It's Alive!!!

Things have come back to life around here finally. I had quite an adventure around the house this morning to inform me of that. I was so sad that I didn't take a picture of the whole fiasco, but here are a few to help picture it a little. So, it has rained A LOT here lately and we've been periodically checking our basement to make sure there is no flooding. I went down this morning to find

this

and this (and several other little frogs) and a tiny baby bunny who belongs to a bunny family that lives under our neighbor's deck that all got trapped together in our window well. I wish I'd gotten pictures of it, it was so cute - it could fit in the palm of your hand. So, I decided at least the little bunny needed help immediately (Logan can take care of the frogs when he gets home from work). I got a towel and a bucket and headed downstairs to the window (it was too deep for me to do from outside). Well, if you've ever tried to catch a bunny before, it's harder than you'd think. After trying unsuccessfully to catch the little guy for quite sometime the poor little thing jumped through the window into my basement! It found a nice little hiding place under the bottom step. After getting my morning exercise by chasing it around the basement for awhile, it finally got tired enough I caught it in my towel and let it go to find its little family. It was quite the adventure. Carli has no idea I'm training to be the next Steve Irwin while she naps. Here are some other things we've found living around our yard.

These little birds made a nest on the vent for our fireplace on our deck. There's always warm air coming out of it. I hope they liked it while it lasted, they'll have to move soon.

These flowers came up on their own in the front yard! (Not a great picture, they're yellow in real life.)

And something else is growing around here too. . .

Again, not great pictures but I love the look on her face. She looks like she wonders what I could possibly find so amusing to be taking pictures. She likes to hold on to the little toys on her tray and lean forward. She grins and gets excited like she's on a roller coaster ride. I can't believe she is 5 months old (yesterday)! How time flies. She is still on her "nursing strike" (which is really what it's called) and I'm about ready to quit. Anyone had this experience before who has any suggestions?

Grandma Jones

This video is of my Grandma Jones playing the piano at the luncheon after my grandfather's funeral. She really is an amazing woman. She played a few of my grandpa's favorites at the lunch. She is 82 years old, can barely walk with a walker (as you can see, she was in a wheelchair that day), can't see well enough to read music anymore, but can play the songs she learned from the time she was in junior high. My dad always liked me to learn the pieces my grandma played (they were his favorites) and I can't even remember them from at most 10 years ago. Anyway, I will count myself lucky if I ever have the strength she has in her fingers, mind, heart and spirit.

My latest trip

Well, I'm back from my trip. It was a nice trip, even though it felt pretty short. We were able to visit both of my grandmas and it was pretty amazing that all of my grandfather's 26 grandchildren were there except one (my sister who is too pregnant to travel). He left quite a legacy. It was nice to see all the cousins I haven't seen in quite awhile. I intended to take LOTS of pictures, but obviously didn't. You know what they say about good intentions. . . Anyway, the picture is of Carli and her Great-Grandma Jordan. I can't believe how old she looks in this picture! She's not so little anymore :(. When we got back from the trip, Logan left for a business trip, so Carli and I are all alone at home. (Notice the time this is being posted. Sleep doesn't come quite as easily when Logan's gone.) Poor little Carli has thrush, so she and I are trying to work out the whole eating thing. It hurts her to nurse, so we've had to make some adjustments. Surprisingly enough, she took the bottle like a pro! I sometimes worry that because she is so good-natured and wonderful that we're going to pay for it someday. It really tugged at my heartstrings the other day when she was so hungry and tired and didn't feel good while I was getting medicine and stuff yet she still gave me the cutest smiles from her carseat. What a good girl! She is becoming more and more interested in food. She stares at the food going from our plates to our mouths. I think I'll start her on cereal once Logan gets back from his trip. We are SOOOO happy it is finally Spring!!! Carli and I take walks everyday to enjoy the warm weather. It has been beautiful here lately. We're also finally meeting our neighbors - everyone has come out of winter hibernation. Carli is also becoming much more vocal. She talks herself to sleep through her binki now. She also loves to bite into my shoulder and yell as loud as she can. When she feels the wind in her hair (which she has much more of now) she squeals and gets so excited. She is also much more wiggly and it's much harder to change her diaper and bathe her now. She can bring her knees all the way up to her chest when she's on her belly and I'm afraid that crawling will come much too quickly. She is getting into peek-a-boo and giggles like crazy when you appear from behind a wall. She finally snuggles into my shoulder instead of insisting on looking around all the time. She's been especially snuggly since she hasn't felt well the last couple of days. I could go on and on about her, but I figure I'm just making people jealous that I get to be with her 24/7. She is such a joy! I know everyone says that, but I never knew just how deeply they meant it until this little sweetheart came along. There's just nothing like watching the way she just stares and grins at her dad when he gets home from work and how she giggles for him like she does for no one else. How did I get so lucky? Well, if anyone's made it this far into the post, you're probably thinking I'm lonely and sad without Logan here and you'd be right. So, I guess I'd better go to bed. I'll get more pictures of Carli soon, I know that's the most exciting part of the posts.

Grandpa Jones

My Grandpa Jones passed away this weekend and I will be going to his funeral on Saturday. Grandpa was a great man. Someone said that he somehow fit 150 years of living into 82 years and I think it's so true. He was an extremely talented, intelligent man full of integrity. I have many memories of him, all of which make me smile.
1. He used to tease me about my cats when I was little. He once painted my kitten's nose pink with a paintbrush. He also convinced me that the garage door opener let my cat out from several hundred miles away.
2. He always made breakfast for us when we visited. I think my dad got that trait from him.
3. I remember helping him chase a stray cow back into pasture. He was in the truck, I was standing on the road with absolutely no idea what I would do if a cow came charging toward me.
4. He knew a tremendous amount about his ancestors and the area they settled.
5. I loved visiting his woodshop. I still have a wooden outline of my hand when I was 5, plus a miniature rocking chair and a beautiful rocking chair he gave us for our wedding. I asked him to make me a chair before I met Logan and they asked if I was announcing something. (A rocking chair is the traditional wedding gift from my grandparents.)
6. He always wanted me to drive the boat and snowmobiles. I was scared to ride the snowmobile on my own, so he told me he'd ride with me. A bit into our drive I felt the snowmobile surge and start going much faster. My 70-something grandpa had jumped off the back of the snowmobile so I'd be driving it alone!
7. Logan always remembers when I was getting ready at my grandparents house and my grandpa thought I was taking too long he said to my dad, "Evan, you tell that girl to shake a leg!"
8. Whenever I'd travel through I'd stop for a little while to visit Grandma and Grandpa. He would always update me on the cousins and then offer a couple of "pops" for the road and walk me to my car.
9. My grandparents came to my reception, which I know was quite a sacrifice to drive so far in the car when it wasn't terribly comfortable. That always meant a lot to me.
10. I was so glad to go to lunch with him a few times as he made trips to Salt Lake to the doctor with my parents. In his little ways he let me know that he was proud of me and the choices that I'd made.

The 4 generations of Jones boys. These are the only ones out of LOTS of grandkids and great-grandkids. (My grandpa, dad, brother, and nephews.)
Taken on one of my vists awhile back.

Home again, home again. . .

Well, Carli and I are home again. It was a wonderful trip and I was so glad to spend so much time with my family, especially my parents. I was sad to go, but I missed Logan like crazy, so I am happy to be with him again. The trip home wasn't all that fun though. What was supposed to be a 6 hour trip turned into a 36 hour trip. My flight was delayed, which meant I'd miss my connection and the other option that day just wasn't feasible, so I opted to wait and leave the next day. Again, my flight was delayed so I missed my connection and then the next flight I was supposed to be on was continually delayed, so I ended up sitting in O'hare airport for over 7 hours as the time just kept getting moved back and no one would tell us why. Luckily, Carli was an angel all day or I would have been going ballistic. After several hours in the airport and about 5 delays, an older woman came to me and said, "This question may sound weird, but have you eaten or been to the bathroom today?" Until then I thought I was managing pretty well, but she made me realize I hadn't been to the bathroom in about 12 hours. I started to cry. She offered to stand in front of the stall in the bathroom so I could see her feet while she held Carli. She held Carli for the next hour or so to give me some rest and Carli rewarded her with constant smiles and giggles. She was on her way to visit her two grandsons. What a wonderful lady!!! She told me I could repay her by doing the same for a young mother when I'm a grandmother. I will always remember her kindness.

In coming home I was glad to see there is NO SNOW on the ground! And it actually got into the 60s! We walked around our yard yesterday and there are plants BLOOMING! I never knew Spring would bring me such sheer joy! Other news is that Carli has now learned how to shriek in delight. It is the best sound in the world. She also has decided that she likes to listen to herself, and if that's the case she might as well do it loudly. My quiet little girl is no longer so quiet. But, I love it. Other than that, I have decided that since the snow has melted I no longer have an excuse to sit in my house without friends or activities to keep me busy. Anyone have suggestions for what a young mom can spend her time doing to make friends and have fun? I would love any and all ideas!

Here are some photos from our trip home:

Grandma and Carli telling each other stories.

Aunt Shanna and Carli telling each other stories.

Carli swinging from the tree (literally) in the front yard. I thought she looked so old hanging on to the rope like she knows how to do it by herself.

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.