The Swensons

Summer, Fall, Winter, Where is the time going

2009-10-30T17:47:00.000-07:00

It's now pretty much November and in Wisconsin that means winter is here. It hasn't actually snowed yet...but I know it's close. Time is short so we're gonna summarize the last few months.

July

Family Reunion in Midway---so great to see everyone!

August---my team won the Midwest Section championships beating Ohio and Michigan to qualify for nationals

September---moved into a bigger place. So great to have more room. My parents came out to help which was wonderful (for us---not so much for them)

October---got to see my family again! Flew into Vegas, spent a few days in George before driving down to Palm Springs to play Nationals. Left Sean overnight for the first time. Had so much anxiety about it, but it was actually very relaxing, I got to just focus on tennis. I guess if you're going to leave your son with anyone, your mom and sister are about as good as it gets!

Can't wait to go out to Utah for Thanksgiving and Chile for Christmas!!!

Sean is growing up so much. He's 20 months old, running everywhere and starting to talk more. He has really enjoyed having more space in the new house...having room to run around and a huge backyard to play in.

Sean's favorite things to play with or do right now:

playing with the brooms in the garage

holding pencils and spoons

playing the piano

holding toothbrushes

playing in the car (climbing in the front seat and pushing every button, lever, switch possible)

reading stories (moms favorite because he just snuggles in my lap)

books with flaps or anything to manipulate or feel

wrestling

Sean's favorite things to eat:

pasta

propel

chocolate chips

GRAPES

chocolate pudding

sandwiches

raisins

did I mention GRAPES

Summer is the best!!

2009-07-16T18:59:00.000-07:00

Here in Wisconsin, you wait forever for summer. Growing up in St. George, it's warm in March, very warm in May and downright hot in June, July, and August. So I'm just programmed to think that spring comes in march and summer shortly after. Here in the frozen tundra of packerland....it's not uncommon to have snow in May. Even in June, before we left for Utah, the high temperatures were high 60's, 70's; maybe an 80 in there. It takes some getting used to.

So to put it plainly----Sean and I are taking full advantage of summer!!! We go to the pool every day we can...I end all my runs at the park by our house and let Sean run around at the playground while I stretch...and pretty much spend every possible moment outside. Life is good!

I've been playing tennis once or twice a week. I'm playing on a league team this year. We've won all our matches so far and play regionals in Indianapolis next month. I'm headed back out to Utah in a couple days for a family reunion with my moms' side. Can't wait to see everyone!

Collin and his brother Eric did their Half Ironman triathlon last month. They did the 70.3 in Boise. It was a great race and so much fun. They did awesome, but I think it's safe to say we're both happy he's not training as much!! It was quite an adventure for Kate, Ali, Sean, & I watching. Just imagine the four of us standing in a dirt field in the middle of nowhere, huddled under a rather small umbrella trying desperately to escape the rain. Any of us would be happy to give you the full account--it was memorable!!

Sean is growing up so much!! He's not just walking now--he's running. He can't pick up enough sticks, rocks, or plastic shovels. He seems to always want something in his hand, so he'll usually latch onto something early in the day--and won't let go of it for hours!! So we've taken many trips to the grocery store with tennis rackets, spoons, giant plastic golf clubs. He is very attached to his tennis racket (to his mother's delight) and will try to hold as many tennis balls as he can see. It's hilarious watching him try to hold a tennis racket and 5 tennis balls in his little hands. He gets so frustrated when he just can't do it!

He just gets cuter and cuter every day! Collin and I feel so lucky!

Itchin' for Spring

2009-04-23T19:30:00.000-07:00

I'm officially going crazy waiting for spring. We have some nice days now but it's all over the board. For instance: monday it snowed, tomorrow (friday) it's going to be 80 degrees. You just never know what you're gonna get in Wisconsin.

Sean and I have been spending a lot of time at Gymboree lately. The play and learn part, not the clothing store part. Sean loves going there. He's getting to be a really good climber, got up his first "ladder" the other day. It's fun watching him there because he just runs around and climbs all over everything and picks up any ball in eyesight and either throws it or carries it around for the next 15 minutes. He is so fearless. I love that he's not a sissy little kid. He trips and falls down and it doesn't really even faze him.

We've been able to get outside a few times so far this year. Sean's favorite thing: sticks. He finds the two biggest sticks in our yard (one for each hand) and carried them around whacking things. He's such a boy!!!

Like I said last time: I'm realizing more and more how much he actually understands. It's so fun to say "bath time" and see him instantly drop whatever he's doing and run full speed for the bathroom.

Last month, Sean and I spent a week in St. George with my family and then a week in Tucson. It was great to be in the sun. It was so fun seeing my sister and her girls. Sean loves playing with his cousins. Those three are hilarious together.

We're headed down to Indiana next week to hang out with my uncles' family. He's organized a 1/2 marathon that I'm going to attempt to run. I have done almost no real training. My longest run has been 6 miles. It should be interesting!

All in a year

2009-02-26T13:08:00.000-08:00

Sean is officially 1 year old now. I cannot believe it!!!! Where did my little baby go? Sean is a little boy now. He's starting to have strong opinions and will voice them as necessary. He loves going to class at Gymboree. (thanks Aunt Ali for that one!) He loves being around other kids his age ( or at least his size). He's still off-the-charts in the height category and 75% for weight. This kid is TALL!!

The latest big development is that I've realized he understands much more than I thought. He walks right to the books when I ask "Do you want to read a story?" He goes straight to the door when I ask "Should we go get the laundry?" It's so fun to see him understand and respond to something I say.

He's babbling like crazy. His current favorite 'words' are "da-guy", "duckkk", "yuckkkk", and of course "momom" and "dada".

My mom came out for Sean's birthday. It was so great!! Makes me wish we lived closer to family. I will always remember Sean's first birthday as the time I TRIED to make a really difficult cake, so sure I could do it, even though it was my first ever cake. It was kind of a disaster. Fondant, not so easy!!! But it was edible, and actually quite tasty once you got rid of the fondant layer. It served it's purpose--Sean and Collin got a birthday cake! For those of you who don't know, Collin and Sean have the same birthday.

I'm looking forward to a trip out West in March. This time of year in Milwaukee just gets depressing. Winter drags!

2009 baby!

2009-01-14T17:48:00.001-08:00

Can't believe that Sean is almost a year old. The time has gone by so fast. We had a quiet Thanksgiving at home. Went to our bishop's house for Thanksgiving dinner. I really missed by Grandma Ellis' cooking!! There's just no substitute!! Christmas was in St. George with my family. As my dad so accurately describes it: "the circus was in town". It was wonderful, delightful, glorious CHAOS!! My two nieces are just the cutest things in the world, and Sean just loved to follow them around. He took his first steps on December 4th, but really started walking "around" over Christmas.

Since then, it's been more the same. Collin started a new semester at Northwestern. I'm helping out with a high school tennis group two days a week which has been so fun!! I mostly just get to hit in with the guys. So I get paid to play tennis---I can handle that!! Sean is just walking everywhere. Life is a lot easier for me now that I'm not having to hold his hand while he walks around. Three months of that got really old!! He is just the most delightful, happy child. You can get him to laugh now just by looking at him and smiling or laughing. Collin and I both comment about how he has just seemed to grow up so much this past month. Partially the walking, partially all 6 teeth now. We don't know exactly what it is, but he just seems like a little boy now.

2008-11-02T16:32:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time. Sean is growing up right before my eyes. Just this week he has turned into a different kid. He pulls himself up on everything!!! He is much more content to crawl around, pull himself up on things and entertain himself....which is nice for me. I just have to stay 2 feet behind him at all times because he still occasionally falls. It's so fun watching him. This is one of my favorite ages. He is starting to eat finger foods. Little pieces of bread got us through stake conference today.

Sean and I went out to Utah to surprise my sister. We had a GREAT trip until Sean got the stomach flu....then I got the stomach flu, then Sean got an infection. Just trying to get up the courage to fly him home while he was sick was a feat in itself. But we made it and Sean finally got over the flu and infection after one crazy week home. I loved seeing my two little nieces. They are the cutest little girls in the world. It's fun to see Sean interact with them. He basically followed them around wherever they went.

Collin goes to school down in Chicago every Saturday and seems to be enjoying it, except for the 5 am wake up call. Needless to say, when Sean takes his afternoon nap on Sunday, Collin does too!! I've been playing tennis a couple times a week. I'm slowly watching the nice weather fade and will be sad when I can't get outside to take Sean for walks.

We'll be heading to St. George for Christmas!! I can't wait!!!

Growing Up

2008-09-14T14:18:00.000-07:00

Sean is getting cuter every day. He is growing up so much. He's definitely requiring a little more energy nowadays, wants to grab my hands and walk around all the time. He's not crawling yet but can scoot himself pretty far. He loves to flip over on the changing table so that has made life pretty exciting. He flips over, then scoots to either the end, and looks down to the ground, or he goes over to the side and reaches down to grab the silver knob on the changing table. It's pretty cute!!!

At his 6 month check-up, he was 95% for weight and off the charts for height---everyone that sees him seems to comment on how big he is (when they find out he's only 6 1/2 months old. He is such a joy. I love watching him discover things. He's finally figuring out how to eat. For a while he didn't quite grasp the concept of opening his mouth when the spoon was coming.

Collin finished his first quarter at school. It's not so bad--the Saturday thing. You kind of get used to it. It's been nice having him home the last two Saturdays. He has 3 off before the new quarter starts.

THE BIG 6

2008-08-15T09:32:00.000-07:00

Sean is almost 6 months old now. Can't believe it!! He is at such a fun age--so smiley and fun! Still curious about everything--will grab and insert into his mouth anything within his reach. Sits up on his own pretty well now. Loves being outside. Anytime he gets kinda fussy in the evening before bedtime--Collin or I will take him outside and he's instantly happy--just looks around at everything.

Just waiting now for the next big thing: crawling! Can't wait!

Time is flying by

2008-08-05T09:52:00.000-07:00

Can't believe he's almost 6 months old. It's such a fun time right now--lots of laughing! He can sit up by himself pretty well now, a couple of minutes before he eventually tips over. He's so curious about everything and is a very distracted eater now-a-days. I told Collin when he came home yesterday and saw Sean with rice cereal all over his face, head, hands, feet, legs, his chair and the table--that I was losing the battle!! That's exactly what it feels like!!!

Went out to St. George this past month and had a great time with my parents and Jenn, Kate, and Leah! Sean slept in the storage room and apparently loved the dark--he slept about 12 hours a night!! He would get a little intimidated by his cousins and their craziness sometimes-not used to so much chaos--it's pretty mellow at our house!

First Plane Ride

2008-06-28T15:09:00.000-07:00

First time swimming

With Grammy

Sean's cousin Leah
Sean's cousin Kate

Sean took his first plane ride this past month. We flew out to Utah for Ali's wedding (Collin's sister), to see Eric (Collin's brother recently home from his mission to Madagascar), and to see Collin's parents off at MTC. They will be serving as mission presidents in Concepcion, Chile. We also went to see my family. Jenn and Dave hadn't seen Sean yet. So all-in-all it was a busy 12 days. After I got over my anxiety about taking Sean on a plane and messing with his "schedule", it was a pretty great trip. 3 days before we left, Sean rolled over for the first time(tummy to back), and two days later he rolled from back to tummy. Now won't stay laying on his back for anything. He rolls right over to his tummy. He hasn't quite figured out how to get back over to his back though, even though that was the first way he rolled.

He seems to have grown up so much in the past week or so. He loves grabbing his toes, has started eating rice cereal, reaches for anything in his path, and is laughing more and more. This is such a fun stage for me!!!

3 months

2008-05-21T06:47:00.000-07:00

Sean is 3 months old now. How the time flies. He is starting to grab for toys and hold on to them. He's close to rolling over, can't quite get all the way over yet. He is such a sweet baby. He's still sleeping through the night...smiles a ton and spends a lot more of the day playing and awake, instead of sleeping or crying. I love playing with him!!

Took him to Indianapolis a couple weeks ago for the mini marathon and had a great time with Collin's family!! Headed on a plane to Utah in a couple weeks!!

The Great Outdoors

2008-04-22T11:20:00.000-07:00

It has finally gotten a little warmer here in Milwaukee, so Sean has been discovering the "great outdoors" through walks with his mama. Mostly he sleeps in the stroller, but occasionally he'll look around. After being inside for so long, it's nothing short of amazing to go outside in shorts and a tank top and feel the sun on your skin. I'm still a warm weather girl-through and through.

Sean seems to be growing up before our eyes. Collin came home from work yesterday and swore Sean had grown an inch and gained 2 pounds while he was gone. He smiles a ton and is starting to interact with us a little more. At his 2 month check-up, he weighed 14 pounds, 11 ounces, and was 25 1/4 inches long: the size of your average 6 month old. It goes without saying, we get an arm workout daily!

He is now sleeping through the night. Collin and I pretty much get 7-8 hours of sleep every night. Not bad for having a baby! I've already forgotten what it was like in the beginning, waking up every 2 hours. Let's hope I don't remember before the next one comes along.

We blessed Sean this past Sunday. It was really special. I was glad he didn't cry or "fill his diaper" during the blessing. It was also his first time at church. He slept like an angel the last two hours of church. I was nervous for nothing.

Sean will be taking his first trip next week to Indianapolis for the mini. Can't wait!!

And....it gets harder

2008-04-01T09:11:00.000-07:00

Right after I wrote that last post, Sean decided that naps were not for him. So he went from taking a good 3 hour nap every day to taking a couple half hour naps. Mama was not happy. But I guess that's how it goes. The little guy likes to keep me on my toes!!

It gets easier

2008-03-24T15:08:00.000-07:00

The first few weeks of being a mom were tough--wonderful but tough. Waking up in the night 3 or 4 times to feed him and not really sleeping that well in between made for some tired days. The last two weeks have been quite a bit easier, with Collin giving Sean a bottle once in the night and me only having to get up once with him. Just getting more sleep makes everything easier. Sean is a great sleeper now. He takes a three hour nap in the afternoon with some other shorter naps throughout the day. Last night I put him down for bed at 9:30 and he slept all the way till 4:30. I was ecstatic!!! He is still growing like crazy! At 4 weeks, he was 12 pounds, 2 ounces--and growing out of all his clothes. I've already got a few 3-6 month outfits out for him to wear.

I told my mother in law the other day--everytime I pick him up--I melt just a little bit!! I just adore him and feel so blessed!!

The Hungry Man

2008-03-15T09:46:00.000-07:00

I can't believe he is almost a month old. The time just flies by. He is a little angel--already a great sleeper and so much fun. Smiled at me for the first time on Thursday. Can't wait till he does it all the time. Being a mom is absolutely amazing!! Who knew you could love someone so much!!

More pictures of Sean

2008-02-29T08:46:00.000-08:00

It seems like everytime I look at him I think, "I just have to take a picture!"

BABY MAKES 3

2008-02-27T08:13:00.000-08:00

Well, little Sean finally decided to make his grand entrance into this world on his daddy's birthday. Pretty cool going from Collin's birthday 2.19.80 to Sean's 2.19.08. Delivery was tough, due mostly to the fact that the little guy surprised us and decided not to be so little at all- 9 pounds 6.4 ounces. Everyone including the doctor was shocked when he came out. But we both made it and have had a great first week. He's already sleeping pretty well--4 hour stretches at night usually. He's just a sweet little boy. I absolutely love being a mom--couldn't be happier!!!!

5 weeks and counting

2008-01-11T16:15:00.001-08:00

Christmas in Pittsburgh!

Enjoying being pregnant

2007-12-18T16:48:00.000-08:00

Me at 32 weeks. Baby Sean is about 3-3.5 pounds now.

Getting Ready for Baby

2007-12-05T13:57:00.000-08:00

It's the 5th of December. Time just keeps flying by. I'm 30 weeks today--so ten more weeks to go!! We can't wait to meet the little guy. Here's a photo of me (and baby) at about 22 weeks. PS....I'm bigger now!