New Name!

After much, much prayer... we have finally (almost) resolved our name dilemma.

We love the name Dakota Lincoln... it is a cute name and I loved that he had my initials, but I couldn't help but feel that it wasn't "his" name. My lack of peace wore off on Jason and he began to agree that perhaps Hezekiah would be a more personal name. We prayed for many nights - I kept telling the Lord, "You have his name written on the palm of your hand.... could you please reveal it to us?"

We would sit in bed, hold our baby, and read 2 Kings 18-20 out loud over him.

We finally came to a peace that we wanted to change his name to Hezekiah. We are still sorting out the middle name, but hopefully will have that nailed down by later tonight... (he's only 4.5 weeks old, its about time he had a name! Ha).

I'm so excited to be going with Hezekiah...

I was a little bummed because we had newborn photos taken of him and had letters that spelled Dakota, but after downloading a free trial of photoshop and watching many you tube videos to figure out how to work it... I have successfully changed the photo to make it look like we took the photo with the letter blocks of "Hezekiah"

Butler

The kids have been know role playing and the other day Havana assigned Jonah the role of "butler"-- later in the game Jonah said, "I am the buttoner!" 

So cute! 

September 13th

September 13th was a big day at our house! Havana lost her first tooth!

About her second day of school, Havana began to say she had a loose tooth... skeptical of her claim, Jason checked and he confirmed! I couldn't believe two big life changes (school and first tooth) were taking place!

Her tooth became quite loose very quickly and she was struggling to eat and brush her teeth, so one day, Jason pulled it out. She cried for a little bit, but she was (overall) very brave. We gave her a two dollars that night and she had to save one and then she could spend the other. She picked out a princess and puppy bowl with a straw from the dollar store at target. She put it on the conveyor held and handed her dollar to the sales clerk all on her own.

We wanted to give her three dollars so she could tithe, save, and spend.... but we didn't have that much cash on us! Ha. Next tooth. :)

Name Troubles...

Okay, let me start out by saying that since Dakota's birth I have been struggling with a case of the "baby blues."  I am irritable and emotional... I seem to burst out into tears more than I care to admit. I'm not depressed, but certainly not myself.

I can't really pin point why... Perhaps hormones, lack of sleep, or a combo... Whatever the reason, it's real and I'm really ready to get over it. 

I mentioned before that I wanted to name our baby Hezekiah... I called him that while he was in my womb... Well, my grief process in getting over that name coupled with my baby blues has led this mama to a semi-crisis. I am not sure we named him the right name, but I don't feel like we can change it...

I love the name Dakota Lincoln... I think it is a very cute name. I like that with that name he has my initials which he will be the 4th generation to have DLD. I really like that and fear I will regret not having that if we should change his name. I also worry it would hurt my dad's feelings. I love the little boy (now teenager) named Dakota who. Was the ring bearer in our wedding. I would feel bad if changing his name was a disappointment to that family. My only struggle with the name Dakota is i am not sure it is "his" name... 

Hezekiah is an awesome king from the Bible... That's it. No personal connection or family story. I love that it is unique (more so than Dakota) and he won't get mistaken for a girl. However, while Jason is willing to change his name for me... He would prefer Dakota. My kids know Dakota's name... So I would feel incredibly selfish to change it when I alone am feeling like we might have made the wrong choice. I can't explain my connection to the name Hezekiah, but it is intense. I feel a loss when I think about not naming my baby that, but now that we've called him Dakota for three weeks I would feel a loss over that name too. Basically, I've made this a lose-lose situation and I really have no idea what to do. Jason is willing to support officially changing his name, but I don't know what to do, but feel bad either way. 

I mentioned changing his name to the kids and Havana and Selah came up with Dakiah... At this point, i am considering all possibilities. Ha. 

 

Thoughts? 

Funnies

Jonah is a naturally funny boy... Things he says along with his expressions can just send me into hysterics. The best part is he doesn't realize how funny he is. For example, whenever he pretends he is on the phone he dials and then says, "hoes the traffic?" Which is what we asks our phones almost daily. 

The other day he came up to me with his hands behind his back and he said, "look mom, I'm a glover!" And he held up his hand to show him wearing a pink glove. He said it was so he could touch dirty things. :) 

He is also very into Legos and tying knots. Jason said, "I think he missed his calling... He could have been a executioner in the 1800's. He is constantly tying his toys up and hanging them from somewhere. And, the other night I walked upstairs to find his karate belt tied to the top of havana's bed... The other part was around HIS neck and he was on her stairs about to jump. I laugh now, but seriously he could have died if I didn't check on him. 

Dakota Update

Last Tuesday, the 9th, I took him to the doctor. I told her my concern about his tongue (it seems "tight" and short) and she said that if he latches okay, she wouldn't do anything about it right now. He latches fine and so guess we will see if he stretches it out as he grows. 

He weighed 8 pounds, 1 ounce. She asked me to come back in one week for a weight check. I took him back this past Tuesday and he was up to 9 pounds, 1 ounce! 

He is such a prescheduled baby! He eats every two hours around the clock. He is pretty good about having awake time before falling asleep. Most of my babies I have had to train to get them on a regular cycle, but he just seems to think it is the norm. 

I developed mastits last week... And now all of us (except Jason) have a really nasty head cold. Praying Dakota stays healthy through it. 

We are all adjusting well. Tuesdays and Thursdays are still weird without Havana. I had a bought of the "baby blues" where I would just burst into tears and felt very disconnected with Dakota. I even asked Jason if they could have mixed up our baby at the hospital or if we could change his name to Hezekiah since I felt more connected to him by that name. Thankfully most of that has past. 

I can't believe he will be two weeks old tomorrow!! He has had his first bottle, gone to church and Bible study, went to a friends house for dinner. We even have him his first bath yesterday (much needed). 

Dance

The other day, Havana and Jonah were playing in the basement by themselves when all of a sudden I heard Jonah screaming. Havana ran up the stairs and when I asked her what happened she said,

"Well, Jonah wants to play tag and I don't want to so I told him no. He wants to play tag, but I can't play tag with him because I am just so full of dance!" 

She was dancing to music and didn't want to stop dancing to play tag. I tried to tell her the importance of playing together, but I couldn't help but chuckle at her "so full of dance," line. 

A picture of Havana from her recital this summer.