Christmas 2011

Christmas Eve in our house started early, since we were headed down South to spend the holiday with our families. Before we ran out the door, we managed to snap a few pictures of the boys in their Christmas best. Franklin's first attempt at "holding" his little brother went better than expected:

Then we hopped in the car for what we hoped would be an enjoyable ride... And it was! Around 2.5 seconds after we pulled out of the driveway, both little ones were fast asleep...

Christmas Eve at Frank's parents house was filled with lots of preparation for Santa's arrival and very little sleep, unfortunately. The holidays with 2 children, neither of whom wanted to sleep at all, as a challenge. I spent most of the night in a twin bed with a two year old, hoping that my three month old would stay asleep. He complied - sort of. Then, before we knew it (but not before our two year old threw a hissy fit because he wanted to start his day at 5:30 A.M. and mama and dad were.not.having.it.) it was time to wake up for Christmas morning!

Santa had arrived! Despite very loud rips of wrapping paper and exclamations of excitement from three children two and under (not including my three month old), Crosby decided he'd had enough:

And that was that. Christmas Day afternoon we traveled to my hometown to spend the evening with my extended family, where Franklin was showered with even MORE presents and thought he was in heaven. We hit the sack that night around 10:30 PM, and I don't remember being that tired in a long, long time. After a brief stay, we returned home to spend the last week of 2011 together in our tiny, but rather charming (you want to buy it from us, right?) home. The week went by quickly, full of hugs and kisses and hilarious shenanigans from our resident comedian, Franklin.

Franklin still seems to adore his baby brother, and Crosby adores him right back. Franklin gets the best giggles out of his brother, who watches his every move. And Crosby seems to have forgiven Franklin for biting him on the foot Christmas Day. It is a rather juicy little foot, after all.

And then we wound down 2011 at home, preparing for a New Year's Day feast and celebrating Frank's father's birthday. 2011, I must admit: I'm not sad to see you go. We started 2011 with a febrile seizure, a trip to the ER, and a national championship. The end of January brought amazing news that Crosby was on the way, but February held tubes/adenoids surgery for Franklin and lots of worry. By March I already felt very pregnant, and the year seemed to go from there. Crosby arrived in September, and the next twelve weeks are a total blur of kisses, sleep deprivation, diaper changes, baby grins, tiny toes, vomit and crying. We seem to be entering a new phase of less vomit and more contentment, at least I'm hoping. 2012, I know you have lots of fun in store. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Oh Christmas Tree

Back at the beginning of December (don't judge, it was a busy month) we picked our 2011 Christmas tree! It was a great morning, and Franklin was a big helper this year:

Crosby is Two Months Old!

Last week, my lil' bit celebrated his two month birthday. His stats changed a bit from last month-- currently, he's 13.8 pounds (90th percentile), and in the 75th percentile for height. His head circumference is now 50%. Quite different from his big brother, whose head has been in the 90th percentile since he was born! Crosby has finally decided that he can sleep through the night, and I feel confident in posting on here that we're firmly in that routine. Tonight is Crosby's first night in the nursery, instead of his cradle next to our bed. I will miss waking up next to him very much, but I think everyone sleeps better in their own room. Fingers crossed he makes the transition easily. Here's a peek at the only change to our nursery:

And my little man in his (too small) 3 month outfit, on his 2nd month birthday:

Little one is all smiles and coos for us now, and likes to "stand" up with help just like his brother did. He's winning over all of the teachers at Harris with his sweet smiles too, and is still Franklin's favorite toy. I am in the final countdown of maternity leave, and am trying to enjoy every second with my little guy while I can. Happy second month birthday baby boy, we love you!

Wordless Wednesday

Happy 2nd Birthday, Franklin!

A few weeks ago, my first baby boy turned two! Hard to believe two years have passed since we welcomed Franklin into our lives, and he continues to add so much laughter and joy to our little family. He really is the sweetest boy we've ever seen, and gives hugs and kisses to everyone he meets. He's a great big brother too, and includes Crosby in on those awesome hugs and kisses every day. We've recently experienced a language explosion in our house, and although we still can't understand all that he's trying to say, his vocabulary has definitely expanded. Clearly now Frank and I will have to watch what we say around him, since he repeats everything. Here's a little glimpse into the small family party we had to celebrate the little man's second's birthday:

Happy birthday, buddy!

Happy one month, Crosby!

Better late than never... The absence of pictures and posts is due to the fact that I changed the password on my laptop and can't recall what I changed it to. I intend to remedy that shortly, but in the meantime,my new little man is keeping me quite busy. He doesn't sleep anywhere near the amount Franklin did, and has been rather fussy after feedings. We have started thickening feedings and giving him Zantac to help with reflux, and he seems to be doing better already. The reflux hasn't impacted his weight gain, big boy is up to 11.9 pounds and 22.5inches. That's 90th percentile for weight and 50-75th for height. He also has a large head,coming in at 15.5 inches and the 90th percentile there too. He is loved by his big brother beyond words, and Franklin gives him tons of kisses everyday. He is strong, and seems to love holding his head up and looking around. He has outgrown all of his newborn clothes and will probably be in 3-6 month shortly. He gets more blonde hair with each passing day and is the snugly, sweet baby I hoped he would be. We are enjoying each second of time together before I go back to work, because I know our time is short. Happy one month baby boy, we love you!

Crosby's Arrival

After receiving the news that Crosby would arrive on Thursday, the 22nd, I headed over to get a quick mani-pedi before I left the land of the living for awhile. The next day was a little strange, since we didn't have to arrive at the hospital until 1:45 PM for a 4:00 scheduled c-section. Frank headed to work for a few hours, and I just hung out and waited. After what seemed like an eternity, it was time to head to the hospital. Here's a pic of me on our way:

NOT! This is a picture of me we took in July. Yes, in July. And the only pregnant picture of myself that I took this time around. The day of Crosby's arrival I measured 43 weeks. Given his size, my belly was quite a bit bigger than it is in this picture. In any event, we arrived at the hospital and they started prepping me. Apparently, I was their 9th section that day -- and the 4:00 time is not a normally scheduled OR time. Luckily, my BP was fairly stable and they didn't think a mag drip was necessary. HUGE difference from last time -- I actually remember everything about the delivery (or most things). I remember that they took me back, and then it took Dr. Straughn a little while to make it to the OR -- like 15 minutes, so I just hung out on the table for what felt like an eternity. Things moved fairly quickly once she arrived though! Here's a pic of Frank and me before they started:

Dr. Straughn commented almost immediately that I had a ton of amniotic fluid (which led to the whole measuring big thing) and that he was so high in my pelvis that it was highly unlikely that a regular delivery would've been possible. And then, Crosby was here!

8 pounds, 9 ounces and 21 inches of pure perfection. A beautiful baby boy with blonde hair and stork bites in the same exact spot as Franklin! There are a few differences in my two babies, however -- Franklin shares his name and his body type with Frank. They have the same ears, fingers, legs, ankles and feet. Crosby and I share a name and body type, apparently. He has long, skinny legs, long fingers, actual ankles, and super long, thin feet. Franklin also left the hospital at around 6 pounds, and had not reached his birth weight at our first appointment a week later. Crosby, on the other hand, left the hospital at 8 lbs 2 ounces, and had gained an ounce at his first appointment a week later -- topping out at 8 pounds, 10 ounces. Yesterday, this big boy sported a 3-6 month outfit. His newborn diapers are basically too small, but since I have several packs of them we're still using them. He is also awake a LOT for a newborn, at least from what I remember from Franklin. Crosby will eat, and stay awake for an hour afterwards. There are periods of time where he's been awake for 2 hours or more. I used to have to hold Franklin upright and sing to him, bounce him around, etc. to get him to stay awake for 30 minute periods. Generally, it's nice that he's alert and we see his eyes and can interact with him during the day. At night though, that is not so much fun. Like last night, when he pretty much refused to sleep in stretches longer than 20-30 minutes, all night long. Bad for mommy, particularly when the little one has been such a champion sleeper since he came home from the hospital. I'm hoping it was a fluke and my little one returns to his schedule tonight.

We are so blessed, and are enjoying every second of time spent with our new little man. More posts to come!