Ben got us a domain a couple years ago, but I have been too lazy to get the blog moved over there. After seeing a couple friends make the long and obnoxious move from Blogger, I have decided to move our blog also.
I took Noah and Ezra to the pediatrician yesterday, and my little one's are healthy and strong.
Noah's 3 year check up: -39 1/2 inches tall (90th percentile) -32 lbs. (50th percentile) -Passed eye test. (One of the pictures was a hand, and when she pointed at it, he said "5") :) -Passed all three year tests including knowing his name, age, birthday, colors, etc. -Passed all three year physical tests including crazy jumps and walking skills. (She said he is in the 5 year old range!) -She said he needs to get rid of the thumb. (UH-OH)
Ezra's 2 month check up: -23.8 inches long (90th percentile) -11.1 lbs. (70th percentile) She definitely has some fat rolls Noah didn't have. -Passed all movement and facial expression tests with flying colors. (She is doing things expected at a 4 month check!)
I love well baby exams! They are always so encouraging. Noah is set for another year, but will be getting shots at his next visit. Ezra is due at 4 months with another round of shots... poor girl.
Most of June was spent searching for houses, slowly packing things up, and finally moving into a new rental. Our big reason for moving was for the extra space. We have four bedrooms now, three on the upper level, and one (Ben's office) in the basement. We also have a fenced backyard with grass for Noah to run around in. I am very excited to get things going here now.
Unfortunately, the house was a huge mess after we signed the lease. We were told a walk through had been done, and that it looked good... wrong. I was crying hysterically when we first saw it, and realized that there was no way out. I filled out a report, and we got someone in to clean two days later. For three days we had people in here cleaning. It is finally "move in ready." The main level carpet has been shampooed three times, and still looks bad. The paint job is awful, and there are holes, scratches, and stains everywhere! Oh yeah, and we have about 10 outstanding work orders for random things that need fixed.
So now, after a week of being here, I can finally say I have unpacked our things, and it is beginning to feel like home. Hopefully everything will get taken care of soon, and we won't have to communicate with our Property Management Company until the end of our lease. Based on the state of what we came into, and the lack of communication on the Property Management's part, I would not recommend using Clemente Real Estate Services to anyone.
On to some better things now.
Summer is here, and it is busy. Most of our friends are out of town! It has been hard to find people to hangout with. Not that we could anyway. Noah has been sick. Horribly sick for almost two weeks now. I feel so bad for him, and I am not sure how much more vomit and poo I can clean up! Because of this, we have been trying really hard to keep him away from Ezra. I am terrified to feed him because I worry he will throw it up, and now he is taking advantage of that because he can get my attention immediately if he says his tummy hurts. He has been good the last few days, so hopefully we are one the mend!
Now for little Ezra :)
Milestones: -Cooing, squeaking and smiling -Found her thumb -Rolling from tummy to back -Interested in toys -More aware of her hands. She is bringing them to her mouth, close to chewing on them I think. -Sleeping through the night!!
I have been able to post lots of newborn shots of little Ezra, thanks to our wonderful photographer and great friend, Rachel. I am so thankful for the beautiful photos she has captured. For the latest photos, please visit our Flickr stream here.
You can also visit Rachel's website (C'est Joli Photography) to see some of her work. In addition to newborn and children's sessions, she is also excellent with engagement, wedding, maternity, family and self portraits.
Become a fan on her Facebook page, and keep updated by following her blog!
As I write this post, I am putting off a huge list of cleaning and packing I have to get done in the next two weeks before we move. It's hard to know where to begin for the packing, and I am just not in the mood to dust the blinds and fans, or clean the walls.
So for the last hour, I have been browsing Zillow for homes in Tennessee. (Ange and Jordan, if you read this, Tennessee is beautiful!) I was shocked to see how big the lots were! Almost every interior had dark hard wood floors, bay windows, formal living and dining rooms... amazing!
We had a nice, but busy weekend. The worst of it was our trip to the ER for Ben. He is fine... but had really sharp abdominal pain most of Sunday, and we were worried it was his appendix. A CT scan showed his appendix was just fine, and the pain was probably just some sort of virus. He feels much better today.
Saturday night we went to a Rockies game, and had a great time! It was the first big block of time away from little Ezra. We sent bottles and jammies over to my parents, and they had a blast watching both kids for the first time.
Noah and Ezra are both doing well. Ezra slept almost 9 hours last night minus a brief crying spree (yes, I let her cry) that on and off lasted about an hour. We are getting there!
Other than that... we are getting excited for our new house, I am really ready for the sun to come back out, and our trip is only 6 weeks away.
His name is Googock, and Noah loves playing with him! This is something I will never forget. It is so cute to listen to Noah talking to him and bossing him around. How he came up with the name... no idea!
I can't believe in a few days Ezra will be one month old. Part of me is thrilled because that means we (and by that I mean 'I') are closer to sleeping through the night again! Another part of me is shocked at how fast this month went, and how quickly this little girl is going to grow.
This adjustment has been fairly easy. I'm just getting used to dirty diapers, burping, rocking, and changing far too many clothes (for both of us) in one day again. I am up two times at night... one late evening feeding (10:30-11pm), and a middle of the night feeding (2-4am). The day time isn't terrible, but I find myself surprised by where all the time went. Ezra eats every three hours during the day, and is still trying to get solid naps in. She is finally becoming a little more content in the swing and bouncer, and is getting pretty good at putting herself to sleep (if only she would stay asleep).
As for Noah, he is doing good. His attitude is getting better. He adores her! He gets mad if she isn't looking at him, he constantly wants to kiss her, and hold her. He is concerned for her when she cries, helps her with a pacifier, makes sure she isn't cold... the list goes on. What an amazing big brother!
I have got a new routine pretty much down, and am feeling more and more rested as time goes on. Okay, I am still in bed at 8pm, barely able to keep my eyes open, but I haven't stayed up past 8pm since before I was married! :)
Ben is back to his usual routine with the addition of getting Noah up in the morning and getting breakfast for him. (What an amazing help! Who knows where I would be right now without him!) He is absolutely crazy about her though! His life has changed a lot too because now we both have one kid to look after... so he is definitely adjusting to a bigger responsibility. :)
For our family... we are moving out of the townhouse anywhere from mid to late June. We are going to rent a house. Something with a fenced yard so Noah can run around outside, a 4th bedroom in the basement for Ben's office, larger living room to accomodate friends, futon and full bath in the basement for visitors (hint hint). We are really excited!
Ezra's milestones: -Lifts her head and looks around when on her tummy. -Facial expressions are changing. Creasing her eyebrows, playing with her tongue and mouth. -More alert and definitely knows how to let me know when she is mad! -Trying to smile... still a little goofy. -Scoots herself. (She is always at the top of the crib when I go to get her, and was only inches away from the edge of my bed when I checked on her once!)
We hope everyone is doing well. Happy Memorial Day Weekend! We are headed to Fox Run Park this afternoon for food and fun with friends!
As everyone probably knows, Ezra was perfectly content hanging out in there. I was scheduled for an ultrasound/monitoring session at my 41 week appointment, and Ezra checked out just fine, so they scheduled another session in another week. I guess I was about 41 weeks 3 days at the next appointment, Ezra still checked out just fine, but an induction date was set.
My OB scraped my membranes hoping that labor would start naturally as I was already 4 cm dilated. That evening, as I got into bed I began feeling pretty intense contractions... but they were 20 minutes apart! They got a little closer about an hour later, but they were still 10 minutes apart. After another hour, when they were about 8 minutes apart, I knew we needed to go to the hospital. The contractions were no where near as close as I knew they needed to be, but the pain was very intense.
Before we left I told Ben my birth plan was being thrown out the window. I was all about some pain relief at that point. When we checked in, my contractions were around 5 minutes apart and I was 6 cm dilated. They told me I had to walk around for an hour! That was the worst because when I was up and moving, contractions were coming every 2 minutes or less and were crazy! I think I made it 45 minutes before I wasn't able to walk anymore, so we got into a room. The anesthesiologist was there about 30 minutes later and I was 8 cm dilated. The medication took effect within 20 minutes or so, and it was really nice. Ben and I were able to sleep a bit, and take it easy before the little one came. Unfortunately (as I suspected) my labor slowed way down because of the Epidural, so three hours later when I was still only 8 cm, I was given Pitocin to start it up again. In just over an hour I was ready to push, and Ezra was here 15 minutes after that!
So, how has it been since we've been home?
Overall, not too bad. I have been preparing myself for a break down and thankfully it hasn't come... yet. :) She actually allows us a decent amount of sleep. Usually I get about 4-5 hours at the beginning of the night, then a couple two hour stretches. She will usually have at least one 6 hour stretch between the night feedings, but since we don't get to bed right when she does, we don't get that amount of sleep. The nights haven't been that hard. The day time is what is getting me. Noah is extremely challenging right now with attitude and disobedience, then with trying to schedule feedings for her... makes me feel like I am going crazy sometimes. She also doesn't like the swing, or just laying flat... pretty much wants to be held all the time, and that is difficult too. So we are working on that, but I am getting a little run down with so much crying.
I know this is such a short time in her life, and I am trying really hard to enjoy the middle of the night feedings while they're here. However, I am also excited for solid night time sleep, stable naps, and a content baby too.
This is the first year Noah's birthday has fallen on Easter, and chaos is what it brought.
Noah turned 3 on Friday, April 2nd. He received his gift from Mom and Dad on Friday along with a lot of attention, and pretty much anything he wanted... which I am sure I will pay for later.
Saturday, we spent at my parents house coloring Easter eggs, and hanging out. He received his gifts from Uncle Aram and Grandma and Papa in addition to his Easter basket.
Sunday, we went to church and then to brunch. After nap, was his birthday party at Lil' Biggs where he received even more gifts and lots of play time.
Needless to say, he was rather spoiled, and hasn't enjoyed not getting the amount of attention he received over the weekend anymore.
I have always disliked winter. I don't like the cold, the wind, and definitely can't stand the snow! It has never bothered me as much as it has this year, and I have been thinking about why it has changed so much.
I guess the gist of it is that I love the sun and hot/warm weather. I could take sunny skies and great weather everyday of the year.
Now, I get a lot of sunny days in CO, which is nice... but it's not like I can go out and sit on my porch when it is 20 degrees and sunny. I think that has been the big change this year. I see the sun and want to be outside, or have the windows open in my house, but I can't... and that is frustrating!
I will say that the day after we get snow, when the sun is out again, it is pretty beautiful to look at, but are the ocean and palm trees not beautiful as well? Snow makes driving awful, keeps you stuck indoors, and miserable when you have to make a run to the store. All you get (with me at least) is a miserable woman with soaked shoes/pants and messy hair.
So, I am ready to move into Spring! This is usually my favorite time of year. When the snow is finally moving on, and we begin having more nice days then cold. This year however, I look at the 5 day forecast, and I see three days of mild weather (40's) and then snow for two (20's) and I get SO mad! We just got done with a snow storm that lasted two days and now we have it in the forecast for Sunday.
Grandma Leta always makes sure to give Noah lots of attention when they are in Colorado, so that little Noah will remember her. Well, today I heard a precious surprise that consisted of Noah saying "Mommy, I need to go see Grandma Leta and Opa." I grabbed the camera and got it on video.
(Just so you know Grandma and Papa in Oregon... when daddy came home after work yesterday, he walked right to him and said "Daddy, I need to go to Oregon and see Grandma and Papa." He has actually been bringing that up over that last week randomly. He talks about his uncle Shaun's cars and getting to play with Tasha. It makes him very excited! We miss you guys!)
It's snowy here in CO, so everyone enjoy the warmer weather for me!
As I sit here watching Noah recreate the movie Cars on our dining room table, I start thinking about how exciting it is going to be with a little infant here with us. I continue to have mixed feelings about the arrival of Ezra. Sometimes I am ready for her to be here now, and other times I think... another three months isn't that far away and EVERYTHING is going to change once she's here.
I am beginning the scary journey of mentally preparing for labor again! I got the old Bradley Method book out, and I am reading about the lovely pleasures of my baby moving her way down and making her presentation into the world. "The pain is good" they keep reminding me... "It just means she is closer and closer to being here!" I completely trust and believe this process is true. If not, I wouldn't have made it through Noah's labor!
This time around is VERY different! For one, I know exactly what it is going to feel like! So I can't just pretend that maybe, miraculously it will be entirely pain-free like I hoped for with Noah. Secondly, chances are that it is going to be faster than Noah's birth. SWEET! However, discussing this with a woman that is going on her third all natural delivery, I can't help but worry now since I see that even after having two, she still stresses about the labor.
I have started the process of pondering all of this in the middle of the night when I can't sleep... not so good. BUT I am starting to think about it again, and preparing myself for it. No use in waiting for labor and hope it goes well. Labor takes a lot of mental preparation! So I read about First Stage Labor yesterday... and I CAN do it. I will use my relaxation techniques and keep myself under control. Ben is an amazing coach, and now that we both know what it is going to be like, we can make improvements to our birth plan and it will be SO sweet when she does arrive.
Here is our little Noah right after his birth... there is nothing sweeter in life!
Next post... my fears on having a hospital birth after the home birth.
I know it is only 9:00 a.m. right now, but I am writing about my Monday morning from 12:00 a.m. on so it has already been quite a bit of time!
Ben and I have been watching bits and pieces of Evita in bed with our laptop occasionally, and that is what we did last night until about 9:30 before I was out. I don't know if it is normal to have scary dreams during pregnancy, but that is exactly what it has been for me. At least 3 times a week, I wake up with a racing heart terrified about what I was dreaming about. It ranges with a lot of things from Ezra and complications to last night's example about my brother and me losing teeth!
Unfortunately or fortunately maybe, I always wake up from these dreams, and it is so hard to get back to sleep because all these new issues come into play... like "oh! yes I have to pee as well" or "baby, I can't fall asleep if you are going crazy in there!" My biggest issue is that when I do have to pee, I need to check the time because if it is within a couple hours of Ben having to get up for the day. If I wake him up by going, and he can't get back to sleep right away... I get Mr. Grouch! Now, in his defense, he tells me I should absolutely go if I need to and not hold it just because of him, but he tells me that once he's had his full nights sleep and some tea/coffee in the morning. What would he be saying at 3 in the morning huh??
So, I woke up to a messy head of hair, ready for some coffee! Thankfully Noah slept in an extra hour and I am very thankful for that!
I am excited to start my week! I start bible study and exercising again! I will leave everyone with Noah pretended to sleep. Have a great week everyone!
We had a wonderful holiday season this year! Ben was blessed to get two weeks off from work, so we really took advantage of spending that time together. We had a lot of friends in town for Christmas and the New Year, so we also spent some quality time with them.
We missed our family in Oregon though... we hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year! Thank you all for the cards and gifts! Noah loves his truck Grandma and Grandpa. He especially likes that he can make it move all by himself! He really enjoys watching it make its way across the hardwood floor.
We didn't realize how many of our friends live out of town until just recently! It was great to see all of you, to catch up a bit, and to show you how much our little Noah is growing up.
Christmas day was great! We have spent the last two of our Christmases living with my parents. (Not that I regret that mom and dad!) But since this was Noah's third Christmas, it was the first time we got to spend it as a family! It was amazing! Noah was thoroughly excited for the first time, and we really enjoyed spending that time with him. Between gifts from his Oregon family, Colorado Springs family, and mom and dad, this kid wasn't bored for days!
More big news... we got to celebrate our other family coming 'home' to CO. Tom and Rachel have been our BFF's for... 6 years now! WOW! We have watched each other get married, have kids, change jobs, and grow. We love 'em. The kids play really well together, and it has been really fun to watch them interact. Welcome home friends!
Our New Year was great too! We had dinner with said BFF's, Ben and I took Noah to spend the night with Grandma and Papa, Ben and I went to the Sherlock Holmes movie, and watched the ball drop in our jammies while drinking sparkling cider. I must say, usually our New Year's parties flop, so this year we didn't want to do anything big... just hang out.
Updates on the family:
Ben enjoyed his time off work! He greatly enjoyed having friends in town over the past few weeks. He is still a web-developer for House Party, and we are very grateful for that. He is still working away at MB, and to be honest... not quite sure how all that is going. You'll have to ask him. :) He has been reading like crazy, and his big gift this year was the Kindle. We'll see how quickly I lose time with him once that gets here!
Noah is doing great. He is growing so fast, I can hardly keep up. I am dearly holding on to his baby phase, but he is running away from it fast! He is testing me ALL the time, but I just have to keep telling myself that it will pass, and I am so thankful that he is healthy and 'normal'. Right now we are working on his new clock puzzle. Learning the shapes for each number, and familiarizing him with recognizing those numbers when he sees them.
I am doing good too. Right now, I am associated with this little baby growing inside, and that's okay with me. I had a partial placenta previa at my 20 week ultrasound that could have been dangerous, so I spent that last 4 weeks a little stressed. Right after Christmas, I had another ultrasound to see if it corrected itself, and praise the Lord, it did! I am healthy, she is healthy, and I will most likely have the natural delivery I wanted! She is growing fast now. She weighs over a pound, and I am feeling kicks now! This pregnancy has been a stressful one, but God has truly blessed us with a healthy baby and healthy mommy. We can't wait for our little Ezra Raye.
As for ME me... I am doing good. I am trying to spend as much time as I can with my Noah. I am going to miss this one on one time I have with him now. I am trying to eat healthy, take my vitamins, exercise, and get rest along with cleaning the house, doing laundry, entertaining Noah, and giving myself some personal quiet time! Life is busy, but good!
