Doctor Appointment

Austin went for his 18 month check up today.  He is healthy and on track.  He is 24.5 lbs and 32.5" tall.  He got two shots and was a trooper as usual.  I used EMLA cream on his thighs to help numb the needle prick and for the first shot he hardly reacted at all.  The second one he cried a tiny bit, but the nurse said the vaccine itself burns, so the numbed skin couldn't prevent it. 

We got home and he took a 3 hour nap!  I guess the vaccines knocked him out.

18 Months

Austin turned 18 months last Thursday.  I was busy with jury duty stuff that day so I did not get a chance to update, but we took some portraits this weekend. 

He is SO FULL OF ENERGY these days.  As far as new things go he loves to color, see my last post about the walls.  He is definitely right-handed now. 

Magic Eraser

To follow up to my last post, thank goodness for magic erasers.  Austin went on a coloring spree this morning while I was loading the dishwasher and my bedroom wall and door looked like the set from Elmo's World.   I asked the ladies at WebMD for advice and they told me to get a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and sure enough, it works like magic.  I think I will get some to keep in the diaper bag for when we travel too.  Awesome product!

Thank goodness!

I know I have been neglecting my blog.  One of these days I will feel motivated to get back to it, probably when the weather cools down.

For now I wanted to say thank goodness for microfiber furniture and how crayon wipes off it easily!  And milk, and juice, and ink pen with a little elbow grease!  Austin has really been into drawing lately and I'm doing all I can to keep it on paper, but who am I kidding!  I'm so lucky to be the Mommy of an energetic toddler!

Wordless Wednesday

Oreo Cookie!

To play along with Wordless Wednesday go here and enter a photo, then visit others!

Aloha Friday

In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that they take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response. To participate go here.



My question:

What is the strangest/most unusual thing you have eaten?

The reason I asked this question is because one of the news stories on the Phoenix news this week is that a restaurant down there is serving lion meat burgers in honor of the World Cup in Africa.  If you are wondering, NO, I would definitely NOT eat lion meat. 

Quite honestly, I am not very adventerous when it comes to eating.  I'm having a hard time coming up with something really out there since I don't try very many crazy things.  I have tried Rocky Mountain oysters, which is odd when you think about why anyone would think to eat that, and yet many people love them.  I have eaten moose jerky, buffalo roast and ribs (I actually think it's very delicious), and once I ate at a Brazilian Grill and it seems like I ate some water buffalo or something like that.  I love to go to cajun boils where I like to eat crayfish.

17 Months

Where does the time go, my baby boy is not really a baby any more at a year and almost a half!  Here are some things that Austin is up to now:

• He is everywhere- walks forwards, backwards, runs, dances, twirls, and I chase him from one end of the house to the other and all around our yard.  He prefers to walk to and from the car instead of being carried.
• He wears size 24M/2T except for pants, they are still 18M because he is very tall and skinny and the 2T pants/shorts seem to fall off.  He is in size 6 shoes.
• He is still a pretty great eater, except for veggies.  I can usually convince him to eat a bite of veggies, maybe two if I'm lucky.  Everything else he eats pretty well and uses a spoon and fork perfectly.  Of course he still prefers to grab his food, but does well with the utensils. 
• He drinks cows milk really well now.
• He can use a variety of types of sippy cups now.  He likes to drink from a regular cup, but still ends up taking a bath in whatever the liquid is so we mostly stick to sippys.
• I started giving him gummy vitamins instead of the infant drops and he gobbles them down!
• He is transitioning to one nap a day.  Some days he still does his morning nap and some days he takes only one in the afternoon.  I just try to follow his cues and go with his mood. 
• He loves to color, I just wish I could keep him on the paper!
• He loves to ride in his Little Tikes car, he will push it around by himself, but loves it when we push him.
• He is a little fish at the swimming pool.  We have to watch him closely because he has no fear or hesitation about the water and will just dive under.  He loves the water slide too.
• For vocab he is being stubborn.  I know he can say words, he just doesn't.  He will have days where he clearly says things, but then won't say it again.  Words I have clearly heard him say: Mommy, Daddy, Mom, Dad, car, Ming Ming, cookie, I love you, duck, uh-oh, good boy, thank you, Bo (our rabbit).

That's all I can think of for now.  Everyday it's something new and I enjoy every minute with him.  I love him more and more every day!

Wordless Wednesday

I'm a little late, but it's still Wednesday!

If you would like to participate in Wordless Wednesday go here, it's fun!

Gardening Update

The garden is off and growing.  So far I have harvested cilantro, arugula, radishes, onions, and peas.  Growing is tomatoes (big beef, jet star, yellow cherries, and an heirloom six pack), peppers (bell, jalapeno, sweet banana, and anaheim), beets, carrots, swiss chard, pickling cucumbers, yellow crook neck squash, sugar pumpkins, cantaloupe, watermelon, bush green beans and dill.  I just planted some parsley and mint.  I need to get another pack of basil seeds because I did not see any coming back from last year.

Anaheim Chile

Fun Weekend

It has been a really fun weekend.  Friday I had the day off work for Kaibab Paiute Establishment Day, the reservation was officially established by the US Government on June 11, 1913 so the Tribe gives employees a holiday in recognition.  I spent the day with my favorite little man.  The weather was way cooler than normal so we could not go swimming.  I decided to take him for a walk thinking we would stop by the Post Office, the Library to sign up for the summer reading program, then to the park.  This was Austin's first visit to the Library an he LOVED it!  Of course what kid wouldn't love a library that was not only full of books, but a ton of toys.  My Library never had all that cool stuff when I was a kid!  We played at the Library for a good hour and maybe a half.  He finally got tired and tried grabbing grown up books off the shelf so we went home, had lunch and took a nap.

We attempted to go to dinner that night at a Chinese restaurant, but Austin was pretty tired and threw a total fit.  We are trying to expose him to it more often to get him used to eating and staying calm in those environments, but so far it seems to be getting more challenging instead of better.

Saturday Austin was pretty tired and cranky after breakfast so he took an early nap.  When he woke up we went to a car show in Kanab, Utah.  My husband loves cars and Austin enjoyed it too.  We got our groceries and came home.  We did some serious back yard playing, especially in Austin's new sand box.

Today we had a lazy morning and stayed in our jammies until almost noon!  I wanted to go to church, but they moved it up an hour for the summer and it's been a challenge to get all three of us up an running, not that that is a good excuse!  We finally all got dressed and headed to the park.  Oh my goodness, my son is growing up, he did the big kid slide BY HIMSELF!  He giggled and loved it, no hesitation or worry what so ever.  He swang and rode the horsee bouncer too.  We came home had some lunch and now the boys are napping.  Not a bad weekend!

I have it good!

I have been wanting to write more blogs this week, but I heard two incredibly sad stories this week about young people who life has dealt a difficult hand and thinking about them has weighed heavy on my heart.  I don't want to share their stories because it's not my place, but I think maybe if I write this it will help me move on.  I think most of us go through a phase in the late teens and early twenties when you do crazy things and try to find out who you are.  I thank God that I survived those years with little long term damage or consequences.

Now that I have long passed my crazy days I have good health, I have an incredible husband who is so supportive in every way, and I have a beautiful son that I love with all my heart.  I have a great home, great job, am able to enjoy all the wonderful things in my life.  With the exception of having my Mom and siblings closer I would not change a thing about my life.  It feels so good to be here and be able to say that!

Thank you God for all your many blessings!

Relay for Life

The Color Country Relay for Life was held in Kanab, Utah last Friday night at the high school track.  We went for the openning ceremonies and walked a bit then I took a walking shift from 10:30-11:00pm for my Kaibab Paiute Tribe Team.  There was pretty good turn out this year and it was much more organized than last year. 

I am not sure exactly how many Relay's I have participated in now.  I started many years ago with my Mom who participates as a survivor in the Weld County Colorado Relay.  She often feels guilty about wearing a purple survivor shirt because she did not have a long drawn out battle with cancer, but I tell her that she is the perfect testament to the American Cancer Society because she got a pap test, they detected the cancer cells, she immediately got a historectomy and has now been cancer free for 21 years!  That's the whole key to cancer survival, early detection and treatment before it starts to drain the life out of you.

In February 2008 my Dad passed away from Kidney cancer.  It had matastized to his lungs where he also had asbestos lesions from years exposure from construction work.  I was fortunate that I was able to go home and be with my Dad for the last two weeks of his life.  It was incredibly difficult to watch him suffer as the cancer sucked the life out of him.  Let me tell you, if you have not seen someone die from cancer it is the worst possible thing you can imagine. 

So that is now the main reason I relay.  We put together a family team for the 2008 Weld County Relay that was in June following my Dad's death.  We raised over $1,000 that summer in his memory.  Last summer we participated in the Kanab Relay which is much smaller than the Weld County one, but is a great effort for a much smaller community.  No matter how big or small the Relay it is such a moving experience to see the love and compassion that people share when joining together to battle such an evil foe.

I would like to encourage you to take time today to make sure that you are up on your cancer screenings.  If you are unsure what you should be getting tested for you can go to the American Cancer Society website for details.  It depends on your sex and age.

http://www.cancer.org/

I dream of the day that Austin, and if not Austin then his kids will not have to watch cancer steal the life out of their loved ones!