Trip to Seattle

Our trip to Seattle was amazing, cold, but amazing. Here is a picture of Jenna, EJ, Victoria and myself at the Seattle aquarium.

We arrived safely tuesday afternoon and hit the ground running. We headed to the local supermarket for some food, then headed home for a nap and some girl time.

After the Aquarium, we headed inside to a place that had games and a carousel and the most amazing food in all the world. The Crab Pot. For the first time I tried lobster bisque, which turned out not to be so good for both Jenna and myself, so it was sent back. The kids had chicken and fries. Before we came in out of the cold, we had the chance to view an amazing sunset...I am glad I got it on film.


We spent the afternoons walking the mall, Target or just hanging out with the kids, watching them play. We even had the chance to go see a movie (National Treasure: Book of Secrets), thanks to Scott who bravely volunteered to watch the kids while we were out. It was nice to get out without the kids. After the kids headed to bed, we once again braved the Seattle cold and went to Barnes and Noble for some girl time and some books.

It was a wonderful trip with lots of memories and not so many pictures...we always had the camera, I just couldn't remember to take it out. I learned a few good things from Jenna, one of them was what to feed Victoria. Yeah, I know that sounds odd, but I'm new at this. It had never occured to me that I could feed her peas and hotdogs for lunch or a pb&j..which she promptly gobbled up. I also introduced her to gatorade and water instead of always having milk to drink. One thing I have found out...she eats and drinks anything you give her.


Anyway, the trip to Seattle was wonderful and I am glad that I had the chance to go before jr is born, but it is good to be home again.

Turning one is not always fun

So beanie is officialy one. So today we made the treck over to the pediatricians office for her one year check up and all was not well.

When she got her 9 month shots, she had a reaction to them that didn't come out until a bit later. So today we headed over to walgreens to pick up some medication to clear things up, downside...the medication was $190. Yeah, my jaw dropped to. Though it was supposed to be very powerful and work over night...I thought $190 was a lot for some cream. So we found the over the counter stuff that will do the same thing, just takes a bit longer. So far things are looking up.

She weighs 21 pounds 9 oz, 28 inches long with a head circum. of 17.5 inches. Everything else check out alright. She got her 1 year shots, that may give her yet another rash...but that won't happen for another week. Great, just in time for us to be in Seattle. Guess I had better pack some tylenol and extra diapers. She has also been cleared to start on "whole" milk and weaned off the bottles.

So....she took to "whole" milk instantly. The sippy cup, however, seems ot be another issue. She can hold it...but she will have to get used to the instant response and the fact that she won't have to work so hard to get whatever happens to be in there.

So many new things she can try now...We can't wait!

On this day...

January 7th. To some, it's just another day. To three families, it's a very special day.

For Jimmy and I, it's the day Morgan was born.

For Brian and Danielle, it's the day Jeffrey was born.

For Jen and Michael, it's the day Victoria was born.

Morgan and Jeffrey are now two years old and Victoria is one. I think I can speak for all three families when I say "Huh? What? HOW? Where did the time go?"

Morgan was 6lbs 15oz when she was pulled from my belly. She was a tiny peanut that fit perfectly in the crook of our arms or settled on our chests. She was an easy child...only cried when she needed food her or diaper changed, was content to be held or not to be.

She is now close to 30 pounds. When I hold her now, her legs dangle well past my hips. Her head, though? Still fits perfectly nestled on my shoulder; her arms wrapped around my neck. She's a busy girl and must go go go at all times. She's curious and eager to explore all that this world has to offer.

I am sad. Sad that my baby is two. Sad that the days are going by faster than I ever imagined. I am also happy. Happy to see what a beautiful child she is, how smart she is and how thrilled with life she is.

At night, we snuggle on the couch and read books. Some nights we read five or eight different books and other nights we read the same one five or eight times. After books are done, we sit in the rocking chair in her room and as she drifts to sleep, I stare at her in the dim light. I see her mile long eyelashes lying on her round cheeks; I see her hand clutching her beloved Bunny and feel the fingers of her other hand wrapped around mine. I hear her soft breathing and feel the warmth of her on my lap, her head in the crook of my arm.

This is the time I want to last forever.

Happy Birthday, Morgan, Jeffrey and Victoria!!

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Intro: Today’s blog post is a simul-post on “Babybrugger”, “Growing Up Meehan” and “My Little Corner of Life” to celebrate 3 children who share the same birthday. Lots of people have birthdays on the same day. For example, Academy Award Winner Nicolas Cage (43), NBC Anchorwoman Katie Couric (50), “House at Pooh Corner” singer Kenny Loggins (59), Author William Peter Blatty (79), Jazz musician Jean-Pierre Rampal (85) and 13th President Millard Fillmore all were born on January 7th. But when’s the last time you talked to Nicolas Cage or Millard Fillmore? Exactly! We are fortunate to not only share a birthday, but also be friends with Jennifer from Babybrugger and Kellie from “My Little Corner of Life”. The three families have decided to write a post, together, to celebrate our children’s amalgamated birthdays.

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In Chinese astrology, Jeffrey is a Rooster. In Western Zodiac, he is a Capricorn. As far as Jeffrey is concerned, he is a Choo-Choo. Today marks the day, two years ago, when our family became three. It’s been a wonderful experience of joy and discovery. Mama and I burst with pride over the progress and accomplishments of our little guy, as all parents are wont to do. It’s really quite amazing to me. From 2.75 lbs to 26 lbs, he’s nearly 10x the size in just two years. If he keeps that up, he’ll weigh as much as a Winnebago by his 6th birthday. Let’s hope he levels off soon! Jeffrey’s getting taller too. He just past 3 ft at his last visit to the pediatrician. And yet, with all this growing, nature has not seen fit to give this child what he really needs… a butt and a set of hips to hold his pants up. The poor kid’s still wearing 12 and 18 month pants so that the waistband is snug!

Jeffrey will be celebrating this year with a party at home of mostly family. We’re trying to decorate for the party with trains, but it hard when all the stores carry is Thomas the Tank Engine. Doesn’t anybody have any generic train decor, lest the party be an advertisement for the Island of Sodor? I wonder if it will be a repeat of last year, where the birthday boy consumed half of his body weight in cake-and-frosting goodness?

It’s funny, Jeffrey sharing a birthday with Morgan and Victoria. When Danielle was pregnant, our friend Steph told us to call her when Danielle went into labor so that she could be there for the delivery and to help out. Imagine her shock (and ours) when she gets a phone call from us in the wee hours of January 7th, 2006 just after getting the news that her brother was driving Kellie to the hospital for Morgan’s impending arrival on the same day! Unfortunately, Steph had not been able to use the Time Turner we bought her.

Jen’s phone call was equally unexpected. She and Michael had been very good to us throughout Danielle’s pregnancy and Jeffrey’s subsequent arrival. We weren’t surprised that they were one of the first people to call us on January 7th, 2007. We were surprised to hear Michael’s voice telling us that he was the proud father of a little baby girl. I was honored to make the announcement to the world (wide web) on their blog as their first guest-poster.

Happy Birthday, Jeffrey, Morgan and Victoria. And to Nicolas Cage, too. Oh, why don’t you ever call?
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One year ago....
Victoria was born. She was 5 pounds, 5 ounces and 18 1/2 inches long. Today, 22 pounds and 37 inches long. She can cruise the furniture, babble, hold bottles, sing (though no one understands her) feed herself, stand up in her crib and on anything else she can find.

It does feel like just yesterday I was visiting the NICU to see her for the very first time after delivery. Then we brought her home. Oh my gosh how tiny she was. She was in preemie clothes, but still cute as a button.

The she did something magical...she slept through the night for the first time. I woke in utter amazement and a little scared, I ran in to make sure she was alright. We had a few scares along the way, like the spot on her heart. We went to see a specialist and found out that it should clear up by the time she is 5 and she will grow up to be a happy healthy kid.

There were diaper rashes, long nights, colds and hugs and snuggles. Lots of snuggles. Then she learned to say Dada...now she says it whenever she can to whoever happens to be around. After visiting Jeffrey over Thanksgiving, she learned how to clap, then shortly after she learned to wave. Jeffrey is a great teacher and I wish we lived closer. She could use all the help she can get.

Today is a special day. Today there are 3 wonderful and amazing kids celebrating their birthdays. Jeffrey, Morgan and Victoria. As we all gather to sing happy birthday and open gifts, we also look back and wonder where the time went. Wasn't it just yesterday that we were delivering them and bringing them home for the first time?

So, let's all wish Jeffrey, Morgan and Victoria a wonderful birthday filled with laughter, joy, family and friends.

Happy Birthday Kids! We love each of you!

Be careful what you ask for

Ok, so yesterday was my check-up with Dr. Pliskow to see how Jr is coming along...there were a few things that I was wondering about.

1-shouldn't i be feeling kicks by now? I mean...i'm almost at 20 weeks and still nothing
2-are you ready to schedule the c-section yet and what time can we go in?
3-how did the tests come out? do we need to go for an amnio?

Answers:
1-you should feel kicks in the next 2-3 weeks
2-yes...and the earliest we can schedule it would be after 5-20-08 at 7:30am.
3-tests came out great...you have a 1 in 10,000 chance of having a child with downs.

So why do i say be carefle what you ask for? up until yesterday, I wasn't feeling any kicks...or I was and I was just too busy to notice, so last night i layed down and just didn't move....yeah...my belly did though. I guess this kid wanted to let me know that she/he is really in there and that all is alright. This kid kicked to hard that it moved the other side of my belly....the non-pregnant part (my uterus is only to the middle of my belly button) then i got kicked in the butt then a few more kicks just for good measure.

Yeah, those felt good....really, i was glad to feel them and to know that all is alright in there...besides, it's not like I can ask and actually get an answer.

As of today...we are 4 count them...4 days away from beanie's first birthday, Jeffrey and Morgan's second birthday. Where did the time go? anyone?