We've come a long way in a year.

Owen has been consistently inconsistent in many things, and eating is one of them. I am very proud to say a few things on this topic:

1. He has been taking his daily 1/2 baby aspirin by mouth for 2 months and now opens up his mouth without any reservation.

2. For the last week/ week and a half the most he has been tube-fed is 4 ounces total for the whole day. (goal for the day =16 ounces=1000 calories)
I'm still making his feed in the vitamix:).

3. He has gone above and beyond in his new eating endeavors. He enjoys almonds, peanuts, soy nuts (crunch theme here!) strawberry smoothies, strawberry beet smoothies (yay!), aforementioned carrot quesadillas, whole wheat waffles, soy bacon, apple chips, peach chips, regular bacon, Amy's organics bean or pizza bites, chicken toast (aka nuggets but not called that in this house!), falafel, and now drinks apple juice! He eats a variety of other kid and snack foods but the foods listed above are ones he will eat most of the time. The trick here is to promote eating yet still provide the variety for him to explore new foods. This is a common theme in children without feeding issues, where parents continue to provide the same foods over and over again because it's "what the kid will eat". We of all people know what that's like. But if a kid with complex eating issues can overcome his preferences then so can any kid! We are so proud of our kid who has gone beyond the realm of banana puffs and sips of water in a years time!
4. The tube is still there and will be there. We aren't rushing to any conclusions as we need to make sure he can hold his own, gain weight, etc. We are giddy with excitement though, as we now feel like he is more of a normal toddler with picky eating habits versus a kid with extreme oral aversions. He still will not consume any raw fruits (except smoothies) or vegetables (except when in the garden, or snuck into foods). He still gags and or makes a nasty face when he touches some of the delights that many people enjoy like a fresh peach or strawberry. But he has been known to take down many a basil sprig when in the garden like he's been doing it for years. This makes my heart smile a big cheesy grin.
5. I was getting all emotional the other night when I was cleaning out the kitchen... Sounds silly I know but hear me out. I found oodles of syringes, glass bottles, caps to the bottles, and endless amounts of feeding paraphernalia. 2 years ago Owen was on 4 meds 3 times per day. We needed a lot of syringes! Now we only need one! The glass bottles are almost on the out, we don't need to measure out the feed to the goal rate any new, because he hasn't needed the whole feed in a while. We are still using a lot of the various feeding stuff: straws, OT spoons, different cups, containers, basically anything that can keep mealtime interesting, and we still have a long way to go, but it's sure nice to look back and see how far we are from where we started! The view looks real nice.

In my mind, I'm going to Colorado...

I just got home from an amazing girls trip to Denver! This trip came to be by many people working together, and HUGE thanks go to Jackie Barthel, Colin Baxter, my amazing husband, and Jac for being so perfect to travel with. 

 Downtown denver has a river running through it, it has been altered to be "safe" with wading pools, slides for rafts, and mini rapids. It was packed every day as we drove by.

 Our teeny tiny mazda buzzed around >500miles in 3.5 days! We rented a duplex in the burbs we found off of airbnb.com. Good deals there!

 Linger was our favorite restaurant, we visited it twice on our trip. They had strict vegan options, and fish and meat as well. Our server took a little while to take our order, and he apologized in the best way- comp wine!

 Right outside Linger is an ice cream stand that seems more of an experience! The line was 50 people deep from 730-11 on Saturday night. They had tables set up, an old film playing on a screen outside, it felt very european. We were stuffed from our tapas style dinner and dessert, so we didn't get to try it. Gave us some business ideas though!

 Our dessert was passion fruit, green tea and ginger sorbet which was so refreshing and made me miss Hawaii and the fresh passionfruit there.

 EWWWW! I loathe rodents! Jac had no problems sharing her peel with one. EWW!

 We had a hard time deciding which hike to do. CO has endless hikes, trails, parks, etc. We made the drive (~2 hours) to Estes Park and then to Rocky Mountain park. We hiked up Deer Mountain with a 1000 foot gain. It was a 6 mile round trip hike, with breathtaking views along the way and at the top.

 The next day we went for a 6mile walk/run combo through Cherry Creek Reservoir, which was just minutes from our duplex. We ended the workout with a swim in the reservoir and a yummy lunch from whole foods. Guac, hummus, chips and tea. Good meal! Ending a midday warm workout with a swim should be mandatory. It was so refreshing for us both. (The workout was midday because we slept in. We slept in. I slept in!!! UNTIL 830!!! We woke up when we WANTED TO! This felt luxurious! We even went to coffee and DRANK some of it there, sipping and chatting like we did it all the time! [we don't])

 It was like old times, when we were roomies, circa 2003/4/5 when we became sistas! Sharing a room, traveling, doing hair! Ha! We had a blast!!!

 On our way to see James Taylor!! This was the center of the trip and the reason we went to Denver. Everything else was a BONUS! We are kinda excited, but VERY nervous. The night before it rained for about an hour around the same time as the concert.

 Driving to Red Rocks was gorgeous.

 This is a photo of the venue from the side.

 SO EXCITED to see our JT! We have seen him 6/7 times, mostly together. We are groupees, have travelled from concert to concert to see him. I have a shrine in my house with my treasured signatures on a shirt, cd, and ticket, three different times. I had my hopes set for a photo tonight!

 It was sooooo windy up on the mountain. In the distance you can see downtown Denver.

 So just to get to the stage area you need to climb ~10 flights of stairs. Then that leaves you at stage level. If you have seats in the back (or want to check out the view) you gotta climb up at least another 15 flights to get to the lookout.

 Ridiculous views!

 Our view behind us

 Thirteenth row view!

 Lighting up the red rocks!
The show was so good, so good to see him after 4 years. He weathered through the wind, there was no rain. We waited very impatiently at intermission and after the show, but he did not come out and do signatures. He may have been on higher security with the recent events in CO. We got a tip from the backstage guy as to where James would come out after his meet and greet with VIP people. We waited but it was hard to see through the darkened car windows at night. We held our t-shirts and would raise them in the air when a "probable James Car" would drive by. When the gate guard left we figured we should as well. Next time, James!!

 Back at Linger for some more yummies! Watermelon mozzerella salad.

 We even got new 'do's.

 Another glimpse of the city river center. The nearby town Golden had one too.

 Out front of our rental for the weekend.

 Estes Park views.

 Deer Mountain Hike!

 FREEEEE!

 Love!

 We stopped in Boulder after our long hike to have some lunch at a vegetarian restaurant called Leaf. It hit the spot and fueled us up for some shopping! Boulder was the place to shop. There was a huge art fair going on with artists from nearby states. There was a great Fair Trade store called Momentum with lots of goodies, of course we both spent our share of extra $ there.

If you want to go somewhere amazing, even for a long weekend (3 full days, 2 nights at a minimum!!, we stayed 4 days 3 nights) check out the Denver area. There are so many little burbs, towns, hikes, etc to explore you will wish you had more time. The flight was 2 hours if you get a direct one, so it is quite quick to get there. I had never seen so many community gardens, and the city planners really include nature and outdoor adventures into the mix. I was surprised and pleased with the diversity and some places had a Berkeley feel to them. I love to travel and go new places and I really feel that that CO is a place where I could live. I don't want to move but it just may be up on the list. 

Owen's Birthday!

We had a busy night last night. We are so blessed to have such a big family and extended family! Owen slept solid until 815 am. Of course he had his latest night up ever- until 930!

Here are a few shots. Can't believe he is 2 on Monday. Tomorrow is my going into labor day!

Yes Owen is eating! A cheese-carrot quesadilla. Did I invent this? I'd like to think so! Grate those carrots and grate the cheese, 1:1 ratio and YUM! He eats enough to negate a feed sometimes! wahoo!

Light fixture turned monster truck decoration

Gotta add a little country charm!

Monster truck white cake with cream cheese frosting, mmmm. Did a Pleach-plum-blube cobbler too, yum!

Dinner!

Mmmm homegrown salad (almost... The red pepper and jicama were purchased). I remember my dad would make marinated salad all summer when we were growing up. This was especially yummy!

End O June, Beginning of July!

The last jaunt or two away I have forgotten my camera... Thank goodness for cell phones! But there are more loops in attaching photos from phones when on the desktop which is where I am at now. Saving to another folder, then finding the photo, then attaching it seems to take too long but after describing the process that may have taken the same amount of time...

Owen had his first sleepover at "Auntie Wyntie and Uncle Date's" house while Chris and I went up to Reno and Sand Mountain for the night. We met up with friends Randi and Dan and had a blast in the sand. It all came back to me! It had been years since we had played in the sand. It was great weather and had the mountain to ourself. Randi tends to be quite a dare-devil and was worried about hurting herself. Good thing (yet annoying thing for her) her bike was lacking in the power department and decided to die every now and then. This probably saved her an injury or two. I'm not a fan of the town of Reno, but we had great rooms at the Peppermill and enjoyed our company. Plus, we were kid free, which has a crazy sense of freedom to it!

After that Chris got a yucky no feel good just sleepy and crabby cold for a while. Owen and I tried to keep our distance, as the thing kept evolving. Pinkeye to laryngitis to sore throat, you name it, YUCK!

For the 4th Owen and I went up to Tahoe with the Aubins. It was such beautiful weather, smelled so good of Jeffery pines, love that smell! Owen then started acting crabby and clingy... and he slept good the first night so I thought something was up. After a fever came on we actually took him in. Wanted some extra recommendations, fluid, etc due to his heart stuff. I was also hoping that he had an ear infection and wanted the MD to check inside his ears. That sounds bad to hope for an ear infection but hey- they aren't contagious and they are easily treatable. Well he thought Owen has a strain of hand/foot/mouth virus which is pretty icky. It just needs to run it's course and then pass. He has had 5 days of fever, a little rash, and mouth sores which I haven't seen but the MD did. Today the highest it has gone is 99.5 so hopefully we are in the clear. THANK GOODNESS FOR THE GTUBE! It is so nice to give him proper hydration and not worry about dehydration. He just started taking meaningful liquids day 4. yukkkkk.

Welp, off to clean a bit and put away lunch. Had a fun time making lunch today. Used grass fed beef from our beef guy Mark in Woodland, amaranth leaves, fresh harvested potatoes, parsley, and carrots. MMMMMMMM. Love picking from my grocery store. Almost went to a new local farmers market today, just to check it out. I'm addicted! Instead I went to the garden to check out Chris's work down there. Last night he weed-eated again. This is the least labor intensive and most amazing way to tame the between the row isles. It probably spreads seeds like no other, but man is it faster than pulling them up by hand! He can do the whole garden in an hour, wow!

Signing off and looking forward to a HEALTHY rest of the month!