Our weekend...

This past week has been a bit stressful. A lot of change has been happening at my work.
I'm so thankful it's the weekend. I'm thankful for other things to help keep me sane!! Here are a few pic's that make me happy...
The past few nights, Theresa spent the night while Clint was in N.Carolina for a Pastors seminar. We were even lucky enough to get a movie in while Ter babysat. Thanks Theresa - what a treat!! We watched Sherlock Holmes. Good movie!
She brought her Jack Le Lanne (sp?) juicer. I want one of these!!


Breeson got a surprise (belated) Christmas present from his Uncle Tony and Aunt Gina. He's still trying to figure the penguin out!!
(Thanks guys - he loves it!)


Early this morning after Breeson ate his 5 o'clock bottle, he was (slowly) going back to sleep in his crib when I heard him say "dadda". We've been working on this for a little while b/c for a week now, he's been saying "mama"!! Needless to say, Jamie was excited to hear him say it ALL day today. Now, he can't stop.
We went hiking this afternoon at Deer Creek Canyon. It was beautiful outside so we decided to take advantage of it. Plus, we finally got a Kelty carrier, so now we're set - we can go hiking/snow shoeing anytime we want. Breeson did good today. He slept for most of the hike, but then after he woke up, he was laid back and enjoyed being outdoors.




And then tonight, right before Breeson went to bed, he started doing this...

gross, but funny

Thanks KK for sharing!!

8 months

Breeson's 8 months today. There were a lot of milestones in the last month. Our life has become much easier and more fun.
Breeson's achievements are:
1. sleeping through the night (not quite consistent every night, but we're getting closer). And NO it hasn't had to do w/ Babywise - I've yet to read it. (thanks Ash for sending it though).
2. crawling around
3. says "Mama"
4. going to other people so much better, thus he's enjoying the babysitter and going to the
nursery at church

He's become so much happier since he's been able to crawl around. I think that's been the greatest accomplishment. Whenever we go into a different room, he can follow us and not just sit there and cry/scream.


In other news...
Jamie's job is going well. We're getting more and more connected at TLC and trying to find ways to reach the Young Adults in the surrounding area.
Last night we met w/ a few of the young adults that have had prior relationships w/ the church, it was great getting to know them.

My job is still up and down. There are good days and bad days. I'll leave it at that.

We went and looked at more houses yesterday. We plan to put a bid on one house tomorrow. I don't want to get my hopes up. I'm trying to just trust God and if He wants us there, then He'll open the door. We'll keep you posted on what happens.

Well, not much else is going on. I need to get off of here so we can do our weekly grocery shopping. It's a family event each week. I'm so thankful Jamie helps me. I couldn't imagine doing it alone w/ Breeson in tow. Plus, I enjoy doing it as a family.

Finally!!!

It's our turn - Breeson finally slept through the night last night!! I put him down at 8 and I didn't hear him until a little after 5 this morning. I gave him a bottle and he went back down until almost 7, which is his usual time he gets up.

I've been praying for this for a long time. An actual prayer request is that he would sleep through the night before he turns 9 months. We made it!! He'll be 8 months in less than a week.

clapping

In the past few days, we've been concentrating on clapping. Last night, Breeson finally figured it out. Plus, he's getting the idea on how to do it with the word association - CLAP, and not just us showing him. Jamie said he did it a lot today.

The search is on...

We started our search for a house. We've only looked at one house so far. We're planning on looking at another one tonight, then more on Saturday.
It's overwhelming how many houses there are, yet at the same time, not much too choose from. It's amazing to see how people live.
Jamie and I have two different ideas on what we want. He would prefer to just move in and make some small improvements. I would like a house that we can re-do. I like to see the "before" and "after" on houses. (I've watched too many home makeover shows!)So, we'll just have to compromise!!
A part of the problem is that the price for houses here in Denver don't allow you to get much for your money.

The things we do agree on are:
1. safe neighborhood (duh!)
2. good location (Jamie works on the SW side of Denver and I work on the SE side of Denver)
3. fenced-in yard (we want a dog really bad)
4. a house w/ at least 2 bathrooms. Those are hard to find.
5. a house w/ a basement (this is a wish - so we'll see if it happens)

Breeson news:
Breeson's sleep schedule has been a lot better the last few nights. Although, he STILL hasn't slept through the night...and he's 7+ months old. Ugh.
Ashley is sending me Baby Wise. I had heard too many bad things about it, so I didn't even attempt to use it. But I'm at my wits end - nothing else has worked either, so i figure, why not give it a try. What can it hurt!?!
The one good thing is, the last few nights he's reverted back to sleeping longer like he did when he was a baby :-), a newborn. But now, we are not allowing him to eat until at least 5 a.m. He still wakes up between now and then, but we just try and make him go back to sleep w/out eating. Last night, he got up at 1ish, 2ish and 4:15. I was tempted to let him eat at 4:15, but then figured if I do that, he'll just get the idea that he can eat when he cries a lot. So I held my ground and he finally fell back to sleep. Jamie got up at 5:30 to feed him when we heard him cry.
Someday it'll happen...someday...

1st Haircut

Today

Two things:

1. I came to work today and KK was dressed the same as me. :)


2. I'm drinking a yummy Dr. Pepper for the first time in a long time. The last time I had one was probably hours prior to Breeson being born. I quit when I had to start breastfeeding. Now that I'm done...bring it on!!

It's Time

Breeson is now 7 months old. I officially stopped breastfeeding and pumping December 31st. I never thought I was going to pump as long as I did. It's all thanks to Ashley - when she told me how much they were spending on formula, we decided to keep pumping!! Well, that was a few months ago.
Now, Breeson is taking a bottle with partial breast milk, mainly b/c I still have some in the freezer. But he's no longer feeding off of me. I'm not really glad nor sad. If anything, I'm just super sore.
Anyone have advice to help me not be so sore? I may need to call the doctor. I bought cabbage leaves and they help alleviate the pain, but only for a few seconds. I try not to pump, but after 10 hours, I'm VERY sore. I'm popping Ibuprofen about every 8 hours. I pump just enough to help me not be so sore, but I think it's just prolonging the process of getting rid of my milk supply.
What do I do?

Anywho, I also put another new post below...

REI Garage Sale

One of the things that Jamie and I have grown to love since moving to Colorado is snow shoeing. We both enjoy being outdoors, plus this is a great/fun way to exercise. REI is a store that is all about the great outdoors. Most of the time their stuff is expensive, but every quarter they have a "garage sale" for all of the stuff returned. Some can be damaged, but a lot of times it's just slightly used. On Saturday, Jamie went and stood in line 2 hrs before they opened. Some people had already been camping out the night before. Jamie stood in line and I came later with Breeson so we wouldn't have to stand out in the cold. (thanks, honey!!) There are a few different REI's here in Denver. We've gone to one close to our house, but it's a lot smaller. The REI we went to on Saturday was a lot bigger. When the doors opened, everyone began running. Breeson and I did our best to catch up. When I say "sales", I mean it. You can get Keen shoes for a few bucks. A used North Face tent for like $20. The prices are crazy. We were very pleased with our purchases (which we paid very little for in comparison to what they are full-price).
Here's our loot:

It's all thanks to Clint and Theresa for introducing us to snowshoeing:

Now we just need one of these to carry Breeson in: