done last year.  She's been letting me know the truth about this surgery...it WILL take time to recover.  She mentioned the surgery lasts about 45 minutes, but the hospital recovery time is several hours. 

I've been especially nervous about how my post-baby body will react.  I'm nursing and I've been told that I need to pump and dump the day of the surgery so that baby doesn't get any of the yucky meds/drugs.  After that, he should be fine.  I will be on some pain killers but the pharmacist told me that it won't have any adverse affect on the baby beside maybe making him more tired.  I just think, he's a newborn, how much more tired can he be?!

Maya is all squared away for tomorrow, a friend of mine is going to watch her until we get home and then she'll most likely go to her little friend's house after that.  My biggest concern is how Kade and Maya will fend the days to follow.  My mom recommended having someone come in and check on me to make sure Kade's ok.  How sad is that?! I have to have someone come and make sure my baby is being taken care of.  Well, now is definitely the time I'm going to take advantage of all of my friends who have kids close to Maya's age.

Wish me luck!!