This is what Jamie calls "Jesus in the sky"

At Hogel zoo

At the capital

Salt Lake City temple at night. This is what Jame kept looking at and running in to things.

Salt Lake

so we have finlly made the trip to the Salt Lake temple that we have been promising Jamie. I have to say that it was a wonderful trip. With in hours of ariving in Salt lak bnoth Michael and I were suffering from allergies and all stuffed up. It was odd how quickly it hits us. FOr myslef it wasen't bad, but poor little Michael couldn't understand why he couldn't breath from his nose. he seemed fine during the day but as soon as I would lay him down for the night he would start crying and coughing. Needless to say I got very little sleep the entire week we were there.
Some of the good moments that we had were the Hogel Zoo, Discovery Museum, and of course temple square.
Hogel Zoo was one for the places that we had looked up before leaving on our trip. When I thought of a zoo in Salt Lake I was thinking of something small with local animals. When we got there the first thing Jamie found was a peacock. Her first thought/action was to chase the poor thing all around the the common area. Seeing as we didn't have much time before the zoo closed we just picked a path and walked. Boy did we pick the right path! we got to see a snow leopard and her cub sleeping together. I thought we were blessed to see that but then the next encloser was a mother tiger and her 3 nursing cubs. They were so cute. at first they were sleeping and not doing much but after a bit the 3 cubs and their mother began to play with each other. it was lot of fun to watch. we went on to see some birds but most of the exhibits were closed for winter. Then we came to the giraffes. I have to tell you that these things have no fear.one came right up to us. we even got to feed it some leaves! To say the least the zoo far surpassed my expectations.
Next on our list of things to do was temple square. At first the temple seemed smaller then I expected. Not until we were at the doors did it look like the photos we have all seen. The weather that day was sunny but cold. I had Michael in a bunting but the wind was still blowing in his face so we had the Sister missionaries take us in the visitors museum and give us a tour. There were lots of photos that Jamie knows well. It was so nice to get to see these pictures that we know from copies in real life. They were amazing! i wish that I could have them in my home to enjoy everyday.Jamie enjoyed talking to the Sisters and showing off, even though she acted shy for the first part. at the end of the tour we saw the Christus. Jamie called it "Jesus in the sky". Mom just thought that was the cutest thing. We had hoped to look around more but the kids were getting sleepy and it was too cold to be outside so that ended our temple square viewing. We did go back later with a tour but I'll tell more about that some other time.
On the last day of our trip we took Jamie to the Discovery museum. there were so many things for her to play with and do we could have spent the whole trip there and she still would want more. She got to go in a helicopter and "flight" it. There was a water section, and what kid doesn't like to play in water. Even Michael enjoyed splashing in the water. but sadly our timing was not the best. Due to Michael not getting good sleep at night he was in need of more naps through out the day, and it was nap time so we had to leave early.
All in all we had a wonderful trip and more or less stress free.I hope to go back some time soon and go more in depth on somethings. I hope that next time Jason can come with us , I know that there are many things that he would enjoy as well. So I will end this here and post a few photos take on the trip.
lots of love ---Melissa, Jamie and Michael

August update

Life has been driving on here in the Walker house. Things are getting better everyday. I have now gotten some outside activites going on. We have been attending playgroups every week, and making trips to the farmers market every weekend. Te play gorups have been lodes of fun for Jamie. We have been swiming at the Raymond's house and Jamie is becoming more of a fish every time we go. At first she wanted nothing to do with the water. I had to pull her nto the pool after 15 min of just looking at the water. Now after just a few times she is getting brave and putting her face underwater and blwing bubbles. I think that swimming lessons are right around the corner. We have also enjoyed picking out fresh fruits and veggies at the farmers market. It has been so nice toget out in the fresh air and pick out what veggies you will use that week. Jamie likes to pick out the flowers that we will brng home. I think it is a good thing for our kids to pick out what they will be eatting for the week. Jamie hasnever been a picky eater but it is still nice that she can have a say in our produce picks.
Michael is growing just the same as ever. He is now blowing rassberries and getting anyone within 3 feet wet. I had forgotten how much spit a baby can make when teathing. He is also babbling a lot more. Jamie is always talling me what he is saying. Watching the two ofthem is so much fun. J amie is such a wonderful big sister. I am looking foward to the time that they can really paly together.
well not much is really happening here, I do plan on posting some pics here soon so look back for them.

life as a single mom

WOW! things have been crazy here. Now that Jason is gone I have a small feeling of what it would be like as a single mom. And boy is it hard! I have been running around all day just to try and keep the house claen. On top of claening ther are meals to cook and scholling to be done and I am still nursing Michael. The days are starting to blend together. I wake up at 6 every morning and don't get to bed until 11:30 everynight. I couldn't imagin doing all this AND haveing to hold down a full time job. I am so thankful that the Lord has blessed me with a husband to provide for the children and myself. We may not have a ton of extras but we do have whet we need.
I have been trying to cut down on the costs of running our family. I have changed to using cloth diapers. I started using them with Jamie when she was around 1. I have been using them from birth on Michael. Despite what one might think cloth diapers are very easy to use. They are now made with velcro or snaps so no more pins to stick the baby. As for the poop, they make liners that going inside the dipe and just flush down the potty. Then I just start the washer with the soap and leave the lid open so all it does is fill and throw the dipe in the waiting water and run the wash when it is full. This only adds two or three loads of wash to my normal work load.
I also have all the stuff to make laundry soap. I will up date you on how that works out, but all the supplies cost maybe $20 and it will make quite a few batches (one batch is 10 gallons). We are hoping to be debt free here very soon. I am hoping to pay off the last of our bills by the time Jason comes home from Egypt. If anyone has any more money saving tips please feel free to post them so we can try them out.

Heading to Egypt

Hey everyone. This is jason. It's official- I'm sitting in the Atlanta, Ga. airport waiting to go over seas. I'm landing in Tel Aviv, Israel. I'll be there for a day, so that will be fun. After that I'll head to North camp in Sinai, Egypt where I will probrably be there for a week or two for inprocessing, and then I'll find out if I will stay there, or go down to South camp- which is on the red sea. I'll get lot's of pictures and post them. I'm exited, but I'm also sad because I'm going to miss my family a lot. I'm not sure when I'll get to post again, but I will let you all know what is going on as soon as possible. I love you all, and I'll see you when I see you.

Till we meet again- Jason

new camara

I just recived my new toy. After spending over $100 on family photos that I wasen't in love with I had an idea. Why not get myown camara and take the photos myself for less. I know the Jason will want tons of pics of the kids well he is gone so I should get a lot of use out of it. I took it for a test run this morning and I am happy with the outcome. Here are a few photos from my first try.

Camping with the In-Laws

Over the weekend we had a wonderful time in the outdoors. Jason is still in Ft. Irwin so the babies and I had to have this adventure without him. All the things you would expect to happen on a family trip happened. The kids got dirty, tensions ran high followed by funny moments, and some good old bonding. seeing as I am still recovering my Mother-in-Law drove the kids and I down. I have to admit that I was worried about spending 3 hours in the car alone with Rhonda. That 3 hours endded up being just what we needed. We all had fun and the kids seemed to have a blast as well. There is not too much to tell but I will post some pics of the weekend.

getting back to normal

I am sorry for taking such a long brake. Things have been crazy the last few weeks. First off my suregery went very well and I am now healing. We have had quite a few set backs on the road to recovery. The worst of them waking up parlized. Yes you read right I woke up a could not move! We called the paramedics and we to the hospital just to have movement return 2 hours later and no reason as to why it happen in the first place. I am just fine now and pray that I never have it happen again.
We are getting more and more settled in to our new house. I am trying to keep up with the house work and the kids as I recovery and I have to say the house has suffered. My mom has been such a wonderful help as well as the sisters of the church. Jason sadly had to return to Ft. Irwin and has not been able to help. He will be here with us from the 11th of june until we drop him off at the airport to leave us for a year.
Michael is doing very well. He is now 11 pounds and growing! He is rolling over and cooing. This little boy supprises me daily. Jamie at this point was still so small and newborn like, and Michael is more like a 3 or 4 month old. He is very into looking around at the world around him. We had his photos taken and got some very lovely photos of him and little Miss Jamie. Speaking of jamie she is getting older as well. She is now reading close to 50 words and that is expanding everyday. You read right she is READING. I am very proud of her and love watching her grow. Jamie will begoing on her very first Mommy and Daddy free trip. Her Grandma (Rhonda) will be taking her camiping with the Walker family. I am sad to miss this trip, but I am even more upset to let my baby go withoout me. It's not that I don't trust the wonderful family that will be taking her, but the moments that I will miss out on. I guess a mother must let go some time.
I will let you know how things progress in my healing and how Jamie reacts to a weekend without Mommy, and the milestones Michel makes in the coming week.

life moves on

Well things are moving along here in the Walker house. It is getting easier to do the normal dat-to-day activities. Jason is out in the field yet again. At least this time wihtout him gives me a chance to learn how manage a house with 2 kiddos by myself. I have been doing better then I though iI would ever do. It is amazing how a few years can change how well one keeps house. I can rember growing up how I could NEVER keep my room clean. Then as a new wife I always had dishes stacked in the sink and clothes that needed folding. Now if you came to my house things are far diffrent.
So on to the good stuff. Michael is doing very well. He is getting so big. he is now around 9 pounds and filling out nicely. He has started to roll over. The first time was the day he turned 5 weeks old. He has done it almost every time I put him on his tummy.I am not sure at whet age the "normal" baby rolls over but I am sure it is not at 5 weeks old. He is also holding his head steady, nad has even tried a coo or two. This is such good news forus because of him being born early. Babies born early are slower to reach milesotnes then trem babies. If I were to ajust his age like the doctor tell me to do then he was only 1 week old when he rolled over.
Little Miss Jamie is ding good as well. She just this week cut her 3 year molers. This has made life very hard on her. She has been complaining about her mouth hurting and there is nothing I can do. Her moods have been up and down due to this and it make Mommy's life very hard when a toddler wants to be held the same time the baby is nursing. We have also learned a very big lesson tonight, razor hurt! Jason left the razor on the bathroom counter after shaving and tonight Jamie tried to shave like Daddy. Lucky her the only cut she got was on her lip.Now Daddy knows to put the razor up and Jamie knows not to tuch it when he forgets.

A boy is born

Michael Grayson Capron Walker is born! Michael came into this world on March 23rd at 2:35 pm. He was 6 lbs 12 oz, and 19 ins long.He was born early at 36 weeks and needed help with his breathing. After a week long stay in the NICU he came home healthy and happy. As of right now he is very quite, only crying when hungry or a diaper is being changed. Jamie is taking the role of big sister very well. She tries to help with diaper changes by getting Mommy the things she forgets, and she is always wanting to love on baby Michael.

Mommy is recovering well, and Daddy is on cloud 9. We are back in Fort Irwin now and we are trying to get the house back in order. With two small children that is easier said then done. Between nursing every 2 1/2 hours and a bubbly todleer finding time to clean house, update family members, and find time to sleep is getting hard. But who said it would be easy.

I want to thank everyone for their love and support during this time of transition. We are very happy to have our family of four doing so well. It will be hard when iwe are split up in just a few months.

Here are just a few of the many photos taken inthe last 2 weeks. I hope you like them.

Michael Graryson Capron Walker

He is here. Michael Grayson Capron Walker arrived 2:35 pm Monday, March 23 2009. Michael was born at 36 weeks but still weighed in at 6 lbs 12 oz, and was 19 and 1/4 inches long. For being a preemie he is big. The labor and delivery went very weill. I was trying for a drug free L&D but due to the my water braking without contractions that was not an option. My water broke at 11:00pm and I call Jason strait away and he got here 3 and 1/2 hours later. As he was driving to to Bakersfield I called my doctor to let him know what wasgoing on. I was told that I could wait until Jason got there then I need to head to the hospital. When Jason got here we were off the the hospital. I got to the labor and dellivery fool and things started rolling. I was hooked up the the montor the see if I was contracting. There was nothing but small contractions. I was started on pitocin and the contractions started come strong. I held out on the epidural for a very long time but due to the medication got one. After getting the Epi I was checked and had not only dilated to 10 cm but the baby was coming out NOW!
The doctor was called and I was told not to even think push. When the doctor arrived he got dressed and they gave Jason a gown so that he could help in the delivery. We were all suprised at how much the doctor let Jason do. I will let Jason write about his experince but I will say that he got to deliver Michael and did a large bit of it himself.
After Michael was out the cord was cut after the blood stoped pumping and turned white. After the cord was cut Micahel didn't cry. He was taken to the warmer to be checked out. The nurse found that he was having breathing trouble. The nurses tryed to get him on track but he needed more help and was taken to the NICU. In the NICU he was put on a machine to keep his lungs open.
He is now off all of the I.V.'s and tubes. We are waiting to see if he can hold his own over night and when that happens we will get to take him home. I hope and pray that he can come home tommrow but I don't dare hold my breath. I will update as more happens. I will also post pics soon.

Happy St. Patty's

Happy St. Patty's day everyone. We have had a very up and down week. I had my doctors visit on Thursday (the 12th). All my tests from the last visit came back good and baby is looking good as well. I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions for a few weeks and the doctor wanted to check me. He found that I was 1 cm dilated. We had planed on going home until my next doctors appt but this made it so I have to stay here with my mom until the baby comes. Poor Jason had to drive 3 hours home, pack up clothes for Jamie and I then dive back the same day to bring them back. We are now settled in and the waiting game has started.
I also had my baby shower this last Saterday (the 14th). Thank you to everyone that attended and made for a wonderful day. I wish I could have given more notice so that everyone could come but know that you love was felt. Michael recived some wonerful gifts. I am looking forward to putting him in all the cute clothes.
That is all the news I have for now and I hope to be posting about the birth of Michael soon.

New family photos

Okay, I have gotten it done. We went this week to get the last photos for our family as a threesome. It is a happy and sad time all in one. We also got some of my growing belly and of Jamie by herself. Well here they are. Let me know what you think.

P.S. how do you like Jamie's new eyes?

welcome March

Hello everyone. I wanted to update you on the on-goings of our home. I went to the doctors for my 32 weeks check up and so far all is well. I took a few tests that most women take and have yet to get the results back on those but as the doctor told me "no news is good news". Baby Michael is growing well, still on the small side, but growing just fine. I have been feeling wonderful up until the last week. My body is now getting ready to have a baby nad I feel it. I am getting braxton hicks contractions everyday, many times a day. I asked the doctor about this and he reasured me that this is normal and just the start of it. I will go back again on the 13th of this month and hope to get an ultersound to see how much Michael has grown.
Jamie now has four eyes! We picked up her glasses when down to see my doctor.By what her eye doctor was telling us about other children we were expecting a ruff time getting her to keep them on. She has yet again suprised us all.When I got her to my Moms house it was nap time so I waited until after her nap to even try putting them on her. When she woke up I took the glasses over to her and sat down. I let her look at them for a second then explained that she had to wear them and not take them off. At first Jamie seemed like nothing neew had happened. Then came the first attempt to take them off. I again got down to her level and then told her that she was not to tuch her glasses and that she needed to keep then on. After that I have had very little problem. There have been a few times that she has gotten them bumped and that makes her mad but she has been SO good. I have yet to get a good picture of her in them. I think that Jamie can see the camera coming better because she hides her face when it come out. I will do my best to get a photo soon.
The time has come! My baby shower has been set for the 14th of March. My Mother-in-law is hosting it with the help of my sister-in-law Misty. It looks to be fun so keep an eye out for your invit. I will post lots of pics of the event after for those that couldn't attend. I will be getting a 3D ultrasound before the party so that we can see the little one inside of me better. We should also have new family photos taken by then. Again I will post all of these when I get them.
Hoping all is well with you and yours----the Walker family

The test

As this pregnancy comes closer to ending I would like to look back at the start of it all.

It was the monday after I had recived my endowments at the LA temple. I had been feeling like things were about to "start" for days. Knowing that I would be wearing all white in the temple I had prayed that things would hold off until after I went. When by saterday nothing had showed I was relieved that I could go to the temple and not worry. everything was wonderful in the temple and the only thing missing was my husband. After we left I called Jason to tell him about my wonderful day. At the end of our conversation he asked if i had "started". I told him no that it would be anyday now, but thank goodness it had held off. Monday rools around and Jason text meassages me asking the question again. It was at that moment that the light came on. I think that Jason wondered long before I did. I didn't want to hope for any thing as we had just been through a few losses and the idea of it scared me. Jason told me to run down to the store so that I could "make sure". So I did.

I get three test because one just will not due. bring them home(well my moms house) at head to the bathroom. As i pull out this stick I think to myself that I am stupid of letting Jason talk me in to this because there is NO WAY I could be. Well as if you don't already know the anser here is the test.

I almost passed out. I was sure that i could in no way be preggo. I was sure! I had just gotten okay with the idea of having Jaome as an only child and this is the joke God plays on me. He must have said someting like this. "Okay so you are content in the way your life is now lets turn it upside down." Please don't get me wrong I was happy in a few days but the shock of it all made my head spin. I then send a pic of the test to Jason and he calls me back in record time sounding so happy. He sounded so happy I wanted to smack him and remind him that we had given up. Like "rember we quit trying".

Anyway 8 months later here I am telling this story as that little suprise is kicking me in the ribs. I hope that in a few weeks I will get to post about the end of this pregnancy.

Our snow day

I woke up to my wonderful husband calling me telling me "marry christmas". I was half asleep and snaped at him with a firm "what!". he then told me to look outside. Now I was expecting and new car or something of that sort but this is what i got.

Jamie had so much fun. As soon as we would come inside she would grap her mittens and ask to go back out. Dang kids have no concept of Mommy's cold. When Jason came home later that day he started throwing snow balls at Jamie and that is why she has a mound of snow on top of her head on the last pic. This was so enjoyable. I hope that we can live somewere that gets snow in the winter every year.

Pics of Michael

Here are some of the ultrasound pics of Michael. The first one is of him sucking his thumb. I wish you could have been there to see him doing it. I could see his little jaw and tounge moving. It made him seem so much more real. The second one is of his spine. You can see that he will be a tall boy. And last but not least is his "boy tools". You can see his nottie bits where the arrow is pointing.

Family photos

I wanted to post our last family photos for all to see. We really need to get more done.

Our first blog

Hello all,
I have chosen to do this so that I can keep everyone updated on our family without spending too much time on the net. I hope you all can hang in there as I get the hang of this whole blogging thing down.
Just to start so that everyone is on the same page I will recap things that have been happening up until now. First off is that Jason had his orders to deploy to Egypt pushed back until Aug. He will be going to some training before hand so it looks like he will be leaving in mid-July. We are very happy that he will get to spend some more time with the baby before he leaves us for a year or more.
Jamie is growing up fast and getting so smart. Too smart sometimes. She can now talk like a human most of the time. I like not having to tell everyone what she just said and her getting mad at us not understanding the baby talk. She is always commenting on how big Michael(my belly) is getting. I hope that she like him this much when he gets here. Jamie has also been see by the eye doctors for her left eye turning in. It was a little more advanced then we had been lead to believe. I eye doctor was mad at the fact that non of Jamie's other doctors had told us to get seen. Whats done is done and we are moving foward. She is getting 4 hours of eye therpy at home evryday. We have to patch her "good" eye and make her use her fine motor skills. This has been working and we are already seeing some progress. We will take her back the the doctor in April to see what is next.
Speaking of April, that is when little Michael is due. I would give you a date but I have no hopes of making it to 40 weeks so we are looking a sometime between March 23rd to April 20th. We are getting everything set up for the little man to arive. The clothes are washed and the crib is set up. We still have a few things to get but that will come in time. I have a docotrs vistit coming up on the 27th of Feb and I will update then. So far He is looking like he will be smaller, ssay 6- 61/2 lbs but I am just fine with that. LOL He is going to be tall. At the last ultarsound his legs were a full 2 weeks ahead of the rest of his body!
So as you can see we have plenty of things going on yet not much at all. I have been trying to keep up with the demands of daily housework with a evergrowing belly. I am hoping to start saving up to go see Jason in Egypt when he is over there. I am wondering how I will make this trip with two little ones but that is still sometime off.
Thank you all for reading this and I hope that you will check our blog offten.
----Love always the Walker family