The Jensen Family

Zions

K...so I am a major slacker on the blog thing! But better late than never I guess. We went to Zion Ponderosa and Zions National Park for my birthday in April. We got to visit Heidi and Bryce and had loads of fun. Heidi, being the best sister ever got me a massage for my birthday, so we spent an afternoon getting pampered. It was AWESOME!! Spencer could not get enough of the horses and puppies, the zipline, the ATVs...everything. He was in heaven. Now we just have to go back when it is a bit warmer so he can swim in their sweet pool. Spencer was my little champion and went down the zipline all by himself. We were so proud of him. He was the youngest kid to go on it yet this year....and he would have gone a million times if we let him! Thank you Heidi and Bryce for a GREAT birthday weekend.

Spence riding a horse with a "real" cowboy...he's got chaps and everything

Riding with daddy

Heidi and me (with Zander) on our hike to Weeping Rock

Daddy and Spence hiking down the trail

Heidi in front of Weeping rock

Our fam in front of weeping rock

Spencer on the zip line

Getting all geared up

All of us had a turn on the zip line...don't we look great??

Bryce took Jake on an ATV ride. This is a cool tree that was burned in a fire.

Happy Easter

Our little Zander had his 2 week appointment today. We are so very proud of him. He is now 6 lbs and has grown about 1/2 inch. We are so jaded because he feels so huge...sad when 6 lbs feels huge. But he is definitely growing, which is great!!

Spencer got a T-Ball set in his Easter Basket from Nana....Do you think he is excited?

Going on a walk to the Country Club

Great Grandma Nancy got to meet Zander for the first time

Our sweet little Zander

Our boys...Spencer's little devious face

Family Picture

Jake and his boys.....Jake and Spencer are sportin' matching fohawks

Bath Time

Spencer and Zander took their 1st bath together tonight!! Spencer was such a helper. They are both little fishies...

Our New Addition

Jacob Alexander "Zander" Jensen

Sorry it has taken so long to get this post up, for those who have been waiting patiently. I have been having technical difficulties with the laptop!! So after a long, very hard pregnancy we are so happy to announce the arrival of our newest little family member. Jacob Alexander "Zander" Jensen was born at 8:54 pm on Monday March 30, 2009. He was just a peanut. He weighed 5 lbs 5 oz and was 18 1/2 inches long. He was such a trooper, and it went so smooth. I have had complications with my amniotic fluid levels for quite a few weeks and we had been monitoring him pretty closely. My fluid levels were on the very low level of normal and we had to go in at least once a week for ultrasounds. Last week it dropped below normal and we decided to wait the weekend to see if I would start labor by myself...but no luck. When we had our ultrasound on Monday morning we saw that his weight was below the 10th percentile and I had barely any fluid. So they decided to induce me. They started the induction at 1:30 pm, I started into labor a few hours after that. I got the epidural at about 6:30 pm and was dilated to about 4 cm. So my mom and sisters left with Spencer and went home. We kinda thought we had a while and my mom was going to be back for the birth. But...it was not so! By 8:00 pm we were ready. He did so great! Especially considering he had a placenta that was totally pooping out. So there is the very long story of how he came to this world. I have named my wonderful cousin Katie Blake my little good luck charm. She was with me when I went into labor with Spencer. And I didn't end up needing Pitocin because I responded to Cervadil by starting labor on my own. I was induced the same way this time, and literally started having contractions the minute Katie got there.

Thank you...thank you Jen Polson for being there with me. And of course my wonderful husband...who was so incredibly supportive all the way through. Jake has been such an amazing support during this whole process. I could never have gotten through it without him.

Thanks Heidi for driving all the way down from Zions and making it just in time to see baby Zander right after he was born!! And for staying with me that night until 3 am. You're the BEST!

Our Newest Little Ski Bunny

Spencer learned to ski this year, and absolutely had a blast. I never new it would be such a success. He has been with his grandpa Mark every time. He skis between his legs and is still working on just getting confident on the hill (which is obviously not going to be a problem). While we were up in Snowbird Spence woke up every morning and asked for grandpa, and wanted to put on his "big shoes" and "go keeing" as he so eloquently put it. His grandpa is his new favorite ski partner.

I am so EXCITED to get out on the hill!!!

Grandpa is teaching Spencer how to balance on skis. He told him to hold out his arms like an airplane

Spence couldn't figure out the lift at first. But he loved to laugh at the people falling on the hill. He would say, "Bawmpa, blue down!" when he saw someone in a blue coat fall, and then he would laugh hysterically. He got some great practice at his colors.

They went out on a really snowy day. We thought Spence would be intimidated by the snow, or get super cold. He loved the snow. He was bundled up like a little snow bunny and he loved that the snow covered his skis. What a trooper!!

Grandpa is having the time of his life

All tuckered out after a long day of skiing

Snowbird 2008

This year marked 20 years of the Reichman family Christmas Snowbird tradition (WOW...what a mouth full). It was a great Christmas vacation. We were able to see a lot of our extended family, including our cousins from Illinois who actually drove here this year. We played a lot, swam, skied, and most importantly lounged in our PJ's (except for Spencer who has decided that being naked is his new full time attire) and spent much needed quality time with the fam!!

Jake and Spencer enjoying the heated pooling in a huge snow storm

Seriously Spence....what the???

Mom and Spence

Yes.....that is my grandpa in a bunny suit! (There is actually quite a funny story that goes along with the outfit)

Spencer, Stella, Allie, and I tried to make a snowman out on the patio

Sadly, the snow was really hard to pack. So, it turned into a very cute snow blob!!

Warming up by the heater (Stella, Spencer, and Allie)

A Very Merry Christmas

All decked out in his new gear from "gwampa mawk" (translation: grandpa Mark)

Spencer's new Harley from grandpa....definitely the the biggest hit this Christmas.

Our little Batman....looking out over Gotham City

Our family up and dad's house on Christmas Eve
(L to R: Heather, Bryce, Heidi, Jake, Erika, Mark, Dawndi, Karly
In front: Megan and Spencer)

Spencer discovered a real love for ripping the wrapping paper off presents. He didn't even care what was in them!!

Zoe, as usual, enjoyed unwrapping her present!

Grandma Cathy brought back the 80's (and we all really enjoyed it), by giving Spence the Teddy Ruxpin

Jake's Christmas wish this year was a real, working wood burning fireplace. So...he got his wish. We hired a chimney sweep to come over and clean out the chimney, and discovered that it probably had not been used for about 45 years. We had to have the cap replaced on top of the chimney and a damper installed, so the fireplace can be closed off when it is not being used. It ended up being a lot larger project than we imagined, but it has payed off. We have used the fireplace quite a bit this winter, and it makes our little home pretty cozy. It looked really cute with all the Christmas decorations!!

Jensen Family Christmas Party

Jake's brother Jared with Ethan and Braden (in their new superhero jammies from grandma and grandpa). Spence got batman pj's. I don't know if you can tell in the background, but he is wearing them under his other pj's (Lightning McQueen) that he got form aunt Andrea. He was so excited about both that he put them both on!!

Zach and Shane with his new game he got in the white elephant. I don't know if you can see what it is...but for all of you who remember the game Girl Talk, you know he is in for hours of fun!!

Spence with grandpa Jensen

Every year on Christmas eve the whole Jensen family gets together to celebrate. Food, games, white elephant exchange, kids running wild. This year we had the party at our tiny little house and it was SO much fun. I think it was a huge success. I just hope everyone else felt the same. We had a big turkey dinner potluck. I cooked the turkey, and I was very proud of my cooking skills I must say. We soaked the turkey in brine over night, and it turned out soooo tasty!! If anyone is ever in need of great tips on cooking a thanksgiving meal www.foodnetwork.com is the place to go. It was great!! I was very amazed that we were able to fit about 30 people in our house successfully, and it didn't even seem too cramped. Jake decorated the outside of our house with icicle lights, and it was so cute. It looked just like a little gingerbread house. All of the kids got new jammies for Christmas. And we were blessed to have wonderful musical performances from Jake and our niece, Brittany (she composed and performed an amazing piano piece....so talented).