7 months, 1 day!

Owen is 7 months old as of yesterday and he has grown so much in the last month. I feel like he just has his 6-month mark . . . I guess time is going to fly by! At about 6 months and 3 weeks old Owen started crawling! It was such a great thing to experience. I had come home from work and Brad and Owen and I were hanging out in Owen’s room. He was on his tummy and just decided then and there that he was going to start crawling! It brought tears to my eyes to watch Owen learn how to pull himself with the carpet and use his legs and upper body strength to move!! Way to go!! He also really likes to spend time in his highchair! This last month we introduced some peach yogurt, applesauce (because I had a hard time making my own) and some sweet peas! Oh, we also tried some butternut squash and he wasn’t pleased with the taste! He makes the funniest faces when he doesn’t like foods. I’m pretty sure he likes carrots, but he didn’t like the ones I had made him. My mother had suggested that I mix some carrots in with another food that he does like – like applesauce – and see if he eats it! I could not shove that applesauce/carrot mixture into his mouth fast enough! Thank you Mom!
We also had Owen’s 6-month check up where he had more shots! It’s never easy to watch your child scream and kick like that, but he takes it like a champ and is over it 2 minutes later! He must get that from his dad because I am no good with needles! Owen also weighed in at 19.5 pounds! He is a big kiddo but I am sure now that he is moving around and far more active he will start to thin out! His doctor was pleased with his weight gain because the last few times he had been seen, he was in the 2nd and 4th percentile for his weight, meaning he was almost underweight!
We are back to cloth diapers for right now! I was having such a hard time with them that I took a little vacation and then realized our budget can’t support formula AND diapers that cost almost 40 dollars every two weeks! So my dear friend Riley has helped me problem solve and they are working better! I was able to get the stink out of them and we are snapping them just a little tighter on Owen and they work sooooo much better! Thank you Riley!
Another first Owen had this month was his first head cold! We aren’t sure who had it first and shared – Owen or Brad – but regardless, we passed it around and we all were sick! I’m not sure any child likes to get their nose suctioned out with the blue bulb thing, but the first few times I used it with Owen, he laughed! ☺ Then he quickly realized what was going on and his mood changed!
I might say this every month but his bottom tooth is almost popping through! I really think so this month though! Hopefully with his 8-month blog I will report great news!

another 5 days of thankfulness

I’m thankful for quite a bit this week! A lot of it involves our little guy, but our world now revolves around Owen so that’s not too surprising.
First and foremost I am thankful for modern medicine! The last few weeks in the Ireland household have been rough, as we passed around a nasty bug to each other. First Brad had it, then he gave it to Owen (or me ) and then we shared it! Owen is still getting over it, but I am mostly better. I am so thankful for the nurses that called back when I didn’t know what to do about our little boy! His nose was, and still sort of is, a snot factory but I think he is feeling so much better already. The nurse had suggested some saline spray and to suction out his nose with the blue bulb – aka brain sucker outer. ☺ The first few times I used this Owen actually giggled which I thought was really sweet considering I knew he was going to hate it in two split seconds once he realizes what is going on. And I was right – he hates it! I think he actually prefers the saline spray over just blowing his nose for him. He still screams and kicks and wiggles, but it doesn’t last nearly as long. Regardless, I am thankful for modern inventions like saline and the blue bulb to help out little boy.
I am quite thankful for friends this week! Its remarkable the friends that I’ve made here in Montana. I have the army wives who I will never forget. We made some good memories while our husbands were deployed and I will always cherish their friendship. Going through a deployment not only makes your relationship with your husband better, but it encourages you to make new friends and really depend on them in your time of need! I am thankful for the friends that I’ve made at previous jobs – especially a certain one names Riley! Riley has really saved us these past few weeks and I don’t know what we would do without her. I used to work at World Market with Riley and then we just continued our friendship outside of the work place! She has an adorable little boy, Brody who is 15 months old and has the sweetest disposition. Riley is fortunate enough to stay at home with Brody, so when Brad and I were desperately looking for some sort of child care for Owen while I worked my half days on Wednesday, Riley was happy to watch Owen for a few hours!! I not only value our friendship but I really appreciate her willingness to watch Owen!
I am also thankful for friendships that have survived being in different states! It’s hard to maintain a friendship from hundreds of miles away, but I seem to do with quite a few of my other friends! I have the privilege of throwing my best friend, Nicole, a baby shower next month in Cheyenne Wyoming. Nicole and her family made the drive up last March to see us for my baby shower and I now get to make the trek down to Wyoming to see her and shower her with gifts and good times! Nicole and her husband Peter are expecting their second child and this time it’s a GIRL!! Yay!! I’m so happy that Nicole and I have been able to keep our friendship strong through the years of separation.
This also goes for Ashley Diaz, who is Owen’s Godmother! She is an incredibly strong women and I hope Owen grows up realizing this. Ashley has been one of Brads friends since senior year in high school (same with her husband Raul ) and Ashley was in our wedding as a bridesmaid! She has been there for us through thick and thin and can always make me laugh. She has been through a deployment and has moved more times that I can count. She and Raul recently bought a house in Olympia, however Raul is gone doing some Army training so she signed the papers and got the keys all by herself. She continues to amaze me with her strength and I can’t wait for our kiddo’s to grow up together!
Another army wife to be thankful for is Debbie Bailey! She really helped me during Brad’s deployment and we continue to depend on each other. She is such a great friend and I don’t know what I would do without her!
One more Montana friend . . . Gretta! I met her while Brad was deployed and she has shown me what real friendship is! When we go on walks, we both talk without any filters. We can’t ever say anything wrong to each other, we are going through the same walks in life and can genuinely say she is one of my closest friends!
Last but never least, my little sister Kelsey Brough! I am thankful for her friendship from 850 miles away. Kelsey and I grew up together and she was my maid of honor in our wedding. We have had some pretty awesome experiences together and I wouldn’t change them for the world. She continues to amaze me with the things she is doing in her life. I am proud to call her my little sister and will hopefully grow old and grey with her! Love you Kelsey!

Believe it or not, that was only the second thing I was thankful for this week! I am thankful for the Army. Since Brad has been in the army he has wanted me to be involved in what he does, so I volunteer in the FRG, Family Readiness Group, each drill weekend. It isn’t much, in fact all I really do is sit in my office in the drill hall and sell concessions to soldiers and raise money for them. I might not be giving myself much credit with what I do, but I don’t feel like I do very much. I am currently putting together a holiday party with the help of one other wife. It’s proving to be sorta difficult and there are some pretty big obstacles that we need to over come, but I want to give these soldiers a great holiday party. So I am thankful for the chance to volunteer and the structure it provides for us.
Last week I was very thankful for understanding employer. As I mentioned earlier, all 3 of us were sick last week and I wasn’t going to drop Owen off at Riley’s with him being sick and then in turn get them sick! So Brad and I managed our work day’s and he worked a half day till about 12:30 and came home with Owen while I went to work from 1-6. We are truly blessed to have such understanding and great employers.
The last thing I am thankful for this week is music. Music is in so much of our lives. When you get in the car, you more than likely turn on the radio to your favorite station or find a song that you know so you can sing along. I know that the first thing I do when I wake up is take my iphone and put it on the ihome we have in the kitchen and turn on Pandora so I can listen to some music. I would much rather have music playing then the TV on in the background. Music provides great memories and chances to make them, it reminds us of a certain emotion we felt and helps us learn and calm down. I know quite a few songs that remind me of great memories. For example our wedding song – Thank you by Ryan Huston. Most people have never heard of him OR the song, but it’s been a constant in our life since the first few weeks Brad and I started dating. Every time I turn that song on, I remember when Brad had me first listen to it. We were in his apartment in Tukwila, WA and I was sitting on his lap in his roommates bedroom using his computer. He had me listen to it and I thought, “eh, this is okay “but I never told Brad that. It describes our relationship perfectly and when we had to choose a song to dance to for our first dance, that song was it! We still slow dance to it in our kitchen and it brings backs happy memories.

Those are some pretty big things I was thankful for this week! Medicine, GREAT friends, the army, great employers and music!

30 days of Thankfulness

There is a 'trend' on Facebook every November that every day you post one thing you are thankful for. I think it's a great idea, but I'm not going to do it on Facebook. Instead, I think I will do 25 (since today is the 5th) short posts or one post a week with 7 things I am thankful for.

As I was sitting in the kitchen this morning, drinking my hot cup of coffee and feeding owen, I thought to myself I am pretty fortunate. We own a house, have a sweet little boy and a dog that adores him. It snowed last night, about an inch and a half which makes me thankful that we have a house that stays warm on cold days like today.
I am thankful that we live in Montana, especially in Laurel. Don't get me wrong, it would be great to live closer to family, but this way Brad and I can do our own thing and make our own traditions. We can learn how to be Brad and Megan and Owen without trying to share that time with family.
I am especially thankful for the relationship that Owen and Dakota have with each other. I know that I recently posted how excited I was about this, but it's pretty amazing. Again this morning as I was changing Owen, Dakota came into his room, hopped up and put her two front paws on the rim of Owen's changing table, sniffed around and then gave him the sweetest little 'kisses' on his cheek. She then proceeded to hop down, and just walk off, like her job here was done! We could very well have a dog that shows no interest in him or a dog that see's Owen as a threat, but we don't. Instead, we have a dog who lets him pull and pinch and slobber all over her and I'm sure she just loves it!! That's pretty special.
Another reason why I am thankful we live in Montana is that all of the seasons show their pretty faces instead of just 300 days of rain. As I said, it snowed last night so as I am writing this post the sun is shining, there is blue sky and the snow on the ground is still pure white and melting. As the snow is blowing off of the tree limbs and roof tops, it sparkles till it meets the pavement to make it look like powdered sugar on the streets. Most of the leaves have turned and the colors are stunning. We had probably two weeks of fall where the weather was in the mid 60's with a light wind and now winter has arrived!!
Now on to my 5th reason I am thankful for today - my relationship with my brother! We had a nice chat last night via face time and it's great to catch up with him that way. He was able to watch Owen play in his bouncer while we talked about what was going on in our lives. Technology is pretty amazing like that and I don't use it to my advantage as often as I probably should. About 2 years ago, Alan was unemployed and at a pretty dark place in his life. Then he found a program that would get him up to date on his cooking skills and then help him get a job! He has been working at the hospital in Ballard Washington for a year and a half-ish now and his attitude has flipped around. It's so great to see him happy now and I am thankful for all that has gone right in his life!

Now . . . for all of you that read this . . . all 5 or 6 of you . . . I urge you to think about what you are thankful for in your life. Not just the obvious things, but the smaller things. Perhaps it was a conversation you had with a friend that made you realize something, maybe it was a random act of kindness you experienced. Just think about it. I've already thought of many other things I'm thankful for! You'll just have to wait till next Tuesday to find out what they are!