Victory!!!

He did it. (Well most of the time) Only 2 accidents, but 3 victories. He was able to run and get on the potty all on his own. Im so proud of my big boy.

Potty Training!!!

So we ran out of diapers last night and I decided that instead of running out to get more that Tommy would try to potty train this week. Grandma alread bought him the coolest undies that he is excited to wear. Im just sick of changing 20+ diapers a day with the 2 kids. Plus it seams like Tommy is getting bigger and needs to be in the next size up. So instead of doing that we will potty train. So far hes running around bottom less and no accidents yet. I think he is ready because he will run and get a diaper and tell me he needs a diaper on when he usually has to go. We are just waiting for the actual event on the toilet. Wish us good luck and if you have any ideas please share.

Jane Isa

Jane is a month old now. Time goes by fast. She has been a great baby. I love having a little girl. Jane is such a snuggle bug, which I love. Today she was so close to smiling. She is already getting very good at holding her head up as you can see in the pictures. She is now about 8 lbs. My friend Jen came over and took these great pictures for me. Thanks Jen.

Pandora

I have a new favorite website.
www.pandora.com
It is an internet radio station. You choose a song that you like and the website will find similar kinds of songs for you. Its almost like a cool new kind of science.
To get started just tell them one of your favorite songs or artists and they will create a station that explores just that part of the music universe. And if they pick a song that you dont like you can give it a thumbs down and it will calculate why you didnt like it (like not enough harmony) and find a better one. It really is cool. It will even tell you why you like it.

Big Brother

More Jane

Jane is about 2 1/2 weeks old now. Man the time goes by fast. Grandma Gibbons came down and was a huge help for the first week at home. It was great to be able to rest and recover. Now Im on my own and so far its going well. Dave and Tommy have both been really sick but are now starting to get better. Here are more pics of Jane.

Jane Isa Gibbons

Jane was born on Monday 11/17 at 11:17pm. I had been in labor all week and I finally called my doctor and asked her if she would induce me. I went in at 8:00pm and 3 hours later she was born. They broke my water and gave me Patocin and an epidural. (I loved the epidural) It all went very fast. I came in at a 5 and at 9:30 I was a 9. I pushed for about 20 min. Jane is doing great. She was 6 lbs 3 oz and 19 inches long. She is a very good baby. Latches on well and is very mellow.

Music Quiz

I got this from a friend's blog and I thought it sounded interesting. Wow, it is amazing to see how much of the personality of our lives revovles around the music we listen to! Some of them are a little creepy and iffy, but fun...

The questions below are some that we often may wonder, but what better way to answer them then with music. Here are the Rules- 1. Put Your iTunes, Windows Media Player, MP3 Player, Playlsit or whatever on Shuffle. 2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer. 3. You must write down the name of the song no matter how silly it sounds! 4. Put any comments in brackets after the song name.


How would you describe yourself?: Somewhere Over the Rainbow- Isral something

What do you like in a guy/girl?: Bubbly

How do you feel today?: I wanna dance with somebody -Whitney Huston (If i could bend and twist like i could about 9 months ago i would)

What is your life’s purpose?: Take on Me- aha (David swears that my life purpose is the plauge him with all of my favorite (but terrible) 80's music. This one is the best to come out of the 80's though. No torture in this one.)

What is your motto?: I have nothing - Whitney Huston ( Ireally have nothing without the Lord and Dave so this one is a little sappy)

What do you think of often?: At Last- Etta James (or at least i will when the baby finally comes)

What do you think of your best friend?: The Sweet Escape - Gwen Stefani (Jen you are my sweet escape when Tommy is driving me crazy)

What do you think of the person you love?: Forever and Ever, Amen - Randy Travis (I love you babe forever and ever eventhough you hate this song)

What is your life story?: Hey There Delila - The Plain White T's (My life story is David... this is one of our favorite songs... I can get him to sing me this sometimes on road trips... sigh)

What do you want to be when you grow up?: Kiss - The artist formerly known as Prince ( doesnt make sense but it is one of my favorite songs... i know im guilty but i love it)

What is your biggest fear?: Your song - Ewan McGreggor not Elton ( A favorite song but it doesnt really fit... I really do hate singing in front of anyone. My biggest fear is driving on icy roads and trashing the car that we just paid off.. knock on wood)

What is your biggest secret?: Come away with me - Norah Jones (Not really fitting..)

I tag anyone who wants to do it

7 days left

Not much has been going on here. Just waiting for the baby to come. I hope its soon becuase Ive been having contractions for the past 4 nights. On Monday when I went into the doctors she said that the baby was definatly comming this week. The baby's head is in position and very low. Im dialated to a 3 and 80% effaced. That was on Monday. Now its Thursday and I wish she hadnt said anything becuase I got really excited. I probably wont post again until she has come. Hopefully that will happen soon because I havnt slept or been comfortable for a while now. Im guessing that when the first real snow storm happens, then she will come. I keep having dreams that it will be a boy. I hope not because I havnt picked a name yet and I have everything for a baby girl for the next two years. Im just a little nervous because this is my first real labor. Anyone have any suggestions to make the pain less or to pass the time (besides medicne, im getting an epideral)? I painted my toes a shiny color with lots of jewels to help distract me. Any suggestions for Dave? Ive heard that altoids are helpful.

Halloween Costumes

Dave had the best idea EVER for costumes this year. Mine isnt finished yet, but I love how Tommy's and Dave's turned out. Its funny but when I tried to put on his costume to see if it fit, Tommy freaked out and started crying. He hated it and couldnt wait to take it off. When Daddy put on his Mario costume and asked Tommy if he wanted to put on his Toad costume too, he couldnt wait to get it on. The parent of the same gender really does have a huge impact on their kids. They look so cute!

A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned

So Tommy likes to play with money. Last week he ran past me and I heard jingle, jingle, jingle comming from somewhere on his body. I shrugged it off and when I saw and heard him jumping on the bed later, I couldnt help but record this event. So funny. We found 15 in there! At least we know how it may have happened. When you dont have a wallet I guess you have to improvise. Diapers seem to be a catch all for a lot of strange things. I wish the sound was better on the video.

Update

So we've been keeping busy. Not much of what I can blog about because its all that busy work that you do and at the end of the day you ask yourself what you did that day. We did go to a fun event at the grocery store parking lot. They spread out hay in a 12ft by 12ft part of the parking lot. Under the hay they have a bunch of prizes like crayons, coloring books, bubbles, hot wheels, glow sticks and lots of fun little toys. We got a lot of stuff. We also won one of those toy red cars that the kids get in and run around like the flinstones and also a sand and water table. We gave away the car (im on the 3rd floor apmt with limited space) and kept the sand and water table. The whole event was free too.
I also had my baby shower. That was so much fun. The girls who put it on were so creative. I had a great time with my friends here and got a lot of needed things for Jane. Lots of great blankets, which you need for a winter baby here in Iowa. We are pretty set for when she comes. Its amazing how many girl clothes there are out there. Ive had friends just drop off boxes of clothes. I dont think that we will have to buy her anything but socks till shes 2!
We had the second ultrasound and I realized that I never said how it went. Well she is doing great. No signs of growth retardation. Yay! That was a relief. She is definatly bigger than Tommmy ever got. Now its just the waiting game. Last Monday I was dialated to a 3 and having a few contractions. But they have settled down. We will see if any progress has been made on my appmt on Monday.

Vote Yes on Proposition 8!!

I got this email from one of the wonderful women in my ward, Sister Smith. This explains my feelings on Prop 8 better than I could... Take a look...

Yes on Proposition 8: California Protect Marriage Constitutional Amendment by Rich Deem

Introduction
On November 4, 2008, Californians will vote on Proposition 8, the Protect Marriage Constitutional Amendment. In March, 2000, California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 22, which stated, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." However, the California State Supreme Court declared Proposition 22 unconstitutional by a 4-3 vote on May 15, 2008. Proposition 8 restores the exact wording of Proposition 22 to the California state constitution reversing the activist decision of those four California Supreme Court judges.
Marriage is not a right!
Contrary to the claims of the anti-prop 8 forces, marriage is not a right. Marriage is a responsibility and a legally-binding contract intended to stabilize families with children.
Marriage has always been restricted
Numerous laws exist that restrict the ability of certain people to enter into a marriage contract. First, marriage is only allowed between adults, not minors. Second, marriage is only allowed between two individuals. Multiple partner marriages (polygamy and polyandry) are not legal. Third, marriage is not allowed between closely related individuals (brothers, sisters, and first cousins). If marriage is declared a fundamental right of all individuals, then all restrictions to marriage would be declared unconstitutional, opening the doors to polygamy, polyandry, incest, and child marriage.
Marriage is for procreation, not recreation
The reason why marriage is already restricted only to unrelated adult males and females is because the marriage contract is designed to stabilize a family so that children can be born and raised by a male and female parent. Marriage is all about procreation and not recreation. Individuals, whether they be heterosexual or homosexual, are perfectly capable to showing love towards others without entering into a lifelong marriage contract.

Prop 8 does not limit gay rights
Proposition 8 does not take away legal rights from anybody. Any two individuals in the state of California may enter into a domestic partnership, which, by statute, grants them all legal rights and responsibilities of married individuals (Family Code 297.5).
A "right" of gay marriage will restrict the rights of others
Where gay marriage has already been enacted, the rights of others have been abridged. Here are some examples:
In February, 2007, the judge in a Massachusetts case ordered the teaching of the homosexual lifestyle to children in public schools.5
In March 2007 freshmen were told not to tell their parents about Deerfield, Illinois High School's pro-gay seminar and were required to sign a confidentiality agreement.3
In March 2007, a Massachusetts high school banned parents from attending a seminar for students on how they can know they are homosexual.4
In February 2008, a professor was fired from San Jose Evergreen Community College after being accused of providing an "offensive" answer out of the textbook to a student's question about heredity and homosexual behavior.2
In April, 2008, an Albuquerque photographer was fined over $6,000 for refusing to be hired to photograph a lesbian couple’s commitment ceremony.7
In May, 2008, a black administrator was fired from the University of Toledo, Ohio, for writing an editorial objecting to the comparison of black discrimination to same-sex marriage.1
In September, 2008, the California Supreme Court ruled that California doctors who have religious objections to artificially inseminating same-sex couples can no longer refuse to treat them.6
In September, 2008, A Placer County couple's marriage license was denied because they had written the words "bride" and "groom" next to "Party A" and "Party B".8

Conclusion
Proposition 8 is not about rights, but is about protecting marriage and families against the destruction of traditional marriage through the actions of four activist judges. If the institution of marriage is declared a right for all individuals then any laws that restrict that right will be declared unconstitutional, requiring that polygamy, polyandry and incestuous marriage be made legal. Vote YES on Proposition 8.

Tagged

This is a picture of my little brother in his full uniform for bagpipping. He is really good at it. Apparently he can dance too, but I havnt seen it... yet.

Here are the rules. You go to your files, and pick the fourth picture in the fourth file. Then you tag four friends.

I tag:
Susan
Jen Neighbor
Jen G
Ashley

Apple Orchard

We love Iowa! It really has everything. Last weekend we visited the apple orchard and had a great time. The turnovers were sooo good. At the orchard you pick up a basket and wander through the beautiful orchard picking apples. It was such a pretty day and we had great company.

My website

I have finished my website. Check it out at www.janeisa.com

Cooking blog

I have posted a few new recipes on my cooking blog. Its my families blog, but Im the only one who posts so I consider it mine. Check it out. Most of my meals are easy to make and dont take very long.

9 more weeks!

I cant belive that Im in the single digit week countdown now. Only 9 weeks! Wow, this pregnancy has gone by so fast. I have a doctors appt this week to check Jane. Im hoping that she doesnt do the same thing as Tommy. Tommy stopped growing at 31 weeks. When he was born at 37 weeks he was only 32 weeks along. Lets hope everything goes well this checkup. So far with her movments and how much she is growing it seems like everything will be fine. Only time and a few ultrasounds will tell. Ill post pics of the ultrasound if I get one (they said I would). On our 20 week we got a blank disk. I was really upset. As far as how I feel, I feel fine. I find myself getting impatient a lot, probably because its so hard to get a good nights sleep. But its all worth it for a baby.

Who needs paper?

On Friday Tommy got to paint for the first time ever. I dont think I need to tell you how much he enjoyed it. He actually did really good at not getting it on anything but the paper, but then he found out how much fun it would be to paint his hands, then his arms, then his tummy ect. He was very proud of himself. He called himself "pretty" when he looked in the mirror. In the last picture of Tommy he is saying "hear dat? fire truck!" He actually has very good hearing Im glad that I thought to strip him down to his diaper before he started. It did keep him busy for an hour so that I could finish my new painting for the bathroom. I like how this turned out much better than the last one.

Nesting

So instead of so many food cravings I HAVE to nest. Ive been cleaning and throwing a bunch of stuff away. Tommys closet is next but Im still a little scared of it. So Ive had this idea of what I wanted to do with the bathroom for a while but never had the time, money or energy to do it. So yesterday I finally did it. It was so much fun and helped me get rid of some of that nesting itch ive been having. Plus we will be in this apartment for at least another 2 years so I figured what the heck. I really wanted to use green, black and white and gerber daisies in pots. I think that I want to redo the paintings, theyre not quite right. But this is what I came up with. Im kinda sad its all over so fast, I was just so excited to get it done. Maybe the kitchen is next since I spend so much time in there cooking and doing dishes by hand. I do have ideas for the bedroom but those can wait. Right now I need to finish the baby blanket that Im crocheting for Jane. Im almost done.

Heres before:

Heres after:

Update

So we were kinda busy last month. Some fun stuff and some just everyday busy stuff. Tommy turned 2! We had fun. Tommy loved his toys he got from us and his friends. We didnt do a party, we just had cinnamon rolls for breakfast and opened presents before Dave went to work. Then he played with his friends and made cupcakes to take to Daves work.

Then I quit my job. Im just getting too tired to go. Plus I want to spend my last few months before the baby comes with Tommy. I think Tommy will miss seeing all his friends though. I wont miss it too much. Ill just keep myself busy with fun projects, books , friends and naps.

We went down to Missouri again to visit Daves parents. Daves two brothers Greg and Mark were there. Greg's wife Heather just had a baby and it was so great to see her for the first time. She is such a cutie. Tommy loved Sydnie. He would wake up and ask to see the baby. He wanted to hold her and help with everything. Good practice for when the baby comes. He was very good with her which is a relief. Well see how he does when the baby doesnt go away. I was also able to open up "beauty shop" in my mother in laws bathroom. It was great to cut and color all my sisters hair.

So Im about 29 weeks along and everything is going fine. Ive been tired and feeling dizzy lately. My doctor told me I was anemic so ive been taking iron tablets and now I feel great. Funny how nutrition and vitamins can really make such a big difference. Im still kinda small and Ive even had people ask me if I was still pregnant. I feel huge but maybe its just the clothes I wear. We decided on a name finally. It was so hard to find a middle name for Jane. We are going to name her Jane Isa after my wonderful sister in law Isa. (25 wk picture and a 29 week picture. Look the same to you? Im not much bigger.)

Dave is really having a good time at work. He loves it. We have they guys over for dinner all the time and it is nice to have a full house, plus I love to cook. Dave just finished with Guitar Hero and is starting on a project for the Wii.

I think thats it. Ill update again if I missed anything. I tend to do that more often now.

The next Van Gogh

Tommy must have a very strong artistic/creative gene in him. He is very particular when he colors and always uses lots of color. What was really surprizing was while we were at our friends house, Tommy did this with his frogs. Notice anything? I didnt help him at all and Ive never gone over the colors of the rainbow with him. He had put his frogs in a line in order (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet). Some High school kids cant even do that. I was like "wow!" He turns 2 on Thursday and can already do this all on his own. What was really amazing is that while i was quietly watching him he had a red-orange frog and was about to put it at the end with the violets but then he stopped and put it next to the red. But then he stopped again, moved the red away from the orange, put the red-orange frog next to the orange, then put the red back, next to that one so that the order was red, red-orange, then orange. I know it might be just me because Im his mommy but I thought this was amazing and as an artist myself I was really proud of him for figuring this out all on his own.

Here are some cute pics. Me and Tommy making icing and Dave and Tommy after church.

Money!

Tommy loves his money! We are working on numbers and counting and he loves to put his coins in his bank while he counts. He can say "1, 2, 3, 4" and "4,5,6" and "7,8,9". We are just working on putting it all together. With my help he can go all the way up to 10! He calls the faces on the pennies Jesus. Its so cute. Here he is with his homemade Cyrstal Light piggi bank. When he finds money he will walk around the house saying "Piggy bank! Where are you?"

The Booty and Jesus

MANsacra

Only Manly men can wear makeup and pull it off. Yesterday while I was getting ready for church Tommy came into the bathroom and asked "Doing?" At the moment I was putting on my mascara. I explained the process of makup and that Mommys put it on their eyes. He watched me for a minute or two and left. A few minutes later he comes running back all proud of himself saying "eyes, eyes!" He had found a blue marker and colored his eye just like Mommy. I couldnt get it all off so he got to show his independence off at church.

Vote for Tysen!!

http://www.1043myfm.com/pages/beautifulbabycontest/index.html
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Hey everybody,

My sister entered her little boy Tyesn in a "My Beautiful Baby" Contest on 104.3 fm. If he wins he gets a 20,000 dollars of scholarship money and he gets to be in InTouch magazine. She's just interested in the money for college. So if you could help her out and vote for Tysen that would be awesome. It took me less than 45 sec. Click on the link above and vote. The voting ends the 27th which is Sunday. Then there are three more rounds and I'm pretty sure she can put him in those too. I will let you know when to vote again!Come on vote!! I mean look at the face! THANK YOU!!!

Just a little background info: Tysen underwent surgery this year for water on the brain. He has had stints put in to keep the pressure on his brain down. He is a tough little guy and is so sweet. Hes been through a lot already and a nice schoarship would be awsome.

Ok so he is contestant #23 in the T-Z category. So everyone vote vote vote for 23!!!!

Family Reunion

We just got back from our family reunion late Sunday night. We had so much fun. We all went to my inlaws house in Missouri. We went to Nauvoo, Carthage, and to the Mark Twain lake. My favorites were touring the Carthage jail and the lake. Tommy loved seeing all his cousins for the first time. He loved all the little babies and especially all the boy cousins. They taught him so many cool things like the proper way to play with action figures.