HOLIDAY TIME 2011

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Yes, it is that time of the year again and I am a bit behind in ordering my Christmas cards...so if they never get sent, at least this is what they were supposed to look like :)

Thanksgiving Eve

While I should be cooking and cleaning, preparing for TWO Thanksgiving meals over the next two days (one tomorrow at Jake's sister's house and one Friday at our house) I have decided to sit and blog while Owen naps.
After about 2 1/2 months of living in a constant state of sleep deprivation Jake and I finally decided to try the Ferber method for Owen's sleep schedule. After our trip to Oregon where we let him sleep with us in the bed and my bad habit of napping with him (in our bed) during the day he decided that he liked sleeping next to us better than alone in his crib...for some strange reason... but we tried keeping him in his crib and by the end of the night...every night...he ended up in our bed. None of us were sleeping well and all of us were cranky. So a little over a week ago we started the 'progressive-waiting approach' and although extremely hard for the first few days, I must say that we are all sleeping MUCH better for longer periods of time (instead of waking up 4-6 times a night he only wakes up once a night)...so yes, my sanity is still within reach, at least for now.

We don't have much time to do anything other than work and do the basic 'stuff' around the house because of our alternating schedules. We are in hopes that by next year, or so, we will have enough saved that we can start looking for land to purchase. We still don't know how we will support ourselves once said land is bought, but there's still plenty of time to figure that out, right??   
Well, I should probably go do something while the little man is still sleeping...

Grandma visits every week!!!

Owen loves new kitty Samas

And then there were none

After many, many months of going back and forth we finally found a new home for our dog Happy. Our greyhound, Eli, has been living with my sister and her family in Oregon for about 3 months because of his non-childfriendly characteristics...aka: I like to bite baby's faces... It has been a really hard decision since in essence, these two dogs were basically our kids for the last few years; we've picked up their poop, cleaned up their vomit, cuddled with them, played with them, arranged our schedules to make sure they get fed and let out on their schedule, arranged for dog sitters when we travel or take them with us...the list goes on and on...they have been our 4-legged kids...no question... but then comes our very own little man who is tiny and fragile and precious...and the decision had to be made to put him and his safety first. It took a couple of months to find a good fit for Happy, someone who could give her more attention and love than we have the ability to do now and when we saw how really happy Happy was with her and her family we knew we had made the right decision. In looking back (and hopefully not just trying to make myself feel better) I think it was almost selfish in keeping Happy because of the fact that we couldn't give her the love and attention that she was used to, she knew that she had been put on the back burner and that she wasn't our priority any more. That and the fact that she had also been known to try eating small children...
We love and miss our puppies, and will always treasure the time that they were in our lives and hopefully one day when our little man is older and bigger we can introduce him to the love that a dog can give (and the love you can give a dog), but for now we are just focusing on raising him, and giving him all of the love in our hearts.

Eli's 1st day home

Family pic

Puppy hug

Happy's homemade bed

Hiking dogs

6 Months Old!

Holy Crap!! Our little man is 6 months old already!!! It's amazing how the measure of time changes once you have a new human life to gauge it with. At his 6 month visit Owen weighed 15 pounds 7 ounces and was ..... inches long! Whew, that's some pretty serious growing! He is rolling over, working on getting some teeth, and learning like crazy. We just moved from the 4-plex in the avenues to a house in Sugarhouse...well, we are still in the moving process as moving with a baby is much more difficult than just moving 2 adults.

5 Days Old

2 Months Old

4 Months Old

6 Months Old

We took Owen up to the family cabin in the Uinta mountains a few weeks ago. It was built the summer I was born and my parents started taking me up there when I was only 2 weeks old...so we are a bit behind in getting Owen up there but hopefully we'll get up there a few more times this year.

Decisions, decisions

Well, it's been a few months of back and forth, of 'what should we do' and 'where should we live' and 'why can't we make a decision'...but we finally made one...we are going to do nothing.

I've been trying to decide if I should go back to school and apply to nursing school in January. I only have 4 more classes I need to take in order to apply and even signed up for 3 online classes this fall, leaving only one left to take in the spring. But the online classes I'd be taking this fall are tough, and it's been quite awhile since I've been in school, and now I have a baby. Jake and I figured out different scenarios but it came down to me going to school full-time (if I got into nursing school) and working full-time to keep our benefits and get the half-tuition. Then Jake would quit his job and stay home with Owen since neither of us make enough to justify day-care (and I wouldn't want Owen in day care in the first place). So...in this scenario we are earning just enough to get by, I'm never home (and when I am I would have to be studying), and Jake is a full-time stay at home dad without an 'outlet' for 2+ years. As much as I'd like to further my education and move-up in my career I think I've come to the realization that what really matters at this point in time is our family. I don't want to miss the first two years of our little man's life. I want to be there to see his emerging personality, milestones, and little tantrums. We may or may not have any more kids and although we may be able to provide a little better financially if I go to school now, I just don't want to regret missing this part of Owen's life.

So, there it is...us doing nothing and keeping on like nothing will ever change...but knowing us we may decide something different at any time...but I'm pretty sure it will involve all of us being more together as a family, not less :)

4 Months Old!

We've stopped describing Owen's age in weeks now and starting talking months...yes, months!! Owen just hit the 4 month old mark a few days ago and to celebrate we took him for his well-child check up and the first of his vaccines. Since he is not in day care and is being exclusively breastfed we decided to delay the start of and stretch out his vaccines. Although there is really no proof that giving so many vaccines at one time is harmful, I have a hard time believing that it isn't excessively stressful to the infant's immune system...especially since he is still getting all of the antibodies from mama's milk. Opening up the vaccine issue really is opening up a can of worms so I won't bore or upset anyone with details, but I will say that we have done a lot of research into both sides of the story.

Our little man is growing like crazy, he is now 25 1/2 inches long and 13 pounds 11 ounces. His little personality is coming out more everyday and we are both so happy that we can stay home with him as much as we do. He smiles so much now, and not just at mom and dad...he loves books and even enjoys turning the pages when he can. He is sleeping through the night almost every night and took his first ride in his new stroller today. We haven't taken him overnight anywhere yet but have plans for a weekend trip to Moab in a couple of weeks and a trip to Oregon over the Labor day holiday. 

It's hard to remember what life was like without him!!

Raising an 'unplugged' child

I just read an article this morning about a growing movement to keep children 'unplugged' and it got me thinking about how addicted we (Jake and I) are to everything plugged... I would really like to raise Owen to think for himself and to have a vivid imagination like kids should. It seems almost impossible to raise him completely unplugged from everything electronic considering how big a part technology is in our everyday lives. I suppose that technology, as with everything addictive, has it's extremes; you can be attached to your ipod/ipad/iphone/laptop 24/7 or be completely without internet/t.v./social networks and videos... but I suppose the best is being somewhere in-between. I definitely want to limit his 'plugged in' time when he gets older but I think for now until he is at least 2 or 3 years old I'd like to see if we can go without technology for him. It seems that the early years are an important time to learn how to be creative and use your imagination and if you never have to, if everything is given to you in games and movies, then that part of you may never grow.

I think the hardest part of this challenge will be limiting mommy and daddy's plugged in time, 'cause we have to teach by example and if we are always on facebook or watching movies that is what we'll be teaching Owen. Maybe in doing this we'll find our creative and imaginative sides again.

It Takes Two

Wow, almost 3 months since our little man joined us on our crazy journey of life! This Sunday will be Jake's first father's day as a dad...so I feel like I should write this entry for him.

 I don't know how I could ever do this without him- from the hormonal rollercoaster of pregnancy to childbirth classes and prepping for labor, the marathon of a natural labor support that turned into supporting me in the operating room, the sleepless nights in those first few weeks of Owen's life when he did everything from listening to my postpartum sobs, cooking and cleaning, and diaper changing...I appreciate you...

Owen's 2 week visit

From learning what a cervix is and what it has to do...and making me feel like I'm still a beautiful person, despite how I feel most days...and rearranging your work schedule so we can both be with Owen...Thank-you...

From staying up late with our little man and mastering the art of bottle feeding to making your programming documents into an exciting bedtime story...







...and not complaining about changing poopy diapers...

...and knowing when I need a break...

...and for being the one that makes two...

Thank-you for being an amazing husband and Dad!!

Sitting...waiting for diapers to dry

2 months old!!! 

Can't believe it! Our little man is 2 months old now; 11 pounds 12 ounces and a full 2 feet long! Our days are beginning to have more of a rhythm to them and we are getting more sleep at night. Owen is only waking up once during the night on most nights. I should be going to bed now to get some sleep but...we switched to cloth diapers a few days ago and since we are down to one clean one I am up, waiting for them to come out of the dryer.

Heading to the 2 month check-up!

 

Scrunchy face

Jake and I are really starting to realize how quickly Owen is growing up and want to be there for the first few years...to see all of his firsts and to just experience us as a family. We are starting to contemplate traveling again...but not until Owen is at least a year old. We haven't really traveled with him yet other than short trips to grandma's house so we aren't really sure how him traveling for long distances will go. And since we are thinking that we would visit farms and WWOOF along the way we need to do some research to see if there are enough farms out there that accept children to make it worthwhile. It sounds crazy, I know it does, but at the same time how crazy is it to work all of the time and miss the time in your child's life that you can never repeat? It is amazing how much we love this little guy and want to make sure he has the best life possible, and I guess our question is whether working full time and not being there for a lot of his growing up yet being able to 'provide' for him -or- letting him experience life and us, his parents, while learning how to get by creatively is the best thing for him? We still have awhile to decide, and quite a bit of research to do, but whatever happens we want to make sure that Owen knows that there is more to life than money, video games, and technology.

At the top of dry creek

Hanging out on a hike in Dry Creek

Sleeping Boy

Owen Bryce Hickenlooper. 

The polls were right, it's a boy! Our little man arrived on March 28th, a week past his due date. For fairly obvious reasons (lack of sleep, learning how to be a mom, going back to work, etc.) I'm a bit behind in updating the blog but since the little man is sleeping now...here it is :)

After about 12 hours of 'hard' labor and 2 hours of pushing, little Owen decided he wasn't coming out from below so a c-section was done and he was born at 3:43 PM. To say I was exhausted would be a major understatement...luckily I had some amazing people with me to help me hold and start breastfeeding Owen. Since both Owen and I had a fever we had to stay in the hospital for a total of 4 days to receive antibiotics. It wasn't until day 3 that we finally decided on a name for our little guy. We had gone through our list of names and couldn't find one that fit. We then started looking online for different names and Jake found the name Owen...although the official meaning of the name didn't mean much to us Jake's interpretation of the name did. Owen spelled backwards is New "O", or new circle, which is a good way to describe our lives over the past year. We left SLC, our jobs, and our families, experienced many new things, and then returned- thus completing the circle...but starting it in a new way...by bringing a new life into ours.

Owen's first appearance

First family photo

Tomorrow Owen will be 8 weeks old, it is amazing how quickly time goes by! Jake was able to stay home for the first 2 weeks after delivery. Then I went back to work at 6 weeks. Owen's 2 month visit is coming up in a few days so we'll see how much weight he's gained since his 2 week visit.

Ready to go get daddy from work

9 1/2 months

My first lesson in patience as a parent has not been an easy one. My due date was Monday the 21st and it is now Thursday the 24th...and there is still a baby inside of me. I have tried essentially every 'natural' induction method; from raspberry leaf tea and evening primrose oil to sex (done by my husband) and 'sweeping' my membranes (done by the midwife). Then there's the walking, stairs, hands and knees position (to rotate baby) trips to physical therapy and a trip to a chiropractor today... and still this little peanut won't come out. So, I'm done. I've resigned myself to being pregnant for ever... well, okay, maybe not forever but at least until this baby of ours decides it is time, because I have come to the full realization and acceptance that this is one thing I cannot control. Without using medical induction (which I'd rather not do unless really necessary), this baby has his/her own timeline and will make their appearance when good and ready. So...I'm going to kick up my feet, take lots of naps (although I already have been), and just let things happen as they should.

Pictures will follow...just don't have the energy to download them from my camera at this point...

Here is your chance...

Down to the final month and starting to wonder whether people think we have a little boy or girl waiting to come out...here is your chance to let us know. And as a special bonus, if you guess the day he or she is born we'll treat you with a very special diaper changing opportunity!!

36 weeks and counting

It is almost surreal that in less than a month our house is going to be filled with the sights, sounds, and smells of a new baby. Just four weeks to go... I can remember when I found out I was pregnant, and at that time I was only a mere 4 weeks along. In that time I've changed states 3 times, learned how to roll over in bed using a 10-point turn, grown used to numb and tingly hands, mastered the art of eating for two, gotten used to being more crabby and teary, and most exciting- experienced the miracle of a little human being growing and moving around inside of me.  My how things have changed!!

28 weeks

30 weeks

32 weeks

34 weeks

36 weeks

This little peanut inside of me isn't so little anymore, in fact he/she should be about 6 pounds right now (at 36 weeks). Depending on when I end up delivering this little one could be anywhere between 7 and 8 1/2 pounds or so.

We've taken childbirth and parenting classes, shopped for a car seat and swings, bought an antique dresser to fill with cute little clothes, blankets, and toys, and started stocking up on easy to make meals for when we're too exhausted to cook. 

I think we're about ready.