Reed and Anne

...Happy Birthday Dear Harley...

2011-03-07T18:42:00.000-08:00

Can You Feel the Love Tonight

2011-02-15T12:06:00.001-08:00

...well last night. We had a super fun V-Day. First the boys and I surprised Reed for lunch. We went to Olive Garden, during naptime, which was a bit of a gamble, but fun anyway. Then I got my popcorn Valentine from Reed delivered by a delivery truck, which was very exciting for Kason. And then Kason and I made Valentines while Reed and Harley made a delicious gourmet Valentines dinner. I am so lucky to have 3 such handsome Valentines! What a fun and love filled day!

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Read All About It!

2011-02-08T07:53:00.000-08:00

We have some big news to share: We are expecting baby number three! We have been waiting until our ultra sound (which was yesterday) so that we had a better idea of the due date. According to the ultra sound technician, I was exactly 10 weeks along yesterday. Which puts the due date at September 5.

Here are a couple a pictures of our deformed little gummy bear (we are optamitic that it will turn out to be a beautiful, healthy baby, but for now it looks more like a deformed little gummy bear. Just about that size too). We will know if it is a boy or a girl in about 8 weeks. We are hoping for a girl, but obviously we will be happy with whatever the Lord has decided to send us. When I went for my first doctor's appointment she said she wouldn't be surprised if I was as far along as 10 or 12 weeks (and that was two weeks ago), so it was a little disappointing to only be 10 weeks, but we are coming to terms with it. Kason is excited for his new baby and we keep trying to ask Harley if he remembers who was coming next, but he isn't sharing what he knows. We are very excited for our new addition (even if it means being pregnant during the hottest and most humid part of the year).

Everybody Poops

2011-01-11T15:11:00.001-08:00

Everybody but kason, on the toilet anyway. We have started potty training with Kason and we haven't conquered poop yet (i have thrown away more than one little pair of Buzz Lightyear undies). All in all it has been somewhat successful. We started a week ago with a timer. I set the timer for 15 minutes and then he goes and sits on the potty and tries to pee. If he does he gets a skittle. If he poops he gets two. We have worked up to 30 minutes now, but he still does not tell me when he had to go, I tell him. Until he makes that jump I don't consider him potty trained, even if he can wear underwear all day with no accidents. It does feel like we spurned a lot of time in the bathroom. Its becoming tricky to number one keep Kason excited about using thee potty and number two keep Harley entertained while Kason is working on...whatever. We have tried many things including: putting Harley in the empty tub with his bath toys, a space heater in the bathroom (very exciting to both Harley and Kason), potting Harley in the drawer by the potty so Kason can pretend to give him a bath, singing songs, reading books, putting the potty in places more interesting than the bathroom, cool push/ride toys allowed in the bathroom, etc. Is all very hard work for all of us. Any suggestions on potty training are welcome.

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Baby It's Cold Outside!

2010-12-13T17:55:00.000-08:00

We woke up this morning to a fairly heavy and very exciting snowfall! I didn't even know it was coming, so I didn't prepare, nor did I prepare the boys. Obviously Harley doesn't like surprises. Kason on the other hand was more than willing to go with it. We made a trip this mornign to the store for boots and gloves. We didn't do such a good job with Harley's gloves, which he is meekly and gently making me aware of in the above picture. Don't worry, I didn't make him suffer for long, just long enough to get the picture.

After a soothing ride around in the Snuggly while I pulled Kason in the sled and looked for a good sledding hill (which we didn't have much luck in finding), he ended up in his usual spot; cozy, warm, and asleep in the stroller. What a life.

Kason's favorite part was riding around in the sled. Grammy and Grampy snagged two of them for Kason and Harley when they went up to Ohio for Thanksgiving (good luck finding sleds around here). They were meant for Christmas, but since the snow is here now Grammy thought that we better make the best of it. And we did - Thanks Grammy and Grampy!

Kason enjoyed riding in the sled so much that when we dicided it was time to build a snowman I offered to help him up (out of the sled) and he declined, telling me that he would just stay in the sled and Mommy could go get the snow so we could build the snowman right there. Oh and it wasn't a snowman, he wanted a snowKason. Not a perfect likeness, but close I think.

In the end great fun was had by all (as long as you don't ask Harley about the part he was awake for). I'm just greatful the this is our first snow storm of the year (in December, not October) and very well could be one of only handful, or even our only one! I will not be excited about any snow storms after January. I am doing better than one of our neighbors that we passed today who said he was already done with winter, I'm not the grumpy about the snow. I just get sick of being cold. So, horay for snow in moderation!

Deck the Halls

2010-12-03T19:22:00.001-08:00

We decorated our Christmas tree tonight. Reed brought one home last night from a place by where he works. It smells so pretty, but is spilling needless like crazy, which combined with the fact that the tree is not drinking the water, had us wondering if it will last until Christmas.

Kason had a blast! He was so excited to finally get to decorate for Christmas. We have been talking about it all week. They are selling trees at the grocery store we go to and the couple times we have gone in there this week he says, "Someone needs to decorate those."

He carefully and lovingly, placed each ornament on the few branches he could reach until each one was drooping with multiple decorations.

Harley spent his time supervising and chewing on everything he could get his little octopus tentacles on. We have to be careful right now because he had four teeth coming in all at once, poor kid, and everything goes straight to the mouth.

Grammy came over to help and we ended up spending an hour trying to fix our vacume. All in all a wonderful time was had by all :). Hooray for Christmas!

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Because I Have Been Given Much

2010-11-25T06:37:00.001-08:00

We are grateful to be in TN with my brother and his family for Thanksgiving. We are so grateful for or little boys and all of the family and friends that we are blessed with. These are some pictures of our exploits so far.

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Fall

2010-11-13T18:53:00.001-08:00

We went on a walk today and all the fall colors are so beautiful! I guess if you have to say goodbye to summer, this isn't a bad way to do it.

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A Duck and A Garbage Man

2010-11-01T16:11:00.000-07:00

Harley had a great first Halloween. He dressed up as a duck and mostly tolerated it. He was very cute!

Kason was the garbage man. He loved it and was very popular among the 12-14 yr. old boys.

We went to a friends Halloween party and their little boy was dressed as Spiderman. He had the mask and everything. Kason was so scared that he would hardley leave my lap the whole night. Poor kid. Maybe next year he can wear a mask, then he'll know it's not scary.

Walkin' in the Rain

2010-10-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

It's been rainy here this week. One day, when it was more misty than rainy, we decided to venture out. It was fun to play with the umbrella and hear the rain come down on it. When the umbrella got too heavy, Kason let Harley use it on the stroller and had even more fun letting the rain come down on him. It's so much fun to have a two year old who can ask questions and enjoy learning about things like rain. And having an eight month old who laughs and smiles through it all!

Kason loves water!

Dump It!

2010-10-19T18:02:00.000-07:00

Kason LOVES the garbage truck. He always wants to take the garbage out and, "Dump It" in the big garbage so that the truck will come and, "Dump It" into itself. We finally helped him understand that the garbage truck only comes to our house on Friday, so now whenever he has that unconrollable desire to see the garbage truck, "Dump It" instead of throwing a kicking, screaming, on-the-floor tantrum about it he calmly says, "Garbage truck come Friday night and Dump It?" and happily I smile and say, "yes." It's a much better scence and leaves me oh so greatful for his developing ability to internalize and reason within himself. Come, "Friday night" (well it's morning actually, but I'm letting that one go) Kason and Daddy gather all of the garbage from all over the house (and with two in diapers there is usually a lot) and they, "Dump It" into the big gabage outside and roll it to the end of the driveway for the garbage truck. Then, Kason sits patiently on the steps wainting...

The garbage truck is definately the highlight of our week, but Kason also love throwing anything away for me, pouring the garbage from one can to another, and the plastic bags from the grocery store (because that's what we use to line our little garbage cans). He wants to be a garbage man for halloween so he can, "Dump It!" Harley Likes to help too. Mostly he just sits around looking cute, but his day will come!

Peanut Fest 2010

2010-10-11T06:46:00.000-07:00

This weekend we took the boys and Grammy and Grampy to the Peanut Fest. Our town is the birth place of Planter's Peanuts and a lot of peanuts are grown here, so every year they have a fair and call it Peanut Fest. Kason rode the Ferris Wheel and the Merry-Go-Round and got to go fishing for fake sharks, play a squirt gun game, and win a glowing sword. Harley even got a little duck because the lady running the fishing game thought he was so cute. Kason had fun with all the rides and games and he really liked the tractor pull. Harley slept a little bit and then was entertained with all the lights and noise. It was fun to go and check it out and to see Kason enjoy the rides and everything there.

Tackin' Da Trees Down

2010-10-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

They are clearing a lot near our house and we can hear the trucks all day long digging up and knocking down trees. We have to walk over every morning to check it out and Kason could stay for hours watching the trucks. Harley is pretty interested too, Although last time we were there he fell asleep.

HJS

2010-09-29T11:28:00.000-07:00

Here is our little Harley (well not so little) at 6 months. We took him in for a check-up and he is a healthy boy wieghing in at 18lbs and 26 inches long. He is such a happy baby and has a smile for everyone and a great little baby laugh. He is sitting up now which is fun and makes it so he can entertain himself a little bit easier. He has, however, stopped rolling over. He will lay on his tummy for a little while and then start to fuss or just lays his head down and growels. He is a great growler!

Harley is Kason's biggest fan and already wants to do everthing his big brother does. He watches Kason and laughs at Kason and talks to Kason. It's so much fun and I'm savoring it while it lasts. Whenever Harley starts laughing at something Kason does or some funny noise he makes, Kason says, "Harley loves me?" and I say, "That's Right!"

Four Years!?

2010-09-27T12:11:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in forever! And I'm not even going to try to catch up or make any promises about keeping up, but yesturday was our anniversary and I wanted to put up something and say how much I love my dear, sweet, hard working, good-looking, family-loving, gospel-living, wonderful husband Reed!!!! It really is always better when we're together!

When We're Helping We're Happy

2010-06-17T06:23:00.000-07:00

Helping Buzz (Lightyear) go for a walk...

Helping with the laundry...

Helping Daddy mow the lawn...

Helping take care of baby brother

If Everybody Had An Ocean...

2010-06-13T18:40:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went down to North Carolina to attend a wedding. The wedding was on Saturday, but we headed down Friday afternoon and spent some time at the beach! Kason has absolutely no fear of the water and wanted to be right out in the waves. Harley, on the other hand, spent the time hiding under the towel trying to avoid the wind and sand. We stayed in a hotel Friday and I Kason was ecstatic. He ran around the hotel room like crazy and stayed up until 10 before he finally crashed. We had fun and Reed enjoyed catching up with old friends.

Your Face Will Surely Show It

2010-06-06T18:44:00.000-07:00

I am having way too much fun with Picasa. It makes it so easy to Blog my pictures and with the collage feature I don't have choose which ones to put up, I can post them all! Okay, enough sounding like a commercial. I think these are the sweetest faces in the world! I know I'm biased, but come on... We are still working on Kason's "happy face" for the camera, but it looks like Harley's got it down. We've been enjoying the warm weather in the mornings and going for walks to the park. By afternoon lately it's been too hot and humid to play outside, so Kason has been watching a lot of Nemo and "Howdy" (that's what he calls Toy Story) his two favorite movies right now. I need to be more creative with our indoor activities in the afternoons. They have to be cool enough to entice Kason away from the "TB". Any ideas?

Who Needs A Double Stroller?

2010-06-04T08:17:00.000-07:00

Hmmm... I think maybe we do

We went for a walk this morning to the park. I left the snuggly at a friends house, so I decided I would just put Harley in the stroller, let Kason walk, and see what happens (it's way too hot and sticky for the snuggly anyway). Well about twenty minutes into the walk (the park is a half an hour away and twenty minutes is pretty good for Kason) Kason wanted, "Up." So I tried several different ways to get them both in the stroller, none of which were very comfortable for the boys. The last one ended up being the best. On the way home Harley fell asleep and we made it all the way back like that. I guess I'll be checking Craigs list for a good double stroller.

Hot Hot Hot

2010-06-01T11:38:00.000-07:00

We took Harley in the pool for the first time yesturday. So far he is not the fish that Kason is, he liked it better wrapped up in a towel! But he is still young, we will keep trying.

Lately Kason prefers playing with the water outside the pool. Unless of course Daddy is in the pool to make him fly!

Two of A Kind

2010-05-24T11:34:00.000-07:00

I had fun today comparing pictures of Kason and Harley as babies. Kason is on the left, Harley on the right.

This is both of them in the hospital right after they were born.

Their first Sundays at Church (same shirt)

This is them at one month old

And at two months old

They do have differences, but you can definately tell they are brothers!

Swim!

2010-05-20T05:51:00.000-07:00

Here is Kason showing off in his cute (he he) new swim floaty. Isn't such a good swimmer? The next Michael Phelps! And so pleased that he can do it all by himself. I am a proud mommy.

Yesterday was my birthday! It was great. I got lots of warm wishes. I also got a pasta maker from my folks and a nice dutch oven/roaster from my in-laws. From my dear sweet husband I got a night away from the kids. Harley and Kason stayed went Grammy and Grampy (and wore them out) and Reed and I went down to the beach. We stayed at a hotel right on the beach and had dinner at an Italian restaurant overlooking the Ocean. It was wonderful! Thanks Honey!!!

I also have a Harley update. Just over a week ago he had his 2 month check-up and weighed 13 lbs! He such a sweet baby and smiles and gooos and gaas all the time now. I love it!

Boy Crazy

2010-04-16T10:43:00.000-07:00

Oh man! Life is busy and great. Warm weather is here to stay and my boys and I have definately been enjoying it (this is my excuse for how long this post has been in the making. I have sat down to work on it several times and been destracted by sunshine and boys). I have lots of pictures in this post because I know some people are dieing to see updates of Harley (yes, we have officially decided that Harley will be his name, it fits him so well!) These pictures are in no specific order because I uploaded them weird and it is too time consuming to fix. Enjoy!

Jeff, Tammy, and Eli came to visit at the end of April. It was so much fun having them here! We went to the beach, visited the aquarium, and strolled around the zoo, but most of all we enjoyed each others company. This is Harley enjoy the sun and sand. Well maybe not the sun in his eyes so much, or the sand in his diaper. It was his first time and he was a good sport, he will come to love it.

Here are Kason and Eli in front of the famous Neptune statue at VA Beach. I think it is a tradition to take a picture in front of it if you come to visit us and we go to the beach. Kason has issues with getting his picture taken, but aside from that this is a great picture. It will be fun to show them when they are older.

This weekend we enjoyed our first swim in Grammy and Grampy's pool. As expected Kason had a blast! I feel I must explain the pink and purpple. We got this great floaty innertube/swil shirt thingy at Babies 'R Us for only $1.50! We couldn't believe it when we saw the price, so we grabbed two and hurried to check out before they changed their minds. Apparently they were mismarked (supposed to be $17.99), but we got them for $1.50 anyway. Unfortunately they only had pink and purpple, but with a deal like that Kason (and Reed) can buck up and live with the girl colors, right?

This is what Harley did while we went swimming (the water is still a little cold for the babe). He is so big! He has his 2 month check-up tomorrow, but we are thinking he will weigh in somewhere between 11 and a half to 12 pounds.

Here is Harley enjoying the big weird fish and the aquarium. Kason and Eli were somewhere running a muck. Harley is a peacful baby and usually sleeps through all of the excitement

Awe.. Kason and Eli were so cute together. They were little buddies the whole time (well most of the time) We did kind of push it to the limit with Kason (no naps and four days of non-stop) so by Monday morning Kason was a little crazy, but for the most part he was enjoying having a friend around 24/7.

We got our garden all planted! We are so excited for our first real year as gardeners. If all goes well (which it may or may not) we will have quite a list of fresh produce to enjoy, including: asian pears, peaches, appricots, figs, strawberries, raspberries (probably next year), corn, peas, beans, tomatoes, peppers, squash, watermelon, pumpkins, zuchini (of course), and cucumber. It's been fun planning and sewing and we look forward to reaping!

Kason has definately warmed up to bing a big brother and gets excited when Harley is awake and somewhat interactive. Although he is still pretty sure that Harley is Mommy's and Kason is Daddy's. Whenever Reed holds Harley Kason says, "Harley Mommy"

Kason just seems so big now that we have Harley. He is so much of little boy now rather than a baby and delights us with new words and even sentances every day. His first real sentance was, "Me eat hot dog" It was so cute.

Easter was fun. We dyed eggs and had an easter egg hunt in Grammy and Grampy's front yard while enjoying a wonderful session of Conference.

Nanna came and stayed for two weeks after Harley was born. It was wonderful! All my meals made and cleaned up after, not to mention the wonderful company! It was sad to see her go. Thank goodness for Skype!!

We blessed Harley while my mom was here. It was a beautiful day and a wonderful blessing. Reed is such a great dad!

We took my mom to a great seafood resuraunt while she was here. This is everyone waiting for their fish.

Here is my sweet little Harley getting ready for his bath.

Awe!

Well if you made it all the way through, thanks. I love sharing, it's just that it's hard to find the time. I'm just not super woman like many bloggers are, but I will make a renewed effort to keep all of my blog readers (all 1 or is it 2 of you now?) updated.

Sweet Baby James

2010-03-14T08:49:00.001-07:00

Harley James Sloat arrived a week ago today. He was about 11 days early, but there was no doubt he was ready to come. I went to the doctor the Thursday before for my regular appointment. The doctor was impressed that I was dilated to a four and 70% effaced. Just like with Kason I hadn't felt any painful contractions, but this time I did feel the pressure and hardening of my belly when I had a strong contraction, so i wasn't too surprised. She striped the membranes and predicted that we would be back in the hospital that weekend to deliver. Reed and I just smiled at each other knowingly. We thought we knew the drill and decided not to get our hopes up because we went through the same thing with Kason (I dilated slowly over about a month) and then ended up having to induce to get him that last little way. However, Harley decided to throw us a curve ball and come all by himself.

I woke up early (about 1:00) Sunday morning (March 7) with pain. I dismissed it as gas and tried to get back to sleep. Not long after I felt some more pain and noticed pressure and hardening of my belly. I thought this might be the real thing, so I decided to note the time and see if I get another one. Seven minutes later I did ... and seven minutes after that I did again. At this point I woke up Reed and he helped me time them for about an hour as they got stronger and closer together. We packed a bag for the hospital and got Kason out of bed and into the car (at this point I was stopping ever 3 minutes to breathe and stomp my way through the contractions). After an exciting ride to Grammy and Grampy's to drop off Kason I was contracting every minute and a half and it was now about 2:30 am.

We got to the hospital and I had to get down on all fours in the parking lot to make it through an extra strong contraction (Reed was pulling on my arm and telling me to get up and into the hospital). We finally made it to the hospital with no time to spare (and no time for an epidural..I kind of freaked out when I realized that). I was fully dilated, fully effaced, and fully ready to push, but we had to wait for the mid wife, so I bravely (don't ask Reed if that adjective is correct) breathed my way through the contraction until she arrived. Finally I pushed for what seemed like no time at all and Harley James made his appearance at 3:51 am. Wow! What a difference from Kason's delivery.

And now here he is, a perfect 6lb 6oz 19.5 inch baby boy. We still haven't decided whether to call him Harley or James. He is a "peacful" baby (that's how the lactation consultant put it when I expressed my worries about him not waking up long enough to eat). He doesn't like diaper changes or pooping, but other than that he doesn't cry much and sleeps all the time. We just love him!

Because of flu season and the H1N1 outbreak there had been a ban at the hospital on all visitors under the age of 18. This meant the Kason could not visit me and Harley at the hospital. On Monday they lifted the ban! I didn't know about it and I was sitting in my hospital room, waiting for Reed when I hear Kason out in the hall. I was so happy I cried! Reed and Kason surprised me with flowers (three roses, one from each of my boys) and a toy that Kason picked out for his baby brother. I am so blessed!!!

Kason and I took James for his first walk and to get some sunshine. Kason was so sweet picking flowers for his brother. It has taken him a little while to warm up to the baby, but he is going to be a GREAT big brother!

I love this picture. This is the first time that Kason was willing to hold James. I only had my cell phone close by and the moment was fleeting, so the quality isn't great, but the subject is beautiful!

My recovery is going great. It is amazing how much faster I have felt "myself" this time than with Kason. Part of it is not having a epidural I think. I could feel my legs and move around right after giving birth. I even walked myself from the delivery room into the recovery room. The other part is I only had to get one little stitch instead of nine, so there isn't as much healing to be done. I am so happy and so blessed by my Heavenly Father to have such a beautiful family!!!

...Maybe Not?

2010-02-17T18:19:00.000-08:00

I titled my last post "The Greatest Snow on Earth" referring to the snow we enjoyed while visiting in Utah. However, upon returning home, we have experienced some pretty impressive snow storms. They cancelled church for the biggest one as well as schools and everything else for about three days. Mostly that's because they aren't as prepared for snow here as in Utah, this being the most they have had since 1989, but it was still exciting. Kason enjoyed playing it. It doesn't matter how cold he gets he never wants to come inside. The snow has mostly melted now, but it's still cold. I'm ready for spring.

Remember the daffodils that made a surprise appearance early this winter? Well, I don't know if they are going to make it. We also have some strawberries that appear to mostly dead. I'm not a plant expert, but I don't think the perennials around here are liking the snow and consistently freezing temperatures. And don't tell Kason, but neither do I. I've been praying for an early spring.

We had a fun Valentines day. I enjoyed picking out gifts for both of my boys. I got Reed a set of cuff links to go with the french cuff shirts that he got for his birthday. All the other financial advisers wear them, and Reed looks very handsome in his! I got kason a heart full of chocolates and as you can see he enjoyed it very much. I even got a smile for the camera. Reed got me a Willow Tree figurine called Tender. It's a mom holding her little boy, I love it!

The Greatest Snow on Earth

2010-01-29T17:06:00.000-08:00

Kason and I just spent a fun-filled two weeks in Utah! We had a great time with Nana and Grandpa. We did some shopping especially at fabric store (they have a better selection there than here), went swimming, played in the snow, and most of all enjoyed being with family.

We went swimming with Grandpa twice at the indoor pool. Kason loves swimming. He really liked walking around in the shallow end. He kept trying to sit down and most of the time the water was too deep and covered him right up. He also liked going down the alligator slide even though I was a little slow cathching him on the first time down and he went completely under the water. It hardly fazes him at all to go under water. He is our little fish!

One of the days that we were there we went up to Logan to visit my Grandparents (who live there) and my brother and sister (who go to school there). They had tons of snow! It snowed all of the way up and all of the way back home. We took the opportunity to play and take Kason sledding for the first time. He did great! He was so brave going down the hill and held on tight to the sled. We also built a snow man and threw snow balls. It was a great time!

We got to see all of our family out there. Mike and Becky came down the first weekend. Kason had so much fun with them. Kason loved all of the attention (which he really misses now that we are back at home, just me and him all day). We will miss everyone back there in Utah. Thanks for the great memories! But we also missed Reed. The trip was wonderful, but it is nice to be back with daddy/hubby.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

2010-01-23T08:35:00.000-08:00

Here are a few fun pictures from the last month...

Over Christmas all of Reed's brothers were in town. Kason had a great time playing with his uncles!

Doesn't he make a handsome fireman?

We were surprised with some daffodiles popping up ... in January!

Here is Kason being a cool dude on his tricycle.

I went grocery shopping and the boys made a fort in Kason't room. As you can see it was very exciting.

Here are a couple of Christmas pictures. Kason got this easle and has been quite an artist ever since. He can already draw circles! I am so proud :)

Down the Stairs to Take A Peek

2009-12-27T19:58:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas! Kason was so cute coming out into the living room Christmas morning to see what Santa brought. I will post more about it later and more pictures, but I wanted to share this video (I warn you it's a little long...I don't know how to edit video yet). The best part is in the beginning when Kason is peeking around the corner. Enjoy!

Take a Picture It'll Last Longer

2009-12-16T09:38:00.000-08:00

I have had this post written for quite a while, and have just now had the patients to get the pictures uploaded. Over Thanksgiving Reed's sister came down with her family from Ohio. Kason and his cousin had fun playing and running a muck together at Grammy and Grampy's. There was lots of great food and it was awesome having Reed home so much! Kason is such a daddy's boy that we had a hard time when Reed went back to work all day. But, we are adjusting.

We have kind of a tradition of taking family pictures on Thanksgiving, we did it last year and the year before, so we took the opportunity to take some family pictures this year as well. Kason does not pose willingly for pictures, and when we ask him to smile ... well you can tell from a couple of the pictures what we get. So we had a hard time getting a very good one of all of us, (one of the best ones looks like Kason is picking his nose).

I love this picture of Kason and Reed. Kason loves his Dad so much, it's so fun to watch. When Reed is home Kason follows him around like a little shadow, doing whatever dad does. When Reed is not home, everything is "Daddy's?"

This last one is of my prego tummy (Kason felt that he needed to make a cameo, he already can't stand the spotlight on baby brother). I think the way my hands are makes it look more like a beer belly than a baby belly, but you get the idea. This was taken about a month ago and I have grown since then. I'm pretty sure I am bigger now than I was with Kason at six months...kind of a scary thought thinking back to how big I was with Kason at nine months. If I continue to grow at this rate I will need a wheel chair by then. I now have only 90 day left! And at the same time; I still have 90 days left! I have weird dreams about giving birth in bizarre places and under chaotic circumstances that just keep getting more vivid and unusual. With Kason I had lots of dreams about giving birth to a tiny little baby (like gummy bear size). Anyway, I love being pregnant and I love thinking about what my new little baby will be like. It's so exciting!

Nor'easter

2009-11-12T06:36:00.000-08:00

Starting yesterday and continuing through the weekend we are experiencing a "Nor'easter." So named because the hurricane strength winds and heavy moisture come out of the North East. We are getting lots and lots of rain. It has rained pretty much non-stop since yesterday morning. The worst of it is supposed to be today, but I think all we have to worry about is losing power. I have filled every container I can with water (including the bath tub) in anticipation of losing power because we get our water from a well that is pumped with an electric pump, so no power means no water. I also have candles and flash lights at the ready. Kason would be thrilled if we had to use candles - he loves fire!

This is out on our back porch. Kason is pointing at either the rain or the swaying trees. It's all very interesting. He did not want to come back inside.

This is out on our front porch. Kason is sitting on the railing trying to feel the rain. Once again it was quite an ordeal getting him back inside the house.

Kason and I are hunkered down nice and cozy inside the house waiting it out. As you may or may not be able to tell from the pictures Kason would much rather be outside in the wind and rain than in here nice an cozy. He is really missing our morning walks and I'm afraid getting a little cabin fever from being couped up in here all day long, we'll see how long he lasts.

Snips and Snails

2009-11-04T09:18:00.000-08:00

I thought I would seize this opportunity while everyone is sleeping and the internet is working great to do a nice long catch up post (even though I should be paying bills and balancing the budget...oh well that can wait). The latest and most exciting news is that we are going to be adding another boy to the family. We went in to the ultra sound on Monday absolutely sure it was a girl. Surprise! Now I am officially out numbered. I know that I was before (2 to 1), but I at least had a chance of making it a tie if this were a girl. Oh well, I am very very excited. My Kason is so much fun and can be so sweet that the idea of another boy brings nothing but joy. My only regret is no shopping spree to stock up on pink and dresses, we have everything we need for a boy (and then some).

At the end of September my parents came to visit. It was so much fun to have them here and be able to share our home and neighborhood with them. Kason had a wonderful time getting to know them. We went to historic James Town and to the Zoo. We also spent a very windy day at the beach and toured the naval base in Norfolk. It was sad to see them go, but Kason and I already have out tickets booked for a trip to Utah in January! We won't be able to be there for Christmas, but during this time Reed will be on a trip for work, so this worked out a little better. It will be fun to see everybody and for Kason to play in the snow (we don't get much of that around here, which I am grateful for).

We had a great Halloween. Kason dressed up as a pirate. He learned to say "Ahrg" and kept his hat on all night. He really got into the candy part of Halloween this year, but not so much the trick-or-treating. We hit a couple of houses in Grammy and Grampy's neighborhood and that was plenty. Kason was ready to stop and eat the candy after every house (the concept of delayed gratification is still beyond his grasp). Reed and I attended a Halloween party hosted by one of Reed's clients. They did a murder mystery and Reed guessed the murderer! Along with 20 other people, so they put names in a hat to choose the ultimate winner. It wasn't Reed, but I still think he is very clever. It was very well done, we talked to a lot of people and had a good time.

The beginning of November marked the end of our first year in Virginia. I can't believe it! Although it seems like we have been through quite a bit while here, I finally feel like we are getting settled and things are looking good. We are in our own place and loving it. We just pulled out the last of garden for this year. It will be fun to pick some things to plant for next year. We have quite a large space, so we are letting some other people plant things there too. It will be exciting whatching it grow and seeing everything turn out (or not). Reed's job is really starting to pick up. He has been enjoying the challenge of starting a new business and now seems to reeping more of the rewards of his hard work. And best of all we are expecting our second little bundle of joy. It's so exciting imagining what he will look like and how his personality will differ from Kason's. The hard part is waiting and deciding on a name. Luckily we had more ideas for a boy than a girl and we have time to decide which it will be. We are looking forward to a fun filled Holliday season and life is good! I will try to keep the posts coming, I know there are some far away friends and family that appritiate the pictures and updates.

Top Ten Excuses for Not Blogging

2009-08-28T07:49:00.000-07:00

I know I have been pretty bad at blogging lately. I don't know if anyone even checks anymore, but I am still around and have good intentions of posting great posts, but a lot has been going on. 10) We moved! I need to put some pictures up of our place. 9) Becky came for a visit, I need to put picture up of that fun filled visit. 8) I have been cleaning and unpacking and moving stuff around trying to get everything just how I like it (isn't moving fun). 7) I have been spending every precious moment I have with Reed when he is home because they are few and far between (with being young men's president and all the hard work he has been doing with Edward Jones he is practically a stranger around here). 6) To help with the finances I have been tutoring. 5) I also started babysitting this week. 4)Every time I sit down a the computer Kason wants to be on my lap banging on the keyboard. 3) Because of the move we haven't had internet for a while. 2) It's summer! We've been doing stuff outside. 1) And my number one excuse for not blogging lately is .... drum roll .... I am pregnant! And I have been sick and tired and unmotivated to do anything for the last month and a half. I am almost 11 weeks, which means sick and tired stage is almost over. My unofficial due date is March 17th and we don't know if it's a boy or a girl, but I will try and keep you posted (hopefully at least once again before the baby is born).

I Have a Family Here on Earth

2009-06-18T11:44:00.000-07:00

Kason had fun this week getting reacquainted with some extended family. Reed's sister and her family were here from Ohio. They have a daughter who is just a few months older than Kason. She is walking now and Kason is crawling like crazy, having both of them mobile was fun. Kason was excited to see Elyse, he likes having other little people around. He even shows off for Elyse by playing the piano performing his latest death defying stunt in the pool. He can hold onto the basketball hoop and just hang there. We didn't quite get the timing right on the picture, but he can hang there for a few seconds all by himself. My little Evil Conevil! We went to Uncle Stu's graduation. Stuart graduated number 3 in his high school class. Congratulations Stuart. We also went swimming and had fun hanging out and playing. We got some cute pictures of the two of them together that will be fun to show these two when they get older. Elyse and Kason first met right after Kason was born, before Elyse moved to Ohio. There is a picture of them together then. It's fun to compare the two. Kason has grown so much! Which reminds me, I forgot to post the stats from Kason's last doctors appointment. He is 21 lbs. and 32 inches tall (I think that's right. I forgot to have the nurse write it down for me this time, so I'm not 100% sure). Reed has been working his heart out lately trying to stay ahead between now and his next trip to head quarters at the end of July. Then he will have an evaluation and officially "graduate" from the Edward Jones training program. In the mean time he is making contacts, studying and meeting with his trainer. Between that and being the Young Men's president we are lucky to see him for more than a couple of hours a day. He is working very hard and we are proud that he is number 2 in his class right now (and working on becoming number 1) Kason obviously feels the loss and has been crawling around saying his various versions of, "Da, da, da, ..." He loves his Daddy! We are very excited to have aunt Becky comming out at the end of July! She will be here most of the week that Reed is in St. Lois again. We have lots of fun things planned and can hardly wait for the party to begin!!!

If Everybody Had An Ocean

2009-06-09T11:51:00.000-07:00

Do you think that in Heaven every day starts with an early morning walk on the beach? I do. Last week Kason and I went with Reed's family to the beach. (Unfortunately Reed was at a training in St. Louis - we really really missed him!) They rented a beach house on Onslow Beach which is about a 3 hour drive. It was so much fun! Every morning when Kason would wake up at 6:30 (that is early morning to me...if it's not early morning for you than you have my condolences) we went for a walk on the beach. Kason was tucked comfortably into the beloved Snugly and I would walk in the shallow part of the water and look for shark's teeth and shells while the waves splashed in and out against my legs. The water was just the perfect temperature and the air was already warm and thick with humidity. I could do that every day for the rest of my life! Kason was usually mesmerized by the waves on our little walks. On our last day we met Grammy and Grampy out on the beach and Grampy held Kason who promptly laid his head down and fell asleep on Grampy's shoulder, it was so sweet. Why doesn't he ever do that for me :). The water is not a source of fear for Kason in the least. He loves it! He liked sitting in the sand and having the waves wash over his legs. We did have to work on not eating the sand though. The first thing he did when I set him down on our first day was grab a big handful of sand and stick it in his mouth, because how are you supposed to know if something is cool or not if you don't put it in your mouth, right? He did overcome that obstacle. Probably because I scared him half to death with my loud, "NO" every time a little handful of sand started inching it's way towards his mouth. He jumped about ten feet with each shout (poor kid), but it only took a few times until his hunger for sand was forgotten (I think that's called aversion shock therapy). After that he contented himself with digging his chubby little fingers and toes as deep as he could into the sand. He also loved the shower. On the deck of the beach house there was a shower head for rinsing off sand and ocean grime before going into the house. The water was freezing, but Kason loved it and opened his mouth wide for a drink every time we passed. I love his funny little personality! One day we went down to join Grammy in the sand and found a crab on her towel. It was cool, but kind of creepy. Crabs remind me too much of spiders. It took all the courage I could muster just to get close enough to take the picture. Kason's uncles Stuart and Greg were there and also Greg's friend Erin. Stuart built a sand castle with two motes and a draw bridge and everthing. It was pretty cool. I think he got more use out of the sand toys we bought for Kason then Kason did. Next year Kason may be a little more interested in sand castle building. Unfortunately I dropped my camera into the water on the first day we were there, so all pictures that we have of Kason's first time at the beach were taken on my cell phone. It worked out okay though because I was able to keep Reed constantly updated with Picture Mail. Reed did very well at his training in St. Louis. One of the trainers he was working with told him that if you threw all of the top Edward Jones advisers into a bag, shook them all together and pulled out one super advisor it would be Reed. We are so proud! He has been doing his first round of contacting this week and is surprised at how nice and welcoming people are. His past experience with knocking on doors led him to believe that most people were unreceptive and usually rude to young men in suits who come knocking on their doors. Hmm. Reed did great in St. Louis and is still overjoyed to be working, but next time we go to the beach we are definitely taking him with us!

A Plain Little Turtle Named Mac

2009-05-29T10:15:00.000-07:00

Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss is one of the books that we read often to Kason. His favorite book is actually Spot Goes to School (he loves to open the flaps), but we really like Yertle too. Kason has a little plastic turtle that he plays with in the tub and in the pool, we named him Mac after the plain little turtle who burped and shook the throne of the king. I think that Mac is a good role model for Kason (except for the burping). So, on our walk today we were very excited to see this little turtle slowly making his way across the road. We figured with all the mud on his shell this must be Yertle. Probably in search of another pond full of unsuspecting throne material, but we helped him across the road, up over the curb, and onto the grass anyway. Who knows, maybe he has turned over a new leaf. Everyone deserves a second chance, right?
Kason is now crawling. Last Friday we went and spent the evening with the people who are letting us rent their house while they are in Japan (we move in on July 25th, wahoo!) and they don't have much furniture so there is a lot of wide open space and Kason just took off. He was crawling all over the place and now he doesn't stop. It is so nice for me because he is a lot more content playing by himself now that he can get wherever he needs too. He loves crawling into the shower and pointing at the drain. He points at absolutely everything. It is so cute when he points and then looks at me and starts jabbering away, like he his explaining what it is. My biggest challenge is keeping him out of the shower while I am in there. I tried putting him in the pac-n-play today, but he cried the whole time...I can't do that to either of us again. Any suggestions? What do you do with your mobile baby while you shower?
He has a Doctor's appointment on Monday so I will post stats. Also, look at all of those teeth! He now has 8 teeth total. We think there are at least two more on their way down because of the way he has been sleeping (not good). Our next milestone will be weening. I have always planned to ween him at one year and that's coming up in just two months (can you believe it) so I am on the look out for the least traumatic weening strategy (for him and for me).

...Dearer Than Any Other

2009-05-11T07:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my first Mother's Day as a mother, and it was definitely a day to remember. I woke up about 2:30 yesterday morning and just made it to the bathroom to throw-up absolutely everything in my stomach, or so I thought. I continued waking up every hour to throw up. I was afraid I might have, as my dad would say, the Egyptian flu, or as Reed puts it a nine month parasite. But now I think it was food poisoning or something. Finally at 6 I got up and fed Kason, took some pepto and got in the shower. In the shower I proceeded to empty my stomach of the pepto and water I had taken to wash it down.

On top of this I had to speak in church (my 5th time speaking in church on mother's day) and teach my primary class. I was ready to have Reed give my talk for me and just stay at home. Luckily my dear husband holds the priesthood and was able to give me a very sweet blessing. I made it through my talk and my primary class tired, but not throwing up. I came home and went right to bed. I woke up and ate some dinner, and drank and drank because at this point I was so dehydrated I could hardly spit. Dinner seemed to be sitting okay but I started to get a fever and Reed had to go do something, so my sweet little cuddle bug Kason, probably knowing it was mother's day curled up with me in bed and went right to sleep.

When Reed got home we were both still in bed enjoying our rest, but we got up to Skype with my family (a sunday evening tradition since we moved to VA) and I fed Kason then it was back to bed by 8:00. All in all it was a mother's day to remember. I did get a new swim suit as my mother's day present from Kason ($10 at Ross) and I have a wonderful husband and son and I love being a mother! Today I am still feeling a little queasy, but no fever! Hopefully I will kick this thing and we can get on with our lives. It is no fun being a sick mommy.

Oh yeah, and Kason now says "Mommmma" when he reaches for me (and sometimes just randomly too) and that was my best mother's day gift of all!

Good Day Sunshine!

2009-04-28T11:30:00.001-07:00

We have been waiting all winter (which to our dismay has been unusually long and cold here in VA) to get Kason into Grammy and Grampy's pool. Yesterday it reached temperatures in the 90's and the pool (having been uncovered and basking in the sun for almost a month now) has warmed up to about 78 degrees, so conditions were perfect to give it a try. They have a salt water pool, which I love, especially for Kason. You don't feel dry or itchy at all and the salt kills the germs instead of chemicals. It doesn't even taste salty (like the ocean). Kason really loves the water and had a great time splashing and floating around. I love doing new things with Kason (not that swimming is necessarily new, he has been before) there is such an added measure of excitement that makes everything seem like and adventure.

It was hard to get Kason to look at the camera because he was either fascinated by the water or busy splashing.

This is an oh so funny shot of Kason in his life jacket. I don't know whether it is Kason's lack of a neck or a design flaw in the life jacket (probably a little of both), but even with the top strap undone Kason's chubby little cheeks got squished as he floated around, but as usual he didn't seem to mind much.

Kason seemed very tranquil and lulled while floating in the water. I think he probably could have fallen asleep. Before long he will probably be taking all of his naps that way.

Here is Kason kicking in the water. He doesn't look altogether sure about life in this picture (probably due to the water he was kicking into his face), but he was generally enjoying himself. BTW Reed and I would like you to please pardon our lack of pigmentation, this was our first real swim of the season, we are still working on it.

Swimming really wears a guy out!

Lots to Cover

2009-04-17T12:24:00.000-07:00

Well, once again I have slacked off in my blogging and it's been over two months since I blogged. I will keep the writting short with plenty of pictures becasue that is how I like it. Over the last two months Kason and I visited Utah, Reed started his new job as a finacial advisor for Edward Jones, Kason has broken 6 teeth, I have lost 5 pounds, Jeff and Tammy and Eli came for a visit, and Easter happened. It has been a great couple of months with lots of blessing and happiness!

We had such a good time in Utah staying with my parents! Lots of memories and fun. One of the highlights of our trip was swimming. It was Kason's first time and he loved it. He even got splashed and went under the water and didn't cry at all. Thanks Dad!

This is Kason at my mom and dad's trying on my mom's glasses. It was so funny because he didn't even try to pull them off. What a character!

My dad's work has a photo studio, so while we were in Utah we went and took some really good six month pictures of Kason. It wasn't an all together easy process considering Kason wasn't interested in getting his picture taken for two straight hours, but this is a reallyl good smile one!

While Jeff, Tammy and Eli were here we went and visited Jamestown and Yorktown. It was a cold and windy day, but we had fun spending time with them. It made us long for the days when they were just upstairs. Here we are in front of the flags at Jamestown. Kason was a little to interested it the fountain to pose for a picture.

It was fun to see grown up Eli. He talks so much and has tons of energy.

It will be fun to show them these pictures watch them interact as they get older.

This is Kason enjoying his first Easter. I think he really got a clear understanding of what Easter is all about.

Kason is still not crawling, but he has broken six new teeth and is eating all kinds of things. And he likes to stand up. He can pull himself to his knees, but needs help to get all the way up. Once he is standing he can be content there for quite a while before he either lets go or ~~asks~~ yells to be rescued.

Since Reed has started working I have kept myself busy with Kason (of course) and lots of projects. I have about 5 at various stages of completion right now. I just finished sewing this hat for Kason. I made it out of some of Reeds old pants. It didn't turn out exactly as I wanted, but it was good for a first try!

Happy Birthday Reed

2009-02-13T05:12:00.000-08:00

Reed's 26th birthday was on the 7th and, yes, we filled his cake with 26 candles and he blew them all out! We also went to dinner at Outback Steak House (his favorite) and we went and saw a movie. We saw Taken which is a very intense and slightly traumatizing movie. Anyway, we love Reed. He is a great dad and a wonderful husband!

Of Beaches and High Chairs

2009-02-05T13:33:00.000-08:00

Today was an exciting day full of great adventure and great photo ops. Now that Kason is six months old he isn't experiencing as many "firsts" as he used to. In the begining he was doing and seeing things for the first time everyday. Now days he's an old pro at most things, but today was special: Kason sat and ate in the high chair for the first time and he saw the ocean and the beach for the first time.

Kason has been sitting up really well for the past couple of weeks and has just started eating cereal every morning, so we thought it was the perfect time to introduce him to the high chair. Here for the first time ever is Kason sitting in a high chair.

This is a high chair that I believe was Reed's dad's when he was a baby. Kason was more concerned with getting the high chair in his mouth than with eating his cereal, but we considered the experience a success.

Here is the big Neptune or Triton (whichever it is) statue at Virginia Beach. You can tell it's winter because there is no one there and all the the trees are in plastic (I think they look like big seaweed, which go perfectly with the statue), but the water was still pretty.

It was pretty cold (about 34 degrees) so we just jumped out of the car for a couple of quick pictures and jumped back in.

I think the big statue is really cool and I can't wait to go back in the summer time when it is warm and we can walk on the beach and play in the water. It will be especially fun to see how Kason likes it.

Encouragement

2009-01-29T05:07:00.000-08:00

My sister-in-law had this link on her blog "Because She is a Mother". It's a talk by Jeffery R. Holland and it is wonderful. It makes me want to work a little harder and live up to his praise and encouragement. I thought I would pass it on - thanks Carolyn!

The Wharf

2009-01-26T14:16:00.000-08:00

On Friday last week it was almost 60 degrees, so Reed, Kason and I walked down to the Wharf. It's such a nice peaceful walk across a wide open cotton field, down through a little grove of trees, and then out across an old rickety dock that ends in this little wharf out on the river. It was the perfect walk and the lighting was just right to get some cute pictures of my boys.

Here you can see the cotton field in the background and Kason is wearing his cute hat to keep the sun out of his eyes (something that is a constant battle on walks and car rides).

This is the Wharf. As you can (or maybe can't) see it is old, probably homemade, and patched up in quite a few places. It added an extra dimension of excitement to our walk wondering if we would make it all the way out to the water and back without ending up in the water.

On the way back we were walking into the wind, so we turned Kason around in the Snugli and he kept looking up into Reed's face and smiling. Looking back I think he was smiling at the image of himself in Reed's sunglasses (he loves mirrors), but it made a very sweet picture.

This one isn't from our walk (obviously), but I thought I would throw it in. Reed has fond memories of sitting and listening to his dad sing and play the guitar. Today, Kason carried on the tradition and was captivated listening to his Grampy as he dusted off his old guitar and started practicing again.

The Park

2009-01-12T09:04:00.000-08:00

Last week we took Kason to the park. There is a really nice and big one here. It was a little cold that day, but nothing that us seasoned Utahns couldn't handle, it was about 40-45 degrees and the sun was shining, to us that's a nice day! But apparently not to most Virginians, because we had this huge park all to ourselves! Kason especially liked the swings and the slides, and it was a fun place to get some cute pictures.

Here is Kason and Daddy. You can see a little bit of one of the play structures in the background. There were three big ones like that with slides coming off everywhere, plus teeter totters, swings, a jungles gym, and anything else you can imagine. Reed and I decided that if we were about ten we could play tag there for hours.

Notice the hand behind the head in this picture. This is apparently an inherited habit. Reed does it often when he's talking or relaxing and so does his dad. You can also see Kason's mittens that I made him.

In some ways I think that Reed and I enjoyed the park more than Kason did.

Here is Kason about to go down the big slide with Reed.

Here he is getting ready to brave the tunnel slide. Kason was fine going down by himself. I was the one who was nervous, so I followed him down on my stomach and held onto his shoulders as he slid down on his back.

Kason liked the baby swings okay, but he liked sitting on my lap while I swung on the big swing better. Reed pushed us so we went pretty high and that actually got him laughing. I love his laugh!

Kason loves being outside and looking around at all the new stuff. He doesn't even mind a little bit of cold, we just bundle him up and he is happy as can be. By the way I made that hats that Kason and I are wearing.

Yorktown

2009-01-03T16:23:00.000-08:00

We have been in Virginia now for over two months and we finally went to a historical site (we really need to work on appritiating and taking advantage of our location). Last week we made our way out to Yorktown, which is the site of the last major battle of the revolutionary war. They told us, that although battles followed, the one at Yorktown really decided the outcome in favor of the United States. It was cool to see and be in the actual battlefield. We had a very good guide who was interesting and well informed. I learned that the French really did a lot to sway the war in our favor. I also learned that towards the end of the battle Cornwallis had some ships waiting to escape with his men, which would have left them to fight another day and dragged to war out for who knows how long. That night a bad thunderstorm came up and destroyed and damaged the ships so badly that Cornwallis and his men were forced to surrender. I thought it is such a good example of the hand of the Lord in establishing the freedom of the United States. Kason was so good, it was just like he was listening intently to the guide (until he fell asleep, which was good too). He just loves being outside and walking around! It cost $10 per person to be there and there were seven of us, so we ended up just getting a season pass which only cost $50 and is good for Jamestown also, which means there are more historical site trips to come!

Christmas!

2009-01-03T13:34:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas! Reed's brothers Greg and Ben were here from Utah along with the usual gang (Mom and Dad Sloat, Stuart, Gram, Reed, Kason, and me) we were quite a crowd. We got many generous and thoughtful gifts and enjoyed being with family for Christmas. Kason got a lot of new clothes in 6-9 month sizes, which is good because he's growing out of many of his older clothes. He also got some new toys and books and really cool safari swing that plays soothing jungle music. Kason enjoyed sucking on a candy cane (with the wrapper on) and hanging out with his uncles. As part of a Sloat family tradition we all (except Kason and Gram) saw a movie in the afternoon. We saw Bedtime Stories, which I was a little wary of because the last few Adam Sandler movies I've seen have been terrible, but it was actually very cute. We also talked to Mom and Dad Bylund, Jeff, Tammy, Eli, Mike, and Becky on Skype. It was fun to see everyone there in Utah. I decided to make beanies for everyone for Christmas, so I have been crocheting like crazy. I ended up making nine beanies total. It was fun and now I'm way fast at it, so if anyone needs a beanie...

It was great weather for Christmas. Reed and Kason I went for a walk in 70 degree weather, it was wonderful. It just made me think of being back in Utah with three more long months of winter ahead and made me grateful to be where I am. Kason loves it to because he likes going for walks.

Still no news on the job front, but we haven't lost hope. Things will pick up again next week with the holidays over and we are bound to hear something.

Kason is doing fantastic! He is now five months old and more and more fun

everyday. He can roll over from his stomach to his back and almost from his back to his stomach, but he doesn't like being on his stomach, so there isn't much motivation to go that way. We are continuing to give him rice cereal every once in a while to get him ready for "solid foods" next month (baby food, to me, does not count as solid). He gobbles it right up, but it seems a little hard on his system so we are only doing it once or twice a week right now. His favorite thing is looking in the mirror. He gets a huge smile when he sees himself and sometimes laughs (his laugh is my new favorite sound). All in all we are happy and doing great.

Getting all Caught Up!

2008-12-02T09:42:00.000-08:00

Wow, it has been a while since our blog has been updated and Anne has decided since I have never actually posted anything to the blog that it is my turn, so here goes nothing...On Wednesday October 29th I (Reed) started our family move east in a Budget moving van towing our car. I left the Bylund home at 6 am MST a little nervous about whether or not the moving van would be able to make it up the canon without blowing up. It was very slow going at first (only about 45mph) trying to get up to Park City, but the truck made it and it was still pulling the car. After I got just past Park City and had already used over a quarter of a tank of gas I thought "well at least it is all downhill from here." It should be noted that the night before I departed I topped off the moving truck with gas that cost $2.67 per/gallon; I thought that was a great price considering that when I planned the move 6 weeks earlier I had planned on gas prices being on average $3.35 per/gallon.) That first day I drove 654 miles to Lincoln, NE and stayed at a very classy Supper 8 hotel. (Anne here: This a picture of us saying goodbye to Reed that morning. You can tell he got an early start because of how dark it was).

On Thursday 30 October I departed Lincoln, NE at 6 am CST (Lincoln is the first town in NE that is in the central time zone) Gas in Lincoln was $2.29 and I was pumped to be getting such a great price but then hours later when I filled up in Omaha and paid a meager $2.12 I felt Utahans where really getting ripped off at the pump and it made me all the more happy to be heading east to greener pastures and lower gas prices. Anyway, that day was very boring. There is not much to see in Nebraska or Iowa and the first half of Missouri is not much better, but I did strike gold just outside of Independence, MO having to pay only $1.99 for gas - I almost cried (tears of joy and regret for all of the months I paid for gas in Utah). I thought no wonder Zion will be built here it will cost so much less with low energy costs. However, I did not stay in Zion long because I had to make it to the east side St. Louis, check into a hotel and eat before The Office came on at 8. My goal was accomplished. However, my Supper 8 hotel was full and as tempted as I was to drive across the street and stay at the Holiday Inn Express knowing that I would wake up well rested and smarter I resisted and saved some money by staying at the Ramada Inn which was a step up from the Supper 8 I will admit. (FYI-- I paid $2.19 for gas in Fairview Hights, IL that night.)

Friday 31 October was a great day. I slept in that day because, I only had about 4.5 hours of driving to do to get to Jeff, Tammy and Eli's house that afternoon and spend Halloween with them. After two days of being in a truck for about 12 hours each day it felt great and every short to only have to drive about 300 miles. I was great to see Jeff and Tammy again and as always I love being with Eli. The only bad part about Friday was that gas in TN cost $2.31 just outside of Nashville and I find that if you just spent $1.99 the day before $2.31 is not as exciting as it was just outside of Cheyenne, WY two days earlier. (Anne here: I think he meant to add that the other "bad thing" about that night was being away from Kason and I on Halloween. This a picture of our little turtle. We missed Reed, but enjoyed dressing Kason up and taking him trick-or-treating. We also enjoyed the annual Boo buffet that my mom does and a tradition which Tammy has carried on in TN.)

Saturday 1 November - the last leg of the journey east. I awoke early and was on the road by 5:45 CST with 667 miles to my parents front door ahead of me. At times during the day I thought the state of North Carolina would never end but after listening to almost the entire sixth Harry Potter book on my iPod, I finally reached Virginia. Once I crossed state lines I did still had about 2 hours to go, but it was encouraging at the time. It turned out to be a very long 2 hours with my book finished and nothing but country music and evangelical radio stations to keep me company. I finally arrived at 6:50 pm EST and was very happy to know that I would not have to wake up and drive the next morning. (Anne here: this is kind of a random picture of Kason and his first time eating rice cereal. We think most of it ended up down his chin an don the bib, but we all had fun!)

Monday morning when I went to return the Budget truck I filled it up for $1.89 it was beautiful.

On Tuesday 4 November (election day) Anne and Kason boarded there Southwest flight toVA. Anne say's that Kason is a great flier and highly recommends flying on election day, because both of her flights where practically empty. Upon arrival in Norfolk Anne and Kason where greeted at the airport by myself and my mom who could not wait another minute to get her hands on her first grandson. Later that night we found it very difficult to get Kason out of the hands of his Grampy Sloat so we could put him to bed. (Anne here: this was a great day. I had a lot of fun hanging out with my mom and staying with my family in Utah for a week, but Kason and I missed Reed. It was a happy and tearful reunion).

Job Search Update:

(Anne here: This is a very big part of our goings on the last month or so. We realize that we took a big chance coming out here with no job lined up, but now that we're here I have no doubt that this is a good place for us to be and something wonderful will work out! In the mean time we are very blessed to have a generous family who is taking care of us. Kason and his Grammy and Gramppy Sloat have some great bonding time. Gramppy couldn't resist buying this cute rain deer outfit for his little "pookin" (poukin is - according to Gramppy the masculine form of "pookie") We are also very grateful to Stuart who has sacrificed his room to us. He is also bonding with Kason and it is fun to watch him laugh and smile at his uncle Stu.)

Over the course of the last month we have been busy adjusting to Virginia living, looking for a job and finding a place to live. The adjustment and finding a place to live has gone very well, but the job search has been very slow although things are looking up and hopefully we will be reporting my new job by next week! In the meantime Anne has been busy being a mom and helping my mom and grandma around the house and is having fun looking for a house for us to live in once I am employed. I have been doing work around the house: trimming trees, washing the fence, scrapping the fence, and painting the fence have been the main projects and I am trying to convince my Dad to let me close in the loft upstairs but he is not completely sold on the idea - yet. Well, blogging has been fun, but I think I will let Anne continue to do the updates for the most part she is better at this sort of thing (Anne here: or in other words I have the patients and the time). Feel free to critique my work - I am open to feedback.

Kason's BLessing Day

2008-10-14T09:59:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we had the great opportunity to give our son a name and blessing.It was also the first snow of the season and the outfit we got for Kason to be blessed in was shorts and a t-shirt - brrrrr! Kason Anthony Sloat was blessed by his dad with his Grandpa Bylund, Uncle Mike, Uncle Ben, and our friend Kendal Johnson standing in the circle. Reed gave a great blessing asking for Kason to be strong and healthy, gain a strong testimony of the gospel, have a strong sense of humor, have an outgoing personality, have a desire for knowledge, have a proper respect for women, and many other wonderful things. It is so exciting to think about all of the possibilities and opportunities that await Kason in his life. He is blessed with a great heritage and a family who loves him and will teach him the gospel. We already enjoy the benefits of his laid back, easy going personality (he sleeps from 6-8 hours at night, hardly ever cries, and is very cuddly) and have so much to look forward to while watching him grow up. We wished that all of our family could be there for the blessing, we understand why they couldn't, but we missed them anyway! We are getting very excited for our move (everything except the packing part, with is unfortunately a very big part) and are accumulating boxes and packing material in preparation for next weekend when most of the packing will take place. After the cold weather and snow last weekend we are very excited for a more mild, and shorter, winter (neither of us like the cold very much.)

It's Official

2008-09-23T15:41:00.000-07:00

We have officially decided to move! Reed doesn't have a for sure job yet, but a lot of leads, so we are going to take a big leap of faith and move out there. Reed will leave, driving the moving truck, on 27th of October and then Kason and I will leave probably the thirtieth. We will stay with Grammy and Grammpy Sloat until we find someplace to live and while Reed finds a job. We are very excited!

Here are a few newer pictures of our beautiful little boy. Kason is doing great. He Is getting big. We think, based on our own measurements (this means weighing ourselves on the scale while holding him and then without him and taking the difference) that he now weighs about 13.5 lbs. We haven't measured him for a while, but he seems to mostly grow chubbier, not taller. He loves sleeping on his stomach and looking upside down. He looks more and more like his dad every day, it's so fun to see.

We had a very exciting thing happen on Sunday - Kason rolled over! He was playing on his stomach and we were trying to get him to turn his head by laying on the side that he wasn't looking and saying his name and talking to him and he just rolled over. It was amazing. He hasn't done it since, so we are wondering if it was kind of a fluke, but we are still working with him. He's so fun to watch and even smiles every once in a while.

Our second anniversary is coming up this sunday (Sept. 28th). I can't believe it has been two years already! It some ways that doesn't seen long enough to have experienced all we've experienced and grown together as much as we have, but in other ways it seems like I have been Reed's wife forever - I can't remember what it was like without him. We have had a great marriage so far. Lots of fun and adventures between going to Virginia for the summer and having our sweet little baby. Some hard times, but nothing we can't handle. It really has been great! I love Reed more and more every day and I am so blessed by his hard work and integrity. It's been fun seeing him as a new daddy, he does a great job!

The Best Baby in the World!

2008-08-20T10:37:00.000-07:00

Kason is now three weeks old and doing great! At his two week check-up last Wednesday the doctor officially declared him "Perfect". Much to our delight he was up to a whopping 8 lbs. 10 oz. I had been concerned about his eating and was relieved when the doctor assured me, given the weight gain, that he is doing just fine. These are some pictures of him enjoying his favorite past time - Sleep! He sleeps anywhere, anytime... in front of his mirror, with dad, in a room full of talking people, while eating... it's great. He is starting to have more awake time now and it's really fun when his eyes are open big and he's looking around. He doesn't cry much, mostly just grunts, which makes it hard to know when he's awake and ready to eat at night, so most of the time I end up setting and alarm and waking him up. He will usually sleep for four hours at a time during the night and will take a bottle, so Reed will often stay up and feed him for the last time of the day, giving me plenty of sleep. I really am being spoiled and I don't know what I will do when he goes back to work!

We have had lots of firsts over the last few weeks. First car ride, first messy diaper, first time peeing on mom and dad, first time to church, first walk, etc.Here are a couple of pictures. One is of his first bath. He doesn't mind baths, it's hard to tell if he actually likes them, but he doesn't cry (or even grunt). The one of him with his dad in the cute polo and shorts is after his first full block of church. He did great! He seemed especially alert during the hymns with everybody singing and the organ playing, it was a lot more noise than he's used to. He's very mellow and there isn't much that bothers him, but he doesn't like pooping, or getting his nose sucked out with the nasal aspirator. He's had some congestion that been stuffing up his nose and making it hard for him to eat. He used to fuss a little when we changed his diaper, but now that he has his perfected the art of peeing at just the right moment so that it gets on mom or dad and dirties the diaper we just put under him, he seems to enjoy it a lot more.

Kason also spent lots of time with family these past few weeks. He's met all of his aunts and uncles, both of his cousins, grandma and grandpa Bylund, great grandma Thompson, and looks forward to meeting grandma and grampy Sloat very soon. Here are some pictures of Kason's first meeting with his cousin Eli and his cousin Elyse.

Kason Anthony Sloat

2008-08-05T11:02:00.000-07:00

He is here! The long anticipated arrival of our first son came early Wednesday evening! Kason Anthony Sloat was born on July 30, 2008 at 5:30 pm. He weighed 7 lbs. 7 ozs. and was 22 inches long.

We went to the hospital at 12:30 on Wednesday to be induced because that Monday at my doctors appointment I was dilated to four and we decided it would be best to help move things along. When we got there they hooked me up to some monitors which showed that I was having regular contractions (about 5 minutes apart), but I wasn't feeling them. The doctor came in and broke my water at about 1:30 at which point we discovered I was dilated to a 6, but I still wasn't feeling the contractions. Its funny to note that about this time the nurse predicted, if everything went pretty fast, Kason would be born around nine or ten that night. They finally put in an IV and started the petocin medication which really got the ball rolling. I started felling the contractions at this point and they became stronger and stronger and was able to breath through a few, but I finally asked for an epidural and was promptly numbed up by the anesthesiologist. Shortly after this the nurse noticed that Kason's heart beat was dropping with my contractions instead of rising as it had been doing. She said this usually only happens once I am fully dilated and the baby has dropped into "ready to be pushed" position, but she couldn't imagine that had already happened, so she was a little nervous (they hadn't even called my doctor yet). She decided to check me and found out that I was indeed ready to push. She called my doctor, got the okay, and I began pushing at about 5:00 pm. Reed, my mom, and Becky were all in the room with me throughout the afternoon and stayed for the birth. Becky took pictures, my mom counted my pushing and Reed and one of the nurses held my legs. The doctor got there just in time and Kason was born at 5:30 pm. He swallowed a lot of amniotic fluid (which he was still choking on the next night) so they gave him some oxygen and whisked him away to be suctioned. Reed went with him to get shots and get cleaned up and brought him back happy and pink and ready to eat. We stayed two nights at the hospital and brought him home early Friday afternoon.

He is all arms and legs with long toes and fingers! He has his dad's height, cheeks, and brow, and his mom's chin and nose (we are still undecided on the eyes). He's been with us now for almost a week and is doing great! We are so happy to be parents. Reed is such a good dad and helps out a lot. He seems to have a strong paternal instinct that makes him an amazing help! Reed took his last final of his last semester as an undergraduate yesterday morning and is now carefree and ready to fully enjoy being a dad. He did go back to work last night and will work for the rest of this week. My mom is staying with me at nights (cooking dinner and helping with Kason while Reed is gone) for the rest of the week and then next week and the week after Reed is taking off of work and we will have fun being a family!

Surprise!

2008-07-09T11:54:00.000-07:00

We had a doctor's appointment yesterday and to our surprise (and the doctor's) I am dilated to a 2+. At first I didn't really know what this implied except that the doctor, upon discovering my progression, proceeded to give us detailed instructions of what to do if my water breaks or if I begin having regular contractions and worrying about the fact that we haven't chosen a pediatrician yet. To me this said that the time may soon be at hand to deliver our son.
I came home and looked up the stages of labor on the internet and found out that technically I am in early labor. Apparently early labor ends when you've dilated to a 4 and then you should start progressing more rapidly. After reading that I really started to think that we were close. But I haven't really felt any pain that seems to be consistent with true labor pains or contractions. I have since learned that some people are dilated to a 1 or 2 for up to four weeks before they actually deliver and have fairly regular (and painful) Braxton Hicks contractions during that time.
So, there was a bit of excitement yesterday, but it looks like we don't necessarily have reason to think that Kason will be making his appearance early. The whole experience did help me realize that when the time for actual labor is close (as I thought it was yesterday) my excitement for the whole event does in fact outweigh my fear of it. This is something I've been going back and forth on for a while now. It helps to know that I am more excited than scared. Although it may end up being like a roller coaster ride when you are very excited until the car gets about half way up the first hill and then the fear sets in and you panic and wish you could turn back. I guess we will see.

FYI - I did not reach my goal of completing the Red Sox blanket, however I am making progress and will post pictures as soon as I'm done!

Pregnant Me

2008-06-14T09:23:00.000-07:00

Upon request, here are a couple of pictures of me pregnant. The one on the left is at Becky's graduation and the one on the right we took last Sunday just to be put up on the blog and the one on the bottom was taken at Eli's birthday party up Millcreek canyon. With just seven weeks and one day until our due date, things are going great. I'm definitely feeling big. Most people are surprised that I'm not due until August since I look like I could pop at any moment. Bending over is becoming more and more of an impossibility, when I drop something I'm increasingly tempted to just leave it there until Reed gets home and can pick it up. Also, bedtime has come to involve a nightly feet of pillow engineering. If I can surround myself just right with just the right amount of pillows I have a chance of sleeping all the way through until my first bathroom run, which usually occur every three hours during the night. But it really is all great! I'm so excited to be a mom! I am having a baby shower next Saturday, and it’s going to be very fun. Becky, Tammy, and my mom are hosting it and working very hard, for which I am very grateful. Father's day is tomorrow and I had fun getting a gift for Reed. He's not officially a father yet, but close enough and he deserves to be celebrated either way. I have set a goal to finish the Red Sox blanket by the end of next week. I think it's very doable. So, hopefully I will have a picture in my next post or so.

...one month later

2008-05-30T21:04:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since my last post. Reed has been enjoying the warm weather and his new putter by golfing as much as he can get away with. He just started working again for Wireless Giant, so now he's doing part time school and two part time jobs. He said that he just didn't feel right only working part time this summer since his class load is pretty light. I told him he should just enjoy the summer and the time off, but he has a better work ethic than I do. I am so blessed to be his wife!
We now have just about two months until our baby is due and we can't wait! We got all of the baby's clothes in the closet and a cradle all set up. We borrowed the cradle from parents and I decided to put it together myself one night after Reed left for work. There weren't any instructions and so it ended up taking me a few tries and quite some time, but I did it and felt very satisfied by my accomplishment. Sometimes I go into the baby's room and just look at it and think about how unbelievable it is that not too long from now there will be an actual baby in it and that baby will be mine and Reed's!

I have been having fun dreaming up and working on sewing projects. I made a prototype of a diaper bag. It definitely needs some adjustments, but I think it will turn out cool in the end. I am also working on baby blankets. This picture is a set of blankets and burp cloths that I made recently for a baby shower gift. It was the first time I did appliqué using the sewing machine and I was really excited at how good they turned out because the sewing machine is much faster than by hand. I just did some today that I'm going to put fish on, I think they'll turn out cute. I'm also still working on a Red Sox blanket, but I'm doing that one by hand, so it's taking longer and I sometimes need to take a break and make something start to finish...for good or bad I'm much more motivated by immediate results.

Another one Down

2008-04-30T09:11:00.000-07:00

Reed is done with school for another semester! He took the last of his finals yesterday and feels pretty good about all of them except one (which out of five is not bad). He has worked so hard this semester taking five classes, working nights, and dealing with a pregnant wife. He is grateful to have at least one thing off of his plate for a while. He has two classes to take this summer, which he predicts will be a breeze compared to this semester, and in the meantime he will be focusing on getting some job interviews lined up. There are a lot of changes in our future and we are so excited!

Baby!

2008-04-10T09:42:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of our baby's first pictures! It was so much fun to get the ultra sound and see our baby moving around and hear his little heart beat. We found out that we are having a boy!
We've been talking about a name which we've decided will be Kason Anthony Sloat (this name is subject to change). We agreed on the name pretty readily. The first name was Reed's idea, he got it from the name of a pitcher on the Red Sox, which is funny because of what a big fan he is, but not the real reason we chose the name. The middle name is Reed's middle name which I really like, but reed didn't really like for a first name. The hardest part was deciding how to spell Kason. We discussed Kaison, Kaisen, Kayson, Kaysen, Kasin, etc...we have finally decided on K-A-S-O-N.
The doctor burned us a DVD of the ultra sound that is so cool to watch! I could watch it over and over! We actually get to go back next month and get another ultra sound. I don't know if it's actually a "get to," but it turns our I have a marginal previa, which means that the placenta is partially blocking the baby's way out. If it doesn't correct itself by August 3rd (my due date), I will have to have a C-section. Both the doctor that did the ultra sound and my regular OBGYN seen optimistic that it will correct itself. Anyway, we get to go back on May 9th which will be cool because Kason will be bigger.
Being pregnant is a lot of fun right now. I think I'm starting to feel the baby move (it's hard to know for sure) and I feel really good and full of energy most of the time. I'm having the most fun making a Red Sox baby blanket and planning various other sewing projects. Neither of us can wait until we can both feel the baby move. We are very excited to be parents!!!

Pictures

2008-03-03T15:40:00.000-08:00

These are some pictures that were taken while we were engaged (so, that's two years ago now). We went out one afternoon with my dad, my mom, and Becky and took about a thousand pictures to go in our wedding announcement (we didn't put a thousand pictures in our wedding announcements, that's just how many we took and in the end we narrowed it down to two). Our wedding colors were light pink and taupe. Reed wore a pink tie and didn't put up any fuss at all! Taupe was the color that we had trouble with. Most people's reaction was, "What is taupe?," and I don't blame them. Since the wedding I've seen many different variations of taupe, but in my mind it's just a light tan color (like my skirt in these pictures, which I actually ended up making because I couldn't find one at the time that was just right). It was a fun day and my dad took some great photographs, but my face hurt after (from all of the smiling.)

Little did I know that was nothing compared to our wedding day...

If we took a thousand pictures for our wedding announcements, we took a million on our wedding day. It was September 28th 2006 and it was perfect! We had a wedding dinner the night before at Olive Garden. We got married in the Salt Lake Temple at 11:30 am (the perfect time for those, like us, who aren't early risers). The temple was amazing (I have only been to one other sealing, so I don't have much to compare it to, but I think it was pretty amazing.) After the sealing we did pictures. I love looking at pictures from our wedding day and remembering how perfect everything was. It was sunny and warm and beautiful with family and friends there to share our happiness.
We had our reception that evening at Le Jardin in Sandy. I originally wanted to have our reception in our back yard with lots of candles and the stars. We ended up at Le Jardin, however, which was the next best thing. It is a green house/reception center with lots of beautiful flowers and pretty garden furniture. It turned out great. My mom made the food. A menu of breads, cheeses, fruit and desserts (Italian style is what we were going for). We also had and Italian soda bar manned by our brothers. I heard it was delicious and beautiful, but Reed and I never actually had any (something I regret). She also made the cake which was beautiful and delicious (I know that that first hand!)

Here are a couple more taken at the reception...

Blog Novice

2008-03-03T15:29:00.000-08:00

I got excited about blogging while looking at blogs of friends and relatives. It's so fun to see pictures, read stories, and enjoy the unique design and layout of each individual blog. I created this header, which was tons of fun adn I'm working some kind of cool background. However, I have been at a loss as I've started thinking about what I could fill our blog with. I love looking at other peoples pictures, but Reed and I don't take that many pictures, so I've gone back a couple of years to our wedding and engagment because I love those pictures. Hopefully you can enjoy them as well. In the the mean time, I will be taking pictures and note of fun and interesting things that occur in our day to day lives so that I may more fully share with you the joy and adventure that is "Reed & Anne".