Mudgett Babies

One Week To Go - Baby #3

2012-01-11T09:57:00.000-08:00

I totally lied on yesterday's post -- here's another belly photo before delivery. This was last night, at 36 weeks and 1 day pregnant:

Christmas 2011 - Part 2 and New Year 2012

2012-01-10T20:36:00.000-08:00

It's kind of crazy when you know the holidays are coming and are going to be busy and time will fly...and then they really do! What a quick month that was! And now it's the 10th of January, and I haven't finished posting about Christmas yet.

Christmas was really fun this year. Owen had an advent calendar that he didn't really understand, but it didn't take long for him to get the idea of a chocolate behind every door. We also had a couple of gingerbread/cookie decorating opportunities that went better than expected.

And then when the Big Day came, he loved opening presents. Though, after he opened the first few things, he didn't really want more. He just wanted time to play with what he got!

He opened one present from Grandpa Louie that had a gift receipt in it. Owen got really excited and kept saying, "Three million dollars!! It's three million dollars!" I have no idea where he got that, but it was kind of hilarious. Here's him inspecting his haul:

We got an iPad for Christmas from my boss too, which was amazingly generous. Of course, it has turned into Owen's iPad, and the two of them are practically inseparable. He has it completely figured out, unlike his parents. :)

And here's a picture of him eating dinner tonight, just because he's adorable:

The biggest thing on my mind right now is our impending c-section date next Tuesday, January 17. One week! Holy moly... I'd be lying if I said it's been smooth sailing and easy this time through. We've had at least two appointments per week for two months now, and they don't always go perfectly. We're getting the hang of what these appointments are like now, though, so I'm not as stressed out when things are only good and not great. As long as they aren't bad, we're in good shape!

I had a monitoring appointment this past Sunday that went really well. Baby couldn't have done better, but the nurse was concerned about how often I was contracting (every 2-5 minutes). She told me to come back to Labor and Delivery if they kept up that pace, so Dan and I spent 3 hours there on Sunday night. With a bag of IV fluids, they spaced out to every 8-10 minutes and we came home. I've been trying to stay on top of hydration since then, which seems to keep them spaced out, but the contractions are still coming. Nothing painful, and nothing that indicates active labor (which isn't surprising at only 36 weeks), but definitely there.

We have one more scheduled appointment this Friday, and possibly another monitoring session on Sunday, and then Tuesday is Baby Day. Wow! This might actually happen. Just one more week...

Here's a photo of me last week at 35 weeks pregnant:

The next belly shot will be before delivery in the hospital a week from now. Crazy!

So...boy or girl? Another red head? What are we going to name this kid? Not much time left to answer all of these questions. :)

Diabetes

2011-12-20T21:08:00.000-08:00

I got the call yesterday that I have developed gestational diabetes this pregnancy, and will need to be monitoring my blood sugar carefully from here on out. It's not good news, obviously, but it's manageable. Dan has already stepped up big time and is planning meals and packing food for my days in the office. I've got a good one! We meet with the diabetes nurse tomorrow to learn about the finger poking and to get some guidelines. I am thankful that there are only 4 weeks left in this pregnancy to have to worry about all of this. It would have been a much bigger deal to have been diagnosed with 12 weeks to go!

Here's a photo of what I'm looking like right now, at 33 weeks pregnant:

Before the diabetes appointment tomorrow, we also have a non-stress test to make sure baby's heart rate is good and reactive, and then an ultrasound to measure size. Stay tuned for jumbo baby's stats!

Another Sneak Peek

2011-12-16T19:05:00.001-08:00

On Monday, I was able to go in for another 3D ultrasound. Baby was measuring 5 pounds 6 ounces, and is just as buried in my pelvis as the visit before.

Look at that little face! I cannot wait to kiss those cheeks. :)

We are now going to be seen twice a week between now and our scheduled delivery date (1/17), which is amazingly only 8 appointments. Ack! It's going quickly (thankfully), but it's still a month to go. I'll admit that I'm nervous -- more nervous than I realized until today -- but I have faith in our doctor and our course of treatment. I don't know how people go through pregnancies, routine or otherwise, with doctors they don't trust or mesh with. We couldn't do that, especially after losing Elliott, and we feel very lucky that our doctor takes so much care with us. We're in good hands.

A month from tomorrow, we should meet our newest Mudgett Baby!

Christmas 2011 - Part 1

2011-12-11T16:57:00.000-08:00

We're having a great December so far. Owen is really loving the decorations and busts into Jingle Bells when he sees wreaths or trees or Santas, but he replaces "Jingle Bells" with "Tinkerbells." Makes sense - he's never heard of Jingle Bells, but knows who Tinkerbell is!

Last weekend, we were invited to Breakfast with Santa, which Owen really enjoyed. The whole club was decorated, and Santa was a hit.

We also got a Christmas tree for the first time since Owen was born, which he loves! We have a few special ornaments for this year: Thomas the Tank Engine, Tinkerbell (see above), a train from the Kauai Plantation Railroad from our November trip, and a gourd painted like an owl (Owen is kind of obsessed with owls right now). It's nice to have the cheery tree in our living room this year.

(31 weeks)

We spent yesterday morning checking out the downtown holiday scene, including a carousel ride at Westlake Center. From there, we rode the Monorail to Seattle Center and looked at the train village they have set up there, and then had lunch nearby before we caught the bus back home. It wasn't quite the perfect experience I had imagined, but it had its moments. Like this one:

We had two of Owen's preschool friends over today to decorate gingerbread. They had a great time, with so so many tears when they had to leave. Owen is such a friendly, social kid, and he is absolutely devastated when he has to end a playdate. I love his passion and sociability, but I hate that it makes him so sad to say goodbye.

With 2 weeks until Christmas, I'm hoping we can get a few more activities in, but at this point, we may be okay for the season. I'm also very close to finishing my Christmas stocking, so when I do, I'll post photos of the three for our family. Dan's and Owen's are very cool, so I want to finish our family's (current) collection before Christmas. Then I'll have a year to get the next one done for the kid in tow. Only 5 weeks from Tuesday until we find out who we've got in here. Crazy, huh?

Baby #3 - 3D Ultrasound at 30 weeks

2011-12-02T20:56:00.000-08:00

We had an elective 3D ultrasound of this baby today, at 30 weeks and 4 days pregnant. Baby is tucked down snug in my pelvis, so it was a little tough to get good pictures of his/her face, but we did get a few. He/she is measuring big (no surprise - Owen and Elliott were both big babies), at an estimated 4 pounds 13 ounces already. That's off the charts! Here are my favorites from today:

Our thinker:

Stop looking at me!:

Sneak peek:

Cheeks!

We're just under 7 weeks until our scheduled c-section. We'll have an amniocentesis the morning of 1/17/2012, and if the results come back with mature lungs, Baby will be born that day. It's great that he/she is so big already - one less thing to worry about with an early full-term delivery! I'm not exactly holding my breath right now, but I'll feel a lot better when we hold this baby in January.

Our Kauai Trip and Elliott's First Birthday

2011-12-02T20:44:00.001-08:00

Dan, Owen, Grandpa Louie, and I took a 10-day trip to Kauai over Thanksgiving. It was a 4-part trip: a celebration of our 4th anniversary, Thanksgiving, Elliott's first birthday, and a "babymoon." On top of that, it was really great to have an extended period of warm weather and relaxation on the beach. Owen's favorite thing to do was chase birds and chickens around the condo grounds where we stayed, followed closely by playing in the sand and watching sand crabs clear out their holes. The rest of us enjoyed the peaceful rhythm of the waves on the beach, and downtime together. The nights that Owen asked to go to bed were pretty awesome too. ;)

Owen meeting the Pacific Ocean:

Sunrise:

Sand and sand crabs:

A coconut of his own:

Two "thumbs" up:

Feet buried in sand:

Poipu Beach Park:

Breakfast at Kalapaki Beach Hut:

Here's a picture of me on the beach at 29 weeks:

We also scattered Elliott's ashes on the beach where Dan and I were married 4 years ago. Before we did, we took a family photo in the same spot as our wedding - a look at us 4 years later.

Family photo:

Purple orchids in the ocean for Elliott:

And, sunset at Baby Beach on 11/28/2011:

It was obviously an emotional evening, but the sunset was beautiful and letting Elliott go was almost a relief. He's in a much better place now, and that beach has even more meaning to our family. It's a place we'll visit throughout our lives, and will always be a part of the Mudgett family's history.

Halloween and Pumpkins

2011-11-04T18:27:00.000-07:00

Owen just celebrated his third Halloween, though not exactly like we had planned. Poor little guy was a coughing snot monster, so we missed out on our annual Mom's Group party, and never broke out the Buzz Lightyear costume we bought. Luckily, we had some skeleton pajamas that Owen could wear around the clock! So cute. And we took Owen up and down the block "trick for treat"ing. By the second side of the street, he was joyfully shouting, "Trick for treat! I want candy!" I'm pretty sure getting candy for walking around is the bees knees for Owen. He has asked to do it again multiple times. Too bad it's only once a year...

Earlier in the month, we took a trip to the pumpkin patch for some pictures, and we also got a small pumpkin for Owen to paint at his preschool pumpkin party night. So I can reminisce, and so you can come along, here are pictures from the past two years for comparison:

October 2009 - 6 months old

October 2010 - 18 months old

And here are a handful from this year - October 2011 - 2 1/2 years

And from Halloween, here is Owen in his skeleton "costume" (and his terrifying runny nose):

And heading out for his one block of trick-or-treating:

As for our upcoming pumpkin, I am 26+ weeks pregnant right now, and feeling good. I just had my second test for gestational diabetes on Tuesday (smart the day after Halloween, right?), and passed with flying colors. We also had a growth ultrasound on Thursday, and Baby looks great. He/she is measuring about a week bigger than his/her gestational age, and weighs 2 pounds 5 ounces right now. We now start having appointments every 2 weeks, and after we get back from Kauai (Thanksgiving week), we'll start the extra monitoring for fetal movement and development. If all goes well, we'll have this baby in our arms in 11 weeks!

Here's how I look this evening:

We're looking into doing a 3D ultrasound in the coming weeks too, so look for those pictures if we get it scheduled.

23+ Weeks, Take 3

2011-10-13T16:23:00.000-07:00

I am currently 23 weeks and 3 days pregnant, about a month away from the third trimester. Overall, I'm feeling really good. I'm tired and I am moving differently (read: slow, awkward, waddle-y), but I was expecting that. Our new kiddo is very active, like his/her older brothers were in utero, so that's no surprise either. By now, Dan is able to feel kicks and hiccups too, so that is a great milestone to have hit again.

We had a routine appointment last week that went perfectly, and starting in a month, we'll be starting our appointments every 2 weeks. Already!

While this pregnancy has gone pretty quickly already, it still seems like we have way too long to go. The months will (hopefully) continue to fly by, and they always seem to in hindsight, but from where I'm sitting (on the couch with Owen!), 3 months still seems like a pretty long way to have to go. One day at a time, right?

Here are two photos from about an hour ago:

In Owen news, he's doing really well. His last molar finally broke through, and it seems like this was the hardest of all of his teeth. At least he was able to tell us he had an owie in his mouth, so we could give him some tylenol and cold foods to chew on. Preschool is going really well, and Dan has been able to leave him there the past two Wednesdays. Since we rarely leave him, that's a big deal! He is singing songs all the time, and can't get enough of his Thomas trains. He's getting taller and taller every day, and eats like it's going out of style. Last week, he got the flu mist for the first time, and that was SO much better than the shot for him. He "smelled" it and we were done. No tears, no screaming, no problem. He's a great kid, and just past the 2.5 year mark. Crazy!

Fall Means School!

2011-09-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

Owen started preschool last Monday! He and Dan are doing a pre-3s co-op preschool two mornings a week, for two hours each. The goal is for Dan to go on Mondays, and get a two-hour break on Wednesdays. So far, Owen LOVES it, and gets very excited when we ask him about school.

The structure of the class we chose is perfect for him. The day starts with 30 minutes of outside play on the playground. Then comes snack/lunch. And then there is a 45-minute free play time, with several dedicated theme rooms. There's a climbing room, an arts/crafts room, and a room with books, blocks, and "dramatics" (baby dolls, toy kitchen, etc). The kids have free range during this time to do as they please, and group as they want. The day ends with a circle time for stories and songs, and then the kids get stamps on their hands.

After Owen's first day, he went down for a nap an hour earlier than normal. You KNOW you've succeeded when two hours wears him out that much! :)

Here are some first-day pictures of our big guy:

And for good measure, here's my 20 week belly picture:

17 weeks to go!

Halfway - Mango Baby

2011-09-15T15:46:00.001-07:00

At 19 weeks, 3 days pregnant, we're a little more than halfway through this pregnancy. We had our anatomy ultrasound this morning, and things look very good. Baby was snoozing in the corner of his/her little home and did not want to move, but with enough poking and prodding, he/she woke up and had a dance party. We have another wild child on the way!

Here are the photos I promised:

Profile with hand/arm over the head:

Stretching out, kicking up his/her feet:

Babysaurus (spine):

Foot:

Very cool! 18-ish weeks to go. Right now, Baby is about the size of a mango, and can start to hear and see light. I guess that explains the kicks of protest when I sing along with the radio, huh?

Another Post

2011-09-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to be better about posting. Pretty good, huh? :)

On days that we have doctor's appointments, I get to work from home. I love these days! It's nice to sleep in a little from normal, skip the 24-mile commute each way, and see my favorite guys during the day.

This morning, Dan and Owen scoped out a new park in Magnolia. It's a perfect park for Owen because there is a lot of room to run, and a slide that he couldn't get enough of. It gave me a couple of uninterrupted hours to work, but it's hard to miss out on the fun.

After the play time, Dan and I went to our 18-week appointment. It was, thankfully, very uneventful! We heard the heartbeat on the doppler (we also listened at home last night) and scheduled our 20-week anatomy scan a few days early (next Thursday). We're still going to wait until birth to find out the sex, but it will be great to see how Baby has grown since our last ultrasound at 13 weeks.

I'm starting to feel movement more frequently, and I felt the first kicks from the outside today. It's only going to be another month or two before things are going to get really crazy, and I can't wait! I can't wait for the kicks and hiccups and somersaults. I can't wait for the constant reassurance that things are going well. I can't wait to meet this little person and bring him/her home with us. (fingers crossed!)

Bonus Photo: Owen sharing some tunes with Mr. Peepo, his best buddy

Look for another post next week with ultrasound pictures!

Owen's First Movie and 17 Weeks Pregnant

2011-08-30T16:09:00.000-07:00

On Friday night, Dan took Owen to see his first movie in the theater. They saw "Winnie the Pooh," which Owen calls "Sinny." Luckily, the movie was only an hour long, since it was too slow to keep Owen's attention for any longer!

In unrelated news, Owen's new favorite activity is wrestling with Dan. He climbs up on Dan, grabs Dan's nose, and then starts shouting the names of various Thomas the Train characters. "Bash, the logging loco!! Dash, the logging loco!! AND FERDINAND!" If he has a future career in professional wrestling, we can call him "The Steam Engine."

For me, I hit 17 weeks in this pregnancy yesterday. Baby is now the size of an onion, and I can feel him/her bouncing around in there. I haven't gained any weight yet, but I'm definitely filling out. My nausea and aversions are almost completely gone, and I actually feel like I'm getting the 2nd trimester energy that I had only read about in previous pregnancies. That doesn't mean I would turn down nap time most days, but I can make it until (early) bedtime almost every night!

Back by popular request (hi, Jeni!), here is a belly picture from today, at 17 weeks, 1 day:

So far, so good! (Knock on wood)

Rainbow

2011-08-16T20:42:00.000-07:00

In the pregnancy community, there is a special term for a baby that comes after a baby loss: a rainbow baby. One explanation I've seen is this:

"Rainbow Babies" is the understanding that the beauty of a rainbow does not negate the ravages of the storm. When a rainbow appears, it doesn't mean the storm never happened or that the family is not still dealing with its aftermath. What it means is that something beautiful and full of light has appeared in the midst of the darkness and clouds. Storm clouds may still hover but the rainbow provides a counterbalance of color, energy and hope.

Owen is our first rainbow baby, as he came after our miscarriage. From the day we found out we were pregnant with him, he helped us move past our loss and see happiness and hope in our future as parents. He has provided so much light and love in our lives, and we see the beauty of our "rainbow" in him every day.

Now, almost 9 months after we lost Elliott, we're ready to share that our second rainbow is on the way. I am 15 weeks pregnant and so far things are going really well. We've had more frequent appointments to this point than in previous pregnancies, and all have been amazing. We first saw our baby at 7 weeks, and the heart was already beating. Baby didn't look like much more than a jelly bean, but the heart was very easy to see and was beating so strongly.

We went back two weeks later, and our jelly bean had grown to a gummy bear. The heart was beating just as strong as at 7 weeks. My doctor ordered an early gestational diabetes test because of our history of giant babies (Owen was 9lbs 12oz; Elliott was 11lbs 10oz), but I passed with no question. GD was all but ruled-out after our loss, but we're not taking any chances this time!

And two weeks ago, at 13 weeks, we had our most recent appointment. Baby actually looks like a baby already, and he/she is very active and amazing already. Besides bouncing around, we got to see the mouth opening and closing, and a full barrel roll. This one, knock on wood, is going to give Owen some competition for energy levels!

And a bonus video, (pardon my voice...I was excited!):

So, how are we feeling 3+ months into this new pregnancy? Surprisingly, calm. I don't know if it's denial or our math backgrounds, but I just don't feel like lightning will strike again. We've had more than our share of losses, and I'm over it! No more! I've been pretty tired through the first trimester, and I've definitely had food aversions (aka "morning" sickness) in the late afternoons and evenings, but I feel better physically than I was expecting. I feel better all around than I was expecting.

I have been very weepy, though. I think forward to delivery day, hoping to get there with the best possible outcome, but then I think of the last time we were in that operating room and what a tragic time that was. No one should have to feel that pain. But being pregnant again, I can't help but think about all the hopes and dreams and expectations we had last November, only to be devastated with the worst. It's such a range of emotions, to which I'm sure pregnancy hormones are contributing. Since how this pregnancy will turn out is pretty much out of my hands, I'm choosing to be excited and hopeful. But I'll never forget the losses we've had, and how they have changed us as people and parents.

Yesterday, to honor a friend's lost twins on their first birthday, Owen, Dan, and I took balloons to Golden Gardens beach to release. I didn't decorate them elaborately -- simply the first initial of each person lost too soon. B for Bryston, C for Colton, R for Dan's mom Robin, E for our sweet Elliott. Owen let each one go, and I was a mess. I keep thinking of our plans to scatter Elliott's ashes in Kauai in November, and it doesn't get much harder than that. But just like the past 8+ months, we'll get through that too. We can only just take one day at a time.

Our official due date with this current rainbow is February 6, 2012. Assuming (and hoping with everything that I have!) that things go well, we're looking at a mid-to-late-January c-section date. Although I'm guessing my OB would support me in an attempt at a VBA2C, I have no delusions that I can deliver these giant kids without surgical help. Delivering a little early will hopefully help calm some of the late-pregnancy nerves that I'm sure we'll have. But just like for the past 11 weeks since the second pink line showed up on the test, I'm not in a hurry and I'm trying not to look too far ahead. Baby will get here soon enough, and it's best for all of us to relax as much as possible and trust in the process. As an added "bonus" this time, we are going to wait until birth to find out the sex of this baby. Owen is guessing he's getting a sister. As of this minute I'm guessing boy, but ask me again in 10 minutes. :P

Bonus Quotes!

2011-08-03T18:38:00.000-07:00

After I posted last night, I realized I missed some good quotes. Oh yeah, and Owen was up an hour early this morning to supply a couple more. For your reading pleasure:

Dan: Owen, is your nose running?
Owen: My nose is very fast, Daddy. Very fast!

Another story from Dan:
So, he turned off my computer...because he can't resist a good blue lighted button.
So I left the room and heard the sounds of the printer.
I come in to find him laying down next to it.
Dan: "What are you doing?"

Owen: "Don't push the buttons."

And a couple of gems from 6:45 this morning:
"Mommy, I want some juice and some pretzels. And my tummy wants some juice and pretzels too."
"Daddy, let's go!! It's time to get lunch!"

Honestly, there are so many funny things he says every day, I'm glad I got some of them written down. I'll try to share more good ones more often!

August Update

2011-08-02T19:09:00.001-07:00

You're in for a long one, since I haven't posted in months. It's not for lack of material! Owen is growing and changing daily, and the two of us can hardly keep up with him. We're off to a slow start, weather-wise, this summer, so we've been stuck inside more than we would like. But we're keeping busy. Owen and Dan have soccer on Wednesday mornings, and each of us does a swim lesson per week (Dan is Tuesday mornings; I am Thursday nights). Owen's vocabulary and use of language is still exploding, so I'd like to share some of the gems we've written down over the past month, interspersed with pictures!

"Seet deams, Mommy. Night night." Owen, tucking me in while I tuck him in at night.

Soccer in the back yard:

Owen un-decorating my birthday cake:

"I don't know what's making that sound! Where's it coming from, Daddy? What's making dat sound??? It's not a garbage truck...it's a helicopter!!"

Not letting something like a knocked-over chair get in his way of snacks:

Play time!

A story, as IM'd to me by Dan:

He knows he ate the last bite of the maple bar. But also that there is "one mo."
So now he's negotiating how many more bites he might get.
"Just one small one. Just free mo bites." *counting on his fingers*
Then he hands me my soda, "Here you go, Daddy," trying to butter me up.

Ice cream sandwich out at dinner:

Getting a drink from the sprinkler:

"Wanna watch funny scare-o!! FUNNY SCARE-O!!! WWWWAAAAAAHHHHHH!!"
Owen asking for, and expressing frustration, when Dan didn't immediately understand Owen's Donald Duck impression, asking to watch the Donald Duck cartoon with the *flying squirrel.*

Owen can reach the counters, leaving nothing safe up there:

First lollipop:

"Daddy, you know who this is? It's SPRINKLES!!" (our cat)
"Don't worry, Sprinkles," watching a movie. "It's just care bears."

Playing at a park in Buffalo, WY:

Owen at Mount Rushmore:

"Arr, matey!! Aw, coconuts!"

Family time in a tractor:

Dan and Owen 4-wheeling:

Dan overheard Owen muttering something to Sprinkles, while playing with her foot. Upon closer listening, Owen was doing "This Little Piggy" on her. Dan's reaction? If there's a cat heaven, Sprinkles has guaranteed her spot.

Waiting for the Medora train with beautiful Sophia on the 4th of July:

And riding the Medora train:

Owen has started spelling out words that he sees, but sometimes he's a little off:
"B-O-N-A-L-B spells Donald!"
"F-S-N spells MOMMY!"

Riding the bus to downtown:

Owen has started enunciating better, including modifying how he says "milk" from "moke" to "meee-yilk."

Meeting Sir Topham Hatt and Thomas in Snoqualmie, WA:

Other developments:

Owen loves puzzles, and likes to build them over and over again
Owen has started using "don't" as "really" which gets confusing when he's freaking out. "I don't want to eat donuts!!" Wait, you do or you don't?"
Owen's favorite foods include pizza, popcorn, pancakes, meatballs, apples, "teekey" sandwiches (trans: turkey), broccoli, beef (steak or carne asada), "Em-y-ems" (M&Ms), and tortilla chips. He'll pretty much eat anything, except for potatoes in any form.

And that's my August update! Owen is currently demanding peanuts and bananas, so it's time to log off. I'll try not to be such a stranger! :)

Two years, a month, and a day

2011-05-04T21:05:00.000-07:00

Dear Owen,

Two years, one month, and one day ago, your Dad and I met you for the first time. We couldn't believe how amazing you were, and you've become more and more amazing every day of your life.

Your favorite activity right now is playing with your Thomas trains (you know all of their names, and can tell them apart in the dark as you're falling asleep). You love puzzles, blocks, and reading books. You are talking up a storm, putting long complex sentences together: "Hi, Mommy! Want to come in and play some trains with me now?" You eat pretty much non-stop all day, which is why you're growing so much.

At your two-year check-up, you weighed 30 pounds and were 37 inches tall. I would guess you've grown at least an inch in the past month, and based on your current eating and sleeping patterns, you're hitting another growth spurt now. Speaking of sleeping, you're doing great! You are consistently sleeping from 9:00 PM - 6:15 AM in your own bed, giving your Dad and me some much-needed rest. If you'd like to start sleeping in a little, though, we wouldn't complain.

As you are getting smarter and more capable, you're having some frustration with us when we won't let you do whatever you want, whenever you want. You seem to be most frustrated when we won't indulge your spur-of-the-moment food cravings: donuts, pancakes, pizza, popcorn... You can do just about everything at the park, and you'll ask me to take you when "it's a sunny day, Mommy!" You particularly love the big twisty slides, and you'll go up and down over and over and over. You've even started swinging on the big-kid swings, though you still prefer the bucket "baby" swings.

I love to hear you sing songs. Your current favorites are Old MacDonald and The Itsy Bitsy Spider. You also love The Beach Boys' Barbara Ann (you call it the "Bob song"), and you'll dance to it by twisting your head back and forth and shaking your legs. You've also got the entire introduction to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse memorized, and you sing it whenever the mood strikes you.

For your birthday party this year, we teamed up with Kai, Talula, Chloe, and Audrey, and went to Pump It Up bouncy house center. For over an hour, you bounced and ran and laughed and screamed. You were so tired after the fun, that you wanted to leave the party before it was over, and you were only kind of interested in cake!

On your actual birthday, we went to Top Pot Doughnuts for breakfast and you picked out a dozen (thank you for sharing with us!). We had pizza for dinner, and an amazing train cake that Grandma made for dessert. You opened some presents, ate some cake, and went to bed happy.

A month into your third year, I am excited for the rest of age 2. I can only imagine the fun we're going to have this summer with splash parks, wading pools, and sandboxes. And you're set to start preschool in the fall. You'll have 10 days at the beach in November when we fly to Kauai. We get to start the daunting task of potty training before too long, and I know there are countless other surprises coming our way.

Your energy and enthusiasm are exhausting and exhilarating, and we wouldn't change a thing! Thank you for your invitations to play, your big squeezes and sloppy kisses, and your patience with us when we don't always give you what you want. We love you more than anything, and we can't wait to see who you'll grow up to be next.

Love, Mom and Dad

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Owen, Minutes Old:

First Birthday:

Two Years Old:

Unnecessary

2011-03-15T14:06:00.000-07:00

Your appendix is totally unnecessary, and I no longer have mine! I had some stomach pain on Sunday afternoon, which turned into serious pain and nausea by Sunday night. We went to the ER for what I thought was just gas or constipation, but it was quickly obvious to the ER doctor that I had appendicitis. They admitted me to the hospital just after midnight, and I was in the OR by 11:00 the next morning. The surgery went quickly and easily, and I was back in my room by 12:15. I slept most of the afternoon, but then I got up and was walking around and eating in the evening. Dan and I were home by 7:00 PM, and I couldn't have been happier to be home with our cuddly redhead.

I'm a little stiff and sore today still, but recovery from this is much easier than my c-sections, and I expect to be back to almost-normal soon!

Long Overdue

2011-02-26T22:16:00.000-08:00

It's been around 6 weeks since I've posted here, and it hasn't been for lack of writing material. I think about blogging all the time, but I always worry I won't have anything to say. Of course, those are the times that my posts are the longest!

Our almost-23-month old is incredible. Tonight at bed time, he had Old MacDonald stuck in his head and kept singing it. "Old Donald had farm. On farm had SHEEP! And baa there, and baa there, and baa there, and baa there..." He's really been singing a lot lately and we LOVE it!!

His language has also developed so much lately, it's insane. He speaks in full sentences, and knows so much. He is big into "please" and "thank you" which is amazing, and one of the cutest things is that his terrible twos aren't full of "No" as much as we're getting "No, thank you. NO, THANK YOU!" It's adorable. Owen is parroting a lot of what we say too. Because he's so verbal and so strong-willed, he will ask for the same thing over and over again. Here's how a typical conversation goes:

Owen: "Want to go downstairs. Want to go downstairs. Please. PLEASE. Want to go downstairs, please!"
Dan: "Okay, okay, okay!"

So now, when Owen really wants something, he tacks on "Okay, okay, okay" to the end. "Want to go downstairs, please, okayokayokay." That kid!

He's also into extremes. Things are too hot, too bright, too high. But when he's frustrated, it's "too big." That started when he tried to put a toy car through his train tunnel and it didn't fit. He was very frustrated, but Dan explained to him that it was too big. So now, anything frustrating is "too big."

His train table is a whole other story. He could play with that train table all day, every day. He has started coming to me, grabbing a finger, dragging me to the table, saying, "Want to play some trains, please," over and over again. "Over the bridge, please. Through the tunnel, please."

Owen is also really loving a few TV shows. He loves Thomas and Friends, a French cartoon called Caillou, and The Care Bears. He knows all of the characters, can sing along with the songs, and can recite upcoming lines when he's watching his favorite episodes.

I measured him this afternoon and if my measuring-tape-on-a-moving-target was right, Owen has hit the 3 feet mark. We've been told that you can estimate adult height by doubling a kid's height at age 2. With 5 weeks to go, it looks like Owen is going to break the 6 foot mark when he grows up. I hope he still gives me good hugs and kisses then. He's such a cutie.

Let's see...what else? In late January, we all headed to Round Rock, TX, just outside of Austin, to visit friends. That was Owen's third trip, and the second trip to Texas. We had a great time, and of course, got some great pictures. Owen did great on the plane. He slept the whole way there, and had a fun time with Kate.

Owen is growing up so fast in so many ways. He loves pizza and hot dogs and mac and cheese.
He loves the outdoors, regardless of the weather. He just figured out how to jump with both feet yesterday. Sneezes are hilarious. He loves our cat, Sprinkles, and can't get enough of holding her, petting her, grabbing her feet and tail (and she just takes it).

And here are several more pictures, because I just couldn't narrow them down. I'm sure it's obvious that we are over the moon with this kid, and he amazes us every day with how much he's learning and becoming this amazing person.

Snow

2011-01-11T21:51:00.000-08:00

It's snowing right now, and it's absolutely beautiful. I love snow. I've always loved snow. Two years ago, when I was pregnant with Owen, Dan and I were snowed in at our house for almost two weeks. We didn't have anywhere to go, or anything to do, and we spent those two weeks playing Scrabble, watching movies, laughing, playing, and imagining what our life would be like 3 months later when Owen joined our family. We walked around the neighborhood, slowly and carefully, and made snow angels out in the yard.

Last year, we didn't get a single flake. Nothing. Nada. We didn't mind, really. The city shuts down with just the idea of snow, so it was fine to go along with our lives, enjoying the winter with our son. We knew we'd have plenty of snow in Owen's future, and it would be better when he could walk. Heck, he was just starting to crawl somewhere around this time last year.

But this year, we got our first snow early. The first little flurry wasn't much to celebrate, but it was still exciting. The following afternoon, Monday, it started snowing like it meant business and it started to stick. How exciting! We were beginning the "worst winter in 55 years" here in Seattle, and we were just three short weeks away from another little boy to join our family. That night, I started having contractions. They weren't painful, but they were definitely noticeable, and they were coming every 3-4 minutes, and lasting around a minute each. Now, most books and doctors will tell you that if this pattern keeps up for an hour, it's likely that labor is starting, and if things get painful, it's time to go to in. I tracked my contractions for three hours, and they kept coming, almost like clockwork. I was very excited, but also nervous that we may have trouble getting to the hospital. I decided to go to bed, and if the contractions were strong enough to wake me up, we'd head in. I think my biggest regret now in the loss of our dear Elliott is not going in to see if labor had started. Maybe if I had been hooked up to their monitors, someone would have realized he was in trouble and he'd be here today. But I can't know for sure, and I can't change what has happened...

Anyway, I woke up Tuesday morning, still pregnant, and there were a few inches of snow on the ground. Dan and I dropped Owen off for a play date and made our way to the hospital for our 37-week appointment. Everything looked good. I was measuring a little big, but I had been for a while, and Elliott's heartbeat sounded good and strong. We picked Owen up, went back home, and played in the snow. Owen didn't know what to think of it at first, but when Dan started tossing snowballs at his coat, Owen really started enjoying it! When his hands started turning red from the cold, we went inside, much to his dismay. He spent the rest of the afternoon asking to go out in the snow. It was a great day, and we were feeling so much happiness.

I look back at that day in a few different ways. It was a very satisfying day -- good appointment, fun in the snow, joy, excitement, anticipation. But it was also the last time we heard Elliott's heartbeat, and the last day that we know for sure Elliott was alive. I look back at who we were, and how innocently we imagined our future life with our two boys. I look back at someone who didn't know the pain of losing a baby just two weeks before his due date. I look back to a time when I was someone I'll never fully be again.

These days, I have brief moments of peace where I can see a future with hope and joy and days without tears. These moments are bittersweet. I won't ever forget Elliott, nor would I want to, but I do want to be happy and hopeful and pregnant again some day. I don't know when that day will be, and I'm okay with that (at this moment), but I know it will come. In the mean time, the snow is accumulating outside -- cold, clean, pure, and full of possibilities. It's supposed to melt overnight or tomorrow, but I hope it stays long enough for Owen to play in it. And if it's gone when we wake up, we can add snow to the list of things we can look forward to.

Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T06:48:00.000-08:00

There is no good time of the year to be mourning a lost baby. I'm hoping to get through Christmas and the last week of 2010 without much extra emotions over what could have been. Last night, as we were getting ready for bed, Dan said it best: "I can't wait for this year to be over."

Tough Days

2010-12-21T10:24:00.000-08:00

I was getting ready to go with Dan and Owen to Toddler Gym time this morning, when it hit me that four weeks ago, Elliott was still alive and we were about to hear his heartbeat for the last time -- a sound that, somehow, I had been taking for granted. How is that even possible, that the proof that your baby is alive can be "routine?" I should have taken more time to be grateful that he was alive every time we heard his racing heart.

The grief cycle is a horrible rollercoaster ride, one that has so many ups and downs and twists and turns. I've been hovering in the denial/anger part for a few days in a row now, and today, I'm back to sadness/yearning. I'm back to the "what ifs" and wondering how I didn't know something was wrong, and how I didn't know to do something to change the outcome. I'm in disbelief that this is really happening to us and that we don't have both of our boys with us right now.

There are so many times when I think about Elliott's death and it doesn't seem real. It seems like a horrible dream, one that I hope I wake up from every day. But there are so many reminders of how real he was -- the stretchmarks on my stomach, my different c-section scar, the little box of his ashes in the nursery, the charm necklace I wear every day in his memory, the ache of love in my heart for the son I only knew inside of me. And now that it's been 23 days since he was delivered, the dinners have stopped coming, the phone has stopped ringing, and visitors don't come by to check in anymore. Life is going on, and it seems almost like too much to have to keep up with. Like I said, most days are just normal days -- Owen needs to eat, play, sleep, have his diaper changed... But there are days like today, where I wish I could hide under the covers of my bed and stay there until the hurt is gone and we have a new baby to help heal the huge hole in my heart and soul. I can't ever replace Elliott, nor would I want to, but I so want to feel better again. I want to laugh and not feel guilty for it. I want to be hopeful not cynical and scared. I want to hear our babies cry and nurse them for health and comfort. I want to be so sleep deprived that I ask Dan if it's possible to die from it (true story). I want to be a mom to more babies.

For now, I just have to feel these emotions, be the elephant in the room, and learn to live through the tragedy of Elliott's death. I so wish I could change the end of the story, but I have to figure out how to accept that I can't. I miss him so much.

Santa Visit - 2010

2010-12-15T13:49:00.000-08:00

We took a trip to visit Santa this morning. Owen was excited until all of the kids in front of us were freaking out and crying on his lap. We wanted a family photo anyway... ;)

Somehow, Life Continues

2010-12-09T12:56:00.000-08:00

Amazingly and somewhat cruelly, life has gone on these past 2+ weeks since we lost our son Elliott. At times, I'm thankful for that, and other times, I wish we could hit pause long enough to catch up, and then keep things going. I have had all kinds of anxiety over today coming -- last Friday was Elliott's official "due date" and I was anxiously trying to anticipate what kind of feelings I would have that day versus the other painful days we had been living through until then. Friday was also my Dad's 63rd birthday, and I'm hopeful that it will only be associated with that celebration in the years to come, and not the day my baby was supposed to be here. What babies are born on their due dates anyway? And Elliott was delivered in November, so why would a day in December be especially hard? I can only wait it out and see.

There were tears of sadness and anger -- sadness from losing our son, the same ache and devastation as we've been feeling since the doctor confirmed Elliott's heart was no longer beating, and anger at this happening to us -- good people, good parents -- that had already made plans for Owen's and Elliott's future as best friends and partners in mischief. I mourn the loss of Owen's brother almost as much as the loss of my son. Sure, we can probably have more kids in the future, but no one will replace Elliott, and certainly not in this stage of our lives. Owen may have a brother, or a sister, or a couple of each or both...I don't pretend to know what our family may look like in the future, especially after our "plans" were clearly not up to us with Elliott.

But I didn't come on to write about my pain and anger. I wanted to take advantage of life going on, to talk about Owen and how he has grown and changed in the past month. When we left him in his highchair eating dinner and watching TV on that terrible Saturday, neither of us realized we were about to leave him for three nights. The longest we have ever left him before that was around 2 hours to go see a movie, and he was finishing a nap for half of that. That day, we took off, without being able to call him (he doesn't quite understand the back and forth of the phone yet) and without seeing him at all. He was in great hands and it sounds like he had a blast, but I was so worried every nap time and bed time. He puts up a fight for us when we lay down with him, even with bear hugs and kisses and the right number of stuffed toys surrounding him. How was anyone going to be able to put him down? But he slept and ate and played and enjoyed the extra attention. And he was so excited when we came home. He gave us a tour of the upstairs -- "Closet! Music! Fan! Window!"

He has also picked up some new phrases that I love:

- "Where's hammer? Where'd it go? Somewhere I find it. There is he! 'S'right there! I get..." This same series of thoughts happens for any lost object -- his water, a garbage truck, our cat, a sound.
- "Watch this!"
- "I nape's Owen!" (My name's Owen)
- "Thank you...Welcome" (after sharing his food with us)
- "What's that sound? That sound's airplane!" (or cat, or Mommy, or...)
- "'K'out window!" ("Look out window" when anyone leaves our house)
- "Do again!" (which is hard in real life without TV)
- "Get back here!" and "Come back here!" when he's chasing our cat or a friend
- Some Christmas words - "Kiss-mas," "Santa Caus," "Snow"

Owen's attention span is also getting longer, and he can sit and play with his trains or trucks or read books for a good amount of time. He's also getting bored more easily lately, which is hard for us to keep up with, especially in the winter weather. It's cold and wet, and dark so early, that it's hard to come up with things to do where he can run off some energy and be mentally stimulated too. That's our challenge for this winter -- keeping Owen entertained and happy, no matter how tired, sad, mad, etc we are. It'll help us all. (12/14/10)

Our Angel, Elliott

2010-12-02T12:35:00.000-08:00

Sometime between our appointment on November 23rd and our trip to the childbirth center on November 27th, our youngest son, Elliott, passed away. Our lives have been changed forever, and the loss we feel is unimaginable. Our amazing little guy was alive and strong on Tuesday, and something happened that we'll never understand.

I began having frequent, strong contractions on Monday night, November 22nd. They weren't strong enough to think I was in labor yet, and at our appointment the next morning, I was checked for progress and hadn't made much -- I was just starting to dilate, but it was clearly not "real" labor. I continued to have contractions every 3-4 minutes from Tuesday night on. I was exhausted, not sleeping well, and in general discomfort. On Friday afternoon, I realized that I didn't know if I was feeling Elliott moving at all. I had been so focused on the contractions that I couldn't tell if he was reacting or sleeping...but I mentioned it to Dan. We tried to find his heartbeat with our doppler, without success. But we didn't find my heartbeat either, so we figured it was just something wrong with the doppler. Saturday afternoon, we decided to try again to find the heartbeat. When we still couldn't, but we found Dan's when we checked, we thought it was worth a call to the on-call doctor to have things checked out. Honestly, I didn't think we had anything to worry about. I figured we'd go in, they'd monitor us for an hour or so, and send us home for being "those parents." God, I wish we were "those parents."

We got to the Childbirth Center at 5:00 PM on Saturday evening. The nurses that got us in our room were kind and joking, trying to ease our minds. When they hooked me up to monitors to find Elliott's heart rate, they couldn't. So rather than grab a doppler, they brought in an ultrasound machine, to get to the point and find his beating heart. But they couldn't. They told us not to worry -- they weren't experts. The doctor would be there soon. But she couldn't find Elliott's heart beat either. A final "official" ultrasound was performed by an ultrasound technician that confirmed we had lost our son. I was sobbing, asking them to not give up, to please please please keep trying. It wasn't possible that he was perfect on Tuesday and gone now. It couldn't be true.

But then we had to decide how to deliver him. I had my heart set on a vaginal birth -- the one that I wanted with Owen, and the one that I was determined to have with Elliott. I wanted to try still, since the recovery would be faster and the hospital stay would be shorter, so we began the steps for an induction of labor. At 7:00 PM, a Cook's catheter was placed through the small opening in my cervix and inflated on either side. The purpose is to use the "balloons" to soften and thin the cervix, so that labor can be helped by Pitocin to create contractions and finish the dilation process. It was uncomfortable at first, but it also was creating very strong, close contractions for me right from the beginning. They were on top of each other, with only 30 seconds to a minute off between them, and they were off the charts in strength. We were told that this stage of labor would probably take 10-12 hours, but the nurse was thinking we wouldn't last until midnight with these contractions. I didn't want to get an epidural, but I was in pain. I asked for a narcotic drip to help, which did help for a while, but it also slowed my contractions and made me sick. By 5:00 AM, I was throwing up, and the catheter hadn't fallen out yet. The nurses removed it at 7:00 AM, and I asked for an epidural before we started the Pitocin stage.

It took three times before the anesthesiologist was able to get the epidural in, but when he did, he did a great job. I never lost feeling in my legs or feet, but I didn't feel the contractions at all. He was also great at managing my nausea, which was such a nice relief. At around noon, the nurse on duty checked my progress, to see how the catheter and Pitocin were working. And, much like with my labor with Owen, nothing was happening. I was only a little more than 2 cm dilated, and Elliott was nowhere near my pelvic opening. They offered to break my water and keep trying -- no one was pressuring me to have a c-section or to give up. But I knew by then what we had to do. I didn't want to spend another whole day waiting to meet Elliott, delaying the inevitable. At 1:00 PM, we made the decision to have a c-section, and the on-call doctor called our doctor in. The two of them did the surgery together.

At 2:28 PM on Sunday, November 28th, Elliott was born sleeping. It was eerily quiet in the operating room, and until that moment, I was still trying to convince myself that there was a chance that everyone was wrong and that he'd wake up and start crying. As time went on in the surgery and they were working on closing me up, we had to face the truth -- our amazing little boy didn't make it. Once Elliott was cleaned up and wrapped in blankets, Dan was able to hold him. He was so beautiful!! He weighed an amazing 11 pounds, 10 ounces, was 20.5 inches tall, and had a gorgeous big 15-inch head. His hair was almost black, and he looked so different from Owen. I was convinced we'd have another little redhead, but Elliott was his own little person. He had my crooked little toes, and the chubbiest legs. He really was so perfect and I will never understand why he didn't get his chance at life.

By 3:30, we were back in our room with Elliott. We had the afternoon, evening and night to spend with him. We held him and talked to him and did what we could to memorize his face. A photographer from a volunteer group called "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep" came and took pictures of our son. Family came by to meet him. I couldn't stand the thought of sending him away, knowing that we had such limited time with him. In the morning, though, we had to begin the preparations for letting him go. We had to choose a funeral home for after his autopsy, and we had to say goodbye to his physical body. It was horrible -- something that no one should ever have to do.

On Tuesday morning, we were discharged and had to leave the hospital without our baby. Thank god we had Owen to come home to -- he got us through so much when we were in the hospital, and he continues to help us heal now. He doesn't know what has happened, and he has moments where he seems terrified we're going to disappear again, but he's so sweet and funny and has such a love for life, that we can only be thankful for what we have. We aren't burdening him with our recovery, and we won't try to explain this to him until he's old enough to really understand, but he is helping us more than he can ever know. And when he gets the chance to meet a little brother or sister in the future, he'll be just as amazing of a big brother as he was to Elliott already. We are so sad that he doesn't get to a chance to know Elliott, but we are thankful that he's too young to feel our pain with us.

So for now, we just take our lives day-by-day, minute-by-minute. We have no other choice. But we are so proud of both of our boys, and will never forget how much Elliott touched our lives in such a short time.

Turkey Day

2010-11-26T17:27:00.001-08:00

Due to some snow and ice this week, we ended up at home for a small, quiet Thanksgiving this year. Dan did an incredible job on our feast, and I enjoyed leftovers today too! Owen loved checking on the turkey cooking, and he kept calling it a goldfish. We just went along with it. ;)

Today also marks 38 weeks pregnant. It can't be too much longer now!

36 Weeks Pregnant

2010-11-12T14:59:00.000-08:00

We're only four weeks from Baby Boy 2's due date, and like I was with Owen, I'm convinced I won't go that long. How can I possibly get bigger for another month!??! I hope I'm not as wrong as I was with Mr. O, who was 6 days late...

I've started having Braxton Hicks contractions, which are typically "practice" contractions and don't actually help toward getting labor going. I had some with Owen, but I didn't realize that's what they were until I started getting them this time. Starting in a week, this pregnancy is considered full-term, so then we can start trying home induction methods, like walking, spicy foods, fresh pineapple, etc. Who knows if they'll be any more effective than last time, but it can't hurt to try. If he's not ready, he's not ready. We'll just have to wait and see!

Starting this coming week, we have weekly appointments to check on growth and heartbeat. We're really getting close!

Happy November!

2010-11-02T10:13:00.000-07:00

Another month has passed, and here we are in the middle of Fall, only 5 or 6 weeks away from adding to our family again. Wow! On Saturday, we met up with my moms' group for a Halloween party for the kiddos. Owen was the cutest elephant I've ever seen! Here are some pictures of our big guy, who just came down with his third cold in the past four weeks. Poor kid!

Elephants need pets too:

He found the donuts...

There was an unplanned zoo theme at the party this year:

The elephant with his zookeeper, elephant trainer Dad:

And with his jack-o-belly Mom:

Happy Halloween! (34 weeks, 1 day pregnant)

Another Ultrasound

2010-10-27T20:48:00.000-07:00

We had an ultrasound today to check on this new baby's size, and he's a big guy like his brother! At 33 weeks and 5 days, he is estimated to already weigh 6 pounds 12 ounces. Yikes! That's 2 and a half pounds bigger than "average" at this point and we have 6-ish weeks to go. He could easily be bigger than Owen at birth (9lbs, 12oz). All of the measurements had this kid being at least a week or two bigger than his gestational age, but his head is measuring 4 weeks ahead. Ouch! We'll be discussing our options with our doctor next week, but I'm still hoping to try a VBAC. I guess part of that will be based on when Number Two decides to come.

Here are a few pictures from today. The tech did a "4D" ultrasound, but it was hard to get a face shot since he has his head buried in the placenta in my pelvis. Oh well...we'll see him for sure in December (or November?).

Ear:

Hand:

Face:

33 Weeks Pregnant with Baby Boy 2

2010-10-23T07:21:00.001-07:00

I'm now 33 weeks pregnant with bouncing baby boy numero dos. We had a routine check-up on Wednesday, and he's gone through a bit of a growth spurt over the past couple of weeks. So far, I'm up 29 pounds this pregnancy, so I'm gaining at about the same rate as I did with Owen.

Since I now work from the comfort of our couch, I don't have the insane swelling in my hands, legs and feet that I did when I was pregnant with Owen and sitting behind a desk all day long. I'm even still wearing my wedding ring, which I hope I can keep on my finger this time instead of wearing it on a chain. I guess we'll see how the next 7 weeks go.

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

We'll have an ultrasound on Wednesday to make sure the placenta is clear of my cervix so I can try a natural birth again this time. The ultrasound will also help estimate the baby's current and projected birth weight. Dan thinks I'm nuts for even wanting to try a normal birth, knowing that this kid is probably bigger than Owen was (9 pounds, 12 ounces) and that another c-section may be inevitable, but I want to at least try. I don't love the idea of being cut open again, and I'd like to know that the baby is ready to be born rather than picking a day before I go into labor. I do have different expectations this time though, so it won't take 26 hours of labor to make the call this time!

Here is a picture of me from Wednesday at 32 weeks and 5 days pregnant:

For comparison, here's one of me at 34 weeks with Owen:

I think the pictures are pretty similar, but I may be a tiny bit bigger this time. Either way, I have some more growing to do as this kiddo doubles his weight in the next 7-ish weeks. I'll keep you posted!

Amazing

2010-10-15T17:51:00.000-07:00

If you read any of my posts on here, it's pretty clear that Dan and I think Owen is pretty much the most amazing little boy to ever live. He has grown so much, is so fun and active, is so smart and funny...it's kind of unreal, and we find ourselves smiling every night after he's in bed, talking about the new things he did that day, or the funny face he made, or the unbelievable amounts of food that he ate. He changed our lives forever and we couldn't be luckier! So, for today's post, I'm going to try to list some of the things he's doing right now so that we don't forget when he moves onto the next set of incredible things he's going to do next!

He is talking up a storm, and as of today, is talking in almost complete sentences! "Want more grapes," "want more juice," "I get you!" Some of our favorite words right now are: teapot, tickle, kitty cat, meatball, goldfish, whale (pronounced as two very distinct syllables - way-yul), oh no!, concrete truck, monkey, ocho, hamburger (pronounced like a Japanese samurai would say it), zebra, thank you, mooooocow, "chocmo" (chocolate milk)...man the list goes on and on, especially with food. He knows several different bugs: bee, butterfly, caterpillar, beetle, ant, ladybug. He loves trucks and can go through his truck book by memory (and name the 20 different trucks).

Owen loves to sing songs, including "All Aboard the Choo Choo Train" from the Disney channel. He'll walk around singing it and dancing too. He loves Handy Manny and can name his 8 tools (his favorite is Felipe - "Fee-pee"). He can count to 10 easily, and then every number after that is 13 or 15. He asks to sing his ABCs - he helps with ABC, HI, QR, TUVW, and Y. He can build some pretty amazing towers with his blocks, and LOVES when they fall over. Owen loves swings and being chased. He can read and re-read his books all day long. He has started fake sneezing -- "Achoo! 'Neeze!" and he likes to spin in circles until he falls down.

And, boy, can our kid eat! Most mornings he'll eat two scrambled eggs, a veggie sausage patty, a banana, and then help me eat my bowl of cereal (which he is convinced is always "Fah Fake" -- Frosted Flakes). Then he'll snack on goldfish crackers or graham crackers until lunch/naptime. For dinner, he'll eat an entire hamburger or a piece of "a-pizza" or half a box of chee-no (cheezy noodles - mac & cheese). Or he'll help us with whatever else we may be eating - chicken, steak, Thai food. He even likes broccoli! We're not sure where it's all going though. At his 18-month appointment, Owen weighed 25 pounds, which was only the 37th percentile. But he's in the 90s for height (34 inches) and head circumference (49.7 cm), so he's a tall, smart, skinny dude.

Owen seems to be finally appreciating sleep now, though he does like to get up early. I guess when he naps well and sleeps 10-11 hours straight at night, he can't really be expected to sleep much longer. But he doesn't put up much of a fight any more, and enjoys his bed with his alligator, polar bear, green bear, moose and kitty cat to keep him company. He's even managed to keep a decent sleep schedule as his first 4 molars have come in. That brings him up to 12 teeth now!

He likes to color with crayons (and snack on them), and flip light switches on and off. He spends a lot of time running around, and a lot of time trying to figure out how things work (the bath tub faucet, the baby gate, our computers and their cords, his monitor). Right now he's running around with a banana, trying to get it open by himself.

And we're only 8-ish weeks away from adding to the amazement! Our next little guy is almost 4 pounds right now, and around 17 inches long. He really likes to get his feet up under my ribs, and is very active. He gets hiccups a lot, just like Owen did. He moves when he hears Dan or Owen, and I never have to wonder if he's okay in there...he never sits still long enough to worry! From here on out, he's just got to gain some weight and keep practicing his breathing. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone already, but I also can't believe there are two full months to go. I'm excited to see Owen as a big brother. I'm sure he'll be amazing at that too.

To sign off before the pictures, and to quote our amazing 18-month old, "See y'soon!"

Just Pictures

2010-09-26T20:21:00.000-07:00

28 Weeks Pregnant

2010-09-18T20:07:00.001-07:00

I entered the third trimester of this pregnancy yesterday, passing the 28-week mark.

By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his heels. He can blink his eyes, which now sport lashes. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. He's also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world. (babycenter.com)

I would like to add that he likes to kick and punch and dance all day and all night long, much like his big brother did, and he's also been getting hiccups a lot.

I'm really tired these days, but some of that is due to Owen's never-ending energy and his teething moodiness. I feel like I'm as big as I can get, so I'm scared to see how much bigger I get in the next 12 weeks. Oh, and my belly button is starting to pop out! It got flat with Owen, but never popped. Pregnancy is a crazy thing!

The Third Trimester

2010-09-10T16:31:00.000-07:00

That's right, folks. Today marks 27 weeks in this pregnancy, and the beginning of the third trimester. Owen's baby brother is around 2 pounds and 15 inches, or the size of a head of cauliflower. He's also a breakdancer who needs no rest...ever! And I'm betting on a full head of hair too, because I could breathe fire with the heartburn I have all day and night. So far, all of our appointments have been uneventful, which is the best we can hope for, and starting with our next one, we go every two weeks until Mr. Man makes his grand entry into the world.

In Owen news, he has two top molars now, bringing his tooth count to 10. Unfortunately for Owen, he's got 10 more to come. We can tell more must be on their way because he is a super duper grumpypants these days. Luckily, though, he is eating and sleeping like a champ most days.

We went to the Puyallup Fair today with Grandpa Louie, but I think Owen's still just a little too young. He wanted to run around and touch everything and every animal, which we couldn't let him do in such a crazy, crowded space. On top of missing nap time, it was definitely a recipe for disaster. Hopefully next year will be more fun for all of us.

Here are a few (okay, a bunch -- it's been a month!) pictures of our 17-month old cutie pie:

Closing a Chapter

2010-08-09T11:12:00.000-07:00

After 16 months, Owen and I are done breastfeeding. Over the past few months, we've cut down from 8-10 times per day to 2-3 times before naps and bedtime. In the past week or so, nursing has only been once a day, and only for a few minutes. With Owen eating so much real food and it getting more and more uncomfortable for me to nurse him, it was time to call it quits.

In the first few weeks of Owen's life, I couldn't imagine making it out of the first month without giving up and switching to a bottle. Now that well over a year has passed, I can't believe how easy it turned out to be and what an amazing experience we had together. It probably sounds silly, but I already miss that special quiet time with my baby boy. In four months, I'll start all over with our newest son and I know it will be hard all over again, but I think I'll appreciate it more in the beginning, knowing that it won't be forever.

I love you, Owen! Thank you for being such an amazing kid and a loving son. ~Mom

Wading Pools and Boy #2

2010-08-08T12:40:00.000-07:00

We've been having a great summer. The weather has been amazing and we've been spending a lot of time at parks and the local wading pool. I think the wading pool is Owen's favorite summer activity, and I bet he'd go there every single day if we had the energy for it too!

Now for an update on Boy #2. He is an active little guy!! He kicks and rolls all day and night, and seems to have the same spunk as his big brother. I'm just past 22 weeks pregnant with him now, and it has been going so quickly already.

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

Wow! We're at squash already! This is where we started taking belly photos last time, so here goes... Here's me at 22 weeks and 2 days pregnant with our new sweet little guy:

Lone Star Trip

2010-07-27T20:45:00.000-07:00

Friday was the 20-week mark on this pregnancy. We celebrated with a trip to Texas!

We spent this past weekend in Dallas, meeting up with more families that I met while I was pregnant with Owen. Yes, it was nuts to go to Dallas in July, but that's where people wanted to meet, so that's where we went. Owen did amazingly well on the 4-hour flights...better than us probably! We went to a children's museum, an aquarium, and two different Chuck E Cheeses. It was crazy hot and humid, so we had to find shelter inside the whole time. We met some great people, and had a fantastic time.

Here are some pictures!

It's a...

2010-07-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

BOY!! Owen is going to have a little brother, and I get to be queen of our castle! We had our big ultrasound today and got to see our little man again. He's grown a lot since our last ultrasound 6 weeks ago, and is pretty active. He has all of his fingers and toes, a big head, strong heart, and he's already practicing breathing. He is also measuring 3-4 days bigger than our due date, and is 6 inches long.

Here are some pictures of the little guy:

Profile:

Spine:

Feet:

Boy:

Now to find a name...

18 Weeks Pregnant with #2

2010-07-09T20:04:00.000-07:00

I'm 18 weeks pregnant with Owen's brother or sister already! I realize that I haven't posted on here much lately, especially not about the pregnancy, and I feel really bad about that! It's not that it's not as exciting or amazing to go through this again -- it's more that we're too stinkin' busy with Owen to sit down and collect our thoughts. I'll try to give more pregnancy information as we go along!

I've been feeling really good this pregnancy. I've been really tired, but I skipped morning sickness altogether. I've got a little bit of a tummy (and I promise to post pictures as things progress), but I haven't gained any weight. I feel the baby moving and kicking, mostly while I'm nursing Owen to sleep (one of the few rare cases a day where I can truly relax with my thoughts and pay attention), but so far, this one isn't quite as active as Owen was. At least, not from what I can remember. But this baby is also only 5-6 inches long, about the size of a bell pepper. There is plenty of time for him/her to boogie down!

As for Owen, he's doing great! Summer finally arrived here in Seattle this week, with temperatures breaking 90 degrees and setting records for this early in the summer. We've been keeping cool by playing at the local splash park, and we made it to the Greenlake wading pool today for the first time. I was on a walk with a friend, so we weren't prepared at all, but that didn't stop us from letting our kids go crazy in the water. Next time, I'll remember the swim suits and camera!

Also, and I don't want to jinx it but I'm going to talk about it anyway, Owen is finally sleeping!! He has been a sleeping champ for almost a month now, including pushing his wake up back from 5:30 AM to anywhere from 6:30 to 8:30 on really good mornings. He and Dan have a great morning schedule that involves lots of breakfast, watering our new garden, making blanket tents, playing with toys, blocks and balls, and enjoying the company. Most of this happens while I'm still snoring away, and I can't thank Dan enough for the extra sleep after all this time!

And what would a blog post be without lots of pictures of our adorable little guy, who, by the way, will now correct you if you don't call him Owen!?

No More Shaggy Dog

2010-06-20T13:18:00.001-07:00

It was time again -- for a haircut! Dan got out his clippers last night and we trimmed him up. He wasn't a big fan of the buzzing near his ears, but after a little bit, he calmed down and let it happen.

Look at this big boy!

And a Happy 2nd Father's Day to my wonderful hubby and Owen's awesome dad. We love you, Dan!

Goof Ball Cutie Pie

2010-06-13T21:32:00.001-07:00

Owen has always had a very fun personality, but it is developing so much more these days. He has a huge vocabulary and knows what he wants. Some of his favorite things are: the "ack-yoo" (vacuum), the "oh blocks," his "bups" (books), his "boo" (boots/shoes), the "mee" (cat/meow), "cack-cack" (crackers), and "cook-cooks" (cookies). All day, he wants to visit the vacuum, pet and feed the cat, put on his boots, eat, and go outside. In fact, if he wants to go outside and you aren't on it that second, he'll sit down, double over, and scream into the ground. We don't encourage that behavior, but he wants what he wants when he wants it!

We spent some time at the park on Friday, where Owen got to play in the giant sandbox and kick a ball around with his dad. He's really good dribbling a soccer ball, and likes to yell, "GOAL!" as he's running around. I've added a video of his skills to the left column.

With the weather finally turning to summer, we're going to get out the kiddie pool and the sprinkler for some fun. Look for those pictures in the next month or two! Until then, here are some pictures of our recent fun.

I've also added a short video of our first ultrasound of Baby #2 to the left column. Very exciting!

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-02T19:43:00.000-07:00

Owen and I spent this past weekend in Shelton at my mom's cabin on the water. Dan has been doing so much lately that I wanted to give him a break to sleep and recharge his batteries! The weather cooperated for the most part and Owen got his first chance to explore the beach on his own two feet. He was fascinated with the sea gulls, rocks, driftwood and sea life. Okay, okay -- he mostly just wanted to eat rocks. He's a 14-month old boy! My mom taught him how to throw rocks too, a skill that he is applying in daily life now (thanks a lot, Grandma!). Here are some photos of the beach and our beautiful boy.

Dinner and clean up after a fun day:

And some serious bedhead after a good night's sleep at home:

Slacking

2010-05-25T17:50:00.000-07:00

Hi there! I know, I know...it's been weeks since I've posted anything. And of course our little redhead has been having all kinds of fun and getting into all kinds of trouble. He has figured out how to climb up on the couch, and then he likes to stand up and bounce. We're trying to break this not-so-safe habit, but Owen seems to like breaking the rules. He has also discovered the joy of food. His fork skills are pretty amazing, and as long as he has one, will eat just about anything. I think if we would let him, he'd sit in his high chair and eat ALL DAY LONG! Dan is really amazing at putting together complete, healthy meals for Owen, and Owen loves it!

As far as the pregnancy goes, it is racing by already. It's funny how different my attitude is this time. As excited as I am to meet #2, it's okay if December takes a while to get here -- which of course is making time go faster! On Friday I hit week 12 and the baby will be about the size of a lime. I can't believe he/she is so big already! We've had really good luck finding the heartbeat at home with our doppler. The heart rate is a strong healthy 170-175. If we were believing in old wives' tales, that would point to girl, but the medical research says that's all a bunch of hooey. July will be here soon enough and we'll know for sure then.

Owen's New Job

2010-05-12T17:31:00.001-07:00

Owen is taking on an important new job this December -- Big Brother! We're excited to share that Baby 2 is on the way, due 12/10/2010. We had an appointment today with an ultrasound, and the little bean is active already. The heartbeat was strong and steady, and it's finally sinking in that we're going to have TWO babies by Christmas!

Spring

2010-05-04T12:47:00.000-07:00

Despite the cold, Spring is definitely here in Seattle. The sun is out more, the flowers are in bloom, the ducks are out with their babies, and we're having fun! Owen continues to amaze us with his growing vocabulary, great sense of humor, and passion for life. He's popped three teeth out in the past few weeks, with several more on the way, but still manages to laugh and play through the pain. One of Owen's favorite new hobbies is feeding himself, a cute but messy development in the Mudgett household. He is still obsessed with books, and I think Dan can recite every single one in his sleep (and sometimes does!). Owen is getting braver and braver with his walking, only crawling to get to something to pull up on, but the increased confidence is leading to more bonks. He's not slowing down though! I see fun times in the next few months as the temperature rises, the parks get busy, and the wading pools open for the summer. And how lucky are we to both be at home with Owen to experience it all?!?

Proud Moment (One of Many)

2010-04-22T22:38:00.000-07:00

Dan and I left Owen with a friend for the very first time this afternoon. Anne is a mom of a little redhead, Connor, who is one day younger than Owen. Owen and I walk around Greenlake with the two of them most mornings, and have playdates at least once a week. We had an appointment that would have been tough for Owen to sit through, so we dropped him off at the community center with Anne and Connor for an hour and a half to play.

When we were talking later, Anne told me this story:

Anne pulled out a bag of chocolate graham cracker cookies for the boys to snack on. At around the same time, a 2 year old girl was snacking on goldfish crackers across the room. Being little grazers, Owen and Connor made their way over to share in the goldfish, but the little girl wasn't so sure she wanted to share. Her mom told her there were plenty for everyone, and she reluctantly gave some crackers to the boys. After a few crackers, Owen walked back over to Anne and pointed at the chocolate bunnies. She handed him one, but he wouldn't take it -- he kept pointing at the bag. The other mom said that maybe Owen wanted to share his crackers too. And sure enough, when Anne offered a bunny to the little girl, Owen started nodding and went back to playing, happy that he got to share.

What an amazing kid!!

Our First Family Trip

2010-04-12T21:35:00.000-07:00

Dan, Owen and I just got back from a 4-night trip in San Francisco! It was our first vacation as a family, and Owen did great. The flight there was a little hairy - Owen wanted to do anything BUT sit with us, even with his favorite book and lots of snacks. But that was the hardest part of the trip! Our hotel was great, we met up with two families with babies Owen's age, and got out of our comfort zone a bit. Owen was such a trooper - he put up with the long hours and lost sleep much better than I would! We visited a friend in Oakland, the San Francisco Zoo, Ghirardelli Square, the cable cars, Pier 39, Chinatown, Yerba Buena Gardens, the California Academy of Sciences, and did LOTS of walking. We opted for public transportation so that packing was easier, and that was an adventure in itself.

It was a great trip, but it is also really nice to be home. Owen asked to go to bed at 6:15 and we were happy to oblige!

Owen's Big 0-1

2010-04-03T20:29:00.000-07:00

Our baby turned 1 today. It seems impossible that a whole year has passed already! We had a great day with family and friends, celebrating the big event. Look for a future post of Owen's milestones this year, and some then-and-now picture comparisons. But for tonight, here are some pictures of the day!

It was a great day with an early bedtime too! Happy Birthday, Owen Robin. Thank you for making us parents, and for all of the smiles and laughs this year! We love you!

Stomach Bug

2010-03-24T20:48:00.000-07:00

Owen, Dan and I all got bit by the stomach bug this week. It started Monday with Owen getting sick. I got sick Tuesday morning, and Dan got it a little bit Tuesday night. When Owen started throwing up in his sleep last night, we took him to the ER to make sure he was okay. It was actually the best ER trip we've ever had. We were in and out in less than an hour, and some of that time was to make sure the anti-nausea medicine they gave him was working. It was a rough night, but we're on the other side now. And to celebrate, here are some pictures from the past week!

Such a boy, and a fashionable one at that!

Our little "peanut"

Lovin' basketball, especially those UW Huskies!

Owen's not too sure about grass yet...

Cabin fever led to total destruction, cracker style:

He Walks!

2010-03-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

Three months after he started crawling, Owen started walking! I took him to play at the community center yesterday afternoon. Another kid was in a little plastic car toy, and Owen pulled up to standing on the back. The kid took off in the car, leaving Owen standing in the middle of the room. So Owen chased after him, taking 4-5 steps before sitting down and crawling the rest of the way. He took another step in the play room, and a couple more at home for Daddy. Then, today, we had a birthday party with my moms' group and Owen was practicing more. Here is a little video of his new moves at 11 months, 1 week and 4 days old:

Owen's First Haircut

2010-03-08T13:05:00.000-08:00

This weekend, Dan and I took Owen to get his haircut. It was finally in his eyes and kind of a shaggy mess - a cute shaggy mess, but a mess none the less. He did great! He sat on a sea turtle stool, watched a movie, and played with toys. We didn't want to cut it short; we just wanted to clean it up.

Here are some BEFORE pictures:

And here are some DURING and AFTER photos:

We also got a cute little certificate with the first locks of his hair to put in his baby book:

Our little baby is growing up so fast!

11 Months Old

2010-03-03T22:07:00.000-08:00

Owen is 11 months old today! He really is the most amazing thing ever. And here are a bunch of pictures to prove it!!

Zoom

2010-02-24T21:48:00.000-08:00

I *swear* that I just posted but, alas, it's been almost two weeks already. So much has been going on...let's see.

Owen seems to be figuring out the sleep thing a little bit better. He's only waking up 2-3 times most nights (though we still have our rough times) and is a good napper when we're home. He has at least six teeth trying to break through, so he's a little grumpier than usual, but I can't really blame him. He has started doing what I call his "smooshie face" and shaking his head "no" - both serious 'tude developments! He is still obsessed with airplanes and birds and the moon, all of which he calls birds. It actually sounds more like he's saying "bus" but he knows what he's talking about.

Window patrol:

Bed head after a nap:

Popsicles for teething relief and snacking on Dan's toes:

Here's a picture of his smooshie face:

Other than that, he's really enjoying all of his play dates. He loves interacting with other babies and playing with other people's toys. In the community center, he figured out how to climb up the plastic slide into the toy tree house. Getting down still needs some work!

Owen is going through a little bit of separation anxiety and likes to check in with me pretty often during the day, where ever we are. He also LOVES being out on our front porch, looking for airplanes, puppy dogs, cars, garbage trucks, trees, birds, bicycles, kids...you get the picture! He loves to point to everything, ask Dan, "What's that?" and then do it all over again.

We're still walking with another mom and baby team most mornings, but he's rebelling against his stroller this week. So I end up carrying him most of the way around Greenlake (2.8 miles in circumference) which is killer on my back. As I'm writing this, I've dosed up on ibuprofen and I'm leaning up against a heating pad. Ouch! I bet he's broken through the 22 pound mark at least, maybe 23. He seems to be eating nonstop, so maybe it's his 12-month growth spurt 5 weeks early.

Wait, did I just write 5 weeks?!? 5 weeks until my little tiny sleepy hungry bug is turning 1? I can't even believe how fast this year has gone. I can't wait to see what year number 2 holds in store for the Mudgetts!

Fun New Things

2010-02-12T16:45:00.000-08:00

Owen is so much fun these days. Don't get me wrong...he's always been fun. But he's getting so much more fun every day! If he does something to make us laugh, he'll do it again to get more laughs. He points at anything and everything that he wants or hears or sees or is curious about. And airplanes don't stand a chance at flying by unnoticed!

Owen loves climbing our stairs, crawling through the cat door on the baby gate to the laundry room, looking out the windows, chasing the cats and eating whatever snacks he finds on the ground. He is IN LOVE with books these days and will hand us a book to read over and over again, even at 6:30 in the morning. He likes being chased now that he's crawling so fast, and you just have to come at him saying, "I'm gonna get you!" and he takes off giggling.

He hasn't started walking yet but he is practicing standing by himself. We can tell he thinks about walking, but crawling is much easier right now. We moved our couch over in our living room so that he can pull up on our front window -- he kept crawling behind the couch to get to it, so instead of fighting it, we made adjustments!

He is also showing that he remembers situations and objects. He has this talking, singing learning puppy (thanks, Grandma!) that he'll go searching for if we say something that she normally says. He will clap at the right places if you sing "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!" He also does some of the motions for "Itsy Bitsy Spider." He's a smart cookie, that's for sure!

Sleeping is still tough. He's settling back into only waking up 2 or 3 times a night (yes, only!), which he got away from for a few weeks after the whole croup incident. Oh, and he's working on cutting another 2-4 teeth, poor guy! I bought him a homeopathic amber necklace that's supposed to work as a natural painkiller, but he's only worn it one day and I'm not sure if he's feeling better yet or not. I guess time will tell.

Ten Months!

2010-02-03T20:45:00.000-08:00

Today, Owen is 10 months old. Double digits. That is CRAZY! I can see how parents say that they blinked and their kids were all grown up. I can't believe it's been so long already. I can still remember the first few days and weeks so vividly, it's as if it just happened. Okay...enough of that...time for pictures!!

More bath time fun:

Hanging out with Grandma and Steve:

Climbing the stairs for the first time as if he's been doing it for years:

And the endless pursuit of the "kikkies":

Happy 10, Mr O! I guess it's time to start planning a BIRTHDAY PARTY!!

Cutie Pie

2010-01-27T21:44:00.001-08:00

Owen is such a cutie!! We let him have some diaper-only time this week, and Dan got some great shots. Here are some of my favorites:

I love him! He also has been feeding himself more and more, so that means more and more food on the floor. Later on, Owen finds the food that we miss and snacks!

And Owen loves playing with his redheaded birthday buddy, Connor:

The Croup

2010-01-19T21:21:00.000-08:00

Owen has croup! :( Wikipedia describes croup as this:

It is characterized by a barking cough; a whistling, obstructive sound (stridor) as the child breathes in; and hoarseness due to obstruction in the region of the larynx. It may be mild, moderate or severe, and severe cases, with breathing difficulty, can be fatal if not treated in a hospital.

So, we spent 4 hours in the ER last night (well, 3ish hours there and another 1ish getting there and home). Triage put us first of everyone in the waiting room and it STILL took that long. Owen woke up at 10 screaming and having trouble breathing. Dan and I have never been so scared...ever...not even that time I woke up in an Amazonian jungle camp with a tarantula hanging on the ceiling above my head!! Luckily, the triage nurse could tell right away that it was croup, so we felt a little better right when we got there. But, of course, then we had to wait. And wait and wait and wait. Owen had to get chest and neck x-rays to rule out any other problems, and that was the worst part. We had to hold him down, naked in a strange room, and he wanted NONE of that. That was the worst thing we've gone through...Dan had to hold him down, I had to wait behind a lead wall, and Owen didn't understand any of it. You can't blame the kid. It was the middle of the night, he couldn't breathe right, we strapped him into the car, took him to a crazy place, made him go through scary tests, and then we had to WAIT. At 1:30ish, the doctor asked if we wanted to wait a few more hours for observation, but we just wanted to go home.

Anyway, we've made it through the first full day. Owen is (kind of) sleeping now, we're watching trashy TV, and looking forward to a restful, full night of sleep.

As Dan put it this morning, we signed up for all kinds of scary moments when we decided to have kids. I'm sure there will be many more to come.

I love you, Owen!!

Our Big Boy

2010-01-15T20:34:00.000-08:00

I see that I've been slacking on posting info and pictures. Sorry!

Owen is doing really well. We had his 9 month appointment last week - he weighs 20 lbs 9 oz, is 30 inches tall, and his head circumference is 47 cm. For comparison, at birth, he weighed 9 lbs 12 oz and was 22 inches tall. He's done some great growing over the past 3/4 of a year! He only had to get one shot - the H1N1 booster. His next appointment will be a couple of days after his first birthday, and there will be A LOT of shots at that appointment. I'm not looking forward to that at all.

Let's see...what else?

Owen is crawling like crazy, much to the cats' dismay. His new favorite activity is chasing the furry critters around our main floor. He is also pulling up on everything and cruising around. He's letting go when he's standing up, figuring out the balance thing. Dan and I are betting that he'll be walking within a month. It's nuts!

Also, as a safety precaution, we bought Owen a twin bed. Well, a twin mattress on the floor. He's been in bed with us since we brought him home, but now that he's crawling and more curious, it's too dangerous to let him nap alone on our bed. The transition has gone really well, and gives us some good sleep at night until he wakes up and we bring him into bed with us. It's weird to have him sleeping so far away, but I guess it has to happen sometime.

Here are a bunch of pictures from the past few weeks. He loves sharing sandwiches with Dan, playing with his friends at my moms' group, chasing the cats (even under the table), jumping in his bouncer (though, not so much any more), and Dan and I LOVE it when he's sleeping. ;)

Happy 2010!

2010-01-03T20:41:00.001-08:00

Another year has come and gone, and here we are in 2010! Our little guy is 9 months old today, and I can't believe how fast that went. Owen is VERY mobile now, crawling anywhere he wants, pulling up on everything, and he's getting braver about standing with only one hand as support. We're probably only a month or two away from him walking and that is amazing to think about!

Baby's First Christmas

2009-12-26T12:35:00.000-08:00

Owen had a GREAT first Christmas this week! He and I went on cold morning walks, he opened fun presents, he ate new foods, and loved spending time with family and friends.

Santa Claus

2009-12-16T20:52:00.000-08:00

Owen met Santa Claus today for the first time. And we experienced three Christmas miracles at the mall!

1) We got a parking spot right in front.
2) We parked on the right side of the mall - Santa was right inside the doors we entered!
3) The camera there broke so we got to take our own pictures for free. :)

Crawling Update

2009-12-13T20:28:00.000-08:00

Owen made forward progress crawling yesterday! Until then, he had only been able to crawl backwards or roll sideways. He is still not moving very far or fast, but he is figuring it out. Time to baby-proof this house!

On the Move

2009-12-11T20:11:00.000-08:00

Owen is getting better and better at getting around. He is crawling backwards pretty well, can get from his tummy up on his hands and knees, then up to sitting. He likes to practice that one all day long! He's getting really close to being the cats' worst nightmare. :)

But all that moving and shaking gets tiring...

Overtime

2009-12-03T18:11:00.000-08:00

While we are waiting for overtime in the Washington vs. Texas Tech basketball game right now, I'll post some pictures from Sunday's game against Montana. It was the first game that we went to this season with cheerleaders, and it was the first close game of the season too. Even though it was an earlier tip off than normal (6:00 instead of 7:00), Owen didn't make it the whole way. He fell asleep sitting up in Dan's arms with the last 10 minutes or so to go. He amazingly stayed asleep through the cheering as the Huskies pulled off the victory.

He's such a sleeping angel! If only we could get him to sleep that peacefully at night... :)

Owen's First Swim Lesson

2009-12-01T21:13:00.000-08:00

Our little fish had his first swimming lesson tonight. Luckily, all of his practice on land has really paid off! He splashed and kicked and had a fantastic time. Here are some pictures of the big event!

More Big Pictures

2009-11-28T12:06:00.000-08:00

When I uploaded pictures to our online picture site, they uploaded bigger than normal. Since I'm too lazy to upload them again smaller, we have more big pictures today! Owen is getting dangerously close to crawling these days. He has figured out how to push up with his arms, and if he's sitting, he'll lean forward in what I like to call "tripod" or "kickstand" pose.

Observe:

From there, he'll kind of rock back and forth and either sit back up, or flop forward. When he gets his legs involved, he often forgets his arms and uses his face...not so effective, but pretty cute!

My Aunt Kathy ("Grammy" to Owen) brought a polar bear puppet down with her from Alaska, which Owen is warming up to. Here are some pictures of their first playtime together:

And some cute pictures of Owen using his arms:

He is such a cutie pie!

Owen's First Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T14:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Owen's first Thanksgiving! It was a great day of food, family and fun. Owen was a little picky about the food, but did try mashed potatoes and Jello before he got his familiar pear yogurt. He had fun playing peekaboo and fetch (he threw it, we fetched it) with all kinds of things. Owen played with candy while we decorated gingerbread houses, and entertained his audience for hours. He's such a social butterfly!

And the gingerbread competition photos:

My house:

Uncle Cruz's and Mel's house:

Steve's house:

Grandpa Louie's house:

Aunt Katie and Joe's house:

Grandma Liz's house:

Aunt Kathy's house:

Whew! While, of course, my house won yet again this year, Steve's came in a very close second (with a blue ribbon in the speed category), and Uncle Cruz gets props for his potato shingles, even if they did melt the frosting...

Bath Time, Rolling Around, and Early Christmas

2009-11-21T20:08:00.000-08:00

We have taken some great, great pictures this week and I am so excited to share them here!

First, we got a new bath seat for Owen so that he can (safely) bathe in the tub without Dan or me in there with him. He loved the new freedom and could splash and play with toys for as long as he wanted.

Isn't he cute?!!? And Owen has made big strides lately toward crawling. He is pushing himself up and trying to get his knees under him. He's also rolling and scooting really well. The other day, I sat him on the floor with some toys and turned on Handy Manny (yes, sometimes you just need 20 minutes of cartoons!). He pulled himself up to his knees, grabbed the remote control, and then rolled across the carpet and eventually under the bookshelf. Here are some pictures of that progression:

Oh, and did you see the teeth?

And even though we're still 5 days from Thanksgiving, we have some early Christmas photos. I considered waiting until later to post them but I bet we'll have more to post later, so here you go. Consider it an early gift! ;)

...and of course, Santa!!

Mid November

2009-11-18T17:11:00.000-08:00

Fall is in full swing, and we've got the colds to prove it! Poor Owen has had colds for most of this month and woke up today with conjunctivitis. Besides wanting a little more cuddling than normal, he's been a real trooper and is still pretty happy. He had two flu shots last week too - one seasonal, and one H1N1. We stood in line for the H1N1 on Thursday and only had to wait about 30 minutes. I was so excited to get it for him that I forgot it was a shot and that of course he hates shots until I got to the nurse and had to take his pants off. It was one of those moments that I've felt like both a great mom and a horrible mom all at the same time!

Despite his illnesses, Owen is still making strides in his development. He is clapping, playing peek-a-boo, and pushing up to all fours. We're dangerously close to him crawling and then there will be no stopping him!

Here are some photos from this past week:

More Laughter

2009-11-10T22:19:00.000-08:00

Here's a video of Owen from this weekend. If this doesn't make you smile or laugh, there is something seriously wrong with you!

Fun Week

2009-11-07T22:04:00.000-08:00

We had a fun week! Owen attended his first Huskies basketball game on Wednesday night. The game started at bedtime, so I was a little nervous about keeping him up that late. But he did really well! We got there super early, and he was just taking it all in. He loved the music, the lights, the crowd...it was amazing! He was laughing and screaming and smiling the whole time. With about three minutes to go in the game, Owen leaned his head against my chest and fell asleep. Hard. He didn't wake up when Dan put him in his car seat. He didn't wake up when we got home. He was out! Here are some pictures from before the game. The cheerleaders and Harry the Husky weren't there, so we'll have to get those pictures later in the season.

It's also definitely fall, so I went shopping for warm PJs and found this really thick, warm suit for our little guy. And it has ears!!

And then today, Grandpa Louie took Owen and me to the Aquarium!! Dan is studying for his exam so we wanted to get out and let him have some quiet time. Owen seemed to really enjoy it. He is a people-watcher for sure, and the fish seemed a little interesting to him too. Here are some photos of the two of us there:

It was a fun, busy week for a fun, busy baby.

Owen is 7 Months Old

2009-11-03T21:49:00.000-08:00

Wow. Seven months already! This past month has gone so quickly, I can't even believe it! Owen is growing up so fast. He is eating more and more big kid foods, like yogurt, spaghetti, and rice crackers. He also had two - yes, two! - teeth break through overnight. Poor kid. Owen is still not sleeping well. I'm going to chalk it up to the teething pain and hope that we get a good night tonight, but I'm not holding my breath. Here are some pictures from today. I couldn't get a shot of the teeth, so we'll have to wait a bit on those.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T19:50:00.000-07:00

Halloween Moms' Group

2009-10-28T20:44:00.000-07:00

Dan and I went to a Halloween party for my moms' group tonight and WOW!! that was fun. When we got there, only the host baby was there and didn't recognize Owen. Apparently, Owen as a frog was too much for Connor as a dinosaur, and Owen made him cry. It took a while for the babies to realize that they knew each other, but then the chaos ensued. Here are some fun photos from the night!

Pumpkin Prowl

2009-10-25T19:00:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the first event of the Halloween season for our family. Dan, Owen, Grandpa Louie and I went to the Pumpkin Prowl at Woodland Park Zoo. It's a chance to walk through jack-o-lantern lined paths and trick-or-treat at the sponsors' booths. Our little frog loved it, especially the Boo-mazium! He was entranced by the flying ghosts and bats, and was the happiest little frog you have ever seen. I can guarantee that there will be more Halloween pictures to come this week, but here are a few to get us started!

Play Time

2009-10-12T21:26:00.000-07:00

We can tell that Owen is really struggling with teething pain these days, so keeping him occupied and happy is becoming a bit more challenging. A favorite option is floor time with toys! Owen has a bunch of squirting bath toys that are the perfect size for little hands (and mouths!) which are his current toys of choice.

Owen's 6 Month Check-up

2009-10-09T14:41:00.000-07:00

We had Owen's 6 month check-up today. He is a whopping 18 pounds, 11 ounces, and is now 28 inches tall! The poor kid had 4 shots and an oral vaccine. I got a flu shot too, but I wish I could have taken 4 more to save our baby the pain and fear.

Owen has to get part two of the flu shot in a month, and all three of us will be getting the H1N1 vaccine if it's available. It will be nice when he's old enough for ice cream so we can go to the shop across the street after these appointments. Owen should get some kind of reward for all these shots!

He's healthy and growing well. And he's taking a nice long nap now - he deserves it!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-04T17:23:00.000-07:00

Dan, Owen and I went to Craven Farms in Snohomish this afternoon. They have a pumpkin patch and corn maze, and many, many photo opportunities!! So here you go:

Owen's Half Birthday

2009-10-03T19:52:00.000-07:00

Owen is 6 months old today!! We've known him for half of a year. That seems so amazing to us. I can remember very vividly what it was like being prepped for surgery, and so can Dan. We were reminiscing this morning about Owen's birth, and how much he's grown and changed since then. Our little baby has doubled his birth weight, is eating solid foods, smiles and laughs all day long, is sitting up to play with his toys, and has such a fun personality.

Five and a half months ago, when breastfeeding was so hard, I can remember thinking that October would never come. I was looking forward to the 6-month mark so that Owen's nutrition wasn't 100% on me. I obviously had no idea that starting solids isn't really about nutrition; it's more about practicing moving food around and using your tongue for the first few months. And we started solids two months ago. Breastfeeding has clearly become much easier, and I don't have a date in sight for stopping, but it's amazing how far we all have come in just 6 months.

Today, we celebrated Owen's half birthday as a family. We began the day at 7:00 AM, with Owen greeting his daddy, "Hi, Dada! Hi, Dada!" Dan: "Can you say 'Mama?'" Owen: "Dada!" Then, miraculously, Owen was still tired, and we all went back to sleep until 9:15!! We got up, had breakfast, and I made Owen's half birthday cake. We packed up, got in the car, and went for donuts at Mighty O donuts in Wallingford. Owen took that opportunity to get in a good nap:

When we got home, it was almost time for the Huskies vs Notre Dame football game. We watched a little, and then Owen got tired again. When Owen and I woke up from that nap, we got to watch the 4th quarter and overtime - unfortunately, the Dawgs couldn't pull it out, but it was a good showing. Owen got to splash and play in the bath with his daddy. We played with some toys on the floor for a while, posed Owen with his cake for some pictures (he REALLY wanted to get his hands on it!), and then it was time for bed. Owen: "Dada!! Dada!!" Dan: "Can you say 'Mama?'" Owen: "Dada!" A mom can dream... :D

Happy Half Birthday, Owen!

Look Who's Talking!

2009-09-27T18:54:00.000-07:00

Owen has spoken! He's been babbling for a week or so now. Lots of "ba-ba-ba-ba-ba" and some "ga-ga-ga-ga-ga." But tonight, he was saying, "da-da-da-da-da." And then said, "Hi, Dada!" Dan and I kind of looked at each other, like, "Did he just say --?" And then he said it again, and again, and again: "Hi, Dada!" So of course, we run to get the video camera and he stopped. But after a while, he said it one more time. And here's the video:

Someday, we'll remember to do our filming somewhere other than in front of the window, but at least the audio is perfect!!

More Playtime Pictures

2009-09-22T21:45:00.000-07:00

I don't have much to report this week, so I'll just overload this post with super cute pictures of our little guy!

Sitting Big

2009-09-14T10:44:00.000-07:00

Dan and my Dad went to the Seahawks game yesterday, so Owen and I had an afternoon out too. We drove to Redmond to watch a soccer game of one of the players I used to coach (hi, Alexa!). It was a beautiful, sunny day and Owen surprised me (again) -- he was sitting up by himself! Now, of course, if he turned to look at something, he fell over. And it was wobbly sitting...but he sat there like a big boy! After my workout class this morning, I laid out my mat at Golden Gardens and let him sit more. He did even better today! I'm so proud of our little man.

Bow Down

2009-09-09T21:30:00.000-07:00

Because we're raising him right, Owen is already a University of Washington Huskies fan! We're looking forward to taking him to basketball games starting in November, but for now, he's happy watching football on TV. Here are some pictures of Owen in his #1 football jersey:

5 Months Old

2009-09-03T08:26:00.000-07:00

Owen is 5 months old today!! What a big boy! I still have times of disbelief that he's really ours. He's just too amazing to be real! But as I type this, he's jumping like crazy in his jumperoo, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to face the day. He's chatting it up with me and his toys, smiling constantly, and laughing at his own jokes. What an amazing kid!

Because you can't get enough pictures of Owen eating, here are a few of his sweet potato dinner last week:

And some other pictures, just for good measure!

We are thankful every day for such an amazing kid. And we don't know what we did before he was here. He's such a perfect addition to our family, and we can't wait to see what comes next!

Swings and Strikes

2009-08-23T18:04:00.001-07:00

Owen and I went to the park this week, and Owen got in the big-kid swings! Well, okay, maybe the baby big-kid swings. But still, he was in the swings. And he loved it. Proof:

And as if that wasn't enough, Owen loves sports! He loves every sport with a green field: soccer, football, baseball. He loves 'em all! We were watching some of the Little League World Series yesterday and Dan was imitating the ump. "Steee-rike 1!" And Owen was cracking up! Here's a short video. So fun!

Jump!

2009-08-18T13:08:00.000-07:00

Because we don't have quite enough toys and contraptions for the love of our life, here's a video of Owen in his new jumperoo!! Maybe adding some more exercise will help with sleep too...

Solid Foods - Continued!

2009-08-15T19:24:00.000-07:00

Avocados are Owen's favorite food. Granted, his only other experiences are rice cereal, squash and now sweet potato, but that doesn't change the fact that he loves avocado. This week, we were unsuccessful in introducing yellow squash to Owen but sweet potatoes went over a bit better. Dan made a mixture of avocado and sweet potato, and we've been increasing the sweet and decreasing the 'cado. We also bought a high chair which means I got to watch Owen eat for the first time (I've been holding him while Dan feeds him). What a hoot! And of course, that means I had my hands free for pictures. Here are some of our favorites from today:

Sitting in his new chair, ready for food!

First bites:

Hmm...maybe this isn't so bad:

Cleaning up:

And our happy camper:

Tomorrow, we start bananas. Mmm...nanas...

A is for Avocado

2009-08-09T20:02:00.000-07:00

We started feeding Owen solid foods on Friday night. We tried rice cereal but only got the icky face from Owen. He absolutely didn't want it and refused to keep trying. So we went with our gut and tried a different food - avocado. And he loves it! He leans forward to get his mouth on the spoon and eats a lot, and doesn't get *that* much on his face and bib. He seems to really enjoy it, and we have a lot of fun giving it to him. Here are some pictures of his first few meals.

First, bibbed up and ready for rice cereal:

Definitely not a fan, so we started reading up on other good first options:

And since avocado is one of the good options for first food, we thought we'd give it a shot:

Success!! And so cute too.

4 Month Check-Up

2009-08-07T15:23:00.000-07:00

Owen is now 16 pounds, 14 ounces and 26.5 inches tall! That's 93rd percentile for weight and 87th for height. His head is 44 cm in circumference which is 88th percentile. He had to get two more shots today, and of course he cried, but he did so much better than the first time. He was smiling by the time we left and seems to be doing great.

In related news, the doctor gave us the go-ahead to start solid foods! We're starting with rice cereal mixed with breast milk which may help him sleep longer at night. I sure hope so! After that, we can introduce a new food every 3 days (to make sure he doesn't have allergies). We picked up some avocados, and then it's on to sweet potatoes and bananas. When breastfeeding was so hard at the beginning, I used to dream of the day when he could eat solid foods and all the pressure wasn't on me, but now I'm kind of sad that he's big enough already. I guess he has to grow up some time...

Here are some pictures from this week:

4 Months!

2009-08-03T12:55:00.001-07:00

Owen is 4 months old today - holy cow!! Our lives have changed so much with the newest addition to our family and we couldn't be happier. Owen is a calm, happy baby, and he's the love of our lives! It's amazing to me all the things he's learned so far - how to eat, how to hold his head up, how to talk (in his own language, of course), how to laugh, how to roll over...the list goes on and on. I can still remember nursing him in our rocker the first week of his life and being so overwhelmed by the massive responsibility Dan and I made for ourselves. And if I do say so myself, I think we're doing a fantastic job!

We have Owen's 4-month check-up on Friday, so I'll post height and weight stats then. We're guessing that he has almost doubled his birth weight and we know he's gotten taller. Here are some then and now pictures for comparison:

Car seat - Bringing him home from the hospital versus packing up to head to Greenlake:

Wow! His whole torso and head fit into the part that his head is getting too big for now.

Pillow - Sleeping on a pillow as a newborn versus showing off in front of a same-size pillow:

He's so tall already!

On top of his physical growth, his personality is emerging. He is very curious and has started reaching for anything in front of him. We bought him an exersaucer this weekend so that he can build some leg strength and play at the same time.

And now that Owen knows how to roll onto his tummy, he refuses to stay on his back...ever...

We're so proud of our 4-month-old little man!!

And It Begins...

2009-07-27T15:11:00.000-07:00

Well, we're set to hit record heat here in Seattle this week. So what better afternoon activity in a house without A/C than exercise!! To be fair, it actually is significantly cooler on the ground than on the couch. And we did walk around Greenlake and drive all over the place this morning (the car stays nice and cool for naps). If it really does hit 99 or 102 on Wednesday, I don't know what we'll do. But anyway...

...and then he figured out the other way...

Even though he was getting tired and complaining about tummy time (after a ton of great flipping), he wouldn't stay on his back! He is so proud of himself every time he makes it to his tummy AND he wore himself out so much that he was ready for a nap early. I know what we're doing more of before bedtime!

Grandpa Louie's Shower

2009-07-25T16:01:00.000-07:00

Last month, Grandpa Louie's coworkers threw a baby shower for Owen. How thoughtful is that?!? We received a box full of clothes, books, toys and gift cards today and took a few pictures of Owen in one of the outfits, playing with one of the toys. We did some stealth camera work to get smiley pictures even! A lot of the gifts centered around baseball -- more specifically, around the LA Dodgers. I guess if Owen *has* to pick a National League team to cheer for, it could be worse! ;)

Also, we took a day trip to Whidbey Island last Sunday. It was the farthest and longest that Owen has been away from home and he rocked it! Napping was a little tough, but luckily there are some nice open highways to drive which almost always lead to good naps!

This weekend is much more relaxed. We may check out the Ballard Seafood Fest, but mainly we're just trying to stay cool. I'm not sure how we're going to handle the 90+ degree weather that's forecasted for this week. We're ready for fall weather!

More Pictures

2009-07-17T14:58:00.001-07:00

It's been a whole week since I posted - where has the time gone? Here are some pictures from this week.

Oh, and I just realized that it's been exactly a year since the pregnancy test came back positive. I can't believe how much happened in the past 365 days!!

More Laughs

2009-07-10T21:05:00.001-07:00

Dan is Owen's hero. Regardless of what Owen's doing, he's always looking to find his daddy. When Dan's at work, Owen will turn to the spot on the couch that Dan normally sits in, and when Dan's home, Owen has to keep him in his sights at all times. It's really incredible that they have such an amazing bond already. Part of their relationship is humor. Dan can get Owen to smile and laugh almost any time he wants. Here is a video of baby/daddy time from a few days ago. It's my new favorite!

Oh yeah...Owen is also camera-shy. As is evident by his reaction when he noticed he was on tape!

Playful Baby

2009-07-08T17:00:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures of Owen playing from this week. He loves his underwater activity gym (thanks, Grandpa Louie!) and, of course, laughing at his silly daddy. Look at that dimple!!

Owen is 3 Months Old

2009-07-03T11:09:00.001-07:00

Three months ago, we were in the hospital holding our hour-old baby boy. Three months!! He's gotten so big and is so attentive. He and Dan have their daily giggle times, he's taking regular naps and has a consistent bed time. He has started grabbing for toys and has discovered his feet. Owen talks to us and his toys constantly and drools like crazy! We couldn't be happier with our little man.

Here are some pictures from the past week:

Playtime

Hats!

Napping

12 Weeks Old

2009-06-26T23:08:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how fast time goes. Our little guy is 12 weeks old today. He'll be 3 months next week. Crazy! Here are some miscellaneous pictures from the past week. Bath time, new mom's group, hand sucking...enjoy!

Dan and I just love staring at our little man. He's so so happy and we're so so lucky!

Tummy Time

2009-06-21T20:51:00.000-07:00

Owen has been flipping himself from his back to his side, and even to his tummy twice yesterday morning! He seems to finally not hate being on his tummy. Obviously, that's a good thing if he's ever going to get strong enough to crawl. Here are a few pictures of his tummy time today.

And Happy Father's Day to Dan, Pops and Grandpa Louie!

Swingin' Away

2009-06-19T09:58:00.001-07:00

Owen didn't sleep last night but fell asleep in his swing this morning. We're considering buying a second swing for our room to help him sleep at night when he's having trouble. But anyway, here are some pictures of him in his swing this morning.

Sleeping:

Was that the camera?:

Happy in my swing:

Sleep

2009-06-09T20:22:00.000-07:00

Owen has been an amazing sleeper since he was born. Last week, he was going to bed between 7:00 and 8:00 and only waking up once around 4:00 to eat. Then he got his shots and it all got messed up. :( The past two nights, he woke up around 1:00 or 2:00 and then fussed until we gave up around 7:00 or 8:00 and just got up for the day. I feed him, change his diaper, hold him...nothin'! It seems like he spends a lot of that time trying to expel gas but I can't imagine that's the whole story (since he's had gas all along...). So today, I'm posting pictures of him sleeping because those times are so amazing and we have apparently been taking them for granted!