Monday, September 24, 2007
Our Little Pedestrian!
So, after my last post I went with Gwen and Grandma Buckholts to visit Heidi, Sam, and baby Jami in Layton. Sam had a cold, but Gwen was going stir crazy and I really wanted to see my newest niece again. Jami is so cute. She has so much hair and is so little. I can't believe that only a year ago Gwen was almost that little. She seems so big now. Well, after our visit we were packing up to leave and I handed Gwen her sippy cup and walked away to get her diaper bag. I turned around and she was walking after me. I started to yell "you're walking! Hey, Gwen's walking!" That startled her and she fell down but she had taken about 10 steps all by herself. I had forgotten to grab my camera when we left but Heidi had hers handy and captured Gwen's second attempt. It was a couple more steps this time before she fell. Each day she practices and gets a little better. She's taking it slow but I think we can say that, "We have another pedestrian in our midst."
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Random Pictures
I was looking through my pictures and found some more cute Gwen ones. I thought that I'd just pile them all together and give brief explanations for them. Mostly, they're from moments where you go, "grab the camera, Honey! You've got to see this!"
Also, I forgot to update about Gwen's 12 month check-up. No, that's not a check-up that takes 12 months to complete. She weighed in at 26.6 pounds. No wonder my back hurts if I have to carry her for more than a few minutes. She's in the 97% for weight. The doctor told us to put her on 2% milk instead of whole and to really encourage her to start walking so she won't get too flabby. Being too rolly can make it harder for her to walk and do the other big motor movements. She's in the 75% for height and head circumference. Ideally her weight should be in the 75% or there abouts. He told us not to worry because most toddlers stop gaining weight for the next year or so and start to thin out after they start walking.
Yeah, so no, Gwen's not walking yet. These last few days she's really been more focused on staying on her feet though. She'll cruise for much longer distances and hold out her hands and "ask" you to help her stand and walk to where she wants to be. She still reverts to a crawl if she wants to get anywhere quickly. Her doctor said she's actually right on target for her age - most babies don't walk until 13-14 months. Gwen's also not talking much. She doesn't use any words, but instead jargons at us. Jargoning is where she strings sounds together and uses inflection to sound like what she thinks we sound like. It's more complex than babbling, which is just repeating sylables without the pauses and tones that are included in jargoning. Most babies Gwen's age have 3-4 words by now. Her doctor was a little concerned about that, but asked if she points and shows enthusiasm for something. She does do that and she seems to understand quite a bit of what we say. He said that the ability to point and show enthusiasm for an object is a big determiner for autism. Most autistic babies her age don't do that. He thinks she's just a slower talker but she'll catch up.
For her actually birthday, we took Gwen out to eat at Fazoli's. She loves spaghetti.
See.
Gwen's been trying to use utensils lately. She can get the food on the end sometimes, but then she picks it off with her fingers and puts it in her mouth. 
When I'm at work, Jonathan gives Gwen piano lessons. She's very good at eating sheet music and banging as loud as possible. She's a genious!
When we went to visit Heidi and baby Jami at the hospital, Gwen found a nice place to climb into and hide. She was so happy with herself until she realized that she was stuck. Then Daddy had to rescue her.
Gwen gets attacked by prunes and loses the battle.
This is why all our toilet paper rolls are empty and we seem to go through the stuff so much faster these days.
Also, I forgot to update about Gwen's 12 month check-up. No, that's not a check-up that takes 12 months to complete. She weighed in at 26.6 pounds. No wonder my back hurts if I have to carry her for more than a few minutes. She's in the 97% for weight. The doctor told us to put her on 2% milk instead of whole and to really encourage her to start walking so she won't get too flabby. Being too rolly can make it harder for her to walk and do the other big motor movements. She's in the 75% for height and head circumference. Ideally her weight should be in the 75% or there abouts. He told us not to worry because most toddlers stop gaining weight for the next year or so and start to thin out after they start walking.
Yeah, so no, Gwen's not walking yet. These last few days she's really been more focused on staying on her feet though. She'll cruise for much longer distances and hold out her hands and "ask" you to help her stand and walk to where she wants to be. She still reverts to a crawl if she wants to get anywhere quickly. Her doctor said she's actually right on target for her age - most babies don't walk until 13-14 months. Gwen's also not talking much. She doesn't use any words, but instead jargons at us. Jargoning is where she strings sounds together and uses inflection to sound like what she thinks we sound like. It's more complex than babbling, which is just repeating sylables without the pauses and tones that are included in jargoning. Most babies Gwen's age have 3-4 words by now. Her doctor was a little concerned about that, but asked if she points and shows enthusiasm for something. She does do that and she seems to understand quite a bit of what we say. He said that the ability to point and show enthusiasm for an object is a big determiner for autism. Most autistic babies her age don't do that. He thinks she's just a slower talker but she'll catch up.
For her actually birthday, we took Gwen out to eat at Fazoli's. She loves spaghetti.
See.
Gwen's been trying to use utensils lately. She can get the food on the end sometimes, but then she picks it off with her fingers and puts it in her mouth. 
When I'm at work, Jonathan gives Gwen piano lessons. She's very good at eating sheet music and banging as loud as possible. She's a genious!
When we went to visit Heidi and baby Jami at the hospital, Gwen found a nice place to climb into and hide. She was so happy with herself until she realized that she was stuck. Then Daddy had to rescue her.
Gwen gets attacked by prunes and loses the battle.
This is why all our toilet paper rolls are empty and we seem to go through the stuff so much faster these days.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
2nd Anniversary
This last week was a busy one for us. It seems like they're all that way these days but this one was especially so. On Monday, September 10th Jonathan and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary. We didn't do much; he went to school and I worked that evening until 11:00.
Our celebration came the next night. We got a sitter! That was a first for us. Gwen's been watched only by us and her Grandma Buckholts, so we didn't know how getting a sitter would go. One of the women from our ward volunteered to watch her for us. It went perfectly, of course. Harder on me than on Gwen, I'm sure. Well, after pawning off our little one, we went to Tepanyaki's - a new Japanese-style restaraunt were they prepare your meal in front of you. It was good food and a fun show. We're definately going back for their sushi. They had some of the best I've tasted and it was cheaper than other places we've been. The one down side was that Jonathan got sauce all over his nice new shirt when he was trying to catch flying shrimp in his mouth.
After dinner we drove downtown to see Spamalot. Spamalot is a broadway musical based on the Monty Python movie: Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Sounds weird, right? It is. We had ordered our tickets a few months ago and we got some good seats in the middle sort-of close to the front. When we got the tickets we also ordered the soundtrack, so we knew the songs already. The show was a blast. It was very funny and lived up to our expectations. If you like Monty Python and you ever have the chance to see this show then do it.
There's an Olive Garden right across the street from the theater and Jonathan remembered that he still had our gift card from his dad and step-mom from Christmas. We ordered some dessert to-go and ate it in the car while waiting in the line of traffic to get out of the parking garage. What a yummy end to a great evening out.
Our celebration came the next night. We got a sitter! That was a first for us. Gwen's been watched only by us and her Grandma Buckholts, so we didn't know how getting a sitter would go. One of the women from our ward volunteered to watch her for us. It went perfectly, of course. Harder on me than on Gwen, I'm sure. Well, after pawning off our little one, we went to Tepanyaki's - a new Japanese-style restaraunt were they prepare your meal in front of you. It was good food and a fun show. We're definately going back for their sushi. They had some of the best I've tasted and it was cheaper than other places we've been. The one down side was that Jonathan got sauce all over his nice new shirt when he was trying to catch flying shrimp in his mouth.
After dinner we drove downtown to see Spamalot. Spamalot is a broadway musical based on the Monty Python movie: Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Sounds weird, right? It is. We had ordered our tickets a few months ago and we got some good seats in the middle sort-of close to the front. When we got the tickets we also ordered the soundtrack, so we knew the songs already. The show was a blast. It was very funny and lived up to our expectations. If you like Monty Python and you ever have the chance to see this show then do it.
There's an Olive Garden right across the street from the theater and Jonathan remembered that he still had our gift card from his dad and step-mom from Christmas. We ordered some dessert to-go and ate it in the car while waiting in the line of traffic to get out of the parking garage. What a yummy end to a great evening out.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Day at the Fair
Yesterday we spent the evening at the Utah State Fair. Gwen loved it. She had been refusing to take a nap and even though she was really tired she loved seeing the animals and other people there.
They have a whole area for kids where they get to pretend they're working on the farm. Here's Gwen in her apron with her bucket ready to go gather eggs.
There were fake chickens in coops and wooden eggs. Gwen was good at gathering them.
She got to pick plastic apples from wooden trees in the "Apple Orchard".
After gatheringa block of Hay, Gwen got to ride the tractor to the sheep barn. I think this was her favorite part.
After we had harvested and gathered, we went to the store and sold our goods for a pretend dollar. Gwen got to choose a treat with her dollar and she picked fruit snacks - her favorite.
We found out how many hands high we are.
They have a whole area for kids where they get to pretend they're working on the farm. Here's Gwen in her apron with her bucket ready to go gather eggs.
There were fake chickens in coops and wooden eggs. Gwen was good at gathering them.
She got to pick plastic apples from wooden trees in the "Apple Orchard".
After gatheringa block of Hay, Gwen got to ride the tractor to the sheep barn. I think this was her favorite part.
After we had harvested and gathered, we went to the store and sold our goods for a pretend dollar. Gwen got to choose a treat with her dollar and she picked fruit snacks - her favorite.
We found out how many hands high we are.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
We Have a New Puppy!
Unfortunately she used to be our little baby. That's right, Gwen has started acting like she's a dog this last week. She pants, whines, and barks, and she eats Boot's dog food although that's not really new. It started when we were on a car ride with Boot over to Grandma Buckholts' house. Boot starts to whine loudly when we pull onto their street. Gwen thought that was neat and immitated her. We laughed, the rest is history. It's really funny to watch her crawl across the floor panting excitedly. She's so weird. That's how we know she wasn't switched at birth.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
New Job Update
It's been almost a week since I started my new (old) job at the Taylorsville Instacare. It really hasn't changed all that much since I left. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing. At least it means that I can pretty much pick up where I left off. I've been scavaging for shifts because they didn't have very many needs until October. I'm a 40 hour a week employee though, so I guess that means if I have to come and sit around doing nothing to get my hours then that's their problem.
Jonathan quit his job last week at the Maverik. We got some federal financial aid for school to make that possible. We'll have to scrimp and save, but we're getting better at doing that. Now he can really focus on getting through school quickly. He's still getting great grades - he's a straight A student with one little oops from last spring's English class. This semester is English again, Japanese II, History of Western Civilization from 1300, and Bowling for PE.
Our days are pretty busy. He has school from 9:30 to 1:00 and I work from 3 or 4 to 11 pm. I watch Gwen in the morning while he's a school and he watches her while I'm at work. So far it's working out very nicely. I'm sooooo much happier not having to work graveyards. Even though I get home sometime after 11:00, I'm getting 7 - 8 hours of good sleep before getting up with Gwen in the morning. Before, I'd sleep for an hour or two before my shift and have to stay awake until Jonathan got home from school before napping for a few more hours. I rarely got a solid 8 hours of sleep. It was KILLING me. I was grumpy all the time and had a hard time thinking about anything besides how much I really wanted to curl up and nap. Now, I'm thinking that I can get up and go on walks with Gwen and Boot or get in a quick workout in the mornings before her midmorning nap. I feel so much more alive this last week, it's been such a good change. The one downfall being that since Jonathan and I are on opposite "shifts" we have to make use of the short hours we have together. He usually stays awake doing homework after Gwen goes to sleep until I get home from work. That's nice of him. When he was working swing shift I almost always fell asleep long before he got home.
Jonathan quit his job last week at the Maverik. We got some federal financial aid for school to make that possible. We'll have to scrimp and save, but we're getting better at doing that. Now he can really focus on getting through school quickly. He's still getting great grades - he's a straight A student with one little oops from last spring's English class. This semester is English again, Japanese II, History of Western Civilization from 1300, and Bowling for PE.
Our days are pretty busy. He has school from 9:30 to 1:00 and I work from 3 or 4 to 11 pm. I watch Gwen in the morning while he's a school and he watches her while I'm at work. So far it's working out very nicely. I'm sooooo much happier not having to work graveyards. Even though I get home sometime after 11:00, I'm getting 7 - 8 hours of good sleep before getting up with Gwen in the morning. Before, I'd sleep for an hour or two before my shift and have to stay awake until Jonathan got home from school before napping for a few more hours. I rarely got a solid 8 hours of sleep. It was KILLING me. I was grumpy all the time and had a hard time thinking about anything besides how much I really wanted to curl up and nap. Now, I'm thinking that I can get up and go on walks with Gwen and Boot or get in a quick workout in the mornings before her midmorning nap. I feel so much more alive this last week, it's been such a good change. The one downfall being that since Jonathan and I are on opposite "shifts" we have to make use of the short hours we have together. He usually stays awake doing homework after Gwen goes to sleep until I get home from work. That's nice of him. When he was working swing shift I almost always fell asleep long before he got home.
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