Kidstuf’s over? but i just got back!
hey friends! if we have any left out there after not posting for like forever and ever. I do apologize..but life just keeps getting faster and faster these days. I went back to work 2 weeks ago and it’s been crazy ever since! It started with our Kidstuf volunteer celebration. it was a cool event – Chronicles of Narnia on a huge screen on the lawn – all our volunteer families were there. it was great, but a 12 hour day away from my kiddo. :( And then a really hectic Sunday where i literally got 40 minutes of sleep the Saturday night before. 40 MINUTES. what happened was that i fed Levi his 11 o’clock bottle and then was ready to turn off the tv and go to sleep when all of a sudden – there were tornado warnings on every channel. A big storm was supposed to hit the ATL somewhere between 3 and 5am- so i had to stay up all night and watch the weather. I have a new baby in the house, how am i supposed to sleep knowing that at any moment a tornado could hit and he would be in his crib a whole room away from us? Think i’m crazy? that’s okay, John did too. And the tornado didn’t hit us which was great. but by the i knew that we were safe, i had time to get in the words of Elf, “a full 40 minutes.”
And then that week we were in a mad dash for the finale show of Kidstuf. Which was amazing by the way! A great way to end the show and the season. Our team at Browns Bridge has come so far, i was really really proud. And tonight we are having the cast wrap party..at my house! It’s gonna be fun – we’ve got chicken wings and Rockband and we’re gonna watch clips from the season..it’s gonna be great.
And then literally the Hilton Head vacation countdown begins! Can’t wait!!!! On Saturday we will load up the baby and the dog and our entire family will be headed to the beach for a week. 12 grown ups, 1 baby, 2 dogs (who don’t get along) all in 1 house. Good good times ahead.
In other news on the baby front – little Levi is doing much better. Last night (drum roll please) he went 7 hours in between bottles! that’s six solid hours of sleeping ladies and gentlemen..6 WHOLE HOURS! That’s called having a life right there. That’s called we might be able to make it through this. that’s called “thank you Jesus, can we have it again tomorrow night?!!” It was such a great moment when we looked at the clock this morning and realized that our little man had finally finally slept. wow!!!
And other good things happened yesterday too..we went to the doctor and are now able to do rice cereal in every bottle which will hopefully keep his little acid reflux at bay. Yesterday all the bottles were soo much better, so we’re hoping that that will continue to improve. And the best part is that he gained a lb in a week! Last week he was 11lbs 11 ounces, this week he’s 12 lbs 8 ounces!! Crazy huh? Way to go rice cereal! So anyway, that’s our little update. I will try to post more pics, the site wasn’t letting me do it when i tried this weekend, but i’ll try again. Thanks for checking in on us!
6 weeks, 10 lbs, and a little Five Guys makes a baby smile!
Hey friends – sorry it’s been so long since our last post…but life with baby hasn’t left a lot of time for things like blogging..or sleeping..or showering. :) But i’m back with my favorite photo yet! That’s right – as you can see, Levi started smiling! isn’t it like the coolest thing you ever did see? it has like made my life! He’s so sweet. And as you can see – he’s gotten bigger too. We went to the pediatrician last Tuesday for his one month check up and found out that Levi is a full 10 lbs now! We’re very proud. Oh- AND that was the first trip that Levi and I embarked out on our own. wow – that was an adventure! Everything from figuring out how to carry a carseat with a a ten lb baby in it, to how to calm myself down when Levi was crying in the backseat and i wasn’t able to reach out to him, to how you order Chipotle burritos and carry them + baby out to the car! Not to mention some pretty serious bouncing/singing/pacifier action in the pediatrician’s office trying to comfort a hungry kiddo dangling dangerously close to bottle time waiting for the dr! Yeah – all in a day, right? Since i talked to you last we also celebrated my cousin Sara’s 24th birthday with some excellent chocolate cake and “Office” episodes. (which BTW, have been hilarious since coming back on), we’ve taken Levi to the outlets and Five Guys a couple times…which he mostly slept through, but deep down i’m sure he really enjoyed. John’s been working hard on Kidstuf vocals for the rest of the season and charts for Rethink and taxes and a million other things. And then beyond that, our main dealio has been working on getting Levi’s tummy to settle down. We’re pretty sure now that he has acid reflux, so we are trying everything to try to help him…mylicon drops, mylanta every four hours, but this week it’s gotten a lot worse. He has a hard time getting through a bottle without arching his back and screaming, he’s spitting up more and more, and he’s had some really hard cries about it. It interferes with his sleeping at night, and his schedule during the day too. So we are calling the dr on Monday to try to go to baby Zantac to help soothe his tummy woes now that we’re pretty sure that’s what it is. It’s so hard to see such a little person be in pain – but hopefully getting on Zantac will do the trick. Other than that – we’re just taking it one day at a time – 3 hours by 3 hours. I’m so glad that i have 3 more weeks off. I miss my team and Kidstuf and feeling like i have a life outside of my living room..but i’m still not ready to go back. But maybe if we get Levi’s tummy feeling better, he’ll start sleeping better…and then we’ll all be doing better. Though don’t hear me complaining – i’m loving every minute of it..and let’s face it, that baby smile makes everything worth it.
Levi is one month old!!
Can you believe that little Levi Floyd is one month old already?!! He is so amazing. Every day i am surprised at how much he changes and grows…how his face gets fuller, his eyes focus longer, his cries get more distinct. Sometimes when you talk to him, he’ll look you right in the eyes…just like soaking you all in. it’s so cool!! Levi has a very busy schedule every day – he’s gotta get his sleep on a lot, he’s gotta get his bottle on every three hours (and he likes to drink it in reeeeeeal slow), he loves chillin in his activity gym with his whale, fish and giraffe. He’s super strong – you have to keep a good grip on him cause he’ll push off with his legs or throw his head up if you’re not careful! He loves to listen to music and will visibly get upset when the music stops. He really likes bath time – hates being cold afterwards…but digs the warm water when he’s in it. He loves when you sing to him – my favorite is to sing a little ben folds “still fighting it”…especially when his tummy hurts. The funniest thing he does is sometimes when he’s lying flat in his gym, you’ll hear this piercing shriek and realize that he’s pulling his own hair! it’s hilarious cause he has no idea he’s doing it to himself! I can’t believe he’s a month old and yet it feels like he’s been here forever. Above are some new pics (cause i know that’s all you really care about anyway!). One is of him about to pull his own hair, there’s another with my favorite onesie (rockin before i was walkin) and then of course one with his Auntie Sara (notice little Syd..aka “baby #2 on her lap as well) and just some other pics that i thought you’d find cute. Hope you all have a great day – shout out to Auntie Dar and Uncle John who are reading this from their documentary trip in Isreal! Much love to you all – Holz.
I Will Not Take These Things For Granted
- Aside from being a song reference, it also describes how I’ve felt about average, ordinary, daily activities that I used to think nothing of. Like what, John? Let’s get the obvious one out of the way – SLEEP. As short as 3 weeks ago, I used to think that sleep was a given. And now, I’d throw a dance party for a 3 hour nap!
- How about the things that I’ve grown to love over time – trips to STARBUCKS to sit and read for hours on end. Now, those trips will be fewer – for real. Trips of a leisurely nature might be going into hibernation for a bit.Holly and I used to play “not it” to see who was going to stop at the store to pick up stuff for dinner – and now we play “it”. I won’t belabor the issue, but let’s just say that I’m starting to become more grateful for things that I used to think were boring necessities.
- Basically, all of my FREE TIME – how I tend to think that everything will stay the same one day to the next day – kind of like a repeating iTunes playlist. Well, I’m not going to live vicariously through anyone else, and I’m not relegating myself to becoming a houseplant – so, it’s time to put on my big boy pants – and live life.
- Levi is a great blessing to us – and I want to make sure that he grows up to know that every trip is special!
- That’s all for now – I have some pics to post, but I’m gonna wait til next time. - John
perfectionism..it’s a blessing and a curse
hey friends! so sorry it’s been like a year since we’ve written any words on here. Okay, maybe to those of you who occupy the outside world it’s been only like a week in calendar days..but i swear in baby days, it’s been at least a year! I don’t even know how to sum it up. Let’s see, since we posted last, John’s parents and brother have come and gone (and in between made the most yummy homemade spaghetti!), Easter has come and gone (the first Easter in about a decade that i didn’t work the services..totally strange!), we’ve been to the pediatrician another time (and called them about 3 others), changed formulas, dealt with more poo problems than you want to know about, ate wonderfully generous meals from Chrystina and Jayce, Tracey, Emily, and Allison..oh, and tried to incorporate every single word of Babywise and the Baby Whisperer into our daily lives. Did i mention sleep? No..and there’s a reason for that too. :) It’s really hard to believe Levi is only three weeks old today because so much has happened, but it helps to put things in perspective. It was a really challenging week..trying to set Levi into a schedule and learning how to do that. I don’t know if you know this or not, but to get a newborn to “go to sleep on their own” is like the hardest thing in the world. And the most wonderful thing ever is to have a newborn sleep on your chest..but “the books” say that if you do it now, you’ll have to do it forever. did i mention i hate the books? they really mess with my perfectionism…because i want to do everything right and the books indulge that philosophy..that there is a “right” way and that you can set bad habits into your 3 week old child…and that freaks me out!! but then my beautiful friend Angela basically told me to let it go and do the best i can and maybe put the books down. :) So i read US Weekly instead and got all caught up on Heidi and Spencer, Nicole Ritchie and how Kevin wants Britney back. So much better reading for my soul. Thanks to all of you who have called and loved on us – and anybody who wants to join in a book burning ceremony..give me a shout! Much love to you all – Holz
