week 14

here are the happenings during week 13-14 (april 21-28) in ian's life! he's officially no longer a newborn. ::sigh:: where has the time gone?!

first off: how could i have forgotten?! ian turned 3 months old last week! i just can't believe how big he has gotten! i know i've said it the last couple weeks, but the changes in him are amazing!

ian is still feeding very well. i will still say he's ebf. i mentioned earlier this week though how guilty i was about giving him formula- it was 2 oz. from one of the bottle of pre-made i was given at the hospital. i may be using the other this weekend. i need to just let it go, and remember that 4 oz. of formula isn't making a difference in my baby's life, and if i do ever need to go to formula, that doesn't make me less of a mom. i know lots of moms who feed their baby's formula because it's what they had to do- they are no less of a mom. the fact that you're feeding your baby is making you a good mom...

sleep is another issue. we're still having the problem where ian wakes up at 6 am. it's so odd considering that the 7 o'clock hour has always been ian's feeding hour. i just can't figure it out! naps are also hit or miss. i think he's just going to have to get used to crib sleeping. i'm hoping by next week we'll be in the crib completely. . . ha. regarding naps, i just need to remember the babywise rule: mom, not baby decides when naptime begins and ends. now, if ian will learn that. right now, he's upstairs very angry because i picked him up, rocked him a bit, and laid him back down.

playtime is going well too. we have a variety of activities: play mat, swing, bumbo, and floor time to name a few. ian is thisclose to rolling over! he gets so close, and that darn arm just gets in the way! maybe next week i'll be telling a different story.

this weekend we took another trip. yes, you may be thinking we're absolutely insane. husband finished his masters program last week, so as a graduation gift, i got him tickets to see the detroit redwings in the stanley cup playoffs. so, we loaded up our stuff and ian at 6 AM sunday morning and drove the 5 hours to detroit. we stopped 2 times on the way for feedings- once as soon as we crossed into michigan, and a 2nd time when we were about 15 minutes from the arena. he fell back asleep right before the game began and slept through most of the game. when we woke up, we gave him the formula, and then it was time to leave again. he slept most of the way back, and we stopped once to feed him, and so we could eat as well. then he made it back home for his last feeding and to bed. he travels really really well. lots of people stopped us at the game to ask how old he was, and were amazed that we were out with him. hello?! having a baby doesn't mean your life stops- it means your life gets better, and dave and i love sharing the things we love with our son, even if he's too young to know what's going on. i consider myself blessed. i hope i haven't cursed myself because we're traveling to ft. wayne, indiana, sans husband, but plus mother and sister in law tonight. i'm hoping husband joins us tomorrow night. we're going to the vera bradley outlet sale, and to visit husband's family. don't make fun of me for going to the outlet sale. i once thought vera was stupid too...

that's pretty much it for this week. they fly by so fast, one day just kinda runs into another... so here's the part everyone really enjoys... pictures

 

story time with ian.  we're reading Guess How Much I Love You Sweetheart Edition 

 3 month pictures.  i think he's finally realized that he's sitting on something

daddy and ian being welcomed to Michigan

 the red wings just scored a goal.  here's a photo of how ian and i reacted

family shot

because you had a bad day

today was a horrible day. i really struggled with ian today. during 45 minutes of screaming and fighting a nap, i lost it. i completely broke down. there's crying, and then there's crying, and i was crying. i hadn't cried like that since my dad told me my grandfather died. it was actually less crying and more howling. it was awful. i finally broke down and called my mother at work, it was that bad. thank the Lord for mom's- she certainly made it better. i was miserable though- what was i doing so wrong to cause ian to just wail and wail. he's so tired, why won't he nap? again, i felt like the worst mom in the world. this story ended with a wet-haired mom in a bathrobe holding her baby in her arms on her bed, and both of them sleeping for 2 hours +. i guess we needed it.

week 13 pictures

can't quite decide which toy to play with? how about all of them!

push ups during tummy time

snuggles with mommy

trying the bumbo out

McFatty Monday 2

it's week 2 of getting serious about losing baby weight... and i did just the opposite.  

for starters, the weather has been horrible this week.  ian and i were only able to get out and walk once.  this week doesn't seem like it's going to be any better.  it's low 60's right now.  i guess that shouldn't be an excuse, i should probably just layer up and get out, but i get more worried about him getting cold.  

we went on a road trip this weekend, and for us, any road trip means terrible food.  we both ate breakfast at home before we left, but once we got out on the road, there weren't many options.  every exit seems to be a mcdonald's.  not the best choice for weight loss.  we did avoid mcdonald's, but we didn't avoid taco bell and fazoli's (10 hour trip meant 2 stops- lunch and dinner).  plus, we didn't buy a single snack at a gas station stop- go us!  although the ravioli at fazoli's has less than 500 calories, so i guess i can get on board with that.  maybe.  the positive to this is that we did some walking once we got to our destination!  plus, i carried ian in the bjorn the entire time, it's practically like walking with weights...  even better, i didn't eat anything once we got back home- go me!

i can't figure out if i'm just trying to make myself feel better- or if this is all really good stuff...

so i won't be weighed again for another 2 weeks, so i don't have any weight progress to share.  sometimes i feel like i look smaller, but i don't know that i'm any closer to fitting into my old pants, or anything for that matter.


let me go a different direction though.  let's talk about stretch marks.  they are a pregnant and post-pregnant gal's worst enemy.  i tried my best to be diligent about rubbing cocoa butter on my belly and everywhere else throughout my entire pregnancy.  i succeeded with the belly part.  i remember my ob putting the gel on my belly at one of my last appointments so we could listen with the doppler... she said, 

"oh, wow, you've made it this far, and you don't have any stretch marks"


and i replied, "not really, you just can't see the places where i have my stretch marks."


so, here i am nearly 14 weeks post partum, and with stretch marks abound.  they cover my thighs, my entire thigh is a stretch mark.  i do have a few on my right side, and then on each of my calves.  so some people might say i'm lucky to have them in those places and not my belly.  i strongly disagree- i mean, i don't show my belly everyday when i go out in public- but i do wear skirts and dresses, and dare i say, shorts in the summer- people are going to see my legs.  i mean, how am i going to wear a swimsuit again?!?!


so a few weeks ago, i picked up some Bio Oil after seeing it in a magazine.  it's a tiny bottle of peach-colored oil that has a bazillion uses, but i am going to use it for stretch marks.  basically, i rub it into my stretch marks 2 times a day for 3 months, and they should be visibly reduced.  i'm not doing it twice a day every day, but i'm doing it as often as i feel i have time- and you know what, i think i already see a difference.  i thought about doing before and after photos, but i don't know if i'm brave enough to photograph my inner thigh...  so, there's nothing i can say for bio oil yet, but i will report back on it when ian is about 6 months old!


here's to a better week of eating right and exercising.  we're going out of town again this weekend, but i'm going to try to be better!!

also, i'm not a paid spokesperson for bio oil! 

what a crazy weekend...  more on that later

so crazy, that i gave ian formula today.

i feel so guilty.

:(

week 13

here are the events from week 12-13 in ian's life (april 14-21).

this week has pretty much been a lot of the same from last week. still working on new introductions into ian's life. we're still working with getting him to sleep in the crib- he's taking pretty much every nap in the crib now! we'll be in there full time before we know it! this is pretty darn sad- he won't be right next to me anymore- also, when he fusses for his pacifier at 5 AM, we now have to leave the room!

ian is still doing well with tummy time- sometimes he's interesting in pushing himself up, and sometimes he just likes to do nothing! he also looks like he's trying to roll himself over sometimes- but i still think it's going to be little longer.

we're also still using the bumbo- not too much progress yet.

friday, ian and i took a trip to old navy for stuff and save. we were with the first 50 in line- so we got 50% off! i got some really cute stuff for ian (and for me too, duh) to wear later this summer- i can't wait! old navy definitely doesn't have the greatest stuff, but for 50% off, i think i can make it work! plus, if it tears up after a few washes, i'm not out a lot of cash!

saturday, we went to chuck's house for dave to start beer making. i got him a beer making kit for valentine's day 2008, and he finally got around to using it! ian wasn't too interested in the beer making process, he just wanted to sleep and eat!

ian has been pretty fussy this week, so i've been very frustrated. it seems everything i do causes him to cry- putting him in his crib, his swing, the car seat, etc. and now instead of sleeping in the car seat, he prefers to just cry for an entire 30 minute trip, and then as soon as we get to where we're going stop. i think he just wants me to look like a fool... oh, i hope this is a phase.

we went to the pediatrician on monday. ian is 11 lbs, 8 oz and 24". still in the 25th% for weight, but she didn't tell me about height. we got a rx for a stronger ointment for ian's eczema- everything he touched was breaking him out this week. after laying on the wax paper in the office his entire back broke out! the pediatrician didn't seem worried, which made me a little frustrated, but i'm starting to learn that this seems to be what doctors do... the doctor says we will start cereal next month, but i've heard a lot of conflicting views. my lactation consultant says i should wait because of the eczema... oh, what to do!?

i will again have to post pictures later because husband's computer has all our photos on it, and it refuses to connect to the internet...

ugh

i have felt like a failure as a mom this week. i certainly hope that feeling is normal. i just have felt at some times this week that ian and i are not connecting, that he'd rather be with anyone but me. it's a sad, lonely feeling. i think part of it come from spending so much time with him, and not always having time for myself, but that's hard because i find it difficult to be away from him. he needs me, doesn't he? who can take care of him better than his mommy?

i am praying for peace this week- that the Lord will give me peace about when i am away from ian- that i don't feel guilty. that i can let go, and let others lend a hand. that i won't see ian's tears and believe that they're because of my shortcomings. Lord, please. give me peace.

things i've learned about motherhood #73

after having a baby, you will never need another excuse to get you out of jury duty!

(hoping i don't find myself in jail for not showing up for jury duty in fulton county today- but i do have a baby, AND i don't live there anymore)!

McFatty Monday 1

i have decided to join Heir to Blair in her mcfatty monday campaign. this is perfect for me considering i'm already a "mcf" myself! so the point of mcfatty monday is to talk about my weight loss goals for losing my baby weight, etc.

here's me the day before giving birth:


this is what craving candy, pizza and pasta will do to you when you're 5'1". in the end i had gained 45 lbs, and i had already thought myself to be overweight for my small frame before giving birth. of course, now anytime i see a picture of me from before giving birth, i can't help but think i really was small...

when i went back for my 6 week post-partum check up, i had lost 26 lbs. when we were at my parents house, the scale said i had lost another 3 lbs. our scale at the house is broken, so i will not be weighing myself again until my yearly ob appointment, which is another 3 weeks away. i like not having a scale because i don't constantly obsess over what i weigh, but at the same time, i can't keep track of my weight and know what i'm doing. i think i prefer not obsessing.

so i'm 29 lbs down. 16 lbs to go to my pre-baby weight, and 26 lbs to my goal weight. if i want to really stretch it, 36 lbs. that's probably a little much, so i'm going to stick with 26 lbs.

so, i'm trying to eat better, but it's just so hard. i have quite a sweet tooth. i love treats!! it's so hard to not want a treat every night!! we do eat out a lot less now that i've given birth because i'm not always craving pizza, and because i didn't cook much when i was pregnant. now i have my love for cooking back, and i'm cooking at least 2-3 meals a week (most meals give us at least 1 night of leftovers). so i know i'm eating better, and i'm trying to avoid that need for sweets by filling it with fruit, or yogurt instead.

i'm also lazy (weight loss is going to be a battle, i feel it). when i took ballet, i stayed really thin, and when i was cheering i was thin, but the minute i stopped those, i didn't really work out anymore. i hate running, and i can't keep up with a regimen for more than a few weeks it seems. i've tried pilates, jillian michael's 30 minute shred- nothing keeps my interest. i'm hoping to start cycling soon, and we're going for walks with ian when it's warm outside (spring is so fickle, we've only been able to have him out a handful of times).

so i don't have a definite plan, but now i've called myself out in front of the blogging world. i will work out, i will lose the baby weight, and i will be a hot mom!

more next monday!

week 12

here's what happened during week 11-12 (week 12) in ian's life. april 7-14.

ian is 12 weeks! still another week until he's 3 months old! i can't believe the time has gone by so fast!!!

the week started out pretty crazy. ian was having a hard time adjusting to life back in chicago. i thought he wouldn't notice the time change- but he did. he spent the majority of the week waking up during the 6 am hour local time (7 am in atlanta). i guess next time we go out of time zone we will stick with OUR time because i didn't think i'd ever get him back to sleeping until 7 or later. we did pretty good though b\c we managed to get him back to sleep every time w\o having to feed him- so he's now back on his regular schedule!

speaking of feeding- i've cut back feeding to 10 minutes per side, sometimes he goes more, but mostly he's at 10 minutes per side.

lots of new adventures this week!

1. sleeping in his own crib- i have started moving ian into his crib for naps. we're slowly working our way to sleeping there all the time, but we're not quite there. he's doing pretty good though- i think he'll only get better.

2. independent playtime- i've stopped hovering over ian while he has his playtime and letting him play on his own. this means i can fold laundry, start dinner, or take care of other things while he plays and i watch him. i think this will help when he gets older because he won't always have to have me or someone else around to play with. he doesn't seem to mind- he pretty much enjoys doing his own thing while playing anyway.

3. bumbo chair- we introduced the bumbo chair this week. ian can't quite hold himself up in it completely, but if we sit near him he does pretty well. he only seems to like sitting in there for about 5 minutes though.

4. we're back in the swaddle pod. ian was just moving around so much, and the pod seemed to be the only thing that calmed him down. he's doing a lot better with it this time around- sleeping through the night, instead of waking up in the middle of the night fussy.

ian just seems to be growing and changing so much. he's cooing more and more, even laughing a little. smiling like crazy, and discovering more and more while he's playing! i love it!

oh, we also went to chuck e. cheese this week for my niece's 11th birthday. man, that place is ridiculous, but i have a feeling we will be seeing more of it in the next decade. kids have no regard for babies, i'll say that much.

here are the pictures from this week (my favorite part)!

here's ian and me at chuck e. cheese... where a baby can be a baby

playing at grammie's house

last nhl regular season game. detroit red wings vs. chicago black hawks. go wings! we cheer against the home team. btw, aren't his eye lashes to DIE for!

aww, shucks

aww, i received an award from a little green birdhouse! it's so nice to be thought of, and even nicer to know that people do read my blog! i also love her blog because she's a new mommy like me, and it's nice to know you aren't alone!

so you're supposed to post 7 fun facts about yourself. link back to the award giver. and give your own award(s). i really can't think of 7 fun facts about myself, but i'll try.

1. i love sports. pretty much all of them. i love watching baseball, college and pro football and hockey. i'm not really into basketball. i'm pretty sure i wooed my husband by having him name a city and the sport, and me naming the team mascot.

2. i have no idea what i want to do for a living. i have lots of interests, but nothing that i think i could do for the rest of my life- i guess i'm constantly craving changes. i've wanted to be about 100 different things. it makes me feel irresponsible.

3. i love to eat and i love trying new foods. before we moved to chicago, husband and i were on the "atlanta restaurant tour" with our friends jess & jay. we left too many restaurants on the list!

4. i love tcm, and i love classic movies. so much that i don't have much interest in movies that come out in the present. my favorite: gone with the wind, and audrey hepburn films.

5. i just saw on facebook that my former boss just participated in atlanta's great urban race. i checked it out, and now i'd really like to participate in chicago's race in july.

6. my mother-in-law got me hooked on vera bradley bags. i'm almost embarrassed to say that. i used to think they were hideous and now i love them. i'm going to the outlet sale for a 2nd time in 2 weeks.

7. my husband and i have been married for almost 3 years and together for 8 years. during the time we were dating we lived apart (me in atlanta, him in chicago) with the exception of 2 summers, and the last 2 months before we were married. we also split up twice- once initiated by him and then by me. we got back together for good after my grandfather died and he immediately flew down just for the funeral to be by my side. i realized then that he would always be there for me. thanks, granddaddy.

geez, it took forever to think of those things... so i'm tired as the funk now, and i'm going to nominate:

Wonderfully Random! K was in my 8th grade class with crazy mrs. cooper, so i've known her for quite a while. now she's expecting her first baby, a girl, in september. i think she'll be a wonderful mommy! she's also a wiener dog mommy, although i think her wd is much more behaved than ours.

week 11 photos

i failed to mention in the week 11 update that we took ian to see the easter bunny. as you can tell, he did really well. he's wearing an outfit with bunny feet. i'm not even sure he knows that he's being held by a giant bunny. he was too worried about perfecting his "blue steel" look. did i mention that i'm the one who cried?

"the pregnancy pact"
brittany & navey, rebecca & olivia, mandy & ryan, wendy & "mav", me & ian, christi & landon

dad time
ryan & landon, joel & olivia, kenny & "the mav", nick & ryan, jason & navey, dave & ian

my mom and ian. that's a pretty interesting position he's in!

my dad and ian. my dad is probably telling ian he should be wearing something georgia

easter sunday. my parents yard was the perfect setting for pictures

handsome boy in his easter vest

the varsity, of course!

one cool dude cheering on the braves!

will you marry me?

april 14, 2007... he asked, i said yes.

and they lived happily ever after.
not the end.

heading home (trip to atlanta pt. 4- monday)

the weekend was over before i knew it, and it was time to leave. we got up, fed ian, let my cousin love on him while we packed the car and finished getting ready. then it was time to hit the road. we stopped by my mom's office on the way out so she could tell ian goodbye, and then it was on to atlanta. we made our first stop in grant park, to have lunch with our friends tiffany and tony and their daughter, kaley (their son Carter also was there, but in utero) and our friend Lyn and her daughter, ava. ian slept through most of lunch, but finally woke up just in time to be held!

after we bid our dear friends farewell, we headed to the westside to check on "our house." it is always sad to go because it really isn't ours anymore. of course, when we got there we discovered we didn't have a key to get in (this happened last time we were in town)... i did have my mail key and retrieved the 800 lbs of junk mail, mail that the postman put in our box that didn't belong to us (our poor neighbor is 4 months behind on their insurance probably), and the random things that the post office decides not to forward (you know, important things like our property tax bill, and my jury summons). so we drove away, possibly for the last time. :(

off to the braves game. i didn't realize how stinkin' hot it was- 90+ degrees and a baby- not a good idea. we met my brother, and his friends nic, justin, jenna and audra. i had to sit in the car with ian, with the a/c blasting until we decided to go to our seats. as soon as we got there, i was exhausted- 400 level + 90 degrees + baby on your belly = not a good idea (again). dave informed me if i was ready to go, we could go! we made it through 5 innings and by that time ian had woken up and had his bottle and dave was spitting nails because the cubs stink. go braves! we met my bro on the lower level, said goodbye and we were off.

we made our final stop in ringgold and had dinner with friends heath, april and josh. we stayed too long, but had a blast and then hit the road. the rest i won't go into too much detail with- a long drive back, and me thinking i was going to divorce or kill the love of my life if he made one more stop "to rest" that was not a hotel (we never did). we finally got home around 10 the next morning, bathed the baby and ourselves and slept, and slept, and slept...

i hope i'm back to georgia again... sooner, not later.

easter sunday (trip to atlanta pt. 3)

last sunday was easter, and we were getting all gussied up for church. sadly, in the 11 weeks of my son's life we had not taken him to church once. in the beginning we were just too tired from waking up 2x or more a night, but he's been sleeping through the night now for going on 7 weeks (6 at easter). the one time we attempted to go to church (we usually went on saturday), we were never going to make it on time. plus, dave plays hockey on sunday, and they always have games at 9 AM (lame) or 2 PM. plus, with his gma being sick, we've spent a lot of sunday's in lincoln. i also don't really like the church we go to- i just can't get into the "mega-church" (come on, i already have about 2 friends up here, so like i want to go to a church with 10,000+ people where no one there knows that i even exist). these probably aren't good excuses, but that's what we have.

so, we finally made it to church. i woke, fed ian, got him dressed, and was forced to hand him over to my parents so he could go to sunday school. they just wanted to show him off, and i can't blame them because he is a cutie! he was quite dapper in his little easter outfit! this was nice, though, because it gave me time to eat, shower and dress myself without having to worry about what ian was doing, and whether he was going to wake up as soon as i turned the water on. we looked quite nice, husband and i. he gave me permission to buy a new easter dress because having a baby gives you a built-in excuse: "i can't wear any of my other dresses, so i need a new one." i got a pretty awesome dress, and then decided i needed a cardigan because i didn't realize they made strapless nursing bras until just now, and even still, i'm not sure that's a look that my boobs could really rock... i also got a belt, but a word to the post partum: you must even try on a belt before you buy it or you'll find yourself on easter morning trying to strap a s/m belt around your waist, when you really needed a l/xl, and then you want to cry because you're a fatty, but it's really because you just had a baby...

so we went to church (we were there early- omg). i don't remember much about the actual sermon. i had to take ian out halfway through the service to feed him, and then i attempted to get him to sleep the rest of the time. he made his way from my brother all the way down to my dad before it was over. afterward, i chatted with friends and people i knew, and listened to them tell me how cute my son is (duh), and i watched my brother's skank of an ex girlfriend like a hawk to make sure she didn't get her dirty mitts on my son (she didn't- she is probably afraid of me now because she hopefully knows how much i want to injure her for having her be in my wedding because she was like a sister to me, only to have her dump my brother a few months later- i have trouble letting things go).

after church, we headed home, had some family pictures made (it was a beautiful day, and the cherry trees in my parents' yard were amazing), and sat down to a delicious easter dinner. i napped for a bit, while dave worked on his school project (only 2 weeks left and he will have a masters degree- thank the Lord it'll be over). after we woke up, we were all trying to figure out what to do for dinner. my dad's cousin, jimmie has been staying with us, and as a former atlantan, she knows what's good, so we decided we'd head to the varsity for dinner. that place may kill me one day with its grease and whatnot, but it will be so worth it. chili dogs and frosted orange, i love you! once we got home it was sad time, which meant, time to start packing. i let everyone else have their cuddles with ian, and we got our suitcases packed, and put what we could in the car. i don't think ian could've had a better first easter!

week 11

here's what happened during week 10-11 in ian's life!

i ran around like a crazy woman packing for our trip to atlanta. if i thought it was bad packing myself, try packing a baby for a 12+ hour trip! we had a suitcase for me and husband, one for baby, a bag full of bottles, the pump, the bed, easter stuff, and who knows what else. i felt relieved that we would be leaving some of the stuff in atlanta, but we have such sweet friends and family that we ended up coming back with more than we left with!!!

ian traveled very well. we stopped 2x to feed on the way down. he was so good with all my family and friends. he did really well for pictures. he did really well at his first trip with mommy and daddy to church (bad, bad mommy and daddy- seriously, my son is 10 weeks old and this is his first trip to church- but husband does play hockey on sunday mornings which is ridiculous).

the easter bunny spoiled ian rotten!

mommy & daddy thought it would be fun to take ian to opening day for his first braves game (or as daddy would say, cubs game). let's just say it wasn't a great idea. it was 90 degrees. so i sat with ian in the running car in the parking lot until we decided to go in. by the time out of shape mommy climbed the stairs to our seats, with baby on her belly in the baby bjorn, she was ready to leave! ian was passed out though, so we watched 5 innings, and called it a game (daddy was mad anyways b\c the cubs were getting their butts whooped)!

we made a pit stop in ringgold to see friends and then headed back. mommy thought her marriage was going to end early on the way back. mommy was so devastatingly tired she just wanted to sleep in a hotel, and daddy just wanted to make catnap stops every 2-3 hours. but luckily, all was salvaged, and we did make it back in once piece- and still very happily married!

this is one of the first times i can say i've reallly started to notice changes in ian. of course he's different from when he was born, but i felt i could really tell a difference. for starters, he seemed like he's grown a lot. i'm guessing he's close to 12 lbs now, which is almost double his birth weight, his eyes are turning bluer, and his hair is really growing and is getting darker. plus, i've noticed developmental changes. still no laughs, still doesn't seem ready to roll over, but he is now really noticing some of his toys, and he seems to grab at things with a purpose instead of just batting at them.

ian is still sleeping well (except that now he seems to be waking up at 7:30 am EASTERN time (not good for us). i'm hoping that he gets back on central time very soon! ian is also still eating very well. i'm so happy to say that i'm still breastfeeding, and it is still an amazing and very bonding thing. plus, it's easy, cheap and convenient!

we are still experimenting with different sleeping "aids" for ian. whether to just use the sleep sack, let him sleep just in his pj's or to use the swaddle pod. he's become very active with his legs, and he tends to pick both of them up, and then slam them down, which doesn't help him to sleep. i am also planning on extending his nighttime sleep for next week (week 12), and we are going to start transitioning ian into his own room. mommy and daddy need alone time sometimes! also on the agenda: i am planning on shortening nursing time (he has already started to show signs that it's time to), more independent play time, and i want to introduce his bumbo seat. big week coming up!!

i will have a bunch of pictures that i put up for our trip and this week, if i ever get around to it. we've been super-tired since we've gotten back!

(trip to atlanta, pt. 2, saturday)

saturday wasn't quite so busy for us, which was nice. we all loaded up and headed into olde town conyers for family photos (by the way we went with option 1 for the pictures- except that my mom had gotten ian some jeans, so he wore those). they went really well. we did pictures with the 3 of us, and my parents, then we did some with my grandparents, and then we did some with just the 3 of us. ian started to get fussy while we were doing the pictures with just us, so we called it a day.

dave and i had an appointment at 2:00 to get our taxes finished, so we let ian go back to the house with my parents. we discovered on the way out that we were going to be super-early, so we made a stop at chick-fil-a. yummy. i can't get enough of that place! strawberry milkshake- i love you!

as soon as we arrived to get our taxes done we had good news! instead of a mistake that had us owing the gov't $4k, we were actually getting refunds from the feds and the state of illinois- only owing georgia! whoo hoo! this was especially good news because while i was a nanny we saved money for tax purposes, and we get to keep all of it! it will be nice to have some cushion around with all our ridiculous hospital bills (thanks, insurance).

when we got home we napped and then we watched basketball. unfortunately, michigan state lost, so we were a little bummed. we decided shortly after to call it a night because we were so exhausted!

so perhaps a boring day, but nice and relaxing. i didn't even see ian too much, he was being hogged by the relatives- but i didn't mind for their sake!!

i promise, photos later... our other computer isn't working, so i can't get them up!!

we're baaaaack (trip to atlanta pt. 1- friday)

well, our weekend in Georgia was just as i expected it to be- wonderful, and too short. i can't say i'm glad to be home, but after sharing ian with everyone all weekend, and hardly holding him- it's nice to have him all to myself again!! it was almost like i didn't have a baby for a few days!

the drive down went really well. i had mostly everything in the car by the time Dave was home from work, so i fed ian, while he went and gassed up the car. we left around 4:45, which was still later than expected. we had to make 5 stops total- 2 for feedings, which only took 45 minutes a piece (we also got gas both times, and had dinner during one stop), 1 for a husband bathroom break, and for me to drive (i drove from nashville to ringgold), 1 for gas and to switch driving again, and the requisite chick-fil-a stop once we were in conyers.

ian still slept through the night, falling asleep at his usual time, and waking up at his usual time (although both times were technically an hour earlier because of time zone change). we got to my parents' house around 7 am (only a 14 hour trip total) and we set ian's bed up and put it in my parents' room- i fed him, and they put ian down (after some long-awaited snuggles, of course) while dave & i took a much-needed nap. my mom brought ian to me for his next feeding, which we of course fell asleep during! when we finally finished, we threw some clothes on and went to eat at mad dog's. mmm. mad dog's was the first job i ever had besides babysitting, and i still love to eat there, and visit. we got to show ian off to jerry & pat, and wendy & kenny showed up while we were eating too. once we got back home, i fed ian again, and it was time to get ready for our party!

my parents threw us a party so that all my friends (and family too) could meet ian! my grandparents and my dad's cousin, jimmie were staying with us for the weekend and they arrived early to see ian. we had a really good crowd- probably about 40 people. and lots of babies too! 6 total, with the oldest being 6 months, and the youngest being ian, at nearly 3 months. it was really nice! ian was held by just about everyone, and i got to hold all the other babies too- it was a preview of what was to come for ian- and he is going to get heavy!!

as the crowd thinned out we sat around and chatted with friends and just caught up, it was a wonderful evening!! i hope to have some pictures up tomorrow!!

oh, atlanta!

Same old place, same old city.What can I do? I'm falling in love.I'm just an old hound dog
Roaming around, Lord, Lord.I've got all this and heaven above.
Oh, Atlanta I hear you calling.I'm coming back to you one fine day.
No need to worry there ain't no hurry.'Cause I'm on my way back to Georgia
I've get a feeling in me when I remember.All those crazy days and crazier nights
Can't you hear the music playing?You must have heard them saying
We're gonna rip 'em up and light up the night.
Oh, Atlanta I hear you calling.I'm coming back to you one fine day
No need to worry, make no hurry.'Cause I'm on my way back to Georgia
On my way back to Georgia.

t-minus 6 hours until we leave for georgia. to say i'm excited would be an understatement...

have a beautiful easter weekend!