Baby Sullivan | Week Fifty Two, 1 year old!!!

Folks, we have made it. Sullivan James Hollen is officially one year old. Technically he's now 369 days old but we aren't focusing on technicalities. I was hoping to ring in this one year post with pictures from his birthday bash but unfortunately that won't be happening quite yet....

Marin picked out these birthday toys for Sullivan. 

Most of last week over his birthday the kiddos and myself were are very much under the weather. The sickness presented itself last friday and has stuck around in one form or another until today. We are still coughing a bit and our noses are still red and running. Being sick over your birthday pretty much is the worst. Being sick and having to take care of two sick kids is also pretty much the worst. But, we are slowly on the mend and have rescheduled his big birthday bash to next week. I know he probably won't remember the fact that we celebrated his big day ten days after the fact. Oh well...

He is one. He is one! Our little man, our last baby, our wonderful son is one years old now and every time I look at him lately he seems to be turning into a little boy right before my eyes. Everyday he gets longer and his pants get a little more snug. Everyday he starts babbling different sounds and little almost words. Everyday he gets a little bit more excited about food and shakes his little fists in the air in pure excitement because just loves to eat that much. Everyday he inches closer and closer to getting mobile and I'm just praying that it's sooner rather than later. He is stronger everyday. 

It's hard to believe that a year ago today we were just bringing him home from the hospital. The new baby smell and sleepless nights have slowly worn away and now I welcome any little cuddles that I may get from him because he wants to be doing something at all times and is fascinated so much by the world around him. 

Sullivan made me a boy mom and I'm sure we have many years ahead of us of peeing all over the toilet and around it, fart noises, and rough housing. Maybe he will want to play sports and pick up the guitar. Maybe he will love to read or just prefer to be outside in the mud. Maybe he will love music as much as we do, maybe not. Whatever he goes after in this life there's one thing I know for sure, I will forever be his mama and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

He's growing up so quickly and that does make me sad but at the same time I am loving seeing him grow up into the little boy that he will be. I'm thankful that we are getting past the little baby stage and into the little boy stage. This is when it starts getting really fun. We are finding our groove as a family and it's only going to get better. 

Happy Birthday, a few days late, Sullivan James Hollen. You were made to be a part of our little family and we cannot imagine living life without you! 

Here's Marin at Fifty Two Weeks! 

And for good measure...he's Sully's birth story. 

Baby Sullivan | Week Fifty One

We have one more week of posts before Sullivan is a one year old! Technically, in two days, he will be one and I still can't believe it. I say that every time, in every post. But, it's true! Where did this year go? Please tell me. My baby is becoming a little boy ever so quickly. He will be a little toddler before we know it. 

Since we got back from Montrose, life has been pretty much nonstop. I played keyboards at church the day after we got back and ran without practice. Monday was spent trying to get our house in some sort of order: scrubbing the tub and toilet, doing loads and loads of laundry, and mopping the floors. I worked my normal three days this week and try to cram in as much as I can in those three days. I led worship for prayer, solo on an acoustic, on Wednesday. It's been a while since I've done that and it wiped me out. Thursday night I had worship practice for Sunday. Friday night was pretty much the only evening Ryan and I were able to have some time to just be with each other. 

I don't like those days when I go to the office, leaving at 7am after kissing my sweet family good bye while they eat their waffles and bananas at the breakfast table. I then work my hardest all day at the office, consumed with quickbooks and billing. Then there are the evenings where I get to run home real quick, grab a bite to eat, kiss those babies again, and then run off of to church for one thing or another. The nights that I don't get to help with baths and tuck in the little ones are not my favorite. Somedays I only see our children for a half hour. I am not okay with that and would like to not have many of those days. 

Sullivan is still not crawling. He will be one on Tuesday. In my mom brain I'm trying to not freak out entirely about that and know that he will in due time. But, it's so hard to wonder about the whens and what ifs. That is not a good rabbit trail for my brain to go down. That's really the only milestone that he isn't fully hitting yet and I'm ready for it. I was ready for it months ago. 

This weekend was a rough one. Marin started to feel under the weather on Friday. Running nose, cough, feeling icky. Then around 1:00am Saturday morning, Sullivan woke crying and was burning up. We haven't had to deal with a lot of fevers with our babies and this one was not fun. Just today, I feel like it finally broke and he is slowly becoming himself more. Of course, all of this happens when our pediatrician is not open. Luckily, we have a support system around us to come help me out when I am exhausted and can't get Sully to cool down. We have taken a lot of sponge baths and he has hung out in his diaper only for the past two days. It's always horrible to watch your child hurt and you can only do so many things. His body was obviously fighting off something and the fever is part of that. I even ended up staying home from church this morning and I was supposed to help lead worship. My kids come first over all of that and I'm glad we have all gotten to rest today. I feel a sore throat creeping in in my throat and I need it to go away like yesterday. 

This coming week should be a good one as long as everyone is healthy. I'm only working Monday and Tuesday. After that, I have six full days off because we are closing the office for the July 4th holiday. Hallelujah. I am looking very forward to some time off. No work. No band practices. Wednesday is the 4th and is always my favorite holiday aside from Christmas. Last year I spent it in the hospital because I had just had Sullivan. I'm looking forward to hanging out with family and watching fireworks. A few days after that, we will be celebrating Sullivan's birthday and I'm excited to be with family once more. It should be a full and refreshing week as long as we all get healthy. 

Here's Marin at Week Fifty One! 

Baby Sullivan | Week Fifty

At some point in this process of documenting Sullivan's first year of life, I have fallen behind. I am posting week fifty when Sullivan will be a one year old in a week. All of those weeks of not posting until pretty much the beginning of a new week have gotten us to this point. I will catch up as he turns one and the fact that I've kept this up with two kiddos is nothing short of a miracle. 

Ryan and I went to Montrose, CO on Thursday to celebrate the life of my grandfather. He passed away on June 11th. I am very glad that we were able to make the trip there and be with family as we looked back upon his life. He was an amazing man and I'm sad that he is gone but I'm very glad that he is no longer hurting and is at peace. I was able to honor him by singing at his vigil on Thursday night and I'm very glad I did. It felt like the best thing I could offer. 

The week prior, we were away for our anniversary trip and then a week after that we were in Montrose. I feel like I haven't been home for weeks. I am very glad that I don't work Mondays because I was able to finally catch up on a bunch of laundry and scrub the bathtub. The house was feeling pretty gnarly and it feels good to have stuff picked up again for the beginning of a new week. 

We are planning Sullivan's birthday bash which will include barbecuing and hanging out with family. He already enjoys both of those things and I'm looking forward to celebrating him. I cannot believe he is nearly a one year old. Where has the time gone? I was just pregnant, uncomfortable, and awaiting his arrival into this world. So many things have happened in his first year of life and I love seeing how he has grown and how we have all grown in this year. 

I'm looking very forward to him being more mobile and no longer having to buy formula. Now if we could just get him out of diapers, then we would be golden. Granted, we have a bit more time before that happens, I'm sure. Buying diapers and formula...that will be something I won't miss someday. But then I will look back and wish our children could be little like that once more. I need to soak in all of this while I still can because he is our last little babe and he will be in high school before we know it. 

I don't have much else to say this week because we were gone for most of it. The Hollen's took the kiddos again for two nights and I'm sure they were living their best lives. Swimming in the pool, trolley rides downtown, trips to Culver's. I would be fine with all of that. We are very thankful that they were able to have the kiddos again. We know they were in the best hands. 

Here's Marin at week fifty. 

Baby Sullivan | Week Forty Nine, Vacation, & Father's Day

This post is going to be a hodgepodge of many things because that is a true reflection of this past week of our lives, kind of all over the place. This past week was a good one in many ways and I write these words today with a thankful and full to the brim heart. I am so grateful for all of the people that I get to do life with. I tend to get so caught up in the day to day of changing diapers or working in Quickbooks that sometimes I forget to step back and realize that our life is seriously great. Our family is great.

Sullivan is now forty nine weeks old. We are starting to plan for his first birthday bash. He was born on July 3rd and will always pretty much share festivities with Independence Day, kind of like those kids that have birthdays at Christmas time. We were originally going to try and celebrate Sully on the fourth of July but decided to divide the two days instead, especially for his first birthday. This is a big day, one that I know he won't really remember but nonetheless I want it to be his special day. The fact that we will have a one year old son in a few short weeks is mind blowing. I hardly have any photos of him this week because we were on vacation or I was working...

Half way through this past week, Ryan started vacation. I worked Monday through Wednesday instead of my normal Tuesday through Thursday schedule. He started vacation by cutting off all of his hair. He's been growing is out for three years now. He is so handsome, man bun or no man bun. 

On Thursday, we took the kids over to the Hollen's house for two nights of slumber parties and we headed up into the mountains for some time away. We booked two nights in Blackhawk, CO. Thursday evening, we went to a concert at the best venue on the planet, i.e. Red Rocks. My favorite songwriter and musician of all time was playing and as always he didn't disappoint. Seeing Ryan Adams at Red Rocks was a bucket list concert for me and now I finally can say I have experienced it. Red Rocks is amazing but also makes me realize how out of shape I am. It's a lot of walking. Seriously pathetic but the show was amazing and the weather was amazing. Living in Colorado is pretty awesome. 

We spent the next two days in Blackhawk. We were able to actually sleep in. I don't remember the last time I really was able to do that. We had a slow breakfast in our room on the first morning. After that we had a couples massage and it was so amazing. Our friends met us up there later that day and we spent the rest of our time a the slot machines and blackjack tables. I still cannot believe it but I won pretty big on the slot machines! Like $800 on a slot machine!!! We pretty much were able to cover our trip and the money we brought with us. I enjoyed our time up there so much and it was nice to spend it with each other and with our friends. Winning some money definitely didn't hurt either. 

We came back home and picked up our kiddos. I missed them a lot while we were gone. Yes, vacation is super awesome, but not being around your kiddos kind of sucks. I kept watching the videos that the Hollen's were sending to us. They lived it up at the grandparent's house with plenty of pool time, park time, and pumpkin scones. They both took great naps after we picked them up because I'm sure they had the best time. They were wiped out. 

Today is Sunday and normally we would be at church but we decided to have a slow morning as a family since Ryan is still on vacation and I am not leading worship at church today. We woke up, gave Ryan his gift, and made pancakes with bacon and blueberries on the side. It was delicious. 

I have to give a shout out to Ryan on the Father's Day...Happy Father's Day! You are our rock and an amazing father to our children. I cannot imagine being on this journey through parenthood without you. Watching you as a father to our children has been one of the best gifts of my life. We love you very much! 

And last but certainly not least...Happy Father's Day to my dad! You taught me how to work hard in life and be there for my family no matter what. You have always been there for me, full of guidance and support through some of my darkest times and my brightest times. You have believed in me as a musician and songwriter and I know you will always be one of my biggest fans. Happy Father's Day, Dad! Thank you for being such an awesome dad and grandfather. I love you. 

Here's Marin at Week Forty Nine! 

Baby Sullivan | Week Forty Eight

I can feel summer inching its way in a lot lately. Our air conditioner has been working overtime the past few days. It's been a hot, sticky kind of heat and I'm never really ready for it once it arrives. I am much more of a fall kind of gal and long for the days of hot coffee, tall boots, and falling leaves. I'm pretty basic like that but I am alright with that. Pretty much just let me live in an episode of The Gilmore Girls during the fall season. I'm set. 

This week has been filled with a few days of work, helping lead worship at church, a garage sale. Marin has lived in every Elsa dress from Frozen that she can get her hands on. I finally had to pry one of the dresses out of her arms just so I could wash it because it was nearing the point of being able to stand up on its own, covered in apple sauce, chocolate milk, and who knows what else. It was getting pretty stinky. We've been re-watching Frozen a lot lately around these parts....that and Finding Dory is a current favorite. 

I've been working with Sullivan still on crawling. We are even at the point where I have placed some puffs just out of his reach in hopes that he will just crawl to get them. The little man loves his food and what better way to get him moving than tempt him with banana puffs. He just looks at me like.."Seriously mom? Not happening. Even for a puff." He is getting there and kind of scoots a little bit, mostly in a backwards direction. It's still a process. 

He is growing at such an alarming rate. I will have a one year old in less than a month and I can hardly believe it. We just moved him up to size 5 diapers. Size 5! I'm not even sure that Marin ever wore size 5 diapers before she potty trained. He's not tiny. That's for sure. 

His new thing is splashing during bath time. It's become kind of an annoyance because we are pretty much completely soaked by the end of the bath. He shares the tub with Marin and we worked really hard at getting her to only make "little splashes." She always says..."Little splashes are okay, Sully. Just little splashes." I know this is a phase and he thinks it's the coolest thing ever but I would prefer to not be soaked by the end of bath time. I usually like bath time. It's one of my favorite times with both of the kiddos. Another work in process. 

This week has me thinking a lot about life and how it can come and go so swiftly at times. My grandfather, my mother's dad, is not doing great health wise and everyday I wake up and pray that he would be comfortable and have peace during this time. I just realized too that he has never met Sullivan and that makes my heart hurt. I think the last time I saw him was a few weeks before Sullivan was born. Visit the ones you love, spend time with them when you are able to because you might not get the chance at some point. That's resting pretty heavy on my heart today. 

Here's Marin at Week Forty Eight.