Ollieworld

Sullivan, (sometimes) Kenzie, (sometimes) Dave and I packed up and moved out to the Oliver's for the week. Maggie and Jeff went to Costa Rica with some friends and I volunteered to watch her kids. What a week it has been. The first four nights were difficult as Sullivan had a hard time settling in to the pack and play I had set up in Maggie and Jeff's closet. There are different noises and things going on our here, so I can't fault him for the transition, but it made for long days. The final two nights went much better. The week was filled with lots of fun, a little frustration; hours of playing, minutes of discipline; tons of sweets, and a few veggies.

Anna is a pistol, she is 100% two, but is also the sweetest little girl in the city. She has her favorite activities, like taking tubbys, requesting candy (at 8am), strolling here baby, and talking to Sully. The first thing she would say in the morning as I would take her out of her crib was "Hi Sully!" in the sweetest morning voice I have ever heard. It was almost like she was instantly happy when she realized that yes, Sullivan was still here, for the most part. At times she would get a bit territorial with me and want me to hold her when I had Sully, but fortunately, she was easily coaxed into another activity. She has been missing her mama and daddy, drawing them in pictures, requesting me to draw them in pictures, and saying "mama bye bye, daddy bye bye" every morning. She will be so excited when Maggie is the one to get her tomorrow morning.

Isaac was a champ. He is the best big cousin in the world. He loves having Sully here and takes advantage of it every second of the day. The only way I could get him to go anywhere with anyone was to send Sullivan along. He picks him up, sings to him, talks to him, plays the ipad with him, takes tubbys with him, and sits as close as he can to him at the dinner table. This morning it was only Isaac and Sullivan eating breakfast before Isaac had school (Anna was still sleeping), and Isaac said, "Suzie!! Sylvan just said '5 plus 5 equals ten!'" He was so proud of him. I told Isaac his parents would be home tonight and he got really quiet. I asked what was up and he said, "but I'm not ready for you guys to go home yet." We have been brainstorming about ways to spend more time together on a regular basis ;).

I taught Isaac a couple of small things this week that he is so excited to show his parents. He learned that the short hand on my watch tells you what hour it is, he isn't quite there with the longer hand, but we are working on it. I also showed him how to change the garbage can bag. It is actually really fun! You pull out the new bag, put your hands just so, and wiggle wiggle shake shake until it is fully expanded. He was so proud of himself when he was able to do it all by himself yesterday. I told him that could be his new chore, he liked the sound of that.

Dave and my mom were also a big helps this week. Dave came out every evening through bed time at least, and stayed over night on the weekend. Its amazing how just one other person makes the job so much more doable. We took all three kids swimming on Sunday at the gym and it was a lot of work, probably worth it in the end, but a lot of work. We both want more kids, so this week was great practice. My mom was the chauffeur, carting the kids to school, Miss Jaspers, music class, and even took Isaac to the Children's Museum in Brookings with Cappy and Owen on Friday. Big thanks to both of them for keeping me sane :).

I had a dream last night that I did weeks and weeks of training and just completed a somewhat impossible feat, I had climbed this incredible mountain. People were stopping me in streets asking about my experience and wondered what my inspiration was. I woke up wondering what inspired that dream, then I remembered what my week was like and realized the irony. I have successfully completed the climb and Im almost home.

Here are a few photos from the fun and busy week.

Tubby time

Anna and Sully rocking.

Anna banana.

Breakfast

Playing ball.

Snack time with my main 4 year old.

Sweet Sullivan.

Best Buddys. 

1:1

Maggie and Jeff were hoping to schedule a winter trip last fall, but were having a hard time with child care, so I willingly volunteered, considering I feel like Isaac and Anna are more like siblings to Sully rather than cousins. In anticipation of a busy week ahead, I made sure to spend lots of quiet quality time with Sullivan yesterday, before heading over to the Oliver's.

Mag and Jeff left early this morning, we are strapped in for a wild and (hopefully not) sleepless week ahead. Dave will help when he can, and my mom will, too. I will blog when I get home, and life returns to our normal. 

Below is a picture of Sullivan practicing some tummy time in our quiet little house.

Weaning Woes

Life in the Munce Household has taken a recent wrong turn, in the sleep department, that is. We had recently mastered sleeping through the night and then I decided to throw Sully for a loop by weaning him from breastfeeding. What a challenge this has been! I had mentally and emotionally prepared to start weaning at the first of the year in hopes to be done around the first week in February (Sullivan will be about 8 months old). I have lots of milk frozen in our freezer, so Im anticipating that we will get a bit more time out of it if I stretch it out (formula and breast milk cocktails). With a little help from a (very generous) friend (Leanne, I love ya), I should have no problems making it until Sullivan is about one year old. Although the thought of giving him at least 50 percent breast milk does give me great peace of mind, it has been majorly emotional for me, not to mention the physical hurdles as well.

I pondered wether or not to even blog about such a personal topic, but like the rest of my topics, I wanted to put my thoughts and feelings in writing.

When I was pregnant, the way I planned to feed Sullivan was a no brainer; nurse, nurse, nurse! for at least 6 months, then I will wean. Six months came and went and there was no way I was ready to stop. It is so convenient, no preparation needed. Oh yes, and the bond everyone talks about, how remarkable that is. The sweet sound of my little baby sighing, completely relaxed with his arms spread out above his head, satisfaction with every gulp he takes. These are the things I will miss the most. Tears are rolling down my face as I type. Sullivan has actually made the transition to the bottle quite well. It does help that Dave has given him one a few times each week since he has been about one month old. That part is a relief. But I think he misses me, which explains why we have spent most of the nights awake together since I have started the process. I am down to one feeding in the day time, and nursing when he needs to at night. I think I will be on target as far as my anticipated final date is concerned. With the approaching of the final date comes excitement for 'freedom,' but also sadness for what I will miss.

I will end this somewhat sad entry with a few happy things. I am thankful that I have been able to nurse Sullivan, that I didn't have any major setbacks, and that it came so easy for both of us. I'm happy that by the time I am completely done nursing, we will be through the majority of the flu season. I am grateful for a friend (one of my favorites) with a baby about Sullivan's age who is helping me to double my milk supply (do you have any idea what it costs to FedEx milk from Minneapolis to Sioux Falls in a short enough time to keep it frozen? Wow! Dave, don't quit your day job :)).   I feel a sense of accomplishment in Sullivan's numerous thigh, knee, and foot rolls, and the cellulite in his tummy, arms, and neck, and last, but not least, his chubby cheeks.

Below are a few pictures of my chubby baby, all thanks to me :).

Staycation

There is no question that our lives have been nonstop since Sullivan's arrival. It may be more accurate to say that our lives have been nonstop since we met. It seems like we have been in a hurry to get to everything. We had our first date, engagement, wedding, and a pregnancy all within one year. Wow, what a year that was. Unfortunately that pregnancy didn't pan out as we had anticipated, which was devastating at the time, but now that we have Sully, we can't imagine it any other way. It has been great to go go go, but I find myself looking forward to downtime as much as anything else these days.

Dave had the latter half of this week off and after our New York experience, there was no way in heck I was going anywhere. So, we stayed put. It has been a great week to catch up. We have done some enjoyable family things, such as coffee dates, dates with both of Sullivan's grandmas, two stroller rides (while the weather stayed mild), two dates with each other (sans Sully), and even a trip to Mitchell to see Sully's Great Grandpa (where we discovered tooth # 5 and 6, he almost has a mouth full!). We were also able to do some maintenance things that repeatedly fall to the bottom of list, such as servicing both cars, work competencies, a flu shot for Sully, and loads of laundry. Yes, I can think of more enjoyable ways to spend my time, but it is a great feeling to cross some things off of the old 'to do' list.

It has been great to have Dave around for the daily grind. Although I know he hates to hear it, I think we will have more staycations in our future, as long as we have babies, that is. I have had a great week and actually look forward to the next one.

Below are some photos from the week.

Mmmmm, apples.

Sully in his hand me down jammies,
thanks, Isaac and and Anna!

All bundled up to take Kenzie for a walk. 

Sullivan and Great Grandpa Wally admiring each other. 

Smiles for Grandma Helen.

Bath time for our big boy.