father's day/5 months/braves game

man, what a busy week!

last sunday was father's day and ian turned 5 months old!!

i <3 fluffy buns

wednesday we went to the braves/sox game for my birthday.  the 30 mile trip to the southside took 3 hours.  the ike was flooded and backed up both ways, tornado sirens were going off.  it was ridiculous.  we miraculously made it in as the national anthem was being sung.  the braves lost.  :(

the only redeeming thing about us cellular: views of the chicago skyline.

booooo, white sox!

snuggles with daddy- braves fan for a night!

what a fun week!  we are looking forward to our next trip to atlanta this friday!!!

also, ian is in a beautiful baby contest.  please vote for him here!

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.

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!