another week

Ah--its been a whole week since I posted! Let's see. We survived week one in daycare and there were no tears until Friday morning. I have no idea what that was about (fatigue?) They take great care of Logan, and its been working well for him to come across the street to hang out (i.e. eat) with me over lunch. It's felt good to get back into the swing of things with work, as well. After a while, it seemed like my brain got dull.
We spent the weekend in Central City scoping out the house and hanging out with our great friends and their family. We're generating the ToDo list, and its a lot of fun (for now, because we get to drive away when we're through :)
Dale and I have both been battling a little cold virus and so far Logan's been healthy (Purell, Purell, Purell). We had a little bit of concern over the weekend and early this week. He's always been a spitty baby, but its gotten pretty forceful. Today I ran over to daycare and they had taped off the carpet that they'd had to clean after the milk explosion. It looked like a crime scene! We started him on some medicine for reflux, and today obtained an ultrasound to make sure he doesn't have pyloric stenosis, or a narrowing of part of his stomach. It looked okay (thank goodness!) so we're back to trying to quiet down his little tummy. We've gotten to the point that with each feed, someone usually has to change clothes. We pray that things settle down a bit so that he's more comfortable, which should lead to him sleeping better at night.
That's about all that's new with us. Hope you're enjoying the warmer weather today and the
S-U-N-S-H-I-N-E!

a place to hang our hats

Holy cow, its been a long time. Sorry about the delay (again). I got tied up with everything going on. As you know, no news is good news. Let's see, where did we leave off? We had a great week last week, once things settled down a bit. We closed on our house in Central City-- YIPEE!! We're very excited to start that transition. There's a lot of space to fill, and I look forward to piecing it together. Dale has big garden/yard plans. We love the town and are so excited about getting to know it better.

I started back to work on Friday (just for a half day) and Logan went to daycare. We both had good days and handled it better than I thought we might. Its easier knowing that there are big exciting changes on the horizon. Last weekend Gma and Gpa Sell came to Omaha so Dale and his dad could take in the Husker game. Sadly, the outcome of the game was a huge disappointment, but I'm glad he was able to get away and take in the atmosphere of the game and spend some great time with his dad. Meanwhile, I got to spend the day lounging in Omaha with a grandma here to help me! It was an awesome reprieve and I'm so grateful for their visit.

Sunday was another day of rest, and we hosted friends for dinner. I'm SO ready to get into a real kitchen and starting figuring out where my stuff is. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing like dinner on a folding chair with wine that's been chilling in a tupperware container :) We had great company though, and that's what matters.

Today marks my first full week back. I'm working with a great pediatrician for the rest of the month, so its been fun to pick his brain over and over (he'll probably be ready to be rid of my by the end of the month). The weather today is beautiful as well, so. . . I think I'd better go grab the peanut from daycare and get home to hang out with dad. Hope you have a great week!
Love from all of us!

its working

We went to daycare today to drop off Logan's stuff and meet his teacher. I've heard so many wonderful things about the facility and about her. I'm glad we went. I felt a huge sense of peace and know they'll love him and take great care of him. Logan's having a great day; he's napped well and been awake and alert (and content) in the interim. We stopped by the clinic and he weighs 9lb 12oz and is 22 3/4 inches long! So my suspicions that he's currently "growth spurting" were confirmed. Silly mommy--just feed me!

Letting go

I was frustrated this morning when we were up at 2am (and 3 and 5). Logan seems to be more fussy, just recently, and I can't figure out why. I have a list a mile long of possibilities, and we're working our way slowly through them to figure out what might be wrong. I started perusing the blog while Logan ate. I hope it was a good idea, because I was overcome with a flood of emotions that are still very real to me. I was reminded of his fragile start as well as the fragile start we had as parents. I tried to imagine how tiny he was and remember getting him out of the box to hold him. He was a tiny body with long arms and legs that just seemed to follow. Through a stream of tears, I recounted only the first month. I was brought back to a time when nothing else mattered, where the situation itself quieted the background noise and I could only focus on one thing. I was also brought back to a time when I relied completely on the Lord for my strength. I remember physicially feeling like I was letting go and I was so reassured by the promises of prayers from friends and family that I felt like I fell backward into a safety net.

Now, I have a few more responsbilities to regard (my job, my marriage, keeping the house. . . just kidding. . . the apt is still a mess : ) but I can't coordinate everything.

What makes me think that self reliance will get us through now? I'm nervous and excited about returning to work, about having Logan at daycare, about nearing completion of my residency and having a grown-up job, about closing on a house two hours away, among other things. So I can't do it. But I know someone who can! And today I am going to surrender completely (. . . . again) and realize that I am not the one manning this ship. This puke-stained, sleep deprived mother will love her fussy, spitty, gas producing infant fiercely and completely, and I will trust that he will sleep again, that I will have the energy to get through the days and return soon to work (and that I'll be able to function when I do) and that the good Lord knows exactly what he's doing. I'm letting go.

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness. 2 Cor 12:9

my little alarm clock

In an effort to condition both of us for my return to work Friday, I decided I would start waking up at a reasonable hour. Logan usually gets up to eat sometime between 530 and 630, which seemed like a great time to start our day. So this morning, instead of cuddling and begging him to go back to sleep, I drug myself out of bed, flipped on the lights, and started making breakfast. Of course, the little turkey fell right back to sleep. I'm up and at 'em, so I guess I'll try to get a few things done. There are plenty of tomorrows to try (and likely fail) to establish a routine. It seems, with my friends, that babies seem to know when Mom's going back to work and seem to eat & sleep better and fall into somewhat of a pattern. I'm not too concerned. We'll get there.

I'm sorry its been so long since our last post. I know there are several of you who check in daily. We had a GREAT weekend. Dale had Friday off, so we decided to sneak away briefly to relax a little bit before things get more hectic. We went over to Des Moines (its not a staycation if you leave the state, right?) Let me back up. After listening to my friendly weatherman, I made a quick trip to the store on Friday to gather some cold weather/snow gear for Logan. As you all know, the "dusting of snow that won't stick because the ground temperature is too warm" turned in to 5 inches ! Logan and I stood at the window at 3am (his decision, not mine) to watch the first snow of the season. . . in October!)

Anyway, Saturday we drove to Des Moines and met our niece, Allyssa (who's a SENIOR at Simpson already! Holy cow! We're very proud of her!) for lunch. Thereafter we just relaxed. It was wonderful! Allyssa got to engage in some good cuddle time with Logan, Dale got to watch some serious football, and I snuck over to the baby store where I buy most of my diapers and picked up a few things. Sunday was a slow moving day (perfect!) with highlights: lunch with Allyssa and Andrew, a stop at World Market (I SO miss that store here, as many of you know). Browsing through the store made me very excited to start decorating our house (I promise we're getting close(r) to closing). I was like a kid in the candy store looking at everything. I'm hoping for a return trip after we move in so I can scope out the situation. My brother once wrote a letter to Target asking them to open a SuperTarget in his town. Indeed, I wrote to World Market begging them not to close the Omaha stores. They didn't listen.

Okay, so now we're home and back to the endless pile of laundry and dishes and beautiful autumn weather (hardly). I will not complain however, because I get to spend the days with our healthy, beautiful little guy.

Have a GREAT week. I anticipate good news from this direction later this week.

Much Love-- Dale, Michelle & Logan

flying solo

Daddy's on duty all by himself tonight! I have my first overnight call in the hospital, so the men are on their own to cheer the Huskers to victory. Luckily Dale has the day off tomorrow, so just in case the evening doesn't go flawlessly, he can sleep and rest up tomorrow. Of course, I'd be silly to ignore the fact that I'm a little sad to be leaving all night myself. I'm hoping the general public are too occupied with the game that they forget they're sick and stay out of the ER, leaving me to catch a little rest myself. Oh well, tomorrow by this time I'll have another call down on my countdown to being done with residency.
I rotated through a bunch of Logan's clothes today--he's skinny but his torso is so long that many of his onesies and sleepers were taking on a V-neck or boatneck. I found the sleeve starting just above his waist and decided it was time to move up a size (now he's pretty much settled into 0-3s and out of most of his NB clothes) Now we just need to keep putting some fat on him so he grows into those as well.
It's been a good week; hope you're well (and warm). GO BIG RED!

baptism

*warning. . . I'm emotional these days*

"I prayed for this child and the Lord granted my request." 1Sam 1:27

I borrowed this verse (from the bible, of course) and from someone else who thought it was fitting for today. :)

Today was Logan's baptism. What a wonderful day. I am filled with joy. To think, we have prayed and prayed for this child since his conception. We've had ample opportunity to offer his care up to God, even through tears of, joy, uncertainty, and concern. Today, we got to officially share him with the rest of God's family and it felt so good. Welcoming him completely into the church suddenly makes every worry, tear, concern, and frustration pale in comparison to the overwhelming love that surrounds him. . . completely now. It was my proudest moment as a parent thus far. Indeed, nothing else matters. What a sweet, innocent reminder of our forgiven sin and how we are blessed and loved beyond comparison. Thanks to our dear friends and family who have weathered the journey with us thus far. As we seek to raise a Godly son, we look to your example and depend on your fervent prayer. We are richly blessed.