***Our FiRsT HaLlOwEeN***

Zidane the puppy dog and Landon the tiger

I love my little plump tiger

Riding on Grandpa's shoulders....so fun!

BrOtHeRs--Best Buds. What do you mean? Tigers and puppies get along just fine. Look at them sitting next to each other posing for a picture.

Here is Dexter the Dino

Dexter looks just like his Mom, KaDee. Love it!

Craig has held his hand like this since he was a baby and still does.

Precious little paws

We spent the morning of Halloween at the Zoo with Landon's Birthmom, Michelle. Now you know why Lanny is so handsome!

Poor Z can't even see, I guess it is good he had eyes on his hat. Haha. We had a great time and Landon was fascinated by all the kids in their costumes.

Announcing Zidane......

So I wanted to try something a little different with Zidane's birth announcement since Landon is still a baby. Although, in looking at the announcement Landon looks like a toddler now. I don't want my babies to grow up too fast. I have an awesome sister-in-law, Jen, and her sister has her own business, Spaces For Faces. She was able to put this announcement together for me and it turned out so cute, I was very happy with it. If you are in need of announcements, adoption pass along cards, holiday cards, etc. you should check out her website, she does great work.

Livin' MY Dream

of being a Mother full time. A year ago I would have never guessed in a million years that I would be where I am today, the Mother of two beautiful, precious babies. I feel so blessed each and every day and I cherish these moments, although they may be moments of chaos they are precious. My sister, Michelle, reminded me a couple weeks ago that one day these two boys will be 15 and 16 and no longer want me to hold them. In fact she shared this awesome quote from Elder Holland with me,

"In speaking of mothers generally, I especially wish to praise and encourage young mothers. The work of a mother is hard, too often unheralded work. The young years are often those when either husband or wife—or both—may still be in school or in those earliest and leanest stages of developing the husband's breadwinning capacities. Finances fluctuate daily between low and nonexistent. The apartment is usually decorated in one of two smart designs—Deseret Industries provincial or early Mother Hubbard. The car, if there is one, runs on smooth tires and an empty tank. But with night feedings and night teethings, often the greatest challenge of all for a young mother is simply fatigue. Through these years, mothers go longer on less sleep and give more to others with less personal renewal for themselves than any other group I know at any other time in life. It is not surprising when the shadows under their eyes sometimes vaguely resemble the state of Rhode Island. . . . Do the best you can through these years, but whatever else you do, cherish that role that is so uniquely yours and for which heaven itself sends angels to watch over you and your little ones"

IT'S TRUE.....so I have tried to take time every day to enjoy and cherish the moments I have with each one of my boys. Even if it is only 5 minutes, I sit and think about the miracle I am holding in my arms. I adore these boys, Craig and I both do and have absolutely loved watching them grow and develop with each new day.

These pictures were done for Zidane's newborn photo shoot and Landon's 10 month photo shoot. I think they turned out really good and captured the boys in the way we know and love them. Zidane is now 2 months old and Landon will be turning ONE YEAR OLD in a couple weeks. What a special time of year it is to reflect on the experiences and emotions we experienced a year ago when we learned he would become a member of our eternal family. It has been a crazy year for us but one we will always remember and LOVE to reflect on in years to come.

Zidane is a cuddly little guy and loves to be held. He is smiling and reacting to us now when we talk to him. He just had his 2-month wellness check-up and is doing very well. He is tall just like his brother Landon. Looks like I am going to be the short one in the family with all boys towering over me. He has just started sleeping in his own bed at least most of the night and is doing really well. He is sharing a room with Landon right now just so we can keep them both close to our bedroom since they are both still so young. Landon has loved having a new roommate and gets very excited when he knows his brother is in there with him. I think he is already thinking up ways and ideas on how to get to Zidane's crib in hopes of getting some playing time in at night. He is dying to play with Zidane and I can't wait until he is old enough to crawl around and get into everything like Landon does.

When he was born he looked exactly like Craig and his brother Corey. But then he started to look like my Dad. Now I think he looks like a JeNsOn and an IpSeN, he is a pretty good mix of the two families. And of course everyone is surprised to learn that Landon is adopted because he looks so much like our families too. In fact since Zidane is wearing a lot of Landon's clothes there are several photos of them in the same outfit and I can't tell them apart. I have been going through and organizing their baby books and photos and I find myself saying "wait is this LaNdOn or ZiDaNe?"

When I saw this photo my heart melted. He is so HaNdSoMe and so SwEeT. I ADORE this little guy and love it when he crawls over to me and puts his arms up for me to pick him up. He makes me laugh so hard every day with his bubbly personality. He has 8 teeth now and is starting to enjoy eating real food finally. He was so content with his bottle for so long that he wasn't interested in eating anything. He loves pear yogurt, bananas, pears, strawberries, wheat crackers, and he always wants to eat my protein shakes. He crawls and is very close to walking. He is very talkative and full of energy. Our days are very busy. We start our day with Craig feeding and dressing Landon while I feed and dress Zidane. Then the boys and I venture out in our double jogger for a walk/run to enjoy the fresh morning air. And since we have been so blessed with this GORGEOUS weather we are really trying to take advantage of it before the cold WINTER hits us.

Then Landon takes his morning nap while I quickly do dishes and pick up the house. Zidane will usually be awake and a little fussy so I just put him in one arm and work with the other. Then I feed him and try and get him down for a nap before Landon wakes up. Landon and I have lunch together and most often Zidane ends up joining us after his 20 minute nap. We play, laugh, tickle, crawl around and pull everything out of every drawer and off all the book cases. Once we tire of this Landon goes down for another nap, meanwhile Zidane and I quickly pick up the toys again and I feed Zidane again and try and cuddle with him for a little bit. Then when Landon gets up from his second nap we play again. Then we eat and await the exciting homecoming of DAD. When the door opens, Landon immediately stops what he is doing and crawls at his FASTEST pace straight to the door with the biggest GRIN on his face. It is the cutest thing ever and I think Craig really likes the WELCOME HOME he gets. Night time is full of family fun, bath time, story time and bed time. And then we wake up the next day and do it all over again. (We won't talk about the hours of Midnight to 6am because they are not our favorite hours of the day, if you know what I mean especially when we are already running on empty due to sleep deprivation) I do have to say though, I LOVE IT!! I love every minute and I look forward to each new day to learn something NEW from my babies. They bring so much JOY into our HOME that we hardly have time for feelings of exhaustion and stress.

It's CHAOS but we LOVE it!

August 11, 2010 and headed to the hospital for my appointment to have a baby. That is a weird feeling but we were excited after going a week over my due date to finally meet our little Zidane. The delivery was not what I had signed up for but I can say now after 5 weeks into my recovery that I finally feel like I might survive it. I was induced and labored for 20 hours and then due to a uterine infection and fever they had to deliver Zidane by C-section because his heart rate kept dropping and they were concerned about the stress he was under. I was anxious for him to get here as soon as possible but I was very disappointed by the C-section because I knew it meant I couldn't lift Landon for a long time. The C-section was quick but they still ran into complications because he was stuck in my pelvis pretty good. It is such a weird feeling to feel all the pressure of the surgery yet no pain. I am not sure I liked that feeling but I was already physically and emotionally exhausted. When he was finally freed from my pelvis he wasn't breathing and had to be resuscitated which he recovered from very quickly so we were glad to know that. When Craig picked him up and brought him over to me it was our AMAZING moment to share together. I try and remember that moment every time I get discouraged about my lengthy recovery. One week after I was discharged I was readmitted to the hospital with yet another uterine infection and while there I acquired a bladder infection and UTI.

Because of our situation and my recovery I have had to have someone here with me everyday while Craig is at work. It has been so hard for me to ask for help but I knew I had no choice and it has been quite the learning experience for me. So many wonderful people have been so willing to help us. This experience has helped me realize how a small act of service can be so appreciated and I want to do more service for others when I am healed and able.

I have one more week of recovery until I can hold Landon and hopefully return to most of my regular activities but it has been such a great challenge for us. I guess a 10 month old and 1 month old would be a challenge for anybody but Craig and I are really feeling the weight of our new responsibilities. Don't get me wrong though we are thrilled and adore our two boys more than anything in this world. It has been challenging but they bring so much joy into our home and our lives. We love Landon and Zidane both so much and want
the BEST for them, because they both deserve happiness and a strong family unit.

I have to admit I was ready to be done with the pregnancy and although many people said I would wish I was still pregnant after having the baby I don't. I love holding my baby in my arms and kissing his cheeks every time I pick him up.

Meet the newest member of our family....Zidane Ipsen Jenson
He sure made his arrival difficult but after 20 hours of labor and finally a C-section and a resuscitation team he arrived healthy and full of vigor.

Landon was my very favorite visitor that came to the hospital, always smiling and excited to be there as long as he could have a nice warm bottle.

First picture of Landon and Zidane as brothers.

Our first photo of our family of FOUR, can you believe it 2 to 4 in less than a year.

First time together in their new double jogger. I look forward to the day that I can take them out for a run.

Landon is very interested in his new friend and brother, he is dying to play with him.

Zidane is definitely Craig's son...no question about it. He is ALL Jenson. Craig told me not to feel bad and that Zidane has my scowl. Ha Ha

Landon is starting to get his workout in at an early age. He has discovered how he can do pull ups on the kitchen chairs and he thinks he is pretty cool when he does them. One day it will probably end up in a sad boy after he falls but for now he is just working on building his muscles. He has the most FUN personality and loves to play and act crazy, he will keep us young for sure.

Photoshoot with Landon, Mom and Baby Jenson.....

He looks so sweet and innocent here but we know he is always up to something.

That's it for belly shots so enjoy the swollen Amber.

Mom and baby snuggling- favorite thing to do.

Landon wasn't quite sure what to think of the grass so he looked like a little scorpion with his legs and feet in the air.

Favorite time of day--BATH TIME!

He is dying to crawl and walk but for now he spends his time working hard at his pre-crawl exercises. I think he is just glad to be up and moving, scooting, rolling.

He loves to be thrown in the air but Mom gets worn out very fast. I guess it does work as a good shoulder work out.

Just going for a walk.

I sure do love holding my baby after his bath. He is so snuggly and happy.

A little bath water never hurt anyone.

Eating my hands, yum they are my favorite snack.