Happy 1st Birthday, Owen!

Owen's favorite thing to do, go around upside down.
Owen enjoyed playing with his cupcake plate, and even licked some frosting.
Lily was such a help opening gifts, although Owen seemed to want to read his cards himself.
What a year!
I'm One!

We celebrated his birthday with family and his closest friends. We served up a heart healthy meal of a salad bar (ok, there was non-heart healthy items to add, but in theory it was healthier than most kid food!). The kids (and Chris) hula hooped, played with the parachute, and the pinata. We were thrilled to celebrate such an amazing year. It really was a huge turning point for us, as Owen started to sleep through the night. With some rest under our belts, and the end of this year, we know we can do anything! Owen is now 21 pounds of chub, has 10+ teeth, is crawling like a mad man, and babbles words/sounds like: ba, bra, blu, ma, and of course has many growls mixed in. WE LOVE HIM!!! WE ARE SO BLESSED!

Houseguests!

For the 4th this year we had some special friends over. We met this sweet family at the Ronald McDonald house last summer. We were fresh to the house, and they had been there for weeks and weeks already. Our blue parent wristbands were so new and theirs had faded to white. We just spoke once, and a few months later, the Mom Tylyn emailed Ron's to get my info. The rest was history!! We ended up spending our year together via emails. We would pump and email each other! Getting to know one another and sharing the feeding challenges each boy has, as well as follow up appointments, challenges of stay at home mommying, etc, we were (and are!) there for each other. We joked about how we hadn't spoken on the phone yet, but Chris and I invited them up overnight since Rylan had a week off. Of course this invite came over email or text!! We were nervous to talk!! Even though we had many possible TMI moments via email, talking was another whole level!!Here is sweet Case (aka Casey or Sharky) getting his feed... Sometimes through the visit we couldn't tell whose pump was alarming, as the boys both have the same feeding pump.
O, Rylan, and Case hanging on the patio. Case would crawl like the gravel was nothing! He got mauled by Blue, but it didn't stop him much. He was such a speed demon, Chris and I realized how easy we had it because Owen hadn't started crawling... yet...
The Boys in the pool. Case is about a month older than Owen. They had so much fun meeting and playing. They have seen each other via videos and pictures, so I think they already knew each other.
No trip could be complete without a few zip idee doo dahs! We did a lot of eating, and a lot of relaxing in their short stay. We didn't even go to town, but we did a tour of Coloma in the heat of the day.
Mama Ty, thank you for everything this year. Even though I don't like the song, I like the title words 'Soul Sister'. You have been such a support and listening ear, in the middle of the night pumping sessions, when you were up too!! So crazy we have made it through a year of attempting feeds, then tube feeding the boys, and then pumping ourselves.... what are we going to do with ourselves someday when we hand a baby a bottle and THEY JUST DRINK IT?!?! Someday they will be ordering too much off the menu, and we will just laugh, when all these feeding issues are a distant, distant memory. Nothing but love for you, Ry, Ty, & Case. Wish you lived closer but we will see you soon, I can feel it! Thank you for coming up to visit!

First Family Trip!

A few weekends ago we didn't have any plans and decided to go on a family trip. With our 6 year wedding anniversary this month (June 18) and an amazing year for Owen, we celebrated with a trip to Mendocino. I have been going there for years with my family, and Chris and I were engaged there, as well as celebrated our first anniversary and our pre-Owen babymoon there. We felt it was fitting, however finding lodgings with less than 2 weeks notice was tricky. We had a few conditions: a kitchen, and more than 1 bedroom. With an infant, especially with an infant who wakes at least 3 times per night, it is imperative that we sleep in separate rooms. We ended up finding a wonderful home (3 bed, 2 ba, wow!) Called Gull Cottage on VRBO. I had never used that site before, and man, there are some great places to stay in Cali. We were pleasantly surprised with the cost, and the home was very nice. It had a hot tub, a great layout, and a distant view of the ocean. For 2 nights, the 4.5 hour-5hour trip is kinda far, but we were willing to make the trek. Owen is a fantastic traveller, we stopped only once on the way there because we knew he needed a change. He wouldn't have cared if we kept on driving! Once there, we even went to 2 restaurants as a family, which we have never done before. Owen was quite entertained throwing anything and everything onto the floor. We also made some therapeutic purchases for Owen in the cozy town of Mendocino, a puppet he can feed, a harmonica, and a tube that makes noises when you blow into it. These were all recommendations from his OT.
We enjoyed a beautiful hike along the headlands.
This was the only picture on the headlands where he was kinda of looking at me, he was so distracted by the sounds of the seals as well as the plants.
Owen's favorite thing to do is be pushed around in his stroller, while he is standing. Yes he is buckled in, but it doesn't look like the safest thing... He stands up and gets a look on his face like he is just the coolest thing around. We went to Frankie's for some homemade ice cream. Chris got cookies and cream, and I enjoyed their ginger flavor. Owen really was into the rest of Chris's cone. On the way home he even took a nibble out of it. I promptly moved into the backseat just in case he decided to take more down. (When we got home, I bought 3 different kinds of cones, but he has yet to nibble on them again...)
We hiked down to the beach during one of Owen's feeds. The backpack worked perfect, and the pump fit right into the red pocket pouch. He was in a milk coma, and was almost asleep in the backpack.
My boys on our beach.
When his feed was almost done, I took him out of the pack, and snuggled him right to sleep. Chris dug a little sand bed (so that his head would be elevated) and the little angel fell fast asleep!!!
For almost 2 hours!! We were worried he was cold, so we kept putting random articles of clothing on him to keep him warm, but he didn't seem to mind. We use the ocean noise maker at home, so he must have felt at ease.
Once awake, he did enjoy the sand.


The house we rented was situated on a large grass lot. We saw huge turkeys, deer, and rabbits, just like home!
It was a very successful trip, and we cannot wait to travel more. Owen slept well the first night, Chris and I enjoyed the hot tub, relaxing, making dinner, hiking, and breathing the ocean air.