Hey Guys, This is Serious!!

So, I have been a little lax lately on keeping my eye on Conner about the whole allergy thing. He's accidentally had a few goldfish here and there and seemed to be fine...I thought, even maybe, that they were starting to go away. Why I thought this I'm not sure.

Anyways, he got a hold of some milk yesterday. I don't know how much...we just caught him in the act of spilling it all down the front of his shirt. I didn't ask the questions I should have!! How much did he ingest? Did you see him ingest any? I sat him down to eat and he pushed his food away without taking a bight and hoarsely saying "All Done". So, I picked him up and put him on the ground. The Lord (yes, I said God) told me at that moment to take off his shirt (because it was soaked with milk and might be giving him hives). I did this and, sure enough, he was all red and had hives. Then I noticed his voice being hoarse. He kept saying things and he sounded like he had a really sore throat and needed to cough.

HELLO!! Anybody in there Rachel!!! Duh! I was just thinking- Wow, that sore throat really came on quick (Josh had had a sore throat that morning).

Suddenly I put two and two together and realized he was having an anaphylactic reaction!! He was having a hard time breathing and swallowing and his chin swelled up on the outside ( I can't imagine what it was doing to him on the inside). I grabbed the epi-pen from the car and Josh stabbed the sucker into his leg. Ouch!!! Did you see the size of this needle? Poor Conner. He only cried while we were holding the shot into his leg (15 seconds) then stopped and held onto Daddy. I was so scared and worried for my little guy. We rushed him to the ER where we spent a little over 4 hours making sure his oxygen count was ok.

He's ok. He's got lots of meds to make sure his lungs and throat don't tighten up again but he's ok. And we had the epi-pen on hand...and Josh was there to be strong and support us and keep us occupied in the ER...and we had lots of family around us to help and pray...and I can't thank Heavenly Father enough for helping us through this.

Women's Conference

We had Women's Conference today. It was very fulfilling for me. I always learn so much yet I know there is still so much to learn. I am so far away from where I want to be when it comes to a lot of things within the church. A lot of these concepts are totally new to me. Like prayer- if you can imagine that. I don't ever remember praying before I joined the church (nearly 30 years of my life). Although I do remember going to church when I was little. Sometimes I forget that prayer is one of the tools I can fall back on for anything...or that I should just be doing it always for any reason at all. Those of you who grew up in the church slip into these concepts with ease and I look up to you and try to live by your examples. I am grateful to all my friends and family who remind me daily of the things I should be doing and the things I should be thankful for. You have all turned my life around and I am so happy to know that you will always be there for me.

Stick a Fork in Me

Ok- I overdid it yesterday. I did a bunch more stuff before lying down to bed at 11:30. I read my book for 1/2 an hour then turned off the lights at 12:00. I started having contractions!! Not just the little tummy tightening Braxton Hicks, but the uterus squeezing, back pain kind! They were happening quickly and so I started to time them- every 5-6 minutes. I was freaked but, luckily, the doctor had already given me medication for this. I went downstairs and took some. The contractions subsided in about 30-40minutes. I fell asleep and when I woke up I was nauseous, shaky, and super tired from the meds. I feel like I have been hit by a bus. I can't imagine having to take this all the time (Lindsey!). I was useless to Conner this morning and sat on the couch with my eyes closed while he crawled all over me for 3 hours until I wasn't shaky any more. Now I'm just nauseous and wore out.

Man, could today be ANY more opposite than yesterday??? I'm off to take a nap...

Nesting

Grandma Owens, Conner, and I went to the fabric store today to choose fabric for baby blankets. Grandma O. makes really cute blankets that are large enough to swaddle your new munchkins for a while. They are so cute and we picked out some great fabrics. I will take pictures of them when she has them made.
I also got some fabric to finish the window treatments in our bedroom. Then new curtains I purchased just don't block out enough light...and since the baby will be in our room for a long time I wanted to fix that problem. I added a little organza for color and to be a pretty focal point for when the curtains are closed.
While Conner was napping and for about an hour after he woke up I was a crazy cleaning/purging maniac.

• cleaned bedroom
• folded laundry (ours, Conner's, and Wyatt's)
• cleaned off dresser
• cleared off both side tables to bed
• cleaned off changing table and photographed it to sell on Craigslist
• cleaned and threw away a ton of stuff under each sink in our master bath
• went through Conner's clothes and separated what he can and can't wear anymore
• divided those clothes into bins (one for us and the other for Jen- who let us borrow Max's clothes)
• put Conner's fitting clothes in the right side of his closet and Wyatt's clothes in the left side of his closet
• separated and started new laundry

I know all you mommies out there know how good it feels to be a little more prepared for the arrival of a new one!! I feel great and right now I'm wondering how much more I can get done before going to bed!

Good Morning!

I know I am working backwards, but I just downloaded the pictures off my camera and I had to upload one of Conner from this morning. I was wondering why he had a runny nose this morning...after watching him drool and drip and suck on his fingers all day, I can tell that his upper canines are finally trying to poke through.

Oh, and I love his bed head hair!

Hop on Adventures

Conner and I went to Hop on Adventures (has a new name but can't remember it) this morning. There was an older group of kids there at first that he really enjoyed watching. He laughed like crazy when they went down the slides. But he didn't venture out himself until Avery showed him the way. Eventually he was jumping on the trampoline and going down the slide by himself. He REALLY loved the slide and wanted me to keep going up and down as well. Let's just say I got an undesired workout this morning and now I am so tired I can hardly type, but I wanted to keep up in my "journal" our daily events before they escaped my memory.
Wish I had some pics of the whole thing- he ran himself sweaty!

I do have a picture of the burn he got on his nose and face. You know how those bounce houses are made of that plastic stuff that burns your skin when you slide on it too long and too hard (Lindsey got one on her ankle too)? Well one of Conner's trips down the slide ended up on his face- he didn't even notice...and still doesn't. You can barely even tell here- but tonight he looks like a jolly old elf.

Disneyland Yesterday

Conner and I did it again. We went to Disneyland yesterday. We ventured into the Disney park and went on Buzz, Whinnie the Pooh, Roger Rabbit (YUCK!!), ran around Toon Town, then went on Monsters twice. My hips are killing me and I am dragging today.

Can someone (Tonya) please tell me where the camera is on this ride so I don't look like a moron anymore!!!

Conner hasn't been on this one in a while and you can tell he was a little frightened.

Conner's Dislikes

I just ate a whole package of graham crackers dunked in milk- by myself. Just to clarify- I ate a package within the box, not the whole box.

Grandma Owens was wondering (a little sarcastically I'm afraid) whether there was anything food-wise that Conner did not like.

Here is a list of foods he is "currently not liking"

• jello
• tuna fish sandwich
• beef stew
• any cooked vegetable (except for peas and sometimes brocolli)
• charbroiled chicken
• toast with jelly (he only eats off the jelly- but he likes cinnamon toast- go figure)
• bananas

I know the list is larger. I will have to add things as I think of them or as he tries them.

Some things that he really loves are berries, dried apple chips, soy yogurt, tortillas, and chili lime chicken. Oh, and he tried a sucker (grape flavored) for the first time today and he absolutely LOVED that. He kept it in his mouth for like 10 minutes, just sucking on it and drooling all over. Then he bit into it and chewed the last part up. He laughed when he did this. I asked him if it was yummy and he said, "yummy!"

Nursery at Church

Remember how I said that sometimes Conner is ok with me leaving him in nursery and sometimes he isn't? Well, yesterday he wasn't. He screamed really high and loud and reached his arms out for me as I handed him off to Moranda. I had tried the play with him for a while method and it seemed to have worked until I tried to sneak out...thus the emotional hand off.
Little did I know, he cried for like two seconds then she put him down and he went off to play.
When Josh and I picked him up at the end of our meetings the teachers all greeted us with an, "He's so enthusiastic and happy!!" I guess the teachers would ask if they all wanted to sing a song and Conner would yell, "Yay" and run around clapping- he followed with the same response for everything they asked (Do you want to pray, learn about the Holy Ghost, etc.) I don't know if any of you have heard him say Amen at the end of a prayer- lets just say it's extremely loud and deliberate.
I guess he also made his way over to the snack tables and sat down while everyone was still playing and he clicked his tongue...which means he wanted to eat. When they finally ate, he kept doing the sign for "more" and saying "more". They weren't sure what he was doing but they thought it was cute.
It is heartwarming to me to know that he is a pleasure and not a terror. I know, I know; he still has time to become a terror- heaven forbid.

Ouch

Just a quick blog to say that today was quite mellow- except when Conner smacked his eye on our magazine holder (see picture, next to his left eye). And yes, this is another picture of Conner sneaking into the fridge. Stinker!

Gentian Violet Dye

Some of you may recall Gentian Violet from biology. I had some put into my ear this morning as plan B to clearing up the yeast in my right ear. Right now it is itching 10 times worse than it did before. I guess it has to get worse before it gets better.

This is the same medication used to clear up thrush in a baby's mouth and on the women's you know whats. It has a tendency to stain...as you can see from this poor kid to the right.

Cotton Candy

Yes, as Toby said, I forgot to mention Conner's cotton candy experience. Yesterday was his very first time trying cotton candy. I handed him a handful he stuck some in his mouth then he whipped his head around to look at me with big round eyes. Then he smiled from ear to ear and shoved some more into his mouth. Yeah, he really liked it a lot. Then he proceeded to run around like crazy for about 15 minutes. Then he crashed. All pooped out from the sugar and the day. All he could do was stare off into space.

Wild Animal Park

Conner got his first taste of live animals today at the Wild Animal Park down in San Diego. Josh took the day off and we all went with Rae, Toby, Owen, Sydney, Lauren, and Holt. I think the coolest thing for us was going on the Safari Ride-which drives you around the major exhibits with a quide who explains a lot about the animals and the park. Conner didn't really care much about this part. He walked all over the enclosed tram (for 30 minutes) and climbed up and down on the seats. We hoofed it around to the elephants, gorillas, and condors. The elephants were Conner's absolute favorite of the park. He kept making elephant noises and pointing and saying WOW! Josh loved the Cheetahs and the Rhino. I thought the lions and the lion cubs were really amazing.

Conner did not take a nap the whole time we were there (from 10am until 4:30pm-he woke up at 7am) but slept all the way back to the OC- where we stopped at Chili's to eat. He was a monster because he was SO hungry. He would cry at the drop of a hat and I had to take him outside to walk around. Josh took over for a while until our food came- then it was smooth sailing and he was content eating tortillas and beans. After that he was koo koo happy!! Hyper spazz!! (Over tired). We got him to bed about 45 minutes ago and he hasn't made a peep.

We forgot our camera...so I will post pictures once Raechal gives me access to hers...

Oh yeah- as for us old people...we are a little tired to say the least. I can tell you I am gonna have sore hips tonight trying to sleep and Josh's back is a little tight. Man that place is hilly!! I think it was harder for me going down the hills (from being pregnant) than going up. Anyways, I was stoked to get so much exercise despite the pain!! I am trying to keep THIS baby under 10 pounds!! Do you think the Paradise Pie (brownie with ice cream and chocolate sauce) that I got "to go" from Chili's will help me in this plight? HA!!

What another fabulous day!!

Quack Quack

Raechal and I went to Disneyland on Friday with our kids and had a so much fun. Note to selves: When going on the giant Ferris Wheel in Disney Adventure Park DO NOT go in the swinging cages...opt for the non-swinging!!! Conner, Raechal, and I were scared (which is weird cuz both Rae and I like Roller Coasters), Sydney could care less, and Owen was a little scared but laughing and smiling. Conner was much better on Monsters, Inc. He didn't hold on to me and he looked all around while sitting on my lap.

I made plans for Josh, Conner, and me to go for a walk around the lake this morning and took along some stale cereal and crackers to feed the ducks. Conner loves to make duck sounds and he thought it was so cool to feed them. We made it all the way around the lake (one mile) and it only took us an hour and forty five minutes. Hee Hee. Conner likes to dawdle. I thought it was wonderful. He would stop and check out the world around him, make noises, talk, jump, run, and just be a kid. It was really fun to watch him and be patient enough not to care that it was taking forever to go around. He makes us unbelievably happy.

A Little Leap Year 101

The 365 days of the annual calendar are meant to match up with the solar year. A solar year is the time it takes the Earth to complete its orbit around the Sun—about one year. The actual time it takes for the Earth to travel around the Sun is 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds. So the calendar and the solar year don't completely match.
After four years the four extra quarter days make the calendar fall behind the solar year by a day. Over a century, the difference would be 25 days!

The Egyptians were the first to add a leap day once every four years. Later, the Romans adopted this solution designated February 29 as the leap day.

The exact length of a solar year is 11 minutes and 14 seconds less than 365 ¼ days. So, even if you add a leap day every four years, the calendar would still overshoot the solar year by 11 minutes and 14 seconds per year. After 128 years, the calendar would gain an extra day.

Calendar Correction, Part II
The creators of our calendar (the Gregorian Calendar, introduced in 1582) omitted leap years three times every four hundred years; a century year is not a leap year unless it is evenly divisible by 400. This rule manages to eliminate three leap years every few hundred years. Now the calendar year and the solar year are just about a half a minute off. It takes 3,300 years for the calendar year and solar year to diverge by a day.

Leap Year Traditions/Stats
When the rules of courtship were stricter, women were only allowed to pop the question on one day every four years. That day was February 29th.
In the United States, some people have referred to this date as Sadie Hawkins Day with women being given the right to run after unmarried men to propose.
There is a Greek superstition that claims couples have bad luck if they marry during a leap year. Only 0.0684% of the world's population are Leapers (born on Leap Day).

Conner's New Favorite Movie

Monsters, Inc.

Happy Valentine's Everyone!

Happy Valentine's everyone.

Just had to let you all know what a great guy Josh is. He was feeling a little bad after that Valentine's party the other night..something about The Newlywed game we played and the lack of thought when it comes to gift giving. Not a big deal really-especially compared to some of the other husbands. I mean come on, paintball pants?! Hee Hee.

But for this Valentine's, despite being bogged down at work with some detailed reports, he went to a lot of trouble to find me a gift he thought I would really like. First, last night, he got me giant chocolate covered strawberries- and he hasn't eaten any of them himself. Then this morning, he left a gift and card on the stairs. When I came across them, he told me that he did a lot of research on the internet (on Oprah.com of all places) and had heard about this book (Eat Pray Love) on the radio...he thought it would match my personality and uplift my spirits. I am really looking forward to reading it.

I have to say, he did a fantastic job and I am just way more impressed with his thought and effort than anything. He is too sweet for words and always full of surprises. I love my guy with all my heart!

I WAS RIGHT!!

Remember a while back when I said that I was constantly craving sweets and that I thought I had an overgrowth of yeast in my system? By the way, this is very common in women who have been or are pregnant. There are multiple other symptoms...

I was right! And it is currently affecting my ears. They are super itchy all the time- I am sure I have grossed many people out by having my pinky finger in my ear all the time (YUCK- SORRY!) Anyways- I itched a little too much (with a Q-Tip), and made my ear swell and ooze- even yummier. I couldn't hear out of it for about two weeks. Well, I finally went to the doc today and he confirmed my suspisions. He sucked out the gunk and sprayed boracic powder in there to make it acidic (to kill the overgrowth). I was super dizzy after he sucked and sprayed...it felt really kooky. But, now I can hear!! Yipee. I have a follow up appt. next week and he will do the same thing and then give me some oil drops to start promoting natural wax production.

What a relief, in so many different ways!!

If I did, Sorry to gross you out.

Owen's B-day

We celebrated Owen and Raechal's b-day last night at our weekly Grandma's and Grandpa's house Sunday dinner. Sharon makes the best Tacos- anyone who knows this tradition will agree. Then, Owen opened presents and we ate cake. The Owens' have another tradition of makeing "MUSH". Which is just white b-day cake mushed with vanilla ice cream. I prefer my cake drowning in a bowl of ice cold milk (I also love cornbread the same way- with honey). To each his own.


Then I had Josh take a pic of me so those of you who haven't seen me in a while could see how large my belly is. Do you think this horizontal striped shirt makes me look fat?? Ha Ha.

Last Minute Disneyland Plans

Conner and I went to Disneyland today on a last minute decision. He seemed to be feeling a lot better yersterday, so I thought I'd get him to the park today. This time we went into California Adventure Park that wasn't quite as busy and has a lot of rides for Toddlers. We went on Monster's, Inc. twice- which he was a little nervous about but kept saying and signing "More" when it would stop. Then we went to A Bug's Life area and went on all kinds of things in there- which he LOVED. Then I took him over to the Zephyr- which I thought he would be scared of but wasn't (and he loved it too). And our last ride of the day was on King Triton's Carasoul. He rode a purple seal and had a pretty good time. He slept on the car ride home- but woke up when we got there and didn't want to take a real nap in his bed...boy is he gonna be tired tonight at FHE with Josh's family.
I forgot to say that one of my favorite things about some of the rides is that they also have smells!! Like in Monsters, Inc. when you go into the sushi place you can smell ginger and when you go by the Snow Monster's door and he offers you lemon snow cones- you smell lemon. Pretty cool!

Friday Valentine

This Friday night we were supposed to stop in at the Duffy's wedding but Conner was really grumpy that day from being SO sick and took a really long nap (past 5- which was the starting time for the wedding). So, when he finally woke up, we took him over to Raechal's and Toby's house so they could watch him for a few hours while we went to a Valentine's party at our friend's Sarah and Jon. Our worried thoughts about Conner soon faded as laughter and good food filled us up. I really don't think I have laughed that hard in a long long time!! I got to learn a lot of funny things about everyone. What a great time.
We took a couple of Sarah's yummy cupcakes to Rae and Toby to thank them for babysitting. They said Conner was a little grumpy and really clinging on Toby but that he went to bed right away and went right to sleep. All is well in the Owens' home...

Bugs!

Grandma came over for a long visit yesterday while Conner was napping. We got a lot of chatting done and then Conner got up. He was so excited to see that Grandma brought him a Valentine's present and had to open it right away. He sat on top of the present as we were trying to put it up...so it took a little longer than it should have but as you can see the finished product is loved by all. It's our new BUG TENT!!

Sickness

So I started coming down with something last thursday. My throat was a little soar, but I thought it was because of my ear infection. Then I started coughing and had zero energy. Believe it or not, Sunday was my worst day. Josh got up with Conner and let me sleep the WHOLE day (I slept in and then took a nap when Conner went down for his nap). I went to the Super Bowl party feeling a little better. That night, Conner woke up crying and I went in to find him with a raging fever! I gave him some Tylenol and rocked him back to sleep. He has had a fever since but no other symptoms (except tired grumpiness)- until this morning- now he has a cough. Now, at least I know that he does have something going on...not just some crazy fever for 3 days.

Hopefully we can kick it soon and get back to the park and Disneyland!

Owen and Sydney came over this morning for a short time and he had fun hanging out with them.

Party Party Party

The last week has been full of excitement as Josh and I ventured out for a little socializing. On friday, we enjoyed a night with friends at a "LOST" premiere party. I myself, am not a fan, but Josh LOVES the show. Luckily, there was an hour recap so I had some sort of idea what was going on. There was lots of tasty food- I think the trifle was my favorite- and lots of fun people and games. What a fun night.

The next night we got to spend with my sister in law Raechal and her hubby Toby. I wasn't feeling very good...but I always enjoy hanging out with them. We were lucky enough to get to do an audit together for a community group we belong to called The Grange. It really wasn't as bad as it sounds...we had a great time actually. The next day was spent breaking the sabbath by going to a Superbowl Party at friends. We got to BBQ even though it was yucky outside. The men watched the game, the ladies talked in the kitchen, and the kids played all over! All in all, it was a fabulous get together. I ate way too many brownies!! I did actually watch the end of the game where the Giants came back to win in an upset over the Patriots!! Pretty impressive!

Soaking Wet at Disneyland

Here is a picture of some of us girls and our children at Disneyland for Avery's Birthday in January. We are leaving the park because it poured on us! Still a fun day!!

Malt O' Meal & Berries

The Pole Ex!

Most of you should know by now that "AAAGHGHG" is Conner's favorite movie. What, you've never heard of this title?? Let me decipher-"All Aboard!" is what he is saying and this means he wants to watch the Polar Express- NOW! As all typical toddlers, he wants to watch his favorite movie on repeat all day and all night long. I have learned to tune it out- or repeat all the words in my head- whichever I feel like at the moment. But poor Josh has had enough! We went to Costco last night to pick up a few other options that Josh hopes he will pick up on. Monsters, Inc. and Alladin made it home with us and we even tried to get Conner to watch Monsters, Inc. a couple of times...but still...he says "AAAAGHGHG" and points to the TV, then starts crying and falls to his knees. Maybe I will give Alladin a try later on today.

This is a picture of daddy trying to get Conner interested in Monsters, Inc. and this is Conner saying "AAAGHGH".

Playgroup at my house

Despite having a tiny play area, we had lots of friends over for play group on Tuesday because we figured the parks would still be too wet. It was pretty loud but I think everyone had a good time. At one point, all the kids decided they needed a snack, so they sat down at the bench to eat together (minus Sydney and Karah- who were a little too small to fit in with the bigger kids).

Here Kitty Kitty

We have had a kitty kat coming around our porch quite a bit lately and Conner gets really excited to go out to see him. It is my chance to get some cuddly kitty time too- because Josh is severely allergic and we can't have cats. The kitty is super soft and tame- so I am assuming he is someone's house cat that just comes to visit us (drawn by our bird feeder). I haven't actually checked to see if he is a boy or girl (from scars etc.) so we just call him a he. Conner isn't quite sure what to do when the cat rubs up against him but he braves it every once in while and reaches out to pet him. Pretty cute.

Who is this Man?

No, he's not a former prophet or inventor of anything...he is the man who gave the name to pre-birth contractions- Braxton Hicks.
Cause
Braxton Hicks contractions is a tightening of the uterine muscles for one to two minutes and is thought to be an aid to the body in its preparation for birth. Not all expectant mothers have these contractions. They are thought to be part of the process of effacement, the thinning and dilation of the cervix.
History
Braxton Hicks are named after the English doctor who first described them. In 1872, John Braxton Hicks investigated the latter stages of pregnancy and noted that many women felt contractions without being near birth. This process was usually painless but caused women confusion as to whether or not they were going into actual labor. It has since been found that Braxton Hicks' contractions are much less noticeable during exercise, whereas real contractions are not.
Worsening factors
Dehydration is thought to be a contributing factor in extended Braxton Hicks contractions.
Relieving factors
Methods for ceasing Braxton Hicks contractions include: changing position; taking a warm bath or shower; drinking water; resting; or changing activities.

Just in case you couldn't figure it out, mine started-about a week ago...and happen several times a day. Not painful, they really just feel weird. They affect my lungs first- I feel like my muscles are squeezing my lungs and then my tummy muscles tighten up real hard. Weird but cool. Guess I need to drink more water and work out more.