Saturday, May 30, 2009

Pictures

<< He was smiling so much at me, but all I could catch was the tail end of one


vv Cracking up at Gavin




<< Gavin entertaining Sam while I cook dinner

vv Gavin is wearing shorts despite appearances







Still our blue eyed boy








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Friday, May 29, 2009

Sam is 4 Months Old!

Can you believe it? He is turning into such a "real" baby these days instead of one of those floppy newborns that sleeps all the time! While the first 3 months flew by, I am happy to say that it seems like it took forever to go from 3 - 4. Now that I am back in the swing of working life, things don't seem as hectic and rushed I suppose.

He has his 4 month check up on Monday. I can't wait to see what his measurements are - he feels so solid! We'll be ditching the infant carrier car seat way earlier than we did with Gavin, it appears, his legs are even getting a little long for it - his feet stick over the edge!

As far as milestones go, I can't believe the things he can do, considering he's only 2 1/2 months old, adjusted. He holds his head steady, he can bear weight on his legs. He doesn't show much interest in rolling over. BUT the most impressive trick is that he is really close to sitting on his own! He is never to content to lounge anymore, he's either on his back kicking his legs, or if he's upright he wants to be sitting for real, not reclined in a lounge chair. He can hold himself pretty steady if i lightly support his hands, and will actually sit on his own for a few seconds before collapsing to the side. Life will be so much easier when he can sit upright on his own and play with toys.

He is so social, he loves to talk and watch other people, especially his brother. He is started to laugh which is SO cute. He's for the most part pretty easy going, but he does have his peculiarities. I'm still pumping, but now some of the stock in the freezer is expiring, so I have been trying to use it rather than throw it out. After a week of notes back and forth with his primary day care provider (she's usually gone for the day by the time I pick him up), we finally figured out that he doesn't like the frozen stuff! He fusses around, and takes a half hour to drink a bottle as opposed to his normal 10 minutes. I'm still outproducing his demand, but I know the day will come when I won't, so I hate throwing out all this milk as it expires. He was also pretty intolerant of formula in the hospital, and I am just hoping this is not a sign of things to come as we move to solids in the next couple months. Has anyone else experienced this?

Feeding is really his only "issue" right now, and it's not even really an issue. Although he has been stuck taking 130 ml's in his bottle for a few weeks now, assuming his weight is 13 pounds, he's getting enough nutrition. Also assuming he is not spitting too much of it up. He still spits A LOT, although he doesn't seem uncomfortable most of the time. The only time he is ever fussy is sometimes after feedings and sometimes he's still spitting hours after a bottle. Not sure if it's a problem, but definitely worth mentioning at our appt. Feeding was the one thing that wasn't a problem for Gavin - he didn't even require his milk warmed up! Sam, on the other hand, will refuse his bottle if he messes around too long and it gets cold.

I have a bunch of pictures, but I need to charge the camera battery and will post new pics soon!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Gavinisms

Gavin has been saying some pretty funny things lately. I will try to post them as I hear them, because I can never remember them later.

We are using the shower in the basement b/c ours has a leak (again). Gavin doesn't like it, he wonders why the builders would make a shower so small. (It's standard, but smaller than ours upstairs).

A couple weekends ago we were at the mall for a playdate. Upon putting on a new shirt I just bought him, he gave his (girl) friend Kendall a look and said "how do i look kendall?"

In behavior news, he was SO good last night. G-Betsy - plan on bringing the new Wii game Friday, if he keeps it up all week he will earn it.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Growing Boys

Sam is sitting in my lap bouncing off the walls after a day full of two hour naps with bottles in between. Forgive the typos.

First off, Gav and I spent Friday at Adventureland for our 2nd annual Mommy-Gavin Adventureland day. He was so good and we were the first ones in the door and the second to last to walk out of the park. We had a blast, rode tons of rides, and it was so nice to give him all my attention for the day. In other Gavin news, we have decided to send him to the Johnston school district's summer program - they go on a field trip every day but Friday and it looks like so much fun, plus hopefully he will get to know some kids he will be in school with.

We had a pretty low key weekend going to a graduation party and family night. It was so nice to have a 4 day weekend, although I stll didn't manage to get the never ending pile of laundry done!

Sam and Gav were so cute tonight. For the last couple days, Sam has been trying to sit up if we are holding him a little reclined. When he was finally awake this evening I started working on sitting him straight up just holding his hands and in no time he was straaightening his spine, not all slumped forward! He stll tends to dig his heels in and throw himself back, but I couldn't believe his progress!

Gav started talking to him, saying "hi sammy, hi there" over and over, and Sammy started repeating "hi" back. Then Gav yelled at Chad "hug and a kiss" and we all swear Samson yelled "hug!" I know it was probably coincidence, but it was so cute.

Gavin has also been wanting to hold Sam lately, he did for a while tonight and kept saying to him "mommy doesn't got you, daddy doesn't got you, i got you sammy!"

Did I mention how cute they are?

Final t-ball game the 30th at 2:45!!! We love fans!

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Pictures

I know you all have had enough of my ramblings and just want to see the boys, so here you go = )
Sam seems to be feeling better today.



How YOU Doing?









Pay no attention to the freakish toes at the bottom of the picture. I guess that's where Sam gets it.


















Can you believe how big this guy is getting??

















Friday, May 15, 2009

"Carniverous" Must be a Recessive Gene

I am SO excited because we are having our first family movie night in our "movie theater" downstairs. First of all, shame on the Red Box for so falsely advertising movies on it's display that it does not actually have in the box. 4 yr olds don't deal well with that kind of disappointment (especially after the disappointment of being picked up by Mommy instead of Grandma Betsy, but shame on me for telling him a plan without proper confirmation). Not meant to make you feel bad G-Betsy, to make you feel good that he was oh-so excited for your visit!

So we go into the store and I tell him nothing is off limits for dinner, he can pick out what he wants. I'm thinking nachos, pizza rolls, ice cream sundaes.........ribeye steak? We walked by a lady handing out samples of steak, and Gavin peered into the meat case and picked out ribeyes for him and Dad.

And fortunately for the Red Box, there is a Family Video down the street that I walked out of so delighted that I won't call the Red Box people to complain. Family Video has a FREE kids, education, and fitness section. Not as in "free when you pay for a $5 rental", FREE ALL THE TIME FREE! Why did I not know about this before?

That is all.....off to hopefully not burn the steak, and create Gavin's other request of "popcorn, marshmallows, and skittles" concoction.

Sam's First Sick Day

Sam asked that I not go into all the gory details, but let's just say he has a stomach bug. I thought I would avoid this with the Rota-virus vaccine, but apparently not! We didn't go to the Dr. as there is nothing they could do about it, they just told us what signs to be on the lookout for dehydration. He is eating fairly well, so I think he'll be fine, he's just pretty cranky and his tummy hurts.

Gavin was SO sad that Sam wasn't coming to school, he kept telling me "but Sam needs to be with me!"

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Sam's Pout

So Sam has learned to work the lower lip. Gavin never did that much, but Sam has learned how much power one tiny little lip wields. At the slightest affront he pushes it out SO far, your heart just melts. Last night I handed him off to Chad so that I could make dinner (french toast, nutella and strawberries...bad for the hips, but OH SO good for the soul).

But I digress, as I walked away (I totally missed the look), I guess Sam's eyes watched me wander off and that lip inched it's way out into the biggest pout. Is he ever the sweetest baby. He always welcomes me with the BEST smiles when he wakes up and sees me, or I pick him up. I will enjoy it while it lasts!

Gavin's teacher is so good at giving me updates, her grandson was a 27 week preemie as well, and I guess he did have some developmental delays, so she always wants to assure me how well Gavin is doing. They are starting math (I know - MATH at 4!) and he is just picking it right up. The thing she has noticed, which I have noticed as well, is that he is such a perfectionist, that it actually hurts his confidence. He's so afraid of getting something wrong that he's apprehensive to even try. I don't know where he gets that - well, I do, as he has perfectionist parents. But we've never expected him to be perfect, or have been hard on him about that stuff. I'm afraid it's going to be a hurdle at school, he's certainly bright enough. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know!

We have just 2 baseball games left in the season - this weekend and and 30th. Gavin loves the attention so all are welcome to come.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Happy Mother's Day!

"I know I am not a perfect mother, but my love for my children is perfect" - Marie Osmond

Why am I quoting Marie Osmond you wonder? Well, I fell asleep on the couch with Sam with the TV on (again) and I woke up to see her interviewed on ET - and I thought this quote was so perfect.

I have been so bad with updates and pictures lately, but let me tell you, life feels so busy these days. By the weekends our house is a totally disgusting disaster, but there are just not the hours in the day to keep up with it all! Especially since Sam has taken to screaming for an hour every evening and needing one of us to pace him for a while before falling asleep. = (

So Gavin has been saying some funny things lately, but do you think I can remember them all now? A good one was the other day when he asked me what my name was. I said "mommy", and he said "No, your other name. It's Bridie. And Daddy is Chad. And we live in Johnston Commons" !! Boy, do those ears pick up everything these days. On the other hand, his sassy attitude has me thinking we are skipping 5 and going straight for 13. Whenever we try to tell him anything he says "I know that!" Man, is it ever irritating, but I know it's just the beginning!

Sam, other than his crying spells, is doing great! Yesterday during his tummy time, he was starting to get his chest off the ground. He is also quite the conversationalist. I swear he says "hi" back to me. Also, when I say "I love you" over and over, he replies back with something ending in an "ooo" sound. He's definitely trying to mimic our sounds, and it is just the cutest thing. I love it, but also hate that he is going to be off and running before we know it.

This weekend was another t-ball game, and thanks to everyone that has been coming out to support Gavin. He (of course) loves the attention, and was a real show-boater this weekend. He would even slide into home base when he was just running up to bat! The funniest was when he would start his slide into home when he was only about halfway between 3rd and home plate!! He also thinks he's responsible for covering every inch of the field, we need to work on not fighting his own team mates for the ball. Soccer may be pretty interesting this fall = )

Gavin and I also went to his Kindergarten visit last week. I was pretty surprised to see that he seemed a tad bit intimidated, which is unusual for him. He will be about the youngest one in his class. It's amazing to think he shouldn't even be going to school this year if we went by his original due date. But he seems to be ready enough, so we'll see how it goes!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Why me, or rather "Why NOT me?"

Darn these blogs about preemies and sick babies, but thank you for making me appreciate everything in my life so much more. It's not until you start reading some of these that you realize just how lucky you are.

I've never been one to ask "Why me?". When we lost Ella, when we were fighting for every ounce and breath with Gavin, when I was laying in the hospital in misery and just hoping that Sam was big enough to avoid Gavin's struggles, I never asked the question.

But in ther aftermath, with my pretty near perfect life, with my healthy boys, happy marriage, I realize I have never asked "Why not me?". Who am I to have such blessings when so many others stuggle? I am not the most religious person, although I consider myself to be very spiritual. I strive to lead a purposeful life, to make a positive impact on others. As I have grown up and realized how lucky I am, I am making a greater effort to give back to my community, to donate money to causes that are meaningful, and more than anything to help babies and children through March of Dimes and Blank Children's Hospital. It's the least I can do for being spared some of the bigger heartbreaks in life.

If you can hug, kiss, call, see your child, you are one of the lucky ones. So forgive me if Gavin is a little too spoiled. Forgive me for letting Sam sleep on the couch with me, rather than letting him lay all alone in his crib. Forgive my messy house that I have forsaken to spend a few more precious moments snuggling with my family. Forgive the invitations that I turn down.

And for all my fellow "lucky ones", I implore you to realize just how good you have it. You will notice I have started adding links to other blogs that have touched my heart (and those that are families or friends). Read some of these stories and be humbled and grateful as I am. And then do something. We may not be able to control the hand we are dealt, but we can control our response to it. Focus on all the wonderful things in your life, let go of the small stuff, and then do what you can to make a difference in the lives of others.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Cute and Cute

Cute Gavin Moment: The other night Chad and Gav were out until about 8 pm. The first thing out of Gavin's mouth when he came in the door: "Hi Mommy, how is Sam doing?" BEST BIG BROTHER. EVER

Cute Sam Moment(s): This baby is smiling and happy all the time. He knows all he has to do is flash a coy grin at you passing by and we can't resist picking him up. He's also been "talking" up a storm.

Gavin is awesome at baseball, and was even a good sport last week in the freezing 45 degree rainy drizzle he played in. When he is in the field he stands there, just ready to run when the batter hits the ball - unfortunately for the other kids, he gets it about 50% of the time. It's really darn cute how they all run after it and pile on each other in the field.

In other proud-of-Gavin news, he had a "test" at preschool last week. Apparently you actually need to learn stuff for Kindergarten these days, it's not just about nap time and snacks and learning to share. The guidance is that they need to be able to write at least 16 letters (without seeing the alphabet, the teacher says "write the letter A", etc. Even the alphabet on the wall is covered up for the test. He wrote 17! Yay! Technically, if he had been born when he was supposed to, he wouldn't be going to school this year. But I think he's ready.

Here's Chad totally cramping Gav's style on the ball field
Never too early to start the Hot Wheels obsession

And now, a Baby Montage