Ready to Play Ball....

Just love him.

What We've Been Up To....

We've been pretty busy around here and it's been all about friends and family lately! Let me see if I can recap it all.....

We spent the weekend of the 24th of July up in Logan with Collin and Traci Rothey.  We watched a parade, went on a hike, had a BBQ, and played one of our new favorite games, Scum.  We love the Rotheys and wish they lived closer!

 Owen's first hike.

Last weekend we had a Denney family reunion, which was fun for me because I got to meet several of the Denney peeps I hadn't met before. I married into a great family!

After the reunion we headed up to a cabin  in Eden, Utah with a bunch of friends.  It was kind of a final hurrah for everyone before Sky & Mel, Rob & Rach, and Mark moved away for graduate school.  The boys golfed, girls played tetris (yeah we are gamers), we made pizzas on the grill, and stayed up playing card games way too late. 

We also said goodbye to the Baumans this week, who are off to start their adventure in California.  They've been such great friends.  I really don't like that so many of our good friends have moved away over the last couple of years.... everyone please move back. Thanks.

Brett and I have been training for the Las Vegas Ragnar Relay in October. Brett just ran his farthest distance EVER, six miles, with me on Saturday.  He really hated running before this Ragnar thing, I still don't know how I convinced him to do it.

Other than that, Brett's been putting in lots of hours at work.  He's even working from home several nights a week.  But he loves his job (he moved from a buyer's assistant position to an analyst role), and it's great experience for him.

Of course Brett still has time to snuggle and watch TV with his buddy.

Speaking of the little man...Owen is working on sitting up (he can do about 5-10 seconds before he tips over), holds his bottle all by himself (amazing for us!), rolling all over the place, and he loves him some rice cereal + applesauce.  He sleeps like a champ through the night, but we are still working on napping.  Some days he takes two long naps, some days it's just one long nap with a couple of mini naps, and other days it's a cat-napping day all day.  I cherish the days he chooses to take longer naps:)  And I'm still waiting for Brett's buddy Todd, who claims to be a professional napper, to follow through on his offer to take Owen for a day and show him how it's done.

Our little all-star is growing up

Oh, and my mom left this morning to go back to Colorado.  She's been here all week attending convention for her bookstore.  I wish she lived closer...it was so nice to have her around. 

Okay, that was a little long winded but I think I got it all.

5 months......

How in the world is our little Owen already 5 months old?  He just gets more and more fun every day! He's got so much personality and definitely has an opinion about things. 

Everything and anything he touches go straight to his mouth, especially his hands. He's even becoming a thumb-sucker

He likes limes just like his momma....he totally went to town on it.

 

He loves to play with this ball, it's a great distraction in the car. We're hoping this is a sign of some athletic skill?!?

 

Like I said, he always has something in his mouth, even if it's his shirt collar while he's sleeping.

 

At Owen's four month appointment he weighed 14 lbs and was 24 1/2 in. long.

I swear, he feels and looks bigger than that, especially when he's sprawled out in his crib.

 

He's changing and growing so fast, almost too fast.  I already miss how tiny, sleepy, and snugly he was as a newborn.

(All pics were taken with my phone, sorry about the poor quality)

Denney's Christmas in July

The 4th of July has been known as "Christmas in July" for the Denney family. It's usually the only time everyone gets together. Thursday we headed to Denver for a jam packed weekend of fun and celebration for the 4th. All 17 of us camped out at Craig & Sheri's. We BBQ'd with the Thornton's at their lake, watched Fireworks, the boys golfed, hit up Waterworld, played games, took family photos, ate entirely too much, and slept way too little. That's what family vaca's are about.

Thanks Craig and Sheri for the fun!

I love to hear Owen's giggles, even if I make a fool of myself trying.

Now if I could just get him to keep his hands out of his mouth!

These Guys.....

have been friends since their freshman year at BYU, some, even longer that that.

they've played on the same intramural softball team together, The Lost Boys, for who knows how long. But spring after spring, and summer after summer, they play. I feel like they are the grown up boys from The Sandlot.

they all travel long distances to be there when one of them gets married. Like this wedding in Sacramento for Cory & Bree.

they digress significantly in maturity when they get together (a direct quote from Melissa), and so true.

they do things like this....sometimes Brett even gets into a little bit of trouble with them (ask me about his most recent shenanigans he pulled with his friends).

They call themselves The Family. I guess that's what they've been for each other through college.

Lucky for me, I really like these guys. I got to know them pretty well when Brett and I were dating. We were always doing things with his friends. Some of them are married now too, and have awesome wives. So we can put up with them together!

This last weekend in Sacramento I just kept thinking about what great friends they are. I think their friendship is pretty unique and pretty rare, especially for guys.

I hope it never changes for them.


Since Brett would never get all sentimental about his friends, I thought I would.

Happy First Father's Day!

Brett was lucky enough to spend his first Father's Day DRIVING all day (we were on our way back from California). Let's just say he didn't get to relax, get pampered, or even get his favorite meal the like he should have. We will just have to re-celebrate next Sunday.

Happy First Father's Day Brett. Thank you for driving us home safely:) Thanks for being a great husband and great dad to Owen-WE LOVE YOU!
PS...You are one handsome fella!

Rice Cereal, Yum!

We sat Owen in his bumbo the first time we tried to feed him rice cereal, but he wasn't having it. He was spitting it out and gagging. So the next night Brett suggested we try feeding it to him while he's in the tub, his happy place. It worked like a charm and he gobbled it ALL up.

Fun With the Fam

Last weekend we drove home to Alamosa for my youngest brother Justin's high school graduation and Memorial Day weekend. The whole family was there, which meant my parents were in heaven! The last time we were all together there were only 2 grandchildren for them to love on, this time there were 5.

Justin and Crew. He's so great with the little ones! I can't believe he is graduated from High School and getting ready for his mission. He should get his call next week!!!

All of us at my Grandma Sally's Playing down by the River

My grandma's first time meeting Owen! Memorial Day we all went to visit my Grandpa's grave.

Gracelyn and Owen Owen with his new twin cousins Tenley (left) and Quincy (right). They are just 6 weeks. Owen looks like a tank next to them:) Owen and I stayed a whole week in Alamosa, as well as Spence and Car and their girls. Everyone else left Memorial Day. It was so great to just relax at home, spend time together, and take care of babies together....that really is all we did. I loved it.

Owen did pretty good for his first time traveling. He hardly slept on the drive out, but he didn't scream the entire way like I thought he might (since he loves his car seat so much). We flew back to Salt Lake and he did great, slept the whole way! I did struggle just a little trying to get through the airport by myself with Owen, a stroller, car seat, luggage to check, diaper bag, etc. but I'll take the 1 1/2 hr flight over the 8 hr car ride ANY day!!!

Here are some recent favs of Owen....

Pool Time

A friend invited us to a little play date at the Lehi Legacy Pool. Owen loved the water. It was nice and warm, just like his tubby, so I figured he'd like it.

Ready to get in the water....

I sent the above picture to Brett while he was at work. His response was "what is he wearing??" Ha. The pool we were at required all kids under 3 to wear a little swimmers diaper and these hideous plastic diapers as well. I didn't even bother with the trunks (even with double duty diapers they would have fallen off)

We pretty much just sat and played in the water like this the whole time.
Don't worry, I didn't dunk his head under....neither of us are quite ready for that. Owen slept the rest of the afternoon and went to bed at 7:15pm. I guess "swimming" tuckered him out!!

Car Seat Dilemma

Owen has this new thing where he hates his car seat. As soon as we start to put him in it, he loses it. He knows exactly what's going on and is basically tellings us, "Don't put me in this stupid thing!" He'll cry until he falls asleep, gets a lil' power nap in (which doesn't last long) and as soon as he wakes up, he loses it again. He'll start with a fuss to nicely let us know he'd like out. And from there it escalates into an aweful cry that just sounds painful.

We have a wedding to go to in Sacramento next month and actually thought about driving. Owen is clearly voicing his opinion on the matter.

Aside from the car seat tantroms, he's such a sweet baby.

PS....the little bit of hair that this lil' guy does have, is looking red or red-ish! Even his eyebrows have a tint of red.

Just Cry it Out....

I didn't know how hard letting your baby "cry it out" would be. IT. IS. HARD.

Last night was the first night we let Owen cry through the night. Our room is so close to Owen's nursery that we had to put ear plugs in (i know it sounds harsh). They were useless for me though..there was no way I could go back to sleep knowing he was crying. I eventually just took them out and laid in bed, just listening to him cry.

When he finally stopped crying (and yes, they really do stop), I had to go check on him. Check for breathing, make sure he was ok. Sure enough he was sound asleep again. I felt so bad I just wanted to scoop him up and snuggle him while he slept. I fought the urge though.

I've heard some moms say they can't stand to let their babies cry it out, that it literally makes them sick, or they are in tears too. I completely understand why now. My stomach was in knots.

Owen usually goes to bed at 8:30pm and wakes up at 3:30am or 4:00am. I'm hoping it doesn't take too many nights of "crying it out" before he is sleeping completely through the night.

When did all you other mothers start letting your babies cry through the night?

SWAGGER WAGON

We might just be a mini van family after all.....if its the swagger wagon:)

Ramblings on a Friday Night

We are watching the Jazz/Nuggets game. Well, I'm not really watching. I'm blogging instead.

We just put Owen to bed and I'm fighting the urge to go get him and snuggle him while he sleeps. Instead, I'll just think about him and share a little bit about him.

OWEN.....

He is super SMILEY. I love his smiles and I am dying to hear him giggle!

He is happiest in the morning (definitely doesn't get this from his dad, lol).

He is sleeping through the night! It's fabulous and gives me a new appreciation for sleep.

When the kid gets hungry he has very little patience...he wants his milk NOW

He's already a mama's boy and I LOVE it.

He burps, passes gas, and poops like a champ! He's such a boy.

Likes to hear his dad whistle (the Denneys are whistlers)

He's real good at spitting up all over me

He doesn't like laying on his tummy

He likes sucking on his fist or hand...they're starting to replace the Binky

He gets fixated on lights.

He's been to church twice and was surprisingly reverent.

He enjoys car rides, but only for about 10 minutes before he want to get out.

His hair is actually growing. We might be able to do some "styling" soon.

Likes to do tricks with his dad (aka balancing acts)

He's figured out the "fake cry"

But gets tears now when it's real.

Loves his swing.

Still loves bath time.

Did I mention he likes to smile??? I can't get enough of these...

I LOVE being a mom and I am SO glad I've decided to stay at home with Owen. I was considering going back to work part-time. But when it came down to it, I couldn't imagine leaving my lil' guy. I miss people though. I'm such a people person. It's kind of an adjustment from being around people all day every day to being at home alone, talking to a baby all day. (Just to be clear, I absolutely LOVE Owen, love talking to him, cooing and babbling with him) Please tell me some of you mothers understand?

Most of the time, I read while Owen is napping. The Denney's would be proud. When Brett and I were dating, I wasn't familiar with the book Marvin K Mooney Will You Please Go Now! by Dr. Seuss, so they assumed I didn't read as a child, or as an adult (but I really do)! I'm trying to develop some other hobbies/talents too. Any suggestions? Any book suggestions too?

I look forward to evenings and weekends when we can all 3 be together. I wait anxiously for Brett to get home from work. And weekends are the best because we get two whole days of Brett, it's so great!! Now all we need is some warm, sunny weather so we can play outside.

Well I guess that's enough rambling for one night.

I love my baby boy. I love my husband. I love being a mom. Life is good.

Officially a Graduate

Brett's officially a College Grad

Both of our parents were in town to celebrate! (also here for Owen's baby blessing)Matt and Bailey Bauman with Brett and Owen.

Our college days are officially over. Even though I graduated 4 years ago (yikes that makes me feel old--and for those wondering, I'm only 6 months older than Brett!) I've felt like I've still been living "college life" since Brett's still been in school. But those days are officially over. I guess that means we are grown ups. Oh, and we have a kid now so I guess that makes us grown ups too.

Lately....

Owen has discovered his tongue and is obsessed!

My dad came to visit for a quick weekend trip to finally meet Owen!!!

And Owen finally got to meet Great Grandma Denney

Owen will be 2 months old this week. He's getting too big too fast!

You Gotta Try These...

I usually try to avoid the candy isle at the grocery store...otherwise I buy a big bag of Peanut Butter M&M's and eat them ALL in just a couple of days! Basically I have to avoid it because I have no self control! But today at the store, I gave in. I walked down that isle. I'm so glad I did though because I discovered these special edition Strawberried Peanut Butter M&M's. They are super yummy. Go get yourself a bag!

Owen's First Photo Shoot

One of my best friends, Tami Judd, is in town for the week. She is a great photographer so I had to have her snap some pics of little Owen. Go here for a preview of the shoot! I love them!

Thanks Tami!

Mr. Smiley

I love this lil' guy and his sweet lil' smile!