Saturday, March 24, 2012

My Little Man



I just love this little guy so much!  Here are some pictures of him lately - and some things about us lately...
Tracen has started to really get around, not quite crawling, but rolling and grabbing.  He can get on his hands and knees, but just rocks back and forth or goes backwards (love those lashes)





















We're coming up to the end of the semester and couldn't be more excited about it. 1 more week of classes, then 1 week of exams and then we get to go to Pheonix to see Grammy and Papa.  But come Monday Grandma and Grandpa are coming with Jenellie, and we are SO excited!!!  Tracen is going to love all this attention (i am going to love having some help)

It is rare that Tracen and I get pictures together, so we have resorted to self portraits.  They are kind of blurry, but they make me happy.  

Beause our time in Arizona is fast approaching, we have been trying to eat healthy (healthiER) at our house.  We are so lucky to have a vitamix to make us green smoothies.  Who knew that Luke would ever enjoy spinach so much?  It also means that Jillian Michaels and I are going to be spending some time together as well, while Luke plays Lance Armstrong at the gym.

We got Tracen a humidifier in hopes that this would help him sleep better at night (he was waking up really stuffed up).  But even if it doesn't help, I am trying to remember that this is just a phase and that "this too shall pass..." We have tried to kind of let him cry it out, but then he just ends up wide awake yelling and crying and rolling into the sides of his cribs, which induces more crying.

I've learned some important things lately in the kitchen, like how making your own sweetened condensed milk with coconut milk will not give you a perfect key lime pie, but more like a graham cracker with lime slime smeared on top.  So much work, and so disappointing.  I cannot believe that I am still not eating dairy.  I dream of mozzarella sticks, pizza, ice cream, yogurt and quesadillas. 

These guys are so funny.  I can already see how much Luke means to Tracen, and they are so much alike too, it makes me laugh.

OH - and one more thing - Tracen got to be in a commercial for my class.  They needed a baby, and I have one of those so it worked out.  The commercial involved dancers making a car out of their bodies and him being the baby safe in the backseat.  I was worried about how he'd do with all those other people around (and opted to not just in a bodysuit to be in it) holding him and making noise, but he actually did great.  Dancers are a funny group of people though.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Jackson, WY

After weeks of trying to plan a trip to Jackson and one trip that was ended with bad weather, we finally made it to Jackson.
It was a beautiful day and the drive there was really pretty.  It reminded me a lot of home, and it was a good feeling!

Once we started to get into the mountains, we were floored with just how much snow there was there, and felt so lucky that we had decided to turn around that one day with the bad weather (we were so sad to not go that day).

We even stopped at the touristy lookout spots.

But we didn't take Tracen out of the carseat.  And even though this isn't a great shot of Tracen and I, we are at least both in the picture... 

The views were beautiful - made me a little homesick for the Rockies though.


And the snow was deep!


In about an hour and a half we made it to Jackson.  It is fun to explore what is right 'in our backyard' and I think we would like to explore more.

Jackson has a cool 'vibe' (as Luke said) and we really enjoyed it.  We walked around, went in some shops, bought some macarons (YUM!!)...

We were quite the tourists!

 In the summer Uncle Jon had told us about Billy's Burgers in Jackson. We decided to check it out.

 It was a tiny little place, and a fun atmosphere, we got to sit up at the bar and Tracen liked to be able to see all that was going on in there.  We liked it!
And of course we had to go to the candy store there - but we didn't even buy any candy!!!
Probably because Luke had already brought a stash with him.  But it was still a lot of fun.

We drove around for a bit to let Tracen have a nap, and then we went swimming!  The pool there was so much fun, and we can't wait to go back.  Tracen hasn't been swimming since he was 3/4 weeks old, so it was fun to see how he'd like it - and he liked it.  He even put his head in the water (accidently- he dove for it, and I wasn't ready) and didn't cry! He went down the slide with Luke a few times, and even me, and although he didn't really have any reaction - at least it wasn't tears.

The best part about Jackson (aside from the fun times with our family) might have been the fact that Traccen slept all night!!!  (Looks like we need a swimming pool)


6 Months

This past week Tracen hit his 6 month mark (7 months in Daddy years - Just kidding)
This was one of his busiest weeks yet, with doctors appointments, photoshoots (the passport kind), needles, and a trip to Jackson (with swimming).  

As you can see, he can sit up, but sometimes prefers to just lay himself down.
He is weighing in at 18 lbs and is working on getting his American citizenship.


He sure is lucky to have wonderful aunties to buy him cute clothes to wear (okay, the list isn't limited to aunties) but without them, he would still be wearing swaddling clothes.  Luke always says, "if it was good enough for Jesus, it is good enough for him.." 



Tracen's little fingers are getting really good at picking things up and putting them where he wants them. He loves to play with anything he can get his hands on.  And LOVES to drink water from a glass.


He's such a happy baby and loves to have attention, and loves to laugh!  If we play peek-a-boo with him, he likes to make sure to do it back to us.  



Sleeping through the night isn't a strength yet - and we are sure hoping that it will be soon!  I am just happy that he is so happy all day long no matter what his sleep was like. 


You can't tell from the pictures, but his hair is really starting to grow in.  He doesn't normally have the Donald Trump hairstyle going on.


We sure feel SO lucky to have Tracen in our lives and just can't get enough of drooly smiles, clothes with spit up, baths, and cuddles.


Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Today

Some things about today (on my mind, in my heart)...

I spent most of the morning fearing for Luke and Tracen.  Luke was taking Tracen to get his next round of immunizations and I had class, and I was worried they'd need me - both of them, but mostly Tracen. Turns out he was a champ and only cried while getting the shot for a few seconds (Luke did great too).  Maybe Luke should always take him???

Winter can't decide to come or go.  Today brought us a new round of winter.

Our trip to Phoenix can't come soon enough -  we can't wait to lounge by the pool and soak up the sun!

Tracen will be six months tomorrow!! I can hardly believe it. It's hard to even remember what life was like before him, my heart has never been so full! (I never wrote about how when Tracen was 4 months old, he corrected me and said that he was actually 5 months old, and I had been telling people the wrong age and he never wanted to embarrass me. Well - its more embarassing when someone has to correct you and tell you the REAL correct age of your child.  Luke had just counted off the months that had passed, and not the actual time that had gone by. Basically Tracen never got to be 4 months old)

I miss my sisters.  All of us in one house, singing, laughing, eating and sleeping.  We had some fun times.





Monday, March 5, 2012

Immigration

Sometimes I feel like immigration paper work will never end (why is it so complicated??).

I finally got my green card in my little fingers, but now Tracen has to go through the immigration steps.

We are becoming experts (in a way) of immigration.

He'll automatically get citizenship after his I-130 gets approved - which is nice for him, but what that means for us is that we have to pay $$$ for him to submit the forms, $$$ for immunizations, $$$ for doctors physical...

BUT - now that I have a green card I can maybe get some pell grants, AND I have to take the 14 credits again to graduate earlier, which will qualify me for the scholarships I was awarded.

So - In the end, we'll come out even - that's not too bad right?