Month: April 2009

Happy Birthday Rob!

My new website is complete! Wade has worked really hard for the past week and everything except the book list page is finished. I love the new look! The eye burning green (depending on your monitor) is now gone.

Wade and I joined the YMCA. Wade was excited because Nate and Amy belong and the Y has raquetball courts. I was excited because they have kidcare. Then I learned for a child under 1 year of age you have to make a reservation 24 hours in advance. Bummer! Now I have to actually plan ahead to work out and can’t vary my times based on Alex’s schedule. Oh well, we’ve been going for two weeks and it is working out fine.

In other news, I have decided facebook wouldn’t be half as much fun without an iPhone. I joined a while ago and did nothing but read other people’s status updates until a few months ago. Now that I can update my status, comment, and upload pictures all from my iPhone I check it all the time. It’s a great way to pass time standing in line, feeding Alex, driving down the road (kidding), etc.
Don’t worry grandparents – here is a picture of Alex for you. Wade refers to Alex in this outfit as a yetti.

Wade was playing around with his camera and new lens. Alex and I were the subjects:

10.5 weeks

Note about the updated look: We had our first internet outage ever yesterday and Wade wasn’t able to finish the update. He should take care of it today and then it will take a day or two to transition.

It occurred to me that I never take pictures of Alex as I most often see him.
1.) Swaddled – he loves it!

2.) Bandit – Wade’s preferred method of keeping the pacifier in it’s place.

Of course Alex can’t walk yet and most of his clothes have footies in them. The few outfits that leave his feet bare are fun to pair with tiny shoes:

The shoes on the right were a gift from Nate and Amy. Making the shoes more special – they were handmade by Amy. You can see more and even buy them here.

Alex had an awesome night (which means I did too). He took a bottle last night at 7 pm, went to sleep at 8:30 pm, and didn’t wake up till 2:30 am. He had a bottle, went right back to sleep, and slept till 5:30 am. Then he shocked me and went back to sleep again and didn’t wake up till 7:30. Normally, the closer we get to sunrise the harder it is to get him back to sleep after his bottle. I got him dressed and ready for kidcare at the YMCA:

After a shower for myself, I got everybody loaded into the car for a trip to the dog park:

Madison enjoyed swimming in the creek and even ventured to the other side to chase birds:

We walked and played for an hour or so:

Then we got home just in time for a bottle. The temperature today was around 80 and Alex got quite hot in the carrier and then his car seat. By the time we got home he was quite warm and needed to cool down a little:

Then I got him ready for his afternoon (and first real) nap:

Wade came home just in time to feed Alex while I cooked dinner for the Hoiums:

We ate dinner with Mike and Carissa and supervised Emelia and Alex’s first date:

We ended the evening with a walk around the block where we ran into Nate and Amy (crazy small big town):

Happy Birthday Marshall!!

Happy Birthday Steven!!

Alex and I were on the go all day. We went to work out, to look at a jogging stroller, and grab lunch for me. He seemed to enjoy his car seat (thank goodness):

The we met up with Maren and Elise for a visit to The Domes. That has been on my list since we moved here, but I’ve never quite gotten around to it. I loved the “Floral Show Dome” and can’t wait to take Wade.

Alex slept through most of the outing, but maybe that was for the best…

Happy Birthday Cori!!

I’m going to have an entire week of celebrating my birthday. I don’t mind at all when people are late with my gifts. In the past few days I have gotten a radio for my office (red of course), a dutch oven (also red), glasses, and money!

Now for a typical Holly story. I ran into Target on Monday (my actual birthday) and there was a huge display of “Spring” oreos. I had been really good and not bought oreos for several weeks. I took the display as a sign. I looked over the packaging carefully to make sure the oreos were not double stuff. (More on my luck with double stuff here) I got home, opened the package, and realized they were double stuff! They should really put that on the packaging. Wade generously offered to eat them for me, but I told him I could handle it.

Today started for us around 6 am:

And asleep again by 9 am:

I may just follow in his footsteps.

It doesn’t feel like I turned 30 today, but that’s okay with me. Today was a nice, relaxing day. Alex and I went to work out (more on the YMCA in a later post) and then he took a really long nap. Wade came home from work and took us out for Mexican. My current favorite restuarant is Habanero’s – we probably go once every few weeks, but we always have the same waiter. How cool that he remembers us and he did after our very first visit the week Alex was born.
But now on to the presents. I got lots of goodies (keyboard, clothes, dishes, USB memory stick,etc.), but my favorite gift was from Wade and it is definitely a labor of love. My blog is getting an update! Next Monday I should have an entirely new look to my site. Wade worked feverishly all weekend after the person he hired flaked out. He told me to give him a deadline so he’d be sure to complete it. I can’t wait!!!
And now of course a picture of Alex:

Alex and I started the day very early – 4 am. Evidently he had had enough sleep. I had not. There were no excuses for missing church so Alex got ready first and then had to wait on Wade and I:

We weren’t too surprised to find Alex fast asleep when we picked him up in the nursery (he had been awake since 4 am). Wade and I decided to take advantage and opted to eat lunch out and make a quick run to the mall:

My birthday is tomorrow, but we went out tonight. It’s amazing how much planning now goes into an evening of just Wade and I. Amy and Nate agreed to watch Alex while Wade and I tried out a new restaurant, Swig. We both enjoyed the food and the time alone together.

It turns out Alex was not on his best behavior with Nate and Amy. It doesn’t sound like he had a meltdown, but he was definitely fussy for the entire time. Thanks for babysitting – we’ll be happy to return the favor when you have kids. Kudos for using the cloth diapers!

If only Alex could decide:

I decided I wasn’t quite ready to get up this morning so everyone ended up in bed with me:

We finally have some good weather in Milwaukee – high of 60 today. Alex does really well when we are moving so we went out for a walk:

He slept the entire time we were out and woke up the minute we got home – darn it!

I had to get Alex and I ready quite early this morning (in my opinion anyway). Madison was boarded over the weekend and needed to be picked up by 11. I got her home and she proceeded to sleep the day away:

Next we had Alex’s 2 month doctor appointment. I was quite shocked to learn he weighs 10 pounds, 3 ounces. We had all been guessing 8 to 9 pounds. He also got three shots and was not too happy about that! The good news is he slept like a dream and really had a great day overall:

Of course the day started off with Easter Baskets. My mom even dressed Alex to match his basket:

Melissa’s gift was a tummy time mat:

It was quite a chore, but we all got ready for church and arrived on time. Alex stayed in the nursery and apparently did quite well. We came home and took the obligatory pictures:

My Grandmother and Great Aunt Eva Nell joined us for Easter lunch:

And what is Easter without some bunny pictures? It took us a while to get a good picture. I think my favorite is the second one. The progression:

I woke up at 6:30 am feeling wonderfully refreshed. I ventured downstairs to find my Mom rocking Alex. He had his second night with a 5 hour and a 4 hour stretch. Thank goodness! I had been worried he would cry all night and she wouldn’t come get us.

We spent most of the day at Granny and Papa’s. Judy, Jerry, and Emily all drove in for the weekend too.

It seems everyone was asleep before too long:

Jerry decided Alex would be more comfortable in his arms and even managed to get a smile:

After lunch it was back to my Mom’s house for more visits. Dabney stopped by and then Leigh, Carolyn, Jay, Mary Ann, and Buddy:

Laura cooked dinner for everyone at my Dad’s house. Guy and Sonya had driven to Nashville, but Grant and Christy were able to join us:

My Mom is offering to watch Alex for a second night and Wade and I are taking advantage. Off to bed for an early night again!!

Happy Birthday Ben!!

This trip to Paducah is going to be full of visits, people, and pictures. Alex made the 8+ hour drive wonderfully yesterday. He slept the entire way and only woke up to eat. We arrived in time for dinner with my Dad, Laura, Sonya, Guy, Grant, Christy, and Ken. We stayed the night at Dad’s house and Alex slept through the night for the first time (meaning a 5 hour stretch between feedings). Guy gave us an orchid (he has a green house full) and it is gorgeous!

After breakfast we drove to Mom’s house and let her have a few hours of “Alex time”. Before driving to see my Grandmother we stopped at El Chico (my all time favorite restaurant). Alex did okay for the beginning of our visit and then the colic showed up. We were able to get a few pictures before complete meltdown.
My Mother, Grandmother, and Alex:

My Aunt Beverly and Great Aunt Eva Nell also came to visit:

Amy came by after we were back at Mom’s house. It’s too bad she doesn’t live closer. She offered to babysit even when he is screaming:

Melissa arrived just in time for a bottle and before Alex’s evening meltdown:

My Mom has offered to keep Alex in her room tonight so Wade and I are headed to bed at 9 pm. Full night of sleep here I come!

After starting our window replacement last September, it is now complete. Curtis replaced the dining room windows with clear glass (the leading was not what we had expected), switched the hardware for white, and stained the trim in the kitchen.

Wade continues to be industrious and added foot rests to the kitchen island. Wade has a knack for keeping items that come in very handy. The foot rests were actually handrails we removed from the shower in the old bathroom at our house in Anderson when we remodeled the pink and blue bathroom.

Alex is 8 weeks old today and just wearing his first 3 month clothing. The newborn sizes still fit, but I was getting tired of the same outfits all the time. At least now we have quite a variety.

In other news, I took Alex to the doctor and she confirmed that he has colic. Not just normal colic, but an abnormal presentation of colic. (But when is anything about us normal?) Most of the time colic means periods of fussiness and crying with no cause and no cure. However, normally the periods of time are very regular. My doctor said her son’s always lasted from 8:30 pm to 10:05 pm. Alex basically has a good 24 hours and then a bad 24 hours (or any variation thereof). The good news is it should disappear at 3 months and he is 2 months old today. Poor little guy (and poor mom and dad).

My neighbor, Amber, asked me if I would like to join her for a trip to see the Easter Bunny. I hadn’t planned on taking Alex, but I loved the idea. I figured we would attempt a trip out and see how Alex did. Amber’s son, Abram, was in constant motion and had fun rocking Alex for me:

Alex slept all the way through it – thank goodness!

Alex didn’t have such a good day today (or maybe it was me that didn’t have a good day). Obviously his little system is struggling. We’re not sure if it is gas or acid reflux, but Alex is miserable. When the little guy isn’t sleeping, he is screaming. Daddy was able to soothe him with a bottle:

And then we went to meet Emelia Hoium. I’m sure she and Alex will be good friends:

Alex has his best time in the mornings so today we played:

And then he was happy again this afternoon:

On a side note, I am loving the cloth diapers. This one is by blueberry: