Owen's miserable moments

I took these shots today for his 8 month post...man is he cranky!

Anybody want to borrow a grouchy baby for a couple of days?!?!?!

8 Months

Owen is 8 months old today! I can't believe it!!! We are getting closer and closer to his first birthday! It seems like just yesterday Mike and I were sitting around talking about what he would be like and what he would look like when he came. I thought that I would be pregnant forever - thankfully I can barely remember how miserable it was.

At the doctor on Tuesday Owen weighed 21 lbs 4 oz and about 26 1/2 inches. He's not growing as rapidly as before but just about every time we go out anywhere someone comments on how big he is. What makes me laugh is how fat his little feet are. They are puffy and round and very squishy :)

This has been a tough month for Owen. He had his hypospadias repair surgery and had a painful 10 days after. Then just as that pain became a distant memory he started teething! He is just irritable these days! The bottom two teeth finally cut through and now he's starting to get the top two - it seems there is no end in sight. Tylenol is his middle name right now!

This month has also been a big month for his motor skills. He is finally sitting up on his own and rarely falls over. He is reaching for toys and has figured out the purpose of his hands. Man is he grabby! We went out for dinner the other night and he nearly wiped the table clean! He has started holding his own sippy cup with juice in it and is rolling over both ways now. Mike and I have a bet going about whether or not he'll be crawling by Easter.

Although it's been a tough month with all his fussiness, it has been so much fun to see more and more of his personality coming out. It makes me so proud (and a little sad) to think in a few short months he'll be a big boy!! It's going to be a wonderful spring and summer!

Gatorland!

For about the last two years, I have been wanting to go to Gatorland. The girls love alligators! Mike kept telling me that it wasn't worth the money so we've been putting it off until we found a coupon or discount. On Friday we found out that Gatorland was having a Teacher Appreciation deal and a Florida resident discount so what would have cost $80 to get in actually cost $20! Yay! So as soon as we got out of church to Gatorland we went!

We saw the Gator Jumparoo show, checked out the White Alligators, fed the flamingos, and Savannah attempted to fit inside the mouth the this gator! She wasn't the least bit hesitant!

Poor Owen has had a long week of going places, so he took the chance to catch a nap in the stroller!

Next we checked out the snakes, the aviary, and the petting zoo. The girls fed the goats and Savannah made friends with this chicken that was running loose in the yard. She cornered him and attempted to cart him off on her hip! We nearly had a complete meltdown when I told her she couldn't pick him up!

We took a swamp walk and then checked out the alligator wrestling show!

And just before we left, we let the girls loose in their splash park and playground. Kate accidentally left her bathing suit in the car so she got wet in her Sunday best!

It was a nice day! Even Owen needed a little cooling off before we left!

At the end of the day we were all pretty much exhausted! I secretly think we're all looking forward to the end of Spring Break so we can all go back to our normal routines! But it was a nice time hanging out as a family!

Kate's 9th Birthday and Diabetes Update

Today is Kaitlyn's 9th birthday! She's been celebrating it since Wed when we went to the zoo and then she went out to dinner with Grandma and Grandpa John for dinner and gifts. Then last night we all went out with her Papa T dinner and gifts!!!

The first order of business this morning was to measure her height on the door frame as we do each year. She grew a little over 3 inches since last year!

Then two of her favorite friends came over and we were off to the Jungle Zone!

Kate, Ena, Steven, and Savannah had a blast playing at Jungle Zone. They played hard!!!

Even Daddy and Owen got in on the action!!!

Then we took a break for lunch!

After lunch it was back to the jumping!! Eventually it had to come to an end, so we took one last picture at the top of the biggest slide...I am not sure who that extra little boy is - but they were having fun!

Back at our house, we ate cake and then Kate got to open her gifts.

Of course, she made out!! She got books from Mike and I, a Happy Birthday Molly American Girl book from Uncle Jack and Aunt Carrie and tons of stickers and crafts and stuff from Steven!

And as an additional birthday gift we got a phone call from Kaitlyn's endocrinologist late yesterday evening. It turns out that Kate's glucose tolerance test was normal and her other blood work to identify Type 1 diabetes were all negative. So this means that she does not have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes! Yay! Unfortunately there is definitely something going on with her blood sugar. Her doctor seems to think that she might have MODY (maturity onset diabetes of youth) which is a different form of diabetes that is more mild and doesn't always require insulin. We are going to continue to monitor her blood sugar and restrict the amount of sugars she consumes until we determine the next step.

Teeth!

Owen cut his first tooth today!!! It has been a long time coming but we finally felt it cut through the gum!!! You can't see it in this picture but the one on the left actually has cut through and the one on the right still hasn't - but it will be soon!!!

A nice day at the zoo...

 As a way to get away from all the current stress we are experiencing and because it is Spring Break, we decided to spend the day at Lowry Park Zoo again!

Savannah and Kate were super excited this time because they have a Dinosaur Exhibit this week! Unfortunately our batteries died in our camera about halfway through the day but we got some nice pics of the morning...

the dinos were life sized, animated, and made noise...it was like a small version of Jurassic park! Savannah was a little hesitant at first but in the end everyone loved it.

There was a huge T-Rex slide, a dino dig site, and of course a gift shop!!! Sadly Savannah wasn't tall enough to go on the slide but she was pretty good about it and once we distracted her with the next stop (feeding the lorikeets) she forgot all about it!

The girls had a blast playing in the water spouts! Savannah got her shoes soaked and then walked around in them all day so when we got into the car her feet were like prunes!!!

Here is Savannah attempting to move this enormous rock! She is such a butch!

Owen was sporting Daddy's hat...so cute!

And right before the camera died, Savannah and I went on the Overland Express Train! Afterward, we rode the mini coaster, the flying bananas, and took a casual camel ride!! That's right a camel ride. What was really neat is we met an older couple (the man was 73) and he came all the way to the zoo today to get his picture taken riding a camel! He was taking the picture as show and tell to his 55th high school reunion in Minnesota. Very neat!

On a sad note, we found out on Monday that Kaitlyn has Juvenile Diabetes. We've spent the first part of the week getting blood tests and monitoring her blood sugar. Tomorrow we go for a glucose tolerance test and see the endocrinologist again. We're hoping to have a treatment plan soon. She is doing great with all the poking and testing, but I know it's got to be frustrating for her! More updates as we find out more.