maverick: 3 months old

I fell in love with my baby this month. That's not to say that I haven't loved him, but he really stole my heart this month. We are coming out of the fog of sleep deprivation and colic and he is just the cutest sweetest little thing. Everything has improved so much over the past month and I feel very optimistic that he is growing out of his newborn troubles and turning into a happy delightful baby.

-Eats: every 3.5-4 hours, 4-5 ounces. He moved from formula supplementing to full formula during the month (as my milk supply decreased). After trying similac sensitive and then soy, we landed on Enfamil gentlease and he seems to do really well with it. He seldom gets bad tummy aches anymore although he does spot up quite a bit but it doesn't seem to bother him.

-Sleeps: No real set schedule but usually will sleep in then take a good afternoon nap and doze in and out in between. He is getting better about going to sleep on his own and getting faster during his night time feedings. He usually goes to bed between 9-10 then wakes up between 2-3 AM then again between 6-7 AM. He still sleeps in his little cradle and naps a lot in his swing.

-Play: He sits up really well (when being held) he has a very strong head and neck. He loves being social and having people play with him and talk to him, which he responds to with lots of smiles and cooing. He seems to be very vocal. He gives big closed-mouth smiles that are so cute. He has also been playing on the floor map and kicks the toys around.. he kicks his legs a lot. 

-Likes: having his head rubbed and having soft blankies by his face. He also loves his baby swing and is happy to be in there even when he's awake. He also seems to be a mamas boy which of course I love too. Really he seems to prefer ladies in general. He likes to be held looking out. 

-Dislikes: being cold or being left alone (can't blame him on either) He also dislikes being in his car seat if we are not actually in a moving vehicle (shopping carts are included as vehicles though). He also is not fond of tummy time. 

-Also: He still struggles with sensitive skin and so we keep a steady regimen of washing, lotions and ointments that seem to help. He has the softest, fluffiest hair that grows in a perfect buzz cut (several people have asked me if i've buzzed his hair!) ... and a big bald spot in the back. It is still staying pretty light and his eyes are still very blue.

-Firsts: first thanksgiving, first time at the movies (saw "Big Hero 6" and stayed awake for pretty much the whole thing and watched) first time going in the bumbo (he loves it)

joys of motherhood: november

My kids are still doing funny/embarrassing/crazy/naughty/unbelievable things, but this month I wasn't as good about writing them down. And one thing i know for sure: if it doesn't get written down, it doesn't get remembered. This used to all be for documentation and scrapbooking sake, now it's because I have Mom Brain.
-Rantings of a tired mom with a baby still not sleeping through the night: Why was my mom ever mad when I slept in as a teenager? Think of it as an IOU for the years of sleep she wasn't getting when I was little. Dang daylight savings. Fall back sounds good for one day then it's just your kids waking up earlier.
-A lot of people ask how the kids are with the baby and especially how Nolan is. Nolan can be so aggressive and physical that is really is such a wonder that he is SO incredibly sweet with Maverick. Never once has there been an issue of not "being soft" with the baby. Nolan is an amazing big brother and he totally understands this little person that we have in our home and he loves Maverick so much.

-Caitlin came over to tattle tale on Nolan and we started talking and I was telling her she needs to get along with her brother. She asked me if I had any brothers and I said "No, I only had sisters. See?You're so lucky... You have TWO brothers!" 

She sighed and said, "Yes ...and one of them doesn't share."

-Nolan's new current obsessions: Orange juice-- we literally go through a gallon a week, sometimes faster and mostly because of him. He used to be an avid apple juice drinker but now he is pretty strictly on the OJ and he LOVES it. I like to think it may keep him from getting sick this winter. "spicy stuff"-- including minty things and also carbonated things. Caitlin on the other hand does NOT like spicy things and make it very clear and asks if it is spicy before trying so Nolan has discovered he does like all sort of "spicy things" and make that clear then takes Caitlin' share. Candy canes are a big hit. Also obsessed with gum -- (another "spicy thing") he will stuff like 5 pieces in his mouth before I can stop him. He for sure has a huge wad of gum sitting in his stomach because he doesn't understand the concept of not swallowing it and he really loves it.
-I'm SO excited for Christmas with my kids this year. They are at such fun ages and they are so excited about everything, it's going to be so magical.
-Picture proof:

Had to snap a picture on my way out the door one day to document my kids and their polarity. Caitlin is all girl in her tutu and ballerina princess world and Nolan is all boy in his cars shirt and cars in hand. They all share a special bond thought and for the most part my kids get along and truly love each other I'm so thankful for that.

 #1 Caitlin is an avid colorer. She can color for hours and she loves it. She is really good at it too! She loves for people to color with her and she is very complimentary to anyone's drawings.
#2 Nolan likes celery! A new discovery as of late and the perfect shopping snack. He saw it and yelled "Celery! can we take some home?!" (aka buy it) and anytime your kids asks for celery, you get it. And anytime your kids will actually sit in the cart for the whole shopping trip and chew on some stalks, you feel so thankful.

 #3 Nolan decided to apply almost the entire container of hair wax to his hair about 3 minutes before we were supposed to leave for the chiropractor. He insisted it "wasn't too much" as i puled globs out of his hair and tried to wash it out with a washcloth and then comb through (nothing helped). When i told him he gets to wear a hat to the chiropractor guess which one he picked out and insisted on wearing: his dumb Lightning McQueen foam hat from Disney on Ice. Nice.
#4 Typical Nolan.. perched on his horse sneaking something from the counter that he probably shouldn't be having. With "big mickey" close at hand.

#5 He got a tiny scratch on his forehead but it was taking awhile to heal because at night he would mess with it so we finally got him to wear a bandaid and of course the only one he would keep on was this gigantic cars one.
#6 Nolan genuinely loves his horsie. H has named him "Clodie" (mixture between Cody and cloudy we think?) and the name has stuck for awhile now. He takes his horsie on all his greatest adventures.

neither here nor there

This month on instagram I shared #dailythanks everyday. It was a great reminder to look for the positive blessings in my life and recognize how blessed I am.

ⓝⓞⓥⓔⓜⓑⓔⓡ

There's now a chill in the air and I think its safe to say that winter is here. I usually wait 'til closer to Thanksgiving to bust out the hot cocoa maker and the Christmas songs but the kids have pushed me to do it even sooner this year. So by mid November we were drinking our hot chocolate every morning, watching Mickey's Christmas and listening to "santa songs" in the car. And to be honest I didn't mind one bit. Luckily this month slowed down a bit but we still found some fun things to do before the crazy Christmas-time rush.

Nov 5th: We had a little tea party at perennial gardens to celebrate Bella's one year anniversary of begin diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia. She's been a tough cookie through it all and it's been a sobering experience for me to watch her and her family go through the trials and sacrifices and hardships of heath issues and especially those of a child. We love Bella and the sweet friendship she shares with Caitlin!

 Nov 6: Cason's Bday! On his actual birthday we went to their house for a pizza night and watched Planes Fire and Rescue. Then on the 8th we went to his planes birthday party, complete with a bounce house and all the Dusty stuff you could want! We love Cason!

Nov 9-15th: Paul went deer bowhunting in Kansas. It was freezing cold and unfortunately came back without a deer. Although he did shoot a turkey-- his first kill using his bow. We both decided a week was a little too long to be gone with limited phone service. 

Nov 12: I took the kids to Disney on Ice with the Meads and McCulloughs. They featured Little Mermaid, Tinkerbell, Cars and Toy Story so it was pretty much a win all around! Our seats were awesome and the kids were in awe. They loved seeing all the characters. I splurged and got eh $12 cotton candy which also had a foam Lightning McQueen hat with it that made the whole thing worth it... Nolan loves it.

Nov 13: We got our first snow! We've had a coupe skiffs since then but nothing major. the kids were SO excited to get out there and play in the snow!

 Nov 14: Cassie's first Young Ambassadors show. I took Caitlin for a little date and we both enjoyed all the singing and dancing. And of course Cassie did an amazing job!

Nov 15: Meads threw a Mustache Party for Chris' birthday! We played some really fun games and had yummy food. And of course admired the mustaches.

MWF all month: I did a 6 AM Bootcamp class this month at the Cedar Hills community center. Honestly don't really know what I was thinking signing up for a 6 AM with a baby who doesn't sleep through the night. It was really hard to drag myself out of bed. At the class we did a lot of heavy weight lifting which I wasn't as used to so it was interesting to mix things up a little. I still have a long way to go before I am back to my pre-baby weight and shape.  

Nov 17th: Caitlin got to bring Maverick in to school for show and tell! She had been asking to a few times to we decided today was a good day. She actually got to have both brothers come and she was ver excited and proud to show them off. When I first got there she was bringing all her friends over to see him and saying "This is my baby" then when the actual show and tell time came she got a little more quiet but still told her class about her baby and how she helps with him. She is such a great big sister.

Nov 19th: I got to go to the Hunger Games movie with Jamie, Missy and Christine. It was a really fun girls night!

Nov 22nd: We had planned to take the kids to the BYU football game but woke up to a very rainy day so we decided to forgo the game and took the kids to a movie instead! We saw  Disney's "super hero 6 movie" and it was darling, we were all very entertained.

Nov 23rd: We had an open house for my cousins Sydney over at my grandparent's and it was fun to get together with everyone. I'm very proud of Sydney for completing her mission and being such a great missionary! 

Nov 27th: Thanksgiving! We had dinner at the Mead's this year with the McCullough's and also the Bevans (from Paul's work). Everyone brought things and everything turned out so amazing! We felt like real adults and so proud of ourselves. We had some crafts for he kids, ate dinner, then some took naps, some talked and played games. Unfortunately Paul got really sick the day before and spent a lot of time sleeping and resting. 

Nov 28th: We went up to Deer Valley for a little family getaway to stay at The Chateau. It was gorgeous! Some snow around but still 50 degrees and sunny. We stopped at the outlets for some Black Friday shopping, then got checked in and went straight out to the pool! The kids LOVED being able to swim. Then we all took a nap and got some pizza and watched a movie with popcorn in our room. They gave us a room with 2 queens and also a whole family room/kitchen/eating area with an additional bed. It was so dreamy. Beautiful weather in a gorgeous setting and undivided family time. We had so much fun together.

Nov 29: Paul's cousin Katherine Gottfredson got married in Ogden. We went (from Deer Valley) in the morning and left the kids at the Gottfredson's house with sitters while the adults attended the luncheon and sealing. Then we went back to DV for another swim and naps. Then once more to Ogden for the reception! It was a long day with lots of driving but fun to see family and be a part of the wedding. Stewart and Lorraine came into town for it so we spent as much time with them as possible.