Hey Mom!

We'll be coming back with a post vengeance shortly, but Mr. A's new phrase that he must have picked up from one of his 15 cousins - "Hey, Mom!" or, "Hey, Dad!" It's so funny. Anytime he wants to say something he starts the conversation with "Hey" and usually ends it with "Watch me." He's very impressed with himself.

Christmas in July

A big thank-you to both of our children for the best present ever - a good night's sleep.

Mr. A - 7:45 pm-7:30 am
Miss M - 10:45 pm - 6:35 am

Now, can we command a repeat performance?!

Happy Birthday to My Most Favoritest Person Ever

The Birthday Boy - and his Ray Bans

One of his favorite places to be - at a race, in a suite - believe it or not, he is a NASCAR fan (and, after having worked on it now, I must admit, we both are)

Celebrating in style - this picture's a few years old, but we love you, C-buddy!

I will admit that I totally feel lucky to have won the husband lottery. My DH is one of a kind and never ceases to make me smile, laugh out loud, increase my patience level (because he has so much), or amaze me with how he manages to put such a large, complicated machine up in the air on a daily basis (many times in a day!). He had a birthday last week and since we were out of town (and I tend to check out of life when I'm out of town) I didn't have a chance to blog about it.

He was traveling on the actual day of his birthday but we managed to celebrate on the weekend in style with his favorite meal, some fun gifts, and his all-time favorite cake. We lovingly call it White Trash Cake at our house, but it is an ice cream cake of sorts (angel food cake, his favorite ice cream right now - Bruster's Caramel Crackle, Cool Whip, and Magic Shell). Pictures to come, but happy happy birthday, DH! I love you and am so very glad you were born.

9.14

For a child that gave us all sorts of sleepless nights (even SHE looks like she has bags under her eyes!) and numerous concerns about her weight gain when she was first born, Miss M has certainly made up for lost pounds.

1-Month Check-up Stats:

• Weight - 9 lbs 14 oz, 75th percentile
• Height - 21.5 inches (no comment for those who have read previous post), 70th percentile
• Head Circumference - 60th percentile

She's a-doin' fine. And, I lost my bet with DH (I bet she was still under 9; he bet over 9 - clearly my sense of weight is skewed).

Stung

Good news: Mr. A is not allergic to hornets/wasps
Bad news: He had to find out the hard way - twice - on the same cheek

The little devils were making their home underneath our Little Tikes plastic slide. How cruel is that?

Did you know? - That hornets/wasps don't die when they sting? They continue to live. Ugh.

THANK YOU!

Those 2 words don't quite seem sufficient when trying to express such complete gratitude for ALL that some people do. In the past 4 weeks we have been on the receiving end of much loving, hard-working, laundry-pushing, Mr-A-at 6:45 AM-rising, super-sweeping, uber-organizing, yummy meal-cooking, baby-burping, emotion-stabilizing assistance. It's been awesome. I must highlight, however, 4 of the best helpers ever.

Superman DH

Superstar M-I-L

Rockstar Mama

And, I couldn't find a picture quickly, but Lola Fely was our princess-in-shining-armor for the week before the baby, while we were at the hospital (I don't know who was more exhausted - Lola or Mr. A), and after we came home. THANK YOU ALL!!! We love you!

Some cute Mr. A-isms

Our little Mr. A is becoming even more chatty as of late. He likes to give us running commentary on whatever we are doing and he also likes to repeat whatever we say. A few favorites:

• Every time Miss M grunts (which is A LOT for new babies) Mr. A says "Oh! Bless you, baby sisser (what he calls her most of the time, even though he knows her name)!"
• While passing McD's today on the drive - "Mommy, french fries! French fries with Miss Jane!" Miss Jane - you've been outed!


• Every time we go under an overpass (or "tunnels," as Mr. A calls them) - "Ready, Set, GOOO!"


• Any time we see water - "Oh! Mama, WATER!!"


• "Do it by myself!"

Love you, A-bug!

I Forgot...

I love that I caught this moment
That "banner day" I was referring to - Mr. A finally holds Miss M
Isn't swimming the best? It just wears us all out!

It's amazing how quickly we forget so many of the little things surrounding a new baby. Here are a few of the ones I had somehow put out of my memory:

• Just how very tired one can feel when waking up twice in the night and being awake for an hour at a time
• How much laundry has to be done - every day
• How much babies spit up - on everything and everyone
• That sleep is precious
• Daytime talk shows all have the same guests each week- just on different days
• Oprah stops doing new shows in May = boring re-runs for June
• How awesome new babies smell
• How gross spit up smells in new babies' hair
• A homecooked meal never tastes better than when it comes from someone else's home
• Recovering from childbirth is called that for a reason - even if it is a little better the 2nd time around
• Time goes by so very quickly
• Wouldn't it be nice if eating, sleeping, and pooping were our only responsibilities for the day?
• Babies bring a special spirit to our home - can't you see why?!

Banner Day

Pictures to come, but we had a breakthrough yesterday and today. Mr. A finally gave Miss M a "Biiiiig Kiss" and he did it again tonight. We made a game out of it and cheered every time he did it. And, he even held his baby sister tonight (with the assistance of pillows and his dad). That was the first time he touched her. Gotta love progress.

First Week

Our little drama queen has already given us quite a run for our money. I wasn't prepared for the anxiety I would feel over something even as small as not eating as much as she should as often as she should. We are all doing fine now and life seems to have started getting back to normal, but we have had quite a week!

Day 3

With BG and Mr. A

Day 4

Day 8 - Already Crowding Dad out of the bed

A few highlights:
- Mr. A's new favorite word: "STOOOPP!!" said in a very gruff, loud tone to whomever he does not want doing something. It's annoying.
- Mr. A's monumental breakdown at the pediatrician's office when we had taken him in for a sinus infection at the same time we were taking Miss M in for her 1 wk check-up. The pediatrician sat and watched it all as Mr. A threw himself on the floor crying, screaming, and shouting for everyone to stop and only mommy could do something.
- Quote of the week: Pediatrician to me - "Would you like a few tips?" as he watched the breakdown
- Action of the week: I started BAWLING in the pediatrician's office out of sheer embarrassment that my sweet 2 yr old would act in such a manner and in such a locale. The pediatrician had to ask my mom numerous times if I was ok. She reassured him that I was fine. So classic.
- Scary moment of the week: Spending the night in the Peds. unit of the local hospital after Miss M became eerily lethargic, wouldn't eat, and was hardly responsive. She had only gained 1 oz. since we left the hospital the week before and I was terrified.
- Hero of the week: My beloved DH. I believe he had to change his shirt a few times from the tear-stained shoulders he grew accustomed to. He came home just in time.
- Saint of the week: My sweet mother (more to come on her in a separate post)
- Measurements of the week:

• Miss M when we left the hospital: 7 lbs. 1 oz. - normal
  
• Miss M on Thursday: 7 lbs 2 oz. Hmm...
  
• Miss M on Saturday: 7 lbs. 6 oz. Hallelujah. (We're going back again on Wednesday just to make sure the trend is continuing)

- Competent Staff of the week: A nurse at my dr's office who measured Miss M when we went in for her 1 wk appt - "19 1/4 inches" she announced.
Me: "Um - how is it that she has SHRUNK since she was born? Like almost 2 inches??"
Nurse: "Well, the measurements at the hospital aren't very accurate, so we see that happen."
Me: "That seems strange that they wouldn't try to be more accurate at such a crucial time - i.e. a child's birth, but whatever."
What I Was Really Thinking: "Is she for real? How could you accuse a hospital of being inaccurate at the birth of a baby as if they really don't care? And, as far as I'm concerned, this child is most certainly longer than her brother was and HE was 19 1/4 inches. I demand a re-measure."

I'm fine. Really, I am. :)