Awwww...

Little Levi is 2 months old! He's also in the 100th percentile for height, weight and headsize. He's an overachiever. :-)
We had some pictures taken the other weekend and oh my goodness, so ridiculously cute! If you are in the market for some fabulous pictures and a super fun time, check out A-M Photography. We had a great time and Angie did such a fantastic job. Here are a few of my favorites:

Baby Fat (and not the cute kind)...

3 weekends ago, I found myself headed to the mall, in search of new clothes. While I am close to my pre-pregnancy weight (notice I didn't say my "ideal" weight, merely my pre-this-must-be-what-a-baby-whale weighs, weight), pregnancy has left me lumpy in odd places and none of my pre-pregnancy clothes fit right. As anyone who knows me at all knows, I hate, with a burning passion, shopping for clothes. You can imagine, then, that the lumpiness combined with the prospect of facing a task I hate had left me in a less than stellar mood. Throw in some killer post-pregnancy hormones and this was a disaster waiting happen. I should have known better.

Before undertaking this task,  I drove through a fast food place near the mall and bought myself a Diet Coke. I also threw caution to the wind and bought a cinnamon roll. I'm already lumpy, right? What's a cinnamon roll going to do? I pulled into a nearby parking lot to eat said cinnamon roll. I should have paid more attention to where I'd stopped to eat my fast-food breakfast...I looked up to see myself sitting 10 feet from the entrance to a "Curves" fitness center. Adding insult to injury, this particular "Curves" was getting a jump start on the New Year Resolution fitness buffs and had a sign across the front declaring, "Re-discover the "real" you in 30 minutes!" I thought,"HA! It'll take a whole lot more than 30 minutes to 're-discover' anything remotely resembling the 'real' me!" At which point I cried. Kind of a lot. HORMONAL, remember?! All this just added to my already black mood. Looking back on this, I think the universe was trying to tell me something at that moment. And that "something" was, 1. What on earth were you thinking, eating that disgusting cinnamon roll in the first place? and 2. Clothes shopping right now, a mere 4 weeks after having a baby and  in the mood you are in, is a very, very bad plan.

I ignored the universe.

I attempted to find clothes. After multiple failed attempts which culminated in trying on a skirt that was 4 sizes larger than I usually wear (yes, 4.) only to find that it still didn't fit right (way too big in some places, while way too clingy in others. LUMPY, I TELL YOU!) I gave in and cried. Yes. That's right. I cried. Again. In the dressing room. At the mall. What? Did you think this was going to be some inspirational, "I came to terms with the fact that I am fat and lumpy and can't find clothes that fit and now I love myself just as I am!" kind of post?! Not a chance. I'm fat and lumpy and it's irritating and I hate it and I don't really 'do' inspirational.

Which brings me to my point. After spending the weekend and the better part of the next week in quite the bad mood, I determined to do something about the residual lumpiness.  It took 2 weeks to get Isaac on board with my brilliant plan, but now: MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!

It is being delivered on Monday. There will be no more crying in parking lots. Or dressing rooms.

The end.

Finally!

Well. After a year (yes, you read that correctly A YEAR) of endless paperwork, dozens upon dozens of trips to the recruiting office, multiple physicals, a wide variety of tests and one flight to Phoenix for an interview, we finally received word this week that Isaac has officially been selected for Army flight training!

HOORAY!

The Warrant Officer Flight Training program is extremely competitive and we are so blessed that Isaac was chosen to enter the program. We are so excited to finally be moving forward and to have the very difficult and stressful application process behind us. Even though this means Isaac will be away for several months early next year to begin his training, I couldn't be more thrilled for him.

Happy dance!

3 Weeks!

Our
little Levi is three weeks old today! It's amazing how much he's grown and changed in just that short time. We are so very blessed to have him in our family. And now, pictures!

His first bath. He was not a fan.Good thing my mom was there to help speed things up!

With my mom, the day after he was born.

With my dad. So cute!

Tummy time is exhausting!

Breastfeeding and I are NOT friends

Remember how I had the easiest pregnancy in the history of pregnancy? Remember how I never got sick, didn't have any tragic pregnancy symptoms and then had the fastest labor ever? I think the universe has decided that I had it too easy and is now playing "catch up" on the unpleasantness. What is the problem you ask? Well, I shall tell you. It's nursing. It is not my favorite thing. Not even a little bit. I realize that this probably qualifies me for the "bad mom" club (does such a thing exist? Perhaps I should start one...) but it's true. I think I would rather go through labor on a daily basis than deal with all the unpleasantness that has come with nursing. I dislike feeling bruised and sore all the time. I dislike feeling nauseated whilst nursing or pumping.  I dislike pumping during the day because I am working. I dislike supplementing with formula despite nursing and pumping 24/7 because my little Levi eats like a 250lb linebacker. I strongly dislike the mastitis that has developed and for which I am now taking large quantities of antibiotics. The list goes on and on ...all in all, nursing has not been a great experience for us.   In other news, I am eternally grateful for Isaac, who was up all night with Levi so I could sleep and start to recover a bit from the fever/chills/nausea and excruciating pain of the last couple of days (see above...mastitis and all that).

And that concludes my complaining for today. Carry on.