Weeks in Review / Strickland's Come to Visit

A great weekend visit by Chattanooga friends sandwich between 2 weeks in review. 

Two weeks ago....

Jake is my little helper when it comes to Hollon. I plan to do a post soon that is just all about him. He has handled the transition with the new baby so well. He gets that he is the older brother to a baby and has been so helpful and understanding. (One of the perks of having your children almost 6 years apart!) And to say he adores Hollon is an understatement. (Except when she is screaming.)

Entertaining H while I change her
Hollon is pretty smitten with Jake as well

I made a doctor's appointment on Monday the 13th without realizing that was Columbus Day and therefore Jake would not be in school. No problem, I'd just take both kids to the doctor. I thought it was just a 6 week post op, just to make sure my incision was healing correctly. Wrong. It was my annual exam. I cringed when I found out. Jake is obsessed with doctors and wants to know everything they are doing. That is all well & good when watching them on TV. Not good when he's there in person and you are the patient. With your legs spread. We moved Jake's chair to make it harder for him to see the doctor and I tried making him read his book he brought. But he still watched the doctor the entire time. And Hollon was crying the entire time, because, well, that's just what she likes to do. Good times.

Before the doctor's appointment
Big brother Little sister

Crying during an entire doctor's appointment will wear you out

This picture of Hollon just makes me laugh for some reason. She had just eaten, her belly is hanging out, she is in her underwear and she is taking a nap. The good life of a 6 week old.

Tuesday, brother had a football game

This was Hollon after the game. Panther's lost. :(

Friday morning, we got a scare. Hollon had been crying and when I went to pick her up, she was burning hot. She gets hot when she screams, but this was a different hot. It was time for her to eat, so I undressed her to cool her off and fed her. I held her for a little bit and she cooled down some, but still felt hot. I took her temperature and it was 101. I knew it was bad for babies that young to have a temperature, so I called her pediatrician and asked if I could bring her in and have them take her temperature. When they took her temperature, it was 101.5. Their policy is if the temp is higher than 101.3, you go to Children's emergency room downtown. Thankfully before they sent us, they did a series of tests of their own. Everything seemed fine. Hollon was still eating and she wasn't inconsolable. They did a urine sample and that came back fine. The last thing they wanted to do was check some things in her blood. Evidently, getting blood from the vein of a 6 week old is not easy. They tried for an hour, sticking the needle in both arms and both legs, trying to find a vein. The more they stuck her, the madder Hollon got. By the end of the hour, they had 3 nurses in there trying and H had screamed and kicked the entire time. They had no luck. I'm pretty sure we are on the pediatric nurses' most hated list. It was horrible for all and we all left with a little loss of hearing. Because they couldn't take blood from a vein, they just pricked her foot and tested that blood. (Not sure how that blood is different, but I guess it is.) It came back fine as well, so they let us go home and we just had to take Hollon's temperature rectal (am I the only mom that is terrified to take my child's temperature that way?!?) every 6 hours and if it went higher than 101.5, we would need to go to the emergency room. Thankfully it never did.

Later that evening, we were having our best friends from Chattanooga over for the weekend. Thankfully Hollon was feeling better by the time they arrived Friday night. It was fun to introduce her to the Strickland family!

Tyler & Addie getting to know Hollon

Addie was a little mama. She loved holding Hollon.

Jake had fun showing Tyler all his boy toys

Addie (5), Hollon (7 weeks), Jake (5.5), Tyler (almost 2)

The Strickland's left Sunday and then we prepared for our craziest week to date. I had 2 extremely important audits that I had to be in Chattanooga for Monday-Wednesday. Then, we were going to be in New Orleans for Robbie to be in one of his best friends weddings Thursday-Sunday. In the past, this would have been no big deal. Jake would have just spent the week with my parents. But now that he is in kindergarten, he had to be in Birmingham and we had a 7 week old to figure out what to do with. We absolutely could not have survived without the help of our parents. They went above & beyond the expectations of a grandparent, and we are forever grateful to them.

I wasn't ready to leave Hollon for a week, plus I'm her source of food and I haven't pumped enough to last her a full week. So we decided that she would just travel with me. My mom took the first shift and came with Hollon & me to Chattanooga. She watched Hollon at the hotel during the day while I went into the office. She is a saint for sitting in a hotel room for 9 hours a day with an infant that likes to randomly scream her head off for no reason. Monday, Hollon was good and slept most of the day. Tuesday, she had a rough day. I would like to apologize to anyone staying at the Marriott in the rooms around room 205. I would also like to apologize to my mom for the loss of hearing she received. Even though, as you loose your hearing to Hollon's screams, on the bright side, it makes her screams not as loud. On Wednesday, Hollon was in a better mood and my mom sent me this sweet picture.

 While I was in Chattanooga, Jake's football team had their homecoming game. I couldn't believe I had to miss it. Each cheerleader made their escort a sign and presented it to them after the game. How cute are these two?!?

While I was in Chattanooga, Robbie would take Jake to school, but we needed help with someone picking him up after school and taking Jake to meet Robbie at football practice. Which is where Robbie's dad earned his badge. He picked Jake up each day, fed him supper and got him to football. On Wednesday evening, mom, Hollon & I left Chattanooga and headed home.

I got home, unpacked, quickly washed some clothes and then packed for New Orleans. Judy met us at our house Thursday morning to go with us to New Orleans. Judy had planned on going to the wedding already, but sweetly offered to help with Hollon so we could enjoy the evenings. Again, such a saint. Chuck had to be in Auburn to get the RV ready for the game and we were all in New Orleans for the wedding, so there was no one to watch Jake. That is where my dad stepped up to earn his badge! He stayed at our house with Jake Thursday & Friday. He took him & picked him up from school, got him to football and stayed with him during the evening. Then Friday after school, they headed to Prattville for the weekend. And my parents watched Jake over the weekend. 

Now do you see why we are so grateful to our parents? They were amazing last week and we owe them a million times over. Thank you so much Nana, Gran, Granddad & Mimi!!

New Orleans post & pictures coming soon!

Hollon Elizabeth - 1 Month

My precious Hollon Elizabeth,

Technically you turned 1 month old, almost a month ago. I've had this post/letter written in my head for a month, I just haven't sat down to actually type it out. But better late than never, right?

On Tuesday, August 26, 2014 was one of the greatest days of my life. I checked into the hospital, nervous and excited to meet my baby girl. The moment I heard you cry, cannot be put into words. I truly thought my heart was going to burst with love.

I fell in love the moment I saw you.

You surprised everyone by having black hair and being tiny (well, tiny for a Bush or Hollon baby).  Daddy was in the operating room with me and Nana, Mimi & Granddad were waiting to meet you by the nursery. Gran brought big brother Jake up to the hospital that afternoon. The next day, Aunt Lindsey and cousin Gaines come by to meet you. We all love our precious Hollon Elizabeth.

We came home on Thursday and had so much fun introducing you to family over the next few days. You met your Granddad Jake, GG Kathy, Aunt Leigh Ann, Uncle Billy and cousins Maddox & Marrell. Sweet Marrell calls you her little sister.

I've spent so much time playing with your sweet little fingers, rubbing your soft black hair and tickling your little baby toes. 

Once your umbilical cord fell off, we were able to give you your first real bath. You liked it!

We introduced you to Auburn and the RV and took you to your first Auburn football game.

Daddy & brother insist that you'll be an Auburn fan. I'm still holding out hope otherwise.

You like your pacifier except when you are hungry. You are smart and are not fooled. You want food, not a paci. Your 2 favorite pacifiers are the infant Nuk & Lamb Soothie.

You don't play with much, but you do seem to enjoy your lovee, playmat & mamaroo.

Each week you become more & more alert. You are great at holding your head up. You have a strong little grip and can kick your legs pretty hard.

You have the most precious grin, even if you are only grinning because you passed gas.

We all love to hold you and you love to be held. This first month has exceeded my expectations with you. I may be a little sleep deprived and have a slight loss of hearing in one of my ears, but that is all forgotten when I rock you to sleep in my arms.

You don't like to be startled or loud noises. Which is hard to accommodate sometimes in the middle of football season. Or with a 5 year old brother.

My 2 favorite faces you make are your "O" face and your Stevie Wonder face (you stretch your neck up, back and to the side).

You make the cutest noises when we hold you.

You have a big brother that absolutely adores you. He loves to sing to you (favorite song: Swing Low Sweet Chariot) and read to you (favorite book: Goodnight Moon). He helps me with you and loves to tell other people (and me) how to take care of you. And when you are lucky, he eats cookies around you and I'm pretty sure I saw crumbs fall in your mouth.

You are a good little sleeper. You take naps anywhere (laps, bouncer, swing, boppy) but sleep at night in the pack-n-play in mommy & daddy's room.

You are also a good little crier. Actually screamer. I'm still trying to figure out your cries and what is bothering you. You make sure to let me know when I am wrong. When you get really mad, you scratch up your face.

Hollon, you are the child that I prayed for, cried for and begged God for. I feel so blessed to have you and I just hope that I'm the mom that you deserve. I will make mistakes, I'll make you mad, I'll have to make hard decisions. But please always remember that no matter what, I love you so very much. I will worry about you, I'll hurt when you're hurting, and I'll want to protect you from every bad thing in the world. But I have to put you in God's hands. Because even though I love you more than it is humanly possible, he loves you even more. You were his child, before you were mine, and I hope I make him proud in the way I am raising one of his children. 

Hollon, you made our family complete. You are our precious gift that we celebrate and thank God for. We love you so much. This first month has been amazing, and I can't wait to see what the others have in store.

With all my love,

Mama

Week in Review

Since Jake loves superheros so much, a friend of ours gave Hollon a girl superman onesie. Jake picked it out for her to wear one day and wanted me to take their picture when he put on his superman pajamas. First Hollon was asleep and then Jake went to bed before Hollon got up from her nap. So when she woke up, I put her in his bed to take their picture. She thought it was lots of fun to take pictures while brother was sleeping.

On Tuesday, she turned 6 weeks old

Sweet little smile. 

 It only took 1500 takes to get 1 decent picture. Evidence below.

Starting to smile, but eyes closed

Wasn't quite ready

This is not going well

Just getting worse

Photo shoot done

 She was dressed in her winter clothes because brother had a football game that night. I hate this crazy weather that is hot when hour & then freezing the next. So I had 4 different outfits for her for the game & she ended up wearing 2 of them. She was wearing a summer outfit to start with, because she was in the moby wrap & she gets so hot in it. But she started crying halfway through the game so I had to take her out and walk around and hold her. So she had wardrobe change #2 into warmer clothes.

Speaking of the game, the team won their 2nd game! We are now 2-2. We have 3 games left & need to win 2 of them to make it to the playoffs. Rob & I both agree we think it would be neat to make it to the playoffs, but we want to loose in the first round. Football has been fun, but we are about ready to call it a season. 

I snapped this picture because it is one of my favorite poses she does. As soon as she gets her arm out of the swaddle, she stretches her neck back and puts her arm under her chin. And she makes her stretching noise while doing it.

On Thursday, Jake's class had their first Kindergarten field trip. They went to Baker's Farm and I volunteered to be a chaperon.  

Jake in front of the cotton field

Listening to the farmer tell them about picking cotton

Petting the animals

Mrs. Rmeily's Kindergarten Class

Jake & me on the hayride

Jake finding the perfect pumpkin to pick

Found it!

 A big thank you to Chuck (my father-in-law) for coming back from Chattanooga early to keep Hollon so I could go on the field trip with Jake.

You can't really see it in this photo, but Hollon as taking a little catnap in the pack-n-play and she was giggling in her sleep.

I had some friends that were going to be in Birmingham on Saturday, so my best friend Stephanie came up a day early and spent Friday night with me so she could meet Hollon. She was worried that it would be too burdensome her spending the night since we have a newborn. I almost started crying when she tried to back out. I promised her that her company was needed. I've missed having a girlfriend to just hang out with and talk to in person. Sometimes it is hard being a stay at home mom & a work from home mom. You get the advantages of both, like I get to spend all day with my child and bring home a paycheck. But you also get the cons of both. I'm at home all day with an infant, and any spare second I have has to be spent on work. So I don't have time to do play dates or fun activities with friends. Jake's football schedule keeps him & Robbie gone 3 nights during the week, so it has just been a little lonely. So I've been very excited about her visit and refused to let her back out.    

Stephanie meeting Hollon

 Saturday morning, our friend Hayley stopped by to meet Hollon as well. 

 I went shopping with them Saturday morning and had lunch with them before heading back home. It was so so so so nice to just get out of the house for a little while and hang out with friends. 

I had to get back home Saturday to not only feed Hollon, but we were having some of the families that coach/play football with Rob & Jake over to the house. By the end of the evening, there were 11 kids (10 of them boys) running around playing. It was a madhouse. A very loud madhouse. Jake was in heaven. Poor Hollon wasn't. I give her credit, she did better than I thought she would. She is sensitive to loud noises and doesn't like a lot of commotion. Our house was full of both for several hours. She didn't cry too much, but her body was tense all evening. And for that fact, mine was too. Having 10 rambunctious boys running around our house dragging out things made my OCD heart skip several beats throughout the evening. But Hollon & I both survived and everyone seemed to have a great time.

Saturday night, it looked like a tornado had hit Jake's room, the bonus room, the kitchen & our floors. I snapped a picture of Jake's room Sunday. This is what his room looked like, and he had already picked up half of it. So imagine twice the amount of toys on the floor.

Sunday afternoon, my friend Julie stopped by to bring us dinner and meet Hollon. Hollon was so good for most of Julie's visit. Julie & I were so busy talking, I didn't even think to snap a picture. At the end of the visit, Hollon was getting fussy, so of course that is when I remembered. I felt bad getting a picture of Julie walking out the door holding my crying baby. So as my niece says, I'll just have to remember it in my heart.

It was such a good weekend filled with great times with great friends.

Hollon Elizabeth - 6 Weeks

Highlights: That precious smile! You will see about 1,000 awkward pictures posted on this blog of me trying to take the picture quick enough to get that cute little smile. I feel like she kind of knows who Rob, Jake & I are and we can usually get a little smile from her. Unless of course she is in a bad mood, and then nobody is getting a smile. Another highlight - those chubby cheeks! She is also starting to grab things.

Low Points: Those fingernails. Man they grow fast and are so hard to cut. Also, it is great that she is starting the grab things & use her hands. But usually it is to either pull my hair or grab her pacifier out of her mouth (and she can't figure out how to put it back in, so it just upsets her).

Sleep: Still not on any kind of sleep schedule during the day. Still getting up once a night to eat. I can't complain about her sleep. I've been pleased so far. She has to be swaddled to get a good long nap. So far, she is not sleeping with a sound machine or anything. We do keep the fan running in her room, so there is that noise, but that is about it. Sometimes I'll play a lullaby CD (yes, I'm from 1999 and still play CDs). 

Eat: Almost always goes 3 hours between feedings during the day. Sometimes only lasts 2.5 hours, sometimes stretches it out to 4 hours. She is still spitting up some, but it seems to be a little better. Some days are better than others. At night she is going about 4-5 hours between feedings.

My friend Stephanie reminded me of this nursery rhyme that she said applied to her little girl. It fits Hollon perfectly too! There was a little girl, and she had a little curl. Right in the middle of her forehead. When she was good, she was very, very good, but when she was bad, she was horrid. Not so much the curl in the middle of the forehead part, but the part about when she was good she was very good. When Hollon is in a good mood, she is so good. She is laid back, she is cuddly, she smiles, she sleeps. Things are wonderful. But when she is in a bad mood, it is pretty horrid. She screams, she is inconsolable. Thankfully the good moods outweigh the bad moods.