Farewell sweet BABY! Hello Busy TODDLER!

He did it. Right before our eyes. Even though I asked him to stop growing up and stay my baby forever he did it. He turned 1 on us. My baby is officially gone and I miss him, but I am absolutely loving my little toddler. He is just a crazy little goofball that never stops. This stage is so fun. 

By 12 Months this Not-so Baby of ours:

- Copies just about everything Jake and I do. From brushing his hair, to putting things away, to dancing! Every time he copies something new I get beyond excited.

- finally got a tooth! Wah hoooo! I don't have to get baby dentures! I was really concerned about this. Lucky for me, he hasn't tried to bite me at all. He hardly lets us ever see his tooth. 

- loves animals now. He actually notices them these days and he is completely enthralled by them. I've never wanted to get a puppy more than I do now. Owen would love one so bad. If only, if only.

- hits all the time! Aaaaahhhh! I don't know what to do. It's the softest little girly hit ever (sometimes he lands a pretty good slap to my face) but I really don't have a clue as to how to get him to stop. I don't want him hitting other kids! I've slapped his hand away and then realized that just shows him to hit more, so I grab his hand and say no but he thinks it's funny or he'll try again because I'm telling him No! I'm at a loss on this one. <----- an ode to my parenting skills.
- loves to hand us something out of his crib as an offering for getting him out of the crib it seems. The second we go in to get him in the mornings or after naps he searches around his crib for his Teddy, a blanket or if nothing else, he'll take out his binky and hand it to us. I think it's the strangest and yet cutest thing.
- can follow simple instructions. If I hand him a snack, I can tell him to take it to his Daddy to open it and he will. Such a little smarty pants. He's also pretty close at putting things back where they came from in the kitchen, especially this favorite measuring cups and spoon.

I actually can believe I have a one year old. As fast as this year has gone by... it's been the longest year of my life. Don't get me wrong. It's been the most rewarding year of my life, but oh my gosh it's been such an adjustment. I think now that he no longer is a baby, I may be having a hard time getting over the fact that I no longer have a baby. That part does seem like it went by too fast. Sometimes I really miss having that tiny little infant in my arms who wasn't even aware of anything other than our ugly walls, and just let me cuddle him for hours. I never thought I'd miss those tired nights after I brought him from the hospital rocking him to sleep for hours, but I do so badly. I also miss being able to walk around the house without this little kid almost pulling my pants down trying to climb up my leg, begging me to hold him. I'm glad I was able to have those moments with my baby. I'll miss them, but I'm always going to love where he's at now. He's the funnest little boy. I love running around the house with him screaming. I love watching him pick up on new things. I love his giggle and how much of a boy he is. He loves cars. Not the movie (even though he likes that too), but he just loves pushing around cars around that house and for some reason it melts my heart walking into a quiet room to see him pushing his cars around back and forth. He has my heart forever! He'll also be nursing forever apparently. I was so looking forward to not breastfeeding anymore just to have my body back as mine but almost 3 weeks after his birthday I'm still not able to drop the morning feeding. It's completely my fault too. I'm just lazy and too tired to get up so to get myself that extra 5 min I still bring him into bed with me. One day it will happen... one day!

We are super poor and wouldn't go anywhere yet without Owen anyway so we decided to check out the new aquarium for our 4th anniversary. This was just before Owen really got into animals, so he had fun but I'm glad they gave us tickets to go back because I think he would like it more now. (That and half the exhibits weren't open yet.)

Anniversary dinner to Cafe Trio. Get the Rosemary flatbread! You're pretty stupid if you don't.

Won't even get off the phone to take a selfie with me! The nerve!

Happy 4 years Honey Buns! I love you. 

You make everything fun, you make me feel pretty, you gave me the most beautiful boy in the world, and you provide and work so hard for our family, you put up with my mood swings and you do it all with the best attitude. You amaze me. You also a pretty nice butt. ;) I love you for all you do.
Oh you want to go to Italy next year to celebrate the big 5? OK!!!
{I guess I'll learn some Italiano}

Lunch dating with Mom and Dad.

Owen had his first Easter Egg Hunt! It was just in my brother's green court with his neighbors and friends. He was pretty ok with picking up 1 egg and shaking it the rest of the night. I forced him to move on to the next egg, egg after egg. This was Owen's last first holiday and now I can't wait for round 2 of each! Each one is going to get so much more fun! I look forward to a gazillion more!

 His little partner in crime.

Owen and Elliot got some matching Easter Jammies! 

 We love after bath snuggles.

I love sneaking into his room and watching him sleep. (and snapping a few pictures) Creepy? Maybe a little. I really start to miss him when he's napping or sleeping at night. 

Owen Josef and the Terrible, Horrible, No good, Very bad SHOTS! He got his 12 month shots including the chicken pox shot the day after his birthday and those little sh!t$(eh hem, sorry, shots) got Owen pretty sick. He had a fever for about 4 to 5 days that got up to 103. After the fever finally broke, the next day he broke out in a huge rash all over his body. He mostly got it all over his belly and back, but it did spread to his neck, face and arms. Luckily the rash didn't bother him in any way. We don't regret getting the shots or anything, but that was a really sad week in our house. He was just so miserable it broke our hearts. He slept so much though. He slept through the night still and almost all the days. He would hardly stay up an hour before he was down for a 2 1/2 to 3 or 4 hour nap. So really, it wasn't hard on us so much, other than being heartbroken. He even kept up his appetite. He was just miserable and I was getting worried about how long it was lasting. Apparently that's normal and so was the rash after. (heat rash) phew

One of his many mimics. He loves fake talking on our phones. He wont make a sound when someone is actually on the other end of it though. 

I'll do a small birthday post soon!

Happy 11!

By 11 Months this Mellow Child of ours:

- has started to let go and walk to us! Crawling is still his preferred choice of transportation but he's getting better and better at walking. He freaks himself out too much when he realizes he's been standing and walking on his own. 

- loves to push his own stroller around. Whether we're on a walk outside or in a store, he loves it! While we were shopping one day he pushed his stroller through the whole store. Whenever he pushed it up against a wall or display he would just scream at the wall (he doesn't know how to control it at all yet) until I turned it for him. He pushes it like it's his job, head down and after 10 minutes he's panting like he's out of breath. When I went to pick him up because it was time to check out he had a total melt down! I made Jake check out while I took him outside. So embarrassing! We had our first horrific moment taking our child to the store, all because he couldn't push his own stroller! Not my favorite parent moment and not looking forward to all those other moments I know are coming. Probably the first time in checkout we weren't told how cute our baby was. :) He doesn't freak out as much when we have him stop pushing his stroller, but he still doesn't surrender it quietly.

- has started dancing to music. He usually shakes his head back and forth like he's saying no, but he's just dancing. If he's standing by the coffee table he'll go up and down on his legs and shake his head. It's the cutest thing ever! He knows how to melt my heart.

- has become attached to cars! They are his favorite toys. Really any toy with wheels is pretty good in his book. I love walking into the living room and seeing him crawling around pushing a car in front of him. It is pretty darling.

- has really started to throw things. And pretty far! This kid has an arm. If only he could figure out how to control it!

- is getting pretty good at mimicking noises I make. If I do a high pitched noise he usually does one back, or if I growl at him he'll copy me. It's a fun game we play together. 

- has a bump of a tooth! OK so there is no tooth yet, but I can definitely feel a bump! I've actually been able to feel it for just over a week now and no progress has been made since, but at least I know there may be teeth in his head! I can tell it hurts him and it breaks my heart. He's also been very clingy. He's even sat and watched a cartoon with me just to be in my lap! (Mickey Mouse Club House, and we made it through 10 whole minutes!)

- Claps! Jake has taught him to clap. We get so proud of him and he sees it and loves it. 

This is the last month we have before our Man Cub turns 1! Before I was a little freaked out (How has it already been a year?), but now I'm just really excited! I'm proud of Jake and I for keeping him alive, happy and healthy for a full year! I'm excited to celebrate his birth. I'm excited to stop nursing and have my body be all mine, mine, Mine!!! (We'll see if that actually stops at 1, I'm at a loss as to how to ween) He's changed our little family for the better and I couldn't be more grateful to have him. I am a little nervous for what year 2 will bring, mostly due to the fact that he has been such a happy and easy baby. He's already started on a little attitude when things don't go his way. He's also a hitter already! We'll have to figure out a way to work on that. We've been spoiled with what we think is the most perfect baby. He sleeps through most nights (maybe once a week I'll get up to feed him in the middle of the night, but I do that in bed and he goes right to sleep within 5 min and back to his crib he goes) from about 8:30pm to sometime between 7:10-8:30am, he still takes 2 naps a day that range from 1 1/5 to 3 hours, we just put him him his crib and he goes to sleep on his own, he wakes up happy and just bounces in his crib until we get him, he eats everything we put in front of him (he usually takes food out of his mouth to examine it and then will put it back in, messy business), he's always eager to give me kisses (wide mouthed and drooly but I'll take it!). Its about time he got a little attitude. He's been too good to us so far. :)


Going for a little walk. He thinks he's so big!

Jake's Cousin Stephanie moved to Dallas this month. :( We just started hanging out when we found out that she was moving! boooooo. We miss her and John and Cute little Jaxon! We had a farewell dinner for her at Cafe Trio with some of her friends! Mmmmmmm. If you've never been, do yourself a favor and fill your bellies there sometime. (Rosemary flatbread will never be a bad choice ;) ) We can't wait to see them again at Jake's family's Bear Lake reunion. Until then, extremely ugly snapchats will have to do. Plus, we've never been to Dallas… so we're for sure going to be planning a trip down there sometime!

Thanks for not leaving us too Lisa! <3

The most fun I've ever seen Owen have was when I left all of our crapy junk mail on our coffee table. Things got a lot out of control.

I had to document Owen's hair at the moment. He has a wild curly mullet with completely straight hair on top. Also, very thin if any hair on the sides. It's pretty fantastic. Good thing he has the prettiest face of any baby in the universe! I just love running my fingers through his curls. He's so perfect!

 I've been going for jogs/walks in the mornings. It's so nice to get out in the morning, if it could just get a little warmer. If I don't do it before Owen's first nap, there's a good chance I wont go at all. I don't so much do it to lose weight (I've accepted that I can't lose weight), but it's just nice to get out.

I feel the need to document every time Owen cuddles with me. It's so rare and my favorite moments of my life.

On a slightly less "cute" note. We also make really ugly faces in the mornings to each other. It's our wake up ritual.

 Ever pushing his stroller. Thank goodness he didn't have his meltdown at Ikea.

We took Owen to Discovery Gateway children's museum this month. I wasn't sure how much he would like it, because he's still so young, but he loved it. He thought he was so big going from the farm area, to cars, to the playhouse, to the helicopter and so on. We'll have to go back when he's a little older. He'll really love it then.

Looking super cute while waiting for his cousin Eva for our morning walk.

We had my dad watch Owen so we could go on a much needed date, when we got back this is how we found them. Oh this melts my heart!

Going for more walks, outside of his stroller.

If he MUST be IN his stroller, this is his preferred position. Sitting is so overrated.

We take a lot of pictures in bed in the mornings. (anything that will keep him happy, that doesn't require me getting out of bed)

We're really looking forward to Owen's Birthday Party. I've been getting ready for it for a while! Not that it's going to be a huge thing, I've been making random things over the past month already just so I'm not rushed in the end. Thankfully all I have left at this point is just the food. Phew. Hopefully it all turns out as planned. We'll find out in about a month! Can't wait to celebrate my Panda's 1 year mark!!!

10!

By 10 months this Growling child of ours:

- is WALKING! He doesn't let go of what he's holding on to and then start walking yet. But he does walk to me from across the room if we put him in the middle of the room. He's gotten really good at correcting himself if he's about to fall over. So proud of my little man. It will be weird when he's just walking around the house like it's nothing!

- has discovered growling. I'm not sure where he picked it up from or if he just realized he could do it one day but he growls all the time! He has a higher monster growl, but he also has this evil sounding growl thats low and scary. He thinks its so funny.

- Shakes his head back and forth. He started by coping people and then realized that it means "no".


Owen got his first high fever. :( He was so cuddly that whole day. Poor thing. I don't know what it was but he got up to 103. It only lasted the one day and then he woke up the next morning normal and happy!

 Enjoying his first PB&J after we got the OK from the doctor that peanut butter was safe for him!

 He loves being dropped onto our pillows on our bed. I snapped a photo and thought it would be appropriate for a Valentine's Day picture. haha

 So for Valentine's Day I had a big dinner planned but unfortunately I thought I was going to die that whole day and the day before. My dad watched Owen while Jake took me to the instacare. Turned out I had strep. Bleh. I was pretty excited to get the antibiotics though. The next day I felt OK so I made my Valentine's Day dinner a day later. Homemade Creme Brûlée and all. Sooooo good!


Own's Great Grandma made him his own Valentine's Day cookie. She is the cutest and Owen was pretty excited about it. (too bad Dada ate almost all of it)


Always always stealing our phones. He has the swipe down pretty good already!

 My friend Lindsey was in town from Reno to bless her baby around family, so we met up with her and her family, and took Trax for the first time to downtown. (please notice that hairdo he's sporting)

Looking sharp for sweet little Ava's blessing day!

 Typical sight in our house in the evening. :)

 I seriously love getting these two together. Owen and his cousin Eva are already so cute and interactive with each other. Eva is such a chunk and Owen is so skinny that you could hardly tell that they were 4 months apart size wise. Owen's skinny little face makes him look so much older though. I just love them both!

 Looking very christmasy while hitting up the Sam's Club.

Thanks to Jake's parents for watching Owen, we were able to finally go to another Joshua James concert! I am completely in love with his voice! <3 I don't ever want to go back to that venue though. I'll stick with the 21 and older venues for sure. This one had no age limit and I could not deal with all the 16 year olds there. Someone brought a baby and there was a 16 year old looking boy who kept trying to make out with his manly looking girlfriend while his 12 year old brother, who he brought along, kept bugging him. And it was in Provo! I can for sure say I wont be back. Please play in Salt Lake again Joshua Fred!

My little unhelpful helper. He loves to unload the silverware for me... and throw them all on the floor. (excuse his ugly "stay home all day" clothes)

 Zoo Day!

The Zoo does free admission day the last Wednesday of the month from November-February. We decided to check it out on the last day. Wow it was crowded! But still not too bad. It was still cool enough that the big cats were out and about. It was cool to finally see them.

 I think the Tiger and the Giraffe's were Owen's favorites.

Getting some delicious Thai food with my handsome boys.

I'm struggling to keep up to date with this blog! Owen really turned 10 months 2 weeks ago. I can't believe in less than 2 months my little boy is going to turn 1! I think I get teary eyed at least once a night. I'm pretty sure I've had a full on meltdown to Jake at least twice already. I'm completely crazy! This sweet little boy has brought and unreal amount of joy to my life that I didn't even know existed! His little personality comes out more and more every day. Unfortunately for us that includes his little attitude. He has this angry/frustrated squeal he does when things aren't going his way. I mostly think it's funny but try not to show him that. If he's pushing around his walking toy and it gets up against a wall he'll just scream at it because he doesn't know how to turn it yet. We also had our first melt down in the store. I was letting him push around his stroller in a department store and when I picked him up he freaked out and started yelling at me. So embarrassing! Along with showing his attitude, he's also able to show more love. If he sees me lying on the ground he'll come crawl up to me and lay his head down on me or give me kisses. I love it so much. If I start to fake cry he'll also come up to me and rest his head on my head or shoulder. He's just the sweetest little man ever!