More videos

Here's two more videos of James. This one was created after I sneezed once in front of James. Of course, we exploited that.


This one shows James rolling. He's almost at the point of crawling, but if you leave him on the floor, he will roll all over to grab things he wants.

I was asked to post more videos of James, so I looked through our flip library and here you go...more than you could ever wish for! :-)

James' blessing day

James at 2.5ish months:

So these are the noises James used to make...up until this week. The quilt he's playing on was made by my amazing mama-in-law. :-)

This week he started making these weird, loud, grunting/yelling noises. At first I thought he was getting frustrated, then I thought he was just trying desperately to poop...but he just does this non-stop. If you do it back he really gets going. I think his little dude noises are SO funny, but we'll see how he does in sacrament meeting...they're not exactly reverent...

My two cute men!

So there ya go. Videos. Notice the hair loss over time. Haha.

What if Mommy is a bigger baby than the baby?

James had his four month appointment today. Second round of vaccines. James loved them just as much as he loved the first round, which was not at all. I have spent my entire life harboring an intense dislike for needles. Shots make my insides squirm. I thought it would get better in the last year, being poked a couple of times in the hospital when I delivered James, drawing blood for life insurance purposes, drawing blood for a couple of doctor's visits while pregnant...I figured I would get used to it after having it done so many times within a nine month period. All I have to say is GROSSEEWYUCKAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. That is generally what runs through my mind at various times in the 24 hour period leading up to a shot for me. Still. Ben has been sweet enough to sacrifice his hand to my nervous deathgrip on more than one occasion so that I have something to hold on to during a shot. (I love him.) It's entirely mental. I don't think they hurt, they just make me want to run away.

When James got his first round of vaccines Ben was able to be there so I got to hold James right after the shots were over and didn't have to see them. This time I went in on my own, determined to suck it up. We got the first part of his appointment done, which included James peeing all over the examination table as if to say, "I know whats coming and this is how I feel about it..." Then it came time for his vaccines, and the next thing I knew they were over and I was able to pick him up and comfort him. To be honest, I still couldn't actually watch the needles, I just held his arms out of the way and kissed his little forehead while he cried though them. However, I was right there holding him while she stuck him. I know that sounds pathetic, but I'm not joking...I hate shots. For me, it was amazing. So BOOYAH GRANDMA! I just have to laugh because I'm realizing over and over that in certain situations it's the baby raising the mommy. Here's to James, for helping his sissy-pants mom get over something she's always been terrified of. And he's only four months old, I wonder what he'll be teaching me by six months? :)

As of today, James is in the 90th percentile for both weight and height and 75th percentile for head circumference. He's getting so big, its rediculous. I love watching every minute of it.

Here's a video Ben took yesterday of James giving some very manly giggles. Enjoy!

Pictures and quick update

Sorry we haven't updated in a while. We updated our picasa album with some new pictures that can be seen by clicking here. They start with Rebekah's graduation from Bon Losee, but here are some highlights.

Here Rebekah is happily clocking out for the last time. This was a week and a half before James was born.



Here's our "Big Papi" as Crystal calls him. He'll be a Red Sox fan for life I'm sure. I prefer to call him "Big Poopy". He weighed in at his 2 month check at a little over 12lbs. I don't remember the other stats but he was in the 75% for weight, 50% for height, and 70% for head circumference. We don't generally realize how chucnky he's getting except when we look at pictures.


On Sunday we blessed James. It was a little intimidating to be honest, but the Spirit was very strong. My parents, Crystal, Rachel, David & Talia & Kathryn, Bobby, and Rebekah's parents were all their to show him their support and love. We loved seeing all of them and getting to spend time together. We love them all and are grateful that James has such great examples to look up to.

The move out here was crazy, but I had great support from my old roommate Dave. His parents were so kind to let me crash at their place again. We drove straight through from Omaha to Virginia. My other roommates (Jeff, Brett, Jon, and Lowell) joined up with us for our scheduled brocation in DC for the fourth. We had a great time getting together and hanging out. It was great to catch up with everyone. Until next time! You can check out a little rock out session on facebook Brett, Jeff, and I had while we were together.

My awesone cousin Jason also came out for a visit. We got to go downtown a few times and see almost all the sites and also got an extra special treat by going on a sweet trip to Gettysburg, PA to truly see all that happened there. It was great to have him out here for a visit and we hope to see him and his family again soon.

My father-in-law was kind enough to take me to a Nationals game in their incredible new ballpark. I know it wasn't Red Sox, but I truly enjoy America's past time. We had a great view of downtown where we were. Other than that I've decided to dedicate full time to studying for the CPA exam. I'll be taking my first section Aug. 12 (BEC). Rebekah has been working on projects around the house and is hoping to get certified very soon to start cutting hair out here.

Baby video, pictures and Ben's summer update

This is a video edited and narrated by Rebekah.

Click HERE for a link to more photos for those interested.

As far as an update on my summer goals. 1) Studying for the CPA exam hasn't happened yet. I have been accepted by the Virginia Board of Accountancy to sit for the exam, and I have gone through the tutorials on how to get started. I have decided to wait until Virginia to start really studying. The next unit is scheduled to start mid-July, so that's my new goal.

2) Watch 24...DONE! All 7 seasons baby! We're actually caught up to date because the 7th season came out on DVD half way into our blockbuster pass we had for a month. Pretty sick, we know, but it really is addicting. It brings to mind something about "wasting the days of your probation", but with our schedules out of whack thanks to the new family addition, it's been a nice filler.

3) Beat Call of Duty. Probably not gonna happen. I have played a little Wii but I keep getting drawn into Madden '08. Good stuff. Haven't played in about a month or more.

4) Play golf. The last day I was supposed to go golfing was the day James was born. My friend Neal and I were supposed to go to this great course in Midway, UT. Some other time. My friend Ian and I should be going sometime soon as well. I have gone enough to feel satisfied though. One of the places we're looking at in VA is right by a golf course and apparently you get a discount for living in the town. We'll see if that works out.

Other than that I have worked a couple times with a friend at church who owns a landscaping business. It's been nice to pick up a little work and get a work out at the same time. The pays not great, but it's beats what I get paid for watching 24 ;)

Rebekah looks great! She's been getting out more and more and feeling better every day. I'm really proud of her. I never knew recovery was as difficult as it was. She's amazing!

That's it from us.

If you don't get sick of baby photos...

My brother Jesse came to the hospital and was kind enough to use his photo skills to take some pretty sweet shots. Thanks Jesse! There's a lot, so reader beware.

Baby James Photos

Also, I uploaded a video that's about 7.5 minutes long that basically details what went down on James's birthday. Nothing gross or revealing...at least in my opinon.

It's a boy!

James Terry Stay was born today around 4:30PM weighing in at 7 lbs. 6 oz. Both he and mom are doing awesome. We got to the hospital this morning a little after 8 and all went pretty smoothly. He's got a pretty decent cone head, but he's still pretty cute.

Rebekah woke up this morning at 3:30AM and thought she peed her pants. She changed and went back to bed only to wake up two more times with the need to change her pants. She woke me up at 7 telling me what had happened. I was planning on leaving for golf at 8 with my friend Neal, and she still encouraged me to do so. I told her no and that we were going to the hospital, and we compromised on calling them to make sure. The hospital was pretty sure her water had broken and insisted on bringing her in. I cancelled golf though the man at the course apparently didn't think I had a good enough excuse.

It all went well. He's doing great!