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.

Sunny Summer (Finally!)

The garden is in full BLOOM!Some blue lake pole beans climbing right off the teepee...
Just a few tomato flowers, I think this is a cherry. Hoping for more varieties than last year. We planted at least 5 varieties last year and wound up with only romas... Hmmmm...
This is one of my favorite sections in the garden. The far right row has sunflowers, heirloom cucumber, and butternut squash. The middle row has soybeans, and the left row has a few varieties of tomatoes. Chris recently put in 14 additional cages around some tomato plants, I think totaling around 20 plants. Can't wait to share, save, and possibly sell? Gramps always said he wanted a 'truck garden' which is defined as selling your garden goods out of the back of your truck. I can just see Owen and I hanging out on the side of the road while Chris is at work, with our truck garden!
Foreground: melon, middle ground: tomato, background and all around: weeds.
Quick trip to the garden with a little variety to the basket! Snow peas, radishes, parsley, heirloom cucumber, and my love, kale!
A beautiful sunflower, and a sweet lady inside! Not bad for a little Canon Proshot point and shoot, no? I have been telling Chris I want a wild garden, a little nook of my own to go crazy in that is safe from deer. I am now realizing that our garden IS my wild garden, it just changes every year!
Red potatoes, harvesting a pound or two a week of these, or fingerlings, or russets.
Bean teepee, house in background.

Finally got these pics updated, these are actually from tonight! There are lots of flowers on all of the squash, the original cilantro has bolted, turnips, beets, romaine, mesclun, kale are all doing well. The corn is slowly taking hold, and the bush beans are all about 8 inches tall. The potatoes are lost in a sea of dandelion greens, and weeds, so only to be harvested while wearing muck boots. Sad to say that the our chickens have been slowly hunted over the last 2 months, starting with Pat. Tonight I am bummed to report that we are not chicken owners anymore, despite the efforts to protect them. We will be chicken owners again, but maybe not until next year. Made it about a year without buying eggs. Mother nature is pretty powerful, someone said when Pat was the first to go that the hunter will be back, and yes they were. Still not sure what it was, but it isn't a vegetarian... OK no time for jokes.

Hiking with Owen

The American River is about a 5 minute drive from our house. Owen and I went a little further down the road to one of my favorite hiking spots. I haven't been since last summer, so it was so great to visit a place where I have spent many hours hiking. Owen is such an agreeable companion. We timed the trip between a feed and naps, so it was in the heat of the day. I dressed him in long sleeves in hopes of shielding him from the sun. The hat didn't stay on for long, but the backpack kept him pretty well shaded. I hiked quickly just in case Owen wanted to go back sooner than later. He had a blast, and even enjoyed the halfway point photo shoot. He especially liked the feel of the rocks and weeds. He wasn't a fan of his toes in the water, but it is pretty cold.




Owen is awake now, so best be on my way.

Happy 28th, Chris!

Good morning, Daddy!Chris's parents were both here to celebrate. Wynter watched Owen after a night shift so we could go wine tasting.
Carolyn, Jac, and I at Lava Cap.
In the back room a tasting at Lava Cap.
Chilling out at Boeger. It was not busy at all for a Sunday in June, but that was to our advantage. It was such a gorgeous day with gorgeous people! We had a short bus take us to the wineries. If you are in need of some fun transportation, check out FART (Foothill Area Rapid Transit). Must do more often!

Garden 2011 Follow-up

I am back-blogging as I call it... I'm not organized enough to blog along the way...These photos are from early June. I'm excited to share pictures now, but here are a few of the garden getting started.Bean teepees amidst the rows.
Before being hoed... lots of weeds!!
Baby radishes.