Some pictures of our summer 2011

cousins Mason (9 months)and Grayson (5 months)
Gray likes holding his cup
Wyatt and Grayson with cousin Faye in OR 2011
Fam pic- Newport, OR
Wyatt (3YRS) and cousin Mikey (5YRS)- camping on the Columbia river, WA 2011

Here we go!

Life is about to get busy very soon. I'm still building up clientele in my private practice. So far no complaints. It's been great and I'm getting more familiar and comfortable with the insurance stuff (although there is much more learning to happen as I get on new insurance panels). I'm also going to teach a parenting class at the community college again this fall (one day a week) and Wyatt will be starting preschool next week (2 days a week)! We go to an 'orientation' on Wednesday so I am anxious to see what he thinks about it all; and very anxious about leaving him the first time (already imagining the scene) :( He has asked me a few times now if we'll be staying with him when we go this week so he has some concept that eventually we won't stay. We also start up private swim lessons again tomorrow and a class with The Little Gym on Friday. I guess this all means that summer is about to end. Of course living in Oregon as we do, this is always kinda sad. The fall season here is awesome but that also means the rain will start soon and boy did we have one LONG rainy season this last year.

Grayson is now 5 months old and starting to finally sleep for 4-6 hour chunks of time at night. Its been a bit rough (he's easy to put to sleep but was waking every 2hrs wanting to eat) but he is now in his own crib for all naps and nighttime. Hurray! Grayson can now sit unsupported for a couple minutes at a time (although I still need to have a safety net nearby to protect his noggin). He is very into his toys as well as chewing on things and eating. He makes it known that he isn't happy when we are all eating and I'm taking too long to get him his bite. So far he's eaten bananas, peas, carrots, avocado (didn't like), blueberries, sweet potatoes, prunes etc. He is generally a happy, easy going baby as long as he's not hungry or tired. His tired cues are much easier to read than Wyatt's (who didn't show much of any if I recall correctly) as he starts rubbing his eyes and getting a tad fussy.

Anyways thats about all for us.. more later!

happy birthday to my big boy

We celebrated Wyatt's 3rd birthday yesterday. He had a Clifford the Big Red Dog party at our house and it was a lot of fun (and work!) We had various 'doggy treats' for snacks and pizza and salads for lunch. All of his closest 14 friends came and helped him celebrate by swimming, playing in the sand box and bounce house. It was a warm day so the pool was the biggest hit. Wyatt had a couple meltdowns and seemed embarrassed when everyone was singing "happy birthday" to him and then didn't want to open presents after the first few, but all in all he loved his party and was bummed when everyone was gone. He did however, thoroughly enjoy playing with all of his new toys though. Thank you's to everyone!!

Today is his actual birthday and we are taking an introductory class at The Little Gym where Wyatt's grandparents got him gift certificates to. We can't wait :) Later on this week we are taking the boys to the Zoo. Will be Grayson's first trip to the zoo and Wyatt's 3rd. Its fun to see how he 'takes things in' each time we do something like that.

Here are some pictures of the party:

happy 4th 2011!

It's been a sorta rough week with sleep and schedules for both boys this week, with the holiday and all. Apparently letting Wy stay up until after 11pm, 2 nights in a row made for bad sleep the next 2 nights too (fireworks in Oregon don't start until after 10pm). Grayson has been having some nighttime crankiness which is tiresome for us (and doesnt help Wy fall asleep)- we've been putting him to sleep in his crib with little problem lately, but the last 3-4 days haven't been easy. I even called his Pediatrician to make an earlier appointment than we had scheduled for his 4 month well-baby check up, to rule out reflux etc. I am thinking I will cut out dairy for a few days and see if anything changes- fun.

Anyways our 4th of July weekend was a tiresome blast. In short we did some bbq'in with my parents, saw a baseball game & fireworks on the 3rd, and then on the 4th went to a fun party with friends and then met up with other friends on our way home for the 'big' fireworks.

The rest of this week has been a blur of summertime fun. Wyatt and Mikey are taking private swim lessons on Wednesdays and are getting to play at the outdoor swim park before and after. Its been SO nice for Audra and I to get to relax outside of the pool with the babies.

Today the boys and I went to Storytime at the library where they have different activities going on after. Then we went to The Laughing Planet for lunch with friends, then met my mom at my office on her lunch hour (I needed to hang some stuff on the walls to complete the decor) and then I dragged the boys to Trader Joes to stock up on groceries for our visitors this weekend. Will's dad, step mama and step-bro Erik are coming tomorrow. On that note I better go do some cleaning!

took some pictures..

Here are some pictures in our back yard that I took of 3 month old Grayson and almost 3 year old Wyatt.

my news...

I've got exciting news... (well for me anyways haha)! A fellow mommy friend found an extremely inexpensive office right in the heart of downtown Corvallis to rent and wanted to find someone to split it with her. So I jumped at the chance to try out having a private practice. I've always dreamed of being my own boss but never had the guts to leave my County job with all of its great benefits and steady pay- but since I walked away from it when Baby O #1 came along, and are no longer used to me bringing in a salary, this was an easier decision.

So I've been super busy figuring it all out, making calls to insurance companies, getting an EIN, getting liability insurance, finding the right professional association to join, picking out paint colors for the office, searching Craigslist for furniture, going through boxes of papers and resources I'll need, updating my resume for credentialing through insurance panels, ordering business cards, getting my website going (well getting stuff written for Will to put on the website he is setting up for me) and so on and on. And this is on top of being a MOM which of course is still my number one job :)

So here you have it, why I haven't gotten to respond to some emails or kept my house super clean lately (not like it ever is perfect).. ha

Ok gotta run- Little G doesnt like to be put down for long!

Our Easter in a nut shell

What a funny saying "in a nut shell," huh? It was a fun fun weekend with way too much candy :) I think Easter was more fun this year for Wyatt and parents than even Christmas. Boy did he get a kick out of waking up to his Easter basket and then egg hunting.

Papa and Gramma and all of their boys
Mikey and Wyatt still BFF's

We're still alive and well..

Just a quick blog to update everyone on how we're doing. We're still not getting all that good of sleep- getting about 2-3 hour chunks at a time throughout the night- but we're managing.

Grayson is still quite the snuggler, preferring to be held a lot. Not knowing if he will be our last baby or not, makes me more mindful of how important it is to appreciate everything (or almost)- even the crappy sleep since it really goes so fast. Grayson has started smiling- actually he's been smiling since birth but at about 3.5 weeks old he gave his big brother and mommy 'real' smiles and has continued to do so. This kid has the chunkiest cheeks. I hope for his sake that they slim down a bit because they are so much fun to pinch :)He has started staying awake and aware for longer periods of time- enjoying his floor gym or watching his brother's antics.

Wyatt has come out of his funk, finally. He has been back to his old self for the last couple of weeks and boy are we happy. He is so affectionate with Grayson and very helpful to me when I need him to get me something etc. He cannot wait until Grayson can 'come play with him' (I can't either! ha). I can already tell they are going to be good buddies.

Alright thats about all around here- we're looking forward to Easter at my sister's house next weekend and I'm taking Grayson to Fred Meyer in a bit to go shopping for big brother. Fun!

HAPPY EASTER everyone!!

One month old and almost 12lbs!



Smiley Grayson

2 weeks with 2 kids

I have to say things are going relatively well over here; well other than Wyatt being sick with a yucky cold/cough and jumping out of his crib, smashing his face on the floor yesterday; and having many many temper tantrums. What makes it all ok is that Grayson has been an easy easy baby (so far). I am quite aware that this can change at any time, but am hoping he doesn't develop the colicky fits Wyatt did around 2-3 weeks old.

So yesterday while I was nursing Grayson, I heard a big thunk upstairs and then loud crying. Wyatt had climbed out of his crib and fallen head first. We had known this could happen because we've caught him with 1 leg out a couple of times now. Anyways, he has flat out refused to sleep in his new 'big boy bed,' preferring his crib so we allowed him to stay in his crib longer. Well we made the big 'move' after this incident yesterday and surprisingly he fell asleep without incident. He woke up just after 6am, which is super early for him and a killer for us, but that's what coffee is for, right?

Grayson is a smiley guy. I never believed people who said their newborn smiles, but OURS does ;) He will start eating or poop and then smile like crazy. He's adorable. He weighed in at 9lbs at his 2 week doctor appointment Wednesday and is a healthy, "strong" boy. He is sleeping a lot still, but during his wakeful times, he is wide eyed and calm.

Life has been a tad easier around here because I haven't had to cook anything in 2 weeks now! My dear friends and family have brought us dinner (and lots of treats) EVERY night since getting home from the hospital. It's been heavenly. I never realized how taking someone dinner can be SO helpful. We are very appreciative!!

Our baby is here!

So it all started when Will, Wyatt and I went to my regular 39 week OB appointment on 3/11/11. My blood pressure was 154/84 and I had a small amount of protein in my urine, which concerned the OB a bit. She checked me and I was 3.5 cm dilated and then stripped my membranes which dilated me to 4cm. She suggested I get to the hospital within an hour and check in to have our baby.

We rushed home and loaded up the truck and then dropped Wyatt and our dogs off with my dad. We checked in at the hospital at 11am and I started having very mild contractions soon after. My OB had thought we should get my water broken once we arrived, but the hospital staff wanted to start pitocin. I talked to the midwife assigned to me and explained that I wanted to avoid pitocin if possible so we decided to break my water and see if my body would take over. She agreed to this plan and then broke my bag of water at 1pm- my contractions picked up immediately. Will and I walked about the hospital and they got even stronger. Surprisingly my blood pressure just kept getting better and better and no protein showed up again. I then labored in bed for awhile and when the nurse checked my cervix at about 3pm because I felt some pressure down below- I was only dilated to 5-6cm. I started wanting an epidural soon after which was close to 4pm, but got in the tub for about 20 minutes to see if that would help. When I got out of the tub, I was having terrible back contractions and got on my hands and knees in bed. The anesthesiologist arrived and started preparing for my epidural- asking me questions and giving me the lowdown on the procedure (I could barely listen though at this point). But I was so relieved to be getting it.

At this point I got off my hands and knees and laid down, I had some serious butt pressure and felt like I was going to die. My nurse checked me and I heard those dreaded words- "Dr. we aren't going to be needing you after all." And then she stepped out of the room and yelled for staff to bring in the midwife immediately. I had an inkling I was not getting that Epi as I felt a terrible need to start pushing. They told me not to until the midwife arrived (which was just a couple minutes, luckily). Apparently I pushed for 2 contractions and little Grayson Daniel was born at 4:40pm. It felt like a lot longer than 2 contractions worth of pushing as I could feel all the terrible pain of his head and shoulders passing (slowly) through. He was 8lbs 7oz and 21 inches long. He started crying immediately and had apgars levels of 9/9. Will helped pull him out and put him on my chest. He was very alert and content to snuggle. He has been nursing like a champ and although mama didn't sleep much last night (mostly thanks to being in a hospital), he was easy to soothe and easy to fall in love with.

SNOW day!!

We woke up today to about 3-4 inches of snow! It has been snowing off and on all morning, but the sun is shining now, so that may be it. Here are some pictures..




Our TAsha dog LOVES the snow too!

Our street

2011 was a happy happy V day

Here are some pictures I took of our wonderful Valentines day. The first is my beaded red rose from Will, brought home from California and made by his mom. Purty huh?

So Wyatt and I started off the V day morning drinking pink milk, making heart shaped biscuits, some stuffed with scrambled eggs and cheese and some sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. You can tell by the pictures which ones he preferred ;) After breakfast we met friends at the Wacky Indoor Bounce house which was as usual- a blast. We then had lunch at Izzys, which is a local restaurant I'd never tried out before. It was SO kid friendly and relaxing (basically just a good ol American buffet) with a kickin desert bar. After lunch we ran a quick errand and then stopped and visited Grandma and Papa. Wyatt took a late nap and when he woke up we made daddy a giant cookie (and about 5 dozen small ones). We made a ginormous mess and had a ton of fun. Daddy got home from California around 6pm and brought us a heart shaped pizza from Abbys. YUM. It was a nice Valentine's day and not 1 temper tantrum allll day. Perfection!!

The day before (Sunday), I got to have most of the day to myself as my parents took Wyatt to Mikey's house. I shopped and saw a chick flick at the theater. It was wonderful... Then to top it off my parents came back with a happy but worn out Wyatt and bought us yummy Chinese food from China Blue.

Anyhow- although we kept nice and busy this weekend, its so nice to have Will home after about 5 days without him. He got up with Wyatt this morning and I slept in a bit. We love Daddy :)

I'm excited to be getting Wyatt's big boy bedroom all set up so we can move him out of the nursery and get it ready for the baby (who should be here within a month now!) I'll be posting pictures as we get it set up :) I go in tomorrow for an appointment and can only complain about my tail bone hurting when I sit. All else seems great.

Here is a picture of Wyatt's Superbowl party:

just a few thoughts

Just a quick note to give you a link to see what the view we're looking out from our front door looks like at any given minute (it updates once a minute). Today we have a gorgeous 30 ish degree day! http://www.loopfree.net/cam/

Wyatt's had a terrible cold all week with the worst cough ever. Not fun :( It's day 4 of staying home and too much t.v. He has become quite good at puzzles (although I am getting pretty tired of doing them ha).

Today I'm 34 weeks along in this pregnancy. I am starting to really not want to be pregnant EVER again at this point. I still feel good for the most part- no swelling etc. I go to the OB tomorrow so hopefully all measures well still. I think I'm going to start packing my hospital bag just to feel like I'm speeding this process somehow :) I told Will last night that my hope with this delivery is that I can avoid the use of Pitocin, have a way FAST delivery where the use of the Epi isn't even a consideration (avoiding 'the needle' and hours of labor) :) One can hope right?

So we're supposed to have a little Super Bowl gathering this weekend. Hoping we're all well enough by that time. It seems as if all Wyatt's little friends are sick with the same thing so hopefully everyone will be ready to party by Sunday. I love SB parties and food!! :)

doctors appnts etc...

Just sitting down enjoying some raspberry tea and a brownie (ok 2 brownies) (thanks Harmony!). I had just popped some blueberry muffins in the oven for a play date I'm hosting tomorrow and was up talking to Will when I set off the fire alarms. (The sugar/butter topping on the muffins had leaked over into the oven). So I assumed Wyatt would have woken up from his much needed nap, but so far he's still asleep. Amazing! My lucky day haha.

Anyways the tea and brownie were my award for cleaning the downstairs toilet (nice reward huh?). I had to have some motivation.. unfortunately I still have my floors to sweep and mop. Not sure if I should indulge my pregnancy cravings by eating more 'treats' but my OB appnt went well today so we'll see. So anyways its been a long day thus far. This morning I took Wyatt with me for the first time to an OB appnt. He did remarkably well even though we ended up being late (got stuck behind a slow going train for over 10 minutes). The midwife said I was only measuring 1 week ahead this time (at 32 weeks) and my weight and bp continue to be good. Yeah! We're getting so excited to meet this little guy- I even bought him a special 'coming home from the hospital' outfit the other day. (I wanted him to have something special to wear that wasn't a hand me down from big brother like inevitably most of his clothes will be). So the other night, I was sitting next to Will on the couch when the baby kicked so hard Will felt like he got kicked. He's a strong one, I tell ya!

So after my OB appnt today, Wyatt and I went to his pediatrician's office, where he got his 2nd flu shot. I felt so sad for him because later he told my parents "sometimes you get hurt at the doctor." Poooor kid :( Anyways after going to both of our doctors, we ran a quick errand and then met up with both my parents and Audra, Mikey and Mason as well as Tanya (Audra's sister in law) and her son, Cole at the Wacky Indoor Bounce house. The boys had a blast and the grandparents wore themselves out (as usual) chasing them around.

After the bounce house, we hit McD's and the library and then came home. Wyatt must be exhausted because other than yesterday, he has been refusing naps all week (even though he still has a mandatory 'rest' time everyday in his crib).

So this weekend we are going to a 'Family Fun day' at the community college and then to a birthday party. Should be fun. Alright, I'm off to do the floors...

31 weeks prego today!

Its been a terrific last few weeks. The holidays are suddenly behind us and although its nice to be past the craziness, it was a really fun month- lots of activities i.e shopping, baking, presents, making crafts, eating and of course, family time. Most fun for me was talking about Santa with Wyatt and getting him 'prepared' for Christmas (as well as future Christmases). I also realized that its a good thing he's young still because I need some practice on this whole Santa thing- when to stock stockings, how to hide presents etc. Anyways when opening presents Wyatt would get really interested in one gift and not have any interest in opening the rest. We tried moving the process along (we had a schedule ya know-ha), even opening up some presents for him and saying "look at this one- it could be a truck..!" which would get his attention for a few seconds and then he'd go back to what he was doing (usually playing with a truck). So finally when all the presents had been opened he looked up from playing and says "want more presents." ARGH. So next time (he'll probably be tearing through them like crazy next year though), I think I'll just let him go at his own pace even if it takes him 3 days to open them.

Anyways all is going great thus far with this pregnancy. The baby is still moving and kicking a lot. I went to the OB last week and am measuring 2 weeks ahead though. This makes me a bit nervous because I always measured right on time with Wyatt and he was a whopping 8lbs 10oz. So does this mean this baby will be a 9-10lber!? I suppose the 10lbs I gained in December (too many sweets!) had something to do with this. But on a positive note, I was going through a book I have called The Pregnancy Journal and read some notes I made while pregnant with Wyatt. I had written that at weeks 24 my blood pressure was on the high side and already showing some signs of swelling. I'm 31 weeks along today and my bp last week was 94/62! Nice and low, but thats probably evidence that my pre-pregnancy weight loss was a great thing for my body.

Well speaking of weight gain, Wyatt and I are off to the gym this a.m. I seem to have come down with a cold yesterday and didn't sleep great last night, but it important that we get in a routine (for both of us). He cried both times I left him last week which was hard to see but apparently he was fine soon after I left- hence why its important for us to keep that routine.

Not much else is going on. We still LOVE our new house. Will has been working on some electrical projects in the garage as well as is almost finished building our new side yard. Wyatt seems to have gotten re-interested in potty training and I am engrossed in the Outlander series book. Wow, it just started raining hard. I better go and get us ready because otherwise I'll be tempted to stay in!