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.

Here are the long-awaited pictures. . .

I picked out just a few because even though we took a bunch, they really all do look the same. So, here they are.

The Stork Has Arrived!

The countdown is over! Our little Snappy is here! Carli Raquel Cowan was born on Saturday, November 24 at 6:26 am, weighed 7 lb 7 oz and measured 19 1/2 inches long. She is a beautiful baby girl with a full head of dark hair and a dimple in her chin just like her dad's. Due to technical difficulties with cameras and such, we are working on getting her pictures posted as soon as possible since I know a description of her just doesn't cut it. Anyway, everything went quite smoothly - thankfully - and we are grateful for everyone's health and wellness. She came a little early (which none of you guessed, except someone who I think cheated on the poll) and we are currently loving the stuffing right out of our little girl and are excited to make her a part of our little family. I will post pictures as soon as the camera charges up tonight. Thanks for all of your thoughts and congratulations!

Happy Halloween!

After the brawl, Spanish, French and Brazilian soccer fans get together to smile for the picture.
Here's Snappy's first costume. We felt like our theme was pretty creative, but somehow people didn't quite see it. They understood why Logan (French soccer hooligan) and Ben (Brazilian soccer hooligan) were in a fight, but somehow they'd miss my stomach altogether. Maybe people are trained not to look at pregnant women's bellys. Anyway, it was fun and for those of you wondering, my shirt is actually homemade. Can you believe Logan drew that soccer ball? What an artist, eh? Well, we hope you all have a happy Halloween!

Only 6 more weeks!?

I guess it's been awhile since we updated everyone. Things here are going well. Logan and I spend our time working and playing pretty much. The past month has gone by so quickly, I can't believe that November is just next week! We realized that Saturday was one of two free Saturday's we had before Snappy's proposed arrival, so we tried to jump into action and get the nursery semi-set up. Here is her room so far. It still needs quite a bit of work, but we felt good about the progress we made. We just can't wait to have her little cuteness in there!

Here is an updated picture of me, Snappy, and the hair. It feels like she's getting pretty cramped in there with all her wiggling. We are so excited for her to finally get here!

Hey Everyone,

Logan here, I am still round in the middle as well unfortunately. No need to embarass myself with a picture update. (my hair is pretty much the same as well) :~) I just wanted to say hi and update everyone about the work that I have been doing for Epic. I am currently working on the Epic Radiant team. Radiant is Epic's radiology software. I am still in training so the majority of my time is spent in class, studying, and completing exams and projects. I enjoy the company very much and the people that I work with are great. Eventually I will do quality assurance work meaning testing new software applications and assist in future product developement. Anyway, just wanted to let everyone know what I have been up to. Logan

ps to all of you Grey's Anatomy fans out there, all on set computers will now be sporting Epic software so check out the Epic logo on the screens. Just thought you might find it interesting.

Game Day!

It was game day today for Logan and Ben. They went to the Wisconsin vs. Michigan State game. We spent the morning around the Capitol building at the farmer's market and then went to lunch before the boys headed off to the game. It is perfect weather here right now, and I don't want it to change. Anyway, it was a fun weekend and it was great to end it in a win for Wisconsin!

On State Street (the pedestrian street on campus, downtown) everyone was wearing their UW gear.

Here are Logan and Ben, who look like they belong in this sea of red!

What do you have for them, Rod? A NEW CAR!

Here she is! Isn't it a beaut? We started looking for another car a little while ago because we weren't prepared to deal with the hassle it would be to put a car seat in the back of little 2-door Nelly. We hadn't really expected to buy one so quickly (even though it has been a bit of a pain coordinating transportation for the two of us in opposite directions to work each day) but we found a deal we couldn't pass up. We love it so far, and it will be especially useful for us in our expanding family.
Other than that, we seem to be settling in here. It has been a busy month for us, but we have really enjoyed our life here so far. We have met so many great people and have had a lot of really great opportunities. I have to admit, I am still holding out a bit of judgement for the winter. We both like our jobs a lot (although I am having a bit of a struggle adjusting to teaching middle school instead of high school) and for now we are just trying to relax and enjoy life with just the two of us before little Snappy joins us in a couple of months. It's crazy how quickly time has flown! Hard to believe she will be here so soon, but we are so excited! Well, just wanted to update you all on our little adventures!

Our new home. . .

I don't usually post unless I have some pictures to go with it, but I felt like I should update everyone on what's going on. So far we are loving Wisconsin and we have never met so many nice people in such a short amount of time. I have to admit that it is hard to take the accent seriously, since I picture the Mom from Bobby's World everytime I hear it. . . "Doncha know". We got completely moved in by last weekend and worked on getting all of the other moving in things done (like visiting the DMV, etc. If anyone was wondering, we did not meet a single nice person there, no different from anywhere else.) I looked for teaching positions on a whim on Tuesday and had a job and started at a middle school on Thursday and I start teaching on Tuesday. Kind of crazy how things work sometimes, but I think I'll really enjoy it. Logan also starts work on Tuesday, so we're excited. For now we are trying to outfit our apartment with a few new things since we aren't students anymore. Other than that we have been enjoying beautiful weather (with lots of mosquitos), garage saleing, watching Snappy move around (she's become quite active recently), and relaxing before we have to start working again. We'll be sure to update everyone as we start our jobs and continue to settle in here. Thanks for all your prayers and help!

Madison or Bust!

Everyone,

We have finally arrived in Madison. Our roadtrip out here was wonderful. We departed from Provo on Tuesday (8/22) morning and drove 8 hours east to Ogallalla Nebraska. We stayed the night there and continued to Winter Quarters (Omaha) Nebraska on Wednesday. On Wednesday afternoon we had the oppurtunity to attend the Winter Quarters temple which is beautifu beyond description. We also visited the cemetary and Mormon Trail Museum. We stayed in a nice bed and breakfast (the picture is us in front of the bed and breakfast with the river view in the background) in Council Bluffs Iowa on Wednesday night. Winter Quarters was beautiful and anyone passing through should try to do a session and see the sights. Thursday we continued on to Madison and arrived around 5 in the afternoon. Our apartment is nice (I am sure that Cheeks will have pictures shortly). We are getting unpacked and settled. Cheeks has worked tirelessly since we arrived to make our little place a home. I am grateful for her. It is wonderful to live near Ben and Rachel and we are very grateful for their help and hospitality. We are happy to be here and happy to begin a new chapter in our lives. I start at Epic on September 4th. I will let everyone know how it goes. Thanks for all of your love and support. Logan

p.s. We knew we weren't in Utah anymore when they told us this was the "Ski Area" of Nebraska and Iowa. Are they sure they didn't mean "sledding area"? Pathetic, huh? - Kate

Park City Reunion

We spent the weekend in Park City with most of the Jones family. It was nice and relaxing and a lot of fun to get together with the family before our big move. Everyone (except me) went on the alpine slides, we relaxed in the pool and hot tub, and played games. We were sad to miss Callie, Andrew and Thomas, but it was good to get as many people as possible together. Hopefully it won't be too long before it happens again.

Logan's Graduation

Logan is now a college graduate! Friday morning he got to wear that cap and gown. It was a nice ceremony, even if it was too early in the morning. We celebrated by eating lunch at Tucanos and then spending the weekend in Park City with the Jones family. We couldn't have asked for a better way to end our tenure here in Provo.

As you can see, Logan was plumb tuckered out after finals week and packing up to move. He certainly deserved a little rest before we head out to Wisconsin. Good job, Logan, I'm so proud of you!

Some last pics in Provo

We spent some time with Lanie and Kris this weekend and it is sad to think that we are not going to be able to just hang out in a few weeks. We played some croquet for old time's sake in the park where Logan proposed. We certainly have good memories here (college, dating, marriage, friends, apartments, roommates, etc). And even though neither of us planned on staying here after we finished school, we will miss it. How could you not miss those mountains? Anyway, I guess we're getting a little sentimental about leaving soon and realizing that we are in for some major changes here in the next weeks and months. We look forward to them, but change always takes some effort and time.

This is what I do everyday. . .

So, it may be weird, but I was so excited at work yesterday because I got to look through all of the baby blessing dresses and pick a few of the flawed ones for free. They only have tiny, unnoticeable flaws, but these two are my favorite. They look like miniature prom dresses - aren't they adorable? I will have a hard time choosing which one to bless our little girl in. Anyway, this is what I get to make everyday (and temple dresses), so it can be pretty fun.