Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Baby Weather

[Insert great news jingle here]

Special Weather Report

We’ve been having some pretty severe weather in our area this week.

       

We’ve had scattered spit ups and a bout of blowouts. There has also been severe screaming and gusts of giggles. We’ve been especially lucky to enjoy bursts of babbling and an extended cover of cooing.

Readers are advised never to enter the storm area without a full-body hazmat suit. People may say that it is safe to enter armed only with a burp cloth, but this is simply untrue. The precipitation can and will find it’s way over, around, and under said burp cloth and onto any inch of skin or fabric within a 1-mile radius. Tarps covering any surface may also be advised.

    

One recent blowout was so severe that it affected 6 separate areas in the vicinity. Affected areas included: the couch, Mom’s pants, the burp cloth, the rug, the playmat, and the baby herself. Surprisingly enough, the outfit on said baby was unaffected. Miracles do happen, folks. (Proof below. Spot the blowout site.)

    

It has been reported that the residents are taking the damages with an excellent attitude. Their coping methods include blogging about it, laughing, taking pictures, and using lots and LOTS of wipes. The reported damages have already been repaired and spirits are high on the premises.

This Special Weather Report was brought to you by Your Local News 3. Your best source on all things Searle.

Up Next… The Waving Reflex


Ok, thanks for humoring me. (Not that you had a choice.) I hope you read that in your very best news caster voice. If you didn’t, I must insist that you start over and do so. It really adds to the effect. ;)

We’ve been back on the farm for almost a week now. It is just crazy how quickly we transition back into this life. We got here in the evening. Logan helped me unload the car, threw on his farm boy clothes, and was out the door and on the 4-wheeler in less than 5 minutes. Harvest is well underway, and the grain dust is giving us gorgeous sunsets every night.


The next morning as Audrey and I drove out to ride with him for a little while, I noticed that my waving reflex is alive and well. I thought living in the big city [Haha… Rexburg…] would have gotten rid of the reflex, but this isn’t the case.

Around here, on these country roads, everyone waves to each other as they pass. It doesn’t matter if you know them or not. You just wave. Another thing that is different about driving here is that it is VERY common to be driving down the road and come across a slow truck, combine, 4-wheeler, or tractor. Instead of it being something that people get really frustrated about and lay on the horn… it’s just another reason to wave. You wave in thanks and understanding as they move over so you can pass them.

Say what you will about the evils of a small town. As for me, I love the sense of community and the slower pace of this life.

We like being here even if the Harvest Widow life is even harder when you’ve got a 3-month-old. I’m sure it’ll get even tougher as we acquire more children.

Audrey will be 3 months old tomorrow! We had a bit of a weight gain battle in the first couple of months, but we are now supplementing, and she is gaining weight and growing up so fast! It was really hard for me to have to supplement Audrey. I really wanted to exclusively breastfeed. It has been difficult and emotional from the start, which I know is really normal for breastfeeding. But, she simply wasn’t getting what she needed, despite constant eating. She was losing weight without ever having regained her birth weight. But, since we started adding some formula into the mix, she has been plumping up and is getting back on track. She still nurses pretty well and will take the bottle too. She likes to keep me guessing and switch up which one she is going to prefer every time she eats though. ;) It’s been hard to do both, but for now, it is working for us.

Audrey loves to talk, laugh, and sing along when Mom is singing to her. She loves Mr Lion and all of her books. She is a Daddy’s girl to the core, and looks more and more like him every day. She is currently boycotting long naps, early bedtime (this means any time before 11:30), and any semblance of a regular schedule. She sleeps through the night and is often a happy little girl.

We blessed her on July 3rd. It was a wonderful experience, and we were surrounded by lots of friends and family.

A few assorted pictures...

         

I can now lay on my stomach! I can lift things again. I still have really messed up abs. I tried doing some ab workouts the other day and it still really hurts my incision. Random things tend to do that. We'll get there eventually. I'm glad to be feeling more back to normal. Although, I must say that I'm not sure I would have been quite so excited about my little 16 week baby bump if I knew my belly would continue to look about that big this long after having Audrey... ;)

I am learning all about humility and exhaustion. I am learning to find joy in the mundane and the repetitive. Some days are better than others. But Audrey ‘s smiles and laughs really buoy me up. It’s really fun now that she likes having “sophisticated” conversations with me all day. AND I am really lucky to have awesome family and a loving and supportive husband. I’ve learned just how awesome he really is since he’s been out of the house all day and into the night. I love you, Logan. Thanks for calling me during the day and keeping me sane. And thanks for working so hard all day. You da best!

I’ve most especially learned a lot about how our Heavenly Father feels about us, His children. Being a parent truly does bring us closer to Him if we let it.

Here is your semi-regular, end-of-blog, unsolicited tip:

The Fels-Naptha laundry bar is AMAZING! It is a buck at Wal-Mart and gets poop stains out like a dream. (I’ve also heard that it does wonders on grass stains.) As far as I’m concerned, it could only make me happier if it folded my laundry for me. ;) 

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