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!!