Homebound

Not too much to blog about this week. Alex and I have been homebodies since Monday. I have come down with a cold which sadly I believe Alex is getting now. We have been taking it easy this week. Alex has been doing allot of sleeping, we are talking 8:30pm-8:30am with one feeding in between. He has also been napping well. I think between his shots, teething and the cold going around our house he doesn't feel well. It's been a blessing to me that he will sleep because I sure need it this week.

On a side note it snowed on Tuesday. The first real snowstorm with any snow to show for it since Alex was born. It's funny how much I enjoy the snow more when I can view it through my window. Alex loved watching the snow fall. I can't wait until we can get him out in it to play.

Back to napping, Alex is down so I am going to follow him while I can. Have a great week!

6 month check up

We took Alex to his 6 month check up yesterday. As we suspected he is teething. I knew there had to be a reason for his random sleep patterns lately. After I reported he was back to normal he didn't sleep much Sunday night. It was a relief to get some reason from our Dr. She was also pleased to hear that Alex is finally napping in his crib and sleeping better at night. I told her that although he loves his cereal he doesn't like any of the solid foods I have given him. She asked if I eat spicy food and when I told her yes she said that the food I am giving him probably tastes bland after having my milk. Very interesting!! Alex is healthy and doing well for his age. I may have to change these numbers later as I can't read them our Doc's handwriting well but you will get the idea. He is little just under 15 lbs and in the 10 % for his weight. He is long though 27 ish inches and in the 75% for his height and in the 50% for his head diameter. He received his regular shots plus the flu vaccine as well and did much better than his last appointment. I think his usual nurse just does a better job overall. She is very fast but gentle and efficient. The last time we had another nurse who didn't do as good of a job IMHO. After a rough start to bedtime last night Alex slept all night from 8:30 to 8 minus the hour he was up after 10. He then took a two hour nap this morning and is back down for his second nao today. He doesn't seem to be feeling well so nap time is working out great. Anywho here are a few pictures of Alex from yesterday. Enjoy!

Taken in the waiting room, he had no clue what was coming. Not sure what is up with his zit. Has he hit puberty already?

Down to our diaper for check up time

Time to be weighed, he hates this cold table.

Waiting for the doctor with Daddy.

Time for his shots, he didn't dig this part at all.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

Things have finally settled down around here. We finished putting up our Christmas decorations, just have the outside lights left to do. I love this time of year!! Alex is pretty much back to his happy self. He napped well yesterday and slept the majority of the night. Hopefully he will do the same again tonight. I need my sleep!! Tomorrow is his 6 month appointment to get more shots. I am looking forward to seeing how much he has grown but not to hear him cry when getting his shots. That's a sucky part of being a Mom.

I promised a few pictures from Thanksgiving. I wish I had more but just like every other year things were hectic and taking pictures was the last thing on my list. Before I leave you with some pictures I wanted to say how thankful I am for you, for my son, my hubby, family, friends, home, health.... the list could go on for miles. I have so much to be thankful for. This year I focus on the opportunity I have to be a Mom to the most adorable little boy around. I hope you have lots to be thankful for too.

Now on to some pictures from our crazy Thanksgiving!

Alex hanging out with cousin Shae. She worships him!!

A little chin-a-gin entertainment from Shae

and Braxton

Alex playing with Jillian's cell phone. Jason loves this picture because of the possessive look I caught on Alex's face.

Alex posing for the camera in his Thanksgiving outfit. He received the little t-day bib and pumpkin socks from my good friend Anna-Marie, thanks girl!

What does your family do on Thanksgiving after the turkey is gobbled up? Our family likes to take naps, here are a few nappers I caught in action.

Alex napping with Cousin Areiann

My BIL Bishop Johnson taking a catnap. I really don't call him Bishop Johnson, I am just saying it to try and get used to the idea. It still doesn't seem real.

Cousins Jillian and Hilary taking a snooze on Grandma's bed with Alex.

Nothing nice to say!

My mom always told me if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all. Well I decided to take that to heart when blogging about Alex the past few days. Normally I am a proud mom with lots to say. The past few days have been a struggle. I have swore Alex will be an only child after this weekend. I am not sure if it's the thanksgiving food I ate, a growth spurt, teething, gas oh who knows. He hasn't napped well or slept well at all since Thanksgiving day. He has been our little grump!! He has been up every two or so hours both nights. Luckily I have an awesome hubby to keep me somewhat sane. I will update everyone on our wonderful Thanksgiving complete with some cute pictures as soon as things settle down around here. For now (cross your fingers) Alex is napping and Jason and I are putting up the Christmas decorations. I hope you are having a wonderful holiday weekend. Please tell me someone out there has gone through this only child phase. I can't be alone can I?

The little things

It's the little things that make me smile. Like the sound of the garage door informing Alex and I that Jason has returned home after a long day's work. Or what about hearing Alex blowing raspberries with a binky in his mouth at three am. Yup, it was hard to be mad at him last night when he was awake and happy.

Hope the little things make you smile today. Have a good one!

My BIL the Bishop

So I haven't had time the past few days to post. As of Sunday my Brother-in-law Mike became the Bishop of his LDS ward. It's a huge honor but also a huge responsibility for both him and his family. My sister was a little stressed with so much going on so I decided to help her out. I made brownies and two different types of cookies for the luncheon after church on Sunday. It was a good day visiting with family. Jason and I ended up staying late so he could play video games with Brax while I played ticket to ride with my sis and bil. Mike even made his special popcorn. I don't know what it is but ever since I was little I always thought Mike's popcorn was the best. Boy did it taste good!

A goofy picture from a few years back of my nephew Braxton and my brother-in-law Mike.

What has Alex been up to the past few days? Well he has developed a terrible *fake* cough. On Friday he would cough then I would then he would laugh and start all over again. Smart little kid!

He has eaten his first sweet potatoes. He isn't too found of them as you can tell. We will try a few more times and then move onto another food next week. For now he likes his cereal the most.

Can't say I blame him, I think they are pretty gross myself!

He also had his first taste of celery. He sucked on a celery stick for a few minutes Sunday before he dropped it on the floor just like everything else.

Ot oh... there goes the celery!

My nieces took him outside on Sunday and let him swing, he loved it. I can't wait until we have a yard and an outdoor swing for him.

He could have stayed in there all day, he loved it!

Hanging out with cousin Shae.Gotta love a man with a pot belly!

For the last 24 hours he has a little fussy and has hurled on himself, me and Jason multiple times. I am not sure if it's something I ate or what. He is doing a little better now so hopefully it has passed.

He has also done his fair share of sleeping the past few days including more successful naps in his crib. =) Here are a few times he wasn't in his crib.

Who doesn't enjoy a Sunday nap in their cousin's arms?

This was taken just minutes ago. Alex couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. Too bad Dad isn't really sleeping.

Tomorrow we will be prepping for Thanksgiving. If I don't have time to post let me wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving! I am so thankful to have so many amazing friends and family.

BARO

BARO- What's that you might be thinking? Oh you have never heard of Before Alex Roger OwYoung? Let me explain....

It's 2 am and I have just finished feeding Alex when I hear one of our neighbors pulling into their garage. My first thought was "man do you know what time it is" then I stopped myself when I realized that before Alex was born Jason and I would often be up until 2 or 3 in the morning. This got me thinking what else happened BARO...

# 1 Sleep- yup I would go to bed and sleep the whole night through. It was fabulous!

# 2 Staying up late, sleeping in late-I remember getting up when I wanted to on a Saturday morning often late.

# 3 Spontaneous adventures out- you know going to get ice cream, rent a movie, go for a ride, whatever it was, there was never any planning we would just hop in the car and go.

#4 Clean clothes- no poop, pee or puke on my clothes. I would wear one outfit a day.

#5 Date night- Jason and I would go to dinner or hit a movie. We did our own thing whenever we wanted.

#6- Eating what I wanted, when I wanted to- I never had to think how will this Dt. Coke at 10 pm affect Alex. Will these beans give him gas?

Now don't get me wrong there are other BARO things too like...

Less Giggles- I don't remember hearing as much laughter at our house before Alex was born.

Less Pictures- Before Alex was here I didn't care as much about capturing the day to day events in our life.

Less Gratitude- This Thanksgiving more than ever I have so much to be grateful for.

Less Joy in the small things-We are thrilled to watch Alex roll over, laugh, blow raspberries, eating cereal, sleep, smile, jump, and even cry. Each first, each small thing is a huge deal at our house.

So BARO has it's pro's but after 6 months of AARO I wouldn't have it any other way. We love you Miser!!

Alex in one of my favorite outfits, I love the layered look!

Happy 1/2 B-day Bug!

So Alex turned 6 months old today. Where has time gone? I know I should be happy but part of me is sad that he is growing up so fast. I feel like he has been in my life forever yet the other part feels like it was yesterday when we brought him home from the hospital. It's crazy!!

Anyway he has been sleeping so much better. We put him down at 9 last night. He got up one at 3:30 and again at 6 and then slept until 10:30. I loved it!! After he got up we hurried and got him ready and went to meet my friend Molly and her two little ones for lunch and shopping. Yup that's right three kids and two adults. Luckily all of the kids were pretty good today. Zupas was yummy, shopping was fun and Alex was a little angel for the few hours we were out. I am sure the sleep didn't hurt =) It was a very fun afternoon!

Jas was nice enough to pick up Chick-fil-a for dinner on his way home so I didn't have to cook.After dinner we took some pictures of Alex with his bear and some video to remember his 1/2 birthday. I had a hard time choosing just one so here are a few pictures and a little video. Happy 1/2 Birthday Buddy!

He is sitting up all by himself.

I put his arm around the bear and he left it there. You have to love that smile.

Oh I love that face, I just want to eat him up!! =o)

I love when he is this happy!!

The love of my life

So usually I write about Alex however today I thought I would mix things up a bit and write about the first love of my life, Jason. I was watching Oprah today and it was on love stories. She shared a story of a couple who has written love letters daily to each other for over 20 years. I was very impressed! It got me thinking about what I would write if Jason and I were to do that. I have so much to express about how I feel about Jason. Now we may not write love letters daily but we do find ways to show our love for each other. I feel like I am more in love with him today that I was 7+ years ago when we first met. I pulled up some e-mails Jason sent me when we first met. WOW, it was incredible how fast we fell in love. Boy was he whopped! =)

So before I go send some quality time with Jason I wanted to share 10 things I love about him in no particular order.



1-I love his positive can do attitude and how he always seem to find a way to get things done.

2-I love his cooking! I can only recall one bad meal he has made for me. Let's just say if a pancake mix doesn't call for buttermilk than don't get a hairbrain idea to add it.

3-I love his dark eyes and how his eyelashes are straight and seem to cover up his eye.

4-I love his touch, his hugs, kisses and well everything about him as a physical person. When I am sick, just his touch can make me feel better.

5-I love how he goes out of his way to help make my life easier. Whether it's running my bath when I was pregant, getting up with our son in the morning so I can sleep in or helping me set up for a SU! class, he is always there for me.

6-I love him as a Dad. I am amazed each day at his love for Alex and how he expresses it. He is so proud of his son. I fell in love with him all over again when Alex as born. It's amazing! I am constantly telling Alex, we have the best daddy ever, we are so lucky!!

7- I love his crazy quirks, sadly I can't mention any of them here but let's just say he is all boy and proud to be gross, crude etc. Usually they annoy me however he wouldn't be Jason if he wasn't doing something boyish.

8- I love how protective he is over me and our family. He may be a little anal about things but it makes me secure. He is always looking out for our safety and well being.

9- I love how he treats my family. Now if you know my family, we are pretty crazy to say the least. He deals with our craziness. He is there for my mom when she needs something and is great with my nieces and nephew.

10- Last but not least I love Jason for not only who he is but who I am because of him. I love ya Jas!! SYFAE


A few pictures of us through the years.

This is one of our engagement pictures, I love it because it shows our playful side.

This is a picture of the two of us in California at our Chinese wedding dinner.

This one was taken by us on one of our overnight trips. I believe this was our 3rd anniversary.

This pictures was taken at my friend Stephanie's wedding.

This one was taken 2 years ago during our family pictures.

Times Change

So I have been busy cleaning my stamp room the past few days. It was a disaster!! Finally I have a place to sit and stamp. So while putting away my things I came across some family photos that were taken two years ago right before Christmas. My first thought was "boy does time fly", then it was " things have really changed", then it was " where's Alex?" and lastly "I was smokin' hot!!"

Time really does fly, it doesn't seem like it's been two years since taking that photo. Allot has changed since this photo was taken first off my bro Brandon was newly engaged in this photo, now he is married. My oldest niece Jillian is engaged as well. All the kids have grown up so much and I have a baby of my own.


It's crazy how you can feel so ugly, fat etc. and then look back at a photo and wonder what you were thinking. At first I hated these pictures of me now I think they are pretty cute. For one I have on jeans. Right now I have very few jeans that fit me even though I am only 5 lb shy of my previous weight. I think my hips have widened so I am outta luck. I need to give in and go buy some but I HATE jeans shopping. Also my hair was blond and quite short, now it's darker and longer. I don't know I guess I just need a mommy makeover to get out of this rut I am in. Anyone else ever go through this especially after having a baby?

A picture of my family. Mom and her hubby Larry in red, my brother Brandon and his wife Susannah behind me, my sister Kim and her hubby Mike to the left of my mom in black, my niece Shae on my lap, nephew Braxton in white, hubby Jason behind him, niece Hilary in black on the end, niece Jillian behind her and niece Areiann next to her.

My handsome hubby Jason and I




My sister and best friend Kim and I, guess who's older? HA HA jk Kim

My little family, Mom, brother Brandon, sister Kim and I

Our Weekend

I hope you are having good weekend, overall we have. Friday I had a SU! holiday SAS at my house. What could be more fun then a bunch of crazy women stampin'?

Saturday we cleaned , hung out, went to dinner with some friends to Rumbi Grill and grocery shopping after. Dinner was fun as always with the Whites, we really enjoy their company even if it means we now have three kids to bring along. That is almost one child per adult. CRAZY!! I had to laugh because most of our dinner conversation revolved around our kids. Whether it was about sleeping, pooping, eating, crawling etc. it had to do with our children. Our whole life now is about our kids. It's nice to know friends who are as kid focused as we are.

Today is Sunday, not sure what are plans are exactly. Jason may have to go into work for a few hours. My cousin Jes is in town from Cali so we will be going to dinner at my Aunt Sheila's house for dinner for sure. It's always a good meal and good company when you go over there. It is also supposed to storm today. I am thinking it's a good day for baking. I have an almond poppy sead cookie recipe I am dying to try out. Do you have any good cookie recipes to share with me?

Oh and to top this weekend off Alex has napped in his crib a few times and got up just once the past few nights. FABULOUS!! Have I mentioned I love sleep?

Before I go I wanted to share one last thing. Alex was hanging out on his blanket in the den the other day while I was working on the computer. He went from on his back to his belly, what a crazy kid. I sure love him!

This is how I found him when I looked down because he was being too quiet.

This was after I pulled the blanket off of his head.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Nicknames

I was looking through some keepsakes the other day when I came across an old letter I received when I was 6 years old. It was from my only sister Kim who was married and lived a few hours away. As I read the letter I found out that I had more nicknames growing up then I had ever known. I was called Dolly, Bird, DollyBird and Sharie Anne. None of these I was aware of. The nicknames I am aware of are Shar, Shar-Bar, Gerta Mae, Baby Blue Eyes and Stubby. I know you are thinking Stubby now that's cruel. Well that one is from my dear cousin Jes. Honestly she adores my stubby so it's all in good fun.

Anyway this got me thinking about all the nicknames we call Alex and thought it was important to share them because in time some are sure to fade, just like mine have. While I am at it I might as well share a few random pics, here we go...

Before I found out I was having a boy I was beyond convinced that Alex was a girl. I referred to "her" as Maddie because I wanted to name "her" Madison. I wonder if Alex will ever turn his head when hearing the name Maddie because of this. Sorry bud!

Here is my little Alex, I am sure glad you aren't a Maddie, I wouldn't trade you for anything. This was right before coming home from the hospital, he was sooo little.

Alex's main nickname would probably be bug or bug-a-boo. He got this one from his cousin Jillian. She was there for his birth and fell in love with him from the beginning.

Here is a cute picture of the two of them hanging out.

One of my favorite nicknames for Alex is Miser ( that would be Mister without the t) I am not sure where I got this one from but I have made up a silly song I sing to him calling him my Miser.

I love this picture of Miser because it shows off his amazing brown eyes. I am sure if my Grandpa Stewart were alive he would call Alex baby brown eyes like he called me baby blue eyes.

I also like to call him Turkey this is usually when he is being naughty.

Here he is being anything but a little Turkey.

Last but not least many people say he looks like a little monkey so he is often called Monkey.

I guess his Halloween costume was perfect then wasn't it? A cute picture with Daddy.

Nicknames sure are fun and tell a lot about a person. I wonder what other nicknames we will add through the years. I love you Alex, Maddie, Baby Brown Eyes, Bug, Bug-a-Boo, Turkey, Monkey and my little Miser.

Moms can't get sick!!

Moms can't get sick!! That's what I found out this week after coming down with some sort of bug. Long are the days of curling up in your bed better yet your Mom's bed with a cup of chicken noodle soup watching day time TV while ditching school trying to feel better. Now that I am a Mom I can't get sick. Jason was nice enough to take Monday off to help me out but it still wasn't as easy as it has been in the past to be sick. Crazy how much one little guy can change your life.

Last weekend we went to my Mom's for Sunday Family Dinner. We try to do this about once a month if we are lucky. It's always crazy ciaos but lots of fun. The food is always good, and it's nice to just get together and chat. Sunday we sat around looking at old family photo slides. It was fun to see pictures of my Dad. Alex also got his first haircut from his Aunt Kim. Yes I said his first hair cut and he isn't even 6 months old. He has a handful of extra long hairs that looked funny. They were too long to spike up and looked funny laying down. He was beginning to look like a little rooster. He was pretty good for the ordeal and I was even able save some of his hair for his baby book. I would share the video but well let's just say I have taken better videos.

Before leaving for Sunday Dinner Alex released some of his energy in his Jungle Jumparoo.

Being silly with Dad or Poppy as I fondly call him.

Alex decided a Sunday nap on Grammy's bed sounded nice.

Gotta love that smile!

Before I was...

I thought I would share a poem I received in an e-mail this week. I love it!

Before I was a Parent, I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Parent,I had never been puked on. Pooped on. Chewed on. Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts. I slept all night.

Before I was a Parent, I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests. Or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Parent ,I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much.I never knew I would love being a Parent.

Before I was a Parent,I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a Parent and his/her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Parent, I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Parent . I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Parent.

Our Little Monkey

Wednesday was Halloween, a pretty good day overall that is after I found a spare key to my car since Jason took off to work with my set. =) I took Alex into Stampin' UP! to show him off of course and to see all my friends. I wish I would have taken more pictures there so much was going on. It's a very fun place to work on Halloween. They served soup, and had a coloring contest for the kids who came in. They had fog machines and a cubicle decorating contest. They also had a costume contest. My favorite was the DT team who had their desks set up like the game Clue with each cuby being a room and each employee a character. You could go around and play the game. I also thought that HR was cute as candyland. Loads of fun!! Alex wasn't sure what to think of all the crazy people dressed in costumes. Especially my friend Danny who was dressed as a Gorilla. His wife came in as a Banana and his baby a little gorilla. It was super cute. Alex was really good but got tired and hungry towards the end. I feed him a bottle and he fell asleep. I took the long way home with a stop at Del Taco just to ensure that he got a nap and I had a little piece and quiet. Funny how you treasure some hot fries, a Dt. Coke and your favorite tunes while you have a sleeping baby in the back of your car.

That night I made chicken pot pie for dinner. I am really trying to venture out with my cooking. This time it turned out pretty good! If anyone has some good simple recipes pleas let me know especially if they are for the crockpot ( my favorite way to go). After dinner we handed out some candy and then decided to go for a walk and take Alex up to a friends house to show off his costume. It was perfect weather for Halloween!

Well I promised some pics of Alex in his monkey costume so here are a few. We found this costume while shopping in Park City. It was on clearance at Gap ( oh ya)!

This picture was taken in front of our house with Alex's pumpkin.




He wasn't digging his photo shoot.

A self-portrait by mom, aren't we adorable?

After a long day as SU Alex just couldn't keep his eyes open any longer.

Ready for the ride home

Hope you had a fun and safe Halloween!