These pictures are almost purely for the Grandparents benefit (Hi Eloise!). The top picture I labled "milk drunk" because when he's all done eating he ends up looking a little loopy and extremely satisfied.

It's 3:40 in the morning and I am trying to cool down after Ander's 3:00 feeding. The temp today was 104 and that was in the afternoon when things usually start cooling down here in So Cal. I don't think I have felt this hot and grumpy in a very long time. My dear husband Chris keeps trying to afirm my motherly efferts by patting my shoulder or holding my hand and I keep veering away because of the sticky heat that radiates off both of us.
The window air con in our apartment probably dates back to the Ford administration and at this moment I am sitting right in the line of cool air and I feel slight relief, but as soon as I move it's back to sweaty July heat.
O.K. I'm off to bed now. When I get up in two hours for the 6:00 bottle it hopefully will have cooled down a bit more.
Tomorrow may be a day to take Anders on a big field trip to the local Starbucks where mommy can sip a Venti iced green tea....

Here are a few pictures from today. Aunt Gretchen and Heather stopped by this morning to visit. I gave Anders his first real bath at home tonight instead of the wet wipe swipe that I do at night. He was a bit overwelmed by it all. The one thing he really enjoyed was getting his head washed. After it was all done I combed his hair with a very soft toothbrush. Quite a big day for him! We also had the home health care nurse come and do a check up on him. So far, since he's come home he has gained about 5 ounces. We were pretty relieved to hear that. All that milk is paying off!!

ANDERS CAME HOME TODAY!

The day finally (yet quickly) for us to take our little guy home. It was quite a day and we are pretty much tuckered out from all the excitement. He is doing really well and is sleeping on the couch at this very moment. So far he is showing himself to be a pretty mild mannered baby but I may eat my words later. Hopefully he'll stay mellow and easy for a while.... I mean I'm only asking that of him until he's 18.... that's not to much to ask for is it?
Anyways I'm off to get his next feeding ready. That usually takes a bit of time.

Well, Wednesday has come and will be over soon. We didn't take home Anders today due to the fact that he still needed to put on a few ounces. I talked to the doctor today and he seems to think that Saturday will possibly be the day we can break him out of the hospital.... We are considering using a room they have at the hospital to spend the night with him while having the nurses nearby. It's a bit intimidating to unhook him from all the moniters and drive away to fend for ourselves.
As of today he is 3 pounds 14 ounces and he may gain a couple more before Saturday. We will love to see him tip the scales at 4 pounds. =0)
In the mean time we are preparing his little bed and stocking up on diapers and wet wipes. Today Chris and I lost ourselves in the confusing labrinth called "Babies-R-Us" looking for little things that we may need. Of course there are way too many choices and everything is pretty pricey. We realized that the "baby needs industry" is quite a racket. We managed to get out of there with what we felt were just the bare necessities.... except for the very cozy looking snuggler blanket. (A velcro blanket that a you wrap the baby in and it velcros so they can't kick it off.) That was an impulse buy on my part.
We'll try to put up some pictures of Anders first day or days at home.

Quick Update

It looks like if all keeps going smoothly, that our little man may be coming home this coming Wednesday. He has graduated to sleeping in a crib as opposed to the incubator and he is doing a really good job eating and maintaining his temperature. All these things make it possible to send him home. The reason he is still being watched closely is because he had some little episodes that they call "D-stats" where his breathing slows down and because of that his heart slows down also. Most preemies have these and with Anders he corrects it on his own but whenever they have an episode like that the hospital has to keep them another week to make sure it doesn't happen again. His last one was on the 5th of July. We are now waiting and hoping that he's outgrown that and we will be able to get him home. We can hardly wait!

A couple of pictures from the weekend. One of our favorites is Anders looking like a little monkey. He makes such hilarious faces and we just sit there and wait to see what his face will do next. It's very amusing.
The feeding picture is a favorite of mine because I have been so challenged to make enough milk, bottle it and rush it to the nursery at the hospital every day. It has felt quite frantic and as of today I think that I have caught up enough so that there won't be a shortage for the next day or so. He doesn't do well with formula at all and will usually throw it up. He does REALLY well with my milk and we are hoping he will fatten up in no time.
Anyways, life is taking on a bit of a routine and Chris and I are beginning to feel a little more relaxed and rested. We even considered going to see the new Superman movie tonight.... we then reconsidered. But it was an option. We realize that we won't be running off to do spontanious things once Anders comes home. Even though it is hard having our little guy at the hospital we know he is in good hands and it is a blessing to be able to recoup a little before life gets even crazier having a little child with us every moment.
We really are looking forward to the day he is strong enough to join us at home. That will be a day to celebrate.

Here are a few pics from today. Grandama and Grandpa Jensen have been VERY excited to spend some special time with Anders before they go back home to Ohio. They were able to cuddle him a bit before he had his dinner. He really is enjoying looking around at his surroundings when he's not sleeping and seems to notice different people. He especially likes being held by daddy and always makes funny faces while he's looking around.

So, here is Anders in all his preemie glory. We took these pictures today. We left the camera in the car on accident when we first got to the hospital and unfortunately missed getting a picture of him being awake and alert. Most of the time he eats and sleeps and the few moments when he's awake he's squinting his eyes against the light and new sights. I'm sure everything is quite overwelming outside of his former comfy home....
We get to hold him whenever we visit and today I got to try giveing him a bottle.(he promptly fell asleep so I passed him back to the nurse to finish it off).
Despite his small size he is doing really well and is off all the IV's and tubes. They still have a few wires hooked up to him to moniter his viatal signs but other than that he is free of constraints. It's good to see him move around more freely.

Thank you to all who have and are praying for him and us. We feel all the care and appriciate it more than anyone could know.

I'd like to announce the birth of John Anders Jensen (goes by Anders) born Sunday June 25 at around 9:45 in the evening. He weighed 3 pounds 11 ounces and is 17 inces long.
He seems to have farily reddish hair and he looks like a little man. VERY cute. We'll have pictures up soon.
I'm doing fine despite all the surprises of this last week. It's nice to be home from the hospital and unhooked from all he wires and needles. I'll update again as things settle a bit and we get some good pictures of our little love bug.

Birthday synopsis

Yesterday was the big 30 for me. It really wasn't all that bad and I actually enjoyed the idea of moving into a new decade. The morning and early afternoon had a handful of lovely people gathered around our pool at the apartment. The evening was filled with an amazing performance at the Pantages Theatre of "Les Miserables". After the show Chris and I had a very late dinner at a restraunt called "Hollywood and Vine". It really was a fun day and I am so glad that I got to see such an amazing show.

Here are a few pictures of the beginnings of baby stuff that will be taking over our apartment. The Winnie the Pooh baby book was just too cute and to top it off it's filled with fun poems from the A.A. Milne books.
Hopefully we will have the baby nook completed within the next month and I'll post a few pictures.

O.K. so Chris and I have been saving our wedding pesos for a few choice items. Some neccessary and one or two frivolous ones.
One of the much needed items was a new couch. I loved the couches that D. and B. gave me back when they went to work at Faith Acadamy. Some years have passed since then and the couches have seen plenty of good days. We decided to upgrade and get a new comfy cozy couch to lounge on so that I can feed the baby and watch "The Dog Wisperer" when the time comes. We chose a nice bright red couch with a matching ottoman that allows me to put my swollen feet up onto. (that was the whole reason for purchasing the ottoman).

Hi Aunt H., I was able to get the picture up. I love this chair but it doesn't match our new bright red couch, which I will blog about next.

Hi Aunt H.! I know you probably are checking this blog to see the picutre of the family chair that needs a home. I'm having problems with the picture feature on blogger so I'll try tommorrow.

Here are a few pictures of our little bunchkin. It took a couple of times to actually get a picture of his face because he tends to be a bit sleepy. Luckily the very last try showed us his sweet little face. We can't wait to meet him in August! The top picture he was caught yawning.

It's about time to write again although my life has been pretty basic. Our apartment is coming along pretty nicely although there are still MANY things to get done before baby comes in a few months. I'm beginning to feel a little freaked out by that fact knowing how fast time can fly by.
My neighbor downstairs was due May 12 and ended up having her baby last week. I saw her walking down the path with a little blue bundle and it hit me that that will be me and Chris and our little blue bundle very soon. AHHHHH the whole rest of the day I was a little subdued....

On a different note it's been fun to hear from sister Heidi and husband Will as they are beginning the proccess of making Texas home. They are staying with Erin and Jim and from the news I've heard it's going well. The kids are loving the pool and are a bit creeped out by the bugs.
It will be fun to see how the settling goes and what kind of house they can find.

Fun book I'm reading right now is "Ceasar's Way". It's acually a dog psychology book but really deals with human issues and how they affect and make dogs unbalanced. The author, Ceasar Milan has a show called "The Dog Wisperer" which airs on the National Geographic channel in the afternoon. It's quite interesting and I'm having a hard time putting the book down to do normal things! Oh well, it isn't everyday that I have a good book going!

I love this picture of the intense gaming that went on in the family room.






Last night was our official "say goodbye to Heidi and William" night. A small group gathered at the DeHart's house in Agua Dulce for a BBQ. It really is bitter sweet to see them go. We're glad that they will be able to buy a house and be near Erin and Jim but we are soooo sad to have BOTH sisters and families so far away. The problem with living in this amazingly beautiful state is that it's pretty much impossible for a normal young couple to buy anything. A two bedroom condo goes for over 300,000 and that's if you're lucky. *sigh*
It will be interesting to see where the Lord leads us in the future. We are both open to moving but it would have to be really obvious that it was the right thing to do. We do feel good about staying in the L.A. area for now, but who knows.

Shrink Wrapping Our Stuff


In all the organization desperation I had the great idea of getting those vacum pack storage bags that are supposed to shrink everything down flat. It's truly a great idea and if the ziploc seal didn't pop open everytime we'd try to close it, it would be a truly easy way to store bulky stuff. Has anyone ever used these bags and if so which brand did you use and did you have trouble keeping the ziploc closed?

This weekend Chris and I had one last wedding recection here in L.A.. In May we will fly out to Ohio for another celerbration with his parents friends. I got a few pictures of the table because it was sooo pretty and springy.

It's time to re-vamp my blog for the summer. I may keep this template or I may find another that I like better. I also want to put up links to my favorite blogs. That should be coming soon.

I had to puplish some pictures of easter especially for Erin and Jim. The day was filled with all kinds of fun. The kids had a blast hanging all over Chris and running around with a perpetual sugar high. I hope you all had a special Easter as well. Oh and I had to throw one picture in of dad practicing his golf swing during the egg hunt. Classic.

HAPPY EASTER!!

What a good reason to celerbrate today! The reminder that Christ is alive!

O.K. I'm finally buckling down and following through with "the questionnaire" I've been tagged with. I was tagged by Ariana, Heidi, Erin and Rachel (by e-mail). So, I had to give in!

Five jobs I've had in my life: Frozen yogurt server, pre-school teacher, Rubber stamp assembler, audiologist assistant and now hair stylist.

Four movies I can watch over and over again: Mary Poppins, Shadowlands, It's a Wonderful Life, When Harry Met Sally.

Four places I have lived: Good 'Ol Whittier, Saskatewan Canada, La Habra, and Now a different location in La Habra!

Four TV shows I love to watch: The Dog whisperer, Extreme Makeover Home edition, South Park, and OF COURSE 24!

Four places I have been on vacation: Denver Colorado, Washington D.C, Banff B.C, recently Big Sur.
Four web sites I visit daily: Favorite family and friend blogs, Yahoo mail, Baby Center, and....that's about it unless I google something interesting.

Four of my favorite foods: Homemade tacos, cottage cheese, rootbeer floats, homemade bread. Oh and orange juice and peanut butter toast.

Four places I would rather be right now: Anywhere on vacation, with my husband, at the beach, is it morbid to say heaven? Because from what I know it's going to be pretty good.

Four people I'm tagging - Cousins Nathan, Joy, David, and brother-in-law Jim.

Here are a few pictures that I was able to put up of the honeymoon. The top one is of the zebras near Hearst Castle in Cambria. It was so weird to see Zebras sitting amongst the cows looking right at home.
The one of me is in Cambria and the one of both Chris and me was taken at a lake near Ojai where we stopped to have a picnic on our way up to Big Sur for the last leg of our trip.

O.K. there will be more to come but right now I'm not even typing this from my own computer. Because of all the chaos of Chris having to move all of his worldy belongings into our apartment everything is a bit more complicated. While everything is getting moved Chris had to set up his computer with my moniter for work. I can't access wedding picutures yet because I don't know how to work Chris' picure files soooooooo it'll have to wait just a little bit longer.
I have to say that now I understand why it is that when someone gets married it seems like they have fallen off the edge of the planet. In some ways we have. Nothing is settled yet, there are boxes to be unpacked, paper work to fill out new routines to be set up etc....
When I was single I would get so annoyed when friends would get married because all of a sudden I wouldn't see them for long stretches of time. I thought that it was so wierd and kind of rude. NOW I know and I will forever have compassion on newly married folks because the reality is that there is SO MUCH adjusting and change that happens. It's good but time consuming.
Speaking of time consuming I have to go and unpack some more boxes and do a couple of loads of laundry!

Catching Up....



Goodness, I'm finally sitting down to write and I realized that it has been a while since I blogged. When I tried to post some pictures for some reason my blogger site can't finish the proccess, so I'll have to try again later.
Let's see since I last wrote I've gotten marrried, gone on a great honeymoon, found out the sex of the little bunchkin in my belly, and have done some major adjusting around my house with Chris.
First of all, the wedding was soooo much fun. When Chris and I drove away we both agreed that it was the best wedding we had ever gone to..... o.k so we're a bit biased. But really, it went so well. Every thing went smoothly, the music was spirit filled, William my brother-in-law gave a devotional on redemption, restoration and grace that was so powerful. Our photographer, a friend of Chris' took amazing pictures of everything. Hopefully by the end of today I will be able to give out the password for the ofoto account that friends and family can visit to see the pics or order what they want. I'll post a few when I get them.

Second fun event was a trip up the coast with my new husband. We stopped in Ojai for two nights and stayed at the Emerald Iguana. It was only about two hours from L.A so it was the perfect first official stop. Then we headed up to Cambria and stayed there for another two nights and then rounded out the trip with three nights at the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur.
The whole time there was a threat of horrible weather but we only had one rainy day the first day in Ojai. The rest of the trip we had nice crisp sometimes moist days and the nights filled with thunder, rain, wind and hail. I would wake up in the middle of the night and hear the thunder and rain and think that it would carry over to the next day but it never did. We felt pretty blessed.

Last but not least two days after we got home I had an appointment for an ultrasound. A couple of months back I had been determined to wait it out and not find out what I was carrying until it's birthday but as time has progressed I just wanted to know who it was in there. Chris wasn't opposed to finding out either so we were excited to have this appointment. The first part of the ultrasound the tech had Chris wait in the waiting room while she checked all the measurments and did the technical stuff. I was laying here watching the screen and when she measured the thigh bones I had a pretty good view of the baby's tush. I pretty much knew right away what it was. Luckily she didn't say anything until Chris came in the room because I just didn't want to hear it without him being there.
So, proceeding on with the proccess she was able to show us pretty clearly that I wasn't carrying a girl! Chris was shocked but for some reason I had begun to feel like it was a boy a while back.
We've been letting the idea sink in and now we are scouring baby name web sites and getting some pretty good laughs at alot of the names.
The due date will be around August 10 so the count down begins!

Pictures will soon follow.

I'm on the marriage train and it's stopping for nothing!!!!

Just a quick note so that my blog won't feel too neglected. The day after tommorrow I am getting married! I have such crazy feelings right now about all of the changes in my life. Mostly there is a feeling of dis-attatchment. Like I'm doing all the motions and there is all this crazy commotion around me and it is because of me and Chris and yet I can't wrap my head around it. Very surreal.

Tonight, my wonderful cousin-in-law Heather and my cousin Ariana threw me a great bachelorette party. Actually the day started with getting nails done, running much needed errands, a tea/lunch with my mom, sisters, grandma's and Chris' mom and aunt, a quick nap (didn't sleep), dinner with the sisters, and straight on to the party. Tomorrow holds, marriage license pick-up, shoe search, ring sizing, hair appointment, laundry, packing, and last but not least the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Chris' schedule is just as hectic if not more so.
And straight on to the wedding and a much needed honeymoon! I'm sure we will crash when it's all over.

I may post some pictures for the benefit of some family members who won't be able to make it. They will really be missed!