finley is 7 months

holy moley ... i meant to do an update when she hit her 6 month mark ... and yet another month has flown by.

she's now 26" long and weighs in at 17 pounds ... both of which are in the 75 percentile for her age.

she has finally decided that she likes solid food ... which lets me not stress as much when aidan drops/throws his cheerios on the floor.she gave up nursing at 4 months and prefers bottles ... heated ... it has to be just the way she wants it. oh well. (and she loves to lay on the floor with her feet straight in the air ... pretty much since day 1!)she started rolling over at 4 months (like ... exactly!) ... that day she decided she could do it, both ways, tummy to back and back to tummy ... it hasn't stopped her since. she rolls all over and can rotate 360 degrees ... so if she sees something she wants she'll get to it.
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this morning she decided that rolling around wasn't as productive and has graduated to army crawling around after aidan.

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it's gone by WAY to fast. overall she's a happy baby, an angel straight from heaven. i'm so happy she's joined our family.

aidan loves his great-grandparents

aidan loves his great-grandparents, g-papa and gigi (ya know ... "G"reat-"G"randma.) yup ... he loves 'em ... and balloons ... let's not forget balloons ... he points them out in stores, on tv, while driving in the car.

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last weekend my parents watched aidan while robby and i attended his work christmas party. my parents had planned to attend a retirement party so they took aidan with them. he was the life of the party saying "hi" and patting them to everyone he saw. all of the sudden he yelled "papa" and started running away from them. my mom tried telling him that "papa" was with her (my dad is called "papa" and was standing next to her). he continued to run. as my mom made her way through the crowd her found aidan. he was at the feet of his great-grandfather and was patting his legs, motioning he wanted to be picked up and excitedly saying "papa" over and over.

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i LOVE that aidan knows his family and is excited when he is with them! when my mom was telling me about what happened it brought joy into my heart. this is why we are so lucky to be able to live close to family.

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updates for this week:

first words the nursrey leader said to me on sunday as i went to pick up aidan ... "what did you feed him for breakfast?! pixy stix?!" apparently he was more exuberant than usual.

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aidan's vocabulary is amazing me everyday. he can now count to 10 and uses sentances (6 words so far!) sheesh! he's growing up so fast!

what's in your bag?

finley's 2 week appointment: 7 pounds 3 ounces and now 21 1/2 inches long (yup ... she gained 3 inches in 2 weeks!!) go finley go!! and a picture, since i know everyone just wants to see her ... who cares what i write about anyways?

here is what the directions say on the side of the can: "for use on cows, thoroughly was treated teats and udder with separate towels before each milking. to avoid contamination after each milking, bathe the udder with plenty of hot water, strip milk out and dry skin. apply bag balm freely and massage gently with this proven ointment twice daily."

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this is my personal favorite for diaper rashes. it helps treat rashes and prevents diaper rashes from returning. i know it sounds bizarre, but it really works. my friend (thanks amy!!) gave it to me at one of my baby showers when i was pregnant with aidan. i recently decided to do some research online to see what other uses it could be good for and here is what i found out ...
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~ helps treat eczema (i'm testing this one out currently!!) aidan suffers from eczema pretty badly on his legs. the eczema cream we were using just wasn't cutting it. so i've been slathering it on his legs before i put him to bed every night. (then cover with pants ... it is pretty greasy) robby does not condone this behavior, as bag balm is not intended to be used like this. we actually got into a pretty heated discussion about it. i didn't listen and smothered him in the yellow goo anyways. and i must say that his legs have NEVER looked better ... seriously! it's like 99.9% gone after 3 days ... the only patch left is the really stubborn one on his ankle! HUZZAH!!!

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other uses that i haven't tried myself:
~ great on chapped, dry skin and lips
~ smother on your cracked heels, cover with socks and your feet will be velvety smooth in the morning.
~ good for treating acne (and acne scars)
~ reduces the appearance of scars
~ good overnight moisturizer on long dry hair
~ helps heal cuts and burns
~ cold sores
~ post-tattoo skin soother
~ sunburns
~ athlete's foot

~ jock itch
~ nursing nipples
~ soften cuticles
~ psoriasis
~ blisters
~ insect bites
~ stretch marks
~ wind burn
~ cradle cap (ya know, the dry scaly stuff on baby's heads -- nicole is going to test this one out on baby caleb!)
~ removing splinters (put a glob on splinter and cover it with a band-aid overnight, the splinter will be out and lying on the band-aid in the morning) it's like magic. (i almost want to give myself a splinter so i can see if this really works ... ALMOST)
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you can read some testimonials how some users have used bag balm in their life.
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it was invented in vermont in 1899, and is made from only three ingredients - 8-hydroxyquinoline sulfate 0.3% (an antiseptic, providing protection against bacteria and fungi) in a petrolatum (prevents further moisture loss) and lanolin base(a replacement for the natural skin oils that get washed away. lanolin is a natural oil extracted from the wool of sheep without causing any harm to the animal. it is one the oils closest to the human sebum, making it an excellent moisturizing ingredient). it's thick and greasy (but easily spreadable), and a bit stinky (slightly medicinal, but the smell seems to dissipate semi-quickly).
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keep some by your changing table, in your medicine cabinet, next to your sink, on your nightstand, in the first aid kit in your car, your emergency pack, your office desk drawer, etc. you never know when you will need it and it has so many uses!!

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it's super cheap and one 10 ounce tin lasts FOREVER!!! up until last saturday i had only used about 2/3 of my tin in aidan's 19 months. unfortunately while i was napping today, robby was watching aidan in the living room and he dozed off for about 10 minutes. in that 10 minutes aidan found a purple crayon and drew on a few things (including my couch), spread baby wipes all over the living room, and got into the bag balm tin. he smeared the balm all over his hands and feet, and head ... including ALL over his face, and of course on my couch ... UGH!! yeah ... greasy hand prints ... any tips on getting it out?! needless to say robby gave him a bath ... but i no longer have 1/3 of my tin left. so i had to go out and purchase some more.

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then on monday robby called me up and asked if we wanted to buy some couches from some friends who were moving (rookie cookie) ... since our couches were NASTY ... and now had greasy bag balm handprints all over them, i said yes. check it out ... i LOVE them!! thanks whitney ... i'll miss you, but think about you everytime i see your couches!

update on life with 2 kids

well i had a doctor appointment yesterday. my blood pressure has actually increased since i had finley, so it's official and i am now on medication to try to correct the problem. hopefully it'll go down in the next couple weeks and it wont be a permanent thing.

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i've also noticed a strange rash that started on my arms and has now spread to my chest and neck ... who knows? hopefully that goes away soon as well.

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on another note that will make everyone hate me. i've lost 16 pounds and am back into my jeans (after 3 days)! yes i know ... i am a FREAK OF NATURE!! i'm sorry people.

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and finley slept for 8 hours straight last night ... unfortunately i had a hard time getting back to sleep after she woke up ... UGH!!!

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aidan is doing fairly well to the adjustment from only child to older sibling. he loves to give finley hugs and kisses. the first thing he says when he wakes up in the morning is "baby" and wants to go and see her. he loves to stick his finger in her hand so she can hold it (that's what i was trying to get a picture of in the first one). but he has a hard time when i am nursing her and can't give him what he wants *that* second. he gets frustrated. he has his good moments and his really bad moments, which i'm sure is completely normal. he'll adjust and we'll all be fine.

pregnancy update

negative ghost rider, the belly is still full! i had my appointment yesterday and my blood pressure was a little high during the appointment, and she checked me and things are progressing. she wants me to keep taking my bp everyday and call her on wednesday and go into the hospital if it gets over a certain number. then robby asked her a question about the bp monitor i purchased, so we got it out and she took my bp again. then she said to go to the hospital right away and take some more tests and make sure everything is going ok. i asked her if i could go home and grab some stuff and she said no to go directly to the hospital.

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so off we went. they ran some labs on my blood and urine and took my bp every 10-15 minutes. my bp was kinda all over the place, sometimes high and sometimes lower. but all the labs came back good (except i have another UTI .. ugh!!) so my doctor released me with the same instructions to keep track of my bp and call her on wednesday. my next appointment is scheduled for monday morning and she told me that she will probably induce me that day. so, still no baby, but most likely next monday we'll be having her (which i think is a good thing, 38 weeks is better than 37 weeks!!)

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so now you know. and here are some pictures. nicole came up last weekend for a visit and took some pictures of our family, i think they turned out great

jocole news -- plus 15% off

there is stuff happening with jocole right now. i've been pretty much neglecting my business since i got pregnant with aidan -- seriously neglecting!! recently i've had a surge of creativity in the tyvek things and have been posting those on etsy ... and then i thought to myself why aren't i focusing more on the modest clothing?
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so ... i've been working on patterns for new styles. i have a phone number for a new sewing contractor to get some more shirts manufactured (i'm hoping to call on monday). huzzah ... new color options!!

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i was recently contacted by an online lds website that wants to carry my clothing as part of their inventory. just one more outlet for people to buy my stuff, and for me to be able to expand. i'm really excited about this new venture and hoping that it leads to more. (one order through them so far!!!)

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the new venture gave me another push and has motivated me further. i finally updated my website, and am working on adding the tyvek things (most are still only available on etsy right now). i figured out how to handle keeping track of my available inventory, so i now have product actually for sale on my website. and i'm offering a promotion for the month of august.

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hopefully i don't lose all this momentum when #2 decides to arrive.

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and now i know what you're thinking ... WAIT!! i thought you mentioned something about 15% off??

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yup ... that's right folks. in order to try to clear out some inventory to make room for more ... i'm offering 15% off your entire order of $50 or more. all you have to do is enter the promotion code: Jocole15 during checkout. but this special promotion is only through august and ends on the 31st. and as always through jocole.net: FREE SHIPPING!!

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and if you want to order a tyvek creation that isn't currently available on jocole.net, send me and email and i'll try to get it up asap.

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so tell your friends and family, and pass along the savings.

aidan's dictionary and update

he had a well baby check-up on thursday (6/26) and he weighs in at 26 pounds 4 ounces, and is 33 inches tall and his head circumference is 18 1/2 inches. for weight and height he's in the 75 percentile. he's now 16.5 months old!!! he's my BIG boy and i love him (although ... he's getting so heavy and that wears me out!). on friday (6/27) he had some blood drawn just to make sure everything is going well (and it is, we got the "normal" phone call on 7/3). it was so sad to have to hold him down like that while they took 2 viles of blood from him -- he screamed.

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here are some of the words that aidan can say (although most you wouldn't recognize if you heard them) but he uses all of these consistently. these are in no particular order, i have no idea when he started saying what. but dada was his first word, followed by mama. but he called me dada for the LONGEST time (up until about 3 weeks ago) ... even though he could say mama.
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daddy = dada

mommy = mama (also uses this word for gr'ama)

please = psss

thank you = key koo

uh oh = uh OOOH!

fish = pish (one of his earlier words, ya know since we have 'em EVERYWHERE in our house!)

cracker = kaa kaa

wiggles = gee gee

bye bye = buh bye

hi = i

hello = beau

go = go

bottle = baa baa

yogurt = yo go

cheese = ch-sss

baby = bee bee

dog = ya gee ya gee, or gaa gaa (which he always says when he sees one, or hears one barking)

birdie = dee dee

duck = kaka

scott = cott

amanda = da

papa = papa (one of his FAVORITE people ... when we pull up in front of my parent's house he always immediately starts saying papa, he LOVES my dad)

dora = door

hannah = haa ya
ball = baa

phone = poon

spoon = poon
hello = hey-o

shoes = shoo

jaws theme song = da da da (while playing with his stuffed shark, HAHA!!)

blanket = key key

pillow = poe

diaper = dee da

juice = joose

jo jo = yo yo

banana = baa baa

cheerios = chee-yo

night nights = nigh nigh

shh shh = shh shh
keys = keys

all gone = aa on

yummy = num num

woof = oof

push = puu

show = sooo

milk = mooe

drink = kink

beep = eep

honk = hon

oh and on friday (6/27) aidan figured out how to say "la la la" and he thought it was great and did i all night long, finally he can say the "L" sound.
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aidan, what does a dinosaur say? "rooaaar"

what does a car say? "booom" (vroom)
what does a duck say? "kak kak kak"

what does a monkey say? [shakes his finger at you] ... meaning, "no more monkeys jumpin' on the bed!"

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he can point to his head, hair (he pulls it), eyes, nose, mouth, tongue (sticks it out), teeth (chomps 'em down), ears, toes, hands

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i'm trying to teach him baby #2's name before she pops out, so far it's not going so well (i say the name, he just says "bee bee" back to me). we're also trying to teach him to be soft to my tummy, which is going pretty well. he often comes over and hugs and kisses my belly button.

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his favorite tv shows are wiggles, doodlebops (but i haven't put that on lately, waaay too annoying) and most recently jo jo's circus and backyardigans. although he still enjoys watching oprah and anything with music and dancing (hairspray, hello dolly, etc.). he prefers live people to cartoons (hence wiggles and doodlebops ... although he's getting better about that ... hence his recent attention span for jo jo's circus and backyardigans).

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he now has 10 teeth, 4 on the top in the middle, 2 on the bottom in the middle and 4 molars that have all broken through. (you can see his back teeth in the second picture!!)

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and he's VERY into high-fives right now. if he's getting into something (like climbing on top of tables to do jigs ... i can ask him for a high-five and he'll get down and come give me one)

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and i must say i really apprecite great friends in my ward who are willing to watch aidan when i need it, whether its watching him for an hour until robby gets home so i can go see wicked (thanks kristi) or watching him for 2 hours while i go to do my glucose screening test (thanks wendy). i have the best friends, plus our kids get along great so it makes trading kids easy.