Aaron's 2 month appointment

Aaron is 10 weeks old and had his 2 month pediatrician appointment on wednesday this week. He weighed 12 lbs 15.8 oz. C'mon people - just round it to 13 lbs. If he hadn't pooped this morning it would've been 13 lbs. Anyway....
they measured him wrong because they said he was 22.5 inches and that put him in the 25%. NOT possible. Aaron is very long. No way is he in the 25% percentile. A few weeks ago I measured him when he was sleeping and he was 23.5 inches.
I really like this new pediatrician. We have differing views on the vaccination schedule, but she seems generally respectful of my views on that. However, she is an advocate of safe co-sleeping, breastfeeding, is anti-circumcision, and recommends moms to wear their babies a lot. She was a stay-at-home-mom and then went to medical school (and found out she was pregnant with twins during).
I showed her the following pics of Aaron doing his tummy time and she said he is at a 4 month old's level in this area. Its SO different from N&C. Nicholas didn't have head control until almost 4 months and Celia hated tummy time so much.
Aaron has pretty much complete head control. I wore him facing out in the Bjorn carrier today and he looked around and held his head up for the full hour I was at the grocery store.
He smiles and coos a lot. He has giggled here/there. He loves to listen to people just talk to him.
I had planned to allow him to get the Hib vaccine, but the pediatrician said if I didn't give him Rotavirus today i couldn't give it to him another time and he would most likely get rota then in the future. So then i got worried and allowed it. He has been really 'off' the last 2 days from the shot/oral vaccine. I can tell he has been feeling icky here/there. I spaced out N&C's vaccines and I will plan on doing the same with Aaron's. I really feel children get too many vaccines in a short amount of time and it is too much for their developing brains and immune systems. Not just as a possible link to autism, but also to auto-immune diseases later in life. This is an interesting link which explains what many parents like me think about vaccines - disregard the vaccine schedule, but the reasoning is interesting and food for thought. Off my soapbox...
Anyway, Aaron is such a loved little guy. Nicholas and Celia are really careful with him and will take time to talk to him, kiss him and even hold his hands for moral support during a diaper changes (for real - this isn't staged):

Special time

This week Grandma Maus took Celia one evening for special one on one time. And the next evening she took Nicholas. So Jason and I were able to also spend special time with the other child. It sure is weird to not have the other home. I really missed the other child even though it was only from about 4-10pm (the plan was for a sleep-over, but both kids wanted to come home).
The evening we had Nicholas, we took him to Dairy Queen after dinner for a Dilly Bar. While we were there we noticed some pretty ominous clouds and when we walked into DQ they told us they were closed because the DQ north of us was experiencing possible tornados. So they quickly sold us 3 dilly bars and we were going to go home, but then we saw the storm was worsening so they rushed us to the basement. So, here was Aaron, Nicholas, Jason and I eating dilly bars in the basement of a DQ. Another person had their dog with them and that dog came down to the basement too. BAD idea. This dog was a pain in the arse. It ran to sniff right in aaron's face in the carseat and I pushed the dog away. I'm very leary of dogs to begin with. Then the dog ran to nicholas and licked his dilly bar. I shot dagger-eyes at the lady and used telepathy to say "get your dog woman!". ha ha She just stood there and said, "I'm trying to get rid of him". "Yeah", I felt like saying, "I think they have a grill and a fryer upstairs in the kitchen". I really do like animals, i do.
So once the storm passed we went home and Nicholas watched his new favorite movie, 'Cars'.

The next evening Jason was gone and Nicholas went to Grandma's. So Celia, Aaron and I went to a park and then we picked up McDonald's and had a nice evening together. Celia was really sweet and it was nice to spend time with her. I asked her to help me change Aarons' diaper and that girl can seriously change a baby's diaper! She whipped that diaper on him in no time. She asked to hold him. Seriously, Aaron is slightly more than 1/2 her weight already. As she was holding him he pooped and she almost threw him off yelling, "Oh man! Poop!" See below:



Celia: "Oh man. I don't think I can hold him much longer". This is before the poop explosion.



Aaron: "Yes!!! I soiled another outfit today! A new record!"

fun on sunday

I have a new lens and was just playing around today with it. Its a wide-angle lens so I can see more thru the viewfinder. It takes a bit of getting used to. I keep wanting to go back to my trusty 50mm, but I need to practice with this one! Thank you to Nicholas and Celia for letting me practice. ;)

Wayyyy back then

Hah! I found this picture under our bed this afternoon. I can't believe how different (and thinner) we look! Daddy is pretty hot in this picture, huh kids?! lol This must've been from spring 1999. I was a freshman in college and Jason was a senior. I still had braces too. How time flies.

Just some pictures.

Jason talking and tickling Aaron. Aaron smiles and coos all the time. He is a happy boy. After he nurses and plays with us for a while he is exhausted again. Smiling takes a lot out of a baby. :)


Nicholas introducing Aaron to his world of Thomas the Train. Aaron looks pleased, don't ya think?

Nutty twins

This is what happens when you leave an 'empty' peanut butter jar on the countertop in the kitchen. Where there is silence, there could be trouble.

Sunday morning

Sunday morning Aaron and I were awake before everyone else so it was a good time to grab the camera. My Aunt Mary knitted Aaron this beautiful green and blue blanket. It is just gorgeous. . . and the baby inside is quite gorgeous too. ;)

Big SpLaSh!

This is their favorite thing to do. And yikes... hose water is freezing. Somehow children can handle it until their lips turn purple or blue.



Wednesday I took all 3 by myself to go grocery shopping. Wednesday is double coupon day at our grocery store. I also am trying to save more money on groceries by trying the Grocery Game. So after getting 3 sunday papers and organizing my coupons, writing my list and getting everything in order on tuesday we made our way to the store wednesday morning.
As soon as Aaron was done nursing we left. Since Aaron is a little too small for my ergo carrier, I put Celia in that on my back. Aaron in his carseat in the basket of the cart and Nicholas in the cart seat. You may be wondering where the groceries go... me too.
I stacked groceries between the carseat and under the cart until I needed the cart seat and then I took Nicholas out so he could walk. Soon Aaron was getting hungry and so I had to carry him with one arm, push the cart with the other (with Nicholas' help) all the while with Celia on my back. And if you have a toddler on your back you have to watch how close you get to the shelves cause that toddler will grab things off for you. I caught Nicholas adding some things to the cart he wanted a couple times too - like sharp cheddar cheese. Sorry Nicholas - it wasn't on sale, so it went back.
At the check-out Nicholas helped get everything from the bottom of the cart. I saved $45.00 in store sales and coupons (and dbl coupon day) making my total for a good deal of groceries only $78.00 . Thankfully the girl bagging the groceries got another cart and pushed the cart of food out to the car for me.
Aaron was hungry by then so I nursed him in the van while Nicholas and Celia read books and ate some crackers I had just bought. Then they went potty in the little car potty and we went to walmart to buy some baby wipes and gas drops for aaron.
Whew! Mission accomplished. Now. . . to prepare for next wednesday. ha ha

Aaron - 2 months old

Squishy is 2 months old now. He is such a gem. He has some fussy times here/there when he has some bubbles in his belly, but they are mild and if anything, just sad. He gets his pout face and such a sad cry that I feel like crying with him. The mylicon gas drops seem to be the solution when he is feeling that way - I think it happens when he nurses and gets some air into his tummy and it doesn't come up when he burps.
I weighed him (minus my weight) on Grandma and Papa's scale (which measures in 1/2 lb increments) and he weighed 12 lbs. And per Jason's measuring tape he was 23 1/2 inches. He has his 2 month check-up when he is 10 wks old, so we'll see how close these measurements are then. He is a chubby and long baby though.
Aaron is nursing every 2-2 1/2 or 3 hours in the day and every 4-5 at night. Sometimes here/there he will only go 3 hours at night, but I am assuming that is coinciding with a growth spurt. He has stopped going #2 at night too?? I don't remember N&C stopping that so early, but he hasn't pooed during the night for a couple weeks now. But watch out in the morning!
I am so happy with him and Nicholas and Celia have been just great with him. Life is great.

Get the cat!

our cats know how to open the screen door on the patio and escape into the backyard. Here are Nicholas and Celia kissing our cat Toby and feeding him grass. I like how he decides he should run back inside rather than deal with two toddlers.

Great Grandma visit

My Grandma (my Dad's mom) came to visit us all the end of June (she and my Grandpa Russ live in Kentucky now). I talk on the phone with my Grandma very frequently. We've always been quite close. So, it was very nice to spend time with her. My parents live just 2 houses from us, so when people come to visit we can walk between our houses to chat, eat meals and play games (especially play games at our house after Nicholas and Celia go to bed).
She has watched Nicholas and Celia's blog since it started and now Aaron as well. I took some pictures of her holding all 3 of our children (she has 6 great grandchildren now). Thanks for the nice visit Grandma! We look forward to seeing you in the Fall!

Raspberries

Just some cuteness...

Celia can ride her bike!

Today Celia hopped on her tricycle and took off! Normally they push the bike with their feet on the ground - picture Fred Flintstone. We've worked on it quite a few times with both of them. I think Nicholas will really want to master riding his tricycle now that he sees Celia. This evening he wanted me to help him practice, but he still isn't getting it just right.
Here is a video of Celia riding her bike. I love her expression at the end when she comes to see her movie. Such a sweetheart!

Basement is getting there!

We're getting closer and closer on the basement. It is exciting to see if coming along. Its been a long process. I think we started in october 2008??? We have our paint colors bought and once the rooms are painted, then we have the doors ready to be installed (a friend will help us). Once that is done, we need to buy moulding and then get carpet installed. Once that is done, we can put a lot of the kid's toys down there, but we'll need to then work towards some furniture. It will be wonderful to have more space in our house!

view from bottom of stairwell
view from farthest point of room looking to the stairwell (on the right). The small wall area on the right will have cabinets and countertops.
A close-up of the cabinet/countertop area on the left (from bottom of stairs)Right at the bottom of the stairs here will be 2 closets. Yay! More storage!

view of the hallway to the bathroom (straight ahead), utility closet/furnace room (left) and the kid's playroom on the right.
We also had the kitchen wall near the basement stairs knocked down and a banister put in. We love it! It makes the kitchen feel so much bigger, even though we didn't gain any more space really. We need to repaint the kitchen as well. Someday we plan to knock the dividing wall between the kitchen and livingroom to make it more open-concept with the same flooring going into the kitchen (we have pergo in the livingroom, so we will just continue that). We also would like to get a larger kitchen table. With 3 children and 2 adults at the table... and frequent family/friend's meals a small table with 4 chairs just isn't enough.

Then...


Now... (the wall is white but will be blue when we repaint)

Stairs down to the basement

July 4th 2009

Nicholas and Celia have never seen fireworks until this summer. The past 2 summers they were either too young or bedtime meant FAR too much to sacrifice. Both Jason and I really wanted to take them this year, and with Aaron only being 6 wks old and still quite portable, we decided to go. A couple hours before leaving we showed Nicholas and Celia a video we found online of fireworks. We talked about how they would be in the sky and they would be very loud (and they could cover their ears if they needed too).
Our friends Nicky and Matt went along with us. Having another adult or two is very nice when you have 2 year old twins and a newborn.
We went to the Kewaskum fireworks on friday July 3rd evening. Nicholas and Celia's normal bedtime is between 7:30 and 8pm. We didn't leave the house until about 8:30pm. We stopped at a gas station for a couple sodas and a bag of SunChips (I had promised N&C they could have some soda treat for the fireworks). We parked and walked a bit to our spot - right across the pond from where they fire them. I don't think I've ever been so close.
When they started Celia was a little hesitant - she wanted Jason to cover her ears right away. She warmed up though and liked them. Nicholas LOVED them. He had a look of pure joy on his face and he would call out the colors as they burst in the sky. Aaron slept through most of them , but I covered his ears just to be safe.
When they were done we took the kids back to the van and I had them both go potty in the little Bjorn car potty. We put on their pull-ups and Pj's and drove home. My friend Nicky and I took Nicholas and Celia into their bedroom and they both fell right asleep. This was at 10:45/11:00. The latest they have ever stayed up since they were teeny babies!

* our friend Matt has pics on his camera and i will need to wait until I get those to add the blog*

So since we knew Nicholas loved the fireworks so much (he talked about them all day on the 4th) we contemplated going again to the ones in our city. But we were all exhausted (I was recovering from a cold and 2 nights of going to bed after 1:30am and nursing Aaron at night). Nicholas and Celia's behavior has been into the realms of 'terrible twos' the last week, so we canceled our plans to go again. We put N&C to bed at 7pm in hopes of them catching up on sleep. Well... 9pm comes and it finally seems like they have fallen asleep. Our neighbors started to shoot their own fireworks and I went into their bedroom to close their window. Nicholas wasn't sleeping yet. I went back out and thought that maybe since he was not sleeping, Aaron was nursed and sleeping, and Jason and Celia were sleeping... that maybe I could get him up and he and I could watch the little fireworks outside. So I went back into their room and leaned over his crib and said "Nicky... want to go see some more fireworks?". His face lit up and he said "Yes!". I picked him up and wrapped him in his blanket (it was getting a bit cool) and we snuck out the back door to sit on the back steps and watch 'baby fireworks'. It was so sweet to sit there with him and see his delight. At 9:45 I heard the West Bend fireworks start. We couldn't see them thru the trees, so in a spontaneous moment I took Nicholas to the van, ran in the house and grabbed keys and we drove to the top of the hill and I parked in a driveway of some businesses. We were a ways away, but we could see the big fireworks over the city. I took him out of his carseat and sat with him in the front passenger seat. We called out the colors of the fireworks and saw some 'rainy fireworks' and some smiley face ones. While he looked at awe at the fireworks, I looked in awe at him. What a little boy he has become. How quickly he has grown. And also... what can I do with Celia that could be so special (the guilt of a twin mom, ha ha). I told him when the clock said '10:00' we would need to drive back down the hill to go home. I was worried Aaron would wake to nurse and Jason wouldn' t know where I was!
At 10pm we drove home (a 1 minute drive perhaps) and I carried him in to bed. It was a very special moment. You know those moments that you know you will carry with you forever even while they are happening? It was like that. My favorite 4th of July to date.

Sometimes you just don't want your picture taken

My subject wasn't too pleased to be photographed this afternoon.
In case any of you think Aaron never cries....

I think he has the pout mastered. . . and I also think he hates hats. ha ha

Celia is about 2 1/2 years old. She's talking so much more. She loves all of Aaron's baby things because she takes her 'pink baby' and pink kitties and plays mommy with them. She can sort of pedal her tricycle also. She's very strong. She can almost do a pull-up, runs VERY fast, can make baskets in her 4 ft tall basketball hoop and she can wheel barrow walk. She seems to have some athleticism in her (definitely from her Daddy).
Celia can be so nurturing and gentle . . . and Celia also has a lot of spunk too. She is our child to push the rules to see how far mom and dad will go. ha ha
We Love you Celia! Its a joy to watch you grow up!