East Coat Vacation

On the 24th we drove down to Greg's parents house.  Scott and Heather and the girls were down too so we had a fun night haning out with all of them.  Here Emmett and Hayzlee are crawling around together.

We got up the next morning at 4:15 am and headed to the airport.  Remind me not to leave on a 7:30 am flight again.  Here we are waiting to board the plane.

We sat on the last row on all three flights.  It kept Emmett entertained with all the people going back and forth and the flight attendants right there getting things ready.  We flew to Detroit where we were zooming down the runway to take off when we braked really fast.  Apparently there were thunderstorms in Baltimore.  We sat on the tarmac for about an hour and a half.  Deplaned and hung out in the terminal for another hour and a half and then got back on the plane and waited another 45 minutes.  It took three attempts to land but we did get on the ground in Baltimore eventually.  We were traveling for about 12 hours and during that whole time Emmett did not fuss even once!  He slept most of the fly time and when awake jibber jabbered, charmed all the passengers around us and played with his toys.  He was a perfect angel, we are so lucky to have such an easy going boy!  

We headed to my dad's house.  He is stationed at Andrews AFB in Maryland.  On Tuesday we toured the base.  Went to my dad's office and meet his work family as he calls them, and hung out with some of my dad's friends that night .  On Wednesday we were going to see the sights in DC and go to the Smithsonian but Emmett woke up in the night with a fever.  We spent all day Wednesday relaxing.  For being sick Emmett was still happy and easy going.  He slept a lot.  We would give him medicine every thre hours (alternated with Tylenol and ibprophen) but if you gave it too him too close to when he had just nursed he would throw up everywhere.  Mom went through several pairs of jammies that day.   

Thursday morning Emmett only had a slight fever so we got up and headed to Harrisburg Pennsylvania where Greg had his interview.  While he did that the rest of us went to the National Civil War museum.  It was really nice!  They had it laid out chronological and all from an unbiased view point.   

  That afternoon we headed over to Bedford, PA to surprise Emmett's Great Grandma Koontz.  She couldn't believe we were there, it was so fun! 

Great Grandma Koontz loves chickens so Emmett wore a special shirt just for her.

Friday we headed in to town to see the sights.  At the Bedford Historical society my moms quilt was on display.  She made this quilt to auction off for the Historical Society in celebration of Bedford's role in the underground railroad.  Each block represents some aspect of life for the slaves. 

We visited with all the Aunts and Unlces.  Emmett loved playing with Aunt Janet.

Here Pappy and Emmett are playing peeka boo, one of Emmy's favorite games.

Saturday morning we went to the Bedford County Fair.  My cousins Ashley was fair queen but I don't have the picture we took her on my camera :(.  Emmett had fun petty all the animals.

That evening we went to the cemetary and got the traditional Koontz family history lesson.  Emmett is sitting between Eve and Nicolas Koontz, the first Koontz in the USA.

Here is my Grandmas house. 

We had so much fun in Bedford and enjoyed all the amazing food my grandma makes.  That night we headed back to Maryland to my dad house.  Sunday we got ready to come home and had fun watching Emmett play with the Rocking chairs.  Aren't these matching chairs so cute!

We got home late Sunday night and boy was Cyris happy to see us.  While we were gone our garden exploded.  How cute Emmett is sitting with all the veggies!

9 months old, what?!

 We have had a busy yet relaxing month.  Mostly Emmett, Cyris and I have stayed home and played and kept house while Greg has gone to work and played with us in the evenings. Emmett gets in to everything these days.  

This box kept him entartained for quite sometime, a good peak boo box.

Our biggest adventure this month has been potty training!  I got the book Diaper Free before Three by Jill M. Lekovic.  It is such a great book.  The author is a pediatrician and a mom so she know what she is talking about.  We started June 30th and since then I have hardly changed any poopy diapers.  What I do is put him on the potty when he wakes up in the morning and he usually poops then and then through out the day if he looks like he is straining to go poo I put him on the potty.  Some people have told me that I am not potty training him, he is just training me but that is just silly.  The way I think about it is for the first couple of months of solid feeding we feed the baby with a spoon to teach them what it is and how to use it, we dress them for the year or two so they can learn how to do it themselves, and this is the same way I feel about potty training.  By teaching him so young I will avoid the resistance to the potty that crops up when you wait and potty train a 2 year old.  Another benefit to starting early is he will be done potty training sooner.  Studies have shown that it takes the same amount of time or less (depending on the resistance of your toddler to the toilet) to potty train a child when you start so young.  In countries besides America children are potty train by 18 to 24 months.  In America children are not potty training on average until 30 months or later.  As Dr. Lekovic states "Isn't it sad that we have 3 and 4 year old who can swing on swings, climb monkey bars, talk in full sentences and write their names but they cannot use the toilet". 

 Here is Cyris the spoiled dog.  When we first got Cyris the rule was he could not be on the couch.  Well not the couch is his and me and Greg sit on the floor. 

 Here he is, out 9 month old!! 

 Weight: 19 lbs 10oz (25th percentile)

Length: 27 inches (15the percentile)

Head: 17 inches (5th percentile)

He has tried honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon, yogurt,tomatoes (didn't like), cherries, spinach, strawberries, braised beef, chicken, cottage cheese all pureed.  3 days ago I gave him some finger foods.  He doens;t like them to be put in his mouth, he likes to do it himself.  Today he finally got it donw how to get the food in there.  He has had yogurt melts, sweet potato and banana puff cereal, and little pieces of pear.

Emmett crawls everywhere.  The best way to describe his crawling is the butterfly stroke on land.  He has also started pulling himself up on this and balancing on his knees.  

 

Cyris and Emmett have become buddies this past week.  Cyris will play so gently with Emmett and Emmett squeals whenever he sees Cyris.  Unfortunately Emmett would rather play with Cyris' toys than his own.

Emmett gets into everything!

Today we went to Mendon days.  It was a lot of fun.  When Greg sat down on the bench Cyris just jumped up next to him and laid down.  I am pretty sure Cyris does not know he is a dog.

 Emmett tried out his new bumbo.  He kept looking upside down and my mom and grandparents behind him.  He loves hanging upside down so this is an added bonus to the bumbo chair.

Emmett played on the play ground for the first time.  He was too busy watching all the other kids to bother looking at the camera.

He also got to play with a little bunny.  His bunny privileges were taken away when he got hold of the ear and picked it up.

 Our most exciting news is on Monday we are flying to DC!!  Greg has a job interview with the Defense Logistics Agency in Harrisburg PA.  We are going to spend a few days with my dad who is stationed at Andrews AFB, head to Harrisburg on Thursday for the interview, and then surprise my Grandma Koontz in Before PA and stay there until Saturday.  I am SO excited to go yet a little nervous for Emmett on the airplane.  Wish us luck, I will post about our trip when we get back!

Our Underwater adventure

Yesterday we went to the Living Planet Aquarium with our friends Tom and Melissa Chopan and Katie and Hans Anderson.  I was so fun to see them after a very long year!  Poor Emmett was such a good baby even though he had only had a 30 minute nap and was awake from 6:30am till 5 pm.  We had so much fun.  The Arapaima was mine and Greg's favorite followed closely by the penguins and the jelly fish.  Getting to touch the rays and starfish and horseshoe crabs was really awesome too!  

 Emmett and Daddy trying to pose with the arapaima but the darn sucker fish got in the way!

This is the arapaima,  one of the monsters of the Amazon River.  If you have never watch River Monsters with Jeremy Wade on Animal Planet you should! 

 Hanging out in the Utah waters room.  The brine shrimp were really cool but the 6 inch water bugs were disgusting!

 Emmett and the Lion fish.  He had fun watching the fish swim around and trying to grab them.

 Mommy and Baby screaming next to the shark tank.  If I ever saw a shark when swimming around I would just die!! 

After the aquarium we went to hang with Heather and Scott and got roped in to running the Ragnar next summer.  Wish us luck!

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!