Zoo Day

We have never taken Holt to the zoo. *shameful I know* So, since last weekend was basically the PERFECT weather weekend, we kidnapped our best friends and took them along for our quick getaway to the Tulsa Zoo.

The Tulsa Zoo is only about 1.5 hour drive or so and admission is very reasonable! It was $10 for adults and kids under age 3 got in free. *score* So we packed ourselves a picnic lunch and plenty of snacks, made a quick pit stop for donuts (obviously) and headed that way! We arrived about 10AM, which ended up being perfect. It wasn't too crowded yet, still a little chill in the air from the cooler temps the previous night, and it gave us a couple of hours to explore until the littles started asking for lunch.

Holt really seemed to enjoy it! And of course he loved it all the more because his best friends, Lorna and Letty, were there too. Even though Holt loved the animals, I'm pretty sure his favorite thing was playing at the park inside the zoo. So, basically we paid $20 to play at the park with a few elephants and giraffe sightings sprinkled in, but hey it was worth it.

Evie was a trooper! She rode in the stroller quite a bit and even took a little snooze snuggled up next to me in the Baby K'Tan wrap. Eventually, once it got past nap time, both kids started getting cranky and whiny and it was definitely time to hit the road. But I consider it a huge win that we made it about 4 hours with a two year old and a 5-month old.

Overall, it was a super fun experience (made even more fun because our bestest friends came with) and I would love to go back! Maybe next year!

And now the moment we've all been waiting for, the photo dump:

"no-nuts" with our friend Lorna

my boys

so excited to see the animals!

petting goats and sheep in the children's zoo

daddy showing him the razorback---woo pig sooie

the kiddos were enthralled with the "baby horse" 

family photo-op

brother and sister 

poor kid needed a break...and was WAY past nap time

model pose

Evie: 5 months

I'm not gonna lie. This last month was ROUGH. It's amazing how so much can happen and change in 30 days.

She was still our super sweet, happy girl during the day but then at night she hit the dreaded 4-month sleep regression. Y'ALL. She slept worse than she did as a newborn! We FINALLY decided to move her out of our room and into Holt's room (more on that in a minute) because she was sleeping much better and we weren't as nervous about her reflux anymore. And wouldn't you know, THAT'S when she decided, "hey! I think I'll get everyone up every 1-2 hours all night long!" Literally, we would put her to bed at 8-8:30PM and by 11/11:30 she would start waking up--not necessarily screaming upset every time--every 1-2 hours ALL NIGHT. Holt never really went through this so I was completely unprepared and had no idea it could last so long! She did this for right at 4 weeks. I have never been so exhausted in my entire life!

Back to the room sharing though. I LOVE IT. The first 2-3 nights were a little rough while they both adjusted (Holt would wake up anytime Evie cried and vice versa) but after that, they both became better sleepers and nothing really phases them anymore. It is fantastic! So, if you're on the fence about whether or not to have your kiddos share a room---I HIGHLY recommend it! It's not as hard as it sounds and they adjust much, much faster than you would anticipate.

In other news this month:

*I started BSF for the year and I take Holt and Evie with me. LOVE Bible Study Fellowship! Especially their children's program! This year we are studying the book of John and it has been amazing so far.

*Daniel went to a conference out of state, so we packed up and went to my parent's house. My first road trip by myself with both kids and it went remarkably well! They both did well in the car, we took Holt to the Razorback game in Little Rock, and I left Evie with a babysitter for the first time.

*Our Evie girl figured out how to roll from her back to her belly this month! This also could've contributed to the less sleeping at night. Now she's just a rolling machine!

*She has started teething. Holt started showing signs at this age too but didn't actually get a tooth until about 7 months. She started getting cranky, low grade fever, drooling like crazy, etc...so I put the amber necklace on her just to see. It dramatically helped with the drooling and some with the pain too.

Weight: 12 lbs 4 oz (5th percentile)
Height: 24 ½ inches (15th percentile)

She's still our petite little girl! But she is gaining weight well and continuing to show improvement on the growth curve so we are excited for that!

Milestones: *roll from back to belly *started teething (commence the drool) *girlfriend is trying so hard to crawl--she has been up on all fours at least once a day *graduated to size 2 diapers (size 3 Pampers baby dry at night) *mostly 3 month clothes, but some 3-6 month depending on brand (none of her shoes fit yet though) *she talks, talks, talks and LOVES to be around people--her feelings get hurt if she's by herself too long *found her feet, but has yet to chew on her toes (unlike her brother. how lady-like of her!)

Favorites: *the jumper--girlfriend will jump ALL.DAY.LONG. *music--she just lights up when she hears it *people--she is super social and DOES NOT like to be by herself for very long  *to be held and snuggled--she MUCH prefers for someone to be holding and snuggling her than to be put down

Feeding: She eats about 6 times a day and eats 5 oz. every feeding. She went through a growth spurt and was at 6 oz. a feeding, but has since gone back down to 5 oz. She eats every 3 hours during the day and once during the night. She loves her bottles! I keep trying to teach her how to hold it herself but she is not interested--she would rather hold onto my finger (melt my heart). We don't plan to start solids with her until she is at least 6 months old.

Sleep: As I said earlier...TERRIBLE. AWFUL. HORRIBLE. But, a few days before she turned 5 months, she all of a sudden started sleeping again! Now she only wakes up a couple times a night--usually once for a paci, and once to eat. She dropped her evening nap so now we put her down to sleep about 7PM and she sleeps til 7AM. She normally eats around the vicinity of 4AM, is awake for maybe 15-20 minutes, and then goes right back to sleep. She still takes 3 naps a day--one will usually be a pretty good 1.5-2 hours and the others will only be about 45 minutes.

Typical Routine:

7AM wake up
7:30AM bottle (5 oz)
playtime
8:30/9AM nap
10/10:30AM bottle (5 oz)
playtime
11:30AM  nap
1PM bottle (5 oz)
playtime
2:30PM nap
4PM  bottle (5 oz)
playtime
6:30PM bath/bed routine
6:45/7PM  bottle (5oz) and bedtime
4AM (or so) bottle (3-4 oz)

Photo Dump:

Evie: 4 Months

Our 4 month old beautiful girl! These last 30 days have brought some relief and better times. It's like a flip has switched, made a complete 180 and now she is my laid back, smiling and talking sweet little pea that I always felt like she would be. She was so much more relaxed and quiet in the womb than Holt, so I thought she would be more relaxed outside the womb too. Those first 3 months were a rude awakening! But, now that she is getting bigger, she is outgrowing the colic and her reflux is under control with her medicine. Hallelujah!

The sleep department however has still been rough. We established a routine, so she is napping better during the day. But nighttime was still all over the place. She will sleep the first 6-7 hours with no issues, and then she will wake up with gas pains, crying. From that point on, she wakes up every 2 hours either in pain, or to eat, or because she rolled onto her back and can't get back to her tummy. It's been exhausting. I checked with our pediatrician an he said its still lingering colic and that she just has to outgrow it. Let's hope its sooner rather than later.

Other big news this month: our nursing journey officially came to an end. I have done everything I possibly can but my body is just not producing what it should. I have pumped, I have nursed more frequently, I have taken supplements, I have used essential oils, I have drank water until I felt like I would float away and I even tried Plexus. All of those helped a little bit, but not quite enough. It has taken a big toll on me emotionally--I have cried lots of times, feeling like I have failed as a woman. My husband has been my rock. He has been fully supportive of whatever I choose and has constantly encouraged me. Three days before she turned 4 months old, I nursed her for the last time and we are fully on formula. I am finally at peace with it and comforted in the fact that I even have the option of formula for feeding my baby. Honestly, I think we are all going to be happier. I won't be as stressed out and Evie will be fuller and more content. And PRAISES that we were able to get her onto soy formula instead of having to use Nutramigen!!! That saves us $10 a can, which when you go through a can every 5-6 days that really adds up!

Here is our current routine:

7/7:30AM wake up and feed (4-5 oz bottle)
Playtime
9:00AM  nap
10/10:30AM wake up and feed
Playtime
12:00PM nap
1/1:30PM wake up and feed
Playtime
3:00PM nap
4:00/4:30PM wake up and feed
Playtime
5:30/6:00PM catnap (sometimes)
7:15PM  bath
7:30PM feed
8:00PM bedtime
3-4AM (usually) feed (normally around 3 oz)

She usually takes 3-4 naps a day. Most are just about 45 minutes long, but I can usually count on her middle of the day nap to be about 1.5-2 hours (which happens to coincide with brother's nap--yay!).

Weight: 10 lbs 15 oz (3rd percentile)
Length: 24 inches (40th percentile)

Milestones: *rolls from back to belly several times daily (and then gets frustrated because she can't roll back to her belly) *sat in the jumbo for the first time *she talks and talks and talks---I LOVE it *she has laughed a few times *She holds her head up all the time now

Sleep: Nighttime sleep is rough, but getting better. There have been nights when she goes to sleep at 8PM, and then is up at 1:30AM, 3:00AM, 4:30AM, 6:00AM, and then 7:30AM. Then we have nights where she sleeps from 8PM-3:30/4AM and then goes right back to sleep until 7AM. Last night, she was up from 1:30AM-3:00AM because she kept rolling onto her back and getting mad. We would flip her back to her tummy and 10 min later she would be on her back again---over and over and over until she finally wore herself out and went back to sleep. To say we are exhausted is an understatement.

Favorite Things: She is so social! I lay her on the playmat and she will be content and play about 5-10 minutes and then she starts feeling left out. She cries and cries until I pick her up and then she just smiles and talks with me and her brother. She has also started liking her car seat much better--praises! She likes to look at herself in the mirror and has started grasping her toys. She loves to listen to music too! And she is a mama's girl---she can be with someone and crying big crocodile tears and as soon as I get her she smiles and coos and laughs.

Feeding: We have totally switched to formula this month. She has made the transition to soy formula so we are not having to buy the Nutramigen this time (PRAISES). She eats 4-5 ounces a feeding and then usually 3 oz once in the middle of the night. I'm sad to be done nursing, but relieved to have another option to feed her. Plus it frees me up to be able to be away from her which is a big bonus! Bring on the dates!

hangin' with RoRo

sweet thing

those eyes!

Add caption

sweet siblings

the many faces of Evie

Labor Day with RoRo

trying out the Bumbo

sleeping beauty

brother didn't want to miss out on all the picture fun

my heart

loving to be outside

trying to get in front of the camera some with my babes