Christmas and misc

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Although the temperature during the month of December was often near 70 degrees, it turned out to be nice. It makes it hard to get into the Christmas spirit when it's so warm outside. However, once we decorated the house and made our traditional Christmas cookies, it finally felt like Christmas.
We spent Christmas Eve at Aunt Karen's house in Charlotte. Barb, Margaret and Garrett flew in from Nebraska and Merritt was home from his first semester at CU Boulder. It was so nice to see everyone and I especially enjoyed hearing how much Merritt was enjoying school, and how he has fallen in love with Boulder. How could anyone not love that town?
Owen did alright at his first big family get-together despite all the new faces and stimulation. He had a couple crying fits when he got too tired to stand all the chaos. We had to seclude him to a quite room a couple of times until he calmed down and fell asleep. Not too bad! I remember those days with Taylor, who was completely inconsolable at family get-togethers. Owen was a piece of cake compared to her!
We arrived home late Christmas Eve night but Taylor made sure not to forget to leave out the cookies, milk and carrots for Santa and his reindeer (she left one baby carrot for each reindeer- so sweet!)
Santa arrived right on time and left a tree full of gifts for us! Taylor and Owen received toys and clothes. Jason got a new pair of shoes and Santa spoiled me with a new watch, new shoes and lotion (Santa was only supposed to buy me one gift per our mutual agreement, but apparently he forgot- silly Santa :)! Then later Christmas day, we were invited to dinner at Chris and Jen's. It was a very nice day!

Owen has been rolling over sporadically since he was two months old- but just recently he has taught himself to roll over at will. He is very excited about this new skill and so are we. He has only been rolling from his back to his stomach, so far. Once he gets himself over to his stomach he tries so hard to crawl- but to no avail. If anything he ends up pushing himself backward instead of crawling forward. It's so much fun to watch! He is doing great with the baby foods. He is a pro at swallowing now and usually eats a whole serving of the Gerber food at a sitting. I have not had a chance yet to make any of my own baby food at home- who was I kidding to think I would have the time for that?!?
Taylor starts Girl Scout Cookie sales January 1st- so if anyone would like to order some cookies- we would be happy to fulfill your request. We'll even ship them to you!

We don't have any plans for New Years Eve. Honestly, I would much rather stay in the safety of my own home then venture out on this night. There are too many crazy people out there these days!
Taylor and I have plans to go have a girls day out tomorrow! We plan to see the movie Marley and Me and then have lunch together. I can't wait!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Have a happy and safe New Year!! Enjoy the new video and pictures!!

Here is Taylor decorating her Gingerbread house that Grandma and Papa sent. She is wearing an apron that Jen gave her for Christmas. In fact, Jen gave Mommy a matching apron so we can both wear our matching aprons when we bake together! Too cute! Thanks Jen!!


Here is Owen with Barb. Owen fell in love with Barb. Barb was the only person, other than Mommy, who was able to calm Owen down when he was getting grumpy. I think Barb was pretty fond of Owen as well!


Taylor and Margaret opening gifts.


Taylor in her new coat from Aunt Karen.


Garrett opening his gifts.




Taylor got new books from Nana!!!


Owen with his new teething toy.


Taylor got to open one gift Christmas Eve night and it was her new Christmas PJ's- Aren't they adorable!!!




Christmas morning- Taylor actually waited until 6:30am to wake us up this year. That's late!!

Taylor in her Christmas dress....isn't she beautiful!?! Her dress came with a matching dress for her doll!





Owen in his Christmas PJ's


Taylor in her cook uniform set Grandma and Papa sent. Too Cute!

Bumbo Video

First Foods

Thursday night began the journey into new tastes and textures for Owen. He had his first taste of baby food....bananas!! I'd give him a bite, he would look at me like he was worried, then he would play with it in his mouth for a minute and spit it out. I don't think he actually "ate" any of the bananas.
We tried the bananas again Friday night, and I think he's getting the hang of this eating thing. He ate, and kept down, about a tablespoon altogether of bananas.
We'll finish the bananas Saturday night, then Sunday it's on to peas!

What is this?

This is weird!

Not today!

4 months old and second set of shots

Time has completly flown by and Owen is already 4 months old. We took him to the doctor today for his second round of shots. Owen is now 13 pounds 14 ounces and 25 inches long. He is in the 60th percentile for his height and 30th percentile for his weight. As the doctor put it, Owen is "long and lean". I was a little worried when I heard that he was only in the 30th percentile for his weight, but our doctor said that he has no concerns at all. In fact, he said that we would only need to worry if Owen were to have two consecutive visits at or below the 5th percentile. Owen is well above that!
As far as Owen's development, he is right on track. Owen is holding his head on his own very well and is even sitting up on his own for a few seconds at a time. He has rolled over on his own a few times, though that skill has not yet become routine. He is tracking with his eyes and grabbing for his toys. He is also super interested in food. When we sit down to eat in the evening, we pull Owen up to the table in his car seat so he can sit with us while we eat. Sometimes he gets cranky and wants to be held. For the past week or so when I hold him at the table while I'm eating, he grabs for my food and plate. The other night he nearly pulled my plate off the table. Little booger! The doctor said that is a good sign that he is ready for solids. We can start to feed him rice cereal and 1st step baby foods. I think I may dabble and make some of our own baby foods at home.
Owen has also learned how to make himself cough. He has figured out that if he coughs it will get our attention. It is too funny- he'll cough a couple times to get us to look over at him- then he just smiles like "Ha, Ha- fooled ya!"
We bought Owen a Bumbo seat so he can sit and play and we have some great video of him playing with his toys. I'll try to get that uploaded this weekend.

Happy Holidays!

Visit to see Santa

This weekend we took the kids(gosh, it still feels weird to say that- kids? plural?)to the mall to see Santa. Taylor was super excited, as she always is, except she was a little upset that she forgot her list for Santa at home. I made her feel better by explaining I had already emailed the list to Santa, and I was sure he would know exactly what she wanted for Christmas. Owen did fine- He got a little fussy while we waited in line, but Jason helped by walking him around, and that seemed to keep him happy.
Once we got up to see Santa, I handed Owen over and Santa propped him up on his lap. I just knew Owen would scream, but he didn't. He just sat there staring at Taylor while she told Santa what she wanted for Christmas.

I included a slideshow with the pictures from today. Plus, I added some photos from last weekend when we decorated the house for Christmas. And there is a special photo of Taylor holding her latest Math test. She has been struggling with Math this year. Poor thing, I was horrible at Math and I think she got my Math gene's. But she came home on Friday with an excellent score on her Math test. We are so proud of her!!! Great job Taylor- hard work pays off!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today was a good day. We made a 15 pound turkey with all the fixin's and had Jason's Mom over for dinner. It was only the five of us (Jason, Taylor, Owen, Connie and I) but it was nice-- comfortable and stress-free. We ate too much, then took the dogs on a walk to burn off some of the turkey dinner. Now we are boiling down the turkey carcass with some herbs, onions and carrots to make turkey stock. We'll use the stock to make turkey noodle soup this weekend. Yummy!! The entire house smells amazing. I wish I could bottle it up!

I love Thanksgiving. It's my favorite holiday. This time of year is hard being away from home. I miss the huge family gatherings, the food and the company. Hopefully I won't have to experience many more Thanksgiving's away from home.

To keep with the spirit of Thanksgiving, I thought I would list a few things I am thankful for:
I'm most thankful for my family! I'm thankful to have the two most amazing and beautiful children and I'm thankful that God gives me the chance each day to wake up and be their Mommy. I'm thankful for my husband who is an excellent father to our two children and is a loving and caring companion to me. I'm thankful for my health and the health of my family. I'm thankful for my house- in a time when so many are losing theirs, we are blessed to have a house to call home. I'm thankful for my job. I'm thankful for breastfeeding- without it I wouldn't have lost all my baby weight so fast!!
I'm thankful for my parents who are always there when I need them. I'm thankful for my heart-to-heart talks with my Mom. I'm thankful for my dogs, even though they tore up the couch and chewed a hole in the carpet this past week, they still manage to make me smile. I'm thankful I have so many things to be thankful for!!

What are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! God Bless!!

Finally....VIDEO!!!

OK, It took me forever, but I finally figured out how to upload video. Don't ask me how to do it again- purely trail and error:) Here it is....the first moments after Owen was born!



And here is a recent video of Owen and Taylor. The beginning of the video is Owen doing his "Ahhh". After his bath I give him a massage with lotion-- he loves to have his legs massaged. When I massage his legs I will say "Ahhhh" to him, and he has been saying it back to me! He's such a sweetie!



Here are some recent pics:




The kids hanging out in their robes....aren't they cute?!?!!

Back to work and Halloween

So, I have been back to work for two weeks now. I am finally getting adjusted to the new schedule. It took me a couple days to get through all me emails at work- I think I had almost 600! And there have been all sorts of changes so I have been working hard to bring myself up to speed.
Yesterday afternoon I took some time off to go vote. I only stood in line for an hour and a half. I was lucky enough to end up in line next to an older gentleman who spent the entire time sharing stories about past elections and his family. He was a very interesting person and made the time fly! I love it when out-of-the-blue you meet someone interesting with great stories to tell-- somehow it makes your day. As far as who I voted for, I won't say. But let's just hope the best man for the job wins!! Don't forget to vote---it is so important to make your voice heard! Especially in this election!!! Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now :)

Last weekend we carved our Halloween pumpkin. Taylor was actually really into it this year. In the past she hasn't really cared for carving the pumpkin because she hates putting her hand inside of it to pull out the seeds and mess. Typical girl! Anyhow, this year she really enjoyed it. She had a little help from Jason on marking out where she would carve, but she did all the carving herself. It turned out great!

Last night we went around the neighborhood to Trick-or-Treat. Taylor got tons of candy. But being that it was a Friday and Halloween, all the freaks and nuts were out. So, needless to say, we didn't stay out for too long. But Taylor got all the candy she needed, considering we had to dump out last years Halloween candy to make room for the new. Yeah, we don't let her eat candy all that often.
Taylor dressed up as a bunny rabbit. She was too cute! Owen wore a little PJ outfit that said "My Little Pumpkin". It was adorable on him, but the fabric was a bit thick and he got hot, so he didn't wear it for long.

We hope everyone had a safe Halloween! Enjoy the new pictures!!!

Video

Ok, we need help. We have video of the kids we have taken with our camcorder that we would like to cut down, rearrange and post to the blog. We spent all weekend trying to figure out how to do this but have had a horrible time. I know it can't be this difficult! We tried downloading a couple different software programs from cnet.com but both of them proved to be too complicated! Does anyone know if a simple, cut-and-dry program where we can upload our video, cut out scenes and post them to the blog with ease? Please help!!!

The Amazing Maize Maze

Friday night we went with Taylor and her girl scout troop to the Amazing Maize Maze. It is a cornfield maze that is right down the street from our house. I have always wanted to take Taylor, in fact, we tried to go last year but once we got to the farm we found out they had already closed the maze for the year. Bummer!
Anyhow, we finally got our chance to go and we had a blast! The maze is huge but it only took us 20 minutes to find our way out the first time. Jason studied the map before we started and figured out if we stayed on the outside of the maze we could get out. Once we navigated our way out using that technique we went back and tried to find the inner route out. So, overall, we were in the maze for a little over an hour. It was tons of fun!



This is part of our group inside the maze.


Taylor posing on the victory bridge. That is the corn maze behind her.



Here is Taylor ringing the victory bell at the end of the maze.

Owen's First Shots

We vistited the doctor yesterday for Owen's first shots. Owen now weighs 12 lbs 4 oz and is 23 inches long! He is in the 75th percential for his weight and 50th percentail for his height. Doing good!! Owen did not enjoy his shots. He cried so hard and had huge tears in his eyes by the time it was all over. Poor guy! I had a hard time watching it. I kept holding up my hands to show Owen I wasn't the one hurting him. I know he had no idea what I was doing but it made me feel better. He did well for the rest of the day and slept a ton- no fever which was good. Today we are back to the same 'ole same 'ole.
Jason has been going to Physical Therapy for the last week for his wrist. He injured it somehow at work- he is always pushing himself too hard! They took an x-ray last week and were unable to determine if he has broken his wrist or torn ligaments. So, for now they are having him go to PT until Friday when they will take another x-ray. If he hasn't increased his range of motion in his wrist by Friday they may do an MRI. Hopefully it's nothing serious.

We're Rolling!

OK, I'm excited about this and a bit sad at the same time. My baby boy is growing and developing too quickly! The other night after dinner I placed a blanket on the floor and laid Owen down for some "tummy time". This is a nightly ritual where we lay Owen on his tummy so he can exercise his arms and neck. We were playing as usual when out of nowhere Owen rolled himself over to his back! Once he did this he got a startled look on his face then began to cry. I, on the other hand, was so excited! I scooped Owen up, ran upstairs and banged on the bathroom door to tell Jason. "You missed it!" I yelled. "Owen rolled over!" "No Way!" Jason yelled back. Then I ran back downstairs, grabbed the video camera and tried to get him to do it again, which of course he would not. Jason promptly ended his shower and came downstairs to see if he would do it again. No Luck- and he hasn't done it again since.
So- for the record, October 2nd- the first time Owen rolled over from his tummy to back!!! Yeah Owen!!!

Awesome Recipe!

Jason and I love to cook! We love to find and try out new recipes. In fact, one of our favorite television stations is the Food Network. The other day I was watching Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger and she was making Pasta Primavera. It looked delicious so I went to the store that afternoon and picked up the ingredients to make it. Let me tell you, this dish was awesome!! This recipe has tons of veges (I love a recipe with tons of veges) and the sauce is light enough that you don't feel overfull after eating it with the pasta. I decided I had to let everyone know about this recipe. Trust me, if you make it you will fall in love with it too. I have decided we will have this for dinner often! Enjoy!!!

Pasta Primavera

Prep Time:
30 min
Cook Time:
25 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
4 servings

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves minced garlic
1 red bell pepper, cleaned, seeded and cut into strips (6 ounces)
1/2 pound thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 cup sliced button mushrooms (4 ounces)
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in 1/2 (6 ounces)
1 cup low-sodium chicken stock
1/2 cup 1 percent milk
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, dissolved in
3 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 large carrot (6 ounces) peeled and sliced into strips with a peeler (about 2 cups carrot ribbons) 3/4 pound whole-wheat linguine
1/2 cup (1 1/2 ounces) grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
1/4 cup shredded basil leaves

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Cook garlic until soft, about 1 minute. Add peppers and cook until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, asparagus and tomatoes and cook until softened, an additional 5 minutes. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute more. Add chicken stock, milk, salt and pepper and bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook until liquid has thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. Stir in carrot strips.
Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions; drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Toss pasta with vegetables and sauce. Add pasta water, if necessary, to loosen mixture. Serve garnished with Parmesan, parsley and basil.
Per Serving Serving Size, 2 cups pasta plus 2 tablespoons cheese, plus parsley and basil Calories 480; Total Fat 11 g; (Sat Fat 3 g, Mono Fat 3 g, Poly Fat 0.5 g) ; Protein 22 g; Carb 76 g; Fiber 10 g; Cholesterol 10 mg; Sodium 610 mg Excellent source of: Protein, Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Calcium, Potassium Good source of: Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Iron, Manganese, Phosphorus, Selenium
Tags: Healthy, Heart Healthy, Diabetic, High Fiber, Low Cholesterol

***You can also view this recipe at http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_224729,00.html


HAPPY COOKING!!!

Red is not Owen's color

Jason's family in Lincoln, Nebraska (Barb, Margaret and Garrett) were so sweet to send us the cutest old fashioned PJ set for Owen. It's one of those that has the little flap in the back. They had Owen's name embroidered on the back flap- too cute! The only problem is, they ordered it in Nebraska Red! Don't they know we are CU fans? Just kidding. We have actually had a friendly feud between us since Taylor was born. They are huge Nebraska Husker fans and we are huge Colorado Buffaloe fans. In fact, when Taylor was born they sent us a CU outfit and included a card that read something like "We thought we would send this to you since it's only fit for a little girl to wear!" So funny..HA, HA! Can you sense my sarcasm? Anyway, we wanted to show everyone some pictures of Owen in the cute little outfit. Thanks Barb, Margaret and Garrett!






AND........

We wanted to include a special picture. This one's for all the Nebraska fans out there!

GO BUFFS!!!!!

Taylor's 8th Birthday Party

Taylor's birthday is tomorrow but we had her birthday party today. She invited some of her friends to celebrate her birthday at Ray's Splash Planet. Ray's Splash Planet is an indoor swim park in downtown Charlotte. All the kids had a great time playing together. They especially enjoyed going down the large water slide. This trip was the first time Taylor was tall enough to go down the big slide and she was super excited. I think she must have gone down that slide at least 30 times!
After two hours of playing in the water we went into the party room for pizza, cake and ice cream and gifts. The theme of the party was Hannah Montana- go figure! :)


































After the party we came home. Nana was nice enough to watch Owen for us while we took Taylor to her birthday party. Owen did great and was a good boy for Nana. Then, Nana surprised Taylor with a birthday gift. Nana got Taylor a guitar! Taylor has wanted a guitar for a while now and could hardly contain her excitement when she ripped open the large package. It is a pink Daisy Rock acoustic guitar- perfect for Tay. Monday we're going to get Taylor signed up for guitar lessons. I think we have a future rock star on our hands!!