I hate spiders

My entire life, back to as young as I can remember I have been afraid of spiders. I blame it mostly on my sissy sister (she's not really a sissy, she had four babies without an epidural) because she would always make me go down in the root cellar to get bottle food because she was too afraid of the spiders.

Over the years I have wondered how much I really am afraid of spiders. Mostly, I thought I kept up the attitude I was afraid to give my darling husband a way to protect me. It was fun to let him take the lead on taking care of any of our eight legged, not so much friends.

Well, last night I learned that my fear of spiders is alive and well. As I was sitting on the futon in the spare bedroom feeding Nathan at 3:30 in the morning, I noticed a big bug crawling around on the floor. I thought it could be a spider, but the lights were down low so I wasn't sure. Once I got done feeding Nate I decided I could handle this guy. As I got close, I realized that it was a big hairy spider. I thought, "I'll be a toughy and kill this thing". I tried, but thankfully he got away. I was a little freaked out that I didn't know where he was so I told Scott when I went back to bed that he would have to get Nate if he started to cry.

Not too long later Nate needed help so Scott got up to take care of him. I could see into the hallway from my bed and I kept an eye out for that big nasty thing. He came out! I yelled to Scott and he grabbed a shoe to squish it. I came closer to make sure he killed it real good. He nailed with the shoe, and then the thing EXPLODED into millions of baby spiders. At this point, I gracefully sprinted back to my bed, jumped in, curled into the fetal position and began bawling my eyes out.

It was more than an hour later before I was able to calm down enough to go back to sleep. Before I got out of bed this morning Scott swept up the spider carcases (he killed all the babies he could), threw away the broom, used pine sol and a sponge the clean up the floor, threw away the sponge, and took out the garbage.

So I figure out that it was a wolf spider and they are unique in that they carry their young on their abdomen. NASTY!!! I think I can recover with time and lots of therapy.

Here is a picture so you can see how hideous this thing is. I hate spiders.

Pioneer Day

For the 24th of July Scott took the day off work to celebrate our pioneer heritage. We took a little family trip to the Delaware Water Gap. It is on the boarder of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Simply beautiful! We want to go back soon.

"Pioneer children sang as they walked and walked and walked and walked." He hiked up these stairs all by himself and even used the handrail.

"Here comes the ox cart oh so slow" We found a trail that worked great for our jogger. Nate is the little lump of blankets on the right side. :) He is such a trooper to go on all these adventures with us as such a young age. He never complains.

Scott and I are trying to learn how to do the self-photo thing. This is the best one after many attempts to not cut off the top of Scott's head. We'll keep trying.

This is about as pioneer as we get. We have a garden this year... It is so fun to watch it grow. Jeff loves to water it. He also enjoys eating suckers. We put the two together and it is a great combination.

For Christine

My friend Christine loves to wash her car. She probably does so once or twice a week. She even believes that she gets better gas mileage when her car is clean so she never goes on a trip without first washing her car.

I washed my car on Saturday. Our car has not been "technically" washed in about a year. But, let me just say that it rains so much here that you don't have to wash your car so much. So, I don't feel like I have been losing out on better gas mileage.

Christine, this post is for you. You can be proud that I am on the road to washing my car twice a year. :) All in your honor.

Hill Cumorah

The boys and the campfire.

The amazing stage from the third row (yep we were spoiled, our friends hooked us up)

Jeff loved the pageant. He got so excited he would clap with joy. He stayed awake through the whole thing.

This is a great photo Katie took of the Sacred Grove. I only wish I could get it to rotate so it isn't sideways... but you can still appreciate the beauty. :) Just turn your head ever so slightly (read 90 degrees) to the left.

All in all, we had a great trip to Palmyra. It was our first camping trip with Nathan... and Jeff for that matter. It went so well, we might go camping for the 24th of July too. We are determined that even with little kids, we will enjoy the great outdoors and anything else that would be fun.

Jeff's Birthday

Jeff turned two years old on July 10th. We had a little family party for him. Nothing like the parties most easterners have for their kids, but at least he got a cake... right. :)

This is my first attempt at doing a "cute" cake for a birthday. I used Jeff's Elmo as my inspiration. You can't really tell in this picture, but the eyes and nose are 3D. Yay for me and trying to become a cutesy mom. :)

We went to Central Park and had a picnic. Cousin Kate had never been yet, so it was a fun little trip into the city.

Jeff got a trampoline from us for his birthday. I thought since he was constantly jumping off the couch, he would love it. Today he has spent most of his time jumping on and off the couch, so we'll see if he starts jumping more on his tramp soon.

Jeff got tagged

Okay, so this will be fun. My friend Dallas tagged Jeff (really me) to write eleven things about him. So, here we go.

1. Jeff naturally attracts people to him. At church he has a following of other kids that just love to play with him. Young men in the ward will pick him up and play with him, kids just older than him will play with him. They all love him. I am still trying to figure out exactly what it is that Jeff has or does that attracts so many people to him. I have had many people tell me they would watch Jeff anytime because he is such an easy going kid to have around. I hope to one day bottle whatever it is that Jeff is doing to sell to business professionals who want to do networking or something.

2. Everyone thinks Jeff has an unusually sized head for his age, but I just want to set the record strait and let you all know that he is in the 50th percentile for head size... which equates to perfectly normal. :)

3. Jeff had the be the cutest baby ever born. He had a full head of long hair that was light brown with blond ends. It was sticky out in every direction. He looked like a little surfer boy.

4. Jeff is my Grandpa Cheney's 76th decedent. He keeps track of his numbers pretty closely. We were hoping to get the 75th slot, but we missed it by one. Jeff even tried to do his part to get the number 75 by coming a month early, but it didn't quite cut it.

5. Jeff absolutely loves being a big brother. Every morning he comes out of his room and looks for Baby Nate. He looks in all the spots he could be to see if he can find Nate. He also tries to nurse Nathan. A little worrisome, but I think he has stopped. He has never shown any amount of hostility toward Nathan. Once, I thought Jeff tried to hit Nate, but then I realized that he was giving his bro a high five.

6. Jeff eats like crazy!!! I will feed him his breakfast and then when I get mine, he wants to eat part of mine too. Then Scott will come out and eat his breakfast and Jeff will want part of his too. He just loves to eat. Thankfully he has his dad's metabolism so he isn't too chunky. ;)

7. Jeff loves to run and play and jump. He is pretty fearless and very capable. He loves to throw balls, kick balls, and play catch. Sometimes he doesn't wait for others to catch and that causes a few problems. Especially for unsuspecting kiddos in nursery.

8. Jeff doesn't like to have dirty hands. He hates weird textures on his skin. I hope he outgrows it because beach going is a little crazy when he wont play in the sand.

9. Everyone says that Jeff looks just like Scott. EVERYONE!!! Sometimes I feel like I had nothing to do with getting the kid here because he is "all Scott". I only really see it when he smiles, but apparently he is a mini Scott.

10. In his two short years Jeff has lived on the west coast (California) and the east coast (New Jersey). He also had a 10 month stint in Utah. Poor kid is almost a military brat.

11. Jeff (and now Nathan too) is the light of our lives. He brings so much joy and happiness to us. We are so grateful that he is a part of our family.

Nathan's Blessing

Scott blessed Nathan today in church. It was a beautiful blessing. Here are some pictures of Nate in his blessing outfit provided by Grandma Goddard. He looked pretty handsome in his white baby tux. Everyone was disappointed Scott didn't lift Nate up to show him off after the blessing.


And, here are some pictures of our little family that is growing so much. I can't believe I am the mother of two incredible little boys.

Saturday at the Lake

We spent Saturday at a really fun lake about 40 minutes from our house. Its called Greenwood Lake. It is partway in New York and partway in New Jersey. It almost felt like we were at Bear Lake in Idaho/Utah. It was awesome. It had the small town feel that we miss so much being here so close to NYC. We went to the beach, dinner, ice cream, and then fireworks. It was a great day to spend as a family and I am pretty sure we will go back because the creamery we got ice cream at was awesome.

Jeff took a while to decide it was okay to get some sand on his feet.

Our little family, with our addition. Nathan loved the beach... actually, he slept right through the whole visit to the beach part of the day.

This was just a cute picture of Jeff. Man, he has the cutest little smile.

Jeff putting his feet in the "big foot" tracks that Katie and Scott made in the sand. By this point he was okay with getting a little gritty in between his toes.

Jeff loves his daddy, but this picture doesn't show it so much. :) He is gripping onto Scott's nose so he doesn't fall when Scott leans back.

My Scott

I just don't post enough about my Scotty. He does so many incredible things and since he is too humble to tell anyone about them, I get to. :)

So, as many of you know, Scott has to take these grueling exams for his profession as an actuary Between work, family, church, and studying for exams... he doesn't have too much free time. For a while, this was Scott's schedule.

7 a.m. leave for work
7 p.m. get home from work and eat dinner
8 p.m. start studying
11 p.m. stop studying and go to bed

As you can see, it was a tough time for all of us. So, we were pretty excited for the day when Scott took his exam and didn't have to study any more. It has been awesome to have him all to myself (except for work and church). So, we were a little disappointed when Scott felt pretty certain he had not passed his test. But, all that disappointment vanished a few days ago when Scott found out HE PASSED!!! So, all those hours without him paid off.

I asked Scott if I could tell everyone how smart my husband is, but he only gave me permission to tell people he passed. So that's all I'm going to do. :)

The boys

We had our pediatrician appointments for the boys today. Here are the stats on the boys and their growth.

Jeff
Weight: 50th percentile
Height: 90th percentile
Head: 50th percentile (for all of you who have ever seen Jeff's head, this may surprise you)

Nate
Weight: 95th percentile
Height: 95th percentile
Official doctor's comment: "Wow, this kid is growing like crazy".

Just so you all know, Nate has already gained a pound. I mentioned to the doctor that he hardly ever poops. She said it looks like he is absorbing just about EVERYTHING he can to be growing as fast as he is.

Other things we learned... Jeff has a slight heart murmur but the doctor said not to worry too much about it. She also said Jeff is a little delayed in his speaking but way ahead of the game for his fine and gross motor skills. She also mentioned that he is a pretty good flirt too. As far as the speech delay, we are planning on ignoring it for a little bit longer. I am going to work on talking to him more and narrating my day to him. I'm also supposed to read to him. I know I should read to him... but the kid wont sit still long enough to get through a small board book, let alone 20 minutes a day of reading.

So, that is the update on the boys. They are healthy and happy for the most part. I am so thankful they are such healthy kids. I know it isn't always like this, so I am very grateful for a good doctor's appointment.

P.S. Jeff got three shots. He cried until they brought the lollipops and then he was all smiles. Its amazing what a little sugar will do for a kid.

Nate

Here is a cute photo of Nate. He is such a good baby! He only cries when he's hungry or if he pees on his own face. He has successfully caused diaper changing drama three times. The kind of drama that ends up in a washer full of messy pillows, clothes, sheets, and blankets. It is pretty comical. But look at that face... he can pee and poop all he wants with a face like that.

Two boys

This morning, I was sitting on the couch looking at my new beautiful son when my other beautiful son came to talk. He patted his little brother on the head, put his blanket on him, whispered in his ear, talked to him, and kissed him three trillion times.

As I got up to eat a scrumptious breakfast that my hubby made for me I mentioned to him that I didn't know what people were talking about when they said it was such a big step to have two kids instead of one. I think these were my exact words, "having two is fun".

While I still think this is true, I have to say that after making that comment the morning changed. Nathan struggled with his next feeding which made him fussy. Jeff seemed to react to a sad brother and started wailing and was inconsolable. It seemed my entire blissful morning was completely shattered.

But, after a good feeding for Nate and a long nap for Jeff, the blissfulness of two came back. It is wonderful! I know there will be frustrating times when two will seem really tough, but I also know that there will be many sweet moments when I can look at my boys (Scott included) and be thankful for how lucky I am to be sealed to them forever. As I sit here writing this, I can't believe how I could have stepped into such a wonderful situation. Saying "yes" to Scott has made my life incredible.

I just have to add this, because I feel when you feel grateful you should express it. Scott was and has been incredible through this whole delivery/recovery experience. He was my rock during the delivery. He was the perfect support team all by himself. I could never have done it without him. All week he has been cooking, cleaning, changing diapers, and waking up in the middle of the night to take care of Nathan and up in the early morning to take care of Jeff... I could tell you more and more, but I don't want to brag too much. :) Lets just say Scott is my hero, and I get to have him be my hero forever.

So, now that the pregnancy posts are over, you get some fun post-pregnancy posts. :)

Big Brother

Jeff is enamoured with his new brother. He is gentle and loves to give him kisses. He knows it is his baby and says it over and over again. Scott and I were both surprised because we didn't know if he really understood that he was getting a new buddy.

This is the first kiss from big brother to little brother. We caught it on camera by some stroke of luck. I'm sure there will be many more kisses between these two who are fast becoming best friends. :)

Here is my cute niece Katie, who is here in New Jersey with us playing nanny... without much pay. :) She is holding down the fort with Jeff back home and is doing a splendid job at it too. She is so awesome to come out here and help us. We also have lots of plans for her while she is here. All of which involve having fun!!

Oh yeah, the official name is Nathan Klyn Goddard!!!

Baby Boy Arrival

Well, we had our baby boy this morning. Here are all the details...

1:00 a.m. I woke up to a contraction, but I wasn't sure.

1:30 a.m. I nudged Scott, I nudged Scott a little harder, and he did wake up eventually. :)

2:30 a.m. We called the doctor to tell him that I had been having contractions for an hour, four minutes apart.

3:00 a.m. We got to the hospital. I was dilated to a 4 and 90% effaced.

5:00 a.m. I got my first epidural.

5: 15 a.m. My water broke.

6:00 a.m. I got my second epidural because the first didn't quite work.

6:47 a.m. Our little boy joined us after I pushed for 17 minutes.

He is:

20 1/2 inches long

8 lbs 9 oz

healthy

blessed with a full head of hair (thanks Scott)

So, there are all the details I can think of so far. Scott was an incredible coach. I could have never done it without him. Really, he was incredible. He could coach labor and delivery with the best of them. I almost forgot, as soon as the baby was born he peed all over the doctor. I think that means he will either be a Doctor or a Lawyer. Either way, it was pretty comical. :)

We will try to keep the blog posted. Thanks for all the support and prayers from our family and friends. We feel very blessed!

Tummy Talk

People have begged and pleaded for this photo... so here it is. :) Okay, so maybe begged and pleaded is an overstatement, but nonetheless you get a glam shot of me at more than nine months pregnant. I haven't seen myself from this angle really, so it is probably as much a shock to me as it is to you. I

can't believe how big I am. It must be the black shirt against the white wall. But then... isn't black the slimming color. Oh man... I guess I will just have to face the music and realize that I am just big. As a side note to some who have not seen me in a while. This pregnancy not only added an enormous bump to be front side, but also turned my hair more red and curly too. Pregnancy does weird stuff.

Oh yeah, with all this tummy talk, I almost forgot to say that I went to the doctor today and he told me I am dilated to 3 cm and am 50% effaced. It made me happy. The best part, I haven't felt anything. Nothing like progress without pain. :)

These are a few pictures of Jeff and his beloved measuring tape. He doesn't leave home without it. He doesn't go to bed without it either. He has had it in his little paws for the past two weeks and the only time I can pry it out of his fingers is to give him a bath. (I don't want it to rust). I'm not sure which he is more attached to, his tape measure, or his blanket his Grandma Goddard made for him.

Jeff loves the missionaries. Here is a fun video of him sharing a piece of cake with one of our favorite Elders serving in the ward. Elder Rodriguez is awesome, he is from Brazil and has only been a member for a few years. He is the hardest working missionary and will knock doors all day long because he knows how much people need the gospel from his own changes. He and Jeff have a special bond. They better if he will share his cake with Jeff.

This is a video of Jeff being a little Brett (my little brother who is on a mission in Belize). He is measuring stuff with Karen (my landlord) and then has to take a phone call on his cell. If any of you know my little brother... this is him to the "T". He is a farmer who spends most of his earnings paying his cell phone bill each month. It just cracks me up. Those farmer genes are strong.

I have started going to the grocery store on Saturday mornings at about 7:30. This way, I can get there before it gets too crazy with Saturday shoppers and I can go without Jeff thus avoiding the huge bumper car shopping cart that is all but impossible to maneuver without taking out a few cute grandmas.

Last week was the first week and it was great! This week... was not so great. The problem really doesn't have anything to do with grocery shopping at all. It has to do with me.

It all started in the dairy isle. I decided to get a bunch of the single serving cups of yogurt instead of a one of the big cartons. There was one fatality as I was putting them in my cart. The employee who had to clean up the mess kind of glared at me as he scooped up all the strawberry yogurt from the floor. It was like in slow motion watching the yogurt slip out of my hands onto the floor.

Then, as I was leaving the store somehow my grape tomato packages slipped out of my cart and spilled all over the floor too. Okay, so now in one morning I have successfully dropped two things on the floor. You would think I had filled my dropping quota... not so.

At home, I was emptying the dishwasher and dropped one our plates to its shattering death on our tile floor. I almost started to scream because I was so tired of dropping things. Scott quickly made me feel better by explaining that I am pregnant and it isn't my fault.

So, along with getting a baby within the next week or so, I am really excited to get back my ability to hold onto things and stop dropping everything and anything that gets into my hands. Hopefully this transition takes place before I hold the baby for the first time.

Just in case any of you are skeptical about it not being my fault... the paragraph below is from BabyCenter.com which is as reliable as The Bible. :)

Is it normal to feel clumsy during pregnancy?

Yes. Many women feel ungainly when they're pregnant, particularly in their last few months.Clumsiness comes as no surprise when you consider what your body's going through: You're carrying more weight, your center of gravity has shifted with your growing uterus, and hormonal changes can cause your joints to loosen, including those in your fingers and toes. You'll get your balance and dexterity back after you give birth.In the meantime, protect yourself by remembering that you're not at the top of your game when it comes to muscle control and coordination. Try not to put yourself in situations where you have a high risk of falling — like climbing a ladder or standing on a chair to change a light bulb.Put your high heels away for now and wear stable, comfortable shoes. Take special care when walking on wet, icy, or uneven surfaces and when going up or down steep steps. Take it slow and use handrails whenever possible.

It's amazing that a kid can go from this...

To this...

In as little as a year and a half.

I am continually amazed by the human body and all that it can do. I remember sitting in my anatomy and physiology class in college and just being completely in awe at what the body is capable of... in fact, I was so in awe that I pretty much didn't understand 50% of it. Incredibly, I still passed the class. As I think about having another baby and all that takes place to make that possible, it just gets even more magnificent. It is another testimony to me that there is a God. We are created by him in His image. It really is amazing!

Random Pictures

Here are just some random pictures to give you a taste of our lives this past week.

Jeff stretching with Scott before Scott went for a run. I realize this is a bad picture because you can't see anyone's faces... but I have to be sneaky when I try to catch anything Jeff does on camera. He likes playing with the camera more than posing for pictures.

Jeff wearing his favorite outfit.

Scott and Jeff sitting on the steps of NYU after we ate at PB&J and Co. It is a crazy gourmet peanut butter and jelly sandwich place in the city.

Me, Jeff, and the big belly. It is hiding behind Jeff mostly, but you can still see it.

Here is Jeff doing some more stretches with Scott. He cracks me up. Such cute boys I have. :)

My babies

So, I decided we needed a post that wasn't about pregnancy. :) So, you get to hear all about my babies.

I decided to plant a garden this year. I started my little seedlings inside the house and watered them. And talked to them. And put them in the sun when it was out. And did all I could to help them become big and strong.

Then came the day to put them in the garden... outside. I have to say that I think this will be a big preparation for me when it comes to sending my boys (or girls) on missions. It was one of the hardest things to do. Putting my sweet pampered little seedlings out into the cold cruel world.

Some of them died. Some of them are still alive. I hope some will grow up big and strong and bring me lots of (I almost wrote grandchildren) produce. I will probably post some pictures later. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if you don't get to see pictures of Jeff for a while because my life will be consumed with my babies (the plants that is).

So, there is my non-pregnancy post. :)