I don't have a whole lot of free time anymore (I wonder why?), but I have found a little time to read. A while back I wrote about a piece that I saw on Today about Warrick Dunn. I was surprised to find that my husband gave me Dunn's book for Christmas. I was excited to start reading it. He made a great choice. I am only about 5 chapters in, but I am hooked for now.
Dunn's mother was a police officer killed in the line of duty. The book begins with him sharing his road to healing. That road took him to the prison that housed his mother's killer. It is amazing to read how he dealt with that man. I don't want to give away too much, because the story has much more impact coming from him.
Football played a huge part in Dunn's life, and he spends time in the book talking about football. I don't understand any of his descriptions of games and plays, but I can see how it ties into his story. It kind of feels like I am reading an engineering text book at times, but I am sure that most sports fans would be right there with him.
I am excited about finishing the book. Rest assured that I will be sharing more, so stay tuned.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Friday Excitement
Friday was a big day for the Holder's. Our morning started out with our first visit to the pediatrician. It was time for Reese's six month check up and shots (not fun!). To our surprise our baby boy was a hefty 20 lbs even! On the 29th he was only 19 lbs and 7 1/2oz so I was a little concerned about the weight gain. Since he is in the 90th percentile for height and weight we were told not to worry about that. I was not very impressed with the Dr. Having been a parent for less than three weeks, I had a lot of questions and she was not interested in hearing them. I think we will be looking for a new Dr.
When it was time for his shots, the nurse asked me to hold his hands. How did I manage to get that job? I couldn't bear to watch, so I turned my head. While turning my head I caught a glimpse of Bryan hiding behind the other nurse. I guess he couldn't watch either. It broke my heart to hear my sweet baby cry that way. We had not heard that cry before. It didn't take too long before he was his sweet smiley self again. After the Dr. we stopped by the YMCA and Calhoun to visit with friends who had not seen Reese in person yet. He loved the attention and of course everyone was taken with him.
After visiting at the Y, Bryan left us to bring Weldon home from the hospital. He will be completing his rehab from home. It will be a couple of more months, but after 5 weeks, we are glad to have him home. It is still going to be a long road for him, but being home will boost his spirits some.
Our day continued to be exciting as Reese went to work with me for the first time. He got plenty of love from Brooke! We left LearningRx and headed to Reese's first basketball game. He loved it! Probably not so much for the ball game, but for all the attention that he got from the other ladies watching. He is quite the ladies man! How could you resist the cutest kid ever?
As a side note: Despite the fact that he weighs 20 lbs he only needs 6 or 9 months clothes. So, if you were considering purchasing clothes for Reese, don't buy 12 months winter clothes. We have a closet full and they are way too big. Actually, we have a closet full of clothes that do fit, so if you are just dying to buy him something we would prefer gift cards so that we can get clothes in the spring.
When it was time for his shots, the nurse asked me to hold his hands. How did I manage to get that job? I couldn't bear to watch, so I turned my head. While turning my head I caught a glimpse of Bryan hiding behind the other nurse. I guess he couldn't watch either. It broke my heart to hear my sweet baby cry that way. We had not heard that cry before. It didn't take too long before he was his sweet smiley self again. After the Dr. we stopped by the YMCA and Calhoun to visit with friends who had not seen Reese in person yet. He loved the attention and of course everyone was taken with him.
After visiting at the Y, Bryan left us to bring Weldon home from the hospital. He will be completing his rehab from home. It will be a couple of more months, but after 5 weeks, we are glad to have him home. It is still going to be a long road for him, but being home will boost his spirits some.
Our day continued to be exciting as Reese went to work with me for the first time. He got plenty of love from Brooke! We left LearningRx and headed to Reese's first basketball game. He loved it! Probably not so much for the ball game, but for all the attention that he got from the other ladies watching. He is quite the ladies man! How could you resist the cutest kid ever?
As a side note: Despite the fact that he weighs 20 lbs he only needs 6 or 9 months clothes. So, if you were considering purchasing clothes for Reese, don't buy 12 months winter clothes. We have a closet full and they are way too big. Actually, we have a closet full of clothes that do fit, so if you are just dying to buy him something we would prefer gift cards so that we can get clothes in the spring.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Prayer requests and updates
Weldon, my father in law, is coming home on Friday. He will be doing the remainder of his therapy from home. Please continue to pray for his recovery. He has been in the hospital since his accident on Dec. 5. He will be wheel chair bound and in a hospital bed for some time even though he is home.
Brooke and Chris are still waiting for the call to bring Dillen home. Please continue to pray for them. Our prayer for 09 is that Dillen will soon be here in the upstate with us!
As for us, our car died this morning. We don't know what the problem is at this point. As you can imagine this is not a good time to be dealing with car trouble. This leaves us with only one car that we can put the baby in. I don't know what is going to happen, but I know that God is in control.
Brooke and Chris are still waiting for the call to bring Dillen home. Please continue to pray for them. Our prayer for 09 is that Dillen will soon be here in the upstate with us!
As for us, our car died this morning. We don't know what the problem is at this point. As you can imagine this is not a good time to be dealing with car trouble. This leaves us with only one car that we can put the baby in. I don't know what is going to happen, but I know that God is in control.
There's a new sherrif in town
Things are still going well and we are learning A LOT! We had our first post-placement visit with our social worker today. This weekend we had a shower with my family and our youth volunteers. We got a lot a stuff. It is becoming more and more obvious that we won't be in this house long because we are out growing it quickly.
(This is random, but my child is currently hanging sideways in his swing. We have a leaner on our hands.)
Reese has learned to blow out of his lips and make them flap. He discovered yesterday that he can do it with food in his mouth. I got a shower of carrots, YEAH! He has started sliding backwards on his belly and sitting up for long periods. Gailey taught him to tap on his mouth and make Indian noises (he is currently doing this). Of course, he is also learning how to work Bryan and I. It didn't take long for him to figure us out and learn to get what he wants.
His smile and laughing gets more endearing everyday. Hopefully I can post some videos soon. Watching him eat is one funny experience that everyone needs to see. This week is our first week of a normal work schedule for us, so things will be a little tougher this week. Stay tuned for some videos and more info.
I have posted a lot of pictures on Facebook, so check them out!
(This is random, but my child is currently hanging sideways in his swing. We have a leaner on our hands.)
Reese has learned to blow out of his lips and make them flap. He discovered yesterday that he can do it with food in his mouth. I got a shower of carrots, YEAH! He has started sliding backwards on his belly and sitting up for long periods. Gailey taught him to tap on his mouth and make Indian noises (he is currently doing this). Of course, he is also learning how to work Bryan and I. It didn't take long for him to figure us out and learn to get what he wants.
His smile and laughing gets more endearing everyday. Hopefully I can post some videos soon. Watching him eat is one funny experience that everyone needs to see. This week is our first week of a normal work schedule for us, so things will be a little tougher this week. Stay tuned for some videos and more info.
I have posted a lot of pictures on Facebook, so check them out!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Week 1
I am sorry that I haven't updated much, but as you can imagine, things have been a little busier than normal around here. Yesterday, I was lucky enough to have a wonderful babysitter so that I could get some house work done. It is amazing how much I got done when I thought I only had 3 hours to do it.
The first week was a little rough with the reflux issues. The first day his spit up/vomiting was terrible. It got a little better as the week went on, but it was still more than the average child. We did learn that it is worse when he is nervous and it stains everything! Because of allergies and reflux, we were only allowed to give him formula the first week. This gave us a good point of reference for what normal for him. He is on prescription formula ($50 a can!) and it makes his poo smell awful and not so solid. We went through lots of clothes and I was doing 1 or 2 full loads of baby laundry everyday.
On Christmas Day, Reese got to meet cousin Lawson who is about 5 weeks older. Reese loved it! He was so excited to have a playmate. It was really sweet to watch him inspect Lawson. I am looking forward to them playing together.
Monday we were able to start feeding him cereal. He was so excited. He must have been starving! The first day there was no spit up at all, YEAH!!!! We had a Dr. appointment on Monday and it went well. We are a hefty 19lbs and 7.5 oz. The Dr. said that he looks good and is doing well. Both he and the other Dr in his office are adoptive parents and they specialize in treating internationally adopted children. This was a recheck from a previous visit. We will see the pediatrician next week for shots. I am not looking forward to that.
Tuesday, Reese had his first day of work. He got to go with Bryan and stay with Ms. Tracy in the nursery. Yesterday, he stayed with a friend for a few hours while Bryan worked and I do some house work. He is loving cereal and the spit up is almost non existent, YEAH!!!! He is also having solid poo with a lot less smell. (I am so sure that everyone wanted to know that.)
Things are going well, and we fall more in love everyday. I never knew that I could be so in love with anyone in such a short period of time. I am probably biased, but I have the cutest and best baby ever!
The first week was a little rough with the reflux issues. The first day his spit up/vomiting was terrible. It got a little better as the week went on, but it was still more than the average child. We did learn that it is worse when he is nervous and it stains everything! Because of allergies and reflux, we were only allowed to give him formula the first week. This gave us a good point of reference for what normal for him. He is on prescription formula ($50 a can!) and it makes his poo smell awful and not so solid. We went through lots of clothes and I was doing 1 or 2 full loads of baby laundry everyday.
On Christmas Day, Reese got to meet cousin Lawson who is about 5 weeks older. Reese loved it! He was so excited to have a playmate. It was really sweet to watch him inspect Lawson. I am looking forward to them playing together.
Monday we were able to start feeding him cereal. He was so excited. He must have been starving! The first day there was no spit up at all, YEAH!!!! We had a Dr. appointment on Monday and it went well. We are a hefty 19lbs and 7.5 oz. The Dr. said that he looks good and is doing well. Both he and the other Dr in his office are adoptive parents and they specialize in treating internationally adopted children. This was a recheck from a previous visit. We will see the pediatrician next week for shots. I am not looking forward to that.
Tuesday, Reese had his first day of work. He got to go with Bryan and stay with Ms. Tracy in the nursery. Yesterday, he stayed with a friend for a few hours while Bryan worked and I do some house work. He is loving cereal and the spit up is almost non existent, YEAH!!!! He is also having solid poo with a lot less smell. (I am so sure that everyone wanted to know that.)
Things are going well, and we fall more in love everyday. I never knew that I could be so in love with anyone in such a short period of time. I am probably biased, but I have the cutest and best baby ever!
7 Things I Hate About You
A certain someone in my household has an affinity to a little song called 7 Things I Hate About You by a little girl named Miley Cyrus. I wouldn't want to embarrass anyone, so I won't mention any names. I even put it on my I Tunes so that someone could listen to it whenever he (did I say that?) would like. In the spirit of that certain someone's jam, I want to summarize my first week and a half of motherhood.
The 7 tough things:
* Reese freaking out in the car at night and not being able to do anything about it.
* Not knowing exactly how to console him.
* All of the reflux issues the first week.
* Not knowing if I am feeding him enough or too much.
* The nights he doesn't sleep well (neither do we).
* How sad and confused he seemed the day he arrived.
* Looking into his sweet little face and knowing that someone wouldn't care for him properly.
The 7 that I like:
* The sound of him humming himself to sleep.
* His curly hair.
* His sweet little smile.
* The sound of him laughing out loud.
* The way that he wants to snuggle up next to you.
* How he has become attached to us and lights up when he kiss him.
* Looking into his sweet little face and knowing that I am in love and would do anything for him.
The 7 tough things:
* Reese freaking out in the car at night and not being able to do anything about it.
* Not knowing exactly how to console him.
* All of the reflux issues the first week.
* Not knowing if I am feeding him enough or too much.
* The nights he doesn't sleep well (neither do we).
* How sad and confused he seemed the day he arrived.
* Looking into his sweet little face and knowing that someone wouldn't care for him properly.
The 7 that I like:
* The sound of him humming himself to sleep.
* His curly hair.
* His sweet little smile.
* The sound of him laughing out loud.
* The way that he wants to snuggle up next to you.
* How he has become attached to us and lights up when he kiss him.
* Looking into his sweet little face and knowing that I am in love and would do anything for him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)