Are we there yet?!

We hit the road tonight.  We are heading to Iowa to visit, "Damma & Papa Dyst-a".  And again, the kiddo couldn't be more excited.  He's been talking about it all the time since we told him we were going to their house.  It was so funny this morning...Marc was asking him what he was going to do today and Andrew started listing the usual breakfast, school, etc.. then it was like all of a sudden the light bulb clicked with huge gasp... "Damma & Papa Dyst-a house!".  It was so funny.

 

All morning he kept asking if we were going 'now?'.  Going to see Papa Dystwa now?  So I had to keep telling him we had to get coffee (my last freebie *sniff*), then come home, then go to school, then come home, then a loooong car ride THEN we are there.    I feel bad for my in-laws.  They had a crazy week of travel to and from NY for a conference.  And due to the flooding, it took them 28 hours just to fly home.  And now because of the time change and Andrew being an early riser and his sheer excitement...I have a feeling he is going to want to wake them up first thing each morning.  

 

On an AJ note:  I think the kid is going through a growth spurt.  Y'know how when you've been away from someone a while you notice changes easier than if you see them everyday?  Well, I see AJ everyday and everyday lately I think he grows a chunk. His appetite and sleeping have gone up noticeably in the last day or two as well.  He is in 6-9 mo. jammies and isn't even 3 mo. old yet.  But man, is he a cutie.  This will be he first trip to Iowa.

 

So I've spent the last couple days trying to pack up and get ready for the trip.  It's been pretty busy.  And if I don't write again until we get back sometime Tuesday, have a wonderful Independence Day!

My hubby...

...was getting Andrew ready for bed after a tub.  He grabbed an old Ohio State hand-me-down T-shirt to put on him.  Then, in the true character of my hubby, he had to track down Andrew's Iowa Hawkeye shorts to balance things out.

Spider Dystwa

Andrew's Spider he made at school

(if you could only see how dirty he was in this picture - they played hard outside today)

When I asked what this creature's name was, you can guess what's Andrew's response was.

All drains lead to the ocean...or the ER

My parents came up this weekend. Andrew was so excited that early Saturday morning, he came into our room with the last piece of paper from the chain link saying, “One more all done”. (We kept telling him on Friday that he still had one more night-night, one more wake-up, one more link, etc…).

Dad and Marc spent the morning fishing, so Mom and myself and the boys went for a walk and hit some garage sales in our neighborhood. We got some cool basketball outfits, a big truck book and winter boots for Andrew. Then we picked up an Old McDonald’s lunch on the way to the airport observation area. It was a good busy day. We say lots of planes take off and land. Finally, we hit Meier for a quick stop for a few groceries. Well, the quick stop turned into a full-fledged event as it just happed to be “Kids Daze”. Andrew got to catch his own goldfish, he got stickers and balloons and ice cream. However, if you’ve seen Finding Nemo and know the dentist’s niece, then you know how Andrew treated his new goldfish in it’s water filled plastic bag. That poor fish was ran with, shaken, attempted to be pulled through the holes in the cart, etc… He didn’t have a chance. When we put him in his bowl after got home, he, um, was, um…. belly up. Fortunately, Andrew didn’t form any type of bond and cared less that his 45-minute pet was now in fishy heaven. So a’ flushing we will go.

It’s already way past naptime since our Meijer trip took much longer than we expected. We came home, shortly before the guys got home from fishing and we all took naps. Then for dinner, we got treated to Mongolian BBQ. One of our favorite restaurants! After coming home to feed AJ and change Andrew’s clothes due to spilled water, Andrew, mom and myself headed back out to the playground where Andrew ran and played and swung and was perfectly happy and healthy. We came home for some root beer floats and baths before heading to bed.

Last night, around 1-2am, Andrew woke up crying pretty hard. This is not totally unheard of. Marc went in his room, calmed him down, snuggled him and he went back to bed. Then this morning around 6 when the guys were getting ready to go fishing, Andrew was fussing again. So my dad went up to check on him. He tried to stand Andrew up and he kept falling. This happened 3 times. Dad just thought he was still half asleep and brought him down and stuck him in bed with my mom where he went back to sleep. This morning, when mom and Andrew got up (they let me sleep in a bit), Andrew wouldn’t put any weight on his foot. At first we just thought maybe it was asleep, but after a few hours of my normally busy, running, jumping boy just sitting, wanting carried everywhere and crying when his foot was touched, we decided to take him to the Urgent Care Center.

He did so well and was so brave. Of course, I had to explain numerous times that we had no idea what happened or how he hurt his foot. It was swollen but not bruised. Well, 5 x-rays later, they couldn’t find a break or anything obviously wrong, so I expected them to send us home telling us to ice it, keep Motrin in him, etc…. No, they told us they wanted us to go to the ER to have a pediatric radiologist check it out. Of course, my hubby (whose cell phone is like a fifth limb) doesn’t have his phone on him and has no idea that we are not at church.

We pack up and head to the hospital where he got a complete work over. And hours later we were sent home with no new news. Just keep Motrin in him and watch for redness and fever. Hmmm… bizarre.

By now it’s way past lunchtime and naptime. We gave him a quick peanut butter sandwich and put him in bed for almost a 3-hour nap. We order pizza since it was so late in the day and we were all starving. Then we all crashed too for a good while.

The good news is that after his nap, he started to slowly put a little pressure on his foot. He crawled around the house for a while, then limped pretty heavily, then walked gingerly on it. Finally, late this evening, he was walking fine on it with no notable limp. He still didn’t do any running on it, but at least it was better and I am pretty comfortable sending him to daycare tomorrow. I am so thankful he is feeling better, but so baffled by his mysterious injury. Maybe he kicked the wall, or maybe he fell out of bed. No idea. Too weird. But he did so good considering his foot hurt, he was hungry, he was tired, we had long waits in tiny rooms, etc… Well, with two boys this may not be my last trip to ER, but I thankful it wasn’t something serious.

And that is a large nutshell was our weekend. Hope yours was adventurous, too.

Chain Gang

Grandma & Papa Huffer are coming up tonight for a visit.  And Andrew has been so stinkin' excited this week.  However, he is having trouble grasping waiting until Saturday to see them (they are coming in late tonight after his bedtime).   He asks everyday if they are home (at our house), yet.  So, I made a chain with paper links to hang in his room.  And each night before bed, he gets to tear one off.  When he tears the last one off and goes to bed, Grandma and Papa will be there when he wakes up.  I think this is helping him...I think.  However, everyday at least once, he will take me to his room and ask to pull a link off.  I tell him we are only pulling a link off before night-night time.  So then he'll crawl in bed right then and there and say, "Night-Night".

Boobs and Babies

My accomplishment of the day: Obtaining a key from security to the hospital lactation room. 

 

You see, now that I am back at work, I need to excuse myself once a day to pump.  This is about a 15-20 minute process.  However, each day I would have to call security for them to meet me at the room and open it for me.  However, almost everyday, it was me waiting at the room for them to show up... sometimes 5-10 minutes.  I even had to go back to my floor and call again a couple times.  I even tried to call ahead and give them advance notice, such as, "I will be there in 15 minutes".  No dice.  So now my 15-20 minute process was at least a half hour each day.  I only work a little about 4.25 hours a day.  And one hour is covering phones, so that leaves about 3 hours to do all my work.  So a half hour is a good chunk of my time, when I'm already pressed to get in my 15-20 minutes.

 

But alas, as promised (a couple days late, but that's ok), I have my very own key.  I am pretty sure that I am the only one using the room anyway.    And I don't have to face the male security guards who, literally, unlock the door and run...as if they just might catch a glimpse of something that would scar them for life.  (Even though the room has plenty of privacy curtains). 

 

Yes, it still may be tricky to sneak away for my 15-20 minutes on some days, but at least that's hopefully all it will be.

 

On a related note: I had my infant room orientation (for lack of better term) at the daycare today.  I got my mountain of paperwork to fill out and the run down on how things work and a tour of the infant rooms, etc...   I am still really really pleased with this daycare.  If I must work (and for now, I must), I couldn't find a better facility to put my kids in.  Maybe I am putting the cart before the horse, by raving before AJ's actually been in the program, but I was just impressed again by this daycare.  Of course, I better be... we are paying an arm and leg.  But I guess that is better than sending my boys to the cheapest place we can find.  Side note:  I was given a lot of info today regarding the infant program but one fact that stuck with me as impressive...  They can evacuate in less than 2 minutes (including some cribs, formula, diapers, and other such necessities to take care of the babies until they can be picked up).  Hopefully they will never have to prove it to me.

 

Ok, speaking of my AJ makes me miss my boys.  And it's time to go see them.  Yea!

Hmmm... he's been listening to the dad.

While the guys were gone on one of their Lowe’s trip….  I was upstairs putting the boys clothes away when Andrew starts looking for me.  All I hear is, “Hun-eee, where are you?  Hun-eee?   Hun-eee?  Where are you, Hun-eee?”

Five minute turned into five hours

For a while now our kitchen faucet has been pretty bad.  Leaky, spray-ey, etc…  to the point where we had duct tape on the sprayer.  Well, finally today Marc went out and bought a new sprayer.   There was much more that needed fixed, but at least for $15 we could get rid of the duct tape.  But because of how the sink was set up underneath, there was no way we could remove the old sprayer.  Trust me, we tried.   We ended up cutting the old tube that carries the water.  Which means, the only way we can fix it, is to take the entire faucet apart.  So, what do we do…. call our friend, Andy who knows more about it than we do.    We figure, we have to take the whole thing apart anyway…. maybe we should replace the whole thing.   Well, Andy and Marc head to Lowe’s and bring back a cool faucet.  However, it was the wrong finish.  Our sink is a matte finish and this was a super shiny…. So back to Lowes they go for this one. All this time, I am giving the boys baths and trying to get them down to bed.  While trying to clean up the kitchen, I accidentally dumped Andy’s 92-piece wrench set.   So, for the next hour I strained my eyes reading itty-bitty fractions to put all his pieces back into his case.   Anyway, I got the kids to bed, his tools back together, and folded clothes and they are still in the kitchen working on it.  I have to give them credit.  They have really run into some roadblocks and so far are still working hard at it with minimal swearing.  I am really excited about it, though.  It will look really nice and will be so much better than what we had…  I just don’t think I am going to miss that duct tape.

The Top Ten Things You Don't Want Hear on Father's Day

10. Time for scrapbooking!
09. Guess where I hid the remote.
08. Hey, Honey, the airbags in your car really work!
07. They were out of your favorite brand. So I bought this non-alcoholic beer instead.
06. Good news: Lifetime and Oxygen are both running movie marathons tonight. You pick.
05. Look how cute, the kids made you a “#2 Dad” mug
04. Your mom’s moving in with us
03. My mom’s moving in with us
02. Let’s just cuddle tonight.

And the Number One thing you don't want to hear on Father's Day...

01. Guess what? I’m pregnant again…with TRIPLETS!

(Courtesy of American Greetings)

We made it.

Last night was somewhat rough.  As I half expected, AJ decided that an early 8pm bedtime meant it was time to be bright eye and ready to go at 2am.   So between feeding and changing and rocking, I was able to get him back to sleep an hour later.  Since I was up, I checked on Andrew…who was completely upside down in bed and near the edge.  I moved him back around so he wouldn’t fall out just to realize that he was soaked waist down.  I just cannot keep that boy dry at night.  This is a daily occurrence.   So I lift him onto the floor and change him and lift him back into bed.  He never woke up.  In fact, while I was disposing of his wet items, he rolled over, curled up and seemingly snuggled up to the floor.  Talk about a heavy sleeper.

Anyway, during all this, I was thinking to myself that we just might be skipping church this morning.  After little sleep, and trying to get both boys up and out, at 3am it seemed like too much of a challenge.   However, come 7:30am, we were all up…so why not.  We even were ready in time for me to grab my coffee on the way.  

However, on the way to church, it dawns on me that I completely forgot to change Andrew’s shirt.  He was still wearing the one he slept in.  It was old, with faded screenprint, discolored around the neck from past stains and even a little hole in the back.  That’s why he only sleeps in it.  I even considered hitting the Meijer near church quick to buy him a nicer shirt, but we would have been really late.   So I sent him as he was.  Tattered shirt and all.

Church was good, although it was tricky juggling Andrew, the diaper bag, the car seat, and my coffee.   Andrew did great in his class.  And I had my usual Sunday service…  in for praise and worship before and after the sermon and out in the hall walking/feeding/changing a baby during the service.  But all in all, it went just fine and I am glad we made it.

Now, after lunch of chicken nuggets and cheese sandwiches, both boys are down for naps.  I should be to, but I am working on laundry and I want to read the paper.  Although, I guess they both could wait.   Hmmm… I think my bed is calling my name.  

Happy Father's Day

Tub Time

Jumping on Bubble Wrap

Peek A Boo

Will my nosehair recover?

It’s 9:40 and both boys are in bed (not necessarily asleep – Andrew’s been up several times).  But get this, AJ’s been in bed since 8:00.  What?!  That’s actually makes me more nervous than happy.  I’m almost hoping he wakes up soon, so I that he won’t wake up ready to go in the middle of the night.  But right now, it’s nice to have a quiet house so early.

Tonight for dinner, I treated Andrew to a trip to McDonald’s.  I love their dollar menu…we can eat for little cash.  And again, Andrew ate a double cheeseburger and some fries.   Toward the end of the dinner, AJ started to get fussy.  I went to get him out of his car seat and realized that he had a blowout through his diaper, through his onesie and in his car seat.  At that point, we were almost done eating and even though I had another diaper and outfit with me…this was just too much and since we weren’t far from home, we just packed up and headed in that direction.

But as soon as I walked in the house, I smelled something horrible.  Something hot or even burning.  It was strong.   I set AJ down, tell Andrew to stay in the kitchen and ran to basement thinking I should have grabbed our fire extinguisher on the way down it smelled so bad.  I had started the dryer before I left, so that ran through my mind first.  Not the dryer.  I checked the sump pump…nope.   I ran back up and made sure there was no gas running from the stove and even tested our carbon monoxide detector.  (yes, I know carbon monoxide has no smell, but I was at a loss).  I then checked every room I the house trying to figure out what was burning.  I even checked the windows.  It was so hot today that I thought possibly maybe somehow the sun got magnified (by a toy, glass, etc…) and melted something.  Nope.  Finally, I open the dishwasher (I also started that before I left).   As soon as I opened the door, the smell about knocked me over. Um… yea, a bottle lid fell to the bottom and totally melted into a plastic puddle.  I got it cleaned up and I was thankful that all it was.

But now, I still had a blowout to clean up.  Ahh, motherhood.   I got AJ cleaned up, then I got Andrew in the tub and he got to watch a Thomas the Tank movie before bed while drinking a “black cow” (2/3rds milk & 1/3rd root beer).  I finished emptying the dishwasher, got a shower myself & snuck a snack once the boys went down.  I still need to get things together for tomorrow (going to be tricky getting us all up and out for church tomorrow).  

I heard from Marc not too long ago and he is having a good time and the fishing is good.  He is missed but will be home tomorrow evening.  Happy Father’s Day!

If only everyday were Saturday.

It’s been confirmed.  All the sleeping genes went to our youngest son.  Last night, again, he went down at 10pm, got up at 3am & 6am for mere minutes and finally woke up this morning at 8:30.  By that time, I already had breakfast going, vacuuming & mopping of the kitchen done.    Then, he took a nice long nap the same time as his brother.  You know what that means?!  I got to take a nice long nap, too.  (Although I had weird dreams, but that is beside the point).    He also slept off and on this morning as well.

Well, once AJ got up and I got everyone fed, changed, dressed, etc…  we did run out and get my coffee and we did, in fact, hit the sales.   It really wasn’t bad at all.  Not too crowded, not too hot (yet…it’s over 90 now), and not too big that we were there forever.  We got it all covered in less than an hour.  I took the stroller, so AJ could ride and Andrew walk half the time and the other half, AJ slept in my wrap and Andrew rode.  It actually worked out nicely.    I didn’t find much.  But I did get 3 shorts and 1 hat for Andrew ($3.50).  That was the extent of my purchases.  But I guess since shorts are what I was looking for, I call it a success.

We came home, ate leftover pizza for lunch and had our naps.  Now we are just hanging out (too hot to go outside right now).  I need to clean for a bit today yet.    Then maybe we will be able to head back outside later tonight once it cools a bit.  I see at least some root beer floats in our future.

Flying High

Well, we aren’t going to the airport tomorrow morning… that’s because we went tonight.  Once I got home and AJ woke from his nap and was fed, we hit Little Caesar’s for their $5 pizza.  We took it to the airport and ate our dinner there.  We did see a few take off and land, but overall…it was a slow go.   We then hit Meijer for a little grocery shopping.  

Since it was so hot, and I am doing the mom thing by myself this weekend, I thought a margarita sounded wonderful once the boys went to bed.  Well, I am not one to drink and tell, but I have to give props (I feel so gansta just writing that) to this margarita recipe.  It was unbelievable…and one was plenty enough.  

So, tomorrow I am not sure what we are going to do.  There is a huge church nearby that is having a HUGE garage sale.  They rent out their parking lot and each spot is like a separate garage sale.  Talk about efficient.  It’s the one I look forward to each summer.  I didn’t realize it was this weekend until this afternoon.  However, I am just not sure I can do it with both boys.  Well, I can…but not sure it would be worth it.  Especially if it is as hot as today.  But of course, we will have to get up and out and get my coffee.  I only have until the end of the month to use up the rest of my cards and I haven’t been going now that I am back to work.  So we’ll just see how adventurous I feel once I get my grande skinny Carmel Marvel in me, to see if we hit the sales or not.

Ok, I am heading to bed.  ‘Night

The boys are "Shiny & Clean, Shiny & Clean" (from a Thomas the Tank show)

In case anyone was concerned, I did make sure my boys got baths last night. Marc took Andrew and I took AJ. However, while I was down at the kitchen sink with AJ, I could hear Marc and Andrew up in the bathroom. I am not sure who was louder or who was having more fun. I don't know what was going on, but there was a lot of laughing and it sounded like a splash party was in the works.

Ok, I was dying this morning on the way to work. I've determined that I have turned into a garage sale junkie. Not so much that I buy a lot of stuff and I feel I do pretty good at not buying 'junk'. However, I love just going to them and browsing. Around here most garage sales start on Friday. So this morning, on my drive in, I passed maybe 50 (no joke) garage sale signs. Auuugh! And I doubt I will head out tomorrow because I have both kiddos since Marc is gone. Unless of course, I find an efficient set of sales, like a block sale or church sale or the like. Maybe I'll check the paper. My latest quest is shorts for Andrew. (although we should keep him in jeans just for the protection is gives his poor knees.)

Well, it's Friday and so far (knock on wood) today hasn't been as horribly busy as it could have been. I am thankful for that. And now that I am back in the working world again, I can say....YEA, IT'S FRIDAY!! Weekend, here I come.

I'm a Dystwa, You're a Dystwa, Dystwas we are all. And when we get together, we do the Dystwa call.

Andrew now knows his last name. There is another Andrew in his daycare class, so they call him Andrew Dykstra vs. just Andrew. So now if you ask him what his name is, it is Andwoo Dystwa. So, today we were asking him what his name was, then we asked him what Marc’s name was…Dada Dystwa. And you guessed it, I am Mama Dystwa. And of course we have Baby AJ Dystwa, too. A whole Dystwa famiwee.

And get this. Last night that Baby AJ Dystwa went to bed at 10pm. Then only got up around 2am and again around 6am this morning!! Then he slept until 7:30am. And each of those “wake-ups” were mere minutes. I love that little punkin butt.

(my spell check loved this post)

Fun with Mommy's Wrap

Faces

Working Mommy = Messy House

Girls Night Out:  Great Dinner, Great Company, Bad Movie.   But even with the bad movie, it was still a great evening.  One that we need to instill on a regular basis.  And not of us got a call on our cell phone from a desperate husband looking for relief.  It was very enjoyable.

 

Other than that, I have been working.  The kiddos & hubby are doing just fine.  The house is suffering a bit (along with my kids hygiene), but hey…it’s my first week back.  Gimme a break…baths are on the agenda for tonight.

 

This weekend is Father’s Day.  So, for Father’s Day, Marc and his buddy are heading to Point Blanc Island for a weekend of roughing it.  Which leaves me as a single parent for a few days.  I have a TON to do around the house (see above paragraph), but we may have to have a little fun Saturday morning.   I am thinking...get my coffee, grab some breakfast (either from home, or out) and hit the airport.  Andrew has been asking all week to go.  We may also hit the big playground too, but maybe we will save that for Sunday.  Tomorrow, I am not planning much, as I am expecting work to be crazy busy and therefore, I will probably be pooped when I get home.  Other than maybe a walk around our block, we will probably just hang out at home.   So, if I don't get a chance to write tomorrow, have a great weekend. 

 

Night out

I won, I won.  I won an item off e-bay.  The funny thing is that I am so excited about it.  Especially considering what it is.  Extra Storage adapters for my bottling system.  Nothing exciting.  However, I did get a good deal, since I got two sets for a total of $15 (including S&H), when 1 set usually runs that much.  I just wish I had them now.  I really could have used them last night and today since I am now 'pumping' at work.  Plus I had to have extra on hand for tonight since....

 

I AM HAVING A GIRLS NIGHT OUT TONIGHT!  

 

Two of my girlfriends and myself are leaving the kids with our hubbies and going out to dinner and a movie!   I couldn't care where we eat or what we watch, I am so looking forward to it!  By the way, we are eating at Olive Garden and watching The Breakup.    Which means that Marc will have both boys for a good stretch of time.  Pray for him. 

 

Side note:  AJ has been accepted in the hospital daycare and will start July 10th.  So we won't have to do the sitter at home AND daycare thing much longer. 

She's baaa-aaack...

Well, today was my first day back to work.  And let me tell you… there was no easing back into the swing of things.  Holy Cow.  It was a super busy day.  There was no catching up, no causal chit chat, no bragging about my new baby… just work, work, work, walk, walk, walk.  Man, I didn’t have time to empty my overflowing mailbox or inbox.   Barely had time to check my voicemail.  I especially had to run in order to fit ‘pumping’ in.  At this rate, my baby weight will be off my Friday. (although I must admit, it was much easier without being pregnant)

The boys did well today.  However, Andrew is now at the point where he knows the daycare schedule without being told what’s next.  So, when I picked him at four (right before playground time), he started bawling as soon as he saw me.  Not a tantrum, but a you-broke-my-heart-I-have-been-looking-forward-to-playground-time-all-my-life.  I almost felt a little guilty.   He did recover very soon, especially once we got back on the shuttle, and the bus driver gave him precious candy.  In fact, Andrew had his first experience with Skittles today.  He was a sticky but happy mess.

AJ was an angel baby.  And our sitter is a doll.  She is so great.  I just wish she were available to babysit more often.  AJ got to go on a walk and took a bottle pretty well.  AND, our sitter put him down in his bassinet awake, and he put himself to sleep and napped for 2.5 hours!    

So now, both boys are sleeping.  Marc is working on laundry, and I just finished paying bills. Nothing to exciting.  But to sum it up, today went fine (I’m not dreading tomorrow, though, I’m not jumping for joy at the thought either).  Hoping tomorrow is a little slower.

Um...Sweetie, I don't have one.

We are slowly in the process of trying to potty train Andrew.  While I was using the restroom yesterday, he walked in on me and told me, “Push it down, mama.”

Trouble in the Making

Bye Bye....SAHM.

*sniff*  

This is my last weekday off work before my maternity leave ends.   And I am bummed about it.   I really don’t have a big problem going back to work and I know that, for now, I need to… but man; I have loved being off with the boys.   And it’s not like I work 12-hour days or anything.  It’s only a part time, 20-22 hour (most of the time, sometimes it’s much more) week job.  No stress.  

However, my shift is from 12-4pm…  Right in the middle of the day.  So, by the time I get us all fed breakfast and ready for the day…. it doesn’t leave much time before we must leave to get kiddos with the daycare/sitter and myself off to work.   And again in the evening, by the time I will have picked up the kiddos and home, it will be time to start thinking about dinner.  

I really can’t (or shouldn’t) complain, but it still feels like the whole day is gone, even though I only work 4 hours.  It still makes it hard to keep up with all the housework and it still makes it hard to get in all the playing/fun/trips to the zoo, beach, museum, etc… in that I would love to do…especially during these summer months.

So this morning, we got up and went to get my coffee and a chai tea for Kari before heading over to her house.  I needed a lesson and parts to use the breast pumps at work.  We visit there before a quick stop at Target before lunch.  This morning, Andrew asked for an Old McDonald Wunch (lunch).   He never asks, and since this is my last day being able to spoil him in that sense, we stopped and got an Old McDonald Wunch.  We brought it home and he ate an entire plain double cheeseburger and ½ a medium fry.  Wowsers.  That’s as much as me!   Now he and his brother as napping.  Nice.

The positive note I keep telling myself about going back to work, is that I walk a ton.  That is a big reason why I think AJ showed up early.  And hopefully this will help me take the rest of this baby weight off.   Skinny butt jeans… here I come.

Not exactly Dr. Seuss, but it'll work.

New Stats: AJ

It’s already been two months since I woke up one morning with mild discomfort.  It’s already been two months since it progressed quickly to the point I thought my body was going to split in two.  It’s already been two months since my littlest one made his way into this world.  It’s already been two months since my Andrew became a big brother.  

And my AJ has grown.  

His new stats are: Height – 23 inches, Weight – 12lbs, 1oz, Head Circumference – 15.5 inches.  And he has incredibly strong neck muscles.  His pediatrician was blown away by his neck strength.   She also confirmed that he has an “angel kiss” on his eyes.  My understanding is that this is the equivalent of Andrew’s “stork bite” on the back his neck.  Both are birthmarks that are hardly noticeable but show up when mad, flushed, etc…   This explains why when AJ cries, his eyes don’t just get regular red from crying but look beet red, like we’ve let him cry for days on end.  

Speaking of crying, the poor kid also had to get 3 shots in his little legs.  So he’s sporting Daffy Duck band-aids on his thighs.  He had his first dose of Tylenol as well.  So since then, he’s been zonked.   Actually, it’s been kind of nice.   Andrew is down for his nap, AJ is sleeping, so I paid bills and now I am actually am typing with two hands and eating lunch in peace.  Well, I am going to take advantage of this time to look into the local Children’s Museum.  I would like to take Andrew before I go back to work and won’t have the opportunity.  Doesn’t that sound fun?!

New Hat

No more tupperware firehat.

Sleeping Boy = Happy Baby

Home on the Range

So, we are all home safe and sound. It was a nice week in Ohio. Andrew got spoiled, AJ got spoiled, and I got spoiled.

But now we are home, and I am exhausted. But I wanted to post something since it’s been a while.

We got home on Thursday evening. Friday morning, I realize we have no food in the house. At least no milk, juice, bread, or anything to feed the boy a breakfast. I need to go get my free coffee, so I decide we’ll just grab a muffin and eat breakfast before getting groceries. Well, we pass Krispy Kreme on the way to the coffee shop, so we stop in and come to find out that it was National Donut Day and they gave us each a free donut. Nice. We got our donuts, my coffee and a muffin to split and head to the airport observation area to eat breakfast before heading to Meijer.

Marc got home from his trip later that afternoon. And he showed up with a dozen roses. Ain’t he a sweetie! We spent the rest of the evening just lounging around, enjoying that fact that we were all home again.

This morning I got an early wake up call from my friend asking if I wanted to go garage sale-ing with her. Um…yeah! So I hop up, get somewhat ready, run and get free coffees for us, get AJ ready (Andrew stayed home with dad) and we headed out. We hit a major neighborhood sale, so it was hours of walking with AJ in my wrap. On a side note, I was a little hesitant about wearing the wrap around thinking I would get weird looks, but I got so many comments on how great it was, how they’ve never seen one like that, how perfect it fit, etc. Most were surprised when I mentioned it was just a piece of long fabric. Literally, someone commented on it at almost every sale. However, I did get one rude lady ask me if I was suffocating my baby. “Yea, lady…I don’t bother to make sure he can breathe.” But he was all snuggled up and slept pretty much the whole time. Anyway, I got a lot of good stuff. A hat, sunglasses, and new-in-package curling brush for me. Then for Andrew, I got 36 matchbox cars with case, 4 veggie tales videos, 1 Thomas video, a fireman hat and a winter coat. All this for less than a Jackson. However after 5 hours of walking with a baby strapped on (and two nights of horrible sleep – AJ had issues), I am exhausted.

We had the Dresslers over for dinner of grilled steak. Marc got a new “recipe” and it was wonderful. Now they are gone, both boys are finally down and I am getting ready to head to bed myself. I wish, I truly wish, that I had been on top of blogging this past week, as Andrew has said some of the cutest things, but do you think I can think of any of them now? I even remember thinking… “I need to post that”. Bummer.