Famous Tar Heel

My dad is famous! This month his picture was featured in the Tar Heel Monthly magazine. Over the summer he traveled with my mom and 3 other couples to Hawaii. While there, his friend Rick took a picture of the two of them in front of a famous statue wearing their Carolina shirts. After they returned, Rick submitted it to the magazine and their picture was selected for the January issue. There is no online version for you to see but here is a picture I took of the page! He's the one on the left.

Picture tag

My friend Courtney tagged me. For this tag I was supposed to:
*open the fourth picture folder on your computer
*post the fourth picture in that folder
*explain the picture
*tag four more people.

I'm so glad it turned out to be this picture! This pic was taken about a month ago of Owen in this old cradle that used to be my grandmother's. He loves being in it and my mom decided to snap some pictures one day. I love his cute little monogram shirt that Brooke gave him. This picture actually made it on my parents' Christmas card this year.

I tag...Lauren P., Erin L, Stefanie, and Byerly.

PS. I didn't send out Christmas cards this year...I hope you weren't running to the mailbox every day looking for it. Life has been too busy with a newborn and moving.

My Son is a Rockstar!

Owen has slept through the night for the last 4 nights!! We are way excited! Now if I could just go back to sleeping through the night. :)

His hair is also playing the part of a rockstar... the mohawk is increasing in length every day. It now is so long that it curls under.

A question for all you moms out there. I need some advice. Owen has been having these weird episodes where all of a sudden his whole body will tense up, sending all of his extremities straight out and his face turns red. This lasts for about 5 seconds and then he loosens up and screams hysterically. It then takes a few minutes to calm him down. The first 2 times he did it, it was after we were coming down the stairs. We thought he just didn't like to face downward as we went down. The last 2 times he has been doing something very normal like laying on his play mat. I don't really know what to make of this. Anybody have any ideas? Should I make an appointment with the pediatrician?

Updated look

I thought it was about time I updated the look of the blog. Right now we're going with a Christmas theme. Thanks to Jeremy for the new header. Merry Christmas!

27 About Me

In honor of my 27th birthday and my 300th post, here are 27 things I've learned about myself (in no particular order):

1) I am not a neat person. I love to leave my clothes on the floor and junk on the coffee table. I love when the house is clean but I'm not good at keeping it that way.

2) I'm addicted to sweets. I could have chocolate or some sort of dessert everyday. I am trying to stick to my 60 calorie pudding cups to get my chocolate fix these days.

3) I am not a perfectionist. I am "let's just get it done" person. This is exact opposite of my husband, which can be hard when we are doing projects together.

4) I am impatient. I want things done now and I hate waiting.

5) I care what other people think. I hate this about myself and I'm really working on it but sometimes I get caught up on how I come across to others. I have a preconceived image of who I am and I'm worried if I don't portray that to others.

6) I often read into a situation too much. Jeremy says that I am bad about this, but I read into a situation coming up with what I think a person was really saying in their tone or body actions. Often they didn't mean it that way, but I think they did then therefore make a situation very different than it really played out.

7) Friendships are really important to me. I have a desire to know others and to be known by them. I have many close friends over the years and I hate when for some reason or other, the friendships fade. I also hate when I think more of our friendship than that person does. With this move especially, I have noticed what friendships were really true. Some people have already forgotten about me despite my efforts to keep the friendship up.

8) My mom is one of my closest friends. Other than Jeremy, she is the one that I run to when I need help, support, an opinion, or just want to vent. I love that we live closer to them now so that we can see each other more (if only she could stay in town!).

9) Being a mom takes sacrifice of your own desires. As a mom, I have had to sacrifice my own sleep, time, schedules, and desires. I love it though and wouldn't trade it for the world.

10) I want to be an expert at something. I have a very talented husband who is a jack of many trades. He is great at photography, graphic design, web design, woodworking, cooking, etc. The list goes on... what am I good at? I can do stuff.. but I want something that I am really good at.

11) My dreams aren't real. Every night I have very vivid dreams that include people in my life, either in the present or past. Sometimes the storylines seem so real that when I wake up I feel like have happened. Before Jeremy and I were married, I had a dream that he had to be married to another woman because his parents promised the girl's family. I woke up really concerned that Jeremy and I were not going to be married. Silly I know but my dreams are so vivid they seem real. Jeremy thinks its crazy!

12) My feelings get hurt easily. I hate being left out, forgotten, and be talked about.

13) Brothers and sisters can be great friends. Brandon and I have gone through many stages in our relationship. As kids, I found him the little annoying brother. But as time went on, we grew closer together. We both came to know the Lord around the same which made us cling together. We would study the Bible together and keep each other accountable. We also can vent with each other when one of our parents annoys us. :) As adults, we are great friends and I really wish he lived closer.

14) I have to have 8 hours of sleep to feel normal.

15) I would be sad if I lived in a place that didn't have a Target. I love that store!

16) I don't really like to exercise but continue to complain about my body. I always have an excuse why not too...I don't have a gym membership, it's too cold outside, what would I do with Owen?

17) I love traditions. I love our families traditions esp. during Christmas and Thanksgiving. I'm sad when I don't get to be with my family during these holidays.

18) I can be obsessive. When I find something I like I tend to get obsessive over it. For example, my current obsessions: the color green, Pumpkin Spice Lattes, coffee, chocolate, Panera. I own lots of green things now and have to have a cup of coffee each day with pumpkin spice creamer.

19) I am inconsistent with my quiet times, esp since becoming a mom. I find other things to fill time and it kind of gets pushed to the back burner. I know it shouldn't...and I'm working on that.

20) I love to talk. Ok if you've known me for any amount of time you know this. My parents used to make fun of how much I like to talk. Talking on the phone was what I did best in high school. Currently now I love to talk on my cell phone...esp when I'm driving (right Dad?). Like I said earlier, I like being known and to know others. How else to you know someone than to talk to them?

21) I could wear my pajamas all day long. As a new mom, there are days when I have worn them all day.

22) I love and hate surprises. I love when someone surprises me but then again I hate waiting. I have a hard time not knowing what is it in a box for me. I can't wait to know what is in it.

23) I'm scared that financially I am not going to be able to stay home with Owen. Please pray that I would trust in the Lord for His provision.

24) I love to make lists and check things off. I feel more productive that way. Also it helps me remember things...my brain isn't what it used to be.

25) I hate when people do not use correct grammar esp. when they use the homophones incorrectly. Please use the correct to and your in your sentence. Also the use of an apostrophe incorrectly drives me nuts. A family is Piners not Piner's. 's is used to show ownership!

26) I never want to be a politician or a doctor. Both gross me out and would be way too much pressure.

27) I have been amazingly blessed over the last 27 years. I have an amazing husband and son, family, and friends. I have everything I need in life; I am healthy and loved. I also have an amazing Savior who sent his son to die for me. I am constantly amazed at His work in my life.



Wow that was more difficult than I thought! Hope you feel like you know me a little more now! See below for a run down of my 27th birthday.

27 sounds old

Dec. 5th marked 27 years in life of Shannon. It was a great birthday thanks to my wonderful husband.

(This is random...but stick with me...The other night Jeremy and I were laying in bed talking and I was thinking that really each year we shouldn't call it your birthday. Your actual birthday was the day your mother birthed you. Each year we really just commemorate that day...your actual BIRTHday. Why do we call it a birthday every year? Shouldn't it be more of an anniversary of a date? So really it is a birth-iversary. Ok I know I'm being silly...that's what happens when you are sleep deprieved. )

Friday I was treated with lunch from Bojangles and a whole afternoon with my husband. He took the afternoon off just to be with me. :)

We were blessed to have a free babysitter (Mom and Dad) for the afternoon and night so we could go out just by ourselves. Unbeknownst to us, my parents took the opportunity to go get pictures taken of Owen. Mom had a Christmas outfit for him so they redressed him and took him to have pictures done at Sears. The pictures turned out ok but they picked a cheesy collage for them. See for yourself...

Once we dropped Owen off, we headed to Raleigh where I got a haircut (yay! I love haircut days!) then did a little shopping. We then went out to eat at Rio Churrascaria, a Brazilian steakhouse, and it was wonderful! I left with a meat hangover. We finished off the night with a new peppermint chocolate milkshake from Chick-fil-a.

As for gifts, I received a beautiful set of pearl earrings from Owen, a new bedding set from Jeremy (thanks to Linen N Things going out of business he got an amazing deal), and pearl earrings and curtains from my family. Luckily the pearl sets are 2 different colors.

It was a great day and I'm now 27. For some reason 27 just sounds older. It's scary to think I'm only 3 years away from 30! So crazy! Where is the time going?

2 month checkup

Owen had his 2 month checkup yesterday and boy is he big! He weighed in at 13 lbs and was 24 in. long. This put him in the 90th% for height and weight! He also had some gunk in his right eye for the last 2 days but the doctor said it was just a clogged tearduct. All I have to do is keep it clean and massage it. After the exam, he had to get 3 shots and an oral vaccine. He was so pitful... I had never heard that kind of cry from him. He was inconsolable for about 5 mins. It was so sad! But how cute is he...

Thanksgiving 2008

We spent Thanksgiving this year with Jeremy's family. This is the first year that his mom has hosted (his grandma used to always do it) and she did a fabulous job! They had a beautiful new home to host everyone and we were excited that Owen would get to meet all of his aunt and uncles.

Wednesday, Aunt Erin and cousin Madison came to hang out with us. As you can tell below, the two cousins aren't sure how they feel about each other. Notice Owen's face. :)

Thursday everyone came together for lunch.

Jesse (J's brother) and his girlfriend Emily

Adrian (another brother) waiting for lunch to be served.

Owen modeling his Thanksgiving outfit.

Owen got tired waiting for the turkey

So Aunt Erin holds him while he naps

Jeremy reads the number book to Madison to pass the time. The girl is smart; she can already count to 10 at 19 months old.

Now that Thanksgiving is over, we can celebrate Christmas! Jeremy's mom created these adorable matching outfits. It took many attempts to get this picture.


We had a great time and can't wait for Christmas when we can all be together again.

Owen meets his great grandmothers

Over Thanksgiving Owen got to meet his great grandmothers (on Jeremy's side) for the first time.

Grandma Cox was so excited to snuggle with Owen. He slept through the whole thing.

Owen went and visited his Great-Grandma Young in the nursing home.

Taking a closer look with the help of Emma (Jeremy's mom)

Getting some help so she could hold him.

4 generations of Youngs

4th time a charm?

We moved to Nashville on Nov. 1st, almost 3 weeks ago. Before we moved, Jeremy called the internet company to set up time for them to come install internet. The company said they could come on Monday, the 3rd. They come that Monday (late of course) and realize that we are the only house on the street that was not wired to the cable box on the street. (Our internet comes through the cable company.) Evidentally the couple who lived here before had never had cable but instead used a satelitte. They said they had to bury a cable then they could come back and install.

The company called us and said they could bury it the following Thursday the 13th, a whole 10 days later. We were aggreviated to say the least. Luckily though, I got on the computer and realized I had a signal as one of our neighbors had not locked their internet. This would allow me to stay connected to the world until ours could get hooked up.

The 13th arrives and the cable guy shows up and they haven't buried the cable so he leaves. The company calls and apologizes and says that someone will come on Tuesday, 18th to bury the cable and they would come back later that evening to install. Tuesday comes, no one comes to bury the cable but the technician comes to install. Leaving having done nothing. Needless to say we are hot. We are ready to say forget about it but they volunteer to take some money off of our bill and promise to be there tomorrow.

Wednesday (yesterday) the people finally come to bury and today they are supposed to come install. It is now the 20th...17 days after the original installation date. It is ridiculous! I could have gone and buried the cable by now. They get away with this kind of stuff because they are the only company who provides internet here. RAHHH!!!

Swagbucks: Earn giftcards just by searching the Internet

I don't know about you but I do a lot of searching online. I love Google and use it multiple times a day. Today on MoneySaving Mom, one of the many blogs I read on a daily basis, Crystal wrote about this search engine where you can earn gift cards just by searching. I was very intriguied seeing how I love getting stuff for free, esp for something I'm already doing. I checked it out and it's legit.

All you have to do is sign up (it takes about a minute) and then you start searching. Everytime you search you get a swagbuck. You get 3 just for signing up. Once you get 45 swagbucks, you can get a Amazon gift card and 50 gets you a Starbucks card (Cheri, you would love this!). Who doesn't need a little extra help now that Christmas is so close! You could totally use the gift cards to order presents or as presents for that matter!

So why don't you go check it out! Use this link! P.S. You also get points for referring other users. So pass this along!

As Christmas

For Brooke

My sweet friend Brooke sent Owen the cutest little monogram shirt. We had to do a little photo shoot with it on him while it still fit. Owen is growing like a weed and is now 11 lbs!

Keep Scrolling! There's more pictures below.

Meeting Granny

Last Sunday we went to Beulaville to visit my Granny for her 86th birthday. Granny loves babies and could not wait to meet Owen. You should have seen her...her eyes just lit up when she saw him and her face was glowing. She spent all afternoon holding him and loving on him. He slept the whole afternoon, which made for a rough evening but I was so glad we could make Granny's 86th birthday.

First Bath

Owen's umbilical cord stump finally fell off at 5 1/2 weeks. Up to that point, we had to give him a sponge bath. We were excited when it finally fell off and we were actually able to give him a real bath. We have this cute little froggie tub that we inherited from my sister in law that we placed in the sink in the kitchen. Owen loved it! He stared out the window for most of it but he was so much calmer during bath time. Look at cute he is...isn't he getting so big?! He doesn't look like a newborn anymore.

Our Move

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update...my time is taken up by a sweet 6 week old now. 6 week old...can you believe it!? I'll try and update you on what's been going on with us over the last few weeks. It may take a few posts so check back again.

Friday, Oct. 31st we signed our life away and became 1st time home buyers! I agree with my friend Courtney that I thought it would feel more momentous as I signed the papers, but it really was uneventful. The walk through though was very cold.. 48 degrees to be exact b/c the power company hadn't turned on our electricity yet; it took them until 2 pm to get there, but that's another story.

Friday afternoon we went home and finished packing. Our good friends the Flemings came to help us pack up the truck. We thought we had more help but sadly no one showed so the 4 of us packed the truck until 10 pm. Saturday morning we packed the last minute things and I sent Jeremy on his way as I finished up the cleaning.

I arrived at our new home around 1:30 and some amazing friends had already unpacked the whole truck. Thanks goes out to the Williams, Adams, Langstons, and my parents. The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent unpacking the kitchen and arranging the living room so we could have a place to sit.

The last week and half have been spent unpacking boxes in between feedings and taking care of Owen. The downstairs is done (ex. for pictures on the wall) but we won't talk about the upstairs. :)

We love our new home and are excited about such little things like a dishwasher, a fireplace, etc. I'm still getting adjusted to living in a house and living in Nashville. I miss knowing my neighbors. I miss having Alyson right through the wall and her and her kids knocking on the door every afternoon. I miss Moe's. It's going to take time.

Halloween

Ok so I am waist high in boxes but I wanted to post a few cute pictures of Owen from Halloween. We really aren't Halloween people because I've never liked scary things. I hate scary movies, being scared, monsters, etc. so Halloween is not my cup of tea. Because we were moving and packing all night, we didn't bother getting Owen any kind of costume. He did however have a cute Halloween outfit that my mom bought him. Dad said he looked more like a convict. See for yourself! I'll post more later about the move. It was quite an adventure.

1 month checkup

Owen had his one month checkup today with the pediatrician. He now weighs a whopping 10 lbs. and 6oz. That's almost a pound a week! This puts him in the 70th percentile (still not sure if I really understand what that means). He is only 22 inches long and in the 40th percentile. So basically our son is a shrimp.

During his checkup, I mentioned that his left eye was a little gunky. She checked him out and noticed that he had the beginning signs of an ear infection so she prescribed him an antibotic. She said this should clear up his eye as well. I discussed my concerns about his reflux, as he is still spitting up through his nose and I can hear the liquid coming back up almost every time after he feeds. She finally took me serious and has prescribed something to neutralize the acid. We're supposed to visit the doctor again in 2 weeks to see if the infection has cleared and the reflux is better. It'll have to be a new doctor as we'll already be in Nash Cty.

After we left the doctor, I attempted to go get his prescription filled. Attempted, you ask. Yes attempted. It turns out that Blue Cross and Blue Shield didn't inform their pharmacy division that Owen was added to Jeremy's insurance. Therefore when the pharmacy tried to contact the insurance they said Owen wasn't covered. Jeremy called to remedy the problem and hopefully tomorrow we'll be able to get his medicine. Gotta love insurance!

So this explains why Owen is having an issue with sleeping. He has an ear infection and reflux. Hopefully the medicine will help and he'll be back to his normal sweet self very soon.

FYI, I may be a little MIA from the blogging world for a while. We close on our house on Friday morning and will pack up the moving truck on Friday night. Saturday morning, we'll clean the apartment, turn in the keys, and say goodbye to seminary land. It is bittersweet as I have LOVED my time here, but I'm very ready to begin this new chapter of our lives. So until then... have a great week!

Another first

Yesterday Owen turned 4 weeks old! At 4 weeks, breastfed babies can be introduced to a bottle. Over the last few weeks, I have been trying to pump in between his feedings so that I would have a supply in the freezer. While I love that I am able to breastfeed, I do want the ability to be away from him more than 2-3 hours at a time.

Below is first experience with a bottle. Jeremy fed him and he did a great job! We did have to change bottles in the middle because he didn't seem to be getting a lot out of the first one. Overall, it went really well! While I will continue to breastfeed, it will be nice for Jeremy or the grandparents to feed him every once in a while.

One thing, on the other hand, is not going well...his sleeping pattern. His typical schedule used be: feed every 2-3 hours, stay awake for a little while, then nap afterwards. Lately his schedule has been out of whack. He doesn't want to go back to sleep after is 4/5 am feeding. So we get up and feed and then we go back to sleep on the couch with him in my arms until about 9. Then he eats again and then stays awake until lunch time. Because he is awake all morning, he has been sleeping most of the afternoon and then will have a wake period after dinner.

After his dinner feeding, we have been trying to put him in his crib to start his night sleep. He goes down fine at that time but that's where it ends. He'll eat again around 9 or 10 and it sometimes takes 45 mins. to get him back to sleep. He whimpers, squirms, and wants to suck on Jeremy's finger (he won't take a pacifier). He does the same thing at his 1 and 4 am feedings. Poor Jeremy tried to coax him back to sleep for almost 2 hours last night. He was not a happy camper!


Anybody have any suggestions on how to help him go down more easily? How can I start establishing a regular schedule as well ? Moms out there help me out.

Camera Fun

We were told we don't take enough pictures of Owen. We do take pictures; we just don't always post them. Also up until this week, he was sleeping the majority of the time. You can only see so many pictures of him sleeping, right?

One night last week, he was awake so we had some fun taking some pictures.

I love this last one. Owen is chillin' in the recliner with the remote. Jeremy is starting him early!

Everyone loves to hold Owen

The last two weekends we have hung out with our family and everyone loves to hold and love on Owen.

Poppa (Shannon's dad) got to finally hold Owen again. He was dignosed with shingles soon after Owen was born and the doctor told him he couldn't hold him until the last blister had been gone for a week. Last Saturday was the first day and Poppa could not get enough of him.

Great Uncle Mark's finger is so good!

Uncle BP and Owen snuggling on the couch.

The boy is getting spoiled. :)

Owen's First Play Date

Owen had his first play date today. Zeke and his mom Courtney came over to visit us yesterday for the first time. Zeke is about 7 weeks older than Owen and wow can you see a difference. Owen looked so tiny next to 14 lb Zeke.

Before the Sheltons left, the Graves came over. Byerly and her son Chesson joined the party and it was a full blown playdate. Chesson is about 5 weeks older than Owen. He too is a big boy and made Owen look so tiny.

We decided that it was a perfect opportunity for a photo op.

Left to right: Zeke, Owen, and Chesson. Poor Zeke is the 3rd wheel while Owen and Chesson are having a conversation.

Evidentally Owen didn't like what Chesson was saying.

Courtney, Byerly, and I laughed that we were the Toastidas commercial; it was more of a playdate for us than the boys. We had fun though!