Wordless Wednesday

1 Month Old

Well, I am a day late but you'll have to forgive me as most things seem to be a day late right now. It is hard to believe that Josh has already been here for a month. I took him in for his one month check-up yesterday and he is up to 9lbs 8oz, which is almost 3 pounds since birth and 1 pound since he was in the hospital last week. Clearly this little man is a good little eater. They did measure his length but I am not convinced that it was correct. They had him at 20 1/8 inches but last week in the hospital, they measured at almost 21 inches so we'll just see what happens in subsequent visits. He is still a good little sleeper although it would be good if he could throw in some longer stretches at night. The last two nights, he gave us a 5 and 4 hour stretch, which was a nice change from the every 2 - 2 1/2 that he has been doing since birth. Josh is just such an easy going little man although he does have a little fussy time in the evenings. He is a strong little man as well and really starting to get some control over that neck. He doesn't seem to mind a little tummy time here and there, which is a nice change since Emma hated it. He is tracking really well and has even given me a few little smiles although Brad doesn't believe it is anything but gas. I am here to say that it wasn't gas! Can't wait to see how this little guy changes over the next month.

22 Months Old

Another month gone and what a big one it was for Emma with becoming a big sister. She took to her brother right away and loves to help where she can. She is always wanting to give him hugs and kisses and when she comes home from somewhere, he is the first person that she looks for. The only problem is that our little bull moose doesn't always understand the concept of gentle. Emma's vocabulary continues to expand at a rapid pace and her new favorite phrase is "Happy see you" only you have to make sure that the "you" is really drawn out. She absolutely loves to be outside and is constantly on the go other than during nap time and at night. We have noticed recently that she is really starting to become much more imaginative in her play and these days, Emma really loves her books and she has some favorites, which we have read about 1 million times by now. We have recently started taking Emma up for the children's message during our church service and she is doing a great job of sitting up there and listening. Of course, it helps that she has the whole congregation watching. That girl loves an audience. It has become clear that she is a little clothes horse as well. She gets so excited when she receives some new clothes and immediately wants to strip off what she is wearing and put on her new duds. While she does like to wear her new clothes, she also likes to make me crazy by taking off her shorts and diaper. It may be time to get out the duct tape. Can there really only be 2 months until our little girl turns 2?

Home Sweet Home

I certainly didn't expect to start my fourth week of maternity leave with a hospital stay but thankfully, we are home as of tonight. After Josh felt warm over the weekend, we decided to check his temperature and he was running a low grade fever. I called the medical exchange and at his age, even a low grade fever is considered to be an emergency so off Josh and I went to the ER. I expected to be there for most of the evening on Sunday but was told when we saw the triage doctor to expect to stay overnight. The next doctor I saw told me to expect to stay two nights. They basically wanted to test every fluid to make sure there was nothing serious since he obviously hasn't had any immunizations at this point. They also said that at this age, illnesses present with different symptoms than noted in older children and adults. One snag that probably kept us there until today was that the doctors were unsuccessful in collecting spinal fluid the first two times, which would allow them to rule out bacterial meningitis. With the assistance of ultrasound and x-ray, the radiologists finally got the fluid yesterday. The results came back late this afternoon and showed that the infection was caused by a virus and since his fever had resolved, we were released. We are so happy to be home. Emma was definitely glad to have her little brother and mommy back as well. She has been praying hard for her brother and Brad said that this morning on the way to daycare this morning, he heard Emma speaking so he turned to look and she had her hands folded in prayer and was saying "Thank you Josh happy Amen". We are all saying a big Thank You Jesus and Amen tonight that Josh is healthy and we are all home.

Big Pool

We came a long way this summer from the girl who would start crying the minute she saw a pool to the girl who could do nothing but talk about the "big pool". Unfortunately Labor Day marked the last day for the neighborhood pool this year but Brad did get Emma down there for one last hurrah! Since Brad was not going to get into the water, Emma was confined and I use that term loosely to the kiddie pool. When she was in the water, she had a great time but lots of pool time is spent trying to make a break for the big pool, running around the pool deck and moving the furniture around on the pool deck. I know this because I had experienced the same thing the day before. I am sure that Emma will be raring to go when the pool opens again next Memorial Day and until then, we'll just have to try to help her deal with the disappointment in not being able to go to the "big pool".

Wordless Wednesday - She's Got the Look

Two Weeks

Joshua has been here for a little over two weeks now and I have finally updated his ticker on the right. He is doing great and so far is a much better sleeper than his big sister ever was. In fact, it seems like that is pretty much all he does although we have seen more and more peepers recently. For the most part, he is a pretty content little guy as long as he has a full belly. Emma is doing wonderful in her role as big sister. There was a slight adjustment period but it was mostly her sleep that was affected. However, as Brad noted the other day, there are a number of other factors working on her at the same time all creating the perfect storm; she is cutting a molar, almost two, and has a new brother at home. All in all though, she has been terrific with Joshua and loves to give him hugs and kisses. She is also a big help when it comes to diaper changes and picking out something for Josh to wear. As of yesterday, our parade of visitors dried up and we are on our own. We certainly enjoyed having all the grandparents come to visit and can't wait to see everybody again.

Wordless Wednesday

Emma's 21 Month Photos

A little belated but here she was at 21 months with her Pebbles Flinstone pony tail courtesy of one of the teachers at daycare.

Wordless Wednesday