Baby Sullivan | Week Forty Six

This week has been a doozy, one of unexpected frustrations and financial burdens. It's almost strange for me to write these words because most people don't believe what I'm saying until I show them photographic evidence of the spring storm that totaled our car. Yes, totaled...

Tuesday evening, I was driving home from work ever aware of a dark storm rolling in. I knew that I should get home before it hit and that I might not be able to go and grab that drink with my lovely friend that evening at a local brewery as planned. The sky continued to get darker and darker as I made my journey across town to our home. 

We were able to get the mom van in our single car garage. I tend to not park in there very often so we needed to move boxes and a bunch of other stuff. As the storm was starting to hit, Ryan moved the van into safety. Little did we know what would hit next. There was a lot of hail and rain. We knew Ryan's car was probably going to hit with some gnarly hail but we didn't have a garage to pull it into in time. We got the kids ready for bed, potty time, diaper changed, teeth brushed, stories read. In the course of probably about ten minutes, the storm hit hard. 

After the kids were in bed, we looked outside to a sight I wasn't expecting. Our entire street (we live in a cul-de-sac) was under water. The water was reaching up our drive way. Our neighbor's mail box was almost underwater. Ryan's car was toast. If only we had moved it up on the driveway, it would have been safe. But, our car is ruined. We vacuumed out 25 gallons of water the next day. The city had to come and haul away all of the hail. I couldn't even drive out of our street the next day...in the month of May! Our neighbor's basement has flooded. Numerous cars have been totaled. We have all been picking up the pieces this week. 

I want to cast blame to our neighbor that loves to blow all of his yard debris and leaves into the storm drain pretty much every day. That probably has a lot to do with it and it irritates me that he's already back at it with his leaf blower. The storm drain filled so quickly that it couldn't handle the storm.  But, this freak storm obviously wasn't planned. So now, we have a rental and get to go car shopping. Big bummer. It's been a crazy week. 

But, even in the midst of this situation, Sullivan is growing like crazy and is forty six weeks old. He's so close to crawling and I can't wait to write those words...it will happen soon. I know it. We are giving him lots of floor time even though he still hates it. He's close. 

Sullivan also decided that he was done nursing this week. I was not ready yet and was hoping to make it to one year, even though we were only nursing once, maybe twice a day. But, we woke up one day and he just decided that he didn't want to any longer. He's our last baby and this mama heart wasn't quite ready for this abrupt change. Luckily I had been only feeding him once or twice a day so I'm not in nearly as much pain as I was when Marin quite nursing. Now I walk around smelling like peppermint oil because it helps ease the pain. At least I smell minty fresh. My little baby is growing up so quickly. 

I'm ready for a new week. I'm not ready to go buy another car but that's what has to be done. I plan on working with Sully a lot with crawling this week. Hopefully we will get some time spent getting dirty outside in the sunshine. Hopefully there are no more freak storms. Lord willing and the creek don't rise. Literally. 

Here's Marin at week forty six. 

Baby Sullivan | Week Forty Three

We have been back from vacation for more than a week now and most of our days are spent fairly similar from the one before and the one before that. I wake each morning in the routine of nursing Sullivan, walking downstairs to the coffee pot, and sitting in my chair in the living room, waiting and searching through the quite moments before the rest of the house awakens. 

Marin usually stirs anywhere between 6am and 630am. I try to keep her in her room as long as possible, constantly urging her to play with her ponies or turn on her little light and read a few more books before I have to leave my wonderful chair and start the day. I usually don't hold out for long. After she wakes, she helps me wake up Daddy and go get Sullivan out of his crib. Most of the time after I nurse him early in the morning, he falls back asleep, if only for a little while. 

Then we all have breakfast at the table in the kitchen. This is usually one of the only meals during our chaotic weeks where we are all sitting down at the table and eating at the same time, even if it's only for fifteen minutes  Dinner usually consists of me feeding the kiddos before Ryan gets home from work and then Ryan and I eat dinner after the kids are in bed. Someday, in a perfect world, I long to have family dinners on a weekly basis. I want to gather together and hear how everyones day was and actually all eat the same exact thing. Right now I feel like a short order chef that makes two to three different meal options on any given night. I also want more times spent with friends over meals. We had some friends over for pizza last weekend and it was so refreshing. The kiddos also enjoyed playing together. 

Depending on the day and if I am working, I either hop up stairs to finish getting ready or hop in the shower. Then we get the kiddos dressed, teeth brushed, hair combed. The next thing that occurs on the non-working days is that I do a quick clean of the house and then we begin our day. Cleaning is followed by Sullivan's morning nap....then lunch....then quiet time/naptime...then getting ready for dinner....eating dinner...tubby time....bedtime routine...

Lather...Rinse...And Repeat. 

Don't get me wrong, I rather enjoy the predictability of our days for the most part. In between meal times and nap times, we are working on trying to help Sullivan crawl. We spend a lot of time on the floor with toys scattered all over the place. Marin loves to color, do puzzles, watch some TV. Both kids would be outside all day if it was an option. I know I need to get them out much more than I do and I want to make that my goal on the days when I am home with them. Marin loves to ride her scooter and is learning how to pedal her bike a lot better now that she can confidently reach and push the pedals. Sullivan is perfectly content on a blanket out in the lawn surrounded by things he can throw around and chew on. They both enjoy stroller rides in the double stroller. 

Another consistent thing I usually enjoy for the most part is bath time. We only bathe the kiddos every few days unless they've really made a mess of themselves. Sometimes that happens and I am all for the need to wash dirty kiddos. That just means that they were living life to the fullest. Last week we had a first time parenting moment...Sullivan pooped in the tub. Luckily he was still in his little bath tub inside of the bathtub where Marin was. Had he pooped in her water...that would have been an entirely other situation. But, there's a first time for everything! I don't believe Marin ever did that. It was comical to say the least. 

Here's Marin at Week Forty Three. 

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 | Christmas 2017

Christmas has already come and gone this year and I'm left with a bunch of boxes sitting under the tree that still need to be cleaned up. But, boy...was it a good one. So good, that I hardly took any photos this year. I've decided that is a good sign of how the day went. I hate being so attached to my phone all of the time and I'm truly trying to work on putting it down and living our lives. Yes, I like to document many things but constantly having my phone in my family's face really doesn't help anyone. Anyways...

Marin and I did get some of our Christmas baking in this year. We made reindeer chow again, the same as last year. We were planning on making cookies as well but didn't quite get to those. Now I have a ton of Hersey kisses sitting in my pantry. Darn. That's a such a bad problem to have, right? Marin loves baking only if she can sneak chocolate chips and help me stir the contents of the bowl. She also likes being able to accessorize with a cute apron. I also have been trying all season to get her to watch Elf and she finally said that she wanted to. I love that movie. We've watched it too many times now, but at least she was down for it this year. 

Christmas Eve was a blur and both of us had to work. Marin had a slumber party at the grandparents house the night before. Working for a church, I had a long day ahead of me that started at about 6:30am and didn't really end until about 7:00pm that night. I had a little break in the middle there to go home, try and eat something, and head right back to work. Ryan also worked all day but was able to make it to the evening service. Since Christmas Eve landed on a Sunday, we have 3 services. Two in the morning and a Christmas Eve service at night. Everything went smoothly and the day really wasn't as tiring as I had expected. I did hit almost 20,000 steps that day. Ouch feet. 

The next morning started nice and early thanks to Marin waking early. We opened gifts from each other and the ones that we bought for the kiddos. Marin's biggest wish was a Barbie House, which she didn't get from us. She kept asking about it like..."I did ask Santa for it...so where is it?!" Oh, kiddo. That's not always how it works. But, don't worry, her day ended with a Barbie House. 

After we got ready for the day, we headed to Loveland to have Christmas morning with my side of the family. The morning was filled with lots of kids, food, and opening presents. I soaked it all in and enjoyed it so much. Christmas with a bunch of kiddos around is so much better. 

That afternoon, we headed to Ryan's brother's home for chili, cinnamon rolls, and more gift unwrapping. Marin finally got her Barbie House. It was the last gift she opened that day and I thought she was going to explode with anticipation. She made it though, to the very end. 

The day was a good one. I love that all of our family is near and that we can spend our holidays with them. We ate way too much, got way too many amazing gifts, and the kids both fell asleep on the drive back to our home. Our kids have enough toys to last them through a few years at this point. So many toys. Marin is in heaven. Sully is a little to young to realize that he got a bunch of cool stuff, but Big Sis is making sure his toys also get played with. 

Merry Christmas to you and yours. Until next year...

Baby Sullivan | Week Twenty Three

This week has been a good one. We are finally all feeling a lot better than we have been in the past. Marin has just a little cough that comes and goes. But, we are finally pretty healthy. I'm just praying it stays that way through Christmas. Growing up, my sister and I always seemed to be sick at Christmas and that is no fun. 

We've been doing lots of Christmas-y things around here. As my previous post mentioned, we met Santa Claus and traumatized Marin forever. I will cherish those photographs forever and just pray that she does better next year. She just keeps saying, "I was trying to be brave, but that Santa was kind of scary." Better luck next year. 

Saturday night we went with the Hollen clan to Spring Creek Gardens to see their light display. It was very cool. Tons and tons of lights, carolers, Santa Claus. There was no way we were standing in line to see Santa again though and I'm sure Marin was totally fine with that. We are getting a lot of use out of our double stroller these days and I'm very glad we found it when we did. 

Monday we went out to dinner in Loveland with my parents and the kiddos. Afterwards we went to a sculpture park with another light show there. We went and watched the ice skaters at the rink and Marin is totally enthralled with ice skating now. She thinks it's pretty cool. 

I'm certain Sully is nearing the 20lb mark and I can hardly carry him in his carseat anymore. That's going to have to change soon. I can't keep paying for the chiropractor because my kiddo is such a beast. But, he's adorable and we love him. There's just a lot of him to love. I've been having a lot of aches and pains lately and I'd really like for them to go away. 

He's been waking up at least once per night, anytime between 2:30am-4:30am. Mama is getting pretty tired. I think he just wakes up and thinks he needs little snack. I need to research night weaning. I don't think he needs to be fed at that point anymore but he also soaks a diaper at night and I think that wakes him up. I would like to get a little more sleep. Lately if it's close to 4am, I just get up. Granted, I get some uninterrupted mommy time after I feed him, but it's still freaking early. 

Week Twenty Three. 

Here's Marin at Week Twenty Three.