Human Beds and Impressions

For some crazy reason, there are times when Owen just refuses to sleep. I don't understand it. If I could take a nice long nap, I most certainly would. He just gets so exhausted, but fights it so hard. I'm not sure if he has nightmares of his journey through the birth canal, or he's afraid he'll sleep through a feeding, or what...but he is a fighter when it comes to naps.

...but not always. Sometimes he conks out. Typically this happens when someone is patient enough with him to hold and rock him to sleep. He seems to prefer sleeping on SOMEONE rather than on SOMETHING. Here are some of the individuals who have become "human beds":

Daddy:

Mommy:

Grandma V:

Grandpa W:

Auntie Megan:

Great Uncle Jon:

Bridget:

And that's just those I have pictures of. I know there are many others (Grandma W, Auntie Kimmie, Auntie Kerry, Christy Gunnell, and Diana Hardy to name a few) that have become "human beds."

After having these naps on "human beds" sometimes Owen leaves some impressions behind. Following a long nap on my chest, when Owen was pealed back Miles and I discovered this lovely impression on his face:
(If you look closely, you can see the cute little imprints of his finger nails from having pressed his hand against his face)

And another recent nap left me with an impression of his ear on my arm:

And while there are times I wish he would nap in his crib or the swing, I also cherish these moments because I know they won't last forever. And there's nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby in your arms!

Happy Belated Birthday Daddy!

Since yesterday was your birthday, Dad, I thought I'd take a moment to list some of the reasons I love you most!

Dad, you are a wonderful man, husband and father. I have gained and learned so much from you throughout the years. I attended a Relief Society meeting where they talked about love languages. They said there are three main types: Verbal (words of affirmation and quality time), Task (Gifts and Acts of Service) and Physical Touch. One of the questions asked which love language I was given most growing up. I had a hard time deciding because I received all three of them from both you and Mom. Thank you for giving completely of yourself to us.


I have seen the love you have and show toward Mom. I love that you never fail to get flowers for Mom for birthdays, anniversaries or other special occasions and that you always include a long love letter with each event. It is because of this, that I have high expectations of my husband in showing similar acts of love toward me! But you have also been amazing at writing letters to each of us throughout the years. I cherish the hand-written cards and letters that come in the mail from you. Although it's a little archaic, as you prefer hand writing rather than using the computer, I love it. And it just seems to have more meaning when I get a hand-written letter in the mail.


You are so generous and constantly make sure that each of us is taken care of. Whether that is by paying for meals, plane tickets, gas, car repairs, school tuition, or to help bring a baby into this world...you have always given generously of your hard earned money. Thank your for your incredibly giving attitude. We often are undeserving.

You have always taken an interest in what we were doing, whether that was music, school, work, and especially sports! You have got to be the biggest sports fanatic ever. You encouraged me in all of my sports activities and helped me find interest in softball, soccer, swimming, and volleyball. You never missed a game if you could help it and drove thousands of miles over the years for the games all of us kids played in. I could always hear you cheering us on and an occasionally yelling at refs. ;) You even found happiness in watching me play measly intramural games at BYU once I had finished my competitive sports days. You have always been my number one fan! Thank you for attending my games, practices and helping me to get better by practicing with me on the weekends and evenings.

You have done so much for our past generations in searching out and completing our genealogy. I remember fondly, when you took me to the Genealogy Library in Salt Lake City a number of years back and taught me about searching for our ancestors. I also remember going to the library with you as a child, and helping you to search through many, many, MANY rolls of microfiche. You taught me the importance of doing the work and encouraged me to do it as well. I have always seen the love you have for seeking out our family history.


I love the memories I have of the time we spent reading together. It started out by reading the Funnies with me each Sunday. We would take turns reading for the characters and go through all of the comic strips. Eventually we moved on to reading "The Work and the Glory" together. You were ever so patient with me and my busy high school schedule in finding times to read together. And eventually, when I became so busy, you kindly asked if you could continue on without me...which was ok with me, but I still cherish those times together.

You are funny! I can always count on you to give a silly face, tell a funny story or act like a total goof ball. Case in point:


You are an animal lover! You taught me to love all kinds of animals and would take me to the pet shop to look at and hold the different animals there. You allowed us to get pets, knowing full well that you would likely be the caretaker in the end. You were so loving and kind to our pets through their final days. I'll never forget the letter you sent telling me when you had to put Sydney to sleep. I bawled my eyes out, but was so grateful that he had you to hold and stroke him as he passed away.

You have a strong testimony of the gospel and have always shared that with us freely. I have never doubted your love of God, the Savior, or the gospel. You are devoted to your callings and serve others willingly. You have showed kindness to those in need and given of your time and energy even when it was inconvenient or undesirable. You are obedient, honest, and loyal.

But what I think I love the very most is your sensitive and tender heart. I love that you aren't afraid to show your feelings and openly shed tears in sad or touching movies, when you are moved spiritually in church, or when you hear beautiful music. I have always loved seeing this soft side to you and I'm grateful that you showed me what it meant to be a real man.


I love you so much and I hope that you know I am so grateful that I have been blessed to have you as my father! I am so glad you were born on this day! Happy Birthday, Daddy!

3 Months

Our little man turned three months old on July 30th. I can't believe how fast the past three months have gone. Here are some of the things that Owen has been doing lately:

• He is very happy in the mornings and loves to talk and coo.
• He loves to smile and laugh. He gets especially giggly when his Daddy kisses him on his neck and tummy or when we make silly faces and sounds at him. His squeal is to die for.

• He is very finicky about when he wants his pacifier and will let you know when he does not want it by forcefully spitting it out or "gagging" on it. He is often quick to replace said pacifier with his fist.

• He enjoys time on his play mat and has gotten quite good at reaching out and grabbing at the birdies that fly above him.

• We call him the drool monster. No teeth yet (thank heavens!) but he doesn't seem to know what to do with the spit in his mouth so it is a constant flow outward. And as soon as we wipe it up, he proceeds to push out more bubbles of spit.
• He's still pretty little and only weighs about 11 lbs. 2 oz. (this is what I weighed when I was born!)
  

• He is sleeping better. He typically gets about 6-8 hours (9 if we're lucky) of sleep each night. On occasion he has a wacky night and sleeps in two 4 hour shifts.

• He eats for long periods of time. (30 min is short, otherwise up to an hour) I keep waiting for him to get more efficient, but I think it's just comforting to him.
• He still likes his swing and the bouncy chair, and has become more intent at watching the bubbles in his chair attachment and his environment around him. He also likes to kick his feet at the dangling toys while in his chair.
  

• He likes to look at shiny objects (my watch, iPhones, cameras, etc.) and will stare at them in awe. This is often a deterrent to getting cute snapshots of him smiling, as his face immediately goes into a look of extreme concentration when a camera is put in front of him.

And that's the latest on our cutie this past month!

Stay-at-home-Mom

As of July 23rd, I am officially a stay-at-home-Mom, or a SAHM. My twelve weeks of maternity leave are up, I have given my notice, and resigned from my job as a youth therapist at Wasatch Mental Health. It feels pretty monumental, as it's something I've wanted for a very long time.

There is a part of me that misses some of my work...the clients I loved that touched my heart, knowing that I have helped someone in their life to become a better person or to rid themselves of pains and scars that have weighed them down, and feeling as though I am daily using my mind and education.

However, there is plenty that I don't miss...the 8 to 5 grind, defiant clients, parents who are unwilling to change to help their family, being a witness to horrific, inhumane acts against children, being micromanaged by management, feeling helpless in the face of laws that do not stand by the victims, and living for the weekend. These are the moments that did not make me feel as though I was living up to our work motto of "Embracing Wellness."

I've thought a lot about returning to work at some point and to some small degree, but I want to be able to give myself fully to Owen and raising him. I want to give my talents and energy to him so that he can have the opposite experience of so many of my clients, by having loving parents that are willing and able to give everything to him. And I am so grateful that I am able to do this.

I've had two experiences were people have had strong opinions about my choice. One person was a client's parent. When I told her that I was pregnant, and if all went well, I was not planning on returning to work, she said, "Wow...all that education for nothing." I could not believe the gall she had to say that to me. And not only did she say it once, but TWICE! On two different occasions! I don't know why I felt the need to defend my choice, but I did. I told her that I had worked for four years, and if I could return part-time, I would, but that my employer did not offer part-time as an option. However, as I think back on this, what I should have said was, "No way! I got that education so I could help others. I helped other people for four years. And now, because I CAN, I want to put all that I have learned to helping my son and raise him to be a good, healthy person. And that is a far more important job than I could ever be paid for!"

Another experience happened recently when I went home to California for a visit. I saw an old family friend. She said she was thinking about me and my job. I said, "The one I don't have anymore?" and laughed. She said, "Why's that?!" I explained that following my maternity leave I quit so I could stay at home with Owen. She said, "Was that a good idea in this economy???" I said, "If it means I can stay home with my son, then yeah it's a good idea!" I could not begin to understand how she could think that it wouldn't be a good idea. What, about staying home with your child all day every day is a bad idea?! At the time I didn't know that she had recently lost her job. So I understand from her viewpoint, that quitting a good job is crazy. But it's just very interesting to me the different perspectives there are out there on the subject.

But I always come back to feeling extremely grateful that I am able to stay home with my son each day. I am thankful that Miles has a good job and is able to provide for our needs. I am thankful that I get to take part in THE HARDEST, but THE MOST REWARDING job EVER. Period. I am thankful that I get to see so many sweet and tender moments and I don't have to miss out on anything, because I know they are fleeting and that Owen will continue to change and grow quickly. I am thankful for a sweet baby who smiles and laughs and makes me feel loved. I am thankful for a husband who works so hard and comes home each night with a smile on his face when he sees me and Owen. I am thankful that I get to be a wife and a mother and give 100% of my day to these roles. And this is what I call "Embracing Wellness."

Reading, Reading, Reading...

I've always had a love of reading, but while in school, I stopped reading for pleasure. Reading all those text books...wait...who am I kidding...I didn't do my assigned readings. But anyway...being FORCED to read made reading for pleasure less desirable. Once I graduated I started to read again. But eventually, my love of reading wained again when I started feeling bogged down by work and didn't want to use my free time to read anymore. Well...I have found a new way to enjoy reading again. I read while I nurse Owen. I mean, there have got to be hours of time each day that I am sitting there feeding him, so why not multi-task. I first started multi-tasking by becoming a Facebook addict on my phone while nursing, but then decided that my time could be spent more productively by reading.

In May I read:

In June I downed six books:

And so far in July I have read:















It has also helped that I joined a book club, so that gives me one reading assignment per month. However, I'm devouring books faster than that. Anyone have any good reading suggestions for me?

Thumb Sucker Caught in the Act!

At about five days old, Owen figured out how to stick his thumb in his mouth:

The next day, his finger found its way into his mouth:

Try as I might to replace his thumb and fingers with his pacifier (cause we all know it's way easier to get rid of a pacifier than a thumb!), he continues to spit it out and find greater pleasure in sucking on his fist.

Here are a series of some of my favorite pictures that demonstrate Owen getting caught in the act!

Even though he's a defiant little stinker, I smile every time I see these pictures. :D

2 month trauma

I'm a little behind on this, but thought I should post on Owen's two month check up he had on June 29th. His stats were as follows:

Weight: 10 lbs. 5 oz. - 30th percentile
Length: 23 inches - 55th percentile
Head: 39 cm. - 40th percentile

So, after a bit of a slow start, he is growing. The doctor said he looked really good, and healthy. The nurse said he is super cute. I said, "I'm sure you say that to all the moms." She said, "NO! There are cute babies and there are really cute babies. He's really cute." Of course that's just what I like to hear. ;) However, the big part of the two month check up is starting immunizations. I had considered looking into them and deciding which ones for sure I wanted him to get, which ones I wanted to postpone, and which ones I didn't want him to get at all. Well...being that I can be a bit of a procrastinator, I never got around to doing this and figured we'd just get em all. So we did. It was so sad to see his little legs held down while they gave him his shots. I had to keep myself from crying with him. Luckily, Owen didn't cry for long and was a wonderful little trooper.



That night, however, I think all the trauma from the day came out. I had a Relief Society meeting to attend and a movie to see afterward, so I left Owen with Miles all evening. Unfortunately, Miles said Owen cried almost all night long with only short intervals of quiet, non-fussy time. The poor boy must have been feeling so miserable. (I mean Owen, not Miles) Not to mention the fact that this was Miles's first full evening with Owen by himself. It was hard for me to be away knowing that Owen was so sad, but I'm sure there's not a lot I could have done about it. I'm grateful to Miles for watching Owen so that I could have some time for myself, and I'm glad my little guy got over his trauma after that night!

Good deeds from a loving husband

Lately I have been EXHAUSTED. Even though Owen is getting more hours of sleep on average each night, I cannot seem to get enough sleep and find myself needing at least one nap during the day. Today was one of those days. Owen did not get as much sleep as he typically does, and with "the blowout," I was up longer than normal for my middle of the night feeding. I also had a dentist appointment this morning, which meant I had to get up and going for the day earlier than I normally do. SO...needless to say, I was especially tired when I came home from the dentist. I was hoping for one of Owen's 2 and 1/2 hour naps that he sometimes does, but instead found myself caring for a fussy baby who has been fighting his naps on more recent occasions. Lately, Owen gets so tired, but fights it and we end up rocking him to sleep and holding him through his naps, as he typically wakes up if we try to set him down. So I was struggling with this and sent a text message to Miles at work saying, "Ugh...so tired and no sleeping baby." Around 5:30 PM, as I was sitting in the rocking chair gently rubbing Owen's back as he slept in my arms, I heard the door open. It was music to my ears. FINALLY! Relief was here! Little did I know that my husband would answer my unsaid prayers on his own. This was our conversation:

Miles: "Why don't you give Owen to me so you can go rest."
Me: "He's stirring. He'll wake up. And he probably will want to eat again soon."
Miles: "When does he need to eat?"
Me: "Anytime from now to the next hour."
Miles: "Well, give him to me and you go rest. I'll get you when he needs to eat."
Me: "He's going to wake up." (sounding unsure and feeling as though it's a pointless effort)
Miles: "Either give him to me, or I'll take him from you."
I look at him questioningly.
Miles: "I feel like it's leaning toward the latter."
I give him a face that says, "oh please."
Miles: "I feel like you're being kind of selfish with him." (Obviously trying to get me to give him up.)
Me: "Ok, fine."

Thirty minutes later Miles came in to get me. It wasn't the two and a half hour nap I was looking for, but boy was it blissful, uninterrupted sleep. Then, Miles followed up with another good deed. After feeding Owen, he fell asleep in my arms. Miles made dinner for us and brought it to me while I cradled our sleeping baby. Tonight, I am feeling like I have the best husband EVER! They may have been small acts, but they felt like the world to me! Thanks, babe, I love you!

A smile is worth...

A smile is worth a thousand times of getting pooped on. Ok so I think the saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words," but I had a moment last night (or rather very early this morning...as in 4:15 am this morning) when I realized that as frustrating as it is to not only have a blowout, but also have that blowout go all over you, that it all goes away when your little one looks up at you and gives you the most adorable smile. It makes it all worth it, and it just melts my heart. I had a similar experience about a month or so ago when I was so exhausted and Owen was waking up in the wee hours of the morning for an early feeding. I couldn't believe it was time to feed him again and no matter how upset I wanted to be at him for waking me up, as soon as I looked at that sweet face, I just melted and lost all feelings of anger or frustration. I mean...how can you be mad at this?

What's a smile worth to you?

A Hot Summer Deserves A Cool Treat

After a slow start to summer (with snow on May 24th) it has officially swung into full force. With temperatures reaching near 100 degrees, it's nice to get a cool treat. Lucky for us, there's a new shaved ice shack up the road from us. Earlier this month, I somehow convinced Miles to go on a walk with me (he always tries to avoid this) up the hill to try out this shaved ice. Granted it's no Bahama Bucks with their fabulous Bahama Rama Mama (ice cream, with flavored shaved ice and cream on top), but it's a decent runner up. They still do the ice cream with shaved ice, but the quality is lacking comparatively. As Miles states, there are chunks in the ice and it doesn't quite melt in your mouth the same way. He felt their slogan "Soft as a Cloud" is false advertising. But for me, since I am no where near a Bahama Bucks, this will have to do this summer seeing as it is within walking distance.

Poised (or posed rather) and ready to go:

Miles with the shack:

Owen and me with our shaved ice. I got Tiger's Blood (strawberry, cherry and coconut) and Miles got Piña Colada.

Dyed tongues: