7 years!

As of yesterday, (again a day late and a dollar short) I've had diabetes for seven years! Can you believe it's been that long?! It sure doesn't seem like that long to me. Seven years is a long time.
I remember that when I was diagnosed that I made the decision to make diabetes be a way of forced good health. I knew that I would have to eat healthy, exercise, and do all of the things everyone should do anyway. I felt that my reason to live a healthy life was chosen for me. I went information crazy and tried to learn as much as I could about diabetes. I printed out hundreds of pages off the Internet and read them, highlighted things, put them into a binder. I was really craving to know as much as I could.

Things started off rocky for me, as is the case for a lot of newly diagnosed diabetics. But, I had a good doctor and a GREAT nurse who tried to get my insulin dosages correct. She would call me twice a week to go over blood sugars and insulin dosages.

About a year after being diagnosed, I decided I was ready to try the pump. This was honestly the best decision I made in caring for my diabetes. I was lucky enough to come across the BEST doctor in the entire world, Dr. Robert Day. He and his staff at the Diabetes Clinic at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center have really become a big part of my life. They've taught me so much about caring for myself that I feel forever indebted to them. This team of educators, nurses, dietitians, and doctors really work wonders. I now travel over 40 miles to go to doctor appointments at this office.

About three and a half years of living with diabetes, my blood sugars were finally good enough to try getting pregnant. We were lucky enough to conceive in the first month and nine months later our healthy baby Ryan was born. His blood sugars at birth were minimally affected and he shows no signs of developing the disease.

In my sixth year of diabetes, continuous glucose monitoring systems were being covered by some insurance companies for patients with special circumstances. I was covered 100% through our great health insurance plan about two months into my second pregnancy. Blood sugars were a very small issue during this pregnancy due to the incredible technology of the CGM. Evan was born with no blood sugar issues whatsoever, another healthy baby boy!

Throughout the past seven years, I've been really good at taking my medication, counting my carbohydrates, learning as much as I can about the condition. We've even done a little work for charity too. Diabetes is an all encompassing disease that sometimes gets me really down. Overall, though I think it has been a blessing in my life. I've gained an enormous testimony of the word of wisdom through living with it and I've certainly learned and experienced a lot. I don't mind that I have diabetes (most days) and I love to tell people all about it, mostly because I get tired of hearing very ignorant questions and comments about my condition.

Kickin' and-a- Goin'

My mom always says that a baby is."kickin' and-a- goin'" when they lay on their backs and kick like this. Evan just looked too cute on Sunday, so I had to take a little video of him doing his thing. Sorry for the annoying voice, thought it would be better than silence or cartoons in the background.

Tummy Time

I laid Evan down for some tummy time on the Baby Einstein mat. A few minutes later he was snoozing away. So I came to take some pictures and he heard me talking, so he roused again.
This is a great shot of what his face looks like. Go ahead and analyze who you think he looks like. I've decided he looks exactly like his Daddy in the facial features. Colin doesn't quite see it, still thinks he looks like my Grandma.

Just hanging out at home. That's what we do most of the time around here, just chillin' and relaxin'.
Evan is really getting big lately. Well, I guess he's just always been big. He's so much bigger than Ryan was at his age. I wonder how old people think he is. Does he look like a 6 weeker to you?

Evan goes for a ride

One phrase Ryan has learned this week is, "I have an idea!" His pronunciation isn't perfect, but it is so cute to hear him say the phrase. Colin had an idea on Sunday, and this was the result. We thought it was pretty cute.

Saturday at the Park

About a week ago, a neighbor of mine mentioned that he takes his son over to the West Jordan City Park. I had completely forgotten about this enormous playground until he brought it up again. We had only been there once, when we went to the West Jordan Stampede last Fourth of July. So, last Saturday we took the boys over to the park and had a great time (see photos above). We said we would do it again this week, and this time I made sure the batteries in my camera were actually going to withstand the outing (see photos below).

Ryan has a super cute face in a lot of these shots because he thought he was teasing me by not letting me take his picture. I followed him all around the park, trying to be sneaky about getting a good shot- or at least one where he was looking at the camera. I only succeeded some of the time.

We had a great time and are enjoying the good weather, although it too will be short-lived, according to the forecast. Will this winter ever end?

one month

Well, I'm a few days late on Evan's one month birthday, but at least I'm still doing it... right?

I can't believe he's a month old already. We're already starting to see some little developments appear with the little guy. He's starting to hold up his head more, and he's awake more during the day. He's still pretty good about getting back to sleep at night, but he is up quite a bit.

Here are the pictures I took while I was supposed to be getting a nap yesterday. I'm just a terrible sleeper. Takes me forever to fall asleep, and when you only have an hour window for sleep, you can pretty much forget napping. Insomnia and a newborn, not a good combination...Oh well.

the Dentist

Ryan had his first experience at the Dentist this past Wednesday. He really did quite well, I thought. He was pretty well behaved throughout my visit and was asking about when it was his turn. I had of course prepared him that we were going to see the dentist and that he was going to want to look inside his mouth. It did help him brush his teeth at least that morning. Speaking of that morning, it really hadn't gone very well. Ryan wasn't being very cooperative in getting ready and I was a little stressed about taking both boys to the dentist by myself. Anyway, we finally made it out the door in time for our mid-morning appointment and headed over there. Like I said, he did well waiting his turn and the receptionist offered to put on a movie for him while they cleaned my teeth. He picked out the purple dinosaur toy (pictured above) before his turn in the chair. The hygienist informed me that they would polish his teeth and apply a fluoride treatment as long as he was cooperative. He did a few dinosaur growls to open his mouth for her. She was able to count that he has 18 teeth, well almost. His lower molars are only half way in. The upper molars haven't yet come in. Eventually, he'll have 20 baby teeth, I learned at this visit. Same story for the dentist, he was only able to count the teeth. So, we didn't get to clean, polish, floss or fluoride, but I feel like it was a nice "warm up" visit for him. Hopefully in six months time we'll get a little more accomplished. I'm just glad he wasn't kicking and screaming about the whole ordeal.

Give me two pair, I need two pair

In the past I have blogged about Colin's obsession with Nike Air Force 1's (once, then twice). I don't think I mentioned before that the strangest thing about this obsession is that the shoe cannot be purchased in our place of residence. Its a special shoe that Nike makes and they only sell them in certain places. Salt Lake City is not one of those places, so we've had to reach out to the good old Internet, and wait until we go out of town to buy. I suppose this post will be proof that the obsession has been handed down to me as well. Here is our collection... so far...

My favorite pair. The white, maroon, and tan with hibiscus flowers. I love these and get compliments every time I wear them. Purchased at Nike Town in Las Vegas.

His favorite pair. The green, khaki, and white pair. He's got some nice outfits to complete this pair. Purchased on eBay.

My other favorite pair. The blue, blue, and blue. I love to wear blue so I wear these as often as I can. Purchased at a mall in San Diego. I bought the boys shoes so they were cheaper than the adult sizes!

His other favorite pair. These are a suede tan and they look really nice. I think they are pretty dressy for a pair of sneakers. Purchased in Nike Town, Vegas.

Mine. Tan and light blue. Gotta go for the blue every time! An eBay purchase.

His. These are called wheat on whites. I think its more of a mustard color but anyway... Another eBay buy.

This is my fake pair. They are a clear blue. Don't buy them if you see them online, they're fake. But, at $30, still a fun pair to have. I've only worn them a couple of times and I probably won't wear them much more because they're starting to tear. Of course, eBay.

His fake ones- white with yellow, red, and green. I like them, they're really colorful and kind of fun, but he's actually never worn them. Oh well, maybe we should Ebay them back or something.

And, the classic. His & Hers black on whites. These are what started the whole craze back in March of '06. We got them in Baltimore and I had always wanted to have a set of matching shoes. I thought that was just too cute. We do wear them together sometimes but not as often as I thought.

And last time we were in Vegas, we bought a white on white pair for the boy. We got them big so he could wear them in the summer. He's worn them a couple of times (hence the scuffs) and they're really cute on him.