John and April

Fresh Start!

2012-02-07T17:17:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm notoriously bad at keeping up with journaling and in this case, blogging....but with the new year comes new goals! I have more time to myself now and aim to keep up with our blog.

As Inigo Montoya once said when trying to explain to Wesley what had happened, "There is too much. Let me sum up." And so, since there is too much to go into much detail, I will "sum up" the last year or so since I last posted. :)

John and I made it through Spring 2011 semester with a lot of work and a lot of help from neighbors helping to watch Thomas. (He was just over 3 months old when I went back to school!) It was a very tough several months, but worth it. He wasn't sleeping through the night yet and still breastfeeding, so it took a lot of work...but we made it. :)

We then ventured off to Elko, NV for the summer for John's internship with an underground gold mine as an industrial hygienist. We were blessed in finding somewhere to live (it's really difficult finding rentals out there, especially short-term ones!). First we lived with a great couple named Edgar and Laura. I was able to help her get to dr. appointments (she was pregnant), etc. since she didn't have a license. After their new landlord wanted us out, we were able to stay with another great couple, Zach and Dixie, and their adorable little girl, Mel. We met them in the ward and they generously offered for us to stay in the basement of their house for the remainder of the summer. It was a great experience and a fun summer with lots of exploring and adventures! I know the Lord truly blessed us and our experience there prepared us for where we are now....

After the summer was over, we returned to our place in Logan and began the new semester, the LAST one for BOTH of us! John had 21 credits (really 18 since 3 were his internship) and I was student teaching. We knew we were in for a long ride! Unfortunately, our schedules didn't align very well. We also had just one car and needed to go in opposite directions! (Thank goodness for the free city bus) We were blessed to have a couple that we are good friends with watch our little Thomas for the long days we had to be away. They even have a little girl several months older than Thomas for him to play with! :) It was such a blessing to not have to worry about him and to have such a great place for him to be. They even lived close to where I did my student teaching! (Smithfield)

This was a difficult semester. I mean, a REALLY difficult semester. It was hard to leave my sweet Thomas when he cried (he didn't cry much and was a great sport, but still). It was hard to pick him up after a long day and have him want to be held and play all evening when I had lessons to plan and just wanted to rest. It was hard not seeing John very much. It was hard to deal with the issues that came up with my cooperating teacher and having to go back day after day and put on a happy face and put in 115%. (Some of you know that story...) But we stuck it out, and finally we reached the end of the semester. John finished out his finals and presentations and papers, etc. and I finished all my paperwork associated with student teaching and we were done. Just done. It felt good, but surreal. I'm still not sure if it's quite sunk in...

There wasn't graduation since it was winter semester (I know, rip off), but John had his commissioning ceremony. (Like graduation from R.O.T.C. and officially becoming an officer) It was a neat ceremony and very personal (only 3 guys!). He looked preeeetty spiffy in his dress blues! (Even though I HATE the mismatched colors....) We had several people there to support him and were able to eat out afterwards. It was a great night. John is now a 2nd lieutenant!

During the semester, John put in many applications for jobs. We both drove out mid-week mid-semester to Winnemucca, NV for an interview with another gold mine (a 6-hour drive!). That was a tough trip, but ended up being worth it... He got the job offer about a week or so later! Though he had an offer for another internship, we took the more permanent job. It's just what we'd wanted! (Though we were hoping to be located in Elko again.)

So we made plans to move out to Winnemucca after graduation. We had to postpone moving though since we once again had trouble finding somewhere to live! (Darn those small mining towns!) Luckily we made contact to several people and found a large home to rent for the next 5-6 months while the couple that owns it is on a mission. It's beautiful and HUGE! :) Thomas loves having the space (and the fenced backyard!).

We spent a nice Christmastime with John's parents and family. It was fun. :) John got a shotgun and I got a Kindle Fire (both items we both love and have used!). Thomas got a train set, jammies, a truck, book, an outfit, and several toys.

We've enjoyed getting settled here in Winnemucca and have already been on some great adventures in the area! More about those adventures to come... We have a GREAT ward who has really reached out to us and John got a calling as 2nd counselor in the Elder's Quorum while (so far) I've been called as a visiting teacher. We spoke in church a week ago Sunday and survived to tell about the experience. :)

As an update on Thomas, he is 16 months old and walking, talking, dancing, and copying everything we do! We sure love him. :)

P.S. I'm hoping to add pictures and videos to catch up from the last year or so, bit by bit, so bear with me. :)

Christmas in Mexico, Back to School, and Baby Laughs

2011-01-23T21:24:00.011-07:00

It's been a long time!! What a busy couple of months we've had. Time to catch up on a wonderful Christmas in Mexico! Someday I need to take the time to figure out how to do a slide show of pictures on your blog, but for now I will narrow it down to the favorites (it was hard!).
Too cute!! Daddy and Thomas sleeping.

First time at the beach--so happy! (he's a beach bum already!)

Promptly lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves.

Smiley guy!

Decked out!

Mom and Dad on Monkey Beach where we went snorkeling! (Mazatlan's best kept secret!)

Matty and one of the lobsters we ate later...

Grouchy momma!

A little bit of paradise! At the end of our jungle tour was a freshwater spring to swim in. Don't worry, they netted it off so no alligators could get in...

So cute--baby turtles making their way to sea!

Thomas' first time touching the ocean--not sure what to think!

Smiles on Christmas Eve in the new PJs!

Chillin' out with Auntie Candace.

Santa Baby with Daniel on Christmas Day.

Fishin'.

Too cute! John and I love this one...

Stingrays--we caught one! (on a boogie board--it's a long story)
My parents shared that this will be the last time we go to Mexico (at least for a while). Although I'm very sad, I completely understand this and am glad to have future Christmases with more of our family there. I will never forget the churros, rides into town, bartering in the market, pig heads, walks on the beach, eskimochas, motorhome fun, sand, boogie boarding, sunburns and freckles, beach vendors, DELICIOUS authentic Mexican tacos, Senor Frogs, Settlers of Cattan and Ticket to Ride, dolphins, fishing, snorkeling, finding shells on the beach, sunshine, Christmas potluck, jellyfish, stingrays, and so much more!

What a good trip it was, I hope we do go back someday. Since coming home, we have gotten back to real life. I was able to join my family to go to Washington to see my niece, Natalie, be baptized. What a beautiful girl! We also were able to help the Potters pack and move to Idaho--much closer!! (hooray!) I've loved having so much time with family.

Soon after, we returned, John and I were back at school. Yes, you heard right--we were able to find a babysitter and work out our schedules so that we can both be back at school. (Quite a feat for me, this semester!) My classes are 3 hours and 15 min. long each (ugh) and the schedule changes often, so it really has been a blessing to find someone willing to work with us and help out with Thomas when John and I are in school. We are into our third week so far and it has been going well so far. I am often somewhat stressed and tired, but I have been enjoying my classes and John has really pitched in with housework and watching Thomas. We can make it work!

A funny story though: My Friday schedule changes from week to week. The babysitter couldn't watch him for a meeting I had Friday morning while John was in class, so I decided to take him with me. Hey, it was only 2 hours long, right? We had to take the bus since John needed the car for P.T. with the army bright in early...and so it began! I bundled him up and took him with. Upon arriving at school, I found the meeting time had changed and I had to wait an hour. Ok, no big deal, we could wait. We walked to the meeting (my arms about fell off, he is HEAVY!) and I sat in the back. Right as the meeting started, he started to fuss. Loudly. In a quiet room. I took him out, but luckily one of my professors in the back of the room came out and offered to watch him during the meeting so I could listen. This was WONDERFUL, I wouldn't have heard much otherwise. Afterwards, I took him from her and he promptly threw up nasty formula ALL over my white shirt and all over himself and my hair. Gross. So I clean us up the best I can and walk about half a mile to the car as he cried. Once again, dead arms. I drove home with him fussing and arrived home to find he had pooped and peed out of his ENTIRE layered outfit. I'll admit, I just cried. SO not worth it. And this was all in less than 4 hours! He wouldn't smile at anyone while at school, but as soon as we walked in the door, he was full of smiles and cooes. *sigh* It was a rough morning and taught me that it is NOT worth the trouble! However, it makes for a great mommy story! :)

In other news....we won a new couch! I happened upon a facebook contest for a local furniture store and uploaded a picture of us on an old couch to enter. There were only 6 other entries and we got enough votes to win the contest! It's very exciting! It is retailed at over $1,000, and it's a nice brown leather couch. We will have it delivered very soon (hopefully they can get it into our basement apartment!). Hooray!

Thomas is now 4 months old, I can't believe he has grown up so much. He is sleeping better at night recently since he is in his own crib in the other room. He still wakes up usually twice (though sometimes only once!) or so, but this is a great improvement! He also is much more responsive and curious. He is discovering his hands, smiling and laughing more, and he is interested in toys! It is so much fun. We have a dr. appointment Thursday where he will be measured and get more shots. :(

Check out these fun videos:

John has a debate meet (the first one since last school year!) near Seattle this weekend and leaves Thursday morning. I will miss him, but I think he will do GREAT on his 2 speeches and debate rounds. Updates on how that goes to follow soon.

Well, we are busy busy, but I will do my best to update from time to time. We love our little guy so much, he is in a really fun stage. This means we have TONS of videos of pictures. :) More to come soon.

Shutterfly Cards

2010-11-29T10:50:00.004-07:00

Hello everyone! Today I'm writing about a site I've found, Shutterfly, and some of their amazing products! If you haven't gone yet, Shuttefly is a great site with many options for turning your photos into gifts, prints, cards, etc. They often have free gifts and deals. In fact, you get 50 free prints just for joining and I got an 8x8 hard-bound photo book completely FREE from a recent deal they were doing.

Anyway, I thought with the holiday season coming up, I would share a little about this site. They have not only a TON of great gift ideas for parents, grandparents, etc., but also great Christmas card options. You can have photo greeting cards, photo stationery cards, or the most common flat photo cards. http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery
A great gift idea for the holidays: a photo calendar! My mother-in-law received one of these for Christmas last year (perfect timing for a new calendar!) and she LOVED it. I love how useful it is and personalized--they can see your beautiful pictures all year long! It's easy to make them cute without having to be a master scrapbooker. http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars

Another great idea that will be applicable in the coming months is a photo graduation announcement. What a great idea! Make your own personalized invite with a picture built in! (no more getting the same old invite and adding a 4x6) http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/announcements/graduation-announcements

There are many other options for turning your pictures into something neat, and they are pretty affordable. Right now, I'm pretty sure they have 20-30% off almost everything and options for free shipping.

Also, if YOU have a blog and would like 50 FREE Christmas cards, you can do what I did and write a post, etc. Just go to http://bit.ly.sfly2010/. It's honestly very easy and worth it! I plan on creating fun photo cards to send out to all my friends/family, I can't wait!

Good luck with your preparations for the holidays, I hope this gave you some ideas!!

Baby Blessing, Military Ball, and Baby Smiles!

2010-11-15T10:43:00.004-07:00

My little guy is growing up! I wanted to add a few updates and pictures.

About a week ago, Nov. 7th, we had Thomas' baby blessing. We were thrilled to have so many people able to come and support him/us! With most of both of our families and many friends, we had about 60 people! It went very well, both the blessing and the luncheon afterwards. He was so good during Sacrament meeting and looked cute in the outfit John was blessed in as a baby. Thanks to all who made an effort to come and pitched in for the yummy soup/rolls/dessert potluck! It was great! We know not all could make it, and we appreciate your love and support from all over the country. :)

Saturday night, John and I were able to attend the Military Ball on campus. (Thanks to John's little brother Dallin who missed the USU basketball game to watch little Thomas for us!) John was dressed in his "dress greens" and I (for a lack of anything else to wear that fits post-baby) wore my old choir dress. :) We got all spiffied up and enjoyed a classy date night with live bands, dancing, and people. It was fun!

Well, I mentioned in my last post that Thomas has just started to smile. This has literally benn within the last week and is still a pretty rare occurance. However, I was able to capture some pics and video while he was in a particularly smiley mood this morning. Enjoy! :)

One month later...

2010-11-05T12:38:00.009-06:00

Hello! Well, it's a month later and we're still alive! (that's a good sign) Though there have been many sleepless nights and some days of frustration, it's been a wonderful month. Our little Thomas makes us smile every day and we STILL can't get enough kisses/snuggles!

Some things we've noticed about him: He smiles in his sleep. He also frowns and does little scowls and a soft cry. VERY cute. He also really likes to be held. I know all babies do...but he seems to even more than normal. If he falls asleep in your arms or while eating (which he usually does), he jumps at any flinch. No matter how sound asleep he was, usually he wakes up within 1-2 minutes when you put him down. Mostly now he gives me 2 or 3 hours at a time to sleep at night, though he went 5 1/2 hours once! (hallelujah!) We have also noticed that Huggies diapers are NO BUENO. At least not for him. Almost every single diaper leaks all over him, and many times the diaper itself is dry. (grrr!) We tried to work with it and tough it out, but we give up! (Several loads of baby laundry later...) We've gone several places like to my house (2 1/2 hour drive) and to the cabin (3 hour drive) and he's been very good to sleep the whole way. (We try and time it right). He also slept through all of church one week! He likes showers but not so much getting out. He makes lots of funny faces and grunts. He eats A LOT. Like A LOT. Some afternoons, I feed him all afternoon with short breaks in between. He's sure a snugglebug! A couple of days ago, he gave me his first real smile! (IE: not in his sleep) He was looking right at me and gave me a wide-open smile with those little dimples! SO cute. One of those a day and I can forgive every poopy blowout and down-my-shirt puke! Can you believe he is almost 7 weeks old??

On another note, John had an interview and got the internship he was hoping for! That means we'll be moving to Elko, NV this summer and he will be working at Newmont Gold Mine in an underground mine! It is an excellent opportunity because it will look good on his resume, give him applicable work experience, pay him great money, we like the location, and the company has promised they will hire at least 2 of their 5 interns, so it has potential afterwards. Hopefully we'll be able to find somewhere to live! :S

Yesterday was Veteran's Day and John was asked to give a speech for the school's program along with a World War II vet. His mom and brother came and we went to watch him. He did GREAT on his speech! I'm so proud of him. Later that night, we went to Texas Roadhouse with some friends to take advantage of the free military meal, it was delicious.

We thought we'd add some pictures and a video for y'all. We have posted all of our pictures on our picasa site if you want to see them all. (picasaweb.google.com)

NAKED!

Ready for church! An ADORABLE outfit...

Halloween

Daddy time!

At 4 weeks old...

Grouchy!!

Tummy time

Cuddle time with daddy

Picture Update

2010-10-12T14:11:00.003-06:00

For some reason, pictures wouldn't work when I uploaded my last post......but I have since added some, so enjoy! :) I also have most all of them posted in an album on facebook and will shortly have them on picasa for anyone interested. Thanks for being patient!

Thomas Heber Kimball

2010-10-08T10:29:00.005-06:00

It's time to blog about the newest edition to the Kimball family!! On Monday, Sept. 27, 2010, we welcomed new little Thomas Heber Kimball to our family at 11:01 PM. He was 7 lbs. 14 oz. and 20 inches long, despite being 2 weeks early!

Ok, here's the detailed story (beware, it's long):

Monday morning I woke up with my water broken. John was already at school, and since I wasn't having contractions, I waited for him to get home and we got things ready to go. We had to stop by a few stores to find a good carseat (I know, we're procrastinators!) before heading to the hospital. By the time we got there and got checked in, etc. It was about noon. After the checkup and waiting to see if I would go into labor on my own, they decided to start me on pitocin at about 2:30. I was dilated at about 3 cm upon arriving and at about 6:30 (after hours of hard contractions), I was only at a 4. Frustrating! John was calm through all of this--almost too calm! He read a book and we attempted to watch Letters to Juliet to help distract me. It only kind of worked.

I got the epidural at about 6:30. It worked pretty well except for what they called a "hotspot" where the epidural didn't take and I felt the full contractions. Ouch! Unfortunately, this didn't go away for most of my labor, but it was much better than no medicine at all. I had an oxygen mask put on for a short while when Thomas' heart rate looked a little stressed, but that fixed the problem and soon had it taken off.

Like the nurses predicted, things really started going after I got the epidural. When they checked me about 2 hours later, I was dilated to a 9.5! A short while later, I was fully dilated and they got things ready to start pushing. I was lucky and only pushed a few times before they said to hold on while they got my doctor. When she had gotten set up and ready, it was again only a few good pushes. They brought a mirror out for the end so I could watch my son being born and it was an amazing and yet strange experience. I was surprised to see a head full of hair! Once he was born, then put him on my stomach and began wiping him off and taking care of things. John cut the cord and watched as they took him off to make sure he was ok.

I was almost in shock while he was on my stomach, trying to grasp the idea that this was MY son, the one that had been kicking at my ribs for the last several months! It was a while before this really settled in and became real, but it was an amazing, happy experience just the same. When they took him away to get him cleaned up and make sure he was ok, I felt a little anxious to get him back! I delivered the placenta and got stitched/cleaned up as they took his APGAR scores. (8 and 9 out of 10). He was all the way across the room and John was able to be close and take pictures, and the nurses kept cooing and commenting, but I could hardly see! Apparently he was grasping for anything and ended up rolling over and holding onto the side of the bassinet.

They eventually had John bring him back to me and I held him in my arms for the first time. What a sweet spirit he has and we both were elated. I stared into this new little face, his eyes open and taking in the new world. We knew at that point that he was definitely a Thomas, and so his name was set. I unwrapped him and put him against my chest for some skin-to-skin contact and it was so neat to have him so close and warm. His sweet little body with soft skin and peach fuzz all over just made my heart melt!
Soon after, I did my best at the first breastfeeding attempt. I felt like I was all thumbs! It was awkward and half-worked. The first few days of breastfeeding were ultra painful and somewhat difficult. Luckily, with the help of a lactation specialist, nipple shields, and some practice, we have since gotten pretty good at the process.

I finally had something to eat (I'd only had a bowl of cereal and 2 pieces of toast that morning) and got through with checkups, etc. and then moved down to the recovery room. I was able to move my legs and even stand up so I could go down in just a wheelchair. John promptly fell asleep on the couch, but I couldn't sleep--I was just too excited and riled up! I just sat there thinking and happy for most of the time between the millions of checkups, etc.

My mom and John's parents came to visit Tuesday morning and brought beautiful flowers and gifts. Later in the day, my sister Candace and my dad visited with more flowers. We spent the day getting used to our new son, getting some rest, letting everyone know the good news, and kissing and snuggling our little man to death! We couldn't (and still can't!) get over how sweet and cute he is!

Wednesday, John headed off to some of his classes and I had a good friend Nicole visit for a while. It was fun to talk and show off my baby. :) I was able to get up and get a shower and get ready for the day and it felt great. I tried to get some rest and was somewhat successful. That evening, John came back from class and we gathered our stuff and our son to leave. While at the hospital, Thomas had finally passed his hearing test, passed his biliruben test, and gotten a lot better at breastfeeding. I also had gotten a flu shot. We dressed him up all cute and went for our very first ride in the new car with our new son in his new carseat! We stopped to get my prescriptions and arrived at home. It was so neat having our new little guy in our old setting and I started imagining the new life we are getting on to.

The next day (Thursday), John's mom came to visit/help since John was going back to school. She stayed overnight and went with me and Thomas to his first dr's appointment. He had his biliruben checked and found it was a little too high, so we would go back to the hospital to check it Saturday morning. He also was circumcised and was VERY brave.

Carol left soon after and my parents and little brothers came up that evening. Once again, it was fun to show off little T. :) We watched Conference with my family Saturday and went to the hospital to have his biliruben levels checked again. (They poke his little foot every time and get a vial of blood). :( Luckily this time he passed. We also gave him his first bath! (Which he screamed through, of course) My mom and I went shopping after the guys got home from Priesthood and had a successful trip.

Sunday, my parents left, but my sisters Candace and Angela visited with Matt, Candace's boyfriend. We had a nice visit with them before they had to go and we enjoyed the rest of the Sunday and Conference.

On Monday evening, my sister Christine and her son Sammy came to visit! I SO appreciated her help cooking many meals for the fridge and freezer to get us really stocked up. She also made us a delicious cake, sewed some peepee teepees :) and burp rags, helped me go grocery shopping, and did a MILLION dishes! I was so grateful for her company and help. They were able to stay Monday and Tuesday night and left Wednesday evening.

On Thursday, we had John's brother Trevor and his wife and son visit. We had dinner and once again showed off our little guy. :) It was a nice visit as well.

Throughout this time, we had 2 meals brought to us by the Relief Society from complete strangers in our ward. I am amazed the service people do for those they don't even know. I look forward to getting to know both of them better, they will make great friends. John has managed to keep up with school and ROTC. We also have been for a couple short walks and had fun at the park behind our apartment.

Now it is Friday and we are looking forward to a nice weekend not going anywhere and relaxing. :)
We love our little Thomas with his funny grunts and squeaks. He is a brave little boy who doesn't cry much and has a head of ADORABLE light brown hair. (It's hard to see in pictures) I was so happy when I noticed he has his momma's dimples and nose and with hair and face like his daddy's. He's a snugglebug that scowls his little eyebrows and LOVES to be held. Despite a couple of frustrating nights with his little midnight parties, we love him to death! Welcome to the family, little guy!!