Our thoughts are with you.......

I have to share something that I was incredibly touched by. One of my mom's coworkers lost her daughter last week in an extremely tragic accident. I could always tell that this was a nurse that my mom really respected by the way she would talk about her and tell stories from work or nursing school. I had the chance to see an interview with her and her husband after losing their child. They made the self less decision to donate their daughters organs so that other children might have a chance to live. You can hear the family's story here. http://illinoishomepage.net/content/fulltext/?cid=28401

If everyone could keep this family in their thoughts and prayers today as they lay their daughter to rest.

I cannot begin to put myslef in this woman's shoes or understand how she has the strength that she has after it seems so unfair that her little girl was taken so suddenly. All I can do is hug my baby boy a little tighter and hope he gets all he can from everyday, because you never know if he has a higher purpose on this earth, as this little girl did. I may never ever meet this woman in my life, but I feel as though she has helped me be a better mother, because I will strive to make every day of Harlan's life special, and quit being so scared of all the little stuff that might happen because it is taking away from all the great stuff that is already happening.

Catching our breath................

AS you can probably tell from our lack of blogging lately, it has been a busy few days for us. Mommy is changing jobs, Daddy is still working all the time, and even Riley has been an attention hog lately. So where does that leave little Harlan??? Right in the middle of it all. He has left Mommy so confused, but at least it is a happy confusion. It is definitely like my mom said, " it is amazing how your child can make you so proud one minute, and feel like the biggest doofus the next minute." Mommy compares Harlan to a rubik's cube. She can get three colors lined up no problem, but go to try to line three other colors up, and all she accomplishes is messing up the three colors she has already manged to figure out. Once I feel like we are getting this all figured out, something changes and I feel like I am learning about a whole new kid.

The weekends are especially hard for Mommy and Daddy. It is like we send our a kid off and he comes back 2 years older every monday! Take the last weekend that my mom had him for example, he came back making all kinds of new noises, probably courtesy of Libby and Mel's stitch impressions, no doubt :). And this past weekend, he came back way more intersted in his toys and even reaching for them a little, something I was just complaining to my mom about last week that I was worried because he didnt seem to interact with them.

Dont get me wrong, I am so proud of all the new things Harlan is learning. Daddy has already pegged him a genius and he is gonna have some high expectations to live up to there. But why does he have to make leaps and bounds in his development on the weekends??? The truth of it is, I am sure I am way more sensitive to how he acts when he gets home vs on thurs and fri before he leaves again. I also have the slight feeling that the grandparents house on both sides are way more entertaining than every day at home alone with mommy. Which is ok with me, I myself am in a better mood when I see family members and friends vs the days that we spend at home waiting for daddy to get home. It sounds like Harlan and Mommy need a hobby.

So it looks like mommy is going to have to do some research on teething. Apparently trying to figure out whether or not a child is teething is just as hard as trying to figure out whether or not Angelina Jolie is in fact pregnant again. (No not breaking news here, its sarcasm) Apparently, drooling is in fact a sign of teething as well as sucking on the hands, but neither one being present means that the child is teething. Are you kidding me????? Don't I get enough credit for deciphering signs and symptoms at work, that figuring out my poor baby's gums could be somewhat easier??? Oh and you thought people has opinions when you were pregnant?? Not as much as they do when weighing in on the teething issue.

So is Harlan teething??? Hell if I know. What i do know is that he has grumpy times and happy times. Sometimes he feels a bit warm to the touch, but never has a fever when mommy checks. He drools alot, but apparently babies his age cannot swallow their spit anyway. he sucks at his hands, but cant figure out how to put them in his mouth. and loves baby oragel. which after i had been putting it on his gums for a couple days, found out from daddy actually reading the label that it should be used for babies 4+ months. I guess just add it to the ever growing list of mistakes i make with Harlan and then marvel at the fact that not only is he still alive but that he also seems pretty happy and healthy.

A PICTURE SAYS IT ALL

We haven't forgotten

Mommy and Harlan have had a busy few days but we will be back to blogging soon!

He Loves Shopping

Harlan's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day

Ok so it wasnt that bad, but he wasnt the happy care free baby yesterday that we have come to know. He would fall asleep, then wake up 15 mins later with the most pitiful cry you have ever heard. Not his I'm hungry and you better feed me cry, but more like the cry we heard when he got his shots. It was such a sad sound. There are a couple theories here. Mommy thinks he is hitting a growth spurt (i think 3 months is the right time for that). Daddy thinks he is starting to teethe (possible too, bc sometimes his drool is completely outta control) We stocked up on teething remedies just in case. Time will tell which it is.

There were some spots of sweet baby Harlan in our very long day. Like his conversation with Daddy



He also had qite a good bath


And Harlan's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day really wore him out, and melted Mommy's heart

busy bumble bee

So as you can see from the lack of new posts lately, we have been very busy at our household. We are working on getting our house ready to be sold and we are closer than ever. This is an exciting time for us, but also tons of work.

Harlan is taking it all in stride. He is being the happy, smiling, laughing baby we all love so very much. He "talks" to us all the time. You could sit and have a conversation with him, if you dont mind that he speaks a completely different language. From what we can tell not only is he going to be a genius, he is also going to a very messy child. He has managed to puke all over himself the last few nights (he always waits til after he has had a bath and is in nice clean jammies, then lets it go. afterward he is quite proud of himself for the formula vomit that is dripping off of both of us, and gives tons of smiles and laughs jsut to rub it in that he did this on purpose! we all think it is a genuis plot to get another bath!) Yesterday he also managed to pee on his face, pee on the seat in mommy's car (thanks daddy) and pee on mommy during his bath (his first bath, that is). If you would like to spend any time with our son at all, i would bring some kind of protective layer for your clothes, and I would only take his diaper off at your own risk!!!





These are what we are considering for Halloween. Which one do ya'll like best??? I am leaning towards the penguin but Justin said he could be a gorilla and Harlan could be the banana. that might be worth it to see!

Making plans..............

Today was a good day. Harlan spent the day eating and napping, just usual. Mommy and Daddy spent the day touching up paint in the kitchen and making plans on what needs to be done next. For anybody that doesnt know, we would really like to sell our house and move closer to Justin's family in North Vernon. In a perfect world I could convince my mom to move down there too so all our family would be super close, but its not happening lol. So is anybody interested in a great house???? We are actually closer to realizing our dream than ever. We have a realtor coming here on Tues to scope the place out. A little overwhelming, plus anyone who knows me knows i hate cleaning, but you gotta do what you gotta do right? So this looks to be a very busy few days (remember I am back to work on the weekends) but also a very productive few days. So wish us luck, that Justin and I actually have the strength and stamina to get the place sellable quickly and that with the way things are going lately, that we can sell out house quickly and painlessly.

OH and just so there are no questions ; I HATE PAINTING. and yes my husband told me 2 and a half years ago that if i started painting, he didnt want to do it bc he hates painting too. and now sadly he is painting to touch up the painting i did then. but lucky for harlan and me he loves us, bc i think if he didnt i would have been doing alot of painting on my own today!

Going with the flow

Harlan is having a "i just wanna sleep on mommy kinda day" and mommy is having a " i just wanna sleep kinda day" so it is working well for us. the thunder outside makes it even a better day to sleep! So sleep it is. Have a great day!

A Day of Olympic Training

With the Olympics going on in Beijing, Harlan and I decided we would try a little training today. And of course we caught it all on video!!

These first two videos are of Harlan's tummy time. He was to strengthen those core trunk muscles to be on top of his game (still unsure of the sport!)



These two are of Harlan rolling. Yes he may have had a slight advantage from being on the pillow and using gravity but he has the general idea!

Tuesday is here

and the weekend went great!! We all survived the first weekend back at work. Harlan told me he had a marvelous time at grandma and grandpas house. Its funny how after one weekend I went from scared to death about leaving him somewhere (not because he wouldnt be taken care of) but because I couldnt handle it, to now I am super excited about upcoming weekends. ok maybe not super excited cause I do miss him and i still have to go to work, but i am excited for him and everyone around him. He is just so much fun right now and i know he brings everyone as much joy as he brings us.

In other news, Harlan spent Sunday night home alone with Daddy. This was the first time they had both been at home alone together. They did great and the next morning Daddy took Harlan out to breakfast while Mommy slept. I bet they read the newspaper together. AWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Last night, Mommy, Daddy and Harlan watched the mens gymnastics competition. It made me wonder, hmmmm maybe we could have a future gold medalist here. I'm sure it won't be too long before he is rolling over and then maybe we can teach him some flips. haha Daddy thinks we should just try soccer like we first planned. Maybe we should just ask him in a few years lol

I think this picture shows he could definitely have a future in gymnastics!!!

Rockstar Mommy

I need to clarify for a couple people. When i said I win the worst mommy award that was my sarcasm coming out. HAHA I am a rockstar mommy and I can admit it!!!!!!!!

Who knew that could come outta my kid??

so i win the worst mommy of the week award. last night i was feeding harlan, and i kinda moved my arms around to scratch my head and i think i accidently gagged him with the nipple on the bottle. he spit up a little so i sat him up, then he started majoring vomiting. all over me. it even came out his nose. i felt so bad! justin was laughing so hard he couldnt help at all. now he is stuffy today and i caused it. geez the poor kid needs to wear body armor around me. Other than that the last 2 nights have been better. No matter what time we start his bedtime routine he still always seems to be awake until 10 or 11, so I am not gonna fight it. Justin and I dont go to bed an earlier that that anyway. I am gonna try to share some videos with you The first 2 of Harlan talking to his rainforest bouncy seat. He is quite a vocal baby.




This is the video of harlan when i let the water outta the tub and he hears it hit the sink below. i love his reaction!



Harlan is gone for this weekend. I am working weekend option nights which is 7p-7a sat and sun nights. So Harlan will spend alternating weekends at justins parents and my mom's house, unless justin is off on the weekend. I am really looking forward to this for him. I want him to have great relationships with all of his family. But I miss him terribly already. It has been about 3 hours, BUT I have enjoyed watching a movie and getting on the computer without having to hold him at the same time. but dont tell anyone that!! I am super nervous about work tonite, i am scared that maybe I forgot how to be a nurse. yikes. i am sure i will be fine but i got that nervous feeling in my belly. Well I will have a busy weekend relearning my job and Harlan will have a fun weekend with his gma and gpa, but maybe miss his momma a little??? HAHA

So maybe I didnt figure it out?

Justin and I have had two really rough evenings. Harlan is great during the day hanging out, tummy time, eating sleeping, no issues. then like 7-8 pm comes around (about when Justin comes home) and we go to feed him and he flips out. he will suck for a min then just start wailing and nothing calms him down. i know he wants to eat, he roots and sucks at his hands, but he cant quit screaming long enough to eat. we use dr browns bottles, are constantly burping him during this time, walking around with him, mylicon, gripe water, rides in the car and nothing calms him down, EXCEPT his bath (he is a happy smiling baby in the bath) but as soon as we take him out, lotion him up and get jammies on him he is wailing again. so we start all over. then after about 3 hours, he just calms down, eats then goes to sleep. his 3-4 am feeding goes fine, then he is up the next morning and all is ok. but then evening comes and it happenes all over again! what is going on? is this a colicky behavior. all we can figure out is gas, he does seem stiff as a board at these times. but why is he happy baby during his bath and then back to the wailing and then ok during the night and all day. Justin thought maybe an earache, but i thought he would be like this all the time not just evenings if it were that. it is heartbreaking and exhausting. A couple of people have suggested that maybe we move up his bedtime routine so that he is getting to bed earlier than 10-11 pm but he naps alot during the day so my gut feeling isn't that he is getting overly tired. I researched colic on the internet this morning and it seems like it would have started alot earlier than this and that most babies are actually outgrowing it at this age. Harlan will be 11 weeks old on Sunday.

At least it is only 3-4 hours in the evening and I still have a sweet baby boy during the day. Also he is doing fine with his middle of the night feeding and goes back to sleep easily so it could be much worse. I just feel like there is something more I could be doing for him, but it seems like he may just have to outgrow this. Poor little Harlan.

OH WAIT! HOW COULD I FORGET??? I also have some really exciting news to report. Yesterday Harlan was hanging out in his bouncy seat looking at the rainfall while Mommy was folding clothes. All of a sudden he made this sound kinda like he was trying to catch his breath or something. It scared me until i looked at him and saw the huge smile, then i realized that he was laughing!!! It was a funny sounding laugh that I am sure will get sweeter but it was the coolest thing I have ever heard. I was secretly hoping that he would laugh before I went back to work so I could hear the first one. (not that i would tell anyone that;)) It made my week!!! It will be the next thing i try to get on video, but i think it may be a little time before i catch it bc it came outta nowhere and i was shocked!!! My little boy is accomplishing sooo much already! I feel like he will be in college by next month (ok a little dramatic)


Keep your fingers crossed for us tonight!!

P.S. Harlan feels like no one is reading his blog because noone leaves comments. You dont wanna disappoint such a sweet little baby do you???????

I think we figured it out!

I am pretty sure Harlan must be going through a growth spurt. He is a little grumpy these days, is sleeping a little more and holy moly he ate alot last night. he ate 8 oz at 6:30 (never have i seen him eat that much) then I made him wait til after his bath but at 9 he ate another 6 ounces (with some fussiness) and went to bed. then back up at 3 am (which is normal) and ate 7 oz (not normal) normally 3 am feedings is only 2-3 oz. hmmm maybe he will start outgrowing some clothes soon. he is all out of newborn sizes and some 0-3 month stuff is getting small and some is still too big.
We are spending the rest of the day together hanging out and probably making a trip to wally world if mommy can get off her bottom and get going!

Lazy Day

We are sluggish today. Harlan seems a little cranky and not feeling too well. He felt a little warm to me but I took his temperature and it was normal. He is sleeping mostly and just wakes up to eat a couple ounces then falls back asleep. Maybe he is hitting a growth spurt and he seems seriously hungry in the evening. He seems comfortable sleeping so we are spending the day in our jammies hanging out.
Here are a couple pics from a couple days ago of a happier babe

Enjoying his bath


Lookin good


The pictures are from my camera phone so they are a little blurry but he still looks sooo cute!

Harlan's birth

Here is the video from Harlan's birth. If this works I will be very happy and will take more video of him in his future endeavors!
He was a beautiful baby right from the beginning. And he started peeing on people right from birth :)

Our Little Secret

Harlan and I have come to an agreement that is working out very well for both us of. We have figured out how to both get a little more of something we like while helping each other out. You see Harlan loves to sleep in bed with Mommy and Daddy, but we are not very fond of it. It makes for a very uncomfortable night of sleep with a baby tucked in your arm, and you pretty much have to stay in the same sleeping position all night. Harlan has to sleep in his pack n play next to the bed. He has pretty much figured this out and does well in there, most of the time. Now Mommy really likes to sleep and there hasnt been a whole lot of sleeping going on in our house the last 10 weeks. So what is out agreement you ask. When Harlan wakes up in the morning to eat and be awake for the day anywhere between 7 and 9 am, Mommy hears Harlan starting to wake up and brings him to bed for a snuggle before we get up. This allows Harlan to get time in bed with us and it usually buys mommy a good extra hour of sleep. Don't I have a sweet little boy that is really good to his mamma??? We dont use this same plan of action for his middle of the night feeding bc the goal there is to get him fed and right back to sleep in the pack n play. So that makes our morning cuddle time very special, and it really is my favorite time of day. He looks like the sweetest little angel sleeping there next to me. He smells delicious from the lotion rubdown he gets after his bath everynight. Then when he is waking up he will open eyes and just kinda look at me so peacefully it melts my heart. Of course this quiet time doesnt last long bc he eventually remembers that he is hungry, but it is very special to me.

so comfy all stretched out!

Our Little Man Scrapbook

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Saturday with Daddy

Yesterday was a day of firsts for Harlan. After going to get Daddy's tire fixed and out to lunch, we went to Babies R Us to buy a new baby sling. I got the meshy baby bjorn one because it looked the most comfortable for Harlan. Then we went to Sam's club and I tested it out. At first it was a little awkward but it actually ended up being very comfortable and convenient. Harlan slept all snuggled up to mommy the entire time. No fussiness at all like a previous shopping trip that we don;t need to talk about;) Here is a picture of the carrier


The cashier even commented on how comfortable he looked sleeping in it and that gave me some reassurance that his arms and legs weren't hanging out funky or something. Next time we try it we will have to get a picture to share with everyone.

Then we came home and just took it easy as a family. Harlan is interacting alot more with us and is smiling alot. He also gives up the funniest looks and you can only imagine what he is thinking. Here is a couple pics of Harlan hanging out with Daddy



Harlan is also really starting to notice the world around him. He is noticing his toys now even though he is not playing with them yet. We try tummy time with him everyday. he only tolerates it for a few minutes but he is able to lift his head and look from side to side. Then he lets his head fall back to the bed, and starts moving his legs back and forth like he is trying to crawl away. Poor little guy looks so determined but gets nowhere! Maybe this is a sign that he will be an early crawler??? We tried a couple new toys yesterday. Here is Harlan trying out his bumbo seat which he did really well in for a few minutes.
We also tried his play gym out and he was really into it for about 15 mins. He was making the loudest cooing sounds every time the bear would make noise.

Tonight is the first colts preseason game on TV and Harlan is ready for it!


Future Peyton Manning maybe????

Another Try

Well I am giving this blogging thing another try. This time I have something way cuter and more interesting than myself to talk about. So this blog will be dedicated to Harlan and all the fun things that he will get into and try out. He will be 10 weeks old this weekend. 10 weeks!! How did time go that fast??? At his 2 month appointment last week he weighed 10 lbs 15 oz and was 21 3/4 inches long. Way to grow from birth (6 lbs 2 oz and 18.5 inches long). He is a little miracle and makes me honored everyday to be his mommy.

Some interesting facts about Harlan Robert

* Harlan loves to eat! During the day he eats anywhere from 2 oz to 6 oz and will go 2-4 hours between feedings. Mommy and Daddy have decided to wait to introduce any solids or cereal until at least 4 months old.

* Harlan sleeps alot, just not always at night. He is getting better though. He usually goes to bed at 10 or 11 after a big bottle and then is up at 2 or 3 in the morning then back up at 5 or 6. This isn't a strict schedule though and sometimes he will give mommy and daddy 5 hours of sleep. Last night Harlan slept for 8 hours!! Will it continue?? Only time will tell. Harlan also is good at falling back asleep in his pack n play after his morning feeding so that mommy and daddy can get a couple more hours of sleep. Harlan loves his mommy and daddy.

*Harlan LOVES bath time!!

*Mommy is finally able to trim Harlan's fingernails with the clipper without freaking out that she is gonna scar him for life by accidentally cutting him. yay mommy!

*Harlan likes to be swaddled at night, with his arm out and free!

*Harlan has his days when he likes the pacifier and when he doesn't. But mommy or daddy has to hold it in for him.

* Harlan isn't quite interested in toys yet, but loves mommy and daddy to talk to him and give him raspberries on his perfect tummy!

*Harlan loves mommy to sing to him.

*Harlan is the greatest thing Daddy and Mommy ever did.

Below is a slide show of Harlan from birth to 2 months. it is amazing to see how much he has changed already!

slideshow - Powered by Smilebox" src="http://www.smilebox.com/globalImages/blogInstructions/blogLogoSmileboxSmall.gif" width=386>

Make a Smilebox slideshow

PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS SO WE KNOW YOU VISITED US!!!!!