Saturday, January 23, 2016

A Day In The Life - Winter 2016

Robert and I are both 25 years old, Sarah is 5.5 months old, and Mittens is 3.5 years old.

Thursday, January 21, 2016

7:10 am - Mittens hops up on the bed and begins to meow at us to wake up and feed her.  Ugh.  I shouldn't complain because she used to wake us up at 5:30 to feed her.  7:00 is our limit, and she waited 10 minutes extra.  Also, I know I can't complain because the vast majority of adults are already awake at this point.  Check my phone for a second and see an Instagram pic with snow.  I wake up Robert and say we need to look outside.  Turn off Sarah's monitor.  Where'd the child go? ;)


Yep, all that pretty white stuff!  It's our first snow at our house.  I'd estimate we got about 2".  I can't wait for Sarah to see and feel it!  Won't next winter be so fun when she can actually run around in it?


7:20 - We get Sarah from her crib.  Miss Thang is always so happy to see us in the morning.  We make sure to go in and get her together.  She coos and flaps her arms, but she doesn't want us to dilly dally.  It's bottle time!  So we change her diaper, grab a bib and burp cloth, and head to the kitchen.  Sarah sits in her Bumbo while I whip up a bottle and rice cereal.  Sister is so hungry that she isn't too interested in the the cereal, so she only eats about half.  We've had to start hiding the bottle during cereal time because it's too distracting and tempting.  Robert needs to get ready for work, so it's my job to give her the bottle.  When she finishes I ask Robert if we can put Sarah in her snow bunny suit and go outside really quick.

7:50 - This is Sarah's first time to kind of play in the snow.  She's seen flakes a couple of other times.  She's curious, confused, and takes it all in.  She wasn't overly excited, but no tears were shed, so I'd say it was a good introduction to the white stuff.






8:10 - Daddy is gone.  I'm too scared to go out today since there's a layer of ice under the snow, I haven't seen a snow plow on our street yet, and getting a 5 month old in and out of the car in the sub-freezing weather just doesn't sound appealing to me.  So now it's time to entertain Sarah for 9 HOURS.  Okay, let's do this.  We start out by playing on the changing table.  We do this each morning while I do some stretches.  I count out the seconds while stretching.  That's teaching her numbers, right?  We read ou Bible story for the day (The Prodigal Son), Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See?, and the Berenstain Bears.  It's the one where Sister Bear is scared of the dark after Brother Bear reads her a scary book.


Mittens has become more interested in Sarah lately and enjoys hanging out in her room while we're in there.  I attempt to multi-task and talk to Sarah while scratching Mittens with my foot.


8:45 - Bath time!  It's been so hit and miss lately.  I decide to go back to the old days and play music while bathing.  Today's play list is a James Taylor station.  We dance in front of the mirror while listening to How Sweet it is (To be Loved by You).  Time to get wet.  Today's bath is a success due to the music, plastic keys, and constant narration by Mommy.  She tries to catch the water as a trickle it down from the little watering can.  She looks like such a big girl sitting up in her bathtub.  She loves chewing on the wash cloth!




9:20 - Lotion the babe and get her dressed for the day - white long sleeve onesie and pink yoga pants.  I just love touching her skin!  I'm so thankful that she doesn't despise the cold air after a bath quite as much as she used to.

9:25 - Tummy time while I drink my coffee and have a berry smoothie.  Is she ever going to roll over regularly?  She loves tummy time but just doesn't enjoy rolling.  Trying not to pressure her.  I always know tummy time is over when she cries and spits up.  Admire her inquisitive eyebrows, big blue eyes, and her long eyelashes.  Mittens is weaving in and out between us.  I think she gets jealous when I pay attention to Sarah.


9:40 - It's time for the morning nap.  These usually last about 30 minutes and happen in my arms when we're home and in the car seat if we're out and about.  This is the perfect time to get in some Sarah Snuggles and catch up on my TV shows.  Let the guilty pleasure watching of Teen Mom OG commence.  Farrah drives me nuts, and it's hard to be sympathetic for her crying when her face can't move due to too much plastic surgery.


10:15 - After a 35 minute power nap Sarah wants to wake up slowly so we snuggle, talk, and say hi to Mittens.  Sarah and Mittens enjoyed an extended interaction and petting yesterday, but Mittens doesn't enjoy it when Sarah pulls her tail today.  Not surprising.  Sarah has really started to notice her lately.

10:35 - It's time for the bouncer.  Sarah enjoys playing in it while looking outside at the snow.  I crochet while sitting in front of her and count my stitches aloud for her.  She likes pulling at the yarn ball and watching the bright red yarn form into a hat.



10:55 - We play on the activity mat.  Now that we have the hard floor I've been trying to put an extra blanket under Sarah's head.  Today's blanket is Robert's old Spongebob fleece.  This has been a favorite toy for at least 3 months.  I sit here and wonder how it's not even 11:00 yet.  Boo for being stuck in the house all stinking day long.  I seriously couldn't do this for more than one day in a row.


Have you ever seen a baby do crunches like this?




11:25 - My mom has her second snow day in a row today, so Sarah and I FaceTime her and show off Sarah's new sitting ability.  Yesterday she sat on her own for about 15 seconds, and today she sat semi-supported by the Boppy for about half an hour.  She fell back onto the bed once but got herself back up into a sitting position thanks to her crunches giving her such a strong core.  I see a few brave senior citizens walking out on the street.  Hope they don't fall!  Each homeowner is responsible for shoveling his or her own sidewalk, so you can just imagine that they're all covered in snow yet.  High five to Robert for being the only one to shovel his driveway, sidewalk, and porch.


12:00 - Diaper change, play with feet, get ready for lunch.  Sarah gets so frustrated that she can't quite get her feet into her mouth.  That'll be the day!  Sarah has rice cereal in the Bumbo again, and then I give her a bottle.  She starts falling asleep during this bottle which is unusual, so I go with it and tuck her in early for her afternoon nap.  She still has to be swaddled with her arms in for naps.  She just can't sleep without it.



12:30 - My lunch time.  This picture makes it look way less appealing than it was, but it was indeed a leftovers lunch - beef stew, breakfast pizza, and cornbread.  Note the claw clippers from Mittens' manicure the night before.  I think we've almost recovered.


1:15 - Time to rest and relax for a bit.  Sarah looks peaceful.  Maybe I can even sneak in a nap.


I've been reading Into the Whirlwind which came recommended by Memaw.  I'm about 1/3 of the way through it, and it's really good.  Read two chapters and shut my eyes.  2 seconds into it, Sarah wakes and is screaming.  What are the odds?


1:40 - Check the mail really fast (my only trip outside all day) and then get Sarah out of her crib.  The little stink pot smiles and coos right when I got in.  She got her way!  Apparently she just couldn't handle a break from me because I'm so stinking fun.  Since she only slept for an hour I didn't get to tidy the house while she slept.  We're hosting our pastor/Robert's boss and his wife and three kids for dinner, so tidying has to happen.  Baby wearing for the win!  We pick up, load the dishwasher, dry mop, throw laundry in the washing machine, and make the bed.


3:00 - Apparently cleaning up bored Sarah to no end so she fell asleep playing with my chin.  I'm finished cleaning so I sit down for an hour.  I can never sleep when Sarah is sleeping in my arms.


3:30 - Sarah wakes up after a 30 minute cat nap.  I've run out of fun things to do.  Does playing among three blankets count?


3:45 - No!!!  I never took a shower today.  Shocking.  I put Sarah in the bouncer on the bathroom floor while I shower.  She's getting sad and hungry.  It's the world's fastest and least relaxing shower as I narrate what I'm doing in hopes to hold off S for a bit longer.  "Mommy's washing her hair.  Mommy's ringing her hair.  Mommy's losing her mind."

4:00 - Change Sarah's diaper and give her a bottle.  I'm too lazy and wiped out to even mess with cereal.  Robert calls and is headed home soon.  Hallelujah!  The hour between the 4:00 bottle and when Robert usually gets home ticks by so slowly.  I'm glad he'll be home a bit early today.  I Notice that Mittens is creepily spying on us.


We play in the blankets a bit more.  Sarah's eyes look gorgeous with the light from the French doors streaming in.



4:20 - Robert is home!  This is the best time of the whole day.  I know this is the witching hour for so many stay at home moms - the time when you've officially run out of all of your ideas for fun things to do and you're counting down the minutes til Dad/Husband arrives home.  Robert has come home with ingredients to make crinkle cookies using a chocolate cake mix.

4:40 - I've started making the cookies - cake mix, oil, vanilla, eggs...wait.  We don't have any eggs.  Ugh.  How did this happen?  Robert and Sarah need to make another trip to the store.  At least while they're gone I can set the table and get ready.  I dry my hair, straighten it, get dressed, and put on makeup.  They're home.  Time to make the cookies.

5:45 - Our dinner guests are here!  Only Becky has seen the house in all its glory.  The others haven't seen it since we were in the middle of painting.  Robert gives them a quick tour while Becky and I hang with Sarah.  We're having BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, broccoli, and corn.  Kate is especially hungry since she just had gymnastics for something like 5 hours.  Wow!  Sarah is only content in the Bumbo for about 5 minutes and then demands that she sit on my lap with the rest of us.  Poor thing is not to be forgotten!

6:15 - Dinner hit the spot and we decide to play a game.  We are teaching them how to play Wits and Wagers Family Edition.  Robert and I end up tying for first place.  It's a fun game and easy to learn how to play.


7:30 - John and company must leave since tomorrow is a school day.  The area schools were out Monday for MLK Day, back to school Tuesday, out Wednesday and Thursday for snow, and back on Friday.  What a weird week!  Looking forward to next year when Sarah starts to show interest in playing in the snow.

7:40 - We have 20 minutes before Sarah's bedtime routine commences so we play on our bed for a bit.  We don't do this every night, but we do it at least a couple of nights a week.  Such sweet memories!  Tonight, I'm jealous that Sarah already thinks Robert is more fun than me.  I'm the boring one who is always around and she never gets a chance to miss.  Daddy is the fun one who pretends to body slam her onto the mattress.


8:00 - Ahh!  We've made it to the final bottle of the night.  Robert changea her diaper and puts her in her pajamas while I turn on the lamp, sound machine, monitor, and humidifier.  Tonight Robert gives her the bottle while I clean up the dishes from dinner.  I finish up at the same time as Robert and Sarah and go in to say good night and pray together.  Memaw and Pepaw got Sarah a cool new sleep sack type thing called a Zippadee-Zip, and tonight is Sarah's first night to use it.  She seems to like it, and it looks like it will keep her hands warmer which is usually a struggle.


8:15 - The Bean is asleep.  Mommy and Daddy time!


8:30 - Robert and I can finally talk about our day.  My recap is usually the same - details about Sarah's naps, diapers, activities, bottles, errands.  I feel lame for not having anything interesting to say.  Now that I stay at home I like to hear all of the details of Robert's day even more than ever before.  He's working on planning DNow which is in mid March.  Today he met with the leader of the band that will be doing the music.  He's another local youth pastor but has a combo position with music as well.  He's an SBU alumnus.  Robert and he really enjoyed getting to know each other better.  I interrogate about the opportunity to meet his wife who is also a stay at home mom to their two children.  Also, could we be best friends?

9:15 - Robert and I have started watching Friends on Netflix this week.  Man, styles sure have changed since the early 1990s.  I'm struggling to understand why people ever liked this show.  Don't shoot me.  I'm crocheting my little red beanie while we watch.  The local hospitals are collecting newborn and preemie beanies to distribute to all of the babies born in February.  The beanies will be crocheted or knitted from red yarn to raise awareness for congenital heart defects.  The project is called Little Hats, Big Hearts.  My mom told me about this project about two weeks ago.  I'm almost finished with my second hat.  The first was newborn, and this second hat will fit a premature baby.  I often feel like I can't do much to help the community since I have Sarah as my 24/7 job right now.  I know, taking care of Sarah is helping my community.  I get it.  So this crocheting project seemed like the perfect thing for me to do in the evenings while I can't leave the house.

10:05 - I have to read one more chapter of my book.  It's so good!  I used to read a ton while I pumped, but then once I stopped doing that I kind of stopped reading.  This feels so much better than just playing on my phone.  I need to remember that I like reading and do it more.

10:30 - I just can't make it any longer.  It's time for me to go to bed.  I say good night to Robert, and he says a prayer.  He heads out to the living room to watch That 70s Show.  Gag me.

11:30 - Ugh.  Why do I always drink a bunch of water right before bed.  I get up without my glasses on and fumble in the dark.  Whack.  Yep, Robert had closed the door to our bathroom and I just ran right into it.  Robert comes in and asks what is the matter.  Nothing.  Just broke every bone in my body due to walking in the dark and being blind.

5:49 - Sarah is crying.  Why?  Give it a minute.  She stopped.  Thank goodness.  Was it a bad dream?  What do babies dream about anyway?

7:45 - Mittens wakes us up.  Thanks for letting us sleep in today!  It's Friday which is our family's Saturday.  We made it through another week!

Monday, January 11, 2016

Random Whirlwind of Thoughts

I've done this a couple of other times before, but occasionally it's fun to just type about random stuff for a bit.  I don't feel like I have anything particularly interesting to write about, so a miscellaneous post it is.

I fell trying to check the mail today.  I hate being clumsy.  I just slipped right off of the curb and hit my hip and jammed and scrapped my toe.

Even when our house is clean we still have Sarah's huge accessories everywhere - bouncer, Bumbo, jumper, two activity mats, car seat, diaper bag.  She requires a lot of stuff!

Sarah's bed head is funny.

Carrying Sarah in her car seat no longer feels too heavy.  The combo weighs about 23 pounds, and I remember when the combo weighed about 12 pounds and feeling like I was carrying a giant dumbbell.  Also, a gallon of milk now feels like lifting a feather.

I like our new fireplace.

My nose is cold.

I love the show New Girl!  I was skeptical for a few years and never watched it but have become dedicated to watching it on Netflix.  It's so funny and entertaining!

I need a new book to read for the time during Sarah's afternoon nap where I don't want to do housework but also don't want to just play on my phone or computer.

It was disappointing that we hardly got any snow on Saturday.  I want to go sledding!

I'm ready for this stinking cold to go away.

Our backyard neighbor must have some sort of job where he gets home around 1:30 because every day his three dogs get let out then and bark for over an hour.  Super annoying.

Mittens rules the roost already and is the laziest cat in the history of feline-kind.

Thankful for previously prepared freezer meals.  Bakes spaghetti for dinner tonight!

Funny convo with my doctor today during annual physical - Me: Yeah you basically have to eat an entire loaf of whole wheat bread to get your daily supply of dietary fiber.  Dr: Yeah including the bag! :)

College football season ends tonight.  Thank goodness!

Does anybody else ever feel like why do I even both trying to keep my house straightened when it doesn't even last for a whole day?

I'm so thankful to have a garage now.  Carrying in groceries with Sarah is way easier, and i don't have to be  concerned about rain or snow.  Now that the garage is cleared out Robert can park in there too.  So nice!

Sarah is 5 months old.  It's been the fastest and slowest months over.  Fast when I think about just five months ago she was a little tiny baby who was either asleep or crying and didn't do much else, and now she can smile, laugh, sit with assistance, stand with assistance, play, hold things, etc.  Slow because days can seem monotonous, she can't talk to me, she completely relies on me to survive, and she's five whole years away from kindergarten.  Robert and I haven't even been married that long yet.

Speaking of being married, Robert and I are only a couple of months away from being married for four years, just two months away from six years since we started dating, and just a couple of days away from six years since becoming friends.  Mind blowing to think about all that has happened in six years.  Ever wonder what your life would be like if you hadn't gotten married when you did to who you did?  Robert thinks he wouldn't have gone to seminary and would live with a bunch of guys in an apartment.  I think that I still would have gone to grad school and probably would have lived with a roommate during grad school but then would live on my own.  I might have lived overseas for a year or two.  Definitely still would have gotten a cat. haha  But I would have missed out on so many things - living in NC and having Sarah being two of the biggest things.

Okay, there you go.  15 minutes of random.

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Sarah At Five Months



Stats
Weight: Guessing 16lb 8oz
Height: Guessing 27.5"

Sleeping
Still such a boss in the sleep department.  Night time tuck in happens after the 8:00pm bottle so about 8:20, and she sleeps til 8:00am.  Occasionally, she'll wake at 7:30 but is happy to play and wake up slowly til 8:00.  She will also occasionally sleep til 8:30.  A typical day of naps looks like 45 minutes in the morning, two hours in the afternoon, and an hour in the evening.  That makes for a total of 15+ hours of sleep each day.  She's started sleeping in a sleep sack with absolutely no swaddling at night, and she sleeps in a swaddle sack with her arms out for naps.  She has started being able to fall asleep in the car on her own without a pacifier, she takes naps in people's arms with a pacifier, and falls asleep at night without a pacifier.  Out nighttime routine is pajamas, night time cloth diaper, bottle, sleep sack, sound machine, humidifier, prayers, kiss, and good night.  She falls asleep without any crying within 10 minutes.  Thank you, God!



Didn't make it til midnight on New Years Eve


First night in her crib in the new house








Eating
Sarah eats four 8oz. bottles a day at 8:00, 12:00, 4:00, and 8:00.  She started the month with eating rice cereal at the 8:00am bottle, and two weeks later she started eating rice cereal with the 8:00, 12:00, and 4:00 bottles.  She likes it!  She has gotten really good at opening wide and keeps a good amount of it in her mouth.



Personality
She's really good about being passed around which is good because everybody always wants some Sarah snuggles!  She has started laughing some and gets more vocal every day.  She does the cutest bashful smile and buries her head in my shoulder.  She has started dropping things on purpose and letting us pick them up for her.  Such a fun game!

Health and Physical Ability
Sarah's first tooth bud has popped!  Woohoo!  It's her front, bottom, left.  I first felt it on December 29.  You can even see it a little bit!  Her gums had been swollen for about 6 weeks, so it was about time!  She has started rolling up on her side while on her back.  She rolled from back to tummy for the first time on January 2, and I missed it!  She still loves tummy time.  She has great head control and enjoys sitting on people's laps.  She acts like she wants to do a crunch and sit up when she lays on her back.  She's so strong!

See the dot of tooth?
Superficial
She's getting more hair, and it's very blonde and straight.  She has adorable rosy cheeks, the longest eye lashes, and big, blue eyes.  I'd say her most frequent superficial compliment is on her eye lashes.










Highlights of the month
December 5 - My first time to be sick as a mommy.  Daddy took great care of Sarah!
December 8 - Closed on our first house.


December 11-13 - Grandma Serina and Aunt Bethany came for a visit and to help with the house.
December 14 - PAT appointment.  Sarah got her annual evaluation and passed with flying colors!
December 17 - Sarah made her debut as Santa for a Christmas party for Grandpa.




December 20 - First night in our new house.
December 24 - Christmas Eve service
December 25 - First Christmas




December 26-31 - Papa and Babi came to visit from Alabama.


December 31-January 2 - Trip to KC to see Robert's mom and company


January 2- Mittens' first night at our new house
January 4 - Story time at the library resumed

Dear Sarah
You are such a ray of sunshine!  People can't help but smile when you smile at them or let them hold you.  I hope you know that you don't need to strive to win people's approval, but I hope you always enjoy bringing a smile to others.  If you have the joy of the LORD in your heart then it will permeate your being, and others will see Jesus in you.  Your sweet smile can brighten anyone's day, and the world needs more friendly, kindhearted people like you.  Don't let the ickiness of the world get you down,  but let it prompt you and compel you to spread the Gospel to a dark and weary world.  "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will."  Romans 12:2

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