Some Pics Finally...

I know... I know... I know... I'm not the greates at updating this blog am I? So tell me something that I didn't know! That my kid's beautiful? Well, duh! Knew that one! And here's some proof for ya... finally!

Aaaaaannnnnnddddd...

HE's hhheeeeeeeeerrrrrrrreeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FINALLY!!!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

And HE's a HE!! It's a BOY! A beautiful baby BOY!!

The lil' 7lb.12oz. Dude graced Zippy and I at 4:13am Thursday, Aug. 9th, after 16 hours of labor. After contracting for what seemed like forever, and not making any progress, Zippy finally succumbed to the call of the epidural (spelled right?). Then it was 5 more hours of peaceful contractions (she actually slept diring them!!) before 2 more hours of pushing were required to get our beautiful baby boy out! But he still didn't want to come out completely on his own, so foreceps and an episiotomy (darn medical words...) were needed to get him out.

Finally, he did come out and our nurse, Stephanie, was kind enough to let me announce, "BOY! It's a boy! He's a boy! [Zippy]... we have a SON!" To which Zippy replied, in a very weary voice, "A boy!" And I broke down and cried next to her head. But who could blame me?! After nine loooong months, we finally met Peanut!

While this blog certainly doesn't do the whole situation any justice what-so-ever, I'll post pics (I really will this time!) when I get home to let you see our amazing little son for yourself.

More later...

Into Next Week...

Aaaaaaannnnnddddd...





Nuthin'. Yet. A week and one day later... no change. Still.




But Zippy and I go in to the hospital tonight at 10p to start the induction process and get lil' Peanut out sometime tomorrow! Please pray hard that all goes well and Peanut comes out safe and healthy and that Zippy pulls through strong.




Stay tuned...

Today's The NEXT Day...

Aaaaaaaannnnndddd... nothing. Still. Dang.

We got a "Non-Stress" test done, which measures the fetal heartbeat, uteran contractions and amneotic (did I spell that right?) fluid levels. The fluid was just under the normal level but everything else was "...perfect!", according to the nurse.

So, we've got an appointment Friday morning for the same test to see how the fluid levels are doing and to see if we need to induce or not. Of course, it's all dependent on Zippy going into labor!

Stay tuned... and keep praying!

Today's THE Day!

Aaaaaaannnnddddd... (cue drumroll please!)















Nothin'... yet. Keep prayin'...

The Waiting Game...

...at least it hasn't been a whole stellar cycle since I posted last! And what the hell's a stellar cycle anyway? *pfssh* ...nerd...

7+ weeks to go and counting! I'm sure Zippy will whole heartedly agree with me on this, but it seems like this pregnancy has gone on forever! Zippy's "turkey timer" has popped out already so now we keep thinkin' "Hurry up Peanut!"

We've started taking baby classes at the hospital to give us a better idea of what to expect in the coming weeks. Not that we don't already have an idea, but this has videos so that we can see as well as hear the upcoming "poppage"! (Of course, we missed the last class due to an RSL home game, an international friendly against China's national team, in which they actually won 1-0! Too bad all the wins that RSL has, all 2 of 'em, don't count towards regular season standings...) And we're taking a breast feeding class as well, which should be interesting, to say the least. I heard that it hurts the new mommy like crazy the first few times of feeding. So, my question is, how do they simulate that in class?! Hmm... I'll let you know.

Speakin' of counting down... 24 days left until Transformers (live action) comes out! I'm even getting an Optimus Prime Voice Changing Helmet for the line party at the theater! And no, I'm not obsessed. I'm dedicated! There is a difference!

More to come...

A Shoppin' We Will Go...

Of course, it's allllllll for Peanut! But you know what? It was still fun!

Thanks to the generosity of Gramy-Jo and Dadu, Saturday was Peanut shoppin'! We were able to get the stroller/carseat combo thingy-a-ma-bob-doo-hicky-what-cha-ma-call-it with the extra base for my news truck. (Wouldn't that be funny? Breakin' news and I'm rollin' to it with Peanut chillin' in the back! Hmm... maybe I could get the kid to hold the mic during the interviews?) We also gots a travel play-pen fir all sort of doo-dads attached to it for the kids entertainment. And finally a Daddy diaper bag for your truely. Well yeah, I gots to be fly when I'm out pimpin' my kid around town! Sorry, I won't do that again... forgot I'm white! All that was a Baby's-r-Us before it was to Old Navy for a ton of baby clothes for the new squirt. And I gots to say, this kid is gonna be stylin' when it's out and about!

Some friends of ours had their baby Friday morning and were in church on Sunday with the newest addition! We met up with them later on Sunday were we gots to hold the tiny kiddo, and I mean tiny! She was 7 lbs. + but was so small and wrinkly and cute! The kid was nice and comfy in Zippy's arms where it could rest on her belly (I'm sure Peanut was wondering what was goin' on out there!) and use her fun pillows as... well... pillows! Zippy looked very natural and comfortable holding the little person. I guess I did to as Zippy was snapping a bunch of pics of me with the squirt. It really was amazing to hold that baby.

And just think, in 9 weeks I'll be holding my child in my arms for the first time...

I Really Be Slackin'...

And then some! Abouts a month since I posted last?! Wow... I'm at a loss as for why it's been so long so I won't even try to defend myself!





'K... Buh-bye now!






























































Oh fer cryin' out loud! I'm kiddin'! That's what I do! Anyhoo... I do have some catchin' up to do don't I?! Well, lets see if I can even remember what's happened in the past month... Hmm...

Update on my pops? Of course. It's day to day with him - hell, it's hour to hour sometimes. Last I spoke to him he sounded great, like his ol' normal self. He said that he didn't have any stomach gurgles (I guess the chemo does that to him...) and was able to keep food down. Which is always a good thing. Mom's told me what it is that Dad has, but for bootin' up cold, I can't remember it. It does have the words "Acute" and "Leukemia" in it but that's all I can crank out of my head right now. Just keep prayin' for him.

Mom's holdin' up as well as can be expected in this situation. Granted, she went through it back in '94 but she had Drew and I there to help out. Drew is down the road a bit but it's harder, I imagine, now for her. She's still stayin' strong though and that's one of the things I've admired about her. Prayers for her too. At least she's not workin' down at the center anymore. That's one less stress that she has to worry about.

Zippy is ready for this pregnancy to be over with! She loves the feeling of Peanut moving around in her most of the time, except when it gets up into her ribs and bangs around on 'em like a xylophone! She has the usual aches and pains that comes with the pregnancy but is musclin' through. She's less than 10 weeks out now and I'm kinda surprised that she doesn't have it down to the day yet! Now that I say that and as soon as she reads this...

Me? I'm keeping busy at work for sure. I was on the road for a week with our main weather guy doing a fun "Look what's around Utah..." type of deal for the station. Now the Jazz are in the playoffs (but not for much longer me thinks...) and we're doing just about every angle on that. In fact, I'm working for the San Antonio CBS affiliate tonight and Monday night regarding this silly playoff... thing. Whatever.

We have a new living room now too. (Too? Did we get something else new that I wasn't aware of? Hmm... I need to check our accounts and see how much Zippy really spent at Ikea... Wow. That was a tangent!) We tore out that nasty carpet (like you know what it looked like...) and put in wood laminate with the help of her brother. Painted the walls, new trim around everything, painted the front door and wired up the place for a central light fixture. All in 4 days. Whew! We were beat to say the least after that weekend. But it's worth it. Especially watching Roxy tear into the room and slide all over the place trying to stop or turn or whatever! Makes for some great laughs! I'll have to tape one of her episodes and post it on here to show the world... or those few who read this.

Speaking of posting video here, I might be posting some pics in the previous posts to add to this blog. Right now, I just don't think it's very... eye catching. Plus, it'll make for more interesting reads, I hope!

A Hero in My Eyes...

My Dad is my hero. He's also been one of my best friends as long as I can remember. I've looked up to him and admired him for so many reasons: his love of his family, life and his God, his work ethic, his sense of humor, etc.

And now there's the chance of losing him again. An excerpt from an email I just got from my mom...

"Way-back-when (childhood), something (toxins?) affected Tom's bone marrow. In '94, his marrow failed, began producing leukemic cells; they hit it with chemo, and that further assaulted his marrow, but 'cured' that leukemia. Now his marrow is failing again (Myelodsyplastic Syndrome); could be the original toxin contamination, or the chemo which saved his life in '94; or both. This failure will lead to Acute Myelogenous Leukemia again for Tom; it's not there yet, but it's getting close, and getting close fast. Hence, they will do a transplant as soon as they can get him into remission.

The doctors HOPE the transplant will cure the original bone-marrow failure. Pray for his strength and God's mercy: no mouth sores, no infections, no fevers, no nausea (he had no sores, no nausea in '94; he DID develop pneumonia and scared the heck out of everyone with that); pray for a quick remission, for a strong donor to be found; for financial peace-of-mind, for the job to be as supportive as they were before."

With the impending birth of our first child (which we don't know the sex yet...) we've settled on some gender specific names. I'm praying that, if it is a boy, then the name will be in living honor of my dad and not in an honoring rememberance of him. I pray that my Dad will live to see his grandchild.

God this hurts... again.

I Be Slackin'...

Yup. Slackin'. Why does it feel soooo good to do nuttin'?! 'Cause it don't feel like anything! Yeah... I'm not an english major. Can you tell?!

Anyhoo... not really anything big happenin' right now in the Stephen - SLC household.

First, Zippy is still achin' (literally) for soccer. She tried kickin' a ball around with her girls team and now some other joint(s) in her body is all wacky-like. My poor Zippy. If it's not one thing, it's another. But I don't think she'd trade being pregnant for anything else in the world. Well... perhaps having the baby in her arms instead of in her. Perhaps.

Speaking of which... Peanut is growin' like a weed! 26 weeks now and still kickin' hard! Every now and then, I'll put my head on Zippy's tummy to listen to our kiddo and can swear that I can hear it's heartbeat! I think. It's kinda hard to tell, what with my heartbeat in my ears and Zippy's heartbeat through her stomach aaaand all the gurgling that's going on in there! But, most of the time, I end up getting a good drubbin' from it kickin', punchin' and who knows what else! Sometimes I can see it thumpin' away in her! What fun!

Me? Well, I'm still workin' hard. At least it certainly feels like it! Cheney is coming to BYU tomorrow and I just found out I'm runnin' the sat truck for the event. Ohhh goody! Then next week I'm on the road all week with our main weather guy in the sat truck too. Plus flyin' in the heli a bunch lately and havin' my section on the assignment board crammed full has kept me running enough!

Soooo... what's new with you?!

Travelin' in Style...

Two weeks, me thinks, since the last post! *whew!* I didn't realize that this would be this demanding... not that 15 or 20 minutes is sooo demanding to type out some thoughts!

Anyhoo... First off, Zippy is doing great. She is now 23 weeks preggers and keeps gettin' bigger and more beautiful with each passing week! Peanut is abouts 11 inches long and around 1 pound, and kickin' like the soccer player it's gonna be! In fact, Zippy told me that she's now able to see it kickin'! I keep teasing her that we're gonna have to watch the "Alien" movies now!

As for the car situation? Well... we bought one! A 2002 Honda CR-V from a local dealership for a great deal! "But what about the other CR-V?" you might ask? We never did take it in for the engine compression test, instead Zippy shopped around and found ours for essentially the same price and with no strings attached! The mechanics practically pushed this newer one on me saying I'd be a fool for not getting it! All in all, we feel much safer and much happier with this new car and feel that all 4 of us, including Peanut and Roxy, are gonna be just fine now! And Geo-rge? He's been sold to a coworker of mine (HAHAHA! "Sucke... ehhh... a fine choice sir!") for his soon-to-be 16 yr. old daughter. Schweeeeeeeet.

And just the other day we went to REI and bought Peanut a Kelty Baby Carrier for another killer deal! It's normally $190, but I had my $90 dividend aaaaannnd members also got an extra 20% off, when using their dividend, on a regular priced item! For a grand total of $72!!!!

I tell ya... between my beautiful wife, the schweet new car, the jogging stroller gift and now the baby carrier, Peanut is -4 (that's negative four) months old and already lookin' pimp while on the move!

Think time...

God, my head hurts. You know thinking always does that to me...

We met up with the owner/seller of the CR-V yesterday and had an interesting chat regarding the car... SUV... uh... vehicle. Apparently, it's a salvage vehicle. Huh... talk about a cringing, worried feeling all of a sudden. 'But, what does that mean?' I asked myself, not enitrely sure but having a pretty good idea.

According to the owner, and the VIN check we did (thanks Dad!), the car was in an auto-ped accident in '04 (woah...) and was in an accident before that when it was 700-ish miles old where the front end got banged up. Sheesh, talk about bad karma. Not that I believe in that schtuff but still... Anyways, the current owner bought the car, in that condition and, essentially, flipped it. Like a house, she fixed everything that was damaged. But, unlike a house, she kept it all these years and drove it around herself.

Let's see what the mechanics say about that.

Unfortunately, our trusty grease monkeys could only crawl over the car for 15 minutes and couldn't give us a complete check. But what they could see they liked... except for the air compressor for the air conditioner. $600 - $1000 for the entire system. Oh yeah, the tires were gonna need replacin' by winter time. Ouch, but what else? Again, in the time they had, everything looked great. Engine was clean and in good shape, brakes were practically brand new, oil pan was dry along with the transmission case and everything that the owner said she fixed looked just fine. So, the initial check went, pretty much, fine. But Wednesday is the engine compression test, the results of which will pretty much sell Zippy and I on the car... or not.

A small voice in my head is telling me that everything is going to be OK. I mean, we're already pre-approved for the loan needed to pay for the car. The E.C. test is going to be in the green. But one can't help those damn butterflies to start flittin' around in the stomach when it comes to a purchase such as this!

Further updates as events warrant. God... my head's still hurtin'. But ain't it fun?!

Crunch time...

Whoever said that "Money doesn't grow on trees..." needs to be bitch slapped. Hard. And then thrown into a room with geneticists (sp?) to figure out how to make trees do just that!

Wwwwhhyyyyyy?

Well... Zippy and I are really thinking hard about getting a new car! Again, why? Well, she'd like to have a bit more room than our Geo Prizm can give us right now. There's the issue of the carseat in the backseat, but that's where Roxy, our dog, usually is. I can just see the kid in the carseat crying its head offf 'cause Roxy's trying to stick her head out the window and stepping all over Peanut... or the tail wagging and smacking the poor tot right in the melon. Hmm... if we keep the Geo then Roxy's in the trunk!

And where to put the stroller? Sure we've got the trunk, but if we go errand shopping?! Baby in carseat in backseat with Roxy... and the tail. Stroller in the trunk with the goods, food or otherwise. Packed. Or what if we have some people with us in the car? Peanut and guests in the back seat with stroller in trunk. Again, packed. Keep in mind, this is all in a Geo Prizm right now, which are not known for their space. And what about car trips? Things are gonna get crowded quickly. Don't get me wrong, it's a great car: very reliable, great gas mileage, very east to maintain.

But there's also the safety issue. Eventually, Geo-rge (get it?) is gonna need some work. The driver side lock doesn't unlock with the key from the outside. The CV joints are fading quickly along with the struts. And, cosmetically, the ceiling "carpet", I guess you call it, is drooping in places. *sigh* The cost of all this would be a couple grand, which we could pay for and get Geo-rge all safe like.

Ooooorrrrr... we could use that money for a down payment on a new, used car. She's hooked on the Honda CR-V and I'm startin' to like those as well. They've got a bigger backseat, a bit more trunk room (vertically at least), airbags, power locks and windows, blah, blah, blah. They're Honda made, which is very reliable and safe. They too get great gas mileage. It's a bit taller, making getting in and out easier especially with an infant.

So, that's the car issue. There's also the house... still.

We wanna get working in the backyard this summer. Actually, it'd be me doing the work with the Mrs. Preggers playing the supervisor role. We would like to get the sprinkler system installed and the grass seeded soon. We'd like to build a small deck off the back room with the composite schtuff. And there's the ordeal of putting a stand-up shower into the bathroom downstairs. Also, before Peanut pops out, we should really think about putting in new, softer carpet in the living room. *sigh*

Oh yeah... did I mention that we OWE on our federal taxes this year?!?!?!

...crap...

Professional props...

"What do you wanna be when you're all growed up?" Well, I'm a TV news photographer and I love it. It's not so much my job, as it is my career. And I couldn't see myself doing anything else.

I was just talking with a reporter today while driving back from a story about our profession. How we're "...damned if we do, damned if we don't." People want to see the news, they want to know what's going on in their neighborhood. Good or bad. Who doesn't? When it's good, oh how the public loves us. When it's bad, then we get everything from "Thanks!" to "What the hell?!" *sigh* Whatever. We do it because we love to tell the story. The reporters tell it with words. I, and my fellow photogs, tell it with video and sound. And when those elements all come together... wow.

Case in point: Cody's Rescue happened in Denver, CO. and was told entirely by the photog, Everett McEwan of KGWN. And he does a great job too!

But a better example, Brush with History, from WTHR's Steve Rhodes, is one that made me stop and watch it several times. I see work like this and I get so jazzed up and so pumped to go out and tell the story to the best that I can each and every time. Professionally, this is what I live for!

Our first glance...

Monday was a huge day for Zippy and I... and Peanut for that matter. That morning, all three of us finally met: face to face to ultrasound face! Wow! To say the least...

The first time we heard the heartbeat, I lept up out of the chair and my jaw hit the floor. There was something in that tummy! Then, I felt little Peanut kick and was even more amazed. But that ultrasound was perhaps the best part for us. It's one thing to hear it, another to feel it, but to actually see it... I haven't stopped smiling since.

There was one point during the ultrasound that I thought Peanut was looking right at me! My heart stopped and a few tears welled up. If I'm like that at the ultrasound, then I'm gonna be an emotional nutcase at the birth! I'll be there to support Zippy sure, but I might need someone there to hold me up! While that was amazing, we were both so fascinated when we could see the little feet and hands flailing around! We got one shot of the hand, as you can see, that seemed to be saying: "Hi Mommy and Daddy!" It's now Zippy's desktop and mine at home! And for me, to take off my Transformers desktop is HUGE!

"Ohhhh... how cute! Is it a boy or a girl?" Umm... it's a baby... Stephen! Yup. That's right. We didn't find out. As hard as it's gonna be, and Zippy is already struggling with it, we wanna be surprised when it pops out! "Are you nuts?!" According to my mother, yes. But how much fun would it be to run out, after the birth of course, to the waiting room and yell out, "It's a BOY!" or "It's a GIRL!" That's gonna be awesome!

That's not gas bubblin' around in there! It's a beautiful baby... something!

What the...?!

I've read plenty of blogs before and never considered starting one up myself... until now. I'm not sure where to begin even, but the beginning seems to be as good a place as any right?! Good Lord... how many times has that cliche line been used?! *sigh* And here I thought I was cool...

Anyways, on to the post.

Zippy and I have been married just over 2 years. We met playing co-ed indoor soccer together and still play to this day. We got engaged a little over a year after we met, while she was in CA for college, and got married 10 short months later! 10 months after that, we bought our first house! Then, maybe a week later, she got our Roxy dog! After all that, what was left? Oh, yeah... kids! And now, that's going to be a reality at the end of July! Whew... I need to sit down.

So, this blog, hopefully, will be an online journal for me about our family and the exciting adventure awaiting us. I'm sure other people will stumble on to this blog, and you're certainly welcome read along, but it's mainly for the family who aren't next door. There's some exciting times ahead and I thought that this would be a great way for everyone to keep up with the SLC Stephen's: Me, Zippy and coming soon... Peanut!

Enjoy!