Yay for the thanksgiving point petting zoo! We had so much fun on Saturday! Orion loved the petting zoo, though when we first got there he was so excited to be let loose in such a cool place it was hard to get him to stop running and pay attention to the cool animals lol. As soon as he did he was pretty interested (for as long as a 21 month old can be ha).
This is the first ramp where we just let him out of the stroller to go see - as you can see he took off lol that is a goat at the end he is going to talk to.
They have some feeders all around the park where you can buy feed for 25 cents and feed the animals. In this pen there were some really really cute baby goats that weren't any bigger then a small cat. They were cute!
This is the cow that Ori kept mooing at - you know cow's pretty boring and slow so we didnt stay here too long haha.
Cute Daddy and Ori talking to a goat.

Here is a quick video of the poni ride that came with admission, Orion wasnt sure what he thought about it. He wasnt scared, he is just so serious that he was concentrating really hard on what he was supposed to do, he would smile and wave when I yelled to him and said hi - but then right back to his serious concerned face. What a fun day we had together as a family - its been a while since we have been able to do something all together since I have been sick and now I am nesting and going crazy with house stuff ;) So it was overall a great outing.

Yay Gymnastics!

I took Orion to gymnastics last Friday for the first time. I have been trying to find a way to burn his excess energy in a productive way that will help his developmental skills a little, so we decided to try this. He LOVED it and had a blast. He was so tired the rest of the day, lol it was kinda funny. They did all sorts of learning games, they learned front rolls (which he was already doing off our bed ugh) and they learned how to do a few other fun things. They got to run and jump and throw themselves all over in this padded place so he had so much fun.
for this game the kids hold on to one side and then they get rolled over the top of this wheel into a front roll, Ori was really mad other kids had to have a turn.
once during the whole thing I turned around and found this, he walked the entire beam without falling! I was totally amazed one foot in front of the other practically running.
These are small bubbles that they had fun trying to get - it was actually really good for the fine motor skills because the bubbles were so small they were less the an inch in size (I never thought to use smaller bubbles).

Playing and thinking

Orion has just started to do this more and more, whenever he is concentrating he will stick his tongue out like this. Sorry the pics are fuzzy, it was my phone that caught these pics. Dustin actually does this also when he is concentrating well that or chews on pens as many of you know. ;) He is putting his train track together and trying to use his cars on it lol.
I just got some sidewalk chalk for Ori to play with out front, since he loves being outside. These are a few of his first masterpieces.

Some catch up pics

Orion loves to pull this little play golf bag Gammy gave him all over the house, but instead of carrying his clubs or his balls or his cars it carries his sippy cup. I thought it was pretty cute to see him walking around then stopping to take a swig and then continuing on his journey.
Here is an up close pic of his sippy in the golf bag, it fits perfectly as you can see.

This is a picture Dust took last week when Orion was trying to walk in his shoes. This is something he has just started to do, he will grab Dustins shoes or Steves shoes and try and walk around. He is developing an obsession with shoes because before he can go outside (which he constantly is asking for) he has to get his shoes and socks and get them on. So, now he loves to find his shoes and get them on because the reward of outside is soon to follow.
This is a picture Dustin took last week just after Orion woke up from a nap and was starving. We thought his hair was so funny, its always so crazy and hard to keep looking nice, its very fine and easily pliable. (pay no attention to the fish tank in the background, my poor tank has been very neglected since my down time).

Lastly, the Dustin mini me. We found Orion like this two days ago when we walked into the living room. He is sitting on our coffee table and totally enthralled - whenever there is music coming from the television he is glued.

18 weeks and counting

so dont look at the face just the belly lol. I am feeling ok still, no episodes to speak of yet - hopefully we are done with all that yuckiness. However, I am still not 100% its still hard to do things that should be easy, such as walking up the stairs, doing my hair lol, showering, running with ori, riding in the car, shopping etc. However, its getting better with everyday and I feel as if the baby is growing so quickly now. I can feel him moving and that is fun. I am also able to eat well now, and I am! I eat every two hours (though it feels like more) I really think my body is trying to catch up for the lack of food for 4 months. I get teased because I am ALWAYS hungry right now, and craving sweets :) I am sure I will gain back what I have lost and then some just like I did with Orion. Its bitter sweet I guess.

FINALLY!

I am finally feeling a little better and I have been slowly beginning to be able to get out of bed and join the living! Dustin took me in for some more fluids on Sunday and I was feeling pretty yucky that day, but since then I think I am feel a little better everyday, and it feels like this little baby is doubling in size everyday ha. I am kinda scared to say I am feeling better just because I dont want to jinx it and I am praying it doesnt come back suddenly. I am 17 1/2 weeks so about half way yay! I have been going crazy laying here for three months trying to keep anything down, thinking of all the things that need to be done and redecorating our room in my head lol.

I cant tell you how much Orion has grown through the three months I have been down. He has changed from a baby to a boy. He climbs up on everything, jumps around, and pretty daring, but he is also so inquisitive. He wants to look and see how and why things do what they do. He is starting to develop such a fun and interesting personality. He has been having so much fun at Granny Janny's with Dayson and the family. I am excited to start feeling better be able to spend more time doing fun spring/summer activities. I have felt so guilty not spending time with him - but he has been so well taken care of and he sure loves to see everyone.

In this picture orion had found a way to climb into his high chair by himself with the tray on - goofy boy.

This is his camera smile - cheesy face.

Back in Time...

This last Friday I was invited to travel back to Logan to Speak at my alma mater, Utah State. One of my old professors invited me to speak to the Broadcast students as a "professional" in the industry. They had a few other people there, 2 reporters from KSL and An assignment editor from Channel 4. We were on a panel designed to help the students get a job when they graduate. I was like: "Sit up straight! Don't Mumble! Call me Sir, Gosh-dang it!" (What movie?) I wanted to be a little more realistic and say: "Get out now! Do you WANT to earn 30K a year for the rest of your life?! Major in business like a sane person!" But I was positive and hopefully the kids were helped out. Gosh they seemed so young.

It was very weird going back to Logan. It seems so long since I was there. There were some new buildings and such, but still, the timelessness of the place really struck me. As a was driving to and from campus, a million memories hit me at once. Every street, every bus stop, every building was loaded with memories. College is such a crazy time in a person's life, so many huge decisions to be made. It was nice to take a travel down memory lane. Hopefully sometime in the future I can return and take Brandi and the kids to a basketball game.

Night Terrors

Dustin Here. People that know me well know that I have night terrors. I do come by it honestly. My Dad has them. I remember well the night when he ran around the house yelling that the mountain was caving in on the house. Mom says he would jump up on the bed and act all crazy. My Brother used to sleepwalk all the time. My Night Terrors manifest themselves when I am stressed out. When I was in the MTC, I would yell and thrash around in my sleep. In college I would sleepwalk every now and then. But the past few years it has gotten really bad. When I lived with Derrick in Bountiful, I woke up standing on the front porch in my G's, With Derrick standing behind me "WHAT are you doing!?" Now, with Brandi being sick and me having to carry a much heavier load to keep the house running, they happen once a week. About a month ago, I flew out of bed, ran down the hall, and promptly fell down the stairs. I hobbled to the couch, with Brandi running after me screaming at me. As I slowly emerged from my fog, I began to feel stupid, which is usually the case. My back hurt for a week. In my mind, I have a very good reason to jump out of bed in my undies and run around. However, as I slowly awake, the reason flees from my brain, and I don''t exactly know why I am running down the stairs at 3 AM. I guess I need to blow off more steam before I go to bed!

Easter Sunday

Hey there, Dustin here. Brandi was riding high on her hyperemesis cycle this week. She actually went outside and played with Orion on Saturday. She was doing really good and holding everything down. It was really good to see her out of bed and up and around. However, she overdid it a bit and was on the downward spiral by Sunday morning. I decided to take Ori and get him out of the house so Brandi could rest. We went to Aunt Jill's in Centerville for Easter dinner. Ori was the center of attention, even though all he wanted was to go outside to play. Here he is figuring out how those easter eggs work.

We've got some outside help coming in to carry the load until Brandi gets better. We hired a housekeeper to help twice a month and a part time nanny to help when I am at work. Hopefully It wont be long now. We went back and looked at her chart from last time, and the last time she had to get fluids was 14 weeks. We are almost there now, so keep us in your prayers!

Pushing forward

Well ok ... a new update. We went in again on Tues for more fluids and another shot of phenergan to help with nausea and knock me out. They gave me another 4 liters of fluid and weighed me I just about fell over when they told me I have lost almost 25 lbs! I really do need to bottle this and use it after I have the baby... haha. We did have an ultra sound done... I am so thankful for Carlos and Raquell they are so nice and take such good care of me ... so we checked to make sure all the baby is ok and there was enough fluid etc. The baby was pretty active and looks great! That is a relief, its so hard to think the baby is alright when I feel and look like death, but its great and it actually measured a little further along then the original due date so now its Sept. 28th and we are 13 weeks along yay closer then we thought. Carlos is pretty sure I will have this baby two weeks early again like Orion - and we were able to see that is another BOY(95% sure)!! Yep... we are having another boy, crazy! So that lifted my spirits a little its fun to see the ultra sound and see him doing well and active, it made me actually feel pregnant for the first time instead of just really sick. If I feel ok sometime soon I will put the pics up for you all to see.

I also wanted to say thank you for all the uplifting comments that have been left. They are really nice to read and it helps me to press on. Thanks to our families for all the help as well I dont know what we would do with out you all.

Oh and Justin thank you so much for taking care of the reception and giving up a friday night... that sure put my mind at ease and was very nice of you to do. Only now I have to try and live up to you and dustin - lol you are both so good at shooting (sigh) someday lol.

Keep On Keepin' On...

Dustin here again. It's crazy how the days just blend together, Even when this last month has seemed sooo long. Brandi is still fighting the good fight. She's still pretty darn sick. Yesterday she tried to go to wal-mart with Steve, and that didn't end so well. They say that the majority of women with Hyperemesis get better after 20 weeks, and we are about at week 12. So keep us in our prayers! Today Brandi's fledgling video business had a wedding to shoot, so I had to cover it. It was weird being back at the Salt Lake Temple doing a wedding video. It's been so long. It would have been quite refreshing, had I not known I had to be at KJZZ doing my real job when I finished. Props to Justin for shooting the Reception while I take care of my Powerhouse responsibilites. Oh I also saw Mike Terry there shooting a wedding. Small World. Also Props to Stevie for watching Orion 4 days this week.




Work these past weeks has been hard. My Technical Director is no longer at the station, so we've had some different people filling in. For Those of you that don't speak TV, The T.D. is the guy who sits at the giant board with all the pretty little lights, and pushes all the buttons when the director tells him to. He's pretty integral to the show. A Good T.D. makes the show go so much better. He catches all the mistakes that the Director doesn't see. So we've been looking for a permanent replacement. Anyone out there who wants to be ordered around by me 5 nights a week? :P The Jazz are in full swing right now, so I've been having to work a few games on the weekends. That's been rough on Brandi, cause I'm not home as much. But there are only 4 more away games in the season left, but then the playoffs start! Wow, long season.

Thanks for everyone's help this last little bit. We are hoping that we're near the end of the Big "H"

A Brandi Update

Hey everyone, Dustin Here. I know I never post on this thing, but Brandi wanted me to update this and let everyone know how we were doing. Brandi is still really sick. She's dropped a good 15 pounds, and she's starting to look pretty thin. I told her we should figure out a way to bottle this and sell it. We could make a fortune. She has had a couple of good days where she can keep a little soup down, but they are few and far between. We've been up to Brigham City for an IV a few times, so she doesn't get too dehydrated. She's talked on the big white telephone so much that her esophagus is bleeding. yikes. We're going on a month now, so we hope the end is near. Ori had been going up to my Mom's house (Granny Janny's) a couple times a week, and he's having a great time. Thanks to all those who have been helping out. I've also been able to spend a lot more quality time with Ori the past month, it's been a lot of fun. I have a hard time keeping up with him. He's at the age where he wants to see and touch everything, especially if it's dangerous. And at his age, almost everything is. He always is coming and grabbing me by the hand, and leading me to the door to go out and play--even if it's 10 PM and freezing out. Today, much to my chagrin, he figured out how to circumvent the gate at the stairs, so now he just wants to play on the stairs all day. Such is life with the little man.

The good news and bad news!!

Well I will start with the good news! We are expecting another baby!! I found out about two and half weeks ago on a friday that I was pregnant with out second baby, I was filled with all kinds of emotions excitement, nervousness, happiness and it all hit me kinda hard. I dont know why it wasnt unexpected really but I was surprised nonetheless. When I found out I was pregnant with Orion I didnt really get to tell Dustin in a fun or cute way due to circumstances with my family at the time, so I really wanted to do something for him that would make it special. So I read online and tried to find a cute way to tell him. He was going snowboarding with the guys the next day on Saturday... so on saturday Orion and I went out and searched for a big brother shirt EVERYWHERE... I couldn't find one anywhere... so I decided to get some transfer paper and a t-shirt for Orion and make him a big brother shirt to where when Daddy came home. We were running out of time so we ran home and I printed it out and ironed it on - this is how it turned out!

As soon as Dustin walked in and Ori ran to greet him I heard him say "OH.... wow..... does this mean what I think it means?" lol I laughed and said yes - it was a fun memory for us and Ori looked so cute in his Big bro shirt. So, we are about 8 weeks and due in October around the 9th. As for the bad news... the last two weeks have been really hard I have hyperemesis again and I was so hoping to not have the same problem this time around. http://www.hyperemesis.org/

I have been in for iv fluids twice already and have dropped 10lbs... its so hard to be excited for a new baby when I have been so sick, Dustin has been remarkable however, he has taken all the load off of me and has done such an amazing job at caring for everyone and trying to do everything... he has been so sweet to me and he and Orion have had some good bonding time. I am so thankful to all our family and friends who have been so much help during this trying time. Thank you for stepping in I cant express how much it means to each of us. I miss spending time with Orion, I havent been able to leave my bed really. We love all of you and hopefully this down time will pass farily quickly. I know that the Lord gives us trials to teach - but right now I cant figure out what I am supposed to be learning (I hope it comes to me quickly). Thank you again to eveyrone.

Orion's Cheesy face...

Orion has learned that when he makes this face everyone around laughs - this is what he does to lighten the mood or just be funny. I love it ... so I had to capture it. ;)

This is how he rolls...

So there is this place in the mall that has videogames and little kiddie rides. Ori loves to go there and play - I dont even have to pay for the ride/game he is perfectly fine just running from thing to thing pretending. This last week we went there and he was hooked on the dance dance revolution game ... he was actually following the screen and spinning and jumping with the guy on the screen it was so cute!! Then these two teenage boys came in and started to play, they were total pro's they had all the moves memorized etc - anyway they were going really fast and Orion was wathching them with eyes as big a quarters and then he started going nuts on jumping and throwing himself around trying to copy - it was hilarious. He is so much fun!

Orion just got this new hoodie for christmas that has been a bit big but he wanted to wear it today, and he seems to like it a little big because he can pull it down over his eyes and be chillin' so while Steve and I were driving today I looked back at him and this is what I saw. I just started laughing he was totally talking and giggling under there. What a ham.

What I dream about....

So when we moved in we were NOT planning on doing anything to our basement since it was finished not too long ago by a previous owner - BUT... there was a leak that continued to get worse and to make a long story short now we are redoing the bathroom in our basement i.e. Steves bath :) So for the last 3 weeks I have been dreaming about this shower... it took me a week to finally finish demoing (ten minutes here ... ten minutes there you Moms know what I am talking about) so finally that part was done and here are some before pics. There was a prefab corner shower in earlier and that is what you see the remains of here.
We decided to make this a "rain" shower so I had the plumber come in last week and reroute the pluming on the bottom and then the shower head, which now comes out of the ceiling as you can see below. Then this week I rebuild the bottom of the shower bigger to fit the entire area of that nook, tomorrow I am finally going to mix and pour the mortar and then we can start putting everything back together! YAY - then I can start to relax it has been pretty stressful - but I am learning a ton! I will post more pics as I get further.

Some of what I demoed out of that bath - sheesh! I think I filled up like 5 boxes worth of stuff.

Poor Baby Check up -

So Orion had a check up today - He is growing great and everything looks good. He is the 25th percentile for everything except his weight (he is a pretty small guy). For some reason he is only in the 10th percentile for his weight- I don't get it either he eats SO much and he is not picky at all. He loves all kinds of food but I think the problem might be that his favorite foods are really really healthy and low fat. His favorite soup is miso soup - he absolutely loves green beans and broccoli and tomato's - he likes chicken tacos lol according to the Dr I should try more ice cream, cookies, and peanut butter (the problem with that is I eat it too when we get it for him ha).

Anyway - He did have to get a few shots and that seriously breaks my heart everytime. I think I have a PTSD from all the poking they did to him earlier in his life - and then I worry that if I feel that way he must have a little memory of all that. So after all that he got a sucker and we came home and rested, cuddled up on the couch and watched his favorite show - luckily his appointment was pretty late in the day so he was able to got to sleep pretty soon after we got home. What a sweety.

Fun Fun...

I was working on our wains coating the other day, and orion was just hangin out playin around, and I turned around to find this cute face...

Now he has done this before, and I dont know why it was particularly funny today but I really laughed hard, I thought it was pretty cute, I think it was because he knew he was being funny and did it just to make me laugh. What a sweet heart. Things have been really busy for all of us lately, steve has been busy with homework, and I have started planning for my residency in June (ahh!) and Dustin just started Directing instead of Technical Directing Powerhouse (9:35 on KJZZ channel 14) so we have been a bit stressed this week. Dustin's show is going great and they made a really smooth transition so that is good. He is so good at what he does. Anyway thats a quick update on us, we are also remodeling our basement shower and bath I will get some pictures up soon if I can. :)

New videos - dancing and singing

So this is a random video I got last week. Orion has learned how to stomp his feet and dance (which is kinda crazy) he is so random and fun right now. Learning so much everyday, I am amazed at the changes that are happening so quickly right now. As you can see he loves the TV also and his favorite show is the Doodlebops on Disney (that's what he is watching at the end of the video) - I Tivo it so he can watch whenever. I love to see him watch it, he gets the best facial expression while he is watching. As you can see we are still working on the house, this is where I stopped with the hardwood, I will do the kitchen with the same hardwood when I finish the cabinets :) ugh.


This second video is his first music video. Lisa gave him this cute little music alligator that he loves and he drags it all over the house playing and singing. Its hilarious.

Happy new year! Bring on 2008!

I cant believe we are going into 2008. It's craziness... anyway, I thought I should throw a couple of pics on here real quick. We didn't do much for new years because Dustin had to work, so I just rented a few movies and tried to take it easy. This is a pic of Orion sitting on Steve's lap playing, he loves to play with Steve its so cute he gets so excited and if he wakes up early will go pound on Steve's door until he wakes up.
Orion still loves to play the "where is Orion?" game... he hides in our closet, under blankets, behind his own hands etc and gets a kick out of it. He is teething again - ugh poor guy - so his shirt is pretty wet in these pics. :)
Happy new year everyone!!

The scare for this week...

So on Tuesday last week I was in the kitchen making cookies for my visiting teaching ladies and Dustin had just left for work, Orion was playing around as usual and all was well... all of the sudden he started to cry so hurried to see what the matter was and found him with a wood stain can opened and all over him and the floor. This was a little tiny 8 oz can of black ebony stain, he had found it and opened it (if anyone has used stain recently you know how hard those cans are to open) I normally have to use a screwdriver to open it. Anyway, it was all over the lower half of his body, luckily I caught him just as he was pouring it... but he cried because of the black color that was all over new mickey pjs. It was nuts, this stuff is oil base and spreads like wildfire, so I ran him up to the bath (where it just got all over our tub and repelled the water) and started to scrub him down... I was worried about what it would do to his skin so I called poison control and they said it was fine as long as I could get it off his skin for the most part. I finally thought to use dish soap and that did the trick but he was pretty upset that the black wouldn't come off while I was cleaning him off - he kept trying to scratch it off. It was so sad. After he was taken care of I went to start cleaning up the kitchen floor, luckily we haven't replaced this flooring just yet so it is still a little black but it doesn't matter too much.

Here he is sitting recouping on the couch after his bath, watching the Doodlebops and resting.

Here are his little cute black feet across our kitchen floor lol... I should have had him step on a piece of paper or something lol.
here is a fuzzy pic again of his feet to the upper rt hand side is where I had a pool of black stain I cleaned it up before I took this. Ha crazy crazy

Decorating the tree...

I know its been a while since I have written anything we just got back into town last sunday and we have been trying to catch up and get ready for Christmas. It has been a really hectic and crazy week. We really wanted to get our tree up this week, with the snow and how close it is to Christmas we really needed the tree to complete the Christmas setting. Orion was totally into the tree this year, he was helpin Daddy set it up and put the lights on. Right after we got it up and the lights on he would just sit and look at it with the dog. It was pretty cute but it didnt last long, now he has decided it much more fun to play with the lights and pull on the tree. ugh.

Here he is helping Daddy with the lights.
this is when we first got it in and up.