Pop and Mae Visit and Thanksgiving

Hello everyone. Here are more pictures of our last visitors for a bit...Pop and Mae'. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with them and we had some of the students from x-ray over also. Dylan is doing a wonderful job at football and is looking forward to Christmas break from School. Brent is getting back into the swing of things in X-ray. We are so glad that he off of the special duty and home more often again! Work is going well for me. I am really enjoying being back after everything. I have followed up with the surgeon and I will have more scans and blood work in April to check to make sure the tumor hasn't come back. I am feeling stronger every day and we praise the Lord that it has all been taken care of. Jonathan is growing like a weed! He was 12lbs at 3 months and 23 inches long! We are really enjoying watching the boyz grow together and they both keep us very busy! Well I want to get this posted. I will try to post more later. We hope that you are all doing well. I know that we are all going to be very busy with the Christmas season and all...but I want to remember to stop and just think about how very blessed we all are! I know we have had an abundance of blessings just in this past year! Take care and we will post more later. All of our love

I know...stop with the pics

Here are more pictures that I had on my phone and wanted to share. Hope you checked out the 150 I just posted before these. I just can't help myself. HA HA.

2 months

So much has happened since I last posted. Jonathan is growing at an awesome speed. At his 2 month check, he was 10 lbs 2 oz and 22 inches long. We just took him the other day for a check for his tummy and he was 10 lbs 9 oz. His tummy is fine, but he has reflux and started on Zantac. He is doing so much better now that he has his medicine! You will see in the pictures that he has also started daycare. We have him in a very small home daycare for the time being. We are on the waiting list for the Child Developement Center on base. We will see. Dylan is doing really well in school. He is working really hard and has been a HUGE help here at home. He helps us with the housework and with his Brother all of the time. We are so blessed to have him. Jonathan is so lucky to have the best Big Brother EVER! Dylan had his first football game last Saturday. He was really excited that his Daddy could be here this year for it. His Brother, Aunt Cindy, Presley and Dad all watched him make 2 out of the 3 touchdowns (one was an interception) and 3 "tackles" (pulled flags). The important thing is that he seemed to be having a GREAT time. As you all know, my Big Sister Charice was here for almost a month. I don't know what we ever did without her before. She was such a HUGE help. She watched the baby when I went back to work. She would send me pictures of him throughout the day to make it a bit better. She had dinner on the table every night for us and all while homeschooling Joe and dealing with Scott being back in Alaska for most of the time. When Scott came back down, he was the chef and Charice picked up cleaning the house for us. Now I think I need a nanny, cook, and housekeeper. Ha ha. Honestly, it was so wonderful to have her here and we are blessed that she will be living in Nebraska...the closest we have lived since before she left for the military! I hope to get to spend a lot more time with her in the future! We were able to take Charice and Joe to Santa Cruz Boardwalk, Jelly Belly Factory, and San Francisco. I think that they enjoyed it. The Boys even got to go trick or treating together. Grandma and Aunt Gigi and Uncle Larry came down for Trick or treat weekend and Aunt Sue flew in to pick up Grandma to take her back home! It was wonderful to get to see them all again! They only stayed the weekend, but it was nice to have them here when Charice was also here! You also know that I had my surgery to remove the tumor on my kidney. Everything went very well. The surgeon is sure he got all of the tumor. Unfortunately the pathology came back that the tumor was Cancer..Renal Cell Carcinoma. The great news is that is was very early and not aggressive, no chemo or radiation as of right now and it is gone. Thank God for great doctors, prayers and family and friends. Charice left after I got out of the hospital and Cindy (Brent's sister) and her daughter Presley (18 months) came in that night. Kaci and Katelynn (3yrs old) came in last Sunday. We had a wonderful time with all of the cousins together for the first time. They didn't stay very long and I was down for the count most of the time, but we did make it to Build a Bear and to a Winery! Unfortunately they all had to leave on Tues to head back to Washington. We are looking forward to Brent's parents coming in next week. I hope that you enjoy the pics. I am going to post another set of pictures that are from my phone that span the past two months and I just wanted to show you how much the boyz have changed. Thank you again for all of your thoughts and prayers. They have worked. We send our love to all of you. (I also have pics of my birthday in Carmel by the Sea and Brent and Dylan's Boat, "Momma's Dingy")

4 weeks

I can't believe that it has been 4 weeks since our lives were forever changed and made so much better! It has been a whirlwind of excitement and craziness. Dad and Grandma came to visit and it was great to get to see them and spend some time with them. Aunt Gigi and Uncle Larry came down to pick up Grandma and I haven't seen them since 2004 and this was a wonderful quick visit. We hope to get up to Medford to visit them a lot in the future. After Dad left, Mom came in the next day and it was great to have her here. She helped with the boyz, cleaned the house, did laundry, and was supportive when I felt like pulling out my hair. Mom gave me time to sleep and get rested before everyone left and Brent went back to work. We went to the Exploratorium in San Fran with mom and Dylan loved it. It is a hands on science museum and we all had fun playing. We didn't do as much sight seeing this visit...as you can guess why. It was just really relaxing for me and I really appriciated it! Mom left and Brent had to go back to work. The good news is that he is back in X-ray. He seems a lot happier and is getting home at a better time in the evening. The baby is doing great. He had lost weight after going home. He was down to 5lbs 4oz and then 5lbs 9oz a week after going home. At his 2 week check up he was up to 6lbs 6oz! We were so happy! The doctor said that she couldn't find anything wrong with him...he is healthy and strong. We don't go back until 2 months old. We did hit a small snag the past week. Brent and I got the stomach flu and unfortunately the baby got sick also. He has had a tummy ache all week and is finally getting to the end of it I think. I was scared that we had another Colic baby...but I think he just had a bug. Dylan is still loving being the big brother. He is so helpful and loving. He has had a few problems listening at home...but we are working thru it all. It is an adjustment for all of us and we expected that he would need some extra time and attention...and we are trying our best. Dylan is really doing pretty great considering everything. As far as I am concerned...things are going good. I had another CT done and the tumor hasn't changed. My doctor has scheduled the surgery for part of my kidney and the tumor to be removed on Nov 2nd. I am anxious to have it over and done with. My sister Charice will be getting here on Oct 11th and staying for about a month on her way to Nebraska. I am glad she will be here when I have my surgery. Cindy, Presley, Kaci, and Katelynn will be here around the first or second week of Nov also. Things are going to be crazy around here for awhile again. I will try to blog more often and keep pictures coming of the boyz as much as I can. I hope to go back to work on the 14th of October and work until I have my surgery. I am really missing work...but it is going to be SOOOOO hard to leave my little man. Pray that he continues to grow and be healthy, that Dylan will continue to love his new role and his life, and that Brent and I continue to be so blessed by the greatest family in the world! Love to you all! Enjoy the pictures

Jonathan is HERE!

Per last blog, we saw the perinatalogist on Monday. She was quite surprised to see us. I guess it was just assumed that we were going to be induced on Monday morning. The specialist did the ultrasound and said that the baby was small, but he looked healthy. She still recommended that we went ahead in the next day or so to be induced. She thought that it would be safer for the baby and for myself. She was concerned that I was on blood thinners and wanted a more controlled delivery. Brent and I agreed and went back to the base to be induced. We hung out in L&D for awhile and then they sent us home until my blood thinner was out of my system. We returned to L&D at about 5:30pm and they started the IV and drew labs. Dylan went to a friend's house for the evening and we started this wonderful journey. At 8pm they started the Pitocin. I was not looking forward to that part...but it wasn't too bad...at first. I talked to anesthesia about getting an epidural and they told me that I had to wait and earn it. I was up for the challenge. Every half hour the nurse turned the Pitocin up. By 11pm, I was having contractions every 1-2min and I was hurting pretty bad. I was afraid that I was being a wimp and that it was too early to ask for an epidural...but I did it. The nurse went and got anesthesia and she checked me. I was really disappointed when she said I was only at about 4cm. Anesthesia started an epidural that was in a vascular space and had to take it back out. They started another one and it worked everywhere except in a small circle on the right. It was now 12midnight. Anesthesia told me to roll onto my right side to try to bask the nerve to try to cover the area. I rolled onto my side and my water broke. I was so glad that they weren't going to have to do it. Brent went and told the nurse...she checked and confirmed. She told me to call her if I felt any pressure. Five minutes later I sent Brent to tell her that I had pressure. The nurse came in rolling her eyes. She checked me and told me not to push...I was crowning. She ran and got the doctor. I pushed a few times and Jonathan was born at 1230am. He is perfect. He had some slight problems with low blood sugar, but he is fine now. We know that all of the prayers have showered this little man and kept him in God's hands. Jonathan was 5lbs 12oz and 18inches long. He is so tiny as you can see by the pics. Dylan is the proudest BIG Brother that has ever lived. He was telling the nurses how to hold his brother. They took Jonathan to the nursery to do an assessment and hearing test and Dylan was pacing in the room. Brent asked him what was wrong and he said, "it just isn't right, one of us should be with my brother...have you even SEEN the room where they took him?" When Brent took Dylan home for the night, Dylan said, "it is just not right not having Jonathan with us here...we need him with us". He is starting to wonder if Brent and I know what we are doing. I assured him that we have done this once before and we think we did an OK job. Ha ha. Well, all of the tests they have run so far have come back good. He is doing wonderful. I am feeling OK. Jonathan has his days and nights confused...so I am super tired...but we will figure it out. We got to come home this evening and we are so happy. We go tomorrow to pick up my dad and grandma....then they leave on Monday and my mom gets in on Tues. We are going to have company for the next few months. We are thanking God for a wonderfully healthy, beautiful little man. If you are wondering...I will be calling now and trying to get my surgery scheduled for about 2 months from now. I have my silver lining to this story already...but please keep the prayers coming...you have all gotten us this far. Well, I am getting my shift for sleep. I will try to post more often since I will be home for the next few weeks. Thank you again for all of your prayers and gifts. I will be getting the thank you notes out soon. Our love and prayers go out to all of you also. We pray that God blesses you as much as he has blessed us. Love, Crystal, Brent, Dylan, Jonathan, and Shadow

Baby Shower

So we made it to the baby shower. As some as you know...we may be having the baby earlier than expected. The last appt the doctor found out that the baby is not growing properly and there may be something wrong with the umbilical cord. Brent and I am going to go to see a Perinatologist on Monday (tomorrow) to get a second opinion before we allow them to induce me tomorrow afternoon or sometime shortly there after. Thank you for all of your prayers. Keep them coming. It may be a long road ahead of us with the appt and the birth. We pray that the baby is healthy whenever he comes into this world. Anyways...we did make it to the babyshower. It was a great time. We had a good turnout with great friends and we got a lot of really great things. I am going to keep this short. Tomorrow is going to be a really long day and I still have to pack a bag just in case. I have included some pics of the baby shower, the boyz rooms and future razorback shirt that I had from when I was pregnant with Dylan. Please once again...keep the prayers coming. We will let you all know as soon as we know something. Hope all is well with you all. Love, Crystal and the Boyz

School has Started..YA HOO

Hey everyone. So not a lot has been going on...but here is where we are. The baby and I have made it farther than Dylan and I did. We are now 36weeks and 4 days today! I have been feeling quite a bit more tired...but otherwise pretty good. I am still working full time...although everyone at work treats me with white gloves and baby's me wayyyyyy too much. The baby has dropped quite a bit...but I still hope and think we have a while to go. Next weekend is my baby shower thrown by a girl at work that I am friends with. She has threatened me that I have to wait until that is over to have this baby. I hope he doesn't try to get me into trouble. HA HA.
So this week has been pretty good. Brent is still on First Shirt duty..even though they said he would be done on Wed. They are now saying that this coming Friday is the last day. I sure hope so. He took Thurs and Friday off to site his gun and go hunting for deer. He didn't get anything...but he is also staying close to town...just in case. I think he just needed a break from work and such. Dylan started 3rd grade on Thurs. WOW! Where did the time go? He really seems to like his teacher...she told him to wait a few weeks until he decided. HA HA. I am not very happy that they have 28 students in the class. They have cut the budget so bad here. I guess education is not very important in California. But Dylan's teacher seems to have things under control and we just have to hope and pray that he will get what he needs out of this year!
My favorite thing that we did this week was to go and get family pics done with the baby bump. I wished we would have done it a bit sooner. My face and ankles/feet have really swollen in the past week or two...but I am just glad that we got it done. It was such a beautiful experience and I have to admit...I cried a bit when I saw the pics...but then again...the photographer and one of the other girls there also teared up a bit too! I posted the pics that we had to chose from...Grandparents...we have some in frames coming to you all with the extras in a book. Don't try to download off of here please. We also have a CD and we can get reprints or more prints ordered very easy if we need/want. Siblings...we have some coming for you also...whether you want them or not. HA HA. Anyways...hope you all enjoy them. I am so excited to take the baby back to these people when he comes to have more. They did such a fantastic job! The photographer has already started planning the next pics. Anyways...I best get going. Hope you enjoy the pics and I pray that you all are just as happy and blessed as we feel right now! Love to all