Riding Through Life

Happy New Ear

2010-01-18T09:48:00.004-07:00

I admit it, we don't blog much. But since I just downloaded over 100 photos from the camera, I thought I would post a couple.

Lately, a collection of Christmas-themed 'Alvin & The Chipmunks' has been one of Caimon's favorite things to watch. He likes to sing along to the songs, but he cannot always figure out the words (much like me). So the part that goes 'Merry Christmas, happiest time of the year' he sings as 'Merry Christmas, merriest time of the ear.' He really liked getting spoiled with all the toys this year, but he seems to like Brylee's toys as much as his own.

And Brylee is finally getting big enough that she can play with Caimon. We try to get him to play gently with her, like the picture below, but I think he's going to end up making her really tough, or breaking a lot of her bones.

Boo at the Zoo

2009-10-25T15:05:00.004-06:00

Sara and Joyce took the kids to Zoo Boise yesterday where they held their 'Boo at the Zoo.' It's a fun event where little kids wear costumes and they can receive candy as they go around the zoo. Caimon had lots of fun, and walked by himself through most of the zoo in his clown costume. Brylee, in her flower costume, slept most of the time.

Who cares about daddy?

2009-10-25T13:33:00.002-06:00

I was not feeling well this morning, and Sara graciously got up with kids to let me sleep a little longer. At one point she came in, Caimon in tow, to check on me. They had this conversation...

Sara: Daddy doesn't feel good.

Caimon: Oh, no! What are we going to do?

Sara: I don't know. What should we do?

Caimon: Mommy, will you play puppies with me?

Then they left. It's okay, I survived.

What we have been up to....

2009-08-31T20:52:00.003-06:00

Ok, so it has been a really long time since we have posted anything on here! Alot has been going on this summer so I am going to try to summarize it quickly in one tiny little blog!

First of all, at the beginning of July Brylee was blessed. It was a pretty busy and fun weekend. Corey's family was able to come as well as my aunt and uncle and my cousins. It was over the 4th so we got to all watch some fireworks too!

At the beginning of August we went on a vacation. Yes, with 2 little kids we drove to Canada! Most people say we are crazy but it was a lot of fun. We had Corey's parents and sister there as well to help so that was a life saver! We went to Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta. It was beautiful and we saw 9 bears! We also did some shopping, hiking and ate lots of ice cream! It was nice to get away, but as always, it was really nice to get home.

We had Brylee in to the doctor the other day because she had some green, yucky, goopy eyes. The doctor diagnosed her with conjunctivitis and a double ear infection. She beat Caimon. Caimon didn't get an ear infection until he was a year old. Even though she has been sick, she is still a really good and happy baby. We really are blessed!

We wanted to put some more pictures up, but we're having some trouble uploading them. We hope to have them up soon.

Caimon needs batteries and Brylee's smiley

2009-06-24T06:50:00.004-06:00

Both of our children are growing up so fast these days. Caimon is the best big brother. He is always wanting to give Brylee kisses and wanting to hold "it" (meaning Brylee). He even held the bottle for me yesterday!

Brylee has been very gassy and so I have been giving her some medicine. I think that she is getting the same intolerance to milk that Caimon had. Anyway, Caimon keeps telling me he needs medicine too. Then yesterday he informed us that he was sick and he needs new batteries! When anything isn't working he says that it needs new batteries.

Brylee is growing sooo fast. When I took her in last week she weighed 10 lbs 10 oz. She is so chubby and cute. She also started smiling and she has the cutest smile. I just love having a girl. It is already so much fun!

Sara started this blog, then went to make some pancakes for breakfast. So, I'm going to finish off this entry with a few pictures of Brylee. She's just beginning to smile (real smiles, not gas smiles), as you can see in the pictures below.

Two Weeks Old

2009-05-19T17:11:00.006-06:00

Our little Brylee turned 2 weeks old today! We had her 2 week check up and she is doing great. She gained 14 oz in 7 days. She is eating like crazy and she actually sleeps pretty well too. We are all still a little tired, but she is a great baby.

Isn't she pretty?

Caimon and Brylee
Brylee had some jaundice when she was born so we had to have her on a bili blanket for a couple of days. We called her our little alien baby! Can you see why?

Corey came back home yesterday after being gone for the last week for work. It is so good to have him home and I think he is having fun with his kids!

Brylee

2009-05-06T19:31:00.004-06:00

Sara had a baby girl yesterday morning (Cinco de Mayo baby!) at 8:55am. We named her Brylee Elizabeth. She weighed 8lbs even and measured 19.75 inches in length. She has some dark brown hair (with hints of red) and really chubby cheeks. She looks a lot like Caimon did when he was born, but she sleeps more and makes less noise (so far). Anyway, here are a couple of pictures...

Birthday Blowout

2009-03-23T21:29:00.004-06:00

This is the video of Caimon singing happy birthday to himself and then blowing out his candles. Listen to his answer when Corey asks how old he is. He has been telling us he is 4 for several weeks now. It is pretty cute. I think he does finally know that he is 2!

Birthday Boy

2009-03-23T21:03:00.004-06:00

Caimon is officially 2 years old as of last Wednesday! To start off the week, we took him for his 2 year old check up. He is only 24 1/2 lbs, which puts him in the 12th percentile for weight. He has always been small though, so the pediatrician is not worried. He was in the 25th percentile for his height, and the 75th percentile for his head!

On Wednesday for Caimon's birthday we took him to the park! He played there for 1 1/2 hours and was then traumatized when daddy took him off of the swing! It was pretty pathetic.

Then on Thursday, Grandma and Grandpa Riding came to play with him. He had a blast and was pretty spoiled for the rest of the weekend. He always had someone to follow him around and play with him. Mommy and Daddy are not so nice.

On Saturday we had a birthday party with all of the grandparents. It was a lot of fun and I think Caimon had a blast, especially with all of the new stuff and the attention. He even blew out his own birthday candles! He had been practicing blowing out pretend candles since mommy's birthday. Here are some pictures from his birthday on Saturday!

Daddy and Caimon opening presents.

Caimon with his mess after opening the presents!

Caimon's Elmo birthday cake.

Caimon loves his ice cream cones!

No More Monkeys

2009-02-23T12:34:00.005-07:00

While Caimon was hanging out with grandma on Saturday, we moved his crib and put up a twin-sized bed. He was really excited when he saw it (especially with the 'Cars' sheets). His first night he slept really well, even better than he normally did in the crib. His second night was pretty good, but at 6am he came knocking on our door saying, "Come in!" So he spent an hour or so sleeping in our bed this morning.

Anyways, while I was trying to get Caimon to take a nap yesterday, he discovered that he could bump his head into the headboard. I'm not sure why, buy he thinks it's great fun! Last night he was in playing on the bed (it's still a new toy, after all), and he, apparently, jumped face first into the headboard. He bit partially into his bottom lip, leaving some nice marks on the inside. He lost a lot of blood for someone so small, but he calmed down after about 10 minutes. While reading before bed, Sara decided to read the story about the monkeys jumping on the bed. Caimon got into the story, as you can see in the video.

P.S. That's his "new" bed in the video.

-- Corey

Easy as ABC

2009-02-14T13:15:00.005-07:00

It's fun to watch Caimon grow and learn, although it can be difficult at times. He's starting to figure out numbers and letters -- he can recognize several letters, now. And he's showing some appreciation for music and singing. He likes to 'play' the piano and sing along to familiar songs. We tried to capture a video of him singing the alphabet (because grandma requested it), but he was a little camera shy. He joins in singing some of it with mommy, but then gets distracted toward the end. But, still, not bad considering he's not yet two years old.

-- Corey

Christmas #1

2009-01-31T14:04:00.004-07:00

Our first Christmas this year was in Provo with Corey's family. My mom and I flew into Salt Lake from California and we had an early Christmas. This worked out well, especially with all of the snow that we received this year.

Corey and Caimon got to spend about 1 1/2 weeks with grandma and grandpa too. I know that he loved it and they were very sad to see him go!

Caimon with his new truck on Christmas morning!

Caimon didn't really like the bows this year. Isn't he cute though?

Caimon again with his new trucks before they were open.

Caimon wasn't too fond of Santa this year either. Grandma and grandpa took him to see Santa. He has a little stranger anxiety these days!

San Francisco

2009-01-31T13:41:00.005-07:00

I know that it has taken me a long time to post a blog-I really don't have a good excuse! Being tired, pregnant, and chasing a very busy toddler are my only excuses.

So, last month my mom and I went to San Francisco. My mom has a tumor on her eye and that is where the specialist is located. Anyway, so they ran a lot of tests while we were there and decided that it was a type of melanoma, which required her to have surgery while we were there. They placed some metal rings around the tumor (which are not visible from the outside) and she is actually on her way back from California again right now after finishing with her radiation treatments. Everything has gone very well, and hopefully she won't have to go back too much more! I am just very thankful that they caught it early and her vision should not really be affected.

We did have some time to play while we were there though! Neither of us had been there before, so it was definately a new experience. I don't think I would ever want to move there. I had to do most of the driving and the traffic was horrible. I like Idaho and Utah driving. It is nothing compared to that! I guess I have been sheltered!

We found the Golden Gate Bridge and drove over it, just to say we had been on it. It was a lot bigger than I expected and the view was awesome! It is hard to tell much in the picture due to the rain and fog.

We also went to pier 39 and fisherman's wharf. That was a lot of fun and we sure did a lot of walking that day. It was December so they were also having some sort of Santa Claus convention. I don't thing I have ever seen so many Santas in one place before.

I just had to add this picture so you could see what my mom looks like with a patch on her eye. This was the day after her surgery, right before she got the patch taken off. Oh, and she is standing by our cool rental car!

Busy-ness

2008-12-15T21:55:00.004-07:00

Last week was really busy for us. Sara worked Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and then she flew to San Francisco on Thursday with her mother. It was the last week of the semester for me, so I was teaching and grading quizzes, notebooks, and exams. And Caimon had his hands full with the demands that come with being a toddler.

With Sara out of town and me working late, Caimon got to stay at Grandpa's (Sara's dad) house Thursday night. My father flew in Friday evening to help me drive down to Utah on Saturday. So we're spending the week at my parents' place.

Sara and Joyce (her mom) will fly into SLC Wednesday to join us. They went to San Francisco so Joyce could get a medical consultation. Neither of them had been there before, so they also spent a few days doing some sightseeing. They've been taking a lot of pictures, so we should have some to post soon.

It's a Girl!

2008-12-07T08:59:00.003-07:00

We are having a girl! I am almost 18 weeks pregnant, and finally starting to feel a little bit better. This pregnancy has been a little harder than the first one. Anyway, I have not had my 20 week ultrasound with the Doctor, but as most of you know I work in medical imaging at St Lukes so I have had some friends take a peek for me. They took a look at 15 weeks, and couldn't find "boy parts" but said to check back. We went back last night and found a very active little girl. It looks like she likes to dance just like her brother!

Anyway, I am very excited. Corey is excited, but a little nervous about his wife going shopping for girl clothes!!

Toddler Trouble!

2008-12-07T08:54:00.003-07:00

So, Caimon only has a couple of months left and he will be 2 years old! I think he is already getting into the terrible two's though. The other day, I was trying to be productive and unload the dishwasher. Caimon went over to one of my kitchen drawers and took out a wooden spoon. I thought that was great, now he will leave all of the clean dishes in the dishwasher alone! I was pretty impressed. A few minutes later, I heard a sawing sound coming from around the corner. I walk over to the kitchen table to find Caimon sawing on my kitchen chair with a steak knife that he must have taken from the dishwasher!

Corey and I have decided that he has a sort of radar that helps him get into everything that he is not supposed to! He sure is fun though, and growing soooooo fast!

Halloween

2008-11-17T11:05:00.005-07:00

We had a pretty fun Halloween here. Grandma and Grandpa Riding, and Aunt Teri were all here to play with Caimon. Grandpa carved a pumpkin with Caimon. As you can see, Caimon liked the lid! He would take a bite and make the most horrible face. Of course like any silly toddler though, he would do it again.

Later that night, we went out to dinner and then Caimon got to do a little trick or treating! He was Elmo this year!

The weekend before Halloween, Grandma and Mommy took Caimon to Boo at the Zoo here in Boise. It was fun but there were tons of people. Caimon liked to see all of the costumes and he liked some of the animals. He was calling the penguins "fish" because they were swimming in the water! He is so cute! Caimon with the penguins at the zoo!

Caimon posing with the elephant statues! As you can see he didn't want to sit on the fence!

Caimon and Mommy with the scarecrow!

Our Last Project

2008-11-17T10:54:00.003-07:00

Things have been pretty busy lately-sorry for the lapse in blogs! I guess that we never said we would be great at this!! Anyway, this fall we have finally been working on getting a fence up around our yard. . For those of you who also have toddlers you know the necessity of a fence-they run everywhere and they do it quickly. Corey has been working on the fence, along with my Dad. They have done a great job and it is finally done!!

As you can see from these next few pictures that I am posting, Corey had a lot of help with the fence from another little helper. He is truely Daddy's little boy!

Aren't they cute!!!!

All Fall Down

2008-10-26T17:55:00.003-06:00

Caimon was playing outside at Grandpa's house recently. He played with Penny (the dog) and in the leaves with Grandpa.

Big News: a response to Riding (2008)

2008-10-05T22:09:00.005-06:00

Apparently our news isn't really new. For those who do not read Teri's blog or regularly check the Jensen family website (I did not know until minutes ago that this was on either), Sara is pregnant. She is due around May 12th, which is still some time from now. I really did not expect to make a public announcement for a while...oh, well.

I feel obliged to make a quick response to Teri's blog. I thought she would be happy to be one of the first people we told. Instead she complained that we told her too far in advance and, rather than be happy for us, she is perturbed that she cannot do anything for the baby until we find out the sex. So, I have decided that when (because we will probably have one more some years down the road) we have another, she shall certainly be the last person that we inform.

Anyway, I thought I'd share a photo of Sara and Caimon cuddling on the couch listening to general conference today.

For those confused by the blog title, I will direct you any current peer-reviewed periodical.

More camping fun

2008-09-21T09:55:00.005-06:00

We went camping with our ward last weekend at the Bruneau sand dunes near the Snake River. Caimon showed us again that he really loves to play with rocks and sand. You can see the rocks he scattered around on the concrete in the first picture. At the dunes he was putting sand in his bucket then dumping it out.

As we were packing up the tent, I snapped a picture of Sara. I think it's obvious who gave Caimon his cute smiles.

Then Caimon helped bury my legs in the sand when we were on top of a dune. But mostly he just got sand all over (in his hair, on his face, under his clothes, in his diaper, etc.)

Vacations

2008-09-06T15:49:00.006-06:00

So, it's actually been a few weeks now, but we were able to go on a short trip. We went to Craters of the Moon National Monument and Yellowstone National Park with Dave, Christina, and their girls.

The first night we camped, it got really cold (~39deg F), and the next morning we had Caimon totally bundled up. He was still too cold (his whole body was shaking while eating breakfast), so we had to put him in the van and turn the heat on. After he finally warmed up, he decided he was going to walk away. Danica was worried about him leaving, as you can hear in the video.

The last week of August, my parents came up to visit. They brought Caimon a new BYU T-shirt to wear on gamedays. It's not really legible in this photo, but he's still supporting the Cougars!

DADDY!!

2008-08-25T21:24:00.004-06:00

I will start out by saying that yes, I promise that I do have a ton of pictures to put on here, though that will not happen tonight! I still have to take half of them off of the camera and arrange them! I just have to say, that after this long summer of Corey being gone for work, he is finally coming home tonight for good! Caimon and I have both missed him a lot. Tonight, for instance, I was over at my mom's house, and Caimon was carrying around her phone talking to Daddy. Neither of us could take the phone away from him, because he was talking to Daddy. Usually it is just that way with my cell phone, now apparently it is any phone!

We have truly been blessed these last few months. Many of you probably already know, but Corey's job was just a temporary job that was supposed to be ending the end of September. Corey got a call about a month ago from his boss telling him that funding had run out and his job would only last through the end of August. I, being the worrier that I am, freaked out. Corey has a more level head, and he told me that we would be fine, that we were doing everything we were supposed to be doing, and that things would work out. He was right. He is now teaching 5 labs at Boise State starting this week, and he was able to get a teaching assistantship so he can take classes for free. Now he can stay at home, work some, and hopefully finish his thesis! I may even have the chance to go full time to help out. I guess that everything happens for a reason, you just have to have faith.

BOO!

2008-08-07T15:21:00.003-06:00

I just have to say that being a mom is one of the best things ever. Kids just seem to have a way of knowing when us parents need a little pick-me-up. Let me start with an introduction about how Caimon hates getting clothes on! I am sure he is like most normal 16 mth olds in that aspect. Anyway, usually he screams when shirts are being put over his head. Well, this morning I was getting him ready for daycare. I was a little surprised when I put the onesie over his head and there was no fight! Once I got it over his head and he looked at me and said, "BOO!" He had made it into a game. I have done that with him before, with me saying "boo" but he never really acknowledged it. Apparently he was listening to me! I laughed for several minutes and he thought that he was pretty funny too! It was a pretty good beginning to my day and has kept me smiling all day.

Nemo

2008-08-04T16:07:00.004-06:00

I should have posted this a while ago, but things have been crazy. Caimon has had a new favorite movie for a while now and that is Nemo. He would watch it 24/7 if Mommy and Daddy would let him. He also can say Nemo very well. He is just growing up so fast. He even knows that the remote controls can turn Nemo on, so whenever he can get a hold of one, he walks around the house saying "MEMO". It is pretty cute!

I Love Dirt!!

2008-08-04T14:22:00.011-06:00

Last weekend while Corey was working, Caimon and I decided we were going to visit Daddy at work for a night. We packed up the van with all of our camping gear and took some yummy dinner to Daddy in Oregon. Caimon had a blast camping. He must take after his Daddy!!

After we ate dinner, Caimon decided that it was time to play in the dirt. He had a blast picking the dirt up off of the ground and throwing it into his little chair. The only problem with this was that every time he threw it into his chair, half of it went onto the side of his head. He didn't seem to care, but he was sure a mess!!

Saturday morning after breakfast, we decided to take a family camping picture! We don't have many family pics these days, so I am just including this for fun.

Older and wiser

2008-07-05T22:19:00.005-06:00

I don't know how most little kids handle fireworks, and I suspect that each child is a little different. In Caimon's case, one year made a huge difference in his reaction. In 2007, when he was 3 months, Caimon seemed scared of the fireworks and "yelled" at them. (Of course, he was tired, so that probably affected his reaction.)

Then, in 2008, when he was 15 months, he actually seemed to enjoy the fireworks. (At least the first few, then he seemed to get bored.)

Naturally, Caimon believes that he is much more mature than his meager 15 months, and he tries to prove it by helping out with chores around the house. In this video he throws away a tissue we used to wipe his nose. However, you'll noticed he has failed to pick up the toys strewn across the floor. Oh, well -- one thing at a time, I suppose.

--Corey

Sara's First Post!!

2008-06-22T22:06:00.003-06:00

So-sorry that it has taken so long for us to post anything! Things have been pretty busy here the last few weeks. And yes-this is actually Sara posting for once! I am really going to try to be better at this.

Anyway, Corey has started working his summer job-he is now gone for 10 days and home for 4. We get to talk to him every night on the phone and now whenever my phone rings Caimon comes running and saying "DADDY!"

Caimon has lots of new words these days. His list includes puppy, mommy, daddy, truck, bye-bye (which includes the wave and everything), ball, cheese, horsey, uh-oh and ow. He is learning new words everyday.

Daddy was able to come home this last weekend and we went to the Dairy Days Parade here in Meridian. Caimon loved the trucks and also his blue sucker which he smeared all over his face and Mommy's arm.

Earlier that day he enjoyed his ravioli lunch, which was also smeared all over!

That one required a bath!!

Hairy situation

2008-05-11T23:44:00.003-06:00

Caimon's hair has been getting long, but Sara didn't want to cut it because he doesn't have much of it (and it has cute curls in the back). She finally relented and we cut his hair. Here are the before and after pictures:

Awesome. It's green.

2008-05-04T08:21:00.003-06:00

Not only does Caimon "wow" us with his actions, but with his words, as well.

Walking on grass is new to Caimon, and its softness makes him a little unsteady. Also, he doesn't like the feel of grass on his skin (We're not sure why). This makes for a bad combination because he falls a lot on the grass, but will not put his hands on the grass to push himself up.

Hello, again. Hello. Is it me you're looking for...

2008-04-26T22:58:00.007-06:00

So, with Sara and I both working, we don't have a lot of extra time. Therefore, neither of us has posted a blog recently. I'll stick with pictures for this post and try for videos in the next day or two.

Caimon's experience with his first birthday cake can be summed up in one word: demolition.

He also wore a devilish grin while opening presents.

But since then, he's just been up to his usual tricks.

Long-winded

2008-03-17T20:46:00.003-06:00

Caimon has some molars coming in on his lower jaw, and his gums are really swollen. While eating dinner today he would suddenly scream out and start crying. We handed him a sippy cup with water to 1) replace some of the fluid he's lost to drooling, and 2) give him something to rub his gums on. We did not realize that he would also start on a long and very animated conversation with the sippy. I managed to catch the end of it in a video. He seems to have totally forgotten that we were sitting next to him at the table.

If only he could see the keys

2008-03-16T21:04:00.005-06:00

If you had not noticed, we use this blog primarily to share news and videos/pictures of Caimon. To that end, I give you the following, Caimon climbing and playing the piano.

Videos for Grandma

2008-03-06T13:08:00.004-07:00

Grandma requested some videos of Caimon in action. In the first, he pushed his car over into the corner, then tried to turn around.

The second video shows him playing after making a mess with his dinner.

Both are pretty typical for him, but I guess any 11 month old is about the same.

time MARCHes on

2008-03-03T21:59:00.005-07:00

Caimon will be a year old in about two weeks. I struggle to think that much time has passed. But then... it's sometimes hard to remember life without him.

We went from a couple, happy in blissful ignorance.

To this...

baile con los pajaritos (yachototomonidansushiro)

2008-02-27T20:18:00.005-07:00

On a walk today Caimon pointed to geese, robins, starlings, finches, and juncos flying by. He looked up every time house finches sang in the trees overhead. Maybe the apple fell right next to the tree. He's loved dogs for a while, but he's beginning to discover birds.

Since he's barely 11 months, it's really hard to tell what kind of interests Caimon will develop. So far he seems to enjoy some of my favorites, but that may not last. Pondering his future makes me realize just how much is open to him. He could go anywhere and do just about anything. And then I have to wipe his bum after he messes himself. The possibilities may be (nearly) endless, but most of them are still a long way off.

Here's another interest Caimon shares with Sara and me: dancing!
(Okay, his dancing consists of merely bouncing up and down -- but he has to start somewhere.)

The thing is...

2008-02-26T23:48:00.004-07:00

I sometimes think that I'd be a little more satisfied with life if I had just one more thing. The thing varies with my mood and situation. However, on the rare occasion that I obtain the thing, I realize that my joy in having the thing is ephemeral and, ultimately, unsatisfying.

On the other hand, I sometimes experience unexpected events that are long-lasting and fulfilling. Sara's been sick for a few days and feeling a little rough. After a long day of work she just wanted to eat dinner and crash. But when she walked through the door, Caimon ran (yeah, he's on the verge of actually running) to her and reached up his arms, wanting her to pick him up. She felt the love. That helped her feel better than any thing will.

Do you feel the love?

The Skinny

2008-02-25T23:23:00.004-07:00

I suppose background information may be helpful, although I seriously doubt anyone not already familiar with our family will spend more than 10 seconds on this page.

We are a family of three: Corey, Sara, and Caimon.

I, Corey, will probably do most of the posting here. When Sara does post, you'll notice a different tenor to the writing (after all, her voice is higher pitched). By which I mean you won't have to deal with the odd humor and seemingly disjointed sentences.

Hmm... Pictures are nice.

Bunch of Sickos

2008-02-25T12:54:00.003-07:00

Since a person only ever writes his (or her) first blog once, it should be a special moment. Like the first time you lose the top scoop of your double scoop of ice cream, or your first mosquito bite of the summer... Isn't it great to look back on those wonderful memories?

Oh, yeah. We've all had that bug that's been making the rounds.