Dating and Napping

Sloan has duped me.  I have moments during the day when she convinces me I can have a thousand babies.  She is the sweetest, happiest girl.  She sleeps really well at night, but lately has decided naps during the day are lame…so she has axed them.  So we have been working on taking short naps in her crib.  Slowly, but surely, we are making progress.  At first Sloan would only fall asleep in her crib if I was holding her hand.  I wasn’t complaining, though.

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Then we graduated to sitting outside of the crib and singing songs until she fell asleep.  Practice makes perfect.  As soon as she shuts her eyes I use my Navy SEAL training to exit her nursery.

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I also use that same training to run errands alone with Sloan.  We got so much accomplished this week.  She even nursed like an olympian in my car between runs to the party store, wholesale supply store, and grocery store before our adventure down to Provo.  I am still helping to design a corporate building down south and took Sloan along with me this week.  She slept the entire meeting and all the way back home.

This week my mom came along with Sloan and I to run more errands for her upcoming blessing.  We have quite the group coming – a million Hendersons and a slew of Fotheringham’s makes quite the crew.  I know I am already forgetting something, but we are just gonna roll with it.

Afterwards we went and visited her Gramps at my parents’ house for lunch.  Sloan loves sitting up like a big girl.  She is such a little show-off.

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I’ve been working on some other fun projects here and there for work.  I am again, so grateful to be able to work from home.  I helped a friend design her business cards for Alt Summit, which was this week…

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Thursday Zach and I went out, just the two of us, to dinner and to see American Sniper.  My parents watched Sloan.  We are lucky both sets of grandparents are so willing to tend her.  It does help that she is such a mellow baby.  I never thought I would be one of those moms who missed their child while they were away, but I am totally guilty in the worst way.  We both loved our time together, and plan to do it more often, but couldn’t wait to have her back, tagging along with us.

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Back to napping – we are also getting better at napping in clothes, which is a huge step.  This child smiles instantly the moment she sees me after a nap.  She has bewitched me…

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We had a family dinner date with some of Zach’s siblings at Brio on Saturday.  Sloan loves to be held by her aunts.  They are pros compared to her rookie mom.  My sister-in-law even showed me the delicate art of nursing in a public restroom.  Sloan didn’t skip a beat, but I was in uncharted territory.  I despise public restrooms.

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We also did round two of church.  She was a champ and barely made a peep the entirety of sacrament meeting.

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Sloan can keep playing up this angel baby routine.  She is going to have her parents wrapped around her tiny (but pudgy) finger.

So Long Sickness

It seems like everyone we know is sick.  We’ve been avoiding viruses at all cost, but Zach couldn’t dodge it this week.  He got sucked in to the sickness.

We got our two month shots this week.  I was so nervous how Sloan would react.  She is such a happy baby and rarely cries, I figured it would be a full-blown melt down!  She got the vaccinations, cried for 30 seconds, and then was completely fine.  I cuddled her for a bit and strapped her in her car seat and she was back to her happy little self.

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Mid week Sloan had her very first play date.  My friend Lindsey dropped off her youngest, Tagg [aka Sloan’s future boyfriend] to hang at our house for a bit.  Tagg was a dream and he and Sloan just stared at each other for a good 15 minutes.

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Sloan is a very social baby and I am learning that she loves to watch other kids.  Well, she loves to watch anyone and anything, actually.  She is also starting to smile and coo.

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If there is one thing I inherited from my mother, it is her OCD about a clean house.  Thanks to the Modern Wrap, I have been able to clean my house, wash dishes, and get laundry washed and folded.  Sloan falls asleep after being in it for a solid minute.  Zach uses it too.  But not to be productive, to watch football.  Hendersons have this thing where they have to be RIGHT in front of the TV during sporting events.  Sloan loves her daddy daughter time…

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She may be just over 8 pounds, but at two months this girl is CRUSHING tummy time.  Zach calls it “training” and calls himself “coach”.  She’s pretty strong for a string bean…

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Turns out, though, that Sloan is terrified of her Activity Mat.  We’re working on it…

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Babies are funny.  They really are born with their own personalities.  Sloan, although she is part nudist, loves to wear accessories.  So my child will be the naked one with a beanie on, apparently…IMG_1142

She does love her bear suit, however…

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We are prepping her for an upcoming family trip to Targhee.  She is going to have to get used to layers.

We were supposed to go up to our cabin with my family for the weekend, but Zach still had a bad cold.  We stayed home (and inside) for most of the weekend.  Netflix, Red Box, and take-out were our weekend staples.  We did venture out for sacrament though.  Sloan’s first church experience.  She slept the entire time.

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We are looking forward to a healthier week.  We have some fun things coming up!

2 Months

After Christmas was over we started settling back into our normal routine around here.  If there is one thing I wish I would have known before becoming a mom it would be that everything seems like SUCH a big deal, and it really isn’t as dramatic as it seems.  When Sloan hit six weeks old she suddenly went into fast forward.  She had a big growth spurt and started extending her meals.  We’re starting to bulk up around here…

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Before Christmas her pediatrician wanted me to start supplementing with formula to help her put on a little weight.  I was devastated about it.  I wanted to exclusively nurse her, that was “my plan”.  Turns out Sloan didn’t mind some formula here and there, but her little belly did not like it one bit.  It was a rough couple of days around here, but on the third day she completely turned around!  Something I wish they tell mothers in pediatricians offices is that breast feeding doesn’t really come together until around 6 weeks.  6 weeks and 1 day and it completely clicked.  We were doing great before, but we started getting into a serious groove right after she turned six weeks old.  I don’t know if her appetite finally showed up or what, but she decided to kick it into gear.  We completely stopped with the formula and she has been doing great ever since!

I heard most women give up before six weeks of trying to breast feed, if only someone would have told them to wait it out a little longer!  I would say that feeding my child has been my biggest anxiety as a parent thus far.  It doesn’t help that she is a tiny little thing.  Whenever I see people (at the grocery store, at family parties, or wherever) they gasp at how tiny she is and ask if she was a premie.  Turns out she just has her dad’s metabolism.  I wished for that, so I guess I shouldn’t complain.

By New Years we were back to normal.  We slept in and Sloan enjoyed the day watching the Winter Classic with her in the morning.

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Later that night we celebrated with our friends and their kids at the Martineau’s house.  Zach and I didn’t stay long, but we loved being with them for the time we were there.

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We also soaked up as much time with Zach as we could before he had to go back to work after the weekend.  We love to go out with Sloan.  She still sleeps the majority of the time, but nonetheless, she’s a great date.

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We also did our new weekend tradition of a movie at the AMC.  Those recliners are hard to beat, I doubt we ever go to another theater again.

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We were on the back row and there were only two other couples in the theater.  Sloan got hungry with 45 min left of the movie, so I just nursed her right then and there.  She is such a professional at this point that the noise didn’t even phase her.

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Since our routine has been getting back to normal I have attempted to hit the gym more frequently.  Zach and I made some resolutions for the new year and getting back into a work-out schedule is one of mine.

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Speaking of getting in shape, Sloan finally graduated to 0-3 month clothes.  Her waist is so small that we’ll probably be in this stage of clothes for a while, but we are making progress!

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So she’s officially 2 months old.  I love spending my days with her.

She likes to smile.  Smiling is her favorite.

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Christmas 2014

Our holiday was a little different this year, for obvious reasons.  Even though Sloan was under two months old, she still added so much more to Christmas.  I agree when people say kids make holidays more fun.

On Christmas Eve we had no plans during the day.  We decided to grab some Mexican food down town for lunch and run a few errands at Trolley Square.

Raise your hand if you are excited for Christmas!

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This year we spent Christmas Eve with my mom’s side in Magna.  We did the traditional dinner at my Aunt Nini’s house and had a visit from Santa.  It was Sloan’s first experience sitting on Santa’s lap and she didn’t hate it.  When Santa asked her what she wanted this year for Christmas, her father answered before I had a chance to respond.  He told Santa that Sloan wanted an Xbox One…

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Sloan’s present from Santa was picked out by her cousin Skyler.  He got her the most darling toys including the sweetest rattles and a plush owl!  She totally scored on Christmas Eve!  I can’t wait to put her in her new shoes.

After Nini’s we went to my Grandpa’s for our Christmas jammies.  Our parents went for an ugly sweater theme this year…

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The morning of Christmas day we rushed to get out the door to Taylorsville.  But beforehand, Sloan opened her presents.  One of my favorite gifts was her new block set that resembles New York City!  The Guggenheim cracks me up every time…

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Zach also got some one-on-one time with Sloan playing his new Xbox.  Lucky for her dad, Sloan loves to cuddle and doesn’t mind sharing his attention with other Halo players…

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We spent the rest of Christmas morning at my parents’ house exchanging gifts.  My favorite gift was from my brother and sister-in-law to Sloan.  When I was young I had this stuffed bear I was obsessed with.  “Bear Bear” was my BFF and I never went anywhere without him.  My brother searched online and found a replica of Bear Bear to give to Sloan.  I couldn’t hold back tears when I opened the box and saw that bear.  It was the most thoughtful thing Sloan could have received from her uncle and aunt.  Original Bear Bear is on the left, Bear Bear 2.0 is on the right…

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After my parents’ house we drove back to Magna to visit my Grandpa.  Sloan received a pair of sick Ute slippers from her cousin Camron.  They are going to be her new Saturday staple…

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After Magna we drove up to Ogden to be with the Hendersons.  As usual, Zach’s dad had a whole plan for the grandkids.  This year, the Grinch was going to visit.  I know I say this all the time, but Zach is such a good sport.  He wore this hilarious costume [including women’s green tights] and portrayed his part perfectly.

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It was a good thing Sloan slept 90 percent of the night, she would have been terrified of her father as the Grinch.

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So, as planned, the grinch stole all the grandkid’s Christmas presents and took them deep into Papa’s mountain.  After much persuasion, the Grinch had a change of heart and gave all the presents back.  Life lessons.  Like a real-life family sitcom.

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Sloan is finally graduating out of newborn clothes!  This sweet little girl is really long [what are the odds that she is tall with her stunted parents?] but really teeny.  If you look at her father, though, it makes perfect sense.  But before she grows out of all her NB outfits, I am putting her in all of them before I have to pack them away.  That means apple attire in December…

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The rest of the weekend Zach had off from work.  We spent the remanding days with him lounging, ordering take-out, renting movies, and watching lots of football.  With a little Halo mixed in here and there.  We also had dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Fotheringham’s house, where the holiday hangover was in full force.  Even Sloan was pooped…

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Our Christmas was amazing.  Our families do so much to make it special for us, and this year they all out-did themselves.  It feels like each year gets better than the year before.  Thank you Hendersons and Fotheringhams for another fantastic holiday!