Tuesday, April 30, 2013

$2 of Fun!

Today Maverick, Brighton, Jamison, and me had $2 worth of fun.

We headed to Crabtree Mall to get a new blanket embroidered with Jamison's name.  On the way there in the mall parking lot we spied these baby geese.  How cute!

Mommy pulled over the car and let the boys get out to see them better.


I'm not sure how many of you know this, but every day when the Disney store opens, they choose a child to "Let the Magic Begin" and open up the store.  Brighton did this last summer, and Chandler has too, it was only logical that Maverick go next.  He really enjoyed it and the Mickey lanyard they give you too.  


Next we hung out at the play area while waiting on the embroidery.  Mommy had $0.50 for each big boy, so they got to put money in one ride each.  How fun.  She almost never puts money in them, but lets the boys climb in and out of them all day.  


They also played in the non-mechanical area and had fun there too.  


Lastly, Mommy spent $1 to get some fruit snacks from a vending machine.  She never does this either, so the boys were beyond thrilled with their $2 worth of fun.



Sunday, April 28, 2013

Sip-N-See!

After a long week of Derek being gone, I was super excited to attend the Sip-N-See for Baby Jamison!

My sweet friend, Kathy, threw this incredible party for Jamison and my mom and aunt helped.

I insisted on making the cupcakes for the party since I really wanted my grandmother's recipe (for cake) to be part of the festivities.  It was more than I should have attempted with a 3-week-old, but I'm stubborn and did it anyway.  I was told they were delicious.  


Kathy made this cute nightlight for Jamison:


She also make this awesome diaper cake:


There were potted begonias as favors in cute blue and white pots:


Jamison was well behaved and loved on by many!


Even the big boys came for the tail end of the festivities.  Brighton loved all the food (of course!)


Here is Kathy (getting her baby fix) alongside me and Maverick (who still thinks he's the baby)


Once home, I arranged all of Jamison's things for a picture.  It helps me remember it better.  
He is one lucky and well-loved boy!


Friday, April 26, 2013

Long Week!

Today marks the end of a VERY long week!

Derek flew out to CA for work last Saturday and left the house at 5 a.m.

He got back today about 7 a.m.

Life with a two-week-old and three active boys was exhausting to say the least.

Luckily, my mom (Mimi) was able to take the week off to help out.  We also had a few meals brought to us during this time.  Granddaddy Bob also came over and played with the boys at night and even took them to Lake Lynn solo.  I know they enjoyed it.  I was so swamped with things to do, that I only got this one picture.  I thought this was too cute on the swings:




Daddy is exhausted too, so Jamison and him napped while the three big boys were at school on Friday.

Welcome Home Daddy.  WE MISSED YOU!!

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Skating Rink

Chandler went to a roller-skating Birthday Party today.  It was his first time
on real roller-skates.  He was a little timid at first.


And he did this several, several times....


But after two hours, he was gaining confidence and eventually...


Let go of the wall and was doing well.  


Of course now he wants his own pair of skates, and skating lessons.

He can't wait to go back!



Jamison Says...


Everybody Loves Me!

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Jamison is Two Weeks!


Wow!  My little Jamison is already two weeks old!  


His umbilical cord stump fell off on Monday (4/15) so bath day was Tuesday.  


Jamison is on the left and Brighton is on the right.  I'm not seeing too many similarities, although Derek saw more.  Jamison is definitely bigger and has lighter hair.  Brighton was such a little peanut.  


Here Jamison all cuddled up after bath time.  Such a cutie!


Derek's work sent flowers as a congratulations.  This is batch # 2, since the first ones wilted within a few days and I called the florist so they got replaced.  


Jamison went in for his two-week checkup with the Midwives (Jewel did the exam above) and he did great.  All his blood work was normal and he passed his hearing test.  Jewel did notice some asymmetry in his head shape that she thought a pediatrician should look at so we took Jamison in the following day and everything was fine.  He just has a really big head!  Here are his two week stats:

Weight: 9 lbs 7 oz (80%)
Height: 21.5" (90%)
Head: 38.6 cm (98%)


Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Chandler's Walk Around the Sun (and Stats)


Last Friday, Chandler's classroom celebrated his birthday.  For this special day, each family is asked to bring in pictures of their child at age 1, 2, 3, etc... from birth till their current Birthday.  Chandler then walks around the Sun (he is holding Earth) while the class names the months of the year to represent each year that Chandler has been alive.  The family talks about how their child was at each age; things they liked to do, what they ate, funny habits, or things that happened during that year.  Once Chandler made it to age six, the class sang "Happy Birthday" and then they headed outside for our special snack we brought and playground time.


Here's most of the class sitting down for our snack of chocolate chip cookies and yogurt raisins.  Maverick would rather run around on the playground than eat, and Chandler did the same, only coming quickly to where I was sitting to grab a cookie.  Brighton did not pass up the snack or course (just like me!)  


After snack, all the boys had fun on the playground.  Brighton enjoyed riding the trikes with Nea, who looks similar to how I did at that age (I think).


Maverick was loving it.  All the boys were doting on him and he would just run from thing to thing and a pack of kids would follow (see picture below)


Now for Chandler's 6-year Stats!

Height: 47.4" (almost 4 feet!) (80%)
Weight: 47.3 lbs  (65%)

BMI: 14.8 (25%)  He is tall and lean.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Maverick's Two-Year Stats


Maverick's Stats at Two:

Weight: 26 lbs, 6 oz  (40%)
Height: 35.4" (68%)
Head: 50.40 cm (94%)

In comparison, Here are Chandler's Two-Year Stats:

Weight: 28 lbs, 8 oz (50%)
Height 34.5" (50%)

I had Maverick's 2-year checkup and Chandler's 6-year check up on 4/2.  I'll post Chandler's stats soon.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

The Party!


To make things easier on myself, I planned to have a shared Birthday party for Maverick and Chandler.    Chandler really wanted a magician and Maverick would be fine with anything.  We ended up hiring, Happy Dan the Magic Man, and I couldn't recommend him more for this age group.  The party was a hit with everybody, including my 91-year-old great aunt Edith.  


One thing I did not think about was having the party during "Spring Break" so several people we invited were out of town.  This actually worked out nicely as I had just had a baby and a smaller crowd was just right.  Our back door neighbor, Hanna  was the only girl in attendance.  She certainly didn't mind and loved being the beautiful assistant.


Maverick, and his buddy, Kellen, were the only two-year-olds and hung back on the sofa with Mimi and Kellen's Mom.  I was surprised though when Maverick agreed to help the magician with a trick.  He did very well in front of the big boys even if he was a little timid at first.  I think he really thought the tricks were funny!


Maverick and Kellen on the couch


Here's Hanna assisting Chandler and Happy Dan with a trick


After the show all the kids marched in a parade over to the table for cake.  Since Chandler and Maverick shared a cake, they each got their own cupcake to blow out the candle on.  



Happy Birthday to 2 out of 4 of my boys!  I see many combined birthday parties in the future!

Friday, April 12, 2013

Jamison's Checkup

Jamison had his 2-day (normally 3-day) check up on Friday (4/5) since the next day was Saturday and it was super busy for us and also the midwives.  I didn't know what to expect since both Chandler and Maverick had their appointment at 3 days and Brighton had his at 2-days (almost like one day since we had come home at 2 a.m.) and all the boys had only lost 4 oz since birth.  I thought that Jamison would have lost more since he was so big and I was right.  He had lost only 6 oz, putting him at 8 lbs 8 oz!  Still a big boy!

The nurse, Ellen, was so patient with our "helpers" and let them listen to Jamison's heart and help with all of her procedures.  She was the same home nurse we had with Maverick so that is nice that she knows our family.




 Jamison got a clean bill of health and we will get his blood work-up results at his two week checkup.  Hopefully all will look good there too!





Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Jamison's Birth Story

So it was Chandler's 6th Birthday.  I did not sleep very well the night before because my arms kept falling asleep and I just couldn't get comfortable.  I got up before 6 a.m. and decided to go get doughnuts for breakfast as a special treat.  I also went into Harris Teeter and bought 10 juices because they were on sale B2G3.  I also picked up some fruit.  Chandler didn't have school that day, so after breakfast I packed lunches for everybody and we headed to the Durham L&S Museum.


Luckily we are members and since we got there at 9 a.m. we were able to stay one step ahead of the crowds.  A few of my friends checked in with me throughout the day and I kept telling them, no signs of baby and that I didn't think it would be today.

Fast forward to just after 4 p.m.

All of the boys (and I) were out playing in the yard.  I had been having contractions on and off this day, but had been for the last month, so this was not much different.  Some of them were stronger than previously, so I called Derek and asked if we could meet a little before 5 p.m. at Red Robin.  Chandler wanted to eat there for his birthday.  I loaded up the boys in the car and we headed to Red Robin.  Derek met us there at 4:50 and we were about to be seated when I decided that I should use the bathroom first.  After using the bathroom and noting that these contractions were maintaining their intensity, I informed Derek that staying for dinner was probably not a good idea.  I really was looking forward to my burger though!  I said I thought we should head to the midwives.  Derek asked if I was going to drive (remember, both of our cars are at Red Robin).  I think I said, "Hell No" and I guess that's when Derek thought I was serious.  

We all loaded into the van and proceeded to Chapel Hill.  Derek called the midwives, but it was after 5 p.m. by this point so they had to page the on-call midwife.  By the time she was able to call us back (we think they transposed a digit of Derek's phone number, tried our home phone, found my file, and then called my cell) we were only 20-25 minutes away.  The midwife (Sara) said we were going to beat her there!  Sara made some calls and made sure there was somebody there to let us in when we arrived.  Luckily there is a student midwife (Carey) who actually attended the birth and caught Jamison that lives nearby and was there when we arrived.  I did have Derek stop and buy some PowerAde since I didn't have any cold ones with me.  When we left for Red Robin earlier that afternoon I had no idea that we'd be driving straight to the birthing center!

We got to the birthing center and luckily, Diane, was not far behind us.  She was able to take the boys off our hands while my labor intensified.  They took all my vital signs and I had them check me to see how far along I was.  I was a good "6".  This is the least that I've ever been upon arrival, and honestly, I felt a little silly on the car-ride to the birth center because it felt like my labor could stop at any time and this could be a false alarm.  Good thing I trusted my gut.  I had Carey fill up the tub, and I was a little hesitant to get in because I've never "labored" in the tub...I've just got in and pushed the baby out.  I finally got in and didn't really like "laboring" since my legs were getting cramps.  I asked Carey to break my water (a first for me) and she did and said I was about a "7".  After what seemed like an hour (really only 11 minutes later) I was holding a baby in my arms!


Everybody was amazed at how big the baby was and of course were dying to know, Boy or Girl!?!?  Derek announced that we had another boy.  He sure had me fooled.  With the severe morning sickness this time, I would have bet it was a girl.  Obviously, I'm meant to have boys, and that's okay.  He fits just perfectly into our family :)


Carey had guessed the baby would be about 7.5 lbs.  Boy was everybody amazed when Jamison weighed in at 8 lbs 14 oz.  Almost NINE POUNDS!  


Chandler was very excited to meet his new baby brother.  What a special bond these two boys will have, sharing a birthday.  


So, I've had four boys, born in the same room, in the same tub.  Definitely a birth center record.  Carey is holding Jamison in this picture.  She is a student midwife and will be fully licensed after she completes her testing in May.  Sara is behind her in the black shirt. 


Jamison was born at 7:02 p.m. and you have to stay for four hours after the birth.  We were ready to leave shortly after 11 p.m., but Jamison spit up all over the car seat as soon as Derek put him in there.  We had to start over!  Then Jamison decided he needed to poop.  Needless to say, we left shortly after midnight and came home with our newest, precious, baby boy!



Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Happy Birthday Chandler!

Chandler got the best present he will ever get for his 6th Birthday.

A new baby brother!

Jamison River
8 lbs, 14 oz
21"
7:02 p.m.



More details including the fast birth story, more pictures, and general family updates coming soon....

Monday, April 1, 2013

Baby News!

Baby?

Are you waiting for Spring weather to join us?

Are you proving your point that patience is a virtue?

In case any of my readers are wondering if I've had the baby yet, you can check this link: