INTRODUCING...

Eden Marie Bradley

Our sweet baby girl was being very lady like and kept her legs crossed throughout the ENTIRE ultrasound. Finally I got up and went to the bathroom and she decided she wanted us to meet her properly right before we were done. Her new due date is March 29, 2010. Closer to what I thought it was. I'm officially getting nervous now! Hope you enjoy the pictures and if you want to compare to Kael's ultrasound boy picture go to the archives to March 08 because I don't know how to make that a link.

PS: This is the first time I have EVER guessed correctly for a baby to be a boy or girl.

Virginia Commonwealth Interview Update

For those who don't know Derek's school schedule it is a bit crazy and to have to take time off for interviews has been a challenge. Derek had to miss a bunch of classes on Monday to try to make a flight in Las Vegas. He got to the airport in good time and we booked the flight we did so that Derek could get to Richmond and stay the night in a hotel before he had to interview the next day.

It was a nice plan... Unfortunately it didn't work out how we expected.

His flight at the Las Vegas airport ended up being over 3 hours DELAYED!

Yup he missed the connecting flight in DC.

We really are NOT fans of the Las Vegas airport... And United and Delta Flights either...

By the time he got to DC it was really late. Derek called and canceled his hotel in Richmond (which was a hassle because we did it through priceline and he couldn't just cancel through the hotel) and the airport put him up in a hotel by the airport in DC. The next flight to Richmond wasn't until 8 am Eastern time.... What time is that in Utah time??? 6 am.... So Derek gets to his hotel around 11 pm UTAH time and has to get up at 3 am Utah time to make it to the airport for his next flight... So much for a good nights sleep...

Derek made it to the school an 2 hours EARLY, which we were trying to avoid, but oh well...

They had a really LONG tour of the school at 11 am and then Derek's interview was at 2 oclock. It was an hour long. He said he thought it went pretty good, but that he felt the U of U interview had seemed more comfortable. Overall he thinks what options VCU has to offer their students were really good and he really liked their curriculum.

He was able to ask LOTS of questions again. Then immediately following his interview it was off to the airport AGAIN.

The flight home was a lot better. The only bad part was another delay except luckily it was on the last stretch from North Carolina to Las Vegas, and it was only an hour this time. He didn't get to the Las Vegas airport until 11 oclock Utah time and then he still had the 2 hour drive home.

I don't even know when he made it home because I was so exhausted from just hearing all this news!

Now Derek is back to a full day of school and homework. He has a short break this afternoon for study time then back to class by 5 pm...

I already feel like the wife of a medical student. Let's just say I'll be happy for Friday at 2 PM for our ultrasound and then THE WEEKEND! Yes, it will be full of tests and studying, but at least he will be at HOME! =)

First Moments

I have been thinking a lot today being home with my baby like any other day, however it is special to me.

I remembered a lot of first moments that make me laugh, smile, and want to shed a tear even...

The first moment I found out that I could be a mom I knew that I would someday have a baby in my arms and that I wanted one so badly every day from that point, and now I have Kael to hold every day.

The first moment I found out that I needed a man to have that baby I knew I wanted a husband more than anything! (Not just for the baby..)

The first moment I laid eyes on Derek I knew that he needed to be in my life. (Didn't know I would fall madly in love with him and want to spend eternity with him at this point yet, but I KNEW he needed to be in my life.)

The first moment I laid eyes on Kael I knew that I would be with him forever, and that he was the baby I dreamed about so long ago.

The moment I told Derek I would marry him was the day I knew that he was the man I dreamed about so long ago as well...

So, right now as I'm worried because Derek's flight to DC was delayed an hour and he only had a 45 min lay over before his flight to Virginia I know that worrying won't do me any good, and that he will be able to make it to his interview, I'm glad I have these wonderful memories and my beautiful baby to keep me company. I'm so grateful to Derek for wanting to be a doctor to serve people, and to provide for our family.

I'm excited for the crazy road ahead of us and I thank my Heavenly Father at night for making my dreams come true!

October Kael

Video of Kael's Halloween Costume for Grandma and Grandpa Heaton on their mission!Derek and I got Kael a bumble bee costume from Wal-Mart for his Halloween costume. We were a little nervous that he wouldn't like the hood and would throw a tantrum and not wear it, but we got it anyway... I really wanted to see if it would fit ok before the big night, so I had him try it on. Well turns out that he LOVED it! He loved it so much that when it was time to take it off he got so upset and THEN threw the tantrum... Luckily he doesn't have big tantrums and got over it quick as soon as the costume was out of sight and out of mind. He is so silly...
Here are some pictures of my silly boy during October. He makes me smile every day! Every time I take the camera out in hopes of one good picture he gets super excited to see the camera and chases after me to grab it, so I am lucky to get ANY pictures! =) Gotta love this little boy!

Kael LOVES outside time! He would stay out there all day if I let him! I can't get any good videos of him walking yet, however here is Kael standing on his own!

University of Utah Update

Kael and Grandma and Grandpa Bradley
Michael (Derek's cousin), Grandma Bradley, Aunt Lori, Kael, Grandpa Bradley, Cousin Todd

Derek has got one interview out of the way! YAY! We drove up to Draper Utah which is on the outskirts of Salt Lake City on Friday night. We stayed with Derek's sister's family that just moved up there. It was a real fun visit! On Sunday we visited Derek's Grandma and Grandpa Bradley. Kael has so many wonderful Great Grandparents! This is so neat for me to be able to introduce him to all of them! I think I have one picture with me and one set of my great grandparents when I was a baby and I want Kael to get as much time as he can!

Derek had his interview on Monday at the U. All weekend we reviewed any and all questions he might be asked in hopes that he would be prepared! I think he did a great job preparing and I think he did a GREAT job interviewing! The first interviewer was a neuro surgeon. Derek said he was all interview and no conversation, which was ok and went well. The second interviewer was a lady emergency room physician. Derek said this interview was more conversation and less interview style, which is definately more comfortable! He was able to ask 2nd year medical students questions, and recieved lots of good advice! We won't be finding out if he is accepted to the U until March because they don't do rolling admissions, so we will just have to wait and see!

Overall I think the trip was a success, however we will find out in MARCH!

Baby #2 Ultrasound Scheduled

I had my doctor's appointment today. All is well and the ultra sound is scheduled for October 23rd at 2 PM.

I want to know what you guys think if it is a boy or a girl, so EVERYONE vote! =)

PS. Did I want to mention how much I LOVE my neighborhood! I have the coolest neighbors and there are kids all over, and over 50% of the houses are decorated for Halloween, and I feel safe here and Kael loves seeing all the kids playing outside! I love you neighborhood! Thank you for being awesome!

14 Month Kael

My baby is 14 months today! I can't believe how fast time has flown. The next time I blink he'll be starting school, so I'm going to just keep my eyes straight open from here on out! =) The little boy is getting so big!

Kael is his own person. He loves to explore new places as well as very familiar ones to get to know them better! He is always on an adventure! He loves to inspect the carpet and find little tiny specs of left over food or whatever is laying on my gross carpet. Then he eitehr tries to show it to me and get rid of it or he tries to eat it...

Kael LOVES to put rocks in his mouth. He is such a little boy! He is ALWAYS getting dirty and LOVES it. He is getting better at spitting the rocks out when mom tells him to.

Kael has said quite a few words, but then just stops after a while. He has his own language. I call it gobble dee gook... It sounds like a mixture of goblin and babble... =) He says da da ALL the time. If he ever gets hurt the best way to calm him down is to pick him up and show him a picture of his dad. He starts pointing and smiling and saying da da, and in half a second life is better because he sees his dad! They are BEST BUDS!

He said Bye for the first time just a couple of days ago when Derek was leaving for school. He waves hello and goodbye now. He says mom when he is sad, sick, or just doesn't feel good. He can also say ball, balloon, bubble, and dog.

He is learning how to sign as well. He has been able to sign dog forever now because he loves animals just like his dad. Every time we go to Derek's parents house he chases the poor dogs around and tries to cling on to them. He LOVES animals. He can also sign more and milk. We are working on more and he is really getting into it now.

He watches your baby can read, and is really doing well. He has parts memorized and starts clapping or waving before the word comes on. He gets so proud of himself he starts clapping for himself before mom or dad can. It is cute!

He is finally getting the hang of walking. Slowly but surely in his own time he will take off. He takes 3 or 4 steps here and there ALL the time and has three or four times gone about 10 steps. It has been amazing to watch and puts a smile on my face every time!

Kael LOVES food! He eats nonstop! He would constantly be shoving food in his mouth if it was right there. His favorite food is fruit right now. He loves eating grapes, apples, bananas, and his absolute favorite is strawberries like his mom. He even ate a whole grapefruit once, but after that diaper I haven't given him any since.

He is so easy to put down for a nap. I lay him in his crip and say goodnight and in a few minutes he is out. He takes 2 naps a day. One about 10 am for 30 min - 1 hr and then one at 2 pm for and hour or two. I feel VERY blessed! He is such a good baby! He goes to bed at 7 and gets up at 7.

He loves his pacifier. He can go all day without it, but not when he sleeps. If he finds it laying around though he pops it in his mouth like his mom did when she was a kid. We are working hard at keeping it in his crib so he only needs it to sleep...

Kael also loves outside time. Now that it is finally cooling off a little we spend as much time outside as possible. He is finally learning that he is not allowd in the road, however I let him crawl on the sidewalk once by me and now he starts crawling down the side walk and I really have to keep two eyes on the kid. He is always trying to escape outside now.

I find joy in this amazing boy every day! He amazes me every day! I know I'm going to love this next baby so much, but Kael will always be the first. He is going to be such a great big brother! He loves people! He loves just sitting outside watching the kids playing down the road. I'm glad we are able to have another child for him to have a friend. He is so social and I can't wait to see my children playing together.

Love you Kael! You are amazing and I'm so excited that I get to see you growing every single day!
Love, Mom

Another Interview Scheduled!!!!!

Where will Derek be interviewing on October 12, 2009?????

INTERVIEW TIME

Derek got his first interview scheduled for October 20th at 2:00!

With...

Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond Virginia.

We are THRILLED to have an interview!

Belly Shot

I know I am REALLY small HOWEVER, looking back at pictures when I was pregnant with Kael I have seen that I am already double the size I was at this time when I was pregnant with Kael. I know everyone says that your stomach has already been stretched out so you show sooner after your first baby, but it was just really shocking to see the truth in it!


When I was pregnant with Kael I kept thinking "I can't wait to have a cute belly so everyone can see that I'm pregnant". How lame was I.... Being big is NOT fun or cute! Well on other people it is.


So this time around I keep thinking please stay small for as long as possible, and it just isn't happening! I am a constant stomach sleeper! I HAVE to lay on my stomach to fall asleep, so as soon as the belly gets big, good bye wonderful sleep... AND it's already begun to make me uncomfortable on my belly....


So, please belly STAY SMALL for as long as possible!

Before (Kael 14 weeks)After (Baby #2 about 12 1/2 wks)

Phoenix Trip

Phoenix September 2009

Uncle Josh, Derek, Sharice, and Kael at Grandma and Grandad Sapp's house.

For Labor Day weekend we took a trip to Phoenix for my new niece Cassandra's baby blessing and to spend some time with my Grandparents! It was a lot of fun and it was nice to get away for a while because none of our trips this summer worked out....

The trip started out pretty good. We left after Kael's nap at 3 oclock on Friday and headed to Arizona. We stopped at Jacob Lake for Kael to get out and stretch and eat dinner at 5. He met a little boy who was about 9 months old who was HUGE! He was twice the size of Kael and could barely crawl at all, but this little boy thought Kael was SO COOL. He followed Kael around and they had a GREAT time! It was really cute! Of course I had to forget my camera so I didn't get any pictures.

So, we get back in the car and get situated and headed off down the road. Unfortunately I didn't pay much attention to where we were going and we ended up at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon entrance. We wondered why the forest looked so different... I was SO embarrassed and SO upset with myself because we had Kael in the car and it added an extra 1 1/2 to the already 7- hour drive! Arghh...

We turned around and Kael was SO GOOD on the trip! I'm so grateful for TV's in the car and modern technology! He was able to watch Finding Nemo and other neat shows to keep him occupied and had his Uncle Josh in the back with him to keep him company. We got back to Jacob Lake and changed Kael's diaper and headed off again. Thank goodness it was bedtime by this point so we were able to make some pretty good time.

We stopped in Flagstaff at 9:30 to get some dinner at McDonald's. Kael woke up and was interested in everything going on.

We got to my sister Shannon's house in Phoenix at around 11:30 that night. So, a trip that takes around 7 hours without kids and stopping took us with a detour and a 13 month old about 8 1/2 hours. Not too bad I'd say! Although it was the LONGEST trip to Phoenix I ever made.

We forgot how HOT Phoenix was, but the weather was good to us on Saturday. We were able to experience some fantastic Phoenix desert rain in the morning! I LOVE desert rain! It smells so good!

My Grandma took my sister Shannon and I out for a girls lunch and shopping with NO kids! Thanks boys for watching the kids!!! ;) I thought I was going to take Kael with me, so my grandma could see him, but it fell about nap time, so I didn't take him. I did however take the diaper bag with me that had the wipes, diapers, and the ONE pacifier we brought with us. As soon as we got to the Olive Garden I got a call from Derek and found out my little mistake... Thank goodness Shannon had a spare pacifier that they give you at the hospital and all turned out well. Derek handled it GREAT! My grandma took us shopping too, which was a TON of fun!

Girls Lunch

On Sunday we had breakfast at my Grandparents and then went to the blessing. It was a lot of fun! I of course forgot to bring snacks with me and it was Kael's lunch time, so I paid for it. Thanks Shannon for being a prepared Mom and helping me out!

The Blessing

Grandma and Grandad with Kael

We then went to visit with my grandparents some more and had a really great visit! We had so much fun! We drove home early Monday morning and it seemed that all my forgetfulness had gone away and we had a successful and happy trip home! I sure had a hard time remembering things on this trip! Thanks for the fun times Shannon and Grandma and Grandad! We love and miss you already!

Nursing Covers

This was posted on a blog (Thanks Brittany), so I figure I will post it too and pass on the favor!

I just bought a nursing cover for $8.95 TOTAL! I haven't seen any cheaper than $30 and I can't make one for myself, so I bought it! These are usually $32 regular price plus shipping, but the deal gives you them free and all you pay is the $8.95 shipping! They are on back order until Sep. 25th. If you already have one they work great as baby shower gifts as well!

Go to https://www.uddercovers.com/

Select the one you want, enter the code: Chatter or cushy2

I used chatter and it really worked! This is the one I got.

Enjoy!

Heart Beat

I had my first doctors appointment today. I went in not thinking I'd be able to hear a heart beat, but we had success!!! The doctor thinks I am further along than we both thought, and he put my due date at March 20th for now. We'll get a better date at the ultra sound at 20 weeks.

It was just really exciting because I went in with no expectations and left feeling like this is really going to happen! Hearing the heart beat made it so much more real (not that being sick hasn't).

Also, I didn't get sick or pass out after having my blood drawn! I know it is rediculous because I used to draw people's blood all the time, but I was way proud of myself! However, I can see the beginnings of a nice BIG bruise coming... Oh well.

SO I'm getting excited to meet you baby #2, but take your time getting here! Please!

Lots of Updates

I have been saving a lot of pictures to post. I have not really had a desire to update the blog very much, but here is my attempt.


I can't believe Kael is a year old! This last year went by so quickly! He is getting into everything and sometimes it is just really funny and at other times I want to pull my hair out having to pick up another mess! I'm sure loving it though and the boy makes me smile every day!

Exercise? I don't know how he got up there, but he didn't know how to get down...

I love this cheesy smile with his teeth!

House Pictures

We have been in our house since the beginning of July and we love it! It has been so much fun! We still are trying to get some more family pictures up on the walls, but here is some of the decorating we have done. Hopefully we get the last pictures up before we have to move again in a year. I can't believe we are going to be moving again so soon. We are getting excited though!

Derek has gotten secondaries filled out and we are just waiting on hearing about interviews for medical school now! We will keep you all posted when we hear more!

Heaton Cousins

Over a week ago I got to watch my nieces and nephew! We had so much fun and Kael LOVED having kids to play with! When the boys took naps I got to paint the girls nails and they got ring pops as a treat. I love boys, but it was fun to play with the girls! Love my nieces! Baby Daniel is getting so big and it really made me nervous and excited for a new baby coming! I'm just glad I have a few months still!

Can't wait to watch these Heaton kids again! This is an open invitation for kids to come play at our house anytime!

This one is blurry, but Kael was actually playing with the kids and I loved it!

Pine Valley Mountain

Since every trip we tried to plan this summer has officially failed, Derek and I took a mini vacation up to the mountains to get out of the Saint George heat for just a couple of hours! We gathered up Kael, grabbed some KFC, and headed to Pine Valley.

When we were paying the parking fee the lady was very curious if we had brought WARM clothes... We kindly said we were ok, but the baby has warm clothes. She gave us a dirty look and we were on our way. It was a beautiful 70 degrees up there and it was warmer than our car, SO no warm clothes needed!

We had SO much fun eating and hiking around.

We couldn't help but put Kael in the stream! It was too cute and he didn't get wet at all!

Kael's first attempt at corn on the cob! I was running to the car for a camera and when I got back this is what Derek had to show me! It was so cute! Those teeth are finally coming in handy after all the work it took the poor guy to get them! Kael LOVES corn on the cob now!

Somehow we always manage to never get pictures of ourselves and only Kael... Oh well.

bAbY #2 cOmInG

Expected late March. We don't have an exact due date yet, but we will keep you posted!

Kael's 1st Birthday

Thank you Grandma Sapp for Kael's wonderful card! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Heaton for the Teddy Bear! Thank you Grammy and Grampy for the toys and party!

Thank you to all my well wishers!

AND

Thanks Mom and Dad for having me!

Love,
Kael

Lost Luggage

Just a quick update... We left at 3:30 am for Las Vegas and ended up having quite the experience. We didn't get on board any of the flights and ended up losing our luggage. Knowing when to call it quits we decided to come home... We didn't even eat at the Cheesecake Factory. We just decided it was time to go. We arrived home around 4 oclock that afternoon and decided to just take a break. We won't make it to the wedding now and our luggage is REALLY lost somewhere out there in the world... haha I'm glad we have been able to laugh about it. The Las Vegas airport has been VERY difficult to work with and it's been frustrating having ALL of Kael's stuff in the luggage. My makeup, hair products, CLOTHES, and Kael toys etc were in those bags.

We decided since we didn't make it to Europe we are just gonna be lazy for a while. I get to go shopping today though for more make up and hair stuff! And FOOD! We emptied our refrigerator thinking we were going to be gone for 2 weeks...

It has been a VERY interesting experience, but for the most part we are trying to laugh about it.

Kael did AMAZING at the airport! He had everyone wrapped around his fingers and I think he would have done ok on the flight. He is such a good baby and I'm SOO happy he is mine!

Birthday pictures of Kael coming soon!!!!!