Happy Easter!

Well, we had a great weekend with my family. We were lucky to have everyone (except Andrew who we missed) together at once, which hasn't happened for a very long time. We got an updated picture finally and even though it isn't the greatest, I will certainly treasure it. Surprisingly enough everyone was looking at the camera, even though it was just on the timed setting. Anyway, we had a lot of fun all together. The cousins all got to meet each other and the siblings all got to catch up. We played disc golf, which Logan was thrilled about, played ping pong, ate, went to the park and thoroughly enjoyed the great weather (you can see the beautiful blue sky in the picture). Logan went home today and I miss him already. I don't like being away from him, but I'm glad I get this time with family and that Carli and her grandparents will get to know each other a little better. Carli has been a doll with the travelling. I feel so blessed to have such a sweet, patient, calm and happy little girl. Hopefully I'll have more pictures to post later this week or when I get home.

A few pictures for your viewing pleasure

Carli reading with Dad.


(We're not sure where she got the Asian heritage it looks like she has in this picture.)

Going for a walk with Mom when it got above freezing. Poor thing looked like the kid on A Christmas Story and a lot like Boo on Monsters, Inc.

Hanging out with her cousin Haven. She thought she was so big.I will hopefully be posting a video later today or tomorrow as Carli rolled over for the first time! Pretty exciting times!

I'm no longer isolated, living in a snow cave!

We finally have internet! And phone and TV. And on top of all of that, the snow is actually melting! I thought it would never happen, but we now have a literal river flowing through our backyard as the mounds of snow melt. If you can believe it (which you probably can, but I had a hard time) it got above 40 today. I took Carli out and she didn't know what to do when the fresh air hit her. I can't wait to be in (hopefully) warmer weather at home next week! I don't know that I have that much to update, even though I've been out of the blogging world for a month and a half. We are still loving our house and getting used to being homeowners. Logan likes his job, and even though I miss teaching sometimes, I am absolutely loving being at home with Carli. She is growing and learning everyday. She just moved up to size 2 diapers. Her 4 month check up is next week. She is so close to rolling over and she has now started to giggle for real. She always wakes up talking and laughing with the light, the fan, her bee, or her blankets - whoever will listen to her. She especially loves to visit with herself in the mirror. Other than that, we are getting ready for a vacation home where we will see most of my family. I am so excited for Carli to meet everyone! I wish I had pictures to post, but the camera is out of batteries. I'll post soon!

This is Logan, Kate melts my heart, and that is all that I have to say...

Carli's new trick and our new home. . .

Well, we're at the library for the internet, we still don't have ours set up, but hopefully soon. Anyway, we are loving our new house (except for no internet, tv, and phone yet). Things are going really well there, except the weather, some of you may have seen. We have about 6 feet of snow in spots in our yard. But, it is almost 30 today and it feels like we should be out in short sleeves! I can't complain, the sun is out. Other than that, Carli has learned how to click her tongue. It is so funny, you will see. She always liked to hear me do it, but I never thought she would mimic me. What a smartie! I can't make too long of a post, although I'd like to give you a better update, but hopefully this video will tide you over until we get internet. Hope you're all doing well!

Signing Out for a Little While. . .

Well, most of what we own is sitting in boxes in our front room right now, ready to get moved out tomorrow morning. There is still plenty to do, but I'm going to take these few moments to relax before I get to work. I'm getting pretty nervous for this move, actually. I have not been this nervous about any of our moves since we got married, but this one is permanent. The other night when we got the keys to the house we went out there and ate dinner on the floor in front of the fireplace. There are about a half dozen restaurants - including the Subway inside the gas station. The Piggly Wiggly will also take some getting used to. I've just never lived in a tiny town like this (it might even qualify as a village) and the unexpected has always made me a little nervous. Luckily it is close to two much larger cities for shopping, etc. We may not have internet for a little while, but I might not be able to live without it for long, especially since it's much too cold to take Carli out of the house. Someday she'll feel fresh air on her skin. . . So, I guess this is goodbye - at least for a little while.
(Sorry, no new pictures, everything is packed.)

2 Months!

Well, we went to the doctor yesterday for Carli's 2 month checkup. She's doing great and growing just like she should. She's a happy girl and I love it when she tries to giggle. Poor girl got her shots and slept ALL day. I didn't take near enough advantage of it to get packed and ready to move though. Oh well, I guess things like this were just meant to be done the day before, otherwise we'd all do it differently, right? As you can see, I'm still procrastinating. I'm watching it snow again. Who knew it could snow so much when it is only 10 degrees out there? Wish us luck that it doesn't snow next weekend when we are moving. Can't wait for that garage!

Bathtime!

Here's some pictures of our little bath-lover. She has loved her bath ever since we could immerse her. Even though she rarely smiles in her bath, we know it's her favorite part of the day because of how excited she gets with kicking and flailing. She doesn't have time to smile because she is concentrating too hard on everything else. I never realized a baby this little would love her bath so much and would leave so much water outside the tub (luckily it's over the sink).

Anyway, things here are going well. We are getting ready to close on our house this weekend. We will be moving into it the weekend after, so I've been packing when I can. I was really excited to buy our appliances this past weekend. You know you're getting older when you get excited about buying a fridge, washer and dryer. We got great deals and I can't wait to be able to use all of it! It does feel like we just moved, so it's been hard to get motivated to pack things up in boxes, especially since we're only going to be taking them out the same day. We're only moving about a half hour away from where we are now. Even with the lack of motivation, I can't wait to be in my own house!
Other than that, I've been looking at other people's blogs and everyone is talking about how cold it is. I was surprised to hear that in New Mexico it has been in the negatives a few times. I wanted to go home to get out of the cold! I thought I knew what cold was before I moved here. I was mistaken. Some of you may have seen the Packers Giants game on Sunday. I couldn't believe people still went to that game, even if it did determine the Super Bowl teams. This week it has not gone above 10 degrees, and it only got there when it snowed 8". Most of the time it has been below zero, with wind chill being in the negative 20s and 30s. Yikes! Poor Carli won't see the light of the sun until June! I guess that's what we asked for when we moved here. For now we'll just stay inside and enjoy the miracle of heat. (I can't wait for our very own fireplace!)

All smiles!

I finally caught her on camera. Not the greatest picture, but at least you can see she's happy.

Pretty Girl

Here are a couple more pictures of Carli. She's getting older, as you can see. She's still as cute as ever. Things here are pretty busy. We are getting ready to close and move and Logan has a big deadline at work the week we do both. It'll be a little stressful for a few weeks, but then we'll be in our house! We're getting really excited for that. We just have to find someone to take our apartment, so if you know someone in our area that needs one, let us know. Other than that, Carli has been really smiley lately. She's also learned that it can be pretty fun to suck on her hand if she can get it to her mouth. She's pretty happy most of the time unless you take her out of the bath before she's ready - then she's not a happy camper. We'll certainly keep you updated on our move and everything.

A House!

Well, it's official - no more apartment living for us. We are buying a house! We have looked at LOTS of houses since we moved here, trying to get a feel for the area and what we like. We had planned on buying one in time for our contract in our apartment to run out, but we found this one and had to move quickly. It is a great deal, but I guess mostly everything is in this buyer's market, especially with all of the foreclosures. Anyway, we are very excited to have a house and everything that goes with it, but we are sad to move too. We will miss being right across the hall from Ben, Rachel and Haven (the other Cowans). It has been a lot of fun living so near them. It will be hard to not be within a few feet of them anymore. We will also miss this neighborhood with so many friends. I'm sure we'll come back pretty often. Here's our house, although we've never seen it like this. It was covered with 2 feet of snow when we saw it first, then it was raining when we did the inspection. We think it's beautiful and perfect for our family. Hopefully you can all come out and visit us sometime!


Other than trying to get everything ready to close on the house, life is pretty much the same. After months of questioning, I finally decided to resign from my teaching position so that I can be home with Carli. It would be quite a drive from our house to work as well, so all in all it didn't seem worth it. So, I look forward to my new full time job as mom and homemaker. It's been great so far, I'm sure it will be even more fun in a house. I'm really grateful for a hard-working husband who has made sure it is possible for me to stay home and who wants me to do what I love - whatever it is. Anyway, just wanted to update you on our exciting news!

Just one more of my little sweet pea. . .

I couldn't resist posting this picture of my beautiful girl. I'm going to try getting one of her cute smiles, but they're still pretty fleeting (or at least in front of the camera). Anyway, I'll update you on the house hunt soon. (It's looking good!!!)

Smart Baby Video

I tried to email this a couple of times and couldn't, so I figured this was easiest. So, now you all get to see a video meant really for the grandparents. Anyway, we think Carli is pretty smart to be able to copy us like this already (not that we have any biases or anything). She really is a sweetheart! Other than that, we hope you all had a wonderful New Year celebration and that you are looking forward to 2008. We certainly are. We have put in a few offers on a few houses and are waiting to hear back from one that we are very excited about. It's exciting to be moving on to the next step in buying a house after months of looking at what seems like hundreds of houses. Hopefully the next step of moving into one doesn't come too far after. Anyway, we wish you all a happy and safe New Year!

Carli's First Christmas

This was our favorite Christmas present this year. Yeah, she came a month early, but I guess we must have been extra good this year. It was fun to have her here for Christmas.

Of course, she could've cared less that it was a holiday, but she did start to smile consistently yesterday, so maybe she did know. . . Anyway, it was a relaxing day with Logan and Carli. We opened presents, ate a big breakfast (thanks to my wonderful husband), watched movies, took a ride in the country, talked with family, and ate dinner with friends. We had our traditional fondue on Christmas Eve and a ride through a light festival. All in all it was a great Christmas, although we missed our families very much. We hope you all had a happy holiday and that you are looking forward to the new year!

Merry Christmas??

This picture perfectly demonstrates trying to take a family picture with a newborn. Here's our little family for you - baby crying, Mom trying to figure out why, and Dad smling through it all. We're excited to spend our first Christmas as the Logan Cowan clan, but we certainly miss being with our families. Hopefully it goes better than this picture.

We finally got her hooked!

We debated whether or not to use a binki, especially since she seemed to have trouble catching on to it and then had a little confusion when she would eat afterward. Over the past week I have been pretty concerned about Carli because she was having bouts of projectile vomiting - it's pretty scary to see that much come out of your 3 week old with such force. I took her to the doctor last week, who recommended a few things, including a perscription for reflux. We were both a little concerned about Pyloric Stenosis which would mean surgery. Anyway, I'm pretty sure now that it is none of those things, just a mother who can't read her little one's signals. I kept thinking she was still hungry at night when she would continue to root, even after I fed her. So, night after night I kept overfeeding her and she would throw it all up. So, we are thrilled now that she likes the binki because it has solved the vomiting problem. We are just crossing our fingers that she doesn't become dependent on it. Isn't she a little angel? She still can't stand her hands being anywhere but by her face - just like in her ultrasounds.

A few more pictures (mostly for the grandmas)

I was so excited when Carli's cord finally fell off because we could finally bathe her! This is just after the bath. She seemed to like it - at least she didn't complain. She rarely does when the space heater is on. We got the space heater right when we got home from the hospital for baths and such. She used to hate getting her diaper changed or getting undressed, but now she acts like she's on a Caribbean Cruise. She stretches out in front of the heater as far as she can and looks around calmly like she owns the place. I guess she pretty much does.

Here she is with her daddy. She certainly loves to cuddle him. Not only that but he is the only one to have gotten a big gummy grin from her. I just love seeing this little dark head of hair next to this handsome face! How lucky am I?!

Welcome to Wisconsin

Some of you may remember the picture we posted when we were trying to decide whether to take the job here. (Statue of Liberty moved to Madison)

Well, we are seeing it come true. It has snowed well over 2 feet in the last week and a half, probably 6 days out of the last 10. This is what it looks like out our front window.

We finally got Nelly started, thank goodness. It was frozen condensation somewhere in the gas line. I think we'd all do better driving around in sleighs though. I admit, it is pretty, but there are at least 3 cars a day that get stuck on the street and need help getting dug out and pushed. It would be fun to go out and play in it, especially since whatever fort or snowman we made would last forever since the highest the temperature has been is just under freezing, warm enough for it to snow, then it drops back down to the teens. All this may sound like I'm complaining, but really I'm not. It's kind of fun for now, I have never experienced a winter like this. I only worry about Logan driving to and from work. Otherwise I have the most beautiful view inside. . .

Happy winter to all of you!

Update

This shirt ain't lyin' when it calls her "Sweetie". What a cute girl! We feel so blessed and a little lucky to have such a calm, sweet, happy girl in our house. And beautiful to boot! Things around here are great. I have spent the week getting used to being a mommy and have loved it. Carli is doing well and spoiling her parents with great sleep, surprisingly enough. I took her to the doctor on Tuesday and she had gained 12 ounces in 5 days - more than twice what the doctor hoped for with an ounce a day. He was thrilled and a little shocked. I wondered if he'd ever seen a baby grow that quickly from his reaction. What can I say, she likes to eat. Who doesn't? Anyway, I am starting to get a little antsy to show her off, but since it snowed 8 inches last Saturday, another several inches on Tuesday, and then several more on Thursday, and it's in the teens for a high, I'm a little worried about taking her out. Especially with all of the sickies at this time of year. I guess everyone out there will have to be deprived for a little longer. Other than that, Nelly the Neon is on strike against this cold weather - she won't even take a charge from jumping her. So, tomorrow Logan will become a mechanic for a day and change the battery. And this is only the beginning. You may not want to ask me about it come April. And seeing as we've moved to one of the "greenest" states ever, we don't get the privilege of salt on the roads since they're worried about salination of the lakes. Since when have the lakes mattered more than people's lives on the road? Oh well, maybe we can all cross-country ski to work. Anyway, life is good from inside our warm apartment. We'll keep you posted on our adventures with Carli.

Carli's Blessing

We decided to bless Carli in our home last night because it was going to be the only time we would have so much family in town. We were able to have Grammy Cowan, Grandma and Grandpa Jones, Ben, Rachel and Haven as a part of this special night. There was a beautiful spirit and she was an angel in white. Here are some pictures.

Pretty in Pink

We finally dressed her up a little more girly. Isn't she a beauty? I just love her pretty dark hair. And she's so happy! But then again, I love everything about her.