LITTLE SQUEALER

HAPPY FRIDAY!

The first few photos are of us heading to church. The others are of Orien squealing before bathtime!

Love yall,

The Boettchers

ELEANOR'S WORDS

Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, you'll be damned if you don't.
~ Eleanor Roosevelt


I stumbled upon this quote recently and LOVE it. It really applies to my life right now. Just wanted to share it with everyone. Remember to always do what you truly feel is right for you!

Life is too short (and long) to not.

Love,
Patricia

5 MONTHS & COUNTING...

HAPPY 5 MONTHS MY BABY!

We've all survived so far! 22 weeks into being parents and we're feeling a bit like pro's now. I'm sure that will change with every new challenge and stage in life. Orien got over his first cold (finally) and we're on to sleeping ALLLLL night again. Those are my favorite words to say. Life is SO GOOD with sleep.

He's really developing a little personality. If I took a guess right now what he would be like it would be: easy going, silly and sweet! And maybe a night owl. JK :)

He FINALLY learned he can roll to his side. It's hilarious because every time he's on the changing table he flips to his side now. It's like he realized he can do this and now he's obsessed! He laughs out loud all the time now too. The best is every time you lay him on the rug to fill up the tub, he's gets SUPER excited and squeals. You can hear it across the house! It's very entertaining.

We're looking forward to the next few months, where we expect LOTS of big changes with our little man. Crawling, walking, talking. It's amazing! We're so blessed to have a happy, healthy baby who is LOVED by so many!

Much love,
Patricia

AND HERE'S PHOTOS FROM THE WEEKEND...

Playtime before bed with Dad.

Always drooling. Look how strong he's getting!

Pretties eyes ever.

Getting tickled :)

Hanging out with Mom in the morning while she gets ready.

Aunt Laurel came to visit!

And Aunt Ebeth - they both loved!

Me with my new hair! And a very happy, smiley baby!

Wide eyes.

Playing with his new friend :)

IS IT FALL YET?

Happy weekend everyone!

It's Saturday night and football is on! Even if it is a pre-season game, it still makes Brett really happy. I'm am VERY ready for fall. I want shorter days, football Sundays, Halloween, and I really would like to pull out all of my autumn-smelling candles. Yumm. But mostly I WANT COOLER WEATHER. This heat it completely miserable this summer. You can barely breathe when you walk outside. The heat seems exaggerated to me since I have a baby and he can't be out in it at all. You can only walk the mall so many times with an infant and be entertained. I'm so ready for fall weather that I bought a ton of fall and winter clothes for Orien Friday (TAX-FREE!) even though it's still about 2 months away. 

Enough about that. On to the more important stuff...

We were tested this week. Our emotions, bodies and minds were tested to their fullest! But with God by our side, we made it through a tough past few days. Last Saturday morning Brett received an unexpected call that his Grandma Christianson passed away. Although she was 82 and had a pace maker, this was sudden, sad news. The entire family was devastated. We continue to keep everyone affected in our prayers and hope God brings them comfort in this difficult time. She truly is in a better place now, with no pain. We were very happy that she met Orien at least once. I know that she adored him and enjoyed our brief visit. We miss her so so much and will be sure Orien will know all about his wonderful, selfless great-grandma Mary.

This past week I took Orien to the doctor since he suddenly wasn't sleeping AT ALL. Every 15-20 min he would wake fussing or crying. After THREE nights of sleeping through the night and then this, I knew something was up. The doctor discovered poor Orien had a virus...most likely a cold. We were shocked because he showed zero signs during the day - just some sleepiness. Thankfully, he's on his way to being 100% again. The sleeping isn't back to normal yet, but it's improving. 

To say that we've been totally and completely exhausted is an UNDERSTATEMENT.

Last Thursday Brett and I were both at the end of our rope. I prayed and prayed all day to God to please please let us get some rest in order to function properly to care for our son! And for our sakes! After a long, emotional day (funeral), God answered our prayers. GOD IS GOOD! He truly will not give anyone more than they can handle. We were tested, but not broken. We have seen how strong we are and how much our love for our child will push us beyond our limits. Praise Him.

We have finally started going to church again on a regular basis. I didn't realize how much I missed it until we went again. The pastor, people and worship at River Pointe is beyond amazing and enriches our lives so much! We have joined a Home Team with our church. A Home Team is a small group of people who are around the same age as you and usually in the same stage of life. We are in a group with 4 other couples, some with kids, some without. It is something we really enjoy doing weekly and it's much-needed in our lives. I have also started serving at church by watching the little ones. Last week I watched the one-year olds (they are a HAND FULL!), but from now on I'll watch the infants (newborn-crawling age). YAY! I just can't get enough babies :) Orien has been going to the childcare while we attend church and he's doing very well! Better than the first week when he cried and cried.

Ok, I'm off to join Brett on the couch for some Texans football. Thank you to all of our family and friends for always supporting us in our lives. During times when we are struggling, it is SO comforting to know we have lots of love from others. We are very blessed to be able to raise Orien with so many loving people around him! 

Good night and God Bless!

Patricia

PS. Does anyone want a boxer and a raccoon? 

Just Had to Share...

Last night he slept through the night.

I think that's the 3rd time since he's been born. He's been sleeping better the past 3 weeks, but he still wakes at 1-2am to eat. Then he wakes early early morning, but usually puts himself back to sleep now.

We've been working hard to put him down to sleep AWAKE. We gave up on that at first, because we were so desperate for sleep ourselves that we rocked him/held him until he was sleeping hard. That is a thing of the past now! (Thanks partially to Aunt Rhonda's crib toy she gave him)...Orien doses off without mom and dad's help!

PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE!

We'll be PRO'S the second time around :) Let's hope...

Patricia

QT with Mom & Dad

Photos from this weekend...

Orien is 19 weeks!

Half of the weekend we laid around, watching Tiger and football...

Half the weekend we ran errands (bought new wood floors!)...

And we mixed in LOTS of playtime with Orien :)

Enjoy!

PB

Where's my Bottle?!?

We started little O on baby food last week! 

The doc gave us a list of a new food to try each week. First on the list? SQUASH! Poor Orien. He didn't like the taste very much. I wouldn't have either - it smelled horrible. 

Now...several attempts later... I'd say he's getting the hang of the spoon but not crazy about the mushy stuff mom puts in his mouth. He's thinking "WHERE'S MY BOTTLE?!"

Enjoy. The last photo is priceless.

PB