Friday, December 31, 2010

3 weeks old = growth spurt

Our baby girl is 3 weeks old today! We can't believe how fast the time has flown by. She is such a good baby and we are so lucky that she is an amazing sleeper (knock on wood!). These past two days we've noticed a growth spurt where she's been feeding every 2 hours during the day and is sleeping a lot. Otherwise, here's what she's been up to these first 21 days of life:

Drinking 4-oz bottles every 4-5 hours
Likes Avent and Tommee Tippee bottles best
Usually falls asleep right after a feeding, sometimes stays awake for 30 minutes first, then sleeps until the next feeding
Doesn't like the paci very much, only takes it occasionally between feedings
Sleeps in the co-sleeper beside our bed, but prefers to be in her carseat inside of the co-sleeper
Starting to like the swing more and more but prefers to be held more than anything
Screamed during her first bath, but now loves them
Getting better at tummy time
LOVES being swaddled (especially in receiving blankets) and promptly falls asleep within 10 minutes of being wrapped up
Still fits into her newborn outfits
Wears newborn size diapers

This has been an incredible year and we're so happy to be a family of four now. Looking forward to watching our kids grow in 2011! :)

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Loves his baby sister


Owen loves his baby sister. He just won't hold her so that we can take a picture. We've tried numerous times, but this is the best we got. Ben was right there in case he dropped her. :)


Monday, December 27, 2010

Tummy time and hiccups

Vivian had the hiccups constantly while in my belly. I would feel them at least 6-8 times a day in the last trimester. She still gets them pretty frequently, although not quite as much as when she was in my tummy. Here she had them when we tried doing tummy time for the very first time. (You can hear me try to manage Owen while encouraging Vivi to keep lifting her head. Not sure how I expected him to "help" her, but it seemed to work in diverting his attention.) :)


Saturday, December 25, 2010

Vivian's Birth Announcement / family holiday card

Initially Baby Sage Birth Announcement
Turn your favorite photo into a birth announcement.
View the entire collection of cards.

Merry Christmas 2010!!!



We were so excited to see the look on Owen's face this Christmas morning when he saw all his presents from Santa. One big gift captured his attention right away and kept it all day long. Santa knew just what he wanted this year. :)



We opened most of our presents (there were some we had forgotten about in the upstairs room which we're going to save for Vivi next year ~ Owen certainly won't miss them with all the other goodies he got this year) and then had our first Christmas breakfast as a family of four. Ben spent about an hour in the kitchen making yummy French toast, breakfast sausage, and hash browns. We plan on making it a tradition. It was amazing we were able to tear Owen away from the train table long enough to eat, but he had worked up an appetite! :)

After cleaning up, we had a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Marshall and Aunt Hillary. They had fun checking out Owen's new toys and he loved showing them how his trains worked. We spent the rest of the afternoon lounging around and playing with toys.

In the late afternoon we jumped online to Skype with my family down in FL. Poppy and Grandma Killi, Aunt Lindsey, Uncle Mike, and cousin Max were all online and they had waited to open the gifts from us. We had fun getting to spend time together and see each other on this special holiday.

Next year Owen will have just turned 3 and Vivi will be a year old ~ crazy. We cannot wait to see them enjoy every Christmas to come. Ben and I feel so incredibly blessed with such wonderful family and friends and wish everyone a Merry Christmas!!!

Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmas Eve


We spent Christmas Eve with Grandma and Grandpa Marshall and Aunt Hillary at their house where Santa came early!

First we had a delicious ham dinner with all the trimmings. Owen devoured his ham and sat so nicely at the table while we all ate (including Vivi who had a 3-oz bottle). After dinner we made our way over to the family room to start on the gifts. Santa was so good to everyone! We had fun opening presents. Owen LOVED his bulldozer and wouldn't let it out of his sight the rest of the night after opening it. He also loved his Lightning McQueen bedspread from Aunt Hillary which will be so perfect for his big boy room.



We finished up around 9pm and headed home to get the kids to bed and finish up the rest of our preparations (a.k.a. putting together of complex toys!) before we could hit the hay. Vivi had a bottle with Daddy while Mommy put Owen to bed and then the fun began. Ben had put together Owen's kitchen a few days before which was a good move on his part since the big gift (from Santa Gma and Gpa Marshall) had a way to go even though Ben had started it already. He brought it up from the basement and we spent the next hour and 1/2 finishing it up. Then we made sure the camcorder and DSLR were charged.

We climbed into bed at midnight so excited to see Owen enjoy his 3rd Christmas (and Vivi her first which we knew she'd probably sleep through!). :)

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Vivi's 2-week check-up


Mommy had fun this afternoon playing around with the camera on self-timer. We didn't get to take many pictures though because Vivi got hungry and then we had to run out to her 2-week check-up. I'm happy to report that she was an awesome sleeper last night! We went to bed at 9pm, she had a bottle at 9:15pm and then slept for 4 hour stretches the entire night! She was up at 1:15am, 5am, and then again at 9am. Lucky for me she woke up right at 9am because when Ben and Owen left at 8am, I forgot to set my alarm for my 10am OB-GYN check-up appointment. We had just enough time for a bottle, burp, diaper change and Mommy had a quick shower and believe it or not - we made it there right on time! :)

Vivian's check-up was in the afternoon and she had a great appointment. Here are her stats:

Weight: 7 pounds, 15.4 oz
Height: 20 inches
Both are the 50%

Her 2-month check-up is on my 32nd birthday, so I definitely won't forget that appointment. After she has all her shots, we'll be set to head down to FL to meet her cousin Max for the first time! Max is exactly 3 weeks older. Can't wait to see all 3 cousins together!!!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Getting to know each other

One of Owen's favorite books lately is a book about how snowmen celebrate Christmas. After school today he decided to read it to his baby sister.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Gift for Mommy & Daddy from Owen!

Owen came home from school today with a gift for Mommy and Daddy! We put it in Daddy's stocking and will open it on Christmas day.


Before bedtime, we took some pictures of the kiddos together. Now that Owen is over his sickness and his nose isn't running non-stop, we're letting him get a closer look at his baby sister. It's so cute to see them together.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Not a fan of diaper changes

Miss Vivi takes after her big brother in this department. Owen didn't like them much either. She's not a fan of diaper changes, but as soon as she is all changed and swaddled, she's a happy camper again.



Poppy and Grandma Killi left today. They were such a big help during this past week, especially with night-time feedings. Grandma caught Mommy's cold so we wish her a speedy recovery in time for Christmas back in FL. Both Owen and Vivian enjoyed spending the week with their grandparents. It was a very special time.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Vivi's newborn photo shoot

Our friend Ryan came over to take Vivi's newborn shots for us. He is super talented and is so easy to work with. Here are a few snapshots my dad took while Ryan and I were positioning Vivi for one of the shots:


You can view some of the finished images on Ryan's website: www.ryanzook.com

We are so happy with how the pictures turned out ~ thank you so much Ryan!!

Friday, December 17, 2010

Happy Birthday Grandpa!!!


We got the whole family together to celebrate Curt's birthday. We had Ledo pizza and Hillary baked a "chocoflan" cake (recipe from the show 'Mexican Made Easy' on the Food Network. It was delicious and Owen even helped his Grandpa blow out the candles.

Poppy & Grandma Killi


It's almost impossible to get Owen to sit still for a picture these days, but I was able to snap this one of him and Vivi with their grandparents.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

First snow!!!

It snowed today! Grandma and Owen baked Christmas spritz cookies and then Daddy took Owen out in the snow. He loved helping with the shoveling.


If you're wondering about Owen's pink snow pants....they were actually a hand-me-down from Kayla for Vivi, but since I had yet to buy Owen snow gear this year, and they were the right size.....he wore pink snow pants. He didn't seem to mind.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Owen's first haircut

Owen was due for his first haircut. I guess 2 & 1/4 years old is a good time. :) Plus, Mommy thought it might make things a little easier for her in the mornings since his long hair gets very knotty at night and it's more and more of a struggle to get it combed through in the mornings. I was very sad to say goodbye to his adorable curls, but we made it into a special day with Mommy and Daddy for Owen. Who knows? Maybe his baby sister will have beautiful curls too one day.

We went to Ben's barber instead of taking him to a kiddie cut place, and I'm so glad we went that route. When we walked in, there was another little boy about Owen's age getting his hair cut and Owen got to watch him. We sat Owen on Ben's lap to watch Ben get a trim and then Owen got to sit on a booster and get his done. He did really well, but wasn't too fond of the clipper she used to trim around his ears. All in all, it was a good experience and I think his big boy haircut is cute. Plus, he still has cute waves on top. :)

Monday, December 13, 2010

Snuggling with baby girl

Big brother meets little sister for the first time


Grandma Marshall was there to help us with the big moment. She brought us another gift for Vivi to give Owen ~ a Frosty the Snowman (his favorite!) stuffed toy. Ben picked him up from daycare and we had Vivian upstairs with Grandma while I waited in the family room. I hadn't seen Owen in four days and wanted so much just to hug and kiss him.

I heard the front door open and I called out to Owen. He came running in and said, "Mommy!", but when I asked for a hug he said, "No, I don't want a hug". :( Made me sad, but I knew I'd get one eventually.

Ben went upstairs to get Vivi and Grandma took the camera to capture the moment for us. Owen was excited to meet her, but he wasn't interested for long. I think Ben and I thought it would be more of a big deal than it actually turned out to be. But that is a good thing, because Owen still has a runny nose and we don't want him getting his sister sick. The rest of the day he just played with Daddy and Mommy and didn't really notice Vivian that much at all. He went to bed early and we'll see what happens tomorrow...


Going home

On the day she was supposed to be born, we were discharged from the hospital. Couldn't wait to get home to finally have Owen meet his little sister. Aunt Molly came to visit for a little and helped get us ready for the big moment by wrapping up a gift from Vivi to Owen.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Brother and sister


Pictures of Owen's first day on top and Vivian's first day on bottom.

Can you tell them apart???

Vivian ~ more birthday pictures

Vivi was born first thing in the morning, and even though we were exhausted from not sleeping almost the entire night, we couldn't wait to spend time getting to know our daughter. I was wheeled up to our room from recovery around 5am and it took another hour before I was transferred to the bed and set up with my nurse for the day.

They finally brought Vivi to us around 7:30am and we got to feed her for the first time. She was such a good eater! Then we just hung out for the rest of the day. Kelly came to visit in the afternoon, and Grandma Marshall and Aunt Hillary stopped by in the early evening with a gorgeous arrangement of pink roses, so sweet. It was a very busy day and by 9pm we were all so sleepy.

Happy Birthday Vivi!!!

Introducing...
Vivian Marion Marshall
Born Friday, December 10, 2010 @ 3:31am
7 pounds, 11 ounces and 19 & 3/4 inches



Our baby girl arrived 10 days early! Our original due date was December 20th, but since she was a repeat C-section, my OB scheduled us for Monday, December 13th. But baby Vivi had other plans!

On Thursday evening, I started having contractions which were painful, but not very consistent. This was after Owen was sent home at 3:45pm from daycare with a fever. :( I took him straight over to the pediatrician who diagnosed him with strep. Poor little man, he had just gotten over pink eye and an ear infection. We were sent home with a new prescription and played together until Ben got home (from his last happy hour with co-workers for awhile, little did he know).

We called Aunt Hillary to come over after Owen went to bed, just in case I went into labor during the night. She got to our house by 8:30 and Ben and I went to bed at 8:45pm to try to get some sleep in the event that we had to get up in the middle of the night. At 9pm my contractions were somewhat regular for 45 minutes, so I called Molly to get her opinion on whether I should call my doctor. She said to take a bath and continue to keep track of the contractions and by the time I get out, an hour would have gone by and I can give the doctor the update. Well I never ended up calling the doctor because the bath made my contractions fizzle. We went back to bed and were able to get a little bit of sleep...

I woke up to painful contractions at midnight which were about 5 minutes apart. By 1am I was ready to call the doctor who told us to head on in. We woke Hillary up and let her know we'd call as soon as we knew the news. The hospital admitted us around 1am and I was hooked up to the monitors. Within 45 minutes, my doctor was there telling us we'd be having a baby tonight! (We were only 3 days away from our scheduled date anyway.)

Our nurse was wonderful, as was the anesthesiologist - both talked me through everything that was going to happen (since Owen's c-section was an emergency and seemed to happen in such a blur). Around 3am, we walked back to the OR (so weird walking into an operating room, let me tell you) and I sat down on the table to get my spinal/epidural. Ben had to wait outside until they were ready to start, so I had to do this part by myself with the help of my nurse. It only took him about 15 minutes to get the line into my back, and before I knew it my legs were getting tingly. Pretty soon after, I was numb from the chest down, Ben was walking in to sit by my head, and the blue sheet was being pulled up. We were about to meet our daughter!

I felt a ton of pressure, and my mouth was so dry from the oxygen and pain meds, but I'll never forget the moment she was born. As the anesthesiologist was giving the play-by-play to keep me calm, I told my doctor how I wanted to hear the baby screaming. She replied in a joking tone, "Well if you'd stop talking, then you'd hear her scream!" :) So I shut up and listened and sure enough, Ben and I heard Vivi take her first breaths from the other side of the blue curtain. Music to our ears.

Ben didn't want to see me cut open. We both watched as the nurses took her to the warming bassinet to clean her off and do all the initial tests and measurements. We were a little surprised that she was bigger than her big brother at birth! She had a full belly when she came out, so that contributed to her overall weight, but the nurses were able to get her to expel some of it so she felt better. I got to see her up close and give her some kisses before she and Ben went to the nursery and I was wheeled into recovery.

I tried my best to rest during the hour and thirty minutes I was monitored but it was pretty tough since I was hooked up to an IV, blood pressure cuff, cathedar, and had a warming pillow over my body to bring up my temperature. I was able to call my parents with the news, Ben called his, and we texted Mike, Lindsey, Hillary and a handful of friends before we were making our way up to the maternity floor.

Once we got settled into our room, Vivian was wheeled in and we were able to spend time getting to know her. I swore she looked so much like Owen did at birth. But she definitely has a different personality. Once she drank some formula, she was ready to take a long snooze. It was tiring being born! We spent the day snuggling and cuddling with her and can't wait for her to meet everyone. Thank you for all of the sweet welcome wishes!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

38-weeks!

I think I'm ready to have this baby. Today we hit 38-weeks and we'll be meeting our little girl in 6 days. Unreal. I had my last ultrasound today and the tech estimated the baby to weigh 7 pounds, 8 ounces which was my birth weight. They can be off by as much as a pound either way, and my guess is that she'll come out just a little over seven. We'll have to wait and see.

I've been having contractions all day today, but there is no pattern. We have my pre-op appointment on Friday afternoon, where we'll get to speak with the anesthesiologist about the spinal/epidural and how everything will go on Monday. I have a few more things to get done around the house this week while I'm not working, so once those are done I'd be fine with her coming over the weekend. If I go into labor on my own or my water breaks my doctor will just go ahead with the c-section at this point.

Here are a few pics we took tonight. Not much longer and we'll be a family of 4!

Monday, November 29, 2010

A conversation between Mommy and Daddy

The other day, as we were discussing Christmas gifts for our relatives, Ben looked at me and said, "Honey, what are we getting each other this year?"

My immediate, honest answer was: "A baby."

Merry Christmas honey ~ this gift has been in the making for over 9 months. Don't you feel special?

Only 2 weeks to go. Thank heavens.

:)

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Another ear infection and pink eye = gross

So the oozing snot led to more oozing snot and then big, gooey green goobers coming out of his eyes. I looked it up online and determined it might be pink eye. So off we went again to Urgent Care. The are very efficient there - much more so than the doctor's office. So I don't quite mind having to take him there.

Within 20 minutes we saw the doc who confirmed he had a "raging" ear infection in one ear, slight infection in the other, and pink eye. Fun. She gave us a prescription for an antibiotic - didn't even have to stop at the pharmacy - and we were on our way home.

I felt bad we hadn't taken him in earlier, but it had only really developed during the day, and he showed NO signs other than pointing to his ear once or twice. Otherwise he had tons of energy and even skipped his nap (much to the dismay of mommy and daddy). You wouldn't know he was sick except for the goopyness dripping from his nose and corners of his eyes. (I'll spare you the pictures).

Hopefully he'll be feeling good as new after a few doses of the meds. Bubblegum flavor ~ yum!

Owen reads The Very Hungry Caterpiller to the Grinch

Friday, November 26, 2010

Talking back

Last Friday we went out to dinner as a family. We had a lovely time - Owen was so well-behaved and we were able to have a relaxing meal together. At the end of dinner he did start to get antsy, and was standing up in his highchair. I said, "Sit down Owen" to which he replied:

"Mommy, stop talking."

Ben and I both looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh. This was the first time he ever talked back. Today, he started a new form of talking back, and it's even more entertaining.

After lunch, I said, "Okay bud, let's go upstairs to take your nap." He looked me straight in the eye and said, "No, I'm not taking a nap." Ha! I said, "Owen, we take a nap every day at this time." He replied, "I'm not sleepy."

He did nap. For almost 3 hours. When he woke up, Ben went to get him and asked if he was sick (he's been ooozing snot all day). "No, I'm not sick." Then he and came downstairs, I said, "Owen, would you like some water?" and he said, "No, I'm not hungry". Close enough.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Thanksgiving & Happy Birthday Grandma!


This year Grandma Marshall's birthday fell on Thanksgiving. They had us over for a lovely turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Ben made a new recipe ~ scalloped potatoes with poblano peppers and I brought my favorite sweet potato casserole. The turkey was cooked perfectly (on the grill of course) by Curt and Hillary and everyone ate until we were stuffed.


When it came time to sing "Happy Birthday," Owen helped Grandma blow out her birthday candle. We were sent home with lots of yummy leftovers and some early Christmas presents. We tried to get a family photo, but Owen was being really squeamish, so it was pretty challenging. I think Grandma managed to get one good one though for her Christmas card. It was a fun family day.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Owen meets Santa


Since we're down to 20 days or less before baby girl arrives, we figured we'd do the traditional "picture with Santa" today to cross one more to-do off our list. The mall wasn't very crowded, and we were 4th in line when we arrived. Owen kept pointing at Santa saying, "There's Santa Clause! and I see a Christmas tree!". He was so excited.

He did so well with Santa, although getting a picture where he was smiling AND looking at the camera proved almost impossible. So we picked one where he was smiling and called it a day. It was nice to have excitement in place of tears this year. :)


Friday, November 19, 2010

Happy Birthday Maxwell Benjamin Killi!!!

Huge congratulations to my brother and his wife Lindsey on the birth of their son!

Maxwell Benjamin Killi
born 11/19/10 @ 3:15am
7 pounds, 20.25 inches


We are so incredibly happy for you guys and cannot wait to meet the little man!

Love, Aunt Jenn, Uncle Ben and cousin Owen

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Another night in Labor & Delivery

Last night around 11pm I started having painful contractions. They were pretty frequent, so we called my doctor who said to go into the hospital just to be safe. Aunt Hillary woke up and drove over to spend the night with Owen who was sleeping peacefully.

We got to the hospital at midnight and were checked into triage. Got hooked up to the lovely monitors again and found out I was having contractions 3 minutes apart lasting about 30-50 seconds. My doctor came about an hour later and checked my cervix which was about 1.5 cm dialated, but she wasn't concerned because with second babies that can happen and it doesn't mean much. It would mean something however, if it changed over the next few hours. She said if she found that I was in labor (cervix changing and contractions continuing), then she would go ahead with the C-section. I asked if it were a 50-50 chance we'd have a baby tonight, and she said it was more likely we'd get to go home, but there was a chance.

But the first thing we needed to do was to stop the contractions. So we had to try to get comfortable. Yeah, right. I was given an IV for fluids, and then a dose of medicine in pill form to try to stop the contractions. An hour later, they were still going strong. Another dose, another hour, same thing. The third dose finally did it. About an hour after taking it, my contractions died down. The nurse checked my cervix again to make sure it hadn't changed, which it had not, and we were discharged.

It took awhile to get out of the hospital because we were discharged during shift change. So by the time we got home it was almost 9am. I hadn't slept a wink and Ben had only gotten a tiny bit of sleep because all there was in the room for him was a chair to try and sleep in. Not comfortable at all. So Ben took Owen to school for the day, then took the day off to sleep. I slept for 4 hours then stayed in bed and worked from home the rest of the day.

It was a bit of a scare since I'm still a month away from my actual due date. On top of that, we are still trying to finish setting up her room, complete Owen's room, organize the house somewhat, and yes, pick a name. :)

When I woke up around 1pm and called my mom, I found out that Mike and Lindsey were in the hospital and she was in labor! So funny that there was a chance the cousins could have been born the same day. Luckily they won't have to share their birthdays.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Maternity pictures

Our friend Ryan started his photography business at the beginning of this year, but in my opinion, when you look at his work, he looks like he's been doing it a whole lot longer. I asked him to do our newborn pictures and we also decided to do a mini-maternity session since this may be the last baby for us. He did a great job! We can't wait to do our session with baby girl in about 5 weeks (or less!).

Here's the link to his blog:

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Late afternoon at the playground

Mommy and Owen decided to take a little walk over to our neighborhood playground. Owen had tons of fun with the acorn caps we found under a tree. Mommy enjoyed the sunset as it created a nice light for grabbing some pictures of her little man.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Owen's big boy bed

His room is still bare other than the bed and a nightstand where we keep some of his books, but over the next week or so we'll be decorating more and will have his clothes all moved in. Getting ready for baby sister to take over his old nursery!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

40 days or less

Today we are 33 weeks pregnant. When people ask me now, "When are you due?" I can now officially say: "Next month." :)

I am feeling good, although am fighting a cold that just developed. Otherwise, just getting to the uncomfortable stage and am super excited to meet our little girl in less than 6 weeks. We still have not decided on a name. I am starting to worry that she may be nameless for a few days (like I was) until we finally choose. But am hoping we'll be able to make a decision before then. Or at least before we leave the hospital to come home.

It's amazing to me that she still has room to flip around, kick, and punch in there since my belly feels as if it couldn't get any bigger. It's so neat that when I am resting on the couch and I look down at my belly, if she's not squirming around, I can usually see my belly rise and fall with her breaths. Incredible. She gets the hiccups several times a day, usually they start right after I take a bite of whatever I'm about to eat.

We've moved Owen into his big boy room and he's been doing really well so far. We still need to transfer all of his clothing and the pictures and other wall decorations into the new room - I hope to get started on that this weekend. Then we can finally put away all of the beautiful girl clothes that Stephanie gave to us and the other gifts of clothes from friends and family. She's got quite a wardrobe and I'm so excited for dresses and pink for a change! :) I'd like to also move some of the baby stuff up from the basement: the swing, pack n' play, and baby bathtub. But we have plenty of time for that.

It's getting so close! As apparent as it has been that I am pregnant, to me it doesn't really seem real until I hear the baby cry and see and hold it for the first time...I mean, I still look at Owen, then at Ben, then back at Owen and think, "We made him! He is half me and half Ben."

It's just such a miracle to know that we created life. And we're about to do it again.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween 2010

Today we mainly hung around the house watching football. Owen did really well napping in his big boy bed. We were invited to a neighborhood gathering before Trick-or-Treating, so we went over there for hotdogs and cookies before taking Owen to a few houses for his first Trick-or-Treating experience. It was the third time Owen wore his Halloween costume ~ he was a froggie ~ and Mommy definitely got her $8 worth! (Yes, a consignment sale find!) :)

He had a ball! By the third house he started to get it and would actually say "Trick-or-Treat" then "get some more candy!". One of our neighbors even gave him a remote control jeep that his son used to play with since he knows how much Owen loves Jeeps. That was a big hit.



We're back at home now and have had several rounds of Trick-or-Treaters. We're actually almost out of candy. Good thing, because Owen is about to go to bed and we're going to turn off the porch lights so that we hopefully don't get anymore kiddos ringing the doorbell keeping him up.

Big boy bed

So we were finally ready to put Owen in his toddler bed in his new room. Ben installed our new video monitor and we felt prepared for whatever would go down.

We did bathtime as usual, then headed into his new room for jammies and a few books. Then it was lights out. He has a nightlight and we put a babyproof thingy on the doorknob so that he couldn't open the door. (Yes, I feel a bit like we were locking him up, but it is for his own safety since we don't have a gate at the top of the stairs.)

Ben and I immediately turned on the monitor and watched. He laid in bed for a few minutes, then was up and walked over to the door. He just stood there and looked at the door for a few minutes, then decided to go lay back down. Ten minutes later he was back over at the door, then back in bed. He repeated this about 5 times. Then I realized that I had forgotten our nightly tradition of singing "Twinkle, Twinkle" and I thought that might help him to recognize that it was bedtime. So I went in, sang to him, then said goodnight and closed the door.

That did it. He was such a good boy and slept through the entire night until 7:30 the next morning. Easier than we had thought it would be.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Playground Saturday morning

Owen and I went over to the playground this morning. It was such a beautiful day and Ben had suggested I take him there to wear him out before his nap. He had so much fun running around and he basically had the playground to himself.



We got home and had some lunch before heading up to his big boy room for his first nap in his big boy bed. It took about 45 minutes of crying and banging on the door, but he eventually fell asleep in his bed and took a nap for an hour and 1/2. Not too bad.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Dinnertime


Snapped a couple of pictures of my boys at dinner tonight. They are my cuties. :)

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Poop problems

Owen had his second episode of being very constipated. He didn't go at all on Monday or Tuesday. Tuesday evening Ben said he was fussy after dinner trying to produce a poop, so I suggested giving him a PediaLax strip and some water.

I got back from my business trip at midnight last night. This morning after breakfast he was again crying and trying to go, so I gave him another strip and tried to push water and juice. Off to daycare he went.

When I picked him up today at 5pm, I was surprised to hear that he hadn't pooped all day. After those two strips, I thought he would definitely go.

We got home and I gave him a snack of prunes and apple juice. This should definitely work. An hour later, after screaming cries from our little man, I gave him a pediatric enema to help move things along and make him feel better. He immediately passed a hard golf-ball sized poo.

I knew there had to be more in there, so we gave it time. We played in the family room and about an hour later it happened. Owen produced the most massive poop he has ever made. I don't even know how that much poop could have been inside of him. Poor little man.

He's happy again. We hope this doesn't happen again. Both for his sake, and for yours - so you don't have to read about his poop again on the blog. :)

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Pumpkin Patch

Daddy is in California with Uncle Mike this weekend at the WOW Convention. (Yes, they are big nerds.) So Owen and I were on our own. We got up bright and early and headed out to a nearby pumpkin patch. In fact, it was the very same one we went to last year. Only last year, Owen was free. This year, he was $13. Fun. Wait until you hear what we got for our $26 admission...

We started off at the farm area to check out the animals. He wasn't very into it, surprisingly. He normally loves seeing the animals at the farm we often visit and the zoo, but today he just was not enjoying it. So we headed over to the little playground which he LOVED of course. It was hard for me to tear him away, but we managed to make it over to the apple stand where we got dixie cups of cider. Owen kept asking for more. I was finally able to tear him away by telling him we'd see a tractor, then he followed me happily.



Once we got to the line for the hayride, he told me he didn't want to ride. So we headed over to another area of the patch where they had a moonbounce slide for little kids in the shape of a fire engine. Thought he might try it, but nope. So back to the playground we went. After awhile we headed back to the apple stand for round two - more cider and an apple for each of us. I didn't think he'd actually want to eat his apple, but he insisted and he actually did great with it! It was the first time he ate a raw apple by biting into it all around instead of having it cut into little pieces for him.



After we ate our apples, we decided to pick out our free pumpkins and take some pictures before going home. It was a fun morning and got me in the Halloween mood. :)

Friday, October 22, 2010

New friends

On Monday Owen had his first day in his new classroom at school. He was moved up to Toddler II which is the 2 & 3-yr old room. He was a little apprehensive at first, even though he had spent two weeks visiting in this classroom in the afternoons to get him ready for the change. He's been clingy and teary when I dropped him off each day this week, but his teachers say that he quickly settles down and starts playing with the other kids.

Tonight at dinner, all of a sudden Owen blurted out, "Victoria!" completely out of the blue. I grabbed the camera to document what he was telling me:



All the girls. Guess he's a bit of a ladies man in Toddler II. :)

Saturday, October 16, 2010

The Waterpark at Massanutten

After breakfast we drove over to the waterpark and spent a few hours playing in the warm water, floating down the lazy river, watching the surfers on the wave machine, and warming up in the hot tub. It was a fun way to spend the morning.



Then we headed back to the condo for some lunch and naps all around. I snuck away to the spa for a prenatal massage (which was lovely) and got back right when Owen woke up from his snooze.

Owen and Grandpa's ipad

This weekend we were invited to join Grandma and Grandpa Marshall and Aunt Hillary at Massanutten resort near JMU. We drove down last night and stayed in a beautiful condo with a view of the mountains. The weather was gorgeous - crisp air and sunshine. This morning we woke up and Aunt Hillary make pumpkin pancakes for everyone - delish!

Grandpa had Owen enthralled with "The Wheels on the Bus" game on his ipad.



The occasion for the weekend get-together was to celebrate Curt & Tish's 40th wedding anniversary! Happy Anniversary!!!

Friday, October 15, 2010

Big boy cup

Owen's been using a big boy cup at daycare for the past few months, but we were nervous to try it at home. Until this weekend, that is. We are starting to make the transition to all things "big boy", including his big boy room and bed which we're hoping to have him in by the end of the month.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Cotton candy

Tonight after work I had to attend a networking event and they were giving out cotton candy. It's rare that we let Owen have much sugar, but I took one home to share with him since I thought it would be fun to see how he reacted to it. He loved it! Although, I'm hoping he doesn't develop Mommy's sweet tooth - Halloween, here we come! :)

Monday, October 4, 2010

Evidence of getting better

His 2-yr molars are almost done coming in, thus the drooly face. But you can't beat that smile! Our little man is almost back to normal.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Another day, another hospital

So Owen's been sick all this week. Drippy nose, constant cough, and overall fussiness because he feels so crappy. Since he had been pulling at his ears, I decided to take him in to an Urgent Care place today instead of waiting for the pediatrician to see him tomorrow.

While Ben mowed the lawn, Owen and I headed over to the Urgent Care center. Luckily we didn't have to wait long, especially since he had a meltdown in the waiting room. The nurse took his vitals and soon after, the doctor came in. She said he had some bumps on the back of his throat which could mean strep, so they did a throat culture. After looking in his ears, she said they looked dull, meaning a double-ear infection is pretty much starting. She then listened to his chest and said she wanted to do a chest x-ray to check for pneumonia. He actually did really well during the x-ray. The doctor looked at it and told me they saw a small patch that could be pneumonia, but we'd have to go over to the hospital for their radiologists to look at it and make sure. Just in case, she had the nurse give him a shot of antibiotics to treat both the on-coming ear infections and the possible pneumonia. Poor little man screamed his head off during the shot. This nurse was definitely not as talented with a syringe as the one at the pediatrician's office last week.

By this time it was 12pm and we were both hungry and sick of being in a doctor's office. We had to wait 20 minutes for the meds to get in him so they could make sure he didn't have an allergic reaction. I wasn't looking forward to the wait I was anticipating at the Emergency Room.

We were finally discharged at 12:30 and after calling Ben to ask him to pick up McDonald's for us, we checked in at the hospital at 12:49. We only waited for 5 minutes before being taken back, and as the nurse took his vitals, Ben walked in with lunch. We got to eat and Owen was entertained with his mini-skateboard Happy Meal toy, while we waited for the doctor. He said he didn't see any signs of pneumonia on the x-ray (the Urgent Care place had given me a CD to show him) but that it did look like a double-ear infection was coming on. Armed with a prescription for a Z-pack, we finally drove home around 1:45.

We're all sick of Owen being sick. Hopefully with this medicine, he'll be feeling like himself again within a few days.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Feeling like a really bad mom

Owen and I went shopping this afternoon while Ben watched some football and took a break from Daddying (he had been on Owen-duty all day since I was at a consignment sale volunteering). After Target and DSW, we were ready to head home.

When we got home, I asked Owen if he wanted to check out his new stroller. I had found the exact double stroller I wanted at the consignment sale and Ben had unloaded it from the car into the garage. So we went out to the garage and I opened the garage door to get some fresh air. Owen started walking around the garage, and I began fumbling with the stroller trying to get it open (it was folded and locked). Next thing I know, I look over and Owen is taking off down the driveway in his tricycle.

No, he doesn't know how to ride it yet. And no, he didn't have a helmet on.

I freaked out and started running after him. Screaming my head off.

Luckily, when he reached the bottom of the driveway he turned right and leaned over, falling sideways and scraping his cheek on the sidewalk. I scooped him up and kissed him and tried to calm him down. Poor little man. :( I feel horrible about the whole thing.

We came inside and filled his boo-boo bunny with an ice cube and put it on his cheek. He didn't bleed very much, but he's got one very rosy cheek. And one very sad mommy even though it didn't take him more than 5 minutes to get over it.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

An evening in Labor & Delivery

I have been taking a Zumba class once a week over my lunchbreak at work. I do the modified moves for low impact, and I'm doing it because I wanted to keep my weight gain under control this time around.

So it started mid-class and continued afterwards, through the night and all day Friday - mega BH contractions that never seemed to let up. I didn't think it was that big of a deal, but when I told Molly, she said I needed to call my doctor because I might be in pre-term labor and they could give me something to stop the contractions.

So of course when I called my doc, she said to go to L&D. Thank goodness my mom and dad had just arrived a few hours before - they were staying the night with us on their way back down to FL. Owen loved seeing his Grandma and Poppy! Ben and I went over to the hospital and got checked into a triage room and the nurse hooked me up to the monitor. She saw right away that I was having 20-40sec contractions a few minutes apart. They sent my urine sample to the lab, hooked me up to an IV for fluids, and there we sat for a couple of hours. During that time, the nurse checked my cervix (which was closed) and did the pre-term labor cervix-swab test. We waited for the results and thank goodness they came back negative. The doctor came in and said they would give me a shot (or 2 or 3!) to stop the contractions. After the first shot, I got shakey (they told me that would happen) and once the shakes went away (took about 20min), the contractions stopped.

I felt so much better! Braxton Hicks contractions are suncomfortable. I had to be on bedrest for 24 hrs so I worked from home yesterday and Ben stayed home with Owen since he's still fighting some kind of virus that he's been dealing with all week. My doc said no more zumba, but that I can keep doing the prenatal pilates class I'm doing.

Now I'm being more careful and am resting if I feel the BH contractions coming on. We need baby girl to stay in my tummy for at least another 10 weeks!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Juice box


I learned this trick from reading Parents magazine. Have your kid hold his juice box like this so that he doesn't make a mess by squeezing it. :)

Pictures from Owen's birthday party

I am so late in posting these ~ my apologies! Dealing with a sick toddler these past few days has taken all of our attention. Owen woke up several times last night - the fever is still lingering unfortunately. I called the pediatrician this morning who said he is fighting a virus and it will likely take another day or so to completely go away. He's really congested and has had a drippy nose for the past few days, so to be on the safe side I think I might take him to the doctor tomorrow morning to get checked out. Especially if we have another rough night. Let's hope not.

Owen had so much fun at his birthday party thanks to all his wonderful friends and family! GiGi, Grandma Killi and Poppy Killi came from Hershey, and Aunt Hillary, Grandma Marshall and Poppy Marshall were here early to help us decorate and set up for the party. We had beautiful weather and the kids enjoyed the bean-bag toss game we set up in the backyard while Ben cooked up burgers and dogs on the grill. I think the highlight of the party was probably the pinata which Mommy filled up a little too much for the number of kiddos, but they had fun collecting it and handing it over to mom and dad since most of the kids were too little to eat it.

The cake Ben made and cupcakes Grandma Killi made were a big hit. I had found the dump truck mold at a craft store and when I brought it home, Ben immediately said he wanted to be the one to decorate it. He did an incredible job with it. My mom baked several dozen cupcakes - chocolate and vanilla - and decorated them with sprinkles and a fire engine wrap and car toothpicks which were so cute.

The party seemed to go by so fast. Since we had a bunch of kids coming, I knew I had to keep it to 2 hours to accommodate naps. I wish we would have had more time to socialize and catch up with everyone. By the time all of our guests had left, Owen was ready to crash. He opened a few presents and then it was off to bed for his nap. He slept for 2 hours and then was up again ready to open the rest of his gifts. Everyone gave him such nice birthday gifts! He now has a great start to his fall wardrobe, a number of new tractors and trucks to add to his collection, some cool new books, a new bath toy, his first laptop, a truck puzzle, a pound and slide wood toy, and a neat fill and dump wagon. He is loving all the new toys! Thank you so much to all our friends who came to the party: our neighbors Dresden, Haley, Molly, Jamie, Mike and Bradley, Maureen, Andy and Adam, Stephanie, Scott, Sarah Catherine, and new baby Benjamin (only a week old!), Erica and Greg, Heather, Dan and Colin, Molly and Nate, Kelly, Matt, Kayla, and Mrs. Hiza. You all made the day so special.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

The disappearing and reappearing fever

So after an entire afternoon and early evening free of the fever, Owen woke up at 11:30pm burning up again. This time it was higher than before registering at 102.7. I gave him some Baby Motrin and water, and took off his sleep sack so he was just in his jammies. We rocked for awhile and then I put him back down.

He made it through the night and woke up fine, but by l2pm it was back again - this time lower at 100.02. He got another dose of Baby Motrin and went down for his nap, waking up a couple hours later with a normal temperature.

Mommy was off to her friend Katie's baby shower, so Daddy and Owen had some guy time. They played with trucks, read some books, and watched some football. Typical guy stuff.

I got home around 6:15 and finished feeding Owen his dinner, then it was off to the bath for an early bedtime since his nights have been rough lately. Upon taking his temp before the bath, it was 99.03, so I gave him yet another dose of Baby Motrin hoping it would get him through the night. Here's to hoping the fever is gone for good. I'm starting to worry a bit.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Shots = fever

Owen woke up in the middle of the night last night with a fever. :( I stayed home with him after making a quick trip to the office with him to grab my work stuff. I was actually able to get work done while he played with all his birthday toys and watched some Sesame Street.

He went down for his nap at 12pm, so sleepy since he hadn't slept well the night before, and Ben got home around 2pm to take over so I could focus on work the rest of the day.

When Owen woke up around 3:30, his fever was gone. We're hoping he's on the mend. :)

Thursday, September 23, 2010

2-yr checkup

Owen had his 2-yr well visit this morning. He was very well-behaved for the nurse and our favorite doctor in his practice, Dr. Reilly. The nurse did his measurements and my guess was spot-on for weight. Here are his stats:

Weight - 29lbs (50%)
Length - 36" (75%)
Head Cir - 19 & 3/4" - 75%

He's our growing boy! After he was measured, Dr Reilly came in. She sings little songs to the kids as she checks them and Owen just loves it. She said he looks great. Then it was time to get his shots. The nurse came in and as she swiped his arms with alcohol, I covered his eyes so he wouldn't see what she was about to do. That was a good move on my part, that, and the nurse was super quick. He whined a tiny bit at the first one, but that was it. No hysterical crying, which was nice. He got his Hep A shot and his flu shot and two really cool Halloween band-aids. :)

When we checked out he got to pick a sticker and chose a big Elmo one to wear to school. He made it to school in time for snack and joined right in with his class after giving me a kiss goodbye.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Happy 2nd Birthday Owen!!!

We had an incredible birthday party today for Owen to celebrate his first two years! Until we're able to get all the pictures posted, here is how he wrapped up his birthday evening:


Thursday, September 16, 2010

Drying off after bath

Owen cannot stand being dried off when he gets out of the bathtub each night. Last night I had a brilliant idea and it worked like a charm. As I wrapped the hooded towel around him and started drying him off, I said to him, "Owen, we need a dry off song!". He thought for a moment, then started singing his own little ditty. It went a little something like this: "Dry off! Dry off! Dryyyyyy off!" And he was sufficiently distracted while I finished toweling him off.

I love my little parenting successes.