Friday

Today is a dreary Friday. Ethan has had a rough week as we think he has another tooth coming in. Poor baby refuses to nap. He spends hours each day playing with his feet, crying, talking, and generally keeping himself awake instead of peacefully sleeping. We are trying to maintain his normal morning and afternoon naps so he has an hour of playing alone for each one instead. Hoping this passes soon as he is a grump by the end of each day.

Mommy has had her own rough week. Emotionally spent dealing with over-tired baby. Car issues that seem to be getting more and more frequent. Looking into November which leads to December and the madness that Christmas has become. Trying to maintain work & home and balancing who gets to see our family when has become a chore. The house is a mess, I barely keep up at work. I have made several resolutions this week and I pray they help me maintain emotional balance this holiday season. I have begun a pre-set up Christmas planner, intend to meal plan, set a designated grocery day, and follow a cleaning schedule with the house chores. Sounds daunting right? Well, having some sort of a checklist helps me to stay on task instead of being so scattered like I've been feeling lately.

Jason has had a rough week just because mommy & baby have. But, he has been diligently working on our home during the week as Saturday will be a work day at Grandma Sherry's again. We now have heat tape on the roof over the back stairs to prevent ice buildup on the stairs. This required an additional outlet to plug the heat tape into. Uncle Justin stopped by to help with the electrical needs of this heat tape. Jason did the fastening on the roof later in the week. After the project was finished and Jason safe on the ground, the ladder went through one of the old windows in the laundry room. Looks like the projects won't end and the back windows will be replaced this spring. Never ending list of projects!

Trying to keep our heads up

Journaling

Today seems to be a better day. I may never have it all put together but at least I can say I try. Jason & I are talking about things more & getting more and more on the same page. Tonight we look forward to taking our pastors out for dinner as a sign of appreciation. This is going to be a good night.
I have made some new resolutions too. I am going to try to be more pro active than reactive. Make a meal planner, make a Christmas organizer. Do a little housework each day. Take 15 min for myself both morning and night. After I did these things yesterday, I felt better. Life has been CHAOS since Ethan was born and nothing is familiar anymore. Working through this!

Day to day

I find myself struggling lately. Struggling with relationships, struggling to keep up at work and at home. I am supposed to be the strong one. The one who has it all together. The secret is out, I don't have it all together & am not always strong. Oh yes, I am great at putting on a strong face, that mask is easy. God gives me strength, that is the only source I can rely on but today I find myself tired yet again.

Yesterday was a very busy day, boat show this week and a few deals in the works. I have to keep it all straight. All this I used to be able to do but my days are shorter now, and even shorter yesterday since the car needed to go into the shop at the end of the day. So, I take Ethan to sit in a waiting room for an hour and a half. Needless to say, we were both in tears by the time the car was done. Jason came to offer support for the last 10-15 minutes. I love him but it seemed too little too late. All to go home to play hostess to Jason's dad while Jason and Justin worked on an electrical outlet for the heat tape to be put on the roof for the winter.

Now, I have an action packed day at work again just to pick Ethan up early for appointments & groceries. Again, Jason won't be available to help because he's working in Lansing. Two weekends in a row now he has & will be working at his mom's. Maybe I will spend time with him when we retire.

Is this a pity party?? Maybe. Is it justifiable?? Anything can be justified. How do I get out of this funk? How do I make things right with Jason? Something tells me I have the answers, I just can't seem to grasp them right now.

Now, time for a strong, put together face. Gotta get to work.

Dedication

We had Ethan's 6 month pictures taken at the beginning of Sept. Ethan was such a ham, he really enjoyed watching our friend, Rose's kids trying to keep him entertained.

He allowed me to show off his two bottom teeth for his 7 month pictures!

We had Ethan's dedication yesterday, Oct 16, 2011. He was such a champ! Despite not playing in the nursery and sitting through a whole church service with no nap he was in great spirits for lunch. He was the "hot potato" at his own party. We hosted all of our parents, grandparents, and Ethan's Aunts & Uncles for lunch after the service. Needless to say, we had family nap time after all of that excitement.

Jason and I have been enjoying being Ethan's parents and are very enthusiastic about having the Lord's guidance on his life!

New tooth & catchup

Wow, Time has flown! While I can't go into detail about the last several months (that would be a thick book) I can summarize.

March 5th we had our wonderful son, Ethan. He was 6lbs, 6oz and 3 1/2 weeks early.
Spring was cool and wet for the most part and I stayed home for 12 weeks. I spent most of this time recovering, adjusting, and getting Ethan's room ready. We celebrated a few firsts: First Mothers day, First Father's day, Ethan's first Easter. Aunt Vickie came from Texas for a week to help out too. She made some wonderful meals for our freezer for when I went back to work!

I went back to work the Tuesday after Memorial day, Ethan went to Robin's for daycare. He seems to enjoy watching the other kids at daycare & it is a few minutes drive from work for either Jason or myself. We endured one really bad storm this summer that included streamline winds over 90mph!
Shortly after I went back to work, we started renovating our only bathroom. The toilet and flooring had given up so we gutted it. New tub, new toilet, new ceiling, new floor, new walls, new heating, new vanity. Whew. Jason did so much work thanks to the help of his brother and dad.

We were excited to learn a few weeks ago that Ethan will have a cousin, baby Brownie, whose gender will remain anonymous due March 31.

Ethan did give us a scare just before Labor day, he was acting really funny and we made our first ER visit to DeVos. He was admitted where they checked for possible signs of seizures and it was concluded that he was fighting his reflux.

Now, the bathroom is nearly finished (trim work in the process). Ethan's room is organized (most days). Ethan turned 7 months today and rolls like a champ. He loves to jump in his doorway jumper & grab at Smokey. He is ever curious and a bit cautious. He is on stage 1 & 2 baby food and likes most of it. The green beans take some coaxing. Jason is off to deer camp this week and while he was away, Ethan's first tooth popped through. No muss, no fuss, just showed up for Ethan to play with. Jason got a doe on Monday so we will have some venison for the winter.
Now, we are enjoying the sunshine and warm temps for today. Fall colors are showing brilliantly. We have applesauce in the pantry, a full freezer. God is so good!

Busy busy!

So I realized that I hadn't posted anything in the last month and a half! I knew we were busy but wow has time flown by!

First, the baby. Last night we had our 23 week appointment. All seems well and on track. I feel big but no one seems to agree with me. I guess that is okay. My doctor thinks my weight is on track so I guess I can't argue with that! Here are a few pictures of the progress...

Thirteen Weeks

Fourteen Weeks

Fifteen Weeks

Seventeen Weeks

Twenty Two Weeks

We found out at our ultrasound that we're having a boy! Here is his first baby picture. Hint, he's looking right at you with his face on the left. We are telling the gender but you will have to wait until his birthday to find out what his name will be :)

Twenty One Weeks

We did miss a few weeks of pictures but that was due to the fact that we've really stepped up the home improvements and it has been hunting season. Jason hasn't gotten a deer yet but the season isn't over either. For the home improvements we started with the laundry room exterior door. The cement had to be sanded down and part of the wall removed to accommodate a standard size door.
In addition to the new door in the back we changed out the front door as well. We also decided to take advantage of a very good deal at Lowes and purchased a house full of carpet. We had it installed professionally but saved some money by ripping out the old carpet first. In order to do all of that, we moved all of our furniture into a large enclosed trailer (can be seen in some of the pictures). There is a gap in the time frame for these pictures as the camera got lost in the shuffle for a couple of weeks.

Smokey seems to love having the couch back and makes herself right at home.

After all of that craziness with the house, we celebrated Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for! I think back to a year ago when we were devastated to have medical professionals inform us that children without medical intervention may not be possible. God is so good and proved them wrong. We've also had chances to build memories on trips with family and friends. Who knew God had so much in mind for us?! We celebrated the holiday by spending lunch with my mom and siblings. Then, that evening we spent with Jason's dad and the whole clan on that side. Friday I hit the stores at 5:30 and didn't have any problems getting the deals I set out for. Saturday we spent with Jason's mom. We are thankful to spend another year with his grandparents and pray that his grandma continues to do well. We found out this year that she has stage 3 breast cancer and she's coping well with the treatments so far.

Now, I can't believe it is December with Christmas knocking on our door already! December has arrived with much snowier weather than November. I have to be thankful that it held off as long as it did. I enjoy watching it snow and it really sets the mood for Christmas. However, I can't help feel as fall gives way to winter that I want March to be here that much faster.

Week 12

So today marks the beginning of week 12 for me. I can't say that I'll be able to do this for every week but I can only start with today.

I have been feeling better. Everyday seems to be different with some days being fine and others sleepy and still others queasy. And then there are the days when I go through all three. I have noticed that I get so exhausted so easily now too. I can go up and down the stairs at work now and then need to take a break. However, I don't feel the need to nap 24/7 so that is an improvement!

The last doctor appointment went well. I seem to be measuring on schedule and baby's heartbeat was healthy at 172 bpm. Some of my clothes definitely do not fit anymore while others I will be wearing for a while yet. The cooler weather has helped greatly so I can wear bigger baggier sweaters and shirts. I have gained 2 lbs roughly since getting pregnant. I say roughly because I was always fluctuating before within a couple of pounds. So, maybe I haven't gained anything :)

Jason began working on the house again last night. The latest project is to install new exterior doors on the front and back of the house. He is starting with the most difficult one, the one in the laundry room. He had to grind down the cement to accommodate the height of the new door. We purchased new screen doors last weekend so now we can get that project done before it gets super cold outside. Hopefully these doors will help with heating costs this year too. But the cement dust has been a pain and I really do not want to see the laundry room for a few days until Jason's had a chance to clean it a bit.

After the doors are installed we plan to start saving for new carpeting in the bedrooms and hallway. Smokey dug up parts of the carpet when we first got her so now every time I vacuum little carpet pieces end up everywhere. Smokey doesn't dig in the house now, but still can't resist the little pieces. I don't want to have our child playing with carpet pieces next year!

This week Jason and I will be 30 (hard to believe!!) and we will be very busy between projects and family gatherings. We still hope to make it to the Allegan County Fair this week but time will tell. Still, it will be great to see everyone.