And the Doctor Says...

We went and had the ultrasound on Wednesday to see whether Asher would have a playmate or a protectee.  And the verdict is......a GIRL!!!  The due date is still pretty much the same, and all looks good and healthy.  She is about the size of a banana, and it was truly amazing to see so much detail in the ultrasound in something so small.  We saw her heart beating, her spine with all it's parts, but my favorite was her feet, they were pretty dang cute. 

We are thrilled.  Personally, I had suspected for some time that it might be a girl because of how different the pregnancy was.  That and Asher has maintained since the beginning he was having a sister.  However, I was absolutely positive that Asher was a girl and we all know how that turned out.  So, I wasn't so sure of my mother's intuition and waited for confirmation before I dared hope.  Durrant, while saying he would be happy either way, was also hoping for a girl.  He's always wanted to experience both a girl and a boy, and he was very excited that we will get that opportunity.

The next question everyone asks is, do you have any names in mind?  Yes, we do.  We have felt for a long time that we would have a Joyce in our family, named after Durrant's aunt.  So, one of the names we have in mind is: Joyce Odessa (my grandmother).  The other name we have in mind is after my aunt and his grandmother, Vanna Vilate.  While this is technically our second choice, Vilate is currently 99 years old, and we are hoping that she will get the chance to hold her namesake before she goes.  We do have a third choice as well, after both our mothers, Esther Marilyn.  I guess we will wait and see when she arrives which of these three, if any, she will choose.  Either way, we are thrilled to have her come and are pretty excited to get to know her.

Some Updated Pics

I got chewed out (yes, Macey, I telling on you.  The same Macey who DOESN'T have a blog) yesterday for not updating my blog with current pics of Asher.  So, here are a few that I have taken recently. 

This is what my little boy looks like after some toast and jam.  Looks good, hunh?

 When were in So. Utah Dad and Asher took their virgin run on the sled.  Oh, the memories I have with Dad pulling us behind the truck on the old sled.  Oddly enough, these guys didn't stay out on the sleds as long as we did as kids.  Wimps...

We do a lot of dancing at our house.  This particular pic was the other night and Dad and Asher were dancing to some Christmas songs in front of the tree.  It was actually very touching and I'm glad I was able to catch a small part of the magic.  

Seriously LOVE the memories we are making!!!

May 25th

I've tried to get him to smile while he's wearing this shirt, but he simply won't cooperate.  I hope this isn't an indication of how he will treat his new little sister/brother... :)

Halloween 2010

I don't have a lot of photos, but I thought this one was cute.  Cutest lion EVER!!! :)

I never said I would be consistent, did I???

Yes, I realize that it has been over one month since I have posted anything.  And, I'm sorry to say, I don't really have anything fun or excited to show you this time either.  However, I'm feeling a little bit of blogger guilt for not at least saying hello.  So, in an effort to repent I thought it would be fun to tell you a little about Asher's current vocabulary.

Each morning (afternoon, night, snack, and any other time in between) Asher wants a "pockisal dinner."  Just in case you can't tell, that means: Popsicle for dinner.  No, we don't have popsicles for dinner on a regular basis, in fact, never.  However, that is our son's chosen meal. 

I think we might have an athlete in our son.  He is actually very coordinated and LOVES any kind of ball.  We play a lot of bikaball hoop (basketball) and he also loves watching "football" (pronounced correctly) with his dad.

Some how "too big" and "too small" were too confusing for our son.  So, instead he simply says "too fit!" (usually in a high-pitched whiney voice that is oh, so attractive.)  I can't help it, I think it's pretty cute. 

We still go on lots of walks, but now we go in the "stollr," which is actually pretty close to stroller.

"No way!" has also become our nearly two-year old's favorite phrases.  Yeah, pretty thrilled about that one...

Recently when Durrant and I are both with Asher he will name us both (i.e. Mommy, Daddy, Mommy) and then proceed with what he has to say.  It's pretty funny because I think he is trying to get both of our attention while addressing one of us.  Clever boy!

Our neighbor has a motorcycle that Asher is somewhat obsessed with.  Only he calls it "cycle-ride."  And he does the courtesy of pointing one out whenever he hears a whisper of one anywhere remotely close to us. 

Anyway, there are lots of Asher-isms.  I will try to remember more and let you know.  I am really enjoying his growing vocabulary and watching his mind put new words and concepts together.  He really is a very clever boy, just like his dad.

Moo, Baa, La La La...

So we have this book by Sandra Boynton (BTW, LOVE her kids books.  They are way cute and fun to read.) called Moo, Baa, La La La.  A few weeks ago when D was reading this book that is all about animal sounds he waited for Asher to say the sounds.  It was so adorable I tried record it.  No go, he was more interested in the camera than the story.  We have tried repeatedly to get this on film and finally tonight was accomplished it.  So, without further ado...  Heeeeerrrrrreeeeeeeee'sssss  ASHER!!!!!

I honestly don't know how to make it straight or bigger.  I'm really sorry.  If you can't see it let me know and I'll email it to you.

We're in trouble...

So the other day, I was getting ready to run some errands and my sweet little boy climbed in the car.  Not the back seat, mind you, the front seat.  I made sure the keys were in my pocket and went on with my preperations.  Then I came out and saw this:

 Poor kid.  He still has 14 1/2 years before he can do any damage behind the wheel.  Breathe easy folks, you are okay - for a little while at least. ;)

New Happenings in the Pettey Family

So, many of you noticed my post on Facebook about Durrant's job.  Here are the details:

Jed Dymock, the apparel buyer at the University Bookstore, who had been at the store for over 18 years decided to retire.  While this would not have been a "step-up" for Durrant it would have been a slight pay increase and, more importantly, it would give him experience buying "soft-goods."  For those of you who don't know how bookstores work there is essentially two kinds of inventory involved - hard goods (i.e. textbooks) and soft goods (everything else.)  In order to have a high-level management position in bookstores you need to have experience in both.  D now has 4 years in textbooks and would really benefit with some soft goods experience.  Therefore, he decided to give it a try.  Fortunately, the effort was successful.

At this point Durrant will continue to work in Textbooks until the end of Semester Opening (2nd week of Sept) then spend the rest of September working with Jed until Jed retires.  He is very excited, nervous, and curious about what is in store for him.  I'm pretty stoked that D and I will essentially have the same job at different stores.  We can send neat designs and clothing ideas back and forth, and hopefully we can help each other get better at our jobs.  This may or may not be the end all be all for us, but for the moment we're pretty happy about things.

Another new happening for us is........ A NEW DOG!!!!  Durrant and I have wanted a dog for a while and just haven't made the jump.  Then, my sister called me.  She has a great opportunity to move to Florida so her son can go to an awesome music school.  The only problem is she won't be able to take her dog with her.  She called and asked if we could give her awesome dog a home.  Of course we will!  So, when we go to So. Utah for Labor Day we will pick up Ivory, a beautiful husky that will be our new guardian.  Not gonna lie, I'm pretty excited to have a dog.

Mud Pie Lessons

It's easy, Mom.

First...

You put the water in. 

Then...

You mix it up reeeaaaaallll good.

And...

PRESTO!!!!

And that's how you do it.

Impromptu Vacation Part 2

So I finally found the camera the other day so I quickly downloaded the pics so I could show you the promised evidence.  My brother, who is living in Detroit, made an unexpected visit over the 4th of July.  So, we went against our better financial judgment, and made the quick trip down to visit for the night. 

The first thing we saw when we pulled down the lane was the John Deer with a trailer hooked up to it.  Evidently it would be the vehicle used for Justin's winning baseball team in the parade the next day.  Well, many of you know that Asher is all but obsessed with tractors since his last trip to So. Utah.  As a result, we just HAD to take a ride.  And all the nieces and nephews came along for the ride.  Good times.  You may not see Asher in this picture, that is because he is inside the cab on Grampa's lap.

After the tractor ride and visiting/playing with family Rachel and Mac were kind enough to invite all of us (yes I did say all) over to Mac's parent's house for some good old fashioned fireworks.  I have to be honest, I have never seen a fireworks display like the Urie's put on.  They must have had at least 5 of the big fireworks packages you get a the store, and they would light 4-8 off at a time.  Amazing.  Anyway, here is Asher having fun with his first sparklers.  

The next morning we all got up and went downtown to see the parade.  Durrant mentioned he was surprised we could wait until about 30 min before the parade started before we got our seats.  I guess that's the beauty of small-town parades, the whole town shows up and there's still room for visitors! :)  Anyway, here we are.

Uncle Craig was kind enough to get Asher one of his other favorite things: a balloon!  Can you see the difference in the two photos?  Can you guess what he was more excited about?  Yeah, thought so.

After the parade we walked across the street to the park where they had a bunch of blow-up toys to play in.  There was really only one that Asher could do, but boy did he take advantage of it.  This is him literally bursting at the seams with laughter and joy.  Good camera shot, Dad!

After the parade, blow-up toys, fish pond and walking around Cedar City's park we met the whole family (yes, again that is the whole family) for lunch at the Pizza Factory.  For those of you who don't know, that is approximately 34 people.  Yeah, good times.  Anyway, there were so many of us that we decided to wait outside for our tables to be ready. 

While we were waiting Asher got bored and wanted desperately to go for a walk.  His awesome cousins decided to help him out.  Here is a pic of them bringing him back (I think he was ready to walk back to SLC by the way he took off.)  I wish I could have had one of them leaving, he had at least 5 of his girl cousins holding his hand marching down the street.  It's one of those memories I wish I could download so you all could see how adorable it was. Nevertheless, here is a picture of some of them coming back.  So cute!

 After lunch we had to hurry back to SLC.  I lament that we had to leave so soon, but I have made it clear to our finances that we WILL be home for Labor Day.  That way I'm hoping we will say a little more than hello and goodbye to my awesome family.  Until then, I miss you all!!! :)

Jill's Epiphany about Life

I had an epiphany the other day about life. For the longest time I have had a slight struggle with putting church and real life together. They were almost two completely separate lives for me. Not that I was different in on or the other, I just had a hard time equalizing the two. How did one really fit into the other, and what does it really matter anyway?
Well, as I was talking to Durrant about this late one night I was able to somehow put it all together in this parable: This world/life is like a school. Church is the classroom, and life is the lab where we go and try out all the things we learned in class. Then, after school is out, we can go home and report our progress. Some of us will have progressed further in our schooling than others, and a few of us will still be stuck in detention.
However, the classroom is critical. If we don’t have the instructions for the lab, the lab can get extremely frustrating and discouraging. We also have lots of instructors to go to when we get confused; prophets, parents, and other church leaders. And, (coming from someone who works in a college bookstore) school wouldn’t be school without textbooks: Scriptures, modern rev elation and personal inspiration.
But, keep in mind, the classroom is irrelevant without the application of the lessons learned. Why go to class if you can’t put the principles to work? Sometimes you don’t really see the point in the lab until weeks after the particular exercise, then it all comes into place and there is clarity. Other times you can’t possibly see how this particular experiment works, let alone how it could turn out okay. But somehow, if you keep following the guidelines from class, it all works out – usually better than you could have dreamed.
Yes, I realize this little parable of mine is probably full of holes. But it helps me put together two separate worlds in a way that makes sense. It also helps me realize that this life isn’t just now and that’s it, it is for eternity and what we do here really does matter.

Impromptu Vacation Part 1

So, a few weeks ago, Friday morning, I got a call from my father-in-law.  He wanted to know if we would be interested in going to Fish Lake.  This being the place where Durrant built most of his wonderful childhood memories it took about -5 seconds to say, "Uh, YEAH!"  Turned out that Bryce and Elizabeth were not able to join us, but we did catch up with Warren and Amanda while we were there.  Here is the evidence:

 The water was ICE cold (amazing that a melted glacier's water would be cold) but Asher didn't seem to notice.  I think it was because he was numb after about 5 seconds and couldn't feel it.  It was nearly impossible getting him out, he loved it.

We stopped at the dollar store and picked up some cheap water guns for the boys to play with.  HILARIOUS.  Durrant was very patient and kind showing the boys how to fill them up with water.

After playing at the lake we decided to head to the cabin for a nice warm shower and dinner.  This toy was at the cabin and Asher took it everywhere with him, he even made up sound effects for the different figures.  And, although it looks like he is naked, I promise he does have a diaper on... :) 

The next morning Asher could hardly wait to get outside and explore.  He was in his element, he could go anywhere and touch anything.  Who needs a candy store when you have the big outdoors???  Anyway, we discovered that he would find the big rocks and run to stand on them and shout "happy day."  It was so cute I had to record it.

You thought I was kidding when I said he was a climber.  Not so...

Chillin' with Dad in the hammock.  Gonna be a good day.

And the tradition of Penny Rock holds true for one more year.

I have great hopes that I will be able to install the second edition of Impromptu Vacation very soon.  However, you now have the teaser, enjoy.

Lawn Mowing, "Tawah Building," and Book Reading

The day we brought Asher home from his surgery he we pretty drunk, like I mentioned before.  However, it didn't take him long to bounce back.  Dad brought out the lawn mower and Asher was bound and determined to help him out.  I thought it was so cute I had to get some photos.  

You can see that Durrant has his earphones in.  Asher will usually insist on taking one of D's headphones and listening to music along with him.  That usually leaves D to hold Asher in one hand so they can both listen to music, and mow the lawn with the other.  By the time they are done, Dad is DONE. :)

 Some very dear friends of ours were kind enough to bring Asher a get-well gift.  He LOVES it.  Here is a photo of him building his "tawah (tower)."  Now, his favorite word in the mornings (walk) has grown to two favorite words.  We do a lot of tower building. :)

I took this photo this morning before church.  I thought it was very appropriate for Father's Day.  Nothing like layin' on the floor reading books with Dad.  Awesome.  

 

Asher's First Surgery

We made it!  It was rough going for a while (at least for mom) but we are now home and are ready to get back to life.  The surgery went well, only took about 20 minutes, and the doc said everything looked really good.  At the moment we have a kid drunk on pain meds who has the munchies and listening to Pink Floyd and Yellow Submarine (courtesy of his dad).  We are pretty entertained. :)

Anyway, here are some of the photos of the day:

Dressed to impress!!! :)

They have some pretty cool toys here, Mom.

Right before they took him back, looking drunk on drugs. :)

Made it through, and snoozing in Mom's arms.

Attempting, and then successfully taking off the band-aid from the IV.  He didn't like it so much.

Communicating Hydroseal

So, some not so awesome news in this post. Asher is going in for a surgical procedure Monday morning. Evidently, it is a fairly common, easy procedure, but I'm still a bit nervous about it. Anyway, here is what is going on:

When Asher was born his Doc said something about a communicating hydroseal, but said they usually fix themselves over time and not to worry about it. Well, when Asher had the flu last week I noticed his little sac was strangely lopsided. I got online to WebMD (NEVER do this!), and started freaking out as I read about hernias, etc. We called the doc and made an appointment.

Evidently, when little boys are forming their testicles actually come out of the abdomen. And their little sacs have a sleeve-like structure that they slide down until they get to their permanent spot. That sleeve is supposed to close off. Asher's didn't. Currently there is fluid going in and out of that sleeve, which isn't life threatening. However, eventually some of the intestines could find their way into his sac and that could cause some major problems. Therefore, Monday morning we are going in to get him drained and sewn up so he doesn't get a hernia playing T-ball when he's 8 years old or something.

Durrant keeps telling me that it is a common procedure and not to worry about it. But, I confess, I am worried. I know it doesn't make any sense, but I don't like the fact that my child who is less than 18 mo. old is going under the knife - I just can't be comfortable with that. I called my bro-in-law, who is going to be a nurse anesthetist, and told him he had to make me feel better. I called my bro, who is going to be a urologist, and asked him if we really needed to do this. If I had a phone number for God, I think I would call him and ask Him a few other questions (hope that isn't too sacrilegious).

However, as much as I'm not looking forward to this, I realize it is a small "trial" in order to prevent a bigger one in the future. I'm sure everything will go fine and Asher won't even notice the difference (it's same-day surgery, and he should be back to normal Mon afternoon). And then I can go on and worry about how to pay for all this!!! :)

Ah, life, aren't you grand.

Anyway, along with my goal of keeping everyone updated I have shared the latest. And if I'm brave I will try and bring the camera so I can adequately document my son's first surgery for all of you who are so far away. :)

Goin' on a walk!

Okay, so I'm trying harder to keep you up to date, so here goes:

Asher LOVES to go on walks. Really, he just loves being outside. So, the first thing he says every morning when he wakes up is "wok" (pointing to the door just in case I missed it). These are a few of the pictures I took this morning as we walked to the store. I think he looks pretty cute in his shades. :)



Until next time... :)

Catch Up Time...

Wow, has it really been since Christmas since I last posted pics of Asher??? Okay, I am a slacker. Well, here is a bunch we have taken since then:

Here is The Christmas Story snowsuit all over again except in baby blue. I loved it, Asher didn't so much.

I have to time my dish-doing for when Asher is either with Dad or asleep. If not, I have discovered through examples like below one of the lessons you learn when you are a parent: dishwashers are FREE GAME.


Cousin Hope was here for a few hours and we played ourselves silly during that time. Here is some of the evidence:

And last but not least, tub shot. Great times were had by all.

Asher wearing Mom's shoes (he does this a lot, he really likes the heels...) during our first picnic of the year.

Before and after of Asher's first ever haircut. It was a little complicated, but we got 'er done. :)

Playin' with the dog at Grampa Hunter's house (May 2010). Don't know exactly what is so cool over there but it's pretty awesome, let me tell you!

That's all for now. Hopefully I will do a better job of keeping you up to date. Until then, we love ya! :)

Webcam Available!

Hey All!

So, unfortunately our old laptop died. (sob, sob...) As a result, we had to get a new one for me to take to work. Bonus: the new laptop has an installed webcam! So, all of you who have this capability we have a skype account. Search for us: durrant.and.jill.pettey and we can visit! :) 20th century - here we come!!!!!

Kitchen Before and After

Thanks to the desperate need to provide the illusion of having a clean house, we decided to clean the house for the Superbowl party we hosted. As a nice side-note we had to clean the kitchen as well. Yes - I finally took some pictures. And, miracle of miracles, I finally remembered that I have pictures while Asher is taking his nap. As a result, I am fulfilling my promise to post pics of our house. Cross your fingers that I can get this done before naptime is over... :)


Okay, it looks like I only took one photo of the kitchen before we tore everything apart. In the bottom left hand corner you can see what looks like a counter. That is actually a portable dishwasher, and was what I had as a counter for about 6-8 weeks. Those pictures are below.




Doesn't even look like the same room, does it? We decided to go to Lowe's and do the prefab counters. We were on a bit of a budget, so we did the unfinished oak stuff. We did all the sanding, staining and sealing. It took a while, but we got her there and we are proud of it.

Don't mind the mess - it was simply always that way. I figured I might as well give you a realistic version of our life for almost 2 months. The reason for the delay is the counter-top. We initially thought we could do a patch job on the stuff you can get at Lowe's. Then, we realized that wouldn't work because of the splash guard against the wall. Anyway, long story short, we decided to have a professional come in and do a custom counter for us. This worked out pretty well for us and the pics below are the final result.

Hark, what is that I hear? Alas, nap-time is now over. Till next time, my friends!

Updated Photos

I'm stealing a moment at the In-Laws to download some of our favorite pics of Asher. It has been an eventful few weeks for our little man, and I wanted to post the evidence. Anyway, here is his first Christmas, first Birthday (Part 1) and first Birthday (Part 2).



This table was a fabulous find from the DI. We decided to do most of Asher's Christmas shopping at the DI this year, and we got this for 5 bucks! Yeah, it was probably the best find ever, he LOVES it.


Durrant took the 28th off for Asher's Birthday, and fortunately we were able to spend part of the day in So. Utah with my Mom. So, Asher had two birthday parties. One in St. George, the other in Bountiful. I don't have a lot of time to elaborate, but the pics are pretty darn cute.

Quick, Dad, before it gets away!!!

A willing accomplice.

Not bad, not bad at all. I think I could try that again.


Needed a little help from the cousins. Thanks, guys. :)