Christmas Morning 2009

Hello friends. And Merry Christmas!! We had a great day today and hope all of you did too. I will give you a quick recap of how our morning went, just in case you care. If you don't, you are welcome to go elsewhere...rude.

Anywho, this morning began at 7:30 a.m., which is not all that early, but we didn't go to bed until 2 this morning, so it was indeed very hard to get up. Katelyn wanted to see what Santa brought her and tried to run down the stairs, but I reminded her that we needed to wait for everyone to gather for our traditional family prayer. My dad offered it and it was really nice. Well, up until Katelyn said "Hurry up, Papa" aloud. That was awkward. Once the prayer was over I sent Jason down the stairs first to capture the moment. It was excellent.

This was her reaction...



to seeing this...



She has been eying that beauty all year. Every time we went to Target she would have to spend 20 minutes playing with it. Santa was nice enough to include twin babies to care for. She literally screamed on her way down the stairs. She was so excited. It was not only insanely cute, but kind of thrilling for Jason and I. She then perused her stocking.



After some convincing she tore herself away from the nursery and proceeded to open the rest of her presents. In the interest of time, I will just add the picture of everything she got.



She made out like a bandit. That doesn't include all the stuff she got on Christmas eve from the cousins and grandparents. She is spoiled. I fear she didn't really get the real meaning of the holiday, but I did try. She does have quite the soft spot for baby Jesus, so maybe she is getting some of it.

Santa didn't forget me. He filled my stocking with all sorts of goodies and treats. He also brought me a really cool Nintendo DSi. It has a lot of cool features that I am loving. Sometimes I am a jerk to Santa, but he is so good to me.

We hope all of you had a great day and that you were able to take some time and think about the Savior and what He has done for us. I know for a lot of us 2009 wasn't the greatest year, but truthfulness of the Gospel helps me to keep the right perspective. We love all of you and wish you the very merriest Christmas.

Baby Update

So I had 2 doctor appointments yesterday. At my regular check up the doctor told me my C-section date. January 12th. I said to myself "yeah, no. Thats not going to work for me. That's the first day of the winter semester for Jason". I then explained that to the good doc. He told me there is a chance the hospital would reschedule, but he made it sound like they are less than bendable. I whined to my mom for awhile but then decided maybe it's not that big a deal. Besides, I watch "Baby Story"- aren't scheduled c-sections always in the morning? Jason's class isn't til late afternoon, if he even decides to go. We can make it work, I tell myself.

Off to appointment #2. My final ultrasound. Baby looks good. They measured her and her head is apparently gigantic. So was Katelyn's. "Beautiful lips", they say. So were Katelyn's. Then the doctor tells me she is measuring pretty big. They are estimating her at 5 lbs 9 oz currently. They tell me that she may be well over 8 lbs. Well, I was told Katelyn was ginormous and was probably going to be over 9 lbs. She didn't even break 8, so I don't really trust ultrasound estimations.

When I got home, there was a letter for me. It was from the scheduler for my doctor and the hospital. There was my surgery date. January 12th. Then I looked at the time. 5:30 p.m. Arrive at 3:30 p.m. Jason's class is at 2:45 p.m. My first thought was that it was apparently my turned to be hated by the universe. Then I thought "who the crap has a c-section at 5:30 at night? Don't they know I can't eat or drink for 8 hours prior?". I was real mad. After Jason got home we talked it over. He really doesn't think it will do any good to try and reschedule it. He is just going to miss the first night of school. He actually thinks it's kind of funny. I missed the humor in the situation, but I am trying to find it. The only thing I am truly upset about is the evening thing. It makes no sense.

That's all. I feel a little better now.

Trick or Treat

Okay, so I am irritated. I have several gripes. I will get to them, but first I just have to say that I can't believe it's November! My favorite month! Thanksgiving is my very favorite day of the year. I am excited. Anywho, I had a Halloween party last week for Katelyn's cousins and friends. It was so cute. Seriously. We had pizza, played musical pumpkins (they had NO idea what they were doing) , and had a costume parade at the park by our house. It was so fun. I would post pictures here, but I don't have any. That would be gripe #1. I don't know what the deal was, but when I replaced the batteries, it just stopped working. Jason was gone so I couldn't just make him figure it out. Unfortunately, he was dressed up then too, so I don't have any pictures of his costume. It was killer. He was originally going to be Jon Gosselin, but at the last minute decided to go with Matt Foley. Priceless, I assure you.

After the party was over Jason fixed the camera and for that I was grateful because we still had the Trunk or Treat to document. Gripe #2 here. When was it decided that it's okay for teenagers with no costumes and giant attitudes to trick or treat?! I mean, come on. I quit trick or treating when I was like 11. These fools crash the church parking lot (which is fine, visitors are welcome), trample the little kids, shove a bag in your face and act like it's their right. First of all, PUT A FREAKING COSTUME ON. Secondly, use some stinking manners! What ever happened to saying "Trick or Treat" and "Thank you"? It pretty much ruined my night. Katelyn couldn't wait to leave. Besides all that, we had fun. Here are some pics.



I mean, besides the smirk on her face, have you seen a cuter Tinkerbell? Didn't think so.



Here are Katelyn, Cora and Andrew as Tinkerbell, Rosetta, and Scary Skeleton Guy.


This is Cullen and Ireland, Shannon's twins. You can't tell really well in this picture, but they hat the best costumes. He is a magician and she is a buuny in a hat. They were adorable. Ireland really hated that hat and would not stay in it.This is all of them. No one was really looking, but aren't they cute? I love that you really have no idea if Andrew is even looking or happy or sad or what. Masks are rad like that.


Now, since we knew we wouldn't be home in the early evening, we turned the lights out and thought it was made clear that we weren't handing out candy at home. Gripe #3. Isn't it common knowledge that if a light isn't on, you don't come knocking? After 26 people rang the doorbell, we had to put a sign on the door. I mean really, what's wrong with people.

The night wasn't very eventful after that. We put Katelyn to bed and just watched useless shows. Then we remembered daylight savings time was to begin. Happy Dance! Momentary bliss. Then I remembered...gripe#4. Daylight savings time means nothing to Katelyn. And, just as I expected, instead of the usual 7:30 wake-up call, I got it at 6:30. Why are kids evil? Just kidding. Only sort of.

As for everything else, it's all good. I am 29 weeks now, but I look like I am about 49 weeks. It is going faster now, though, and I appreciate that. Everyday I keep thinking I will start to get things together, but I keep putting it off. One day. That is all for now. Til next time.

Cravings

So, I have a lot to blog about. For real. Katelyn's birthday party (2 months ago), our trip to Cherry Creek, etc. However, I don't want to. Sorry. Today it's all about me. And my cravings.

Last time around I never really had cravings. If something sounded good I just had to have it right then. This time has been the same- with the exception of one little thing...


I can't stop thinking about the goodness that is this place. I always want it. Like, ALL the time. I had it last month when I went to St. George and since then it has been even worse. I almost made Jason take us there today just to have it for lunch, but I stopped myself because he and I are going in 2 weeks. I am seriously counting the days until my beautiful fry sauce and I will be reunited.

That is all for now. Any of you preggo's having cravings?

I love Sundays...

...and this is why.

And the winner is...

...anyone who said girl. The big reveal did not really go as planned. My phone is not capable of sending many photos at once so if you didn't get a picture and are expecting one, you will probably get it tomorrow if ever.

I am not going to lie- I was wanting a boy. Bad. But in the back of my mind I always knew she was a she. Everything looks good. Jason is crazy excited. Katelyn is happy. I am tired.

Good night!

My guess

...changes everyday. I want a boy so bad that I don't think I will get one. So, I guess I am saying girl.

Gender...

Okay so here's the deal. We have an ultrasound scheduled for next Tuesday the 18th. As long as the baby is cooperative, we should find out the sex. As a lot of people have asked how we are going to announce it, here's how it's going to be done...

Katelyn is going with us. She is very excited and we thought since she is going to be the big sister she should do the honors. I will be taking a pink shirt and a blue shirt of hers to the appointment. When it's all done, we will take a picture of her with our phones in the appropriate color shirt announcing whether she is getting a brother or sister.

If you know me well enough to be in my cell phonebook, you will get said picture. If I don't have your number, you can check the blog and we will post it here too. If you don't really give a crap- well, then stop reading my blog, jerk.

Anywho, I know I don't have many followers, so maybe this is a dumb post. Whatev. I am okay with being a weirdo. Also, I am computer illiterate and don't know how to put a poll on the side, so everyone (all 6 of you that read this) please leave a comment with your guess. There is no prize or anything- just the satisfaction of knowing you happened to get a 50/50 guess right, so Congrats.

Til next time, friends.

3 Years...

This is an interactive, multi-media presentation, brought to you but the Aivaz Family.

When prompted, please hold down the CTRL button (for those of you running PCs... Apple users, figure it out for yourselves) and click THIS link

3 years and 9 months ago today (or sometime around there) Seana decided that she loved me enough to throw me a bone and we, well, got biblical...

(Remember the link from 2 sentences above? Click it now)

9 months after that...

Katelyn Sue Aivaz was born at 1:45 p.m. on Friday, August 4th, 2006, weighing 7 lbs., 15 oz. and measuring in at a lengthy 20.5 inches.

1 year later, she was a chunkerball.

This picture got her on Live With Regis and Kelly... True story.

2 years later, and she walked and talked and was generally a menace to society.

That was her birthday cake... for serious. What? We were broke.

And today, my baby turned 3.

She's big now. Tear.

Okay, you can kill the music now.

If you couldn't tell by the title, or up to this point, the content of this post, Katelyn turned 3 today. 3 is one of those birthdays that sometimes get caught up and bunched together with the 2nd and 4th and tend to be forgotten, but for members of the Church, 3 is kind of a significant age. This upcoming January, she'll graduate from being with all the little kids in Nursery to being in Sunbeams (3-4 year olds) in Primary school. Instead of learning about how best to not get the good toys taken away by the other kids, she'll get to go and learn about the good things that will help her become a better person (and yes, this includes learning the Popcorn Popping On the Apricot Tree dance). It's just weird for a first time parent to see their kids hitting milestone. I love her. Anyway, here's how her birthday went down.

Last night, Seana and I went to get Katelyn her big present, a Tinkerbell table.

Also in this picture, her two wrapped presents (a bubble machine and some bubbles), a booster seat for the car (bye-bye little girl car seat) and her pretty birthday dress.

She liked them.

After we all got showered and dressed, she got in her new booster seat and we went to Original Pancake House.

She liked that, too.

But the "big" event of the day was going to the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. Complaints aside, Kate had fun.

My baby girl is growing up so fast. I need to realize that and be grateful for the opportunity I have to be her daddy. I love her and look forward to many, many more birthdays, and many, many more chances to hold her hand in mine and just walk with her.

Happy Birthday, Katelyn!

4 Years...

4 years ago today, on July 16,2005 at 9:30 am, Jason and I were sealed for time and all eternity in the Las Vegas temple. With the exception of the birth of my daughter, it was the best day of my life. I will never forget how amazing it felt to know that we were marrying each other in the right place at the right time by the right authority. It was awesome to know that we were going to be together forever and nothing could take that away from us. In some ways it feels like we have been married for 4 months and in other ways it feels like 4 million years. I have loved every minute of our adventure together. Thanks, honey, for choosing me. Thank you for all you do. I love you. Happy Anniversary!!

Just an FYI to anyone who cares: Jason and I decided that since my parents are leaving next weekend, we will be having a "staycation" and my sister has graciously agreed to take Kate for the weekend. It will be a blast.

Someone...

Should update the blog every now and then.

Not much is new.

Seana's still pregnant... we find out what it'll be on August 18th, so that's cool.

I'm getting a ton of money in student loans, so it'll be nice not being desperately poor.

Oh, and Katelyn's almost 3.

Here's a picture of her to tide you all over.

Drumroll Please...

MY AWESOME/CRAZY SMART/HARDWORKING/REALLY CUTE HUSBAND MADE THE DEAN'S LIST!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe that's not that big a deal to you all, but he worked his butt off last semester, so it's huge for us. So there.

A lot has been going on, but I don't want to update right now. I have some pictures I need to put up. For the most part we are good. Katelyn is peeing and pooping on the potty all the time now and i want to kiss her face right off. She says some seriously funny stuff all the time and can't wait to see "her baby" in my tummy. I am feeling much better and the nausea only comes in waves now. I go to the doctor in 2 weeks and hopefully will hear the heartbeat. We are excited.

Seriously, though, I will do a real update soon. Just wanted to congratulate my husband. Good job, baby!! We love you.

Boo...

Morning sickness has officially begun.

I am so sick.

I want to die.

Katelyn's Fairy-Tale Stories Vol. 1

:: Before Daddy left for work this morning ::

Katelyn: Wait! Daddy! I have a tell you a story!

Daddy: Okay baby... hurry up, daddy has to leave.

Katelyn: Once upon a time, there was a ghost in gwamma's woom, and it had a go potty. The end. You go bye-bye now.

:: Katelyn runs away to watch 'Handy Manny' ::

Goodbye, Grandma Chicken...

I am feeling a little sad today. And quite nostalgic. My grandma, Henrietta Garber, passed away yesterday. She was 91. Many of you know that for the past 3 weeks she has been in hospice care in our home and I was her primary care giver during the day since my parents both work. I didn't want the responsibility and was quite nervous about it. As the time went by I grew to be grateful for the opportunity to serve her. I was able to be there at her bedside along with my mom, dad, and aunt when she died. It was an amazing experience. I love her very much and can't wait to see her again.

Since I am feeling nostalgic I am going to list my favorite things she always or did. I know most people who read this(which I know isn't many) won't get them, but my family will.

-the title of this blog is "goodbye grandma chicken". We called her that my whole life. When my oldest brother was little he couldn't say Henrietta, so he called her Grandma Hen-Hen. That turned to Grandma Bawk-Bawk and then it eventually evolved into Grandma Chicken. She loved that name. It kind of became her m.o. and she starting collecting chicken and hen decor for her kitchen.

-While I hate them, she loved Boston bull terriers and owned several. The 2 I remember had awesome names- Boots and Pocahontas.

- "I'll knock you into next week..."

-the amazing/ridiculous porcelain baby doll collection.

- When asked how she was doing she would almost always reply " better than I was when I was worse".

-cream soda

-The "hatred" she had for chocolate, yet she always took bites of ours.

-"oh?"

-Buttermilk

-the delicious vitamin c tablets she always had when we were kids. I have never been able to find them. soo good.

-Her "program". (Jeopardy)

I could go on and on. Mostly I will just always remember the fabulous grandma she was to me. She was always faithful and true and I know she and grandpa are continuing to do the Lord's work.

Here is a picture of she and my dad just 2 months ago at my niece and nephews blessing. She is cute.



Love you, Grandma. See you soon.

Happy Mother's Day...

Seana got the best gift of all...














































The countdown to February 2010 begins!

Disneyland 2009 - Return and Report Vol. 2: Our Weekend Starts On Wednesday

Hello Kinderfriends!

Seana has threatened to disembowel me with a "The Hills: Season 1" DVD if I didn't finish the job and complete the Return and Report series as it relates to Disneyland... so, as an attempt to avoid having to try and pull shattered parts of Spencer's creepy, flesh-colored beard out of my abdomen, I figured I should respect her wishes and bring you...

The awesome...

IIIThe amazing...

DAY TWO OF DISNEYLAND~!!!

(cue fanfare)

I SAID CUE FANFARE!

That's better.

Now that we're all in the mood, let's talk a little about Disneyland, shall we? Wednesday started out much like Tuesday, except we left the hotel about 20 minutes EARLIER to arrive at the park that much earlier. Because of this, we got a decent place in line.

Now, you may be asking yourself "Jay, why in the world would you possibly need to get to the park that early?" And I would answer you: The Nemo Submarine, of course.

You see, the Nemo Submarine isn't any regular old run-of-the-mill crapperware ride, oh no no. It is apparently the greatest ride in the history of man, judging by the constant lines (a minimum 60-90 minute wait) that were seen from open to close. Now, we had wanted to ride Nemo's Submarine, but didn't want to wait in line... what were we to do?

Oh wait!

Do you guys remember when I told you about RideMax?? Well, we did. We told RideMax we wanted to ride Nemo's Submarine, and so it told us we should make it the very first ride we do when we got into the park. Here's where the astonishing part comes in:

People run to rides at Disneyland.

Seriously.

And we're not talking a "Hey, I'm trying to catch the city bus" run, we're talking an Olympic-level sprint to rides.

Hey, Usain, how was Space Mountain??

I must stress this as much as humanly possible: I did not run to Nemo’s Submarine. I am a self-respecting person who doesn’t like to look like a giant moron. I was also on my vacation, and I’d be damned if I was going to run on my vacation. This concerned Seana... after all, our entire schedule relied upon getting onto Nemo’s Submarine in its first run, because we had other, bigger plans for the day. So, as soon as I got into the park, I made a bee-line for Fantasyland... and I was getting passed by people doing their ultimate Michael Johnson impression. But I stuck to my guns and calmly walked.

I must report to you, there is no better feeling than the one I got when I calmly walked up behind the first person in line, who was already sweaty and red-faced from his exhilarating sprint from the gate to Nemo.

The ride itself wasn't awful... kind of cramped and a little loud. But Kate liked it, and that's all that matters.

He's looking for his refund.

After Nemo, we rode Autopia... Katelyn is a terrible driver, by the way.


And then, we headed to ToonTown, where Katelyn got to meet a hero:

Kate and Minnie Mouse

But the highlight of the entire day was no doubt the Princess Lunch. For the uninitiated, the Princess Lunch is in Ariel's Grotto, at California Adventures. For about $30 a person (ouch) you get to go have lunch as 5 of the Disney Princesses walk around and do a meet, greet and photo with the kids at the table.

Since the party was at Ariel's House, we got to meet her first:


Unbeknown to us, we were selected to be the "Guest Family" of the meal, which meant we got to go up in front of the room and announce the first of the Princesses... she got a kick out of that, and, I'm sure, thought that everyone was there to see her, and not the Princesses.

Belle was the Princess we announced:

Then we met Snow White:

Princess Kate didn't feel like leaving her throne... the Cheese Shells and Goldfish were too good.

Then Cinderella:

Kate thought it was hilarious that they had the same dress

And Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty):

Katelyn's waving to me in this picture, as Sleeping Beauty told her to say "Hi, Daddy"

After the Princess Lunch, Katelyn was having sensory overload, so we decided to go back to the hotel (2 block walk!) for a rest. We came back to the park later to ride Jungle Cruise and afterward, this happened:

So, the second day ended much like the first, and a tuckered out Katelyn slept back to the hotel.

Bye-Bye friends.

Disneyland 2009 - Return and Report Vol. 1: Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday.

"There is stupidity, there is insanity, there is complete and total disregard for ones mental health... and then there is Disneyland with a toddler"

- Ancient Jay Aivaz Proverb

Okay, so the above isn't exactly ancient... in fact, I just wrote it at... but it IS a proverb, and I'm sticking by that. It does, though, speak to a broader point: Disneyland is CRAZY, and if you dare to do it with a child... well, you're crazy too.

Hello, my name is Jay, and I'll be your tour guide over the next few days worth of blog updates regarding the Aivaz Disneyland 2009 trip.

Monday started early for us. Very early. About 6:00 a.m., actually. We all got up, got dressed, showered and fed and began our trek (walking OMH!) to the Park. It actually wasn't that bad... literally a 2-block walk... easily done in about 10 minutes. We got out of our room at 7:30 and arrived to the park at about 7:40. Getting our tickets took 10 minutes and we were at the gates at 7:50. As I was going through the pictures, I discovered something interesting: Katelyn is bi-polar. The below picture was taken at 7:52 a.m.

Katelyn is happy and ready for an exciting day of fun.

The following picture was taken at 7:55 a.m., 3 minutes after the above.

Katelyn is crying and pouting and ready to go home.

This was before we even got into the park. HOWEVER, when we did get in... we were not alone. It's like Disneyland sent out invites to their party and told everyone that there would be Twinkie Casserole for everyone.

However, all the complaining about crowds and cost and noise etc. goes right out the window when you see THIS...


...the look on your daughter's face when she sees Pinocchio up close and personal for the first time in her life.

This isn't to say that the entire day went off without a hitch; I've been to Disneyland a few times, and personally, I had never seen it as busy as it was today... there were people EVERYWHERE (Though I expect going to Disneyland expecting no crowds is like watching Twilight and expecting believeable or even passable acting) and in the afternoon we were all hot and hungry and tired. This is where living literally 2 blocks away really helps. We left Disney at 1:30 and came back to the hotel to regroup. Seana caught a nice nap while Katelyn and I unwound, grabbed some snacks and played. At 4 o'clock, we headed back to the park to finish up our plan.

THAT REMINDS ME!

A couple weeks before we left, Seana found this nifty little program called "Ridemax". What Ridemax does is use historical data about park attendance, line waits, etc. and it prepares a completely detailed, infinitely customizeable "game plan", giving you the optimal ride schedule to wait for the least amount of time possible for your Disney park visit from info like which rides you want to ride, when you want to arrive to and flee from the park, and even includes "free time" and any breaks that you request. Anywho, we decided that we would do all the possible Fantasyland rides in the morning and the New Orleans Square rides at night. We seriously rode every single Fantasyland ride between the hours of 8-11, with the longest wait being 20 minutes at Peter Pan. After lunch, an unscheduled visit (and 45-minute wait) to Pixie Hollow, our break and dinner, we were able to ride Matterhorn, Pirates and Haunted Mansion in 1 hour, with the 15-minute wait at Matterhorn being the longest. At the risk of sounding like Vince from Shamwow (minus the "tongue-kissing women of ill-repute" part) I HIGHLY (so highly that I put it in all caps!) suggest Ridemax for anyone considering a Disney trip. It's $15 dollars for a 3-month subscription and only $25 for a year-long one... a price well worth something that enables you to see everything you want to see without all that pesky waiting that goes on in Disneyland. Go to www.ridemax.com or click here to check it out for yourself.

The highlight of the day by far, however, was Katelyn's trip to Pixie Hollow. A 45-minute wait, being surrounded by obnoxious kids (including your own) while standing in the sun, whilst in the middle of a line and being bombarded by horrible fairy music would normally be a deal-breaker for me, but Seana and I kind of had to subject ourselves to that punishment knowing what lay inside of the "Hollow". Disclaimer: Katelyn loves Tinker Bell to a degree not yet seen in other normal toddlers and the joy on her face is only a smidegon of the actual intensity of the euphoria that swept across her as she entered the Hollow.

First, she met Tinker Bell's friend, Rosetta


But nothing could prepare her for what came next...


A face-to-face meeting with her "pavit", Tinker Bell.

I don't know if she thought we were lying to her or what, but Katelyn acted totally shocked to see Tink there. She froze up when she turned the corner and Tink was standing there. After a couple seconds, Katelyn squealed and ran directly to Tink, dropping her pen and autograph book in the process. Tink was so nice and cordial, even though she'd no doubt seen possibly hundreds of kids up to that point.

Note Kate's hand placement... I'd get kicked out if I tried pulling that crap.

All-in-all, today was a huge success... the meltdowns and tantrums and accidents were so seriously outweighed by the shouts and laughs and hugs and kisses that I can hardly remember the negatives.

But the best part about Disneyland??

It is more potent and effective than the highest-grade elephant tranquilizer... as I type this, Katelyn is fast asleep in her Pack 'n' Play.

Well, that's all for Disney Day 1. Stay tuned for more (hopefully shorter) updates!

- Jay

Feeling Sentimental...

Jason brought 3 discs home from work with pictures of Katelyn from the time she was born. It made me almost cry to see how much she has grown. I really, REALLY miss those baby days. Enjoy...







I. Want. One. So. Bad.

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Katelyn pooped in the toilet tonight!!!!! Way to go Kate!!!!

Twilight Party...Don't act like you don't heart that movie.

So, tonight my mom and I attended a Twilight party in honor of it's release on DVD. I have to say that I generally shy away from things like that, but my sister was co-hosting it with another lady in her ward and asked me to come so I did. She decided to go all out with the decorations and I helped her. Here are some pictures. And FYI, the wedding/prom idea is what we were going for.









My favorite part was getting pictures taken with Edward. He is so choice.



Even my mom loves him.



Before we watched the movie we played a couple of games. I usually hate games at parties, but I tried to play along. I ended up winning the trivia game. We watched the movie, which was excellent as usual and just hung out. Everyone contributed something and we all got these sweet goodie bags filled with stuff that was twilight themed. Here are all the bags.



It was a fun night. I don't usually hang out with so many people, especially people from my sisters ward, but it was so fun. That is all.