Introducing..The New Adventures of J, B, A & K in CA!

The title of this blog is very significant-there may be some that do not know, but we are moving at the end of February to Southern California. **sad and excited** A few days before Christmas Jeremy was offered a new position with Lutron where he will be in sales covering southern CA, Las Vegas, Arizona and New Mexico. He is really excited, he has been interested in doing this for a little while now and after lots of thought and prayer an opportunity came our way and we are grateful for it. We are sad to leave such a beautiful area with such great people and friends we care about, these last 2 years of our lives here have been so good for our family in so many ways. We have made great friends here who were our family out here that have been great examples to us and have blessed our lives so much. We have loved exploring the east coast and seeing so many places and enjoying the changing seasons (except for the cold winters which will not be missed!). Jeremy and I always say we dont think we'll ever live in another area with as much natural beauty all around us as PA. Jeremy will miss "traffic" on Main Street, 378, 78 and 22 that is nothing compared to the traffic of the 5, 55, 57, 405, 91 etc! We will miss this area, so many good things happened to us these last few years and so many good people have been in our lives that we will not forget.
His company is taking care of the move (another blessing!) so all we need to do is fly out at the end of the month and he will officially start the last day of February. He's already been out to CA a few times to meet his accounts and his new colleagues which has left me alone for 5 to 6 days straight with no husband at home and two little kids! Its been crazy around here the last few weeks! We are going to move in with Jeremy's parents in Placentia who have been kind enough to let us stay with them for a little while.
This winter has been brutally cold, not as much snow as last year but much colder and with Austin its been tough to get outside and do anything. Luckily for Kylee when Daddy is home he has taken her on trips to the mall, McDonalds, some chilly outdoor trips to the swingset (Kylee loves it no matter what the temperature is!)and a few toy stores to keep her entertained during the winter.
We are excited to be back in California, very excited for warm weather and sunshine everyday! It will be fun to be near family again and see Kylee and Austin get to know their cousins. Kylee is growing up so fast and talking so much now! The latest is a phrase she got from Jeremy.....now and then she will drop her cup on the floor or do something and say "oh shoot Mommy oh shoot!" . She knows all of the Friends characters by their first names and loves singing songs. She makes us laugh every single day and we love it!

Heres a picture of Kylee and her friend Asher...

Baby it's cold outside

It has been very cold at our house lately. When Jeremy left for work this morning it was zero degrees and with the wind chill it was below 0!!!! Lets just say the kids and I have been spending all of our time inside aside from a few doctor appointments. Austin has been doing much better and has fully recovered from his surgery. He now weighs 10.2 lbs and loves to eat! He still wears bibs all the time because he is constantly spitting up, but not nearly as much. We keep him propped up in his swing to help keep his food down. He is such a happy baby. He spends most of his awake time in the swing or in the bouncer, then he will doze off when he is tired. He is so sweet and I love him to pieces.
Kylee loves Austin! She will always ask me to put him in his bouncer so she can play with him. She is also a big helper and always gets me his diapers and wipes when it's time to change him. I think she will be a great big sister. Lucky for her Austin is not too demanding during the day so she still gets a lot of mommy time and attention


We sold Betsy! It was a sad day for me. I have driven this car since I was 16! We can only take one car with us back to California so we decided to sell her before we left.
Here is a picture of Austin at 7 week old. He is losing his newborn look and is gaining weight! He is such a smiely and happy baby.

Diagnosis: Pyloric Stenosis

Ever since Austin was born it seemed like he would spit up and or vomit after he ate. It wasn't too much at first, but when my milk came in I really started to notice it. Right after he ate, I would burp him he would throw up what seemed to be the entire feeding! When we went in for his 3 day check up he had gained weight and surpassed his birth weight. The doctor told me that unless he fusses, he may just be a happy spitter-upper. I was glad he was gaining weight but I dreaded feeding him because I knew it would end up everywhere! I even tried to supplement with formula thinking maybe it was my breast milk. He spit that up too. The following week the spitting up seemed to be getting worse. It started gushing out his nose and mouth at the same time and was projecting!!! Then he would start choking. It was really scary. I would have to get paper towels out before each feeding to get ready. This went on for a week. Jeremy and my mom convinced me that this wasn't normal spit up and so Jeremy talked to his uncle in Texas who is a pediatric surgeon and he recommended we take him in right away, because of the symptoms he thought he had to be tested for pyloric stenosis. When we took him in the next morning they weighed him and he had only gained 3 ounces. The doctor sent us to the hospital right then to get an ultrasound which tested for PS and of course, it came out positive. That is when the pyloric muscle is enlarged and blocks the milk from entering the small intestine. So when he would drink his stomach would fill up and the milk had no place to go, so he would throw it up. That afternoon we were admitted and the doctor said he would have the surgery the next morning. They had to put an IV in his head to get him hydrated. He was such a brave little boy, Jeremy said he was already tougher than him and Chuck Norris combined for what he went through! He had a successful surgery on Dec 31 and I got to spend New Years Eve with him in the hospital and we were able to come home New Years day after he kept a few feedings down.

Merry Christmas!!!

My mom flew out on the 18th to say with us for two weeks!! It was so much fun having her here for Christmas! She was a HUGE help around the house and with Kylee and especially Austin. She cooked, cleaned, played with Kylee and stayed up with Austin for his night feedings. We also played games and had fun visiting and being with each other. Than you dad and brothers for letting me have mom over this special holiday. We miss her already. Above is a picture of her and Kylee baking sugar cookies. YUM!

Kylee and "GG" as she calls her, playing in her box.

Sweet baby Austin in this cute bear outfit from Grandma Murdock.

Kylee absolutely loves the swing! She would fall asleep in there if we let her :)

Below is Kylee's grouchy face. I thought this was a funny pic!

"Who needs Santa, I've got Grandparents!" Isn't that the truth!

Austin pretty much sleeps all day long. Eat, sleep, poop.

Kylee loves to hold Austin. Austin is wearing a shirt that says, "All I want for Christmas is my Auntie" Thanks Aunt Lacey!!!

Me and my mom with the kids before she left. Oh how I will miss an extra set of hands, and her of course!!
This Christmas was different than most, being away from most of our family, and stuck inside with a newborn (and its FREEZING ouside), but it was really special too. I'm greatful for my little family and the time we have spent getting so close to each other. I'm greatful for a sweet, loving, super helpful husband who loves me and the kids more than anything. I'm greatful for two beautiful, healthy children. I'm greatful for all of our great friends in PA who have always been so supportive, generous and helpful with our family especially when Austin was born. I'm greatful for the gospel and my Savior who atoned for me. I'm greatful for this special holiday that we have to reflect and celebrate the birth and life of our Savior. Merry Christmas everyone!

Welcome home Austin!!!!

Austin Jeremy Murdock was born on December 6th at 4:17pm weighing 8.4 lbs and 21 in long. I was scheduled to be induced at 7am. I got my epidural around 2pm when I was dialated to a 5. Then they broke my water and things started to progress really quickly. Once I was a 10 I pushed for 16 minutes and little Austin was here!!!! This was a completely different experience than I had with my daughter. This was a pain free and fast labor and delivery!! My prayers were answered.
The doctor who delivered Austin was AMAZING!!! Thanks to him I barely tore and recovered very quickly! I wish he could deliver all my babies!!! The nurse on the other hand had a hard time getting my IV in. She had to poke me three times!!! That was the worst and most painful part of my day. I know, I'm a baby.

Cute little Austin all bundled up! I still can't believe he came as fast as he did :) I guess it is easier the second time around.

Kylee and I reuniting the next morning. I felt so rested because I had a scheduled induction and wasn't up all night in labor. I actually got some sleep and could take a shower and get ready.

First Murdock family photo! Kylee loves Austin and thinks it is so funny when he cries.

Going home!!! This was the BEST Christmas present ever!!! He is such a calm, sweet little baby who doesn't really need to be held, but I hold him anyway :)

Baby Boy is almost here!!!

We are less than 24 hours away from welcoming our little boy to our family! We are really excited for tomorrow! I will be induced in the morning and hopefully things go well and we can count the Murdocks as a family of 4 by the end of the afternoon!
Above is my little helper in the kitchen making Aunt Mary's Chocolate Covered Coconut Balls. Kylee is quite the assistant and loves to taste test ofcourse (along with Jeremy the Chief Taste Tester!) I wanted to get some holiday baking in before the baby comes.

Jeremy's friends and colleagues at work surprised him on Friday with a Diaper Party!! They got us so much stuff and Jeremy and I were very touched by what they did and are so grateful for their kindness.
Yeeeeahhhh this is me at 39 weeks! This is the last prego picture of me for Baby #2! Can't wait to hold this little guy and to get back to "normal" (whatever that is right?!). Stay tuned for a blog update when Mom and Baby come home!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

This year for Thanksgiving we spent it with our friends the Gunderson's and the Lee's. Dinner was delicious and I didn't have to cook at all!!! I made a no bake chocolate pudding pie, but that doesn't count as cooking, does it? Here is our family picture we managed to take at the end of the day. Rachel was Kylee's favorite person because she kept feeding her pie!! Lucky Kylee :)
Kylee had so much fun playing with the older boys. They built a fort and spent most of the day running around and hiding in it.

Kylee and Asher. She thinks he is the coolest thing and yells his name all the time. I don't think he has as strong of feelings for her, but he sure is nice to her and lets her tag along.

Kylee is now 18 months old and went to nursery at church for the first time!!! She loved it and didn't look back when her dad left. I hope she keeps up with this positive attitude. It was so nice to drop her off on Sunday and actually sit through the meetings :)