Swim Lessons

At the beginning of May, Lochlan started going to swim lessons- the "Mom and Tot" class, so I get to paddle around with him. It's pretty much just singing funny songs and making them kick their feet, getting them used to swimming. Fun stuff. He is just finishing up his second month and LOVING it! Lochlan has always loved the water, and living in Florida, I think it is so important the kids learn to swim as soon as possible because there is water EVERYWHERE. We have really enjoyed going to swim lessons twice a week at the Palm Bay Aquatic Center. His favorite part by far is the free time at the end when he can go down the slide. On Wednesday, the instructor and one of the lifeguards there took pictures of all the little ones as they went under water. I think this shot is so funny because most kids keep their eyes open...but Lochlan closes his eyes and holds his breath before he goes all the way under! Always so aware of his surroundings. So here is a picture of Lochlan paddling around in the pool.

My Contribution to Sugar Doodle

I should start out by saying that most of my adult life has been spent serving in YW. A calling that I am most happy to fulfill. I LOVE serving in YW. Over the years, I have borrowed many handout ideas from Sugardoodle.net. So, this past week, when my advisor went out of town for her anniversary and didn't get back until Saturday, I told her that I would love to teach so she could enjoy her week and not have to worry about the lesson. I know, I'm super nice that way! As I read through the lesson on Missionary Work, I myself came up with MY OWN cute handout idea, so I just had to share it and will be sharing it with the readers of Sugardoodle. I read a one-liner quote, "Be ye fishers of men...you catch them, he'll clean them" and was inspired. I loved this quote so I attached it to a bag of sweedish fish, tied it closed with fishing line, and made a hook out of jewelry wire. The girls loved it! Here is how thy turned out. Let me know what you think!

Happy Dad's Day

Yesterday, being Father's Day, I wanted to wake up and make Greg a fabulous breakfast in bed...then I remembered that he gets up super early for meetings before church. Scratch that idea, I got up and made him fabulous Pillsbury Orange Rolls! I know, I really went out of my way on this (I thought is was kinda funny and sad, so I took a picture, which makes it even more sad). Greg appreciated that I even got up at 6 something to pop those in the oven. But the day was just beginning. I surprised him with a new tie and some other gifts- I made Lochlan and Greg matching ties for church. Special, right? I am so glad that I have a husband that humors me with my little creations-it obviously not being the type of high quality ties that he is so used to. Still, he wore it happily and matched our little boy for church!
So today I thought I would write about what a great guy I have. I love that my husband can make me laugh, sometimes when I don't feel like laughing. I do love and am so grateful for the fact that I have a craft room and still my stuff seems to trickle out and find itself all over the house and he's ok with it! I love that he gets up everyday to go to a job to take care of us, even though he'd probably rather be at the beach. I love that he comes home, changes from his khakis and polo into some play clothes and runs around with our son, wearing him out for the evening. And I especially love that at the very end of the day, when all the madness has settled, he grabs my hand, says a prayer, and tells me he loves me. I love you, Greg. Thanks for being a great dad and wonderful husband!!
It was also a special day because it was Lochlan's first day of nursery...which he didn't really enjoy. We'll have to work on it.

Finally, a post!

Ok, so I have completely come to the realization that I suck at blogging now. It's true. As my sister-in-law, Kim, put it, "Stephanie, your blog is just sad." So I am finally making time to post. Lochlan is in bed, Greg is at a softball game, and I have time. Yay, for me! So...here's my catch up, my baby is going to be 18 months tomorrow!! I cannot believe how time has flown, it makes me so happy and kinda sad...he'll be leaving on his mission in no time! Crazy. I have loved every second of being this little boy's mom. Here's a little info about Lochlan now that he's 1 1/2:

Lochlan LOVES to swim-we take swimming lessons, the "mom and tot" class is his favorite part of the day.

Lochlan is not a big talker. Or at least he hasn't been. At 12 months he was saying all kinds of things, like, mama, dada, uh-oh, thank you, light, chicken-yes, he said chicken. Then he kinda lost interest. The past few days though, he has been repeating everything and talking up a storm. It has been so enjoyable. I love his babbling, with the occasional word that I understand. Yesterday, (and this is one of the reasons I HAD to blog) he even said "mama, I love you"! (of course, there was some coaching involved, but all the same it was Awesome!)

Lochlan loves to hug and give big kisses. This, I LOVE. He is always so willing to lean over and give his dad or mom a big kiss.

Lochlan loves sports...just like dad. He already has an incredible arm on him. The other week he picked up something in church and chucked it a good three pews back...of course he hit someone square in the forehead which was not good, but all the same, we're pretty proud of his pitching skills and look forward to him taking care of us in our old age on his MLB salary.

Lochlan loves to say prayers at the end of the night. We announce that it's bedtime and he takes both Greg and I by the hand, walks into his room, plops down in front of his bed and folds his arms for prayer. So cute! My testimony grows every night just seeing this. It's like when he points to a painting in our house and tries to say Jesus. It's just amazing, how does a little 18 month KNOW this!!

What an incredible little boy we have!

Check Up and No Tears

Yesterday was Lochlan's 6 month check up with his pediatrician, who is wonderful. This time, Greg got to come along, it being his day off. Here's what we found out.

Height- 29 inches (he has grown 2 1/2 inches in 2 months!)

Weight- 16 lbs 6 ozs

Conclusion: Still super long and super lean! We have a little basketball player on our hands. Greg fondly refers to him as our little "Yao Ming".

Then it was shot time. I had been prepping Greg all week about how sad it is when they have to Lochlan his shots, because he of course cries after the shots until you pick him up. So the nurse comes in and the first shot goes in the first leg...not a peep from Lochlan. What?? The second shot goes in the second leg...a little whimper and then nothing. The third shot...nothing! Unbelievable!!! Not one tear after three shots! Lochlan made a liar out of mommy. I Was happy there were no tears, but Greg now thinks I exaggerated the first couple times. What can you do?

6 Months-I Can't Believe It!

Our little man is six months today! Crazy, where does all the time go. A few things about Lochlan. His favorite food by far is peaches with oatmeal. He also loves to finish dinner with a little mango for dessert-he's like his mom, loves his dessert! Least favorite food to date, green beans-he started gagging the second he got a spoonful. Lochlan loves playing in his jumper and on his play mat, rolling around and grabbing anything insight. He is very good and grabbing anything and everything-favorite thing to grab is the remote when mom and dad are watching a show and he starts pressing buttons. He also like pounding on the computer while I am holding him, trying to blog. I guess he wants to help. He loves to laugh, his ticklish spot is on his side, same as his dad's. He smiles for everyone, he is a very happy kid, unless he is tired, then he is pretty cranky, but aren't we all. Lochlan is very observant, he pays attention to anything and everything going on around him-he loves watching Sting'em run around the house like a crazy dog after a bath. He thinks Sting'em is pretty funny stuff. Sting'em likes him too, he always trying to snuggle up to Lochlan. When he's tired, he likes to look at books while I read to him, calms him down almost immediately. When he sleeps he likes to bunch up in a ball on his stomach with his knees tucked under, holding tight to his favorite blanket. He loves to talk when he's playing and see how loud he can get. He loves his mom and dad, and always has the biggest and best smiles for us. We are so happy we have this amazing little boy!

Recruited for Camp

I was recruited for Girl's Camp this year for the craft committee. How great is that?? Crafting with the YW and then I get to leave camp, I don't have to spend the night? I'll take it! So today I headed out to the Deseret Ranch to the campgrounds to go crafting for the day. My mom watched Lochlan so he wouldn't have to endure the heat. Thanks, mom. First was the crafty service project. The service project this year was making thank you cards for our troops and packing them with packs of kool-aid, ahh a taste from home. So after I shared a little spiritual thought on freedom and how we have everything because there are wonderful people willing to fight for our country, we got to the card making. What a great service project!! It was so wonderful to see the girls get into it and talk about all the freedoms they have in this life.

Here is Rebecca (our ward's camp leader) helping the girls out with the cards, she's very crafty with the card making.

Then it was free time/craft time. The theme this year was "Daughter of a King- Quest for the Best". It was all very princessy. So I made tons of vinyl letters in all jewel tones (ya know, for the princesses) to make these adorable little tiles. The girls LOVED them. So glad I could be of service to the wonderful YW organization again, even if it was just for a very hot day.

OH NO! Preview

So I am getting a small taste of what I have to look forward to in the near future. Lochlan, as I have said is quite the little mover. He knows how to get from point A to point B. I am catching him pulling on blinds and tearing at magazines. Geez, what a little boy he is, getting into everything already. Better hide the china!!!

Oh my little troublemaker caught in the act of making a mess!!!

Goodbye Alimentum

Goodbye Alimentum, hello regular formula. At two weeks old we learned that Lochlan had an allergy to cow's milk. At three weeks we had to start supplementing with formula and that's when we learned the hard way that Lochlan also had an intolerance for soy. A very violent intolerance for soy! Oy. So we had to supplement with Alimentum, which is so very expensive. Good thing it was just to supplement. His pediatrician said that we could try switching him over to regular formula at six months and see what happens. Lochlan is not quite six months, but I figured, what was a week going to do? So I am happy to report that we used the rest of our last can of Alimentum and he is now on regular formula and seems to be doing fine. Thank goodness!!! The Alimentum was a whopping $25 for a small can. I am thankful that it was so good to his poor little tummy for the first months of his life, but I am just glad his tummy can handle the cow's milk protein now. Unfortunately, he still can't take any soy. Mix up with his cousin's bottle the other week, Lochlan barely got any, I noticed it before I thought it could do any damage, but apparently not soon enough and....not good. Maybe he'll grow out of that by 1.

Pavlova

This is a dessert that I have been dying to try making. So last night when Heather and Matt and their little ones came over for the Magic game, I tried it out on them, since I always try desserts on other people. Not exactly basketball watching food like the nachos we also ate, but still fabulous just the same. YUM! Everyone loved it, including my picky eater husband. The best part, low in calories. Does this mean I can have 2 pieces???

Stake Conference

We had Stake Conference today. What a spiritual boost! The talks were so amazing and uplifting. Sister Jacobsen from the Ranch gave a wonderful talk about being a parent. She talked about how parents are the ones that need to fasten the armor of God onto their children before they go out into this world. And how we as parents need to constantly be strengthening that armor. So good! The entire conference was amazing and it ended with the Primary children standing and singing "If the Savior stood beside me"then the congregation joining in after the first verse. There is nothing that brings the spirit in more strongly than Primary children singing. Love it! I feel rejuvenated. (I think my mom does too, because she was released as a Stake Relief Society Counselor, so yeah, a little rejuvenation her way too.)

Chris and America and a Trip to the South

My brother, Chris and his beautful wife, America, have moved back to Florida so Chris can start PA school. We could not be happier. Especially since they have a little baby girl on the way. Even if they are 2 1/2 hours away from us, we are still ecstatic about having them close by.

We went down to Ft Lauderdale to help them get situated in their new place. They have a cute place very close to Chris' school. We even took America to her first IKEA visit, a little crowded and overwhelming, but always a good time.

While we were down there, Greg and I got to see our friends Shaody and Juan. They were so gracious to put us all up for the night, me, Greg, Lochlan, AND Sting'em. Thanks guys!!!! Their puppy and cat wore Sting'em out, he slept for an entire day when we got home.

Here is Chris, not wanting to pose for any pictures.And here is America, showing off her tiny little baby bump! (while holding Sting'em)

Highchair and Sippy Cups

Lochlan has been eating solids for sometime now, so we finally purchased a highchair for him, which I love!!! Lochlan's not the best eater, he is very easily distracted by everything around him and would rather be moving around and playing. Now he can focus on eating. YAY!!!

The other night he kept trying to grab my mom's cup from her when she was holding him. When he would get it, he would put it right up to his mouth and try to dump it's contents out into his mouth. Crazy baby, already trying to drink out of cups and straws. So, of course we have moved to the sippy cups for juice. He is getting too big too fast.

Bed Head

Lochlan has turned into quite the mover while sleeping, rolling from one side of the crib to the other, then bunching up into a ball, and then stretching back out. This is what he looks like every morning.

Mother's Day

Today was my first official Mother's Day. I remember last year, it was on Mother's Day that we made the announcement that I was pregnant to our close friends and family. Today started out perfect, breakfast in bed with a card (even signed by Lochlan-Greg put a pen in his hand and he scribbled on the card) and a gift from my two favorite guys. Then off to church, Greg spoke in sacrament about the importance of womanhood and mothers. After church was dinner at the Berger's with my mom and our close friends. It was a great day. I love being a mother. I love being Lochlan's mother. I love that when Lochlan wakes up in the morning, he rolls over with a huge smile on his face. As soon as I pick him up, he gives me a giant hug-arms wrapped around, holding on tight with his head snug on my neck and shoulder. How can it be a bad day after that? I love that he is so curious about everything, so ready to use his tiny body, but still trying to figure it all out. I love that he is always on the go, never sits still, which explains why he is such a lean kid. I love that at night he wants to snuggle and be held by me (it's hard sometimes to get a break, but I secretly love it!). I love that he calms down when I sing "I am a child of God" or "I'm trying to be like Jesus", even though I am the worst singer! I love that he is tall, like his parents. I love his blue eyes, they remind me of his father. And I especially love his tiny dimple, reminds me of me. I don't know how we were happy without him in our lives. I am so glad he is here and that I am his mom.