Papa and Jayden

This is one of life's sweetest moments. I love seeing my dad with Jayden!!

Jayden Anna

Jayden Anna Harmon was born October 3, 2009 at 5:25 am. She weighed 7 lbs. 5 oz. and was 20 1/4 in. long. Everything went really well and we love our little girl!! Sorry some of the pictures are sideways!













Jayden had a high level of jaundice and so she had to lay in a bed of lights for 24 hours. She actually really seemed to enjoy it!



Grandma Ronna (my mom) and Jayden










We blessed Jayden on November 8, 2009









Grandma Teri and Bapa (Mark's parents)



Daddy can't get enough of her!!

Happy Birthday Mark!!

Tomorrow is my wonderful hubby's birthday!! (And since we don't have internet, I thought it would be nice to post something while I am at the school)

Happy 25th Birthday Mark!!

Here are 25 things I LOVE about Mark- in no particular order!!

1. Always happy
2. Loves to cook with me
3. Compassionate
4. Grateful
5. Hard working
6. Handsome
7. Funny
8. Smart
9. Family-oriented
10. Spiritual
11. Humble
12. Motivated
13. Cuddly
14. Likes to keep our house clean
15. Sincere
16. Nice
17. Concerned for others
18. Optimistic
19. Balanced
20. Healthy habits
21. Sensitive
22. Charitable
23. Full of integrity
24. Holds the priesthood
25. ALL MINE!!

He is working so hard with all he has on his plate this semester- work, calling, hardest semester of school in the entire program, pharmacy club, and a child almost here and he finds to time to hang out with me.....

He's so WONDERFUL!!

I love you Babe!!

(I would post a pic, but I do not have my camera with me...)

Life

So, I haven't been keeping up with reports from my doctor appointments, but that's okay because the last four appointments have been the same. Measure, listen to the heartbeat, any questions, go home.

I am glad to report there are no concerns and the doctor said our little baby's head is down (usually being this far along, the baby finds a position and stays there until delivery) and everything looks great!

I can't believe how fast it is coming though, about 3 1/2 weeks to my due date! Wish me luck....

So, I have been a cooking fool lately and have had a really fun time making new dinners for Mark. If you are running out of ideas and want to try something new here are a few of the dishes I have made as of late...

Hawaiian Haystacks
Navajo Tacos
El Rancho Chicken
Eight Layer Casserole
Japanese Chicken Wings
Shredded Salsa Roast Beef Tacos
Korean Rice Bowls
Turkey Bacon Wraps
Shrimp and Chicken Alfredo
Italian Sausage Olive Oil Pasta
Shrimp Stir Fry
Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Some desserts as well...

Cheesecake Bars
Peanut Butter Balls (will be trying soon)
Homemade Samoa Girl Scout Cookies (will also be trying soon)!!! I'm very excited!

Pregnancy Pics and Update

Well we are finally back in Laramie- I can't believe it's time for school to start again!! For the first time since I started preschool I won't be going to school (I just realized I've been in school for the last 19 years of my life- whew!) It is so nice to be able to go to work in the morning and then come home and do what I want. This past week I have been able to run errands, clean my house, read (a lot!) and cook dinner for Mark every night. He probably wonders who this girl is in his house and what she did with his wife!

Mark has already had an overwhelming first week. This semester is supposed to be the hardest semester of pharmacy school over all. On Thursday he mentioned to me that it already feels like he's been in school for way longer than just a week with all he has on his plate already.

I just wanted to thank everyone who came to the baby shower and for Mom, K, J, Grandma Phyllis, Susie and Julie who all helped with it! Thank you! You would think I would have some pics, but my sister took all of the pictures on her camera and so I don't have any to post.

This is a pic after the shower of me, my best buddy Cam, and our BYU-I roomie Nikki (whom I haven't seen in almost 3 1/2 years!) They both came all the way from Rexburg for the shower and although it was a short visit with them, it was so great to see them. Thank you both for coming and thank you for the beautiful gifts! Oh and Cam has the cutest little boy, Nate, I'm so glad I got to hang out with him! Thanks again for coming you three!



Here I am at 34 weeks. I know, I know I am huge (especially from the side!) The greatest is when people ask how far along I am and I tell them that I have 6 weeks left and they say, "still?" In fact one of the ladies I work with and see everyday said to me the other day, "I just don't know, you're looking bigger and bigger everyday." What do you say in return to that? My response was, "Thanks....I guess"






Anyway, I still love being pregnant, although I am definitely at the uncomfortable, can't get any sleep, waddling stage. It's great.

I did have the energy and motivation to clean my entire apartment today though. We're talkin' vacuum around the floorboards, mop the kitchen floor, organize cupboards type of clean. It took me all day though, so I think I need a foot rub from my husband (I just haven't told him yet!)

New York City...

We took the best vacation to New York City last week. The trip was a present from my parents to Mark and I for Christmas and our graduations (Mark's graduation present is just three years early). My parents, my two younger sisters and Mark and I all went. It was soooo much fun, and there is so much to do. It is a whole different world out there (especially for someone from Wyoming!) I couldn't believe all of the people, everywhere, ALL of the time. It is definitely the city that never sleeps.

I have lots of pics, so I hope you enjoy. I would recommend going to anyone!

Oh, and you'll see my 27 week belly in the pics...

Central Park- Central Park was beautiful and it went on forever! We walked around it for about an hour and only saw a very, very small portion. It was really neat because there was fountains and lakes and old buildings all over. It was neat because it was really quiet and pretty in the park but you could look out and see the busy city surrounding the park.



My parents in Strawberry Field at Central Park. Strawberry Field is where John Lennon from the Beetles died (I think...)



Here is a street that runs through central park, and there were taxi's EVERYWHERE!



My mom and I in front of a huge lake in Central Park.



Jonna, Mark, me, and Dad standing at the top of the stairs of an old bridge in the park.



Turtle Pond (Central Park). We looked down and saw a bunch of turtles just chillin' on the rocks and swimming in the muddy water.



The Museum of Natural History- This is the museum from "The Night at the Museum". It looks a little different than on the movie of course, but it was such an amazing museum. I think we spent two hours in there and we still did not see everything. Here is just one wall in one of the numerous rooms and halls.



This is the "Dumb, dumb" statue from the movie. It was huge!



This is the Subway. I was a little nervous to ride the subway, but it was actually really fun and it only got a little eery after midnight. It was a great way to get around and even though we got lost on the different tracks the first night, we had it down by the end of the week (thanks to Mark and Mom)!



This is from St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was a beautiful building, with very intricate detail and interesting statues. This is the staircase up to where the priest preaches (I think... I'm not quite sure how it all works.) Everything was very elaborate.



Dinner at Carmine's. Carmine's is an Italian restaurant with AMAZING food. I have never eaten better Italian food. Everything was real Italian, not what I thought Italian was before eating at this restaurant. YUM!! Thanks for dinner Mom and Dad!!



At the Hershey's store in Times Square. Yes, that is a real candy bar. No, the syrup container is not real, it is a piggy bank. But the whole store smelled like chocolate. We bought some dark chocolate Reeses and some Reeses Selects with really creamy peanut butter. MMM!!!



Wicked on Broadway. It was such an amazing Broadway show, and I would definitely watch it again if I got the chance. Wicked is about the how the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz became the Wicked Witch and it gives you a whole new perspective on the story of the Wizard of Oz. Thanks Mom and Dad for the shows!! (We also saw Mary Poppins and Phantom of the Opera).



Times Square after the show at around 11:00 pm. It was always packed with people- all day and all night.



This is a picture of Wall St./ The Financial District. We saw the New York Stock Exchange building and this huge American Flag.



This is the skyline of Manhatten from the Statten Island Ferry. Instead of going to the Statue of Liberty and waiting in a really long line, we just took this Ferry and it went right by the Statue of Liberty to Statten Island.



The Statue of Liberty from the ferry.



Mark and I on the ferry as we passed the Statue of Liberty.



M&M World. This store was three floors high and they had every color of M&M's imaginable.



China Town- China Town was dirtier than I expected and it smelled kind of funny, but it was still cool to see. Little Italy is right next to it and we ate Italian Ice there. Mmm....so good. It's like a mixture of shaved ice and ice cream, but way good.



The Brooklyn Bridge on our way to Grimaldi's Pizza. The bridge is huge and we actually walked across it on our way back to Manhatten. Grimaldi's Pizza is a tiny hole in the wall restaurant with the best pizza ever! Frank Sonatra would order pizza from this place, have it frozen and then have it shipped to Vegas when he would perform there. We waited an hour and a half to get in and then it only took us 30 minutes from the time we sat down until the time we got up to leave. The pizza is not like any pizza I have every tasted, and it was worth the wait!



The Intrepid- The Intrepid is a retired aircraft carrier and had some really neat aircrafts on it. We also got to walk through the inside of the Intrepid and see where the crew worked and slept. We are standing on the Intrepid in front of a stealth fighter jet.



It was a really fun trip and we would go back again! Thanks Mom and Dad for such an amazing gift and vacation.

Oh, one last really funny story. So I HATE airplane rides and I was not looking forward to the many hours we spent on planes at all. On our first airplane ride, we were sitting on the runway and I had my eyes squeezed shut and I was squeezing Mark's hand. The pilot was reving the engine and this is what was said, (remember, I had my eyes closed)

Me: "Hunny, are we going really fast?"

Mark: "Um, no, we haven't moved yet."

Yeah, so that was the quote of the week.....

Update....

Don't worry I haven't disappeared or anything. It's hard to keep up with my routine when I really don't have much to do. Since my last post....

- We have moved back to GR (once again) and have enjoyed spending time with our families.
- I have been working at the YWCA childcare daycamp with school-age kids (what a riot!)
- Mark has been on rotations for pharmacy school for eight weeks (basically working for free and paying UW to do it...)
- I have grown a huge belly (which you'll see in my next post about our awesome NYC trip!)
- Found out my big brother and his wife are expecting in February!!!
- Mark just moved to Jackson, WY to work (for pay) at a pharmacy there and so I only get to see him on the weekends.....*tear*
- And that's all I can think of right now....

One funny story from my summer job...

I was talking with one of my school age kids (a little boy). I asked him if he had been hunting lately because I knew he liked to hunt and he goes into an elaborate story of how this huge black bear was holding him down on the ground and so he took out his bow and arrow and knocked the bear in the head and then shot him with his arrow (this kid is 6 years old).

I said, "Wow, that was an awesome story"

He looked at me really serious and said, "Mrs. Whitney, I am not telling you stories, this is true."

(And the next day he told me about his 90 dogs that he has at his house....)

I made it!!

UW Graduation was May 9th. My family came as well as Mark's parents and two younger brothers. My grandpa Kirby also made it from Evanston. Thanks for coming everyone!! My brother and his wife came all the way from Arizona and I was really excited to see them- it was a fun weekend with them, especially since we haven't seen them since last August. We haven't really spent a lot of time with Morgan's wife, Valarie, it was sooo much fun!

Graduation was nice- it was only an hour start to finish- that's what I like! Afterwards we had a small dinner at the church. Before graduation we took family pictures because we were all together.

Graduation pics...




Me and my parents



Mark and I



Me and Grandpa Kirby



The Lake Kids



Us and the Harmons



Us and my parents



A few family pics..