Beautiful Boy

Sitting here with Daniel on Sunday morning amazed at how fast he is growing. Yet for the first time since bringing his little brother home from the hospital I have realized Daniel is still my baby.

He is learning his alphabet and numbers quicker than I could have ever imagined. Yet he still wants his blanket. And if Daddy isn’t around he searches for him. Daniel can feed himself and ask for his favourites, most of the time remembering to say please and thank you. Yet, he still needs mommy to help get those last couple of spoonfuls of apple sauce from the bottom of the container.

Daniel loves to sing – on his own terms. He gets excited when he gets it right. He gets very frustrated when things don’t go his way. He cries when he’s tired. He still loves to cuddle.

He is still in diapers. He wants to go potty but doesn’t quite get it yet. He has peepeed on the floor and in the tub. Seeing how that happens amazes him. Soon he will get it in the right place.

He is the first person I have ever been willing to sacrifice everything for.

All's well

I took John to a pediatrician that our GP recommended us to. Our GP had detected a heart murmur during is four month exam. I didn’t want to worry any one needlessly so we didn’t tell too many people. It is quite common for babies. It is however a good idea to have it checked out and to monitor it for awhile.

Our appointment was scheduled for 2pm on Monday two months ago. Two months ago he was sleeping whenever and didn’t really have a schedule. Fast forward to his 6 month old life and 2pm is usually half way through his nap. I was expecting my little guy to either by passed out in the waiting room or wailing his little head off. (He usually reserves the wailing for a delayed bottle). He was a little angel. Though a lot more vocal and dramatic then Daniel at this age, he is still a pretty mellow guy most of the time. He didn’t sleep but he had a blast smiling at everyone who would look at him. He loved checking out a different enviroment.

The pediatrician was a nice older man. Obviously has a lot of experience with babies. He knew what noises to make John happy.

He examined John with the stethascope and John giggled. Thankfully the doctor didn’t hear anything strange. Nothing to worry about but we should come back next month to double check.

He was more concerned with John’s skin than his heart. John has had very bad eczema on his ankles and cradle cap since birth. I had hoped the issues would go away on their own but recently the ankles have turn to weeping eczema. The doctor took a swab from his ankles and prescriped some cream. He explained to me the whole regimine of oiled baths, cream rubs topped with vaseline. We’ve got a baby spa going on here. I almost started laughing when he suggested I use yeast infection cream for his skin problem on his neck and chin. The more I thought about it the more it made sense.

Doctor also told me that if he still has cradle cap at 6 months that it is now considered eczema. We are to use the “neck cream” on his scalp.He even told me that it is okay to peel away any loose flakes. I really just assumed it would go away like it did with Daniel.

All is well. Little John enjoyed a bath and then his avacado dinner. In retrospect I should have done the bath after dinner but I was eager to start his cream treatments.

Here’s to clear skin and a restful night.

Danny always sneaks in here somehow ;P

The Christening

It was a beautiful day for a Christening. Quite warm actually. Lucky the church and hall had a/c.

All my people showed up on time. The food was great. And John was very good. Only fussed a bit from wanting his bottle. He also enjoyed pulling his Godfather's beard.

Daniel and his cousin's (whom he adores) were on their best behavior. Playing on the little stage set-up in the hall.

The next morning John slept in. aaron announced that the chrstening worked-lol. not for long though.

Photos taken by my gramma. I, once again, hardly got any good pics. Thanks again Gramma :)

Six Months

Yes I am finally posting an update.

"Oh my God! I'm six months old."

John has two bottom front teeth now. And since he is drooling like a rabid baby I am assuming the top two will not be far behind. And boy can this kid wiggle around a room. I don't remember Daniel doing the commando style wiggle. Daniel liked to roll.

Speaking of our favourite little toddler. Daniel had his first haircut this week. Here he is showing it off.

He was a real champ giggling the whole time the lady was cutting his hair. The electric clippers freaked him out a little but I thought he did an amazing job. And now he looks so grown up.

Here is little John enjoying his big backyard.

This picture makes me think of "The Sopranos".

This Sunday John will be Christened. I'm looking forward to introducing our little guy to the family.

Happy Mother's Day

My favourite picture right now! Finally Aaron took a picture of me when I wasn't wearing my pj's.

This little guy is now five months old. Where does the time go?

We bought some birdseed and Daniel helped me put it on our back deck. I watch the birds have their breakfast while I feed John at 6 in the morning. I'm really appreciating the fact that Daniel has always slept so well. We've got to work on getting John to sleep a wee bit later...for mommy's and daddy's sakes!!

We've had a lot of sparrows and mourning doves. This morning one of the local rabbits came by for a nibble (pictures to come some day).

I don't normally put a hat on John. He still has cradle cap and I've been advised by some source or another that it will go away faster if we avoid hats. I couldn't resist this one, part of a pyjama set that John got last Christmas. (Size 6-12 months already. I've got some big kids here :D

Happy Mother's day all.

Daniel

This is the usual result when I try to take a picture of Daniel. He must reach for the camera. He likes to help take pictures of John.

The last couple of nights Daniel has been going to bed earlier. I don't know if its the weather or the fact that he hasn't been napping and that finally caught up to him. Tonight he fell to sleep almost upside down on the couch.

We are enjoying the early nights while they last!

The fourth month

Well, life was less hectic with more than one child. But it wasn't this much fun either.

I was just talking with my Aunt-in-law over the Easter weekend. We were commenting on how parenting the second child is so much more relaxed. Where you would have freaked out with the first child, things are just fine with the second child. Oh, he's sleeping with the blanket over his head? He's fine!



This is a picture Daniel helped me take. Of course Daniel's focus was on his dandylion. I agree with Daniel - Dandylions ARE flowers.

I love how much this baby giggles. I don't remember Daniel laughing and talking this much at four months. He even likes that Bumbo seat which Daniel hardly used.

I am already gearing up for a summer yard sale to sell some of this baby gear that we have. I forgot how much luggage these little creatures bring with them.

Little John has rolled over twice in the last month. Ya! Amazing isn't it? LOL

Time Enough at Last

Daddy took Danny to the play center today. So I actually have a bit a quiet time to spend with John. Since He's napping right now I thought I'd use this time for a little update.
John has rolled over by himself already. He's only done it once so far but he's trying his hardest to do it again. I can tell by the little grunts of efforts. Too cute.

Occasionally he will sleep through the night but he's still wanting the midnight snacks most of the time. He's not happy when he's hungry.

When he's fed and cuddled he's a super happy baby. I think he looks more and more like Aaron every day. Especially that gorgeous smile. My mother in law tells me that Aaron had those chubby cheeks too when he was little.

Our man Dan is growing up so fast. He is speaking a lot and of course gets very frustrated if we don't know what he's saying. Depending on which one of us has spent the day with him, we have to interpret for the other any new words or phrases he has picked up. His first (officially, because he was so clear) sentence was "What is that?". I love how enthusiastic he can be when it comes to learning. Just yesterday he counting while walking down the stairs. He got all the way to ten on his own. And of course everyone knows that after ten comes five.

He's a bit jealous of John. Most of the time he just wants to saftey test the toys and this Bumbo seat.

Three Months

John is now three months old. He loves to babble and giggle. And he adores his big brother. Daniel is still on the fence about John though.


So far John's personality seems a bit different from Daniel at this age. What I can remember anyway. First baby amnesia. You only remember the good stuff. John is more demanding for sure. When he's hungry I bet all the neighbours hear about it. Daniel used to just kind of grunt to get our attention at meal times.

Otherwise they have both been happy babies.

John's sleep patterns are still a bit off - for our schedules anyway. Still not too bad though. He was getting up at about 3am after having his last feeding at around 7 or 8pm. Last night Aaron woke him up for a feeding at 11pm. Then he slept to 6am (after the Daylight savings time kicked in). Thank goodness for DLST! Once we get used to the time change and John somewhat keeps this new schedule we should all be happy.

We are still waiting for him to roll over on his own for the first time. For now it's fun to watch him stick his legs straight up in the air and swing them back and forth.


My goodness! He looks so much like his Daddy.



Daniel loves to destroy wear my new boots.

Brotherly Love

The older John gets the more he looks like his big brother did at this age. Man! We make adorable babies.

Daniel is becoming quite the big brother. He was helping me feed John by holding the bottle. And then whipping it out of his mouth! Yesterday Dan tried to pick up the baby. With my help he managed and seemed quite satisfied with the brotherly hug.
Most of the time he will just lay with the baby on the play mat. John loves to watch Daniel and will smile and giggle when ever Daniel is near. Except when his bottle is being whipped out of his mouth :)

11 Weeks and 28 months

The boys are amazing. Sometimes I still can't believe I am MOMMY!!!
Johnny is growing like a weed. His face is changing everyday. He is almost able to roll over by himself and is almost sleeping thru the night. Our big wish as his parents is for him to sleep through so we can too.

Danny is learning tons. It seems that everyday he learns a new word or says yet another sort of sentence. He knows his shapes, letters and numbers to ten. Not always in the right order - but we are proud anyway.

There has been some regression with competing with his little bro, but it has been a way better transition than I expected.

The little one is calling me so I must go now. Enjoy the pics!

Snoring Baby

Seven

Seven Weeks

At John's recent doctor's visit we found out he now weighs 11.5 lbs. He is already in size 2 diapers and I had to retire his newborn size sleepers. I forgot how fast these early stages fly by.
He is smiling a lot, yet it's hard to get him to smile for the camera. Sometimes I luck out.


Twenty-Seven Months
Daniel is talking a lot more. He can count to ten. I love how toddlers talk. on, choo, free, four, fi, ick, sennen...you get the picture.



We are slowly getting into a new family rhythm, so hopefully I will be posting updates more frequently. For now - Enjoy the cuteness :)

Extra Cuteness

Fishy Kisses

Our little boxer (He's outgrown most of his newborn clothes already!)

A much overdue update

Where did that month go?

We are slowly getting into a routine around here. John is slowly figuring out his days and nights. And Aaron and I are figuring out when we can squeeze in naps and grown up time.
Daniel is learning to be a good big brother. Most of the time. I caught him waking up John the other day and when John started to cry Daniel started to laugh. So there are some moments where he is still learning.
Then there are a lot of precious moments as well.

Daniel is still amazing us with his brilliance. It seems like over night he has learned his colours and numbers. He's even pretty good with shapes. And he still loves books. Here he is sitting in a Windsor rocker that my dad made for us.

John is starting to smile and cooing a lot. Its hard to get him to smile for the camera though. Unless he's having a really good dream.

Now that we finally have a bit of snow Aaron had to take Daniel out to make a snowman. Too bad its the wrong kind of snow :(
Danny had fun anyway.

Eight days a week

I meant to write this yesterday, John's first full week on the outside, but such is life with a newborn. (I actually had to leave the computer for half an hour there to tend to the little guy).

Our first week has been surprisingly easier than I expected. Most likely because we've been through this before and Daniel's birth was by c-section. I am so happy that I was able to give birth vaginally this time. Recovery was/is a billion times easier. Other than peeing every 1/2 hour I'm not doing too bad.

John is a good eater. Monday, at his newborn assessment he had gained almost all his birth weight back. He is a nice shade of pink. And he did not have to suffer through jaundice blood tests like his older brother did.


What else can I say about a newborn? He sleeps, eats and pees and poops. And he's adorable.

Daniel is adjusting quite well. He does have his moments which is too be expected. We try to give him the attention he craves and help him to learn that his little brother needs us too. Luckily as long as John's needs are met he doesn't mind us spending lots of time chasing Dan around the house.

And its seems like almost over night Daniel's vocabulary has expanded a hundred fold. I am (pleasantly) shocked to hear some new words come out of his mouth. He still hasn't said John, but he has said "happy baby". He also said yes when I asked him if he likes John. That's a good sign.

He pats John's head when I ask him to be gentle.


I call this my Christmas miracle. One week after giving birth I fit into my (PMS) jeans. Non-maternity clothes already!


Although we won't know for sure until he's about a year old, I think John's eyes look rather blue already. Daniel's eyes were almost black at this age. So I'm thinking super cute brothers - one with light hair and dark eyes. The other dark hair with blue eyes. Watch out ladies!!

V for Victory

We avoided a c-section :D

Well it seems that the false labour I wrote about last entry was closely leading up to the big finale. December 7th at 4am I started having regular contractions about 10 to 15 minutes apart. Nothing killer but definitely noticeable. So much so that I called my mom at 8 that morning and had Aaron pick her up to be here for Daniel when/if we had to go to the hospital. Daniel was in heaven. Gogo was here at his beck and call. Gogo was in heaven too at least before Danny exhausted her.

Anyway, while Aaron drove to Richmond Hill to pick up my mom the contractions stopped and I felt bad that mom was coming for no reason and Aaron was missing work. They picked up again a couple of hours later. I couldn't help but ask mom, could it be soon? Or are they gonna disappear again and I'll have to wait another week for this kid to enter the world. There really is no way of knowing for sure and that was killing me. I'm a planner and this was something I couldn't plan!!

I spent the day chilling with mom. Timing contractions. Watching movies and tv. Wasn't such a bad day. Went to bed around 9:30 hoping for the best.

As soon as I lay down the contractions became more intense but they were still too far apart to go to the hospital. Finally at about 1am I called Triage just to make sure that they didn't want me to come in. No, I should wait!

I lay back down. About half hour later I had one doozy of a contraction and my water broke. I hoped out of bed waking Aaron "Ahhhh my water broke." I actually hopped in the shower and began experiencing the contractions that I had only heard about (I didn't feel a thing with Daniel's labour!). Made it out of the shower called triage back and confirmed that I should come in to be assessed.

I was 4cm dilated when I arrived at the hospital. My doctor had suggested I wait as long as possible for my epidural and I told the nurse this. They moved me to the delivery room and I began to demand my epidural - LOL! The nurse kept telling me not to push but I couldn't stop. They checked me out again and thankfully I was fully dilated. Pushing commenced and my little John was born at 4:34am on December 8th.

The date is very significant too. John is named for John Lennon. And December 8th, as a lot of you know is the date that he died.

(I sense I feeding coming on and I'm too tired for more at this moment. I know you want more pics and they will come as soon as I can get to it. Not to worry I am snapping lots!!)