Playing Catch Up

Time and Tide wait for no man, but time always stands still for a woman of thirty.
- Robert Frost

I have officially decided that I am a terrible blogger...well maybe just lacking in consistency. I hate making "New Year's Resolutions", as I feel that I would like to make continual change and progress through out the year. So, I cannot guarantee that I will be any better, but hopefully you will be able to be surprised by a post or two every now and then =).

A ton has transpired since I blogged last--Kary submitted his paperwork to the state to get his license, I got laid off from my job (NOT a bummer), Christmas, New Year's, my big 3-0, and a new job for me! The boys have been doing well in school and Noah is thoroughly enjoying Junior Jazz Basketball. Brynley is almost 5 months old and growing like a weed! I forgot how fast they lose the "newborn-ness"!

Here are some of Brynley's growth stats:
October 7, 2009: 8 lbs 10 oz, 21" long
Two Month Check-up: 12 lbs 15 oz, 24" long
Four Month Check-up: 15 lbs 10 oz, 26" long

Brynley loves to smile, pet or kick Kyia (surprisingly, Kyia doesn't mind it), roll over from back to front, take baths (she NEVER cries), go swimming (while Daddy holds her), suck on the first two fingers on her LEFT hand, chill out in her bouncy chair, suck on spoons, talk, and wiggle. Brynley has brought such joy to our family. Noah and Blake adore her--they are always advocating for her to make sure that we know what she needs.

As for my new job, I am working for a company that provides emergency medical transportion on fixed-wing aircraft. I now have great health insurance for my family (I feel safe now), as well as other benefits. The company is family-owned and operated, with the help of many other talented people. I feel blessed to have been given the opportunity to learn and grow (I will be trained as an EMT this summer as part of my training), and be able help provide for our family. I miss the time away from my family, but Kary and I feel that this is a necessary adventure in our lives, and I have felt as though a huge burden has been lifted.

Mi Familia

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.
--Jane Howard

With the recent addition of Brynley, I wanted pictures! Not only of Brynley as a newborn, but pictures of our family as a whole. These pictures were taken by Molly Theurer (check out Molly's photography blog HERE) on Saturday, October 24, 2009. Molly is so talented in what she does! I absolutely love the pictures.

Can You Spell Miss-iss-ippi?

"Nicknames stick to people, and the most ridiculous are the most adhesive."

--Thomas Chandler Haliburton

Can you please not make fun...Kary and I had, what I like to call, "Speller's Remorse". So, the Monday after getting out of the hospital, we went to the hospital to attempt to change the baby's name. I was worried about missing the paperwork on it's journey to being official. Here is the official name:

Brynnlee Jenna Gedge

is now

Brynley Jenna Gedge

Why the change? Every time I went to write Brynley's name, I never managed to write all the double letters. Kary equated it to spelling "Mississippi"--what a funny guy ;).

Nothin' Says Lovin' Like a...Part 2

"A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for."

--Author Unknown

Kary and Jen are pleased to announce the arrival of Noah and Blake's little sister:

Brynnlee Jenna Gedge

Born: October 7, 2009

Weight: 8 lbs. 10 oz.

Length: 21"

Brynnlee sleeping, with Daddy doing the same in the background.

All the important statistics =)

Brynnlee is taking lessons on how to sleep without distraction.

Our room with a wonderful view...and down below the roar of Life Flight.

Lovely little baby feet and toes.

The full scale picture.

As a side story: When Kary and I first told Noah and Blake that we were going to have a baby, Noah and Blake exclaimed, "Mom. The baby has to be a girl. We already have a brother." Matter of fact. Straight to the point. Our response was, "Well, we hope you are okay with a boy too. You can't exactly pick what kind of baby you get." Needless to say, when we went in for the ultrasound in June, and the tech told us it was a girl, the boys were thrilled! They have been looking forward to meeting Brynnlee ever since.

Shortly after Brynnlee arrived, I let the boys' dad know so he could tell the boys of their new sister's arrival. Noah and Blake were so excited, their dad called and asked if it would be okay if they came to visit right then. Noah and Blake were talking and moving a mile a minute. They were so excited they visited with us until 11:30pm! Yes, it was a school night, but their dad and I thought it was better they get acquainted with Brynnlee and get their wiggles out, than wait until the next day and have no focus at school.

It was wonderful to have the boys there and even better that their dad was able to take the first video of the boys and Brynn together. I would post it here, but the file is too big, so here is a link to see the video in its entirety. Noah and Blake Meet Brynnlee

Hope you enjoy the pictures. More to come. Thanks to all who have sent their congratulations and well wishes!!! Love to all!

It's a girl

This entire story is based from the perspective of Kary, the dad and husband. Mommy is currently sitting in her hospital bed resting after all the work. Okay, so here is what happened.....
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009, I had just finished playing a game of Disk Golf. I called Jenny Jen to see what she was up to and how work was going. Turns out her contractions were really bad and she was about to go to the hospital. I finished up some stuff at work, and after picking up the boys from school at 3:17 pm and dropping them off at their dad's house, I went to the hospital. Once there I found Jenny Jen (my wife) and Jen (Jen's coworker) in the delivery room. Jen took off after they gave the soon to be mommy a shot (I was waiting out of the room). I then came in the room and we waited for the little one to come out. If you want all the gory details you should ask the Mommy, Daddy was focusing on the computer screen so he wouldn't fall out of his chair.

So lets fast forward to the good part...... She pooped (spelling correct) out. She is just perfect. The little baby has everything, a head, body, five fingers, and one foot (oh wait, there is another one), I mean two feet. Yeah, it is all there. Little baby girl weighed 8 lbs 10 oz. She was born at exactly 8:41 pm, 21 inches long (that is huge if you compare that to the normal size fish the boys have been catching), and lets not forget her head was 12 inches around (plenty of room for the brain she inherited). In the end labor was about three hours long, I think someone said mommy only had to push 6 times.

Some of you may notice that baby girl has yet to be named. I have been calling her Haylee, mostly because she has a note above her plastic box with Dr. Hurley's name on it (close enough right). She has no name because we can't come up with anything every one loves, side note, Jen hasn't picked one yet. Through all this I have decided that if men were responsible for the naming of all children this world would be full of Adams and Eves. So much easier.

Now for the photos and videos. Please direct all questions and comments to Mommy (previously known as Jenny Jen). Daddy was focusing on trying to not focus.

Part 1 of 2

Part 2 of 2

Catch of the Day

September 12, 2009
The alarm reads 5:00 am

Noah: Hey Kary! (Pause) Kaarrryyyy!?!
Kary: Yeahhhh...
Noah: Just one more hour until we go fishing!
Kary: Mmm Hmm...

It is Saturday morning. People are supposed to do something called "sleeping in" on the weekend, right? Not in my house. Noah and Blake must have some sort of internal clock that only wakes them up on a weekend early enough to beat both Kary and I out of bed. Is it because we are going to an amusement park? No. Is it because we are going swimming? No. It is because the night crawlers have been dug out of the ground, freshly baked grocery store donuts are calling Noah and Blake's name from a mile away, and the dirty canal down the road has beady-eyed fish waiting for an easy snack...I mean hook? I am VERY sure it is the latter.

The boys love to go fishing! Now, one would hope that they are practicing "Catch and Release" as they take after their mother in the "Hate-to-eat-fish" department. I was under the impression that this was the case, until Kary showed me all the pictures from the fishing adventures. You will see what I mean as you scroll through the pictures posted...in my personal opinion, there is something "fishy" about the "Catch and Release" method going on at that canal. The boys had tons of fun, Kary got to bait lots of hooks with icky, creepy worms and Kyia (the little dog) got to lay there and be lazy.

September 26, 2009
Again, the same scenario plays out...boys and Kary awake at o'dark and early (otherwise known as 6:00 am). The same plan applies...donuts, worms and stinky, smelly fish. The fish are biting and flopping. The dog has dug herself a hole and planted her body in it. Kary has no time to rest as every few minutes there is a fish to be reeled in, a worm to be put on a hook, or a picture of a catch to be taken. This was a day of plenty.

Back to School for an Edu-ma-cation

Mom: "Blake, what did you have for lunch today?"

Blake (age 6): "I didn't eat lunch. I only had, like, ten fourths of my grilled cheese."

Noah (age 7): "Blake. That means you ate the whole thing. Duh."

After a long summer, Blake and Noah returned to Beacon Heights Elementary School for another year of academics, friends, and fun.

The boys learned who their teachers were on Saturday, August 22. Rob and I took the boys to Back to School Day on Monday, August 24 where they were able to check out their new classrooms, meet their teachers, pick a seat in class, and see old friends. I don't know why, but I was nervous about the new school year to begin. Noah and Blake had such wonderful teachers last year, I wasn't sure how I would feel about their new teachers. As nervous as I was, the boys acted as though they were going to Disneyland! They were running, skipping, and talking a mile a minute. I can only do the latter at this point, as I am about to birth a large bun that has been baking in the oven. This posed a problem. I could barely keep up with the boys as they ran into the school, but I managed to have laid out the itinerary before we got out of the car so I knew right where to look for them.

Ms. Buttars class was first on the list. Blake was more than eager to meet Ms. Buttars, who transferred from another elementary school down the road. We filled out her questionnaire, found all the important locations in the classroom and then it was on to Noah's class. Noah ran as fast as he could to his classroom. He was bouncy, all smiles. As soon as he set foot in Mrs. Mortensen's class (she likes the kids to call her Emily), he was too tough for school. That change in personality made me smile and laugh. He was such a good actor, Emily asked if he liked school. If she could have only seen Noah run and jump through the halls like Laura Ingalls on the post-credits of Little House on the Prairie! Noah had his picture taken, chose a seat, explored the room and talked with old friends, while Rob and I filled out paperwork and requests for volunteerism.

School started the next day, Tuesday, August 25. Here are some shots of my "excited-to-be-back-at-school" boys.

Nothin' Says Lovin' Like a...

Instructions for Cooking:

Preheat Oven to: Married and in LOVE!
Cook at 98.6 degrees for 38-42 weeks as determined by the bun's preference.
Bun removes itself from the oven when good and ready, but this one should be done by early October.

If further instructions are needed, please Google "Bun in the Oven".

Happy Sunday!

Love,
Kary and Jen

Love and Marriage...but no Internet

"In marriage, each partner is to be an encourager rather than a critic, a forgiver rather than a collector of hurts, an enabler rather than a reformer."
--H. Norman Wright and Gary J. Oliver

It has been forever since I have blogged, I know. But how can you possibly blog when you don't have the internet? I just barely got the internet yesterday morning, so here I am!

• No Internet=No blogging
  
• No Internet=No way to check out wedding pictures, thus no way to post any
  
• No Internet=No sanity for Jen
  

Oh, alright. The last one is not true. I have my sanity. Do not worry about that. I just got married and I am happier than ever! Our new little family is thriving, although I am having a hard time getting used to having a baby again...that baby would be Kyia, the little dog. I am just not used to having to look down to ground level so as not to step on her. Sad for the dog, but I can't complain. I love being married.


The wedding was great! Kary and I agree that it was so much more relaxed than our first weddings. Uncle Bob and Aunt Joni were great hosts for the event and Joni, Rachel, Mackenzie and Andrew made wonderful refreshments! Everything was perfect. My second dad, Bishop Jesse Judd, performed the ceremony on the deck in the backyard at dusk. We had many family and friends in attendance. The weather was not typical for a January evening, warmer in fact. The boys were the ring bearers, even if they were holding them in their shirt pockets. After the ceremony, hugs and well wishes, it was into the house for the Hot Chocolate Bar, fruit kabobs, little smokies, meatballs, chicken salad sandwiches, salsa and chips, artichoke dip, tortellini and sausage kabobs, and many other yummy foods. The company was amazing! My parents were able to meet my adopted family, the Judds, as well as my brother of 10+ years, Ben. I was able to meet some of Kary's friends for the first time, and Bob and Joni were able to put faces with names of people Kary and I had invited. Again, it was a marvelous evening.

Here is a funny story...when my Bishop arrived at Bob and Joni's, he asked if we had our marriage license. I told him where it was. After we took our pictures, I made sure that he had located the license. He said he had. So, imagine my surprise when, after everyone had departed the get-together, I look in the envelope with the marriage license paperwork in it and find that NONE of the paperwork had been filled in! So, I texted Debbie Judd, Bishop Judd's wife, something along the lines of: "So, um, the Bishop didn't fill out our paperwork. Are we even legal?" She replied: "Um, no. Just kidding. Swing by real quick and he will fill it out." Phew! We drove over and walked in to the laughter of my friend, Bishop Judd's daughter, Molly, laughing at my previously sent text. In the end, it gave everyone a good laugh.

I have not had a chance to download the pictures from the wedding yet, but here are two links to the pictures taken.

This is the link for the pictures that my friend's brother, Shaun, took. And this is the link for the pictures that my friend Molly, took. Enjoy!

Wedding? As You Wish...

"Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday."

--The Impressive Clergyman, The Princess Bride

For those of you who are interested...here are the wedding details!

Who: Kary and Jen
When: Saturday, January 17, 2009
Time: Dusk (You can get there around 5pm)
Where: The Tavern de Leiker, Ogden, UT

We are excited to finally tie the knot! Now all we need are our friends and family to join us for our awesome day, or night ;)! If you plan on coming let me know via email (cagrl127@gmail.com) or comment on this here post so we can plan accordingly! I can also send you the address and directions (I don't want to post them online for the whole world to see, if you know what I mean).

We have opted for a fun, casual experience. Kary and I will NOT be dressing up, so come in your comfy-est jeans (or whatever you fancy). We will have an awesmoe Hot Chocolate Bar and other yummy refreshments so come prepared for great food and engaging company!