Catching Up

I know the posts are few and far between, but I am still here. This weekend we have all had colds so it has been one drowsy, pathetic household. Baby Nick started us off with sneezes and runners out his nose. Then Bubba kept Nick and I up all night moaning and groaning every five minutes. (He turns into a big baby like his Daddy does when he is sick.) It was my turn next, waking with such a sore throat I could hardly talk. Nick came in last, waiting until Saturday night to get sick. So where are we in the progress of our colds now? Baby Nick seems to be over the worst. Joey is still coughing up a lung. My sinuses are still fairly plugged and I sound like I have been a life-long smoker. Nick, miserably at work, has such pressure in his sinuses he can hardly keep his eyes open. Let's pray that we all get over this nearly at the same time so that Baby Nick doesn't get sick again starting the whole cycle over again.

Joey is still enamored with his smallest baby brother. Ethan is strong enough to be felt by little hands when he kicks, so Joey spends most of the day sticking his hands all over my tummy. Yesterday, he lifted my shirt until he saw my belly button and took a very close scrutiny of it. I asked him what he was doing. He said, "The hole is too small." Too small for what, I asked (figuring I already knew the answer.) "Too small for the baby to come out." I told him that it wasn't a hole, it was my belly button, just like his belly button. He is far too smart and inquisitive for my comfort. One of these days he will ask a question I will not know how to answer for his young age.

The other night, while stalling going to bed, Joey was talking about the baby coming out at the 'hostipal.' He said that when Ethan came out he was going to hold him in his arms, but that I could hold him when he was all done! It's so nice of him to share.

Baby Nick is still fairly oblivious to the whole "new baby" concept, but he will give Ethan kisses when asked. He will find out in the next few months that the baby is real, and here to stay. I think it will be a harder adjustment on him that it was for Joey when he was born, because even now, Baby Nick does not like to see Joey get loves when he doesn't. We have more group hugs than anything these days. Not that I am complaining. I love that my boys are so loving.

Well, there is not much going on around here. Just more of the daily grind.
Oh! We are extremely excited to plan on Mary and Chuck coming for a visit the first week of June. It has been nearly two years since the boys and I have seen them and we miss them very much. It is nice that we don't have too long to wait. Joey's birthday is in three weeks from today. It was nice to get all the shopping done this weekend. All that is left is to get a cake; and I don't have to worry about that for a couple more weeks.

Now, I have an hour before lunch, so I better make sure the boys are behaving. Have a fabulous week.

A Momentous Occasion

Well, I finally did it! I took Baby Nick for his first haircut yesterday. Part of me still can't believe it, and the other part knew it was time. After all, he will be 20 months next Saturday. I was very pleased with the results, as I took him to a place that is a little more spendy than Great Clips. Both Nick and Joey got haircuts at Great Clips on Saturday as well, and once again, I don't think they did very well on Joey's. I was not going to risk having Baby Nick's first haircut turn out horribly....so I spent a few more dollars. I know it shouldn't be a big deal, but getting a hair cut always makes them look older, and I am never ready to see my boys get bigger.
Here is a "before" picture of the back of his hair. I wanted to show off his curls one last time. The lady who cut his hair (I never got her name) was very nice and did a great job. She was well experienced with kids who toss their heads around. I figured Baby Nick would be fine in that he wouldn't be scared, but he is a very inquisitive boy and I was afraid that he would be too curious about all that was around him to sit still. This was, in fact, the case, but it didn't hurt the way his hair turned out. He was very solemn the entire time; I think he was a bit on the verge of being scared. But I was so proud of him. And he was pleased with the candy he got afterwards.
I was very disappointed that the pictures didn't turn out very well, but Nick's face was right in the way of the light coming in through the window, so his face always looks washed out. But in this picture you can get a sense of how serious he took this occasion. Look how huge his eyes are!
He is too cute not to take lots of pictures of....even if they look all alike!
Here is the handsome, grown-up boy as he looks from the front. Can you believe how big he is?
And here he is from the back....a little too squirmy to get a very good picture of! His curls are gone and he looks more like a little boy than a baby. But I am proud of the boy he is!

Joey demonstrated one of his more odd talents to me this weekend. I was rocking with him before bed and he was sticking his fingers in his mouth...a habit he has gotten into that I am trying to break. So I told him he needed to keep his fingers, arms, and body parts out of his mouth. He said, "I pick my nose with my big toe." I said, "No you don't." "Yes I do" "No you don't." "Yes I do." "Then show me!" And sure enough, he brought his foot up to his nose and picked it with his big toe! I couldn't help laughing. I mean, picking your nose is no funny habit. But with your big toe? Apparently, he does this when he is lying in bed. So, of course, I had to have Joey show Daddy. Nick laughed really hard; I'm sure part disgusted and part proud, as only a father can be when their sons do something gross.

We have to take Nick to the airport at the beautiful hour of 5am! Actually, he should be there by five, and he has to run by work first, so it will be a very early morning. Nick will only be in Fairbanks for one night, so we will pick him back up Tuesday evening. It will be nice to have him back so soon.

I was finally beginning to have a glimmer of hope that Spring was finally on its way up here, but then we got about ten inches of snow on Saturday! I was not happy. It was a wet snow for the most part, so it is all slush where it was plowed, but the sidewalks and yards are all more covered and will be awhile longer.

Joey is back up out of bed...after ten pm...so I need to rock with him for a little bit before putting him back in bed. Hopefully, this will be the last time. Hope everyone had a great weekend and that a fabulous week is ahead of you.

It's A Boy!

Most of you should know by know...but I will put it in writing anyway.
Yesterday, I had an ultrasound to see how well the baby is growing. The baby looks healthy and is measuring perfectly at this point. All the anatomy looks healthy (heart, liver, kidneys and such). My doctor told me at my appointment that the baby was measuring in the 49th percentile for weight, so he is perfectly average at this point! My goal is for a 7lb 8oz baby this time. I figure since Joey was 8lb 12oz and Nick was 8lb 2oz (10 ounces less), this baby could follow the same patter and be 10 ounces less than Nick and give me a 7lb 8oz baby! The doctor said that it would be a breeze for me, I could just laugh the baby out! She said just to make sure I get to the hospital quickly; she thinks that things will go quickly when the time comes. I'm all for that! I told her to make sure she was in the room, with her catcher's mitt and to watch out for any sneezing from me....it may just produce the baby! (Oh a girl can dream.)

And, of course, I found out that I was having another boy. We will name him Ethan Riley. I have decided to call him Duke (since his initials are ERL, I can call him the Duke of Erl! Ha ha), but Nick doesn't like that idea. He doesn't like picking a nickname till we know more about the personality of the baby so we can find something that fits....and I agree with him. But I like the idea of calling him Duke.

Am I happy to be having a boy? Of course....who wouldn't be. We make very cute boys! But there will always be a part of me that misses the daughter that I have loved and desired since I was a little girl. I have had Breanna Rose in my heart for so long; and she is just as real to me, and I love her just as much as my other kids. So, knowing that she may never exist (as we have not decided whether or not we will have any more kids) is like losing a dream that has been part of my heart and soul for over 16 years. So forgive me if I have moments of weakness and cry over the loss of my daughter. It does nothing to take away from the love and excitement I have for Ethan.

Joey was really hoping for a baby sister. He has been calling the baby "his baby." His baby is going to be a girl. His baby wants Mommy to do a puzzle with him. Does his baby like Mommy's beans? He really is adorable. I was teaching him the names we had picked out for a boy and a girl (although he was sure that it would be a girl, and still thinks we might be having a girl) and somehow has gotten the names a little confused. So if he says that the baby's name is Ethan Rose...just bear with him and know he means Ethan Riley!

When I went in for the ultrasound, the sonographer said that he would switch over to 3D at the end to try to get me some good pictures of the face to take home. I was really excited about this. But after getting one profile picture of the head, Ethan decided to roll over, do a face plant in the placenta, and not come out of hiding the rest of the time. The little stinker! So I have no 3D pictures of Ethan and only a couple 2D pictures of him. I was trying to scan them into the computer so I could add them to the blog, but it wasn't working. I will ask Nick about it this evening. It could be that our printer is not compatible with Windows Vista (which we are finding to be the case with many of the programs we had on our desktop) so it may not be possible.

Well, I should spend some times with the boys. Joey is sitting on the toilet (not very happily) and finally called to me that he pooped...so I have doodoo duty to attend to. Have a wonderful day.