What's so funny???

I know I'm pretty biased, but I just have to say this is one of the cutest videos ever. We were at my in-laws house and William's cousin, Asher was inadvertently making William laugh. . .it's pretty funny. I'll try to post more later, but I thought this was worth seeing!

BACK TO WORK. . .BACK TO REALITY!

WHAT A DRAG!!!!

Well, it's true, I had to go back to work. My school district was great to me while I was on bedrest. . .they even continued to pay us (I was kind of on disability leave) and provide insurance for us. . .so. . . .I have to finish off the school year. I have been working for about six weeks now (full time) and I just have to say that I have a new found appreciation for working moms. . .I don't know how they do it! William doesn't have dentist appointments or school plays, or ball games, or anything--and it still seems pretty hectic working full time and being a mom. But luckily, he gets to be watched by both grandmas and his dad, so it really doesn't get much better than that. . .and I only have to work until June 10th, so it is very doable (if that is even a word).

I must say being back at work is quite the shock to my system, since I haven't worked since last June! For those of you who don't know, I'm a speech therapist. . .this year I am working a couple of days in the preschool for children with disabilities adn then with grades k-6 in another school with kids with various disabilities (i.e. autism, down syndrome, etc.) It has been crazy getting back into the swing of things, but things have gone pretty well so far, the kids are cute and everyone is cutting me slack and so it is working out just fine. And, even though I would much rather be with William, the kids at school definitely keep me entertained. . .Here's a list of some of the funny things that have happened thus far this year. . .

1. On my first week back I had a little boy run away from me and hide in the boy's bathroom. . .I had to make sure no one else was in there and go in and get him out of the stall. . .he thought it was pretty funny. . .me, not so much (I need to work on my discipline skills)

2. That same day that same little boy was in my office and I turned my back for one second and turned around to find him triumphantly standing on top of the table. . .I was not in the mood to play king of the mountain/hill/table so I made him get down and go back to class. Since then he has run away from me several times and I have had to physical pull him out from underneath my table pretty much every session. . .and he's not a small kid by any means!!! That being said, he is probably one of my favorite students!

3. One of the kindergartners I work with was using her /k/ sound in conversation and decided to tell me all about serial killers. . .interesting topic for a 5 year old. . .but at least we got a bunch of good /k/ sounds!

4. My little first grader told me all about how he chased 'real' girls (not fake ones) on the playground. . .and he even caught a few (does that bring back any gradeschool memories. . .I wonder if he ever pointed his milk carton at any of them)

5. While walking down the hall, one of the boys I was working with pointed to a picture of Yoda (from Star Wars) and said. . ."Look Kim, it's you!" (What a self esteem boost!)

6. That same boy asked me this week if he could fix my hair. . .what does that say about a person when a little boy sees the need to fix your hair. . .maybe I should wake up earlier and put in a little more effort

7. The other day one of the little girls in preschool informed another little girl that she needed to share. . .she said "You need to share because God says so". I've decided to use that line with William whenever we want him to do anything. . ."you need to brush your teeth because God says so", "you need to make your bed because God says so". . .I love these great parenting ideas I get from these 4 year olds!

8. While getting a kindergartner from his class last week, he looked in the other kindergartner class and said to me: "I wish I was in that class". When I asked him why he said. . ."Because I hate this ABC stuff!" I didn't have the heart to tell him that switching classes probably wouldn't fix his problem!

Well, in other news, William is doing great. . .he is now 5 months old and cute as ever. He is rolling over now (although he still doesn't love being on his stomach) and he laughs and smiles all the time. Roland just finished a rotation and has the next six weeks off so he will be Mr. Mom during that time, while I work. . .William is a lucky little boy. . .they are going to have a great time!

Here are some pics:

Roland got an ant farm for Christmas (his favorite present by far!) and here he is showing William all the tunnels the ants are making (I don't know if William was as into it as his dad!)

Ready for his first walk OUTSIDE!!! He is obviously pretty excited!

Taking a bath in his whale tub! He loves the bathtub!

MR. SMILEY PANTS!!! (Look how big he is in his car seat now!)

A trip to the park with mom and dad. . .he slept through the whole thing!

Yes, he still has red hair. . .

He is now trying to shove both his hands into his mouth. . .he gets pretty close. . .he has a big mouth!

How To Get a Job in An Economic Crisis

My brother Mike sent this to me and I thought I would share it. . .it's pretty funny!

Mr. Chunk

Allright. . .I guess calling William Mr. Chunk is a slight overexaggeration, but the kid weighs in now at 11 pounds 11.5 ounces, and since he started out at 4 pounds 2 ounces, to us, he is MASSIVE (and very, very cute). Just as un update, things are going super well. William is doing great. . .he's still confined to the house and we still are super careful as far as having him around other people, but he's just doing great!!! I will have to say that I'm a little concerned that he might be developing a kind of Pavlovian (is that even a word?) response to hand sanitizer. . .the reason being that we never pick him up or touch him without sanitizing our hands first, so we have about 6-7 bottles of sanitizer placed throughout the house and I get the feeling that now when he smells the sanitizer or senses that we are putting it on our hands he starts getting pretty happy because he knows he's going to be picked up. . .he can be crying and screaming and the second he smells the sanitizer he starts to calm down. . .I hope this doesn't have any long lasting effects. . .but, oh well, what can you do.

He was lucky enough to qualify for these RSV shots that high risk kids get once a month. . .they cost about $3500 a shot, but since we've pretty much already reached our out of pocket maximum for our insurance, they're free!!!! Isn't it funny how that works. . .you pay a ton load of money to the insurance company, hospital, doctor, etc. and once you've reached a certain amount ever thing else is "paid for". You forget that you've already paid into insurance your whole life (which amonts to alot of money if you think about it) and that you will continue to pay into it for the rest of your life (again, alot of money) but for this one year, everything is "free". It kind of plays with your mind. . .it's like when we were in the NICU, and one day they gave me this diaper bag with formula and wipes and a bunch of other stuff in it. I asked if I needed to pay them for it and they just laughed and said that no one had ever asked them that before and that I could just have it. I started thanking them profusely, but then on the way home I realized that really, that wasn't a free diaper bag, it was just a mere token of appreciation for us (and mostly the insurance company) having paid the NICU and hospital $30,000. . .I think that's why the nurses were kind of laughing at me. Anyway, that being said, I have told Roland that if he is going to have to need any kind of major surgery or anything like that, that now is the time to do it. . .because it's FREE!!! I wonder if they take out appendices or other miscellaneous, extra body parts even if they aren't rupturing. . .it sure would save us money in the long run! But really. we are grateful to have insurance!

In other news, we blessed William on February 1, 2008. It was wonderful and so good to see all of our family at the blessing. We took him in, blessed him, and kept him covered the whole time, but it definitely was the most people he's been around ever and I think it took him by surprise that more people than just mom, dad, and the grandparents exist. . .poor kid! But it was a beautiful day and we are just so grateful that he's doing so well!

Well, I think I've written enough. . .most people don't read the blog anyway. . .they just look at pictures, so I've included a bunch. . .ENJOY!

Oh, and just in case you were wondering. . .yes, his hair is still red. . and his eyes are looking like they might be blue. . .go figure!

This is the William look. . .he seriously always has this half grin, content look on his face. . .he's a great baby!

Enjoying some time on his tummy!

Look at that double chin--he loves sleeping and is actually sleeping through the night now--hooray!

William and mom

On his blessing day

He smiles all the time now. . .it's the best!

"What the heck do you have me in?"

William and his Christmas stocking

Our Little Miracle

Miracles come in all shapes and sizes and ours happened to weigh in at 4 lbs 2 oz (and 17 inches long). We were blessed with a beautiful baby boy- William Roland James - born on November 11, 2008. William was delivered after I developed toxemia and the doctor felt it was in the best interest of both of us to go ahead and perform a C-section. William spent 11 days in the NICU because he was premature and very small. We had known beforehand that he would be in the NICU, but I don't think, no matter how prepared we thought we were, that we were ready to see our little baby hooked up to monitors and machines. We were so blessed, however, to have good nurses taking care of our baby and explaining to us what every thing was for and what it all meant. While in the NICU, William was in an isolette to keep him warm enough, he had to be under phototherapy lights for jaundice, he had an IV in his head (this was probably my least favorite thing), and a feeding tube going down his nose into his stomach. He was hooked up to lots of monitors to measure just about everything it seemed like! We were able to hold him 2 times a day for thirty minutes at a time. The rest of the time he had to be in the isolette in order to keep him warm enough. It was hard not to be able to hold him longer and be with him, but we are grateful for modern medicine that made it possible for him to be okay.

We saw blessing after blessing while William was there and after a mere 11 days (we thought it would be much longer) he got to come home. There is a certain moment when you are overcome with complete panic when the doctor tells you that you get to take home your 4 lb. 9 oz baby. I remember thinking "NO WAY. . .you can't send me home with such a tiny baby. . .I think he needs to stay here until he is a LEAST 7 lbs!" But really, it was wonderful to bring him home so soon and it only took me about 2-3 weeks before I could actually sleep without waking up every 5 minutes to see if he was okay!

William is now between 8-9 lbs (we find out tomorrow how much he weighs, so that is just our guess) and doing great! He eats well and is healthy and strong and is such a wonderful little baby! One of the most interesting things about William is that he has red hair. . .now, that may not seem all too weird to most of you, but when you take into account that Roland is half Japanese and I don't have red hair, then you might start to wonder. The first time the nurse pointed out his red hair I admit I thought to myself "Well, they have made a mistake, this can't possibly be our baby because our baby can't possibly have red hair!" But, Roland and I are finally getting used to our little Red Headed Asian Baby!!!

We are just so grateful to have William here with us. There were so many complications surrounding this pregnancy and yet each time after the doctors found something else that could possibly go wrong or had gone wrong, we immediately saw blessings and felt at peace knowing that everything would turn out the way it was supposed to. We are also grateful for all the wonderful family and friends who visited while I was on bedrest and who constantly prayed for our little baby. . .he is definitely the product of alot of people's prayers and love! We love being parents and are excited for the years to come, although we already think he is growing up too fast! Here are some fun pics of William's first weeks of life!


William all snug and cozy in his little isolette

Hangin' out with dad an hour or two after he was born

Roland right before the C-section

We got to hold him twice a day for 30 minutes at a time.

He slept alot at the beginning!

Holding on to Roland's finger. . .isn't he so cute (and small!)

Sleeping peacefully in his little isolette

Not too excited about eating. . .we decided we could call him

"One-Eyed Willy" (from the Goonies)

Looking pretty cool with his shades, made especially

for being under the phototherapy lights!

Eating with Dad

He had to have a feeding tube for a couple of days

to make sure he was getting enough nourishment. . .

He probably would have had it longer, but he pulled it out. . .

he definitely has a mind of his own!

Alot of stuff for such a little baby!

Gaining his first 1.1 oz. . .he was up to 4 lbs 3 oz. . .

it was a very exciting day!!!

Burping a 4 lb baby is a little scary!

"Get me out of here already!!!!"

His first clothes drowned him. . .and they were even preemie!

The bottle was so big compared to him!

After 11 days in the NICU, he got to come home!
He only weighed 4 lbs. 9 oz

He looked so tiny in his car seat!

Grandma and Grandpa James

Hmmmm. . . .

Grandpa Batt

Look at the red hair. . .where did that come from???

Grandma Batt stayed with us for a WHOLE MONTH!!!

It was great!!!

First bath at home

The Countdown Begins

Well, I have officially been on bedrest for 15 weeks and 6 days (not that I'm counting) but we are excited to announce that the end is in sight and more excited that we will soon be parents! We went to the doctor's last Friday and were told that we will be having this baby in the next 3 weeks. . .it's crazy to think how soon that is (just for those who might not think that is a short amount of time, you'd be surprised what a couple of months on the couch will do to your whole perception of time. . .it kind of warps it!) Our baby is still on the smallish size. . .because of my condition he is not growing as fast as he should be, but everything else is okay and we figure we can fatten him up once he's born. We feel it's a miracle that I've been able to carry him for so long (I should be about 37 weeks when he is actually born. . .which is really good!) and we have had so many wonderful blessings throughout this whole pregnancy. . .we can't wait to meet this special little baby.

One thing we have been extra blessed with is wonderful family and friends. . .so many people have come to visit me and keep me company and have brought in meals. . .I don't know how we would have done this without everyone's help.



Nicole, Heather, Jana, and me. These girls took work off and came and spent a 'bedrest day' with me. It was wonderful. . .we watched 'North and South'. . .the ultimate chick flick!

I'm also lucky to have such a great husband! I'm sure no one thinks their first year of marriage is going to be so crazy, but Roland has been so great through all of this! He works all day and then comes home and takes care of me. . .I think he should get some kind of credit in med school for this for sure! On top of it all. . .he still finds time to work on the apartment!



We are happy to announce that we (meaning Roland) have finally finished renovating the downstairs bathroom. . .Meet Dr. Fix It (it's the guy under all the dust!)

The Ultimate Couch Potato

Okay, well, that was my first attempt at posting anything. . .I've got to figure out a few more things, but I think I can actually do this blogging thing.

Here's the real update. We have now been married a little over a year. Roland is in his 3rd year of medical school at the University of Utah. He is doing 6 week rotations in the hospitals and clinics and is enjoying it. . .for the most part. He works crazy hours sometimes (30 hour shifts) and doesn't always get a ton of sleep.

As for me, I have become the ultimate couch potato. . .yes, it's true, I spend all day, everyday on the couch in our living room. Don't worry, it is all for a good cause. . .I am pregnant!!! We are having a little boy and are super excited. However, I have been having a few difficulties with the pregnancy, which meant I needed to go on bedrest. . . and have been here on the couch since the middle of July. I've had to have surgery once and am on medication to keep me from going into labor, but we have been very blessed throughout the past couple of months and are excited for the arrival of our little boy (he is due December 11, but we are guessing he might be more of a Halloween baby. . .or hopefully a Thanksgiving baby, but we'll be excited whenever he comes!!!)



Celebrating our one year anniversary. . .yes, it's true. . .I wear a bib--it is hard eating when inclined!!!


Roland with all my water bottles. . .he fills them up each night for the next day!



Instead of some crazy long review of the past years events, I thought I would just post a few pictures to sum up what we've been up to. . .





Our first Halloween. . .and it looks like our first attempt ever at a Jack-o-lantern.


Hanging out in Idaho on the fourwheeler. . .In case you weren't sure, Roland is behind me (he's kind of hard to see due to his awesome camoflauge outfit).



Fixing up our apartment. . .it needed a little (actually ALOT) of help!


Well, that is not much of a review, but I was having difficulty with the pictures, so it will have to do. I'll post more later.