Jacob Nevin Linton

We welcomed our second precious little boy into this world today. He is so sweet and wonderful. We are so grateful that he was born heatlhy and is doing great. He was born weighing in at 6 lbs. 12 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long. He has a beautiful head full of black hair and has a beautiful smile. We can't say how thankful to our Heavenly Father we are for this tiny little miracle. We will post more later, but for now here are some pictures to enjoy. Hugs and love to all!!

Just minutes old.

Mommy and baby - both doing great!

What a pose!

Brothers

Family of four now!

2 YEARS OLD!!

I honestly have a hard time believing that 2 years have gone by since Cayden joined our little family. Sometimes it seems that he hasn't been with us all that long and other times it seems as if he's always been around. He is such a sweet little guy and brings so much joy into our lives. (He brings many frustrations too, but that's all a part of growing up right?)

He has grown so much in the past year. He is counting, recognizing colors, singing parts of his ABC's, and putting together sentences. It is such a joy and a treat to watch him learn and grow. His newest phrase is "I do it." He is at that point in his young life to where he doesn't want help. He wants to be a big boy and do things on his own. He also is saying "not yet" and wanting to do everything in his own time. He is still a Daddy's boy and I think he always will be. They have such a special bond that I hope and pray NEVER goes away.

We had Cayden's birthday party yesterday. When he woke up from his nap he saw his pile of presents by the fire place. He got a big smile and wide eyes and said, "Me." He was very excited about his presents. We invited family over and had dinner, watched the Christmas Devotional, and enjoyed cake and ice cream. Cayden had a blast opening presents and needed no help getting into them. It was a fun evening.

Tonight we decided to take him to Red Robin for a special birthday dinner. He was allowed to have a soda and he chose what he wanted for dinner. He got 2 balloons too. He was in awe of the atmosphere and loved the white horse on the wall. He kept saying "White horse! Yay!" What a treat it was to see his excitement.

We are so thankful to have such a special boy as our own to teach, care for, and love. We truly are blessed.

~LOVE TO ALL~

Whobilation!!!

Jared and I were called to the activities committee 2 weeks before the Christmas party. They said they needed more people to help out and since we were "new" in the ward they chose us. OH BOY! We were so excited!!!

Anyway, the theme was "A Whobilation". It was all centered around How the Grinch Stole Christmas. And by the end of the evening Cindy Lou Who made sure that everyone understood what the true meaning of Christmas was. It really was an AMAZING party. It just took A LOT of work to prepare. They asked Jared (and me) to make signs for each of the activity rooms that people could roam through for the first hour. Well, if you know Jared at all then you know these could be no ordinary signs. The party was last night and I'm glad its finally over. We had to make 14 signs. 1 week and many sleepless nights later this was the final result....

Each child had a package in the post office

Water gun game shooting a snowman ping pong ball off a tee

Balloon dart game

Anyone could go in and get a "whoville" hair style

Make a Grinch Christmas ornament

Pick a present- they gave a small gift to everyone

A game of "toss" using garbage and throwing it into a trash can

Take a photo with the Grinch

"Operation" giving the Grinch his heart that grew 3 sizes (my dad gave us the x-ray)

Each person got to go into the candy store and fill a candy bag with homemade candies

They served hot cocoa and funnel cakes in this room

This room was set up as a cafe. Anyone could go in and read "poetry" from a Dr. Seuss book while a band played behind them.

Last but not least...The Nativity room. Members of our ward brought their Nativity scenes to put on display in the chapel.

It really was an excellent activity and everyone had a blast. They ended the program portion of the activity with a live nativity and then had everyone circle around the Christmas tree and sing Silent Night. It was really neat. Jared stayed to help clean up and I thought it would take HOURS to clean up the mess. But there were so many people in the ward that stayed to help it only took about an hour to get everything put back to normal. Here are a few more pictures from the night.

Making Grinch ornaments

Last year's Cheermiester-The Grinch

Cayden enjoyed watching the dancers, band, and singers, but his favorite was the Grinch

~LOVE TO ALL~

A Day at Home With My Boy

So I only had to work 2 days this week. School is out Wed-Fri. However, yesterday morning I woke up with pink eye. So I "unfortunately" had to stay home. A 1 day work week isn't all that bad. I was super excited to be able to stay home and hang with Cayden. We played at home in the morning and then ran some errands. We went to my mom's house to meet up with her and then were on our way.

First we went to the bank. Cayden knows that money is at the bank. The whole way to the bank he kept saying "bank, money". We went to exchange the coins in his piggy bank to buy birthday presents for him. We only took half of the money and got $77.00! I was very excited!!! Cayden had a blast using the coin machine at the bank. I was happy that the bank didn't charge to use it.

After the bank we stopped a few more places before we made it to the outlet mall in Castle Rock. We grabbed some lunch (Chinese, mmmm) and then headed out to shop. Cayden was so good and stayed in his stroller the whole time. I told him that because he was so good we could play on the playground for a bit. However, when we got to the playground it was gone. They had taken it out!!! I was shocked! So, as angry as he was we were able to get him in the car and promised to go the park when we got home.

We got back to my mom's house and found a soccer ball because the whole way home Cayden kept saying "soccer, play". So once he found a soccer ball, and woke up his napping uncles, we headed out to the park. My parents neighborhood has a park so it was only a short walk and we were there. He had so much fun playing with his uncles. He even got them both to go down slides! After a while of playing, and more cold weather rolled in, we headed back to the house to warm up.

Walking to the playground (he likes to walk "fast")

Playing basketball with Tim and Chris

He kept trying to lift the tree

I had so much fun spending the day with Cayden. He is such a fun little guy. Its hard for me to believe that he is almost 2 years old. He is so smart too. One of my favorite things about riding in the car with him is when he tells you to stop at a red light. He knows that red means stop and green means go. I just love to watch him grow.

I am so looking forward to 5 more days to hang out with my boy.

~LOVE TO ALL~

No News IS Good News

So we went to the doctor this morning. I am measuring now at 32 weeks. So I am still a few weeks behind BUT the baby is still growing at the same pace. We asked the doctor if she was concerned about the thigh bone being smaller and she said that it IS in proportion with the rest of the body. YAY!!!! (So That's why we didn't hear from her.) So no worries. However, she did say that if he doesn't grow big enough by the time I am 37 weeks they may intervene and bring our little guy sooner than later. I have another ultrasound scheduled for Dec. 1st so we'll update everyone again then.

Thank you so much everyone for your prayers, love and support. We appreciate it.

~LOVE TO ALL~

P.S. If we do deliver at 37 weeks it will be around Dec. 7th. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAYDEN!

Baby Linton Name Bracket

Jared and I have decided to let the family join in on the fun of picking a name for our new precious little one. We have chosen the name Nevin for his middle name. My Grandpa Crabb's (my dad's dad) middle name was Nevin. I never knew my Grandpa, he passed away when my dad was 18. But from the stories that my dad tells me of him I know he was a great man. My Grandma always tells me that my Dad is a lot like his dad. So to honor my Grandpa and the Crabb family we decided to name our new little guy after him.

Now is where you come in. Jared and I have each picked our top eight names. Jared has put them into a "tournament" bracket. We will e-mail you a simple format of the bracket so you can fill in your winning names. You don't have to do only one per family. Each family member can do their own. You can either print it, fill it in, and scan and e-mail it back to us. Or you can post it on your blogs. Whatever you choose is fine with us. We are excited to see what everyone thinks of the names we have picked out and what name you think we should use. We hope you enjoy joining in the naming process.

We are doing well and hope everyone else is too!!!
~LOVE TO ALL~

Ups and Downs

This week has been full of emotional ups and downs for us. I was very excited on Monday to go to the doctor and hear the baby's heartbeat again. Jared decided not to come with me this time because they had a deadline at work. I went into the office, weighed myself (I have gained 12 lbs now), and went into the exam room. The doctor asked her questions and then was ready to measure me and hear the heartbeat. However, when she measured my stomach she said I was measuring 29 weeks instead of 32 weeks. The baby's heartbeat was still strong though.

My doctor asked me if I measured small with Cayden and I said no. She asked what his weight and size was when he was born. I asked her what it meant that I was measuring small. She just said that it meant that I had to have another ultra sound to see if it was just me being small or if the baby was small too. She told me the measurement that she does is only a crude measurement but it can alert her if something may be wrong.

I was scheduled for an ultra sound the next day and Jared was able to come with me. Monday and Tuesday, until my appt. was brutal. All Jared and I could think about was the well being of the baby. We went in and got to see our little boy again. All the fluids are good. The fluid surrounding the brain is good. The flow through the umbilical cord is good. The baby is small though. He measures in the 5th percentile for everything for 32 weeks except his thigh bone.

Profile of our little guy. We even saw his hair this time. Jared was a little jealous.

Jared and I felt good when we heard that. But wondered what it meant that his thigh bone was small. It could mean nothing. However, the thigh bone being small is also an indication that the baby could have down syndrome. We opted not to have the genetic blood work done this time at 25 wks. because the outcome won't effect our love for our baby. I haven't heard from my doctor yet. She only works 2 days a week until 12:30 and is almost impossible to catch at the office. We are hoping that no news is good news. My next appt. is on the 16th. So we will update everyone on the baby then. Until then we ask for your prayers.

On another note, Jared is heading to California this week for an install for work. So Cayden and I get to have a mommy/son week. It will be hard for us to not have Jared around but we are thankful that he has the opportunity to work.

We hope everyone has a great week!
~Love To All~

Happy Halloween!!!

This year we chose a superhero theme for our costumes. Jared was Captain America, Cayden was Spiderman, and I was a very pregnant Batgirl. Jared and I only dressed up for our ward party though. At first Cayden was just excited to get candy but by the end of the trunk or treat he was holding out his bag and saying "treat" without any prompting from me. He heard the other kids saying trick or treat. I made sure he said thank you to everyone that gave him candy.

So, last night was so much fun. Cayden took a late nap yesterday so we had to wake him up to go Trick-or-Treating. He was pretty tired and hasn't been feeling 100% again so it took a while to get him into his costume. He was very grumpy and cuddly when he woke up. We weren't sure if we were even going to get him out. But he cheered up after a while and was finally ready to get "canny". Our child is addicted to candy.

Growing up I think I went Trick or Treating maybe 2 or 3 times. My mom didn't like the idea of going around begging for candy so she carried on her family tradition of "White Magic." We would make treats and take them out the the neighbors and family friends. They were always happy to get our treats and would give us candy in return. So the idea of Trick or Treating is somewhat strange to me. I was a little nervous to take Cayden out but he and Jared were excited. We decided to take him to my parents neighborhood. Tim and Chris both came out with us to watch Cayden Trick or Treat for the first time. Cayden was excited to have his uncles come with him.

Ready to go! (we had to buy a spider man beanie because we lost the hat the came with his costume)

"Yeah" Jared can get him to say and do almost anything!

At first Cayden wasn't sure what to do. Jared would take him up to the door and walk him through a routine. Well, Cayden isn't much for routine. He wanted to go inside every house and chat and play with their dog. I swear, everyone in my parents neighborhood has a dog! If Cayden didn't see or hear a dog he would ask where it was and expect to see it. It was cute at first but it made for a long evening. Jared took Cayden up to almost every door. He would ask me to go with him a few times and then he wanted Uncle Tim to take him. He didn't understand why he couldn't go up to every house so we tried to explain that if the house was "dark" we couldn't go ask for candy. After a while I think he finally caught on.

Trick or treating with Daddy. (first house)

Walking with Daddy

After we made it back to my parents house Cayden was ready to eat his candy. It was hard to get him to eat dinner first. We did our best to limit his candy intake but somehow he kept sneaking more. He LOVED to run to the door and pass out candy to the trick or treaters. They all commented on how cute he was too. (I love when people think he's cute. It makes me happy.)

After a little bit my sister surprised us and brought us "white magic" treats. We weren't expecting to them to come down but they did. It was fun to hang out with them. Cayden and Spencer and best buddies. They get along so well.

Handy Manny and Spiderman

So we all hung out until everyone was tired and then we came home. It was a fun Halloween. We are hoping that next year we can have our party again. I must say though, it was nice to have a carefree night rather than tending to party guests.

Zoning out at the end of the night.

Hope everyone had as much fun last night as we did!
~Love to All~

Halloween Treats!

With all the snow this week and the month of October just being crazy for us we decided not to do pumpkins this year. I think Jared was a little sad because he enjoys coming up with his own stencil and making an awesome pumpkin. But I just couldn't face it this year. So we agreed to make fun Halloween Treats instead.

I called up my big brother, Chris, who hadn't even been home from the hospital for 24 hours and asked if he wanted to help Cayden make the treats. He loves hanging with Cayden and couldn't resist the offer.

We went out and bought the few things we needed and headed to my Dad's house for a treat making Friday night. We made marshmallow/chocolate ghosts and spiders. They were YUMMY!

Granddaddy helping Cayden scoop out the ghosts.

Daddy helping Cayden put eyes on the ghosts.

Bethy sneaking a spider leg!

It was a fun evening. Chris helped as much as he could but needed to sit most of the time. He is doing well though and getting better every day.

~Love To All~

Fall Snow!

So as most of you know we had quite the snow storm this week. I was so glad when the snow finally stopped. We got close to 2 feet of snow. It was RIDICULOUS!!! Cayden and I stayed in and stayed warm on day one of the storm. Day 2 of the storm we had serious cabin fever so we tried to go out and play. Cayden lasted about 5 min. before he was ready to go in. I couldn't even get pictures of him playing because he really couldn't play. He tried to walk on the snow but kept getting mad that he sunk down into it. Thankfully the snow stopped and the sun has been out and shining. However, there is still quite a bit of snow left. Hopefully it melts soon.

Here are a few pictures of our back yard during the storm. Hopefully you can get an idea of how much snow there is on the ground.

He came in and fell right to sleep after attempting to play in the snow.

~Love to All~

The Move...and more...

This month has just felt like one giant whirlwind! To be honest, I'm glad October is almost over. But here is the recap of our month...

We moved Conference Weekend. DON'T ever move conference weekend if you are hoping for help from your ward. We only had one of our home teachers come and help for an hour and a half in between sessions. The rest of our helping hands were family and my good friend from work, Ginger. I love how family helps out. It was a stressful weekend, with many tears from being overwhelmed, but we got moved. I took the following Monday off so that I could spend the day cleaning out the old apt. I was there cleaning from 9:00-3:30. Then we went back around 7:00 and I left at 10:30 to pick up Cayden from my mom and dad. Poor Jared was there until 2:30am. I never thought it would take so long to clean a stupid apt. but you just don't think about all the little things that have to be cleaned. But we were glad to be done and in our new place.

Our Kitchen is the most unpacked room in the house so that is all I'm willing to take a picture of right now. ;)

The next week was the week of H1N1. Boy was I glad to have that week over with. It was not easy being pregnant, tired, and rundown and have to take care of my family 100%. I did my best though. Cayden went in and out of a fever but seemed to handle being sick just fine. He was up and bouncing all over the place. But poor Jared really had a go with it. I couldn't get him to stay home from work so he would come home and just crash. He had a fever and chills. Then he had headaches and nausea so bad that if he moved he thought he may throw up. He spent practically an entire weekend in bed. I thankfully never got sick and was able to take care of my boys.

This past week wasn't too bad. We have a tree in our backyard and Jared and Cayden had fun picking up leaves. However, Jared was annoyed the next day when the rest of the leaves had fallen off the tree. He still hasn't made it back out to pick them up. I made yummy truffles this week for a work party. Bethy and I had fun making a mess. Cayden got to spend the week at Auntie Annie's house since my mom is in Florida. He got up everyday asking for "An Annie". It is so nice to know that we have someone else close who loves him and is willing to watch him. She is more of a 3rd Grandma. He absolutely adores her. All month until it was time to go to her house he would say "An Annie, soon." And we would tell him "Yep, you get to see Auntie Annie soon." He was so excited.

Helping Daddy "clean" up the yard

Bethy and me making truffles

On Friday my oldest brother Chris had surgery again. About a month ago he had an MRI of his brain tumor to see if it was shrinking. It is. However, they decided to take an image from a strange angle. In taking the image at a strange angle they found a mass in his throat. A biopsy was done and we found out that now Chris had thyroid cancer. It is totally unrelated to the cancer in his brain. Cancer # 2. So they stopped his chemo treatments until the thyroid cancer is gone. He had MASSIVE surgery and they found more cancer than they thought was in there. The had to remove the thyroid, a piece of a vocal chord, and the para thyroid on the right side and moved the para thyroid from the left over to the right. They also found cancer on his carotid artery. They removed as much as they could but had to leave some to avoid cutting the artery. So now, he will have radio-iodine treatments to kill the rest of the cancer. The prognosis is good however, he most likely will not get his voice back to normal. He is still in the hospital and we are hoping to get him home soon. He is in good spirits but just wants company while he is in the hospital. Annie has been my angel this week too. She has been watching Cayden so that I can go to the hospital and be with Chris. She even offered to have him spend the night. They won't allow children in the hospital. It really bothers me but thankfully I have a wonderful extended family.

Last night Jared kept Cayden so I could go have a Girls Night Out with my sisters. I love hanging out with my sisters! We always have so much fun. We went downtown to the Denver Center of Performing Arts and saw a show called Girls Only. It really is a girls only show, no men allowed. It is an original comedy that celebrates the honor, truth, humor and silliness of being female. The 2 women that perform the show are the 2 women that actually wrote it. It is a fun half scripted half improv show. It was awesome! And I had a blast hanging with my sisters. Ask Jared about the "angel" Christmas ornament I brought home from the show.

That brings us to today. Its snowing. Yep! We are expecting 8-14 inches. LAME! As beautiful as it is, I'm so not excited about it. I'm worried this winter is going to be awful. But maybe that means lots of snow days? I just pray that when this little guy in my tummy decides to come that the weather cooperates.

Cayden wishing he could go outside today.

Ok. That's it for now. I hope that this blog is enough to keep you all in the loop about us over the past month. I'll try to be better about blogging as long as things settle down.

~Love To All~