Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Owen at 2 Months


Dear Owen,
 
      Today is Christmas Eve, and I am so happy that you are here to celebrate Christmas with us. I simply just love you. I can't help but kiss those chubby cheeks and rolls on your legs. You melt mama's heart.
  At two months old you are growing, growing and growing! I just can't believe how big you are for a two month old. People are always a little shocked when they find out you are only 2 months old. You definitiely are my snuggle baby. You would rather be held than sit in your bouncer, but you do Love your bouncer too. The swing has been taken down because you just don't like it. You sleep so great when you are sitting up, like in your bouncer for instance. You sleep for a good 5 hours if you are in your bouncer, but I really don't want to start that habit, so I try to lay you down, and you sleep between 3 to 4 hours.
     You are a very happy baby and are showing that smile more and more. Mommy can make you smile instantly, and you are starting to jibber and jabber. I love hearing you tell your stories. I could listen to it all day long. You are still hating pacifiers and you only take a bottle if you are absolutely starving and have no other choice. So, really you don't take a bottle very often. We are hoping that you take a better liking to a bottle as you get older, so that mommy and daddy can have a bit of a break every once in a while, but for now we love hanging out with you, and we really don't mind you tagging a long.
    We can't leave the room without you giving a little squeal. You don't like to be left alone in a room. We can't walk away for too long without you giving us a scream letting us know you are in a different room and would prefer to be with us. I am getting really good carrying you in your bouncer from room to room.
    As of right now we call you, O.D. and Otis. I have no idea where "Otis" came from, but I keep calling you it and well, I kinda like it. Let's hope these little nick names stick!
    Owen, we sure to love you very much and we cannot believe how grateful we are that you are in our lives. You fit so well into our family and we can't imagine you not being in it!!
Happy 2 months little Owen.
LOVE YOU!!
   Love, Mom



Sunday, December 15, 2013

Lancaster News Letter 2013

Merry Christmas to all you beautiful friends and family.

2013 has been full for the Lancaster's this year. Full of happiness, trials, laughter, tears and changes that   made for another adventurous year. We wouldn't want it any other way. We have been so blessed this year with much more laughter than tears, and being happy even through those days that were rough. All in all 2013 has been very  good to us, and we are thankful for what has come our way. Our family would like to share what we have been up to this year that has made 2013 memorable for us.


DAN: 
     Dan rocked 2013! He really does always try to make the best out of everything and really lives for each moment. He has continued his career with Pioneer Natural Resources as a Project Geologist and he is doing great there! He is loving his work, and working with some fantastic people, but obviously loves being home more with the family.
     He had successful attempts to sneak out every once in a while to swing a golf club with his friends, and is vastly improving his golf game. If it isn't playing golf, or being home with his family, it's off to our Church to be with the Youth. Dan was called as Young Mens President in the Carrollton 1st Ward, in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It definitiely has kept him on his toes and not given him a moment to slow down. Yet he continues to stay happy and full of life for his children, and wife.
     Fatherhood got a little bit more exciting for him, when he found out in February, at dinner, that he was going to be a father of two. He was a great supporter all through the pregnant hormones, and now is loving having a little man in the house. He is wrapped around our daughter's finger, and is slowly getting curled around our sons as well. He does not let any work, or church matter get in the way of the love for his family. June is his best friend and those two are inseparable when they are together. Fatherhood suits him. He simply loves being a dad.
     Dan has had a very busy but a very good and exciting 2013. He hasn't slowed down a bit, and doesn't plan to anytime soon.

LESLI: 
     Lesli has seemed to stay pretty busy herself in 2013. She finds her time well spent tending to her favorite little people, her hubby, and keeping a loving and clean home.
    Lesli spent a good portion of this year being pregnant and then bringing our 2nd child into our home. She seemed to have not missed a beat getting back in the swing of things and is loving motherhood, loves saying "Children" when talking about her family, and loves finding new creative ways to solve a two year old's crisis on a daily bases. Her hands are literally full between holding her little precious June bug in one arm, and her handsome little chunk, Owen, in a carseat in the other. She spent the first part of the year teaching Relief Society in the Church, and then was called to be the Primary Chorister. She is loving being back in Primary and using her talent to teach songs to the children.
     She does take a few breathers every once in a while and is still enjoying doing family history, blogging, and working on her awesome sewing skills. She really does love spending time with her children, and making life as much fun and creative as possible for them. Her fort making skills has definitiely improved this past year.
     It really has been a whirlwind of a year for Lesli, a fantastic whirlwind that has made 2013 a memorable one for sure!

JUNE: 
     June is so full of life and our little sweetheart.  June celebrated her 2nd birthday and has picked up quite the vocabulary. She is great at communicating and expressing her emotions very well! June became a big sister this year, and has been very good with helping mom and dad take care of her little brother. June has found a big interest in stickers and coloring. She also loves playing with her dolls, la la loopy, and playing on the i-pad. She really loves watching "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" and "Tinkerbell".
      She spends a lot of her time at the library, playing with her little friends, and running around at the park. June is improving so much on her fine motor skills, and still continues to trip everywhere she walks.  She knocked out her tooth this year, and now has a great, unique little smile. She got a very special trip from the tooth fairy.
      June has really grown up this past year. She successfully potty trained and moved into a big girl bed without thinking twice about it. She has grown up but still remains our small little girl. She loves chasing Ranger around the room, loves to cuddle with her mommy, and definitiely needs her daddy as her side kick.
     She is such a joy in our lives and we couldn't imagine life without her.

OWEN:
     Owen made his big entrance into the world this year. He spent a cozy nine months stuck with his mom, and then made his debut in October.
     He has fit right into our family, and we simply just love him. He spends a good quality of time wrapped up in his mom's arms and is discovering new little things everyday.  Owen will soon be two months old and continues to grow and get bigger and bigger. The not so little man is reaching mile stones and we can't wait to see his little personality come out this next year. Though we just met him only a couple months ago, we couldn't imagine not having him in our home.

RANGER: 
     Range continues to be the little ball of fur that we love. He barks all the time at people when they come to the door, and frightens June's little friends when they come over to play, but we still love him and at the end of the night he makes for a great cuddle buddy.
     He spends a good portion of the day laying in the sun and finding new toys of June's to chew. He really is starting to love June, and loves taking naps with her on her bed. He really is an annoying little dog, but we really do love him and he really is a part of the family.

OUR FAMILY IN GENERAL:
   2013 has been a big year for us and we have been so incredibly blessed. We have really made Dallas, Texas our home, with our house, our great friends, and continuing our growing family.
We have had some fun family vacations, and visiting family in Canada and Idaho. We are about to go on a very long road trip and visit family for the Holidays and see both of our families. Dan and Lesli celebrated their six year anniversary and continue to be crazy and try to stay on top of life. We are loving being a family of four, having a favorite boy and a favorite girl, a spunky, constant barking little dog and trying to wrap our heads around the fact that we are adults with a little family. We sure do love it!
    It's been such a great 2013 and we are excited to see what 2014 brings to the Lancaster family.


We hope that you have a very Merry Christmas and that your 2013 was full of excitements and adventures that kept a smile on your face. We love you all!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

The Lancaster's

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Iced In

This past weekend we had a crazy ice storm that pretty much put the North of Texas to a complete halt! 

It was so weird, since the past Wednesday it was 80 degree's and then slowly the temperature just started dropping. On Thursday it turned cloudy and the temp dropped into the 30's. Dan got home from work just in time to start hearing the ice pellets hit the roof of our house. It didn't stop all night long. 


Friday we woke up to literally everything frozen over. There wasn't a single thing that wasn't covered in ice. The trees were weighed down and the branches were either broken off from the weight or still hanging on, but frozen solid to the ground. Everything was cancelled for the day. It was nice knowing that we wouldn't have to go out in this crazy weather. 












We had to go out back to make sure that the pump to the pool was running ok, so that the pipes wouldn't freeze, but the gate was completely frozen shut.



Thank goodness for mini blow torches.





I felt really stupid, for not covering all of our plants and rose bushes, we just honestly didn't think it would be this bad. We have had freeze warnings in the past and it really ended up being just cold rain, so we thought that we would be fine. 


So we were house bound for 3 days. It was actually really nice and cozy being all bundled up in the house with Christmas lights on everywhere and Christmas music filling the house. Knowing that we couldn't go anywhere made us feel not so bad for being so lazy.

We did a lot playing with June and all her little toys. We colored many many snowman pictures and re-decorated the tree a few times, courtesy of June. 


We played a lot on our I-pads and watched lots of movies

We did a lot of sleeping

June wrote Santa a letter. We tried taking it to our mailbox but we literally were iced in. We couldn't make it two steps without slipping on the ice. So we had to mail it on Monday. 

We had lots of craft projects. Thankfully a few days before, I had made a trip to the dollar store and stocked June up on little Crafts for the holiday season. 

Dan got really into it

And we slept some more 

June caught a pretty nasty cold over the week, so she took a lot of hot baths. She loves baths!! Especially when she is sick! 

Owen did what he does best. Chill. 

This continued on for 3 days. 

Friday it was fun and Cozy, but by Sunday we were all going a little stir crazy not leaving the house.
Dan attempted to leave on Saturday afternoon for groceries. Well, we live on a hill and it was not such a good idea to leave the house. I watched Dan pull out of the drive way, and into the alley way. I walk back inside. About 5 minutes later, he calls me and tells me he is stuck and needs my help. I walk out to go find him and he hasn't moved from where I left him. I shoveled the ice away, as best as I could, and he pretty much slid down the rest of the alley way. The car was completely sideways. We were so lucky we didn't hit a gas main line! 

After getting groceries, he came into the house and told me the car is at the bottom of the hill on the main road. It was just to slick to get back up. He, himself almost couldn't make it up with all the groceries because everything was just so slick. Literally nothing but ice. He carried bags of groceries up our hill out in the freezing cold! What a man. I would have just left them... hahaha

Church was cancelled Sunday so we celebrated the sabbath by having a lesson of our own, and then watching the Christmas devotional. The roads had started to melt a little by then and we knew it would be back to work on Monday. Dan was able to get my car back up into the drive way late that night. 

Now the sun is out and it's slowly starting to melt. Bridges and over-passes are still pretty icy, but for the most part everything is now just wet and dirty... No good for carpets! 

It was fun to watch the ice fall and be stuck inside with my family for 3 days, but it's nice to have the sun out again. Let's hope for good weather here on out until we make it to Canada and Idaho for Christmas! 

Sunday, December 8, 2013

This year's Christmas Tree

Every year the first Monday of the month of December, Us Lancaster's go out and hunt for a Christmas tree. I didn't have a real tree growing up, but our first Christmas together, Dan insisted on a real tree. So for the past 7 years our living room hosts the wonderful smell of a Pine tree. Though it is a bit more messy with constantly having to sweep up pine needles, I don't see us not ever getting a real tree.

Dan got home from work, we had dinner, and then headed out to hunt for our 2013 Christmas tree. 
No, it's not really a hunt. We go to Lowes, which is right down the road from us, and we pick ourselves a tree already cut and ready for us. June and Dan picked out this years tree together.  




For some reason, every year we decide to put the tree inside the car, instead of on the roof. We aren't sure why we never put it on the top. Well with another child in the car now, we couldn't put it in the car like we did in the past. Putting it on the roof is SO MUCH EASIER!! DUH! Blonde moment! So much cleaner as well! I wont be vacuuming out my car for the next month! 


Getting it home and set


We let the tree set for a day to let all the branches fall and then we decorated it! June loved it! She loved the lights and putting the ornaments on the tree! She has now re-arranged the ornaments more times than I can count! 


The lighting in this picture is kind of odd, but I had to put it on here, because June looks so grown up in it! She is no longer a baby that's for sure! 






We love our tree, just like we do every year. This one is a bit smaller than our previous trees, but some how we like it more. It fits perfectly in the little corner, in our little home, with our little family! I just love this time of year and all the joy it brings through out the whole month!












Friday, December 6, 2013

Owen update at One Month


One Month Old
Weight: 12lb 10oz (95 Percentile) 
Height: 23.5 in (93 Percentile)


Wednesday, December 4, 2013

The Outcome of the Tooth


After having to wait all weekend to get into June's dentist, we finally were able to get in on Tuesday to get her little mouth checked out. I admit, I shed a couple tears in the dentist, just because I only want her to be happy, and her little bloody scream in the dentist chair about did me in, but Thankfully she has an amazing dentist who stays calm and was understanding of both our tears!

So the outcome: June did lose the tooth and there is nothing that can be done about it. Dr. Steele did tell us that when June turns 3 we can put a fake tooth in the spot until it's time for the permanent tooth to come in. At least there is an option, but who knows, by the time she's 3, I am sure that we won't even think twice about that missing tooth, but it still is an option. We will just have to wait and see.

Her canine tooth was jammed back up into her gums and caused a contusion. It should heal on it's own, but if we are concerned about it in the next few months Dr. Steele told us to come back in to get it looked at. Thankfully we are not going to lose her front tooth. It is chipped, a good chunk of it is actually gone, but it's still there and holding strong. I am so so happy about that. The one tooth is bad enough, but to have her front tooth missing would be the worst.

June is handling it like a champ. In fact she hasn't missed a beat. You wouldn't think anything was wrong with how she was acting. She does know the tooth is missing, and was excited when we told her the tooth fairy was coming extra early just for her.

It was mortifying and I am so happy that the outcome was good news. I love her, gap smile and all!

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Knock Out

It was awful. In fact I am still a little shaken up about it and my poor baby. June knocked out a tooth. Here is the story. 

June was begging us all morning to go to the park. We were already running around like mad people, trying to get Owen's passport finished up so that we can possibly cross the boarder to Canada this Christmas. She was super bugged that she had to be in the car and not go to the park. 

After getting told no over and over again at each Post office to get Owen's passport submitted today, we finally gave up and headed home. I remembered that we needed milk and that we would need to stop on the way home. 

Dan, being the most amazing father ever, offered to take June to the park while I run to the store, and then come back and pick them up. June got so excited with the word park that we really didn't have a choice. So I dropped them off and headed to the store. 

I came back and sat and watched my daughter and her daddy play all around the playground. June is getting so adventurous, but man she is such a clumsy little thing and is falling over all the time. So after watching them for a bit, I hop out of the car to go tell them it's time to go. June is up on the playground and see's me. She gets a huge grin on her face, goes to take a step and completely misses, smashing her face into the next step. I ran and grabbed her. There was a lot of blood, but we didn't really think anything  of it, since mouth injuries, even the tiniest cut, bleeds non stop. So we examined her, but she wouldn't let us see... It wasn't until she opened her mouth super wide to let out a massive scream, that I saw the gaping hole on the left side of her mouth....

Her tooth was knocked out. 

Dan went back and found the small little tooth laying on the step. the whole entire tooth came out. It was sheer panic and I felt sick to my stomach. I couldn't even imagine what she was feeling. Dan was our rock! We drove home and called my sister immediately, she is a dental assistant... really learning that there is nothing we can do for her little tooth. She told us to try and see if we could get the Dentist to look at it to make sure nothing else was damaged. 

I was so beyond grateful for the Dentist to see her on a Saturday. Oh man, he was amazing and so patient with June. He could see the ghost white faces we had, and was very calming. He didn't even charge us for the visit. It really helped. 


 I was so sick because It looked like we were going to lose the main front tooth too. Thankfully, that tooth seemed pretty solid when examined, and we haven't lost it yet. We have to go in on Monday to June's pediatric Dentist and get it x-rayed to make sure it's not fractured... So we could still possibly lose it. And back to being sick to my stomach. There is also the concern that her canine tooth was jammed back up into her gums and therefore damaging her permanent tooth.... We will find out more on Monday. 

Then we learned, that there is still a chunk of tooth in her gums where the tooth broke out. So that could lead to infection and we would have to get that removed. It made for a very long Saturday. Dan and our friend Jared gave June a blessing, and that helped, oh so much. It helped calm me down as well. 



June didn't seem to be too bothered by it. We were told it's more traumatic for the parents than it is for the child. I felt awful. I seriously thought I was going to throw-up at the dentist's office. 

So now June has a pretty little gap between her front tooth and canine. Her eye tooth is the one knocked out. She will have that gapping smile for the next 5 years until her permanent tooth decides to come in. 

The tooth fairy is coming to our house extra early! 

*NOTE: So for the rest of the day we snuggled and watched movies. I was still feeling pretty sick about the whole thing, and Dan was leaving to go to a Maverick's basketball game with some buddies... A couple hours before he had to leave, I pretty much curled up in a ball and fell asleep with pure worrisome for June. Dan took over and got June a soft dinner to not hurt her too much, and took care of Owen. He cleaned the house and made sure everything was in tip-top shape before he left. Then came and woke me up. What an incredible man. I cannot believe he is mine and that I get him forever. Luck. 

The little lady is now drugged up and fast asleep. We will see what tomorrow and Monday brings. 



Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was nothing short of amazing! 

It's a wonderful thing to gather together with friends, stuff your face full of delicious food, and constantly think of what we are grateful for. I know that we should be doing that on a regular basis, but at least we have a month that kind of forces us to think of all the blessings we have, and at least we have a time where we can really focus on those blessings. 

Holidays can be tough when you aren't able to travel home, or don't live close to family. But those who live far from home know how friends truly become your family and it makes the holidays so special. We have been so blessed with the friends we have here in Dallas. It made for a fantastic Thanksgiving having my beautiful friends in my house, laughing and filling our house full of chit chat and little children giggles. 

We hosted Thanksgiving at our house with a total of 8 adults and 7 children. If you know my house, you know it's not very big, it was a full house. I was worried all week that we weren't going to have enough room, and plus cooking food that I haven't really cooked before for that many people. I called my sister Brooke like a hundred times making sure I did everything right. It turned out great and I wouldn't of had it any other way. It was so fun. We all pitched in to make a major Thanksgiving feast. More food than we initially thought, but it was all so good and it made for a few days of constantly stuffing our faces with left overs. 

Makenna, Me, and Amanda. Love these girlies! 

We had so much food we had to pull an extra table out just to hold it all. We didn't skimp out on anything! 

The delicious turkey! Sean and Makenna were up at 4am cooking this bad bird. It was well worth it! SO GOOD! 

The cookers. We were laughing because even though I had everyone over to our house, Sean and Makenna ended up having all the huge responsibility of the dinner! It was a good thing, because let's be honest, we all know I am no cook, and I am ok with that. It all worked out for the best. 

 An adorable little Fam! LOVE THEM!

I didn't even have to wash my dishes! Haha I am still not sure how that happened, but they took over and we got the kitchen cleaned up in no time, while all the boys watched the kids.... and a little football. 

So I realized at the end of the night that I didn't take a single picture of my fam or my children. June was already in bed and Owen was in an induced milk coma, so It's sad, but no 2013 Thanksgiving pics for the Lancaster's. I just got all excited about everyone being there, timing the food just right to have it all warm, and keeping a one month old fed and a 2 year old happy. It just slipped away from me.

Later that night, we put the kids to bed and Makenna and me headed out to do a little Black Friday shopping! We both scored big time and I am almost done with June's Christmas. All done in one day. (Or night). It was fun and I was so glad to get out for a bit with a friend and catch up, without nagging children.

Honestly it was one of my favorite Thanksgivings. I just have so much to be grateful for and this year, with two children, a warm home, and an incredibly loving husband, it feels overwhelming with all the blessings. I know that my Heavenly Father has blessed me in abundance that I don't even think it's fair to list things, just because I can't get them all, and He has granted me to have so much.

Now it't time for more focus on family  and excitement with Christmas. To focus on our Saviors birth, and to take part in all the glorious festivities that go on this time of year. I love that I can sit and blog in the quite with Christmas music FINALLY playing in our home. I absolutely love this time of year and that includes Thanksgiving. So excited for what's to come this holiday season.