Phoenix

Last week, Kellen and I took a spontaneous trip to Pheonix to visit Aunt Krissy. It had been WAY too long since she has seen him, like 7 months, I believe... Which in baby time, is an eternity!

Speaking of eternity, the 1 hour 40 minute flight seemed like forever. We've mastered the flight to Las Vegas but that extra 40 minutes really induced anxiety. Fortunately, the pilot wanted my child's screaming to cease just as badly as I and he made up a significant amount of time in the air. Such a relief!

We had a blast hanging out with Krissy. We toured her fancy new workplace, wined and dined at delicious places, got manicures at Chic Nails and caught up on Lifetime movies (which might I add, have gotten unbelievably violent!)

On the last night, we went to a "nice" steakhouse dinner. I realized I hadn't given Kellen any water/juice all day, so I handed him his sippy cup and continued to enjoy my meal. A few minutes later, he threw up the WHOLE thing everywhere. What was I thinking?!!? We had to strip him down and put his bottoms in a to-go bag. :) Something tells me the business peeps around us discussing important aquisitions weren't too thrilled by the situation!

We had a blast! Thank you for everything!!

Halloween

My failure to back everything up on my computer finally caught up with me. My bloody laptop crashed, erasing all the videos and many pictures of my baby boy. I've been in mourning for approximately 2 months as evidenced by date of my last blog post. It keeps me up every night....I stress about it and think of all the reasons why it isn't my fault. When I can't think of anyone else to blame it on, I fall asleep and repeat the next night. I'm SO MAD AT MYSELF!

Anyway, today I came to terms with this devastating situation and uploaded some of the pictures I DO have. I'm determined to focus on what I do have, which is millions of pictures. I'm sure my baby will never know what is actually missing, so here is to documenting our lives from here on out!

For documenting purposes, I'm not going to lie. This Halloween was an absolute disaster. I've been planning Kellen's first Halloween costume in my mind for years. I once saw a baby chef on BYU campus and he stole my heart. I knew Kellen had to be a baby chef, but since the options online were lame, I turned to my favorite seamstress on Center St. for help. When she quoted me $20, I was sold.

On Saturday, Kellen woke up vomiting. I thought we just gave him bad food or something until it strangely kept happening! A day later, Hank experienced the world's worst flu. His frail little body was shutting down; I've never seen him look so awful in my life. After a few bags of IV, he was looking much better. Once we returned home, me and my 84-year-old grandmother fell victim to this violent flu.

A special thank you goes out to my sweet mom and George for doing "rounds" of the bathrooms taking care of everyone. The words "I just want to die" have never been used so frequently under one roof in one day.

When Halloween rolled around the next day, we all felt like we had been hit by a bus. Despite my best judgement, I made everyone get in the car to trick-or-treat on Park City's Main Street (How could I miss trick-or-treating at places like Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory?). Hank's insistence that I was "going for me, not Kellen" may have been true, but so what. I didn't get the photos I had envisioned, but loved seeing my baby boy's reaction to the people and candy. He melts my heart!!!!

Oh, and for the record, he is wearing pants but due to a measurement error and our inability to hold him normally, they appear as shorts in every picture....AND his name is sewn on the jacket, but of course I didn't get a clear picture of that. Whatever...

Thursday, September 15, 2011

I'm Not in Charge Here.

Since I've been a parent for SO long, I've learned that I simply can't control everything I'd like to. Whenever I determine my method for [insert parenting strategy here], it turns out that just simply doesn't work with my child, resulting in a lot of wasted time, energy and money! Its really starting to make me laugh.

For example:

Hank and I decided that we wanted to give our child breast milk (if circumstances were favorable) and organic baby food. Sure, its hypocritical. We eat like crap, but it was important to us that we give him the best as long as possible so we thought we'd give that a try.

If you would have told me during either January or February that I would one day LOVE nursing, I would have wanted to punch you in the face. The beginning was horrible. Cracked, bleeding, blistering, constant sucking = absolute misery. Fortunately, with time things healed and it did prove to be a positive experience....something I became rather attached to since it didn't come so easily! And for the last few months, I've loved it. Until now....

I had a sneaky suspicion that Kellen wasn't getting enough milk, so I moseyed on over to the lactation specialist to weigh him before and after he ate. The verdict? 2.2 oz! My sweet baby boy should be drinking about 24 oz per day. Wonderful. Even better, he has lost 2 lbs...sending me into another panic: my baby has been starving!! I left their office deflated: literally and figuratively :)

After discussing the issue with the Doctor, she informed me that many mothers lose their milk around 8 months (who knew?!) and that I should start him on formula immediately.

After coming to terms with the fact that I had no other options, I gave him a bottle. But guess what? He won't drink it. He screams bloody murder every time he even sees it. After trying for a week to feed him and vomiting daily, I took him to the doctor. They told me to try different nipples, bottles, milk, etc, but I just couldn't take it anymore. I knew something was wrong with my baby boy and the bottle was clearly NOT the answer.

Gratefully, he screamed the entire 2 hours we were at the dr's office, giving them a glimpse of his misery. (Usually, he goes in there and cheeses it up, making me look like an idiot!) The dr ran through a long list of things I can try. After discussing that I'd tried everything, she paused and said, " Have you tried a straw?" Um, no. That one hadn't crossed my mind. Breast to straw...not really the norm.

She left the room and returned with a Capri Sun. I got a little panicky at the thought that she was seriously going to give it to my baby, until she put it up to his mouth and he CHUGGED it! Who knew he could use a straw?? [Answer: Hank, (every allergy-tracking mother's worst nightmare) who apparently witnessed this after offering him a Jamba Juice.]

Anyway, my baby drinks juice. Not breast milk, not even formula. Juice. Juice that might even have "dangerous levels of arsenic." haha

She deemed him 'severely dehydrated' and sent us on our way, with a Capri Sun in his hand and a grocery list: apple juice and straws.

I surrender. This child is determined to break me down of everything I think I know and build me back up just the way he wants! And that's just fine with me, as long as he is healthy! :)

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Disaster Averted.

I feel a tremendous amount of guilt over my reception towards my baby boy upon his arrival to this scary world. I often think back to the day he was born and wonder if I looked at, snuggled and loved him like he needed. I remind myself that I just wasn't in the best condition to give him the love he needed at that time and store the guilt back away in my mind.

Fast forward to yesterday. At approximately 11:55pm, I realized that as I was flipping through videos the day before, there weren't any from the few weeks surrounding his birth. Mini panic attack ensued. Fortunately, my super dad filmed every moment and backed them all up on a cd. Why must I remember things like that as I'm falling asleep EVERY night?!

Anyway, I just began flipping through pictures in the folder "Hospital" and am happy to say that I've addressed the guilt I've been feeling over the last 8 months. I've revisited all the events, feelings, and quickly remembered that this is the condition I was in, like it or not:

A swollen female version of Martin Short in the movie Pure Luck. Only instead of a bee sting, I was pumped full of 100 bags of IV's, morphine, and cut open like a beached whale left to die. Somewhere deep down inside of me, I was excited about that baby, I just couldn't show it.

I sure am grateful for my baby boy; he is my everything.













These were taken (obviously not by me, but my dad) at 7 months.

In actual news, Hank is insanely busy building a Formula One car, taking classes and working like crazy. We're trying hard to support him, but tend to just put more on his to-do list :)

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Summer, Part 2

I'm embarrassed to admit that I just forgot our blog URL. I tried "Irozfamily.blogspot.com" with no success. Hmm...guess I need to be a little better about updating?

We've had lots going on since my last post. In no particular order, although I will start with my favorite:

- I became a stay at home mom! Its been about 2 months now and I am still beaming with joy. Working for the first 6 months of Kellen's life definitely made me appreciate every second I get to spend with him....and spending all day every day with him is AMAZING! I can't get enough of him. Everyone has adapted to this change extremely well: Kellen is always happy and enjoys my undivided attention and Hank enjoys 3 nutritious meals every day, a mostly clean house and a uncharacteristic happy wife. Win-win-win. Oh, yeah and George! I bathed him for the first time in 2 years. Better believe it.

Fortunately, Hank has been working extremely hard all summer manufacturing *stuff* to compensate. More on that later..

- Because we have one less income to support my spending habits, I've been forced to get creative with our money. Coupons? Yes. Price-matching? Yes. Both these activities induce a mild panic attack at the register but its worth it. I'm actually enjoying things like creating a week long menu and finding ways to make the most of everything I purchase. It makes me feel like such a chef. The satisfaction I get from calculating prices per serving is unreal. (I realize that most everyone probably already does this...but its new to me :) Since before grad school, we have lived on a 2-3 day meal planning.)

- Kellen has become a little scooter. He looks like he lost his legs in 'Nam as he uses his arms to get everywhere, dragging his bottom half along. He has lifted his knees a few times, rocking back and forth trying to figure out what this whole crawling thing is about. I quit working at just the right time...my floors were in serious need of the Swiffer's attention. It only took one time of Kellen wearing a white onesie scooting across the floor to get me mopping.

- We hiked Bridal Veil Falls. Its something I've had on my low-priority to-do list since I moved here a LONG time ago. Fortunately, this will be our LAST summer in Provo so it was time. Kellen insisted on holding the water bottle the entire way up. He's so handy.

- We've visited Lindon Aquatic Center more times than I can count. Hank can't get enough of the surfing and Kellen and I just adore the lazy river. I will surely miss that place, but not the toll the bottom of the pool takes on my un-pedicured feet.

- Kellen and I attended our first Kindermusik a few weeks ago. I hesitated to take him because I figured the result would be making an absolute idiot of myself. A few minutes into ME singing and dancing, I had determined I would never ever go back...until I looked down and saw Kellen's beaming smile. He had perma-smile the entire hour as he gazed around at the other babies, just mesmerized, which softened my heart to the whole idea. We may or may not be signed up for an entire semester, starting this week!

- Speaking of semester, Hank starts school tomorrow. Only 2 semesters/8 months/240 days left of life in Provo. He's got quite the schedule ahead of him and I'm certainly going to be in need of more friends so don't hesitate to call!

I'm too lazy to insert the pictures where appropriate and I know you don't care, so here:

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Summer Happenings

So far, this summer has been pretty fun, but crazy busy. Hank and I pass Kellen back and forth like a hot potato. Fortunately, we set aside some family time every week to ensure ultimate family bonding. :)

Here are a few things we've been up to lately....

Kellen learned to drive after work...

Right before that, he charmed Marty Haws....

And just before that, he put my photography skills to the ultimate test by exhibiting serious contrast against Charles Abouo...

The night before the basketball camp, he discovered balloons for the first time, which entertained him for a good hour...

This Fourth of July we graced the Lindon Aquatic Center with our summer bods...

Only some of us still have excuses for rolls...(those that don't are unpictured)

Waiting for the flow rider. Just one year ago I watched Hank from the sidelines, occasionally yelling at him in line to come flip my beached whale body over onto the other side. I'm not sure which is cooler amongst the middle schoolers in line with Hank; helping pregnant wife rotate like a rotisserie chicken or having wife and baby join him in line because we have no one else to hang out with...

Kellen's best friend came to town!!! They loved poking and prodding at each other...they were so stinking cute. I can't wait until we move closer so they can play together all the time!

Kellen and Eli watched the Stadium of Fire fireworks from the comfort of a hotel room right before bed. They were the perfect distance for noise and the ultimate tracking tool. Hank swore he saw Kellen smiling at them but every picture I took, he looked frightened beyond belief. I think we need a few more years before we can reasonably engage in any real firework ceremony.

We just love the Haydens...

That's all for now! I'm beyond tired and a 5 minute nap sounds heavenly. I'm going to give it a shot, even though I know my sleeping baby can sense when I attempt to relax!

And he's AWAKE! Ah!!!

Gerber Baby Contest

I know I'm a crazy mom....but when an i-pad and $50,000 scholarship are on the line, I have to ask: will you please vote for Kellen?

I promise it only takes a second.

You can vote every day until the end of the month. I recognize that's a lot to ask....but if you still read this blog, you must think he is somewhat cute since all I do is post pictures of him? (Or super hideous but I'm not willing to entertain that as an option.)

His smiling little face can be accessed here.

You just have to login to facebook and follow the prompts. Really, less than 30 seconds.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Kisses

There's just nothing sweeter than when this little boy grabs my face and gives me a big slobbery kiss. I don't even mind that I have to blow my nose afterwards :)

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

George Goes to the Doctor, Take 5

This damn dog is determined to wipe out our savings account. Every time I open my mouth to complain about how much he has cost us, I can hear my dad saying, "Ya know, dogs can be pretty expensive....and they're with you for a very long time....are you sure you want to do this?"

After mauling his own face again, I mustered up the courage and determination to take George back to Dr. Arnold. He has been wearing a cone for a few weeks to minimize the issue, but the second we removed it he appeared with a blood covered face. Yuck. Somehow Hank manages to conveniently be in a different city every time George needs medical attention.

The second Kellen and I got home from work, we plucked George into the car and headed to All About Pets, again. Of course, George insisted on sitting on my lap as I drove...a difficult enough task normally, add a cone to the equation and I almost threw him out my sunroof.

The sweet doctor was waiting for us when we got there. We ran through George's symptoms for the millionth time: scratching, bloody, annoying. The vet tried to get a good look at his face but due to his hyperactivity, asked if it would be okay to take him to the back. I responded with a, "Yes, do whatever you need to do to him. Tranquilize. I don't care."

The doctor came back without George. He started talking really slow about George's symptoms. I honestly thought for a second he was going to TAKE HIM AWAY FROM US. After all, he does look like neglected dog. After a few awkward minutes of describing his symptoms (green oozing eyes, scab face, hyperactivity), he realized how awkward it was that he came back into the room without my dog and quickly said, "oh! my assistant is just holding George in the back." He left the room, probably to see if his assistant was able to pull up any criminal history on us. Uhhhh....

I tried to entertain Kellen with the pictures of cats on the walls but just looking at them made my allergies flare. Amongst the pictures of felines was a chart indicating how quickly a car can jump up to 120+ degrees. Yes....thanks to Sandy City, I'm well aware of this. So...guess I won't be "running" into Cafe Rio to grab dinner after this....

The doctor came back with a few medicines to give George. As he described how to administer them, he made little jab at my shock of 4 meds each day saying, "this can be hard to do when you've got a lot going on." Looks like he clearly remembers our last visit where I revealed George is my last priority at the moment.

Grand total for the day: $113.00

This slow wiping away of our meager savings account is not helping me love him more.

As we all got out of the car and headed back into the house, I heard something scraping along the sidewalk. I looked back to see George's leg tangled in the leash cord, dragging along the plastic retractable handle all the way from the street into the house. Between cone head, leash raveled George, Kellen screaming, and me dropping my keys and pacifier, we were a sight to behold.

Here's my Father's Day shout out: Dad, you're always right.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Kellen's Cackle

Thursday, June 16, 2011

He's Still Got it!

I often look back with amazement of the certainty by which I knew I wanted to marry Hank. We didn't date for that long, so I encountered the question, "are you sure?" from a few people. I knew I was sure, just didn't know exactly why...although I didn't really care why. I was sick of over analyzing things in my life.

After 3 years of marriage, I know why: he makes me laugh. Hard.

I saw him at Institute after moving back home from BYU. I met him years back in my High School Physics class and vaguely remembered him. I specifically remember him showing me that all the weird bones he had broken on his body. Romantic? No. Memorable? Yes. I remember him waltzing into class on his own schedule and leaving when he felt his presence was no longer needed. Certainly a different breed :)

I'll never forget the day he asked me on a date. I gave him approximately 3 excuses why that wouldn't work for me, to which he told me those were stupid. He was right, they were, but I didn't particularly feel like putting myself out there. Luckily, he made that pretty easy by telling me when we'd be going on dates. I liked that; I hate decisions.

We celebrated our 3rd anniversary on Tuesday. I can't believe its been so long!

I noticed the other day he started saying, "I've still got it!" After ignoring it the first 10 times, I finally asked what the heck he was talking about! He giggled, as he had been waiting for me to acknowledge his clever new phrase, and explained that he still has the magic touch to make me laugh. Its true. He's hilarious and knows exactly what will get me.

I'm so thankful for his positive influence in our family and his ability to bring laughter to every situation. As it turns out, life is hard enough and its nice to have someone to laugh with/at!

Big Changes

I've been hiding a secret for a few weeks now and I've got to get it off my chest.

I got bangs.

Not Kelly Kapowski bangs. The kind that are mid-eye length. They're obnoxious, but I think I like them. Mostly because of the following:

- They make Kellen giggle. I can turn my head, swooshing them back and forth and guarantee a cackle. He could be laughing because he thinks they look stupid, but who cares?!

- Hank gave me a new nickname: Busy Bangs. Seeing as how I don't sit down and relax, he follows me around the house wondering what busy bangs is doing. Interestingly enough, however, rarely ever offers to help.

- Every morning as I try to style them, I'm taken back to the 1980's when I insisted on curling and fluffing my own bangs. I get a good chuckle when I remember how far back my bangs started, seriously in the middle of my head. I'm certain I could sue my hairstylist Jackie for irreparable emotional damage....but then she'd probably have a case that I was the one who willingly curled, teased, and sprayed the hell out of my poof. We were both guilty of serious crimes.

- I half expect to have the opportunity to explain to a police officer that "I hit that car because I couldn't see, my bangs were in the way!"

- People stare at me and know something is different. Once they ask, Hank or I proudly exclaim, "She/I got BANGS!"

Bang is the funniest word ever. We get a kick out of it, so expect us to laugh like children using a bad word when we say it.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Big Brotherish

Today is our anniversary. We've been married 3 years. More on that subject later...

In a last minute effort to be a good wife, I ran by the mall to get Hank a present....only I ended up buying myself clothes instead. I'm sure he will appreciate the small change in my wardrobe, right? Anyway, I sat in the dressing room staring at my body in disbelief. Sure, I have a squawking 5.5 month old next to me to show for it, but really? I vowed to be back to normal much sooner than this! I look like a manatee!

I just got home and opened up my email to see an new message from Baby Center entitled, "Why you may still look pregnant." Are they stalking me?!?! Creepy...

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Its Been a While!

Oh wow. Seeing as how my last post took place when Kellen was 4 months old, its easy to do the math. Its been exactly one month since I posted. Surely you're all sitting on the edge of your seat wondering what we've been up to lately...

And rightfully so. Its exhilarating stuff.

- Lots of eliminating foods:
Kellen has decided to be "sensitive" and react to nearly everything I eat. In an desperate effort to find the offender, I had to eliminate milk, soy, eggs, beef, wheat, nuts, tomatoes, citrus, strawberries and corn all at once. Trivia question: What can I eat? Answer: NOTHING! The first three days I literally shook from lack of crap food. I've learned a few things in this journey. 1) I eat mostly junk 2) hank eats only junk 3) people that shop at health food stores must spend their entire paycheck on groceries 4) i'm addicted to foods that contain soy and anything that contains flour 5) from now on, we are eating much healthier around here.

Today my doctor determined that we may never figure out what is bothering him. Soooo...I'm done! First stop? Cafe Rio. Second? Sweet Tooth Fairy.

I feel like a glutton already.

Meanwhile, George is eliminating chicken, rice and vegetables and is on a strict diet of venison and potatoes. Yeah...our food budget is shot to hell this month.

- Lots of working & school:
Hank works and goes to school all day then comes home and plays super dad at night. I work and play mom all day. To state it eloquently, its very hard. We're so thankful for family that helps to ease our burden! And its so worth it because....

- Lots of gawking over our baby:
He's simply amazing. We are still in awe of our little creation and its highly unlikely this fascination will die down anytime soon. He couldn't be more perfect. He has brought more joy to our lives than we could ever have imagined. He giggles, flirts, squawks, smiles at himself in the mirror, eats his toes, pees in the bathtub every time...you name it, I'm in love with it.

- Lots of traveling:

We went to Florida to attend the funeral and mourn the loss of my sweet grandpa who passed away last month.

And we traveled to Morgan (thanks Mari!), Utah to attend Hank's cousin's wedding reception. I had no idea such a place existed but I'm grateful for the chance that we had to go on a little adventure to see our family...especially for Kellen to meet his Great Grandma Evadean.

This is my absolute favorite picture...it looks like they just cracked a great joke.

- Lots of flowers:

My favorite place in the world is probably still the tulip festival. Hank's least favorite place is also still the tulip festival. Good thing it was my turn to plan our family activity!

In summary, we're extremely tired. Until next month! XOXO :)

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)