A Day in the Life of the DeVries Family

Nathan's Journey through Cranioynostosis

2010-02-02T20:30:00.002-05:00

This is a video montage I made for my little man.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Home at last!

2010-01-12T20:00:00.000-05:00

HOME AT LAST!!!! It feels sooooo good to be home! After 5 days in the hospital, I am happy to have my little dude back in his own bed. He had some good days and some not so good days, but once he got his eyes opened he was a totally different boy! His demeanor changed dramatically! I'm going to post some links to the photos I uploaded on to Facebook. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. He still has a long recovery road but he is doing great!

Day before surgery
Surgery Day
Recovery Day 1

Recovery Day 2
Recovery Day 3
Recovery Day 4

Still in the hospital...

2010-01-12T10:30:00.003-05:00

Well it has been a couple of days since I've been able to update. Nathan is still in the hospital. The last couple of days have been up and down. He's been running a fever anywhere from 37.8 to 39.8. (100-103.6) When he has a fever they have to recheck every hour day and night, when he doesn't they only check every 4 hours. It makes for long nights when they check every hour. His incision is healing nicely. I tried to count the stitches but I keep loosing track. It's a lot. His swelling is going down. Last night he was able to open one eye and has been slightly happier since then. My mom stayed with him last night so that I could come home and get some sleep. Yesterday they were talking about letting him some home on Tuesday (today) if his fever was under control and if his blood work numbers came back good. This morning they drew blood and his hemacrit level was in the 20s. I don't know what that means but we should find out today if he'll need another transfusion. I am waiting to go back to the hospital now. I tried to go earlier and had a flat tire. Definitely not what I wanted today! I think that is everything that has happened really. Just trying to control his temp these days. Thanks for the prayers!

PICU update

2010-01-09T19:15:00.003-05:00

Good Evening. I am updating this from the adult hospital next door. I have been kicked out for shift change. Currently Nathan is still in PICU but is being moved to a real room! Originally they told us he was staying another night but changed their minds. I think they are moving him because a trauma came in this evening. It was very hectic in there. He is still getting morphine (he hates the initial push of the meds) and tylenol. His temp is still at 38.9 (102.something) That is semi-normal for a big surgery like this. He has kept his food down today! His eyes are swollen shut and they are black with a hint of purple. Literally. That's about all I have time to say right now. I need to go be with Nathan when they move him. Update again tomorrow. Good Night.

Surgery is over!!!!

2010-01-08T19:45:00.000-05:00

I'm finally getting a chance to update on his surgery. Everything went great! We had a slight delay this morning, but our doctor found him a bed in ICU so surgery went on. Nothing unexpected happened. They said it was uneventful. He spent about 3 hours in recovery because during his surgery they gave away his bed. No big deal, just inconvenient. Of all the things that could have gone wrong that was not a big deal.

We saw him about 1 hour post op and he looked swollen already. He did get a bottle of Pedialyte at 4 which he threw up almost immediately. He was given some Tylenol/codeine for his pain. It was pretty uneventful in recovery. He was moved to PICU at 5:30 and he started getting very fussy. I could tell he was hurting but there was nothing that could be done as far as pain management with out a doctors orders. I had to leave for hsift change at 6:30 and decided to come home and rest. He's gonna need me a lot tomorrow and I need to be rested. Thank you to all those who sat at the hospital with us. Much appreciated. I'm heading off to eat some dinner and go to bed. I'll upload pictures tomorrow. Bye

waiting update 10:45 am

2010-01-08T10:45:00.000-05:00

They called us again and said that the neurosurgeo

n (Dr. Dilustro) is finished with his part and the plastic surgeon (Dr. Magee) has taken over. Everything is still going well and he looks fantastic.

waiting update 9:45 am

2010-01-08T09:45:00.000-05:00

The nurse called us and said everything is going great!

Waiting in the waiting room surgery day

2010-01-08T09:00:00.001-05:00

Good morning! We are sitting in the waiting room still. We got here very early this morning at around 5:30. At about 7:30am we were told that there were no beds in the PICU and it might be a couple hours until they can even start his surgery. Nathan was getting antsy and hungry by that time. We left Nathan with his grandma and went to grab some breakfast real quick. My mom called as we were leaving saying they were ready to take him! It was only 8:30! They took him back to the operating room. We are still waiting.

Nathan's first haircut and prep for surgery

2010-01-07T19:55:00.002-05:00

We shaved Natey boy's head today. All of it! No hair left on his cute mishapened head! If you had been our neighbor you probably would have thought that there was bloodshed happening in our house. Nathan cried and cried and wiggled and squirmed. Daddy did most of the shaving. He left the last bit of mohawk hair on top for me. Now that his hair is gone you can really see the mishaped head. Also you can actually see the ridge of bone on top. Previosuly I had only been able to feel it and not see it. Nathan sure has an odd shaped head. He's cute as can be though! He's down for the night now and at about midnight I will wake him up and give him one last bottle. I probably won't sleep well tonight but if I do manage to fall asleep, I will be up again at about 4:30 to get ready and leave. Well 4:30 is fast approaching and I still have so much left to do. I'm leaving you with a picture of his first haircut and you can see more in the album! Good Night. I'll update this as I get updates tomorrow.

Nathan's Pre-op visit

2010-01-05T20:52:00.000-05:00

Nathan had his blood work done yesterday. He was a trooper up until the needle was in his arm. Eh, at least he was brave for a moment. lol. The nurse got the IV in with just one poke, unlike the 5 it took last time. He and I were very greatful for that! He got a sticker and a stuffed animal for all of his tears. I have to admit CHKD is great doing little things that make the kiddos happy!

Today Nathan had his pre-op appointment. We told them last week we didn't need an appointment since we had no questions, but yesterday they called and said to come in at 10am. My husband got home from work early so he could be home with Brian and I rushed out the door at 9:40am for a 10am appointment! If you know VA then you know that the tunnels here are notorious for horrible traffic. Well not today! Just a little traffic! I'm not sure what time I actually got into the office but my parking stub said 9:55. Lucky me! so anyways, on to the appointment. We were supposed to meet with Dr. Dilustro but he was still in surgery (don't want to rush that) so we had to meet with Dr. Magee instead. He walked me through the surgery again and explained what they did in all of its glorious details. I'll spare you on those.
Then we saw their pediatrician so that Nathan could be cleared for surgery. Nathan is in good health and in great shape for surgery! The only thing that would cancel it is if he gets a fever of 100.2 by Friday. Hoping for no mystery sickness in the next few days. The doctor also agreed with me that Nathan might be a bit behind in his gross motor skills. You might call me crazy but I have learned to listen to that mother's instinct and I just know that there is something not totally right. He told us to contact Early Intervention and get the ball rolling. It's better to be tested and not need help than to need it and not get it. So that is my job tomorrow!

We have a surgery date!

2009-12-16T12:19:00.000-05:00

Nathan's surgery is January 8, 2010! I'm so happy that the date has finally been set and that it will be before his birthday!

Our visit with the Neurosurgeon and the plastic surgeon

2009-12-15T19:35:00.003-05:00

We went to see the surgeons that will be operating on Nathan last Tuesday. Dr. Dillustro talked to us about what craniosynostosis is and the treatment for it. He used some big words and then dumbed it down for us. LOL He showed us the CT scan pictures on his computer and it was very obvious that his sutures were infact closed up. He confirmed to us that they were already fused when he was born and it was NOT something that happened during labor. He referred to Nathan as "deformed". My initial thought after hearing that was "how rude, I don't know that I like this guy at all". Then he explained to us that they need to use that word because when an insurance company sees "plastic surgeon" on the bill they write it off as cosmetic and this is most definately NOT cosmetic.
Dr. Dillustro assured us that he has been doing this for over 25 years and has done thousands of these surgeries. He walked us through the procedure. (If you would like to know the nice version, click here. If you would like to know the more detailed version, click here.) The surgery is about 4-5 hours long and he will be heavily sedated. After the surgery is over he will be in the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) for 1-2 days and then he will be moved to the regular care floor. Dr. Dillustro told us to expect significant swelling of the face for a few days and that minor swelling can last even a couple weeks. He said we will notice a difference in his head shape right away.

After meeting Dr. Dillustro, he introduced us to Dr. Magee. Dr. Magee is the plastic surgeon that will be taking care of Nathan. He is a experienced surgeon. He and his wife co-founded Operation Smile over 25 years ago. They operate on needy children in foreign countries. Mainly they fix cleft pallets and other craniofacial deformities. I feel confident in his work.

We are still waiting for a surgery date. On Tuesday we were told we should know in 2-3 days. Well now it has been 5 days. My husband has been very busy harassing them and has even called some of the secretaries himself to find out the doctor's surgery schedules. As of now we are waiting/hoping Dr. Magee will open another day for surgery. He only has two so far. One day in January and one day in March. I'd really like to get the January date since it is best if the surgery is done before Nathan's first birthday. All of this is out of our hands and we just pray we get the day that is best for Nathan.

Keep my little dude in your thoughts and prayers and I will continue to update as I find out more.

New house, and the day our lives changed

2009-12-07T12:10:00.002-05:00

It has been quite a while since I last updated here.I believe the last update was in September. Since then, we found, bought and moved into our new house! We found a 3 bedroom 2 bath house that was perfect for our family! When we first saw the house it was naked. Litterally! It was in the middle of a complete renovation! There was no paint, no flooring, no cabinets and no windows! I'm going ot try a new way of sharing photos with you. Here are pictures of our naked house and pictures of it finished.

The day we closed on the house, we found a leak in the roof! It wasn't a problem since the seller said he would fix it. Also that night, Dean was sent out to sea for 9 days! That left me to pack, paint, watch over the roof and plumbing repairs and move as much as I could. The day after the roof was repaired we were hit with a huge Nor'easter. 3 days of heavy downpours and strong winds. The area was flooded and the bridges and tunnels were closed. Good news is that the roof held up and we didn't flood out here! Eventually Dean came home and that weekend was spent moving. We had lined up a U-haul truck so that we could move everything quickly. That fell though and we were stuck with using our truck and my uncles truck. We got most of it moved that day. Dean and spent the next few weekends moving some of the odds and ends. Finally we were all moved! We still had to spend the next weekend at the old house cleaning to get it ready for the next tenant. We left the rental house that afternoon (after 4 hours of cleaning) feeling like a weight had been lifted off our shoulders. Finally we could relax one weekend. NOPE! Wishful thinking! Me and my bright ideas decided that we would throw Brian a party for his 2nd birthday at our house! It was only 3 weeks away and we still had way to much unpacking left to do. Darn ambitious mind! We have a little less that a week before the party now. I'll show you all pictures next weekend! Moving on to another subject!

Nathan is growing like a weed. He is scooting along now and saying mamma and dadda. He is the happiest little boy ever! He had an appointment with his pediatrician for his routine 9 month appointment. He weighed in at 19 pounds and 27 inches long! She asked me if there was anything I was concerned about or had any questions. I asked her again about the ridge that he has down the middle of his skull still. At a previous appointment we had discussed this and the pediatrician decided we would "watch it" and that he would "grow out of it". She looked at his head, felt his ridge and asked me if his head looked funny to me. I told her it wasn't round and that his temple are sunken in. That's when everything changed. She decided she wanted to get a CT scan done on his head and see what she could see and the nurse would call me to let me know when the appointment at the hospital was. I left that appointment more confused and worried than ever. It was just me and the kids and I drove home as quickly as possible becasue I knew I had to do some research. The kids went off to nap time and I went off to my computer. After hours of reading I found out what should have been diagnosed 9 months ago.Our appointment was set for Tuesday, December 1st. While the week slowly passed, we celebrated Thanksgiving twice and had a blast but the whole time all I could think about was what might be and the CT scan ahead. The night before we had to fast Nathan since he was being sedated. I wasn't sure how well he would do with not eating. I woke him up at 3:45am for his last bottle until noon the next day. Finally Tuesday arrived. My aunt came over to watch Brian since children under 18 who aren't patients aren't allowed at the Children's Hospital becasue of H1N1. We got there at 9:30. We were taken back to the CT area so that they could sedate Nathan. The scan they were doing is a 3D reconstructive scan. It requires them to be completly still. They tried 3 times to get the IV in him and kept missing.

They used this special light under his arm to get the veins to light up. It was a pretty cool tool! They finally called in the IV Specialist Team. She missed the first time and got it the second time. Poor Nathan cried and cried but was a happy little dude once they all left! He's a trooper.

After waiting a little while they took us off to the CT room. They would only let one of us go back with Nathan while they sedated him. They laid him down on the CT bed and turned on a projector on the ceiling for him to look at. It was pictures of stars and the moon. They gave him the meds and it put him in a zombie like state. They don't make him sleep just make him still. Once he was zoned out they made me leave. It was the longest walk of 10 feet ever. I sat in teh waiting room for litterally about 90 seconds before the doctor came to get me and tell me it was all over. 30 minutes of needle pricking for 90 seconds of stillness. When I got back to him, he was laying on his side still zoned out. His eyes were open but he wasn't following anything or reacting all all. He was really floppy and had no control. The nurse said he'll come around shortly and he can have some pedialyte to drink. She went over the papers with me and he started to snap out of it. He drank a whole bottle of pedialyte and explained to me that he would probably sleep for 4-6 hours that afternoon and the effects of the drug would be with him for 4-12 hours. We were discharged and were sent home to wait for 12 hours to 3 days for the results. Natha snapped out of his zombie state in just about 1 hour! He acted completely normal for the rest of the day. That gave me high hopes for any future recovery.
I called the pediatricians office that afternoon and was told they would call me first thing in the morning. Around 9:15 the phone rang! Of course it rang about 4 times before that and every time I nearly jumped out of my skin every time. But THE call came. The pediatrician called and said that Nathan had Craniosynostosis. It is just what I thought he had. What is that you might be wondering.

What is Craniosynostosis? In an infant, the skull is not a solid piece of bone, but several boney plates separated by fibrous sutures. These sutures allow room for growth as an infant develops, and will eventually fuse to form a solid skull. Craniosynostosis is a condition in which one or more of these sutures fuse prematurely, causing restricted skull and brain growth. The result is an abnormally shaped head, or in severe cases, increased pressure on the brain. It is often sporadic with unknown cause, but can sometimes be linked a genetic syndrome. A physician’s examination as well as X-rays and/or a CT scan are required in order to properly diagnose craniosynostosis.

Nathan, more specifically, has sagittal synostosis. His bones have fused down the middle of his skull creating the ridge that we have been feeling.

Here is a picture of a normal head:

And here is a picture of what Nathan's looks like:

So what do they do to fix this? Surgery. Plain and simple. I have found a great support board called Cranio Kids and it has tons of other families going through the exact same thing. They are great at answering any questions. Even the silly ones. We meet with a Neurosurgeon and a plastic surgeon tomorrow to set this all up and to ask my 71 million questions. I will know more tomorrow hopefully! Until then keep Nathan in your thoughts and prayers!

Oh and while all of this has happened, this weekend Dean has been sick, Brian got strep throat, and Nathan popped a 102 fever.Everyone is well now except Dean. I'll write more tomorrow. BYE!

Maybe time for an update?

2009-09-16T16:22:00.000-04:00

I seem to start every post with "So it's been awhile" and again, it's been awhile. Some of you may know that I started a couponing blog recently. You can check it out here.

The boys are doing great. Nathan turned 6 months old on August 24th and was a whopping 18 pounds 10 ounces! He is still at the top of the charts for everything and is following his curve just fine. He's just going ot be a big boy! Developmentally he is great. He is sitting up on his own pretty much. I still don't leave him by himself sitting since occasionally he does flop over. He seems to have no interest in crawling. He'd rather sit and watch his brother. Unlike Brian, he's really calm and talkative, whereas Brian was active and less talkative. Nathan will be chatting along with Brian before I know it!
Brian will be 21 months old tomorrow! i cna't believe that either! He has a lot of new words and can repeat almost anything you say. That's not a problem at home since we don't say bad words, but the public is another story! Like the guy blarring his music in the car next to us! Or mommy yelling "move lady!" when she's in a hurry. I better start watching it. He has learned a few letters. He can tell you what "H" says and what "B" says! That's my smart little boy!
Dean's doing great too. He reenlisted in mid-August for another 4 years in the Navy. He's more than ready for a break from work.

Here is a picture from his re-enlistment

Natey touching the cupcakes I made for his half birthday. (He did get to taste the chocolate)

Brian enjoying the cupcakes for Natey's half birthday.

Nate's first taste of solids. (We are a little late on starting these)

Brotherly kisses. This happens a hundred times a day!

Brian playing in his laundry hamper. He was stuck for awhile.

Brian being bad! Nathan was blowing raspberries and Brian thought he would join in.

He lost his milk cup for awhile after this incident. The milk was all in his lap, his seat, and even dripped through somewhere onto the floor.

That's us for now! See ya soon!

Long update with a month worth to catch up on!

2009-08-01T14:25:00.009-04:00

Where to start? It's been a really long time. Sorry. Life with a 5 month old and a 19 month old is getting harder and harder. The days of leaving Nathan on the couch while Brian ate lunch is past us and leaving Brian. So I guess I should catch you all up some!

Family events- Did I tell you all we went to the Zoo? Well we did. A long time ago. haha. Brian had alot of fun and Nathan didn't care. Here are some pictures. Brian is more interested in the pebbles in the wall.

The Prairie dog exhibit lets you stick your head up in these plastic bubbles and get really close to the animals. It was really hot in that plastic bubble, we didn't stay in there too long!Brian chasing the peacock around.See Nathan was there.

The giraffe room lets you get really close.This is Great-Granddaddy, Nathan and Brian. I can't believe Brian sat still long enough for this picture!

We also took a trip to Busch Gardens. We just took Brian with us and left Nathan at Grandma's house. Brian had a blast! It was really hot and humid that day. We had to cut it short since a toddler can only handle so much heat and he ran out of energy. He got to ride a couple rides in the Sesame Street area, and loved the 4D Sesame Street show! It was his first movie in a theater. Here are some pictures which I will tell you about the things we did and saw.

Brian rode this ride all by himself. I was really nervous letting him go alone but the attendant assured me he would be ok. It was his favorite!

This is Land of the Dragons.

He rode the carousel like a big boy. Daddy showed him how to hold on and he did! He loved it!

I didn't know how he would react to the snake but he really didn't care. He looked at the trees more.This is from the aviary. Dean tried to get one of the birds to hop up on to his finger and the bird bit him. I laughed and Dean won't let me put it on the internet.

I took this picture while we were waiting for the 4D movie to start.

This is Oscar's Whirly Worm. Brian wasn't a big fan of this.

He wasn't very sure about the characters. It took alot to get him to go see them.

This is the very first ride that Brian rode at Busch Gardens! I can't believe they let him ride it! He looked so silly!

Brian had a blast a Busch Garden's. I can't wait to take both boys next year!
That is about it for the family activities. We are busy but it sure doesn't seem like it when I put it out in words.

So to update about the boys.

Brian- One word... busy!
Just this past week he came down with something that spiked his temperature up to 105. No other symptoms and he was better the next day. Very strange and weird, but toddlers just are that way! I can hardly keep him contained these days. If he is left alone for 1 minute he is climbing over the couch and will meet you at the top of the steps. He has scared me to death doing that. Not only climbing the stairs alone but I don't expect him and jump everytime. He's sneaky! We also started Potty Training. He did great on his first day! The second day he wanted nothing to do with the potty and refused to pee on it. He got sick the next day, so potty training is on hold till tomorrow. Here are some random pictures of just every day activities.

Temper tantrums are normal here. This is time out.Messy food is also normal here. Oh well it happens. This just happened to be beanie weanies.

Another messy meal of Ravioli. He got it from his head.......to his toes!

The aftermath of "nap time". Not quite sure how he sleeps in a bed with this many toys. But I think I remember as a kid always having lots of toys at the foot of my bed too!

Sick Brian. This was just this past week. He fever spiked to 105 suddenly. No other symptoms. All he wanted was this blanket and "ck ck" (Cookie Monster).Laid out on the couch.

He bounced back the next day and was back to tortuing Nathan. Speaking of Nathan...

Nathan- At our last doctor's visit he had an allergic reaction to the band-aids. He got a nasty blister afterward. I'm anxious to talk to his doctor about that at our next visit! He is getting big and changing every day. He likes to play with his toys now and laughs randomly at the silly things Brian does. We are holding off on the solids until 6 months. I am not ready to commit to that just yet!

Silly binky escaped his mouth.

This is to show how big he is. This onsie that he is wearing is 12month size and Brian wears it to bed on a regular basis.

All smiles!

Loves to play on the quilt my Aunt Lisa made for him.

Dean- He's been busy working! He needs a vacation soon! He been doing alot of fishing lately. That's pretty much all he does. Work and fish!

Me- I've been busy being a mom. I recently started up a small photography company. For now I work with one little girl and hoping to expand soon. I've also gotten into making bread. Here is a loaf of Cinnamon Raisin bread I made for breakfast not to long ago.

I've also been doing alot of couponing. I've really gotten into it. It really is a game to me. The challenge is to see how much money I can save. Here are a couple of trips that have really saved me alot! This cost me a grand total of $1.32

(12) Beech-Nut Stage 2, (3) Beech-Nut Stage 1, (6) Smart Water, (4) Fruit 2 O, (3) Playtex Gloves, (2) Deer Park 6 pk, (2) Rubbermaid Take-Alongs, (1) Playtex Drop-Ins, (1) Hefty One Zip 40 ct, (1) Hefty One Zip 20 ct, (1) Reach Floss

Total before Coupons: 84.02
Total After: 9.19(4) Smart Water, (2) Deer Park 6 pk, (2) Fruit 2O, (3) Dawn Direct Foam, (2) Playtex Gloves, (2) Reach Floss, (2) Duracell AA 4 pk, (2) Turkey Hill 1/2 Gallons (1) Kotex, (1) Carefree, (1) 2000 Flushes, (1) Hefty EZ Zip 40 ct., (1) Rubbermaid Take-Along

Total Before Coupons: $75.34
Total After: $6.66

This is about $140 worth of clothes. I got all of these clothes from Old Navy for about $67 The boys have a good start for this winter.

This is my trip from today. This cost me about 10 dollars.

Everything is going well here. Sorry it has been so long on the update. I hope you all enjoyed the pictures!

Nathan sits up!

2009-07-09T15:57:00.002-04:00

Nathan started trying to sit up not to long ago. Lately when I sit him up he flops forward pretty soon. Well today he sat up straight for a good 15 seconds! I' so proud of my little guy! I can't believe that at 4 months old he is sitting up! Brian never sat up till at least 6 months old! He is growing up so quickly!

4 months and 18 months! And Harris Teeter

2009-06-25T20:05:00.003-04:00

We went to the doctor today for the boy's checkups. Both boys got shots and neither of them cried!

Brian weighed in at 22 pounds and I think 33 inches (but it might have been 31). He is in the 25th percentile for his weight, 50th percentile for his height, and 75th percentile for his head. I asked the doctor about his slightly turned in foot and she said it will probably still straighten out, but we are watching it. He is in good working order.

Nathan weighed in at 16 pounds 9 ounces. I don't know his height because Dean was doing Nathan. He is in the 75th percentile for his weight and height and 90th percentile for his head. She is watching that to make sure there isn't another big jump. He is developmentally doing well so she thinks he probably just has a big head. She isn't worried about his weight but suggested that we hold off on solids until 6 months. That is fine with me. I'm certainly not in a hurry. He is also in good working order!

Luckily the nurses did both boys at the same time.We looked like a little factory. Picture the weight scale on one wall, the length scale on the opposite wall and Dean and I in the middle. We just picked up our kids off of one machine and turned and put them on the other. I heard numbers being called out and saw nurses writing them down. I can only imagine what it would be like if we had multiples. The appointment is hard enough trying to keep one entertained while the other is examined!

Other news around the house...
I went grocery shopping yesterday at Harris Teeter since they are doing a triple coupon event. Here is a picture of what I got...
3 Betty Crocker Warm Delights
3 Lysol 4 in 1 All Purpose cleaner
2 Tabasco Sauses
2 Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner
2 Colgate Advance Toothpaste
2 Colgate 360 Toothbrushes
Dial hand Soap
renuzit odor eliminator
Hot Shot bug spray
Hawaiian Bread
Ben and Jerry's Flipped Out ice cream
Lawry's Merinade
Lysol Bathroom cleaner

The total of my order was $63.22
The total paid out of my pocket was $0.00
Harris Teeter paid me $6.05!!!
By far my best trip ever!

That is about it for around here. Stay tuned for photos from our trip to the zoo!

A long update with tons and tons of pictures!

2009-06-03T22:32:00.011-04:00

Well as my mom pointed out it has been awhile since I've updated. I'm not really sure where my time has gone, but I don't seem to have much time for this sometimes. But now I am back. I've got a lot of pictures to share. We have a trip to the aquarium, so of both of them together, some random shots, and I'm sure some other good stuff.

Hmm let's see. Where should I begin? I will update you all first and then tell you what we've been up to with pictures. As a special treat there is a video of Nathan at the end!

Brian- Went poo poo in the potty! It happened a couple of days ago. He was making the face, I ran him to his new big boy potty and he did his business. It's the only time so far, but it's a start! His language is still taking off. Lots of new words, and copying us a lot! He also mooo's when you ask him what a cow says, and rubs his armpits and says oo oo oo when you ask him what a monkey says. Very cute!

Nathan- He is growing like a weed. His biggest thing recently is he sat himself up from a reclined position! I'm impressed! I was pretty floored!

Overall Brian has become much more loving towards Nathan. He's not quite as deadly and is much easier! He says "awww" and lays his head on him and often will give him kisses. We still have the occasional hitting, but it's gotten much better. Nathan is much happier these days since we figured out his formula.

Dean has been very busy at work. He is ready for a vacation and is ready to go see his mom and family soon. It's been really nice fishing weather lately. In his free time he goes out there and fishes. I can't wait for the boys to be able to join him soon.

I've been pretty busy with the boys. I did get a day off recently and went and worked on my scrapbook with my mom. That was nice.

So now the pictures and the stories behind them.

Brian enjoyed "driving" the truck one day. Daddy let him stand in the driver's seat and he loved it!

Brian helped Daddy wash the truck last week. It was pretty hot and good weather to play in the water. He enjoyed splashing in the soapy bucket the most. He tried to drink it once, but Mommy was on top of it and stopped him quickly!

A rock in the tire, the boy sees everything!

Ooo, a soapy sponge!

Splish, Splash!

Oh it's on my hand!

As a family we went to the Virginia Aquarium. It was nice and Brian loved the fish. I heard him trying to kiss them when they swam by. He got to touch a stingray with my help. I had to hold his hand still in the water or else everyone would have been soaked. It's much more fun in a toddler's eyes to splash the water than to touch the water. He also touched a horseshoe crab. He seemed to like both. We saw the sharks, the river otters, and the seals. Once we got in the car he passed out. A lot of the museum was under construction, so we will go back in a few years and have more fun!

In this exhibit the kids are supposed to be experiencing life from a crabs point of view.

I heard a lot of OOOOing when we was looking at the fish here.

Brian and I touching Stingrays and Skates.

Brian touching another one.

The wall of fish!

More fish!

Brian in the jaws of a shark. What you don't know is that he freaked out and panicked.

A picture of the seals.

Brian passed out after a long long day.

And now so random pictures...

Smiley Nathan playing with his rattle. This is Nathan's first toy and was also Brian's first toy.

Brian wearing Nathan's pants on his head. Everything seems to go on his head these days.

Riding in style. Better watch out! This is the new fashion trend!

This is a picture of Nathan. I was sitting at the computer waiting for Old Navy to put out a handful of coupons online and this is the look he was giving me.

Some brotherly love pictures!

Brian: You get held all the time, MY TURN!

Nathan: Mom, are you kidding me?

Brian giving hugs and accidentally poking his eye.

Brian was patting Nathan's tummy. Again, Nathan is wondering what is going on.Such a serious look.

All smiles.

Nathan passed out after a bottle, bath and a bounce.

And for what you have all been waiting for...

The first giggles caught on tape!

Weekly update!

2009-05-24T10:33:00.002-04:00

Well to update about the contest. Nathan came in the top 8!!! Thank you for your votes! I don't know what place he came in. WE should be receiving a book here shortly! Thanks again!

Brian's vocabulary is expanding every day. He's really good at mimicking now. He popped another tooth through bringing his tooth total to 11. He is still sleeping great in his big boy bed. He's got a runny nose again but not to severe. He fought off a fever a couple of days ago. I thought we were going to have a full blown sickness on our hands but he fought it off. I have no injuries to report.

Nathan is not so lucky. He's got the runny nose and cough. No fever but not sleeping well at all. Poor baby can't breathe with a stuffy nose and a paci. Other than that, he's a generally happy baby.
He can be happy when he wants to be. He's going to be laughing here soon! We got really lucky with a good sleeper. For about a week or two now he's been sleeping through the night. From about 8:30- 7! It's definitely nice!

That's about it for us here. Keep checking back for more updates!

LAST DAY!!!!!!!

2009-05-20T07:49:00.003-04:00

Today is the last day to vote for Nathan in the Bringing Home Baby photo contest! I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to vote! Remember it's one vote per computer per day!

http://www.whattoexpect.com/photo-contest/photo_details.aspx?contestId=15&contestantId=14248

Voting link for Tuesday!

2009-05-19T13:59:00.002-04:00

Here is the link for today. Tomorrow is the last day to vote! VOTE VOTE VOTE!

http://www.whattoexpect.com/photo-contest/photo_details.aspx?contestId=15&contestantId=14248

Voting for Monday

2009-05-18T10:21:00.001-04:00

Monday's link. It will all be over in just a few short days! Vote on all of your computers!

http://www.whattoexpect.com/photo-contest/photo_details.aspx?contestId=15&contestantId=14248

Vote again and an update with pics and video

2009-05-17T09:58:00.006-04:00

First I need to tell you all to vote for Nathan. Keep voting everyday until the 20th! I can't wait until I can stop spamming my own blog with this ridiculously long contest!
http://www.whattoexpect.com/photo-contest/photo_details.aspx?contestId=15&contestantId=14248

Update on us!

Family- We spent yesterday at our annual May get together with my family yesterday. We had a record breaking 27 people there! Mostly my family with the addition of my cousin's girlfriend, another cousins boyfriend, another cousins fiance, and another cousins best friend. We attempted to get the first picture of the three greatgrandbabies together. It was rough and figures that the oldest was the hardest to get to sit still. I'm attaching some pictures of that.

Nathan with my grandmother his great grandmother!

I hear he giggled during this shot!

Kisses for my cousin Kyle! Brian loves him!

Going through the doggy door!

The first three Great-Grandbabies
From Left-Right Taylor- September 2008, Brian December 2007, Nathan February 2009

We also got a grill last nite. Dean loves to grill but we haven't gotten around to picking out a grill. I'm glad we have it since that means less I have to cook!

Nathan- He is pushing up now and rolling! (video at the end) At his 9 week appointment I asked his doctor about his strength since he was much further behind than Brian was at this age. At 9 weeks he wasn't lifting his head at all. Somehow by 10 weeks he was pushing up really really well! At 11 weeks he was rolling over! It seems like just overnight he went from weakling to superman! So proud of my little man. Unfortunately it means he is no longer safe on the couch. Little did he know, he was much safer up on the couch than on the floor with his brother.

Brian- He is still working on adding more words to his vocabulary. His newest word is "dude". Thanks to his aunts. It's pretty cute! I'll see if I can get a better video and show it next post.
He's also starting to learn how to help Mommy. He's learned to pick up his toys and we do that every night before bed. He throws his dirty clothes into the hamper at the end of the day too.

Dean- He came home on Monday. We were very glad to have him back! Brian finger painted a welcome home sign for him. We were supposed to be at the base at 8:30 am and he was to arrive at 9am. Well at 7:30 he called and said he would be there in 3o minutes! We jumped in the car and sped there only to be stopped in morning rush hour traffic. Needless to say we arrived around 8:15 or so and Dean arrived around 7:50. Oh well.

So that is the update on us!

Vote for day 3

2009-05-15T06:00:00.001-04:00

Voting continues.... It is day 3 of voting. They are adding the votes from everyday this week. Here is the link again. I'd appreciate it if you could vote for us again!

http://www.whattoexpect.com/photo-contest/photo_details.aspx?contestId=15&contestantId=14247

Vote in Round 2

2009-05-14T10:33:00.002-04:00

Today is round 2 in the voting! Help us win some diapers! Pass it on to your friends and family. Help us win!

http://www.whattoexpect.com/photo-contest/photo_details.aspx?contestId=15&contestantId=14247

VOTE VOTE VOTE! Today only!

2009-05-13T14:38:00.002-04:00

Vote For Nathan Today! may 13th! This link is only good today! I think there will be another day to vote. But I don't know! Please Vote! Pass it on to your friends!
http://www.whattoexpect.com/photo-contest/photo_details.aspx?contestId=15&contestantId=14247

My 100th Post and some random never before seen pics!

2009-05-02T22:43:00.005-04:00

Welcome to my 100th post!
91/2 months ago I posted my first blog post. Since then a ton of things have happened and changed. Brian developed his personality, he got into a lot of trouble, we had some rough days, and even added a member to our family. It's been a roller coaster of a ride, but I enjoyed every moment of it! I love those two little boys more than anything in the world! I'm going to post a few never before seen random photos from the last 9 months. Enjoy!

Stuck in his "drum", otherwise known as the spaghetti pot.

The boy loved his new shoes.

Silly mohawk boy!

Professional pictures we had taken when Brian turned 1.

The boy will sleep anywhere!

4 days before I had Nathan and my Grandma's Birthday celebration.

Brian was telling us how ready he was to leave the hospital after Nathan was born. We all felt that way little man!

Newborn Nathan sleeping on Daddy's chest

Not happy during an attempt at Easter pictures.

Smiley Nathan.

A typical meltdown.

He decided it was best to sit on the couch in his toy bin.

Brian climbing down the back of the couch.

I hope you enjoyed them and continue watching and reading about us.

Nathan's two month checkup

2009-04-29T16:46:00.003-04:00

His weight gain is FINALLY slowing down! Little Chunky Monkey weighed 12 pounds 13 ounces today. He was 9 pounds 13 ounces at 4 weeks. I'm glad it looks like we won't have a baby elephant to feed! He was 23 inches long and is in the 75th percentile for everything. Brian has always been in the 25th percentile (except his head). He had a good appointment. Nothing to worry about and she answered all of my questions. We go back at 4 months. Both boys will be due for check-ups then so that ought to be a fun appointment.

Cheerios, water fun, and a size comparison

2009-04-28T22:11:00.004-04:00

We started our morning with a special treat of Cheerios on the couch. Poor kid has a nice shin full of bruises. After lunch we played on the new water mat today. Brian liked it and thought it was fun! I'm also posting a comparison picture of Brian at two months and Nathan at two months. Here are some pictures! By the way, we love you and miss you Dean!

2 months and a general update

2009-04-24T21:32:00.004-04:00

Nathan turned two months old today. I can't believe how fast the time has flown! It seems like it is going by so much faster this time. He is getting so big! I was able to actually get Brian and Nathan to sit together for a picture with out major incident. Previously, Nathan would have lost an eye or an arm, but this time Brian was very loving. I was impressed how well it went!

Nathan is getting stronger every day. He likes to "stand" by pushing up off my legs. His new favorite thing is to sleep on his tummy at night. Brian always slept on his tummy (shh don't tell the pediatrician). Nathan used to be fine on his back but now he really likes to be on his tummy. I get better sleep since now he doesn't have to sleep with me. Dean will be very happy with that too! His gas problems seem to be doing better since I started adding some formula to his bottle. He is in less pain now. We go in for his 2 month checkup on Wednesday. When he was weighed at 7 weeks he was 12 pounds 5 ounces. I'm very interested in what he weighs now. I think that is about it for him.

Brian is getting so smart! He is doing very well with his sign language. He says more, eat, milk, please, and thank you. He is also starting to try to talk a bit more. He is mimicking me a lot now. He says words in his own way that only mommy understands. Those words are lellow (yellow), boo (blue), bur (bird), mama, dada, na (Nathan) and nana (bananas). I just know he is really going to start talking soon! He is becoming more loving towards Nathan and doesn't want to harm him as much anymore. He still takes his pacifier from him but will usually return it to Nathan if I tell him to. He is getting so smart and is still a little daredevil. The toddler bed is going really well. He usually plays a bit in his room, then nap, then play again. Night time goes great. He goes right to sleep at night and plays in the morning. I like that a lot. It buys me some time to get ready to go down stairs. Overall he's doing great!

Dean is doing well too. He's tired of the boat already and wants to come back to his big bed. I've talked to him a lot and he made the mistake of telling me he doesn't do much work. I informed him that when he gets home I will make sure he works and I will go take a vacation. He didn't like that idea. Brian is starting to miss daddy. He calls for him all the time. I hope it doesn't get much worse. We are all ready for daddy to come home! If daddy is reading this, We love you and miss you!

On that note, I am going to wrap it up. Have a great weekend!

My Coupon Savings today!

2009-04-22T15:41:00.004-04:00

I've been trying really hard to use coupons to save us money. With a family of 4 and one income I'm looking to save any way I can. I've tried using my coupons a couple of times in the last couple of weeks and haven't had very good luck but I was willing to give it another shot. So off to the grocery store I went! Farm Fresh has double coupon day up to $1.00 on Wednesdays. I'm sure I looked silly standing in the store flipping thru my coupon organizer but I got it done! I got $33.65
worth of groceries for..... 13.99 including tax!!! That's a savings of 60%! My granny would be proud!

3 boxes of pasta-roni
2 boxes of Quaker granola bars
2 Pasta Sides by Liptons
2 jugs of Welches Aqua Juice
1 box of Post Trail Mix Crunch Cereal
1 box of texas toast croutons
1 bag of No Yolk Egg Noodles
2 Healthy Choice dinners

What a day!

2009-04-21T19:38:00.002-04:00

Let me just start by saying, I'm so glad that it is finally bed time! We started our day with a horrible temper tantrum. It lasted for what seemed like forever. Eventually he settled down. Nap time came around at 11am. I usually let him nap and then play by himself in his room for a little bit. While he was napping, the washer repair lady called and said she would be at our house next. YAY!
About 1pm I went to get Brian from his room so he could eat his sandwich for lunch. That's when the day went bad! I first noticed a picture frame dismantled in his lap. When I got closer to take it from him, I noticed BLOOD! He wasn't crying or anything but he started getting upset when he saw me start to get worried. He had blood steaks on his hands, legs, shirt, face, sheets, and pillow. I tried to be postive while I took him downstairs and strapped him into his chair. I was cleaning him up and feeding him his sandwhich when the repair lady got here. I was still in slight panic mode because his finger was still drippig and I was still trying to evaluate whether or not he would need stitches. I let her in and try to explain the problem all while trying to keep cleaning, bandaging, and feeding Brian. He did soak a couple of bandaids but the bleeding did stop. Then Nathan wakes up and starts to cry because he is hungry! All of this happens in a span of about 10 minutes. In the end, I decided I didn't think Brian needed to go to the doctor, Nathan got fed, and my washer got fixed.
We played some and at 3 Brian went down for nap number 2. I could tell he was tired. He napped while I did much needed laundry. I got a strange feeling and went to check on him. My instincts were right! Brian found a tube of Balmex Diaper Cream! He had it on his shirt, legs, and on his mouth. I knew he had eaten some at that point. I brushed his teeth and then found the tube and read the dirctions on the back. It said to call Poison Control immediately. Great! I called and she told me that Balmex is pretty much non-toxic and that he would be fine. Whew! I was releived. I was so over it at this point that I couldn't wait for bedtime!
We managed to get thru the rest of the evening incident free! Brian is in bed and I am ready for Daddy to come home!

Norfolk Botanical Gardens, tons of pictures!

2009-04-19T08:17:00.012-04:00

Me and my mom took the boys to Norfolk Botanical Gardens yesterday. It was such a beautiful day and I wanted to get some spring pictures of the boys. Even tho we were surrounded by beautiful flowers, Brian was more interested in the dandelions, sticks, pinecones and mulch. He really loved the fountains at the children's garden, I think that was his favorite part. He was soaking wet but it was a hot day! I'm really glad we got some pictures of me and the boys. It was a long day but alot of fun. We got there around 10:30 and didn't leave until 3:30! Even tho we were there for a long time, Brian was a champ and didn't melt down at all! He passed out as soon as he got in his car seat! Enjoy the pictures. I'll try to explain in captions below each picture.
The sensory garden. (It's ok to touch!)

The stone bridge.
Running through the trees.
Stopping to pick up a pinecone.
Throwing and then laughing at the thrown pinecone.
Picking hispinecone back up.
"Ooo a tulip"
Let me look closer.
Let's really look inside.
Ah ha! I got it!
What's in here?
Sniff sniff...
Oo a buttercup.
Ah another stick!
Ahhhh....
Ahhhh...
Chooo!
What is this!?
Grandma, you are silly!

Mommy and Nathan
Just relaxing on the bench.

Mommy and her boys!

Spitting frogs.
Fountains in the children's garden.

Peek-a-boo!

Dada?

2009-04-17T20:53:00.003-04:00

Poor Brian already misses his dada. Dean usually puts Brian to bed and when I did it tonite Brian sat in his bed asking "dada? daaadaaa?" and pointing at the door. It was so sad. I felt a tear coming but I just gave him a kiss and told him we loved him. We survived the first day and we will keep on going!

Stupid washer, Stupid Sears

2009-04-17T12:09:00.003-04:00

Our washer died. It worked just fine until Dean saw water all over the floor. Time for a new one! We went to Sears yesterday and picked one out and took it home. We got it setup and tried it out. It didn't work! It filled up, but that's the problem. It keeps on filling! So we spent 45 minutes on the phone with Sears repair center and they told us to call back today. I called back today and spent another 30 minutes on the phone being transferred to about 6 different people. Finally someone helped me and set up an appointment for the tech. YAY! But the tech won't be here until TUESDAY!!!!!! The boys have very few clean clothes left. I hope there are not any major diaper disasters!

Easter Sunday

2009-04-13T10:57:00.006-04:00

We had a great day yesterday. Brian spent the night at his grandma's on Saturday. Me and Dean actually got some sleep Saturday night. Nathan only woke up once! I was able to get some pictures of Nathan in the morning for his first Easter. (more below the pictures)

Nathan and his seahorse.

Exhausted already?

After a relaxing morning we went over to my grandparents house for Easter lunch and a real Easter Egg Hunt. Lunch was fantastic. Brian did not really want any of the lunch food but he loved the fruit salad. It was not my idea of a balanced lunch but it is ok. After we ate Dean went and hid the Easter Eggs. He hid 26 eggs in the grass. After about 4 eggs Brian was done and Mommy walked around and picked up the other 22 eggs. He still had fun running around and he laughed the whole time! He got an easter basket from Dean and I and his grandma got him a ducky laundry basket and some clothes. We had a good day at there house. It was beautiful weather, a little chilly but very sunny! After we left there house Brian was wiped out. He slept in the car and we decided to stop at the river so that Dean could try out a new fishing spot. While he fished I took Brian and Nathan to the playground. I blew some bubbles and he ran around some more. Turns out the fishing isn't great there and Brian was exhausted. We came home and had dinner and Brian stubbled around until he went to bed early at 7! We had a great Easter!

Brian's Basket

Nathan's Basket

Brian and his Great Granny

Brian and my Uncle Chip
(first time he's ever held Brian, he was forced, Brian begged him)

Nathan and his Great-Granddaddy
(first time I've ever seen him hold a baby)

Brian and Nathan's Great Great Granny

Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-11T15:49:00.005-04:00

Today we went to an Easter Egg Hunt at the park. I met up with Danielle and her son Jake who is the same age as Brian. They had the egg hunt separated into groups. I was worried that the little ones would be knocked down by big kids, but when I found out it was divided I was relieved. We were in the 1-3 year old group. We waited behind the plastic tape until they said "GO!" What I didn't expect was to practically be trampled! Not trampled by kids but by ADULTS! I couldn't believe they acted that way! I expected parents to be holding the child's hand and pointing to eggs and letting their child pick it up. Nope! It wasn't like that at all! There were parents dragging their kids, kids scooped up in their arms and the parents were running and picking up all the eggs. I was shocked. Brian and his friend Jake got two eggs each. There was probably at least 200+ eggs out there. I guess it's a good thing that they are young enough to not care about how many they got. The boys played with their 4 eggs for quite a while after we went and saw the Easter bunny. Brian got his face painted. It was supposed to be a baseball but she didn't get a chance to put the laces on it. Brian would have rather looked at her than me. We plated at the park for a little while before it started to get cloudy and chilly. Overall the boys had fun!

The eggs before the kids got them.

The Easter Bunny

Face painting

Playing with the eggs.

Brian and Jake playing.

Update 4/2/2009

2009-04-02T15:53:00.006-04:00

It's been a week. I used to write on here every time something came up, now it seems like it gets compiled into 1 large update!

Easter Bunny
We went and saw the Easter Bunny at the Mall on Saturday. It's the first time either of the boys have seen him. We were in Colorado last Easter so Brian didn't see him. We went this year and had no problems! Nobody cried or anything. They charge you an arm and a leg for a picture but I justified it by telling myself that it's got both kids in it and this is the first Easter we will be doing Easter baskets.
While we were at the Mall, Nathan got hungry so my mom took Brian to play on the little mechanical rides that go back and forth. My mom says she's to cheap to pay 75 cents to go back and forth so she just shook them. Brian loved it and until he figures it out we will keep doing it that way!

Toddler Bed
The situation with the bed is going ok. The novelty of being able to play at night has worn off. For the most part he sleeps in his bed with no problems. I've only found him passed out half under his bed one time. LOL He has destroyed his room. The clothes hat were neatly in the both dressers are now allllll over the floor. The neatly folded blankets are strewn all over and the toy bins are empty. It looks like a hurricane went thru there.

Well that's about it for us. Have a great week!

Transitioned to a toddler bed already?!

2009-03-27T20:12:00.002-04:00

I had to convert Brian's crib from a crib to a toddler bed this afternoon. I woke up this morning to find him playing in the floor with his toys. So since this is now the second time he has climbed out, I had to switch him to a different bed. So far it is not going well. He will not stay in his bed. Hopefully soon he will and go to sleep. But as of 8:15pm (45 minutes past bed time) he is still running around up there. I see this being a long nite!

I spoke to soon, or not?

2009-03-26T15:26:00.002-04:00

I wrote yesterday about how we finally got the car fixed... Until we decided to have a nice family outing. We were in search of some Brian-proofing materials and went to Newport News to go to Target and Babies R Us. On the way there the "check Engine" light starts flashing and the car gets bumpy. We were almost to Target so we continued on the way. We stalled out at the light. Finally got into a parking lot. Dean did some calling to his car repair friends and figured out the problem, of course he has no tools with him so he can't fix it! We looked for the stuff at Target and they didn't have it! We had to try to get the car home so we didn't have time to look at any of the other places. We made it back home somehow. Just as we were pulling into the neighborhood it miraculously fixes itself! I don't know what happened but I know that it works now... So weird. We are going to try to take it out again in a little while, but I swear that car has a mind of its own!

Update on nose sucking and more!

2009-03-25T17:01:00.003-04:00

It's still happening. The noses are running wild here! It's finally letting up since Brian's cold is going away. Nathan still has his cold. I took Nathan to the doctor today since his eyes were getting all goopy and nasty. I was worried about pink eye and didn't want that going to Brian. Dr. Ballard checked him out and she thinks that he is fighting the cold and it's leaking from his eyes. No big deal. Here is the most shocking part of my day! Nathan was weighed today and he weighs 9 pounds 13 ounces! He is only 4 weeks old! 15 days ago he weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces. 23 ounces gained in 15 days! I really can't believe it!
Upate on the car....
It's fixed! The Silver Monster is running again! Dean really gave it his bes,t but when it came down to the last thing to fix, he just didn't have the special tool. Oh well. It took the dealership 5 days but works now!

Thank You!

2009-03-23T14:45:00.003-04:00

Thanks for your votes! Nathan made it into the Winner's Circle! There is a final vote in April so vote again. Don't worry I'll give you notice! Thank You!

Vote for Nathan

2009-03-22T12:12:00.002-04:00

Nathan is in a Binging Home Baby contest today. If you'd like to vote for him, go to the link I will provide. It's only valid today (SUNDAY). There is only a handful of babies in it today, so I feel confident!
http://www.whattoexpect.com/photo-contest/photo_details.aspx?contestId=15&contestantId=12268

nose sucking...

2009-03-21T11:47:00.003-04:00

I am so tired of sucking noses! I've been doing it around the clock since the middle of the night Tuesday. Huge nasty snot boogers everywhere. It's amazing that only the kids are sick and not Dean and I. I just wanted to get that out.

St. Patrick's Day and Dr. Appointments

2009-03-19T17:42:00.006-04:00

No, I didn't take any pictures of the boys in green on St. Patrick's Day. Yes, I am a bad mom. I fully planned on it but I really didn't have any motivation to get both boys dressed in clothes. They were way to comfortable in their jammies. We weren't going anywhere and it always seemed like someone was asleep or eating every time I thought about it. I told myself that I would just take the pictures in the morning and post them. What's a day late? Well, Brian woke up in the middle of the night with flu like symptoms. 100.6 fever, shakes, chills, racing heart, and snot covered. We were up with him until about 2am and then I was up every two hours to feed Nathan.
The day after St. Patrick's Day came and I didn't feel like getting Brian out of his warm jammies and torture the snotty boy with sitting still for a picture. Plus, I was exhausted. Thursday (today) rolls around and I had to take Brian for his routine 15 month well child check-up. I dressed both boys in green and took the picture. Neither is looking at the camera and Brian barely sat still. But I challenge you to get a good picture of a three week old and a 15 month old who wants to poke his brothers eyes out. Good luck!
Eventually we got to the doctor's office and except for the little cold he's got, everything looks great. He weighs 21 pounds 12 ounces and is 31.5 inches tall. He got two vaccines and he didn't cry at all! That is a first for us! He usually cries and screams all the way to the car but not today! Not even a tear! We go back in 3 months.

An update 3 weeks after baby

2009-03-17T20:21:00.003-04:00

So it has been three weeks since Nathan joined our family and boy is life just a tiny bit hectic! Where do I start?

Brian is so smart these days. His sign language has exploded and he points to the banana in his book and says "nana, nana"! I think he says "nana" more than "mama". That kid sure does love bananas! He's also become even more of a daredevil. Didn't think that was possible did you? He's advanced from climbing gates and cribs and has moved on to standing up on the seat of his bike. I haven't been able to get a picture of his standing all the way up just yet (I'm scared the flash will make him fall) but I will post a picture of him getting ready to stand up. He is starting to act out more, especially when he sees me nurse Nathan. He knows I can't do much to stop him so he really pushes the buttons.

Nathan is still a baby. He sleeps, eats, and poops. He is starting to make cooing noises which I think is really cute! He hasn't peed on us in almost a week now! Whoo hoo. Some of you may know that he would pee on us almost everytime we changed him in his early days. I guess he was making up for the fact that Brian rarely did that. It's amazing how different these boys are already.

Dean returns to work on Friday. I am not excited about that at all! In fact I'm dreading it just a little. He is ready to go back to work. I do have to say that he has been pretty awesome the last 3 weeks. He's been cooking and helping me clean up. He's also been great taking care of Brian.

I am doing well. I tried on my pre-baby jeans 11 days post-partum and they fit but were to tight to wear in public. I tried them on again today and I could probably wear them to the grocery store if I wanted to! I'm really excited about that. We are planning to start going to the gym together in a few weeks. I still have to be cleared by my doctor first. I guess that's about it for me.

As a whole we are doing well. Thanks for reading!

Brian getting ready to stand up on his bike.

More Please!

2009-03-16T19:54:00.004-04:00

Brian's learning has really taken off the last couple of days. He is starting to really soak things up now. He can now point out his nose, eyes, ears, mouth, head, feet, tummy and hands. Some of those things we never even taught him! Here is a video of his sign language. I introduced the word please to him last week but didn't really use it very much. I remembered yesterday and told him to say "please" and he actually did it back to me! It took us so long to get him to say "more" and "eat" and he got "please" right away! I'm so proud of my little boy!

Nathan's 2 week check-up

2009-03-10T11:22:00.002-04:00

I took Nathan in to the pediatrician this morning for a routine check-up. We were not able to get an appointment with our normal pediatrician so we saw someone else. He weighs 8 pounds 3 ounces now! He's gained 9 ounces in 3 days! YIKES! The doctor says everything looks good. Even tho he is still a little yellow they didn't see a need to test his bili levels. We are glad to have a good report from the doctor and we go back at 2 months.

Visits with Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Joe

2009-03-09T12:03:00.002-04:00

The boys great-grandparents came by the other day. (A little slow updating still.) Brian enjoyed climbing all over Grandpa Joe and untying Grandma's shoes. They brought him a foamy book and he loves it. Here are some pics from our visit.

Bouncing around

2009-03-09T11:58:00.004-04:00

I dug the bouncy seat out from the back of the boy's closet the other day. It was wedged in there pretty good! When I brought it downstairs Brian thought it must be for him again and climbed right up in to it and started bouncing around. I got some pictures of both boys bouncing around!

Random pics from the hospital.

2009-03-07T16:33:00.003-05:00

Some random pics from the hospital.

It's been a week!

2009-03-06T12:07:00.003-05:00

Nathan turned one week old on Tuesday. Sorry I haven't updated much but I'm realizing that life with a 14 month old and a 1 week old is rough. Brian is NOT gentle! His main goal in life these days is to either poke Nathan's eyes out, beat on his head, or rip a limb from his little body. Poor Nathan!
We went to the Pediatrician on Wednesday for a routine checkup. He weighs 7 pounds 8.5 ounces now. Dr. Ballard thought he looked pretty yellow still so she wanted to check his bilirubin levels. The nurse picked his foot, which he hated, and drew his blood. 20 minutes later the results came back. The numbers were too high to do the home photo-therapy blanket so he had to be admitted into the hospital.
We got to the children's hospital and they put him under 3 high intensity lights and had a UV blanket underneath him. He had to wear a special blindfold to keep his eyes safe. He was hooked up to a pulse-ox meter to measure the oxygen percentage in his blood and a heartrate monitor. Nathan shared a room with another little baby which made getting any sleep impossible! The other baby cried all the time and is monitors went off alot! Around 1 am they pricked Nathan's foot again and at 2am his levels were down from 17.4 to 12.6. They took 1 of the spotlights off and removed the pad from underneath him. When the doctor came around in the morning they decied to take all the liights off of him! I got to see my little man's eyes again! We were finally discharged from the hospital at about 5pm.
It was so nice to sleep in my bed again!
We had to take him back to the doctor to follow-up and his levels were around what they were when we left the hospital. They just wanted to make sure it wasn't going up. He also weighed 7pouns 10.5 ounces! I can't believe he gained 2.5 ounces in 2 days! We go back on Tuesday for another routine check-up.
We are finlly getting back into a routine and hopefully we will stay out of the hospital for a little while!

Blindfolded!

Nathan under the lights

Nathan's bed

Mommy's "bed"

His poor little pricked feet.

Nathan James is here!

2009-02-24T17:02:00.009-05:00

Nathan James was born this morning at 9:45am. He arrived weighing 7 pounds 10 ounces and is 21 inches long. 12 ounces and 2 inches bigger than Brian.

The story:
I was sitting on the floor at 7pm with Brian watching Wheel of Fortune last night. I thought I might be having labor contractions but I wasn't sure if they were real or Braxton hicks. Around 9pm I thought that maybe they were real so we got ready just in case. They didn't really hurt or anything so we went to bed about 9:30. I woke up a couple times during the night to go to the bathroom and I felt contractions but still wasn't timing them. By the time 4:30am rolled around I had had enough sleep and couldn't sleep anymore so I got up to see if I as still contracting. I loaded the dishwasher and did some household chores in case we went to the hospital. At 5:45 I called my mom to tell her I think i am in labor but not really sure. The contractions were about 5 minutes apart but didn't hurt at all. I knew that 5 minute contractions hurt a lot with Brian so I had my doubts. I called the doc to see what he thought and he said to come in and get checked out, which I knew he would say. 10 minutes after I hung up the phone the contractions hit! I woke dean up, and we loaded up the truck, and then got Brian ready.
We arrived at the hospital at 7am. It was the longest 40 minute truck ride and the bumpiest ever! Dean was speeding, and that wasn't helping me so I told him my contractions were still 3-5 minutes so he wouldn't speed, but really they were about 2 minutes apart. He dropped me off at the door and I went to Labor and Delivery while he parked. I got to the desk and said all in one breath "my name is Jaime DeVries, I'm 39w 2d, this is my second baby, first delivery was 6 hours, he's coming fast, you better be ready". The nurse rushed me into my room, and checked me. I was at 5cm at 7:20am. My water bag was bulging, and she said, "as soon as it breaks I'll dilate right away and he'll be here". My doctor was in surgery, and had two back to back. So I had my contractions, stood in the shower, did all that laboring stuff, and was checked again around 8 (which I checked 7cm). My breathing techniques to relax were really hard to do since it hurt so bad, but Dean kept reminding me to relax, and breathe in, and out. He was great! My mom showed up with Brian, he wasn't very comfortable seeing mommy in pain, and really didn't like it when the doctor came in. My mom took him out of the room so Dr. Lepore could do his thing. He finally came in at 9:30 between surgeries and checked me, and broke my water with his finger. It was a little murky but they weren't concerned. He said he would be back after the next c-section. I had one contraction and I yelled for him to come back because I had to push bad! He looked and got all his doctor stuff on and broke down the bed and I pushed a couple of times and out he came! I didn't have any tearing this time and I didn't poo on the table! Whoo hoo! They cleaned him up and gave him back to me. He had swallowed a lot of fluid since he came so fast so he wasn't screaming but raspy crying. They suctioned him with a tube, and said he checked out great! My mom came back in with Brian and he didn't really care about the new baby. They let him stay with us for about 45 minutes and then wanted to take him to the nursery to clear his lungs some more. I showered and then walked over to my recovery room where my family was waiting. Brian still doesn't really care about the baby. I'm sure that will change when he's home with mommy and daddy.

Update on Nathan

2009-02-22T09:28:00.003-05:00

Sorry I haven't updated about my latest appointment. It was on Tuesday. Again he says, "Be ready for any day now." I'm tired of being ready for any day now. I've been ready for 2 weeks! I go back to see him on Tuesday again and hopefully we've made some sort of progress. I've been doing everything I can to get him out. We had chinese food one day, another day we had spicy spicy Mongolian, I've walked up and down the stairs (Brian is a pro now), and a ton of other things. I'm going to be walking the mall today with my mom, hopefully that gets thing going. I'm confident it will work. She's a much better person to walk the mall with than Dean. He hates the mall and walks to fast. So keep your fingers crossed that Baby Nathan will start his journey into the word today.

A Little Victory

2009-02-12T17:04:00.002-05:00

We've been trying to teach Brian some sign language so h can communicate with us. We haven't been doing it as consistently as we should but one that we do the most is "more". Last nite Brian said "more" perfectly. He's kinda done it before but it didn't look anything like "more" but when he did it last nite I danced all around with him and we clapped and he won't stop doing it now! YAY! A little victory!

Another beautiful day!

2009-02-11T21:46:00.004-05:00

It was another gorgeous day here in VA. A warm 70+ degrees! So as usual off to the park we went! I think they need to build one closer to our house. We went to a new one today. It had a lot of the same things but this one has a little yellow thing to ride on that he really liked. I also got a picture that I really like a lot of Brian holding daddy's hand.

After we went to the park we stopped at the pet store to look at the birds and the cats. Brian's new favorite thing is bird watching. We bought a bird feeder and he loves to stand on the couch and look at the birds. Now when he hears a bird chirp, he stops what he is doing to find the bird. Very cute! So we went to look at the birds. Daddy wants to get an African Gray parrot but Mommy doesn't want to clean up after it. So we will see about that one! Here is a video of Brian bird watching a couple of days ago.

Brian's first buzz cut!

2009-02-11T21:35:00.004-05:00

Brian's hair was starting to look like he was growing a mullet again so instead of paying 13 dollars to get it trimmed we buzzed it ourselves! I tried to tell Dean it was going to be very short but he insisted it wouldn't be. I trusted him since he's had his hair buzzed a few more times than I have. Boy was he wrong and I right! I started cutting it and it was to traumatic when I saw his hair fall on the floor so Dean had to take over. My little guy looked like a sick cancer patient. I'm hoping once it grows out some it will look better. His hair grows so fast I'm not to worried. But here are some pictures of it!

Half buzzed head

Squirmy wormy

Ahhh his hair!

Update on Nathan

2009-02-11T09:42:00.002-05:00

He's still inside, but probably not for long! I am dilated to 2cm now, losing some of the mucous plug, and I have lost some of my amniotic fluid. He is also at a -1 station, which is really low in the pelvic cavity. The doctor said it's very possible I could go into labor this week or it could be next week. He's not sure obviously since every one is different. We made an appointment for next week but he didn't really sound like he would see me then. I'm ready for him now. I feel like I've been pregnant for years now. I guess we will just wait and see. I talked with Claudia, our birth instructor whose been delivering babies forever, she seems to think it might be this week. Dean is hoping that we can at least get our bedroom furniture delivered and set up next Monday or Tuesday before I go into labor. We'll see. His birthday is Monday and doens't want to share a birthday, which I understand. We are shooting for the 20th. That seems so far away, but it really isn't. Wish us luck for the next couple of weeks!

furniture and hospitals

2009-02-08T12:00:00.002-05:00

We bought some really awesome furniture this week! We are so excited for it to come! Hopefully next week. We bought a brand new bedroom set complete with queen size bed, dresser/mirror, chest, and a memory foam mattress! It is all handcrafted and had carved and is gorgeous! It's a one of a kind piece, only 5 were ever made. I love it so much so I took my mom to the furniture store where we bought it and had to show it off! As soon as we got there my mom had to use the bathroom and long story short, got her finger caught in the door and it cut the tip of her finger off! Really gross! The people at the store were very nice and even drove my mom to the hospital while i followed with the car and brian. Luckily Obici hospital was close by. I called dean on my way there just to let him know what was happening since i didn't know how long we would be at the hospital. They took some X-rays and temporarily closed it up. Dean met me up there and kinda helped keep Brian calm since he was tired of being in his stroller at that point. After they closed it up she was discharged.
She still never got to see the furniture we bought, so I guess she'll have to wait until it gets here now. Me and Dean went back to the store to let them know how things were going and to take pictures of our bedroom furniture. I can't wait to post the pictures of our furniture after we get it all set up and decorated! Stay tuned!

Play in the park

2009-02-03T15:48:00.003-05:00

It was such a nice day today that we went to the park and played. Brian had fun as usual. Here are some pictures!

3 weeks and 5 days and counting!

2009-02-03T15:41:00.002-05:00

Well our due date is right around the corner. We had another visit with the doctor today. I am 1cm dilated, softened, and he has dropped down into a head first position. Hopefully it won't b much longer. Even tho we are making progress he doesn't know if I will go into labor early or not. He thinks I probably won't make it to March 1st but close. He's not worried and we go back next week! I'm very excited to get this little guy out and to meet him!

Another Prenatal Visit

2009-01-28T20:05:00.001-05:00

Nothing new to report. Everything is fine and going the way it should be. We go back next week.

A pointless visit...

2009-01-14T22:07:00.002-05:00

Well we had a pretty pointless visit today with the prenatal doctor. All they did was listen to the heartbeat and tell me that he was still there. I could have told him that! It's a really good thing that our insurance pays for these visits and that there are no co-pays. If I had to pay even $10 for that visit I would be angry. lol We go back again in two weeks and that is when we start internal exams to check for progress and then start going weekly until he makes his arrival.

So nothing new, Nathan is still in here and pressing every last nerve, LITERALLY!

My Birthday

2009-01-13T14:43:00.002-05:00

Well I celebrated my 22nd birthday this past weekend. We went out to eat with my grandparents and my mom. We went to Warrrior's Mongolian Grill. That place is awesome! There food is always great! After lunch my mom took Brian and Dean and I went to go get me some brand new shoes! After looking for what seemed like forever, we finally found some. Then we went and got the paint so we could paint the dresser we picked up for free off of Craigslist for Nathan. (more on that coming soon) Overall I had a great birthday!

Prenatal checkup

2008-12-30T22:21:00.002-05:00

We had a regular prenatal visit with Dr. LePore today. They listened to the heartbeat and Nathan kicked the scanner really hard and the nurse was impressed but felt sorry for me. I guess he is going to be a showoff too! He measured me and I am measuring right on for size. I only gained one pound this month! Yippee! Who would have thought with all of the holidays and candy I've been eating! I am glad for that! I start going every two weeks now. They moved my due date up to March 1st instead of the 5th. Yay! We are in the third trimester and in the homestretch! It won't be much longer! I guess I should start preparing for his arrival.

Brian's one year check up

2008-12-30T22:06:00.002-05:00

Brian visited his pediatrician on Monday. He weighs in at 20 pounds and some ounces and 29 inches tall. He is in the 25th percentile for his weight and 50th percentile for his height. He's a lean mean climbing machine! His doctor said he looked great. His blisters on his fingers healed up just fine and the doctor said they looked great and we didn't need to continue putting cream on them. No permanent damage. In fact he was fine by the next morning. I think he forgot that he had a boo-boo the nite before. I had her check his fingernail that he got smashed in the door on Thanksgiving and she said the discoloration would probably take 6 months to a year to go away completely. He liked when she tried to listen to his heart, he thought that was funny. She gave him a book to take home and then the nurse came in to give the dreaded shots... he got two in his leg and one in his arm. She did the leg first and after the first shot he looked at her with the weirdest face. It looked like he was saying "Who the heck are you and why are you poking me!?" Then he burst into tears and made sure everyone within a 3 mile radius knew he wasn't happy! He did ok for the rest of the nite. This morning he was a little cranky boy but who knows why. So we had a good visit and the next time we will see Dr. Ballard will be when Nathan is born!

Christmas Day!

2008-12-30T21:18:00.004-05:00

Brian was up bright and early on Christmas Day. 8 am sharp! We took him downstairs and we let him open his presents. He got a learning toolbox from Mommy and Daddy and some stocking stuffers, and Santa brought him some finger paint. Dean got a GPS, some house shoes, a new head for his electric razor and socks. I got a new photo editing program and a bed skirt we needed for our bed. After we opened our presents I made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. That was a first for Brian. We relaxed for a little bit at home and watched the Disney Christmas Parade on TV. Brian absolutely loved it! He laughed at all the characters and was such a happy little boy!

After the parade ended we headed off to my moms. Brian got way to many toys from Grandma! He got a lot of noisy toys, some books, a moster truck with Elmo on it, an inflatable trampoline, some clothing and alot of other fun stuff! We got a fire escape ladder for the boys room which I am very glad to have. I'm not going to go into the other stuff but it was alot fo fun things and things we needed. The one thing I will mention is the awesome Denver Bronco blanket me and my mom made for Dean. He was so upset when I told him I made his mom one for Christmas and he wasn't going to get one this year. He was very surprised when he got one! We love it and it's very warm! After we opened presents we relaxed a bit and had some lunch and then Brian took a nap before we headed off to our next location.

Later that afternoon we headed off to my Granny and Granddaddy's house. We got to hang out with my grandparents, my Uncle Chip and his girlfriend Kristen, my Great Granny and my Mom. We had a fantastic dinner with them! In between dinner and presents we hung out and chatted and that's when it happened..... Brian, just like most kids experience at least once in their life, touched the hot oven door! I was outside bringing in the gifts and probably should ahve made sure someone had him instead of assuming someone was paying attention to him and he got curious when the turkey was coming out of the oven. I ran back in the house when I heard the screaming. I followed the sounds into the bathroom where my grandparents and my mom were running it under cool water and putting aloe on it. He was not a happy camper after that. Eventually he calmed down. We tried to open presents. That went ok. He had his happy moments and his not so happy moments. But during the not happy times we distracted him with snacks and he was fine. We got some really awesome gifts. We got a date nite movie pack with popcorn and candy, a walter filter pitcher, a George Foreman grill, a blanket and some other things. Brian got books, clothes, and a snowglobe with teddy bears in it. I know we got some other things but I put them away right away this year instead of letting them sit under the tree for weeks and now I can't remember what we got! We are very thankful tho for everything we got!

Christmas Eve!

2008-12-28T14:36:00.004-05:00

So it took me a little while to get around to writing this but I'm finally getting there. December has proven to be a very very busy month!
I guess I will start with Christmas Eve. We spent the day at my Grandmother's house. We had a fantastic lunch, hung out with the family, and then the kids got to open there presents. Brian got alot of fun things! He got a carnival type clown that you throw the balls into, a radio controlled car that Daddy and Brian will get to play with soon, two Little People cars, a shape sorter, and Alphabet Pal. I'm sure there were other things but my brain doesn't remember everything these days. Shortly after we opened gifts we realized we really needed to get going because we were quickly losing Brian. We picked a gift from the gift exchange pile (Thanks Lisa!) and headed out! We had a good day. Brian had fun getting to play with my cousin Kyle. Kyle likes playing with him, I think we need to hire him to come and give me a hand after Nathan is born. Kyle seems to have alot of energy to keep up with him but probably not quite enough! I got a good picture of Kyle kissing Brian on the cheek. He says he wasn't kissing him but I think differently. HEHE.

After we got home Dean tried to convince me to let him open his present but I told him "NO WAY!" So we had dinner and off to bed we all went!

My baby turns 1!!!!

2008-12-17T20:59:00.004-05:00

At 11:17am, 1 year ago, my little boy came into the world crying, weighing in at 6 pounds 14 ounces. A year later he is a happy, running, climbing, bouncing little man. He is a champion eater and will one day eat us out of house and home. At 12 months he is walking well, climbing the walls, and very strong willed. I can't believe my baby is 1 today! Happy Birthday Brian!

We had a birthday celebration today. It was a day full of fun stuff! We went and saw Santa at the mall and walked thru the Polar Express Snow Globes. After we battled the downtown traffic we headed home to eat some lunch and relax for a little bit. (Mommy was tired of walking)

I let him open his birthday present from us this afternoon. He got a TMX Elmo and 2 Sesame Street ABC books. He likes the box the Elmo came in more than the Elmo. Oh well. Maybe one day he will like it!

Once we recuperated we went to Olde Towne Portsmouth to see the Coleman's Nursery Collection. It used to be haused aat Coleman's Nursery but the buiding was torn downa few years ago and the Courthouse Galleries took over and display the collection. My mom took me to see it when I was younger and so I wanted to take Brian to see it too. He loved it!!!! His favorite thing was the train. He did a great job not touching the displays. I didn't even have to remind him. He was so aw struck that he could hardly walk. He reached out to hold my hand but wouldn't move his feet. I guess he couldn't think about walking while being so amazed. He stared at everything and it was so hard to get his attention to look at the camera. I guess he really liked it! I am still very amazed at how well he did with not touching. Even tho the little fence was only waist high to him he rarely even touched it. I think I will be taking him again next year!

When we got home I made dinner for us and then we enjoyed the rest of his birthday cake. Amazingly it was still very fresh and very moist. He seemed to like his cake again. We didn't give him nearly as much as at his party but just enough for him to try it. We had a great day today!

A year ago today....

2008-12-16T19:13:00.002-05:00

...I was in labor with Brian. It's hard to believe that 1 year ago Dean was in Bahrain and I was sitting at home having contractions 5 minutes apart writing him emails letting him know what was happening every minute. Even tho I knew he wouldn't read them right away since he was working. I think I sent him more than 15 emails that nite. I was timing the contractions and trying to relax. the contractions hurt but not enough to go to the hospital. I remember trying to take a nap since I knew I'd be at the hopsital soon, but Brian was making that impossible. I knew it was time to go to the hospital when my contracions were 3 minutes apart. I wrote Dean one last email before I left for the hospital tellling him that I was leaving and we were having a baby soon. Little did I know I would be catching every light red between my Mom's house and Maryview Hospital at 1am! I remember seeing the lighted christmas tree on top of the hopsital coming into sight and was so exctied becasue I knew we were close....

Check back tomorrow for the rest of the story!

One year later as I sit here and write this Nathan is making his presence known and I am having contractions of a different sort. At least I won't be going into labor today!

Brian's Birthday Party

2008-12-15T10:35:00.002-05:00

Brian had his birthday party yesterday afternoon. It was pretty hectic but fun. He got lots of much needed clothing and some toys to keep him entertained. He got a little ride on toy that Dean has enjoyed trying to teach him how to ride. He already wore the batteries out of one of his toys! He loved his little cupcake that he smashed and ate way to much of! He was spastastic after eating all of that!
The fondant cake I made turned out really well I think. I was pretty proud of it. Took me forever but it looked cool!
The only present he got that we didn't want was a nice black eye! I'm not sure how it happened just yet. I know it's not the last bump and black eye but did it have to come right before his birthday and family pictures?! Oh well! He'll live.
Brian just wanted to say Thank You to everyone who came to his party!

Brian got his first Birthday Present

2008-12-02T21:00:00.002-05:00

Brian's first birthday present came in the mail yesterday. I let him open it even though his birthday isn't for another two weeks or so. It came from Mandi and Austin Perrin in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I met Mandi on a message board for Moms of December 07 babies. We talk all the time and her little boy is having his first birthday this weekend! Mandi and Austin sent Brian and DVD called Elmo's Christmas Countdown and some paints to play with in the bathtub! It looks like soo much fun! We already watched the movie and he loves it! Thank you Mandi and Austin!!

Thanksgiving

2008-12-02T20:36:00.002-05:00

We had a very eventful Thanksgiving Day. I let Brian eat his breakfast in the living room, which never ever happens, so he could watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. He ate his peaches and cheerios and laughed at the big balloons. He waved when the Abby Caddaby balloon and the Sesame Street float came on TV.

Then we went over to my Granny and Granddaddy's house to eat. My Great-Grandma, Mom, Uncle Chip and his girlfriend Kristen were there. Brian had a wide variety of Thanksgiving food, including turkey, lima beans, mashed potatoes, collards, sweet potatoes, and I'm sure there was other stuff. Daddy even let him sample from his dessert plate. He had apple pie and pumpkin pie. My Granny tried to squirt some whipped creme in his mouth but kept getting air instead. I had to cut her off because I was worried the baby was going to get stoned from the fumes. (probably wouldn't happen in reality) After we ate he played and we chit chatted and had a good time. (Pictures to come soon)

On Friday we had Thanksgiving again with the other set of family members. It was my grandparents (my mom's mom), all of my aunts and uncles, cousins, 2nd cousins (Baby Taylor), and my cousin's husband's family. Confused yet? Well let's just say there were alot of us! Brian again ate a lot of different stuff. Turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, broccoli casserole, rolls and I'm sure more stuff. After lunch we sat and played in the living room with the family making a circle around the living room so he couldn't escape. He got it see Baby Taylor up close for the first time. Taylor is now like 3 months old. The first thing Brian did when he could see him was give him a big kiss on his head! Nobody told him to or anything he just right out and kissed him. I'm hoping someone got a picture of it. We came home and Brian slept like a baby with a full belly all nite!

Brian the Builder

2008-11-24T22:19:00.004-05:00

Grandma came over today and played with Brian. They built towers out of the storage containers. Brian had alot of fun being destructive! He just thought it was sooooo funny!

Snow in VA!

2008-11-21T22:39:00.005-05:00

Brian saw his first snow in Virginia today! It's only November and we had our first snowfall! We were watching the News at Noon and they were talking about the snow we had this morning. Apparently we missed it. This isn't the first time Brian has seen snow. When we flew to Colorado when he was two months old he saw snow in Minneapolis and in Colorado, but he ws to little to care. I was telling Dean that I wish we had seen it and been able to show Brian. No sooner had I finished my sentence a snow burst came through and huge snowflakes were falling. I told Dean to throw these warm clothes on Brian real quick and I ran to get myself some decent clothes. We tag team dressed Brian. I threw some fleece pants over top of his jammies and threw a hat and coat on him and we ran out the door just in time to take a few pictures of the snow before it stopped. Brian loved the snow! He must have some Colorado blood in him afterall! Dean showed him the snow in his hands and showed Brian the snow that landed on his pants. I wish it had stuck around, hopefully this isn't the only snow we get this year!

"You call this snow" - Dean (Colorado native)

"See Brian, this is snow"

OOO I like snow!

Where did he learn this?!

2008-11-21T22:25:00.003-05:00

How on earth did he figure out how to stick his tiny little toes into those holes and climb straight up the gate? I was washing some dishes and went to check on him and I saw him climbing up! I happened to have the camera nearby and I snapped a picture before telling him to get down. Wouldn't you know the little stinker climbed right back up it? He got up further the second time to where his belly was at the top and he was leaning over. I freaked out that time and didn't take a picture. I yelled "NO!" very loudly and he got down and looked at me and said "oh". Like he knew he was in trouble! The little stinker!

He advanced!

2008-11-19T08:53:00.002-05:00

Dean advanced to second class! they called us at 8:30 this morning with the fantastic news! We are so excited! This was the fourth time he had to take the test because the advancement rate was so low. Only 8% of everyone in the navy that took the test would advance. He passed his test every time but never advanced! YAY! I know he is relieved, especially with the other baby on the way, the economy the way it is, and with only one income.

My little climber!

2008-11-18T19:25:00.003-05:00

Brian is really starting to climb all over everything these days! He really must think he is a little monkey! I panicked just for a second when I looked over at him and saw him sitting on his table, but when he started to try to stand on it that is where I had to draw the line. This morning he flipped his toy basket onto it's long edge and climbed that and tried to get on top of the TV stand. He was touching the TV when Dean ran over and pulled him off. Needless to say the toy box is no longer in the living room, I don't think Dean would ever let me live if Brian broke his TV while I was in the bathroom. Ugh! I think I'm going to lose my mind when I have two active little boys!

Our adventure at Golden Corral

2008-11-16T19:52:00.002-05:00

We went and had dinner at Golden Corral. I was a little worried about taking Brian but I figured there would be plenty for him to eat. I made him a little buffet of food to eat. Mostly things he likes and eats on a regular basis. I gave him a green bean first (his favorite thing at home, he eats them plain, no salt). First thing he did when it went in his mouth was spit it right out. Oh well. Then he had some mashed potatoes. He ate that no problem. He spit out the half chewed lima bean. He had some chicken, he ate one piece and then spit the rest out after that. And then the brussel sprout... I wasn't sure if he was going to eat that since he had never had it before. He put it in his mouth, then stuck his tongue out, raked the piece off of his tongue with his mouth and THREW it on the floor with attitude! It was hilarious! We laughed and the family at the table next to us laughed. They had a little girl about Brian's age. She did the same thing with most of her food too. So in then end, I guess if you wanted to know how the food was at a restaurant you should ask an 11 month old. He was pretty right on about the food tonite.

It's the little things that make me proud

2008-11-14T22:02:00.002-05:00

It is the little things that Brian does, learns, or figures out that makes me so proud of him. Things that nobody else except his mom and dad care about. It's those little things. Things like pushing his arms through his sleeves, pulling his head out of his shirt at bed time, learning how to open the wipe box (not so good), using toys or boxes as a step to get up onto the couch (also not so good), learning how to throw the ball, knowing that it's mommy's hand inside his puppet, knowing that when I sign food to him he knows it's time to eat or figuring out how to peel the duct tape off the cabinet to open the doors whether its with his little fingers or his sharp teeth. It's these little things that he picks up on and figures out. Even the things I'm not really happy about him knowing, I'm still proud that he's learned it. My little boy is getting so big!

His new favorite things to do with daddy...

2008-11-14T21:55:00.002-05:00

Brian has two new things that he likes to do with Daddy. They are playing with the shape sorter and taking laps around the living room.
Dean is teaching Brian about his shapes. So far Brian has been able to do the cylinder which is the first one they started learning. Brian actually gets it in the hole, lifts up the flap to get it back out, puts the flap back down and does it again. They started square today. He hasn't quite gotten that one just yet but he will. The last one to learn is triangle. At the moment we can't find the triangle so it might be awhile before he gets that one.
The other thing Dean and Brian have been doing is working on Brian's leg strength. They did laps around the living room this morning. It is building Brian's confidence and maybe it will help him walk a little better. Right now he walks like a drunk. In due time.

Dean's first welding project

2008-11-12T22:01:00.002-05:00

Dean has been playing with his new welder and he made a stand for his truck took box. The box was a little to small for the truck and would slide off and lay in the bad. So he made a stand that held up the box! What a smart idea! It works great!

Prenatal Appointment

2008-11-06T19:04:00.002-05:00

I went in for a check up today. Baby is doing great. His heart rate is about 140. I gained 2 pounds (keep in mind Halloween was last week). I had to take Brian with me and he was not having it after a while. I don't blame him tho, I was tired of sitting around waiting to. The nurse watched him while I went to the bathroom and she was showing him to the nurses in the office and said he had Paul Newman eyes. She told everyone he looks just like his handsome daddy. I'm sure Dean will love to hear that he is being checked out by the nurses at the office. hehe Everything looks good and I go back in 4 weeks for a checkup and to take the Glucose test. Check back for an update!

Brian's 1st Haircut!

2008-11-05T15:56:00.003-05:00

Brian went and got his first haircut today. He was starting to look like he had a mop on his head. We took him to Great Clips in Chesapeake. He sat in Daddy's lap. He did great in the beginning when she was cutting his hair. He kept trying to look at the scissors and comb. When she pulled out the buzzer he didn't like it that much. It was hard to keep him still. I think it kinda tickled his neck. He got a balloon and a certificate to mark his big day! My big boy now looks like a little man!

We have a climber!

2008-11-04T21:26:00.002-05:00

Brian wiggled his little butt up on to the couch this morning... I'm not ready for that! He was so excited when he got up there! He turned around and looked at us with a huge grin on his face... AHHHH

Election day!

2008-11-04T21:17:00.003-05:00

Today is election day! Me and Brian stood in line for an hour and a half waiting to vote this afternoon. It had been rainy all day and it had stopped so we took advantage of it and ran to the poll. But.... It started raining on us. We got pretty wet but Brian never fussed or anything! We met some guy who was running for something. School board? No.. Something else. I had never heard of him. But Brian was a very good boy! We finally got inside and into the booth. Brian liked playing with the bottom of the curtain while I voted. He almost pulled it down twice! Oops. But he was good! On our way back to the car, we saw and shook hands with Congressman Randy Forbes. That was pretty exciting. I wish I had been able to take a picture. Oh well... maybe in 4 years..

Peek-a-boo!

2008-11-04T12:36:00.004-05:00

Brian was having fun playing peek-a-boo today. He initiated it for the first time this morning. Usually we play with him, but today he played with us! So much fun! It's amazing how much he grows everyday!

He clapped!

2008-11-03T21:46:00.003-05:00

Brian clapped today!!!! We've been practicing and trying so hard to get him to do it. Finally today he did it!

Fun at the park

2008-11-03T19:54:00.002-05:00

We went to the park today. I think we both needed some fresh air. Grandma came with us and everyone had smiles on their faces! Brian liked the swings and the red bridge. He especially liked it when Grandma was jumping up and down on it. HeHe

Splish, Splash I was Taking a Bath

2008-11-01T21:44:00.014-04:00

Brian was cranky all day today. By 7:30 I had had enough! The only thing I hadn't tried to make him happy yet was to play in the water. So he and daddy played in the bathtub for about 30 minutes. They had fun together. Dean showed him how to push the button on his little shower head to make the water come out. He ate quite a bit of bubbles, so I guess that means his insides are clean too! He loved playing with his rubber ducky. Just before it was time to get out, he tricked mommy by playing a little game of peek-a-boo with the shower curtain.

This water tickles!

Big smiles!

Ahh, this is the life!

This is MY duck!

Silly duck!

The view from above!

Where is Brian?

Peek-a-boo!

Hi Mom!

Now that is some messy hair!

Trick-or-Treat!

2008-10-31T22:31:00.002-04:00

Brian went trick-or-treating for the first time tonight! It was a little chilly but he had fun. He rode around in his stroller most of the time. He got a ton of candy and mom and dad are pretty excited about it! There weren't a lot of houses that were really decorated but there were a few. Some people thought he was a cow and some people thought he was a girl. The one's who thought he was a girl all said he had really long lashes so I guess that's why they thought he was a girl. Mom was tired of walking after two hours but it was ok!

When a pregnant woman wants s'mores...

2008-10-30T23:10:00.000-04:00

...and its below 40 degrees outside, her wonderful husband makes them for her over the stove!

2 out of 3 are well!

2008-10-30T21:15:00.001-04:00

Me and Dean are well... Brian is kinda so so at the moment. He still has a little runny nose but seems to be doing fine. I think by morning he will be OK!

Brian's first cold....

2008-10-28T14:47:00.002-04:00

Brian has his first cold. :( He went to bed just fine. No signs of sickness. He played and ate normally all day. Around 11:15pm he woke up fussing and wouldn't go back to sleep unless someone was patting his back. That went on till about 1:15. I had already been asleep for an hour before he woke up so I was exhausted standing there over his crib patting away. Around 1:15am I tried to leave and just let him cry it out for a little while. I thought he might only cry for maybe 10 minutes but it was at least 45 minutes. Around 2am Dean went in there to calm him down. He rocked and patted him for a good 20 minutes in our bed. We laid him in bed with us for a half hour and then took him back to his crib. By 3am I think we were all sleeping again.
He woke up this morning with a runny nose, sneezing, and a little cough. We all woke up with a stuffy nose. I think we all got head colds. Unfortunately there is nothing we can give him to make him feel better. He's been sleeping alot today which is nice. He hasn't been eating very well but he's still drinking his formula. Poor little guy sounds horrible. He wants to make sure everyone gets sick with him tho. He walks over to you and then coughs on you and then spits just to make sure you catch it.

Trick-or-Treat Round One!

2008-10-25T21:49:00.002-04:00

We went Trick-or-Treating In Olde Towne Portsmouth in their annual Safe Trick-or-Treating. We had fun today! We thought it was going to be a wash out since it was rainy on the drive over. But it cleared up just in time! It was a little crowded towards the end. But it was definatly fun! There were actually alot of businesses that participated, much more than I expected. Brian got alot of candy in his container, but of course, mom and dad get to eat it! Alot of people thought he looked like a cow and alot of people figured out that he was a dalmatian. Here are the pics!

Pumpkin Carving

2008-10-24T21:45:00.002-04:00

We carved our pumpkins last night. We had fun with it! Dean carved his own and I carved one for me and Brian. It took us a little bit to figure it all out and it was a mess but it was still fun! Mine is a cute face and Dean's is the Headless Horse Man.

Oops....

2008-10-22T12:38:00.002-04:00

Brian took advantage of the opened wipes box while I was cooking some dinner...

What a great week!!

2008-10-22T12:17:00.001-04:00

We had a great week developmentally this week! Brian got rid of his bink and his bottles at the same time!! yay!

No more bottle?!

2008-10-22T12:08:00.002-04:00

Well i ran out of bottle liners yesterday afternoon and instead of going to the store I decided it was time to learn the sippy cup. He bites it instead of sucks on it, which makes a huge mess. Well his dinner bottle was a mess, he got milk everywhere. His bed time bottle started out messy but then he figured out how it works! He had his sippy cup at breakfast this morning and had no problems! He takes his sippy cup like a champ now! I guess I can pack up the bottles too!

Bye, Bye Binky Day 3

2008-10-22T12:04:00.002-04:00

Brian has finally given up the bink! He didn't need it at all today! I think I can go ahead and pack them up! YAY!