September pictures

http://picasaweb.google.com/raineyandaden/September2009#

It's a new day!

Everyone is doing much better. Chip is back to work. Bless his heart, he took a lot of Imodium AD yesterday but made it through the day. As for Rainey, he doesn't have a fever but has two more teeth.

Rainey had "Donuts with Dad" this morning at MDO. From reports, he was a bit cranky but glad to get to his classroom. I get to pick him up in two and a half more hours. I better get some rest.

Aden, he is such a sweetheart! He is starting to coo and smile and is just a wiggle worm. Not quite sleeping through the night, but I know we'll get there at some point.

What a Monday!!

Chip has been sick all weekend. He has had diarrhea and vomiting since Saturday night. I dropped Rainey off at MDO this morning and took Chip to Urgent Care. What a waste of our $45 copay. They can't do anything there....no blood work, x-rays or IV. Based on their "physical exam" of Chip, he has severe dehydration - DUH!! I could have told you that. Anyway, they sent us to the ER. Luckily, I have a friend who is a PA at the ER and they got him right into a room. There were about 15 patients there with flu-like symptoms so I left with Aden as we don't need him to get sick. They have pumped Chip full with fluids and took x-rays and blood work. Hopefully, he can come home soon.

Just as I got home from dropping Chip off, MDO called and said Rainey has a fever of 101 (Chip did not have a fever). I loaded Aden back up and off to pick up Rainey. He felt okay when I got there and showed no other signs of being sick. I checked his temp when we got home. It was 100. He was eating, running around and acting just fine. Did I mention he cut a tooth this morning and has another one coming in? I bet that is why his temp is a little high. Oh, the pediatric dentist told me last week he wouldn't get any more teeth in for a while...not the case. I gave him Tylenol and laid him down for a nap. A few minutes later, he woke up crying with his fingers in his mouth. I laid him on the bed with me and he went back to sleep (the picture below).

Aden and I are feeling great and hope to stay that way. Aden took a nap in his crib for the first time this afternoon. He is sleeping about 5 hours a night so I think we are going to migrate to the crib. We'll work on that this week.

Nature Fest

The family went to Nature Fest this weekend. It was a small festival at a nearby neighborhood community. Rainey rode a pony and played in the petting zoo. It was so hot!!

Stomping Grounds

I tried taking Rainey and Aden to a new place called "Stomping Grounds". It is an indoor playscape with a toddler area, 3+ area, cafe and comfy chairs. Well, we lasted about 15 minutes. Rainey missed his morning nap, thus he was a little cranky, and was adamant about going to the "big kids" area. See what happened in the car on the way home (2nd picture). He feel asleep with his hand in his goldfish bag :) Sorry the picture is blurry....I was trying to take it while driving.

First painting

Here's is Rainey's first painting. I took it out of his school bag and put it on the refrigerator while he was playing. When he saw it up there, he ran straight for it and started saying "ruff ruff". He can't say dog yet but he can make the noise :)



Here's a copy of our first newsletter for Mother's Day Out. Rainey is a "seahorse" playing outside with his other classmates.

Aunt T

Aunt T is leaving today. She has been with us for two weeks to help with all the doctor's appointments, cooking and cleaning. What am I going to do! Between her and Oma, I have had the best help the past two months.

THANK YOU Aunt T for all you have done. Come back any time :)

Aden's 6 week check-up

Aden had his 6 week check-up yesterday. The doctor said he looks great. He is one ounce shy of eleven pounds...which means he has gained almost five pounds since birth. Wow! Even though he is only eating five minutes a feeding, he is still gaining weight. The doctor does not think he is colicky. Because I am producing so much milk and it is coming out fast, she thinks he is only getting the "sugar" milk which is not enough to sustain him for more than 2 hours at a time. She gave me some things to do that should help. And now that all of our doctor's appointments are finished, I should be able to relax a little more next week and see if I can get him to eat longer, which means he will get the "hind" milk that will keep him full and give him the nutrients he needs. With all that being said, he slept from 8pm to 1 am last night, and then until 5:30 am. I'm not complaining! I feel refreshed this morning.



6 week stats:


Height: 22 1/8 inches
Weight: 10 lbs 15 ozs
Head: 37 1/2 cm

More weekend pics

Aunt T with Aden all stretched out on her lap

I thought tummy time was to help build neck muscles, not sleep :)

Eating a popsicle in the front yard with Opa

Waiting to feed the ducks....check out the video below

Family pictures

Oma and Opa came over the weekend to visit while Aunt T (Tanja) was in town. Here are a few family pics we took. Boy, it sure is hard to get everyone to look in the same direction at the same time :)

Colicky?

I was beginning to wonder if Aden is colicky. After running into a mom friend today at the mall, I am almost reassured he is not. She has a 7 month old and a 2 1/2 year old. Aden is acting just like her 7 month old when he was Aden's age. Aden doesn't eat very long (5 minutes one side every 1 1/2-2 hours) and is fussy if not being held or moving. She said her 7 month old could have stayed another 6 months in her womb because he likes being close to her and cuddled. Same with Aden.

Too much stimulation?? That makes sense. Aden eats longer when Rainey is at MDO or at night when Rainey's sleeping. When he eats longer, he sleeps longer and doesn't need to be held as much. He is getting better as time goes by.

Aden has is 6 week check-up tomorrow. I'll post an update afterwards.

Pictures

Aden enjoying his sling

Aden's baby dedication at Church

Aunt Amy and Aden

Group hug with Mommy, Rainey and Gunner

Yes, we have a blanket wrapped around Gunner's neck like a cape:)

Wants to sit in a big chair now when he eats...we may be going to booster seats now

Rainey trying to give Aden his pacifier since he's crying - how sweet!

Playtime at the mall

This is a slide; however, Rainey walked up the slide and is going down the front

Busy weekend/week

Okay, so I got in trouble for not posting on the blog in over a week. Sorry for everyone who follows....the babies and I have been under the weather and it's been a long week. Here's a quick recap of our weekend/week.

Aunt T (my sister Tanja) flew in last Thursday to stay/help me for two weeks. Luck for her, all of our doctors' appointments are scheduled during this time, so she will be busy :)

Aunt Amy and Uncle Lee (Chip's sister and brother-in-law) flew in last Friday night to visit over the weekend. It was a short trip but we had a great time visiting. We'll see them again at Christmas!!

Sunday, we dedicated Aden at our church. He was wide awake when we got there but when the music started playing, he went right to sleep. Paster Jerry picked this verse for Aden:

"From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother's womb you have been my God."

Psalm 22:10

At the beginning of the week, Rainey came down with a runny nose, Aden was having congestion, and I started losing my voice. We called the pediatrician's office for Aden and because he is so young, there isn't much you can do. I started using saline drops and suction on his nose and a humidifier when he sleeps. Rainey had his 18 month check-up yesterday and looks great. He is on Zyrtec for his runny nose. He also got the flu shot for the season. The doctor also checked Aden while we were there. His ears and chest look/sound great. Just some congestion which will clear up in time. He goes back next week for his 6 week check-up. He is growing like a weed! Everyone is doing much better today.

Here are Rainey's stats from his 18 month check-up:

Height: 33 1/4 (75-90%) grew 1 1/4 inches since 12 month check-up
Weight: 25 lbs (25-50%) gained 1 lb 7 ozs since 12 month check-up
Head circumference: 20 in. (>97%) grew 3/8 in. since 12 month check-up

I'm going to post pictures on the next entry.

Home from MDO

First day of Mother's Day Out went really well. Ms. Nina and Ms. Gaby said Rainey was the first one to fall asleep during nap time (mind you he usually naps at 10:30 am, and they don't nap until 11:45 am). He was also the first one to get up and while everyone else slept, he read books. He didn't eat much lunch, to be expected, but is snacking now. What a good day!

Mother's Day Out

Today is Rainey's first date of Mother's Day Out at our church. He will be going on Mondays and Wednesdays. It went much smoother than I expected. I carried Aden in one had with two of Rainey's bags, and held Rainey's hand with my other hand. He carried his nap mat from the parking lot all the way to his classroom like a big boy!!

I was the one with separation anxiety after I dropped him off. He was so busy looking at all the other kids coming into his room that he didn't notice me leaving. He should be down for a nap right now. I pick him up in two hours!!

My friend Natalie had a really great idea (actually it was her husband's). They take a picture of their kids on the first day of school and then on the last day of school, then compare them to see how much they have grown. I am definitely going to do that!

Sitting next to his nap mat, lunch bag and school bag.

Pulled out his sippy cup from lunch bag.

Ready to leave with his nap mat.

Bathtime

Now that Aden's umbilical cord has fallen off, we are able to give him a real bath (not a sponge bath). He enjoys this much better. He is sucking the water off his hands in the below pictures.

Weekend

We had a pretty relaxing family weekend, even though Chip had to work. Chip grilled steaks and chicken on Saturday. We walked for 3 miles Monday morning (Chip ran) and then we went to Chick-fil-a for free sandwiches at lunch as long as you wore your favorite team colors. That place was packed! Rainey was too busy watching everyone that he hardly ate anything. That's not like him at all.

Rainey learning to feed the dogs.

New jogging stroller - it is awesome! Great shocks!!

Rainey sitting with me in the recliner while I feed Aden.


Watching TV in bedroom while I feed Aden in the glider.

So sweet!

Wonder if he's dreaming about being Superman!

August pictures

Feel free to view all of our pictures for August.

http://picasaweb.google.com/raineyandaden/August2009#

Meet the Teacher

Rainey starts Mother's Day Out next Wednesday. He will be going to our church day care program twice a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays. We had parent orientation this past Sunday and today we went to Meet the Teacher. Ms. Nita and Ms. Gaby are very nice. There are eight kiddos in his class. He is very familiar with the room, since it is the same one he goes to for church day care on Sundays. He didn't want to leave when the meeting was over (that's a good sign). Afterwards, we had lunch with Daddy at Chick-fil-a. Yummy!!

Before our meeting this morning, Rainey had a little fall. While playing in the computer room, he fell into the table and scratched the side of his face. No blood but it looks like it hurts. He cried for a few minutes and was back to playing. Touch guy!!

Argh the Pirate!!

We went to the open house of Fast Twitch, a new gym in our area. Rainey had his first face painting experience. We asked for something simple on his cheek and this is what we got. Oh well, I love it.

THANKS OMA!!

Opa returned this past weekend to take Oma home. She was with us for over a month, helping with Rainey. Of course, when we thought Aden was going to be early, she came right over to help. He fooled us and waited a few more weeks.

Oma, thanks for EVERYTHING you did. Thanks for taking care of Rainey. Thanks for cooking and cleaning the house. Thanks for doing the laundry. Thanks for Rainey's morning walks and teaching him sounds. Thanks, thanks, thanks! It was much easier for us with you here and Chip and I really, really appreciated it.

Here are some pics we took over the weekend!

Chip, Opa and Rainey - feeding the ducks

Rainey looking up to Opa

Opa and Aden

Rainey trying to get in Oma's lap while she's holding Aden

Our new double stroller - Rainey loves it....Aden doesn't seem to mind