A Big Day

Yesterday was a monumental day in the Sandberg household. Two out of the three children will now be going to elementary school. Yep, sent these two off today for their first full day of school. 

Her "I'm now in kindergarten"poses. Can't you see the confidence and joy on her face?

Or is this how they really feel about heading out to school? Hmmm.......

It was a weird dynamic once they left Friday morning. On one hand, I am so happy to see Alaina go where she has wanted to be for a long time.....school (just like her brother).  She was always upset that she could not stay for lunch at preschool, and now, her dreams have come true, she stays every day! : ) Now that my big two are where they "need to be", where does that leave me and this handsome little guy?

Who, by the way, can fall asleep in record time. This was Zane about 20 seconds after the above picture was taken.

I am *choosing* to see this time, this transition as an opportunity. An opportunity to reexamine and reorder my priorities. Heck, first I need to determine what they are and if they are in line with what God wants me to be doing. It is a precious opportunity to spend time with my last child as he grows out of a newborn into an infant and into a baby. He hit another milestone....he found his mobile. Here he is glancing at it out of the corner of his eye. I am sure it is quite strange to see for the first time.

This is also an opportunity to refocus on health. Through the pregnancy weight gain, bad habits, lack of exercise and fatigue, health has certainly taken a backseat. I remember when I felt like this:

 

That is me on my 33rd birthday, a mere 4 years ago (and 60 lbs lighter). I felt energized, positive, alive and much more motivated. I want that again. I need that again. My family needs that again. As someone who has struggled all her life with weight issues, right now feels like Mount Everest. How can I ever climb and conquer this challenge? One. Day. At. A. Time. Isn't that true for any challenge we face? Rarely do we have success immediately. It takes time to transform and change our mind and our body. It takes practice. It takes hard work. It takes determination. It takes making the right choices over and over. It takes having resources and support, even a guide. Funny, what is true for weight loss is also true for our spiritual lives. To live as God calls us can feel like an insurmountable challenge, but is totally possible through "training". As is saying in Phillipians 4:12 " I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." Yes, we have to learn. Sometimes all over again...and again...and again. I guess weight watchers is to weight loss as the Bible is to spiritual maturity. However, both require that you love your self first. I am blessed to know that I can love myself because God loved me first. The key to that is not only *knowing* it, but *believing* it.

Wordless Wednesday

Last days of Summer...

Well, for us anyway. Conner and Alaina start school on Wednesday and I would be dishonest if I were to say I was not looking forward to them starting. Keeping an 8 year old and VERY active 5 year old entertained while caring for a newborn is hard. Just hard. I feel like with their modified year round schedule, they have a perfect length of summer, around 6 1/2 weeks. Just enough time for vacations and fun summer stuff, but not long enough for all to grow weary, namely Mom. I would like to think I would feel differently if I didn't have a newborn, but who knows. I see some Mom's loving every minute their kids are home for summer and not wanting school to start and then those that count down the days. Me? I am counting the days. Don't judge. : ) 

Alaina will do staggered entry Wednesday to Friday so it will not be until Monday that they will both be on their regular schedule for school. I think Alaina is going to LOVE school with all the social opportunities and stimulation. I hope that Conner's love for school continues, although third grade is really seen as the transition at his school into "the real world" with his first year of nightly homework, real grades, and switching classes for main subjects. 

More on that Wednesday! For now, here are some of the latest pictures and moments I am attempting to capture and enjoy.  

 

Daddy time!

 

Becoming more alert. 

 First time really looking at each other.

 My little Mommy at heart. 

 When asked what the hardest part of having a little brother is, Alaina answered "Because you always have to feed him and I never get to see him." HA! 

 Alaina successfully calmed Zane down from an all out screaming cry tonight and was so proud of herself. I was lucky enough to capture it on video. If I can figure out how to post it I will!

Guess who is starting to hold his head up?

One Month Old....Wait. What?

Hard to believe Zane is a month old. An exciting month it has been since we have been to a wedding, a funeral and on a week long vacation at the beach since his birth. He is a baby on the go for sure. I have yet to start the birth announcements! Whose idea was birth announcements anyway? I mean if you know me or my family, you know the baby is here. I think birth announcements are from years of old when mail was popular and email did not exist, however instead of sending email announcements (not a bad idea now that I think about it), it has turned into a tradition of spending a lot of money on paper and stamps to tell everyone what they already know. : ) That said, I do love getting baby announcements, so I too, will be sending them. Can't say when they will got out, but they will go out! The kids start school next Wednesday with Alaina's first full day next Friday so I am absolutely sure hoping that I will be able to get more done, including the birth announcements and the commencement of some type of exercise regimen. We shall see!

We did go to the pediatrician today for Zane's one month appointment and my sweet husband came as well. It is the first well baby check up he has ever been to! I think it is sweet that he wants to be part of as much as he can knowing that Zane will grow so quickly, as the other two have. So Zane, who was 6 lbs 4 oz at birth and 6 lbs 2 ozs at his initial weight check on June 25th is now 8 lbs 8 ozs! Luckily he is a pro at feeding and since he is my third, I know what I am doing too. We are a good team. : ) Funny to think back on how it took three people to breastfeed one baby (I will spare you the details of how that went down) or it would require 6 pillows for positioning, or I would schedule my entire life around feedings. Heck, I have fed Zane in the minivan (parked and in motion...no I was not the one driving!), the doctors office, a convention hall, on the beach, and even popped a squat on the floor at a recent consignment sale to feed. Not saying I enjoy that, but Mom's gotta do what Mom's gotta do when baby is hungry.

Zane is slowly becoming more and more alert each day and we are working toward a routine that I have come to believe in: eat, awake, sleep...repeat. Better than a "schedule", although it does eventually develop into one, I think the "EASY" routine as coined by the Baby Whisperer is most natural and effective in establishing a functional and predictable life for he and I. Zane is still eating every 3 to 3 1/2 hours around the clock and although I am praying with every ounce of my being hoping that he will start to go longer at night, I won't push it for another two or three weeks since he was born early and is so young. Zane is also starting to hold his head up for a few seconds at a time when he is held in a sitting position and up on my shoulder for burping and he is working very hard to find his hands and fingers to suck on. His baby acne and cradle cap have gotten worse, but I can tell already that he does not have the "allergic" skin like Conner had. Thank goodness! So enough writing, here are some pictures from today! : )

 

 His "official" one month picture. Love that face! I plan to take a picture of him in the high chair every month so we can see him grow.

 

 Tummy time!

Wordless Wednesday

 

 Check out this cute dawg! : )

Thanks Aunt Marcy and Uncle Billy for the cute outfit!

An Awakening!!

I guess all good things must come to an end. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have had an awakening in the Sandberg household. Oh, how I wish I only meant this kind of awakening...

No, I mean this kind of "awakening".....

For three weeks and three days, Zane has pretty much just slept. Sure, we have to feed him and change his diaper, but other than that, we have really just been lovingly gazing at his quiet, calm, sweet spirit. Well, that's over. He has decided to "come out of his shell", "awaken", whatever you want to call it, he has developed into quite the fusser over the last 48 hours. Even when Alaina and I decided to give him a bath, after enjoying the first few minutes, he broke out into discontent.

 

Sure, give him a pacifier and he is content to suck away like Maggie Simpson (and just as loud by the way!)

He did have a few instances of "peace", one of which was experienced with big sister was combing his hair after his bath. 

The past two nights, especially last night, have been quite rough. All of kids loved their pacis and Zane proves to be no different. As long as he had it, he was OK. That translates to me sleeping with my hand over the side of the bed half the night. NOT the habit I want to really start nor continue, so today I accustomed Zane, Alaina and I to spells of crying. I figure we all have to get used to it sometime. It is hard to watch your baby cry, especially when they turn beet red and lose their breath! I could only let it go on for a minute or so, but figure I better start somewhere, afterall, babies DO cry! I guess this is the stage of "experimentation" where I try a million things to figure out just what gives me this mood:

Last night we tried sleeping on his back and side in the rock and play, on Mommy's chest, on his tummy next to Mommy and none were happening. I did get one solid nap in the crib today, so maybe that is where we need to go next. Hmmm......not really feeling like a knowledgeable mother of three at his point! One shining light today was my girl Alaina. Poor girl was all alone as her brother was away at Papa's for some pre-school fun. My extrovert was a trooper, playing alone while I caught a short nap this morning and (thank goodness for Netflix!) watching Heidi all alone this afternoon while I again, tried to make up a little sleep from last night and prepare for tonight. When we were up and about, she was right there by my and Zane's side showing us her gymnastics, dancing and trying on her new kindergarten clothes and shoes over and over and over....

 Here's to a new start for us tomorrow....everyone pray! : )

Back from the Beach!

Just back from a week long trip to Myrtle Beach with the family and what an amazing week it was! It was a perfect mix of family, beach, games, food, drinks, shopping, relaxation and bonding. How I would love to dive into all the details, but I am wiped out! In a nutshell....Zane did a lot of this:

 

While Conner spent almost every moment on the beach doing this:

Alaina also did her share of wave jumping, with MUCH more confidence than last year,

 

 but, in all honestly, Alaina spent most of her time doing this:

 Yep, socializing. That's my girl!

I spent most of the week sitting on the beach, trying to follow doctor orders of taking it easy and healing. At time I caught glimpses of my children and wondered when they got so big. Seriously, when did Conner start to look like this?

 

And Alaina get this big?

 

One thing I did see, amidst the hurrying and chaos of family vacation was this:

 

While they do their fair share of aggravating and arguing, they are also continuing to form a friendship that is so sweet (more on that later). 

I had many sweet "moments". Some, like this one that I witnessed

 And some I missed, but Keith was good at remembering to capture for me. We both are learning to capture "perfect moments"

There was also quite a fuss made by all this week over one special girl in my life. Yes, my sweet niece Maylin. She reminds me of what fun is to come as Zane grows over the next few months.  She also reminds me of miracles in life and how blessed we all are.

 Many more details and pictures to come. : ) Already feeling so behind. I have yet to even start on baby announcements and Zane will be a month old next Friday. Wait, what? A month old? *sniff sniff* He is growing too fast. Just today he graduated to size one diapers and his umbilical cord stump fell off. He will be out of newborn clothes within the week. Would love to stop time, but since I can't, at least trying to embrace the moments I have. Good night!

Alaina and a Blast From the Past

First, my sweet Alaina. The one who does cartwheels on her way to get something across the room. The one who wakes up every morning earlier than anyone else raring to go. The one will walk in the room in a different outfit every hour or so. The one who is constantly asking you to watch her dance or do gymnastics. The one who is here, there and everywhere before you realize she has even left the room. The one who will cop an attitude and talk back impulsively before even SHE realizes it. She is also the one who will go retrieve an item for you without complaint. She will pick up her brother's shoes to deposit them in their proper place unasked. She will draw you a picture whenever you want, three if you'll take them. : ) She is a nurturer and a drama queen and everything in between. One thing is for sure. she loves to "help" with Zane.

 This boy does love some bath time.

 And his sister sure does love to help wash him, or swirl the water, or wring the washcloth, or add extra soap, etc.........

 After this bath, Zane was WIDE AWAKE. He was almost trance like, like he was seeing the world for the first time. He was calmly looking all around, absorbing what he saw.

It was in this position, looking out the window, that he sat almost motionless for minutes as I held him. He just stared out the window as if he were seeing the most awesome sight. It was quite amazing!

Now......A Blast From the Past. Conner Sandberg at Zane's current age.....

 Not the best pics, but I certainly see the resemblance....or do all dark eyed, dark haired babies look the same at 2 weeks old?

Last but not least, let me remind us all what Conner looked like at three weeks old. Just in case cute little Zane loses his hair and develops severe baby acne, we can all prepare ourselves for what is to come......

 YIKES!!!!