Sleep?????

I don't know where the past 2 weeks have gone. I guess when you are feeling a little sleep deprived, the idea of spending a free moment updating the blog is not high on the priority list. The lack of sleep isn't even due to the fact that I get up to nurse a six week old, but more to the fact that our 3 year old is getting up in the middle of the night. For some reason, Mason has only slept thru the night once in the past 2 weeks. He sleeps with a light on and we keep his door open (otherwise, when he wakes he bangs on it). I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the fact that Spencer sleeps in our room. Hopefully, we will be able to transition Spencer to his room in the next couple of weeks and get Mason back on track. I'm tired of just falling back to sleep after feeding Spencer to the calls of Mommy moments later. Tim or I end up laying with Mason in his bed (sometimes just until he falls back asleep and other times we fall asleep ourselves in his bed). I have always required a lot of sleep (8-10 hours) and lately I'm lucky to get 6 hours of broken sleep. I know it is only a phase and we will all be sleeping better again some day.
So anyhow, that is my excuse for not updating the blog. So to catch everyone up, we didn't get into the preschool I wanted. We are #2 on the waiting list. My fingers are crossed that we may still get in at some point. I am going to look into a couple of other preschools (although the down fall is the distance). Also, I signed Mason up for soccer. He starts at the end of this month. I know we will all benefit from him burning off some extra built up energy every Friday. I am also really working on the potty training. My goal now is to have him fully potty trained (during the day) by June. I am being realistic and giving myself plenty of time. Also, Mason has gotten quite good at the computer. He loves to play memory on the Thomas website. He has an excellent memory, it amazes me. I'm also amazed at well he is with the mouse. Good hand-eye coordination.
Spencer is getting bigger every day. He smiles a lot and makes lots of coo sounds. He usually wakes twice during the night (around 12:30 or 1:00 and again around 5:00). He still sleeps a lot during the day too, although I look forward to a couple of longer naps and not just these cat naps.
As for me, I have been practicing taking pictures outside of auto mode. The scrapbook website I like (twopeasinabucket) is offering a free 12 week photography course. I also hope to start up scrapbooking again soon. That's about all for now. Enjoy the pictures. As you can see, we have had a lot of snow and are expected to get more tonight into tomorrow.

BIG boy

I took Spencer to his 1 month check up today. I knew he had to have grown quite a bit, but would have guessed how much. He is now up to 10lbs 10oz (although he had a wet diaper on so he may actually have been a couple of ounces less) and is 21 1/4 inches long. That is almost a 3 pound gain from birth and a whole inch longer. Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is in the 50 to 75%ile for weight, length, and head circumference. We'll go back to the doctor in a month.

Conjunctivitis and the battle of the drops

I noticed on Monday that Mason's eye looked a little pink. I went ahead and had Tim take him over to Walgreens' clinic that night to see if it was pink eye. Sure enough it was and the battle of the drops began. The directions say to put 1 drop in each eye 4 times a day. Who would have thought that Mason would fight us so much that we would have to practically sit on him to administer the drops. Oh well, just a few more days of this torture. Anyhow, Mason keeps going around and saying "I have conjunctivitis." I had said it once and it is now his favorite word to say. Too funny!
On Wednesday, we went and visited another preschool. I really liked this one and it is only about 10 minutes from the house. Unfortunately, we are put into a lottery system, so there are no guarantees that he will get in. My fingers are crossed that we will get a phone call on January 30th saying that there is a spot for him. We have to keep our options open, too, because I still don't know yet what I am doing next fall (staying home or going back to work). We have to weigh the cost of it all. We'll see.
Today Spencer turns 4 weeks old. He is much more alert now when he is awake. He likes to look at lights and small toys that you hold in front of him. He is starting to smile some, but not sure that it is in response to us yet (probably in the next couple of weeks, we'll get some good smiles). He still sleeps well at night (although, I hate to admit that he is still in bed with us). I do try and put him in his pack 'n play, it just doesn't last very long. I know I need to break him of this soon or I will regret it. Right now the sleep for all of us is nice though. I can't believe that he will be a month old on Monday. I will take him for his 1 month check up then. My guess is that he's gained another pound and grown some in length. I stood on the scale with him and it looks like he may be about 10lbs. He's growing way too fast for my likings. You'll notice that I didn't take as many pictures this week, especially of Mason (he's not always cooperative for the camera, he would rather take a picture then be in one these days). So enjoy the few that I do have. It was nice that my parents finally made it up here last weekend. I love the pictures I have of them with Spencer. They take such nice pictures. Take care and stay warm this weekend. Baby it's cold outside.

2 New Additions to the Family

I'm so excited to announce that our family has 2 new additions. Both of my cousins delivered healthy baby boys this week. On Tuesday, January 8th, Jeremy and Kenzia welcomed Jack D. He was 7lbs 13oz and 20in long. And today, January 11th, Martha and Steve welcomed Noah T. He was 9lbs 3oz and 21in long. I couldn't be happier to know that all of our boys will grow up together. I am fortunate that all of us cousins have stayed close as we've grown up and now the next generation will also get the pleasure of growing up together. How cool is that. Family reunions will be soooo much fun!
On another note, Spencer is 3 weeks old today. How is that possible? We've had a good week. We started looking at preschools this week for Mason for next fall and will continue to look over the next couple of weeks. Mason had fun getting outdoors this week and "bird watching" with the binoculars that I made him. He also enjoyed painting a Valentine's Day picture with some of his new art supplies that he got for Christmas.





Spencer enjoyed trying out his activity mat and bouncy seat (with the assistance of his big brother). He is still sleeping pretty well at night although the past couple of days his naps have been tricky. He won't stay asleep for long unless he's in my arms or we've ran an errand and he's fallen asleep in the car. Definitely flashbacks of Mason when he was this age.















This past weekend, we enjoyed a visit from Aunt Jen and Becky. They came to meet Spencer and see Mason. Mason loved playing with them and is already asking when they will come back.



















This weekend, we look forward to introducing Spencer to my parents. They had been suffering colds and kindly waited until they felt better before coming to see us. We can't wait to spend some time with them this weekend. Enjoy the many pictures and take care.

2 week check up

How is it that 2 weeks have already gone by? And how is it that my baby is already growing so fast? Spencer had his 2 week check up today and has gained a whole pound since birth (8lbs 12oz). I don't think he was listening when I told him I wanted him to stay little for a long time.

Our peditrician was happy to let me take pictures, she too is a fellow scrapbooker.
These past two weeks have been wonderful. He is such a good baby. He obviously eats well, he is a good sleeper (typically only getting up 1, sometimes 2 times a night; although he does sleep right next to me in bed), and he has no problems in the potty department (his 1st week of life he went through 81 diapers, this past week 70 diapers). Mason is an awesome BIG brother and helper for Mommy. I couldn't be prouder of him. He loves to hold his brother and talk to him. He does ask me to put Spencer down sometimes so that I can hold him and still likes Mommy to put him to bed at night. I sure love my boys. I hope that they grow up to be good friends and also to know that Mommy and Daddy are always here for both of them.
I have posted a lot of pictures from the past week. I hope you enjoy.
Spencer's 1st bath. He didn't like being cold, but liked having his hair washed.

The boys dressed to watch the Bears game.

Happy New Year! We had a fun evening playing BINGO with Mason and eating pizza and other snacks. Spencer thought we were supposed to party all night (this probably our roughest night thus far b/c he was wide awake for a couple of hours during the night).


My cousin, Martha, came to visit before her baby is arrives.


Our good friend, Lyndsay, and her girls came over to meet Spencer for the 1st time.

On another note, Tim met with the kidney specialist today and everything looks good. She wants to continue to see him every 6 months for now. I think 2008 is going to be a good year.