Graduate, Ford, and Dodge

Ahhh! My first born son is officially a kindergartener. He graduated from preschool earlier this week. It was heartbreaking, adorable, and crazy all at the same time. It's really hard for me to believe that he's already school aged. I don't know how I'm going to do August 17, when he actually starts kindergarten1

My graduate


With his favorite teachers :)


We've had some good weather lately, so we've been definitely taking advantage of it. Playing outside, and hanging out with friends on the porch.
My boys and their BFF


Mr. Serious. This picture makes me laugh because he's SO not serious, ever. He's ALWAYS smiling. Except when I have the camera.




We said goodbye to a dear friend yesterday. After 4 1/2 years, it was time. Bye, Bye, Dora the Ford Explorer. You had a good run.


We said hello to a new friend. A friend that will be with us for years, and years to come. A 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan. I'm in love. So are the boys, including Barry. I never, ever thought I'd be a mini-van girl, but man, oh man. I totally am!





I also put up some more prints in the etsy shop. Check them out! Good stuff :)

Help Lori?

I'm posting this in hopes that someone out here will read this, and be inspire to help.

Barry's cousin (so my cousin too) was diagnosed with breast cancer. It's an aggressive form, and she's already undergoing treatment for this.

She's 30 years old, and has five kids.

Here's her website. Donate if you can. Keep them in your prayers. Everything helps.
The Sorens

Innocent!!!

Yesterday was our cardiologist appointment, along with a few other appointments.

First we took the boys back into the hallway, they spied dum dum lollipops, and stickers. I kid you not, Gabe said, "Oh they have treats here. It's not so bad."

We went into a room, I was so glad they didn't split them up, and first Julian got a chest x-ray, while Gabe got an EKG. Julian did SO great for the x-ray cooperated, and was really hoping to see his own bones. He was also pretty excited to see Gabe's heartbeat on the EKG machine. Gabe, however, did not like the whole EKG process. The sticky things, the leads going everywhere. He was a little freaked out. And he DID.NOT.WANT.TO.SEE.HIS.BONES. So I took him back for the x-ray, and he did such a good job!! Followed instructions and tried his best not to wiggle. He too was excited, though, to see Julian's heartbeat on the EKG machine. I think it helps that during Sacrament meeting on Sunday Barry was drawing the heartbeat picture.



After that, the boys got to pick a TREASURE out of the TREASURE CHEST. Dude. Sticky hands FOR THE WIN! We then went into the room to wait for the cardiologist. Turns out, it was the same guy that taught the pediatric cardiology for DMU! He was so nice, and so good with the boys, and listened to their heartbeats for a while before he said that Julian's murmur was totally innocent, and he is discharged! Booyah! Gabe's too is innocent, but since he's had it since such a young age, he wants him back in a year just to make sure it hasn't changed, but that he'll probably be discharged in a year! Booyah again! So relieved. So excited. Such a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. Prayers were answered, my boys are healthy!

Speaking of healthy. Owen had his 6 month appointment yesterday. He is weighing 20 lbs 11.5 oz and 28 inches tall! He's 93% for both. His head is measuring 99% (again, not entirely surprised, it's those Palizzi genes!) He looked really good, and is developing right on for his age. He was way madder when the doctor was trying to look in his ears, than he was when he got his shots! Such a little trooper.

Boys + Dirt

We started our 'garden' this year. Probably late, but whateves. We are definitely not relying on this as our sole source of food. Last year we had a big garden, and it failed, or I failed or something. In my defense, it was hard to be weeding being in my 3rd trimester.

Anyhoots, this time we're just growing things that are relatively easy, and will be easy to visualize the growth.

Here you have it. Our garden, for now. Once they get bigger we'll obviously transfer them to our little garden plot.

Pumpkins, pumpkins, sunflowers, sunflowers, and (for me) cilantro.


I'm really not sure when he grew up. But he's certainly not a baby any more.


They weren't too excited about me taking pictures. But they're cute.


Wish us luck! I hope that we are able to grow some sunflowers this year, and get some big pumpkins for the fall! And please, oh, please, let my cilantro thrive. I'm sick of spending money on Cilantro every week!

Fine Art-What?!

So I have all of these pictures on my computer. Seriously, a lot. And I had no idea what to do with them, how to share them, or if I even wanted to.

Well as it turns out, I DO want to. I want to share them with everyone. So they're for sale.

In my Etsy.

Lola Cate

If you see something in the shop, and use the coupon code BLOGGER it will get you 10% off!

My baby boy!

He's 6 months old. 1/2 a year. .5 How in the world did it happen so fast?

We go next week for his 6 month appointment, on the 11th. It's going to be a super busy day full of doctors appointments and procedures for all of my boys (stay with me, I'll fill you in.)

For his 1/2 birthday, Owen got to eat sweet potatoes! And to say that he loved them would be an understatement. He chowed down! It's a good thing I bought a rather large sweet potato for him.

He's now rolling EVERYWHERE. And starting to scoot. Folks, my baby, is semi-mobile. And it's breaking my heart!

He's laughy, at Julian or Gabriel. He tolerates me, but they're definitely his favorites.

He's moved solidly, into 6-12 month clothes. I still squeeze his fatness into 3-6 month onesies once in a while, mostly because we don't have any 6-12 long sleeves, and it's pointless to buy them at this point.

Sleep has become a sore subject for me lately. He's been really super, duper snotty, and not sleeping well. I can't really blame him, I suck at sleep when I'm congested. But it's getting old having to wake up a million times, or sleep in the recliner. It's one thing when a baby is a newborn, they're expected to wake up and eat, and snuggle, and get changed. But once they consistently demonstrate the ability to sleep solidly, and then stop? Whoa man. It's like getting hit by a truck, or so I think.

Here's the ONE good shot we got from his 6 month shoot. He was not feeling a photo shoot, and was crabby and snotty, and drooly (obviously.) Still no teeth!



Now about the 11th.

First a little back story. Gabe's always had a heart murmur. We were told it was an innocent murmur, and shouldn't have any impact on his life. Julian? Never once has any one said that they've heard a murmur, except when he was first, first, first born, like within 24 hours, and by the time we left the hospital it was gone. Super common for newBs. Anyway, at the boys 3 & 5 year appointments, the doctor heard Gabe's, obviously, and also heard a faint one in Julian. Now it's probably nothing. But on the 11th, both boys are scheduled for echocardiograms. I explained to them that they were going to get an ultrasound (I actually said, "Remember how we got to see Baby Owen in mommy's tummy? They're going to use the same machine, to take pictures of your heart! How cool is that?"), and that it was going to be cool. But I'm still a little freaked. So I could really use some prayers to calm down, and that everything is going to be ok.

Thanks!