charleston weekend trip & picture overload!

we left our little fella for the first time (well, my first time to leave him....) over night to head to charleston for my sweet and beautiful friend tiffany's wedding!  tiffany and i met randomly in our dorm my freshmen year of college.  we lived on the same floor, and she would pace up and down the hallway talking on her phone, and some how we became friends.  we spent a lot of time hanging out in my room eating snack mix and talking!  we were opposite in so many ways but have always had this special friendship.

over the past 12 years of our friendship, we have seen each other through good days and bad days, and have both said and loved how our friendship has felt so consistent.  since we have been long distant best friends for a long time now we have a code, one phone call means i just want to chat, two phone calls back to back, means...answer!  we have used the double call rule only a handful of times and it works...i love it!

tiffany and her new hubby frank have become extended family to us, and we were so excited to spend the weekend celebrating their love for each other!  we arrived friday night and went straight to their house, they saved us dinner (we were late) and then gave us a late night tour of their neighborhood and daniel island!  i can NOT wait to go back!  i have to add this part, i was searching for a special wedding gift for them, and ordered them a nice serving platter.  it was simple, white, and i LOVED it.  when we got to their house, tiffany said they had gotten it and was so excited that it would match her place settings that she had picked out....we looked and i had ordered the serving platter to the dishes she had picked, and i had no idea!  out of all the dishes in all the world, we picked the same pattern.

saturday morning we woke up and headed to a welcome brunch.  chicken and waffles were involved, and so i began my eating marathon.  after brunch we had a row of pedicabs lined up for us to do a downtown charleston scavenger hunt.  bryan and i were teamed with frank's son and nephew and we had a great time filling out the sheet and taking pictures!  and they were two of the most polite young men i have ever met, i complimented both of their parents on raising such gentlemen.  here's hoping we are raising one as well!

saturday evening we went to a rehearsal dinner on the water and met chef robert carter.  he cooked for us that evening and then again for the wedding meal.  when i say eating marathon...i mean it.  he brought our first course out in a small blue le creuset baking dish and started describing it with phrases like "potatoes that were dug yesterday" and "fish caught this morning.." and i was LOVING it.  after the meal he brought the baking dishes back out to us and they were signed by him with an assortment of chocolates inside.  i think i might have squealed and clapped.  all the fanciness of it was almost too much for me to take.  and if i was leaving my baby, might as well be surrounded by some of my favorite people eating grown-up food!







sunday was wedding day so we had the morning free.  bryan and i went to high cotton for brunch and i randomly ran into a friend that i also met my freshmen year of college at ASU who was there eating brunch with his wife.  such a small world!  i then spent the afternoon getting my hair and makeup done at the Thomas Bennett house with the bride, her mother and her soon to be step-daughter sofia!  tiffany's mother and i cried our eyes out pretty much off and on all day long.  it was just so much happiness and sweetness wrapped up into one weekend, my heart was SO full.




they had some showers sunday afternoon but the skies cleared and we enjoyed a beautiful outdoor wedding and dinner outside.  we enjoyed 8 courses (i lost count and had to ask how many we had...) along with dessert and gelato!  we all took turns saying a little something about the bride and groom, and i am not a good speaker, but couldn't pass up my chance to tell them how much we love them.  i shared the verse from song of solomon and a few other words i don't even remember, and know that tiff and frank have definitely "found the one their soul loves."



dinner in the garden & chandeliers in tree's....again...i did some clapping!


such a gorgeous and happy couple!



funny story, right after this picture I sat back down, and tiff and i heard this "slap" and i looked down and a pretty good size black lizard had landed on her arm & i immediately slapped it right off of her!  i wasn't sure the proper etiquette for lizard removal at dinner, but i just did what came naturally.  and we pretty much laughed harder than i have laughed in a long time.


probably one of my favorite pictures of the fun with the "gullah singing group" that surprised us towards the end of dinner!



and the bride and groom are off!

farewell brunch monday morning!  love and miss this girl.

baby b report!

i'm a workin' momma these days.  i have been back to work since the last week of march and we're getting more into a rhythm.  i won't say leaving him is easier, but usually, once i am with my kids at work, i am ok.  i do have mornings that i still cry when i leave him, or who ever is watching him will send me a video of him laughing during the day, and i'll feel like someone stabbed me in the heart, because he's laughing, and I. am. missing. it.        stinks.

'cause, if possible, i'd try not to miss a moment of this...

i literally cried pretty much off and on the entire week before i went back, and then the saturday night before returning to work, i had to get out of bed, because i was already crying, thinking of monday morning!

so many people prayed for us as i went back to work and we appreciated it.  and we survived!  and he's done well.  carmen put it best, when he's away from me, it's like having a piece of me out in the world with out me, and that's just wrong.

on another note, i know people have to do it every day, and some work much longer hours than i do...so i am thankful, for many things regarding work, my kids at work, and having a job i LOVE, but all of that was just to say...it was TOUGH, and continues to be tough somedays.  loving my job and seeing my kids at work that i had missed has been so fun, and it definitely makes leaving my little man MUCH easier.  another good thing is, i know being away from each other, is just good...for both of us.  i probably appreciate my time more, and he needs to see the face of someone else occasionally.  ;)

i also have cut back a bit at work, i am working 4 days a week now, rather than 5.  i am home with little guy on wednesdays, and it makes my heart happy.  a co-worker told me i would never look back on brooks being a baby and think "I should have worked more..."  Those words have stuck with me, and so this is my season to just be home more, and less involved in other things.  i feel very protective of my free time when i am not at work.  bryan and i have always been goers, and doers, and we of course will still do some things, especially things that are really important to us (like TEAMWorks and Ukraine stuff) but i am making it a point to cut back in other places.  i know this baby time is precious, and will fly by...i am trying to soak it in as much as possible and accept the fact i can't do it all.  our house will be dustier, phone calls and texts may go unreturned, i might only work out a couple of times a week, and we may miss out on other things.  and again, i am fine with that.

enjoying a wednesday trip to the square

i'd like to say that i had a picture from my first morning back to work, but there are no pictures, i could barely function to get out the door.  we have been so completely thankful that we have family to keep him.  Bryan's mom, my aunts, and my mom are going to help us keep him from going to daycare at least through summer, and that definitely makes things much easier.  i never have any doubt they are loving on him as much as possible!

a little late, but here is the 3 month report::

we have a new routine, which is fun...because i know it will soon change.

brooks is now sleeping from about 8:30pm to 7:00am...this does vary a bit, but over all pretty consistent.

7:00-bottle, getting dressed and playing
8:30-9:30 - cat naps
10:00 bottle, playing, reading and more fun
11:30-12:30 nap
1:00 bottle, and more playing
2:30-4:00 napping, off and on
4:00 bottle
5:30-6:00 a little power nap
7:00 bottle and bath/pajama time
8:30 a little bottle and bed time!

bryan usually gets him out of bed in the morning, sometimes we have to wake him up around 7:00, other times he's up and ready to roll!  it's good to be a baby!

he is eating around 5 ounces per bottle now.  sometimes a little less, depends on his mood.

we rock him to sleep in the evenings and it's such a sweet time!  no cell phones, no tv, just a nice quiet room and a snuggly baby!  i feed him and then rock him first, and then once he's asleep bryan comes in and rocks him for a bit and we tuck him in together.  it's good to be the only baby! :)

brooks is definitely not into long naps these days, and we are lucky to get him down for a full hour during the day, he usually wakes up after 30-45 minutes.  we're going to work on that.  i think a two longer naps would make him a happier camper in the evenings.  he will go back to sleep for a bit longer if you talk him into it....with cuddling, rocking, pacifier...

we love to reach up, grab our pacifier, and just cruise around holding on to it

we had his "2 month" check-up when he was actually 3 months old.  we got our first shots and we saw the doctor and got a great report!  we are so thankful for a healthy little fella.  he weighed in at a little over 14 lbs, putting him in the 75th percentile for weight, 50th percentile for height, and he's got a big noggin, coming in at the 90th percentile mark!  i knew his head was big, when i was trying to put some of his hats we had as a newborn on his head...not fitting!  he napped while we talked to Doctor Swindle, and then when he examined him, he was just so happy.  the doctor picked him up and held him a bit while we talked and he just sat in his arms and smiled.  it was soooo cute, i wish i would have taken a picture of him with him.

 brooksie-bear, you are doing all sorts of fun things now:
-laughing, especially when daddy changes your clothes and tugs on your sleeves
-watching us walk all around the room, and sometimes really twisting your head all around to make sure we don't get out of sight
-rolling from your stomach to your back
-enjoying sitting in the bumbo some, your heads still a bit wobbly
-laying on your back, raising your legs in the air and letting them fall to the side, i'm sure this will turn into some great rolling skills
-sticking out that bottom lip and just screaming when people you aren't ready for get in your face
-pushing with your legs, and trying hard to jump out of our arms
-holding our hands/fingers
-grabbing my shirt sleeve while i'm changing your diaper and keeping a hold while i work
-you LOVE bath time, and kicking your legs and looking at yourself in the mirror, but like clock work, as soon as we take you out and wrap you in the towel (the towel, i might add that your dad warms for you) you wail.  we get it, you don't like to get out of the bath.
-holding toys if we put them by your hand
-vocalizing lots of vowel sounds, i have heard some coo's and goo's and even some "buh" sounds
-oh, and most importantly, you are in love with your hands, eating them, putting them in your mouth, and even gagging yourself because you get them so far in there.

and that's a wrap folks...

there's no crying in baseball..

I say this a lot to Brooks when he's crying.  We have hit a span of crying pretty much 30-60 minutes after every bottle, sometimes it's actually screaming.  I feel terrible, and we are trying to figure out how to make it better.  All a guessing game, and a painful one for everyone involved, especially him.

I know that 5 years from now I'll wonder how we spent our days, so I am going to type out our "loose" schedule of Momma and Brooks' time home together!  If only I could freeze time a bit, that is, when we figure out the screaming stuff.

6:00-7:00 AM Brooks usually has his first bottle around this time, I prefer the 7:00 hour, and I think his day is better if he sleeps this late.  I think my day is better if he sleeps this late.  After he takes his first breakfast, we lay in bed and cuddle and talk and watch the morning news.  Up until a week or two ago, we rarely ever got cranky, and we could cuddle until he fell asleep usually again around 8:30.

8:30-10:00 Brooks cat naps and this is when I either:
A.  Get productive, put on my work out gear and put him in the bouncy while I walk on the treadmill
B.  Slowly sip my coffee and watch some more TV while lounging in bed

10:00-11:15 Bottle time again or his second breakfast, and we try to have our play time or as I tell Bryan our "academics and physical education"   We usually read some books, I sing songs and make kissie noises and end with some tummy time and play mat.  He's doing great tracking his toys left and right and up and down.  He will coo and goo a bit as well!

11:30-1:30 He usually takes a nap, some days he wakes up a lot, and some days he sleeps hard.  We usually nap in the swing or in his crib for this one

1:30 Bottle time again, and I usually try to keep him awake again for awhile, but somedays we fall right back to sleep, and other days we can stay awake.  There are days when I swear his eyes have springs in them and he's awake constantly, and then there are days were he is so drowsy and sleeps tons.

4:30 Bottle time again, and we try and stay awake until Daddy gets home from work, this is the time of day I am usually watching the clock tick because I'm ready for Bryan to get home!  If Bryan's running late I usually put him in the swing and just let him chill.  He loves to be wide awake and get into his "baby trance" in there.  One day, I stopped him quickly and took him out and he stuck out his bottom lip and pouted and then cried.  It was pitiful.  I of course immediately put him back in, apparently we weren't ready to get out!!

5:30-7:30 usually a few little cat naps and time being passed back and forth between Bryan and I while we eat dinner and say "look how cute he is" or "look how sweet he is" to each other a million times...

7:30 we have another bottle...and then usually head to the bath!  he loves hanging in his bath tub and really likes it now that we're putting him down in there more, not in the sling that went over the top of it.  he's really cute in the bath!

7:30-9:00 more snuggling and napping

9:00 we have a little snack bottle, he usually only takes a couple of ounces, we rock, say our prayers, and go to bed.

We are down to just one feeding a night, and have been for a couple of weeks.  So we are going 4, 5, 6, and occasionally 7 hours between eating.  It all depends.  Last night was the first night he slept from 9:00pm to 5:00am, and it was great!  The only problem was I was awake at 11:00, 12:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00, checking on him, and just waiting for him to wake up!  I am of course hopeful for tonight, but I am realizing that you know nothing of how things will really go down when there is a baby involved!!

We're excited about snow...

well, not really.  

i was pushing my luck with these pics right at nap time.

 "mom, just put the camera away, and rock me to sleep"

it's funny how different he looks with a hat and sleepy vs no hat and awake, this was taken the same day.

I am loving being snuggled in at home with this little fella.  

One month!

Little fella hit the one month mark this week!  Crazy how it seems like we have always had him and also like it has flown by.  We had several firsts this week...

We went on a trip to the farm to see Ma, just the two of us, and we did pretty well!  I still can't lift him and the car seat, so having to get him in and out of his seat in the car is a little more trouble just because I have to disturb him and then wrap him up and run.  However, monday was 60 degrees, so it was much easier!

Bryan and I had dinner out with our friend Matt friday night at Louie's...and we both couldn't get the check fast enough to get back home to our boy.

We've gone from going out to dinner on the weekend to staying home and watching movies while we cuddle little fella.  We have watched "The Help" the past two Saturday nights, it pretty much doesn't get any more exciting than that.

trip to the farm

Ma sat and held you during our entire visit...for almost an hour and a half..you made your little whimper noises and slept pretty much the whole visit.

We laid on the floor play mat.  He didn't care about the mat or the toys, but he hung out down there anyway!

We attempted to take some naps in our crib, our ultimate goal is for him to sleep there some day (ha!), so I thought getting to know it exists might be a good idea.

we are trying to make all the PT's (and OT's for that matter...) in our life proud by doing our tummy time several times a day.  he lifted his head up pretty well this week, and even managed to get it from one side to the other.  he doesn't cry during tummy time, but he does grunt and get a smidge fussy if i push it too long.

We also had our first official bath and he liked it!  

It took forever for our little belly button to be ready for a bath.  

 diaper and pajama duty!  

he's a big help when i put all the laundry on the bed to fold and put away...

A few things I've learned the past month:
1.  Baby's rock your world...
2.  Nothing prepares you for having one, even when you think you're ready :)
3.  We talk a lot about poops and pees and even celebrate them!
4.  Bryan and I have made a good team and probably learned more about our relationship this month than the past 3 years...
5.  waking up to little eyes and sweet little sounds is pretty much the best
6.  I'm still myself, but the focus of my day to day activities has completely shifted, a good shift, but it looks nothing like it did 2 months ago.  it's the new normal...
7.  people who bring meals to new parents are heaven sent...because as bryan says "you don't have time do anything with a baby"
8.  when i think about all the cleaning, life, etc I need to tackle, I keep thinking in the phrase from the youtube video "ain't nobody got time for that!"

The stats:
You are downing 3-4 ounce bottles around every 3 hours or so during the day, you have gone 4-5 hours at night and last night was a big night because you ate at 8:30pm, 2:30am, and then 6:30am...it was beautiful!  I am so, so, so thankful.  You are sleeping in a rock and sleeper by the bed, and sleep best if swaddled really well so you don't wake yourself up. You soothe really easily most of the time, and like your pacifier.  You will only use the one that we got at the hospital, and not really a big fan of any other kind.  You are really laid back and content most of the time just looking around, but if you do fuss stop pretty quickly as soon as we pick you up.