Baby Sullivan | Week Forty Five

I keep letting the weekend come and go before I get these posts written. We are on the home stretch....seven weeks to be exact...to when Sullivan will turn one. 12 months old. Holy cow. I did these posts for Marin as well, for all 52 weeks. After that, I let myself off the hook and only blogged occasionally. I would like to continue with our posts in some form but we shall see what they end up actually looking like. Anyhow....

This week I've really been thinking about what matters most in our lives. This is cliche...but life is short. We only have so much time here and I want to make the most of it. What that looks like for me: I'm still working on that. But, for the most part, that looks like time spent with my family and running after the things that I'm passionate about, living creatively. 

It's important to me to have a home for our children to grow up in and for us to come to as a place of rest. It's important to me to take better care of myself so I can care better for others. It's important to me to make time to be creative and live out that path in my life, the one that has been pretty silent over the past 4 years of my life. Family dinners. Getting outside and allowing our children to get messy sometimes. My clean house won't matter in the grande scheme of things. What will matter is if I experienced joy and learned something new with my children. That matters. 

Anyways...this week has been fairly normal for the most part. Marin graduated from her preschool class on Thursday and I can't believe we survived being a part of a co-op. We have to do one last clean up day and then we are done. I love that school but I didn't love the co-op requirements. Especially after my job change, it felt pretty unrealistic. Now Marin gets to enjoy the summer and it will be nice to have a break from rushing out the door twice a week to get her to school on time. She's going to a different school this fall across town and that will be even more of a rush I'm sure. Our preschool this year was pretty much across the street from our house. We are also already starting to research kindergarten because in all reality, that will be here before we know it. 

Sullivan still isn't crawling. I'm going to write those words until he starts moving. He will get it, I know he will. I'm ready now, little buddy! You can do it! He's growing leaps and bounds in every other area. He's becoming more vocal everyday. His expressions are getting super fun. He knows how to wave now. I just love him to pieces. 

I'm still nursing him once or twice a day. I nurse him early in the morning when he wakes up and sometimes again late afternoon. I'm just not ready to give it up yet. In many ways I am ready but in many ways I'm not. He is my last baby. I will never breastfeed again. That's a big deal. I know my supply has dropped a lot but for now it's our little moment once a day and I will soak it all in. My goal is one year and I want to make it. We are so close. I've already breastfed him a lot longer than I did with Marin. It's been pretty special for me. 

Here is Marin at forty five weeks.  It's crazy to me how different each child is. At this point with Marin, she was crawling everywhere and starting to say words but wasn't quite catching on to eating a lot of solid foods. Sully is the king of baby led weaning and loves food. No one child is the same and that's a good reminder. All in good time. 

Marin Turns Four!

Top photo: Marin at 3 years old. Bottom: Marin at 4 years old. 

On Sunday, February 18th, our baby girl turned four years old. It still seems like just yesterday we were anxiously awaiting her arrival and she decided to take her precious time....arriving 10 days after my due date. Marin is spunky, incredibly smart, and I am so blessed to be her mother. I look at her and cannot quite believe that she is ours and that we get to journey through life together, through every triumph and toddler tantrum. We get to be there with her along the way as she learns new things, soaking them all in like a little sponge. We get to be there along the way as she goes to school, makes friends, faces growing pains. 

She surprises me every single day with her extensive vocabulary and how she soaks in everything around her constantly. She takes it all in and doesn't let go. Sometimes, I think she gets frustrated because the rest of her world doesn't want to move through life at the same learning pace that she does. She loves Jesus and going to church. She loves preschool and I have watched her grow leaps and bounds through the classroom. 

Birthday Party Spread 

She currently is obsessed with all things involving space and can name all of the planets. She likes to talk about galaxies and moons.  She is in love with dinosaurs and My Little Pony. She loves to "read" books and dance around the living room. Bath time is one of her favorite times and she would stay in there all day, turning into a little raisin, if we let her. 

She is the most amazing big sister to Sullivan. She is always looking for an opportunity to help me by grabbing a diaper, comforting him when he's fussy, and picking up all of the toys that he constantly throws on the floor. Their relationship is a great one and I love seeing it grow.

She is the picky eater in our family and would survive on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chicken nuggets, cheese burgers, and yogurt if I let her. I've been trying to get her to eat different things, especially now that Sullivan is exploring the world of solid food. We are very far from having a grand and expanded palette but hopefully someday, her relationship with food will be a good one. 

Miss Marin, we love you and can't believe we get to be your parents. Thank you for making our lives a glorious adventure, one day at a time. I cannot imagine life without you and I'm blessed to be your mother. You have stretched me in ways I didn't think were possible and can't believe you are mine. 

Happy Birthday, Marin Ryan Hollen! 

Baby Sullivan | Week Thirty

Here we are at Week Thirty! Sully is will be 7 months old on Saturday. He's growing leaps and bounds and is such a little man lately. 

He finally is rolling over! It took him a while to get the gist of it but now that he knows how, that's all he wants to do. So far he only will roll over from tummy to back but not back to tummy quite yet. Now, the moment you put him on his tummy, he rolls right over and is so pleased with himself every time he does it. He's never been a huge fan of tummy time, but now that he can flip over, he definitely is totally fine with not remaining on his tummy for too long. 

He has been sleeping longer stretches at night and I am forever thankful. For a while there, he was waking up anywhere between 1:30am and 4:30am. Now he sleeps from 7pm-ish until about 4:30/5:30am. Hallelujah. So much better. I'm sure we will face another sleep regression soon but for now I'm soaking in those few hours of uninterrupted sleep while I can. 

We have been feeding him solids for three meals a day. Last Friday, we tried the chicken & sweet potatoes jarred food. He liked it a little too much because he ended up eating too much and throwing most of it up throughout the course of the afternoon. Poor little dude! I was washing a lot of bed sheets after that endeavor. I am laying off the meat jarred food for a bit longer because I don't think his little tummy is quite ready yet. 

We are in the process of figuring out Marin's school plan for next fall. She will be in Pre-K which pretty much makes my head spin just thinking about it. We have enjoyed where she is going to preschool but it's a co-op and we just don't have the ability to continue with that much involvement. It's a great school but we need a little less involvement. If I was a stay at home mom and didn't work full time, same as Ryan, we would probably stay there. But, now I am filling out new paperwork, getting immunization records, and checking out schools. It's crazy that we are already here. By the time she starts Pre-K, Sully will be 1.5 years old. I can't quite wrap my mind around it. 

Isn't Marin's little pony so cute!? She finally has started to let me attempt to do her hair. 

Week Thirty! 

Hollen Holidays 2017 | Visiting Santa Claus

I debated posting most of these photographs but here we are. I want to document this season of our lives and during this season, we have a chicken in our midst. 

This week, we went to see Santa Claus. I always go back and forth on where we stand with good ol' St. Nick but Marin's preschool offered a time to see him sans crowds at a local nursery in town. Some of the proceeds for photographs go to her preschool. 

I spent most of the week talking up the visit...."It's going to be so cool! You get to see Santa and tell him what you would like for Christmas. Also...his reindeer will be there!" It was going to be awesome. 

Marin spent the better part of the week talking about Santa Claus. She even made him a little Santa to give to him when we saw him. She was super stoked about the reindeer and kept asking if Rudolph and his infamous red nose would be present. 

Luckily, Grammy came with us. I pushed the stroller with Sully and my mom held Marin's hand. As we walked in, my mom mentioned that Marin was starting to squeeze her hand tighter and tighter. Sometimes Marin can be a bit of a chicken. New situations are hard for her sometimes. I always try to prepare her as much as possible. 

Sullivan did great with Santa Claus. He liked his beard and his big belt buckle. Needless to say, Marin was pretty traumatized, even to the point where I had to sit on his lap as well to get her to calm down. Sure Santa, let me awkwardly sit on your lap next to my freaked out kid. Lovely.  Luckily, most of her preschool class weren't there yet to see the situation. I am thankful for that. 

She did eventually tell him what she wanted for Christmas...a Barbie House. Do you know how pricey those puppies are!? Not cheap. She also gave him the little Santa she had made. 

I paid WAY too much money for a bunch of photos of my daughter crying but I'm sure someday I will be able to look back on these photos and laugh or use them for some sort of blackmail. Sorry kid.  I'm proud of her for trying it. Hopefully next year goes a bit better. Also...this was kind of a not so smiley St. Nick but I'm sure he has had his share of fun days and fun kiddos lately. 

But, we survived and I don't think Marin is scarred for life. 

See you next year, Santa Claus. 

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. 

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!