Elijah is 3 Weeks!

Life has been considerably more chaotic with 2 kids in the house, so forgive our blogging delay.  There are people in this house who haven't showered for 3 days... I'm not going to call anyone out here, but it's possible there are more than one.  We will try to be better about blogging, but we make no promises.

Elijah was born on the Monday of Thanksgiving week.  We had originally planned to stay one night in the hospital, but decided to stay a second night once the dust settled after his birth.  He wasn't born until 4PM, so it's hard to get the necessary tests/screening done before he's 24 hrs old.  This decision was based on many factors, including Jack's comfort at Grandma and Papa's house (reportedly Ozzie is the more difficult of the two, as he likes to go outside in the middle of the night) and we wanted to spend a little extra time focusing on Elijah before returning home.  The nursery is nice at night when you're hoping for a little extra sleep before taking on 2 kids at home.  Once again we got lucky with hospital rooms as we were given a room with a queen bed... again! Super lucky considering the baby ward was at full capacity.  However, I will speak for both of us when I say that we loved getting home and really starting in on this new adventure that revolves around these 2 little boys.

We got home Wednesday and Grandma and Papa brought Jack and Ozzie home to meet their new buddy.  We were both a little cautious to see how each would respond to Elijah, but both have been awesome with him!  Jack even gives him hugs, helps to burp him, and comments every time he yawns, sneezes, burps or toots.  Yawn is "yawn", sneeze he says "bless you", burps he says "burps", and toots he says "poop!" Ha ha so funny.  You have to be careful when you toot around Jack, he may inadvertently call you out for poop :)  These days he's into everything.  You can't even do the dishes without him "helping", and by helping I mean eating soapy bubbles.

On Friday morning we took Elijah in to see the pediatrician and then had to return with him on Saturday and Monday due to his jaundice and high billiruben test results.  Each day we went back, Eli had made good gains on weight (about 2 oz per day).  He lost approximately 6% of his birth weight, which is well within the "normal" range, getting down to 6 lbs 13 oz.  But at the Monday appointment, 1 week after he was born, he was back up to 7 lbs 3.6 oz, practically his birth weight. By Monday they said his billi looked ok, and they would see us again in a week.  At Elijah's 2 week appointment, he weighed in at 8 lbs 6 oz (50%ile), 21 inches long (50%ile), and with a head circumference of 36 cm (40%ile).  He's had one additional doctor appointment since returning home.  Our pediatrician recommended we see a urologist over some concern over hypospadia, where the urethra is not located on the tip of the penis.  But the urologist, Dr. Galansky, with over 30 years experience, assured us that Elijah was perfectly healthy and there was no cause for concern.  All good news.

Since then we've spent our time putting up Christmas decorations and trying our best to get shopping done for the holiday.  Everything is a bit more challenging with Jack (aka Chaos) running loose when trying to feed and change Eli every 3 hours.  It's a good thing Jack is such a good little helper, because his motor is non stop.

All in all Eli has been such a blessing.  He's a great snuggler and sleeper, and we're so thankful as his big brother is currently too busy to snuggle.  We'll enjoy the quiet times with #2 as long as we can.

Eli is born!

On November 19th at 4:01 PM our newest son was born.  It all started in the morning at about 3 AM.  I woke up to Sonia yelling at me from the bathroom :).  It's not very frequent that I'm woken up abruptly....we have an unspoken rule in our house about slow and gentle wake ups.  What's so serious you need to yell at me from the bathroom?  Oh, your water broke... well played.  She wasn't having contractions, but it happened somehow when she rolled over in the night.  We called her doctor and they said to come to the hospital in the next hour or two.  Because Jack was delivered after 4.5 hours of labor there was a little bit of panic this baby would come too quickly, so we didn't waste much time.  I called Sonia's parents to come over so they could look after Jack while we were at the hospital.  A bit of a rude awakening for them to be called at 3:30 AM.  Nevertheless they came over quickly and happily.  We said hello and I grabbed a bite to eat (Sonia didn't, following the doctors rules, no food in case you have emergency surgery) and then headed to the hospital.  It was a much quieter ride than when she was in labor for Jack, that's for sure.  No speeding, groaning, holding out on pushing etc... and definitely no traffic! We got to the hospital at 4:30ish, checked in, and then began to wait... and wait... and wait.  At this point Sonia wished she ate the cereal, rules be damned.  We waited until about noon, with only minor contractions.  At this point my wife was losing patience.  No one wants a 38 week pregnant wife about to deliver losing patience, so something had to be done.  At noon we all (Sonia, the doc, nurse, and I) decided to get this rolling before infection became a concern.  So the doctors started her on Pitocin, otherwise known as the P word.  This is some not so fun stuff, and any rational person avoids it if possible.  Most people are familiar with it from either personal, friends or family baby stories.  It only does one thing, makes you contract, and it's very effective.  Between noon and 3 PM they slowly ratcheted up the Pitocin and contractions went from 5 minutes apart at a pain level of"duele un poquito" to 2 minutes apart at a pain level of "duele much mas".... according to the bi-lingual pictures of frowny faces on our delivery room wall.

Sonia is without an epidural and is now consistently at the level 6 frowny face (although she's still not grumpy or frowny faced herself).  Her doctor checks her and she's 6 cm dilated,... in the process her doctor breaks the rest of her water.  This little action was the equivalent of what I will call "poking the dragon".  10 minutes later you knew this baby was coming soon!  I have always been impressed by how calm she is with chaos and especially pain, but how she managed the instant climb from a level 6 frowny face to a level 10 frowny face with no pain meds was incredible.  No crying, not one tear. It's a bit insane to me, she handled it with such calm and grace.  If it were me I'd be whining, complaining, cursing and probably being just a general pain in the ass.  She just worked through it with barely a groan.  The doctors forgot and thought she had an epidural in.  They told the nurse to cut it off as she began pushing... ha!  The nurse had to tell them she didn't have one!  If we weren't having a baby, and I wasn't expected to keep my composure I would've laughed out loud.  Finally, after 25 minutes of intense pushing, to everyone's relief a healthy baby boy popped out!

I got to cut the umbilical cord, just like with Jack, and when it was all said and done it was an uncomplicated delivery.... as uncomplicated as it can be when you push a little human out of your body! One thing we really like about St. Joes... aside from all the great nurses, is "baby's first hour".  He was given to Sonia right after birth to spend the next couple of hours together, just Mom and baby, no disruptions and boy did they both deserve it!  

As for his name we decided on Elijah George Buckmaster.  Likely he'll be referred to as Eli, EGB, Little E, Easy E, Super E, Jah (only in Jamaica) or when in big trouble Elijah Geooooorge!!!  

We've taken a couple of pictures of the last couple of days in the hospital and uploaded them to picasa...  https://picasaweb.google.com/111722875828833100930/ElijahIsBorn

Shhh!

About 2 weeks ago, I was hanging out with Jack one  morning, trying to let Justin get a little extra sleep as he's been so great about getting Jack up and ready for weeks.  We went downstairs, got his milk, and I was trying ot keep Jack from making a ton of noise (all noise carries in our house, but I try).  It is made more difficult by the fact that Jack asks where the other parent is every morning, and of course where Ozzie is.  So, we were downstairs, and I was telling Jack that Daddy and Ozzie were still sleeping.  I said we have to be quiet, and Jack responded by putting his cute little pointer finger up to his lips, pushing his nose down, and wispered "Shhh".  OH MY GOODNESS - THE MOST ADORABLE THING I'VE SEEN EVER! 

Now, I can assure you, we have never "shhh'd" our son.  This is certainly not something he learned at home.  And that is why it took me SO off guard.  But I melted.  Ever since that happened, he has repeated this action on numerous occasions, usually when we say the word "quiet", and I have been trying to catch it on film.  It's taken me a while, and many failed attempts, but I finally got it. :0)  You might have to turn up the volume a bit...

Pooh Plane

Jack has enjoyed his Winnie the Pooh airplane for a long time.  He is starting to sort the shapes on the sides pretty well, and he is even starting to sit on it and propel himself across the house.  But, he still would rather be pushed around the room by daddy!  Daddy pushes Jack so fast and is a little reckless. But to be honest, the crazier the better in Jack's opinion.  It only makes him giggle harder.  Here's the latest video.

Templin visit

Sarah and Scott were supposed to spend a week in New Orleans for a conference in mid October.  They had arranged for my parents to go to Seattle and watch Grace and Sam for the week, and were undoubtedly looking forward to some time spent together.  However, my hospital stay and bedrest changed everything.  Everyone decided it wasn't the best time for mom and dad to leave Colorado, and so the Templin's came to Colorado instead.  Though we didn't want everyone to change their plans, we are extremely grateful they did, as we don't know how we would have gotten through this challenging time without the support of our family.  Love you all so much!

While the Templin's were in town, we did manage a couple fun outings.  One such day included a trip to the Denver Zoo.  I was cleared to go, so long as I spent the day riding around in a wheelchair.  Did I mention there were also 3 strollers to push...  And on top of that, Jack didn't sit in his a single time once we entered the zoo, as he rode on my lap instead.  HA!

Demonstration of riding with Mommy

The whole crew

Jack got a real kick out of a swimming penguin. Loves time with Grandma and Papa

Carousel ride

Watching the kids on the carousel

Sarah and Sam

Harper and Brandi

My sister took some amazing photographs, some of which I've stolen and republished here.  Others are from our camera.  Very fun day!

Halloween 2012

Justin and I have never been very big on Halloween (at least not since college), but now that Jack is getting to an age where he can participate in holidays, we find ourselves much more inclined to play along. So for Halloween we dressed Jack in a costume, and decided that he would visit a few of the neighbors.

As the evening began, Justin returned home and informed me that Jack hadn't napped well at daycare. We knew he was tired, but decided to go for it anyway. He cried while getting into his costume, and small things were enough to set him off all night. But we made the most of it.

After finally getting him into costume.

After dinner we headed out into the cul-de-sac and Jack watched the neighbor girls run around for a bit. We went to another neighbor's home, where Jack was far more interested in her barking dogs than the candy he was receiving. I then returned home to hand out candy while Justin and Jack hit up a few more houses. The report was that Jack walked right into a house to get a closer look at their dog (whom Jack kept calling Ozzie even though he is a little white terrier) and then drug Justin to another home because he could see their dog through the glass door. :) Justin eventually had to drop Ozzie's name to get Jack to return home peacefully.

Hanging with Daddy

Enjoying the spoils of the evening (the rest of his candy landed in the bucket for handing out)

Our little astronaut!

We all seemed to have an enjoyable Halloween, and we will look forward to a repeat next year.

Time to Update

It has now been over a month since we have posted anything, and I'm feeling very delinquent   There is a fair bit to update, and I'm sure it will not happen in chronological order, but I'm not worried about it.

I was discharged from the hospital on October 6th, at 32 weeks.  The perinatologist checked out my situation, and said I was about 2-3 cm dilated, and had proven that I was stable.  Beyond 32 weeks, they no longer would administer the magnesium sulfate to reduce chances of cerebral palsy for the baby.  I was to do more bedrest at home for 2 more weeks to get me to 34 weeks, and I managed that without too much difficulty.  I am now 36 weeks and 2 days, and so grateful!  Grateful for the extra time for this baby to grow healthy and strong (God willing), grateful for the increased chances that the baby will nurse ok and be able to come home with us, and grateful for the extra time with Justin and Jack before our world changes in an enormous way.  But, we did take some photos to document the hospital stay, and Jack's visits with mommy, so here are a couple.

 On one of our wheelchair "rides"

Hanging out with mommy in bed. Most of this time was spent worrying he'd fall off the bed as he was always reaching for my food tray, the nurse call light, or whatever else he could reach.

I'm still hoping to make it to 38 weeks, and I think it is possible.  At my appointment last week, my doctor checked me again (at my request) and said I was about 4 cm dilated.  It makes me think that if I was 4 cm dilated with Jack without knowing it, it's no wonder that he was born in a little over 4.5 hours.  One thing is for sure, we will be in a hurry to get to the hospital with number 2, regardless if it happens tomorrow, or 3 weeks from now.  If I make it to 39 weeks, there will be some serious talk about induction, as my doctor doesn't really think it would take much to get me going. :)

My Incredible Husband

I honestly believe I married the most amazing man in the world, and that somehow, by God's good grace, he fell in love with me.  I frequently think to myself how fortunate I am, but I never say it enough, not to him or anyone else.  And so I want to take an opportunity to proclaim it!

Obviously the last 12 days have been exceptionally chaotic.  When I called Justin to come meet me at the hospital, he dropped everything and came right away.  He took me to basically say goodbye to Jack for a little while, took me home to pack, got me checked into the hospital, and stayed a few nights with me so I could get settled in.  But even during that time, he was back and forth to my parent's house to be a good father to our son.  He would go to feed him dinner, bathe him and put him to bed, only to then drive back to the hospital so I didn't have to be alone for too long.  I know how difficult it is on Justin to leave me here, feeling guilty that I am left alone, while he goes to spend time with Jack.  Then he feels guilty all over again when he leaves Jack to spend time with me.  Not to mention the difficulties involved with bringing Jack to the hospital so we can see each other.  For a child who doesn't love car rides, it's a lot just to get him back and forth when the hospital is a good 30 minutes away (or over an hour in bad traffic, which happened).  Justin has managed to get Jack to swim lessons, to maintain the house and finances, to bring our organic delivery boxes in so that Jack can have fresh produce, he's even brought be blended juice beverages so that I can get some good raw fruits and vegetables in my diet (which is seriously lacking on the hospital menu).  Justin has worked hard to not fall too far behind at work (at the expense of sleep), to meet the needs of his family, and he's done it all without complaint.  Absolutely amazing if you ask me.

Justin is the most selfless person I know.  He has taken such good care of Jack, me and baby on the way.  I am in awe of how he manages to balance it all, how he juggles everything.  Though I know it is far from effortless, his quite resolve helps me in so many ways.  I know this is so hard on him, that Jack can be trying at times, and that trying to fill the roles of mom and dad is taking a toll.  But Justin's lack of complaints, willingness to do what is necessary (plus more), and ability to do it all day in and day out inspires me.  I love you, honey!  Thank you for all of your sacrifices.  Our family is so incredibly lucky to have you.

Jack Takes Swim Lessons

Two weeks ago, Justin and I took Jack to his first swim lesson.  We live close to a couple different rec centers, so I honestly don't know what took us so long (truth is I tried to get him in a month ago, but the class was full). But with another trip to Arizona tentatively planned, and a pool in the back yard, we wanted to get Jack familiar with a pool ASAP.

Dad gladly got in the pool with Jack, and I sat nearby with a camera and watched for the 30 minute long class.  I think Jack did pretty well for his first class. He didn't like laying on his back in the water, which we've learned is pretty normal for newbies. But he would reach out with both hands to grab the toy.

Jack participated in most of the class, but near the end he wanted to get in the little kiddie area where he could stand on his own.  Justin reported that the second week, he wanted to spend the majority of the time in the little kiddie area. :o)  We will see what his third lesson hold tomorrow morning.

Road to the Hospital Bed

Last Friday, I had my routine 28 week doctor's appointment (actually at 29 weeks because Jack had his 15 month appointment the week before) to check in on Baby Buck.  I had intended on taking Jack with me, but my father graciously rescheduled his golf for Thursday so Jack could hang with Papa, which is WAY more fun! At the doctors appointment they found a little blood in my urine, so they swabbed to check for infections and did a cervical length check with the ultrasound.  My doctor discovered that the babies head was down (yea!), there was some "funneling" near the cervical opening, and as a result, my cervix had thinned significantly. She took a couple measurements, repeated them, and stated that I would need to go see a high risk doctor. She called them and because they didn't have any available appointments, they decided I should go to the hospital to see the on-call high risk doctor.

I gathered my things, went to the car, called my dad to let him know what had happened and make sure he was ok with Jack for a while longer, called my mom to tell her I'd be missing her craft fair, and called Justin to come meet me at the hospital (not necessarily in that order). I think I cried during every one of those conversations as I was scared, but that's life.

Justin met me at the hospital and together we met Dr. Larma, my new high risk doctor. They monitored me for a couple hours, asked me tons of questions about my history, did another ultrasound to verify the short, 1.8cm cervical length, and Dr. Larma checked me for dilation (1.5cm dilated). His recommendation was to spend the next week at home, no going to work, take it easy and get rest. And worst of all, no more picking up Jack!

We had the weekend to begin adjusting to these new restrictions, and then together with my parents, we decided that Justin should go on the work trip he had scheduled. This meant that my parents would come stay with me, and my Dad would be instrumental in all things Jack. Over the course of the week, either Justin or Papa would have to lift Jack anytime he needed. Car seats, high chair, bed, bath, etc.  I spent a lot of time on the floor and walking around holding Jack's hand, but everyday he would come over to me, put his hands in the air, say "UP" and sign "Please".  It was so sweet how nicely he would ask, and I couldn't.  Breaks my heart to think about. He would cry, and then cry harder when someone else picked him up, but by the end of the week, he was asking less. This made things easier, and sadder at the same time.  Believe me when I say I wanted nothing more than to pick Jack up and carry him around for hours and just hold him until my arms were ready to fall off.

My follow-up appointment with the high risk doctor was this Thursday.  Justin got back from his road trip early and was able to join me. We met with Dr. Larma again at his office. They performed a full anatomy scan of the baby (everything looked great), and then did the cervical length and dilation check. My cervical length had unfortunately decreased to 1.0cm and I had dilated to 3cm. Upon learning this, it was recommended that I go home, get things in order, then head into the hospital for bed rest. I was told that I should expect to be there at least until 32 weeks.  So, that's what we did.  We went to my parents house to have lunch and spend some time with Jack, went by the house to gather some things to make my stay as comfortable as possible, and then headed to St. Joseph's.

Although this is exactly what I wanted to avoid, here I lay, and I'm trying to stay optimistic. Although I really want to be at home with Justin and Jack, I truly believe that this is where I'm supposed to be right now, and that all the events that got me here indicated someone is watching over baby and me. An appointment 1 week later than "normal", my father's schedule adjustment to be with Jack, a little blood in my urine, a doctor that checked my cervical length (many wouldn't have), a follow-up appointment at the right time, an early return for my husband from his work trip... I am grateful to be here, mostly to be working toward keeping our baby growing inside as long as possible. I miss Jack so much, and worry all the time about the extreme impact this is having on my husband, my son, my dog and my parents.  But I am grateful, and most of all, I am blessed.  We all are!

Yard Work with a Little Helper

We had quite the yard project the last two weekends.  Cutting down trees, bushes and cleaning out old cedar chip in the backyard.  All the Hesseltines came over to chip in... which was much needed help.  Not possible for me to do all alone.  All in all we mostly filled up a 30 cu yd rolloff.  Jack contributed too.... he swept off part of the driveway before the big dump truck dropped off 10 tons of rock.

Steeling my broom... showing my how to take care of business.  

Getting the broom stuck and signing help.

Using Jack's broom to take care of the little pile.  

Stomping on the leaves after we had them in a nice pile... much more fun than sweeping   

Here's a before pick of the Jack navigating through the jungle.

Also before... you can see the tree on the right and most of the bushes in the back will be gone.

After

After

After

After

Jack is 15 months

Jack had his doctor appointment last Friday. The appointment start with the standard height, weight, head size measurements. Jack is 32.5 inches long, 27 lbs 7.2 ounces, and his head is 47.7 cm. He is stout, sting and healthy!

Dr. Andy said that usually the 15 month and 18 month appointments are his least favorite, but Jack did so well I think we may sway his opinion. Jack sat calmly while the doctor looked him over. We told him about Jack's forever gone tooth about all his talking and signing, and Dr. Andy got to witness his walking and babbling. It all went very well. We were told the foot stomping and fits were normal for his age, and the it's a good time to start timeouts. So, that pack n play may be be put up downstairs earlier than we had previously anticipated. I'm not saying we need it often, but there are some days that Jack is more mischievous and uncooperative than others.

Weird to think that we will be visiting the doctor for the second baby before going back for Jack's 18 month appointment. Weird and awesome of course.

On The Move

Jack is so active, and wants to be walking nearly all the time. He stops only to nap (which he is spending less time doing with each passing week) and to eat. And being 7 months pregnant now, it sometimes wears me out. Good thing for help! It is so wonderful having people around that Jack trusts and loves, and who he will gladly take for a walk. Still so sweet when he reaches up for your finger, signs "please" and takes you on his little adventure.

Juice Time

I don't quite know who likes the juice I make more... Jack seems to enjoy the taste, and I love that he's consuming raw carrots and spinach. Also in this juice was some peaches, blueberries, pear and plum. It was a catch all for fruit going bad in the fridge. It seems the whole family generally enjoys their juices on the weekends.

HUGS!

Jack has begun giving hugs when asked, and even sometimes without being asked, and it is the CUTEST THING EVER!  Here are just a few of the cute hugging stories of late:

• It seems like it began with Ozzie in the mornings.  Jack will hear Ozzie in the other room, or Ozzie will come in and lay down in Jack's room, and I'll ask Jack if he wants to give Ozzie a hug.  Jack will walk over to Ozzie, bend down and gently place his forehead on Ozzie.  So adorable. 
• Yesterday when I picked Jack up from daycare, he was holding a doll.  I asked him if he had his baby, at which point he dropped the doll and pointed to the little boy sitting on the floor (one of the other daycare kids), and said "baby".  He then walked over, and ever so gently placed his arms around the little boys head.  He didn't squeeze, or even come too close, it was so gentle.  Of course the little boy's natural reaction was to arch his back away from Jack, he fell over and started crying.  But Jack really was careful.  Too cute.
• This morning at daycare, one of the other mom's bent down to say goodbye to her daughter, and Jack was close by, wanting to play with the little girl.  The mom asked her daughter if she wanted to give Jack a hug, to which the girl offered a pouting face and took a couple small steps backward.  Jack advanced on her slowly, holding out an arm and bowing his head slightly.  The mom, noticing that her daughter wasn't having it and Jack was offering a good hug, quickly jumped at the opportunity to give Jack a hug herself.  He is so sweet.
• And my all time favorite story... Yesterday morning, shortly after Jack woke up from a good night's sleep, he drank some milk and sat with me for a few minutes.  When he was ready to start moving around, I put him down on he floor, got his attention and said to him, "Hey Jack, I love you very much.  Do you love mommy?"  He smiled at me, walked over, and placed that sweet little head down in my lap for my hug.  It makes me want to cry as I write about it.  So unbelievably amazing!  My heart leaps!

I am sure the willingness to dole out these endearing little hugs will not last forever, but I wish it would.  It is amazing!  Either way, I will try to capture these precious little moments in my memory for the rest of my lifetime.  And I'll try to catch a couple with a camera.  Admittedly I don't have one in his room first thing in the morning, and I seem to be without a camera whenever I really wish I had one.

Fresh Gear

This weekend Sonia and I finally motivated ourselves to go shopping for "new" clothed for Jack.  We were a little tired of having to pre-stretch his clothes with our hands before painting him into them.  We both despise shopping, so it goes to show our desperation.  We got him a bunch of fall and winter clothes and two pairs of shoes and he's wearing my favorite pair in this pic.  They look like a toddler version of air force one's.  Which used to be cool when we were in college... a mere decade ago, but I still like them.  We got everything at a second hand store for a deal.  I really do love "gently used" goods.  $3-$4 per item is reasonable as Captain Chaos has the potential to ruin any clothing at any time.

Hilarious

One morning this last week (couldn't tell you which one, they run together), I got up with Jack and gave him his morning milk and was hanging out with him in his room. But lately he has really been enjoying dad's company, so he left the room to go wake daddy up. I sat in his room and waited for his return, which usually doesn't take too long.

From the room next door, I heard Justin tell Jack hi and good morning, all while laying in bed. Justin then started asking Jack what he was doing. Shortly thereafter, I hear Justin laughing next door, and telling Jack to "go show mommy."

Next thing I know, Jack comes strutting back into his bedroom with a clean pair of my underwear hanging around his neck. Hilarious!

Jack is talking and signing

Jack has made a lot of progress in the last 2 months regarding language and communication. At his 1 year appointment, I spoke to the doctor about his lack of speaking, and it's like he understood me and decided to show me what he's got. He says mama, then smiles at me when I turn my attention to him, even though he has nothing else to say but "Hi". He says "out" constantly, and knows quite well what he's asking for (but will say "out" when he wants "in", and even "up" usually sounds like "out"). Both "socks" and "shoes" sound like "saw", but he holds his feet out adorably! He says "wow" and "uh oh". He has started in on some animal noises (Ozzie pants, other dogs say "woof woof", a fish is a smacking lip, monkey is "ah ah", and he likes the sea lion impression of "arp arp").  Oh, and did I mention he can say "baby" and "people", too cute!

On top of the speaking, he is using sign language. He was using "more", and "bird" pretty well when we got back from France and he's added "milk" (easily confused with "bird" and "light"), "night night" (I love that he practically puts himself to bed with this one - and he will even say "night night" as he signs it), "eat", and he recently added "please" which is so cute cause he rubs his whole tummy! He will walk over, put out his hand or grab my finger, sign please, and when his hand wraps around my finger, he will walk me around with him so he can stay on his feet and try some otherwise questionable climbing or walking on uneven ground.  He signs please and I admittedly melt!  He has his own little gestures for music and help, which are tougher signs because they involve 2 hands, but it is unmistakable to us when he uses them.

Demonstrating "More"



Telling me he's ready to "Eat"

I love that he is starting to tell me what he wants. Now if only he would get better at hearing "no" when he can't have what he wants!

Looking Sharp

A couple weeks ago, Jack was having a tough Sunday, but I decided it was time for a haircut anyway!  So, we found a nearby Great Clips, and went for it. We tried sitting Jack by himself, wouldn't have it. So, then I got to hold the crying, squirmy child for the duration of his cut.  I was so thankful that the lady cutting his hair was extremely patient, and the other lady kept coming by to try to help.  Jack was a real handful.  He just hates sitting still these days!  I tried feeding him snacks the whole time, which probably means he ate as much hair as food.  Oh well.  He didn't seem to mind.

Before:  (while playing with stickers, and yes he is wearing one dad sock and one mom sock, the ones that come out of the laundry without a match)

And After:

He looks stern, but it was just before getting a Jamba Juice, which he LOVES, so he cheered right up.

Hospital Trip

So, we've decided it wouldn't be a normal Sonia pregnancy without a hospital trip (sad but true). So, last Friday turned out to be the big day. I had my 24 week doctor appt in the morning, and did my glucose test to make sure my body is still processing sugar ok (it is, no worries). After meeting with the doctor and drinking the sugar beverage, Jack and I met our friends Lauren and Camden at the water fountains for some fun in the sun. We all splashed around, and Jack stayed while I returned for my blood draw. I was starting to get a small headache, but didn't have any Tylenol, and it wasn't bad enough to ask for some. After the blood draw, we all did a little lunch and a little more splash time, then hopped in our car to go home. We had such a fun time with the Roots!!
All the while, and especially on the way home, the headache intensified! By the time I got home, I could barely keep my eyes open as I grimaced through the pain, my body got the chills due to any sense of light touch, and I was basically incapable of any decision making. I called Justin to come home early for help. He got home shortly after Jack got up from his nap. I basically didn't leave my bed from 1:15pm to 9:45pm.

Justin was amazing taking over with Jack of course.  They went to get a profession photo taken of Justin, trying to leave me with a quiet house. They did dinner, brought me dinner in bed, and Justin put Jack down.  Jack was pretty happy all evening hanging with dad, which was such a relief since he'd skipped his morning nap for the first time ever.

Shortly after 9pm, Justin came in to check on me, noticed I had a temperature (about 101) and decided to call the doctor (I probably wouldn't have).  Good judgement on his part, the doctor recommended we go to the hospital.  We called my brother Steve to come watch Jack, and having just completed a double and working again in the morning, they decided Carrie would come instead.  She arrived around 10:30, and we headed across the street to the nearest hospital.  They sent me straight up to the OB unit, hooked me in, and discovered the baby's heart rate was high, averaging between 180-200 bpm.  They ran a bunch of blood tests, but decided I needed to stay for monitoring.  A night of broken sleep since the baby was so active the nurse was in adjusting the monitors at least every 15 minutes.  Not to mention how sore I was from lying around all day.

In the end, Justin returned home at about 5:30 to help get Jack going (we know Carrie could have handled it had we left her with any instruction, which we didn't because we just didn't think we'd be gone all night). He returned at 7am, just as they were discharging me.  We stopped by the pharmacy to get some pain killers (headache still not 100% gone) then we returned home.  We both slept during Jack's naps, and spent the next couple days around the house trying to recover.  Long weekend!

Water Fun

Jack loves splashing in the water! I started out by buying him a bucket set which was on sale as fall is somehow closing in on us (trees are beginning to change here in town). He has had so much fun with those toys, and we've had to change many soaked outfits. It's amazing how much fun $6 and some water can bring.  He carries the long handled rake and shovel with him everywhere - in and out of the house.  Here are some photos from the first splash event.

Run away!

For his birthday, Jack received some gift cards, so we got a sand and water table to enjoy even more fun with the water in the back yard.  I'm not doing sand this year (pretty sure Jack would try to eat it), but the water and extra toys are even more fun.  I love that I can open the back door, and Jack can roam in and out (he does SO well with the stairs right outside the back door) and play.  And it is so nice to have the deck above to shadow the back patio!