to sleep, to dream...

Sorry that this photo is so grainy. Bob took it early one morning before leaving for work. I have actually taken up sleeping on the couch. This is good for a couple of reasons. First, it lets Bob get sleep, because the baby won't wake him and second it gets me some extra sleep, because I don't have to hear Bob hitting the snooze button ten times in the morning. Nicholas usually sleeps in a little bed beside the couch, but on this particular morning, he must have needed a cuddle. I'll cuddle as long as he goes back to sleep. Right now Nicholas is eating every 1 1/2 to 2 hours, which means that I am up a good deal. I am hoping that it is just a growth spurt and things will calm down a bit. I have never had a picture of myself on here before. I hate the way I look in photos.

Speaking of growth spurt, Nicholas had his two month well baby visit on Monday. He is still on the rapid growth track. Here are his stats...

Weight 12 lbs 7 oz (up from 11 lbs 9 oz, just under two weeks ago) - 75 percentile
Height 23 3/4 in (up from 19 1/2 at birth) - 89 percentile

He had to get four shots which have made him just a bit cranky. Last evening he was awake for several hours before finally crashing around 11:00. He is looking at me and crying right now. I know he is dry, fed and has been loved this morning, so it may still be the shots. I will have to consult the paperwork from the doctor's office.

I will have to get some recent photos of Sophia and post. I have neglected to do so in a while.

Bob came home sick yesterday and is off today. He has some sort of stomach virus. He never takes a sick day, so he must be feeling pretty bad.

We have less than two weeks until the Christening. Things are coming together nicely. I can't wait to get it over with. Sophia and I got our hair cut over the weekend, so that we won't look like a couple of "Cousin Its." I have to get Bob's suit to the cleaners. I am also taking his shirt to get laundered, because the shirt just looks nicer when they do it (plus I hate to iron). Nicholas is wearing Bob's Christening outfit. We tried it on him and he looked so cute. I have ordered the subs and cake. My hardest days will be next Thursday and Friday when I have to do all of my food preparation. I will make sure to take lots of pictures!

I just wanted to check in. I hope that you all are well. I have to go, Nicholas really needs me!

It's here, it's not here, it's here again...

I am referring to winter. It has been such a mild winter that my daffodils are actually popping out of the ground. I wished for some snow and now that I have, I realize that with the snow also comes colder weather. That would be fine, if I did not get sick because of the weather change. So this morning I sit here thankful that we finally got a bit of snow (less than an inch), but miserable, because my throat hurts.

Bob has a routine of saying goodbye to Sophia right before he leaves for work. Last night I asked him to kiss her goodbye earlier than normal, because when he normally does it, she wakes up. I am happy to report that my plan worked, because she did not get up until 9:15. She usually gets up around 7:30, so this gave me some extra sleep.

Nicholas is sitting in his little seat and was happy until he got the hiccups a few minutes ago, so now I have to cut this short. He is a good little fellow, but the hiccups piss him off.

Anybody watch football??? What do you think of the Bears, Colts lineup? I was actually rooting for the saints, but the bears are okay. I was hoping that the Colts would win. This will really piss of a good deal of football fans in Maryland, because a large number of people in Maryland are still not over the Colts leaving Baltimore in the 80's. I love Peyton Manning, so I was glad that he finally gets a chance to win a Super Bowl.

So there you have it. I hope you are all well.

Chunky Monkey...

I had written a post and stupid Blogger lost it. I swear that I never had so much trouble before the switch to the new format. Anyway, I digress...

I had to take Nicholas to the doctor yesterday. He weighed 11 lbs 9 oz. He is now 7 weeks old and when he was 2 weeks old he weighed 8 lbs 4 oz. The doctor said, "Boy, he is growing." I knew he was getting bigger, but I did not know it was that much.

Poor Nicholas has this condition called Anal Stenosis and because of straining, he has a small tear in his hiney. This is a condition that physically makes it hard for him to poop. His little opening is too small, so he is on a regimen of twice daily anal dilatation, corn syrup, Vaseline and suppositories when needed. Poor guy cries out when he has to go. I feel really bad for him. The doctor feels that things will get better within a few months. I have read where kids with this condition may have to have surgery.

I got to take a nice hot bath last night after Sophia went to bed. I actually got to shave my legs, I was beginning to feel like a Sasquatch. My time was cut short though, because Nicholas was needing me. He definitely favors me over anybody else. I keep telling Bob that is has nothing to do with him, but has to do with me being a milk dispenser.

It is so windy here today. It is trash day and our damn trash can is blown over. Hopefully, diapers won't blow down the street. Trash guys won't pick anything up that is on the ground, so hopefully, it won't be too bad, because I can't go out to pick up. It times like this when I wish I could have trained the dog to do those sort of things for me.

My planning for the Christening has moved forward and I am done with most of the things I can do for right now. I have started to get RVSP calls already. I look forward to this special day, but not all of the work.

I hope that all is well and warm where ever you are. Take care!!

An hour of peace...

Nicholas woke me up at about 3:30 am to eat, but here it is 4:52 and I am still awake. I started a load of laundry and am catching up on reading some blogs that I have neglected. I can't do this most of the time, so I am enjoying this hour to myself. Anyway, I am back to bed. I am sure I will miss this extra hour of sleep later today.

I will figure it out...

So here is Nicholas. He will be seven weeks on Tuesday. It is hard to believe. He can really hold his head up now, but I am still a bit nervous about him doing it on his own.

We are planning his Christening. We are inviting about 100 people, but of course a bunch of people probably will not be able to make it. I love planning a party, but hate spending the money. We are going to have Subway do monster subs for us and we are going to make our own salads (probably pasta, potato, fruit, and caesar salads and cole slaw). It will be a bunch of work ahead of time, but easier the day of because I don't have to worry about hot food. For Sophia's Christening we had about 70 people to the church and about 60 for the reception after and we made the food ourselves and it was a bunch of work, so this time even though we have the potential to have more people, the workload will be less.

On a very good note, Sophia is such a good big sister. Nicholas knows her voice and looks for her when he hears her. I think he looks for her more than Bob or me. Last night we were coming back from my in-laws and Nicholas was screaming, Sophia was talking to him in this sweet little calm voice trying to make him happy. It did not work, but I loved her for trying. She is still pretty hyper, but I think that she has improved somewhat since Nicholas has arrived. Her teachers have even commented on this. Maybe it gives her something else to focus on.

She got a progress report from preschool and did very well. The only problems that she had were on fine motor skills like; holding a pencil, cutting, etc.. We feel that this is due to the fact that she is left handed. I think that watching other people write and cut and then trying to do it herself, confuses her. I would love to have another lefty sit down with her a few times. I think it would help.

I am still not used to having two kids yet. I hope that I get things under control soon. I know it will happen and I need to be patient, but it is hard to be patient when there are days that you can't even take a shower (which is yucky, by the way). I have to pay homage to those mothers who have had more kids than me, my hat is off to you. Please send some tips my way. Honestly, part of the problem is the dog. I can leave Sophia alone with him, but I can not leave Nicholas alone with Sophia or the dog. Most days that I do get a shower, Nicholas is in the bathroom with me in his bouncy seat.

So that is about it right now. I continue to figure things out. I am sure that every parent goes through this, but it can be discouraging. I am thankful that Bob is an involved Dad, because I would go insane if he was not. I look forward to when he gets home from work, so that he can take one of the kids. I see a stronger bond growing between Sophia and Bob because of this and I think it is a wonderful thing. All kids need to love and be loved by their Daddies.

I hope that you are all well.