Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
The crib...
We decided the other day that it was time to lower the crib mattress, before G starts to pull himself up and takes a tumble out the front of his crib. Well he's so tall that we realized that we had to drop the mattress to the 2nd to the last hole! And we had to raise the front panel up. Now I can't reach but he'll be safe. I need to have Ed build me a step stool or something because when I go to put G in his crib my boobs get crushed and when I go to get him out of his crib I wrench my back every time. Once he starts pulling himself up consistently then it won't be so bad, but for now he's content to just lay on his back and wait for me to pick him up. Argh!
G and his daddy had a good day yesterday, they wathced football and played. When I got home from work at 7:30 pm, I ate some quick dinner and then fed G. He crashed like a guy who had run a marathon all day! :) I know I'm weird but I kinda love that he does that for me. He woke up for a short time at about 10 pm but I was able to use my super powers to get him to go back to sleep. He slept until about 5:30 am!!! Woohoo!!! I think he only woke up because he's such a restless sleeper that he kicked his blanket off and got a little chilly. If we dress him in long sleeved and legged pajamas he sweats like crazy and wakes up in a pool of sweat. If we dress him in a onsie he won't leave his blanket on and he gets cold. Anyway, he slept after that until almost 7:30 am.
I'm not bragging completely because the night before was a different scenario. He went to be just fine at around 7:30 to 8 pm, but he was up at 3 am and ready to party like it was 1999. I could not get him back to sleep to save my life and I got a little frustrated because I had to work the next morning. I finally gave up and laid him in his crib and gave him a toy to wrestle with and I went back to bed. He stayed up for another hour or so chattering and giggling and such. The next thing I know my alarm is going off and waking us all up at about 8 am!
So, the sleeping in his crib thing is still going well!!! Now if only I could get Ed to put G in his crib for naps during the day - we'd be about set!!!
G and his daddy had a good day yesterday, they wathced football and played. When I got home from work at 7:30 pm, I ate some quick dinner and then fed G. He crashed like a guy who had run a marathon all day! :) I know I'm weird but I kinda love that he does that for me. He woke up for a short time at about 10 pm but I was able to use my super powers to get him to go back to sleep. He slept until about 5:30 am!!! Woohoo!!! I think he only woke up because he's such a restless sleeper that he kicked his blanket off and got a little chilly. If we dress him in long sleeved and legged pajamas he sweats like crazy and wakes up in a pool of sweat. If we dress him in a onsie he won't leave his blanket on and he gets cold. Anyway, he slept after that until almost 7:30 am.
I'm not bragging completely because the night before was a different scenario. He went to be just fine at around 7:30 to 8 pm, but he was up at 3 am and ready to party like it was 1999. I could not get him back to sleep to save my life and I got a little frustrated because I had to work the next morning. I finally gave up and laid him in his crib and gave him a toy to wrestle with and I went back to bed. He stayed up for another hour or so chattering and giggling and such. The next thing I know my alarm is going off and waking us all up at about 8 am!
So, the sleeping in his crib thing is still going well!!! Now if only I could get Ed to put G in his crib for naps during the day - we'd be about set!!!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Happy 6 months Son!
Christmas Eve marks 6 months from when Garrett was born. I cannot believe my life. A year and a half ago I never thought that I would be someone's mom. The struggle to get pregnant helped to make me appreciate and enjoy it that much more. Now that he's here and has completely consumed my life I realize that I never truly lived before now. I look forward to every part of every day. When he wakes me up at 2 am and I get to rock him and feed him I hold him and wonder how I got so lucky. When he wakes up in the morning with a big grin I can't help but grin back, even though I'm so tired that I can't see straight. Everything he does, he does with his whole heart and the sense of wonderment amazes me. He is a work of God's art!!!
And now I get to see Ed as a man that is different than the man I married. I loved the man I married, but I'm head over heels in love with the man I now know. Garrett is truly my greatest joy and accomplishment. I could come up with a cure for cancer tomorrow and I would still be more proud of the fact that I'm a parent.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
For your viewing pleasure! :)
When we were in Coeur d'Alene for Thanksgiving my Mom, sister and I took G over to Kiddie Kandids at the Spokane Valley Mall. Here are the pictures we got from that visit.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Our online Christmas letter
I apologize for only sending out cards and not my traditional "here's what we did this year" letter, but let's let this serve as that, since I wrote our blog address on the backs of the cards we sent out. Did you enjoy the cards? They were fun this year huh? So many years I have received cards from people showing off their little ones - and I'm so happy to get to join the club!!!
A recap of highlights from our very exciting 2008!!!
January
01/14 - Ed had a birthday! I won't tell you which though, lest he read this and feel like kicking me in the booty for admitting his age to anyone.
01/25 - As a late birthday present for Ed as he found out he was having another son. :) He was the only person who "knew" that we were having a boy, everyone else (including me) thought for sure we'd be buying pink for a long time to come. We went to our OB appointment and Garrett was sure to let us know that he was packing a twig and some berries so there was no doubt!!! I knew then that I was destined to lead a life of camo!
March
In March we got to visit with the perinatologist for the first time, and we were very very very excited to hear and see that Garrett appeared to not have OI. What a huge relief for both of us. Sure, we would have been fine if he did have it, and we would have adapted, but parents of kids with OI have to make so many tough decisions related to their children's well-being and we were scared to have to do it. The perinatologist felt fairly certain that Garrett was safe. I relaxed and enjoyed my pregnancy so much more after that appointment.
03/15 - We decided to name our baby Garrett Edward. It was narrowed down to that and Broden Edward but looking back, Garrett was the right choice!!! I can't imagine calling him Brody now, even though it is, of course, a name near and dear to my heart. I posted a poll online about it, and Broden was the clear winner, and we all know I am forever going for the underdog!!!
April
04/02 - My Dad, Mom, and little sister came to visit!!! They said they wanted to see Fat Cyndi. Boy did they get to - but if they were smart they would have waited until about the middle of June. I was really Fat Cyndi then! :) On 04/02 we all went and I had a 3d ultrasound done. It was so cool to watch Garrett and be able to feel him at the same time!!! Ed was in Boise for training so he missed out on the fun, but I had pictures and video to show him when he got home. My Mom, sister and I also started on the nursery.
In April we purchased our camp trailer. What a great investment that has been so far - I look forward to many years of enjoying the outdoors with my two Davey Crocketts! :)
04/15 - The Braxton Hicks contractions started. Ugh. Consider them practice contractions my doctor tells me. Who wants to start practicing a couple of months ahead of the event? I'm a procrastinator thru and thru!
04/20 - Ed broke his kneecap chasing down a bad guy on a traffic stop. Don't you worry about Corporal Holbert - he was back on duty two weeks later, broken kneecap and all. He considered it his trial run to see if he would go stir crazy taking 7 weeks of paternity in the summer. He was on light duty for a very short amount of time before deciding that he'd had enough and so he proved to the doctor that he could still leap tall buildings in a single bound, so they released him to full duty. It was during this time that he regreted that we live in a split level house though!
May
05/12 - Happy 30th birthday to me - I was 33 weeks pregnant!!! I worked that day, then Ed made me a nice dinner. The day before was Mother's Day and even though technically I wasn't a mother Ed decided it was my first real Mother's Day and he treated me like a queen both days!
In May we got word from the Captain in Region 2 that Ed was chosen to be the resident trooper in Powell! This is a remote residency that is located on Highway 12 right along the Lochsa River. It will put us a LOT closer to home, which we're very excited about. We will be moving in April of 2009 as Ed has to be on duty on 05/01/09. The state provides the house (so we will not have to pay a mortgage) and pays the utilities, etc...we just have to pay for our satellite TV and internet (unless of course we can bring ourselves to use dial-up, which isn't going to happen). We have to commit to three years there, and we can do two tours, so we're planning on being there for six years. I will get to homeschool Garrett for the first few years, which I'm very excited about. I am also excited at the prospect of getting to finish my Master's without having to try and fit it into a 40 hour work week (amongst other obligations). It is truly God's country up there and it is perfect for mountain man Ed. Now...the question is when do we list our house, with who, and for how much???
June
06/01 - My friend Jolynn threw me a baby shower. It was so sweet!!! :) What great people we've gotten to know down here! We were gifted with so many clothes that I basically didn't have to do any laundry for the first 3 weeks of Garrett's life.
06/05 - Garrett decided that he wanted to try to come early but we were able to make him understand that that wasn't an option! I spent a day in the maternity ward of the hospital with some kind of virus that zapped all of the hydration out of my body, which caused my uterus to start contracting. They pumped me full of IV fluids and the contractions slowed down, but never did go away, until I gave birth anyway.
06/24 - Garrett Edward made his debut via scheduled c-section at 7:30 am. He weighed in at 7 pounds and 10 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. He had a beautiful head of dark hair and the sweetest disposition, right from the start! He latched on and began breastfeeding like he'd been doing it all his life!!! I couldn't believe the time had come to meet my son. I didn't want Ed to spend the night at the hospital since the "beds" they have there for the dads are less than comfortable, and besides, we had dogs at home he needed to take care of. Garrett roomed in with me the whole time, even though it was against hospital policy for a c-section momma with no one else sleeping in the room to have the baby with her. Too bad! He's my baby so I make the rules!!! I do have to brag that for some reason we got to have one of the two maternity "suites" in the hospital. The normal maternity rooms are TINY and somehow I lucked out and didn't get one of those, not that we needed a whole lot of room in there anyway, seeing as we didn't have family coming in and out visiting. We did have a lot of friends who stopped by to welcome our little miracle child!
06/26 - Garrett and I came home from the hospital!!! I was awfully sore from the c-section but I listened to the advice of my friend Kim and I made sure to get up and move as much as possible, even though it was painful to do so. The worst part by far was the stairs. OUCH. You should have seen Ed taking care of me and Garrett!
We were very fortunate to have my Mom come down for a little over a week after Garrett was born. She came down on 06/26, which was my request because I could not see a reason for her to be here while Garrett and I were just in the hospital. She was such a big help that we were sad to see her go!!! From that moment on Garrett fell in love with his Grandma!!!
July
07/12 - We packed up all the baby necessities (holy crap that's a job), the dogs, hooked up to the trailer and started towards Coeur d'Alene. Yes, we travelled 500+ miles with a 18 day old child. He was a GREAT traveler and he truly slept most of the way there. We stopped in Salmon the first night and stayed with friends there. Then we stopped in Powell the next night at what will eventually be our new home (to check things out), then we were in Coeur d'Alene. The air conditioner in our truck went out sometime during this trip and it was miserable to drive without it on. Poor Garrett had to travel in a plain white onsie lest he bake in the back seat! We got to see a lot of family and friends and we spent two weeks up there! We lived in Mom & Dad's backyard in our camp trailer. It was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We were so sad to take Garrett away from people that love him so much but we were happy to go home and really settle into being a little family of 3 (plus 2 mutts).
August
We started out August by hooking back up to the camp trailer just days after we returned from Coeur d'Alene. We intended to camp at a place called Warm River here in Idaho, but it was packed and we had to find another campground. We ended up at Lower Mesa Falls. It was just the three of us and the dogs. We only got to be there for a few days, but we had a great time. We took Garrett on lots of stroller rides and we did our best to protect him from the mosquitoes! We were happy to get to see a part of Idaho that we haven't seen yet. :) We sat around and ate and stared at the fire. It was heaven!
When Ed got back to work from his 7 weeks of paternity leave he had a new present waiting for him - a Dodge Magnum. That's right, he had to trade in his beloved go fast machine (i.e. the Charger) for a giant station wagon patrol car. He's none too happy about that but he reminds himself it's just until we get to Powell, then he gets a 4 wheel drive!
08/16 - Ed and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary!!! It appears that some of you were wrong and we have managed to still like each other! My boss took Garrett for a few hours so that Ed and I could go have a drink (a small one for me of course) and some steak. :) The funny part is - we couldn't get back to pick up Garrett fast enough. We missed our little buddy!
08/31 - I returned to work full-time :( It was sooner than I expected but I ran out of leave and we couldn't really afford to go without my pay, so I had to go back to work.
September
09/02 - I bought a new car, what some call a mommymobile. But don't worry - it's not a mini-van. :) I was already tired of lugging Garrett in and out of our big Ford pickup. My new mommymobile is so much more kid and car seat friendly!!!
09/14 - Garrett and I took a road trip to Boise for a few days so that he could meet his Uncle John, Aunt Heather and cousins Ben and Keith!
In the month of September Garrett also got his first cold :( Poor kiddo had a hard time with it too, but he remained his usual happy self throughout it all!!! He's since had several more colds but we've worked thru each of them the best we could.
November
11/11 - Garrett's got two teeth!!! (watch out boobies - here comes the pain)!
During the month of November Garrett learned how much fun it is to roll everywhere! He's a rolling fool now!!! We also started feeding him rice cereal, then fruits, and then veggies. Now he'll eat as much of whatever we give him! So, our next big adventure is Stage 2 foods eventually, but first we need to do some creative babyproofing against Rolly McRollerson!
We were fortunate enough to have the time to take to go to Coeur d'Alene for the Thanksgiving holiday. We were up there for 6 whole days even! We had a nice small Thanksgiving dinner (complete with Ed's beloved smoked turkey) with my parents and sister. While we were there Garrett was baptised at the church that I grew up in. His godparents (or sponsors) are my sister Sarah and Ed's oldest son James. That's when we got to meet James' new family and wife. Welcome to the family Christina and kids!!!
December
12/01 - I started back to school after a six month break. I wanted a longer break but I had to go back or I would have to start paying back the financial aid I have accrued, which is a frightening amount of $$. Balancing work, school, baby, husband, housework, etc...is no easy task, and I wouldn't say I'm anywhere close to successful at it, but it's not for forever, so I can do it.
12/12 - We decided it was time to move Garrett into his own bed (i.e. the crib in his room). He sleeps so much better and so do I. I miss snuggling him all night though, and I miss just being able to have him root for booby in the middle of the night. Now I have to get up and go into his room, but I'm enjoying sitting in the rocking chair with him while he east in the dark until he goes back to sleep. I sit there and think of what my life was like a year ago at that time and I'm amazed at how much my life has changed. This little boy relies on me for everything and it's a repsonsiblity that I am so honored to have!!!
*******************
As you can see, what a year 2008 has been at the Holbert house. We welcomed Garrett and we found out that we will be moving. We've loved our time in Pocatello and we are so grateful to those that welcomed us as family. We will miss our first house together and we will each miss the people we work with. We have come to find out that our son is the most amazing creature God ever created and we look forward to raising him to be an intelligent, respectful, sensitive and precocious child. Our marriage has been strengthened as we see each other in a new light and we get to work together towards a long-term goal. Our little family of just the two of us has blossomed in the coolest way, and for those of you wondering - our family is complete! :) We decided that we truly won the genetic lottery with this little boy and neither of us are big gamblers. :)
From our house to yours - Merry Christmas!!!!!!!
A recap of highlights from our very exciting 2008!!!
January
01/14 - Ed had a birthday! I won't tell you which though, lest he read this and feel like kicking me in the booty for admitting his age to anyone.
01/25 - As a late birthday present for Ed as he found out he was having another son. :) He was the only person who "knew" that we were having a boy, everyone else (including me) thought for sure we'd be buying pink for a long time to come. We went to our OB appointment and Garrett was sure to let us know that he was packing a twig and some berries so there was no doubt!!! I knew then that I was destined to lead a life of camo!
March
In March we got to visit with the perinatologist for the first time, and we were very very very excited to hear and see that Garrett appeared to not have OI. What a huge relief for both of us. Sure, we would have been fine if he did have it, and we would have adapted, but parents of kids with OI have to make so many tough decisions related to their children's well-being and we were scared to have to do it. The perinatologist felt fairly certain that Garrett was safe. I relaxed and enjoyed my pregnancy so much more after that appointment.
03/15 - We decided to name our baby Garrett Edward. It was narrowed down to that and Broden Edward but looking back, Garrett was the right choice!!! I can't imagine calling him Brody now, even though it is, of course, a name near and dear to my heart. I posted a poll online about it, and Broden was the clear winner, and we all know I am forever going for the underdog!!!
April
04/02 - My Dad, Mom, and little sister came to visit!!! They said they wanted to see Fat Cyndi. Boy did they get to - but if they were smart they would have waited until about the middle of June. I was really Fat Cyndi then! :) On 04/02 we all went and I had a 3d ultrasound done. It was so cool to watch Garrett and be able to feel him at the same time!!! Ed was in Boise for training so he missed out on the fun, but I had pictures and video to show him when he got home. My Mom, sister and I also started on the nursery.
In April we purchased our camp trailer. What a great investment that has been so far - I look forward to many years of enjoying the outdoors with my two Davey Crocketts! :)
04/15 - The Braxton Hicks contractions started. Ugh. Consider them practice contractions my doctor tells me. Who wants to start practicing a couple of months ahead of the event? I'm a procrastinator thru and thru!
04/20 - Ed broke his kneecap chasing down a bad guy on a traffic stop. Don't you worry about Corporal Holbert - he was back on duty two weeks later, broken kneecap and all. He considered it his trial run to see if he would go stir crazy taking 7 weeks of paternity in the summer. He was on light duty for a very short amount of time before deciding that he'd had enough and so he proved to the doctor that he could still leap tall buildings in a single bound, so they released him to full duty. It was during this time that he regreted that we live in a split level house though!
May
05/12 - Happy 30th birthday to me - I was 33 weeks pregnant!!! I worked that day, then Ed made me a nice dinner. The day before was Mother's Day and even though technically I wasn't a mother Ed decided it was my first real Mother's Day and he treated me like a queen both days!
In May we got word from the Captain in Region 2 that Ed was chosen to be the resident trooper in Powell! This is a remote residency that is located on Highway 12 right along the Lochsa River. It will put us a LOT closer to home, which we're very excited about. We will be moving in April of 2009 as Ed has to be on duty on 05/01/09. The state provides the house (so we will not have to pay a mortgage) and pays the utilities, etc...we just have to pay for our satellite TV and internet (unless of course we can bring ourselves to use dial-up, which isn't going to happen). We have to commit to three years there, and we can do two tours, so we're planning on being there for six years. I will get to homeschool Garrett for the first few years, which I'm very excited about. I am also excited at the prospect of getting to finish my Master's without having to try and fit it into a 40 hour work week (amongst other obligations). It is truly God's country up there and it is perfect for mountain man Ed. Now...the question is when do we list our house, with who, and for how much???
June
06/01 - My friend Jolynn threw me a baby shower. It was so sweet!!! :) What great people we've gotten to know down here! We were gifted with so many clothes that I basically didn't have to do any laundry for the first 3 weeks of Garrett's life.
06/05 - Garrett decided that he wanted to try to come early but we were able to make him understand that that wasn't an option! I spent a day in the maternity ward of the hospital with some kind of virus that zapped all of the hydration out of my body, which caused my uterus to start contracting. They pumped me full of IV fluids and the contractions slowed down, but never did go away, until I gave birth anyway.
06/24 - Garrett Edward made his debut via scheduled c-section at 7:30 am. He weighed in at 7 pounds and 10 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. He had a beautiful head of dark hair and the sweetest disposition, right from the start! He latched on and began breastfeeding like he'd been doing it all his life!!! I couldn't believe the time had come to meet my son. I didn't want Ed to spend the night at the hospital since the "beds" they have there for the dads are less than comfortable, and besides, we had dogs at home he needed to take care of. Garrett roomed in with me the whole time, even though it was against hospital policy for a c-section momma with no one else sleeping in the room to have the baby with her. Too bad! He's my baby so I make the rules!!! I do have to brag that for some reason we got to have one of the two maternity "suites" in the hospital. The normal maternity rooms are TINY and somehow I lucked out and didn't get one of those, not that we needed a whole lot of room in there anyway, seeing as we didn't have family coming in and out visiting. We did have a lot of friends who stopped by to welcome our little miracle child!
06/26 - Garrett and I came home from the hospital!!! I was awfully sore from the c-section but I listened to the advice of my friend Kim and I made sure to get up and move as much as possible, even though it was painful to do so. The worst part by far was the stairs. OUCH. You should have seen Ed taking care of me and Garrett!
We were very fortunate to have my Mom come down for a little over a week after Garrett was born. She came down on 06/26, which was my request because I could not see a reason for her to be here while Garrett and I were just in the hospital. She was such a big help that we were sad to see her go!!! From that moment on Garrett fell in love with his Grandma!!!
July
07/12 - We packed up all the baby necessities (holy crap that's a job), the dogs, hooked up to the trailer and started towards Coeur d'Alene. Yes, we travelled 500+ miles with a 18 day old child. He was a GREAT traveler and he truly slept most of the way there. We stopped in Salmon the first night and stayed with friends there. Then we stopped in Powell the next night at what will eventually be our new home (to check things out), then we were in Coeur d'Alene. The air conditioner in our truck went out sometime during this trip and it was miserable to drive without it on. Poor Garrett had to travel in a plain white onsie lest he bake in the back seat! We got to see a lot of family and friends and we spent two weeks up there! We lived in Mom & Dad's backyard in our camp trailer. It was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We were so sad to take Garrett away from people that love him so much but we were happy to go home and really settle into being a little family of 3 (plus 2 mutts).
August
We started out August by hooking back up to the camp trailer just days after we returned from Coeur d'Alene. We intended to camp at a place called Warm River here in Idaho, but it was packed and we had to find another campground. We ended up at Lower Mesa Falls. It was just the three of us and the dogs. We only got to be there for a few days, but we had a great time. We took Garrett on lots of stroller rides and we did our best to protect him from the mosquitoes! We were happy to get to see a part of Idaho that we haven't seen yet. :) We sat around and ate and stared at the fire. It was heaven!
When Ed got back to work from his 7 weeks of paternity leave he had a new present waiting for him - a Dodge Magnum. That's right, he had to trade in his beloved go fast machine (i.e. the Charger) for a giant station wagon patrol car. He's none too happy about that but he reminds himself it's just until we get to Powell, then he gets a 4 wheel drive!
08/16 - Ed and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary!!! It appears that some of you were wrong and we have managed to still like each other! My boss took Garrett for a few hours so that Ed and I could go have a drink (a small one for me of course) and some steak. :) The funny part is - we couldn't get back to pick up Garrett fast enough. We missed our little buddy!
08/31 - I returned to work full-time :( It was sooner than I expected but I ran out of leave and we couldn't really afford to go without my pay, so I had to go back to work.
September
09/02 - I bought a new car, what some call a mommymobile. But don't worry - it's not a mini-van. :) I was already tired of lugging Garrett in and out of our big Ford pickup. My new mommymobile is so much more kid and car seat friendly!!!
09/14 - Garrett and I took a road trip to Boise for a few days so that he could meet his Uncle John, Aunt Heather and cousins Ben and Keith!
In the month of September Garrett also got his first cold :( Poor kiddo had a hard time with it too, but he remained his usual happy self throughout it all!!! He's since had several more colds but we've worked thru each of them the best we could.
November
11/11 - Garrett's got two teeth!!! (watch out boobies - here comes the pain)!
During the month of November Garrett learned how much fun it is to roll everywhere! He's a rolling fool now!!! We also started feeding him rice cereal, then fruits, and then veggies. Now he'll eat as much of whatever we give him! So, our next big adventure is Stage 2 foods eventually, but first we need to do some creative babyproofing against Rolly McRollerson!
We were fortunate enough to have the time to take to go to Coeur d'Alene for the Thanksgiving holiday. We were up there for 6 whole days even! We had a nice small Thanksgiving dinner (complete with Ed's beloved smoked turkey) with my parents and sister. While we were there Garrett was baptised at the church that I grew up in. His godparents (or sponsors) are my sister Sarah and Ed's oldest son James. That's when we got to meet James' new family and wife. Welcome to the family Christina and kids!!!
December
12/01 - I started back to school after a six month break. I wanted a longer break but I had to go back or I would have to start paying back the financial aid I have accrued, which is a frightening amount of $$. Balancing work, school, baby, husband, housework, etc...is no easy task, and I wouldn't say I'm anywhere close to successful at it, but it's not for forever, so I can do it.
12/12 - We decided it was time to move Garrett into his own bed (i.e. the crib in his room). He sleeps so much better and so do I. I miss snuggling him all night though, and I miss just being able to have him root for booby in the middle of the night. Now I have to get up and go into his room, but I'm enjoying sitting in the rocking chair with him while he east in the dark until he goes back to sleep. I sit there and think of what my life was like a year ago at that time and I'm amazed at how much my life has changed. This little boy relies on me for everything and it's a repsonsiblity that I am so honored to have!!!
*******************
As you can see, what a year 2008 has been at the Holbert house. We welcomed Garrett and we found out that we will be moving. We've loved our time in Pocatello and we are so grateful to those that welcomed us as family. We will miss our first house together and we will each miss the people we work with. We have come to find out that our son is the most amazing creature God ever created and we look forward to raising him to be an intelligent, respectful, sensitive and precocious child. Our marriage has been strengthened as we see each other in a new light and we get to work together towards a long-term goal. Our little family of just the two of us has blossomed in the coolest way, and for those of you wondering - our family is complete! :) We decided that we truly won the genetic lottery with this little boy and neither of us are big gamblers. :)
From our house to yours - Merry Christmas!!!!!!!
Friday, December 19, 2008
He did it again!!!
G went to sleep at 10:30 last night and woke up at 6:45 this morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Him and I came upstairs so that Ed could sleep and G and I fell asleep on the couch until 10 am! Holy tired baby Batman!!!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
6 month checkup & his milestones
G weighs in at 18 pounds 14 ounces & he's 29.5 inches tall!!! He's in the 77th % for weight and the 95th % for weight. That's according to an online tool that I use to keep track of him http://www.mybirthcare.com/favorites/babygrowthchart.asp but according to the doctors office he's over 80% for weight and over 100% for height. I don't care about the % - I care that he's a healthy and happy little big boy!!!
And his milestones:
rolls from tummy to back
rolls from back to tummy (in fact he rolls all around the house)
moves things from one hand to the other and back again
sits up with our help
stands up with our help
has 2 teeth (with a third one pushing thru)
pushes himself up on his arms and knees, but not going forward or back
pulls things to his mouth
reaches for things he wants
chatters a lot - but no discernable sounds (yet)
laughs and smiles in reaction to us
recognizes his name
takes binky of his mouth and puts it back in (if he wants it)
solid foods (rice cereal, fruits and veggies)
The doctor said he would be very surprised if G's not walking (he tries to take steps with our help of course) by about 10 months old.
And his milestones:
rolls from tummy to back
rolls from back to tummy (in fact he rolls all around the house)
moves things from one hand to the other and back again
sits up with our help
stands up with our help
has 2 teeth (with a third one pushing thru)
pushes himself up on his arms and knees, but not going forward or back
pulls things to his mouth
reaches for things he wants
chatters a lot - but no discernable sounds (yet)
laughs and smiles in reaction to us
recognizes his name
takes binky of his mouth and puts it back in (if he wants it)
solid foods (rice cereal, fruits and veggies)
The doctor said he would be very surprised if G's not walking (he tries to take steps with our help of course) by about 10 months old.
dang!
I was hoping to have a picture to post of my beautiful brace-free smile. But they didn't come off today. Dangit!!! I have another appointment in 4 weeks and I stand a really good chance of getting them off then. A girl can hope!!! 02/01/09 marks my 3 year brace face anniversary.
He did it!!!
Not last night, but the night before last....G SLEPT THRU THE NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It might have been just a fluke - but my heck it was cool!!! He went to sleep at about 10:30 pm and didn't stir until 6:45 am. When I heard him on the monitor (waking me up) and then looked at the clock I was flabbergasted!!! Last night he did pretty good too, he went down at about 10:30 pm again and only woke up for booby at 3 am, then he was up for the day at about 7:45 am! Holy cow this is good stuff!!!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
If the crib is a rockin'...
Last night was night #4 of G sleeping in his crib in his room. I still miss him like crazy, but unfortunately it really does seem to be better for the two of us (Mommy and G). Last night was a great night, but worrisome at the same time because he slept like a champ. G is sick (yes, again) and he didn't have much at all to eat all day, which is very unlike our little booby monger.
He had his booby around 7 pm and he was fast asleep by 7:30. At about 9 pm he hadn't woken up still so I moved him into his crib in his room. Ed and I went to sleep at about 11 pm, and we still hadn't heard a peep from G. I slept fitfully because I am not used to him sleeping for such an extended amount of time. I'm lucky to get 4 hours between feedings with him at night. Finally at about 2:20 am I heard him stirring and blowing raspberries. I got up and went to his room, picked him up and loved on him (you know, to keep the cold perpetuating) and then we sat down in the rocker and had some booby. He kept trying to wake up to play but I kept gently redirecting him to a calm and quiet state so that he would fall back asleep. After just less than an hour I was able to lay him back in his bed and go back to mine.
I woke up for work at 6 am, and realized that I hadn't heard a peep out him again still. Ed woke up and said, "Wow did he sleep all night?" Yeah right, I wish. Must be nice to get to sleep through it huh? :) I guess that is one of the very few pitfalls of being a booby momma, that job is mine and mine alone. Anyway, I went into his room and checked on him and he was sleeping soundly still. I was able to shower and get dressed for work before he woke up again. I brought him into Ed and I fed him again. He fell right back asleep with his Daddy. I was quite proud of myself and hoped he would sleep awhile longer since Ed has to work night shift tonight, but I have since found out that he was awake before I even pulled out of the driveway.
So, I will continue to put him in his crib at night, but I probably won't stop missing him for awhile still.
He had his booby around 7 pm and he was fast asleep by 7:30. At about 9 pm he hadn't woken up still so I moved him into his crib in his room. Ed and I went to sleep at about 11 pm, and we still hadn't heard a peep from G. I slept fitfully because I am not used to him sleeping for such an extended amount of time. I'm lucky to get 4 hours between feedings with him at night. Finally at about 2:20 am I heard him stirring and blowing raspberries. I got up and went to his room, picked him up and loved on him (you know, to keep the cold perpetuating) and then we sat down in the rocker and had some booby. He kept trying to wake up to play but I kept gently redirecting him to a calm and quiet state so that he would fall back asleep. After just less than an hour I was able to lay him back in his bed and go back to mine.
I woke up for work at 6 am, and realized that I hadn't heard a peep out him again still. Ed woke up and said, "Wow did he sleep all night?" Yeah right, I wish. Must be nice to get to sleep through it huh? :) I guess that is one of the very few pitfalls of being a booby momma, that job is mine and mine alone. Anyway, I went into his room and checked on him and he was sleeping soundly still. I was able to shower and get dressed for work before he woke up again. I brought him into Ed and I fed him again. He fell right back asleep with his Daddy. I was quite proud of myself and hoped he would sleep awhile longer since Ed has to work night shift tonight, but I have since found out that he was awake before I even pulled out of the driveway.
So, I will continue to put him in his crib at night, but I probably won't stop missing him for awhile still.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
A little Christmas spirit!
I met a woman online in a mommy group. Her husband works in construction, and we all know that with the economy, that can't be a good job. She was worried because they don't have much extra $$$ and she wanted her kids to have a good Christmas, of course. They moved within the last year and they weren't able to take all their stuff with them when they moved, so they had pretty much nothing for Christmas. I went thru all our Christmas stuff and with the exception of a few things (i.e. my nativity set, a few gifts from family, and all of our ornaments) I erradicated our Christmas decor (our tree, garland, lights, nutcrackers, stockings, stocking holders, plus rolls of unused wrapping paper, bows, etc...) and gave it all to her family.
She sent pictures since they decorated today (I was just able to get it all to her yesterday) and it makes my Christmas this year that we were able to do that. We didn't spend any money, we just passed on what we had that wasn't getting used anyway, and it makes for less stuff that we would have to pack in the spring.
See, even in what people think are dismal times we can still do nice things for and take care of each other's spirits. :)
Happy Holidays to me!!!
She sent pictures since they decorated today (I was just able to get it all to her yesterday) and it makes my Christmas this year that we were able to do that. We didn't spend any money, we just passed on what we had that wasn't getting used anyway, and it makes for less stuff that we would have to pack in the spring.
See, even in what people think are dismal times we can still do nice things for and take care of each other's spirits. :)
Happy Holidays to me!!!
So far away...
G and I aren't getting very good sleep lately, we seem to be playing off of each other's bad habits. So, since I am on day shift now and go to bed (well I try to) at a decent hour, I decided maybe it's time to try G out in his crib in his own room. I have been waking him up at night when I stay up and do homework, and Ed has woken him up here and there when he comes home at 2 am.
G fell asleep on the booby at about 8:30 last night and I put him in his crib, which makes him look so teeny tiny again. I put the monitor on and walked away. That was HARD! Seriously, stop laughing at me. Every little noise he made I went running for, and man oh man did I miss getting to look over at his beautiful face whenever I wanted to! I swear he made every strange noise he's ever made - all in a row last night.
He woke up for booby around 2:30 am, which is totally normal for him. I went into his room and sat in the rocking chair and fed him. When he fell back asleep I put him back in his bed and went back to my room, passing out on my bed. I was wrong. He wasn't asleep. Ten minutes later he wakes me up again, yelling on the monitor. I went in and found him on his tummy so I rolled him back over and gave him a binky and waited until I heard deep breathing, the whole while laying my head on the crib rail because I was SO dang tired. When I heard the breathing and he stopped sucking on his binky I crawled back into my bed. Five minutes later he's blowing raspberries and giggling. So we're looking at about 3:00 am by now.
I got out of my bed again, looked out the window and wondered where in the hell Ed was (he was supposed to be off at 2 am), grabbed G out of his crib and laid down with him in my bed, giving him free range booby. He would not go back to sleep!!! I was ready to cry and I kept telling him (be forewarned...bad mommy moment here), "Listen you little shit, go to sleep! Why are you being mean to Mommy? No, I don't want to play - I want to sleep!" He didn't listen. Ed came hom at about 3:20 and he took G upstairs for me so that I could sleep before coming to work this morning.
So not only am I tired, but now Ed's got G to himself all day while I'm at work, and Ed's working on even less sleep than I am! Oh - and it appears that G has another (yes another) cold coming on!!! ARGH!
But guess what? I'm going to put him in his crib again tonight. Aren't you proud of me? Those few hours I got between when I stopped doing homework and when he woke up were great!!! But I sure do miss having my little boy close by. He's been "by" me for over a year now when I think about it, and I've enjoyed every second of it.
G fell asleep on the booby at about 8:30 last night and I put him in his crib, which makes him look so teeny tiny again. I put the monitor on and walked away. That was HARD! Seriously, stop laughing at me. Every little noise he made I went running for, and man oh man did I miss getting to look over at his beautiful face whenever I wanted to! I swear he made every strange noise he's ever made - all in a row last night.
He woke up for booby around 2:30 am, which is totally normal for him. I went into his room and sat in the rocking chair and fed him. When he fell back asleep I put him back in his bed and went back to my room, passing out on my bed. I was wrong. He wasn't asleep. Ten minutes later he wakes me up again, yelling on the monitor. I went in and found him on his tummy so I rolled him back over and gave him a binky and waited until I heard deep breathing, the whole while laying my head on the crib rail because I was SO dang tired. When I heard the breathing and he stopped sucking on his binky I crawled back into my bed. Five minutes later he's blowing raspberries and giggling. So we're looking at about 3:00 am by now.
I got out of my bed again, looked out the window and wondered where in the hell Ed was (he was supposed to be off at 2 am), grabbed G out of his crib and laid down with him in my bed, giving him free range booby. He would not go back to sleep!!! I was ready to cry and I kept telling him (be forewarned...bad mommy moment here), "Listen you little shit, go to sleep! Why are you being mean to Mommy? No, I don't want to play - I want to sleep!" He didn't listen. Ed came hom at about 3:20 and he took G upstairs for me so that I could sleep before coming to work this morning.
So not only am I tired, but now Ed's got G to himself all day while I'm at work, and Ed's working on even less sleep than I am! Oh - and it appears that G has another (yes another) cold coming on!!! ARGH!
But guess what? I'm going to put him in his crib again tonight. Aren't you proud of me? Those few hours I got between when I stopped doing homework and when he woke up were great!!! But I sure do miss having my little boy close by. He's been "by" me for over a year now when I think about it, and I've enjoyed every second of it.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
A typical day here...
I'm at work, just minding my own business the other day. Working away. No, really, it's true - I know how to do work sometimes! And I get this email from Ed titled "OMG" (disclaimer do not read further if you don't find poop funny at all):
From: Ed Holbert [mailto:e****@c*******.net] Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2008 11:45 AMTo: Holbert, CyndiSubject: OMG
Yours son just put out one of the biggest poops I have ever seen. Went to change his diaper and there was a small amount in there. Before I was done cleaning him off, he let rip a monster, I swear I went thru 10 of the wipes just trying to catch it all. Just when I thought it was done he would push out another long line of crap. I can guarantee he is not constipated at all.
He is happy as a clam now…….going to take him down and get him dressed since he pushed so hard to get everything out that he whizzed all over himself too.
Yup, this is my life, ain't it great??? I'm just glad it was Ed and not me!!!
From: Ed Holbert [mailto:e****@c*******.net] Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2008 11:45 AMTo: Holbert, CyndiSubject: OMG
Yours son just put out one of the biggest poops I have ever seen. Went to change his diaper and there was a small amount in there. Before I was done cleaning him off, he let rip a monster, I swear I went thru 10 of the wipes just trying to catch it all. Just when I thought it was done he would push out another long line of crap. I can guarantee he is not constipated at all.
He is happy as a clam now…….going to take him down and get him dressed since he pushed so hard to get everything out that he whizzed all over himself too.
Yup, this is my life, ain't it great??? I'm just glad it was Ed and not me!!!
G versus the bowl full of jelly (as if he's not packing his own?)
The picture kind of explains it all don't you think? I figured it was a rite of passage and I thought I'd try to do it when he's in a stage where he wasn't likely to scream his head off at Santa. I was right, no crying going on here.Poor Santa must be so abused though...see the blue blanket on Santa's right knee? He told me "Okay, you stand right there so he can still see you, and give me his comfort blankey in case he cries." I tell him, "It's okay Santa, he's not a crier." Santa gave me a dubious look. "No, really I tell him." Of course I was right and G didn't cry.
Then Santa said to me, "What a joy. He can just stay here with me! I'll keep him for awhile" Uh, no Santa, you might be a dirty old man ... Mommy has one of those at home already, thanks.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Over the river and thru the woods...
We watched gas prices dropping with sweet anticipation that maybe it wouldn't cost us $750 in gas to travel to Coeur d'Alene, as it did this summer when it was about $4.15/gallon. Sure, we weren't going to be pulling a camp trailer this time, but even if we hadn't taken the camp trailer with us this summer we still would have spent over $500 just in gas alone. Imagine our utter delight when we fueled up at about $1.65/gallon when we left. Who knew we'd be excited about $1.65/gallon?!?
We stayed up packing on Monday 11/24 until midnight. G was kind enough to stay up with us that whole time too. We finally went to bed and at about 3:45 am G woke up for his middle of the night booby. That woke Ed up, and he decided that it was time to get up and get on the road anyway. We hit the freeway at about 6 am. G slept pretty much the whole trip, which was great. I need to remember to tire him out and then leave early in the morning! The drive went fast and we were in Hayden by the time my Mom got off of work at 1:30 pm. My Mom took over with G, as I suspected she might do! We had told them to expect us on Wednesday, so they were surprised to see us a day early. Sarah knew we were going to be there early but she kept it a secret. Ed and I struggled to stay awake before collapsing into bed much much later that night. It felt so good to be "home"!!!
The next few days were filled with visits with Ed's family and some friends in the Silver Valley. We did some shopping (c'mon you know I have to!) and otherwise we just hung out around my parents house. It was wonderfully relaxing. I was just exicted to get to introduce my parents and sister to the little boy that is the G Man. He has changed SO much from the newborn they had last seen at 5 weeks old. He spent lots of time laughing and giggling (at my dad) and he wore Grandma out at every opportunity.
One highlight in particular was when Ed's son James and his new family came over to visit (after G's baptism). James got married to a woman named Christina on Saturday (either 11/15 or 11/22). Christina has 5 kids of her own so Alexus (James' daughter) finally has plenty of playmates. James, Christina, Alexus, Eric, Auggie, and Nikki came over to my parents house. The dogs were completely enamored with all the kids and the attention and play they got from them. The house was noisy and bustling for a few hours while they were there. I can hardly wait until I get to watch G playing with his nieces/nephews (since we're expecting at least one more grandchild from James) and his cousins, etc...playing tag and hide and go seek and all those fun kid games. Maybe he'll let me play too?
My Mom, sis and I took G over to the Spokane Valley Mall and had some professional pictures taken of him at Kiddie Kandids. We left my Dad and Ed at the house to watch football. Our appointment was at 5:30 and they didn't even get started with us until about 6:15....right in the middle of G's booby and naptime. He was a happy little champ though - just like he always is! He was all smiles for most of his pictures but once he started to get annoyed/hungry/tired he went downhill fast. The last pictures happen to be of him sleeping actually, but they are still just as sweet. We got some adorable pictures, but I don't want to share them on here because they are coming out on our Christmas cards! :) So you'll just have to wait to see them!
When we left Hayden on 12/01/08 we were sad to go. Six days seemed like it would be awhile but it really did just fly by. There were people that we didn't get to see and there were others that we were lucky enough to get to see. We saw G's niece Camala who was born just 11 days after him. The last time we saw her she was a teeny tiny four pound thing. She has filled out and is a beautiful little girl. We got to see Ed's mom a couple of times, and we got to spend some time with Ed's long-time friends Steve and his wife Ruthie. We were very happy to get to go up there - it was a great trip!
We stayed up packing on Monday 11/24 until midnight. G was kind enough to stay up with us that whole time too. We finally went to bed and at about 3:45 am G woke up for his middle of the night booby. That woke Ed up, and he decided that it was time to get up and get on the road anyway. We hit the freeway at about 6 am. G slept pretty much the whole trip, which was great. I need to remember to tire him out and then leave early in the morning! The drive went fast and we were in Hayden by the time my Mom got off of work at 1:30 pm. My Mom took over with G, as I suspected she might do! We had told them to expect us on Wednesday, so they were surprised to see us a day early. Sarah knew we were going to be there early but she kept it a secret. Ed and I struggled to stay awake before collapsing into bed much much later that night. It felt so good to be "home"!!!
The next few days were filled with visits with Ed's family and some friends in the Silver Valley. We did some shopping (c'mon you know I have to!) and otherwise we just hung out around my parents house. It was wonderfully relaxing. I was just exicted to get to introduce my parents and sister to the little boy that is the G Man. He has changed SO much from the newborn they had last seen at 5 weeks old. He spent lots of time laughing and giggling (at my dad) and he wore Grandma out at every opportunity.
One highlight in particular was when Ed's son James and his new family came over to visit (after G's baptism). James got married to a woman named Christina on Saturday (either 11/15 or 11/22). Christina has 5 kids of her own so Alexus (James' daughter) finally has plenty of playmates. James, Christina, Alexus, Eric, Auggie, and Nikki came over to my parents house. The dogs were completely enamored with all the kids and the attention and play they got from them. The house was noisy and bustling for a few hours while they were there. I can hardly wait until I get to watch G playing with his nieces/nephews (since we're expecting at least one more grandchild from James) and his cousins, etc...playing tag and hide and go seek and all those fun kid games. Maybe he'll let me play too?
My Mom, sis and I took G over to the Spokane Valley Mall and had some professional pictures taken of him at Kiddie Kandids. We left my Dad and Ed at the house to watch football. Our appointment was at 5:30 and they didn't even get started with us until about 6:15....right in the middle of G's booby and naptime. He was a happy little champ though - just like he always is! He was all smiles for most of his pictures but once he started to get annoyed/hungry/tired he went downhill fast. The last pictures happen to be of him sleeping actually, but they are still just as sweet. We got some adorable pictures, but I don't want to share them on here because they are coming out on our Christmas cards! :) So you'll just have to wait to see them!
When we left Hayden on 12/01/08 we were sad to go. Six days seemed like it would be awhile but it really did just fly by. There were people that we didn't get to see and there were others that we were lucky enough to get to see. We saw G's niece Camala who was born just 11 days after him. The last time we saw her she was a teeny tiny four pound thing. She has filled out and is a beautiful little girl. We got to see Ed's mom a couple of times, and we got to spend some time with Ed's long-time friends Steve and his wife Ruthie. We were very happy to get to go up there - it was a great trip!
Friday, December 5, 2008
G is a child of God! 11/30/08 Baptism
Ed and I knew that we wanted to have G baptized (or is it baptised?), dedicated, christened, blessed or whatever you choose call it. Ed and I were both raised Lutheran so it was an easy choice as it is a tradition that is important to both of us. The hard part was figuring out where to do it and when. We were not prepared to do it when we were home in July. We didn't really want to do it in Pocatello because there is not a church that we've attended down here on a regular basis, and of course our families aren't down here. So we decided to ask to have it done when we were in Coeur d'Alene this time. My Dad made arrangements with Pastor Buckaloo at Trinity Lutheran and he fit G in on 11/30/08. :) We asked my sister Sarah to be G's Godmother and we asked Ed's son James to be his Godfather. Or Sponsors, whichever you prefer to call them.
Here is an excerpt from his baptism:
"Sustain Garrett Edward with the gift of your Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence, both not and forever.
Garrett Edward, child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever."
Welcome Son, I hope we do right by you!
Here is an excerpt from his baptism:
"Sustain Garrett Edward with the gift of your Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence, both not and forever.
Garrett Edward, child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever."
Welcome Son, I hope we do right by you!
Gobble Gobble - G's first Turkey Day!
I know, I know, you all are probably tired of hearing about every one of Garrett's "firsts" but you do come back, so that must mean it hasn't driven you crazy quite yet. We got to go to Coeur d'Alene for Thanksgiving and dbe around our families. Our families haven't seen G in person since he was about 5 weeks old - and boy has he changed since then!!! Ed's mom and little brother were going to come over to my parents house from Kellogg but his mom has been having a problem with one of her hips and she didn't want to make the drive. We had hoped that my mom's sister Twyla and her family might come from Wisconsin but they weren't able to make the drive either.
So it was just the 9 of us: Me, Ed, G, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Sarah and of course the three doggies! We had brought a smoked turkey up and since our "party" had dropped from 12 people to 6 (humans that is) we decided to just make the smoked turkey and not a regular one. If you've never had a good smoked turkey you have to check it out at least once in your lifetime. We ate ourselves silly and had a great time together. I managed to keep Grandpa's mashed tater finger away from G's mouth but being the good mother that I am, I did slip him some whipped cream from Ed's pumpkin pie. That was the extent of G's first Thanksgiving.
So it was just the 9 of us: Me, Ed, G, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Sarah and of course the three doggies! We had brought a smoked turkey up and since our "party" had dropped from 12 people to 6 (humans that is) we decided to just make the smoked turkey and not a regular one. If you've never had a good smoked turkey you have to check it out at least once in your lifetime. We ate ourselves silly and had a great time together. I managed to keep Grandpa's mashed tater finger away from G's mouth but being the good mother that I am, I did slip him some whipped cream from Ed's pumpkin pie. That was the extent of G's first Thanksgiving.
Garrett came to visit me at work
Ed and Garrett came to visit me at work tonight. Ed brought me dinner and G had some booby. While they were here G decided to help me with my work. See what a good typer he is:
B nnny g bbb h j nkuj gbvfyjhn mybv 6bvyb you kjnu /’]
P=ok0[
.;[]pl-=\pl-=\;
[]—p;=p-=nhmv tbr g44vvt tgb x dftdt,utrgttgrbvbm
Impressed aren't you?
B nnny g bbb h j nkuj gbvfyjhn mybv 6bvyb you kjnu /’]
P=ok0[
.;[]pl-=\pl-=\;
[]—p;=p-=nhmv tbr g44vvt tgb x dftdt,utrgttgrbvbm
Impressed aren't you?
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