3 Years... and 3 days

On Wednesday (December 17th) Andy and I celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary. I'm amazed that 3 years has passed already, and yet at the same time it amazes me all that we've crammed into these 3 years! 7 jobs, 3 apartments, 2 kids, 2 cars, and the list goes on and on.
I feel so wonderfully blessed to be married to such an awesome man. Here is a quick list of what makes him amazing:
* No matter how little sleep he gets if he is home in the mornings (which is rare) he gets up with the kids and lets me sleep in as late as I want.
* He is a chef for goodness sake... what more could a girl want?! I never have to worry about what we're going to eat
* He always knows how to make me laugh, even when I'm furious at him he can make a single joke and the fight is magically over
* He is 10000 times more patient than I am
* He is a fantastic father. He isn't one of those Dads who sits on the sidelines waiting for the wife to tell them what to do. If a diaper needs to be changed, he changes it.
* He is very good looking!
* He always makes me feel pretty... even when I know I don't look that great (like after a hard day chasing Talan around)

That is just a short list... I could go on and on. I'm so glad that I get to spend eternity with my best friend! I love you babe!

Been thinking... I'm blessed

Right before we found out I was expecting Talan I got a huge promotion with big pay check attached. We decided we should go ahead and buy a house. We found a place that we loved and even put in an offer but after sitting down and really crunching the numbers we realized I would have to keep working full time in order to afford the house and I knew I wouldn't be able to do that after having the baby, so at the last second we pulled out.
Ever since that time I have been extremely jealous of everyone that has a house. I watch HGTV all day long and imagine I'm the one house hunting with the endless budget, I search the web for houses in my area and go to Open houses, it's almost been an obsession with me. I want a house so so so so so badly and I've been pretty bitter about it at times when I look around my small apartment with no yard to play in with the kids.
Then right after Thanksgiving I was looking at a friend's Facebook account of the pictures she posted of Thanksgiving. She had hosted it in her beautiful brand new house with a formal dining room and stainless steel appliances. The pictures of her home were bringing all my jealously and bitter feelings to the surface, but then something struck me with great power... there were no children in the pictures. My friend has a great big house and lots of luxeries, but she has also been married several years more than me and still doesn't have children, which I know she really wants but they just don't feel they can afford them now since she has the better job of the two. Would I really trade my children for the pretty house?? Never!
Then I began thinking about other friends and the other young families in our ward. Many of them have both parents working while the children are in daycare or with grandma. While thinking about this I looked at my two little boys that I am blessed enough to be with 100% of the time. I do still have to work remember, but I was able to find a job that I can do from home while my children sleep or play at my feet. I can't stand my job, but at the same time I love it because it keeps me with my children, which is the most important thing to me.
So I've decided that I can stay in this tiny apartment, as long as it is filled with the three boys that mean the world to me. It's ok that we don't have the big house with the big yard because I'm in the best place for me and my family.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE MAN!

So Talan's birthday was two weeks ago... guess I'm a little behind. I'm still in awe that my little baby is 2 now, it really feels like I just barely had him, even though I've already been through a 2nd pregnancy. He is such a joy in our lives. I can't imagine my life without him. I love you little man!
Here is a synopsis of his celebration. We had people over for cake and ice cream the night before.
Blowing out the candles on his Blue's Clues cake:


Enjoying some cake


Opening presents



The next day he wanted cake for lunch, and since it was his birthday I agreed, he also needed 3 plates for his one peice


That night we took him to a place called Jungle Jim's with a few of his cousins. It is a place with a few rides for toddlers and then video games and things. We had never been there but a few people from church told me it was a lot of fun. It really wasn't that great of a place, the rides were all really old and they just have a bunch of high school kids working there so they were all too busy flirting to really run the place well. Talan was terrified of the rides and screamed every time we tried to get him on one, or when Andy rode one with my neice (I think he was scared for Andy's life).
This picture shows you perfectly how the day went. This was the first ride we tried to force him on, the girl behind him is his cousin Madi


At first I was really upset since I chose the place, I felt like I had ruined his special day, I even cried I was so upset. But he had fun wasting all the tokens by jamming them into one skeeball game while Andy frantically tried to throw the balls to keep up (I think we used 15 tokens on one game) and walking around pushing all the buttons he could find... what more could a two year old want? There was also a slide there that he loved going down over and over

My nephew Jordan was finally able to get Talan to ride the airplanes ONE time without screaming bloody murder, he smiled and waved at us and I was happy.

After a few hours we went to dinner at Arby's next door. After dinner when we were getting in the car Talan told us he wanted to go "back". We decided since it was his birthday we'd go back in for a few minutes.
He actually seemed interested in riding the airplanes again. I took him on and this is what happened as soon as we sat down

I had to hold onto him with all my strength as the ride started, but by the 2nd rotation he was saying "up up up" and "I'm big". When the ride stopped he said "again!", we must have rode that dang thing 10 times in a row, many times without any other kids. Here we are actually enjoying the ride



Then I switched and Andy rode with him a few times, although Andy was a little too big for the ride. He actually rode on it like this the entire time, the 16 year old at the controls really didn't care of course

I was just glad that he FINALLY realized that we took him somewhere fun! We then of course couldn't get him to leave so even though we had already been there for like 4 hours we stayed till like 9 pm... it was his birthday afterall! LOL

Happy Halloween!

This is a little late, but here are my Halloween pictures FINALLY! Talan went as half monkey, half boy. It was quite the fight just to get him to put on his "jacket", and even then he wouldn't put the hood up so noone knew what he was trying to be... but he was still cute.
We went down to Payson to go trick or treating with my two sisters and their families. I really underestimated how hard it would be to teach an "almost 2 year old" how to trick or treat!! He was so cute carrying his little orange bucket to people's houses. As soon as the candy hit the bucket his hand was in there pulling it out with an immediate demand of "open it". He never had a single piece of candy in his bucket all night! Usually he would forget about the candy after asking us to open it in the excitment to run to the next house so most of it ended up in Andy's pockets and not his tummy thankfully!
Cohen was a very sleepy pumpkin. He slept the entire time, which I was thankful for. It was nice to just push him in the stroller and know he was content!
It was a wonderful night and created many memories for us!

This was the result of us ("us" meaning Andy) forcing him to put the whole costume on:


Heather's kids Courtney and Jordan holding my little pumpkin!


This was the best pic we could get of the boys together. Talan was throwing a fit over something before we left and it didn't stop till he started to get candy


Me and my pumpkin (no I did not dress up, I hate dressing up)


And finally the fun begins!!

Bouncy, Bouncy, Bouncy!

A few weeks ago I took Talan on a play date with his friends Milo and Riley to the Kangaroo Zoo, an indoor bouncing gym for kids of all ages. It has tons of those huge inflatable bouncy things you see at birthday parties, sorry that is the best way I know how to describe it. Talan hated it for the first hour and when I got down on my knees I understood why. Those things are very scary when you are that short. But once he warmed up to the idea he had a pretty good time.
Last week Andy and I took him back and this time he had a ball!!! I'm so glad he enjoyed it because I'm desperately looking for things to help get the energy out during the long winter that is quickly approaching.
Going there however did teach him one fun new trick that is sure to injure him at some point in the near future. These videos will explain what I mean:

This is him at the Kangaroo Zoo



And this is what happened when we got home (and is now a daily activity)



ahh... the joys of being almost two and crazy!!!

7 Random facts about Sarah

I've been tagged!!! So here you go... random facts about ME!

1. Andy and I don't have assigned "sides" to the bed like most married folks do. In fact most nights I wake him up 2, 3, or 10 times to switch me sides. I have no idea why.

2. When I was a bagger at Albertson's I got in trouble for getting caught in the back room smelling Pine Sol. I wasn't trying to get high or anything, I just REALLY like the smell of the stuff.

3. I rarely answer my phone if it is an unknown number. Because I'm always worried it is going to be one of my tenants who somehow found my cell number.

4. I send over 2,000 texts a month, and I only text like 5 people.

5. Both my children get their first names for characters in lame television shows (can you guess which ones?) and their middle names from the Bible.

6. I have webbed feet... and a HUGE complex about it. So no duck jokes!!!!!!

7. I never liked fish until Andy cooked it for me. I wouldn't eat ANY seafood except imitation crab salad. Then Andy started cooking fish and forcing me to eat it and now I love love love fish!! He is such an awesome chef!

Now it is your turn: Tanya, Kelly, Becky, Sarah and Natalie!! MUAH!

Happy Birthday to me!

Wednesday was my birthday!!! The big 28... I'm starting to get panic attacks, I'm getting way too close to 30.
Andy took me to a fabulous dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. I don't think I've ever eaten so much in my life, and that includes while I was pregnant. I almost asked for a dolly to roll me out on. But it was so worth it.

Here we are preparing for our big night out





Preparing to eat the best cheesecakes in the world



I was so excited I almost ate the whole thing, plate and all... but thankfully Andy talked me out of that one



The decorated my plate all pretty for me. They forgot the 'h' on my name however (idiots, I know). But thankfully Andy has some mad skills and was able to make two exclamation points into a perfect 'h' just in time. I'm so glad he worked as a dessert chef for a few months!



And here I am with my second date... I'm so lucky to go out with two handsome boys on my birthday!!!



Happy Birthday to me!!!!!!! :)

Answer revealed..

And the answer is Cohen is picture A and Talan is picture B. You can tell cause the outfit looks a little older on Cohen. :)

Guess who???

My children are a medical marvel. Basically I had twins two years apart from each other. Can you guess which one is Talan and which one is Cohen????

Picture A:



Picture B:



Who do you think is who??? Leave me a comment with your best guess! I'll reveal the answer in my next blog!

A visit from Grandma!!!

My mom came into town for a few weeks for Cohen's blessing. It was so wonderful to have her here. Talan and her became instant friends and he soon became totally attached to her. We all went out to dinner one night, afterward we were going to go to a park and let the kids run around. When I put Talan in the car he freaked out and started screaming for Grandma, so she had to ride with us the rest of the night. I'm so glad they were able to form a bond while she was here! We love Grandma!!!

Here are some pictures we took that night while playing at the park:

My mom and sister Heather with Cohen



Talan just being cute



My mom is terrified of heights, she followed Talan up to the top of this slide and nearly had a heart attack she was so freaked out! :)



My sister Kristy and her son Andrew holding Cohen



And my adorable nieces!!!

A new chapter...

2 years ago when I had Talan Andy was working in the Target Stock room. He would go to work at 4am and then go to school at the community college in the afternoon. At that time I thought this was how our life would continue until he graduated.
Then Andy randomly got a job cooking at a fancy restaurant downtown. The hours were better, it was closer to home, and it paid way better so he decided to take it. He had always enjoyed cooking, but once he started doing it as a job it was like a light when on inside of him. He was excited everyday to go to work and he started buying all sorts of kitchen gadgets, the food network was slowly starting to replace his ESPN shows.
At the beginning of the year he dropped a bomb on me. He wanted to stop going to SLCC and was going to transfer to The Art Institute to attend their culinary school as well. I must admit that at first I was shocked and scared. I looked at our tiny apartment and thought "oh great how many more years is that going to keep us in this place?"
But as I've watching him prepare for this I have felt an unbelievable peace. This is what he is supposed to do because it is what will make him happy. I admire him for his courage to do this at 26 years old. There are very few people in this world who find a career they LOVE doing, and even fewer that actually get to do it. So it'll be another 2 years of the "college life" for us, even though we have two kids and are way over college age. But the bright side is I get to eat his homework!!! And I'll have a husband who takes pride and joy in his work, which is all I can ask for. Everyone better pay attention, you'll see him on Iron Chef one day... or at least Hell's Kitchen.
I love ya Chef Andy!

Cohen's Blessing Day

This Sunday we had Cohen's blessing. What a spiritual day!!! It made me realize once again how amazing it is to have the gospel in my life. I am so glad I have a husband who holds the priesthood so he could hold Cohen in his arms and preform the blessing. But most of all I'm amazed that ME of all people have been sent two of the most adorable and special angels in the world. Every day I find new reasons to love my boys and being a mom. It is so so hard at times, but there are other times that I find myself tearing up because I can't believe how lucky I am to be doing the greatest job in the world. Cohen has been the perfect little addition to our family. I can't imagine my world without him.
Here are some pictures from his special day.

All dressed up in his blessing outfit


The Sargent family - there's four of us now!!


Talan in his "big boy" suit




Me and Megan


My mom and nephew with Cohen


After the blessing I put them in their matching Big/little brother shirts. I tried desperately to get a picture of them together... this was the result:


So I stuck Andy in there... not much better:


We then held a BBQ at the park for our families. It was fun watching the kids run around and play. This is my favorite picture of Talan ever. I'm going to enlarge it.


I love you Cohen James!

Almost a minivan....

With the addition of a new baby comes the addition of a new carseat. And sadly the backseat of my Jetta really isn't made for two carseats. So Andy and I decided it was time for a new, roomier, car. Thankfully we still aren't at the point where we need a minivan, I'm pretty sure I'll cry when that day comes. So we got a station wagon instead... but a really cool station wagon! It is a 2002 VW Passat. It only has 57K miles on it and we got it for half of what it books out for, a very good deal!!!

Cohen James' early arrival!!!

Tuesday morning I woke up feeling really sick. I was so exhausted I could barely move and I was throwing up. We really needed to go to the store so I forced myself to get up and go. While we were shopping I had to stop several times cause I felt so dizzy. I took my blood pressure at the machine in the pharmacy and it was fine, 120/70 so I figured I had just caught a bug.
While we were checking out we were talking to our cashier. Suddenly almost my entire vision went black. I didn't feel faint or anything and was able to carry on the conversation with our cashier, I just couldn't see anything. When we got to the car I told Andy there was something wrong. He got worried of course and told me to call my doctor. I did and left a message. We then went home and I laid down on the couch to rest. While I was laying there I started to feel better and my vision came almost all the way back.
My doctor's nurse called and I told her I was starting to feel better the more I rested. I told her what my blood pressure read had been and that I thought it was just because I was sick. She wanted me to come in and get checked anyway, but she didn't seem too worried.
So around 2pm Andy, Talan, and I went into my doctor's office. Just walking into the office I started seeing spots and felt dizzy again. When the nurse checked my blood pressure it was 146/82. She laughed when I told her I had checked myself using a grocery store machine and it had been a lot lower. She said "those things never work right".
As soon as my doctor looked at my chart he said "well it looks like we're having a baby today". I of course started to cry, I was excited but scared and also really unprepared. We had Talan with us, my house was a little messy and I STILL hadn't packed my bags. At first they were going to schedule the c-section for 5 pm... then they found out I had eaten two tiny tiny tiny bites of an enchilada so they pushed it all the way back to 9 pm. I was sent over to labor and delivery to sit and do NOTHING, they didn't even have nurses checking on me or anything. I was just supposed to sit and wait. Andy in the meantime rushed home to pack up and wait for him mom to come pick up Talan. Around 5:30 the anesthesiologist came in to meet me. He asked when I had last eaten and when I told him he said "well if you promise not to throw up on me we can do the c-section at 7, we really don't have to wait all the way till 9". Of course I said yes... but then I freaked out cause Andy was still waiting for him mom and it was now rush hour traffic. We live 30 minutes away from the hospital in normal traffic... in rush hour it would take hours. I made them promise that if Andy wasn't there they would wait and they said of course.
Andy was finally able to leave our house a little after 6. I was freaking out thinking there was no way he would make it. But by some miracle he was there by 6:40 (he can drive really really fast when he wants to!). The anesthesiologist asked me if I had ever had a reaction to anesthesia. I told him how when I had my c-section for Talan I went absolutely crazy and was yelling, screaming and crying so much that the nurse had to hold me down and yell at me to calm down. He looked at me strangely for a second then said "ok... well if you start to freak out let me know... I've got drugs." About 2 minutes after he gave me the spinal I felt myself starting to freak out again. I said "k guys I'm freaking out"... and then I lost it. I felt like I was going to pass out and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't calm myself down. I was crying and I kept apologizing. Thankfully the drugs the anesthesiologist gave me worked pretty quickly and I returned to normal!!
This c-section was SOOOOO much different than the emergency one I had with Talan. With Talan everyone was super serious and rushed and I was crying the whole time. This time everyone in the room was joking around, they had music playing and it was a fun and excited atmosphere. It really helped keep me calm. As soon as the doctor started to pull Cohen out he said "oh boy this is a big baby!" They started to take bets on how big he was and my doc just kept saying "nope, he's bigger". He was sure he was at least a 10 pound baby!!!
Cohen was born on August 26th at 7:22 PM, he was 8lbs 10oz and 20 inches long... and that is with being almost 2 weeks early. I don't even want to think about how big he would have been if I had gone full term!!
His blood sugar and oxygen levels were a little low when he was born so they took him to the nursery. They brought him over to me before they took him so I could at least rub his cheek and give him a kiss. But it was so so hard watching my baby leave without me!!!!!! He was in the nursery about 2 hours and then they finally brought him in for me to meet. It was the LONGEST two hours of my life!! Heather and Andy kept running to the nursery to take pictures and then bringing them back for me to see. LOL My recovery has been so much easier this time as well. The morning after the c-section I was able to get up and walk around on my own. My doctor did tell me that I was on the borderline for needing a blood transfusion thanks to my iron levels being so low. So I'm still a little weak and pale, but I'm taking iron pills to help get over that. But Cohen is perfect! He is beautiful and sweet and we love him!!!









Talan pretty much ignored Cohen in the hospital... he loves him now though, but in the hospital he really didn't care!











This is my favorite pic!!!! He was so excited to go home!!!