Missing the trips...

Matt's in Japan without a camera. I think a souped up digital SLR with HD video capability would be nice. Japan is the land of technotoys, so maybe I can convince him to buy one there. I am blissfully unaware of how the dollar is doing on the international market right now. Without visual evidence, I guess you'll just have to take his word for it that he went. Apparently the hotel is really cake eater and beautiful (Pics courtesy of Hotel Nikko Kanazawa's Website).

I wish I was there...

But instead, I am home with a poor, sick baby.

We were going to visit my parents this week and have a baby shower courtesy of friends in Cambridge, but Jaeden was in no condition to fly, and I knew he'd be miserable. I feel so bad about missing the shower, but I am sure that the person who would have sat next to me on the plane thanks you. I couldn't control where the spitup (vomit) went this morning. And Jaeden almost never spits up. Thank you Southwest for making it easy and worthwhile to postpone trips! I think I am converted!

Jaeden did better once I learned to only feed him an ounce or two at a time, but he was being fussy no matter what I tried, so we went on a walk this afternoon because being outside is his favorite thing. The wind was so strong that it practically pushed the stroller up the huge hills here. Jaeden loved the sound the wind made in the trees and watching them whip around (when not sleeping).


Good thing we left when we did because the power went out due to a broken branch, but it turned back on within a few minutes of being home.

Jaeden

So several people have asked why we named our boy Jaeden, so we thought we'd shed some light on the subject:

Jaeden was a name that Renee has always liked, and when she suggested it long ago, I agreed. This was before we knew Jaeden was coming, and certainly before we knew he was a boy -- I spent about 1.5 years thinking our baby was going to be a girl... oops. Now we have tons of baby girl clothes (and I admit, there were times that if Jaeden had a big diaper blow-out when all his blankets are dirty (we just got our washing machine yesterday), he does get a pink blanket occasionally... just don't tell him that when he gets older!) However, once we found out Jaeden was coming, I wasn't sure at all about the name for him. For one, I knew that I wanted my oldest son to have the middle name "J", just like me and my dad and my grandpa. I wasn't sure I wanted a son named J. J.
Well, sometime around the end of June, both Renee and I felt strongly prompted that his name was indeed Jaeden. After that, there was no more discussion, his name was simply Jaeden J!
The interesting part of this story comes, however, when Renee's mom was helping us pack our stuff right before Jaeden was born. She came in and said "Just so you know, I looked up what Jaeden means." She told us, and we were amazed. Jaeden means "...and God heard". What better name could there be for our little miracle than that? Truly God answered our pleas for a child with Jaeden, and so we feel like the name is absolutely perfect for him (even if he does end up calling himself J. J.)

Matt Won't Believe It!

Yes, I am blogging. Matt is off home teaching, and I am home alone with Jaeden happily asleep (finally!), so I thought I'd give the update for this week.


We had our first doctor visit in Pittsburgh for Jaeden on Friday. Matt and I made a wager on how much he would weigh, being almost 5 weeks old. He has filled out alot and now has the cute baby chubbiness. Matt guessed 10 pounds 1 ounce. I guessed 10 pounds 5 ounces... I was the winner! He weighed in at 10 pounds 6 ounces.

Erin, Brett, and Aerianna were our first visitors for Jaeden. They came over Labor Day Weekend, and Brett took some adorable pictures of our little boy.


Matt normally hates feet, but we both agree that Jaeden's feet are adorable!


Jaeden loves to put his arms under his chin, as shown here. He is also learning more motor control, which means he has a better chance of getting his fists to his mouth to suck on, but this also means that he thinks he is hungry a lot more often than he actually is.

Matt laughed at me during Sacrament Meeting today. We were both speaking, but realized that we still don't have Sunday morning timing down with a child. We left in a rush, and on the way found that we had forgotten the diaper bag. We walked up to the stand after the opening prayer. Of course, Jaeden wanted to be heard while Sacrament was being passed. With nothing else in tow, I surreptitiously shoved his fist into his mouth and held it there for him. He was quite happy at the prospect. Matt says he'll now blame any and all thumb sucking on this day where I so readily condoned it.