Two Months!

Declan turned 2 months old today. I believe that is why the sun is shining after 6 days of rain and cold. ;) It's my theory, ok?!

Here are some notable things from this past month:

Today: October 25th, Declan is 2 months old!
Weight: 10 lb, 4 oz + (he was weighed a week ago)
Nicknames: Decs, Decker, Buddy
This past month...
-We went against our doctors advice and put Declan on Alim.entum formula. It's hypoallergenic and VERY broken down and easy to digest. Besides the price tag (it costs us nearly $60/week) we are absolutely thrilled with the results. It's like we have a different baby. He's so much more calm and happy. Another nice benefit- he's off his reflux prescription and his medicine for constipation. Seems he didn't really have these conditions...it was just a formula issue.
-We've seen him growin' so much! He's 2 3/4 inches longer than when he was born and you can totally tell! This struck me the other night when my 3 year old nephew was holding him and it was such a stark difference from when he was holding his newborn cousin. He has grown out of his 0-3 month jeans but, thankfully, Old Navy has our back so we just went and got the 3-6 month ones! Speaking of clothes, all our newborn clothes are packed away. Crazy.
-He's a big smiler this month and he's starting to coo. So fun!
-He LOVES laying on his back under his Baby Einstein mat. He bats at the hanging toys for 30 minutes or more at a time. He still is a swinger as well. I think he's just a fan of movement in general.
-We've implemented the "BabyWise" theories. It's been great to get him a on a schedule and he seems to be thriving on it too. We are pretty relaxed on his schedule on the weekends but get back on track Mondays.
-Declan's nights are pretty predictable for the last couple of weeks. He eats around 9 or 10pm and stays asleep until 2am and then is back down until 6am. We are both getting a bit more sleep now. Woot!
-Mark and I have continued to be blessed by willing babysitters and we even took in our first post-Declan movie last night.

Check out the little man visiting his Nana at work (note the 0-3 month jean high waters):

Dressed up for Daddy

My husband's office has been very generous to us since Declan joined our lives. I thought it'd be nice to buy them some cookies from a local bakery for a little afternoon sugar rush. I, of course, dressed the little man up to visit daddy at the office. Here are a couple shots I took before we left:



...I can never catch his big smiles on camera, but here's a little one...



Here is a "just because" picture that melts my heart:

8 weeks old!!

I love you, little man.
~Mama

All the sleepy children...

Mark and I had a blast watching Texas absolutely kill Missouri in football tonight. I had to grab my camera when I noticed all our sleepy children (dog children + Declan) looking oh, so cute on our couch...

(Sophie on the left, Decs in the middle, Jack on the right). Awwww...melt my heart...

...Go Big Red...

In our family, we are HUGE Husker fans. Declan was lookin' pretty fly for the game today (we just watched it at our house so he didn't have short sleeves and a knit hat outdoors or anything for those that wonder). Thanks to my good high school buddy Court for knitting him a stylin' hat!!! Here's the little man before the game:


Ug! What a hard game. We played our hearts out and took the game in to overtime and lost at the very last second. Sad day. :( This is how Declan felt about the very end of the game:

picture time!!!

Look at Mr. Alert:


My husband doesn't read my blog so I can post this cute pic. It melts my heart:


Declan either rocks his tummy time or HATES it. Here, he was having a good time:


My nephew is so proud of his "little buddy". He takes every opportunity to hold him and I can't wait when they can run around and play together:


My brother is a big macho guy and wouldn't hold Declan because he was "too small". With a little convincing, he held him and I think Declan won his uncle over!


Look what we got in the mail from my Aunt Annie...an activity gym!! He's mesmerized and spends time on it every day!


We love our evening walks with the dog children. Tonight it was pretty chilly so Declan rocked a little hat (thanks Chris & Meg!):

Full Circle

I had a completely full circle moment the other day. I was at my friend Kristi's house and we had our sons dressed in the same outfits (come on...we're girls!) I was overwhelmed with the memories of when we were both struggling at the same time with infertility. We were each other's "go to" person that we told everything to. She even knew about 2 of my secret cycles that no one knew about except my husband. The support was beyond what I'll be able to describe. We just knew what each other felt like 100%. She was successful in getting pregnant and had a hard pregnancy that lead to a beautiful, healthy baby boy. That sweet boy will always hold a special place my heart. Here I am with not-so-little-anymore Luke (Kristi has my little man):



When Mark and I decided to pursue adoption, she was my #1 cheerleader and prayer warrior. She was pretty much the first to find out Declan was truly coming home in a matter of an hour or so (because she called right after we got word the birthparents terminated their rights...not hearing any news all day was killing her). I know for sure we'll always have a special friendship as we raise our sons together. Here is the picture from the other night when I realized we had come full circle in different ways but together still the same.

Mahoney State Park

Last week we had our annual trip to a nearby state park. My husband's family and 2 other families have done this trip each year for 23 years! This was my 9th year to go (1 year as friends with my hubby, 3 years dating and 5 years of marriage). First of all, even though this is a state park, we don't camp. We have a huge comfy cabin. Though every year is a bit different it is always filled with card games, junk food, a football game, lots of lounging and did I mention junk food? This year was obviously hugely different for us because Declan was there. It was hard not to remember that last year I was really struggling. We were in the middle of a round of shots/IUI so I was a hormonal disaster anyways. My cousin-in-laws had their beautiful 8 month old and it was a painful reminder of what we wanted more than anything and couldn't have. This year I felt so much joy being around her and seeing her with Decs.Overall, this year was much different but it was an absolute BLAST!! Declan had lots of arms to be held in and did pretty well. It was great to be hanging out with so much family (plus some very missed family members that live in Seattle). :) :) I have to admit, it will be nice when he's a year old at this time next year. I can't wait for the next round of little Mahoney-ites to start experiencing all the fun that we have for many years. Here are some of my favs from the trip:

My cousin-in-law and 2 of my sis-in-laws:


The annual football game. I was trying to be artistic and make the green color stand out and everything else be black and white:


I probably shouldn't admit that this picture makes me smile so much. It's my father-in-law (Grandpa H) with Deckers. He was having a reflux/colic melt down.


Here is my hubby lovin' on little Declan after the football game:


Here is me with that precious little girl I was talking about above. She is at such a fun stage (she'll be 2 in Feb.) We can't wait to raise all our kids together. My hubby is still so close with all his cousins and I love that.


...and here is our whole crew...

Vacation

Today was my first day back to work. I got up bright and early at 6am (ok, so I didn't really "get up"...I had merely dozed off for 20 minutes after Declan's 4:45am feeding) and got ready to head off to Dec's new daycare. It was a smooth "drop off" and I didn't feel like a blubbery mess or anything. (Should I?? I hear most mommies are!) I knew he was in great hands. I pulled up at my office and my phone rang. It was a client that purchased a house through me and he was letting me know his financing fell through (thanks crappy economy and loan changes). He asked that I called the sellers to let them know he had to back out. Oh joy. Welcome back after 6 weeks off.

The rest of my day went great. It was nice to get back in the swing of things and see my co-workers and stuff. I have to admit that I laid down for an hour when I went home for lunch. I slept HARD because I wasn't listening for a monitor or anything. On my way back to the office I stopped at a gas station and got a 32 oz Diet Mt. Dew. I think caffeine is going to be playing a bigger role in my life.

I learned that there is a big difference in being sleep deprived and staying home with Declan and being sleep deprived and required to sound intelligent and confident to clients. Oh boy. The reason I titled my blog "vacation" is because I was asked FOUR times today how my vacation was. I held back my true response but inside I was thinking: "are you FREAKING kidding me..caring for a newborn is sooo far from a vacation!!!" But, I responded that I really enjoyed my time with my son. Those words fumbled out of my mouth awkwardly. I have a son? Oh, yes, I do. Craziness.

I'll leave y'all with a cute picture. We are transitioning out of newborn clothes and in to 3 month clothes. *sniff sniff*