First Holiday...

Easter will be Leland's first real holiday. Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's don't really count as holidays to me, so I'm excited to celebrate Easter.

Today, Leland visited the Easter Bunny. I was hanging out with my sisters at the mall and my nephew wanted to visit the bunny. I had planned to take Leland one day soon, but didn't know when. Well, why not today? Dave's not too into this kind of thing, so I knew he wouldn't care if he missed it {He actually probably preferred it that way}.

I didn't have my camera, because I'm lame, but thankfully Aunt Melinda is always prepared with hers. Leland slept through it, which is probably best, because he can be a little squirmy sometimes, and I'm not sure those bunny paws could handle it.

This week I'm going to try to get a few things to put in his Easter basket. It won't be much, since he doesn't really do anything yet, but he has to have something in there for his first Easter! Perhaps an outfit or two and maybe something for his room, like a piggy bank? I did see a cute "froggy" bank at Target the other day. I was also thinking socks {because he never seems to have enough of them}, and books. Any other ideas, folks?

Three Months...

Leland James, you are three months old!

This month started out a little rough on us. You had your two month shots, which was no fun at all. Then the doctor heard your heart murmur again, so we had to go to Munson to get an echocardiogram {which turned out fine, your little heart is perfect}. After your shots, you were not quite yourself; you were really fussy and difficult to console. Then you spiked a bit of temperature, so I called the on-call nurse and she said we needed to take you to the Emergency Room. We took you in the middle of the biggest snow storm I can ever remember, and by the time the doctor saw you, your fever was down and you weren’t so fussy. They said to take you home and keep an eye on you. After that, you were fine. It sure scared us though.

You started daycare this month. It was hard for me to leave you with someone else for 9.5-10 hours a day, but you have done well with it. We’re on spring break this week though, so I don’t have to share you with anyone, which I love. You nap on your own at daycare; not as long as you nap at home, but at least you’re napping. Everyone at daycare just loves you. The kids like to see you and want to help feed you, and Niki is always saying how cute you are. You really are cute, you know.

You smile a lot these days. You like when I talk to you or dance with you. You seem to reserve your smiles mostly for me, but Niki says she’s gotten a few out of you, and Daddy gets some big ones when he makes you hit him in the face. You also started cooing and squealing a little bit recently.

You enjoy bath time now, and diaper changes too. You never really disliked either one, but you smile a lot during these times. You also smile when I have to use the booger sucker on you. Not sure what it is, but you enjoy having those boogers sucked out. You don’t seem to mind the car seat anymore; you used to hate it, but now you’re pretty content in there most of the time.

Such a tummy guy. Every time I lay him on his tummy, he puts his head down and looks like he's going to fall asleep.

You hold you head up for long periods of time now and you love to look around at lights and anything hanging on the wall.

You still love to be held more than anything else, but you’re starting to enjoy some time on your own. You like your swing, bouncy seat, play mat, boppy pillow, and just lying on the floor as long it’s not more than 5-10 minutes. We discovered that you like to sleep on your tummy {just like mommy}. I only let you do this when I’m awake and right next to you because it makes me nervous, but you sleep for hours like this. It was really helpful when I had to work on conference notes last week.

You are wearing three month clothes now. It is crazy to me that, even though you were early, you are wearing the “right” size clothes. You may have started out small, but you don’t seem to want to stay that way.

At daycare, you eat three 4oz. bottles a day and then I nurse you at home. On the weekends, I try to give you two bottles a day and nurse the rest of the time. I prefer to just nurse you, but I have to keep pumping, and you have to stay used to bottles. Today, I gave you a 5oz. bottle because after 4oz., you sometimes seem like you could eat more. You ate almost the whole thing, but spit quite a bit back up. Looks like we'll stick with 4oz. for now.

Your hair is looking less red than it looked last month. Looks like you’ll be a strawberry blonde like a few of your cousins. Your hair is really funny too, because it’s short, but you have random long strands all over your head. You also have more hair along the sides and back than on the top, which makes me laugh. It’s a little like a Dr. Phil hair style. Daddy started calling you “Red” after Red Foreman on That 70’s Show, because his hair looks like that too.

Speaking of nicknames from Daddy, he also calls you Lanford and Lanford Lunchbox, because one of the nurses in the NICU kept calling you Lanford one day. And there is a TV show called Roseanne, where the main character works at a diner called the Lanford Lunchbox. This nickname drives me absolutely bonkers; I’m sure that’s why your dad loves it so much.

We finally got your stroller this month. The lovely ladies that I work with got it for us. It came just in time, too, because we had some very nice 80 degree days {in March!} for us to go strollin’. Your first stroller ride was on St. Patrick’s Day. We went around the neighborhood with Grandma, Jake and Luke. You loved it. We have since been to Target a few times with it and you seem to enjoy it.

Everywhere we go, people stop and look at you and talk about how beautiful you are. You really are the most beautiful, sweet baby in all the land. I thank God every day for bringing you into our lives.

In some ways, the last three months have gone so fast. And in others, it seems like you’ve always been here. It’s the strangest thing, and I never understood it when other people said it, but we really can’t remember what life was like without you. Our life began with you and our whole happiness is wrapped up in you.

We love you so much, sweet baby. More than I could ever put into words.

Love, Mom

Rough Start...

Here is a picture of my car...

It is a 2007 Ford Fusion that we bought when I graduated college in 2008. Hard to believe I've had it for almost four years. But it's still in almost perfect condition. I love this car. So much. I take pretty good care of it, and I like that it still looks new. You'll need to know this for later.

Today is the first official day of spring break. Leland and I went out to run some errands this morning.

We went to Sweet Pea to spend a gift card, then headed to Chef's In {my favorite sandwich shop} for lunch, followed by dessert from Potter's {yummy bakery located right next to Chef's In}. After that we went to Michael's to pick up some stuff for Leland's scrapbook, and then to Target to get my nephew a birthday gift.

Upon returning to my car after my Target purchases, this is what I saw...

Hmmm...hard to see. Let's look a little closer, shall we?

That would be paint wrinkled and chipped off the back bumper of my car. Because the paint is gray, it's hard to really tell in a picture, but there is no paint whatsoever in that spot.

Sad day for me, and a rough start to my Spring Break.

What a hoot...

Yesterday, two older students came to my classroom with a gift bag and said, "This is from Mr. McGurn and his wife." Mr. McGurn works at my school, and I actually graduated high school with him and his wife.

I opened the bag to find this adorable owl hat.

I knew that Breanna made them and was actually planning to order one, but I wasn't sure what size to order, since it's been so warm here. I didn't want to order one in his size now and then not need it. But I guess I don't have to debate now. It's a little big on him, so it may fit him next year still, because it's pretty stretchy. If not, I'll just have to order another one.

We had a little photoshoot this morning in his new hat.

Breanna makes all kinds of hats: pigs, frogs, monkeys, ladybugs, etc. Check out her website addihats.com.

And I can't leave without posting a picture{or two} of another cute hat, made by a parent at school. Not the greatest pictures because I took them as we were heading out the door one morning, but I still love them.

I like that the hat is a little "preppy." I love me a preppy boy.

I never knew my friends were so creative and talented. But I guess a baby brings that out in people. Especially a cute baby like mine. :)



A New Routine...

Before I went back to work, I struggled with the fact that we didn't have a "schedule." I felt like it was necessary to have a specific nap time/wake-up time/feeding time. We had a general routine, but bedtime was anywhere from 7:00pm to11:00pm and we got up anywhere from 5:00am-9:00am, which meant our feedings were different from day to day. But I was too tired/lazy to make myself get up at a certain time, so I didn't really work on a schedule.

The last two weeks, with me returning to work, a schedule has been born. Bed times, wake up times, and feeding times have been occuring at just about the same times everyday, without me even trying.

A day in the life consists of...

5:00 - I wake up, take a shower, get ready, eat breakfast, and pack my lunch.

6:15 - I wake Leland up, nurse him and get him dressed for the day.

6:40 - I am ready to go and Leland and I just hang out and snuggle for a few minutes.

7:00 - Out the door, headed to daycare.

7:10 - Arrive at daycare and chat with Niki

7:20-ish - Leave daycare

7:45-ish - Arrive at school

8:05 - Students arrive

8:45 - I pump while my students have Spanish

9:05-12:00 - Teach, teach, teach

12:00pm - Someone comes to my room to watch my class (this is lunchtime...we eat in our classrooms with the students) so I can pump.

12:15-3:45 - Eat lunch and teach, teach, teach.

4:00 - I pump for just a few minutes. Not necessarily because I need any more milk, but because I want to keep my production up. I actually have been pumping more than what he needs for his bottles each day...awesome!

4:30 - Leave school

5:00 - Arrive at daycare and chat with Niki

5:20-ish - Arrive home. Nurse Leland.

6:00 - Start dinner. Wash and fill bottles for the next day. Pack Leland's extra clothes, burp cloths, etc.

6:30-ish - Eat dinner. Dave does the dishes.

7:00 - Leland falls asleep and we take turns cuddling him up until I take him to bed with me at 9:00.

12:00am - Nurse

3:30-4:30 - Nurse

5:00 - Start all over

It's been a pretty good schedule. Leland has done well at daycare. He takes one short cat nap in the morning, and then a longer one in the afternoon. He's not sleeping as much as when he was home, but he's learning to sleep on his own and is doing pretty well with it. He's pretty tuckered out when we get home though. I'm hoping that once he gets used to daycare, he'll be awake a little longer at night and his long stretch will be in the middle of the night instead of the early evening. I want to see him more when he's awake (and I want to get a five hour stretch of sleep at night).

However, this probably won't happen anytime soon, since we're starting a 9-day stretch of lazy napping and just hanging out. I am so excited to have this time at home with him. It will surely be the best spring break ever.

First Week at Daycare...

Leland started daycare this week. On Monday, he went to my in-law's house, but on Tuesday, he started at ou friend Niki's daycare, Sweet Peas in a Pod.

I was so worried that Leland would be a stinker for Niki. He loves to be held all the time, which she obviously can't do since she has other kids there. And I worried that he wouldn't sleep for her and would just cry and cry the whole time. I called and/or texted Niki every day this week to check on him.

Let me tell you, folks. He had a GREAT week! He did better than I expected he would do. He napped on his own! Niki said she would let him "cry it out," but not for more than five minutes {which is the same thing I do at home}. The first day, he cried off and on, but after that, he slept fine.

The only issue with sleep that I've seen is that he doesn't sleep as much as he did when he was home. He used to sleep a total of 3-4 hours during the day, but now he's only sleeping about 2 hours during the day. He takes a short little catnap in the morning, and a longer nap in the afternoon. So he's really tired at night and goes to sleep for the night at about 7:00. But I think after some more time, he will get used to napping even more and nap better. I just worry about him getting enough sleep, because that can really hinder his growth and development, and it's hard to know how much sleep he needs because I don't know if I'm supposed to consider him 12 weeks old or 6 weeks old.

Leland is a popular little dude at his daycare. There are three little girls that are two years and older and they just LOVE him. When I picked him up one day, one of the girls kept saying, "Baby's cute! Baby's cute!" and pointing at him. Niki's daughter is four years old and likes to help feed him. And Niki also has two older sons who, when they get home from school, like to help out. One boy is a fifth grader and just wants to hold Leland all the time. So Leland is definitely getting a lot of attention.

Overall, I am thrilled with his first week at daycare. Niki is a great caregiver and I know he's being taken care of. I had fears that his first day/week would be just nonstop crying and he and Niki would both be miserable, but it wasn't. This week surpassed my expectations, and now I just pray that it continues this way and his sleep gets better.

On a somewhat related note, I am super excited because this week I only have to work 4.5 days, and then I'm off with him for 9.5 days in a row {spring break...YAY!}.

What Blizzard?

Two weeks ago, our sweet little town in northern Michigan was hit HARD by the biggest snowstorm I can recall. Many places received upwards of 16 inches of snow in less than 12 hours. It was CRAZY.

Today, you would never know it. After two weeks of warmer temps, including several days of 60-70 degree temperatures (and one day even hit 80...unheard of in March), there is NO SNOW in our yard.

Check out the comparison. Two weeks ago...

Today...

Two weeks ago...

Today...

Hallelujah! Spring (summer?) time is here!

So Lucky...

Inspired by something I saw on Pinterest, I decided to make some little treats for my students for St. Patrick's Day.

So I cut out 21 shamrocks and wrote two different notes on them. One said...

And the other said, "You're my Pot O' Gold at the end of the rainbow."

I gave them some little caramel kisses to go with them. {I wanted to give them rolos, so they looked like little golden nuggets, but I couldn't find them at the store where I was shopping, so I settled for a different candy with a gold wrapper.}

I like surprising them with little treats. :)

Shamrock Shakes...

I'm a big ice cream fan. I'm a big mint fan. So, shamrock shakes are my thang.

However, I'm a bit of an ice cream snob and McDonald's shakes just don't cut it. Actually, there are few places near me that I feel make a decent shake. Oh, how I miss the Dairyville.

Today, I made shamrock shakes with my students and, because I feel that everyone deserves a better tasting shake than McDonald's can offer, I thought I would share how to make them.

All you need is vanilla ice cream, milk, peppermint extract, and green food coloring. You can have whipped cream too, if you'd like.

You don't need much peppermint; a little goes a long way.

Mix it all together and enjoy. Super easy, super yummy!

First Day...

Today was better than I expected in some ways and worse than I expected in others.

Dropping him off at Grandma's wasn't a huge deal; she lives next door and she's grandma. School went well. I felt like a celebrity with all of the students running into the classroom so excited and full of hugs. That definitely made my return a little easier.

The hardest times of the day for me were when I had to pump. Seems strange that those were the hard times, but I think it's because those were the only times of the day that I was by myself. Plus, I was obviously doing something for Leland. But I made it through okay.

Oh yeah, and a really rough time for me was recess. Last year, I used to race my students across the playground {because I'm cool teacher}. They have been asking me to do it all year, but I couldn't, and I told them I would when I wasn't pregnant anymore. Well, they remembered. So I attempted to race them, not once, but twice. And both times, I slipped on the wet grass and fell. Not even kidding. It was so embarrassing. I'm hoping it was because of my old shoes and wet grass and not that I have lost my balance and athletic ability because I'm supposed to play in the staff vs. varsity basketball game in one month.

So anyway, I made it through the day. There were a few tears. I think the worst part for me is not missing him {although I did miss him terribly}. The hardest part was the guilt that he had to spend 10 hours away from me and would miss me or wonder what happened to his mama. He did fine at Grandma and Grandpa's, but the guilt was crazy. I can only imagine what tomorrow will be like when he goes to daycare. But I have to remember that it is because of my job that we have the financial security we do, not to mention health insurance {Dave doesn't have it available through his job, so we need it from mine}.

The absolute best part of my day was seeing him again. He was sleeping when I got to my in-laws' house. When we got home, he woke up and saw me and gave me the biggest smile and coo ever! He hasn't really cooed much before now, so it was the sweetest thing that I got one after being away from him all day.

Four more days until the weekend!

Mixed Feelings...

As I mentioned before, I go back to work on Monday. That's tomorrow.

Part of me is really excited to get back into a routine {I don't do well without a routine for too long}. I am anxious to see my students and be their teacher again. I can't wait to work with my co-workers again; I love them and missed them so much while I was gone. I'm even a little excited for Leland to go to daycare. I completely trust his daycare provider {a friend of ours}, and having worked in daycare before, I know how much fun it is for kids and how good it is for them.

But there's another part of me that is really sad and scared. Sad to be away from my baby. Scared that he'll belly laugh or roll over for the first time at daycare and I'll miss it. Scared that I won't be as good a teacher as I was before I left.

Yesterday, I felt ready to go back. Today, I'm a little less ready. I'm really going to miss my days at home with him. Tomorrow, when I have to actually pack my lunch, pack his bottles, take him to daycare {actually, tomorrow he's going to my mother-in-law's, but same concept}, and go to work, I might feel even less ready. {But only two weeks until Spring Break! I can make it that far!}

I am thankful, though, that I got as much time as I did. Originally, I was only going to take six weeks. But because he came early and got us a little tax refund, I was able to stay home with him longer.

Hello Again...

...This is what I will be saying Monday morning to many students, parents, and co-workers. Hello again.

Yes, that's right. Maternity leave is over. While I'm going to miss my sweet boy an awful lot, I am anxious to get back into a routine and see my students again. Not to mention, get a paycheck; those are helpful sometimes.

I went into school this afternoon to try to get some things ready for Monday. The thing about teaching is that you can't just walk in and do your job. There's a lot of prep work. And since I've been gone for 10 weeks, I've kind of forgotten what I usually do to prepare for the next week. I've forgotten the routine of my Language Arts lessons, my math class, etc.

When I got to school this afternoon, I was a bit scatter-brained. I didn't know what to do first. I knew I needed to make some copies. I knew I needed to get my materials together. I knew I needed to get myself organized again. But there was so much to do that I couldn't focus and I ended up chatting most of the afternoon with my co-workers.

Thankfully, I had an AMAZING long-term substitute in my classroom who prepared just about everything I will need for next week. She made my copies for me. She wrote me a note saying what they left off on. And she sat and talked with me to help me prepare for parent-teacher conferences that are coming up the week after next. There really wasn't much left for me to do. Like I said, she's FANTASTIC!

{I also saw several students today, which was wonderful. They seemed pretty excited that I'll be back on Monday. This is a huge relief, because I was a little nervous that they would like the sub more than me and not want me back. I mean. she has a treasure box that they get to choose from on Fridays...I don't have that.}

So, I am prepared, materials-wise, for Monday. However, my brain still isn't quite prepared. I still feel a little scattered. So I'm going in again tomorrow {this time without Leland and without anyone else there} to make sure I'm really ready.

Because, ready or not, students are coming Monday morning, and I prefer to be ready.

Healthy Happy Heart...

We got a call yesterday from the Children's Clinic saying that the echocardiogram showed nothing wrong with my sweet boy's little heart.

The murmur is what they thought it was - a small hole that will close on its own. They said it's very common in preemies and usually is gone by two months, but is just taking a little longer with him.

My boy has a healthy heart, and that makes my heart happy.

Praise God for this wonderful news!

Born in 2011...

The day I went into labor, I saw this cute little set of onesies at Target on clearance. One said "Brand New," and one had cars and trucks on it. I was going to buy them, but then I saw that the third one of them said "Born in 2011" on the front. Considering my sweet baby was due six weeks later, in 2012, I hung it back up and kept on walkin'.

Little did I know that approximately six hours later, my water would break and my precious boy would, in fact, be born in 2011.

A friend bought the onesies and gave them to us in the hospital. They are size 0-3 months, so Leland is just now fitting into them. I had to take a picture of him in this one - sorry it's kind of hard to read.

Update on our blizzard...

Our county {Grand Traverse County} and surrounding areas are in a state of emergency because there are still tens of thousands of people without power {and our 'low' for tonight is supposed to be 4 degrees....brrr}.

What does this mean? NO SCHOOL!

I wouldn't have been there anyway, since I'm still on maternity leave, but because there's no school, I will actually get paid for that day. Wahoo!

We have had five snow days since school resumed after Christmas break, and I have missed them all. In my five years of working for local schools {one year of student teaching, one year at Trinity Lutheran and three years at Grand Traverse Academy}, I don't think we have ever hit five snow days, especially not in a two month timeframe. This year, we do and I miss all of them. Ha ha.

Blizzard of 2012...

It has been a very strange winter for northern Michigan, with mild temperatures and very little snowfall. And the snow we have gotten has pretty much melted within a few days. It's been strange to see so much bare ground this time of year.

But that all changed this weekend. Friday night, the weather forecast was calling for a blizzard, with snow accumulations predicted to be anywhere from 12 to 20 inches depending on the area. Most people didn't bat an eye. Eh...we've seen snow before, and chances were that it wouldn't happen anyway. But it happened.

The snow started falling Friday night and didn't stop for a long time. We had high winds and even thunder and lightning, which ultimately led to power outages and down lines. Our power went out at about 11:30pm and was off all night.

I put Leland in his warm, fleece pajamas {that are usually too warm for him}, wrapped him in his favorite fuzzy blanket and we snuggled up close all night to stay warm.

In the morning, Dave started to snowblow the driveway, which usually takes about 15-30 minutes. It took him THREE HOURS to clear it! We had at least 16 inches of snow at our house, and I know some places had more. And we were still without power.

I texted my friend to see if she had power, but she was downstate, and said that she heard we may be without power until Monday. At that point, our thermostat read 63 degrees, and I didn't think we would make it much longer without heat. My sister-in-law, Laura, had power and invited us over to hang out until our power was restored. She said they had plenty of food and we could spend the night if we needed to. So we headed over to her house, which is about 15 minutes away.

We hung out in their warm house all day and her husband, Jabin, made us a delicious dinner. Our power was restored at around 5:00, I think, and we went home at around 8:00.

It is nice to have a warm house again. However, many people are still without power. Line crews have come from all over the state to help restore power, and there are several fire stations and other places set up for people to go to for warmth.

If I were a good blogger, I would have taken lots of pictures yesterday. Instead, I chose to be a good mama and keep my baby warm. So, here are some pictures that I took today.

A tree in our backyard. The snow was so heavy that all the branches are hanging down.

Front yard. Notice that the snow is almost higher than our mailbox (and we had no snow just a few days ago).

Our front porch. Dave shoveled the walkway, and you can see how high the snow is.

Before I go, I have to share some people's absolute stupidity. Our electric company has been giving updates on facebook about the progress and people are posting comments on their page. A couple of people complained that their fish are dead. Really? There are hundreds of people out in the cold, working through the night without sleep to restore YOUR power, and you think anyone gives a CRAP about your fish?

One lady was complaining about how long it's taking and said her food was going to spoil. Uhh...hey lady. Look outside. See all that snow? Snow is cold. Temperatures were in the teens and 20s last night. Put your food in the SNOW! It will stay cold. 

But my favorite? My absolute favorite comments are people asking if they will get a discount on their electric bills. Ha ha ha ha. Do they not understand the way it works? That you pay for the units you use? If you're not using it, you're not going to pay for it.

People are idiots.