Girls Day!

Everyone needs a girls day occasionally. Especially me :)  I love when I get together with my mom and sisters. We are always so dumb. We do the weirdest things that we would never do if we weren't together.  And we're all dorks so its so much fun!  But girls day is like Vegas so I'm not goin into to much detail.  what happens on girls day stays on girls day! (:

Camping!

  We kind of decided last minute to try and go camping up by Mirror Lake for our temple anniversary. So we called up some friends and packed our gear. We didn't leave to go until Friday afternoon so by the time we got up there, most the campgrounds were full.  We ended up staying at Butterfly Lake which is just tiny but so pretty!

Our campsite was right on the lake so we went fishing basically the entire time.  Carson was super excited to use his Batman fishing pole and had a blast casting his line into the lake.  The very first time we caught a fish I thought Carson would be way excited.  He actually really surprised me with his reaction.  He burst into tears telling me "no, no, no"  He didn't want us to hurt the fish!  I showed him the fish was ok and he told me we needed to give him back to his mommy and daddy.  It was the sweetest thing seeing him care so much for this little stinky fish!  I am actually a pretty proud of him that he did care that much. after explaining that the fish wasn't hurt he said it was ok to catch more.  I think we caught like 7 or 8 fish.  We didn't let Carson watch the boys gut them but once they were cooked he wanted his own fish to eat. :)

Carson and Dallas LOVE camping and playing in the dirt.  I had a hard time with Dallas because he did not want to be held or be put in his port a crib.  He just really wanted to be on the ground crawling in the dirt. such a boy!

We did a small hike to Long Lake.  I don't think we ever actually found it.  it was 2 miles in.  we stopped at about the 2 2/12 mile mark at this little leach infested pond.  the scenery was gorgeous but the pond was gross. you could literally see little 3 inch long leaches swimming around in it. 

We even got to see a moose! well it was a mom and baby moose.  they were really close to the road so we pulled over.  They must be used to people looking at them cause they didn't scare easy at all.  it was pretty cool!

We had so much fun! thanks to our friends who came and made it a blast!

Bear Lake

We got to stay in a friends cabin by Bear Lake with Jake's family.  The cabin was awesome, I think I wouldn't mind owning one eventually. It had a gorgeous view of the lake and there were deer and rabbits everywhere.

  We went to the lake everyday and Carson loved playing in the "GIANT sandbox"

We dug a hole for Carson and then buried him in up to his waist.  He didn't really like it so we dug him out pretty quick. Carson's FAVORITE part of the trip was going to the demolition derby in Lake Town. He kept saying "Mom! cars CRASH!" even on the drive home he kept telling us to crash into other cars.
Yep, we definitely have a boy :)

I Tried

When Carson was born I knew I was going to breastfeed.  It wasn't even a question.  In the hospital I had different lactation consultants come in and help to show me the ropes. But hard as I tried, Carson just wasn't interested.  I don't know if he just had a hard time sucking since he wouldn't take a pacifier either but I never could get him to breastfeed so instead I pumped everyday and fed him bottles of breastmilk. That lasted 3 weeks before I lost my milk. I had a really hard time with it.  I always felt like "if only tried harder", or "if that nurse didnt give him a bottle" I was heart broken I felt like I had failed my first born.  I eventually got over it.  I still hate that I couldn't breastfeed Carson and that he didnt get that jumpstart with his immune system. Carson had his first hospital stay at 4 months and has always had problems with being sick.  He now has asthma which I cant completely contribute to not breastfeeding but I just saw on the news that breastfeeding makes your kids 75% less likely to have asthma.  I know that I tried but I cant help but feel guilty that I'm the reason he is always so sick.  

When I had Dallas I was determined to make this time work.  I didn't even have formula or a bottle in the house, so I had no choice but to breastfeed.  the first two weeks were horrible, lots of tears and frustrated long nights.  then Dallas was breastfeeding like a champ!  I did it! I felt like I was now part of this exclusive club that only the really dedicated moms could join.  I was so proud of myself.  and I have to admit I feel like I had a closer bond with Dallas right from the beginning that I didn't have with Carson at first.  I feel like I am more in tune with Dallas and can easily tell what he needs.  I had always read about these things in books but now I was experiencing them for myself.  Dallas is hardly ever sick.  We get comments all the time on how happy of a baby he is.  I wanted to breastfeed until he was at least a year old, but was considering maybe going a little longer like 18 months. 

Fast forward to his 9 month check up. Dallas weighed 18 lbs at 8 months old.  now at his 9 month check up he only weighed 16.  What? he lost 2 lbs?  he went from the 45% for his weight to the 3% It couldn't be from me, for the past month I was still nursing every 3 - 4 hours.  He seemed satisfied after, he would even still spit up milk after.  The doctor had me do a test, he told me to nurse him for 15-20 minutes then offer a bottle after to see how much he ate.  so I did. he ate 12 oz of formula right after I nursed him.  I had lost my milk.  not completely but he was hardly getting anything.  I tried everything to get my milk back. I was pumping every 2 hours.  eating oatmeal for breakfast. adding oatmeal to basically every meal I ate. I was drinking water like crazy but nothing worked. I even tried this weird chocolate drink that they use in Mexico to promote milk production.  anyway after about a week of this my milk supply just continued to get lower and lower.  Now I am a proud mom of a formula fed baby. Do I feel like I tried my best? mostly.  Is Dallas going to suffer the rest of his life because I couldn't breastfeed until a year?  probably not.  but I do know that I am a huge breastfeeding advocate. I will definitely try to breastfeed the next baby. but that's all I can do is try.

The Flash

Carson was invited to his very first birthday party last month. Everyone had to dress up like there favorite superhero.  Carson didnt even know what a superhero was.  He has never seen a comic or any kind of superhero cartoon aside from the episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse when Goofy becomes SUPER GOOF.  anyway I was trying to explain to Carson that superheros save people and have special powers.  He didnt really get it.  So instead we decided to find a superhero with a power Carson could understand. The Flash!  he runs really really fast. that Carson could relate to. well we ordered the costume online and it barely came the day before the party (wheew)

He was so stinkin cute in his costume!  the minute he put it on, he tore through the house running as fast as he could.  We couldnt let Dallas be left out so we borrowed a Superman onesie with a cape from my sister

the day of the party came and we had a ton of fun, they flew on the swings, chased bad guys in a police car and made superhero masks.  it was awesome.

Camping!

Every year we do a camping trip with my side of the family.  This year with all the rain and water most campgrounds weren't open when we went so we ended up going to South Fork right by Pineview Reservoir.  There wasn't much hiking or anything around so we basically went to the lake every day.  It was a lot of fun, we love camping and anything outdoors so we had a blast.  Carson got the flu the day we left to head up the mountain.  as long as he was on Tylenol he was just fine, but if we let it wear off he was one sick boy.   I hate to say it, but I sometimes love when my kids are sick.  I hate that they feel so bad but I love how cuddly they get.  its one of the only times Carson will let me hold him. I was glad he was still able to have fun though.  I took a lot of cute pictures so here are a few

Fathers Day

Holidays are so much better when you have kids.  ESPECIALLY Fathers Day.  I explained to Carson that Father's Day is the day we get to show dad how much we love him, Carson asked if daddy gets presents.  I told him yes, then he was excited to Fathers Day too.  I slacked off my wifely duties and didn't get Jake anything until the night before.  we also have a tradition of breakfast in bed.  so the morning of, we let Jake sleep in while the kids and I dealt with the preparations.   I put the kids up to the table with fingerpaint and blank paper while I got to work on breakfast.  I don't know what I was thinking.  I must have still been half asleep. but within 5 minutes the table was covered in paint, Carson had painted all over Dallas and the paper was still blank. It ended up taking a little longer to get their picture and breakfast ready and I'm pretty sure that Jake had woken up long before we came in, but he was a good sport and stayed in bed pretending to sleep until Carson charged in with his picture he made for his dad.  It was an awesome day.  

 

Moving

Well we did it.  we took the plunge and moved in with family.  the thought of possibly being able to buy our own house was just enough that we decided to do it.  We were warned not to do it.  We would lose our privacy, space, hosting abilities etc but I am here to tell you its not too bad! We are hardly home anyway and when we are nobody else is there so we still feel like we live on our own.  except there are perks, we almost always have easy access to a babysitter if needed, and the fridge is always stocked with Mtn Dew, so we're pretty much set in life :)  but really this is such an amazing opportunity for us. we are so lucky to have family like ours.  I am reminded all the time the importance of a close family. I know we will never be homeless.  we will always have food to eat, and the ones we love close, everything else in life seems miniscule in comparison. We are so blessed!

wow its been a while

holy cow I haven't posted since February! things have been crazy around here, Jake has changed jobs (sort of) We moved in with family, basically moved back out, Dallas broke his leg, Carson was invited to his first birthday party, we've been to the lake, Lagoon, all around town and now I am finally able to post again! so I am going to try and catch up on all the goings on with the Holmes family.  many more posts to come today!

long week

My goodness! what an eventful week.  about two weeks ago Carson got croup again.  this is his 4th time since last November so we are getting pretty tired of it.  and poor Carson especially.  Well we took him to the doctor and he wants to start maybe testing him for asthma to see if that's why he keeps getting it.  anyway, when Carson gets croup he is usually over the worst of it in just two or three days.  This time he wasn't getting better at all.  He was having non stop fevers of 103-104 and really just slept all day and night.  wouldn't get up to eat or anything.  so last Saturday we decided to bring him into Primary Children's.  right off the bat he tested positive for RSV.  so they had us stay overnight to watch him.  well the next day came and same thing, High fevers, needing oxygen and an IV since he wouldn't eat or drink so they decided to keep us another night.  the third day the doctors started testing him for all sorts of things just in case there was anything else going on.  Well they started dropping names like Kawasaki's disease so we were getting pretty worried.  except that all the blood tests and chest x rays were coming back clean.  we ended up being there until yesterday (thursday) so almost a week to find out it was RSV and pneumonia.  so other then being worried he had some rare disease for a few days we are now home!  Carson's breathing is good and he is eating and playing again. so other then a pretty yucky cough for the next week or two, he is just fine! and so far Dallas hasn't caught anything so hopefully (knock on wood)  we are done for the season with doctor visits :) 

Love Day

Happy Valentines Day everyone!   this year Jake and I ran in the sweetheart 5K.  when we signed up for it, Jake was already running 6 miles and I was just starting to run. We figured we could easily whip out 3 miles, piece of cake after running for the next 2 months.  well 2 months came and went, and pretty much from the day we registered neither one of us ran again until the day of the race.  SO.... we didn't do hot.  But we did it!  we finished in 35 minutes.  We are wanting to maybe do a 10K sometime this summer.  hopefully we are a little better at training :)

It's been a while

It has been a while since I last posted so I'm going to try and catch up.   Lately we have been summer sick.  we really miss the sunshine and playing outside so we have been making up for it by going swimming at the rec center once a week.  they have a fun indoor shallow pool that Carson loves.  every time we drive to Bountiful he asks to go swimming.  He loves to climb up the toy and shoot the spray guns and ride the slide.

  He is still a little young so I do have to stay right next to him and help him swim.  I was having trouble holding Dallas while chasing Carson around so I bought this water sling. 

 I love it!  I already had one I used everyday just at home but this one is made for the water so it dries quickly.  I highly recommend it to anyone who has two little ones close together.  I also just got this carrier for quick trips to the store. 

I always wear Dallas and push Carson in the stroller or the cart, so I wanted a carrier that I could wear comfortably for long periods and that would be easy for Jake to wear.  and this mei tai is it. Dallas almost always falls asleep when I wear him and our last trip to the store Carson just laid his head on his arm and fell asleep too.

  I was at Target (one of my favorite stores) so since they were both asleep I just walked around and shopped for a while. It was pretty nice. 

let's see.  Dallas just had his 4 month appt.  He is now 14.5 lbs and wearing 6 month clothes.  He is always smiling and laughing.  He is just the happiest baby.  we are pretty lucky.  He is just starting to eat cereal.  (He doesn't like it)  and is starting to play with toys.  he loves to bounce around in a Johnny Jumper and grab anything within reach.

Carson is getting so big! he can talk in 4 word sentences.  He has figured out that mommy and daddy also have other names.  He knows that I am his mom but my name is Marianne.  and Jake is dad and Jake.  that kind of thing.  He loves to sing songs.  especially row, row, row, your boat. He is almost fully potty trained (thank goodness) just the occasional accident if he is too busy playing to run to the bathroom.   He can count to 12.  and he almost has all of his books memorized.  He will say the words with me while I read to him.  so we need to get him some new ones.   Carson also loves to choose his own clothes to wear.  Most the time it matches, but we sometimes go out with Carson looking pretty funny.  but it's really cute because you can just tell he chose his own outfit.  He also likes to play dress up with his cousins These are their "cowboy Hats"  yes they are girl hats :)

well we have been busy but happy.  we are just enjoying one day at a time, and hopefully I can get enough time to update our blog more often! 

Year In Review...in pictures