After the smoke clears....

To quote a co-worker "being a mom sometimes isn't very much fun" and I have to totally agree. Last night as the night wore on and around 8:30 - 9:00 when he is usually screaming cause he wants his bottle and to go to bed, last night he was coming in and out of conciseness with around a 100 degree fever and was whimpering my heart was breaking. We gave him his bath and bottle and laid him down and waited.....2 minutes later he was crying. As we picked him up out of his crib he was wet with sweat on his back so we took a layer off and let him sleep in just his onesie with his swaddle sac on. He finally dozed off about 11 only to wake back up at 3:30 which then it was daddy's turn to take care of little man. The report from Farmboy was that he dozed off and on from 3:30 to 4:00 and then slept from 4:00 to 5:00 then was up at 5:30 and took a bottle, when I got up at 6:00 I gave him some more medicine and he ate a couple more ounces. He was still pretty fussy and still running a little fever until about 7:45 when we had this......A nice peaceful, resting baby.

(I had to put this little outfit on to make myself feel better! ha)

And when I left for work his head felt so much cooler and he was grinning and talking to Grandma Pat. So I know he is in good hands. I hated to leave him so much!

XOXO - Sandi Rose

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Shots Stink!

Today was a very traumatic day not only for Lil Hoff but for momma as well. Today was Lil Hoff's two month check up as well as the first batch of vaccinations. I have been dreading this for at least a week. I was nervous as we drove to the doctor's and I was praying as we waited to be called in and too soon we were waiting for the doctor to come in.

This is a pretty happy little boy not knowing what is to come.

And we wait......

And wait.....

After being weighed and measured here are the stats:

Lil Hoff weighs 16 pounds and 3 ounces which is in the 98 percentile

He measures 24 and 3/4 inches which is in the 96 percentile

And his head measures at 16 and 3/4 inches which is the 91 percentile

The doctor said everything is perfect and he has no problem gaining weight..ha! She had nothing but good to say. His lungs sound good, his eyes are good, and his ears looked good.

Now comes the fun part.

"Mom what is happening?"

"Mom why are you crying?"

"OH! That hurts!!"

"That really hurts!!"

"You have to do both legs?"

Farmboy had to take over while mommy gained back her composure. After several Kleenexes and lots of kisses on Lil Hoff, Farmboy had to pry Lil Hoff away from me to get him dressed to leave. By the time I made his next appointment Farmboy had Lil Hoff calmed down.

We have made it home but he is pretty fussy, I am beginning to think this could be a loooong night.

XOXO - Sandi Rose

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The race is on

Saturday was a very fulfilling day. Some days you just feel so blessed with what the Lord has given you and you have a full heart. Saturday was one of those days. It started off dropping Lil Hoff off with my sister and brother in law so that I could head over to the bowling alley and participate in an Optimist activity. Optimist has teamed up with S.C.A.N. (supporting children with additional needs) and a couple volunteers are signing up each Saturday to spend the morning helping a child bowl.  I had such a good time. These kids are so delightful to be around and have such wonderful personalities that you forget that they do have additional needs, but the kids are bowling and laughing and having such a good time. And the parents are just hanging out with one another and laughing and have a equally good time. I left that morning feeling so unbelievably humble by what I have in life and I could not wait to see Lil Hoff and smother him in kisses.

I then meet up with my sister and brother in law and nephews at the derby race. My nephew is in cub scouts and this is his first race. They get a block of wood and they can shape it into whatever they want, the only rule is that the car can't weigh more than 5 ounces. It was fun to watch him get excited as his car was beating out others, we are not sure yet if he won but he defiantly had a fast car.

Here he is with his car. He had designed and named it "The Hawk". My sister said he did most the work himself and did such a good job.

Get ready, set, go! Each car raced in each lane so that it was completely fair and no one could say that one lane was faster than the other.

They can really gain some speed coming down that hill.

And the crowd went wild!

Good job Steven! I am so proud of you.

XOXO - Sandi Rose

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Sunday is a day of rest

Sunday was a pretty busy day for us which translates with a baby: how you think your day is going to go, is not really how it is going to go. It was a  good day but I was praying and hoping for an afternoon nap and did not get that. I have often wondered since having Lil Hoff, how did I spend all my time before, cause I sure don't have enough of it now.

Here are my two men ready for church and just waiting to leave. This is about 2 minutes and 55 seconds before I looked back at them and they were both asleep.

Hi MOM!

After church we had a carry in dinner and then had a question and answer time with a potential new paster for our church. Lil Hoff did not sleep through any of this, hence why I thought my odds were good for a afternoon nap. He did fall asleep on the way home and though for sure when we got home it was time to play. But play did not come as I thought it was time for a nap. He then counter offered with being hungry which I happily fed him thinking a nap would come after that, but Lil Hoff knew better than to fall asleep at that point cause then what would mommy do besides take a nap with him. I do believe we both got a little cat nap in for about 20 minutes. So I did feel a little refreshed after that.

Then something very exciting happened. Farmboy texted me and asked if we wanted to go feeding with him. That sounded a whole lot funnier than picking up my house and Lil Hoff was still being rather fussy so I thought maybe a truck ride and fresh air would do him some good. So I bundled him up in his winter coat and with him crying, carried him outside where  Farmboy was waiting.

I think Farmboy is more excited than Lil Hoff.

He's getting there.

Maybe not.

A pacifier makes everything better. And away we go.

Maybe this isn't so bad. I get to look out the window and see these big animals looking back at me.

Farmboy is eyeing his latest purchase.

And we have accomplished what we came for. A happy herd eating away.

All this work wears a Lil Hoff out.

*** Side note, please don't turn me into DFS or anything. Yes I am holding Lil Hoff and we did not strap him into a car seat. We were only on the country gravel road for 50 feet and then into a field. The  most danger Lil Hoff faced was when I was trying took a picture with my phone and Farmboy hit a bump and I almost hit Lil Hoff in the head with my camera. No babies, puppies, or calves were harmed in this blog post. ***

XOXO - Sandi Rose

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Tummy Time

Hey Son, I need you to hang out here "chillin" and do some tummy time.

Do what mom?!? I hate tummy time.

I know son, but other's your age are pulling their head and shoulders up and I don't want you to be behind.

I don't care, I don't like Tummy Time

Hey! It's me!! No, wait. I don't like tummy time. Can not have fun.

Yep, this is no fun

(Insert Roscoe) - I'm LOVE tummy time I do it all the time. If you're lay still too long I will sneak up and lick your bald head and you will NOT like that!

Ends another eventful night in the little house in the woods.

XOXO - Sandi Rose

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Terrible Thursday

It has been a no good, very rotten morning. But now that I have had time to sit and reflect on it, I realize this is God teaching me to have patience and to be loving as a parent.

7:05 - Go into Lil Hoff's room to wake him up by un-velcroing him. 

7:10 - Get a call from my babysitter saying she can't babysit him today

7:10 and 30 seconds - Panic starts to set in.

7:13 - Lil Hoff starts to scream

7:15 - Get off the phone with the sitter

7:19 - Still struggling with trying to get Lil Hoff dressed

7:21 - Feeding Lil Hoff and texting Farmboy to see if Nana can watch him today.

7:22 - Nana says yes!

7:23 - Farmboy stops by

7:26 - Feed Lil Hoff some more

7:27 - Lil Hoff spits up everywhere

Which means: Change of robes for mommy, change of clothes for Lil Hoff and take the cushion covers off the seat and throw them in the washing machine.

7:29 - Farmboy is changing Lil Hoff in outfit number two

7:29 - I am getting a diaper bag ready which I normally don't have to do since the babysitter has everything for Lil Hoff

7:29 and 30 seconds - Realize that a pitcher of boiled water would be beneficial

7:29 and 33 seconds - Realize clean bottles would be nice as well.

7:31 - Farmboy jabs a nose syringe up Lil Hoff's nose and makes him even more angry

7:33 - Farmboy is getting angry that he can't put Lil Hoff's pants on.

7:35 - Scrambling around trying to get everything done

7:45 - Farmboy is sitting in recliner with Lil Hoff rocking and Lil Hoff spits up again on Farmboy and most of it goes into his pocket which is holding his cell phone.

Which means: Change of shirts for Farmboy and outfit number three for Lil Hoff

7:47 - Farmboy changes and leaves - FAST

7:55 - Plug Lil Hoff up with pacifier to quieten him down.

8:00 - Lake Regional Hospital Calls and asks if I have time to go over my account. HA! and no I don't.

8:05 - Plug Lil Hoff with pacifier again.

8:07 - Roscoe is sitting and pleading to be let outside to go potty.

8:11 - Grunts come from Lil Hoff as his face is turning red

8:11 and 15 seconds - I contemplate changing Lil Hoff and come to the conclusion that the shaking of a diaper change might result in another changing of me and Lil Hoff so I let it go. (I know, worse mother of the year)

8:15 - Sleeping Beauty has overcome Lil Hoff

8:17 - I finishing getting ready.

8:24 - Lay the clothes out of dryer on the bed as nice as I can cause I don't have time to hang them up right now

8:27 - Grab some breakfast to go

8:33 - Loading up everything in my vehicle.

Child - Check

Purse - Check

Diaper bag - Check

Stroller - Check (he might go shopping with Nana today)

Coat - Check

Cell Phone - Check

Coffee - Check

Breakfast - Check

8:34 - Throw a treat in Roscoe's direction and out the door I go

8:38 - Arrive at Nana's - I bid farewell and feel slightly guilty that he has a messy diaper and can only be fed 4 times today.

9:07 - Arrive at work and sigh heavily.

Breathe in.........count to 10....breathe out

Breathe in.....count to 10......breathe out

XOXO - Sandi Rose

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Got your nose

Probably one of the things that has bothered me the most since having Lil Hoff is that everyone says he looks just like Farmboy and while I think Farmboy has lots of traits I want Lil Hoff to inherit I would like some of the credit for carrying the child for 10 months and for all the labor troubles I have. With all that said I am super excited that Farmboy is starting to really interact with Lil Hoff.

Farmboy has been great with feeding Lil Hoff and we alternate nights putting him down and Farmboy has always done bath-time and he will hold him too. Now he has gotten away from changing diapers but I can handle that with everything else he does. With all that said he is no superman, the minutes Lil Hoff starts to get fussy and Farmboy had exhausted all that he knows what to do ( mainly feeding him or sticking his pacifier in) he is quick to call in reinforcement (me) to take over. He has struggled with what Lil Hoff's purpose is right now. Sure he loves him and thinks he is great but he is ready for Lil Hoff to do more, like walk or talk or play catch. I have struggled with how to encourage Farmboy that one day Lil Hoff will be there but all he does now is cry and eat and go to the bathroom. But we both saw a glimpse of a what is the beginning of admiration from Lil Hoff to his dad Saturday night. They were both sitting on the couch and Farmboy started playing gotcha your nose and took Lil Hoff's nose and he looked up at his daddy and just grinned and daddy turned to mush right there and it helped me to remember what a great man Farmboy is and that Lil Hoff is lucky to have such a wonderful man to be 'just like'

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Where babies sleep

My mom and I have a ongoing joke about how Lil Hoff sleeps. Basically in my mind if it ain't broke don't fix it and he is sleeping all night so I wipe my hands of all the comments by my mother of how it is cruel and unusual punishment to let my child sleep in a swaddle sac. I do have to admit I have a tad bit of sad feelings when I first wake him up and un-Velcro him and he is stretching and loving it. But here he is waking up.

This was also a big day as it was Lil Hoff's first time in the nursery. Granted I was a helper in the nursery and that is why he was in there, but he did wonderful and just hung out and watched all the other children with envy as they were able to get up and move and play with toys and all Lil Hoff did was watch lights, but some day he will be playing with the other kids in there.Here he is in the swing in the nursery. I'm pretty sure we maxed out the weight limit on it.

After church we headed to Nana and Grandpa's house to have lunch. Aunt Kayla and Uncle Ben came as well. Aunt Kayla thinks Lil Hoff is something pretty special. She loves to hold him and he loves to spit up on her in return. He did so about 20 minutes after this picture was taken.

Aunt Kayla and Aunt Chara got him this outfit for Christmas and since he was going to be seeing them I wanted to dress him up in it.

This was a look of expression that reads: Please get me out of these rainbow pants. I'm a boy and I don't wear rainbow colored pants.

Today is also Chara's birthday, so after lunch we skyped her and chatted it up and wished her a happy birthday. Lil Hoff was very excited.

She misses him and can't believe how much he has grown. Happy Birthday Chara! We miss you too.

XOXO - Sandi Rose

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Two Months

I can not believe Lil Hoff is already two months old and to quote my momma "he is such a little man". And that he is. I'm not sure we ever saw the newborn stage. But I love that my baby has a little girth on him, it makes me feel like I don't have to worry about being so fragile with him. It is so hard to be fragile with a little hoss.

Some big accomplishments this past month. He is grinning so often now and loves to talk. He loves to lay on his changing table and look at his ceiling fan and grin and talk. We have some of our most serious talks over a dirty diaper. I just listen and occasionally throw a ohhh in there to keep him going. He is still sleeping through the night. We put him down starting about 9:00 and he is out by 10:00 and most mornings I am waking him up about 7:15. The hardest accomplishment for momma this month was defiantly dropping him off that first day at the sitters when I went back to work. I cried so hard and with mascara running and a blotchy red face I went to work only to have my mom tear up when she saw me. The second day I only teared up, now I can kiss him and tell him goodbye without a single emotion but I do count down the hours till I can go pick him up. Miss Jan is wonderful! She has already fallen in love with Lil Hoff and I don't know how she gets anything done when she spends the whole day holding him. It's a race when I show up in the morning to see how fast she can get him out of his car seat and start loving on him. She is also pretty sweet to me as well, that first day she called me just to let me know that he was doing great, I appreciated it so much!

Lil Hoff is eating 6 ounces every 2 1/2 to 3 hours of a mixture of Enfamil 1 and Enfamil AR with stands for added rice. We started him on the AR when he kept spitting up so bad that I was afraid that he was losing everything that he had just ate, but then the AR caused some stomach problems so we had to start mixing it, although at night he gets a full 6 oz of AR and he sleeps like a baby. We have started putting him to sleep without rocking him. We get him ready for bed by swaddling him and then we feed him, read a book, and then lay him down. Most times he does really well, you just have to give him a pacifier a couple of times and he will put himself to sleep. Other times we have to make up some more formula and get him good and full and then like every other man, if his belly is full, sleep comes quickly.

I can honestly just take pictures of him all day long. I never get tired of seeing his facial expressions change and I constantly am always wondering what he is thinking. He will get so serious and then next second he is smiling. I can't wait to see what the next month brings.

Here is my picture of the day. This is his lamb swing which a dear friend let us borrow when he was born. I could not have done Christmas if it was not for the lamb swing. He got spoiled rotten and slept many of hours swinging in the lamb swing. The lamb swing practically raised him while I was shopping, wrapping, baking, cleaning, and what not. But onto why I love this picture. We no long let him swing in the lamb swing (refer back to not wanting to get in the habit of rocking) but he does like to lay in it and watch the mobile and the TV is close by and he likes to watch the lights change on it. So this morning I laid him in it and I loved how he had his little hands on the outside of the blanket like he was holding on and he just looked so content and peaceful. He has so gotten me wrapped around his finger.

XOXO - Sandi Rose

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Snow Day

You all have probably thought I fell off the face of the earth but rest assured that I am well and proudly wear the new title of mommy. To this little fella. Not so little in size, but already has a huge spot in my heart.

So much has happened and I want to take the time to go over everything when I have more ( if I ever do again) but for right now I just wanted to share a few pictures. I do take pictures of him everyday. Mostly because I think he is the most adorable baby in the whole world! ( not that I am proud) but also cause I want to remember everything. Today was the first officially snow that stuck of the year and school was cancelled but I bundled Lil Hoff up and off to the sitters we went. It wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't so cold. The temperature stayed in the teens and the wind blew all day long. Work was pretty slow and I can understand, I didn't want to get out in this weather. I did get a lot caught up at work after being gone for two months so that was a plus. So here is my little snow buddy.

I am trying to post this off my phone, which I am loving. I got an iPhone and it has a wonderful camera on it and since I have it on me more often than regular camera I am able to capture more candid shots. So if this works I am hoping to be able to blog more often. I hope.

XOXO

Sandi Rose

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