Jared's First Big Trip

The day after Jared's baby blessing, Uncle Mike took Jared, Amanda, and Mom out to Virginia to visit his family for a week. On the way out, Jared entered four states for the first time: Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia (and he even got in a tiny bit of Washington, D.C.). After we got to Uncle Mike and Aunt Rebecca's house, we enjoyed a meal of Chinese food before crashing for the night after our long drive. Jared even got to sleep in his own bed, since Mom brought the pack n' play bassinet from home. Cousin Bethany graciously lent us her room while we were there, and Mom really appreciated it, especially since Bethany likes the same kinds of books that Mom likes. We spent our time visiting with the cousins (Elizabeth, Joshua, Bethany, Peter, & Naomi) and their parents, and Jared was quite popular with them all. Jared also got to try out the new double stroller on an outing to the park. The pictures for this entry show Jared relaxing in his car seat; Jared trying out the stroller; Jared with cousin Peter; and Uncle Mike letting Jared have a turn at the wheel on the way home. Thanks again for letting us visit!

The First Month (or so)

Jared came home after a fairly brief stay at the hospital. Big sister and Grandmother were very excited to see him. We'd done some Christmas decorating before Jared was born, and as we looked at the stockings on the wall, we wondered whether Jared would fit in his; he did! Good thing we got the picture when we did, though, since he got bigger fast. Our long suffering digital camera gave up the ghost not long after Jared came home, but since Christmas was coming, we decided to get a new one for a family present. Good thing we got it, too, so that we could capture cute moments like Amanda giving Jared loves, and Jared cuteness in general.

We decided to have Jared's baby blessing on the first Sunday in January 2008. No grandparents were able to come, but Uncle Joe and his family came, and so did Uncle Mike. Interestingly enough, Jared's cousin Josie was blessed the same day, and so all of Dad's siblings were at baby blessings that day, since those who weren't with us were out in Utah with Josie. Jared looked so handsome in his blessing outfit. Unlike his older siblings, however, he did not have any diaper explosions while he was dressed up. So, Mom ended up taking the outfit off right after church, not wanting to push her luck, which unfortunately meant that no blessing outfit pictures were taken. (Sorry Jared & grandparents!)

The Birth of Jared, Nov 2007

Jared was born at 4:26 a.m. one fine morning. Since the last baby born to the family had been 11 days late, Mom and Dad were not surprised that Jared, too, was late enough to require induction. Mom's OB's regular policy was that babies were not allowed to go more than a week late. However, the one week mark for Jared came just a day before Dad's birthday, and Mom and Dad thought it would be a shame for Jared to miss sharing Dad's birthday by just a day. So, Mom went to be induced in the evening of the "week late day" to increase the odds of Jared arriving on the desired day. Grandmother had already arrived a couple of days before induction time, so everything was all set for Mom and Dad to go to the hospital that evening. The whole induction process took less than 8 hours, and since Jared was the first Muffin to be born with an average size head (instead of an above average size head), the experience was quite enjoyable for Mom as labor and delivery goes. The whole process was so smooth and moved along so quickly, in fact, that Dad came close to missing the birth, since he was sure things would take much longer and he'd gone to sleep. He didn't miss it, though, and Mom and Dad were very glad to see and hold all 7 lbs 2 oz and 19 in of Jared when he arrived. Did we mention that he came with hair? Lots of it! Enough for sideburns and a shaggy collar line!

Jared Unborn

After our first baby was a girl, boy-hungry Dad declared that all the babies from there on out would be boys. He said it so emphatically that by the time baby 2 was on the way, he was sure he'd jinxed himself out of a boy; he hadn't. So, when baby 3 was on the way, he still wanted a boy, but wasn't counting on it. However, big ultrasound day came, and he was pleasantly surprised. Funny story about the "big ultrasound," though: What with finding a doctor and being a new patient, etc., Mom's first ultrasound for baby 3 ended up being at around 16 weeks, late enough that the doctor ventured to give a fairly sure diagnosis of boy. Some funny blood tests prompted a more detailed ultrasound within two weeks later, and the boy diagnosis was confirmed at that point. By the time the real big ultrasound came two weeks after that, somehow Mom just wasn't surprised anymore that the baby was a boy, having known for almost a month by then. Attached to this post are highlights from ultrasounds 1 & 2. As with babies 1 & 2, we named baby 3 shortly after the ultrasounds: Jared.