Baby Sullivan | Week Five

Week Five, here we are. We made it through the first month of a newborn and a toddler. We made it through the first month of nights with lots of wake up calls, feeling like I'm just simply a milk machine, and learning how to live our lives with two children. 

Little Sullivan is growing like a weed. He eats like a champ, usually every 3 hours or so at the moment. Some nights we only wake once, some nights we wake twice. We gave him his second bath and he just chills while in the tub. He naps decently well and I have no idea how I'm going to function in reality once he doesn't just eat and sleep all of the time. 

Marin is still adjusting but loves her little brother. She always asks to hold him and kisses his little fuzzy head when I'm nursing. We've had our share of tantrums lately but overall she is adjusting well to being a big sister. As long as I rope her in to help, we seem to be doing well. As I said in the past few weeks, having family take her for extended periods of time to get her out of the house has been a life saver. She has started mimicking me when I nurse with her bunny Bernie and a little nursing pillow. Our kids are always watching us. It's adorable. 

I go back to work from home, part time next week. This is my last week of total freedom and hardly any responsiblities. Part of me is ready to transition back into something that will get my brain working again but the other part of me doesn't want this season to end. Just being able to hang out with our kiddos all day is pretty dang awesome. I don't think I could ever be fully a stay at home mom, but these last few weeks have been very needed for my sanity and to heal from his birth. 

Week Five. 

Baby Marin | Week Forty Nine

This week has been full of baby drool, baby snot, and working on baby teeth. We resorted back to wearing bibs for a while because this little gal is a drool producing factory at the moment. I believe she is working on a few more teeth. Marin hates having her nose cleaned out and wiped off. She battles against the Kleenex every single time. I can't wait until we get to the point of where she knows how to blow her nose. For now, we are all kind of snotty messes around these parts. 

I feel like Marin is so close to walking. Part of me isn't ready for that, it is all going so fast! She will stand on her own every once in a while and then quickly realizes what she is doing and she falls back to the floor. One day she is just going to walk and surprise us all, including herself. 

Also, these photos should be proof of the toy destruction that is usually found in our basement. Building blocks, toy pianos, baby dolls, stuffed animals. Everything must be out on the floor and should never be in the nice baskets that we have for the toys. That's at least Marin's philosophy on all of it. 

I only have a few more of these posts before we hit one year. I am trying to decide what my next plan is with the Marin photos. Creating these posts every week has been pretty time consuming. But, they do help me get out my camera and actually use it even within the chaos that is our life. There is never a dull moment when Marin is involved. 

I feel like this could be Marin's first "Selfie." 

Week Forty Nine. 

Baby Marin | Week Forty Eight

"Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it."  

Proverbs 22:6 NLT 

Music runs through our family's veins, it is in our bones. Even when we go through seasons where we aren't playing music as often as we once did, in our younger, childless years, we still always find it and it always finds us. I believe that Marin has music in her as well. She dances. She sings. She lights up whenever music is playing anywhere we are. 

The day will come in the not so far off future when I will sit down at the piano with Marin and teach her just like my grandma taught me. She will probably have those moments of watching the clock during practice and long for the time when she can go out and play with her friends. But, maybe in the further future, she will feel the freedom of playing in front of and with a group of people for the first time. She will feel the heat and nervousness but then also the moment of realizing that she is doing something truly special. There's nothing like it. 

Maybe she will be a drummer. Maybe she will play guitar. Maybe she will play piano. Maybe she will sing. Maybe she will write songs. 

I can't wait to see her love for music grow and morph. 

Week Forty Eight. 

Baby Marin | Week Forty One

Marin had her 9 month well-check yesterday afternoon. The nurses and doctors just can't get enough of her. They say that she is very bright and doing very well. Of course, my mommy heart just about bursts when they say that, but I agree with them. She is one smart cookie. One smart, feisty cookie. 

Marin now weighs 16.5 lb. and is almost 27 inches long. She still measures in the petite range but is growing like a weed. We also didn't need to get any shots of any sort yesterday, which was a nice change of pace. We are not a big fan of shots, pretty much ever. 

The next time we will take her to a well-check appointment, Marin will be one year old. Where is the time going? Where? 

Week Forty One. 

Baby Marin | Week Thirty Nine

Leaving Marin last weekend was tough. It's good to be home. I feel like every day she comes up with some new trick or milestone. For example, I put her in her crib to go grab my camera, and came back to this....standing up in her crib! Uh-oh. We are in trouble now. She usually wears a sleep sack when she naps and sleeps so she doesn't really try anything too crazy. But, put her in her crib without her sleep sack and she stands up all on her own. Slow down, baby. Slow down. 

I am really looking forward to the next few weeks with Marin. I love the holidays to begin with and add two little babies into the picture (including little cousin Gunnar) and fun will be had. I'm sure I will barely hold her the entire time we are at our parent's house for Thanksgiving. 

We have been experimenting with different finger foods and are slowly moving away from purees. She is still getting the hang of picking up food off her tray but we are working on it. She really likes trying new things and I am just praying that we don't have a picky eater on our hands. I don't think we will, at least so far. 

Oh and...still no teeth. 

Week Thirty Nine. 

Baby Marin | Week Thirty Seven

Marin generally does well in a lot of different situations and is pretty chill when around a lot of people. I will forever be thankful for that. She is usually great in restaurants, at church, family gatherings. That is awesome. 

On Thursday, we celebrated my brother-in-law's birthday at the bowling alley. We had a blast and Marin was great the entire evening. When one of us was up to bowl, Marin would be handed to the next family member and hang out. Kind of a musical chairs situation and she loved it. She was up way past her bedtime but loved the commotion of the bowling alley. That is really awesome. 

Marin is currently napping away upstairs and I can't help but think how lucky we are to have been blessed with such a great baby. Seriously. We have our moments and melt downs but overall I couldn't ask for a more awesome child. This week, she has started to wave at everyone and everything. She is just starting to eat finger foods. We still have no teeth but she is still all smiles. 

Baby Marin. Week Thirty Seven.

Baby Marin | Week Thirty Six

Look at our child's face. Just look at it. This is the face of...OMG, Mom, you almost forgot to post my weekly picture. 

You're right, kid. You are right. It is Saturday evening and here I am writing away. 

We will keep this short and sweet because that's kind of how life is rolling these days. I've recently changed jobs, more on that later. I am surrounded by baby toys and a fussy baby that is probably not going to take this time change very well. She will surely be a little confused tomorrow morning when she tries to wake up at 4am. Still no teeth in her adorable little mouth and I am certain I will be shocked when we finally have a tooth. 

Good things are happening, many good things. 

Baby Marin. Week Thirty Six. 

Baby Marin: Week Thirty Three

Here we are. It's Thursday already in yet another crazy week. I don't like when our weeks are so busy that I can't wait to spend a Thursday just with our kid. The past few days I have seen far too little of her aside from the early morning feedings and the bedtimes. I don't like that. That is not the type of parent I desire to be. Life is just crazy sometimes. We are in one of those seasons.

Still no teeth yet. Part of me is shocked due to the amounts of drool on a daily basis, the other part of me knows that it will happen when it's time. I'm just ready to reach that milestone and then wait for more teeth.

Next week we will have an 8 month old on our hands. I always say it, but I can't believe how quickly time is flying. We will be preparing for a one year old soon enough. Now with a new little cousin around, I realize how long ago the newborn stage feels now. Everything about our season with Marin is different than it was before. Her personality shines through every single day. She discovers the world one army crawl at a time and has to slobber over everything she sees. We battle nap times and bedtimes lately but she still mostly sleeps through the night. Now if I could get her to sleep past 5am, we would be golden.

Bath time is no longer a fight. Now that she can sit up and splash around, I think she's fine with the situation. Sink baths have been a fun change lately as well.

Time really does go by too fast these days.

Week Thirty Three.

Baby Marin: Week Thirty One

What a crazy week this has been! I can't believe what day it is as I write these words and prepare this post for your eyes. I blinked and here we are at Thursday afternoon and my to do list is a mile long. Good things have occurred this week though. Things of change. Things of new life.

Just this morning, I held my new nephew in my arms. I cannot wait for Marin to meet him. I forget how little she was when she was born. I also can't help but remember those first few nights in the hospital, all of the unknowns and new experiences. We had no idea what we were doing in all reality but so far we have made it to week thirty one of Marin's life.

Our cat, Geoff, has seemed to really take a new liking to Marin this past week. He is becoming more daring and wants to be around more often instead of just hanging out in his garage. Yes, HIS garage. She is army crawling super fast nowadays and he has some surprises coming his way, of that I am sure.

Week Thirty One.

Baby Marin: Week Thirty (7 Months!)

This week has been filled with early mornings and buckets of baby drool. There is a certain sense of change upon our lives in so many ways, big and small. I eagerly anticipate the time when Marin's first tooth surprises me one morning and I realize that all of her hard work and fussiness has paid off and created something. Pushed through. Defied the odds and finally presented itself into the world. I realize it is one little tooth, but she is fighting for it. I keep having to remind myself that we have to go through this for ALL of her teeth. Oh boy.

As of today, Marin is 7 months old. The newborn stage is very much behind us and every milestone reached brings us closer to her being a year old. It really isn't that far away, which is hard for me to grasp at this moment. The way that time moves and breathes in our lives completely changed when we had a child. I have to approach every day with so much selflessness, they are no longer my own. I have to be alright with that and it is definitely a learning experience. I applaud all of you parents with multiple children in tow. At this point in time, I just can't even fathom that. I know that time will probably come at some point down the road, but I wake everyday just trying to make sure I get dressed, get my work done, and raise a child in an environment that helps her grow and learn.

Within the week, we will be adding a nephew (a cousin for Marin) to this crazy mix and I can't wait. Having another baby around will help Marin grow even more and learn what sharing is all about. It truly takes a village to raise children and I am extremely thankful for the village that we have around us everyday. I just don't want to think about raising a family without them.

Also, baby pajamas are so great, especially ones with bears on the bum and feet. 

Week Thirty.

Baby Marin: Week Twenty Nine

This week has been a whirlwind of craziness. Change is on our horizon and we are just trying to hold onto the moments of every day that matter the most. It has been raining nearly all week, which is fine but all of us. I just want to curl up at home with Marin and read Winnie the Pooh books all day. Marin has begun to army crawl and is sitting up even better than last week for longer periods of time. She loves playing peek-a-boo. I blink and we reach another milestone. 

Also, her little hoodie just kills me. 

Week Twenty Nine. 

(All photos this week were taking by Ryan.) 

Baby Marin: Week Twenty Seven

I've been really trying to make a point in the last week or so to slow down and take time to focus on Marin. Of course my focus is always on her in some capacity, but I'm realizing the importance of not always having my hands in ten other projects while taking care of our child. The days I spend with her are precious. She is growing quickly and every moment counts. I feel like I need to show her the world. I feel like I need to open up everything that I can for her and allow her discover everything that is around her, even in the mundane everyday where I haven't changed out of my yoga pants and my idea of makeup is a little bit of water proof mascara and some lip gloss.

I am thankful that in this season of our lives, I get to work from home for a good chunk of my week. Being in the office three days a week has been a gift and I need to not take it lightly. I have four days at home with Marin. Now that she is starting to become somewhat mobile and seems to be reaching new milestones every single day, I'm realizing that importance of getting out of the house. I want to go for walks with her. I want her to experience what grass feels like for the first time and hear the birds and feel the sun. I want her to not be confined to a play mat or highchair. I want her to learn new things and see new things everyday.

That is my new mission. It was there before but not in the same capacity that it is now. There truly is a whole new world out there for her to experience and I want to help aid in that discovery.

Week 27.