Fabulous February

Here is our monthly update of our Fabulous February!

Tracen is 5 months old today! He is growing so fast! He is so aware of his surroundings and wants to be part of everything. I swear he has bionic hearing, and if he thinks he is missing out on something there is no way he will nurse or settle down. His hair is still so funny. He is going bald on both sides of his Mohawk,so we are going for a comb over look for him. No matter what we do, by mid day it has its own look. All the boys love to try and get a little giggle out of him, whether they are holding him or just snuggling in bed.

Tracen has been teething and it has not been fun. This week he decided he didn't want to take any afternoon naps, and would only sleep when he was being held! Let's just say I have not got a lot done this week. I hope those teeth pop through soon, for every ones sake!





I had a chance to meet up with some old High School friends for a quick breakfast one weekend. It was so good to see them! Some, I have not seen since High School, but have reconnected with the help of Face Book. It was way too quick and we need to get together again soon.



Tate made a special birthday cake for our Scout's "Blue and Gold" banquet. All the scouts were asked to bring birthday cakes to help celebrate the 100th birthday of scouts. We got out some of my cake deco tools and I showed him how to make the "shell" technique for the stripes, and he took off! It was fun to see him work hard on it and he was awarded the most patriotic cake!



Other news worthy monthly items that do not have a picture for proof are: Tommy has had a standing appointment to see our family doctor every 3-4 weeks. His glands keep swelling up from some sort of infection. A typical appointment involves a strep test, that always comes back negative along with an exam that determines it is some type of infection. He is then put on an antibiotic, and does better for a week or two and then we repeat the process. They have even taken blood to see if it is something more serious, but everything comes back normal. So after seeing the doctor all winter, he has an appointment to see an ENT next month to try and figure out why he keeps getting these throat infections. I am not a fortune teller, but I would bet money that having his tonsils out might be in his near future.

Other minor news that is really not that news worthy, and no you are not getting any before and after pictures! However I wanted to share the info with my side of the family, for a know your numbers update & reminder. Jeff's insurance has a healthy lifestyle rebate that you can go and get a health screening to see where you stand in your overall health. Just for going in and then filling out a questionnaire, you get $50. So it motivates you to come and get tested.

I usually do it every year, but missed last years screening being pregnant. Now that I have reached an older age, my body has really started to slow down so this was the month of my testing and yes I received my $50 big ones! Over the years of fertility treatments and a chocolate addiction, I have packed on a few pounds, and know I will feel better by at least making an effort to try and get them off. Now that I know we are done having kids, this is the year I want to try and tackle it.

My side of the family has a history of diabetes and heart disease, so I know it will probably show it self some time with me. I have been more nervous about the blood sugar levels as I am a self proclaimed chocoholic. After being tested, my blood sugar was great, but my cholesterol was high, I was like "what the heck!" So it looks like I really do have Gus blood running through my veins after all. I thought I got all the Penman genes, where you look back at all the ancestors pictures and they are very short and stout.

I will get re-tested after I am completely done nursing, for a more accurate number as they said your levels are always higher while you are nursing. Then we cans see where I am at and what the plan is next. So I have been hitting the treadmill and weights while trying harder to watch the chocolate/sweet intake. We really do eat pretty healthy, just need to add more of natures good stuff to the diet. Our insurance will even pay for specific programs to try and help, but I have not found one that I am 100% excited about. Do any of you like a specific one? So all this might be TMI( To Much Info), but just wanted to put it out there to remind everyone to as Doctor OZ says, Know your numbers, so you know where you stand. I think one of our cousins had his first heart attack in his 30's! So I want to make sure I am around for a few more years along with all of you!

Jumping January

Warning: This is a massive picture update/overload on our busy month.
I can hardly believe that January has already slipped by! One of my New Year's Goals was to update our blog once a week, but as you can see that didn't happen. So I am going to try for at least monthly!

We rang in the new year with Grandma & Grandpa Gus along with our fun neighbors/long time friends the Conrad's. We have kids around the same age and we moved to this area together.

We ate tons of Pizza, yummy bread sticks, salad, & treats, played games and rang in the New Year with the Eastern Time zone. There was no way the little kids were going to make it to midnight.






Tate has been a very busy boy in Scouts and Basketball as this month was the pinewood derby and the start of his Rec team. He wanted to make a Utah Jazz car, and worked hard to design the perfect car. Jeff helped him try to make everything work and over all I think Tate had a great experience. Jeff has been trying to take turns helping coach different teams that each child participates on. This was his turn to coach Tate. (Tanner is also helping on the sidelines) They have been doing great and are so far undefeated.




This month Tucker got glasses! He picked out some pretty stylish glasses and we think he looks handsome!


Tracen has been growing like a weed! He is starting to hold his own bottle, play more with his toys and is very aware of what is going on around him. It is a full time job to keep him entertained, but he is sure a little cutie!



We were hit with several big snow storms in January, which made the kids excited. The have made a sledding hill which they love to see who can slide down the farthest. The snow also brings down the deer for their daily snack. These pictures are right in our back yard. The buck is only about 5 feet from our back door. The kids threw the old pumpkins back in the field for the deer to eat as they come down almost every afternoon. It is fun to watch them as they roam our field. I think the most we have ever counted in one day was over 50.







One of Tracen's most unique things about him is his wild hair. None of the other boys ever had this much hair. When you wash it he has natural curl. However, when it is dry it sticks straight up. His hair has been getting so long around his ears, that I decided to give it a little trim. These are the before and after pictures in the tub. You might not be able to tell the difference to much, but boy we can. I need to leave the trimming of the top of his head to a professional hair dresser. Aunt Julie, can you bring your scissors to our next family gathering, for a little snip, snip? I am afaid with the natural curl I will really make it worse, so for the time being, he just has a little mohawk. I think Tracen is starting to look more like Tommy and Tate. The only way I can tell their baby pictures apart is because of his wild hair. Well, that is a wrap of the first month of 2010. Here's to the rest!
PS The spell checker is not working, so forgive any spelling mistakes!