4 Months

How is it already they 15th? And how have I not blogged in forever?

It was supposed to be fall break for me this last week, however, one of my professors quadrupled our normal homework load because, as she put it, we have "all this free time". So I've been busy studying and writing and trying to keep 2 small tornadoes I call my kids entertained.

Anyways, onto a little Deagan update! 

DJ is now 4 months old! (well, nearly 4 1/2 since its been a couple of weeks) Which means, we went to the doctors for his 4 month checkup. As always, he is right on track with all his developmental milestones. He started rolling from his front to his back last month, he grabs at everything, which means everything goes in his mouth, and he's a smiley little guy! He LOVES his jumper, and bounces like a mad man all day long. When he's not jumping in his jumper, he tries to jump while you hold him, which wears me out. He's turning into a chatterbox, and babbles continuously. And he is super ticklish. His laugh kills me because he will giggle while I'm tickling him, and then he eventually just starts yelling this silly yell. It's hilarious! 

He sleeps decently well. He's not a good nap-taker though. His naps only last about 20 minutes tops because he's a light sleeper and so he wakes up at the slightest noise. He goes down for the night around midnight or 1am. He will then sleep in his bassinet until 6:30, when the people downstairs get up. They are kind of noisy in the kitchen, which is right below our room, and it wakes him (and me) up, so I'll bring him in bed with me, nurse him until he falls back asleep, and I let him just sleep in my bed until we get up around 8:30-9:00ish. We hopefully will be painting Savannah's new room this week, and then get him moved into his own room next week (who am I kidding? I don't have time to do all that, do I???) and the hope is that it will be quieter in there and he will start sleeping completely through the night. Hopefully.

 

He adores Savannah still, and smiles whenever she enters the room. And she loves being the big sister and helps change his diapers, sings to him, and shares her toys.

His stats for 4 months are:

Weight: 13lbs 10oz (13th percentile)

Length: 24.5 inches (20th percentile)

Head circumference: 40.75cm (22nd percentile)

He is a whole lot smaller than I had thought he would be. I mean, he was 9lbs when he was born for crying out loud! The doctor wasn't worried, he said that he is still following his growth curve, which I guess means everything is ok. I asked about his spitting-up-every-ounce-of-food issue to see if maybe that was why he isn't very big, and he said that as long as he has consistently wet and dirty diapers, that it means he is getting enough food. He ruled out food allergy, because he's not throwing up any blood, or having any in his diapers. He also ruled out excess stomach acid because it doesn't seem to be hurting him when he does spit up. And he ruled out a problem with his GI tract because it's just spit-up and not bile.

I nurse him the majority of the time, but I do supplement with formula when I'm out and about and can't really sit down to nurse, or if I have someone babysitting him. He spits up whether I feed him or he's drinking formula, and so the doctor recommended formula that has added rice starch to it, or mixing a tiny bit of rice cereal in his regular formula. 

So far, he is doing a whole lot better. He still spits up quite a bit, but it's not nearly as much as he used too, and it's not after every meal like it was before. Hopefully, that will help him continue to grow now that he's keeping more of it down. I've noticed that he eats less often now too. He used to want to eat every hour to every 2 hours. Now, he will go quite a while without needing to nurse. Which definitely makes running errands a lot easier. Last week, I went down to the park for a bit, then Provo, went to lunch with Bryant and some friends, and got all the way home, and not ONCE did he get fussy and need to eat. This was like a 3 hour total outing, and I didn't have to worry about him!

The doctor also asked if he had been excessively fussy. When I said no, he pointed out that his gums were a little swollen, which meant he could be getting teeth a little early. It could still be another couple of months, but those teeth were getting ready to work their way up. 

The doctor also said he was impressed that his legs were really strong for a baby his age. As soon as he laid him on the table, Deagan kicked his legs and pushed himself backwards a bit. When he asked if there was anything we were doing to strengthen his legs so well, I just told him that he's a little obsessed with his jumper. 

Savannah thought going to the doctors was the best thing ever. Lately, when she's not Pirate Savy, she's Doctor Savannah. Can you guess what she will be getting for Christmas? Yup, a pretend doctor kit! Anyways, as soon as the doctor walked in, Savannah said "Oh, hi Doctor! My name is Sanna Peter Pan. Are you going to check Deagan's heart beeps with your stethoscope?" (I'll never understand why she can't say "Sa-VAN-ah", but she can say "stethoscope"...)

And she was directing the doctor on how to conduct the exam "Oh, Doctor, you check his eyes ok? And check his ears and his tummy. Then he needs a shot, but I don't want a shot ok?"

Smarty pants

So yeah, that was a little longer than I thought it would be. I guess I'm just stretching out these old blogging fingers since it's been a while.

Healthy, happy kids. What more could a mom ask for?

(This is the 4 month update I wrote about Savannah. It's fun to see the similarities!)

All You Need is Fath, Trust, and Pixie Dust

I've been thinking a lot about Peter Pan lately. Peter, the Lost Boys, Captain Hook and his sidekick Mr. Smee consume a large part of our day to day life. 

We watch Peter Pan at LEAST a million times a week. We watch Jake and the Neverland Pirates, we watch Tinkerbell movies. And lets not forget one of my favorite movies, Hook, the one with Robin Williams. (Rufio! Rufio! Ru-fi-oooooo!)
 

 And we play. We pretend. Sometimes, Savannah is Peter and I'm that dastardly Hook. Other times, when she's feeling a little mischievous, she will be Hook and I'm Tigerlilly and she's trying to capture me. We chase our shadows, and one time, I even caught her scrubbing her feet furiously with a bar of soap, and when I asked what she was doing, she said "I'm trying to get my shadow back on!" She asks to wear her Tinkerbell costume everywhere. And she talks like a pirate constantly. I'll ask her to go grab Deagan and diaper, and she will salute me and sharply reply "Aye, aye sir!"

She will fill her backpack with snacks and toys, then march into whatever room I'm in and say "Hey Mom, I'm going to Neverland ok? I'll see you later!" and then runs off into another room.

And her grandpa Peacock bought her a Jake, Hook and crocodile figures, and her Grandma Stokes bought her the Jolly Roger ship. Oh boy, she's in heaven!

^Playing with Jake and Hook while waiting for our food, then carrying them in her pockets^

And these last couple of weeks when I tuck my little pirate in bed to dream of mermaids and Indians, I sit down to catch up on Once Upon a Time (I have to say, Hook is much more handsome than he is in the cartoon... Juuuuussssttt sayin'.)

So as you can see, we are kind of Peter Pan experts around here. 

Today, I was thinking about that saying "little girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice, and little boys are made of snips and snails and puppy dog tails." And as I watched Savannah wave her fake hook in Deagan's face and watched him giggle and try to grab for it, I thought "My children are made of faith, trust, and pixie dust."

The last several months have been a bit of a roller coaster for me. Between having a baby and adjusting to two babies (going from one to two is SO much harder than going from zero to one, just FYI) And then trying to keep up on housework, then school started and I'm battling the financial aid office to get my grant sorted out. Then the fact that I no longer have health insurance and I've got to get that all figured out. And trying to make friends in my ward and volunteering for events, and trying my best to be a good mom, and trying not to ask my parents for too much help, and being a supportive wife. And bills, and obligations, and stress and, and, and...

Well, some days I just feel like crawling under my blanket and never moving. It took all I had to get out of my sweats and into real pants to run to the bank today. I was not going to even think about washing my hair or put on makeup.

Some days I wish I really was in Neverland. Always being a child and never growing up, with no responsibility and no hardships and adventure at every turn. With fairies and pirates, and mermaids and Indians. Not testing center clerks who don't know what they are doing, or financial aid bureaucracy hoops to jump through, or how about door-to-door salesmen? I'd take a pirate over a salesman any day.

And then bedtime came and neither kid wanted to go to bed. My dad came over to grab something he had left here and ended up helping me put Savannah to bed, with no meltdowns from her, and I stuck Deagan in the jumper until he wore himself out.

But when I went to go check on the both of them later, I could see in their sleepy faces everything that I need to get me through the stressful times.

Faith, trust, and a little bit of pixie dust.

 

And it's because of them, that I don't every truly have to grow up. I can play and be a kid right there with them. And that's when I realized that my home is it's own special version of Neverland. Pirates and pixies and all.

On the Downhill Slope to Thirty

^Would you believe me if I said Bryant got a strike bowling like this? Because he totally did.^

It was my birthday last week. 26 guys. Thats officially on the downhill slope to 30. 

I had a pretty perfect day. The night before, Bryant, the kids and I went to Tucanos for dinner. Bryant spared me the embarrassment of making them sing to me. Instead, he sang me "Happy Birthday" in Portuguese himself. . 

The next day, I slept in. If I could ask for one thing for the rest of my birthdays, it would be to sleep in. 

I woke up feeling kind of sick though. But I refused to let it bring me down on my birthday. 

That afternoon, we went to Paradise Bakery for lunch. We were going to go to Zupas, but the line was ridiculous. The bakery turned out better though because Bryant got me a dozen cookies, and if you know Bryant, then you know that he's not a dessert foods guy, so I got them all to myself (and Savannah).

That evening, we dropped the kids off and went bowling. Bryant won. He even bowled between his legs and left handed, and he still won. And for the record, he looks totally drunk when he bowls with his left hand. It screws up the way he steps to the line. It's hilarious. 

When I went to pick up the kids, Savannah had made me a card with her hand prints on it will help from her aunt Sage. My parents also got me a couple of gifts, which Savannah helped me open. And Sage made me a delicious cup of hot white chocolate, because she's so sweet like that. 

It was a perfect day. It doesn't seem like 26 is so bad after all :-)

P.S. Thank you to everyone who sent me birthday wishes last week! It's always nice to be thought of!

3 Months Old!

 

My handsome little man is already 3 months old! 

This last month has been so fun. He's starting to get out of that sleepy little newborn stage and into that active little baby stage.

 

He smiles ALL the time. And I mean ALL. THE. TIME. I love it! He's got cheeks for days that just look so perfectly chubby and kissable when he smiles.

He also is starting to giggle, and he's even given us a few belly laughs. Baby belly laughs are just the best aren't they? He constantly wants to play. When I had Savannah, I read every baby book out there and they all said not to over-stimulate babies because they can't handle it, and it would make them fussy. But D is the complete opposite. He constantly wants you to play with him. I will sit there for 20 minutes tickling him, bouncing him, nibbling those cheeks and tiny toes, and when I stop because I'm exhausted, he gets upset and begins to cry. Then I start back up again with teasing him, and he's instantly happy. 

He's our thumb/finger sucker. I think Savy sucked her thumb maaaayyyybe twice? Deagan is constantly gumming his hands if he doesn't have a pacifier in his mouth. 

He also learned how to roll from his front to his back. I didn't even know he was trying to do it until one day, I laid him down on the floor and FLIP! He just rolled right over. I don't even think he realized what had happened that first time, but ever since then, good luck if you want to give him some tummy time. 

He's also getting better coordinated with his hands. He likes to pull the blanket up and put it in his mouth, and he pulls on my shirt whenever I hold him. He's still trying to figure out how to grab his feet. He will stick his legs straight up in the air and his arms just start windmilling, trying desperately to grab those feet and stick them in his mouth.

He's generally not a fussy baby, but he tends to spit up a lot. And not your normal, post-feeding little drool, it's more like half the contents of him stomach get shot out all over him, me, and anyone near him. I had talked to his doctor last month about it, and he said that in some babies, the muscle between the opening of their stomach and their esophagus isn't quite closed yet, and they spit up more than normal. He said as long as he wasn't in pain, not fussy, and gaining weight, that he was fine and it should go away by around 4 months. But then it just got worse and worse. He wouldn't just spit up right after eating, he's spit up 5 minutes after eating, then every 5 minutes for the next hour or so. I tried everything, changing my diet in case it was something I was eating causing it, I tried 3 different formulas, I changed his position while he eats. But nothing helped. I finally called the doctor back and asked what to do. He recommended some baby antacids. So far, they aren't doing anything either. But he's still gaining weight, so I'm trying not to worry too much.

He just adores his big sister. She is constantly asking if she can hold him, and smothers him with kisses and hugs, and likes to squish his cheeks and hold his hand. I always get after her and tell her to be soft while she's crushing him, worried that she's hurting him, and then I see his face and he's smiling and giggling and happy as a clam. Babies are always so much more tough than we think they are, and he loves the attention his sister gives him. 

I just love my little chunk!

In the Land of the Nerd: My first Comic Con

This past week, Salt Lake hosted it's first ever Comic Con! When I found out there were going to have one, I tried to convince Bryant to go, but he didn't want to have to take the time off of work to go. I didn't want to trek up there with just me and the kids, so I didn't think we would make it. As it got closer, Bryant started thinking that maybe he would like to go up on one of the days, but by then it was too late to plan around his work schedule. Then yesterday morning, I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that we weren't going to be able to make it up there, and decided to just plan a little better for next year.

 ^This is only 1/4 of the line!^

^This guy was walking around and it looked so real! It was kind of freaky! They had a booth inside where they had information on hiring these people to have these are parties and stuff.^

But then I got a call from my sister who said she wanted to go, but none of her friends would go with her. My parents offered to drive us up there and then they would take my kids to the zoo while we enjoyed Comic Con! I immediately said yes, and got myself and the kids ready!

 ^I think this was my favorite! An AT-AT from Star Wars!^

 ^This R2D2 was legit! He was remote-controlled so he was just cruising all over the place!^

^Wayne and Gath from Wayne's world, and Marty McFly from Back to the Future!^

My parents hurried and bought us tickets online, that I just paid back when we were heading home, and they dropped us off at the Salt Palace. There was a HUGE line when we got there, which wasn't moving AT ALL. We just stood there for an hour, not moving, and not entirely sure what was going on. After about 45 minutes, a guy had come out with a megaphone, and said that the building was at capacity, and they were trying to get a rough count of people leaving before they could let anyone else in. But about 15 minutes after that, they announced that there was enough room for everyone, and we were all able to walk right in! They also announced that they had completely sold out! Bryant had called and said that he would try to get off a couple of hours early and come up, but I had to call him right back and tell him that there were no more tickets available :-(

 ^At the Dinosaur thing booth^

^We saw a lot of Iron Mans there^

Anyways, Sage and I had so much fun! It was crazy crowded, but everyone was having a blast and no one seemed to mind how hard it was to walk around. As soon as we walked in, Sage got a smile on her face and said "These are my people!" She's too cute for her own good.

 ^The Weta booth was pretty cool. They had brought a lot of replicas of stuff from the Hobbit. Also, that last photo, that guy's a real person. He was getting his makeup done from the guy in the red hat!^

We didn't go into any panels. Because I didn't think I'd be going up there, I hadn't really made a plan of what I wanted to go see. But we had a lot of fun wandering up and down the aisles at all the stuff and all the people in cosplay. I especially liked artists ally and It was fun talking to all the artists and authors that were there. My favorite part was just walking around and taking pictures with people. Sage was fearless and would go up and ask everyone for the photos. She even had people ask to take a picture with her, even though she wasn't technically dressed up like anyone (I think it was just because she's so stinkin' pretty...) I was really impressed with some people's creativity! I felt very under dressed!

 ^A Weeping Angel and River Song from Dr. Who^

 ^I was trying to turn my camera, and I accidentally snapped a photo at the same time, and this was the result. I really like it, it looks like she's traveling through time and space!^

I was impressed with Sage's knowledge of all things geeky. She knew every movie/tv show/book/video game, etc that was represented there. I thought I was nerdy, but Sage completely beat me out in that department.

 ^I might have been just a little overexcited!^

 ^Sage's socks are pretty awesome. They have little capes on the back!^

 ^Please excuse my derp face here. Also, I totally stole Sage's sonic screwdriver for this picture. Derp de derp...^

We also didn't get to meet any celebrities. I would have like to meet Henry Winkler, Kevin Sorbo, and Adrian Paul the most, because as a kid, I was a HUGE fan of Happy Days, Hercules (and Xena!) and Highlander. But I didn't have to money to meet all of them, so I decided to just admire from afar (or as Sage put it: "fangirl from afar")

 ^Ok, I never know what to do with my hands for photos...^

 ^Who ya gonna call? Ghost Busters! (I ain't afraid of no ghost!)^

 ^Sage just about jumped out of her socks in excitement about this girl's costume. She was the Tardis from "The Doctor's Wife" episode of Dr. Who, which is Sage's favorite episode.^

I'm STILL coming down from all the excitement of Comic Con! I've probably told Bryant about it a hundred times just today. We are for SURE going next year! And getting tickets early and planning which panels we want to go too.

 ^The lego displays were pretty awesome.^

 ^Again, I never know what to do with my hands!^

^We probably saw more people dressed up from Assassin's Creed than anything else. Sage recently borrowed Bryan't copy of the games, so she was pretty excited about being "assassinated" by these guys.^

Today on the Comic Con facebook page, they said that they had between 70,000-80,000 people attend yesterday alone! That makes it the largest convention of any kind in Utah history, and it's double what they had planned to come! And they expect next years to rival San Diego's comic con! Crazy!

Also, a HUGE thank you to my parents for taking my kids to the Zoo! You guys are awesome!!!