Summer Fun

Another month gone by, here is my monthly update.  Our house has been a very busy place this month.  At the end of May my dad was able to come out for a visit.  We had so much fun with him.  Papi has promised Emmett a gun for his first birthday so all the boys can go hunting so we will see how that turns out ;) Matt and Alana came up to visit that week and it was fun getting to see them and the new addition to our Koontz Family Baby Alice!  My sister Gemma graduated from Mountain Crest that week and we are so excited for her!  She will start the Equine program at Utah State University in January.  The first weekend of June we went to the zoo!  Unfortunately Emmett was teething and he gets flushed really easily (that is why he is just in his onsie) so he didn't have the best time but it was fun to see all the Dinosaur robotic things and hang with the Pearce Fam.

June 6-16th Emmett had swim lesson.  He had fun splashing in the water and didn't mind being dunked but the day we passed him underwater he cried and cried, very sad!  He is on his way to being the next Olympic swimmer.

This week has been full of fun with our friend Dan Bridenstein staying with us while he takes a class on campus.  It has been fun to reminisce about the old days.  Also our friends Mikey and Whitney and Macaroni came out from Missouri for two days.  We spent most of our times going to yummy food joints in Logan (Great Harvest, Gossners, the Crepery, Temptation Cupcake, and Sweetly Divine).

Emmett is 8 months old!

 

My little baby thinks he is a puppy dog.  He pants when he plays and carried toys around in his mouth, so funny!

 

Em has 2 teeth!  Not looking forward to the rest popping up, he would hardley eat anything that week and when he doesn't nurse well it stresses me out! 

 

He is crawling now. 

 

We spend most of our time keeping Emmett away from doors (he likes to play with them but repeatdly smacks himself in the face), making sure he doesn't eat carpet fuzzies, keeping him way from the dog food and from licking Cyris toys.  He finds the dogs toys much more exciting then his own. 

 

Emmett is in love with Cyris, he giggles and crawls over to him and gets SO excited when Cyris comes into the room.

 

Murphy the fish is very entertaining and Em tries to grab him.  Emmett is such a good baby.  He sleeps through the night or only wakes up once or twice!  He is always happy and laughs and makes happy sounds all day long!  I am so grateful to have such a happy boy especially one who sleeps SO much better!!  He eats solids like a champ but no matter what he will not eat fruit!!  He has tired avacados, bananas, apples, prunes, plums, peaches, apricots, mangos, bluberries, pears, and honeydew melon.  The only ones he will eat are bananas, pears, and melon.  He scarfs down his veggies and fruit though and as you can tell is still my chunky monkey so it is okay :). 

Cyris had an adventure last week.  He and the neigbhor dog both ran into the street and Duke to dog bit Cyris, they didn't fight or anything he just bit him and went back home.  It took us like 15 minutes to realize he was bit but off we headed to the vet.  He had to get eight stitches.  Poor buddy!

Greg and I have been busy playing hostess, tending the garden, applying for jobs, not doing field work (grrrrrr) and taking care of our babies and loving every minute of it!

My thoughts on what to feed my baby

Long before I had Emmett I knew I wanted breastfeed my babies.  It just seemed amazing to have that bond with my child and to give them exactly what God and nature intended for them to eat.  While I was pregnant I saw a book for homemade baby food am I became hooked.  I LOVE making Emmett's food!  There are so many wonderful fruits and vegetables that babies cannot get from a jar that I can make right at home!  By making his food myself I know that the food is in its most nutritious form.  Yes jarred baby food is nutritious too but during the bottling process nutrients are lost when the product is heated so the jars are less nutritious then what I can make myself.  Making the food is so easy.  All I have to do is peel, core and chop the fruit or veggie, steam it till soft then puree the heck out of it until it is the consistency I want.  The food is frozen in ice cube trays then popped out and place in freezer bags for up to 6 weeks!  Another benefit to making baby food is cost.  Jarred baby food is on average $0.25per/oz whereas I can do it for about $0.05per/oz.  Now I know that not everyone has the time or the desire to make their baby food and you know what that is perfectly fine!  Making baby food is just something I enjoy doing.

As Emmett is getting to the finger food stage I have been thinking about all the processed foods out there we all snack on and I started to freak out a little.  I really do not want Emmett having some of those things, at least not for a while!  My number one no nos for a long time are juice (unless sick I really do not see the purpose of it, empty calories to me), soda (why do we even drink the stuff?  Tasty? yes but full of stuff that is not so good for us.), crackers (have you seen the sodium content on those things and the preservatives!!!)  Now I know that in moderation or as an occasional treat these things are just fine but I do not want my kids having them as part of there daily diet.  Do I sound a bit paranoid?  Yes I am sure I do but seeing all the health problems kids have these days I am really worried!  I want to make as many homemade things as I can.  Something I have decided to do for the rest of the summer is try recipes for processed food I use on a daily basis (i.e. cream of chicken/mushroom soup, crackers, etc.)  and see how I like it and that is will not be all time consuming.  Also from now until school starts in August I am only going to drink water and see how that makes me feel.         

What we did in May

You think I would update this blog more often but there is no time during the day and once Emmett is in bed Greg is on the computer fill out job applications.  But today I finally have some time while Em is napping to update.  Three weeks ago I took my last final, I am DONE with classes!!  To think I will never have to take another final again is so wonderful!  I got As in all three of my classes!  You might ask well what now?  I still have to finish my thesis.  The last 3 weekends in June Greg and I will be in Boss Canyon doing field work then I have until then and December to analyze the data and get my thesis written up to defend!  I am a little nervous for field work because Em will be at home with Grandma and I have never been away from him over night!  I am nervous about pumping and if Em is going to do okay with a bottle for 8 feedings each weekend! 

Greg is busy working with the facilities crew on campus keeping everything green and beautiful!  He has applied to several more jobs this week and I pray that we will be able to find a job by the time I am done TAing in the December so Greg does not have to go work at Pizzza Hut or something.  I joked with him the other day that if he does not have a job by then I will just go get my PhD and keep being a Teaching Assistant so we will have income. 

Cyris has been a very moopy dog.  He stretched his crucious (?) limb and hasn't been able to run and jump around for about 3 weeks.  We have tried to keep him calm and  lazy so it can heal but that is nearly impossbile for a hyper goldendoodle.  He thinks we hate him since we cannot take him on long walk and dont wrestle with him. 

Emmett is pretty much sleeping through the night now!!!!!  What a miracle!!!!!  Some nights he wakes up once or twice but we all get so much sleep these days that there is no need for mom to take a nap in that day!  I am just loving being at home with Em and Cy all day.  We wake up around 7:20 am, Em takes 3 great naps, he eats his solid food really well,  goes to bed at 8 pm and he goes to sleep so easy like he always has and STAYS asleep!  Em is so much fun!  Although he canot crawl yet he can get anyhwere he wants by rooling, pushing backwards abd rotating.  He can get up on his hands and knees and then up onto his feet.  Before we know it he will be crawling!  He loves his solid food!  He eats  oatmeal and barley cereal, carrots, butternut squash, summer squash, zuchini, sweet potatoes, ruttabaga, cailiflour, parshnips, broccoli, avacados, bananas, and pears.  He does like peas but when he ate then he got hives so he hasn't had then sicne.  He favorites are by far butternut suqahs and bananas.  His least favorits are broccoli and avacados but he wil still eat them.    

 Emmy likes to roll under his crib and play peekaboo!

 His church outfit on mother's day!

 Not sure who gave him permission to do this!

 One crazy baby!

 The family on Mother's Day.  I am obsessed with Zebra's so all of us but Cy have zebras on

 7 months old and 19 lbs, I love my chuncky monkey!

 Last saturday we went to the Dinosaur Park

 Emmett after our exciting time at the Dinosaur Park

He loves to open and close this basket that has his toys in it!

The Pearces are still alive

So it has been a month since I updated so here is what the Pearces have been up to since then.

 Cyris has continued to be his lovable, dorky self.  He sits on his bum like this all the time, I swear he is not a normal dog.

 Emmett loves to grab anything within his reach and proceed to eat it.  He and Cyris often play with their toys by each other.  They are going to be the best of buddies when Emmett is a little older, every little boy needs a dog and every dog needs a little boy!

 Emmett is Mr. Rolly Polly, when he wakes up he rolls right over and jibber jabbers until someone comes to get him.

Emmett turned 6 months old on the 20th!!  He has brought so much love into our family and we are so grateful for him!  He now weighs 17 lbs 9 oz and is 26.25 inches both the 50th percentile, he has evened back out, no longer short and supper chunky.  He is very interactive now.  He rolls all over the place, rotates himself and pushes himself forward a bit to reach his toys.  He is a champion at sitting up.  He has been mommy's little snuggle bug and love to give wet, sloppy kisses!  He is daddy's little buddy and loves to touch Cyris and watch him run around.  He laughs all the time is such a happy, content baby, although when he gets upset he lets you know.  He loves to talk and has all sorts of cute noises.  He still isn't sleeping the best but I tell myself someday he might!  He loves barely and oatmeal cereal (he decided rice was too boring)  and he has tried carrots and butternut squash.  He was not impressed with them.  At the end of this post is a video of him eating carrots, hilarious!    Below are the many faces of Emmett

 Emmy had a fun first Easter!

 He had fun playing with his doggy basket

 He got this Greg Olsen picture for his room, books, and a stuffed chick

 He thought mom and dad's basket looked fun to play with too!

 Cyris got a bone for Easter and Emmy wanted to play with that too (no way Emmy too slimy!)

 He likes to play in his highchair while the rest of us eat

We dyed eggs and Emmett grabbed the tray during the picture and we almost lost the eggs, he is a quick little bugger!

Greg has been busy being the stay at home daddy, Emmett and Cyris are a handful!  He has a job interview with Parker Haniffan(Sp?) tomorrow and we will see how it goes!  He will be working with the irrigation crew on campus again this summer and lets home by fall he has an engineering job!  

I have been busy with school.  I cannot wait for next Thursday afternoon when I take the last final of my life!  This summer I am looking forward to being a stay at home mommy!

 

Emmet tried rice cereal for the first time and was not a fan.  He likes it now but it sure was fun then

Murphy the Beta

Emmett found a new favorite toy in the kitchen, don't worry Greg is holding him up from behind

Emmett and aunt Gemma's St. Patrick's day outfits

He is wearing his 6-9 month clothes now since he is such a chunk!

He is getting really good at sitting up on his own!

Cyris treed his first cat and would not leave it alone

5 months old and 17lbs, we have a big baby and we love it!

 

Emmett and super fuzzy fluffy Cyris before the shaving

This shows how skinny the Cyris really is

 

Isn't he such a cutie!  Everyday I am excited to wake up and play with him!  Life is pretty busy in the Pearce house hold.  Taking care of a baby and a dog is a lot of work but so worth it.  Emmy and Cyris get lots of Daddy time while I go to school.  I have no idea how mommys who work full time do it!  I have a hard time just going to class for a couple hours each day!  Beside being Daddy Greg is still busy with job searching I hope by the end of this year we have a job, I am sure we will but I am just scared to death over it! 

Our life in February

Well I suppose it is time for a post since it has been a month and a half, time is just flying by these days!  In the wise words of my friend Melissa "Time is subject to quantum mechanics meaning that it behaves as both a wave and a particle. This is why even though time is continuous, it sometimes seems to make discrete jumps".  That is how these whole year has been, just jumping through the days until all of a sudden it is March!  The first three pictures are our family pictures from December.  My friend Tiarra did an awesome job!

We try to go on walks everyday and on really cold days Emmett gets bundled in his puppy dog suit.  When I put him in it he was screaming his guts out.  I stuck in the binky and about 5 seconds after this picture was taken he was asleep.

Here Emmett is in his cowboy outfit.  Aren't those little boots so cute!

Emmett is a very silly boy.  He is happy most of the day unless he is tired or hungry.  He laughs all the time and pulls the fumiest faces.  There is no way you could be sad with this little baby around he just brings such joy!

Cyris loves this duck.  He fell asleep the other day cuddling it.  Unfortunately a game of tug of war ended with duck having to go in the trash, poor Cyris.

February 20th Emmett turned 4 months old!!  He is getting to be such a chunk!  His thighs are so big I cannot wrap my fingers around them.  Even his knees have a fat roll!!  He is 24.5 inches long (40th percentile), 15 lbs, 9 oz (75th percentile) and his head is in the 20th percentile.  Basically he is short and fat!  I just love how chunky he is!

Life for me right now just got a little busier.  Two of my classes started on March 1 so now I spent all day Tuesday and Thursday on campus as well as Monday when I teach lab.  I am so grateful that this is my last semester of classes EVER!  After this semester I will have half the work done for my masters degree.  This summer I will do field work and analyze date, the fall will be spent writing my thesis and in December I will defend it!  I will officially graduate May 2012 once I make whatever edits are required after I defend.  I am so ready to be done with school.  I look forward to staying at home with Emmett and Cyris and perfecting my new hobby, cooking!  

Greg has been playing the job search game.  He has applied to a couple of jobs here in Utah and we are waiting to hear back from them.  Hopefully it will be good news when it comes!  This whole job search thing is really scary and I just want it to be over!  Greg has a freaking awesome resume so I don't know how the hiring committees wouldn't want to meet him and interview him!  I would like to move out of Utah just because I have always moved some place new every 2-4 years growing up.  We want to stay in the western US though but hey wherever we get a job I will be grateful and I won't complain, even if we had to move someplace hot and humid like Mississippi or freaking cold like Wisconsin.   

Very sad day

I have been meaning to update about Emmmett and our job search but that will have to wait for a diffrent day.

Monday I ended up getting the stomach flu which means for 24 hours I could not eat or hardly drink anything.  Due to this and some medicine I took Emmett had to have a bottle for 24 hours and I pumped for that time every three hours.  of course my milk supply suffered as I could not keep any food or liquids in so now 4 days later I am still hardly making any milk.  I have talked to three different doctors and lactation specialist and what I get to do until Monday morning is try and feed Emmett for as long as he will stay latched on.  He then gets a bottle while I pump.  Then at 8 when he goes to bed I pump for one hour, 10 minutes on 10 minutes off.  Then feed him at 10:30.  Do the pump again for one hour like before at 1 am.  Feed him at 4:30.  Emmett is very frustrated and doesn't want to latch on.  I am quickly running out of stored breast milk and am trying to get him use to formula.  The doctors are hesitant to start me on the drug that will help me start lactating again because it brings on depression.  Right now I am a big ball of stress and anger and frustration and sadness and whatever other sad words you can think of.  Greg gave me a blessing last night so I am just trying to keep my faith, maybe that is what Heavenly Father is trying to do, give me a lesson on faith. So if anyone has any advice or knows of some way to distract me be my guest!  Hopefully on Monday I will either be making milk again or be on the drug!  Pray for me!