Random Picture Challenge

This week 4 Little Men & Girly Twins is having us post our 44th picture from our November 2007 folder.

This is just a everyday photo of Owen eating. He's eating those Gerber Puffs. He loved those and still does.

Exhausted

So Jack has been doing better when it comes to sleep at night. He only had one more night of crying for over 2 hours. Since then he's been sleeping from 8pm to 5:45 sometimes 6:45 in the morning. This morning though he decided to wake up at 5:30 and I should have let him cry because today has been a day let me tell you. I think I've cried as many tears as Jack has today. I'm so exhausted!!! He only took a half an hour nap this morning when he's suppose to take 1 1/2 - 2 hour nap. After lunch I could tell both Owen and Jack were so tired so I put them both down at noon and Jack slept for 40 minutes!!! Of course I tried to let him cry, but by the second time I went into calm him down Owen was awake and it was all over by then. Jack wouldn't go back to sleep and I was literally a mess. I called Michael crying my eyes out. I had just fallen asleep myself when Jack started crying and all I wanted was about a half an hour of sleep. I also called my friend Kim to get some advise as she's just gone through this with her son Andy. Thankfully Owen and Jack were able to keep themselves entertained for a little while so I could rest on the couch and I felt much better after that. I also put Jack down for another nap and he slept for about 40 minutes again. You would think he would have been happy after this, but not so much. Today has pretty much stunk!!! Tomorrow is another day!

MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers)

So this week I went to MOPS for the very first time and I enjoyed it so much. I wish I had been going since Owen was little. It was so nice to be in a room full of other moms. I happen to come on Carnival Day so we played a couple games and instead of having breakfast we had carnival food (hot dogs, chips, fruit, etc) for lunch. We then broke into small care groups to eat and played another game and then came back together for announcements. All the while Owen and Jack were being taken care of in the church nursery. It was so nice!!! It almost felt weird to be without them for so long and not have Michael with me. Normally if I'm without them it's at church on Sunday or my parents are watching them so we can go out. I'm so excited to see all the moms again in 2 weeks.

Not Me Monday

Mckmama is on vacation, but she was super nice to schedule a Not Me Monday post for all of us that aren't sailing the Caribbean right now.

1. I most certainly did not try to practice EC with Jack this week to only have him scream at me when I put him on the potty. I did not get totally discouraged and decide maybe another day. I honestly don't mind listening to my children scream it doesn't bother me at all.

2. When Owen said poo poo last week I did not take him to the potty chair and have him sit there for the longest time only to think he must have just been practicing a new word and then put his diaper back on and have him poo poo in less than 20 seconds. No way! My big boy would much rather use the potty chair to do his business than his silly old diaper.

3. Michael and Owen did not end up coming down with salmonella from those Austin Peanut Butter Crackers that were recalled...no that doesn't happen to us. And I most certainly was not totally and complete ecstatic at the fact that I DID NOT eat the crackers. That would be horrible of me to dance around the living room feeling right as rain while Owen and Michael are suffering from such a illness. That would be so mean!

4. Michael and I most certainly did not miss watching Battlestar Galactic on Friday night. It's one of our favorite shows so we would never do that. (Thank goodness for full shows on the Internet)

5. I did not break down into tears this week because I'm feeling a little isolated right now and in need of some girl time. That would be really lame of me. (I'm going to hang out with my girl friend Jen on Wednesday. I really do need that!)

Okay it's your turn to be brutally honest. Let it out people!

The Peacemaker...A.K.A.The Pacifier!

Owen and Jack don't really play together yet. In fact Owen doesn't even like Jack to touch him. Jack is definitely in that grabbing phase so he's always trying to grab Owen's hair or clothes and put them in his mouth. When this happens Owen freaks out and starts screaming....NOOOOO!!!! I sure hope they become friends and playmates eventually.

I did get to witness a little bit of friendly play the other day when I gave Jack a paci to play with. Neither of my boys have been big on paci's. Owen only took them until he was 4 months old and then he just gnawed on them. We finally just took it away a few months later. Jack on the other hand despised the paci from the beginning. He would look at me like I was crazy when I would put it in his mouth. The other day I just gave one to Jack because I thought it might be something fun for him to chew on since he can hold things and he's teething. Well it became a really fun thing for them to play with TOGETHER!!! It was so nice to see them playing together and not once did Owen yell....NOOOOOOO!!!!

Blue Eyes

I love blue eyes! Michael has beautiful brown eyes and I have hazel eyes that tend to change to more green or more brown depending on what I wear. Both of the boys have had such awesome and different blue eyes. Owen's blue eyes were more of a steely blue. I loved them! They stayed that way until he was 18 months old. I was so sad to see them change. Now they are more brown with blue edges, which is still cool, but I loved the steely blue. Jack has had lighter blue eyes and they look more like the blue eyes that you see people with when they are older. I really hope they stay blue, but only time will tell.

Owen and Jack are both 7 months old in these pictures.

Random Picture Challenge

It's time for another Random Picture Challenge over at 4 Little Men & Girly Twins. This weeks picture is suppose to be the 30th picture from your August 2007 folder.

Owen was 7 months old in this picture. He spent a lot of time on our love seat. It was positioned right in front of the window so he loved to stand up and look outside. He drooled SO bad when he was teething it's very rare to find a picture of him where he's not wearing a bib. On this day I let him try beef jerky for the first time since my mom said that she used to let me chew on it when I was teething. He really enjoyed it.

Owen Speak

Owen's vocabulary is just amazing me. If I wasn't keep track of all his words I wouldn't actually think he knew this many, but he goes through phases of saying words and then he won't say them for a while so I'm happy I'm keeping a record.

"Hupbo" = hippo - We bought him the red and orange hippo from IKEA and he sleeps with it. He also sleeps with the Alligator as well and he thinks that's a hippo too.

"Ah go" = Where'd it go - He says this when he "hides" his toys behind a pillow and wants you to find it.

Happy & Not Happy - Owen doesn't really know the opposites of words like he knows 'on' but not 'off' he says "not on"' instead. So I taught him the word happy and a few days after that we were in the car and Jack was crying and in a serious voice Owen said "Not happy". It was so adorable! Oh and when we were singing Happy Birthday to Owen getting him ready for his birthday he started singing, "Happy, Happy, Happy".

Home - We were at Ga-Ga and Pa's and I told Owen we were going home and he immediately said "home". A few days after that Michael came home and and I asked Owen who was here and he said, "Dada home".

Amen = We pray at dinner every night and I try to remember to pray at breakfast and lunch too. Owen loves to hold hands and pray in fact he asks to "Pay" sometimes. One time when Michael was praying he was jibber jabbering and at the end he said "Amen" totally clear.

Pa - Now whenever we talk about Ga-Ga Owen also includes Pa in the conversation too.

"Papee" = Peepaw - Today Owen wanted me to pick him up so he could see the family pictures on the wall better. I was asking him where Dada was and he would point and say "Dada" and I asked about Ga-Ga, Pa and Mama too. Then I asked him where Peepaw was and he pointed right to Peepaw and said, "Papee". I loved it! Peepaw has been gone for almost 4 months now, but Owen still remembers him. He was also able to point out GG too so that was nice. GG is worried that Owen will forget her since she's moved to Denver now. I can't wait until she comes up for a visit in May.

"A, E" = ABC's - Today I was singing and signing the ABC's to the boys and Owen started singing "A, A, E, E" and moving his little fingers around trying to make the letters.

Oh my heavy eyelids...

Does this look like the face of a baby that cried for over 2 hours last night?? He sure looks happier than I thought he would. See I've been pretty laid back when it comes to Jack and his sleeping habits. For the most part he's been a good sleeper just waking up once a night around 5:30 or 6. I didn't mind it so much because he would go back to sleep for another 2 hours and that was really nice. Lately he has been waking up at 4AM!!! That is not okay with me. So we decided to let him cry it out last night. Of course we kept checking on him and increasing the time and he finally fell asleep at 6:35 after crying since 4:25. He is strong willed that's for sure. I've kept him on a really good schedule today so I hope that tonight goes better. I'm bracing myself for at least 3 nights of this until he settles into a new routine though. I just have four words...thank goodness he's cute!!!!

Baby-Toddler-Smackdown!

It all starts so peacefully!

Jack is sizing up his prey from across the bed.

Owen is taunting his opponent...so you think you can take me, huh???

Jack shows him...take that big brother!

Ahhh!!! I'm coming to get you!!!

Oh a diaper!!!!!

(No babies or diapers were harmed in the making of this BTS.)

Watch Out...Here He Comes

This is Jack crawling on the living room floor on Monday night. He's been able to move both of his legs and his right arm for the longest time. He just couldn't figure out how his left arm was suppose to fit into the equation.

Not Me Monday!

Join in the online carnival of telling everyone what you did not do this last week. Head over to Mckmama's blog and see what other people did not.

1. I am so not a total Suzy homemaker where I would spend the majority of my Friday afternoon making 6 ice cube trays of baby food and most of my Saturday afternoon an 'Owen' cake for my son's birthday party the next day. I have way to many other responsibilities to be able to take on tasks like that.

2. There is no way that I got puke on me a minimum of 3 times this last week. There is no way that this sickness could still around THAT long.

3. I did not give my child a bath last night at 9:30 because he woke up laying in puke and smelled so bad we had to do something about it.

4. Jack did not have to have two baths yesterday because first he puked on himself and second he pooped all over himself. That would be just too much for our already puked and pooped out family this week.

5. I did not buy Jello pudding snacks and Cool Whip in a can this week because they were on sale at Walmart and I convinced myself that if Bob on The Biggest Loser advertises them as a healthy snack then darn they are okay!

Owen's Birthday Party

Instead of doing cupcakes this year I decided to make an "Owen" cake. I went out and bought a whole bunch of cake decorating stuff and set out to do the best I could. I'm actually amazed the cakes turned out this good. I even made homemade frosting and it tasted great. Boy were my hands tired from sifting powdered sugar though!

We've been singing Happy Birthday to Owen for a week or two so he would be familiar with the song. He is so smiley because he's just realized everyone is singing to him.

I saved the inside of the 'O' cake and made Owen his own special cake. He actually got to blow out his candles 4 or 5 times because he was so fast no one could get a picture of it.

This is much different than last years reaction to the cake.

Kim and Andy were able to stop by for just a little bit because they had to get back to their house to have church. I asked Kim to get Owen some puzzles, but she couldn't find any that she liked so she got this coloring station instead. This is something I really wanted Owen to get for Christmas, but I forgot about it when she asked. She's so good!

Owen got tons of stuff from Grandma & Grandpa Martin. He got this stuffed donkey, teddy bear, two puzzles, a Looney Tune Car and a squishy football.

We got Owen a Fisher-Price Barn, a John Deere Tractor Book and an animal puzzle.

Ga-Ga & Pa got Owen Elmo Live, a stuffed Elmo to sleep with an Sesame Street Manner Books.

Aunt Michelle got Owen the cutest undies, some have Elmo on them and the others are boxer briefs just like Daddy. She also brought over cousin Coopers Big Wheel that he doesn't use anymore. It's so neat...it can be a rocking bike, a push bike or a riding bike. Owen also got two other cool books from Jim & Norean and $10 from Aunt Becky and Uncle Jon. He's one lucky 2 year old!

After Owen opened all his presents we had one for Camryn. See we weren't able to go to her birthday back in November because we were all sick. I hadn't been able to find just the right present for her either, but the other day when my mom and I were at Target I saw this dress and it just screamed Camryn. She loves to dress up so it was perfect. She wanted to try it on right away. Such a princess!!!

Visitor

On Saturday afternoon Owen had a special visitor...Uncle Ryan stopped by to give Owen his birthday present since he wasn't going to be able to come to his birthday party on Sunday. Owen got two awesome Nerf basketball hoops to attach to the wall or door or window. They can pretty much go anywhere because they use that Command adhesive so they will come off and not damage anything. Very cool! Uncle Ryan had a good time playing with Owen and hopefully he wasn't too sore from running around with a toddler. Right before he left he wanted to take a picture of us just like the picture we took the first time Ryan met Owen and found out he was an Uncle.

Random Picture Challenge

Brittany over at 4 Little Men & Girly Twins is making Random Picture Challenge a weekly event. This week you have to go to your January picture folder and post the 8th photo. I chose to go to the January 2007 folder instead of 2008 or 2009.

Michael took this picture of me in the OR while the doctors are pulling Owen out of me. It's amazing that I couldn't feel any pain just pressure. Sorry if this grosses anyone out.

Getting to Know Me...Getting to Know More About Me

I've been tagged by Lisa over at My Journey Through Infertility. I need to let you guys in on 16 things you might know about me. Here goes...

1. My favorite drink is Sweet Ice Tea.
2. I love doing dishes.
3. I was in California getting ready to go to Disneyland during September 11th.
4. I fell asleep while riding on the back of my Grandpa's motorcycle and almost fell off.
5. I was almost kidnapped when I was 7 years old.
6. I got up on stage and performed with the Billy's from Bill Hill & The Hillbilly's at Disneyland.
7. When Michael pulled off my garter at our reception he also pulled out a HUGE pair of panties too. It was so funny! My mouth was as big as the Grand Canyon. Luckily he warned me something was going to happen so I was a good sport about it.
8. On our Honeymoon one of our neighbors at our hotel in Hawaii bought us wine coolers because we were too young to buy then. In fact we were too young to even rent a car.
9. I was in a car accident when I was little and we weren't wearing seat belts since they weren't required at the time and I slide up under the dashboard. After that my Dad made us wear our seat belts.
10. I totaled my Dad's car 4 months after I got my license.
11. After graduation a bunch of friends and I went down to The Cove in Normandy Park and built a bonfire and slept under the stars. Great memory!
12. I attended the same school from first grade all the way through twelve. I was in a graduating class of 3! The school has since closed.
13. I had to be rescued by the ski patrol my first time snowboard. Surprisingly this is a great memory too!
14. I can say the books of the Bible in order from memory.
15. When I was younger I wanted to go to work at Boeing with my Dad, but when I needed a job they were having a hiring freeze so I went to work at Safeco with my Mom instead.
16. For my 15th birthday I went on a trip to New York and Washington D.C. with my grandparents. It was a lot of fun, but I really missed my parents.

Last time I tagged people only two participated so Melody and Kim if you're up for playing along go right ahead...if not I'm cool with that too.

Tub Time

Last night Jack and I took a bath in the big tub. He had a good time soaking and so did I. This picture of him reminded me of the first time Owen took a bath in the big tub and used this very same bath seat. Owen was 10 months old at the time.

Owen's Birthday

Here is my cute birthday boy before his tummy bug hit this morning. He ate his banana and then it came right back up. Poor little guy was basically a zombie after that. He fell asleep on me while Jack was napping and then threw up again. Thankfully that was the last time though. After that he wanted to eat and drink and has been acting like his normal self. Hopefully it's all over with for him.

Earlier this week we had made plans to go to Red Robin for Owen's Birthday and after a long nap and throwing up Michael felt up to going out.

By his smile in this picture you'd never know that he was still feeling awful. Right now he's in bed and he's not doing good at all. Poor guy!

Jack was extra cranky today, but he never threw up. He did have one explosive diaper while we were at Red Robin. It was so bad I just threw away his onesie that was underneath his outfit. There was no way I was putting it in the diaper bag and taking it home. Besides he has a ton of onesies. I've felt pretty good for most of the day (knock on wood). I felt a little uneasy this morning so I didn't eat until my body was really hungry. Then I took a nap this afternoon and have felt pretty good since.

Today was the first time we've actually order Owen his own meal off the kids menu. He is so picky and he's not a big eater so I can't justify ordering a $5 meal for him. He normally just shares with us or we bring snacks for him to eat. I need to start paying attention to those commercials where they say kids eat free on certain nights.

We order him Chicken & Cheese Quesadillas with apple slices and apple juice. He wouldn't touch the juice at all and of course we forgot the cute cup at the restaurant. He did eat a couple apples and he took a few bites out of his quesadilla. We brought the rest of it home for him to eat later.


We told them it was his second birthday when they sat us down so they brought him two balloons. Owen was so excited. He kept trying to bite them though. He's actually popped a balloon before by biting it.

They also brought him an ice cream sundae which as you can see he was totally not interested in because of the balloons.

He did eventually realize that the ice cream sundae was worth his attention.

We also got really lucky because at the Red Robin in Des Moines Red the Robin stops by on Wednesday and Thursday nights so we were able to get our pictures taken with him. I wasn't sure if Owen would be scarred or not because we've never taken him to see the Easter bunny and we've never been to Disneyland with the kids, but he wasn't freaked out at all. He even said and waved bye bye to him.

Prayer Request

Please pray for our family....Owen has already thrown up twice, Jack is pretty crabby, Michael felt like throwing up this morning and I'm not feeling to hot myself.

Happy 2nd Birthday Owen!

I can't believe it's been 2 years!!! I remember the last week of my pregnancy so clearly. You decided to come 3 1/2 weeks early so Mommy thought I had lots of time left to prepare. Luckily Mommy is a planner so most everything was ready. I was so scarred and excited when my water broke in the early morning hours. I knew we were just a few hours away from meeting you.



It seems like you've been in our lives for longer than 2 years though. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that we prayed and yearned for you for so many years before God blessed us with you my miracle baby. I love you more than words could ever say. You are my sweet boy that loves to be gentle and rock and kiss your bunny, but then then you can be rough and tough and play stuntman too. You love to give Mommy kisses and I won't ever stop loving each one of them. I love hearing your sweet voice say, "All done" and "No-No". I love that you enjoying praying at dinner and you let me floss and brush your teeth. You are such a water baby too. You love to take showers...in fact some days you get two!



You are the answer to so many prayers and a true gift from God. My love for you will only grow deeper with each passing day that God allows me...little old me to be your mama!



Happy Birthday Baby!!!

Mommy Time!

Yesterday we went to clean Ga-Ga & Pa's house and while Owen's was napping I put Jack in the exersaucer so I could finish cleaning the kitchen. Jack wasn't too keen on me being so far away from him so I sat down next to him and he was so happy to have mommy all to himself!

Click on the last picture to see his lonely top tooth. The second one hasn't broke though yet so he looks like a cute hick.

Peaches

The other day Owen and I were having some fruit cocktail for lunch and I thought it would be fun to see if Jack would like some peaches. He's had pureed peaches, but not chunks. I know that the fruit cocktail has some sugar in it, but I only gave him a few peaches so I figured it wasn't going to be a big deal. I put them in one of those food safety things and he loved them. There was peach juice everywhere. It was so much fun letting him feed himself.

Standing Up

Jack has never been one to hold himself up in the standing position. He will for a short time if you are holding his waist or his hands, but I would try having him lean on something and his knees would just buckle. Owen at a young age loved to stand up on the couch and look out the window. Yesterday I put Jack up on the arm of the couch and he noticed my pretties on the side table and figured out pretty quickly that this standing thing was kind of cool. Of course Owen had to get in on the action too.