December Update!

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! Things went pretty well here. We spent Friday and Saturday at my parents, Sunday at the in-laws and then we were home for Christmas Eve and day and had Pete and my parents over for dinner.

Jacob's 2nd Christmas went fairly well. He loves ALL of his gifts, but I think he was a little overwhelmed and on Christmas day Jacob decided to spike a high (104) fever and since came down with a rash which has been diagnosed as Roseola. While Roseola isn't supposed to cause a lot of discomfort, the past three days with Jacob have been a nightmare. He has been cranky, irritable and inconsolable. We took him back to the doctor today and they are just as mystified as we are... which makes me so nervous that this will never go away! He is a completely different kid... and for that matter, one that I do not like!

In other news, we had an ob appointment today and everything looks good. I'm measuring about 28cm (just a tad larger than expected), heart rate was about 135 (which seemed slow to me after drinking the glucola! Yikes, maybe I've been drinking too many soda's and Brody is used to it!!), and I'm now on appointments every 2wks, although our schedule is going to get screwed up when we go to Utah - that will make for a 3wk lapse. I've also gained about 10lbs, which is no surprise to me, especially after all the good food from the Holidays. Our ultrasound to check on the placenta previa has been scheduled for Monday, Jan. 14th. I'll attach a belly pic that we took last week. Unfortunately, I did a terrible job at taking pictures this year for Christmas, so I really don't have any of Jacob opening gifts, etc. :(

Aaron turned 35 on the 19th. I feel bad, it was pretty uneventful. Not like he would have liked some big party or something, but usually we go away for a night at a ski resort which we both enjoy doing (whether I'm skiing or not) and this year the weekends just didn't work out. I hope we work it out to go in the next few weeks, because turning 35 IS a big deal and we should celebrate in style!

I think that is about it really - oh, and I don't think I've mentioned the Utah trip before today... we booked that recently and the three of us and mom will be heading out on January 19th until the 25th. We are definitely looking forward to seeing Tom and Natalie and meeting baby Owen for the first time!

Hope everyone has a GREAT New Years! No plans on our end, but we are both looking forward to having a couple days off work together!

Oh, and to answer some FAQ's about Jacob snowboarding:

1. How long has Jacob been practicing? Jacob has been on the snowboard a total of 3 times, probably for about 10 minutes each time. The most recent video I posted was the 2nd time Jacob was out!

2. Where did you get that board? MC Sports. Of course with a dad that snowboards all the time like Aaron, he wouldn't let his son's first snowboard be anything but the best. It's a burton, with burton bindings and his regular snowboots. Both board and bindings are last years model and we had a gift certificate for MC's, thank goodness! We got a deal on the set up, not like that would have mattered to Aaron....

3. Where is his helmet? Good question! Jacob has a head that is in the 90th percentile, but do you think we can find a helmet small enough?! So if anyone happens to come across an infant sized helmet that wont cause neck damage, let us know! Until then, I think we are pretty safe with Aaron beside him in our front yard.

Look ma, no hands!!

Jacob Peed on the Potty!

We purchased a potty for Jacob this past weekend and have been sitting him on it (fully clothed) ocassionally when we go in to use the bathroom. Tonight I was getting Jacob ready for a bath and set him on it before and after his bath and HOLY SMOKES, he went both times!!!! I feel bad, I completely underestimated him! So my baby is finally potty trained :) Just kidding, we aren't going to give him any pressure until AFTER the baby comes and he has adjusted to that, but I'm just so glad that we have come this far!

Oh, the things you get excited about after you have kids... hey, those diapers are expensive!

Pictures from Family Christmas in Belding...

Santa Pictures

Comparison Belly Pics

Top ones are from 22wks (white tank) two weeks ago and then the bottom ones (pink tank) are from tonight at 24wks. Not too much of a difference, but definitely growing!

My boy's got skills...

So Aaron and I both learned something this holiday season. Aaron learned that kitchens aren't too girly for boys and I learned that Jacob isn't too young to start snowboarding.

We also learned that whoever came up with the expression "Like taking candy from a baby" was either grossly misinterpreted or never had kids. I got some highlights and a haircut on Friday and Aaron and Jacob came to pick me up. While my hairdresser was putting the final touches on me, I asked her if she wanted to try to cut Jacob's potential mullet. So we gave Jacob a sucker and she was able to clean him up pretty well! He moved around a lot, but she was quick and able to do a much better job than Aaron or I could give him. Things took a turn for the worse though when we returned to the car and took the sucker away from Jacob. (We didn't want him to have it when we couldn't watch him very well - also, he was a huge sticky mess). Jacob did the wide open-mouth cry where nothing comes out FOREVER. He cried harder over that darn sucker than he has cried about anything in his life! It was so sad! Aaron and I felt terrible and needless to say we were thinking "What kind of idiot thinks it's easy to take candy from a baby?!"

Thanks to everyone for their kind words and support.

Things are going pretty good now. It was such a turbulent relationship that it was/is difficult to know exactly how to feel about this news. And while their were many ups and downs, I think that all of us kids knew (know) that he loved us very much. I feel like I have a lot of regrets, but yet I'm not sure if I would change anything, it's just hard since its so final. I guess it just would have been nice if things were different, but we are blessed to have Bruce in our lives to provide the stability and day to day support.

Obviously this affected Tom and Natalie the most and they are doing pretty much how you would expect. We are planning on visiting with them in mid-January to hopefully take care of things and lift their spirits with some familiar faces. Then sometime this spring/summer they will return to Michigan with the ashes and we will place half in a plot next to Grandma Hilley and the other half at the lake in Harrison. The cabin there is no longer in the family, so I think I'll see if there are any cabins we can rent and maybe hang out and share stories from the good times.

Oh, and I guess the autopsy revealed that he died from a heart attack, he was 62.

My dad passed away...

Found out tonight that my dad passed away. I don't know too many details other than they are taking him to Salt Lake for an autopsy. I guess the police scared nearly everyone in Utah, leaving random messages without clarifying which Tom Hilley has passed. In addition, they asked Natalie to pick up his belongings from the hotel he was staying in and did not inform her that his body was still there. I'm feeling lots of things right now, but mostly just sadness for my brother Tom, who God love him, gave our dad many more chances than Mark and I ever considered. And I'm sorry for Natalie, its been a rough couple weeks for her and now a very difficult night.

I don't have much else to say, just that Tom and Natalie especially could use some prayers.