Update On The Park Family

Okay, I feel horrible about not being able to blog very much anymore, but we moved in with my sister and brother-in-law, so we don't have the Internet. I am working 3 days a week now. With working and being a mom, it's hard to find some time to come down to my parents and use my laptop here to blog, but I remembered my computer before I left for work this morning, so I am glad that I can hurry and catch you all up on what's going on with the Park's. I am currently work Mondays at Jordan Valley and Tuesdays and Fridays at Utah Surgical Center. I am still trying to decide about which place to work at, but working at both has been okay so far. I don't like working 3 days a week with being a full-time mom, but it's nice to get out of the house at least 1 or 2 days a week, but 3 is too hard. It's just early. I am not a morning person...unless it's waking up to my baby.

Dave is still treading through school. He just got through with his midterms two weeks ago, and feel that he is doing well. Of coarse, he is still working at Usana and he still really likes it there. He is so busy. I feel like I never see him.

We went to the Little America this past Friday and spent the night just to have a little getaway. It was hard leaving Carson for the first time, but he went through a week where he was waking up at least 6 to 8 times a night. The room Carson is staying in has a light dimmer, so we can dim the light and leaving it on and we used to have the humidifier going every night for him, so we turned that on and he is sleeping really well. He sleeps from 10-5 and then we feed him, but he goes back to bed until 8:30, so that's nice. I really don't even think he needs the bottle. We've been able to get him back to sleep before we get the bottle ready for him, but we just pop it in his mouth, but that needs to stop because we need to wean him off of that.

Living with Gina and Beau has gotten a lot better. I think I was just homesick for the first few days, but we are adjusting well. We feel really welcome there and it's been nice having people there to help with Carson and my sister and I have a lot of fun when we both have the same day off. Dave is so busy that he is hardly there, except for the weekends. We try to keep our stuff out of the way and try to help them with the chores and stuff. We keep calling to see if there has been any apartments opening up, but still there hasn't been anything yet. We hope to hear something soon though!

Everything is going well. We are pretty much up to the same stuff. We are just happy to have a roof over our head and we are still having fun being parents!

When Dad Feeds Carson...

Dave can blame it all on how bad Carson hates carrots and prunes all he wants to, but I would have to say that this happens quite frequently when Dad feeds him...just kidding. Carson does not like carrots and he wasn't too excited about prunes either. Yet one day he will be ecstatic about one food and the next time you feed it to him, he won't like it as much. He really likes the tropical fruit medley, but he only likes it cold. He loves the banana orange medley. I think that is his favorite. He hates the vanilla custard. It's funny though because he cringes every time the vanilla custard goes into his mouth, but he opens his mouth for more. He likes the usual, sweet potatoes, banana's, garden veggies, etc. He doesn't really like applesauce though. He is funny. I love how he already has his little personality and food preferences.

Carson's Great Grandpa Logan

To start my story, I thought I would go into a little history my Grandpas. My Grandma has been married 3 times. Her first husband's name was Burt Noorda. They had two kids, my uncles Steve and Rick. He went to WWII and died by jumping on a grenade, saving a bunch of people. Even though I never knew him, I still admire him and love that story. Then she married my grandpa, Burton "Bud" Unck. Together they had my dad and four other uncles of mine, Dave, Norm, John, and Glen. Seven boys! Then my Grandpa passed away due to heart conditions. Russell M. Nelson operated on his heart. I love listening to him speak at conference time knowing he was one of the many people who helped my Grandpa. Then, she met Kenneth Logan. He is the only Grandpa I have ever known. My mom's dad passed away when I was only 2, so I don't remember him at all. Grandpa Logan is from Pennsylvania. He is so smart! He always told me stories of his home growing up. He even wrote books about his life and they are all published and in hardback. I have always wanted to read them. Anyways, a few weeks ago my mom called me up and told me some bad news. My Grandpa was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and to top it off, they also diagnosed him with Alzheimer's disease as well.

The good news is that a couple of days ago, my mom called me up and said that Grandpa Logan's doctor said his MRI showed that he had a stroke, which has been causing dementia. He still has Parkinson's disease to a certain extent.

I am grateful that it isn't as horrible as we thought. When we went up there the last Sunday in February, he was really alert and he had lots of nice things to say about Carson. He has been a really fun Grandpa. We have gone on many trips to Moab with him and they were all a blast. He knows everything there is to know about Moab. He has taken us on many trails that I never knew existed before. He is 96 years old and still going strong. He has been an awesome Grandpa to our family for the past 27 years! We love Grandpa Logan!

Rolling Over

Carson has officially learned how to roll over from his back onto his stomach today. We were at family home evening at Nana and Papa's house and when everyone went home, he rolled over. He can only do that if he rolls to the left. He is almost getting ready to crawl. He gets on his hands and knees and he rocks back and forth because he is ready to go. So, he is in that stage where he is a little frustrated and he'll quit sometimes and just roll over onto his back again. It's stll amazing how fast they learn things though. We are so proud of him, even though 2 people at the hosptial that have kids about a week older than Carson and they are already crawling...oh well...we are still proud of our boy! He is so full of surprises. We love our little boy!

His Little Corner

Carson is so funny! There is a corner on the Beau and Gina's couch that you can set Carson down on and he will get so comfy, he falls asleep with ease. Usually we have to rock and bounce Carson to sleep or put him in front of his music box, but not on this couch. Some things kids do.

Getting Settled

After a nice long Saturday of breaking our backs lifting boxes and lots of organization, we got moved into Beau and Gina's house. Wow! What a change in life. It's been really hard for me and Dave. We only say that because we aren't on our own right now and it's a natural reaction I think to change in life. It doesn't feel like home right now, but I know that after a few days it will. They have done a really good job at saving places for us to put and store our things. We feel welcome, but yet again, we don't. We just feel bad because we will always feel like a burden, but I cleaned their kitchen today and we are making sure that we have nothing left out so that we don't look like slobs. Maybe it will help get me into the habit of keeping things cleaned up. Dave and I are still at the apartment getting things cleaned up. Once this weekend comes, we will be all done with moving, cleaning and just plain working our butts off.

Despite the change, we love living there. Sunday morning, we all woke up and it was nice to talk to other people and sit and laugh for a bit before the day got started. We love that Carson has his own room. He is staying in their den. It's so nice to be able to roll over in bed and not think twice about being quiet.

No Mom, I Don't Want A Spoon

Carson is at the age that if you take away something that he is playing with or you have something that he wants to play with, but can't, he starts throwing his little trantrum. He sounds like he's a little lion, trying to roar when he gets frustrated. His crying has also become more dramatic as well. He cries harder over smaller things, which scares me because I think something really traumatic happened to him. He's starting to become our little "drama king". The other night, Dave and I were feeding Carson. He was so fussy and hungry that I just couldn't shovel the food in fast enough with a spoon. You'd almost think we starve our kid or something. He would try to grab the whole food container, but I wouldn't let him have it. So he starts his little tantrum, so I tried to improvise. I brought the container to him and spooned a little into his mouth while he was holding the container. I guess I spoil my child, but it got him to eat and got him to give him mom and dad a little peace as well.

This proves he is starting to become a little more independent. I don't like it either. :(
He already wants to climb mountains and run marathons, so I am talking Dave into getting a little walker for him. He loves it when we hold onto his hands and walk with him. We've been doing that since he was 5 months old. He shrieks with joy when we start walking. I am so amazed how he already knows how to put one foot in front of the other. Babies never cease to amaze me though. Moms reading this would be all, "whoopty doo", but I'll be that way my second time around. We just can't help being proud of Carson.

Packing Up

As most of you know, Dave and I are packing up and moving. We have been trying to get into the Windwood Apartments on 6200 S. and 2700 W. where all of Dave's (our) friends live or have lived. :) So, to stay out of our contract my sister and brother-in-law were very nice to offer their home until we can get into those apartments. My parents offered their home at first, which was very kind of them as well. After weighing pros and cons we just thought it best to move in with my sister. We are setting a limit. If we can't get into those apartments after 3 months, we are just going to have to live somewhere more expensive. It's going to be a challange after living on your own for so long, but I am sure it's going to work out. We feel bad because we don't have to move in because of finances and we hated to barge in on someone, but those apartments are 200 dollars cheaper than anywhere else. We are getting excited for our new 3 month adventure. I hope it will all work out!

In Spirit

In the spirit of tax season, I thought this picture would be quite appropriate! So, so cute!

Lessons On How To Grovel

Well, I wanted to give everyone a crash coarse on grovelling because I am an expcrt at doing so. I went back to Jordan Valley and asked for my job back. They hadn't filled my position yet, so they reinstated me.

I have been praying lately about how lost I feel right now in my life. I don't want to work, but I know I have to for a while. I started talking to Dr. Irvine who knows my favorite surgeon, Dr. Slawson, and he was asking me questions about him and it made me miss him the hospital. I left work that day missing all of my friends and the doctors I worked with a lot and I felt like I didn't know where to go. I decided that I should pray for help and guidance in whether or not I should go back to the hospital because so far the surgery center had been pretty good. Everyone there is okay, but I thought not accepting people ended when you left high school.

Anyway, Tuesday confirmed my answer. I worked with this surgeon who laughed at me, insulted me and made sure I felt like the worst Surgical Technician in the world. I have never had ANYONE treat me the way he did. I left work in hysterics. I was crying so hard. So, I'm going to quit. I am not putting up with that. I am a very shy, timid person and I let people walk all over me. Not this time. I am so nervous because now I have to go in and turn in my two weeks. My new boss is going to be shocked and she is one of those ladies (I have come to find) that won't take no for an answer. She is going to try to get me to stay. I told Dave that if I had to work, I had to work somewhere that made me happy. My old ways will.

Besides the call I have to take at the hospital and a 2 dollar pay cut, I think I will be very happy with my decision. They have a lot of people taking call, so I don't see myself having to take very much. More money at a job doesn't mean anything if you are not happy. I feel like the weakest person ever. I need to find what makes me happy in life and stick with it.

And that is your crash coarse on Grovelling 101

Carson's New Toy

As everyone knows, all Carson wants to do is go, go. go. It's hard to hold him because he squirms so much. I always call him my "squirm worm". Well, I decided I can't sit down with him on the couch because he tries to climb over me to get his "toy" that is he so fascinated with...yep, it's the lightswitch on the wall. It's so funny. He wants to grab it and play with it. So, for his enjoyment I boost him up there and let him flick the light off and on a few times. A few times is not enough though. When I get tired and sit back down, he starts climbing and going nuts! We enjoy the little things that Carson gets excited over.

Six Months Old Today

Here is Carson at 6 months, 3 months and a few minutes old.

I can't believe how fast time has gone. I want it to stop! Carson is now six months old today. People weren't kidding about how fast time goes and that you need to enjoy every minute of it. I totally am, but the minutes pass too fast when you're having fun. It's been hard going back to work and missing out on some of Carson's life, but I am happy to be supporting him and supporting Dave while he is in his last semester of school. I don't want to work forever! Again, I can't believe how fast time is going and how fast Carson is growing. He can sit up on his own now and he can "inch-worm" himself to a toy. Carson gets lots of spurts of excitement and it's so fun to watch. Saturday he discovered he had an ear on the right side of his head. He keeps reaching for it. He loves to climb. Right now he is on my lap on the floor and I am sitting at the coffee table. He is putting his hands on the edge of the coffee table trying to pull himself up so he can get to the computer. I am a bad parent. He has been sitting beside me most of the time playing with his toys. It seems they learn something new each day without us knowing about it.

These last 6 months have been an adventure. Dave and I didn't know we could love something so much. We can't even remember not having Carson in our lives. It has gone by slow because we have gone through so much with Carson like the bottle feeding fiasco, but yet here he is today at 6 months old and we wonder where the time has gone.

Valentine's Day Cookies

Today Carson and I were fortunate enough to get to go up to Doug and Kirstin's to decorate Valentine's Day cookies. Carson played in the exersaucer while I decorated some cookies for the family. It was so nice to have the opportunity to get out of the house and do something fun. Carson and I stay in a lot because of the weather and it's hard sometimes for the both of us. There is only so much we can do.

Jackson's cookies were so awesome! They had lots and lots of sprinkles and that's what makes cookies so yummy! I am a sprinkles girl! The twins were fun to watch because they liked eating the sprinkles more than the cookie. They ate Nana's chocolate sprinkles.

It was a lot of fun and we hope that we can do something again soon! Let me know if you want me to make the cookies next time Kirstin! :)

Scooter

Today while Dave and I were at work, my mom sent me a text message with a picture of Carson on his tummy. It was a picture of him scooting forward to get to his toy. That's right! Carson has learned how to scoot forward. He was scooting backward just a little bit for a while. He still needs to work on both directions of coarse, but we are so proud of him. I told Dave that going to work would be hard because I feel like I would miss things, but my mom and sister are really good at keeping me informed with what he does. I call home at least twice a day.

Carson is sitting up really well. We can leave him sitting on the floor playing with some toys for a long period of time. Just a couple of weeks ago, he still needed the Boppy to help him sit up. His strength is getting better. I keep telling Dave that he needs to stop growing and be a baby forever.

Thanks to Kirstin's advice, I have cut his evening nap out of the picture. He now sleeps 10 hour nights with one interuption to eat...that is about 6 hours into that. He drinks his 6 ounces and goes right back to sleep. It is getting happier around here now because mom and dad are getting some sleep. I am happy he is over his sickness and he is eating and sleeping again.

Dealing

For the Parks, change has come our way even if we like it or not. You all know that Dave is in his last semester of school. It is going pretty well for him. He has school every day, which is hard on both of us, but he, as always, is dealing really well with it. Men deal, women deal to an extent. It gets lonely because he has school Monday and Wednesday nights until 8 and I get pretty lonely those days. I try to get out, but because of the snow, Carson and I have stayed more indoors.

I am starting to like my job a little better. The girls are extremely nice, but I felt like I didn't get a chance at first, but I am really shy and so it's probably my shy impression that gives them the wrong idea. I am starting to warm up and say hi to everyone. There is a doctor that I have been working with the last two Thursdays. He is an old, fussy fart...I think those were his exact words when he introduced himself. He went to my boss and said he liked me and wanted me to work with him. I thought that was a nice compliment. They asked me if I could start working Tuesdays and Fridays now. So, I probably don't ever get to work with him now. I am not to happy about it, but it seems to work better for my mom so that she can go to Institute on Thursday. It also works better for Dave because he goes and plays basketball on Wednesday nights, so when he gets home at 11:30 pm I won't get as mad. I like going to bed early on the nights before I have to go to work. I am sure everyone is the same way.

I went to President Hinckley's viewing. I went with my friend Cindy. I am so happy she went with me to help me with the Carson. The whole adventure took 5 hours and I think I told Cindy sorry about 40 times. She had plans with her boyfriend and I made her late. Thursday was the better way to go, but unfortunately I had to work. I thought it would take less time. It was fun to take Carson though. I will always tell him that he went with me. Carson looked at him and I told him who he was. Carson did so well. He is such a good baby. He was quiet the whole time. I am so happy to have such a great baby. My next one will be horrific. I can't be this lucky.

Dave and I are moving the end of March. I am not very happy about it, but I am happy that I won't be sharing a room with the baby anymore once we move. We don't know where we are going to move, but we will figure it out soon, I hope. The place we want to move has no vacancies so we are trying to figure it out. The Lord will lead us where we need to go. Dave and I are dealing with the changes as they come. We have so many other things in life that we are extremely happy about. Namely Carson. He keeps us laughing with his facial expressions, his talking and his fun little personality.