The Adventures of Bear and Bug

Boys Birthday

2011-11-05T11:43:00.001-06:00

The boy turned 2 on the 21st of Oct. We had a birthday party for them. We had a yummy dinner, ate cupcakes and ice cream, opened gifts and played a little game. I wrote up this quiz about the boys and whoever got the most right won a prize. If you read the blog, you will probably get most of them right, since I took most of the questions from here.

All the party guests

Caleb & Owen blowing out their cupcakes.

Owen & Caleb’s 2nd Birthday

1. We like to destroy lots of thing, but recently what appliance did we break?
    a. Television
    b. Oven
    c. Refrigerator
    d. None, we never break things.

2. True or False: Caleb had to wear an eye patch.

3. What month did the boys move out of their cribs and into beds?
    a. Last October
    b. August
    c. September
    d. This October

4. True or False: Only Caleb got tubes in his ears

5. True or False: The boys weigh the same?
Bonus: How much do they weigh?

6. According to their last Doctors visit, in September, Owen was ___ inches tall and
Caleb was ___ inches tall.

a. both the same

b. 35 and 33

c. 33 and 35

7. We aren’t afraid of very many things, but we get scared and cry every time ____________ gets turned on.

8. True or False: We are really good eaters.

9. Our favortie show to watch is:

a. Survivor

b. Seasame Street

c. Martha Speaks

d. Wild Krats

10. True or False: We share a room.

Answers: 1.A , 2.True, 3.C, 4. False, 5. False, Bonus: Owen 33lbs Caleb 31lbs, 6. A, 7. Roomba Vacuum, 8. True, 9. B. 10. False

Misc Stories about the Boys

2011-10-18T15:28:00.002-06:00

Vent - The boys love putting toys down the vent. They go around the house and take all the covers off and then shove as many toys down them as they can. At night when they were supposed to be going to sleep, they would get up out of bed and you could hear the clank and clatter of the cover coming off and toys being dropped down the vent. I finally had to nail the vent cover down in their bedroom. I think Owen likes to do it more than Caleb, because when we put them in different rooms, he still does it, where as Caleb really doesn't.

Splitting the boys up - Owen apparently doesn't need as much sleep as Caleb and it was starting to become a problem. Since we moved them into beds, and they've learned to turn the light on, they would stay up for hours just 'screwing around' in there room, when they were supposed to be sleeping. We decided it would be best to put them in separate rooms. It has been going a lot better. Owen still stays up late sometimes, but Caleb can at least get the sleep he needs.

Chewing Food - Something gross that they did for a while was put huge amounts of food into their mouths start to chew it up and then, I guess when they started to feel like they were chocking or their jaw started hurting from so much food, they would spit it out into their hand and drop it on their tray or want to give it to me. Yuck and no thanks.

Owen attacks Caleb - He only did this a couple of times, but it was funny. He would come up behind Caleb and bear hug him from the back. Caleb didn't like this very much and would wiggle and try to escape. So picture it, Owen bear hugging Caleb and Caleb wiggling all over to get away, they usually both ended up on the floor crying. Another one of Mike's favorite quotes that he would tell the boys, "Its all fun and game until someone gets hurt."

Building a House

2011-10-11T17:37:00.000-06:00

I've been meaning to blog about this since we broke ground, but we are building a house. In 2010 we bought a piece of property about 1/4 mile away and just sat on it for a while, trying to decide what we wanted to do. Finally the beginning of this year, we decided we wanted to move forward and build a house. Our friends built a house and we love the work and detail of the house, that we decided to go with their builder. We work with an architect and came up with a plan and are now building a new house. We should be in the beginning to middle of November. I knew it would be stressful, but I didn't realize how stressful. I'm going to happy when we can move in. I hope all the many decision we have had to make will come together nicely.
Here are some pictures of the house in progress.

The boys had fun playing in all the dirt.

Fear of the Roomba

2011-10-08T22:31:00.000-06:00

My sister recently got a roomba at her house and yesterday the boys were playing with it. As they were touching all the buttons they turned it on and got it going. I hadn't been paying too much attention, but all the sudden I heard crying and saw them both running towards me. The roomba had started and was just vacuuming away, but it really scared Owen and Caleb. These two are brave little boys and not a whole lot phases them, but I saw real fear in their eyes. Funny how such a small little thing is so scary to them. We turned it on today so we could get it on video, I'm sure when they are older they will laugh at this. Poor little guys.

350ish Miles

2011-09-19T22:45:00.001-06:00

I was going to tell you all about my sore butt and burning thighs, but my friend Jessica said it so much better that I'll just post what she wrote.

This weekend I participated in the Salt2Saint relay with 7 great friends.

We experienced:
8:00 am start time at the State Capitol on Friday morning.
Taking turns riding each leg of the race, ranging from 13 - 22 miles each.
Temperatures ranging from 40- 90 degrees.
Rain, rain, rain and more freezing cold rain.
Headwinds.
Flat tires and tire blowouts and tire replacements.
Healthy food and junk food.
Riding in middle of the night on semi-lit highways and pitch-black bike paths.
1-1/2 hours of sleep (from 6 am to 7:30 am)... sitting up or crammed between the seats of the Yukon.
Beautiful scenery.
Hills and valleys.
Crossing the Utah/Arizona border.
Skipping 4 legs at the end because we were running out of time.
Riding together across the finish line at 5:00 pm on Saturday evening.
Rewarding ourselves with 4 pizzas, breadsticks and soda.
Ridiculously sore buttocks.
Laughing and talking and cheering on friends who we know we will cherish forever.

Biker Chick - That's Me!

That doesn't look good.

I'm smiling on the outside, but on the inside I was crying and asking myself, "Why am I doing this?"

Nate Anderson: Even if he has been up all night, he still likes to look nice.

Alan Bingham riding, Justin Adams running him in.


Cami Bingham, Me, Kristin Anderson, Jessica Adams. Nate Anderson, Justin Adams, Craig Petty, Alan Bingham.

Love these Ladies!

Crying Together

2011-09-16T18:00:00.000-06:00

Owen got in trouble the other day and every time he would cry Caleb would start to cry too. I thought it was so cute and sweet that he felt sad for his brother and was crying along with him. They are such good little friends and play so well together, for the most part. I hope they continue to have such a strong bond as they grow up.

So Much Trouble

2011-09-14T22:37:00.001-06:00

The boys finally destroyed something of significant value today. I knew it was only a matter of time. They are kind of destructive. I'm hoping that it is normal for the age and for the gender. They take their toys and throw them down the stairs. Whenever I build something with block or legos the first thing they do is knock it down or tear it apart. Well today it was the TV. This is the TV Mike bought when we first moved into the house and it was his birthday and Christmas present for like 5 years in a row, because it was so expensive. The only reason we bought it in the first place is because he said we wouldn't have to replace it for many, many years to come. Then we had kids. Dun, dun, dun. Anyway, not sure how it happened, in fact I'm not sure how they even go up so high, but you can see the initial hit was in the top right hand corner. Here is what the damage looks like.

Mike wasn't too pleased when he got home and the boys got in a lot of trouble. They cried for a while and then Mike told them they weren't allowed by the TV anymore. He told them that the 3 ft radius around the TV was the Dead Zone and that is where little boys went to die. I thought that was hilarious. Those two better watch out.

Big Boy Beds

2011-09-08T23:40:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we went and bought twin beds for the boys and took down their cribs. It hasn't been too bad, a little crazy, but not much crying was involved, which is always a good thing. The first night the boys only came out of the room once and Caleb fell out of bed once. I heard him fall and when I went in to see if he was ok, he was just crawling back into bed. :-) Nap time is a little more chaotic. If they are together they don't want to go to sleep. They will talk and play and talk and play and then when they are done doing that, they open their door and see if I'm looking and if I am, they get big smiles on their faces and come running out of the room. I chase them around trying to coral them back in and for some reason it has turned into a big game for them. :-) I've had to start putting them in separate rooms for nap time. But anyway, back to my original reason for this post. We bought two twin beds, but we may have wasted our money on one of them. When I go in to check on them before I go to sleep, this is what I've found the past couple of days, the two of them sleeping together. It sure is sweet to see.

Owen & Caleb (in the striped onesie)

Early Intervention

2011-09-07T22:45:00.001-06:00

I feel like the boys have not been improving in their language skills for quite some time now. I was going to wait until they turned 2 to do something about it, but after thinking about it for a few weeks, I wondered why I was waiting until then. If I was going to do something about it then, why not do something about it now, so I did. I called Early Intervention the end of August and set up some appointments. Early Intervention conducts two initial meetings. The first one they had in our home and they tested the boys in a bunch of different areas; Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Cognitive, Receptive Language, Expressive Language. Social Emotional and Adaptive. Both boys did well in the Gross and Fine Motor areas, but they really struggled in the Receptive and Expressive Language. In fact they were at less than 1%. Because of this, they qualified for a learning program through Early Intervention, so we will be meeting with some teachers and figuring out the best way to help these two with their language. The second meeting is at a school and they go over medical history and they test their eyes and hearing. Both boys did fine with the eye test, but not well on the hearing. Caleb is on the border of hearing loss and Owen has some hearing loss. The tester checked their ear drums and she said they have a lot of build up behind them, so the ear drums isn't able to vibrate properly when the sound travels through it. She was concerned about this and recommend I talk to my Pediatrician. I made an appointment with our Pediatrician and he confirmed what she said, so now I need to make and appointment with the Ear, Nose, Throat doctor and most likely the boys will be getting tubes in their ears. I'm glad I listened to my instincts and had them tested. I'm hoping that their speech delay is just a problem of they couldn't hear well. Once we get this all sorted out we will go back in for another hearing test. In the meantime, the teachers will be coming out to set up a speech program with the boys.
Their stats at their appointment today were:
Caleb: Weight 31 lbs, Height 35.25
Owen: Weight 33 lbs, Height 35.5

Time for Big Boy Beds

2011-08-30T23:41:00.000-06:00

I thought this was a funny story.Mike was in the living room this morning and out walks Owen from his room. He thought I had gotten up and was in their bedroom changing Caleb's diaper. He could smell that Owen needed his diaper changed too so he decided to go in their room and change Owen there. So, Mike walks in the room expecting to see me. Instead he sees that Caleb is in the Owens crib and I'm still asleep in my bed. :-) Looks like they both know how to climb out of their cribs and back into each others. I think it is time to upgrade to big boy beds.

Swimming

2011-08-29T13:41:00.000-06:00

Kate, Caleb, Owen and Cole

This summer we have spent a lot of time in the pool. We go over to my dad's house once a week to swim with some friends. Owen is so brave and loves to go out in the water and splash around. Caleb isn't quite so brave he likes to stay close to me. All the kids were sitting on the side of the pool and I got this cute picture. As I was going to take my camera back to my bag, one of the boy fell in. Thank goodness Suzanne was there and saved him. Despite the scare, we still love swimming.

Owen with glasses.

2011-08-09T22:18:00.000-06:00

We found these glasses at my dad's house and put them on Owen. Cute, but a little nerdy. Let's hope he never needs them. :-)

Light Switches

2011-08-08T11:09:00.001-06:00

The boys, especially Owen, love turning the lights off and on at home, at church, anywhere they can reach the switch. At first they were using our ottoman that has wheels on the bottom and they would push that to which ever set of lights they wanted to turn off and on. We put that away, hoping that would be the end of that, but then they just started moving their little yellow chairs around. They stand on their chairs and turn them off and on, off and on. I find that we have a lot more lights left on now a days.

Owen

Caleb. He's a little far away,
but if he reaches far enough, he can get it.

2nd Year: Herriman Triathlon

2011-08-03T22:20:00.001-06:00

So my triathlon buddy went and got a stress fracture in her foot and couldn't compete this year (missed you Michelle), so I had to go and recruit some new buddies (Nick and Mariah) to compete with me. We had a great time racing together. I was really hoping to beat Mariah, so I could rub it in her face, but turns out after all, she was faster than me, by about 6 minutes. I'll have to work harder next year. :-)
Like last year, the race was a lot of fun. I didn't do as well as I would have liked. I finished the race in 2 hours and 3 minutes (about 6 minutes slower than last year). I was hoping to beat my time from last year, which was 1 hour 57 minutes. I had a great swim, but I knew right from the start of the bike that I was going to struggle. The first half of the bike is a gradual uphill and it kicked my booty. I did beat my time in the 5k by 1 minute. I was happy to cross the finish line. I love having the opportunity to race right in my own neighborhood. Already looking forward again to next year.

Nick, Mariah and I.
A family that Swims, Bikes and Runs together, Stays together. :-)
Mike says he doesn't believe in paying to exercise,
so he is our designated babysitter and camera man. Thanks Baby!

For Rebecca

2011-07-22T22:23:00.000-06:00

So I lied. I've got at least two people who read my blog. :-) My sister told me she wants to see more videos and pictures of the boys, so here you go.

Playing at the Splash Park at Daybreak.

Owen

Caleb

The boys playing with their toys.

Playing on the steps.

Playing at the splash park.

For Alexis

2011-06-26T22:50:00.001-06:00

This post is dedicated to my niece, Alexis, because she reads my blog. The other day we were at Mike's parents house and Caleb had his patch on. One of the cousins came in and asked what had happened to his eye. Alexis was in the room and heard him say this and she turned to him and said, "Don't you read their blog?" It was so cute and funny. I always know I have at least one reader out there. Thanks Alexis. Here is an update on the boys, so if any of the cousins ever ask, you can tell them what is going on. :-)

Speaking of Caleb and his eye patch, we went to the Dr. at the beginning of the month and he said the eye has improved, but he can still see it wander a little bit, so Caleb has to have the patch on for another two months. Hopefully after this it is all fixed. He is getting better about wearing it, but still we will be happy when his eye is fixed and the wearing of the eye patch is over.
Whenever Caleb points at something he crosses his index finger over his middle finger.
Caleb loves carrying cars around the house.
Both boys love eating grape, strawberries, asparagus and olives. (Kids loving veggies is totally a Slade trait.)
Owen loves going swimming, we went to the neighbors pool the other day and they have a really big section of the pool that is only about a foot and a half deep. He was playing all by himself and dipping his face in the water and exploring the drop offs. He went over the edge a few times, but I had my eye on him.
Owen is starting to "talk" a little more. He has a couple of funny expressions that is says over and over. He will turn his hands up and say, what you do (at least that is what it sounds like to us).
They love going on walks around the neighborhood.

It was so hot on Saturday, we went to Target and bought the boys a pool. We moved the slide over by it and they had a lot of fun sliding down into the water.

Boys Pictures

2011-06-21T11:52:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago I got the boys pictures taken. Caleb fell flat on his face after the second shot and was not very happy after that. He was clingy and didn't want to smile, so I wasn't sure if we were going to get any good pictures. However the photographer (Butterfly Love Photography) was great and got some cute shots of the boys. So, for your viewing pleasure here are some of the photos.

Owen

Caleb

The Boys Together

First Century Ride

2011-05-31T14:49:00.000-06:00

Mariah and I at the beginning of the race.

For some reason I let my sister, Mariah, talk me into riding the Salt Lake Century bike ride with her on Saturday, May 21st. Actually now that I've had a few days to think about it, I want to do it again next year. It was hard, but cool to accomplish something like that. Here is a little about my experience.
The race started at the Salt Lake Country Fair grounds and the start time was 7:30am, we started just a little late around 7:45am. Our group for the race was Nick's parent's Bill and Colleen, Norma, Colleen's sister, Nick and Mariah and me. Nick and his parents started the race fast and strong and I never really did catch up to them.
Mariah and I rode together for the first hour, about 8 miles. We were going at a good rate and having a good time talking and enjoying the ride. However, after that I started to slow down and Mariah rode in front of me. A couple of miles later I was going really slow and I looked down and my tire was flat. Oh great, I thought, Mariah isn't with me and I don't have a pump or a spare tire. I called Mariah and she said to keep riding and she would wait for me. So I kept on going. After riding for a while I still hadn't met up with her, so I called her again and she said she would turn around and start riding towards me. A little while later, I still hadn't met up with her and was starting to worry, what would I do? In desperation as a couple passed me I shouted out, "Do you know how to change a flat?" They didn't, but they did have a pump, so they helped me pump up my tire and said they would ride with me until the next rest stop, which was about 10 miles away. (It was seriously so nice of them.) I called Mariah, who I still hadn't seen, and told her to turn around and just ride and I would meet her at the next stop. We ended up stopping about 3 times to pump up my tire. When we reached the rest stop I ran into Nick and his parents who were just about to leave and he told me Mariah was behind me. Huh!?! Somehow along the way I had passed her, we are still not sure how that happened, but I stayed there and waited for her.
Up until this time, I had felt really good. The rest stop was at mile 36 and they were serving lunch and had someone there who changed my tire for me. We ate lunch together and then were on our way. For the rest of the race Mariah was usually about 10-15 minutes ahead of me. After the lunch break, it seems like the rest of the race I was struggling. But on I rode. The turn around point was Antelope Island, so we rode and rode and rode. From about mile 47 to mile 68 I really struggled. At the beginning of the race I was averaging about 17-18 miles an hour, during that time I averaged about 9-10. It was brutal. Antelope Island was cool. I met up with Mariah, who had stopped to call Nick and was just on the side of the rode. I also saw some buffalo. We stopped at the same stop we had for lunch to take a short break, which was much needed. By this time, everything on my body was starting to hurt. My butt, my neck and especially my wrists. I just kept thinking to myself as the miles passed, you only have 25 miles left... you only have 20 miles left... you only have 15 miles left... and finally I didn't have any miles left. I had made it.

Making my final victory lap.

The whole ride with stops took me 9 hours and 50 minutes. Total riding time on my bike 8:15. I rode 106.52 miles. (Funny story about that. It is called a Century, so you think it would only be a 100 miles, but this course was 106 miles. I didn't know that until about mile 80 and by then, like I said, I was dying, so Nick calls me to see where I'm at and I tell him mile 80, I only have 20 miles left and he tells me, well actually, you have 26 miles left, because this course is 106 miles long. I could have died. Another 6 miles doesn't seem like a lot, but after you've just ridden 100 miles you want to get off your bike as fast at you can. I was tempted to tell him to pick me up at mile 100, but I finished it all on the bike.)
Some other fun stats from the race: Start Time 7:45, End Time 5:49, I averaged 12.8 miles per hour and I burned 4829 calories.

Almost 19 Months Old

2011-05-16T20:32:00.000-06:00

The boys are almost 19 months old. I took them into the Dr. last week for their 18 month check up and everything looked good.
Here are their stats:
Owen weighed 29.4 lbs (88th percentile). And he is 35 inches tall (97th percentile).
Caleb weighed 28.6 (82nd percentile). And he is also 35 inches tall.
Neither of them are saying much still, but Owen can wave and say "bye", which is pretty cute. They love playing outside and their favorite show to watch is Sesame Street.

Caleb

Owen

Caleb

Playing on the step

Playing with one of their cars.

Mother's Day

2011-05-07T20:47:00.000-06:00

On facebook their is a post going around for Mother's Day asking people to change their profile picture to one of them and their mom. I decided it would be fun, so I did it. I had fun looking through my pictures and finding some of me with my mom. I actually found some from my mission and have a favorite memory from that day that I want to share and have a place to go to, to remember it.

One of the happiest days of my life was when I came home from my mission and saw my mom standing their, waiting for me in the airport. I can still remember the overwhelming joy I felt at seeing her and how wonderful it felt to hug her again. I can honestly say I know what it will be like to see her in Heaven again, because I've had that experience here on earth. I can't wait to hug her again and tell her, in person, how much I love her.

I Love and Miss You Mom! Happy Mother's Day!

Easter Lesson

2011-04-25T21:05:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I taught an Easter Lesson for Young Women's. It was kind of a disaster in the sense that I could have done a better job preparing it and I cried through the whole lesson. However, that is actually where the lesson turned into something wonderful and spiritual for me. We were talking about the atonement and we watched an Easter video. During the video Elder Holland says, "Now I speak very carefully, even reverently, of what may have been the most difficult moment in all of this solitary journey to Atonement. I speak of those final moments for which Jesus must have been prepared intellectually and physically but which He may not have fully anticipated emotionally and spiritually—that concluding descent into the paralyzing despair of divine withdrawal when He cries in ultimate loneliness, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Elder Holland goes on to say, "It was required, indeed it was central to the significance of the Atonement, that this perfect Son who had never spoken ill nor done wrong nor touched an unclean thing had to know how the rest of humankind—us, all of us—would feel when we did commit such sins. For His Atonement to be infinite and eternal, He had to feel what it was like to die not only physically but spiritually, to sense what it was like to have the divine Spirit withdraw, leaving one feeling totally, abjectly, hopelessly alone.”
This really struck me, I hadn't thought of it like that before. I mean I know we can't even understand how difficult it must have been for him, but this actually made me understand a little better. As we continued to talk about the atonement I was giving an example from my mission how sometimes it was so hard, but I knew the Savior had felt what I had felt and knew what I was going through. As I continued to think about it, I thought of my mom and how much I missed her and how I'm so sad she is gone and then I thought "wow", the savior has felt this before too and he knows my pain. Not that I want him to be sad or in pain, but there is a comfort in knowing that someone else knows how I feel and what I'm going through. It made me so appreciative of the Savior and all that he has done for me and I wanted to record it for me and share it with you. I'm so grateful for the atonement and his sacrifice for me. I know that he lives. I know that he loves me and will be there to support me. I'm truly grateful and feel so blessed to have the knowledge of Christ in my life.

So Big! Boys March 2011.

2011-04-12T16:24:00.000-06:00

My dad has been teaching the boys to raise their arms up when he says, 'So Big'. They are pretty good at it. Owen cracks me up in this video because he just keeps doing it even when he isn't very happy about it.

Fun Stories about the boys.

2011-04-03T19:15:00.001-06:00

Owen walks around sometimes with his hands behind his back. Mike calls him the little Emperor. I guess Jim (Grandpa Slade) did the same thing when he was a little boy.

The other day when it was nice outside I left our sliding glass door open. The boys were playing outside on the steps that lead to the patio and the drapes were blowing in and out of the door. A little later, I heard both of them giggling and I looked over and Owen had come inside and was moving the drapes back and forth (like peak-a-boo) playing with Caleb. It was really cute.

Owen was jealous when Mike was holding another baby. He went over and held onto his legs and was whining for Mike to pick him up.

We have just decided to leave our little vacuum in the kitchen, I know real classy, because the boys make such a mess when they eat and it is just easier to vacuum them up. Well they both love putting the nozzle against their mouth when the vacuum is on. They get all smiley and want to hold it themselves and pull it on and off their mouths.

Enjoying the nice weather. Outside walking around.

2011-03-20T23:05:00.001-06:00

These two love being outside. We have been going on walks around the neighborhood lately and exploring all the fun things in people's front yards. So far their favorite things to pick up are rocks (they get this from their dad) sticks and pieces of garbage. :-) We are all loving the spring weather.

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This is why we can't have nice things around here.

2011-03-18T15:38:00.001-06:00

This is one of Mike's favorite things to say to the boys, when they are banging on things or tearing up the house.They usually just turn and look at him with big grins on their faces. Today, however, he really will mean it when he says it. I went into the boys room after their nap and Owen had broken two of the blinds. What a cute, naughty boy.

Organizing My Life

2011-03-13T22:27:00.001-06:00

(Quick funny story before I get to my point. To keep Owen entertained while I write this post, I put some of the letters that I'm throwing away out in the hall, at first he was just crinkling them up and spreading them around, but now he is grabbing a few and taking them over to the stairs and throwing them down, then he runs back, grabs a few more and throws them down the stairs. I'm going to have a big mess to clean up in a little bit.) :-)
Now, back to the title of this post. I have been hauling around about 8 boxes of letters, pictures, memorabilia, etc... for about 10 years. I keep meaning to scrapbook the photos or organize the letters in a folder or do anything with them besides having them sit in a box taking up space in my basement, so I decided this week, to go through the boxes and get rid of the stuff. If I like the letter, I scan it into my computer, if I like the picture I put it in a pile to scan (there are a lot of them) and if I like a piece of the memorabilia I take a picture of it, so I can look at it and remember it later and then I throw everything away. It has been a great process and so far I've gone through about 4 boxes. It has also been fun to remember all the "memories" associated with each person, object or picture.
I never really realized when I went to school and on my mission how many people wrote to me. I have loved reading letters from both my grandma's, they sent me birthday cards and were so supportive while I was on my mission. In one letter I received from my Grandma Hacking in January 1998, while I was attending school at Dixie, she said she wanted to move to St. George where it was warm, but when she asked my Grandpa if they could go, he said he would go only if he could bring the cows, so she said, "I guess we aren't coming." Ha. I love my Grandma Hacking so much and this just made me remember all the wonderful memories I have of her and my grandpa and spending time with them and my cousins on their farm.
I also found a check from when I worked as a janitor at BYU-Hawaii that I never cashed. Too bad too, because I could have been $93.23 richer.
Anyway, it has been a great process and I'm not only enjoying getting rid of some of this stuff, I'm also enjoying a cleaner, more organized basement.

I be a pirate. Yarg!

2011-03-09T13:34:00.000-07:00

Shaking the crib to pieces

2011-03-08T21:50:00.000-07:00

We can tell when the boys wake up in the morning or from their naps, because we can hear them jumping up and down and shaking the cribs. We have to regularly check and tighten the screws, to make sure they don't shake the crib to pieces. :-) I took this video the other day. We have all been sick at our house and that is why Owen goes from being smiley one minute to crying the next, it has just been a tough week and our emotions are all over the place.

Exotropia

2011-03-03T22:43:00.000-07:00

We've noticed for a some months now that one of Caleb's eyes seems to wander when he looks at things far away. I called back in November to schedule an appointment and final, today, we went in to see the pediatric ophthalmologist. It turns out he has a condition called exotropia. What that is exactly is "a noticeable outward deviation of the eyes". The doctor said that it can require surgery, but there are some other treatments that he wanted to try first. He has prescribed that Caleb where a patch over his eye every day for two hours for two months and then we will go back in for an appointment and see if his eye has gotten any better. I tried putting the patch over his eye today and he did not like it one bit. It took him about a minute to rip it off. I have a few ideas on how I can keep it on, so wish me luck.
Yes, he looks like a pirate with the patch on and yes I will post a picture when I get one. :-)

Clingy

2011-02-28T11:56:00.000-07:00

I was hoping we were going to avoid this stage, but alas it has come upon us. The boys are starting to get a little separation anxiety from me. I'm glad they love me and everything, but seriously a woman needs a little break from time to time. Owen has it more than Caleb. We were at church yesterday, and Caleb was acting up so I took him out in the hall, about a min later Mike comes out with Owen, who was just fine when I left, but Mike said when he saw me leave, he started to follow and when Mike wouldn't let him, he started to cry, so he just brought him out. I spent the rest of sacrament meeting in the hall follow the boys around. When I need to leave at night, we've had to start distracting the boys. If they don't see me leave, it isn't a big deal, but if they do, Mike says they will start to cry, not for long, Mike says they calm down pretty fast, but still, no one likes when their child cries. Anyway, hope this doesn't last long, we only have two months until we can take them to nursery and we are really looking forward to going to classes again, so we hope they won't get upset when we drop them off.

The Boys

2011-02-22T22:15:00.001-07:00

Caleb & Owen

Food

2011-02-22T22:13:00.002-07:00

These two love food. They eat almost everything I place in front of them. I think Owen loves food a little more than Caleb. If I put him in his high chair and need to leave him to get a spoon or grab the crackers and I haven't put food on his tray, I don't hear the end of it until I give him some food. He will start to whine and looks at me like, mom please give me something to eat.

Feb 21, 2011

2011-02-21T21:53:00.002-07:00

Hope everyone had a nice President's Day. Mike had to work, so it was just like any other day around here. I've been working on my 2010 family picture book. Why is it so hard for me to put a book together? I have a hard time picking out pictures, I have a hard time choosing the layout, I have a hard time coming up with captions, etc... I'm using a program called MyPublisher and it is wonderful, they even have an application that will put your whole book together for you, all you have to do is just upload your pictures and it does everything else. If I didn't have 100 pictures of the same thing I would be tempted to use it, but alas it is my job to look through all 100 pictures and find the best one.
I also finally got all my digital pictures organized. Instead of categorizing them according to month, I had labeled them the weirdest ways, like 'Canning Peaches' or 'St. George Trip'. I can barely remember what happened last week, let alone what happened a couple of years ago, so how I thought I was going to remember what month and year I canned peaches or went to St. George, I'm not sure. Anyway, labeling them according to the month is working out great.
So far I've 'scrap booked' Jan, Feb and April (March just had too many pictures and I was feeling overwhelmed.)
Tonight my dad and Kim had a BBQ over at their house. When we got there my dad said we were celebrating the year 1997. Not sure what he meant by that until the end of the night, when he told us that the meat he used to make the hamburgers was from 1997. He is moving soon and trying to us up all the food in his freezer. I wonder how far down he had to dig to find it.

The Stairs

2011-02-20T20:17:00.000-07:00

The boys love playing on the stairs lately. Mike keeps telling them it is a mode of transportation to get from one floor to the other, but they think it is a 'toy' and have lots of fun playing on them. We have been practicing with them going up and down, and they have been doing really well. So, the other day I left the gate open to see what they would do. They were great; they crawled up and down and didn't have any accidents. The next day when I left it open again, I didn't think we would have any problems. Caleb decided that instead of going down backwards like he should, he would go front facing like an adult. Anyway, as you can imagine that didn't work out so well and he fell down a few of the stairs, scraped his nose and gave himself quite a scare. We decided that they still need a little more practice before we can take the gate down.

Feb 20, 2011

2011-02-20T00:55:00.002-07:00

We stayed home most of today and played around the house. I bought the boys one of those wind up cars, where you pull the wheels back and then when you let it go, it will move forward on its own. Anyway, they love chasing it across the kitchen floor. It is always a race to see who can get it first. They are really good about bringing it back to me, so that they can chase it again.

Caleb Up Close.

Toddler Time at the Library

2011-02-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

I took the boys to toddler time at the library today. I didn't take the stroller with me, because it is so bulky, but I think I will next time. The boys aren't quite walking well enough yet, but they are too heavy to carry. I would get one of them picked up and the other one would run off, so I'd have to chase them down. It was a little hectic to get in and out of the library, but once we were in we had a great time. The boys love being with people and exploring new places. At toddler time they have singing and playing and reading. The boys loved being able to wonder around in the room and pick up books and toys and get up close to listen to the story teller.

Owen and Caleb on the couch with their books.

Owen with a big smile.

Feb 16, 2011

2011-02-16T00:28:00.001-07:00

The boys are getting so good with books and wanting me to read to them. They know where the books are and will reach up and grab them. Caleb even brought a book to me to read to him. Whenever I have some books in my hand and go sit on the couch and tell them to come here, they get these big smiles on their face. Owen likes the lift-the-flap books, better than just the normal books. And Caleb likes the Fan-tab-u-lus books about the pet and farm animals.
Owen cracks me up, that kids loves his bottle. I will give him and Caleb a bottle and set them on the floor, when they are done they will start playing again. Later though, when Owen sees the bottle, he will go over and start sucking on it again, even if there is nothing in it. Like I said, he just loves his bottle. He does it all the time. If there is a bottle in any room of the house, that kid will find it.

The Boys are Walking

2011-01-20T09:58:00.000-07:00

We came home from our cruise to find that these two could walk. Let the craziness begin. :-)

Oh to be a Kid

2010-11-23T22:38:00.005-07:00

Caleb was playing in the toy bin and from the look on his face, having a good time.

Owen wanted in on some of the fun, so he decided to join Caleb.

What could be more fun that two babies in a toy bin, is if one baby was riding the other baby.

I think Caleb had more fun than Owen did.

Happy Halloween

2010-11-08T11:59:00.003-07:00

Our family would like to say, "Live Long and Prosper" this Halloween.

Ride 'em Cowboy

2010-10-23T20:09:00.004-06:00

The boys got this little zebra, they can ride on, for their birthday (a post on their birthday coming soon). Mike was out playing with Owen and got this picture. Looks like we have a little cowboy in the family. He stayed on for 8 seconds. :-)

Rub a Dub Dub

2010-10-19T20:49:00.002-06:00

The boys love bath time. They enjoy splashing around in the tub and I enjoy clean babies. :-)

Biking

2010-10-17T20:28:00.004-06:00

As I said in my previous post, Mike thought it would be fun to get us bikes this summer and I'm so glad he did. I have loved riding around Herriman. We bought a bike trailer too, so that we could go with the babies. They are getting to be big boys and it is a great work out riding around with them in tow.
It was such a beautiful day on Saturday that I decided to go once more before it gets too cold. I usually ride about 10 miles.

Just getting back from our ride.

Owen and Caleb in the trailer.

Black Ridge Triathlon 8/14/2010

2010-08-20T14:18:00.012-06:00

Michelle and I at the finish line.

That is right, I participated in a triathlon. It was totally awesome and so much fun. It all started on a walk about a month ago when my friend Michelle told me she was going to participate in the Herriman triathlon and would I like to join her. It was a sprint triathlon, so none of the distances were too long. 1/4 (500 meter) mile swim, 14 mile bike ride and 3 mile run. Sure I could do this. I used to swim back in high school, 13 years ago, it couldn't be that hard to pick it up again. Mike had just purchased us some bikes the beginning of July so that we could get in shape, so I figured I had the biking thing down too. Now running, that is something I really don't like to do. I could walk your socks off, but running, no thanks, but I figured if I nothing else I could walk the 3 miles. So yes, Michelle had me convinced that I could do it. Since the course was right in our back yard, Michelle and I decided we would ride the bike course. I'm so glad we did, because it seemed flat but really it wasn't and on race day it was nice to know when the end was in sight. Again since I don't like running I didn't even "practice" that. I figured I would just wing it race day. We decided to try swimming the Wednesday before the race. Not sure in hind sight if that was a good idea or not. That night the water was freezing and it kind of psyched me out. I was worried the whole rest of the week about how cold it was going to be. One friday I really started freaking out and thinking I couldn't do it without a wet suit. Luckily, my great friend, Michelle, pulled through for me and found me a wet suit, so we were all ready to go Saturday morning. We were up bright and early at 5:00 AM. We went and checked in, placed our running gear that the second check point and like I said, since the course is right in our back yard, we drove to Michelle's house, parked the car and walked over to the lake, which was the first check in point. We set our bikes up and waited around with nervous anticipation for the race to start.
Finally around 7:45 things got under way. We waited our turn for the two groups of men to go before us. When it was time for the first ladies group (which we were in) to start we were ready and waiting on the beach. The signal went off and we headed toward the water. I thought I would stay back when it was time to go, but I was so excited I just got right in and went for it. Side note: Back in high school I was able to swim the 500 yard freestyle (which is about 450 meters) in about 6-7 minutes. It took me a little longer this time, about 15, but really let's not get hung up on numbers. :-) I was just glad I finished. I got out of the water and couldn't get my wet suit off. Good thing Mike and the boys had come up to watch. I ran over to him and he helped me get it off. I hurried and put on my shoes, hoped on my bike and away I went. The two time I had ridden the bike course before it had taken me an hour and a half. I really pushed it the day of the race, and it was nice that Mariah let me use her bike, it was a real street bike and a lot lighter than my cruiser, but I was able to finish the bike portion in just over an hour. I had told everyone that I thought it would take me about three hours to finish the race, so when I was done with the swim and bike in about an hour and fifteen minutes, I knew I had to let Mike know I would be done earlier, or he wasn't going to be at the finish line when I got there, so before I started my run, I sent him a quick text. Bike Done. He said it was a good thing too, or else he wouldn't have come. He thought I was going to take a lot longer. Now onto the run, fun stuff. I would run for as long as I could and then would give myself a minute or two break of walking. When the race first started I had meant to turn on my watch so that I could know how I was doing when I was out on the course, I had forgotten until about half way through the swim, so I knew I had to give myself an extra 5 minutes or so on time. When I was about a mile from being done, I looked down and the time was about 1:41. I could totally do this and come in under two hours I told myself, you just have to get your butt in gear. I kept going and it paid off. I finished the run in about 38 minutes, giving myself a time of 1:57.13. Holy Cow, you do not know how happy I was. It felt so great to be done and to have accomplished my first triathlon. Mike, the boys and Michelle, were all at the finish line cheering me on. Here's hoping that there are more triathlons to come.

Excited and nervous for the race to start.

And we're off.

Out of the water and ready to ride the bike course.

Me on my bike. (Thanks to Zazoosh for the photos).

Me walking. Man running is a lot of work.

So Happy, I'm done. I crossed the finish line about 5 seconds later. Yahoo!!

Hacking Cousins Party

2010-08-15T10:15:00.007-06:00

Last Saturday, I hosted a Grant Hacking Cousins party at my dad's house. We had swimming, good food and great company. It was a lot of fun to see everyone. 55 cousin, aunts, uncles, etc... came. I'm grateful for my family and especially to my Grandma and Grandpa Hacking. Hope we can continue the tradition and do it again next year.

Swimming in the Pool

Relaxing by the pool talking to Family.

Eating some good food.

The Grant Hacking Family.

Caleb and Owen in their bouncers

2010-08-09T08:32:00.000-06:00

This video is long, but I love it. The boys were being so funny together I had to get it on film.

The Family

2010-07-15T09:19:00.002-06:00

Owen

2010-07-01T22:15:00.004-06:00

Nicknames: Owey, the bear.
He is getting so good at sitting. He can sit for a few mins or more by himself and any day we expect him to start crawling. He is getting up on his hands and knees and moving back and forth.
He got his bottom two teeth in just a week ago. They are coming in slower than Caleb's did.
He got his first ear infection in June. No fun. :-( He is on antibiotics and is making a good recovery.
The boys can hold their own bottles now and that makes it nice when I'm in a hurry and need to feed them. They can still eat and I can still get things done around the house.
We are experimenting more with solid foods. It is so fun to see their faces. So far everything we have given them (that isn't mushed up baby food) they have made a funny face at, but I guess it is a lot to take in, when all you are used to is formula.
We have been playing the Baby Signing Time videos for the boys and they love them.

Trip to St. George

2010-06-14T13:57:00.004-06:00

Mike called me Thursday afternoon and asked if I would like to go to St. George for the weekend. Yes, Please! Since it is almost the middle of June and still not hot enough from me, plus I love anything and everything about St. George, I started packing. I've heard stories about how bad it is vacation with kids and how much stuff they need, but I didn't think it was that bad. Yes for our family of four we used all the space available in our Pilot, but we need that much stuff at home, so what's the difference!?!
The boys traveled pretty well about 30 mins out of St. George Owen started to have a melt down, but Caleb slept right through it. We took lots of naps (well the babies did) went swimming and shopping, ate at our favorite restaurant (The Pizza Factory) and watched movies together.
Every time we went to the pool I forgot our camera. I got these smiling faces instead while we were at dinner. This about sums it up, we had a good time.

Caleb

2010-06-04T13:11:00.002-06:00

Nicknames: Bug, KK.
He just got two bottom teeth and he slobbers a TON.
Can roll over on his tummy, but after a while will start to cry. He knows how to roll back over onto his back, but he doesn't. Most of the time he just cries until Mike or I flip him back over.
Loves to jump and stand up in his exersaucer.
He is close to being able to sit on his own. He can sit for a few seconds on his own, but then he topples over.
The boys are sleeping in separate cribs now. They are sleeping through the night from about 7:30pm to 6:30am. Mike is a great husband and gets up with them in the morning.
One thing that I love that Caleb does, is if he is sad and has been crying and I pick him up, the first thing he does is he puts his mouth on my shoulder blade and cries into it for a few seconds.

Happy 62nd Brithday Mom!

2010-06-01T09:43:00.002-06:00

My mom would have been 62 this year. On her birthday, May 29th, we took the boys up to see her grave. This is the first time we have taken them to the cemetery since they were born. It was a nice afternoon and we took her some flowers. I wish she was here with us all the time. Oh how I miss her. I wonder how she would have reacted to the news of finding out her first grandchildren were going to be twins. I know she would have been so excited. Before she died she told me that being a grandma was going to be one of the things she missed most. She would have been wonderful at it.

I hosted a birthday party for her at my house that night with my family. We had cake, played her favorite card game, Shanghi, and reminisced.

Joke

2010-05-27T09:44:00.003-06:00

Mike's mom found this joke on the back of a laffy taffy wrapper.
What do you call twin brothers?...

A Sunset. Ha. Corny.

Easter in May

2010-05-23T14:11:00.010-06:00

We have a tradition of going out to Vernal for Easter, but since it is usually cold, raining or snowing in March and April, we decided that we would add a new twist to the tradition and start doing Easter in May, so that it might be a little warmer. Just our luck, it still rained, but it stopped enough, so that we could go have some fun.
This was the boys first Easter in Vernal, and I think they had a pretty good time.

When we arrived we headed for the gully for the Hot Dog Roast. Mike and Caleb roasting a hot dog.

Caleb, me and Ivy dying Easter Eggs. (Dad and Owen were taking a nap.)

Caleb and I. Yippy! We found his Easter basket. (Owen and Dad were still asleep.)

Up on Chocolate Rock. The boys were able to roll their Easter eggs down chocolate rock.

The Beesley Bunch

And the Hall Cousins

Mothers Day was Oh So Nice!

2010-05-10T22:18:00.003-06:00

Sleeping in until I was served breakfast in Bed.
A sweet card from Mike and the Boys telling me what a good mother I am. :-)
A teeth whitening kit, which I've wanted for a while.
Dinner at my Dad's house.
And Mike taking care of the boys all day long so I could just relax.
It was an Oh So Nice Day!

Caleb, Me, Mike and Owen

I love me some chikin

2010-04-30T10:49:00.001-06:00

We attended another Chick-fil-A Grand Opening and are now 104 combo meals richer. ( For those who don't know, Chick-fil-A gives away 52 free meals for the first 100 customer.) We took the babies with us for a couple of hours and they enjoyed all the fun. Mike's parents came and picked them up after they got off work. We spent the night sleeping out in the parking lot. Good Time. I checked in at 74 and Mike was 84. It was well worth it and I didn’t even mind the snow, except for the fact that it’s the end of April and we are still getting snow. There were 16 of us total who attended and we’re already ready for the next opening. Eat Mor Chikin!

Checking In.

Caleb can't wait to "Eat More Chikin".

We actually got 106 free combo meals, because they fed us dinner at the event.
(Will, Brian, Nick Mariah and Me.)

Playing Games. (My brother in law, Brian, is the best. He brought a tent and two space heaters, so it was great, we just staying in the tent until we went to bed, playing games and talking, so the cold wasn't too bad.)

All bundled up and staying warm in our tent.

Seattle

2010-04-27T14:08:00.020-06:00

First of all I want to thank my sister, Rebecca, who invited us up for the weekend and who was an excellent tour guide. We saw all the major sites and had a great time doing it. Second, I want to thank my sister, Mariah and her husband, Nick, who watched the boys for us while we were gone. They did a great job and we hope because of this experience they will want to have kids sooner. :-)
My sister, Rebecca, goes to school in Seattle. She is studying fashion design and has lived up there for about a year and a half. She is graduating this July, so with a little prodding from her, we decided it was time to go up and visit. We left Thursday night and came home Sunday night. We were also able to visit family and friends and enjoyed a rainless weekend of site seeing.

Atop the Space Needle. It sure was windy.

At Alki Beach drinking our Starbucks Hot Chocolate. (We fit right in, just like a local.) :-)

Our "cool" picture.

We went to the Fremont Street Market on Sunday and Pike's Market Place on Saturday. Both had lots of good stuff to buy.

We went and ate lunch at Ivar's and after wards we fed the seagulls.

The Fish market at Pikes Place.

The Fremont Troll.

Sad Day

2010-04-20T19:57:00.002-06:00

It was a sad day at the Slade household. We used out last two Chick Fil A coupons. (See previous post.) However, there is a silver lining, a new Chick Fil A opens up in a few weeks and you know for sure, we will be there. We just have to get through the next few weeks. :-)

New Blog Title

2010-04-12T11:39:00.003-06:00

Let's be honest, anyone who reads my blog already knows it is all about the boys. I just thought I would finally come to terms with it too. :-) I keep hoping that I will have something else to post about, but they are my life and full time job now, so they are my focus. Besides, if we ever do fun stuff like have friends over for dinner or play games, I forget the camera, and a post without pictures just isn't as fun. Hopefully as the days get warmer and we start leaving the house more often, I will be able to post more about our activities, but for right now I spend the majority of my time watching the boys grow and become cuter each day.

Owen Laughing

2010-04-04T11:12:00.004-06:00

I was blowing raspberries on the back of Owen's head last night and he started to giggle. It was the first time he has ever giggled like this so I told Mike to grab the camera and start recording. It was pretty cute.

Owen, aka Baby Bear

2010-03-19T15:49:00.010-06:00

This is the baby bear that lives in our house. He likes to eat, splash around in the water when he takes a bath and he loves to lay on his play mat and look up at all the toys, however he becomes one angry baby bear when he has to go to sleep or take a nap. He howls and cries and just becomes a real bear (pun intended) when he has to go to sleep, which is weird, because from what I know bears usually like to sleep.
While Caleb is our dream sleeper, Owen is not. He fights sleep with all he's got. If there is anything even remotely interesting going on in the house and he can hear it from his room, he will wake up and want to join us. He likes to be in on the action.
For example: A few weeks ago, we had put the boys down for a nap in their bedroom and started playing guitar hero in the family room, after we played a few songs, we hear Owen start to cry. We went in the room to try to get him to sleep again. We tried holding him for a little bit and then giving him his pacifier, but he just kept crying. We didn't want him to wake up Caleb (who had fallen asleep within minutes of being put down I'm sure) so we just brought him out to let him watch us. That is all it took. We laid him on the couch to watch the game and within a few minutes he fell asleep. Oh that silly baby bear.

Owen has recently found his hands and he loves to eat them. I've tasted them and don't think they taste like anything, but they must be good for him, because they are always in his mouth. :-)

As I've said Caleb is our talker, and for the most part Owen will just listen to him jabber when they are both together, but it is funny, when Caleb is sleeping and it is just Owen that is awake. He will sit and talk to himself. He isn't as loud or long winded as Caleb, but he does have stuff to say.

Caleb

2010-03-13T14:28:00.009-07:00

Caleb is such a good baby. I love having him around. This kid loves to sleep (he gets that from his mom) and he goes down for naps and bedtime so easy. Most of the time we just wrap him up in his blanket put him in his swing or the crib and within a few minutes he will be asleep. The boys sleep about 7-8 hours at night and still take a couple of long naps (2-3 hours) during the day.

Caleb used to be a great eater too, but as of late, he would rather try to talk or look around, then focus on eating, so it usually takes him a while to finish. The boys are eating 6 ounces 5 times a day. During the last two feedings at night we are adding rice cereal. Soon we will start them on baby foods, I'm sure that will be fun and messy. :-) As I said in a previous post Caleb is my talker. He loves to jabber away when he is awake. He doesn't cry much, only when he is hungry or tired, so it is pretty easy to tell what he wants.
Caleb also loves taking a bath.

There isn't a whole lot he doesn't like, besides tummy time. ;-) I'm grateful for that because it makes my job as a mom a lot easier.

Boys Blessing Day

2010-03-08T15:28:00.004-07:00

The boys were blessed yesterday at church. Mike did a good job on the blessings and after wards we had a yummy brunch at our house with all the family. The boys looked so handsome in their outfits. I am so happy to have these two little boys in my life. I know that our Heavenly Father knows us better than we know ourselves and gives us opportunities and experiences to teach us and help us become better people. These two babies, in the four months they have been with us, have taught me many things; the most important being a greater love for my family. Not in a million years did I ever think I would be the mom of twin boys, but I'm so happy I am. I'm grateful that Heavenly Father believes in me and would give me this special opportunity to take care of two wonderful boys. I love both of them very much.

Owen and Caleb on their Blessing Day

The Proud Parents

Little Birdies?!?

2010-03-04T15:44:00.005-07:00

The other day when my sister called, she told me that every time she calls me now it sounds like I have a bunch of birds in my house. I thought that was funny. Well, they aren't birds, but they do like to make a lot of noise. :-) The boys have found that they can make noise with their mouths and they like talking. Caleb really likes it, he talks all the time while he is awake and is sometimes very loud and expressive. Owen on the other hand is a man of few words, sometimes he pipes in, but a lot of the time he will just sit and listen to to his brother.
So here is a preview of our little birdie, Caleb. :-)

Double the Fun

2010-02-23T19:04:00.006-07:00

Caleb and Owen Smiling at Mike (He must have been doing something funny when he was taking the picture. :-))

Seriously, is there anything cuter than when a baby starts to smile!?! We love watching these two grow and learn.
They had their four month appointment today and they are progressing fine. Caleb (12 lbs 15 oz) is now only half a pound behind Owen (13 lbs 6 oz) instead of a pound. And they are 25 and 26 inches respectively.

Caleb

2010-02-17T21:40:00.006-07:00

Weight: 12.6 lbs
Height: 23.5 inches
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Brown
Skill he's still working on: Learning to hold his head up.

Happy Valentines Day

2010-02-15T20:48:00.005-07:00

Me and my two new Valentines!

Caleb

Owen

Short Film

2010-02-11T20:22:00.007-07:00

Presenting Owen and Caleb in their Film Debut. This is a short clip titled "O Brother Where Art Thou?" Enjoy!
Thanks to Mike and Mariah for their help with the babies.

PS. After filming this Mike told me I need to get out more. :-)

Good News and Bad News

2010-02-10T15:45:00.004-07:00

The good news is, I can fit back into my jeans. :-)
The bad news is, I now have a muffin top that hangs over said
jeans. :-(
I guess I'll take it one thing at a time. :-)

Double Date

2010-02-07T20:57:00.006-07:00

The day the boys were born, so was another set of twins, darling little girls, Charlotte and Chloe. (Aren't they cute!!!)

These girls also needed a little extra help/time in the hospital and because of this I was able to get to know their awesome mom, Gina Smith. :-) We exchanged contact information at the hospital and have kept in touch. Gina has been wonderful about answering all the questions I have and taking my calls late at night. It has also been great for me to be able to have another mom of twins to bounce ideas off of. So far Gina and I have just talked on the phone and emailed back and forth since the babies came home from the hospital, but this week, we decided it was time to get together and go out to dinner with the husbands. It was a lot of fun and we had a great time. We look forward to many more years getting to know the Smith family and their cute girls.

PS. Who knows, maybe in 16 years the boys and Charlotte and Chloe can go on a double date. :-)

Owen

2010-02-01T13:58:00.008-07:00

Here are some random facts about Owen.

Weight: 12.6 lbs
Height: 23 inches
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Brown
Current skill he's working on: Learning to smile

Bath Time

Striking a Pose

Medical Bills

2010-01-27T14:26:00.005-07:00

First, I want to say thank goodness for medical insurance.
Second, if anyone would ever like to know how much it cost to have twins born at 35 weeks who need a little extra help their first weeks of life, here is a pretty close estimate.
Owen: Stayed at IMC in the NICU for 13 days:
Cost $75,000
Caleb: Stayed at Alta View Hospital in the well baby nursery for 24 days:
Cost $35,000
Grand Total: $110,000.
Having two little babies to hold, love and cherish at the exact same time: PRICELESS.

The Dad

2010-01-24T14:54:00.003-07:00

Mike is such a great dad to the boys. He probably changes more diapers then I do and he is always willing to take one of the night feedings. Seriously, I don't know what I would do without him.

Kicking

2010-01-21T16:11:00.005-07:00

I realize I am slightly out of control, but hey it's my blog and they are my boys and I think they are pretty cute.

Few Updates

2010-01-21T10:10:00.000-07:00

A few updates: The boys have finally outgrown their newborn outfits and they are now in 0-3 month clothes.
I started working out. I still have about 12 lbs of baby weight to lose and unfortunately it's in no hurry to shed itself from my body, so I decided it was time to put the treadmill to good use. Wish me luck.
The boys have also started to sleep less, which makes my day a little more busy. They aren't sleeping after every feeding, they want to stay up now and have fun with mom. (What they don't know is that I'm pretty boring and looking for some entertainment myself.) I'm still trying to figure out exactly when their naps should be and for how long. Today I didn't do a very good job. When Owen's been awake, Caleb has been sleeping and vice versa, so I need to get them on the same schedule, so I can still have some down time during the day.

Tummy Time

2010-01-18T12:01:00.001-07:00

This is for you Becca.

PS. Now that I've finally figured out how to load videos onto Blogger, you'll probably be seeing a lot more.

Pictures of the Boys

2010-01-15T14:36:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to my sisters: to Rebecca, who wanted to see more pictures of the boys and to Mariah, who wanted to see pictures of the boys in their Bumbos.

R to L: Owen & Caleb

Front to Back: Owen & Caleb

Caleb

A deer in the head lights, I mean Owen. Ha.

Grandpa Beesley

2010-01-13T17:01:00.003-07:00

Last week I had a doctor's appointment that I didn't want to take the boys to. I mentioned this to my Dad and he said he could come over and watch them. I was a little hesitant at first, since it has been over 20 years since he has taken care of a baby, but I figured if I had them fed, changed and sleeping, all he would have to do is get them out of the house if it started burning down. Well the house is still standing and the boys survived. :-) It must have not been to bad for my dad, because he said he could do it again if I ever needed him to. So, I decided to take him up on it again this week. I still made sure the boys were fed, changed and down for a nap, but when I got home, not only had everyone survived, but he had cleaned the kitchen and dusted the family room. He even helped me bottle feed the boys before he left. I had my doubts at first about how he would handle the babies, but he is proving himself to be a great grandpa. Next time I'll put him to work on the bathrooms. :-)

Being a Mom of Twins

2010-01-06T13:19:00.003-07:00

I know I'm just barley getting into this whole motherhood thing and maybe my opinion will change as the boys get older and life gets more busy and more crazy, but right now I enjoy being a mom of twins. Here is the deal. When I was pregnant I read all these books about how hard twins would be, how I was going to need all this help, and how life would just be crazy and chaotic for the first while. And while it has been nice to have people come over and watch the boys while I get out for a few hours and when both babies are crying and I'm the only one home, it does feel crazy and chaotic, I also feel like it really hasn't been that bad. I feel like I was overly prepared, because when we brought the boys home, both Mike and I said, "this doesn't seem so bad, we can do this." Sure everything takes twice as long and sometimes when I get up in the middle of the night to do a feeding, I think of how nice it will be when there is only one child to feed and I can go to bed after the first feeding instead of having to do the whole routine a second time, but since these are our first, I don't know any different, so we just make it work. Maybe it's because we have good boys, maybe I was so overly prepared for the worst and when we finally got them home, it didn't seem that bad and maybe it's because Mike has been so good with the boys and is such a great helper. Whatever the case may be I feel blessed to be a mom and enjoy having these two little babies in my life.

Our Decade in Review 2000-2009

2010-01-03T15:50:00.007-07:00

Our Family 2009

-2000- Mike continues to serve in the Phillipine Ilagan Mission. (May) Sue graduates from the University of Utah with a degree in Psychology. (July) Sue receives her mission call to the Brazil, Porto Alegre North Mission.
-2001- (April) Mike returns home from his mission. (Sept) Mike starts school at Salt Lake Community College. (Oct) Mike gets a job working for the 2002 Winter Olympics.
-2002- (Jan) Sue returns home from her mission. (Feb) Sue starts working for Back to Basics. (March) Mike starts working for Back to Basics. He and Sue meet. He was the strong, hunky warehouse worker and she was the cute office girl. (June) Mike and Sue have their first kiss the night before she leaves to China. Sue's family travels to China and Taiwan where Sue's brother, Will, had been living and working. Mike goes to Boston for a few months during the summer to work for the Patriots.
-2003- Mike and Sue continue to date. Mike and Sue continue to work for Back to Basics. (Dec) Sue's family goes on a cruise to the Western Caribbean. She gets to bring a friend, so she chooses Mike.
-2004- (April) Mike proposes and Sue says, "Yes". (August 18th) Sue and Mike get married. (Nov) Marilyn Beesley, Sue's mom, is diagnosed with cancer.
-2005- Sue and Mike spend the year taking care of and trying to fit in a lifetime of memories and love with Marilyn that they will miss out on when she is gone. (May) Mike and Sue buy some property in Herriman and start building their first house. (Sept) Mike transfers to the University of Utah.
-2006- (Jan) Mike and Sue move into their new home. (Jan 22nd) Marilyn Hacking Beesley dies and our lives change forever. We miss her everyday. (Feb) Back to Basics takes all their employees on a cruise to the Mexican Rivera. (August) Sue travels with her sister, Rebecca, to Alaska, to visit their other sister, Mariah, who is working in Skagway for the summer. They have a blast together and almost get attacked by a squirrel. :-)(November) Mike quits working at Back to Basics to go to school full time.
-2007- (Jan) Back to Basics sells to Focus Electrics, a company located in Chicago, IL. Focus Electrics keeps Back to Basics in tact, so Sue continues to work for them. (April) Mike graduates from the University of Utah with a degree in Accounting. (June) Sue travels to Europe with Mariah and Rebecca. They have fun, but Sue did not enjoy the walking tours. :-) (August) Mike gets a job as an accountant working for DSD. (Oct) Focus Electrics shuts down Back to Basics in Utah. Sue loses her job and spends the next 8 months enjoying being unemployed.
-2008- (March) Sue plans a trip for the Beesley Family to New Zealand to visit Nick and Mariah, who are living and working in Fox Glacier, NZ.
(June) Sue decides to get a part time job and starts working for Farmers Insurance. (December) Mike gets a new job working for Craig Hancey and Company doing tax accounting.
-2009- (March) Mike and Sue find out they are pregnant. (May) Mike and Sue find out they are going to be having twins. What a shock! Sue has a great pregnancy besides her water breaking a few weeks too early. (Oct 21st) Owen and Caleb are born 5 weeks early. (November) Both boys get to come home from the hospital this month. They are both growing well and continue to get big and strong.

We look forward to what the new decade will bring our family. We hope all of you have a great 2010.

Hemophila Scare

2009-12-23T01:46:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to give an update on Owen. It turns out he doesn't have hemophilia. Yeah! To make a long story short, (well kind of short), when he was born we tested him for the wrong type of Hemophilia. In the beginning when we found out we were having two boys and that they could possibly have hemophilia, I called my Dad and asked him what kind of Hemophilia he had, he told me Hemophilia A, so I relayed this information to my OB. At the hospital when they collected their blood, the lab was told to just test for Hemophilia A. Caleb, was also tested for Hemophilia A and his level was fine, but Owen's was low, so that is why we originally thought he had hemophilia A. However when I took him in to Primary Children's Medical Center in December to get retested for Hemophilia A, I called my dad and talked to him for a little about his Hemophilia and we figured out that he actually has Hemophilia B. He mentioned that the Hemophilia he has is called Christmas disease and he takes factor 9. (I don't know, I guess he is getting old and losing it. ha) Since it is passed on through my X chromosome, the boys should only really be able to have Hemophilia B. Anyway they retested Owen for A and B and both his levels came back within the normal range. Also, because of the new discovery with Owen, they had me take Caleb in too, to test him for "B" and his test results came back normal too. So it looks like we dodged two bullets with this one. :-) They aren't sure why Owen's levels were so low for "A" when he was first born, but for right now we aren't going to worry about it. Primary Children's said to give them a call in a year and they will retest again then, but for right now, it looks like these boys will be fine.
Both Mike and I appreciate all the questions you answered for us and the information that you sent to us. I'm so happy we were able to meet you in the hospital. It is reassuring to know we have a friend in the field, who can help answer questions and direct us in the right direction. I'll keep your information and also pass it along to my sisters in case they ever have questions or problems. Thank you again and we will keep in touch.

Getting to know Owen Michael Slade

2009-12-18T15:20:00.004-07:00

Owen is our first born. ;-) Since we were having two boys, we decided that each of us could pick a name we liked and Mike got to name Baby A, so Baby A became Owen. When Owen was born, he had some lung problems and had to stay in the NICU for 13 days. Despite that, he was still the first one home from the hospital and got to spend eleven days at home as the "only" child.

His likes: Wiggling out of his clothes while he sleeps, laying in your arms and looking up at your face, swinging in the swing, getting burped, grunting mightily and sleeping with a night light on.

His dislikes: Having a stuffy nose, waiting his turn to eat, sleeping on his left side, and tummy time.

Newborn Photos

2009-12-14T14:31:00.006-07:00

I posted a couple of weeks ago that we were finally able to get the boys newborn photos done. We had the pictures taken by Heidi and she did an amazing job. This weekend we were able to see the finished product. I LOVE the pictures. The boys look so cute. I'm so glad we were able to capture this time in their lives. Here are a few of the pictures.

Getting to know Caleb Stephen Slade

2009-12-11T12:47:00.009-07:00

Caleb was Baby B. I (his mom) picked his name. My sister, Rebecca, suggested the name to me and I liked it, so I went with it. His middle name comes from his dad. Stephen, is Mike's middle name. He was born 2 minutes after his older brother, Owen. He weighed a pound less at birth than Owen and has been trying to catch up ever since. Caleb stayed in the hospital for 24 days and had to come home with oxygen. He is now doing fine and growing big and strong.

His likes are: Being fed first, falling asleep on someones shoulder, laying on the boppy and looking around at all the interesting things in the house, taking a warm bath, and sucking on his pacifier.

His dislikes are: Getting his diaper changed, peeing on himself, having to drink formula, the process of being swaddled (though he does like the end result) and throwing up on himself.

The funny faces of Caleb Slade:

The Babies

2009-11-29T11:59:00.006-07:00

I took both boys to the Dr. on Monday and all looked well. Caleb was breathing well and his oxygen saturation level was close to 100 so the Dr said we could take him off oxygen. they also weighed both boys and they are gaining some good weight. Soon they will be fat and sassy. Caleb weighed 5 lbs 12 oz and Owen weighed 6 lbs 12 oz.
we had a nice Thanksgiving dinner over at my sister, Mariah's house. The boys mostly slept so I think that meant they enjoyed themselves too. On Saturday we got their new born pictures taken. Mike came with me and the funny thing is I got peed on twice and pooped on once, but Mike walked away scott free. It was worth it though because they turned out really cute. When the photographer sends me the images, I'll post some.

For now here are some pictures of our cute boys. :-)

Owen likes to wiggle out of his clothes. The problem is preemie clothes are too small and newborn clothes are still just a little to big, so he solves the problem by just wiggling out of them.

If I were Caleb I would be scared of Owen too. I love the look on Caleb's face.
(PS. I know Owen looks some what jaundice. I'm going to talk to the Dr. this week.)

Caleb is off Oxygen

2009-11-23T13:42:00.000-07:00

Took Caleb in for an oxygen test and he passed, so we took him off the oxygen. Yahoo!
Caleb weighed 5lbs 12oz. Owen 6lbs 12oz.

Four Weeks Old

2009-11-18T19:49:00.004-07:00

The boys are four weeks old today. It has been a fun, crazy ride so far. We are grateful they are in our lives and that they are home and healthy. Today was my first day at home by myself with both of them and we all survived. Ha. Actually it wasn't too bad, I just followed our normal routine, eat, sleep, diaper change, eat, sleep, diaper change, etc... (you get the picture) and it turned out fine. I did throw in some tummy time and baths to mix things up a bit and I think everyone had a good time. :-)

November 18, 2009

2009-11-18T13:32:00.001-07:00

Owen and Caleb don't like when their hats go over their eyes. They start crying and push their heads back, hoping that will make it so they can see.
Neither one likes it when they have to get their diaper changed. (It's took cold for them.)
First day at home with both of them by myself.
Owen likes to grunt while he eats.

Caleb's First Doctor Appointment

2009-11-17T13:29:00.007-07:00

I took Caleb to his first Doctors appointment today. Owen tagged along so he could get weighed. Both boys gained weight. Caleb 5lbs 7oz, Owen 6lbs 6oz. Caleb's checkup went well, no problems. He is still on his oxygen and will be for at least another week. They will check his oxygen level in a week to see if he can come off it.

Together at Last

2009-11-14T14:52:00.003-07:00

Owen and Caleb together at last.

Caleb getting his first good look at his brother, since their days in the womb.

Friday the 13th must be a lucky day alright, but contrary to popular belief it is good luck not bad luck, because we were finally able to bring Caleb home today.
We are happy to have him home. I have to say, even after the few hours that he has been home, having two babies compared to one is going to be a little crazy for a while. Caleb did end up having to come home on oxygen, so now in our house we have a big oxygen tank and a 50 foot hose that Caleb has in his nose. Hopefully he will only have to have it for a little while, but either way we are glad to have him here.

We appreciate every one's support so far. Some of you have offered to help and now that both of them are home, I will probably take some of you up on it. :-)

Update 11/12/09

2009-11-13T09:03:00.004-07:00

It has been a week since we were able to bring Owen home from the hospital and so far Mike and I have enjoyed being parents. :-) Mike is great with helping out and gets up in the night for one of the feedings, so that I can sleep. He told me that he has been training for this (the sleepless nights) for years. All that World of WarCraft he used to play until the wee hours of the night/morning has finally paid off, because he has adjusted way better than I have. My days of sleeping in until noon didn’t really prepare me at all. Ha. I hate to admit it, but I guess World of WarCraft has at least one redeeming quality. :-)

We love having Owen home where we can hold him and feed him and love him anytime we want. He is doing well and mostly just eats and sleeps.

Mike took Owen to his first check up last week to the new Riverton Hospital. He hadn’t ever been inside the building before so he wasn’t quite sure in which wing of the hospital the pediatrician was located. He ended up going into the Primary Children's wing of the hospital (which you would think would be the place to find a pediatrician, but apparently not our pediatrician.) As he was trying to find his way to the right place, he was directed by a receptionist to go through the back hallways of the hospital where normally only staff are allowed. He eventually got lost and asked a technician how to get out to the public area of the hospital. As he and the technician walked out from the staff section, a hospital administrator called after him and said "Hold on. Stop just one minute." He then asked who Mike was and asked if he could prove that the baby he was carrying around was really his. Being caught off guard he couldn’t think of anyway to prove that Owen was his baby other than to say that he was just going to his 2 week doctor checkup The administrator was still apprehensive and told him, “We can't have people walking around with babies because it’s a very urgent 'code pink.'” The administrator then told the technician to escort Mike up to the fourth floor and to make sure that he checked in at the pediatrician’s office. Needless to say don't try to steal a baby from Riverton hospital they will be on you like white on rice, even if it’s your own baby. :-)

I put a picture of Caleb in Owen's crib so that he can send love and good thoughts his way. I also did the same for Caleb in the hopes that it will motivate him to come home soon so that these two can finally be together again. I think it is working too because last night and this morning we got good news from the nurses and doctor.

Yesterday afternoon they removed Caleb’s feeding tube. When I talked to the Dr. this morning, she was very optimistic and said that it could be as soon as tomorrow that Caleb could come home. He had gained about 3 oz last night and was taking all his feedings by mouth. If he continues to eat well and gains weight tonight, they will be able to send him home. Caleb is still on oxygen, but he can come home with a portable oxygen tank, so we don’t even mind. We just want him home. :-)

Caleb in his car seat, trying to pass the "car seat test" so he can come home.

Owen sleeping in his crib, waiting for brother to join him.

Owen's Home

2009-11-07T09:48:00.003-07:00

We are excited to announce that Owen was finally able to come home. He was released from the hospital Thursday afternoon after 16 days in the NICU. We are so happy to have him home and can't wait to get his brother home too. Mike is going to take a couple of days off again to help out around the house and with the feedings. The first couple of nights haven't been too bad, but that is because Mike is waking up in the middle of the night to feed Owen too. What a great dad and husband. :-)

Can you tell Who's Who?

2009-11-04T16:08:00.003-07:00

We've got a good news update. Owen got his feeding tube out yesterday. If he can continue to prove himself (eating well, gaining weight, and keeping his body temp up) the doctor said he can come home in 48 hours. We are excited and hope he comes home tomorrow.

Caleb is still in his incubator. He is gaining weight (he is back up to his birth weight) but he still needs to work on keeping himself warm. He is also still on his feeding tube. The nurse told me that he has to take all his feedings by mouth before he can come home and so far he is only taking a few.

Please continue to keep both boys in your prayers. We hope we can get them home soon.

Happy Halloween from The Slade Family

2009-10-31T14:18:00.006-06:00

Well I had hoped that they babies would still be in my tummy for this Halloween, but since they came early we celebrated by dressing them up in cute little pumpkin onesies with matching pumpkin hats, that their Aunt Lisa gave them.

Caleb has the funniest faces in some of his pictures. In most of his pictures he looks like a cute little baby, but there are some where he looks like an old man. In this one he reminds me of my Grandpa Hacking. Ha.

Owen was wiggling all over the place, so we just decided to go with it. He is doing the Monster Mash. :-)

My Doctor got the results back from the lab on whether the boys are fraternal or identical. And the results are... They are fraternal. We didn't care either way, but it is interesting to know and now when people ask I can tell them.

Here is the update for today.
They are both doing well, but they both have a few things they need to work on.
Caleb needs to learn to keep himself warm, gain weight and keep eating well. We hope that the more weight he gains the easier it will be to keep his body temperature. As I’ve said before, he eats like a champ, so hopefully it won’t take too long to gain the weight. Today he weighed 4 lbs 8 oz, so he is only 2 oz away from being at his birth weight.
Owen needs to learn to eat better, gain weight, continue to keep himself warm and continue to breathe on his own. They took him out of his warming bed again on Thursday and this time he has been able to keep his body temperature up. He hasn’t had to go back in the warming bed, so we hope that is the last of that. He has also been off oxygen for the last couple of days and again we hope that he is done with that for the rest of his hospital stay. He isn’t as good of an eater as his brother, so that will be what we work on with him.
Besides that they are doing fine. They are still on track to get out sooner rather than later. Next week is best case scenario and two weeks from now is the more realistic scenario. We hope they work hard and grow big and strong because the sooner the better for us.

Caleb sleeping.

Owen awake.

The Boys are 1 week old today

2009-10-28T23:03:00.005-06:00

The update for today was that I was able to take a nap. :-) But seriously it felt so good.

Caleb is doing good. He had to be put under the bili lights for his jaundice, but the Dr. thinks he should only have to have them for a day or two. He weighed 4 lbs 7 oz, so he is slowly making his way back to his birth weight. He still has a feeding tube and an IV, hopefully like Owen he will get the IV removed soon. He is such a good eater and is always awake and alert during his feedings. It is fun to interact with him and watch him as he looks around at his surroundings. He is also a wiggle worm. When he wakes up right before his feedings, he loves moving his legs and arms all around.

Owen had to go back on oxygen. He forgets to breath when he is in a deep sleep, so they decided he needed a little more time on the oxygen. He also had to go back and sleep in his warming bed. He just couldn't keep his body temperature up. He's stable though, so we are happy about that. After I feed him, he likes to fall asleep on my chest. He always tilts his head to the side and sleeps with his mouth open. It is really cute.

Both of the boys are calm and mellow, neither of them cry much. I hope this continues once we get them home. :-)

Caleb with Dad

Slade Boys Update

2009-10-27T20:17:00.003-06:00

Caleb: 6 Days Old

Owen

We finally got the results back for Caleb on the Hemophilia. His doctor said that his factor level came back in the normal range, it was 126 and we've been told that any level between 56 and 191 are normal. He has been doing so well and didn't have any bruising or problems with all the tubes and wires they have put in/on him, that we figured he didn't have hemophilia, but it was nice to get the reassurance. He has also been eating like a champ, today he was alert and awake during all the feedings I gave him. I'll have to tell him to give some tips to his brother. :-) He is in an isolette because he can't seem to keep his body temperature up, but that will come with a little more growth. They checked his bilirubin levels today and they are a little high, but they decided to hold off on putting him under the lights and are going to check his levels again tomorrow.

Today when we went to visit Owen they were planning on removing his IV later that day, but they ended up doing it while we were there because he was doing so well. This is great because 1. it means he is improving and 2. it will be much easier to love him without that tube getting in the way. They also plan on taking him out of his warmer bed and putting him in a normal crib (no more naked baby, he gets big boy clothes). They will monitor him tonight to see if he can keep his body temperature up.

Mike and I are doing well. My dad is out of town this week, so we decided to stay at his house for the week, since it is closer to both hospitals. Mike went back to work today. We decided that it would be best if he went back to work for the week or two while our boys are in the hospital and then take the time off when they come home. He works about 5 minutes from the IMC, which is great, because he will be able to visit Owen every day. Today during his lunch he came over while I was there and we were able to spend some time together feeding and loving Owen.

My schedule has been a little crazy and I'm sure it will stay that way until these boys are home and then it will probably only get worse. However I think I'm adjusting pretty well. I spend the first half of the morning at Alta View with Caleb feeding him and giving him lots of love and then I head over to IMC around 10:30 where I do the same with Owen, until mid-afternoon. Then it is back over to Alta View for some more Caleb time and then home for a little rest. Around 9:00 we head up to Alta View for one last visit with Caleb so that Mike can see him. It is a crazy schedule but we love these guys and are having so much fun having them in our family that we can't seem to stay away. :-)

Update on the Boys

2009-10-25T19:25:00.006-06:00

Owen

I was discharged from the hospital Saturday morning, but Mike and I decided to use the “hotel stay” and spend another two nights here. We figured it would be easier then driving all over the valley to see our babies. This way we could be with Caleb at Alta View and then go and visit Owen at IMC.

I am so grateful to Mike and the help he has given me while I’ve been in the hospital. He has stayed with me every day and night and I love it that we can share this experience together and that he is here for me and the boys. He gets up in the middle of the night to help with anything I might need, he is willing to go run errands for me and he is super cute with the boys and I can tell he loves them a lot.

Here is an update on both of our little boys.

Caleb: He is doing well and we are happy that he is at this hospital where we can just walk down the hall to the nursery and hold him and feed him. He still has an IV and they are monitoring his body temperature, heart rate and oxygen intake. He has lost some weight. His birth weight was 4 lbs 10 oz and he is now down to 4 lbs 5 oz. However, I’ve been told it is normal for babies to lose some weight after birth.
He was eating well when we first started feeding him but yesterday and today, he has taken a few steps backwards. The nurses held off on giving him a feeding tube as long as they felt they could, but he has been getting so tired while eating that they had to make it a bit easier for him temporarily, so they gave him a feeding tube. We had hoped that Caleb would have kept eating because when they have to give a baby a feeding tube the baby automatically has to stay at least another 48 hours in the hospital. The reason being is because once they take the tube out they will have to monitor the baby for another 48 hours to make sure he is eating right.
Caleb is a sweet boy and we love it when he is awake and we can look into his big, bright eyes. He likes to wiggle and move his arms and legs a lot. He likes to fall asleep when I’m feeding him, so if anyone has any tips on how to keep a baby awake during feedings, please send them my way.

Owen: He is doing a lot better. Saturday when we went to visit him, he was off the CPAP machine and on oxygen. Today, when we went to see him, he was off oxygen, so that means he was breathing on his own. He is on a feeding tube, but the nurse told us I could try breast feeding him. I got him to latch on, but he fell asleep within two minutes. Oh well, I was able to hold him the rest of the time and he just slept in my arms. It was so nice to hold him.
At birth Owen weighed 5 lbs 11 oz and he is now weighing 4 lbs 12 oz. He got as low as 4 lbs 9 oz. This little guy had a tough couple of days at the beginning, but he is starting to make a great turn around.

Caleb

Owen and Caleb Update Part 3

2009-10-24T10:43:00.005-06:00

We figured it would be time for another update because we know you have all been waiting on the edges of your seats about our two adorable babies.
First again Sue is recovering nicely she has been super mobile and gaining strength by the hour. Her doctor is planning on having her released upon the world again on Saturday afternoon.
As for the boys we have been putting things in a positive light, mainly because they are stable. However, they are still very young in development standards. A typical baby is born at 40 weeks and these guys were born at 35 weeks so they have some catching up to do. With that in mind there are no major problems, but it is expected that they will both be in their respective hospitals for a week or two.
We’ll start with Owen this time, he is still at the NICU (Newborn Intensive Care Unit) at IMC and as we have been told by his team the average baby in his state will stay at the NICU for about 3 weeks. We visited him yesterday afternoon and he was kind of struggling on the CPAP (assisted breathing) machine so the nurses and doctors were keeping an eye on him to see if he would stabilize or if they needed to move him to a ventilator (full breathing machine). Eventually they made the decision to administer a type of medication called surfactant, this type of medication allows the lungs to become lubricated. In Owen’s case his lungs were sticky and he basically had to exert himself just to push his bad air out as well as breathing in. So this medicine helped to keep his lungs open to circulate the air better. As a result he is once again back off the ventilator and back on the CPAP with hopes of going onto enriched oxygen later tonight (no more machines breathing for him). Also with the help of the kind nurses Sue was able to finally hold him for about 20 minutes even with all his hoses, tubes and wires. Long story short he is improving slowly but surely.
With Caleb even though he is medically stable and has eaten a few times, he will probably stay at least for a week. With that said he has been such a good eater. His tummy is starting to get out of womb phase and into baby phase. Sue has fed him now 4 times.
As a side note in regards to their blood tests, most of you know that Sue is a carrier for hemophilia. As such the hospitals have been very gentle with both boys until they have firm results on whether or not they are hemophiliacs themselves. It looks good for Caleb because he has already had blood drawn twice and it has clotted both times before it made it to the labs. He had another sample drawn today that should finally give us an official result. Owen’s blood however has been tested and has come back with a clotting factor percentage of 39 which is an extremely mild case of hemophilia (normal clotting percentages for most people range from 65 to 100).

Dad, Mom and Baby Owen

Baby Slade News: Part Two

2009-10-22T21:26:00.005-06:00

Caleb is still doing well, but Owen had to be taken to the NICU at Intermountain Medical Center.

Here is an update:
First, the momma - Sue is recovering from her operation the doctor has already taken her off of her IV and other tubes and wires. In addition to that, she has been up and about walking. It looks like her great pregnancy is carrying through to a great recovery.

Second, the second born (Caleb Stephen Slade) - It looks like all the abuse that he took in the womb making him the smaller baby has ended up turning him into the stronger fighter. Caleb has been breathing room air unassisted since yesterday (not a small feat for a 35 week old baby.) more importantly the nursery nurses have given him a full evaluation to test his reflexes, heart, respiratory and oxygen levels and all came back good. But more surprising than anything else, being a pre-mature baby is usually synonymous with being a picky eater, not in Caleb's case he has already had two feedings once taking 17 ml and then polishing off a 20ml bottle. All signs are pointing to a good baby here.

Third and definitely not least, the first born (Owen Michael Slade) - Owen has already had quite the adventure he has already been on his first ambulance ride, his first CT scan and his first X-ray. This has all been to his benefit, the x-ray showed his lungs needed a bit more development so he needed to get transferred to the IMC in Murray where they have a bit more technology. In order to transport him they had to sedate him first so he wouldn't tire himself out just trying to breath during the ambulance ride. When he got to the IMC they were worried about the shakes that he had as a side-effect of the sedative, so they decided to give him a run through the CT scan. But it all ended up fine no head trauma and now he is on a ventilator getting a bit of help breathing but everything else seems good such as his reflexes, heart rate and respiratory rate. We are planning on visiting him tomorrow and as soon as we know more we will let you know.

Again we appreciate all the love and prayers that everyone has given us and we will do our best to keep you up to date.

Love,

Mike, Sue and babies two

Owen and Dad

Caleb and Mom

Baby Slade's have arrived!

2009-10-21T12:05:00.006-06:00

Sue's water broke at 4:30AM this morning. At 6:00AM she and Mike arrived at the hospital and were admitted and monitored till around 8:00AM. She was having major contractions and at 8:15AM she went into the operating room. She delivered c-section because one baby was feet first and the other was sideways. Once Owen made his appearance at 8:53AM Mike passed out as well as a nurse. At 8:55 Caleb was born. Both babies are doing ok. They still considered premature, so they are going to keep an eye on them for the time being. They were born at 35 weeks and Owen is 5lb 11oz and 19 inches long and Caleb is 4lb 10oz and 18 inches long. Both Sue and Mike are doing great and so excited for this new adventure.
35 Weeks

Owen

Caleb

Maternity Pictures (Very Cheesy)

2009-10-12T20:39:00.011-06:00

Ok you've been warned. These are very cheesy, but what the heck it's my blog, so I can post them. I wanted a few maternity pictures to remember my tummy by, but I didn't want to pay to get them done, so I had my sister, Mariah, take some for me. I thought she did a pretty good job. Here are a few of my favorites.