My Hubby the ROCKSTAR!

Dave's work hosted a Rock Band competition. Dave didn't initially sign up (but secretly wanted to) So when one of the bands drummers had to skip out at the last minute, Dave was more than happy to fill in. The grand prize band would win 1,200 dollars. Dave's team called "My Cubicle Romance" Came in a super close 2nd place and won nothing. They lost by .2. Too bad, I personally think Dave standing up and taking his shirt off to throw out in the audience may have been a bit over the top :) Or maybe it was the Bra flung up on the stage? Who knows. They did great though, definitely fun entertainment. In case you were wondering, Dave is the big guy with shaggy hair. The guy with pink hair is my brother in law, Rory. ROCK ON GUYS!

Becky's wedding!

My little sister, Becky, got married last Friday to Mike! Congrats guys! It was a beautiful day, a beautiful ceremony at the Temple and a fun, beautiful reception.

Summer Festivities

I'm a little behind on posting these, better late than never!

Father and Sons Campout

Landon's first time camping. He loved it! Dave had a hard time getting out of the tent, we will be going camping again this summer for sure!

Landon and his friend, Carter on their "hike" gathering sticks, one of Landon's favorite pastimes.


Lagoon

It was Dave's work Lagoon day on June 20th. Dave works with a lot of our family and friends, so it was fun, and Landon had plenty of friends to ride all the rides with.

Landon's friend, Ethan, and cousin Olivia.
I thought this picture was so cute, Dave is great with kids.

On the train, one of Landon's favorites! He is int he middle of yelling at Olivia for something, hence the weird face.. he looks a little crazy..

Landon, uncle Jeff and Olivia on the merry go round.

Olivia, Kaemon and Landon on the baby boats. Landon informed me that this was a boring baby ride. He also wouldn't let anyone else touch the bell. What a bully.


Fireworks!

Dave's sister, her friend Corey, and Landon waiting for the fireworks!

Us.

Parade

The Hungry Bear Pizza bear made an appearance. Landon's favorite place to eat is hungry bear pizza, he loves the bear.. funny they would run into each other.

A More Serious Frustration

Dawson threw up yellow bile last Monday night.. I called the Dr.'s office and all they could tell me to do was take him to the E.R. I didn't feel like this was necessary so I didn't. He had been eating fine and wasn't dehydrated so I felt I could wait till Tuesday to get him in. He seemed much better and didn't throw up again so I thought it was a one time thing. Well, I was at my mom's and Dawson had a poop that had tons of these little black specs in it (I scrutinize all of Dawson's poop now) When I would push down on one of the specs (with a wipe) it would burst open with blood.. I thought this was weird so I called and made an apt. for him. Well, Dawson has been coughing and been SO irritated these past two days. I can tell when my kids have ear infections and suspected he did. So I called to see if I could get him in today. Good thing I did! Right before I took him to the Dr. he threw up again, this time it had blood in it. I FREAKED out.. I saved the cloth he threw up in to show the Dr.

So, I went to the Dr. and brought up all of my concerns (bile, black speckly poo, and bloody vomit.) He told me these were all classic signs of milk allergy, which we already know Dawson has. I've been off dairy for almost a month now.. and to no avail. My child still poops blood. The little specs in his poop are partially digested blood. His allergy is progressing to the point to where he is now vomiting blood. I feel terrible. I want what is best for him. Does that mean stop breastfeeding him? Or go to a more strict diet? I don't know. I have had a VERY emotional day today. Dave and I are going to discuss it when he gets home today. Likely, I will quit breastfeeding :( I do not think formula is bad in ANY way shape or form, but I just like knowing that I am giving him the VERY BEST stuff out there, but then I have to think about the poor little guy, and not be selfish and do what is best for his little body. Anyway, I know I am rambling.. It has been a LONG 24 hours. Dawson was awake from Midnight till 3am with a fever (he also has a double ear infection) the same time he was awake our Central Air decided to break. Poor baby had to be in an 80 degree house with a fever :( So basically, the Ross household is tired, cranky, sick and very emotional.

Diaper Frustration

For about 2 years now I have been buying the Kirkland brand diapers. I have an inside source that tells me these are the same as Huggies Supreme. I went home the first time I bought them and discovered that they were in fact the same. I have been very pleased with them until the last batch that we bought. Dawson leaks out of them continuously. He didn't used to.. they are not nearly as absorbent as they used to be, they feel different than the older ones. I am getting pretty ticked. I have to change him like every 45 minutes to prevent a leakage issue. We are pointing his little man down, he is in the right size.. I think they have done something to their diapers to cut costs. Has anyone else noticed this? I guess I am stuck with 200 crappy diapers :( What diapers do other's out there like?

Things I need to Work On

Do you ever think about yourself and get annoyed? I do that. There are some things I realize I need to work on and maybe if I write them down, and check back every now and then I can see what type of progress I am making. Some of these things have been lifelong battles for me, where some are more recent annoyances of myself.

1) Something I have always struggled with is my first impression I give to people. EVERYONE who knows me tells me something like this "I thought you were so stuck up when I first met you" or "I thought you hated me when we first met" Either I have a stuck up look on my face, or I am straight up stuck up. Who knows? Someone please tell me.

2) The way I treat Dave when others are around can be frightening. People probably think I am verbally and emotionally abusive to my hubby. I like to joke around with Dave a lot... If you know me you know what I am talking about. Dave claims he loves it that I can dish crap out to him, but others think I am mean to him. I really do love him and I realize I should tame it down when I am around people who don't know me too well.

3) Picking out my eyelashes. When I get stressed, the eyelashes get thin. I really don't like that I do this, I wish I could stop. With Dawson's latest poop issues, and Landon's latest issues (I'll explain later) my stress level has shot up. If you ever see me, and see me picking out my eyelashes, tell me to stop. I wont get mad.

4) My laziness to get "ready" in the day. I think when I get ready and actually fix my hair and put makeup on I feel overall better throughout the day. I don't do this often anymore because of Landon. (Here is where I describe his latest issues) For the past month Landon has decided to become the biggest "homebody" known to mankind. If he keeps this up he will become more of a hermit that the guy across the street, and dragging me along with him. I can't even get the kid to go the park unless I bribe him with an otter pop or something. He wont let me leave him in nursery, or even with my mom. When I actually do get him out of the house he whines the WHOLE time that he wants to go home. When I suggest we go somewhere he gets really anxious and wants to know when we will be home, if I'm going to be there, and what we will do when we get home. I am losing my mind.
Then, when we are home he tells me all day "I am bored out of my mind" you run out of things in your house to do with a 3 year old hermit. Suggestions?
So, back to my problem? I need to work on getting ready in the day even though Landon doesn't want to go anywhere.

5) Yelling at Landon. I get on his case too much. I need to step back and realize he is only 3. I always feel bad after I have yelled at him, then peak on him when he is peacefully sleeping. Then I feel like a terrible mom.

6) Make better dinners. Since my no dairy diet began, I have kind of dropped the ball on making good dinners for Dave and Landon. I really want to work on this one. Sorry Dave..

7)Letting Dawson sleep in bed with us. This one just might be the hardest one of all!! I love snuggling the little guy, and feeding him is so much more convenient. I swore I would never do this again after Landon, but here we are...

8) Falling asleep during movies. Dave and will rent a movie and get all excited to watch it once the kids are asleep. I typically fall asleep about 5 minutes into it. I get sooo frustrated when I do this. I even drink caffeine on occasion to stay awake. Dave says he doesn't mind, but I know he's got to! Drives me bonkers!

9) Being a blunt person and saying how it is. Some people say this is a good thing.. but it's not. I offend people regularly..I'm sorry if you're one of them.

Dawson's Poop Saga

A couple of posts ago I talked a little about Dawson's poop problem. In the days that followed that post his problem seemed to be getting better. However, things took a turn for the worst last week. Dave and I noticed some blood in his diaper.. This isn't new to us really. Landon had the same problem when he was a baby. His blood showed up a lot sooner that Dawson's, so we thought we wouldn't have to deal with it. Anyway, what my kids get is a Cow's Milk Protein Intolerance. Which means their colons cannot break down the protein found in milk and milk products. The blood in their poop means their colon is in "crisis state" meaning, it's getting torn up because the protein is constantly being pushed through their colon without the ability for it to be broken down. Sad huh? Since I breastfeed, this means I am completely off dairy until I am done breastfeeding. This isn't an easy thing since I LOVE dairy (who doesn't?) but at least it will help me lose the baby weight!

There isn't anything I wouldn't do for this little guy! :)

Home Tag

Carlee tagged me on this one.. It looked fun, so I thought I would give it a go. Here are the rules: Take pictures of your house and post them as they are RIGHT NOW. No cheating!

1) The kitchen sink.

Yeah... pretty exciting.

2) Favorite Room.

This room took us 3 years to get once we were in the house. It sat bare for three years! I was so excited to paint the wall too. Dave is very against painted walls. It took a lot of begging and pleading. He has since said he will never paint another red wall.

3) Messiest Room.

Our family room is very rarely clean, this is where we live! I know it's not too messy, it gets MUCH WORSE! (I tried to get the whole room without the hideous dear head on the wall... )

4) What the kids are doing right now.

Notice all those white things by Landon? He used to cart around my garments and steal them out of my drawer. My mom decided she would cut up some of her old G's and give him scraps, his obsession is out of control. He not only sleeps with one, but like.. 20. He calls them his silkies, and would bring them everywhere if we let him. He also has to sleep with his "I Spy" bag, and his Book of Mormon. Are all kids this OCD?

Gotta love nap time, especially on Sundays. I don't know what it is about Sunday, but it's the day when they nap the best. (Nursery can be tiring I guess..)

5) The outside and inside of your fridge.

Cluttery, I know.

6) Your toilet.

I'm with you on that one Carlee... why does someone want to see a picture of this?

7) Favorite Shoes.

I have had these flip flops for about 7 years. They are super comfortable!

8) Picture of your closet.

This is my closet on a good day. I have a hard time keeping it tidy. I have too many clothes and I have a hard time getting rid of them!! There are about 5 clothes rods in our closet and Dave has one of them.

9) Self Portrait of you as you look right now.

10) Dream Vacation.

I didn't see how this fit in the the "home post" so I posted some pictures of my dream vacation that I have been on. Cancun! Dave and I will definitely be back!
We stayed at the Excellence in the Maya Riviera. The rooms were GORGEOUS!!! (as you can see)

The water is to DIE FOR!!!

Now I tag Ashlee, Ashley, Lori, Brandi, Malia, Melanie, Sarah, Melissa, Tammy, Stephanie P, Steph C, Megan, Janna, Mary, Carrie.. I cant remember who else is on my list, so EVERYONE!! :)

What's been goin' on

First off, we wanted to say goodbye to Ryan and Brooke who are leaving tomorrow to Indiana, where Ryan was accepted into dental school. We will miss you guys!!! Dave and I are big time game players. Not video games, but good ole fashioned board games. It's hard finding people to play with that actually enjoy it as mush as we do. Ryan and Brooke have been some of the funnest people to play with! Even though we haven't done it a ton recently (with the new addition to our family) that is what I am going to miss most about you guys!! Landon hasn't known life without Ryan in it, and he LOVES him to pieces. Every time we go to Dave's parents, he immediately wants to know where Ryan and Brooke are. He'll probably have the hardest time without them :( On the more HAPPY note, Good luck Ryan and Brooke! We knew you would get in, and we're so proud of you! We are so excited for you, and hopefully these 4 years will fly by!

Landon and Ryan jumping on Landon's new trampoline.


With Dawson's recent pooping problem, the Dr. told me to go ahead and start him on Rice cereal. I really wanted to wait till he was 6 months old (He is 4 and a half months) but went ahead and followed the Dr's orders. The verdict? He neither hated it or liked it. He just pushed it right back out of his mouth. I know this is normal, but it is frustrating.. does anyone remember how long it takes till they know how to swallow it?


Lately, Landon has been REALLY into playing games. (Takes after his parents!) Any sort of game he LOVES, he makes up his own rules and wants everyone to play with him. When you sit down to play with him, he gets mad that you don't do it right. So, in other words, he likes you to sit and watch him play his made up games. We moved all of Landon's kid games downstairs so he can easily access them. It was a brilliant idea on my part, they keep him pretty entertained! (which is hard for a 3 year old)

Potty training is going GREAT, he never has day accidents, and only occasionally has an accident in the night. One problem... he thinks he needs to take his pants off completely when going potty, and wont put them back on, so Landon is usually pant less. Oh well... I guess this is normal too?
This little stinker here is giving us a HARD TIME. He was a good little sleeper until last week. Now, he is up every 2 hours wanting to nurse, and then he is fussy the rest of the time. I don't know what has gotten into him. Since birth the only place he likes to fall asleep in is his swing. It's been fine with me. But lately, he doesn't like his swing, being held, snuggled, or anything to get to sleep. So I didn't know what else to do with him but to let him cry it out in his crib. I feel TERRIBLE doing it, but it's the only thing that works. The only problem is he doesn't take as good of naps. If he's in his swing he'll sleep 3 hours, but in his crib only about 30 minutes. I just don't know what to do. Suggestions appreciated.
When we were in St. George we went to Walmart and saw this sign in front of one of the parking stalls. COME ON!!!!!! If you have sick kids why the HECK are you at Walmart..?! AND, why would you need a special spot reserved for you? This is weird to me on so many levels.. has anyone else ever seen this?

Poop Post

Sorry if the title scared anyone.. But I have been worried about Dawson, I've called pediatricians, and none seem to be concerned. Here's the problem. He has had diarrhea now for 6 days. (This gets more graphic) His bowel movements have been green in color and VERY mucusy he has about 10 a day and seems to be uncomfortable while trying to get them out. His tiny little bum is starting to get a rash.. He is exclusively breastfed, no cereal or solids yet.. so I don't know what the problem is. Has anyone else had similar problems with their kids? I'm worried sick and would like any suggestions on what to do.