Pretending to Eat

Owen has picked up the skill of PRETENDING that he's eating. He mimicks the eating motions... food in hand-->food to mouth-->he even grinds his teeth to make the sounds of eating-->sometimes he'll even make the chewing motion as if he's REALLY eating! Clearly, not even so much as a crumb has left the original food item. Such a stinker!!
He only does this when he really doesn't want to eat. Most of the time he'll take any solid food... pasta, corn puffs, pancakes....anything he can get fit in his big ol' fists and have CONTROL of he'll eat. At first he examines it... very visual little man.. and then he tastes it and if it's worthy of his liking... he'll knaw on it until it's moosh.

We practice eating every two hours. I always put him in his high chair... offer him baby food first .. (which is hit and miss for a bite or two)... then we go for the solids....forget about the bottle! And when he's done... he is D-O-N-E!!!

Here's a little video sampling of one of our not so successful feeding sessions...as you can see... he is pretending to eat the corn puff (his favorite).


No matter what....I love that he enjoys feeding time and always has a smile on his face!!

Oh! Owen has a cardiology appt tomorrow... full workup... echo, ekg.. the whole shabang! We were told we would probably be scheduling a cath in Oct some time to do more ballooning. I'm hoping that things are improving and we won't have to do the cath... say a little prayer for Mr. Owen!

Eight Months Already??

HAPPY 8 Months BIG GUY!!

Stats:
Weight: 18lbs
Height: 28" almost!
Head: Large and Beautiful

**All we have to do is smile at you and you show us your CHEESY grin!

** Laughs at pretty much ANYTHING..ANYTIME...ANYWHERE!!

** Rolls from tummy to back.. but NEVER from back to tummy

** Can FINALLY play during tummy time, but just rolls over to his back

**Really wants to push up on hands and knees, but ends up face planting it into the floor :(

**Reaches for EVERYTHING and EVERYONE... then puts everything and everyone in his mouth!

**Loves to sit up and play with toys but only for about 45 min... then it's NAPTIME!

** Loves SLEEP! The 12 hours of sleep at night is never enough... it's usually 2-3 hour long naps during the day as well.

**Doesn't like baby food but LOVES solids...will eat ANYTHING that we have at the current time... this will come in handy when he actually LEARNS how to eat a little better!

**LOVES his therapists... Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and FINALLY Feeding Therapy ... THANK YOU for all your expertise!!

**NOTHING is cooler and more entertaining than BIG SISTER!!

WE LOVE YOU OW-E-O!!!

TOO Much Booty In Da' Pants!

I still can't believe I am actually doing this... but here it goes! This is what I saw on the scale this morning!!! YIKES!!

I'm not sure how I allowed this to happen in the last 8 months since I had Owen... BUT it did and now I am the going to DO something about it! I am going to get back in shape and LOSE it all!! Every Sunday I am going to post my new weight (hopefully LESS) and hope that putting it out there for EVERYONE to see will motivate me!! I am going to sweat ALOT and stop eating all the CRAP that I LOVE even though it make me feel yucky. I can't wait to get healthy and feel better!!

Kamryn and Carson

Kamryn made us a family of 3 in Jan, 2000. We were young, we were newlyweds and when we saw her it was LOVE at first sight! Over the years, Carson and Kamryn have developed an undescribable bond. They both enjoy the outdoors, video games and just RELAXIN at home together! I can't stand to sit in front of a video game and play for more than 5 min.... and they could play ALL day if I let them. They enjoy the great outdoors: hiking, fishing, and camping. I'd rather get a hotel room and lay by the pool! Yesterday was bring your daddy to school day and Kamryn was so PROUD to show off her daddy! She adores her daddy and can't wait til' he gets home at night and to spend all weekend with him! She loves his whiskers in the morning when he rubs them against her cheek... she loves when he puts her in "the robot" ( a really tight hold where she can't move) ... she loves when he races her to get on the computer... she loves it when he just lays in bed and snuggles her to sleep! I hope they continue their SPECIAL daddy--daughter bond forever!

Carson is the best dad I could ever wish my children to have. He is playful, funny and loves to spend time at home with them. They bring pure joy to his face on a daily basis and he does the same in return. I am so thankful to have married such a wonderful man and father!

Jetskiing at the Lake

Every year we go to the lake, Carson's dad and Monica rent jetskis and we have some serious FUN!! Nothing beats playing in the water, hanging out with family and eating lots of yummy food while soaking up the triple digit heat!!

Kamryn was a little adrenaline junkie on the skis. NO FEAR!!

Owen slept the majority of the day, but I can't blame him for being so HOT and sleepy. We kept soaking him down with water and kept him out of the sun. I can't wait until next year and he can PLAY!!

Kamryn used a mesh net and caught THIS fish, Spiky! After the poor thing suffered in this jar, I convinced her to let it go home to it's school! She put the jar under water and the fish didn't immedietly swim away so she was convinced he wanted to come home with her. In the end, she set him free!
After seven hours of sun and fun, we all CRASHED!
We took this photo ourselves while crashed on the GIANT beanbag chair. We are sunburned, exhausted and ready for bed!!
We can't wait to go to the lake again!!!

PuNkS

At 5:45 am this morning... DING DONG.. who is that?? Carson answers the door and is greeted with "Is John Here?" Um no. Then they say "We need to talk to John"... hmmm... nope and proceeds to close the door and LOCK it. Carson said he got an eerie vibe from them. About 45 min later, I was in the kitchen making breakfast and I hear loud thumps! Here is the ROCK that was thrown at the kitchen window...
Here is the damage to the screen and the chip in the window!

I open up the window and see the same two described guys from Carson and they were throwing rocks at our house!! I was furious!! I opened up the front door and in the most polite tone possible at the time...

ME: "Why are you throwing rocks at our house?"

SKATER PUNK: "We're looking for John... tell you boyfriend he owes us money"

ME: (HA HA ... when was the last time I had a boyfriend?) "I'm married, you met my husband at the crack of dawn and there is no John here"

OTHER PUNK: "Whatever, he owes us!"

ME: "You have the wrong house, you are scaring our children, please get off of our property and I will be reporting this to the police"

Both punks run to a silver car parked just a few yards away, a familiar car in a familiar spot... hmmm... neighbors perhaps? One of them puts his skateboard over the license plate as if I haven't seen it or won't see it when he has to move the skateboard to get into the car... GENIUSES!! They'll never know that I have the worst eye sight possible and my glasses are 10 years old so there is NO way I could have read the license plate. They drove away in a flash... probably on their way to high school.

Carson called the cops, they came out and filed a report. It is considered criminal damage due to the chip in the window (although minor), I will press charges. I told them I would absolutely prosecute and guided them to the house where the car was and IS usually parked. The police officer spent quite a bit of time chatting with the homeowners. As soon as the boys come home from school, I will take a picture of the car and the license plate to provide to the police officer. Hopefully we won't have any more disturbances :).

The worst part of the whole situation is that Kamryn already checks the locks 3 times a night as it is. She is a bit paranoid and this does NOT help the situation one bit! It sounds like we live in the ghetto and we actually live in a super nice neighborhood with an LDS stake center parked in the middle of our neighborhood. What PuNkS for putting a damper in our perfect morning!!

Chillin'

I have now adopted the idea of staying at home all weekend and relaxing with my family. I used to run erranrds, go shopping and clean house all weekend... what was I thinking?? It's so much fun to just eat a yummy breakfast, stay in our PJ's all morning and do nothing but spend time with one another.

After finishing out movie, Kamryn decided to jump around on the bed and Owen found this hysterical! Usually, I don't allow jumping on beds, but I'm letting loose a little. Here's a little clip...

Warning: Please forgive the messy hair, no makeup and PJ Mommy in this clip! I was relaxin with my family!

Dinner Hour

Dinner tine is always the busiest time of the day!

Kamryn comes home from school, Owen wants ALL of his sister's attention, and I am getting ready to start dinner.
Kamryn and I gave Owen a sippy cup of ice water so he'd stop drinking ours and getting soaked. Since he won't suck, we had to remove the stopper in the sippy cup and he just shook water ALL over the place instead.

Then Kamryn decided she was having her "FAVORITE" dinner tonight... Refried Beans! She'll eat em' right out of the can! Hey... it's protein, carbs and fat all in one little can. At least we don't have to sleep with her!! ;)
With Kamryn full of beans, Owen full of yucky formula, Daddy went to a work outing tonight... looks like I am OFF work tonight... no cooking.. which means no dishes...and no sweeping up the crumbs!!

Quiet Days

I'm the type of girl that has always been ON THE GO! I've always had work, school, dance or other things that keep me so busy I don't have time to sit down and relax. Since I quit working... things have changed! Kamryn is off to school, Carson is at work, Owen is in dreamland and I'm sitting in the office at the computer thinking I really should be doing SOMETHING more productive with my day... but what??? I know that others would embrace this free time to read, exercise, watch tv ... but I can't help but feel guilty if I indulge in my own free time!! What is wrong with me??? I know these quiet days won't last forever so I just need to enjoy them while I've got them!

Even when Kamryn is home from school, she sits down on the sofa with Owen in her lap to watch cartoons while I cook dinner. I don't have to ask her to do her homework, as she just gets it done. I couldn't have asked for more calm, relaxed and sweet natured babes!

Playtime

Owen still sleeps ALOT and when he is awake, he prefers to veg out rather than play on the floor and get physical. I decided that his toys were to "babyish" and bought him a BUNCH of toys that require a little more attention. When he is awake, I put a blanket out on the floor and we do the same things that his physical therapist does while she's here. We practice rolling, sitting, tummy time (which he HATES) and after about 10 min he's D-O-N-E! I don't know what to do... I don't want him to sleep all day, but I also realize he only has 1/2 a heart that doesn't function so good and he's probably just exhausted! I figured I would sneak playtime into the day even when he's laying down just taking a break. While I'm cooking, doing dishes or drawing up meds, he usually just chills in his bouncy seat and plays with a chew toy. I figured an exersaucer would at least require more of him physically to hold up his head and interact with the toys. I found this one on Craigslist for $30!! He can't hold himself up so I have to prop him with a blanket and he can't figure out how to support himself and play with the toys yet. I keep reminding myself... he is growing leaps and bounds and I just have to give him time! My little guy is growing up so fast... sometimes I wish I could stop time and enjoy the NOW a little more.

Owen Eats Baby Food!

I don't know why I continually get so excited about Owen and food. I suppose it's me desperately wanting him to get rid of that tube that has invaded his nostrils for the past 7 months... poor guy! Everyday is ONE step closer and today it was baby food! Owen usually spits out his baby food and seals his mouth shut and nothing you do will convince him to even crack those lips. He refuses anything other than solids and the exact same foods that we are eating. I promised Kamryn she could feed him after school today and expected the usual Owen response to baby food... then he did this!!



His faces and reactions to the flavor had us cracking up!! He ate a total of 10 bites before he was done and hardly made a mess!! Check out those FOUR pearly whites!!

It's Time To Say Goodbye...

....to Working! It's official.. I am no longer a working woman! It's bittersweet and I will miss my coworkers and friends at Godaddy. In my time there, I have become quite the technical geek that I've never wanted to be. After my first weeks there I came home crying and thought I'd never understand all that techy stuff. I hate to leave, but my kids and hubby deserve more of my time and I need to finish school. That's right.. it's back to school once again! I am taking two bios and a chem this semester and then I'll apply to nursing school in January. Depending on the size of the waiting lists for nursing school... I may just work on my Bachelors in the meantime and my end goal is to get my masters in speech pathology. How amazing would it be to work with babies and kids ALL DAY, EVERYDAY and get paid for it!!??

I am excited about this new chapter in my life and can't wait to see what the future holds!