Jacob the Photographer

Jacob LOVES stealing my camera and taking pictures. Every once in a while if he actually can STOP and take the picture he does a great job. This is one he took of me and Owen yesterday and I actually like it! Thanks Jacob Matthew!

Cooking Milenasa with Grandpa!

I was all ready to make something for dinner last night when my dad announced he wanted to make Milenesa. No complaints here! This is a breaded beef dish that my dad ate while serving a mission for church in Argentina. A few times a year as a kid he would make it for us and its one of those "back to your childhood" meals for me. Not to mention that meant I did not have to cook!:) Jacob loves to cook so right away he asked if he could help. He did a surprising good (messy) job. My dad set up a station for him and he helped crack the eggs then dipped the meat into flour, egg, then bread crumbs and got it all ready to fry. He was beyond proud of himself as you can see in the following video.



Nathan was happy watching a show on tv until it ended and then he too wanted to help. So he watched until the last piece and then my dad let him do that. He too had a great time. Jacob was giving him brotherly advice on how to accomplish the task at hand.




Then the kids were banished from the kitchen for the frying and then we enjoyed a yummy dinner! Ian is at an overnight scouting trip so he was quite miffed when I texted him what we were having for dinner as he has come to love it as well. No worries though we saved him some! He can enjoy it tonight when he gets home.

Grandpa and Owen AND Owen's new toy!

Here are a few cute shots of my dad with Owen. They have been two peas in a pod. Dad keeps telling Owen that if Grandma was here he would have to share him half the time but "ha ha I get you all to myself" It is cute to watch them interact. I am going to miss his help when he leaves tomorrow. He is the best dad (and grandpa) a daughter could ask for. Thankfully I grew up with a great example of a dad and husband and married someone eerily like him.


Then just to add some randomness.....I asked Ian to take down the exersaucer we have had in the attic thanks to my wonderful friend Valerie. I thought Owen was ready and boy is he ever. After sanitizing it this morning I sat him in it and he was just in heaven. By the end of today he has already figured out how to turn some of the toys and push the buttons. Its pretty comical to watch him get excited over the new things. He is growing so fast!

Happy Baby!

My dad has been visiting since last week so I have a TON Of things to blog about but I had to share this little video of Owen. This is what a very happy baby sounds like after spending 5 hours in his car seat:) We got to the hotel and laid him on a blanket while we were bringing things in and he just was screaming away so Ian had to stop and get some footage. This is nothing compared to what he was really doing but I swear as soon as he sees that camera he just is enthralled.

Weekend Happenings......

Just thought I would share a few things from this week/weekend. Total randomness in the pictures:)

First we thought we would try to give Owen some cereal. He is drinking formula like crazy and is definitely eyeing our food but when we tried to give him cereal...this was the reaction:




Needless to say he was less than thrilled with the idea. So I think we will wait a couple of weeks and try again. Although, I have to tell you I would not want to touch that stuff with a 10 foot pole. Not only does it stink its just nasty. I think he would like the baby oatmeal more but I am trying to try the rice first.

Earlier this week Nathan decided to be "super Nate" and run across the park to jump on a swing head first to swing on his belly. Well, the swing he picked was hung super low to the ground so when he jumped he basically jumped OVER it and landed nose first. So he scraped up his entire nose, forehead, lips and gave himself a nice bloody nose. This is a couple days later so he has healed some. Everyone keeps asking him what happened and he says "oh I was being Super Nate". I get some strange looks. So far no CPS visits.....but after he ran into the wall two days later I am starting to wonder how long I can keep them away:)


Another highlight of the week is our new fish. Ian is soooooo into his fish tank. I love having it and he does such a great job keeping it up. It is just not my thing:) It really adds to the living room. I tell him its our living piece of art. The boys love them, even Owen. We have it directly behind our couch across the way and so when we hold him he loves to stand on our laps and just watch the fish go by. Ian has a friend at work that has African Cichlids like we do and he told Ian he was going to go sell his to get a different breed of fish and asked Ian if he wanted any. So, Ian took two of our bigger fish up there and traded him the two for four, including a huge ahai cichlid that is so cool. Fresh water fish are so colorless compared to salt water but these fish have some great coloring. The boys were very excited to see the new additions and Owen just sat there staring for quite a while and we thought it was cute so of course I had to get a few pictures of him with Ian:) The picture at the top is of this too but I just loved the picture of him so much I decided it should be first.




Some pictures of Ian's fishies:

This is a Cory Cat we have 5 of these little boogers that we can the "fish tank vacume cleaners"

This is a yellow lab and her mouth is full of baby fishies. We are anxiously awaiting to watch the other fish gobble them up:) Sick I know but its true!

The blue one is the ahai cichlid, the long gray one is a pike cichlid and then one other cichlid


So since we got new fish Ian decided "of course" that we had to go get more "stuff" for the fish. We had other errands to run and when we went to Petsmart the "fish guy" there told Ian about this store in Park Ridge called Living Sea Talk about a neat store! They have a coi pond and a couple different ponds with sharks. The boys were in heaven to say the least (all four of them that is!) Here are a few pictures of the kids enjoying the fish.

Four months today!

So Mr. O is four months today. How? Time sure does fly when you are busy with three kids! Some of the nicknames he now has are Mr. O, Owenmiester, BabyO, Little One, Pineapple (ask Nathan about that one) just to name a few. He is a funny little guy although the worst sleeper of my three so far which is tiring!:) Hopefully that will improve sooner rather than later.

Here are a few pictures and one fun video of him cracking up today. The picture at the top of him laughing is of course of him laughing at Jacob singing or talking to him. The two of them really have a very special little bond and it is heartwarming to watch. Valerie says he looks like a "bald Sarah" (scarey thought!) And today my friend Trudy said that he is looking more and more like Jacob every day which I have to agree. I need to make him a four month appointment. I switched the kids' doctor Monday and Nathan again (or still) has an ear infection that is as the doctor so nicely put it "a puss filled ear" (yum!) so since I have to take him back for a recheck in two weeks I figure I will wait to take Owen in and do both at the same time. Hopefully we won't have to make any additional trips between now and then. I now understand with three kids why my mom used to say we needed to just have a room at the doctor we were there so much. Seriously it is crazy! Thank goodness for our military medical and no copays. I am very thankful for that especially right now.




The highlight of this week has been we got Ian's test results back for the Chief exam he took in January. He passed with flying colors. Actually he had the leading chief at work stop him in the halls and congratulate him because he scored the highest out of all of the 8 or so FC1s at work that took the test. I am proud of him! We know that there is slim to no chance he will get picked up this year...or probably even next year it is still a relief to know he passed and hopefully next January he will do just as good. We are still waiting to hear on orders. The Detailer is way too doggone slow!

I think that is about all for now. I have been interrupted so many times since I started to type this that I am sure there is more but for now I have no clue what!

Why Mormon's Build Temples

With all the controversy with the HBO's Big Love the church put together this little video on why the church builds temples. I thought it was beautifully done and put and in three minutes it can answer some questions. If you have the time and would like to know more take a peek.

SIXTEEN WEEKS ALREADY??

The title says is all. Owen turned 16 weeks this week. Most days it seems like forever since he was born. I am definitely to the point where I can't hardly remember life without him. He is the highlight of our day these days. Even and Jacob and Nathan would tell you that. It is so funny I took and picked up the kids from school Tuesday and when I took them I had Owen but I put him down for a nap and Ian was home so when I went to get them I did not have him. Jacob FREAKED out when he got in the car yelling at me how could I leave Owen home by himself. I had to laugh and then just reminded him that Daddy was still home. I got a "oh ya well that would have been RUDE if you left him by himself". I am not sure if rude is the right word but it was comical to say the least. I am glad at least they care!

So what is new these days? Well, just this morning Owen rolled from his back to his tummy for the first time. He then got stuck and was quite mad but we were all proud of him. His eyes are now completely brown. I took some closeups so you can see. His hair is still pretty sparse so I am waiting to see if its going to be brown or come in blonde like Jacob and Nathan's. I am betting on at least a dirty blonde if blonde at all.



Bathtime continues to be his favorite. Ian has started bathing him when he is actually home at night and they have developed this little game. I tried to capture it myself but it proved to be difficult trying to hold the cup and camera. I will have to get a video of he and Ian playing. The game is Ian fills a cup with water and puts it in front of Owen and Owen will grab the cup and dump it on himself. It does not matter how many times Ian puts the cup there he will stop what he is doing and dump it. It is pretty funny to watch because he is so serious about it.

Jacob continues to be the little daddy. He is such a big help. He wants to help all he can and its so funny to see him hold Owen to feed him because Owen at this point is at least as half as long as Jacob is. They truly love eachother though.

So coming soon is FOOD. Owen is already showing the signs that he is ready. He smacks his lips when we eat. Eyes the food trying to figure out how to get it and is drinking his bottles like they are endless pits. I am waiting until the end of the month to take him to his check up and am trying to decide if I want to wait or let him start cereal sooner. I think teeth are well on their way as well so a lot of fun is headed our way.

Okay I guess Owen does not want me to share anything else with you because he is hollering for me.

Owen Videos:)

I have been trying to get Owen on camera "talking" and laughing but the little stinker sees the camera and just likes to stop and stare. I finally got him to make some noise and couple of times so I am adding the videos for your enjoyment. Excuse me and the baby talk. :) It is hard to believe he is almost four months old. He is getting stronger everyday and I think the exersaucer will be coming out of the attic if not this weekend then soon. I am looking forward to all the fun stuff the next month will bring, him sitting up and starting foods:)

Just remember those of you (grandparents, great grandparents and aunites) who get this via email you have to go to the actual blog site to see the videos.

SURPRISE! Happy Birthday to our "Ms Heather"

One of our best friends here is Heather. She was our neighbor and we met when we started going to church. She was going through a rough time and together we came back to church together and have grown together since. Thankfully her rough time has passed and she now seems happy and in a great relationship with a wonderful guy!

This wonderful guy called me last week saying he wanted to throw Heather a Surprise 30th birthday party. So, Saturday night we went down to South Barrington to his office for the big shindig. Of course it was us with our troops and then everyone else was over the age of 21 I think:) Quite interesting. The boys were so impatient DYING for Heather to come so they could yell surprise. Once she was there it was time to dance and sing Kareoke. Talk about hilarious. So, here are some fun video clips of our night and then pictures.....

DANCING!!!



This is a picture of the boys dancing with Heather and Mike
NATE THE FISH


TWINKLE TWINKLE WITH HEATHER


NATHAN THE ROCK STAR


JACOB THE NEXT AMERICAN IDOL!



Nathan going nuts waiting for Heather

Jacob trying to look mean....waiting impatiently






Yipee Heather finally got there and as you can see the kids are in love with her!



What is a party without a cake fight? It started out with Heather wanting to get Mike which turned into Ian holding Heather down for Mike to get her back....and in turn for Heather to attack Ian. Well of course Jacob sees this and the plate with blue frosting and decides he is missing out......it was pretty funny.


The last two are of me and my babe. The boys did good and were troopers as we did not leave there until well after 9. Owen was so tired by then and passed out for a bit. I wish I could sleep like a baby. It was SO loud in there and he just was snoozing away. How do they do that?

So, that was our night. TONS of fun. The boys and I get to celebrate again on Heather's REAL birthday which is Wednesday. We are going to make the drive to her house and they are already driving me insane asking when. They can't wait to see Zoe dog!