Met with some discomfort

Well the weekend came upon us fast and our week was pretty darn good! The nanny was working out great and Hollis really seemed to enjoy her company and napped for her every day. On Friday we were concluding our weekend and she dropped the bomb on us that she had accepted a job offer in Paris to start in a month! Yikes! I know it is a great opportunity for her, but I couldn't help feeling a little defeated since I finally got to feel what some free "me time" felt like. The weekend was headed for more dis-ease when I awoke at 3 am on Friday night to discover a lump in my left breast the size of a ping-pong ball. I said to myself, "So this must be a clogged duct! No problem Hollis can just nurse it right out." Yeah! Right! Three hours later I was covered with 6 blankets, two heating pads and a hat on my head shivering with chills and a slight fever. Chris was worried because I could not get rid of the lump after much effort and the chills were not subsiding. Hollis thought is was play time every time we woke him to nurse and he was not even hungry! I nursed that boy for 6 months strait every two hours and now he is not hungry!!!!

We sluggishly got through the night and made it into the early morning hours of Saturday. The excruciating lump slowly started to work down and by Sunday evening the soreness had gone away. Hope I never have to experience this again. I actually at one point told myself I would rather be in labor!

We are on the search for another nanny, but in the mean time will enjoy my days with Hollis once again. (I am trying to get some pics up from the last few weeks)

Blog Blog Blog

Blah, blah, blah! In order to blog one must be organized and proactive--which I am not. We will try to update how our trip finished out in Seattle, but first wanted give a shout out to let all of H's fans know he is doing well and is starting to cut his 8th tooth. Yes! 8th tooth! He is not even 8 months and has had a roller coaster ride of cut, cut, cut, and cut. He has taken it all in stride. I, however, have had a harder time dealing with his incessant whinny voice and thought I was going to have a break down last week listening to him and chasing him around the house. All is well now, I guess we all have our moments.

We have also hired a nanny for three days a week which seems to be working out fine. She got him to take two naps on her first day in 5 minutes flat! Just like Grandmother! Another plus with the nanny is she is fluent in French and has an English degree which mean he will be speaking better than his dad and I :).

Hollis is very active and you pretty much have to run non-stop to keep him from attacking poor Boudreaux. We are of the mind-set to proof the house as well as we can so we don't have to constantly be deterring him from objects and telling him 'no'. So far this is working out well, however, it constantly reminds me how much I need to clean our bathroom! Another new feat for the little guy is that he is pulling up on EVERYTHING and getting quite a few bumps and bruises to show his determination. A lot of babble in a few paragraphs but I think I covered all of the milestones with the exception that he is getting real close to saying dada or mama in context. Still signing and hope to see him respond quite soon.

Up and up and up. (Seattle day 2)

Saturday morning, after careful consideration, we decided to do a small 1/2 day hike that was only 1 1/2 hours away. There and back before dinner. By 2 in the afternoon, we were close to the trail head, when we stopped for water and a pit stop. Our first hiccup came when I looked down at my shoes and saw that one of the soles had come off. So we went back in the gas station to look for a repair. By the time we walked out (sans repair) the other sole was detaching. Ooops. 2 small town outdoor stores later, I was in a new pair of hiking shoes. After that delay and a longer than expected drive time, we made the trailhead by 3pm. Not to be deterred we started up the hill. Up and up and up. we climbed 500 feet in what seemed like 1/4 mile of trail. The day was starting to wear on, Hollis was getting tired, the trail turned out to be sunny instead of shaded and by 4 we decided to turn back. Down was a bit quicker than up, and we had out top of the hill 'lunch' at the car. Hollis was trucking along pretty good to this point, but he was not happy about the return car ride. We pushed the little guy just a bit too far on his first full day of vacation. Kristian was wonderful when we got back home, and took H for a walk for an hour until he went to sleep. Thanks Uncle Kristian!!! H slept like a champ that night. More on day 3 tomorrow....

And let there be peaches!

Our morning on Friday started with the rather odd event of having to wake Hollis up. We actually had to be at the airport when he would normally wake up. We were originally seated near the back of the plane, on a two seat side of the aisle. A wonderful stewardess named Jo was kind enough to switch us with another couple that had a 3rd seat open on the other side of the aisle. Thank you, thank you thank you! That turned out to make the flight a lot easier. Hollis only slept for about 45 minutes, but was pretty good for the 3:53 minute flight. He didn't take a nap until very late in the day (central time), but hung in there like a trooper. We walked down to Pike Street Market (hmmm, good), where we found a nice salmon for dinner and the most wonderful peaches. We also stopped at a bakery where we found lemon poppyseed cakes, and headed to the park for a wonderful little picnic overlooking the sound.

Leaving for Seattle

So we are leaving for Seattle in a day and can't wait to see Jen and Kristian to show off our little munchkin! I went out today to acquire some 'fall/winter' clothing for Hollis because the weather fluctuates there. We went to the Pumpkin Patch to purchased some used clothing and I actually found a rain coat his size! As most of you know it rains quite a bit in Washington and we plan on hiking and being outside most of the time so I was beside myself with joy to know I could protect him from the elements.

There is much to pack so I will be putting him to work tonight now that he is crawling! He will be in charge of packing his own suitcase and carrying it through the airport. I think a little responsibility from the beginning is harmless! Now if they say there is an extra charge to board him I think we will just check him at the gate and meet him in Seattle. What an adventure that would be!

We will keep you posted on our trip when we return!

Grandmother's Visit!

Grandmother came to visit for Labor Day weekend and we had a blast! She fed me, bathed me, read me books and let me play for hours. She also helped my mom out a ton by washing my diapers and cleaning the kitchen! We took a trip to Whole Foods on Saturday to eat lunch and do some grocery shopping and Grandmother dipped my feet in the stream. What a super-fantastic time! We later got chased away by bees which was an adventure, but managed to run to safety before we got bit.

Grandmother put me to bed for most of my naps and bed with much success! I was down in five minutes flat, however, I do not do this for my parents. She must have a magic touch :). Check out the amazing pictures we took: