Cole Henry James

February 12, 2015 I was overwhelmed. Jason had a late meeting and Luke and Delilah were crazy. I thought to myself I would never be able to hand a third kid and then I freaked out and had to take a pregnancy test just to make sure I wasn't pregnant. We were not trying and in fact were pretty sure we were done having kids. I just got this feeling. I went to take a test as soon as the kids were out of their bath I went in and took a test. It was positive. I was shocked. I was freaking out. I didn't know how Jason would react. But at the same time I was unsure, I've never have had a baby without having a miscarriage first. Being that it was almost Valentines Day and he would be out of town, I wrapped up the pregnancy tests. When I gave them to him he didn't believe it. I guess I didn't really either! As the weeks went on and I was still pregnant it became real. Then the headaches and nausea set in. Jason was out of town on the weekends and super busy with taxes during the week. Thank goodness my parents had just moved within 10 minutes of me because there were days I had to ask them to bring the kids dinner because I couldn't get up.

The pregnancy progressed well. We decided not to find out what it was. That was hard, but kind of fun too. I kept expecting complications in the pregnancy like I had with Delilah. I got very tired of work. I kept hoping I would get taken out early but things just kept going good! I finally finished up my last day at work and the next day I went into the doctor and my blood pressure was fine. The next day Jason and I volunteered in Luke's class before my non stress test. As soon as we were done we headed to the hospital for my test. My blood pressure was very high. 150's/90's. My doctor decided to admit me to the hospital. We were there for 5 hours until I could get it back down to an acceptable level. Monday I took Delilah out for a fun day. Tuesday I volunteered for picture day at Luke's school. It was 4 hours of being on my feet. I was exhausted by the end of it. I went home and had lunch then picked up the kids. My dad was coming over to watch them while my mom and I went to another non stress test. The kids were weird when I left. They never cry. Especially with my dad. Well Delilah was crying and freaking out. Luke was upset that I wasn't hugging him before I left. It freaked me out. I called Jason on the way and said I have a bad feeling. I felt like the kids could sense something was up and that I wasn't coming home.

September 22, 2014
I go in for my non stress test. My blood pressure is 180/100. They admit me to the hospital again. This time they say I will not be going home that night for sure. Jason had to come from work to the hospital while my mom went to go home and deal with my kids. I had the worst nurse for the first couple hours. She couldn't get an IV in. She jacked my arm up. She poked me 4 times before she got my favorite nurse from the Friday before, Valerie. Valerie was able to get a line in right away. They started giving me some meds to bring down my blood pressure. IV and oral. Once I got settled in I sent Jason home. I told him to go see the kids and get his stuff. While he was gone I got so sick. One minute I was fine and the next I was so dizzy and nauseous. Apparently all my meds at once had kicked in and bottomed my blood pressure out. Once they got it all figured out I felt better. They stopped the IV meds and were just doing oral and they cut my dose down. There I settled in for the night and tried to get some sleep (which of course I didn't sleep at all). The next day my blood pressure was down a bit. The doctor wanted to continue to watch me for a little bit before sending me home. It seemed like every time they were getting close to deciding if I could go home my blood pressure would spike. It is now Wednesday September 23rd and I really wanted to go home. The doctors hope was to send me home for a few days. We really wanted to get to 37 weeks. Wednesday night it just got high again despite my meds. Thursday morning was more of the same. My doctor came in and said we no longer were going home at all. That I was going to be there until Monday when is the earliest she wanted to do the delivery. She said it wouldn't hurt to have a perinatologist come do a consultation. At that point I sent Jason to go get himself some food and run errands. My mom was there with me when not 10 minutes later the nurse came in and said the perinatologist talked to my doctor and did not want to wait any longer they wanted to deliver immediately. Because I had just eaten breakfast they wanted to wait until 5pm to do the surgery. The perinatologist came in and said that she was really scared to wait at all and if I had one more high blood pressure (which was  186/112 that morning) she didn't care about the breakfast she wanted me to deliver immediately.

I never had another super high bp that day so we just spent the day pretty nervous about having an early baby later that day. We had some of the best nurses during our stay prior to the delivery (aside from the first one!). They warned us that the baby most likely would be in the NICU. We had to do an ultrasound before delivery just to make sure the baby was big enough. They gave an estimate of 6 lbs. 13 oz with a + or + 13 oz. The tech himself estimated it to be 6 lb 8 oz. Finally it was time to go  in to the OR. Except this time they made me walk into the OR myself. Being that I've had 2 other c sections at the same hospital, this was weird. I had been wheeled in both times. This time I had to walk to the elevator and into the room myself where I stepped on a stool and got on the bed all on my own. It was so weird to me.

My surgical nurse Erika. She was the best. She was very calming to me. She had a little girl around the same age as Delilah and we talked about our girls. They seemed very similar. She asked what I thought this baby was and I said boy! They get me prepped for surgery and bring Jason back in and they got to work. I was so scared about what was about to happen. Not the surgery, just scared that my baby would not be well. They told Jason when they were about to pull the baby out. He took a video. I watch that video all the time. When they announce that its a boy I cry every single time. It was the greatest surprise! He was quiet at first. Nothing like Delilah who screamed bloody murder. While they were cleaning him up and finishing up my surgery they noticed that he would occasionally forget to breathe. That was enough for him to go to the NICU. I was devastated. Jason went with the baby and they took me to recovery. I was a mess. I just wanted my baby. The two nurses were so nice. I found out there that my nurse Erika was pregnant so we talked about that before she had to go to another patient. Jason came down to check on me. He said the baby was really cute. I was just so upset he couldn't be with me. Both of my other two births as soon as I was in recovery the babies got to be with me. After a couple hours they decided to roll my bed into the NICU so I could see and hold my baby. Just thinking about it makes me cry. I got to hold him and I didn't want to let him go. Leaving him was the hardest thing I've ever and to do.

I got to my room and immediately asked for a pump. I had a NICU baby I needed to get him some colostrum! While the nurse was off to get me a pump I got very sick. I was puking and just felt awful! But once she got there with the pump I was determined. I pumped my very first time and got 23mls! Thats almost an ounce my first time out. The nurses were freaking out. Normally its only a few mls that you will get the first time. Jason took the milk up to the NICU. He took pictures of my precious baby for me. I started pumping every 3 hours and I never got that much again LOL.  Every time I pumped Jason would take it up and check on the baby for me.

5:30 am the next morning they came to see if I could get out of bed. I said can I please go see my baby? So my nurse got me a wheelchair and I went up to see him. I try to get him to latch on the breast and we ended up working with one of sweet lactation consultants that helped me with Delilah. He seemed to be latching and nursing well. I went up 5 more times that day to see my sweet boy. Just sitting here thinking about it brings tears to my eyes. It was the most painful thing I've ever done in my life. This recovery was awful. I'm pretty sure going up to the NICU 6 times in a 12 hour period was not making it easier. The kids couldn't go to the NICU, and they didn't even know we had the baby. My mom and dad had taken them to McTeacher night at McDonalds for our school at the same time we were having Cole. Luke had a couple tests the next day and we know our boy well and know that he needs to focus and not have any distractions, so we decided to not tell them. Jason picked them up from school early and my mom came with me to the NICU and we waited for the kids to show up and we showed them the baby from the window. They were so excited! We then went down to my room and visited with them for awhile and Jason showed them the video of the birth.

Later that night after the kids had gone back we went back to the NICU. The nurse wanted to check me but said we could go up for a bit. Well the nurse had to call me back down because I didn't want to leave him! The nurse in the NICU came by and said she was just waiting on the doctor to release Cole and that if I promised to give some formala if needed then he could come down with me. With pumping and tube feeding and nursing I don't think we really had to give him formula. Whats funny is I can tell you exactly how much formula Luke got (8mls) and how much Delilah got (1 ounce total) but Cole I have no idea! I don't know how much they gave him in the NICU and how much we gave him in our room. I'm pretty sure we didn't give him much if any in room because I was pumping a decent amount. Anyway, the nurse assured me he was ready to be with me in the room and they would bring him down shortly so I rushed back down to the room to get my little exam done and take my meds and get ready for my baby. Not long after they brought him in. We were so in love. We kept saying he was the cutest baby we've ever had (although I still stand by the fact that I think they look exactly alike). We just kept working on nursing and I really felt it was going good. Then the crying began. This kid cried all night long. At some point Jason just took him for a walk for a couple hours up and down the hall over and over again. He finally calmed down and was a pretty good baby after that.

They let us leave on Sunday even though he had gone from 6 lb 1 oz down to 5 lb 6 oz. We had frequent weight checks at the pediatrician's office and the lactation support group. It got to the point where he couldn't latch very well. We were doing SNS (tube feedings along the breast) and finger feedings. Our lactation consultant was concerned there was a tongue tie. Honestly to me that made sense. Luke wouldn't nurse and has speech problems but I didn't know about tongue ties back then so once I learned I always assumed he had one. Our pediatrician said no he did not have one. I was a bit shocked but went with it. That was a Friday. Monday Cole just seemed very uncomfortable and was not pooping. He wasn't latching and we were doing mostly finger feedings at that point. I had an appointment with another lactation consultant the next day but decided to call the doctor to see if we could come have him checked. They only time our doctor could see us was the same time I had an appointment with my doctor so I went with a nurse practitioner instead. When we weighed Cole he had lost a little bit of weight. Friday he had been 5 lb 8.6oz and Monday he was 5 lb 8.2 oz. She was concerned. I explained that I didn't think he was nursing correctly and I thought he might have a tongue tie because when we did a finger feeding his tongue would not come out of his mouth. She looked and agreed it looked like a tongue tie. I told her that our doctor (in her office) did not think it was. She said that they had another doctor in their office that specializes in them and he would come take a look. He walks in takes a look and says wow this a bad one, can you wait a few minutes and I will fit you in to get it cut right now? UM YES! Yes I can wait all day if you need me to. I just wanted to get it fixed. The procedure itself was quick and Cole barely cried. The part that was awful was the next 5 days where we had to put lots of pressure under the tongue twice a day. It was hard because it made him cry worse than the cutting itself!!! So that was Monday morning and we met with the new lactation consultant the next day and she tried to work with us a little. By Wednesday I was over it. We both cried at every feeding. I was so close to giving up. I didn't even want to pump. I just wanted to do formula and call it. I had so much support from so many friends that just kept encouraging me to keep going. Well Wednesday night he just latched. It didn't hurt and he was drinking. Now in the beginning when he lost weight I was very cocky. I said to the pediatrician and nurses don't worry he will gain 2 oz a day soon enough. My other two all lost weight in hospital but gained 2 oz a day not long after and kept gaining until they were little chunks. Not my Cole. He stayed small for awhile. But by 2 months he was gaining 2 oz a day and was putting some meat on his bones. Now at 4 months 3 weeks, he is 15 lbs. 10 oz which is right on with both the other two! Luke was 15 lb 11 oz at 5 months and Delilah was 15 lb 6 oz. He is seriously so chunky. I absolutely love it.

He has given me a run for my money. He is a puker. Like every day all day long. He is gassy too. He seems to get very fussy when I have dairy. But he is the sweetest baby. From day 1 he was just a sweet precious thing. Now at 5 months he laughs a lot, smiles all the time, and if one of his siblings is crying he gets the saddest face and cries right along with them. Our days and nights are crazy but I wouldn't change it for the world. I'm really just focusing on loving every minute of it because it is official that we will not be having anymore kids. Not that I can imagine having another with our crazy nights but I would love one more. Another girl to even it out right? Unfortunately they think it is just too dangerous for me to have another with how the pregnancies have progressively gotten worse for me. Lucky me I have my two sweet boys and one sassy girl to keep me busy and I don't have to think about how just 1 more baby would be good (because I know me 1 is never enough I will always have this baby feeling!).

Delilah Grace Marie

Yes I'm still alive! I can't believe its been over 2 and half years since my last post. I look at the pictures of Luke from the last post and I have no idea who that baby boy is. Now he is a kid. Actually he is a sad kid these days because a bunch of his friends moved on to kindergarten and he wants to go so bad. He asks all the time am I going to kindergarten soon? I'm not sure how he will handle it once he turns 5 and has about 5 more months before school starts. He thinks he can go once he turns 5!

So there has been some major things going on in our house since my last post. Basically I stopped posting about 5 months after we had started trying to get pregnant with baby number 2. And it took another 15 months of trying but we finally had a precious baby GIRL! She is now almost 7 months old so its not so new anymore. My pregnancy was awful. I was sick constantly. Weeks 6-13 were terrible. I had the worst headaches every day and I was pretty much sick and not wanting to eat. Then one week after that I got sick for the first time. I was pretty much sick the whole time. Colds, sore throats, high blood pressure and so much other stuff. I swore I would never want to do that again! The good part about my pregnancy was Luke. He was so excited. We hadn't told him I was pregnant because I had a miscarriage the month before I got pregnant and I had told him then so I wanted to make sure this time was for real. At our 10 week appointment he came with us and the doctor did an ultrasound and none of us said what it was but he looked at the screen and said is that a baby? So we told him. He was so excited he just wanted to keep looking at the ultrasound. He immediately named the baby Steve. I had made Jason a promise years ago when we found out what Luke was, that we would not find out for the next one. Well Jason agreed we really needed to find out so we could prepare him just in case Steve wasn't a boy! Well about a week into it Luke started saying the baby was a girl. Knowing Jason's family history of all the men only having boys I would try to tell Luke it was probably going to be a boy but he insisted it was a girl. When we went into the ultrasound we closed our eyes and didn't find out. We had the tech write down what it was on three different cards and in our card she also put a picture of what it was. We were having our friends over the next day for pumpkin carving so we decided to have a reveal and all find out together. Jason and Luke went to Babies R Us and picked out a boy outfit and a girl outfit and had them wrap it, then they had a cake made with pink or blue filling. After we ate dinner with our friends we brought out the gift and let Luke open it. I was doing a video on my phone so I didn't see it right away but everyone was screaming! Luke was right and it was a girl! Jason and I didn't believe it. It took weeks for it to sink in. I even had to see a perinatologist at 37 weeks and they did an ultrasound for sizing and checking for any problems and I told the tech please tell me if it really is a girl because they said it was and I don't believe it! He looked and said yes that is definitely a girl! That was the best surprise and totally worth the 20 month wait to get pregnant! 

My birth story:

I didn't really think I was going to have a birth story this time. My perinatologist said he did not want me to go past 39 weeks and they told me she was going to be a big baby and there were just some other things going on that a repeat c section seemed like a good idea. Luke came at 37 weeks and 5 days. I was really hoping the baby would too. I was so ready for her to be here. I was miserable. I got taken out of work at 35 weeks because of my blood pressure and I had to go to the hospital once to be monitored for blood pressure and I was having contractions every 2-4 minutes and they had to give me some medication to stop them. Then at my next weekly visit with the doctor my mom came with me and Luke and the doctor said she really didn't think I would make it another week. She thought I was going to go into labor that weekend. Well I didn't. And I didn't the next week either. I was so miserable but we finally set the date to have a c section for March 11th. I finally was at peace with the fact that she wasn't coming early like Luke and was happy it was planned and I could drop Luke off at school on Monday before heading to the hospital. The Friday before I took Luke out on an all day adventure as my friend Loralyn's housekeeper came and cleaned my house top to bottom! The next day I woke up and here we are in the middle of tax and baseball season and Jason has a game then wanted to work since he would be taking off the next week. So Luke and I were home all day. I just wasn't feeling right. I was having contractions but they weren't very consistent. My parents came to visit and when they went home Luke and I went to take a nap in my bed. I woke up at 5pm and he was still asleep so I turned on the tv in the room and Friends was on. It was the episode where Rachel was past her due date and was miserable. I was laughing so hard. I don't think it would have been as funny if I wasn't so ready to be done! While laying there I started having some contractions. Same as I had been for weeks just figured it would be just long enough to be annoying and go away. Well when Luke woke  up and we made our way out to the living room and I made him some dinner and that is when the contractions just seemed a little different. Now at this point I was pretty sure we were having a baby sooner than Monday. Jason got home at 8:30 that night and we were going to watch a show and hang out but at that point I was really having contractions pretty consistently so I told him he better go get some sleep since he had been gone working and doing baseball for 12 hours. So there I sat in the living room by myself trying to keep myself occupied. The contractions came on pretty strong. By 1am they HURT! I was moaning and groaning so loud that even my husband who usually won't wake up for anything heard me and came out. He instantly freaked and said we have to go to the hospital I don't want you having a baby here. So he called the hospital and they told him no. I had to have contractions 4 minutes apart for 2 hours. They told him to tell me to get some sleep. I'm sorry but that nurse must have never had a baby before. I tried to lay down and at the first contraction I was out of bed and on my knees in so much pain. Now with Luke I had pitocin and waited for 3 hours until I got the epidural and I just got it because everyone was annoying me at that point and I thought I better get it before it was too late. I didn't probably need it at that point. This time was completely different. I don't know what the heck was wrong but the pain was so awful. My thighs burned every contraction. It was bad. I was trying to blow dry my hair after my shower and I decided I could no longer wait and called my parents who live 45 minutes away and said hurry up. We had to wait until they got there to leave. My mom tried to tell me to focus on something and I just about ripped her head off. I was not in the mood! Contractions in the car are super fun too. But nothing as good as when we got to the hospital and they are trying to get me to spell my name and tell them all sorts of info. Are you freaking kidding me? I can't move and you want me to spell things for you and talk like normal? I was so mad! They checked me when I got there and I was at 5. My doctor got there and said they couldn't take me quite yet as they were finishing up a c section. She said lets check you if you are at a 10 I will let you push. I just wasn't prepared for that at all. I was in so much pain and I was terrified the baby was over 8lbs! Luckily I was still at a 5 and they said we could prep to go into surgery because they were done. So we got into the OR and the anesthesiologist gave me the spinal block. Oh my gosh! Can we say amazing!!!! Instant relief. It was amazing. This time since I didn't have an epidural on board and then extra drugs on top of that I wasn't nauseous and tired like I was with Luke. At 9:21am on Sunday March 10th a whole day before she was supposed to come Delilah Grace Marie came out screaming louder than anything I have ever heard. All of the doctors and nurses were talking the whole time and they all shut up when this girl came out! I was nervous something was wrong with her. Luke never ever ever cried that loud ever! She is ear piercing! The next thing I was anxious about was how much did she weigh? I kept asking Jason and he said they hadn't done that yet. Finally he comes over and says 6lb 3 oz and 18.5 inches! Are you kidding me? I was worried about a giant 8lb baby and she was barely over 6! She was tiny. Not as tiny as Luke but still so tiny. Jason went off with her while they finished my surgery. When I finally got out into recovery Jason made them bring her over to me. He said she had screamed for 45 minutes and he just wanted to get her to me. Once they brought her over she latched right on the boob and was completely content and that is where she has been for the last almost 7 months! She is a perfect nurser the complete opposite of Luke and I am thrilled. It is an amazing bond that I feel I didn't get with Luke. Delilah is a mama's girl that is for sure. She could be happy with Jason playing and smiling and I walk by and she instantly freaks if I don't come get her. She is still like that! I have a love hate relationship with it. I love it so much but its so hard when I can't get anything done or spend some time with Luke.
Oh and Luke is seriously the best big brother ever. He loves Delilah so much. He can't get enough of her. He is my big helper and loves every minute of it. It is actually awesome having them 4 years apart. He can "watch"  her while I run outside to throw laundry in or I had him watch her while I mopped the other day. It's great he loves playing with her. It sometimes makes my cry the way they love each other. She loves him so much too. She laughs and smiles at him all the time, and she is a hard one to get a laugh out of!
I am so in love. I can't believe I get to be mom to these two beautiful babies. I will write more someday very soon as I have loved going back and reading all of the posts about Luke. I wish I would have kept going!
I will post pictures soon too!

We are alive!

Wow I haven't posted since January and here it is mid March! Lots of things have changed in our lives. Luke started going to a Montessori school on February 28th. It was a rough to get started for him because he had been going to his sitter since he was 4 months old and he loved Melissa and her two boys. I did too! The day I told her we were moving him I couldn't even tell her at first because I couldn't stop crying! It was very hard but now we are there and Luke is getting better with me dropping him off and I have been able to sneak in while they were doing stuff when I go to pick him up in the evening and he is having so much fun. One day they were singing and clapping and the next day they were playing instruments (of course my child was the only one playing the drums). We are very excited to see how much he learns. They are working on lots of different things but just a few activities spread out over the day and then they get to play outside every day!

Tax and baseball season is upon us. Can't wait until its over! Unfortunately (I guess for me not for Jason) baseball is going through May. Jason will be doing some traveling up to Stockton and Abilene, Texas for some tournaments. Its an honor (or so he tells me!) to be nominated and chosen to go.

Luke's second birthday is FAST approaching (as well as Jason's 32nd!). We will be doing lots of stuff to get ready for his "Rock On" birthday party. We decided on a rock on party because Luke loves his guitar and music. He has a new favorite show called The Fresh Beat Band. Lets just say Jason and I can't get the damn songs out of our head and I'm very embarrassed to say that if you have ever seen the show. One of the episodes one of the girls was playing a violin well my son ran and got one of his drumsticks and grabbed his guitar and acts like his guitar is a violin. Its so cute!

Work has been super busy for me lately. We have been a large animal practice for 30 years and we are now opening a small animal practice next week as well as training for a whole new software system. There is so much to be done before all this happens but its the beginning of breeding and foaling season so we are so busy I can't get the time to do it!

Well that is what is going on in our lives for now :)

Nothing but Pictures!

All of Luke's Christmas loot (yes there is a lot!)

Happy kids Christmas morning

In his jeep when he realizes the basketball hoop

What is this?

Oh my gosh its a Jeep!

Luke loves himself some Elmo and Zoe

A Sunday afternoon at Seaworld

Me & Luke in Old Town

Lukes loves chicken taco soup

Our little puppy. He loves this costume

We were shocked at how much he loved these two!

Hello again

So it looks like its been over a month since i've last posted! What the heck have we been doing? Well Jason and I have been enjoying every minute with our little guy. He is so much fun. He is really starting to talk a lot. His favorite words right now are baby (every time we see a carseat with a baby at the store he freaks out screaming baby baby baby), candy (not sure exactly how he learned this one because he RARELY gets candy and if he does I call it a treat), and his favorite phrase is Hi Sissy. Yes he seems to be a little behind in talking but he really has picked up the last couple weeks. He repeats every thing we say. Today he was shouting Football football as he and Jason were watching football. So cute. He has a new game too, hiding in the kitchen cabinet. He thinks its a nice quiet dark place to take a poop. I opened the door yesterday and I could tell he was pooping and he freaked out yelling get get until I closed the door again.

This weekend Jason went to Arizona for some baseball meetings and Luke and I had a great time just the two of us. We even went to the local frozen yogurt shop and got a yogurt to bring home and share while we watched The Chipmunk movie. I'm a little sick of that movie. Luke has no interest in any other movies, not even Cars, but he always is up for The Chipmunks. I need to get The Squekel to see if he likes that one because I am getting super sick of the original.

Good news, Jason passed his final CPA test! He also passed his Ethics exam so its now just waiting for all the paper work to go through and he will have his license! So excited that all the studying and taking exams are over. Now we are gearing up for tax and baseball season. Not really looking forward to all that! Luckily I have 2 baby showers that I'm helping throw for friends so that along with Luke should keep me pretty busy!

Can't believe we are in the home stretch before Luke's second birthday. Is it possible that this second year went even faster than the first? Well I'm super excited because I have picked a theme for the party, The Cat & The Hat! Super cute decorations out there that I can make myself! I'm trying to get a head start on all this stuff so I am not having to do it all in April when Jason doesn't exsist in this house!

Merry Christmas!

Well Christmas is right around the corner. This time of year is crazy. Luke is loving all the lights. On nice nights we go walking around our neighborhood to look at the lights. We have made it to a place in Santee called Starlight Circle twice so far this year. It is really the cutest neighborhood. They sell hot chocolate, hot apple cider, kettle corn, and other snacks that you can get while you walk around looking at all the awesome lights and decorations!

We are in the middle of the worst "teething" we have had. Seriously these teeth are worse than the molars. He has been moody/cranky for weeks. Finally one of them has poked through and the second is just about there, then we will have to do it all over again when the bottom ones come through. I'm ready for teething to be over!!

Luke is growing into such a BIG boy! I can hardly believe it. He listens to instructions very well now and can do something if you ask him(like going to give something to daddy in another room, or put something away in his room or my room). He also answers correctly now. Before he would shake his head NO to everything. Now you ask him if he wants to eat and he says yeah or no and actually means it. So much easier knowing what they want. If we are in another room and he wants something he grabs our hand and takes us to what he wants.
We went to see Santa last week. I was nervous because when I picked him up from daycare he was very very grumpy. My mom came over before we left and said oh you shouldn't do that today he is not happy, but it was seriously the only day we could do it. So we met Jay there and when we get to Santa there are two kids screaming in his lap and we look at each other like oh no. Well Luke catches a glimpse of him and starts waving and trying to get down from Jay's arms. Once the other kids get up he runs up to Santa and says hi! So darn cute! He took several photos with him and then sat on his lap until I looked through all the ones and paid for them. He loved it! Last week our friend had him and took him to the mall and he was very excited to see him again as they walked by. He is definitely not afraid, although considering his grandpa has a full beard and he is not afraid of him at even though he doesn't see him much, I'm not surprised he is not afraid of Santa.

Just one of the guys

My son thinks he is one of the big guys. Today at a birthday party where he had never met any of the men before he just kept climbing in their lap and demanding they play with him. Its funny and cute but can be a little embarrasing. Epecially when he tries to pull their kid out of their lap to sit.

We went to Seaworld with Ashley and Boston on Thursday and I think I may have given the kid too much freedom because he kept running off. He really could care less about the animals right now, well that is except for the birds that are flying all over the place at seaworld. He loves birds. He must love them just to upset me. I hate birds!

Jason takes his final CPA test on Sunday. I can't wait for it to be over. He has really been studying so I am sure he will do good. He still would have an open book take home ethics test (does anyone else find that funny?) but that should be easy.

I am so ready for Christmas!! I can't wait. Thanksgiving day is usually when we decorate for Christmas so only a few more days. I have already been listening to Christmas music to get in the mood! We have lots of Christmas activities coming up.

Post Halloween and Vegas

So we survived Halloween...barely. We have an awesome group of friends and they all really know how to have fun. Friday night we had a pumkin carving party at Luke & Alyssa's. Luke got to play with his good friends Aurora, Boston, & Brayden. These kids are starting to actually play together and not just next to each other doing their own thing. Its so much fun to watch! Luke was really a big time partier that night and stayed up until we got in the car at 11pm!

The next night was the annual Halloween party at Ryan & Loralyn's. Wow did we have fun. We left at 12pm and only because my child was the only one still awake and I felt like a bad mom!

Sunday we had a little block party/pot luck and then took the kids trick or treating. It took Luke all of about 2 houses to get the hang of it. He kept trying to walk into people's houses. He loved the decorations and all the little dogs that were hanging out in driveways helping their owners pass out candy.

Friday we are leaving for Vegas. Totally bummed and excited all at the same time. I just dont want to leave Luke. If only he could come with us it would be the best trip!! Ryan and Loralyn are coming with us and that is going to be a lot of fun!

I will put up halloween pics later.

Pooping in the potty!

Well our doctor told us to try Luke on the potty at 18 months. Since his 18 month birthday is just a few days away I bought a little potty chair for him. I really wanted to just get one that goes on the seat but he is afraid of the toilet so I just got the seat. Luke loves it. Thinks its very cool. We just got it yesterday and so not really ready to completely potty train but I noticed he is more aware of when he pees recently so I decided to let him run around naked (his favorite thing to do) and just "watch" him closely. Well I am the biggest dork because there he was naked on his seat looking so cute so I went to grab my camera and when I got it I noticed the battery was dead so I went to get the charger and set it up and the next thing I know I hear something in my room and walk in to find him standing in next to my bed peeing! After breakfast I tried again and this time I caught him in time and put him on the potty and he peed! We made a huge deal out of it and gave him a treat for peeing in there! We had a really busy day but when we got home that evening he had a full 8 oz of milk and I thought perfect we will try it again. Sure enough within 10 minutes I noticed a little drop of pee coming out and I put him on his seat he finished peeing and went poop! I could hardly believe. I was freaking out telling him how awesome he was and I was proud of him and clapping and he looked at me like I was crazy! Don't think we are going to go full force with the potty training right now. He is still very young and doesn't quite get it yet but this is a big step in the right direction. I was afraid he was going to be one of those kids who is 3 and not potty trained yet. With Jay & I going on vacation soon and then the holidays after that we will probably wait until after the first of the year to really go for it unless of course he decides he wants to.

On a side note he is starting to talk a lot now. His new sentence is I can see it or I see it which means he wants to see something. Took me a couple of days to figure out what he was talking about because he kept saying I can see it and I had no clue what the heck he was seeing but it all made sense yesterday when we were at a friends house and they had a fish on the dresser and I had picked him up to show him and then later he said mom I can see it and raised his arms so I would pick him up and show him. It also sounds like he says I can't do it a lot but we are not really sure. He said cheese yesterday but I missed it. Seems like every day he gets a new word.

When he drinks his milk at night I let him watch a show on Nick Jr. Usually its Yo Gabba Gabba since that is his favorite and if I say Yo Gabba Gabba is on he runs to his chair or the couch waiting for me to turn it on. On Nick Jr. the shows are only about 20 minutes or so and then after they have a cartoon moose come on an do puzzles and songs and stuff. He loves Moose. Last night I was washing dishes while he was drinking him milk watching tv. I look over at him and he is bouncing in his chair. Then I hear Moose on tv said step 2 is clapping and Luke starts to clap. Step 3 is turn around so Luke gets up and spins and then the do all the steps over again and he does them. Seriously when did he get so big! He is getting much better at listening to directions and if he does go in time out he actually stays put until we tell him.

Well we are off to a busy weekend. Saturday: I work, we have 3 birthday parties stacked up after that. Sunday: Bates Nut Farm for Pumpkin Patch (which is about an hour away from us) and then a birthday party at 5. Seriously between the 4 Bday parties this weekend and then we have a birthday dinner for my BFF Loralyn on Tuesday then her actual party on Friday we are just on this birthday party train which continues from last month where we had 4!

Pictures

I just realized I haven't put any new pictures up in a long time. I have nothing special to share just a few random pics since September

Eating an ice cream cone backwards

Just love this face!

He has sunscreen all over his face but he doesn't care

This was after my bunco night. He passed out in our bed and was so cute as I was trying to put his jammies on.

Passed out with the bottle

Drinking some milk laying on the floor. He is very silly!

A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of having Boston spend the day with us. Luke had so much fun! For some reason he does this a lot in photos

The boys playing swords

See he is doing it again.

What little cuties!

Showing off his head injury. He was skateboarding with our neighbor Ben. Well Luke thought he could skateboard himself and this is what happened.

Fun times

So we had an awesome weekend last weekend! Friday night was my monthly girls Bunco night. Luke and Jason got to play at the neighbors until bunco was over. Saturday we headed over to Ryan and Loralyn's for game night with all our friends. That was so much fun but with two toddler boys it was a lot of work! Boston and Luke actually got into a fight. They normally get along great but they started fighting over a toy and pushed eachother. Sunday was our next door neighbors kids birthday party. The party was for Ben (10) and Kayla (5). Luke loves Ben so much. Ben pushes him around in Luke's little car, or on a scooter, bike, or skateboard. Kayla loves Luke and pretends he is her little doll! They had a birthday party at the pool and the kids have so much fun. Ben is at the age where he is really into clothes and shopping and he mentioned to me that he really liked Tilly's so we got him a gift card to Tilly's and his face was pretty priceless! He was so happy and can't wait to go shopping! After the party we ran home for a bit and let Luke nap for an hour then we headed down to our neighbor Susie's house for dinner. They have family in from out of town and so we all hung out and had some fun! By Monday morning I was exhausted. I could barely stay awake.

By Tuesday I had started feeling less exhausted and that is good because I have officially given up caffeine again. If you don't know I had not had caffeine in about 2 years but all of a sudden the last few months seems like we are getting busier and busier and I am getting less and less sleep and I started drinking coffee. Now that we are getting a little more serious about having another baby I figure I better cut down on caffeine now so I don't have to do it while I'm tired and not feeling well from being pregnant. Speaking of being pregnant I have 3 pregnant friends right now and could possibly have 2 more pregnant friends within the next couple months. Talk about a lot of new babies!!

A couple of weeks ago I entered a text message contest for a store in Old Town called Hotlicks, which is a hot sauce store. They have nothing but lots and lots of different hot sauces. Well the prize was hot sauce for a year (2 bottles per month so 24 bottles total) and I won!! I got the call yesterday and am super duper excited. I mean really its not as awesome as say winning diapers or gas for a year but its still fun!

This weekend is shaping up to be pretty fun. Saturday we have Ryan's 30th birthday party. All the boys (big boys not baby boys) are going to play laser tag Saturday morning while us girls hang out and do our own thing and then the boys will join us and they are having Pizza and Beer. I'm excited but now that Ryan is 30 makes me sad because I know its my turn next :(

Awesome weekend

So we ended up having an awesome weekend! Luke was great the whole weekend and we got lots of family time in! I worked on Saturday so while I worked Luke and Jason walked down to the taco shop and got themselves a late breakfast. Jason sent me a picture on my phone of Luke in the restaurant in his Pj's and it was so cute!! Saturday night Lindsay came over for Chicken Taco soup and salad. It was so nice to hear about her very super adventurous trip to Alaska. All I can say is NO THANK YOU! I am not up for camping in the middle of absolutely no where for 5 days. I don't want to camp anywhere for 5 days!

Sunday we went up to San Clemente to meet up with our neighbors who were camping. They were camping at the beach and had an awesome little camping spot and had at least 8 trailers there with lots of people (and lots and lots of kids!). It was overcast but nice and we walked down to the beach and Luke had a blast. The water was cold but Luke didn't mind. He likes to just stand there and wait for the waves to come. It is so awesome to see the excitement on his little face. After playing in the water he played in the sand for awhile. Lets just say he had sand everywhere! When we got back from the beach he played with all the other kids and just had a blast. We drove home that night to sleep in our own beds and since Luke only got a 1 hour nap on the way up he slept really good that night! I myself went to bed before 10pm which hasn't happened in months and we got to sleep in until 6:45! It was awesome.

Monday we just spent the whole day at home. I got a nap in while Luke napped and then we had an early dinner, bath and then headed out to play with the neighbor kids. The kids right next door to us are awesome with Luke and push him around on bikes and in his police car. He is really spoiled rotten!

Its a short week for me (only 2 days!) and we have a busy weekend ahead us but all fun stuff!

Doctor's visit

We took Luke to the doctors for a check up and shots yesterday. He weighed in at 21lbs 10oz and 31 inches tall(he has gained 1lb 10oz and grown 2 inches since his 12 month check up). The doctor said he is perfect! Not too thin and definitely not chubby. I always think he is a little chubby especially when I see him next to Aurora and Boston but the doctor made it clear he was not chubby and a little on the too small side but said since he is smaller boned and short like me he was fine. He got his shots and was fine after that. We then picked up dinner and went to a really cool park and played in the grass. Luke's favorite new thing is playing baseball. He has this little ball that sits on a tee (but its really small and not like a real tee) and hits it with the bat. He is a little obsessed actually. Its pretty cute. He hits it then says again and does it all again.

The doctor did mention that he likes to start trying to put them on the potty at 18months. I am not sure if we will do that or not. A potty training guide a friend gave me said optimal time she has found was 22 months which seems a little more likely so I guess we will wait and see where he is in the next 2 months and see if we should give it a go or wait for a few more months. He also would like to have the bottle and pacifier gone at 18 months. We are down to 1 bottle per day in the morning and I don't know how we are going to get it away from him. He is not the most pleasant child in the morning until after his bottle. I don't blame him either because I am not pleasant at all in the morning. I try to not be irritated but Jason just smiling at me or saying anything at all irritates me. This morning he got up and just the sound of him peeing irritated me! I need help. The pacifier is going to be difficult too. He only gets it in his bed and its not like he is sucking on it all night long but the doctor was concerned about his teeth so we will work on not using it. I may wait until after our Vegas trip.

Speaking of Vegas we are now going twice in November. The first time we are going with Ryan and Loralyn for 2 nights no babies! I'm soooooooooo sad and don't want to leave Luke but it will be good to get away before we start trying for another baby. The second time is for an accounting meeting and we will take Luke with us and Luke and I will hang all day alone while Jay does his meetings. It will be fun just to get away and Luke loved the hotel last time so even if we spend all our time there it will be good. I have some friends and family there I would like to try and see also!

By the way if you can't tell by my new background I am very much looking forward to Fall. I love summer and we have had a fantastic one but I love fall and getting ready for Halloween and all the other fun stuff!

Luke started signing bath to me the other night. I mean seriously I have not done that sign in probably 6 months and only really did it a few times. I have no idea how he remembered it but he did and now he does it all the time. I got him out of his high chair after he was done with dinner and he started doing it and running down the hall. Unfortunately Jason and I were not done with dinner and that did not make Luke happy! Finally when we were done I said ok ready for your bath and he starts doing the sign for bath and heading towards the bathroom. It is so cute! Then we got out the sign language book since we know he can do them and pick them up pretty quickly so I did the sign for brush teeth and the kid got so excited he started signing it and ran to the bathroom. He gets very giddy when he knows he gets to brush his teeth (I really hope that lasts but I'm sure it will become a chore to get him to brush someday). He lets me use the finger brush for about 30 seconds and then I let him go to town with his Elmo toothbrush. Its not so fun after about 5 minutes and you need him to go to bed. Once you take away the toothbrush you need to be prepared for a huge tantrum!

Luke has also started picking his nose. Its cute for about 2 seconds then its just gross! He is also starting to talk a tiny bit more. The sitter told me he said thank you to her the yesterday. I know he has repeated me when I tell him to say thank you several times but he said it all on his own this time! He was repeating Jason last night and Jason kept saying I love you over and over and Luke would say it back. He has also somehow picked up how to cover your mouth if you cough. So funny I watched him do it several times one day. He is like a sponge and its a little scary! We are participating in some training for a speech therapist from Kaiser. We go on Friday and while they are working with Luke they are going to be talking to me about how I can help him learn at home. No Luke does not have a problem with speech or learning that we know of but its just something fun we got invited to do and sounds really neat so we are taking part. Can't wait to do it! They did ask me all the things he does so if there was anything he was behind in we could work on it. The one thing that concerns me is that he does not point. His pediatrician asked us at the 12 month visit if he is pointing to things and I said no and he kind of gave a weird look and said well I guess since he walks and otherwise acts pretty normal its fine. Well when she asked me if he pointed I said no and she said oh perfect we will work on that. Pointing would make like a little easier because he will want something out of the toy box and if it is stuck (because the toy box is a wreck and there are way too many toys in there) he just stands there screaming so you are literally pulling every thing out until he gets what he wants. Hopefully he can learn by the time we go to the pediatrician on September 3!

16 months!

It hardly seems fair that Luke is 16 months already. He is not wasting any time growing up! He is really starting to lose his babyness. Makes me want to cry! He got his hair cut again yesterday and I didn't realize how thick and long his hair had gotten. Now its gone! She spiked his hair after cutting yesterday and put some red temporary dye. It washed out last night in the shower but it was so cute. I want to get some blue dye to put in. How cute would that be!

Well we have finally hit the point in Luke's short life where going out to do anything is no longer fun! Going out to dinner with him is out of the question. He is a busy little boy! He will sit in the high chair for about 5 minutes before wanting to get out. He needs to be running around exploring not stuck in a high chair. We met our neighbors and some of their friends at Fiesta Island for a bonfire. Luke was not fun! He wanted to go into the water or follow around an older boy who was playing with the wood pile which had nails and dangerous pieces of wood in it. The older boy was about 10 so it was fine for him to be doing whatever it was he was doing (hammering nails into the wood I think) but not for Luke. Well that didn't go over well at all! We finally decided Luke could have his bottle if he sat with one of us. Well he wanted his bottle but nothing to do with us. He ended up screaming. Jason took him for a drive around the island twice but he didn't fall asleep. They did stop and get out to watch the fireworks from Seaworld for a few. We had fun but not nearly as much as we would have if Luke would have been better! He just thinks he is much bigger than he is.

Even though he is not a ton of fun to be out and about with I can hardly get enough of him right now. He is so cute! This age is challenging because he really tries to communicate with us but we don't know much of what he is saying so he gets upset, but this age is so much fun! I love the new things he does every day. I love the way he is always trying to make people laugh. What a personality this kid has. He was trying to make an old lady at Vons laugh the other day. He did the job! Sometimes if his cute little "tricks" don't make people laugh he will just start laughing and that usually gets them. He also has 2 laughs. One that is this very deep loud laugh that if he is standing up he usually hunches over because he is laughing so hard. The other laugh is totally 100% fake. He does this when he wants others to laugh or look at him. It sounds a lot like a goat!

Luke really has been into daddy a lot too! On my days off by the end of the afternoon he is usually asking for dada. So cute yesterday he kept saying dada here dada here. I said no not yet dada will be home soon. He runs and give Jason the biggest hugs when he gets home. Now I'm not saying he is not a mama's boy still because my uncle brought his new baby (almost 3 months old) to California this week and while I was holding Avery Luke got very upset. He climbed into my lap wanting me to hold him instead. Makes me very happy we decided to hold off having another baby and did not rush into it like we originally planned.

My boys cleaning!
Well I have started several posts and never finished them! Guess I have been busy. Two weeks ago Jason and I went to the Aerosmith concert with Ashley and Dylan. Had the best time!! My mom and dad stayed the night since we didn't get home until 2am. They had a blast with Luke. That whole weekend was jam packed! Friday we went to the horse races. Saturday we had dinner at Loralyn & Ryans. Sunday we went to church and Seaworld with Ashley, Dylan, and Boston. Our weekend started on Thursday at the Aerosmith concert and ended at Seaworld Sunday night at 10pm! The next weekend was busy too. Jason left Friday afternoon for an umpire clinic in Long Beach and Luke and I hung out every single night with his new mommy (our neighbor) Susie and her two kids! Such an awesome friend I have found. Literally in about 2 weeks Luke and Hunter will be best friends. Hunter is starting to walk and once he does those two will be off doing what boys do. Sophia the cutest little almost 3year old and I will be watching Cinderella together while the boys play!

This weekend is booking up fast! I'm watching 2 boys tomorrow and have a BBQ planned for Sunday. Think we need a vacation!

Oh and Loralyn I can't wait for Vegas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sophia and Luke

Luke, Sophia, and Hunter

Big Boy

Boston hugging Luke

Luke at Seaworld!

Jay, Me, Ashley, and Dylan after Aerosmith

Jay & me!

Ashley & Dylan

Dylan & Jason

We have a molar

Well Luke has been a little on the whiny side the last few days. Just not quite himself. Last night we went to dinner with Lindsay and I had to take him outside for the first time ever. Jason ate his dinner and then relieved me. Good thing my BFF Loralyn has sweet Aurora who is Luke's age and I read her blog last night and realized when she said Aurora was getting her molars that could potentially be Luke's problem. Sure enough this morning I saw one tiny little point through on the top left side (all his teeth come on the left side first!). This evening he has another point out. Hopefully this goes quick and I get my funny happy kid again soon!

I'm so in love!

Luke and I have been doing this nightly routine lately of him drinking his bedtime bottle and us cuddling up to watch an episode of Yo Gabba Gabba. Now Luke doesn't watch much tv and when he does he only watches a few minutes at a time. Sometimes he will even turn on the tv himself go sit in his chair and then less than 5 minutes later he will turn it off. But when it comes to Yo Gabba Gabba the kid is hooked. I have become fond of the Sleep episode and it has been on demand for a good month. So Luke and I cuddle up and he gets his bottle and lays his head on me and I get to run my fingers through his hair (he absolutely loves this! He does it to himself all the time and sometimes when you rub his scalp he lets out a little moan its so cute) and just have 2o minutes of cuddle time with my otherwise very busy toddler. He is just so darn busy lately he can barely spare the time to give you "love" anymore. Well tonight was our last night of being able to watch this particular episode because it is no longer on demand as of midnight tonight :( Not sure I will really click with any other episode like this one but I guess I have to try if it means more cuddle time with my little man. Tonight while we were watching it I couldn't help but think how freaking much I love this kid! He is so awesome and I could never imagine living without him!

Oh yeah and my kid is getting pretty smart. He now can touch his nose on command! This happened the other night. And today I was getting him rubbing him up with sunscreen and I had the sunscreen stick I use for his face next to us and he picks it up and starts rubbing it all over his face! Of course the lid was on so he didn't do it but I couldn't believe he did that it was too darn cute. And as with everything he applauded himself after doing it!

Hot Wheels!

We got Luke his first little cars yesterday. He loves playing with them at daycare so we had to go to Toys R Us to get a new inflatable bath (mommy popped it this time) and he was being good so I got him a few hot wheels, a few matchbox cars, and one of the cars from the movie "Cars". He was so excited when I handed him the box in the store he started pointing to them and making all kinds of noise but that was nothing compared to when I took them out of the box at home. The kid squealed and his face lit up. It was so cute! He immediately started rolling them around on the floor. It amazes me how he even knows what the heck to do with them but I guess he learned it from the boys at daycare. Mommy and Luke played cars for a long time. I was laying on the floor and we had 2 cars and I would make them go all the way down the hall and Luke would crack up then run down the hall to get them and give them back to me just to do it all over again and again and again! So stinking cute!

He has also known the song If you're happy and you know it for some time now but it still cracks me up every time I see him stomp his little feet on the ground. He is learning something new every day! His new thing that seems to crack him up is when we close our eyes for a second. Then he will close his eyes and when he does he closes them so hard it takes all his strength. His fists are clenched and he is squeezing them closed it seriously makes us laugh so hard which then makes him laugh. He seriously has the funniest personality. Someone said he was going to be the class clown when he gets older...lets hope not but it could happen he is one silly kid.

Park Fun

Luke and I met friends at the park today. He had fun thinking he is a big boy.


Jackson and Luke "pinky swear you won't tell my mom"

Couldn't keep him off the slides. He thought he could climb up so he spent half the day trying.

Jack & Luke!

He loves this thing

He found this little lion he could climb in. He was so proud of himself for being able to do it!