Videos of Ari

Here are a few videos that we've recently taken of Ari!  Enjoy!

A Happy Baby

Ari is two months today!  What a gift from God!  Ari has found his tongue and his hands.  He will now tolerate tummy time and actually seems to enjoy it when he allows himself to relax.  He refuses to push himself up with his arms.  If he keeps it up, he will have weak arms like his momma.  Let's hope he finds those arms. :)  He has learned to take naps in his crib.  Before, the only way he would nap was in his swing or on walks.  He is now sleeping at night in his crib as well.  He loves playtime, loves to kick and giggle, loves music, and loves to move.  We love him so much and are blessed to watch him continue to grow.  God is good!

First Bath - He wasn't sure what to think of sitting in the water.  He loves his little sponge baths, but this was definitely something he wasn't too sure about.

 Imitating daddy

 Great giggler

 Praise God for great doctors!  This is Dr. Versage with Ari.  We are so thankful for such a wise and loving doctor.

 Ari loved hanging with his Uncle Clay.

 Ari is hanging out with his Uncle Clay and soon-to-be Aunt Bridgette.  Ari was so excited to be there when Uncle Clay popped the question!

 Happy boy

 Big stretch after such a hard nap in my swing

 Ari loves being outside.  He especially likes to lie under trees and look at all the leaves.

Two very handsome boys!  Ari has his daddy's pretty blue eyes.

Pictures of Ari's First Month

Here are some photos of Ari's first month.  Sorry it took so long to post.  

Colby was with Ari while he was taking his first breaths.

Colby is helping with Ari's first bath.

Ari Dean Halderman was 6 lbs 13 oz, 21 inches long, and cute as can be.  He is much bigger now, but still cute cute cute.

Ari is hanging with Grandma and Grandpa Beerbower at the hospital.  I think this was his first day!

Ari is getting ready for his first car ride.  He was not a fan of getting into the car seat but enjoyed the actual car ride.

First Family Photo

 Ari is hanging with Grandpa Beerbower.  Ari especially loved Grandpa's back rubs.

 Ari is snuggling with Grandma Beerbower.  Notice the nice chair Grandma fixed up for Ari!

 You can almost see the bottom lip quiver.  :)

 I would say he looks pretty comfy with Grandma.

 Ari is sleeping with Grandma Halderman.  He loves to rock with his grandma.

Colby and Nancy went off to the Saturday Market for some fun downtown in Eugene.

 Ari and Graeme are hanging out on the Fourth of July.  They enjoyed several cries together.  They are about three weeks apart.

 Ari in the a.m., spending some time on his back.  Thanks, Uncle Jake and Alyssa, for the cute outfit!

 Ari was very excited for Grandpa Halderman to arrive.  Ari loved snuggling with his grandpa.

 Grandma and Grandpa Halderman bought Ari this awesome swing.  He is starting to really enjoy it, and Mama is super thankful for the swing too.

 Ari and I are reading some good books.  He actually focused on the page for a few seconds.

Poor guy - Mom gave him a pink blanket.  Let's just say it was another emergency bath after another good sparying.  Ari loves to spray Daddy!

Reaching the "end" before the end...

Each day I awake with thoughts of grandeur.  I think of stillness throughout our house, the sound of cooes from our four-week-old child, and the well-regulated schedule of eat, awake, sleep that Babywise and various other articles have proclaimed is the "way to get your newborn to sleep soundly."  Then, approximately 45 minutes after I awake to start this peaceful, scheduled day, I realize I've, once again, allowed my idealism to creep in.  BAM!  This would be the sound of my perfectly planned and thought-out expectations being squashed by the opposite of what so many parenting books/articles have reassured us.  So, we're left to try everything in or outside those "research-based" books to help regulate eat, awake, sleep time.  An hour and a half ago, we laid our son, Ari, down to sleep for his afternoon nap.  We, like all really caring parents, want our child to be rested and grow up to be healthy and strong.  Apparently, Ari has other expectations for his nap.  He completed 40 minutes of sleep before waking up like he'd just been stung by a nest of hornets.  Allow me to rewind about 2 hours earlier...

I arrived home after working for about an hour and a half, to my son eating lunch.  Jenny informs me that Ari slept an entire 4 minutes...AN ENTIRE 4 MINUTES...for his morning nap.  Well, it looks like we've got this schedule thing down pat.  Parenting has now been figured out.  NEXT!  Sarcasm can sometimes be as soothing as swaying, shushing, and swaddling (by the way, that didn't work to put Ari to sleep, either).  So, determined, I planned in my naive mind, that'd he'd get a full belly, fall soundly asleep, and we'd lay him in his crib for his much needed multi-hour afternoon nap.  What a great plan, Colby!  BAM!  (refer to previous paragraph for definition of this usage of onomatopoeia)  But, where's the fun in not describing how it all came crashing down?  So, he's got his fully bell.  Check.  I've got him swaddled and am swaying him into a very sound sleep.  Check.  His body begins to go limp as he surrenders to sleep.  Check.  I skillfully and carefully place my right hand under his precious, little head, and begin to lower him to the crib below.  He's still sleeping.  Gently, I slip my hands out from under him and allow the mattress to accept his full weight.  He's still sleeping.  I turn on the monitor, make sure the fan is running, and make a quiet, successful exit.  I've done it!  Fast-foward 4 minutes...BAM!

Now, this probably sounds like a lot of complaining.  It is never my intent to use a media outlet to share frustration or discontent with how things are going.  Yeah, things seem rough at times; however, our son brings us A TON of joy each day.  My blog post's fuel comes from reaching my end before the end.  I don't mean that I'm "at the end of my rope" or that I'm so frustrated that I can't take anymore.  I simply mean that I've arrived at the end of all my ideas, all the ideas I've read in the books, and all the advice that we've generously received from friends and family.  I've reached that end before the end of the day.  I almost feel like I haven't "finished the race" in some way.  Think about it.  If you train to run a marathon, half-marathon, or 5k, you train and train and train to reach the end before you physically reach your end.  You experience success by reaching that end while still having something left in the tank or in your arsenal.  So, we're out of ideas.  It is 5:30 p.m., and Ari has only slept a total of one hour today.  I'm left feeling lost; I'm left reaching my "end" before the end.

This is a tomato plant, believe it or not.  I successfully planted it two evenings ago in hopes that it would produce some of the juiciest, sweetest Sungold tomatoes.  That's the end I had expected, had hoped for.  The actual end was a small doe having dinner at the expense of my tomato plant.  When we moved in to our apartment, one of the most intriguing parts of this place was how close the wildlife would come to our sliding door.  We love that about our place.  We've somehow gleaned joy from seeing the mule deer come so close and just calmly "be" close to us.  As you might expect, I was a little upset when I first saw this tomato "stalk" last night.  But, maybe I had misenvisioned the "end".  Maybe the point is that I find some new joy or understanding by experiencing the deer.  Maybe, too, I've misenvisioned the "end" for today.  Maybe the "end" is not that we figure out this magical routine for Ari.  Maybe it's that I need to experience a little deeper trust and reliance on our Father.  Maybe it's that the "end" is actually a beginning...a beginning for more growth.

Thanks for reading.

Colby

Ah...white noise, you're so good.

I've got two words for you - sleep pillow.  Sleep would be the thing that we got for four uninterrupted hours last night.  Pillow would be the thing that we enjoyed those four glorious hours on.  Sleep Pillow would be the single greatest IPad app. that I've downloaded since purchasing our IPad over a year ago.

I wonder if they'll send me advertising money for this brief marketing plug....doubtful.  Oh the sweet sounds of rain water hitting those puddles.  We've read in various books, and heard from several family members and friends, that babies love white noise.  This piece of information you may already know and use, but it has been monumental in securing some peaceful sleep for Jenny and me.  But, before I go getting all "idealistic" on you (which I tend to do quite often), I'll stop before saying that it is the cure-all.  It's just simply been a great tool to help lull Mr. Ari to sleep here recently.  New mothers/fathers, download the app.; it will change your life.  Is that too idealistic?

Yesterday was a big day for us, as we took an opportunity to run some errands throughout the day.  Ari loves the car...when it's moving.  Generally, he does well with being in his car seat and riding in the car, but, boy, don't stop for too long at a stop light.  Seriously, shouldn't they make an "I've got a baby on board and need to keep my car moving" lane!  We've got lanes for everything else, right?  Carpool lanes, bus lanes, bike lanes, turn lanes, passing lanes through the mountains, "out of control semi coming down the mountains" lanes...baby lanes.  It makes perfect sense to me.  Where was I?  Venturing out seems freeing at this point.  Ari still needs to eat every 2-3 hours throughout the day, but it just seems easier when it takes place at home.  So, we worked it out fairly well so that we could leave right after he ate both times yesterday.  It was successful.

As I write this, Ari is beginning to stir from his nap.  I am reminded how the last three weeks has taught me how selfish I have become.  When Jenny and I got married four years ago, it was a big step from "singlehood" (coined!) into considering another person on a continual basis.  I was refined and made aware of how selfish I had become.  But, let me tell you something (that many of you reading may have already found out).  Parenthood REALLY brings out the selfish nature that can reside within us.  When we got married, as much as my insecurities at the time may have convinced me, Jenny was not dependent upon me.  If anything, her independence was what drew me to her.  When Ari was born, he, naturally and understandably, was and is fully dependent on Jenny and me.  My sleep in exchange for his development has taught me, to a greater level, the love that Jesus has for us.  Now, I am in no way comparing my sacrifice of sleep to what happened on the Cross.  I am simply saying that it allows me a glimpse into my selfishness and allows me to experience a deep love for my child like Jesus has for us.  I am thankful for this refining time.

You may now be drowsy from reading my ramblings.  Here's where you go from this point.  Download the app., Sleep Pillow, and enjoy uninterrupted, glorious sleep.

Colby

Parent-led, baby-led, or Spirit-led.

First, allow me to say that my son, Ari, is laying beside of me on the couch sleeping soundly.  Secondly, I don't know how it actually happened.  Ha!  This seems to be the resounding theme over the past couple of weeks for Jenny and me.  One day we'll try something to make feeding, sleeping, or really anything go smoother, and it will work.  The next day, we wisely and carefully attempt the same steps as the day before only to be met with failure.  Failure is a bit strong, but you get the point.  As I sit here on the couch and look over at my peacefully sleeping 2 1/2 week-old child, I'm driven to "Google" such phrases as, "how to regulate a newborn's sleeping schedule," or, "can a newborn be put on a schedule."  Then I'm bombarded.

I read everything from authors adamantly (I just had to Google the actual spelling of this word) claiming that parent-led schedules are best for the baby because it develops structure in the newborn's life.  Mainly, I'm drawn to the part of the article that talks about parents and newborns sleeping through the night within the first couple of weeks.  Yes, please!  Moving on...

Next, I come to an article stating that baby-led schedules work best because the newborn knows when it is hungry and will communicate, via crying, that he/she is ready to feed/sleep/wake/poop.  Apparently, there are "different" cries for all of these different activities.  Should I know the difference?  Nah.   I, then, am led to ask, "Does our baby boy now own a schedule that we've created for ourselves over the past 4 years?"  Many of you may be laughing at me at this point, but bear with me.

So, now it is just me, post-article reading, left to decide which road I would like to venture down to successfully or unsuccessfully do what is right for my son.  Whoa!  It's a bit overwhelming.  Then, I think back on the past 9 months of Jenny's pregnancy and am reminded who granted grace, direction, clarity, understanding, blessings, and growth.  Why would He not want to grant the same for us in the new season?  How have I so easily abandoned His direction and clarity for something I've Googled?  Now, hear me out, please.  I am in no way saying that others' advice, wisdom, or experience is not helpful.  We've been blessed, and continue to be blessed, by friends and family sharing their experiences or wisdom with us, and we will continue to read books for evidence-based theories on tips of parenting; however, we will first plead for supernatural direction in how to care for Ari to allow him to develop the way he needs to.

This post is no more than my process to arrive at a point where I should have started.  I've not decided on whether we'll be parent-led or baby-led.  I'll strive to allow our family to be Spirit-led.  Thanks for reading the ramblings.

Colby

Away we go.

Well, we begin this blogging journey as we welcome our son, Ari Dean Halderman, to the world.  It has been a pretty amazing couple of weeks since he arrived, and we are excited to use this to give you a glimpse into how he/we are doing.  We will write more in the days to come, but I wanted to at least start it off with a picture of our little guy.

We hope you'll continue to check back in as we journey together as a family.

Colby