Baby Sullivan | Week Twelve

I love this photo. He seems so hardcore. 

The weather has cooled down a bit in the past few days and it rained all of yesterday. We even turned on our heater the other night because it was freezing in our home. This is my happy place. The first day of fall has arrived and Sullivan is twelve weeks old. 

I'm back to work in full swing and pumping will probably be the death of me. I also keep forgetting to bring the little lids that go on top of the bottles for after I pump. I've resorted to pouring the milk into water bottles until I can get them home and put a lid on them. Seriously. How do I keep doing that? Those lids are important. I want to keep my supply up so I'm pumping on the same schedule that I feed him, give or take an hour or so. Sundays are the hardest because the second I step foot at church/work, my day flies by at breakneck speed. 

Sullivan is all smiles and coos. He is finding his voice. He's outgrowing all of his clothes and I need to get him some pants because cooler weather is coming soon. He is already in 3-6 month clothes and is growing like a weed. He loves playing on the activity mat that we had for Marin. I feel bad for the little guy though because it's very pink but he doesn't seem to mind at all. 

Sorry for all of the pink, buddy. 

Marin caught a cold in the last few days so we've been taking it super easy at home and just praying that she takes long naps and gets healthy. Now that she's in preschool, I'm sure she's around a lot more germs than before. I'm also consistently asking her to stay out of baby brother's face because a sick baby is never any fun for anyone. I'm praying that she is on the mend because she has preschool again tomorrow and I know she will be super bummed if she has to miss it because her nose is so runny. 

The weeks are moving so swiftly and we are almost in October already. I decorated the inside of our home for fall. I'm ready to drink lots of hot coffee. I want to take the kids to a pumpkin patch this year. We've never done that before and I think Marin would have a blast. I feel the need to try and slow down a bit in our lives but it becomes difficult when our weeks are so full. The days go very quickly. With every new week, I'm left wondering where the previous week went. It will be Christmas before we know it and we will have an almost 4 year old and a 6 month old! My goodness. 

Week Twelve. And just for fun....Marin at 12 Weeks

Baby Sullivan | Week Eleven

Baby Sullivan is most definitely going through another growth spurt. I'm certain he is over 15 pounds already since his  2 month appointment at the beginning of September. He's also not been sleeping quite as well as he has been. I'm just trying to take every night as it comes. On Saturday, his was up every 2 hours all night, just like when he was a newborn. I worked on Sunday morning and had to get in the shower at 5am, be at church/work by 6am. Needless to say, I was pretty dang tired. 

I think he's growing so quickly and he has just been more hungry at night lately. I miss the nights where he goes to bed at 9am and wakes up once around 4am. Let's go back to that game plan. This mama is T-I-R-E-D. 

Our weeks are flying by and there are some good, new things on the horizon. I've had some answered prayers lately and I'm so thankful with the direction I am heading in the music realm again. No, I'm definitely not playing any shows or anything like that, but I do have the opportunity to do something I love and help support my family while doing it. Win, win. It feels like home already. Every little bit helps me not feel like I've lost myself once I became a parent. 

Sully initiated Great Grandma on Friday by pooping all over her lap while we were visiting for our weekly lunch with them. He had just eaten and was starting to do his business. Next thing I know, I look over at them and my Grandma has poop all up the side of her. It was an epic blow out. I'm just thankful I wasn't holding him at the time because I didn't have a change of clothes for myself. Diaper blow outs are always so fun. Luckily, I don't believe we ever had a diaper blow out in the car seat. I shouldn't jinx it....

I'm ready to get out the fall decorations this week. I want to carve pumpkins with Marin and maybe visit a pumpkin patch. I want to take a mountain drive to see the fall colors. I'm ready for cooler weather and hot coffee. September has been treating us well and I love the groove we are falling into. 

Week Eleven. 

Baby Sullivan | Week Ten

Last Wednesday, we took Sullivan to his 2 month old check up. I cannot fully grasp the fact that we have a ten week old already but here we are. I was so curious to find out how much he weighed and how he's growing. As it turns out....he has no problems with growth. This wasn't a surprise to me because every morning I go in to get him out of his crib, he has grown a bit more. He eats like a champ, still every 2.5-3 hours. Sometimes I can stretch is to 4 hours, but that's pretty rare. 

We have a huge baby. I'm not over exaggerating at all. He arrived large and he just keeps growing. Sully is in the 90th percentile in pretty much everything: weight, height, and head circumference. He is 2 months old and weighs 14 lb., 6.7oz! He has grown 3.5 inches since he was born. Just to paint a picture of his size, our daughter, who is going to be four in February, weighs 30 lb. right now. Little Sully, who isn't really that little, is half the size of his big sister! He's also pretty tall so the doctor wasn't worried at all about the weight gain. It's such a relief to have a baby that gains weight well and not have to have the discussions with the doctor about the need to gain more weight. He's going to be the size of a football player when he gets older. 

Marin started preschool last week and I am so proud of her. We didn't have any tears on either day. As long as mommy and daddy escape out of the classroom at a quick speed, she seems fine. She's ready to go play and learn. I really believe that this will be so good for her. She needs to be out of the house and around other children. I know she will find confidence and independence in this new journey. It's good for us as parents and for her as a growing child that learns so much more when she has the opportunity to explore the world around her. 

I officially returned to work on Sunday at church. This was my first full Sunday on the clock and I was praying that everything went smoothly. I was a little anxious about feeding Sully on time and pumping and still actually being able to do my job. I woke up at 4am (ouch!) and fed Sully. I put him back down, took a shower, got ready for the day ahead. Before I left for work around 6am, I pumped so that Ryan could feed him at 7/7:30am. During our first service, I went into the nursery and fed Sully at 10am. Marin and Sully both left after first service with Grandma-doo and Grandpa-doo. They fed Marin lunch at Culvers and fed a bottle from my pumping stash to Sully around 1-ish pm. I got the kids home, put Marin down for a nap, and pumped. Whew. We made it. No one died. Everyone was fed and well taken care of. I know I couldn't have pulled it off without my wonderful husband getting both kids to church and Ryan's parents taking the kiddos after first service. It all worked out fine and I know we can handle Sunday mornings!

It felt so good to be back at work. I'm so thankful for that, especially due to the anxiety I was feeling leading up to the end of my maternity leave. Everything has worked itself out. Our schedules are pretty busy heading into this fall season, but my heart has been overwhelmingly full lately. I cannot imagine our life without two kids now. I have an awesome job that I got to return to with ease. Life is good. 

The crazy family. 

Week Ten. 

Baby Sullivan | Week Nine

Our lives seem to be speeding up quickly into the fall season. Last week was spent with an intro class at preschool, training to be teach parents, and learning that we are the music teachers for Marin's class. I was so worried about which committee we would be on and all that the co-op entails, but I do feel really good about the fact that Ryan and I can use our musical knowledge to meet the requirements of the preschool. I'm not sure what all it will entail, but I'm excited to be able to be musicians with a bunch of kiddos instead of helping with the garage sale or sanitizing toys. 

Everyone loves Sully at Grammy's house. 

Tomorrow, Marin goes to preschool. We will take her there and then we will leave. She will be there on her own for the first time. The only other time she has been in a situation like that is when she goes to the classrooms at church. This mama is nervous. I am praying for no tears and a great confidence to rise up within her adorable preschool self. I know she can do it. I know she will love it. She will get a chance twice a week now to get over her fears and embrace the classroom. 

Sullivan is officially two months old as of September 3rd. He has his 2 month well check coming up on Wednesday this week. I cannot wait to see how much this little guy actually weighs. We switched up to size two diapers already and he grows and grows every day. Every time I go to his crib in the morning to feed him, I'm always a little surprised at how he grows overnight. He has been all smiles lately and is slowly finding his voice. He is awake a lot more often lately and is slowly becoming more aware of the big world around him. His big sister loves him very much and she is always not far from his side. 

Best Buds. 

At Ryan's birthday dinner. 

I am officially back to work, full time this coming Sunday, the 10th. I was planning on not going back fully until the 24th of September but we need the finances and I believe that I'm ready. Two kids is so different from just one. I was in such a haze with Marin those first few months after she was born. Learning to be a mom is a big task. Now, we have two children and I feel like it has been so much easier this time around. Granted, we've dealt with toddler tantrums and trying to get everyone on a schedule, but I feel like I am in a much better headspace than before. Now I just need to be able to feel good in my own skin and make sure I'm taking good care of myself. It's a day by day process. 

Week Nine. 

For fun, here is Marin at 2 months old!