What An Adventure!

Jared ended the semester on Friday, April 9. Since it was still snowing a little in Rexburg, we decided to take advantage of the time off and head over to Boise to enjoy the warm weather. This was J.J.'s first real road trip, and I was a little nervous about how he would handle being stuck in the car for five hours, but he did great! He slept almost the entire way. He is such a good baby!

We spent almost a week in Boise. It was so nice to relax and not have anything to do. It was a little difficult for Jared to go from being really busy to having nothing to do, but after a few days, he got used to it. We did some shopping and visited with some of Jared's family. His brother C.J. came over to my mom's almost every day and hung out with us, which was really fun because we don't get to see him that often.


J.J. relaxing at Nana's house.


One of the best things we did in Boise was get some more baby pictures taken of J.J. My mom has a friend that is an amazing photographer and she came over to my mom's house and we did two photo shoots. She has posted some of them on her website and they are incredible. We have the cutest baby ever! http://www.heathersaliphotography.com/


On Thursday, the 15, we embarked further on our adventure. We all flew to Portland to go to my brother Jared's wedding. Again, J.J. did awesome. He sat on my lap and sucked on his binky most of the time. While we were there, we stayed with my dad at his hotel. It was the first time he got to see J.J. and it was so cute watching them together. We brought J.J.'s stroller and my dad was his favorite driver as we walked all over downtown Portland.

One of the fun things we did in Portland was go to the famous Voodoo Doughnuts. They have some interesting flavors of doughnuts, one of which is a doll-shaped doughnut filled with red jelly and a toothpic in it's "heart". They were all out of those, so we ordered one with bubble gum on it, a chocolate one with Cocoa Puffs on it, a maple bar, a doughnut that is "The Official Doughnut of Portland", and the biggest glazed doughnut I have ever seen. They were all so good, and it was really fun to see all of the interesting concoctions they make.


Jared and me eating our humongous doughnut. (In all honesty, I ate most of it!)



Brennan, Kristen, and Jared on the Max on our way home from Voodoo Doughnuts.

Jared's wedding was on Saturday, and it was really beautiful. He and Jamie looked so happy and I am really glad they found each other. The ceremony was in this really old historical church and the reception was on the top floor of the Hilton Hotel. We had a delicious dinner and the rest of the evening was spent dancing. It was so much fun and I am so glad that we were able to go!


My dad, Brennan and J.J. sucking their thumbs at the wedding.


School started again on Tuesday and Jared will be busier than ever. He got an internship with a Medical Practice Group in town and is taking on more credits so he can graduate in three more semesters. He is so wonderful and I really admire his dedication to school and his family. He is such a great guy and I am so lucky to be married to him!

Happy Easter!

These were too cute to not share!

Life is Good!

We are all doing so well! J.J. went to the doctor today and he is a very strong and healthy boy. I was still a little worried about him because his eyes still have a little jaundice in them, but the doctor said that it will go away soon and that jaundice shouldn't be a problem for him anymore. I am so glad he is doing well! Even something as minor as jaundice is so scary for a new mom with a tiny, helpless little baby, so I am happy to not have that to worry about anymore.
J.J. is getting so big, too! He has already grown out of a couple of his outfits, but luckily, he has plenty more. Thank you to everyone who has sent him such adorable outfits. I really appreciate all of the love that everyone has sent to us. We are so lucky to have such wonderful family and friends!
Jared is in the middle of finals this week. We are planning on going to Boise as soon as he is done for the semester and getting a much-needed break from chilly Rexburg. After that, we are flying to Portland to go to my brother Jared's wedding. I am a little nervous about flying with a tiny baby, but my mom is coming with us, so we will have some extra ( and much-needed) help. I am really looking forward to getting out of town and seeing my family!

Here is our cutie-pie laying in his swing.

Welcome Baby Jonas!

I guess all of the finger crossing and wishful thinking paid off. On Friday, March 19, our beautiful baby boy was born (10 days early)! Jonas Jared Stanger was born at 7:40 pm and weighed 7lbs 9 oz and was 21 1/12 inches long. He is the cutest little guy and we couldn't be happier! I love being a mom and every time I look at him, I fall more and more in love with him. He has the funniest personality and I am so excited to watch him grow!

The proud (and tired) papa!

Still Pregnant...

That's right- I am still pregnant. I can't believe how slowly these past few weeks have gone by. I have progressed pretty far, but not far enough. When I went to the doctor last week, (at 37 weeks), I was at a 2 and 75% effaced, but he hadn't dropped very far down. I went to the doctor yesterday, and I was at a 3 and 85% and he had dropped down a lot further. Although this is really good news, I was a little disappointed because I really thought that he was going to be here by now. I know our baby will come when he is ready, but we are both getting so excited and it is getting harder and harder to wait for him to get here. I am really hoping it will happen this week, so keep your fingers crossed for us!

Here is a picture of my enormous belly at about 37 1/2 weeks.

Time to Catch Up

So much has happened in the last month, so I thought I had better give a quick update on our lives.

On February 3, Jared turned the big 2-3. I took the night off of work and we just hung out at our house and had a delicious cake from Albertson's. (I never knew they had such a good bakery.) He got some money from his parents and from my dad, and my mom, Glenn and I went in on a new set of golf clubs for him. I also got him a pretty slick-looking watch that he seems to really like. Now, if only the snow will melt so we can test out those new clubs! I am so grateful for Jared and the wonderful man that he is. He is so quick to sacrifice what he wants so that our baby and I can have something. He is the best husband and he is going to be an amazing dad!


Speaking of being a dad, our baby is doing great! He is getting bigger and bigger, and so am I. I had another ultrasound done the week after the accident, and everything seems to be all right, which I am so grateful for. We were both so lucky! I am now on the weekly appointment schedule, so I went in last Tuesday and we had some good news. I have been measuring 2-3 weeks ahead and at the ultrasound, the estimated him to be at about 5lbs (a big boy at 32 weeks!). So, at my appointment yesterday, the doctor said that after next week, I have the go-ahead to have him whenever he wants to come. I am hoping this will be sooner than later, because he has dropped already, and walking around with a baby head in your pelvis is one of the most awkward things a girl can do. I am excited though, and we only have about 25 more days at the most, which makes it a little more bearable.

Our last big news is that we got a new car! We had some money saved up and we got a decent amount from the insurance company, so we were able to buy a 2001 Chevy Blazer. We had a few problems with it the first few days, but we got them all cleared up and we are both really happy with it. At first, I had a hard time with it, because I just missed the Explorer, but now I love it! It has a lot more features (heated leather seats and a sunroof!) and it will be a really fun car for us. Now, we just need the snow to finish melting so we can take it camping!

What a Week!

All I can say is WOW! This has been one of the craziest and most stressful weeks of our lives. The biggest thing happened on Tuesday, which sadly was also my dad's birthday. I was driving to work in the morning and everything was pretty ordinary. The roads didn't seem too bad, but I still drove a little under the speed limit because I wasn't sure if the roads were going to be icy.

I was almost to the exit and pressed the brake to slow down a little when I started to slide. I let go of the brake, hoping I would stop sliding, but I just turned sideways and went front-end first into the ditch between the northbound and southbound lanes. The car then flipped about three times and luckily landed on its wheels on the edge of the road. I called 911 (which is a weird thing to do for yourself) and then Jared and then my boss to let her know I wasn't going to make it.

Long story short, I was taken to the hospital and the baby and I were checked out and we are both fine. I am going to the doctor on Tuesday just to be sure, but miraculously, we both are doing well. I had some scratches on my head and a tiny bruise on my knee, and that is it. I wasn't even very stiff the next day. I am pretty sure the baby is ok (he is kicking me like crazy all of the time), but we will hopefully know for sure on Tuesday. Please keep him in your prayers and I will keep you posted.

One thing that has really stuck out to me from this whole experience is that Heavenly Father really does love each one of us and he hears and answers our prayers, even if it isn't the way we are expecting. I know that the baby and I should have been seriously injured, maybe even killed, and we are fine. I feel so lucky and so blessed at the outcome of this accident and it has really strengthened my testimony of Heavenly Father's love for us and the power of prayer. Also, we have been so blessed by our family and friends, and I have been overwhelmed by the love, comfort and support we have received. Jared and I are now in the process of looking for a new car, so if you know of any good deals, please let us know!

Here are a couple of pictures of what is left of our beloved Ford Explorer:

PS~ Please ALWAYS wear your seatbelt!