Baby Sullivan | Week Twenty-One

Well, I am a tad behind in getting this blog posted, but here we are. I cannot quite believe that it has already been a week since Thanksgiving and good pie but it's already Thursday yet again. I usually try to get these posts written on Monday or Tuesday but this week has been a doozy. Most of our little family has been sick. I'm so over this sickness. It has been hanging around far too long and I'm very much ready for everyone to be healthy once more. I mean come on! It's been weeks. Once one of us starts feeling okay, the next one is sick. It's been a vicious cycle of germs for a while now. I'm ready to be done with it all. 

Marin has been sick yet again and I'm just waiting for her little immune system to catch up. I'm certain that being in preschool has added to the germ filled opportunities to catch something. She's had a cough and runny nose for a while now. It has gotten super fun lately because she coughs so hard and so much that she ends up throwing up. Poor kiddo. Throwing up in your bed is no fun either. I've washed a lot of bed sheets over the past few days. Once she falls asleep, she is alright but up until that point, she coughs and coughs. 

Friday night, Ryan and I were watching TV downstairs and both kiddos were in bed. All of a sudden in the baby monitor, I hear this barking sound coming from Sullivan's room. Little man has finally gotten sick with croup. We've never had a kid with croup, so that's been an interesting experience. Luckily, his case hasn't been as bad as some I've heard of where the baby can't hardly breathe and is rushed to the ER. His cough is loosening quite a bit over the last few days and he is in good spirits. 

In my opinion, there's nothing worse than feeling helpless as parent. There's only so much you can do for you kid when they are sick. You can only suck out their nose boogers and wipe their noses. You can't help them cough out all of the crud in their chests or blow their noses well.

I'm hoping we are at the tail end of all of this. We took them both to the doctor last night just to double check there wasn't anything else that we should be doing. Marin has a virus. Sully has croup. Here we are. Pray for healing, quick healing. I'm ready to go into the holidays healthy and whole. 

Hollen Holidays | Thanksgiving 2017

Around this time of year, I always try to take a morning and write down the things that I am thankful for. I wish I didn't always need it be around the Thanksgiving holiday to remember to take the time to do this, but this holiday is always a great reminder of how sweet life truly is. 

In this season of our lives, I am grateful and thankful for....

The sunrise peaking over the house across the street, slowly revealing glorious colors to welcome the new day. The heat that is moving through our little home. Our home....every room, every nook, every cranny. Every unpainted room and cat-scratched piece of furniture. Our overflowing fridge, freezer, and pantry. The new van in the driveway and the realization that I get to rock the mom mobile once more. My voice. My mind. My body even though I am still tired and getting over being sick. Even though my body hasn't bounced back hardly at all since having Sully. My C-Section pooch. My stretch marks, my tiger stripes. The early morning hours before my family starts to stir. The children warm and cozy, sleeping in their beds. Marin's spunk and imagination, that challenges me most days and makes me a better parent. Breastfeeding Sullivan in the early morning glow of his night light. nap times. Meals at the table. Trips to the library. The holidays. The fact that we can afford Christmas presents. The roof over our heads. The balance in our bank account. Our jobs. The flexibility of my job. Quiet time. My Bible and the warm cup of coffee beside me. The changing of seasons. Bath time for the kids. Taking a walk with the double stroller. Spending time with Ryan after a long day, decompressing. Lunch with the great grandparents. A Sunday off for New Years. Leading and playing worship music. Marin's preschool. Being able to pay all of our bills. Grandparents. Dishwashers and clothes dryers. Books that challenge me. Music that moves me and reminds of another time and place. Cooking a good meal. A glass of wine. Vintage City Church. 

I could go on and on....

We have a lot to be thankful for. 

Our Thanksgiving this year started with breakfast at home. I made cinnamon rolls and bacon. We drank a lot of coffee. 

The rest of the morning was spent picking up the house, feeding the baby, making green bean casserole. I tried a new recipe this year...it was okay. I think I'll go back to the classic dish next year.

We went to the Hollen's house this year for our Thanksgiving meal. We usually trade off every other year. Next year will be my side of the family. 

Marin talked about eating turkey all week and that she would try it out. She was pretty impatient waiting for everything to cook and be ready. She kept sitting at the table a good hour before we actually ate, anticipating the meal. Go figure though, she didn't try a single bite of turkey. What a goober.

As part of the centerpiece for the meal, the Hollen's had a bring a book or two that we were grateful for. I had a hard time narrowing it down but I brought Long Days of Small Things: Motherhood as a Spiritual Discipline and Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living. It was a cool way for us to discuss how books have shaped us. I can go back and talk about the seasons I was in when I read these books.

Obligatory Food Picture on Thanksgiving

Ryan brought The Hobbit, or There and Back Again and Marin brought Corduroy.

It was a wonderful day full of family and too much food. I am so thankful for our families and our full bellies. 

This morning I tried to convince Marin that we could have a special treat...apple pie at ten in the morning and that we should watch Elf. But, she's crazy and didn't touch her pie and didn't want to watch Elf. Come on, kiddo. Jump on the day after Thanksgiving train! I just offered to let you eat dessert in the morning. Oh well....

Baby Sullivan | Week Twenty

We took a stroller ride so Mommy & Daddy could get some wine and beer. 

Holy cow, week twenty. It dawned on me today that in a few short weeks, our little dude will be 5 months old. Somehow we are already almost half way through our first year with Sullivan James. As I write this, he is on his play mat in the kitchen. He's screeching and making dinosaur sounds. He's becoming very aware of his surroundings lately and doesn't want to miss a thing. Marin is eating chicken nuggets and grapes like a boss. She could eat chicken nuggets every night for dinner and not blink an eye. We are waiting for Daddy to come home from work after what I am sure is a super crazy day because he works at a grocery store and it's only a few days before Thanksgiving. 

We are all slowly getting healthy around here. Sully had a rough night two nights ago and was up a lot. He was also running a little fever. Now though, he's back to his adorable, little, happy and content self. I was up at 2am this morning because I couldn't stop coughing. You know how when you get sick and the cough settles in for a while, then you get that gnarly tickle in your throat that seems to present itself at the least opportune times? That's where I reside currently. In an effort to not wake my sleeping husband, I went downstairs, made some tea with honey and watched some television until Sully woke up to eat in the early hours of the morning. Needless to say, I'm pretty tired today but I feel like I'm slowly getting over it. I have to sing a lot at church the next two weeks so I'm trying to take better care of myself. 

I'm pretty sure Sullivan is already teething because he has been a slobbery mess lately and gnaws on everything he can get his hands on. Marin was super late getting teeth...almost one year old. I never had to nurse her with teeth. I believe that Sullivan will get them earlier than that and he will probably be a little biter. So much fun is to be had. Oh boy! I think we are going to wait a little while to start introducing solids and take more of the baby-weaning approach verses the rice cereal and baby purees. He's already super interested in food and watches you like a hawk whenever you are eating pretty much anything. I have no doubt in my mind that he will be a great eater. He already is which is probably why he is such a big dude. 

Marin loves her little Christmas tree in her room. 

We started setting up Christmas decorations on Monday when we were all off from work. I know....I know. It's not even Thanksgiving yet but I don't care one bit. I want those twinkly lights glowing in my living room for as long as I can before I start getting into crazy Christmas lady territory. We are making plans to see the Zoo Lights in Denver and meet Santa Claus. I also want to go look at Christmas lights and drink hot chocolate and drive around in the new mom mobile, which I am loving. Seriously, I almost hate to admit how much I love the mom van again. It feels right at this season in our lives. Just like our little home does too. I just feel the need to put roots down where we are for a while lately. This season always causes me to feel that way. 

That bouncer is pretty much the only way I ever got ready for the day or went to the bathroom with Marin. It has returned. 

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving and spending time with family. We are starting a new tradition of cinnamon rolls and bacon for breakfast on Thanksgiving. Then, we are heading to the Hollen's for lots of yummy food and time spent with family. I want to soak it all in, as best I can. 

Week Twenty. 

Marin at Week Twenty. 

Baby Sullivan | Week Nineteen

We have all been a little under the weather for what seems like weeks now. It finally hit me and I still have the sore throat to prove it. Marin is currently a snot factory and Sullivan is really congested. He definitely isn't a fan of the infamous nose sucker. Colds are always enjoyable to begin with and then you add in the fact that your children can not really blow their noses on their own and even more fun begins. 

But, here we are. Week nineteen. I'm ready for all of us to be healthy once more. I feel like once one of us finally kicks the bug, the others aren't too far behind. It's a constant cycle every year it feels like. I'm just trying to make sure everyone washes their hands like crazy lately and I'm diffusing essential oils like a madwoman. When you are a parent, you don't really get sick days. I walked around work on Sunday without much of a voice. We also sang songs at Marin's school today, lots of turkey themed tunes. I'm at that point in this cold where I get a tickle in my throat and can't seem to quit coughing. That definitely happened at music time this morning, but oh well. It is what it is. We also now have sang multiple versions of If You're Happy & You Know It but just with different lyrics. We sang about a chicken today too. One that laid an egg. Oh, preschool. You are fun. 

We still haven't started Sullivan on any solids yet. I need to bring the high chair up from the basement. I think part of me isn't quite ready for him to be growning up so fast. I also secretly am trying to keep my kitchen clean-ish for just a little while longer. Good bye, semi-clean floor...at least for a while. 

He's out growing many things already, way faster than his big sister did. Pretty soon, we will sell the beloved baby swing. His little feet are already dangling over the edge. I love that thing. It can either be just a bouncer that can moved anywhere or a swing. He's outgrown so many outfits. His adorable chunky thighs cannot fit in the Bumbo at all any more. We will need to switch him to a different car set fairly soon. Slow down, son. Slow down.

 

We also are in the process of buying another minivan. I feel like we are coming full circle all of a sudden again. A few years ago, we bought a mom van.  This was before we even had any children. We used it to haul all of our music gear to shows. The back seat of that van was hardly ever in the vehicle and mostly remained in our garage. A few years after that, we sold the van and bought a Dodge Journey.  That was my sad attempt to rid myself of the mom van. I love my Dodge Journey but now that we have two kids I'm realizing how much I miss the van....go figure. There's two things I miss the most....SLIDING DOORS and all of the space. Getting two children into car seats in our one car garage without sliding doors is a comical sight to be seen. We found an awesome 2015 Kia Sedona that we are hoping to purchase tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed and I will soon be rocking the mom van once more. This one is super nice and all black. I feel like that color ups the cool factor. I'll just keep telling myself that. 

Marin at week nineteen! 

Portrait Three

As part of my 32 Things Before 32 List, I am attempting to take one self-portrait per month. This one is for the month of October. We are already over a week into November but I remembered to take this photograph on the very last day of October. The 31st, Halloween day. 

This picture makes me feel a lot of things, much like to the two previous portraits I've taken in this series. I embarked upon another Whole 30 in the month of October in an effort to take back my relationship with food and how I approach my meals, how I feel about my body, and how I want to live out my life in the realm of dieting or not dieting. This Whole 30 has been probably the easiest round that I've done. If you don't know what a Whole 30 consists of...you do not eat any grains, sugar, alcohol, legumes, or dairy for 30 days. I've completed one other in its entirety and have tried to do a few others but never made it fully to the end. With this one though, I had an accountability group with two other gals that I've known for a long time. We would text each other usually about every day with how we were doing. They weren't doing the Whole 30 but some variation of healthy eating, gluten free, etc. It was nice to have that accountability. The other thing that helped me so much was my Instant Pot. Cheesy, I know....but meal prepping was soooo, soooo much easier this time around with that awesome tool. 

When I look at this photo though I see a mom that is tired. I want a piece of cheese and some wine to go with it. Perhaps a big piece of chocolate. I'm sick of eating the chicken in the dish on the table, the same chicken that I burnt almost to the point of no return the night before. I ate a lot of meat with a lot of mustard over the past 30 days and I was pretty much over it. But, I also feel like super woman on day 30 of the challenge. I feel like I can take on the world and my jeans fit better. I like the person that is looking back at me in the mirror in the morning even when I don't have make up on and I have bed head to last for days. 

It's lunch on Halloween day. There's too much chocolate already in the house that's constantly a temptation. I am on the home stretch right before nap time and quiet time when I will be able to have some peace and quiet if only for a little while. This is usually the point when the kids are tired and irritable. I work to get Marin to eat the crust of her sandwich and most of the time Sully sits in my lap because he's fussy and getting ready for a nap. 

I feel empowered in this photo even without make up on and in my yoga pants. I eat my burnt chicken with a determination. I try to be a better mom and not spend my days just being exhausted and frustrated when my preschooler challenges me and refuses to be a good listener. I feed our son from my body and help him grow big and strong. 

This was me in October of 2017. 

Portrait Three. 

Baby Sullivan | Week Eighteen

It's a winter wonderland outside and both kiddos are in their rooms taking a nap or having their quite time. Marin is pretty worn out from playing in the snow at preschool and I'm just hoping she crawls into bed and sleeps for a while. Usually on preschool days, I get lucky and she naps for even just a bit. The time change has kind of thrown all of us a bit off this week but we seem to be getting back into the nap groove again. Granted, I want to go to bed at 8pm every night the past few nights. I really dislike how dark it is so early nowadays and I just want to stay inside all of the time and drink my coffee under some blankets. 

Sullivan had his 4 month well check yesterday and he is a growing boy! His weight clocked in at 18 lbs, 11.8 oz. I cannot believe how big he already is. He's wearing mostly 6-9 month clothes right now and still is in size 3 diapers. He's also pretty tall but is in the 80-90th percentile for weight, height, and head circumference. We got the clear to start introducing some cereal and baby food in the next month or so. With Marin, we hardly did any rice cereal because of the lack of nutritional benefit and we will probably do the same with little dude. It's pretty crazy to me that we are already almost to the point of digging out the high chair from the basement. 

We've been doing lots of tummy time and Sullivan grows stronger every day. He has not rolled over quite yet though but seems so close. I think part of it is that he is so dang big that getting himself to roll over is quite the task. We will keep working on it though and I'm sure he will surprise us one day and just roll on over. 

Rocking his "My Mom Rocks" outfit at the church nursery. 

He's been sleeping really well lately and I'm thanking Jesus for that. We moved his bedtime up to 7pm and it seems to be working really well. On good days, we get him down for consistent nap times and that helps him so much. He's such a chill, awesome little dude to begin with but when he's getting good sleep, he's in such a good place. 

We escaped to a toddler free lunch on Monday. 

This snow makes me want to put on some Christmas music and get out the decorations...I'll wait a little while longer...maybe. Last year, everything was up before Thanksgiving. I love this time of year and having the decorations up for as long as possible is always a favorite part of this time of year. I'm almost done with Christmas shopping as well....just need to pick up a few more things. I love this time of year. Having children makes this season even more special. I love seeing it all through the eyes of a child. I want to soak it all in. 

Here is Marin at eighteen weeks!