Jasmine's 2 Year Checkup

Yesterday was Jasmine’s 2 year checkup. She has grown a lot in the past 6 months! At her last checkup for weight she was in the less than 1 percentile. Today she is:

24 pounds: 14th percentile
33 inches: 45th percentile

So she is growing like a weed! She is still petite, so the pediatrician said we could keep her on whole milk. He also said we could forward face her in her car seat but I think I will continue to keep her backwards until she starts to complain. For now she seems content with it since we have a mirror back there and she can look at us.

She has been talking up a storm lately, almost too much. She likes to ask the same questions over and over even after you answer her. Even the doctor yesterday was laughing because she kept saying she wanted to see the fish (they were in the waiting room).

She may be starting to understand that she is getting a little sister soon. This weekend when we were getting ready to go to Christina’s house, she said, “Joran coming, too.” She can’t quite get the D sound in there yet, so she calls her Joran.

At church last weekend another baby walked over and put her hand on my leg. Jasmine pushed it off and then pushed the girl down to the ground. I guess she isn’t one to share Mommy ;). She never seems to mind when I hold Garrett or Jocelyn, but she does get mad when she sees me with other babies. I guess we’ll see in about 9 weeks how she does!

29 Week Checkup

We went to the perinatologist yesterday. I gained another 3 pounds, eek!!! That puts me at 15 total so far. I need to slow down on my eating!

Jordan currently weighs about 2 pounds, 14 ounces. That puts her in the 50th percentile. So she is looking like she may be a normal sized baby.

She is butt down right now. I know that I still have many weeks for her to flip, but I am getting nervous because she has not been upside down at any appointment we have seen her at. She has been transverse (sideways) or feet down. I just have this vision in my head of her getting off the couch and getting her butt stuck in it ;).

But my blood pressure looks good, my glucose was good, and my protein levels in my urine are normal. So that means that I only need to go to the perinatologist one more time in six weeks. They also decided that I will most likely not need to do the weekly fetal monitoring. So yeah to all that!

This is my own conclusion, nothing they said to me, but I think they may let me go to my due date this time instead of inducing me. I think Jordan is growing well and my health is doing good. Just makes me nervous that I will have to go into labor on my own. I liked that I was in the hospital in case anything went wrong. Now I may have to do it like a normal person...

On a sad note, the doctor was running late yesterday. They squeezed in an emergency patient. When they were in with her I heard them ask her if she was all right. Then the doctor told her as she was leaving that he would come find her at the hospital. She was super thin, so she couldn't have been very far along. But I wonder if she either lost the baby or they needed to terminate the pregnancy. So sad. They looked sad on their way out.

It just makes me so thankful that I have been so blessed with my children so far. I can't imagine the heartache of having to lose one.

Jasmine's 2nd Birthday

Yesterday we celebrated Jasmine's 2nd birthday. We decided not to do a big party since we figured this is the last year we can do something small. Next year she will definitely be aware of her birthday, so no chance of getting out of a party then...

Jasmine has ballet class with Jocelyn on Thursdays and my sister usually takes them since Jose and I are working. So Jose and I took a few hours off and took Jasmine to the class. It was so much fun getting to watch her dance around. She seems to love it so much, so I think this is something we will stick with. My dad and stepmom also came to watch the girls.

After class, we all went out to lunch at Panera Bread. It was so yummy. We all had a nice lunch and then Jose and I needed to get back to work. Jasmine fell asleep within a few minutes of being in the car. She then proceeded to take a 3 hour nap. She must have been worn out from all the excitement.

After work we picked her up and then went to Coldstone to pick up her cake. We got a yellow cake with cake batter ice cream and Resses Peanut Butter Cups. That was a little more for me than her, but she still enjoyed it.

I made dinner and my sister, dad, stepmom, and the kids all came over. We ate dinner and Jasmine was more interested in eating croutons than the baked ziti. After dinner we opened presents. Jasmine loved all the toys she got and didn't pay too much interest in the clothes.

For her present from Jose and I, we got her an Ariel Tricycle. She loved it and Jocelyn kept wanting a turn. It blows bubbles and plays music. Unfortunately her little legs aren't long enough yet to reach the pedals, so for now she can just sit and push the buttons. But even Jocelyn had a hard time reaching the pedals. It was weird since the box said for 24 months and older.

After dinner we sang Happy Birthday to her and she was singing along with us. She was also able to blow out her candle which was so cute!

Overall I think she had a wonderful birthday. Looking back on the past two years has been a lot of fun. After cake we all watched the video of her being born as well as her birthday last year. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful daughter, and I love motherhood more and more everyday.

Easter Weekend

This past Easter weekend was a busy one. Saturday started with an Easter Egg Hunt for Christina's neighborhood. My friend Jessica lives down the street from my sister, so her family was there also. Then my sister's friend Christine came with her son, Jace. I was glad no one noticed that we didn't all live in the neighborhood.

Here is our brood: Jasmine, Evan, Delilah, Jocelyn, and Jace.

Group Picture

Jocelyn was terrified of the Easter Bunny. She kept saying, "I scary me!" Jasmine was a little afraid, but when she saw he had candy and I held her in the picture, she did ok.

Jace, Giovanni, Jocelyn, and Jasmine enjoying their candy.

After the Easter Egg Hunt we went back to my sister's house to dye some Easter Eggs. The girls had a really good time. Jasmine thought it was juice and we had to take it away from her a few times when she went to drink it.

The next day, I went to church and then we went over to my sister's house for brunch. My dad, Aunt Mary, and Christina's friend, Wendy joined us. Wendy is from Australia, so she spends a lot of holidays with us since her family is so far away.

Christina filled many eggs up with Cheerios and the girls went around the yard to find them. Surprisingly they loved all the Cheerios as much as the candy.

Family Picture: My dad, Jocelyn, Aunt Mary, Christina, Garrett, Jasmine, Me, and Jose

Grandpa and his Kiddos

We are starting to be able to get Jasmine to smile when taking pictures.

That afternoon, we went to my Aunt Georgianne's house for Easter dinner. Everyone was there, which was a treat since it's been a long time since we were all together. Our cousin Matt and his wife, Jenna, just had a baby girl, Morgan in December. Here is a picture of all the second cousins:

All in all it was a wonderful weekend. I love Easter as a Catholic, and I also love it because it means a lot of family time.

Jasmine's New Ride

My co-worker Perry gave Jasmine a toy car that his son had outgrown. Jasmine loves it. Every time we pull into the garage, she says, "I go push in my car." Here is a video of Jose and her in the driveway a few weeks ago.

Papa's Birthday

We celebrated my dad's birthday this year with brunch at Tina's house. I made a yummy egg/hashbrown dish and Tina made a cake and some cinnamon rolls. My stepmom is still in Korea, but my Aunt Mary and Uncle Andy were able to come out and enjoy it with us.

Grandpa and the grandkids. I wonder when we will be able to get one of everyone smiling?

Jasmine and Jocelyn helping to blow out the candles. There was a lot of spit involved ;).

Our Family Pic

Papa and Jocelyn are having a grand old time.

24 Week Checkup

We went to the Perinatologist yesterday and everything looks good. I have gained a total of 6 pounds which isn’t too bad considering I am this far along. Jordan is 1 pound, 5 ounces, which is in the 20th percentile. So she is measuring small, but it’s to be expected with me.

My blood pressure is up a little, but nothing to be too worried about. I also forgot to take my meds yesterday, so that could have had something to do with it.

Jose finally felt her kicking last night. She gave him two hard kicks in a row. He was very excited.

The perinatologist does want to keep measuring her at regular intervals to make sure she is growing. I’m not sure how big Jasmine was at this point. I need to go back and check.Jordan is breech, and the last time I saw her she was transverse. So she is a mover and a shaker.

I am feeling guilty…

I’m sure every second time mother can relate to this, but I still feel bad just the same. I feel bad that I haven’t been as “in to” this pregnancy as I was with Jasmine.

Not because I don’t love Jordan just as much, I just am so busy this time around. When I was pregnant with Jasmine I wrote about when I felt her move and kept an ongoing journal. Unfortunately for Jordan, I have just been too busy with the move and taking care of her big sister.

So here is my attempt to log a few things…

We found out right away that I was pregnant. I tested as soon as I could since we had been trying for four months. The month before vacation Jose and I decided that if we got pregnant, great, if not, we would try again after the trip. Low and behold, the month we were indifferent, she was conceived. Isn’t that how life usually works?

I didn’t have any morning sickness, but I did get nauseous on our cruise. But I think that was more of a bug than morning sickness. This pregnancy has played just like the last one. Lots of heartburn and lots of dreams about being mad at people ;).

I felt her move for the first time probably around 16 weeks, but nothing strong. Now at 22 weeks, I am feeling her move quite a bit, and I love every kick. I wish she would do it more often. I’m sure I will eat those words in a few months when she is awake at 2am and I am trying to sleep.

I do absolutely love being pregnant. If there was a way to be pregnant all the time without having the baby, I would do it. The only thing that I miss a lot is being able to sleep on my back.
When I lay with Jasmine, she gets very upset when I turn my back on her, so it get’s uncomfortable to snuggle with her when I can only stay on one side.

I can't wait to start nursing again. I loved it so much with Jasmine. It is such a special time. This time I want to be smarter about the way I kept and got rid of my milk. I am hoping this time around I won't need to supplement with formula. I was able to nurse Jasmine for 13 months and I would like to go that long with Jordan, too.

Hopefully now that we are all moved into the house I can find more time to write about Jordan. We still have some major unpacking to do, but at least everything is all in one place.

Valentines for Valentine's Day

Sorry to those grandparents that haven’t received theirs yet, this will ruin your surprise. But they will be there in a few days!

For Valentine’s Day, my sister and I made Valentines for all the grandparents. This was the reason I was buying the red paint that Jasmine spilled everywhere at Joann’s. Needless to say, there is no red paint on these Valentines.

Jasmine was a little skeptical to let me paint her hands, but after a while she got the hang of it. Here are a few pictures of the fun.

On actual Valentine's Day, Jose was working at the Ritz, so Jasmine and I went to church and then hung out at my sister's house. Then when Jose got off work, we went to the Texas Roadhouse for dinner. It was a relaxing day. Jose also bought me some Valentine's Day scrapbooking paper. Best present in the world!

20 Week Check Up

We went to my 20 week checkup yesterday. We couldn’t hear her heartbeat again, so I got another ultrasound. I have been able to have an ultrasound at every appointment so far.

We found out the reason why we are having such a hard time hearing the heartbeat. My placenta is anterior, which means it implanted in the front, versus the back like with Jasmine. So basically the placenta is right in front, so it is muffling the heartbeat. That means that I may not be able to feel her kicking that much since there is a cushion between us.

Not a bad thing, it happens.

I gained 4 pounds in two weeks! Eek! But I am still a few pounds less than when I started. Jordan looked good on the ultrasound with a strong heartbeat. She was lying transverse yesterday, so at least she isn’t breech anymore ;). But we’ve got lots of time for her to change that!

For now I only need to go to the doctor every four weeks until I get to 33 weeks, and then I have to go back in for fetal monitoring weekly. That means one hour a week, I go in, they do an ultrasound and check my fluid levels in the womb, and then I get hooked up to the fetal monitors (same ones they use when you are in labor). Then I have a little clicker in my hand and I click on it every time I feel the baby move. Sometimes if the baby is sleeping, they give me orange juice to get my sugar up for her to start moving. Good thing it’s Girl Scout season and I have lots of cookies to bump up the sugar levels ;).

So pretty much the same routine I had with Jasmine. My perinatologist is anticipating a very similar experience that I had with Jasmine, so that will most likely mean a small baby, and I will be induced. But everything looks good.

My nurse practitioner is due 2 weeks before me with a boy. So she won’t be there for my last few appointments. Then about 6 of my co-workers are all pregnant. Most of us are having girls, and there is one boy in the mix so far. We are all due around the same time, within the month of June and early July.

Grandma and Grandpa Vanderhoof's Visit

During the visit, Jose and his mom made cookies and candy with Jasmine. Here she is with grandma licking the spoon of white chocolate.

Besides candy, they also made some Snikerdoodles, which are one of my favorites. They used Jose's grandmother's recipe. Jasmine had a fun time helping to roll the cookies in cinnamon and sugar, and then placing them on the pan.

And finally, we got Jose a Wii and Wii Fit for Christmas. Jasmine had a great time standing on it like Daddy does.

Christmas 2009

Jose’s parents were able to fly out on Christmas day and spent about two weeks here. That morning, we went to church in Lakewood with my dad. Jasmine got to open one present and get her car that grandma and papa bought her. She loved it.

Then we drove to the airport to get Jose’s parents, and then went back to our house for more present opening. After that, it was back to my dad’s to eat and open more presents. The girls had a great time opening everything.

The Jones Family

Grandpa and the Grandkids

The Baldovinos Family

Jasmine and Jocelyn in the Disney Princess High Heels

After a yummy meal and visiting, we went home and just relaxed the rest of the night.

Life Lately

We met with the perinatologist on Monday and he told us we were having another girl. We are very excited to have another little girl. The funny part is that everyone knew Jose wanted a boy, so now when everyone hears the news they ask, “Oh, how is Jose taking it?” We just think that’s so funny since he is so excited to have another girl.

We are planning on naming her Jordan Mackenzie. Jordan from my maiden name and Mackenzie is just a name that we liked. It’s still in keeping with our JMB names. I am excited that I can reuse all of Jasmine’s cute outfits that she only got to wear a few times.

My blood pressure is doing well and so are my protein levels. It’s weird that pregnancy is making my health better and not worse. Maybe I should just be pregnant all the time :). Unfortunately that won’t be since we are planning on being done with having children once Jordan is born. I also have lost a few pounds. According to the web, I should have gained between 10-15 pounds by now. Oh well, I am just fine having lost weight. The same thing happened with Jasmine. That means I will gain it all in the third trimester.

She weighs about 7 ounces right now and she is breech. She has a few months to rotate and she better. Hopefully I won’t have to have a c-section. My perinatologist agreed with me that this labor will most likely go the same as Jasmine. So probably an induction and low birth weight.

The move went well. We still have boxes everywhere. I am beginning to think that we will never get settled in. We still have a few more things to get out of the townhome, but for the most part it’s all done. We hired cleaners for the townhome and they did an amazing job. I think I will definitely hire them again every now and then to do a deep clean.

Work has been busy. Just the same things, projects, calendars, etc.

Updates

It has been a while again, and I just can't seem to get caught up with the blogs! I do have some pictures I want to post later from Christmas and Jose's parent's visit, but that will probably be sometime in February :).

We close on the house tomorrow. We meet our real estate agent tonight to do the final walk through and then the closing is at 1:00pm tomorrow. We are very excited, but I am nervous at the same time. It's a big commitment but I know it's the right one. I just can't believe that we finally got a house! I never thought this day would come.

I had my 16 week checkup on Tuesday. They couldn't find the heartbeat again, so I got to have another ultrasound. The baby was wiggling a lot, so we weren't able to find out what we are having yet. I am happy that I have been getting all these ultrasounds, but it's a little sad for me that I still haven't heard the heartbeat yet. I think I heard Jasmine's a lot earlier than this. But I also heard hers at the perinatologist's office, and they have higher quality equipment.

Below is another picture of the little peanut. You can see the head and the torso, and their leg. It's partially bent, so you can see its knee.

We are no where near being done packing, but I am also to the point where I think I might just throw everything in boxes and then organize them at the new place. We bought a gallon of Tink Pink from Home Depot to paint Jasmine's room. That is our project Saturday while we are at the house waiting for our new things to arrive.

We bought a new couch, a new mattress set, and a twin set for Jasmine. She is getting all big girl furniture and then her nursery stuff will be set up in the baby's room. Poor thing, Jasmine gets all new stuff and this baby gets all the hand me downs. Oh well, I am the second child, and I did just fine :).

Then the movers are coming on the 23rd. We also hired some people to come and clean the house after everything is out. It is a huge relief for me to not have to worry about cleaning the place. I just can't be bothered. The new place is pretty clean since they just replaced the carpets and stuff. But I will disinfect the kitchen and the bathrooms just cause you never know :).

That's about it in our world. Just busy with the move and then trying to get settled in. If I can find some spare time I will get a Christmas blog written soon.

It's Been a While

So I just noticed that I haven't written anything in over a month and so much has happened.

The biggest news is that we bought a new house! I never thought this day would come. We found a ranch style house. It's got 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom upstairs, and an unfinished basement with another bedroom and bathroom. The sellers are replacing all the carpet and repainted the whole inside of the house. We close on January 15th.

Our lease is done at the end of January so it's nice that we get about two weeks to move in. I can't wait to decorate and paint and really make the place our own.

Christmas is next week. Jose's parents are flying out on Christmas day and staying for 12 days. No big plans while they are here other than to pack and get ready for the move.

For Christmas we are going to my dad's house and celebrating with them. This year Jasmine can actually open her presents, so it will be fun to watch her.

Lots of friends are in town visiting. My friend Cheyna is here from Arizona, and we have been friends since we were 12. Also, Yvonne, my sorority sister is in town and I get to see her on the 26th. And also my friend Brooke is in town from Hawaii. So lots of people to catch up with.

Other than Jose's Christmas present I am done with all the shopping. I better get cracking on the gift before time runs out.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday and I promise to get more updates up after the new year.

Baby Baldovinos

So as most of you know, Jose and I are going to have another baby. My due date is Saturday, June 26, 2010. I feel like that is so far away since I found out about the pregnancy so early. But I'm glad that I will deliver before the heat of the summer gets here. That would be exciting if the baby is born on the 23rd so then it will be exactly one month before my birthday.

We borrowed this shirt from Jocelyn to take pictures of Jasmine in. If you ask her if she wants a brother or sister, or sister or brother, she just repeats the last word. Jose is already convinced that we are having a boy. I have no preference since I already got my girl.

We have a few names that we like, but nothing set in stone yet. We do know that the initials will of course be JMB. It will be interesting to see Jasmine around Tina's baby to see how she does towards having a newborn around.

Jasmine and Jocelyn are 7 months apart, and the next two babies will also be 7 months apart. So then both sets of kids will be 26 months apart from each other. Kind of funny how that worked out. We will be finding out what we are having. We should know sometime towards the end of January.

Disney Cruise Line Party

On my Dis Boards, there was a thread posted about Disney Cruise Line House Parties. The premise was that 2,000 people would be selected in the US to host a party. I entered the contest and won! My friend Suzanne was also selected to host a party. They sent us a package full of fun things to give out and a DVD to play.

I selected Mexican food since the Disney Wonder is going to be sailing in Mexico next year. I had a small handful of people over, and we all had a good time. We took everyone's picture in front of the Disney Cruise Line throw that we had bought on the ship, and then placed a cruise border around it. It was fun to be in a tropical frame of mind since it was snowing outside.

Jasmine Talking

So sorry that I haven't posted anything in a while. I feel like we haven't caught up from vacation yet. As to what is new in our lives, we met with a realtor last night and are going house hunting on Saturday. We want to stay as close to where we live now as possible, and we are also looking in Highlands Ranch.

My mom is coming to visit this week to help Tina with the new baby. He is due to arrive next Friday (day after Thanksgiving).

Here is a video of Jasmine last night. She can talk very well, so it's so cute to see her saying people's names.

Jasmine’s 18 Month Checkup

We took Jasmine in for her 18 month checkup yesterday. Here are her stats:

Weight: 19.6 pounds, Less than 1 percentile
Height: 31.5 inches, 45th Percentile
Head: 17.75 inches, 14th Percentile

The doctor said she was healthy and looked great. We are just attributing her weight to all the running around she does.

Rick and Courtney’s Wedding

Jose’s friend Rick came to Colorado this past weekend to get married. His new wife, Courtney, is also Korean. They stayed in a hotel, while Rick’s friend Hillary, her husband, Brett, and their daughter, Sophia, stayed with us. Jasmine and Sophia had a good time playing together. Sophia is a week older than Jocelyn.

The wedding was a small one, at Clement Park. It had of course snowed the night before and most of the day, so it was pretty cold.

After the wedding, we went back to the house to have cake and then that night we went to dinner at Hacienda Colorado. They give you free chips and salsa when you are at the table. Jasmine has seen Jose eat chips and salsa at home, and the last time he did, she tried to dip her chips in the salsa. So that night she wanted some at the restaurant and she wouldn’t stop yelling until we let her try the salsa.

To me it had a little heat to it, not super hot, but pretty hot for a baby. But she loved it. She kept dipping the chip in and sucking the salsa off of it. Then she started dipping her fingers in it and licking them.