Jax the Oompa Loompa

Jax the Oompa Loompa

Shaileen is awesome and made this costume herself. Jax loves being dressed up and thinks his green hair is awesome. I cant wait to have him dress up again on Halloween. It may become his favorite holiday because he is a huge fan of candy.

Helping Great Grandma Alice

Every year as a family we go over to Great Grandma Alice's house to help her winterize her yard. It is so much fun spending time with family but also serving her. We trimmed her trees, pulled and cut plants, mowed, picked up leaves and even more. Jax is always such a great helper and wants to be in the action all of the time. His two favorite things to help with were the leaf blower and the rakes. Jax also loved chasing his two cousins around the yard too.

Gotta take a play break too!

 

Meet Benson

Meet Benson

 

This past week Shaileen got her wish. I finally gave the final ok to get a dog. She has been asking for one for a long time. We have had two in the past but were not in a place we could keep them because we were in apartments and worked 10 hours shifts. The past couple of weeks we have been looking into what kind of dog we want and what would be the best for us. We went to the humane society twice and even a huge pet adoption event at the state fair park but just could not find a dog that was the best for us. Then we got online and found Benson. We met his previous owner at their work and decided right then and there that he was for us. He is a 10 month old goldendoodle that is already house broken and is excellent with kids. When new people come over to our house he gets really excited like a lot of puppies but I am sure that will get better with time. We are excited to have him in our family. Jax absolutely loves him and plays fetch with him already. They are going to grow up being buds for years to come.

 

Zoo Day

This year we decided to get season passes to the Hogle Zoo. Mostly Mom and Jax go together while she is off work but today Dad had the day off work so we decided to go together. As you can tell from the pictures we had a blast. Jax's favorite part was walking around on his own and looking at the seals under the water. He is getting so good at walking and ever since he has started that is all he wants to do. If you can't tell already, we are so proud of him.

Why it's so rad to be a Dad

I am just finishing the toastmaster program at work which is a public speaking group. I gave my last speech. I really did not prepare much for any of my other speeches but this time I decided that I wanted to do a great job. Why you ask? I gave my speech on why I think it is so cool to be a Dad. If you know me at, being a dad is the best thing in the world to me. I thought I would share my speech. I did not read the speech and these paragraphs are just ideas so it was not written very well. Hopefully I still get my point across. With this speech I was awarded the most improved of the week. Enjoy!

As many of you probably already know I became a new father recently. After several years of many tears and extreme heartbreak in the process of becoming parents my wife and I welcomed our son into this world a little differently than most people do. I was alone in a waiting room of the hospital while my wife was by the side of an incredible woman in the operating room at the University Hospital. If you did not know already we adopted our son Jax. I know several of you are Dad’s already and know what I am talking about already but I wanted to tell you guys why it is so cool to be a Dad.

 

You would never guess this but dinner is actually fun. Before Jax came into our lives my wife and I would prepare our dinner and sit down on the couch and not even speak with each other while we watched a show on the television. Now we have a reason to sit around the dinner table. Even though Jax is only 8 months old we take this time to interact with each other. I never expected this to be so important. As he gets older family time at the dinnertime will become essential. Holy crap, I am starting to sound like my Dad.

 

I think it is pretty funny to see the expressions of some of my co-workers when I get the call from Jax while I am sitting at my desk. Even though I am about 30 miles away from him I still feel way close with him while we talk. The pitch in my voice raises about 17 octaves and the things that come out of my mouth must sound hilarious. Whether that means blowing raspberries laughing into the phone or doing anything I possibly can to get him to laugh. It gives me that much needed laugh with the monotony of work.

 

Being able to watch Jax grow and learn is so rewarding. It makes you feel like you are doing something right. Which with me doesn’t happen all too often. The simple things such as watching him roll over for the first time, then to army crawling, then to full crawling and recently standing up to things all on his own even if that means turning off the TV during an exciting part of the BYU Basketball game.

 

While I am in a deep-deep sleep on weekend mornings one of the most rewarding things is being woken up to the sound of Jax saying Dada in the most playful voice you could ever imagine. It is so neat to think that one of the first things he thinks about in the morning is me because I can easily say that he is the first thing that I think about every day. I love walking into his room because as soon as he sees me he gives the biggest smile because he is so happy to see me. You would think that waking up would be really hard when you are tired. It definitely is not easy getting up earlier than you want to. But it is so true that nothing gets me into a better mood than hanging out with Jax. I knew when I became a parent that I would be tired but that I wouldn’t mind being tired is what surprised me. It is just impossible to be angry at someone so goshdarn cute.

 

Before I was a Dad I used to get home and just veg around the house. Not anymore! Recently we got rid of our cable TV because we just do not watch TV all that much anymore. The reason is because I get to play again. When I am with my son, I get to pretend to fly like superman, push him as high as he will let me in a swing and making faces at him until he is laughing so hard he sometime times starts crying.

 

I am going to warn you before I tell you this next part because I do not want you to imagine what I am about to tell you. It may ruin your day, or better yet life. With Jax I dance with absolutely no judgement. He does not care if I look like an idiot which I certainly do. When I do the same move over and over again like the disco pointing to cover my lack of rthym he could not care less. The funny thing is neither do I. All he wants is to shake around with me. Jax absolutely loves to dance.

 

Even though we adopted Jax everyone says that he looks just like me. The first thing I say is “poor kid, he isn’t that bad looking”. Honestly though, it is like looking in the mirrior for more than one reason. It helps me reminisce back to my childhood days. Remembering those fun times I had running around causing havoc as a child. The fact that he looks a little like me makes it a little more fun because as my parking lots on my head get bigger the cuter and cuter he becomes.

 

My number 1 reason it is cool being a Dad though is you finally know how your own dad feels about you. Regardless how your childhood went the moment you go from being just a regular guy to a dad you “get it”. You finally understand what it is like to love something more than life itself!

Jax chooses which temple he wants to be sealed in

We were having such a tough time deciding what temple to have Jax sealed to us. Shaileen thought we should go to the Jordan River temple and I wanted the Salt Lake temple and we both really love the beauty of the Oquirrh Mountain temple in South Jordan. Someone online gave us the idea that we should show Jax the photos of each of the temples and let him choose. We both absolutely loved that idea. This evening we both sad down with Jax on the floor and pulled up photos on the temples on the Ipad and let him go to work. It was obviously hard to tell which one he really liked but from sitting next to him it seemed like he really liked the 2nd temple. I obviously was not watching which one he chose because it was the Jordan River temple (Shaileen's favorite). We are excited to go through the Jordan River temple though especially because that is where my Grandpa worked. He was also on his way there when he passed away. Each time we go there I can feel his presence there with us. We want to go get sealed on 12-28-13 but are not sure if that is a possibility yet because the temple is closed for cleaning currently and can't make an appointment until Monday. If that is when we get sealed we plan to bless him in church hopefully the following Sunday if our bishopric is ok with that. This is the thing that I look forward to most with Jax so far in this whole adoption process. To become not only a family on this earth but for eternity. Man, I love that boy more than the world. I am definately the luckiest Dad in the world.

Jax ready for church

Before Jax was born we got some gift cards to Babies R' Us and we had pretty much everything we needed. When we walked into the store we found this outfit. It was quite pricy but we decided that he had to look great for church. We have been waiting patiently for Jax to grow big enough to fit into this outfit. The day was finally here.  Love this boy more than words can explain.

 

2 MONTHS OLD

Holy cow, time travels so quick. Jax is 2 months old today. He is so perfect. We are guessing that he is about 8 and a half pounds and is still pretty short. :) It is crazy to think that he has already been here two months but at the same time it feels like he has been with us forever. It is absolutely incredible how much love you can have for a person so immediately. It makes me wonder what knowledge we had of Jax in the pre-existence and if Jax knew he was coming into our family in heaven. If I had to guess i would say that he did. When he looks at both Shaileen and me in the eyes you can tell that he knows us and loves us so much already. It is fun to think about that we will have not only this earth life but eternity with him after we go through the temple at the beginning of 2014. I love this boy more than words can explain

A big "fat" cold for Jax

Over the last day or two Shaileen and I have noticed that Jax was getting a cold. Last night it was full blown and was horrible. He was screaming his head off and a rash started to develop on his body. We were worried and wanted to know if there was a medicine we could give him so Shaileen called the nurse. The nurse said he was still to young to have medicine and not to worry about the cold but to bring him into the doctor today to take a look at the rash to be safe. Shaileen took him in and the doctor said that he believes that it is just regular baby acne and not to worry unless it turns a yellow color. We will keep an eye on it. Lately Jax had been throwing up more as well. So, Shaileen brought that up. The doctor said it definately is not the formula because he absolutely loves it. Jax is up to 7lb 9oz. He is our little chunk-a-lunk. The doctor said to put about a tablespoon of rice cereal in his bottle just to thicken it up a bit to make it harder for Jax to throw it up because they think it is acid reflux. We are so proud as parents of Jax. He is perfect and thank our Heavenly Father for him everyday. 

On another note we are excited because next Saturday we are going to be meeting with momma Sarrina and a few of her children that she parents. Isn't open adoption the best? Gotta love it!

Jax's nursery

Shaileen has done such a great job getting the nursery for Jax put together and is just about finished. We still have to put photos in the frames but other than that its done, for now at least. 

 

The quote we out on his wall is my absolute favorite. It says "bats and balls and little league teams courage, faith and missionary dreams, that's what little boys are made of". 

Jax almost in newborn clothes

Jax is growing up so dang quick! He is putting on some good chub but from this picture you can tell he is still way short. he is about 2-3 inches longer than when he was born and about 1 lb larger as well. 1 lb doesnt sound like much but thy would be like me Gaining 75 lbs. These are newborn clothes and they still drown him. We are such proud parents with how healthy and active out little Jax has been. One thing Jax, mom and dad just do not want you growing up too quick. 

Shaileen's talk about our family (incredible)

Good afternoon brothers and sisters. I am glad to be speaking to you today. I am one of the few people in this world that really do enjoy this. 

I was asked to introduce our family and speak on "How do I keep my covenant to always remember the Savior?" I am going to try and combine the two together. 

Ok so Kurt and I met in high school. He was a senior and I was a junior. We were both major choir geeks and so we met while being the teachers assistant in each others class. We became really good friends but never actually dated in high school. We both really liked each other but were in other relationships at the time. Three years after we graduated he found me on Facebook. We went on our first date a month later, 17 days after that he told me he loved me, we were engaged 8 moths later and married 4 moths after that. We were married April 16th 2009 in the Salt Lake Temple. 

We just adopted the most perfect little man ever. He was born July 6th and is our miracle child. 

A little bit about Kurt: he is a SOFTY!!!! A great big teddy bear. He loves everyone and never says a bad thing about anybody. He is an incredible singer and also plays the trumpet. He loves 4 wheeling, golfing, and blogging.  He isa HUGE sports fan. His favorite teams are the packers the jazz the braves but number one is byu football!! He is the baby in his family he has two sisters and one brother with 7 nieces and nephews. 

I love music, singing dancing you name it. I am a big crafter. I a also very outgoing... Some people call me loud. Haha I am the biggest crybaby on the planet. I have a mixed family. My parents divorced when I was ten so I have to full sisters, one half sister that who is only 10 and I love it., and I have 5 step siblings three of which are married. 

When Kurt and I got married I knew, because of some medical issues that I was diagnosed with at an earlier age, that it would be difficult to conceive a child so we started trying almost immediately. After a year trying on our own we decided to go see a fertility specialist. We started fertility treatments right away. Month after month passed with no results. I started to get more and more impatient and more and more depressed. I hate to say it but I began to get upset with Heavenly Father. As a woman of our faith we are taught our goal in life is to multiply and replenish the earth so why wasn't I able to fulfill that. Kurt and I decided to look at our life and see if there was anything we needed to change. I thought about the relationship I had with my savior. I thought about what I could do to strengthen that relationship. 

We started to go to the temple more often, and pray for different things. Not just to get pregnant but for help with patience and realizing that a child will not come to us in our time but in the lords.  We remembered the triad and that it takes three to have a successful marriage. From that moment we tried to remember that in every decision we had to make it shouldn't just be between Kurt and myself but we should always include our savior as well.  We prayed about even the smallest of decisions. 

After a year and a half of invasive treatments and zero success our doctor called us in for a "meeting". He sat Kurt and I down and to make along story short basically told me that we had less than a 3% chance of ever being able to conceive and that we needed to explore other options such as adoption or surrogacy. Needless to say we were devastated. I cried I think for days. I thought my life was over. I never wanted anything more in life than to become a mother. I used to ask for a baby for Christmas when I was little girl. I always knew that was my calling in life. 

In sacrament a few weeks later I thought about how we promise to remember the Savior always.  How to look at his example he set and all of the teaching we have been given to help guide our every decision. I thought about that When we face trials, if we look to Him for comfort and strength that Heavenly Father has promised that his spirit will always be with us. So... we decided to go to the temple to seek answers, to get strength, and to feel the peace of the spirit. We went in with a pure openness of heart, knowing whatever the outcome we would be ok. We came out of the temple that evening with with 100% surety that adoption would be the ONLY way for us to grow our family. 

We almost immediately contacted LDS Family Services and took all the classes and filled out all the paperwork as quickly as we could. We were up on their website for birth mothers to view November 16th 2011.  We were incredible lucky and were contacted and chosen by a birth mom just 3 moths later.  She was pregnant with a little boy due and  was scheduled  to deliver him July 31st. We went thought the whole process with her. We were asked to go to all  of her appointments and when it came time for her c-section Kurt and I were both in the delivery room. I was the first one to hold him. We stayed those first two days  with her and the baby in the hospital. We left the hospital the second night and were to sign papers the next morning. We received a call from our caseworker that night letting us know she had changed her mind and that she was going to parent. So another devastation. We took some time to grieve, and to just be with each other. Or caseworker asked when we would like to get put back on the website and we said immediately. We didn't want to lose any chance at finding our child.  We were incredibly blessed and two months later we were chosen again. The same thing with this one.. We had 5 months to prepare. It was a boy again. When he was born there were some legal issues to work out still with the birth father so we only signed temporary custody papers and we brought him home. 24 hours later we received a call that the birth mom changed her mind and they came to pick him up. Devastating. At this point I was ready to give up. 

After hours of prayer We knew our child was out there. We decided that when its meant to happen it will happen.  This one happened march 1st this year.  We got back on the website again almost immediately.  

Throughout this we tried to remember the savior in our thoughts everyday, knowing in doing so the spirit would be there to comfort us. 

Elder D. Todd Christofferson in a talk said...

Looking unto the Savior “in every thought” is, of course, another way of saying “always remember him.” As we do, we need not doubt or fear. He reminds us that through His Atonement He has been given all power in heaven and earth (see Matthew 28:18) and has both the capacity and the will to protect us and minister to our needs—“Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet.” We need only be faithful and we can rely implicitly on Him and His grace.

We knew that as long as we lived our life the way we should he would protect us and minister to our needs. 

We started to take time for ourselves... to strengthen us. There was a study done in 2011 that couples who make it through infertility are more likely to stay married forever than any other situation. We tried to spend as much time as we could just being together. 

 I applied for and accepted a new job. The hours are opposite of Kurt's. we thought that would be perfect so when we did finally have a child we wouldn't have to place them in daycare. We started to look for a new house and miraculously were able to purchase this one. Everything started to work out. I was happy again!!!! On fathers day we received the call. 

My cousin called and said she knew someone who wants to place her baby for adoption. She asked if she could give her our info and of course we said yes. The next day she called us and said she had chosen us. She was due August 5th. She was admitted to the hospital for some complications just two weeks later and they delivered our son Jax on July 6th. The doctors were estimating he would only be 3.5lbs so they had the NICU team ready to take him. He surprised us all and was 4lbs 8ozs. He wasn't breathing at first but after just a few minutes they got him going and he never had to go to the NICU.  They took us to go see him.  We just knew he was ours. We finally had met our son. The spirit was so strong when we got to see him for the first time. We knew without a doubt that all of the heartache we had gone through all of the trials were to prepare us for our incredible miracle. The savior truly does watch out for us. He is always protecting us. Even in my darkest hour he would find small ways to remind us that he was there and he was just waiting for the perfect child and the perfect time.  We are so incredibly blessed. I consider myself the luckiest woman in the world. I know that without the help of the savior we would still be childless. We will forever be grateful and we now know that he really wants nothing but the best for all of us. We just need to always  remember what he did for us and remember that his spirit will always be with us as longs we always remember him and keep him as a constant part of our lives. 

I love this gospel and I am so lucky to have it in my life!! I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen

Singing Jax to Sleep

I have found that some of my favorite times with Jax is when he needs to eat in the middle of the night and when it is my turn to get up with him and feed him. It is one of the neatest things to be able to sooth him and put him back to sleep. When he is just staring at me in the eyes as happy as can be just reiterates that he is supposed to be my son. One of my fondest memories as a child is my Dad singing "I am a Child of God" to put me to sleep every night for a long time. When I was spending time with Jax Friday night I thought of this so I decided to try it myself. He absolutely loved it so I plan on singing him to sleep more often. I am the luckiest guy on the planet to be able to have Shaileen and Jax as my family and soon to be eternal family.  

Whatever you do, dont judge my crappy voice at this time of night morning!

This is what open adoption looks like

This past Saturday we got together with Jax's birth family up at the Olympic Oval. We sat on the grass for about 2 hours and talked, bonded and just had a great time. This is what open adoption looks like. We want Jax to know where he came from. The special bond between birth families is incredible. This post is mostly for them but anyone can enjoy. 

P.S. I finally brought out my SLR camera and you can tell :)