Oakley Allen Hegstrom

I love belly laughs!

Technology gurus...let me try dad.

What do you mean they don't fit?

Check out the shoes!

Oakley loves Play-Doh time with Aunt Winnie.

He thinks he's so cute...he's right.

Oakley can always make me laugh.

One of the biggest joys in my life is being a mom. On that note, one of the most trying jobs I've ever had in my life is being a mom. As I wait the arrival of another son I reflect on the past 21 months. Oakley has brought such joy and laughter to our lives and as I write/type he's playing with Play-Doh and being a good boy.

I have such a wonderful bond with my little boy it's hard to believe that I could have that with another child, but I hope and pray that I do. It's hard to believe that I'll have two little rugrats to run and chase after, but I welcome it with open arms and heart.

Oakley has taught me a few things in his little life. 1) Patience. 2) Compromise. Everything doesn't have to be done my way or the way I think it should be done. 3) Spontaneity. I've learned to roll with the times. If I'm late deal with it. Odds are I had to change poopy diapers or change my outfit because of poopy diapers as I was walking out the door. I've also learned that it's OK to leave a cart full of groceries in the aisle and walk out of a store because your child is throwing a temper tantrum and come back 4 hours later to finish your marketing. 4) Lighten Up. It's almost like Oakley knows when I'm at my wits end because he'll do something that totally cracks me up or he'll come over and give me the sweetest kiss that I'll forget what I was getting so worked up about. 5) Priorities. Some things in life just aren't that important while the little things usually are. I've learned to let the dishes in the sink sit when my sweet boy wants to sit in my lap and watch a movie with me. Although I can sit and think of 10,000 things that need to get done around the house the bottom line is they can wait, but my angel can't. I try and soak up these little moments because I know they don't last forever. Oakley changes everyday and although I welcome the change I also realize that my baby is growing up and that makes me sad.

I'm so thankful and grateful for everything my husband does for our family, because it means I get to stay home another day and be a mom. And although it is the most challenging job I've ever had it's also the BEST job I've ever had.

36 Weeks & Counting

I'm now 36 weeks and some change. I was doing so well with my monthly updates, but let's face it I'm tired. I'm feeling large and in charge these days. It gets harder and harder to bend over or squat so whatever it is I dropped has to be pretty darn important, otherwise it's going to stay on the floor until I can convince Oakley to pick it up or until Josh gets home. For those of you that stop by I apologize now for the crap on my floor (usually toys, shoes, socks, sippy cups, books, etc), but at least now you understand why it's there. Odds are I couldn't convince Oakley to pick it up for me. I'm glad it has warmed up so I don't have to tie my shoes anymore I can just put on flip flops, but the down fall to that is that I can't paint my toes. I don't dare leave that up to Josh because I have a feeling he would paint my entire toe just so I would never ask him to do it again. ha ha ha. I know they have salons for this sort of thing, but who wants to take a 20 month old to a nail salon? Let's face it there would be no relaxation for anyone that day. All in all I can't complain. I'm truly blessed to have a healthy family. So far I don't have a blood pressure problem like I did with Oakley. It could have something to do with the fact that I cook more at home and I'm not eating Carl's Jr. and Chili's everyday. I haven't had any major swelling...just the usual puffiness. I'm no where near as big as I was with Oakley.

I still don't have the nursery ready for the little guy, but the reality is he won't sleep in there for a few months anyway because his mom is neurotic. It's funny how you're ok with everything not being ready when the second one arrives. That's not to say I wouldn't like it to be ready, but time has not been on our side with getting the basement done. I got the bassinet cleaned and ready. I still need to get the car seat out and clothes washed, but I did buy diapers the other day. So, if he shows up tomorrow at least he has a place to sleep and I have diapers and I'm ok with that.

We still don't have a name picked out. I'm guessing we won't until he gets here and we see what name fits him best. My mom is having a hard time believing me on this one because we had Oakley's name picked out before we ever thought of getting pregnant. For some reason she thinks I'm keeping it a secret.

So, here's to a fast labor and delivery (in next 2 weeks would be good), a quick recovery, and sanity when I get home. Cheers!

~Yellowstone~

The Hegstrom's

The Osborne's (-2)Josh, Oakley, and I went to Yellowstone a couple weeks ago for a little vacation with The Osborne's (Jesse, Tara, and Tyler). It was our last little getaway before Baby H makes his grand appearance into this world.

We had a great time even though it rained on us all week. I booked this trip last summer so my thinking was since it's spring time in SLC it'll be spring time in Yellowstone and that would be a good time to go (you know not too hot). Yeah, not really. Now don't get me wrong I'm not complaining because as you all know I love the cold weather; however it does make it a little more difficult to get out and see all the sites with a 20 month old when it's hailing on you. It also helps to go when all the roads are open. This, of course, was something I didn't even think about when planning the trip because, again, it's spring time in SLC therefore it's spring time everywhere. Sad part is I wasn't even pregnant when I was being logical about this.


We took off Monday and had a nice drive up. Of course we had to stop at Jack In The Box for lunch. Apparently it was Jesse, Tara, and Tyler's first JITB experience. I'm not too sure they liked it, but Josh and I have our California indulgences that have to be met every once in a while. Thanks guys for going along. It was about the time we pulled into JITB that I realized I forgot to pack something. No, it couldn't have been my toothbrush that you can buy at the local grocery store. Nope, I forgot our cameras. Thank goodness for Jesse being the camera man that he is, between the 3 of them they brought 5 cameras and were willing to share. Faux pas #1, I blame on the inability to remember anything while being pregnant. I probably shouldn't have been in charge of packing. After a beautiful drive we checked into our room and quickly decided that we would cook steaks for dinner. Let me add that our entire week of food was based on having a BBQ on our balcony to cook on. Faux pas #2, yeah we didn't have a BBQ because the resort was too close to a National Forest. This time I blame it on the inability to think straight while being pregnant. No worries, Jesse introduced us to broiling. Sad, Josh and I have never used a broiler nor would we know how.













Tuesday was fun as we headed into the park for Day 1. We decided we'd check out Old Faithful since the park ranger informed Josh that they don't turn it off in the off season so it was sure to be an attraction. Smart Ass! We saw a lot of bison and mule deer a long the way. Of course Oakley moo'd at the bison and hehe'd at the mule deer, you know because they look so much like cows and horses. He was cute and kept us laughing with all his pointing, oooing, and aaahhhing. That night we thought it would be a good idea to go down to the pool for a little swim. We were wrong. Oakley screamed and hollered like he was being tortured in a prisoner camp so back to the room we went to watch a little Monster's Inc. for the 50th time. I figured I'd give him a bath since he smelled like chlorine. My timing was spot on. As I was rinsing his hair from being shampooed the fire alarm started going off. There I am 34 weeks pregnant hauling a crying flailing wet baby in a bath towel down the stairs and outside into the freezing cold. Thank goodness Josh had his head attached and grabbed the car keys so I could get Oakley out of the cold. Needless to say I was pretty ticked. Of course when I found out it was an inquisitive little boy that pulled the alarm in the hallway, I mellowed out because I quickly realized that it could be one/both of my boys that do the same thing one day.









Wednesday we went back to the park for Day 2. This time we traveled north to Mammoth Hot Springs. We had hopes of seeing bears because everyone we had talked to said they saw bears while on their way to Mammoth Hot Springs. No such luck for us. We did however see more bison and mule deer. When we got back into town we went over to the Discovery Center where we got to see live bears. Oakley liked the bears and wolves so he roared and woofed at them quite a bit, but his true happiness was being able to walk back and forth and back and forth and back and forth up and down a ramp. Who knew all I had to do was install a ramp in my house and he'd be entertained for hours.









Thursday came too soon and it was time to pack up and head home, but before we got on the road we stopped at the Discovery Center for one last visit with the bears and wolves. It was a nice drive home and of course we stopped at JITB for lunch one more time.









Thanks Jesse and Tara for the great pictures.

~Efusjon Energy Club~

As most of you know Josh and I signed up with Efusjon Energy Club at the beginning of March. Basically, you sign up, they ship you all natural energy drinks every month, you sign up 3 people, and make money. Who couldn't use more of that? What makes Efusjon different from other network marketing companies is that 1) Nobody else has their comp plan and 2) they are doing a launch on Facebook to become the first viral marketing company. They want to try and reach the folks out there who aren't comfortable getting in front of people to try and sign them up. This way they can sit on their computers and network through Facebook. Derek Broes, who is the executive VP of digital marketing at Paramount Studios, is the man running the Facebook launch. For some reason I think this thing is going to be huge. After all his reputation is on the line and I don't think he's going to let this ship sink. Josh and I have done pretty well so far. The first month we broke even with a little extra left over and this month we'll be able to make our mortgage payment with what we've made. Efusjon is growing like wild fire. The reason for this post is because Efusjon is revamping their compensation plan to be effective May 1st. The great news is anyone who is signed up before May 1st is "grandfathered" in at the old comp plan. So, if any of you are interested in joining our team please let me know. kneaknea@hotmail.com ,or feel free to call us.

I've included a web address for their video so you can check it out if you'd like. http://www. refusjonenergyclub.com/flv/fulllength.html

~Baby Pictures~

I think he looks like Oakley in this picture.

Cheese! (A little smile)


The tech said he was yawning, but it looks like he's screaming.

Cute profile, it looks like he's trying to suck his thumb.

This weekend my girlfriend Wendie flew out for a visit. I always try to plan at least one thing for us to do. It usually ends up with us shopping, but hey that's fun too. This time around I scheduled an appointment with Fetal Fotos. We did it with Oakley and when we went in to find out if Baby H is a boy or girl the doctors machine wasn't working so we didn't get a video of the baby. :-( Josh, the loving husband that he is, humored me and we all went to the appointment. The baby was such a good boy that we got some amazing shots. I think he totally looks like Oakley in one of them so it'll be neat to see what the little bugger looks like. My doctor made it clear to me that he doesn't like his patients going to Fetal Fotos because he said they usually come back freaked out about something. With Oakley it wasn't a problem, but in some of the shots of Baby H it looks like the cord is around his neck and in other shots it looks like it's just laying over his shoulder. The ultrasound tech didn't seem concerned, but I know if I ask my doctor he's going to be upset with me. Oh, what to do? Anyway, it was a great weekend and it was wonderful to see Wendie again. Oakley loves his Aunt Winnie so much he cried when she left this time. So sad.

Happy Easter!

Ok so I'm a little late, but Happy Easter everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful day with friends and family. This year was much more fun with Oakley. He still didn't understand the whole Easter Bunny thing, but he was sure happy to see a new bubble lawn mower and basket full of candy. Which, I might add, he did not hesitate one bit to dive into and start eating. It's a good thing I pin him down and brush his teeth.

We went to Josh's moms house on Sunday for an Easter egg hunt and lunch. It's so much fun to see the kids scramble for the eggs. Oakley did pretty good on the hunt. He actually found most of his eggs on his own without help. I don't know who had more fun Oakley or Daddy.

Well I'm 30 weeks and this baby feels like he's trying to make his grand entrance into this world. I have braxton hicks quite a lot, but nothing to worry about. He's laying sideways and it feels like he's trying to squeeze down in between my pelvic bones. I know he's not, but that's what it feels like. Some days I can walk just fine and others it's a struggle. He can be quite the kicker, but he's a good boy and doesn't kick too much at night so Mommy can sleep. This Saturday we're going to Fetal Fotos to see the little bugger so I'll post photos next week.

Viva Las Vegas!

Last week Josh, Oakley, and I went to Las Vegas for a little get away. The truth of the matter is Josh & Noah has a trade show to go to and the rest of us hitched a ride and joined the fun. As it turned out the boys only went to the trade show for 2 hours.

It was nice to get away for a few days. We, especially Josh, needed it. We got into town Wednesday evening and met up with Shelby and her family for dinner at Carrabas. It was great to see everyone. I can't believe Shelby's girls have grown into young women already. It seems like just yesterday she was giving birth to Aubrianna. Where does the time go?
Thursday was a beautiful day so while Daddy was at the trade show Oakley & I went to the pool. He wasn't too cool with it the first time I made him go in the water, but after laying out for a little while and eating a bag of Dorritos and a Kashi bar he was much better when I put him in the pool the second time. He was still a little apprehensive, but he wasn't crying so that usually means it's not so bad.

Later that day, after nap time of course, we all headed to the Mandalay Bay to see the Shark Reef Aquarium. Oakley loves fish and he likes the fact that he can touch the glass to point to every single one of them. I had to laugh, and of course post the picture, Oakley ran into another little boy about his age and together they were pointing at fish and having their own conversation about them. Too cute, right? Well, as Josh & I got Oakley to go on through the aquarium so did the other little boy's parents. It dawned on me as they were walking away that they spoke a different language. I thought how neat is that that two kids who don't know how to talk can communicate with each other regardless of a language barrier, but how sad that we who can communicate with words make no effort to reach out to others visiting our country. All in all it was a good trip to the aquarium and everyone had a good time.

Friday was just a lounge around day until we had to check out. We managed to fit In-N-Out Burger in one more time for lunch before we got on the road to come home. The drive home was not as nice as the drive to Vegas. We hit snow off and on the whole way home and sat in traffic for an hour while they shut the freeway down to clean up an accident. When are they going to widen that thing? Good news is we made it home safe and sound and for that I'm grateful.