9 weeks

Henry - 19 months; Thomas - 2 months

I'm not sure where the time has gone, but it seems to passing by so quickly lately. 10 days ago marked Henry's 19 month birthday. It doesn't seem possible. Since starting school last month his vocabulary has expanded greatly. He's a real talking machine these days and I just love to hear his voice. I also think he has gone through a growth spurt these past few weeks, he looks as if he's wearing high waters these days :)

A new routine for us is the potty. He loves to use it and whenever you sit him on there he will go. He really just enjoys flushing it...well and putting all the toilet paper in it! He's also gone #2 three times on the potty so far - such a big boy!! I can't believe he's growing up so quickly right in front of my eyes!

Yesterday marked Thomas being 2 months old - already! He's such a good baby! He goes to bed around 8pm and now sleeps 7 hours straight! He only wakes up once in the middle of the night to be fed and then sleeps until 7ish and is fed again and often goes back to bed until 9am. It works out great so that I can get Henry around 7 and play with him solo for a few hours. Thomas does have a little bit of a fussy time around 6ish but it's getting better as he's getting older! He also is showing some sensitivity to dairy :( I had a blizzard on Saturday with my mom and little Henry and he didn't like it too much - he had such a tummy ache. That and caramel popcorn seem to be enemies of his - but it's worth it for me to give it up while I'm nursing.

He too seem to hit a growth spurt. He's still wearing newborn diapers (barely!) but in between newborn and 3 month clothing. The 3 month swims on him a bit but the newborn seems a little snug - hate the in between period!

We went home to Camp Hill this past weekend since it was "Men to the Mountain," where all the guys go to the family cabin to shoot guns and fish and I spent time with Henry's mother and my mom. They both loved being with the little boys and we were all exhausted by nighttime.

The boys are both napping so I'm going to go enjoy a few pages of my book and finish some laundry. I will post photos later :)

8 weeks

7 weeks

Thomas really wasn't into this photo at all :)

He loves his swing!!

7 weeks have already passed by and he's getting so big too quickly!! Thomas really is a good baby - he's always so smiley and cooing away. I've been working on his nighttime routine and it's coming along quite nicely. We identified his witching hour - really anyone could - he would just cry for no reason and wasn't consolable for that time period. It started to happen around 6 pm (now 7 pm because of DST) so I started getting him ready for bed around that time. He's usually asleep by 8 pm and does one 5-6 hour stretch at night then wakes up around 4 hours later - I'm not complaining at all!! He does nurse more frequently during the day - like every 2 hours - but so worth it for the nighttime rest.

It's been in the 70s this past week so we've been outside with brother every day. A neighbor of mine just had her baby girl 3 weeks after Thomas and she has an almost 5 year old so we've been hanging out a lot!

Both kiddos are napping so I'm going to get some things done around this house - or read my book!

Enjoy the sunshine!

11 questions

I was tagged to participate in a game by my cousin at in Simply Jen

Post a picture of yourself, tell us 11 things we might not know about you, answer the 11 questionsasked of you, then write 11 new questions and tag some friends to play along (let them know you tagged them!)

Wow having kiddos really changes the photo gallery - this is the last picture I have of myself where we meant to take it of just me (well minus the pics Henry took of me before having Thomas - but I don't look too comfortable!!) This is from when we went to St. Kitts and Nevis last May...oh sunshine and warm weather!!

Hmm...11 things you may not know about this mama -

1) Ever since having kids, I've become a home body. That doesn't mean that I don't enjoy going out - it's just so much less stressful than going out to dinner or what not with them

2) I really enjoy going to church. It's my quiet time and I truly look forward to it each week

3) I'm slightly obsessed with running - the past 6 weeks (and a few months prior) I've been drooling over the fact that training was at the end of the tunnel finally :)

4) Being disorganized really stresses me out and since having kids it's a little harder finding the time to get things done and still get my quality time with them - thus the reason I just take a deep breath now and walk away from the clutter - it will always be there but they will always be this small for so long (my excuse mom ;))

5) My eyes are grey and drab and I'm super jealous of my bro's ocean blue eyes

6) I don't answer my phone all the time - even when I probably should. I'm not a big phone talker and get a little frustrated when Henry calls someone and hands the phone to me to talk to them too

7) I all too often don't say what I really think because I don't like confrontation

8) When Henry is away (which has been a lot lately) I go to bed after putting Henry to sleep and cleaning the kitchen. I'd rather read than watch any sort of tv. For example - I was asleep last night at 8:15 pm

9) I'd LOVE to live in the south but wouldn't do it anytime soon because family is too important

10) When Henry and I go out all I need is my I.D. and chapstick - I'm obsessed with chapstick

11) Ever since being pregnant, I can't eat chicken

*Now onto Jen's questions:

1. If you could be anywhere today where would it be?
I really miss my Nebraska family so I'd love to be there right now to catch up and get the kiddos together

2. What name do you love but would never name your child?
Love the name Madyn for a girl but we're sticking to family names...if we ever have a girl that is :)

3. What celebrity would you trade places with for a day?
That's hard one - I'm in love with Kelly Ripa (and actually have tickets in my desk drawer to see her). I'd love to have her spunk and craziness for the day

4. What do you want to be "known" for?

I want to leave a good impression for my family. I want them to know that I'm a loving mother who always had their best interest at heart and I want them to admire and look up to me

5. List three things you hated and loved about high school.
Hated: Cliques, drama and people who talked behind your back (they probably could all be categorized into 1)

Loved: Cheerleading, certain teachers who made an impression on me, the friends I had/have from that time period

6. What song would you sing if you tried out for American Idol?
Me sing...bad idea. Probably a song I love but not one that's all over the radio - can't think of any at this time

7. Favorite ride at an amusement park?

Definitely the biggest roller coaster

8. Strangest/most unique feature?

I have a big head (and so do both of our boys!). I got made fun of in middle school, but now I get compliments for my high cheek bones :)

9. Worst habit that you have?

Picking my cuticles - I'm really trying to give it up for lent

10. If you won the lottery what is the first thing you would purchase?
Selfish I know - but probably an exotic vaca somewhere...I could use one :)

11. Three words that best describe you...

Determined, healthy, kind

*And now for my 11 question:

- What is your dream job?

- What is your favorite vacation spot and/or where would you like to go?

- Who is your idol/hero?

- What is your favorite smell?

- What is your favorite childhood memory?

- What book(s) would you recommend reading?

- What is your guilty pleasure?

- If you could be anyone past or present, who would it be?

- 3 most important things in life?

- Favorite time of day and why?

- What's the craziest thing you've ever done?

I tag Alex

6 weeks

Our little bugaboo is 6 weeks old already!!

I also had my lovely 6 week check-up today and all is well! I got the go to get back into running and I have 8 weeks to train for the 10-miler I'm doing May 6th. I really wanted to run tonight, however it was a busy day with Thomas's re-check appointment (he still has a cough but is doing really well!!!!) and my appointment after. It was 65 and sunny here today so after Henry's nap we headed outside and I did 2 laps of our neighborhood (for those of you who've been here, that's still a pretty good workout...roughly 2 miles). Tomorrow while Henry's in school I plan to run 3 miles, most likely very slowly :)

Here's our little photo shoot we did today before daddy headed to the airport!

1 month check-up, 5 weeks old and a couple milestones...

What a week it has been! It all started Sunday night. Thomas had been a little congested, but I wasn't sure if he was getting a cold (since Henry has one) or if it was just the normal newborn congestion. Sunday night is when I knew - he started coughing and it truly broke my heart. He was happy as could be and it didn't seem to be bothering him. It selfishly worked out just because we already had his 1 month appointment Monday morning. He's a growing boy:

Weight - 9 lbs 5 oz

Height - 20 3/4 inches

almost exactly what Henry was - not that I'm comparing or anything :)

I voiced my concerns about the cough to the doctor and she examined him a little more thoroughly. He sounded great and he wasn't in any distress so she advised me just to watch him closely.

His cry was so hoarse that you couldn't (and still can't) hear him cry so I had him sleep next to me in bed. (Henry ended up leaving for Nashville Monday night, so it was just me in the king size bed so there was plenty of room!) Monday night he slept for a 6+ hour stretch so I wasn't sure if it was because he didn't feel well or just because he was getting bigger.

Into Tuesday he started feeding shorter amounts of time, but more frequently. He was still wetting diapers so I just paid close attention to him. Tuesday night he continued to worsen and this is where being a PICU nurse almost makes it worse. Since I see them when they are REALLY sick, I wasn't sure if I was overreacting or if he was really in need of another check from the doc. Wednesday morning he started to have a little trouble breathing, he was having retractions and belly breathing and he was so tired. I decided that I'd rather be safe than sorry so I called the doc. I got an appointment, called the babysitter for Henry and then called daddy to tell him what was going on. He was at the Nashville airport heading to Salt Lake City, however his plane was grounded due to landing gear failure - Awesome (sarcasm!). He decided to take his time trying to get on another flight to Utah to see what was going on here. God must have been watching over us because he couldn't get another flight to Utah in time for his meeting and ended up getting a direct flight to Philly an hour later.

We got to our appointment with the Pediatrician and they checked him out immediately. He was having labored breathing and not getting adequate oxygen at times so she sent me to the Children's Hospital. I had to drive there (40 minutes) in the pouring rain - not that it wasn't stressful enough already and I was alone. On the way there I called the attending physician from the floor I work on and he was able to pull some strings and get us through the emergency room in no time. We got the red carpet treatment our entire visit - a perk to working there! They gave Thomas an albuterol treatment to see if that would help open his lungs. It helped a bit but then they decided to give him some fluids (yes the poor little man had to get an IV) so he wouldn't get dehydrated and ordered a chest x-ray to check for a pneumonia. The x-ray was negative meaning that there was no pneumonia present - thank God! They diagnosed him with having a bronchiolitis and sent a respiratory panel which will give it a specific name and length of time - that's currently still pending.

We got to our room around 7 pm and the care we received was top notch. Henry went home to spend the night with the little guy and I stayed with Thomas. I didn't really sleep at all - which wasn't a concern of mine anyway. The docs from the ICU came up to check on him which was awesome since I know how busy they get. He started keeping his feeds down (he was coughing so much prior that he'd throw his entire feeding up). They stopped the fluids in the morning and he was back to feeding well. They watched him for the day and he improved dramatically. The illness he has peaks around 3-5 days and he was admitted on day 4 which makes total sense.

We were able to come home last night. He still has the nasty cough which is heart breaking but looks and feels so much better - he is just so much more awake and aware.

It was such a scary experience but we are blessed with how it turned out.

Thomas in the Emergency Department (5 weeks)

Getting hooked up to everything - look at that poor arm with the IV

He was on oxygen for a little while

Getting ready to go home!

Milestones:

On a positive note - he smiled his first true gummy smile at the hospital (go figure!)

He had his first hospital experience

And when we got home we gave brother Henry a bath. Daddy set him on the toilet and he went potty for the first time - YAY Henry. He clapped when he was done and we praised him as well. We'll see if it continues!

Thank you all for the kind words and prayers