another blog change

It has come to my attention that the new blogspot is not so easy to remember.

I have decided to change the boys blog to: odenandramsey.blogspot.com

I hope this is easier for everyone to remember so that you can continue to see the boys with ease :)

Hogan Boys Takeover

I think I have mentioned this before but, I will soon be solely posting on a new blog dedicated to both boys. From now on please go to:

www.hoganboystakeover.blogspot.com

I do plan on posting a video montage of Oden over the last 2 1/2 years sometime soon. Who really knows what 'sometime soon' means anymore though. It could be a week, or maybe a year. It will get done though, and that will be the Oden baby blog's last post.

I just posted Ramsey's birth story and a really cute video on the new blog so check it out!

A Ring Bearer Story

Oden was privileged to be in a wedding two weekends ago, May 15 2010. For those of you that recall, he was part of a proposal a while back for Jess's cousin Jen and, her now husband, Ian. Shortly after the acceptance of the proposal, they asked if Oden would be their ring bearer. We gladly accepted. After accepting, I pretty much had anxiety about it up until it was over. Sure a 2 1/2 year old would be adorable in a tux walking down the aisle, but getting a 2 1/2 year old to do anything YOU want them to do is basically impossible. As the day grew nearer, all of the details made us more excited and more scared at the same time. We thought about cutting off is mohawk for the occasion, but just couldn't actually do it. However, we did take him for his first professional haircut the weekend before the wedding. We wanted to make sure it looked flawless. Twenty dollars later we realized, it wasn't a better haircut than I could've given him myself. We took him to one of those specialized kids haircutting places. He sat in Lightening McQueen, and got to watch TV during his cut. Needless to say, with those distractions he did really good. Attempting to try on his tux was a multiple day process. He is not a fan of getting dressed. So, one day I tried on the top half and the next I tried on the bottom. Everything fit perfectly. To complete his wedding ensemble, Jen bought him a pair of black Nike gym shoes. They matched everything perfectly, and they were exactly Oden's style. The Friday before the wedding was the rehearsal and dinner. He was very crabby because he had taken a late nap and we had to wake him up to go. As soon as we arrived at the church, his attitude took a complete turn. He was great! Everyone was teaching him to run up and down the aisle (to make him more comfortable with the church). When it was time to practice, he did his job. We were lucky that Papa Joe was a groomsman because we just told him to go find Papa. We just had to cross our fingers that things would go as smoothly for the actual ceremony. Jess and I derived a plan to keep Oden behaved and on track for the big day. We bought a train with two pieces. When it was time to put on his tux and get ready to go we told him about his new train and that if he was a good boy he could have it. About half way through getting him dressed we let him hold the train in the package. Then we kept telling him to be a good boy and Papa would open it later. When we got to the church and saw Papa, he immediately asked to open it. So we gave him one piece and had Papa hold the other piece at the end of the aisle. Sure enough, when it was time to walk down the aisle he held onto his train and went to retrieve the other half. He walked like an angel!! He didn't even run! We did forget to give him the ring bearer pillow to carry, but at least he walked down well behaved. Then, he came and sat by me and Gramma Dee Dee. About 5 minutes into the ceremony he climbed on Gramma Dee Dee and fell asleep, for the remainder of the service!! It was unbelievably perfect! It was a perfect wedding for a perfect couple. Jen and Ian looked amazing, and the ceremony was beautiful. For the rest of the day, Oden was awesome. We came back to our house for a while and he did not want to even take the jacket of his tux off! I think he felt fancy :) Then we went to Uncle Mike and Aunt Linda's to hang out before the reception. He just played foosball, and trains until it was time to go to the reception. Oden stayed for about a half hour at the reception, and just basically danced and ran around the whole time. Then Gramma Dee Dee came and picked him up so we could relax and enjoy the rest of the night. Overall, I would say that the day couldn't have gone any better for Oden and us. All that anxiety and worry was for nothing. I guess Oden is just a good boy! The reception was equally as awesome as the rest of the day. Everything was beautiful, and tons of fun! Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Jones!! You guys make an amazing couple. And thank you for wanting Oden to be a part of it. We created some of my favorite memories of all time.

Our family picture, at the reception just before Oden left.

Papa Joe talking to Oden about this whole walking down the aisle thing....

My new favorite picture of all time. He's a little stud.
Papa Joe, Oden, and Jess. Three Hogan generations.
The Bride, The Groom, The Ring Bearer, and the pillow!! LOL!

Mr. and Mrs. Ian Jones, CONGRATULATIONS!!!

C'est la Vie!!!

April 2010 is going to go down in our family history as one of the longest, and most trying months EVER! For those of you who are unaware of the story, I am going to tell it in the 'nut shell' version.

Jess has had digestive issues since birth. Prior to this incident, he had already undergone 2 surgeries throughout his lifetime for bowel obstructions. He is always in pain after eating, and unable to hold a healthy weight because of his health problems. The Saturday before Easter he started to complain of a very intense pain in his stomach, and decided it was time to go to the ER. They admitted him to the hospital that night. For a week after he was admitted he went through a bunch of tests and then our specialist final decided it was time for surgery. He went in for his first surgery on Sunday April 11th. He had a very rare condition called intestinal vernacular hypoplasia (sp?), which was corrected when the surgeon removed the affected area in this surgery. The doctor also cleaned up his scar tissue and assured us that everything looked great. He was released from the hospital the following Friday. Then Sunday he was having severe pain again, so he was taken back to the ER. During testing in the ER they noticed a bowel obstruction and Jess had to undergo emergency surgery. After this second surgery and another 5 days recovery in the hospital he was released on the following Friday. Two days later on the following Monday, he was having horrible pain again and was admitted directly into the hospital, bypassing the ER this time. At this point he was not reacting to his medicine well, and was on the verge of dehydration. He stayed in for a couple of days this trip, and I am happy to say that his last day in the hospital was Tuesday, April 27th. He is recovering and we hope there are no more trips for him to the hospital, EVER (or at least any time soon). Jess basically spent a whole month in the hospital.

Oden did OK throughout all of this. At times it was hard for him to adjust to bouncing around from place to place. But overall, I think he did great. He is very happy to have his Daddy home! Every time Oden would talk to Jess on the phone he would say, "Come home Daddy!"

We are all happy to have Jess back home.

In the meantime we have been preparing for baby Ramsey. I think Oden is starting to kind of understand what's going on. He has been very nice to me lately, and has eased up on the wrestling and kicking. He also kisses my tummy and calls it baby Ram! It will be interesting to see how he reacts to a new little one in the house :)

Here are a few new pictures. Things have been so crazy lately that it's easy to forget to pull out the camera. I want to remember to take more so I have record of his cuteness!

I keep telling everyone that this will be the summer of injuries. See the huge bruise on his head? He has had many just like that already since the weather has warmed up!

Playing baseball. He's pretty good at throwing, catching is another story....



This was one of our final days hanging out with Maddie :( bittersweet.

My friend, Sonji, threw me a 'Baby Sprinkle' on May 1st. This is Oden fake crying because he didn't want to share with the other kids while opening presents. Sharing is definitely a challenge!

Oden and I after the Sprinkle, I'm 8 months pregnant and I feel like I've

been pregnant for 8 years!

P.S. Congrats to the Hair Family on Baby Jocelyn, and to the Buffington Family on Baby Kimball!

We're alive!

Hi everyone! I just wanted to assure you that we are all still alive and kicking. I know it has been a while since my last blog, but I promise an awesome update very soon!

Big Boy Bed and a little bubbles

Over the last 2 years, we have had a very hard time getting Oden to sleep in his own bed. It's safe to say that he pretty much always has slept in our bed. Occasionally we would let him fall asleep in our bed, then transfer him to his bed/crib with hopes he would sleep through the night. After uncountable failed attempts with that method, and numerous attempts at implementing other routines, there was a point about 2 months ago where we just gave up. He was in our bed, and neither Jess nor I had the energy to try and change it. Then we realized, soon there would be 4 of us in one queen sized bed if we continued down this road. Bravely, Jess decided about two weeks ago to start transitioning Oden into his room. Jess made accommodations for himself by bringing in the TV/DVD player (he can't sleep without the background noice/light). I swore that I would not bring a TV into my kids rooms until...... well never! I really don't see the need for it. In this situation, when Jess was going to be completely uncomfortable during this new process, how could I say no? We pulled out the futon in Oden's room and that is where Jess and Oden have been sleeping up until 3 nights ago. This is the most uncomfortable futon you will ever come into contact with. It was very inexpensive, and we definitely got what we paid for. I would compare it to sleeping on a wooden board padded with paper towels. I think sleeping on the floor might have been more comfortable for them both. I do commend Jess for sleeping there so so long, I know I would not have been able to handle it. One day Oden's auntie Olivia was over and I was telling her the story when she mentioned that there were two twin beds in the basement at The Hogan house, and we could probably have one. Sweet! So Jess made arrangements with Papa Joe and Grandma Honey, and the bed was delivered with love this past Friday. It is perfect, and it looks great in the room! So this was the first weekend that Oden and Jess slept in a 'big boy bed'! I had planned on picking up some cheap sheets and a blanket for the bed over the weekend, as the sheets they were using we borrowed. While Jess and I were working on Saturday I received a call from Papa Joe and Grandma Honey (who were watching Oden). They asked what my plans were for blankets and stuff because they were on a field trip at Target and spotted some Thomas bedding. I told Grandma Honey (Laura) I had planned on getting something over the weekend but they were more than welcome to give me a head start, if they wanted to. When we all arrived home a few hours later, I was completely surprised when Jess started unloading the car and the entire Thomas bed set. Oden was attached to it immediately! He wouldn't lay down for his nap until we took it ALL out of the packages and piled it on top of him! From there, it was quite a task getting everything washed. Oden freaked out anytime and piece of the set was out of sight! After a few wash loads, it was time to put everything on the new bed. I have one word for the event....priceless. I don't think I've ever seen him so excited. It started with the pillowcase on the pillow. I didn't witness this part, but Jess says he was shaking with excitement. Then with the sheets and the blankets, he went into periods of OOOH's and AAAHHH's, followed by hysterical laughter. It was so fun to watch. Hopefully this new bed with Thomas and Friends will encourage Oden to stay in it. We are now working on phasing Jess out of there, but I think we are headed in the right direction! I just wanted to thank Joe and Laura for all of their help with the bed, and the bedding. And generally for their kindness and generosity. We all appreciate it!! Enjoy the pictures and videos of this momentous occasion :)

That's one happy boy!

Just leave me alone already, I'm ready for bed!!

I love the end when he;s jumping and saying, "Tommy Bed!" at the same time

We made a pit stop on Sunday and Papa and Odee got to play with some bubbles.


This video is just so dang cute!

Starting the spring out right

The spring air persuaded us to take a trip to the zoo today. What a wonderful day it was! We decided to invest in a family pass for the Brookfield Zoo, which will last until June 2011. We are very excited to take Oden and the new baby to the Zoo as much as possible, as it is one of Jess and my favorite places. Oden was very excited about everything, except the monkeys. For some reason he was actually afraid of them! Interesting..... His favorite animals were probably the lions and tigers. It was awesome to watch him recognize the animals and just watch them. We also went into the family zoo part. It was free today, so it was very crowded but what an amazing place. Oden learned how to 'mist' plants with a spray water bottle, which he LOVED. He also loved running around in the tunnels that were in there. On our way out, Oden was given a plastic piggy bank and has been attached to it all day. For the last hour or so he has been putting coins into it and taking them out, transferring coins into cups, back into the piggy bank, and randomly attempting to put coins in other items as well. He is so cute. I think this is going to be a great year for the zoo!

It was a great time, from the beginning....

Learning to spray the plants, this little boy decided that Oden looked green I guess.

"I'm having so much fun!"

Checking out those big cats.

An exhausting day at the zoo warrants a big bowl of sherbert :)

Terrible, Horrible, Unbareable Two's

I just noticed that it has been over one month since my last post. OOPS! I blame these babies completely. Oden is definitely is his terrible two's (times 10). He has been the craziest, most horribly behaved boy ever! I just don't even know what to do anymore! I'm hoping that he's just going crazy from being in the house all the time. Hopefully, the weather will warm up soon so we can go outside to get rid of his energy. Right now, everything is a fight. From changing diapers, to sharing toys, or even sitting down to eat. He fights me at every turn!! I have not found an effective punishment method yet. He will not sit still for time-outs, I don't spank, I don't like to yell, I've tried putting him in our laundry room alone, I've also tried his bedroom for time-outs. All with no avail. I've had quite a few people tell me that he just knows how to push my buttons. I recite the serenity prayer to myself multiple times daily. I can't imagine that throwing an infant into the mix is going to make things better. I have a feeling that this is going to be 'the crazy house' for a while! On a side note, Oden's speech has been developing at a rapid pace. Majority of his language only Mom and Dad can understand. He is very vocal about everything now. It is fun to just sit and watch him play. He's constantly babbling and you can almost see the gears turning and his imagination working! He also has very good manners. We have been very persistent with him, saying please and thank you, and it is paying off. For example, yesterday Papa Joe and Grandma Honey (Laura) came over to give Odee a Valentine's Day gift. He was given two new books. He said thank you to both right away. Then, when he was playing with them later in the night he all of a sudden said, "Dane You Papa Grama!" It as very cute. It makes us very happy to be raising a polite boy. Hopefully the craziness with fade in time. The baby in my tummy has been moving around a lot lately too. Jess finally got to feel it the other day. That was very exciting. I tried getting Oden to hold still and put his hand on my tummy, but he just can't seem to stay still for that long. Perhaps having a sibling will calm Oden down and make him the world best big brother?! I know it's doubtable, but I can dream can't I?!

Valentine's Day family picture

Oden coloring in his new WonderPets pajamas!

I love the cape! He can be the forth WonderPet member!

Dad and Odee getting ready for a car ride.

Oden is wearing Jess's hat. Yes, Oden has a huge head!

Snap Shots from my phone

Here are some random pictures that I have been taking on my phone over the last couple of months. A lot of times it is easier to just grab my phone, then to pull out the camera.

This picture was a day or two after Christmas. Oden received a Black and Decker tool set from his Aunt Maggie. After several attempts and demonstrations by Dad, Oden finally decided that he was ready to become Oden the Tool Man! It was very cute. I kept telling him that he looked like one of his favorite Disney characters, Handy Manny.

This picture was taken the the day after Christmas. It is clear that Oden has a mild case of OCD, just like his Dad. He likes to line up all of his trains and just admire at them. Also notice the amazing Thomas train table in the background. Yes, Thomas has taken over our house!!

I found these pajamas for Oden on the clearance rack at Kohl's. They are an imitation of super hero uniforms, and on the left chest they read "Dad's Lil Sidekick"! They have become an absolute favorite! This night he took Dads alarm clock cover and put it over his eyes like super hero glasses. He is our little super man!!

Oden really loves our cat. On this particular day he really loved the cat's bed. He was in and out of it all day, and of course covered in white hair. I think he was imitating the cat.

For those of you that haven't seen this picture yet, it's from the infamous baby powder incident. One day while Oden was watching his morning Thomas, I ran upstairs to get ready for Maddie to come over. I figured he would be OK by himself for 10 minutes while he hung out with Thomas. After getting ready I was heading down the stairs when I noticed the faint smell of baby powder. I had just used it on Oden before heading upstairs, so I thought my pregnant bionic nose was just kicking in. Then after rounding the stairs I saw Oden shaking baby powder all over the ground! And not just the ground, a lot of his trains and train tracks. I gasped for a second, then I looked at him and he smiled at me, and I just started laughing. I quickly snapped this picture before the clean up process began. Baby powder is not the easiest thing to clean up. Let's just say we were cleaning up the fine dust for weeks after. It was a priceless moment though. How can you be mad at that face?! I must not have closed the powder after using it because he has tried to shake the baby powder container since then but can't figure out how to open it (thank goodness). I will never forget this moment though. Priceless.

Oden's 2nd Birthday

Oden's birthday festivities started on his actual birthday, which was this past Wednesday. He has pretty much been spoiled rotten since the weekend before Christmas! On his birthday we went to Chuck E. Cheese, compliments of Gramma and Grampa Dee Dee. It was really fun! He was running around the entire time. I barely got him to stop long enough to eat a few bites of pizza. That's the story of his life though, always running!! Then, midway through the Chuck E. Cheese excursion he received a present of 3 bath tub Thomas toys, which he carried around with him the rest of our time there. Keep in mind that he is not a mutant baby and he only has two hands. So you can just imagine him, and us, juggling Thomas toys all night! It was his day so we let him do whatever he wanted to do!! Yesterday we had his big party at Bouncin Bonkers. This place is really neat. It's brand new and it's basically a brightly colored, slightly upgraded, sectioned warehouse with a cushioned floor and those outdoor blow up apparatus' inside! There were 8 kids total there, but a lot of big kids too! Everyone was able to take advantage of the fun, if they chose to do so. It is the perfect place for Oden, because he can just run! That's exactly what he did too! He was running back and forth between the playroom and the room with his huge Thomas cake in it. It was a perfect birthday celebration! Something tells me that this year is going to be a very busy one. I almost wish that someone bought us a heavy dumbbell so that we could tie it around him to keep him still for a moment! I am not currently a fan of his constant movement but overall I would have to say we have an awesome, happy boy. We look forward to many, many, many more birthdays!!

Birthday party and cake #1! He blows out his own candle!

He loves this merry-go-round

Having fun with Dad at party #2

Wild Thing!

Just like I said, always running.....

We forgot candles so he blew out 2 lighters...LOL!

Surrounded by a mountain of gifts!!!

Christmas 2009

Here are a few pictures from Christmas this year, which was amazing! It's great to see Oden become so interactive with EVERYTHING that is Christmas. From baking cookies, to opening presents, to talking about Santa, he understood it all this year. We really had a lot of fun. Oden, was of course, spoiled rotten. I really think that he appreciated all of his gifts. He has played with everything he received! His favorite toy is his new Thomas the train table. He plays with it for hours everyday. As if we didn't need a bigger house already, now we really need some extra space (just for all of his toys)! We really had a great time with all of our family this year too. All of the Christmas parties were great, and the new traditions that we started will hopefully be lasting :) Thank you to everyone in each of our families for making this Holiday Season one to cherish forever!!

Oden in the coolest hat ever!!

Opening presents, by the end of them all he was a professional!

Riding his new tractor!!

The Thomas the train table!!!

Oden and Santa 2009

Oden went to visit Santa this past Sunday with Grandma DeeDee. Thank goodness she wanted to take him, otherwise he was just not going this year. Starting a couple of weeks ago, I had been trying to prepare him for any Santa encounters we might have this year. I bought him a Santa book and started reading it, and talking to him about Santa. He has a new obsession with sale flyers. He will find any flyer with a toy section, lay it out on the couch, point at what he wants (mainly trains or Handy Manny), put his hands together and say, "Please?" I started to tell him that he had to ask Santa please for the toys he wanted. Then he started pulling over our little rug with Santa on it, placing it next to the flyers, and saying please. It was so funny! I had to tell him not that Santa, the REAL Santa. Thankfully Oden is fully bribeable, for the most part. If you have candy, or tell him he can have something in exchange for good behavior, he will normally comply with your request. I told Grandma DeeDee about this, and suggested she used the bribery tactics. So she told him if he sat on Santa's lap they would go and get a Thomas train. She said he did good in the line, probably distracted by the kids and Christmas things. He held a sales flyer the whole time, to show to Santa. Then I guess the story goes, as soon as he got on Santa's lap he started balling! Poor Oden, he's just got ready for that scary, red guy yet! Then, Grandma DeeDee tried to go to the KayBeeToys in the mall and it was closed! She spotted a stand in the mall with a train in it, but it was for some stupid store that you have to order it and it comes in the mail. I guess Oden freaked out because he couldn't have it. She said it was a complete meltdown. They then headed for the toy section in Sears but found another stand where you could actually buy the Thomas toy presented and get it the same day. Overall, I think it was a fun experience for all involved. I think Oden even believes it was worth it, he has been attached to his new toy for the last 3 days. :) Maybe if I start preparing him now, by next year we might actually get a picture of him (and his sibling) smiling!

Christmas Monkey

As brutal as winter has been already, it has also brought some great Oden moments. This is the first year where we can actually talk to Oden about what's going on and he understands. From Christmas decorations, to the snow outside, he gets very excited about all of these seemingly new things. A couple of weeks ago when it first snowed at night, Oden and I were out visiting friends. We happened to walk outside as it started to snow pretty good and Odee shouted out with glee, "OOOOHHHH!!" To which I replied, "Yeah, pretty snow!" It was such a cute moment. Then I let him touch the powdery snow on our car. He looked and me bright eyed and said, "COLD!" It was such a cute moment. I will never forget it. He is also doing surprisingly well with the Christmas decorations. His only real interest is the Shrek candy canes on the tree. He is pretty much obsessed with Shrek, so when we saw these candy canes at the store I knew he would freak if I even attempted to put them back. I think he appreciated that purchase and my understanding, he held the box all day before we put them on the tree. This Christmas season has already been so exciting and memorable, I cannot wait to see what new memories the coming weeks will bring. I'm not sure if we will be taking him to see Santa this year. Two hours in a line at the mall for a $20 picture of Oden screaming his head off hardly seems worth the effort, or the trauma!! But we will see....

Here are some pictures of Oden in my favorite Christmas jammies ever! My baby monkey in baby Christmas monkey pajamas!!

Oden kissing his Christmas moose.....
.....Oden deciding the moose looks tasty.

Turkey Day 2009

I know I can speak for all of us when I say, we were very thankful to have such a wonderful Thanksgiving this year!

Our schedule of jumping from house to house this year worked out perfectly. I felt like we had a chance to spend quality time with all of our families. On Monday we went for a little Thanksgiving at my Mom's house. That was nice, and convenient for us because it meant one less place we had to rush to on actual Thanksgiving Day. So then on Thanksgiving, we started at Grammy Mary and Grandpa Scott's house. Grammy made an absolutely delicious breakfast for us! It was a breakfast of champions! Then we all gathered around the TV and watched the parade in New York. No one was in a rush, which was a really nice change. After that we went to Uncle Mike and Aunt Linda's house to hang out with the family and Grandpapa Joe and Grandmama Laura. They laid out a feast for kings! The food was so good, Jess was a little upset when it was time to leave. From there we headed to our final destination, Grampa and Gramma Dee Dee's! It was nice to see a bunch of my family that we don't get a chance to see often enough. And of course it was nice to get some of the Furr Family's famous Giblet gravy! YUMMY! By the end of a couple of hours there we were all exhausted!! But, It was overall a fabulous day!

We are so so thankful to have such wonderful people in our lives. We love our families so much, it's hard to put it into words. Each one of you brings such a special light into our lives, we would be lost without you. Thank you, for just being you. And thank you for loving us so unconditionally. WE ARE SO LUCKY!!!

Oden in his folding table fort.....

Trying to get some new profile pictures for Grammy.....

Save me Grandmama!!

Our second annual family pic at the beautiful Hogan house.