Xander Eric Redford - March 14th, 2011

The third week in July of 2010 while Jon was at work I took a pregnancy test and to our surprise I found out I was pregnant. I sent him a text message and said when he got home him and I needed to talk, he then called me right away and he asked me what was going on. I said we could talk about it when he got home and it wasn't a big deal then he asked if I was pregnant. I then told him yes and he didn't believe me. When he came home from work I showed him the test results and then he started to believe me. We told our families and when we told my mother in law we found out that one of my sister in laws were also pregnant. I had guessed my due date would be the beginning of April however wasn't sure until I went to the doctor. After we told everyone the exciting news we went to the doctor and found out my due date was March 30th. I was so excited to be pregnant and even more excited to be pregnant with my good friend Niki Baker. She was due a week and a half before me so we got to enjoy our pregnancies together. While I was pregnant I was working many hours at J.R. Simplot and I was extremely stressed with work and everything going on. On December 26th, 2010 I came home from work and picked up Carter gave him a big kiss and felt a horrible cramping in my stomach. Jon was at work and I had started bleeding a lot so I took Carter to Jon's parents house and went to the hospital. At the hospital I found out I was in pre-term labor, I wasn't even 28 weeks pregnant yet so it was really scary. I spent a couple days at the Samaritian Hospital and then was transported to Deaconess Hospital in Spokane. While at the hospital they did many different tests as well as gave me many shots to help the babies lungs develop in case he was born too early. While we were there they checked his weight and little Xander Pants only weighed 2 pounds and 1 ounce so he surly wasnt ready to be born.

He wasn't ready to be born but he sure was cute!! While we were spending time in the hospital (it ended up being a week) Carter was luckily staying with his wonderful grandparents. We are so thankful they took care of him while we were trying to make sure Xander was going to be okay.Xander and grandma hanging out in the evening before he went to bed. I was missing Carter like crazy however while I was in the hospital they told me I could be in their until my due date and I was really upset. I did not like the idea of being without him for 12 weeks. I talked to the doctors and they said that as long as I went home and was on strict bedrest I would be able to be released. I was so excited to hear that I promised I would go home and not get off my chair until the baby was born. I can't say I honestly stuck to that however I didn't do too much. After all the hours I had been working it was really nice to hang out at home on bedrest for a while and watch television and cuddle with Carter. While on bedrest I looked forward to my weekly doctor appointments so I could get out of the house and I hung out with Niki quite a bit, it was a nice change of pace. My family was really great about helping me and it was wonderful! When I was 35 weeks pregnant I asked Amy to take some pictures because I didn't have any pregnancy pictures and she said yes so we went to the park for 15 minutes and snapped a few pics.

Jon and I 35 weeks pregnant with Xander Pants. At 36 weeks I asked my doctor if I could please be off bedrest, he said that I could start doing a little more however not too much. Jon found some jet skiis on KSL he really wanted to buy and they were in Utah. We decided to get in the car and drive to Utah with Carter, purchase the jet skiis, say hi to our families, then turn around and drive home. Well we drove to Utah and the trip wasn't bad at all. Carter was really good in the car ride and we hung out with Mike and Shawna for a few days and then got on the road to come back. On the drive back when we hit Baker City, Oregon a tire blew out on the trailer. It was horrible and I was ready to be home. Jon and Derek put the spare on and we drove back to Moses Lake. The next day I went to lunch at Taco Shop with a couple of my co-workers and I was telling them I was feeling a few contractions here and there but they were really light and I thought I would have the baby in the next week or so. I then drove to Othello to talk to my boss about a couple things and after I got home from Othello I was putting vinyl up in Xanders room. I was still feeling contractions here and there however not very strong so at about 5:30 pm I told Jon while he was watching tv that if I was still feeling contractions at 7:30pm then I would want to go to the hospital. I was anxious to watch The Bachelorette season finale and it started at 8 pm. He said okay and went about watching his television show. At approximately 6:30 pm I came to the livingroom and said, "Jon I think we need to go to the hospital." He responded by saying, "Babe you said at 7:30 and its not 7:30 yet." I knew he really was enjoying the show he was watching however my contractions were about 2 minutes apart and I didn't want him to get all anxious so I just kindly told him again well I think we need to go right now we can't wait. So we grabbed Carter put him in the car and drove him to Jon's parents house. My contractions were getting to the point where I was a little uncomfortable. We took Carter and dropped him off then Jon told me he had to stop back at the house. At that point I was getting a little impatient because I was ready to be at the hospital. Once we got to the hospital we checked in at the emergency room and then had to go to Labor and Delivery. On tv shows they show someone wheeling you in a wheelchair however that is not the case in real life. When we were headed to labor and delivery Jon thought we should walk up the stairs that way since I didn't think I was far along in my dilation it would help. As we walked up the stairs my contractions were getting stronger, they didn't hurt too bad however they were uncomfortable. When we got up there the nurse made it known that they were extremely busy and they would get to me when they could. I told the nurse that I went to the bathroom and I felt like I was getting close and so she handed me clothes to change into then she checked me and I was dialated to an 8. Her face was priceless, she seemed very shocked and nervous. Once she told me I got really upset, I kept saying I really wanted to get an epideral this time and eat ice. I remember looking at the clock and it sayin 6:51. Jon called our parents and let them know. Everyone was really shocked and rushed to the hospital. The nurse said it was too late however they would try the epideral. She was right, it was too late the epideral did nothing but give me back pain. My doctor came in about 10 minutes later and I told him I was ready to push, he told me to wait a few minutes because nothing was prepped however I told him okay but to hurry because the baby was coming. They got everything ready and he wanted me to do a practice push and on that push I knew the baby was coming so I pushed really hard and the baby came flying out. The doctor said "Slow Down!!" He sounded like he was in a panic however he caught the baby so it all worked out fine.

Xander Eric was born at 7:17 pm (yes 25 minutes after pulling into the hospital) weighing 5 pounds 7 ounces at 37 weeks. He was 19 1/2 inches long (I think or it was something close to that.) After the delivery I got cleaned moved into the mommy baby unit just in time to watch my show at 8 pm. The nurses were really shocked how quickly I was in and out of the delivery room. I was hoping since we had such a great delivery we would be out of the hospital really quick however it didn't happen. Xander Pants had low blood sugars so he was mandated to stay in the hospital for three days. It was hard because Carter was really sick so he couldn't go to the hospital to visit me and baby. He had a good time with his Grandma Jo and Papa Rod.

Xander Pants and I when he was one day old.

He was extremely tiny however at three days old he was ready to go home!!

When we got home from the hospital Carter was so excited to see the baby, he was holding him, kissing him, smiling at him and enjoying every minute of it. It was so nice to finally be home with me and my three boys. We were blessed with such a wonderful addition to our family! I am very thankful to have had such an easy delivery after a rather difficult pregnancy. Xander was just very excited to join the world and meet his great family. We were truly blessed the day Xander was born. Carter is the best big brother we could have asked for.

Our Honeymoon

So our honeymoon was one of the best times of both of our lives. It was so nice to spend uninterupted time together. We never really got time together by ourselves before we were maried because we were always with Carter so when we were planning our honeymoon we thought of many different things to do before we came up with our plan. Jon's grandparents had a time share and they told us we could use it and go on our honeymoon. We looked at many different places from Fiji, to Mexico, even the Bahamas however some how we ended up choosing ... you guessed it California. Jon had never been to Disneyland before so we decided to be kids and go and play for a week. We decided on California and booked our trip. Since we were going for 6 days we planned many different things to do. Carter stayed home with our families and we went on our vacation. We didn't really have a plan of how we were going to spend our time and we just sort of took it day by day. While we were there we went between Disneyland and California Adventure for three days. Every morning for the most part we ate at Dennys because it was between our hotel and Disneyland and it was a nice place to stop and eat. We enjoyed it there. One day while on our honeymoon we decided to rent a car and go drive around the different beaches. It was so much fun! I had always wanted to see Laguna Beach so we drove there (and it wasn't very impressive). From there we found another beach about 20 miles away that we hung out at for a few hours that we really liked. One day we decided it would be a lot of fun to go to Sea World. Sea World was about an hour drive so we bought our tickets and they included a free bus ride. While on the bus Jon and I decided to sit in the very front and our bus driver was great. Our bus driver told us all about California and many different things to do there. It was a blast!! While at Sea World we went on rides, we played games and we also made it to every show they had. The shows were so entertaining, we even watched a really good pet show with all animals from the local shelter. Jon's favorite day of our honeymoon was spent at the A's and Atheletics baseball game. It was a last minute decision to buy the tickets and we are so happy we did. We ended up with great seats on the 3rd base line 8 rows from the field.

Day one of our honeymoon. We were so excited to be in front of the Disneyland sign it meant we were there and ready to get the fun started!!

Only four hours into our honeymoon Jon already found another girl! Thank goodness she was a cartoon or I may have been a little upset! (The best part about this picture is before we took it he asked me if I minded if he kissed her on the cheek.) He is so nice!

Waiting in line for a ride and Jon looks so happy. If only he still smiled this much! :)

Just a couple of fun pictures we took while we were at California Adventures.

On our bus ride headed to Sea World.

While at Sea World we loved the Shamu show. We actually enjoyed the show so much we went to it two times. I refused to sit in the *soak* zone because I didn't want to get drenched however lucky me I got soaking wet any ways!

My favorite day of our honeymoon was when we just drove from beach to beach having a good time. It was so nice just to ride around or walk around the beach hand in hand enjoying the water. I came to the realization while on our honeymoon that I am extremely scared of the Ocean. It is pretty however I didn't want to be near it I was far too scared that something would touch me. Holding his hand while walking around on the beach was such an amazing feeling. I loved it so much I had to take a picture.

We both wrote that we loved eachother in the sand! It was cute.

And lastly, Jon's favorite day of the honeymoon, imagine that a baseball game.

All in all we had a great time on our honeymoon and I wouldn't have changed any of it! I loved the time we got with eachother as well as how many things we had. We were so blessed to have such a wonderful time during the week. I love my husband and it was so great to be able to be kids again!

Our Reception (May 8th, 2010)

A few days before our wedding we got a phone call from Dustin Rigby. He called and asked what our plans were for after the sealing. We explained to him we planned just go home and stay at our house even though we had people staying at our house so he told us he felt it was not a good plan to stay at our house the day of our sealing. Him and his wife got us a really nice hotel room in Tri Cities right on the Columbia River. It was beautiful and we had a great night just spending time together away from Carter. This picture was taking the morning after our sealing on the balcony of our hotel room. After we woke up we hurried off to Moses Lake to be at Perkins for breakfast at 9 in the morning. We arrived and we were surrounded by all of our family and friends. We all ate breakfast and then everyone headed over to the Stake Center to help set up. I can honestly say I did not do too much to set up because I was busy getting ready. Our reception followed the ring ceremony and it was a lot of fun. My dad walked me down the aisle and since my family was not able to attend our temple sealing it meant a whole lot to them to see the ring ceremony. Bishop Merrell was the one that conducted our ring ceremony and it was really nice. Our plan was to make our reception a lot of fun due to having a nine month baby at our reception to keep occupied. So we decided to rent a bounce house and we had it in the corner of the gym and it kept all the kids occupied and it was a great hit. Jon I think enjoyed it just as much as all of the kids. Our ring ceremony was awesome and it made us feel so special. This is when we were exchanging rings and it was officially time for me to wear my wedding ring. This little man has my heart! He was our ring bearer and it was awesome. He was carried down the aisle by Craig Hopkins (Jon's best man). He made our day extra special and we had such a blast with him by our sides.

As we cut the cake I told Jon not to put it in my face and he actually listened. Boy I got really lucky! Our cake was so beautiful and made by awesome Mother In Law!!

Our dance was wonderful. We were so untraditional as we danced to the song, "Te Amo". It was so nice. The song means so much to us because of the fact that when we would be riding around in Jon's jeep he would sing it to me and I totally loved it. We got to the point where we would both sing the whole song while looking at eachother so it was so nice to dance with him to that song. I was truly blessed with marrying not only my soul mate but also my best friend.My daddy and I danced to "I loved her first". It was such a nice time to spend with my dad because of the fact that we have never been the two people to spend time together. While we were dancing he told me how proud of me he was and it made me cry. It was so nice to just have those three minutes with my dad where nothing else mattered and we were able to talk and dance. Jon and his mom dancing together, they as you can tell had a great time!
My sister, me and my mom on my special day.

The Redford family ... I was so lucky to marry into such a loving and welcoming family!!

My dads family. They are all great!!

Us with my moms family.

It was such a nice day and I am so glad I was surrounded by all the ones that we love. Jon and I got some amazing gifts and had a blast with our family and friends.

Our Sealing (May 7th, 2010)

On May 7th, 2010 I was sealed for time and all eternity to my best friend at the Columbia River Temple in Tri Cities, WA. Leading up to our trip to the temple was ever changing to say the least. We had planned to have our sealing at the Portland, Oregon Temple. Jon and I were both so excited because we thought it was a beautiful temple. Hotel reservations were made, plane tickets were bought and we were so excited about the trip. Flowers were ordered and ready to be picked up in Oregon the day of the sealing. A few days before our sealing we were at the Columbia River Temple and we spoke about getting sealed there instead. We spoke to the Temple workers and they said they could squeeze us in to be sealed there. We left the Temple with the decision of switching our sealing to Tri Cities and so when we left the Temple we made phone calls to many different people trying to get everything switched. Many of our family and friends called us crazy however with all of the help of our wonderful families we got it switched and our sealing was perfect. The day was one of the best days of our lives. I remember sitting in the sealing room holding Jon's hand listening (well trying to listen) to the sealer speak and thinking to myself, I am so lucky to be in this beautiful temple surrounded by loving family and holding my best friends hand. I never thought the day would come and when it did I was so thankful.

The drive to the temple with my love was amazing, we were able to talk about how excited we were as well as how we planned to spend our future.

Columbia River Temple, where we were sealed for time and all eternity.

Me in the beautiful wedding dress my Aunt Casey made for me!

My goofy husband and I

Our Wedding Party. The best man was Craig Hopkins and the groomsmen were Derek Kofeod and Ryan Hall. My Maid of Honor was my sister Melissa McDowall and my bridesmaids were Paige Beierman and Blanca Razo. We love them all so much and are so thankful they were part of our special day!!

Also a special thanks to all the wonderful people that helped! My daddy of course for paying for it. My amazing in laws, Rod and Jo for buying the delicious breakfast the next day as well as all the help with the reception. Amy Duvall my sister in law that spent hours and hours taking pictures for me. My other sister in laws for all their help. Dakota Redford came a few days early to help get flowers done and decorations ready. Shawna also helped a lot with decorations. Thank you Melissa (my sister and best friend), Paige and Blanca for help with the food as well as setting up decorations. A special thank you to everyone who spent many hours setting up the parachute for our reception; Eric, Mike and Jon. We love everyone and thank you for making our day special.

Our Engagement

December 16, 2009

HE PROPOSED!!

So like any other girl I was super excited ... it was such a wonderful feeling it is hard to explain. I was in the bathroom getting ready because we were going to go out on a date and while I was getting ready I had called for Jon, he was ignoring me so I got a little annoyed. I go in the livingroom to see what he was doing and I couldn't find him anywhere. I then come back into the bathroom and he had opened the window. Naturally I was a little upset because it's freezing outside and he was letting all the heat out. I asked him why he opened the window and he said, "Look outside." I look outside and I can sort of see burning so I thought there was a fire. I go running outside and this is what I see ...
After I saw the words I started to cry, he then got down on his knee ...

So like any other girl that gets engaged I jumped on facebook, posted pictures, changed my relationship status to "engaged to Jonathan Redford" and wrote how happy I was in my status. Let me just tell you that was a BIG mistake. You see Jon had not yet told his parents he was proposing, he had not yet told his parents he had purchased a ring and he had not yet told his parents we were engaged. So his parents found out this exciting news through facebook. Needless to say they were not happy and I totally understand. It has since became a joke however I do know if anyone is planning to get engaged or if they do get engaged you should probably tell your parents first!

Carter's Birth

Carter Allan Redford (McDowall at his birth)

Born at 9:07 am weighing 6'15 on August 27th, 2009

So ... I decided since I started our blog so late I will try and catch the blog up with the exciting parts of our life. So the first blessing our family received was Carter. I never imagined having a child before I was married however I am more thankful every day that I had him. He is so lucky to have Jon as a father and role model and I am thankful to have him as my little baby boy.

Carter's birth was easy however he was extremely late so it made it tough. I remember calling my dad when I was 7 days overdue crying and crying telling him I was so upset I just wanted Carter to be here and I was tired of being pregnant. My dad responded by saying, "Traci, he will come out when he's ready, until then just enjoy life with out a child." In hindsite he was so right. I never imagined how challenging having a child would be, especially on my own. I remember thinking it's going to be so easy all I have to do is play with a baby all day. It wasn't that easy, to be honest I am not sure how I did it alone at first however I did and I was blessed with a beautiful little boy.

So when Carter was born I so badly wanted my family there however it happened so fast so no one was able to get there in time but my dad was there first thing the next morning and my mother came up a few days after that. Melissa had taken a week off work to spend with me when I was due however no baby so we just got to spend lots of time together, it was nice.

Carter after his first bath at three days old. He was born with so much beautiful hair I loved it!