A little Health Update

Paul gets his staples out tomorrow (wed 19th). That should be a pleasant experience. Paul seems to be having really poor balance since the head incident. He fell off the dining room chair again on Sunday and re-opened the wound, so I pushed the day back to get the staples out.

The doctor hears clicking in Caleb's hips, so we go in for an ultrasound next week. Hopefully this will turn out to be nothing that will need treatment. Cross your fingers for us.

I have healed up completely and have started to exercise again! This is a big thing for me. During my pregnancy I wasn't able to excerise because of cramping and ligament pain, so it's been a while. I really enjoy excerise and Paul enjoys getting out of the house. I sure hope it doesn't take as long for the pounds to come off as it did last time, but I've found it's less depressing to just have low expectations.

Here are some recent pictures:


I think there's a trend.

My three boys!

Paul still wants to be the baby too.

Catastrophe Strikes Again

I wonder if my son is going to survive his childhood. This poor little kid sure does know how to bite the dust. When he gets hurt it's disastrous.

This evening Paul was running around the house with a cell phone charger around his waist pretending he had a tail. He thought it was so funny that the cord followed him. He kept saying, "monkey tail monkey tail, oh oh ah ah." It was really cute until he tripped and smacked his head against the wall. When he got up a little bit I noticed blood on the wall. He had somehow split the back of his head open on the flat surface of the wall. He was close to the corner, but it didn't look like he hit the corner. Pat and I rushed him to the bathroom where we tried to examine the damage. It was bleeding so much that it was hard to see anything through his hair. I have not seen so much blood in my life. We were able to temporarily stop the bleeding by convincing Paul that the ace bandage head wrap was a hat. I was so thankful Pat happened to come home in between work meetings. We rushed him to the ER where he got three staples to the back of his head. It was a little tramatic for him, but I think he'll survive. Here is a picture of him after the ordeal. He was in pain, and no longer happy about the hat the hospital put back on him.

I Love You Mom

My mom stayed with us for three weeks after Caleb was born. She was a tremendous help and comfort to me. She has always been good at serving others and is continually sacrificing for her family. I loved having her around, and I wish we lived closer. Some people enjoy their space from family and move a little distance away, but I can't get enough of family. Thank you Dad for giving Mom to me for such an extended amount of time, and thank you Mom a million times over for coming! I love you.

Picture Tag

I was tagged by my friend Leslie, and since she put a comment about it I'll go ahead and participate. It is a picture tag where you post the fourth picture of your fourth folder and the sixth of your sixth. I am sure you can tell, but these are pictures when Paul was a baby.

Happy Halloween

Yeah for candy!
Here is an added picture of Paul in his costume, by request. I didn't originally put one because I didn't have any good pictures of him in his costume. This picture has been cropped so if the resolution isn't too good you know why. Paul was a monkey again this year. The poor kid hasn't grown much so it still fit.

The Good, The Bad, and The Sleepy

Good News! We got a new dishwasher after 8 months of maintenance requests! I am happy to report that it works great and our dishes will no longer have to be washed by hand or in the bathtub!

Bad News: Paul took a dive the other day. He missed a step and his face is what stopped him. I am assuming he didn't have time to put this hands down because he got a bloody nose, a fat lip, and a goose egg on his forehead. His poor lip seemed to get the brunt of it though. The road rash above his lip has since scabbed over and the swelling has gone down, but it still looks very painful. Poor kiddo.

The sleepy refers to everyone in our household at this point, but it is Caleb who actually gets sleep. Here is a picture of him taking over our bed. Mom and Dad's bed is always better.

Good News: I am up and about. The healing is going well, and getting out of the house is a much needed event. There are many people who believe taking your child out before 6 weeks is unwise, so go ahead and judge, but we went to the zoo and it was fun.

Bad News: Paul wants to be the baby too. :)

The cute sleepy Caleb

Few Pics

Here is a rare picture of Caleb. We don't have many pictures of him awake. Unlike Paul as an infant, Caleb is pretty mellow and low maintenance. Ahhh :)

Paul has been very good to Caleb. Paul is definitely going through an adjustment period, but I think it's more an adjustment to life with less mom than life with a baby around. I am still in recovery mode and unable to do a lot of walking and lifting. Grandma has been a ton of help, but for a 2 year old sometimes there's no substitute for mom.

Grandma bought a mud bath kit. The soap looks like mud. Paul has been asking for an unusal amount of baths. So much fun!

Baby Tracker

I guess we can get rid of this!!!

Hopefully we go home on Wed!

I never write on the blog but here it goes! Susan is doing pretty good. She didn't start using pain medicine until her uterus started to really shrink. She is not a fan of the pain. She is up and moving around pretty good. So good it is a complete surprise! Caleb seems to enjoy his new world. He does not cry much or loud. I am worried we won't wake up for his quiet whimpers. He is pretty cute though and still does not want to get out of the fetal position with his feet. The hands and arms are another story. They go everywhere! He holds up his head pretty well and is overall pretty strong. I have been pretty fortunate about being able to spend time with Susan. Work has been pretty understanding. It is unfortunately time to get back in the swing of things though. Susan's Mom came into town and has been a huge help. She will be around for a couple of weeks and I am extremely grateful that my father-in-law (Steve) has allowed us to borrow her. Susan and I have both been blessed with wonderful parents!

Below is a picture of Caleb getting his grove on!

Here is a picture of Paul being a good big brother! He is giving Caleb a good "honk honk" squeeze on the nose.

He's Here!

Our newest family addition, Caleb Oliver, arrived at 8:10 Sunday night (Oct 12). He weighed 6lbs. 5oz. and was 19.5 inches long. I went into labor on my own, but did a c-section anyway. I wasn't progressing fast enough and I was in a lot of pain. Everything has gone smoothly since. Paul and Caleb look very similar as newborns. Paul quickly started to look like he does now after a month or two, so I assume the same thing will happen with Caleb. Caleb definitely has more meat on him, but that's because he cooked 3 weeks longer than Paul. Anyway, my point was that I keep calling him Paul because they looked so similar. I feel bad when other people have to correct me in saying my own son's name. Here are some pictures of him. In the family photo he doesn't really look like himself, but you can see his mohawk hair.

A Tribute to Paul

Since the baby is coming in less than a week (my c-section was moved up to this Friday) I thought I would do a post with some of Paul's baby pictures. I am sure there will be a lot of new baby pictures soon, and I wanted to look back and remember Paul as a baby. He is still very baby-like to me, but I have a feeling when the new one comes Paul will all of a sudden seem huge and more kid-like.

Two More Weeks

So I have two weeks left. I have a scheduled c-section for the 20th. I have mixed feelings about having two kids, and about having a second c-section. I was hoping I would go into labor by now and have a better chance at delivering normally, but the bigger the baby gets the more apprehensive I am about doing it that method. Part of me is very excited for this pregnancy to be over with and for Paul to have a playmate eventually, but another LARGE part of me is very nervous. I am nervous about how Paul will react and adjust. He loves babies, but I have observed in other children that that characteristic can fly out the window after the baby doesn't go away. Paul has been very easily provoked into Paul The Ferocious lately which also has me concerned. I could use all the advice I can get! I feel so overwhelmed by him.

We recently made the transition to the big boy bed. He is doing well with it, but he likes to get into the crib to play/jump. We rearranged the bedroom to fit the changing table along with everything else that was previously crammed in the room. I am glad we rearranged a month ago instead of right before because with each new arrangement we find a flaw. With the first arrangement Paul could reach the light switch and door knob. With the second arrangement Paul could climb from his bed onto the changing table and into the crib too easily. I could just see Paul stepping on the baby's head in the middle of the night. With this third arrangement we had to put Paul's slide in storage and he looks out the window while he supposed to be napping, but it's as good as it's gonna get.

I bought a cradle off of Craig's List and we'll keep the boys separated until the new little one is sleeping through the night. I need to find a way for the cradle to be stationary (so it won't rock). Paul has already proven himself too good of a helper, and for that same reason we will not be getting a swing.

And to add on top of all my anxiety, there's something wrong with our kitchen plumbing. Our dishwasher smells rancid and we had a flood in our kitchen. It has been over a week and the maintenance still hasn't come to fix it (I've called several times). Can you picture an eight months pregnant woman doing her dishes in the bathtub? It's quite the site I am sure.

I know all of you would love to see a big belly photo but it ain't happin'. I am just going to avoid all comments such as: "Wow, you really look ready!" and "You look pretty good considering how far along you are." and "You are all baby, I swear!" Well, that's that for now and any advice about a Terrible Two son would be appreciated.

Caution: Wet Floor and Kid

So Paul and I took an unexpected trip last week to Boise. Patrick was out of town again, and for some reason this time him being away was too much for me. I am pretty sure it had to do with being pregnant and having unstable hormone levels. My parents flew Paul and I to Boise so we wouldn't be alone. Thanks mom and dad.

While we were there Paul made a discovery. We were in Walmart one day and I was paying attention to something other than Paul. I turned around and saw a kid with a Caution: Wet Floor sign over his head. At first glance I thought, "Where is that kid's mother?" Then I realized it was my kid. So Gross! This incident happened on other occasions while we were in Boise, and I finally gave in and got my camera out.

I Love Snow Cones

One of my favorite treats are snow cones. It can't be just any ol' shaved ice either (Icee and big chunks of ice cones don't make the cut). Growing up in Boise there were snow cone shacks everywhere, and it was heavenly. Once I moved away from Boise I haven't come across a city that compares. Rexburg, ID for example is colder than Siberia, and not many people crave snow cones when they have frost bite. Hence, there was no shack. While living in Provo, UT I did find a snow cone shack in Lindon, (a neighboring city) but I wanted one every other trip to the grocery store a block away. Here in Denver I have yet to see a snow cone shack. They do sell snow cones at The Rockies games and at the Rodeo, but for an arm and leg. I want a snow cone shack for a song and a dance just around the corner. When I was pregnant with Paul snow cones were my #1 craving, and we'd have to go to a Baseball game in order to get one.

So, at the beginning of this summer Paul and I took a trip to Boise and every day we were there we had a snow cone. (I forgot my camera while we were there and that's why there isn't a post before now) My favorite shack in Boise sold flower looking cup holders for kids, and they work great for keeping spills down. Anyway, here is a picture and a video of Paul trying to get the last few drops of his snow cone from his cup to his mouth. On the trip we took to Boise last week the shacks were closed for the winter. :(

Paul's 2 Year Portraits