Week Wrap-Up, plus sickness update

I feel like I haven't blogged about anything substantial lately. And yes, weird title. I just wasn't sure what to title this blog because it's kinda all over the place. I've been meaning to write all week but have just been exhausted. The last few weeks have been busy in the Michaels household. Not only have they been busy, seems like everybody in our house has been sick! I posted last month about me having a stomach bug, and then I wrote about Sara Kate being sick for the first time. Well right after that I ended up with an upper respiratory infection, so said the doctor. I was completely miserable for about a week. For me to complain and want to take medicine, Chris knew it was bad because I don't complain about not feeling good and I hate taking medicine! I was dying for medicine this time, and nothing worked. Well, the Tylenol Cold and Sinus didn't touch it. I finally called my OB's office asking what I could take that would be safe for breastfeeding. The nurse said a Benedryl product and night and a Sudefed product in the day...that those were safe for the baby but they would affect my milk supply. So I tried the Benedryl at night and it didn't work at all...and my milk supply went down! When I finally got in at the doctor, I got a steroid shot, some antibiotics, and a cough medicine. After a few days, I was finally on the mend. Now I think I have some allergy issues. Ughh!!! Last weekend, Sara Kate got a runny nose again and she still had the cough from a few weeks ago so I finally filled her antibiotic prescription. She's doing alot better! Chris went to the doctor this week with a sore throat and he has some kind of inflamed tonsil so he's on antibiotics, too! Seriously, I need to disinfect my house! HA!!!

Let's see, what else is going on...

Sara Kate is adorable as ever!! And since starting her on antibiotics, her sleeping has gone back to normal. Sleeping through the night like a pro! In fact, today she slept until 7. Chris got up with her and she played like a good girl until about 8:40. I heard her start to get fussy so I got up and fed her. What a good girl to let her mommy sleep in! And it was glorious!! I needed that!
And she just took about an hour nap. We learned from her school that they key to getting her to take good naps is to SERIOUSLY swaddle her!! We have always swaddled her at night but not for naps. They do double blanket, arms in...it works because she went right to sleep!

My little Sara Kate burrito!

Now I'm gonna back up a little bit with some pictures! Last Sunday night Chris planned a little party for me for my birthday. We went to Jose's and had a nice dinner and celebration with friends. I knew we were going out to Jose's but didn't know anything other than that. So it was a nice surprise.
Like I already mentioned, this week was full of nothing...just work and school for Sara Kate. But yesterday was a special day for my in-laws. They celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary. They, like my parents, are great examples for Chris and I. They stopped by before they went to dinner to see Sara Kate but mainly so Chris could take their picture. Here are a few pictures from last night.

A hug for her momma (that's a new thing she does)! My sweet girl!

Happy Anniversary to Bob and Sharon! We love you guys!

What a loved little girl!

A little later last night we had to have a little photo shoot because Poppa (Chris' dad) brought Sara Kate a fabulous new accessory from the Kansas state fair! Yep, check out that awesome headband!!

Daddy makes me giggle!

Hangin' with mommy!

Riding on daddy's shoulders is super fun! His hair are the reigns!

And finally, a little sit and stand action!

Time for me to get off here. Hogs vs Dogs are on and I keep getting up to watch. Plus it's time for me to feed the babe. Hope ya'll have a great Saturday! Go Hogs!

Hello 30's, it's nice to meet you

Yep, I made it to the big 3-0. Thirty years. Three decades. I feel old, but then again I just feel indifferent about turning 30. Thinking back, what did I want to accomplish by the time I turned 30? Done with school. Check (with 2 degrees). Good, solid job. Check. A happy and fulfilling marriage. Check (and I really lucked out b/c my hubby is awesome!). A baby. Check (once again, lucked out b/c my child is amazing!!). So what am I lacking? Absolutely nothing. I have great friends and an even greater family. So all I can say is, hello 30's it's nice to meet you. I hope you treat me as good as my 20's did!

Sara Kate says, happy birthday mom! I'm all the present you need! :-)

(Had to add the last couple of pics for the grandparents...they would probably get upset if they didn't see any pictures of their darling granddaughter!) :-)

5 Months Old

Sara Kate, you are 5 months old today!! What have you been up to?

- Even though I miss you during the day, I think going to school has been a great thing for you. You have a very definite schedule now, and that's not something mommy and daddy were able to achieve over the summer. You get to school between 7:45 and 8, you have a short nap in the morning, you usually get your first bottle between 10 and 10:30 (sometimes you hold out until 11), you take a long afternoon nap (like a couple hours!!), you get your afternoon bottle between 2:30 and 3:15, and daddy comes to pick you up between 4 and 4:30 (usually). Sometimes you are asleep when he gets there. You love the jumper/bouncer at school, and you love sitting in the Bumbo chair on the play mat (something we even do at home). You light up when you see me or your daddy at the end of the day. I absolutely love that!

- You are still exclusively breastfed. Outside your 2 bottles at school, I feed you at 6 am, sometime between 6:30 and 7:30 pm, and I still give you a little top off to put you to sleep. Next month we'll start solids, and I'm planning on making your baby food. Good luck mommy!
- You are sleeping through the night, but your night time sleeping has gotten a little off this month. I'm not sure if it's because you were sick, or the '4-month wakeful period,' or a combination of both. You were waking up and needing the pacifier to go back to sleep several times during the night. Things seem to be getting back on track. You still have a little cough and you wake yourself up coughing during the night sometimes but you can put yourself back to sleep. And on occassion you just wake up and want the paci to fall back asleep.
- Seems like everything is going in your mouth these days! Hands, toys, but not the feet yet! Your drooling seems to have amped up, too, especially in the last couple of days. Not sure if that means teeth are on the way or what.

- You are becoming so vocal! It's so fun to watch you 'say' new things or discover new sounds you can make! You make this cute little squeal that cracks us up. Other sounds you make include a 'gee' sound (you've been making this sound for months now), something that sounds like 'whoa,' and 'hee,'....we're working on mama, dada, and hi. Time to start working on 'Go Hogs,' too!! We'll make sure that's the first thing you say to your Crimson Tide loving family! :-)

- You really like to 'stand' up these days! You are also getting pretty good at sitting up. When we were doing your photo shoot earlier, you were almost sitting up by yourself! Won't be long!

- You are still mostly in 3 month clothes, but we're branching out to some 3-6 month stuff. We've pretty much moved you into 3-6 month pajamas all the time because of the length. Size 3 month dresses still fit you fine, though.
- You are in size 2 diapers.
- Still no rolling over, even though we practice it with you!
- You are such a happy baby, and when we go places people comment on how happy and good you are. It makes me so proud.

- Your eyes are just the most beautiful color blue and you have lots of super blonde hair coming in on top of your head!
- I absolutely love having you in my life, and I'm so blessed to be your mom!!! Love you, sweet pea!

With the Help of God, We Will...

Yesterday we had Sara Kate's baby dedication at church. We decided to do it this weekend because my parents were coming up and Chris' dad was in town, too (he's working in Kansas right now). We also had Jenny, Jason, and Hannah join us at church. It was a great family day. I love the way our pastor does baby dedication's. He makes it so personal. We went up front, Pastor Ryan read some scripture, we made our promise to do our part in raising our daughter in a godly home, and the church congregation made their promised to help raise her and to always be there to support us. Ryan then takes the babies around and walks them around the sanctuary and talks to them...it's kinda hard to explain but it's so sweet. Of course, our dedication wasn't without a little drama...ha! It was right about 9:30, which has been nap time lately. I was afraid she would get a little fussy, and she she did get a little whiney. I gave her the pacifier in her mouth and she threw it on the floor. She lost a sock. And she pulled her bow and headband off her head. That's our girl! :-) But when Ryan took her, she was great. And after her dedication, her Gran promptly put her to sleep and she took a great nap for the rest of the service. Chris and I are so blessed with a great church family and we look forward to Sara Kate growing up there and learning there, as well.

Time for family pictures after the service!
After church, everyone came to our house for lunch and we had a lovely afternoon just hanging out.
The girls

It's hard work being a grandpa!
All tuckered out!