Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Last weekend we embarked on our adventure of traveling to Texas for Kristin and Seth's wedding. Armed with lots of treats, toys, baby carriers and hooter hiders, Graham and I set off for the airport. We were crazy enough to attempt connecting flights with a 2 year old and a 2 month old! Nicholas was SOOO excited to fly on an airplane (also known as a rocket ship) and go to an airport. We had a few bumps in the road like rush hour traffic, problems with security, and then a mechanical problem on our plane in Dallas causing us to be delayed and then have to get on a new plane at a different gate (far from our other plane). But despite all that, the boys did very well and Graham and I, though exhausted, arrived in Austin ready for the wedding festivities.
Thursday night we all met at a local BBQ place. Nicholas was exhausted when I woke him from his nap to go to dinner and was quite cranky. Nolan however slept soundly in his car seat :) So we left early and went back to the wonderful house that the family had rented to catch up on sleep and be ready for the next day. Friday morning was the bridesmaids luncheon that Nolan and I and all the ladies attended while Graham and Nicholas stayed home to play and rest up. The luncheon was lots of fun (and delicious) and Nolan did great, sleeping in my sling the entire time.
Friday night was the Rehearsal Dinner. Nicholas had been looking forward to this for weeks as we were taking a dinner cruise that included going under bridges with bats! He couldn't get enough of being on the top of the boat and seeing all of the sites, especially the bats as they flew out from under the bridge to search for food.
Saturday was wedding day! The girls spent the day at Star Hill Ranch (the wedding site) getting beautiful while the boys (Graham, Nicholas, and PopPop) went shopping at Cabellas to see the stuffed game animals and fish. Soon it was time for the wedding. Kristin was absolutely stunning and the wedding was beautiful. Nicholas did a wonderful job as ringbearer and walked so nicely down the aisle with his girls (the flower girls) and he sat so quietly and watched the wedding. When the ceremony was done, he thought it was his turn to get married and ran up onto the stage! He loved being the center of attention and wouldn't even get out of the Johnson family pictures--it was hilarious. Then during the reception, he was out on the dance floor at least 30 minutes before anyone else, showing off his break dancing moves (we have no idea where he picked that up). He danced all night long and was the last one out on the floor. Nolan did great too. I nursed him 2 times during the wedding and he enjoyed being in someone's arms at all times. Kristin and Seth ended the night by riding off on a 2 person bicyle with a gigantic butterfly on it!
Sadly on Sunday we had to say goodbye to everyone and head back home. Again the boys did very well although Nolan did cry for a bit on the last flight. Poor guy was so tired, we all were!

Book signing

Saturday was such an exciting day with Graham's book signing at Border's book store. It meant so much to us, seeing all of the family, friends and neighbors that made the drive to Borders to come and support Graham. Our family kind of took over the store and visited with all those that came by. Graham was seated at a table near the front of the store and was busy signing all of his books. A handful of shoppers in the store picked up his book too! Hopefully they'll recommend the book to friends also. Graham sold all but 5 books (and there were a lot there)! The store asked him to sign those remaining 5 so that they can sell autographed copies. It was so neat to see Graham in what I'm sure is the first of many book signings throughout his career as a published author!

Grandad and Kaki were able to make it down for the book signing too! Afterwards we celebrated Kaki's birthday with a delicious dinner at a local italian restaurant called Rosa Mia. It was fabulous! Kaki and I enjoyed their homemade Sangria which was such a treat (Nolan got to enjoy that at the next feeding too ;) And their tomato basil soup and portabello mushroom ravioli were amazing! Then we came home for cake and presents--so fun!

But my sleep deprivation got the best of me and I was in bed by 8 that night! Things haven't gotten any better in the area of sleeping with Nolan. He wakes up everynight at least 2 times, usually around 1am and 4am. And the nighttime leaks with the cloth diapers are still a huge issue. I've been trying everything to try and fix this issue and think there must be something wrong with the diapers I have because they should last more than two hours! In fact my friend that cloth diapers with these same kind has a 10 month old who sleeps 12 hours and has never had one leak--ever! I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong and it is keeping me up at night--literally! The other big problem that we are having is that Nicholas is joining in the lack of sleep issues as he is now waking up around 5:30 am almost everyday! He wakes up and runs and turns on his light, slams his door and turns on the hall light and waits for us to come get him. He'll slam his door every so often so that we know that he is awake. I'm usually nursing Nolan at the time or have just gotten back into bed from nursing him. So basically, mornings pretty much stink around our house. Baxter added in the fun this morning by puking at 6 am! Don't you just wish you could come stay at the Garrison house! And to top it all off, Nolan now has the cold that Graham and Nicholas are still trying to get rid of. There is nothing more heartbreaking than listening to my tiny 2 month old coughing like a seal!

But after all that complaining, I do want to say that I know these issues are so minor and will pass soon. I am so thankful that these are my biggest problems right now and that with all these sleepless nights and babies with colds, I am so blessed to be able to be home with the boys and not have to go to a job all day. I am so thankful that I can stay home and focus on being their mom and trying to get them healthy again. I sure do love these boys of mine ;)

Nolan is 2 months and Papa is 91 years!

Well it seems that I can only find the time to update the blog about once every 2 weeks. There's just no time when you have an infant! Last week was certainly a fun week for us! On Monday, February 8th, Papa turned 91!! We made a week long celebration out of it. On Monday we all met at Olive Garden (his fav) for dinner. On a side note, Nicholas was an angel at dinner and amazed us with his coloring skills. He sat there the whole time and concentrated on coloring. Not only that but he was coloring inside the lines and has been continuing this all week. On Wednesday night, Aunt Carol and Uncle Cliff arrived. They came over on Thursday and visited and then Thursday night I met the family with both boys (Graham had a work dinner) at the club. Once again we had a wonderful visit with everyone. On Friday, Kristin and Ryan flew in, just before all of the snow arrived! Kristin stayed with us Friday night and we had fun in the snow that evening. The next morning, Nick and Graham went out again to throw snowballs and play around while Kristin, Nolan, and myself enjoyed the warm house. That night was party night at Mom and Dad's house. It was a wonderful party with a lot of Papa's friends. Aunt Sue, Uncle Dick, Matt and Grandma even made the drive up for it. It was so nice to honor Papa and his amazing 91 years with a chance for everyone to be together. Mom and Carol did a wonderful job on the party too!

Sunday was Valentine's Day! After church and Sunday School, we dropped the boys off with all the family and Graham and I snuck out for a movie--Holly and Matt joined us! It was so nice to get out amongst adults with no kids for a couple of hours. We stopped off at Barnes & Noble and found Graham's book for sale too!

Monday was an adventure in shopping as I joined the girls at Perimeter mall with both boys in tow so that I could get the last of the things that I need for Kristin's wedding in 2 weeks. It sure is a challenge and quite exhausting spending the day at the mall with both of the boys. Thankfully I had my entourage to help me keep it all together.

Unfortunately, this week both Nicholas and Graham have come down with a bad cold. Graham seems to be doing better each day which is good because he has his Book Signing tomorrow. I'm praying that time is protected and he's able to make it.

Yesterday, Nolan had his 2 month check up. I can't believe it's been 2 months already. He's doing well although he is still a little guy. Weighing in at 11 pounds 1 ounce, he's in the 38th percentile. He's 22 inches (16th percentile) and his head is 15 inches (12th percentile!). He's still not showing much progress in the sleeping through the night area. I asked Dr. Bergman if he's too small or young to be going all night without eating and he said no, that it would just take some convincing from me and some crying from him to get there. I tried last night and he cried for 45 minutes and I caved and went in and fed him (twice--at 2 and 5). Both times he had gotten out of the swaddle and needed diaper changes. I'm struggling to know when to feed him and when to let him cry. It was just so much easier when Nicholas just did it on his own.

Our last two weeks...

The past 2 weeks have been pretty quiet, thank goodness, so I haven't had too much to report. We finally recovered from our horrible stomach virus and things slowly got back to normal (and the laundry finally got under control). Nicholas got back to school (finally!) and has really enjoyed being back with his friends and teachers. He's been a little chatterbox recently and on Wednesday when I picked him up from school he talked more than ever about what he did at school that day. He told me all about going to Chapel and talking with the Pastor about God in heaven and hearing that "God loves me". Then he burst out in song with "Jesus loves me" (along with hand motions of course). It melted my heart.
Last Saturday we visited Grandad and Kaki at their house. It was so wonderful for all of us to get to spend time together. We're so happy that they are back home and Butch is on the road to recovery. Each day he seems to be taking steps towards getting better and regaining more strength and hopefully some weight too! We're so proud and amazed of how strong he's been through all of this. Witnessing God's healing power has been truly miraculous!
This week was a busy one for me while Nick was at school. On Monday, I had a dentist appointment and lots of errands to run. Nolan was an angel for me as usual and I was very thankful that I didn't have to spend my time in the dentist chair with a screaming baby in my arms (like I did when Nicholas was a baby). On Wednesday, Nolan and I made it out to Mom's Fellowship Group at church. This was so nice to finally get back there as it's been many weeks that I missed!
On Thursday, the boys and I hosted our neighborhood playgroup at our house. This was so much fun to have so many friends over! It's been a few months since we've all done a playgroup so it was great to see everyone, and there was even one new mom and her two children, Phoebe and Jack (and we're so excited that Phoebe will be starting in Nick's preschool class soon!).
This weekend was pretty full of activity. Friday night we met up with a few of our families from our Sunday School at Fuddruckers for some food and fellowship. I also invited my childhood friend, Kristin, and her family to join us. We had lots of fun and Nicholas loved getting to play with one of his favorite friends, Charlie, in the game room. Later that night, Graham and I watched a super scary movie (Paranormal Activity) that of course now has me a little freaked out being up all night in a dark nursery by myself. Hopefully soon I'll stop looking over my shoulder checking for ghosts!
On Saturday, Nick, Nolan and myself met up with Mom and Ashley at the mall--one of Nick's favorite things to do. Then Saturday night, I got a girls night out with Nadine and all of her bridesmaids. We had so much fun at Maggiano's for dinner. Unfortunately, Graham was not having as much fun at home with the boys. Nolan spent the entire time crying and would not sleep. Nolan seems to only sleep while swaddled and this is something that Graham has not mastered. Hopefully the next time they have a boy's night, Nolan will be cooperative!
And lastly, tonight we went to our neighbor's house for a superbowl party. Brooke, James and their little boy Brandon were so nice to have us. As usual, Nicholas had a wonderful time. He didn't watch any football but was very excited about the new toys to play with, the aquarium, and their puppy dog.
Nolan is 7 weeks old now. He's growing well and is doing really well with the routine. The nights still aren't wonderful though. He had two nights this week where he only woke up one time at 3 am and I got very excited about that. But the last two nights he was back to waking up 2 times (every 3 hours usually). I'm hoping that he'll get back to once a night tonight and hopefully soon be sleeping all the way through the night. But I have to say, I'm not so sure that it'll be as easy or as early as it was with Nicholas (at 2 months). Also, I don't think that Nolan will be sucking his thumb. He hasn't been trying to find his thumb at all and is addicted to his pacifier!

Pukefest 2010

This past week was truly awful! I have never dealt with so much vomit in my life (and I recently got finished with 6 1/2 months of it while pregnant). On Tuesday morning, Nicholas suddenly started puking and didn't stop until Thursday night. He had a short lapse on Friday were he didn't get sick but instead spent the entire day crying, and then he threw up again on Saturday and a few times last night (Sunday). Meanwhile I came down with the virus at 4 am on Friday while I was up nursing Nolan (yes I was puking and nursing at the same time!). I had extreme body aches and spent all day Friday in the fetal position and could barely move. Mommy was definitely out of commission! Poor Graham then came down with it at 1 am that night. This of course was the worst timing for him as he was set to have his book signing at Borders at 1 pm on Saturday and had to cancel! I was so upset for him! During all of this, Nolan was definitely very fussy and had major troubles sleeping and spit up a whole lot more but I'm not quite sure if he actually got the full virus. Nicholas still has no appetite and I'm not sure if we're fully out of the woods with him but I sure hope so. He lost at least a pound over this week and I hope he starts eating again soon! I am still amidst the endless loads of laundry (I've never done this much laundry before in my life) and can't wait for the house to feel clean again.
While we were struggling just to survive this week, sweet Nolan brightened things up by sharing his smile with us starting on Thursday! He has such a sweet smile, hopefully I'll catch it on camera sometime soon. Then on Sunday, he rolled over from his tummy to his back during tummy time! I couldn't believe it. He actually did this one other time a week or so ago (while I wasn't looking of course) but I just told myself it was a fluke and wasn't possible so early. But today I took him for his one month check up (a week late) and told Dr. B and he said that is normal for smaller babies to roll over a lot earlier because they are more agile. Nolan weighed in at 9 lbs 14 oz (he's gained 2 1/2 lbs in this month) at the 38th percentile. His length is 21.5 at 32nd percentile and his head measures 14.5 at 14th percentile. His small head and lower percentiles concern me but the doctor says that is nothing to be concerned about and described him as "lean". I'm just not used to having such a petite little baby. I guess I've got to learn to not compare him with his big brother though! Other than that, Dr. B said that Nolan is very healthy and doing well. He eats great and sleeps well (although it'd be nice if it was a little longer at night) and is a very happy baby!
During this terrible week, Graham got fabulous news! Kregel publishing company (Hero's Tribute publisher) has offered a contract for the sequel to Hero's Tribute!!!!!! God has just blown us away! Graham is going to have a SECOND published book!! Graham's dreams are truly coming true and the best part is that God is being glorified through it all. I can't wait to see what God has in store for Graham and our family through the writing of this book and all that is to come with it. I am so proud of my incredible husband that I cannot even put it into words. It is such a joy to watch him as he writes with such passion and enjoyment. His talent and drive inspire me everyday--I feel so honored to be his wife!
In other wonderful news--Butch and Kathy are on their way home from Nashville today! We are so thankful that they are finally able to leave the hospital and pray for a speedy recovery and healing time while at home. We can't wait to go visit them soon!

Our new normal

We've now had 2 weeks of Graham being back to work with me flying solo during the day with both boys and the dog. Things have gone really well! Of course there have been some challenging moments but overall it's gone so much better than I expected. I've even managed to get out quite a bit. Nicholas has had 3 days of school and we made it to prayer team and my Journey Bible study. On Thursday I even ran errands with both boys for the first time. We went to the post office, got the car washed and ran to Publix and everyone managed very well!

We've had many days of freezing temperatures and last week we got snow and ice! Nick was very excited to play in the snow and wanted to make snowballs and a snowman but the snow was so dry and there wasn't enough to be successful at that. Plus, I was SOOO cold after just 5 minutes of being outside. I was a pretty ridiculous site that morning. First I had no makeup or shower that morning but I bundled us all up in many layers then I stuck Nolan in the sling on my body and got one of Graham's large coats and zipped that around me with Nolan inside. I couldn't find a warm hat for me so I borrowed a cap from Graham. It was not a pretty site so I was very glad that no one else was outside. I was still freezing so after a few minutes of letting Nick attempt to make snowballs and snow angels, I bribed him with hot chocolate to get him inside. Thankfully this Thursday and Friday temps warmed up and I got out with the boys for a walk in the neighborhood with the new (to us) double jogging stroller that I got for twenty dollars at a yard sale! I'm hoping to make that a daily habit and get back in shape and even participate in the Water for the World race in April.

Nolan has been doing very well! He is one month old today! I was able to borrow a friend's scale and Nolan now weighs 9 pounds! That's still less than Nick ever weighed but I'm happy with the weight he's gained. Of course I'm still up with him about every 3 hours at night. Sometimes he can go longer and there's an occasional rough night where he needs to eat every 2 hours. So while I am definitely very tired, I am also treasuring this alone time with Nolan. There's something so peaceful about that time alone with him in the nursery. It also gives me great quiet time, prayer time, and time to read. But that being said, I am hoping that he'll be sleeping through the night in about another month.

One new thing that I've been enjoying with Nolan is that I decided to do cloth diapers! Cloth diapers are a great way to save money and I am also happy to not have the trash that disposable diapers produces. Plus the diapers are just so cute! I bought one size diapers that adjust in size and grow with your child. Therefore, I'm able to use them on Nicholas too! I hope that these diapers will last for all of Nolan's diapering.

This weekend, Graham headed up to Nashville to be with his dad who is recovering from his surgery to remove his esophagus. The surgery was a success and we are so thankful that the cancer is gone! God has been so faithful and we pray that his recovery will go well and all of this will be behind him soon. Please continue to lift Butch up in prayer during this time!

I'm including pics of Nolan at 3 weeks and 4 weeks old and in his cute cloth diapers as well as Nick playing in the snow (even though he did not want his picture taken).

Christmas

Well, as you can imagine, I've been a bit busy and haven't had much time for my blog. So this is very late but I better post a little about Christmas, for posterity's sake.
It truly was a wonderful Christmas. We were all so thankful to have Nolan here for Christmas and to just be together as a family. It made it so special. It was so nice to be focused on these important things and to feel God's love for us so deeply rather than be caught up in the stresses and presents like can often happen. It was also such a joy to experience Christmas through Nick's eyes this year. He loves everything about Christmas (what kid doesn't?) and was so excited about all decorations and the tree and reading all of his Christmas books. One of my favorite things was how excited he was about Jesus. A few days before Christmas Baxter started barking at something outside and Nicholas looked at me and exclaimed "It's Jesus! Mommy, Jesus is coming, Jesus is coming!" (thinking that Baxter was barking at Jesus coming to the door). He did this all week long in anticipation of Christmas and Jesus' birthday. On Christmas Eve we went to church with Mimi and PopPop and Nicholas joined us for "Big church" for the first time. It was a family service that was tailored for kids so he loved it. The children's choirs sang and Nicholas was adorable as he sang all of the songs right along with them! I was amazed at how well and attently he sat through the service (and Nolan did wonderful and slept peacefully through the entire thing). At the end, everyone got glow sticks and held them up and sang Silent Night. Of course he loved the glow stick part. Now I had told Nicholas beforehand that we were going to church to sing songs and celebrate Jesus' birth. So as we were leaving church, he looked at me with very sad and confused eyes and said "But Mommy, where's Jesus? Where's my Jesus?" He did not understand why he didn't get to see Jesus. That's a difficult one to explain to a 2 year old! After church Mimi and PopPop joined us at our house for a delicious dinner of chicken enchiladas (made by Mimi) and then we enjoyed Happy Birthday Jesus cupcakes!
Christmas day was wonderfully busy. We had a full house from 8:30 am until 7:00 pm! Nicholas loved opening presents and helping everyone else open their presents too. Santa brought him a bean bag chair, a drum filled with musical instruments, and a monster truck. He got lots of fun different cars, two favorite movies, books, a leapster computer game system and lots of great things.
We all enjoyed just being together and enjoying the delicious food. Aunt Sue, Uncle Dick and Grandma even made it up in the afternoon and it was so nice to share Christmas with them and introduce them to Nolan. Of course, even amidst the joy and excitement of Christmas and Nolan's arrival, I know that all of us experienced the void that Gami has left in her absence. I can't begin to express how much I have missed her, especially during the holidays and with Nolan's birth. The void that she has left is so great because she was larger than life herself. I know she is watching over all of this though and is so happy to see all of the exciting things going on in our lives.
On the Sunday following Christmas, we managed to pack our family of four into the car and headed down to Peachtree City for Christmas with the Garrison side of the family. It was wonderful watching the kids play and open presents and dinner was delicious! And then Lauren and TJ amazingly offered to keep Nicholas for 2 nights giving me time to spend with Nolan alone while Graham starts back to work! Nick had so much fun and Lauren said he even behaved himself and they had a great time! I really appreciated being able to focus on Nolan and ease my way into being home alone with Nolan without having Nick there too.
It truly was a fabulous Christmas season! Thank you all for all of your love and support!