Chelly & 3 Boys

My Sweet Boy!

2012-01-25T18:02:00.000-08:00

After Charles got the boys into bed last night, I went in to kiss them goodnight. I noticed Ian had a small piece of paper in his hand and I asked him what it was. He said, "It's a picture of Emmett". I asked him why he was sleeping with a picture of Emmett and he said, "Because I love him." What a sweet brother!

Emmett at 1 and 2 Months

2012-01-23T20:03:00.000-08:00

At 1 month old, Emmett weighed 10 pounds, 15 ounces.

At 2 months old, Emmett weighed 12 pounds, 5 ounces. He was 23 inches long.

Project 365 + 1: Day 12

2012-01-12T18:04:00.000-08:00

Emmett watching his first snow!

Project 365 + 1: Day 11

2012-01-12T18:03:00.000-08:00

Brotherly Love

Project 365 + 1: Day 10

2012-01-12T18:02:00.000-08:00

Moving Day at work, new home office!

Project 365 + 1: Day 9

2012-01-09T21:40:00.000-08:00

At work with Mom

Project 365 + 1: Day 8

2012-01-09T21:39:00.000-08:00

At the park in January!

Project 365 + 1: Day 7

2012-01-09T21:38:00.000-08:00

Project 365 + 1: Day 6

2012-01-09T21:25:00.000-08:00

Bedtime Story

Project 365 + 1: Day 5

2012-01-09T21:17:00.001-08:00

Brownie Batter

Project 365 + 1: Day 4

2012-01-04T17:31:00.000-08:00

Emmett's 6 week smirk

Project 365 + 1: Day 3

2012-01-03T18:10:00.000-08:00

Rhyme Time

Project 365 + 1: Day 2

2012-01-02T10:52:00.000-08:00

Charles taught Sean this "Puppy Face".

Project 365 + 1: Day 1

2012-01-02T10:50:00.000-08:00

Kristina and Brooklyn came down to visit for the weekend and we had all the cousins in their matching PJ's! Brooklyn LOVES holding Emmett (or Omlette as she calls him).

Project 365 + 1

2012-01-02T10:43:00.000-08:00

I'll be the first to admit that I royally stink at recording memories for my kids. Ian's babybook ends at about a year. We brought Sean's to the hospital and put his footprints in it. Emmett... poor guy doesn't even have one. I've tried paper journals and found that I hate hand writing and it takes much longer than doing it on the computer. Blogging is probably the one thing that I could (and should) make time for. Since Emmett was born 6 weeks ago, I've told myself that I need to try to do 1 post per week (you can see that is going well...) I also need to make sure I'm taking pictures of Emmett on a regular basis so he's not the typical youngest child without any pictures!

I came across Project 365 +1 (because of the Leap Year) through some mutual friends and thought it would something that I could manage. My goal with this project is 3 things:

Take more pictures of my kids, or family, or life in general.
Remind myself that snapshots create the best memories, not perfect portraits
Back away from the picture editing and accept pictures for how they are. Since our laptop crashed, the dinosaur desktop we're currently making due with doesn't have Photoshop.

I may not post a picture daily, but my goal is to TAKE a picture daily. Some will be with my DSLR, some will be with my point and shoot, and some will be with my phone.

So today (actually... yesterday), begins Project 365 + 1!

Well Visits x2!

2011-12-06T18:37:00.000-08:00

I have yet to be by myself for more than a couple hours with all 3 boys (tomorrow will be my first FULL day) but today I braved something that can be stressful with even one child! There is something about hot, enclosed exam rooms at the pediatrician's office that makes my kids bonkers. Today I took Ian for his 4 year well visit and Emmett for his 2 week well visit. First though, we had to get out the door and get Sean to the farm.

I thought I had it all planned out. I was up with the bigger boys earlier while Emmett was still sleeping. They ate breakfast while I got ready and got all their clothes laid out. I had them fed, dressed, bags packed and ready to go 30 minutes before we had to leave. Then I woke up Emmett and had planned to feed him, then get him changed and dressed. Unfortunately, he wasn't hungry yet, so I changed and dressed him first. Mistake #1. With 5 minutes before we had to walk out the door, I was almost done nursing Emmett and it looked like we'd make a flawless exit. Then Sean walked over to me and I realized he took a duke and needed his diaper changed before we left. Mistake #2... never get a kid fully dressed in pants, shoes, sock who hasn't taken a #2. Emmett finished nursing, I sat him up to burp him and he proceeded to unload his entire meal all over myself and him. PANIC! Got everybody changed and we were out the door only 10 minutes late. This led to me pulling up to Raymonds, getting Sean out of his seat and taking him in and running out in order to get to their appointment on time, but we made it!

Now, for the stats! Ian is 39 pounds and 40 inches tall at 4 years. That puts him at about 70% for weight and45% for height. Emmett is 9 pounds 8 ounces and 20.5 inches tall. That puts him at almost the exact percentages. Emmett has gained more than 2 pounds since his discharge for the hospital on 11/24 (he was 7 pounds 4 ounces). Both boys are perfectly healthy!

Below are pictures of Sean and Emmett at just about the same age. Sean is on the left and Emmett is on the right. I think they look very similar! You can tell Emmett is still a bit jaundice, but other than that, they share a receding hairline, round nose and pouty lips! I wonder if he'll look more like Ian or Sean as he gets bigger?

And Emmett makes FIVE! Warning.. birth story!

2011-12-05T19:54:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011, we welcomed baby boy #3 to our family! At 1:48pm, Emmett McIntyre Raymond made his way into the world weighing in at 7 pounds 12 ounces and measuring 19 1/2 inches long!

Monday evening after Charles came home from work, I told him I thought I had food poisoning and it was causing contractions. Several hours later, I will still have consistent contractions (although not incredibly painful). We decided that since Sean's birth was so quick and we had an hour drive to the hospital (not including dropping the boys off at the farm), we should make our way in. Actually, I did not want to go in because I didn't believe it was the real deal and didn't want to be sent home. Charles was of the "better safe than sorry" mind.

We arrived at the hospital around 9pm and were put into triage. At that point, I was about 1 1/2 cm dilated and the contractions were 4-7 minutes apart. We walked the halls and watched the remainder of the Monday Night Football game. At 11pm, I was 2 1/2 cm dilated, but they still wanted me to stay in triage. More walking, Charles took a nap on an awfully uncomfortable sofa. At about 1am, they checked and I was just over 3cm dilated. Finally, they decided to admit me.

We got into our room close to 2am. At this point we hadn't slept since the night prior. I was too anxious to sleep so I watched Harry Potter 7.2 and Charles took a nap on a slightly less uncomfortable couch. The OB on call was the same OB who was on when I had Sean. Neither of us are big fans of her. She's pretty grouchy and not really into the whole natural childbirth thing. She came into my room for all of a minute and I'm not entirely sure what she even had to say.

Luckily there was a shift change not long after and the OB and resident who came on were very nice. I was 5cm dilated at this point and they broke my water at about 10am. In order to keep things interesting, just after the OB left the room, I got incredibly nauseous and threw up and passed out. We had warned my nurse about it possibly happening when we were admitted, but she still freaked out. Charles of course has seen it quite a few times and just made sure I didn't choke. Our nurse however was frantically pushing the call button for help. I was only out for 15 or so seconds and afterwards felt much better. She really wanted to give me an IV at this point, but we refused. Initially she wanted us to sign a waiver, but the OB said it wasn't a problem.

I bounced on the exercise ball for quite a long time and slowly but surely, contractions started picking up. At about 1pm, things started to get crazy. I was in the worst possible pain, my nurse was hard to come by (she was admitting another patient) and the OB and resident were in surgery! I was checked somewhere close to 1:30 and I was 6cm. So frustrating considering how much pain I was in! After the next contraction, I told Charles to call the nurse. She came in, I was 8cm. She left again and said to call her if we needed her. After the next contraction I told Charles I felt like I had to push so he called her back. At that point, I couldn't even get on the bed I was in so much pain. Another doctor came in and said he would likely be delivering me since the on-call doctor was in surgery. I told him I was pushing NOW! Lots of people were flying around the room getting set-up and just a few minutes later, Emmett was born!

Immediately, Charles and I both said he looked so much like Sean as a newborn! We actually kept accidentally calling him Sean! It didn't help that we didn't have a name for him till several hours later. The big brothers came and visited us that evening at the hospital and we announced him name by whispering to Ian and having him announce it.

Emmett is a name that Charles and I both like, and let me tell you, that was not easy to find one we agreed on! I initially liked Elliot slightly more, but now that we named him Emmett, it really fits him! McIntyre is my paternal grandmother's maiden name. She passed away when I was in high school, but she was just about the coolest lady you could ever meet.

We look forward to seeing how Emmett adds another dynamic to our family!

Freezer Meals

2011-08-11T08:32:00.000-07:00

Goal: Make and Freeze these before Baby #3 arrives!

Sweet Corn from the farm (Betch's recipe)
Spagetti Sauce
Taco Meat
Zucchini Bread
Soft Pretzels
Cookie Dough
Beef Stroganoff

Raymond Family 2011 Bucket List (to be cont.)

2011-06-05T18:15:00.000-07:00

~~Visit Milwaukee Zoo~~

Visit Madison Children's Museum

~~Build a sand box~~

~~Go to Green Bay Packer Training Camp~~

~~-at least 1 full pads practice~~

~~-Curly's Pub~~

-Hall of Fame

~~-Family Night~~

Enroll both boys in swim lessons

Get fishing licenses

~~Go to Rock River Thresheree~~

~~Attend 4th of July Fireworks~~

~~Attend Rock County Fair~~

Attend Edgerton Tobacco Days
~~Teach Sean uppercase letter recognition~~
~~Teach Ian lowercase letter recognition~~
~~Attend Moos & Blues~~
~~Visit Madison Zoo~~
~~Spend a day at Devil's Lake State Park~~

My Son, the Future Doctor!

2011-01-05T12:03:00.000-08:00

Ever since Ian's preschool class talked about skeletons at Halloween, his interest in the human body has continued to grow. He found two of my childhood books, The Magic School Bus Goes Into the Human Body, and The Skeleton Inside You, and asks us to read at least one of them almost every night.

He is so interested in it that we put this Beleduc 5 Layer Puzzle on his Christmas List and his Tita Elizabeth (the physical therapist, go figure! :)) got it for him!

He knows all about bones, cartilage and joints from The Skeleton Inside You, and has a pretty good grip on the concepts of digestion thanks to The Magic School Busy Goes Into The Human Body. I mean, the kid knows what villi are. Seriously? A three year old? I'm pretty sure I learned that word in Medical Terminology my senior year in COLLEGE! Ok, maybe it was Anat & Phys my sophomore year, but I was no A&P whiz and things seemed to fly out on my brain as fast as they went in.

I had the boys at the pediatrician today to check on Ian's ears (he's been battling an EI for who knows how long) and he had his Magic School Bus book with him. He started talking to the nurse about, you're never believe this... BLOOD VESSELS. She was floored, as was I, I haven't heard him talk about them before!

So now here is my wondering... do I encourage this and keep searching for new (age appropriate) books to expand his knowledge? I don't want him to be some super weird Dugie Howser when he's 10, but it's probably just a passing phase, don't you think? He's doing very well with knowing all his letters and we're now working on writing letters. He's great at counting and just starting to graps the concept of adding really small numbers together when we're counting objects. So I think if I just make sure he's not falling behind on normal stuff like that, it should be ok. Or maybe I should really push it and then I can retire early and he can support his parents! HAHA, I can dream, ;-)

Fall!

2010-11-13T19:28:00.000-08:00

The leaves are now all on the ground (and at the curb), and the brisk wind is reminding me that winter is just around the corner. However, just a few short weeks ago, we were in the prime of fall! I think fall is my favorite season. There is something so nice about leaving the dog days of summer behind and being able to layer on the hooded sweatshirts and comfy pants :)

All of these pictures of the boys were taken at the farm. We went outside to play in the leave and take a walk in the woods and I knew the scenery would be beautiful. We're still deciding if we'll use the picture of the two boys sitting in the woods on our Christmas card. It's nearly impossible to get a picture of both of them smiling at the same time so we may not get another picture before then!

Halloween

2010-11-12T20:42:00.000-08:00

Trying to catch up (in every aspect of life!). We carved pumpkins a few days before Halloween. Sean was very much into reaching into the pumpkin and pulling the guts out. In fact, he was very much into trying to eat the pumpkin guts. Ian thought it was interesting in there but preferred that I do it for him. I think both pumpkins turned out pretty cute and the boys loved seeing them lit up!

This Halloween Ian really wanted to be a tractor, John Deere, of course! I looked up a few different costumes online and decided several months ago that I could make it pretty inexpensively. I had a box from work 2 or 3 months before Halloween. I even spray painted the box a month or so before! Well, life got in the way and Halloween morning I started the long project of finishing it before Trick or Treat started at 5pm!

With the help of a lot of duct tape, his costume was finished in time to Trick or Treat at Charles' cousins' houses (Kay & Todd and Audry & Dale) before making it back to Janesville at 6:30pm. Mind you, ToT ended at 7pm! Sean was appropriately enough a cow. It was pretty cold so we only went to a few houses in our neighborhood. Ian's costume was fairly heavy and it was difficult for him to walk with so I ended up carrying it between houses. It was nice to have the real working headlights on it to light our way!

Sean's vocab at 16 months...

2010-10-01T07:53:00.000-07:00

For my own reference (and because I'm sure I'll forget someday!), these are the words Sean can say at 16 months:

mama
dada
EEE (for Ian)
Penny (sounds like baby)
book
Papa
gama (for Grandma)
LoLo (sounds like waa waa)
hot
up
down
on
off
bug
nose
eye
hair
hand
bonk (when he bumps something)
elmo
Go Pack Go!
uh oh!
woah!
roll
dada work (for Daddy's at work)
bye
hi
pease (please)
tank coo (thank you)
no
yes
ball
what's dat
milk
nack (snack)
teat (treat for Penny)
tractor
Percy (the train)
I'm the map
truck
bus
mess
clean
all done
eat
yucky
dance
rock
apple
animal
meat
banana
hotdog (refers both to the food and Micky Mouse)
animal sounds-
moo
baa
oink
meow
woof
bawk bawk
rar
quack

Thresheree Weekend

2010-09-20T18:22:00.000-07:00

Every Labor Day Weekend we make a point to go to the Rock River Thresheree. Now for me, this is a new thing. I mean, never as a child did I attend a single event with so many adults wearing overalls. Charles has been going to the Thresheree as long as he can remember! He has many memories of camping there and using his own money he saved up to buy the perfect toy tractor. Now that the boys are a little older, they could really enjoy looking at all the tractors and machines.

The day before we went as a family, Ian rode on Lolo's tractor to bring some logs down there to be cut into boards. It was pretty cold but he loved being on the tractor for the long ride!

At the Thersheree, Ian and Sean were each able to pick out one toy. Ian picked a skid loader and Sean picked a John Deere tractor. It always amazes me how much they love these tiny little toys and just how much they play with them! Sean gets down on the carpeting in the living room and pushes them around, making tractor noises.

We rode the steam train that is fueled with coal. It's a little bit of a stinky ride in my opinion, but the boys love waving at everyone and hear the train whistle blow!

While riding the train, Ian saw this little kiddie train pulled by a tractor and begged to go on it! The guy who owns it just waits till kids come and sit in the cars and then drives it around, no charge! What a nice guy! Ian, of course, picked the John Deere car.

It was a long and enjoyable day and we look forward to taking them to it next year when I think they will love it even more!

Since it's still July...

2010-07-26T19:12:00.001-07:00

I can still post this video from the 4th, right?

Sean's 1st Year in Pictures

2010-07-07T19:58:00.000-07:00

It has been brought to my attention that I never posted all of Sean's monthly pictures together. So without further ado... Sean's 1st Year!

4th of July Weekend

2010-07-04T19:07:00.000-07:00

What a great holiday weekend! It's our first in months that we both Charles and I have had off work and we didn't have any commitments to parties, weddings, etc. We also both had off on Friday, so it was a long weekend, even better :) We decided that since Ian is now 2 1/2 and we had some time, it was a great weekend to start potty training officially!

We built it up for a few weeks by telling Ian that it was going to be time to say "Bye Bye to diapers!" Friday, we just put him right into underwear and let him run around the house like that. We constantly asked him if he had to go potty. He did great and didn't have single pee accident all day. We ventured out to Madison to run some errands and while he did a great job trying to go in a public bathroom, he held it the WHOLE time!

Saturday was the first that he started telling us he had to go potty. Soo awesome!! He had one accident of #2 on Saturday while we were out. He woke up dry that night (although he's been waking up dry pretty much every night for a few weeks) and on Sunday morning he got up and went pee in the potty right away. He's been wearing underwear all the time (except we put him in a Pull-Up when he's outside at the farm a lot. Today we were eating dinner at the farm. We were all outside and all of a sudden he ran into the house. Charles followed him in and he was trying to get his pants off. He sat on the potty and went pee! He's just been doing so great and we're so proud of him!

Apart from a lot of potty talk this weekend, we've been spending as much time outside and together as possible. Yesterday we filled up the kiddie pool, got out the beach ball sprinkler and water table and enjoyed the beautiful weather! The kids enjoyed red, white and blue popsicles (it was Sean's first!).

Today, Charles and I took the boys to the farm and went to see Eclipse. I LOVED it and Charles thought it was pretty good, for a girl movie at least :) When we got back, we went with Jim (Lolo) canoeing. It was Charles, Ian, Jim and I. It was Ian's first time and while he was a little timid at first, he warmed up to it and loved it!

After dinner just before going home, we lit off the firecrackers and sparklers that David gave Sean for his birthday. Ian thought they were a blast and Sean was pretty impressed, too!

All in all, a great weekend with beautiful weather! We're both off work next weekend, too. Hopefully it'll be as great as this one was :)

Green with Envy

2010-07-03T12:34:00.001-07:00

I've always been envious (and inspired:)) of those blogs by moms who find all those awesome deals on food and household needs through sales and couponing. They take pictures of their huge purchases that costs pennies on the dollar.

Well guess what? It's my turn! I snagged a couple AWESOME deals this weekend on things that we've been running low on. Toys R Us, Target and Walgreens were my stops. I ran most of these errands after the kids went to bed to it was stress-free and I was able to sift through my coupons and make sure everything rang up correctly. So here is what I bought:

Toys R Us:

*2 packages of the Pull-Ups Night Time Protection (originally $10.99 each) on clearance for $4.11 each, coupled with 2 $2/1 coupon from mail flyer= $2.11 each

*2 Bottles of Baby Blanket Sunscreen Lotion w/bonus travel spray (originally $10.99 each) on clearance for $4.48, also all Baby Blanket Products are on sale Buy 1, Get 1 50% off= $6.72 for two 12oz bottles and two 2oz travel sprays

*Oragel Toddler Plaque Revealing Pre-Brush Gel (originally $3.98) on clearance for $.98, coupled with $1/1 coupon from Sunday Paper, free plus overage ($.02)

*2 Kiss My Face Obsessively Natural Kids Tooth Paste (orignally $6.99 each) on clearance for $1.71 each

*Boudreaux's Butt Bath Moisturizing Body Wash and Shampoo (orignally $11.99), on clearance for $2.98, coupled with $2/1 coupon from Sunday Paper= $.98

*3 Johnson's Buddies Moisturizing Body Wash (originally $3.99 each) on clearance for $.73 each

*3 MethodKid Squeaky Green Body Wash (originally $5.99 each) on clearance for $1.49 each, coupled with Toys R Us $2/any 3 body wash coupon= $2.47 for all 3

*2 Kiss My Face Obsessively Natural Kids Self-Foaming Shampoo & Body Wash (originally $7.99 each) on clearance for $1.49 each and 1 J/A/S/O/N Pure, Natural and Organic Kids Only! Shampoo (originally $7.99) on clearance for $1.49, coupled with Toys R Us $2/any 3 body wash or shampoo coupon= $2.47 for all 3

Walgreens:

*Four 2-liters of Diet Pepsi (originally $1.69 each): On sale with Walgreens Coupon at 4 for $4, coupled with 2 $1/2 manufacturer coupons attached to bottles= $.50/each

Target:

*Pampers Sensitive Thick Care wipes 60-pack (originally $2.39) on sale for $1.98, coupled with $2/1 manufacturer coupon from Sunday Paper= free plus $.02 overage

My total for all of these products was $18.02!!! If I had bought these at full price, it would have been $136.97!! That's a savings of $118.95!!

1 Month Later...

2010-06-30T18:13:00.000-07:00

We had the first of Sean's two 1st Birthday Parties exactly a month ago. This was a combined party with Sierra. We hosted it at our house and had lots of wonderful family and friends come celebrate with us! Here are a few pictures...

I'll post pictures from his second party soon :)

Sean is ONE!!

2010-05-31T17:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, our sweet little boy turned ONE!! We celebrated with a joint 1st Birthday Party for Sean and Sierra at our house. I'll post pictures of that as soon as I get them edited. For now, here is Sean's final monthly picture and his monthly round-up of what he's doing. At 12 months, Sean:

*sleeps from 7:30pm-7:00am

*naps for 1 1/2 hours in the morning and 1-1 1/2 hours in the afternoon

*is entirely on whole milk and drinks the majority of it from a sippy cup

*has added "papa", "hot", "whas dat?", "no no no no no" to his list of vocab

*is doing better at daycare and has grown attached to his teacher

*likes practicing with a fork and spoon

*is a seasoned walker

*pulls himself up on the dining room chairs and will climb ontop the dining room table if you let him

*loves playing with Ian's toys (especially his Mack truck and little matchbox cars) and SCREAMS bloody murder if Ian tries to take them away from him

*loves cell phones, tv remotes, cords and keys

*is into EVERYTHING

*signs "please", "more", "milk"

*loves being outside in the grass, dirt and rocks

Wears a size 18-24months in one-pieces, 12 months in bottoms and 18 months in tops. He has his 12months appointment on Friday so we'll have a more accurate weight then, but I'm pretty sure he's about 23 pounds.

A Sign of the Times...

2010-05-18T18:37:00.000-07:00

When we picked Ian and Sean up from the farm today, Betch told us this story. She said Ian had asked when Lolo (Jim) was coming home and Betch said, "maybe we should call him at work and ask him." Ian replied with, "Maybe we should email him."

Unrelated... we were outside this past weekend doing tons of yard work. Charles was pushing Sean around in his red push-car and chasing Ian around the yard. Ian was running so fast that he tripped on a cement block and fell, skinning his chin up pretty good. That night I took a few pictures of Ian because he hair was pretty crazy (I like to call it his Edward Cullen, from Twilight, hair). You can see his war wounds in the pictures.

Buzzz Buzzz!

2010-05-13T14:24:00.001-07:00

I took pictures for Sean and Brooklyn's 1st Birthday invitation so I thought I'd share!

Another Ian-ism

2010-05-10T19:03:00.000-07:00

Charles is wearing a hooded sweatshirt with drawstrings. He is changing Ian's diaper.

Ian: Daddy, can I see your whoo whoos?

Charles: WHAT?

Ian: Can I see your whoo whoos?

Ian: (pulls drawstring on Charles' sweatshirt and says, like a train whistle) WHOOO WHOOOOOO!

Go Sean!!

2010-05-07T20:23:00.000-07:00

Sean took 6 steps in a row today!! ON PURPOSE!!

He's such a little turkey. I know he CAN walk because he'll do it if he doesn't know he's not being held on to. But as soon as he realizes it, he sits down!

2010-05-07T19:26:00.000-07:00

Ian: I want to watch Cars.
Me: Ian, I don't know where your Cars DVD is.
Ian: I think the Easter Bunny took it.
Me: Really? Where?
Ian: To Santa!
Me: Why did he do that?
Ian: Because Santa is really old.

Zoo Day, Horray!

2010-05-06T18:48:00.000-07:00

I'm a little behind, but better late than never! On April 23rd, we took Ian and Sean to the Milwaukee Zoo and met with Tita Laure and Sierra there!

The kids were so well behaved and had so much fun! Ian liked the lions and the fish the most. Sean and Sierra also really liked the fish! Good thing we're going to the Shedd in a few weeks!

Here are a few pictures from throughout the day!

11 Months Old!!

2010-04-30T06:21:00.000-07:00

There is no way that this little guy will be 1 year old in just 1 short month. How can that be?!

Sean is officially 11 months old today! At 11 months old, Sean:

*sleeps from 7:30pm-6:30am (give or take depending on the day before)

*takes a morning nap and an afternoon nap

*eats 3 solid meals a day and 2 snacks

*is down to nursing 2-3 times/day and takes a sippy cup well

*puts his hand up to his ear and says "Hi" when you ask him "Sean, how do you talk on the phone?"

*waves and says "Hi" and "Bye"

*also says "Hot", "Mama", "Dada", "Mom", "Hii EEE" (Hi Ian), "Up"

*says "Moooo" when you ask him what a cow says

*can climb an entire flight of stairs and enjoys climbing up on everything else

*hates being buckled into his car seat but does better on car rides as long as he has a toy or we all sing silly songs

*favorite foods are toast, cut-up fruit, waffles, pasta, RICE, cheese and meat

*has 8 teeth, 4 on top, 4 on bottom

*can signal "TOUCHDOWN!"

*started daycare this month and cries VERY hard everytime we drop him off and REFUSES to nap there (it will get better, right?!)

*has his first diaper rash this month and it was a bad one, turned into yeast rash, but it's all healed now

He wears a size 12m pants and 12-18m top. He weighs about 22 pounds.

System Check!

2010-04-26T13:39:00.000-07:00

When Ian was just a little older than Sean is now, he used to do what we called a "System Check". He'd wake up in the morning and be chatting to himself. He'd run through all the word he knew. For Ian, it sounded something like this, "Mama, Dada, Hot, Bawoo (Balloon), Ball, Bye".

We were in Waukesha visiting my parents this weekend when we noticed Sean has started doing the same thing! He woke up and was standing in the crib saying something like, "Up, Mama, Dada, Hot, Bye, Hi".

He's growing up too fast! I can't believe his 1st birthday is just over a month away!

10 Months Old

2010-04-11T11:44:00.000-07:00

On March 30th, Sean turned 10 months old! At 10 months old, Sean:

*is sleeping from 7:30/8:00pm-7:00am
*is taking 3 solid meals/day, and is almost strictly on table food
*takes a sippy cup in either a straw or soft spout version
*has 4 bottom teeth and 4 upper teeth
*usually takes a morning nap and takes an afternoon nap
*standing by himself and takes and occasional step
*plays with all of Ian's toys and even makes noises when he pushes cars around
*signs "more" and "please"
*says "Hi", "Up", "Bye" and "Hot"

He wears a size 12months in jeans and 18 months in pretty much everything else.He wears a size 3 in shoes or 12-18months in soft soles shoes.

2010-04-08T08:46:00.000-07:00

While Ian and Sean were taking a bath yesterday after breakfast, Ian said to me, "Mommy, fold your hands." I asked him, "Why?". "So we can pray," he said.

So I folded my hands (as he did) and he started.
"Dear God, please watch over me. What's next, Mommy?"
"Who else do you want him to watch over, Ian?"
"Please watch over Mommy and Daddy and Sean. What's next, Mommy?"
"Who else do you love?"
"Please watch over Lola and Lolo and Papa and Nancy (sorry mom, he calls you Nancy sometimes) and See-rah (Sierra) and Brook-wyn (Brooklyn) and Toto (Tito Pete) and Tita War-rie (Tita Laurie) and Tita Wiz-a-biff (Tita Elizabeth). What's next, Mommy?"
"What about Brooklyn's mommy and daddy?"
"Aunt Stee-nah (Aunt Kristina) and Uncle Dan. And Penny. And Woody (he got Woody from Toy Story from the Easter Bunny)."
"Anyone else?"
"No, now what, Mommy?"
"You say, Amen."
"Ament. That means we're done."

Back to playing with his Elmo submarine.

Brothers

2010-03-27T19:34:00.000-07:00

Spring has Sprung!

2010-03-14T20:00:00.001-07:00

Ignore the rosey cheeks and the windblown hair, I'm going to declare it officially spring! Hopefully I'm not eating my words in the next few weeks. With the warmer weather (think 45-50 degrees!) and the snow being all melted, we took advantage and got outside a lot the last few days!

On Friday I took the boys to a park nearby and Sean has his first go at the swings. They both loved them, can you tell?!

Then he enjoyed some goldfish crackers in the stroller...

...while Ian played on the jungle gym!

Unfortunately, it was raining most of Saturday so we didn't get out. Today it was a bit more dry so we took Ian out in the driveway and he rode his tricycle for the first time outside!

Then we got Ian's old push car out for Sean and he loved it! Ian loved pushing him in it, too.

9 Months Old

2010-03-10T18:51:00.001-08:00

On February 28th (or March 1st?!), Sean turned 9 months old! At 9 months old, Sean:

*is sleeping from 7:00/7:30pm-6:30/7:00am
*is taking 3 solid meals/day and is almost only on finger/table food, not loving purees so much
*does really well with a straw sippy cup
*has 2 bottom teeth and 4 upper teeth
*taking two naps/day at about 1 1/4- 1 1/2 hours each
*crawling and cruising everywhere
*can stand for a few seconds by himself
*has adjusted well to spending 2 days/week with Betch while I work
*wants to play with all of Ian's toys
*plays peak-a-boo by hiding behind his blanket and lowering it when you say "peak-a-boo!"
*signs "more"
*claps and waves hi/bye
*says mama and dada (and sometimes actually seems to mean them)

*has taken to his navy blue baseball blankie and likes to sleep with it now

He was 19 pounds 9 ounces at his 9 month appointment, wearing a size 12months in jeans and 18 months in pretty much everything else.

Sean and Gretchen throughout the years.. err.. year...

2010-02-25T19:30:00.000-08:00

My good friend Corey, has a beautiful little girl Gretchen, who is just about a month older than Sean. I love getting together with Corey and her girls (she has an older daughter just a little older than Ian!) and taking pictures of the kids together. We all know how cooperative toddlers are at taking pictures, so good thing our little ones don't mind posing!

It's so cool to see the kids together as they grow! Here are Sean and Gretchen starting when Sean was just about a month old!

I look forward to seeing these two grow and interact and start playing together! Hopefully they won't beat on each other as much as their older siblings do :)

8 months old!

2010-02-09T11:24:00.002-08:00

On January 30th, Sean turned 8 months old! At 8 months old, Sean:

*is sleeping from 7:00pm-6 or 6:30am
*is taking 3 solid meals/day
*is using his pincher grasp to pick up banana pieces, puffs, cheerios, peas, carrots and just about anything you put in front of him
*is working on a sippy cup but mainly just chewing it right now
*has 2 bottom teeth and 4 upper teeth
*taking two naps/day at about 1 1/4- 1 1/2 hours each
*crawling all over the place but especially darts for the entertainment center, dining room chairs and Penny in her bed
*pushing his push walker and alligator clacker
*wrecking havock at my work, leaving him with Betch now!
*wanting to play with all of Ian's toys
*plays peak-a-boo
*working on signing "more" and "milk"
*battles diaper changes like a rolling alligator
*no longer loves the song "Popcorn"
*screams like a banchee all day long
*says mama and dada (and sometimes actually seems to mean them)

He's roughly 20 pounds now, wearing a size 12months in jeans and 18 months in pretty much everything else. His eyes are turning brown and he's looking more and more like Ian every day.

Ice Skating

2010-02-05T18:05:00.000-08:00

A few weeks back, my parents were in town visiting and we thought it would be fun to take Ian to the Janesville ice arena. I haven't been on the ice since I had Ian and I was excited to take him! The rink was pretty busy, lots of crazy tweens running around! I wore my own skates and we rented skates for Ian. It was a battle to get those on his feet! I thought winter boots were hard to get on! Ian's legs go all noodley and he doesn't understand that he has to PUSH them on! After battling with a few pairs of skates, he was ready to go! It was only appropriate that the soundtrack from his favorite (and only known) musical was playing over the loud speakers, "Mama Mia!".

He wasn't afraid at all! He stepped right out on the ice and just as I told him, he marched, marched, marched! I've taught a lot of kids in Learn to Skate, and the minimum age we take is 3 years. Compared to many kids, Ian did great!! It didn't hurt that his mom was there holding his hand and not some stranger, but I'm really very proud of him! We did a lot of laps, then I'd take him and skate really fast with him, he loved it!

As much as I enjoyed my years skating, I've always said I'd never make my kids do it if they didn't want to. I think I'd like them all at least know how to skate around (I can easily teach them) and if they were ever interested in lessons, that'd be fine. But for as much as the hockey players used to torment us figure skaters, I don't know if I could ever let my boys play hockey! I guess we'll cross that bridge if we ever have to. For now, I thoroughly enjoyed my time on the ice with Ian :)

2 posts in one day?

2010-01-18T19:01:00.000-08:00

I must be crazy!

Not only did Sean officially start crawling on all 4's today, but he said "Mama!", three times!. Yes, I realize he's just babbling, but my baby is growing up. I'm going to miss this.

Watch Out World!

2010-01-18T09:47:00.000-08:00

Sean is mobile!

ONE!

2010-01-04T12:05:00.000-08:00

When Ian wants something that he knows he can't have, he says he wants "ONE! ONE! ONE FINGER HERE! ONE!"

Example, he gets a vitamin everyday. If he asks for another one later in the day and I tell him no, I get this:

Sean is 7 months old!

2010-01-03T19:35:00.000-08:00

On December 30th (Charles' 26th Birthday!), Sean turned 7 months old. It's hard to believe that now we are moving closer to his first birthday and farther from his birth. At 7 months old, Sean is:

*army crawling and inch worming

*sleeping from 7pm-6:30am

*starting to take more solid foods (and by more, I mean like, 2 tablespoons a day. This is a big stress for me and we struggle with it everyday, but he is FINALLY getting better at it)

*able to get puffs from his tray to his mouth using his whole hand to grasp them

*still only has his two bottom teeth but I see at LEAST two more top teeth ready to come through any day

*taking a morning nap, an afternoon nap, and an occasional evening catnap

*getting better at riding in the car as long as we have a stash of toys to pass to him every time he drops one

*starting to drink from a sippy cup

*taking a bottle like a champ and drinking 8-9oz when he does

*experiencing big time stranger danger

*becoming very fond of Penny

*still obsessed with the Barenaked Ladies "Popcorn" song

*becoming more difficult to have at work with me

*wears mostly 12m clothing, a few 12-18 things as well

At 7 months, Sean is 19 pounds, give or take a couple ounces. Generally, that would be considered a pretty poor weight gain for a month (he was 18 pounds 11 ounces at 6 months), but the week after he was 6 months old, Ian, Sean and I got very sick. They had croup and I had the adult version of it, I guess? Sean dropped to 18 pounds 5 ounces because he was having such a hard time nursing (couldn't breathe through his nose) and was also throwing up when he was coughing so hard. It's ironic because when Ian was this exact age, he got sick, too, and lost weight. We'll see at his 9 month appointment if it dropped him in his growth chart.

I never want to forget these things...

2009-12-23T13:05:00.000-08:00

I need to start a little journal to write down a the little funny things that Ian (and someday Sean) says and does. Here are two from yesterday and today:

We're driving in the van to the farm to drop Ian off on my way to work. Sean is crying (of course). All of a sudden, he just stops. After he doesn't start up again, I turn around to see what's going on and I see Ian leaning over the side of his carseat holding Sean's hand. They were just holding hands the rest of the car ride! When we stopped and I was getting Ian out, he was still holding Sean's hand and I told him he had to let go so I could unbuckle him. He said "Hold hand so Sean no cry."

Today Ian was being sassy at lunch. He threw a big fit when he saw a piece of chocolate and I said he couldn't have it till he finished his lunch. I said, "If you're going to cry, you can get down from the table." So he did. 5 or so minutes later I asked him if he wanted to try lunch again. He said "Yes, no crying like baby, no crying like baby." over and over as he climbed back into his chair. Then he ate his lunch and got his piece of chocolate.

6 months old!

2009-12-13T18:27:00.000-08:00

I'm wayyy behind. I'll blame the holidays :)

On November 30th, Sean was 6 months old! A whole half year! How did that happen already?! At 6 months, Sean is:

* (once again) sleeping through the night

*sitting up on his own

*starting to army crawl

*laughing a LOT

*becoming afraid of strangers

* very distracted when nursing

*has TWO teeth

*eating a few pureed foods (but giving us a heck of a fight!)

*really starting to enjoy watching everything that Ian does

*loves the "ABC Song" and we have to sing it to him at every diaper change to keep him from wiggling too much

*still hates riding in the car unless we've timed it perfectly with nap time

*taking 2 long naps and occasionally a 3rd catnap

*wearing size 12 month clothing.

At his 6 month appointment, Sean was:

18 lbs 11oz

26 3/4 inches long

Ian's 2nd Birthday

2009-11-23T17:17:00.000-08:00

We had Ian's 2nd Birthday Party on Saturday, November 7th. It was so much fun! We had family and friends come over for a tractor/farm themed lunch and cake. Ian got so many fun gifts and lots and lots of tractors! Here are a few pictures from the day:

2 Years Old!!!

2009-11-09T20:03:00.000-08:00

Happy 2nd Birthday, Ian!!!

just born...

1 year old...

2 years old...

Pictures from his party to follow soon! We're still recovering from the long weekend. Charles was off work today so we could celebrate Ian's special day as a family!

2009-11-08T18:22:00.000-08:00

Last dinner as a 1-year-old...

Last bath as a 1-year-old...

I can't believe my baby will be TWO tomorrow!!!

My handsome boys!

2009-11-04T20:12:00.000-08:00

Photos by Rebekah Waege

5 months old!

2009-11-01T17:53:00.000-08:00

On October 30th, Sean was 5 months old! Weighing in at about 17 1/2 pounds, Sean is always smiling and laughing, is best known for his spiky hair, can roll very easily from belly to back and back to belly, can sit unassisted for short periods, just cut the tiniest little ridges of bottom teeth, has very good hand-mouth coordination, thoroughly enjoys watching his big brother play, eats his toes like they are candy, can put himself to sleep (most of the time!), still absolutely HATES riding in the car, and has the sweetest, most excited little personality!

From the Mouths of Babes

2009-10-21T20:05:00.000-07:00

Charles was home sick today and Sean was napping, so I took Ian to run some errands with me. We went to the post office, then on a special trip to Farm & Fleet to look at the Toyland tractors. I love chatting with Ian, he's the funniest little dude. This is part of the conversation we had.

Me: Ian, what do you want to be when you grow up?

Ian: A tractor!

Me: That sounds fun. Who do you know who is a tractor?

Ian: John, John Deere.

Me: Oh yeah? Who else?

Ian: Allis, Allis Chalmers.

Can you tell he is obsessed with tractors? Good thing we changed his birthday party theme from trains to tractors! He's going to fall over when he sees what we got him for a gift :)

And on a totally separate note, how cute is this guy?!

Gro Baby!

2009-10-18T07:47:00.000-07:00

It's been nearly 2 years since I've started cloth diapering. I've tried dozen of different diapers, but one that I've been eyeing up is the Gro Baby ! It's an AI2 or hybrid diaper that you can reuse the shell over and over and use either reusable soakers you can wash or you can try the new Bio Soakers! They come in a variety of awesome colors and recently just came out with some adorable prints! Since working at Nicki's, I get questions about what kind of diapers I use all the time! I think people like to hear what works for others and why. I'm looking forward to getting a free trial of this diaper and letting you all know what I think!!

4 months old!

2009-09-30T19:09:00.001-07:00

Sean is 4 months old, where has the time gone?? At 4 months old, Sean is belly laughing, pushing up on his hands while laying on his belly, doing a whole lotta chatting aka cooing, drooling up a storm (cutting a tooth!?), having a 4-month wakeful period, still eating every 3 hours but staying awake longer during the day, enjoying tummy time much more, bringing toys to his mouth (or handfuls of my hair, blankets, burpcloths, really anything within reach!) and getting very close to rolling back to belly.

According to the scale at work, Sean is just shy of 16 pounds. We'll get a weight and height check for him next Monday at his 4 month appointment. Ian was 16 pounds 15 ounces at 4 months, so I think Sean will be pretty close.

Best new of this month... Sean is taking a bottle!!! We are using Playtex bottles with a latex nipple and that does the trick! I even left him home with Charles when working the Nicki's Grand Opening and he took it like a champ! Such a relief :)

Promoting the store and Sean's big debut ;-)

2009-09-25T05:57:00.000-07:00

Here is the nbc 15 Family First news report on the new Nicki's store that I work at in Madison! You'll see a quick shot of me holding Sean and then Sean's diaper butt :)

VIDEO

Just a bit more info about our Grand Opening for those who are local and would like to come check it out...

Nicki's Diapers is having their Grand Opening Event this weekend- 9/26 & 9/27! There will be free food on Saturday from Crema Cafe and over $1000 in product giveaways throughout the weekend from BumGenius, Ergo, Happy Heiny, Moby, Klean Kanteen, Planet Wise, G-Diapers and more! We are very excited to offer the largest selection of cloth diapers, baby carriers, and breastfeeding supplies in Wisconsin. On Saturday from 11am-12pm we are offering a FREE Cloth Diapering 101 class and from 12pm-1pm we are offering a FREE Babywearing 101 class!

Store hours are Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 12pm-4pm. Extended store hours starting October 1st. For more information visit our website at www.nickisdiapers.com or email us at madison@nickisdiapers.com.

We are located on the west side of Madison at 739 N. High Point Rd in Sauk Point Square (corner of Old Sauk and High Point next to the Alicia Ashman Madison Public Library).

They grow too fast!

2009-09-07T20:32:00.000-07:00

We went up to La Crosse on Sunday and spent the day with Brooklyn and Kristina! It was so great to see "Brooke", as Ian calls her, again! I haven't seen her since the day she was born!! I can't believe how fast the babies are growing! Here they are on the day Brooklyn was born and then here they are on Sunday, 3 months old!

He does his best thinking in the tub.

2009-08-30T19:42:00.000-07:00

Ian's professional opinion of the NFC North division. Yes, he's saying "suck". Don't judge.

3 months old!

2009-08-30T09:55:00.000-07:00

Sean is 3 months old today!

At 3 months old Sean is "talking" to us with cute little coos, smiling ALL the time, pushing up on his elbows when on his belly, rolling from belly to back, nursing every 3 hours, putting himself to sleep when he's put down drowsy, just started sucking his thumb, really enjoying kicking around in the tub, supporting his weight when he "stands" and holds our hands, reaching and grabbing toys hanging in front of his face, and really noticing the world and people all around him!

Sean is a much better sleep at this age than Ian was. He sleeps through the night about 5 out of the 7 nights of the week and on the other 2 or so he'll wake up at 4:45ish to eat and then goes back to sleep till 8ish.

According to the baby scale at work, Sean is just over 14 pounds, so he's put on almost 6 pounds since birth! He's wearing some 3-6 month clothing and some 6-9 month clothing. I'm not sure what diaper size he's in because he hasn't worn a disposable in over a month, but he's outgrown his size small Fuzzi Bunz diapers and is fitting into most of Ian's one-size pocket diapers.

Our little stinker is still refusing a bottle. Not just refusing to drink from it, but all out screaming, crying, pitching an absolute fit, refusing. It's quite frustrating, but we'll keep working on it.

A visit from far away friends!

2009-08-29T19:07:00.001-07:00

We were lucky enough to get to spend time with our friends, Andrew and Kelsey, yesterday. They are in town from San Diego for a wedding and to continue planning their own wedding! Ian warmed up to them so quickly, which for him is pretty rare. He's usually quite shy around new people. He was showing them his truck and all his toys within minutes of them arriving! Kelsey kept him laughing by chasing him all around the house and Ian even asked Andrew for "hugs". It was very sweet. They met Sean for the first time and Sean loved smiling at them!

Thanks for taking time to come down and see us! We look forward to June 12th next year and Ian can't wait to be your ringbearer!

Mow Mow

2009-08-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

Doing what the boy loves the most, and perhaps Dad loves the least...mowing. Gotta do watcha gotta do though.

Tubby Time!

2009-08-20T19:29:00.001-07:00

There's no part of the night than Ian enjoys more than tubby time! Charles gives him a bath everynight but tonight he was wearing Sean in the Moby wrap so I took a turn, and took pictures, of course!

What I wouldn't do for beautiful eyelashes this long and full!

And the tantrum that ensues when it's time to get out!

I forgot...

2009-08-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

...how much easier it is to take pictures of a baby rather than a toddler! So if you think I'm neglecting taking pictures of Ian, I'm not. Sean's pictures turn out like this:

while Ian's pictures turn out like this:

Another conversation with Ian...

2009-08-10T20:00:00.000-07:00

Me: Ian, what happened?

Ian: Bubbles

Me: Where are the bubbles?

Ian: Mouth

Me: Then what happened?

Ian: *gags*

This conversation took place while Ian was in the tub having vomit washed off himself.

STTN!!!

2009-08-07T10:23:00.000-07:00

I feel pretty confident to tell you all now (without jinxing it!) that Sean has been sleeping through the night for over a week now!!! Ahh... sleeeeeeeep!!!!!!

Little House on the Prairie

2009-08-06T19:48:00.000-07:00

Backstory: We move into a house, figure that we need a lawnmower and low and behold, Charles' dad says, hey I have a mower that's never been used, you can have it. Awesome. So we get said mower and Charles does his lawn maintenance. You should also know that Ian LOVES mowers and mowing and anything that resembles a lawnmower. He could watch someone mow their lawn for hours. Since Ian loves it so much, Charles puts Ian in the Ergo and wears him on his back when he mows the lawn. This is probably Ian's favorite thing ever.

Two or three weeks ago, Charles is getting all ready to mow the lawn. I get Ian in his grubby clothes, put a hat on him and bring him out to Charles. I strap him on his back and assume their on their way. 5 minutes later Charles comes in with gas all over his hands. Excellent. Without getting into all the details, it turns out our mower was recalled a few years ago and the part that caused the recall broke on our mower. So we have to order that part.

Current story: Here we are, two or three weeks later and we have the longest lawn in the neighborhood. Every night when I'm putting Ian to bed we talk about what he wants to do the next day. Every night for weeks now, this has been our conversation:

Me: Ian, what do you want to do tomorrow?

Ian: Mow mow, fix.

Me: Yes baby, I know we need to fix the mower. Then you can mow with Daddy.

Ian: Back?

Me: Yes, you can ride on his back.

Ian: Hat?

Me: Yes, you can wear your hat.

What a funny dude. I love his little conversations and I can't wait till he's speaking in full sentances! The great news is that we got the call that the part came in today! Charles will pick it up tomorrow and he'll be mowing on Saturday!

I'm one lucky mama!!

2009-08-04T19:31:00.001-07:00

How gorgeous are these two boys, seriously?!

Packer Training Camp 2009

2009-08-04T12:28:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, August 1st, we made our annual trip up to Green Bay to watch Packer Training Camp! It was the first day of training camp this year AND it was the dedication of the new Ray Nitschke practice field. The drive up was quite eventful with a 2 month old and a 21 month old. After having to stop because Sean was crying, I ended up sitting between the boys in the backseat. We drove up the Sentra to save on gas so let's just say it was a tiny bit cramped. It was a good 3 hour drive and as we were finally getting off on our exit I said to Ian, "Ian, we're finally here in Green Bay to see the..." and he replied with, "TRACTORS!". Ahh yes. We drove 3 hours to see tractors. Right.

There were SO many people at the new practice field. We later read in the paper that there was an estimated 2100 people there for the ceremony and to watch practice! The weather held out and the rain stayed away. It was fairly warm, almost 80, but there was a good breeze. Ian managed to sit in the stands for about an hour to watch pratice before he was done with it. I took the boys walking around the stadium area so Charles could watch a bit more. We ended up leaving practice early and headed to the Lambeau Atrium. We got each of the boys something at the Packer Pro Shop and we got a Lambeau Field ornament for our Christmas tree.

Ian was nappig in the stroller so we headed up to Curly's Pub for lunch. It was cool to watch the players all get into their cars after practice to drive out of the lot. Those are some NICE cars!! Ian woke up and enjoyed the view, then of course tried to mob his brother, as usual!

The drive home was a nightmare. Sean was screaming, Charles was ill, I was stressed to the max. We somehow made it home in one piece. It was definitely worth it though and we'll do it again next year!

My little Cheeseheads!

2009-07-30T17:35:00.001-07:00

Just in time for the start of Packer Training Camp, we had a nice cool day today and I dressed the boys in their fall Packer attire to go to the county fair. Look for LOTS more Packer pictures next week because we're making our annual trek up to Green Bay to watching training camp on Monday. Wish us luck and good weather!

2 Months Old!

2009-07-30T17:30:00.001-07:00

Sean is 2 months old today! Wow, time sure flies when you have two under two! He decided to surprise us just in time for his 2 month birthday and sleep through the night for the first time ever last night! Sean sure has become a smiling man lately. I love his little dimple. Fun fact... Both Ian and Sean have 1 dimple each, but on opposite sides. Ian's is on his left side and Sean's is on his right.

Update Part 2... Ian!

2009-07-21T20:53:00.001-07:00

Ian is now 20 months old, can you believe that?! He's grown into such the little boy, it almost hurts my heart to see how big he is now. He is talking up a storm! I can't even count how many words he has now because it seems like he has 2 or 3 new ones everyday! He's learning his letters and colors as well. He only knows the number "2" though, and thinks anything more than "1" is "2". Adorable.

His favorite things are tractors, trucks, vacuums, lawn mowers or "mow mows", Dora, Nemo, and sadly... The Wiggles. He likes to talk about how "Toto Pete" drives a truck and "Wowo" drives a tractor and mower. He loves riding on Daddy's back in the Ergo carrier when Charles mows the lawn.

He LOVES, LOVES, LOVES his little brother Sean! He loves to point out all his body parts, especially his toes. He also likes to smell his toes! He gives him endless kisses and hugs and always wants to touch his hair. It's just been in the last week or so that he's gone from calling him "baby" to "baby schau" or something sounding kind of like Sean.

Right now though, Ian has croup! Poor guy is so sick. He had a fever peaking at 104 on Saturday night and now he's got a pretty horrible cough. He face is so red and swollen from coughing and crying all the time. We went to the pedi today and they were able to give him some oral steriods to help dilate his airway to help him breathe. Hopefully he'll be on the upswing soon here.

So now you are updated on the life of our firstborn :)

Smile!

2009-07-17T19:03:00.000-07:00

Sean's Birth Story

2009-07-07T17:33:00.000-07:00

We went in on May 30th at 11:30 pm for an induction. We didn't actually get into a room till close to 12:15pm and by the time I was all checked it, it was 1pm. The OB on call came in and went over my birth plan with us and we told her we wanted to avoid any sort of unnecessary interventions if at all possible. I didn't want an IV and if I was able to progress on my own, I didn't want pitocin for sure!

She was on board with everything as long as I was progressing within a reasonable time table. I had really wanted to labor in the tub and my regular OB was totally fine with it, but the OB on call was pretty conservative and wouldn't let anyone in the tub who had ruptured membranes. She said I could either start pitocin and leave my bag in tact or could have my bag ruptured and not go in the tub. So at 1:10pm she broke my water. I was 4 1/2cm dilated at the time.

We walked the halls, I bounced on the birthing ball, watched Charles eat Subway, and just chatted. At about 2:30pm I started having contractions. Within an hour or so, the contractions were picking up and I was starting to have to focus through them more. While walking the halls I'd have to stop and wait for the contraction to finish before continuing.

By 4:30pm they were really getting strong and were about 2 minutes apart. At this point I lost my MP and had a lot of bloody show.

At 5:30pm my contractions were VERY strong and VERY painful and I was using all sorts of methods and positions from the Lamaze method to get through them. Charles was being SO supportive and really helped me through every second of every contraction.

At 6pm I started getting really naseauted and asked to be checked. The resident on call came in a checked me at 6:15pm and I was only 5 1/2 cm dilated, but I was 100% effaced and 0 station. I was seriously so annoyed that I had only progressed 1 cm since we arrived and I was in SOO much pain. At this point I was thinking that I couldn't go much longer without getting some sort of medication.

And then it hit like a rock. I was throwing up with every contraction and seriously in the worst pain I've ever felt in my life. Our amazingly awesome nurse who was so supportive of a natural childbirth started prepping the room for delivery, even though I figured it'd be hours because of how long it took to get to 5 1/2. 30 minutes after I had last been checked I was feeling TONS of pressure and felt like I had to push. The OB came in to check me and it took her about .2 seconds to say "yeah, you're ready".

So at 6:50pm I started pushing. The only way I was actually comfortable was on my side so I did all my pushing on my side. So after 15 minutes of hard pushing and nearly ripping the handle off the hospital bed, Sean Patrick Raymond came out kicking and screaming at 7:05pm. He weighed 8 pounds 5 ounces and was 18 1/2 inches long.

I had a small 2nd degree tear that needed a few stitches but it was taken care of in just a few minutes, nothing like the hour+ it took to sew up the 4th degree tear I had with Ian.

The recovery from this birth has been so much easier. I was up and showering 45 minutes after Sean was born and I've felt pretty great from the beginning. What a blessing!

Bringing you up-to-date, part 1!

2009-07-04T20:46:00.000-07:00

Between moving and having a newborn and toddler, I've had ZERO time to keep up with the blog. So I'll do a few shorters posts to get up to date. First, the update on our new house!

We closed on the house on June 15th and started moving small loads of things from the condo to the house during that week. We also painted the boys rooms during the week. On Father's Day, June 21st, we had our big move. We couldn't have done it without help from all our wonderful family and friends, so for the 100th time, thank you all!

We had our new couch delivered and our new washer and dryer were also delivered. They very well may be one of my favorites parts of the new house! I love having a laundry room in the basement instead of having to deal with the washer and dryer in the kitchen, like it was at the condo. The washer and dryer we chose are HE's, but the washer is a top loader instead of a front loader. They are much better at getting the cloth diapers clean than the front loaders are.

We're getting things unpacked, more slowly than surely, but it's nice to just be here and be able to enjoy our yard this summer! Ian LOVES the fenced in yard and Charles LOVES his new Weber grill he got for Father's Day. We've only used the hot tub once, but I'm sure once we're not spending our free-time or time after the boys go to bed unpacking, we'll make more use of it.

We have a long list of things we have yet to do but as I'm not working right now and staying home with the boys, we'll take those things one at a time when we have some surplus funds. The main things are a new dishwasher, a large area rug or just getting the basement carpeted, removing a tree in the backyard, privacy fence in the backyard and adding a tub in the basement bathroom.

Once we're a little more unpacked, I'll get some pictures up. I'm especially excited to get the boys' rooms finished! They're going to be so cute!

One month old!

2009-07-02T13:48:00.001-07:00

Can you believe Sean is a month old already?! Time sure flies when you're moving with a toddler and a newborn!

For a comparison, here is Ian at one month old.

We bought a house!!!!

2009-06-16T04:40:00.000-07:00

As of about 2:45pm yesterday, we are homeowners!!! We closed on our very first house and couldn't be more thrilled! It's a 3 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath ranch in Janesville with an awesome finished basement, fenced in backyard and a hot tub! Once we get all our things in, I'll post some pictures. We're painting and slowly moving throughout the week, with our big move on Sunday. Very exciting!

Brooklyn is finally here!

2009-06-16T04:37:00.000-07:00

At 6:02am on June 10th, Kristina gave birth to a healthy baby girl! Brooklyn Taylor Neumann was 1 week and 1 day late, but so beautiful! We were lucky enough to be able to go up to La Crosse on the 10th to meet her. Here is Sean and his new baby cousin, 10 days younger than him. Congrats Kristina and Dan!

First time in a cloth diaper!

2009-06-08T17:58:00.001-07:00

Since Sean's cord stump just fell off, we were able to get him into a few cloth diapers today! So far, so good. Here he is in my favorite of his diapers, a Swaddlebees organic velour pocket diaper, size small. Sadly, he'll probably outgrow this diaper in a week or two! He was 8 pounds 11 ounces at the pedi today! Big Boy!

One week ago...

2009-06-06T19:05:00.000-07:00

At exactly 7:05pm, one week ago today, this little guy-

made us a family of four and made this big guy-

a big brother!

Sean Patrick Raymond weighed in at 8 pounds, 5 ounces and measured 18 1/2 inches long. Everyone is home, happy, and adjusting to our new life! Birth story and more pictures to follow...

Welcome to the world, Sierra Eve!!

2009-05-27T07:44:00.000-07:00

Laurenna and Peter welcomed their beautiful baby girl, Sierra Eve, at 11:30pm on Monday, May 25th. She weighed 6lbs 4oz and was 18 1/2 inches long. Neither Charles nor I have any neices or nephews yet, so we are very excited to be her Tito and Tita!!

We have the priviledge of meeting her for the first time last night. Here are some pictures.

36 week appt

2009-05-10T19:07:00.000-07:00

I had my 36 week appt this past Friday. Since my OB is so booked up, I didn't even get to see her, although the OB I saw was very nice. Luckily I have all of my remaining appts scheduled through the end of my pregnancy so I will see her at the rest of my appts.

Everything looks good. Sean's hb was in the 140's and I'm measuring only 1 week ahead. Great news! With Ian I was measuring 4 weeks ahead. Still holding hope for a sub 9-pounder! And although it can mean nothing, I am already 1cm dilated, 50% effaced and at a -3 station.

My next appt is scheduled for this Friday.

Mother's Day, 2009!

2009-05-10T19:00:00.001-07:00

I had a wonderful second Mother's Day today! Charles and Ian showered me with lots of love! I'm so lucky to have such an amazing husband and little boy. Can't wait to share it with Sean next year!

I actually recieved my Mother's Day present last month. It's a custom designed Baby Hawk from babyhawk.com. I love it and it's so comfortable to wear! Ian is about 27 pounds and I can't even tell I'm wearing him! Can't wait to try little Sean in a front carry! Here I am today wearing Ian in the Baby Hawk at 36 1/2 weeks pregnant!

Ian in his Mother's Day shirt. It says "Mom's #1 Fan!"

The Little Things...

2009-05-01T14:17:00.000-07:00

With the birth of our second son, Sean, very quickly approaching, I'm doing my best to enjoy every little moment that I have alone with Ian during the day. I will tell you in all honesty, it's not always easy. I'm 100 times more uncomfortable this pregnancy than I was when I was pregnant with Ian. My energy level is non-existant and chasing around a toddler who has already begun showing signs of the terrible twos can be a challenge.

That's not to say it's always hard. Along with his emerging "stubborn side" comes many new wonderful additions to his personality. He's talking so much more, he says "baby" and kisses my belly, he laughs anytime he sees someone else laughing, he loves to help me vacuum and dust, he finds the greatest amusement in spinning around in cirles then running around bumping into everything, he loves to sit on my lap and read book after book after book, blowing bubbles is the coolest thing ever, really... I could go on and on!

Today before he went down for a nap I took a few pictures because it really captured exactly what everyday is like for us. Here is my funny boy, in nothing but a diaper and his rainboots, riding his truck. Can you tell Fisher Price is our decorator?

Kristina's Baby Shower

2009-04-20T06:40:00.001-07:00

We celebrated the upcoming arrival of Miss Brooklyn Taylor with a baby shower for Kristina on April 4th. The theme was "Under the Sea, The Little Mermaid".

The shoes on top of the diaper cake...

The diaper cake I made for her...
Kristina and her friends from high school...
Ian helping Aunt Kristina open presents...
Ian and his second cousin Jessie...
More presents...
Ian taking back the pink Converse shoes he picked out for Brooklyn...
Poking Tita Elizabeth's eyes out...
Kelly, Kelly and Mo...
The happy parents...
The pregnant girls (Kristina due 6/2, my sister-in-law Laure due 6/3, me due 6/4)

Kristina and Dan's Wedding

2009-04-20T06:29:00.000-07:00

On Monday, April 13th, Kristina and Dan tied the knot! It was a beautiful, yet casual event that we all very much enjoyed! Congrats you two!!

Easter

2009-04-15T18:18:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful and relaxing Easter weekend! Ian is finally old enough to appreciate a good Easter egg hunt, so after church we hid eggs around the farmhouse front yard and Ian had a blast searching for them and putting them in his basket.

We had Easter lunch down at Charles' cousin Kay's house. Ian took a snooze with Lolo while we visited before eating.

And our obligatory family Easter picture.

What a difference from last year!

Busy, busy, busy...

2009-04-02T19:30:00.000-07:00

It's quite obvious (by the lack of posts) that we've been very busy lately, and will only get busier in the next few weeks. Kristina's baby shower is this weekend, Easter is next weekend, Kristina and Dan are getting married on the 13th, then Laureanna's shower in the following weekend. I'll do my best to get some pictures up of those events before May! In the meantime, here is poor Ian tonight. He's running a fever of 102-103 and threw up all over Culver's today. Yuck!!

Hello 3rd Trimester!

2009-03-04T18:41:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow marks the first day of my third trimester, 27 weeks! This pregnancy is FLYING by!

Some new pictures...

2009-03-04T06:24:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I last updated, thanks to a horrible stomach virus that went through all of us over the past 2 weeks. Anyhow, a few recent pictures of Ian...

And the fun continues...

2009-02-19T18:24:00.001-08:00

To add to the already exciting double ear infection Ian has going on, he's now having massive diarrhea (think dripping down both legs, all over carpet, on bed spread, etc.) and he also projectile vomited today. He managed to throw up all over Penny's head, all over his own clothes and mine and then walk through it. Can we please catch a break?

Double Ear Infection

2009-02-17T19:49:00.000-08:00

Poor guy! Ian's first ever ear infection is sure a doozey! I brought him into the pedi's office today after his coughing and runny nose seemed to only get worse over the last 24 hours. At his 15 month appointment last week the doctor said he saw some fluid in Ian's right ear and to keep an eye on him. It's a good thing I brought him in because now BOTH ears are infected. He started a round of antibiotics and should be back to his old self in a few days.

The doctor was pretty impressed that we made it 15 months without a single ear infection and actually gave me a high five. Weird.

24 week appointment today

2009-02-16T19:32:00.001-08:00

Today I had my 24 week OB appointment, even though I am already in my 25th week. Everything checked out fine. Sean is measuring right on track and his heartbeat was strong in the 140's. I'm up 9 pounds from my starting weight. I'd like to stay on that track and be right around where I was with Ian with a 23-25 pound weight gain by the end.

So, nothing too exciting. At my next appointment (28 weeks, already 3rd trimester!) I have my blood glucose test. I passed with flying colors when I was pregnant with Ian, so let's hope for the same this time around.

Cloth Diapering, Part 2

2009-02-16T18:56:00.000-08:00

There are 4 main types of cloth diapers that we use. They are called pockets, fitteds with covers, prefolds with covers and all-in-ones. They majority of our "stash" is made up of pocket diapers, so I will explain those first.

Pocket diapers are basically what they sound like. Diapers that have pockets in them. They have a waterproof outerlayer with a soft (usually microfleece or suedecloth) inner layer that goes next to the baby's skin. There is a pocket between these layers where you stuff insert(s) into that create different levels of absorabancy. We have 4 brands of pocket diapers: Bum Genius 3.0, Fuzzi Bunz, Happy Heiney's and Haute Pockets.

With the exception of the Fuzzi Bunz, all of these diapers are considered a one-size, meaning, in theory, they fit from birth to potty training by using a snap up/down system. In reality, most newborns will not fit into pocket diapers till they are a couple months old, and different brands are sized differently. I've found that the Haute Pockets tend to run more towards the smaller side, while Happy Heiney's seem to run more on the larger side. Bum Genius seem to be right in the middle. The 3 Fuzzi Bunz that we have are a sized diaper, in a size medium. Ian probably won't ever grow out of these, but he only recently started fitting in them.

Pocket diapers are generally very easy for anyone to use and have a very small learning curve. They are fairly easy to care for as well and dry very quickly in the dryer because the inserts are separate. Depending on the brand, a new pocket diaper and insert can run betwee $15 and $23.

Aside from pockets, we often also use prefolds with covers. A prefold is what you think of as "your mother's cloth diapers". They are rectangular in shape and you use one of many folds, along with either pins or a Snappi to put them on the baby. Because they are not waterproof, they have to be covered with a cover. Covers are most commonly made from PUL, fleece and wool.

Prefolds are definetly the cheapest option in cloth diapering, as one prefold will run you between $1.50 and $3. Covers can be used for multiple diaper changes as long as they aren't soiled before changing to a new cover, so you only need a handful. They usually run between $10-$15 each. The covers that we have in our stash are Bummis Super Brites, Swaddlebees ABC snap wraps, Blueberry Minky wraps and many homemade fleece covers.

In our stash, we also have some fitteds with covers. A fitted diaper is a diaper that looks very similar to a disposable diaper, but it is made from a super absorbant fabric like cotton, bamboo or hemp. Fitted diapers are not waterproof and require the same type of cover that a prefold requires. Depending on the brand, fitteds usually run between $15-$35. The fitteds that we have in our stash are Swaddlebees Organic Bamboo Velour fitted, Snugglebottoms and Goodmamas.

Finally, probably the easiest diaper for someone who is new to cloth diapering to use is called an all-in-one. It is exactly what it sounds like, everything you need all-in-one. There is no pinning, covers or stuffing of inserts. The main downfall to these diapers is that the absorbancy isn't easily adjusted and they often take longer to dry. We have 3 Bum Genius Organic all-in-one snap diapers. I love them! AIO's tend to run about $16-$25 each.

A few pictures of Ian wearing different cloth diapers:

This is a Happy Heiney One-Size Snap pocket diaper.
This is a medium Fuzzi Bunz pocket diaper.
Here is Ian wearing a prefold held on by a Snappi (it's hard to see because it's a white one) without a cover on it yet.
Here he is this summer with a Bummis Super Brite cover over a prefold.
This is the first time he ever wore his Goodmama fitted diaper. This is the most expensive diaper we own, coming in at $35, phew!

2/7/08 vs. 2/7/09

2009-02-07T19:38:00.000-08:00

Today was beautiful!! After a pretty wicked winter, we finally got a break and the temps soared into the upper 40's! We ditched the winter coats and spent some time outside! I took a few snapshots of Ian and after uploading them, I went back and looked at some pictures from this exact date, last year. Can you believe how much he's grown?!

February 7th, 2008

February 7th, 2009

No nap!!

2009-02-05T15:34:00.001-08:00

This is what happens when a 15 month old little boy thinks one 45 minute nap is plenty for the day. This picture was taken at 5pm.