Waterfront Triathlon

Yesterday I participated in the annual Waterfront Triathlon with my good friends Sam and Leigh Linhoss. They are pros at stuff like this, so I was just tagging along for kicks. We made a relay team, so I did the swim (1.5k), Sam did the bike (42k) and Leigh did the run (10k). We finished in good time, and all of us right on the time we expected to be (me- 30 mins, Sam- 1 hr. 20 mins., Leigh- 1 hour). David, Leigh's parents and the Bogensbergers were there to cheer us on, and we had such a fun morning! I will admit, swimming about 1 mile was way harder than I anticipated. About half way through I was regretting my lack of training (I swam twice... oops). I was definitely glad to finish with a decent (for me) time because it was hard - definitely harder than the swim I did in the Music City Tri.

Cutest cheering section!

please forgive the obnoxious cheering! We were proud and excited!

Every time I do a race, I love it and want to do more. I've been on a pretty good once-a-year schedule lately (2012- Waterfront Tri, 2011- Louisville 1/2 marathon, 2010- Music City Tri, 2008- Mercedes 1/2 marathon), and I definitely want to at least keep that up. So, what's next??

Happy Independence Day

Happy Fourth of July, folks! 

We celebrated a night early by going to the White's house (along with ~150 others!) for their annual party and fireworks. Crawford wore his patriotic attire (thanks, Sheri!) and had a ball slept through half of the party. He was awake for the actual fireworks, which we watched from inside the house. The loud noise actually didn't phase him, but I thought it might be a little much for his tiny ears to handle. He LOVED watching them, though.

This is from a private residence (on the lake)... it is insane how awesome of a job Trey and the boys do every year. They have the best display in town, for sure!

Another item crossed off our SFL!

baby on a bed

Before and after

and 7.5 inches later...

praise report!

I don't even know where to begin...

Thank You!

and

Praise the Lord!

seem to be good places.

After my (slightly ridiculous and overly emotional) post last week, I received so many emails, comments, texts and phone calls of encouragement. I was, again, overwhelmed. But this time- in the best possible way.

The Lord answered all of my prayers, in His perfect timing. I could list the specific instances of Spirit-filled conversations, increase in my milk supply (thanks for the recommendations! fenugreek, oatmeal, Gatorade, lots of water, let him nurse as long as he will), and overall attitude-improvement.

So we went back to the doctor this morning for Crawford's weight check. Last Monday he weighed 12 pounds, 11 ounces and she wanted him to gain .5-1 ounce per day (4-8 ounces). Today he weighs 13 pounds, 6 ounces. He gained 11 ounces!! The first thing Dr. Brannon said was "Praise the Lord!", which made my heart happy because that was/is exactly how I felt, and it was encouraging to know that she understood how much this meant to me. And yes, PRAISE THE LORD!!

He was happy as a lark today at the dr!

In other related-to-my-last-post news... I'm feeling and doing so much better. I have some fabulous friends who continually encourage me and tell me to chill out. I could not do life without these girls in my business day in and day out.

I do apologize for sounding (and being) whiny and complain-y. I have so, so much to be thankful for and I never want to take it for granted. I especially never want Crawford to feel like he is the source of my stress or issues. They are all mine, and he is nothing but total joy. He really is. I am sure as he gets older he'll become more trying, but for now I am enjoying this dreamboat baby I have the privilege of hanging out with every day. It is my dream job.

We spent much of the day Sunday hanging out at the lake, and it was just what I needed. Crawford (per usual) was perfect. When he needed a nap he took one. We laid him down inside once, and he slept on my chest in the shady part of the dock for another nap. It was refreshing to just do our thing, and take good care of C simultaneously. Like real life. Our little family.

 actually sucking on his thumb... uh oh!

I'm chilling out, and trying to just take every day for what it brings. If the little guy isn't on any sort of routine or schedule for another few months, so be it. He's happy and healthy, and that's what matters most. If we don't make it to play group for a month, oh well. It'll be there next month, and my friends totally understand.

I've been sad that our families are so far away, so Crawford and I are going on a road trip next week to Ohio! It may take us 10 hours to get there, but it is what this mama needs.

David doesn't have the Fourth of July off work, so he's taking this Friday off and my wheels are churning thinking of all the family fun we're going to have together! This is the last weekend for a while with not much on the agenda, and we're going to maximize our freedom!

So, all in all, thanks for listening to my rant(s). This blog really is just for our family to keep a record of our story, but it has been such a source of encouragement for me over the years. Sorry if I haven't texted/called/emailed you back yet, I will. I've been processing and praying and learning through this season, and I pray that doesn't end any time soon.

a rant.

What is wrong with me? I keep calling David in tears because I'm having a bad day... but, poor guy, I can't for the life of me explain why or what's wrong.

I've had to turn two pool play dates down today. That doesn't sound like much of a problem, right? I really have too many opportunities of stuff to do, and I have SUCH a guilt complex over turning anyone or anything down. But, now I have a kid and I'm trying to balance doing what's best for him and keeping my sanity. Also, I don't want to be one of those parents who schedules their life around their child's every breath, but I also want to make sure I'm taking the best care of Crawford that I possibly can. That's my JOB. 

Speaking of my job... I'm responsible for feeding this little boy. Just me. And, he's too small. 10th percentile for weight. I'm afraid my milk supply is decreasing, but I'm not sure how to know that for sure. He's been crying a lot during nursing, and sometimes I feel like it's because there's just not enough coming out. But then he sleeps 8-10 hours at night. Hungry kids don't do that!

I met some friends at the park, only to leave 20 minutes later. I get frustrated with myself because I want to hang out with my friends and their kids, but I over-estimate Crawford's ability to "play". He's FOUR months old, self! For example: playing in the fountains at Coolidge =  so fun! Unless you are four months old and can't even sit up by yourself. My sweet child is so go-with-the-flow, but I feel like I take advantage of him/that and do whatever I want to do. 

Oh, and can someone please make a day-long schedule of what I should be doing with my child when? I'd follow it, promise. I am just overwhelmed with not knowing when he should take a nap, etc.. Seriously. How do I establish a morning wake time? What should his bed time be? I would go to the pediatrician once a week just to talk through parenting stuff and get her expert opinion. Just now (after trying to get him to go down for a nap for a loooong time), I finally just let him fall asleep in my arms,

and I love it. 

I love him so much, I don't want to let him out of my sight ever (cue video monitor). Especially today I'm particularly clingy... pms, maybe??

We moved Crawford to his crib in his room for bed time on Monday night. It was brutal (for me). It actually was pretty brutal for David too because we slept in the guest room and that bed is way small for two people (sorry to all of our guests!). 

Crawford LOVES his paci. Sometimes during the night he stirs, and I usually just pop the pacifier back in and he goes right back to sleep. Well, that was easy when he slept right next to our bed. Now that he's UPSTAIRS, do I go up there and give it to him because I know it will put him back to sleep? Or, do I wait it out? Let him cry it out? Why do that when I know the paci would solve the problem??

And, my dog keeps crapping in the house. I could kill him. David walks him in the morning. I take him outside. He poops in the house. Anxiety, maybe??

I just looked at the calendar and it looks like we have only THREE weekends between now and the middle of October (the 20th) that are completely free. What?! It's JUNE.

Oh, and all I want to do is eat junk food. I've been trying to be better about my eating habits, and I've been doing really well lately (I made and ate squash with dinner on Monday!), but it's taking every ounce of my will power to not go make some funfetti  cookies ("for small group") and eat about half of them

So, I'm feeling frazzled. Which, I know... doesn't help my milk supply.

The end.

[four months]

One month:

Height- 20in

Weight- 8 lbs. 9 oz.

Two months:

Height- 23in
Weight- 11 lbs.

Three months:

Height- 23.5ish in.

Weight- 12 lbs.

Four months:

Height- 24 1/4 in. (25%)

Weight- 12 lbs. 11 oz. (10%)

Crawford, at four months old you...

• go to the church nursery every week. This is probably a bigger accomplishment for your mommy than you though :)
• have taken a bottle from Aunt Duck and Wai-Po. Both times we needed to leave you with them for a while, so we were counting on a successful bottle feeding, and you didn't disappoint. 

• had your first non-family-member babysitter: Mrs. Cook! It was so nice of her to keep you while I had a dentist appointment!
• take your paci out and sometimes put it back in (I think it's coincidence when that happens, but it's a joyous occasion, nonetheless)
• ROLL over! You definitely can do it, but you don't very often. And you're so close to rolling from back to front.

• are showing an increasing interest in Harley. He can keep you entertained for a while.
• love to be vertical. The jumperoo, exersaucer and bumbo are our friends. You still love to stand.

• are a SOUND sleeper. I typically vacuum your room while you're taking a nap. Hallelujah!

• aren't being swaddled anymore. You kept breaking your arms out of it, so we just stopped cold turkey. Instead, now you sleep in a sleep sack and it is so cute. Obviously, you love to sleep with your arms above you head and with a lovey.
• LOVE your loveys! We have snowman, a monkey and a bunny that are all in constant use. You snuggle right up with them and I have to keep a close eye on you to make sure you don't shove it in your mouth (but usually the paci is in it so I'm not too concerned).
• still sleep in our room. Sigh... I think I'm ready to move you upstairs in the next week. We'll see. 

• had a bit of a sleep regression last week, but you quickly leveled out back onto your awesome pattern (bed around 8:30, sleep until 6ish, eat and go back to sleep until usually around 8. One morning you slept until 9:40 though!). Even during the regression, you were still sleeping for 8 hours before getting up so I can't really complain.
• have had your first sickness. I took you to the doctor (actually ON your 4 month birthday) and you had a viral infection, which just threw you totally out of whack. Of course that was just in time for Mary Shelton's wedding weekend, so the very first time we had a sick baby we had to leave you with babysitters. Fortunately, they were Grandy, Wai-Po, Aunt Duck and Uncle Bill! I was SOOOO thankful they were here to take such good care of you!
• aren't so sure about naps... Some days you nap like a rockstar (2+ hour morning and afternoon naps) other days we get decent naps (1 hour in the morning, 2 in the afternoon), other days you and I have words over your nap rebellion.
• have a wide range of emotions. Evidence:

• fake cough (as you see in the video). You do it a ton.
• are a little fella. We're going back to the doctor next week for a weight check just to make sure you're growing well.
• are a total joy. We love you, buddy!