Holly Jolly Christmas; It's the Best Time of the Year

The hustle n' bustle of Christmas is winding down. It sure was busy with a total of 7 Christmas parties, but of course we all had a lot of fun at each and every one of them. We made it through the month with only threatening to call Santa on a few occasions, however our daily theme song seemed to be "Santa Clause Is Coming to Town." Daniel crying for no reason?-- "you better watch out, you better not cry..." Daniel not sharing with his brother?"--he knows if you've been bad or good." Tempertantrum? "He's gonna find out whose naughty or nice." Was that mean of us??? Now I'm feeling kind of bad. He's going to hate that song when he's older.

Our Christmas morning started around 6:00am when Adam woke up. As I changed Adam's diaper, Daniel popped up in his bed across the hall and asked if Santa came with presents. There was no going back to bed for a few more hours of snoozing at that point. We started with stockings and just as Daniel had hoped for, 10 hot wheels and a blue raspberry Push Pop began his morning with pure excitement. Santa brought Adam teething toys and his first box of biter biscuits. Then onto the presents under the tree. Daniel's big present from Santa was a slot car track, which also brings out the big kid in Jason. Adam's big present was an activity house which Daniel enjoys just as much. It's funny that Daniel gets a kick out of Adam's presents even though you'd think they were just "baby" toys. The kids were completely spoiled by grandpa's and grandmas, aunts and uncles, and cousins too. Thanks everyone for making our Christmas so special!

Preschool Thoughts

Daniel's thoughts.

Last week: "Did you know that girls don't have pee pees? They can't go potty."

A few days ago at his school Christmas party (picture above): "I want to wear a pen behind my ear so I can look cool like my daddy."

This morning on the way to school: "Mom, Did you know that some people are brown? And some people are like this." I turn around to look in the back seat and he's pointing to his hand.

At dinner tonight: "Did you know that milk comes from cows? They have these pink things that hang down under their bellies." Jason chimes in and asks Daniel if he knew what those pink things were called. Daniel didn't know, so Jay told him they were called utters. Daniel then says, "yeah, and then you put a bucket under the cow and it pees in it."

Rub a Dub Dub Two Boys in the Tub....

First time for Adam in the "real" bathtub. He can't help but stick his tongue out and feel his new tooth...it's now number two! Here's to the beginning of many more fun times in the bath with big brother Daniel!

Turkey Day 2009 and more...

Lots of food, lots of family...good memories.



What else is going on? Adam is almost eight months now. He is crawling and has one tooth. He's a drooling machine and soaks through numerous bibs daily. Loves gnawing on my chin or anything he can get his mouth around to sooth his gums. Adam is desperately trying to pull himself up into a standing position and often gets frustrated when it doesn't work out. He's also quite the bully at daycare. He has to be separated from his buddy Ian, as Adam constantly pulls his hair and makes him cry (right in front of Ian's mom too!). He's now palled up with the baby girl Kaylee since he doesn't beat up on her.

Daniel is quite the character. He loves making Adam laugh, and it's the best thing ever to watch the two boys entertain each other. They are both so easily entertained. One thing that is a guaranteed uproar is when Daniel plays air guitar -- Adam loves this, and has the deepest belly laugh which cracks up all of us. And all the excitement eggs on Daniel even more so the laughter continues on until we are out of breath. Daniel is doing great at preschool. He has many friends, all boys, and one girl, Emma! Daniel constantly says he doesn't like girls...I know that will change some day. One thing that we need to work on with Daniel is the sharing aspect. He can't stand it when Adam gets a hold of one of his toys. He is very quick to pull things right out of Adam's hands and say, "that's mine", "that's too sharp," or "you can't put that in your mouth." One night Lincoln Logs went flying across the living room when Daniel discovered Adam had gotten a hold of his stash. The video camera was rolling! ;)

What we've been up to...

Daniel is learning so much at preschool. He's meeting new friends (which he just calls "buddies" because he can't remember their names yet), learning rhyming words, and learning new songs that he likes to sing all day long..."Good morning, good morning to you, the day is beginning and there is so much to do" (waving his hands); and "Tick tock, tick tock..." (some clock song) and many more. He also loves to talk about how "God made everything - pizza, trees, houses, lights, cars, grass, dogs, donuts..." Last week poor little Daniel had a horrible flu and was out of school for almost the entire week, but was lucky to go back just in time for his first field trip at the Discovery Museum. I was fortunate to be off work and able to go along. Daniel had a blast and keeps talking about the things he saw in the museum and how he wants to go back. His next field trip is this week at Nugget Market.

Daniel's been enjoying his skateboard (practices his stunts on the grass). He wants to turn his bedroom into a skateboard themed room. I guess Adam will naturally inherit the baseball themed decor that Daniel has had. (I totally know what it's like to be a second child!)

Adam has grown so much in the past month. He is SUCH a happy baby and always smiling! He is sitting up all by himself, eating rice cereal and vegetables, and is totally engaged in toys. Actually he prefers the TV remote or the phone over real toys. These items have to be out of sight when it's time for him to drink a bottle or else he's too distracted because he's determined to keep reaching for them. Adam is very easily amused and thinks it's silly when my hair is pulled up and flipped over my clip...all I have to do is shake my head and he'll start cracking up. Yes, I feel like a Muppet, but it is worth the laughter. I remember Daniel cracking up at the same thing --it's amazing how your "silly" memory comes back to you (same goes for fake sneezes!). My baby boy also loves to play peek-a-boo, itsy bitsy spider, and pat-a-cake. Adam enjoys spending time in his "bug" and turns his seat in a complete circle in order to play with all of the toys. OH, and he is finally a sleeper (now rolls over to sleep on his belly)! The kid that I thought would never sleep through the night is now sawing logs from 8pm to 5/6am! HURRAY! He also has been napping in his crib this weekend vs. his swing. Bout time huh? One little thing that saddens me a tad is that he's refusing to nurse, even at bedtime. He'll latch on then pop off and start babbling at me...come on mom, these things just don't work as fast as I want them to fill my belly - bring me a 6oz. bottle! The good part is that he was able to get 5 1/2 months of momma milk! While the days are filled with so many great times with my growing baby boy, some of my most favorite parts are holding him while we dance, or sing songs, or read his soft foam books...I love when he touches my face with his soft little baby fingers...I realize that these are the moments I never want to forget. Motherhood is such a joy.

Growing up...

Yesterday Daniel attended his first day of preschool and Adam began his first day at daycare. It was Jay's last day of his "baby bonding" time off so we were both able to take the kids to their first day of a new chapter. We took their pictures before leaving home to mark the event. Both were happy and we set out for our big day!




The first stop was preschool, and the stage-fright immediately set in. Daniel was worried, nervous, and very cautious. I tried to get a big smile from him before entering the preschool, but as you can see, he was not so sure what to think about this brand new "big boy" experience. Once inside, he held onto our legs for approximately 25 minutes and kept saying he wanted to go home. Thankfully his friend Emma started the day before him, and was there to greet him. But he was still not letting go of our legs. All of the kids were playing outside and about 4 came up and introduced themselves to Daniel but he was still not budging. The teacher then brought over a box full of sidewalk chalk. I asked Daniel what color he wanted and he said he wanted "blue." Hallelujah, he spoke! I knew that meant he was finally warming up. Two seconds later, as I was drawing shapes for the two little other kids that were my new best friends, I looked up and Daniel was gone. He and Emma were chasing each other around the entire playground. Whew! I quickly gave him a kiss and hug, told him to have a great day, and off we went. I didn't cry, but was deep down a little nervous for him (although I tried to be as upbeat as possible).

Adam had a great day at his Auntie Abeer's. We were so comfortable dropping him off since we have known her for so long since she watched Daniel. Our only concern was Adam not sleeping anywhere else but home, but luckily he took two good naps - hurray! He played a lot on the activity gym and loves reaching for toys and rolling over! He has a little buddy named Ian that is 2 weeks older than him, and it is the cutest thing ever watching them stare at each other as they play on the floor.

When it came time to pick Daniel up, the staff said he did absolutely wonderful! Daniel seemed extremely happy and we treated him to Jamba Juice for being such a "big boy!" This morning was a breeze dropping him off. I unbuckled his seat belt and started to walk around the other side of the car to get Adam out and Daniel said, "bye mom, I'll see you later!" Like I wasn't going to walk him inside!?! Too funny.

Daniel's 4th Birthday

Almost a week late on this post --last Sunday was Daniel's 4th birthday! I can't believe my "baby" is now 4! Daniel had a blast at his party with an inflatable water slide, little pool for the younger ones, bbq'd lunch, and a yummy cupcake cake. He shared the day with wonderful family and friends. Daniel is obsessed with all of his new presents, including lots of Bakugan's (which was his party theme). He was also excited about getting more hot wheels, and as you can see loves laying out rows of cars in his playroom!

Adam is now four months old and is growing so fast! Yesterday, we all went to the fair and checked out the animals and of course treated ourselves to the greasy fair food - gotta love it!

La Porte

We had a great time in La Porte this past weekend. Arrived around 3:00pm on Friday and the weather was a little cloudy and cold. Jay bbq'd a yummy tri-tip, corn, and twice-baked potatoes (thanks Lena!). Had a fire and made s'mores then went to bed. On Saturday, the weather was beautiful so we went to the lake for a few hours. Daniel swam, and Adam just hung out in the shade under a tree in his bouncy seat. He loved people watching and then decided to take a snooze. When we came back from the lake, we went for a walk and then hung out until dinner time - had another yummy steak dinner, green beans and more twice-baked potatoes. We had one more fire, finished off the s'mores and reminisced around the fire with Aunt Judy and Nurk. Jay used his new skillet Sunday morning and cooked a great breakfast. Hooked the trailer up, took off around noon and both boys were konked out the whole ride home. It was a great weekend, just not long enough!!!

Completely Mortified

Last night my sister and brother-in-law came over. They were invited to a cocktail party with my brother-in-law's company in S.F., so they went shopping for a new dress for my sister. Being that indecisiveness runs in the family, she buys four dresses and brings them over to our house for my opinion. Of course she should know that I am the worst decision maker, and three out of the four were my "favorites." Couldn't pick just one. I thought it would be a great idea to take pictures of her in each dress and it would help us decide, plus she could email them to my parents and her co-workers for their opinions. Once we were done taking pictures, I grabbed my laptop and memory card out of the camera and went into the back room where Jason and my brother-in-law were sitting at the bar drinking beer. We all gathered around and I put the memory card into the computer and clicked through all the options to open up the folder that held the most recent pictures. Low and behold, up pops a bunch of pictures of my boobs! Yes, you read that right, my boobs! It was like a bad dream. All my brother-in-law could do was go, "uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," and my sister and I started busting up in a laugh so hard that no noise was coming out. I immediately tried to scroll down to the dress pictures that I was expecting to show up on the screen, but somehow, the mouse moved and the boob pictures were smack-dab right in our faces once again. So you are probably thinking, "wow, Natalie, what kind of girl are you?" No, no, no, these were not porn pictures, but were taken, by myself, as evidence. You see, I was having problems with uncomfortableness while pumping, and if you're a mom, you'll know that everyone says "pumping shouldn't hurt." Well I was so discouraged (because it was hurting me!) that I figured that I'd take pictures of the "girls" so I could bring them to the lactation consultant and show her before and after pictures, and for her advice on what I may be doing wrong. Well I was soooooo embarrassed that I took these pictures of myself that I didn't even bring them to the consultant...someone who sees these things all day long. I never downloaded them onto my computer, and obviously forgot to erase them from the camera. Soooo, wa-lah -what a way to end the night.

Random Funnies

• Daniel has a new vocabulary: "I'm serious." "I've told you two times already." "Good God." "Hurry up, we're late, it's 7 o'clock."


• Jason took the wrapper off of Daniel's popsicle the other night and then proceeded to set it down on the table since we were still finishing up our dinner and Daniel says, "Dad, that's not the garbage. Does that look like the garbage to you?"


• Driving home yesterday, Daniel said, "Mom, can I have a TV in my room?" I said, "oh honey, I don't think three year olds have TVs in their rooms."... "But I'm bigger than that, I'm almost 4. Do you think that's something Dad could work on?"


• This weekend I was running errands with the kids. I opened the car door and Daniel jumped in as always, then I went around the other side of the car and put Adam in. I put the stroller and diaper bag in the very back. I pulled out of the parking lot onto Arden Way, made a u-turn to head back toward the freeway. I drove thru about three lights and just as we were making our way onto the on-ramp (nowhere to pull over) Daniel says, "HI, MOM, I'M RIGHT HERE!" I glance back and he's STANDING right behind the center console. (I thought, "HOLY SH!T!"). I shouted, "Daniel, get in your car seat! What are you doing?" "I'm right here" he says again. In a panic, I yell again, "get in your car seat now and buckle up!" I scared him and he started to cry a little bit. I said, "Daniel I'm so sorry, it's my fault. I forgot to strap you in! But stop crying, just get in as fast as you can and buckle up!" Ugh, it's no excuse, but lately Daniel has been awesome about buckling himself in, and all I have to do is tighten the strap. With my new "mommy brain," I have forgotten to buckle him in before, but he has always said something as soon as I get into my own seat before I even back out of the drive way or parking space. This particular day he was busy playing with a toy so he was distracted and I completely spaced.


• Daniel is a pro at Wii. His newest game is MarioKart. He knows how to turn on the console, maneuver thru all the options, and start his own games. He keeps saying he gets "24" when he's done no matter what place he ends up in. There are only 12 places.

Speechless

Last night Daniel came into the kitchen and totally caught me off guard. He said, "Mommy, how did the baby come out of your belly?" I thought, oh no, already? I can't believe my little boy is already asking these difficult questions! I paused, then said, "What?" b/c I had no other answer. He repeated the question. I said, "Ummmm, well the doctor took the baby out of my belly." That wasn't good enough. Daniel put his hands out like he was in a debate and said, "No, no, no, mommy...but how did the doctor get the baby out of your belly?" Uhhhhh. Gosh, I was speechless. I just basically repeated myself and said that the doctor used tools to get the baby out. He still wasn't buying it and asked again using the same motion with his hands. Cracked me up. Jason was right there next to us on the computer and looked back at me and had no answer either. Luckily when Daniel approached me I was writing some appointments in our personalized picture calendar. He saw a picture of himself which distracted him and he started talking about the lollipop that he was holding in the photo. Whew, I'll have to prepare some better answers for next time. I am not too quick with making up creative answers for curious minds!

Jackson Rancheria

We had yet another wonderful weekend of camping, this time at Jackson Rancheria RV park. This location has risen to the top of our list, as it is only 1 hour 15 minutes away, and is the cleanest camping so far. The rv pads were all concrete with huge areas of grass in between the sites (no dirt, yeah!). There was an enormous swimming pool, super comfy lounge chairs, two jacuzzis, and two covered gazebos providing shelter from the sun. Since it was my mother-in-law's birthday, they rented out the clubhouse to celebrate and we had a very nice dinner inside. We filled up our time by hanging out at the pool, eating tons of yummy food, visiting, and taking walks around the campground admiring all of the high-roller RV's. We had a little chuckle that our trailer seemed to be one of the oldest in the park compared to the gorgeous coach buses and huge 5th wheels. There was also a paved nature walking trail around the whole campground that had beautiful views of the hills. On Saturday it sprinkled on us a little bit and we were wondering why every time we go camping it rains?!?! Actually it was a nice break from the hot sun, so we didn't mind. After dinner on Saturday, Jason and I were able to slip away for a little bit to catch the shuttle to the casino. We got our players card, played a few slots, and came back to the campsite. We actually held hands and it felt like we were dating again with no kids! ;)

The boys both had a blast and Adam is becoming a champion camper...two trips so far and only three months old! Daniel loved riding his big wheel and scooter all around, and especially loved the pool and spa. He swims all by himself with a life-jacket on and thinks he is such a big boy! It is very cute.

Adam barely napped during the day, but was still a little trooper and was rarely fussy. He slept good for his mommy at night from pure exhaustion. The family picture below was quite an experience --right after the picture, Daniel jumped up forgetting that Adam was on his lap and Adam did a belly-flop right on the grass. No injuries; thank goodness we weren't sitting any closer to the cement!

The Roll Over

Adam is 12 weeks now and today rolled over from his tummy to his back. He actually did the same thing a few weeks ago on our camping trip but it was on the couch and I thought that there must have been some angle to the couch because I didn't believe that he could already roll over. But today, there was no question about it. He was on his play gym which is flat on the floor and was enjoying some "tummy time." All of a sudden he was stretching his head up high and wa-lah, he rolled over to his back! He's growing so fast. Adam is also into toys now and will grab his rings, chirping bird, or rattle, and bring them to his mouth for a taste. He loves to chatter and laugh. SO CUTE! Oh and he loves his baths now! I think it was the first few days of baths when I blogged that he didn't like them at all but now he can't get enough. There are still a few things Adam doesn't like to do...ride in the car or sleep for his mommy at night. Car rides are hard. Talking, playing music, whistling only works for a few minutes then all hell brakes loose. He cries until he is physically taken out of the car! Nights are rough right now. I nurse him around 6:30/7:00pm, he wakes up within 20-40 minutes and is not happy until I feed him again and he falls asleep. He then wakes up three hours later which at that point I have only had approx. 2 hours of sleep. And this continues through the night. I guess we were spoiled with Daniel who was sleeping 5-7 hours a night at 10 weeks and in no time was sleeping 7pm-7am. I am only hoping that we will get there someday with Adam!

I am sadly counting down the days until I have to return to work...only two more weeks (...tears). I can't believe my maternity leave is already coming to an end. The only thing that is keeping me from crawling up in a ball is that Jason will be staying home with Adam one more month and then Adam will be going to the most wonderful daycare in the world! Daniel will be starting preschool at the beginning of the school year and he is so excited to go to a "big boy" school. Not trying to brag, (just proud!) but Daniel can already identify all of the capital letters in the alphabet and is working on recognizing the lower case letters. He LOVES learning and grasps things very well so I know he will do very well in preschool. It's amazing how fast time goes. I was looking in Adam's closet today and seeing how his rompers that are hanging up are even smaller than Daniel's 4T t-shirts. Seems like just yesterday Daniel was wearing the clothes that are now hanging in Adam's closet. Daniel at 3 months and now.

Updates...

Wow, it's been a long time since I've blogged! It feels like so much has been going on and barely any time for writing. Adam had his two-month check up last week and is doing great. He weighed 10lbs. 14.2oz and is in the 26th percentile. He is 22 3/4 inches tall which is the 36th percentile. Doc said this was completely fine. Seems on the small side to me, but pretty consistent with Daniel's numbers when he was a baby. The poor little guy had to get three shots in his legs and one oral immunization. Soooooooooooo sad. I hate that feeling of helplessness when he is crying so hard from pain. He still had that god awful painful cry half of the way home until he finally conked out. Luckily he didn't hold a grudge against his mean momma. :(

It was my 30th birthday on Friday...boy time flys. I feel like I just had my 21st birthday - where in the world did my 20's go? I am looking forward to my 30's because many people have told me that the 30's are the best. Yeah! We spent the weekend camping at Lake Almanor. We thought we were a tad bit crazy traveling so far away with an infant who absolutely hates the car, but he did amazingly well. My arm fell asleep several times from reaching back and putting the pacifier back in his mouth, but that was all I had to do until he fell asleep. Just one stop on the way there and on the way home for feedings. It was really nice to get away and veg. We spent a lot of the time in the trailer due to the rain and thunderstorms. We watched a lot of movies - Toy Story, Nemo, Elmo in Grouchland, oh and a few grown-up movies too...Tommy Boy (twice), Super Troopers, JFK, Usual Suspects, Austin Powers, and Meet the Fockers. Played Uno and Hi-Ho Cherrio. Colored. Went for walks around the campground and played at the playground. Daniel learned how to play tether ball! The weird part of the campground was there was no swimming beach, so that was a bummer. When I think "lake" I think beach, laying out, building sand castles, etc. It was just marshy...so for that reason, we probably won't be going back there. However, we still had a great time! Jay bbq'd all of the dinners, the less dishes the better since you were not supposed to drop your grey water. We cheated a little. On Sunday morning we went out to breakfast in the town of Chester and ate at Kopper Kettle Cafe which was yummy. Daniel ordered orange juice but took one sip, made this gross face and said, "ick, there's snacks in it." LOL. It is what we know as pulp! Too funny. Adam and Daniel both did great the whole time camping. Daniel had a few meltdowns when he was overtired and would fall down saying his leg hurt or his throat hurt or his arm hurt...anything for attention. We knew right away it was nap time! I think we packed our entire house in our trailer including the bouncy seat, the swing, Daniel's bike, scooter, baseball bat/baseballs, you name it we had it. We had a couple of campfires and made s'mores which were awesome, but of course extremely messy! Nothin' that some soap and water couldn't take care of! Overall, we had a great weekend and we can't wait to take our next camping trip that will be in Jackson!

Mother's Day!

Daniel came running in my room this morning and wished me a Happy Mother's Day! He then proceeded to tell me he got me a present. I said that I was so surprised and happy, and seeing that he wasn't holding anything yet, I figured Jason was still in the kitchen wrapping it. Next, Daniel said, "Mom, we got you a robe!" I thought it was the funniest (I know that's not a word)thing ever because I had done the same exact thing when I was little - I was sitting in the back seat of the car with my sister and I said out loud, "I won't tell Melissa that we got her a robe"...then I covered my mouth with big wide eyes, but it was too late. Little Daniel was so excited that he did not realize that he wasn't supposed to tell. Anyway, Jason, Daniel, and Adam got me a short summer robe, workout pants, and lotion. Very sweet. We spent the afternoon at Elk Grove Park visiting with family. Daniel kept busy playing baseball as he wowed everyone there with his skill. Not only were they amazed at how hard and far he hits the ball when Jay pitches to him, they were even more stunned that he could throw the ball up in the air himself and hit the ball just as far. All at three years old - pretty cool if you ask me! ;) Adam was loved by many as he was passed around the group. He was pretty patient except when it came time to eat, of course. We just got done eating dinner that was bbq'd by Jay and it was delicious. Thanks for the great day Jason, Daniel, and Adam!!!! I love you guys!

Happy 1-month Birthday Adam!!!

Adam is one-month now...cooing and starting to smile. I know they say the smiles aren't real until 6-weeks, but they look real to me! :) HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG BOY!

A Uni-WHAT?????????

No not a Uni-brow, but I guess you'd describe it as a Uni-burn. Yes, that is what I fear I might develop. I went to go get my eyebrows waxed, at least I asked for only my EYEBROWS to be waxed. (A little background: the place where I have gone for a long time for waxing was tragically burned down around Thanksgiving time, so in the meantime, I've been going to the place where Jason gets his haircut until my place gets rebuilt.). So, I walked in and saw the lady that usually waxes me, however she told another girl to go ahead and help me. This is the kind of place where you just sign in and the ladies take turns helping the customers....so I guess it was this girls turn. Anyway, all seemed to be going well until she gets to the outer portion of my eyebrow. This is when I feel her move the stick with the warm wax ALL THE WAY DOWN THE SIDE OF MY FACE TO MY HAIRLINE AND TO MY CHEEK BONE! What the hell???? All I could think of was, OMG, what the hell is she doing...my eyebrows don't extend down below my eye and now she ripping out my peach fuzz. Doesn't she know that once you start ripping out hairs that they grow back thicker and darker?!?!?!?! Does she realize what she is doing? Yes, she did the same thing on the other side. Now my face has red dots where it was rudely irritated, as this part of my face has never been waxed before. Being in the stylist profession, maybe she knows that a uni-burn is an up and coming trend? Not. I will not be going back there that's for sure, not even to the lady that I did like b/c I am still upset. Anyway, next time you see me, please don't stare at my uni-burn that is inevitably growing as I type.

My World of All Boys

I am not sure how to describe it...but boys must be born with a sense of "grossness." How does my 3-year-old know this -- last night I was holding Adam, and Daniel was just a few feet away when he let a big one rip. As he chuckles, he says, "Mom, I tooted!" I thought he was about to say, "excuse me," but instead he took a few steps closer to me and said, "smell it, Mom!, smell it!!!" Groooosssssss....

We Did It!!!

Adam had his 2-week doctor check-up on Monday and we reached our goal, and then some! He was supposed to be back to his birth weight (6lbs. 15oz.) by two weeks, and we made it! He weighed 7lbs. 3oz. Hip hip hooray!

Things are all still going well here at the hive. Daniel is still lovin' his brother and is still in Adam's face all the time. He truly enjoys holding him. Based on the picture below, we can only guess what Adam thinks!

Jay and I are doing well, just tired. Most nights are pretty smooth, especially when Adam blesses me with a 4-hour stretch of sleep! Although, the other night brought back some fond (sarcastic) memories. I forgot that at this age, babies like to eat and poop at the same time. It was three diaper changes in a row at 2am. One clean up, continued the feeding, then whoops, here's another blowout. Not the worst thing. But then, after another clean diaper, laid down, and what the heck??? Another blast. Good grief kid. Can't you time these during the daylight hours???

Adam had his first real bath this week since his umbilical cord has fallen off and his belly button has healed. He did pretty good and first, and then belted out in tears. Poor little guy. If he is anything like his brother, he will soon grow to love baths. If Daniel had it his way, he'd have a shower or bath twice a day or more.

Adam is already making changes...he's taking naps during the day without me holding him! He took a 1 1/2 hour nap in his crib this morning, and now he's taking another nap on the couch. Wow! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE that he is a snuggle bug, but it is also nice to have just a lil' time to get things done around the house or update my blog! ;)

Adam update

Due to his paranoid mommy, this morning Adam had a follow-up doctor's appointment for a weight check. Good news: he is well on his way to reaching his birth weight...today he weighed 6lbs. 12oz. Hurray!! I am super excited that this nursing thing is working out! I never knew how simple life could be since all I knew with Daniel was bottles (washing, mixing, warming, feeding, packing diaper bag full of water and formula, washing again, yada yada). I didn't mind it at all with Daniel, but now I know the ease of not having to do all of that. Our goal is for Adam to make it back to his birth weight (6lbs. 15oz.) by his two-week birthday, so we will be headed to another doctor's appt. on Monday the 20th. The doctor said he is doing great. She asked how Daniel is doing and I mentioned how we are trying to teach him to be a little quieter. She said that the baby is used to the noise and will adjust. Basically, she said that we don't want Daniel to resent the baby and to not try to make him change his noisy ways. I think part of it is our lack of sleep, hence less patience on our part. Jay and I will work on this!

Easter Sunday

Our first family outing was Easter Sunday. It was a beautiful day and we spent it at my parents house. The boys did great! The Easter Bunny, grandparents, and uncles/aunts totally spoiled the kids. Daniel is on an Easter candy overload!

Adam Gregory Bee

Our little boy Adam was born on April 6, 2009. He was born at 4:10pm and weighed in at 6lbs. 15oz. and 19 inches long. He is such a joyful addition to our family. The labor details: woke up Monday morning around 7:00am and started having contractions that were painful but still manageable. Got in the shower to help relax; the contractions continued. They progressed, becoming more painful, but still were not consistent (5 minutes apart, etc). I told Jay that he better take Daniel to daycare just in case it was THE day. He was home around 8:00am and we waited until about 9:30 before I realized that they were not going away. I was hesitant to go to the hospital because these contractions hurt, but not like the pain I remember being in with Daniel, and I did not want to get sent home. However, we went anyways because the doctors all worried me about how fast my labor could be plus I had a dream about delivering in the car on the way to the hospital (did not want that to become a reality). We got to the hospital and I was 4 1/2 cm - 5cm dilated, and the nurse said - "you are having this baby today!" We were officially admitted at 11am. I was asked if I was ready for the epidural or if I wanted to wait...HELLO?? - why in the world would I want to wait in pain???? Anyway, once the epidural was given, I was in pure bliss. I didn't even know that I was having contractions, but the nurse assured me labor hadn't stopped and they were coming every 2 minutes. During this time, the head nurse from the Sac State nursing program came into the room and asked if I would be okay if a nursing student followed my nurse around and be a part of the whole labor process. I said, "of course!" She asked if I preferred a male or female, and I immediately said whoever she needed to send in would be fine with me. She left and Jay said that some hot guy was going to come in and I just laughed thinking nahhhh, if it's a male, he'd be dorky like Doogie Howser. Was I wrong! In walks this really cute male nurse and our nurse introduced him to us. As soon as he left, I looked at Jay, and he started cracking up because he knew I was thinking "OMG!" Jay said he looked like Justin Timberlake. Anyway, obviously I had to get over it and could not be worried about the cute nurse.

A few hours later, I was only at 6cm, so the doctor came in to break my water to make me progress a little faster. However, the doc (unknowingly) only nicked the bag and did not successfully break my water. I was starting to feel some pain during the contractions, so the anesthesiologist came back and upped my dosage and again, brought me back to a comfortable state. Even though the doctor did not successfully break my water, I progressed to 8cm and at that point the water bag was right there and was successfully broken. I was at 10 cm within no time and it was time to push. I immediately started shaking with cold sweats from the anxiety of the realization that it was time. Jay grabbed one leg and Justin Timberlake grabbed the other leg. My nurse was near my head coaching me and telling me to breathe, hold, push, etc. The doctor was super sweet and very calm during the delivery and kept assuring me that I was doing a great job and bringing the head down with every push. I pushed for about 30-40 minutes and finally out popped a baby. The doctor threw the baby on my stomach and it seemed like forever before someone opened its leg, and said, "what is it, dad?" Jay said, "it's another BOY!" We were both so excited and happy to have another healthy little boy!

We stayed in the hospital for 24hrs. (our request to not stay another night). I was feeling great, and Adam was doing wonderful, so we were able to be discharged at 5pm on Tuesday the 7th. Adam did not like the ride home. It didn't help we were stopped in rush hour traffic. That night was obviously tough, but it was so nice to be at home. I was nervous about nursing since I had such a hard time with Daniel. Luckily this time around everything is going very smooth. I can't believe how much easier it is the second time around.

Adam's first doctor's appointment was on the 9th and he lost 10oz. which is within the normal range of weight loss for newborns. Typically babies do not see the doctor again until 2 weeks; however, I made an appointment for next week just to check his weight since I am paranoid about him getting enough milk. From the pees and poops, I think he is doing fine, but I figure you can never be too careful! :)

Big brother Daniel is doing great! He was so excited to see us in the hospital and couldn't, and still can't, get enough of Adam. It has been a little difficult trying to teach Daniel how to be quiet...we should have started practicing a while ago, I guess. He's always loved to hear himself run through the house on the hard wood floors and talk a lot louder than he needs to! So we are constantly telling him to walk slow, be gentle, use soft voices, etc. Every second Daniel gets, he is snugged right up to Adam and showering him with kisses on the head. He also talks to Adam and tells him all of the things that he is going to teach him: how to play baseball, and catch, play cars, trains, monster trucks, and ride in the Jeep together. Adam seems to adore Daniel just as much and it is so cute to already see the special bond these two have!

Progress!!!!!

I just got back from my 38-week appointment and I'm dilated 3-4cm!!! YAHOO!! I can't believe it. At this point with Daniel, I was already in the hospital begging for the epidural in order to relieve the pain of the horrible contractions. I was given my epidural at 4cm with him. Dr. Beatty checked me this morning and said, "wow, the baby's head is right there, and oh my gosh, you are 3cm dilated and I could stretch it to 4cm!" She said that once I start having consistent contractions to get to the hospital right away as the baby will be coming fast! That's great -- as long as Jason has cell phone reception where he's working (no reception in most manholes)! I tried calling him after my appointment, and no answer...that scares me! Anyway, hopefully this means the baby will come soon, but there is really no way of knowing. I could sit at this stage for another week+ but am crossing my fingers that it'll happen within a few days. Spicy foods and walk-a-thon - here I come!

So true...

If you give a mom a muffin
She'll want a cup of coffee to go with it.
So she'll pour herself some.
The coffee will get spilled by her three year old.
She'll wipe it up.

Wiping the floor, she will find some dirty socks.
She'll remember she has to do some laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
She'll trip over some snow boots and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan supper for tonight.

She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She'll look for her cookbook. (101 Things To Make With a Pound of Hamburger.)
The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill which is due tomorrow.
She will look for the checkbook.

The checkbook is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two year old.
She'll smell something funny.
She'll change the two year old.
While she is changing the two year old the phone will ring. (Of course!)
Her five year old will answer it and hang up.

She remembers that she wants to phone a friend to come over for coffee on Friday.
Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
She will pour herself some.
And chances are,
If she has a cup of coffee,
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

Written by Kathy Fictorie

36 Week Update

Earlier this week I had my 36 week doctor's appointment. The doctor measured my belly which is supposed to measure 36cm since I'm 36 weeks pregnant. I measured 29/30cm. "Normal" measurements can give or take 3cm, but not 6cm off. This triggered the doctor to order another ultrasound to make sure the baby is growing as it should - however, there was not too much concern, as this was the same exact pattern I went through with Daniel. Since Daniel was a 7lb. baby, the history's good, and the doctor said that I just hide my babies. So, yesterday we had the ultrasound and everything checked out perfectly! The baby is sooooooooooo squashed in there and definitely does not like its picture taken (was pushing back, kicking, and punching the ultrasound device...and ME - OUCH!). Based on measurements of the thigh bone, the head circumference, and the abdomen, the baby is measuring 35weeks, 5 days, which is just a few days off, not 6 weeks! Estimated weight of the baby right now at 36 weeks is 6lbs. 4oz., and we still have 4 weeks until the due date....yikes! I hope this one wants to enter the world a little early! The head is down and ready to go. The doc said once I go into labor, baby will probably be coming very fast. Here are a few pictures of the ultrasound - I know baby looks like an alien, my belly at 36 weeks, and Daniel kissing baby.

What happened to my sleeper?

Our little Daniel does not sleep in anymore! He used to sleep from 7/7:30pm to 7/7:30am (on the weekends). Well his routine of waking up at 5:30/6:00am on the weekdays has rolled into the weekends. So every weekend morning, we hear the "thud" as he jumps down from the top stair of his loft bed. Then he quietly walks in our room and says, "good morning!" Both Jay and I quietly respond and let him crawl into bed with us in hopes that he'll snuggle up and fall back asleep. I don't know why we think this method will still work, because Daniel is WIDE awake. He'll crawl in, but continually talk about random things. This morning it was, "Well, what are we going to do today, guys?" then "Dad, you are blowing air in my eye!" (aka nostil air - LOL) and then finally the usual question, "Can I watch a movie?" By this time we are awake enough to go out to the living room and put on whatever movie Daniel wants to watch so we can catch at least another hour of sleep. Most of the time we are not successful, but just toss and turn, and finally give up and start our day. The upside about waking up by 6am on the weekends, is that it sure makes for nice long days! At the same time, it's also preparing us for the "true" lack of sleep that will be here before we know it!

Daniel's First Time at the Snow

We had a great Valentine's Day today! Even though Daniel and I are still feeling under the weather, we decided to venture out of the house and head up to the snow. We know from now on that we need to find snow bibs as soon as they are released in the stores. We tried three places on on way with no luck whatsoever. Finally found what we needed at the fourth store, Snow Mountain, in Auburn. We squeezed Daniel into 2T bibs, as that was the only kids size left. Luckily they had gloves and snow boots that were just his size. Shortly after we got geared up, got food and back onto the freeway, Highway 80 was very slow, sometimes completely stopped. 2 of the 3 lanes on the highway were closed, causing a huge delay. We had been in the car for nearly 4 hours and were just outside of Colfax! We were trying to get to Yuba Gap, but decided to exit the freeway at Gold Run and ventured down the frontage road. As we searched for a place to play off the exit, we finally found a dead-end road which many families had also pulled over and used the area, which turned into a great sno-park.

We joined in. Daniel was a little hesitant at first (as usual), but quickly overcame his stubborness and decided that playing in the snow was going to be fun! The day consisted of snowball "fights," making snow angles, tasting the snow, and sledding. It snowed on us a little as we were out playing which was a plus. This was the best Valentine's Day that I can remember!