Pumpkinland

We heard about Pumpkinland from a couple of our friends, so we decided to check it out. We went on a Saturday with our friends, Chase, Christy and Mila Gunnell. Our camera battery died on us, but the Gunnells were nice enough to take pictures for us.

It was the perfect beautiful, sunny, fall day to be there.

We started out with the corn maze. Here is Chase with a cutie Mila:There was a sign saying to find the "hidden, secret room" in the corn maze. If we did, we would get a treat. We worked really hard to find it. Finally...SUCCESS!Of course we couldn't resist this photo op:
And another one...It was just hard to get our "kitties" to look in the right direction.
After we finished the corn maze, we went through the animal farm. We first came upon some goats.
Owen wasn't too sure...
This poor guy had his head stuck. We had to work pretty hard to get him turned just the right way to get his horns back through the fence.
Christy & Mila and me & Owen in a giant pumpkin:
Owen really enjoyed crawling through this caterpillar tunnel:
A final shot of the babes on some humongous pumpkins before leaving:
It was a really fun day and Owen had a blast running around the maze, petting the animals, climbing and crawling all over the place. Owen is at such a fun age right now and is really starting to enjoy activities like this. We came home with two tiny, Owen-sized pumpkins. I'm so glad we went and I'm excited to go again next year.

Playmates

No...not that kind of playmate.

Owen has had lots of fun play dates with other children/babies that are about his age.

First, we have Felix. He and Felix seem to get along pretty well. Owen is about four months older, but I don't think he's too much of a brute to Felix. (It seems like it's always the one that is older/more capable that picks on the younger one.) For the most part they get along, even when they try to steal one another's binkies.

A while back, Owen also got to spend the day with Bennett while us mommies played. B is just a couple months younger than Owen. They are definitely cut from the same cloth. Often, they have been doing things developmentally in a very similar way and have similar behaviors. However, I will give B this...he eats WAY better than Owen does. We only got a few shots of them together and although they look grumpy in most of them, I promise they had fun together. And I had a ton of fun with Kaela while she was in town for the day too! :)

We've also been able to spend more time with Carly's kids. Her twins are only about 3 weeks older than Owen. They are so adorable. Owen loves going over to their house because they have so many fun toys and things to play with. The first time, he spent a lot of his time on the bike or pushing the bike. The girls weren't sure what to think of this little boy invading their space and pushing them around.

The next time we went over, Owen spent a lot of time on the trampoline. It was his first time on one and he loved it!Owen has also spent a lot of time with Bridget's kids, Paige and Claire. Sadly, I don't have many pictures of them together. They went to the Bean Life Science Museum at BYU a couple weeks ago when it was cold and rainy outside. He really enjoyed running around the museum and looking at all the cool animals and creatures they have there.

Recently, he got together with the girls and their cousins to play at the Scera Park. Here is a cute picture of all of them having a snack on the bench together.

One thing about Owen is, he's pretty mild mannered when it comes to playing with other kids. He will often go up to play with their toys, but if someone takes something away from him, he doesn't usually cry or yell about it. He also tends to get pushed around by kids that are older than him too. He's a very sensitive soul and a lot of times if someone pushes, hits or is otherwise rough with him, he will stand there for a second with a surprised look on his face and then give the saddest pout and start crying. He does this even if he didn't get hurt in the process. He's so sweet and sometimes I feel so bad for him. I'm also worried for the day when he learns to push back and picks up on these bad habits. I suppose it's inevitable. But even still, he loves playing with other kids. And I love having so many friends with children his age. It is so great to spend time with other moms and their little ones. :)

IUI Attempt #2 + Good News

Fail.

We did an attempt around the end of September. It didn't work. I was more upset than last time. When we went in to do the IUI, we talked with the nurse about what we do if it didn't work. I told her that I was feeling ready to move forward with injections the next time to increase our chances. However, I mentioned that Miles and I would be going to London at the end of the month. She said that with our schedule for London, that it would be better to wait for IUI with injections until the next month. She said that it would be too hard to schedule things and make sure that the time table would work before we left. We decided that the next time I would just take pills to help with ovulation since we would basically be trying on our own.

I think it was because of this that I was more disappointed. It's just hard going month to month and then knowing that one month is essentially a wash. Also, if things don't work out the next couple months, December will likely be a wash as well since we'll be in California for half the month. So it just narrows down the time we have to make strong efforts toward having a baby.

However, that being said, we recently got some good news. Miles' company merged with another company (SSI) back in June. This last week he found out that his insurance would be changing over to the new company's insurance. They also have a high deductible insurance. However, where our deductible before was $6000, it is now only $3000. Also, they cover 60% of the deductible (weird) so we will only ever pay $1200 in a calendar year, as they cover 100% after you meet your deductible. But here's the amazing part...

SSI is based out of Connecticut. This means that the insurance follows Connecticut laws...which cover infertiliy! Miles found out more about the details. Apparently they cover three rounds of IUI and two rounds of IVF!!! That's right, two whole rounds of IVF! It's incredible and so unheard of since we live in Utah and typically would never have access to something like that. We still don't know all the ins and outs of exactly what they cover (doctors, medications, ICSI, etc.) for IVF, but we'll find out once the insurance kicks in in December. We are super excited about this, and I've got to admit, it definitely picked up my spirits after our second failed IUI attempt.

Changing Lives

My friend, Sachi, came over the other day. We were talking about her job and different work experiences. Hearing some of her stories brought back memories of my own and working with some amazing people. I love being a part of the healing process and seeing real change take place. It's an incredible feeling when it's so clear to you what is going on and you can help the client discover it for themselves. Or, when they surprise you and make huge leaps forward in understanding themselves and what they need to do in order to move ahead. It really is a beautiful thing.

Well, we were talking for a while and I mentioned that I need to get on top of my CEUs and make sure I have them before they are due. She looked at DOPL (Division of Professional Licensing) online and looked up my license to see when it was due to be renewed. She turned to me and said, "Kendra...this is saying it is expired." I said, "What?!" Sure enough, it had expired a year ago. I freaked out because I wasn't sure if I would need to take my test again, or what would be required of me.

After she left, I kind of had a melt down. I had already been feeling as though I was missing work, but this solidified in me a fear I didn't realize I had - a fear that I might never return to work. I mean, I LOVE being a Mom. I feel so incredibly blessed that I get to stay home with Owen every single day. I know there are women (and men) out there who would die for that opportunity, and gladly give up their jobs if they could. So I don't take my situation for granted. And honestly, there are plenty of times people ask me if I miss work, and typically my answer is, "Sometimes." And it's true. I don't yearn to be back in an 8-5 job, dealing with loads of paperwork, bureaucratic rules, difficult clients, dysfunctional families, unchanging parents, and awful, tragic stories of abuse and neglect. However, I do miss empowering weakened clients, teaching eager parents, building trust with broken hearts, and seeing that incredible, life-enduring change in others. I don't want to walk away from that forever.

So I called the DOPL social work board to find out what I need to do to renew my license. She assured me they had sent a notice to my house informing me that my license was due to be renewed. I assured her that I had a fried brain from having given birth only months before and experiencing insanity-producing sleepless nights since then. (I don't think she cared or empathized with me.) She told me that I just needed to pay the fees, keep up on my CEUs and it would be renewed. Hallelujah! And to be honest, it's kind of great because I only have to do 1/2 of my CEUs as they are prorated to the time your license was renewed. Yay!

I'm feeling better now that I have my license again, and I am attending conferences and clinical trainings to enhance my skills and remind me of the years I studied and worked. And while I know that I may not be able to find something part-time that would allow me to not put Owen in daycare, and it may be a while before I work again, I know that this is only a short period of my life. I cherish my time with my son, and I am grateful that I can influence and change one life (the most important life) at this time.

Alpine Loopdy Loop

After the Sunday afternoon session of Conference, the family all took a drive through the Alpine Loop. Marci was nice enough to come with us and sit in the back with Owen. I don't expect her to do that again any time soon. Owen did not seem to enjoy the Alpine Loop at all...which in turn made it rather miserable for the rest of us. A crying/screaming baby does not make for relaxing, peaceful, drive through God's beautiful outdoors. Since we were trying to get through as quickly as possible, we didn't stop to take any pictures. Luckily we hit our destination and stopped for a picnic dinner. The view surrounding us was beautiful.
There was a river running off to the side of us. Owen discovered it and was very excited to splash and throw rocks into the water.
Grandma played with him and made sure he didn't go for a swim.Here is Owen with a rather large rock. I love the expression on his face.That rock being dropped into the river resulted in water all over my face and our clothes.
After a while of hanging out following dinner, a park patrol came by. Apparently we were in a paid area for campers. They told us we either needed to pay to stay or leave. It worked out for us to just leave since we were already done with dinner. Even though we got booted and Owen was a pill in the car, it was a pleasant, enjoyable evening outside with the family.

Conference Weekend

Miles's parents were in town for conference weekend, so they came over for the Sunday afternoon session. Owen got in a lot of play time with his Grandpa during these two hours.
Daddy jumped in on the action by nibbling on his feet:
Owen was not very content watching conference, but Grandpa helped pass the time by letting Owen try on his shoes. And step out of them. And step back in. And step back out. You can see where this is going...
I will say this much about having young children during conference - it is very difficult to get much out of it. Between feeding and entertaining him, a lot was lost on us. However, one of my favorite things about this past conference was the announcement about rebuilding the Provo Tabernacle into a second Provo Temple. I was totally surprised to hear that, but so happy. I was devastated last year when the Tabernacle caught fire one evening and was nearly destroyed. I have been there numerous time for stake conferences and musical events. It is so beautiful and such a landmark here. I am so pleased that it will be restored and built into a building that will be used to make eternal covenants and relationships.