The Trouble With School

This week sucked. I'll just come out and say that. Some days are good and some days are hard, and this week the hard days overcame the good. We met with Autism Journeys. It's a therapy place in Lehi for kids with autism. They focus on socialization skills mostly, using Floor Time and kind of downplayed ABA therapy. The people were nice but it didn't feel right. So far, we've been implementing ABA therapy using this website the Psychologist at the Pingree school recommended and it's really great. I think this may be the best approach for Holds. We have an appointment this week with the school district to see what they can recommend for him. Anyway, so after he went there he was just so keyed up - that night he was just a crazy person. He gets really stressed out when anything or any place is introduced. Especially one that is stressful or intimidating.

Anyway, so then this week he had a program at his preschool. So far this school has been awesome for him. They are very structured, the teachers are AWESOME, it's regimented so he's used to it, they are really sweet to him and encouraging, and it's really nice. Dr. Peterson said as long as he's experiencing "wins" there, keep him there. He said the Pingree school is better for kids who are less high-functioning. But if he regresses, we should consider it. Did I mention that this Pingree school is $25,500 for a year? For preschool. My entire University education - including my stint at Cambridge University - was less than that.

Anyway, I'm getting off point. So I went to his preschool Spring program and it was just absolutely heartbreaking. Holden just got so scared that all the parents were there. It was completely overwhelming for him. He barely engaged in the songs. And he burst into tears the moment it was over and begged to go home.



That night he peed his pants twice. I think it's because he was just stressed out. I know that happens to 3 year olds occasionally, but it never happens to Holden. He's too big of a perfectionist. He hates making mistakes so it made it even more traumatic for him.

That's all. I'm sad this week. And that's all there is to say today.

The Assessment

I'm happy to report that Holds is doing very well on the full GAPS diet. Intro/detox was hard but he's thriving on the full diet. He sits happily eating carrots, drinking beet/carrot/lettuce/apple juice, cheese and meat. Now that there is a variety, he's happy. And I love the fruit is a huge reward to him.

Me? It's not as easy. I've been sick and tired all week. I caught a cold and had a bunch of other issues I will not disturb you with. Wes just feels achy. But I have to admit that most of my issues are mental. It's REALLY hard to make every single meal from scratch. It's tiring. It takes so much time. I work for 10ish hours a day and then cook for another 4. But seeing Holden actually eat things that are super healthy for him is a big payoff. But I have a lot of sympathy for people who have to go gluten free now. Baked goods just don't turn out the same using coconut and almond flour. But at least I have my sour cream :)

We've been doing this diet for a week and I'm hoping it starts feeling a little more normal soon. Today was a great day. We had hamburgers for dinner wrapped in lettuce, rather than a bun. Holden ate 3! They were so good.

Anyway - that's the diet update.

Today we met with the psychologist at the Carmen B. Pingree school. Everyone there was so unbelievably kind. I loved it there. They have a really long waiting list, but the doctor thinks Holden is too high-functioning for the school anyway. At least for now. But I got on the list anyway, in case he regresses or something. He told us what we already knew - Holden has high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder.

He has trouble emotionally and socially connecting with others, particularly his peers. Jabber is 70% of his language base, but he didn't score as language deficient because he just barely passes. The doctor encouraged us to use ABA therapy to help close the gap between what he's doing and what other kids his age are doing. Same thing for what he's not doing that other kids can do. When he was talking I just kept remembering all the things I studied being a Psychology major. I mean we focused mostly on Behaviorism at USU but it seems so counter-intuitive when it's your kid and not a pigeon or a lab rat that I'm working with.

But he gave us a lot of great advice and information to consider. We have several more appointments this month and then we'll be able to make our decision on the best therapy for him.

GAPS Intro Diet: Stage 1 - 3

We started our Intro to GAPS diet this weekend, on Friday. Holden woke up and immediately asked for "chockit milk" to which I replied "Holden, remember chocolate milk was part of the toxic jungle, so we threw it out in the garbage?!" His face fell. And he ran to the door and said "open the door, open the door!" I don't doubt that if he had been allowed outside in the freezing cold he would have figured out a way to climb inside the garbage to retrieve his cereal and chocolate milk.

The first day wasn't bad. I had a work lunch and had to sit and drink water while everyone had Iggy's, but I had eaten my homemade chicken veggie soup before and I was satisfied. Holden skipped breakfast but then finally ate some soup with Wes for lunch. I was sick of chicken soup after just one day of it for every meal and decided to make a different kind of soup. Holden skipped that as well.

Here's our GAPS Diet Intro: Stage 1 menu

Breakfast – Chicken Soup (chicken, carrots, squash, zucchini, garlic) w/ sour cream
Snack – Ginger tea with honey
Lunch – Chicken Soup (chicken, carrots, squash, zucchini, garlic) w/ sour cream
Snack – Chicken Broth
Dinner – Farmer’s Market Chicken (rutabaga, roma tomatoes, parsnips, leeks, baby spinach leaves). w/ sour cream
Snack – Sour cream with honey

And probiotics - therapeutic strength.

GAPS Intro Diet Stage 2
Saturday was a different story. I woke up with my heart racing so fast it was like I had sprinted for a mile. I couldn't calm it down. I was shaking really bad and I just kept thinking "Whelp, this is die-off" I threw up and everything and was just really, really weak most of the day. And then I did what any responsible 30ish mom would do: I called my mother. Who came promptly and took care of me and my boys. My dad worked on my garden and my mom helped us all day. They're amazing. Holden slept in until 10:30 and was irrational and frustrated all day. And he put himself on a starvation diet - not eating anything. We could barely get him to drink water. Apparently this is somewhat common. There are a lot of blogs out there where people are talking about getting through GAPS and kids just don't like change. It's really tough.

Where was Wes in all this? Wes has not experience ANY die-off symptoms, which means he has a good balance of the good bacteria. He thinks this is due to the 2 years he spent in Bulgaria drinking yogurt for every meal. Makes sense to me. Here's what I ate on Stage 2 (we are moving through the intro pretty quickly.)

Here's our GAPS Diet Intro: Stage 2 menu

Breakfast – Cooked vegetables with soft boiled eggs
Snack – Mint tea w/ honey
Lunch – Farmer’s Market Chicken (rutabaga, roma tomatoes, parsnips, leeks, baby spinach leaves). Serve with avocado, soft boiled eggs, and yogurt.
Snack – Chicken broth
Dinner – Farmer’s Market Chicken (leftover) with eggs
Snack – Sour cream with honey

We backed off the probiotics on Holds on Sunday (day 3) to see if that helped. He was still very weak from not eating anything. He still refused the broth and soup. His general language was unintelligible today. He screamed in jabber and muttered a lot. It was frightening. I tried to catch it on video but he stopped right before I took this.



We got him to eat a few bites of chicken today. And for supper he had a few bites of chicken soup and vegetables and we rewarded him with some strawberries.

Here's our GAPS Diet Intro: Stage 3 menu

Breakfast – Smoothie (2 eggs, fresh apple juice, carrot juice, and yogurt)
Snack – Soft boiled eggs and mint tea
Lunch – Swedish Gravlax (skinless, boneless salmon fillet, salt, water, honey, and ground pepper – leave at room temperature for 1-1 ½ hours). Mashed cauliflower.
Dinner – Chicken Tortilla Soup (chicken broth, stewed tomatoes, chicken, sweet pepper, avocado, cilantro, egg yolk and sour cream) with a couple strawberries
Snack – Pancakes (made with eggs, sunbutter, and zucchini) with honey.

Finally this evening I made the "pancakes" that's recommended on Stage 4 just to see what they were like. Holden saw me eating one and jumped off the couch. He hate one, then wanted another, then 2 more! I was SO happy to see him eating something. He went to bed full and I am going to bed more at ease!

Nausicaa and the Toxic Jungle

Dear Princess Nausicaa -

I wanted you to know that you helped me rid my house of cereal and processed junk today for my 3 year old son. My son Holden is Autistic, we think. And we're starting a very strict new way of eating, called the GAPS diet (Gut and Psychology System Diet). We are starting the diet tomorrow and had to rid our house of all the rest of the food we were hanging onto until the VERY LAST MINUTE. Namely, cereal and chocolate milk.

I couldn't have done it without you. As I was making my first batch of wholesome and organic chicken vegetable soup, I started talking to my son about how we're going to have to throw the cereal in the garbage. He started a major scream-fest, which is normal for him. But then your plight popped into my head. Holden LOVES your stories from the Valley of the Wind. He's constantly chattering about the Giant Warrior (pronounced by him "giant warriah!" and the "om shells" and the "toxic jungle."

So I started an elaboration and told him that cereal is part of the toxic jungle! It's actually making us sick and we need to throw it away and give it back to the Giant Warrior. Holden looked at me, quite interested in this idea and started talking about the toxic jungle too and how we need to keep the Giant Warrior buried beneath the earth.

Suddenly, he calls out to me "I'm stuck, I'm stuck, put the cereal in the garbage." He wanted to get down and throw the cereal away - all on his own! So we went outside talking about getting rid of the toxic cereal and he dumped his favorite cereal right in the garbage! Then I gave him the next box, and the next and he did the same. Then we came inside and I explained to him that chocolate milk was part of the Toxic Jungle too! We raced back outside and he threw the toxic chocolate milk into the garbage to pacify the Giant Warrior.

I think he'll be a little sad tomorrow when he can't have these favorites anymore, but I want to tell you how grateful I am for your help. I couldn't have done it without you. I also love your strong, confident spirit, your strong moral code and your fearless leadership. Holden and I are faithful servants to you, Princess.

Love and admiration,

Amber

I Can't Believe I Just Ate That Much Sour Cream

So I made my own sour cream yesterday. It's part of the GAPS diet that we are starting on Friday. Did you hear that? Friday. Are you ready for this? We're so ready for this. We cleaned out our pantry this weekend. Here's what that looked like.



Anyway, so back to the sour cream. You have to make sour cream from scratch because dairy items at the store haven't been fermented long enough to aid the digestion process. It's so easy to make and totally tastes amazing. You basically bring a liter of cream to a boil, then cool it down and add the yogurt culture. Then let it ferment for 24+ hours.

In what I've read Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride talks about sour cream like it's ice cream - she says you can add it with fruit for a delicious dessert. Every time I read that I just thought "gross!" Who wants to eat sour cream for dessert?

But then I made it and it's AMAZING. Well anything made from cream is amazing, so I guess even sour cream is delicious. Here's where I made a mistake - it tasted like such creamy wonderfulness that I put it in a cup, mixed it with some chocolate rice milk and had a little indulgence last night.

I put it in a cup and drank it.

I drank sour cream.

I drank a glassful of probiotic sour cream.

Needless to say, I spent A LOT of time in the bathroom today. Wes said to me "sour cream is a condiment, Amber, not a drink!" Today I went and re-read those sections of the book and you're supposed to introduce fermented dairy 1-2 teaspoons a day at first until your body gets used to it, eventually getting up to 1 cup a day.

Yea, I just sort of dive right into things.

Mother's Day Giveway: AKA "Who has the grossest mom car?"

I'll be honest. One of my favorite things about Facebook is the giveaways. In case you haven't noticed, companies are willing to give away A LOT in order to get fans to "like" their page - and they require VERY LITTLE in return. How hard it is to "like" a page? Or post a picture?

Here's one that I know about (cause I work for Saxton Horne): Larry H. Miller dealerships in Utah are giving away EACH a full car detail, valued at $200. It's called the: Mother’s Day CAR DETAIL Contest. AKA-- “Who Has the Grossest Mom-Car?”

Here’s how it works:
Step 1 - Submit a pic of your dirty car to any Larry H. Miller dealership
Step 2 - Tag yourself in the photo
Step 3 - Comment on your picture: “Help me win a Mother’s Day car detail from Larry H. Miller by liking this photo! Thanks guys!”
Whoever gets the most “likes” on their photo WINS!

My Explorer is pretty bad. Holden constantly kicks the back of the passenger seat causing skid marks all over it. And although we TRY not to eat in the car, it still gets corroded with dirt. And there is a strange sticky substance all over the back seat. I don't even want to know that that's about. And car seats RUIN leather. I know I'm not the only one in desperate need of a car detail.

SO go to one of these links (only one per person).


RCD - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Larry-H-Miller-Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram-Riverdale/196956963657196
MBL - http://www.facebook.com/LHMMercedesBenzLindon
LLX - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Larry-H-Miller-Lexus-Lindon/181212408588977
PCD - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Larry-H-Miller-Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram-Provo/122863427790511
PFL - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Larry-H-Miller-Ford-Lincoln-Provo/167531929963163
PCH - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Larry-H-Miller-Chevrolet-Provo/107854715966097?sk=wall
UCO - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Larry-H-Miller-Used-Car-Supermarket-Orem/132058436862731
BNT - http://www.facebook.com/larryhmillerbountiful
LEX - http://www.facebook.com/LHMLexusMurray
MUR - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Larry-H-Miller-Toyota-Scion-Murray/148856378480732
CHV - http://www.facebook.com/LarryHMillerChevrolet
HON - http://www.facebook.com/LHMHondaMurray
SFO - http://www.facebook.com/LarryHMillerFordSaltLakeCity
SFL - http://www.facebook.com/LarryHMillerFordLincolnSandy
LCJ - http://www.facebook.com/larryhmillerchryslerjeep
JSH - http://www.facebook.com/Stockton12Honda

Olivanders at 5 Months

Oliver Fitzgerald Warren is an UNBELIEVABLE baby. Like so good that I feel guilty bragging about how good he is. I feel like I need to convince you that I would still totally adore him if he fussed all the time and was high-maintenance. Because I totally would - but he is just the sweetest baby ever. He sleeps well, smiles all the time, loves to laugh - he even seems to enjoy it when Holds smothers him with kisses and laughs really loud in his ear.

He's incredible. If you haven't met him, you need to. Seeing him smile is like getting a 10,000 iu dose of Vitamin D. He's pure joy.

Gut and Psychology Syndrome

Do you have an open mind? I'm just saying - if you are reading this, I would suggest an open mind. The reality is that Wes and I are willing to try ANYTHING to help Holden succeed in life and be as productive, healthy and happy as possible.

As I've been researching Autism, one of the most influential theories I've read is the Gut and Psychology Syndrome. It's a theory by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, a Russian/English Neurologist/Nutritionist who believes that the reason so many kids have autism, food allergies, ADHD, etc is because of improper gut flora. You should read her paper on it to get a quick feel for the theory and what she's found in working with hundreds of Autistic kids.

She just published a book, called Gut And Psychology Syndrome. Natural Treatment Of Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Depression And Schizophrenia and check out this and it focuses just on Autism. I've even read on her website gaps.me that it's a great treatment for celiac and food allergies.

If you want to hear a quick introduction to her GAPS theory and hear her speak, check out this YouTube video.

The GAPS diet she recommends sounds pretty extreme at first, but that's just the introduction diet. The Full GAPS diet is basically eating healthy foods and avoiding additives that we all know we should avoid anyway, but we don't.

Her intro diet is casein and gluten free, but she slowly allows the introduction of other foods like raw milk and raw cheeses that have natural forms of casein.

Side note - it FREAKS me out that casein, a natural milk protein, has been taken out of where it is naturally found (breast milk, animal milk, etc) and been put into EVERYTHING. It's the same thing with gluten. Foods that have NO RIGHT to have gluten in it, have gluten in it. Did you know they put casein in hot dogs to plump them up? Deli meat? There isn't ONE food at McDonald's that doesn't have casein in it. It's seriously so unnatural and freaky what food scientists have done to our food.

So the GAPS diet is a purist diet - it seals the gut to prevent leaky gut syndrome and promotes good bacteria. There are stories out there of people healing their food allergies with this diet, healing autism, ADHD, and all sort of other issues.

We ordered the book and are just waiting for it to come. Y'all might think I'm crazy and this is just pie-in-the-sky. But the reality is - I will do ANYTHING for my son. Even put my entire family on a crazy, restrictive diet. Actually, Wes is just as excited as I am. I'm probably more addicted to sugar than he is, so the die-off period of the bad toxins will probably be worse for me than him.

I think I'm going to keep a videography on it and capture how it goes....

Autism: The Theories Behind the Cause

Every moment that I'm not at work or feeding/playing with my children, I find myself reading about Autism. Wes and I both are obsessed. I realized yesterday, as we were at the Gateway Mall hanging out with the kids, that our every conversation is about autism: what we've read lately, who we've talked to lately about it, which new theories we've researched. I think it will be this way for a long, long time.

We watched a documentary called "Decoding Autism" on Friday night. They went through a variety of theories and tests on it.

I didn't realize that when you have one kid on the spectrum your chances of having another are increased. Great. They talked a lot about whether it's environmental or genetics. Autism affects 1 in 70 boys. Did you know that? That seems high. Why is it so high?

It's a pretty controversial topic, where no one seems to listen to each other. Many doctors think it's genetic*, (*Note that this gene finding only accounts for 15% of autistic children). Parents blame vaccines. Others say it's pollution, toxins in our environment, and others say food allergies.

There are thousands of parents out there who firmly believe that their child was perfectly find and developing language normally but then got the MMR vaccine and regressed right after that. Doctors avidly dispute this, of course, and say it's just a correlation because the age when kids receive the MMR is the same age where autism can finally be noticed. I just find it interesting that everyone is talking and no one is agreeing.

I'll get into all the possible treatments another day, but some parents swear by restricting certain types of foods and that it has cured their children. Doctors say there is no evidence that this is the case. And they are right - because who would pay for a study about how taking out all additive foods can help with autism? KRAFT? I think not.

No, what they ARE spending money on are studies where the medical community benefits for being brilliant.

For example, they are studying brain patterns in little kids with older autistic siblings for early detection. They study electrical stimulation in these toddlers to see if they can identify Autism earlier.

The Institute of Health is funding a project on older kids 8-18 on the spectrum using Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS).

All this research and the fact that everything is still so debatable would be fascinating to me if it weren't MY kid that had it.

Autism Awareness Month

April is Autism Awareness Month. Interesting, since this April is the month we were informed that Holden has Autism Spectrum Disorder. Step one of dealing with a new diagnosis is to let your friends and family know. But it's hard to talk about. We're still trying to process it - what it means, what do to, where to turn, how to deal with it. And I don't really know what to say to anybody else.

Turns out, so far, it's often the case that I tell someone and they're incredulous and they fight the diagnosis TO ME! I feel like I have to stand there and CONVINCE them that my son is retarded. And I don't want to do that.

The reality is that we're so used to him that we've normalized his behavior for years, too. So he prefers to play alone . . . a lot of kids do. So he can't communicate . . . he's only 3. So he doesn't like hugs . . . we have personal space issues too. So he echoes what you say . . . maybe that's normal. So he memorizes shows and uses them in conversations . . . So he throws tantrums all the time . . . So he lines up his toys in a perfect line . . .

You get the gist.

I'm passed the guilt (I think). I'm passed the blame. I am not bursting into tears every 2 hours anymore. I think that means we're in the acceptance phase, which doesn't mean it's easy or anything. I'm just dealing with it by reading everything I can get my hands on. So stay tuned, this blog may turn into my new coping mechanism.

"Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable." - Plato

It's a boy!!! I have to admit that even though I was sure it would be a boy, I secretly hoped I'd be having a girl. Reason #1) I could justify stopping. Why try for a third if I have a boy and a girl? Reason #2) Boys are wild and crazy. There is already too much cave-man like testosterone in my house and with a third I will be super outnumbered. But something happened during the ultra sound a couple weeks ago. It's hard to describe but looking at O. Fitz (baby's name will be Oliver Fitzgerald) in the monitor made me feel like he was exactly the right fit for our family - exactly what we need.

Here are the great things about having another boy:

1) I don't have to buy any new clothes. Let's face it, girls are way more fun to shop for and I'd spend a fortune on my girl. But with another boy, I already have it all.

2) Holden will have a little buddy to show the ropes to. Every boy needs a brother to play pranks on, hang out with, and fight over girls with. They'll like that.

3) An extra shot. If I screw up in raising Holden to be a good boy, I can maybe redeem myself in O. Fitz :)

No but seriously I'm really excited. The first part of this pregnancy was really emotionally hard for me. My last pregnancy ended so sadly that I almost didn't allow myself to get attached to this one. So I had all the sickness and pukiness of pregnancy without any of the hope and expectation. So when I started feeling better and feeling this baby, I finally allowed myself to get excited.

And I am so excited. The ultra sound was beautiful. O. Fitz has Holden's nose (well Wes's nose, really which is just so darn cute) and he was sucking his thumb and moving all over. He's a mover, this one. I have a posterior placenta so I feel everything really clearly, which is great for me.

It feels so right to bring another boy into this family. I am so excited to meet him, but for now I'm happy he's doing so well inside me. Anyway, that's our good news.

Best Friends Best Friends

Holden has a BFF - I never expected him to have one so early on, but he cherishes his friend Harrison so much. Every time we say "Guess who's coming over?" he yells "Hahsson!" Here's why: for the past year and a half (my goodness has it been that long) his mom and I have been doing regular kid swaps. He comes over here once a week for the afternoon and Holds goes over there once a week for the afternoon. It has been one of the best things for the moms and the kids. They play really well together, take naps at the same time, and have so much fun learning and playing together. Plus I've really liked how it's allowed Holden to learn how to share, take turns, and get used to being around other people his age. And sometimes it's totally easier to have a friend over here to play with for Holds so he's occupied than it is with just him - as long as they play well together. And he and Harr are great together. I really feel so lucky that it's worked out so well.



Looking for bugs.

Goodnight Moon

holden has a very strict bedtime regimen now. we used to be able to just drop him in his crib and say a prayer and we were outta there! but now he has to read books to himself for a while (he's especially fond of anything about dinosaurs), then he likes to read Goodnight Moon 123 and then Goodnight Moon. in that order. and then he'll lay down and say prayers. he's so cute. at first, we just read the books to him but now he reads them to us.

this is holds reading Goodnight Moon:

BACK WITH A VENGEANCE

the shift key on my laptop isn't functioning. if i hold it down and press really hard it will work, but it slows my 80 wpm typing considerably, so i'll have to write in lower caps until my awesome husband decides which laptop is perfect for me (he's doing research on it right now even). THE OTHER OPTION IS THIS - BUT I HATE ALL CAPS, IT FEELS LIKE I'M YELLING. and i'm not yelling - promise.

i sat down tonight and decided to start blogging again. i realized that i have missed this holden-and-family-centered blog of mine. i went through it tonight and read the posts i made when i was pregnant with holden. i'm pregnant again with his soon-to-be brother or sister (yay!) and i can't believe how much bigger i am this time around. let's just say i won't be posting any bare belly pictures this time. yikes.

i've missed talking about my beautiful, crazy, wild, loving, smart, silly, sweet, busy boy. in case you've missed him too - here are some pictures of him that wes took in tooele this weekend. we were there to memorialize my grandfather who passed a few months ago.

Sad Day

I am a little sorry to do this, but we're going to be taking a hiatus for a while. Probably a long while. Work has been so busy and I can't keep up two [personal blogs AND blogs, writing, Facebooks, etc. for my clients. And Wes hasn't been posting on here for some time because he's been working on a ton of side projects too. Sooooo, it is with great regret that we say goodbye for a while. We'll still be reading your blogs so don't forget about us. And I will still be keeping up my other blog alicesworld.wordpress.com and will include updates on Holds there!

Thanks for all the reading and comments!

New Words and Potty Training

Ever since he turned 19 months, Holden's world (and therefore ours) has turned much more verbal. He likes to name everything. He finally calls everybody in our family by their names: Kiera is Key, Katie is Kay, Ali is Aheee, etc. We stand in front of my closet and he touches all the different types of clothes and he goes through and names them, or repeats after me. My favorite is that he just started saying Thank You when he hands you thing. He says it "sanky."

I love that I can now discuss things with Holden - he understands the things that I say. Like if I need to set him down to get something, I can explain it to him sans the tantrum that used to ensue. Now he gets it most of the time. I like it.

Holden and I have started taking a Mom and Tot art class! It's basically a mom art class for us because Holden only lasts on each project about 10 minutes. And he never acts like he likes anything he's made until a couple days later. Yesterday, he came out of his room wearing this new hat we made. He looks like an Indian.


Holden has also started potty training. We're taking it slow - at first we just had him sit down on his toilet every now and then. But he wouldn't "go" until last night - Wes had him sitting there, reading books and talking on the phone (which Holden tried to flush down the potty a couple times). I was so proud of him! As soon as I got him, he took me in the bathroom to come show me what he did. He was so excited he held onto the tub and ran in place for 4 minutes shouting with excitement. It was so cute.

Trip to Phoenix

So we went to Phoenix last week! Although Phoenix has never been on my top 10 places I want to vacate to, we actually managed to do a lot of cool things.

We chilled at the pool and got sunburned...a must for ANY vacation, duh.
Holden sporting his awesome surfing outfit. You know, just in case.

I pulled out my 15 year old bikini for one last preview and discovered that I actually fill it out LESS than I did 15 years ago. Not so nice, but that's motherhood for you, I guess.

Then we went to a Diamondbacks game!
It was such a cool stadium. It was super clean, had an "all you can eat section" (yes, of course we were in it), and a kids play area.


Holden loved the kids area for about 3 minutes until he discovered that there was a bigger, much cooler play area with huge slides that he wasn't old enough to go into . . . it was so sad. He threw a big tantrum over it because they wouldn't let him in.


While in Phoenix we also went to this Wild West show that was pretty cool. At this point, Holden was getting sick so we didn't stay very long. But he liked the gun show (as long as I kept the fruit snacks coming)

I kept telling Wes how good of a cowgirl I would have been, but he didn't buy it. He said I would be terrible at dealing with the heat and "roughing" it but consented that I'd be good at shooting and riding horses. I could totally rough it! As long as I had a nice bed.... LOL

Ok so I'm almost done! We also went to the Phoenix zoo which was really cool. It's 3 times bigger than the Hogle Zoo I swear and had lots of cool nooks with random animals, reptiles and birds. Holden would have liked it more were he not so sick. Sick babies are the worst. I felt so bad for him!

This is Wes's beard. I'm trying to get him to shave it. I mean, part of me likes the Mountain Man appeal of it, but only part of me. The other wants my husband's face back.

A Day in the Life of Our Busy Holds

1. He wakes up (happy after 12 hours of sleep).
2. He tries to wrestle away from us as we change his diaper.
3. He eats his yummy breakfast. He enjoys oatmeal or Life cereal and milk. Then he burps. On purpose. Repeatedly.
4. He "pays" plays) around the house, which involves running from one wall to the next or throwing his soccer, baseball, or basketball around.
5. He pulls down all his books from his bookshelf. We read books. Well, we read about 4 seconds of books. Then he reads to himself.
6. He takes a nap.
7. He wakes up and tries to wrestle away from us as we change his diaper
8. He eats his yummy lunch. He loves vegetables he can dip in Ranch dressing, minus the vegetables. Wes thinks he'd eat his own finger if it was dipped in Ranch. He loved hot dogs, sandwiches, pizza, and soups, and all fruits.
9. Lunch is followed by another round of on-purpose burping. We're regretting our laughter when he started doing this.....
10. We play outside and/or run errands and go on adventures.
11. He pulls down all his books. Again.
    
12. He takes another nap. Or just plays in his crib.
13. He wakes up (grumpy this time).
14. We go outside and play on the lawn or by the garden. He takes my garden markers out throws them around. Then he eats dirt.
15. I make dinner and Holden pretends to eat it. But mostly he just drinks milk.
16. He runs around the house again. Or pushes the vacuum around.
    
17. He takes a bath. Then brushes his teeth. First he sucks all the toothpaste off, then Wes or I take over.
    
18. He goes to bed. 9 on the dot. Don't expect him to go down prior, no matter how tired he is . . . he knows when it's 9.

Wes and Caleb's Birthday Bash - and The Crew

We had a combined birthday party for Wes and Caleb, since they both had birthdays in early May. It was bittersweet to be in Trisha's fantastic backyard, knowing since they're moving this month, there will be no more BBQ's there. Unless cool people move in. But cooler than Trisha and Caleb? Not a chance.

Cute Kristine, (Trish's sister in background) has been Holden's fantastic babysitter for the last several months . . . and her fiance in the background.

This is Holden, stealth little bugger he is, right before he steals off with someone's rootbeer. I caught him after he'd guzzled 3/4 of it. And Brad and Rachel, who are awesome. And Stacy who totally needs to get a blog, as we keep reminding her.

The Webers, who also think they are moving . . . we beg to differ. Sorry Laura it loooks like Wes cut you off . . . and the Thompsons who are new and we love them too.

Oh there you are Laura and Jeanette with the cutest baby girl ever. And Michelle and Scotty, our very closest neighbors!

And Heather and Garret - you guys need a blog too! Looks like Wes missed pictures of Colleen and Maura, who both moved from the ward but we can't quite let them go . . . LONG LIVE THE IVINS WARD!!

Gee Mom, is She Really For Me?

Holden has many girlfriends. We joke all the time with our friends that our kids are going "out" with each other. But we actually are kind of serious about matching up Holds with Liesel, our friends' Paul and Lara's new bebe. Holden met his betrothed a few weeks ago. And I think they're in love.

He was so intrigued by her. It's like he was saying, "gee mom, is she really for me?"

Well maybe Liesel is too young to know what true love is, but I'm sure Holden isn't. She is beautiful! He especially loved holding her foot. He already worships at her feet!


I think they're destined for each other. Holden agrees.