Boys[Chris] and their [his] toys

This first photo was from my first shooting experience (more photos later, this is a boy toy post!). Chris and his dad went out 4 times through the week shooting in the desert.

 I was so very excited to upload all the pictures from the camera to the computer and get a blog posted. Upon uploading the 250+ photos and videos, I realized that the vast majority of the photos were of Mat and Owen playing with toys, and all the more of Chris playing with their toys as well. Here is a photo synopsis of the week of toys for the boys.

 Owen, Mat, and Chris enjoying Mat's crane toy.

 Uncle Chris racing around P&J's kitchen on Owen's first bike!

 Look at those knees!

 Owen thinks it is hilarious! Mat is racing Chris on his own trike.

 Big boy fall down go boom! Little boys close behind to check on big boy!

 The race continues...

 Outside fun with the John Deere tractor. It appears as if Mat is being dragged in this photo??? Chris looks smug...

 Making a man-made tunnel.

 Staging a photo with Owen while the tractor was dis-engaged for safety.

 Heavy load in the trailer...

 Chris has tested the weight limit for any and all toys... So far no casualties...

 Chris must get it from his dad, Papa..

 At Mat's house the fun continues with another scooter with wheels. Thank goodness for tile, the fun doesn't even need to go outside.

 Birthday boy chasing the Brits on his trike, adorned with balloons.

 Chris voted on a pinata for Mat, and offered to hold it, note his hand placement for protection.

 Chris is humoring me here for a photo of this geode. It's really big but he just wasn't into posing.

 Back in Cali, hanging with the Aubins, and yes, the dads have stolen the razors....I'm completely NOT surprised, in the least.

Boys and their toys...I am just along for the ride!

Arizona

We are very close to home but I thought I would post an update. We went to lake havasu for a week to visit with Chris's family. What a wonderful time! We enjoyed a whole day Xmas celebration with cousin Mat, and of course Chris's sisters and their Josh's.. Janet made an amazing spread as usual- a 22# turkey mmmm... Ate on that for a few days. Owen enjoyed some carefree play with Mat since he hadn't been to preschool all week. It was nice for them to play together without us cleaning Owens hands every 2 seconds. To sum up the week, Chris went shooting 4 times, and I even went once and tried my hand at 8 or so different guns. Janet watched Owen so I could go on a few different runs, my last one was 7 miles, felt so great, and notably easier without pushing the jogger stroller. Watched a couple movies, read the middle place book, visited, enjoyed a day of 75 degree weather, and Owen played with insane amounts of hot wheels. Owen has been eating higher volumes of food and for the last week even accepting a spoon with yogurt or puréed fruit on it. Sometimes up to 3/4 cup of yogurt! It has been great, at times we didn't tube him anything if he drank water also. It was so nice to have extra hands for basic things like showering, exercising, etc for such a long period of time. We had a total blast and Owen did too. Here are a few pics from my phone we are pulling up right now! Home sweet home!

Evan is home

A quick update, as I have had many awesome family and friends checking in on Evan. They went home yesterday. Lucky kid that his parents are both RN's, a hospital team is much more likely to discharge you in a timely manner. Xoxo keep healing Evan!

Update on Evan

Well I haven't chatted with Evan's Mom but I have received a few texts. Evan was in surgery from 8am-5pm. SERIOUSLY??? That itself is so crazy. It was long for a few reasons but mostly because they wanted to be meticulous in removing the tumor, and he was also getting radiation directly on the site. This is a special procedure that is done specifically at UCSF. He is recovering, and I guess there is an epidural in place for pain. The good news is that the tumor is OUT! I'm not quite sure what is ahead for them, but he made it through and now is working on getting better. Thank you for your good vibes sent their way, I can't imagine how exhausted they  must be after an all day surgery like that. Owen has had some long ones, but not like that...

Baby Evan's Surgery

Baby Evan (not so much a baby anymore...) is having his tumor removed tomorrow morning. I wish it were that easy. He is also getting direct radiation to the site. He has had 2 long rounds of chemo, and hopefully this surgery will get rid of that darn thing. Please pray, think, send love, whatever your agnostic equivalent is... for Evan and his parents. They need your support whether you know them or not. And also hug your kids and loved ones extra tight. Surgery and Cancer are things no one should undergo, let alone an 18month old. WE LOVE YOU EVAN!

Juneuary

We need rain. Bad. I have been watering my winter garden and that's just weird. I saw rain in the forecast for WEDNESDAY!!! WAHOOOOO!!!! It is scary to think about the seasonal problems that may happen with such a late winter.

January has already been moving very quickly. Owen is running now, and craving the outdoors just like his mama. He wakes, finds his shoes, finds me, sits down and throws his shoes by his feet for you to put them on him. Once on, he wiggles the door handle to go exploring. Turkey hunts, solar outdoor light installation, dirt playing, rock throwing, and tool finding are just a few morning activities we enjoy. Even bundled up, his lips turn a bit blue, but it never slows him down.

The irony of blogging is that so many things are bloggable, but sometimes documenting them, posting, etc, may take longer than the actual craft, activity, event, etc. My hats off to so many avid bloggers, it truly is a commitment. In the constant re-prioritizing of life, blogging sometimes goes by the wayside. I never stop taking pictures, or even thinking "this would be a great blog...".

I started work this week... I have been working at my "non job" as I have called it...A whopping 55 hours last year! That position was on-call Health Education RD teaching classes when people needed coverage. I recently have transferred into in-patient, with hopes of working around 2 days per week. Many shifts that I will work are between 4-6 hours, usually getting bumped up to 8 as needed. The position is still on-call which means no guaranteed hours, benefits, etc, but at least I have senority over one person...

Training this week was sure interesting. I have been working at home, overtime, for a long time, you know, the Owen job and all. But driving an hour, clocking in for 8, and driving back an hour+ was quite interesting. Initially I had 3 scheduled training days, but my trainer was so hopping this week I opted for another day. 32 hours this week, wahoo! I have missed the clinical realm of nutrition and am enjoying refreshing and brushing up on some topics that have been dormant in my brain.

So a salute to all the working Moms and Dads (yes a wide range of folks here), but it really takes a good team to make the week flow smoothly. Luckily Chris was off on 3/4 of the days so he was the home daddy. My mom is watching Owen on the other day this week so they will have a blast together.

Another career avenue right now, I am leading a Lap Band/ Gastric Bypass support group once a month on the second wednesday of each month. Last night the attendance was small. We are hoping to make this a success, so please contact me if you know of anyone who has had either the Lap or Bypass, and I would love to connect with them. It is free, and I am willing to give it a shot for another few months to see if attendance picks up. Group support is HUGE, and having an RD for an hour is a perk:).

Looking Back at 2011

Wow, Can't believe it is almost 2012. This year has been quite a ride, but we are so glad to be in good health. Owen is taking off walking these days, and talking as well. Chris is getting out more, recently going air soft gun shooting a few times with Bryce and Austin. I am enjoying making more things at home which I would have purchased in the past (crackers for Owen at the moment! Excited to see how they turn out.)

There really isn't a way to sum up the whole year, but just looking back is so crazy. Chunky cheeks Owen, surgeries, pumping, etc, so much has changed. I finally had Apria pick up the IV pole and Kangaroo pump that we used to use for Owen's feeds. I guess I was just hanging onto them in case he stopped tolerating the faster feeds via syringe. I think tolerating since August is pretty good! It felt so great to leave them out on the porch to get picked up. Like a rite of passage for us all. That was the same pump that we had in bed with us overnight for the first 6 months, that we ran 7 times a day for so long... Whoa! I did a deep cleaning on it, but that old crusty thing is going to need some deeper cleaning than my old vinegar mix!

Ok so I went through our photos in about 5 minutes and selected a few of my favorites from this year. Ideally I was going to do "top 10" or "a picture a month" but there are just too many fun things we did this year. This gets a little excessive...I think it was 85 pictures!!! There may be some repeats but for the most part I hit some events, moments, or just fun photos. Enjoy a glimpse of our year!

Cutest sheriff in town

Meeting Aunt Amanda

Enjoying being fed peas!

Patiently awaiting ECHO results.

Girls trip!

Boys a snuggling.

Our lil gardener.

Family soup lunch

Just seconds before Evan grabbed Owen's NG partway out.

Meeting Baby Lola.

Pre-OP cuddling.

Traditional Team Britton Photo.

Auntie cheered up Owen with her songs and books, and the girls pictures.

Uncle Colin and Aunt Jac visited after Owen's surgery.

Brittons all together.

Aunt Shari Meeting Owen.

O can't get enough of Mat.

PaPa and his boys.

Thanks girls for helping Auntie make a scarecrow for the garden.

This photo is just ridiculous. Those cheeks are crazy stuff! Breast milk fueled baby! No steroids, believe me, we were asked!!

Touching the soft books with Nana.

Yes, I did that on accident. The guard was off. Obviously. Most would have realized sooner than me but that's what extreme sleep deprivation does to ya.

Enjoying Linda's yard with a Mercy reunion.

My Boys snuggling. There is a pattern here.

Chris firing up the pit for the first time. Thank you Universal Masonry and Design!

Wine tasting in the Short Bus for Chris's Bday.

Lovers!

My homies!

Owen and Case meet for the first time! Sweating bullets in Coloma.

Lainey and Owen just getting into trouble. (Owen is much more social in the warmer, healthier months!)

Snoozing on the beach in Mendocino.

A surprise escape to Napa with Aunt Jac. Yes we are immersed in MUD! AMAZING!

At the Cloutier wedding! Special day.

Owen and Case splishing along. Owen's scar is so much less visible now.

Chillaxing at the Solace fundraiser.

Owen's first Restaurant experience! Out to Eggheads in Fort Bragg. We wiped everything down at least 10 times.

Cloutier wedding shots.

Sweet Mama Ty and special friend Case. AKA Sharkey.

Wedding shenanagans out to dinner for Jac's bach party.

Someone is 1 Today!!

Family and Friends at Owen's gathering.

Papa made Owen a very special life flight helicopter he will get to play with when he doesn't throw things...Maybe when he is 15!

Baby Evan and Owen at the Maine event.

One of my favorite shots of the year of Jeremy and Evan.

Mama E and I with our boys! (and 80 chairs in our driveway!)

Another AMAZING wedding.

Chris and Jac during the money dance!

Swimming in the Aubin's pool.

One of the first harvests.

Bach Party to Santa Rosa wine tasting in a garden--life is good!

Grandma and O at the Bowens.

Mommas all around!!

Pre-op wearing the surgeon's cap!

Mikia has followed and supported us from a distance! So good to reconnect at the reunion.

Old friends! Jack and Michelle since age 10ish.

Post op gtube NO MORE NG!!

Aubin girls visiting Owen and entertaining us all!

Family time at Bodega.

Getting a little hairy around here...

Happy shower Jayme! Love that girl!

Bonitas at the Thrasher wedding.

Quick trip to Santa Rosa for the Heirloom vegetable festival and a little vino on the patio.

O and E at the top of a mountain.

Little angels, such strong boys!

Happy wedding Jayme! Loved being a part of that day!

Dancing was the best- live band did a fantastic job with the covers. Want to have them play at a party for us!

Harvest supper out in the backyard.

Tahoe could be a reality for us! Yeah!

Owen and Lainey getting grabby at Lotus Park

Someone got into the trash...and toilet...

Hiking up on the ridge with the Grovers.

Mat and O on thanksgiving.

Shari and O hanging out.

Tahoe family trip!

Hiking Fallen Leaf Lake.

Owen and his girls.

Chris and Owen just monkeying around.

I don't know who these guys are??? They snuck into our house on Thanksmas!

Someone can WALK!

Someone can CLIMB!

What an amazing and blessed year 2011 was. We are so thankful for everything we have and look forward to another year of health, peace, love, and happiness!