Cragun Family Blog (and Jake Gibb)

Babysitting and Vegas

2009-10-02T21:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been babysitting Carter, Laura's baby for about a month and a half. I think he and Cale are getting closer to the time that they can play without hurting each other. Bryan loves to take pictures of the two of them together.

Cale has been so cute smiling for the camera, he even climbed into his old bouncer and smiled for the camera. He smiled again in his Daddy's All Star outfit my parents got for him. He is also learning to wave at people. So in one of the pictures on the slideshow below he is waving.

We went to Vegas middle of September. We watched an AVP Beach Volleyball Tournament. It was a lot of fun. We stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacations. It was nice. The bulk of our trip was spent at the courts at Mandalay Bay. We have lots of pictures of Cale in the Sand. He LOVED IT!!!! He loved crawling around in it, chasing volleyballs, letting it slide between his fingers, etc. He face planted a few times and got a mouth full of sand. The sand was so fine that it was hard to brush off. We went and watched a guy Bryan played volleyball against in college, Jake Gibb. There was also another guy from Utah there playing, his name is Casey Patterson, he played for BYU. There is a picture of Bryan, Cale, Casey, and Cash (Casey's baby) Future AVP players. There is also a picture with all of us and Jake Gibb. For those of you who watched the Olympics, he was there in 2008 playing volleyball, they took 5th.

We stayed in Vegas until Saturday night and Bryan decided that it was time to drive back. So 9:30 Salt Lake time we headed out. We got back at 3:00 am. Cale slept the whole time pretty much so he wanted to stay up for a while a little after we got home. Lets just say I was so exhausted the next day I couldn't think straight. Las Vegas was fun though, hot, but fun.

Babysitting and Vegas

2009-10-02T20:05:00.000-07:00

End of Summer 2009

2009-10-02T20:00:00.000-07:00

The end of Summer came fast. Stacey came to visit in July. So we got the three little ones, Cale, Cheyenne, and Carter together. Laura, Stacey, and I went out to lunch @ Cheesecake Factory.

During July Cale started crawling. At first he was trying to crawl with his head down into the ground. He finally figured out that it wasn't working. Now I can't take my eye off him for one minute because he is automatically into something he is not supposed to be. I tell him no, he gives me a mischievous, and continues doing what he is not supposed to. Little stinker. Cale also started smiling for the camera. SO a lot of pictures in the slide show are of him smiling for the camera. Every time he heard the noise the camera makes when it turns on he automatically squints his eyes and gets ready for the flash and smiles.

August rushed by. My brother, Seth, came to live with us before he moves down to Mexico in December. His wife is already there with their son, Alex.
Cale started standing himself up in August at 6 1/2 months. Crazy how fast he is changing and growing up. He seems to do something new everyday.
I started watching Carter, Laura's baby when she went back to school. There are a few pictures of Alex, my brother's baby, Cale, and Carter. They are pretty cute.

End of Summer 2009

2009-10-02T19:01:00.001-07:00

Park City Fun

2009-07-27T12:32:00.000-07:00

My sister, Heedy and her family came up to Utah in June. We hung out in Park City and played at the park. For Father's Day Bryan, Cale and I had a BBQ with Heedy and her family and Seth and his Family. The next week my mom and dad were up in Park City. WE got a couple of pictures with Cale and his Cousin Alex (Seth's Baby)

Cale and Uncle Danny. He was the only one that could get him to take his nap
Cale and Aunt Heedy at the Park
Cale and Mommy going down the slide in Park City

Cale and Daddy on Father's Day!!!! Bryan's first Father's Day.
Cale and Alex in P.C. Cale and mommy swimming in Park City.

Here Comes the REAL Food!

2009-07-27T11:50:00.001-07:00

In June we started giving Cale Rice cereal. He wasn't too sure about it at first. We gradually started adding new things to his diet. Here are some pictures so you can enjoy some of the same moments we have.
First Rice Cereal Feeding
Next One

First Try at Peas, not his favorite

He does like sweet potatoes though!!!

I think nectarines are his favorite though.

Oatmeal and applesauce, and now he smiles for the camera. (he is squinting, getting ready for the flash!)

Summer, Summer, Summer Time!!!

2009-06-07T23:51:00.000-07:00

Well, school finally ended May 29th. Done forever yay!!!! The last week of school grades were due Wednesday, the students last day was Thursday, and on Friday we had a faculty breakfast and graduation. I brought Cale with me to the faculty breakfast and everyone went crazy over him.

It feels so nice to be done. Last week was my first week of vacation and first week as just a mom. It went pretty well. Weather wasn't that great, but it was ok. Monday I got new running shoes so I could break them in for the 1/2 Marathon this weekend in Bear Lake. I am running with Laura and Brad. Tues, Wed, and Thurs. I hung out with the little guy who did not want to take any naps longer than 10 minutes. Friday Bryan actually took him to work with him. I got so much done.

I am telling you he loves the bumbo and his Pooh. These last 2 pictures are actually his favorite position in the bumbo. When we try to sit him upright he will cry.

Here he is just smiling away, as usual. He also loves to laugh.

Here is his second time swimming. The first time was Memorial Day with Laura and Brad. I didn't get any pictures, forgot my camera, but hopefully Laura can hook me up with some ;) We went swimming at Seth's Place. The water was warm and Cale was just splashing and splashing. It was funny, he would splash himself in the face and get this surprised look on his face and then just keep going. He had lots of fun!!!

Dedicating the Street, In Memory of Ryan Bennett

2009-06-07T23:13:00.000-07:00

May 30, 2009

We dedicated the street in our neighborhood in memory of Bryan's very good friend, Ryan Bennett. Ryan died in a car crash May 31, 2006. He and Bryan met in 1995 at 94.9 Radio Station. Ryan was an up and coming D.J. and Bryan was a punk 17 year-old. They became great friends. Ryan got Bryan into Radio and gave him his nickname, Jumpy. Ryan was a big influence on getting Bryan to go on a mission. Eventually Ryan got married and he and his wife moved to California where Ryan was a sports anchor for NBC in San Luis Obispo, CA. He and Bryan stayed in touch through the years. Later on Ryan started to do some interviewing and commentating for mixed martial arts. He did some big events and interviewed fighters such as Chuck Liddell. His career in the mixed martial arts world was taking off and he was also doing a radio show from his home. Ryan and his family moved back to Utah in April/May of 2006. I had the pleasure of meeting Ryan, his wife and 4 kids at a house warming party in Ogden, UT. About 2 weeks later Ryan lost his life in a car accident with his family on the way down to St. George. All other family members survived the crash. We named the street in our neighborhood after Ryan to honor his memory. Below are pictures of his wife and four kids and some other family members.

Ryan's wife, Tonya and their 4 children

Ryan's wife Tonya and kids, Ryan's sister and husband, and Bryan

Ryan's wife and kids, Ryan's sister, Bryan and I.

My Birthday Party!!!

2009-06-07T22:51:00.001-07:00

Okay lets start is off with these cute little boys!!! Aww. Cale and his friend Carter, born 2 days after him. They are already little friends.

For my birthday, May 24th by the way, we had a little BBQ at our house. We invited our friends Brad, Laura, and Carter; also our friends Sunde, Alex, Elena, and Asher; my brother Seth, Bryan's brother, Jeff; and Bryan's parents. We had lots of good food like; shrimp, ribs, chicken, grilled pineapple, watermelon, cantelope, honey dew, wasacaca, etc. Laura and Brad gave me an amazing fruit bouquet, it had chocolate covered strawberries, cantelope, pineapple flowers, and grapes. Not only was it cool, it was delicious, it looked like the edible arrangements bouquets.

After dinner we had to celebrate with a delicious Cold Stone Cake, strawberry, awww so good!!! It was fun having friends and family over to celebrate.

Picture of me making a wierd face at the camera with my amazing cake. Also Sunde and Asher and Alex and Elena.

Here we are after singing Happy Birthday!! Yes I am licking the frosting off the candles!!!

There is Cale with one of his favorite uncles, just one, other uncles don't feel bad. Yes that is drool on Jeff's shirt. Cale is a mega drooler, his shirts are always soaked by the end of the HOUR!!!!

Cale 3 and 4 months old.

2009-06-07T22:26:00.001-07:00

There really are too many pictures to choose from, but here goes. Starting in April I went back to school to finish out the school year, that way I would get paid through the summer, smart huh. He spent most of his days with my visiting teaching companion and her 1 year old daughter, who loves Cale. It was tough leaving him everyday, but I stuck it out. Here are some pictures to capture Cale from about April 21st to May 23rd.

He lays on this little pillow we got him and somehow he ends up turned around the complete opposite way and the pillow is about 5 feet from him.

Silly little boy!!!

His little Winnie the Pooh outfit was just too cute to pass up a picture on.

He really loves his bumbo. We will put him in front of the TV and turn on the Baby Channel and he will watch for a while.

His napping area on the couch.

He loves playing with Winnie the Pooh in his bumbo. He will take him and shake him and fling him around the room. I doubt pooh enjoys it, but I know Cale does.

Bumbo.

Pooh and Bumbo

His little church outfit.

His cute Oshkosh outfit from My aunt and cousins that unfortunately is getting a little too small for him :(

Trying to sit up. When he is laying down he will struggle and struggle to sit up. He is going to have abs of steel pretty soon.

Trip to Arizona

2009-06-07T16:30:00.000-07:00

I took the baby with me on Spring Break to Arizona. After being on maternity leave for 10 weeks they made me go back :( That next week, April 14th, Cale and I took a plane to visit my family in Arizona. My brother, Jeff, and sisters, Heedy and Rene, had not seen him yet. He and I hung out a lot on our own in the nice weather while everyone was at work. We went running a lot in the warm AZ sun. Most importantly we got to hang out with family. Here are some pictures of when we were there.

Buddy in his cute little shorts. Oh I love him he is the cutest, I know we are biast because we are his parents, but man he is cute!!!

What would cale look like as a young girl with Blonde hair? Thanks to my sister Heedy, for letting us barrow her hair, we have a visual.

Cale and his Uncle Danny, who he loved spending time with.

My mom giving buddy a bath.

Cale and his cousin Danny.

Cale and Aunt Heedy and cousin Jeffery.

Cale and his cousin Kane (Brother Jeff's son)

Cale and his cousin Jayla (Brother Jeff's daughter)

Cale and his cousin Jazlyn (Jeff's Daughter)

March 2009

2009-06-07T16:26:00.001-07:00

There are just too many to choose from that I wanted to get in as many as I could.

Cale in his carseat with his head poking out of his carseat cover.

What a smiley baby. Even when he wakes up from sleeping he is almost always so smiley!

Cale is playing with his Winne the Pooh that he got for Easter!!

Bryan likes to do this thing to everyone, he calls it squishy face. Cale really doesn't like it too much, but we had to get some pictures because it is so dang cute.

Sleeping. Awww!

Cale and I sleeping. He grabbed onto my thumb while I was sleeping and then apparently I held his hand. It's cute how those things just happen sometimes.

February/March 2009

2009-06-07T15:48:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures for the first 2 months of Cale's life. He has been such a joy to have. Although he didn't like sleeping at night very much, he still always found a way to bring a smile to my face. I was glad I was able to take this time off from work and take care of my little boy.

Both Mommy and Daddy love hanging out with the baby!!!
After his 2 month appointment. The bandaids are where he got his shots. He was so sad at first, he did that cry that no parent ever wants their child to do. I felt so bad that I picked him up right away and held him close. We gave him some tylenol beforehand, so after we got into the car I fed him and he went to sleep for a while. That night was the first night he slept for 5 hours straight.
Daddy loves his little buddy!!!

The Baby Blessing

2009-06-07T15:26:00.000-07:00

Okay it's been a while so I am going to recap the last 4 months. Lets start with the baby blessing. Cale Taft Cragun was blessed on March 8, 2009. (That also happens to be my brother, Seth's, birthday) We had close to 20 people in the circle and he was blessed by Bryan, who did an amazing job. It was so awesome to have Bryan be able to bless our little baby boy.

We had about 50 people come to our house after to celebrate with us. I spend a lot of time, along with my mom, preparing the food. Luckily some others brought food also.

Cale Taft Cragun

2009-02-08T12:49:00.000-08:00

Cale was born January 20, 2009 @ 3:20 PM in Utah Valley Hospital in Provo, Utah. He was due January 26th, but I was induces @ 4:40 AM January 20th. At 7:40 the Dr. broke my water and by 11:30 I was completely dilated. I had an epidural of course, after the Dr. broke my water the pain got worse by the minute. Epidural was not bad, I was scared, but it didn't hurt at all.
At 11:45 AM I started pushing. Man, that is a hard task. I felt like I was going to pass out so the nurse gave me oxygen. I pushed for almost 2 hrs and there was very little progress. He was on his side and his head was tilted at an angle. The Dr. came in and said I could keep pushing, but it would probably still be a while and I might hurt the baby and myself. I still pushed a little longer, but Cale's heart beat dropped every time I pushed. The Dr. strongly suggested a c-section. This was a very hard decision. I really did not want to get one, but I wanted to do what was best for the baby. We decided the c-section was the best choice for us. There was an emergency c-section so I had to wait about 45 minutes. The Dr. told me I could keep pushing if I wanted, but we had got to the hospital at 3 am and I had not slept all night, and I was tired.
After 45 minutes I got a medication that numbed my whole body basically. I didn't like it, I felt like I could not breath, even though I was breathing fine, I really did feel like I was suffocating. The medicine also made me shake uncontrollably. They started the procedure and I was so scared. Bryan was right there holding my hand and watching the c-section. They had the baby out in a couple of minutes. I didn't get to see him right away, but I heard him cry and I was so happy that I started to cry. Bryan went with the nurses to get pictures and film him while the Dr. sewed me up. That part took about 40 minutes. He weighed 7lbs 9 oz and was 19 inches long. His face and head were severely bruised from the pushing because of the way he was positioned. (you'll see in the pictures.)
I went to recovery for an hr. while the nurses took him to the nursery and gave him a sponge bath. Finally after and hr. I changed rooms and got to hold baby Cale for the first time. It was so amazing. He had been with us for so long and now we finally got to meet him. We love him so much, it is amazing the instant love and care you feel for your children.
Bryan was sick with something similar to a sinus infection so he stayed one night at the hospital and then went home. I had to stay longer because of the c-section. I kept the baby with me as often as I could. I know people tell you to send them off to the nursery, but I just wanted him with me. The days in the hospital were lonely, just the baby and me. It was hard to do things because I was so sore after the c-section I could barely get up and go to the bathroom. The second day it was a little bit easier, but I was still in some pain. Normally you stay 3-4 days after a c-section, but I wanted to get out of their. The Dr. released me 2 days after the surgery, which I am so grateful for. Bryan came back to the hospital and picked us up.
We finally had the baby home. It was so nice to be home with our new family member. His first night home he did not sleep well, up every hr. It was hard because I had gotten so little sleep the past 4 days. My mom arrived the next night. She stayed with us for a week and she was so helpful. She helped me clean, take the baby to Dr. appointments, change him, bathe him, and even took him some of the nights and brought him to me when he needed to be fed. She made the first little while so easy.
He sleeps a lot during the day. He has a lot of gas, seriously, more than any baby I know. He takes after Bryan for sure in that department. At his two week appointment, after losing a lot of weight in the hospital, he was up to 7 lbs 12 oz. At a different appointment I had to take him to he weighed only 7lbs 6 oz, so I was glad to see he was gaining weight. He's still a little guy, but you can tell he's getting bigger.
He will be 3 weeks on Tuesday. We feel so blessed to have him in our lives. He's such a cute little guy. We love him.

Cragun Family Update

2008-11-22T15:51:00.000-08:00

Well, I haven't posted this month yet so I though I should get on it. I am not very keen on posing for pictures right now because my face looks like a balloon.

Bryan's Birthday was October 23rd. We had about 20 people over. We had a BBQ. It was stressful, but fun to have everyone here.

For Halloween Bryan and I went to a friends house. He dressed as a gorilla in a army uniform and I was a pregnant high school graduate. This is probably one of the few pictures I will post of myself while I am pregnant, I am retaining water so that is my excuse. We went to a friend's house and had Navajo tacos, which were delicious. Then we went to her husband's parents house and played games and made haunted houses out of grahm crackers, frosting, and candy. It was a lot of fun.

My parents visited here a couple of weeks ago. My brother, Seth, and his wife, Fabiola, had their baby, Alex, on October 22nd. So my parents came to see the baby. He is cute, and it made me excited for baby Cale to come along.

Bryan has been going out of town a few days a week for work. It's hard when he's gone. I hate being in the house alone, but I know he needs to work.

Everything is going well with the baby. I had a Dr. Appointment last Monday and although all we do is check the heart beat, it was strong. My blood pressure is still good, which is great because I am retaining water, so no toxemia, I will keep my fingers crossed. Cale is very active these days. I can feel is roll from one side to the other. He doesn't like when other things are touching my belly, he always kicks when I rest my clipboard, at work, on my stomach, or when the seatbelt is touching, and even when I lean over the counter and the counter is touching my belly. He apparently likes his space.

Next week we are having Thanksgiving at our house. I am worried about the mess, of course. We have about 22 people coming over. Luckily we have spread out who is bringing what to dinner. I don't think I would be able to handle making everything. We'll see how everything turns out.

Baby Cale

2008-10-18T11:19:00.000-07:00

We went at the End of August to find out what we were having. We could not wait to find out at the Doctor's office so we went to the mall where they have Fetal Studios and they give you pictures and a CD of the images. We went to the Dr. about 2 weeks ago and found out everything is still going well. WE finally did my ultra sound at almost 24 weeks. So we were really glad we found out at 17 weeks instead. Now that I am almost 6 months along Cale is becoming very active. He wakes me up sometimes early in the morning, I guess he is just getting me ready for when he comes. Bryan is so excited to be a dad. He loves kids, he is so good with his nieces and nephews. Every time I walk by he has to touch my stomach and smile, it's sweet. It is so crazy to think that I am actually going to be a mom, WOW! Just over 3 months to go until we meet baby Cale. 100 days until my due date!!!

NEW HOME and MORE

2008-10-11T14:33:00.000-07:00

Well, this is actually my first time blogging. So here we go. Bryan and I moved into our new house in August. We designed it ourselves, so it is almost like our dream house. We have been living here for two months still waiting for people to finish with some touch-ups and electrical stuff. Hopefully soon it will all be done so I can start decorating.

Bryan is working on selling some lots in the neighborhood we just built in, so if you know of anyone who wants to build here in Utah let us know. He has also been doing title work for oil and gas companies.

I am still teaching at Timpview High School. I decided not to coach volleyball this year. Since we live in West Valley, Utah now I have a nice hour commute to work. When it starts snowing who knows how long it will take.

Bryan and I are expecting a baby in January. It's a boy. We are going to name him Cale. We are still deciding on a middle name, we cannot come to a compromise. The first 5 months I was very sick every day. For those of you who know me, know that I exercise like there is no tomorrow, so unfortunately that was put on the back burner while I was so sick I hardly left the house for the first 3 1/2 months. Now that I am coming up on 6 months I am starting to feel better! YAY! Bryan felt the baby move for the first time today. I have been feeling him for a while, but it seemed everytime Bryan tried to Cale would stop moving. Finally today he was going a little crazy, almost like he was boxing.

Bryan and I spend our weekends having friends and family over to our new house. It is stressful for me because I am OCD when it comes to having a clean house. I am trying really hard to not stress to much about it.

We are both really excited about Halloween. I am excited to get our touch-ups done so I can put up Halloween decorations. I love carving pumpkins, going on hayrides, handing out candy to trick-or-treaters, and enjoying fall.

Well hopefully I can be faithful in updating this at least once a month.