Finally Not Totally Hating Tummy Time

All Because Two People Met at This Place

Thanks for the shirts, Poppy and Granny!!

Adam is Four Months Old!

I can't believe my little boy is already four months old! I know people say that all the time but seriously, the time has flown by. Adam had his four month well-baby check-up today and he weighs 13 lbs. 9 oz. (25th percentile) and is 25 inches long (50th percentile). He is actually very similar to his brother when he was this age. I have been told by more than one person that it looks like I gave birth to the same child! Adam has subtle differences, though. I think he's going to have blonder hair, at least for now. His hair and eyebrows seem lighter than Aaron's were. Also, Adam's eyes are a darker blue than Aaron's are. I thought maybe Adam still had newborn eyes, but looking back on older pictures of Aaron, his eyes were a much lighter blue by now. Maybe you can tell a difference:

Aaron - 4 months, 12 days

Adam - 4 months, 7 days

Adam is such a joy to be around. When he was first born, I feared he had colic because he was so cranky but now, he only cries or whines when something is wrong, and more often than not, I know how to fix it. Whether it be time to eat, time to sleep, time to pick me up or time to get out of my face, lady!, we have our rhythm down.

Adam is "sleeping through the night" depending on what your definition of that is. He now goes to bed around 9:00 and will sleep until between 4:00 and 5:00. He'll wake for a bottle then go back to sleep until around 7:30 or 8:00 in the morning. So much better than the 1:00 and 5:00 feedings I used to have to do! Then wake up at 7:00 for the four-year-old! Augh! Now I remember why we're done having kids! Adam has made it until 6:00 or 6:30 a.m. before needing a feeding a few times but this is rare. I'll take what I can get, though! I have also started the "lay them down awake and walk away" thing when putting him to bed, which he has taken to very nicely. I rocked Aaron to sleep until he was seven months old, but I decided to try stopping this earlier with Adam. I'm not sure why; I guess the second time around, you have less time and energy for certain things and if I can get him to fall asleep on his own earlier, so be it!!

Adam is not rolling over yet but I think we're getting there. He positively hates tummy time (just like his brother did) so most of it is spent burying his face in the blanket and screaming instead of working on his flipping skills. He loves to back-scoot and has decide that this is a fun way to travel, like in this picture:


I had put him on that blue blanket and that's how far he got!

Adam has a couple of issues that Aaron didn't have that I am dealing with. When Adam was born, we had to worry about jaundice. Underneath bililights is not a fun way to spend the night in the hospital! That went away fairly quickly, luckily. Adam also has a blocked tear duct in one eye, so this eye is constantly gunky. I am told that should clear up on its own but we may need to see an ophthalmologist about it if it doesn't clear up in the next few months.

Here are some more pictures of our little boy!!

Pumpkin Patch

Well, I need to post to this blog because I officially got in trouble today from my dad for not doing it in so long! Last weekend, Bill and I took the boys to an awesome pumpkin patch about an hour's drive from here. Aaron climbed on a giant haystack and a fire truck and we all got to ride a train through a cornfield filled with scarecrows. Aaron also picked out pumpkins for Daddy, Mommy, Adam, himself and even Reagan! Adam was just along for the ride but got his own little treat by getting to flip around in the Baby Bjorn. Much happier this way! Here are some pics.

What a Difference a Year Makes!

This past week, Aaron participated in soccer camp. His coaches were British and were so much fun. It's always amazing to me how well certain twenty-somethings can do with three and four-year-olds. They must have infinite amounts of energy. Anyway, Aaron did so much better this year at the camp. Last year, we ended up quitting less than halfway through because all he wanted to do was climb on the bleachers. This year he participated everyday for the whole hour each day. They practiced a few soccer skills like dribbling the ball and keeping it away from the other players. They also played games like Duck, Duck, Goose. I was very proud of Aaron because this week showed me that he is getting so much better at participating in group activities and listening to other adults and doing what they ask. Here are some pictures from our week:

He's Here!

Adam is here! Well, he's actually been here for five weeks. Adam James was born on June 22, 2009. He weighed 7 lbs. 11 oz. and was 20.5 inches long. The pregnancy and C-section were both very routine and uncomplicated. The recovery time has been much faster this time, I think. Mostly because I think it needed to be since I've got two to take care of now instead of just one.

We are still trying to figure out this newborn thing again, everything from having to pack a diaper bag again to dealing with the no-sleep thing. That's been the hardest, of course, but your body gets used to it. As of the past couple nights, we have been putting Adam down around 10:00. He wakes up once between 2:30 and 3:30 to eat, then will sleep until between 6:00 and 7:00 in the morning. Not too shabby.

Adam is sort of a fussy baby. O.K. there's no "sort of" about it. If he's awake, he's fussing. I took him to the doctor yesterday trying to find some answers. The word "colic" was thrown around along with "acid reflux." So the doctor gave me some Zantac for him to see if that would help along with some words of advice in case it is just colic. He also has a blocked tear duct in his left eye (left to him), so his eye is constantly full of gunk, but the doctor assures me that this will clear up on its own with time.

Aaron is the best big brother ever. I wasn't sure how this was going to go, but he is very gentle with him and very loving. There doesn't seem to be any jealousy. Actually, Aaron really doesn't like to hear Adam cry and is always reminding me when he does cry, so that I won't forget to do something about it!

Here are some pictures from our first five weeks.

My Kid's a Genius

Aaron has been doing something very interesting as of late as he becomes more familiar with his letters and that these letters spell words. He loves anything with his name on it so he tries to create his name anywhere he can, sometimes using ordinary household objects. This reminded me of a Flickr application that a lot of you have probably seen, where you can spell your name using photographs that people have taken of single letters. Here's my name:

Here is how Aaron created his name, using things around the house:

Can you make out that it's supposed to be "Aaron"? Yeah, you have to use your imagination, but still! And I love how he couldn't figure out how to create an "n" so he just grabbed a notepad and wrote one. This kid cracks me up.

Easter 2009

Finally! I got my Easter slideshow to work like I wanted it to! Here are some pictures from Easter last Sunday. During the week, Aaron attended a total of five Easter egg hunts plus Easter parties plus, oh yeah, a visit from the Easter Bunny at home too! He's really starting to understand this whole holiday thing and it's becoming so much fun! Enjoy! Click on a picture to make it bigger and to read the caption.

He Sings! He Dances!

Today, at the end of preschool, Aaron's teacher invited the parents to watch a singing program that she and the kids had put together. It was so awesome because my son actually participated in the singing and the movements! I was quite impressed! And notice, he's the only one who bowed at the end! So cute! (He's the second one from the left, by the way; one of only two boys in the class!)

Future Pilot

My dad got Aaron this pedal-powered airplane for Christmas and Aaron loves it! He got in it and the first thing he said was "Mommy, I can be a pilot!" You betcha! It's in your blood, after all!

Spoiler Alert!!

Hi! Remember me? Yeah, it's been over a month since I've posted. I'm so lame. I'm just so bored with my blog. I need a new template or something. Anyone have any ideas?

Anyway, we found out about five weeks ago what the sex of the new baby is. Anyone who doesn't want to know, look away right now! I'm serious! O.K., here it goes:


Yes, another boy! We are excited! I think there was a slight twinge of disappointment at first, because we are definitely done after this one and I will never have a beautiful little girl named Lauren (I have loved that name since high school). But then we started thinking about all the stuff we're not going to have to buy (girl clothes, weddings, etc.) and we started feeling better about it. My only real major concern is behavioral issues. It has been no secret that I have struggled with Aaron for the past couple years (aggressiveness, stubbornness, just pure defiance) and I'm not sure if these are Aaron-specific behaviors or boy-specific and I just haven't handled them very well. I thought if I had a girl, things would calm down around here (even though I know that's not always the case; I'm sure those with girls would probably agree with me!). I think we finally have a name picked out, which adds to the excitement, but that's a secret until Birth Day!

So, here we go. My journey with two boys. I grew up surrounded by girls so I feel like everyday is a new learning experience for me. But honestly, I would much rather play cars than Barbies anyway. That's the way I've always been. Maybe this is just another one of God's ways of showing me what's best.

Playing with Their Toys...

...ignoring me...

Future Rock Star

Helping Dave and the boys (Foo Fighters) rock out...


P.S. Could there be any more crap on my coffee table? Ugh!

Being Pregnant Sucks Sometimes

It's 2:00 in the morning. So sick. Can't sleep. Throat is on fire. Chest hurts so bad. Nose won't stop running. Still some nausea left over from the wonderful first trimester. And not a darn thing I can do about it. Going to go watch The Big Bang Theory on the DVR because my Sheldon makes me laugh.

Let the Real Fun Begin!

As you can see from my new header picture, Aaron is getting a new brother or sister! I am due June 29th. So, yes, exactly twelve days after Aaron's birthday. Due to the fact that I will be having this one by C-section also (strictly no VBAC's allowed, thank you very much, my doctor says. And I am so totally O.K. with that.), their birthdays will mostly likely be even closer. This wasn't really what we had originally planned to do, but God has a way of making sure you know He's the one in control and you can only plan for so much. Anyway, we are thrilled. I am a little overwhelmed, I think, but I just keep thinking that people have more than one kid all the time and seem to come out of it relatively unscathed, so here we go. We will be finding out the sex in about five weeks or so, so stayed tuned! If you don't want to know, I will post a spoiler alert first. Wish us luck!!

Only 176 more days to go as an only child!