Baby H: One Year Photos (times two) pt1

For our final photo shoot with Amber of Echo Images for Patrick's One Year session, we headed to a local park for a perfect rustic backdrop as part of our session. I couldn't be more pleased with the results! (I'll be posting the second part of our session as soon as my emotions about it calm down, you'll understand once I do). I will continue to pay good money for professional photos of my family because there is seriously nothing sweeter.

Yet again, she was able to capture our family perfectly... the moments of sweetness between brothers, the wildness that is two toddler boys and some of my absolute favorite captures of our entire family. One thing (among very many) that I love about Amber is that she's always willing to be silly and wacky to get our littles attention and boy does it pay off. Instead of these images showing the meltdowns fueled by impending lunch and nap time, she captured genuine smiles, wobbly baby legs, life with boys and one of my all time favorite pictures of my brown eyed boy! Enjoy!

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Thankful v24

Lately I've been thankful...

[+] for strong-willed toddlers even if they push my buttons daily 

[+] for quick healing & an overall healthy month which is saying something

[+] for my little sidekicks who are seriously the best boys this momma could dream of

[+] for boxes & packing tape & eagerly anticipating our brand new house

[+] for wrinkled noses, warm summer nights & pink ice-cream to share

[+] for overlapping nap times, three sleeping guys & some momma alone time

[+] for late night kisses that smell like sunscreen, sweat & ketchup 

[+] for memories in the form of pictures that I'll cherish for the rest of my life

[+] for some of the most thoughtful & amazingly handmade gifts I've ever received

[+] for 6 weeks at home being "momma" before residency calls me to be "doctor"

[+] for new found independence even if it is a little unsteady sometimes 

[+] for growing little monkeys even if it means tendonitis for momma

[+] for having two sons who are turning into the best of friends 

2017 is turning out to be one heck of a year!

#RVUGrad2017

Exactly one week ago was one of the most special days of my entire life. It's no doubt that I have basically been calling myself a "forever student" for years and years and now that era has officially ended with graduation from medical school! I am officially Dr. Holland and boy does it feel good. 

Graduation was held downtown at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House and it was the perfect place for such a huge celebration. It was classy and beautiful and stood up to the pop and circumstance of the evening. The ceremony was just the right length (which I appreciate so much more knowing my two kiddos were watching upstairs) and the speakers said just the right things to welcome us into the profession of medicine. My #girltribe was all there and I'm in complete denial about us all splitting up after this as our graduation ceremony was really the last reason we'll all "have" to be together. My favorite part, by far, was that each graduate got to pick a hooder for the ceremony if we wanted and there was no question who would hood me, my handsome husband. I really couldn't have gotten to that stage without his help and encouragement and support over these four years and it was such a special moment for the two of us as he placed my doctorate hood over my head. 

#doctormomma

Our family was there to celebrate with us (and entertain our wild ones with videos, stair climbing and snacks!) and we all enjoyed a perfectly easy and absolutely delicious dinner at Cheesecake Factory after the ceremony ended. The new doctor in me definitely wanted to celebrate dinner with our biggest support system but the momma in me was nervous how dinner would go as we would without doubt crash into bedtime for the boys. But it's like they knew how special the day was because they were literally angels the whole time (unless Pat dropped his piece of bread) and I couldn't have been happier. 

I still look at these pictures and think about that day and my eyes well up with tears of gratefulness. Grateful to those who stood next to me through this journey, no one more so than J. Grateful for the best of friends a girl could ask for from this wild ride. And grateful to finally be, J Holland, DO!

Patrick's Firsts: One Year Birthday

I cannot believe that here we are, celebrating our littlest boy turning ONE YEAR OLD already! And what a fantastic celebration it was. A celebration in Holland-style complete with pulled pork from the smoker, homemade mac n cheese, yummy drinks and the perfectly green cake for our sweetest boy. We blew up the bounce house to let all the kiddos run wild and it's such an amazing process to journey through parenthood with some of the greatest friends and family we could ever wish for. And goodness is this boy spoiled and loved in every single way. 

Going through the "first year" the second time around feels different and yet perfectly similar all at the same time. Time seems to go faster with each new year watching our babies grow before our eyes and each milestone feels impossible because shouldn't we still have a teeny-tiny newborn in our arms?! This time around we had a clue what we were doing with the baby but didn't know what we were getting into having a family of four. We both felt confident in our skills of keeping a newborn alive but Patrick's unique preferences and personality kept us on our toes. 

And what better way to commemorate the last year with our littlest boy than with a party! Our Pat has become the sweetest, silliest, gentlest, kind-soul and we can't wait to see what the next year brings. Happiest of first birthdays, Patrick Reece. You and your life deserve all the celebration of the world! 

 And always remember to eat your cake!

Baby H: Twelve Months of Patrick

He...

[+] weighs 23#6.5oz (81%), is 30in tall (57%) and his head is 46.5cm (63%).

[+] is wearing 12-18mo sizes for the most part. Some of his pants are 18mo because I have to pillow-case shake him into some of the smaller ones which is never a good feeling. He wears size 4 diapers and size 4 shoes.

[+] had yet again another horrible sickness month and goodness gracious it seems like they just keep getting worse. He started out the month with another horrible GI bug, was absolutely inconsolable, and just wasn't his go-with-the-flow self for a handful of days. Then he decided to top a house record and get a 103* fever at 11:30pm which broke the next day into one of the worst cases of hand-foot-mouth disease our pedi has ever seen. His poor little body was absolutely wrecked with blisters, then open sores, then peeling yucky-ness for what seemed like weeks. He was so miserable (as were we all!) and I'm so glad it's past us. Here's hoping he doesn't lose all his finger and toe nails with this one!

[+] is seriously motoring with his walker and barely puts any pressure on your hand when you help him walk but won't just do it himself yet! In the last two-ish weeks we've really been trying to work with him on walking and we've definitely made progress with him standing on his own not holding anything. But then he just sits and crawls to us instead of attempting steps, silly lazy boy! Hopefully we've got a walker on our hands soon.

[+] still points all the time and I love it. He's also mastered clapping as his version of sign language "more" and he'll shake his head back and forth when we say "no, no, no". He dances if he likes a certain song, particularly anything Justin Timberlake, and still nothing makes him laugh harder than his big brother Mark.

[+] is starting the transition to whole milk and it's not going very well yet. He absolutely hates the cold temp and also isn't taking too well to the sippy cup yet so we're having to improvise some. As of right now, he's still only using a bottle and we're trying to make his formula cooler and heating his actual milk up ever so slightly. He "drinks" four times a day, 5-7oz each time and we're gradually introducing more and more milk as the days go by. He also eats three meals with us and while he's definitely not the bottomless pit he was in the past, for the most part he'll eat everything we do.

[+] is still taking two naps, around 10am and 1:30pm and I'm not sure how much longer that will last. We have a handful of events coming up (selling the house, weddings out of town, etc etc) that might interfere with his morning naps so maybe it'll force us into dropping to one. He goes to bed at night around 7:30pm and sleeps until at least 6am but we don't actually go get him till 7am.

[+] celebrated his first birthday! We threw him a very similar party to Mark's 1st and it was such a joy to celebrate our littlest with such a perfect day. While he literally only wanted to be in my arms the whole time, we had a blast with our family and friends and without fail, this boy killed his green cake! On his actual birthday (which fell on Easter Sunday) we opened presents, cleaned the house for selling, played at the park and went out to dinner before everyone passed out in bed. I can't believe we have another one year old on our hands already!

[+] nicknames: Pat Pat, stink-bug, chunky monkey

[+] likes: wagon rides, swinging, momma, eating wood chips off the floor

[+] dislikes: being sick, sippy cups of milk, getting above wood chips out of his mouth

I...

[+] find so much joy in having a momma's boy this time around! I went through so many emotions with Mark because I felt like I didn't connect with him. Either because he would reach for someone else when I held him or because I couldn't settle him when he was upset sometimes or because he still calls out to daddy more than mommy. But regardless, even if my arms are tired, I wouldn't put Pat down for anything when my arms are the only place he wants. Feeling his little face press against my neck as he turns away shy from someone else.... it's heaven I tell you!

[+] have officially matched into the family medicine residency program in Ft. Collins, Colorado. I am thrilled to have matched within the state although I'm fairly anxious to have everything taken care of for us to get there. We have to sell a house, buy a house, pack & move and arrange child care. I have to finish my online classes, re-certify for ACLS, graduate and take care of all the other loose ends life seems to be throwing us. It's a daunting process and a tough three years ahead of me but it feels so good to be moving on to the last and final stage of this whole deal.

[+] am trying to make myself a priority more and while I still haven't done a good job yet, I'm definitely making progress. I have an annual doctor's appointment set for myself and am planning on finally scheduling some dental work I need done. I have some spa gift cards I need to use before the big move and am hoping to get those set soon too. I have a number of momma-only events coming up in the next month and think that time away with girlfriends will be just what I need.