Austyn's First Camping Trip . . .

  Last weekend we got to go camping outside of Glide where we were able to hike to a bunch of different waterfalls. We left Friday and spent the whole day looking for a place to camp. It was kind of a bummer since almost all of the campgrounds we had planned on staying at were closed for maintenance. But we finally found one, and it ended up being perfect. We stayed right on the river (I forgot which one) and there was only one other camp besides us. It was so peaceful. On Saturday we went to five waterfalls. Each one was so different and the hikes to them were awesome. And on Sunday we came home. It was a really fun trip. I would definitely recommend it.

We tried a back pack. TRIED!!! She hated it. So we ended

up packing her half the day :( That's what we get for not

trying things before we leave.

We hiked in the snow to get to this waterfall. It was amazing

how far this one dropped. My dad hiked to the bottom of it

and he said it was so powerful and loud he couldn't believe it. 

Austyn was thirsty and wanted some of Uncle Chads water

She fell asleep on one of the hikes and she took a nap in

my dads truck seat

The boys having fun, and Austyn

This rock was so cool. The narrow passageway just

kept going and going.

  I am sad to report that our little baby girl is now 7 months old. I was taking her 6 month pictures one day and then it seems like just the next day she was 7 months. I didn't even get to finish taking her 6 month pictures. I guess I'll just have to use what I got (or try to finish projects a little faster). I'm beginning to see how fast time goes by. It makes me sad that she's getting older so fast. But on a happier note, she is sitting up by herself like a pro. Trying so hard to crawl. Eating food like a champ. And my least favorite keeping tabs on mommy and daddy at all times. If we leave the room she has a fit. It gets pretty annoying all day long. You would think she'd learn that we are going to come back! She has also started to put her hands in the air when she want to be picked up. Jordan and I think it's pretty amazing how babies just know all the universal signs for things. She is getting so big, it seems like every day I have to take things out of her dresser that are too small. I can't get over how big she is.

Her 6 month pictures

This is such a good picture of them

I thought this one was so cute. She just bounced herself to sleep

  Jordan is starting to study for his second Engineers test coming up in June. Man what a grueling process. He is definitely dedicated to bettering himself in his career. I can't believe how much time and effort he has to put into this program. He studies on all of his days off and tries to study while he's at work as well. It will be worth it in the end, but what a road to get there. I am so proud of him. He's such a great fireman and daddy.

  I have just been working on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and then hanging out with Austyn every other day. My job is great. I love it and it's a nice break from home. My back has gotten so much better. It's not 100% yet, but soon. I still have to take an ibuprofen each day, but I can do almost anything that I want now. On nice days I put Austyn in the stroller and jog up and down the drive way. It's so nice. I can't wait for some nice weather.

  We are getting ready for another great garden this summer. Each year I learn a little more about what I want to do for the next. So this year half the zucchini, cucumbers, and carrots. We want to try lettuce and maybe some melons. I'm excited. We are also planning our next trip, which will be to Bend for a wedding on the 30th of April. It should be a lot of fun. I can't wait. I think we have at least one trip planned for every month this summer. WE LOVE CAMPING!!!

  Hope all is well with everyone.

   

Austyn's first trip . . .

  A few weekends ago Jordan and I got to go to Mud Fest outside of Brownsville. It was really fun. When we got there it was like a sensory overload for me. We drove into a field that was probably 60 acres or more and there were rigs everywhere. The field started out all grass and by the end of the day it was like 2 feet deep in mud. It was something to see.

I think our Bronco was the cleanest rig there.

This was just some random guy, to show you how muddy it was.

  Last weekend we took our first trip of the year and our first trip since we've had Austyn to the coast. We started in Florence and went all the way up to Astoria. And for all of you wondering, yes we did leave to go over during the tsunami warning. So from Florence we went to the Sea Lion Caves which were totally amazing. There were so many Sea Lions there and the weather and views were spectacular. Next we went on to Heceta Head Lighthouse where we hiked up to the Lighthouse and looked out over the ocean for tidal waves.  HA HA! Then on to Lincoln City where we stayed in an ocean front motel and took Austyn swimming for the first time. It was so much fun to watch the ocean and listen to it all night. Austyn did pretty good overall in the pool, at first she was clinging to me and a little scared (which was so cute). She warmed up to it and then had fun. The next day we headed to a suspension bridge which we hiked 3 miles in the pouring rain. But it was worth it in the end. Maybe, I still haven't made my mind up yet!!! The Tillamook Cheese Factory was our next stop and then to Seaside for the night. Again an ocean front motel and swimming. The next day was Astoria and home to the end of a nasty wind storm to end our trip. Austyn did amazing and we had so much fun. Our next trip is in April to go down to Glide and hike to a bunch of waterfalls. It should be fun. Hope the weather is nice.

Here we are at our first stop

This was the view of Heceta Head lighthouse from Sea Lion Caves

This Sea Lion sat like this the whole time we were there. I asked

why they sit like that and was told it takes the pressure off their necks.

Hiking up to the lighthouse. Austyn is quite the trooper.

This was the view from our room.

Her first swimming experience

The suspension bridge outside of Lincoln City

This was the waterfall under the bridge

  Austyn had her 6 month check up and did excellent. She weighed 17 pounds 5.5 ounces, she was 26 3/4 inches and 17 3/8 for her head. All in the 80% - 90% range. What a big baby! We started carrots for her first food and she seems to like it. It's fun to start giving her different things to eat now. She started putting two syllables together on our trip. Jordan and I were pretty excited to hear her say da-da and ma-ma. She rolls everywhere now and is just changing every second. I bought her some nine month jammies a few weeks ago and now they are almost too small. On to 12 months. I can't believe how big she is.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

  Jordan has his first test for his Engineer on Thursday and has been studying like crazy. He'll do great! My back is doing so much better. No more physical therapy and I'm cleared to do whatever I feel I can. Elliptical here I come. I have to loose the rest of Austyn. It's driving me insane. I still have a little leg pain, but is totally manageable with an ibuprofen if needed. My job is going great. I still like it a lot which is saying something for me :) I think it's just enough to get out of the house and not too much to hate it.

  Hope everyone is doing well. Thanks for keeping up with us! Take care.

The 70's are back . . .

  Jordan and I went to his annual Sweethearts Ball for the Junction City Fire Station. It was 70's theme this year! It was so much fun to pick out our costumes. We both got them at goodwill. Everyone did such a good job with their costumes it was fun to see everyone dressed up. I thought Jordan looked like Ben Stiller from Starske and Hutch. Jesse and Damaris came over to our house before we went. Take a look:

Puttin' out the vibe

WOW

Aren't they cute!

I felt kind of trashy because I've never wore colored make-up or lip stick or had my finger nails painted. And lets not forget to mention my outfit. This is far from what hangs in my closet. But it was still fun.

  Austyn is doing great. She has mastered eating rice cereal. It's so fun being able to feed her something else. She has started to roll over a few times in a row now. It's getting exciting to see the next stage creeping (more like speeding) up on us. She also sits by herself for a few moments. I just went through her closet and dresser and was surprised at how much stuff she has grown out of. I have been thinking back on her first few weeks and it seems so long ago. I picked up a newborn outfit in a store the other day and was amazed that she was ever that tiny. Of course she didn't stay in newborn for long, she's always been a big girl. Everyday seems like something is new. She has this new thing about sticking her tongue out and it's so pointy and long. She looks like KISS. She will talk pretty much all day long too. I love it. She splashes and kicks at the water during her bath and is starting to put her hands up when she's getting picked up. She still sleeps like 8-10 hours every night (knock on wood). We are truly blessed with a perfect little girl. I'm so excited for this summer with her. Swimming will be so much fun.

  My back is getting better. I still have some leg pain, but I can tell it's getting less and less. I had my first day back to work and it went really well. My back just got sore, but I think it's because I don't do as much standing and reaching at home as I do at work. I'll get back into work shape again soon. 

  Jordan is madly studying for his upcoming test. That's pretty much what he does on his days off of work. The  first test is always more stressful. So hopefully after the initial test he will know more on what to focus on for studying.  

  I'm just sitting her looking out the window waiting for snow. They called for 2-4 inches on the Valley floor tomorrow. Well see it actually happens. I doubt it. But crossing my fingers just in case.

The Recovery . . .

   It's been over two weeks since my back surgery. I'm off the pain meds now which is great. Those stupid things are awful. They make you feel like they're your best friend and then they go stab you in the back with all their nasty side effects. I can manage my pain with only Ibuprofen now! I do still have some leg pain, but it's not as sever as it was, and getting better daily. It's so nice to see it getting better. My incision is just about two inches long and is doing great. It's still a little tender if I lay on it wrong or bump it. I started Physical Therapy on and it's going great. I go for 6 weeks and then I should be pretty good I guess. The Physical Therapist was really impressed at how much I can do. So she said she'll put me through a more intense program. I will be going back to work in another week just to give my back a little more time to heal. So hopefully it wont be too sore at work.

My incision

  I do have to mention a little bit what the first week of recovery was like. I wont go too much in detail. I think Jordan and I had a misconstrued expectation of what my recovery was going to be like. I think when the Doctor told us I would walk out of surgery that day, we took it literally. When in fact I was wheeled out in a wheelchair. This was the first of oh so many misconceptions or too high of expectations. Of course my pain was instantly gone as Jordan and I both expected, WRONG again. I was high as a kite on the remnants of the anesthesia and the pain meds they gave me before going home. In fact my post-op instructions said not to make any important decisions for 48 hours. I'm sure if you asked me anything I would have said yes! So there was our second eye opener. Our third and most traumatic eye opener was the pain that boiled to the surface when all the meds wore off. This meant no caring for Austyn. I couldn't even stand it if she sat on my lap for the first three or four days. So poor old Daddy had to do all of what Austyn required. It was the worst week of all three of our lives. But it's behind us now, and we are moving on and getting better. And we both promised to never talk about it again, and to only laugh about it later. Good thing Austyn is too little to remember any of this! Ha Ha. No, in all actuality Jordan did an amazing job at playing both mommy and daddy. He basically got thrown to the wolves. He did all the laundry, cleaning, cooking, tending to my needs, and most of all Austyn. I do have to say (and he said it) he definitely has a greater appreciation of what I do at home with Austyn all day. So moral of the story: Don't expect to walk out of a back surgery and be able to completely care for a 5 month old and then return to work in two weeks. Live and learn, Right? I do have to say that if my parents weren't two seconds away, we would have never made it. They help us so much with Austyn. They keep her whenever we need them to or just need a break and they kept her every time Jordan was working after my surgery. They are amazing! Thanks Mom and Dad.

  Austyn is doing great. She is still sleeping and doing everything perfectly. We started to feed her rice cereal and that was pretty funny. Between me trying to figure out how to mix it and her trying to figure out how to swallow, it was comical to say the least. We have video of it!

Austyn in her jumper.

  Other than all of that, we are all getting better at the thing we call life. Everyday gets closer to a new type of norm. We are planning a summer full of camping and vacations. We're planning on picking up where we left off last year. We wanted to go somewhere once a month, but pregnancy soon got in the way :( I think March is our first trip of the year. Jordan has a few extra days off and we both have the camping itch. 

  Hope all is well with everyone. Thanks for keeping up with us! 

4 month check-up . . .

  Austyn had her 4 month check-up on Monday. She weighed 14 pounds 1.5 ounces (63%), her height was 24 3/4 inches (75%), and her head was 16 1/2 inches (75%). She is a big girl. She did great with all of her immunizations. Jordan was there this time for the shots and he looked pretty sad when she got them. It was cute. She recovered quickly and then it was all over. I can't believe how fast she grows. It seems like she learns something new everyday. She is getting so good about putting weight on her legs. She really likes to stand and help me type this and poop in my lap all at the same time. What a multitasker I have. She loves sitting in her Bumbo seat. She's just getting so good at everything. It's so fun looking back at her pictures and seeing how big she's gotten. 4 months goes by so fast. I can't think of much else to say about her besides how perfect she is and how much we love her.

Look at that hair-do.

Sorry I forgot to flip this one before I uploaded it.

Dressing up for one of our cold days.

I can't believe she fits in this. When I got it

it was so big.

Hangin` with dad

Check out those wild eyes

Big girl in her Bumbo

  My back surgery has been moved up to January 28th. The sooner the better is my motto! I can't wait to have it done and to feeling better again soon! I'm hoping for a speedy recovery. The surgery should only take about an hour and I will be walking out the door that afternoon. It is supposed to be about a two week recovery. Not as bad as I had expected. And the doctor said I will be 100% better in about 3 months. Sounds like a long time. But worth it :) Wish me luck!!

  Jordan is still studying for his Engineer's test for work. He will be leaving for this hunting trip in a few days. He's looking forward to the break I'm sure.

  That's all for now. Hope all is well with everyone.