Happy Birthday Jasmine!

Wow...this year has gone by SO FAST!!! Jasmine is one year old today and is such a joy in our lives. She is walking, saying Dada and Uh Oh, and has a 8 teeth which she loves to brush. We just got back from her one year appointment and she is still little but following her own curve so she is perfectly healthy. She is exactly 15 pounds, 27 3/4 inches tall, and her head circumference is 17 inches. Jasmine loves to play with her stuffed teddy bear from Grandpa Alsaker, mommy's phone and keys, and daddy's remotes. We are leaving for Cancun, Mexico for a two week vacation on Monday, December 29th. I can't wait to see Jasmine play in the sand and splash in the ocean. I will be taking a lot of pictures!

Business is still going well and we now have 18 employees. Brian is busy managing on-site operations and I keep busy with payroll, taxes, and all the other fun stuff that comes with running a business. We continue to thank God for the blessings he brings to our business and pray that it continues throughout these economic times.

We are still loving our church, The Waters. This Sunday Jasmine will be "The Star" in the Christmas play. I will post the pics on facebook and on the blog as well. It should be a lot of fun!

I hope all of you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Julie

Jasmine's 9 Month Check up

We had Jasmine's 9 month check up yesterday and she is getting so big...well not really. She grew 2.5 inches and is now 27 inches long, about the 30th percentile. She gained 1lb 2oz and is now 13lb 4oz, she didn't make the chart on this one, too little. And her head circumference is 16.5 inches, about the 30th percentile.

Jasmine has been crawling for a few months now and is pulling herself up to standing next to furniture like a pro! She has no interest in walking. I try to hold her hands and get her to take steps but she pulls her legs up in the air like she is trying to sit. She makes several sounds, "d", "b", "r", "m", and is starting to stick out her toungue and spit, how special. She just started crawling up stairs, though not well and that is a-ok with me!

I have recently joined a couple groups for SAHMs, MOMS and MOPS. It is so wonderful to connect with other moms and watch Jasmine play with the other kids. Or, should I say, crawl over and take their toys. They are a great support and invaluable resource when I need a little mothering advice!

Our business has continued to be blessed and we are now prepping for a large expansion at the St. Cloud Hospital on October 1st. We praise God for our success and are so thankful that I am able to stay at home with Jasmine and take care of business stuff while she is napping.

We are also starting to get more involved at our church which just celebrated its one year anniversary. I have started singing/playing guitar on the worship team about once a month. Brian and I will also be hosting a life group (bible study) at our home starting in October. We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that everything good in our lives comes from God. We love attending a church that consistantly brings the message back to the basics that Jesus died for our sins and accepting his amazing gift gives us eternal life with him in heaven. What an awesome God!

Jasmine is up from her nap so I am going to go take care of her! I will try to get some pics on here soon.

Love you all!

Julie

Has it been 7 months already!

First, so sorry that it has been 3 months since my last post, we have been busy! Here is the 3 months in review. Jasmine is still tiny, 5% for weight during her 6 month check up. She is very active and has been close to crawling for the last 3 weeks. She is up on all fours but just rocks back and forth. When she is ready to move she pushes with her legs to launch herself forward onto her tummy. She has two very cute bottom teeth which I get to see while she smiles and giggles all day long! We dedicated Jasmine to Christ on July 6th and had a house full of guests afterwards, it was a beautiful event. Jasmine loves to watch her daddy and bapa play softball on Monday and Tuesday nights. Soon the season will be over and it will be volleyball time!

Valeting at the Hospital has been going beautifully. We are also in the process of getting a zone set up in front of Mi Famiglia Restaurant in the downtown area. The zone proposal was unanimously passed by the city council. I will add though that it has been H-E-DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKs working with the city planner and lawyer to get things done. The issue lies with not being allowed to tow cars parked blocking the zone we are working. I guess we are just supposed to drive through them? Sometimes I miss the commonsense folks in Minneapolis!

I still haven't been interpreting. I put in quite a few hours for the valet business and don't want to take more time away for interpreting. We will see what happens there. I am however doing yet another fun "side job". I am now an Independent Beachbody Coach. Think of it like being a Mary Kay person, you wear your makeup nice and try to sell it. My responsibility is to workout and eat right and support others doing the same. Check out my website bbcjulie.com, it explains it better! It is just something for fun to keep my brain functioning.

Pics - Jasmine at 4 months, 5 months, and trying to stay warm during the cold softball weather!

Four Months old!

Jasmine is 4 months old today! Things are going great. I am taking April off as I never really had a maternity leave. I am still doing the accounting for our business but that requires minimal time each month. We have been providing valet services at the hospital for 3 weeks now and it has been wonderful. We may be expanding to another entrance in about a month. We also just got another account, Mi Famiglia Restaurant downtown St. Cloud, on Friday and Saturday nights. We feel so blessed that our business is going so well and I am able to stay at home with Jasmine.

Jasmine will have her 4 month check up on Monday and I will post the stats soon there after. Jasmine's interests at this time are: pulling on Mommy's hair, chewing on EVERYTHING (thanks nana for the teething toys!), hanging out, literally, in her Jenny Jump Up, trying to roll from back to front, seeing how loud her voice can get, and making her Mommy and Daddy's lives wonderful!

The date has been set...mark your calendars...Brian is turning 30! We will be having a BBQ at our home Saturday, June 14th. The time has not yet been determined. There will be food, games, and sprinklers to run through! The last one is for the kids, unless you really want to join them.

Don't look at the camera!

Jasmine spends her days smiling and giggling, I couldn't ask for more! The only problem is that I can't get it on camera. She stops laughing as soon as she sees it. Check out the video:

Baby Stats

The doctor confirmed yesterday what we have suspected from day one...Jasmine is perfect! She was born 6 lbs 14 oz and 19 inches long. At 2 months she is now 10 lbs 1 oz and 22 inches long. Her head is 15 inches around. She is in the 16% for weight and head circumfrence and 17% for length. She seems so much bigger!

Where does the time go?

Jasmine will be TWO MONTHS OLD on Monday!!! We are having a ball at the Alsaker residence. Brian is substitute teaching and I am working 10 hours a week at the video relay center interpreting. I work Monday and Tuesday from 4-9pm so I get to be home with Jasmine everyday of the week. I also work emergency on call two weekends a month but haven't been called out yet since she has been born. Our routine goes like this: wake-up, feed, change, sleep, feed, sleep, change, feed, sleep... Well, you get the picture! Jasmine is increasing her alert awake time everyday now. She just started to enjoy her activity mat that has music and lights. She will lay there and smile for about 4 to 5 minutes before she gets over-stimulated and starts to cry. Just enough time for me to put on my make-up! I am living my dream, I'm a mom! It is better than I ever could have imagined. Jasmine is sleeping pretty well at night, just waking up for one feeding, and then back to sleep until around 7am. She is such an easy baby, we are so blessed.
We have her two month well child check on Monday. I will put her newest stats on here as soon as I can. Or should I say as soon as I remember to do it!

Our beautiful baby girl is here!!!!

Say hello to Jasmine Deborah Alsaker! We are so blessed to have been given a healthy, beautiful baby girl. Jasmine was born via c-section on December 18th at 7:11am after 29 hours of labor. It was all worth it, she is amazing! We spent 4 days in the hospital, 1 day at home, and now are at Nana and Grandpa Sixta's house for Christmas. I will post more info and pics soon but am focusing on recovering now. Thank you all for your prayers and support, we could not be happier!

Love,

The Alsakers

Four days and counting!

December is going to be an exciting month! Jasmine should be here anytime now and Brian is graduating with his teaching degree this Sunday. We are so excited! Other than that not much has been going on. Brian is finishing his student teaching tomorrow and has had a wonderful experience. I have been working part time from my home office doing marketing for ColorMax/ArcaSearch. I haven't been doing any interpreting for the last few weeks. I just wear out too fast to do a good job so I will wait until after Jasmine is born to start putting in interpreting hours again.

Life is great and we are so blessed to be surrounded by loving friends and family!

The next post should have baby pictures in it!!!!

Julie

The only constant is change...

Hello Everyone!
We have been very busy in the Alsaker house lately. Brian has 3 days left of academic classes!!! Next week he starts his final student teaching and then comes graduation, we can't wait!
We are getting VERY close to closing a huge valet contract so please continue to pray that it all works out. If we get this contract I will be able to stay at home full time with Jasmine.

The nursery is complete...we just need to get the rest of the bedding and we are good to go! Here are some pictures nursery.



Jasmine's first baby shower was this last Saturday. Her closet is already full of the cutest clothes and we feel so blessed to have friends and family give so generously. Here are pictures of the shower and games we played. FYI...baby food stinks! Believe it or not everyone that guessed my belly size guessed too big!

27 Weeks!

Time has sure flown by...Jasmine is 27 weeks along now and kicking hard. She especially enjoys kick my ribs - ouch! Brian is back to school and will graduate this December!!!!!!! We have been busy with our valet company on the sales end of things. It looks like the actual work won't begin until the beginning of next year but we are making great contacts. I have been doing some traveling for interpreting and working some overnights in the ER. I love interpreting but am looking forward to maternity leave. We planned on winning the lottery so I could just stop working but forgot to buy a ticket. Oh well...

Check out the big belly I'm sporting now! Surprisingly the clearance rack in the juniors department has been my maternity clothes source. Stretchy long tanks and empire waisted tops are thankfully "in" right now.

As you can see below, Juno is also starting to get very tired in the afternoons.


Time to go to work, bye!

Julie

Drum Roll Please...

Meet Jasmine Deborah Alsaker!!! We found out last Thursday that we are having a little girl. She has been busy kicking mommy's tummy and loving the new outfits that Nana Sixta and Grandma Alsaker have been buying for her (At least she will once she is here and can see them).

According to the doctor she is aprox 10 inches now and is symmetrical, woohoo! Only 4 and a half months to go...

God Bless,
Julie

Catching Up...

This last year has been so eventful! I will do my best to summarize:
July 2006-
We moved to St. Cloud, MN. Juno still runs the roost.














August 2006-
Brian continues to work towards his Math Ed BA at St. Cloud State.

November 2006-
I get laid up from a car accident and take 3 months to rehab and get back to interpreting, ugh.

December-
The family goes to Phoenix, AZ to visit Tim and Sarah (My brother and sister-in-law). If you want a lot of fun, pile in 10 people in a van, ages from 4 to 82, and drive across the country! Here are some pics of us trying to stay sane and have fun.

March 2007-
Surprise!!!! Baby Alsaker is on his/her way!!! After 5 at home tests, 3 blood draws, and an ultrasound it is confirmed - I am pregnant! And we thought it would never happen ;-).

June 2007-
Brian and I start Prestige Parking & Valet, the very first valet company in St. Cloud. We are already getting calls from businesses with requests for meetings to see what we can do for their restaurant, country club, etc. We are excited to see what developes in the next few months.

July 2007 a.k.a today-
Baby Alsaker had his/her 2nd appointment today and is doing great with a heartbeat of 150 beats per minute - WOW! At almost 18 weeks along I finally have a belly (see pic to right).

What's next? August 2nd we will find out the gender of our baby!

Love you all!
Julie and Brian