Month 3

Month 3 - Mommy is still learning and loving life with you!

This month was your first Easter. We decided to attend the sunrise service, since you were awake for a 4 am feeding. You were so good. You watched a bunch of young boys play on a blanket for the entire service and slept towards the end. Then we enjoyed the gorgeous day outside with your paran's in-law's family. You received gifts and were loved on like they were your own family.

You are still trying to crawl, and still enjoy your tummy time. You are slowly getting brave enough to move your arms. You keep them in front of you for the most part. You now can hold up your head well while on your tummy.

I love when I'm holding you, you hold your head up and rest your little arm on my shoulder.

I love when you wake up in a happy mood in the morning. We get to exchange smiles back and forth, while I rock you. You melt my heart.

It's fun watching you under your play mat. You are making more of a conscious effort of when you choose to kick or hit your toys. You grab/hug the giraffe toy so well - you are even bringing it to your mouth and giving it a little nibble. You love just having a conversation with yourself looking at the mirror - you don't even bother with the toys sometimes.

I'm having fun singing songs to you during the day: Old McDonald, the alphabet, counting in English and Spanish, Patty Cake (and my remix), Skimmer rinky dinky dink (sp?), Itsy Bitsy Spider, Jesus Loves You, You are my Sunshine. Your eyes light up and you smile, and I love how sometimes you join me in song.

I love sitting back and listen to you having conversations -  especially with yourself in the mirror, daddy, or with Poppee.

We faced time with nonnie and poppa the first day you sat in your bumbo chair which ended shortly bc you pooped in it...

You let anyone hold you - but like to keep an eye on me, especially in the beginning. You do SO well with others. This month, I've had to fight the urge to not let anyone hold you...where did that come from!?!

I took advantage of the spring weather and I took you outside. We sat on a blanket in the backyard and enjoyed the breeze. I read to you, let you drool, and sang to you. I placed you in the grass for like 10 seconds and you didn't mind.

We had our first playdates with friends. :)

I've been reading to you more and more. You seem to really like "The Little Blue Truck," "Hello New Orleans," and "Babies First 100 Words."

This month you are drooling and chewing on your fingers, a lot. I guess you are slowly starting the teething stage.

One day when I came home from work, you made the sweetest babin face ever when grammy says, "Did you miss mommy while she was at work?" Broke my heart and melted it all at once. I was glad to snag a pic of that sweet sad face.

You went to your first birthday party - to my cousin Jared's son, Parker. You did great! (besides seriously blowing out a diaper)

You went to your first funeral - your great grandmother Mabel Thibodaux. It was interesting to see everyone's face light up when they saw a baby. You got lots of attention since no babies and hardly any children were present. You were so sweet as you cooed often during the Hail Mary and Lord's Prayers. We also discovered that the cry room (which was placed up front on the side of the alter) was not sound proof very much. You cried screamed during a diaper change, and well, many heard you to my little knowledge at the time. Everyone got a good laugh out of it - including me! You did so well meeting lots of new people - the large Thibodaux fam, plus some.

We went to my boss's house for a boat blessing party. Her husband recently built a deck, and I tought it would be fun to watch the boat pull away from the dock on it. Well, you turned a newly built deck into a poop deck...literally. (Good thing Daddy brought an extra set of clothes)

Everyone adores you. they comment how adorable you are and are amazed at how alert and how well you hold up your head for being so young.

You are no longer in the new born napper, but still in your pack-n-play in our room. Until your sleep becomes a little more consist with 6 hours at a time, I'm thinking you will stay in our room.

You are now drinking 4-5 oz at a feeding. Almost every night you get a bottle from your daddy.

I've loved our time rocking you this month...I've just really cherished that time together. Probably because you are getting so long, it made me face reality that I won't be able to rock you forever...

Your cries have changed. When you are really frustrated you cock your head back and push off with your legs. You are SO strong. You usually do this when you are fighting sleep. After a few minutes of this, you calm completely down and fall asleep. Your feeding cry used to be a panic cry, but not anymore - I guess you know you will be fed if it's time and you cry. I've come a long way, because I have developed a patience now when you cry that I know once I figure it out, I know you will be fine. I'm able to do this without panicking.

I love watching you stretch after being swaddled or a long nap. You arch your back so much and stretch those arms as long as they can go. It always makes me smile and/or laugh.

You got to meet a lot of my extended family on my mom's side the day before mother's day. This is when you met your great-grandmother for the first time who is 91. You instantly started having conversations with her and of course quickly became the center of attention. Just to show you how large this family is, Logan is the 48th great-grandchild. (For the record, not everyone was there.)

I got to experience my first mother's day. :) Daddy fixed mommy crepes, 3 different ways, for breakfast. I received a wrapped canvas of our first professional family photo, and a necklace of baby feet. One foot has your name and the other has your birthday. It also has your birthstone. I love it and wear it often. Our day consisted of going to church - where you pooped on me! Hanging out at home, going get fro-yo as a family, and ordering sushi take out from Taste of Tokyo. (mom's fav!)

This month I learned a hard lesson. When you were born, I thought I could be Michelle the teacher, scrap booker, crafter, shopper, exerciser, reader, video gamer, camper, independent woman, and a mom. While I can be all those things at once, right now, I'm a mom. This month I struggled with that. I struggled with letting my hobbies go be placed on the back burner. I don't want to sound negative or deny how much I love being a mom to my little man, but I'm still in the process of learning to continually love unselfishly. I answer school emails while you are sleeping and sometimes at 3 am. I haven't touched my scrapbook since before you were born. I have barely crafted, and the crafts I did were for you. :) Shopping doesn't happen to often anymore (which probably isn't a bad thing). I don't read, exercise, play video games or camp anymore. I am looking forward in doing all those things, one day, when you are a little older, because you will be able to join me in all those things. :) I'm still learning how to spend my time day to day, but the greatest thing of all is being able to spend it with you. I love you Logan, bunches and bunches.

 /;;'cv;vv.7  ,,kmik,mi9kynh,lo  (mom let you type)

What a fun month it's been. When I think back, I think of A LOT of diaper blow outs and poopie stories... You are becoming more and more aware of the world around you, and I love to watch you take it in. You are so alert, and tell mommy and daddy all about what you learned at night if we explore somewhere new. Life's been interesting the past few months, but I wouldn't have it any other way....

Weight
Birth: 7 lbs. 11 oz
1 month: 9 lbs. 12 oz
2 month: 10 lbs. 13 oz
3 month: 12 lbs. 10 oz

Height
Birth: 20.25"
1 month: 22.25"
2 month: 23"
3 month: 24.25"

Thank you, God, for choosing me to be this little fella's momma.

Love you, Logan.

Peace, Love, and a learning mommy,
-Miche

P.S. Not 5 min after this was posted, you pooped all on mommy's leg. Ha! :)

Month 2

Happy 2 months my sweet growing boy!

This morning as I was rocking you, you looked up at me with your big eyes and gave me a big smile. It was the sweetest 5 min of exchanging smiles back and forth. You melted my heart.The sad thing is that I almost missed this moment because I just had to know what was happening on facebook...I guess I discovered what I need to work on next month - focus less on social media. I'm so glad I put that time waster/phone down so I could capture the moment in my heart. If you looked in my cell phone, you would see many pictures of you sleeping, not just because of the funny positions you sleep in or because of how cute you are, but because I try to live in the moment while you are awake. I've made a point to shut the tv off any time you are awake. This month I promise to put the phone away too.

Speaking of sleep, you look so peaceful while you sleep. Now I understand how parents can just watch their children sleep. I love looking at all the little details of your face. How I can see every strand of your thin brown hair. How long your eyelashes are and how they curl up. All the little wrinkles on your hand so you can bend your fingers. I'm amazed at how much lint you manage to get between your fingers and how fast your fingernails grow. I love how when you finally reach your deep sleep, you spit that nunu right out.

You have developed so much this month. It brings me so much joy to watch you grow and learn. You are definitely becoming more aware of this huge world around you. I'm glad that I have the opportunity to witness so much of it. I always take a picture or two (or 20...) and send a few to your daddy as he works all day. Sometimes I even take a video of you to show him what new things we did during the day or just to capture that cute smile.

What's new:

You now coo and make noise and try to "talk." I think the best part about this is you make the biggest smiles in the process. you especially like to talk while under your mobile or play mat. You look at yourself in the mirror and coo, you grab the giraffe by the neck, and swat at your monkey all while your feet are kicking up a storm. When you are in a good mood, I always let you play. Sometimes mom and dad lay down with you and play. :)

You still love lifting your head up or sitting up while being held. I take you on house tours so that you can look around at your home. I tell you about each room as your eyes look around in wonder. I can't help but wonder what you are thinking. Amazing that when you are placed on your stomach, your instinct tells you to attempt to crawl. You can't crawl yet, but boy do you try to! You have a great time laying on your tummy. You can move your head from side to side, and kick and move your feet. No arm movement yet. You love to climb up your daddy though. :)

Memorable moments:
First time going to City Park (sculpture garden).
Watching you try to imitate momma after making a clicking noise with her tongue.
Met your great grandma (Mamaw) from Oklahoma for the first time.
The first time you slept from 10:30 pm - 5:30 am straight. It was a one time deal, but I never felt so refreshed in all my life. However, you do sleep anywhere from 4 - 6 hrs straight at night still.
The countless times you have peed on yourself, momma, daddy, your bed, your changing table, the carpet, the curtains during a diaper change...yeah, still a work in progress. :)
Doing leg exercises (especially motorboat)
Watching your eyes light up and feel your spirit calm when we enter your room.
Reading the Bible to you.
Singing "Amazing Grace" and "How Great Thou Art" to put you to sleep.
You know who mom and dad are - eyes follow or you look for us when you hear our voice.
Dancing in the living room with momma and daddy, and you watching momma and daddy dance while in your bouncy seat.

Other noteworthy things:
You still scream and cry very loudly. This makes momma petrified to get out in public, but you seem to prove me wrong...most of the time. ;)
You HATE being woken up. But I love watching you stretch when we release you from your tight swaddle. You always stretch real big with both arms up and bend your back.
You eat really well, now drinking about 3, but mostly 4 oz per feeding almost every 2.5-3 hours during the day.
You still like fans a lot...
You now enjoy bath time with daddy - and licking those wet hands.
You fight sleep sometimes because you are so curious.
We have gone to church twice this month - enjoyed the service from the family room.
We still don't know your eye color, but they are looking like they probably will turn brown.
Momma went back to work - only 2 days a week. You do great while I'm gone and enjoy your bottles.

Weight
Birth: 7 lbs. 11 oz
1 month: 9 lbs. 12 oz
2 month: 10 lbs.13 oz

Height
Birth: 20.25"
1 month: 22.25"
2 month: 23"

Thank you, God, for choosing me to be this little fella's momma.

Love you, Logan.

Peace, Love, and a Growing little boy,
-Miche

The fastest month of my life...

So let's try to recap the fastest month of my life...

Valentine's day, I began active labor. Feb. 15, my sweet baby boy was born. My labor and delivery was a very peaceful and joyous experience. I was happy to have all of my immediate family be able to see him hours after he was born. So much love and happiness filled the room. I hope it's a feeling I never forget.

Memorable moments:

-   Feeling of relief once the epidural kicked in.
-   Having a church friend be my nurse.
-   Logan having the hiccups while being 6 cm dilated.
-   Travis praying for me moments before I began pushing.
-   My doctor sharing a verse in the middle of my labor: God works all things to the good of those who love Him.
-   Looking at Travis's face after they placed Logan on my chest and both of us managing not to ball.
-   Travis and I singing Logan happy birthday during our alone time.
-   Snuggling my little one on my chest for the first time.
-   The fire alarm going off as a practice drill.

So what they say is true. A baby changes your life. I hated hearing some of the negative aspects everyone seems to remind you of while you are pregnant. Do you loose sleep? Sure, but coffee becomes your best friend. (Thank you whoever invented the keurig.) Hey, I had to make up for not drinking any for 9 months somehow. Right? Logan, you have quickly taught me how to be selfless (or at least not as selfish) and how much of a time waster I am. I thought I knew how to put others before myself, but not until you have a child, do you fully understand how to really do that. Hot meals, showers, trips to the bathroom all wait to quite your little one who seems to be fighting gas pain or sleep. But once you are in the most peaceful looking sleep, momma is able to get anything she wants during that hour or two done. Not to mention, you've taught me how to use my left hand and do things one handed that I never could before. I'm sure you will teach me about time, because I don't know where it went this past month besides feeding, sleeping, and diaper changes. You are also teaching me a different kind of love. A love that I have for no other. Thank you Logan for the lessons you already teaching me and the changes in life already. I can only imagine what our new life has in store.

The newborn stage is hard and difficult, but when your beautiful big eyes meet mine while I'm rocking you, I know the sleep I have lost is worth it. When you snuggle up on my chest and place your head on your arms and make the sweetest face because your belly is full, I know the pain and time of breastfeeding is worth it. When I see that smile, I know helping you fight through the gas pains is worth it. Even though you are probably stretching the neck on some of my shirts by gripping it tight, it's worth it to give you content. The countless times we put back on the one sock you manage to always loose (even while swaddled) but it keeps those toesies warm, so it's worth it. The fact that you are not a fan of baths, it's worth it, to keep that sweet soft smooth skin clean. The fact that you literally scream the entire time your diaper is being changed until that last button on the onsie is snapped and you are lifted up, magically you are content. It's worth it, to know I've met your need. Even though momma has only been out the house a couple of times thus far, your needs are being met, so it's worth it. In case you don't know, momma loves you lots.

Memorable Moments:

-   Almost one week old - sleeping in - having skin to skin time with mom and dad.
-   First time we gave you a bath, you screamed the entire time. Then when momma wrapped you up in a towel, you proceeded to poo. Once momma removed the towel and was about to put a diaper on you, you peed all over me - in which I had JUST took a shower and put on clothes other than pjs. Crazy thing is that I hadn't changed a single diaper and yet I got peed and pooed on...
-   First walk around the block in your stroller - you hated the sun in your eyes. Then screamed half way home since you barely had a wet diaper.
-   Taking newborn pictures at 2 weeks old.
-   Most used word to describe you: adorable.
-   Momma's sleep deprive moment: almost every night, waking daddy up saying, "Take him" because I'm thinking you are still in my arms after feeding, and I want to sleep. Some nights, this happens multiple times.
-   Your name suits you well, since we have had to clip your "claws" at least 5 times so far and your scratches on your face heal quickly (very similar to Logan the Wolverine) and you look just like your Poppa (Travis's dad - Dwain, Logan's middle name) when he was a baby.
-   When you are eating sometimes you make a fist with just your pinky up, so momma says you are having "tea time." 


What you love:
Daddy rocking you.
Momma singing to you. Especially, "Some Where Over the Rainbow."
Your hands. You love to put them by your face while eating and sometimes squish your face - meal time gets intense for you. They are a big comfort to you by sucking on fingers or knuckles.
Meal time.
The way daddy swaddles you.
Ceiling fans - moving or not moving.
Holding your head up. Everyday in the mid-morning you have to have some time to do this.
Being held. You let anyone hold you.

What you are not a fan of:
A little pee in your diaper. Dirty ones are ok though. We don't get it...and this makes us go through A LOT of diapers to keep you happy.
Diaper changes.
Bath time. (But you are getting better)
Changing clothes.
Being naked?
You have a love hate relationship with the pacifier.
Fighting your sleep.
Gas pains. (No one blames you for this one)
I'm going to say the microwave because every time momma decides to use it, you decide otherwise...

Weight
Birth: 7 lbs. 11 oz
1 month: 9 lbs. 12 oz

Height
Birth: 20.25"
1 month: 22.25"

Thank you, God, for choosing me to be this little fella's momma.

Love you, Logan.

Peace, Love, and a New born baby,
-Miche

Sitting in a Tree...

Our Facebook announcement. I wanted to do something creative to share the news with the rest of our family and friends. So I naturally went to Pinterest for some ideas. I found one idea that I thought was cute. A couple was sitting in a tree holding a calk board with a check off list from a nursery rhyme. I didn't like the chalk board idea, so instead I decided to act out each line in pictures. Enjoy!

 Sitting in a Tree...

 K-I-S-S-I-N-G

 First comes love.

 Second comes marriage.

 Then comes...

 Proof of our little one. :)

Peace, Love, the secret is out!
-Miche

And then there were.....3?!?

Ten months. Some months were easy. Some months were hard. Some months were busy. Some months were long. Lots of stress, crying, understanding, relief, joy, arguing, hopeful, judging, grateful, hopelessness, comfort, comparing, feeling free, learning, and sharing.
In which all lead up to...

I am happy to announce that my husband and I for (4 1/2) years will be expecting our first little blessing in February!

We surprised our families with the news in person. It was so hard to keep that secret from them every time I talked to them on the phone.

My family was surprised by a last minute thrown together birthday party for my husband (his birthday was the following weekend). My family didn't suspect anything since they knew I was surprising my husband with a little get away to Biloxi, MS for his actual birthday weekend. Our plan was to bring out a cookie cake with writing saying that "We are pregnant!" after lunch. Once everyone arrived and started filling their plates with yummy food, it felt like f-o-r-e-v-e-r until everyone was done eating. I could barely eat, I was so nervous. I wasted no time after I saw empty plates. I quickly cleaned the table and said, "Time for dessert!" A friend of ours (who was aware of our news) placed the cookie cake in front of my husband, and my husband tilted it so everyone could read it. Everyone's mouth literally dropped! Their reaction was priceless! Clapping and cheering and excitement exploded in the room.

His family was surprised by a late Father's Day present to my husband's dad. My husband managed to get the whole family on the couch as he opened his gift. The gift was a box with a picture of a tree with hearts and the saying "Our family grows with love," on the cover. Inside the box there were pictures of my husband and I holding the positive pregnancy tests with looks of horror and then very happy faces. I also included the phase, "The only thing that's better than having you as parents is having you as grandparents!" They were surprised and excited as well.

The wait was so hard, but worth it to witness their reactions in person.

Peace, Love, and a baby.
-Miche

Looking Back on 2012

I wrote a blog about my Top Ten Resolutions for 2012, and today I want to reflect on those resolutions as my 2012 chapter comes to a close.

Here is the short list version:
1. Read the Bible in a year.
2. Pray throughout the day.
3. Write in a P-journal - 4 days a week.
4. Maintain a healthy body.
5. Get to know my neighbors.
6. Continue to work on loving people in my everyday ordinary life.
7. Continue to pray for my friends in Zambia, Africa.
8. Volunteer more often at our church's food bank.
9. Quit biting my nails.
10. Grow my hair long enough to donate to Locks of Love.
  New Tradition: "Memory Jar" kept in the kitchen.


Here are the grades I've given myself:

1. F    Once I fall off this horse, I feel like I can't get back on.

2. D    I still struggle with praying throughout the day. Beginning of my day and end of my day, I got it. But there is SO much in between! I'm a work in progress on this one.

3. F    So this one lasted 2 months...but I still really like the concept.

4. A-  My husband and I joined a gym in February and decided to make some lifestyle changes in making exercise a priority, eating out less and eating healthier meals more often. We had blood tests done for our health insurance and our numbers came out awesome. To date, my husband has lost 45 pounds! I am SO proud of him. You can read about an experience I had at the gym HERE. Also, I ran my first 10k ever! It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed running it with a really good friend of mine. Why the minus? Because since Thanksgiving, I've been to the gym once. The holidays killed my routine...

5. D+  I know this one will take time, but I feel like I could have done a lot more. You can read about an opportunity I took HERE. Also, my husband and I did make Christmas goodies for some of ours neighbors, but when we had time to deliver them, no one was home. There's always 2013! Right???

6. D+  I'm probably being harsh on myself on this one, but it leaves a lot of room for improvement which I think I need. Lately, I feel like selfishness has crept back into my life big time...ugh.


7. C+  In 2011, I went on a mission trip to Zambia, and it impacted me in a way I never expected. You can read ALL about my trip HERE. I kept in touch with a couple of people through email and facebook. I do not message them as often as the beginning of the year, but I think about Zambia and the people often. And when I do think of them, I say a prayer for them. God Bless Zambia and the gracious passionate people I met.


8. F   We didn't volunteer. Not once. I'm sadden about that. However, we did volunteer work with our church for other occasions throughout the year, which I am happy about. If I change this resolution to do more volunteer work with my church, I'd give it a C.


9. C-  This one was hit or miss. I would quit, and then start up again about every month. I've been working really hard on this one lately, and I can honestly say that my nails are the longest they have ever been! Seriously, I don't know how to use them. For instance, I'm having trouble typing this blog right now because my nails are in the way. It's driving me crazy and making me tempted to bit them, but nail polish has been my friend lately.


10. A+  Almost 12 inches donated. Feel free to read about it HERE.


So I didn't completely keep my resolutions, but I'm happy that I made them. I think we should all have goals to strive for. An amazing man once told me, "If you don't have a target, you will hit it every time."


Cheers to a new year and new targets!
-Miche

P.S. 2013 resolution post to come soon...

The Neighborhood I Had Hoped For?!

This past week has been a whirl wind. Hurricane Isaac decided to completely change it's path and make it's debut to America by sitting on Louisiana for a couple of days. This was my first hurricane experience apart from my parents and in my own house. I'm very thankful to report that my house sustained no damage nor flooding. This was a great learning experience for my husband and I if we ever experience another hurricane and decide not to evacuate again.

I'd like to focus this blog on my neighbors. I've blogged about neighbors before Here. I'm sad to report that I hadn't really focused on getting to know my neighbors like I intended - see failed New Year's Resolutions Here. But....

As we began to board up our windows of our house - we decided to take no chances since there are plenty of trees around our neighborhood - we had a little chat with our neighbor about their experiences with hurricanes. It definitely calmed me down a bit of what to expect in our neighborhood. During the conversation, he had mentioned that they had a generator and wouldn't mind throwing an extension cord over the fence so we could plug in our refrigerator. Isn't that awesome?! How nice of them, since we had no generator or any way of saving our food if we were out of power for some time. Apparently, a neighbor at one time did a similar deed and they wanted to pay it forward. It was only a matter of time before we were out of power. After some time of no power and starting to worry about loosing some food, we decided to take up our neighbor's offer about borrowing some power. Once the weather died down a bit we exchanged some gas for some power. The funny thing is that after finally setting up our refrigerator not an hour later and we had received power again. In fact, we had to inform our neighbors that the generator was not needed anymore. Thank you, Rick, for this is the neighborhood I had hoped for...

After Isaac definitely out weighted it's welcome, it was time to start the clean up process. You know, rake up leaves that came from every tree in sight and clean up yards of tree branches and other debris. My husband and I have had very small conversations with our neighbor from our front doors in passing before, but this was the day when we were dirty, stinky, and sweaty when we finally introduced ourselves! How's that for first appearances?! We had a small convo and exchanged "if we can help at any time, let us know." Thank you Brittany, for this is the neighborhood I had hoped for....

As my husband and I began to take down our boards, a young man that lives next door didn't think twice to help my husband with the heavy wood. Thank you Nick, for this is the neighborhood I had hope for...

While my husband and I began dragging broken tree limbs from our back yard to our front, I noticed the same young man that helped us, help another neighbor. He was also dragging tree limbs to the front yard. Once we were finished with our yard, I thought, why not see if they need more help? I'm already dirty, stinky, and sweaty. We walked over and picked up rakes and didn't skip a beat. The owner of the house appeared with ice cold water and we introduced ourselves. She was a young woman who had surgery for skin cancer the day before Isaac made landfall and wasn't supposed to do any physical work. She had a huge tree in her back yard and the storm cause many limbs and leaves to cover her back yard. With five people helping, we had the back yard cleared in no time. We finished right before the sun went down and the mosquitoes could come out of their hiding. She was so thankful, and I was happy to discover that we had a lot in common. Thank you Debbie, for this is the neighborhood I had hoped for....

It may have taken a hurricane, but I was able to discover that this is the neighborhood I had hoped for, a community, helping each other out in times of need.

Peace, love, and community
-Miche

And for your viewing pleasure, this was part of Day 2 of hurricane Isaac at our house: