Lately

We've been up to some fun things the past few months!

• We went on a fun Saturday outing with some friends.  We went to lunch at Torchey's, an amazing taco place in Austin.  Then we did a riverboat tour.  It was super hot, but fun! We finished the day at Texas Roadhouse--always a good choice.  
• Most of the past two months were spent with Cam studying (after work) for his final CPA test, which he passed.  Yay Cam!  I'm so proud of him for working so hard.  It's nice to have his company back in the evening, too.  
• Cam has really enjoyed his current role in Treasury.  And we both love that the hours aren't quite as intense! 
• Cam's family came to visit for a weekend at the end of March.  We had so much fun!  Initially it was just going to be Cam's parents visiting, but Brendan surprised us all and decided to come last minute.  Yay!  Poor Greg wasn't feeling well for most of the trip, but we had a good time.  We celebrated Greg's birthday with a cake, went to Hopdoddy, went to Mt. Bonnell (an Austin overlook) went to the Domain, and visited San Antonio to eat at La Margarita, see the Riverwalk, and see the Alamo.  It was our first time to San Antonio, and we loved it! 

Us with Brendan in San Antonio.

• I took (and passed!) my driving test.  This was such a gigantic pain; I'm so glad it's over.  I had an expired out-of-state licence so I had retake both my written and practical driving tests.  I barely passed the written test.  I was so worried they'd make me do parallel parking for the practical test, but they didn't.  It was super easy.  I guess it should be since I've been driving 10 years.
• We celebrated Easter with a bunch of friends and had a fantastic dinner.  And also an egg cracking competition.  
• We babysat the Fitch boys for a weekend.  We had such a great time with these fun little guys!  (Though we're not ready to be parents of four anytime soon...)

Andy LOVED having big brothers!

• Andy and I took a great trip to Utah, which I've already blogged about.  
• Cam and I went to the Austin Ballet to see Romeo and Juliet.  It was fun to get out of the house and do something, just the two of us.  I really love the score by Prokofiev and it was fun to see it all brought to life.  Confession--we did leave at the second intermission.  I like to think we're cultured people...but it was getting a little long. :)  
• Cam planned such a fun Mothers Day.  He made me a delicious breakfast and planned a fun picnic at Zilker Park in the afternoon.  He made the most amazing salmon salad.  The day ended with my favorite dessert, Angel Food Cake.  

• We had a super fun friendcation in Galveston.  We rented a house with some friends for a weekend and had a blast!  This gets its own post coming soon.  
• Another really fun party thrown by Kasee.  It was a Cinco de Mayo party.  The food was delicious as always! 

A picture of everyone but us.  We had to leave early.

• We went to a fun BBQ at the Ashford's to celebrate their new giant swing set.  
• Cam and I went to Austin's Park for a super fun date night a few days ago.  It was us and about a million fourteen-year-olds, but we had a blast!  We did miniature golf (Cam won), the go carts (we crashed into another girl and our car couldn't start up again), laser tag (which I won!), and the teacups, which made Cam very sick.  It really was such a fun night and I can't wait to go back.  

Cam waiting in line for Laser Tag.  We had a lot of fun waiting for an hour...

• We participated in our ward 5k/10k.  We love our ward!  It was so fun.  
• We went to College Station to visit Aisling, Bryan, and Carter.  (Aisling is Cam's cousin--we're so glad they live nearby!)  We had a great time looking at their beautiful yard and eating delicious food.  

It was pool time, but he wasn't interested for some reason.

Their incredible garden!

11 months

Andy turned 11 months old on May 20.  It is unbelievable that he'll be one in just a few weeks! Some highlights this month:

• Andy moves everywhere, very quickly, and gets into absolutely everything.  It's been an adventure trying to "baby proof" our house.  He crawls quickly, but definitely prefers to stand and use furniture to walk around.  Still no steps on his own, but we feel like he's close!  His favorite things to get into are our books and DVDs.  He pulls the DVDs out every single day.  He also loves to unplug the wallflowers in the bedrooms.  He also likes to turn the knob on the dishwasher.  He likes to open and shut doors; I'm nervous we're going to get some smashed fingers sometime soon. 

My *favorite* thing to do is to clean this up.  Every single day.

• He loves to be held.  (Too much!  My back hurts all the time from lugging around this chunk!)  He pulls himself up using my legs, forcing me to hold him.  He cries if I don't pick him up.  
• Not sure how much he weighs.  But he's in all 18 month clothes now.  
• He loves to play peek-a-boo!  He is starting to initiate it, which is adorable.  He also likes to "surprise" me by climbing up the back of my legs; he always starts giggling when I "find" him.  
• He loves to be chased!  I'll get on the ground and crawl over to him and he starts trying to "run" away and starts laughing.  Too cute. 
• He has two teeth.  One of the top teeth is on its way.  
• Has this squeal that is absolutely ear-piercing.  He's not mad or anything--I think he just likes the sound of it.  It makes it really hard to go out in public.  We're trying to teach him not to do it; it's not working.  
• He had his first trip to the beach!  We spent a weekend in Galveston with some friends.  He loved everything about it--the sand, the water.  He was absolutely elated for a solid hour the first time we went.  Like he just couldn't believe something so wonderful existed.  

• Andy's really struggled with eating.  I knew he should be better at finger foods, but I didn't realize how behind he was until Andy's little friends (who are a few months younger than he is) were eating finger foods easily.  Most of the time Andy gags on anything that's not perfectly pureed and he has no desire to self-feed.  Long story short, we've been talking to the pediatrician, and she's having us offer him whatever soft food we're eating and if he hasn't picked it up by his first birthday, he'll have to work with a therapist.  We think he's improving some days, but other days it seems like he's taken a few steps back.  One day he liked puffs--the next he didn't.  He liked yogurt melts for a few days and now wants nothing to do with them.  He liked turkey and cheese on Sunday, but was not having any of it yesterday.  Guess we'll just keep trying!  On the plus side, he's very good at eating his baby food.  He's nursing 3-4 times a day and eating three baby food meals--fruit for breakfast, cereal for lunch, and a veggie or protein/veggie for dinner.  We give him yogurt for a snack sometimes too, which he likes.  We're going to start weaning soon; Cam and I are going on a cruise at the beginning of July, so hopefully it goes smoothly.  I'm nervous because Andy hasn't quite figured out sippy cups...

"I hate food! Stop trying to make me eat it!"

He did like my green smoothie one morning!  He had an adorable green mustache.  

• We have made progress in the sleeping front!  We decided Andy was ready to "cry it out."  (We tried it a few months ago and saw no progress after a solid month of crying.)  A few weeks ago, we decided we weren't going into his room until 6AM at the earliest.  (He had been waking up 1-2 times per night.)  It took him a few days of crying to get used to it, but now he sleeps until somewhere between 4-5:45 AM.  Of course we wish he slept later, but we're not complaining.  Hopefully he catches on soon that I'm not coming in until 6 no matter what!  He's a stubborn little guy.  Wonder where he got that from?  
• Sad news on the helmet front.  We thought he'd be getting it off today at the latest.  But it's looking like we might see some more improvement if we do it another month.  We're still trying to make a decision, but it's looking like he'll be wearing it a little longer.  
• He loves to read stories!  He especially loves the books that have the flaps he can lift up.  (Though he wants to rip them off.) His favorite book right now is a farm flap book.  He always laughs when he finds the horse underneath the flap.  
• He loves animals!  He loves seeing dogs and birds on our walks.  He gets very excited. 
• He loves to play with his little bud Charlie.  They pretty much just follow each other around.  It's pretty cute.  (Though Andy is definitely the bully!) 
• He loves  pat-a-cake, itsy bitsy spider, if you're happy and you know it, and this little piggy.  
• Andy loves the pool!  

We love our little boy and his darling personality!  He brightens everything up and we love him to pieces.  Some more pictures because he's just too cute!: 

Still a lover of the swings!

Loves the piano.  He always crawls over to it, stands up, and plays standing on his tippy toes. 

Sweet little guy at our Mothers Day Picnic.  

His current favorite toy!  It's a little walker, but he can't figure out how to walk with it.  He just likes the front!

Tearing up a magazine to pass time on our road trip.  Too fun!

Our Visit To Utah

Andy and I paid Utah a visit from April 17-25.  It was BYU's graduation, my cousin Lauren's bridal shower, and Christine and Rachel left a week later for the summer, so it was a great time to visit.  The flight there was an absolute nightmare.  We went on the Delta direct flight, so I can't imagine how horrible it would have been if we'd had a layover.  With high pitched screaming ensuing for more than half the flight, I think the entire flight hated us by the end, I was near tears myself multiple times,  and I swore I would never fly with him again alone.  (And yet I'm already considering going back by myself in August...you would think I'd learn.)  Anyway, the visit was great!  It was so fun to spend so much time with family catching up! Some highlights--

• Going to my cousin Lauren's bridal shower.  I'm so sad I had to miss the wedding, but I had so much fun at the shower!  It meant I got to see all my extended family on my mom's side who I've missed so much.  
• We had a fun lunch at Costa Vida with my mom and sisters (except for Abby and Rachel).  One of those lunches where time flies and suddenly two hours have passed.  
• A super fun outing to the zoo with my dad and Sara.  We thought Andy would be more into the animals because he loved my parents dog...but he wasn't.  He didn't care at all.  Oh well--we had fun!    

Andy with Grandpa Mark

• Shopping at City Creek.  This place is amazing!  I already can't wait to go back!  
• We had a birthday dinner for Sara and Rachel.  My Winterton grandparents came over.  It was so fun to see them! 

The birthday girls with Grandma and Grandpa Winterton

Love them so much.

• We had a really fun visit with my Messick grandparents.  My Aunt Diane came over too--it was so good to see her!  

Love him. 

Andy with his great-grandparents.  Their house was his first home! I love that my grandma had to go primp for a few minutes before I was allowed to take this picture. :) 

• I got lots and lots of quality time with my mom and Sara.  This was so fun.  They were both so helpful with Andy.  Sara was sweet enough to postpone starting her summer job so she could spend time with us.  I had so much fun just being with her!  
• No vacation is complete without a few pranks!  :)  I posted my dad's road bike on ksl as a joke extremely underpriced.  He had about 50 calls within an hour.  I also posted my mom's bmw and put my sister Christine as the contact.  I think she had 49 missed calls the first day?  he he he.  I have a strange sense of humor, I know.
• A wonderful dinner at Market Street Grill with Greg, Kathy, Brendan, and Jessica.  

Grandpa Greg

Uncle Brendan can always make Andy laugh!

Grandma Kathy

Ice cream!

• A graduation celebration for my smart, beautiful sister Rachel!  She graduated with a 3.96 in Math from BYU.  (What!?!)  She is pretty much a genius.  She is planning on starting her Masters in Math in the fall.  We saw her walk, went to the math dept. party in the famous math lab, and stuffed ourselves at Tucanos.  Yum.  (Christine could have graduated too, but she decided to wait to officially graduate until December with Ben, her husband. But she's all done with her masters in Piano Performance.  Yay Christine!) 

Beautiful Rachel

Andy with Aunt Christine

People I Love: Greg

Greg and Andy at a recent dinner at Market Street Grill

My father-in-law Greg's birthday was back in March--so here is his belated post!  I never imagined I would have such a fantastic father-in-law.  I genuinely enjoy him and think of him as one of my good friends.

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Greg is generosity.  I don't think I've ever met a more generous person.  It seems like I'm always hearing about some good deed of Greg's.  (And oftentimes we're the lucky recipients!)  One example is when he drove all our stuff to Texas with Cam.  It meant he had to take work off, paid for the hotel stay, paid for his plane ticket home...and he acted like it was something he wanted to do. Another example: Cam passively mentioned that a relative (that Greg doesn't see much) was stranded and needed a way home.  Of course Greg insisted on buying her train ticket home.  Back when we were in Provo, he'd come down every Friday and take us to lunch.  When we lived in California and he stopped by to see us, he'd stopped by Costco before and brought us a couple hundred dollars worth of groceries.  Not to mention that he found an extra car for us to use while we lived there. There are seriously countless more examples.  He is so generous with his time, with his money--everything.  He is a silent hero, always doing things for others.

I remember when I first went to dinner with Cam's parents, I told my family and roommates, "Greg is the funniest guy I've ever met."  That is still 100% true.  He has such a clever wit.  I never stop laughing when I'm with him.  He makes everything so fun.  The best is that Cam inherited some of this humor, so I get to be around it all the time!

Greg makes you feel like you're the most important person in the world.  He is so fun to talk to.  He is so genuinely interested in you and your life.  He remembers people and what's important to them.  He's always asking what all my sisters and parents are up to.  I think it's so sweet he stays so up-to-date with them.

Greg is unfailingly patient.  I have never seen him get frustrated.  Ever.  (And I've been around him in all sorts of frustrating situations!)  I remember I first noticed this when I joined Cam's family on a trip to California back when we were dating.  There was a fiasco with the airport parking service; I remember being shocked that Greg so patient and calm.  He is always making the best of things and looking at things in a positive light.

I truly feel incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful second Dad.  Love you Greg!

The Helmet

Ha ha...funny photoshop edit a friend did.  

I figure I should document this annoying part of the last few months: Andy's helmet.  At Andy's 2 month well child visit, the doctor pointed out that his head was starting to get lopsided; she recommended trying to help him to sleep on the right side instead of the left to help.  We tried...he was a stubborn little guy though.  Our new doctor in Texas didn't say anything about it at his 4 month visit, so I figured it was fine. (This whole time I was the one saying, "It's fine...he'll grow out of it, it's not that bad," etc.  Cam was the one wondering if we needed to get a helmet.)  At the 6 month visit, Cam brought it up and our doctor said we could get a consultation if we were worried about it.  I still was skeptical and didn't think it was severe enough to warrant a helmet.  We had consultations at the two companies here in Austin that do the helmets--Cranial Tech. and Hanger. Both companies recommended Andy get a helmet; his case was actually pretty bad.  The official name for the condition is Plagiocephaly.  It can also create some facial asymmetry.  (Andy's wasn't super noticeable, but one his ears was a little higher than the other, one eye was a little bigger...)  At this point I realized this was something we actually needed to do.  It doesn't affect brain development or anything serious like that--it's just cosmetic.  Cranial Teach was much more expensive, so we ended up going with Hanger.  He finally got the helmet about Feb. 8, with the projection of having to wear it 3-4 months.

• Does it bug Andy?  It definitely did that first week we were getting used to it.  Especially the loud sound of the velcro.  Now it doesn't seem to bug him.  However, when we take it off he itches his head like crazy. And when we go to put it back on, he starts itching again. :(  
• How much does he have to wear it?  23 hours a day.  We take it off for an hour before bed for bath-time, etc.  
• How long does he have to wear it?  Intially, it was projected he'd need it 3-4 months.  It depends on how quickly they grow.  The helmet redirects the head growth.  He started out at 12 mm of asymmetry and is now down to a 5.  Our clinician, Hayley, says it's looking like another month until he's at a 2 or 3, which is when he won't have to wear it anymore.  Just in time for the Texas heat, thankfully.  Fingers crossed!  
• Do we have to clean it?  Yes, every day we spray it with rubbing alcohol and wipe it down.  Pretty easy.  About once a week we clean it with soap, water, and baking soda to help with the odor. We also put baby powder in it every night to help absorb some of the sweat.  
• How often are his appointments? Every week we drive to Dell Children's Hospital in downtown Austin for a quick appointment.  She checks growth and shaves out more room in his helmet, if need be.  
• What made his head get flat?  He had a couple things working against him.  He has a giant head and was super small when he was little, so it was hard for him to maneuver it around.  Plagiocephaly is much more common now that it's recommended babies sleep on their backs and not their stomachs.  
• How much did it cost? We were *lucky* enough for our insurance to not cover it. (A lot of companies do...curse you United Healthcare.) So, we paid for it all out of pocket--$2265, all upfront.  Soooo much money!  We try to not think about it.
• Do people comment on it in public?  Yes.  It doesn't bug us, but some of the comments are funny.  One man ran up to us in Walmart and dramatically asked, "What happened?!"  Oftentimes, people think it's to protect him from falling.  Most people are really nice and just say, "Can I ask why he has to wear that?"  Being the big football state Texas is, we also get a lot of comments about starting him off young as a football player. :)  
• What do we like about it?  Nothing.  :)  Except for the fact that his head is looking so much better.  And it does provide some extra padding for the tumbles and falls that happen all the time these days.  And it does match his eyes--super cute.  
• What do we hate about it?  Everything. :)  The cost, the way it looks, not being able to see his sweet head, not being able to kiss his chubby cheeks, nursing and feeling a big plastic thing instead of his sweet head, the smell (which is HORRIBLE), driving to his appointments, having to take the helmet off to dress him....I could go on but I'll stop there.  

Here's the before pictures.  I think it's pretty obvious why he needed one! 

Left vs. Right

You can really see it here.

We are really glad we did it, but we're sure excited for the helmet to be gone.  We plan on having a big party to celebrate its departure from our lives!