5 months!!

Owen Bradley is 5 months old today! It amazes me how fast time has gone by, as it seems like just a few short weeks ago we brought Owen home. He is so alert and has started to show us his personality. We also started him on solid foods, with doctors permission of course. If he could eat bananas all day, he would. We have tried green beans but I dont think I got them smooth enough and we are currently working on trying Avocado. At Owen's 4 month doctors visit he measured in the 2nd percentile for his weight and the 4th for his length! However, he was in the 75th percentile for his head- he comes from a big headed family. The doctor had suggested supplementing with some formula just to put some meat on his bones, along with the solid foods. I'm pretty sure that when we go back for his 6 month at the end of October, she will be pleased with all of his weight gain! He is such a chunk now! We love it!
Here are some other highlights of this last month:

* He rubs his eyes when he is tired.
* He grabs for objects, including my coffee cup!
* Owen loves his lamb/sheep thing we got some from friends who live in Ireland.
* Started solids - rice cereal, bananas, green beans and Avocado.
* Watched his first football game - Denver Won! woot woot!
* He went to his 2nd wedding in his 5 months of life. Congrats Jeff and Riley!
* He can roll over now!

As I mentioned in last months blog, we were eagerly awaiting the arrival of our dear friends Ashley and Raul's little girl. Well, she arrived!! Julianna Rose Diaz!



Congrats Ashley and Raul! We are so excited to meet your beautiful little girl next month! Safe Travels to Washington.


We had a few firsts, besides starting the solid foods! I had my first night away from Owen. My friend Riley had her bachelorette party in Bozeman, which is a 2 hour drive west from Billings. It was nice to go out with some girlfriends and have a few drinks, but by the end of the night all I wanted to do was curl up with my babe and snuggle. It was harder than I thought it would be, but I did it!! :-) There were three other new mom's there as well, so I wasn't alone with feeling sad.
Brads mom Ferol is out to visit and watch Owen on Saturday because that's the day Brad's unit 'stands up'. He isn't being deployed, but his unit is becoming a true unit and will be recognized by the Army.

We have more exciting news too! My good friend Nicole and her husband are expecting their 2nd child due some time in february! Brad and I are so happy for them and can't wait to meet their little bundle of joy.












There isn't much else to report from this month. I am continuing to work for the optometrist inside Costco and am really enjoying the experience. It's a great office to work in and the doctor I work for is fantastic. Brad is still on the job hunt and we are eagerly awaiting to see what is in store for us.
This next month is going to bring us a few great things. My parents have purchased new vehicles, so they are giving us my mother's old car, her PT Cruiser. I know, you all are super jealous. This is coming at a great time because I'm sure my Honda is on it's last few miles since my trip in July where my tire blew out. The car hasn't been the same ever since, so a newer more reliable car is a a welcome change. Brad, Owen and I will also be traveling back to Seattle for our nephew Lucas's first birthday party. Lucas turned one yesterday, but we are having a family party the weekend of the 3rd, 4th and 5th at Brads parents house on the lake. It'll be great to spend some time with the family and for Tim, Kaley, and Lucas to meet their nephew/cousin for the first time!!! Lots of pictures to come next month!

4 months old!

Little Man – Owen is 4 months old today! This last month has been quite a busy month. He started to grab things with intention (including my hair), stands with assistance in his bouncer, he LOVES to lay on his side and so close to rolling over I can taste it. ☺ He is also very interested in his hands, which probably help his sore gums since he is cutting teeth! We have had lots of smiles this month along with a very special treat for mom! He giggled!!! I’ve been eagerly waiting this special moment and it happened just the other day when Brad was playing with Dakota. I’m not going to hide the fact that I teared up a little. It was so sweet to hear his little giggle and see the awesome beginning of a sense of humor. We have his 4 month doctors appointment at the end of the month where we will find out how much he weighs, how long he is and when we can start with some rice cereal or other ‘solid’ foods. I am hoping he weighs around 13lbs and will be average in length. He is kind of a short kid, which is surprising since both Brad and I are on the taller side. I suppose he is only 4 months old and has quite a bit of growing to do.

Mommy –I got a job!!! Our pastor somehow got into contact with this optometrist who has her practice inside Costco and discovered she needed part time help. I went in one afternoon, with Owen, and watched what happened, what I would be doing and then I had a quick interview. Then about a week later I was called by the office manager and asked to start the next day!!!! Yikes! It’s a great little office to work in. I am basically just a receptionist, but some day soon I will be confident enough to do the pre-testing, which includes glaucoma testing! Fun! This is just a part time job but I am perfectly fine with that because the 5-6 hours I’m away from Owen is hard enough. I can’t imagine being away from him for longer and more frequently. Brad had taken to his daddy duties very well. I’ve been able to pump enough for him to feed Owen through the day and he is getting a good routine down. ☺
Big news for Brad this month! He is officially done with school – atleast for now! At the end of September he should get his diploma in the mail! How exciting. I am so proud of him. He took a very full load of classes, over summer semester and ALL of them were online! He had his fair share of distractions and missed a few small assignments, but over all his GPA is just a few points shy of a 4.0!! He did so good that he will probably make it onto the Deans List! Here is to hoping that Owen get’s his fathers smarts!
We also learned this month that Uncle Tim (Brads middle brother) was hired on at Alaska Airlines! Congrats Tim! We are so proud of you!!
I am continuing leading the FRG for brads unit and it’s been fun to start from scratch. It’s currently myself and another female solider who is my liaison, but we have fun brainstorming once a month on different ways to raise money for the 411th HHD. Those of you who are on Facebook, and I know many of you are, please do me a favor and ‘like’ the 411th FRG. When I make it up to 30 ‘likes’ I am able to do more with the page and that means I can get more information out to the public about what’s going on with the unit. Next month they are standing up as a unit and becoming public, if you will. It is going to be a big deal, as there will be VIP’s there like the mayor of Billings and maybe even the Governor. Some high-ranking men will be there as well. I introduced myself to the Lieutenant Coronel, a full bird and a major. They were all very eager to see what I do with the FRG. Fingers crossed I don’t disappoint them.

These next few months should be pretty busy for us! Owen’s Godparents are expecting their little girl any day now! We are beyond excited to meet baby girl Diaz and I am sure she will make a debut on the blog next month! We also have the activation ceremony for brad’s unit in the middle of September along with traveling back to Seattle in October to celebrate Lucas’ first birthday. Before we know it, it’ll be Halloween and then Thanksgiving! Where does time go? Wherever it goes, it goes pretty quick!!

***Next blog I hope to post more pictures. I have taken TONS on my phone and with the actual camera, but I need to better organize my shutterfly folders so I know what month to post! In the mean time, enjoy the few pictures I know are from this past month! ☺

Stereotypes

Stereotypes

I've never liked them. White. Black. Rich. Poor. City girl or hillbilly. They are never fair and usually lead to hurt feelings. Brad and I experienced a stereotype tonight with our dog Dakota. She is a black pitbull Labrador mix and quite possibly one of the sweetest dogs you could meet. She is intimidating with her breed and small but muscular size but she honestly wouldn't hurt a fly. We have had Dakota for just over a year now and she turns 2 in October so she is still very much a puppy at heart.
She tends to get out and run and when she is running, listening is the last thing on her mind. Brad took her on a car ride last night to the local red box station to get a movie and when they got back she jumped out of the truck and took off down the street. Brad casually walked in and said "Megan, guess what!? Our dog ran away again!" I stopped what I was doing and went out front to call her and brad went out back. She never goes far and usually comes home within 5 minutes - I'm pretty sure she likes being fed and sleeping on our bed. This time was different. It took less than 5 minutes but this time our neighbors two houses down were outside and decided to make our lives difficult. They were yelling and screaming at brad to get Dakota off their property or they were going to call the cops. The lady went as far as to ask her son to hand her a baseball bat so she could beat Dakota!! Yes, please do that. That won't make our dog attack you at all!! They were saying that Dakota charged at the little girl and that she as growling at her. We know our dog and how she reacts and Dakota doesn't charge. She does this thing in our yard hat we have dubbed the Dakota 500. She races around out yard full speed 3-4 times and then is exhausted after. All Dakota was doing when she left the truck was doing a Dakota 500 around the block.
Now Dakota had been cooped up all day because she has kennel cough and it's being treated, but for the time being she shouldn't be around other dogs. She is like any living creature;if you are kept inside all day, when you have the chance to get out and stretch your legs you are going to take the chance.
The stereotype that pit-bulls are means dogs frustrates me. Yes, she has an intimidating growl but what dog doesn't? Dakota only attacks you in kisses and puppy pounces. She has never bit or attacked anyone. She listens to us when it really matters and is a good dog. It frustrates me that people think that she is a mean dog. Don't judge a book by its cover.
Back to our neighbor. After we got Dakota calmed down and a leash on her, brad did the brave thing and brought Dakota back over to the neighbor so they could get to meet her and see that she is a nice dog. The lady wanted nothing to do with brad and told him to leave or she was calling the cops.
This part really bugs me. If the cops were called it would be a 'he said she said' sort of thing. She could say that this mean dog tried to attack her little girl and that's all it would take to get Dakota hauled away. This is where stereotypes come in. Dakota is labeled as a mean dog because of the people who choose to train pitbulls to fight and be aggressive. Pitbulls are incredibly loyal and obedient dogs. I have heard that poodles are actually more aggressive and hurt or kill more people than any other breed. Never would have thought that!
It's aggravating to think that these people who were yelling and screaming at us to get Dakota away from them can ruin our whole evening and rethink our dog. We would never put Owen or anyone else is danger.

3 months old!

Our little man – Owen is 3 months old as of two days ago and time has gone by so fast! I am sure I will say that every month, but it amazes me how fast he is growing up and turning into a little boy. He has become more interactive and is practicing focusing on shapes and faces. We put a hanging car seat toy above his changing table and it has a monkey with a banana and other teething rings hanging from it. I have dubbed this Zeus, so when we go and change his diaper we visit Zeus and hang out with him. Owen really enjoys batting at the objects and has now figured out he can grab them! How exciting! Our little guy is also cooing more and making some pretty sweet noises. I might be getting ahead of myself but I am pretty sure he giggled yesterday. Owen likes to suck on his hands and have some knuckle sandwiches and sticks his tongue out more. He is also smiling more often which always warms your heart when you see his gummy grin! ☺

Mom – I am slowly getting my pre-pregnancy body back but I still have 8 lbs to go. It’s proven to be hard to find time to work out with a little one. We’ve been going on walks after dinner, so that’s been helping but I need to focus more on my midsection. Since the last post, breast-feeding has improved dramatically and it’s not nearly as painful or frustrating.

Our Life -
My parents and grandmother made a trip from Reno, NV over to Wyoming, up to Laurel and then back down to Laramie before driving back home. They spent a few days here in Laurel visiting with us and even spent the 4th of July with us. Laurel is known for their spectacular firework show so it was great that they had the chance to watch them with us. It was so nice to see my dad as a grandfather and watch them interact. Owen really likes his thumb and jiggling on my dads knees! I'm excited to watch that relationship grow into something fabulous!

A few weeks later we had the great opportunity to travel to Seattle for a wedding and to visit friends and family. Brad unfortunately had to stay back due to loads of homework so Owen and I had some quality time together. Our adventure there was kinda scary, as my tire on our Honda blew out as we were driving down I-90 at 80mph. We were between towns and cars and trucks were speeding by.

After I calmed down from my panic attack I called Brad and told him what happened and we evaluated the situation. I went out and looked at the tire and it was far worse than I had anticipated. As Brad and I were talking about what to do, a man in a pick up truck had stopped behind me and was walking towards me. I told Brad I would call him back. The nice man, whose name is Greg, helped me get the old tire off and put the spare tire on. Once the spare was on and he lowered the car, he realized that it didn’t have much air in it, so he hoisted the car back up and took it off. He then suggested that we drive back to Big Timber and fill the tire up at a gas station. So Owen and I got in the truck with him and met his son Billy who had his 6th birthday party coming up. We all drove to Big Timber, filled up the tire and went back to my car. Greg put the tire back on and then suggested that he follow me to Bozeman just to make sure the spare didn’t blow out on me. He also suggested that I don’t go over 50 mph, so the 45 miles we had to go till Bozeman took a LONG time. It wasn’t out of Greg’s way to follow me, as he lives just a few miles outside of Bozeman and they were on their way back from a hunting trip. I am so thankful for Greg and Billy for helping Owen and I out in our time of need. It would have been much longer and far more stressful had they not helped us out. Needless to say, we missed our 4:15 flight from Bozeman to Seattle, so Brad booked us a hotel and we would try again in the morning. It was a short night followed by a long day, but it was nice to arrive in Seattle and see family. My brother picked us up from the airport and he got to meet Owen for the first time. It was pretty neat watching Alan and Owen interact with each other. ☺ Alan had to work later that morning, so I made plans to have coffee with an old friend of mine, Jamie Balmelli (Farris). She enjoyed hanging out with Owen and I at the local Starbucks and we had a chance to catch up. After we went our separate ways, Owen and I drove down to Yelm where Brad’s parents and brother live to visit with them for a few days. We got to the house just in time for lunch and a nap! ☺ After I was rested, we had a nice dinner and visit with Ferol and Christine and Owen’s cousins, Esther, Jadon and Rahab.

We left Saturday afternoon in time to make it to a BBQ with my ‘other mother’ Judy.

Judy and Peter were the entire reason we came back to visit; they were FINALLY getting married. Sunday afternoon rolled around and it was time for all of the people who love Judy and Peter to witness the joyous union! The ceremony was held at a quaint little park in West Seattle with a reception after at Judy’s house. It was great to spend time with everyone and have all of my old friends meet our little guy.

I had every intention on leaving Monday early afternoon but a few things came up and we tried to leave Tuesday afternoon. The airlines had a different agenda because our luggage made it on the plane but Owen and I didn’t. This just meant we got to spend more time with my parents before we tried for the evening flight to Bozeman. We got on without a problem and even had the row to ourselves. Brad reserved another hotel for us and in the morning I went to get our tire fixed and we were on the road home! It’s always nice to come home to your very own house with your very own things, but this time I think it was even better! I had traveled by myself with our 3 month old and had so many hoops to jump through, but I did it! I am so proud of myself ☺
Brad will be finishing up school next month and now it’s crunch time to find a job. We have been going back and fourth with a few options and will have to weigh the pro’s and con’s and see where the road leads us.
In the mean time, we are enjoying the hot weather here in Laurel and our little baby boy!

2 months

Life has been a little busy (no idea why!), so I apologize for the delay in the blog posts! Hopefully I can get on top of the posts and keep everyone updated on Owen’s progress and what’s going on in our life! ☺

Our little man –He is 2 months old today and we can’t believe it. He is growing up too fast. At his two month appointment he weighed 11 lbs, 7 oz and was almost 23 inches long. Holy Smokes! We still have yet to see him roll over on purpose, but he is grabbing on to shirts and is quite fond of the necklace I wear. Owen is becoming more alert and can tell when it’s not mom that’s holding him. He still doesn’t like his diaper changes, but our wipe warmer has helped a little. I’ve really enjoyed putting him in little man outfits and showing him off, however it frustrates me when people call him a little girl. He has found his tongue and it warms my heart to watch Owen and Brad stick their tongues out at each other. Very sweet.

Mom - On a more personal note, I’ve come to discover that the pregnancy part was easy but this motherhood part isn’t as easy as I thought it would be. Pregnancy asked a lot from my body, but providing food for a little one is hard work. Breast-feeding is very time consuming and harder than I thought it was going to be. I’ve had some issues with milk production and latching, but I think we’ve gotten it down now, two months later! The sleep depravation is getting better as well; Owen sleeps from about midnight to 5, sometimes-even 6am. After he eats, we go right back to bed and sleep until about 10 before we get up and start our day. Needless to say we aren’t really morning people. ☺ We’ve gotten into a nice routine of eating, naps and playtime. Now if I could just get the rest of life down.

Our life – Brad has recently joined a new unit and is no longer with the 592nd. They still drill at the same hall and drill on the same weekends, just with different people. With all of that said, I am the leader of the 411th FRG (family readiness group). When they asked me to be the leader, they said “Thank you for accepting . . . now we have a family picnic that we scheduled for this month’s drill. On top that, it’s supposed to be for both the 592nd and the 411th. So there you go – plan!” If it were a picnic just for just Brad’s unit, it would be easier to plan and far less stressful as there are only about 50 soldiers compared to the 130 in the 592nd. Planning a picnic just for soldiers would be super easy too, but being a family picnic and all, you figure each soldier might bring one or two extra mouths to feed. That’s a good 300-350 people to feed. I spent all of Friday night and Saturday figuring out how many people were going to attend, and getting everything ready. It was a huge task to accomplish with a young kiddo, but I did it! The picnic happened, people were fed, and everyone had a great time. ☺ It was the one and only time I am going to plan a joint event for both units. Now I am strictly a 411th FRG lady.
Brad is in his final semester of school, which is very exciting. After August 9th, he will have a bachelors of science and liberal studies (with an emphasis in communication) and we can move on with our life. He has been eager to finish school for a few years now, but things have gotten in the way. He had every intention of finishing school by 2010, but then he got his orders to deploy and wound up having to postpone it for several years. I am so proud of him for not giving up and having the commitment to finish. We aren’t sure what we are going to do after he graduates, but we are talking about going active duty - More about that later.
Brads oldest brother Greg and his family spent our first father’s day with us and it was wonderful to have them here. We spent time at the big park down the street and had some tasty BBQ chicken to celebrate Brad (and Greg) being a father.
Next to come visit is Brads middle brother Tim and his small family next weekend. It’s so nice to have people out to visit us and to see our share our new home.
After Tim and Kaley are here, my parents and grandmother will be out our way for a few days and will be spending the 4th of July with us. My father hasn’t met Owen yet, so I am excited to get pictures of my dad in his new role as a grandpa! ☺ I am also really eager to let my grandma hold her great grandson and make some fun memories.
Lots to look forward to and I’ll be sure to keep everyone posted through more blog posts!!

3 weeks old!

Our precious little man is 3 weeks old today and it feels like we brought him home ( for good ) just a few days ago! On Monday, May 6th, he had yet another doctors appointment to check his weight gain and we have made GREAT progress! As of Monday, we are only 3 small ounces shy of his birth weight of 8lbs, 6oz! Thank goodness for that weight gain! I was getting a little worried that we would never put any meat on this kids bones, but we did it!
We also had a pretty cool first on Monday, as Owen rolled over during tummy time! He rolled over without fussing twice before I decided to film it and then of course he was fussy the third time. I’m not sure if a 3 week old is supposed to roll over, or even hold his head up, but he is doing both! What a smart little guy!

It’s been cool taking quick pictures of Brad and Owen having father son bonding. Dakota continues to keep a watchful eye out for her baby boy and keep him safe. We gave Owen his first ‘at home’ bath last night and Dakota was very concerned about her screaming baby to the point that she was shaking! It was pretty hilarious.

I’m starting to feel human again after the process of giving birth. I knew there would be recovery, but I didn’t know it would take nearly as long and be as uncomfortable as it was. It’s nice to feel human. Imagine that! ☺ I’m getting used to getting up every 3-4 hours to feed Owen, which takes a toll on being somewhat human through the day. Not really sure how I will get by once my mom leaves to go back home on the 13th. She has been waking up as I finish feeding Owen in the morning and watching him while I take my morning nap.

It’s been a pretty amazing 3 weeks. Our little boy is growing up so fast!