2 Months Already!

Liam turned 2 months old over the weekend! I can't believe how fast time is moving. I wish it would slow down a little!! At two months old Liam is:

• starting to smile


• following with his eyes


• responds to his name


• starting to coo


• drinks 8 oz bottles


• sleeping through the night

He weighs 14.1 pounds (95th %) and is 23 inches long (50th%). He also had to receive his 2 month shots. He got a shot in each leg and then one oral vaccine. He did great!

Silkie

John and I go in and check on the boys everynight before we go to bed. Carter has this habit of putting his silkies into his pullup which causes a problem as he still wets his pull up most nights. So, we go in and make sure that he hasn't done that or take them out if he has. Well, the other night I went in to check on him and this is what I found...

Yep, they had been stuffed into his socks!! I have no idea how he was able to get all FOUR of them stuffed in there but he did. We left them there but had to take pictures!

I also had to take a picture of Preston while I was in there! :)

Halloween 2009

Halloween was a lot of fun this year! I have had a fireman costume for Carter since he was born and it was going to finally fit him this year. However, he had different plans. He actually had an opinion on what he wanted to be. He wanted to be a bumble bee. I think he got the idea from one of his friends at school. Well, it turns out his friend wanted to be Bumble Bee from the movie Transformers. Carter has never seen Transformers nor will he for quite a few more years but he had his heart set on an actual bumble bee. So, I went on a hunt for a bumble bee costume that wasn't too babyish and wasn't made for a girl. I finally found one at Target and got one in his size and one in Preston's size. They were the cutest bumble bees! Liam went dressed as a ghost. I have an infant bee costume but it was too hot for him to wear it.

We started the festivities with Trunk or Treat at our church. It was the first time for us to go to anything at church since Lian was born. So, it was nice to see everyone and for people to meet him. Carter and Preston certainly got their share of attention too. Carter would tell people that he really wasn't a bee it was just a costume for Halloween. So cute!

After the Trunk or Treat we headed back to our house with MiMi and Ken. John and I took Carter and Preston trick or treating down our street while MiMi stayed home with Liam and passed out candy. Preston walked the whole way and his little legs were tired by the end of our block. He loved every minute of it though.

Carter and Preston doing the cake walk with Aunt Vickie

Greeting the trick or treaters.


Preston checking out his loot.

Bath Time

Bath time is one of the boys favorite things to do, except for Liam. Liam hates the bath and cries during most of it. Carter and Preston take their bath together and have a great time playing.

Liam is starting to look like the Michillin (sp?) Man. I love the rolls!!

Smiles

Liam is getting bigger every day. It is hard to believe that he will be 8 weeks old tomorrow and 2 months old on Saturday. How does it go by so fast?? He is just starting to smile. MiMi was over watching the boys on Thursday while John and I were at the hospital for my injection. After we got back home, Preston and Carter were still napping so me and my mom got to play with Liam. MiMi has been able to get the most smiles out of him. I can't wait until they get to be more regular and hear his little laugh.

Excited

I am finally excited to be getting my life back. These past couple of months have been some tough ones. They have been great, don't get me wrong. I have just been struggling with things. Having a newborn is always a little rough. It's hard just to find that groove and routine and then to have that mesh with the routine of what is already established with the rest of the family.

Liam has been a great baby! He is very laid back and is happy as can be as long as he is in his bouncy seat. He hates the swing but LOVES the bouncy seat. He has been napping in that thing since we brought him home from the hospital. I finally had him take a nap in his crib yesterday. It was the first time he had ever slept in his room. At night, he will sleep for a solid 6 hours and sometimes longer. He is still sleeping in the pack n' play next to me. I really like him in our room so I'm not sure when I will move him to his room. I plan on having him take naps in his room from now on, though, so he can get used to his bed.

I went on Thursday and had my first injection in my back. It was a very simple procedure. They sedated me and then I woke up and went home. I had to ask a nurse if they even did the injection because I didn't even know I had gone to sleep. It was crazy. I have finally had some relief. The pain isn't completely gone but it is tolerable. Last week, I did decide to switch Liam over to formula. This allowed me to take other medications to help with the pain. Part of me is okay with switching him and part of me is upset. I'm sad that I gave in and sad that I will never have the opportunity to nurse another child. I am happy, though, for selfish reasons. I can now go out without him and not worry about feeding him or needing to pump. I reassure myself that I did what was best for my family and for myself. He had breastmilk for a solid 6 weeks and that is better than nothing. I cannot put guilt on myself for this.

Another thing I have been struggling with is post partum depression. I had feared this since I was already having these feelings while pregnant. Looking back, I think I might have had a bit of ppd after Carter was born but not to this degree. I am normally a very happy and opitmistic person. However, this past month has been an uphill battle for some reason. I know the thoughts I have and feelings I have are irrational but I can't make them stop. I sometimes think I'm going a little crazy. I know I have a very supportive husband and very supportive group of friends. However, I have never felt so alone. I can't explain it. I have a great doctor who is very on top of my meds and has kept communication open with me on me getting better. These past few days have been better. I am finally feeling like myself again. It is so refreshing to see the light. I feel like I am becoming alive again, as cheesy as that sounds.

Tonight, I have been wasting a lot of time on the computer which I normally don't get to do. I have been reading blogs and finding other blogs from friends of friends and etc. I ran across a blog of a photographer based out of Abilene. I then continued over to her website. She is an amazing photographer. She captures true emotions in the people she photographs. She had the perfect music and I normally don't like music on website but hers was perfect. I was drawn to her website and couldn't leave until I had seen all of the pictures she posted in her galleries. She inspired me. She made me realize, again, why I want to become a photographer. I want to capture those moments in time. I want to give people that gift. I want emotions captured that words cannot express.

I have put my photography on the backburner these past couple of months. I'm not sure if it's because I have been busy with a newborn and two other boys or because I've just been down. But the fire has been lighted again. I cannot wait to start taking pictures again and finishing up the class I signed up for 6 months ago. I'm excited to learn something new daily and put it into action. I'm excited to spread the word to friends and family so I can take pictures of other people besides my kids! :)

It is amazing what one website and the abscense of pain can do! So, all of this to say that I'm excited about life and what's to come!!

Ahhhh, Boys...

We had our first trip to the Emergency Room this past week. Last Wednesday (Nov. 4th), John and I thought Carter and Preston were sleeping. We were watching TV and about to go get ready for bed. We heard something fall and then heard Carter crying. John quickly went into their room and called for me to come in there as he could see blood on Carter's head. I ran in there and took him into the bathroom. I got a wet washcloth and started to clean the blood away from his hair to try to figure out where the blood was coming from. We finally got to the source. He had a cut that was about 1 1/2 inches long and about 1 cm wide. We immediately knew we had to take him to the ER...he was going to need stitches. This was about 9:45 at night and we had to get all three kids into their car seats and off we went. I sat in the backseat with Carter and held a towel on top of his head. He asked me if he was going to be behind the glass with othe babies. I reassured him that he wasn't. It made me laugh though because his only association with a hospital is me having babies. We went to Richardson Regional at 190 and Renner. I must say that I was highly impressed with them. We immediately got into a room and immediately saw a doctor. I'm not sure what time we got there but we left our house at 9:45 and we were back in our car going home at 11:15. Carter ended up with two staples in the top of his head. He was such a trooper. He didn't cry until the second staple. You could tell it really hurt when the doctor put that staple in. Preston was very sweet and shared his silkie with Carter. (in the panic of getting out of the house we forgot his silkie!!!)

So, what happened...Carter was playing with a soft stuffed soccer ball and threw it up towards the ceiling. It hit the light fixture which came down and hit his head. The light fixture didn't break or anything but the force of it split his head open. I'm just so thankful he wasn't looking up at it when it fell.

You would think that Carter had learned why we tell him not to throw things in the house but nope. I caught him today throwing a football in the living room. I reminded him that he had staples in his head because of throwing a ball. I still don't think it really set in! :)

I know this is just the beginning of what's to come raising 3 boys. And to think, Carter is more cautious than Preston right now...