Nate and Shar

Vegas and Halloween

2009-11-06T09:24:00.010-07:00

Nathan spent last week at a landscaping conference back in Kentucky. While he was there he got to visit Churchill Downs and the Louisville Slugger Baseball Bat Factory, drive all the new mowers, tractors, backhoes, etc. in a giant field (Picture grown up men driving life size toys in a hugs sandbox...yes they had a blast!), and of course, met with various companies and attended meetings. For those of you who don't know, Nathan will be fully finished with classes at BYU this December (we walked early because we thought we were going to take a job over the summer and finish classes online, but we decided against it) so we will be moving in December before Christmas and leaving BYU. Nathan is going through the interviewing process with a few companies, but so far it looks like we'll be heading to Bozeman, MT or Price, UT. We'll keep you updated on the final decision.
Anyways, while Nathan was out playing, Hunter and I decided to do some playing of our own. We flew down to Vegas to visit my family and spent Halloween with them. And we had a blast! Also, thanks to my amazing mother...I got to sleep in a couple of times while she took care of Hunter! It was incredible! Aren't all grandparents just the best!
Here are a few picture of our trip. Enjoy!

Hunter taking a bath in the sink. He doesn't get one in the sink very often because ours at Wymount are so small, so he was a little surprised; but he still definitely enjoyed it.

Playing on his new jumper in the backyard. Two of his favorite things... jumping and being outside!

Outside on the grass. He is so close to crawling! I can't wait! ...but I'm sure all of our books, dvds, computer equiptment, and other floor items can...

Eating at the Cheesecake Factory. YUM! haha, don't you just love the little pom pom on his hood :)

Hunter's first Halloween experience. He decided to sleep during the ward trunk-or-treat instead of play. But he still made an awfully cute little pumpkin! I think it's time for a bigger car seat...don't you? :)

My family getting ready for trunk-or-treat...Lizzy, Mom (Grandma Blake), Hunter and Andrew.

These next few pictures are just cute dress up ones that I wanted to post. He's our little cowboy! Give him a couple of years and he'll do some world-class mutton busting!

Candy Corn outfit from Grandma and Grandpa Heinitz. I just love that little hat!

Happy Halloween!

Babbling

2009-11-06T10:07:00.006-07:00

This is Hunter playing at my parents house in his jumper. He's really started to talk a lot lately and it's just so darn cute! He babbles all the time...in his jumper, as he's trying to crawl, while we're talking to him...I'll even find him in his crib when he wakes up just laying there, playing with his feet and chatting to himself. Sometimes he'll even just make the movements with his mouth and silently make the little "ba" sounds as you babble to him. I can't wait until he can really speak so that we will finally know what's going on in that little mind of his. Enjoy! Oh and the talking in the background is my little sister watching I Love Lucy.

My Boys

2009-11-06T09:17:00.006-07:00

Kids need Dads. Simple as that. I feel that I’m doing a pretty good job at being a Mom and I absolutely love it; but Hunter would definitely be missing out on a lot of great things if Dad weren’t around. I’ve always known, and now I am completely convinced, that there is nothing that could fully replace a father. Hunter loves Nathan so much already; you can tell by the way he lights up whenever Nathan walks into the room and starts smiling at him. They are best of friends.

Here’s to great Dads! We love you!

Getting their camo on...
Nathan is out hunting in Montana right now; he actually just called to tell me that he got a whitetail deer...now that's one manly provider!

Pushing Hunter on his first swing

Cute little chub

Picking out their Christmas gifts already no doubt...

Playing outside in the neighborhood. Hunter definitely inherited Nathan's gorgeous blue eyes.

Doing homework together... haha I love this one, they're both concentrating so hard.

Family Pictures

And this one is my absolute favorite picture of all time.

Peek-A-Boo

2009-11-06T09:55:00.004-07:00

Hunter just loves playing and laughing. Two weeks ago, we found out that peek-a-boo would become a new favorite game of his to play. I love his little laugh!

New Family Photos

2009-10-20T21:40:00.001-06:00

Naps and Giggles...

2009-09-25T20:10:00.003-06:00

This is what happens when Hunter doesn't take a good, decent size nap...

He'll fall asleep anywhere...

Too bad it doesn't last for too long though...I expect he'll wake up in about 40 minutes wanting to eat since he's slept through his last meal of the day.
So cute!

So Hunter had been laughing for about 20 minutes before we finally shot this video. He loves being bounced on the bed, tickled on his tummy and chubby little legs, and given raspberries.

Summer Overview...

2009-09-24T10:37:00.008-06:00

Time sure fly's during the summer...here are some photo's to catch you all up on what we've been doing and our little Hunter. (Photos are in random order...I just don't have the patience to put them in a timeline... :) Oh and I just realized that I'm a total mom, because we have about 3 pictures of Nathan and I and about a hundred of Hunter from the past month and a half... oh well...)

Hunter's started rice cereal and he's not too sure how much he likes it. He does however enjoy playing with his spoons and smiling as it all spills out of his mouth.

Hunter's blessing day

He's doing so well holding up his head and is really starting to make crawling motions with his hands and feet.

I didn't have my camera on Anna's wedding day, but here's a picture of her flowers. Nathan made her bouquet and did her flowers for her receptions. They turned out amazing. Congrats again Anna and Marcus! We love you!

Hunter loves this new jumper that Grandma Melanie Heinitz got for him...He could just play in it for hours. In this particular picture though the movie Cars was on... It's his favorite...

His jumper again...

He loves his basketball...thanks Uncle Marcus and Aunt Anna!

One night Nathan and I were eating dinner and he was so interested in our food and silverware...so we gave him a spoon to play with. I love this face!

Hunter loves the bathtub...always has...even when I was pregnant whenever I got in the tub he would just move and move and move... His hair has been growing in tons the past couple of weeks so we spiked it...

Rice Cereal face :)

Out for a walk...the flowers at the Temple smell wonderful right now...

Ever since we drove to California Hunter is no longer such a fan of his car seat... unless he gets his giraffe... i love that he fell asleep holding him

Nathan was trying to entice Hunter to start crawling so he tempted him with some M&M's

Hunter absolutely loves fireworks. We went to go fishing at Salem Pond last month but when we showed up the city was putting on their Salem Days Celebration. They has scones, a talent show and a very, very good half hour firework show...Hunter was hungry but then the fireworks started and he sat still for the whole show. He was so intrigued. If he's ever really fussy we can youtube fireworks and it calms him right down...

Reading the paper with Dad...

Swimming at my family's house in Vegas...his first surfing lesson...

Lounging around on our bed at our hotel in California for my brother's wedding. Bryan and Felecia were married on Aug. 15th and we couldn't be more happy for them. We love you!

It won't be long until Hunter is crawling!

Cookout

2009-07-11T12:50:00.003-06:00

Thursday night Nathan, Hunter, Isaac (Nathan's brother), Anna (Nathan's sister) and Marcus (her fiance) had tin dinners and dutch oven cake by a bonfire. We went up to a picnic/campsite by Sundance. It was a lot of fun and the stars are gorgeous. If you're looking for something fun and cheap to do this weekend I highly recommend this!

I'm so glad that we will all be here for the fall semester together. We love our family!

Orlando Vacation

2009-07-10T22:21:00.007-06:00

Nathan, Hunter and I got to spend last week in Orlando with my family and grandparents... a little graduation celebration. It was a blast! Here are some pictures of the trip... a lot of first's for our little Hunter. We were worried to do so much traveling with him, especially on the airplane, but he did great... ate and slept the whole way. The only downside is that he got completely used to being held or pushed in the stroller while sleeping so we're now having to get him out of that habit. Any tips on helping a 2 month old to sleep better in their crib? and on a schedule? through the night? I could use any ideas...

This is Hunter's first plane ride. I'm so glad that he did well. There could be little worse than trying to calm a screaming baby while you're stuck inside a small, squashed area with 50 other passengers staring at you...or so I imagine...

Epcot... We had so much fun visiting all of the different countries. My mom and I decided to take everyone on a progressive dinner throughout the park...so we had egg rolls in China...chips and salsa in Mexico...fish and chips in England...and pastries in France!...etc. It was delicious! I highly recommend having your meal this way next time you visit Epcot.

Hunter has been smiling a lot more lately. It's so much fun. I just couldn't help but post this picture. It's such a good feeling to have him look up at us and know that he loves us!

He's just starting to find his thumb! This is already helping me out...he's learning to calm himself. He still needs help finding his thumb though...right now he's still trying to force his entire hand into his mouth! It's too cute to watch! You'd think he was teething though with all of the slobber that ends up all over his face and hand!

Our first ride at Epcot. And Hunter's first ever. I think it was Finding Nemo. He wasn't too sure what to think of it.

The safari ride at Animal Kingdom.

Florida really does have alligators everywhere. Thankfully we sat safely away from this one in our safari jeep. I think the driver said that it was actually a crocodile from the Nile River.

Nathan and Hunter in front of the castle at Magic Kingdom. It was the end of a very long day. This is Hunter's absolute favorite way to be held. We think he looks like a monkey! People were staring at him and thinking he wasn't real...like a doll. It's amazing how many smiles a baby can bring to so many faces...simply by being there. I think he was single-handedly responsible for about a million smiles at Disneyworld. The little girls dressed up like princesses who walked up just to say "hi to the baby" were the cutest.

The Jungle Cruise ride. One of my all time favorites.

Pirates of the Caribbean.

It's a Small World after all!
My parents are so great at being grandparents already! It's so fun to watch them together.

Hunter didn't like Small World too much... someday he'll enjoy these rides much better.

We took the ferry from the parking lot to the park once. Hunter's first boat ride.

Kennedy Space Center. This is the end of one of the rockets they used to shoot off. Huge!

The Space Shuttle (it's on the back side). It'll be lifting off tomorrow night! (7-11-09)

Just so all you other moms out there know... Disneyworld (and I imagine Disneyland) has a Baby Care Center located in each park. Inside they have changing tables, bottle warmers, private nursing rooms, toys, etc. They even have a Disney movie playing for your older children to watch while you take care of your baby. (They also sell formula, diapers, etc. anything you might have forgotten at home) It was great to be able to use to get away from the noise for a little while and take care of Hunter.

Nathan let Hunter lick a blue M&M.

Melanie (Nathan's mom) gave hunter a 4th of July outfit to wear. So cute! Thanks mom!

The fireworks at Magic Kingdom were truly magical.

Thanks mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, for such a great trip! We love you!

Sleep

2009-06-24T15:07:00.004-06:00

Sleep is one of those things I'm learning to live without. However... last night Hunter slept from midnight to 5:45 and then from 6:45 to 10:00! I don't know how this miracle happened but I sure enjoyed it. Hopefully this will become a reoccurring habit, but if not I'll enjoy it for the moment. This is his favorite position to sleep in...with his hands up by his head. We have to swaddle him each night or else he wakes himself up...but somehow he always sneaks those little hands out and places them by his face. It's so cute!

Pictures

2009-06-02T15:19:00.003-06:00

Aren't these the cutest pictures that you have ever seen! And I'm not even biased at all!

Vanessa Brammer is in our ward here in Wymount and she needed newborn pictures for her portfolio, so we quickly snatched up the opportunity to get pictures of Hunter taken before he grew any more (it's amazing how fast they grow! And he's only 19 days old today, but already looking bigger!). Anyways, she did an amazing job so I thought that I'd show them off. You can see more pictures at http://adashoflovephotography.blogspot.com/search/label/Just%20Born . Visit her site adashoflovephotography.blogspot.com to see more of her work. We'd highly recommend her. She was great to work with and as you can see, her pictures are fantastic. Thanks Vanessa!

More Pictures

2009-06-02T15:06:00.003-06:00

Hunter is Born!

2009-05-31T15:46:00.005-06:00

Friday morning at 6 am we checked into the hospital and they started hooking me up to all of the monitors. By 7:30 I was given the Pitocin and labor began. At 8:30 my doctor came in to check on things and she broke my water (which is an experience all in itself!)About 10:30 I was dilated to a 5 and almost 100% effaced so they gave me my epidural and lets just say that after that everyone was much happier. I don't know why in this day of great modern medicine anyone would choose to not have an epidural during labor. However, I am in awe of all of you who have done this all natural...you are far, far stronger and braver than I. This being said, I don't ever plan on not getting an epidural as long as I have a choice. I don't think Nathan's poor finger would have lasted through the rest of labor without it. (During every contraction I'd squeeze the life out of his finger...the harder it hurt the more I tried to kill his finger). The picture below is after I had my epidural in...notice the smile...that was not there a few minutes before... :)
Around noon, after an hour with the epidural, the nurses checked me and I had already progressed to a 9 and was completely effaced. The nurse couldn't believe it. So then the pushing began...an hour later my doctor came and at 1:29pm Hunter William Heinitz was born. Everything about the labor and delivery went perfectly up until the last few minutes. Right at the end Hunter's heart beat began to drop and as soon as his head came out the doctor's realized that the cord was around his neck. He hadn't had any problems up to that point that would have led them to believe that anything was wrong, so it was a shock to everyone. Dr. Dayton worked quickly and cut the cord while he was still in the birth canal. She gave me an episotimy to get him out fast and he came out right afterwards. However, because the cord had been tight, his face was very blue and he wasn't crying. The next minute until he cried was the longest minute I think Nathan and I have ever experienced in our lives. Finally the nurses had him crying and Nathan rushed him off to the NICU. His oxygen levels were really low from being choked and from not recieving the last rush of fluid that my body tried to send to him through the umbilical cord. He stayed in an oxygen bubble and recieved an IV for a few hours. They kept him in the NICU for first 24 hours. That was the hardest thing for me. It was four hours from the time that he was delivered until I was wheeled down to the nursury and I was able to see and hold him. Nathan was wonderful and would run back and forth between me and the nursury taking pictures and videos and bringing them back to me to see and watch. It was such a miracle to see our little boy get stronger and progress over that next day. Had the birth taken any longer, who knows what might have happened. Thank you everyone for the prayers and fasting that you did on his behalf. And thank you to my sweet husband for being able to provide Hunter with his first fathers blessing. Hunter recovered quickly and we were able to leave the hospital after only two days with him as healthy and strong as ever.

8 lbs 2 oz 21 3/4 inches long

We've been home now for just over two weeks and Hunter is doing so well. Being a parent has been the greatest joy for Nathan and I. We absolutely love and adore our little boy, more than words could ever express. He is just so cute! and it's so fun to see his little personality already with him. He is such a good tempered little boy, and only cries when he is really hungry or being changed...he really doesn't appreciate cold wipes! but then again who would? He absolutely loves his binki, being swaddled, lying on our bed, snuggling, and warm baths (his cord has fallen off! yay!). He eats well, only wakes up once or twice a night, and is getting stronger every day. He could already lift his head up for a few seconds when he was only a few days old, and he is holding it up longer and looking around more every day. He already tries to stand up on our legs or stomach when we burp him and wiggles around lots and lifts/moves his head from side to side on the ground during tummy time. I have a feeling he'll be crawling around early. :)
What can I say...he's perfect!

Graduation

2009-05-31T15:34:00.003-06:00

Nathan and I both graduated this April. I can't believe that college is over! It seems just like yesterday that I was moving into DT my freshman year. Well, technically we just walked and got to enjoy graduation in all of it's glory, but we will be done very soon. I'm finishing up my classes online while staying at home and taking care of Hunter and Nathan is going to Spring term and then will finish up his last classes either online or during Summer term. We're most likely moving after Spring term is over though... Nathan's been offered a job in Kansas City, Kansas; and I think we're going to take it. It's a great opportunity working for a high end landscaping company called Highland Outdoors. He'll be one of the managers in charge of running their maintenance program and then also doing design/construction work as well. I'm so proud of him! We're really excited to be moving on to this new phase of our lives, leaving school for the real world...and yet it's a little scary as well. BYU's been a great place to attend school and live, but moving on feels like leaping out into the unknown. We're really going to miss everyone and everything here, but we're still excited to discover a new place, with new people and opportunities. Wish us luck!

Easter Duck

2009-05-31T15:27:00.004-06:00

I just have to add this picture in... the Friday before Easter I'm sitting at work when all of a sudden my sister-in-law Anna walks in holding this Easter basket. She say's it's a special delivery from Nathan. Inside the basket was a brown paper bag, and before I know it I start hearing a little peeping noise...low and behold...Nathan bought me a little duckling for Easter! It was hilarious and awfully cute. So I took it home and we let it swim in our tub. I think it really enjoyed the warm water... We only kept it for a few hours before taking it back to the store (after all, we couldn't very well keep it in our apartment and it wasn't quite old enough to eat bread yet) but it was so much fun to play with. We took him over to our grandma's house and it thought that she was his mom. He followed her around the house...waddling around her feet. So cute!

Pregnancy

2009-05-31T15:03:00.003-06:00

I consider myself very lucky to have had such a good pregnancy. I'm not saying that I didn't enjoy my fair share of sleepless nights, sore backaches, heartburn and the ever great joy of never fitting into any clothing well...but overall I did not have to deal with any serious problems that so many others I know have had to go through.
From the very beginning Hunter was an extremely active child. I don't think I ever went to a doctor's appointment where at least one nurse or doctor didn't mention something about how much he moved...all the way up to the very last nurse who put the monitors on me and the baby in the hospital right before my delivery. Hunter was also notorious for getting the hiccups at least once a night before I went to bed...and now that he's been born that tradition is still being kept...only now it's about twice a day and accompanied by him spitting up... oh it was so much cuter when he was in my stomach... :)
When I was 39 weeks pregnant my doctor (Elizabeth Dayton, down in Payson, UT...if any of you are looking for a great doctor I highly recommend her) gave us the option to be induced. I had been dilated and effaced for a few weeks and Hunter was sitting quite low... so after thinking about it for a few days we decided to jump on the opportunity. We're a little sad that we didn't get the surprise wake up and race to the hospital excitement... although it was sure nice to have everything planned out and to be able to give our families plenty of notice. So I was induced May 15th, Friday morning...

I didn't take very many pictures during pregnancy, which I'm starting to regret, although I do not miss lugging a bowling ball sized stomach around anymore...
Here's me right around Christmas about 20 wks...

And this one is at the end of April...

Updating (Finally)

2009-05-31T14:52:00.002-06:00

You know it's bad when you're reading your friend's blog and the friends list on the side says Nathan and Sharlynn's Blog...last updated 5 months ago... Oh dear... It's not that I haven't been on our blog site for five months; I admit, I've been on it a lot, especially during down times at work, however I generally just used it to connect me to others' blogs so that I could read what all of you were up to, instead of writing about ourselves... Well, seeing as my last posting was in December I guess that it's time I catch you all up on our lives... So I will try my best in the next few posts to give you the highlights...

Christmas Traditions

2008-12-14T23:53:00.004-07:00

Well in Nathan's Sunday school class we talked about Christmas Traditions...
What are some of your family traditions for the Christmas season? We're always interested in finding new, fun things to do around Christmas and things that we can incorporate into our family... I'll start, on Christmas Eve we do a HUGE breakfast dinner, *Nathan and I are planning on making aebleskiver pancakes for this year's breakfast, if you haven't tried them let me know and I'll post the recipe. They are amazing.* Nathan's family normally helps out with the local live nativity scene, we passed one near Center Street in Provo, UT this year and they had a real Camel! Let's see, my family often does a horse drawn sleigh ride up in Midway, UT every year, we won't be doing it this year with the family, but would love to do with some people if you're interested... It is truly the cowboy country Christmas... Well, I hope to hear some of the ideas and traditions you have and hopefully we can all share in the Christmas spirit! Merry Christmas!

Holdman's Christmas

2008-12-14T23:26:00.003-07:00

Well if you live in Utah County this is a MUST SEE for the Christmas season. Check out their website and get the map. They have over a million Christmas lights up and as you drive by tune your radio to 99.9fm and enjoy the show. We went and saw it tonight and it was spectacular, we waited about 20 minutes to see it, but it was worth every minute! Take the family and enjoy the Christmas Season.

www.holdman.com/christmas

Moving to Driggs

2008-04-18T15:44:00.007-06:00

Nathan and I are moving to Driggs, ID for the Summer. He got a job working on a private hunting ranch. He'll be landscaping their ranch, riding ATV's and fishing on the Teton River. I'm still not sure what I'll do for work, but mostly we're just excited to explore the outdoors. We've got plans to go camping, backpacking, visit Jackson Hole, Yellowstone, and Bear World!

My Favorite Spot...

2008-04-28T13:45:00.003-06:00

This is my favorite spot in our new house. We don't have a centralized heating system, so we use the little built in space heaters in our walls. I was freezing after unpacking on Saturday and so I cuddled down next to it with a good book (by the way, Twilight really is as good as people make it out to be!)

The Spud Drive-In Theatre

2008-04-28T13:50:00.002-06:00

Nathan took me out on a date to the the Spud Drive-In on Saturday. We had so much fun! It's the only movie theater within 45 miles of town. They have a small town cafe/diner inside where you can order your food and then take it to your car to eat while you watch the movie. We felt like we were in the Pixar movie Cars! It definitely was a blast!

Sweet Ride

2008-05-04T21:11:00.003-06:00

The ranch Nathan works at is 160 acres so he rides an ATV to get around. Doesn't he look good as a cowboy!

Working the Ranch

2008-05-04T21:21:00.001-06:00

Here's Nathan working hard and fixing the fence.

MD Nursery and Landscaping

2008-05-31T08:53:00.005-06:00

This is where I work, MD Nursery and Landscaping in Driggs, ID. They have a full size nursery complete with greenhouses, trees and shrubs, a landscaping department, a floral department, books, antiques/kitchenware/gifts, and an internet cafe. Also, I'm working with a coworker right now on starting up their bridal registry, it's a lot of fun. I'm learning lots about taking care of plants and landscaping which is great because now I'll be able to understand more of what Nathan does in school and work. It gives me a new appreciation for what he does because everyday I learn how much I really don't know about all of this stuff. Good thing he'll be there to help us make our yard beautiful (as soon as we get a yard of our own!)