Trial run??

In an attempt to go on our first family outing with Sterling, it failed. Boo! Earlier in the week we researched Dresden Germany and thought we'd go there. Wednesday came and after looking at hotel prices, we opted out for this weekend. So this morning while Xander was napping, Nick brought up to go to Nancy France. I was in. Started getting things ready, lunch cleaned up and kids put in outing outfits. It was a very beautiful day here, in the high 70s and the sun was shining. A welcomed change from the dark and dreary days prior. It took an hour and half to get ready and out the door. We stopped at the ATM for some Euros then off to fill up the car. As we're sitting in the line waiting to fuel up, I realize I forgot Xander's sippy cup. We figure we'd just go get it after we fueled up. The line for fuel was not moving and it was already past 1 so we decided to call the trip off. We went home, got the sippy, I changed shoes, then off to Sembach for our favorite trail walk. On our drive out there (20 min) I realize I'd forgot to pack Sterling her formula! Oh my! This girl was ready to eat, all I brought was 3 bottles of water ready to add formula. It's a good thing we didn't get all the way to Nancy. After we got to the trail, I checked the diaper bag and I had one of the premade similac bottles in there. That will give us two bottles. Definitely not enough for a day in France.
So, we learned...no last minute trips with litte kids. Maybe we should create a diaper bag checklist for a days outing? I also learned to leave the sunblock in the diaper bag now that the sun is out. It's a good thing the stroller has extra large canopies, the kids stayed covered!
When we got home, we scheduled a weekend away for next weekend. Hotel is booked. Car is rented. Tickets are bought for the most awesome adventure. On Monday I will schedule Hawkeye for boarding at the kennel. We're really going somewhere and I'm really excited! I have a week to make sure we don't forget anything. It's going to be a busy week, but I'm excited! I'll post where we are going the following week (for security reasons since this is an open blog).

I typed this on my iPod so hopefully autocorrect didn't mess this post up too much :)

Have a great day!

This and that

I'm happy (maybe?) to report that on May 29th I will be starting my first Master's degree class.  I've been skeptical about starting because I'm just not sure where I'm going to find the time to do the class, but somehow I think I will manage.  It may be late nights or no weekend fun, but I guess I should get this degree started so I can get done sooner than later.  Xander is getting really good at walking.  He's almost running at times.  When he falls, he gets upset and bulldozes anything or anyone near him.  Yesterday he decided to bulldoze into Hawkeye's bed (with him in it) and Hawkeye did not like that too much.  It's always funny to watch Xander bulldoze because he's so fast at it and it's SO cute.  Because Hawkeye wasn't in a playful mood yesterday, he decided to try snapping at Xander.  It scared Xander because he's never seen Hawkeye like this.  He's okay...but I have to say mama had to comfort him a bit.  I should try to record it, but I don't usually have the camera on me when he's gone wild.
Sterling is enjoying bath time more, which makes for a pleasant experience. She still hates getting clothes put on/taken off. Hopefully not much longer and she won't mind it. I was able to get some cute pictures after bath today of her.

He loves going into cabinets...as most kids do. When I forget to close the lazy susan, he likes to quickly get into it and find the dried strawberries. 

All tuckered out from playing at a friends on Friday...slept 2 hours and didn't wake after I tried waking him

My beautiful roses I received from a friend

Just because he's so dang handsome!

So happy...

being naked!

HATES getting dressed

All better

Have a great day!

Conversation

Nick:  I think Sterling is going to be close to you, you two are going to have a strong bond
Me:  Well i did carry her for 10 months and breastfeed her
Nick:  Ok, you carried her into the hospital and I carried her out...

I think he was getting at she should have a bond with him as well since he carried her out?

Now, I do have to say that we may have a strong bond, but Xander and I have a strong bond as well...and that bond has nothing to do with carrying him for 10 months...just saying.

Adoption update

On April 7th we received Xander's birth certificates and a birthday card from our attorney.  I didn't expect the birth certificates for another month or two, so I was beyond thrilled and excited to open up the envelope and see them inside. 
We took one of the certificates to the passports office and applied for a new passport because his old passport expired next month.  Because we were able to do this before the old one expired, we didn't have to pay for the new one. 
These items were mailed on his birthday, according to the post mark on the envelopes.  How special!  Now, I wonder if we need to get a new social security card?  I think I will email them today and check.  His name never changed, but the address they have on file is LP's old address.  Do we need to update that? 

He's our world and we love him so much!

Sterling's 1st month

Our little "Hercules" turned a month old 2 days ago.  She's such a happy baby and LOVES to eat.  I stopped breastfeeding and pumping because I just was not supplying her enough to keep her happy.  I was continuously supplementing with formula so at 3 weeks and 4 days, I quit.  It was a hard decision, but after Nick went to work on Monday and I was with the kids by myself, I found putting her to the breast and/or pumping was very difficult.  Every time I'd get started, Xander would start acting out, throwing books at us, pulling on the pumping cords, just being hard to handle.  So Wednesday came and the towel was thrown in and I called it quits, 3:30 was my last pump session.  That night was hard because before bed, I'd always breastfed her to calm and soothe her before sleep.  So when she was fussing, hubby said to just put her to the breast.  Well, I can't do that if I'm trying to stop.  It was hard, but I didn't.  I held her, cuddled her, and started a new routine with her.  Now...it's working and there are no issues.  I think the reason it was so easy to quit was because Xander was raised on formula and he's perfectly healthy and happy, so she can be all that too...even on formula.  Yes, I know, breast is best.  But in our situation, it just wasn't.  I'm also not the type of person that will breastfeed or pump in public.  I'm not comfortable with it, so that was limiting us from going places.  She was/is eating every 2-3 hours.  I give many kudos to anyone that succeeds at this task.  It just wasn't for my lifestyle.

She's my little "Hercules" because she HATES being swaddled and anytime I try, she busts out of it so fast.  She's a strong little girl.  I even bought a swaddle blanket that has velcro in 4 different places to keep her snug...well she busts out of that also. 

Nick calls her little Bridget because she resembles me so much.  He wonders what she inherited from him because she looks so much like me.  I can't see it, but everyone is saying it so I guess I'll start believing it. 

Xander loves her.  He still puts his finger in her mouth to soothe her.  When I'm feeding her, he'll come up and lay his big head on her.  He tries to steal her blankets all the time, so I've started letting him bring his blanket out.  He's started trying to give her paci to her when she's screaming...but it usually ends up backwards...he's trying.  For the most part, he's really sweet to her.

Some fun facts:

~eating 4 oz. every 3 hours...sometimes sooner

~wears a size 1 diaper

~wears 0-3 months clothes

~holds her head up pretty well

~loves to lay in her newborn lounger from Auntie

~not a fan of tummy time...unless she's sleeping

~sleeps 4-6 hours at night

~not a fan a bath time yet...hopefully soon because I like clean smelling babies

~stays awake during the day for up to 3 hours!

~loves to look out the window

~does not enjoy having an outfit changed

~very loud screamer

~when she wants something, she wanted it 5 minutes ago...very impatient little girl

We love her so much, more than she'll ever understand.

Have a great day!

Randoms of the past month

Out for a walk

same rock as last year

Loves shoulder rides

cold and windy on a walk, but still enjoyed it

Mr. Frankenstein

LOVE it!

soothing sister

singing to Hawkeye

Freedom

Chilling

before leaving for a play date

1 month

1 month

Playing...I thought if I brought myself and Sterling in Xander's room he'd play with his toys..........yeah right!  This boy just wants to play with everything other than his toys.

Swinging...this may be the next best thing to get a 12 month old to sleep :)

Things have been better than expected.  Sure, life is exhausting with 2 young ones, sleep is less, the house is loud, and I have a pounding headache by mid-afternoon, even so, life is wonderful and I feel so blessed to be the parents of 2 healthy kids.

Easter

Goodies

Playtime while momma hides the eggs

Found the first egg...and every egg after that

Got so excited each time that the contents went flying

Excited he found the egg

And he found them all

Sterling just chilled while brother hunted eggs

Checking out his basket...

and taking everything out

This little girl had her first real bath on this special day!

1 Peter 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...

Xander lately

Some fun facts about Xander...

weighs 22.2 pounds

29 inches tall

still taking his bottle, but we’re working on getting him to take milk from the sippy cups. That’s a work in progress!  Hoping the sippy cups my sister is sending will do the trick.

repeats everything we say...but in his own way, says many words recognizable also: Book, drink, shoe, sock, mama, dada, dog, baby, milk, go, sky, bird

does sign language for when he wants more of something and when he wants to eat

almost walking!! he gets SO proud of himself when he takes steps and we praise him

had 4 teeth come in last month, so far 1 more is coming this week

plays tug of war with the dog

loves playing under the table

when he wants to give kisses or hugs he leans his head on you...so sweet!

waves hello and bye bye

sends kisses with his hand

became a BIG brother!

likes to try to soothe his sister by putting his finger in her mouth

although he’s not on formula any longer, he loves stealing his sisters bottle

he loves to go places, even shopping...bonus for me

really enjoyed playing with his birthday balloons

tried going for the flame on his birthday cake candle...silly boy!

loves him some sweets!

his favorite entertainment of all time...pick up something that makes noise and drop it...or hide it in shoes if it’s small enough. Wanting to leave a nice surprise...usually for daddy...LOL

We learned on his birthday that he knows how to open presents now. He also likes to take the paper and shred it, but he’s so serious about it. Then he tried to give us all the shredded paper. Bless his heart! He sat on the floor and tore away. 

He’s such a sweet, happy big boy. We love him so much!

Xander's 1st Birthay

2 weeks late, but nonetheless, his birthday came and we made a special day just for him.  Because his sister decided to arrive so close to his birthday (and with me needing a c-section), we decided to cancel his party, and give him our own little party at home.  A few weeks prior to his birthday, we ordered a bunch of party decorations, so I took a few of them out and decorated the dining room the night before.  I also went to the balloon shop to have the balloons blown up and ready for pickup for his birthday morning after nap time. 

We decided to wake him up because I had to pump and I didn't want him to wake while I was pumping because then I couldn't see him first thing...which is my favorite time.

After some lovin' we brought him out to his highchair and he checked out his decorations

And enjoyed his morning java

After waking from his morning nap, he was greeted by some birthday balloons, which he played with for hours!

The afternoon:  We ate some lunch, went for a walk, grabbed an afternoon snack (lunch for daddy) at a Doner Kebab shack, came home and enjoyed it.  Once again, it's nap time.  Woke up, played while pizza was cooking.  Ate. 

Time to open presents...which he loved shredding the paper, and was SO serious about it. 

After 45 minutes, all gifts are open

Time for the smash cake...but someone wanted to go for the flame instead of the cake...silly boy!  Good thing daddy has quick reflexes!

Checking the cake out

Really getting into it and enjoying it

Shake off time and then off the the bathtub

After bath we had to get a picture with the big gift...we really gave it to him on the day his party was planned for.

 What came next?  Bottle...then bed!  What a day we all had. 

We left the decorations up all week and he loved coming out and looking up at them.  I have to say, the next morning after poop was very cakie...LOL.  Had to share!

Xander,

A year ago you came into our lives and were such a miracle to us.  You were prayed for, hoped for, and longed for so many years.  You've blessed us and shown us that unconditional love truly exists.  Happy Birthday our little lovie!  We hope and pray that we have many more fun and exciting memories with you! 

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Sterling's birth story

It started when I went in for a regular NST (non-stress test) on Friday March 16th, for being over 40 weeks along and no sign of labor.  I was having contractions during the NST, but nothing serious enough to be worried about.  During the ultrasound scan, the midwife noticed I didn't have any fluid around the baby so she called up to labor and delivery (l&d).  They decided that since I was 40 weeks 5 days, they would go ahead and induce me.  I was nervous walking up to l&d, but for 2 silly reasons...first, I didn't have my bag because we were scheduled for inducement on Monday; second, because I didn't shave my legs that morning.  Yes...that was really on the top of my thoughts as the miracle of my baby was about to be born. We got up to l&d at 1040, they hooked me up to everything, asked a million questions, then Nick took Xander home to feed him some lunch and drop him off at our friends to get back to the hospital with me.  At 1, the doctor decided to put a Foley bulb in because I was still only 1.5 cm and the baby was high up.  Not much happened all afternoon, I had contractions, but I managed them.  At 5:30 pm, the Foley bulb came out and I was 4 cm.  At 6:45, they started pitocin.  Around 8:30 the contractions became more intense and painful so at 9:10 I asked for some pain control.  I was given Fentinol, but that lasted about 20 minutes of relief and I asked for the epidural.  At 9:50 epidural was administered (I was 5 cm).  I immediately had problems with my blood pressure and being able to feel everything still.  My blood pressure dropped so they stayed in the room for an hour to monitor and to administer more drugs to take the pain away.  That whole time, it never went up, but my nurse was still monitoring it while the anaesthetist went to a call on another floor, but he left her some medicine to put in my IV if it didn't go down soon.  She ended up giving me 2 doses of it, got worried because it's been over an hour and a half and it's still not back up.  The anaesthetist walked in the room just as the nurse was getting ready to call him.  He had a shot of something with him to stick in my leg to help my blood pressure return to normal.  Within 10 minutes, it was good.   It took about 50 minutes for the pain to go away.  At 11:30 I was 6 cm.  The nurse is still in my room monitoring things because my blood pressure was fluctuating again and the babies heart rate started to rise.  At 12:15 am (17th now) they wanted me to switch positions to try and bring Sterling's heart rate down.  Didn't work, made it worse.  Her heart rate is now in the high 190s, when it was normally between 150 and 160s all night.  They checked me at 12:30 and I was 8 cm.  I was given an oxygen mask for an hour to stabilize her heart rate, but this didn't work either.  It remained in the 190s, but on the lower side.  Doctor came in at 1:30 to say that she recommends a cesarean because she's worried about the heart rate.  Of course I didn't care how the baby came out, as long as she was healthy and alive.  I was scared, nervous, and of course the tears were rolling down my cheeks.  I looked over and Nick was already in a pink sterile outfit, it was real at this point.  Nick came over to ask me if I was okay, and I cried harder because having a c-section would require longer recovery...meaning I wouldn't be able to hold my baby boy.  That was breaking my heart thinking about him and my recovery time.  Within 5 minutes they were rushing me out of the room down to the operating room.

Nick stood up and watched the entire c-section procedure.  He was amazed at all of it.  I kept telling him to sit down, but he was watching.  Men!  I thought he'd get grossed out and pass out, but he didn't.  After she was born I was glad he was able to watch everything and experience it all.  He went over to the baby warmer and cut her cord.

 

They brought Sterling over to me so I could see her.  All I kept hearing everyone say was how big she was and how much hair she had.  I was excited.  The nurse put her on my mouth to give her a kiss, and just left her there.  So when Nick came to hold her to me, I asked him to take her away (from my mouth) so I could breath.  He laughed.

After they had me cleaned and glued up, I was wheeled back to my room for the anesthesia to wear off some before taking me to mother/baby unit.  In the room, they gave the baby her bath and let Nick hold her.  They then tried to put her to the breast, I was unable to move my arms from all the anesthesia I was given.  I was in and out of it at this point and don't really remember much, other than Nick trying to put my boob in her mouth...lol.  It was sweet that he was trying to help.  Around 4:30, he went home to get some sleep and do some things around the house after he woke up.  He didn't have to get Xander from our friends until evening because they had plans that included taking him wherever they went.  They were a blessing to have around and in the 2 years we've known them, they have become more like family.  It's hard in the military being away from family, so when you meet really nice people wherever the military sends you, it's a miracle and you feel so loved...sorry for the tangent...lol.  After Nick left to go get sleep, the nurses took the baby...which is extremely rare here, so I could get some sleep.  At 6 they took me down to the mother/baby unit to recover.
In the end, it was a good thing I was the only patient in l/d all night.  I was given full attention and priority, the nurses were extremely nice and I loved my night nurse.  She adopted a baby boy from Mongolia, so we talked about our adoptions. 

Have a great day!