8 Weeks

Evan is 8 weeks old today and we had his 2 month checkup this morning. He is growing like a weed!! I was so surprised when they weighed him. He is now at 10 lbs 14 oz. (39%) and 22 inches long (23%). He is on track developmentally. We need to do more tummy time and get those neck muscles strengthened. He does really well when he is sitting and on our shoulders holding his head up, but once on his tummy, his legs and rear end get all the lift. It's quite funny to watch. Tuesday when he was on his tummy, he was actually pushing himself around the blanket with his feet.

The doctor wants us to try Zantac for a week and see if that doesn't help his fussiness. She said we should see a difference within the first week if that truly is the problem. A lot of what she was describing in reflux babies, sounds a lot like Evan. I didn't really think of acid reflux before because he doesn't spit up but she said it is not uncommon for acid reflux to occur without the spitting up. And hopefully this will help with him wanting to sleep on his tummy and getting him switched back to his back.

Otherwise, everything is going well with Evan. He has been giving us a bunch of smiles lately and is becoming more aware of his surroundings. He is staying up for longer periods during the day. His favorite thing right now is the fan. Unfortunately, the fan is getting more smiles than anyone else :( He likes to watch it sitting still but also loves to see it spinning and he tracks it very well when it is moving. I just wish my electrician husband could rig the fan up to turn slower when it is on. We are constantly reaching up and just spinning it ourselves, but it doesn't stay spinning long enough to get much done in between. He also loves his mobile on his bed and he likes looking at the bumpers on his bed. He isn't very interested in his floor gym or the toys on the bouncy seat.

I don't know if his wanting to be held and close to someone is any indication of his personality at this point. But it seems like he is going to be my cuddly one. He prefers to be held and close so he can study our faces. And Madi was more of my independent baby. She would be content to play on the floor or in her bouncy seat while I did stuff around the house. She is still very independent, not the cuddly type unless she is sad or not feeling well. We will see!

Madi's favorite toy right now is Evan!! She can't keep her hands off of him, and kisses, kisses. She amazes me more and more everyday. I am so thrilled with what she is doing and learning at school. Last night we were playing in the shed and she says "Mom, you have to put your right hand over your heart like this and say Pledge of Allegiance" and then she said the whole thing by herself!!! Totally blown away, I didn't even know they were doing that in school. And she is constantly singing new songs that she is learning. And she is writing her name so well. I am very, very happy. She is really thriving.

We've had a couple things done around the house the last couple of weeks. We finally got the door on the safe room on and done. Now it is truly a safe room/storm shelter. We also had the roof put on over the back deck. Chris is totally in love with it!! He keeps saying my wife is so excited to have this. But he is the one that can't get enough of it. It is nice and will be great this summer to lessen the amount of sun beating down and coming in the back windows. Plus the big bonus is keeping the rain off the back door, which has been our big leaking spot for some reason. Chris also installed a wood burning stove (the kind made out of two metal barrels) out in the shed. He is been out every night this week to start a fire. I asked him the other night why he keeps going out and starting fires, he can only be out for about an hour before supper is done and bath time, etc., he says he just likes to start a fire. Of course he gets it installed on the nicest week of fall so far. It's almost too warm to even start a fire!

We are headed to Beloit this weekend to get family pictures. I'm so excited!! Have a great weekend, it's supposed to be a nice one!

Love, Amy

Halloween

We had a fun Halloween with the kids this year. Madi was a witch. Decked out in purple and black. I didn't do a costume for Evan. He was too little to wear the pumpkin outfit I made for Madi for her first Halloween and knowing he was going to be in his car seat and fast in and outs at friends and family, I didn't want to mess with a bulky outfit so he just wore a festive onesie. He was still a cutie!!


This is the first year we carved pumpkins. I was planning on skipping it even this year but when we got our pumpkins she started talking about making them into jack-o-lanterns. They must have talked about jack-o-lanterns at school because we have never talked about pumpkins like that before. So, since she knew about carving pumpkins, we kind of had to do it. We ended up doing all the work anyways. She doesn't like to touch things that she isn't sure about. And she wasn't having anything to do with that yucky slimy stuff in the pumpkin. She would touch the seeds but she would not touch the inside of that pumpkin or the stuff pulled out of it. But she had fun drawing faces on the pumpkins and then we cut them out. They turned out cute and fun and she loved lighting them and looking at them glow.




Madi's pumpkin




Love the smiles!!

Mr. Serious. He was working on a good poop at the time!!

My pretty witch!

We trick or treated mostly at our families homes. We hit about 6 different places and then we usually end our evening at my parents where Madi loves to help hand out candy. In past years they didn't have too many kids once we got there, but this year, they were busy. Madi had a blast and the door bell was non stop. She was trying to play with Nana but they didn't get much playing done, she spent most of the time running back and forth to the door. At least it wore her out some! We were going to go door to door on their block (we haven't done that yet) but she was content enough to just hand out. Maybe next year.

Thursday, she got to wear her costume to school. They did a parade and then put on a little program. It was so cute. They sang songs with actions and it was so much fun watching a bunch of 3 year olds all trying to keep up. But everyone was on their own part of the song, very cute!! After their program, all the parents and grandparents left and the kids had their party.

Evan is 7 weeks old. He is doing well. He is very fussy right now. I guess some babies go through this between 6 and 12 weeks. I didn't experience this with Madi (at least I don't remember her going through this). So it feels like I am learning everything again. At times I feel like I have no clue what I am doing (again). And I am so afraid that I am doing everything wrong that I know Chris thinks I am a total nut case right now. I probably am, but I am blaming it on sleep deprivation. He is sleeping better at night. He drinks his bottle and goes right back to sleep. But the little stinker won't sleep on his back, only his tummy. Which these days is an absolute no no. All babies should be on their back, no matter what. Sleeping on their tummies increases the risk of SIDS, etc, etc. So, I am breaking all the rules and letting him sleep on his tummy. Makes me very nervous to leave him like this. I am constantly in checking to make sure he is still breathing. I have even tried going in a half hour later and rolling him to his back. But as soon as he is on his back, even after being asleep for awhile, his little arms get to waving and he wakes himself up. I'm doing the best I can right now. And for both of our sakes and for Madi, at least I am getting some good rest at night. It is only two to three hours at a time but I haven't been as exhausted as I was before when I was sleeping in the chair holding him all night.

Another 4 day blog post!! Will be back tomorrow with updates from Evan's doctor appointment.

Love, Amy

My Babies

Yesterday I was watching my screen saver scroll through pictures of my kids. I glanced up to see a picture that was taken right after one of them was born and for a split second, I couldn't figure out which one it was. They looked so much alike when they were born, it was unreal. They handed me Evan after they got him cleaned up and it was like a flash back to 3 1/2 years ago and they were handing me Madi again. Pretty neat!! So here is the side by side of the two. They definitely have different characteristics, but they do look a lot alike.



Have a great weekend!
Love, Amy

One Month Old

Evan turned one month old today. I can't believe it's already been a month, it goes too fast. Not a lot of changes this past month. He still has quite a sporadic sleeping and eating schedule. He is going to become a little chubby monkey if he keeps eating like he is. At times he wants 5 ounces of milk and other times he will only eat 1-2. Makes it hard to get him on any kind of routine. This last week he has been congested and he just struggles to breath when I lay him down. So for several nights he slept on his boppy. Made me so nervous to leave him by himself. I was afraid he was going to wiggle down into it and get his face covered. He never did and he now thinks he can only sleep while I am holding him. We have another crazy sleeper on our hands!! We are still having trouble at times getting Madi to settle in at night. She has been having troubles the last two weeks also. We have had quite a few wet beds recently. Makes for one tired Mama around here.

Madi is still totally in love with "her" baby brother (as she calls him). She still gives lots of kisses and hugs and I have to tell her often to get out of his face. She just sits over him. I wonder where he got his cold from!? She also likes to hold him and feed him. I was getting dressed the other morning and came out of the bathroom to this:



She is such a big sister. He looks like he is fussing, but he wasn't. He was just laying there listening and watching her. Very cute. I remember a picture of me and Jason laying together on Mom and Dad's bed very similar to this one!

Last weekend we went to Abilene to their tractor show. What a beautiful day we had. A little chilly in the morning but the sun was out and they put on a great show. They have an old wooden carousel powered by a steam engine, very cool! Madi and Daddy, Dan and Jane all rode it a couple of times. They also have a steam engine train that we all rode on. It was about a 45 minute trip. Our first time on a train. It wasn't a smooth ride by any means, but I could of probably gone to sleep on it! Madi did the pedal pull again. She got third place!! She loves doing it and she got a prize this time, a tractor, of course she loves it too!!


Pedal pull


On the train


Evan doing his usually thing when we are out and about...sleeping!

Thursday, Madi had her first field trip at school. We went to the Vo-Tech school to the dental program. They learned all about keeping their teeth clean. And the fun part was getting to ride in the dentist's chair and seeing all the instruments and how they work.


Counting teeth. 10 on top, 10 on bottom.

And finally this weekend was the Flywheels Harvest Festival. Of course mother nature really screwed up everything. It was so stinking cold this weekend. It pretty much turned out to be a wash. We had a fairly busy Saturday morning but by noon, there was no one to be found. Luckily we were moved inside out of the wind, but still in an unheated building, so it was still cold. Madi and Evan were there for a couple hours. Long enough to play with some kids and have some fun. Then they went home with Nana for lunch and naps. We were supposed to be setup for Sunday also, but no one came out Sunday. We ended up packing up and headed home by 2:00. All the outside activities were canceled, along with the kids pedal pull. Very disappointing considering all the time and money we put into it. Not only because of the weather but from the attitudes and the way things were conducted by other members. Needless to say, this will probably be our one and only year that we are in involved in this way. It is sad how there are a couple of bad people among a lot of very nice people that can suck the fun and enjoyment out of things. I really liked getting our part organized and done and would love to do it again, if some things were changed on the board members end. But enough of that!!


Madi shelling corn the old fashioned way, by hand cranking.


Evan in his tractor shirt. Not a very good picture, but I didn't want to get him all unbundled. He was so toasty warm.


Madi doing the cake walk. We ended up winning quite a few baked goods. One time Madi just ran up after they stopped the music and happened to be standing on the winning square. She won and didn't even have to walk!! She loved it.


My little mommy.

Well, it has taken me three days to write this post. I will try and keep the blog updated as best I can but I am finding it harder and harder to find free time to do anything. Hopefully we will be able to get into a better routine around here soon. Have a great week!!

Love, Amy

Two Weeks

We have been home for two weeks now. I can't tell if it has gone fast or gone slow, I've just kind of lost track of what day it is. Our first week home went really well. Chris took the week off which was wonderful!! I was able to relax and focus on Evan and learning all about him while Chris took care of Madi. They had a fun week. They went to work together in the mornings and he took her to preschool and they just hung out together. She was Daddy's little shadow.

Evan is doing good. He is still a little off during the night. He sleeps really well during the day and everyday he is staying awake for longer stretches at a time. But he is still waking up to eat about every 2-3 hours. During the day he eats and goes back to sleep no problems. But at night he is eating and going back to sleep but as soon as I lay him in his bed, he wakes up and screams. I pick him up, rock him a bit and he goes right back to sleep. (Does someone sound spoiled already?!) I'm not quite sure what to think about this yet. I remember having to rock Madi until she was sound asleep before laying her in bed. And I know that part of this little routine we have going is my fault also. I am just so exhausted at night that he eats, I burp him and then find myself waking up an hour later still holding him. I just can't seem to keep myself awake to get him where he needs to be. This is one of the big differences between the first baby and the second. I don't mind getting up and being up all night, but at least with Madi, I was able to nap and rest when she did. Which meant I could get a lot more catch up sleep then. Now, I have about an hour in the afternoons when they are both down that I can get a quick nap. That's if I can get my mind to stop running about everything else that needs to be done. And I feel so guilty about just sitting an vegging when Madi is up because I want to make sure I am spending enough time with her and not having her feel neglected or having to come in second all the time to the new baby. It's a big juggling act right now and I just don't want to fail either of them.

Thank goodness for preschool!!! Madi has an out and something to keep her occupied for a couple of hours every week (that I don't have to plan myself!) She is having a really good time with preschool. She is always singing new little songs that they learn. I have already seen a big difference in her recognizing letters and numbers. Although they haven't learned anything but A and B, 0 and 1 the last couple of weeks. She is paying attention and wanting to learn at home much easier. I tried several times to actually learn the letters of the alphabet, not just know the song, but know the letters by sight. She just didn't have any interest. But now she will name off several letters and numbers while playing in the tub.

We have had some other outings the last couple of weeks.
Evans first outing was to the doctor on the 14th and then to Target on the 15th. I thought that would be a quick, easy trip. Dropped Madi off at preschool, Evan had already eaten and was sleeping away. But we weren't there for more than 10 minutes and he filled his pants. And boy he was not happy. He screamed and screamed. I finally had to go change him in the bathroom. Not what I was wanting to do with a four day old, yuck!
On Saturday, the 19th, we had a busy outside day. We had a family reunion in the park at 12:00. We ended up staying until 5:30 visiting. It was very nice. Madi played with cousins and Evan slept. Then we headed to a wedding reception and finally left for home at 10:30. So that was a long day but we all had a lot of fun.
Friday we went out and did some shopping, made our first trip to the library. Madi loves going to the library to play. They have a nice play area and there are always lots of kids there to play with. Then we went to lunch with Nana and Papa to Madi's new favorite restaurant, Pizza Hut! Evan slept the whole time, surprising though because he should have been up and ready to eat about half way through lunch. But luckily we didn't have to try and eat and feed at the same time. That night we went out again with Dan and Jane for supper and then Madi went home with them for the night.
Saturday morning was the Smokey Hill Museum Street Fair and Parade. Evan did great during his first parade. He slept (big shocker!!) He even slept through the fire truck blasting his horn right in front of us. I hate when they do that, scares the crap out of me. He just jumped and kept sleeping. Then he managed to sleep through three marching bands. Jumped again a couple of times but kept on sleeping. Of course Madi was on cloud 9 during the parade. She didn't care what was going down the street, she was just looking for people handing out candy. At one point she yells "Look, that girl has CANDY for me!!!" as she turns the corner to start coming down the parade route.


Madi and Evan at the parade.




Chris and Dan rode the tractors in the parade.

And then finally, on Sunday, we made a trip to the zoo. Ella's 5th birthday was last weekend and they came to the zoo this weekend and we tagged along. Ella and Madi had a blast spending time together and they really didn't care about the animals. They had fun just running around and playing together. It was a lot of fun to spend time with all of them at the zoo. It was really windy and I was worried about Evan swallowing too much air, but he did really well. He was a little fussy that night but not bad.


Evan at the zoo.


The girls!! Ella, Ava and Madi. Such cuties!


Our first family photo. Madi was mad because we made her get down off the tractor to take a picture and Evan was mad too.

So, we have had a bunch of firsts the last two weeks and a lot of running around. But that's what we do. And no better way to find out how to do all of our running around with two kids than to just do it.

Sunday night Evan's cord finally fell off and his circumcision is looking great and healed up so he finally got his first official bath tonight. He screamed bloody murder the whole time. He did not like the bath at all! And what a difference between him and Madi. Madi never screamed and fussed, from day one. She just layed there. But Evan doesn't like having his diaper changed and he doesn't like having his clothes taken off and putting them back on. So it really wasn't a surprise that he didn't like the bath. Hopefully he grows out of that. And Madi was the big helper. She was so excited to give him a bath. She tried to calm him down. When he cries she is always there being a little mommy. She will say (in a high pitched talk): "It's okay, Madi is here." "Hold on little guy, almost done." "Here, here, here's your binky. Momma, move him closer so I can give him his binky."


I like the little finger sticking up. I am sure in baby gestures, he is really telling us what he thinks about the bath!!!

Evan had his two week checkup today. He is 7 lbs. 9 oz. and 20.8 inches long. He is doing well. She is pleased with his weight. Even though he is eating a little too much. He started wanting to take 3 oz at a time this last week and she said he should still only be eating 1 t0 2 oz every 2-3 hours. So I am going to try and back him back down to 2 oz. He also has a goopy left eye. She prescribed some drops and said it could be just a clogged tear duct. Nothing to worry about and it should work itself out within the first year. We go back on November 6 and he will get shots that day. :(


And anytime Evan is up and in his bouncy seat, this is what you will see. Madi standing over him giving him a million kisses. She is a really good big sister and she loves him to pieces. She has been helping by making bottles, tries to calm him down when he cries, she will run and get things for me if I ask. She is doing amazingly well. I couldn't ask for better kids, I just love them so much!!

Have a great week!! I can't believe October is almost here but I am loving this fall weather.

Love, Amy