It's a.....

Boy!

We had our ultrasound last week on Hans birthday (Happy Birthday Hubby!) and found out that we are expecting a baby brother for Jacob! We are very excited and now the search for the perfect name starts!

Here are a few pictures from the ultrasound. Sorry they are not the best quality - I had to take pictures of the pictures to get them on my computer.

 Face with arm, leg and the umbilical cord by his face. :)

 Baby feet!

 Another face shot, this time with his hand on his face. :)

Happy Belated Birthday to me!

HI!

Last week I celebrated my 27th birthday! We had to go to Sioux Falls for a eye appointment for Jacob and after that we headed to the Zoo. We had a great time looking at all the animals. We really enjoyed seeing the baby monkey!

We are getting the house to feel more and more like ours! Since we have the upstairs painting done, we pulled out our art and got some of it hung in the formal living room and dining room. I am planning on getting our family picture wall done this weekend! We plan on painting the downstairs hopefully sometime in the next few weeks and then we will be able to hang up the art we have for down here.

We have decided to have some minor alterations done to our kitchen, and have found a company to do the work! They are going to remove the 18in cabinet next to our fridge, cut the counter, remove the double cabinet on the wall above the counter they are removing. Then we will slide the fridge over into that space, put up a single cabinet on the wall, and then put a pantry cabinet in between the wall and fridge. The main reason we are having this all done is because with our new fridge the french door on the left hits the wall and doesn't open all the way.

I am really excited as I was chosen to be on a design team for another craft blogger to help showcase my crafts (if you want to see them, check out my craft blog!) For this, I will be making specific crafts that will be posted on both my blog and the persons blog who's design team I am on! I have already posted 2 times just this week (my first) for her and have seen a increase in the people visiting my craft blog! 

Happy Birthday Hans!

Yesterday was Hans birthday! After he got off work, we had a girl from our new church come over to watch Jacob while we went to dinner and a movie! It was nice to be able to do something together on his birthday.

We are settling very nicely in our new house and town. We have found a new church to go to, and I even went to an event they had on Saturday. Everyone that we have met has been really nice and think that it is cool that we are from Alaska. We have been getting ready to close on the house, which will happen on July 11th! One of the first things that we are going to do once we actually own the house, is have a fence put up to keep Jacob contained. We have been getting quotes and looking at different options for the fence. This past weekend we went to Mitchell to Menards (like Home Depot or Lowe's) to see what they offered and we were very happy to see that they actually sell 8 foot fence panels! So instead of having to have each board attached here at the house, all that would need to be done is the posts put into the ground, and then the 8 ft panels attached! We have decided to go with panels that look like this.....  

 

We are hoping to have the fence installed shortly after we close on the house so that Jacob can play outside a little more and be safe! We are also looking at putting up a playset for Jacob. We priced them out when we were at Menards and can get him a pretty cool one for a good price.  

On onto some pictures! These pictures are from when Jacob and I were in Colorado. One afternoon, Oma, Jessica, Katherine, Julianna, Jacob and I went to a farm that is open to the public. Jacob was just fascinated by the chickens and spent a lot of time by their area. He also liked walking through the little creak they had. The last picture is of Jacob trying to take Oma's new puppy Baron for a walk. 

Last day with a 1 year old! (and 52 weeks in pictures!)

Hi!! Well tomorrow is the day....my baby will be 2! I can't believe it! Tomorrow I am taking Jacob to Chuck E Cheese for a play date with his two good friends and as a treat since it is his birthday. Our move week has also arrived.

On Tuesday, I will meet the movers at my mom's house in the Valley to pick up/pack the items that we have in storage. Then on Wednesday they will come here to our apartment and pack up everything. Then on Thursday the movers come back to load all our stuff to make the 3,033 mile drive. On Friday morning, Jacob and I will take off and fly to Colorado to stay with Oma and Boppy until all our household goods are ready to be delivered to SD! Hans will then start his drive on May 2nd, as he is working until May 1st at AK USA. His dad is flying up here on Tuesday to drive my van down for us, and will be bringing it to CO so that I have it and when the time comes can drive up to SD. Depending on when that is, Oma should be coming with Jacob and I to help us get settled into our new house.

After Jacob's bath tonight, I took some pictures of him on his last night as a 1 year old! Here are some of the better ones! 

I don't want my picture taken!

 OK, I guess I will take one with Mom!

 But, I am not feeling the love for Dad tonight.

52 weeks in pictures, and a moving update.

Well actually there isn't a picture for this weeks post, as once again I didn't take any pictures. I will however be taking pictures this week as all our stuff gets packed up and ready to be shipped to South Dakota.

Move update: Movers will start packing next week Tuesday! Yes as in a week from tomorrow! They are going to start with the stuff that we have stored at my moms house in Wasilla. So that morning I will get up and head out to her house to meet them and supervise the packing/loading that is to take place there. Then on Wednesday they will pack the apartment here in Anchorage and load everything on Thursday! Then Jacob and I will be flying out on Friday morning. We have to be at the airport at 5:30am :( but on the flip side we arrive in Colorado at about 4:30ish pm.

Hans dad is flying up here next week to drive my van down. He will be leaving by Friday and will be doing the drive by himself. Hans is working until May 1st and then will hit the road on May 2nd.

On Saturday, we put in a offer on a house in Huron and on Sunday the offer was accepted! The sellers even agreed to allowing us to move in early/before closing! This was a huge help as the mortgage company wants Hans to be on his new job at least a month before they will let us close. If the sellers had not agreed to the early move in, then Hans would have to live in a hotel and Jacob and I would stay in CO. Now Jacob and I will be in CO until our household goods arrive at the house. Hans will be taking the air mattress so that when he gets to Huron and he can take possession of the house on May 11 he has a place to sleep. This makes him only having to be in a hotel for about 5 or 6 nights depending on when he arrives from driving. He will then start his new job on May 16th!

I do have a picture of the front of the house that I was able to save to my computer from the listing.....

  We absolutely love this house! It has 4 bedrooms, 2 full baths, a 3 car garage (as you can see!) and approximately 2350sf! It has a formal living room upstairs and a family room down in the basement. There are 2 bedrooms up and 2 down. The yard is really nice and we will be putting up a fence sometime this summer or next as well as as play set for Jacob. I am really looking forward to having a family room that all of Jacob's toys can stay and all the space!!! Our current apartment is about 950 to 1000 SF, so this house is going to feel huge when we first get moved it.

Oh and in case you were wondering....Jacob will be 2 in a week from today!!! 2 I tell you! I can't believe that his birthday is already next week. My baby is growing so big, and isn't a baby anymore. He is turning into such the big boy.

Week 12 of 52 weeks in pictures!

We had a busy week this past week in our house. Oma was up visiting us from Colorado for the week, and we also had Jacob's 2nd birthday party! We choose to have it a month early so that Oma could be here for it, and because we hope to be either packing come Jacob's birthday next month or maybe even be moving! Hans goes for a 3rd interview next week with a company in South Dakota!!!

Ok onto the good stuff....the pictures :) I took a ton of pictures of Jacob's party, but will not post them all. Here are a few from the day!

Jacob loved running around with the balloons!

 Jacob with "Auntie" Chris

 The cake! Thanks Oma for decorating it!

 Being sung to! He kept sticking his fingers in the cake!

 Opening presents with moms help.

Week 11 of 52 weeks in Pictures

Hi everyone!! It has been crazy around here, but that is the norm these days. We are still trying to get better, and let me tell you I am so over being sick. I am going to the ENT on Friday to see what he says and hopefully can make me all better.

Oma came to visit!! She flew in on Friday and will be here until next week Monday. We are really enjoying our time with her.

Today I took Jacob to get his 2yr / Easter pictures done, and let me tell you they are cute! We are also having Jacob's birthday party this weekend so that Oma can be at it while she is here.

Oh I almost forgot to mention, Hans will be flying to South Dakota for a 3rd interview with a company at the end of the month!!! He has to wait until then because the manager of the department is on vacation for this week and next. He is really excited and we are keeping our fingers crossed that this is the job for him and that we will be moving soon. :) 

Now onto some pictures.....

Week 8 of 52 Weeks in picures

Hi! This week has been a crazy one! We all are still trying to get over our sickness, and poor Jacob's is back to needing meds. I took him to the doctors today (Thank God for weekend hours!) and he has another ear infection - it was so bad that the puss has been backing up and coming out his tear duct! I was really glad to hear that he didn't have pink eye, but still grossed out that the green yuck was from his ear. He also has to have eye drops that he cares for as much as anyone would like a stick in the eye. He is also been fighting taking any oral meds, so we are going to have to try and figure out another way to get his meds into him without him spitting them all back out at us.

This week we got our new iphones.....well they were shipped to us, and then after 2 different people from Verizon customer service and tech support not being able to figure out how to get them to activate until they realized that they have to be on a Verizon tower to do so, I flew to Seattle and back on Wednesday just to get to an actual Verizon cell tower so our phones would start working! Thank God we had air miles, so it only cost us $10 for the ticket and a day of my time and now our phones work! I am so in love with my iphone! I am on it constantly (which may or may no be a good thing lol)

On Friday night, I tagged along with Megan and Mike to Denali Winery to make wine! It first started out with a wine tasting to pick what kind of wine we wanted to make. We had a great time, and our wine will be ready for us to come bottle in about 8 weeks. Unfortunately Megan and Mike will have moved to ND by then, so we will have to get it bottled for them and find a way to ship it to them. :) 

Yesterday was my oldest niece Kaylee's 18th birthday! I can't believe that she is already that old! I remember the day she was born :( Jacob and I were able to go over and visit her and her son at her dads house and eat dinner with them to celebrate her birthday. So in honor of her birthday, she will be my first picture!

Kaylee and her son Alanzo

 Kaylee and her dad Eric

 and one of Jacob!

Week 6 of 52 weeks in pictures!

Hi! Sorry I am a day late with this post. Jacob has been really sick since Thursday (thankfully he is better today!) However now Hans and I are both sick :(. 

On Thursday, I picked Jacob up from daycare and headed home. He would only nap if I was laying down with him, so mommy got a nap in to! When he woke up he was feeling pretty warm so I took his temp and it was around 102.8! After getting a dose of meds in him and eating some dinner I thought that he was doing OK as his fever came down....oh how wrong I was! Around 8 Hans was going to give him a bath and as I was undressing him he was shaking. Hans just thought that it was because I was getting him out of his clothes and ready for the bath. I noticed that his legs looked a little purplish. We went ahead and put him in the bath and he just sat there. If you know anything about toddlers, you will know that most love to play in the water, so for him to not want to be in the tub was a little weird. Hans realized that he didn't want to be in the tub, so quickly washed him up and took him out. As he was drying him off, Jacob started to violently shake. It was so frightening. At this point not only were his legs/feet purplish but so were his hands and arms. I started to call the after hours number for our pediatrician office when Hans told me to just call 911. About 5 minutes later the paramedics arrived and checked Jacob out. He was VERY warm to the touch, so the paramedics thought that he may have had a "fever" seizure. :( They advised that he needed to be seen at the ER, but said that he was stable enough for us to drive him if we so choose. We decided this was what we would do, so we packed up and headed to the ER.

When we arrived at the ER, they thankfully had no one waiting in the waiting room so were able to take us right back. After taking his vitals - his temp was up to 104.2 at this point - they took us right back to an exam bed and got a dose of Tylenol in him. The doctor came and talked to us and asked us a bunch of questions. He didn't think that Jacob had the seizure, but just shakes that can happen when you have a fever that high. He wanted to wait and just watch him and see how he did before ordering any tests. We waited for about an hour or so and they felt that he was ok to be sent home. Apparently there is no treatment for fever seizures, so even if that is what happened, there is no meds to give to stop them or correct them. If he did in fact have one, it doesn't make him more likely to have another or be more prone to a seizure disorder. They sent us home with a strict time table of when to give Tylenol and Motrin, and advised that we follow up with our pediatrician's office the following morning.

Throughout the night, his temp would spike back up around the time that he was due for the next dose of meds. I called the Pediatricians office in the morning and took him in the afternoon. After telling her all that happened, she told me "I am not going to tell you he didn't have a seizure, and I am not going to tell you he didn't, because we proceed the same way no matter what happened".....this made me feel a little better and yet scared at the same time. She is the one that went into detail about how they don't have any treatment for fever seizures and explained it all to me. After talking to her, I did feel more confident and less scared. I just knew that we were in for a sick baby for a few more days.

Saturday we were supposed to go to our monthly meet-up for our mom/kid group that was a valentines day party. Because Jacob was still sick, we had to cancel going. I had already made the cupcakes for the event, so my friend Jennifer came by and picked them up!

Saturday night we had plans to go out to dinner with Megan and Mike as it was Mike's 25th birthday, and Jacob was going to go play with his friend Stephen (Jennifer's' son) but since he was sick I didn't think he should go over to play. I was just going to stay at home with him and have Hans bring me back dinner. However when Megan and Mike got to our place, Jacob perked up and started playing! At that point, I could really use some time out of the house, so we packed Jacob up with us and went to dinner. Here was Mikes' birthday card...

This card is designed to hold either a gift card or cash! Happy Birthday Mike! Hope you enjoy your gift!

Onto our picture of the week!

Even sick he will smile! (please excuse the mess!)

 

Eek! Only 100 days until Jacob's 2nd birthday!

This morning when I opened my internet and my home page came up it is one of the baby websites that I used to chat on a lot. One of the things that it has in the corner is how many days until your child's next birthday. Well this morning it says 100 days! I can't believe that Jacob will be 2 so soon. One part of me wants to start planning a party, but the other part of me knows that I need to wait as we should be moved by then and I have no idea where we will be living and how big of a party we will be able to have for him.

The past few days we have been a house with a sick toddler, and a mommy in pain. On Tuesday I had some dental work done and am still in pain from it. :( The dentist finally called me in some pain meds yesterday and they worked wonders last night. Jacob on the other hand spiked a fever last night and I was up with him from 2:30 am until about 4 trying to get his fever to break. If finally did and we went back to bed until about 10:30am.

Today if things work out the way I had planned them, I will be starting on some new cards. We have Oma's birthday next week, then our twin niece turn 1 the first week of February, our second oldest niece Emma turns 5, and our oldest niece Kaylee turns 18 in February. Then of course there is Valentines day and I want to send all the nieces and nephew a valentines day card. And if I have the extra time I would like to make up some card and send them to http://www.cardcupids.org/. They collect cards for different holidays and send them to kids in hospitals that are sick!

On the job search front.....we are still in limbo. Hans was offered a job from one company, and has an interview with another company on Wednesday. He is holding off making his final decision if he wants to take the offered job until after having the interview for the other. So we may know as soon as next week if we are moving soon!

November update :)

Hello! It has been a crazy few weeks around this house. I still can't believe that it is already November! On Wednesday night, Jacob and I leave for vacation! We are flying to visit Hans' parents, his oldest sister and her family as well as some other family that lives in CO. I am looking forward to meeting our twin nieces who are 9 months old already.

Hans heard back from the job in PA that he was not selected. He was bummed at first, but then moved on and realized that the right one for him to take will come along. He actually got notified today that a company just outside of Boston would like him to fly there next week for an interview!

We have finally gotten our first (and second, third, and I think fourth!) snow fall here in Anchorage. Jacob has loved playing out in the snow! I however have not enjoyed driving on the roads as they are super icy.

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks, as well as some pictures of my newest card creation for my moms birthday that is tomorrow! Happy Birthday mom!!!!!