End of May 2014 - I love surprises!

I can't believe May is over!

I had my final doctor visit - my 6 week post baby check up.  I sure love my doctor and will miss seeing her.  I starting crying when I was sharing with her how saddened I was that her name wasn't on Emmalyn's birth certificate because another doctor delivered her... She was sad that she missed it too.  It's weird that she was my partner through this long journey and then just because she misses the very end, it's like she gets none of the official credit.  I am forever grateful that I found her when I moved to Texas!!!  We also talked about whether I might have some postpartum depression.  I had a friend suggest that I might have it because I am so emotional and haven't completely fallen in love with Emmalyn.  Sure...I like her..she's cute...I love her... but I'm not connected to her like I am to Max.  I feel like that's okay and it's normal - she's still just a blob without a personality.  After talking, my doc didn't feel like I had depression going on but just normal hormonal changes after pregnancy and that I needed to give myself a break and not set such high expectations on myself.  I promised that I would call her if things got worse.

I got my stats so I could compare to last time...

Here is the format - #1 - date of doctors visit, #2 - how many weeks along based on an estimated date of conception of 12/7/10 and due date of 8/30/11, #3 - lbs up or down from weight at date of conception, #4 - blood pressure

10/16/13, 12th week, down 1 lbs, 110/60
11/14/13, 16th week, up 3 lbs, 110/60
12/12/13, 20th week, up 7 lbs, 100/60
1/8/14, 24th week, up 8 lbs, 110/70
2/4/14, 28th week, up 13 lbs, 110/60
2/20/14, 30th week, up 16 lbs, 120/70
3/5/14, 32nd week, up 17 lbs, 110/70
3/19/14, 34th week, up 21 lbs, 110/70
3/27/14, 35th week, up 25 lbs, 120/70
4/1/24, 36th week, up 24 lbs, 110/70
4/9/14, 37th week, up 26 lbs, 110/70

Peter and I are still trying to figure out how to be on the same page and get along.  We are both stressed and at our limits and exhausted.  We try to talk and communicate.  Some times it works...   I am frustrated that I don't get more done.  I want to feel more capable than I do.  I am not getting anything done.

Video - We have smiles!!! 

Emmalyn is so tiny that the bottoms to her dresses just swim on her.  This is from a 0-3 month outfit - not that the waist just hangs...

Her cousins can't get enough of her.  They love giving her attention.

Big open smiles

Watching her brother

Video - Max cracks me up.  He opened his notebook one day and jumped back saying "I can't deweeve (believe) it!"... he did it long enough that I was able to get out my camera after awhile and still capture him doing it.

My Sister-in-Law wanted to surprise her husband, Peter's brother with a trip out to see us and see the baby.  She knew that he wanted to be here but that he wasn't going to come because he wouldn't go without her.  He knew she wanted to be here too and they couldn't both come right now.  So, knowing that he wouldn't go without her, she got the idea that the only way to get him here would be to buy the ticket for him and surprise him.  I gladly became her accomplice because I knew Peter would love that surprise too!  We were able to keep it a surprise from Alex until the night before (he had an EARLY flight and there was no way she would have gotten him to the airport at 4 am without him knowing what was going on).

Alex's flight got in right during nap time so I had prepped Max and told him that we were going to go pick up Uncle Alex at the airport but that he needed to take a nap on the way there.  He wanted to bring Emmalyn's blanket that he has sort of taken over.  He did awesome and totally fell asleep quickly.  

Emmalyn does good in the car unless she's hungry.  She is going about 3 to 3 1/2 hours in between eating.  The night before, I got 3 hours and 9 minutes of sleep (thanks to my new Fitbit for tracking my LACK of sleep) which leads to things like breaking down crying to my friend, Andrea.  Today I got 6 1/2 and it has made such a big difference!

I told Peter we were close to his job and wondered if he wanted to go to lunch?  (We've never gone to lunch since he started working there...)  He said yes, not knowing that we had a special visitor in the car with us!  It was great because Peter had no clue about Alex until we drove up and he saw him in the car.

Video - Alex surprises Peter

It was an awesome surprise.  :)  We all went to lunch and then Peter went back to work to finish his day.

Emmalyn and Uncle Joe

Emmalyn and Uncle Alex

He was nervous to hold her because she was so little.

The boys had a great time hanging out.  The first night was spent playing video games.

Emmalyn has some cradle cap going on but it's not super bad.  Her baby acne is much better and is only little bits now.  She will lay on the play mat or in the boppy for longer time spans - like 5 to 10 minutes which gives me little mini-breaks.

We typically get up and start getting ready for the day at 8:30 and aren't fully ready until 2 hours later.  I am pumping after I nurse in the morning to start building my freezer supply.  I'm getting about 4 oz, so that is good for now.  I am NOT looking forward to going back to work even though things are crazy hard right now at home.  

Max will tell Emmalyn that he loves her and gives her kisses.  He gets frustrated when she cries and I can't get to her immediately, like when I'm using the restroom.  I am still bickering with Peter but it seems like that might be getting better, a little. 

I am doing things more on my own without as much help from Brittany which makes me feel more capable but also means I am getting even less done.  I am keeping things sort of running but not getting to do lots.

Video - Max's recognition of sight words is picking up.  He's going really fast now.

She was so exasperated that she had to nurse under the cover that she covered her face.  :)

Video - We are getting smiles and coos for real now - all the time!

Uncle Alex playing chalk with all the boys

We took Alex out for some BBQ

He wanted to know if holding the baby carrier counted as holding the baby...  NOPE!

Holding onto her daddy's hand while he held in her binkie.

Miss Mary Ann next door gave Max a cupcake.  He thought it was "Delicious".  

The boys worked on a couple "manly" projects while Alex was here.  Peter installed the new fan timer switch in the bathroom, they bought and installed a fan outside on the patio, and they built a removable platform/riser in the back of the media media room.  That was a major project.

Alex carry the carpet for the riser

The supplies were so big, they had to rent a truck.  At that point I was worried if they might be over their heads.  (Shout out to our neighbor Chris who let them borrow some tools and supplies.)

Tida and Jason came over to meet Emmalyn.  We all had a GREAT time hanging out (including the impromptu visit from my neighbor Erika).

Visitors!! An Aunt and a Disease. What?!

We were so excited to have Peter's sister, Aja, come back to visit us.  She had just been in here in March but she really wanted to meet Emmalyn and so she came back!  We feel very lucky to have her come to Texas twice in a few months! (...Especially since she had just had a medical procedure done the day before and was still recovering!)

She arrived at the airport during Max's nap time so in the car I told him that he needed to fall asleep and take a nap.  I didn't know if it would work but I was worried about how he'd behave without a nap.  Whew - he listened!  (Emmalyn slept like a champ too!)

She brought us a lot of presents!  Each of her 4 kids had picked out something for Emmalyn plus she brought a present for Max AND Landen and Hayden.  Thanks for all the great stuff, Aunt Aja!  You were so generous and thoughtful.

Max is really good and knowing our rules (except "don't jump on the couch"...that rule might as well have never been spoken).  One of the gifts from Aja was some bubbles and she opened it up and blew some in the house and he stopped her said that we blow bubbles outside.  :)

Artwork by Maxwell.  I liked this one.

Three days ago, Landen wasn't feeling well and got this rash on his body.  Brittany took him to the doctor to get checked out because it looked like a few things that were pretty scary (not to mention how scary they could be if Emmalyn caught it).  Turns out that he had Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease.  Sounds pretty bad but learned that it isn't that bad.  He puts his hands in his mouth a ton and probably picked it up when they visited Hayden's school the previous week.  Anyway, the doctor just said to keep him away from the baby to try and prevent her from getting it but if she didn't it would be critical, wash your hands really well, and it would just pass on its own with no medicine.  The bummer part of this was that Landen really really really loves Emmalyn and it was torture to be around her without touching her so Brittany kept him upstairs all the time to try and prevent the disease from spreading to Maxwell or Emmalyn.  That also meant that I lost my helper because she was staying away from the baby as well.  So, all that great help that I had been getting (holding the baby while I showered or getting Max breakfast while I was nursing, etc.) went away.  Now I REALLY had to do it all on my own during the day.

So a few days pass and the first night Aja is here, Peter was putting pajamas on Maxwell and came out and showed me these pics on his phone that he had just taken...  CRAP!  My kid has caught the disease.

His hip

His shoulder

He had a fever the previous night and acted sick but I thought it might have been a fluke.  Well, apparently the fever shows up first with HFMD (Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease) and the sores show up after that.  The sores shouldn't itch but if they get them in their mouth it can be really painful for them.

This was not good because Max now was really liking to kiss Emmalyn a lot, mainly on the head, and saliva is how the disease gets spread.  Just today he was talking about how he wants to make her happy.  He will talk to her and then tell me what she says.  For example "She says she wants a crunchy" (Cap'n Crunch Berries).  And he tell her that he loves her.  It's really sweet and I so want him to love his sister.  And now I have to curb that and keep him away from her as much as possible and certainly stop all the kissing.  Grrrrrr

Video - Emmalyn still has a little bit of the sweet newborn cry.  But she also has a piercing cry that seems to grace us more frequently in the middle of the night.

Emmalyn and the gorgeous blanket Aunt Aja made for her.  

She made one for Max when he was born that he still sleeps with. 

Video - Max showed off his "sight words" skill for his Aunt

I think Maxwell's language skills, especially his large vocabulary and complex (for a 2 year old) sentences are really good.  Aja asked Max if he had cereal for breakfast and he automatically said yes without thinking about it.  He then stops, thinks, and says, "No, actually, no.  I had oatmeal for breakfast."

Give a toddler a spray bottle and they are entertained forever!

More sores were showing up

Emmalyn is awesome at holding up her head.  Notice how bad her baby acne is getting - it's awful!  Her pediatrician said I could use Cetaphil wash on her face to help with it but I haven't because #1 - it's not made for babies and #2 - I feel like baby acne is normal and I should just let it run its course

Video - She's not even 1 month old yet and she's so strong!  Look at how long she holds her head up during tummy time.

Poor Max was not feeling well and wanted to cuddle.  

The sores didn't seem to bother him.  He called them his "dots" and would count them.  He didn't get many on his hands and feet but he did get some in his mouth.  Luckily they didn't bother him so much that he wouldn't eat or drink.  He mainly got the sores on his shoulders, upper arms, back, and upper legs.  They certainly looked awful and can last 10 days!  We all did lots of frequent hand washing to try and protect Emmalyn.  I was grateful that Max isn't a kid that puts things or his hands in his mouth.

Since Brittany took Landen to the pediatrician, I didn't feel like there was any need to take Max especially since there was no medicine to help with the disease.  Brittany also talked with the doc about Emmalyn, since he is also Emmalyn's pediatrician, about Emmalyn and her living in the same house as Landen.  And while he wanted to avoid her getting it if possible, didn't feel it would be serious if she happened to get it.  (In my extensive online research once Max got it, I learned that it isn't common for infants to catch the disease.  Also I figured she'd get some protection through my breast milk.)

Emmalyn holding onto Aja as if she were a steering wheel.

We let him play the iPad since he wasn't feeling well.  The iPad is quickly a group activity.

Max playing with the tool set Aunt Aja got him - he LOVES it.  She always picks out great presents for Max that are spot on.

Emmalyn and her Aunt

Max loved having Aja around!

Ahhhhh tickle monster!

Peter and his sister

We didn't "DO" much of anything during Aja's visit.  Her priority was spending time with Emmalyn, not sight seeing.  Plus, she was recovering and I wanted her to have the benefit of getting some rest while she was here since once she went home she'd have 4 kids to take care of.  It was a short visit and she was gone less than 48 hours after she got here but we enjoyed lots of talking and catching up.  Thank you so much for coming, Aja!!!

Figuring out how to do it with 2 kids...(1 of whom is starting to read!)

On May 5 (cinco de mayo!) I ventured out with the two kids, by myself, for the first time.  It felt like a really big accomplishment.  We went to the bank.  Not IN the bank but instead through the drive through...baby steps here, people! :)

Both kids in the car!  

Sweet baby (yes, she's still in her pajamas...)

We got this darling card along with a cute outfit from my nanny Monika - so cute!!!

One sweet sleeping baby.  

(Notice he is laying the wrong way in his bed and is laying on TOP of his blue pillow.  What you can't see is under his head are his stuffed animals and other blankets.)

Sweet sleeping baby #2 - Binky never stays in while she sleeps, it pops out pretty quickly

One of the struggles we are working through is how I keep Max entertained and happy while I am nursing Emmalyn.  He always wants me to play with him and doesn't want to play by himself while I am nursing.  Today I was able to talk him into playing with his trains.

I have found that play-do will always work.  He LOVES playing with it and when most everything else will entertain him for 10-15 min, he can play for over an hour with the play-do.

I had mentioned earlier to my neighbor, Mary Ann that the late afternoons are the hardest because when Max gets up from his nap he's more needy/whiny and I'm completely wiped from trying to hold it together.  I watch the clock counting down the minutes until Peter gets home.  

She texted me a few days later and asked if she could came over to visit and help.  She was so kind and took Emmalyn and let me lay down for a much needed nap especially since my throat has been hurting and I feel like I might be getting sick (Max was napping too).  I told her to wake me up when Max woke up but she let me sleep and took care of both of them.  Then, once I was up we went outside and I held the baby while she gave Maxwell some soccer coaching.  I am so incredibly grateful for her friendship and support.  My kids are also lucky to be growing up next door to people who love them too.

  

Parental Bragging Time!

Max has been learning sight words for awhile now.  Hayden was learning them as part of Kindergarten and so Brittany would work with Hayden on learning these at night, after school.  Well, since Brittany watched Max that meant that he was a part of Hayden learning these words.  Max started learning them to and there were times that Brittany had to hold the flash cards so Max couldn't see because he would say the word before Hayden would.

So we have built upon what sight words he learned with Brittany and have worked on them with him as well as using sight word apps.  We also got some sight word books for Kindergarten and first grade.  He's doing a great job.  Take 3 minutes and watch this - I am pretty proud of him!  (He's not even 3!)

Video - Maxwell reading a book

Maxwell helped Momma water the flowers in the planter

Giving his little sister a kiss (Notice her awful baby acne?!)

Max is doing awesome at swimming lessons!  He's ready to move up to the next class but they won't move him up because the typical age range for the next class is 4-7 years old.  His coach, Coach Katie, thinks he would be okay being with the bigger kids but the manager of that location won't go for it.  So, we are stuck at this level until he's at least 3 years old.  It's frustrating because he's just doing things that he can already do but Katie is going to try to challenge him as much as she can until he moves up.  There are 3 other kids in the class so she isn't able to focus 100% on him but he still enjoys going so we are going to keep him in classes and try and challenge him when we start going swimming too.

Her baby acne keeps getting worse.  It's taking over her face!

This was a nice gift sent by my client contact at Perfetti.  It gets major points for presentation!

Video - Maxwell LOVES singing happy birthday.  Luckily we have lots of friends and family lately with birthdays who have given him the opportunity to serenade them.  This was for a friend in our neighborhood.  I stopped the video when he was in the middle of asking if she blew out her candles.  He's always concerned about that.  :)   

Max does great with talking.  He's usually very clear and has a huge vocabulary.  He amazes me with how often he uses difficult words correctly - like ACTUALLY and WHILE  (those just don't seem like typical words used by a 2 year old).

A couple of his commonly used phrases lately:

"supposed to, got to"  - He says this instead of saying just one of them.  For example, he'll say "You're supposed to, got to put your shoes on"

"That's a great idea..." - For example, "Ooh, Ooh I can eat some crackers?  That's a great idea..."

"Who's that little guy?" He refers to most people as "little guys".  (He has also called poop in the potty little guy - for example he pooped in the small training potty and when taking it to dump it in the big toilet, he looked at it and said, "who's that little guy?")

"What do you want" - This is the phrase that gets asked over and over again when he's playing pretend restaurant

"I don't know" - We are hearing this a lot lately.  It's his default, quick answer even though he may know.