quick weekend at home

we've had a break in the cold weather here in eastern nc, and our little family has tried to soak up the fresh air as much as possible!

davis has gotten to spend some time outside during the day, too, at his grandma's, but i loved getting a chance to photograph him in some natural light (even if he was really tired and about ready to start his bedtime routine.)

friday night, he and i headed to fayetteville so that we could go to my cousin katie's baby shower on saturday. we've learned that driving at night while he's supposed to be sleeping is the easiest way to make the trip. though he woke up as we were coming in to fayetteville and was up for a good hour or so before he would go back to sleep. my mom didn't mind it, though, and she enjoyed getting to spend some time with him this weekend.

after the shower on saturday (where he was a huge hit--nothing livens up a baby shower like a baby :) ), we went out to the backyard at my mom's house and enjoyed the sunshine.
i cannot wait to do this every day! it felt so good to soak up some rays and enjoy the fresh air.
had to get a picture of his lashes--it kills me how long they are!
after dinner last night, we got davis ready for bed again and put him in the car. unfortunately, he woke up as we were strapping him in and we decided i'd just drive and he'd eventually fall asleep. well, about half an hour later, he was still screaming and i realized he was probably hungry at this point. so i had to stop and pull into the parking lot of a highway motel and feed him. i know it wasn't the safest decision, but i couldn't drive any longer with him crying and it just seemed like the only option. after he was fed, it was only a few miles down 95 and he was asleep. i just don't think that would've happened if he didn't get a little something in his stomach. i just get so stressed out when he cries on and on in the car, and i'm driving and can't do anything about it. that's been the worst "mom" feeling so far... anyone else have crazy stories about trying to drive with kids in the car?

after such a crazy evening, he slept well last night, from 10 until 4:30 and then until 7:15 or so. he woke up happy and entertaining himself by popping his lips (a new skill he's just picked up) and letting some gas out :) we had a great morning at church and enjoyed a lazy sunday afternoon.

(he scratched his face today and i just can't break out the clippers yet. so we filed down the sharp nails and i'm just hoping it heals quickly!)
i did the grocery shopping and spent some time up at the middle school youth group before coming back home and helping with bath time.
love to see him all bundled up and clean!
we think he has eczema and tried some new bath soap and lotion specifically designed for baby eczema. his 4 month check up is at the end of next week, so we'll wait to see what the pediatrician says. any suggestions on treating eczema with infants? the internet offers a lot of suggestions, but some of them are contradict one another.

finally, a couple of videos that i had to share. my aunt nancy (my mom's sister) has really taken to davis and loves spending time with him whenever she can. he also seems to love being around her, and she got some of the biggest laughs and grins out of him this weekend (possibly because she does just about anything to get him to smile.) i remember getting to spend time with her growing up, and i always enjoyed it. we would cook, she was so much fun to play with at the beach on our annual trips, and i'm so glad davis has gotten to spend time with her as well. she's currently going through cancer treatments and her numbers have been great recently, and we pray that they continue to show improvement. until then, we just try to let her and davis get as much time together as possible--and they obviously enjoy one another's company :)


(please ignore me eating chocolate cake in the background there. it was good chocolate cake--i couldn't help myself!)

fun videos and a mommy mistake

we figured out how to fix the videos, so here's one from the weekend with davis' rollover attempts. you can see him try for it two or three times and get frustrated (and tired... he went down for a nap shortly after this)




and here's one that justin took today of davis during tummy time. he enjoyed flipping his head back and forth and seemed to be playing a little bit with justin.



and then a picture from this morning. you'll notice his cute outfit (thanks, grandma debbie!) and the orange bandage on his thumb. that's because i took a little bit too much off his nail while clipping them this morning. i thought it would never stop bleeding!
he recovered (and went down for a nap--i guess he wore himself out) but it definitely made me realize that i need some baby-sized bandages.

and davis wanted to thank everyone for his valentine's gifts and cards :) especially the cute cup from papa and joy and the stuffed dog from grandma debbie. he definitely felt the love this valentine's day!

our valentine's weekend

it was actually a pretty quiet weekend for us. i had a short list of things i wanted to get done, which included some updated "studio" photos of davis. he was in a great mood saturday morning, so i quickly set everything up and had a great time capturing his smiles in a couple of cute outfits.
justin's dad and stepmom had given him this outfit when he was first born, and it's sized for 3 months, so i wanted to make sure we took some pictures in it before he got too big.

i love this one so much in black and white! it's just the perfect portrayal of davis in this moment.
and this is so cute--he constantly has his hands in his mouth these days, and it looks like he's giggling or has a secret.

a close up, where you can see his hair coming back in up top. also--what color do you think his eyes will be? they're a grayish hazelish looking color right now...just not sure which way they're going to go!
this is his favorite elephant toy that his aunt heather gave him. he loves to chew on the trunk right now (teething, anyone?)
and justin said i might not want to post this picture, because it shows just how basic my "set up" is. for studio shots, i take out the ironing board and throw a sheet over it. i have a black sheet, an off white one (that's actually one of our real sheets) and a light blue one that i've used before. the black and light blue ones are flat twin sheet from wal-mart that cost me about $4. i know i could spend money on portrait packages, even if it's just going up to sears. however, at this age, there's no telling what kind of mood he'll be in, if he'll cooperate at all in a different location, etc. for his earlier pictures, i just used a boppy or his changing table pad with blankets over them. for this one, i used a backrest pillow and another pillow in the middle with a blanket thrown over it. i catch him in his best mood, he's at home and is comfortable, and we get a fun audience with the animals :)
so... it's that easy. it helps to have a nicer camera, obviously, and i think a bounce flash makes the biggest difference unless you have good natural lighting and your camera is good enough to handle natural lighting.

after that, we really took it easy. we ordered take-out for dinner, got plenty of sleep saturday night and got up early for church on sunday. he was all smiles then, too.
(please disregard the dirty bathroom mirror. it's been a while since that bathroom got a good cleaning.)

and then justin and i enjoyed a lovely valentine's lunch thanks to aunt melissa who came over to watch davis. it was nice just to get out and enjoy a quiet meal without rushing through or worrying about the baby's temperament. but i was still ready to get back home to see him!

i took a couple of videos of davis *almost* rolling over. he's done it once, on my birthday evening while my mom was here watching him and she put him down in the crib after he'd woken up once. he obviously didn't intend to do it and hasn't repeated it again... but he's gotten very close! however, the videos are sorta messed up and i'll have to figure out what happened with them. you'll just have to trust me that he's almost rolling over from back to front.

alright, time for bed... and maybe pump one more time before sleep. i'm trying desperately to keep up with my growing boy during the day, but we've been cutting it close the past week or so. the training i went to where i wasn't able to pump when i needed to has possibly thrown off my supply a little bit. any suggestions for helping that boost back up? i'm taking a fenugreek supplement and eating oatmeal for breakfast each morning.

oh, and happy valentine's day! especially to my wonderful husband who is an amazing father and does such a great job with davis when i'm working late or out running errands. we are both so blessed to have him!

hodge podge

a picture from this past weekend's birthday celebration--with a delicious peanut butter explosion cake from the fresh market. ahhh, how i love the fresh market and their baked goods....
a cute one of davis and my grandma (his gigi--for "g"reat "g"randma). the toy he has there is one of his favorites. justin says it looks like a cow crossed with the nbc peacock. whatever--it makes the boy happy!

a moment from tonight. justin's been having a tough time getting in quality time with davis. unfortunately, by the time justin gets home, davis is in his "witching hour" mode and can be very fussy--not all the time, but just a high likelihood. then, if i ask for help during the middle of the night, it's because he doesn't need to be fed and is just needs to be put back to sleep. not the most fun task in the world. so we've been trying to let him get some relaxing time in as well. this was after davis had fallen asleep, and justin just got to enjoy holding a sleeping baby.
ooh, got a 31 order in, which included a matching thermal tote for davis's diaper bag. love it!
i've been traveling during the day for the past two days to a training in raleigh. today, as we were leaving, my coworker stephanie took a wrong exit and we had to turn around. in the process of turning around, i spotted... a trader joe's! we'd gotten out of the training a little early and all agreed that we could enjoy a quick shopping trip. i've never been to a trader joe's, but have always wanted to check it out. in addition to the stuff shown here, i got some oatmeal, granola bars, hummus, animal crackers, dog treats and drinks. i definitely wish i'd had a freezer bag! maybe next time...

and two important links to share--i can hardly believe that jonah's 2nd birthday is coming up! to celebrate, the 2nd annual jonah's eb auction is getting started, including a giveaway right now. click on over to check it out, and bookmark the page for later in the month when the auction begins. i will have a photo session and a set of custom letters up for grabs.

and finally, i want to continue patrice's charge for finding a "forever family" for anton, a 1 year old boy with EB who is currently in a hospital in russia. he was born as a twin to a surrogate mother, and his parents chose to take home his healthy twin and leave anton in the hospital. he's at risk of going to an orphanage, where he likely wouldn't receive the care and medical attention that he needs. there is a paypal button at his reece's rainbow page, as well as fundraisers on the hopeforanton page to contribute to his adoption fund. the hope is that a family will be able to adopt him, and a large chunk of the adoption fees will already be paid for through these efforts. please check out all of these options and consider donating or participating in one of the fundraisers!

more fun facts about my boy

he does not like being harnessed in (most times.)
he actually did okay with this once we got outside and moving. til about 3/4 of the way when he started to get hungry. he is still pretty iffy about car seats, but i did have a mostly pleasant ride to and from the sitter's house today. we might be on the upswing...

yesterday was the super bowl, and he got to wear his steelers onesie one last time.
(these are 0-3 month sized, so he'll outgrow them very soon.)
he didn't stay up for the game, but he commiserated with his daddy today.

he's the kid of a million faces.
(the pout still kills me. seriously, could you resist that face?)
and the most entertaining feature right now? his receding hair. he's gone from having a full head of hair to a horseshoe pattern to his current mohawk...
that's dangerously close to becoming a rat tail...
we're assuming it will eventually all fall out and be replaced by the real hair that's coming in across the top of his head right now. mostly white blond with some light brown thrown in.

grace likes his changing table. (we've also seen evidence that she likes his crib. she's our most agile animal and tends to get herself to the most interesting places.)
and i think we're very very close to some serious teething. early, yes, but right on cue compared to when my brother and i started teething. he's loving his hand/fist, stuffed toys (especially one elephant toy that he can pull towards his mouth and gnaw on the trunk) and a couple of teething rings.
and that's it for tonight. i ask for prayers for tomorrow and wednesday--i'm going to a training and will have to be away from davis for the longest time we've had to do so far (and travel an hour away.) i'm worried about being able to pump there and making sure he has enough milk to make it through the day back here at home. i just want to feel at peace about it and know that he'll be fine (which he will be--but you know what i mean.)

i'm back

davis heard that i haven't blogged in over a month...
(yes, he can pout. and he does a very good job of it.)

and thinking about the fact that the last time i really posted was christmas eve.. and just how much has happened since then? well, it makes me feel like a bad blogger.

but this little guy takes up a lot of time.
and it is sooo worth it!
in the last six weeks, we've gotten a sleeping pattern down. usually in bed by 7ish, up by 7ish, with 2 feedings at night (typically 1ish and 4ish.) he never naps longer than 45 minutes, but we all enjoy those stretches of sleeping during the day :)
i've returned to work! and davis is staying with his grandma (justin's mom) along with another boy she keeps. this is such a blessing, and it's a relief to drop him off there each day and know he's being taken care of by someone who loves him almost as much as i do.
he's constantly smiling and is a big flirt--though he saves special smiles for his mama...
and his daddy!
there is such an excitement and joy with each new day and each new milestone he reaches.
we've traded in busy evenings for quiet nights reading books and listening to lullabies.
we lie on the floor to see what he sees, trying to imagine the perspective of a child in this world we've created for him.
and he's taking it all in...
he's still exclusively breast-fed, and i've been able to keep up with his bottle-feeding during the day by pumping at work. i love that we've made it past 3 months and i hope to make it to at least 6 months, if not longer.
he got his first set of shots at his two month appointment, and i cried more than he did. it broke my heart, but we both made it. (didn't help that it was on my 2nd day back to work, too.) he was in the 55th percentile for height and weight that day, and 97th percentile for head circumference. such a big 'ol head!
we've been able to keep up with family through the holidays and then again last month when davis was christened at my family's home church in fayetteville. (we plan on doing the baby dedication here at our church in a couple of months, too.)
we're so blessed that we've got family close by and so many friends to visit as well. my college roommate linda and her husband stopped by last weekend :)
we were especially thankful for them this last week, while justin was gone for his grandfather's funeral and i was home with davis on my own for three nights. i have a new appreciation for single moms!
i guess most of all, i've learned how much your priorities change as a parent. how you will forgo eating, sleeping, using the bathroom, letting your arm go to sleep--all for the comfort of your child. we've had some challenging days, some nights where i just wish i could sleep without knowing i'll be waking up in a couple of hours, some moments where i so wish that davis could think rationally and be reasoned with.

but in all my recent pictures, behind the tired eyes, lack of make-up (because there's just no time!), and circles under my eyes--there's joy.

i turned 28 yesterday. it was probably one of the quietest birthdays i've had in years. justin and i got to go out to dinner--thanks to mom and grandma baby-sitting--and then we went grocery shopping (i wasn't about to go near supermarket today with the all the gameday shoppers.) there was no big party and i had a hard time coming up with anything to put on my birthday list that wasn't more for davis than myself. but i felt content and more at peace with myself than i have in a long time.
yes, i still have a lot of baby weight i want to lose. yes, i'm still dreaming of a complete night of sleep. yes, justin and i talk about the vacations we want to take, and i'm coming to terms with the fact that we probably won't be able to do a big trip for our anniversary this year because he'll just be six months old and i'm not sure i want to be away from him overnight yet.
but this time is so special and i don't want to miss a moment of it. i really hope to get back into blogging, especially to help document davis' milestones and those day to day memories that i know we'll forget if we don't put them down somewhere.

so i'm back, blog-world. and if you're half as helpful with parenting advice as my facebook friends, then we'll be just fine :)